John · Chapter 15

V. 1. I am the true vine-So the true bread, John 6:32; that is, the most excellent.

Verse 1. I am the true vine] Perhaps the vines which they met with, on their road from Bethany to Gethsemane, might have given rise to this discourse. Some of the disciples were probably making remarks on the different kinds of them, and our Lord took the opportunity of improving the conversation, according to his usual manner, to the instruction of their souls. He might here term himself the true vine, or vine of the right sort, in opposition to the wild and barren vine. Some MSS. and several of the fathers read the verse thus: I am the true vine, ye are the branches, and my Father is the husbandman. Some think that, as this discourse followed the celebration of the Eucharist, our Lord took occasion from the fruit of the vine, used in that ordinance, to introduce this similitude.

Verse 1. I am, &c. — Our Lord having gone with his disciples to the mount of Olives, employed the remaining hours of his ministry in delivering to them a long and most excellent discourse, recorded in this and the following chapter. This discourse he began with the parable of the vine, taken probably from the vines that were growing around them on the mount of Olives. In this parable he shows them the excellence of his religion, and the nature of the relation in which they stood to him by the profession thereof. Moreover, he explains to them the advantages which would accrue to them from this relation. I am the true vine — I am to my church, and the real members thereof, what the vine is to its branches. As the branches of the vine draw nourishment from, and are made fruitful by, their union with the stock, and by the care of the dresser, so my disciples are made fruitful in all holiness and righteousness by faith in me, and in the truths and promises of my gospel, and by the influence of my Spirit. And my Father is the husbandman — Or, vine-dresser; he has planted this vine, his providence watches over it, and by him it is dressed and cultivated, and he views with peculiar delight the growth and fertility of its branches. In this passage our Lord seems to allude to Psalms 80:8Psalm 80:8, &c.; Isaiah 5:3-7; where the Jewish Church is represented under the figure of a vine: and God’s peculiar care thereof is set forth by the care which a husbandman takes of his vineyard. Wherefore, by calling himself, on this occasion, the true vine, Jesus intimated, that whereas the Jewish Church and people had hitherto been the peculiar care of God, they were to be so no longer. From this time forth, all such as became real partakers of the Christian religion, and who, perhaps, in allusion to this parable, were called by the apostle the body of Christ, were to be the true church of God, and the objects of his care, whatever nation or country they were of. See Dr. Samuel Clarke, and Macknight.

Verse 1. I am the true vine. The vine through every age had designated the Hebrew church; here the Lord employs it to designate the Christian church, of which he is the head, and the source of life. He is that vine which gives vital juice to render all the branches fruitful, and whose fruits refresh and fill the heart with joy and gladness. Judges 9:13. <19A415>Psalm 104:15. My Father is the husbandman, who takes care of these branches, cutting off the suckers and withered parts, pruning the vine, and purging the fruitful branches that they may bring forth more fruit. Grotius thinks, the occasion of this parable was taken from the Lord’s supper, which he had then celebrated, or was instantly to celebrate. As in chap. 6., when discoursing of his passion, he calls himself the true bread, so here he calls himself the true vine, nourishing the soul to life eternal, with the fruit of the living vine. Luke 22:18. It seemed necessary thus to speak of the effects of his death, because his disciples were offended at it, and their faith wavered on that account. Others think, that having spoken of Judas as a branch not purged but withered, and fit only for the fire, chap. 13:10, 11, he admonishes them to be careful that they become not such branches; and as he said there, ver. 10, so he repeats that saying here, ver. 3, “Ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.”

Observe here, how our blessed Saviour, under the metaphor of a vine, elegantly sets forth himself in his relation to the visible church, showing under that similitude what his Father meant to do with Judas, and with all unfruitful branches like him, even to take them away, cut them off, and throw them into the fire. But such as are fruitful he purges by his word and Spirit, by ordinances and providences, by mercies and afflictions, that they may be more abundantly and abidingly fruitful. Christ, in his offices and relations to his people, most fitly resembles a vine. The vine is weak, mean, and small in outward appearance, not like the cedar for height, or like the oak for strength; so was Christ in his state of humiliation; there was no beauty or comeliness in him. Isaiah 53:2. The vine is a fruitful plant, though it has little pomp, and is only useful in fruitbearing, bringing forth plenty and variety to make glad the heart of man.

Thus the fruits of Christ’s death, resurrection, ascension, and intercession, are many and great, delightful and sweet. As the fruit of the vine is pressed, that it may become drink to men; so Christ submitted to be trod in the winepress of God’s wrath, that thereby the sweetest fruit and benefit might redound to his people. As the vine is the root from which all the branches derive their nourishment and fruitfulness; in like manner is Christ the stock, into which all his members are engrafted; the root, in which they all subsist; and the fountain, from whence their spiritual life and fruitfulness proceed. Christ is the vine, and his Father is the husbandman. He engrafts and implants all the branches into this vine: the plants of righteousness are of his own right-hand planting. He takes notice what store of fruit every branch brings forth; and it is his daily care to dress and dung, to purge and prune, to support and shelter his vineyard, that it may bring forth fruit abundantly.

There are two sorts of branches in this vine, some fruitful, others unfruitful. Some have the visibility, but not the reality of branches; some are branches only by external profession, others are so by real implantation. The true touchstone whereby to discern one sort of branches from another, is not by the fair leaves of profession, but by the substantial proofs of a holy and righteous conversation.

The husbandman’s hand (God the Father’s) manages the pruning-knife of affliction, in order to his people’s improvement in grace and holiness; he had rather see his vine bleed, than see it barren.

After all the husbandman’s care, such branches as remain unfruitful shall finally be cut off and cast away, as was Judas, who in this discourse of our Saviour seems particularly and especially to be aimed at. He was a branch in him that bare no fruit, who was shortly after taken away, and went to his own place.

1. The true vine—The only TRUE vine, of which all material vines are but the shadow. In the divine alone is the essential reality; all sublunary things are comparatively but phenomena, appearances. Father is the husbandman—God is the divine planter, who has planted the Redeemer in the soil of this probationary world.

V. 2. Every one that beareth fruit, he purifieth-by obeying the truth, 1 Peter 1:22; and by inward or outward sufferings, Hebrews 12:10, 11. So purity and fruitfulness help each other.

That it may bear more fruit-For this is one of the noblest rewards God can bestow on former acts of obedience, to make us yet more holy, and fit for farther and more eminent service.

Verse 2. Every branch in me] I stand in the same relation to my followers, and they to me, as the vine to the branches, and the branches to the vine.

He taketh away] As the vine-dresser will remove every unfruitful branch from the vine, so will my Father remove every unfruitful member from my mystical body-such as Judas, the unbelieving Jews, the apostatizing disciples, and all false and merely nominal Christians, who are attached to the vine by faith in the word and Divine mission of Christ, while they live not in his life and Spirit, and bring forth no fruit to the glory of God; and also every branch which has been in him by true faith-such as have given way to iniquity, and made shipwreck of their faith and of their good conscience: all these he taketh away.

He purgeth it] He pruneth. The branch which bears not fruit, the husbandman aerei auto, taketh IT away; but the branch that beareth fruit, kaqairei auto, he taketh away FROM it, i.e. he prunes away excrescences, and removes every thing that might hinder its increasing fruitfulness. The verb kaqairw; from kata, intens. and airw, I take away, signifies ordinarily to cleanse, purge, purify, but is certainly to be taken in the sense of pruning, or cutting off, in this text, as the verb purgare is used by HORACE, Epist. lib. i. ep. vii. v. 51. Cultello proprios purgantem leniter ungues.

“Composedly PARING his own nails with a penknife.”

He who brings forth fruit to God’s glory, according to his light and power, will have the hinderances taken away from his heart; for his very thoughts shall be cleansed by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost.

Verse 2. Every branch in me — True believers, who by faith have an interest in, and union with Christ, are the branches of the vine here spoken of. Though, as to the place of their abode, their religious sentiments in lesser matters, and their modes of worship, they may be distant from each other, yet they meet in Christ, their root and stock, and the centre of their unity. That beareth not fruit — Answerable to his advantages, fruit suitable to the relation in which he stands to me, and the union which by faith he has had with me: he whose faith in me and my gospel does not work or continue to work by love, and whose love does not continue to manifest itself by his obedience; he who does not bring forth, with constancy and perseverance, the internal and external fruits of the Spirit, namely, all goodness, righteousness, and truth, Ephesians 5:9; he taketh away — Such unfruitful branches the vine-dresser cuts off in his righteous judgment, and entirely separates them from me, depriving them of all the advantages for fruitfulness, which they derived, or might have derived, from their connection with me, and their reception of my truth and grace. And every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it — Or rather, pruneth it, cuts off from it every thing superfluous, and removes all the hinderances of its fruitfulness. Thus God, in the course of his providence, by various sufferings in the minds, bodies, families, circumstances, and situations of his people, and by his word, and their faith therein, and obedience thereto, (1 Peter 1:22;) and by the influence of his Spirit, mortifies and destroys what is still corrupt in their affections and dispositions, with what remains in them of the carnal mind, and prevents their bearing fruit to perfection. That it may bring forth more fruit — Than it brought forth before, to God’s greater glory, the greater benefit of mankind, and their own greater progress in holiness here, and a fuller reward of felicity and glory hereafter. Dr. Campbell reads the verse, Every barren branch in me he loppeth off: every fruitful branch he cleaneth, by pruning, to render it more fruitful: remarking upon it as follows: “Critics have observed a verbal allusion or paronomasia in this verse. To the barren branch the word airei, [he loppeth off,] is applied; to the fruitful, kaqairei, [he cleaneth by pruning.] It is not always possible in a version to preserve figures which depend entirely on the sound, or on the etymology of the words, though sometimes they are not without emphasis. This verse and the following afford a remarkable instance of this trope. As our Lord himself is here represented by the vine, his disciples are represented by the branches. The mention of the method which the dresser takes with the fruitful branches, in order to render them more fruitful, and which he expresses by the word kaqairei, leads him to take notice of the state wherein the apostles, the principal branches, were at that time: hdh umeiv kaqaroi, &c., now are ye clean, &c. It is hardly possible not to consider the kaqairei, applied to the branches, as giving occasion to this remark, which immediately follows it. Now, when the train of the thoughts arises in any degree from verbal allusions, it is of some consequence to preserve them, where it can be easily effected in a translation. It is for this reason that I have translated the word kaqairei by a circumlocution, and said cleaneth by pruning. It is evident, that kaqairei, in this application, means pruneth. But to have said in English, simply, pruneth, would have been to throw away the allusion, and make the thoughts appear more abrupt in the version than they do in the original; and to have said cleaneth, without adding any explanation, would have been obscure, or rather improper.”

Ver. 2. Every branch in me. The union with Christ and the church is represented by many figures, as the body and its members, the living temple composed of living stones, the family of God joined in one spirit to the Lord; and here, by the vine and its branches.

2. Every branch—But who are the branches of this vine? From verse 5, Ye are the branches, we might infer that they were the apostles alone, and that they became branches by the election of Christ. But from verse 6, If a man abide not in me, we infer that any and every man is, primitively, a branch of Christ; and then the apostles are but one class of branches in the great whole. But in what respect are all men branches of Christ? And, to prepare our reply to this question, we must, first, repudiate two interpretations, or rather falsifications, of the text. The first falsification is that which makes the vine to be not Christ but the Church, which is not interpretation but substitution of words. And as the vine is not the Church but Christ, so the branches are living members of Christ, drawing their life from him. The second is that which supposes that, in the cases of all apparent apostates, the union between branch and vine is not real but only seeming. As it is real branches of Christ that are described, whose connection with him is vital, so it is a real separation of these branches which is described, and that separation is final, for the branches are burned. We may here note that Christ, as the second Adam, is the gracious basis of all physical life to humanity, and the source of all spiritual life to the race and to the individual, even before the individual birth. By nature, we are the branches of the fallen vine, the first Adam; by grace, we are born the spiritual branches of the heavenly vine, the second Adam. Hence we are birth-branches, not merely of the Church, but of Christ the true vine himself. Baptism creates not this union, but only recognizes and seals it. And hence, too, all growth in wickedness is apostacy. Every man who lives an unregenerate life has fallen from grace. Every branch of Christ has received the vital sap, the spiritual life, from him. If he bear not fruit, and incur a cutting off, he is an apostate; and if finally burned, a final apostate. That beareth not fruit—These branches are living, voluntary, free, responsible agents. They do not, like the vegetable branch, bear or fail to bear by an inward necessity of nature, but by a free responsible will, competent, in the self-same circumstances, either for the bearing or the barrenness. He taketh away—By a just judgment the union between Christ and the branch is severed. That disunion, however, goes not so far, while he has yet a remainder of vital sap within him and is not withered, but that he may be reingrafted. But when so separated, and so withered, that no possibility of life remains, his end is to be burned. He purgeth it—Purifies it; a term not so applicable to the branch as to the literal man figured by the branch. We have here, as in various parts of the apologue, an interchange of literal with figurative language. God, through his Spirit, ever and increasingly sanctifies the faithful followers of his Son. More fruit— And what is this fruit? And here, while we insist upon including under this term fruit all those heavenly tempers which are the inward fruits of the Spirit, we would avoid the approach to a spurious evangelicism, apparent in Olshausen’s comment upon the passage, which too much excludes holy, practical, external action. By their fruits, says our Saviour, that is, by their external conduct before the world, shall ye know them. There is a danger in making religious fruit too internal and subjective. There is some Antinomian error liable to arise when we say, too securely, right tempers will necessarily produce right action. Action, action, action, is quite as necessary in religion as in oratory, and is to be insisted upon distinctly and of itself. Integrity in the practical dealings of life; conduct squared by the principles of a true ethics; zeal, liberality, and energy in the benevolent organizations and operations of the Church and age, are fruits which every branch of Christ should bring forth abundantly and increasingly. For it is this increase, this more fruit, which it is the purpose of the purifying Spirit to produce.

V. 3. Ye are clean-All of you, to whom I now speak, are purged from the guilt and power of sin;

by the word-Which, applied by the Spirit, is the grand instrument of purifying the soul.

Verse 3. Now ye are clean] kaqaroi este, Ye are pruned. As our Lord has not changed the metaphor, it would be wrong to change the expression.

Through the word] dia ton logov, Through that word-that doctrine of holiness which I have incessantly preached unto you, and which ye have received. Perhaps our Lord more immediately refers here to the words which he had spoken concerning Judas, John 13:21-30, in consequence of which Judas went out and finished his bargain with the chief priests; he being gone off, the body of the apostles vas purified; and thus he might say, Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

Verses 3-6. Now ye are clean — All of you, to whom I now speak, are made clean from the guilt and power of sin through the word which I have spoken unto you, whose sanctifying influence has operated on your hearts, and which, when applied by the Spirit, is the grand instrument of purifying the soul. Abide in me — By the continued exercise of humble faith and love, producing all holiness, by which alone you can continue to be in me; and I in you — And I will be in you by my Spirit, to nourish your piety and virtue, and supply you, as from a living root, with every necessary grace. As — In the natural world; the branch cannot bear fruit of itself — But must presently wither; except it abide in the vine — Continue in a state of union with it, and be nourished by sap from thence; no more can ye — Be able to produce the fruits of genuine and acceptable obedience; except ye abide in me — And have the life of grace maintained in you by a vital union with me. I am the vine — That is, the root and stock of the vine of which I speak; ye are only the branches — And cannot flourish or subsist, much less can you bear fruit, without me. Our Lord, in this whole passage, speaks of no branches but such as are, or, at least, were once, vitally united to him by living faith. He that abideth in me — By a real, internal, and spiritual union, begun and continued by faith; and I in him — By my word and Spirit, my truth and grace; the same bringeth forth much fruit — In holy dispositions, and righteous, benevolent actions, to the credit of his profession, the comfort of his own soul, and the edification of his fellow- creatures; for without me — Cwriv emou, separate from me, and deprived of the influences of my word and Spirit, (alluding still to the vine and its branches;) ye can do nothing — Nothing truly and spiritually good; can bear no fruit that will be pleasing to God, or profitable to yourselves. Without the merit of Christ, we can do nothing toward our justification; and without the Spirit of Christ, nothing toward our sanctification. We have as necessary and constant a dependance upon the grace of the Mediator for the whole of the spiritual and the divine life, as we have upon the providence of the Creator for all the actions of the natural life: as to both, it is in and by the divine power that we live, and move, and have our being. If a man abide not in me — By living, loving, and obedient faith, as well as by church communion, by which last, separate from the former, he may abide in Christ all his life and be withered all the time, and cast into the fire at last; he is cast forth as a branch — He is separated from Christ, as a branch that is barren is cut off from the tree which it only encumbered; and is withered — They that abide not in Christ by a real and vital union, though they may flourish a while in a creditable and plausible profession, yet in a little time they wither and come to nothing. Their abilities and gifts wither, their zeal and devotion wither; as do also their credit and reputation, their hopes and comforts. For they that bear no fruit will soon bear no leaves. How soon was the fig-tree withered away which Christ cursed! And men gather them and cast them into the fire, &c. — The loppings of the vines, in those countries where they are cultivated, are carefully gathered up, and make a considerable part of their fuel; as if he had said, As men gather up withered branches, which have been cut off from the tree on which they once grew, and throw them into the fire, where they are burned as a worthless kind of wood, fit for nothing but fuel; so, in like manner, such will be the end of those unhappy creatures. Satan’s agents and emissaries will insnare and make an easy prey of them; for they that fall off from Christ soon fall in with sinners, are associated with them, and employed in the unfruitful works of darkness; so that they become fit fuel for the divine wrath, from which the profession they formerly made will not preserve them. And they are burned — This follows of course; but it is here added very emphatically, and makes the threatening very terrible. The original expression, kai kaietai, is literally, and they are burning; for they will not be consumed in a moment, like thorns under a pot; but burning for ever in a fire, which not only cannot be quenched, but will never spend itself. Such, reader, is the consequence of apostatizing from Christ, or ceasing to live by faith in him; they draw back unto perdition, Hebrews 10:38, 39. Some interpret men’s gathering them, of the ministry of angels in the last day, when they shall gather out of Christ’s kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire, as tares are gathered and bound in bundles to be burned.

3. Ye are clean—His apostles were cleansed, though imperfectly cleansed. Hence it is to them as true branches, as really in Christ, that all these warnings against final defection are addressed. Through the word—They were cleansed not so much by the power of the Spirit, as by the power of Jesus’s word; that is, by the impressive teaching he had imparted, affecting their heart and controlling their life.

V. 4. Abide in me-Ye who are now pure by living faith, producing all holiness; by which alone ye can be in me.

Verse 4. Abide in me] Hold fast faith and a good conscience; and let no trials turn you aside from the truth. And I will abide in you-ye shall receive every help and influence from me that your souls can require, in order to preserve and save them to eternal life.

These two things are absolutely necessary to our salvation: 1. That we continue closely united to Christ by faith and love, and live in and to him.

2. That we continually receive from him the power to do good; for as the branch, however good in itself, cannot bear fruit from itself, through its own juice, which it has already derived from the tree, and can be no longer supported than it continues in union with the parent stock, neither can ye, unless ye abide in me. As the branch partakes of the nature of the tree, is nourished by its juice, and lives by its life, so ye must be made partakers of my Divine nature, be wise in my wisdom, powerful in my might, and pure through my holiness.

Verses 3-6. Now ye are clean — All of you, to whom I now speak, are made clean from the guilt and power of sin through the word which I have spoken unto you, whose sanctifying influence has operated on your hearts, and which, when applied by the Spirit, is the grand instrument of purifying the soul. Abide in me — By the continued exercise of humble faith and love, producing all holiness, by which alone you can continue to be in me; and I in you — And I will be in you by my Spirit, to nourish your piety and virtue, and supply you, as from a living root, with every necessary grace. As — In the natural world; the branch cannot bear fruit of itself — But must presently wither; except it abide in the vine — Continue in a state of union with it, and be nourished by sap from thence; no more can ye — Be able to produce the fruits of genuine and acceptable obedience; except ye abide in me — And have the life of grace maintained in you by a vital union with me. I am the vine — That is, the root and stock of the vine of which I speak; ye are only the branches — And cannot flourish or subsist, much less can you bear fruit, without me. Our Lord, in this whole passage, speaks of no branches but such as are, or, at least, were once, vitally united to him by living faith. He that abideth in me — By a real, internal, and spiritual union, begun and continued by faith; and I in him — By my word and Spirit, my truth and grace; the same bringeth forth much fruit — In holy dispositions, and righteous, benevolent actions, to the credit of his profession, the comfort of his own soul, and the edification of his fellow- creatures; for without me — Cwriv emou, separate from me, and deprived of the influences of my word and Spirit, (alluding still to the vine and its branches;) ye can do nothing — Nothing truly and spiritually good; can bear no fruit that will be pleasing to God, or profitable to yourselves. Without the merit of Christ, we can do nothing toward our justification; and without the Spirit of Christ, nothing toward our sanctification. We have as necessary and constant a dependance upon the grace of the Mediator for the whole of the spiritual and the divine life, as we have upon the providence of the Creator for all the actions of the natural life: as to both, it is in and by the divine power that we live, and move, and have our being. If a man abide not in me — By living, loving, and obedient faith, as well as by church communion, by which last, separate from the former, he may abide in Christ all his life and be withered all the time, and cast into the fire at last; he is cast forth as a branch — He is separated from Christ, as a branch that is barren is cut off from the tree which it only encumbered; and is withered — They that abide not in Christ by a real and vital union, though they may flourish a while in a creditable and plausible profession, yet in a little time they wither and come to nothing. Their abilities and gifts wither, their zeal and devotion wither; as do also their credit and reputation, their hopes and comforts. For they that bear no fruit will soon bear no leaves. How soon was the fig-tree withered away which Christ cursed! And men gather them and cast them into the fire, &c. — The loppings of the vines, in those countries where they are cultivated, are carefully gathered up, and make a considerable part of their fuel; as if he had said, As men gather up withered branches, which have been cut off from the tree on which they once grew, and throw them into the fire, where they are burned as a worthless kind of wood, fit for nothing but fuel; so, in like manner, such will be the end of those unhappy creatures. Satan’s agents and emissaries will insnare and make an easy prey of them; for they that fall off from Christ soon fall in with sinners, are associated with them, and employed in the unfruitful works of darkness; so that they become fit fuel for the divine wrath, from which the profession they formerly made will not preserve them. And they are burned — This follows of course; but it is here added very emphatically, and makes the threatening very terrible. The original expression, kai kaietai, is literally, and they are burning; for they will not be consumed in a moment, like thorns under a pot; but burning for ever in a fire, which not only cannot be quenched, but will never spend itself. Such, reader, is the consequence of apostatizing from Christ, or ceasing to live by faith in him; they draw back unto perdition, Hebrews 10:38, 39. Some interpret men’s gathering them, of the ministry of angels in the last day, when they shall gather out of Christ’s kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire, as tares are gathered and bound in bundles to be burned.

4. Abide in me—This is the great lesson of the apologue. In Christ you are, in Christ abide. To these apostles, surrounding him like the cluster upon the stem, as he was about to leave them, and they to separate from each other, he addresses this final admonition. Whatever your lot, wherever your place, do this one thing, abide in me, and all is safe. Their only danger is apostacy. And they can only abide in him by bearing fruit. And they can bear fruit only by abiding in him. Christian life is the source of Christian action; and Christian action is, back again, the source of Christian life.

V. 5. I am the vine, ye are the branches-Our Lord in this whole passage speaks of no branches but such as are, or at least were once, united to him by living faith.

Verse 5. Without me ye can do nothing.] cwriv emou ou dunasqe poiein ouden-Separated from me, ye can do nothing at all. God can do without man, but man cannot do without God. Following the metaphor of our Lord, it would be just as possible to do any good without him, as for a branch to live, thrive, and bring forth fruit, while cut off from that tree from which it not only derives its juices, but its very existence also. Nearly similar to this saying of our Lord, is that of Creeshna (the incarnate God of the Hindoos) to his disciple Arjoon: “God is the gift of charity; God is the offering: God is the fire of the altar; by God the sacrifice is performed; and God is to be obtained by him who maketh God alone the object of his works.” And again: “I am the sacrifice; I am the worship; I am the spices; I am the invocation; I am the fire; and I am the victim. I am the Father and Mother of this world, and the Preserver. I am the Holy One, worthy to be known; the mystic figure OM; (see on John 1:14;) I am the journey of the good; the Comforter; the Creator; the Witness; the resting-place; the asylum, and the Friend. I am the place of all things; and the inexhaustible seed of nature; I am sunshine, and I am rain; I now draw in, and now let forth.” See Bhagvat Geeta, pp. 54 and 80. Could such sentiments as these ever come from any other source than Divine revelation? There is a saying in Theophilus very similar to one of those above: qeov ou cwreitai, alla autov esti topov twn olwn.-God is not comprehended, but he is the place of all things.

Verses 3-6. Now ye are clean — All of you, to whom I now speak, are made clean from the guilt and power of sin through the word which I have spoken unto you, whose sanctifying influence has operated on your hearts, and which, when applied by the Spirit, is the grand instrument of purifying the soul. Abide in me — By the continued exercise of humble faith and love, producing all holiness, by which alone you can continue to be in me; and I in you — And I will be in you by my Spirit, to nourish your piety and virtue, and supply you, as from a living root, with every necessary grace. As — In the natural world; the branch cannot bear fruit of itself — But must presently wither; except it abide in the vine — Continue in a state of union with it, and be nourished by sap from thence; no more can ye — Be able to produce the fruits of genuine and acceptable obedience; except ye abide in me — And have the life of grace maintained in you by a vital union with me. I am the vine — That is, the root and stock of the vine of which I speak; ye are only the branches — And cannot flourish or subsist, much less can you bear fruit, without me. Our Lord, in this whole passage, speaks of no branches but such as are, or, at least, were once, vitally united to him by living faith. He that abideth in me — By a real, internal, and spiritual union, begun and continued by faith; and I in him — By my word and Spirit, my truth and grace; the same bringeth forth much fruit — In holy dispositions, and righteous, benevolent actions, to the credit of his profession, the comfort of his own soul, and the edification of his fellow- creatures; for without me — Cwriv emou, separate from me, and deprived of the influences of my word and Spirit, (alluding still to the vine and its branches;) ye can do nothing — Nothing truly and spiritually good; can bear no fruit that will be pleasing to God, or profitable to yourselves. Without the merit of Christ, we can do nothing toward our justification; and without the Spirit of Christ, nothing toward our sanctification. We have as necessary and constant a dependance upon the grace of the Mediator for the whole of the spiritual and the divine life, as we have upon the providence of the Creator for all the actions of the natural life: as to both, it is in and by the divine power that we live, and move, and have our being. If a man abide not in me — By living, loving, and obedient faith, as well as by church communion, by which last, separate from the former, he may abide in Christ all his life and be withered all the time, and cast into the fire at last; he is cast forth as a branch — He is separated from Christ, as a branch that is barren is cut off from the tree which it only encumbered; and is withered — They that abide not in Christ by a real and vital union, though they may flourish a while in a creditable and plausible profession, yet in a little time they wither and come to nothing. Their abilities and gifts wither, their zeal and devotion wither; as do also their credit and reputation, their hopes and comforts. For they that bear no fruit will soon bear no leaves. How soon was the fig-tree withered away which Christ cursed! And men gather them and cast them into the fire, &c. — The loppings of the vines, in those countries where they are cultivated, are carefully gathered up, and make a considerable part of their fuel; as if he had said, As men gather up withered branches, which have been cut off from the tree on which they once grew, and throw them into the fire, where they are burned as a worthless kind of wood, fit for nothing but fuel; so, in like manner, such will be the end of those unhappy creatures. Satan’s agents and emissaries will insnare and make an easy prey of them; for they that fall off from Christ soon fall in with sinners, are associated with them, and employed in the unfruitful works of darkness; so that they become fit fuel for the divine wrath, from which the profession they formerly made will not preserve them. And they are burned — This follows of course; but it is here added very emphatically, and makes the threatening very terrible. The original expression, kai kaietai, is literally, and they are burning; for they will not be consumed in a moment, like thorns under a pot; but burning for ever in a fire, which not only cannot be quenched, but will never spend itself. Such, reader, is the consequence of apostatizing from Christ, or ceasing to live by faith in him; they draw back unto perdition, Hebrews 10:38, 39. Some interpret men’s gathering them, of the ministry of angels in the last day, when they shall gather out of Christ’s kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire, as tares are gathered and bound in bundles to be burned.

5. Without me ye can do nothing—Gracious ability precedes all acceptable action. It is the sap without which no branch can bring forth fruit. Man, without the grace of God, through Christ, empowering him, can no more bring forth action pleasing to God than the dry and withered branch can put forth the rich and ruddy cluster.

Contrast between the apostate and the persevering adherent, 6-11. The contrast consists of five particulars on each side. I. The five stages of judgment upon the apostate: 1, he is cast forth; 2, withered; 3, bundled; 4, cast into the fire; 5, and burned. II. Five stages of blessing for the persevering disciple: 1, answer to prayer, verse 7; 2, glorification of the Father; 3, supreme love from Christ; 4, supreme obedience to Christ; 5, permanence and fulness of joy.

V. 6. If any one abide not in me-By living faith; not by Church communion only. He may thus abide in Christ, and be withered all the time, and cast into the fire at last.

He is cast out-Of the vineyard, the invisible Church. Therefore he was in it once.

Verse 6. If a man abide not in me] Our Lord in the plainest manner intimates that a person may as truly be united to him as the branch is to the tree that produces it, and yet be afterwards cut off and cast into the fire; because he has not brought forth fruit to the glory of his God. No man can cut off a branch from a tree to which that branch was never united: it is absurd, and contrary to the letter and spirit of the metaphor, to talk of being seemingly in Christ-because this means nothing. If there was only a seeming union, there could be only a seeming excision: so the matter is just where it began; nothing is done on either side, and nothing said to any purpose.

He is cast forth] Observe, that person who abides not in Christ, in a believing loving, obedient spirit, is-1. Cut off from Jesus, having no longer any right or title to him or to his salvation. 2. He is withered-deprived of all the influences of God’s grace and Spirit; loses all his heavenly unction; becomes indifferent, cold, and dead to every holy and spiritual word and work. 3. He is gathered-becomes (through the judgment of God) again united with backsliders like himself and other workers of iniquity; and, being abandoned to his own heart and Satan, he is, 4. Cast into the fire-separated from God’s people, from God himself, and from the glory of his power. And, 5. He is burned-is eternally tormented with the devil and his angels, and with all those who have lived and died in their iniquity. Reader! pray God that this may never be thy portion.

Verses 3-6. Now ye are clean — All of you, to whom I now speak, are made clean from the guilt and power of sin through the word which I have spoken unto you, whose sanctifying influence has operated on your hearts, and which, when applied by the Spirit, is the grand instrument of purifying the soul. Abide in me — By the continued exercise of humble faith and love, producing all holiness, by which alone you can continue to be in me; and I in you — And I will be in you by my Spirit, to nourish your piety and virtue, and supply you, as from a living root, with every necessary grace. As — In the natural world; the branch cannot bear fruit of itself — But must presently wither; except it abide in the vine — Continue in a state of union with it, and be nourished by sap from thence; no more can ye — Be able to produce the fruits of genuine and acceptable obedience; except ye abide in me — And have the life of grace maintained in you by a vital union with me. I am the vine — That is, the root and stock of the vine of which I speak; ye are only the branches — And cannot flourish or subsist, much less can you bear fruit, without me. Our Lord, in this whole passage, speaks of no branches but such as are, or, at least, were once, vitally united to him by living faith. He that abideth in me — By a real, internal, and spiritual union, begun and continued by faith; and I in him — By my word and Spirit, my truth and grace; the same bringeth forth much fruit — In holy dispositions, and righteous, benevolent actions, to the credit of his profession, the comfort of his own soul, and the edification of his fellow- creatures; for without me — Cwriv emou, separate from me, and deprived of the influences of my word and Spirit, (alluding still to the vine and its branches;) ye can do nothing — Nothing truly and spiritually good; can bear no fruit that will be pleasing to God, or profitable to yourselves. Without the merit of Christ, we can do nothing toward our justification; and without the Spirit of Christ, nothing toward our sanctification. We have as necessary and constant a dependance upon the grace of the Mediator for the whole of the spiritual and the divine life, as we have upon the providence of the Creator for all the actions of the natural life: as to both, it is in and by the divine power that we live, and move, and have our being. If a man abide not in me — By living, loving, and obedient faith, as well as by church communion, by which last, separate from the former, he may abide in Christ all his life and be withered all the time, and cast into the fire at last; he is cast forth as a branch — He is separated from Christ, as a branch that is barren is cut off from the tree which it only encumbered; and is withered — They that abide not in Christ by a real and vital union, though they may flourish a while in a creditable and plausible profession, yet in a little time they wither and come to nothing. Their abilities and gifts wither, their zeal and devotion wither; as do also their credit and reputation, their hopes and comforts. For they that bear no fruit will soon bear no leaves. How soon was the fig-tree withered away which Christ cursed! And men gather them and cast them into the fire, &c. — The loppings of the vines, in those countries where they are cultivated, are carefully gathered up, and make a considerable part of their fuel; as if he had said, As men gather up withered branches, which have been cut off from the tree on which they once grew, and throw them into the fire, where they are burned as a worthless kind of wood, fit for nothing but fuel; so, in like manner, such will be the end of those unhappy creatures. Satan’s agents and emissaries will insnare and make an easy prey of them; for they that fall off from Christ soon fall in with sinners, are associated with them, and employed in the unfruitful works of darkness; so that they become fit fuel for the divine wrath, from which the profession they formerly made will not preserve them. And they are burned — This follows of course; but it is here added very emphatically, and makes the threatening very terrible. The original expression, kai kaietai, is literally, and they are burning; for they will not be consumed in a moment, like thorns under a pot; but burning for ever in a fire, which not only cannot be quenched, but will never spend itself. Such, reader, is the consequence of apostatizing from Christ, or ceasing to live by faith in him; they draw back unto perdition, Hebrews 10:38, 39. Some interpret men’s gathering them, of the ministry of angels in the last day, when they shall gather out of Christ’s kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire, as tares are gathered and bound in bundles to be burned.

6. Abide not in me—The assumption is that his union with Christ is not merely apparent, but real. For surely Christ would not require in any part of this passage a false and hypocritical abiding in or adherence to him. Such a requirement would be an injunction to hypocrisy; and an apostacy therefrom would be an apostacy not from holiness, but an apostacy from hypocrisy, that is, from the worst of sin, which would be no apostacy at all. The Calvinistic comment, therefore, which implies that this disunion is but a seeming one is preposterous. He is cast forth as a branch—Separated from Christ; no longer justified through his blood. Withered—The last spark of spiritual life extinct; the last susceptibility to renewal destroyed. The apostacy is, therefore, total. Men gather them—We have now the apostates as a class, them, collected like withered branches into the bundle. It cannot, therefore, plausibly be said that no apostates have ever existed. Their collective existence is here described as an actual reality, and their destiny depicted under the most terrible imagery. For they are next cast into the fire, and, finally, there burned. Surely, from such apostacy there is no recovery. This description of the dark side of possible destiny is brief and terrible. It stands opposed to the fuller picture, drawn for the encouragement of the apostles, of their possible advancement in Christian grace and happiness.

V. 7. If ye abide in me, ye shall ask-Prayers themselves are a fruit of faith, and they produce more fruit.

Verse 7. If ye abide in me, &c.] “Those,” says Creeshna, “whose understandings are in him, (God,) whose souls are in him, whose confidence is in him, whose asylum is in him, are by the inspired wisdom purified from all their offenses, and go from whence they shall never return.” Geeta, p. 59.

Observe, in order to have influence with God, we must-1. Be united to Christ-if ye abide in me. 2. That in order to be preserved in this union, we must have our lives regulated by the doctrine of Christ-and my words abide in you. 3. That to profit by this union and doctrine, we must pray-ye shall ask. 4. That every heavenly blessing shall be given to those who continue in this union, with a loving, obedient, praying spirit:-ye shall ask what ye will, &c.

Verse 7. If ye abide in me, &c. — Our Lord having laid before his disciples the awful consequences of falling from grace, now proceeds to point out some of the peculiar advantages which should accrue from a contrary spirit and conduct; the first of which is that all their prayers should be heard and answered. If ye abide in me — Through a faith working by love; and my words abide in you — Practically and experimentally; if you adhere steadfastly to the doctrine which I have taught you, firmly believing my declarations, conscientiously obeying my precepts, and affectionately embracing and relying on my promises; ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you — Two things are implied in this promise: 1st, That the true disciples of Christ, who abide in him, and in whom his word abides, as above explained, will not ask any thing but what is proper to be done for them, and according to the will of God, 1 John 5:14, 15. They will, especially, ask spiritual blessings, which they know it is his will they should ask and receive; and will ask them in the way which he hath prescribed, namely, sincerely, earnestly, importunately, and perseveringly; and in the way of repentance, faith, and new obedience; and, in the name of Christ, relying for the success of their petitions on the mediation of Christ, and the mercy and promise of God through him. And, with respect to temporal blessings, they will ask them conditionally, and with entire resignation, desiring to receive them only so far as God foresees will be for their good and his glory. 2d, That they shall always have such an interest in Christ’s sacrifice and intercession, and in God’s favour through him, that all their prayers shall be accepted, and their petitions granted in the degree, time, and manner in which they themselves desire they should be granted, namely, when and as far as God sees will be for their good: which is all they desire; for they would not wish their requests to be granted to their own hurt, the hurt of others, or God’s dishonour. Thus the desire of the righteous shall be granted, and God will fulfil the desire of them that truly and consistently fear him: he also will hear their prayer, and will save them, Proverbs 10:24; <19E519>Psalm 145:19. To this purpose this apostle speaks, 1 John 5:14, 15, If we ask any thing according to his will he heareth us, and we have the petitions that we desired of him, and whatsoever we ask we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. Dr. Macknight, however, and many other commentators, suppose that whatever encouragement this promise of our Lord may give to pious Christians, of all nations and ages, to believe that their sincere prayer shall be granted, yet, that it was primarily addressed to the apostles; and that our Lord, having in the preceding verses exhorted the twelve, as disciples or private Christians, proceeds now to give them directions as apostles or preachers, commissioned by him to teach his religion to the rest of mankind. They accordingly paraphrase the passage thus; If ye abide in me, in the sincere profession and practice of my religion; and my words abide in you, if ye faithfully teach mankind my doctrines and precepts, notwithstanding the difficulties you may meet with in this work; ye shall ask what ye will, &c., ye may ask any miracle you please, in confirmation of your authority, and it shall be granted unto you.

7. If ye abide… ask what ye will—The full abiding in Christ, with Christ abiding in us, secures the privilege of answer to prayer. What we will in accordance with the Spirit of such a union as before explained (xiv, 13) shall be granted unto us.

V. 8. So shall ye be my disciples-Worthy of the name. To be a disciple of Christ is both the foundation and height of Christianity.

Verse 8. Herein is my Father glorified] Or, honoured. It is the honour of the husbandman to have good, strong, vigorous vines, plentifully laden with fruit: so it is the honour of God to have strong, vigorous, holy children, entirely freed from sin, and perfectly filled with his love.

Verse 8. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit — “As the end for which my Father has given the gospel dispensation to men, is to make them fruitful in holiness, you, my apostles, by spreading the true knowledge thereof through the world, and by reforming yourselves and others, will do honour unto God’s wisdom and goodness in bestowing this dispensation upon you.” But as the holiness of the apostles, and the diligent discharge of their duty in preaching the gospel, would be to the glory of God, in effecting, through his grace, the conversion and salvation of mankind; so, the fruitfulness of all Christians, in a lower and narrower sphere, tends greatly to promote the glory of God; for many, by seeing their good works, are brought to imitate the same, and glorify their Father who is in heaven, Matthew 5:16. So shall ye be my disciples — Thus shall you appear to all really to be what you call yourselves, my true disciples, and to act in a way worthy of your character and relation to me. Hereby shall you both evidence your discipleship and adorn it; and shall be owned by me as my disciples in the great day of final accounts, and have the reward of disciples, a share in the joy of your Lord. Observe, reader, to be a disciple of Christ, is both the foundation and height of Christianity.

8. My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit—The second stage of advancement is, that our very advancement contributes to the honour and glory of God among men. Herein is the disciple’s great honour, that God accepts his advancement as honour to himself.

V. 9. Abide ye in my love-Keep your place in my affection. See that ye do not forfeit that invaluable blessing. How needless a caution, if it were impossible for them not to abide therein?

Verses 9-11. As the Father hath loved me — As certainly as he hath loved me; and with that kind of love wherewith he hath loved me, namely, with a love of approbation and delight, constancy and perseverance; so have I loved you — As truly, as affectionately, as invariably: continue ye in my love — Keep your place in my affection: see that ye do not forfeit that invaluable blessing. How needless was this caution, if it were impossible for them not to abide in his love. If ye keep my commandments — If you carefully perform all the things which I have enjoined, both as my apostles and as private Christians; ye shall abide in my love — You shall be always the objects of it: on these terms, and on no other, shall you continue to possess my special affection: even as I have kept my Father’s commandments — Have exactly performed all the duties of my office, as Mediator, as the Teacher, Redeemer and Saviour of my church, their lawgiver and example; and abide in his love — Continue to be the object of his infinite complacency. These things have I spoken unto you — Not to grieve you by any intimation that I suspect the sincerity of your regards to me, but that you may be fortified and animated against all the temptations that will assault you, and may continue steadfast in your attachment to my cause and interest, and in your fidelity to me your Master, and zeal and diligence in serving me; that my joy may remain in you — That my complacency in you, as my faithful friends, may still continue; and that your joy might be full — May be maintained in its full height, and may greatly increase; as it certainly will, in proportion to your fidelity, zeal, and diligence in my service.

Ver. 9. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you. There is not one honour enjoyed by the glorified humanity of Christ but he shares it with his people — the knowledge of God — adoption — session on his throne — a sight of his glory — a conformity to him in glory. What can love do more? All is yours, for ye are Christ’s. But the grace so great is connected with all the sweet constraining powers of obedience to his word.

9. Father hath loved me, so… I… you—The third advancement is the attainment of a love from Christ so ineffable, and so perfect, as to be paralleled only by the love of the Father to the Son. The union of Christ with his persevering follower is modelled upon the ineffable unity of the Trinity itself. It is, therefore, perfect and eternal.

V. 10. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love-On these terms, and no other, ye shall remain the objects of my special affection.

Verse 10. If ye keep my commandments, &c.] Hence we learn that it is impossible to retain a sense of God’s pardoning love, without continuing in the obedience of faith.

Verses 9-11. As the Father hath loved me — As certainly as he hath loved me; and with that kind of love wherewith he hath loved me, namely, with a love of approbation and delight, constancy and perseverance; so have I loved you — As truly, as affectionately, as invariably: continue ye in my love — Keep your place in my affection: see that ye do not forfeit that invaluable blessing. How needless was this caution, if it were impossible for them not to abide in his love. If ye keep my commandments — If you carefully perform all the things which I have enjoined, both as my apostles and as private Christians; ye shall abide in my love — You shall be always the objects of it: on these terms, and on no other, shall you continue to possess my special affection: even as I have kept my Father’s commandments — Have exactly performed all the duties of my office, as Mediator, as the Teacher, Redeemer and Saviour of my church, their lawgiver and example; and abide in his love — Continue to be the object of his infinite complacency. These things have I spoken unto you — Not to grieve you by any intimation that I suspect the sincerity of your regards to me, but that you may be fortified and animated against all the temptations that will assault you, and may continue steadfast in your attachment to my cause and interest, and in your fidelity to me your Master, and zeal and diligence in serving me; that my joy may remain in you — That my complacency in you, as my faithful friends, may still continue; and that your joy might be full — May be maintained in its full height, and may greatly increase; as it certainly will, in proportion to your fidelity, zeal, and diligence in my service.

10. If ye keep my commandments… kept my Father’s commandments— The fourth attainment is a love from the believer to Christ, evidenced by an obedience to his commandments paralleled only by the love of Christ to the Father. So that, reciprocally, as in the last verse we have a perfect love of Christ toward his elect, so here we have a perfect accord of heart and will from the elect to the Redeemer.

V. 11. That my joy might remain in you-The same joy which I feel in loving the Father, and keeping his commandments.

Verse 11. That my joy may remain in you] That the joy which I now feel, on account of your steady, affectionate attachment to me, may be lasting, I give you both warnings and directions, that ye may abide in the faith.

That your joy might be full.] Or, complete-plhrwqh, filled up: a metaphor taken from a vessel, into which water or any other thing is poured, till it is full to the brim. The religion of Christ expels all misery from the hearts of those who receive it in its fulness. It was to drive wretchedness out of the world that Jesus came into it. Bishop Pearce, by joining en emoi to cara, and not to meinh, translates the verse thus: These things have I spoken, that my joy in you may remain-which is according to the meaning given to the first clause.

Verses 9-11. As the Father hath loved me — As certainly as he hath loved me; and with that kind of love wherewith he hath loved me, namely, with a love of approbation and delight, constancy and perseverance; so have I loved you — As truly, as affectionately, as invariably: continue ye in my love — Keep your place in my affection: see that ye do not forfeit that invaluable blessing. How needless was this caution, if it were impossible for them not to abide in his love. If ye keep my commandments — If you carefully perform all the things which I have enjoined, both as my apostles and as private Christians; ye shall abide in my love — You shall be always the objects of it: on these terms, and on no other, shall you continue to possess my special affection: even as I have kept my Father’s commandments — Have exactly performed all the duties of my office, as Mediator, as the Teacher, Redeemer and Saviour of my church, their lawgiver and example; and abide in his love — Continue to be the object of his infinite complacency. These things have I spoken unto you — Not to grieve you by any intimation that I suspect the sincerity of your regards to me, but that you may be fortified and animated against all the temptations that will assault you, and may continue steadfast in your attachment to my cause and interest, and in your fidelity to me your Master, and zeal and diligence in serving me; that my joy may remain in you — That my complacency in you, as my faithful friends, may still continue; and that your joy might be full — May be maintained in its full height, and may greatly increase; as it certainly will, in proportion to your fidelity, zeal, and diligence in my service.

11. My joy might remain in you… your joy might be full—And this completes the climax. As the apostate tends onward to the final burning, so the persevering elect progresses onward, through advancing stages of answered prayer, of glorifying God, of perfect love and obedience, to the full consummation of an eternal and absolute fulness of joy. Language can express no higher, no more perfect attainment.

The commandment of mutual love, based upon his example of love, 12-17.

V. 12. Your joy will be full, if ye so love one another.

Verse 12. That ye love one another] See Clarke on “John 13:34”. So deeply was thus commandment engraved on the heart of this evangelist that St. Jerome says, lib. iii. c. 6, Com. ad Galat., that in his extreme old age, when he used to be carried to the public assemblies of the believers, his constant saying was, Little children, love one another. His disciples, wearied at last with the constant repetition of the same words, asked him, Why he constantly said the same thing? “Because (said he) it is the commandment of the Lord, and the observation of it alone is sufficient.” Quia præceptum Domini est, et, si solum fiat, sufficit.

Verse 12. This is my commandment — This I especially enjoin you, whether as apostles or private Christians; that ye love one another — Cordially and constantly; even, if it be possible, with as great fervency and constancy, as I have loved you — So as to be ready to sacrifice your lives for each other, as I expose and give up mine for you. It is remarkable, that no one duty is more frequently inculcated, or more pathetically urged upon his disciples, by our Lord, than that of mutual love. This is my commandment, he says, as if it were the most necessary of all the commandments. The reason might be, 1st, That as under the law, the prohibition of idolatry was the commandment more insisted on than any other, because God foresaw the people would be prone to that sin; so Christ, foreseeing that the Christian Church would be addicted to uncharitable contentions and divisions, strife and animosity, thought proper to lay the greatest stress upon this precept. 2d, Mutual love among Christians is a duty which both includes many other duties, and has a good influence upon all: and to this duty, Christ’s love to us all should at once direct, animate, and urge us; he having thereby both shown us our duty in this respect, and laid us under the most powerful obligations to perform it. Add to this, that our Lord was thus earnest in pressing his disciples to the duty of mutual love, not only because it was the great design of his gospel to promote it, but because this virtue exercised by his apostles and first disciples among themselves, and toward all mankind, would be one great means of making their preaching successful; just as Christ’s immense love to men will always have a great influence in drawing them to him.

12. As I have loved you—Very perfect indeed is that authority in the commandment of love which is based upon the example of him who commands. Christ is the only preacher of absolute perfection who fully exemplified, in his own instance, the perfection he preached. All true human preaching is above the practice of even the best preacher.

V. 13. Greater love-To his friends. He here speaks of them only.

Verse 13. That a man lay down his life for his friends.] No man can carry his love for his friend farther than this: for, when he gives up his life, he gives up all that he has. This proof of my love for you I shall give in a few hours; and the doctrine which I recommend to you I am just going to exemplify myself. There are several remarkable cases, in heathen antiquity, where one friend offered his life for another. The two following will not stand dishonourably even in the book of God; became every thing loving and pure, in heathen, Jew, or Christian, must come from the God of love and purity.

When Cyrus had made war on the king of Armenia, and had taken him, his wife, and children, with Tigranes his son, and his wife, prisoners; treating with the old king concerning his ransom, he said, How much money wilt thou give me to have thy wife again? All that I have, replied the king. And how much wilt thou advance to enjoy thy children again? All that I can produce, answered the king. By reckoning thus, said Cyrus, you prize these at twice as much as you possess. Then, turning to Tigranes, he said, How much wilt thou give as a ransom, that thou mayest have thy wife? (Now Tigranes had been but lately married, kai uperfilwn thn gunaika, and loved his wife exceedingly.) He answered, I will indeed, O Cyrus, kai thv yuchv priaimhn, ransom her even with MY LIFE, that she may be no longer in thraldom. See XENOPH. Cyrop. lib. iii. c. 2.

The second example, which is too long to be inserted, is that affecting account of the friendship of Nisus and Euryalus, given by Virgil, in the ninth book of the Æneis. These two friends, leagued together, had slain many of the Rutulians in a night attack: at last Euryalus was taken prisoner. Nisus, concealed in a thicket, slew several of the enemy’s chiefs with his javelins: Volscens, their general, not seeing the hand by which his officers were slain, determines to wreak his vengeance upon his prisoner. Nisus, seeing his friend about to be transfixed with the sword, rushing out of the wood where he lay hidden, suddenly cries:-

ME! ME! adsum qui FECI! in ME convertite ferrum,

O Rutuli! MEA fraus omnis:-nihil ISTE-nec ausus,

Nec potuit-Cælum hoc, et conscia sidera testor!

TANTUM infelicem NIMIUM DILEXIT AMICUM.

ÆN. lib. ix. l. 427, &c.

“ME! ME! he cried, turn all your swords alone

On ME!-the fact confess’d, the fault my own.

HE neither could, nor durst, the guiltless youth;

Ye moon and stars, bear witness to the truth!

His only crime (if friendship can offend)

Is too much love to his unhappy friend.”

DRYDEN.

Those who understand the beautiful original will at once perceive that the earnestness, confusion, disorder, impatience, and burning love of the FRIEND, are poorly imitated in the above tame translation. The friendship of David and Jonathan is well known: the latter cheerfully gave up his crown to his friend, though himself was every way worthy to wear it. But when all these instances of rare friendship and affection are seen, read, and admired, let the affected reader turn his astonished eyes to Jesus, pouring out his blood, not for his friends, but for his ENEMIES; and, in the agonies of death, making supplication for his murderers, with, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!-and then let him help exclaiming, if he can,

“O Lamb of God, was ever pain,

Was ever LOVE like THINE!”

Verses 13-16. Greater love — To his friends, (of whom here he only speaks,) hath no man than this — That is, a greater degree of love than this never existed in the world; that a man lay down his life for his friends — That a man should be willing, not only on some sudden alarm, or in some extraordinary and unexpected danger, to hazard his life on their account; but on the coolest deliberation, to submit to lay it down for their preservation and happiness. Ye are my friends — Ye are the friends for whom I will lay down my life, and who shall certainly share in the blessings which I shall thereby procure for my disciples; if ye do whatsoever I command you — If you practically acknowledge my authority, and are so influenced by my love, as to make conscience of obeying all my commands. On this condition, and not otherwise, shall we be acknowledged by Christ as his friends. Who then dares assert that God’s love does not at all depend on man’s obedience? Henceforth I call you not servants — Though the distance that is between you and me, and your obligations to obey me, might have warranted me to treat you as servants, and particularly to conceal from you my counsels and designs, I have not acted toward you in that manner; but I have called you friends — I have treated you as friends are wont to be treated; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you — I have all along communicated to you the most important of those gracious counsels which my Father, as the expression of his friendship, imparted unto me; nay, I have commissioned you to reveal them to the world, and have made you not only my friends, but my assistants, in the great work of saving the world. Ye have not chosen me — You have not, as principals in this affair, adopted me your associate, but I, the great author of the gospel, have adopted you my associates; and ordained — Greek, kai eqhka, appointed you; that ye should go and bring forth fruit — That ye may go and convert sinners; and that your fruit should remain — Even to the remotest generations; that whatsoever ye shall ask, &c. — The consequence of your going and bearing fruit will be that all your prayers will be heard and answered.

13. For his friends—By laying down his life for them he demonstrated a love which no love could surpass. Others might faintly follow the example, but it is impossible that any should outdo it. Friends—So called, as being loved by him, although they were originally, and before he died for them, enemies. So the apostle (Romans 5:9, 10) is not contradicted. By so dying for them he raised them to the rank of friends. And in the case of all those who accept his atonement, he renders them, who formerly were not so, in reality his friends.

V. 14. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you-On this condition, not otherwise. A thunderbolt for Antinomianism! Who then dares assert that God's love does not at all depend on man's works?

Verses 13-16. Greater love — To his friends, (of whom here he only speaks,) hath no man than this — That is, a greater degree of love than this never existed in the world; that a man lay down his life for his friends — That a man should be willing, not only on some sudden alarm, or in some extraordinary and unexpected danger, to hazard his life on their account; but on the coolest deliberation, to submit to lay it down for their preservation and happiness. Ye are my friends — Ye are the friends for whom I will lay down my life, and who shall certainly share in the blessings which I shall thereby procure for my disciples; if ye do whatsoever I command you — If you practically acknowledge my authority, and are so influenced by my love, as to make conscience of obeying all my commands. On this condition, and not otherwise, shall we be acknowledged by Christ as his friends. Who then dares assert that God’s love does not at all depend on man’s obedience? Henceforth I call you not servants — Though the distance that is between you and me, and your obligations to obey me, might have warranted me to treat you as servants, and particularly to conceal from you my counsels and designs, I have not acted toward you in that manner; but I have called you friends — I have treated you as friends are wont to be treated; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you — I have all along communicated to you the most important of those gracious counsels which my Father, as the expression of his friendship, imparted unto me; nay, I have commissioned you to reveal them to the world, and have made you not only my friends, but my assistants, in the great work of saving the world. Ye have not chosen me — You have not, as principals in this affair, adopted me your associate, but I, the great author of the gospel, have adopted you my associates; and ordained — Greek, kai eqhka, appointed you; that ye should go and bring forth fruit — That ye may go and convert sinners; and that your fruit should remain — Even to the remotest generations; that whatsoever ye shall ask, &c. — The consequence of your going and bearing fruit will be that all your prayers will be heard and answered.

14. My friends, if ye do—He affords them a scope for becoming in action his friends. He condescends to raise them into the most intimate companionship with himself.

V. 15. All things-Which might be of service to you.

Verse 15. Henceforth I call you not servants] Which he at least indirectly had done, John 13:16; Matthew 10:24, 25; Luke 17:10. I have called you friends] I have admitted you into a state of the most intimate fellowship with myself; and have made known unto you whatsoever I have heard from the Father, which, in your present circumstances, it was necessary for you to be instructed in.

Verses 13-16. Greater love — To his friends, (of whom here he only speaks,) hath no man than this — That is, a greater degree of love than this never existed in the world; that a man lay down his life for his friends — That a man should be willing, not only on some sudden alarm, or in some extraordinary and unexpected danger, to hazard his life on their account; but on the coolest deliberation, to submit to lay it down for their preservation and happiness. Ye are my friends — Ye are the friends for whom I will lay down my life, and who shall certainly share in the blessings which I shall thereby procure for my disciples; if ye do whatsoever I command you — If you practically acknowledge my authority, and are so influenced by my love, as to make conscience of obeying all my commands. On this condition, and not otherwise, shall we be acknowledged by Christ as his friends. Who then dares assert that God’s love does not at all depend on man’s obedience? Henceforth I call you not servants — Though the distance that is between you and me, and your obligations to obey me, might have warranted me to treat you as servants, and particularly to conceal from you my counsels and designs, I have not acted toward you in that manner; but I have called you friends — I have treated you as friends are wont to be treated; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you — I have all along communicated to you the most important of those gracious counsels which my Father, as the expression of his friendship, imparted unto me; nay, I have commissioned you to reveal them to the world, and have made you not only my friends, but my assistants, in the great work of saving the world. Ye have not chosen me — You have not, as principals in this affair, adopted me your associate, but I, the great author of the gospel, have adopted you my associates; and ordained — Greek, kai eqhka, appointed you; that ye should go and bring forth fruit — That ye may go and convert sinners; and that your fruit should remain — Even to the remotest generations; that whatsoever ye shall ask, &c. — The consequence of your going and bearing fruit will be that all your prayers will be heard and answered.

15. Call you not servants—Though they still may serve him, yet he raises them above a mere servile relation. He calls them not servants to the denial of the more exalted union. Servant knoweth not—The servant, or slave, obeys without question the command he understands not. He is the tool of an arbitrary authority. But, to his friends, Christ has made known all things which the Father has revealed as the doctrines of salvation. Not absolutely all things, but all within the limits of their apostolate.

V. 16. Ye-My apostles, have not chosen me, but I have chosen you-As clearly appears from the sacred history:

and appointed you, that ye may go and bear fruit-I have chosen and appointed you for this end, that ye may go and convert sinners: and that your fruit may remain-That the fruit of your labours may remain to the end of the world; yea, to eternity;

that whatsoever ye shall ask-The consequence of your going and bearing fruit will be, that all your prayers will be heard.

Verse 16. Ye have not chosen me] Ye have not elected me as your Teacher: I have called you to be my disciples; witnesses and depositories of the truth. It was customary among the Jews for every person to choose his own teacher.

And ordained you] Rather, I have appointed you: the word is eqhka, I have PUT or placed you, i.e. in the vine.

Theodorus Mopsuensis, as quoted by Wetstein, observes that eqhka is here used for efuteusa; (I have planted;) “and, in saying this, our Lord still makes use of the metaphor of the vine; as if he had said: I have not only planted you, but I have given you the greatest benefits, causing your branches to extend every where through the habitable world.” The first ministers of the Gospel were the choice of Jesus Christ; no wonder, then, that they were so successful. Those whom men have since sent, without the appointment of God, have done no good. The choice should still continue with God, who, knowing the heart, knows best who is most proper for the Gospel ministry.

To be a genuine preacher of the Gospel, a man must-1. Be chosen of God to the work. 2. He must be placed in the true vine-united to Christ by faith.

3. He must not think to lead an idle life, but labour. 4. He must not wait till work be brought to him, but he must go and seek it. 5. He must labour so as to bring forth fruit, i.e. to get souls converted to the Lord. 6. He must refer all his fruit to God, who gave him the power to labour, and blessed him in his work. 7. He must take care to water what he has planted, that his fruit may remain-that the souls whom he has gathered in be not scattered from the flock. 8. He must continue instant in prayer, that his labours may be accompanied with the presence and blessing of God-Whatsoever ye shall ASK. 9. He must consider Jesus Christ as the great Mediator between God and man, proclaim his salvation, and pray in his name.-Whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, &c. See Quesnel.

Verses 13-16. Greater love — To his friends, (of whom here he only speaks,) hath no man than this — That is, a greater degree of love than this never existed in the world; that a man lay down his life for his friends — That a man should be willing, not only on some sudden alarm, or in some extraordinary and unexpected danger, to hazard his life on their account; but on the coolest deliberation, to submit to lay it down for their preservation and happiness. Ye are my friends — Ye are the friends for whom I will lay down my life, and who shall certainly share in the blessings which I shall thereby procure for my disciples; if ye do whatsoever I command you — If you practically acknowledge my authority, and are so influenced by my love, as to make conscience of obeying all my commands. On this condition, and not otherwise, shall we be acknowledged by Christ as his friends. Who then dares assert that God’s love does not at all depend on man’s obedience? Henceforth I call you not servants — Though the distance that is between you and me, and your obligations to obey me, might have warranted me to treat you as servants, and particularly to conceal from you my counsels and designs, I have not acted toward you in that manner; but I have called you friends — I have treated you as friends are wont to be treated; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you — I have all along communicated to you the most important of those gracious counsels which my Father, as the expression of his friendship, imparted unto me; nay, I have commissioned you to reveal them to the world, and have made you not only my friends, but my assistants, in the great work of saving the world. Ye have not chosen me — You have not, as principals in this affair, adopted me your associate, but I, the great author of the gospel, have adopted you my associates; and ordained — Greek, kai eqhka, appointed you; that ye should go and bring forth fruit — That ye may go and convert sinners; and that your fruit should remain — Even to the remotest generations; that whatsoever ye shall ask, &c. — The consequence of your going and bearing fruit will be that all your prayers will be heard and answered.

Ver. 16. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. Matthew says, that in the nomination of the twelve, Jesus called unto him whom he would, as he had called the prophets in the ancient church. He ordained the apostles with pastoral powers, that they should go out and preach, and bring forth fruit to God; that they should also form churches, in which young converts might be nourished, that so their fruit might remain. One grand cause of ministerial success is prayer, which brings the soul into closer fellowship with God. The man of devotion ascends the pulpit full of the grandeur of the supreme Being, and speaks with a majesty and power of eloquence which the rhetors of this world cannot teach.

16. Ye have not chosen me—Students of the law among the Jews select their own masters and teachers; but not so have you selected me from among many others. I have chosen you—It is I who have chosen and raised you to the rank of friends, and not you me. I have ordained, and given you official position, in order to your production of permanent fruit, and in order to your attaining the privilege of the answer of prayer, in my name, from the Father.

Verses 17-21. These things I command you, &c. — Again I would remind you, that if you would continue thus to be the objects of these my Father’s gracious regards, you must carefully practise your duty to each other, as well as to him; you must continue to love one another; and this you should the rather do, as you will be the mark of common hatred and persecution. Yet, if the world hate you — You will have no reason to be offended or surprised at it; for ye know that it hated me — Mild and benevolent as my conduct has always been; before it hated you — Before it discharged its venom and malignity on you. If ye were of the world — If your dispositions and actions were like those of the bulk of mankind; or if your doctrines and practices were conformable to its customs and maxims; the world would love its own — No doubt you would meet with general approbation, and be much caressed; but because ye are not of the world — Because your desires and designs, your spirit and conduct, are quite opposite to theirs, and I have chosen you out of the world — Have called you not only to separate yourselves from, but to oppose its vices and follies, and even to be leaders in that holy and necessary opposition; therefore the world hateth you — Notwithstanding that the cause in which you are engaged is most honourable, and your lives most useful and beneficent. And for the very same reason must the world in all ages hate those who are not of the world. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant, &c. — To reconcile you to the persecutions you are to meet with, you ought always to bear in mind what I told you on this subject the first time I sent you out, (see Matthew 10:24,) that no servant can expect to be better treated than his master; and therefore, seeing they have persecuted me, they will naturally persecute you. If they have kept my saying — Have conformed themselves to my doctrine; they will keep yours also — Will be properly influenced by it, and will walk according to it; therefore, by the reception my doctrine meets with, you may judge how yours will be relished. But all these things will they do unto you — All the opposition which they will show to your persons and ministry, will be exerted for my name’s sake — Because of the enmity which they have to me, and the cause in which I am engaged; because they know not him that sent me — Because they are not acquainted with the nature and perfections of that God to whom they boast so near a relation, and who has sent me into the world to declare and establish a religion which shocks their prejudices, and is contrary to their carnal and worldly spirit. And in all ages and nations, they who know not God will, for this cause, hate and persecute those that do.

Ver. 17. These things I command, that ye love one another. In this they obeyed. The apostles in Jerusalem were of one heart and one soul. Peter uses the phrase, our beloved brother Paul; and Paul’s epistles close with greetings and salutations. How different were the primitive from later times, when heresies, councils, and excommunications rent the seamless coat of Christ. The unity of the church consists in brotherly love, and in being joined in one bond and one spirit to the Lord.

17. I command you—Inasmuch as I have conferred upon you grace so stupendous, and a love so perfect, full rightly have I authority to command you. And my command is, that one command most fully authorized by my example—the commandment of mutual love.

Verse 18. If the world hate you] As the followers of Christ were to be exposed to the hatred of the world, it was no small consolation to them to know that that hatred would be only in proportion to their faith and holiness; and that, consequently, instead of being troubled at the prospect of persecution, they should rejoice, because that should always be a proof to them that they were in the very path in which Jesus himself had trod. Dr. Lardner thinks that prwton is a substantive, or at least an adjective used substantively, and this clause of the text should be translated thus: If the world hate you, know that it hated me, your CHIEF. It is no wonder that the world should hate you, when it hated me, your Lord and Master, whose lips were without guile, and whose conduct was irreproachable. See the doctor’s vindication of this translation, WORKS, vol. i. p. 306.

Verses 17-21. These things I command you, &c. — Again I would remind you, that if you would continue thus to be the objects of these my Father’s gracious regards, you must carefully practise your duty to each other, as well as to him; you must continue to love one another; and this you should the rather do, as you will be the mark of common hatred and persecution. Yet, if the world hate you — You will have no reason to be offended or surprised at it; for ye know that it hated me — Mild and benevolent as my conduct has always been; before it hated you — Before it discharged its venom and malignity on you. If ye were of the world — If your dispositions and actions were like those of the bulk of mankind; or if your doctrines and practices were conformable to its customs and maxims; the world would love its own — No doubt you would meet with general approbation, and be much caressed; but because ye are not of the world — Because your desires and designs, your spirit and conduct, are quite opposite to theirs, and I have chosen you out of the world — Have called you not only to separate yourselves from, but to oppose its vices and follies, and even to be leaders in that holy and necessary opposition; therefore the world hateth you — Notwithstanding that the cause in which you are engaged is most honourable, and your lives most useful and beneficent. And for the very same reason must the world in all ages hate those who are not of the world. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant, &c. — To reconcile you to the persecutions you are to meet with, you ought always to bear in mind what I told you on this subject the first time I sent you out, (see Matthew 10:24,) that no servant can expect to be better treated than his master; and therefore, seeing they have persecuted me, they will naturally persecute you. If they have kept my saying — Have conformed themselves to my doctrine; they will keep yours also — Will be properly influenced by it, and will walk according to it; therefore, by the reception my doctrine meets with, you may judge how yours will be relished. But all these things will they do unto you — All the opposition which they will show to your persons and ministry, will be exerted for my name’s sake — Because of the enmity which they have to me, and the cause in which I am engaged; because they know not him that sent me — Because they are not acquainted with the nature and perfections of that God to whom they boast so near a relation, and who has sent me into the world to declare and establish a religion which shocks their prejudices, and is contrary to their carnal and worldly spirit. And in all ages and nations, they who know not God will, for this cause, hate and persecute those that do.

Ver. 18, 19. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. We may observe with what fervency and importunity our Lord inculcated and pressed upon his disciples the duty of mutual love, in the foregoing verse: “I command you that ye love one another.” The argument which he uses to press his disciples in general, and his ministers and ambassadors in particular, to love each other, is, because the world would certainly hate them. Learn hence, that the world’s hatred of the members and ministers of Christ, is to be esteemed by them a strong argument to excite and persuade them to love one another; for this is subjoined, to excite mutual love, that we are sure to meet with the world’s hatred. The several arguments, by way of encouragement, which Christ proposes to comfort his members and ministers against the world’s hatred, are deserving of particular attention. The first is taken from his own lot and usage: while in the world he met with the very same before them. “The world hated me before it hated you.” Hatred and persecution from the world need not therefore seem hard to the saints, if they consider what a portion of it Christ had himself endured. He is the prime object of the world’s hatred; and they who hate him much will hate his members more, because of their likeness and resemblance to him.

A second argument of comfort under the world’s hatred is, that it will evidence they are not of this world, but chosen out of the world: ver. 19. Because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hate you. The children of God, we see, though in the world, are not of the world; they have not the spirit of the world, nor is the conversation of the world led by them. The difference betwixt them that are of the world, and those that are chosen out of the world, is of God’s making. I have chosen you out of the world. Such christians as are separated from the world, in judgment, in affection and practice, must for that reason expect to be hated and persecuted by the world. Because ye are not of the world, therefore the world hates you.

The third argument for consolation and support under the world’s hatred, is taken from our relation to Christ, as servants to a master: ver. 20. Remember the servant is not greater than his lord; as if Christ had said, Ought ye to expect better treatment than myself, either as to your persons or ministry; or that the world would better receive your doctrine than it did mine before you? Neither the members nor ministers of Christ can or ought to expect better entertainment in and from the world, than their Master found before them. The servant is not above his master, nor greater than his lord.

A fourth argument to support them under the burden of the world’s hatred, is taken from the goodness of the cause for which they were to suffer; namely, for Christ’s name’s sake: ver. 21. All these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake. Hence it is the duty of all, especially of the ministers of Christ, to own their Lord, to stand up in defence of his name and truth, his glory and honour, what opposition soever they may meet with for the same. The great quarrel of the world against the disciples of Christ is for the name of Christ; whatever may be pretended, this is the ground of the quarrel.

18. If the world hate you—He had just been softening their heart with lessons of love. But to the loving heart no pain is greater than the consciousness of being the object of hate, and this little band of apostles are to be the central object of hatred to a surrounding world. The if suggests no doubt of the fact, but prepares them for the terrible reality and furnishes them the antidote—it hated me before it hated you. You are hated, then, not because you are bad, but because you are good. It is the hatred of badness against goodness; for they hated incarnate goodness before they hated you.

V. 19. Because ye are not of the world, therefore the world hateth you-Because your maxims, tempers, actions, are quite opposite to theirs. For the very same reason must the world in all ages hate those who are not of the world.

Verse 19. Ye are not of the world-therefore, &c.] On this very account, because ye do not join in fellowship with those who know not God, therefore they hate you. How true is that saying:- “The laws of Christ condemn a vicious world,

And goad it to revenge!” — GAMBOLD.

Verses 17-21. These things I command you, &c. — Again I would remind you, that if you would continue thus to be the objects of these my Father’s gracious regards, you must carefully practise your duty to each other, as well as to him; you must continue to love one another; and this you should the rather do, as you will be the mark of common hatred and persecution. Yet, if the world hate you — You will have no reason to be offended or surprised at it; for ye know that it hated me — Mild and benevolent as my conduct has always been; before it hated you — Before it discharged its venom and malignity on you. If ye were of the world — If your dispositions and actions were like those of the bulk of mankind; or if your doctrines and practices were conformable to its customs and maxims; the world would love its own — No doubt you would meet with general approbation, and be much caressed; but because ye are not of the world — Because your desires and designs, your spirit and conduct, are quite opposite to theirs, and I have chosen you out of the world — Have called you not only to separate yourselves from, but to oppose its vices and follies, and even to be leaders in that holy and necessary opposition; therefore the world hateth you — Notwithstanding that the cause in which you are engaged is most honourable, and your lives most useful and beneficent. And for the very same reason must the world in all ages hate those who are not of the world. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant, &c. — To reconcile you to the persecutions you are to meet with, you ought always to bear in mind what I told you on this subject the first time I sent you out, (see Matthew 10:24,) that no servant can expect to be better treated than his master; and therefore, seeing they have persecuted me, they will naturally persecute you. If they have kept my saying — Have conformed themselves to my doctrine; they will keep yours also — Will be properly influenced by it, and will walk according to it; therefore, by the reception my doctrine meets with, you may judge how yours will be relished. But all these things will they do unto you — All the opposition which they will show to your persons and ministry, will be exerted for my name’s sake — Because of the enmity which they have to me, and the cause in which I am engaged; because they know not him that sent me — Because they are not acquainted with the nature and perfections of that God to whom they boast so near a relation, and who has sent me into the world to declare and establish a religion which shocks their prejudices, and is contrary to their carnal and worldly spirit. And in all ages and nations, they who know not God will, for this cause, hate and persecute those that do.

Ver. 18, 19. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. We may observe with what fervency and importunity our Lord inculcated and pressed upon his disciples the duty of mutual love, in the foregoing verse: “I command you that ye love one another.” The argument which he uses to press his disciples in general, and his ministers and ambassadors in particular, to love each other, is, because the world would certainly hate them. Learn hence, that the world’s hatred of the members and ministers of Christ, is to be esteemed by them a strong argument to excite and persuade them to love one another; for this is subjoined, to excite mutual love, that we are sure to meet with the world’s hatred. The several arguments, by way of encouragement, which Christ proposes to comfort his members and ministers against the world’s hatred, are deserving of particular attention. The first is taken from his own lot and usage: while in the world he met with the very same before them. “The world hated me before it hated you.” Hatred and persecution from the world need not therefore seem hard to the saints, if they consider what a portion of it Christ had himself endured. He is the prime object of the world’s hatred; and they who hate him much will hate his members more, because of their likeness and resemblance to him.

A second argument of comfort under the world’s hatred is, that it will evidence they are not of this world, but chosen out of the world: ver. 19. Because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hate you. The children of God, we see, though in the world, are not of the world; they have not the spirit of the world, nor is the conversation of the world led by them. The difference betwixt them that are of the world, and those that are chosen out of the world, is of God’s making. I have chosen you out of the world. Such christians as are separated from the world, in judgment, in affection and practice, must for that reason expect to be hated and persecuted by the world. Because ye are not of the world, therefore the world hates you.

The third argument for consolation and support under the world’s hatred, is taken from our relation to Christ, as servants to a master: ver. 20. Remember the servant is not greater than his lord; as if Christ had said, Ought ye to expect better treatment than myself, either as to your persons or ministry; or that the world would better receive your doctrine than it did mine before you? Neither the members nor ministers of Christ can or ought to expect better entertainment in and from the world, than their Master found before them. The servant is not above his master, nor greater than his lord.

A fourth argument to support them under the burden of the world’s hatred, is taken from the goodness of the cause for which they were to suffer; namely, for Christ’s name’s sake: ver. 21. All these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake. Hence it is the duty of all, especially of the ministers of Christ, to own their Lord, to stand up in defence of his name and truth, his glory and honour, what opposition soever they may meet with for the same. The great quarrel of the world against the disciples of Christ is for the name of Christ; whatever may be pretended, this is the ground of the quarrel.

19. The world—Five times is the world named in this verse. And what, truly, is this so-named world? It is, of course, not the physical frame of the globe, nor is it the human race as such. It is the living, fallen, unregenerate race, with whom self-interest is supreme; to whom right is a word of feeble meaning, and holiness a term of disgust; to whom sin is a trifle or an unreality; to whom God in his true attributes is offensive, and of whom Satan, but dimly disguised, is the actual god. This world is a realm of sordid appetite, of turbulent passion, of unprincipled ambition; a kingdom of evil, in which, were the inhabitants not mortal, and occupied with compulsory labour, there would be a complete likeness and sameness with hell. Were God to render the bodies of unregenerate men at once immortal, men would become fiends and earth a pandemonium. No wonder, then, that one being the incarnation of goodness, should be the central object of its antipathy. World would love its own—Were the apostles of this same world they would be the objects of such love as the world entertains, namely, the affinity of evil with evil. It would shed its grim smile upon them as its own, and welcome them into the compact and strife that the world affords and enjoys. Because… not of the world—Chosen by him from the world, the affinity of the world is broken and the antipathy is established. And it is not merely the antipathy of unlikeness. For the world hates them because, by assuming to be better than the world, the world feels itself to be by them condemned. And their mission of reproof, of warning, of threatening, and of reformation, is accepted by the world as a rebuke, an attack, and a war. Hence the world is in arms against them unarmed. It is the war of the many with the few; of the powerful with the weak; of the fierce with the mild; of the armored with the defenceless. But still he now propounds a consolation and justification. And these are threefold. First, they share this hatred with their Lord, verse 20; second, that hatred guiltily strikes against God the Father, 21-25; and third, they co-operate in their testimony with the holy Comforter, 26, 27. Then, through the entire sixteenth chapter, does the Lord expand this struggle between the Comforter and the world before their view, closing with the grand trumpet peal of triumph, Be of good cheer, I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD! Such is the joyous close of the Lord’s earthly ministry to his apostles. His Gospel is a gospel of ultimate triumph.

V. 20. John 13:16; Matthew 10:24; Luke 6:40.

Verse 20. If they have kept my saying] Or, doctrine. Whosoever acknowledges me for the Christ will acknowledge you for my ministers. Some translate the passage thus: If they have WATCHED my sayings, i.e. with an intent to accuse me for something which I have said, they will WATCH yours also: therefore be on your guard. parathrein has this sense, as we have had occasion to observe before; and perhaps threin has the same sense here, as it is much more agreeable to the context.

Verses 17-21. These things I command you, &c. — Again I would remind you, that if you would continue thus to be the objects of these my Father’s gracious regards, you must carefully practise your duty to each other, as well as to him; you must continue to love one another; and this you should the rather do, as you will be the mark of common hatred and persecution. Yet, if the world hate you — You will have no reason to be offended or surprised at it; for ye know that it hated me — Mild and benevolent as my conduct has always been; before it hated you — Before it discharged its venom and malignity on you. If ye were of the world — If your dispositions and actions were like those of the bulk of mankind; or if your doctrines and practices were conformable to its customs and maxims; the world would love its own — No doubt you would meet with general approbation, and be much caressed; but because ye are not of the world — Because your desires and designs, your spirit and conduct, are quite opposite to theirs, and I have chosen you out of the world — Have called you not only to separate yourselves from, but to oppose its vices and follies, and even to be leaders in that holy and necessary opposition; therefore the world hateth you — Notwithstanding that the cause in which you are engaged is most honourable, and your lives most useful and beneficent. And for the very same reason must the world in all ages hate those who are not of the world. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant, &c. — To reconcile you to the persecutions you are to meet with, you ought always to bear in mind what I told you on this subject the first time I sent you out, (see Matthew 10:24,) that no servant can expect to be better treated than his master; and therefore, seeing they have persecuted me, they will naturally persecute you. If they have kept my saying — Have conformed themselves to my doctrine; they will keep yours also — Will be properly influenced by it, and will walk according to it; therefore, by the reception my doctrine meets with, you may judge how yours will be relished. But all these things will they do unto you — All the opposition which they will show to your persons and ministry, will be exerted for my name’s sake — Because of the enmity which they have to me, and the cause in which I am engaged; because they know not him that sent me — Because they are not acquainted with the nature and perfections of that God to whom they boast so near a relation, and who has sent me into the world to declare and establish a religion which shocks their prejudices, and is contrary to their carnal and worldly spirit. And in all ages and nations, they who know not God will, for this cause, hate and persecute those that do.

Ver. 20. If they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. The church is a new community, established under the royal charter of heaven: by her glory and beauty she eclipses and shames the ungodly world. They hate us because we testify that its works are evil. So they hated the Lord, but hated him without a cause. We must not then be discouraged, for he shunned not the high duty of declaring the whole counsel of God, amidst all the enmity and opposition of the unbelieving jews.

20. Remember—Bear this word imprinted on your heart. Servant… Lord— Matthew 10:24; John 13:16. Honourable are the scorn and the hatred shared with Him who is honour itself. Nor can they complain while, in their suffering, they are preceded by his great example. And ever since he, the Lord, suffered persecution, persecution has become an honour; and persecutors have become afraid and ashamed when men cry persecution! against them. If… persecuted me… also persecute you—This thought shall harden you into good soldiers: that all their assaults were first suffered by me. Just the same persecution, and the same acceptance, which they afforded me, they will afford you; no more no less.

V. 21. All these things will they do to you, because they know not him that sent me-And in all ages and nations they who know not God will, for this cause, hate and persecute those that do.

Verse 21. Because they know not him that sent me.] This is the foundation of all religious persecution: those who are guilty of it, whether in Church or state, know nothing about God. If God tolerates a worship which professes to have him for its object, and which does not disturb the quiet or peace of society, no man has the smallest right to meddle with it; and he that does fights against God. His letting it pass is at least a tacit command that all should treat it as he has done.

Verses 17-21. These things I command you, &c. — Again I would remind you, that if you would continue thus to be the objects of these my Father’s gracious regards, you must carefully practise your duty to each other, as well as to him; you must continue to love one another; and this you should the rather do, as you will be the mark of common hatred and persecution. Yet, if the world hate you — You will have no reason to be offended or surprised at it; for ye know that it hated me — Mild and benevolent as my conduct has always been; before it hated you — Before it discharged its venom and malignity on you. If ye were of the world — If your dispositions and actions were like those of the bulk of mankind; or if your doctrines and practices were conformable to its customs and maxims; the world would love its own — No doubt you would meet with general approbation, and be much caressed; but because ye are not of the world — Because your desires and designs, your spirit and conduct, are quite opposite to theirs, and I have chosen you out of the world — Have called you not only to separate yourselves from, but to oppose its vices and follies, and even to be leaders in that holy and necessary opposition; therefore the world hateth you — Notwithstanding that the cause in which you are engaged is most honourable, and your lives most useful and beneficent. And for the very same reason must the world in all ages hate those who are not of the world. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant, &c. — To reconcile you to the persecutions you are to meet with, you ought always to bear in mind what I told you on this subject the first time I sent you out, (see Matthew 10:24,) that no servant can expect to be better treated than his master; and therefore, seeing they have persecuted me, they will naturally persecute you. If they have kept my saying — Have conformed themselves to my doctrine; they will keep yours also — Will be properly influenced by it, and will walk according to it; therefore, by the reception my doctrine meets with, you may judge how yours will be relished. But all these things will they do unto you — All the opposition which they will show to your persons and ministry, will be exerted for my name’s sake — Because of the enmity which they have to me, and the cause in which I am engaged; because they know not him that sent me — Because they are not acquainted with the nature and perfections of that God to whom they boast so near a relation, and who has sent me into the world to declare and establish a religion which shocks their prejudices, and is contrary to their carnal and worldly spirit. And in all ages and nations, they who know not God will, for this cause, hate and persecute those that do.

21. Because they know not him that sent me—This persecution against you travels up against me, and, through me, mounts up against God. They know not—Not that they are passively and necessarily ignorant; but actively, voluntarily, freely, with full means and power to know and to do otherwise, they ignore Him that sent me.

V. 22. They had not had sin-Not in this respect.

Verse 22. But now they have no cloke for their sin.] They are without excuse. See the margin, and see Clarke’s note on “John 9:41”. Christ had done such works as demonstrated him to be the Messiah-yet they rejected him: here lay their sin; and this sin, and the punishment to which it exposed them, still remain; for they still continue to reject the Lord that bought them.

Verses 22, 23. If I had not come and spoken unto them — Thus plainly; they had not had sin — Their guilt would not have been so great. “If I had not appeared in person among them, according to their own prophecies, and proved my mission by arguments which put it beyond all reasonable possibility of doubt, they would not have been so much to blame for rejecting the gospel.” But now they have no cloak for their sin — But now that all the things foretold by Moses and the prophets are fulfilled in me; that my gospel is every way worthy of God; and that my mission from God is sufficiently proved by my miracles; they have no plea whatever to excuse their unbelief. He that hateth me, hateth my Father also — As if he had said, This clearness of evidence, wherewith my mission is attended, makes the crime of rejecting me equal to, if not the same with, the crime of rejecting God. Their hatred to me implies also hatred to my Father. “How much,” says Dr. Doddridge, “is it to be wished, that those who make light of Christ, while they pretend a great veneration for the Father, would seriously attend to this weighty admonition, lest haply they be found even to fight against God! Acts 5:39.”

Ver. 22. If I had not come and spoken to them all the pleasure of the Father, as Messiah, they had not had sin, the sin of unbelief, which will prove their utter ruin. In my public disputations, I told them that I was from above; that I and the Father are one; that in works, I did whatsoever the Father did; so that they are left without excuse.

22. If—There is a supposable case in which they would be without condemnation. If they had no means or power to know, if I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had responsible sin. Their action might have been wrong, but with no means or power to do right instead of wrong, it is not responsible wrong; it could not have incurred just condemnation or penalty. The impossibility in the intellect to know the truth is a cloak, an excuse, for not knowing the truth. The incapacity in the will to do right, arising from a necessary controlling motive force, is a cloak or an excuse for not doing right, and for doing wrong. If that wrong doing be properly called a sin, it is not a responsible sin. And this is a universal law of a just divine administration. Where there is from the beginning no power for right there can be no guilt for wrong. Were the posterity of Adam born into existence without the means to know the truth, without the volitional power to will the right, or without any personal fault or forfeiture by their own free act, they could not have been held responsible or justly punishable. If Christ had not come, if no sufficient light had been shed, and no sufficient power imparted, there could have been no responsible sin, guilt, or penalty. Hence it was not until a Saviour was promised that Adam was spared and he begat a son. The future Saviour was the previous condition of the continuance of the race. Without that future Saviour there is no proof but that the fulness of the penalty of death would have been suffered in the person of guilty Adam alone, no posterity of his succeeding.

But now—Inasmuch as I have come and have spoken the truth, affording them the means of knowing, willing, and doing. They have no cloak—No covering, no justification, no palliation; but a full exposure to the utmost penalty for their excuseless sin. They knew their duty and they did it not.

V. 23. He that hateth me-As every unbeliever doth, For as the love of God is inseparable from faith, so is the hatred of God from unbelief.

Verses 22, 23. If I had not come and spoken unto them — Thus plainly; they had not had sin — Their guilt would not have been so great. “If I had not appeared in person among them, according to their own prophecies, and proved my mission by arguments which put it beyond all reasonable possibility of doubt, they would not have been so much to blame for rejecting the gospel.” But now they have no cloak for their sin — But now that all the things foretold by Moses and the prophets are fulfilled in me; that my gospel is every way worthy of God; and that my mission from God is sufficiently proved by my miracles; they have no plea whatever to excuse their unbelief. He that hateth me, hateth my Father also — As if he had said, This clearness of evidence, wherewith my mission is attended, makes the crime of rejecting me equal to, if not the same with, the crime of rejecting God. Their hatred to me implies also hatred to my Father. “How much,” says Dr. Doddridge, “is it to be wished, that those who make light of Christ, while they pretend a great veneration for the Father, would seriously attend to this weighty admonition, lest haply they be found even to fight against God! Acts 5:39.”

23. Hateth me hateth my Father—Their hatred runs through Christ as a conductor and lights upon God. And this is ever true. Men may claim to reject Jesus and yet hold to God. But their God is but a mere natural power, it is not the God of Christ or of the Bible. Some men of science reject Christ, and recognize a Nature, or a system of Laws, as ruling creation. But they ignore Christ, because they really ignore, reject, and scientifically hate the God of Christ. Deism, atheism, are a temper of the heart. Their theories grow out from the spirit and temper of the soul. It is in his heart that the fool saith there is no God; whether that fool be the fool of ignorance, or the greater fool of science. He that hateth me hateth my Father also.

Verses 24-27. If I had not done among them, &c. — If I had wrought no miracle at all among them; nay, if I had not done such extraordinary works as no other man ever did, not even their prophets, or Moses himself; they had not had sin — Any degree of sin comparable to that which they are now under: but now they have both seen, &c. — But now, as they have rejected my superior miracles, which they have seen with their own eyes, at the same time that they own the evidence of those which Moses wrought, of which they have heard only by distant report, they manifest such an obstinate perverseness of temper, that I may truly say, they have both seen and hated both me and my Father. For in my miracles, which are greater than any hitherto exhibited, they have seen, or might have seen, who I am; namely, the only-begotten Son of God; and who is my Father; for the glory of all the divine perfections shines forth in my miracles. Nevertheless, they have rejected me, who have performed these miracles, and my Father likewise, who sent me to perform them; so that, shutting their eyes against the light thus shining on them, and hardening their hearts against that incontrovertible evidence of my mission, which my mighty works afford, it is evident they reject me, not out of ignorance and weakness, but out of wilful hatred to me, and him that sent me, and therefore are utterly inexcusable. But this cometh to pass — This is all permitted; that the word might be fulfilled — Or, in consequence of this being permitted, the word is fulfilled; see note on chap. 12:37-40; that is written in the law — Or in their sacred volume; (namely, Psalms 35:19Psalm 35:19;) They hated me without a cause — These very words, strictly speaking, were spoken concerning David, and are here applied to the Messiah, both because David was a type of him, and because he was hated without a cause, (see Isaiah 3:3-9; Daniel 9:26; Zechariah 12:10,) as David was. The meaning is, Be not surprised that I, who am the Messiah, have been rejected of the Jews. It has happened according to the prediction of their own prophets. But when the Comforter is come, &c. — But, “for your encouragement I assure you, that they will not always continue thus obstinately bent against me and my religion. When he, who is to comfort you under all your troubles by the aid he will afford you, and who on that account is justly styled the Comforter; when he is come, whom I will send you from the Father — To remain always with you; even the Spirit of truth — He shall bear witness to me and to my religion so effectually, that many of the Jews shall be converted.” — Macknight. We may observe here, that the Spirit’s coming, and being sent, by our Lord, from the Father, to testify of him, are personal characters, and plainly distinguish him from the Father and the Son. And his title as the Spirit of truth, together with his proceeding from the Father, can agree to none but a divine person. And that he proceeds from the Son as well as from the Father, may be fairly argued from his being called the Spirit of Christ, 1 Peter 1:11; and from his being said to be sent by Christ from the Father, as well as sent by the Father in Christ’s name. And ye also — Weak as you now appear, shall, by his powerful assistance, bear a courageous and convincing testimony to me, because you have been with me from the beginning — Namely, of my ministry, and therefore are the best qualified to give an account of my whole conduct; which, the better it is known, the more it will justify my cause, and expose the wickedness of those that rise up against me. In other words, “In process of time men’s eyes shall be opened to discern the authority of your testimony; and they shall give credit to your reports concerning me, because they shall know that ye have been my companions from the very first, consequently eye and ear-witnesses of all that I have done and said: so that after a while you shall testify concerning me, and preach my religion far more successfully than it will be in your power to do at the beginning.” See Doddridge and Macknight.

24. If—There is another if enforcing and expanding the if of verse 22. Had not done… works—Not by his word only, but by his works, attesting the superhuman power of his word, had he revealed to them the truth. His word, like original right and truth, attested itself to the conscience. His work, such as none other man did, attested his superhuman nature to their reason. With conscience and reason combining to attest his superhuman excellence, it was an excuseless folly for human beings to reject and hate him, claiming to be the Son and Messenger of God. Seen and hated… me and my Father—His works were not merely in themselves separate evidences. They were a part of his character and of himself. They were the attributes going to make up his divine person, as it appeared before them. He walked before them an Omnipotent. He passed in the scene before their eyes visible God. The curtain was uplifted, and upon the level stage of earth God incarnate passed before their view, as the visible Jehovah passed before the eyes of Moses. Hence he could truly say, now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.

V. 25. Psalms 69:4Psalm 69:4.

Verse 25. Written in their law] See Clarke on “John 10:34”. These words are taken from Psalms 69:4Psalm 69:4. This psalm is applied to Christ, John 2:17; 19:28; to the vengeance of God against Judea, Acts 1:20. The psalm seems entirely prophetic of Christ. His deep abasement is referred to, Psalms 69:2Psalm 69:2-5; his prayer for his disciples and followers, Psalms 69:6Psalm 69:6; that for himself, in the garden of Gethsemane, Psalms 69:15Psalm 69:15-19; his crucifixion, Psalms 69:20Psalm 69:20-22; the vengeance of God against the Jews, from Psalms 69:23Psalm 69:23-29; the glorious manner in which he gets out of all his sufferings, Psalms 69:30Psalm 69:30; the abolition of the Mosaic rites and ceremonies, Psalms 69:31Psalm 69:31, compared with Isaiah 66:3; and, finally, the establishment of the Gospel through the whole world, in Psalms 69:33Psalm 69:33 and following verses. The reader will do well to consult the psalm before he proceeds.

Verses 24-27. If I had not done among them, &c. — If I had wrought no miracle at all among them; nay, if I had not done such extraordinary works as no other man ever did, not even their prophets, or Moses himself; they had not had sin — Any degree of sin comparable to that which they are now under: but now they have both seen, &c. — But now, as they have rejected my superior miracles, which they have seen with their own eyes, at the same time that they own the evidence of those which Moses wrought, of which they have heard only by distant report, they manifest such an obstinate perverseness of temper, that I may truly say, they have both seen and hated both me and my Father. For in my miracles, which are greater than any hitherto exhibited, they have seen, or might have seen, who I am; namely, the only-begotten Son of God; and who is my Father; for the glory of all the divine perfections shines forth in my miracles. Nevertheless, they have rejected me, who have performed these miracles, and my Father likewise, who sent me to perform them; so that, shutting their eyes against the light thus shining on them, and hardening their hearts against that incontrovertible evidence of my mission, which my mighty works afford, it is evident they reject me, not out of ignorance and weakness, but out of wilful hatred to me, and him that sent me, and therefore are utterly inexcusable. But this cometh to pass — This is all permitted; that the word might be fulfilled — Or, in consequence of this being permitted, the word is fulfilled; see note on chap. 12:37-40; that is written in the law — Or in their sacred volume; (namely, Psalms 35:19Psalm 35:19;) They hated me without a cause — These very words, strictly speaking, were spoken concerning David, and are here applied to the Messiah, both because David was a type of him, and because he was hated without a cause, (see Isaiah 3:3-9; Daniel 9:26; Zechariah 12:10,) as David was. The meaning is, Be not surprised that I, who am the Messiah, have been rejected of the Jews. It has happened according to the prediction of their own prophets. But when the Comforter is come, &c. — But, “for your encouragement I assure you, that they will not always continue thus obstinately bent against me and my religion. When he, who is to comfort you under all your troubles by the aid he will afford you, and who on that account is justly styled the Comforter; when he is come, whom I will send you from the Father — To remain always with you; even the Spirit of truth — He shall bear witness to me and to my religion so effectually, that many of the Jews shall be converted.” — Macknight. We may observe here, that the Spirit’s coming, and being sent, by our Lord, from the Father, to testify of him, are personal characters, and plainly distinguish him from the Father and the Son. And his title as the Spirit of truth, together with his proceeding from the Father, can agree to none but a divine person. And that he proceeds from the Son as well as from the Father, may be fairly argued from his being called the Spirit of Christ, 1 Peter 1:11; and from his being said to be sent by Christ from the Father, as well as sent by the Father in Christ’s name. And ye also — Weak as you now appear, shall, by his powerful assistance, bear a courageous and convincing testimony to me, because you have been with me from the beginning — Namely, of my ministry, and therefore are the best qualified to give an account of my whole conduct; which, the better it is known, the more it will justify my cause, and expose the wickedness of those that rise up against me. In other words, “In process of time men’s eyes shall be opened to discern the authority of your testimony; and they shall give credit to your reports concerning me, because they shall know that ye have been my companions from the very first, consequently eye and ear-witnesses of all that I have done and said: so that after a while you shall testify concerning me, and preach my religion far more successfully than it will be in your power to do at the beginning.” See Doddridge and Macknight.

25. Without a cause—Psalms 69:9Psalm 69:9. For what cause was all this hatred? What plea for this malignity? And still might we ask, Why does the world hate religion, and the Church, and the Bible, and God? Why do so many of the scientific world so often ignore the God of Christ? It is all without reason or excuse. It is a pure gratuitous unholy temper.

V. 26. When the Comforter is come, whom I will send from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me-The Spirit's coming, and being sent by our Lord from the Father, to testify of him, are personal characters, and plainly distinguish him from the Father and the Son; and his title as the Spirit of truth, together with his proceeding from the Father, can agree to none but a Divine person. And that he proceeds from the Son, as well as from the Father, may be fairly argued from his being called the Spirit of Christ, 1 Peter 1:11; and from his being here said to be sent by Christ from the Father, as well as sent by the Father in his name.

Verses 26. - 27. He shall testify and ye also shall bear witness] He shall bear his testimony in your souls, and ye shall bear this testimony to the world. And so they did, by their miracles, their preaching, their writings, their lives, and by their deaths. Our Lord appears to reason thus: In every respect the unbelief of the Jews is inexcusable. They believe not my doctrine, notwithstanding its purity and holiness. They believe not in the Father who sent me, notwithstanding I have confirmed my mission by the most astonishing miracles. One thing only remains now to be done, i.e. to send them the Holy Spirit, to convince them of sin, righteousness, and judgment; and this he shall do, not only by his influence upon their hearts, but also by your words: and when they shall have resisted this Spirit, then the cup of their iniquity shall be filled up, and wrath shall come upon them to the uttermost.

BUT in what sense can it be said that Christ wrought more miracles than any other had done, John 15:24?-for Elijah and Elisha raised the dead; cured diseases; and made fire to come down from heaven. Did Christ do greater miracles than Moses did in Egypt-at the Red Sea-at the rock of Horeb, and at the rock of Kadesh? Did Christ do greater miracles than Joshua did, in the destruction of Jericho-in the passage of Jordan-in causing the sun and moon to stand still? To all this it may be answered, Christ’s miracles were greater: 1. As to their number. 2. As to their utility-they were wrought to comfort the distressed, and to save the lost. 3. Christ wrought all his miracles by his own power alone; and they wrought theirs through his power only. 4. Christ wrought his numerous miracles in the space of three or four years, and in the presence of the same people; and the others mere wrought from time to time in different centuries. Some critics have confined the whole of this chapter to the apostles of our Lord, and the work of propagating Christianity to which they had been called. The whole comment of Rosenmuller on this chapter proceeds on this plan; and at once shows how nugatory it is. What learned labour has there been in the world, to banish the spirit of Christianity from the earth, while the letter was professed to be scrupulously regarded! 1. The spiritual union spoken of by Christ is not merely necessary for his primitive disciples, but also for all who would be Christians on earth, and beatified spirits in heaven. 2. The brotherly love here inculcated is the duty and interest of every Christian soul on the face of the earth. 3. The necessity of adorning the Christian profession, by bringing forth corresponding fruits, is the duty of all who name the name of the Lord Jesus. 4. The appointment to, and preparation for, the work of the sacred ministry, must ever be primarily with Christ: for those who have no higher authority than that which they derive from man are never likely to be useful in Christianizing the world. 5. The persecution to which the apostles were exposed has been the common lot of Christians from the foundation of Christianity. 6. The consolations and influences of Christ’s Spirit have not been the exclusive privileges of the apostles; they are the birthright of all the sons and daughters of God.

ST. JOHN

Verses 24-27. If I had not done among them, &c. — If I had wrought no miracle at all among them; nay, if I had not done such extraordinary works as no other man ever did, not even their prophets, or Moses himself; they had not had sin — Any degree of sin comparable to that which they are now under: but now they have both seen, &c. — But now, as they have rejected my superior miracles, which they have seen with their own eyes, at the same time that they own the evidence of those which Moses wrought, of which they have heard only by distant report, they manifest such an obstinate perverseness of temper, that I may truly say, they have both seen and hated both me and my Father. For in my miracles, which are greater than any hitherto exhibited, they have seen, or might have seen, who I am; namely, the only-begotten Son of God; and who is my Father; for the glory of all the divine perfections shines forth in my miracles. Nevertheless, they have rejected me, who have performed these miracles, and my Father likewise, who sent me to perform them; so that, shutting their eyes against the light thus shining on them, and hardening their hearts against that incontrovertible evidence of my mission, which my mighty works afford, it is evident they reject me, not out of ignorance and weakness, but out of wilful hatred to me, and him that sent me, and therefore are utterly inexcusable. But this cometh to pass — This is all permitted; that the word might be fulfilled — Or, in consequence of this being permitted, the word is fulfilled; see note on chap. 12:37-40; that is written in the law — Or in their sacred volume; (namely, Psalms 35:19Psalm 35:19;) They hated me without a cause — These very words, strictly speaking, were spoken concerning David, and are here applied to the Messiah, both because David was a type of him, and because he was hated without a cause, (see Isaiah 3:3-9; Daniel 9:26; Zechariah 12:10,) as David was. The meaning is, Be not surprised that I, who am the Messiah, have been rejected of the Jews. It has happened according to the prediction of their own prophets. But when the Comforter is come, &c. — But, “for your encouragement I assure you, that they will not always continue thus obstinately bent against me and my religion. When he, who is to comfort you under all your troubles by the aid he will afford you, and who on that account is justly styled the Comforter; when he is come, whom I will send you from the Father — To remain always with you; even the Spirit of truth — He shall bear witness to me and to my religion so effectually, that many of the Jews shall be converted.” — Macknight. We may observe here, that the Spirit’s coming, and being sent, by our Lord, from the Father, to testify of him, are personal characters, and plainly distinguish him from the Father and the Son. And his title as the Spirit of truth, together with his proceeding from the Father, can agree to none but a divine person. And that he proceeds from the Son as well as from the Father, may be fairly argued from his being called the Spirit of Christ, 1 Peter 1:11; and from his being said to be sent by Christ from the Father, as well as sent by the Father in Christ’s name. And ye also — Weak as you now appear, shall, by his powerful assistance, bear a courageous and convincing testimony to me, because you have been with me from the beginning — Namely, of my ministry, and therefore are the best qualified to give an account of my whole conduct; which, the better it is known, the more it will justify my cause, and expose the wickedness of those that rise up against me. In other words, “In process of time men’s eyes shall be opened to discern the authority of your testimony; and they shall give credit to your reports concerning me, because they shall know that ye have been my companions from the very first, consequently eye and ear-witnesses of all that I have done and said: so that after a while you shall testify concerning me, and preach my religion far more successfully than it will be in your power to do at the beginning.” See Doddridge and Macknight.

Ver. 26. The Comforter — the Spirit of truth. He is himself the truth essentially, the inspirer of prophets and all holy men, revealing to them the counsels of heaven, that by manifestation of the truth they might commend themselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. It is also the office of the Holy Spirit to perfect every grace in the believer’s heart, and confer every endowment on the church, as is more fully stated in the next chapter.

26. Comforter… Spirit… shall testify—Though a wicked world reject and deny, there is a Holy Spirit that confirms and testifies. And here is the great issue. The world, with the spirit of evil, is on one hand, and Jesus, with his apostles and the Spirit of truth, is on the other. But the result of this issue cannot be doubtful. That Spirit proceedeth from the Father. Over all is God the Father Almighty. And where shall be the victory when God contendeth? Boastful and mighty as is the world, there is one who is mightier—GOD.

Verses 26. - 27. He shall testify and ye also shall bear witness] He shall bear his testimony in your souls, and ye shall bear this testimony to the world. And so they did, by their miracles, their preaching, their writings, their lives, and by their deaths. Our Lord appears to reason thus: In every respect the unbelief of the Jews is inexcusable. They believe not my doctrine, notwithstanding its purity and holiness. They believe not in the Father who sent me, notwithstanding I have confirmed my mission by the most astonishing miracles. One thing only remains now to be done, i.e. to send them the Holy Spirit, to convince them of sin, righteousness, and judgment; and this he shall do, not only by his influence upon their hearts, but also by your words: and when they shall have resisted this Spirit, then the cup of their iniquity shall be filled up, and wrath shall come upon them to the uttermost.

BUT in what sense can it be said that Christ wrought more miracles than any other had done, John 15:24?-for Elijah and Elisha raised the dead; cured diseases; and made fire to come down from heaven. Did Christ do greater miracles than Moses did in Egypt-at the Red Sea-at the rock of Horeb, and at the rock of Kadesh? Did Christ do greater miracles than Joshua did, in the destruction of Jericho-in the passage of Jordan-in causing the sun and moon to stand still? To all this it may be answered, Christ’s miracles were greater: 1. As to their number. 2. As to their utility-they were wrought to comfort the distressed, and to save the lost. 3. Christ wrought all his miracles by his own power alone; and they wrought theirs through his power only. 4. Christ wrought his numerous miracles in the space of three or four years, and in the presence of the same people; and the others mere wrought from time to time in different centuries. Some critics have confined the whole of this chapter to the apostles of our Lord, and the work of propagating Christianity to which they had been called. The whole comment of Rosenmuller on this chapter proceeds on this plan; and at once shows how nugatory it is. What learned labour has there been in the world, to banish the spirit of Christianity from the earth, while the letter was professed to be scrupulously regarded! 1. The spiritual union spoken of by Christ is not merely necessary for his primitive disciples, but also for all who would be Christians on earth, and beatified spirits in heaven. 2. The brotherly love here inculcated is the duty and interest of every Christian soul on the face of the earth. 3. The necessity of adorning the Christian profession, by bringing forth corresponding fruits, is the duty of all who name the name of the Lord Jesus. 4. The appointment to, and preparation for, the work of the sacred ministry, must ever be primarily with Christ: for those who have no higher authority than that which they derive from man are never likely to be useful in Christianizing the world. 5. The persecution to which the apostles were exposed has been the common lot of Christians from the foundation of Christianity. 6. The consolations and influences of Christ’s Spirit have not been the exclusive privileges of the apostles; they are the birthright of all the sons and daughters of God.

ST. JOHN

Verses 24-27. If I had not done among them, &c. — If I had wrought no miracle at all among them; nay, if I had not done such extraordinary works as no other man ever did, not even their prophets, or Moses himself; they had not had sin — Any degree of sin comparable to that which they are now under: but now they have both seen, &c. — But now, as they have rejected my superior miracles, which they have seen with their own eyes, at the same time that they own the evidence of those which Moses wrought, of which they have heard only by distant report, they manifest such an obstinate perverseness of temper, that I may truly say, they have both seen and hated both me and my Father. For in my miracles, which are greater than any hitherto exhibited, they have seen, or might have seen, who I am; namely, the only-begotten Son of God; and who is my Father; for the glory of all the divine perfections shines forth in my miracles. Nevertheless, they have rejected me, who have performed these miracles, and my Father likewise, who sent me to perform them; so that, shutting their eyes against the light thus shining on them, and hardening their hearts against that incontrovertible evidence of my mission, which my mighty works afford, it is evident they reject me, not out of ignorance and weakness, but out of wilful hatred to me, and him that sent me, and therefore are utterly inexcusable. But this cometh to pass — This is all permitted; that the word might be fulfilled — Or, in consequence of this being permitted, the word is fulfilled; see note on chap. 12:37-40; that is written in the law — Or in their sacred volume; (namely, Psalms 35:19Psalm 35:19;) They hated me without a cause — These very words, strictly speaking, were spoken concerning David, and are here applied to the Messiah, both because David was a type of him, and because he was hated without a cause, (see Isaiah 3:3-9; Daniel 9:26; Zechariah 12:10,) as David was. The meaning is, Be not surprised that I, who am the Messiah, have been rejected of the Jews. It has happened according to the prediction of their own prophets. But when the Comforter is come, &c. — But, “for your encouragement I assure you, that they will not always continue thus obstinately bent against me and my religion. When he, who is to comfort you under all your troubles by the aid he will afford you, and who on that account is justly styled the Comforter; when he is come, whom I will send you from the Father — To remain always with you; even the Spirit of truth — He shall bear witness to me and to my religion so effectually, that many of the Jews shall be converted.” — Macknight. We may observe here, that the Spirit’s coming, and being sent, by our Lord, from the Father, to testify of him, are personal characters, and plainly distinguish him from the Father and the Son. And his title as the Spirit of truth, together with his proceeding from the Father, can agree to none but a divine person. And that he proceeds from the Son as well as from the Father, may be fairly argued from his being called the Spirit of Christ, 1 Peter 1:11; and from his being said to be sent by Christ from the Father, as well as sent by the Father in Christ’s name. And ye also — Weak as you now appear, shall, by his powerful assistance, bear a courageous and convincing testimony to me, because you have been with me from the beginning — Namely, of my ministry, and therefore are the best qualified to give an account of my whole conduct; which, the better it is known, the more it will justify my cause, and expose the wickedness of those that rise up against me. In other words, “In process of time men’s eyes shall be opened to discern the authority of your testimony; and they shall give credit to your reports concerning me, because they shall know that ye have been my companions from the very first, consequently eye and ear-witnesses of all that I have done and said: so that after a while you shall testify concerning me, and preach my religion far more successfully than it will be in your power to do at the beginning.” See Doddridge and Macknight.

27. Ye… witness—Indescribable glory and honour! Ye are permitted to cooperate with the Spirit of truth to the lordship and headship of Jesus the Christ, for yours has been the indescribable honour to have been with me from the beginning. Kings and princes are honored. They have a conspicuous place in history. But far above kings, emperors, or czars, is the dignity to have been an original witness to Christ, a co-worker with the Spirit of truth, an apostle of the indestructible Church.