The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 1 — Section 3

law, we hRve either to modify our notion of the law in order to take in this new case, or else to allow that it passes beyond our law altogether. 3. Now we have before us here a unique work end a presumed author. The more the Fourth Gospel has been focussed in the light of criticism, the more convinced do we become that it is the work of one extraordinary mind. We cannot tear it to )1ieces and say, "Thie paragraph belongs to one decade, and that to another; this to Jerusalem, and that to Alexandria; this to Galilee, and that to Ephesus." Whenever or by whomsoever this Gospel was produced, it was fashioned by one strangely gifted man. On this the bulk of critics are agreed. 'I'he question, then, arises-ls it a record, or is it a dream? Is it the testimony of an eye-witness and ear-witness to certain events, or is it the speculation of a philosopher concerning some analogous events? Is it a page of biography, or is it the artistic clothing of an idea? Is it of priceless value as the outpouring on the ear of an intimate frienrl of the inner life and consciousness of One whom the writer did not hesitate to r,all the incarnate Word of God, or is it the poetic and artistic exposition of a reverence which knew no bounds, but did not hesitate to create facts and imagine teachincrs in harmony with such a subtle and stupendous idea as that of the Son of God who.,had taken a perfect humanity up into his own consciousness? Answers have been given in the affirmative to each of these alternatives. The pro- blem, however, is further complicated because the presumed author is almost certainly pro".en to be the a~~hor of anot]ier work of strangely ~itferent character. 'I'he style, motive, mental posit10n, end attitude of the Apocalyptic seer of Patmos seem widely diverse from those of the disciple whom Jesus loved. If he who saw the Lord on the Lake of Galilee, and heard his dying cry upon the cross, beheld him afterwards in the midst of the throne of God, his experience was momentous and unique ; and if the same eyes that looked into the soul of Jesus till they saw the heavenly Father there, also saw in vision the small and great, the quick and dead, come to his eternal judgment; if he who described the washing of the disciples' feet actually penned the fall of "Babylon the Great ; "-then in this "author" we have one of the most astounding phenomena in the history of humanity. His character, functions, and powers, by their spread, their compass, and their intensity, become almost as wonderful e. presentment to our thought as that of the great theme of all his meditations. The personality of John becomesalruost as great a puzzle to scientific history as the personality of Jesus. Modem methods of determining authorship or of repudiating authorship had not been completed when the sublime personality of" John the divine" took possession of the Christian consciousneBB. The en.rly ages were·uncritical; yet they were not blind to the difficulties involved in recognizing the unity of the author of the Fourth Gospel and of the Apocalypse. Some of these lie upon the surface, and we find that Dionysius of Alexandria, in a passage preserved by Eusebius (' Hist. Eccl.,' vii. 10, 24, 25), felt aB keenly as any modern critic does the contrasts of method, style, theme, that the two documents offer to a cursory gaze (see section VII. 5. (4) of these prolegomena). Yet these scepticisms took no seriollB hold upon the mind of Christendom. Where they were most acutely realized the shadow of doubt fell rather upon the Apocalypse than upon the GospeL 4. The striking difference, however, between the Divine theme of the Gospel and Epistles on the one side, and that of the world-conquering Prince of the kings of the earth on the other, is mysteriously confirmed by the traditions which have gathered round the venerable name of John. Thus EusebillB (' Hist. EccL,' iii. 28) tells us that John was to tL., close of his life a man of fiery enthusiasm and severe judgment on those the.t bLu.phemed and resisted the authority of the Lord; for once, "having entered a bath to wash., but ascertaining that Cerinthus was within, he leaped out of the place and fled from the door, not enduring to enter under the same roof with him, and exhorted those with him to do the same, saying, 'Let us flee, lest the bath fall in, as long as Cerinthue, that enemy of the truth, is within'" (cf. here 1 and 2 Epistles of John). Here ie the Boanerges who would call down fire from heaven upon those Samaritans who wero unmindful of their obligations w the Saviour of the world; and here also ie the author of the visions of the Apocalypse. But tradition also preserved the exquisite feature of character wl,ich induced him to say on all occasions to those who gathered round 4im1 "Little chj.ldreri. 101 e one aDC"',her; if you do this, all is qowi."  'l'BE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST..JOHN. V