The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 2 — Section 296

J, tha.t ha (the ~pirit of truth, in being yonr Ver. 16.-A little while. A phrase re- Ouida Into e.11 the truth) 1 te.keth of mine, pel\ted seven times in this brief passo.ise, and wil1 deole.re (H) unto you. Beoe.uee emphatically encouro.ging hie own disciples "mlno is the Fe.ther'e, e.nd the Father'e ie to rise above the limitations of time, and mine; 11 b001mse, i.e., he ie the Centre, and enjoy the he.bite of eternity. Ye behold me Agent,e.nd Motive,ancl Force in all the Divine no more. The first puzzle of this utterance aelf-revelntion, e.nd because he possessed as lies in this-that (eh. xiv. 19) he had told hie own this vast rango, this infinite fulness them that, though the world would see him of Divine opcre.tions, be promised them this no more, they would behold him in the power epiritne.l teaching, e.nd e.esured them the.t of the Spirit, and that they would moreover hie highest glory wae simply to be made ba.ve adequate preparation for BUch spiri tna.l known as he is. Colvin, "We see how the beholding in the resnrrection; yet now be greo.ter part or men deceive themselves; for says, " Ye behold me no more." True, be they pass by Christ, and go out of the way has associated this phrase a.lrea.dy, in ver. 10, to seek God by circuitous po.the." with the conviction or the world touching true righteousnees and bis " going to the In these verses we ho.ve o. very abundant Father," so that henceforth he would be exhibition of tbo unHy of the Father, Son, biclden in God; but now he increases the and Holy Spirit, coupled with o. very remark- perplexity by e.ddiug, And again, a little able setting forth of the tripersonality. The while, and ye shall see me. The commen- Father "hath 11 (rxu) tho.t which is in very tators differ greatly a.s to the reference, but (with Hengstenberg, Weiss, Stier, Westcott, essence the Son's(tµa); and the Spirit, whose Ebrard, Ewald) the most obvious explanation purpose is to glorify the Son by making him is that he is referring to the resurrection, known to men (Aaµ,:ldv«), takes of "mine" which in itself would be in part a glorifica- and will declare it (see Stier, Schaff, note to tion of Christ, and which, from its entire Lange). Luthardt once thought with Stier, method of manifestation to them, would prove a preparation for the spiritual sense of but now Ii.mile the reference, without giving hie continual presence. This was perfected any reELSon for it, to what he calls "the at Pentecost, and will be completed when deposit of Divine truth in the humanity he shall come again in bis glory. 1 of Jesus." The sum of this astonishing Ver.17.-Thensaid (some) of his disciples aeeuro.noe is that the Holy Spirit of truth, one to another, not daring to utter it to him, What is this that he sai.th to us, A little an essential element if not Personality in whlle, and ye behold me not : and again, a the Godhead, will lead these apostles into little while, and ye shall see me : and, Be- the fnlness of truth, and of knowledge oauee I go to the Father t This clause now of the future, by ta.king up the essential aggravates their difficulty, whether they realities of the Christ in the fulness of his associate it with the idea already utt.erecl, being and work, and disclosing thorn by or whether they repeat the Lord's word (ll-r-1 may be simply the "that" of quotation). spiritual insight and supernatural quicken- The programme of the futnre-e.g. (1) death ing. These realities of the Christ will and momentary absence, (2) resurrection prove to be the fulnees of the Father's 1 The clause, "and because I go to the heart-all that the Father bath. Again we ask-Does St. John even here.travel beyond Father," is believed by most modern editors- by Tiscbendorf (8th. edit.), J.l,leyer, Tregelles, hie prologue ? Westcott and Hort, and R.T.-to be a gloss Vere. 16-24.-{c) The sorrow turned int.o taken from ver. 17, as it is not found in~. B, joy, In these verses he approaches the final D, L, Origen, etc. Hengstenberg dwells at farewell, in which tbo whole body of the length upon the fact that their insertion here disoiples are introcluced as inwardly or occa.~ions the perplexity. But the remem- among themselves perturbed by the special brance of eh. xiv. 19 is sufficient to account for the mental confusion of the disciples, to difficulty of the words. Before tho Spirit my nothing of their difficulty iu re,1lizing oan do oil this, n separation must be ex- the fact of the resurrection-a consummation perienced. which, we learn from other passages, they were net as yet prepared to unuers!and. 1 ,M11/i•Ta1, with ~•, A, K, n, and several The disciples do insert the clause into their versions, is the reading of T.R. and Gries- own quotation, as a reminiscence of ver. 10; bach; but Anµf3dvu, with Band eleven other but Christ docs not requote it in his reply, unoiale ond Syriao Version, is the reading and it looks Ill! though the words had been of Tregollee, 'l'ieohendorf (8th edit.), R.T., inserted to account for their presence in tiio a1>d Westcott and Hort. following verse. fOffN-JJ, 306 'l'BE GOSPEL AOCORDING TO ST. JOHN. LOH. xv1. 1-33.