The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 2 — Section 412

wormwood to them, cried, with ffaehing all hie claime ; becanae they wished that the llDg<'r, BhRll I oruoify your King, Thie supreme court, the heathen and corrupting wrung forth from them a cry whioh expreBsed power, ahould dash down to earth and defile the uttermost nnd baeeet abA.ndonment of this idol of some of the people and even all their proud boA.Bte, a hearties& and fRte- some of their own number; beoe.use they ful ncl..,iowledgment of their servility and wished to deliver themselves from the re- dependence. The obiaf priHt.a anawered, sponsibility of the act, and to avoid being We have no king but Caar I Our MessiA.nio oolled to give an account to Rome of their hope is dend, our national independence judicial murder; aud in the Rct itself they is at &n end, our witness as & people to wished to have a Roman guard to prevent truth, our listening to the voice which an escape and quell an d"meute. 'l'ho school would hnve gathered us together, 11.re over. of Tiibingen endeavour to invlllidnto the All before thM had shouted, "Not this Man, Johannine portraiture of Pil1Lte, and to but Ile.re.bbae I" so now, "Not the Lord of ascribe its fictitious cree.tion in the second glor)·, but the daimon lord of Rome; not century to a desire then rampant, to eh1Lrge this King of kings, but Tiberius Augustus upon the Jews all the blame of the net, and ot Dominue sa.cre.tissimue noster." In re- to exhibit Pilate as IL symbol of the sym- nouncing Christ by the lips of their chief pathy which the Gentile world wo.s extend- priests, they put themselves under the power ing to Christianity and the Ohurch. The of the prince of this world, and terribly they persecutions which preve.iled from the days answered for their crime. " '.l'b.ey elected of Nero, Domiti1Ln, and Tre.jan, to those of Cmsar to be their king; by CIBSll.r they were the Antoniues, rebuke such a supposition. deetroyed" (Lampe). Their theocrncy fell Moreover, the synoptic narrative is equally by their mnd rage against the perfect em, explicit with St. John in setting forU1 the bodiment of the highest righteonsness and sympathy of Pilate, or re.ther his desire to purest love. "The kingdom of God. by the release Jesus (Matt. xxvii 14 and 18, 17- oonfcssioll of its rulers, h.e.e become the king- 23, 24; Markxv.S-10; Lukexxiii.13-22). dam of this world." How terribly eymp- Luke tells us that Peter charges the guilt of tomo.tic of the perpetual resistance of hie the Crucifi.xion upon the Jews (Acts ii. 23; claims by all those who deliberately reject iii. 15; cf. Jae. v. 6; Rev. xi. 8). The ex- hie authority I "We have no king but planation of Pilate's conduct and of his fine.I fashion!" "We havenokingbutmnmmonl" deepice.ble act is given only in John's Gos- "We have no king but the leader of our pel; and even Reuse ad.mite that we hnve iu clique! " "We have no Iring but pleasure I" John '' the true key of the problem" (see "We have no king but our royal selves I" Godet, in Zoe., voL iii. pp. 260-263). -are voices not unfrequently heard even Vere. 17-24.-(4) THlll 0BUOIFllIOJf. now. Thie cry was too much for Fil.ate; he LorJe unto the uttermost. wavered, paltered with jnetice, vented hie Vere. 17, 18.-(a) The circumstances of insolence e.nd pride, knew better and did th.e death. the thing whicll he felt to be base. "He Ver. 17.-Therefore they took (received) who had often prostituted justice was now 1esue 1 from the hands of the Gentile, lend- utterly unable to achieve the one act of jus- ing the way in their accursed procession, tice which he desired. He who had so often gloating over their Victim. Ua.pb,a./Jov re- murdered pity wu.s now forbidden to taste minds ne (Westcott) of the ,ra.ptAa.fJov (eh. i. the sweetness of a pity for which he longed" 11), where it is said, "His own received him (Farrar). Then therefore he delivered him not." They did not receive him in tho ful- to them, in order tha.t he might be cruci- nese of his grace, but they did receive him Aed. " illlS .A.D OBUCEIL I HILES EXPEDI to inflict the curse and shame and death CBUOEll," were the awful words in which he for which they had plotted and clamoured. would deliver his judgment aud secure an Thie powerful suggestion is brought out by everlasting execration. He delivered up the amended text. At this point, when the Jou unto tJi,em; for they, though not the B!IC?ed Sufferer left the Prmtorium e.nd was positive hands by which the foul deed we.s done, were the sole inciting causes of the 1 The , oliv, "then," has the authority of act. Luke, as well as John, involves thia B, L, X. 33, and some versions; but a large idea, and Peter (Acts ii. 23) says, "Ye slew number of uncials read Ii,, with T.R., Gries- him, crucifying him by the hands of lawless bach., and Scholz, who also add, 1<a.l a.~-ya.-yov. men," and(Actsiii.15) "Ye killed the Prince The llt* reads ol Ii, 1'.a.f)/wrn. The varia- of Life." Yet they were profoundly anxious tions are numerous in the end of the sen- for his death by Roman cruci1i.rion, not only tence. Tregelles, Tieohendorf (8th edit.), ~use thus they were impelled to fulfil the Weeteott and Hort, and R.T. read o3v with- great prophecy and confirm the words of out addition. (Syri.ac-Harclean, me.rgin- tile bleesed Lord him.Bt,lf, but bc:cauee they adds, ,ls .-b trpa.mf,pw11.) Some cmsives add, wLed to stump out ia di.Bgrace and shame ,ts .-o ,na.vpii,rra.,,. ctt. :ux. 1-42.] THE GOSPEL A(ICORDING TO ST. JOHN. 426