The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 1 — Section 312

ovor months in silence? It wonlcl ha.ve lity with Jewish narrowness o.n,! re,erve, i~ beon as easy to say "two months" as to sa.y out of keeping with tho facts. A genuin,i '' two days," and, to ordino.ry hnmnn judg- heathen would have been as easy to invent ment, more no.turn.I. These " two days" left as a susceptiblo Sam:uitan. "The Saviour an ineffo.ceable memory on the heart of one of the world " is one of the noblest and most at least of these disciples, and the mention accurate terms in all the Bible to denote of it has upon the face of it tho mark of the work of Christ. It is the outcome of a histori oity. discourse and of teaching which led men to Vore. 41, 42.-And very many more be• the idea.of spiritual am! sincere worsliip of the lieved, during tho.t visit, by reason of his word Father, which searched for moral conditions -Ohriet'e own word. We know not what rather than orthodox ritual, which demanded the word wne, but the specimens which purity of life more than outward observance, John has recorded make us certain that and treated doing the will and work of the torrents of living water Jlowed from his lips. I1'ather as more indispensable than neces,.ary He was moving in the full power of the food. We need not be surprised (Act. viii.) Spirit. He wo.s unveiling the nature of to find the outcome of this sojourn of the that "salvation" whioh was, as he said, Divine Lord among the misunderstood and "from the Jews;" but a so.lvation which hated Samaritans. 'fhe effort oftheTiibingen affected and was ndo.pted to the whole world. school to find in this narraLive an idealization And they (repeatedly) eBid to the woman (the of the synoptic tradition of Christ's special play of o.orist and imperfect tenses tbrongh- beneficence towards the Samaritans is very out this passage is very noteworthy), No unfortunate, becanse, in Matt. x. 5, the longer do we believe by reason of thy speak- "twelve" were forbidden to enter into cities ing. The word l\.czl1.1cl. does not generally of the Samaritans, aud advised to occupy all connote so serious a meaning as l\.o-yos. The their energies in ernngeliziog the cities of first word is used for " uttero.hce" pure and Israel. The record of Acts viii. affords very simple (Matt. xni. 73), and for the inarticu- slender bnsis for 11, corresponding enlar 6e- late voices of lower creatures as well, while meut. The narrative before us shows that, l\.o-yos and "-•'Y"v never have the latter in answer to thereceptivi.tyof the Samaritans, meaning; but atill 71.al\.,cl. is used in classical the Lord made the richest and fullest and Greek for "discourse," and in eh. viii. 43 most explicit and immediate revelation of is used by Christ of hie own " utterance." himself. The extension of the kingdom of Meyer says tbr, ~rm is purposely chosen grace to Samaritans, o.nd their incorporation from the standi,oint of the speaker, while in iuto the body of Obrist, was nrrested by th~ ver. 39 71.&-yos is used of the same 71.al\,cl. by need of the visit of the apostles, by the magic St. John as n1irrator. The above are the and hypocrisy of Simon; of which there is only times the term is found in the New not here the slighte:;t trace. 'I'estament. For we have ourselves heard, and we know-fully, by pe1·sono.l intuition Vere. 43-5-1.--S. The CO'lllmencement of (we might ho.ve expected ~-yvwµev here)- the Galila!an ministn;. We read the det11ils that this is indeed the Saviour of the world.' of the G.ililrean miui,try in the synoptists, This sublime description only occurs in one other plil.ce in the New Testament (viz. I who describe our Lad's public 6ntra.nce, in John iv. 14), and here it falls from the lips the power of the Spirit, into Galilee (Matt. of a Samaritan. There is no improbability iv. 12; Mark i. 14; Luke iv. H). They are tha.t it should have expressed the thought silent with reference to these ee.rliest wit- of Samaritans, for they entertained wider nesses to his method aud varied specimens and less natioualized views thun did the of his work. Just as in the Revelation of Jews. llaur's notion, that the author wished t.o contrast heathen or Gentile susceptibi- St. John we hnve a proem, and a series of visions which rehearse the entire develop- 1 6 xpun&r does occur in some manusoripts, ment of the kingdom and glory of the Lamb Kand 116. 'l'ischendorf(Sth eclit.)introduoes of God -_until the day of his triumph, his dl\116ws, on very small authority; but Tre.- wrath;and his great glory; so in these earlier gelles, La.chnmun, Tischendorf (Sth edit.), Westcott and Hort, and Revised Ve1·sion chapters of the Fourth Gospel we ho.ve un omit t, Xp,u-r&s of T.R., whioh has sixteen anticipation of the entire ministry of Messiah. unoial manuscripts and many oursives and Specimens and illustrations are given of his some Fathers in its favour, on the authority creative might, of his purifying energy, of of ~. B, 0, etc., Italic, Vulgate, Coptic, and his forecast of the cross, of his dcmaud for quotations by Origen, Iren1Bue, and Hero.- oloon. Godet here admits that it is moro inwnrd and radical renewo.l of his promise easy to aooount for the addition than for and gift of lite. Wo Cl\n read iu these the rejeotion oft, Xpur-r6s. events his prinoiples of judgment and his  176 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN. [OB. IV, 1-54,