of His Father •' bearing witness," He could not have meant the audible witness of His voice at the baptism or transfiguration. In fact the sentence seems purposely to preclude the notion. It is as though our Lord said, " Do not suppose that I mean any audible testimony of voice, or apparition, or vision, when I speak of My Father bearing witness to me. I mean testimony of a very different kind, even the testimony of His Word."
The expression " not seen His shape," teaches the same great truth we find elsewhere, — viz., that the Father is invisible, and has never been seen by mortal man. He who appeared to Abra- ham was the Second Person of the Trinity, and not the Father. St. Paul says distinctly of the Father, — " whom no man hath seen, nor can see." (1 Tim. vi. 17.) The idea of artists and painters, when they represent the Father as an aged man, is a mere irreverent invention of their own brains, without the slightest warrant of Scripture.
Rupertus and Ferus suggest that the latter part of this verso was spoken to prevent the Jews thinking that our Lord spoke of Joseph, His supposed father. This, however, seems a rather improbable and fanciful idea.
38. — [And ye have not his word, Sc] This verse seems meant to remind the Jews that with all their pretended reverence for Grod, and affected zeal against blasphemies of Him, they were really ignorant of God's mind. Their reverence for Him was only a form. Their zeal for Him was a blind fanaticism. They knew no more of His mind than of His shape or voice. They Avere not acquainted with His Word. It did not dwell in their hearts and guide their rehgion. They proved their own ignorance by not believing Him whom the Father had sent. Had they really been familiar with the writings of the Old Testament they would have believed.
Our Lord evidently implies that real knowledge of God's Word will always lead a man to faith in Christ. Where there is no faith we may rightly assume the Bible is either not read, or read in a wrong spirit. Ignorance and unbelief will go together.
Locke holds the curious opinion, that the " word" in this verse means the " Personal Word," as at John i. 1. " Ye have not Me, the Eternal Word, dwelling in your hearts." But Christ nowhere calls Himself " the Word," and the idea does not har- monize with the context.
Ecolampadius thinks that in this and the preceding verse there is a reference to Deut. xviii. 15 — 19, where the Lord promised a prophet to the Jews like unto Moses, because they had said, — • " Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not." He thinks