The expression " Thou hast a devil," may possibly be a repetition of the old charge, that our Lord wrought His miracles by Beelzebub, and was in league with the devil, as John viii. 48. In that sense it would be the strongest form of reproach, blasphemy, and contempt. But considering who the speakers were, it is more likely that it simply means, " Thou art beside Thyself, and mad." (So John x. 20.)
The expression, " who goeth about to kill Thee," can easily be understood, if we suppose the speakers to be the common people, and not the rulers. The common people probably knew nothing about the intention of the rulers to put Jesus to death, and would think Him beside himself to say that any one wanted to kill Him.
21. — [Jesus answered...! have done one work.'] Our Lord can only refer here to the miracle He had wrought on a former occasion at the pool of Bethesda. (Ch. v. 1, etc.) This was at present the only great miracle that had been publicly performed in Jerusalem : and from its having led to our Lord being brought before the Sanhedrim, or great council of the Jews, and to His defence made before them, it would be a miracle that all would know.
[Ye all marvel.] This strong present tense seems to mean, "ye are all still wondering," not only at the greatness of the miracle, but also at my working it on the Sabbath day. Schleusner maintains that the Greek word rendered "marvel" means here, "ye are indignant, ye take amiss." He thinks the word is used in this sense in Mark vi. 6 ; John v. 28 ; and Galat. i. 6.
22. — [Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision.] There is a difficulty in this verse in the expression we translate " therefore." It is literally, "on this account, — for this reason,— on account of this." It is not easy to say how the expression conies in, and with what it is connected. (1) Some, as Theophylact, Beza, Poole, Whitby, Hammond, Maldonatus, Pearce, Doddridge, Bloomfield, Olshausen, Tholuck, Hengstenberg, and Stier, propose to alter the stopping, and to connect it with the end of the preceding verse, — "ye all marvel because of this one work." (Compare Mark vi. 6.) But it is doubtful whether the Greek language will fairly admit this. — (2) Some would connect "therefore" with "are ye angry," in the following verse: — " Are you really angry with me on account of this one work, when you yourselves break the Sabbath, in a sense, by circum- cising on the Sabbath day?" — But this connection seems very distant indeed. — (3) Some, as Grotius, Calovius, Jansenius, and Webster, think the expression altogether elliptical, and would fill up the sense after " therefore," by supposing some such connection as this :— " On account of this work and your anger at it, let me remind you of your own practice about circumcision." (See Matt, xviii. 22; xii. 30; Luke xii. 22.)—