The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 1 — Section 353

marvel is "mphatiMlly al'Nleted (see vcr. tively dcclnting them to be cilher right 2S) until they should rcl'Ognize to the or wrong; e.g. ho claimed tho power to full the foct that, RB Son of God and Son of Bfty, "Thy sins be forgiven;" "'l'by foith m1m. be would cnll all the d<>ad from their bath t1wcd thee ; " " It is better for this graves. Thoma finds admirable juetifkntion nmn th:i.t he hnd never been born ; " "Come for this representation by th~ Johannist of unto me; " "Depart from mo ; " "I never tbe l\leseianie Jnclge, a.like in the Book of knew you.'' These and o.ll hie other judg- Daniel. in the syuoptic Gospels, in the ments on scribes nnd Pharisees, on devils P11,t1line Epistles, and Apocalypse I and hypocrites, on Pilato nnd Herod, on Vers. 80-40.-{c) The ,oitn688 borne to Jerusnlem and the world, nre revelations ot th-cl,aims. the Father's mind-are in themselves just Ver. 80.-The Lord, still preserving the juclgments, absolutely free from any self- consciousnese of hie own ego, oontinuee to hood, from any reflex influence or reaction speak tbrough human lips to human ears. from men to himself. Tbey nre the true He deprecates the critfoism, "Who and what and infallible expression of the Divine will. canst thou be, :that thou shouldst execute Because of the entire conformity of his will jndgment, or bring 118 to thy ba.r, or oompel and himself to the Divine will, the judg- us to oome from our hidden plaoes to thy ment must correspond to thnt which is, in judgment-ROOt?" It is not a.e mere m:i.n its very n11tnre, right and true. If this be that he will judge the world; God will so, we cn.u scnrcely refrain from asking, judge through him. Moreover, the equ:i.lity "Wherein, then, lies the consolation and of'' life" 11,nd "honour" and "authority" encouragement derivable from the fact that he has with the Father, as the veri- that the execution of judgm.ent is placed for table Son of God, is nevertheless a life dc- man's sake in the h11nds of the Son of man?" rived, a being generated, an honour giren. It lies here, thnt the Incarnation is perfect ; He here opens up on this basis a new class that the mo.nhood hllll not obliterntcd the of instruction, and proceeds to cxplnin the Divinity, nor , the Godhead absorbed the threefold nuture of the testimony home to manhood, of the Christ. The human con~ hie present clnim to be the Representative scionsnese of .the Son becomes the bneis and co-Agent of the Father. He goes back for the Father's judgment, which is uttered• in these words to the great text of the dis- thns v.bsolutely and finliJ.ly through human course, nz. "My Father worketh hitherto, lips. It is impossible to imagine thoughts· and I work" (ver. 19). I (the,,,,:, is very· like these arising in the mind of some' emphv.tic, the individuv.1 standing before thinker of the second century. Great as them ossociv.tes himself, and is identified, the prologue to this Gospel unquestionably with the one Being who, as Son of God and is, this unveiling of the heart of the Son Son of man, hv.s done, is doing, and will yet of God incamnte is immeo.snrably greater. do, wonderfnlthinge)-1 can of mine own self, The consciousness ·of Chlist is unique. from any separate or self-originating source Neither legend nor imagination, to sat in myself, apart from the Father, do nothing. nothing of history, ha.'I ever transcended it.. Be subsequently said to hisdiseiples, "With- Here, too, the enormous difi"erence between, out me ye can do nothing." Be claims a the J ohannine Christ and the Philonio Logos higher source than himself for all hie own comes into startling prominence. power (liilvli.µ,s ). When referring to the Ver. 31.-At this poiut the Lord proceeds l!ll,IIl8 subject (vem 19, 20), he drew his to meet the clamour which most probably illustration from the sense of sight. The arose, tho doubt and questioning which F11.ther " shows" to .him, and he " sees" all broke the silence with which hie solemn things that the Father doeth. Here he defence had been received. We can hear adds, with special reference to the last and between the lines the c1·iee of an excited consummnting manifesmtion ofrelntion with crowd, declaring thv.t these w.ords are simply tbe Fatber, As I hear, I judge: and myjudg- his own. Such testimony ns this to himself ment of men is righteous ; because I seek not must be sustained and sanctioned. Why my own will, but the will of him 1 who sent me. and how cv.n this Tev.cher take such ground Christ refers to his judgment.s of absolution as to assert about himself what no prophet, or condemnstion upon things or men, posi- no rabbi, no chief priest of the people, riot even the greatest man of men, Moses him, 1 The ,ra:rp&s of T.Il. rests on E, G, li, seU, had ever de.red to claim? Christ admits M, S, U, V, e.nd numerous cnrsivea; but that such assumptions as these need juelifi • rejected by the Revised Version, Meyer, cation and a~proval over and above his M •Clella.n, Godet, ll.B well as Tischendorf ipse dizit. The words that follow are (8th wit.), Westcott nnd Hort, .Alford, startling: ll I bear witneBB oonoerning my. 'b,;gelles, with II(, A. B, D, K, L, A, twelve 1elf, my witness iB not true. .At first sight cnreivea, with several Italic manuscripts, this is in direct contradiction to eh. viii. 14; Yulgate, Syriac, Coptic, and Fathers, where, in reply to the Pharisees' "Thou t!II. V, 1-1i.] 'rtlE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO S'l'. JOHN. 21!)