Calvin thinks that "flesh" is here used in opposition to< " spirit," and that the meaning is, " You judge on carnal wicked principles," and not "You judge after the outward appearance." Most commentators think that the expression refers to our Lord's humble appearance.
[J judge no man.'] In these words onr Lord puts in strong contrast the difference between Himself and His enemies. "Unlike you, I condemn and pass judgment on no man, even on the worst of sinners. It is not my present business and office, though it will be one day. I did not come into the world to condemn, but to save." (John iii. 17.) It is useless, how- ever, to deny that the connection between the beginning and end of the verse is not clear. It seems to turn entirely on the twice- repeated word "judge," and the word appears to be used in two different senses.
Some have thought that our Lord refers to the case of the woman taken in adultery, and contrasts His own refusal to be a judge in her case, with the malicious readiness of the Phari- sees to judge Him and condemn Him even when innocent. "I refuse to condemn even a guilty sinner. You on the contrary are ready to condemn Me, in whom you can find no fault, on carnal and worldly principles."
Some, as Bulliuger, Jansenius, Trapp, Stier, Gill, Pearce, and Barnes have thought that the sentence before us means, — " I judge no man according to the flesh, as you do." But this view does not seem to harmonize with the following verse.
Bishop Hall paraphrases the verse thus: "Ye presume to judge according to your own carnal affections, and follow your outward senses in the judgment ye pass on Me. In the mean time ye will not endure Me, who do not challenge or reconcile that power which I might in judging you."
16. — [And yet if I judge, my judgment, etc.] This verse seems to come in parenthetically. It appears intended to remind the Jews, that if our Lord did not assume the office of a judge now, it was not because He was not qualified. The sense is as follows : "Do not however suppose, because I say that I judge no man, that I am not qualified to judge. On the contrary, if I do pass judgment on any person's actions or opinions, my judg- ment is perfectly correct and trustworth}\ For I am not alone. There is an inseparable union between Me, and the Father that sent Me. When I judge, it is not I alone, but the Father with Me that judges. Hence, therefore, my judgment is and must be trustworth}\" The reader should compare John v. 19, and 30. The doctrine is the same. That mighty truth, — the insepa- rable union of the Father and the Son, — is the only key that unlocks the deep expression before us. Our Lord's frequent reference to that truth, in St. John's Gospel, should be carefully noted.