The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 1 — Section 175

growth or a legend from prepared eourcee of 11,blo to interpret Luke in hnrmony with the Hebrew trnclition, nnd cndertvonre to o.ggm- main conception of Matthew 11nd .John the.n vate into irreconcilable discrepa.ncy the to press the latter into forced h11.rmony with various accounts; Baur and Hilgenfeld e.c- the former. (5) Tbe gree.t difficulty is the centunto the objectively supemnturo.l portent, expression, f7lilµD.T11<rj ,16«. But surely the eo as the more ea.sily to put it into the region prophetic mind was accustomed to dwell in of ignorant superstition; others find the hint the midst of similar visual shapes of spiritual or sign of Gnostic handling; nncl Keim sug- things. There was r7wµ.a.-ri1<hv ,i'oos enough in gests tho.t it is the poetic colouring which ll the cherubim,olive trees, horses,armies, vials, later age unconeciously attributed to the and cities of the Apocalypse, and therA were Baptist and the Christ. Let it be noticed: "voices" hee.rd 1by Ezekiel, Hosea, Elijo.h, (I) That the present Gospel does not nug- and by John himself which coulrl be, were, ment, but diminishes, the mirnculous element and even must hP, descrihecl in terms of e.e compared with the synoptic narrative. physical facts, which no interpreters have The 'Goepel of the Hebrews' added further ever felt compelled to transfer into the region embellishments still. Our Gospel com- of phenomena. There are still intensely pels us to believe that the mind of the vivid intuitions of spirituRl fact which tran- Baptist we.s the chief region of the miracle. scend all sensible or logical proof. If John (2) The author of this Gospel might, if he so.wand h£"anl these things so far as hie own had chosen, he.ve selected his own experience consciousness was concerned, there is enough on the Mount of Tre.nsfigure.tion in vindica- to account for every peculiarity of the narra- tion of e. Divine e.tteste.tion of the Sonship; tive. He saw the Shcchinah-glory hovering but he preferred to foll be.ck upon the testi- over the Lord Jesus, officially consecrating mony of his revered master. Peter, Jo.mes, e. human personality. The dovelike (C:,, o.nd John were unprepared for what they saw ,rep1r7T<pciv) form e.nd mnlion taken by the e.nd hee.rd on the.t occasion: e.nd Peter knew heavenly light reminded him of the brood- not whe.t he said, so great was the e.wful ing of the Spirit of God upon the primreval wonder that fell upon him then. Here, how- watera. He looked into the face of the Holy ever, is recorded a vision for which the mind One of God-majesty and meekness, Divine ofthegreo.t forerunner was prepared. He ex- glory, hume.n gentleness, a sanctity as of the pected to see theSpiritof God in some manner holy ple.ce, e. freedom as of the birds of blend his energy with the.t of the individual hee.ven, force like that of the steeds of the who would prove to be the Be.ptizer with risin~ sun, in we.rd peace like the calm of a the Holy Ghost. (3) John does not discrimi- brooding dove, transfigured the Lnrd. This nate the methods of the two commnnications, dovelike splendour abode upon him, passed e.nd from this narrative all the.t could be into him; and the voice (the invincible inferred positively is that the mind of John, conviction, the resistless consciousness that by objective or subjective process, of which often can find no other expression the.n we know nothing, received the communico.- " Thus saith the Lord") was heard, " This tion and the sacred impression. (4) The is my beloved Son," etc. We cannot say synoptic nano.tivc, prima Jacie, differa from what John saw; we know what he said; this representation. At e.ll events Luke iii. and it covered the consciousness of the most 21, 22 spee.ks of "oponed heavens," "tho stupendous reality yet enacted on the earth. Holy Spirit in bodily form as a dove," 11nd Tha.t which John had been taught to pre• e. voice addressed to the Lord, "Thou art dict e.s approaching wa.s now seen to have my beloved Son ; in thee I e.m well pleased." e.ctue.lly come about. He who baptizeth This account is to.ken by Strauss o.s the key with the Holy Ghost has commenced his to the other three, and he urges th11t they wondrous mission. (6) The whole qnestion must e.11 be interpreted in harmony with it. 11s to the relation of the Holy Spirit and the But from the time of Origen, the exegesis of Logos-the relation between tlle statement Matthew's account no less emphatice.lly ste.tes ofver.13 e.nd vers. 31-33-demands special ( i.e. if with De Wette, Bleak, Baur, and Keim, consideration. A few words here may suffice. we te.ke 6 Jwdvv71s e.s the subject of eioev) that Be.ur, Eichhorn, e.nd others have urged that John saw the Holy Spirit descending like e. either the Ao-yo• und nvevµ.a. a.re identica.l, dove e.nd coming upon (Christ) him, and e.nd that that which John mee.ns(vers.1-H) the.t the voice we.a addressed to John, "This by the Logos he e.fterwe.rds resolvea into is my beloved Son," etc. In Mark's account the pneuma, or tbe.t this scene e.ud these the ef6ev and a~Tov a.re susceptible of the words a.re incompatible with the prologue. so.me interpretntion. It should be observed It is true that Philo and Justin(' Apo!.,' L that Luke's narrative cleo.rly implies thnt 33) do nse the two terms as practically our Lord's baptism took ple.ce at some un- identiool. But J ohu he.s recorded our Lord'11 specified opportunity, and simply gives the own words as to the antithesis of the 1rveiiµ.a summing up of the impression produced and o·dp( (eh. iii.), rleclaring in his prologue upon the mind of John, It is more ree.son- that the Logos is tho Source of all the life JOBN, »  34 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN. [011. I. 1-tll -------------------------------- ------- RlHl light of rnC'n, nnrl 1.hl\t tho Logos Mmo be equnlly inadcquntc oxcg~sis l.o suppose into tho world nncl h('{\flme flesh. Now, if that no comru1111ic,1tion was then ma.do to the John did not Rbide firmly in this thou~ht, sROred humanity which ho.cl been foshioncrl he would hRve repre8ented inMmRte God RS by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin, undergoing the process of regenerRtiou Rt and by which he became from tho first " tho his baptism, thn,u which nothing would bt> Son of God." The Lord's humnnity did more nbhorrent to his entire theory of the become alive to the solemn o.nd nwful respon- Christ. The relations of the Logos nnd the sibilities of this public recognition. He Pneuma to ench other Rnd to the :Father, knew that the hour was come for hieMeseillnio metaphy~ically considered, nre pl'ofoundly activity, 1m,l tho distinct o.dmission of this intricnte, but the relations of Fnther, ,vord, was the basis of each of the <lie.bolio temp- nnd Holy Spirit to the Person of the Lord t.ations from which he immedintcly eulfored. ,Jesus hR ,•e been several times Rsserted by There was a unique i:lory in this sonehip the Rpostles, Rnd cnnnot be interchanged which differed from nil other usuge of the (see my' John the Baptist,' lect. v.; Lucke, anme phrase. lllany an Orientnl mystic nnd • Comm. tiber d. Evang. Joh.,' vol. i. pp. Egyptian pharaoh and even Roman emperor 433-H3) had thus described themselves; but the Yer. 34.-I for my part have seen and Baptist did not speak of himself in this or have borue testimony that this is the Son of anv other sense as "Son of God." Thero God. The Old l·estament standpoint which wa·s flashed into his mind the light of o. John occupied enabled him from the first Divine relationship between Jesus I\.Ild the to identifv the Messiah with the "Son of Father which convinced him of the pre- God;" but surely this is the record of the existing life of him who was chronologically first occasion when the Bllptist recognized coming after him. It wae probably this the token that One who sustained suoh re- momentous utterance which led to the depu- lation with the Father stood before him. tation of the Sanhedrin, and induced them There is much in this Gospel and the sy- to ask for the explanation of o. mystery tran- noptic narrative to show that the disciples scending all that John had ~aid from "the (!'llatt. xvi. 16, 17) identified the j Christ cfay of his showing unto Israel" (see. my with the Son of God. The tempter and the 'John the Bllpti~t,' lect. vi. § 1). Mnny com- demoniacs are familiar with the idea (Matt, mente.tors here encounter the unquestionable iv. 1-11; Mark iii. 11; v. 7). The high difficulty of John the Ba.ptiet's mes~a.ge from priest at the trial o.nd the Romo.n centuriou the prison. I prefer to discuss it at the close (Matt. x:ni G;;; x..uii 40; Mark xiv. 61), of eh. iii. (see my 'John the Baptist,' lect. Nathe.nael (eh. i 49), Martha (eh. xi. 27), vii. : "The Ministry of the Prison"). Here hail him as Son of God. Though the Lord it is aufficieut to observo that the vivid in- for the most part preferred to speak of him- tuition and revelation which John obto.ined self as "Son of wan," yet in this Goepel touching the deep things of God in Ch1·ist, (eh. v.19-23; "l'L 40; L 36) he frequently and the vast and far-reo.ching testimonies cla.ima this lofty designation. Nor i8 it con- which he bore to the Son of God, to the Bap- fined to this Gospel, for in Matt. :i.L 25-27, tizer with the Holy Ghost, the pre-existent we have practically the same confession. glory of him that came after him, and to "the Now, the declaration of this verse is in inti- Lamb of God which tllketh away the sin of mate connection with what precedes. Neither the world,'' were, nevertheless, in the evange- the Baptist nor the evangelist implies that, lut's mind hutorically coincident with the by Christ's baptism, and by that which John fact that John never did unite himself to the saw of the dt:iscent aud o.Lid.ing of the Spirit circle of Christ's immediate followers. The upon the Lord, he was tLere and then "John" of the Fourth Gospel remained in constituted "the Son of God." From this an independent position-friendly, rejoicing misapprehension of the Gospel arose the in the Bridegroom's voice, but not one of Gnostic-Ebionite view of the heavenly hie followers. The preparatory work with Soter deacending on Christ, to depart from which he began his ministry he continued him at the Crucifix.ion. The main signifi- and pursued to the tragic end. cance of the entire pe.Iagraph is the special Vers. 35-51.-3, The first discip"les, and re,·elation given to John, his consequent illu- their teBtimony. mination and momentoW1 testimony, one tliat Vere, 35-ll9.-(l) John directs hill own liRilk into the soul of hie moat BUBceptible discip"les to JeBUB. discipl.,s, and thllll made this declonition the Vt:r. 35.-0n the morrow, again lohn was "troe birll,,-hour of ChriMwndom" (Ewald, lltanding, and two from hie diaoiplea ; imply- Meyer). The narrative does not imply that ing that there were many others within Christ's own consciouanel!II of Di vine BOnahip hearing of his voice, or, at least, under his then commenced. He knew who he we.a influence. 'fhe imperfect telllle of the verb when he spoke, at twelve 7eaz11 of age, of ,lu-rfi,m suggests the idea tho.t he was Wlli ting .. the b1Wllell8 of my Father; " but it would for some fresh 1rn11ouncement, sowe provi- CH, I, 1-61.) 'l'IIE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN. --------------------------- dontial evont, to determine his course. The which up to this time had united the rlis- "ng,dn" refers bock to ver. 29. Much must ciples to Jnhn, o.nd made them conspiilunns bo rend between tho lines RB to theso dis- for ever in the group which "follolV tho ciples, their excited interest in the words LAmh whitheraoever he goeth." "Primm el1·e1llly uttered by their mnster. origi11cs ecclesire Chrietianre" (Bengel). Vor. 3G.-And steadfastly regarding (eee Ver. 38.-ThenJesna turned-hearing their Mork x. 21, 27; Luke xx. 17; xxii. 61)- footfall, he welcomed their sincere apprnar-h, with cngor and penetruting glance, as though attentive e.s he ever was to the faintest ~omethi □ gmight be leorned from hie slightest indication of genuine foith and desire for movements-Jesus as he walked;" walked," his best gifts-and beheld them following not townrde John, as on the previons dny, (6•~6.u-cu is used of intense gaze at that which but in some opposite direction. This implies is august and wonderful, vers. 14, 32; 1 John thot their relative functions were not identi- i. 1; but used also of special ancl interestecl cal, and not to be confowided. This ie the contemplation, Matt. vi. 1 ; eh. vi. 5), le.at time when the Baptist and the Christ and he saith to them, What s~ek ye 1 Tha were together, and the sublime meekness of first words of Jesus, as recorder! in this John, and hie surrender of all primary claims Gospel, reveal the ince.rnate Logos, onointed to deference, throw liglit on the unspeakable of the Holy Spirit, beginning to search the and gentle dignity of Jesus. Re saith, heart and anticipate the unuttered questions :Behold the Lamb of God. The simple phrase, of humanity. He assumea their desire for without further exposition, implies that he the.t which he alone can supply. They, on was recalling to their minds the mighty seeing their Christ, the Son of God, all appellatiou which he had bestowed upon the humanly before them, do not fall at his feet, Saviour on the previous day, with all the but e.prroach him as a human teacher, and additional interpretation of the term with give him the ordinary honorific title of a. which it had then been accompanied. The wise, competent instructor. They said llllto brevity of the cry here marks the emphasis him, Rabbi (which is, being interpreted, which it bore, and the rich associations it Teacher). The parenthetic clause reveals already conveyed. The testimony to the the fact that the Gospel was written for Gen- metliod by which John had, at least in part, tile readers. The title "Re.bbi" was a moclem arrived at the conclusion is very remlll"kable. one, only dating from the days of Hillel, Jesue would not have fulfilled in John's about B.C. 30, a.nd therefore needing inter- mind the prophetic oracle of the Divine pretation. Where e.bidest thou 1 Renan Lamb, or the sacrificiul offering for the sin founds on this phrase "Rabbi " the supposi- of the world, if steps hod not been taken to tion the.t, when John and Jesm meet, they convince John that he was the veritable Son a.re both surrounded by groups of followers. of God. No mero human nature, but only The narrative is written to convey a precisely that humanity which was an inclll"no.tion of opposite conception. Christ did not refuse the Eternal Logos, und filled with the abiding this •• courtesy title" (Matt. x:riii. 8 ; eh. of the Holy 8pirit, could be God's Lamb. xiii. 13), and we can gather nothing else Cf. hero the remarkable fact that it was when from the narrative. The q ue~tion itself re- ihe disciples ho.d lea.rued more clearly anJ veals the minJ of the o,angelist. Iu tho grasped more firmly tile idea of his Divine opinion of all writers (fo:rnurable and hostile), sonship that the Lord repeatedly proceeded the writer, according to a. deliberate method to explain to them the o.pproach of his adopted by him, wished to imply that be was sacrilicial sufferings and death. As Son of one of the two disciples who first left the God, ~ie must die for man (Matt. xvi. 21; Baptist to attach themselves to Jesus. The Luke 1x. 22, 43, 44; eh. xvi. 29-32). --r;ery form of the question adds to the proba- Ver. 37.-And the two dieoiples heard him bility. It is a characteristic longing of the speak, and they followed-became followers clisciple, whom Jesus loved so well, to bo ot'.--.Tesus. Thie event, if not profoundly near and with his Master. He cnwed no symbolic (os Godet says), is typical of the laconic phrase, no solitary word, but some whole process which has gone on in augment- more prolonged fellowship, some undisturbed ing rapidity from that day to this. If Jesus communion and instruction. The varied were what John said, if they were able on emotions of that dny, moreo--r;er, were con- hie showing to grasp this much concerning spicuously reproduced in the solemn title the Lord, they would find in him what John which tho son of Zebedee most persistently couM never be to them. John mi"ht awaken appliecl to his glorified Lord in th1e Apocn- the sense of sin, peril, shame, a;cl four; he lypse. More tlian thirty times be refers to bad no power to allay it. The lonely Christ him as " the Lamb." has as yet not called one disciple into his Ver. 39.-He saith to them, Come, and ye fellowship, but as Lamb of God he has power shall see. 1 "A paruble of the messag.:- llf to draw all men to himself. The word now spoken was enough. It divided the bond 1 The rer.ding 6,/,•o-9• is preferred to that  36 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN. [on. 1. 1-61,