1JesusG2424 wentG4198 toG1519 the mountG3735 of OlivesG1636. 2AndG1161 early in the morningG3722 he cameG3854 againG3825 intoG1519 the templeG2411, andG2532 allG3956 the peopleG2992 cameG2064 toG4314 himG846; andG2532 he sat downG2523, and taughtG1321 themG846. 3AndG1161 the scribesG1122 andG2532 PhariseesG5330 broughtG71 toG4314 himG846 a womanG1135 takenG2638 inG1722 adulteryG3430; andG2532 when they had setG2476 herG846 inG1722 the midstG3319, 4They sayG3004 to himG846, MasterG1320, thisG3778 womanG1135 was takenG2638 in adulteryG3431, in the very actG1888. 5NowG1161 MosesG3475 inG1722 the lawG3551 commandedG1781 usG2254, that suchG5108 should be stonedG3036: butG3767 whatG5101 sayestG3004 thouG4771? 6ThisG5124 they saidG3004, temptingG3985 himG846, thatG2443 they might haveG2192 to accuseG2723 himG846. ButG1161 JesusG2424 stoopedG2955 downG2736, and with his fingerG1147 wroteG1125 onG1519 the groundG1093, as though he heardG4364 them notG3361. 7SoG1161 whenG5613 they continuedG1961 askingG2065 himG846, he raised himselfG352, and saidG2036 toG4314 themG846, He that is without sinG361 among youG5216, let himG906 firstG4413 castG906 a stoneG3037 atG1909 herG846. 8AndG2532 againG3825 he stoopedG2955 downG2736, and wroteG1125 onG1519 the groundG1093. 9AndG1161 they who heardG191 itG2532, being convictedG1651 byG5259 their own conscienceG4893, went outG1831 one by oneG1527, beginningG756 atG575 the eldestG4245, even toG2193 the lastG2078: andG2532 JesusG2424 was leftG2641 aloneG3441, andG2532 the womanG1135 standingG2476 inG1722 the midstG3319. 10WhenG1161 JesusG2424 had raised himselfG352, andG2532 sawG2300 noneG3367 butG4133 the womanG1135, he saidG2036 to herG846, WomanG1135, whereG4226 areG1526 thoseG1565 thyG4675 accusersG2725? hathG2632 no manG3762 condemnedG2632 theeG4571? 11 She saidG2036, No manG3762, LordG2962. AndG1161 JesusG2424 saidG2036 to herG846, NeitherG3761 doG2632 IG1473 condemnG2632 theeG4571: goG4198, andG2532 sinG264 no moreG3371. 12ThenG3767 JesusG2424 spokeG2980 againG3825 to themG846, sayingG3004, IG1473 amG1510 the lightG5457 of the worldG2889: he that followethG190 meG1698 shallG4043 notG3364 walkG4043 inG1722 darknessG4653, butG235 shall haveG2192 the lightG5457 of lifeG2222. 13The PhariseesG5330 thereforeG3767 saidG2036 to himG846, ThouG4771 barest witnessG3140 concerningG4012 thyselfG4572; thyG4675 witnessG3141 isG2076 notG3756 trueG227. 14JesusG2424 answeredG611 andG2532 saidG2036 to themG846, ThoughG2579 IG1473 witnessG3140 concerningG4012 myselfG1683, yet myG3450 witnessG3141 isG2076 trueG227: forG3754 I knowG1492 from whereG4159 I cameG2064, andG2532 whereG4226 I goG5217; butG1161 yeG5210 cannotG3756 tellG1492 from whereG4159 I comeG2064, andG2532 whereG4226 I goG5217. 15YeG5210 judgeG2919 afterG2596 the fleshG4561; IG1473 judgeG2919 noG3756 manG3762. 16AndG1161 yetG2532 ifG1437 IG1473 judgeG2919, myG1699 judgmentG2920 isG2076 trueG227: forG3754 I amG1510 notG3756 aloneG3441, butG235 IG1473 andG2532 the FatherG3962 that sentG3992 meG3165. 17 It isG1125 alsoG1161 writtenG1125 inG1722 yourG5212 lawG3551, thatG3754 the testimonyG3141 of twoG1417 menG444 isG2076 trueG227. 18IG1473 amG1510 one that bear witnessG3140 concerningG4012 myselfG1683, andG2532 the FatherG3962 that sentG3992 meG3165 beareth witnessG3140 concerningG4012 meG1700. 19ThenG3767 said theyG3004 to himG846, WhereG4226 isG2076 thyG4675 FatherG3962? JesusG2424 answeredG611, YeG1492 neitherG3777 knowG1492 meG1691, norG3777 myG3450 FatherG3962: ifG1487 ye had knownG1492 meG2532 G1691, ye should have knownG1492 myG3450 FatherG3962 alsoG302. 20TheseG5023 wordsG4487 JesusG2424 spokeG2980 inG1722 the treasuryG1049, as he taughtG1321 inG1722 the templeG2411: andG2532 no manG3762 laid handsG4084 on himG846; forG3754 hisG846 hourG5610 wasG2064 not yetG3768 comeG2064. 21ThenG3767 saidG2036 JesusG2424 againG3825 to themG846, IG1473 am going awayG5217, andG2532 ye shall seekG2212 meG3165, andG2532 shall dieG599 inG1722 yourG5216 sinsG266: whereG3699 IG1473 goG5217, yeG5210 cannotG3756 G1410 comeG2064. 22ThenG3767 saidG3004 the JewsG2453, Will he killG3385 G615 himselfG1438? becauseG3754 he saithG3004, WhereG3699 IG1473 goG5217, yeG5210 cannotG3756 G1410 comeG2064. 23AndG2532 he saidG2036 to themG846, YeG5210 areG2075 fromG1537 beneathG2736; IG1473 amG1510 fromG1537 aboveG507: yeG5210 areG2075 ofG1537 thisG5127 worldG2889; IG1473 amG1510 notG3756 ofG1537 thisG5127 worldG2889. 24I saidG2036 thereforeG3767 to youG5213, thatG3754 ye shall dieG599 inG1722 yourG5216 sinsG266: forG1063 ifG3362 ye believeG4100 notG3362 thatG3754 IG1473 amG1510 he, ye shall dieG599 inG1722 yourG5216 sinsG266. 25ThenG3767 said theyG3004 to himG846, WhoG5101 artG1488 thouG4771? AndG2532 JesusG2424 saithG2036 to themG846, EvenG3748 G2532 the same that I saidG2980 to youG5213 from the beginningG746. 26I haveG2192 many thingsG4183 to sayG2980 andG2532 to judgeG2919 ofG4012 youG5216: butG235 he that sentG3992 meG3165 isG2076 trueG227; and IG2504 speakG3004 toG1519 the worldG2889 those thingsG5023 whichG3739 I have heardG191 fromG3844 himG846. 27They understoodG1097 notG3756 thatG3754 he spokeG3004 to themG846 concerning the FatherG3962. 28ThenG5119 saidG2036 JesusG2424 to themG846, WhenG3752 ye have lifted upG5312 the SonG5207 of manG444, thenG3767 shall ye knowG1097 thatG3754 IG1473 amG1510 he, andG2532 that I doG4160 nothingG3762 ofG575 myselfG1683; butG235 asG2531 myG3450 FatherG3962 hath taughtG1321 meG3165, I speakG2980 these thingsG5023. 29AndG2532 he that sentG3992 meG3165 isG2076 withG3326 meG1700: the FatherG3962 hathG863 notG3756 leftG863 meG3165 aloneG3441; forG3754 IG1473 doG4160 alwaysG3842 those things that pleaseG701 himG846. 30As heG846 spokeG2980 these wordsG5023, manyG4183 believedG4100 onG1519 himG846. 31ThenG3767 saidG3004 JesusG2424 toG4314 those JewsG2453 whoG3588 believedG4100 on himG846, IfG1437 yeG5210 continueG3306 inG1722 myG1699 wordG3056, ye areG2075 myG3450 disciplesG3101 indeedG230; 32AndG2532 ye shall knowG1097 the truthG225, andG2532 the truthG225 shall makeG1659 youG5209 freeG1659. 33They answeredG611 himG846, We areG2070 Abraham’sG11 offspringG4690, andG2532 wereG1398 neverG4455 in bondageG1398 to any manG3762: howG4459 sayestG3004 thouG3754 G4771, Ye shall be madeG1096 freeG1658? 34JesusG2424 answeredG611 themG846, VerilyG281, verilyG281, I sayG3004 to youG3754 G5213, WhoeverG3956 committethG4160 sinG266 isG2076 the servantG1401 of sinG266. 35AndG1161 the servantG1401 abidethG3306 notG3756 inG1722 the houseG3614 forG1519 everG165: but the SonG5207 abidethG3306 forG1519 everG165. 36IfG1437 the SonG5207 thereforeG3767 shall makeG1659 youG5209 freeG1659, ye shall beG2071 freeG1658 indeedG3689. 37I knowG1492 thatG3754 ye areG2075 Abraham’sG11 offspringG4690; butG235 ye seekG2212 to killG615 meG3165, becauseG3754 myG1699 wordG3056 hathG5562 noG3756 placeG5562 inG1722 youG5213. 38IG1473 speakG2980 that whichG3739 I have seenG3708 withG3844 myG3450 FatherG3962: andG2532 yeG5210 doG4160 thatG3767 whichG3739 ye have seenG3708 withG3844 yourG5216 fatherG3962. 39They answeredG611 andG2532 saidG2036 to himG846, AbrahamG11 isG2076 ourG2257 fatherG3962. JesusG2424 saithG3004 to themG846, IfG1487 ye wereG2258 Abraham’sG11 childrenG5043, ye would doG4160 G302 the worksG2041 of AbrahamG11. 40ButG1161 nowG3568 ye seekG2212 to killG615 meG3165, a manG444 thatG3739 hath toldG2980 youG5213 the truthG225, whichG3739 I have heardG191 fromG3844 GodG2316: thisG5124 didG4160 notG3756 AbrahamG11. 41YeG5210 doG4160 the deedsG2041 of yourG5216 fatherG3962. ThenG3767 said theyG2036 to himG846, WeG2249 areG1080 notG3756 bornG1080 ofG1537 fornicationG4202; we haveG2192 oneG1520 FatherG3962, even GodG2316. 42JesusG2424 G3767 saidG2036 to themG846, IfG1487 GodG2316 wereG2258 yourG5216 FatherG3962, ye wouldG302 loveG25 meG1691: forG1063 IG1473 proceeded forthG1831 andG2532 cameG2240 fromG1537 GodG2316; neitherG3761 G1063 came IG2064 ofG575 myselfG1683, butG235 heG1565 sentG649 meG3165. 43WhyG1302 do yeG1097 notG3756 understandG1097 myG1699 speechG2981? even becauseG3754 ye cannotG3756 G1410 hearG191 myG1699 wordG3056. 44YeG5210 areG2075 ofG1537 your fatherG3962 the devilG1228, andG2532 the lustsG1939 of yourG5216 fatherG3962 ye willG2309 doG4160. HeG1565 wasG2258 a murdererG443 fromG575 the beginningG746, andG2532 abodeG2476 notG3756 inG1722 the truthG225, becauseG3754 there isG2076 noG3756 truthG225 inG1722 himG846. WhenG3752 he speakethG2980 a lieG5579, he speakethG2980 ofG1537 his ownG2398: forG3754 he isG2076 a liarG5583, andG2532 the fatherG3962 of itG846. 45AndG1161 becauseG3754 IG1473 tellG3004 you the truthG225, ye believeG4100 meG3427 notG3756. 46WhichG5101 ofG1537 youG5216 convictethG1651 meG3165 ofG4012 sinG266? AndG1161 ifG1487 I speakG3004 the truthG225, whyG1302 doG4100 yeG5210 notG3756 believeG4100 meG3427? 47He that isG5607 ofG1537 GodG2316 hearethG191 God’sG2316 wordsG4487: yeG5210 thereforeG5124 G1223 hearG191 them notG3756, becauseG3754 ye areG2075 notG3756 ofG1537 GodG2316. 48ThenG3767 answeredG611 the JewsG2453, andG2532 saidG2036 to himG846, SayG3004 weG2249 notG3756 wellG2573 thatG3754 thouG4771 artG1488 a SamaritanG4541, andG2532 hastG2192 a demonG1140? 49JesusG2424 answeredG611, IG1473 haveG2192 notG3756 a demonG1140; butG235 I honourG5091 myG3450 FatherG3962, andG2532 yeG5210 dishonourG818 meG3165. 50AndG1161 IG1473 seekG2212 notG3756 my ownG3450 gloryG1391: there isG2076 one that seekethG2212 andG2532 judgethG2919. 51VerilyG281, verilyG281, I sayG3004 to youG5213, IfG1437 a manG5100 shall keepG5083 myG1699 sayingG3056, he shallG2334 neverG3364 G1519 G165 seeG2334 deathG2288. 52ThenG3767 saidG2036 the JewsG2453 to himG846, NowG3568 we knowG1097 thatG3754 thou hastG2192 a demonG1140. AbrahamG11 is deadG599, andG2532 the prophetsG4396; andG2532 thouG4771 sayestG3004, IfG1437 a manG5100 shall keepG5083 myG3450 sayingG3056, he shallG1089 neverG3364 G1519 G165 tasteG1089 of deathG2288. 53ArtG3361 G1488 thouG4771 greater thanG3187 ourG2257 fatherG3962 AbrahamG11, whoG3748 is deadG599? andG2532 the prophetsG4396 are deadG599: whomG5101 makestG4160 thouG4771 thyselfG4572? 54JesusG2424 answeredG611, IfG1437 IG1473 honourG1392 myselfG1683, myG3450 honourG1391 isG2076 nothingG3762: it isG2076 myG3450 FatherG3962 that honourethG1392 meG3165; of whomG3739 yeG5210 sayG3004, thatG3754 he isG2076 yourG5216 GodG2316: 55YetG2532 ye haveG1097 notG3756 knownG1097 himG846; butG1161 IG1473 knowG1492 himG846: andG2532 ifG1437 I should sayG2036 G3754, I knowG1492 himG846 notG3756, I shall beG2071 a liarG5583 likeG3664 youG5216: butG235 I knowG1492 himG846, andG2532 keepG5083 hisG846 sayingG3056. 56YourG5216 fatherG3962 AbrahamG11 rejoicedG21 toG2443 seeG1492 myG1699 dayG2250: andG2532 he sawG1492 it, andG2532 was gladG5463. 57ThenG3767 saidG2036 the JewsG2453 toG4314 himG846, Thou artG2192 not yetG3768 fiftyG4004 years oldG2094, andG2532 hast thou seenG3708 AbrahamG11? 58JesusG2424 saidG2036 to themG846, VerilyG281, verilyG281, I sayG3004 to youG5213, BeforeG4250 AbrahamG11 wasG1096, IG1473 amG1510. 59ThenG3767 they took upG142 stonesG3037 toG2443 castG906 atG1909 himG846: butG1161 JesusG2424 hid himselfG2928, andG2532 wentG1831 out ofG1537 the templeG2411, goingG1330 throughG1223 the midstG3319 of themG846, andG2532 soG3779 passed byG3855.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 THE WOMAN TAKEN IN ADULTERY. (
John 8:1-
John 8:11)
Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives--This should have formed the last verse of the foregoing chapter. "The return of the people to the inert quiet and security of their dwellings (
John 7:53), at the close of the feast, is designedly contrasted with our Lord's homeless way, so to speak, of spending the short night, who is early in the morning on the scene again. One cannot well see why what is recorded in
Luke 21:37-
Luke 21:38 may not even thus early have taken place; it might have been the Lord's ordinary custom from the beginning to leave the brilliant misery of the city every night, that so He might compose His sorrowful and interceding heart, and collect His energies for new labors of love; preferring for His resting-place Bethany, and the Mount of Olives, the scene thus consecrated by many preparatory prayers for His final humiliation and exaltation" [STIER].
3 scribes and Pharisees--foiled in their yesterday's attempt, and hoping to succeed better in this.
4 woman . . . in adultery . . . Moses . . . commanded . . . should be stoned--simply put to death (
Deut 22:22), but in aggravated cases, at least in later times, this was probably by stoning (
Ezek 16:40).
but what sayest thou--hoping, whatever He might answer, to put Him in the wrong:--if He said, Stone her, that would seem a stepping out of His province; if He forbade it, that would hold Him up as a relaxer of the public morals. But these cunning hypocrites were overmatched.
6 stooped down--It will be observed He was sitting when they came to Him.
with his finger wrote on the ground--The words of our translators in italics ("as though He heard them not") have hardly improved the sense, for it is scarcely probable He could wish that to be thought. Rather He wished to show them His aversion to enter on the subject. But as this did not suit them, they "continue asking Him," pressing for an answer. At last, raising Himself He said.
7 He that is without sin--not meaning sinless altogether; nor yet, guiltless of a literal breach of the Seventh Commandment; but probably, he whose conscience acquits him of any such sin.
cast a stone--"the stone," meaning the first one (
Deut 17:7).
8 again he stooped down and wrote--The design of this second stooping and writing on the ground was evidently to give her accusers an opportunity to slink away unobserved by Him, and so avoid an exposure to His eye which they could ill have stood. Accordingly it is added.
9 they . . . convicted . . . went out one by one . . . Jesus was left alone--that is, without one of her accusers remaining; for it is added.
the woman in the midst--that is, of the remaining audience. While the trap failed to catch Him for whom it was laid, it caught those who laid it. Stunned by the unexpected home thrust, they immediately made off--which makes the impudence of those impure hypocrites in dragging such a case before the public eye the more disgusting.
10 Woman, &c.--What inimitable tenderness and grace! Conscious of her own guilt, and till now in the hands of men who had talked of stoning her, wondering at the skill with which her accusers had been dispersed, and the grace of the few words addressed to herself, she would be disposed to listen, with a reverence and teachableness before unknown, to our Lord's admonition. "And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more." He pronounces no pardon upon the woman (such as, "Thy sins are forgiven thee" [compare
Luke 5:28;
Luke 7:48] --"Go in peace" [compare
Mark 5:34;
Luke 7:50;
Luke 8:48]), much less does He say that she had done nothing condemnable; He simply leaves the matter where it was. He meddles not with the magistrate's office, nor acts the Judge in any sense (
John 12:47). But in saying, "Go and sin no more," which had been before said to one who undoubtedly believed (
John 5:14), more is probably implied than expressed. If brought suddenly to conviction of sin, admiration of her Deliverer, and a willingness to be admonished and guided by Him, this call to begin a new life may have carried with it what would ensure and naturally bring about a permanent change. (This whole narrative is wanting in some of the earliest and most valuable manuscripts, and those which have it vary to some extent. The internal evidence in its favor is almost overpowering. It is easy to account for its omission, though genuine; but if not so, it is next to impossible to account for its insertion).
12 FURTHER DISCOURSES OF JESUS--ATTEMPT TO STONE HIM. (John 8:12-59)
I am the light of the world--As the former references to water (
John 4:13-
John 4:14;
John 7:37-
John 7:39) and to bread (
John 6:35) were occasioned by outward occurrences, so this one to light. In "the treasury" where it was spoken (see on
John 8:20) stood two colossal golden lamp-stands, on which hung a multitude of lamps, lighted after the evening sacrifice (probably every evening during the feast of tabernacles), diffusing their brilliancy, it is said, over all the city. Around these the people danced with great rejoicing. Now, as amidst the festivities of the water from Siloam Jesus cried, saying, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink," so now amidst the blaze and the joyousness of this illumination, He proclaims, "I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD"--plainly in the most absolute sense. For though He gives His disciples the same title, they are only "light in the Lord" (
Eph 5:8); and though He calls the Baptist "the burning and shining light" (or "lamp" of his day,
John 5:35), yet "he was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light: that was THE TRUE LIGHT which, coming into the world, lighteth every man" (
John 1:8-
John 1:9). Under this magnificent title Messiah was promised of old (
Isa 42:6;
Mal 4:2, &c.).
he that followeth me--as one does a light going before him, and as the Israelites did the pillar of bright cloud in the wilderness.
but shall have the light of life--the light, as of a new world, a newly awakened spiritual and eternal life.
13 bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true--How does He meet this specious cavil? Not by disputing the wholesome human maxim that "self-praise is no praise," but by affirming that He was an exception to the rule, or rather, that it had no application to Him.
14 for I know whence I came, and whither I go, &c.--(See on
John 7:28).
15 Ye judge after the flesh--with no spiritual apprehension.
I judge no man.
16 And yet if I judge, my judgment is true, &c.--Ye not only form your carnal and warped judgments of Me, but are bent on carrying them into effect; I, though I form and utter My judgment of you, am not here to carry this into execution--that is reserved to a future day; yet the judgment I now pronounce and the witness I now bear is not Mine only as ye suppose, but His also that sent Me. (See on
John 5:31-
John 5:32). And these are the two witnesses to any fact which your law requires.
20 These words spake Jesus in the treasury--a division, so called, of the fore court of the temple, part of the court of the women [JOSEPHUS, Antiquities, 19.6.2, &c.], which may confirm the genuineness of
John 8:2-
John 8:11, as the place where the woman was brought.
no man laid hands on him, &c.--(See on
John 7:30). In the dialogue that follows, the conflict waxes sharper on both sides, till rising to its climax, they take up stones to stone him.
21 Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, &c.--(See on
John 7:33).
22 Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself?--seeing something more in His words than before (
John 7:35), but their question more malignant and scornful.
23 Ye are from beneath; I am from above--contrasting Himself, not as in
John 3:31, simply with earthborn messengers of God, but with men sprung from and breathing an opposite element from His, which rendered it impossible that He and they should have any present fellowship, or dwell eternally together. (Again see on
John 7:33; also see on
John 8:44).
24 if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins--They knew well enough what He meant (
Mark 13:6, Greek; compare
Matt 24:5). But He would not, by speaking it out, give them the materials for a charge for which they were watching. At the same time, one is irresistibly reminded by such language, so far transcending what is becoming in men, of those ancient declarations of the God of Israel, "I AM HE" (
Deut 32:39;
Isa 43:10,
Isa 43:13;
Isa 46:4;
Isa 48:12). See on
John 6:20.
25 Who art thou?--hoping thus to extort an explicit answer; but they are disappointed.
26 I have many things to say and to judge of you; but he that sent me is true, &c.--that is, I could, and at the fitting time, will say and judge many things of you (referring perhaps to the work of the Spirit which is for judgment as well as salvation,
John 16:8), but what I do say is just the message My Father hath given Me to deliver.
28 When ye have lifted up the Son of man--The plainest intimation He had yet given in public of the manner and the authors of His death.
then shall ye know that I am he, &c.--that is, find out, or have sufficient evidence, how true was all He said, though they would be far from owning it.
29 the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him, &c.--that is, To you, who gnash upon Me with your teeth, and frown down all open appearance for Me, I seem to stand uncountenanced and alone; but I have a sympathy and support transcending all human applause; I came hither to do My Father's will, and in the doing of it have not ceased to please Him; therefore is He ever by Me with His approving smile, His cheering words, His supporting arm.
30 As he spake these words, many believed on him--Instead of wondering at this, the wonder would be if words of such unearthly, surpassing grandeur could be uttered without captivating some that heard them. And just as "all that sat in the council" to try Stephen "saw his face"--though expecting nothing but death--"as it had been the face of an angel" (
Acts 6:15), so may we suppose that, full of the sweet supporting sense of His Father's presence, amidst the rage and scorn of the rulers, a divine benignity beamed from His countenance, irradiated the words that fell from Him, and won over the candid "many" of His audience.
31 Then said Jesus to those Jews who believed, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed, &c.--The impression produced by the last words of our Lord may have become visible by some decisive movement, and here He takes advantage of it to press on them "continuance" in the faith, since then only were they His real disciples (compare
John 15:3-
John 15:8), and then should they experimentally "know the truth," and "by the truth be made (spiritually) free."
33 They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man, &c.--Who said this? Not surely the very class just spoken of as won over by His divine words, and exhorted to continue in them. Most interpreters seem to think so; but it is hard to ascribe such a petulant speech to the newly gained disciples, even in the lowest sense, much less persons so gained as they were. It came, probably, from persons mixed up with them in the same part of the crowd, but of a very different spirit. The pride of the Jewish nation, even now after centuries of humiliation, is the most striking feature of their character. "Talk of freedom to us? Pray when or to whom were we ever in bondage?" This bluster sounds almost ludicrous from such a nation. Had they forgotten their long and bitter bondage in Egypt? their dreary captivity in Babylon? their present bondage to the Roman yoke, and their restless eagerness to throw it off? But probably they saw that our Lord pointed to something else--freedom, perhaps, from the leaders of sects or parties--and were not willing to allow their subjection even to these. Our Lord, therefore, though He knew what slaves they were in this sense, drives the ploughshare somewhat deeper than this, to a bondage they little dreamt of.
34 Whosoever committeth sin--that is, liveth in the commission of it--(Compare
1John 3:8;
Matt 7:23).
is the servant of sin--that is, the bond-servant, or slave of it; for the question is not about free service, but who are in bondage. (Compare
2Pet 2:19;
Rev 6:16). The great truth here expressed was not unknown to heathen moralists; but it was applied only to vice, for they were total strangers to what in revealed religion is called sin. The thought of slaves and freemen in the house suggests to our Lord a wider idea.
35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever, but the Son abideth ever--that is, "And if your connection with the family of God be that of BOND-SERVANTS, ye have no natural tie to the house; your tie is essentially uncertain and precarious. But the SON'S relationship to the FATHER is a natural and essential one; it is an indefeasible tie; His abode in it is perpetual and of right: That is My relationship, My tie: If, then, ye would have your connection with God's family made real, rightful, permanent, ye must by the Son be manumitted and adopted as sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty." In this sublime statement there is no doubt a subordinate allusion to
Gen 21:10, "Cast out this bondwoman and her son, for the son of this bond-woman shall not be heir with my son, with Isaac." (Compare
Gal 4:22-
Gal 4:30).
37 ye seek to kill me--He had said this to their face before: He now repeats it, and they do not deny it; yet are they held back, as by some marvellous spell--it was the awe which His combined dignity, courage, and benignity struck into them.
because my word hath no place in you--When did ever human prophet so speak of His words? They tell us of "the word of the Lord" coming to them. But here is One who holds up "His word" as that which ought to find entrance and abiding room for itself in the souls of all who hear it.
38 my Father . . . your father--(See on
John 8:23).
39 If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham--He had just said He "knew they were Abraham's children," that is, according to the flesh; but the children of his faith and holiness they were not, but the reverse.
40 this did not Abraham--In so doing ye act in direct opposition to him.
41 We be not born of fornication . . . we have one Father, God--meaning, as is generally allowed, that they were not an illegitimate race in point of religion, pretending only to be God's people, but were descended from His own chosen Abraham.
42 If God were your Father, ye would love me--"If ye had anything of His moral image, as children have their father's likeness, ye would love Me, for I am immediately of Him and directly from Him." But "My speech" (meaning His peculiar style of expressing Himself on these subjects) is unintelligible to you because ye cannot take in the truth which it conveys.
44 Ye are of your father the devil--"This is one of the most decisive testimonies to the objective (outward) personality of the devil. It is quite impossible to suppose an accommodation to Jewish views, or a metaphorical form of speech, in so solemn an assertion as this" [ALFORD].
the lusts of your father--his impure, malignant, ungodly propensities, inclinations, desires.
ye will do--are willing to do; not of any blind necessity of nature, but of pure natural inclination.
He was a murderer from the beginning--The reference is not to Cain (as LOCKE, DE WETTE, ALFORD, &c.), but to Adam [GROTIUS, CALVIN, MEYER, LUTHARDT, &c.]. The death of the human race, in its widest sense, is ascribed to the murderous seducer of our race.
and abode not in the truth--As, strictly speaking, the word means "abideth," it has been denied that the fall of Satan from a former holy state is here expressed [LOCKE, &c.], and some superior interpreters think it only implied [OLSHAUSEN, &c.]. But though the form of the thought is present--not past--this is to express the important idea, that his whole character and activity are just a continual aberration from his own original truth or rectitude; and thus his fall is not only the implied basis of the thought, but part of the statement itself, properly interpreted and brought out.
no truth in him--void of all that holy, transparent rectitude which, as His creature, he originally possessed.
When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own--perhaps his own resources, treasures (
Matt 12:35) [ALFORD]. (The word is plural). It means that he has no temptation to it from without; it is purely self-begotten, springing from a nature which is nothing but obliquity.
the father of it--that is, of lying: all the falsehood in the world owes its existence to him. What a verse is this! It holds up the devil (1) as the murderer of the human race; but as this is meant here in the more profound sense of spiritual death, it holds him up, (2) as the spiritual parent of this fallen human family, communicating to his offspring his own evil passions and universal obliquity, and stimulating these into active exercise. But as there is "a stronger than he," who comes upon him and overcomes him (
Luke 11:21-
Luke 11:22), it is only such as "love the darkness," who are addressed as children of the devil (
Matt 13:38;
1John 3:8-10).
45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not--not although, but just because He did so, for the reason given in the former verse. Had He been less true they would have hailed Him more readily.
46 Which of you convinceth me of sin--"Convicteth," bringeth home a charge of sin. Glorious dilemma! "Convict Me of sin, and reject Me: If not, why stand ye out against My claims?" Of course, they could only be supposed to impeach His life; but in One who had already passed through unparalleled complications, and had continually to deal with friends and foes of every sort and degree, such a challenge thrown wide among His bitterest enemies, can amount to nothing short of a claim to absolute sinlessness.
48 Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?--What intense and virulent scorn! (See
Heb 12:3). The "say we not well" refers to
John 7:20. "A Samaritan" means more than "no Israelite at all"; it means one who pretended, but had no manner of claim to the title--retorting perhaps, this denial of their true descent from Abraham.
49 Jesus answered, I have not a devil--What calm dignity is here! Verily, "when reviled, He reviled not again" (
1Pet 2:23). Compare Paul (
Acts 26:25), "I am not mad," &c. He adds not, "Nor am I a Samaritan," that He might not even seem to partake of their contempt for a race that had already welcomed Him as the Christ, and began to be blessed by Him.
I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me--the language of wounded feeling. But the interior of His soul at such moments is only to be seen in such prophetic utterances as these, "For thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face; I am become a stranger unto my brethren, an alien unto my mother's children. For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up, and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me" (
Ps 69:7-
Ps 69:9).
50 I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh--that is, evidently, "that seeketh My glory"; requiring "all men to honor the Son even as they honor the Father"; judicially treating him "who honoreth not the Son as honoring not the Father that hath sent Him" (
John 5:23; and compare
Matt 17:5); but giving to Him (
John 6:37) such as will yet cast their crowns before His throne, in whom He "shall see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied" (
Isa 53:11).
51 If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death--Partly thus vindicating His lofty claims as Lord of the kingdom of life everlasting, and, at the same time, holding out even to His revilers the scepter of grace. The word "keep" is in harmony with
John 8:31, "If ye continue in My word," expressing the permanency, as a living and paramount principle, of that faith to which He referred: "never see death," though virtually uttered before (
John 5:24;
John 6:40,
John 6:47,
John 6:51), is the strongest and most naked statement of a very glorious truth yet given. (In
John 11:26 it is repeated in nearly identical terms).
52 Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil, &c.--"Thou art now self-convicted; only a demoniac could speak so; the most illustrious of our fathers are dead, and Thou promisest exemption from death to anyone who will keep Thy saying! pray, who art Thou?"
54 If I honour myself, my honour is nothing, &c.--(See on
John 5:31, &c.).
55 I shall be a liar like unto you--now rising to the summit of holy, naked severity, thereby to draw this long dialogue to a head.
56 Abraham rejoiced to see my day, &c.--exulted, or exceedingly rejoiced that he should see, he exulted to see it, that is, by anticipation. Nay,
he saw it, and was glad--he actually beheld it, to his joy. If this mean no more than that he had a prophetic foresight of the gospel-day--the second clause just repeating the first--how could the Jews understand our Lord to mean that He "had seen Abraham?" And if it mean that Abraham was then beholding, in his disembodied spirit, the incarnate Messiah [STIER, ALFORD, &c.], the words seem very unsuitable to express it. It expresses something past--"he saw My day, and was glad," that is, surely while he lived. He seems to refer to the familiar intercourse which Abraham had with God, who is once and again in the history called "the Angel of the Lord," and whom Christ here identifies with Himself. On those occasions, Abraham "saw ME" (OLSHAUSEN, though he thinks the reference is to some unrecorded scene). If this be the meaning, all that follows is quite natural.
57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old--"No inference can be drawn from this as to the age of our Lord at the time as man. Fifty years was with the Jews the completion of manhood" [ALFORD].
and hast thou seen Abraham?--He had said Abraham saw Him, as being his peculiar privilege. They give the opposite turn to it--"Hast Thou seen Abraham?" as an honor too great for Him to pretend to.
58 Before Abraham was, I am--The words rendered "was" and "am" are quite different. The one clause means, "Abraham was brought into being"; the other, "I exist." The statement therefore is not that Christ came into existence before Abraham did (as Arians affirm is the meaning), but that He never came into being at all, but existed before Abraham had a being; in other words, existed before creation, or eternally (as
John 1:1). In that sense the Jews plainly understood Him, since "then took they up stones to cast at Him," just as they had before done when they saw that He made Himself equal with God (
John 5:18).
hid himself--(See on
Luke 4:30).
