The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 2 — Section 137

emphRtio. A contrast is implied between or Elijl\h is remarke.ble becouse the "still the eternal glory and the glory or the Christ. small voice" ie distinguished from the " l am iliine ; thou art mine ; " " Thy will thunder, oto., which hnd precerloo it. Why ho done;" "Not a.s I will, but RB thou should Hengstenberg he.ve refrained from wilt;" " If this oup oannot pass e.way from giving those Old Toste.ment fe.ots their me except I drink it, thy will be done;" proper weight? The rotionalistio view "Not my will, but thine be done." I be.re would make the wortls spoken to have boon my bree.st for the blow ; I yield my 11,uxfr the inference thl\t either Jesus or John drew abBOlutely to thy control I God glorifies him- from a clap of thunder, and must conclude self in me.nv wa.vs, and here we soe the that the crowd, so fe.r as the ojecti vo faot high011t point to which the human can rise. was oonoomed, were proctioolly in the right,. Godet oeJls att.ention to the e:i.tmordina.ry The ne.rrl\live it.self recounts a ve.ried uppro- mistake made by Cole.ni. who founds a cie.tion of a distinct ond objective faot. charge age.inst the Gospel itself on the suppo- Those who were not alive to uny voice from sition the.t these solemn words were, "Father, heaven confounded it with thunder, lowered glorify my Ne.me." The synoptists tell us the Divine oomm'\I.Dication down to an the.t at the baptism (Matt. iii. 17) and at ordinary ne.ture.l fe.ot. Others, i.e. '' a few the Transfiguration (Matt. nil. 5) a literal others," were mnol?. nee.rer to the reolity when voice of words was heard from heaven con- they said, All ange~ hatb spoken to him ( com- veying intelligible ideas to John the Baptist pare reference to the angelic a.id that co.me e..nd suusequontly to Peter,James, and John. to the Lord in Gethsemono). The voice of And here the so.me John (son of Zebedee) God's plenipotentiary angel, speaking in hie records, not only that such a 1.-ind of voice Name, wo.s recognized os a superne.turol ww, rcpuatod on this occa,;ion, hut reports communication, though the meaning of it the very words themselves. There oe.me was not grasped (cf. the voice with which therefore a voioe out of heaven, saying, I Jesusspoke to Pe.ul on the way toDnmuscus). have both glori1ied it, and will glorify it But we muy reasonubly suppose the.t these again. These words many of the crowd Greeks, thot the disciples who surrounded round obout him. as woll as Jesus him- Jesus, thot the beloved John, found in the solf, distinctly heard. ne multitude that voice e. direct onswer to the previous sublime stood by said, It has thundered; hen.ring cry of the Lord. The prayer," Fother, glorify only a voice of thunder. It will not, how- thy Name," received the answer, I have both ever, on that account be fair to thie evan- glorifted it, and will glorify it again; i.e. gelist to say (with Paulus, Liicke, and even In thy work and life hitherto, us Prophet, Hengstenberg) that there was no objective Me.eter, Exe.mple, as my beloved Son, my audible voice which any ear beside that of Ne.me has o.lready been glorified in thee, e.nd Jesus could hear, and which none but the now in thy approaching saori.ficie.l e.gony in mind of Jesus could interpret. It ie not which thou wilt become perfect as a Priest. sufficient t.o say "that the thunder e.nd the King, e.nd the Author of eternol salvation, voice were identioal." Hengstenberg quotes "I will glorify it age.in." numerous pe.ss&ges from the Old Testament Ver. 30.-J'eeus II.Illl'Wered to the confused where thunder we.a interpreted to mean the murmur of reme.rk, a.nd said, This voioe " vou:e of J ehove.h" (l Sa.m. xii. 18 ; Pa. hatb not come for my sake, but for :,our xrix.; Job :nxvii. 4; Ps. xvili. 13), but sakes. Thie surely este.bliehes, on the autho- there are numerous pe.sse.gea both in the Old rity of Jesus, the objective chere.oter of the Toste.ment and w the Gospels a.nd .Acts revelation. "It was necesea.ry the.t you where 6ll objective voice was heam. Such should hear and know and feel who and voice we.a at times accompa.nied by thunder, what I am." Ever thinking of others, living but not in the me.jority of cases. In the in them, he thinks of their spiritual advan- promises me.de w the ge.rdan of Eden, in tage now. Thoma says the.t whereas the the coll of Moses e.nd Samuel, and in the whole llCene conesponds with the synoptio communion that passed between the Lord O.CCOllllt Qf Getheeme.ne, it is idealized on and .Abraham, Moses., Joahua, Gideon. the basis of the Joha.nnine idea. of the Samuel, Solomon, and Elijah, Jehovah spa.ke Divine La.mb and the Logos in flesh, and in audible words without snch auxiliuy. that Jest111 here shows the.t he needed no When communications were me.de to Eli, to strengthening, es the objective revele.tion De.rid, t.o Heulkia.h, 11,Ild others, they were we.a entirely for the sake of othi,rs, and not given by the lipa of prophetic men. When for his own coDBOlation. Thie ingenious cri• the Law W&I! given to all the tribes of Iare.el, tici.sm of Thoma rests on th,e unjustifiable t.he thunder-trumpet was eiceeding loud e.nd hypothesis that the scene before UB did "°' long, and the people could not bear the precede the agony of the garden, but we.a o. 11,wful experience, ao that the Lord wu bare invention of the. evangeliet, because tho ple&aed to speak to .Moses only, a.nd /MJ WIMI latter ruled the.tGethsemaneneeded "ideuli- to commnmeate with the people, The oue ze.tion." Why should noi ihe two scene• OIi. xn. 1-G0.] 'rIIE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN.