The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 2 — Section 125

would ho the 81.h of Nii,an, If the weekly spirit of his kingdom; by healinl)' I.ho blin,\ Mhlml.h o<'ourrc<l on the 16th, then the me.n ho gave n f.ypioal illnstmt1011 of tho !Hh nlsn we.s II R&bbAth. The Lord would work of grace noodod by nil hie disciples; th<'n 1111,\'o reMhcd Bethany on the e"e of by reeling e.t the home whero humnn lovo ,he anbbath, &nd have rested on the ee.bbath e.nd Divine power hod been so wonderfully itself. Tbe evening t>f the 9th would bo blended ho Mlled I.he mo:it solemn nttenlion the OOC'l\sion of the feut, and the I 0th '7ould to bis BUpreme olnlme; by pressing on with MrTespond with Palm ·sunday. If the Lord urgency up the steep mountain pathway n1; W<'rc c:,rucified on the 14-th, 11,nd the wookly ihe hee.d of hie disciples ho seemed to be lll\hhirth ooinoided with the PMsover-d&y of roady, in his own words, "to le.y down hie <'nn vO<',-tion, the 15th, then the previous life, that he might take it age.in." The BRbbath wu on the 8th, e.nd our Lord 0611, acoording to Meyer, is simply tho re- must h&ve reached Bothe.ny in "the end sumption of the narrative, but surely thoso of U1e sabba.th," e.nd then the fee.st WIUI are right who regard it us a distinct refer- on the following de.y. When Jesus halted ence to eh. xi. 55. The Se.nhedrists ho.d at Bethany, the ve.st crowd of pilgrims given the l,,.,.o},.~ that if nny know where he nd,anced into the suburbs of Jeruse.lem, wns, they should declare it. Christ was re- encamping on the Mount of Olives, ·and solved, now that his hour wns come, to lift would be ree.<ly for the great demonstration the whole responsibility from •bis friends, of the next dav. Westoott, e.fter Bengel, and take it upon himself. The other evan- obserrns that john's Gospel begins and gelists do not mention the he.It. Their·pur- ends with n 88.Cl'ed week (cf. eh. i. 29- poso was not a chronological one. They 35, 43; ii. l). J - U-~fore, m days give the narrative of the anointing ape.rt before the Passooer, aame io Bethany. The from it.a deepest meanings e.nd consequenoes, quiet rest of that last se.bbe.th with the o.pa.rt from any references to LllZo.rus (see family at Bothany is a thought full of sug- Me.tt. :u.vi. 6-12; Mo.rk xiv. 1-11). Thero gestion. Thoma e.ccounts for the triumphal o.re other subtle omissions from the synop- feast nnd anointing, "six dnys before the tists, the difficulties of which must be Passover,'' as e.nswering to the day on which settled as between themselves. Thus, accord- the lamb was separated from other and se- ing to Mark xi. 12 and. 20, an interve.l of e. cular animals. and oonsecre.ted for this holy whole day and night took ple.ce between service (Exod.. xii. 3---6; Heh. vii. 26). the withering of the fig tree and the conver- The segregation, however, we.s pa.rtie.l or sation about it, but Matthew me.kes the premature, and the anointing (see below) conversation follow immediately upon the t.ook place five days before ihe Passover. It mirll.Cle. Iu like manner, John abstaillS is not said that the dny of his arrive.I at from e.uy reference to the discussions in the Bethany is the day of the festive welcome. temple, to the withering of the fig tree, to Bethe.uy is described as the place where the cleansing of the temple, or to ,the pa- Lazarua waa. The explane.tory clause, 1 he rables which followed. • • •• who had been dead, is not necessary, as the • Ver. 2.-There,:therefore, they made him ovo.ngelist limits and expl.aine suflicientJ.y a BUppar, and ltartha served•:- but Laza.rua the great motive for his pause .e.nd preseuce wu one ofthem that sat at the table with at Bathnny by adding, whom he (Jesus) him. John does not tell 118 in whose house railed from ths dead. It is extraordinary "they made the dinner" _or supper, and.un- that some most able expositors ;;hould be less Simon the leper (Matt. xxvi; 6 e.nd l!O unwilling to e.coept the synchronous Mark xiv. 3) is a member of the fe.n:iily (or, statements of the syuoptists. Their narre.- as some suggest, the husband of M!!.rtha), iive is not out of harmony with the hypo- we canuot suppose that it was in .the quiet ihesis that our Lord passed the previous home of Bethany that this feast in honour days with the pilg.rim-be.nd from Perlllll,, of Jesus was held, but thatit took place, as and that, to.king the head of the procession the synoptists positively declare, "in the as it wo.s pa.sai.Dg through Jericho, he should house of Simon the leper." Simon may easily thus have distinotly che.llenged the autho- have been one of the me.ny lepers whom our rities, and to.ken up the public position to Lord h.a.d. healed, and whose soul we.s filled which they were anxious he should lay with e.coordant gratitude. At the.t table claim. By his visit to the house of Ze.c- there would be seat.ed two transcendent ch.elli he proclaimed the new feature e.nd proofs of the power of Jesus to se.ve, not only from the semblance but from the 1 'O .,..611111<ws of the T.R. is rejected on reality of death (see Meyer; Matt. :uvi. 6), the e.uthorif.y of N, B, L, X, Syriac some- We won<ler, with Godet, that Meyer should what doubtfully, by Tischendorf (8th edit.), reject this simple suppoJ!ition o.s "spuriou11 by Westcott e.lld Hort and R.T. But La.ch- harmony." All tl..111.t is here sto.ted is in maun retains it; 'hegelles includes it agreement with it: (1) the.t Martha. should withi::i brackets. have shown her reverence by serving her OH. xn. 1-60,] THE GOSPEL AUOORDlNG TO ST. ,JOHN. 131