Beza remarks that on one occasion, when Peter and John had been beaten and threatened by the Jewish Council, " they departed, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His Name." (Acts v. 41.) The expression, " whith- er thou wouldest not," can therefore only refer to the natural will of flesh and blood. Flesh will feel. Holy Baxter in his last illness used to say, " I groan ; but I do not grumble."
When Bishop Ridley was being chained to the stake, before he was burned as a martyr, at Oxford, he said to the smith who was knocking in the staple, " Good fellow, knock it in hard ; for the flesh will have its way."
Ambrose, quoted by Jansenius, mentions a legend that when Peter was in prison at Rome before his martyrdom, he escaped, and was going out of the city. Then Jesus Christ Himself ap- peared to him in a vision, and on Peter asking, " Whither go- est thou?" replied, "To Rome, to be crucified again." On hearing this, Peter returned to prison. The whole story is apocryphal, and destitute of historical foundation. But it shows the current of feeling among early Christians.
19. — [27m spake He. ..what death.. .glorify God.] We have here one of John's peculiar parenthetical comments, and one for which we may be specially thankful. Who can tell what Commentators might have made of our Lord's prediction to Peter, if John had not been mercifully inspired to tell us that Jesus spoke of his death ?
The expression " what death " means " what kind of death," and is generally considered to indicate that the preceding verse describes death by crucifixion.
The expression " glorify God " is peculiarly interesting, be- cause it teaches that a Christian may bring glory to God by his death, as well as by his life. He does so when he bears it pa- tiently, does not murmur, exhibits sensible peace, enjoys evi- dent hope of a better world, testifies to others of the truth and consolation of the Gospel, and leaves broad evidences of the reality of his religion behind him. He that so ends glorifies God. The deaths of Latimer, Ridley, Hooper, Bradford, Rog- ers, Rowland Taylor, and many other English martyrs, in the days of Queen Mary, were said to have done more good even than their lives, and to have had immense influence in helping forward the Protestant Reformation.
[And when...t7ds...saith... Follow Me.] The precise meaning of this short and emphatic phrase is not very plain.
(a) Some think that it must be interpreted literally, and that our Lord simply meant, " Follow Me in the direction where I am now going. We have tarried here long enough. Let us be going." At first sight this seems a thin and weak interpre- tation. But before we reject it entirely, we should carefully observe the language of the next verse.