ment and use. The law of the seed is the law of human life.—Ver. 25. @ φιλῶν . . . αὐτήν, he that so prizes his life [φιλοψνχεῖν is used in the classics of excessive love of life. See Kypke] that he cannot let it out of his own hand or give it up to good ends checks its growth. and it withers and dies: whereas he whe treats his life as if he hated it, giving i up freely to the needs of other men, shah
810
a ΄ > 9 sf τῷ κόσµῳ τούτῳ, els ζωὴν αἰώνιον φυλάξει αὐτήν.
26. ἐὰν ἐμοὶ
A > A , A - zMt xxv. "διακονῇ τις, ἐμοὶ ἀκολουθείτω" καὶ ὅπου εἰμὶ ἐγὼ, ἐκεῖ καὶ 6
che
πατήρ. a Gen. xli. 8.
b Heb. v. 7. pe > ἐκ τῆς ὥρας ταύτης. Jas. v. 20. 28
λελάληκεν.
keep it to life eternal. φυλάξει, ‘shall guard,”’ suggested by the apparent lack of guarding and preserving in the μισῶν. He has not guarded it from the claims made upon it in this world, but thus has guarded it to life eternal—Ver. 26. This law is applicable not to Jesus only, but toall: ἐαν ἐμοὶ . . . ἀκολουθείτω. The badge of His servants is that they adopt His method and aim and truly follow Him. The result of following necessarily is that ὅπου . . . ἔσται, “where I am, as my eternal state, there shall also my servant be”. διάκονος is especially a servant in attendance, at table or else- where; a δοῦλος may serve at a distance: hence the appropriateness of διάκονος in this verse. The office of διάκονος may seem a humble and painful one, but ἐάν τις [omit καὶ] . . . πατήρ, to be valued or honoured by the Father crowns life—Ver. 27. The distinct and near prospect of the cross as the path to glory which these Greeks called up in His thoughts prompts Him to exclaim: Niv ἡ ψυχή µου τετάρακται, “Νου is my soul troubled”. ψυχή is, as Weiss remarks, synonymous with πνεῦμα, see xiii. 21. A conflict of emotions disturbs His serenity. “' Concurrebat horror mor- tis et ardor obedientiae.” Bengel. καὶ τί εἴπω; ‘And what shallI say?” This clause certainly suggests that the next should also be interrogative, ‘‘ Shall I say, Father, save me from this hour? But for this cause (or, with this object) came I to this hour.” That is, if He should now pray to be delivered from death this would be to stultify all He had up to this time been doing; for without His death His life would be fruitless. He would still be a seed preserved and not sown.—Ver.28. Therefore He prays: Πάτερ δόξασόν σου τὸ ὄνομα. “' Father, glorify Thy name.” Complete that
27. “Nov ἡ ψυχή µου "τετάρακται: καὶ τί εἴπω;
3 ~ διάκονος 6 ἐμὸς ἔσται' καὶ ἐάν τις ἐμοὶ διακονῇ, τιμήσει αὐτὸν ὁ
πάτερ, σῶσόν
ἀλλὰ διὰ τοῦτο ἦλθον εἰς τὴν ὥραν ταύτην. πάτερ, δόξασόν σου τὸ ὄνομα. ΄Ηλθεν οὖν φωνὴ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, “Kai ἐδόξασα, καὶ πάλιν δοξάσω.᾽'
ἀκούσας έλεγε βροντὴν γεγονέναι.
29. “O οὖν ὄχλος ὁ ἑστὼς καὶ ἄλλοι ἔλεγον, '΄ Άγγελος αὐτῷ
30. ᾽Απεκρίθη ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν, “Od δι ἐμὲ αὕτη ἡ φΦωνὴ Ὑέγονεν, ἀλλὰ δι Spas.
31. viv κρίσις ἐστὶ τοῦ κόσμου
manifestation of Thy holiness and love which through me Thou art making; complete it even at the cost of my agony.—H)@ev οὖν φωνὴ . . . δοξάσω. ‘““There came, therefore, a voice out of heaven: I have both glorified it and will again glorify it.” However Jesus might seem in the coming days to be tossed on the sea of human passions, the Father was steadily guiding all to the highest end. The assurance that His death would glorify God was, of course, that which nerved Jesus for its endurance. He was not throwing His life away.— Ver. 29. Ὁ οὖν ὄχλος . . . λελάληκεν. The mass of the people which was stand- ing by and heard the voice did not Tecognise it as a voice, but said it thundered. Others caught, if not the words, yet enough to perceive it was articulate speech, and said that an angel had spoken to Him.—Ver. 30. ᾿Απεκρίθη ὃ ᾿Ιησοῦς, Jesus, hearing these con- jectures, explained to them that not on His account but on theirs this voice had been uttered. It was of immense im- portance that the disciples, and the people generally, should understand that the sudden transition from the throne offered by the triumphal acclamation of the previous day to the cross, was not a defeat but a fulfilment of the Divine purpose. The voice furnished them against the coming trial.—Ver. 31. It was a trial not so much of Him as of the world: viv κρίσις ἐστὶ τοῦ κόσμον τούτου. In the events of the next few days the world was to be judged by its treatment of Jesus. Cf. ili. 18, v. 27. Calvin, adopting the fuller meaning given to the Hebrew word “judge,” thinks that the restoration of the world to its legitimate rule and order is signified. A fuller explanation folfows in the clauses, viv ὃ Gpxov... ἐμαντόν.