The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 2 — Section 451

the nnrrnli"c of llfo.Uliew ie delh-crcd from ver. 2 or the l,rl of Luke ulv. 1 ; hut It la ifg E;J"C'ntcsl r•'l']'lcxity. 'fho fact that ,J,~11• clear from the form of the fnllowlug een- ,nr/ them m nFl he i<lentical with the 11p- tenoo, the.t ,1>..8.v ,ls is ditl'!!rout In mcnn- pcaranc<' <ll'Bl'riJ.e,l wiih far gre11ter deti1.il ing from •ltrij>..8,v ,ls, and doea not menn iu Jnhn's own Flnlemcnt (vcre. 11-18). "right into," but" townr,ls.") John, ne the lllntth,•w's Gospel thro11!ihout ie singnfarly younger mo.n, would soon outst.rlp the elderly dc1·oid of uotiecs of lime, and wo find disciple; and he simply records who.tin one groupc,l hcl'c, ns el~cw hero, C'\" 2nts or tee.oh- sense is e.n ineiguifioont detail, but one the.I in/!'8 without chronologicnl pNspectivo. oould never be forgotten by him. There ia Yer. 2.-Then ■he rnnneth in nrh1tnoo of no disposition to m11.gnify himself, ns Peter'a the ot!H•r women, who are enr.h intent on pnrt is obviously the more conspicuous. John communicating wh11.t ebe hn,1 ~rcn nncl runs more rapidly from hie youth, the fervour henr<l, and oometh to Simon FGter-why of his nature, e.nd the wo.rmth of his e.ffeo- not, i[, RB l\Inrk enye. Peter hnd been spe- t.ion ; the reflection tho.t he might hnve cially mentioned by the angel ?-a.nd to the directly to convey tho strange news to the other disciple, whom 18811B loved. The form n,other of his Lord assisted to hurry him. of the expresRion ~uggeRtR tbnt ihcy were Ver. 5.-And he.ving stooped down. napa.• living in differont houses. [There were two ,c{,,r,.., is the verb usc,1 in Luke xxiv. 12 to di~iples on whom Jesus poured out t\10 describe Pcter's oonrluct nnd gesture. It abun<lanC'c of bis love. The word hero used was a nccessnry preliminnry or the subse- is not ~~-dira, the.t which is used in <'h. xiii. quent act of Peter, though Luke does not 23 and xxi. 7-20, nnd which denotes refer to it. Peter himself uses the same 1 he lnve of high reg11.rd, but lcp{>,,.,, the word (1 Pet. i. 12). It means liternlly love of pPrsonnl affection, the kind of love "bending on one side," with a desire to ~howeral on Le.zarus and his sisters (eh. go.ze intently on an object (Ecclus. xiv. 23; xi. 5). 60 for, then, from John espe,cie.lly :ui. 23; Jae. i. 25). Xe seeth the linen exalting himself at the expense of Pder, olothes lying (see oh. xix. 40), untenanted he gives to Peter the first place in tl.ie affec- Blld unused, those very cerecloths which tion of his Master.] And ahe n.ith to them, he he.d helped to wind round the snored, They have taken away the Lord-even the wounded body, with their affluence of sweet corpse of Jesus was the Lord to this urgent spices. Yet entered he not within. A.we, and impassioucd discipl-ut of the se- reverence, mystery, fea.r, ne.scent hope, the pulchre, Blld we know not where they- thought most poesibly, "Not here, but .Joseph and Nicodemus, or the chief priests, risen," began to dawn fe.intly on his mind. or Rom1m soldiers, or Jews-have laid him. There we.s ringing in his ears," Your sorrow We know not who.t other burying-pl11.ce she.II be turned into joy." The touch of the "tlic~" hnve chosen! The anti-harmonistio eye-witness, e.nd the personal part of one comnientators, with ponderous literalism, who is describing his own activity, Wett- insist that Mary could have so.id nothing stein, on ou ,,.l11To1 .ltr71>..9u,, e.dde, "ne pol- more. A gushing wome.n like Mary of lueretuz," and quotes numerous Te.lmudical llfogdala uttered one sentence, e.nd the.t was authorities to show how the corpse and the all! It is, however, entirely evident that grave and gre.veetone would pollute the she must he.ve so.id enongh to excite great living (cf. Numb. xix. 16). If so, then wonderment, haste, and activity in the Peter, before be came to the conclusion that breaBts of these two disciples (see above on there was no death in the sepulchre, broke a the three l,ypothesee). ritual law which John respected. There Vere. 3, 4.-Peter therefore went forth seems also rabbinical authority for the fe.ot ( l!fi>.JJev, aorist). This is e. fe.ot affirmed also that disciples might ce.rry _" the jast" to by Luke (xxiv.12), "But Peter arose and re.n. their gre.ve without such fear of pollution. to the sepulchre." John e.dds, and the other Bat at this moment they were both lifted diaaiple joined Peter, filled with a common above the region of ritual e.ltogether. amo.zement, and (fipxovro, imperfect) they Vere. 6, 7.-John stood gazing, waiting, went on their way toward the sepulchre. wondering, and, while doing this, then Now they were ?'II.IIJWlg (~p•xov, imperfect) oometh Simon Peter following him e.oroe1 both of them together : Blld the other cliaoiple the very garden which must have borne did outrun-or, literally, ran in advance, many marks of the dreadful tragedy the.t more quiokly than-Peter, and came firllt to he.d been hurriedly terminated before the the sepulohre. The opponents of this Goepel commencement of the se.bbath. The ex- supply numerous suggestions, with the view pression, "following him," mo.y refer to of obliterating this natural and lifelike whe.t Luke (xxiv. 12) says the.t Peter did, touch. (Eis is used instead of the -rpbs of viz. that he too stooped down and looked all John had done.' Westcott so.ye, "without a e.ndCyprie.n, who commenced the veJ:'118 with 1 Westcott nnd Hori; bracket the versq, ttalBou. on. xx. 1-/ll.J 'l'IIE OOAPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN. 466