The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 2 — Section 493

but to form the very focus and new oentral many antioipatlona, partial beginnlhge, ot for,•e of thy ,.-hole· being; and BO it will the final aoene muet Petor hl\ve paeeecl ,•ome to pa•• that thie new foroe will more through beforo, in utt.or human helpleesness thnn muter thoo; e.ncl when thou ■halt be but in Divine, supernl\lurnl strength, h; old au,! gray wit.h yenrs, thy eervioo to that 8tretched out his ha11d.,, allowed a11other to ,,fher nn<l. higher will shall be complete: gird him, prepare him for the de.y's work, thou wilt lltretoh forth thy handa in token and carry him whither all hie ne.ture would nf entire submis,ion to the will of e.nother, shrink to go I There is no other hint what- however it mav be revealed to t h - ever of litere.l crucifixion than this phrll.8e w hot.Irnr at the instance of "the e.ngcl " or of "atretching out the hand,'' whioh is no- .. H,•rod," of •Cornelius" or Nero's execu- where else applied to the poouliar method. tioner I This remerkable phrase hlt.8 often in whioh the crucified ones auffered. heen eu pposed to m<'an the " ■tretcliing Doubtleee the transposition of the two forth of the he.nds of the crucified " on hie phre.eee must not be preeeecl too muob, since being appended to the cross. Dnt snch e. the 8fntching of the arm, might possibly process would/ollou, rRther than J?recede the bea.r the literal interpretation of the aotion "girding," which is, on such e.n mterpreta- which was forced upon the viotim, and the tion, taken litere.lly of the girding thR.t pre- subsequent "girding" refer to the suhUga-- C-Oded the ne.iling. There can be no doubt, culum, by which he we.a fastened to the from the language of St. John, that this instrument of torture; while the "being- was the final e.nd foroible illustration of the carried whither h6 would not " might, new principle that would te.ke foll posses- though by some foroing of the phrase, be sup- ~ion of Simon Peter. But mea.nwhile it we.s posed, though enigmatically and obscurely, a long life of willing BUITender to the to refer to the uplifting of the cross with 1'upreme Will which gives its highest its living burden. The phrase, "signifying me.c~ning to these ,rords. A.nil. another shall by what manner of death he should glorify gird thee, and oe.rry thee 1 (or, bring thee) God," is peouliarly Johannine (eh. xii. 83; whither thou art not wilhing to go. The xviii. 32). This sublime term for the old self-will, though it be ina:eed me.etered, eu11'c,ring of the great ea.inte, taken from will not have utterly ve.ni.shed. If it be not the light which the Lord's agony had cast so, where would be the sacrifice? Even the upon holy death, became e. permanent blesse<l. Lord himself said, "Not my will, Christian idea. (Suicer, 'Thee.,' i. 949), but thine be done." Verily,even these.noti- When John wrote, the faot of Peter'e death fied nature of the sinless Man, prepe.red in the must have been well known throughou.t spotle&ll womb of the blessed Virgin by the the Church. There is every probability Holy Ghost, anointed by the Spirit, e.nd in that he had long since been crucified, and living absolute union with the only begotten the solemnity of the utterance we.e aug- Son,-even he was, in human consciowmeee, mented and pointed by the well-known di.epoeed to cry, " If it be poesfble, let this manner of the death of the illustrious cup pa.ss from me," etc. We need not apostle. ThJs we.e, however, by no means wonder, then, that to the very last, when the the only meaning that naturally flows ou.t supreme will w11,11 me.uifeeted to Peter in of the warning; nor ie Peter'e experience the approaches of violent death, he should the only illustre.tion that it beers. And feel the will of the :flesh thwarted. The when he hail. spoken this, Jesus ea.ith to him, exquisite legend embodied in the" Domine, Follow me. There may ha.ve been a plimary quo vadis ? " ( see eh. xiii 33) confirms the interprete.tion derived from Christ's removal entire representation of the chamcter of to a distance from the rest of the disciples, Peter. So a.lso does the story, preserved by and the intention of conferring upon Peter, Tertullian (' De Pnes.,' 35; • Ad Scorp.,' 15) there and then, special and further instruc- and Eusebius (' Hist. EccL,' iii 1), that the tions. But from the context, in which th& apostle preferred crucifixion with hie head contrasts of life, character, and Eervice are down wards, on the plea that to be crucified conspicuous, it would Sflf\m impossible w, his Master '\11"611 too great IIIl honour for (Meyer) so to restrict the meaning, IMI· one that had denied hie Lord. Tholuck and others do. The command is Ver. 19.-Thill he said, adds the eve.nge- the concentration into one burning utteranoe list, signifying bJ what lll&llller of dee.th, of all that is meant by Christian life-that not necesearily crucifixion (Godet). but that coming into relation with the living Lord, violent and martyr-death to which the that imitation of his principle of action, prince of the e.postles was called. How which, as St. Paul in Phil. ii. has shown, was cape.ble of imitation in the no.rrower 1 Lachmlllln, Tisohendorf, T.B. and B.T. and smaller circle of our human experience. put IIE Lefore (.:i,m. M, D, Il, ree.d 4.M.oi II it be rationo.l for the Lord to have ea.id, (G1a-oii11,. tt, for alau .Srou, ree.de wo,~aauai "Be ye perfoct, o.s your Father in heo.ven is tro, Za-a, " shall do io thee whatsoever," eto. perfeot," and for Paul to have preased upon 011. xxr. 1-25.] 'l'IIE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN.