The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 1 — Section 357

him." Thi• lnn,(:'nngc of the prologue shows thf\n with 1he supposed oomlmmd. The lbnt th!' true re,·t>lnt.ion of the l•'athet''B IJord Bllys, "You hnvo B lhird gref\t teetl• h!'Rrt wn• not cw•n granted to the noblest mony to my elnim, aud yet you o.ro not pre• of tbc B<'CTS nnd pRt.riarchs. Su~.h runnifos, pl\red to accept it." Ye ,earch the Sonp• 1nt.ions as !he visions of the Old Testament t11re& The verb lp,ii1111.11 is used (eh. vii, AAint.s were not the veritable voice or form 52; 1 Pet. i. 11 : Rom. viii. 27 : 1 Oor. ii. of tbo Father. Should m[lnkind ever obtain 10) for minutA. prolonged scnrch. Tha kind \'"is1on or ,iudition of thL Father, it must b" of investigation which the rabll1s spent npon • t.ln·ough the presence &mong them of him the text o.nd letter of the Holy Scriptures ia who hRd been for ever in the bosom of the a proverb, and led to the nllegoriool mysti• F[lther. Though these cnptious critics were cal meanings of the Gemnrns and other in a position to hRve received this revelation Hebrew literature. "Ye search the Scrip- nf the Higl,est, they hnd not done so. " y.,, Mes" mther tho.n the living Word, rather /iat>e neither heard a ooice of him, nor aeen than the Divine menning 11nd messo.ge from a form of him. You might have seen &nd the living God which they do contain. This heard e.nd h11.ndled if you hnd ohoscn, but is one term out of me.ny which the Lord yon will not come to me, yon will not believe employed for the B11cred literal11re which mo, you will not yield to my claims as One was the great heritage of the Hebrew sent to vou from the Father I " people. Elsewhere he called it "the Law," Ver. 38.-Ancl. further, you have not his " tho Law and prophets," "Moses and the Word. (TON AOrON A'l'TO'f) &bid.ing in prophets," "your Law," "the wisdom of you. The Word of the Father (for the airrcii Gotl." He admits their study, prolonged refers to the Fatber), i.e. the full ei;:pression &nd cager, of the snored writings, ond he of the Father's heart, was sounding through justifies the ground o.nd motive ,of. such the voice of the Son of God, nnd might h&ve se&reh, viz. : because ye think in them ye entered into and become an abiding power have eternal life; or, ye shall have, or shall in their inmost conscience &nd their spiritual find., eternal life. Some powerful critics, life; but they ho.d not received the" Word" like Meyer, urge tho.t our Lord agrees so of the Lord through tile " Voice" of the f&r with the Jews, th&t he sympe.thizes Lord. The reason given is, Beo&use him with their search, f\nd the.t censure or ironi-• whom he (tile Father) sent, him (this eal le.nguage would be inconsistent with the One) ye believe not. In other wordB, "Your Saviour's reverence for the Scriptures. But la.ck of faith in me o.ccoun ts for your perverse tho expression is very unusual -on th&t 'lly- misoon<'eption, for your in&bility to see and pothesie, "Ye think [or,• imagine'] ye have heo.r o.11 that there is of the Father's persona.I in them," rather thnn " ye hnve through testimony to me." Some snspect a petitio th.;m." Surely our Lord is here condemn- prindpii in this argument, but the reasoning ing the superstitions idea th&t, in the mere seems to be ili.is; there is abund&nt evidence, possession of the letter, they were possessors corroboration, and co-operative glory, affirm. of the eternal life: thnt, &pa.rt from the iu-. ing the truth of &11 that Christ h&s said dwelling Word, a.po.rt from the bee.rt of the about himself as the Source of life e.nd Judge message itself, some mngieal o.dv&nta.ge was of man; but the mor&l BUBCeptibility of his springing. Hillel, whose view of Scripture· hearers is paralyzed, e.nd their fe.ith in tha may be expressed in n saying (' Aboth,' ii, most fundamental fa.CUI of theil' own ex- 8), "He who has gotten to himself words perience is at fault. They seem imporvioua, of the Law h&th gotten to himself the life not only to Christ's Word, but t.o the cor- of the world to come," here cillfera utterly roborative testimonies themselves. from the Lord, who, on the doctrine of Vera. 39, 40.-{6) The witneu of flie Scrip- Holy Scripture, takes ground similf\r to tures. th&t which he had ta.ken with reference to Ver. 39.-Ye search the Scriptures. A the temple and the sabbath. It is not large number of commentatora, from Chry- the bare possession of tho Scriptures, nor BOStom nnd Augustine to Lutller, Tholuck, the prolonged exe.mine.tion of its mere Hen,,..,1,P,nberg, M•Clellan, Luthardt, and letter, that is the condition of eternnl life. Ewald with the Authorized Version, rege.rd "Search " which is originated and stimu- tlw .i: an impP.rative comm&nd. Tllis is l&ted bf a vague iden of the life-giving grammatical, and corresponds tothelanguage for<'.e o the letter, is illnsive.. We mo.y of Isa. xxxi v. 16; but wil h Cyril, Bengel, U1,ttJ& that in them we ho.ve etern&l lift-, De Wette, Meyer, Godet, Lange, Westcott, but our Lord would undeceive DB. More-' Plummer, Watkins, we think the whole con- over, from the depths of hie own conscious- text deme.nds the indicative. The second ness and Jmo,·ledge of his own mission, cl&use •• because in them," etc., follow■ fa.r he o.dds : And they are they whioh testify more &>riously upon an assertion than upon OOD.cel'Ding me. 'fhis is one of the key, a precept. The " ye will _not " th~t ~oll~w• notes of New Testament tee.ohing, viz. u far more iu harmony with the 1nd1eo.t1vc Christ's idea of the Old Tostnment, that .- CH, V, 1-47.] 'l'HE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN. 223