THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN.
CHAPTER I.
PRELIMINARY NOTE.
The reader who opens the Gospel of John at once
notices a marked difference between it and the three preceding gospels.
They begin with the times of Jesus Christ upon the earth, while the
fourth carries the reader back to the unknown period that lies before
the dawn of Creation. The question will at once arise why John introduces
his history of Christ with the profound exposition of the WORD
which occupies the first eighteen verses of this chapter. It must always
be kept in mind that he wrote many years later than the authors of the
other Gospels, wrote far away from Judea among a people deeply imbued
with the philosophical spirit of Grecian civilization. At Ephesus he
was in a center of Grecian culture, and even the church would be more
or less affected by the prevalent speculations of the philosophers.
In the earlier part of the century there lived at Alexandria in Egypt,
a great center of Grecian learning where the greatest library of the
ancient world was gathered, a Jew named Philo, born about B. C.
20, who, writing in the Greek language, had indulged in, or rather had
gathered from various sources, a system of profound speculation upon
the nature and essence of the Divine Being. He held that the absolute
Deity was incapable of coming in contact with, or influencing matter,
or manifesting himself to other intelligences, but that he gave forth
certain divine powers or influences, which surround God as the members
of a court surround an earthly monarch. The highest of these he called
the Logos, or Word, a term that not only indicates Reason, but
is the expression of thought in language. He also held that God was
pure and absolute Light. His philosophy would possess little interest
for us were it not for the fact that it was developed into a system
called Gnosticism which reached its climax in the second century, and
was already, before the close of the first century, a troublesome heresy.
It took the idea of Philo of an absolute Deity, and taught that there
were various emanations from God, among which were Reason, the Word,
Power, Light and Life, which were all a kind of lesser deities. Even
Jehovah, the revealed God of the Jews, was one of these inferior deities,
and Jesus Christ was another, but a higher manifestation. These theories
had begun to disturb the church before the death of Paul who refers
to them a number of times (Col. 2:18; 2 Tim. 2:16-18), and John at Ephesus
would at once come in contact with their subtle influence.
He therefore, in the very outset of his Gospel,
shows that these speculations do not harmonize with the revelation of
Jesus Christ. The first eighteen verses are the profoundest exposition
of the unity of the God-head, and the absolute divinity of the Word
manifested in the flesh, that was ever penned. The first section (verses
1-4) contains a description of the essence of the Divine Word. He was
before time began, was in association with God and was God. He was also
the uncreated source of all created things, was the Power of God; and
was also the Light, and the fountain of existence, the Life of men.
He is not only these [25] things, but is shining
in upon the darkness. This Word became flesh and dwelt among men in
the person of Jesus Christ, who is, therefore, God, divine, the Power,
the Light, the Life, the light and life of men. To him the prophets
have borne witness, and most of all, John, who was not himself the Light,
but came as a witness of the Light. These grand declarations, which
cover the ground of the Gnostic heresy, and which show its errors, are
kept in view in the whole Gospel. The Son of man is revealed as the
Son of God, as Divine, the Light of the world, the Resurrection and
the Life, the Bread and Water of Life, and as the manifestation of the
Father, the whole reaching its climax in the declaration, "These things
are written that you might believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."
This Word (logos), which John introduces
without explanation, is not used in the sense of Philo and the Gnostics,
as representing Reason, nor is it ever used in that sense by the writers
of the Bible. Nor is it an attribute of God, but an acting reality,
personal, instead of an abstraction or personification, a Person
who appeared upon the earth in human form. Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, is the Word of God, not because he speaks the word, nor because
he is spoken of, nor because he is the author and source of the word
as spoken in the Scriptures, but because the Word dwells in him, acts
through him, and speaks from him. He is not only the Word, but the Light
and Life, for similar reasons; the Light dwells in and shines from him,
and the Life lives in and works from him. It is because he is the Light
that he has filled the world with light; because he is the Life that
the dead of the earth hear his voice, become new creatures, live a new
life, and the world itself is regenerated. It is because he is the Word
that he spake as never man spake, spoke in the morning of time, and
at his voice order came out of the primeval chaos, spoke to the dead
when he was upon the earth, and they rose from the tomb, and shall speak
to those that are in their graves and they shall hear his voice and
come forth in the resurrection. It was this Word which was pre-existent,
before time, that was manifested in the fulness of time in the flesh
to carry out the gracious ends of divine love.
THE WORD MADE FLESH.
1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God. This sublime preface of John
carries us back to the account given in Genesis of the beginning of
all things, when, "In the beginning God made the heavens and the earth."
The passage declares that at that time, before creation, the Word existed,
was with God and separate from him, but was God, or divine. What this
Word is we learn from verse 14th, where it is stated that it became
flesh and dwelt among men in the person of Christ. This deep disquisition
upon the divine Word, almost too deep for human understanding, was penned
by John on account of certain false philosophies which began to creep
into and to trouble the church. Much has been written, very learnedly,
upon those heresies and upon the Word and its relation to the Father,
but I will pass by all speculation and [26] confine
myself to what is the manifest meaning of the Scripture. This passage
then affirms: 1. That the person afterwards manifest as the Christ existed
before creation began; 2. That he was present with God; 3. That he was
divine; 4. That he was the Word; 5. That by or through him were all
things made that were made (verse 3). The first chapter of Genesis helps
us to understand its meaning. God said, "Let there be light," "Let there
be a firmament," "Let the earth bring forth," etc., and it was done.
God exhibits his creative power through the Word, and also manifests
his will through the Word. Every careful reader of the Old Testament
is struck with the prominence given to the Word of the Lord, and also
with the frequent reference in the Pentateuch to the Angel of Jehovah
through whom the Lord manifests himself. When Jesus came he was "the
brightness of the Father's glory, and the express image of his person,"
the manifestation of the Father, the "Word made flesh and dwelling among
men." There are mysteries belonging to the divine nature and to the
relation between the Son and the Father that we have to wait for eternity
to solve. They are too deep for human solution, but this is clear: that
God creates and speaks to man through the Word. As we clothe our
thoughts in words, God reveals his will by the Word, the Lord Jesus
Christ.
2. The same was in the beginning with God.
John reiterates a part of his first statement, partly for emphasis,
and partly to bring out the thought that there is a real distinction
between the Word and the Father. He labors to make clear two thoughts,
that the Word was divine, God, and yet had an individuality of its own.
From the beginning, that unknown epoch, before creation began, he was
with God.
3. And all things were made by him. Having
affirmed the divine and uncreated nature of the Word, John next proceeds
to tell of his relation to creation. All things, the world and all it
contains, and the whole universe, were made by or through him. Paul
declares (Heb. 1:2), "Through him the worlds were made." The account
of creation in Genesis helps us to understand. It was God who said,
"Let there be light," and there was light. It was when the Word was
employed that the sun, moon, and stars took their place in the sky.
All things that were made were spoken into being, or made through
the Word. The Word was not yet named Jesus Christ, for he had not yet
been manifested as our Savior, nor is it certain that he was called
the Son of God until he appeared upon earth as the Son of Man.
4. In him was life, and the life was the light
of men. Here is a grand affirmation. He is a fountain of life from
whence life flows like a river. From him life flowed in the beginning.
Man can construct the statue, but he cannot breathe it into existence.
The Word could create the form and endow it with life. And when the
Word became flesh, he became a "fountain of living waters," a well springing
up to eternal life. Because he had life in himself, the dead heard his
voice [27] and lived, and when he was slain the
grave could not hold him, but he came forth and brought to light life
and immortality. Hence the sublime utterance, "I am the resurrection
and the life." "The life was the light of men." Man was created in the
divine image. In him was fuller life than in the brute creation. Hence
he is intelligent, capable of reasoning, of learning, of progress. His
life is light, in the sense that it enlightens him. Then, in him can
dwell the Word, which is the true light that enlightens the world. As
the sun chases away darkness, so Jesus, the light of the mind and soul,
chases away error, ignorance and superstition. The Life will overcome
death and the Light will fill the redeemed world with his glory.
5. And the light shineth in darkness. Now
the apostle comes more plainly to the thought that Christ is the light
of the world. He is the light that shineth in the darkness, has shone
in it as the Word, and who continues to shine. The sun shines in the
heavens, but bats and owls that hate the light hide from his rays. So,
too, Christ shines, but men who love darkness rather than light, can
reject him and abide in darkness. The darkness comprehended it not.
The sun shines upon the darkness and the darkness disappears, but when
John wrote the true Light was shining in the earth and the people in
darkness understood it not. Christ, the Light of the world, came to
his own and his own received him not. They had eyes and saw not, hence
were not enlightened. The difficulty was not that there was not light,
but they loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.
There is a sad tone running through this and the following verses to
verse 14.
6. There was a man sent from God whose name
was John. Having declared the pre-existence of Christ, the apostle
now begins the history of the Word being made flesh and dwelling among
men as the Light of the World. He first presents the messenger who preceded
him and who came to bear witness of the Light. He was a man "sent from
God," predicted by Isaiah and Malachi, and by the angel that appeared
to Zacharias. Notice that John the apostle calls the great forerunner
simply John, instead of John the Baptist, as do the other writers,
as if the Baptist was the only John entitled to distinction.
7. The same came for a witness to bear witness
of the Light. John came, not so much as a reformer, as a witness.
His work, as declared by Malachi, was to be a messenger to go before
the Lord. In all his preaching he testified of Christ. When he preached
repentance he declared the Kingdom was at hand. When he baptized he
declared that there was one coming who would baptize with the Holy Spirit
and fire. He said, "I am not he that should come, but there cometh one
whose shoes I am unworthy to loose." He pointed his disciples to Jesus
and declared him the Lamb of God. That through him all men might
believe. [28] That John's preparation and
testimony should cause men to believe upon the Light. The earliest disciples
of Christ, including at least a part of the apostles, were men who had
been prepared by John. John bore witness to Christ before he was manifested,
The apostles bore witness after, for the same purpose, to cause men
to believe. This too is the work of the church and of every preacher
of the word.
8. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear
witness. An early heretical sect held that John the Baptist was
the Messiah. The apostle is explicit in order to correct this error.
It is said by the Savior, of the Baptist (John 5:35), that he was a
shining light. It is well to keep in mind that the term here translated
light is different. It is a word that means original, self-shining light,
like the sun; in 5:35 it is one that means a reflected light, like the
moon. Christ shines by his own light; John shone by Christ's light.
9. That was the true light, which lighteth
every man that cometh into world. That was the real light
who enlightens all men. Christ is the universal light. The Revision
reads, "There was the true light, even the light which lighteth every
man, coming into the world." Grammatically, both in the Greek and the
English, coming may belong to the light, or every
man. We believe that it should agree with light. That was the true or
real light who, when he comes into the world, enlightens every man.
Jesus says (John 12:46), "I am come a light into the world." Here John
affirms that he came into the world to lighten every man. It should
be kept in mind that the apostle is now about to treat of the personal
coming into the world of the Light in the form of the Christ. As the
Creator of natural things, as the Word that has been spoken to man from
the beginning, and as God manifest in the flesh, he is the source of
all the moral and spiritual light the world has ever known.
10. He was in the world, and the world was
made by him, and the world knew him not. John has just spoken of
the personal coming of the Light of the world. Lest any one should forget
that he was already in the world as the Word, he says that he was in
the world and was its Creator, and had been in it from the beginning,
though the world did not recognize him. There is a connection between
this and the following verse. This declares that (1) he was in
the world, (2) the world was made by him, (3) it did not recognize him.
The next verse states (1) that he came, personally, to his own.
He took upon himself a fleshly form and came to the race to which he
was united by fleshly ties; (2) his own received him not. The world
is humanity in general, which knew him not; his own is the Jewish
nation, who received him not.
11. He came to his own, and his own received
him not. It is stated above that he was [29]
in the world, from the beginning. Here it is stated that he came,
to his own, when he came to Judea as the son of Mary, and, therefore,
of the Jewish race. This passage is full of pathos and is an epitome
of the Savior's earthly history. When the kingly babe came there was
"no room" found even in the inn; a few days later he was carried to
Egypt to save him from the murderous Herod; when he entered upon his
ministry he was met by hatred, reviling and conspiracy; at last the
Sanhedrim of the nation condemned him to death; and before Pontius Pilate,
choosing a robber in his stead, they cried, "Away with him; crucify
him!" His own people received him not. Even his townsmen of Nazareth
sought to put him to death.
12. To as many as received him, to them gave
he power to become the sons of God. The Revision reads, "Children
of God," which is better. While the nation rejected him, some received
him. To such as receive him in every age he gives power to become the
children of God. The manner in which he is received is given; even
to those who believe upon his name. It is not declared that they
are made children by believing, but to the believer he gives the "power
to become" a child. When one believes in Christ, his faith becomes
a power to lead him to yield himself to God and to receive the Word
into his heart. He can now repent of sin, surrender to the will of the
Father, and then, "being baptized into Christ he puts on Christ," is
his brother and a child of God by adoption, whereupon, "because he is
a son, God sends his Spirit into his heart," enabling him to say: "Abba!
Father." Wesley says, "The moment we believe we are sons." The Scriptures
do not so teach, but that when we believe, Christ "gives us power to
become children." Without "belief upon his name" the "power"
to become a child is impossible.
13. Who were born, not of blood, nor by the
will of the flesh. The Jews prided themselves on being Abraham's
children, and trusted in their blood for salvation. John declares that
blood, or race, has nothing to do with becoming the children of God;
nor has this new birth which makes one a child of God aught to do with
natural generation (the will of the flesh), nor earthly adoption (the
will of the man). It is not a fleshly birth at all, but the spirit of
the subject is born of God. In John 3:1-8 the Savior explains
this birth more particularly. Faith, repentance and obedience prepare
us for the gift of the Spirit, and we are thus made new creatures in
Christ Jesus.
14. And the word was made flesh, and dwelt
among us. The Word assumed a human form and became incarnate as
the child of Mary. It did not merely [30] manifest
itself, but dwelt among us for about thirty-three years. There
was already a heretical sect, the Gnostics referred to in 2 John 7,
who denied that Christ had come in the flesh. The apostle here makes
this positive statement to meet this heresy. And we beheld his glory.
Peter, James and John not only beheld the sinless and godlike life of
Christ, but they saw the glory of the Mount of Transfiguration, "the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father." Full of grace and truth.
The Word incarnate, Christ, was full of grace and truth; his mission
was one of grace or favor to men, and he was the Truth, as well as the
Way and the Life.
15. John testified of him. Verse 7 declares
that John came to testify of Christ and here the substance of his testimony
is given. When he saw Jesus he cried, "This is he of whom I said, He
that cometh after me is preferred before me because he was before me."
16. Out of his fulness have we all received.
It is John, the apostle, who speaks. The thought refers to the two preceding
verses. John had seen the glory of Christ, who was "full" of grace and
truth, and the Baptist declares that Christ existed before he came into
the world, and then John declares, "We have all received of his fulness,
and favor upon favor."
17. The law was given by Moses. It was
not a system of grace, nor could it make men perfect; in contrast with
it the system of grace and truth (see verse 14) were given by
Jesus Christ.
18. No man hath seen God, with bodily eyes,
but he was manifested as the Word and at last the "only begotten Son
hath declared him." "He that hath seen me," said Christ, "hath seen
the Father. The Father is in me and I in him." Christ came in human
form, in order to reveal the Father to a race who knew him not.
PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS.
1. What wonderful condescension that so glorious
a being as the Word should take upon himself our nature, dwell among
men, suffer and die for us! "This is the love of God that he hath sent
the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but in order that
the world might be saved."
2. How can any one treat lightly the Word of the
Lord when he learns that "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word [31] was God?" It
is said that the Jews refused even to throw upon the earth slips that
had printed or written upon them passages of Scripture. We have infinitely
more reason for reverencing the Word than the Jews. Every passage of
the inspired testimony has come to us through the medium of him who
is the Word.
3. Christ is the light of the World. Take
a map and delineate those countries which are most enlightened in bright
colors, then shade others more and more as you approach barbarism and
ignorance. Then make another map in which the countries that most truly
receive the Bible and Christ are represented in bright colors, shade
those lands that have a corrupted Christianity, shading according to
the degree of corruption, and put those in darkest colors where nothing
is known of Christ. Then compare the two maps. It will be found that
there are not two maps, but two copies of one map.
4. The Word made flesh. God, the uncreated,
the incomprehensible, the invisible, attracted few worshipers; a philosopher
might admire so noble a conception, but the crowd turned away in disgust
from words that presented no image to their minds. It was before Deity,
embodied in human form, working among men, partaking of their infirmities,
leaning on their bosoms, weeping over their graves, bleeding on the
cross, that the prejudices of the synagogue, and the doubts of the academy,
and the pride of the portico, and the fasces of the lictors, and the
swords of thirty legions, were humbled in the dust.--Macaulay.
THE WITNESS OF JOHN.
19. And this is the record of John. The
history now begins its sweep onward. All before is prefatory. The historian
passes by the incidents connected with the birth of John and of Jesus,
the early history, and even the account of John's preaching and the
baptism of Christ, given in the other Gospels. He wrote at a much later
period and these facts are supposed to be well known. The witness here
noted was given after the baptism and probably while Christ was in the
wilderness at the time of the temptation. When the Jews sent priests
and Levites. John uses the term "Jews" as though he was not of that
race. He was now an old man and for many years had transferred his allegiance
to another nation (1 Peter 2:9), and for a long time had been dwelling
in Asia Minor, among Gentile Christians. That his Jewish feelings had
gradually passed away is often shown in his language. Usually "the Jews"
means the ruling classes of Judea. In this case it refers to the SANHEDRIM.
As this court fills a conspicuous place in the New Testament history
it will help the student to have a clear understanding of its nature.
The Jewish writers claim that it originated with the seventy elders
whom Moses (Num. 11:16, 17) was directed to associate with himself in
the government of Israel, who, with himself, would make a court of seventy-one
persons. Hence it was composed of seventy-one members. There is, however,
no positive proof of its existence during the period of the Jewish kings,
and it only appears in unmistakable form during the later days of the
Hebrew commonwealth. Its very name, Sanhedrim, or more correctly, [32]
Sanhedrin, is Greek, and this fact points to
a period after the Macedonian conquest of the East, when it assumed
shape. According to the Jews themselves (Jerusalem Gemara), forty
years before the destruction of Jerusalem the right to inflict capital
punishment was taken away from it, which agrees with the answer of the
Jews to Pilate (John 19:31). It was a supreme court to which belonged
the trial of a tribe fallen into idolatry, false prophets, and accused
priests. As an administrative council its jurisdiction was still more
extensive. Jesus was arraigned before this body as a false prophet (John
11:47) and condemned as a blasphemer (Matt. 26:65). Peter, John, Stephen
and Paul were arraigned by it as false teachers and deceivers of the
people. It was entirely in harmony with its prerogatives that it should
send an official deputation to ascertain the character of John. He had
produced a profound sensation and stirred the whole land, and it was
the duty of the Sanhedrim, from its standpoint, to examine into his
claims. There is nothing in the language to show whether this deputation
was hostile or friendly, and it is probable that it was neither, but
only one of inquiry. Its members were all of the sacerdotal tribe.
20. I am not the Christ. The idea had already
begun to receive currency that John might be the expected Christ. In
his preaching recorded by Matthew he denied this with great emphasis
and explained his relation to the Coming One. Here he is equally emphatic.
The stress which the apostle here lays on this denial shows that he
had in mind that later class of the disciples of John, who in the latter
half of the first century, asserted that he was the Christ.
21. They asked him, What then? Art thou Elias?
Malachi (4:5) had declared that Elias would precede the Messiah. Hence
when John denied that he was the Christ, the next question was whether
he was Elias. He said that he was not; he was not the literal Elias
whom they expected; nor is it certain that God had revealed to John
that he was the spiritual Elias. He was greater than he himself knew.
He was, in many respects, in mission, manner of life, fearlessness and
ruggedness, an Elias, and was the Elias foretold by the prophet (Matt.
17:12), though Elias did literally come on the mount of transfiguration.
Art thou that prophet? They ask still another question. Moses
had predicted a prophet like himself (Deut. 18:15), but John denies
that he is the fulfillment. It was later (Acts 3:22; 7:37) when the
apostles understood that Jesus was he of whom Moses did speak.
22. Who art thou? The conjectures are exhausted
and they demand an explicit answer, that they may carry the information
to "them that sent them," or to the Sanhedrim. [33]
23. I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness.
John answers this question by quoting Isaiah 40:3, where the prophet
describes his mission. The passage is applied to John, Matt. 3:3; Mark
1:2, and Luke 3:4. He sinks his own personality, and is simply the "voice
of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord."
His work was that of preparation for the Lord.
24. Of the Pharisees. The messengers were
not only of the religious tribe, but of the strictest of Jewish sects.
The Pharisees were far more attentive to external rites than any other
class, and as the next question is concerning such a rite, the fact
that they were Pharisees is noted.
25. Why baptizest thou then? This question
shows that John's baptism was, to them, a new rite. They could understand
that Christ, or Elias, or "that prophet" might establish a new ordinance
by the divine authority, but if John is none of these, why does he do
so? Their perplexity shows that, in some way, the baptismal rite was
new to them. It is claimed that Gentile proselytes to the Jewish faith
were baptized (immersed according to all the Jewish authorities)
before this time, but the only proof offered is the testimony of the
Talmud, written two or three centuries later. Even if proselyte baptism
had been instituted, John's rite presented the new feature of baptizing
Jews, those who considered themselves God's people. In that it
called the chosen people to baptism it was a new rite.
26. I baptize with water. The correct rendering
is in water, and the preposition en is thus rendered by
the American Committee of the Revisers, as well as by Canon Westcott
of the Church of England and the most judicious scholars. Even in the
Common Version, out of 2,660 times that en occurs in the Greek
of the New Testament, it is rendered by "in" 2,060 times. There
is no good reason why it should not be so rendered every time it occurs
in connection with baptism. The translators of the Catholic Bible in
English, the Douay Version, were more honest than King James' revisers,
and have always so rendered it. John does not answer the question of
the Pharisees directly, but points to one already standing among them.
The baptism of water connects itself with that pre-eminent being. Standeth
among you. This points out that the Christ was already on the earth,
in Judea, though unknown and unrecognized by the people. [34]
27. Whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to
unloose. The latchet was the thong by which the sandal was bound
on the foot. To loose or fasten it was the work of a menial. The dignity
of Christ was so exalted, that John counted himself unworthy even to
attend to this office.
28. These things were done in Bethabara, beyond
Jordan, where John was baptizing. The Revision substitutes Bethany
for Bethabara. Both terms are found in the manuscripts, but Bethany
has the better authority. The Bethany named was not the one near Jerusalem,
but a village, whose site is not now known, on the east bank of the
Jordan. Bethany is said to mean "the house of the boat," and Bethabara
"the house of the ford," both alike pointing to a ferry or ford of the
Jordan. We have three allusions to the localities of John's baptismal
rite, all showing that abundance of water was an essential; Matt. 3:5,
6 and 13; John 3:23, and the present passage.
The sending of this deputation is a proof of the
great stir caused throughout Judea by the teaching of John. That he
exerted a profound influence upon the nation and was accounted a prophet
are evident from Jewish writers. Josephus, a Jewish priest and general,
a contemporary of John and Christ, says (Antiquities, book 18,
chap. 5): "Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's
army came from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he
did against John, that was called the Baptist: for Herod slew him, who
was a good man, and one who commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both
as to righteousness toward one another, and piety toward God, and so
to come to him for baptism; for that the washing with water would be
acceptable to him, if they made use of it, not in order to the putting
away (or the remission) of some sins (only), but for the purification
of the body: supposing still that the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand
by righteousness. Now when (many) others came into crowds about him,
for they were greatly moved by hearing his words, Herod, who feared
lest the great influence which John had over the people might put it
into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion (for they seemed
ready to do anything he might advise), thought it best, by putting him
to death, to prevent any mischief he might cause, and not to bring himself
into difficulties, by sparing a man who might make him to repent of
it when it should be too late. Accordingly he was sent a prisoner, out
of Herod's suspicious temper, to Machærus, the castle I have before
mentioned, and put to death there."
CHRIST'S MINISTRY BEGINS.
At this point Jesus breaks suddenly in upon the
narrative. The Fourth Gospel passes by all the details contained in
the other three concerning the early life of the Savior; the miraculous
conception, the birth at Bethlehem, the flight to Egypt, the return
to Nazareth, the visit to the temple when Jesus was twelve [35]
years old, and even his baptism a short time before in the Jordan.
This is referred to, and a familiarity with it implied, but its history
is not given. In these facts we have additional evidence that John wrote
many years after the other evangelists and supposed his readers to be
acquainted with the facts that they narrated.
Jesus was at this time thirty years old, had lived
a singularly blameless life with his home at Nazareth, where he had
worked at the trade of Joseph, and hence is spoken of as "the carpenter"
and "the carpenter's son." He had never attended the great schools of
the Jewish law in which all the Rabbins obtained their education, but
went from the carpenter's bench to John's baptism, was anointed with
the Holy Spirit, retired to the desert for forty days of lonely preparation,
and then reappears at this point, to begin his ministry.
29. The next day John seeth Jesus. The
next day after the visit of the deputation of the Sanhedrim. It was
not the first visit of Jesus to John. About forty days before he had
presented himself and demanded baptism. He doubtless knew Jesus personally
before this, for he testifies to the blameless purity of his life, but
it had not then been revealed to him that Jesus was the Christ; only
that the One upon whom he should see the Spirit descending was the King
of whom he bore witness. After this baptism Jesus had retired to the
wilderness to meet the tempter alone. It is at the period of his return
that John points him out as the Lamb of God which taketh away the
sin of the world. The lamb was a very familiar object of sacrifice
to the Jews. It was slain by every Jewish family at the passover, was
commonly used for a sin offering (Lev. 4:32); in the cleansing of the
leper (Lev. 14:10); at both the morning and the evening sacrifice (Exod.
29:38); at all the great feasts, and on special occasions. When John
pointed out Jesus, not as a, but the Lamb of God, it can
only mean that God had provided him as a sacrificial offering. Every
lamb offered on Jewish altars pointed to him; Isaiah, in chapter LIII,
points out that he was "lead as a lamb to the slaughter." In Revelation
he is declared to be the Lamb, "as it were slain." There is no escape
from the idea that Jesus became a sacrificial offering for the world.
This is entirely in harmony with the class of passages which affirm
that "his blood cleanseth from all sin." We may not be able to fathom
all the mysteries of the atonement, but it is the part of faith to accept
and trust fully, what is so clearly taught. It will be seen, also, that
John, by inspiration, is enabled to grasp the magnitude of the Savior's
work. He is to take away the sin, not of Jews only, but of the world.
The reader should not fail to note, at the beginning
of the Savior's ministry, that the idea that he is more than a Jewish
deliverer comes into prominence. He is the Lamb of God who taketh away
sin, not the sin of Israel only, but the sin of the world. John,
by inspiration, is enabled to rise above the idea of a Jewish Messiah,
the sphere of whose blessings would be confined to the narrow limits
of the race of Abraham, and at once points his followers to Jesus as
the Messiah of man, the Redeemer of the world who taketh away the sin
thereof. [36] Here, at the outset, is a divergence
from the Messianic ideas of the Jews, and the germ of that disappointment
of their hopes by seeing in Jesus the founder of a universal spiritual
kingdom, rather than a worldly national empire, which led to their rejection
of the Christ.
30. This is he of whom I said. In verse
27 the words he refers to are given. The One who will come after him
in point of time, precedes him in eminence, for he was before him in
existence. John might be first known on earth and older by human birth,
but Christ had existed from eternity.
31. I knew him not. Knew not whom God had
chosen as the Christ. He knew Jesus personally, but did not know he
was the Christ until God pointed him out. Therefore am I come baptizing
with (in) water. His whole mission of preaching and baptizing
was to prepare for and reveal the Christ. In his baptizing the Christ
became manifest in the way stated in the following verses.
32. John bare record. Gave witness to the
fact, either at this or some subsequent time. I saw the Spirit descending
from heaven like a dove. See Matt. 3:16. At this time, as Jesus
came up out of the water, the Spirit was seen descending in the form
of a dove, and the voice of God was heard declaring, "This is my beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased." Thus Jesus was anointed with the Spirit,
and was thenceforward the Christ, the Anointed. It is significant that
this took place at the time of baptism. Why should any Christian disparage
a rite the Lord has so honored?
33. And I knew him not. Knew not who was
the Messiah. The Lord had however, given him a sign by which he could
recognize him. Upon whomsoever the Spirit visibly descended and abode,
the same would baptize in the Holy Spirit. The only one baptizing in
the Holy Spirit is the Christ. The Spirit in its fulness abode with
him, and hence he was able to impart its fulness in the baptism of the
spirits of his disciples. Christ did not baptize in the Holy Spirit
until after he had ascended, the first instance being recorded in Acts
2:1-4.
34. And I saw and bare record that this is
the Son of God. While the apostle does not give the history of the
Savior's baptism, his allusions to it are very full and [37]
can only be understood by comparing them with the accounts given
in the other Gospels. John "saw" all that is recorded by Matthew (3:13-17)
and heard the Divine voice. Hence he "bare record that this is the Son
of God." This language was spoken the "next day" after the deputation
of the Sanhedrim had waited upon him, and that event is thus located
after the baptism and temptation of Christ. The order of events, in
the gospel history, up to this date, is about as follows: 1. The Annunciation
to Mary; 2. The Birth of John the Baptist; 3. The Birth of Jesus; 4.
Jesus in the Temple with the Doctors; 5. The Preaching of John; 6. The
Baptism of Jesus; 7. The Temptation in the Wilderness; 8. The Deputation
of the Sanhedrim to John; 9. The Return of Jesus to John.
THE FIRST DISCIPLES.
35. Again the the next day after, Jesus stood,
and two of his disciples. In verses 19-28, the account is given
of the visit of the priests and Levites, sent by the Sanhedrim to John.
"The next day" after this John sees Jesus and points him out as the
Lamb of God, giving a discourse of which, in verses 29-34, we have a
synopsis. On the "next day" after this, the third day after the deputation
of the Sanhedrim, and the second after the return of Jesus from the
wilderness, John stood with two of his disciples. One of these two,
we learn from verse 40, was Andrew; the other, we have reason to believe,
was John, the apostle. The statement that they were John's disciples,
shows that they had accepted his message and been baptized by him. All
the earlier disciples of Christ had been prepared for him by the Forerunner.
At first glance it might seem as if John was merely repeating the testimony
that he had given in verse 29, but there the testimony is general; it
is not stated to whom it was spoken; here it is specific, and spoken
to two disciples who were afterwards, almost certainly, apostles of
Jesus.
36. Behold the Lamb of God! On the preceding
day John had recognized Jesus in a public discourse as "the Lamb of
God that taketh away the sins of the world." Now he personally points
the disciples to him. The lamb, throughout Old Testament times, was
commonly used as a sin-offering (Lev. 4:32), at the morning and evening
sacrifice (Ex. 12:21-27), at the great feasts (Num. 28:11), and on special
occasions (1 Chron. 29:21). The paschal lamb was offered by every family
in Israel at every passover. In pointing out Jesus as the Lamb of God,
John declares that he is the great sin-offering of which all the lambs
slain on Jewish altars were the types. "He taketh away the sins of the
world;" he is the great sin-bearer, not for a single generation, but
for all time; not for a single family or race, but for the world. These
words teach a sacrifice and an atonement, but were not understood by
John himself, as we learn by turning to Matt. 11:2-6. "Under the Old
Testament were provided by the sinner, lambs, whose sacrifice took sins
away from the individual or the nation, but for the time only, and therefore
the sacrifice had to be continually repeated; under the New [38]
Testament one Lamb is provided, the Lamb of God, whose sacrifice
takes away the sin of the whole world, and therefore needs never to
be repeated."--Abbott.
37. And they followed Jesus. As John intended,
the two disciples at once left him and followed the footsteps of Jesus.
They did not become followers in the religious sense, but literally
followed him, possibly from curiosity, possibly from a yearning desire
to know more of the Lamb of God.
38. Jesus turned . . . and saith, What seek
ye? Jesus does not ask this in order that he may know their object,
but to open a conversation and to draw them out. Such was his custom;
for example, see the conversation with the woman at Sychar (Chap. 4:10-16).
The Christian teacher may find a valuable hint in the example of the
Master. His teaching was almost all by conversation and his methods
are incomparable. Rabbi. A term of very ancient origin, signifying
teacher, or master. Ahasuerus set a Rab, or master, over the
tables of his feast (Esther 1:8). Among the Jews there are three degrees--Rabban,
Rab, and Rabbi--the last being the lowest. It is by the highest that
Mary addresses the Lord at the tomb after his resurrection. Where
dwellest thou? The disciples dared not probably, from their timidity,
to express fully their motives in following Jesus, but asked for his
temporary abiding place and where he might be found. This question,
which some might have regarded impertinent curiosity to be met by a
rebuff, was met by a kind invitation that attached the disciples to
Jesus for life. Here again we should note the effect of gentleness and
hospitality. Note, too, that Jesus is not sought in vain. "They that
seek shall find."
39. They abode with him that day, for it was
about the tenth hour. The Jew commenced the hours with 6 A. M.
and hence the tenth hour would be 4 P. M.
As it was near the close of the day the disciples remained over night.
The conversation of that evening is unrecorded, but the impression that
it made upon the minds of the two guests is seen in their conduct the
next day. All doubts had passed away and they were ready to seek their
friends with the joyful message: We have found the Messiah.
40. One of the two . . . was Andrew, Simon
Peter's brother. Andrew and his brother Simon were sons of Jonas,
of the town of Bethsaida in Galilee, and were fishermen by trade. The
description of Andrew as Peter's brother shows the importance assigned
by John to the apostle who was to open the doors of the kingdom. Andrew
was afterwards one of the Twelve. The other "one of the [39]
two" is supposed to be John, the apostle, for the reason that he
never mentions his own name, but invariably those of other disciples.
41. He first findeth his own brother Simon.
Andrew sought and found Simon, before he sought anyone else. This is
the true spirit. Unless one is ready to tell the joyful story to his
own relatives and neighbors, we have a poor opinion of his zeal for
the conversion of the Zulus or Congo negroes. Christ and the apostles
began their work at home and extended it in an ever widening circle.
We have found the Messias. The Anointed, the Hebrew term which
corresponds to the word Christ. It was with the utmost joy that Andrew
told this joyful story. It was the fruition of the long delayed hope
of Israel. Andrew's exclamation of delight on finding the Messiah is
the same attributed to Archimedes when he made his discovery of the
amount of adulteration in Hiero's crown. The, cry of each was Eureka,
"I have found." The grandest discovery ever made, greater than that
of a continent, was the finding of Christ, the hope of the world.
42. Thou art Simon . . . thou shalt be called
Cephas. There was no hesitation on the part of Peter to go at once
to see him of whom Andrew spoke. He, also, as one of John's disciples,
was waiting for the King. To his name Simon, Christ added another by
which afterwards he was known. Cephas is Hebrew, and means a stone;
Peter means the same in Greek; not rock, as some have urged.
The word for that in the Greek is petra, while the word anglicised
as Peter is petros. In Matt. 16:18, Christ says, in response
to Peter's confession, "Thou art Petros (a stone), and upon this
petra (a solid rock) I will build my church." The Rock was the
"Stone cut out without hands." Peter was a fragment of rock built upon
the Stone by the great confession. Christ is the Rock; Peter was a rockman.
43. The day following. The next day after
Andrew brought Peter to Jesus. According to Meyer, the order of this
interesting week is as follows: First day, John's conference with the
priests and Levites (verses 19-28); second day, John's testimony of
Jesus (29-34); third day, the two disciples pointed to Jesus (35-39);
fourth day, Peter brought to Jesus (40-42); fifth day, Nathanael brought
to Jesus (43-51); seventh day, (one day intervening,) the marriage at
Cana, (chap. 2). Findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.
This is the first recorded instance of the Savior calling a disciple
to follow him. Philip, it must be borne in mind, is [40]
not Philip, "one of the seven," but "one of the Twelve," a citizen
of Bethsaida, of Galilee, and a fellow-townsman of Andrew and Peter.
45. Philip findeth Nathanael. As we learn
from John 21:2, Nathanael, like Peter and Andrew, James and John, and
Philip, was a Galilean, his home being at "Cana of Galilee." His name
only occurs in these two places. He is supposed to have been one of
the Twelve, the same one mentioned in the other Gospels as Bartholomew,
which is a patronymic, meaning son of Tolmai. The use of the name in
John 21:2 favors this hypothesis. We have found him of whom Moses
in the law, and the prophets, did write. There was only one to whom
this could refer, "The prophet like unto Moses," the Messiah; and when
Philip names Jesus of Nazareth, Nathanael is at once skeptical whether
the Messiah could come out of Nazareth. Note, 1. That although Cana
was not far from Nazareth, so quiet had been the life of Jesus, thus
far, Nathanael does not seem to have heard of him; 2. As soon as Philip
becomes a disciple he at once begins to seek others, an excellent example
for all young Christians. For references in the books of Moses to the
Messiah, see Gen. 3:15; 17:7; and Deut. 18:15-19.
46. Nathanael said . . . can there any good
thing come out of Nazareth? The Jews of Jerusalem despised Galilee
and scornfully rejected the Galilean teacher, while the rest of Galilee
seems to have despised Nazareth. From the manner in which the mob thrust
Jesus out of the synagogue and tried to kill him, its population could
not have been of high moral type. The Jews were wont to associate all
moral and religious good with Jerusalem, and could hardly conceive that
the King would come from elsewhere than the capital of David. Come
and see. That is the best answer to the skeptic. Bring him to Christ,
let him consider him, and what he has done for mankind. The strongest
proof that Jesus is the Christ is Jesus himself. The unbelieving John
Stuart Mill said that no one could find a better rule of virtue than
"to endeavor to live so that Christ would approve his life." Renan pronounces
him "the greatest and purest of the sons of men."
47. Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is
no guile! The Savior salutes Nathanael with a tribute to his honest,
guileless character. He was a true Israelite, without hypocrisy, worshiping
God with sincere soul, according to the light he had received. [41]
48. Whence knowest thou me? Nathanael,
who had never met Jesus before, was surprised to hear himself spoken
of as one known. When thou wast under the fig tree. There was
Something about this answer that filled Nathanael with astonishment.
Under the shade and shelter of the fig tree he had had some rare experience
that is not recorded, and that he supposed unknown to man. That Jesus
knew of it and read his soul startled him and dissipated his unbelief.
49. Thou art the Son of God; the King of Israel.
Philip had said, "Jesus, the Son of Joseph," as he supposed, but Nathanael,
convinced, declared him the Son of God. This is the first confession
of the divinity of Jesus, and is the spirit, rather than the letter
of Old Testament prophecy of the Messiah. Nathanael, devout, a devoted
student of prophecy, living in the great hope, rises to the heights
of the Messianic prophecies.
50. Thou shalt see greater things than these.
Nathanael, as a follower of Christ, did see greater things than the
revelation of hidden knowledge that convinced him. So, too, if all believers
faithfully use their present opportunities they shall have greater.
There is a growth in grace and knowledge.
51. Ye shall see the heavens open, and the
angels of God ascending. Jacob, old Israel, in his dream at Bethel,
saw the ladder that reached to heaven with the angels upon it (Gen.
28:12). Christ is that ladder, the way from earth to heaven, the way
heaven sends messages to the world and the way we must go to reach it.
Nathanael would be permitted to see that Jesus was the Mediator, that
through him the Father speaks to man; that through him there is intercommunication
between earth and heaven. Nathanael sees heaven open, not opened.
It still stands open, and has been since the vail of the temple was
rent.
PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS.
1. Jesus is the Lamb of God that taketh
away the sins of the world. He who refuses the sacrifice of the Lamb
hath none other. There is "none other name under heaven, given among
men, whereby we must be saved."
2. The best reply to the honest doubter is to
bid him, "Come and see." If [42] he is a quibbler,
it is vain to talk with him. If he is an honest skeptic, do not seek
to argue, but get him to look at and study Christ. "I know men," said
Napoleon Bonaparte on St. Helena, "and I tell you that Jesus Christ
is not a man."
3. The examples in the lesson are well worthy
of imitation. 1. As soon as Andrew found the Messiah, he at once sought
his brother to bring him to Christ. Let every Christian, young or old,
seek to bring the members of his own family to the Savior. 2. As soon
as Philip was called, he sought, at once, for Nathanael and induced
him to go and meet the Savior. Every Christian should labor to bring
all his friends to the Redeemer.
4. God's ways are not man's ways. When he called
a leader to deliver Israel from bondage, he chose a shepherd of Midian;
when he chose the founder of the line of Jewish kings, he took a shepherd
boy of Bethlehem; when the "Word became flesh," it dwelt in the person
of Jesus in the despised town of Nazareth, while the Jews all expected
that the Messiah would appear in Jerusalem of the princes or great men
of Israel. Still he chooses the weak and humble to confound the mighty;
"the things that are not to confound the things that are."
NOTE ON "THE SON OF MAN."
In verse 51 occurs for the first time in the Gospel
of John the phrase "the Son of man." This remarkable designation is
the one the Lord usually applies to himself. It occurs thirty times
in the Gospel according to Matthew, thirteen times in Mark, twenty-five
times in Luke, and twelve times in John. In the Gospels it is never
used by the historians or disciples as a designation of Christ, and
is used only by the Lord in speaking of himself. Hence, it only occurs
once beyond the range of the Gospels, in Acts 7:56, and the Lord never
uses it after his resurrection. It will be found that the passages in
which the Lord uses the phrase may be grouped into two classes: 1. Those
which refer to the earthly work of the Lord during the period of his
humiliation, and 2. Those which refer to his future coming in glory.
It is used in the present instance in the latter sense. Another striking
example of this use is found in Matt. 25:31, "When the Son of man shall
come in his glory, and all his holy angels with him" to take his seat
on the throne of judgment. Such passages show that the Son of man is
a divine being who shall sit surrounded by angels upon the throne of
eternal judgment. The phrase is not an equivalent to the word "Messiah,"
or Christ, but one that expresses the universal humanity of our Divine
Lord. He describes himself, not as the Son of Mary, nor as the Son of
Abraham, but as the Son of man. He appeared upon earth, not as the kindred
of the family of Nazareth, or of the Jewish nation, but as the kindred
of humanity. He is the brother of the Greek, the Roman, the Gaul, the
American, the African, as well as of the Jew. Nor did he ever call himself
a Jew, but in all his relations with the Jewish nation he held himself
as one not of their race. He always spoke to them, not of our
but of your law. And it is as the brother of our race that the
Son of man shall judge the world. [43]
[NTC3 25-43]
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