for signs and proofs of His being the Messiah. Well, He had wrought many such signs. Did they really mean to kill Him for His works? He had gone about only doing good. Did they intend to stone him for this?
The expression, " I have shewed," is curious, and we should have expected rather, "I have worked." It probably means, " I have publicly exhibited before your eyes, and not in a cor- ner, but in such a manner as to court the fullest public obser- vation, many wonderful proofs of my Messiahship." (Compare John ii. 18: " What sign shewest Thou?") So St. Paul says that " God shall in His own time shew the appearing of Jesus Christ." (1 Tim. vi. 15.) The expression is probably a Hebra- ism. (Compare Psalm iv. 6; lx. 3; lxxi. 20; Exod. vii. 9.)
The expression, "from my Father," points to the great truth continually brought forward by our Lord in this Gospel: viz., that all His works as well as words were given to Him by the Father, to be worked and spoken in the world, and ought therefore to be held in special reverence.
Hengstenberg observes, that the expression, " many good works," evidently supposes that John knew of many other miracles which he does not record, and that many had been done at Jerusalem beside the few that are recorded.
[For which. ..works. ..stone me.'] This could be literally ren- dered, " On account of which work of all these are you stoning Me? " Some, as Gualter and Tholuck, have thought that there is a slight tinge of sarcasm about the question. "Is it so that you are actually going to stone Me for good actions ? Are not men generally stoned for evil doings ? " Yet this seems an un- likely idea, and is needless. Is not the meaning made clear by simply inverting the order of words? "For what work or action are you going to stone Me? Justice requires that crimi- nals should be punished for doing evil works ; but all the many wonderful works I have done among you have been good, and not evil. You surely will not stone me for any of these ; reason and your laws teach that this would be wrong. It is not there- fore for my works and life that you are going to stone Me. I challenge you to prove that I have done evil. Which of you convicteth'Me of sin? "
Taken in this view, the verse is simply a strong assertion, made by our Lord, of His own entire innocence of any crime for which He could be stoned.
Hutchesou thinks that " some stones were already cast at Christ, and therefore He says, Do you stone Me?" Yet this seems needless. The present tense here implies only, Are ye on the point of stoning Me?
33. — [The Jews answered, etc.] Our Lord's confident challenge, as in chap. viii. 46, seems to have been found unanswerable by the Jews. They could not prove any evil work against Him. They