Ven;. 4-8-50.-'l'he indignant retort of the Jews. Our Lord's 111.et wonle lnfle.mod- their spirits beyond endurance, I. THl':rn n.-soLENT RETORT. "SRv we not well that thou art a Sn.me.ritan, e.nd he.et a de'l'il ? " 1. The words 6'1tggest that they nga1·ded Jesm as their national enemy, estranged from the hopes of lsrael, and withal a rejecter of the full revelation made by God. The term" Samaritan" was always used by the Jews in e.n insulting sense, 2. The impurotion that he had a devil implied that he waa a.fanatic and misguided enthu- siast, influenc<•d by essentially evil principles. II. OUR LonD's REPLY TO THE ll.ETOR'r. "I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me." 1. Jesus taku no notice of the imputation of his Sama.ritanism. That was pure insult, for the Jews knew that he was a Galilman, "He, when he ~•as reviled, reviled not again, but committed himself to him that judgetl1 righteously" (1 Pet. ii. 23). He teaches BOOn after that a Samaritan may be more truly a child of God than either priest or Levite. He thus makes light of the <listinction of race ·which breathed so largely in Jewish conceptions. 2. He denies the imputation that, he has a devil, because it was important to assure them that his words were those, not of wild or dark fanaticism, but of truth and soberness. 3. The true motive of hi.s mission is not hatred to the Jews, but the honour due to his Father: 4. Tk union of Father and Son involved, through their faithless attitude, a deep dishonour to himself; for by refusing to honour the Father, they withheld the honour due to him, who is the Son and the Sent of the Father. 5. Yet the insults offered, to himself would, be Ji'Oinely judged. ".A.nd I seek not mine own glory : there is One that seeketh and judgeth." (1) The affronts were ofno account to himself. (2) They were God's con- cern, who would in due time punish the calumniators of his Son. The allusion may he primarily to the destruction of Jerusalem, which would subvert the whole external framework of Judaism and inflict unparalleled sufferings and indignities ur.on the Jews; and, ultimately, to the day of final jud.,crment.
Vers. 51-59.-Deliverance of the believer from death. The dialogue now ta:kee a new turn. I. TIIE BLESSED PROMISE MADE TO THE OBEDIENT DISCIPLE. ,. If a man keep my Word, he shall ne,er see death." He evidently now addresses those Jews who believe in him. l. The character qf discipleship. It (I) receives the gospel in love, (2) obeys it from the heart, and (3) holds it fast as a precious treasure of comfort. 2. The blessed destiny of di.scipleship. (1) There will be no experience of spiritual death, (2) or of eternal death; (3) and physical death will be no penal evil, but robbed of its sting: through him who has given us the victory (1 Cor. xv. 57). • · II. Fnm;x MISAPPREHENSION OF THE JEWS. "Now we know that thou hast a devil.· Abraham is dead, and the prophets; e.nd thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he i;hali never taste of death. Art thou greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? whom makest thou thyself?" 1. The Jews argued that .Abraham and the prophets had kept God's Word, yet were not exempted from the bitter experience of death. There- fore the decL!.ration of Jesus seemed to prove his utter self-delusion. 2. 'J.'heir question "Art thou greater than our father Abraham?" implies that they refused to regard Jesus as thc, Messiah, or as the Son of God, or even as a divinely sent Prophet. IIL JESUS DECLA.&ES 'THERE IS NO COMPARISON BETWEEN ABRAHAM AND IDMSELF, " If I honour my;;elf, my honour is nothing : it is my Father that honoureth me ; of whom ye say, that he is your God." 1. The question of tlte relative dignity of himself and .Abraham i.s not due to any personal ambition on his part, but in obedience to the will of his Father. 2. Bis ltigher dignity was due to his ccmplete knowledge of his Father and his perfect obedience to bis will. 3. The true relation of .Abraltam to (Jhrist.' •Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad." (1) Comparison of personal dignity was therefore out of the question. (2) Abraham, W! e. man of faith 1 saw the historic manifestation of Christ through the vista of two thouse.nd years. Faith was, indeed, to him "the substance of things hoped for, the , evidence of things not seen.'' He·WIII pre-eminently•• strong in faith" (Rom. iv. 20). ' on. v111. 1-69.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO BT. JOHN. 8B1
(3) 'l'he sight of Christ inspired him wHh holy joy for the blessings the Redeemer was to bring (a) to himself, (b) to the Jews, (c) to tho world. 4. 'fhe joy of .AIYrahlJIT/l contrasts strangely with the hatred, and malice excited by the visible presence of the same Ilcdeemer among Abraham's descendants. IV. A FREBII MISAPPREHENSION OF OUR LORD'S WORDS. "Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?" 1. The Jews did not believe in Christ'• pre- ea;istence. Ho was only the Son of Joseph and Mary. 2. His allusion to his aJe exag_qerates the actual years of his life, probably because, as " the Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief," he had aged fast in the bard stress of daily anxieties, ca1L~ed by tho increasing signs of Jewish hostility. 3, Our Lora's answer is an expli.cit revelation of his Divinity. "Ilefore Abraham was, I am." (1) The words imply that there was a time when Abraham was not, but there never was a time when the Son of Go,! was not. (2) 'l'hey imply more I.ban the anteriority of Jesus to Abraham, for he does not say, "Before Abrah.am was, I was." (3) They imply Christ's timeless exist€Ilce-" I am." He is the eternal Son of God. He was, and is, and shall be, the Life of man, because he lives with an absolute life (eh. xiv. 19), and believers may therefore rejoice in him as their Life. "Because I live, ye shall live also." v. E~·FECT OF THIS DECLARATION Ul'ON THE JEWS. "Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple." 1. The Jews at last understood the meaning of our Lord's words. 2. Their attempt to stone him implied. their definite rejection of him. 3. Jes'IJ,/J placed himself at once out of their reach, as "his time was not yet come."