The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 2 — Section 383

pro)'ngnte or preeerve itself, from the worl,1, or whether 0~1tovv be tho form; then it wm1M wh1oh is II rivlll, llnd is not to be ooeroed but have the force of nonne i~lur 7 expecting rlrnwn to itself. Like the individual disciple, an nffirmntive response. It is nn lirra~ tho kingdom mny he in the world, but not o/ 1\,-,&µevov in tho New Testament, hnt it it. Uhriet proceeded, Il the kingdom that ii generally implies 0,n inferenc,i nnd a qnes- mine were from this world, which it is not tion expecting ngreement with the qneationor. (m11rk the formoftheoondition),then,on that Here Piln.te flasheH out with hnugltty r11bnke. supposition, would the servant■ (61r11pl-ra,, He had sntisfierl himself that J e,ms wris nr, generally translated "officers") that are political rival; bnt, in wonderment and se0rn, mine fight, wilh physical force, in order he would sonnd a little deeper the myatery that I should not be delivered up (1rapo609io)of the kingly claim. It is not a judicicil to the Jews. The supposition thllt the inqniry, but e. burst of ironical surprise : So ~rr71pfru1 of whom our Lord spoke were "tho then, after all, thou art a King, e1Jen t!ton 1 nngcls" (as Bengel, Lampe, Stier, and at wavering between positive and negative reply. 0110 time Luthnrdt, imagined), is distinctly Hengstenberg sees neither irony nor sc0rn repudiated by the l,c .-ov 1<0 ,rµ.ov .-06.-ov, " of in the ov1<ovv, but a certain amount of dis- this present world." If it were the case, as turbed equanimity. Jesu answered, Thon it is not, then would my officers be, not e. eayest it, that I am a King Th;s rnorle of hnudful of disciples (whom he generally affirmation is not found in classical Greek calls 61cl1<ovoi, llou,\01), but the servants who or the LXX., but occurs in the New Testa- would be appropriate to my royal mission, ment, and in the synoptists also it ia given -the1, would my servants be busily fight- as the great answer of Jesus. Some have ing tilat I should not be delivered up by translated the a.-, as " for" or "because," the Roman power thnt is for the moment and added "well" and "rightly" to the thrown over me like e. shield, to the Jews, ,\{"f.,S, Tims : Thou sayest well, frYT I am a who are thirsting for my blood. The loud King. Hengstenberg and Lampe separate cry of hatred and vengeance may even at this declaration from what follows, which this moment· have pierced the interior of they interpret exclusively of the prophetic the Prmtorium, thus giving its force, if not office of J esns; bnt the <is -rouTo points back- form, to the sentence. Godet thinks our wards as well as forwards, and our Lord Lord we.a referring to the crowds who accepts that which be proceeds to explain actually gathered round him on Palm as his royal functioDB. Westcott, however, Sunday, and not to hypothetical Vlr1/pl-ru,; says that Jesus neither accepts nor rejects but the force of the condition goes down the title of King. but simply reiterates deeper, and, moreover, such language might Pilate's words, "Thon sayest that I am a ho.ve awakened the suspicion that, after all, King; I will proceed to explain what I mean Jesus had a political following, if ho should by my royal mission." Seeing, however, choose to evoke it. Observe that this entire that our Lord had already implicitly avowed severance· between "i.he Jews" nnd the his kingly state, it is far better to discern in friends of Christ, which, though occasionally the reply an 11.cknowledgment or tile infer- adopted by the evangelist, is not the cus- ence which Pilate had BCOrnfully drawn tomary method of our Lord. The moment (see parallel method or answering the qncs- e.t which the Saviour speaks gives great tion, "Art thou the Son of God?" Luke significance to the phraseology ( observe eh. xxii. 70, " Ye say that I am;" ;J,,., ;-,i:, ,,,_,_, iv. 22 ; xiii. 33 ; xviii. 20 ; the only other compared with Mark xiv. 62). This is tile occasions on which tho Lord used this phrase "good confession" to which St. Pan! re- to denote his own people). But now (the ferred (1 Tim. vi. 13). This is the assump- tion, before the tribunal of the whole worl,!, ,,;;v, of. eh. ix. 41 and xv. 22, is logical, not temporal); i.e. But seeing that it is so-my that he was and would for ever remain its kingdom, ho 0,dds, is not from hence. The true King. To this end have I been born. r.-,,,,VT/µa, is an important admission of his J1< .-ov 1</,,rµou is equivalent to lvTEu8<v, and suggests tbat the kingdom derives its re- true humanity, which Keim and others are sources and its energies "from the upper unwilling to find in the Fourth Gospel. And world," "from above.'' to this end hs.va I coma into the world. Ver. 37.-Pilate therefore said to him, These words are not tautological. In the Art thou e. King then 1 The precise melln• first clause he asserts his birth as a man, in ing of this exclamation depends on the nc- the second he refers to the state of beiug oentuation of o,•,covv-whether it be oi11covv ' v.hich preceded his incarnlltion (cf. here equivalent to igitur, " therefore : " .. There• eh. xvi. 28, note), ont of which be came, fore on your own showing you are e. King I " and to which he is now returning. The being "born'' of woman is ono fact, the 1 Winer, Kiihner, Godet, and Lnthardt "coming into this world" is another which differ as to the meaning of both ov,co;;v and he makes antithetical to his return to the oVr<ow, Westcott and Hort reud the former. Futher. 'E,\~/\v8u, present per ft et, being  3(1(1 'l'HE GOSPEL AOOORDING TO ST, JOHN, [Ila, xtlll, 1-40,