The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 1 — Section 491

or (2) the Lord spoke hero to them as r-e- therefore the things which ye heard I from preeentin g the IBrge compCLny of Jeruealem the ' (J/ov.T) father; or, and you theTejOTe do opponents, whom ho !mew at that moment the things which ye heaTd from yov.T (atheT. to be planning hie deo.th, nncl ns o.11 orntore We need not, with Meyer, limit the Lord's o.nd debnlers nre in the he.bit of dealing vision of the Divine thin"s which he saw with opposing arguments by showing the with the Father to his p";-emunda.ne Per- character they assume in others, who make sonality. He describes himself in constant them their boost; or (3) those who had come communion with the Father. The Father to believe him up to a certnin point had ne is with him. He knows the mind and will rapidly relnpsed, at the first touch of spiri- and good pleasure of the Father. His is tual proof, into diebelief e.nd cruel hostility. the perfectly pure heart, which is as an eye This seems the more nature.I interpretation for evermore beholding the Father. That of the fact, which may, at the same time, the Only Begotten sees and knows what no have become patent from some angry mani- other sees, is constantly taught in this Gos- festation of his implacable foes. There is pel (see eh. iii. 32; vi. 46). In Christ, more- much to be found in the background and over, the disciple may verily see the Father scenery of this dramatic colloquy, reported (eh. xiv. 7, 9; 1 John ii. 23). The probable with such extreme brevity, which would, textnal reading given above would draw a if we exactly knew how to paint it, solve species of contrast between Christ's" seeing·• its difficulties. Ye seek to slay me, because (,rap<t. .,..,) with the :Father, and the Jews' my word-the word which is mine-ma.kes " bee.ring" ("''~" .,-oii) from the Father, as no progress-or, advance-in you. Xwp,., though such communication were less inti- has both transitive and intransitive mean- mate than" seeing." This must not be pressed ings; thUB it means "leave," "depart," (see ver. 40). If the 1roLErre be imperative, '' turn," or " come to," with ,ls (2 Pet. iii. 9, the langne.ge would be an appeal to the Jews "contain;" eh. ii. 6 ; xxi. 25 ; Mark ii. 2); to act out that which, from prophets and but it has the force frequently in Plato "to teachers and interpreters of the Di vine will, make progress or atlvance," and it has this they had heard. :Moulton treats the clause force here. So Meyer, Westcott, R.T., etc. as one more, one last, exhortation. The (LuthBrdt and Tholuck suggest '' find en- word of Christ had not advanced within trance," which would require ,ls rather than them-it remained as a barren formula.; let iv). Not only did they not continue in them give it free course now. Theu oppo- Christ's word (ver. 31), but the word itself sition he.d not as yet been malignant or made no way in their minds ; it was barred hopeless; one more chance is given them. out by prejudices, and· thus choked at its The more ordinary interpretation is to make very first working. Christ thus represents the ,ro,...,., indicative. If it be so, and still his word first as the very atmosphere o.nd more if the vµ.wv (omitted by B, L, P) be home in which his true disciples abide, and genuine, "the father" to whom reference then as e. powerful influence which grows is me.de as theirs, is in contrast with the evermore in power and command as it is Father of Christ, and, withont pc,intedly pondered. It means more and more to those saying so, Jesus implies that it is another who abide in it; it implicitly contains e. father altogether. In ver. H Christ does whole universe of truth and reality, of im- indeed declare the.I the father with whom pulse and motive, for those who allow to it they o.re in ethical relation and sympathy "free course"-who are of the truth, and is not God, but the devil-the very opposite hear his voice. of the God of Abraham, the very antithesis Ver. 38.-I speak the things 1 which I of the Father of infinite love. At this point he.ve seen with the (my) Father: 2 a.nd do you introduced to emphasize the contrast, and 1 The authorities are be.lanced between &. o.re omitted together by modem editoni. R.'f. l-yw and l-yw 8. The former is read by ~. has introduced the words in italics. B, C, D, L, X: by important cursives, 69, 1 'H,coOo-crre rests on ~c, B, C, Ii, L, X, I, 181, o.nd quotations from Ori&"en, Chrysos- 13, 33, 69, and others, and a comment o{ tom, and Cyril : and adopted by Tregelles, Origen, which discusses the contrast between Alford, Thohendorf (8th edit.), Westcott iJKovum.,.. and ,wpaxa.. It is adopted by e.nd Hort, B.T., Lo.ohme.nn, and :Meyer. The Le.ohme.nn, Tischendorf (8th edit.), ]\foyer, ll is ree.d by E, F, G, K, e.nd othors, by Godet, R.T., and Westcott and Hort. The Godet, Lange, etc. T.R. reads ,.,pd.Ka.Te, with ~•, E, F, G, H, 1 The. µ.oii is omitted by B, 0, L, T, X, by :M, and many other uncials ; and Lauge some versions, by Tischendorf (8th edit.), and others see no reason to cho.uge it from Meyer, Laohme.nn, R.T., Westcott and Hort, the nature of the -case, for " hearing " and e.nd Godet, though sustained by ~. D, r, .o., "seeing" a.re subsequently interchanged in A, and other uncials e.nd versions. Both their application. the µ.ou end {Jp.i,v seem ILB though they were • See note 2 in preceding column.  Tn~ G-OSi'EL ACOORbING TO ST. JORN. [ott. vm. 1-uO, ·-· ·-----· ---------------------------- he simply sn~ts, •• 'fherefore the things citement produced byl this bold charge which y<> h<ll<rd trom youi fath1,1· ~·e do," ye am0ng his own truo disciples, nncl those habitnally do, ye sre now rloing in your wbo now for the first time heard of it, by our hRtred 11.n,I murderons sentiruents toworrls Lord's then and there lifting the veil from myself. Snn>ly this implies a severity mnny a specious question; 1he look of guilt wbi~h is hardly rompatible with an n,l<lress on the conntcnnnccs of some, of truculent to Je1VB who believed him. 'rl1e int<>rpre- R,hnission of the chor.;e iu the gesture of tation of the follonng 'Vel'l!e is governed by 0thcl's; the loud murmurs nnd confuso<l cries that of this. of the crowd,-must all bo renlized to a_ppro- Ver. 39.-They answered and said. If henrl the tremendous crisis which had now the s~cond int.erpretation be ncceptud, then, arrived. He aggraYnted the oharge by de- irritated by the snggestion that .. the Father" F-cribing himself as a man who bath deolared whose properties and claims he saw nnd to you the truth whioh I heard from God. revealed to them was different from "the 'l'his is the only pince where the Lol'<l father " whose nature and ways they speaks of himselt llb "a ,mm" (cf. Acts xvii. "heard" and practised, e.nd counting, ruore- 31 ; I Tim. ii. 5). He here describes him- over, on the concession of the fact that they self as One who is su~jcct ii.ud Jiahle tu tLeir were A hmham's '' seed," they cried, Onr murd~rous passion-a man, seeing that bis fe.ther is Abra.hs.m; we are spiritually, ethi- eternal Personality ho.a been presented to bis cally, related to him, e.nd if we a.re doing Rntagonists in the form of man. His man- that which we have hee.rd from our father, hood was the link of relation between thfl then we c.an claim that e.ll we are doing is God who sent him, taught him, surro11nrlccl along the lines of our Abrabamic dignity. e.nd enveloped him, and the conscious- Bnt if ver. 38 be regarded as a final e:s:- ness of his hearers. This is the highest postnlation. according to the first of the representation of the very conception of a interpretations of .,,. • .,,.,.,, then the Jews Divine commission and e. Divine message. merely discl0sed their determination to mis- They were seeking to stamp out a Divine' apprehend the plain w0rds of the Divine fire, to drown a heavenly voice, to refuse and Lord. e.nd when lie was reminding them of trample upon a sacred Messenger. This did the FathPr, of their Father, they at once not Abraham. The father of the faithful stood back upon their here<litary pride, e.nd was susceptible to the heavenly voice. He declared that they were doing the works of heard and obeyed the voice of Jehovah with their great ancestor. .Tesl!ll saith to them, childlike docility (Gen. xii., xiv., xviii., If ye are 1 Abraham's children, e.s yon say- xxii.). '.l.'he visions, the commands, the for the position of" children " is invol ,•~din messengers, the manifestations, of God to the iJea and claim of spiritual Fatherhood Abraham were so readily accepted that his which ~-e boast-then, with such spiritual faith is a proverb, and his greatest name is .e.nd ethicc.l relations as these, ye would do "friend of God." The wilful, hurried, ma- the works of Abrahe.m-works of faith; you licious treatment of both the Divine Mes- would he open to the access of spiritual senger and the sacred message, both of which re¥elatioas with cbil<llike simplicity; you Jesus decfored to liavo come directly from would have areepted the heavenly voice; God, proves'the lack of relation with the Life you would have known whence it came; yon of Abraham. They might bo Abraham's would have resembled bi:n in bis moral sen- "seed" (uwepµa.) but not his ('Teicva.) chil- sitiveness, in his gentle loving-kindness, in dren, and he in this sense could not be their hill victorious fa.ith ; but- "fath(;r." Yer. 40.-But now, ae things are, ye are Ver. 41.-lnstead of doing the works or 1eeking-plntting, contriving, in subtle ways .A.Lraham, you a.re doing the works of your e.nd by false charges-to kill me. The father. That is, you have a father with entire discourse is made more obvious by whom you are, nevertheless, in living, ethical onr Lord's discovery of the plot of the last relation. If you persist iu boasting of your few days, and hy his allowing his friends father, who is neither "the Father " nor and opponents to know that he had pene- Abraham, I must soon tell you who that tmted the thin, snbtle disguise under which fotht:r is, Louil interruption followed. this mul'derous plan was veiled. The ex- Abrupt and startling was the retort; We are 1 [ were] not bom of fornication; we have 1 to:, D, D, L, '.I.', Origen (t.en times), and one Father, God. Many expositors think Augustine jnstify the m0re difficult reading 1 <tT'T< instead of .,.,., of T.R. and the other Qi, "Y'"Y'"v-f,µe6a. is accepted, with T.R., authorities. So Tregelles, Weetcott and by Tischendorf (8th edit.) and Lutbardt, on Hort, Tischendorf (8th edit.), R.T., e.ud the authority of N•, C, D, X, r, t,., Rnd other Meyer. 'Ewoi<in sto.nds "·itbout iiv, on still uncials and all the cursives; ov,c iy,vv{1611- stronger authority, thou:;h transferred t.o the µ•v is preferred by Lnehmunn; Tregellee, margin by W estooti and Hort.. Westcott and Hort, d.nd R.T., with B, D. on. vm. 1-59.] THE GOSPEL AIJCORDING TO ST. JOHN. 365