i cho xỉ. 50. my time is not yet full come. 9 When he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee. 10 But when his brethrend were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. 11 e Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he? 1 And there was much murmuring among the people 1 Matt. xxi. 46. concerning him: [for] some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the 8 people. 13 Howbeit no man spake openly of him m for fear of the Jews. k ch. ix. 16: x. 19. Luke vii. 16. ch, vi, 14 ver. 40. m ch. ix. 22: xii. 42: xix. n Matt. xiii. 54. Mark vi. 2. Luke iv. 22. 14 i Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught. 15k And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never 40: xiv. 10, learned? 16 Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine o ch. ii. 11: viii. 28 xii. 24. © render, remained. e render, The Jews therefore. grender, multitude. i render, But when it was now. 1 read, therefore of my testimony against it, causes me to exercise this caution which you so blame.' In ver. 8, it is of little import whether we read not or not yet: the sense will be the same, both on account of the present, go not up (not will not go up,' which would express the disavowal of an intention to go up), and of "not yet," which occurs afterwards. I go not up would mean, I am not (at present) going up. Meyer attributes to our Lord change of purpose, and justifies his view by the example of His treatment of the Syrophonician woman, whom He at first repulsed, but afterwards had compassion on. Matt. xv. 26 ff. The same Commentator directs attention to the emphatic term, "this feast," as implying that our Lord had it in His mind to go up to some future feasts, but not to this one. is not yet full come: see Luke ix. 51 and note. 10.] not openly, i. e. not in the usual caravan-company, nor probably by the usual way. Whether the Twelve were with Him, we have no means of judging: probably so, for they appear ch. ix. 2; and after their becoming once attached to the Person of our Lord as Apostles, we find no trace of His having been for any long time separated from them, except during their mission Matt. x., which was long ago accomplished. 11.] These Jews are, as usual, the rulers, as distinguished from the multitudes. Their question itself (that man) shews a hostile spirit. 12.] the mul titudes (the different groups of which the multitude was composed) would include the Galilæan disciples, and those who had been baptized by the disciples in Judæa,— whose view the words "He is a good man" would represent, -as expressed mildly in protest against His enemies. وو he deceiveth the multitude, possibly in reference to the feeding of and then the discourse to the multitude, which had given so much offence. 13. no man spake openly of him] This was true only of the side who said "He is a good man:" they dared not speak their mind: the others spoke plainly enough. Here again "the Jews are distinguished from the multitudes. 14-39.] Jesus testifies to Himself in the Temple. 15-24.] His teaching is from the Father. 14, 15. when it was now the midst of the feast] Probably on a sabbath. It appears to have been the first time that He taught publicly at Jerusalem ;-whence (therefore) the wonder of the Jews, i. e. the rulers of the hierarchy. letters] Particularly, scripturelearning,-perhaps because this was all the literature of the Jews. Probably His teaching consisted in exposition of the Scripture. having never learned: never having been the scholar of any Rabbi. He was taught of God. These words are spoken in the true bigotry and prejudice of so-called 'learning.' These words of His enemies, testifying to matter of fact well known to them, are, as Meyer ob viii. 50. is not mine, but his that sent me. 17 P If any man m will pch. viii. 43. do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it n be of God, or whether I speak of myself. 18 4 He that ach. v. 41: speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. 19 Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me? 20 The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill 21 Jesus answered and said unto them, I m render, be willing to. r render, did. serves, decisive against all attempts of un- words may bear two meanings :-either, that of Him who sent me. The latter is preferable, as agreeing better with what follows, and because the former assumes that He was expounding Scripture, which, though probable, is not asserted. 17.] The rendering of this verse in the A. V. is much to be deplored. The word signifying be willing to should not have been slurred over, for it is important. If any man's will be, to do His will, &c. As it now stands in the A. V., a wrong idea is conveyed that the bare performance of God's outward commands will give a man sufficient acquaintance with Christian doctrine:whereas what our Lord asserts to the Jews is, that if the will be set in His ways, if a man be really anxious to do the will of God, and thus to fulfil this first great commandment of the law, the singleness of purpose, and subjection to the will of God, will lead him on to faith in the promised and then apparent Messiah, and to a just discrimination of the divine character of his teaching. 18.] This gives us the reason why he, who wishes to do God's will, will know of the teaching of Christ viz. because both are seeking one aim-the glory of God:-and the humility of him, whose will it is to do God's will, can best appreciate that more perfect humility of the divine Son, who speaks not of : S r Exod. xxiv. 3. Deut. Join i. 17, xxxiii. 4. Acts vii. 38. s Matt. xii. 14. Mark ii. 6. ch. v. 18, 18. thee?, 39: have done one ʼn render, is. xi. 53. t ch. viii. 48, 52: x. 20. a render, seek ye. himself, but of Him that sent him,-see ch. v. 41-44, of which this verse is a repetition with a somewhat different bearing. In its general sense, it asserts that selfexaltation and self-seeking necessarily accompany the unaided teaching of man, but that all true teaching is from God. But then we must remember that, simply taken, the latter part of the sentence is only true of the Holy One Himself; that owing to human infirmity, purity of motive is no sure guarantee for correctness of doctrine;-and therefore in this second part He does not say "the glory of a close connexion with the foregoing. Our Why u Lev. xii. 3. 17. Prov. Χ work, and ye all marvel. 22 u Moses therefore gave unto × Gen. xvii. 10. you circumcision, not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers; and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man. 23 If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at y ch. v. 8, 9, 16. me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the z Deut. i. 16, sabbath day? 24 z Judge not according to the appearance, xxiv. 23. ch. but judge righteous judgment. 25 Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he, whom they seek to kill? 26 ▾ But, lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. aw Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very b Matt. xiii. 55. Christ? 27 b Howbeit we know this man whence he is : Luke iv. 22. but when y Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is. 28 z Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am and I am not viii. 15. James ii. 1. a ver. 48. Mark vi. 3. c ch. v. 43: viii. 49. a render, hath given. W render, Have the rulers come to know. I read and render, that this man is the Christ. render, the Christ. ▾ render, And. render, Therefore cried Jesus, teaching in the temple, and saying. purpose of their rulers, which our Lord had just exposed and charged them with. It would not now be their policy to represent Him as possessed. 21.] The one work was the sabbath healing in ch. v. 22.] The argument seems to be, Moses on this account gave you circumcision, not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers; i. e. it is no part of the law of Moses, properly so called, but was adopted by Moses, and thereby becomes part of his law. Now you circumcise on the Sabbath, to avoid breaking the law of Moses, &c. If our Lord had said these last words (in ver. 23) merely, the argument would not have been strict: they might have answered, that circumcision was not only a command of the law, but anterior to it; whereas ver. 22 takes this answer from them; reminding them that though they regarded its sanction as derived from Moses, it was in fact older, and tacitly approving their doing it on the Sabbath. Then the argument is, If this may be done on the Sabbath :-if an ordinance strictly Mosaic (which the Sabbath in its Jewish mode of observance was) may be set aside by another, Mosaic also, but more ancient, and borrowed from a more general and direct command of God (for, as Grotius observes, circumcision was older than the enactment of strict rest on the Sabbath by the law), how much more may 25-31.] HE HIMSELF IS FROM THE FATHER. 25, 26.] The inhabitants of Jerusalem know better than the multitude the mind of their rulers towards Jesus; and suspect some change in their purpose, on account of His being thus permitted to teach freely. 27.] Perhaps they refer to the idea (see quotation from Justin Martyr in note on ch. i. 31) that the Messiah would not be known until anointed by Elias, when He would suddenly come forth from obscurity. They may allude to Isa. liii. 8. The place of the Messiah's viii. 26. Rom, iii. 4. e ch. i. 18: viii. 55 come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye d ch. v. 32: know not. 29 [a But] I know him: for I am from him, and he [h hath] sent me. 30 8c Then they sought to take him but h no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come. 31 d And many of the people i believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he k a omitted by many ancient authorities. render, Therefore sought they. e render, multitude. Matt. xi. 27. ch. x. 15. Luke xix. 47: xx. 19. ver. 19. ch. viii. 37. ver. 44. ch. Matt. xii. 23. viii. 20. ch. iii. 2: viii. 30. kch. xiii. 33: Hos. v. 6. xvi. 16. b render, because. d ch. viii. 21: xiii. 33. render, But. frender, the Christ shall come. 8 render, the multitude murmuring these things. "speaketh boldly" above; but it was, in 30.] they, namely, the rulers,-instigated by what had been above remarked by the people, vv. 25, 26. There i omit. was some secondary hindrance to their laying hands on Him,-possibly the fear of the people: but the Evangelist passes at once to the real cause ;-that God's appointed time was not yet come. 31.] The But here contrasts with what went before-nay, many &c. 32-36.] HE WILL RETURN TO THE FATHER. 32.] The wavering of the multitude appears to the Pharisees a dangerous sign and the Sanhedrim (consisting of the Chief Priests and the Pharisees) send officers specially to lay hold on Him. unto 33, 34.] The omission or insertion of "unto them" makes very little difference. The words were spoken, not to the officers only, but to all the people. Yet a little while....] This appears to be said in reference to ver. 30, to shew them the uselessness of their attempting to lay hands on Him till His hour was come, which it soon would do. him that sent me] It has been asked, 'If Jesus thus specified where He was going, how could the Jews ask the question in ver. 35?' but De Wette answers well, that the Jews knew not "Him that sent Him," and therefore the saying was a dark one to them. Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me] These words must not be pressed too much, as has been done by many interpreters, who would make them mean Ye shall seek My help and not find it' (viz. in your need, at the destruction of Jerusalem); for this would not be true even of the Jews, any one of whom · cannot come. 35 j Then said the Jews among themselves, he go, that we shall not find him? will he m Isa. xl. 12. go unto m the dispersed among the 1 Gentiles, and teach James i. 1. 1 Pet. i. 1. n Lev. xxiii. 36. the 1 Gentiles? 36 What manner of saying is this that he said, Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, [ thither] ye cannot come ? 37 n In the last day, 。 that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, j render, The Jews therefore said. 1 render, Greeks. n omit. might have at any time turned and looked pare "ye cannot" addressed to the Jews, Their On the whole, see 35, 36.] The Jews understood not his death to be meant, but some journey which He would take in the event of their rejecting him. intent in this hypothesis, that He was going to the dispersed among the Greeks, is, to convey contempt and mockery. They do not however believe the hypothesis; but ask again, What is this saying? 37-52.] JESUS THE GIVER OF THE SPIRIT (37-39). CONSEQUENCES OF THE DISCOURSE (40-52). 37, 38.] It is not certain what is meant by this last day, which was the great day of the feast. The command, Levit. xxiii. 34, 35, was to keep the feast seven days; the first to be a solemn assembly and a feast-sabbath, then on the eighth day another solemn assembly and a feast-sabbath :-so also ib. ver. 39. (But in Deut. xvi. 13 nothing is said of the eighth day.) In Neh. viii. 18 the feast is kept seven days, and on the eighth is a solemn assembly, according k render, this man. m render, is this saying. • render, which was the great day. unto the manner. In Num. xxix. 12— 38, where minute directions are given for every day of the feast, the eighth day is reckoned in, as usual. Josephus, Antt. iii. 10. 4, gives a similar account. In 2 Macc. x. 6, we read "eight days. ....as in the feast of the tabernacles." But the eighth day was not properly one of the feast days; the people ceased to dwell in the tabernacles on the seventh day. Philo says of it, that it was the solemn conclusion, not of that feast alone, but of all the feasts in the year, being the last day in the year. And though this may be pure conjecture, it is valuable, as shewing the fact the reason of which is conjectured; viz. that the eighth day was held in more than ordinary estimation. The eighth day then seems here to be meant, and the last of the feast to be popularly used, as in some of the citations above. But a difficulty attends this view. Our Lord certainly seems to allude here to the custom which prevailed during the seven days of the feast, of a priest bringing water in a golden vessel from the pool of Siloam with a jubilant procession to the temple, standing on the altar and pouring it out there, together with wine, while meantime the Hallel (Ps. cxiii.cxviii.) was sung. This practice was by some supposed-as the dwelling in tabernacles represented their life in the desert of old-to refer to the striking of the rock by Moses :-by others, to the rain, for which they then prayed, for the seed of the ensuing year: -by the elder Rabbis, to Isa. xii. 3, and the effusion of the Holy Spirit in the days of the Messiah. But it was almost universally agreed, that on the eighth day this ceremony did not take place. Now, out of this difficulty I would extract what I believe to be the right interpretation. It was the eighth day, and the pouring of water did not take place. But is therefore all allusion to the ceremony excluded? I think not: nay, I believe it is the more natural. For seven |