want of real w:Il to come to Him, (2.) want of real love to God, (3.) undue desire of man's praise, (4.) want of real faith in Moses' writings.
4.1. — [/ receive not honour from men.] The connection between these words and the preceding verse is again not very clear. I conjecture that it must be as follows : — " I do not say these things, as if I desired the praise and honour of man. I do not complain of your not coming to Me, as if I only came into the world to seek man's praise. It is not on My own account that I mention your unbelief, but on yours, because it shows the state of your hearts. Do not suppose that I stand in need of followers, and am covetous of man's favour."
42. — [But I know you.. .not the love of God, c&c] The sense and connection here appear to be as follows : — " But the plain truth is, that I know and have long known the state of your hearts, and I know that you have no real love of God in you. You profess to worship the one true God, and to give Him honour. But you show by your conduct, that with all your profession you do not really love God."
To a Jewish hearer this tremendous charge must have been peculiarly galling. It was a charge that none but our Lord could make with equal decision, because He read men's hearts, and knew what was in them.
The word " I know " is literally " I have known." Alford paraphrases the sentence, — " By long trial and bearing with your manners these many generations, and personally also, I have known, and do know you."
In another place we find our Lord naming this sin as one of the special sins of the Pharisees. "Woe unto you, Pharisees I for ye tithe mint and rue, and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God." (Luke xi. 42.)
Ferus remarks that the increduhty of the Jews did not arise from want of evidence, but want of love towards God.
43. — [7 am cono^ in my Father's name... receive me not] This sen- tence contains a proof of the assertion made in the preceding verse. " You show that you have no real love for God, by your not receiving Me who have come in my Father's name, and de- sire nothing so much as His honour. If you really loved and honoured God as you professed to clo, you would gladly receive and honour His Son."
[Tf another.. .in his own name, him ye will receive^ In this sen- tence our Lord supposes a case, to show the corrupt and carnal state of the Jews' hearts. " If another pubHc teacher shall appear, giving himself out to be some great one, not seeking God's
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lionour, and doing all in God's name, but aiming to exalt him- self, and g<it honour to himself, you will receive and believe him. You reject Me the true Son of God. You are ready to receive any false pretender who comes among you, though he may give no honour to the God whom you profess to worship. It is true then that you have no real love of God in you."
I beheve decidedly that our Lord spoke these words propheti- cally. He had in view the many false Christs and false Messiahs who arose within the first hundred years after His desith, and by whom ?o many of the Jews were invariably deluded. Accord- ing to Stier no less than sixty-four false Messiahs appeared to them, and were more or less believed.
The readiness with which they believed these impostors is a remarkable historical fact, and a striking fulfilment of the words before us. They proved as forward to believe these pretenders to a Divine mission who came in their own names, as they had been backward to believe our Lord.
I may add, however, that I am one of those who doubt whether the words of our Lord have even yet received their com- plete fulfilment. I think it highly probable that the world may yet see a personal Antichrist arise, who will succeed in obtain- ing credence from a vast portion of the Jewish nation. Then, and not till then, when Antichrist has appeared, this verse will be completely accomphshed. Chrysostom, Cyril, Theophylact, Euthymius, Alcuin, Heinsius, take this view.
Stier remarks, *' He of whom the Lord here prophecies, is finally Antichrist, with his-open and avowed denial of God and of Christ; with his most daring 'I,' before which all the proud will humbly bow down, because they will find themselves in him, and will honour him as their true God. As the Father reveals Himself in Christ, so will Satan manifest himself in Anti- christ, and give him all his work and witness, and his own honour as the prince of this world ; and the wicked will yield themselves to him, because through unbehef they have already fallen into his nature, and fitly belong to him."
Wordsworth remarks, " The Fathers were generally of opinion, grounded on this passage, that Antichrist would be received by the Jews."
44. — [How can ye helieve, etc., etc.] This verse contains a very important principle. The substance of the meaning seems to be as follows : — Our Lord tells the Jews that they were not likely to believe, so long as they cared more for the praise of man than the praise of God. The true cause of their un- belief was a want of honesty and godly sincerity. With all their professed zeal for God, they did not really care so much