The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 1 — Section 349

under this tC"rm. it mRy be, the phylli.c:-1\l has me.de the entire juridical procc~s which healing whfoh is oft.en the pTeCursor nud brings to light. the csscntil\l tendencies ot condition nf ~pirih1Rl nwakening &nd moral human hearts, issue from tho reception given he&lt.h &nd vigour. The Son, the inMrnate by man to the Son. The whole question of Logos, rC"...-ooling himself on e&rth, both ns right Rgninst wrong, of life 1Jers1i., dcoth, Logos and Son of mRn, it no,c quicke11fog acquittal ngninst condemnation, is deter- after the ~ame fashiOfl u,hom he toill. The mined by the Rttitude of men towards the will of Christ ie in euoh entire harmony Son. In many passages this plenipoten- with the Father's will that there is no tia.?y endowment of "the· Son" with funo- riVRlry here. The will of the Son ie in tions, powers, authorities, is expressed br, sponta.noom aooord with the Divine purpose this BRme word ca,~QJKf), .. he bath given • of resurrection and quickening. He is (ver. 36; oh. iii. 85; vi. 87, 39; x. 29; al.ready doing thus here on earth, as the xvii. 2, 4). Meyer limits the meo.ning of great organ of the Father, that which "Pc.,,. to "oondemnRtion," o.nd Stier includes makes bis will the revelation of the Father. in it the separation of sin from the life of be- There is no arbitrary decree, snch 89 Calvin lievers; but surely the judgment of the world found here, nor such 89 Reuss insists upon. is effected by the light that shines uponJt, The emphasis is simply upon the subjeot of and the essence of the judgment (Kplcris) ia the verb fli>..H; and we ha,e in the ex- the discrimination whioh info.Iliblyfollows the pression a vindication of the nineteenth revelation of the Father through the Son. verse, " The Son doeth that which he sees Ver. 23.-The purpose of the entire com- 'the Father doing." His own 8,>...71µ.a. being mission of jndgment to the Son, a bestow~ the origin and revealed centre on earth of ment which illustro.tes the quickening re- Divine ma.nifostntions. sult.a that he (who does the will of the V,:,r. 22.-That olis 6b,H is the point of Father) wills t,o effect, is now gathered to. connection wilh what follows, and that the a lofty climax, abundantly vindico.ting the Son qnickeneth whom he willeth, is more right he ho.d clo.imed· to call God his own clear,aeeingthat(-ya.p)theFather evenjndgea Father. It is as follows, in 01·der - that no man ; j ndgcs no man apart from the Son. all may honour the Son. . T,µw,nv, not wpo~ "Pater non judicat solus neo sine filio, cr,rwwaw (" honour," not "worsh_ip "), is the jndicat tamen (ver. 45 ; Acts xvi.i. 31 ; Rom. word used ; but seeing that the identical iii. 6)" (Bengel). The word Kpl11E< does sentiment of reverence due to the Supreme not mean exclnsively t>ither "condemn" or Being, to the Fo.ther, is that which is here " acqnit," but the exercise of jndicial func- said to be due to the Son, and is here declared tions whch will either acquit or condemn. to be the reason why11lljudgmentisentrusted As in eh.iii. 17, the "condemnation" is rather to the issues of his will,-we are at a losa inferred tho.n asserted. Moreover, we are to know how loftier nttributes could be there told that the Son wo.s not sent into ascribed to the Son. It is surprising that the world for the pmpose of jndgment, but Weiss should declare it "impossible to find for the larger purposes of salvation, and "to any statements here as to the metaphysical' give eterual life." Nevertheless, "life " to unity and equality of the Son and the some is jndgment to others, e.nd jndgment Father, although current apologetics be- even unto death is the obverse of the gift of lievA it he.s succeeded in doing· so " (' Life life when the conditions of life a.re not of Christ,' vol. ii. 326, note). Luthardt nska, found. In eh. i 39 Christ declares that "What other form of -r,µ11 than that which one solemn COT111equence of his coming was calls him 'Lord and God' shall belief now Eis Kplµ.a.., "unto jndgment "-to reveal the assume, than tha.t which the Christian final decisions of the Judge. How, then, Church cherishes toward Jesus?" Thoma shall we reconcile these apparently ineon- point.a to Epb. ii. 1-5; Col. ii. 11-13, and graous statements? Jndgment unquestion- other great parallels in the New Testnment. ably results from the rejection of the proffer We gladly accept them, not as proof that the of mercy. The jndgment rests on those Joha.nnist framed Christ's discourse from who say, "We see." Their sin remaineth. them, but as proof that the ideas of St; Paul Those who are not willing to be made were not originated by him, but came from whole remain unhealed. Those who love the direct assertions of Christ, of which we de.rlmees rather thau light abide in the have the historic trace, darkness. This is the jndgment, but this Ver. 24.-In this verse the discour~ judicial proceBS was (not the end, but) the turns from the relationa between the Father consequence of hie mission. The Father's and the Son, to deo.l with the relations of ordinary providence, whioh is always passing the living Obrist (the" I," who is speaking jndgment upon the lives of men, is now throughout) with men. In vers. 21-23", pl.eeed in the ho.nds of•• the Son." Howboit indeed vers. 19-23, the Lord had been he bath gi•en the whole judgment-i.e. the speaking prominently of the ideal sonship, judgment i.n ell its part.I-to the Bon. He of "the Son" on the Divine side of hi• Clll. \f. 1-47.] 'HIE GOSPEL ACCORDING 'l'O ST. JOHN. 215