{"commentaries":[{"work_id":"chrysostom","author":"John Chrysostom","short_name":"Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"title":"Homilies on the Gospel of St. John","edition_short":"The Oxford Translation","author_url":"/commentators/chrysostom/","divisions":["Homily","Section"],"work_url":"/works/chrysostom/","entries":[{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.12-13.1","start":12,"end":13,"heading":"Homily LII. John vii. 45, 46","excerpt":"Chap. viii. ver. 12. “I am the light of the world.”\n\nNot “of Galilee,” not of Palestine, nor of Judæa. What then say the Jews?\n\nVer. 13. “Thou bearest record of thyself, thy record is not true.”\n\nAlas! for their folly, He continually referred them to the Scriptures, and now they say, “Thou bearest record of thyself.” What was the record He bare? “I am the light of the world.” A great thing to say, great of a truth, but it did not greatly amaze them, because He did not now make Himself equal to the Father, nor assert that He was His Son, nor that He was God, but for a while calleth Himself “a light.” They indeed desired to disprove this also, and yet this was a much greater thing than to say,\n\n“He that followeth Me, shall not walk in darkness.”\n\nUsing the words “light” and “darkness” in a spiritual sense, and meaning thereby “abideth not in error.” In this place He draweth on Nicodemus, and bringeth him in as having spoken very boldly, and praiseth the servants who had also done so. For to “cry aloud,” is the act of one desirous to cause that they also should hear. At the same time He hinteth at these who were secretly contriving treacheries, being both in darkness and error, but that they should not prevail over the light. And He remindeth Nicodemus of the words which He had uttered before, “Every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” ( c. iii. 20.) For since they had asserted that none of the rulers had believed on Him, therefore He saith, that “he that doeth evil cometh not to the light,” to show that their not having come proceedeth not from the weakness of the light, but from their own perverse will.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.liv.html","locus":"52.2","cites":[{"at":128,"text":"Ver. 13","label":"John 8:13","href":"/jhn/8/#v13","status":"detected"},{"at":1424,"text":"c. iii. 20","label":"John 3:20","href":"/jhn/3/#v20","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/52/#iv.liv-p22"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.13-14.1","start":13,"end":14,"heading":"Homily LII. John vii. 45, 46","excerpt":"“They answered and said unto Him, Dost thou bear witness to thyself?”\n\nWhat then saith He?\n\nVer. 14. “Though I bear record of Myself, My record is true; for I know whence I come, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come.”\n\nWhat He had before said, these men bring forward as if it had been specially asserted. What then doth Christ? To refute this, and to show that He used those expressions as suitable to them and to their suspicions, who supposed Him to be a mere man, He saith, “Though I bear record of Myself, My record is true, for I know whence I come.” What is this? “I am of God, am God, the Son of God, and God Himself is a faithful witness unto Himself, but ye know Him not; ye willingly err, knowing ye pretend not to know, but say all that ye say according to mere human imagination, choosing to understand nothing beyond what is seen.”","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.liv.html","locus":"52.2","cites":[{"at":92,"text":"Ver. 14","label":"John 8:14","href":"/jhn/8/#v14","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/52/#iv.liv-p31"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.15-16.1","start":15,"end":16,"heading":"Homily LII. John vii. 45, 46","excerpt":"Ver. 15. “Ye judge after the flesh.”\n\nAs to live after the flesh is to live badly, so to judge after the flesh is to judge unjustly. “But I judge no man.”\n\nVer. 16. “And yet if I judge, My judgment is true.”\n\nWhat He saith, is of this kind; “Ye judge unjustly.” “And if,” saith some one, “we judge unjustly, why dost Thou not rebuke us? why dost Thou not punish us? why dost Thou not condemn us?” “Because,” He saith, “I came not for this.” This is the meaning of, “I judge no man; yet if I judge, My judgment is true.” “For had I been willing to judge, ye would have been among the condemned. And this I say, not judging you. Yet neither do I tell you that I say it, not judging you, as though I were not confident that had I judged you, I should have convicted you; since if I had judged you, I must justly have condemned you. But now the time of judgment is not yet.” He alluded also to the judgment to come, saying,\n\n“I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent Me.”\n\nHere He hinted, that not He alone condemneth them, but the Father also. Then He concealed this, by leading them to His own testimony.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.liv.html","locus":"52.2","cites":[{"at":156,"text":"Ver. 16","label":"John 8:16","href":"/jhn/8/#v16","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/52/#iv.liv-p38"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.17-18.1","start":17,"end":18,"heading":"Homily LII. John vii. 45, 46","excerpt":"Ver. 17. “It is written in your Law, that the testimony of two men is true.”\n\n[3.] What would the heretics say here? (They would say,) “How is he better than man, if we take what he hath said simply? For this rule is laid down in the case of men, because no man by himself is trustworthy. But in the case of God, how can one endure such a mode of speaking? How then is the word ‘two’ used? Is it because they are two, or because being men they are therefore two? If it is because they are two, why did he not betake himself to John, and say, I bear witness of myself, and John beareth witness of me? Wherefore not to the angels? Wherefore not to the prophets? For he might have found ten thousand other testimonies.” But he desireth to show not this only that there are Two, but also that they are of the same Substance.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.liv.html","locus":"52.2","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/52/#iv.liv-p45"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.18.1","start":18,"end":18,"heading":"Homily LII. John vii. 45, 46","excerpt":"Ver. 18. “I am One that bear witness of Myself; and the Father that sent Me beareth witness of Me.”\n\nHad He been of inferior substance, He would not have put this. But now that thou mayest not deem that the Father is included, to make up the number (of two), observe that His power hath nothing different (from the Father’s). A man bears witness when he is trustworthy of himself, not when he himself needs testimony, and that too in a matter pertaining to another; but in a matter of his own, where he needs the witness of another, he is not trustworthy. But in this case it is all contrary. For He though bearing witness in a matter of His own, and saying that witness is borne to Him by another, asserteth that He is trustworthy, in every way manifesting His independence. For why, when He had said, “I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent Me,” and, “The testimony of two men is true,” did He not hold His peace, instead of adding, “I am One that bear witness of Myself”? It was evidently to show His independence. And He placeth Himself first; “I am One that bear witness of Myself.” Here He showeth His equality of honor, and that they were profited nothing by saying that they knew God the Father, while they knew not Him. And He saith that the cause of this (ignorance) was that they were not willing to know Him. Therefore He telleth them that it was not possible to know the Father without knowing Him, that even so He might draw them to the knowledge of Him. For since leaving Him they even sought to get the knowledge of the Father, He saith, “Ye cannot know the Father without Me.” ( Ver. 19.) So that they who blaspheme the Son, blaspheme not the Son only, but Him that begat Him also.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.liv.html","locus":"52.3","cites":[{"at":1604,"text":"Ver. 19","label":"John 8:19","href":"/jhn/8/#v19","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/52/#iv.liv-p51"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.19.1","start":19,"end":19,"heading":"Homily LII. John vii. 45, 46","excerpt":"Ver. 19. “Then said they unto Him, Who is thy father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know Me, nor My Father.”\n\nBecause while they knew they spake as though they knew not, and as if trying Him, He doth not even deem them worthy of an answer. Wherefore henceforth He speaketh all more clearly and more boldly; drawing His testimony from signs, and from His teaching of them that followed Him, and by the Cross being near. For, “I know,” He saith, “whence I come.” This would not greatly affect them, but the adding, “and whither I go,” would rather terrify them, since He was not to remain in death. But why said He not, “I know that I am God,” instead of, “I know whence I come”? He ever mingleth lowly words with sublime, and even these He veileth. For after saying, “I bear witness of Myself,” and proving this, He descendeth to a humbler strain. As though He had said, “I know from whom I am sent, and to whom I depart.” For so they could have had nothing to say against it, when they heard that He was sent from Him, and would depart to Him. “I could not have spoken,” He saith, “any falsehood, I who am come from thence, and depart thither, to the true God. But ye know not God, and therefore judge according to the flesh. For if having heard so many sure signs and proofs ye still say, ‘thy witness is not true,’ if ye deem Moses worthy of credit, both as to what he speaketh concerning others and what he speaketh concerning himself, but Christ not so, this is to judge according to the flesh.” “But I judge no man.” He saith indeed also that “the Father judgeth no man.” ( c. v. 22.) How then doth He here declare, that, “If I judge, My judgment is just, for I am not alone”? He again speaketh in reply to their thoughts. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.liv.html","locus":"52.3","cites":[{"at":1576,"text":"c. v. 22","label":"John 5:22","href":"/jhn/5/#v22","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/52/#iv.liv-p47"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.20.1","start":20,"end":20,"heading":"Homily LIII. John viii. 20","excerpt":"[1.] Oh the folly of the Jews! seeking Him as they did before the Passover, and then having found Him in the midst of them, and having often attempted to take Him by their own or by others’ hands without being able; they were not even so awed by His power, but set themselves to their wickedness, and desisted not. For it saith, that they continually made the attempt; “These words spake He in the treasury, teaching in the Temple; and no man laid hands on Him.” He spake in the Temple, and in the character of teacher, which was more adapted to rouse them, and He spake those things because of which they were stung, and charged Him with making Himself equal to the Father. For “the witness of two men is true,” proveth this. Yet still “He spake these words,” It saith, “in the Temple,” in the character of teacher, “and no man laid hands on Him, for His hour was not yet come”; that is, it was not yet the fitting time at which He would be crucified. So that even then the deed done was not of their power, but of His dispensation, for they had long desired, but had not been able, nor would they even then have been able, except He had consented.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lv.html","locus":"53.1","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/53/#iv.lv-p4"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.21-22.1","start":21,"end":22,"heading":"Homily LIII. John viii. 20","excerpt":"Ver. 21. “Then said Jesus unto them, I go My way, and ye shall seek Me.”\n\nWhy saith He this continually? To shame and terrify their souls; for observe what fear this saying caused in them. Although they desired to kill Him that they might be rid of Him, they yet ask, “whither He goeth,” such great things did they imagine from the matter. He desired also to show them another thing, that the deed would not be effected through their force; but He showed it to them in a figure beforehand, and already foretold the Resurrection by these words.\n\nVer. 22. “Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself?”\n\nWhat then doth Christ? To remove their suspicion, and to show that such an act is sin, He saith,","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lv.html","locus":"53.1","cites":[{"at":545,"text":"Ver. 22","label":"John 8:22","href":"/jhn/8/#v22","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/53/#iv.lv-p6"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.23.1","start":23,"end":23,"heading":"Homily LIII. John viii. 20","excerpt":"Ver. 23. “Ye are from beneath.”\n\nWhat He saith, is of this kind: “It is no wonder that ye imagine such things, ye who are carnal men, and have no spiritual thoughts, but I shall not do anything of the kind, for,\n\n“I am from above; ye are of the world.”\n\nHere again He speaketh of their worldly and carnal imaginations, whence it is clear that the, “I am not of this world,” doth not mean that He had not taken upon Him flesh, but that He was far removed from their wickedness. For He even saith, that His disciples were “not of the world” ( c. xv. 19 ), yet they had flesh. As then Paul, when he saith, “Ye are not in the flesh” ( Rom. viii. 9 ), doth not mean that they are incorporeal, so Christ when He saith, that His disciples are “not of the world,” doth nothing else than testify to their heavenly wisdom.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lv.html","locus":"53.1","cites":[{"at":541,"text":"c. xv. 19","label":"John 15:19","href":"/jhn/15/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":631,"text":"Rom. viii. 9","label":"Romans 8:9","href":"/rom/8/#v9","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/53/#iv.lv-p10"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.24.1","start":24,"end":24,"heading":"Homily LIII. John viii. 20","excerpt":"Ver. 24. “I said therefore unto you that…if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins.”\n\nFor if He came to take away the sin of the world, and if it is impossible for men to put that off in any other way except by the washing, it needs must be that he that believeth not must depart hence, having the old man; since he that will not by faith slay and bury that old man, shall die in him, and shall go away to that place to suffer the punishment of His former sins. Wherefore He said, “He that believeth not is judged already” ( c. iii. 18 ); not merely through his not believing, but because he de parteth parteth hence having his former sins upon him.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lv.html","locus":"53.1","cites":[{"at":541,"text":"c. iii. 18","label":"John 3:18","href":"/jhn/3/#v18","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/53/#iv.lv-p14"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.25.1","start":25,"end":25,"heading":"Homily LIII. John viii. 20","excerpt":"Ver. 25. “Then said they unto Him, Who art thou?”\n\nOh folly! After so long a time, such signs and teaching, they ask, “Who art thou?” What then saith Christ?\n\n“The same that I told you from the beginning.”\n\nWhat He saith, is of this kind; “Ye are not worthy to hear My words at all, much less to learn who I am, for ye say all that ye do, tempting Me, and giving heed to none of My sayings. And all this I could now prove against you.” For this is the sense of,","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lv.html","locus":"53.1","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/53/#iv.lv-p17"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.26-27.1","start":26,"end":27,"heading":"Homily LIII. John viii. 20","excerpt":"Ver. 26. “I have many things to say and to judge of you.”\n\n“I could not only prove you guilty, but also punish you; but He that sent Me, that is, the Father, willeth not this. For I am come not to judge the world, but to save the world, since God sent not His Son to judge the world, He saith, but to save the world. ( c. iii. 17.) If now He hath sent Me for this, and He is true, with good cause I judge no one now. But these things I speak that are for your salvation, not what are for your condemnation.” He speaketh thus, lest they should deem that it was through weakness that on hearing so much from them He went not to extremities, or that He knew not their secret thoughts and scoffings.\n\nVer. 27. “They understood not that He spake to them of the Father.”\n\nOh folly! He ceased not to speak concerning Him, and they knew Him not. Then when after working many signs, and teaching them, He drew them not to Himself, He next speaketh to them of the Cross, saying,","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lv.html","locus":"53.1","cites":[{"at":319,"text":"c. iii. 17","label":"John 3:17","href":"/jhn/3/#v17","status":"detected"},{"at":697,"text":"Ver. 27","label":"John 8:27","href":"/jhn/8/#v27","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 8:25–27","href":"/jhn/8/#v25-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/53/#iv.lv-p21"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.28-29.1","start":28,"end":29,"heading":"Homily LIII. John viii. 20","excerpt":"Ver. 28, 29. “When ye have lifted up the Son of Man, then ye shall know that I Am, and that I speak not of Myself, and that He that sent Me is with Me. And the Father hath not left Me alone.”\n\n[2.] He showeth that He rightly said, “the same that I said unto you from the beginning.” So little heed they gave to His words. “When ye have lifted up the Son of Man.” “Do ye not expect that ye then shall certainly rid yourselves of Me, and slay Me? But I tell you that then ye shall most know that I Am, by reason of the miracles, the resurrection, and the destruction (of Jerusalem).” For all these things were sufficient to manifest His power. He said not, “Then ye shall know who I am”; for, “when ye shall see,” He saith, “that I suffer nothing from death, then ye shall know that I Am, that is, the Christ, the Son of God, who govern all things, and am not opposed to Him.” For which cause He addeth, “and of Myself I speak nothing.” For ye shall know both My power and My unanimity with the Father. Because the, “of Myself I speak nothing,” showeth that His Substance differeth not (from that of the Father), and that He uttereth nothing save that which is in the mind of the Father. “For when ye have been driven away from your place of worship, and it is not allowed you even to serve Him as hitherto, then ye shall know that He doth this to avenge Me, and because He is wroth with those who would not hear Me.” As though He had said, “Had I been an enemy and a stranger to God, He would not have stirred up such wrath against you.” ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lv.html","locus":"53.1","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/53/#iv.lv-p25"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.29.1","start":29,"end":29,"heading":"Homily LIII. John viii. 20","excerpt":"“And the Father is with Me.” That they may not deem the “who sent Me” to be a mark of inferiority, He saith, “is with Me”; the first belongeth to the Dispensation, the second to the Godhead.\n\n“And He hath not left Me alone,” for I do always those things that please Him.\n\nAgain He hath brought down His discourse to a humbler strain, continually setting Himself against that which they asserted, that He was not of God, and that He kept not the Sabbath. To this He replieth, “I do always those things that are pleasing unto Him”; showing that it was pleasing unto Him even that the Sabbath should be broken. So, for instance, just before the Crucifixion He said, “Think ye that I cannot call upon My Father?” ( Matt. xxvi. 53.) And yet by merely saying, “Whom seek ye?” ( c. xviii. 4, 6 ) He cast them down backwards. Why then saith He not, “Think ye that I cannot destroy you,” when He had proved this by deed? He condescendeth to their infirmity. For He took great pains to show that He did nothing contrary to the Father. Thus He speaketh rather after the manner of a man; and as “He hath not left Me alone,” was spoken, so also was the, “I do always those things that are pleasing unto Him.”","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lv.html","locus":"53.2","cites":[{"at":711,"text":"Matt. xxvi. 53","label":"Matthew 26:53","href":"/mat/26/#v53","status":"detected"},{"at":772,"text":"c. xviii. 4, 6","label":"John 18:4","href":"/jhn/18/#v4","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/53/#iv.lv-p30"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.30.1","start":30,"end":30,"heading":"Homily LIII. John viii. 20","excerpt":"Ver. 30. “As He spake these words, many believed on Him.”\n\nWhen He brought down His speech to a lowly strain, many believed on Him. Dost thou still ask wherefore He speaketh humbly? Yet the Evangelist clearly alluded to this when he said, “As He spake these things, many believed on Him.” By this all but proclaiming aloud to us, “Oh hearer, be not confounded if thou hear any lowly expression, for they who after such high teaching were not yet persuaded that He was of the Father, were with good reason made to hear humbler words, that they might believe.” And this is an excuse for those things which shall be spoken in a humble way. They believed then, yet not as they ought, but carelessly and as it were by chance, being pleased and refreshed by the humility of the words. For that they had not perfect faith the Evangelist shows by their speeches after this, in which they insult Him again. And that these are the very same persons he has declared by saying,","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lv.html","locus":"53.2","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/53/#iv.lv-p33"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.31.1","start":31,"end":31,"heading":"Homily LIII. John viii. 20","excerpt":"Ver. 31. “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If ye continue in My word.”\n\nShowing that they had not yet received His doctrine, but only gave heed unto His words. Wherefore He speaketh more sharply. Before He merely said, “Ye shall seek Me” ( c. vii. 34 ), but now He addeth what is more, “Ye shall die in your sins.” ( c. viii. 21.) And He showeth how; “because ye cannot when ye are come to that place afterwards entreat Me.”\n\n“These things which I speak unto the world.” By these words He showed that He was now going forth to the Gentiles. But because they still knew not that He spake to them of the Father, He again speaketh of Him, and the Evangelist hath put the reason of the humility of the expressions.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lv.html","locus":"53.2","cites":[{"at":260,"text":"c. vii. 34","label":"John 7:34","href":"/jhn/7/#v34","status":"detected"},{"at":337,"text":"c. viii. 21","label":"John 8:21","href":"/jhn/8/#v21","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/53/#iv.lv-p35"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.31-32.1","start":31,"end":32,"heading":"Homily LIV. John viii. 31, 32","excerpt":"[1.] Beloved, our condition needs much endurance; and endurance is produced when doctrines are deeply rooted. For as no wind is able by its assaults to tear up the oak, which sends down its root into the lower recesses of the earth, and is firmly clenched there; so too the soul which is nailed by the fear of God none will be able to overturn. Since to be nailed is more than to be rooted. Thus the Prophet prayeth, saying, “Nail my flesh by Thy fear” ( Ps. cxix. 120 , LXX.); “do Thou so fix and join me, as by a nail riveted into me.” For as men of this kind are hard to be captured, so the opposite sort are a ready prey, and are easily thrown down. As was the case of the Jews at that time; for after having heard and believed, they again turned out of the way. Christ therefore desiring to deepen their faith that it might not be merely superficial, diggeth into their souls by more striking words. For it was the part of believers to endure even reproofs, but they immediately were wroth. But how doth He this? He first telleth them, “If ye continue in My word, ye are My disciples indeed: and the truth shall make you free.” All but saying, “I am about to make a deep incision, but be not ye moved”; or rather by these expressions He allayed the pride of their imagination. “Shall make you free”: from what, tell me? From your sins. What then say those boasters?","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvi.html","locus":"54.1","cites":[{"at":455,"text":"Ps. cxix. 120","label":"Psalms 119:120","href":"/psa/119/#v120","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/54/#iv.lvi-p4"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.32-33.1","start":32,"end":33,"heading":"Homily LIV. John viii. 31, 32","excerpt":"“Ye shall know the truth,” that is, “shall know Me, for I am the truth. All the Jewish matters were types, but ye shall know the truth from Me, and it shall free you from your sins.” As to those others He said, “Ye shall die in your sins,” so to these He saith, “shall make you free.” He said not, “I will deliver you from bondage,” this He allowed them to conjecture. What then said they?\n\n“We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man.” And yet if they must needs have been vexed, it might have been expected that they would have been so at the former part of His speech, at His having said, “Ye shall know the truth”; and that they would have replied, “What! do we not now know the truth? Is then the Law and our knowledge a lie?” But they cared for none of these things, they are grieved at worldly things, and these were their notions of bondage. And certainly even now, there are many who feel shame at indifferent matters, and at this kind of bondage, but who feel none for the bondage of sin, and who would rather be called servants to this latter kind of bondage ten thousand times, than once to the former. Such were these men, and they did not even know of any other bondage, and they say, “Bondsmen callest thou those who are of the race of Abraham, the nobly born, who therefore ought not to be called bondsmen? For, saith one, we were never in bondage to any man.” Such are the boastings of the Jews. “We are the seed of Abraham,” “we are Israelites.” They never mention their own righteous deeds. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvi.html","locus":"54.1","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/54/#iv.lvi-p9"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.33.1","start":33,"end":33,"heading":"Homily LIV. John viii. 31, 32","excerpt":"Ver. 33. “We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man.”\n\nImmediately their imagination dropped, and this happened from their having been fluttered about worldly things. “If ye continue in My word,” was the expression of One declaring what was in their heart, and knowing that they had indeed believed, but had not continued. And He promiseth a great thing, that they should become His disciples. For since some had gone away from Him before this, alluding to them He saith, “If ye continue,” because they also had heard and believed, and departed because they could not continue. “For many of His disciples went back, and walked no more openly with Him.” ( c. vi. 66.)","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvi.html","locus":"54.1","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/54/#iv.lvi-p5"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.34-35.1","start":34,"end":35,"heading":"Homily LIV. John viii. 31, 32","excerpt":"Ver. 34. “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.”\n\nShowing that this is the freedom of which He speaketh, the freedom from this service.\n\nVer. 35. “The servant abideth not in the house, but the Son abideth forever.”\n\nGently too from this He casts down the things of the Law, alluding to former times. For that they may not run back to them and say, “We have the sacrifices which Moses commanded, they are able to deliver us,” He addeth these words, since otherwise what connection would the saying have? For “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace” ( Rom. iii. 23, 24 ), even the priests themselves. Wherefore Paul also saith of the priest, that “he ought as for the people so also for himself to offer for sins, for that he also is compassed about with infirmity.” ( Heb. v. 3, 2.) And this is signified by His saying, “The servant abideth not in the house.” Here also He showeth His equal honor with the Father, and the difference between slave and free. For the parable has this meaning, that is, “the servant hath no power,” this is the meaning of “abideth not.”","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvi.html","locus":"54.1","cites":[{"at":147,"text":"Ver. 35","label":"John 8:35","href":"/jhn/8/#v35","status":"detected"},{"at":610,"text":"Rom. iii. 23, 24","label":"Romans 3:23–24","href":"/rom/3/#v23","status":"detected"},{"at":827,"text":"Heb. v. 3, 2","label":"Hebrews 5:3","href":"/heb/5/#v3","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/54/#iv.lvi-p11"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.35-36.1","start":35,"end":36,"heading":"Homily LIV. John viii. 31, 32","excerpt":"[2.] But why when speaking of sins doth He mention a “house”? It is to show that as a master hath power over his house, so He over all. And the, “abideth not,” is this,“hath not power to grant favors, as not being master of the house”; but the Son is master of the house. For this is the, “abideth forever,” by a metaphor drawn from human things. That they may not say, “who art thou?” “All is Mine, (He saith,) for I am the Son, and dwell in My Father’s house,” calling by the name of “house” His power. As in another place He calleth the Kingdom His Father’s house, “In My Father’s house are many mansions.” ( c. xiv. 2.) For since the discourse was of freedom and bondage, He with reason used this metaphor, telling them that they had no power to set free.\n\nVer. 36. “If the Son therefore shall make you free.”\n\nSeest thou the consubstantiality of the Son with the Father, and how He declareth that He hath the same power as the Father? “If the Son make you free, no man afterwards gain-sayeth, but ye have firm freedom.” For “it is God that justifieth, who is He that condemneth?” ( Rom. viii. 33, 34.) Here He showeth that He Himself is pure from sin, and alludeth to that freedom which reached only to a name; this even men give, but that God alone. And so he persuaded them not to be ashamed at this slavery, but at that of sin. And desiring to show that they were not slaves, except by repudiating that liberty, He the more showeth them to be slaves by saying,\n\n“Ye shall be free indeed.”\n\nThis is the expression of one declaring that this freedom was not real. Then, that they might not say, “We have no sin,” (for it was probable that they would say so,) observe how He bringeth them beneath this imputation. For omitting to convict all their life, He bringeth forward that which they had in hand, which they yet desired to do, and saith,","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvi.html","locus":"54.2","cites":[{"at":761,"text":"Ver. 36","label":"John 8:36","href":"/jhn/8/#v36","status":"detected"},{"at":1087,"text":"Rom. viii. 33, 34","label":"Romans 8:33–34","href":"/rom/8/#v33","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/54/#iv.lvi-p16"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.37.1","start":37,"end":37,"heading":"Homily LIV. John viii. 31, 32","excerpt":"Ver. 37. “I know that ye are Abraham’s seed but ye seek to kill Me.”\n\nGently and by little doth He expel them from that relationship, teaching them not to be high-minded because of it. For as freedom and bondage depend on men’s actions, so also doth relationship. He said not directly, “Ye are not the seed of Abraham, ye the murderers of the righteous”; but for a while He even goeth along with them, and saith, “I know that ye are Abraham’s seed.” Yet this is not the matter in question, and during the remainder of this speech He useth greater vehemence. For we may for the most part observe, that when He is about to work any great thing, after He hath wrought it, He useth greater boldness of speech, as though the testimony from His works shut men’s mouths. “But ye seek to kill Me.” “What of that,” saith some one, “if they sought to do so justly.” But this was not so either; wherefore also He puts the reason;\n\n“Because My word hath no place in you.”\n\n“How then was it,” saith some one, “that they believed on Him?” As I before said, they changed again. On which account He touched them sharply. “If ye boast the relationship of Abraham ye ought also to show forth his life.” And He said not, “Ye do not contain my words,” but, “My word hath no place in you,” thus declaring the sublimity of His doctrines. Yet not for this ought they to have slain, but rather to have honored and waited on Him so as to learn. “But what,” saith some one, “if thou speakest these things of thyself?” On this account He added,","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvi.html","locus":"54.2","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/54/#iv.lvi-p23"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.38-40.1","start":38,"end":40,"heading":"Homily LIV. John viii. 31, 32","excerpt":"Ver. 38. “I speak that which I have seen with My Father, and ye do that which ye have heard from your father.”\n\n“As,” He saith, “I both by My words and by the truth declare the Father, so also do ye by your actions (declare yours). For I have not only the same Substance, but also the same Truth with the Father.”\n\nVer. 39, 40. “They said unto Him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye had Abraham to your father, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill Me.”\n\nHe here repeatedly handleth their murderous intention, and maketh mention of Abraham. And this He doth desiring to draw off their attention from this relationship, and to take away their excessive boasting, and also to persuade them no longer to rest their hopes of salvation in Abraham, nor in the relationship which is according to nature, but in that which is according to the will. For what hindered their coming to Christ was this, their deeming that relationship to be sufficient for them to salvation. But what is the “truth” of which He speaketh? That He is equal with the Father. For it was on this account that the Jews sought to slay Him; and He saith,","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvi.html","locus":"54.2","cites":[{"at":315,"text":"Ver. 39, 40","label":"John 8:39–40","href":"/jhn/8/#v39","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 8:41","href":"/jhn/8/#v41-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/54/#iv.lvi-p28"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.41.1","start":41,"end":41,"heading":"Homily LIV. John viii. 31, 32","excerpt":"Ver. 41. “We be not born of fornication, we have one Father, even God.”\n\n[3.] “What sayest thou? Ye have God for your Father, and do ye blame Christ for asserting this?” Seest thou that He said that God was His Father in a special manner? When therefore He had cast them out of their relationship to Abraham, having nothing to reply, they dare a greater thing, and betake themselves to God. But from this honor also He expelleth them, saying,","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvi.html","locus":"54.2","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/54/#iv.lvi-p38"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.41.2","start":41,"end":41,"heading":"Homily LIV. John viii. 31, 32","excerpt":"“We have one Father, even God.” On this ground they pride themselves, on their honor not their righteous deeds. “Therefore your not believing is no proof that I am an enemy to God, but your unbelief is a sign that you do not know God. And the reason is, from your being willing to lie and to do the works of the devil. But this is the effect of meanness of soul; (as the Apostle saith, ‘For whereas there is among you envying and strife, are ye not carnal?’) ( 1 Cor. iii. 3.) And why is it that ye cannot ? Because ye will to do the lusts of your father, ye are eager, ye are ambitious (to do them).” Seest thou that “ye cannot” express a want of will? For “this did not Abraham.” “What are his works? Gentleness, meekness, obedience. But ye set yourselves on the contrary part, being hard and cruel.”","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvi.html","locus":"54.3","cites":[{"at":461,"text":"1 Cor. iii. 3","label":"1 Corinthians 3:3","href":"/1co/3/#v3","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/54/#iv.lvi-p51"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.42-44.1","start":42,"end":44,"heading":"Homily LIV. John viii. 31, 32","excerpt":"Ver. 42-44. “If God were your Father, ye would love Me; for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do ye not understand My speech? Even because ye cannot hear My word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do: he was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth: when he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own.”\n\nHe had driven them out of their relationship to Abraham, and when they dared greater things, He then addeth a blow, telling them that they not only are not Abraham’s children, but that they are even children of the devil, and inflicting a wound which might counterbalance their shamelessness; nor doth He leave it unsupported, but establisheth it by proofs. “For,” He saith, “to murder belongeth to the wickedness of the devil.” And He said not merely, “ye do his works,” but, “ye do his lusts,” showing that both he and they hold to murder, and that envy was the cause. For the devil destroyed Adam, not because he had any charge against him, but only from envy. To this also He alludeth here.\n\n“And abode not in the truth.” That is, in the right life. For since they continually accused Him of not being from God, He telleth them that this also is from thence. For the devil first was the father of a lie, when he said, “In the day that ye eat thereof your eyes shall be opened” ( Gen. iii. 5 ), and he first used it. For men use a lie not as a thing proper, but alien to their nature, but he as proper.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvi.html","locus":"54.3","cites":[{"at":1385,"text":"Gen. iii. 5","label":"Genesis 3:5","href":"/gen/3/#v5","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/54/#iv.lvi-p40"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.45-46.1","start":45,"end":46,"heading":"Homily LIV. John viii. 31, 32","excerpt":"Ver. 45. “And because I tell you the truth, ye believe Me not.”\n\nWhat kind of consequence is this? “Having no charge against Me, ye desire to kill Me. For because ye are enemies of the truth, therefore ye persecute Me. Since had this not been the reason, ye would have named your charge.” Wherefore He added,\n\nVer. 46. “Which of you convinceth Me of sin?”\n\nThen they said, “We be not born of fornication.” Yet in fact many of them were born of fornication, for they practiced unbefitting unions. Still He doth not convict them of this, but setteth Himself to the other point. For when He hath proved them to be, not of God, but of the devil, by all these signs, (for to do murder is of the devil, and to lie is of the devil, both which ye do,) then He showeth that to love is the sign of being of God. “Why do ye not understand My speech?” Since they were always doubting, saying, “What is it that he saith, ‘Whither I go ye cannot come’?” therefore He telleth them, “Ye do not understand My speech,” “because ye have not the word of God. And this cometh to you, because that your understanding is groveling, and because what is Mine is far too great for you.” But what if they could not understand? Not to be able here means not to be willing; for “ye have trained yourselves to be mean, to imagine nothing great.” Because they said that they persecuted Him as being themselves zealous for God, on this account He everywhere striveth to show that to persecute Him is the act of those who hate God, but that, on the contrary, to love Him is the act of those who know God.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvi.html","locus":"54.3","cites":[{"at":310,"text":"Ver. 46","label":"John 8:46","href":"/jhn/8/#v46","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/54/#iv.lvi-p47"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.46-47.1","start":46,"end":47,"heading":"Homily LIV. John viii. 31, 32","excerpt":"But how came it into their thoughts to betake themselves to God? He had shown them unworthy of Abraham; desiring therefore to escape this charge, they mounted higher. For when He reproached them with murder, they said this, making it, as it were, a kind of excuse for themselves that they were avenging God. Therefore He showeth that this very thing is the act of men opposing God. And the, “I came forth,” showeth that He was from thence. He saith, “I came forth,” alluding to His arrival among us. But since they would probably say to Him, “Thou speaketh certain things strange and new,” He telleth them that He was come from God. “And therefore with good reason ye hear them not, because ye are of the devil. For on what account would ye kill Me? What charge have ye to bring against Me? If there be none, why do ye not believe Me?” Thus then having proved them to be of the devil by their lying and their murder, He showeth them also to be alien from Abraham and from God, both because they hated One who had done no wrong, and because they would not hear His word; and in every way He proveth that He was not opposed to God, and that it was not on this account that they refused to believe, but because they were aliens from God. For when One who had done no sin, who said that He came from God and was sent of God, who spake the truth, and so spake it as to challenge all to the proof, after this was not believed, it is clear that He was not believed because of their being carnal. Since sins do use, yea they do use to debase a soul. Wherefore It saith, “Seeing ye are become dull of hearing.” ( Heb. v. 11.) For when a man cannot despise earthly things, how shall he ever be wise concerning heavenly things?","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvi.html","locus":"54.3","cites":[{"at":1604,"text":"Heb. v. 11","label":"Hebrews 5:11","href":"/heb/5/#v11","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/54/#iv.lvi-p53"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.48.1","start":48,"end":48,"heading":"Homily LV. John viii. 48, 49","excerpt":"[1.] A shameless and a forward thing is wickedness, and when it ought to hide itself, then is it the fiercer. As was the case with the Jews. For when they ought to have been pricked by what was said, admiring the boldness and conclusiveness of the words, they even insult Him, calling Him a Samaritan, and saying that He had a devil, and they ask, “Said we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?” Because when He uttereth anything sublime, this is thought among the very senseless to be madness. Yet nowhere before did the Evangelist say that they called Him “a Samaritan”; but from this expression it is probable that this had been often asserted by them.\n\n“Thou hast a devil,” saith some one. Who is it that hath a devil? He that honoreth God, or he that insulteth Him that honoreth Him? What then saith Christ, who is very meekness and gentleness? “I have not a devil, but I honor Him that sent me.” Where there was need to instruct them, to pull down their excessive insolence, to teach them not to be proud because of Abraham, He was vehement; but when it was needful that He being insulted should bear it, He used much gentleness. When they said, “We have God and Abraham for our Father,” He touched them sharply; but when they called Him a demoniac, He spake submissively, thus teaching us to avenge insults offered to God, but to overlook such as are offered to ourselves.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvii.html","locus":"55.1","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/55/#iv.lvii-p4"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.49-50.1","start":49,"end":50,"heading":"Homily LV. John viii. 48, 49","excerpt":"Ver. 50. “I seek not Mine own glory.”\n\n“These things,” He saith, “I have spoken to show that it becometh not you, being murderers, to call God your Father; so that I have spoken them through honor for Him, and for His sake do I hear these reproaches, and for His sake do ye dishonor Me. Yet I care not for this insolence ; to Him, for whose sake I now hear these things, ye owe an account of your words. For ‘I seek not Mine own glory.’ Wherefore I omit to punish you, and betake Myself to exhortation, and counsel you so to act, that ye shall not only escape punishment, but also attain eternal life.”","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvii.html","locus":"55.1","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/55/#iv.lvii-p9"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.51.1","start":51,"end":51,"heading":"Homily LV. John viii. 48, 49","excerpt":"Ver. 51. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death.”\n\nHere He speaketh not of faith only, but of a pure life. Above He said, “shall have everlasting life,” but here, “shall not see death.” ( c. vi. 40.) At the same time He hinteth to them that they could do nothing against Him, for if the man that should keep His saying should not die, much less should He Himself. At least they understood it so, and said to Him,","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvii.html","locus":"55.1","cites":[{"at":232,"text":"c. vi. 40","label":"John 6:40","href":"/jhn/6/#v40","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/55/#iv.lvii-p12"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.52-53.1","start":52,"end":53,"heading":"Homily LV. John viii. 48, 49","excerpt":"Ver. 52. “Now we know that thou hast a devil; Abraham is dead, and the Prophets are dead.”\n\nThat is, “they who heard the word of God are dead, and shall they who have heard thine not die?”\n\nVer. 53. “Art thou greater than our father Abraham?”\n\nAlas for their vainglory! Again do they betake themselves to his relationship. Yet it would have been suitable to say, “Art thou greater than God? or they who have heard thee than Abraham?” But they say not this, because they thought that He was even less than Abraham. At first, therefore, He showed that they were murderers, and so led them away from the relationship; but when they persevered, He contrived this in another way, showing that they labored uselessly. And concerning the “death,” He said nothing to them, neither did He reveal or tell them what kind of death He meant, but in the meantime He would have them believe, that He is greater than Abraham, that even by this He may put them to shame. “Certainly,” He saith, “were I a common man I ought not to die, having done no wrong; but when I speak the truth, and have no sin, am sent from God, and am greater than Abraham, are ye not mad, do ye not labor in vain when ye attempt to kill Me?” What then is their reply? “Now we know that thou hast a devil.” Not so spake the woman of Samaria. She said not to Him, “Thou hast a devil”; but only, “Art thou greater than our father Jacob?” ( c. iv. 12.) For these men were insolent and accursed, while she desired to learn; wherefore she doubted and answered with proper moderation, and called Him, “Lord.” For one who promised far greater things, and who was worthy of credit, ought not to have been insulted, but even admired; yet these men said that He had a devil. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvii.html","locus":"55.1","cites":[{"at":190,"text":"Ver. 53","label":"John 8:53","href":"/jhn/8/#v53","status":"detected"},{"at":1396,"text":"c. iv. 12","label":"John 4:12","href":"/jhn/4/#v12","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 8:44","href":"/jhn/8/#v44-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/55/#iv.lvii-p14"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.53-54.1","start":53,"end":54,"heading":"Homily LV. John viii. 48, 49","excerpt":"“Whom makest thou thyself?”\n\nAnd this too in an insulting manner. “Thou art taking somewhat upon thyself,” saith one of them. To this then Christ replieth;\n\nVer. 54. “If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing.”\n\n[2.] What say the heretics here? That He heard the question, “Art thou greater than our father Abraham?” and dared not to say to them, “Yea, I am greater,” but did so in a covert manner. What then? Is His honor “nothing”? With respect to them it is nothing. And as He said, “My witness is not true” ( c. v. 31 ), with reference to the opinion they would form of it, so also doth He speak here.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvii.html","locus":"55.1","cites":[{"at":157,"text":"Ver. 54","label":"John 8:54","href":"/jhn/8/#v54","status":"detected"},{"at":510,"text":"c. v. 31","label":"John 5:31","href":"/jhn/5/#v31","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/55/#iv.lvii-p21"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.54-55.1","start":54,"end":55,"heading":"Homily LV. John viii. 48, 49","excerpt":"“There is One that honoreth Me.”\n\nAnd wherefore said He not, “The Father that sent Me,” as He did before, but,\n\n“Of whom ye say that He is your God.”\n\nVer. 55. “Yet ye have not known Him.” Because He desired to show that they not only knew not His Father, but that they knew not God.\n\n“But I know Him.”\n\n“So that to say, ‘I know Him,’ is not a boast, while to say, ‘I know Him not,’ would be a falsehood; but ye when ye say that ye know Him, lie; as then ye, when ye say that ye know Him, lie, so also should I, were I to say that I know Him not.”","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvii.html","locus":"55.2","cites":[{"at":151,"text":"Ver. 55","label":"John 8:55","href":"/jhn/8/#v55","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/55/#iv.lvii-p26"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.54-55.2","start":54,"end":55,"heading":"Homily LV. John viii. 48, 49","excerpt":"“If I honor Myself.” Since they said, “Whom makest thou thyself?” He replieth, “If I make (Myself anything,) My honor is nothing. As then I know Him exactly, so ye know Him not.” And as in the case of Abraham, He did not take away their whole assertion, but said, “I know that ye are Abraham’s seed,” so as to make the charge against them heavier; thus here He doth not remove the whole, but what? “Whom ye say.” By granting to them their boast of words, He increaseth the force of the accusation against them. How then do ye “not know Him”? “Because ye insult One who saith and doeth everything that He may be glorified, even when that One is sent from Him.” This assertion is unsupported by testimony, but what follows serves to establish it.\n\n“And I keep His saying.”\n\nHere they might, if at least they had anything to say, have refuted Him, for it was the strongest proof of His having been sent by God.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvii.html","locus":"55.2","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/55/#iv.lvii-p33"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.56-57.1","start":56,"end":57,"heading":"Homily LV. John viii. 48, 49","excerpt":"Ver. 56. “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it, and was glad.”\n\nAgain, He showeth that they were aliens from the race of Abraham, if they grieved at what he rejoiced in. “My day,” seems to me to mean the day of the Crucifixion, which Abraham foreshowed typically by the offering of the ram and of Isaac. What do they reply?\n\nVer. 57. “Thou art not yet forty years old, and hast Thou seen Abraham?”\n\nSo that we conclude that Christ was nearly forty.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvii.html","locus":"55.2","cites":[{"at":346,"text":"Ver. 57","label":"John 8:57","href":"/jhn/8/#v57","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/55/#iv.lvii-p38"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.58-59.1","start":58,"end":59,"heading":"Homily LV. John viii. 48, 49","excerpt":"Ver. 58, 59. “Jesus saith unto them, Before Abraham was, I Am. Then took they up stones to cast at Him.”\n\nSeest thou how He proved Himself to be greater than Abraham? For the man who rejoiced to see His day, and made this an object of earnest desire, plainly did so because it was a day that should be for a benefit, and belonging to one greater than himself. Because they had said, “The carpenter’s son” ( Matt. xiii. 55 ), and imagined nothing more concerning Him, He leadeth them by degrees to an exalted notion of Him. Therefore when they heard the words, “Ye know not God,” they were not grieved; but when they heard, “before Abraham was, I Am,” as though the nobility of their descent were debased, they became furious, and would have stoned Him.\n\n“He saw My day, and was glad.” He showeth, that not unwillingly He came to His Passion, since He praiseth him who was gladdened at the Cross. For this was the salvation of the world. But they cast stones at Him; so ready were they for murder, and they did this of their own accord, without enquiry.\n\nBut wherefore said He not, “Before Abraham was, I was,” instead of “I Am”? As the Father useth this expression, “I Am,” so also doth Christ; for it signifieth continuous Being, irrespective of all time. On which account the expression seemed to them to be blasphemous. Now if they could not bear the comparison with Abraham, although this was but a trifling one, had He continually made Himself equal to the Father, would they ever have ceased casting stones at Him?","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvii.html","locus":"55.2","cites":[{"at":407,"text":"Matt. xiii. 55","label":"Matthew 13:55","href":"/mat/13/#v55","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/55/#iv.lvii-p44"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.59.1","start":59,"end":59,"heading":"Homily LV. John viii. 48, 49","excerpt":"After this, again He fleeth as a man, and concealeth Himself, having laid before them sufficient instruction: and having accomplished His work, He went forth from the Temple, and departed to heal the blind, proving by His actions that He is before Abraham. But perhaps some one will say, “Why did He not paralyze their strength? So they would have believed.” He healed the paralytic, yet they believed not; nay, He wrought ten thousand wonders; at the very Passion He cast them to the ground, and darkened their eyes, yet they believed not; and how would they have believed if He had paralyzed their strength? There is nothing worse than a soul hardened in desperation; though it see signs and wonders, it still perseveres in retaining the same shamelessness. Thus Pharaoh, who received ten thousand strokes, was sobered only while being punished, and continued of this character until the last day of his life, pursuing those whom he had let go. Wherefore Paul continually saith, “Lest any of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” ( Heb. iii. 13.) For as the callosities of the body, when formed, become dead, and possess no sensation; so the soul, when it is occupied by many passions, becomes dead to virtue; and apply what you will to it, it gets no perception of the matter, but whether you threaten punishment or anything else, continues insensible.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvii.html","locus":"55.2","cites":[{"at":1042,"text":"Heb. iii. 13","label":"Hebrews 3:13","href":"/heb/3/#v13","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/55/#iv.lvii-p48"}]},{"work_id":"augustine","author":"Augustine of Hippo","short_name":"Augustine","author_dates":"354-430","tradition":"Patristic (Latin West)","era":"Early church","died":430,"title":"Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John","edition_short":"Translated by John Gibb and James Innes","author_url":"/commentators/augustine/","divisions":["Tractate","Section"],"work_url":"/works/augustine/","entries":[{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.1-2.1","start":1,"end":2,"heading":"Tractate XXXIII. Chapter VII. 40–53; VIII. 1–11","excerpt":"3. “Thence Jesus went unto the mount;” namely, to mount “Olivet,”—unto the fruitful mount, unto the mount of ointment, unto the mount of chrism. For where, indeed, but on mount Olivet did it become the Christ to teach? For the name of Christ is from chrism; χρισμα in the Greek, is called in Latin unctio, an anointing. And He has anointed us for this reason, because He has made us wrestlers against the devil. “And early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came unto Him; and He sat down and taught them.” And He was not taken, for He did not yet deign to suffer.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxiv.html","locus":"33.3","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 8:1–2","href":"/jhn/8/#v1-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/33/#iii.xxxiv-p6"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.3-6.1","start":3,"end":6,"heading":"Tractate XXXIII. Chapter VII. 40–53; VIII. 1–11","excerpt":"4. And now observe wherein the Lord’s gentleness was tempted by His enemies. “And the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman just taken in adultery: and they set her in the midst, and said to Him, Master, this woman has just been taken in adultery. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? But this they said, tempting Him, that they might accuse Him.” Why accuse Him? Had they detected Himself in any misdeed; or was that woman said to have been concerned with Him in any manner? What, then, is the meaning of “tempting Him, that they might accuse Him”? We understand, brethren, that a wonderful gentleness shone out pre-eminently in the Lord. They observed that He was very meek, very gentle: for of Him it had been previously foretold, “Gird Thy sword upon Thy thigh, O most Mighty; in Thy splendor and beauty urge on, march on prosperously, and reign, because of truth, and meekness, and righteousness.” Accordingly, as a teacher, He brought truth; as a deliverer, He brought gentleness; as a protector, He brought righteousness. That He was to reign on account of these things, the prophet had by the Holy Spirit foretold. When He spoke His truth was acknowledged; when He was not provoked to anger against His enemies, His meekness was praised. Whilst, therefore, in respect of these two,—namely, His truth and meekness,—His enemies were tormented with malice and envy; in respect of the third,—namely, righteousness,—they laid a stumbling-block for Him. In what way? Because the law had commanded the adulterers to be stoned, and surely the law could not command what was unjust: if any man should say other than the law had commanded, he would be detected as unjust. Therefore they said among themselves, “He is accounted true, he appears to be gentle; an accusation must be sought against him in respect of righteousness. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxiv.html","locus":"33.4","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 8:5–6","href":"/jhn/8/#v5-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/33/#iii.xxxiv-p7"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.7.1","start":7,"end":7,"heading":"Tractate XXXIII. Chapter VII. 40–53; VIII. 1–11","excerpt":"5. What answer, then, did the Lord Jesus make? How answered the Truth? How answered Wisdom? How answered that Righteousness against which a false accusation was ready? He did not say, Let her not be stoned; lest He should seem to speak against the law. But God forbid that He should say, Let her be stoned: for He came not to lose what He had found, but to seek what was lost. What then did He answer? See you how full it is of righteousness, how full of meekness and truth! “He that is without sin of you,” saith He, “let him first cast a stone at her.” O answer of Wisdom! How He sent them unto themselves! For without they stood to accuse and censure, themselves they examined not inwardly: they saw the adulteress, they looked not into themselves. Transgressors of the law, they wished the law to be fulfilled, and this by heedlessly accusing; not really fulfilling it, as if condemning adulteries by chastity. You have heard, O Jews, you have heard, O Pharisees, you have heard, O teachers of the law, the guardian of the law, but have not yet understood Him as the Lawgiver. What else does He signify to you when He writes with His finger on the ground? For the law was written with the finger of God; but written on stone because of the hard-hearted. The Lord now wrote on the ground, because He was seeking fruit. You have heard then, Let the law be fulfilled, let the adulteress be stoned. But is it by punishing her that the law is to be fulfilled by those that ought to be punished? Let each of you consider himself, let him enter into himself, ascend the judgment-seat of his own mind, place himself at the bar of his own conscience, oblige himself to confess. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxiv.html","locus":"33.5","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 8:7","href":"/jhn/8/#v7-catena"},{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 8:8–9","href":"/jhn/8/#v8-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/33/#iii.xxxiv-p9"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.9-11.1","start":9,"end":11,"heading":"Tractate XXXIII. Chapter VII. 40–53; VIII. 1–11","excerpt":"6. But when that woman was left alone, and all they were gone out, He raised His eyes to the woman. We have heard the voice of justice, let us also hear the voice of clemency. For I suppose that woman was the more terrified when she had heard it said by the Lord, “He that is without sin of you, let him first cast a stone at her.” But they, turning their thought to themselves, and by that very withdrawal having confessed concerning themselves, had left the woman with her great sin to Him who was without sin. And because she had heard this, “He that is without sin. let him first cast a stone at her,” she expected to be punished by Him in whom sin could not be found. But He, who had driven back her adversaries with the tongue of justice, raising the eyes of clemency towards her, asked her, “Hath no man condemned thee?” She answered, “No man, Lord.” And He said, “Neither do I condemn thee;” by whom, perhaps, thou didst fear to be condemned, because in me thou hast not found sin. “Neither will I condemn thee.” What is this, O Lord? Dost Thou therefore favor sins? Not so, evidently. Mark what follows: “Go, henceforth sin no more.” Therefore the Lord did also condemn, but condemned sins, not man. For if He were a patron of sin, He would say, Neither will I condemn thee; go, live as thou wilt: be secure in my deliverance; how much soever thou wilt sin, I will deliver thee from all punishment even of hell, and from the tormentors of the infernal world. He said not this.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxiv.html","locus":"33.6","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/33/#iii.xxxiv-p10"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.11.1","start":11,"end":11,"heading":"Tractate XXXIII. Chapter VII. 40–53; VIII. 1–11","excerpt":"7. Let them take heed, then, who love His gentleness in the Lord, and let them fear His truth. For “The Lord is sweet and right.” Thou lovest Him in that He is sweet; fear Him in that He is right. As the meek, He said, “I held my peace;” but as the just, He said, “Shall I always be silent?” “The Lord is merciful and pitiful.” So He is, certainly. Add yet further, “Long-suffering;” add yet further, “And very pitiful:” but fear what comes last, “And true.” For those whom He now bears with as sinners, He will judge as despisers. “Or despisest thou the riches of His long-suffering and gentleness; not knowing that the forbearance of God leadeth thee to repentance? But thou, after thy hardness and impenitent heart, treasurest up for thyself wrath against the day of wrath and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his deeds.” The Lord is gentle, the Lord is long-suffering, the Lord is pitiful; but the Lord is also just, the Lord is also true. He bestows on thee space for correction; but thou lovest the delay of judgment more than the amendment of thy ways. Hast thou been a bad man yesterday? To-day be a good man. Hast thou gone on in thy wickedness to-day? At any rate change to-morrow. Thou art always expecting, and from the mercy of God makest exceeding great promises to thyself. As if He, who has promised thee pardon through repentance, promised thee also a longer life. How knowest thou what to-morrow may bring forth? Rightly thou sayest in thy heart: When I shall have corrected my ways, God will put all my sins away. We cannot deny that God has promised pardon to those that have amended their ways and are converted. For in what prophet thou readest to me that God has promised pardon to him that amends, thou dost not read to me that God has promised thee a long life.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxiv.html","locus":"33.7","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/33/#iii.xxxiv-p11"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.12.1","start":12,"end":12,"heading":"Tractate XXXIV. Chapter VIII. 12","excerpt":"2. I think that what the Lord says, “I am the light of the world, “is clear to those that have eyes, by which they are made partakers of this light: but they who have not eyes except in the flesh alone, wonder at what is said by the Lord Jesus Christ, “I am the light of the world.” And perhaps there may not be wanting some one too who says with himself: Whether perhaps the Lord Christ is that sun which by its rising and setting causes the day? For there have not been wanting heretics who thought this. The Manichæans have supposed that the Lord Christ is that sun which is visible to carnal eyes, exposed and public to be seen, not only by men, but by the beasts. But the right faith of the Catholic Church rejects such a fiction, and perceives it to be a devilish doctrine: not only by believing acknowledges it to be such, but in the case of whom it can, proves it even by reasoning. Let us therefore reject this kind of error, which the Holy Church has anathematized from the beginning. Let us not suppose that the Lord Jesus Christ is this sun which we see rising from the east, setting in the west; to whose course succeeds night, whose rays are obscured by a cloud, which removes from place to place by a set motion: the Lord Christ is not such a thing as this. The Lord Christ is not the sun that was made, but He by whom the sun was made. For “all things were made by Him, and without Him was nothing made.”","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxv.html","locus":"34.2","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/34/#iii.xxxv-p4"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.12.2","start":12,"end":12,"heading":"Tractate XXXIV. Chapter VIII. 12","excerpt":"5. That unfailing Light, the Light of wisdom, speaking through the cloud of the flesh, says to men, “I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” How He has withdrawn thee from the eyes of the flesh, and recalled thee to the eyes of the heart! For it is not enough to say, “Whoso followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have light;” He added too, “of life;” even as it was there said, “For with Thee is the fountain of life.” See thus, my brethren, how the words of the Lord agree with the truth of that psalm: both there, the light is put with the fountain of life, and by the Lord it is said, “light of life.” But for bodily use, light and fountain are different things: our mouths seek a fountain, our eyes light; when we thirst we seek a fountain, when we are in darkness we seek light; and if we chance to thirst in the night, we kindle a light to come to a fountain. Not so with God: light and fountain are the same thing: He who shines for thee that thou mayest see, the same flows for thee that thou mayest drink.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxv.html","locus":"34.5","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/34/#iii.xxxv-p8"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.12.3","start":12,"end":12,"heading":"Tractate XXXIV. Chapter VIII. 12","excerpt":"7. Accordingly, “He that followeth me,” saith He, “shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” What He has promised, He put in a word of the future tense; for He says not has, but “shall have the light of life.” Yet He does not say, He that shall follow me; but, he that does follow me. What it is our duty to do, He put in the present tense; but what He has promised to them that do it, He has indicated by a word of the future tense. “He that followeth, shall have.” That followeth now, shall have hereafter: followeth now by faith, shall have hereafter by sight. For, “whilst we are in the body,” saith the apostle, “we are absent from the Lord: for we walk by faith, not by sight.” When shall we walk by sight? When we shall have the light of life, when we shall have come to that vision, when this night shall have passed away. Of that day, indeed, which is to arise, it is said, “In the morning I will stand near thee, and contemplate thee.” What means “in the morning”? When the night of this world is over, when the terrors of temptations are over, when that lion which goeth about roaring in the night, seeking whom it may devour, is vanquished. “In the morning I will stand near thee, and contemplate.” Now what do we think, brethren, to be our duty for the present time, but what is again said in the psalm, “Every night through will I wash my couch; I will moisten my bed with my tears”? Every night through, saith he, I will weep; I will burn with desire for the light. The Lord sees my desire: for another psalm says to Him, “All my desire is before Thee; and my groaning is not hid from Thee.” Dost thou desire gold? ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxv.html","locus":"34.7","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/34/#iii.xxxv-p10"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.13.1","start":13,"end":13,"heading":"Tractate XXXV. Chapter VIII. 13, 14","excerpt":"2. When our Lord Jesus Christ had spoken these things, the Jews answered, “Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true.” Before our Lord Jesus Christ came, He lighted and sent many prophetic lamps before Him. Of these was also John Baptist, to whom the great Light itself, which is the Lord Christ, gave a testimony such as was given to no other man; for He said, “Among them that are born of women, there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist.” Yet this man, than whom none was greater among those born of women, said of the Lord Jesus Christ, “I indeed baptize you in water; but He that is coming is mightier than I, whose shoe I am not worthy to loose.” See how the lamps submits itself to the Day. The Lord Himself bears witness that the same John was indeed a lamp: “He was,” saith He, “a burning and a shining lamp; and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.” But when the Jews said to the Lord, “Tell us by what authority thou doest these things,” He, knowing that they regarded John the Baptist as a great one, and that the same whom they regarded as a great one had borne witness to them concerning the Lord, answered them, “I also will ask you one thing; tell me, the baptism of John, whence is it? from heaven, or from men?” Thrown into confusion, they considered among themselves that, if they said, “From men,” they might be stoned by the people, who believed John to be a prophet; if they said, “From heaven,” He might answer them, “He whom ye confess to have been a prophet from heaven bore testimony to me, and ye have heard from him by what authority I do these things.” ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxvi.html","locus":"35.2","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/35/#iii.xxxvi-p4"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.13-14.1","start":13,"end":14,"heading":"Tractate XXXV. Chapter VIII. 13, 14","excerpt":"4. The Jews then answered, “Thou bearest witness of thyself; thy witness is not true.” Let us see what they hear; let us also hear, yet not as they did: they despising, we believing; they wishing to slay Christ, we desiring to live through Christ. Let this difference distinguish our ears and minds from theirs, and let us hear what the Lord answers to the Jews. “Jesus answered and said to them, Though I bear witness of myself, my witness is true; because I know whence I came and whither I go.” The light shows both other things and also itself. Thou lightest a lamp, for instance, to look for thy coat, and the burning lamp affords thee light to find thy coat; dost thou light the lamp to see itself when it burns? A burning lamp is indeed capable at the same time of exposing to view other things which the darkness covered, and also of showing itself to thine eyes. So also the Lord Christ distinguished between His faithful ones and His Jewish enemies, as between light and darkness: as between those whom He illuminated with the ray of faith, and those on whose closed eyes He shed His light. So, too, the sun shines on the face of the sighted and of the blind; both alike standing and facing the sun are shone upon in the flesh, but both are not enlightened in the eyesight. The one sees, the other sees not: the sun is present to both, but one is absent from the present sun. So likewise the Wisdom of God, the Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, is everywhere present, because the truth is everywhere, wisdom is everywhere. One man in the east understands justice, another man in the west understands justice; is justice which the one understands a different thing from that which the other understands? ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxvi.html","locus":"35.4","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 8:13–15","href":"/jhn/8/#v13-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/35/#iii.xxxvi-p13"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.14.1","start":14,"end":14,"heading":"Tractate XXXV. Chapter VIII. 13, 14","excerpt":"5. “I know whence I came and whither I go.” He who speaks to you in person has what He has not left, and yet He came; for by coming He departed not thence, nor has He forsaken us by returning thither. Why marvel ye? It is God: this cannot be done by man; it cannot be done even by the sun. When it goes to the west it leaves the east, and until it returns to the east, when about to rise, it is not in the east; but our Lord Jesus Christ both comes and is there, both returns and is here. Hear the evangelist himself speaking in another place, and, if thou canst, understand it; if not, believe it: “God,” saith he, “no man hath ever seen, but the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.” He said not was in the bosom of the Father, as if by coming He had quitted the Father’s bosom. Here He was speaking, and yet He declared that He was there; and when about to depart hence, what said He? “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxvi.html","locus":"35.5","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/35/#iii.xxxvi-p15"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.15.1","start":15,"end":15,"heading":"Tractate XXXVI. Chapter VIII. 15–18","excerpt":"4. “I judge not any man.” Does not the Lord Jesus Christ, then, judge any man? Is He not the same of whom we confess that He rose again on the third day, ascended into heaven, there sits at the right hand of the Father, and thence shall come to judge the quick and the dead? Is not this our faith of which the apostle says, “With the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation?” When, therefore, we confess these things, do we contradict the Lord? We say that He shall come a judge of the quick and the dead, whilst He says Himself, “I judge not any man.” This question may be solved in two ways: Either that we may understand this expression, “I judge not any man,” to mean, I judge not any man now; in accordance with what He says in another place, “I am not come to judge the world, but to save the world;” not denying His judgment here, but deferring it. Or, otherwise, surely that when He said, “Ye judge after the flesh,” He subjoined, “I judge not any man,” in such manner that thou shouldst understand “after the flesh” to complete the sense. Therefore let no scruple of doubt remain in our heart against the faith which we hold and declare concerning Christ as judge. Christ is come, but first to save, then to judge: to adjudge to punishment those who would not be saved; to bring them to life who, by believing, did not reject salvation. Accordingly, the first dispensation of our Lord Jesus Christ is medicinal, not judicial; for if He had come to judge first, He would have found none on whom He might bestow the rewards of righteousness. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxvii.html","locus":"36.4","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/36/#iii.xxxvii-p7"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.16.1","start":16,"end":16,"heading":"Tractate XXXVI. Chapter VIII. 15–18","excerpt":"5. But that you may know that Christ is judge even now, hear what follows: “And if I judge, my judgment is true.” Behold, thou hast Him as thy judge, but acknowledge Him as thy Saviour, lest thou feel the judge. But why has He said that His judgment is true? “Because,” saith He, “I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.” I have said to you, brethren, that this holy Evangelist John soars exceedingly high: it is with difficulty that he is comprehended. But we need to remind you, beloved, of the deeper mystery of this soaring. Both in the prophet Ezekiel, and in the Apocalypse of this very John whose Gospel this is, there is mentioned a fourfold living creature, having four characteristic faces; that of a man, of an ox, of a lion, and of an eagle. Those who have handled the mysteries of Holy Scripture before us have, for the most part, understood by this living creature, or rather, these four living creatures, the four evangelists. They have understood the lion as put for king, because he appears to be, in a manner, the king of beasts on account of his strength and terrible valor. This character is assigned to Matthew, because in the generations of the Lord he followed the royal line, showing how the Lord was, along the royal line, of the seed of David. But Luke, because he begins with the priesthood of Zacharias, mentioning the father of John the Baptist, is designated the ox; for the ox was an important victim in the sacrifice of the priests. To Mark is deservedly assigned the man Christ, because neither has he said anything of the royal authority, nor did he begin with the priestly function, but only set out with the man Christ. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxvii.html","locus":"36.5","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/36/#iii.xxxvii-p13"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.16.2","start":16,"end":16,"heading":"Tractate XXXVI. Chapter VIII. 15–18","excerpt":"12. Let it not by any means surprise any one that He says, “My judgment is true; because I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me;” whilst He has said in another place, “The Father judgeth not any man, but all judgment hath He given to the Son.” We have already discoursed on these same words of the evangelist, and we remind you now that this was not said because the Father will not be with the Son when He comes to judge, but because the Son alone will be apparent to the good and the bad in the judgment, in that form in which He suffered, and rose again, and ascended into heaven. For at that moment, indeed, as they were beholding Him ascending, the angelic voice sounded in the ears of His disciples, “So shall He come in like manner as ye have seen Him going into heaven;” that is, in the form of man in which He was judged, will He judge, in order that also that prophetic utterance may be fulfilled, “They shall look upon Him whom they pierced.” But when the righteous go into eternal life, we shall see Him as He is; that will not be the judgment of the living and the dead, but only the reward of the living.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxvii.html","locus":"36.12","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/36/#iii.xxxvii-p26"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.17.1","start":17,"end":17,"heading":"Tractate XXXVI. Chapter VIII. 15–18","excerpt":"13. Likewise, let it not surprise you that He says, “In your law it is written that the testimony of two men is true,” that any man should hence suppose that this was not also the law of God, because it is not said, In the law of God: let him know that, when it is said thus, In your law, it is just as if He said, “In the law which was given to you;” given by whom, except by God? Just as we say, “Our daily bread;” and yet we say, “Give us this day.”","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxvii.html","locus":"36.13","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/36/#iii.xxxvii-p29"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.17-18.1","start":17,"end":18,"heading":"Tractate XXXVI. Chapter VIII. 15–18","excerpt":"10. He had spoken of judgment; He means to speak of testimony. “In your law,” saith He, “it is written that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.” He expounded the law to them also, if they were not unthankful. For it is a great question, my brethren, and to me it certainly appears to have been ordained in a mystery, where God said, “In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall stand.” Is truth sought by two witnesses? Clearly it is; so is the custom of mankind: but yet it may be that even two witnesses lie. The chaste Susanna was pressed by two false witnesses: were they not therefore false because they were two? Do we speak of two or of three? A whole people lied against Christ. If, then, a people, consisting of a great multitude of men, was found a false witness, how is it to be understood that “in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall stand,” unless it be that in this manner the Trinity is mysteriously set forth to us, in which is perpetual stability of truth? Dost thou wish to have a good cause? Have two or three witnesses,—the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. In short, when Susanna, the chaste woman and faithful wife, was pressed by two false witnesses, the Trinity supported her in her conscience and in secret: that Trinity raised up from secrecy one witness, Daniel, and convicted the two. Therefore, because it is written in your law that the witness of two men is true, receive our witness, lest ye feel our judgment. “For I,” saith He, “judge not any man; but I bear witness of myself:” I defer judgment, I defer not the witness.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxvii.html","locus":"36.10","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 8:14–18","href":"/jhn/8/#v14-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/36/#iii.xxxvii-p21"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.19.1","start":19,"end":19,"heading":"Tractate XXXVII. Chapter VIII. 19, 20","excerpt":"2. Let us see, then, what answer the Lord made to this. “Where,” say they, “is thy Father?” For we have heard thee say, “I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me:” we see thee alone, we do not see thy Father with thee; how sayest thou that thou art not alone, but that thou art with thy Father? Else show us that thy Father is with thee. And the Lord answered them: Do ye know me, that I should show you the Father? This is indeed what follows; this is what He answered in His own words, the exposition of which we have already premised. For see what He said, “Ye neither know me nor my Father: if ye knew me, ye would perhaps know my Father also.” Ye say then, “Where is thy Father?” As if already ye knew me; as if what you see were all that I am. Therefore because ye know not me, I do not show you my Father. Ye suppose me, in fact, to be a man; hence ye seek a man for my father, because “ye judge after the flesh.” But because, according to what you see, I am one thing, and another thing according to what you see not, and that I as hidden from you speak of my Father as hidden, it is requisite that you should first know me, and then ye know my Father also.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxviii.html","locus":"37.2","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/37/#iii.xxxviii-p4"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.19.2","start":19,"end":19,"heading":"Tractate XXXVII. Chapter VIII. 19, 20","excerpt":"3. “For if ye knew me, ye would perhaps know my Father also.” He who knows all things is not in doubt when He says perhaps, but rebuking. Now see how this very word perhaps, which seems to be a word of doubting, may be spoken chidingly. Yea, a word expressive of doubt it is when used by man, for man doubts because he knows not; but when a word of doubting is spoken by God, from whom surely nothing is hid, it is unbelief that is reproved by that doubting, not the Godhead merely expressing an opinion. For men sometimes chidingly express doubt concerning things which they hold certain; that is, use a word of doubting, while in their heart they doubt not: just as thou wouldst say to thy slave, if thou wert angry with him, “Thou despisest me; but consider, perhaps I am thy master.” Hence also the apostle, speaking to some who despised him, says: “And I think that I also have the Spirit of God.” When he says, “I think,” he seems to doubt; but he is rebuking, not doubting. And in another place the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, rebuking the future unbelief of mankind, saith: “When the Son of man cometh, will He, thinkest thou, find faith on the earth?”","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxviii.html","locus":"37.3","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/37/#iii.xxxviii-p5"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.20.1","start":20,"end":20,"heading":"Tractate XXXVII. Chapter VIII. 19, 20","excerpt":"8. “These words spake Jesus in the treasury, speaking in the temple:” great boldness, without fear. For He could not suffer if He did not will it, since He were not born if He did not will it. What follows then? “And no man laid hold of Him, because His hour was not yet come.” Some, again, when they hear this, believe that the Lord Christ was subject to fate, and say: Behold, Christ is held by fate! O, if thy heart were not fatuous, thou wouldst not believe in fate. If fate, as some understand it, is derived from fando, that is from speaking, how can the Word of God be held by fate, whilst all things that are made are in the Word itself? For God has not ordained anything which He did not know beforehand; that which was made was in His Word. The world was made; both was made and was there. How both was made and was there? Because the house which the builder rears, was previously in his art; and there, a better house, without age, without decay: however, to show forth his art, he makes a house; and so, in a manner, a house comes forth from a house; and if the house should fall, the art remains. So were all things that are made with the Word of God; because God made all things in wisdom, and all that He made were known to Him: for He did not learn because He made, but made because He knew. To us they are known, because they are made: to Him, if they had not been known, they would not have been made. Therefore the Word went before. And what was before the Word? Nothing at all. For were there anything before it, it would not have been said, “In the beginning was the Word;” but, In the beginning was the Word made. In short, what says Moses concerning the world? ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxviii.html","locus":"37.8","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/37/#iii.xxxviii-p13"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.20.2","start":20,"end":20,"heading":"Tractate XXXVII. Chapter VIII. 19, 20","excerpt":"9. Hear, thou fool: “His hour was not yet come;” not the hour in which He should be forced to die, but that in which He would deign to be put to death. For Himself knew when He should die: He considered all things that were foretold of Him, and awaited all to be finished that was foretold to be before His suffering; that when all should be fulfilled, then should come His suffering in set order, not by fatal necessity. In short, hear that you may prove. Among the rest that was prophesied of Him, it is also written: “They gave me gall for meat, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” How this happened, we know from the Gospel. First, they gave Him gall; He received it, tasted it, and spat it out. Thereafter, as He hung on the cross, that all that was foretold might be fulfilled, He said, “I thirst.” They took a sponge filled with vinegar, bound it to a reed, and put it to His mouth; He received it, and said, “It is finished.” What did that mean? All things which were prophesied before my death are completed, then what do I here any longer? In a word, when He said “It is finished, He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost.” Did the thieves, who were nailed beside Him, expire when they would? They were held by the bonds of flesh, for they were not the creators of the flesh; fixed by nails, they were a long time tormented, because they had not lordship over their weakness. The Lord, however, when He would, took flesh in a virgin’s womb: came forth to men when He would; lived among men so long as He would; and when He would He quitted the flesh. This is the part of power, not of necessity. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxviii.html","locus":"37.9","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/37/#iii.xxxviii-p15"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.21-22.1","start":21,"end":22,"heading":"Tractate XXXVIII. Chapter VIII. 21–25","excerpt":"2. But of His own passion itself, which lay not in any necessity He was under, but in His own power, all that He said in His discourse to the Jews was, “I go away.” For to Christ the Lord’s death was His proceeding to the place whence He had come, and from which He had never departed. “I go away,” said He, “and ye shall seek me,” not from any longing for me, but in hatred. For after His removal from human sight, He was sought for both by those who hated Him and those who loved Him; by the former in a spirit of persecution, by the latter with the desire of having Him. In the Psalms the Lord Himself says by the prophet, “A place of refuge hath failed me, and there is none that seeketh after my life;” and again He says in another place in the Psalms, “Let them be confounded and ashamed who seek after my life.” He blamed the former for not seeking, He condemned the latter because they did. For it is wrong not to seek the life of Christ, that is, in the way the disciples sought it; and it is wrong to seek the life of Christ, that is, in the way the Jews sought it: for the former sought to possess it, these latter to destroy it. Accordingly, because these men sought it thus in a wrong way, with a perverted heart, what next did He add? “Ye shall seek me, and”—not to let you suppose that ye will seek me for good—“ye shall die in your sin.” This comes of seeking Christ wrongly, to die in one’s sin; this of hating Him, through whom alone salvation could be found. For, while men whose hope is in God ought not to render evil even for evil, these men were rendering evil for good. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxix.html","locus":"38.2","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/38/#iii.xxxix-p5"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.22.1","start":22,"end":22,"heading":"Tractate XXXVIII. Chapter VIII. 21–25","excerpt":"3. But on hearing these words, as is usual with those whose thoughts are carnal, who judge after the flesh, and hear and apprehend everything in a carnal way, they said, “Will he kill himself because he said, Whither I go ye cannot come.” Foolish words, and overflowing with stupidity! For why could they not go whither He would have proceeded had He killed Himself? Were not they themselves to die? What, then, means, “Will he kill himself because he said, Whither I go ye cannot come?” If He spake of man’s death, what man is there that does not die? Therefore, by “whither I go” He meant, not the going to death, but whither He was going Himself after death. Such, then, was their answer, because they did not understand.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxix.html","locus":"38.3","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 8:22–23","href":"/jhn/8/#v22-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/38/#iii.xxxix-p9"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.23.1","start":23,"end":23,"heading":"Tractate XXXVIII. Chapter VIII. 21–25","excerpt":"4. And what said the Lord to those who savored of the earth? “And He said unto them, Ye are from beneath.” For this cause ye savor of the earth, because ye lick dust like serpents. Ye eat earth! What does it mean? Ye feed on earthly things, ye delight in earthly things, ye gape after earthly things, ye have no heart for what is above. “Ye are from beneath: I am from above. Ye are of this world: I am not of this world.” For how could He be of the world, by whom the world was made? All that are of the world come after the world, because the world preceded; and so man is of the world. But Christ was first, and then the world; and since Christ was before the world, before Christ there was nothing: because “In the beginning was the Word; all things were made by Him.” He, therefore, was of that which is above. But of what that is above? Of the air? Perish the thought! there the birds wing their flight. Of the sky that we see? Again I say, Perish the thought! it is there that the stars and sun and moon revolve. Of the angels? Neither is this to be understood: by Him who made all things were the angels also made. Of what, then, above is Christ? Of the Father Himself. Nothing is above that God who begat the Word equal with Himself, co-eternal with Himself, only-begotten, timeless, that by Him time’s own foundations should be laid. Understand, then, Christ as from above, so as in thy thought to get beyond everything that is made,—the whole creation together, every material body, every created spirit, everything in any way subject to change: rise above all, as John rose, in order to reach this: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxix.html","locus":"38.4","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/38/#iii.xxxix-p10"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.23-24.1","start":23,"end":24,"heading":"Tractate XXXVIII. Chapter VIII. 21–25","excerpt":"5. Therefore said He, “I am from above. Ye are of this world: I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins.” He has explained to us, brethren, what He wished to be understood by “ye are of this world.” He said therefore in fact, “Ye are of this world,” because they were sinners, because they were unrighteous, because they were unbelieving, because they savored of the earthly. For what is your opinion as regards the holy apostles? What difference was there between the Jews and the apostles? As great as between darkness and light, as between faith and unbelief, as between piety and impiety, as between hope and despair, as between love and avarice: surely the difference was great. What then, because there was such a difference, were the apostles not of the world? If thy thoughts turn to the manner of their birth, and whence they came, inasmuch as all of them had come from Adam, they were of this world. But what said the Lord Himself to them? “I have chosen you out of the world.” Those, then, who were of the world, became not of the world, and began to belong to Him by whom the world was made. But these men continued to be of the world, to whom it was said, “Ye shall die in your sins.”","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxix.html","locus":"38.5","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/38/#iii.xxxix-p12"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.24.1","start":24,"end":24,"heading":"Tractate XXXVIII. Chapter VIII. 21–25","excerpt":"7. But He explains whence this should befall them: “For if ye believe not that I am [He], ye shall die in your sins.” I believe, brethren, that among the multitude who listened to the Lord, there were those also who should yet believe. But against all, as it were, had that most severe sentence gone forth, “Ye shall die in your sin;” and thereby even from those who should yet believe had hope been withdrawn: the others were roused to fury, they to fear; yea, to more than fear, they were brought now to despair. But He revived their hope; for He added, “If ye believe not that I am, ye shall die in your sins.” Therefore if ye do believe that I am, ye shall not die in your sins. Hope was restored to the desponding, the sleeping were aroused, their hearts got a fresh awakening; and thereafter very many believed, as the Gospel itself attests in the sequel. For members of Christ were there, who had not yet become attached to the body of Christ; and among that people by whom He was crucified, by whom He was hanged on a tree, by whom when hanging He was mocked, by whom He was wounded with the spear, by whom gall and vinegar were given Him to drink, were the members of Christ, for whose sake He said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And what will a convert not be forgiven, if the shedding of Christ’s blood is forgiven? What murderer need despair, if he was restored to hope by whom even Christ was slain? After this many believed; they were presented with Christ’s blood as a gift, that they might drink it for their salvation, rather than be held guilty of shedding it. Who can despair? And if the thief was saved on the cross,—a murderer shortly before, a little afterwards accused, convicted, condemned, hanged, delivered,—wonder not. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxix.html","locus":"38.7","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/38/#iii.xxxix-p16"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.24.2","start":24,"end":24,"heading":"Tractate XXXVIII. Chapter VIII. 21–25","excerpt":"8. But look at this which is said by Christ the Lord: “If ye believe not that I am, ye shall die in your sins.” What is this, “If ye believe not that I am?” “I am” what? There is nothing added; and because He added nothing, He left much to be inferred. For He was expected to say what He was, and yet He said it not. What was He expected to say? Perhaps, “If ye believe not that I am” Christ; “if ye believe not that I am” the Son of God; “if ye believe not that I am” the Word of the Father; “if ye believe not that I am” the founder of the world; “if ye believe not that I am” the former and re-former, the creator and re-creator, the maker and re-maker of man;—“if ye believe not that I am” this, “ye shall die in your sins.” There is much implied in His only saying “I am;” for so also had God said to Moses, “I am who am.” Who can adequately express what that am means? God by His angel sent His servant Moses to deliver His people out of Egypt (you have read and know what you now hear; but I recall it to your minds); He sent him trembling, self-excusing, but obedient. And while thus excusing himself, he said to God, whom he understood to be speaking in the person of the angel: If the people say to me, And who is the God that hath sent thee? what shall I say to them? And the Lord answered him, “I am who am;” and added, “Thou shalt say to the children of Israel, He who is hath sent me to you.” ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxix.html","locus":"38.8","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/38/#iii.xxxix-p18"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.25.1","start":25,"end":25,"heading":"Tractate XXXVIII. Chapter VIII. 21–25","excerpt":"11. And savoring as these men always did of the earth, and ever hearing and answering according to the flesh, what did they say to Him? “Who art thou?” For when thou saidst, “If ye believe not that I am,” thou didst not tell us what thou wert. Who art thou, that we may believe? He answered “The Beginning.” Here is the existence that [always] is. The beginning cannot be changed: the beginning is self-abiding and all-originating; that is, the beginning, to which it has been said, “But thou Thyself art the same, and Thy years shall not fail.” “The beginning,” He said, “for so I also speak to you.” Believe me [to be] the beginning, that ye may not die in your sins. For just as if by saying, “Who art thou?” they had said nothing else than this, What shall we believe thee to be? He replied, “The beginning;” that is, Believe me [to be] the “beginning.” For in the Greek expression we discern what we cannot in the Latin. For in Greek the word “beginning” (principium, ἀρχή), is of the feminine gender, just as with us “law” (lex) is of the feminine gender, while it is of the masculine (νόμος) with them; or as “wisdom” (sapientia, σοφία) is of the feminine gender with both. It is the custom of speech, therefore, in different languages to vary the gender of words, because in things themselves there is no place for the distinction of sex. For wisdom is not really female, since Christ is the Wisdom of God, and Christ is termed of the masculine gender, wisdom of the feminine. When then the Jews said, “Who art thou?” ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxix.html","locus":"38.11","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 8:25","href":"/jhn/8/#v25-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/38/#iii.xxxix-p25"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.25.2","start":25,"end":25,"heading":"Tractate XXXIX. Chapter VIII. 26, 27","excerpt":"1. The words of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He had addressed to the Jews, so regulating His discourse that the blind saw not, and believers’ eyes were opened, are these, which have been read to-day from the holy Gospel: “Then said the Jews, Who art thou?” Because the Lord had said before, “If ye believe not that I am, ye shall die in your sins.” To this accordingly they rejoined, “Who art thou?” as if seeking to know on whom they ought to believe, so as not to die in their sin. He replied to those who asked Him: “Who art thou?” by saying, “The beginning, for [so] also I speak to you.” If the Lord has called Himself the beginning, it may be inquired whether the Father also is the beginning. For if the Son who has a Father is the beginning, how much more easily must God the Father be understood as the beginning, who has indeed the Son whose Father He is, but has no one from whom He Himself proceedeth? For the Son is the Son of the Father, and the Father certainly is the Father of the Son; but the Son is called God of God,—the Son is called Light of Light; the Father is called Light, but not, of Light,—the Father is called God, but not, of God. If, then, God of God, Light of Light, is the beginning, how much more easily may we understand as such that Light, from whom the Light [cometh], and God, of whom is God? It seems, therefore, absurd, dearly beloved, to call the Son the beginning, and not to call the Father the beginning also.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xl.html","locus":"39.1","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/39/#iii.xl-p3"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.26.1","start":26,"end":26,"heading":"Tractate XXXIX. Chapter VIII. 26, 27","excerpt":"6. Let us hear, then, the Beginning who speaks to us: “I have,” said He, “many things to say of you and to judge.” You remember that He said, “I do not judge any one.” See, now He says, “I have many things to say of you and to judge.” But, “I do not judge” is one thing: “I have to judge” is another; for He had come to save the world, not to judge the world. In saying, “I have many things to say of you and to judge,” He speaks of the future judgment. For therefore did He ascend, that He may come to judge the living and the dead. No one will judge more justly than He who was unjustly judged. “Many things,” said He, “have I to say of you and to judge; but He that sent me is true.” See how the Son, His equal, gives glory to the Father. For He sets us an example, and says as it were in our hearts: O believer, if thou hearest my gospel, the Lord thy God saith to thee, when I, in the beginning God the Word with God, equal with the Father, coeternal with Him that begat, give glory to Him whose Son I am, how canst thou be proud before Him, whose servant thou art?","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xl.html","locus":"39.6","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/39/#iii.xl-p12"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.26-27.1","start":26,"end":27,"heading":"Tractate XXXIX. Chapter VIII. 26, 27","excerpt":"7. “I have many things,” He said, “to say of you and to judge: but He that sent me is true;” as if He had said, Therefore I judge the truth, because, as the Son of the True One, I am the truth. The Father true, the Son the truth,—which do we account the greater? Let us reflect, if we can, which is the greater, the True One or the Truth. Take some other instances. Is a pious man, or piety, the more comprehensive? Surely piety itself; for the pious is derived from piety, not piety from the pious. For piety may still exist, though he who was pious became impious. He has lost his piety, but has taken nothing from piety itself. What also of comely and comeliness? Comeliness is more than comely; for comeliness gives existence to the comely, not the comely to comeliness. And so of chaste and chastity. Chastity is clearly something more than chaste. For if chastity had no existence, one would have no ground to be chaste; but though one may refuse to be chaste, chastity remains entire. If then the term piety implies more than the term pious, comeliness more than comely, chastity than chaste, shall we say that the Truth is more than the True One? If we say so, we shall begin to say that the Son is greater than the Father. For the Lord Himself says most distinctly, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” Therefore, if the Son is the truth, what is the Father but what the Truth Himself says, “He that sent me is true”? The Son is the truth, the Father true. I inquire which is the greater, but find equality. For the true Father is true not because He contained a part of that truth, but because He begat it entire.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xl.html","locus":"39.7","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/39/#iii.xl-p15"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.28.1","start":28,"end":28,"heading":"Tractate XL. Chapter VIII. 28–32","excerpt":"3. The Lord then, recognizing such in that crowd, said, “When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am [He].” You know already what “I am” signifies; and we must not be continually repeating, lest so great a subject beget distaste. Recall that, “I am who am,” and “He who is hath sent me,” and you will recognize the meaning of the words, “Then shall ye know that I am.” But both the Father is, and the Holy Spirit is. To the same is belongs the whole Trinity. But because the Lord spake as the Son, in order that, when He says, “Then shall ye know that I am,” there might be no chance of entrance for the error of the Sabellians, that is, of the Patripassians,—an error which I have charged you not to hold, but to beware of,—the error, I mean, of those who have said, The Father and Son are one and the same; two names, but one reality;—to guard them against that error, when the Lord said, “Then shall ye know that I am,” that He might not be understood as Himself the Father, He immediately added, “And I do nothing of myself; but as my Father taught me, I speak these things.” Already was the Sabellian beginning to rejoice over the discovery of a ground for his error; but immediately on showing himself as it were in the shade, he was confounded by the light of the following sentence. Thou thoughtest that He was the Father, because He said, “I am.” Hear now that He is the Son: “And I do nothing of myself.” What means this, “I do nothing of myself”? Of myself I am not. For the Son is God, of the Father; but the Father is God, yet not of the Son. The Son is God of God, and the Father is God, but not of God. The Son is light of light; and the Father is light, but not of light. The Son is, but there is [One] of whom He is; and the Father is, but there is none of whom He is.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xli.html","locus":"40.3","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/40/#iii.xli-p7"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.28.2","start":28,"end":28,"heading":"Tractate XL. Chapter VIII. 28–32","excerpt":"4. Let not then, my brethren, His further words, “As my Father hath taught me, I speak these things,” be the occasion of any carnal thought stealing into your minds. For human weakness cannot think, but as it is accustomed to act and to hear. Do not then set before your eyes as it were two men, one the father, the other the son, and the father speaking to the son; as any one of you may do, when you say something to your son, admonishing and instructing him how to speak, to charge his memory with what you have told him, and, having done so, to express it in words, to enunciate distinctly, and convey to the ears of others what he has apprehended with his own. Think not thus, lest you be fabricating idols in your heart. The human shape, the outlines of human limbs, the form of human flesh, the outward senses, stature and motions of the body, the functions of the tongue, the distinctions of sounds,—think not of such as existing in that Trinity, save as they pertain to the servant-form, which the only-begotten Son assumed, when the Word was made flesh to dwell among us. Thereof I forbid thee not, human weakness, to think according to thy knowledge: nay, rather I require thee. If the faith that is in thee be true, think of Christ as such; but as such of the Virgin Mary, not of God the Father. He was an infant, He grew as a man, He walked as a man, He hungered, He thirsted as a man, He slept as a man; at last He suffered as a man, hung on the tree, was slain and buried as a man. In the same form He rose again; in the same, before the eyes of His disciples, He ascended into heaven; in the same will He yet come to judgment. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xli.html","locus":"40.4","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/40/#iii.xli-p10"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.29.1","start":29,"end":29,"heading":"Tractate XL. Chapter VIII. 28–32","excerpt":"6. Thus then He spoke to the Jews, and added, “And He that sent me is with me.” He had already said this also before, but of this important point He is constantly reminding them,—“He sent me,” and “He is with me.” If then, O Lord, He is with Thee, not so much hath the One been sent by the other, but ye Both have come. And yet, while Both are together, One was sent, the Other was the sender; for incarnation is a sending, and the incarnation itself belongs only to the Son and not to the Father. The Father therefore sent the Son, but did not withdraw from the Son. For it was not that the Father was absent from the place to which He sent the Son. For where is not the Maker of all things? Where is He not, who said, “I fill heaven and earth”? But perhaps the Father is everywhere, and the Son not so? Listen to the evangelist: “He was in this world, and the world was made by Him.” Therefore said He, “He that sent me,” by whose power as Father I am incarnate, “is with me,—hath not left me.” Why hath He not left me? “He hath not left me,” He says, “alone; for I do always those things that please Him.” That equality exists always; not from a certain beginning, and then onwards; but without beginning, without end. For Divine generation has no beginning in time, since time itself was created by the Only-begotten.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xli.html","locus":"40.6","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 8:29","href":"/jhn/8/#v29-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/40/#iii.xli-p18"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.30.1","start":30,"end":30,"heading":"Tractate XL. Chapter VIII. 28–32","excerpt":"7. “As He spake these words, many believed on Him.” Would that, while I speak also, many, who before this were otherwise disposed, understood and believed on Him! For perhaps there are some Arians in this large assembly. I dare not suspect that there are any Sabellians, who say that the Father Himself is one with the Son, seeing that heresy is too old, and has been gradually eviscerated. But that of the Arians seems still to have some movement about it, like that of a putrefying carcase, or certainly, at the most, like a man at the last gasp; and from this some still require deliverance, just as from that other many were delivered. This province, indeed, did not use to have such; but ever since the arrival of many foreigners, some of these have also found their way to our neighborhood. See then, while the Lord spoke these words, many Jews believed on Him. May I see also that, while I am speaking, Arians are believing, not on me, but with me!","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xli.html","locus":"40.7","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/40/#iii.xli-p21"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.31.1","start":31,"end":31,"heading":"Tractate XL. Chapter VIII. 28–32","excerpt":"8. “Then said the Lord to those Jews who believed on Him, If ye continue in my word.” “Continue,” I say, for you are now initiated and have begun to be there. “If ye continue,” that is, in the faith which is now begun in you who believe, to what will you attain? See the nature of the beginning, and whither it leads. You have loved the foundation, give heed to the summit, and out of this low condition seek that other elevation. For faith has humility, but knowledge and immortality and eternity possess not lowliness, but loftiness; that is, upraising, all-sufficiency, eternal stability, full freedom from hostile assault, from fear of failure. That which has its beginning in faith is great, but is despised. In a building also the foundation is usually of little account with the unskilled. A large trench is made, and stones are thrown in every way and everywhere. No embellishment, no beauty are apparent there; just as also in the root of a tree there is no appearance of beauty. And yet all that delights you in the tree has sprung from the root. You look at the root and feel no delight: you look at the tree and admire it. Foolish man! what you admire has grown out of that which gave you no delight. The faith of believers seems a thing of little value,—you have no scales to weigh it. Hear then to what it attains, and see its greatness: as the Lord Himself says in another place, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed.” What is there of less account than that, yet what is there pervaded with greater energy? What more minute, yet what more fervidly expansive? And so “ye” also, He says, “if ye continue in my word,” wherein ye have believed, to what will ye be brought? “ye shall be my disciples indeed.” And what does that benefit us? “and ye shall know the truth.”","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xli.html","locus":"40.8","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/40/#iii.xli-p22"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.32.1","start":32,"end":32,"heading":"Tractate XL. Chapter VIII. 28–32","excerpt":"9. What, brethren, does He promise believers? “And ye shall know the truth.” Why so? Had they not come to such knowledge when the Lord was speaking? If they had not, how did they believe? They believed, not because they knew, but that they might come to know. For we believe in order that we may know, we do not know in order that we may believe. For what we shall yet know, neither eye hath seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entered the heart of man. For what is faith, but believing what you see not? Faith then is to believe what you see not; truth, to see what you have believed, as He Himself saith in a certain place. The Lord then walked on earth, first of all, for the creation of faith. He was man, He was made in a low condition. He was seen by all, but not by all was He known. By many was He rejected, by the multitude was He slain, by few was He mourned; and yet even by those who mourned Him, His true being was still unrecognized. All this is the beginning as it were of faith’s lineaments and future up-building. As the Lord, referring thereto, saith in a certain place, “He that loveth me keepeth my commandments; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” They certainly already saw the person to whom they were listening; and yet to them, if they loved Him, does He give it as a promise that they should see Him. So also here, “Ye shall know the truth.” How so? Is that not the truth which Thou hast been speaking? The truth it is, but as yet it is only believed, not beheld. If you abide in that which is believed, you shall attain to that which is seen. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xli.html","locus":"40.9","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/40/#iii.xli-p24"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.33.1","start":33,"end":33,"heading":"Tractate XLI. Chapter VIII. 31–36","excerpt":"2. In short, the Jews also so understood and “answered Him;” not those who had already believed, but those in that crowd who were not yet believers. “They answered Him, We are Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be free?” But the Lord had not said, “Ye shall be free,” but, “The truth shall make you free.” That word, however, they, because, as I have said, it is clearly so in the Greek, understood as pointing only to freedom, and puffed themselves up as Abraham’s seed, and said, “We are Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be free?” O inflated skin! such is not magnanimity, but windy swelling. For even as regards freedom in this life, how was that the truth when you said, “We were never in bondage to any man”? Was not Joseph sold? Were not the holy prophets led into captivity? And again, did not that very nation, when making bricks in Egypt, also serve hard rulers, not only in gold and silver, but also in clay? If you were never in bondage to any man, ungrateful people, why is it that God is continually reminding you that He delivered you from the house of bondage? Or mean you, perchance, that your fathers were in bondage, but you who speak were never in bondage to any man? How then were you now paying tribute to the Romans, out of which also you formed a trap for the Truth Himself, as if to ensnare Him, when you said, “Is it lawful to give tribute to Cæsar?” in order that, had He said, It is lawful, you might fasten on Him as one ill-disposed to the liberty of Abraham’s seed; and if He said, It is not lawful, you might slander Him before the kings of the earth, as forbidding the payment of tribute to such? ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xlii.html","locus":"41.2","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 8:32–34","href":"/jhn/8/#v32-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/41/#iii.xlii-p8"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.34.1","start":34,"end":34,"heading":"Tractate XLI. Chapter VIII. 31–36","excerpt":"3. But to the Lord’s own answer, let us give better and more earnest heed, lest we ourselves be also found bondmen. For “Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that every one who committeth sin is the servant of sin.” He is the servant—would that it were of man, and not of sin! Who will not tremble at such words? The Lord our God grant us, that is, both you and me, that I may speak in fitting terms of this freedom to be sought, and of that bondage to be avoided. “Amen, amen [verily, verily], I say unto you.” The Truth speaks: and in what sense does the Lord our God claim it as His to say, “Amen, amen, I say unto you”? His charge is weighty in so announcing it. In some sort, if lawful to be said, His form of swearing is, “Amen, amen, I say unto you.” Amen in a way may be interpreted, [It is] true [truly, verily]; and yet it is not interpreted, though it might have been said, What is true [verily] I say unto you. Neither the Greek translator nor the Latin has dared to do so; for this word Amen is neither Greek nor Latin, but Hebrew. So it has remained without interpretation, to possess honor as the covering of something hidden; not in order to be disowned, but that it might not, as a thing laid bare to the eye, fall into disrepute. And yet it is not once, but twice uttered by the Lord, “Amen, amen, I say unto you.” And now learn from the very doubling, how much was implied in the charge before us.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xlii.html","locus":"41.3","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/41/#iii.xlii-p14"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.34.2","start":34,"end":34,"heading":"Tractate XLI. Chapter VIII. 31–36","excerpt":"4. What, then, is the charge given? Verily, verily, I say unto you, saith the Truth who surely, though He had not said, Verily, I say, could not possibly lie. Yet [thereby] He impresses, inculcates His charge, arouses in a way the sleeping, makes them attentive, and would not be contemned. What does He say? “Verily, verily, I say unto you, that every one who committeth sin is the servant of sin.” Miserable slavery! Men frequently, when they suffer under wicked masters, demand to get themselves sold, not seeking to be without a master, but at all events to change him. What can the servant of sin do? To whom can he make his demand? To whom apply for redress? Of whom require himself to be sold? And then at times a man’s slave, worn out by the commands of an unfeeling master, finds rest in flight. Whither can the servant of sin flee? Himself he carries with him wherever he flees. An evil conscience flees not from itself; it has no place to go to; it follows itself. Yea, he cannot withdraw from himself, for the sin he commits is within. He has committed sin to obtain some bodily pleasure. The pleasure passes away; the sin remains. What delighted is gone; the sting has remained behind. Evil bondage! Sometimes men flee to the Church, and we generally permit them, uninstructed as they are—men, wishing to be rid of their master, who are unwilling to be rid of their sins. But sometimes also those subjected to an unlawful and wicked yoke flee for refuge to the Church; for, though free-born men, they are retained in bondage: and an appeal is made to the bishop. And unless he care to put forth every effort to save free-birth from oppression, he is accounted unmerciful. Let us all flee to Christ, and appeal against sin to God as our deliverer. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xlii.html","locus":"41.4","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 8:35–36","href":"/jhn/8/#v35-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/41/#iii.xlii-p15"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.35.1","start":35,"end":35,"heading":"Tractate XLI. Chapter VIII. 31–36","excerpt":"8. Since, then, every one that committeth sin is the servant of sin, listen to what is our hope of liberty. “And the servant,” He says, “abideth not in the house for ever.” The church is the house, the servant is the sinner. Many sinners enter the church. Accordingly He has not said, “The servant” is not in the house, but “abideth not in the house for ever.” If, then, there shall be no servant there, who will be there? For “when” as the Scripture speaketh, “the righteous king sitteth on the throne, who will boast of having a clean heart? or who will boast that he is pure from his sin?” He has greatly alarmed us, my brethren, by saying, “The servant abideth not in the house for ever.” But He further adds, “But the Son abideth ever.” Will Christ, then, be alone in His house? Will no people remain at His side? Whose head will He be, if there shall be no body? Or is the Son all this, both the head and the body? For it is not without cause that He has inspired both terror and hope: terror, in order that we should not love sin; and hope, that we should not be distrustful of the remission of sin. “Every one,” He says, “that committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever.” What hope, then, have we, who are not without sin? Listen to thy hope: “The Son abideth for ever. If the Son, therefore, shall make you free, then shall ye be free indeed.” Our hope is this, brethren, to be made free by the free One; and that, in setting us free, He may make us His servants. For we were the servants of lust; but being set free, we are made the servants of love. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xlii.html","locus":"41.8","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 8:34–36","href":"/jhn/8/#v34-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/41/#iii.xlii-p28"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.36.1","start":36,"end":36,"heading":"Tractate XLI. Chapter VIII. 31–36","excerpt":"13. What then is that full and perfect liberty in the Lord Jesus, who said, “If the Son shall make you free, then shall ye be free indeed;” and when shall it be a full and perfect liberty? When enmities are no more; when “death, the last enemy, shall be destroyed.” “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.—And when this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy struggle?” What is this, “O death, where is thy struggle”? “The flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh,” but only when the flesh of sin was in vigor. “O death, where is [now] thy struggle?” Now shall we live, no more shall we die, in Him who died for us and rose again: “that they,” he says, “who live, should no longer live unto themselves, but unto Him who died for them and rose again.” Let us be praying, as those who are wounded, for the physician; let us be carried into the inn to be healed. For it is He who promises salvation, who pitied the man left half-alive on the road by robbers. He poured in oil and wine, He healed the wounds, He put him on his beast, He took him to the inn, He commended him to the innkeeper’s care. To what innkeeper? Perhaps to him who said, “We are ambassadors for Christ.” He gave also two pence to pay for the healing of the wounded man. And perhaps these are the two commandments, on which hang all the law and the prophets. Therefore, brethren, is the Church also, wherein the wounded is healed meanwhile, the traveller’s inn; but above the Church itself, lies the possessor’s inheritance.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xlii.html","locus":"41.13","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 8:34–36","href":"/jhn/8/#v34-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/41/#iii.xlii-p49"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.37-38.1","start":37,"end":38,"heading":"Tractate XLII. Chapter VIII. 37–47","excerpt":"2. You have heard, indeed, the Lord saying, “I know that ye are Abraham’s children.” Hear what He says afterwards: “I speak that which I have seen with my Father; and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.” He had already said, “I know that ye are Abraham’s children.” What is it, then, that they do? What He told them: “Ye seek to kill me.” This they never saw with Abraham. But the Lord wishes God the Father to be understood when He says, “I speak that which I have seen with my Father.” I have seen the truth: I speak the truth, because I am the Truth. For if the Lord speaks the truth which He has seen with the Father, He has seen Himself—He speaks Himself; because He Himself is the Truth of the Father, which He saw with the Father. For He is the Word—the Word which was with God. The evil, then, which these men do, and which the Lord chides and reprehends, where have they seen it? With their father. When we come to hear in what follows the still clearer statement who is their father, then shall we understand what kind of things they saw with such a father; for as yet He names not their father. A little above He referred to Abraham, but in regard to their fleshly origin, not their similarity of life. He is about to speak of that other father of theirs, who neither begat them nor created them to be men. But still they were his children in as far as they were evil, not in as far as they were men; in what they imitated him, and not as created by him.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliii.html","locus":"42.2","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/42/#iii.xliii-p6"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.39.1","start":39,"end":39,"heading":"Tractate XLII. Chapter VIII. 37–47","excerpt":"3. “They answered and said unto Him, Abraham is our father;” as if, What hast thou to say against Abraham? or, If thou canst, dare to find fault with Abraham. Not that the Lord dared not find fault with Abraham; but Abraham was not one to be found fault with by the Lord, but rather approved. But these men seemed to challenge Him to say some evil of Abraham, and so to have some occasion for doing what they purposed. “Abraham is our father.”","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliii.html","locus":"42.3","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/42/#iii.xliii-p7"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.39-40.1","start":39,"end":40,"heading":"Tractate XLII. Chapter VIII. 37–47","excerpt":"4. Let us hear how the Lord answered them, praising Abraham to their condemnation. “Jesus saith unto them, If ye are Abraham’s children, do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.” See, he was praised, they were condemned. Abraham was no manslayer. I say not, He implies, I am Abraham’s Lord; though did I say it, I would say the truth. For He said in another place, “Before Abraham was, I am” (ver. 58); and then they sought to stone Him. He said not so. But meanwhile, as you see me, as you look upon me, as alone you think of me, I am a man. Wherefore, then, wish you to kill a man who is telling you what he has heard of God, but because you are not the children of Abraham? And yet He said above, “I know that ye are Abraham’s children.” He does not deny their origin, but condemns their deeds. Their flesh was from him, but not their life.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliii.html","locus":"42.4","cites":[{"at":490,"text":"ver. 58","label":"John 8:58","href":"/jhn/8/#v58","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 8:37–39","href":"/jhn/8/#v37-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/42/#iii.xliii-p8"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.41.1","start":41,"end":41,"heading":"Tractate XLII. Chapter VIII. 37–47","excerpt":"7. And now what answer did they give Him? For they began somewhat to realize that the Lord was not speaking of carnal generation, but of their manner of life. And because it is the custom of the Scriptures, which they read, to call it, in a spiritual sense, fornication, when the soul is, as it were, prostituted by subjection to many false gods, they made this reply: “Then said they to Him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.” Abraham has now lost his importance. For they were repulsed as they ought to have been by the truth-speaking mouth; because such was Abraham, whose deeds they failed to imitate, and yet gloried in his lineage. And they altered their reply, saying, I believe, with themselves, As often as we name Abraham, he goes on to say to us, Why do ye not imitate him in whose lineage ye glory? Such a man, so holy, just, and guileless, we cannot imitate. Let us call God our Father, and see what he will say to us.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliii.html","locus":"42.7","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 8:42","href":"/jhn/8/#v42-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/42/#iii.xliii-p15"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.42.1","start":42,"end":42,"heading":"Tractate XLII. Chapter VIII. 37–47","excerpt":"8. Has falsehood indeed found something to say, and should not truth find its fitting reply? Let us hear what they say: let us hear what they hear. “We have one Father,” they say, “even God. Then said Jesus unto them, If God were your Father, ye would [doubtless] love me; for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but He sent me.” Ye call God Father; recognize me, then, as at least a brother. At the same time He gave a stimulus to the hearts of the intelligent, by touching on that which He has a habit of saying, “I came not of myself: He sent me. I proceeded forth and came from God.” Remember what we are wont to say: From Him He came; and from whom He came, with Him He came. The sending of Christ, therefore, is His incarnation. But as respects the proceeding forth of the Word from God, it is an eternal procession. Time holds not Him by whom time was created. Let no one be saying in his heart, Before the Word was, how did God exist? Never say, Before the Word of God was. God was never without the Word, because the Word is abiding, not transient; God, not a sound; by whom the heaven and earth were made, and which passed not away with those things that were made upon the earth. From Him, then, He proceeded forth as God, the equal, the only Son, the Word of the Father; and came to us, for the Word was made flesh that He might dwell among us. His coming indicates His humanity; His abiding, His divinity. It is His Godhead towards which, His humanity whereby, we make progress. Had He not become that whereby we might advance, we should never attain to Him who abideth ever.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliii.html","locus":"42.8","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 8:42","href":"/jhn/8/#v42-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/42/#iii.xliii-p16"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.43.1","start":43,"end":43,"heading":"Tractate XLII. Chapter VIII. 37–47","excerpt":"9. “Why,” He says, “do ye not understand my speech? Even because ye cannot hear my word.” And so they could not understand, because they could not hear. And whence could they not hear, but just because they refused to be set right by believing? And why so? “Ye are of your father the devil.” How long do ye keep speaking of a father? How often will ye change your fathers,—at one time Abraham, at another God? Hear from the Son of God whose children ye be: “Ye are of your father the devil.”","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliii.html","locus":"42.9","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/42/#iii.xliii-p17"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.44.1","start":44,"end":44,"heading":"Tractate XLII. Chapter VIII. 37–47","excerpt":"11. But listen now to what the Lord says: “Ye,” said He, “are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.” This is how ye are his children, because such are your lusts, not because ye are born of him. What are his lusts? “He was a murderer from the beginning.” This it is that explains, “the lusts of your father ye will do.” “Ye seek to kill me, a man that telleth you the truth.” He, too, had ill-will to man, and slew man. For the devil, in his ill-will to man, assuming the guise of a serpent, spoke to the woman, and from the woman instilled his poison into the man. They died by listening to the devil, whom they would not have listened to had they but listened to the Lord; for man, having his place between Him who created and him who was fallen, ought to have obeyed the Creator, not the deceiver. Therefore “he was a murderer from the beginning.” Look at the kind of murder, brethren. The devil is called a murderer not as armed with a sword, or girded with steel. He came to man, sowed his evil suggestions, and slew him. Think not, then, that thou art not a murderer when thou persuadest thy brother to evil. If thou persuadest thy brother to evil, thou slayest him. And to let thee know that thou slayest him, listen to the psalm: “The sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.” Ye, then, “will do the lusts of your father;” and so ye go madly after the flesh, because ye cannot go after the spirit. “He was a murderer from the beginning;” at least in the case of the first of mankind. From the very time that murder [manslaughter] could possibly be committed, he was a murderer [manslayer]. Only from the time that man was made could manslaughter be committed. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliii.html","locus":"42.11","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 8:44","href":"/jhn/8/#v44-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/42/#iii.xliii-p20"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.44.2","start":44,"end":44,"heading":"Tractate XLII. Chapter VIII. 37–47","excerpt":"12. “When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” What is this? You have heard the words of the Gospel: you have received them with attention. Here now, I repeat them, that you may clearly understand the subject of your thoughts. The Lord said those things of the devil which ought to have been said of the devil by the Lord. That “he was a murderer from the beginning” is true, for he slew the first man; “and he abode not in the truth,” for he lapsed from the truth. “When he speaketh a lie,” to wit, the devil himself, “he speaketh of his own;” for he is a liar, and its [his] father.” From these words some have thought that the devil has a father, and have inquired who was the father of the devil. Indeed this detestable error of the Manicheans has found means down to this present time wherewith to deceive the simple. For they are wont to say, Suppose that the devil was an angel, and fell; and with him sin began as you say; but, Who was his father? We, on the contrary, reply, Who of us ever said that the devil had a father? And they, on the other hand, rejoin, The Lord saith, and the Gospel declares, speaking of the devil, “He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and his father.”","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliii.html","locus":"42.12","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/42/#iii.xliii-p23"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.45-46.1","start":45,"end":46,"heading":"Tractate XLII. Chapter VIII. 37–47","excerpt":"14. Those Jews, then, spake what they saw with their father. And what was that but falsehood? But the Lord saw with His Father what He should speak; and what was that, but Himself? What, but the Word of the Father? What, but the truth of the Father, eternal itself, and co-eternal with the Father? He, then, “was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him; when he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar,”—and not only a liar, but also “the father of it;” that is, of the very lie that he speaks he is the father, for he himself begat his lie. “And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. Which of you convicteth me of sin,” as I convict both you and your father? “If I say the truth, why do ye not believe me,” but just because ye are the children of the devil?","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliii.html","locus":"42.14","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/42/#iii.xliii-p26"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.47.1","start":47,"end":47,"heading":"Tractate XLII. Chapter VIII. 37–47","excerpt":"15. “He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.” Here, again, it is not of their nature as men, but of their depravity, that you are to think. In this way they are of God, and yet not of God. By nature they are of God, in depravity they are not of God. Give heed, I pray you. In the gospel you have the remedy against the poisonous and impious errors of the heretics. For of these words also the Manicheans are accustomed to say, See, here there are two natures,—the one good and the other bad; the Lord says it. What says the Lord? “Ye therefore hear me not, because ye are not of God.” This is what the Lord says. What then, he rejoins, dost thou say to that? Hear what I say. They are both of God, and not of God. By nature they are of God: by depravity they are not of God; for the good nature which is of God sinned voluntarily by believing the persuasive words of the devil, and was corrupted; and so it is seeking a physician, because no longer in health. That is what I say. But thou thinkest it impossible that they should be of God, and yet not of God. Hear why it is not impossible. They are of God, and yet not of God, in the same way as they are the children of Abraham, and yet not the children of Abraham. Here you have it. It is not as you say. Hearken to the Lord Himself; it is He that said to them, “I know that ye are the children of Abraham.” Could there be any lie with the Lord? Surely not. Then is it true what the Lord said? It is true. Then it is true that they were the children of Abraham? It is true. But listen to Himself denying it. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliii.html","locus":"42.15","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/42/#iii.xliii-p27"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.48.1","start":48,"end":48,"heading":"Tractate XLIII. Chapter VIII. 48–59","excerpt":"2. For when the Jews had said, “Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?” of these two charges cast at Him, He denied the one, but not the other. For He answered and said, “I have not a devil.” He did not say, I am not a Samaritan; and yet the two charges had been made. Although He returned not cursing with cursing, although He met not slander with slander, yet was it proper for Him to deny the one charge and not to deny the other. And not without a purpose, brethren. For Samaritan means keeper. He knew that He was our keeper. For “He that keepeth Israel neither slumbereth nor sleepeth;” and, “Except the Lord keep the city, they wake in vain who keep it.” He then is our Keeper who is our Creator. For did it belong to Him to redeem us, and would it not be His to preserve us? Finally, that you may know more fully the hidden reason why He ought not to have denied that He was a Samaritan, call to mind that well-known parable, where a certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who wounded him severely, and left him half dead on the road. A priest came along and took no notice of him. A Levite came up, and he also passed on his way. A certain Samaritan came up—He who is our Keeper. He went up to the wounded man. He exercised mercy, and did a neighbor’s part to one whom He did not account an alien. To this, then, He only replied that He had not a devil, but not that He was not a Samaritan.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliv.html","locus":"43.2","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 8:48–49","href":"/jhn/8/#v48-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/43/#iii.xliv-p4"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.49-50.1","start":49,"end":50,"heading":"Tractate XLIII. Chapter VIII. 48–59","excerpt":"3. And then after such an insult, this was all that He said of His own glory: “But I honor,” said He, “my Father, and ye dishonor me.” That is, I honor not myself, that ye may not think me arrogant. I have One to honor; and did ye recognize me, just as I honor the Father, so would ye also honor me. I do what I ought; ye do not what ye ought.\n\n4. “And I,” said He, “seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.” Whom does He wish to be understood but the Father? How, then, does He say in another place, “The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son,” while here He says, “I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth”? If, then, the Father judgeth, how is it that He judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son?","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliv.html","locus":"43.3","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/43/#iii.xliv-p10"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.50.1","start":50,"end":50,"heading":"Tractate XLIII. Chapter VIII. 48–59","excerpt":"9. This point may also be solved from the word itself. Thou hast penal judgment spoken of in the Gospel: “He that believeth not is judged already;” and in another place, “The hour is coming, when those who are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment.” You see how He has put judgment for condemnation and punishment. And yet if judgment were always to be taken for condemnation, should we ever have heard in the psalm, “Judge me, O God”? In the former place, judgment is used in the sense of inflicting pain; here, it is used in the sense of discernment. How so? Just because so expounded by him who says, “Judge me, O God.” For read, and see what follows. What is this “Judge me, O God,” but just what he adds, “and discern my cause against an unholy nation”? Because then it was said, “Judge me, O God, and discern [the true merits of] my cause against an unholy nation;” similarly now said the Lord Christ, “I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.” How is there “one that seeketh and judgeth”? There is the Father, who discerns and distinguishes between my glory and yours. For ye glory in the spirit of this present world. Not so do I who say to the Father, “Father, glorify Thou me with that glory which I had with Thee before the world was.” What is “that glory”? One altogether different from human inflation. Thus doth the Father judge. And so to “judge” is to “discern.” And what does He discern? The glory of His Son from the glory of mere men; for to that end is it said, “God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows.” ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliv.html","locus":"43.9","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 8:49–50","href":"/jhn/8/#v49-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/43/#iii.xliv-p22"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.51.1","start":51,"end":51,"heading":"Tractate XLIII. Chapter VIII. 48–59","excerpt":"10. But what sayest Thou, O Lord, of Thyself? “Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.” Ye say, “Thou hast a devil.” I call you to life: keep my word and ye shall not die. They heard, “He shall never see death who keepeth my word,” and were angry, because already dead in that death from which they might have escaped. “Then said the Jews, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.” See how Scripture speaks: “He shall not see,” that is, “taste of death.” “He shall see death—he shall taste of death.” Who seeth? Who tasteth? What eyes has a man to see with when he dies? When death at its coming shuts up those very eyes from seeing aught, how is it said, “he shall not see death”? With what palate, also, and with what jaws can death be tasted, that its savor may be discovered? When it taketh every sense away, what will remain in the palate? But here, “he will see,” and “he will taste,” are used for that which is really the case, he will know by experience.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliv.html","locus":"43.10","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/43/#iii.xliv-p32"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.52-53.1","start":52,"end":53,"heading":"Tractate XLIII. Chapter VIII. 48–59","excerpt":"13. But those men, indignant, yet dead, and predestinated to death eternal, answered with insults, and said, “Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets.” But not in that death which the Lord meant to be understood was either Abraham dead or the prophets. For these were dead, and yet they live: those others were alive, and yet they had died. For, replying in a certain place to the Sadducees, when they stirred the question of the resurrection, the Lord Himself speaks thus: “But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read how the Lord said to Moses from the bush, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” If, then, they live, let us labor so to live, that after death we may be able to live with them. “Whom makest thou thyself,” they add, that thou sayest, “he shall never see death who keepeth my saying,” when thou knowest that both Abraham is dead and the prophets?","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliv.html","locus":"43.13","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/43/#iii.xliv-p39"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.54.1","start":54,"end":54,"heading":"Tractate XLIII. Chapter VIII. 48–59","excerpt":"14. “Jesus answered, If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing: it is my Father that glorifieth me.” He said this on account of their saying, “Whom makest thou thyself?” For He refers His glory to the Father, of whom it is that He is God. From this expression also the Arians sometimes revile our faith, and say, See, the Father is greater; for at all events He glorifies the Son. Heretic, hast thou not read of the Son Himself also saying that He glorifies His Father? If both He glorifieth the Son, and the Son glorifieth the Father, lay aside thy stubbornness, acknowledge the equality, correct thy perversity.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliv.html","locus":"43.14","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 8:54–55","href":"/jhn/8/#v54-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/43/#iii.xliv-p41"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.54-55.1","start":54,"end":55,"heading":"Tractate XLIII. Chapter VIII. 48–59","excerpt":"15. “It is,” then, said He, “my Father that glorifieth me; of whom ye say, that He is your God: and ye have not known Him.” See, my brethren, how He shows that God Himself is the Father of the Christ, who was announced also to the Jews. I say so for this reason, that now again there are certain heretics who say that the God revealed in the Old Testament is not the Father of Christ, but some prince or other, I know not what, of evil angels. There are Manicheans who say so; there are Marcionites who say so. There are also, perhaps, other heretics, whom it is either unnecessary to mention, or all of whom I cannot at present recall; yet there have not been wanting those who said this. Attend, then, that you may have something also to affirm against such. Christ the Lord calleth Him His Father whom they called their God, and did not know; for had they known [that God] Himself they would have received His Son. “But I,” said He, “know Him.” To those judging after the flesh He might have seemed from such words to be self-assuming, because He said, “I know Him.” But see what follows: “If I should say that I know Him not, I shall be a liar like unto you.” Let not, then, self-assumption be so guarded against as to cause the relinquishment of truth. “But I know Him, and keep His saying.” The saying of the Father He was speaking as Son; and He Himself was the Word of the Father, that was speaking to men.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliv.html","locus":"43.15","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 8:55","href":"/jhn/8/#v55-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/43/#iii.xliv-p43"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.56.1","start":56,"end":56,"heading":"Tractate XLIII. Chapter VIII. 48–59","excerpt":"16. “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw, and was glad.” Abraham’s seed, Abraham’s Creator, bears a great testimony to Abraham. “Abraham rejoiced,” He says, “to see my day.” He did not fear, but “rejoiced to see it.” For in him there was the love that casteth out fear. He says not, rejoiced because he saw; but “rejoiced that he might see.” Believing, at all events, he rejoiced in hope to see with the understanding. “And he saw.” And what more could the Lord Jesus Christ say, or what more ought He to have said? “And he saw,” He says, “and was glad.” Who can unfold this joy, my brethren? If those rejoiced whose bodily eyes were opened by the Lord, what joy was his who saw with the eyes of his soul the light ineffable, the abiding Word, the brilliance that dazzles the minds of the pious, the unfailing Wisdom, God abiding with the Father, and at some time come in the flesh and yet not to withdraw from the bosom of the Father? All this did Abraham see. For in saying “my day,” it may be uncertain of what He spake; whether the day of the Lord in time, when He should come the flesh, or that day of the Lord which knows not a dawn, and knows no decline. But for my part I doubt not that father Abraham knew it all. And where shall I find it out? Ought the testimony of our Lord Jesus Christ to satisfy us? Let us suppose that we cannot find it out, for perhaps it is difficult to say in what sense it is clear that Abraham “rejoiced to see the day” of Christ, “and saw it, and was glad.” And though we find it not, can the Truth have lied? Let us believe the Truth, and cherish no doubt of Abraham’s merited rewards. Yet listen to one passage that occurs to me meanwhile. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliv.html","locus":"43.16","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 8:52–56","href":"/jhn/8/#v52-catena"},{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 8:56","href":"/jhn/8/#v56-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/43/#iii.xliv-p44"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.57-58.1","start":57,"end":58,"heading":"Tractate XLIII. Chapter VIII. 48–59","excerpt":"17. The angry Jews replied, “Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?” And the Lord: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was made, I am.” Weigh the words, and get a knowledge of the mystery. “Before Abraham was made.” Understand, that “was made” refers to human formation; but “am” to the Divine essence. “He was made,” because Abraham was a creature. He did not say, Before Abraham was, I was; but, “Before Abraham was made,” who was not made save by me, “I am.” Nor did He say this, Before Abraham was made I was made; for “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth;” and “in the beginning was the Word.” “Before Abraham was made, I am.” Recognize the Creator—distinguish the creature. He who spake was made the seed of Abraham; and that Abraham might be made, He Himself was before Abraham.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliv.html","locus":"43.17","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/43/#iii.xliv-p49"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.59.1","start":59,"end":59,"heading":"Tractate XLIII. Chapter VIII. 48–59","excerpt":"18. Hence, as if by the most open of all insults thrown at Abraham, they were now excited to greater bitterness. Of a certainty it seemed to them that Christ the Lord had uttered blasphemy in saying, “Before Abraham was made, I am.” “Therefore took they up stones to cast at Him.” To what could so great hardness have recourse, save to its like? “But Jesus” [acts] as man, as one in the form of a servant, as lowly, as about to suffer, about to die, about to redeem us with His blood; not as He who is—not as the Word in the beginning, and the Word with God. For when they took up stones to cast at Him, what great thing were it had they been instantly swallowed up in the gaping earth, and found the inhabitants of hell in place of stones? It were not a great thing to God; but better was it that patience should be commended than power exerted. Therefore “He hid Himself” from them, that He might not be stoned. As man, He fled from the stones; but woe to those from whose stony hearts God has fled?","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliv.html","locus":"43.18","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/43/#iii.xliv-p53"}]},{"work_id":"catena","author":"Thomas Aquinas","short_name":"Aquinas","author_dates":"1225-1274","tradition":"Medieval Catholic","era":"Middle Ages","died":1274,"title":"Catena Aurea: Commentary on the Four Gospels, Collected out of the Works of the Fathers. Vol. IV, Part 1: St. John","edition_short":"Oxford: John Henry Parker, 1841-45","author_url":"/commentators/aquinas/","divisions":"verse","work_url":"/works/catena/","entries":[{"id":"catena.JHN.8.1-2.1","start":1,"end":2,"heading":"Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.","excerpt":"ALCUIN. Our Lord at the time of His passion used to spend the day in Jerusalem, preaching in the temple, and performing miracles, and return in the evening to Bethany, where He lodged with the sisters of Lazarus. Thus on the last day of the feast, having, according to His wont, preached the whole day in the temple, in the evening He went to the mount of Olives. AUG. And where ought Christ to teach, except on the mount of Olives; on the mount of ointment, on the mount of chrism. For the name Christ is from chrism, chrism being the Greek word for unction. He has anointed us, for wrestling with the devil. ALCUIN. The anointing with oil is a relief to the limbs, when wearied and in pain. The mount of Olives also denotes the height of our Lord's pity, olive in the Greek signifying pity. The qualities of oil are such as to fit in to this mystical meaning. For it floats above all other liquids: and the Psalmist says, Thy mercy is ps. over all Thy works. And early in the morning, He came again into the temple: i. to denote the giving and unfolding of His mercy, i. the now dawning light of the New Testament in the faithful, that is, in His temple. His returning early in the morning, signifies the new rise of grace.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 33, section 3","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxiv.html#iii.xxxiv-p6","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/8/#v1-augustine","ref":"John 8:1–2"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.2-4.1","start":2,"end":4,"heading":"And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him ; and he sat down, and taught them.","excerpt":"BEDE. And next it is signified, that after He began to dwell by grace in His temple, i. in the Church, men from all nations would believe in Him: And all the people came to Him, and He sat down and taught them. ALCUIN. The sitting down, represents the humility of His incarnation. And the people came to Him, when He sat down, i. after taking up human nature, and thereby becoming visible, many began to hear and believe on Him, only knowing Him as their friend and neighbour. But while these kind and simple persons are full of admiration at our Lord's discourse, the Scribes and Pharisees put questions to Him, not for the sake of instruction, but only to entangle the truth in their nets: And the Scribes and Pharisees brought unto Him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, they say unto Him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.5-6.1","start":5,"end":6,"heading":"Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned : but what sayest thou P","excerpt":"AUG. They had remarked upon Him already, as being over lenient. Of Him indeed it had been prophesied, Ride on because of the word of truth, of a. meekness, and of righteousness. So as a teacher He exhibited truth, as a deliverer meekness, as a judge righteous ness. When He spoke, His truth was acknowledged; when against His enemies He used no violence, His meekness was praised. So they raised the scandal on the score of justice. For they said among themselves, If He decide to let her go, He will not do justice; for the law cannot command what is unjust: Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but to maintain His meekness, which has made Him already so acceptable to the people, He must decide to let her go. Wherefore they demand His opinion: And what sayest Thou? hoping to find an occasion to accuse Him, as a transgressor of the law: And this they said tempting Him, that they might have to accuse Him. But our Lord in His answer both maintained His justice, and departed not from meekness. Jesus stooped down, and with His finger wrote on the ground.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaurecomment04thomuoft/catenaurecomment04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 33, section 4","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxiv.html#iii.xxxiv-p7","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/8/#v3-augustine","ref":"John 8:3–6"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.6-7.1","start":6,"end":7,"heading":"This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.","excerpt":"AUG. As if to signify that such persons were to be written in earth, not in heaven, where He told His disciples they should rejoice they were written. Or His bowing His head (to write on the ground), is an expression of humility; the writing on the ground signifying that His law was written on the earth which bore fruit, not on the barren stone, as before. ALCUIN. The ground denotes the human heart, which yieldeth the fruit either of good or of bad actions: the finger jointed and flexible, discretion. He instructs us then, when we see any faults in our neighbours, not immediately and rashly to condemn them, but after searching our own hearts to begin with, to examine them attentively with the finger of discretion. BEDE. His writing with His finger on the ground perhaps shewed, that it was He who had written the law on stone. So when they continued asking Him, He lifted Himself up.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 33","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxiv.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.7.1","start":7,"end":7,"heading":"So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.","excerpt":"AUG. He did not say, Stone her not, lest He should seem to speak contrary to the law. But God forbid that He should say, Stone her; for He came not to destroy that which He found, but to seek that which was lost. What then did He answer? He that is without sin. among yon, let him first cast a stone at her. This is the voice of justice. Let the sinner be punished, but not by sinners; the law carried into effect, but not by transgressors of the law. GREG. For he who judges not himself first, cannot know how to judge correctly in the case of another. For though He know what the offence is, from being told, yet He cannot judge of another's deserts, who supposing himself innocent, will not apply the rule of justice to himself.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 33, section 5","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxiv.html#iii.xxxiv-p9","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/8/#v7-augustine","ref":"John 8:7"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.8-9.1","start":8,"end":9,"heading":"And again He stooped down, and wrote on the ground.","excerpt":"AUG. Having with the weapon of justice smitten them, He deigned not even to look on the fallen, but averted His eyes: And again He stooped down, and wrote on the ground. ALCUIN. This is like our Lord; while His eyes are fixed, and He seems attending to something else, He gives the bystanders an opportunity of retiring: a tacit admonition to us to consider always both before we condemn a brother for a sin, and after we have punished him, whether we are not guilty ourselves of the same fault, or others as bad. AUG. Thus smitten then with the voice of justice, as with a weapon, they examine themselves, find themselves guilty, and one by one retire: And they which heard it, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest GLOSS. The more guilty of them, perhaps, or those who were more conscious of their faults.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 33, section 5","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxiv.html#iii.xxxiv-p9","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/8/#v7-augustine","ref":"John 8:7"},{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 33","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxiv.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.9-11.1","start":9,"end":11,"heading":"And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last : and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.","excerpt":"... But He who had repelled her adversaries with word of justice, lifted on her the eyes of mercy, and asked; When Jesus had lifted Himself up, and saw none but the woman, He said unto her, Woman, where are these thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. We heard above the voice of justice; let us hear now that of mercy: Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee; I, who thou fearedst would condemn thee, because thou foundest no fault in me. What then, Lord? Dost Thou favour sin? No, surely. Listen to what follows, Go, and sin no more. So then our Lord condemned sin, but not the sinner. For did He favour sin, He would have said, Go, and live as thou wilt: depend on my deliverance: howsoever great thy sins be, it matters not: I will deliver thee from hell, and its tormentors. But He did not say this. Let those attend, who love the Lord's mercy, and fear His truth. Truly, Gracious and righteous is the Lord.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.12.1","start":12,"end":12,"heading":"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world : he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.","excerpt":"ALCUIN. Having absolved the woman from her sin, lest some should doubt, seeing that He was really man, His power to forgive sins, He deigns to give further disclosure of His divine nature; Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the Light of the world.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.12.2","start":12,"end":12,"heading":"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world : he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.","excerpt":"BEDE. Where it is to be observed, He does not say, am the light of Angels, or of heaven, but the Light of the world, i. of mankind who live in darkness, as we read, To give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaurecomment04thomuoft/catenaurecomment04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.12.3","start":12,"end":12,"heading":"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world : he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.","excerpt":"CHRYS. As they had brought Galilee as an objection against Him, and doubted His being one of the Prophets, as if that was all He claimed to be, He wished to shew that He was not one of the Prophets, but the Lord of the whole earth: Then spake Jesus again unto them., saying I am the Light of the world: not of Galilee, or of Palestine, or of Judaea. AUG. The Manichaeans suppose the sun of the natural world to be our Lord Christ; but the Catholic Church reprobates such a notion; for our Lord Christ was not made the sun, but the sun was made by Him: inasmuch as all things were made by Him. And for our sake did He come to be under the sun, being the light which made the sun: He hid Himself under the cloud of the flesh, not to obscure, but to temper His light. Speaking then through the cloud of the flesh, the Light unfailing, the Light of wisdom says to men, am the Light of the world. THEOPHYL. You may bring these words against Nestorius: for our Lord does not say, In Me is the light of the world, but, am the Light of the world: He who appeared man, was both the Son of God, and the Light of the world; not, as Nestorius fondly holds, the Son of God dwelling in a mere man.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 34","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxv.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.12.4","start":12,"end":12,"heading":"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world : he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.","excerpt":"AUG. He withdraws you however from the eyes of the flesh, to those of the heart, in that He adds, He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. He thinks it not enough to say, shall have light, but adds, of life. These words of our Lord agree with those of the Psalm, In Thy light shall we see light; for with Thee is the well of life. For bodily uses, light is one thing, and a well another; and a well ministers to the mouth, light to the eyes. With God the light and the well are the same. He who shines upon thee, that thou mayest see Him, the Same flows unto thee, that thou mayest drink Him. What He promises is put in the future tense; what we ought to do in the present. He that followeth Me, He says, shall have; i. by faith now, in sight hereafter. The visible sun accompanieth thee, only if thou goest westward, whither it goeth also; and even if thou follow it, it will forsake thee, at its setting. Thy God is every where wholly; He will not fall from thee, if thou fall not from Him. Darkness is to be feared, not that of the eyes, but that of the mind; and if of the eyes, of the inner not the outer eyes; not those by which white and black, but those by which just and unjust, are discerned. CHRYS. Walketh not in darkness, i. spiritually abideth not in error. Here He tacitly praises Nicodemus and the officers, and censures those who had plotted against Him; as being in darkness and error, and unable to come to the light.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 34","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxv.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null},{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 52","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.liv.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.13-14.1","start":13,"end":14,"heading":"The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true.","excerpt":"CHRYS. Our Lord having said, lam the Light of the world; and, he that followeth Me, walketh not in darkness, Jews wish to overthrow what He has said: The Pharisees therefore said unto Him, Thou bearest record of Thyself, Thy record is not true. ALCUIN. As if our Lord Himself were the only (one that bore) witness to Himself; whereas the truth was that He had, before His incarnation, sent many witnesses to prophesy of His Sacraments. CHRYS. Our Lord however overthrew their argument: Jesus answered and said,. Though I bear record of Myself, yet My record is true. This is an accommodation to those who thought Him no more than a mere man. He adds the reason, For I know whence I come and whither I go; i. am God, from God, and the Son of God: though this He does not say expressly, from His habit of mingling lofty and lowly words together. Now God is surely a competent witness to Himself.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 52","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.liv.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.13-15.1","start":13,"end":15,"heading":"The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true.","excerpt":"AUG. The witness of light is true, whether the light shew itself, or other things. The Prophet spake the truth, but whence had he it, but by drawing from the fount of truth? Jesus then is a competent witness to Himself. For I know whence I come, and whither I go: this has reference to the Father; for the Son gave glory to the Father who sent Him. How greatly then should man glorify the Creator, who made Him. He did not separate from His Father, however, when He came, or desert us when He returned: unlike that sun which in going to the west, leaves the east. And as that sun throws its light on the faces both of him who sees, and him who sees not; only the one sees with the light, the other sees not: so the Wisdom of God, the Word, is every where present, even to the minds of unbelievers; but they have not the eyes of the understanding, where with to see, To distinguish then between believers and enemies among the Jews, as between light and darkness, He adds, But ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go. These Jews saw the man, and did not believe in the God, our Lord says, Ye judge after the flesh, i. in saying, Thou bearest record of Thyself, Thy record is not true.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 35, section 4","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxvi.html#iii.xxxvi-p13","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/8/#v13-augustine","ref":"John 8:13–14"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.14-18.1","start":14,"end":18,"heading":"Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true : for I know whence I came, and whither I go ; but ye can not tell whence I come, and whither I go.","excerpt":"AUG. Is this made a bad use of by the Manichaeans, that our Lord does not say, in the law of God, but, in your law? Who does not recognise here a manner of speaking customary in Scripture? In your law, i. the law given to you. The Apostle speaks of his Gospel in the same way, though he testifies to having received it not from men, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. AUG. There is much difficulty, and a great mystery seems to be contained, in God's words, In the mouth of two or witnesses, let every word be established. It is possible that two may speak false. The chaste Susannah was arraigned by two false witnesses: the whole people spake against Christ falsely. How then must we understand the word, By the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established: except as an intimation of the mystery of the Trinity, in which is perpetual stability of truth? Receive then our testimony, lest ye feel our judgment. I delay My judgment: I delay not My testimony: am one that beareth witness of Myself, and the Father that sent Me beareth witness of Me.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 36, section 10","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxvii.html#iii.xxxvii-p21","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/8/#v17-augustine","ref":"John 8:17–18"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.15-18.1","start":15,"end":18,"heading":"Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man.","excerpt":"THEOPHYL. As if to say: Ye judge untruly, according to the flesh, thinking, because I am in the flesh, that I am flesh only, and not God. AUG. Understanding Me not as God, and seeing Me as man, ye think Me arrogant in bearing witness of Myself. For any man who bears high testimony to himself, is thought proud and arrogant. But men are frail, and may either speak the truth, or lie: the Light cannot lie. CHRYS. As to live according to the flesh is to live amiss; so to judge according to the flesh, is to judge un justly. They might say, however, If we judge wrongly, why dost Thou not convict us, why dost Thou not condemn us? So He adds, I judge no man.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 36","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxvii.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null},{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 52","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.liv.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.16.1","start":16,"end":16,"heading":"And yet if I judge, my judgment is true : for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.","excerpt":"AUG. Which may be understood in two ways; I judge no man, i. not now: as says elsewhere, God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved: not that He abandons, but only defers, His justice. Or having said, Ye judge according to the flesh, He says immediately, I judge no man, to let you know that Christ does not judge according to the flesh, as men judged Him. For that Christ is a judge appears from the next words, And yet if I judge, My judgment is true. CHRYS. As if to say: In saying, I judge no man, I meant that I did not anticipate judgment. If I judged justly, I should condemn you, but now is not the time for judging. He alludes however to the future judgment, in what follows; For I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent Me; which means that He will not condemn them alone, but He and the Father together. This is intended too to quiet suspicion, as men did not think the Son worthy to be believed, unless He had the testimony of the Father also.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 36","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxvii.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null},{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 52","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.liv.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.16-17.1","start":16,"end":17,"heading":"And yet if I judge, my judgment is true : for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.","excerpt":"AUG. But if the Father is with Thee, how did He send Thee? O Lord, Thy mission is Thy incarnation. Christ was here according to the flesh without withdrawing from the Father, because the Father and the Son are every where. Blush, thou Sabellian; our Lord doth not say, I am the Father, and I the self-same person am the Son; but, am not alone, because the Father is with Me. Make a distinction then of persons, and distinction of intelligences: acknowledge that the Father is the Father, the Son the Son: but beware of saying, that the Father is greater, the Son less. Theirs is one substance, one coeternity, perfect equality. Therefore, He says, My judgment is true, because I am the Son of God. But that thou mayest understand how that the Father is with Me, it is not for the Son ever to leave the Father. I have taken up the form of a servant; but I have not lost the form of God. He had spoken of judgment: now He speaks of witness: It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 36, section 9","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxvii.html#iii.xxxvii-p19","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.17.1","start":17,"end":17,"heading":"It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.","excerpt":"BEDE. In many places the Father bears witness of the Son; as, This day have I begotten Thee; also, This is My beloved Son. CHRYS. It is written in your law, testimony of two men is true. If this is to be taken literally, in what respect does our Lord differ from men? The rule has been laid down for men, on the ground that one man alone is not to be relied on: but how can this be applicable to God? These words are quoted then with another meaning. When two men bear witness, both to an indifferent matter, their witness is true: this constitutes the testimony of two men. But if one of them bear witness to himself, then they are longer two witnesses. Thus our Lord means to shew that He is consubstantial with the Father, and does not need another witness, i. besides the Father's. and the Father that sent Me. Again, on human principles, when a man bears witness, his honesty is supposed; he is not borne witness to; and a man is admitted as a fair and competent witness in an indifferent matter, but not in one relating to himself, unless he is supported by other testimony. But here it is quite otherwise. Our Lord, though giving testimony in His own case, and though saying that He is borne witness to by another, pronounces Himself worthy of belief; thus she wing is He says He deserves to be believed. ALCUIN. Or it is as if He said, If your law admits the testimony of two men who may be deceived, and testify to more than is true; on what grounds can you reject Mine and My Father's testimony, the highest and most sure of all?","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.19.1","start":19,"end":19,"heading":"Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father : if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.","excerpt":"AUG. Those who had heard our Lord say, Ye judge after the flesh, shewed that they did so; for they understood what He said of His Father in a carnal sense: Then said they unto Him, Where is Thy Father? meaning, We have heard Thee say, am not alone, but I and the Father that sent Me. We see Thee alone; prove to us then that Thy Father is with Thee. THEOPHYL. Some remark that this is said in contumely and contempt; to insinuate either that He is born of fornication, and knows not who His Father is; or as a slur on the low situation of His father, i. Joseph; as if to say, Thy father is an obscure, ignoble person; why dost Thou so often mention him? So because they asked the question, to tempt Him, not to get at the truth, Jesus answered, Ye neither know Me, nor My Father. AUG. As if He said, Ye ask where is Thy Father? As if ye knew Me already, and I were nothing else but what ye see. ye know Me not, and therefore I tell you nothing of My Father. Ye think Me indeed a mere man, and therefore among men look for My Father. But, forasmuch as I am different altogether, according to My seen and unseen natures, and speak of My Father in the hidden sense according to My hidden nature; it is plain that ye must first know Me, and then ye will know My Father; If ye had known Me, ye would have known My Father also. CHRYS. He tells them, it is of no avail for them to say they know the Father, if they do not know the Son.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 23","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxiv.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.19.2","start":19,"end":19,"heading":"Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father : if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.","excerpt":"ORIGEN. Ye neither know Me, nor My Father: this seems inconsistent with what was said above, Ye both know Me, and know whence I am. But the latter is spoken in reply to some from Jerusalem, who asked, Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ? Ye neither know Me, is addressed to the Pharisees. To the former persons from Jerusalem however He said, He that sent Me is true, Whom ye know not. You will ask then, How is that true, If ye know Me, ye would know My Father also? when they of Jerusalem, to whom He said, Ye know Me, did not know the Father. To this we must reply, that our Saviour sometimes speaks of Himself as man, and some times as God. Ye both know Me, He says as man: ye know Me, as God. AUG. What does this mean: ye knew Me, ye would know My Father also, but, I and My Father are one? It is a common expression, when you see one man very like another, If you have seen him, you have seen the other. You say this, because they are so like. And thus our Lord says, If had known Me, ye had known My Father also; not that the Father is the Son, but that the Son is like the Father. THEOPHYL. Let the Arian blush: for if, as he says, the Son be a creature, how does it follow that he who knows the creature, knows God? For not even by knowing the substance of Angels, does one know the Divine Substance? Forasmuch therefore as he who knows the Son, knows the Father, it is certain that the Son is consubstantial with the Father.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 37, section 7","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxviii.html#iii.xxxviii-p12","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.20.1","start":20,"end":20,"heading":"These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple : and no man laid hands on him ; for his hour was not yet come.","excerpt":"ORIGEN. It is proper to observe, Pharisees, who worshipped God as the Governor of the world, it is evident that the Father of Jesus, whom the Pharisees knew not, was a different person from the Creator. But they do not observe that this is a usual manner of speaking in Scripture. Though a man may know the existence of God, and have learned from the Father that He only must be worshipped, yet if his life is not good, he is said not to have the knowledge of God. Thus the sons of Eli, on account of their wickedness, are said not to have known God, And thus again the Pharisees did not know the Father; because they did not live according to their Creator's command. And there is another thing meant too by knowing God, different from merely believing in Him. It is said, Be still then, and know that I am God. And this, it is certain, was written for a people that believed in the Creator. But to know by believing, and believe simply, are different things. To the Pharisees, to whom He says, Ye neither know Me, nor My Father, He could with right have said, Ye do not even believe in My Father; for he who denies the Son, has not the Father, either by faith or knowledge. But Scripture gives us another sense of knowing a thing, viz. being joined to that thing. Adam knew his wife, when he was joined to her. And if he who is joined to a woman knows that woman, he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit, and knows the Lord. And in this sense the Pharisees neither knew the Father, nor the Son....","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.20.2","start":20,"end":20,"heading":"These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple : and no man laid hands on him ; for his hour was not yet come.","excerpt":"... But may not a man know God, and yet not know the Father? Yes; these are two different conceptions. And therefore among an infinite number of prayers offered up in the Law, we do not find any one addressed to God the Father. They only pray to Him as God and Lord; in order not to anticipate the grace shed by Jesus over the whole world, calling all men to the Sonship, according to the Psalm, will declare Thy name unto my brethren. These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as He taught in the temple.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.20.3","start":20,"end":20,"heading":"These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple : and no man laid hands on him ; for his hour was not yet come.","excerpt":"AUG. Great however is His confidence an fearlessness: it not being possible that He should undergo any suffering, but that which He voluntarily under took. Wherefore it follows, And no man laid hands on Him, for His hour was not yet come. Some, when they hear this, think Christ to have been under the control of fate. But if fate comes from the verb fari, to speak, as some derive it, how can the Word of God be under the control of fate? Where are the fates? In the heavens, you say, in the courses and revolutions of the stars. How then can fate have power over Him, by Whom the heavens and stars were made; when even thy will, if thou exert it aright, transcends the stars? Dost thou think that because the flesh of Christ was placed beneath the heavens, that therefore His power was subjected to the heavens? His hour then had not yet come; i. the hour, not on which he should be obliged to die, but on which He should deign to be put to death. ORIGEN. Whenever it is added, Jesus spoke these words in such a place, you will, if you attend, discover a meaning in the addition. The treasury was a place for keeping the money, which was given for the honour of God, and the support of the poor. The coins are the divine words, stamped with the likeness of the great King. In this sense then let every one contribute to the edification of the Church, carrying into that spiritual treasury all that he can collect, to the honour of God, and the common good....","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 37","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxviii.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.20.4","start":20,"end":20,"heading":"These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple : and no man laid hands on him ; for his hour was not yet come.","excerpt":"... But while all were thus contributing to the treasury of the temple, it was especially the office of Jews to contribute his gifts, which were the words of eternal life. While Jesus therefore was speaking in the treasury, no one laid hands on Him; His discourse being stronger than those who wished to take Him; for there is no weakness in that which the Word of God utters. BEDE. Or thus; Christ speaks in the treasury; i. He had spoken in parables to the Jews; but now that He unfolded heavenly things to His disciples, His treasury began to be opened, which was the meaning of the treasury being joined to the temple; all that the Law and the Prophets had foretold in figure, appertained to our Lord.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.21.1","start":21,"end":21,"heading":"Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins : whither I go, ye cannot come.","excerpt":"AUG. In accordance with what was just, He said that no man laid hands on Him, because His hour was not yet come; He Tract:.. now speaks to the Jews of His passion, as a free, and not a compulsory sacrifice on His part: Then said Jesus again unto them, I go My way. Death to our Lord was a return to the place whence He had come. BEDE. The connexion of these words is such, that they might have been spoken at one place and one time, or at another place and another time: as either nothing at all, or some things, or many may have intervened. ORIGEN. But some one will object: If this was spoken to men who persisted in unbelief, how is it He says, Ye shall seek Me? For to seek Jesus is to seek truth and wisdom. You will answer that it was said of His persecutors, that they sought to take Him. There are different ways of seeking Jesus. All do not seek Him for their health and profit: and only they who seek Him aright, find peace. And they are said to seek Him aright, who seek the Word which was in the beginning with God, in order that He may lead them to the Father.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.21.2","start":21,"end":21,"heading":"Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins : whither I go, ye cannot come.","excerpt":"AUG. Ye shall seek Me, then, He says, not from compassionate regret, but from hatred: for after He had departed from the eyes of men, He was sought for both by those who hated, and those who loved Him: the one wanting to persecute, the other to have His presence. And that ye may not think that ye shall seek Me in a good sense, I tell you, Ye shall die in your sin. This is to seek Christ amiss, to die in one's sin: this is to hate Him, from Whom alone cometh salvation. He pronounces sentence on them prophetically, that they shall die in their sins. BEDE. Note: sin is in the singular number, your in the plural; to express one and the same wickedness in all.. ORIGEN. But I ask, as it is said below that many believed Him, whether He speaks to all present, when He says, a. Ye shall die in your sins'? No: He speaks to those only, whom He knew would not believe, and would therefore die in their sins, not being able to follow Him. Whither I go, He says, ye cannot come; i. there where truth and wisdom are, for with them Jesus dwells. They cannot, He says, because they will not: for had they wished, He could not reasonably have said, Ye shall die in your sin. AUG. This He tells His disciples in another place; to them, however, Ye shall die in your sin. He only says, Whither I go, ye cannot follow Me now; not preventing, but only delaying their coining.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 38","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxix.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.21.3","start":21,"end":21,"heading":"Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins : whither I go, ye cannot come.","excerpt":"ORIGEN. The Word, while 'still present, yet threatens to depart. So long as we preserve the seeds of truth implanted in our minds, the Word of God does not depart from us. But if we fall into wickedness, then He says to us, I go away; and when we seek Him, we shall not find Him, but shall die in our sin, die caught in our sin. But we should not pass over without notice the expression itself: Ye shall die in your sins. If ye shall die be understood in the ordinary sense, it is manifest that sinners die in their sins, the righteous in their righteousness. But if we understand it of death in the sense of sin; then the mean ing is, that not their bodies, but their souls were sick unto death. The Physician seeing them thus grievously sick, says, Ye shall die in your sins. And this is evidently the meaning of the words, Whither I go ye cannot come. For when a man dies in his sin, he cannot go where Jesus goes: no dead man us. can follow Jesus: The dead praise not Thee, O Lord.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.22-23.1","start":22,"end":23,"heading":"Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come.","excerpt":"AUG. They take these words, as they generally do, in a carnal sense, and ask, Will He kill Himself, because He saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come? A foolish question. For why? Could they not go where He went, if He killed Himself? Were they never to die themselves? Whither I go, then, He says; meaning not His departure at death, but where He went after death. THEOPHYL. He shews here that He will rise again glory, and sit at the right hand of God. ORIGEN. May not however have a higher meaning in saying tliis??. For they had opportunities of knowing many things from their apocryphal books or from tradition. As then there was a prophetical tradition, that Christ was to be born at Bethlehem, so there may have been a tradition also respecting His death, viz. that He would depart from this life in the way which He declares, No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. So then the question, Will He kill Himself, is not to be taken in its obvious sense, but as referring to some Jewish tradition about Christ. For His saying, I go My way, shews that He had power over His own death, and departure from the body; so that these were voluntary on His part. But I think that they bring forward this tradition which had come down to them, on the death of Christ, contemptuously, and not with any view to give Him glory. Will He kill Himself? say they: whereas, they ought to have used a loftier way of speaking, and have said, Will His soul wait His pleasure, to depart from His body? Our Lord answers, Ye are from beneath, i. ye love earth; your hearts are not raised upwards. He speaks to them as earthly men, for their thoughts were earthly.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 38, section 3","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxix.html#iii.xxxix-p9","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/8/#v22-augustine","ref":"John 8:22"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.23.1","start":23,"end":23,"heading":"And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath ; I am from above : ye are of this world, I am not of this world.","excerpt":"CHRYS. As if to say, No wonder that ye think as ye do, seeing ye are carnal, and understand nothing spiritually. I am from above. AUG. From whom above? From the Father Himself, Who is above all. Ye of this world, I am not of this world. How could He be of the world, by Whom the world was made? BEDE. And Who was before the world, whereas they were of the world, having been created after the world had begun to exist. CHRYS. Or He says, am not of this world, with reference to worldly and vain thoughts. THEOPHYL. I affect nothing worldly, nothing earthly: I could never come to such madness as to kill Myself. Apollinarius, however, falsely infers from these words, that our Lord's body was not of this world, but came down from heaven. Did the Apostles then, to whom our Lord says below, Ye are not of this world, derive all of them their bodies from heaven? In saying then, am not of this world, He must be understood to mean, I am not of the number of you, who mind earthly things.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.23.2","start":23,"end":23,"heading":"And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath ; I am from above : ye are of this world, I am not of this world.","excerpt":"ORIGEN. Beneath, and, of this world, are different things. Beneath, refers to a particular place; this material world embraces different which all are beneath, as compared with things immaterial and invisible, but, as compared with one another, some beneath, some above. Where the treasure of each is, there is his heart also. If a man then lay up treasure upon earth, he is beneath: if any man lay up treasure in heaven, he is above; yea, ascends above all hearers, attains to a most blissful end. And again, the love of this world makes a man of this world: whereas he who loveth not the world, neither the things that are in the world, is not of the world. Yet is there beyond this world of sense, another world, in which are things invisible, the beauty of which shall the pure in heart behold, yea, the First-born of every creature may be called the world, insomuch as He is absolute wisdom, and in wisdom all things were made. In Him therefore was the whole world, differing from the material world, in so far ratio as the scheme divested of the matter, differs from the subject matter itself. The soul of Christ then says, am not of this world; i. because it has not its conversation in this world.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.23-24.1","start":23,"end":24,"heading":"And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath ; I am from above : ye are of this world, I am not of this world.","excerpt":"AUG. Our Lord expresses His meaning in the words, Ye are 'this world, i. ye are sinners. All of us are born in sin; all have added by our actions to the sin in which we were born. The misery of the Jews then was, not that they had sin, but that they would die in their sin: said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sin. Amongst the multitude, however, who heard our Lord, there were some who were about to believe; whereas this most severe sentence had gone forth against all: Ye shall die in your sin; to the destruction of all hope even in those who should hereafter believe. So His next words recall the latter to hope: For if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sin: therefore if ye believe that I am He, ye shall not die in your sin. CHRYS. For if He came in order to take away sin, and a man cannot put that off, except by washing, and cannot be baptized except he believe; it follows, that he who believes not must pass out of this life, with the old man, i. sin, within him: not only because he believes not, but because he departs hence, with his former sins upon him.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.24.1","start":24,"end":24,"heading":"I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins : for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.","excerpt":"AUG. His ye believe not that I am, without adding any thing, proves a great deal. For thus it was that God spoke to Moses, am that I am. But how do I understand, am that I am, and, If ye believe not that I am? In this way. All excellence, of whatever kind, if it be mutable, cannot be said really to be, for there is no real to be, where there is a not to be. Analyze the idea of mutability, and you will find, was, and will be; contemplate God, and you will find, is, without possibility of a past. In order to be, thou must leave him behind thee. So then, If ye believe not that I am, means in fact, If ye believe not that I am God; this being the condition, on which we shall not die in our sins. God be thanked that He says, If ye believe not, not, If ye under stand not; for who could understand this? ORIGEN. It is manifest, that he, who dies in his sins, though he say that he believes in Christ, does not really believe. For he who believes in His justice does not do injustice; he who believes in His wisdom, does not act or speak foolishly; in like manner with respect to the other attributes of Christ, you will find that he who does not believe in Christ, dies in his sins: inasmuch as he comes to be the very contrary of what is seen in Christ.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 38","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxix.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.25.1","start":25,"end":25,"heading":"Then said they unto him, Who art thou ? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning.","excerpt":"AUG. Our Lord having said, If ye believe not that I am, ye shall die in your sins; they enquire of Him, as if wishing to know in whom they are to believe, that they might not die in their sin: Then said they unto Him, Who art Thou? For when Thou saidst, If ye believe not that I am, Thou didst not add, who Thou art. But our Lord knew that these were some who would believe, and therefore after being asked, Who art Thou? that such might know what they should believe Him to be, Jesus saith unto them, The beginning who also speak to you; not as if to say, am the beginning, but, Believe Me to be the beginning; as is evident from the Greek, where beginning is feminine. Believe Me then to be the beginning, but ye die in your sins: for the beginning cannot be changed; it remains fixed in xxxix and is the source of change to all things. But it is i, absurd to call the Son the beginning, and not the Father also. And yet there are not two beginnings, even as these are not two Gods. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father and the Son; not being either the Father, or the Son. Yet Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one God, one Light, one beginning. He adds, Who also speak to you, i. Who humbled Myself for your sakes, and condescended to those words. Therefore believe Me to be the beginning; because that ye may believe this, not only am I the beginning, but I also speak with you, that ye may believe that I am. For if the Beginning had remained with the Father in its original nature, and not taken upon it the form of a servant, how could men have believed in it? Would their weakly minds have taken in the spiritual Word, without the medium of sensible sound?","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 38, section 11","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xxxix.html#iii.xxxix-p25","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/8/#v25-augustine","ref":"John 8:25"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.25.2","start":25,"end":25,"heading":"Then said they unto him, Who art thou ? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning.","excerpt":"BEDE. In some copies we find, Who also speak to you; but it is more consistent to (quia), not, who (qui): in which case the meaning is: Believe Me to be the beginning, for for your sakes have I condescended to these words. CHRYS. See here the madness of the Jews; asking after so long time, and after all His miracles and teaching, Who art Thou? What is Christ's answer? From the beginning I speak with you; as if to say, Ye do not deserve to hear any thing from Me, much less this thing, Who I am. For ye speak always, to tempt Me. But I could, if I would, confound and punish you: have many things to say, and to judge of you. AUG. Above He said, I judge no man; but, I judge not, is one thing, have to judge, another. judge not, He says, with reference to the present time. But the other, have many things to say, and to judge of you, refers to a future judgment. And I shall be true in My judgment, because I am truth, the Son of the true One. He that sent Me is true. My Father is true, not by partaking of, but begetting truth. Shall we say that truth is greater than one who is true? If we say this, we shall begin to call the Son greater than the Father. CHRYS. says this, that they may not think that He allows them to talk against Him with impunity, from inability to punish them; or that He is not alive to their contemptuous designs.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.25-27.1","start":25,"end":27,"heading":"Then said they unto him, Who art thou ? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning.","excerpt":"THEOPHYL. Or having said, have many things to say, and to judge of you, thus reserving His judgment for a future time, He adds, But He that sent Me is true: as if to say, Though ye are unbelievers, My Father is true, Who hath appointed a day of retribution for you. CHRYS. Or thus: As My Father hath sent Me not to judge the world, but to save the world, and My Father is true, I accordingly judge no man now; but speak thus for your salvation, not your condemnation: And I speak to the world those things that I have heard of Him. ALCUIN. And to hear from the Father is the same as to be from the Father; He has the hearing from the same sense that He has the being. AUG. The coequal Son gives glory to the Father: as if to say, glory to Him whose Son am: how proudly thou detractest from Him, whose servant Thou art. ALCUIN. They did not understand however what He meant by saying, He is true that sent Me: they understand not that He spake to them of the Father. For they had not the eyes of their mind yet opened, to understand the equality of the Father with the Son.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 53, section 1","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lv.html#iv.lv-p22","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/8/#v26-chrysostom","ref":"John 8:26–27"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.28.1","start":28,"end":28,"heading":"Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.","excerpt":"CHRYS. Or the connection is this: When His miracles and teaching had failed to convert men, He spoke of the cross; When ye have lifted up the Son of man., then ye shall know that I am He: as if to say, Ye think that ye have killed Me; but I say that ye shall then, by the evidence of miracles, of My resurrection, and your captivity, know most especially, that I am Christ the Son of God, and that I do not act in opposition to God; But that as My Father hath taught Me, I speak these things. Here He shews the likeness of His substance to the Father's; and that He says nothing beyond the Paternal intelligence. If I were contrary to God, I should not have moved His anger so much against those who did not hear Me.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.28-29.1","start":28,"end":29,"heading":"Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.","excerpt":"AUG. When our Lord said, He is true that sent Me, the Jews did not understand that He spake to them of the Father. But He saw some there, who, He knew, would believe on Him after His passion. Then said Jesus unto them. When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then ye shall Exod. know that I am. Recollect the words. am that I am....","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 40, section 2","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xli.html#iii.xli-p4","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.28-29.2","start":28,"end":29,"heading":"Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.","excerpt":"... In your appointed time ye will know who I am; when ye have lifted up the Son of man. He means the lifting up of the cross; for He was lifted up on the cross, when He hung thereon. This was to be accomplished by the hands of those who should afterwards believe, whom He is now speaking to; with what intent, but that no one, however great his wickedness and consciousness of guilt might despair, seeing even the murderers of our Lord forgiven.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.28-29.3","start":28,"end":29,"heading":"Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.","excerpt":"AUG. Or thus: Having said, Then shall ye know that I am, and in this, I am, implied the whole Trinity: lest the Sabellian error should creep in, He immediately adds, And do nothing of Myself; as if to say, I am not of Myself; the Son is God from the Father. Let not what follows, as the Father hath taught Me, I speak these things, suggest a carnal thought to any of you. Do not place as it were two men before your eyes, a Father speaking to his son, as you do when you speak to your sons. For what words could be spoken to the only Word? If the Father speaks in your hearts without sound, how does He speak to the Son? The Father speaks to the Son incorporeally, because He begat the Son incorporeally: nor did He teach Him, as having begotten Him untaught; rather the teaching Him, was the begetting Him knowing. For if the nature of truth be simple, to be, in the Son, is the same as to know. As then the Father gave the Son existence by begetting, so He gave Him knowledge also.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 40, section 5","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xli.html#iii.xli-p14","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.29.1","start":29,"end":29,"heading":"And he that sent me is with me : the Father hath not left me alone ; for I do always those things that please him.","excerpt":"CHRYS. He gives now a humbler turn to the discourse: And He that sent Me. That this might not be thought however to imply inferiority, He says, Is with Me. The former is His dispensation, the latter His divinity. AUG. And though both are together, yet one is sent, the other sends- For the mission is the incarnation; and the incarnation is of the Son only, not of the Father. He says then, He that sent Me, meaning, By whose Fatherly authority I am made incarnate. The Father however, though He sent the Son, did not withdraw from Him, as He proceeds to say: The Father hath not left Me alone. For it could not be that where He sent the Son, there the Father was not; He who says, heaven and earth. And He adds the reason why He did not leave Him: For I do always those things that please Him; always, i. not from any particular beginning, but without beginning and without end. For the generation from the Father hath no beginning in time.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 76","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lxxviii.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null},{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 40, section 6","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xli.html#iii.xli-p18","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/8/#v29-augustine","ref":"John 8:29"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.29-30.1","start":29,"end":30,"heading":"And he that sent me is with me : the Father hath not left me alone ; for I do always those things that please him.","excerpt":"CHRYS. Or, He means it as an answer to those who were constantly saying that He was not from God, and that because He did not keep the sabbath; I do always, He says, do those things that please Him; shewing that the breaking the sabbath even was pleasing to Him. He takes care in every way to shew that He does nothing contrary to the Father. And as this was speaking more after a human fashion, the Evangelist adds, As He spake these words, many believed on Him; as if to say, Do not be disturbed at hearing so humble a speech from Christ; for those who had heard the greatest doctrines from Him, and were not persuaded, were persuaded by these words of humility. These then believed on Him, yet not as they ought; but only out of joy, and approbation of His humble way of speaking. And this the Evangelist shews in his subsequent narration, which relates their unjust proceedings towards Him.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.31-32.1","start":31,"end":32,"heading":"Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;","excerpt":"CHRYS. Our Lord wished to try the faith of those who believed, that it might not be only a superficial belief: Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed. His saying, if ye continue, made it manifest what was in their hearts. He knew that some believed, and would not continue. And He makes them a magnificent promise, viz. that they shall become His disciples indeed; which words are a tacit rebuke to some who had believed and afterwards withdrawn. AUG. We have all one Master, and are fellow disciples under Him. Nor because we speak with authority, are we xlvii. therefore masters; but He is the Master of all, Who dwells in the hearts of all. It is a small thing for the disciple to come to Him in the first instance: he must continue in Him: if we continue not in Him, we shall fall. A little sentence this, but a great work; if ye continue. For what is it to continue in God's word, but to yield to no temptations? Without labour, the reward would be gratis; if with, then a great reward indeed. And ye shall know the truth.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 54","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvi.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.32.1","start":32,"end":32,"heading":"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.","excerpt":"AUG. As if to say: Whereas now belief by continuing, ye shall have sight. For it was not their knowledge which made them believe, but rather their belief which gave them knowledge. Faith is to believe that which you see not: truth to see that which you believe? By continuing then to believe a thing, you come at last to see the thing; i. to the contemplation of the very truth as it is; not conveyed in words, but revealed by light. The truth is unchangeable; it is the bread of the soul, refreshing others, without diminution to itself; changing him who eats into itself, itself not changed. This truth is the Word of God, which put flesh for our sakes, and lay hid; not meaning to bury itself, but only to defer its manifestation, till its suffering in the body, for the ransoming of the body of sin, had taken place.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.32-33.1","start":32,"end":33,"heading":"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.","excerpt":"AUG. Some one might say perhaps, And what does it profit me to know the truth? So our Lord adds, And the truth shall free you; as if to say, If the truth doth not delight you, liberty will. To be freed is to be made free, as to be healed is to be made whole. This is plainer in the Greek; in the Latin we use the word free chiefly in the sense of escape of danger, relief from care, and the like. THEOPHYL. As He said to the unbelievers alone, Ye shall die in your sin, so now to them who continue in the faith He proclaims absolution.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 41","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xlii.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.32-34.1","start":32,"end":34,"heading":"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.","excerpt":"CHRYS. Men who really believed could have borne to be rebuked. But these men began immediately to shew anger. Indeed if they had been disturbed at His former saying, they had much more reason to be so now. For they might argue; If He says we shall know the truth, He must mean that we do not know it now: so then the law is a lie, our knowledge a delusion. But their thoughts took no such direction: their grief is wholly worldly; they know of no other servitude, but that of this world: They answered Him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man. How sayest Thou then, We shall be made free? As if to say, They of Abraham's stock are free, and ought not to be called slaves: we have never been in bondage to anyone. AUG. Or it was not those who believed, but the unbelieving multitude that made this answer. But how could they say with truth, taking only secular bondage into account, that we have never been in bondage to any man (? Was not Joseph sold? were not the holy prophets carried into captivity? Ungrateful people ! Why does God remind you so continually of His having taken you out of the house of bondage if you never were in bondage? Why do you who are now talking, pay tribute to the Romans, if you never were in bondage? CHRYS. Christ then, who speaks for their good, not to gratify their vainglory, explains His meaning to have been that they were the servants not of men, but of sin, the hardest kind of servitude, from which God only can rescue: Jesus answered them., Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 54","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvi.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null},{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 41, section 2","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xlii.html#iii.xlii-p8","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/8/#v33-augustine","ref":"John 8:33"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.34.1","start":34,"end":34,"heading":"Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.","excerpt":"AUG. This asseveration is important: it is, if one may say so, His oath. Amen means true, but is not translated. Neither the Greek nor the Latin Translator have dared to translate it. It is a Hebrew word; and men have abstained from translating it, in order to throw a reverential veil over so mysterious a word: not that they wished to lock it up, but only to prevent it from becoming despised by being exposed. How important the word is, you may see from its being repeated. Verily I say unto you, says Verity itself; which could not be, even though it said not verily. Our Lord how ever has recourse to this mode of enforcing His words, in order to rouse men from their state of sleep and indifference. Whosoever, He saith, committeth sin, whether Jew or Greek, rich or poor, king or beggar, is the servant of sin. GREG. Because whoever yields to wrong desires, puts his hitherto free soul under the yoke of the evil one, and takes him for his master. But we oppose this master, when we struggle against the wickedness which has laid hold upon us, when we strongly resist habit, when we pierce sin with repentance, and wash away the spots of filth with tears. GREG. And the more freely men follow their perverse desires, the more closely are they in bondage to them.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 41","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xlii.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.34-36.1","start":34,"end":36,"heading":"Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.","excerpt":"AUG. The first stage of freedom Ser. is, the abstaining from sin. But that is only incipient, it is not perfect freedom: for the flesh still lusteth against the spirit, so that ye do not do the things that ye would. Full and perfect freedom will only be, when the contest is over, and the last enemy, death, is destroyed. CHRYS. Or thus: Having said that whosoever committeth sin, is the of sin, He anticipates the answer that their sacrifices saved them, by saying, The servant abideth not in the house for ever, but the Son abideth ever. The house, He says, mean ing the Father's house on high; in which, to draw a comparison from the world, He Himself had all the power, just as a man has all the power in his own house. Abideth not, means, has not the power of giving; which the Son, who is the master of the house, has. The priests of the old law had not the power of remitting sins by the sacraments of the law; for all were sinners. Even the priests, who, as the Apostle says, were obliged to offer up sacrifices for themselves. But the Son has this power; and therefore our Lord concludes: If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed; implying that that earthly freedom, of which men boasted so much, was not true freedom. AUG. Do not then abuse your freedom, for the purpose of sinning freely; but use it in order not to sin at all. Your will will be free, if it be merciful: you will be free, if you become the servant of righteous ness.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 41, section 13","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xlii.html#iii.xlii-p49","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/8/#v36-augustine","ref":"John 8:36"},{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 54","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvi.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null},{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 41, section 8","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xlii.html#iii.xlii-p28","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/8/#v35-augustine","ref":"John 8:35"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.35-36.1","start":35,"end":36,"heading":"And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.","excerpt":"AUG. O miserable bondage ! The slave of a human master when wearied with Ex- the hardness of his tasks, sometimes takes refuge in flight. But whither does the slave of sin flee? He takes it along with him, wherever he goes; for his sin is within him. The pleasure passes away, but the sin does not pass away: its delight goes, its sting remains behind. He alone can free from sin, who came without sin, and was made a sacrifice for sin. And thus it follows: The servant abideth not in, the house for ever. The Church is the house: the servant is the sinner; and many sinners enter into the Church. So He does not say, The servant is, not in the house; but, The servant abideth not in the house for ever. If a time then is to come, when there shall be no servant in the house; who will there he there? Who will boast that he is pure from sin? Christ's are fearful words. But He adds, The Son abideth for ever. So then Christ will live alone in His house. Or does not the word Son, imply both the body and the head? Christ purposely alarms us first, and then gives us hope. He alarms us, that we may not love sin; He gives us hope, that we may not despair of the absolution of our sin. Our hope then is this, that we shall be freed by Him who is free. He hath paid the price for us, not in money, but in His own blood: If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. AUG. Not from the barbarians, but from the devil; not from the captivity of the body, but from the wickedness of the soul.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 41, section 4","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xlii.html#iii.xlii-p15","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/8/#v34-augustine","ref":"John 8:34"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.37-38.1","start":37,"end":38,"heading":"I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.","excerpt":"AUG. The Jews had asserted they were free, because they were Abraham's seed. Our Lord replies, I know that ye are Abraham's seed; as if to say, I know that ye are the sons of Abraham, but according to the flesh, not spiritually and by faith. So He adds, But ye seek to kill Me. CHRYS. He says this, that they might not attempt to answer, that they had no sin. He reminds them of a present sin; a sin which they had been meditating for some time past, and which was actually at this moment in their thoughts: putting out of the question their general course of life. He thus removes them by degrees out of their relationship to Abraham, teach ing them not to pride themselves so much upon it: for that, as bondage and freedom were the consequences of works, so was relationship. And that they might not say, We do so justly, He adds the reason why they did so; Because My word hath no place in you. AUG. That is, hath not place in your heart, because your heart does not take it in. The word of God to the believing, is like the hook to the fish; it takes when it is taken: and that not to the injury of those who are caught by it. They are caught for their salvation, not for their destruction. CHRYS. He does not say, Ye do not take in My word, but My word has not room in you; shewing the depth of His doctrines. But they might say; What if thou speakest of thyself? So He adds, I speak that which I have seen of My Father; for I have not only the Father's substance, but His truth.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 42, section 1","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliii.html#iii.xliii-p3","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null},{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 54","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvi.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null},{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 42, section 1","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliii.html#iii.xliii-p3","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.37-39.1","start":37,"end":39,"heading":"I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.","excerpt":"ORIGEN. Also another reading has; do ye do what ye have heard from the Father. All that Was written in the Law and the Prophets they had heard from the Father. He who takes this reading, may use it to prove against them who hold otherwise, that the God who gave the Law and the Prophets, was none other than Christ's Father. And we use it too as an answer to those who maintain two original natures in men, and explain the words, My word hath no place in you, to mean that these were by nature incapable of receiving the word. How could those be of an incapable nature, who had heard from the Father And how again could they be of a blessed nature, who sought to kill our Saviour, and would not receive His words. They answered and said unto Him, Abraham is our father. This answer of the Jews is a great falling off from our Lord's meaning. He had referred to God, but they take Father in the sense of the father of their nature, Abraham.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.37-39.2","start":37,"end":39,"heading":"I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.","excerpt":"AUG. As if to say, What art thou going to say against Abraham? They seem to be inviting Him to say something in disparagement of Abraham; and so to give them an opportunity of executing their purpose. ORIGEN. Our Saviour denies that Abraham is their father: Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham'' children, ye would do the works of Abraham. AUG. And 'yet He says above, know that ye are seed. So He does not deny their origin, but condemns their deeds. Their flesh was from him; their life was not.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 42, section 4","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliii.html#iii.xliii-p8","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/8/#v39-augustine","ref":"John 8:39–40"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.37-39.3","start":37,"end":39,"heading":"I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.","excerpt":"ORIGEN. Or we may explain the difficulty thus. Above it is in the Greek, know that ye are Abraham's seed. So let us examine whether there is not a difference between a bodily seed and a child. It is evident that a seed contains in itself all the proportions of him whose seed it is, as yet however dormant, and waiting to be developed; when the seed first has changed and moulded the material it meets with in the woman, derived nourishment from thence and gone through a process in the womb, it becomes a child, the likeness of its begetter. So then a child is formed from the seed: but the seed is not necessarily a child. Now with reference to those who are from their works judged to be the seed of Abraham, may we not conceive that they are so from certain seminal proportions implanted in their souls? All men are not the seed of Abraham, for all have not these proportions implanted in their souls. But he who is the seed of Abraham, has yet to become his child by likeness. And it is possible for him by negligence and indolence even to cease to be the seed. But those to whom these words were addressed, were not yet cut off from hope: and therefore Jesus acknowledged that they were as yet the seed of Abraham, and had still the power of becoming children of Abraham. So He says, If ye are the children of Abraham, do the works of Abraham. If as the seed of Abraham, they had attained to their proper sign and growth, they would have taken in our Lord's words....","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.38-40.1","start":38,"end":40,"heading":"I speak that which I have seen with my Father : and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.","excerpt":"AUG. Our Lord by His Father wishes us to understand God: if to say, I have seen the truth, I speak the truth, because I am the truth. If our Lord then speaks the truth which He saw with the Father, it is Himself that He saw, Himself that He speaks; He being Himself the truth of the Father. ORIGEN. This is proof that our Saviour was witness to what was done with the Father: whereas men, to. whom the revelation is made, were not witnesses. THE OPHYL. But when you hear, I speak that which I have seen, do not think it means bodily vision, but innate knowledge, sure, and approved. For as the eyes when they see an object, see it wholly and correctly; so I speak with certainty what I know from My Father. And ye do that which ye have seen with your father. ORIGEN. As yet He has not named their father; He mentioned Abraham indeed a little above, but now He is going to mention another father, viz. the devil: whose sons they were, in so far as they were wicked, not as being men. Our Lord is reproaching them for their evil deeds. CHRYS. Another reading has, And do ye do that which ye have seen with your father; as if to say, As I both in word and deed declare unto you the Father, so do ye by your works shew forth Abraham.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.38-40.2","start":38,"end":40,"heading":"I speak that which I have seen with my Father : and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.","excerpt":"CHRYS. This truth, that is, that He was equal to the Father: for it was this that moved the Jews to kill Him. To shew, however, that this doctrine is not opposed to the Father, He adds, Which I have heard from God. ALCUIN. Because He Himself, Who is the truth, was begotten of God the Father, to hear, being in fact the same with to be from the Father. ORIGEN. To kill Me, He says, a man. I say nothing now of the Son of God, nothing of the Word, because ti the Word cannot die; I speak only of that which ye see. It is in your power to kill that which you see, and offend Him Whom ye see not. This did not Abraham.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.39-40.1","start":39,"end":40,"heading":"They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abra ham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham.","excerpt":"... But not having grown to be children, they cared not; but wish to kill the Word, and as it were break it in pieces, since it was too great for them to take in. If any of you then be the seed of Abraham, and as yet do not take in the word of God, let him not seek to kill the word; but rather change himself into being a son of Abraham, and then he will be able to take in the Son of God. Some select one of the works of Abraham, viz. that in Genesis, And Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. But even granting to them that faith is a work, if this were so, why was it not, Do the work of Abraham: using the singular number, instead of the plural? The expression as it stands is, I think, equivalent to saying, Do all the works of Abraham: i. in the spiritual sense, interpreting Abraham's history allegorically. For it is not incumbent on one, who would be a son of Abraham, to marry his maidservants, or after his wife's death, to marry another in his old age. But now ye seek to kill Me, a man that hath told you the truth.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.39-41.1","start":39,"end":41,"heading":"They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abra ham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham.","excerpt":"ALCUIN. As if to say, By this you prove that you are not the sons of Abraham; that you do works contrary to those of Abraham. ORIGEN. It might seem to some, that it were superfluous to say that Abraham did not this; for it were impossible that it should be; Christ was not born at that time. But we may remind them, that in Abraham's time there was a man born who spoke the truth, which he heard from God, and that this man's life was not sought for by Abraham. Know too that the Saints were never without the spiritual advent of Christ. I understand then from this passage, that every one who, after regeneration, and other divine graces bestowed upon him, commits sin, does by this return to evil incur the guilt of crucifying the Son of God, which Abraham did not do. Ye do the works of your father.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.41.1","start":41,"end":41,"heading":"Ye do the deeds of your father.","excerpt":"CHRYS. Our Lord says this with a view to put down their vain boasting of their descent; and persuade them to rest their hopes of salvation no longer on the natural relationship, but on the adoption. For this it was which prevented them from coming to Christ; viz. their thinking that their relationship to Abraham was sufficient for their salvation. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 54, section 2","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvi.html#iv.lvi-p32","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/8/#v38-chrysostom","ref":"John 8:38–40"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.42.1","start":42,"end":42,"heading":"Jesus said unto them., If God were your Father, ye would love me : for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.","excerpt":"AUG. The Jews had begun to understand that our Lord was not speaking of sonship according to the flesh, but of manner of life. Scripture often speaks of spiritual fornication, with many gods, and of the soul being prostituted, as it were, by paying worship to false gods. This explains what follows: Then said they to Him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. THEOPHYL. As if their motive against Him was a desire to avenge God's honour. ORIGEN. Or their sonship to Abraham having been Disproved, they reply by bitterly insinuating, that our Saviour was the offspring of adultery. But perhaps the tone of the answer is disputatious, more than any thing else. For whereas they have said shortly before, We have Abraham for our father, and had been told in reply, If ye are Abraham's children, do the works of Abraham; they declare in return that they have a greater Father than Abraham, i. God; and that they were not derived from fornication. For the devil, who has no power of creating any thing from himself, begets not from a spouse, but a harlot, i. matter, those who give themselves up to carnal things, that is, cleave to matter. CHRYS. But what say ye? Have ye God for your and do ye blame Christ for speaking thus? Yet true it was, that many of them were born of fornication, for people then used to form unlawful connexions. But this is not the thing our Lord has in view. He is bent on proving that they are not from God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love Me: for proceeded forth and came from God.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 42, section 7","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliii.html#iii.xliii-p15","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/8/#v41-augustine","ref":"John 8:41"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.42.2","start":42,"end":42,"heading":"Jesus said unto them., If God were your Father, ye would love me : for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.","excerpt":"HILARY. It was not that the Son of God condemned the assumption of so religious a name; th is, condemned them for professing to be the sons of God, and so. calling God their Father; but that He blamed the rash presumption of the Jews in claiming God for their Father, when they did not love the Son. For I proceeded forth, and came from God. To proceed forth, is not the same with to come. When our Lord says that those who called God their Father, ought to love Him, because He came forth from God, He means that His being born of God was the reason why He should be loved: the proceeding forth, having reference to His incorporeal birth. Their claim to be the sons of God, was to be made good by their loving Christ, Who was begotten from God. For a true worshipper of God the Father must love the Son, as being from And he only can love the Father, who believes that the Son is from Him. AUG. This then is the eternal procession, the proceeding forth of the Word from God: from Him It proceeded as the Word of the Father, and came to us: The Word was made flesh, His advent is His humanity: His staying, His divinity. Ye call God your Father; acknowledge Me at least to be a brother. HILARY. In what follows, He teaches that His origin is not in Himself; Neither came I of Myself , but sent Me.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 42, section 8","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliii.html#iii.xliii-p16","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/8/#v42-augustine","ref":"John 8:42"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.42.3","start":42,"end":42,"heading":"Jesus said unto them., If God were your Father, ye would love me : for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.","excerpt":"ORIGEN. This was said, I think, in allusion to some who came without being sent by the Father, of whom it is said in Jeremiah, have not sent these prophets, yet they jer ran. Some, however, use this passage to prove the existence of two natures To these we may reply, Paul hated God Jesus when he persecuted the Church of God. at the time, were not love Jesus. There was a time when God was not Paul's father. Paul therefore was not by nature the son of God, but afterwards was made so. And when does God become any one's Father, except when he keeps His commandments?","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.42.4","start":42,"end":42,"heading":"Jesus said unto them., If God were your Father, ye would love me : for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.","excerpt":"AUG. And they could not hear, \"'because they would not believe, and amend their lives. ORIGEN. First then, that virtue must be sought after, which. hears the divine word; that by degrees we may be strong (Nic.) enough to embrace the whole teaching of Jesus. For so long as a man has not had his hearing restored by the Word, Mark which says to the deaf ear, Be opened: so long he cannot hear.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.44.1","start":44,"end":44,"heading":"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own : for he is a liar, and the father of it.","excerpt":"CHRYS. Our Lord, having already cut off the Jews from relationship to Abraham, overthrows now this far greater claim, to call God their Father, Ye are of your father the devil. AUG. Here we must guard against the heresy of the Manichaeans, who hold a certain original nature of evil, and Ye are of your father the devil: viz. to mean that they were by nature evil, drawing their origin from tlie opposite seed of darkness. ORIGEN. And this seems to be the same mistake, as if one said, that an eye which saw right was different in kind from an eye which saw wrong. For just as in these there is no difference of kind, only one of them for some reason sees wrong; so, in the other case, whether a man receives a doctrine, or whether he does not, he is of the same nature. AUG. The Jews then were children of the devil by imitation, not by birth: And the lusts of your father ye will do, our Lord says. Ye are his children then, because ye have such lusts, not because ye are born of him: for ye seek to kill Me, a man that hath told you the truth: and he envied man, and killed him: he was a murderer from the beginning; i. of the first man on whom a murder could be committed: man could not be slain, before man was created. The devil did not go, girt with a sword, against man: he sowed an evil word, and slew him. Do not suppose therefore that you are not guilty of murder, when you suggest evil thoughts to your brother. The very reason why ye rage against the flesh, is that ye cannot assault th soul.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 55, section 1","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvii.html#iv.lvii-p17","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/8/#v52-chrysostom","ref":"John 8:52–53"},{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 42, section 10","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliii.html#iii.xliii-p18","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null},{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 42, section 11","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliii.html#iii.xliii-p20","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/8/#v44-augustine","ref":"John 8:44"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.44.2","start":44,"end":44,"heading":"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own : for he is a liar, and the father of it.","excerpt":"ORIGEN. Consider too; it was not one man only that he killed, but the whole human race, inasmuch as in Adam all die; so that he is truly called a murderer from the beginning. CHRYS. He does not say, his works, but his lusts ye will do meaning that both the devil and the Jews were bent on murder, to satisfy their envy. And stood not in the truth. He shews whence sprang their continual objection to Him, that He was not from God.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 54","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvi.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.44.3","start":44,"end":44,"heading":"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own : for he is a liar, and the father of it.","excerpt":"AUG. But it will be objected perhaps, that if from the beginning of' his existence, the devil stood not in the truth, he was never in a state of blessedness with the holy angels, refusing, as he did, to be subject to his Creator, and therefore false and deceitful; unwilling at the cost of pious subjection to hold that which by nature he was; and attempting in his pride and loftiness to simulate that which he was not. This opinion is not the same with that of the that the devil has his own peculiar nature, derived as it were from the opposite principle of evil. This foolish sect does not see that our Lord says not, Was alien from the truth, but Stood not in the truth, meaning, fell from the truth. And thus they interpret John, The devil sinneth from the beginning, not seeing that if sin is natural, it is no sin. But what do the testimonies of the prophets reply? setting forth the devil under the figure of the prince of Babylon, says, How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! Ezekiel says, Thou hast been in Eden, the garden of God. Which passages, as they cannot be interpreted in any other way, shew that we must take the word, He stood not in the truth, to mean, that he was in truth, but did not remain in it; and the other, that the devil sinneth from the beginning, to mean, that he was a sinner not from the beginning of his creation, but from the beginning of sin. For sin began in him, and he was the beginning of sin. ORIGEN. There is only one way of standing in the truth; and various of not standing in it....","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.44.4","start":44,"end":44,"heading":"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own : for he is a liar, and the father of it.","excerpt":"... Some try to stand in the truth, but their feet tremble and shake so, they cannot. Others are not come to that pass, but are in danger of it, as we read in the Psalms, My feet were almost gone: others fall from it. Because the truth is not in him, is the reason why the devil did not stand in the truth. He imagined vain things, and deceived himself; wherein He was so far worse than others, in that, while others are deceived by him, he was the author of his own deception. But farther; does the truth is not in him, mean that he holds no true doctrine, and that every thing he thinks is false; or that he is not a member of Christ, who says, am the truth? Now it is possible that any rational being should think falsely on every subject and never be even ever so slightly right in opinion. The devil therefore may hold a true doctrine, by the mere law of his rational nature: and therefore his nature is not contrary to truth, i. does not consist of simple error and ignorance; otherwise he could never have known the truth. AUG. Or when our Lord says, The truth is not in him, He intends it as an index: as if we had asked Him, how it appeared that the devil stood not in the truth; and He said, Because the truth is not in him. For it would be in him, if he stood in it....","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.47.1","start":47,"end":47,"heading":"He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God,","excerpt":"THEOPHYL. As if to say: If ye are the sons of God, ye ought to hold sinners in hatred. If ye hate Me, when ye cannot convince Me of sin, it is evident that ye hate Me because of the truth: i. because said I was the Son of God. ORIGEN. A bold speech this; which none could have had the confidence to utter, but he Who did no sin; even our Lord. GREG. Observe here the condescension of God. He who xv Hi in virtue of His Divinity could justify sinners, deigns to shew from reason, that He is not a sinner. It follows: He that is of God heareth God's words; ye hear them not, because ye are not of God. AUG Apply this not to \"'their nature, but to their faults. They both are from God, and are not from God at the same time; their nature is from God, their fault is not from God. This was spoken too to those, who were not only faulty, by reason of sin, in the way in which all are: but who it was foreknown would never possess such faith as would free them from the bonds of sin. GREG. Let him then, who would understand God's words, ask himself whether he hears them with the ears of his heart. For there are some do not deign to hear God's commands even with their bodily ears; and there are others who do this, but do not embrace them with their heart's desire; and there are others again who receive God's words readily, yea and are touched, even to tears: but who afterwards go back to their sins again; and therefore cannot be said to hear the word of God, because they neglect to practise it.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.48.1","start":48,"end":48,"heading":"Then answered the Jews, and said unto him,, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?","excerpt":"CHRYS. Whenever our Lord said any thing of lofty meaning, the Jews in their insensibility set it down madness Then answered the Jews and said unto Him, Say we not well that Thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 55","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvii.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.48.2","start":48,"end":48,"heading":"Then answered the Jews, and said unto him,, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?","excerpt":"ORIGEN. But how, we may ask, when the Samaritans denied a future life, and the immortality of the soul, could they dare to call our Saviour, Who had preached so much on the resurrection and the judgment, a Samaritan? Perhaps they only mean a general rebuke to Him for teaching, what they did not approve of.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaurecomment04thomuoft/catenaurecomment04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.48.3","start":48,"end":48,"heading":"Then answered the Jews, and said unto him,, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?","excerpt":"ALCUIN. The Samaritans were hated by the Jews; they lived in the land that formerly belonged to the ten tribes, who had been carried away. ORIGEN. It is not unlikely too, some may have thought that He held the Samaritan opinion of there being no future state really, and only put forth the doctrine of a resurrection and eternal life, in order gain to the favour of the Jews. They said that He had a devil, because His discourses were above human capacity, those, viz. in which He asserted that God was His Father, and that He had come down from heaven, and others of a like kind: or perhaps from a suspicion, which many had, that He cast out devils by Beelzebub, the prince of the devils. THEOPHYL. Or they called Him a Samaritan, because He transgressed the Hebrew ordinances, as that of the sabbath: the Samaritans not being correct observers of the law. And they suspected Him of having a devil, because He could disclose what was in their thoughts. When it was that they called Him a Samaritan, the Evangelist no where says: a proof that the Evangelists left out many things.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.48-49.1","start":48,"end":49,"heading":"Then answered the Jews, and said unto him,, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?","excerpt":"... An intimation this to us, that when reproached by our neighbours falsely, we should not retort upon them by bringing forward their evil deeds, however true such charges might be; lest the vehicle of a just rebuke turn into a weapon of rage. CHRYS. And observe, when He had to teach them, and pull down their pride, He used roughness; but now that He has to suffer rebuke, He treats them with the utmost mildness: a lesson to us to be severe in what concerns God, but careless of ourselves. AUG. And to imitate His patience first, if we would attain to His power. But though being reviled, lie reviled not again, it was incumbent on Him to deny the charge. Two charges had been made against Him: Thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil. In reply He does not say, am not a Samaritan: for Samaritan means keeper; and He knew He was a keeper: He could not redeem us, with out at the same time preserving us. Lastly, He is the Samaritan, who went up to the wounded, and had compassion on him.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 55","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvii.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null},{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 43, section 2","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliv.html#iii.xliv-p4","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/8/#v48-augustine","ref":"John 8:48"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.49.1","start":49,"end":49,"heading":"Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me.","excerpt":"ORIGEN. Our Lord, even more than Paul, wished become all things to all men, that He might gain some: and therefore He did not deny being a Samaritan. have not a devil, is what Jesus alone can say; as He alone can say, The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me. None of us are quite free from having a devil. For even lesser faults come from him.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaurecomment04thomuoft/catenaurecomment04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.49.2","start":49,"end":49,"heading":"Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me.","excerpt":"AUG. Then after being so reviled, all that He says to vindicate His glory, is, But I honour My Father: as if to say, That you may not think Me arrogant, I tell you, I have One, Whom I honour....","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.49.3","start":49,"end":49,"heading":"Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me.","excerpt":"GREG. As all who have zeal toward God are liable to meet with dishonour from wicked men, our Lord has Himself set us an example of patience under this trial; And ye do dishonour Me.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.49-50.1","start":49,"end":50,"heading":"Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me.","excerpt":"ORIGEN. And this was not addressed to them only, but to all who by unrighteous deeds inflict injury upon Christ, who is righteousness; or by scoffing at wisdom wrong Him who is wisdom: and the like. ut sup. GREG. How we are to take injuries, He shews us by His own example, when He adds, I seek not Mine own glory, there is one that seeketh and judge th. CHRYS. As if to say, have told you this on account of the honour which have for My Father; and for this ye dishonour Me. But I concern not myself for your reviling: ye are accountable to Him, for whose sake I undergo it. ORIGEN. God seeks Christ's glory, in every one of those who receive Him: which glory He finds in those who cultivate the seeds of virtue implanted in them. And those in whom He finds not His Son's glory, He punishes: There is one that seeketh and judgeth. AUG. Meaning of course the Father. But how is it then that He says in another place, The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son. Judgment is sometimes put for condemnation, whereas here it only stands for trial: as if to say. There is one, even My Father, who distinguishes My glory from yours; ye glory after this world, I not after this world. The Father distinguishes the glory of the Son, from that of all men: for that He has been made man, does not bring us to a comparison with Him. We men have sin: He was without sin, even when He was in the form of a servant; for, as the Word which was in the beginning, who can speak worthily of Him?","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 43, section 9","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliv.html#iii.xliv-p22","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/8/#v50-augustine","ref":"John 8:50"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.51.1","start":51,"end":51,"heading":"Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.","excerpt":"... AUG. See is put for experience. But since, about to die Himself, He spoke with those about to die, what means this, If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death? What, but that He saw another death from which He came to free us, death eternal, the death of the damned, which is shared with the devil and his angels ! That is the true death: the other is a passage only. ORIGEN. We must understand Him, as it were, to say, If a man keep My light, he shall not see darkness for ever; for ever being taken as common to both clauses, as if the sentence were, If a man keep My saying for ever, He shall not see death for ever: meaning that a man does not see death, so long as he keeps Christ's word. But when a man, by becoming sluggish in the observance of His words, and negligent in the keeping of his own heart, ceases to keep them, he then sees death; he brings it upon himself. Thus taught then by our Saviour, to the prophet who asks, What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? we are able to answer, He who keepeth Christ's word.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.52.1","start":52,"end":52,"heading":"Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.","excerpt":"GREG. As it is necessary that the good should grow better by contumely, so are the reprobate made worse by kindness. On hearing our Lord's words, the Jews again blaspheme: Then said the Jews unto Him, Now we know Thou hast a devil, ORIGEN. Those who believe the Holy Scriptures, understand that what men do contrary to right reason, is not done without the operation of devils. Thus the Jews thought that Jesus had spoken by the influence of the devil, when He said, If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death. And this idea they laboured under, because they did not know the power of God. For here He was speaking of that death of enmity to reason, by which sinners perish: whereas they understand Him of that death which is common to all; and therefore blame Him for so speaking, when it was certain that Abraham and the Prophets were dead: Abraham is dead, and the Prophets; and Thou sayest, If a man keep My saying, he shall never taste of death. Shall never taste of death, they say, instead of, shall not see death; though between tasting and seeing death there is a difference. Like careless hearers, they mistake what our Lord said. For as our Lord, in that He is the true bread, is good to taste; in that He is wisdom, is beautiful to behold; in like manner His adversary death is both to be tasted and seen. When then a man stands by Christ's help in the spiritual place pointed out to him, he shall not taste of death if he preserves that state: according to Matthew, There be those standing HERE, which shall not taste of death. But when a man hears Christ's words and keeps them, he shall not see death.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.52.2","start":52,"end":52,"heading":"Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.","excerpt":"CHRYS. Again, they have recourse to the vainglorious argument of their descent: Art Thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? They might have said, Art Thou greater than God, whose words they are dead who heard? But they do not say this, because they thought Him inferior even to Abraham. ORIGEN. For they do not see that not Abraham only, but every one born of woman, is less than He who was born of a Virgin. Now were the Jews right in saying that Abraham was dead? for he heard the word of Christ, and kept it, as did also the Prophets, who, they say, were dead. For they kept the word of the Son of God, when the word of the Lord came to Hosea, or Jeremiah; if any one else kept the word, surely those Prophets did. They utter a lie then when they say, We know that Thou hast a devil; and when they say, Abraham is dead, and the Prophets. GREG. For being given over to eternal death, which death they saw not, and thinking only, as they did, of the death of the body, their minds were darkened, even while the Truth Himself was speaking. They add: Whom makest Thou Thyself? THEOPHYL. As if to say, Thou a person of no account, a carpenter's son of Galilee, to take glory to Thyself! BEDE. Whom makest Thou Thy self? Of what merit, of what dignity wouldest Thou be accounted? Nevertheless, Abraham only died in the body; his soul lived. And the death of the soul which is to live for ever, is greater than the death of the body that must die some time.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 55","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvii.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.52-56.1","start":52,"end":56,"heading":"Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.","excerpt":"CHRYS. In answer then to their question, Art Thou greater than our father Abraham, He shews that He is greater than Abraham; Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day: he saw it, and was glad; he must have rejoiced, because My day would benefit him, which is to acknowledge Me greater than himself. THEOPHYL. As if to say, He regarded My day, as a day to be desired, and full of joy; not as if I was an unimportant or common person. AUG. He did not fear, but rejoiced to see: he rejoiced hope, believing, and so by faith saw. It admits of doubt whether He is speaking here of the temporal day of the Lord, that, viz. of His coming in the flesh, or of that day which knows neither rising or setting. I doubt not however that our father Abraham knew the whole: as he says to his servant whom he sent, Put thy hand under my thigh, awe? swear to me by the God of heaven. What did that oath signify, but that the God of heaven was to come in the flesh, out of the stock of Abraham. GREG. Abraham saw the day of the Lord even then, when he entertained the three Angels, a figure of the Trinity. CHRYS. They are aliens Abraham if they grieve over what he rejoiced in. By this day perhaps He means the day of the cross, which Abraham prefigured by the offering up of Isaac and the ram: inti mating hereby that He did not come to His passion unwillingly.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 55","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lvii.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null},{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 43, section 16","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliv.html#iii.xliv-p44","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/8/#v56-augustine","ref":"John 8:56"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.54-55.1","start":54,"end":55,"heading":"Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing ; it is my Father that honoureth me ; of whom ye say, that he is your God :","excerpt":"ORIGEN. This was the speech of persons spiritually blind. For Jesus did not make Himself what He was, received it from the Father: Jesus answered and said, If honour Myself, My honour is nothing. CHRYS. This is to their suspicions; as above, If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. BEDE. He shews in these words that the glory of this present life is nothing. AUG. 'This is to answer those who said, Whom makest Thou Thy self? He refers His glory to the Father, from Whom He is: is My Father that honoureth Me. The Arians take occasion from those words to calumniate our faith, and say, Lo, the Father is greater, for He glorifieth the Son. Heretics, have ye not read that the Son also glorifieth the Father? ALCUIN. The Father glorified the Son, at His baptism, on the mount, at the time of His passion, when a voice came to Him, in the midst of the crowd, when He raised Him up again after His passion, and placed Him at the right hand of His Majesty. CHRYS. He adds, Of whom ye say that He is your God; meaning to tell them that they were not only ignorant of the Father, but even of God. THEOPHYL. For had they known the Father really, they would have reverenced the Son. But they even despise God, who in the Law forbad murder, by their clamours against Christ. Wherefore He says, Ye have not known Him. ALCUIN. As if to say, Ye call Him your God, after a carnal manner, serving Him for temporal rewards. Ye have not known Him, as He should be known; ye are not able to serve Him spiritually.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 43, section 14","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliv.html#iii.xliv-p41","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/8/#v54-augustine","ref":"John 8:54"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.55.1","start":55,"end":55,"heading":"Yet ye have not known him ; but I know him : and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.","excerpt":"AUG. Some heretics say that the God proclaimed in the Old Testament is not the Father of Christ, but a kind of prince of bad angels. These He contradicts when He calls Him His Father, whom the Jews called their God, and knew not. For had they known Him, they would have received His Son. Of Himself however He adds, But I know Him. And here too, to men judging after the flesh, He might appear arrogant. But let not arrogance be so guarded against, as that truth be deserted. Therefore our Lord says, And if I should say I know Him not, I should be a liar like unto you. CHRYS. As if to say, As ye, saying that ye know Him, lie; so were I a liar, did I say I knew Him not. It follows, however, (which is the greatest proof of all that He was sent from God,) But I know Him. THEOPHYL. Having that knowledge by nature; for as I am, so is the Father also; I know Myself, and therefore I know Him. And He gives the proof that He knows Him: And I keep His saying, His commandments. Some under stand, keep His saying, to mean, I keep the nature of His substance unchanged; for the substance of the Father and the Son is the same, as their nature is the same; and therefore I know the Father. And here has the force of because: know Him because keep His saying. AUG. He spoke the saying of the Father too, as being the Son; and He was Himself that Word of the Father, which He spoke to men.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 43, section 15","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliv.html#iii.xliv-p43","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/8/#v54-augustine","ref":"John 8:54–55"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.56.1","start":56,"end":56,"heading":"Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.","excerpt":"AUG. If they rejoiced to whom the Word appeared in the flesh, what was his joy, who beheld in spiritual vision the light ineffable, the abiding Word, the bright illumination of pious souls, the indefectible wisdom, still abiding with God the Father, and sometime to come in the flesh, but not to leave the Father's bosom.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 43, section 16","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xliv.html#iii.xliv-p44","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/8/#v56-augustine","ref":"John 8:56"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.57-58.1","start":57,"end":58,"heading":"Then said the Jews unto him. Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham P","excerpt":"GREG. The carnal minds of the Jews are intent on the flesh only; they think only of His age in the flesh: Then said the Jews unto Him, Thou art not fifty years old, and hast Thou seen Abraham? that is to say, Many ages have passed since Abraham died; and how then could he see thy day? For they took His words in a carnal sense. THEOPHYL. Christ was then years old. Why then do they not say, Thou art not yet forty years old, instead of fifty A needless question this: they simply spoke as chance led them at the time. Some however say that they mentioned the fiftieth year on account of its sacred character, as being the year of jubilee, in which they redeemed their captives, and gave up the possessions they had bought. sup. Our Saviour mildly draws them away from their carnal view, to the contemplation of His Divinity; Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham I am. Before is a particle of past time, am, of present. Divinity has no past or future, but always the present; and therefore He does not say, Before Abraham was, I was: but, Before Abraham was, I am: as it is in Exodus, am that I am. Before and after might be said of Abraham with reference to different periods of his life; to be, in the present, is said of the truth only.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.58.1","start":58,"end":58,"heading":"Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.","excerpt":"AUG. Abraham being a creature, He did not say before Abraham was, but, before Abraham was made. Nor does He say, I am made; because that, in the beginning WAS -the ut Word.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaurecomment04thomuoft/catenaurecomment04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.59.1","start":59,"end":59,"heading":"Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.","excerpt":"GREG. Their unbelieving minds, however, were unable support these indications of eternity; and not understanding Him, sought to destroy Him: Then they took up stones to cast at Him. AUG. Such hardness of heart, 'whither was it to run, but to its truest likeness, even the stones? But now that He had done all that He could do as a teacher, and they in return wished to stone Him, since they could not bear correction, He leaves them: Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple. He did not hide Himself in a corner of the temple, as if He was afraid, or take refuge in a house, or run behind a wall, or a pillar; but by His heavenly power, making Himself invisible to His enemies, went through the midst of them: Jesus hid Him self, and went out of the temple. GREG. Who, had He chosen to exert the power of His Divinity, could, without a word, by His mere nod, have seized them, with the very stones in their hands, and delivered them to immediate death. But He who came to suffer, was slow to execute judgment.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.8.59.2","start":59,"end":59,"heading":"Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.","excerpt":"ALCUIN. He fled, because His hour was not yet come; and because He had not chosen this kind of death. AUG. So then, as a man, He flies from the stones; but woe to them, from whose stony hearts God flies. BEDE. Mystically, a man throws a stone at Jesus, as often as he harbours an evil thought; and if he follows it up, so far as lies in him, he kills Jesus. GREG. What does our Lord ut sup. mean by hiding Himself, but that the truth is hidden to them, who despise His words. The truth flies the company of an unhumbled soul. His example shews us, that we should in all humility rather retreat from the wrath of the proud, when it rises, than resist it, even though we might be able.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null}]},{"work_id":"calvin","author":"John Calvin","short_name":"Calvin","author_dates":"1509-1564","tradition":"Reformed","era":"Reformation","died":1564,"title":"Commentary on the Gospel According to John","edition_short":"Calvin Translation Society, tr. William Pringle, 1847","author_url":"/commentators/calvin/","divisions":"verse","work_url":"/works/calvin/","entries":[{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.3.1","start":3,"end":3,"heading":"And the scribes and Pharisees bring to him","excerpt":"3. And the scribes and Pharisees bring to him. It is plain enough that this passage was unknown anciently to the Greek Churches; and some conjecture that it has been brought from some other place and inserted here. But as it has always been received by the Latin Churches, and is found in many old Greek manuscripts, and contains nothing unworthy of an Apostolic Spirit, there is no reason why we should refuse to apply it to our advantage. When the Evangelist says that the scribes brought to him a woman, he means that it was done by an agreement among them, in order to lay traps for Christ. He expressly mentions the Pharisees, because they were the chief persons in the rank of scribes In adopting this pretense for slander, they display enormous wickedness, and even their own lips accuse them; for they do not disguise that they have a plain commandment of the Law, and hence it follows that they act maliciously in putting a question as if it were a doubtful matter. But their intention was, to constrain Christ to depart from his office of preaching grace, that he might appear to be fickle and unsteady. They expressly state that adulteresses are condemned by Moses, (Leviticus 20:10,) that they may hold Christ bound by the sentence already given by the Law, for it was not lawful to acquit those whom the Law condemned; and, on the other hand, if he had consented to the Law, he might be thought to be somewhat unlike himself.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.i.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1178,"text":"Leviticus 20:10","label":"Leviticus 20:10","href":"/lev/20/#v10","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.6.1","start":6,"end":6,"heading":"And Jesus stooping down","excerpt":"6. And Jesus stooping down. By this attitude he intended to show that he despised them. Those who conjecture that he wrote this or the other thing, in my opinion, do not understand his meaning. Nor do I approve of the ingenuity of Augustine, who thinks that in this manner the distinction between the Law and the Gospel is pointed out, because Christ did not write on tables of stone, (Exodus 31:18,) but on man, who is dust and earth. For Christ rather intended, by doing nothing, to show how unworthy they were of being heard; just as if any person, while another was speaking to him, were to draw lines on the wall, or to turn his back, or to show, by any other sign, that he was not attending to what was said. Thus in the present day, when Satan attempts, by various methods, to draw us aside from the right way of teaching, we ought disdainfully to pass by many things which he holds out to us. The Papists teaze us, to the utmost of their power, by many trifling cavils, as if they were throwing clouds into the air. If godly teachers be laboriously employed in examining each of those cavils, they will begin to weave Penelope’s web; and therefore delays of this sort, which do nothing but hinder the progress of the Gospel, are wisely disregarded.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.i.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":386,"text":"Exodus 31:18","label":"Exodus 31:18","href":"/exo/31/#v18","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.7.1","start":7,"end":7,"heading":"He who is without sin among you","excerpt":"7. He who is without sin among you. He said this according to the custom of the Law; for God commanded that the witnesses should, with their own hands, put malefactors to death, according to the sentence which had been pronounced on them; that greater caution might be used in bearing testimony, (Deuteronomy 17:7.) There are many who proceed rashly to overwhelm their brother by perjury, because they do not think that they inflict a deadly wound by their tongue. And this very argument, had weight with those slanderers, desperate as they were; for no sooner do they obtain a sight of it, than they lay aside those fierce passions with which they were swelled when they came. Yet there is this difference between the injunction of the Law and the words of Christ, that in the Law God merely enjoined that they should not condemn a man with the tongue, unless they were permitted to put him to death with their own hands; but here Christ demands from the witnesses perfect innocence, so that no man ought to accuse another of crime, unless he be pure, and free from every fault. Now what he said, at that time, to a few persons, we ought to view as spoken to all, that whoever accuses another, ought to impose on himself a law of innocence; otherwise, we do not pursue wicked actions, but rather are hostile to the persons of men.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.i.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":297,"text":"Deuteronomy 17:7","label":"Deuteronomy 17:7","href":"/deu/17/#v7","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.7.2","start":7,"end":7,"heading":"","excerpt":"In this way, however, Christ appears to take out of the world all judicial decisions, so that no man shall dare to say that he has a right to punish crimes. For shall a single judge be found, who is not conscious of having something that is wrong? Shall a single witness be produced who is not chargeable with some fault? He appears, therefore, to forbid all witnesses to give public testimony, and all judges to occupy the judgment-seat. I reply: this is not an absolute and unlimited prohibition, by which Christ forbids sinners to do their duty in correcting the sins of others; but by this word he only reproves hypocrites, who mildly flatter themselves and their vices, but are excessively severe, and even act the part of felons, in censuring others. No man, therefore, shall be prevented by his own sins from correcting the sins of others, and even from punishing them, when it may be found necessary, provided that both in himself and in others he hate what ought to be condemned; and in addition to all this, every man ought to begin by interrogating his own conscience, and by acting both as witness and judge against himself, before he come to others. In this manner shall we, without hating men, make war with sins.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.i.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.9.1","start":9,"end":9,"heading":"And being reproved by their conscience","excerpt":"9. And being reproved by their conscience. Here we perceive how great is the power of an evil conscience. Though those wicked hypocrites intended to entrap Christ by their cavils, yet as soon as he pierces their consciences by a single word, shame puts them to flight. This is the hammer with which we must break the pride of hypocrites. They must be summoned to the judgment-seat of God. Though it is possible that the shame, with which they were struck before men, had greater influence over them than the fear of God, still it is a great matter that, of their own accord, they acknowledge themselves to be guilty, when they thus fly away as if they were confounded. It is immediately added,\n\nBeginning from the eldest even to the last. Our attention is drawn to this circumstance, that, according as each of them surpassed the others in honorable rank, he was the more quickly moved by his condemnation. And would to God that our scribes, who in the present day sell their labors to the Pope to make war with Christ, had at least as much modesty as those men; but they are so destitute of shame that, while they have rendered themselves infamous by every detestable crime, they glory in the fact that they are permitted to be as abominable as they choose, without being punished. We ought also to observe how widely this conviction of sin, by which the scribes were affected, differs from true repentance. For we ought to be affected by the judgment of God in such a manner, that we shall not seek a place of concealment to avoid the presence of the Judge, but rather shall go direct to Him, in order to implore his forgiveness.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.i.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.9.2","start":9,"end":9,"heading":"Jesus was left alone","excerpt":"Jesus was left alone. This was brought about by the Spirit of wisdom, that those wicked men, having gained nothing by tempting Christ, went away. Nor is there any reason to doubt that we shall succeed in defeating all the contrivances of our enemies, provided that we permit ourselves to be governed by the same Spirit. But it frequently happens that they gain an advantage over us, because, not attending to their snares, we are not careful to take advice, or rather, trusting to our own wisdom, we do not consider how much we need the government of the Holy Spirit. He says that Christ remained alone; not that the people, whom he was formerly teaching, had left him, but because all the scribes, who had brought the adulteress, gave him no farther annoyance. When it is said that the woman remained with Christ, let us learn by this example that there is nothing better for us than to be brought, as guilty, to his tribunal, provided that we surrender ourselves mildly and submissively to his government.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.i.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.11.1","start":11,"end":11,"heading":"Neither do I condemn thee","excerpt":"11. Neither do I condemn thee. We are not told that Christ absolutely acquitted the woman, but that he allowed her to go at liberty. Nor is this wonderful, for he did not wish to undertake any thing that did not belong to his office. He had been sent by the Father to gather the lost sheep, (Matthew 10:6;) and, therefore, mindful of his calling, he exhorts the woman to repentance, and comforts her by a promise of grace. They who infer from this that adultery ought not to be punished with death, must, for the same reason, admit that inheritances ought not to be divided, because Christ refused to arbitrate in that matter between two brothers, (Luke 12:13.) Indeed, there will be no crime whatever that shall not be exempted from the penalties of the law, if adultery be not punished; for then the door will be thrown open for any kind of treachery, and for poisoning, and murder, and robbery. Besides, the adulteress, when she bears an unlawful child, not only robs the name of the family, but violently takes away the right of inheritance from the lawful offspring, and conveys it to strangers. But what is worst of all, the wife not only dishonors the husband to whom she had been united, but prostitutes herself to shameful wickedness, and likewise violates the sacred covenant of God, without which no holiness can continue to exist in the world.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.i.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":292,"text":"Matthew 10:6","label":"Matthew 10:6","href":"/mat/10/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":649,"text":"Luke 12:13","label":"Luke 12:13","href":"/luk/12/#v13","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.11.2","start":11,"end":11,"heading":"","excerpt":"Yet the Popish theology is, that in this passage Christ has brought to us the Law of grace, by which adulterers are freed from punishment. And though they endeavor, by every method, to efface from the minds of men the grace of God, such grace as is every where declared to us by the doctrine of the Gospel, yet in this passage alone they preach aloud the Law of grace. Why is this, but that they may pollute, with unbridled lust, almost every marriage-bed, and may escape unpunished? Truly, this is the fine fruit which we have reaped from the diabolical system of celibacy, that they who are not permitted to marry a lawful wife can commit fornication without restraint. But let us remember that, while Christ forgives the sins of men, he does not overturn political order, or reverse the sentences and punishments appointed by the laws.\n\nGo, and sin no more. Hence we infer what is the design of the grace of Christ. It is, that the sinner, being reconciled to God, may honor the Author of his salvation by a good and holy life. In short, by the same word of God, when forgiveness is offered to us, we are likewise called to repentance. Besides, though this exhortation looks forward to the future, still it humbles sinners by recalling to remembrance their past life.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.i.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.12.1","start":12,"end":12,"heading":"I am the light of the world","excerpt":"12. I am the light of the world. Those who leave out the former narrative, which relates to the adulteress, connect this discourse of Christ with the sermon which he delivered on the last day of the assembly. It is a beautiful commendation of Christ, when he is called the light of the world; for, since we are all blind by nature, a remedy is offered, by which we may be freed and rescued from darkness and made partakers of the true light Nor is it only to one person or to another that this benefit is offered, for Christ declares that he is the light of the whole world; for by this universal statement he intended to remove the distinction, not only between Jews and Gentiles, but between the learned and ignorant, between persons of distinction and the common people.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.ii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.12.2","start":12,"end":12,"heading":"","excerpt":"But we must first ascertain what necessity there is for seeking this light; for men will never present themselves to Christ to be illuminated, until they have known both that this world is darkness, and that they themselves are altogether blind. Let us therefore know that, when the manner of obtaining this light is pointed out to us in Christ, we are all condemned for blindness, and everything else which we consider to be light is compared to darkness, and to a very dark night. For Christ does not speak of it as what belongs to him in common with others, but claims it as being peculiarly his own. Hence it follows, that out of Christ there is not even a spark of true light There may be some appearance of brightness, but it resembles lightning, which only dazzles the eyes. It must also be observed, that the power and office of illuminating is not confined to the personal presence of Christ; for though he is far removed from us with respect to his body, yet he daily sheds his light upon us, by the doctrine of the Gospel, and by the secret power of his Spirit. Yet we have not a full definition of this light, unless we learn that we are illuminated by the Gospel and by the Spirit of Christ, that we may know that the fountain of all knowledge and wisdom is hidden in him.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.ii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.12.3","start":12,"end":12,"heading":"He who followeth me","excerpt":"He who followeth me. To the doctrine he adds an exhortation, which he immediately afterwards confirms by a promise. For when we learn that all who allow themselves to be governed by Christ are out of danger of going astray, we ought to be excited to follow him, and, indeed, by stretching out his hand — as it were — he draws us to him. We ought also to be powerfully affected by so large and magnificent a promise, that they who shall direct their eyes to Christ are certain that, even in the midst of darkness, they will be preserved from going astray; and that not only for a short period, but until they have finished their course. For that is the meaning of the words used in the future tense, he shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life Such is also the import of this latter clause, in which the perpetuity of life is stated in express terms. We ought not to fear, therefore, lest it leave us in the middle of the journey, for it conducts us even to life The genitive of life, in accordance with the Hebrew idiom, is employed, instead of the adjective, to denote the effect; as if he had said, the life-giving light We need not wonder that such gross darkness of errors and superstitions prevails in the world, in which there are so few that have their eyes fixed on Christ.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.ii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.13.1","start":13,"end":13,"heading":"The Pharisees therefore said","excerpt":"13. The Pharisees therefore said. They adduce as an objection what is commonly said, that no man ought to be trusted, when speaking in his own cause. For a true testimony is put for “what is lawful and worthy of credit.” In short, they mean that it is of no use for him to speak, unless he bring proof from some other quarter.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.ii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.14.1","start":14,"end":14,"heading":"Though I testify concerning myself","excerpt":"14. Though I testify concerning myself. Christ replies, that his testimony possesses sufficient credit and authority, because he is not a private person belonging to the great body of men, but holds a very different station. For when he says, that he knoweth whence he came, and whither he goeth, he thus excludes himself from the ordinary rank of men. The meaning therefore is, that every man is heard with suspicion in his own cause, and it is provided by the laws, that no man shall be believed, when he speaks for his own advantage. But this does not apply to the Son of God, who holds a rank above the whole world; for he is not reckoned as belonging to the rank of men, but has received from his Father this privilege, to reduce all men to obedience to him by a single word.\n\nI know whence I came. By these words he declares that his origin is not from the world, but that he proceeded from God, and therefore that it would be unjust and unreasonable that his doctrine, which is Divine, should be subjected to the laws of men. But as he was at that time clothed with the form of a servant, in consequence of which they despised him on account of the mean condition of the flesh, he sends them away to the future glory of his resurrection, from which his Divinity, formerly hidden and unknown, received a clear demonstration. That intermediate condition, therefore, ought not to have prevented the Jews from submitting to God’s only ambassador, who had been formerly promised to them in the Law.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.ii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.14.2","start":14,"end":14,"heading":"But you know not whence I came, and whither I go","excerpt":"But you know not whence I came, and whither I go. He means that his glory is not at all diminished by their unbelief. Again, as he has given the same testimony to us, our faith ought to despise all the reports and slanders of wicked men; for it cannot be founded upon God without rising far above the loftiest pride of the world. But in order that we may perceive the majesty of his Gospel, we ought always to direct our eyes to the heavenly glory of the Son of God, and to hear him speaking in the world, so as to remember whence he came, and what authority he now possesses, after having discharged his embassy. For as he humbled himself for a time, so now he is highly exalted at the right hand of the Father, that every knee may bow to him, (Philippians 2:10.)","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.ii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.15.1","start":15,"end":15,"heading":"You judge according to the flesh","excerpt":"15. You judge according to the flesh. This may be explained in two ways; either that they judge according to the wicked views of the flesh, or that they judge according to the appearance of the person. For the flesh sometimes denotes the outward appearance of a man; and both meanings agree well with this passage, since wherever either the feelings of the flesh prevail, or a regard to the person regulates the judgment, neither truth nor justice dwells. But I think that the meaning will be more certain, if you contrast the flesh with the Spirit, understanding his meaning to be, that they are not lawful and competent judges, because they have not the Spirit for their guide.\n\nI judge no man. Here, too, commentators differ. Some distinguish it thus, that he does not judge as man. Others refer it to the time, that while he was on earth, he did not undertake the office of a Judge Augustine gives both expositions, but does not decide between them. But the former distinction cannot at all apply. For this sentence contains two clauses, that Christ does not judge, and that if he judge, his judgment is solid and just, because it is divine. As to the former clause, therefore, in which he says that he does not judge, I confine it to what belongs peculiarly to this passage. For in order the more fully to convict his enemies of pride, he employs this comparison, that they unjustly assume the liberty to judge, and yet cannot condemn him, while he merely teaches and abstains from performing the office of a judge.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.iii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.16.1","start":16,"end":16,"heading":"And if I judge","excerpt":"16. And if I judge, He adds this correction, that he may not appear entirely to surrender his right. If I judge, says he, my judgment is true, that is, it is entitled to authority. Now the authority arises from this consideration, that he does nothing but according to the commandment of the Father.\n\nFor I am not alone. This phrase amounts to an affirmative, that he is not one of the ordinary rank of men, but that he must be considered along with the office which was assigned to him by the Father. But why does he not rather make an open assertion of his Divinity, as he might truly and justly have done? The reason is, that as his Divinity was concealed under the veil of the flesh, he brings forward his Father, in whom it was more manifest. Still, the object of the discourse is, to show that all that he does and teaches ought to be accounted Divine.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.iii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.17.1","start":17,"end":17,"heading":"Even in your law it is written","excerpt":"17. Even in your law it is written. The argument might, at first sight, appear to be weak, because no man is received as a witness in his own cause. But we ought to remember what I have already said, that the Son of God ought to be excluded from the ordinary number of other men, because he neither is a private individual, nor transacts his own private business. As to his distinguishing himself from his Father, by doing so he accommodates himself to the capacity of his hearers, and that on account of his office, because he was at that time a servant of the Father, from whom, therefore, he asserts that all his doctrine has proceeded.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.iii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.19.1","start":19,"end":19,"heading":"Where is thy father","excerpt":"19. Where is thy father? There can be no doubt whatever, that it was in mockery that they inquired about his Father For not only do they, with their wonted pride, treat contemptuously what he had said about the Father, but they likewise ridicule him for talking loftily about his Father, as if he had drawn his birth from heaven. By these words, therefore, they mean that they do not value so highly Christ’s Father, as to ascribe any thing to the Son on his account. And the reason why there are so many in the present day who, with daring presumption, despise Christ, is, that few consider that God has sent him.\n\nYou neither know me nor my Father. He does not deign to give them a direct reply, but in a few words reproaches them with the ignorance in which they flattered themselves. They inquired about the Father; and yet when they had the Son before their eyes, seeing, they did not see, (Matthew 13:13.) It was therefore a just punishment of their pride and wicked ingratitude, that they who despised the Son of God, who had been familiarly offered to them, never approached to the Father For how shall any mortal man ascend to the height of God, unless he be raised on high by the hand of his Son? God in Christ condescended to the mean condition of men, so as to stretch out his hand; and do not those who reject God, when he thus approaches to them, deserve to be excluded from heaven?","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.iii.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":896,"text":"Matthew 13:13","label":"Matthew 13:13","href":"/mat/13/#v13","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.19.2","start":19,"end":19,"heading":"","excerpt":"Let us know that the same thing is spoken to us all; for whoever aspires to know God, and does not begin with Christ, must wander — as it were — in a labyrinth; for it is not without good reason that Christ is called the image of the Father, as has been already said. Again, as all who, leaving Christ, attempt to rise to heaven, after the manner of the giants, are destitute of all right knowledge of God, so every man who shall direct his mind and all his senses to Christ, will be led straight to the Father. For on good grounds does God declare that,\n\nby the mirror of the Gospel, we clearly behold God in the person of Christ, (2 Corinthians 3:18.)\n\nAnd certainly it is an astonishing reward of the obedience of faith, that whosoever humbles himself before the Lord Jesus, penetrates above all the heavens, even to those mysteries which the angels behold and adore.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.iii.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":633,"text":"2 Corinthians 3:18","label":"2 Corinthians 3:18","href":"/2co/3/#v18","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.20.1","start":20,"end":20,"heading":"These words spoke Jesus in the treasury. The treasury","excerpt":"20. These words spoke Jesus in the treasury. The treasury was a part of the temple where the sacred offerings were laid up. It was a much frequented place, and hence we infer that this sermon was delivered by Christ amidst a large assembly of men, so that the people had less excuse. The Evangelist likewise holds out to us the astonishing power of God in this respect, that they were constrained to endure Christ openly teaching in the temple, though but lately they sought to seize him, and put him to death. For since they held an undisputed sway in the temple, so that they ruled there with the fierceness of tyrants, they might have banished Christ from it by a single word. And when he ventured to take upon himself the office of a teacher, why do they not instantly lay violent hands on him? We see then that God caused men to hear him, and guarded him by his protection, so that those savage beasts did not touch him, though they had their throats opened to swallow him. The Evangelist again mentions his hour, that we may learn that it is not by the will of men, but by the will of God, that we live and die.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.iii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.21.1","start":21,"end":21,"heading":"I go","excerpt":"21. I go. Perceiving that he is doing no good among these obstinate men, he threatens their destruction; and this is the end of all those who reject the Gospel. For it is not thrown uselessly into the air, but must breathe the odour either of life or of death, (2 Corinthians 2:16.) The meaning of these words amounts to this. “The wicked will at length feel how great loss they have suffered by rejecting Christ, when he freely offers himself to them. They will feel it, but it will be too late, for there will be no more room for repentance.” And to alarm them still more by showing them that their judgment is near at hand, in the first place, he says that he will soon go away, by which he means that the Gospel is preached to them only for a short time, and that if they allow this opportunity to pass away, the accepted time and the days appointed for salvation (Isaiah 49:8; 2 Corinthians 6:2) will not always last. Thus also, in the present day, when Christ knocks at our door, we ought to go immediately to meet him, lest he be wearied by our slothfulness and withdraw from us. And indeed we have learned, by many experiments in all ages, how greatly this departure of Christ is to be dreaded.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":262,"text":"2 Corinthians 2:16","label":"2 Corinthians 2:16","href":"/2co/2/#v16","status":"detected"},{"at":869,"text":"Isaiah 49:8","label":"Isaiah 49:8","href":"/isa/49/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":882,"text":"2 Corinthians 6:2","label":"2 Corinthians 6:2","href":"/2co/6/#v2","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.21.2","start":21,"end":21,"heading":"And you shall seek me","excerpt":"And you shall seek me. We must first ascertain in what manner the persons now spoken of sought Christ; for if they had been truly converted, they would not have sought him in vain; because he has not falsely promised that, as soon as a sinner groans, he will be ready to assist him. Christ does not mean, therefore, that they sought him by the right way of faith, but that they sought him, as men, overwhelmed by the extremity of anguish, look for deliverance on every hand. For unbelievers would desire to have God reconciled to them, but yet they do not cease to fly from him. God calls them; the approach consists in faith and repentance; but they oppose God by hardness of heart, and, overwhelmed with despair, they exclaim against him. In short, they are so far from desiring to enjoy the favor of God, that they do not give him permission to assist them, unless he deny himself, which he will never do.\n\nIn this manner, however wicked the scribes were, they would willingly have applied to themselves the redemption which had been promised by the hand of the Messiah, provided that Christ would transform himself, to suit their natural disposition. Wherefore, by these words Christ threatens and denounces to all unbelievers, that, after having despised the doctrine of the Gospel, they will be seized with such anguish, that they shall be constrained to cry to God, but their howling will be of no avail; because, as we have already said, seeking, they do not seek And this is still more plainly expressed in the next clause, when he says, you shall die in your sin; for he shows that the cause of their destruction will be, that they were disobedient and rebellious to the very last. What is the nature of their sin we shall presently see.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.22.1","start":22,"end":22,"heading":"Will he kill himself?","excerpt":"22. Will he kill himself? The scribes persevere not only in fearless scorn, but likewise in effrontery; for they ridicule what he had said, that they cannot follow whither he shall go; as if they had said, “If he kill himself, we acknowledge that we cannot accompany him, because we do not choose to do so.” They regarded Christ’s absence as a matter of no moment, and thought that in all respects they would gain a victory over him; and so they bid him begone wherever he pleases. Shocking stupidity! But thus does Satan infatuate the reprobate, that, intoxicated with more than brutal indifference, they may throw themselves into the midst of the flame of the wrath of God. Do we not in the present day behold the same rage in many who, having stupified their consciences, insolently play off their jests and buffoonery on every thing that they hear about the dreadful judgment of God? Yet it is certain that this is an affected or sardonic smile, for they are pierced inwardly with unseen wounds; but all on a sudden, like men bereft of their senses, they burst out into furious laughter.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.23.1","start":23,"end":23,"heading":"You are from beneath, I am from above","excerpt":"23. You are from beneath, I am from above. As they did not deserve that he should teach them, he wished only to strike them with reproofs conveyed in few words, as in this passage he declares that they do not receive his doctrine, because they have an utter dislike of the kingdom of God. Under the words, world and beneath, he includes all that men naturally possess, and thus points out the disagreement which exists between his Gospel and the ingenuity and sagacity of the human mind; for the Gospel is heavenly wisdom, but our mind grovels on the earth. No man, therefore, will ever be qualified to become a disciple of Christ, till Christ has formed him by his Spirit. And hence it arises that faith is so seldom found in the world, because all mankind are naturally opposed and averse to Christ, except those whom he elevates by the special grace of his Holy Spirit.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.24.1","start":24,"end":24,"heading":"You shall die in your sins","excerpt":"24. You shall die in your sins. Having formerly employed the singular number, in your sin, he now resorts to the plural number, in your sins; but the meaning is the same, except that in the former passage he intended to point out that unbelief is the source and cause of all evils. Not that there are no other sins but unbelief, or that it is unbelief alone which subjects us to the condemnation of eternal death before God, as some men too extravagantly talk; but because it drives us away from Christ, and deprives us of his grace, from which we ought to expect deliverance from all our sins. That the Jews reject the medicine with obstinate malice, is their mortal disease; and hence it arises that the slaves of Satan do not cease to heap up sins on sins, and continually to bring down upon themselves fresh condemnations. And, therefore, he immediately adds, —\n\nIf you do not believe that I am. For there is no other way for lost men to recover salvation, but to betake themselves to Christ. The phrase, that I am, is emphatic; for, in order to make the meaning complete, we must supply all that the Scripture ascribes to the Messiah, and all that it bids us expect from him. But the sum and substance is — the restoration of the Church, the commencement of which is the light of faith, from which proceed righteousness and a new life. Some of the ancient writers have deduced from this passage the Divine essence of Christ; but that is a mistake, for he speaks of his office towards us. This statement is worthy of observation; for men never consider sufficiently the evils in which they are plunged; and though they are constrained to acknowledge their destruction, yet they neglect Christ, and look around them, in every direction, for useless remedies. Wherefore we ought to believe that, until the grace of Christ be manifested to deliver us, nothing but a boundless mass of all evils reigns perpetually in us.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.25.1","start":25,"end":25,"heading":"","excerpt":"... Some too — among whom is Chrysostom — render it continuously thus: The beginning, who also speak to you, I have many things to say and judge of you This meaning has been put into verse by Nonnus. But a different reading is more generally adopted, and appears to be the true one. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.v.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.25.2","start":25,"end":25,"heading":"","excerpt":"... It may be explained thus: “According to the beginning, that is, what I have formerly said, I now, as it were, confirm anew;” or, “And truly what I now also speak, is in accordance with the conditions made in all ages, so as to be a strong confirmation of it.”\n\nIn short, this reply consists of two clauses; for, under the word beginning, he includes an uninterrupted succession of ages, during which God had made a covenant with their fathers. When he says that he also speaks, he joins his doctrine with the ancient predictions, and shows that it depends on them. Hence it follows that the Jews had no other reason for their ignorance, than that they did not believe either the Prophets or the Gospel; for it is the same Christ that is exhibited in all of them. They pretended to be disciples of the Prophets, and to look to the eternal covenant of God; but still they rejected Christ, who had been promised from the beginning, and presented himself before them.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.v.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.26.1","start":26,"end":26,"heading":"I have many things to say and judge of you","excerpt":"26. I have many things to say and judge of you. Perceiving that he is in the position of one who sings to the deaf, he pursues his discourse no farther, but only declares that God will defend that doctrine, which they despise, because he is the Author of it. “If I wished to accuse you,” says he, “your malice and wickedness supply me with ample materials; but I leave you for the present. But my Father, who committed to me the office of a teacher, will not fail to fulfill his promise; for he will always vindicate his word against the wicked and sacrilegious contempt of men.” This saying of Christ is of the same import with that of Paul,\n\nIf we deny him, he remaineth faithful, he cannot deny himself, (2 Timothy 2:13.)\n\nIn short, he threatens the judgment of God against unbelievers, who refuse to give credit to his word; and he does so on this ground, that God must inevitably defend his truth. Now this is the true firmness of faith, when we believe that God is alone sufficient to establish the authority of his doctrine, though the world should reject it. All who, relying on this doctrine, serve Christ faithfully, may fearlessly accuse the whole world of falsehood.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.v.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":708,"text":"2 Timothy 2:13","label":"2 Timothy 2:13","href":"/2ti/2/#v13","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.26.2","start":26,"end":26,"heading":"And I speak to the world those things which I have heard from him","excerpt":"And I speak to the world those things which I have heard from him. He says that he utters nothing which he has not received from the Father; and this is the only confirmation of a doctrine, when the minister shows that what he speaks has proceeded from the Father. Now we know that Christ sustained, at that time, the office of a minister; and, therefore, we need not wonder, if he demands that men listen to him, because he brings to them the commandments of God. Besides, by his example he lays down a general law for the whole Church, that no man ought to be heard, unless he speak from the mouth of God. But while he lays low the wicked arrogance of those men who take upon themselves to speak without the word of God, faithful teachers, who know well the nature of their calling, are fortified and armed by him with unshaken firmness, that, under the guidance of God, they may boldly bid defiance to all mortals.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.v.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.27.1","start":27,"end":27,"heading":"They did not know that he spoke to them about the Father","excerpt":"27. They did not know that he spoke to them about the Father. Hence we see how stupid those men are whose understandings are possessed by Satan. Nothing could be more plain than that they were summoned to the judgment-seat of God. But what then? They are altogether blind. This happens daily to other enemies of the Gospel; and such blindness ought to instruct us to walk with fear.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.v.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.28.1","start":28,"end":28,"heading":"When you shall have exalted the Son of man","excerpt":"28. When you shall have exalted the Son of man. Offended at that stupidity which the Evangelist has described, Christ again declares that they do not deserve that he should open his mouth to speak to them any more. “You now,” says he, “have all your senses — as it were — fascinated, and, therefore, you understand nothing of all that I say; but the time will yet come, when you shall know that a Prophet of God has lived among you, and has spoken to you.” This is the manner in which we ought to deal with wicked men; we ought expressly to summon them to the judgment-seat of God. But this knowledge, which Christ speaks of, comes too late, when the reprobate and unbelievers, dragged to punishment, reluctantly acknowledge that God, to whom they ought mildly to have given honor and reverence, is their Judge. For he does not promise them repentance, but declares that, after they have been struck with new and unexpressed horror at the wrath of God, they will be aroused from that sleep in which they now repose. Thus Adam’s eyes were opened, so that, overwhelmed with shame, he sought in vain for places of concealment, and ultimately was convinced that he was ruined. Yet that knowledge of Adam, which was in itself useless, turned to his advantage through the grace of God; but the reprobate, being overwhelmed with despair, have their eyes opened only for this purpose, that they may perceive their destruction. To this kind of knowledge God conducts them in a variety of ways. Sometimes it happens that, constrained by heavy afflictions, they learn that God is angry with them; sometimes, without any outward punishment, he inwardly torments them; and, at other times, he permits them to sleep until he call them out of the world.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.v.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.28.2","start":28,"end":28,"heading":"","excerpt":"By the term exalt Christ points out his own death. He mentions his death, in order to warn them that, though they destroy him according to the flesh, they will gain nothing by it; as if he had said, “Now you treat me with haughty scorn, while I speak to you; but ere long your wickedness will proceed farther, even so far as to put me to death. Then will you triumph, as if you had gained your wish, but within a short time you shall feel, to your utter ruin, how widely my death differs from destruction.” He employs the word exalt, in order to vex them the more. Their intention was to plunge Christ into the lowest hell. He tells them that they will be completely disappointed, and that the event will be altogether contrary to what they thus expect. He may, indeed, have intended to allude to the outward form of his death, that he was to be lifted up on the cross; but he looked chiefly to the glorious result of it, which soon afterwards followed, contrary to the expectation of all. True, indeed, in the cross itself he gained a splendid triumph over Satan, before God and the angels, by blotting out the hand-writing of sin, and cancelling the condemnation of death, (Colossians 2:14;) but it was only after that the Gospel had been preached, that this triumph began to be made known to men. The same thing which happened shortly afterwards — that Christ rose out of the grave, and ascended to heaven — is what we ought daily to expect; for, notwithstanding all the contrivances of wicked men to oppress Christ in his Church, not only will he rise in spite of them, but he will turn their wicked efforts into the means of promoting the progress of his kingdom.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.v.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1176,"text":"Colossians 2:14","label":"Colossians 2:14","href":"/col/2/#v14","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.28.3","start":28,"end":28,"heading":"That I am","excerpt":"That I am. I have already stated that this does not refer to Christ’s Divine essence, but to his office; which appears still more clearly from what follows, when he affirms that he does nothing but by the command of the Father; for this means, that he was sent by God, and that he performs his office faithfully.\n\nAnd that I do nothing of myself. That is, I do not put myself forward, to attempt anything rashly. Again, the word speak, refers to the same thing, that is, to the office of teaching; for when Christ wishes to prove that he does nothing but by the commandment of the Father, he says that he speaks as he has been taught by Him. The meaning of the words, therefore, may be summed up thus: In the whole of these proceedings, which you condemn, no part is my own, but I only execute what God has enjoined upon me; the words which you hear from my mouth are his words, and my calling, of which He is the Author, is directed by him alone. Let us remember, however, what I have sometimes mentioned already, that these words are accommodated to the capacity of the hearers. For, since they thought that Christ was only one of the ordinary rank of men, he asserts that whatever in him is Divine is not his own; meaning that it is not of man or by man; because the Father teaches us by him, and appoints him to be the only Teacher of the Church; and for this reason he affirms that he has been taught by the Father","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.v.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.29.1","start":29,"end":29,"heading":"And he who hath sent me is with me","excerpt":"29. And he who hath sent me is with me. He again boasts that God, under whose guidance and authority he does every thing, will assist him, so that he shall not labor in vain and to no purpose, as if he had said, that the power of the Spirit of God accompanies his ministry. All faithful teachers ought to be endued with the same confidence, so as to entertain no doubt that the hand of God will be near them, when, with a pure conscience, they discharge such a ministry as he demands. For God does not furnish them with his word, in order that they may strike the air with an idle and useless sound, but makes his word successful by the secret efficacy of his Spirit, and at the same time guards them by his protection, that, when their enemies shall have been subdued, they may remain invincible against the whole world. And, indeed, if they judge of themselves and their own powers, they must give way every hour; so that the only method of pursuing is, to be convinced that they are supported by the hand of God.\n\nBecause I do always the things which please him. We must observe the reason why Christ declares that God is on his side, and that he will never be deprived of his assistance. It is, because he is regulated entirely by his will, and serves him in sincerity. For this is what he means by the word always, that he does not obey God only in part, but is entirely and unreservedly devoted to his service. Wherefore, if we desire to enjoy the same presence of God, our whole reason must be subjected to his authority; for if our senses hold the government in any degree, all our exertions will be fruitless, because the blessing of God will not be on them. And though for a time we may be delighted with the joyful prospect of success, yet the final result will be dismal.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.v.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.29.2","start":29,"end":29,"heading":"The Father hath not left me alone","excerpt":"The Father hath not left me alone By these words, he indirectly complains of the treachery of his nation, in which he found scarcely any that gave him their support. Yet he shows that he reckons this alone to be abundantly sufficient, that he has God to protect him. Such is the courage with which we ought to be animated in the present day, that we may not give way on account of the small number of believers; for, though the whole world be opposed to his doctrine, still we are not alone Hence, too, it is evident how foolish is the boasting of the Papists, who, while they neglect God, proudly boast of their vast numbers.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.v.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.30.1","start":30,"end":30,"heading":"While he spoke these things","excerpt":"30. While he spoke these things. Though the Jews, at that time, almost resembled a dry and barren soil, yet God did not permit the seed of his word to be entirely lost. Thus, contrary to all hopes, and amidst so many obstructions, some fruit appears. But the Evangelist inaccurately gives the name of faith to that which was only a sort of preparation for faith For he affirms nothing higher concerning them than that they were disposed to receive the doctrine of Christ, to which also the preceding warning refers.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.vi.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.31.1","start":31,"end":31,"heading":"If you continue in my word","excerpt":"31. If you continue in my word. Here Christ warns them, in the first place, that it is not enough for any one to have begun well, if their progress to the end do not correspond to it; and for this reason he exhorts to perseverance in the faith those who have tasted of his doctrine. When he says that they who are firmly rooted in his word, so as to continue in him, will truly be his disciples, he means that many profess to be disciples who yet are not so in reality, and have no right to be accounted such. He distinguishes his followers from hypocrites by this mark, that they who falsely boasted of faith give way as soon as they have entered into the course, or at least in the middle of it; but believers persevere constantly to the end. If, therefore, we wish that Christ should reckon us to be his disciples, we must endeavor to persevere.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.vi.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.32.1","start":32,"end":32,"heading":"And you shall know the truth","excerpt":"32. And you shall know the truth. He says, that they who have arrived at some knowledge of it shall know the truth True, those whom Christ addresses were as yet uneducated, and scarcely knew the first elements, and therefore we need not wonder if he promises them a more full understanding of his doctrine. But the statement is general. Wherefore, whatever progress any of us have made in the Gospel, let him know that he needs new additions. This is the reward which Christ bestows on their perseverance, that he admits them to greater familiarity with him; though in this way he does nothing more than add another gift to the former, so that no man ought to think that he is entitled to any reward. For it is he who impresses his word on our hearts by his Spirit, and it is he who daily chases away from our minds the clouds of ignorance which obscure the brightness of the Gospel. In order that the truth may be fully revealed to us, we ought sincerely and earnestly to endeavor to attain it. It is the same unvarying truth which Christ teaches his followers from the beginning to the end, but on those who were at first enlightened by him, as it were with small sparks, he at length pours a full light. Thus believers, until they have been fully confirmed, are in some measure ignorant of what they know; and yet it is not so small or obscure a knowledge of faith as not to be efficacious for salvation.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.vi.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.32.2","start":32,"end":32,"heading":"The truth shall make you free","excerpt":"The truth shall make you free. He commends the knowledge of the Gospel from the fruit which we derive from it, or — which is the same thing — from its effect, namely, that it restores us to freedom This is an invaluable blessing. Hence it follows, that nothing is more excellent or desirable than the knowledge of the Gospel. All men feel and acknowledge that slavery is a very wretched state; and since the Gospel delivers us from it, it follows that we derive from the Gospel the treasure of a blessed life.\n\nWe must now ascertain what kind of liberty is here described by Christ, namely, that which sets us free from the tyranny of Satan, sin, and death. And if we obtain it by means of the Gospel, it is evident from this that we are by nature the slaves of sin. Next, we must ascertain what is the method of our deliverance. For so long as we are governed by our sense and by our natural disposition, we are in bondage to sin; but when the Lord regenerates us by his Spirit, he likewise makes us free, so that, loosed from the snares of Satan, we willingly obey righteousness. But regeneration proceeds from faith, and hence it is evident that freedom proceeds from the Gospel.\n\nLet Papists now go and proudly vaunt of their free-will, but let us, who are conscious of our own slavery, glory in none but Christ our Deliverer. For the reason why the Gospel ought to be reckoned to have achieved our deliverance is, that it offers and gives us to Christ to be freed from the yoke of sin. Lastly, we ought to observe, that freedom has its degrees according to the measure of their faith; and therefore Paul, though clearly made free, still groans and longs after perfect freedom, (Romans 7:24.)","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.vi.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.33.1","start":33,"end":33,"heading":"We are Abraham’s seed","excerpt":"33. We are Abraham’s seed. It is uncertain if the Evangelist here introduces the same persons who formerly spoke, or others. My opinion is, that they replied to Christ in a confused manner, as usually happens in a promiscuous crowd; and that this reply was made rather by despisers than by those who believed. It is a mode of expression very customary in Scripture, whenever the body of a people is mentioned, to ascribe generally to all what belongs only to a part.\n\nThose who object that they are Abraham’s seed, and have always been free, easily inferred from the words of Christ that freedom was promised to them as to people who were slaves But they cannot endure to have it said that they, who are a holy and elect people, are reduced to slavery For of what avail was the adoption and the covenant, (Romans 9:4,) by which they were separated from other nations, but because they were accounted the children of God? They think, therefore, that they are insulted, when freedom is exhibited to them as a blessing which they do not yet possess. But it might be thought strange that they should maintain that they never were enslaved, since they had been so frequently oppressed by various tyrants, and at that time were subjected to the Roman yoke, and groaned under the heaviest burden of slavery; and hence it may be easily seen how foolish was their boasting.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.vi.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":806,"text":"Romans 9:4","label":"Romans 9:4","href":"/rom/9/#v4","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.33.2","start":33,"end":33,"heading":"","excerpt":"Yet they had this plausible excuse, that the unjust sway of their enemies did not hinder them from continuing to be free by right. But they erred, first, in this respect, that they did not consider that the right of adoption was founded on the Mediator alone; for how comes it that Abraham’s seed is free, but because, by the extraordinary grace of the Redeemer, it is exempted from the general bondage of the human race? But there was another error less tolerable than the former, that, though they were altogether degenerate, yet they wished to be reckoned among the children of Abraham, and did not consider that it is nothing else than the regeneration of the Spirit that makes them lawful children of Abraham And indeed, it has been too common a vice in almost all ages, to refer to the origin of the flesh the extraordinary gifts of God, and to ascribe to nature those remedies which Christ bestows for correcting nature. Meanwhile, we see how all who, swelled with false confidence, flatter themselves on their condition drive away from them the grace of Christ. And yet this pride is spread over the whole world, so that there is scarcely one person in a hundred who feels that he needs the grace of God.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.vi.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.34.1","start":34,"end":34,"heading":"Every man who committeth sin is the slave of sin","excerpt":"34. Every man who committeth sin is the slave of sin. This is an argument drawn from contrary things. They boasted that they were free. He proves that they are the slaves of sin, because, being enslaved by the desires of the flesh, they continually sin. It is astonishing that men are not convinced by their own experience, so that, laying aside their pride, they may learn to be humble. And it is a very frequent occurrence in the present day, that, the greater the load of vices by which a man is weighed down, the more fiercely does he utter unmeaning words in extolling free-will.\n\nChrist appears to say nothing more here than what was formerly said by philosophers, that they who are devoted to their lusts are subject to the most degrading slavery. But there is a deeper and more hidden meaning; for he does not argue what evil men bring on themselves, but what is the condition of human nature. The philosophers thought that any man is a slave by his own choice, and that by the same choice he returns to freedom. But here Christ maintains, that all who are not delivered by him are in a state of slavery, and that all who derive the contagion of sin from corrupted nature are slaves from their birth. We must attend to the comparison between grace and nature, on which Christ here dwells; from which it may be easily seen that men are destitute of freedom, unless they regain it from some other quarter. Yet this slavery is voluntary, so that they who necessarily sin are not compelled to sin.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.vi.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.35.1","start":35,"end":35,"heading":"Now the slave remaineth not in the house always","excerpt":"35. Now the slave remaineth not in the house always. He adds a comparison, taken from the laws and from political law, to the effect that a slave, though he may have power for a time, yet is not the heir of the house; from which he infers that there is no perfect and durable freedom, but what is obtained through the Son In this manner he accuses the Jews of vanity, because they hold but a mask instead of the reality; for, as to their being Abraham’s offspring, they were nothing but a mask. They held a place in the Church of God, but such a place as Ishmael, a slave, rising up against his freeborn brother, usurped for a short time, (Galatians 4:29.) The conclusion is, that all who boast of being Abraham’s children have nothing but an empty and deceitful pretense.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.vi.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":640,"text":"Galatians 4:29","label":"Galatians 4:29","href":"/gal/4/#v29","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.36.1","start":36,"end":36,"heading":"If then the Son shall make you free","excerpt":"36. If then the Son shall make you free. By these words he means that the right of freedom belongs to himself alone, and that all others, being born slaves, cannot be delivered but by his grace. For what he possesses as his own by nature he imparts to us by adoption, when we are ingrafted by faith into his body, and become his members. Thus we ought to remember what I said formerly, that the Gospel is the instrument by which we obtain our freedom So then our freedom is a benefit conferred by Christ, but we obtain it by faith, in consequence of which also Christ regenerates us by his Spirit. When he says that they shall be truly free, there is an emphasis on the word truly; for we must supply the contrast with the foolish persuasion by which the Jews were swelled with pride, in like manner as the greater part of the world imagine that they possess a kingdom, while they are in the most wretched bondage.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.vi.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.37.1","start":37,"end":37,"heading":"I know that you are Abraham’s seed","excerpt":"37. I know that you are Abraham’s seed. I explain this as said by way of concession. Yet at the same time he ridicules their folly in glorying in so absurd a title, as if he had said: “Granting that on which you flatter yourselves so much, still what avails it that those men are called the children of Abraham, who are enraged against God and his ministers, and who are actuated by such wicked and detestable hatred of the truth, that they rush headlong to shed innocent blood?” Hence it follows that nothing is farther from their true character than what they wished to be called, because they have no resemblance to Abraham\n\nYou seek to kill me, because my word has no place in you. He means that they are not merely murderers, but are driven to such rage by hatred of God and his truth, which is far more heinous; for such an enormity does not merely extend to men, but likewise dishonors God. He says, that they cannot receive his words, because through malice they keep their minds shut, so that they cannot admit anything wholesome.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.vi.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.38.1","start":38,"end":38,"heading":"I speak what I have seen with my Father","excerpt":"38. I speak what I have seen with my Father. He had already made frequent mention of his Father; and now, by an argument drawn from contrary things, he infers that they are enemies to God, and are the children of the devil, because they oppose his doctrine. “For my part,” says he, “I bring nothing forward, but what I have learned from my Father. How comes it then that the word of God excites you to such fury, but because you have an opposite father?” He says that he speaks, and they do, because he discharged the office of a teacher, while they labored strenuously to extinguish his doctrine. At the same time, he protects the Gospel against contempt, by showing that it is not wonderful if it be opposed by the children of the devil Instead of you do, some render it, Do you what you have seen with your father; as if Christ had said, “Come, show that you are the children of the devil, by opposing me; for I speak nothing but what God has commanded.”","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.vi.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.39.1","start":39,"end":39,"heading":"Abraham is our father","excerpt":"39. Abraham is our father. This altercation shows plainly enough how haughtily and fiercely they despised all Christ’s reproofs. What they continually claim and vaunt of is, that they are Abraham’s children; by which they do not simply mean that they are the lineal descendants of Abraham, but that they are a holy race, the heritage of God, and the children of God. And yet they rely on nothing but the confidence of the flesh. But carnal descent, without faith, is nothing more than a false pretense. We now understand what it was that so greatly blinded them, so that they treated Christ with disdain, though armed with deadly thunder. Thus the word of God, which might move stones, is ridiculed in the present day by Papists, as if it were a fable, and fiercely persecuted by fire and sword; and for no other reason but that they rely on their false title of “the Church,” and hope that they will be able to deceive both God and man. In short, as soon as hypocrites have procured some plausible covering, they oppose God with hardened obstinacy, as if he could not penetrate into their hearts.\n\nIf you were the children of Abraham, you would do the works of Abraham. Christ now distinguishes more plainly between the bastard and degenerate children of Abraham, and the true and lawful children; for he refuses to give the very name to all who do not resemble Abraham True, it frequently happens that children do not resemble, in their conduct, the parents from whom they are sprung; but here Christ does not argue about carnal descent, but only affirms that they who do not retain by faith the grace of adoption are not reckoned among the children of Abraham before God. For since God promised to the seed of Abraham that he would be their God, saying,\n\nI will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, (Genesis 17:7,)","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.vii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.39.2","start":39,"end":39,"heading":"","excerpt":"all unbelievers, by rejecting this promise, excluded themselves from the family of Abraham.\n\nThe state of the question therefore is this: Ought they to be accounted Abraham’s children who reject the blessing offered to them in the word, so that, notwithstanding of this, they shall be a holy nation, the heritage of God, and a royal priesthood? (Exodus 19:6; Joel 3:2.) Christ denies this, and justly; for they who are the children of the promise must be born again by the Spirit, and all who desire to obtain a place in the kingdom of God ought to be new creatures. Carnal descent from Abraham was not indeed useless, and of no value, provided that the truth were added to it. For election dwells in the seed of Abraham, but it is free, so that all whom God sanctifies by his Spirit are accounted heirs of life.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.vii.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":346,"text":"Exodus 19:6","label":"Exodus 19:6","href":"/exo/19/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":359,"text":"Joel 3:2","label":"Joel 3:2","href":"/jol/3/#v2","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.40.1","start":40,"end":40,"heading":"But now you seek to kill me","excerpt":"40. But now you seek to kill me. He proves from the effect, that they are not the children of God, as they boasted, because they oppose God. And, indeed, is there any thing in Abraham that is more highly commended than the obedience of faith? This then is the mark of distinction, whenever we are required to distinguish between his children and strangers; for empty titles, whatever estimation they may procure before the world, are of no account with God. Christ therefore concludes again, that they are the children of the devil, because they hate with deadly hatred true and sound doctrine.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.vii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.41.1","start":41,"end":41,"heading":"We were not born of fornication","excerpt":"41. We were not born of fornication. They claim no more for themselves than they did formerly, for it was the same thing with them to be Abraham’s children and to be God’s children. But they erred grievously in this respect, that they imagined that God was bound to the whole seed of Abraham. For they reason thus: “God adopted for himself the family of Abraham; therefore, since we are Abraham’s descendants, we must be the children of God.” We now see how they thought that they had holiness from the womb, because they were sprung from a holy root. In short, they maintain that they are the family of God, because they are descended from the holy fathers. In like manner, the Papists in the present day are exceedingly vain of an uninterrupted succession from the fathers. By sorceries of this description Satan deceives them, so that they separate God from his word, the Church from faith, and the kingdom of heaven from the Spirit.\n\nLet us know, therefore, that they who have corrupted the seed of life are at the farthest remove from being the children of God, though, according to the flesh, they are not bastards, but pretend a right to the plausible title of the Church. For let them go about the bush as much as they please, still they will never avoid the discovery that the only ground of their arrogant boasting is, “We have succeeded the holy fathers; therefore, we are the Church.” And if the reply of Christ was sufficient for confuting the Jews, it is not less sufficient now for reproving the Papists. Never indeed will hypocrites cease to employ the name of God falsely, with most wicked effrontery; but those false grounds of boasting, on which they plume themselves, will never cease to appear ridiculous in the eyes of all who shall abide by the decision of Christ.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.vii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.42.1","start":42,"end":42,"heading":"If God were your Father, you would love me","excerpt":"42. If God were your Father, you would love me. Christ’s argument is this: “Whoever is a child of God will acknowledge his first-born Son; but you hate me, and therefore you have no reason to boast, that you are God’s children.” We ought carefully to observe this passage, that there is no piety and no fear of God where Christ is rejected. Hypocritical religion, indeed, presumptuously shelters itself under the name of God; but how can they agree with the Father who disagree with his only Son? What kind of knowledge of God is that in which his lively image is rejected? And this is what Christ means, when he testifies that he came from the Father.\n\nFor I proceeded and came from God. He means that all that he has is divine; and therefore it is most inconsistent that the true worshippers of God should fly from his truth and righteousness. “I did not come,” says he, “of myself. You cannot show that anything about me is contrary to God. In short, you will find nothing that is either earthly or human in my doctrine, or in the whole of my ministry.” For he does not speak of his essence, but of his office.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.vii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.43.1","start":43,"end":43,"heading":"Why do you not understand my language?","excerpt":"43. Why do you not understand my language? In this passage, he reproaches the Jews with their obstinacy, which was so great, that they could not even endure to hear him speak Hence he infers, that they are actuated and hurried away by diabolical rage. Some make a distinction here between language and speech, as if speech had a more extensive meaning; but I do not see it; and besides, it would not be appropriate that the word which means less should be placed first. Many point this verse in such a manner as to make the question close with the word language; as if the question consisted only of these words, Why do you not understand my language? So that the reason is immediately assigned, Because you cannot hear my word. But I think that it ought rather to be read in immediate connection, as if he had said, “What is the reason why my speech appears to you barbarous and unknown, so that I gain nothing by speaking to you, and so that you do not even deign to open your ears to receive what I say?” In the former clause, therefore, he reproves their stupidity; in the latter, he reproves their obstinate and ungovernable hatred of his doctrine; and he afterwards assigns a reason for both, when he says, that they are sprung from the devil For by putting the question, he intended to take out of their hands what was the subject of their continual boasting, that they are led by reason and judgment to oppose him.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.viii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.44.1","start":44,"end":44,"heading":"You are of your father the devil","excerpt":"44. You are of your father the devil. What he had twice said more obscurely, he now expresses more fully, that they are the devil’s children But we must supply the contrast, that they could not cherish such intense hatred to the Son of God, were it not that they had for their father the perpetual enemy of God. He calls them children of the devil, not only because they imitate him, but because they are led by his instigation to fight against Christ. For as we are called the children of God, not only because we resemble him, but because he governs us by his Spirit, because Christ lives and is vigorous in us, so as to conform us to the image of his Father; so, on the other hand, the devil is said to be the father of those whose understandings he blinds, whose hearts he moves to commit all unrighteousness, and on whom, in short, he acts powerfully and exercises his tyranny; as in 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2, and in other passages.\n\nThe Manicheans foolishly and ineffectually abused this passage to prove their absurd tenets. For since, when Scripture calls us the children of God, this does not refer to the transmission or origin of the substance, but to the grace of the Spirit, which regenerates us to newness of life; so this swing of Christ does not relate to the transmission of substance, but to the corruption of nature, of which man’s revolt was the cause and origin. When men, therefore, are born children of the devil, it must not be imputed to creation, but to the blame of sin. Now Christ proves this from the effect, because they willingly, and of their own accord, are disposed to follow the devil.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.viii.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":889,"text":"2 Corinthians 4:4","label":"2 Corinthians 4:4","href":"/2co/4/#v4","status":"detected"},{"at":908,"text":"Ephesians 2:2","label":"Ephesians 2:2","href":"/eph/2/#v2","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.44.2","start":44,"end":44,"heading":"He was a murderer from the beginning","excerpt":"He was a murderer from the beginning. He explains what are those desires, and mentions two instances, cruelty and falsehood; in which the Jews too much resembled Satan. When he says that the devil was a murderer, he means that he contrived the destruction of man; for as soon as man was created, Satan, impelled by a wicked desire of doing injury, bent his strength to destroy him. Christ does not mean the beginning of the creation, as if God implanted in him the disposition to do injury; but he condemns in Satan the corruption of nature, which he brought upon himself. This appears more clearly from the second clause, in which he says,\n\nHe did not remain in the truth. For though those who imagine that the devil was wicked by nature, endeavor to make evasions, yet these words plainly state that there was a change for the worse, and that the reason why Satan was a liar was, that he revolted from the truth That he is a liar, arises not from his nature having been always contrary to truth, but because he fell from it by a voluntary fall. This description of Satan is highly useful to us, that every person for himself may endeavor to beware of his snares, and, at the same time, to repel his violence and fury; for\n\nhe goeth about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, (1 Peter 5:8,)","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.viii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.44.3","start":44,"end":44,"heading":"","excerpt":"and has a thousand stratagems at his command for deceiving. So much the more ought believers to be supplied with spiritual arms for fighting, and so much the more earnestly ought they to keep watch with vigilance and sobriety. Now, if Satan cannot lay aside this disposition, we ought not to be alarmed at it, as if it were a new and uncommon occurrence, when errors exceedingly numerous and varied spring up; for Satan stirs up his followers like bellows, to deceive the world by their impostures. And we need not wonder that Satan puts forth such strenuous efforts to extinguish the light of truth; for it is the only life of the soul. So, then, the most important and most deadly wound for killing the soul is falsehood. As all who have eyes to see perceive, in the present day, such a picture of Satan in Popery, they ought, first, to consider with what enemy they carry on war, and, next, to betake themselves to the protection of Christ their Captain, under whose banner they fight.\n\nBecause the truth is not in him. This statement, which immediately follows the other, is a confirmation a posteriori, as the phrase is; that is, it is drawn from the effect. For Satan hates the truth, and therefore cannot endure it, but, on the contrary, is entirely covered with falsehoods. Hence Christ infers, that he is entirely fallen from the truth, and entirely turned away from it. Let us not wonder, therefore, if he daily exhibits the fruits of his apostacy.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.viii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.45.1","start":45,"end":45,"heading":"But because I speak the truth","excerpt":"45. But because I speak the truth. He confirms the preceding statement; for, since they have no other reason for opposing, but because truth is hateful and intolerable to them, they show plainly that they are the children of Satan.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.viii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.46.1","start":46,"end":46,"heading":"Which of you?","excerpt":"46. Which of you? This question proceeds from perfect confidence; for, knowing that they could not justly bring any reproach against him, he glories over his enemies, as having obtained a victory. And yet he does not say that he is free from their slanders; for, though they had no reason for reproaching, still they did not cease to pour out slanders on Christ; but he means that no crime dwells in him. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.46.2","start":46,"end":46,"heading":"","excerpt":"... Which of you Convicteth me of sin? Yet those who think that Christ here asserts his complete innocence, because he alone surpassed all men, so far as he was the Son of God, are mistaken. For this defense must be restricted to what belongs to the passage, as if he had asserted that nothing could be brought forward to show that he was not a faithful servant of God. In like manner Paul also glories that he is not conscious of any crime (1 Corinthians 4:4;) for that does not extend to the whole life, but is only a defense of his doctrine and apostleship. It is away from the subject, therefore, to speculate, as some do, about the perfection of righteousness which belongs to the Son of God alone; since the only object which he has in view is, to give authority to his ministry, as appears more clearly from what follows; for he again adds immediately afterwards, If I speak truth, why do you not believe me? From which we infer that Christ is rather defending his doctrine than his person.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":442,"text":"1 Corinthians 4:4","label":"1 Corinthians 4:4","href":"/1co/4/#v4","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.47.1","start":47,"end":47,"heading":"He who is of God","excerpt":"47. He who is of God. As he has a full right to take this for granted, that he is the ambassador of the heavenly Father, and that he discharges faithfully the office which has been committed to him, he kindles into greater indignation against them; for their impiety was no longer concealed, since they were so obstinate in rejecting the word of God. He had showed that they could not bring forward any thing which he had not taught as from the mouth of God. He concludes, therefore, that they have nothing in common with God, for they do not hear the words of God; and, without saying any thing about himself, he charges them with being at war with God. Besides, we are taught by this passage, that there is not a more evident sign of a reprobate mind, than when one cannot endure the doctrine of Christ, even though, in other respects, it shone with angelic sanctity; as, on the contrary, if we embrace that doctrine cheerfully, we have what may be called a visible seal of our election. For he who has the word enjoys God himself; but he who rejects it excludes himself from righteousness and life. Wherefore, there is nothing which we ought to fear so much as to fall under that dreadful sentence.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.48.1","start":48,"end":48,"heading":"Do we not say well?","excerpt":"48. Do we not say well? They show more and more how greatly they are stupified by Satan; for, though they are fully convicted, still they are enraged, and are not ashamed to show that they are utterly desperate. Besides, though they bring a double reproach against Christ, still they wish to do nothing more than to say in a few words, that he is a detestable man, and that he is actuated by a wicked spirit. The Jews reckoned the Samaritans to be apostates and corrupters of the Law; and therefore, whenever they wished to stamp a man with infamy, they called him a Samaritan. Having no crime more heinous, therefore, to reproach Christ with, they seize at random, and without judgment, this vulgar taunt. To express it in a few words, we see that with effrontery they curse him, as men are wont to do when, infuriated like enraged dogs, they cannot find any thing to say.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.49.1","start":49,"end":49,"heading":"I have not a devil","excerpt":"49. I have not a devil. He passes by the first charge, and clears himself only of the second. Some think that he did so, because he disregarded the insult offered to his person, and undertook only the defense of the doctrine. But they are mistaken, in my opinion; for it is not probable that the Jews were so ingenious in distinguishing between the life and the doctrine of the Lord Jesus. Besides, the dislike of this name arose, as we have said, from this circumstance, that the Samaritans, being perverse and degenerate observers of the Law, had debased it by many superstitions and corruptions, and had polluted the whole worship of God by foreign inventions. Augustine flies to allegory, and says that Christ did not refuse to be called a Samaritan, because he is a true guardian of his flock. But Christ’s intention appears to me to have been different; for since the two reproaches cast upon him had the same object, by refuting the one, he refutes the other; and, indeed, if the matter be duly considered, they insulted him more grievously by calling him a Samaritan than by calling him a demoniac But, as I have already said, Christ satisfies himself with a simple refutation, which he draws from what is contrary, when he asserts that he labors to promote the honor of his Father; for he who duly and sincerely honors him must be guided by the Spirit of God, and must be a faithful servant of God.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.49.2","start":49,"end":49,"heading":"You have dishonored me","excerpt":"You have dishonored me. This clause may be explained, as if it were a complaint of Christ, that he does not receive the honor due to him on account of his promoting the glory of God. But I think that he looks much higher, and connects the glory of the Father with his own, in this manner. “I claim nothing for myself which does not tend to the glory of God; for his majesty shines in me, his power and authority dwells in me; and therefore, when you treat me so disdainfully, you pour contempt on God himself.” He immediately adds, therefore, that God will revenge this insult. For they might have alleged that he was ambitious, if he had not testified that it was not from any personal feelings of a carnal nature that he cared about the honor or contempt showed to himself, but so far as the honor or contempt of God is concerned. Besides, though we are at a great distance from Christ, let every man be fully convinced that, if he be sincerely desirous to promote the glory of God, he will find that God has secured for him abundant commendation; for we shall always find that saying to be true,\n\nThose who honor me, I will render honorable, (1 Samuel 2:30.)\n\nIf men not only despise, but even load him with reproaches, let him calmly wait till the day of the Lord come.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1146,"text":"1 Samuel 2:30","label":"1 Samuel 2:30","href":"/1sa/2/#v30","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.51.1","start":51,"end":51,"heading":"Verily, verily, I say to you","excerpt":"51. Verily, verily, I say to you. Christ unquestionably knew that some persons in that multitude were curable, and that others of them were not opposed to his doctrine. For this reason, he intended to terrify the wicked whose malice was desperate, but to do so in such a manner as to leave ground of consolation for the good, or to draw to him those who were not yet ruined. Whatever dislike of the word of God, therefore, may be entertained by the greatest part of men, yet the faithful teacher ought not to be wholly employed in reproving the wicked, but ought also to impart the doctrine of salvation to the children of God, and endeavor to bring them to sound views, if there be any of them who are not perfectly incurable. In this passage, therefore, Christ promises eternal life to his disciples, but demands disciples who shall not only prick up their ears, like asses, or profess with the mouth that they approve of his doctrine, but who shall keep his doctrine as a precious treasure. He says that they shall never see death; for, when faith quickens the soul of a man, death already has its sting extracted and its venom removed, and so cannot inflict a deadly wound.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.x.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.52.1","start":52,"end":52,"heading":"Now we know","excerpt":"52. Now we know. The reprobate persist in their stupidity, and are not moved by promises any more than by threatenings; so that they can neither be led nor drawn to Christ. Some think that they slanderously torture his words, by using the expression, taste of death, which Christ had not used; but this appears to me to be groundless. I rather think that both of the phrases, to taste of death and to see death, were used by the Hebrews in the same sense; namely, to die But they are false interpreters in this respect, that they apply the spiritual doctrine of Christ to the body. No believer shall see death, because believers, having been born again of incorruptible seed, (1 Peter 1:23,) live even when they die; because, united to Christ their Head, they cannot be extinguished by death; because death is to them a passage into the heavenly kingdom; because\n\nthe Spirit, dwelling in them, is life on account of righteousness, (Romans 8:10,)\n\nuntil he swallow up all that remains of death. But those men, being carnal, cannot perceive any deliverance from death, unless it appear manifestly in the body. And it is a disease too common in the world, that the greatest part of men care almost nothing about the grace of Christ, because they judge of it only by their carnal perception. That the same thing may not happen to us, we must arouse our minds, that they may discern spiritual life in the midst of death.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.x.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":677,"text":"1 Peter 1:23","label":"1 Peter 1:23","href":"/1pe/1/#v23","status":"detected"},{"at":932,"text":"Romans 8:10","label":"Romans 8:10","href":"/rom/8/#v10","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.53.1","start":53,"end":53,"heading":"Art thou greater than our father Abraham?","excerpt":"53. Art thou greater than our father Abraham? This is another offense, that they endeavor to obscure the glory of Christ by the splendor of Abraham and of the saints. But as all the stars are thrown into the shade by the brightness of the sun, so all the glory that is to be found in all the saints must fade away before the incomparable brightness of Christ. They act unjustly and absurdly, therefore, in contrasting the servants with the Lord; and they even act improperly towards Abraham and the Prophets, by abusing their name in opposition to Christ. But this wickedness has prevailed in almost every age, and prevails even in the present day, that wicked men, by mangling the works of God, make him appear to be contrary to himself. God glorified himself by the Apostles and Martyrs; the Papists frame idols for themselves out of the Apostles and Martyrs, that they may occupy the place of God; and do they not, in this manner, manufacture engines out of the very favors of God, to destroy his power? For how little remains for God or for Christ, if the saints have all that the Papists so lavishly bestow upon them! Wherefore, we ought to know that the whole order of the Kingdom of God is destroyed, unless Prophets, Apostles, and all that can be called Saints, be placed far below Christ, that he alone may hold the highest rank. And, indeed, we cannot speak of the Saints more respectfully than when we place them below Christ. But the Papists, though they may deceive the ignorant by boasting that they are faithful admirers of the Saints, offer an insult both to God and to them, because, by assigning to them a lofty station, they reduce Christ to a level with them. And, indeed, they are doubly in the wrong, because they prefer the Saints to Christ in doctrine; and because, by clothing themselves with the spoils of Christ, they deprive him of almost all his power.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.x.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.54.1","start":54,"end":54,"heading":"If I glorify myself","excerpt":"54. If I glorify myself. Before replying to that unjust comparison, he begins by saying that he does not seek his own glory, and thus meets their slander. If it be objected, that Christ also glorified himself, the answer is easy, that he did so, not as man, but by the direction and authority of God. For here, as in many other passages, he distinguishes between himself and God, by way of concession. In short, he declares that he desires no glory whatever but what has been given him by the Father. We are taught by these words that, when God glorifies his Son, he will not permit the world to hate or despise him with impunity.\n\nMeanwhile, those voices sounding from heaven, Kiss the Son, (Psalm 2:12,) Let all the angels worship him, (Hebrews 1:6,) Let every knee bow to him, (Philippians 2:10,) Hear ye him, (Matthew 17:5,) Let the Gentiles seek him, (Romans 15:11,) and Let all flesh be humbled, ought greatly to encourage believers to render honor and reverence to Christ. We are also reminded by these words, that all the honor which men procure for themselves is trivial and worthless. How blind then is ambition, when we labor so earnestly about nothing! Let, us continually keep before our eyes that saying of Paul,\n\nNot he who commendeth himself is approved, but whom God commendeth, (2 Corinthians 10:18.)","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.x.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":693,"text":"Psalm 2:12","label":"Psalms 2:12","href":"/psa/2/#v12","status":"detected"},{"at":739,"text":"Hebrews 1:6","label":"Hebrews 1:6","href":"/heb/1/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":781,"text":"Philippians 2:10","label":"Philippians 2:10","href":"/php/2/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":814,"text":"Matthew 17:5","label":"Matthew 17:5","href":"/mat/17/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":857,"text":"Romans 15:11","label":"Romans 15:11","href":"/rom/15/#v11","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.54.2","start":54,"end":54,"heading":"","excerpt":"Besides, as we are destitute of the glory of God, let us learn to glory in Christ alone, so far as by his grace he makes us partakers of his glory.\n\nOf whom you say that he is your God. He pulls off from them the false mask of the name of God which they were accustomed to employ. “I know,” he says, “how presumptuously you boast that you are the people of God; but it is a false title, for you know not God.” Hence also we learn what is the true and lawful profession of faith. It is that which proceeds from true knowledge. And whence comes that knowledge, but from the word? Consequently, all who boast of the name of God without the word of God are mere liars. Yet to their audacity Christ opposes the assurance of his conscience; and thus all the servants of God ought to be prepared in their hearts to be satisfied with this alone, that God is on their side, though the whole world should rise against him. Thus anciently the Prophets and Apostles had invincible courage and magnanimity, which stood firm against the dreadful attacks of the whole world, because they knew by whom they were sent. But when solid knowledge of God is wanting, there is nothing to support us.\n\nAnd if I shall say that I know him. By this clause, Christ testifies that the necessity of his office constrains him to speak, because silence would be a treacherous denim of the truth. This is a remarkable statement, that God reveals himself to us for this purpose, that we may confess before men the faith which we have in our hearts, when it is needful. For it ought powerfully to strike terror into our minds, that they who act hypocritically to please men, and either deny the truth of God or disfigure it by wicked glosses, not only are gently reproved, but are sent back to the children of the devil.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.x.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.56.1","start":56,"end":56,"heading":"Your father Abraham","excerpt":"56. Your father Abraham. He grants to them, in words only, what he formerly took from them, that Abraham is their father But he shows how idle is the objection drawn from the name of Abraham “He had no other object,” says he, “during his whole life, than to see my kingdom flourish. He longed for me when I was absent, you despise me when I am present.” What Christ here asserts concerning Abraham alone, applies to all the saints. But this doctrine has greater weight in the person of Abraham, because he is the father of the whole Church. Whoever then desires to be reckoned in the number of the godly, let him rejoice, as he ought to do, in the presence of Christ, for which Abraham ardently longed.\n\nExulted to see my day. The word exult expresses a vehement zeal and ardent affection. We must now supply the contrast. Though the knowledge of Christ was still so obscure, Abraham was inflamed by so strong a desire, that he preferred the enjoyment of it to everything that was reckoned desirable. How base then is the ingratitude of those who despise and reject him, when he is plainly offered to them? The word day does not, in this passage, denote eternity, (as Augustine thought,) but the time of Christ’s kingdom, when he appeared in the world clothed with flesh, to fulfill the office of Redeemer.\n\nBut a question now arises, How did Abraham behold, even with the eyes of faith, the manifestation of Christ? For this appears not to agree with another statement of Christ,","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.xi.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.56.2","start":56,"end":56,"heading":"","excerpt":"Many kings and prophets desired to see the things which you see, and yet did not see them, (Luke 10:24.)\n\nI reply, faith has its degrees in beholding Christ. Thus the ancient prophets beheld Christ at a distance, as he had been promised to them, and yet were not permitted to behold him present, as he made himself familiarly and completely visible, when he came down from heaven to men.\n\nAgain, we are taught by these words that, as God did not disappoint the desire of Abraham, so he will not now permit any one to breathe after Christ, without obtaining some good fruit which shall correspond to his holy desire. The reason why he does not grant the enjoyment of himself to many is — the wickedness of men; for few desire him. Abraham’s joy testifies that he regarded the knowledge of the kingdom of Christ as an incomparable treasure; and the reason why we are told that he rejoiced to see the day of Christ is, that we may know that there was nothing which he valued more highly. But all believers receive this fruit from their faith, that, being satisfied with Christ alone, in whom they are fully and completely happy and blessed, their consciences are calm and cheerful. And indeed no man knows Christ aright, unless he gives him this honor of relying entirely upon him.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.xi.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":92,"text":"Luke 10:24","label":"Luke 10:24","href":"/luk/10/#v24","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.56.3","start":56,"end":56,"heading":"","excerpt":"Others explain it to mean, that Abraham, being already dead, enjoyed the presence of Christ, when he appeared to the world; and so they make the time of desiring and the time of seeing to be different. And indeed it is true, that the coming of Christ was manifested to holy spirits after death, of which coming they were held in expectation during the whole of their life; but I do not know if so refined an exposition agrees with Christ’s words.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.xi.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.57.1","start":57,"end":57,"heading":"Thou art not yet fifty years old","excerpt":"57. Thou art not yet fifty years old. They endeavor to refute Christ’s saying, by showing that he had asserted what was impossible, when he who was not yet fifty years of age makes himself equal to Abraham, who died many centuries before. Though Christ was not yet thirty-four years of age, yet they allow him to be somewhat older, that they may not appear to be too rigid and exact in dealing with him; as if they had said, “Thou certainly wilt not make thyself so old, though thou wert to boast that thou art already fifty years of age.” Consequently, those who conjecture that he looked older than he actually was, or that the years mentioned in this passage are not solar years, in either case labor to no purpose. The notion of Papias, who says that Christ lived more than forty years, cannot at all be admitted.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.xi.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.58.1","start":58,"end":58,"heading":"Before Abraham was","excerpt":"58. Before Abraham was. As unbelievers judge only from the appearance of the flesh, Christ reminds them that he has something greater and higher than human appearance, which is hidden from the senses of the flesh, and is perceived only by the eyes of faith; and that, in this respect, he might be seen by the holy fathers, before he was manifested in the flesh. But he uses different verbs. Before Abraham was, or, Before Abraham was born, I am. But by these words he excludes himself from the ordinary rank of men, and claims for himself a power more than human, a power heavenly and divine, the perception of which reached from the beginning of the world through all ages.\n\nYet these words may be explained in two ways. Some think that this applies simply to the eternal Divinity of Christ, and compare it with that passage in the writings of Moses, I am what I am, (Exodus 3:14.) But I extend it much farther, because the power and grace of Christ, so far as he is the Redeemer of the world, was common to all ages. It agrees therefore with that saying of the apostle, Christ yesterday, and to-day, and for ever, (Hebrews 13:8.) For the context appears to demand this interpretation. He had formerly said that Abraham longed for his day with vehement desire; and as this seemed incredible to the Jews, he adds, that he himself also existed at that time. The reason assigned will not appear sufficiently strong, if we do not understand that he was even then acknowledged to be the Mediator, by whom God was to be appeased. And yet the efficacy which belonged, in all ages, to the grace of the Mediator depended on his eternal Divinity; so that this saying of Christ contains a remarkable testimony of his Divine essence.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.xi.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":869,"text":"Exodus 3:14","label":"Exodus 3:14","href":"/exo/3/#v14","status":"detected"},{"at":1117,"text":"Hebrews 13:8","label":"Hebrews 13:8","href":"/heb/13/#v8","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.58.2","start":58,"end":58,"heading":"","excerpt":"We ought also to observe the solemn form of an oath, Verily, verily. Nor do I disapprove of the opinion of Chrysostom, that the present tense of the verb is emphatic; for he does not say, I was, but I am; by which he denotes a condition uniformly the same from the beginning to the end. And he does not say, Before Abraham was, but, Before Abraham was made; which implies that Abraham had a beginning.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.xi.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.8.59.1","start":59,"end":59,"heading":"Then they took up stones","excerpt":"59. Then they took up stones. There is reason to believe that they did this, as if Christ ought to be stoned according to the injunction of the Law, (Leviticus 24:16.) Hence we infer how great is the madness of inconsiderate zeal; for they have no ears to know the cause, but they have hands ready to commit murder. I have no doubt that Christ rescued himself by his secret power, but yet under the appearance of a low condition; for he did not intend to make a clear display of his Divinity without leaving something for human infirmity. Some copies have the words, And so Jesus passed through the midst of them; which Erasmus justly considers to have been borrowed from the Gospel by Luke 4:30. It deserves notice also, that the wicked priests and scribes, after having banished Christ,\n\nin whom dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead, |(Colossians 2:9,)\n\nretain possession of the outward temple; but they are greatly deceived, when they think that they have a temple in which God does not dwell. Such is the course now pursued by the Pope and his followers. After having banished Christ, and in this manner profaned the Church, they foolishly glory in the false disguise of a Church.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.xiv.xi.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":150,"text":"Leviticus 24:16","label":"Leviticus 24:16","href":"/lev/24/#v16","status":"detected"},{"at":686,"text":"Luke 4:30","label":"Luke 4:30","href":"/luk/4/#v30","status":"detected"},{"at":842,"text":"Colossians 2:9","label":"Colossians 2:9","href":"/col/2/#v9","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null}]},{"work_id":"henry","author":"Matthew Henry","short_name":"Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"title":"Commentary on the Whole Bible, Volume V (Matthew to John)","edition_short":"Matthew Henry, Exposition of the Old and New Testaments","author_url":"/commentators/henry/","divisions":"verse","work_url":"/works/henry/","entries":[{"id":"henry.JHN.8.1.1","start":1,"end":1,"heading":"His retirement in the evening out of the town","excerpt":"I. His retirement in the evening out of the town (v. 1): He went unto the mount of olives; whether to some friend's house, or to some booth pitched there, now at the feast of tabernacles, is not certain; whether he rested there, or, as some think, continued all night in prayer to God, we are not told. But he went out of Jerusalem, perhaps because he had no friend there that had either kindness or courage enough to give him a night's lodging; while his persecutors had houses of their own to go to (ch. vii. 53), he could not so much as borrow a place to lay his head on, but what he must go a mile or two out of town for. He retired (as some think) because he would not expose himself to the peril of a popular tumult in the night. It is prudent to go out of the way of danger whenever we can do it without going out of the way of duty. In the day-time, when he had work to do in the temple, he willingly exposed himself, and was under special protection, Isa. xlix. 2. But in the night, when he had not work to do, he withdrew into the country, and sheltered himself there.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":50,"text":"v. 1","label":"John 8:1","href":"/jhn/8/#v1","status":"detected"},{"at":502,"text":"ch. vii. 53","label":"John 7:53","href":"/jhn/7/#v53","status":"detected"},{"at":960,"text":"Isa. xlix. 2","label":"Isaiah 49:2","href":"/isa/49/#v2","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.2.1","start":2,"end":2,"heading":"His return in the morning to the temple, and to his work there","excerpt":"II. His return in the morning to the temple, and to his work there, v. 2. Observe,\n\n1. What a diligent preacher Christ was: Early in the morning he came again, and taught. Though he had been teaching the day before, he taught again to-day. Christ was a constant preacher, in season and out of season. Three things were taken notice of here concerning Christ's preaching. (1.) The time: Early in the morning. Though he lodged out of town, and perhaps had spent much of the night in secret prayer, yet he came early. When a day's work is to be done for God and souls it is good to begin betimes, and take the day before us. (2.) The place: In the temple; not so much because it was a consecrated place (for then he would have chosen it at other times) as because it was now a place of concourse; and he would hereby countenance solemn assemblies for religious worship, and encourage people to come up to the temple, for he had not yet left it desolate. (3.) His posture: He sat down, and taught, as one having authority, and as one that intended to abide by it for some time.\n\n2. How diligently his preaching was attended upon: All the people came unto him; and perhaps many of them were the country-people, who were this day to return home from the feast, and were desirous to hear one sermon more from the mouth of Christ before they returned. They came to him, though he came early. They that seek him early shall find him. Though the rulers were displeased at those that came to hear him, yet they would come; and he taught them, though they were angry at him too. Though there were few or none among them that were persons of any figure, yet Christ bade them welcome, and taught them.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":68,"text":"v. 2","label":"John 8:2","href":"/jhn/8/#v2","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.3.1","start":3,"end":3,"heading":"They set the prisoner to the bar","excerpt":"(1.) They set the prisoner to the bar (v. 3): they brought him a woman taken in adultery, perhaps now lately taken, during the time of the feast of tabernacles, when, it may be, their dwelling in booths, and their feasting and joy, might, by wicked minds, which corrupt the best things, be made occasions of sin. Those that were taken in adultery were by the Jewish law to be put to death, which the Roman powers allowed them the execution of, and therefore she was brought before the ecclesiastical court. Observe, She was taken in her adultery. Though adultery is a work of darkness, which the criminals commonly take all the care they can to conceal, yet sometimes it is strangely brought to light. Those that promise themselves secrecy in sin deceive themselves. The scribes and Pharisees bring her to Christ, and set her in the midst of the assembly, as if they would leave her wholly to the judgment of Christ, he having sat down, as a judge upon the bench.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":39,"text":"v. 3","label":"John 8:3","href":"/jhn/8/#v3","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.4.1","start":4,"end":4,"heading":"They prefer an indictment against her","excerpt":"(2.) They prefer an indictment against her: Master, this woman was taken in adultery, v. 4. Here they call him Master whom but the day before they had called a deceiver, in hopes with their flatteries to have ensnared him, as those, Luke xx. 20. But, though men may be imposed upon with compliments, he that searches the heart cannot.\n\n[1.] The crime for which the prisoner stands indicted is no less than adultery, which even in the patriarchal age, before the law of Moses, was looked upon as an iniquity to be punished by the judges, Job xxxi. 9-11; Gen. xxxviii. 24. The Pharisees, by their vigorous prosecution of this offender, seemed to have a great zeal against the sin, when it appeared afterwards that they themselves were not free from it; nay, they were within full of all uncleanness, Matt. xxiii. 27, 28. Note, It is common for those that are indulgent to their own sin to be severe against the sins of others.\n\n[2.] The proof of the crime was from the notorious evidence of the fact, an incontestable proof; she was taken in the act, so that there was no room left to plead not guilty. Had she not been taken in this act, she might have gone on to another, till her heart had been perfectly hardened; but sometimes it proves a mercy to sinners to have their sin brought to light, that they may do no more presumptuously. Better our sin should shame us than damn us, and be set in order before us for our conviction than for our condemnation.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":86,"text":"v. 4","label":"John 8:4","href":"/jhn/8/#v4","status":"detected"},{"at":233,"text":"Luke xx. 20","label":"Luke 20:20","href":"/luk/20/#v20","status":"detected"},{"at":537,"text":"Job xxxi. 9-11","label":"Job 31:9–11","href":"/job/31/#v9","status":"detected"},{"at":553,"text":"Gen. xxxviii. 24","label":"Genesis 38:24","href":"/gen/38/#v24","status":"detected"},{"at":798,"text":"Matt. xxiii. 27, 28","label":"Matthew 23:27–28","href":"/mat/23/#v27","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.5.1","start":5,"end":5,"heading":"They produce the statute in this case made and provided, and upon which she was indicted","excerpt":"(3.) They produce the statute in this case made and provided, and upon which she was indicted, v. 5. Moses in the law commanded that such should be stoned. Moses commanded that they should be put to death (Lev. xx. 10; Deut. xxii. 22), but not that they should be stoned, unless the adulteress was espoused, not married, or was a priest's daughter, Deut. xxii. 21. Note, Adultery is an exceedingly sinful sin, for it is the rebellion of a vile lust, not only against the command, but against the covenant, of our God. It is the violation of a divine institution in innocency, by the indulgence of one of the basest lusts of man in his degeneracy.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":95,"text":"v. 5","label":"John 8:5","href":"/jhn/8/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":206,"text":"Lev. xx. 10","label":"Leviticus 20:10","href":"/lev/20/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":219,"text":"Deut. xxii. 22","label":"Deuteronomy 22:22","href":"/deu/22/#v22","status":"detected"},{"at":349,"text":"Deut. xxii. 21","label":"Deuteronomy 22:21","href":"/deu/22/#v21","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.5.2","start":5,"end":5,"heading":"They pray his judgment in the case","excerpt":"(4.) They pray his judgment in the case: \"But what sayest thou, who pretendest to be a teacher come from God to repeal old laws and enact new ones? What hast thou to say in this case?\" If they had asked this question in sincerity, with a humble desire to know his mind, it had been very commendable. Those that are entrusted with the administration of justice should look up to Christ for direction; but this they said tempting him, that they might have to accuse him, v. 6. [1.] If he should confirm the sentence of the law, and let it take its course, they would censure him as inconsistent with himself (he having received publicans and harlots) and with the character of the Messiah, who should be meek, and have salvation, and proclaim a year of release; and perhaps they would accuse him to the Roman governor, for countenancing the Jews in the exercise of a judicial power. But, [2.] If he should acquit her, and give his opinion that the sentence should not be executed (as they expected he would), they would represent him, First, As an enemy to the law of Moses, and as one that usurped an authority to correct and control it, and would confirm that prejudice against him which his enemies were so industrious to propagate, that he came to destroy the law and the prophets. Secondly, As a friend to sinners, and, consequently, a favourer of sin; if he should seem to connive at such wickedness, and let it go unpunished, they would represent him as countenancing it, and being a patron of offences, if he was a protector of offenders, than which no reflection could be more invidious upon one that professed the strictness, purity, and business of a prophet.\n\n2. The method he took to resolve this case, and so to break this snare.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":469,"text":"v. 6","label":"John 8:6","href":"/jhn/8/#v6","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.6.1","start":6,"end":6,"heading":"He seemed to slight it, and turned a deaf ear to it","excerpt":"(1.) He seemed to slight it, and turned a deaf ear to it: He stooped down, and wrote on the ground. It is impossible to tell, and therefore needless to ask, what he wrote; but this is the only mention made in the gospels of Christ's writing. Eusebius indeed speaks of his writing to Abgarus, king of Edessa. Some think they have a liberty of conjecture as to what he wrote here. Grotius says, It was some grave weighty saying, and that it was usual for wise men, when they were very thoughtful concerning any thing, to do so. Jerome and Ambrose suppose he wrote, Let the names of these wicked men be written in the dust. Others this, The earth accuses the earth, but the judgment is mine. Christ by this teaches us to be slow to speak when difficult cases are proposed to us, not quickly to shoot our bolt; and when provocations are given us, or we are bantered, to pause and consider before we reply; think twice before we speak once: The heart of the wise studies to answer. Our translation from some Greek copies, which add, me prospoioumenos (though most copies have it not), give this account of the reason of his writing on the ground, as though he heard them not. He did as it were look another way, to show that he was not willing to take notice of their address, saying, in effect, Who made me a judge or a divider? It is safe in many cases to be deaf to that which it is not safe to answer, Ps. xxxviii. 13. Christ would not have his ministers to be entangled in secular affairs. Let them rather employ themselves in any lawful studies, and fill up their time in writing on the ground (which nobody will heed), than busy themselves in that which does not belong to them. But, when Christ seemed as though he heard them not, he made it appear that he not only heard their words, but knew their thoughts.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1401,"text":"Ps. xxxviii. 13","label":"Psalms 38:13","href":"/psa/38/#v13","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.7.1","start":7,"end":7,"heading":"","excerpt":"(2.) When they importunately, or rather impertinently, pressed him for an answer, he turned the conviction of the prisoner upon the prosecutors, v. 7.\n\n[1.] They continued asking him, and his seeming not to take notice of them made them the more vehement; for now they thought sure enough that they had run him aground, and that he could not avoid the imputation of contradicting either the law of Moses, if he should acquit the prisoner, or his own doctrine of mercy and pardon, if he should condemn her; and therefore they pushed on their appeal to him with vigour; whereas they should have construed his disregard of them as a check to their design, and an intimation to them to desist, as they tendered their own reputation.\n\n[2.] At last he put them all to shame and silence with one word: He lifted up himself, awaking as one out of sleep (Ps. lxxviii. 65), and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":145,"text":"v. 7","label":"John 8:7","href":"/jhn/8/#v7","status":"detected"},{"at":846,"text":"Ps. lxxviii. 65","label":"Psalms 78:65","href":"/psa/78/#v65","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.7.2","start":7,"end":7,"heading":"","excerpt":"First, Here Christ avoided the snare which they had laid for him, and effectually saved his own reputation. He neither reflected upon the law nor excused the prisoner's guilt, nor did he on the other hand encourage the prosecution or countenance their heat; see the good effect of consideration. When we cannot make our point by steering a direct course, it is good to fetch a compass.\n\nSecondly, In the net which they spread is their own foot taken. They came with design to accuse him, but they were forced to accuse themselves. Christ owns it was fit the prisoner should be prosecuted, but appeals to their consciences whether they were fit to be the prosecutors.\n\na. He here refers to that rule which the law of Moses prescribed in the execution of criminals, that the hand of the witnesses must be first upon them (Deut. xvii. 7), as in the stoning of Stephen, Acts vii. 58. The scribes and Pharisees were the witnesses against this woman. Now Christ puts it to them whether, according to their own law, they would dare to be the executioners. Durst they take away that life with their hands which they were now taking away with their tongues? would not their own consciences fly in their faces if they did?","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":820,"text":"Deut. xvii. 7","label":"Deuteronomy 17:7","href":"/deu/17/#v7","status":"detected"},{"at":866,"text":"Acts vii. 58","label":"Acts 7:58","href":"/act/7/#v58","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.7.3","start":7,"end":7,"heading":"","excerpt":"b. He builds upon an uncontested maxim in morality, that it is very absurd for men to be zealous in punishing the offences of others, while they are every whit as guilty themselves, and they are not better than self-condemned who judge others, and yet themselves do the same thing: \"If there be any of you who is without sin, without sin of this nature, that has not some time or other been guilty of fornication or adultery, let him cast the first stone at her.\" Not that magistrates, who are conscious of guilt themselves, should therefore connive at others' guilt. But therefore, (a.) Whenever we find fault with others, we ought to reflect upon ourselves, and to be more severe against sin in ourselves than in others. (b.) We ought to be favourable, though not to the sins, yet to the persons, of those that offend, and to restore them with a spirit of meekness, considering ourselves and our own corrupt nature. Aut sumus, aut fuimus, vel possumus esse quod hic est—We either are, or have been, or may be, what he is. Let this restrain us from throwing stones at our brethren, and proclaiming their faults. Let him that is without sin begin such discourse as this, and then those that are truly humbled for their own sins will blush at it, and be glad to let it drop. (c.) Those that are any way obliged to animadvert upon the faults of others are concerned to look well to themselves, and keep themselves pure (Matt. vii. 5), Qui alterum incusat probri, ipsum se intueri oportet. The snuffers of the tabernacle were of pure gold.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1418,"text":"Matt. vii. 5","label":"Matthew 7:5","href":"/mat/7/#v5","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.7.4","start":7,"end":7,"heading":"","excerpt":"c. Perhaps he refers to the trial of the suspected wife by the jealous husband with the waters of jealousy. The man was to bring her to the priest (Num. v. 15), as the scribes and Pharisees brought this woman to Christ. Now it was a received opinion among the Jews, and confirmed by experience, that if the husband who brought his wife to that trial had himself been at any time guilty of adultery, Aquæ non explorant ejus uxorem—The bitter water had no effect upon the wife. \"Come then,\" saith Christ, \"according to your own tradition will I judge you; if you are without sin, stand to the charge, and let the adulteress be executed; but if not, though she be guilty, while you that present her are equally so, according to your own rule she shall be free.\"\n\nd. In this he attended to the great work which he came into the world about, and that was to bring sinners to repentance; not to destroy, but to save. He aimed to bring, not only the prisoner to repentance, by showing her his mercy, but the prosecutors too, by showing them their sins. They sought to ensnare him; he sought to convince and convert them. Thus the blood-thirsty hate the upright, but the just seek his soul.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":148,"text":"Num. v. 15","label":"Numbers 5:15","href":"/num/5/#v15","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.8.1","start":8,"end":8,"heading":"","excerpt":"[3.] Having given them this startling word, he left them to consider of it, and again stooped down, and wrote on the ground, v. 8. As when they made their address he seemed to slight their question, so now that he had given them an answer he slighted their resentment of it, not caring what they said to it; nay, they needed not to make any reply; the matter was lodged in their own breasts, let them make the best of it there. Or, he would not seem to wait for an answer, lest they should on a sudden justify themselves, and then think themselves bound in honour to persist in it; but gives them time to pause, and to commune with their own hearts. God saith, I hearkened and heard, Jer. viii. 6. Some Greek copies here read, He wrote on the ground, enos hekastou auton tas hamartias—the sins of every one of them; this he could do, for he sets our iniquities before him; and this he will do, for he will set them in order before us too; he seals up our transgressions, Job xiv. 17. But he does not write men's sins in the sand; no, they are written as with a pen of iron and the point of a diamond (Jer. xvii. 1), never to be forgotten till they are forgiven.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":125,"text":"v. 8","label":"John 8:8","href":"/jhn/8/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":684,"text":"Jer. viii. 6","label":"Jeremiah 8:6","href":"/jer/8/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":971,"text":"Job xiv. 17","label":"Job 14:17","href":"/job/14/#v17","status":"detected"},{"at":1101,"text":"Jer. xvii. 1","label":"Jeremiah 17:1","href":"/jer/17/#v1","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.9.1","start":9,"end":9,"heading":"","excerpt":"[4.] The scribes and Pharisees were so strangely thunderstruck with the words of Christ that they let fall their persecution of Christ, whom they durst no further tempt, and their prosecution of the woman, whom they durst no longer accuse (v. 9): They went out one by one.\n\nFirst, Perhaps his writing on the ground frightened them, as the hand-writing on the wall frightened Belshazzar. They concluded he was writing bitter things against them, writing their doom. Happy they who have no reason to be afraid of Christ's writing!","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":240,"text":"v. 9","label":"John 8:9","href":"/jhn/8/#v9","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.9.2","start":9,"end":9,"heading":"What he said frightened them by sending them to their own consciences","excerpt":"Secondly, What he said frightened them by sending them to their own consciences; he had shown them to themselves, and they were afraid if they should stay till he lifted up himself again his next word would show them to the world, and shame them before men, and therefore they thought it best to withdraw. They went out one by one, that they might go out softly, and not by a noisy flight disturb Christ; they went away by stealth, as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle, 2 Sam. xix. 3. The order of their departure is taken notice of, beginning at the eldest, either because they were most guilty, or first aware of the danger they were in of being put to the blush; and if the eldest quit the field, and retreat ingloriously, no marvel if the younger follow them. Now see here, 1. The force of the word of Christ for the conviction of sinners: They who heard it were convicted by their own consciences. Conscience is God's deputy in the soul, and one word from him will set it on work, Heb. iv. 12. Those that had been old in adulteries, and long fixed in a proud opinion of themselves, were here, even the oldest of them, startled by the word of Christ; even scribes and Pharisees, who were most conceited of themselves, are by the power of Christ's word made to retire with shame. 2. The folly of sinners under these convictions, which appears in these scribes and Pharisees. (1.) It is folly for those that are under convictions to make it their principal care to avoid shame, as Judah (Gen. xxxviii. 23), lest we be shamed. Our care should be more to save our souls than to save our credit. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":493,"text":"2 Sam. xix. 3","label":"2 Samuel 19:3","href":"/2sa/19/#v3","status":"detected"},{"at":1009,"text":"Heb. iv. 12","label":"Hebrews 4:12","href":"/heb/4/#v12","status":"detected"},{"at":1513,"text":"Gen. xxxviii. 23","label":"Genesis 38:23","href":"/gen/38/#v23","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.9.3","start":9,"end":9,"heading":"","excerpt":"... Saul evidenced his hypocrisy when he said, I have sinned, yet now honour me, I pray thee. There is no way to get the honour and comfort of penitents, but by taking the shame of penitents. (2.) It is folly for those that are under convictions to contrive how to shift off their convictions, and to get rid of them. The scribes and Pharisees had the wound opened, and now they should have been desirous to have it searched, and then it might have been healed, but this was the thing they dreaded and declined. (3.) It is folly for those that are under convictions to get away from Jesus Christ, as these here did, for he is the only one that can heal the wounds of conscience, and speak peace to us. Those that are convicted by their consciences will be condemned by their Judge, if they be not justified by their Redeemer; and will they then go from him? To whom will they go?","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.9.4","start":9,"end":9,"heading":"","excerpt":"[5.] When the self-conceited prosecutors quitted the field, and fled for the same, the self-condemned prisoner stood her ground, with a resolution to abide by the judgment of our Lord Jesus: Jesus was left alone from the company of the scribes and Pharisees, free from their molestations, and the woman standing in the midst of the assembly that were attending on Christ's preaching, where they set her, v. 3. She did not seek to make her escape, though she had opportunity for it; but her prosecutors had appealed unto Jesus, and to him she would go, on him she would wait for her doom. Note, Those whose cause is brought before our Lord Jesus will never have occasion to remove it into any other court, for he is the refuge of penitents. The law which accuses us, and calls for judgment against us, is by the gospel of Christ made to withdraw; its demands are answered, and its clamours silenced, by the blood of Jesus. Our cause is lodged in the gospel court; we are left with Jesus alone, it is with him only that we have now to deal, for to him all judgment is committed; let us therefore secure our interest in him, and we are made for ever. Let his gospel rule us, and it will infallibly save us.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":404,"text":"v. 3","label":"John 8:3","href":"/jhn/8/#v3","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.10-11.1","start":10,"end":11,"heading":"Here is the conclusion of the trial, and the issue it was brought to","excerpt":"[6.] Here is the conclusion of the trial, and the issue it was brought to: Jesus lifted up himself, and he saw none but the woman, v. 10, 11. Though Christ may seem to take no notice of what is said and done, but leave it to the contending sons of men to deal it out among themselves, yet, when the hour of his judgment is come, he will no longer keep silence. When David had appealed to God, he prayed, Lift up thyself, Ps. vii. 6, and xciv. 2. The woman, it is likely, stood trembling at the bar, as one doubtful of the issue. Christ was without sin, and might cast the first stone; but though none more severe than he against sin, for he is infinitely just and holy, none more compassionate than he to sinners, for he is infinitely gracious and merciful, and this poor malefactor finds him so, now that she stands upon her deliverance. Here is the method of courts of judicature observed.\n\nFirst, The prosecutors are called: Where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? Not but that Christ knew where they were; but he asked, that he might shame them, who declined his judgment, and encourage her who resolved to abide by it. St. Paul's challenge is like this, Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? Where are those their accusers? The accuser of the brethren shall be fairly cast out, and all indictments legally and regularly quashed.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":131,"text":"v. 10, 11","label":"John 8:10–11","href":"/jhn/8/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":421,"text":"Ps. vii. 6","label":"Psalms 7:6","href":"/psa/7/#v6","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.10-11.2","start":10,"end":11,"heading":"They do not appear when the question is asked","excerpt":"Secondly, They do not appear when the question is asked: Hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. She speaks respectfully to Christ, calls him Lord, but is silent concerning her prosecutors, says nothing in answer to that question which concerned them, Where are those thine accusers? She does not triumph in their retreat nor insult over them as witnesses against themselves, not against her. If we hope to be forgiven by our Judge, we must forgive our accusers; and if their accusations, how invidious soever, were the happy occasion of awakening our consciences, we may easily forgive them this wrong. But she answered the question which concerned herself, Has no man condemned thee? True penitents find it enough to give an account of themselves to God, and will not undertake to give an account of other people.\n\nThirdly, The prisoner is therefore discharged: Neither do I condemn thee; go, and sin no more. Consider this,","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.10-11.3","start":10,"end":11,"heading":"As her discharge from the temporal punishment","excerpt":"(a.) As her discharge from the temporal punishment: \"If they do not condemn thee to be stoned to death, neither do I.\" Not that Christ came to disarm the magistrate of his sword of justice, nor that it is his will that capital punishments should not be inflicted on malefactors; so far from this, the administration of public justice is established by the gospel, and made subservient to Christ's kingdom: By me kings reign. But Christ would not condemn this woman, (a.) Because it was none of his business; he was no judge nor divider, and therefore would not intermeddle in secular affairs. His kingdom was not of this world. Tractent fabrilia fabri—Let every one act in his own province. (b.) Because she was prosecuted by those that were more guilty than she and could not for shame insist upon their demand of justice against her. The law appointed the hands of the witnesses to be first upon the criminal, and afterwards the hands of all the people, so that if they fly off, and do not condemn her, the prosecution drops. The justice of God, in inflicting temporal judgments, sometimes takes notice of a comparative righteousness, and spares those who are otherwise obnoxious when the punishing of them would gratify those that are worse than they, Deut. xxxii. 26, 27. But, when Christ dismissed her, it was with this caution, Go, and sin no more. Impunity emboldens malefactors, and therefore those who are guilty, and yet have found means to escape the edge of the law, need to double their watch, lest Satan get advantage; for the fairer the escape was, the fairer the warning was to go and sin no more. Those who help to save the life of a criminal should, as Christ here, help to save the soul with this caution.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1255,"text":"Deut. xxxii. 26, 27","label":"Deuteronomy 32:26–27","href":"/deu/32/#v26","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.10-11.4","start":10,"end":11,"heading":"As her discharge from the eternal punishment","excerpt":"(b.) As her discharge from the eternal punishment. For Christ to say, I do not condemn thee is, in effect, to say, I do forgive thee; and the Son of man had power on earth to forgive sins, and could upon good grounds give this absolution; for as he knew the hardness and impenitent hearts of the prosecutors, and therefore said that which would confound them, so he knew the tenderness and sincere repentance of the prisoner, and therefore said that which would comfort her, as he did to that woman who was a sinner, such a sinner as this, who was likewise looked upon with disdain by a Pharisee (Luke vii. 48, 50): Thy sins are forgiven thee, go in peace. So here, Neither do I condemn thee. Note, (a.) Those are truly happy whom Christ doth not condemn, for his discharge is a sufficient answer to all other challenges; they are all coram non judice—before an unauthorized judge. (b.) Christ will not condemn those who, though they have sinned, will go and sin no more, Ps. lxxxv. 8; Isa. lv. 7. He will not take the advantage he has against us for our former rebellions, if we will but lay down our arms and return to our allegiance. (c.) Christ's favour to us in the remission of the sins that are past should be a prevailing argument with us to go and sin no more, Rom. vi. 1, 2. Will not Christ condemn thee? Go then and sin no more.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":597,"text":"Luke vii. 48, 50","label":"Luke 7:48","href":"/luk/7/#v48","status":"detected"},{"at":597,"text":"Luke vii. 48, 50","label":"Luke 7:50","href":"/luk/7/#v50","status":"detected"},{"at":972,"text":"Ps. lxxxv. 8","label":"Psalms 85:8","href":"/psa/85/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":986,"text":"Isa. lv. 7","label":"Isaiah 55:7","href":"/isa/55/#v7","status":"detected"},{"at":1270,"text":"Rom. vi. 1, 2","label":"Romans 6:1–2","href":"/rom/6/#v1","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.12.1","start":12,"end":12,"heading":"The doctrine is, That Christ is the light of the world","excerpt":"1. The doctrine is, That Christ is the light of the world (v. 12): Then spoke Jesus again unto them; though he had spoken a great deal to them to little purpose, and what he had said was opposed, yet he spoke again, for he speaketh once, yea, twice. They had turned a deaf ear to what he said, and yet he spoke again to them, saying, I am the light of the world. Note, Jesus Christ is the light of the world. One of the rabbies saith, Light is the name of the Messiah, as it is written, Dan. ii. 22, And light dwelleth with him. God is light, and Christ is the image of the invisible God; God of gods, Light of lights. He was expected to be a light to enlighten the Gentiles (Luke ii. 32), and so the light of the world, and not of the Jewish church only. The visible light of the world is the sun, and Christ is the Sun of righteousness. One sun enlightens the whole world, so does one Christ, and there needs no more. Christ in calling himself the light expresses, (1.) What he is in himself—most excellent and glorious. (2.) What he is to the world—the fountain of light, enlightening every man. What a dungeon would the world be without the sun! So would it be without Christ by whom light came into the world, ch. iii. 19.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":59,"text":"v. 12","label":"John 8:12","href":"/jhn/8/#v12","status":"detected"},{"at":487,"text":"Dan. ii. 22","label":"Daniel 2:22","href":"/dan/2/#v22","status":"detected"},{"at":676,"text":"Luke ii. 32","label":"Luke 2:32","href":"/luk/2/#v32","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.12.2","start":12,"end":12,"heading":"","excerpt":"2. The inference from this doctrine is, He that followeth me, as a traveller follows the light in a dark night, shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. If Christ be the light, then, (1.) It is our duty to follow him, to submit ourselves to his guidance, and in every thing take directions from him, in the way that leads to happiness. Many follow false lights—ignes fatui, that lead them to destruction; but Christ is the true light. It is not enough to look at this light, and to gaze upon it, but we must follow it, believe in it, and walk in it, for it is a light to our feet, not our eyes only. (2.) It is the happiness of those who follow Christ that they shall not walk in darkness. They shall not be left destitute of those instructions in the way of truth which are necessary to keep them from destroying error, and those directions in the way of duty which are necessary to keep them from damning sin. They shall have the light of life, that knowledge and enjoyment of God which will be to them the light of spiritual life in this world and of everlasting life in the other world, where there will be no death nor darkness. Follow Christ, and we shall undoubtedly be happy in both worlds. Follow Christ, and we shall follow him to heaven.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.13.1","start":13,"end":13,"heading":"The objection which the Pharisees made against this doctrine, and it was very trifling and frivolous","excerpt":"II. The objection which the Pharisees made against this doctrine, and it was very trifling and frivolous: Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true, v. 13. In this objection they went upon the suspicion which we commonly have of men's self-condemnation, which is concluded to be the native language of self-love, such as we are all ready to condemn in others, but few are willing to own in themselves. But in this case the objection was very unjust, for, 1. They made that his crime, and a diminution to the credibility of his doctrine, which in the case of one who introduced a divine revelation was necessary and unavoidable. Did not Moses and all the prophets bear witness of themselves when they avouched themselves to be God's messengers? Did not the Pharisees ask John Baptist, What sayest thou of thyself? 2. They overlooked the testimony of all the other witnesses, which corroborated the testimony he bore of himself. Had he only borne record of himself, his testimony had indeed been suspicious, and the belief of it might have been suspended; but his doctrine was attested by more than two or three credible witnesses, enough to establish every word of it.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":162,"text":"v. 13","label":"John 8:13","href":"/jhn/8/#v13","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.14.1","start":14,"end":14,"heading":"Christ's reply to this objection","excerpt":"III. Christ's reply to this objection, v. 14. He does not retort upon them as he might (\"You profess yourselves to be devout and good men, but your witness is not true\"), but plainly vindicates himself; and, though he had waived his own testimony (ch. v. 31), yet here he abides by it, that it did not derogate from the credibility of his other proofs, but was necessary to show the force of them. He is the light of the world, and it is the property of light to be self-evidencing. First principles prove themselves. He urges three things to prove that his testimony, though of himself, was true and cogent.\n\n1. That he was conscious to himself of his own authority, and abundantly satisfied in himself concerning it. He did not speak as one at uncertainty, nor propose a disputable notion, about which he himself hesitated, but declared a decree, and gave such an account of himself as he would abide by: I know whence I came, and whither I go. He was fully apprised of his own undertaking from first to last; knew whose errand he went upon, and what his success would be. He knew what he was before his manifestation to the world, and what he should be after; that he came from the Father, and was going to him (ch. xvi. 28), came from glory, and was going to glory, (ch. xvii. 5). This is the satisfaction of all good Christians, that though the world know them not, as it knew him not, yet they know whence their spiritual life comes, and whither it tends, and go upon sure grounds.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":39,"text":"v. 14","label":"John 8:14","href":"/jhn/8/#v14","status":"detected"},{"at":248,"text":"ch. v. 31","label":"John 5:31","href":"/jhn/5/#v31","status":"detected"},{"at":1215,"text":"ch. xvi. 28","label":"John 16:28","href":"/jhn/16/#v28","status":"detected"},{"at":1271,"text":"ch. xvii. 5","label":"John 17:5","href":"/jhn/17/#v5","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.14.2","start":14,"end":14,"heading":"","excerpt":"2. That they are very incompetent judges of him, and of his doctrine, and not to be regarded. (1.) Because they were ignorant, willingly and resolvedly ignorant: You cannot tell whence I came, and whither I go. To what purpose is it to talk with those who know nothing of the matter, nor desire to know? He had told them of his coming from heaven and returning to heaven, but it was foolishness to them, they received it not; it was what the brutish man knows not, Ps. xcii. 6. They took upon them to judge of that which they did not understand, which lay quite out of the road of their acquaintance. Those that despise Christ's dominions and dignities speak evil of what they know not, Jude, v. 8, 10. (2.) Because they were partial (v. 15): You judge after the flesh. When fleshly wisdom gives the rule of judgment, and outward appearances only are given in evidence, and the case decided according to them, then men judge after the flesh; and when the consideration of a secular interest turns the scale in judging of spiritual matters, when we judge in favour of that which pleases the carnal mind, and recommends us to a carnal world, we judge after the flesh; and the judgment cannot be right when the rule is wrong. The Jews judged of Christ and his gospel by outward appearances, and, because he appeared so mean, thought it impossible he should be the light of the world; as if the sun under a cloud were no sun. (3.) ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":465,"text":"Ps. xcii. 6","label":"Psalms 92:6","href":"/psa/92/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":687,"text":"Jude, v. 8, 10","label":"Jude 1:8","href":"/jud/1/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":735,"text":"v. 15","label":"John 8:15","href":"/jhn/8/#v15","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.15.1","start":15,"end":15,"heading":"","excerpt":"... Because they were unjust and unfair towards him, intimated in this: \"I judge no man; I neither make nor meddle with your political affairs, nor does my doctrine or practice at all intrench upon, or interfere with, your civil rights or secular powers.\" He thus judged no man. Now, if he did not war after the flesh, it was very unreasonable for them to judge him after the flesh, and to treat him as an offender against the civil government. Or, \"I judge no man,\" that is, \"not now in my first coming, that is deferred till I come again,\" ch. iii. 17. Prima dispensatio Christi medicinalis est, non judicialis—The first coming of Christ was for the purpose of administering, not justice, but medicine.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":542,"text":"ch. iii. 17","label":"John 3:17","href":"/jhn/3/#v17","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.16.1","start":16,"end":16,"heading":"As a judge, and his own judgment was valid","excerpt":"(1.) As a judge, and his own judgment was valid: \"If I judge, I who have authority to execute judgments, I to whom all things are delivered, I who am the Son of God, and have the Spirit of God, if I judge, my judgment is true, of incontestable rectitude and uncontrollable authority, Rom. ii. 2. If I should judge, my judgment must be true, and then you would be condemned; but the judgment-day is not yet come, you are not yet to be condemned, but spared, and therefore now I judge no man;\" so Chrysostom. Now that which makes his judgment unexceptionable is, [1.] His Father's concurrence with him: I am not alone, but I and the Father. He has the Father's concurring counsels to direct; as he was with the Father before the world in forming the counsels, so the Father was with him in the world in prosecuting and executing those counsels, and never left him inops consilii—without advice, Isa. xi. 2. All the counsels of peace (and of war too) were between them both, Zech. vi. 13. He had also the Father's concurring power to authorize and confirm what he did; see Ps. lxxxix. 21, &c.; Isa. xlii. 1. He did not act separately, but in his own name and his Father's, and by the authority aforesaid, ch. v. 17, and xiv. 9, 10. [2.] His Father's commission to him: \"It is the Father that sent me.\" Note, God will go along with those that he sends; see Exod. iii. 10, 12: Come, and I will send thee, and certainly I will be with thee. Now, if Christ had a commission from the Father, and the Father's presence with him in all his administrations, no doubt his judgment was true and valid; no exception lay against it, no appeal lay from it.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":284,"text":"Rom. ii. 2","label":"Romans 2:2","href":"/rom/2/#v2","status":"detected"},{"at":893,"text":"Isa. xi. 2","label":"Isaiah 11:2","href":"/isa/11/#v2","status":"detected"},{"at":972,"text":"Zech. vi. 13","label":"Zechariah 6:13","href":"/zec/6/#v13","status":"detected"},{"at":1070,"text":"Ps. lxxxix. 21","label":"Psalms 89:21","href":"/psa/89/#v21","status":"detected"},{"at":1091,"text":"Isa. xlii. 1","label":"Isaiah 42:1","href":"/isa/42/#v1","status":"detected"},{"at":1202,"text":"ch. v. 17, and xiv. 9, 10","label":"John 5:17","href":"/jhn/5/#v17","status":"detected"},{"at":1353,"text":"Exod. iii. 10, 12","label":"Exodus 3:10","href":"/exo/3/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":1353,"text":"Exod. iii. 10, 12","label":"Exodus 3:12","href":"/exo/3/#v12","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.17.1","start":17,"end":17,"heading":"He quotes a maxim of the Jewish law","excerpt":"[1.] He quotes a maxim of the Jewish law, v. 17. That the testimony of two men is true. Not as if it were always true in itself, for many a time hand has been joined in hand to bear a false testimony, 1 Kings xxi. 10. But it is allowed as sufficient evidence upon which to ground a verdict (verum dictum), and if nothing appear to the contrary it is taken for granted to be true. Reference is here had to that law (Deut. xvii. 6), At the mouth of two witnesses shall he that is worthy of death be put to death. And see Deut. ix. 15; Num. xxxv. 30. It was in favour of life that in capital cases two witnesses wee required, as with us in case of treason. See Heb. vi. 18.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":42,"text":"v. 17","label":"John 8:17","href":"/jhn/8/#v17","status":"detected"},{"at":201,"text":"1 Kings xxi. 10","label":"1 Kings 21:10","href":"/1ki/21/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":415,"text":"Deut. xvii. 6","label":"Deuteronomy 17:6","href":"/deu/17/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":519,"text":"Deut. ix. 15","label":"Deuteronomy 9:15","href":"/deu/9/#v15","status":"detected"},{"at":533,"text":"Num. xxxv. 30","label":"Numbers 35:30","href":"/num/35/#v30","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.18.1","start":18,"end":18,"heading":"He applies this to the case in hand","excerpt":"[2.] He applies this to the case in hand (v. 18): I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me bears witness of me. Behold two witnesses! Though in human courts, where two witnesses are required, the criminal or candidate is not admitted to be a witness for himself; yet in a matter purely divine, which can be proved only by a divine testimony, and God himself must be the witness, if the formality of two or three witnesses be insisted on, there can be no other than the eternal Father, the eternal Son of the Father, and the eternal Spirit. Now if the testimony of two distinct persons, that are men, and therefore may deceive or be deceived, is conclusive, much more ought the testimony of the Son of God concerning himself, backed with the testimony of his Father concerning him, to command assent; see 1 John v. 7, 9-11. Now this proves not only that the Father and the Son are two distinct persons (for their respective testimonies are here spoken of as the testimonies of two several persons), but that these two are one, not only one in their testimony, but equal in power and glory, and therefore the same in substance. St. Austin here takes occasion to caution his hearers against Sabellianism on the one hand, which confounded the persons in the Godhead, and Arianism on the other, which denied the Godhead of the Son and Spirit. Alius est filius, et alius pater, non tamed aliud, sed hoc ipsum est et pater, et filius, scilicet unus Deus est—The Son is one Person, and the Father is another; they do not, however, constitute two Beings, but the Father is the same Being that the Son is, that is, the only true God. Tract. 36, in Joann. Christ here speaks of himself and the Father as witnesses to the world, giving in evidence to the reason and conscience of the children of men, whom he deals with as men. And these witnesses to the world now will in the great day be witnesses against those that persist in unbelief, and their word will judge men.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":42,"text":"v. 18","label":"John 8:18","href":"/jhn/8/#v18","status":"detected"},{"at":829,"text":"1 John v. 7, 9-11","label":"1 John 5:7","href":"/1jn/5/#v7","status":"detected"},{"at":829,"text":"1 John v. 7, 9-11","label":"1 John 5:9–11","href":"/1jn/5/#v9","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.19.1","start":19,"end":19,"heading":"How their tongues were let loose","excerpt":"First, How their tongues were let loose (such was the malice of hell) to cavil at his discourse, v. 19. Though in what he said there appeared nothing of human policy or artifice, but a divine security, yet they set themselves to cross questions with him. None so incurably blind as those that resolve they will not see. Observe,\n\na. How they evaded the conviction with a cavil: Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? They might easily have understood, by the tenour of this and his other discourses, that when he spoke of his Father he meant no other than God himself; yet they pretend to understand him of a common person, and, since he appeals to his testimony, they bid him call his witness, and challenge him, if he can, to produce him: Where is thy Father? Thus, as Christ said of them (v. 15), they judge after the flesh. Perhaps they hereby intend a reflection upon the meanness and obscurity of his family: Where is thy Father, that he should be fit to give evidence in such a case as this? Thus they turned it off with a taunt, when they could not resist the wisdom and spirit with which he spoke.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":97,"text":"v. 19","label":"John 8:19","href":"/jhn/8/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":799,"text":"v. 15","label":"John 8:15","href":"/jhn/8/#v15","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.19.2","start":19,"end":19,"heading":"How he evaded the cavil with a further conviction","excerpt":"b. How he evaded the cavil with a further conviction; he did not tell them where his Father was, but charged them with wilful ignorance: \"You neither know me nor my Father. It is to no purpose to discourse to you about divine things, who talk of them as blind men do of colours. Poor creatures! you know nothing of the matter.\" (a.) He charges them with ignorance of God: \"You know not my Father.\" In Judah was God known (Ps. lxxvi. 1); they had some knowledge of him as the God that made the world, but their eyes were darkened that they could not see the light of his glory shining in the face of Jesus Christ. The little children of the Christian church know the Father, know him as a Father (1 John ii. 13); but these rulers of the Jews did not, because they would not so know him. (b.) He shows them the true cause of their ignorance of God: If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. The reason why men are ignorant of God is because they are unacquainted with Jesus Christ. Did we know Christ, [a.] In knowing him we should know the Father, of whose person he is the express image, ch. xiv. 9. Chrysostom proves hence the Godhead of Christ, and his equality with his Father. We cannot say, \"He that knows a man knows an angel,\" or, \"He that knows a creature knows the Creator;\" but he that knows Christ knows the Father. [b.] By him we should be instructed in the knowledge of God, and introduced into an acquaintance with him. If we knew Christ better, we should know the Father better; but, where the Christian religion is slighted and opposed, natural religion will soon be lost and laid aside. Deism makes way for atheism. Those become vain in their imaginations concerning God that will not learn of Christ.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":422,"text":"Ps. lxxvi. 1","label":"Psalms 76:1","href":"/psa/76/#v1","status":"detected"},{"at":696,"text":"1 John ii. 13","label":"1 John 2:13","href":"/1jn/2/#v13","status":"detected"},{"at":1104,"text":"ch. xiv. 9","label":"John 14:9","href":"/jhn/14/#v9","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.20.1","start":20,"end":20,"heading":"See how their hands were tied, though their tongues were thus let loose","excerpt":"Secondly, See how their hands were tied, though their tongues were thus let loose; such was the power of Heaven to restrain the malice of hell. These words spoke Jesus, these bold words, these words of conviction and reproof, in the treasury, an apartment of the temple, where, to be sure, the chief priests, whose gain was their godliness, were mostly resident, attending the business of the revenue. Christ taught in the temple, sometimes in one part, sometimes in another, as he saw occasion. Now the priests who had so great a concern in the temple, and looked upon it as their demesne, might easily, with the assistance of the janizaries that were at their beck, either have seized him and exposed him to the rage of the mob, and that punishment which they called the beating of the rebels; or, at least, have silenced him, and stopped his mouth there, as Amos, though tolerated in the land of Judah, was forbidden to prophesy in the king's chapel, Amos, vii. 12, 13. Yet even in the temple, where they had him in their reach, no man laid hands on him, for his hour was not yet come. See here, 1. The restraint laid upon his persecutors by an invisible power; none of them durst meddle with him. God can set bounds to the wrath of men, as he does to the waves of the sea. Let us not therefore fear danger in the way of duty; for God hath Satan and all his instruments in a chain. 2. The reason of this restraint: His hour was not yet come. The frequent mention of this intimates how much the time of our departure out of the world depends upon the fixed counsel and decree of God. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":954,"text":"Amos, vii. 12, 13","label":"Amos 7:12–13","href":"/amo/7/#v12","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.20.2","start":20,"end":20,"heading":"","excerpt":"... It will come, it is coming; not yet come, but it is at hand. Our enemies cannot hasten it any sooner, nor our friends delay it any longer, than the time appointed of the Father, which is very comfortable to every good man, who can look up and say with pleasure, My times are in thy hands; and better there than in our own. His hour was not yet come, because his work was not done, nor his testimony finished. To all God's purposes there is a time.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.21.1","start":21,"end":21,"heading":"The wrath threatened","excerpt":"I. The wrath threatened (v. 21): Jesus said again unto them that which might be likely to do them good. He continued to teach, in kindness to those few who received his doctrine, though there were many that resisted it, which is an example to ministers to go on with their work, notwithstanding opposition, because a remnant shall be saved. Here Christ changes his voice; he had piped to them in the offers of his grace, and they had not danced; now he mourns to them in the denunciations of his wrath, to try if they would lament. He said, I go my way, and you shall seek me, and shall die in your sins. Whither I go you cannot come. Every word is terrible, and bespeaks spiritual judgments, which are the sorest of all judgments; worse than war, pestilence, and captivity, which the Old-Testament prophets denounced. Four things are here threatened against the Jews.\n\n1. Christ's departure from them: I go my way, that is, \"It shall not be long before I go; you need not take so much pains to drive me from you, I shall go of myself.\" They said to him, Depart from us, we desire not the knowledge of thy ways; and he takes them at their word; but woe to those from whom Christ departs. Ichabod, the glory is gone, our defence is departed, when Christ goes. Christ frequently warned them of his departure before he left them: he bade often farewell, as one loth to depart, and willing to be invited, and that would have them stir up themselves to take hold on him.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":25,"text":"v. 21","label":"John 8:21","href":"/jhn/8/#v21","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.21.2","start":21,"end":21,"heading":"","excerpt":"2. Their enmity to the true Messiah, and their fruitless and infatuated enquiries after another Messiah when he was gone away, which were both their sin and their punishment: You shall seek me, which intimates either, (1.) Their enmity to the true Christ: \"You shall seek to ruin my interest, by persecuting my doctrine and followers, with a fruitless design to root them out.\" This was a continual vexation and torment to themselves, made them incurably ill-natured, and brought wrath upon them (God's and their own) to the uttermost. Or, (2.) Their enquiries after false Christs: \"You shall continue your expectations of the Messiah, and be the self-perplexing seekers of a Christ to come, when he is already come;\" like the Sodomites, who, being struck with blindness, wearied themselves to find the door. See Rom. ix. 31, 32.\n\n3. Their final impenitency: You shall die in your sins. Here is an error in all our English Bibles, even the old bishops' translation, and that of Geneva (the Rhemists only excepted), for all the Greek copies have it in the singular number, en te hamartia hymon—in your sin, so all the Latin versions; and Calvin has a note upon the difference between this and v. 24, where it is plural, tais hamartiais, that here it is meant especially of the sin of unbelief, in hoc peccato vestro—in this sin of yours. Note, Those that live in unbelief are for ever undone if they die in unbelief. Or, it may be understood in general, You shall die in your iniquity, as Ezek. iii. 19, and xxxiii. 9. Many that have long lived in sin are, through grace, saved by a timely repentance from dying in sin; but for those who go out of this world of probation into that of retribution under the guilt of sin unpardoned, and the power of sin unbroken, there remaineth no relief: salvation itself cannot save them, Job xx. 11; Ezek. xxxii. 27.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":813,"text":"Rom. ix. 31, 32","label":"Romans 9:31–32","href":"/rom/9/#v31","status":"detected"},{"at":1192,"text":"v. 24","label":"John 8:24","href":"/jhn/8/#v24","status":"detected"},{"at":1488,"text":"Ezek. iii. 19","label":"Ezekiel 3:19","href":"/ezk/3/#v19","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.21.3","start":21,"end":21,"heading":"Their eternal separation from Christ and all happiness in him","excerpt":"4. Their eternal separation from Christ and all happiness in him: Whither I go you cannot come. When Christ left the world, he went to a state of perfect happiness; he went to paradise. Thither he took the penitent thief with him, that did not die in his sins; but the impenitent not only shall not come to him, but they cannot; it is morally impossible, for heaven would not be heaven to those that die unsanctified and unmeet for it. You cannot come, because you have no right to enter into that Jerusalem, Rev. xxii. 14. Whither I go you cannot come, to fetch me thence, so Dr. Whitby; and the same is the comfort of all good Christians, that, when they get to heaven, they will be out of the reach of their enemies' malice.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":509,"text":"Rev. xxii. 14","label":"Revelation 22:14","href":"/rev/22/#v14","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.22.1","start":22,"end":22,"heading":"The jest they made of this threatening","excerpt":"II. The jest they made of this threatening. Instead of trembling at this word, they bantered it, and turned it into ridicule (v. 22): Will he kill himself? See here, 1. What slight thoughts they had of Christ's threatenings; they could make themselves and one another merry with them, as those that mocked the messengers of the Lord, and turned the burden of the word of the Lord into a by-word, and precept upon precept, line upon line, into a merry song, Isa. xxviii. 13. But be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong. 2. What ill thoughts they had of Christ's meaning, as if he had an inhuman design upon his own life, to avoid the indignities done him, like Saul. This is indeed (say they) to go whither we cannot follow him, for we will never kill ourselves. Thus they make him not only such a one as themselves, but worse; yet in the calamities brought by the Romans upon the Jews many of them in discontent and despair did kill themselves. They had put a much more favourable construction upon this word of his (ch. vii. 34, 35): Will he go to the dispersed among the Gentiles? But see how indulged malice grows more and more malicious.\n\nIII. The confirmation of what he had said.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":126,"text":"v. 22","label":"John 8:22","href":"/jhn/8/#v22","status":"detected"},{"at":457,"text":"Isa. xxviii. 13","label":"Isaiah 28:13","href":"/isa/28/#v13","status":"detected"},{"at":1027,"text":"ch. vii. 34, 35","label":"John 7:34–35","href":"/jhn/7/#v34","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.23.1","start":23,"end":23,"heading":"","excerpt":"1. He had said, Whither I go you cannot come, and here he gives the reason for this (v. 23): You are from beneath, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. You are ek ton kato—of those things which are beneath; noting, not so much their rise from beneath as their affection to these lower things: \"You are in with these things, as those that belong to them; how can you come where I go, when your spirit and disposition are so directly contrary to mine?\" See here, (1.) What the spirit of the Lord Jesus was—not of this world, but from above. He was perfectly dead to the wealth of the world, the ease of the body, and the praise of men, and was wholly taken up with divine and heavenly things; and none shall be with him but those who are born from above and have their conversation in heaven. (2.) How contrary to this their spirit was: \"You are from beneath, and of this world.\" The Pharisees were of a carnal worldly spirit; and what communion could Christ have with them?","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":85,"text":"v. 23","label":"John 8:23","href":"/jhn/8/#v23","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.24.1","start":24,"end":24,"heading":"He had said, You shall die in your sins, and here he stand to it","excerpt":"2. He had said, You shall die in your sins, and here he stand to it: \"Therefore I said, You shall die in your sins, because you are from beneath;\" and he gives this further reason for it, If you believe not that I am he, you shall die in your sins, v. 24. See here, (1.) What we are required to believe: that I am he, hoti ego eimi—that I am, which is one of God's names, Exod. iii. 14. It was the Son of God that there said, Ehejeh asher Ehejeh—I will be what I will be; for the deliverance of Israel was but a figure of good things to come, but now he saith, \"I am he; he that should come, he that you expect the Messias to be, that you would have me to be to you. I am more than the bare name of the Messiah; I do not only call myself so, but I am he.\" True faith does not amuse the soul with an empty sound of words, but affects it with the doctrine of Christ's mediation, as a real thing that has real effects. (2.) How necessary it is that we believe this. If we have not this faith, we shall die in our sins; for the matter is so settled that without this faith, [1.] We cannot be saved from the power of sin while we live, and therefore shall certainly continue in it to the last. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":249,"text":"v. 24","label":"John 8:24","href":"/jhn/8/#v24","status":"detected"},{"at":372,"text":"Exod. iii. 14","label":"Exodus 3:14","href":"/exo/3/#v14","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.24.2","start":24,"end":24,"heading":"","excerpt":"... Nothing but the doctrine of Christ's grace will be an argument powerful enough, and none but the Spirit of Christ's grace will be an agent powerful enough, to turn us from sin to God; and that Spirit is given, and that doctrine given, to be effectual to those only who believe in Christ: so that, if Satan be not by faith dispossessed, he has a lease of the soul for its life; if Christ do not cure us, our case is desperate, and we shall die in our sins. [2.] Without faith we cannot be saved from the punishment of sin when we die, for the wrath of God remains upon them that believe not, Mark xvi. 16. Unbelief is the damning sin; it is a sin against the remedy. Now this implies the great gospel promise: If we believe that Christ is he, and receive him accordingly, we shall not die in our sins. The law saith absolutely to all, as Christ said (v. 21), You shall die in your sins, for we are all guilty before God; but the gospel is a defeasance of the obligation upon condition of believing. The curse of the law is vacated and annulled to all that submit to the grace of the gospel. Believers die in Christ, in his love, in his arms, and so are saved from dying in their sins.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":595,"text":"Mark xvi. 16","label":"Mark 16:16","href":"/mrk/16/#v16","status":"detected"},{"at":854,"text":"v. 21","label":"John 8:21","href":"/jhn/8/#v21","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.25.1","start":25,"end":25,"heading":"The question which the Jews put to him","excerpt":"1. The question which the Jews put to him (v. 25): Who art thou? This they asked tauntingly, and not with any desire to be instructed. He had said, You must believe that I am he. By his not saying expressly who he was, he plainly intimated that in his person he was such a one as could not be described by any, and in his office such a one as was expected by all that looked for redemption in Israel; yet this awful manner of speaking, which had so much significancy in it, they turned to his reproach, as if he knew not what to say of himself: \"Who art thou, that we must with an implicit faith believe in thee, that thou art some mighty HE, we know not who or what, nor are worthy to know?\"\n\n2. His answer to this question, wherein he directs them three ways for information:—","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":43,"text":"v. 25","label":"John 8:25","href":"/jhn/8/#v25","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.25.2","start":25,"end":25,"heading":"He refers them to what he had said all along","excerpt":"(1.) He refers them to what he had said all along: \"Do you ask who I am? Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning.\" The original here is a little intricate, ten archen ho ti kai lalo hymin which some read thus: I am the beginning, which also I speak unto you. So Austin takes it. Christ is called Arche—the beginning (Col. i. 18; Rev. i. 8; xxi. 6; iii. 14), and so it agrees with v. 24, I am he. Compare Isa. xli. 4: I am the first, I am he. Those who object that it is the accusative case, and therefore not properly answering to tis ei, must undertake to construe by grammar rules that parallel expression, Rev. i. 8, ho en. But most interpreters agree with our version, Do you ask who I am? [1.] I am the same that I said to you from the beginning of time in the scriptures of the Old-Testament, the same that from the beginning was said to be the Seed of the woman, that should break the serpent's head, the same that in all the ages of the church was the Mediator of the covenant, and the faith of the patriarchs. [2.] From the beginning of my public ministry. The account he had already given of himself he resolved to abide by; he had declared himself to be the Son of God (ch. v. 17), to be the Christ (ch. iv. 26), and the bread of life, and had proposed himself as the object of that faith which is necessary to salvation, and to this he refers them for an answer to their question. Christ is one with himself; what he had said from the beginning, he saith still. His is an everlasting gospel.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":331,"text":"Col. i. 18","label":"Colossians 1:18","href":"/col/1/#v18","status":"detected"},{"at":343,"text":"Rev. i. 8","label":"Revelation 1:8","href":"/rev/1/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":354,"text":"xxi. 6","label":"Revelation 21:6","href":"/rev/21/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":362,"text":"iii. 14","label":"Revelation 3:14","href":"/rev/3/#v14","status":"detected"},{"at":394,"text":"v. 24","label":"John 8:24","href":"/jhn/8/#v24","status":"detected"},{"at":418,"text":"Isa. xli. 4","label":"Isaiah 41:4","href":"/isa/41/#v4","status":"detected"},{"at":623,"text":"Rev. i. 8","label":"Revelation 1:8","href":"/rev/1/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":1195,"text":"ch. v. 17","label":"John 5:17","href":"/jhn/5/#v17","status":"detected"},{"at":1225,"text":"ch. iv. 26","label":"John 4:26","href":"/jhn/4/#v26","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.26.1","start":26,"end":26,"heading":"He refers them to his Father's judgment, and the instructions he had from him","excerpt":"(2.) He refers them to his Father's judgment, and the instructions he had from him (v. 26): \"I have many things, more than you think of, to say, and in them to judge of you. But why should I trouble myself any further with you? I know very well that he who sent me is true, and will stand by me, and bear me out, for I speak to the world (to which I am sent as an ambassador) those things, all those and those only, which I have heard of him.\" Here,\n\n[1.] He suppresses his accusation of them. He had many things to charge them with, and many evidences to produce against them; but for the present he had said enough. Note, Whatever discoveries of sin are made to us, he that searches the heart has still more to judge of us, 1 John iii. 20. How much soever God reckons with sinners in this world there is still a further reckoning yet behind, Deut. xxxii. 34. Let us learn hence not to be forward to say all we can say, even against the worst of men; we may have many things to say, by way of censure, which yet it is better to leave unsaid, for what is it to us?","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":84,"text":"v. 26","label":"John 8:26","href":"/jhn/8/#v26","status":"detected"},{"at":726,"text":"1 John iii. 20","label":"1 John 3:20","href":"/1jn/3/#v20","status":"detected"},{"at":844,"text":"Deut. xxxii. 34","label":"Deuteronomy 32:34","href":"/deu/32/#v34","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.26.2","start":26,"end":26,"heading":"He enters his appeal against them to his Father","excerpt":"[2.] He enters his appeal against them to his Father: He that sent me. Here two things comfort him:—First, That he had been true to his Father, and to the trust reposed in him: I speak to the world (for his gospel was to be preached to every creature) those things which I have heard of him. Being given for a witness to the people (Isa. lv. 4), he was Amen, a faithful witness, Rev. iii. 14. He did not conceal his doctrine, but spoke it to the world (being of common concern, it was to be of common notice); nor did he change or alter it, nor vary from the instructions he received from him that sent him. Secondly, That his Father would be true to him; true to the promise that he would make his mouth like a sharp sword; true to his purpose concerning him, which was a decree (Ps. ii. 7); true to the threatenings of his wrath against those that should reject him. Though he should not accuse them to his Father, yet the Father, who sent him, would undoubtedly reckon with them, and would be true to what he had said (Deut. xviii. 19), that whosoever would not hearken to that prophet whom God would raise up he would require it of him. Christ would not accuse them; \"for,\" saith he, \"he that sent me is true, and will pass judgment on them, though I should not demand judgment against them.\" Thus, when he lets fall the present prosecution, he binds them over to the judgment-day, when it will be too late to dispute what they will not now be persuaded to believe. I, as a deaf man, heard not; for thou wilt hear, Ps. xxxviii. 13, 15. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":333,"text":"Isa. lv. 4","label":"Isaiah 55:4","href":"/isa/55/#v4","status":"detected"},{"at":379,"text":"Rev. iii. 14","label":"Revelation 3:14","href":"/rev/3/#v14","status":"detected"},{"at":781,"text":"Ps. ii. 7","label":"Psalms 2:7","href":"/psa/2/#v7","status":"detected"},{"at":1022,"text":"Deut. xviii. 19","label":"Deuteronomy 18:19","href":"/deu/18/#v19","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.27.1","start":27,"end":27,"heading":"","excerpt":"... Upon this part of our Saviour's discourse the evangelist has a melancholy remark (v. 27): They understood not that he spoke to them of the Father. See here, 1. The power of Satan to blind the minds of those who believe not. Though Christ spoke so plainly of God as his Father in heaven, yet they did not understand whom he meant, but thought he spoke of some father he had in Galilee. Thus the plainest things are riddles and parables to those who are resolved to hold fast their prejudices; day and night are alike to the blind. 2. The reason why the threatenings of the word make so little impression upon the minds of sinners; it is because they understand not whose the wrath is that is revealed in them. When Christ told them of the truth of him that sent him, as a warning to them to prepare for his judgment, which is according to truth, they slighted the warning, because they understood not to whose judgment it was that they made themselves obnoxious.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":86,"text":"v. 27","label":"John 8:27","href":"/jhn/8/#v27","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.28-29.1","start":28,"end":29,"heading":"He refers them to their own convictions hereafter","excerpt":"(3.) He refers them to their own convictions hereafter, v. 28, 29. He finds they will not understand him, and therefore adjourns the trial till further evidence should come in; they that will not see shall see, Isa. xxvi. 11. Now observe here,\n\n[1.] What they should ere long be convinced of: \"You shall know that I am he, that Jesus is the true Messiah. Whether you will own it or no before men, you shall be made to know it in your own consciences, the convictions of which, though you may stifle, yet you cannot baffle: that I am he, not that you represent me to be, but he that I preach myself to be, he that should come!\" Two things they should be convinced of, in order to this:—First, That he did nothing of himself, not of himself as man, of himself alone, of himself without the Father, with whom he was one. He does not hereby derogate from his own inherent power, but only denies their charge against him as a false prophet; for of false prophets it is said that they prophesied out of their own hearts, and followed their own spirits. Secondly, That as his Father taught him so he spoke these things, that he was not autodidaktos—self-taught, but Theodidaktos—taught of God. The doctrine he preached was the counterpart of the counsels of God, with which he was intimately acquainted; kathos edidaxe, tauta lalo—I speak those things, not only which he taught me, but as he taught me, with the same divine power and authority.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":56,"text":"v. 28, 29","label":"John 8:28–29","href":"/jhn/8/#v28","status":"detected"},{"at":211,"text":"Isa. xxvi. 11","label":"Isaiah 26:11","href":"/isa/26/#v11","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.28-29.2","start":28,"end":29,"heading":"When they should be convinced of this","excerpt":"[2.] When they should be convinced of this: When you have lifted up the Son of man, lifted him up upon the cross, as the brazen serpent upon the pole (ch. iii. 14), as the sacrifices under the law (for Christ is the great sacrifice), which, when they were offered, were said to be elevated, or lifted up; hence the burnt-offerings, the most ancient and honourable of all, were called elevations (Gnoloth from Gnolah, asendit—he ascended), and in many other offerings they used the significant ceremony of heaving the sacrifice up, and moving it before the Lord; thus was Christ lifted up. Or the expression denotes that his death was his exaltation. They that put him to death thought thereby for ever to have sunk him and his interest, but it proved to be the advancement of both, ch. xii. 24. When the Son of man was crucified, the Son of man was glorified. Christ had called his dying his going away; here he calls it his being lifted up; thus the death of the saints, as it is their departure out of this world, so it is their advancement to a better. Observe, He speaks of those he is now talking with as the instruments of his death: when you have lifted up the Son of man; not that they were to be the priests to offer him up (no, that was his own act, he offered up himself), but they would be his betrayers and murderers; see Acts ii. 23. They lifted him up to the cross, but then he lifted up himself to his Father. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":151,"text":"ch. iii. 14","label":"John 3:14","href":"/jhn/3/#v14","status":"detected"},{"at":782,"text":"ch. xii. 24","label":"John 12:24","href":"/jhn/12/#v24","status":"detected"},{"at":1335,"text":"Acts ii. 23","label":"Acts 2:23","href":"/act/2/#v23","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.28-29.3","start":28,"end":29,"heading":"","excerpt":"... Observe with what tenderness and mildness Christ here speaks to those who he certainly knew would put him to death, to teach us not to hate or seek the hurt of any, though we may have reason to think they hate us and seek our hurt. Now, Christ speaks of his death as that which would be a powerful conviction of the infidelity of the Jews. When you have lifted up the Son of man, then shall you know this. And why then? First, Because careless and unthinking people are often taught the worth of mercies by the want of them, Luke xvii. 22. Secondly, The guilt of their sin in putting Christ to death would so awaken their consciences that they would be put upon serious enquiries after a Saviour, and then would know that Jesus was he who alone could save them. And so it proved, when, being told that with wicked hands they had crucified and slain the Son of God, they cried out, What shall we do? and were made to know assuredly that this Jesus was Lord and Christ, Acts ii. 36. Thirdly, There would be such signs and wonders attending his death, and the lifting of him up from death in his resurrection, as would give a stronger proof of his being the Messiah than any that had been yet given: and multitudes were hereby brought to believe that Jesus is the Christ, who had before contradicted and opposed him. Fourthly, By the death of Christ the pouring out of the Spirit was purchased, who would convince the world that Jesus is he, ch. xvi. 7, 8. Fifthly, The judgments which the Jews brought upon themselves, by putting Christ to death, which filled up the measure of their iniquity, were a sensible conviction to the most hardened among them that Jesus was he. Christ had often foretold that desolation as the just punishment of their invincible unbelief, and when it came to pass (lo, it did come) they could not but know that the great prophet had been among them, Ezek. xxxiii. 33.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":529,"text":"Luke xvii. 22","label":"Luke 17:22","href":"/luk/17/#v22","status":"detected"},{"at":972,"text":"Acts ii. 36","label":"Acts 2:36","href":"/act/2/#v36","status":"detected"},{"at":1443,"text":"ch. xvi. 7, 8","label":"John 16:7–8","href":"/jhn/16/#v7","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.29.1","start":29,"end":29,"heading":"What supported our Lord Jesus in the mean time","excerpt":"[3.] What supported our Lord Jesus in the mean time (v. 29): He that sent me is with me, in my whole undertaking; for the Father (the fountain and first spring of this affair, from whom as its great cause and author it is derived) hath not left me alone, to manage it myself, hath not deserted the business nor me in the prosecution of it, for do I always those things that please him. Here is,\n\nFirst, The assurance which Christ had of his Father's presence with him, which includes both a divine power going along with him to enable him for his work, and a divine favour manifested to him to encourage him in it. He that sent me is with me, Isa. xlii. 1; Ps. lxxxix. 21. This greatly emboldens our faith in Christ and our reliance upon his word that he had, and knew he had, his Father with him, to confirm the word of his servant, Isa. xliv. 26. The King of kings accompanied his own ambassador, to attest his mission and assist his management, and never left him alone, either solitary or weak; it also aggravated the wickedness of those that opposed him, and was an intimation to them of the premunire they ran themselves into by resisting him, for thereby they were found fighters against God. How easily soever they might think to crush him and run him down, let them know he had one to back him with whom it is the greatest madness that can be to contend.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":53,"text":"v. 29","label":"John 8:29","href":"/jhn/8/#v29","status":"detected"},{"at":643,"text":"Isa. xlii. 1","label":"Isaiah 42:1","href":"/isa/42/#v1","status":"detected"},{"at":657,"text":"Ps. lxxxix. 21","label":"Psalms 89:21","href":"/psa/89/#v21","status":"detected"},{"at":834,"text":"Isa. xliv. 26","label":"Isaiah 44:26","href":"/isa/44/#v26","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.29.2","start":29,"end":29,"heading":"The ground of this assurance","excerpt":"Secondly, The ground of this assurance: For I do always those things that please him. That is, 1. That great affair in which our Lord Jesus was continually engaged was an affair which the Father that sent him was highly well pleased with. His whole undertaking is called the pleasure of the Lord (Isa. liii. 10), because of the counsels of the eternal mind about it, and the complacency of the eternal mind in it. 2. His management of that affair was in nothing displeasing to his Father; in executing his commission he punctually observed all his instructions, and did in nothing vary from them. No mere man since the fall could say such a word as this (for in many things we offend all) but our Lord Jesus never offended his Father in any thing, but, as became him, he fulfilled all righteousness. This was necessary to the validity and value of the sacrifice he was to offer up; for if he had in any thing displeased the Father himself, and so had had any sin of his own to answer for, the Father could not have been pleased with him as a propitiation for our sins; but such a priest and such a sacrifice became us as was perfectly pure and spotless. We may likewise learn hence that God's servants may then expect God's presence with them when they choose and do those things that please him, Isa. lxvi. 4, 5.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":297,"text":"Isa. liii. 10","label":"Isaiah 53:10","href":"/isa/53/#v10","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.30.1","start":30,"end":30,"heading":"Here is the good effect which this discourse of Christ's had upon some of his hearers","excerpt":"V. Here is the good effect which this discourse of Christ's had upon some of his hearers (v. 30): As he spoke these words many believed on him. Note, 1. Though multitudes perish in their unbelief, yet there is a remnant according to the election of grace, who believe to the saving of the soul. If Israel, the whole body of the people, be not gathered, yet there are those of them in whom Christ will be glorious, Isa. xlix. 5. This the apostle insists upon, to reconcile the Jews' rejection with the promises made unto their fathers. There is a remnant, Rom. xi. 5. 2. The words of Christ, and particularly his threatening words, are made effectual by the grace of God to bring in poor souls to believe in him. When Christ told them that if they believed not they should die in their sins, and never get to heaven, they thought it was time to look about them, Rom. i. 16, 18. 3. Sometimes there is a wide door opened, and an effectual one, even where they are many adversaries. Christ will carry on his work, though the heathen rage. The gospel sometimes gains great victories where it meets with great opposition. Let this encourage God's ministers to preach the gospel, though it be with much contention, for they shall not labour in vain. Many may be secretly brought home to God by those endeavours which are openly contradicted and cavilled at by men of corrupt minds. Austin has an affectionate ejaculation in his lecture upon these words: Utinam et, me loquenti, multi credant; non in me, sed mecum in eo—I wish that when I speak, many may believe, not on me, but with me on him.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":90,"text":"v. 30","label":"John 8:30","href":"/jhn/8/#v30","status":"detected"},{"at":414,"text":"Isa. xlix. 5","label":"Isaiah 49:5","href":"/isa/49/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":555,"text":"Rom. xi. 5","label":"Romans 11:5","href":"/rom/11/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":861,"text":"Rom. i. 16, 18","label":"Romans 1:16","href":"/rom/1/#v16","status":"detected"},{"at":861,"text":"Rom. i. 16, 18","label":"Romans 1:18","href":"/rom/1/#v18","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.31.1","start":31,"end":31,"heading":"How carefully he cherishes the beginnings of grace, and meets those that are coming towards him","excerpt":"2. How carefully he cherishes the beginnings of grace, and meets those that are coming towards him. These Jews that believed were yet but weak; but Christ did not therefore cast them off, for he gathers the lambs in his arms. When faith is in its infancy, he has knees to prevent it, breasts for it to suck, that it may not die from the womb. In what he said to them, we have two things, which he saith to all that should at any time believe:—","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.31.2","start":31,"end":31,"heading":"The character of a true disciple of Christ","excerpt":"(1.) The character of a true disciple of Christ: If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed. When they believed on him, as the great prophet, they gave up themselves to be his disciples. Now, at their entrance into his school, he lays down this for a settled rule, that he would own none for his disciples but those that continued in his word. [1.] It is implied that there are many who profess themselves Christ's disciples who are not his disciples indeed, but only in show and name. [2.] It highly concerns those that are not strong in faith to see to it that they be sound in the faith, that, though not disciples of the highest form, they are nevertheless disciples indeed. [3.] Those who seem willing to be Christ's disciples ought to be told that they had as good never come to him, unless they come with a resolution by his grace to abide by him. Let those who have thoughts of covenanting with Christ have no thoughts of reserving a power of revocation. Children are sent to school, and bound apprentices, only for a few years; but those only are Christ's who are willing to be bound to him for the term of life. [4.] Those only that continue in Christ's word shall be accepted as his disciples indeed, that adhere to his word in every instance without partiality, and abide by it to the end without apostasy. It is menein—to dwell in Christ's word, as a man does at home, which is his centre, and rest, and refuge. Our converse with the word and conformity to it must be constant. If we continue disciples to the last, then, and not otherwise, we approve ourselves disciples indeed.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.32.1","start":32,"end":32,"heading":"The privilege of a true disciple of Christ","excerpt":"(2.) The privilege of a true disciple of Christ. Here are two precious promises made to those who thus approve themselves disciples indeed, v. 32.\n\n[1.] \"You shall know the truth, shall know all that truth which it is needful and profitable for you to know, and shall be more confirmed in the belief of it, shall know the certainty of it.\" Note, First, Even those who are true believers, and disciples indeed, yet may be, and are, much in the dark concerning many things which they should know. God's children are but children, and understand and speak as children. Did we not need to be taught, we should not need to be disciples. Secondly, It is a very great privilege to know the truth, to know the particular truths which we are to believe, in their mutual dependences and connections, and the grounds and reasons of our belief,—to know what is truth and what proves it to be so. Thirdly, It is a gracious promise of Christ, to all who continue in his word, that they shall know the truth as far as is needful and profitable for them. Christ's scholars are sure to be well taught.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":140,"text":"v. 32","label":"John 8:32","href":"/jhn/8/#v32","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.32.2","start":32,"end":32,"heading":"The truth shall make you free","excerpt":"[2.] The truth shall make you free; that is, First, The truth which Christ teaches tends to make men free, Isa. lxi. 1. Justification makes us free from the guilt of sin, by which we were bound over to the judgment of God, and bound under amazing fears; sanctification makes us free from the bondage of corruption, by which we were restrained from that service which is perfect freedom, and constrained to that which is perfect slavery. Gospel truth frees us from the yoke of the ceremonial law, and the more grievous burdens of the traditions of the elders. It makes us free from our spiritual enemies, free in the service of God, free to the privileges of sons, and free of the Jerusalem which is from above, which is free. Secondly, The knowing, entertaining, and believing, of this truth does actually make us free, free from prejudices, mistakes, and false notions, than which nothing more enslaves and entangles the soul, free from the dominion of lust and passion; and restores the soul to the government of itself, by reducing it into obedience to its Creator. The mind, by admitting the truth of Christ in the light and power, is vastly enlarged, and has scope and compass given it, is greatly elevated and raised above things of sense, and never acts with so true a liberty as when it acts under a divine command, 2 Cor. iii. 17. The enemies of Christianity pretend to free thinking, whereas really those are the freest reasonings that are guided by faith, and those are men of free thought whose thoughts are captivated and brought into obedience to Christ.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":107,"text":"Isa. lxi. 1","label":"Isaiah 61:1","href":"/isa/61/#v1","status":"detected"},{"at":1324,"text":"2 Cor. iii. 17","label":"2 Corinthians 3:17","href":"/2co/3/#v17","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.33.1","start":33,"end":33,"heading":"The offence which the carnal Jews took at this doctrine, and their objection against it","excerpt":"II. The offence which the carnal Jews took at this doctrine, and their objection against it. Though it was a doctrine that brought glad tidings of liberty to the captives, yet they cavilled at it, v. 33. The Pharisees grudged this comfortable word to those that believed, the standers by, who had no part nor lot in this matter; they thought themselves reflected upon and affronted by the gracious charter of liberty granted to those that believed, and therefore with a great deal of pride and envy they answered him, \"We Jews are Abraham's seed, and therefore are free-born, and have not lost our birthright-freedom; we were never in bondage to any man; how sayest thou then, to us Jews, You shall be made free?\" See here,\n\n1. What it was that they were grieved at; it was an innuendo in those words, You shall be made free, as if the Jewish church and nation were in some sort of bondage, which reflected on the Jews in general, and as if all that did not believe in Christ continued in that bondage, which reflected on the Pharisees in particular. Note, The privileges of the faithful are the envy and vexation of unbelievers, Ps. cxii. 10.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":197,"text":"v. 33","label":"John 8:33","href":"/jhn/8/#v33","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.33.2","start":33,"end":33,"heading":"What it was that they alleged against it","excerpt":"2. What it was that they alleged against it; whereas Christ intimated that they needed to be made free, they urge, (1.) \"We are Abraham's seed, and Abraham was a prince and a great man; though we live in Canaan, we are not descended from Canaan, nor under his doom, a servant of servants shall he be; we hold in frank-almoign—free alms, and not in villenage—by a servile tenure.\" It is common for a sinking decaying family to boast of the glory and dignity of its ancestors, and to borrow honour from that name to which they repay disgrace; so the Jews here did. But this was not all. Abraham was in covenant with God, and his children by his right, Rom. xi. 28. Now that covenant, no doubt, was a free charter, and invested them with privileges not consistent with a state of slavery, Rom. ix. 4. And therefore they thought they had no occasion with so great a sum as they reckoned faith in Christ to be to obtain this freedom, when they were thus free-born. Note, It is the common fault and folly of those that have pious parentage and education to trust to their privilege and boast of it, as if it would atone for the want of real holiness. They were Abraham's seed, but what would this avail them, when we find one in hell that could call Abraham father? ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":650,"text":"Rom. xi. 28","label":"Romans 11:28","href":"/rom/11/#v28","status":"detected"},{"at":786,"text":"Rom. ix. 4","label":"Romans 9:4","href":"/rom/9/#v4","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.33.3","start":33,"end":33,"heading":"","excerpt":"... Saving benefits are not, like common privileges, conveyed by entail to us and our issue, nor can a title to heaven be made by descent, nor may we claim as heirs at law, by making out our pedigree; our title is purely by purchase, not our own but our Redeemer's for us, under certain provisos and limitations, which if we do not observe it will not avail us to be Abraham's seed. Thus many, when they are pressed with the necessity of regeneration, turn it off with this, We are the church's children; but they are not all Israel that are of Israel. (2.) We were never in bondage to any man. Now observe, [1.] How false this allegation was. I wonder how they could have the assurance to say a thing in the face of a congregation which was so notoriously untrue. Were not the seed of Abraham in bondage to the Egyptians? Were they not often in bondage to the neighbouring nations in the time of the judges? Were they not seventy years captives in Babylon? Nay, were they not at this time tributaries to the Romans, and, though not in a personal, yet in a national bondage to them, and groaning to be made free? And yet, to confront Christ, they have the impudence to say, We were never in bondage. Thus they would expose Christ to the ill-will both of the Jews, who were very jealous for the honour of their liberty, and of the Romans, who would not be thought to enslave the nations they conquered. [2.] How foolish the application was. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.33.4","start":33,"end":33,"heading":"","excerpt":"... Christ had spoken of a liberty wherewith the truth would make them free, which must be meant of a spiritual liberty, for truth as it is the enriching, so it is the enfranchising of the mind, and the enlarging of that from the captivity of error and prejudice; and yet they plead against the offer of spiritual liberty that they were never in corporal thraldom, as if, because they were never in bondage to any man, they were never in bondage to any lust. Note, Carnal hearts are sensible of no other grievances than those that molest the body and injure their secular affairs. Talk to them of encroachments upon their civil liberty and property,—tell them of waste committed upon their lands, or damage done to their houses,—and they understand you very well, and can give you a sensible answer; the thing touches them and affects them. But discourse to them of the bondage of sin, a captivity to Satan, and a liberty by Christ,—tell them of wrong done to their precious souls, and the hazard of their eternal welfare,—and you bring certain strange things to their ears; they say of it (as those did, Ezek. xx. 49), Doth he not speak parables? This was much like the blunder Nicodemus made about being born again.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1105,"text":"Ezek. xx. 49","label":"Ezekiel 20:49","href":"/ezk/20/#v49","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.34.1","start":34,"end":34,"heading":"","excerpt":"1. He shows that, notwithstanding their civil liberties and their visible church-membership, yet it was possible that they might be in a state of bondage (v. 34): Whosoever commits sin, though he be of Abraham's seed, and was never in bondage to any man, is the servant of sin. Observe, Christ does not upbraid them with the falsehood of their plea, or their present bondage, but further explains what he had said for their edification. Thus ministers should with meekness instruct those that oppose them, that they may recover themselves, not with passion provoke them to entangle themselves yet more. Now here,\n\n(1.) The preface is very solemn: Verily, verily, I say unto you; an awful asseveration, which our Saviour often used, to command a reverent attention and a ready assent. The style of the prophets was, Thus saith the Lord, for they were faithful as servants; but Christ, being a Son, speaks in his own name: I say unto you, I the Amen, the faithful witness; he pawns his veracity upon it. \"I say it to you, who boast of your relation to Abraham, as if that would save you.\"","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":155,"text":"v. 34","label":"John 8:34","href":"/jhn/8/#v34","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.34.2","start":34,"end":34,"heading":"The truth is of universal concern, though here delivered upon a particular occasion","excerpt":"(2.) The truth is of universal concern, though here delivered upon a particular occasion: Whosoever commits sin is the servant of sin, and sadly needs to be made free. A state of sin is a state of bondage. [1.] See who it is on whom this brand is fastened—on him that commits sin, pas ho poion hamartian—every one that makes sin. There is not a just man upon earth, that lives, and sins not; yet every one that sins is not a servant of sin, for then God would have no servants; but he that makes sin, that makes choice of sin, prefers the way of wickedness before the way of holiness (Jer. xliv. 16, 17),—that makes a covenant with sin, enters into league with it, and makes a marriage with it,—that makes contrivances of sin, makes provision for the flesh, and devises iniquity,—and that makes a custom of sin, who walks after the flesh, and makes a trade of sin. [2.] See what the brand is which Christ fastens upon those that thus commit sin. He stigmatizes them, gives them a mark of servitude. They are servants of sin, imprisoned under the guilt of sin, under an arrest, in hold for it, concluded under sin, and they are subject to the power of sin. He is a servant of sin, that is, he makes himself so, and is so accounted; he has sold himself to work wickedness; his lusts give law to him, he is at their beck, and is not his own master. He does the work of sin, supports its interest, and accepts its wages, Rom. vi. 16.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":585,"text":"Jer. xliv. 16, 17","label":"Jeremiah 44:16–17","href":"/jer/44/#v16","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.35.1","start":35,"end":35,"heading":"","excerpt":"2. He shows them that, being in a state of bondage, their having a place in the house of God would not entitle them to the inheritance of sons; for (v. 35) the servant, though he be in the house for awhile, yet, being but a servant, abideth not in the house for ever. Services (we say) are no inheritances, they are but temporary, and not for a perpetuity; but the son of the family abideth ever. Now, (1.) This points primarily at the rejection of the Jewish church and nation. Israel had been God's son, his first-born; but they wretchedly degenerated into a servile disposition, were enslaved to the world and the flesh, and therefore, though by virtue of their birthright they thought themselves secure of their church membership, Christ tells them that having thus made themselves servants they should not abide in the house for ever. Jerusalem, by opposing the gospel of Christ, which proclaimed liberty, and adhering to the Sinai-covenant, which gendered to bondage, after its term was expired came to be in bondage with her children (Gal. iv. 24, 25), and therefore was unchurched and disfranchised, her charter seized and taken away, and she was cast out as the son of the bond-woman, Gen. xxi. 14. Chrysostom gives this sense of this place: \"Think not to be made free from sin by the rites and ceremonies of the law of Moses, for Moses was but a servant, and had not that perpetual authority in the church which the Son had; but, if the Son make you free, it is well,\" v. 36. But, (2.) ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":149,"text":"v. 35","label":"John 8:35","href":"/jhn/8/#v35","status":"detected"},{"at":1042,"text":"Gal. iv. 24, 25","label":"Galatians 4:24–25","href":"/gal/4/#v24","status":"detected"},{"at":1194,"text":"Gen. xxi. 14","label":"Genesis 21:14","href":"/gen/21/#v14","status":"detected"},{"at":1479,"text":"v. 36","label":"John 8:36","href":"/jhn/8/#v36","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.35.2","start":35,"end":35,"heading":"","excerpt":"... It looks further, to the rejection of all that are the servants of sin, and receive not the adoption of the sons of God; though those unprofitable servants may be in God's house awhile, as retainers to his family, yet there is a day coming when the children of the bond-woman and of the free shall be distinguished. True believers only, who are the children of the promise and of the covenant, are accounted free, and shall abide for ever in the house, as Isaac: they shall have a nail in the holy place on earth (Ezra ix. 8) and mansions in the holy place in heaven, ch. xiv. 2.\n\n3. He shows them the way of deliverance out of the state of bondage into the glorious liberty of the children of God, Rom. viii. 21. The case of those that are the servants of sin is sad, but thanks be to God it is not helpless, it is not hopeless. As it is the privilege of all the sons of the family, and their dignity above the servants, that they abide in the house for ever; so he who is the Son, the first-born among many brethren, and the heir of all things, has a power both of manumission and of adoption (v. 36): If the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. Note,","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":518,"text":"Ezra ix. 8","label":"Ezra 9:8","href":"/ezr/9/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":572,"text":"ch. xiv. 2","label":"John 14:2","href":"/jhn/14/#v2","status":"detected"},{"at":703,"text":"Rom. viii. 21","label":"Romans 8:21","href":"/rom/8/#v21","status":"detected"},{"at":1100,"text":"v. 36","label":"John 8:36","href":"/jhn/8/#v36","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.36.1","start":36,"end":36,"heading":"Jesus Christ in the gospel offers us our freedom","excerpt":"(1.) Jesus Christ in the gospel offers us our freedom; he has authority and power to make free. [1.] To discharge prisoners; this he does in justification, by making satisfaction for our guilt (on which the gospel offer is grounded, which is to all a conditional act of indemnity, and to all true believers, upon their believing, an absolute charter of pardon), and for our debts, for which we were by the law arrested and in execution. Christ, as our surety, or rather our bail (for he was not originally bound with us, but upon our insolvency bound for us), compounds with the creditor, answers the demands of injured justice with more than an equivalent, takes the bond and judgment into his own hands, and gives them up cancelled to all that by faith and repentance give him (if I may so say) a counter-security to save his honour harmless, and so they are made free; and from the debt, and every part thereof, they are for ever acquitted, exonerated, and discharged, and a general release is sealed of all actions and claims; while against those who refuse to come up to these terms the securities lie still in the Redeemer's hands, in full force. [2.] He has a power to rescue bond-slaves, and this he does in sanctification; by the powerful arguments of his gospel, and the powerful operations of his Spirit, he breaks the power of corruption in the soul, rallies the scattered forces of reason and virtue, and fortifies God's interest against sin and Satan, and so the soul is made free. [3.] He has a power to naturalize strangers and foreigners, and this he does in adoption. This is a further act of grace; we are not only forgiven and healed, but preferred; there is a charter of privileges as well as pardon; and thus the Son makes us free denizens of the kingdom of priests, the holy nation, the new Jerusalem.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.36.2","start":36,"end":36,"heading":"Those whom Christ makes free are free indeed","excerpt":"(2.) Those whom Christ makes free are free indeed. It is not alethos, the word used (v. 31) for disciples indeed, but ontos—really. It denotes, [1.] The truth and certainty of the promise, the liberty which the Jews boasted of was an imaginary liberty; they boasted of a false gift; but the liberty which Christ gives is a certain thing, it is real, and has real effects. The servants of sin promise themselves liberty, and fancy themselves free, when they have broken religion's bands asunder; but they cheat themselves. None are free indeed but those whom Christ makes free. [2.] It denotes the singular excellency of the freedom promised; it is a freedom that deserves the name, in comparison with which all other liberties are no better than slaveries, so much does it turn to the honour and advantage of those that are made free by it. It is a glorious liberty. It is that which is (so ontos signifies); it is substance (Prov. viii. 21); while the things of the world are shadows, things that are not.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":85,"text":"v. 31","label":"John 8:31","href":"/jhn/8/#v31","status":"detected"},{"at":926,"text":"Prov. viii. 21","label":"Proverbs 8:21","href":"/pro/8/#v21","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.37.1","start":37,"end":37,"heading":"","excerpt":"4. He applies this to these unbelieving cavilling Jews, in answer to their boasts of relation to Abraham (v. 37): \"I know very well that you are Abraham's seed, but now you seek to kill me, and therefore have forfeited the honour of your relation to Abraham, because my word hath no place in you.\" Observe here,\n\n(1.) The dignity of their extraction admitted: \"I know that you are Abraham's seed, every one knows it, and it is your honour.\" He grants them what was true, and in what they said that was false (that they were never in bondage to any) he does not contradict them, for he studied to profit them, and not to provoke them, and therefore said that which would please them: I know that you are Abraham's seed. They boasted of their descent from Abraham, as that which aggrandized their names, and made them exceedingly honourable; whereas really it did but aggravate their crimes, and make them exceedingly sinful. Out of their own mouths will he judge vain-glorious hypocrites, who boast of their parentage and education: \"Are you Abraham's seed? Why then did you not tread in the steps of his faith and obedience?\"\n\n(2.) The inconsistency of their practice with this dignity: But you seek to kill me. They had attempted it several times, and were now designing it, which quickly appeared (v. 59), when they took up stones to cast at him. Christ knows all the wickedness, not only which men do, but which they seek, and design, and endeavour to do. To seek to kill any innocent man is a crime black enough, but to compass and imagine the death of him that was King of kings was a crime the heinousness of which we want words to express.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":106,"text":"v. 37","label":"John 8:37","href":"/jhn/8/#v37","status":"detected"},{"at":1300,"text":"v. 59","label":"John 8:59","href":"/jhn/8/#v59","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.37.2","start":37,"end":37,"heading":"The reason of this inconsistency","excerpt":"(3.) The reason of this inconsistency. Why were they that were Abraham's seed so very inveterate against Abraham's promised seed, in whom they and all the families of the earth should be blessed? Our Saviour here tells them, It is because my word hath no place in you, ou chorei en hymin, Non capit in vobis, so the Vulgate. \"My word does not take with you, you have no inclination to it, no relish of it, other things are more taking, more pleasing.\" Or, \"It does not take hold of you, it has no power over you, makes no impression upon you.\" Some of the critics read it, My word does not penetrate into you; it descended as the rain, but it came upon them as the rain upon the rock, which it runs off, and did not soak into their hearts, as the rain upon the ploughed ground. The Syriac reads it, \"Because you do not acquiesce in my word; you are not persuaded of the truth of it, nor pleased with the goodness of it.\" Our translation is very significant: It has no place in you. They sought to kill him, and so effectually to silence him, not because he had done they any harm, but because they could not bear the convincing, commanding power of his word. Note, [1.] The words of Christ ought to have a place in us, the innermost and uppermost place,—a dwelling place, as a man at home, and not as a stranger or sojourner,—a working place; it must have room to operate, to work sin out of us, and to work grace in us; it must have a ruling place, its place must be upon the throne, it must dwell in us richly. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.37.3","start":37,"end":37,"heading":"","excerpt":"... [2.] There are many that make a profession of religion in whom the word of Christ has no place; they will not allow it a place, for they do not like it; Satan does all he can to displace it; and other things possess the place it should have in us. [3.] Where the word of God has no place no good is to be expected, for room is left there for all wickedness. If the unclean spirit find the heart empty of Christ's word, he enters in, and dwells there.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.38.1","start":38,"end":38,"heading":"He here traces the difference between his sentiments and theirs to a different rise and origin","excerpt":"I. He here traces the difference between his sentiments and theirs to a different rise and origin (v. 38): I speak that which I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have seen with your father. Here are two fathers spoken of, according to the two families into which the sons of men are divided—God and the devil, and without controversy these are contrary the one to the other.\n\n1. Christ's doctrine was from heaven; it was copied out of the counsels of infinite wisdom, and the kind intentions of eternal love. (1.) I speak that which I have seen. The discoveries Christ has made to us of God and another world are not grounded upon guess and hearsay, but upon ocular inspection; so that he was thoroughly apprized of the nature, and assured of the truth, of all he said. He that is given to be a witness to the people is an eye-witness, and therefore unexceptionable. (2.) It is what I have seen with my Father. The doctrine of Christ is not a plausible hypothesis, supported by probable arguments, but it is an exact counterpart of the incontestable truths lodged in the eternal mind. It was not only what he had heard from his Father, but what he had seen with him when the counsel of peace was between them both. Moses spoke what he heard from God, but he might not see the face of God; Paul had been in the third heaven, but what he had seen there he could not, he must not, utter; for it was Christ's prerogative to have seen what he spoke, and to speak what he had seen.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":99,"text":"v. 38","label":"John 8:38","href":"/jhn/8/#v38","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.38.2","start":38,"end":38,"heading":"Their doings were from hell","excerpt":"2. Their doings were from hell: \"You do that which you have seen with your father. You do, by your own works, father yourselves, for it is evident whom you resemble, and therefore easy to find out your origin.\" As a child that is trained up with his father learns his father's words and fashions, and grows like him by an affected imitation as well as by a natural image, so these Jews, by their malicious opposition to Christ and the gospel, made themselves as like the devil as if they had industriously set him before them for their pattern.\n\nII. He takes off and answers their vain-glorious boasts of relation to Abraham and to God as their fathers, and shows the vanity and falsehood of their pretensions.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.39.1","start":39,"end":39,"heading":"They pleaded relation to Abraham, and he replies to this plea","excerpt":"1. They pleaded relation to Abraham, and he replies to this plea. They said, Abraham is our father, v. 39. In this they intended, (1.) To do honour to themselves, and to make themselves look great. They had forgotten the mortification given them by that acknowledgement prescribed them (Deut. xxvi. 5), A Syrian ready to perish was my father; and the charge exhibited against their degenerate ancestors (whose steps they trod in, and not those of the first founder of the family), Thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother a Hittite, Ezek. xvi. 3. As it is common for those families that are sinking and going to decay to boast most of their pedigree, so it is common for those churches that are corrupt and depraved to value themselves upon their antiquity and the eminence of their first planters. Fuimus Troes, fuit Ilium—We have been Trojans, and there once was Troy. (2.) They designed to cast an odium upon Christ as if he reflected upon the patriarch Abraham, in speaking of their father as one they had learned evil from. See how they sought an occasion to quarrel with him. Now Christ overthrows this plea, and exposes the vanity of it by a plain and cogent argument: \"Abraham's children will do the works of Abraham, but you do not do Abraham's works, therefore you are not Abraham's children.\"","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":100,"text":"v. 39","label":"John 8:39","href":"/jhn/8/#v39","status":"detected"},{"at":287,"text":"Deut. xxvi. 5","label":"Deuteronomy 26:5","href":"/deu/26/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":534,"text":"Ezek. xvi. 3","label":"Ezekiel 16:3","href":"/ezk/16/#v3","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.39.2","start":39,"end":39,"heading":"The proposition is plain","excerpt":"[1.] The proposition is plain: \"If you were Abraham's children, such children of Abraham as could claim an interest in the covenant made with him and his seed, which would indeed put an honour upon you, then you would do the works of Abraham, for to those only of Abraham's house who kept the way of the Lord, as Abraham did, would God perform what he had spoken,\" Gen. xviii. 19. Those only are reckoned the seed of Abraham, to whom the promise belongs, who tread in the steps of his faith and obedience, Rom. iv. 12. Though the Jews had their genealogies, and kept them exact, yet they could not by them make out their relation to Abraham, so as to take the benefit of the old entail (performam doni—according to the form of the gift), unless they walked in the same spirit; good women's relation to Sarah is proved only by this—whose daughters you are as long as you do well, and no longer, 1 Pet. iii. 6. Note, Those who would approve themselves Abraham's seed must not only be of Abraham's faith, but do Abraham's works (James ii. 21, 22),—must come at God's call, as he did,—must resign their dearest comforts to him,—must be strangers and sojourners in this world,—must keep up the worship of God in their families, and always walk before God in their uprightness; for these were the works of Abraham.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":365,"text":"Gen. xviii. 19","label":"Genesis 18:19","href":"/gen/18/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":506,"text":"Rom. iv. 12","label":"Romans 4:12","href":"/rom/4/#v12","status":"detected"},{"at":894,"text":"1 Pet. iii. 6","label":"1 Peter 3:6","href":"/1pe/3/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":1026,"text":"James ii. 21, 22","label":"James 2:21–22","href":"/jas/2/#v21","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.40.1","start":40,"end":40,"heading":"The assumption is evident likewise","excerpt":"[2.] The assumption is evident likewise: But you do not do the works of Abraham, for you seek to kill me, a man that has told you the truth, which I have heard of God; this did not Abraham, v. 40.\n\nFirst, He shows them what their work was, their present work, which they were now about; they sought to kill him; and three things are intimated as an aggravation of their intention:—1. They were so unnatural as to seek the life of a man, a man like themselves, bone of their bone, and flesh of their flesh, who had done them no harm, nor given them any provocation. You imagine mischief against a man, Ps. lxii. 3. 2. They were so ungrateful as to seek the life of one who had told them the truth, had not only done them no injury, but had done them the greatest kindness that could be; had not only not imposed upon them with a lie, but had instructed them in the most necessary and important truths; was he therefore become their enemy? 3. They were so ungodly as to seek the life of one who told them the truth which he had heard from God, who was a messenger sent from God to them, so that their attempt against him was quasi deicidium—an act of malice against God. This was their work, and they persisted in it.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":190,"text":"v. 40","label":"John 8:40","href":"/jhn/8/#v40","status":"detected"},{"at":601,"text":"Ps. lxii. 3","label":"Psalms 62:3","href":"/psa/62/#v3","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.40.2","start":40,"end":40,"heading":"He shows them that this did not become the children of Abraham","excerpt":"Secondly, He shows them that this did not become the children of Abraham; for this did not Abraham. 1. \"He did nothing like this.\" He was famous for his humanity, witness his rescue of the captives; and for his piety, witness his obedience to the heavenly vision in many instances, and some tender ones. Abraham believed God; they were obstinate in unbelief: Abraham followed God; they fought against him; so that he would be ignorant of them, and would not acknowledge them, they were so unlike him, Isa. lxiii. 16. See Jer. xxii. 15-17. 2. \"He would not have done thus if he had lived now, or I had lived then.\" Hoc Abraham non fecisset—He would not have done this; so some read it. We should thus reason ourselves out of any way of wickedness; would Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob have done so? We cannot expect to be ever with them, if we be never like them.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":501,"text":"Isa. lxiii. 16","label":"Isaiah 63:16","href":"/isa/63/#v16","status":"detected"},{"at":521,"text":"Jer. xxii. 15-17","label":"Jeremiah 22:15–17","href":"/jer/22/#v15","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.41.1","start":41,"end":41,"heading":"The conclusion follows of course","excerpt":"[3.] The conclusion follows of course (v. 41): \"Whatever your boasts and pretensions be, you are not Abraham's children, but father yourselves upon another family (v. 41); there is a father whose deeds you do, whose spirit you are of, and whom you resemble.\" He does not yet say plainly that he means the devil, till they by their continued cavils forced him so to explain himself, which teaches us to treat even bad men with civility and respect, and not to be forward to say that of them, or to them, which, though true, sounds harsh. He tried whether they would suffer their own consciences to infer from what he said that they were the devil's children; and it is better to hear it from them now that we are called to repent, that is, to change our father and change our family, by changing our spirit and way, than to hear it from Christ in the great day.\n\n2. So far were they from owning their unworthiness of relation to Abraham that they pleaded relation to God himself as their Father: \"We are not born of fornication, we are not bastards, but legitimate sons; we have one Father, even God.\"\n\n(1.) Some understand this literally. They were not the sons of the bondwoman, as the Ishmaelites were; nor begotten in incest, as the Moabites and Ammonites were (Deut. xxiii. 3); nor were they a spurious brood in Abraham's family, but Hebrews of the Hebrews; and, being born in lawful wedlock, they might call God Father, who instituted that honourable estate in innocency; for a legitimate seed, not tainted with divorces nor the plurality of wives, is called a seed of God, Mal. ii. 15.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":39,"text":"v. 41","label":"John 8:41","href":"/jhn/8/#v41","status":"detected"},{"at":164,"text":"v. 41","label":"John 8:41","href":"/jhn/8/#v41","status":"detected"},{"at":1265,"text":"Deut. xxiii. 3","label":"Deuteronomy 23:3","href":"/deu/23/#v3","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.41.2","start":41,"end":41,"heading":"Others take it figuratively","excerpt":"(2.) Others take it figuratively. They begin to be aware now that Christ spoke of a spiritual not a carnal father, of the father of their religion; and so,\n\n[1.] They deny themselves to be a generation of idolaters: \"We are not born of fornication, are not the children of idolatrous parents, nor have been bred up in idolatrous worships.\" Idolatry is often spoken of as spiritual whoredom, and idolaters as children of whoredoms, Hosea ii. 4; Isa. lvii. 3. Now, if they meant that they were not the posterity of idolaters, the allegation was false, for no nation was more addicted to idolatry than the Jews before the captivity; if they meant no more than that they themselves were not idolaters, what then? A man may be free from idolatry, and yet perish in another iniquity, and be shut out of Abraham's covenant. If thou commit no idolatry (apply it to this spiritual fornication), yet if thou kill thou art become a transgressor of the covenant. A rebellious prodigal son will be disinherited, though he be not born of fornication.\n\n[2.] They boast themselves to be true worshippers of the true God. We have not many fathers, as the heathens had, gods many and lords many, and yet were without God, as filius populi—a son of the people, has many fathers and yet none certain; no, the Lord our God is one Lord and one Father, and therefore it is well with us. Note, Those flatter themselves, and put a damning cheat upon their own souls, who imagine that their professing the true religion and worshipping the true God will save them, though they worship not God in spirit and in truth, nor are true to their profession. Now our Saviour gives a full answer to this fallacious plea (v. 42, 43), and proves, by two arguments, that they had no right to call God Father.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":431,"text":"Hosea ii. 4","label":"Hosea 2:4","href":"/hos/2/#v4","status":"detected"},{"at":444,"text":"Isa. lvii. 3","label":"Isaiah 57:3","href":"/isa/57/#v3","status":"detected"},{"at":1686,"text":"v. 42, 43","label":"John 8:42–43","href":"/jhn/8/#v42","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.42.1","start":42,"end":42,"heading":"They did not love Christ","excerpt":"First, They did not love Christ: If God were your Father, you would love me. He had disproved their relation to Abraham by their going about to kill him (v. 40), but here he disproves their relation to God by their not loving and owning him. A man may pass for a child of Abraham if he do not appear an enemy to Christ by gross sin; but he cannot approve himself a child of God unless he be a faithful friend and follower of Christ. Note, All that have God for their Father have a true love to Jesus Christ, and esteem of his person, a grateful sense of his love, a sincere affection to his cause and kingdom, a complacency in the salvation wrought out by him and in the method and terms of it, and a care to keep his commandments, which is the surest evidence of our love to him. We are here in a state of probation, upon our trial how we will conduct ourselves towards our Maker, and accordingly it will be with us in the state of retribution. God has taken various methods to prove us, and this was one: he sent his Son into the world, with sufficient proofs of his sonship and mission, concluding that all that called him Father would kiss his Son, and bid him welcome who was the first-born among many brethren; see 1 John v. 1. By this our adoption will be proved or disproved—Did we love Christ, or no? If any man do not, he is so far from being a child of God that he is anathema, accursed, 1 Cor. xvi. 22. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":154,"text":"v. 40","label":"John 8:40","href":"/jhn/8/#v40","status":"detected"},{"at":1221,"text":"1 John v. 1","label":"1 John 5:1","href":"/1jn/5/#v1","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.42.2","start":42,"end":42,"heading":"","excerpt":"... Now our Saviour proves that if they were God's children they would love him; for, saith he, I proceeded forth and came from God. They will love him; for, 1. He was the Son of God: I proceeded forth from God. Exelthon this means his divine exeleusis, or origin from the Father, by the communication of the divine essence, and also the union of the divine logos to his human nature; so Dr. Whitby. Now this could not but recommend him to the affections of all that were born of God. Christ is called the beloved, because, being the beloved of the Father, he is certainly the beloved of all the saints, Eph. i. 6. 2. He was sent of God, came from him as an ambassador to the world of mankind. He did not come of himself, as the false prophets, who had not either their mission or their message from God, Jer. xxiii. 21. Observe the emphasis he lays upon this: I came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. He had both his credentials and his instructions from God; he came to gather together in one the children of God (ch. xi. 51), to bring many sons to glory, Heb. ii. 10. And would not all God's children embrace with both arms a messenger sent from their Father on such errands? But these Jews made it appear that they were nothing akin to God, by their want of affection to Jesus Christ.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":604,"text":"Eph. i. 6","label":"Ephesians 1:6","href":"/eph/1/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":805,"text":"Jer. xxiii. 21","label":"Jeremiah 23:21","href":"/jer/23/#v21","status":"detected"},{"at":1034,"text":"ch. xi. 51","label":"John 11:51","href":"/jhn/11/#v51","status":"detected"},{"at":1076,"text":"Heb. ii. 10","label":"Hebrews 2:10","href":"/heb/2/#v10","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.43.1","start":43,"end":43,"heading":"They did not understand him","excerpt":"Secondly, They did not understand him. It was a sign they did not belong to God's family that they did not understand the language and dialect of the family: You do not understand my speech (v. 43), ten lalian ten emen. Christ's speech was divine and heavenly, but intelligible enough to those that were acquainted with the voice of Christ in the Old Testament. Those that had made the word of the Creator familiar to them needed no other key to the dialect of the Redeemer; and yet these Jews make strange of the doctrine of Christ, and find knots in it, and I know not what stumbling stones. Could a Galilean be known by his speech? An Ephraimite by his sibboleth? And would any have the confidence to call God Father to whom the Son of God was a barbarian, even when he spoke the will of God in the words of the Spirit of God? Note, Those who are not acquainted with the divine speech have reason to fear that they are strangers to the divine nature. Christ spoke the words of God (ch. iii. 34) in the dialect of the kingdom of God; and yet they, who pretended to belong to the kingdom, understood not the idioms and properties of it, but like strangers, and rude ones too, ridiculed it. And the reason why they did not understand Christ's speech made the matter much worse: Even because you cannot hear my word, that is, \"You cannot persuade yourselves to hear it attentively, impartially, and without prejudice, as it should be heard.\" The meaning of this cannot is an obstinate will not; as the Jews could not hear Stephen (Acts vii. 57) nor Paul, Acts xxiii. 22. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":191,"text":"v. 43","label":"John 8:43","href":"/jhn/8/#v43","status":"detected"},{"at":985,"text":"ch. iii. 34","label":"John 3:34","href":"/jhn/3/#v34","status":"detected"},{"at":1530,"text":"Acts vii. 57","label":"Acts 7:57","href":"/act/7/#v57","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.43.2","start":43,"end":43,"heading":"","excerpt":"... Note, The rooted antipathy of men's corrupt hearts to the doctrine of Christ is the true reason of their ignorance of it, and of their errors and mistakes about it. They do not like it nor love it, and therefore they will not understand it; like Peter, who pretended he knew not what the damsel said (Matt. xxvi. 70), when in truth he knew not what to say to it. You cannot hear my words, for you have stopped your ears (Ps. lviii. 4, 5), and God, in a way of righteous judgment, has made your ears heavy, Isa. vi. 10.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":305,"text":"Matt. xxvi. 70","label":"Matthew 26:70","href":"/mat/26/#v70","status":"detected"},{"at":425,"text":"Ps. lviii. 4, 5","label":"Psalms 58:4–5","href":"/psa/58/#v4","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.44.1","start":44,"end":44,"heading":"","excerpt":"III. Having thus disproved their relation both to Abraham and to God, he comes next to tell them plainly whose children they were: You are of your father the devil, v. 44. If they were not God's children, they were the devil's, for God and Satan divide the world of mankind; the devil is therefore said to work in the children of disobedience, Eph. ii. 2. All wicked people are the devil's children, children of Belial (2 Cor. vi. 15), the serpent's seed (Gen. iii. 15), children of the wicked one, Matt. xiii. 38. They partake of his nature, bear his image, obey his commands, and follow his example. Idolaters said to a stock, Thou art our father, Jer. ii. 27.\n\nThis is a high charge, and sounds very harsh and horrid, that any of the children of men, especially the church's children, should be called children of the devil, and therefore our Saviour fully proves it.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":165,"text":"v. 44","label":"John 8:44","href":"/jhn/8/#v44","status":"detected"},{"at":344,"text":"Eph. ii. 2","label":"Ephesians 2:2","href":"/eph/2/#v2","status":"detected"},{"at":420,"text":"2 Cor. vi. 15","label":"2 Corinthians 6:15","href":"/2co/6/#v15","status":"detected"},{"at":456,"text":"Gen. iii. 15","label":"Genesis 3:15","href":"/gen/3/#v15","status":"detected"},{"at":499,"text":"Matt. xiii. 38","label":"Matthew 13:38","href":"/mat/13/#v38","status":"detected"},{"at":650,"text":"Jer. ii. 27","label":"Jeremiah 2:27","href":"/jer/2/#v27","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.44.2","start":44,"end":44,"heading":"By a general argument","excerpt":"1. By a general argument: The lusts of your father you will do, thelete poiein. (1.) \"You do the devil's lusts, the lusts which he would have you to fulfil; you gratify and please him, and comply with his temptation, and are led captive by him at his will: nay, you do those lusts which the devil himself fulfils.\" Fleshly lusts and worldly lusts the devil tempts men to; but, being a spirit, he cannot fulfil them himself. The peculiar lusts of the devil are spiritual wickedness; the lusts of the intellectual powers, and their corrupt reasonings; pride and envy, and wrath and malice; enmity to that which is good, and enticing others to that which is evil; these are lusts which the devil fulfils, and those who are under the dominion of these lusts resemble the devil, as the child does the parent. The more there is of contemplation, and contrivance, and secret complacency, in sin, the more it resembles the lusts of the devil. (2.) You will do the devil's lusts. The more there is of the will in these lusts, the more there is of the devil in them. When sin is committed of choice and not by surprise, with pleasure and not with reluctancy, when it is persisted in with a daring presumption and a desperate resolution, like theirs that said, We have loved strangers and after them we will go, then the sinner will do the devil's lusts. \"The lusts of your father you delight to do;\" so Dr. Hammond; they are rolled under the tongue as a sweet morsel.\n\n2. By two particular instances, wherein they manifestly resembled the devil—murder and lying. The devil is an enemy to life, because God is the God of life and life is the happiness of man; and an enemy to truth, because God is the God of truth and truth is the bond of human society.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.44.3","start":44,"end":44,"heading":"","excerpt":"(1.) He was a murderer from the beginning, not from his own beginning, for he was created an angel of light, and had a first estate which was pure and good, but from the beginning of his apostasy, which was soon after the creation of man. He was anthropoktonos—homicida, a man-slayer. [1.] He was a hater of man, and so in affection an disposition a murderer of him. He has his name, Satan, from sitnah—hatred. He maligned God's image upon man, envied his happiness, and earnestly desired his ruin, was an avowed enemy to the whole race. [2.] He was man's tempter to that sin which brought death into the world, and so he was effectually the murderer of all mankind, which in Adam had but one neck. He was a murderer of souls, deceived them into sin, and by it slew them (Rom. vii. 11), poisoned man with the forbidden fruit, and, to aggravate the matter, made him his own murderer. Thus he was not only at the beginning, but from the beginning, which intimates that thus he has been ever since; as he began, so he continues, the murderer of men by his temptations. The great tempter is the great destroyer. The Jews called the devil the angel of death. [3.] He was the first wheel in the first murder that ever was committed by Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother, 1 John iii. 12. If the devil had not been very strong in Cain, he could not have done such an unnatural thing as to kill his own brother. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":772,"text":"Rom. vii. 11","label":"Romans 7:11","href":"/rom/7/#v11","status":"detected"},{"at":1285,"text":"1 John iii. 12","label":"1 John 3:12","href":"/1jn/3/#v12","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.44.4","start":44,"end":44,"heading":"","excerpt":"... Cain killing his brother by the instigation of the devil, the devil is called the murderer, which does not speak Cain's personal guilt the less, but the devil's the more, whose torments, we have reason to think, will be the greater, when the time comes, for all that wickedness into which he has drawn men. See what reason we have to stand upon our guard against the wiles of the devil, and never to hearken to him (for he is a murderer, and certainly aims to do us mischief, even when he speaks fair), and to wonder that he who is the murderer of the children of men should yet be, by their own consent, so much their master. Now herein these Jews were followers of him, and were murderers, like him; murderers of souls, which they led blindfold into the ditch, and made the children of hell; sworn enemies of Christ, and now ready to be his betrayers and murderers, for the same reason that Cain killed Abel. These Jews were that seed of the serpent that were to bruise the heel of the seed of the woman; Now you seek to kill me.\n\n(2.) He was a liar. A lie is opposed to truth (1 John ii. 21), and accordingly the devil is here described to be,","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1084,"text":"1 John ii. 21","label":"1 John 2:21","href":"/1jn/2/#v21","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.45.1","start":45,"end":45,"heading":"That they would not believe the word of truth","excerpt":"1. That they would not believe the word of truth (v. 45), hoti ten aletheian lego, ou pisteuete moi.\n\n(1.) Two ways it may be taken;—[1.] \"Though I tell you the truth, yet you will not believe me (hoti), that I do so.\" Though he gave abundant proof of his commission from God, and his affection to the children of men, yet they would not believe that he told them the truth. Now was truth fallen in the street, Isa. lix. 14, 15. The greatest truths with some gained not the least credit; for they rebelled against the light, Job xxiv. 13. Or, [2.] Because I tell you the truth (so we read it) therefore you believe me not. They would not receive him, nor entertain him as a prophet, because he told them some unpleasing truths which they did not care to hear, told them the truth concerning themselves and their own case, showed them their faces in a glass that would not flatter them; therefore they would not believe a word he said. Miserable is the case of those to whom the light of divine truth is become a torment.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":50,"text":"v. 45","label":"John 8:45","href":"/jhn/8/#v45","status":"detected"},{"at":411,"text":"Isa. lix. 14, 15","label":"Isaiah 59:14–15","href":"/isa/59/#v14","status":"detected"},{"at":525,"text":"Job xxiv. 13","label":"Job 24:13","href":"/job/24/#v13","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.46.1","start":46,"end":46,"heading":"If he were in an error, why did they not convince him","excerpt":"[1.] If he were in an error, why did they not convince him? The falsehood of pretended prophets was discovered either by the ill tendency of their doctrines (Deut. xiii. 2), or by the ill tenour of their conversation: You shall know them by their fruits; but (saith Christ) which of you, you of the sanhedrim, that take upon you to judge of prophets, which of you convinceth me of sin? They accused him of some of the worst of crimes—gluttony, drunkenness, blasphemy, sabbath-breaking, confederacy with Satan, and what not. But their accusations were malicious groundless calumnies, and such as every one that knew him knew to be utterly false. When they had done their utmost by trick and artifice, subornation and perjury, to prove some crime upon him, the very judge that condemned him owned he found no fault in him. The sin he here challenges them to convict him of is, First, An inconsistent doctrine. They had heard his testimony; could they show any thing in it absurd or unworthy to be believed, any contradiction either of himself or of the scriptures, or any corruption of truth or manners insinuated by his doctrine? ch. xviii. 20. Or, Secondly, An incongruous conversation: \"Which of you can justly charge me with any thing, in word or deed, unbecoming a prophet?\" See the wonderful condescension of our Lord Jesus, that he demanded not credit any further than the allowed motives of credibility supported his demands. See Jer. ii. 5, 31; Mic. vi. 3. Ministers may hence learn, 1. To walk so circumspectly as that it may not be in the power of their most strict observers to convince them of sin, that the ministry be not blamed. The only way not to be convicted of sin is not to sin. 2. To be willing to admit a scrutiny; though we are confident in many things that we are in the right, yet we should be willing to have it tried whether we be not in the wrong. See Job vi. 24.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":158,"text":"Deut. xiii. 2","label":"Deuteronomy 13:2","href":"/deu/13/#v2","status":"detected"},{"at":1129,"text":"ch. xviii. 20","label":"John 18:20","href":"/jhn/18/#v20","status":"detected"},{"at":1436,"text":"Jer. ii. 5, 31","label":"Jeremiah 2:5","href":"/jer/2/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":1436,"text":"Jer. ii. 5, 31","label":"Jeremiah 2:31","href":"/jer/2/#v31","status":"detected"},{"at":1452,"text":"Mic. vi. 3","label":"Micah 6:3","href":"/mic/6/#v3","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.46.2","start":46,"end":46,"heading":"If they were in an error, why were they not convinced by him","excerpt":"[2.] If they were in an error, why were they not convinced by him? \"If I say the truth, why do you not believe me? If you cannot convince me of error, you must own that I say the truth, and why do you not then give me credit? Why will you not deal with me upon trust?\" Note, If men would but enquire into the reason of their infidelity, and examine why they do not believe that which they cannot gainsay, they would find themselves reduced to such absurdities as they could not but be ashamed of; for it will be found that the reason why we believe not in Jesus Christ is because we are not willing to part with our sins, and deny ourselves, and serve God faithfully; that we are not of the Christian religion, because we would not indeed be of any, and unbelief of our Redeemer resolves itself into a downright rebellion against our Creator.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.47.1","start":47,"end":47,"heading":"Another thing charged upon them is that they would not hear the words of God","excerpt":"2. Another thing charged upon them is that they would not hear the words of God (v. 47), which further shows how groundless their claim of relation to God was. Here is,\n\n(1.) A doctrine laid down: He that is of God heareth God's words; that is, [1.] He is willing and ready to hear them, is sincerely desirous to know what the mind of God is, and cheerfully embraces whatever he knows to be so. God's words have such an authority over, and such an agreeableness with all that are born of God, that they meet them, as the child Samuel did, with, Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth. Let the word of the Lord come. [2.] He apprehends and discerns them, he so hears them as to perceive the voice of God in them, which the natural man does not, 1 Cor. ii. 14. He that is of God is soon aware of the discoveries he makes of himself of the nearness of his name (Ps. lxxv. 1), as they of the family know the master's tread, and the master's knock, and open to him immediately (Luke xii. 36), as the sheep know the voice of their shepherd from that of a stranger, ch. x. 4, 5; Cant. ii. 8.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":81,"text":"v. 47","label":"John 8:47","href":"/jhn/8/#v47","status":"detected"},{"at":742,"text":"1 Cor. ii. 14","label":"1 Corinthians 2:14","href":"/1co/2/#v14","status":"detected"},{"at":857,"text":"Ps. lxxv. 1","label":"Psalms 75:1","href":"/psa/75/#v1","status":"detected"},{"at":971,"text":"Luke xii. 36","label":"Luke 12:36","href":"/luk/12/#v36","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.47.2","start":47,"end":47,"heading":"The application of this doctrine, for the conviction of these unbelieving Jews","excerpt":"(2.) The application of this doctrine, for the conviction of these unbelieving Jews: You therefore hear them not; that is, \"You heed not, you understand not, you believe not, the words of God, nor care to hear them, because you are not of God. Your being thus deaf and dead to the words of God is a plain evidence that you are not of God.\" It is in his word that God manifests himself and is present among us; we are therefore reckoned to be well or ill affected to his word; see 2 Cor. iv. 4; 1 John iv. 6. Or, their not being of God was the reason why they did not profitably hear the words of God, which Christ spoke; they did not understand and believe him, not because the things themselves were obscure or wanted evidence, but because the hearers were not of God, were not born again. If the word of the kingdom do not bring forth fruit, the blame is to be laid upon the soil, not upon the seed, as appears by the parable of the sower, Matt. xiii. 3.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":480,"text":"2 Cor. iv. 4","label":"2 Corinthians 4:4","href":"/2co/4/#v4","status":"detected"},{"at":494,"text":"1 John iv. 6","label":"1 John 4:6","href":"/1jn/4/#v6","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.48.1","start":48,"end":48,"heading":"","excerpt":"Here is, I. The malice of hell breaking out in the base language which the unbelieving Jews gave to our Lord Jesus. Hitherto they had cavilled at his doctrine, and had made invidious remarks upon it; but, having shown themselves uneasy when he complained (v. 43, 47) that they would not hear him, now at length they fall to downright railing, v. 48. They were not the common people, but, as it should seem, the scribes and Pharisees, the men of consequence, who, when they saw themselves convicted of an obstinate infidelity, scornfully turned off the conviction with this: Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? See here, see it and wonder, see it and tremble,","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":256,"text":"v. 43, 47","label":"John 8:43","href":"/jhn/8/#v43","status":"detected"},{"at":343,"text":"v. 48","label":"John 8:48","href":"/jhn/8/#v48","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.48.2","start":48,"end":48,"heading":"","excerpt":"1. What was the blasphemous character commonly given of our Lord Jesus among the wicked Jews, to which they refer. (1.) That he was a Samaritan, that is, that he was an enemy to their church and nation, one that they hated and could not endure. Thus they exposed him to the ill will of the people, with whom you could not put a man into a worse name than to call him a Samaritan. If he had been a Samaritan, he had been punishable, by the beating of the rebels (as they called it), for coming into the temple. They had often enough called him a Galilean—a mean man; but as if that were not enough, though it contradicted the other, they will have him a Samaritan—a bad man. The Jews to this day call the Christians, in reproach, Cuthæi-Samaritans. Note, Great endeavours have in all ages been used to make good people odious by putting them under black characters, and it is easy to run that down with a crowd and a cry which is once put into an ill name. Perhaps because Christ justly inveighed against the pride and tyranny of the priests and elders, they hereby suggest that he aimed at the ruin of their church, in aiming at its reformation, and was falling away to the Samaritans. (2.) That he had a devil. Either, [1.] That he was in league with the devil. Having reproached his doctrine as tending to Samaritanism, here they reflect upon his miracles as done in combination with Beelzebub. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.48.3","start":48,"end":48,"heading":"","excerpt":"... Or, rather [2.] That he was possessed with a devil, that he was a melancholy man, whose brain was clouded, or a mad man, whose brain was heated, and that which he said was no more to be believed than the extravagant rambles of a distracted man, or one in a delirium. Thus the divine revelation of those things which are above the discovery of reason have been often branded with the charge of enthusiasm, and the prophet was called a mad fellow, 2 Kings ix. 11; Hosea ix. 7. The inspiration of the Pagan oracles and prophets was indeed a frenzy, and those that had it were for the time beside themselves; but that which was truly divine was not so. Wisdom is justified of her children, as wisdom indeed.\n\n2. How they undertook to justify this character, and applied it to the present occasion: Say we not well that thou art so? One would think that his excellent discourses should have altered their opinion of him, and have made them recant; but, instead of this, their hearts were more hardened and their prejudices confirmed. They value themselves on their enmity to Christ, as if they had never spoken better than when they spoke the worst they could of Jesus Christ. Those have arrived at the highest pitch of wickedness who avow their impiety, repeat what they should retract, and justify themselves in that for which they ought to condemn themselves. It is bad to say and do ill, but it is worse to stand to it; I do well to be angry. When Christ spoke with so much boldness against the sins of the great men, and thereby incensed them against him, those who were sensible of no interest but what is secular and sensual concluded him beside himself, for they thought none but a madman would lose his preferment, and hazard his life, for his religion and conscience.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":450,"text":"2 Kings ix. 11","label":"2 Kings 9:11","href":"/2ki/9/#v11","status":"detected"},{"at":466,"text":"Hosea ix. 7","label":"Hosea 9:7","href":"/hos/9/#v7","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.49.1","start":49,"end":49,"heading":"The meekness and mercifulness of Heaven shining in Christ's reply to this vile calumny","excerpt":"II. The meekness and mercifulness of Heaven shining in Christ's reply to this vile calumny, v. 49, 50.\n\n1. He denies their charge against him: I have not a devil; as Paul (Acts xxvi. 25), I am not mad. The imputation is unjust; \"I am neither actuated by a devil, nor in compact with one;\" and this he evidenced by what he did against the devil's kingdom. He takes no notice of their calling him a Samaritan, because it was a calumny that disproved itself, it was a personal reflection, and not worth taking notice of: but saying he had a devil reflected on his commission, and therefore he answered that. St. Augustine gives this gloss upon his not saying any thing to their calling him a Samaritan—that he was indeed that good Samaritan spoken of in the parable, Luke x. 33.\n\n2. He asserts the sincerity of his own intentions: But I honour my Father. They suggested that he took undue honours to himself, and derogated from the honour due to God only, both which he denies here, in saying that he made it his business to honour his Father, and him only. It also proves that he had not a devil; for, if he had, he would not honour God. Note, Those who can truly way that they make it their constant care to honour God are sufficiently armed against the censures and reproaches of men.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":92,"text":"v. 49, 50","label":"John 8:49–50","href":"/jhn/8/#v49","status":"detected"},{"at":172,"text":"Acts xxvi. 25","label":"Acts 26:25","href":"/act/26/#v25","status":"detected"},{"at":764,"text":"Luke x. 33","label":"Luke 10:33","href":"/luk/10/#v33","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.49.2","start":49,"end":49,"heading":"He complains of the wrong they did him by their calumnies","excerpt":"3. He complains of the wrong they did him by their calumnies: You do dishonour me. By this it appears that, as man, he had a tender sense of the disgrace and indignity done him; reproach was a sword in his bones, and yet he underwent it for our salvation. It is the will of God that all men should honour the Son, yet there are many that dishonour him; such a contradiction is there in the carnal mind to the will of God. Christ honoured his Father so as never man did, and yet was himself dishonoured so as never man was; for, though God has promised that those who honour him he will honour, he never promised that men should honour them.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.50.1","start":50,"end":50,"heading":"He clears himself from the imputation of vain glory, in saying this concerning himself","excerpt":"4. He clears himself from the imputation of vain glory, in saying this concerning himself, v. 50. See here, (1.) His contempt of worldly honour: I seek not mine own glory. He did not aim at this in what he had said of himself or against his persecutors; he did not court the applause of men, nor covet preferment in the world, but industriously declined both. He did not seek his own glory distinct from his Father's, nor had any separate interest of his own. For men to search their own glory is not glory indeed (Prov. xxv. 27), but rather their shame to be so much out in their aim. This comes in here as a reason why Christ made so light of their reproaches: \"You do dishonour me, but cannot disturb me, shall not disquiet me, for I seek not my own glory.\" Note, Those who are dead to men's praise can safely bear their contempt. (2.) His comfort under worldly dishonour: There is one that seeketh and judgeth. In two things Christ made it appear that he sought not his own glory; and here he tells us what satisfied him as to both. [1.] He did not court men's respect, but was indifferent to it, and in reference to this he saith, \"There is one that seeketh, that will secure and advance, my interest in the esteem and affections of the people, while I am in no care about it.\" Note, God will seek their honour that do not seek their own; for before honour is humility. [2.] He did not revenge men's affronts, but was unconcerned at them, and in reference to this he saith, \"There is one that judgeth, that will vindicate my honour, and severely reckon with those that trample upon it.\" Probably he refers here to the judgments that were coming upon the nation of the Jews for the indignities they did to the Lord Jesus. See Ps. xxxvii. 13-15. I heard not, for thou wilt hear. If we undertake to judge for ourselves, whatever damage we sustain, our recompence is in our own hands; but if we be, as we ought to be, humble appellants and patient expectants, we shall find, to our comfort, there is one that judgeth.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":91,"text":"v. 50","label":"John 8:50","href":"/jhn/8/#v50","status":"detected"},{"at":515,"text":"Prov. xxv. 27","label":"Proverbs 25:27","href":"/pro/25/#v27","status":"detected"},{"at":1730,"text":"Ps. xxxvii. 13-15","label":"Psalms 37:13–15","href":"/psa/37/#v13","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.51.1","start":51,"end":51,"heading":"The doctrine of the immortality of believers laid down","excerpt":"I. The doctrine of the immortality of believers laid down, v. 51. It is ushered in with the usual solemn preface, Verily, verily, I say unto you, which commands both attention and assent, and this is what he says, If a man keep my sayings, he shall never see death. Here we have, 1. The character of a believer: he is one that keeps the sayings of the Lord Jesus, ton logon ton emon—my word; that word of mine which I have delivered to you; this we must not only receive, but keep; not only have, but hold. We must keep it in mind and memory, keep it in love and affection, so keep it as in nothing to violate it or go contrary to it, keep it without spot (1 Tim. vi. 14), keep it as a trust committed to us, keep in it as our way, keep to it as our rule. 2. The privilege of a believer: He shall by no means see death for ever; so it is in the original. Not as if the bodies of believers were secured from the stroke of death. No, even the children of the Most High must die like men, and the followers of Christ have been, more than other men, in deaths often, and killed all the day long; how then is this promise made good that they shall not see death? Answer, (1.) ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":59,"text":"v. 51","label":"John 8:51","href":"/jhn/8/#v51","status":"detected"},{"at":657,"text":"1 Tim. vi. 14","label":"1 Timothy 6:14","href":"/1ti/6/#v14","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.51.2","start":51,"end":51,"heading":"","excerpt":"... The property of death is so altered to them that they do not see it as death, they do not see the terror of death, it is quite taken off; their sight does not terminate in death, as theirs does who live by sense; no, they look so clearly, so comfortably, through death, and beyond death, and are so taken up with their state on the other side death, that they overlook death, and see it not. (2.) The power of death is so broken that though there is no remedy, but they must see death, yet they shall not see death for ever, shall not be always shut up under its arrests, the day will come when death shall be swallowed up in victory. (3.) They are perfectly delivered from eternal death, shall not be hurt of the second death. That is the death especially meant here, that death which is for ever, which is opposed to everlasting life; this they shall never see, for they shall never come into condemnation; they shall have their everlasting lot where there will be no more death, where they cannot die any more, Luke xx. 36. Though now they cannot avoid seeing death, and tasting it too, yet they shall shortly be there where it will be seen no more for ever, Exod. xiv. 13.\n\nII. The Jews cavil at this doctrine. Instead of laying hold of this precious promise of immortality, which the nature of man has an ambition of (who is there that does not love life, and dread the sight of death?) they lay hold of this occasion to reproach him that makes them so kind an offer: Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead. Observe here,","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1018,"text":"Luke xx. 36","label":"Luke 20:36","href":"/luk/20/#v36","status":"detected"},{"at":1166,"text":"Exod. xiv. 13","label":"Exodus 14:13","href":"/exo/14/#v13","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.52.1","start":52,"end":52,"heading":"Their railing","excerpt":"1. Their railing: \"Now we know that thou hast a devil, that thou art a madman; thou ravest, and sayest thou knowest not what.\" See how these swine trample underfoot the precious pearls of gospel promises. If now at last they had evidence to prove him mad, why did they say (v. 48), before they had that proof, Thou hast a devil? But this is the method of malice, first to fasten an invidious charge, and then to fish for evidence of it: Now we know that thou hast a devil. If he had not abundantly proved himself a teacher come from God, his promises of immortality to his credulous followers might justly have been ridiculed, and charity itself would have imputed them to a crazed fancy; but his doctrine was evidently divine, his miracles confirmed it, and the Jews' religion taught them to expect such a prophet, and to believe in him; for them therefore thus to reject him was to abandon that promise to which their twelve tribes hoped to come, Acts xxvi. 7.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":274,"text":"v. 48","label":"John 8:48","href":"/jhn/8/#v48","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.52-53.1","start":52,"end":53,"heading":"","excerpt":"... In the sense that Christ spoke, it was not true that Abraham and the prophets were dead, for God is still the God of Abraham and the God of the holy prophets (Rev. xxii. 6); now God is not the God of the dead, but of the living; therefore Abraham and the prophets are still alive, and, as Christ meant it, they had not seen nor tasted death. [2.] They thought none could be greater than Abraham and the prophets, whereas they could not but know that the Messiah would be greater than Abraham or any of the prophets; they did virtuously, but he excelled them all; nay, they borrowed their greatness from him. It was the honour of Abraham that he was the Father of the Messiah, and the honour of the prophets that they testified beforehand concerning him: so that he certainly obtained a far more excellent name than they. Therefore, instead of inferring from Christ's making himself greater than Abraham that he had a devil, they should have inferred from his proving himself so (by doing the works which neither Abraham nor the prophets ever did) that he was the Christ; but their eyes were blinded. They scornfully asked, Whom makest thou thyself? As if he had been guilty of pride and vain-glory; whereas he was so far from making himself greater than he was that he now drew a veil over his own glory, emptied himself, and made himself less than he was, and was the greatest example of humility that ever was.\n\nIII. Christ's reply to this cavil; still he vouchsafes to reason with them, that every mouth may be stopped. No doubt he could have struck them dumb or dead upon the spot, but this was the day of his patience.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":163,"text":"Rev. xxii. 6","label":"Revelation 22:6","href":"/rev/22/#v6","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.53.1","start":53,"end":53,"heading":"Their reasoning, and the colour they had to run him down thus","excerpt":"2. Their reasoning, and the colour they had to run him down thus. In short, they look upon him as guilty of an insufferable piece of arrogance, in making himself greater than Abraham and the prophets: Abraham is dead, and the prophets, they are dead too; very true, by the same token that these Jews were the genuine offspring of those that killed them. Now, (1.) It is true that Abraham and the prophets were great men, great in the favour of God, and great in the esteem of all good men. (2.) It is true that they kept God's sayings, and were obedient to them; and yet, (3.) It is true that they died; they never pretended to have, much less to give, immortality, but every one in his own order was gathered to his people. It was their honour that they died in faith, but die they must. Why should a good man be afraid to die, when Abraham is dead, and the prophets are dead? They have tracked the way through that darksome valley, which should reconcile us to death and help to take off the terror of it. Now they think Christ talks madly, when he saith, If a man keep my sayings, he shall never taste death. Tasting death means the same thing with seeing it; and well may death be represented as grievous to several of the senses, which is the destruction of them all. Now their arguing goes upon two mistakes:—[1.] They understood Christ of an immortality in this world, and this was a mistake. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.54.1","start":54,"end":54,"heading":"","excerpt":"1. In his answer he insists not upon his own testimony concerning himself, but waives it as not sufficient nor conclusive (v. 54): If I honour myself, my honour is nothing, ean ego doxazo—if I glorify myself. Note, Self-honour is no honour; and the affectation of glory is both the forfeiture and the defeasance of it: it is not glory (Prov. xxv. 27), but so great a reproach that there is no sin which men are more industrious to hide than this; even he that most affects praise would not be thought to do it. Honour of our own creating is a mere chimera, has nothing in it, and therefore is called vain-glory. Self-admirers are self-deceivers. Our Lord Jesus was not one that honoured himself, as they represented him; he was crowned by him who is the fountain of honour, and glorified not himself to be made a high priest, Heb. v. 4, 5.\n\n2. He refers himself to his Father, God; and to their father, Abraham.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":123,"text":"v. 54","label":"John 8:54","href":"/jhn/8/#v54","status":"detected"},{"at":336,"text":"Prov. xxv. 27","label":"Proverbs 25:27","href":"/pro/25/#v27","status":"detected"},{"at":826,"text":"Heb. v. 4, 5","label":"Hebrews 5:4–5","href":"/heb/5/#v4","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.54.2","start":54,"end":54,"heading":"To his Father, God","excerpt":"(1.) To his Father, God: It is my Father that honoureth me. By this he means, [1.] That he derived from his Father all the honour he now claimed; he had commanded them to believe in him, to follow him, and to keep his word, all which put an honour upon him; but it was the Father that laid help upon him, that lodged all fulness in him, that sanctified him, and sealed him, and sent him into the world to receive all the honours due to the Messiah, and this justified him in all these demands of respect. [2.] That he depended upon his Father for all the honour he further looked for. He courted not the applauses of the age, but despised them; for his eye and heart were upon the glory which the Father had promised him, and which he had with the Father before the world was. He aimed at an advancement with which the Father was to exalt him, a name he was to give him, Phil. ii. 8, 9. Note, Christ and all that are his depend upon God for their honour; and he that is sure of honour where he is known cares not though he be slighted where he is in disguise. Appealing thus often to his Father, and his Father's testimony of him, which yet the Jews did not admit nor give credit to,\n\nFirst, He here takes occasion to show the reason of their incredulity, notwithstanding this testimony—and this was their unacquaintedness with God; as if he had said, \"But why should I talk to you of my Father's honouring me, when he is one you know nothing of? You say of him that he is your God, yet you have not known him.\" Here observe,","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":871,"text":"Phil. ii. 8, 9","label":"Philippians 2:8–9","href":"/php/2/#v8","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.54.3","start":54,"end":54,"heading":"The profession they made of relation to God","excerpt":"a. The profession they made of relation to God: \"You say that he is your God, the God you have chosen, and are in covenant with; you say that you are Israel; but all are not so indeed that are of Israel,\" Rom. ix. 6. Note, Many pretend to have an interest in God, and say that he is theirs, who yet have no just cause to say so. Those who called themselves the temple of the Lord, having profaned the excellency of Jacob, did but trust in lying words. What will it avail us to say, He is our God, if we be not in sincerity his people, nor such as he will own? Christ mentions here their profession of relation to God, as that which was an aggravation of their unbelief. All people will honour those whom their God honours; but these Jews, who said that the Lord was their God, studied how to put the utmost disgrace upon one upon whom their God put honour. Note, The Profession we make of a covenant relation to God, and an interest in him, if it be not improved by us will be improved against us.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":205,"text":"Rom. ix. 6","label":"Romans 9:6","href":"/rom/9/#v6","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.54.4","start":54,"end":54,"heading":"","excerpt":"... [b.] To show the true reason why they were not wrought upon by Christ's doctrine and miracles. They knew not God; and therefore perceived not the image of God, nor the voice of God in Christ. Note, The reason why men receive not the gospel of Christ is because they have not the knowledge of God. Men submit not to the righteousness of Christ because they are ignorant of God's righteousness, Rom. x. 3. They that know not God, and obey not the gospel of Christ, are put together, 2 Thess. i. 8.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":397,"text":"Rom. x. 3","label":"Romans 10:3","href":"/rom/10/#v3","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.55.1","start":55,"end":55,"heading":"Their ignorance of him, and estrangement from him, notwithstanding this profession","excerpt":"b. Their ignorance of him, and estrangement from him, notwithstanding this profession: Yet you have not known him. (a.) You know him not at all. These Pharisees were so taken up with the study of their traditions concerning things foreign and trifling that they never minded the most needful and useful knowledge; like the false prophets of old, who caused people to forget God's name by their dreams, Jer. xxiii. 27. Or, (b.) You know him not aright, but mistake concerning him; and this is as bad as not knowing him at all, or worse. Men may be able to dispute subtly concerning God, and yet may think him such a one as themselves, and not know him. You say that he is yours, and it is natural to us to desire to know our own, yet you know him not. Note, There are many who claim-kindred to God who yet have no acquaintance with him. It is only the name of God which they have learned to talk of, and to hector with; but for the nature of God, his attributes and perfections, and relations to his creatures, they know nothing of the matter; we speak this to their shame, 1 Cor. xv. 34. Multitudes satisfy themselves, but deceive themselves, with a titular relation to an unknown God. This Christ charges upon the Jews here, [a.] To show how vain and groundless their pretensions of relation to God were. \"You say that he is yours, but you give yourselves the lie, for it is plain that you do not know him;\" and we reckon that a cheat is effectually convicted if it be found that he is ignorant of the persons he pretends alliance to. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":402,"text":"Jer. xxiii. 27","label":"Jeremiah 23:27","href":"/jer/23/#v27","status":"detected"},{"at":1073,"text":"1 Cor. xv. 34","label":"1 Corinthians 15:34","href":"/1co/15/#v34","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.55.2","start":55,"end":55,"heading":"","excerpt":"... Christ, as man, was obedient to the moral law, and, as Redeemer, to the mediatorial law; and in both he kept his Father's word, and his own word with the Father. Christ requires of us (v. 51) that we keep his sayings; and he has set before us a copy of obedience, a copy without a blot: he kept his Father's sayings; well might he who learned obedience teach it; see Heb. v. 8, 9. Christ by this evinced that he knew the Father. Note, The best proof of our acquaintance with God is our obedience to him. Those only know God aright that keep his word; it is a ruled case, 1 John ii. 3. Hereby we know that we know him (and do not only fancy it), if we keep his commandments.\n\n(2.) Christ refers them to their father, whom they boasted so much of a relation to, and that was Abraham, and this closes the discourse.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":189,"text":"v. 51","label":"John 8:51","href":"/jhn/8/#v51","status":"detected"},{"at":371,"text":"Heb. v. 8, 9","label":"Hebrews 5:8–9","href":"/heb/5/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":575,"text":"1 John ii. 3","label":"1 John 2:3","href":"/1jn/2/#v3","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.56.1","start":56,"end":56,"heading":"Christ asserts Abraham's prospect of him, and respect to him","excerpt":"[1.] Christ asserts Abraham's prospect of him, and respect to him: Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it, and was glad, v. 56. And by this he proves that he was not at all out of the way when he made himself greater than Abraham. Two things he here speaks of as instances of that patriarch's respect to the promised Messiah:—","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":140,"text":"v. 56","label":"John 8:56","href":"/jhn/8/#v56","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.56.2","start":56,"end":56,"heading":"The ambition he had to see his day","excerpt":"First, The ambition he had to see his day: He rejoiced, egalliasto—he leaped at it. The word, though it commonly signifies rejoicing, must here signify a transport of desire rather than of joy, for otherwise the latter part of the verse would be a tautology; he saw it, and was glad. He reached out, or stretched himself forth, that he might see my day; as Zaccheus, that ran before, and climbed the tree, to see Jesus. The notices he had received of the Messiah to come had raised in him an expectation of something great, which he earnestly longed to know more of. The dark intimation of that which is considerable puts men upon enquiry, and makes them earnestly ask Who? and What? and Where? and When? and How? And thus the prophets of the Old Testament, having a general idea of a grace that should come, searched diligently (1 Pet. i. 10), and Abraham was as industrious herein as any of them. God told him of a land that he would give his posterity, and of the wealth and honour he designed them (Gen. xv. 14); but he never leaped thus to see that day, as he did to see the day of the Son of man. He could not look with so much indifferency upon the promised seed as he did upon the promised land; in that he was, but to the other he could not be, contentedly a stranger. Note, Those who rightly know any thing of Christ cannot but be earnestly desirous to know more of him. Those who discern the dawning of the light of the Sun of righteousness cannot but wish to see his rising. The mystery of redemption is that which angels desire to look into, much more should we, who are more immediately concerned in it. Abraham desired to see Christ's day, though it was at a great distance; but this degenerate seed of his discerned not his day, nor bade it welcome when it came. The appearing of Christ, which gracious souls love and long for, carnal hearts dread and loathe.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":227,"text":"the verse","label":"John 8:56","href":"/jhn/8/#v56","status":"detected"},{"at":830,"text":"1 Pet. i. 10","label":"1 Peter 1:10","href":"/1pe/1/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":1003,"text":"Gen. xv. 14","label":"Genesis 15:14","href":"/gen/15/#v14","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.56.3","start":56,"end":56,"heading":"The satisfaction he had in what he did see of it","excerpt":"Secondly, The satisfaction he had in what he did see of it: He saw it, and was glad. Observe here,\n\na. How God gratified the pious desire of Abraham; he longed to see Christ's day, and he saw it. Though he saw it not so plainly, and fully, and distinctly as we now see it under the gospel, yet he saw something of it, more afterwards than he did at first. Note, To him that has, and to him that asks, shall be given; to him that uses and improves what he has, and that desires and prays for more of the knowledge of Christ, God will give more. But how did Abraham see Christ's day? (a.) Some understand it of the sight he had of it in the other world. The separate soul of Abraham, when the veil of flesh was rent, saw the mysteries of the kingdom of God in heaven. Calvin mentions this sense of it, and does not much disallow it. Note, The longings of gracious souls after Jesus Christ will be fully satisfied when they come to heaven, and not till then. But, (b.) It is more commonly understood of some sight he had of Christ's day in this world. They that received not the promises, yet saw them afar off, Heb. xi. 13. Balaam saw Christ, but not now, not nigh. There is room to conjecture that Abraham had some vision of Christ and his day, for his own private satisfaction, which is not, nor must be, recorded in his story, like that of Daniel's, which must be shut up, and sealed unto the time of the end, Dan. xii. 4. Christ knew what Abraham saw better than Moses did. But there are divers things recorded in which Abraham saw more of that which he longed to see than he did when the promise was first made to him. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1109,"text":"Heb. xi. 13","label":"Hebrews 11:13","href":"/heb/11/#v13","status":"detected"},{"at":1411,"text":"Dan. xii. 4","label":"Daniel 12:4","href":"/dan/12/#v4","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.56.4","start":56,"end":56,"heading":"","excerpt":"... He saw in Melchizedek one made like unto the Son of God, and a priest for ever; he saw an appearance of Jehovah, attended with two angels, in the plains of Mamre. In the prevalency of his intercession for Sodom he saw a specimen of Christ's intercession; in the casting out of Ishmael, and the establishment of the covenant with Isaac, he saw a figure of the gospel day, which is Christ's day; for these things were an allegory. In offering Isaac, and the ram instead of Isaac, he saw a double type of the great sacrifice; and his calling the place Jehovah-jireh—It shall be seen, intimates that he saw something more in it than others did, which time would produce; and in making his servant put his hand under his thigh, when he swore, he had a regard to the Messiah.\n\nb. How Abraham entertained these discoveries of Christ's day, and bade them welcome: He saw, and was glad. He was glad of what he saw of God's favour to himself, and glad of what he foresaw of the mercy God had in store for the world. Perhaps this refers to Abraham's laughing when God assured him of a son by Sarah (Gen. xvii. 16, 17), for that was not a laughter of distrust as Sarah's but of joy; in that promise he saw Christ's day, and it filled him with joy unspeakable. Thus he embraced the promises. Note, A believing sight of Christ and his day will put gladness into the heart. No joy like the joy of faith; we are never acquainted with true pleasure till we are acquainted with Christ.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1092,"text":"Gen. xvii. 16, 17","label":"Genesis 17:16–17","href":"/gen/17/#v16","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.57.1","start":57,"end":57,"heading":"The Jews cavil at this, and reproach him for it","excerpt":"[2.] The Jews cavil at this, and reproach him for it (v. 57): Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Here, First, They suppose that if Abraham saw him and his day he also had seen Abraham, which yet was not a necessary innuendo, but this turn of his words would best serve to expose him; yet it was true that Christ had seen Abraham, and had talked with him as a man talks with his friend. Secondly, They suppose it a very absurd thing for him to pretend to have seen Abraham, who was dead so many ages before he was born. The state of the dead is an invisible state; but here they ran upon the old mistake, understanding that corporally which Christ spoke spiritually. Now this gave them occasion to despise his youth, and to upbraid him with it, as if he were but of yesterday, and knew nothing: Thou art not yet fifty years old. They might as well have said, Thou art not forty; for he was now but thirty-two or thirty-three years old. As to this, Irenæus, one of the first fathers, with this passage supports the tradition which he says he had from some that had conversed with St. John, that our Saviour lived to be fifty years old, which he contends for, Advers. Hæres. lib. 2, cap. 39, 40. See what little credit is to be given to tradition; and, as to this here, the Jews spoke at random; some year they would mention, and therefore pitched upon one that they thought he was far enough short of; he did not look to be forty, but they were sure he could not be fifty, much less contemporary with Abraham. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":54,"text":"v. 57","label":"John 8:57","href":"/jhn/8/#v57","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.57.2","start":57,"end":57,"heading":"","excerpt":"... Old age is reckoned to begin at fifty (Num. iv. 47), so that they meant no more than this, \"Thou art not to be reckoned an old man; many of us are much thy seniors, and yet pretend not to have seen Abraham.\" Some think that his countenance was so altered, with grief and watching, that, together with the gravity of his aspect, it made him look like a man of fifty years old: his visage was so marred, Isa. lii. 14.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":43,"text":"Num. iv. 47","label":"Numbers 4:47","href":"/num/4/#v47","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.58.1","start":58,"end":58,"heading":"","excerpt":"[3.] Our Saviour gives an effectual answer to this cavil, by a solemn assertion of his own seniority even to Abraham himself (v. 58): \"Verily, verily, I say unto you; I do not only say it in private to my own disciples, who will be sure to say as I say, but to you my enemies and persecutors; I say it to your faces, take it how you will: Before Abraham was, I am;\" prin Abraam genesthai, ego eimi, Before Abraham was made or born, I am. The change of the word is observable, and bespeaks Abraham a creature, and himself the Creator; well therefore might he make himself greater than Abraham. Before Abraham he was, First, As God. I am, is the name of God (Exod. iii. 14); it denotes his self-existence; he does not say, I was, but I am, for he is the first and the last, immutably the same (Rev. i. 8); thus he was not only before Abraham, but before all worlds, ch. i. 1; Prov. viii. 23. Secondly, As Mediator. He was the appointed Messiah, long before Abraham; the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Rev. xiii. 8), the channel of conveyance of light, life, and love from God to man. This supposes his divine nature, that he is the same in himself from eternity (Heb. xiii. 8), and that he is the same to man ever since the fall; he was made of God wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, to Adam, and Abel, and Enoch, and Noah, and Shem, and all the patriarchs that lived and died by faith in him before Abraham was born. Abraham was the root of the Jewish nation, the rock out of which they were hewn. If Christ was before Abraham, his doctrine and religion were no novelty, but were, in the substance of them, prior to Judaism, and ought to take place of it.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":126,"text":"v. 58","label":"John 8:58","href":"/jhn/8/#v58","status":"detected"},{"at":657,"text":"Exod. iii. 14","label":"Exodus 3:14","href":"/exo/3/#v14","status":"detected"},{"at":792,"text":"Rev. i. 8","label":"Revelation 1:8","href":"/rev/1/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":874,"text":"Prov. viii. 23","label":"Proverbs 8:23","href":"/pro/8/#v23","status":"detected"},{"at":1013,"text":"Rev. xiii. 8","label":"Revelation 13:8","href":"/rev/13/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":1175,"text":"Heb. xiii. 8","label":"Hebrews 13:8","href":"/heb/13/#v8","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.58.2","start":58,"end":58,"heading":"This great word ended the dispute abruptly, and put a period to it","excerpt":"[4.] This great word ended the dispute abruptly, and put a period to it: they could bear to hear no more from him, and he needed to say no more to them, having witnessed this good confession, which was sufficient to support all his claims. One would think that Christ's discourse, in which shone so much both of grace and glory, should have captivated them all; but their inveterate prejudice against the holy spiritual doctrine and law of Christ, which were so contrary to their pride and worldliness, baffled all the methods of conviction. Now was fulfilled that prophecy (Mal. iii. 1, 2), that when the messenger of the covenant should come to his temple they would not abide the day of his coming, because he would be like a refiner's fire. Observe here,","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":575,"text":"Mal. iii. 1, 2","label":"Malachi 3:1–2","href":"/mal/3/#v1","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.59.1","start":59,"end":59,"heading":"How they were enraged at Christ for what he said","excerpt":"First, How they were enraged at Christ for what he said: They took up stones to cast at him, v. 59. Perhaps they looked upon him as a blasphemer, and such were indeed to be stoned (Lev. xxiv. 16); but they must be first legally tried and convicted. Farewell justice and order if every man pretend to execute a law at his pleasure. Besides, they had said but just now that he was a distracted crack-brained man, and if so it was against all reason and equity to punish him as a malefactor for what he said. They took up stones. Dr. Lightfoot will tell you how they came to have stones so ready in the temple; they had workmen at this time repairing the temple, or making some additions, and the pieces of stone which they hewed off served for this purpose. See here the desperate power of sin and Satan in and over the children of disobedience. Who would think that ever there should be such wickedness as this in men, such an open and daring rebellion against one that undeniably proved himself to be the Son of God? Thus every one has a stone to throw at his holy religion, Acts xxviii. 22.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":93,"text":"v. 59","label":"John 8:59","href":"/jhn/8/#v59","status":"detected"},{"at":181,"text":"Lev. xxiv. 16","label":"Leviticus 24:16","href":"/lev/24/#v16","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.59.2","start":59,"end":59,"heading":"How he made his escape out of their hands. 1","excerpt":"Secondly, How he made his escape out of their hands. 1. He absconded; Jesus hid himself; ekrybe—he was hid, either by the crowd of those that wished well to him, to shelter him (he that ought to have been upon a throne, high and lifted up, is content to be lost in a crowd); or perhaps he concealed himself behind some of the walls or pillars of the temple (in the secret of his tabernacle he shall hide me, Ps. xxvii. 5); or by a divine power, casting a mist before their eyes, he made himself invisible to them. When the wicked rise a man is hidden, a wise and good man, Prov. xxviii. 12, 28. Not that Christ was afraid or ashamed to stand by what he had said, but his hour was not yet come, and he would countenance the flight of his ministers and people in times of persecution, when they are called to it. The Lord hid Jeremiah and Baruch, Jer. xxxvi. 26. 2. He departed, he went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, undiscovered, and so passed by. This was not a cowardly inglorious flight, nor such as argued either guilt or fear. It was foretold concerning him that he should not fail nor be discouraged, Isa. xlii. 4. But, (1.) It was an instance of his power over his enemies, and that they could do no more against him than he gave them leave to do; by which it appears that when afterwards he was taken in their pits he offered himself, ch. x. 18. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":408,"text":"Ps. xxvii. 5","label":"Psalms 27:5","href":"/psa/27/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":573,"text":"Prov. xxviii. 12, 28","label":"Proverbs 28:12","href":"/pro/28/#v12","status":"detected"},{"at":573,"text":"Prov. xxviii. 12, 28","label":"Proverbs 28:28","href":"/pro/28/#v28","status":"detected"},{"at":845,"text":"Jer. xxxvi. 26","label":"Jeremiah 36:26","href":"/jer/36/#v26","status":"detected"},{"at":1128,"text":"Isa. xlii. 4","label":"Isaiah 42:4","href":"/isa/42/#v4","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.59.3","start":59,"end":59,"heading":"","excerpt":"... They now thought they had made sure of him and yet he passed through the midst of them, either their eyes being blinded or their hands tied, and thus he left them to fume, like a lion disappointed of his prey. (2.) It was an instance of his prudent provision for his own safety, when he knew that his work was not done, nor his testimony finished; thus he gave an example to his own rule, When they persecute you in one city flee to another; nay, if occasion be, to a wilderness, for so Elijah did (1 Kings xix. 3, 4), and the woman, the church, Rev. xii. 6. When they took up loose stones to throw at Christ, he could have commanded the fixed stones, which did cry out of the wall against them, to avenge his cause, or the earth to open and swallow them up; but he chose to accommodate himself to the state he was in, to make the example imitable by the prudence of his followers, without a miracle. (3.) It was a righteous deserting of those who (worse than the Gadarenes, who prayed him to depart) stoned him from among them. Christ will not long stay with those who bid him be gone. Christ did again visit the temple after this; as one loth to depart, he bade oft farewell; but at last he abandoned it for ever, and left it desolate. Christ now went through the midst of the Jews, and none of them courted his stay, nor stirred up himself to take hold of him, but were even content to let him go. Note, God never forsakes any till they have first provoked him to withdraw, and will have none of him. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":503,"text":"1 Kings xix. 3, 4","label":"1 Kings 19:3–4","href":"/1ki/19/#v3","status":"detected"},{"at":550,"text":"Rev. xii. 6","label":"Revelation 12:6","href":"/rev/12/#v6","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.59.4","start":59,"end":59,"heading":"","excerpt":"... Calvin observes that these chief priests, when they had driven Christ out of the temple, valued themselves on the possession they kept of it: \"But,\" says he, \"those deceive themselves who are proud of a church or temple which Christ has forsaken.\" Longe falluntur, cum templum se habere putant Deo vacuum. When Christ left them it is said that he passed by silently and unobserved; paregen houtos, so that they were not aware of him. Note, Christ's departures from a church, or a particular soul, are often secret, and not soon taken notice of. As the kingdom of God comes not, so it goes not, with observation. See Judg. xvi. 20. Samson wist not that the Lord was departed from him. Thus it was with these forsaken Jews, God left them, and they never missed him.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.ix.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":620,"text":"Judg. xvi. 20","label":"Judges 16:20","href":"/jdg/16/#v20","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null}]},{"work_id":"bengel","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","short_name":"Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"title":"Gnomon of the New Testament, Vol. II (Gospels according to St Luke and St John)","edition_short":"Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1857-58","author_url":"/commentators/bengel/","divisions":"verse","work_url":"/works/bengel/","entries":[{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.1.1","start":1,"end":1,"heading":"","excerpt":"The wisdom and effectual power which Jesus evinced in the history of the adulteress are so great, that it is strange this remarkable portion of the Gospel history should be accounted by many in the present day as uncertain. It is also omitted in the Codex ... but only from verse 3; and at the end of ‘the Gospel according to John it is so supplied, and attached to verse 2, that it is readily apparent, that the transcribers removed only from public reading this portion, which they acknowledged as genuine. In the book, ... describing the Florentine Greek manuscript of the four Evangelists, he says, ‘In the Gospel of John, ... verses were written in the end. There comes first an index of the nineteen chapter's. The tenth chapter had been omitted, and, out of the regular order, in the front, there was recounted asp) ... concerning the Adulteress, whose history is extant in the Gospel itself. The writing is of the twelfth century. —P. 230.1 ... went) as one who had no home. Comp. ch. vii. 53, “ Every man went unto his own house.” ... to the mount of Olives) to that mountain, in which they were afterwards about to take Him ; ch. xviii. 2, “ Judas also, which betrayed Him, knew the place; for Jesus oft-times resorted thither with His disciples ;” whereas they had only made the attempt, but in vain, at ch. vii. 30.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":993,"text":"vii. 53","label":"John 7:53","href":"/jhn/7/#v53","status":"detected"},{"at":1140,"text":"xviii. 2","label":"John 18:2","href":"/jhn/18/#v2","status":"detected"},{"at":1319,"text":"vii. 30","label":"John 7:30","href":"/jhn/7/#v30","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.2-4.1","start":2,"end":4,"heading":"","excerpt":"was coming) as being expected. ... He was teaching) On this account His interrupters were the more intrusive : ver. 3. ... but at Num. v. 13, and more frequently, ... The reason [is implied in the title by which they address Him], why they require Him to give His decision. ... in the very act) Such scandalous acts are frequently perpetrated about the time of feasts. Comp. ch. vii. 37. What follows also confirms the truth of this history, as at ver. 12, the mention of the darkness, “ He that followeth Me, shall not w ... in darkness,’ when this verse is compared with it, inasmuch as treating of adultery, a work of darkness; and at ver. 7 concerning ei nant, “Ye judge after the flesh, I judge no Heke ” comparing with it ver. 11, “ Neither do I condemn thee.”","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":111,"text":"ver. 3","label":"John 8:3","href":"/jhn/8/#v3","status":"detected"},{"at":130,"text":"Num. v. 13","label":"Numbers 5:13","href":"/num/5/#v13","status":"detected"},{"at":379,"text":"vii. 37","label":"John 7:37","href":"/jhn/7/#v37","status":"detected"},{"at":448,"text":"ver. 12","label":"John 8:12","href":"/jhn/8/#v12","status":"detected"},{"at":638,"text":"ver. 7","label":"John 8:7","href":"/jhn/8/#v7","status":"detected"},{"at":728,"text":"ver. 11","label":"John 8:11","href":"/jhn/8/#v11","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.5.1","start":5,"end":5,"heading":"","excerpt":"to stone) [D and the best versions read ... Hither this woman was betrothed, or else the expression of the Scribes and Pharisees is abbreviated, with this sense: Moses ordered that adulteresses should be visited with capital punishment ; Deut. xxii. 22, etc., ... man be found lying with a woman married, then they shall both ... damsel—be betrothed, and a man lie with her, then—ye shall stone them with stones,” etc. ; and our ancestors [elders] have defined that punishment to be stoning. See Grot. on this passage. ... therefore) This particle exhibits their question as more framed to entrap Him, than if they had openly said, but.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":238,"text":"Deut. xxii. 22","label":"Deuteronomy 22:22","href":"/deu/22/#v22","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.7.1","start":7,"end":7,"heading":"","excerpt":"but when they were persevering) there is in most of the Latin copies ‘ ergo’ [not in the best copies of the Vulg., the Cod. ... This is according to the custom of John ; who, however, in this paragraph more often employs 62, which occurs frequently in this gospel even elsewhere: for instance, in ch. ix. ... he who is without sin) if respect be had to the termination, is, either one who cannot sin, or one who hath not sinned. ... Comp. 2 Macc. viii. 4 [ray ... The witnesses were wont to be the first in the act of stoning. [Hence the expression is riv Alor, with the article—V.g.] These witnesses had all contracted guilt, worthy of capital punishment, either in that very act [such as they accused the woman of], or in similar deeds of shame.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.9-10.1","start":9,"end":10,"heading":"","excerpt":"beginning with the olga) These had been most conscience-struck. Great was the force of Jesus’ words, [throwing open the inmost recesses of men.—V. ... alone) not one of those, who had proposed the case, remaining. Others, who also were of the Pharisees, remained, as appears from comparing ver. 3, 13. ... which is employed by John in no passage of all his writings, betrays the fact of these words being a gloss unknown to the ancients: he has everywhere expressed the force of that preposition by some other word.! ... those) They had now fled far away.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":290,"text":"ver. 3, 13","label":"John 8:13","href":"/jhn/8/#v13","status":"detected"},{"at":290,"text":"ver. 3, 13","label":"John 8:3","href":"/jhn/8/#v3","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.11-12.1","start":11,"end":12,"heading":"","excerpt":"go) He does not add, in peace; nor does He say, Thy sins are forgiven thee; but, hereafter sin no more: ch. y. 14, [Jesus to the impotent man] “ Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.” ... again) as at ch. vii. Jesus is wont to take the beginnings of His discourses from the doctrine of salvation: then, when men contradict, He adds a proof. ... the Light) An expression suitable to the time of His speaking, the morning, and opposed to the works of darkness, such as is adultery. ... of the world) the whole world ... he who follows) By this very expression He shows, that adultery is by no means sanctioned by Him, although He did not pronounce condemnation on the adulteress.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.13.1","start":13,"end":13,"heading":"","excerpt":"said) with undisguised importunity. ... concerning Thyself) They bring up against the Lord His own words, comp. ch. v. 31, “If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true,” but in a perverted sense. ... true) An abbreviated mode of expression. A man can speak the truth concerning himself ; but that is not wont to be deemed as a sufficient testimony. But the Jews, in order that they may the more vehemently contradict Hin, pretend that the testimony of Jesus is not even true.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":116,"text":"v. 31","label":"John 5:31","href":"/jhn/5/#v31","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.14.1","start":14,"end":14,"heading":"","excerpt":"even though) He does not speak conditionally, but ... firms, that He bears witness of Himself, ver. 18, “I am one that bear witness of Myself.” After that He has taught them many things, He demands of His hearers, what He had not before so demanded.' ... I know) It is from sure and confirmed knowledge that true testimony proceeds. ... and whither) The doctrine concerning Christ can be reduced to these two heads. The former head is treated of at ver. 16, etc., “If I judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent Me ;—the testimony of two—is true ;” the latter head is treated of at ver. 21, etc., “I go My way, and ye shall seek Me,” etc. ... ye) It is with you the fault rests, that you do not attain to perceiving the truth of My testimony. What you need is, that I should tell you, what no one of mortals can tell ... come) To be distinguished from the preceding ... By the expression, I came, Jesus signifies, that He always knew; by the expression, I come, He signifies, that the Jews not even now know.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":95,"text":"ver. 18","label":"John 8:18","href":"/jhn/8/#v18","status":"detected"},{"at":449,"text":"ver. 16","label":"John 8:16","href":"/jhn/8/#v16","status":"detected"},{"at":619,"text":"ver. 21","label":"John 8:21","href":"/jhn/8/#v21","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.15-16.1","start":15,"end":16,"heading":"","excerpt":"according to the flesh) and so, according to the appearance, ch. vii. 24, “Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” [In antithesis to “from above,” ver. 23, “Ye are from beneath, I am from above.” —V. g.] ... I do not judge) Comp. ver. 11, “ Neither do I condemn thee.” ... My judgment) The same principle holds good of judgment as of testimony: ver. 14, 17, “ Though I bear se of Myself, yet My record is true the testimony of two—is true ;” ch. v. 80, etc., “ As I hear I judge; and My judgment is just, because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father.—There is another that beareth witness of Me,” etc. The testimony is in reference to God and the Son of God; the judgment is in reference to ... true) not according to the flesh, ver. 15. ... I am not alone) even in judging. Comp. ch. v. 19, “The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do ; for what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.” ... He who hath sent Me) By this very expression He intimates whence He came.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":65,"text":"vii. 24","label":"John 7:24","href":"/jhn/7/#v24","status":"detected"},{"at":173,"text":"ver. 23","label":"John 8:23","href":"/jhn/8/#v23","status":"detected"},{"at":256,"text":"ver. 11","label":"John 8:11","href":"/jhn/8/#v11","status":"detected"},{"at":371,"text":"ver. 14, 17","label":"John 8:14","href":"/jhn/8/#v14","status":"detected"},{"at":371,"text":"ver. 14, 17","label":"John 8:17","href":"/jhn/8/#v17","status":"detected"},{"at":472,"text":"v. 80","label":"John 5:80","href":"/jhn/5/#v80","status":"detected"},{"at":771,"text":"ver. 15","label":"John 8:15","href":"/jhn/8/#v15","status":"detected"},{"at":827,"text":"v. 19","label":"John 5:19","href":"/jhn/5/#v19","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.17.1","start":17,"end":17,"heading":"","excerpt":"of two men) how much more that of God and of the Son of God? Since these witnesses are said to be two, the argument [proof'] is one of the same nature. See as regards these two, Zech. vi. 13, at the end, “ He shall build the temple of the Lord ; and He shall bear His glory, and shall sit and rule upon His throne ; and He shall be a Priest upon His throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":178,"text":"Zech. vi. 13","label":"Zechariah 6:13","href":"/zec/6/#v13","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.18.1","start":18,"end":18,"heading":"","excerpt":"where) They ask, where, in order that they may know whence Jesus has come, having been sent by the Father. ... neither Me) Jesus does not at once answer directly to the Jews’ interrogatory, where is Thy Father? but follows up the line of discourse He began, and at the same time, however, prepares the way for making a reply. . For He shows the perversity of their interrogation, and teaches them, that they must first know the Son, whom they see and hear in the flesh, if they wish to know the Father. For when the Son is known, the Father is known: comp. ver. 16, “I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent Me ;” ver. 18, “I am one that bear witness, and the Father that sent Me beareth witness of Me,” wherein the Son is named before the Father. Add Matt. xi. 27, “ Neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him;” and below, ch. xiv. 9, “ Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father ; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not, that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?” He shows plainly where the Father is, at ver. 23, ... And also in this passage, when asked as to the Father, He answers as to Himself; presently after, in turn, when asked Himself, He answers as to the Father; ver. 25, 27, “They said, Who art Thou? Jesus saith—Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning ;—they understood not that He spake to them of the Father ;” because Himself and the Father are one. ... also) Comp. ch. xiv. [ver. 7] “If ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also ; and from henceforth ye both know Him and have seen Him.”","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":557,"text":"ver. 16","label":"John 8:16","href":"/jhn/8/#v16","status":"detected"},{"at":620,"text":"ver. 18","label":"John 8:18","href":"/jhn/8/#v18","status":"detected"},{"at":758,"text":"Matt. xi. 27","label":"Matthew 11:27","href":"/mat/11/#v27","status":"detected"},{"at":886,"text":"xiv. 9","label":"John 14:9","href":"/jhn/14/#v9","status":"detected"},{"at":1170,"text":"ver. 23","label":"John 8:23","href":"/jhn/8/#v23","status":"detected"},{"at":1339,"text":"ver. 25, 27","label":"John 8:25","href":"/jhn/8/#v25","status":"detected"},{"at":1339,"text":"ver. 25, 27","label":"John 8:27","href":"/jhn/8/#v27","status":"detected"},{"at":1571,"text":"ver. 7","label":"John 8:7","href":"/jhn/8/#v7","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.18.2","start":18,"end":18,"heading":"","excerpt":"ye should have known) So that there should be no need for you to inquire, where He is. This passage contains a most clear testimony concerning the unity of the Father and of the Son: wherefore at ver. 20 [27?] it is described as something wonderful, that they did not understand Jesus. ... in the treasury) in that place, where any one might easily have been taken; where there was a very great crowd of men.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":196,"text":"ver. 20","label":"John 8:20","href":"/jhn/8/#v20","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.20.1","start":20,"end":20,"heading":"","excerpt":"[ver. 11, What thou seest write in a book, and send it unto the Seven Churches—in Asia]. There remain the two titles, Wisdom and Prophet, applied to Him by implication, Matt. xii. 41, 42, “ Behold, a greater than Jonas is here :—Behold, a greater than Solomon is here.” ‘The name, Prophet, is otherwise greater than that of Wisdom. In the case of Christ, the name, Wisdom, is in some measure more sublime than Prophet. He prayed, ever following the Father's commands. He sweetly drew disciples to Himself: 1) as recorded in John i. 38, etc.; comp. ch. vill. ... the disciples of John, inquiring, “Art Thou He that should come?” He replied, Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see. The blind receive their sight, etc.] He taught also by gesture and look, Luke xx. 17, “ He beheld them, and said,” etc. ... He avoided celebrity and a crowd, Matt.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1,"text":"ver. 11","label":"John 8:11","href":"/jhn/8/#v11","status":"detected"},{"at":169,"text":"Matt. xii. 41, 42","label":"Matthew 12:41–42","href":"/mat/12/#v41","status":"detected"},{"at":524,"text":"John i. 38","label":"John 1:38","href":"/jhn/1/#v38","status":"detected"},{"at":775,"text":"Luke xx. 17","label":"Luke 20:17","href":"/luk/20/#v17","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.21.1","start":21,"end":21,"heading":"","excerpt":"again) For He had said so at ch. vii. 33, etc, “Ye shall seek Me, and not find Me; and where I am, ... ye cannot come,” when they had plotted against Him, as at this place. ... sin) 'The Singular: the whole of perdition is one, arising from unbelief, through which all sins flourish, ver. 24, “If ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins” [Plural]. In this place, the emphasis is on the word, sin, which in this verse comes first ; eons ie ver. 24] on “e verb ye shall die, which there comes death of every kind [spiritual aa Been al, of body a soul]. ... I go) ver. 22, ch. xiii. 33, 36, [to Simon Peter] “ Whither I go, thou canst not follow Me now, but thou shalt follow Me afterwards ;” xiv. 4, “ Whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.”","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":33,"text":"vii. 33","label":"John 7:33","href":"/jhn/7/#v33","status":"detected"},{"at":284,"text":"ver. 24","label":"John 8:24","href":"/jhn/8/#v24","status":"detected"},{"at":454,"text":"ver. 24","label":"John 8:24","href":"/jhn/8/#v24","status":"detected"},{"at":576,"text":"ver. 22","label":"John 8:22","href":"/jhn/8/#v22","status":"detected"},{"at":589,"text":"xiii. 33, 36","label":"John 13:33","href":"/jhn/13/#v33","status":"detected"},{"at":589,"text":"xiii. 33, 36","label":"John 13:36","href":"/jhn/13/#v36","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.22-23.1","start":22,"end":23,"heading":"","excerpt":"?) A most wicked thought: nay, rather, the Jews were about to kill Him. What they mean to say is, that they can find Him anywhere. ... ye) Again Jesus passes by their interrogatory and proves what He ar ver. 21, “ Ye shall die in your sins; whither I go ye cannot come;” comp. ch. ii. 13, “No man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man, which is in heaven.” ... from those things which are below) from the earth. ... I) He shows whence He is, and hath come, and whither He is about to go; from the world to the Father. ... of this) By this being added. it is shown that there is also another world: ch. ix. 39, “ For judgment I am come into this world.”","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":203,"text":"ver. 21","label":"John 8:21","href":"/jhn/8/#v21","status":"detected"},{"at":281,"text":"ii. 13","label":"John 2:13","href":"/jhn/2/#v13","status":"detected"},{"at":647,"text":"ix. 39","label":"John 9:39","href":"/jhn/9/#v39","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.24.1","start":24,"end":24,"heading":"","excerpt":"ye shall die) The Jews had neglected the weightier words of ver. 21, “Ye shall seek Me, and shall die -in your sins :” all the rest they had taken up at ver. 22 [viz. that part of His words, “ Whither I go, ye cannot come”]: therefore now those weightier and more severe words are repeated. ... They are referring to that expression of His, ... am He [ver. 24]. They ask the question, but in such a perverse frame of mind, that they have no real ... and indicative mood in the verb aa; Comp. with it xai, even, 1 Cor. xv. 29, “ What shall they do, that are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then [Engl. ... rather, even] baptized for the dead ... Phil. iii. 8, “ Yea doubtless, and I [Engl. Vers. xa/; rather, I even] count all things loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ.” ... I am speaking, not merely I have to speak, not merely I have spoken, but even yet I am speaking [I speak]. ... to you [for you], is the dative of the advantage, i.e. [ speak concerning Myself, who I am, in order that ye may believe and be saved. Hardly any point has caused more difficulty to expositors than the stopping after this iv. The Codices MSS. quoted in the Apparatus Crit. p. 589, defend the comma; and so also, in addition to Chrysostom, Nonnus, and Scaliger, who are mentioned in the same place, ... also James Faber, Corn. Jansenius, and Franc. Lucas. [Engl. Vers. “ Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning. I have many things to say,” etc. Vulg.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":60,"text":"ver. 21","label":"John 8:21","href":"/jhn/8/#v21","status":"detected"},{"at":153,"text":"ver. 22","label":"John 8:22","href":"/jhn/8/#v22","status":"detected"},{"at":352,"text":"ver. 24","label":"John 8:24","href":"/jhn/8/#v24","status":"detected"},{"at":511,"text":"1 Cor. xv. 29","label":"1 Corinthians 15:29","href":"/1co/15/#v29","status":"detected"},{"at":678,"text":"Phil. iii. 8","label":"Philippians 3:8","href":"/php/3/#v8","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.25.1","start":25,"end":25,"heading":"","excerpt":"Just as to Moses I am that I am was appropriate of One as yet ... much [multa] concerning you, on account of your much [multam] incredulity. This was the chief point of Jesus Christ’s complaint concerning the Jews everywhere, and especially here, where He begins to make mention as to His departure. ... I have to speak and to judge. To this appertains the ... and it has thus somewhat more force than ... Now for the first time there was given by the Jews to the Lord by far the greatest reason for His speaking and judging concerning themselves, after that they had heard so many testimonies, and yet had not believed. Similarly viv, now, is employed, Luke xi. 39, in an argument, for which a great handle had been given, “ Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup,” etc. Comp. the parc, began, Matt. xi. 20, “Then began He to upbraid the cities,” etc. Here the Protasis ceases, in the whole of which the same thing is said, as at ch. vi. 36, I said to you that ye both [also, Engl. Vers.] have seen Me, and do not believe; and at ch. x. 25, etc., where: to the same question the same reply is repeated, only in other words. VIII. There follows the Apodosis, beginning with ... in which He plainly enough intimates, who He is. DX. 'O siuvas we ... te. although you to such a degree refuse to believe, that your ... furnishes the strongest reason why I might have judged you; yet He, who hath sent Me into the world, is true. Your unbelief does not set aside His own faithfulness. X.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":654,"text":"Luke xi. 39","label":"Luke 11:39","href":"/luk/11/#v39","status":"detected"},{"at":810,"text":"Matt. xi. 20","label":"Matthew 11:20","href":"/mat/11/#v20","status":"detected"},{"at":950,"text":"vi. 36","label":"John 6:36","href":"/jhn/6/#v36","status":"detected"},{"at":1050,"text":"x. 25","label":"John 10:25","href":"/jhn/10/#v25","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.25.2","start":25,"end":25,"heading":"","excerpt":"In the Protasis, both the first clause, I even speak to you, and the second, I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, and the connection of both, ought to be regarded. For the words in antithesis are, I even speak, and the expression, to you: corresponding respectively to, I have to speak and to judge, and the expression, concerning you. The Apodosis is easy to perceive, when regarded by itself; but how it of My speech, saith He, now even more than heretofore, by a judgment pronounced on your unbelief, before that I bring forth the other subjects: but I perseveringly speak not so much severe things of you, as saving things of Myself [tidings of salvation to you in Myself]. Very many take separately these words, ... has thus explained the words, In the beginning, to wit, I said, what even still [say to you: which had been previously the explanation of ... from whom John Brentius in his Homilies does not much differ. Others generally i in this way: ... Lam He, whom in the beginning I said to you I was; an ... which, however easy a sense it introduces, yet will be found to make many departures from the words of the text, if you compare them together.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.27.1","start":27,"end":27,"heading":"","excerpt":"they understood not) By means of this epicrisis [explanatory addition] John intimates his astonishment at the unbelief and blindness of the Jews; as at ch. xii. 37, “ But though He had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on Him.” ... the Father) the Father had sent Him, ver. 26; and had they known the Father, they would have known who Jesus was, ver. 29. ... then, not before: 1 Cor. ii. 8, “ Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” ... ye shall know from the fact, what now ye believe not on the credit of My word; ver. 24, “I said, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins. We read the event recorded, Matt. xxvii. 54, “When the centurion, and they that were with him, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly and said, Truly this was the Son of God;” Luke xxiii. 47, etc., “ All the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts ;’ Acts ii. 41, “ Three thousand souls—added” [to the church on Pentecost]; xxi. 20, “ Thou seest how many thousands of Jews there are, which believe.” ... and) The connection of the words is this; I am (that which at some time to come ye shall know) and I do nothing of Myself, etc. From this to the end of ver. 29 there are four sentences: The first begins with, and I of Myself; the second with, and He who; the third with, hath not left me; the fourth with, because [for]. Of these the second and third are parallel; and also the first and fourth.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":156,"text":"xii. 37","label":"John 12:37","href":"/jhn/12/#v37","status":"detected"},{"at":292,"text":"ver. 26","label":"John 8:26","href":"/jhn/8/#v26","status":"detected"},{"at":369,"text":"ver. 29","label":"John 8:29","href":"/jhn/8/#v29","status":"detected"},{"at":400,"text":"1 Cor. ii. 8","label":"1 Corinthians 2:8","href":"/1co/2/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":618,"text":"ver. 24","label":"John 8:24","href":"/jhn/8/#v24","status":"detected"},{"at":759,"text":"Matt. xxvii. 54","label":"Matthew 27:54","href":"/mat/27/#v54","status":"detected"},{"at":941,"text":"Luke xxiii. 47","label":"Luke 23:47","href":"/luk/23/#v47","status":"detected"},{"at":1075,"text":"Acts ii. 41","label":"Acts 2:41","href":"/act/2/#v41","status":"detected"},{"at":1380,"text":"ver. 29","label":"John 8:29","href":"/jhn/8/#v29","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.28-29.1","start":28,"end":29,"heading":"","excerpt":"and) and so. ... hath not left me) The Pussies rite signifies that He is never at any time abandoned. ... because) Comp. ch. xv. 10, “ If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love, even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love.” ... which are pleasing to Him) The same argument, by which the Jews were led to believe in Jesus Christ, serves also to prove the whole authority of Holy Scripture, and of the Christian religion.. At all times, in all places, in every way, He requires of all, and teaches all, all those things, which are pleasing to God, and worthy of God. ... at all times) things with the utmost sweetness).”","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":125,"text":"xv. 10","label":"John 15:10","href":"/jhn/15/#v10","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.31-32.1","start":31,"end":32,"heading":"","excerpt":"ye) who have begun to believe, although the rest believe not. ... ye will continue) Acts xiii. 43, “ Many proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas; who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.” ... indeed) It is not enough to have begun. So drws, in deed; ver. 36, “ Ye shall be free indeed.” ... ve are so already: only see that you continue so. ... the truth, concerning Me, as sent by the Father; concerning yourselves, as being My disciples indeed. ... The truth, being known, concerning Me; and I Myself. For the Son makes free, ver. 36. Comp. ch. i. 12, “To them gave He power to become the Sons of God, even to them that believe on His name ;” and He is the truth, ch. xiv. 6, “ ... shall make free) We ought not to wonder, that Jesus suddenly threw in the mention of this, which the Jews were ... For always, in accordance with His own infinite wisdom, He spake especially that which would assail the prejudices of men, and be most beneficial to men; although men would take from thence occasions of disputing with Him. The Freedom is the exemption of the sons of God from all adverse control [namely, from sin, and its slavery; ver. 34, “ Whosoever committeth sin, is the servant of sin :” and from death ; ver. 51, “ If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death.” —V.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":84,"text":"Acts xiii. 43","label":"Acts 13:43","href":"/act/13/#v43","status":"detected"},{"at":279,"text":"ver. 36","label":"John 8:36","href":"/jhn/8/#v36","status":"detected"},{"at":557,"text":"ver. 36","label":"John 8:36","href":"/jhn/8/#v36","status":"detected"},{"at":576,"text":"i. 12","label":"John 1:12","href":"/jhn/1/#v12","status":"detected"},{"at":699,"text":"xiv. 6","label":"John 14:6","href":"/jhn/14/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":1160,"text":"ver. 34","label":"John 8:34","href":"/jhn/8/#v34","status":"detected"},{"at":1239,"text":"ver. 51","label":"John 8:51","href":"/jhn/8/#v51","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.33.1","start":33,"end":33,"heading":"","excerpt":"of Abraham) They appeal to Him afresh at ver. 52, “ Abraham is dead and the prophets; and Thou sayest,” ... we were in bondage to no man) They speak of their own age and generation ; for their forefathers had been in bondage to the kings of Egypt, and of Babylon. ... free) They lay hold of this one expression : they make no objection as to the truth making free. So also at ver. 22, they mutilated the preceding words of Jesus [taking no notice of the rest of His words, “‘ Ye shall seek Me, and shall die in your sins ;” they fastened only on, “ Whither I go, ye cannot come.” It was a mixed crowd. Some of them were of a mind inclined towards Jesus; others were of an inimical feeling. Some of them, moved by His preceding words concerning faith, had begun to aspire after faith, but at this turning point drew back.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":41,"text":"ver. 52","label":"John 8:52","href":"/jhn/8/#v52","status":"detected"},{"at":376,"text":"ver. 22","label":"John 8:22","href":"/jhn/8/#v22","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.34.1","start":34,"end":34,"heading":"","excerpt":"answered) Jesus replies in inverse order to the twofold objection of the Jews, and first goes on with the portion of the discourse concerning freedom, then discusses the portion concerning the children of Abraham, from ver. 37. ... he who habitually committeth sin, as opposed to the truth. ... is the slave) by the very fact, 2 Pet. ii. 19, “ While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption ; for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought into bondage ;” Rom. vi. 16, “ Know ye not, that to whom ye ... yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness.”","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":219,"text":"ver. 37","label":"John 8:37","href":"/jhn/8/#v37","status":"detected"},{"at":327,"text":"2 Pet. ii. 19","label":"2 Peter 2:19","href":"/2pe/2/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":499,"text":"Rom. vi. 16","label":"Romans 6:16","href":"/rom/6/#v16","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.35.1","start":35,"end":35,"heading":"","excerpt":"abideth) in the house. The allusion is, inasmuch as the question is concerning Abraham, to Gen, xxi. 10, “ Sarah said to Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son—Hagar and Ishmael—for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son—Isaac ;” xxv. 5, “ Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac: comp. Gal, iv. 22, etc., “ He who was of the bondwoman, was born after the flesh, but he of the free woman was by promise, which things are an allegory,” etc.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.37.1","start":37,"end":37,"heading":"","excerpt":"My word) the word of truth and of freedom. ... doth not take.) They who do not believe, have an antipathy towards Christ and His word. Comp. the foll. ver., “ Ye do that which ye have seen with your father,” in opposition to, “I speak that which I have seen with my Father.” The correlatives are: a man ought to abide: [Christ’s] word ought to take possession [have place in; please].","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.38.1","start":38,"end":38,"heading":"","excerpt":"I speak) Understand, and I do. See presently after. ... and) This follows from the general sentiment [maxim], which in the former half of the verse is taken for granted: each one ... ye do) Understand, and ye speak: although I speak is more suitable concerning Jesus in this passage ; and ye do, concerning His adversaries. ‘The one member is to be supplied from the other. So Mal. 1. 14, who hath in his flock a male [and one free from blemish], and yet making a vow ... [a female, or one in other respects] an unsuitable victim.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":377,"text":"Mal. 1. 14","label":"Malachi 1:14","href":"/mal/1/#v14","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.39-40.1","start":39,"end":40,"heading":"","excerpt":"Abraham) They attempt to defend what they had said, ver. 33, “ We be Abraham’s seed.” They feel that Jesus is speaking concerning another father of theirs. stood, as at ix. 33 ... a man) Jesus is wont to entitle Himself the Son of Man; but in this passage, He calls Himself a man: for to this passage corresponds the fact, that at ver. 44 He calls the devil a man-slayer ... a murderer of man]. Therefore the word who seems best to be referred to the me, rather than to a man. ... the truth) which is precious, as well as otherwise unknown to men, and hated by you. Often the truth and the life are joined, as also a lie and death. The former are peculiar to Christ and believers; the latter; to the devil and the ungodly ; ver. 44, “ Ye are of your father the devil,” etc. “ He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own.”","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":52,"text":"ver. 33","label":"John 8:33","href":"/jhn/8/#v33","status":"detected"},{"at":331,"text":"ver. 44","label":"John 8:44","href":"/jhn/8/#v44","status":"detected"},{"at":724,"text":"ver. 44","label":"John 8:44","href":"/jhn/8/#v44","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.41-42.1","start":41,"end":42,"heading":"","excerpt":"of your father) His name is not yet expressed : but presently after, when the Jews presume to call God their father, he is expressly called the Devil: see foll. verses. ... from fornication) A new paroxysm of Jewish unreasonableness [unseasonable clamour]. They stoutly insist, that they are not illegitimate. ... ye would love) ye would not persecute Me with ... I came forth) Hereby is intimated the “ terminus a quo” [the source from which]. ... come) Hereby is intimated the “ terminus ad quem” [the destination to which].","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.43.1","start":43,"end":43,"heading":"","excerpt":"why is it that) To this particle by and by answers ver. 44, “ Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye ... because) By this clause the one immediately preceding is explained. ... ch. xi. 47, “ What do we? for this man doeth many miracles;” ix. 17, “ What sayest thou of Him, (seeing) that He hath opened thine eyes]. ... my speech, which is most true.—oi ... ye cannot hear by reason of the hatred which is innate in you. A similar epitasis [an emphatic explanation of a proposition already stated, appended to it] occurs, 1 Cor. ii. 14, “ The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God—neither can he know them, for,” etc.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":51,"text":"ver. 44","label":"John 8:44","href":"/jhn/8/#v44","status":"detected"},{"at":207,"text":"xi. 47","label":"John 11:47","href":"/jhn/11/#v47","status":"detected"},{"at":547,"text":"1 Cor. ii. 14","label":"1 Corinthians 2:14","href":"/1co/2/#v14","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.44.1","start":44,"end":44,"heading":"","excerpt":"ye) A most undisguised proof against them, ... and) and thence it is that. ... the lusts) which from the beginning he has been unable to accomplish, as respects the Son of God. ... ye wish) with all your might. ... from the beginning) ever since he knew anything of the nature of ... when) ‘Two sentences, expressing two contraries; to each of the two, 67, because [for] is added. ... he abode not [did not stand fast]) The Præterite time, and the theme itself ... I stand, imply this to be the meaning; He did not attain to a fixed standing in the truth: (A similar expression occurs Rom. v. 2, “ We have access by faith into this grace, wherein we have obtained an established standing”) i.e. He was a liar from the beginning, as well as a man-destroyer ; for this clause does not go before the mention of his lust of murder, but follows it. ... is not) There was truth in him; but there is not now. Moreover, when first the truth ceased to exist in him, it was by his own fault; the lust of murder had place in him, and he determined to destroy man for that very reason, because man was then in the truth. From this it is evident that it was not long before the sin of man, that the devil sinned, and that the devil was created, not long before he sinned. ... is false [a lie]) Roepe is wont to designate not merely a voluntary lie by this severe term, but even error itself. Rom. i. 25, “ Who changed the truth of God into a lie ;” 2 Thess. ii. 9, 11, “lying wonders—God shall send them strong delusion, that ... believe a lie ;” 1 John ii. 21, “ Because ye know—the truth—and that no lie is of the truth;” 27, “The anointing—is truth, and is no lie.”","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":585,"text":"Rom. v. 2","label":"Romans 5:2","href":"/rom/5/#v2","status":"detected"},{"at":1379,"text":"Rom. i. 25","label":"Romans 1:25","href":"/rom/1/#v25","status":"detected"},{"at":1436,"text":"2 Thess. ii. 9, 11","label":"2 Thessalonians 2:11","href":"/2th/2/#v11","status":"detected"},{"at":1436,"text":"2 Thess. ii. 9, 11","label":"2 Thessalonians 2:9","href":"/2th/2/#v9","status":"detected"},{"at":1534,"text":"1 John ii. 21","label":"1 John 2:21","href":"/1jn/2/#v21","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.44.2","start":44,"end":44,"heading":"","excerpt":"of his own) The origin of evil. The contrary holds good of Christ; ch. vii. 17, “If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of Myself ; He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory, but He that seeketh His glory that sent Him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.” ... his father) The article 6 has this force; and so. The word airod can be expressly referred to ... concerning which He treats in the following clause ; but it ought rather to be referred to the noun ... which must be repeated in an indefinite sense.' For sometimes a relative expressed or implied appertains to another subject similar to it. 1, Tim. ii. 15, “She shall be saved,’ namely, woman, indefinitely although the she is to be referred to Eve [the woman alluded to, “ Adam was es deceived, but the woman,” in the previous verse. So Job i. 21, “Naked came I forth from my mother’s womb, and naked shall f he THITHER” [to my mother’s womb in a different and wider sense than in the first clause, viz. the womb of the earth]. Thus here the devil is said to be both a liar himself and father of every ... For the opposition is clear between God and the devil, and between the sons of God and the sons of the devil. The man who is a liar, is a son of the devil. It is not the lie that is said in this passage to be the offspring of the devil.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":71,"text":"vii. 17","label":"John 7:17","href":"/jhn/7/#v17","status":"detected"},{"at":885,"text":"Job i. 21","label":"Job 1:21","href":"/job/1/#v21","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.45-46.1","start":45,"end":46,"heading":"","excerpt":"I) This pronoun is put with emphasis at the beginning of a sentence. ... because) inasmuch as. It is a characteristic of truth, not to believed by the evil ... I tell) In antithesis to, he speaketh in the preceding verse. ... not) Ye give not ear to me: ye give ear to the devil. ... convicts) Jesus appeals to the conscience of all. ... of sin) that is, that I am in error, and that I am away from the truth. What person dares to maintain this ?","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.47-48.1","start":47,"end":48,"heading":"","excerpt":"therefore [on this account]) The conclusion, Ye are not of God, ver. 42, is proved by the effect ; inasmuch as ye do not hear; ver. 42, “ If God were your Father ye would love Me.” ... they answered) with a most unjust retort, in the forms of cavil which they had so frequently used. ... do not we well say?) They utter this awful insult with some degree of fear as yet. ... a Samaritan) an alien from the true God of the true Israel. Jesus replies at the close of the ... verse and in the following verses, “It is My Father that honoureth Me, of whom ye say, that He is your God: Yet ye have not known Him, but I know Him.” ... a demon) So they said, who supposed, that the words of Jesus flowed from a foolish pride and assumption. Thus is made clear the reference of those things which Jesus replies in ver. 49, te., “I have not a devil, but I honour My Father,” etc., “and I seek not Mine own glory.” ... I honour My Father) by making manifest His name. ... treat me with insult) This they had done at ver. 48.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":64,"text":"ver. 42","label":"John 8:42","href":"/jhn/8/#v42","status":"detected"},{"at":127,"text":"ver. 42","label":"John 8:42","href":"/jhn/8/#v42","status":"detected"},{"at":806,"text":"ver. 49","label":"John 8:49","href":"/jhn/8/#v49","status":"detected"},{"at":1006,"text":"ver. 48","label":"John 8:48","href":"/jhn/8/#v48","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.50-51.1","start":50,"end":51,"heading":"","excerpt":"I do not seek) as ye suppose ; and therefore think it right, that I should be treated with insult. ... there is) I do not seek My own glory; nor is there any need that I should seek it; for My Father vindicates it. ... if any [if a man]) Jesus proves from the future effect, wherewith the Father is about to honour Him, that He and His word have nothing in common with the proud and murderous devil. ... will keep) , as I keep My Father’s word, ver. 55, “I know Him, and keep His saying.” We ought to keep the doctrine of Jesus, by believing in it; His promises, by hoping for them ; His injunctions, by obeying them. ... death) Jesus hereby shows, that He is not a Samaritan. The Samaritans were Sadducees, opposed to the doctrine of immortality, according to the testimony of Epiphanius. At least the Jews, who speak here, seem to have attributed that error to the Samaritans. Yet I will admit that it was the smaller portion of the latter, who laboured under that error. ... he shall not see) A most effectual argument against the maintainers of soul-annihilation.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":445,"text":"ver. 55","label":"John 8:55","href":"/jhn/8/#v55","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.52-53.1","start":52,"end":53,"heading":"","excerpt":"now we know) Previously they had spoken with some degree of doubt: ver. 48, “Say we not well that Thou art,” etc. ; but now to the solemn asseveration of Jesus, ver. 51, they oppose this assertion of theirs. ... whether [art] thou greater) Thou, say they, who dost promise to him, that keepeth Thy word, immortality, a privilege which was not enjoyed by so great men as Abraham and the prophets. ... and) Explain thus; and greater than the prophets, who are dead? The Christ was indeed greater than Abraham and the prophets.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":67,"text":"ver. 48","label":"John 8:48","href":"/jhn/8/#v48","status":"detected"},{"at":161,"text":"ver. 51","label":"John 8:51","href":"/jhn/8/#v51","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.54-55.1","start":54,"end":55,"heading":"","excerpt":"answered) He refutes those words [of last ver.] thou thyself. ... A very similar construction occurs, ch. x. 36, dy 6 ... and Josh. xxii. 34 in the Heb., “The children of Reuben and Gad, called the altar ... for it shall be a witness between us,” etc. ... for judy; as in this passage some have written ... Text. But AC and Vulg. have judav. ... implies in some degree a beginning to know [I come to know]: but the Son’s knowledge of the Father is eternal : He knows the Father and the glory [honour] which the Father hath assigned to Him. ... a liar) He is a liar, who either affirms what he ought to deny, or denies what he ought to affirm.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":106,"text":"x. 36","label":"John 10:36","href":"/jhn/10/#v36","status":"detected"},{"at":126,"text":"Josh. xxii. 34","label":"Joshua 22:34","href":"/jos/22/#v34","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.56.1","start":56,"end":56,"heading":"","excerpt":"your Father) ver. 37, 39, “I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; Abraham is our father.” ... that) Evinced his eagerness with longing desire. A similar expression occurs, Rom. x. 1, “ My heart’s desire, ... preceded his seeing; and again ... my day) The day of the Majesty of Christ : Phil. i. 10, “sincere and without offence till the day of Christ ;” 1 Cor. i. 8, “blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ ;” which day presupposes all the times of Christ, even in the eyes of Abraham. The days of Christ’s flesh (when He bestowed Himself on others) are one thing, the day of Christ Himself and of His glory is another thing ... the two are altogether distinct]. This latter day was future in respect to this speech. Therefore the joy of Abraham preceded that day. ... and he saw it) He saw it, even then in the revelation of My Divine glory; see verses following and Heb. xi. 13, “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them and embraced them,” etc. He saw the day of Christ, who of the seed of the patriarch, which was about to be equal in number to the stars, is the greatest and brightest luminary. And inasmuch as he saw this day, which is to be altogether a day of life, he did not see death; ver. 51, etc., ... man keep My saying, he shall never see death :—Abraham is dead—and Thou sayest, If a man,” etc.—Thus the vehemence of the Jews is rebutted. He did not however see it, as the apostles did: Matt, xiii. 17, “Many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them.” ... and he rejoiced) having obtained his wish.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":13,"text":"ver. 37, 39","label":"John 8:37","href":"/jhn/8/#v37","status":"detected"},{"at":13,"text":"ver. 37, 39","label":"John 8:39","href":"/jhn/8/#v39","status":"detected"},{"at":168,"text":"Rom. x. 1","label":"Romans 10:1","href":"/rom/10/#v1","status":"detected"},{"at":282,"text":"Phil. i. 10","label":"Philippians 1:10","href":"/php/1/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":350,"text":"1 Cor. i. 8","label":"1 Corinthians 1:8","href":"/1co/1/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":871,"text":"Heb. xi. 13","label":"Hebrews 11:13","href":"/heb/11/#v13","status":"detected"},{"at":1275,"text":"ver. 51","label":"John 8:51","href":"/jhn/8/#v51","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.57.1","start":57,"end":57,"heading":"","excerpt":"fifty) For contention’s sake they exaggerate the number. But, had they not been altogether forgetful of His nativity at Bethlehem, they would have said, Thirty years old, and not much more. As it is, they imply this by their words, Thou hast not yet reached a half century, in other words, the year of superannuation; Num. iv. 3, The term of the Levite service, “From thirty years old and upward, even until fifty years old,” as Lightfoot observes; whence it seems, the expression is not unlike an adage. It is not likely, that Jesus by reason of sorrows had contracted a premature appearance of old age. Heb. i. 9, “ God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above they fellows:” Matt. ix. 15, “Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them?” ch, xi, 19, “The Son of Man came eating and drinking.” ... Abraham) He had died 1850 years before this colloquy. ... hast thou seen) They speak (and rightly so, indeed; comp. ch. xvi. 16, 22, “ A little while, and ye shall not see Me, and again, a little while and ye shall see Me,” etc.: “Ye now have sorrow, but I will see you again,”) by the force of correlatives. Since Abraham saw Thy day ; Thou hast seen Abraham.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":318,"text":"Num. iv. 3","label":"Numbers 4:3","href":"/num/4/#v3","status":"detected"},{"at":605,"text":"Heb. i. 9","label":"Hebrews 1:9","href":"/heb/1/#v9","status":"detected"},{"at":702,"text":"Matt. ix. 15","label":"Matthew 9:15","href":"/mat/9/#v15","status":"detected"},{"at":981,"text":"xvi. 16, 22","label":"John 16:16","href":"/jhn/16/#v16","status":"detected"},{"at":981,"text":"xvi. 16, 22","label":"John 16:22","href":"/jhn/16/#v22","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.58.1","start":58,"end":58,"heading":"","excerpt":"In the same ch. ver. 31 (thou hast been) and art always with Me, as the Goth. ... od ef [before the mountains were brought forth, thou art], where Artemonius can by no effort of his change the punctuation.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":16,"text":"ver. 31","label":"John 8:31","href":"/jhn/8/#v31","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.58.2","start":58,"end":58,"heading":"","excerpt":"Moreover, the reference of the words opposed is the same, and both verbs ought to be understood absolutely, as was is used; ch. i. 1, “In the beginning was the Word,” etc. However this absolute signification includes that other by consequence; before that Abraham was brought into being ; He who speaks, was; and He was the same as He asserted to the Jews that He was. ... is wanting in some of the old fathers, especially the Latin fathers; but the use of the adverb ... does not bear the omission. That indeed is certain, that those fathers had no thought of the Socinian perversion of the sense of the verb ... and so the perversion of this whole passage. [Dade and Epiphanius omit ... But AB, Vulg. and Origen I., 750 f, etc., have it.]","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":128,"text":"i. 1","label":"John 1:1","href":"/jhn/1/#v1","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.59.1","start":59,"end":59,"heading":"","excerpt":"took up) They were accounting Him as a blasphemer. ... stones) The weapons of the multitude. ... He hid Himself) Not by betaking Himself to a hiding-place, but that He ceased to be visible to their eyes, in a miraculous manner ; (comp. Jer. xxxvi. 26, “ The king commanded ... whilst He went out from the temple. 59. and ix. 1. ... x.7-A.) This appears to be the mediate’ and genuine reading [see App. Crit., Ed. ii. on this passage]: for ... and orws denotes the miraculous ease of His ... A similar connection [of participle and verb] occurs, Acts xxvii. at the close, and xxviii. at the beginning ... so) As if no one were seeking Him. [A, and acc. to Lachm. ... (C adding probably, from Luke iv. 36, through the Harmonies, ... B, omit these words: so also abc, Origen 4, 292, ¢, Theb. and Vulg. versions.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":236,"text":"Jer. xxxvi. 26","label":"Jeremiah 36:26","href":"/jer/36/#v26","status":"detected"},{"at":691,"text":"Luke iv. 36","label":"Luke 4:36","href":"/luk/4/#v36","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null}]},{"work_id":"ryle","author":"J. C. Ryle","short_name":"Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"title":"Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: St. John, Vol. I","edition_short":"Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, for Family and Private Use, with the Text Complete.…","author_url":"/commentators/ryle/","divisions":"verse","work_url":"/works/ryle/","entries":[{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.1.1","start":1,"end":1,"heading":"Jesus went...mount...Olives","excerpt":"The division of the chapter in this place is to be regretted. The last verse of the preceding chapter and the verse before us are evidently intended to be taken together. While the Pharisees and members of the council \" went every man to his own house,\" our Lord, having no home of His own, retired \"to the Mount of Olives,\" and there spent the night in the open air. In such a climate as that of Judea there was nothing remarkable in His doing this. The garden of Gethsemane, at the foot of the mount, would supply sufficient shelter. That this was our Lord's habitual practice, we are distinctly told in Luke xxi. 37.\n\nLampe remarks that we never read of our Lord lodging, sleeping, or tarrying a night in Jerusalem.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":606,"text":"Luke xxi. 37","label":"Luke 21:37","href":"/luk/21/#v37","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.1-11.1","start":1,"end":11,"heading":"JOHN VIII. 1—11.","excerpt":"We learn, for one thing, the power of conscience. We read of the woman's accusers, that when they heard our Lord's appeal, \" being convicted by their own conscience, they went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last.\" Wicked* and hardened as they were, they felt something within which made them cowards. Fallen as human nature is, God has taken care to leave within every man a witness that will be heard.\n\nConscience is a most important part of our inward man, and plays a most prominent part in our spiritual history. It cannot save us. It never yet led any one to Christ. It is blind, and liable to be misled. It is lame and powerless, and cannot guide us to heaven. Yet conscience is not to be despised. It is 'the minister's best friend, when he stands up to rebuke sin from the pulpit. It is the mother's best friend, when she tries to restrain her children from evil and quicken them to good. It is the teacher's best friend, when he presses home on boys and girls their moral duties. Happy is he who never stifles his conscience, but strives to keep it tender ! Still happier is he who prays to have it enlightened by the Holy Ghost, and sprinkled with Christ's blood.\n\nWe learn, for another thing, the nature of true repentance. When our Lord had said to the sinful woman, \"Neither do I condemn thee,\" He dismissed her with the solemn words, \" go and sin no more.\" He did not merely say, \" go home and repent.\" He pointed out the chief thing which her case required, — the necessity of immediate breaking off from her sin.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.2.1","start":2,"end":2,"heading":"And early in the morning","excerpt":"This expression is worth noticing, because, according to some, it explains our Lord's subsequent use of the figure — \" I am the light of the world.\" They think that it refers to the break of day, or rising of the sun.\n\n[He came again. ..temple.] This means the outer courts of the temple, where it was customary for the Jews to assemble and listen to teachers of religion. In eastern countries and in the times when there was no printing, it must be remembered, much instruction was given in this way, by open-air addresses or conversations. Thus Socrates taught at Athens.\n\n[All the people came unto Him.] \" All \" here must mean great multitudes of the people. After all that had happened in the last three or four days, we may easily understand that our Lord's appearance would at once attract a crowd. His fame as a teacher and speaker was established.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.2.2","start":2,"end":2,"heading":"he sat down, and taught","excerpt":"That it was common for the teachers to sit, and the hearers to stand, is evident from other texts. \"I sat daily with you teaching in the temple.\" (Matt. xxvi. 55.) In the synagogues of Nazareth, when our Lord began to preach, He first \" gave the book to the minister, and sat down.\" (Luke iv. 20.) \" He sat down and taught the people out of the ship.\" (Luke v. 3.) \" We sat down and spake to the women.\" (Acts xvi. 13.)","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":147,"text":"Matt. xxvi. 55","label":"Matthew 26:55","href":"/mat/26/#v55","status":"detected"},{"at":284,"text":"Luke iv. 20","label":"Luke 4:20","href":"/luk/4/#v20","status":"detected"},{"at":353,"text":"Luke v. 3","label":"Luke 5:3","href":"/luk/5/#v3","status":"detected"},{"at":405,"text":"Acts xvi. 13","label":"Acts 16:13","href":"/act/16/#v13","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.3.1","start":3,"end":3,"heading":"the scribes and Pharisees","excerpt":"This is the only place in St. John's Gospel where he mentions the \" Scribes \" at all. He names the Pharisees twenty times — sixteen times alone, and four times in conjunction with the chief-priests.\n\nThis fact is thought by some to be an argument against the genuineness of the passage, but without just cause. St. Mark, in his Gospel, speaks twelve times of the Pharisees, and only twice mentions the Scribes in conjunction with them. Moreover, this is the only occasion recorded in St. John, when a formal attempt was made to entrap our Lord by a subtle question. That being so, there may be a good reason why the Scribes should be mentioned as well as the Pharisees, as principal agents in the attempt.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.3.2","start":3,"end":3,"heading":"brought unto him a woman, &c.","excerpt":"It seems not improbable that this attempt to ensnare our Lord was one result of His enemies' failure to apprehend Him during the feast. Defeated in their effort to meet Him in argument, or to apprehend Him in the absence of any legal charge, they tried next to entrap Him into committing Himself in some way, and so giving them a handle against Him. No time was to be lost. They had failed yesterday, and found their own officers unwilling to apprehend our Lord. They resolved to try another plan to-day. They would ensnare our Lord into doing something illegal or indis-\n\n[Set her in the midst.] This means in the middle of a ring or circle, composed of themselves and their followers, our Lord and His disciples, and the crowd listening to His teaching.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.4.1","start":4,"end":4,"heading":"They say...this woman...taken, &c.","excerpt":"It throws some light on this charge to remember what immense crowds came up to Jerusalem at the great public feasts, and especially at the feast of tabernacles. At such a season, when every house was crowded, as at a fair time, when many consequently slept in the open air, and no small disorder probably ensued, we can well understand that such a sin as a breach of the seventh commandment would be very likely to be committed.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.5.1","start":5,"end":5,"heading":"Now Moses...law commanded...stoned","excerpt":"This is the legitimate conclusion of the two texts, Lev. xx. 10 and Deut. xxii. 22, when compared. There seems no ground for the comment of some writers, that Moses did not command an adulteress to be put to death by stoning.\n\nIt is worth notice, that the expression, \"Moses in the law,\" is not used either by Matthew, Mark, or Luke. But it is used by St. John both here and at chap. i. 45.\n\n[But what sayest thou ?] This would be more literally rendered, \"What therefore sayest thou?\" The Greek word rendered \" but \" by our translators is hardly ever so rendered in the New Testament; and in most places is either \"therefore,\" \"then,\" \"so,\" \"now,\" or \"and.\" John ix. 18, and Acts xxv. 4, are the only parallel cases.\n\nEcolampadius thinks the Pharisees were especially sore and irritated because our Lord had said that \" publicans and harlots '* would enter the kingdom of God before Pharisees. (Matt. xxi. 31.)","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":52,"text":"Lev. xx. 10","label":"Leviticus 20:10","href":"/lev/20/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":68,"text":"Deut. xxii. 22","label":"Deuteronomy 22:22","href":"/deu/22/#v22","status":"detected"},{"at":384,"text":"i. 45","label":"John 1:45","href":"/jhn/1/#v45","status":"detected"},{"at":659,"text":"John ix. 18","label":"John 9:18","href":"/jhn/9/#v18","status":"detected"},{"at":676,"text":"Acts xxv. 4","label":"Acts 25:4","href":"/act/25/#v4","status":"detected"},{"at":896,"text":"Matt. xxi. 31","label":"Matthew 21:31","href":"/mat/21/#v31","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.6.1","start":6,"end":6,"heading":"This they said, tempting...accuse him","excerpt":"la what did this temptation consist ? How did the Jews hope to find ground for an accusation? The answer seems easy. — If our Lord replied that the woman ought not to be stoned, they would have denounced Him to the people as one that poured contempt on the law. — If our Lord, on the contrary, replied that the woman ought to be stoned, they would have accused Him to the Romans as one who usurped the prerogative of putting criminals to death. See John xviii. 31 : \"It is not lawful for us to put any man to death.\" Moreover, they would have published everywhere our Lord's inconsistency in offering salvation to publicans and harlots, and yet condemning to death an adulteress for one transgression.\n\nLet it be noticed that subtle ensnaring questions like these, putting the person questioned into an apparent dilemma or difficulty, whatever answer he might give, seem to have been favourite weapons of the Jews. The Pharisees' question about \" tribute-money,\" the lawyer's question about \" the great commandment of the law,\" and the Sadducees' question about \"the resurrection,\" are parallel cases. The question before us is therefore quite in keeping with other places in the Gospels.\n\nAugustine remarks, \"They said in themselves, 'Let us put before Him a woman caught in adultery ; let us ask what is ordered in the law concerning her; if He shall bid stone her, He will not have the repute of gentleness : if He give sentence to let her go, He will not keep righteousness.' \" Euthymius says the same.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":449,"text":"John xviii. 31","label":"John 18:31","href":"/jhn/18/#v31","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.6.2","start":6,"end":6,"heading":"But Jesus stooped down, &c.","excerpt":"Our Lord's intention in this remarkable sentence can hardly admit of doubt. He declined to answer the subtle question put to Him, partly because he knew the malicious motive of the questioners, partly because He had always announced that He did not come to be \" a judge and divider\" among men, or to interfere in the slightest degree with the administration of the law. His silence was equivalent to a refusal to answer.\n\nBut the peculiar action that our Lord employed, in \" writing with his finger on the ground,\" is undeniably a difficulty. St. John gives no explanation of the action, and we are left to conjecture both why our Lord wrote and what He wrote.\n\n(1) Some think, as Bede, Rupertus, and Lampe, that our Lord wrote on the ground the texts of Scripture which settled the question brought before Him, as the seventh commandment, and Lev. xx. 10, and Deut. xxii. 22. The action would then imply, \"Why do you ask me? What is written in the law, that law which God wrote with His own finger as I am writing now? \"\n\n(2) Some think, as Lightfoot and Burgon, that our Lord meant to refer to the law of Moses for the trial of jealousy, in which an accused woman was obliged to drink water into which dust from the floor of the tabernacle or temple had been put by the priest. (Num. v. 17.) The action would then imply, \" Has the law for trying such an one as this been tried? Look at the dust on which I am writing. Has the woman been placed before the priest, and drank of the dust and water? \"\n\n(3) Some think, as Augustine, Melancthon, Brentius, Toletus, and a Lapide, that our Lord's action was a silent reference to the text, Jer. xvii. 13: \"They that depart from me shall be written in the earth.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":844,"text":"Lev. xx. 10","label":"Leviticus 20:10","href":"/lev/20/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":861,"text":"Deut. xxii. 22","label":"Deuteronomy 22:22","href":"/deu/22/#v22","status":"detected"},{"at":1281,"text":"Num. v. 17","label":"Numbers 5:17","href":"/num/5/#v17","status":"detected"},{"at":1635,"text":"Jer. xvii. 13","label":"Jeremiah 17:13","href":"/jer/17/#v13","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.6.3","start":6,"end":6,"heading":"","excerpt":"(4) One rationalist writer suggests that our Lord \" stooped down\" from feelings of modesty, as if ashamed of the sight before Him, and of the story told to Him. The idea is preposterous, and entirely out of harmony with our Lord's public demeanour.\n\n(5) Some think, as Euthymius, Calvin, Rollock, Chemnitius, Diodati, Flavius, Piscator, Grotius, Poole, and Hutcheson, that our Lord did not mean anything at all by this writing on the ground, and that He only signified that He would give no answer, and would neither listen to nor interfere in such matters as the one brought before Him.\n\nCalvin remarks : \" Christ intended, by doing nothing, to show how unworthy they were of being heard; just as if any one, while another was speaking to him, were to draw lines on the wall, or to turn his back, or to show by any other sign, that he was not attending to what was said.\"\n\nI must leave the reader to choose which solution he prefers. To my eyes, I confess, there are difficulties in each view. If I must select one, I prefer the last of the five, as the simplest.\n\nQuesnel remarks : \" We never read that Jesus Christ wrote but once in His life. Let men learn from hence never to write but when it is necessary or useful, and to do it with humility and modesty, on a principle of charity, and not of malice.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.7.1","start":7,"end":7,"heading":"So when they continued...lifted...said unto them","excerpt":"The Scribes and Pharisees seem to have been determined to have an answer, and to have made it necessary for our Lord to speak at last. But His first silence and significant refusal to attend were a plain proof to all around that He did not wish to interfere with the office of the magistrate, and had not come to be a judge of offences against the law. If they got an opinion from Him about this case, they could not say that He gave it willingly, but that it was extorted from Him by much importunity.\n\n[He that is without sin. ..first cast a stone at her.'] This solemn and weighty sentence is a striking example of our Lord's perfect wisdom. He referred His questioners to Scripture. Deut. xvii.\n\n7: \" The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death.\" — It sent their minds home to their own private lives. \" Whatever the woman may deserve, are you the people to find fault with her? \" — It neither condemned nor justified the adulteress, and yet showed our Lord's reverence for the law of Moses. \"I decline to pronounce sentence on this woman, because I am not the judge. You know yourselves what the law is in such cases as well as I do. You have no right to assume that I do not reverence the law as much as yourselves. But since you profess to honour the law of Moses so much, I remind you that this same law requires the witnesses to be the executioners. Now are you the persons who ought to punish this woman, however guilty she may be? Do you yourselves come before me with clear consciences about the seventh commandment?\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.7.2","start":7,"end":7,"heading":"","excerpt":"Many think that when our Lord said \" he that is without sin,\" He meant the expression to be taken in a general sense. I cannot hold this view. It would involve the awkward conclusion that no one could be a judge at all, or punish a criminal, because no one is altogether and absolutely \" without sin.\" I am decidedly of opinion that our Lord referred to sin against the seventh commandment. There is too much reason to think that such sin was very common among the Jews in our Lord's time. The expression \" an adulterous generation \" (Matt. xii. 39; xvi. 4; and Mark viii. 38) is full of meaning. (See also Rom. ii. 22; Luke xviii. 11; and James iv. 4.)","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":535,"text":"Matt. xii. 39","label":"Matthew 12:39","href":"/mat/12/#v39","status":"detected"},{"at":550,"text":"xvi. 4","label":"Matthew 16:4","href":"/mat/16/#v4","status":"detected"},{"at":562,"text":"Mark viii. 38","label":"Mark 8:38","href":"/mrk/8/#v38","status":"detected"},{"at":607,"text":"Rom. ii. 22","label":"Romans 2:22","href":"/rom/2/#v22","status":"detected"},{"at":620,"text":"Luke xviii. 11","label":"Luke 18:11","href":"/luk/18/#v11","status":"detected"},{"at":640,"text":"James iv. 4","label":"James 4:4","href":"/jas/4/#v4","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.8.1","start":8,"end":8,"heading":"And again he stooped down, &c.","excerpt":"This repeated act would greatly add to the weighty solemnity of the sentence which had just fallen from our Lord's lips. \" I have given my opinion ; — now what are you going to do? I wait for your reply.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.9.1","start":9,"end":9,"heading":"And they which heard...conscience","excerpt":"This sentence seems to me to confirm the opinion, that when our Lord said \" he that is without sin,\" He referred to sin against the seventh commandment. A general charge would hardly have produced the effect here described. A charge of breaking the seventh commandment would be just such an one as a man would shrink from, if made publicly. The sin is peculiarly one which brings with it afterwards a certain sense of shame. It is commonly a deed of darkness and done in secret, and the doer of it dreads the light.\n\nThe power of conscience stands out here in a very striking manner. It is a part of man's inward nature which is far too little remembered by ministers and teachers. Fallen and corrupt as man is, we must never forget that God has left him a certain sense of right and wrong, called conscience. It has no power to save, or convert, or lead to Christ. But it has a power to accuse, and prick, and witness. Such texts as Rom. ii. 15 and 2 Cor. iv. 2 should be carefully considered.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":934,"text":"Rom. ii. 15","label":"Romans 2:15","href":"/rom/2/#v15","status":"detected"},{"at":950,"text":"2 Cor. iv. 2","label":"2 Corinthians 4:2","href":"/2co/4/#v2","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.9.2","start":9,"end":9,"heading":"went out...beginning...eldest...last","excerpt":"The words \"eldest \"and \" last \" in this sentence are in the plural number, which does not appear in the English version. The oldest would probably have the greatest number of sins on their minds.\n\n[Jesus was left alone, and the woman... midst.'] This must of course mean that the Scribes and Pharisees who accused the women were all gone away. It does not necessarily follow that the crowd of hearers who were about our Lord when the case was brought to Him had gone away. They must have stood by, and seen and heard all that passed.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.10.1","start":10,"end":10,"heading":"When Jesus had lifted up himself, &c.","excerpt":"How long the pause must have been during which our Lord stooped down and wrote on the ground a second time, we are not told. But it must probably have been several minutes. When it says that our Lord \" saw none but the woman,\" it must mean \" none of the party which came and interrupted His teaching, except the woman.\" The accusers had disappeared, and the accused alone remained.\n\nThe question that our Lord put to the woman must have been for the satisfaction of the crowd around. Let them mark from the question and answer that the case had fallen to the ground. No evidence was offered. No accuser appeared. No sentence therefore could be pronounced, and none was needed.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.11.1","start":11,"end":11,"heading":"She said, No man, Lord","excerpt":"We may observe here that our Lord, with merciful consideration, did not ask the woman whether she was guilty or not. Thus she could with truth reply to His question, and yet not criminate herself.\n\n[Jesus said... neither do I condemn... sin no more.] The mingled kindness and perfect wisdom of this sentence deserve special notice. Our Lord says nothing of the question whether the woman deserved punishment, and what kind of punishment. He simply says \" I do not condemn thee. It is not my province or offence to judge or pronounce any sentence.\" — Nor yet does He tell the woman that she may go away without stain or blemish on her character. On the contrary He implies that she had sinned and was guilty. But in the absence of witnesses she might go away clear of punishment. — Nor yet does He say \" Go in peace,\" as in Luke vii. 50, and viii. 48.\n\n\"Go,\" He says, \"and sin no more.\" How anyone, in the face of this text, can say that our Lord palliates and condones the woman's sin, it is rather hard to understand. That He refused to condemn her is clear and plain, because it was not His office. That He ignored or connived at her sin, as Hengstenberg says, (in his argument against the genuineness of the whole passage,) can never be proved. The very last words show what he thought of her case : — \" Sin no more.\" She had sinned, and had only escaped from lack of evidence. Let her remember that, and' \"sin no more.\"\n\nAugustine remarks, \"How, Lord? Dost thou then favour sin? Not so, assuredly. Mark what He says : Go, henceforth sin no more. You see then that the Lord condemned, but He condemned sin, not man. For were He a favourer of sin, He would say, neither will I condemn thee, go, live as thou wilt.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":823,"text":"Luke vii. 50","label":"Luke 7:50","href":"/luk/7/#v50","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.11.2","start":11,"end":11,"heading":"","excerpt":"The remark of Euthymius that our Lord considered the public shame and exposure sufficient punishment for the woman's sin, is thoroughly unsatisfactory, and not warranted by anything in the context. — The view of Bullinger and some others, that one principal object of the passage is to teach our Lord's mercy and readiness to pardon great sinners, appears to me quite destitute of foundation. Christ's abounding mercy is a great truth, but not the truth of this passage. — There seems no parallel between this woman and the Samaritan woman in John iv.\n\nPoole observes that our Lord does not merely say \" Commit adultery no more. No partial repentance or sorrow for any particular sin will suffice a penitent that hopes for mercy from God; but a leaving off all sin, of what kind soever it is.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.12.1","start":12,"end":12,"heading":"Then spake Jesus again...them","excerpt":"The expression \" spake again \" exactly fits in with the preceding narrative. It carries us back to the 2nd verse, where we read that our Lord was sitting in the temple and teaching the people, when the woman taken in adultery was brought before Him. This naturally interrupted and broke off His teaching for a time. But when the case was settled, and both accuser and accused had gone away, He resumed His teaching. Then the expression comes in most naturally, \" He spake again.\" Once admit that the narrative of the woman is not genuine and must be left out, and there is really nothing with which to connect the words before us. We are obliged to look back as far as the 37th verse of the last chapter.\n\nThe same remark applies to the word \"them.\" The natural application of it is to \" the people \" whom our Lord was teaching, in the 2nd verse, when the Scribes and Pharisees interrupted him. Leave out the narrative of the woman, and there is nothing to which the word \"them \" can be referred, except the angry council of the Pharisees at the end of the seventh chapter.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.12.2","start":12,"end":12,"heading":"I am...light...world","excerpt":"In this glorious expression, our Lord, we cannot doubt, declares Himself to be the promised Messiah or Saviour, of whom the prophets had spoken. The Jews would remember the words, — \" I will give thee for a light of the Gentiles.\" (Isai. xlii. 6 ; xlix. 6.) So also Simeon had said, he would be a \" light to lighten the Gentiles.\" (Luke ii. 32.) Why He used this figure, and what He had in His mind in choosing it, is a point on which commentators do not agree. That he referred to something before His eyes is highly probable, and in keeping with His usual mode of teaching.\n\n(1) Some think, as Aretius, Musculus, Ecolampadius, Bullinger,and Bp. Andrews, that He referred to the sun, then rising while He spoke. What the sun was to the earth, that He came to be to mankind.\n\n(2) Some think, as Stier, Olshausen, Besser, D. Brown, and Alford, that He referred to the great golden lamps which used to be kept burning in the temple courts. He was the true light, able to enlighten men's hearts and minds. They were nothing but ornaments, or at most, emblems.\n\n(3) Some think, as Cyril and Lampe, that He referred to the pillar of cloud and fire which gave light to the Israelites, and guided them through the wilderness. He was the true guide to heaven, through the wilderness of this world.\n\nThe first of these three views seems to me most probable, and most in harmony with the context.\n\nRupertus remarks, that two grand declarations of Christ followed each other on two successive days at Jerusalem. On the last day of the feast He said, — \"If any man thirst let him come unto Me and drink.\" (John vii. 37.) The very next day He said,—\" I am the light of the world.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":232,"text":"Isai. xlii. 6","label":"Isaiah 42:6","href":"/isa/42/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":248,"text":"xlix. 6","label":"Isaiah 49:6","href":"/isa/49/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":332,"text":"Luke ii. 32","label":"Luke 2:32","href":"/luk/2/#v32","status":"detected"},{"at":1594,"text":"John vii. 37","label":"John 7:37","href":"/jhn/7/#v37","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.12.3","start":12,"end":12,"heading":"he that followeth me","excerpt":"This means \" following \" as a disciple, servant, traveller, soldier, or sheep. What the teacher is to the scholar, the master to the servant, the guide to the traveller, the general to the soldier, the shepherd to the sheep, that is Christ to true Christians. \" Following\" is the same as \" believing.\" See Matt. xvi. 24; xix. 21; John x. 27; xii. 26. Following here, we must always remember, does not mean copying and imitating, but trusting, putting faith in another.\n\nMusculus and Henry observe, that it is of no use that Christ is the light of the world if we do but follow Him. \" Following \" is the point on which all turns. It is not enough to gaze upon and admire the light. We must \" follow\" it.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":306,"text":"Matt. xvi. 24","label":"Matthew 16:24","href":"/mat/16/#v24","status":"detected"},{"at":321,"text":"xix. 21","label":"Matthew 19:21","href":"/mat/19/#v21","status":"detected"},{"at":330,"text":"John x. 27","label":"John 10:27","href":"/jhn/10/#v27","status":"detected"},{"at":342,"text":"xii. 26","label":"John 12:26","href":"/jhn/12/#v26","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.12-20.1","start":12,"end":20,"heading":"JOHN VIII. 12—20.","excerpt":"Let us notice, for one thing, in these verses, what the Lord Jesus says of Himself. He proclaims, \" I am the light of the world.\"\n\nThese words imply that the world needs light, and is naturally in a dark condition. It is so in a moral and spiritual point of view : and it has been so for nearly 6,000 years. In ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, in modern England, France, and Germany, the same report is true. The vast majority of men neither see nor understand the value of their souls, the true nature of God, nor the reality of a world to come ! Notwithstanding all the discoveries of art and science, \" darkness still covers the earth, and gross darkness the people.\" (Isai. lx. 2.)\n\nFor this state of things, the Lord Jesus Christ declares Himself to be the only remedy. He has risen, like the sun, to diffuse light, and life, and peace, and salvation, in the midst of a dark world. He invites all who want spiritual help and guidance to turn to Him, and take Him for their leader. What the sun is to the whole solar system — the centre of light, and heat, and life, and fertility — that He has come into the world to be to sinners.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":672,"text":"Isai. lx. 2","label":"Isaiah 60:2","href":"/isa/60/#v2","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.13.1","start":13,"end":13,"heading":"The Pharisees...said unto him","excerpt":"These \"Pharisees were probably some of the multitude who had come together to hear our Lord's teaching, and not those who brought the woman taken in adultery to Him. The Pharisees were a powerful and widely spread sect, and members of their body would be found in every crowd of hearers, ready to raise objections and find fault with anything our Lord said, wherever they thought there was an opportunity.\n\n[Thou barest record of thyself.] This would be more literally rendered, \" thou dost witness about thyself.\"\n\n[Thy record is not true.] This means, — \" thy testimony is not trustworthy, and deserving of attention.\" The Pharisees evidently could not mean \"thy testimony is false.\" They only meant that it was an acknowledged principle among men that a man's testimony to his own character is comparatively worthless. Our Lord Himself had admitted this on a former occasion, when he said before the council, — \" If I bear witness of myself my witness is not true.\" (John v. 31.) Solomon had said, — \"Let another praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.\" (Prov. xxvii. 2.)","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":970,"text":"John v. 31","label":"John 5:31","href":"/jhn/5/#v31","status":"detected"},{"at":1092,"text":"Prov. xxvii. 2","label":"Proverbs 27:2","href":"/pro/27/#v2","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.14.1","start":14,"end":14,"heading":"Jesus answered...Though I bear record...true","excerpt":"Our Lord meant by these words that even if He did testify of Himself, and make assertions about His own office and mission, His testimony ought not to be despised and disregarded as not trustworthy. Whether His enemies would hear it or not, what He said deserved credit, and was worthy of all acceptation. — \" The testimony that I bear is not the testimony of a common witness, but of one who is thoroughly to be depended on.\"\n\n[For I know whence I came, etc.'] Our Lord here gives a solemn and weighty reason why His testimony to Himself ought to be reverently received by the Jews, and not refused. That reason was His divine nature and mission. He came to them and stood before them not as a common prophet and an everyday witness, but as one who knew the mysterious truth that He was the Divine Messiah, that should come into the world. — \" I know whence I came : — I came forth from the Father, to be His Messenger to a lost world. I know whither I go : — I am about to return to my Father when I have finished His work, and to sit down at His right hand after my ascension. Knowing all this, I have a right to say that my testimony is trustworthy. You, on the other hand, are utterly ignorant about me. You neither know nor believe my Divine origin nor mission. Justly, therefore, I may say that it matters little whether you think my testimony deserving of credit or not. Your eyes are blinded, and your opinion is worthless.\"\n\nChrysostom observes that our Lord \" might have said, I am God. But He ever mingleth lowly words with sublime, and even these He veileth.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.14.2","start":14,"end":14,"heading":"","excerpt":"Bucer, Chemnitius, and Quesnel observe that our Lord's argument is like that of an ambassador from a king, who says, — \"I know my commission and Who sent Me, and therefore I claim attention to my message.\"\n\nWebster paraphrases the sentence : \" I speak in the full consciousness of my previous and future existence in the glory of the Father; and I therefore feel and assert my right to be believed on my own testimony. If you knew whence I came and whither I go, you would not want any other witness than myself. And this you might know if you were spiritual; but you are carnal, and judge after the flesh.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.15.1","start":15,"end":15,"heading":"Ye judge after the flesh","excerpt":"The meaning of this sentence seems to be, — \" You judge and decide everything on fleshly and worldly principles, according to the outward appearance. You estimate Me and my mission according to what you see with the eye. You presume to despise Me and set light by Me, because there is no outward grandeur and dignity about Me. Judging everything by such a false standard, you see no beauty in Me and my ministry. You have already set Me down in your own minds as an impostor, and worthy to die. Your minds are full of carnal prejudices, and hence my testimony seems worthless to you.\"\n\nCalvin thinks that \"flesh\" is here used in opposition to \" spirit,\" and that the meaning is, \" You judge on carnal wicked principles,\" and not \"You judge after the outward appearance.\" Most commentators think that the expression refers to our Lord's humble appearance.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.15.2","start":15,"end":15,"heading":"I judge no man","excerpt":"In these words onr Lord puts in strong contrast the difference between Himself and His enemies. \"Unlike you, I condemn and pass judgment on no man, even on the worst of sinners. It is not my present business and office, though it will be one day. I did not come into the world to condemn, but to save.\" (John iii. 17.) It is useless, however, to deny that the connection between the beginning and end of the verse is not clear. It seems to turn entirely on the twice- repeated word \"judge,\" and the word appears to be used in two different senses.\n\nSome have thought that our Lord refers to the case of the woman taken in adultery, and contrasts His own refusal to be a judge in her case, with the malicious readiness of the Pharisees to judge Him and condemn Him even when innocent. \"I refuse to condemn even a guilty sinner. You on the contrary are ready to condemn Me, in whom you can find no fault, on carnal and worldly principles.\"\n\nSome, as Bullinger, Jansenius, Trapp, Stier, Gill, Pearce, and Barnes have thought that the sentence before us means, — \" I judge no man according to the flesh, as you do.\" But this view does not seem to harmonize with the following verse.\n\nBishop Hall paraphrases the verse thus: \"Ye presume to judge according to your own carnal affections, and follow your outward senses in the judgment ye pass on Me. In the mean time ye will not endure Me, who do not challenge or reconcile that power which I might in judging you.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":304,"text":"John iii. 17","label":"John 3:17","href":"/jhn/3/#v17","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.16.1","start":16,"end":16,"heading":"And yet if I judge, my judgment, &c.","excerpt":"This verse seems to come in parenthetically. It appears intended to remind the Jews, that if our Lord did not assume the office of a judge now, it was not because He was not qualified. The sense is as follows : \"Do not however suppose, because I say that I judge no man, that I am not qualified to judge. On the contrary, if I do pass judgment on any person's actions or opinions, my judgment is perfectly correct and trustworthy. For I am not alone. There is an inseparable union between Me, and the Father that sent Me. When I judge, it is not I alone, but the Father with Me that judges. Hence, therefore, my judgment is and must be trustworthy.\" The reader should compare John v. 19, and 30. The doctrine is the same. That mighty truth, — the inseparable union of the Father and the Son, — is the only key that unlocks the deep expression before us. Our Lord's frequent reference to that truth, in St. John's Gospel, should be carefully noted.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":676,"text":"John v. 19","label":"John 5:19","href":"/jhn/5/#v19","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.17.1","start":17,"end":17,"heading":"It is also written, &c.","excerpt":"Our Lord, in this verse, reminds the Jews of an admitted principle of the law of Moses,— that the testimony of two witnesses deserved credit. (Deut. xvii. 6; xix. 15.) \" You will admit that the testimony of two witnesses deserves credit at any rate, although one witness alone may prove nothing. Now, admitting this, hear what testimony I can adduce to the divine character of my mission.\"\n\nLet it be noted, that where our Lord says \" in your law,\" He did not mean that He was above the law and did not recognize its authority. He only intended, by laying stress on the word \"your,\" to remind the Jews that it was their own honoured law of Moses, to which they were continually professing to refer, that laid down the great principle to which He was about to direct their attention. \"It is written in the law that you speak of so much, and that you so often quote.\"\n\nIt admits of consideration whether our Lord did not mean to use the expression \" of two men \" emphatically. It may be that He would put in strong contrast the testimony of two mere men, with the testimony of Himself and his Father in heaven. It is like the expression, \" If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater.\" (1 John v. 9.) At any rate the word rendered \" men \" is emphatic in the Greek.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":143,"text":"Deut. xvii. 6","label":"Deuteronomy 17:6","href":"/deu/17/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":158,"text":"xix. 15","label":"Deuteronomy 19:15","href":"/deu/19/#v15","status":"detected"},{"at":1205,"text":"1 John v. 9","label":"1 John 5:9","href":"/1jn/5/#v9","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.18.1","start":18,"end":18,"heading":"am one, &c.","excerpt":"The connection and sense of this verse are as follows : \" Admitting that the testimony of two witnesses is trustworthy, I bid you observe that there are two witnesses to My divine nature and mission. I myself, the Eternal Son, am one of these witnesses : I am ever testifying concerning myself. The Father that sent Me into the world is the other witness : He is ever testifying concerning Me. He has testified by the mouth of the Prophets in the Old Testament. He is testifying now by the miraculous works which He is continually doing by My hands.\" The reader should compare John v. 31 — 39.\n\nThere is undeniably something very remarkable about this verse. It seems a singular condescension on our Lord's part to use the train of argument that it contains. The true solution probably lies in the very high dignity of the two witnesses, whom He places together before the Jews. The Greek words beginning the verse are peculiar, and can hardly be rendered in English. They will almost bear to be translated, — \" I, the great I am, am the person witnessing about myself; and the Father,\" etc.\n\nChrysostom and Theophylact both remark that our Lord here claims equality of honour with the Father, by putting His testimony and the Father's side by side.\n\nPoole remarks : \" Our Saviour must not be understood here to distinguish Himself from His Father in respect of His divine being, for so He and His Father are one; but in respect of His office, as He was sent, and His Father was He who sent Him.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":577,"text":"John v. 31","label":"John 5:31","href":"/jhn/5/#v31","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.19.1","start":19,"end":19,"heading":"Then said they...Where is thy Father","excerpt":"This question of the Jews was probably not asked in a tone of serious inquiry, or from real desire to know. It was more likely sneering and sarcastic.\n\nCalvin observes, \"By these words they meant that they did not so highly value Christ's Father as to ascribe anything to the Son on His account.\"\n\nHengstenberg bids us observe that they did not ask, \"Who is thy Father? \" but \" Where is thy Father? \" It sounds as if they looked round in contempt, as if scornfully expecting an earthly father to stand forth and testify to Christ.\n\n[Jesus answered. Ye neither know me... Father.] Our Lord here tells His enemies that they were ignorant both of Himself and of His Father in heaven. With all their pride of knowledge and fancied high attainments they knew nothing rightly either of the Father or the Son. The expression certainly favours the idea that the expression \" Ye know me,\" (John vii. 28,) must be taken as a slight sarcasm.\n\nLet it be noted that great familiarity with the letter of Scripture is perfectly compatible with gross spiritual darkness. The Pharisees knew the Old Testament prophecies well; but they neither knew God nor Christ.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":881,"text":"John vii. 28","label":"John 7:28","href":"/jhn/7/#v28","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.19.2","start":19,"end":19,"heading":"if ye had known me...my Father also","excerpt":"These words teach plainly that ignorance of Christ and ignorance of God are inseparably connected. The man who thinks he knows anything rightly of God while he is ignorant of Christ is completely deceived. The God whom he thinks he knows is not the God of the Bible, but a God of his own fancy's invention. At any rate he can have a most imperfect conception of God, and can have but little idea of His perfect holiness, justice, and purity. The words teach also that Christ is the way by which we must come to the knowledge of God. In Him, through Him, and by Him, we may come boldly into the Father's presence, and behold His high attributes without fear.\n\nHe that would have saving, soul-satisfying religion, and become a friend and servant of God, must begin with Christ. Knowing Him as his Saviour and Advocate, he will find it easy and pleasant to know God the Father. Those that reject Christ, like the Jews, will live and die in ignorance of God, however learned and clever they may be. But the poorest, humblest man, that lays hold on Christ and begins with Him, shall find out enough about God to make him happy forever. In the matter of becoming acquainted with God it is the first step to know Jesus Christ, the Mediator, and to believe on Him.\n\nrht here is the same as that in the words spoken to Philip, when in reply to Philip's question, \"Lord, show us the Father,\" Jesus said, \"He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father.\" (John xiv. 8, 9.) I think this is at least doubtful. The thing that Philip needed to know was the precise relation between the Father and Son. The thing that the Jews needed was a right knowledge of God altogether.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1440,"text":"John xiv. 8, 9","label":"John 14:8–9","href":"/jhn/14/#v8","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.20.1","start":20,"end":20,"heading":"These words spake Jesus...treasury...temple","excerpt":"This sentence seems meant to mark a pause or break in the discourse, and to show also how publicly and openly our Lord proclaimed His Messiahship. It was in a well-known part of the temple called the treasury that He declared Himself to be \" the light of the world,\" and defended His testimony.\n\nCalvin thinks that \" the treasury was a part of the temple where the sacred offerings were laid up, and therefore a much frequented place.\"\n\n[No man laid hands on him.] The remark made on a former occasion applies here. (John vii. 30.) A divine restraint was laid on our Lord's enemies. They felt unable to lift a finger against Him. They had the will to hurt, but not the power.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":517,"text":"John vii. 30","label":"John 7:30","href":"/jhn/7/#v30","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.20.2","start":20,"end":20,"heading":"his hour was not yet come","excerpt":"The same deep thought that we remarked in ch. vii. 30, comes up here again. There was a certain fixed time during which our Lord's ministry was to last, and till that time was expired His enemies could not touch Him. When the time had expired, our Lord said, \"This is your hour, and the power of darkness.\" (Luke xxii. 53.)\n\nThe expression should be carefully noticed, and remembered by all true Christians. It teaches that the wicked can do no harm to Christ and His members until God gives them permission. Not a hair of a believer's head can be touched until God in His sovereign wisdom allows it. — It teaches that all times are in God's hand. There is an allotted \" hour \" both for doing and for suffering. Till the hour comes for dying no Christian will die. When the hour comes nothing can prevent his death. These are comfortable truths, and deserve attention. Christ's members are safe and immortal till their work is done. When they suffer it is because God wills it and sees it good.\n\nQuesnel remarks : \" A man enjoys the greatest peace of mind when he has once settled himself in a firm and steadfast belief of God's providence, and an absolute dependence upon His design and will.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":46,"text":"vii. 30","label":"John 7:30","href":"/jhn/7/#v30","status":"detected"},{"at":308,"text":"Luke xxii. 53","label":"Luke 22:53","href":"/luk/22/#v53","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.21.1","start":21,"end":21,"heading":"Then said Jesus again unto them","excerpt":"There seems a break or pause between this verse and the preceding one. It is as if our Lord resumed discourse with a new leading thought or key-note. The other idea, viz., that \" again \"refers to chap. vii. 34, and means that our Lord impressed on His hearers a second time that He would soon leave them, does not seem probable. — It seems not unlikely that in the first instance our Lord spoke of \" going\" to the officers of the priests and Pharisees, and that here He speaks to their masters, or at least to a different set of hearers.\n\n[I go my way.] This must mean, \" I am soon about to leave this world. 'My mission is drawing to a close. The time of My decease and sacrifice approaches, and I must depart, and go back to My Father in heaven* from whence I came. \" — The leading object of the sentence appears to be to excite in the minds of the Jews thought and inquiry about His divine nature. \" I am one who came from heaven, and am going back to heaven. Ought you not to inquire seriously who I am?\"\n\nChrysostom thinks our Lord said this, partly to shame and terrify the Jews, and partly to show them that His death would not be affected by their violence, but by His own voluntary submission.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":202,"text":"vii. 34","label":"John 7:34","href":"/jhn/7/#v34","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.21.2","start":21,"end":21,"heading":"ye shall seek me...die in...sins","excerpt":"This means that His hearers would seek Him too late, having discovered too late that He was the Messiah whom they ought to have received. But the door of mercy would then be shut. They would seek in vain, because they had not known the day of their visitation. And the result would be that many of them would die miserably \" in their sins,\" — with their sins upon them unpardoned and unforgiven.\n\n[Whither I go ye cannot come.] This must mean heaven, the everlasting abode of glory which the Son had with the Father before He came into the world, which He left for a season when He became incarnate, and to which He returned when He had finished the work of man's redemption. To this a wicked man cannot come. Unbelief shuts him out. It is impossible in the nature of things that an unforgiven, unconverted, unbelieving man can go to heaven. The words in Greek are emphatic, — \" Ye cannot come.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.21.3","start":21,"end":21,"heading":"","excerpt":"The notion of Augustine and others that \" ye shall seek Me\" only means \" ye shall seek Me in order to kill Me, as ye are wishing to do now, but at last I shall be withdrawn from your reach,\" — seems to me quite untenable. The \"seeking,\" to my mind, can only be the too late seeking of remorse. — The theory of some, that it refers exclusively to the time of the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans, seems to me equally untenable. My belief is that from the time that our Lord left the world down to this day, the expression has been peculiarly true of the Jewish nation. They have been perpetually, in a sense, \" seeking\" and hungering after a Messiah, and yet unable to find Him, because they have not sought aright. — In saying this we must carefully remember that our Lord did not mean to say that any of His hearers were too sinful and bad to be forgiven. On the contrary, not a few of them that crucified Him found mercy on the clay of Pentecost, when Peter preached. (Acts ii. 22 — 40.) But our Lord did mean to say prophetically that the Jewish, nation, as a nation, would be specially hardened and unbelieving, and that many of them, though an elect remnant might be saved, would \"die in their sins.\" In proof of this peculiar blindness and unbelief of the Jewish nation we should study Acts xxviii. 25 — 27 ; Romans xi. 7, and 1 Thess. ii. 15, 16. The Greek expression for \" sins\" in this verse confirms the view. It is not, literally rendered, \"sins,\" but \"sin,\" — your special sin of unbelief.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":971,"text":"Acts ii. 22","label":"Acts 2:22","href":"/act/2/#v22","status":"detected"},{"at":1292,"text":"Acts xxviii. 25","label":"Acts 28:25","href":"/act/28/#v25","status":"detected"},{"at":1315,"text":"Romans xi. 7","label":"Romans 11:7","href":"/rom/11/#v7","status":"detected"},{"at":1333,"text":"1 Thess. ii. 15, 16","label":"1 Thessalonians 2:15–16","href":"/1th/2/#v15","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.21-30.1","start":21,"end":30,"heading":"JOHN VIII. 21—30.","excerpt":"We learn, for one thing, that it is possible to seek Christ in vain. Our Lord says to the unbelieving Jews, \" Ye shall seek Me, and shall die in your sins.\" He meant, by these words, that the Jews would one day seek Him in vain.\n\nThe lesson before us is a very painful one. That such a Saviour as the Lord Jesus, so full of love, so willing to save, should ever be sought \" in vain,\" is a sorrowful thought. Yet so it is ! A man may have many religious feelings about Christ, without any saving religion Sickness, sudden affliction, the fear of death, the failure of usual sources of comfort — all these causes may draw out of a man a good deal of \" religiousness.\" Under the immediate pressure of these he may say his prayers fervently, exhibit a strong spiritual feelings, and profess for a season to \" seek Christ,\" and be a different man. And yet all this time his heart may never be touched at all ! Take away the peculiar circumstances that affected him, and he may possibly return at once to his old ways. He sought Christ \" in vain,\" because he sought Him from false motives, and not with his whole heart.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.22.1","start":22,"end":22,"heading":"Then said the Jews, &c.","excerpt":"It is plain that this last saying of our Lord perplexed His enemies. It evidently implied something which they did not understand. In the preceding chapter (vii. 34) they began speculating whether it meant that our Lord was going forth into the world to teach the Gentiles. Here they start another conjecture, and begin to suspect that our Lord must mean His going into another world by death. But by what death did He think of going? Did He mean to \"kill Himself?\" It seems strange that they should start such an idea. But may it not be that their minds were occupied with their own plan of putting Him to death? \" Will He really anticipate our plan, by committing suicide, and thus escape our hands?\"\n\nOrigen suggests that the Jews had a tradition about the manner in which Messiah would die: viz., \"that He would have power to depart at His own time, and in a way of His own choosing.\"\n\nRupertus observes that afterwards, at the siege of Jerusalem by Titus, many of the desperate Jews did the very thing they here said of our Lord — they killed themselves in madness of despair.\n\nMelancthon remarks that nothing seems to anger wicked men so much as to be told they cannot come where Christ is.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.23.1","start":23,"end":23,"heading":"And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath, &c.","excerpt":"Our Lord's argument in this case appears to be as follows : \"\"There is no union, harmony, or fellowship between you and Me. Your minds are entirely absorbed find buried in earth and objects of a mere earthly kind. You are from beneath, and of this world ; while I came from heaven, and My heart is full of the things of heaven and My Father's business. No wonder, therefore, that I said you cannot come where I go, and will die in your sins. Unless your hearts are changed, and you learn to be of one mind with Me, you are totally unmeet for heaven, and must at last die in your sins.\"\n\nThe expressions \"from beneath\" and \"from above\" are strong figurative phrases, intended to put in contrast earth and heaven. (See Col. iii. 1, 2.) The Greek phrases literally rendered would be, — \" Ye are from the things beneath : I am from the things above.\n\nThe expression \" of this world \" means bound up with, and inseparably connected by, tastes, aims, and affections, with this world, and nothing else but this world. It is the character of one utterly dead and graceless, who looks at nothing but the world, and lives for it. It is a character utterly at variance with that of our Lord, who was eminently \" not of this world;\" and therefore those who were of this character were incapable of union and friendship with Him.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":717,"text":"Col. iii. 1, 2","label":"Colossians 3:1–2","href":"/col/3/#v1","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.23.2","start":23,"end":23,"heading":"","excerpt":"Let it be noted that what our Lord says of Himself here is the very same thing that is said of His true disciples elsewhere. If a man has grace he is \" not of this world.\" (See John xv. 19; xvii. 16; and 1 John iv 5.) Christ's living members always have more or less of their Master's likeness in this respect. They are always more or less separated from and distinct from this world. He that is thoroughly worldly has the plainest mark of not being a member of Christ and a true Christian.\n\nTheophylact observes that the strange notion of the Apollinarian heretics, that our Lord's body was not a real human body, but came down from heaven, was built on this verse for one of its reasons. But, as he remarks, they might as well say the Apostles had not common human bodies, since the same thing is said of them — \" not of this world.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":177,"text":"John xv. 19","label":"John 15:19","href":"/jhn/15/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":190,"text":"xvii. 16","label":"John 17:16","href":"/jhn/17/#v16","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.24.1","start":24,"end":24,"heading":"I said therefore, &c.","excerpt":"This verse seems elliptical, and must be filled up in some such manner as this: \" It is because you are thoroughly earthly and of this world, that I said, Ye cannot come where I go. You are not heavenly minded, and cannot go to heaven, but must go to your own place. The end will be that you will die in your sins. Not believing in Me as the Messiah, you cut yourselves off from all hope, and must die in your sins. This, in short, is the root of all your misery — your unbelief.\"\n\nLet it be noted that unbelief is the thing that specially ruins men. All manner of sin may be forgiven. But unbelief bars the door against mercy. (Mark xvi. 26, and John iii. 36.)\n\nLet it be noted that unbelief was the secret of the Jews being so thoroughly \" of the world.\" If they would only have believed in Christ, they would have been \" delivered from this present evil world.\" The victory that overcomes the world is faith. Once believing on a heavenly Saviour a man has a portion and a heart in heaven. (Gal. i. 4 ; 1 John v. 4, 5.)\n\nLet it be noted that there is nothing hard or uncharitable in warning men plainly of the consequences of unbelief. Never to speak of hell is not acting as Christ did.\n\nThe expression \"believe not that I am He\" would be more literally rendered \" believe not that I am.\" Hence some think that our Lord refers to the great name, well known to the Jews, under which God revealed Himself to Israel in Egypt, — \" Say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent you.\" (Ex. iii. 14.)","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":629,"text":"Mark xvi. 26","label":"Mark 16:26","href":"/mrk/16/#v26","status":"detected"},{"at":647,"text":"John iii. 36","label":"John 3:36","href":"/jhn/3/#v36","status":"detected"},{"at":993,"text":"Gal. i. 4","label":"Galatians 1:4","href":"/gal/1/#v4","status":"detected"},{"at":1005,"text":"1 John v. 4, 5","label":"1 John 5:4–5","href":"/1jn/5/#v4","status":"detected"},{"at":1485,"text":"Ex. iii. 14","label":"Exodus 3:14","href":"/exo/3/#v14","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.24.2","start":24,"end":24,"heading":"","excerpt":"Augustine remarks that \"the whole unhappiness of the Jews was not that they had sin, but to die in sins.\" He also observes : \"In these words, Except ye believe that I am, Jesus meant nothing short of this, Except ye believe that I am God, ye shall die in your sins. It is well for us, thank God, that He said except ye believe, and not except ye understand.\"\n\nQuesnel remarks: \"It is a mistaken prudence to hide these dreadful truths from sinners, for fear of casting them into despair by the force of God's judgments. We ought, on the contrary, to force them, by the sight of danger, to throw themselves into the arms of Christ, the only refuge for sinners.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.25.1","start":25,"end":25,"heading":"And Jesus saith...Even the same...beginning","excerpt":"Our Lord's reply here seems so guarded and cautious, that it increases the probability of the Jews' question being put with a malicious intention. He knew their thoughts and designs, and answered them by reminding them what He had always said of Himself: \" Why ask Me who I am? You know well what I have always said of Myself. I am the same that I said to you from the beginning. I have nothing new to say.\"\n\nScott thinks it simply means, \" I am the same that I told you at the beginning of this discourse, — the Light of the World.\"\n\nThere is an undeniable difficulty and obscurity about the sentence before us, and it has consequently received three different interpretations. The difficulty arises chiefly from the word \" beginning.\"\n\n(a) Some think, as our own English version, Chrysostom, Calvin, Bucer, Gualter, Cartwright, Rollock, and Lightfoot, that \"beginning\" means the beginning of our Lord's ministry. \" I am the same person that I told you I was from the very first beginning of My ministry among you.\" This view is confirmed by the Septuagint rendering of Gen. xliii. 18, 20.\n\n(b) Some think, as Theophylact, Melancthon, Aretius, and Musculus, that \"beginning\" is an adverb, and means simply, \" as an opening or beginning statement.\" \" First of all, as a commencement of My reply, I tell you that I am what I always said I was.\"\n\n(c) Some think, as Augustine, Rupertus, Toletus, Ferus, Jansenius, Lampe, and Wordsworth, that \" beginning \" is a substantive, and means the Beginning of all things, the personal Beginning, like \" I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.\" (Rev. i. 8; xxi. 6; xxii. 13.) It would then mean, \" I am the great beginning of all things, the eternal God, as I always said.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1071,"text":"Gen. xliii. 18, 20","label":"Genesis 43:18","href":"/gen/43/#v18","status":"detected"},{"at":1071,"text":"Gen. xliii. 18, 20","label":"Genesis 43:20","href":"/gen/43/#v20","status":"detected"},{"at":1601,"text":"Rev. i. 8","label":"Revelation 1:8","href":"/rev/1/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":1612,"text":"xxi. 6","label":"Revelation 21:6","href":"/rev/21/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":1620,"text":"xxii. 13","label":"Revelation 22:13","href":"/rev/22/#v13","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.25.2","start":25,"end":25,"heading":"","excerpt":"The reader must exercise his own judgment on these three views. The extreme brevity and conciseness of the Greek words make it very hard to give a decided opinion upon them. On the whole, I prefer the view taken by our translators. In three other places in St. John's Gospel our Lord speaks of His early ministry as \"the beginning.\" (John vi. 64; xv. 27; xvi. 4.) In no place in St. John's Gospel does He ever call Himself \"the beginning.\" As to the second view, that it only means, \"First of all, as an opening statement,\" it seems to me so meagre, flat and bald, that I cannot think it is correct.\n\nRollock, who takes the view of our English version, observes what a bright example onr Lord here sets to all Christians, and especially to ministers, of always telling the same story, and witnessing one and the same confession without variation.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":334,"text":"John vi. 64","label":"John 6:64","href":"/jhn/6/#v64","status":"detected"},{"at":347,"text":"xv. 27","label":"John 15:27","href":"/jhn/15/#v27","status":"detected"},{"at":355,"text":"xvi. 4","label":"John 16:4","href":"/jhn/16/#v4","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.26.1","start":26,"end":26,"heading":"I have many things, &c.","excerpt":"This verse again is very elliptical. This meaning seems to be as follows: \"You marvel and are angry at My saying that you are from beneath, and will die in your sin, and cannot come where I go. You ask who I am that speak and judge in this manner. But I tell you that I have many other things that I might say, and other judgments that I might pronounce about you. But I forbear now. Yet I tell you that He who sent Me is the one true God ; and I only speak to the world things which I have heard of Him, and am commissioned by Him to proclaim. He that sent Me will prove them to be true one day.\"\n\nThe general idea seems to be that our Lord defends His right to speak decidedly and pronounce judgment on His enemies' conduct on the ground of His divine mission. \" I have a right to say what I have said ; and I might say much more, because I am not a common prophet, but am commissioned and sent as the Word of the Father.\"\n\nThe frequency with which our Lord speaks of Himself as \" sent by the Father,\" in St. John's Gospel, should be carefully noticed.\n\nWhen our Lord speaks of Himself as \" hearing\" things from the Father, we must remember that His language is accommodated to our understanding. The relation between the Father and the Son in the Trinity is something too mysterious for us fully to comprehend. The Son does not really and literally need the Father to \" speak \" to Him, and does not himself need to \"hear\" Him. The first and second Persons in the Trinity are ineffably united, though two distinct Persons.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.26.2","start":26,"end":26,"heading":"","excerpt":"Lightfoot thinks the latter part of this verse means: \"He that sent Me hath of old said and judged of you, and He is true, and they are true things that He said. Of this kind are the passages Isaiah xi. 10, and xxix. 10, and from such predictions Christ concludes thus — \" ye shall die in your sins.\"'","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":192,"text":"Isaiah xi. 10","label":"Isaiah 11:10","href":"/isa/11/#v10","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.27.1","start":27,"end":27,"heading":"They understood not, &c.","excerpt":"Why the Jews who heard these words did not comprehend that our Lord spoke of the \" Father\" is not clear. They must have thought that \" He that sent Me \" meant some earthly sender. The extent to which our Lord's hearers sometimes understood Him, as in John v. 18, and sometimes did not understand Him, as here, is a curious subject.\n\nAlford observes : \" There is no accounting for the ignorance of unbelief; as any minister of Christ knows by painful experience.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":251,"text":"John v. 18","label":"John 5:18","href":"/jhn/5/#v18","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.28.1","start":28,"end":28,"heading":"Then said Jesus, &c.","excerpt":"This verse is phrophetical. Our Lord predicts that after His crucifixion the Jews would know that He was the Messiah, that He had done all he had done not of His own private authority, but by God's commission, and that He had spoken to the world only such things as the Father had taught and appointed Him to speak. But whether our Lord meant that His hearers would really believe with the heart and really confess His Messiahship, or that they would know it too late and be convinced when the day of grace was past and gone, is a nice and difficult question.\n\nMy own opinion, judging from the context and the analogy of other places, is in favour of the latter view: viz., that our Lord predicted the Jewish nation would know the truth and discover their own mistake too late. I think so because our Lord seems so frequently to allude to the light which would come on the minds of the Jewish nation at large after His death. They would be convinced, though not converted.\n\nChrysostom thinks that our Lord meant, \" Do you expect that you shall certainly rid yourselves of Me, and slay Me ? I toll you that then ye shall most surely know that I am, by reason of the miracle of my resurrection, and the destruction of Jerusalem. When ye have been driven away from your place of worship, and it is not even allowed you to serve God as hitherto, then ye shall know that He doth this to avenge Me, and because He is wroth with those who would not hear Me.\"\n\nAugustine takes the other side, and says: \"Without doubt Jesus saw there some whom He knew, whom in His foreknowledge lie had elected together with His other saints before the foundation of the world, that after His passion they should believe.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.28.2","start":28,"end":28,"heading":"","excerpt":"Euthymius, agreeing with Chrysostom, remarks how the crowds that saw our Lord crucified, and returned home smiting their breasts, — the centurion who superintended His crucifixion,— the chief priests who tried in vain to stifle the report of His resurrection, — and Josephus the historian, who attributed the misfortunes of the nation to their murder of Christ, — were all witnesses to the truth of this verse. When too late they knew who our Lord was.\n\nAlford thinks that the words admit of a double fulfilment, and that the Jews were to \" know \" that Jesus was the Christ, in two different ways. Some would know by being converted, some by being punished and judged.\n\nThe expression \" lifted up,\" both here and elsewhere in St. John's Gospel, can mean nothing but our Lord's crucifixion and lifting up on the cross. (John iii. 14, and xii. 32.) It is never used in any other sense, and the modern habit of talking of Christ as \" lifted up,\" when magnified and exalted in the pulpit, is a total misapprehension, and a play upon words.\n\nRollock and others think that the phrase \"lifted up\" may fairly include all the consequences and effects of our Lord's crucifixion, such as His second advent to judge the world, and that this will be the time when the unbelieving will at last know and be convinced that Christ is Lord of all. But the idea seems far-fetched.\n\nThe expression \" then ye shall know\" may possibly refer both to our Lord's resurrection as well as his crucifixion. Certainly the rising again from the dead silenced our Lord's enemies in a way that nothing else ever did.\n\nThe expression \"that I am he,\" here as elsewhere, might be equally well rendered \" that I am ; \" that I am the great \" I AM,\" the Messiah.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":819,"text":"John iii. 14","label":"John 3:14","href":"/jhn/3/#v14","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.28.3","start":28,"end":28,"heading":"","excerpt":"The phrase \" that I do nothing of myself\" is the same that we have had frequently before, as in John v. 19, 30. It means \"that I do nothing of My own independent authority.\" The reference is to the perfect union between the Son and the Father.\n\nThe expression, \" as my Father hath taught Me I speak these things,\" again bears special reference to the divine commission of our Lord and the perfect union between Himself and His Father. \" I do not speak the things I speak of Myself and by My own authority only. I speak nothing but what My Father has taught, commissioned, and appointed Me to speak.\" Compare 7th, 16th, and 26th verses of this chapter.\n\nAugustine says here : \" Do not as it were represent to yourselves two men, the one father, the other son, and the father speaking to the son, as thou doest when thou sayest certain words to thy son advising and instructing him how to speak, that whatever he has heard from thee he may commit to memory, and having committed to memory utter also with the tongue. Do not so conceive. Stature and motion of the body, the office of the tongue, distinction of sounds, do not go about to conceive them in the Trinity.\" Again : \" incorporeally the Father spake to the Son, because incorporeally the Father begat the Son. And He taught Him not, as if He had begotten Him ignorant and in need of teaching; but this ' taught' is the same as begat Him knowing.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":96,"text":"John v. 19, 30","label":"John 5:19","href":"/jhn/5/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":96,"text":"John v. 19, 30","label":"John 5:30","href":"/jhn/5/#v30","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.29.1","start":29,"end":29,"heading":"And he that sent me, &c.","excerpt":"This verse contains once more that deep and oft-repeated truth, the entire unity between God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the consequent entire and complete harmony between the mind of the Father and the mind of the Son. It contains moreover that entire and complete performance of the Father's will by the Son, and that perfect righteousness, obedience, and holiness, wherewith the Father is well-pleased.\n\nWhen we read such words as \"he that sent Me is with Me,\" and \" hath not left Me alone,\" we must remember that there is much in them which we cannot fully explain. We must be content to believe that the Father was \" with \" the Son, and never \"left\" Him during the whole period of His incarnation, in an ineffable and inscrutable manner. Perhaps also there is a reference to Isai. 1. 7, 8, 9.\n\nAugustine remarks: \"Albeit both are together, yet one was sent, and the other did send. The Father sent the Son, yet quitted not the Son.\"\n\nWhen we read such words as \" I do always those things that please Him,\" we must see in the expression a description of that spotless perfection with which the Son during His incarnation constantly pleased the eternal Father.\n\nLet Christians never forget the practical lesson that in this verse, as in many other places, Christ is their example and their encouragement. Like Him, however short they may come, let them aim at \" always doing what pleases God.\" Like Him, let them be sure that so doing they will find the Father \" with them,\" and will never be left quite \" alone.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":795,"text":"Isai. 1. 7, 8, 9","label":"Isaiah 1:7–9","href":"/isa/1/#v7","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.29.2","start":29,"end":29,"heading":"","excerpt":"Calvin remarks : \" This is the courage with which we ought to be animated in the present clay, that we may not give way on account of the small number of believers: for though the whole world be opposed to His doctrine, still we are not alone. Hence it is evident how foolish is the boasting of the Papists, who, while they neglect God, proudly boast of their vast numbers.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.30.1","start":30,"end":30,"heading":"As he spake these words, many believed on him","excerpt":"There can be little doubt that \" these words \" in this place, refer to the whole discourse which was delivered at this time, and not to the [single verse which immediately precedes this one. It is possible that the reference to Isai. 1-. 7, 8, 9, may have brought light to the Jews' minds, and explained our Lord's relation to the Father, and His claim to be received as the Messiah.— Otherwise it is not very clear what it was that made \" many believe\" on Him at this juncture. There is, however, no reason to think that the \" belief \" here was anything more than a head belief that our Lord was the Messiah. That many did so believe whose hearts remained unchanged, there can be little doubt. The same expression occurs at x. 42, and xi. 45, and xii. 42. The extent to which men may be intellectually convinced of the truth of religion, and know their duty, while their hearts are unrenewed, and they continue in sin, is one of the most painful phenomena in the history of human nature. Let us never be content with believing things to be true, without a personal laying hold on the living Person, Christ Jesus, and actually following Him.\n\nChrysostom observes : \" They believed, yet not as they ought, but carelessly and by chance, being pleased and refreshed by the humility of the words. For that they had not perfect faith, the Evangelist shows by their speeches after this, in which they insult him again.\" Theophylact, Zwingle, and Calvin take the same view.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.31.1","start":31,"end":31,"heading":"Then said...Jews...believed...him","excerpt":"It is clear, I think, from the tone of the conversation that runs from this verse uninterruptedly to the end of the chapter, that this \"believing \" was not faith of the heart. These Jews only \" believed \" that our Lord was One sent from heaven, and deserved attention. But they were the same Jews to whom He says by and by, \"Ye are of your father the devil.\"\n\n[If ye continue... my word. ..disciples indeed.] This sentence does not mean that these Jews had really begun to receive Christ's word into their hearts. Such a sense would be contradictory to the context. It must mean : \" If you take up a firm stand on that Gospel and Word of Truth which I have come to proclaim, and go on sticking firmly to it in your hearts and lives, not merely convinced and wishing, but actually following Me, then you are truly My disciples.\"— The word rendered \" indeed \" is more literally, \"truly.\" The converse throws light on our Lord's meaning: \"You are not truly disciples, unless you continue steadfast in My doctrine.\"\n\nOur Lord teaches the great principle, that steady continuance is the only real and safe proof of discipleship. No perseverance, no grace ! No continuance in the word, no real faith and conversion ! This is one of the meeting-points between Calvinist and Arminian. He that has true grace will not fall away. He that falls away has no true grace, and must not flatter himself he is a disciple.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.31.2","start":31,"end":31,"heading":"","excerpt":"Let us note, that it is not the \"word continuing in us,\" but \" our continuing in the word,\" which makes us true disciples. The distinction is very important. The word \" might continue in us,\" and not be seen. If we \" continue in the word,\" our lives will show it. In John xv. 7, we have both expressions together: \" If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":267,"text":"John xv. 7","label":"John 15:7","href":"/jhn/15/#v7","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.31-36.1","start":31,"end":36,"heading":"JOHN VIII. 31—36.","excerpt":"These verses show us, for one thing, the importance of steady perseverance in Christ's service. There were many, it seems, at this particular period, who professed to believe on our Lord, and expressed a desire to become His disciples. There is nothing to show that they had true faith. They appear to have acted under the influence of temporary excitement, without considering what they were doing. And to them our Lord addresses this instructive warning, — \" If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed.\"\n\nThis sentence contains a mine of wisdom. To make a beginning in religious life is comparatively easy. Not a few mixed motives assist us. The love of novelty, the praise of well-meaning but indiscreet professors, the secret self-satisfaction of feeling \" how good I am/' the universal excitement attending a new position, — all these things combine to aid the young beginner. Aided by them he begins to run the race that leads to heaven, lays aside many bad habits, takes up many good ones, has many comfortable frames and feelings, and gets on swimmingly for a time. But. when the newness of his position is past and gone, when the freshness of his feelings is rubbed off and lost, when the world and the devil begin to pull hard at him, when the weakness of his own heart begins to appear, — then it is that he finds out the real difficulties of vital Christianity. Then it is that he discovers the deep wisdom of our Lord's saying now before us. It is not beginning, but \" continuing \" a religious profession, that is the test of true grace.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.32.1","start":32,"end":32,"heading":"And ye shall know the truth","excerpt":"The expression, \" the truth.\" here cannot, I think, mean the Personal Truth, the Messiah. It must be the whole doctrinal truth concerning Myself, My nature, My mission, and My Gospel. Steady continuance in My service shall lead to clear knowledge. It is a parallel saying to the sentence, \"If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine.\" (vii. 17.) Honest obedience and steady perseverance in acting up to our light, and doing what we learn, are one grand secret of obtaining more knowledge.\n\nChrysostom however thinks that our Lord means by \" truth,\" Himself. \" Ye shall know Me, for I am the truth.\" So also Augustine, Theophylact, Euthymius, and Lampe.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.32.2","start":32,"end":32,"heading":"the truth shall make you free","excerpt":"This freedom can only mean spiritual freedom, — freedom from the guilt, burden, and dominion of sin, — freedom from the heavy yoke of Pharisaism, under which many Jews were labouring and heavy laden. (Matt. xi. 28.) \" The Gospel I preach, and its good news, shall deliver you from spiritual bondage, and make you feel like men set at liberty.\"\n\nI think these words must have been spoken with special reference to the bondage and spiritual slavery in which the Jews were kept by their principal teachers, when our Lord came among them.' In the synagogue at Nazareth He had said, that He came \" to preach deliverance to the captives.\" (Luke iv. 18.) This, however, is the first place in the Gospels where He openly declares that His Gospel will give men freedom.\n\nUntil truth comes into a man's heart, he never really knows what it is to feel true spiritual liberty.\n\nAugustine says, \" To Christ let us all flee. Against sin let us call on God to interpose as our Liberator. Let us ask to be taken on sale, that we may be redeemed by His blood.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":201,"text":"Matt. xi. 28","label":"Matthew 11:28","href":"/mat/11/#v28","status":"detected"},{"at":634,"text":"Luke iv. 18","label":"Luke 4:18","href":"/luk/4/#v18","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.33.1","start":33,"end":33,"heading":"They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed","excerpt":"Here we see the usual pride of carnal descent coming out in the Jewish mind. It is just what John the Baptist told them when he preached, \"Think not to say that we have Abraham to our father.\" (Matt. iii. 19.)\n\n[And to ere never in bondage to any man.] This is the blindness of pride in its strongest form. The seed of Abraham were in bondage to the Egyptians and Babylonians for many years, to say nothing of the frequent bondages to Philistines, and other nations, as recorded in the book of Judges. Even now, while they spoke, they were in subjection to the Romans. The power of self-deception in unconverted man is infinite. These Jews were not more unreasonable than many now-a-days, who say, \" We are not dead in sin, — we have grace, we have faith, we are regenerate, we have the Spirit,\" while their lives show plainly that they are totally mistaken.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":194,"text":"Matt. iii. 19","label":"Matthew 3:19","href":"/mat/3/#v19","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.33.2","start":33,"end":33,"heading":"how sayest thou...made free","excerpt":"This question was partly asked in anger and resentment, and partly in curiosity. Angry as the Jews were at the idea of being subject to any one, they yet caught at the expression \"be made free.\" It made them think of the glorious kingdom of Messiah foretold in the Prophets. — ■ \" Art Thou going to restore the kingdom to Israel? Art Thou going to set us free from the Romans? \"\n\nWe should observe here, as elsewhere, the readiness of our Lord's hearers to put a carnal sense on spiritual language. Nicodemus misunderstanding the new birth, the Samaritan woman and the living waters, the Capernaites and the bread from heaven, are all illustrations of what I mean. (See John iii. 4; iv. 11; vi. 34.)\n\nPearce thinks the Jews here spoke of themselves individually, and not of the Jewish nation. Yet surely, even when they spoke, they were subject to the Romans.\n\nHenry observes : \" Carnal hearts are sensible of no other grievances than those that molest the body and injure their secular affairs. Talk to them of encroachments on their civil liberty and property, — tell of waste committed on their lands, or damage done -to their houses, and they understand you very well, and can give you a sensible answer : the thing touches and affects them. But discourse to them of the bondage of sin, or captivity to Satan, and a liberty by Christ, — tell them of wrong done to their souls, and you bring strange things to them.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":670,"text":"John iii. 4","label":"John 3:4","href":"/jhn/3/#v4","status":"detected"},{"at":683,"text":"iv. 11","label":"John 4:11","href":"/jhn/4/#v11","status":"detected"},{"at":691,"text":"vi. 34","label":"John 6:34","href":"/jhn/6/#v34","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.34.1","start":34,"end":34,"heading":"Jesus answered, &c.","excerpt":"In this verse our Lord shows His hearers what kind of freedom He had meant, by showing the kind of slavery from which He wished them to be delivered. Did they ask in what sense He meant they should be made free? Let them know, first of all, that in their present state of mind, wicked, worldly, and unbelieving, they were in a state of bondage. Living in habitual sin they were the \"servants of sin.\" This was a general proposition which they themselves must admit. The man that lived wilfully in habits of sin was acknowledged by all to be the slave of sin. Sin ruled over him, and he was its servant. This was an axiom in religion which they could not dispute, for even heathen philosophers admitted it. (See Rom vi. 16—20; 2 Pet. ii. 19.)\n\n\" Committeth,\" we must remember here, does not mean \" commits an act of sin,\" but habitually lives in the commission of sin. It is in this sense that St. John says, \" He that committeth sin is of the devil,\" and \" He that is born of God doth not commit sin.\" (1 John iii. 8, 9.)","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":711,"text":"Rom vi. 16","label":"Romans 6:16","href":"/rom/6/#v16","status":"detected"},{"at":726,"text":"2 Pet. ii. 19","label":"2 Peter 2:19","href":"/2pe/2/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":1003,"text":"1 John iii. 8, 9","label":"1 John 3:8–9","href":"/1jn/3/#v8","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.35.1","start":35,"end":35,"heading":"And the servant abideth not, &c.","excerpt":"This is a difficult, because a very elliptical verse. The leading object in our Lord's mind seems to be to show the Jews the servile and slavish condition in which they were, so long as they rejected Him, the true Messiah, and the free and elevated position which they would occupy if they would believe in Him and become His disciples. — \" At present, living under the bondage of the ceremonial law, and content with it and Pharisaic traditions, you are no better than slaves and servants, liable, like Hagar and Ishmael, to be cast out of God's favour and presence at any moment. — Receiving Me and believing on Me as the Messiah, you would at once be lifted to the position of sons, and would abide forever in God's favour, as adopted children and dear sons and daughters. — You know yourselves that the servant has no certain tenure in the house, and may be cast out at any time; while the Son is heir to the Father, and has a certain tenure in the house forever.—Know that I wish you to be raised from the relation of servants to that of sons. Now, under the bondage you are in, you are like slaves. Receiving Me and My Gospel you would become children and free.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.35.2","start":35,"end":35,"heading":"","excerpt":"Something like this seems the leading idea in our Lord's mind. But it is vain to deny that it is a dark and difficult sentence, and requires much filling up and paraphrasing to complete its meaning. The simplest plan is to take it as a parenthesis. It then becomes a comment on the word \" servant,\" which to a Jew, familiar with the story of Hagar and Ishmael, would be very instructive, and would convey the latent thought that our Lord wished them to be not servants but sons. I cannot for a moment think that \" the Son\" in the last clause means the Son of God, or that the whole clause was meant to teach His eternity.\n\nIt is certainly possible that a deep mystical sense may lie under the words \" servant \" and \" son \" in this verse. \" Servant\" may mean the Jew, content with the inferior and servile religion of Moses. \" Son \" may mean the believer in Christ, who receives the adoption and enjoys Gospel liberty. He that is content with Judaism will find his system and religion soon pass away. He that enters into Christ's service will find himself a son forever. But this is at best only conjectural, and a somewhat questionable interpretation.\n\nOne thing, at any rate, is very clear to my mind. The latent thought in our Lord's mind is a reference to the story of Hagar and her son Ishmael being cast out as bond-servants, while Isaac the son and heir abode in the house. He wished to impress on His hearer's minds, that he desired them, like Isaac, to have the privilege of sons forever, and to be free to all eternity. Keeping this thought in view, and regarding the verse as a parenthesis, its difficulties are not insuperable.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.35.3","start":35,"end":35,"heading":"","excerpt":"Chrysostom says : \" ' Abideth not' means ' hath not power to grant favours, as not being master of the house; ' but the Son is master of the house.\" The Jewish priests were the servants, and Christ was the Son. The priests had no power to set free;\n\nthe Son of God had. Theophylact and Euthymius take the same view.\n\nMaldonatus calls attention to the expression in Hebrews, where Moses and Christ are put in contrast, and each in connection with the word \" house,\" Moses as a servant, Christ as a Son. St. Paul certainly seems there to refer to this passage. (Heb. iii. 2, 5, 6.)","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":560,"text":"Heb. iii. 2, 5, 6","label":"Hebrews 3:2","href":"/heb/3/#v2","status":"detected"},{"at":560,"text":"Heb. iii. 2, 5, 6","label":"Hebrews 3:5–6","href":"/heb/3/#v5","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.36.1","start":36,"end":36,"heading":"If the Son therefore shall make you free, &c.","excerpt":"In this verse our Lord explains what He had meant by freedom. It was a freedom from sin, its guilt, and power, and consequences, which believers in Him were to receive. \" If I, the Son of man, make you free, in the sense of delivering you from the burden of sin, then you will be free indeed ! \" This was the freedom that He wished them to obtain. Here, as elsewhere, our Lord carefully avoids saying anything to bring on Himself the charge of rebelling against constituted authorities, and of heading a popular rise for liberty.\n\nThe word rendered \" indeed \" here is not the word so rendered at the 31st verse. Here it means \" really, in reality,\" from the participle of the verb \"to be.\" There it means \" truly.\"\n\nLet us not forget in these days that the only liberty which is truly valuable in God's sight is that which Christ gives. All political liberty, however useful for many purposes, is worthless, unless we are children of God, and heirs of the kingdom, by faith in Jesus. He only is perfectly free who is free from sin. All beside are slaves. He that would be free in this fashion has only to apply to Christ for freedom. It is the peculiar office and privilege of the Lord Jesus, to enfranchise forever all who come to Him.\n\nAugustine carries the freedom here promised far into the future. He remarks, \" When shall there be full and perfect liberty? When there shall be no enemies, when the last enemy shall be destroyed, even death.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.37.1","start":37,"end":37,"heading":"I know that ye are Abraham’s seed","excerpt":"In this verse our Lord takes up the arrogant boast of the Jews, that they were Abraham's seed. He had replied to their assertion, \" We were never in bondage to any man,\" by showing the nature of true bondage and true liberty. He now returns to their opening saying, \" We be Abraham's seed,' and begins by telling them that He knew, and fully admitted, their carnal descent from Abraham.\n\n[But ye seek to kill me.] This must mean, \"Your relation to Abraham does you no good, for ye are seeking to murder Me at this very moment, though I have come to fulfil the promises made to Abraham.\"\n\nHere, as well as at the 40th verse, and chapter vii. 19, our Lord shows His perfect knowledge of all the designs of His enemies. He gives us an example of steady perseverance in God's work, even though we know our lives are in peril.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.37.2","start":37,"end":37,"heading":"because my word hath no place in you","excerpt":"This means, \"Because the Gospel I preach, the message I brought from my Father, makes no way or progress in your hearts, or among you.\" — The Greek word, which our translators have rendered \"hath place,\" is never so rendered elsewhere. The idea here seems to be that of \" going forward, spreading, and marching on.\"\n\nThis describes literally the condition of many who hear Christ's word in every age. It seems to come to a dead standstill or halt in their hearts, and to make no way with them.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.37-47.1","start":37,"end":47,"heading":"JOHN VIII. 37—47.","excerpt":"We are taught for one thing the ignorant self-righteousness of the natural man. We find the Jews pluming themselves on their natural descent from Abraham, as if that must needs cover all deficiencies : \" Abraham is our father.\" We find them going even further than this, and claiming to be God's special favourites and God's own family : \" We have one Father, even God.\" They forgot that fleshly relationship to Abraham was useless, unless they shared Abraham's grace. They forgot that God's choice of their father to be head of a favoured nation was never meant to carry salvation to the children, unless they walked in their father's footsteps. All this in their blind self-conceit they refused to see. \" We are Jews. We are God's children. We are the true Church. We are in the covenant. We must be all right.\" This was their whole argument !\n\nStrange as it may seem, there are multitudes of so-called Christians who are exactly like these Jews. Their whole religion consist of a few notions neither wiser nor better than those propounded by the enemies of our Lord. They will tell you \" that they are regular Church people ; they have been baptized ; they go to the Lord's table ;\" — but they can tell you no more. Of all the essential doctrines of the Gospel they are totally ignorant. Of faith, and grace, and repentance, and holiness, and spiritual mindedness they know nothing at all. But, forsooth ! they are Churchmen, and so they hope to go to heaven ! There are myriads in this condition. It sounds sad, but unhappily it is only too true.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.38.1","start":38,"end":38,"heading":"I speak that, &c.","excerpt":"The sense of this verse appears to be filled up thus: \"The truth is, that there is an entire gulf and breach between you and Me. I speak, and am ever speaking, the doctrine which I have seen with My Father, in our eternal councils about mankind, and which I am sent by Him to proclaim to the world. You, on the other hand, do and are always doing the things which your father the devil presents to your minds, and which you have seen and imbibed into your characters, under his influence.\"\n\nWhen our Lord speaks of what He has \"seen\" with His Father, we must remember, as elsewhere, that He uses language accommodated to our weak capacities, to describe the relation between Himself and the first Person in the Trinity. Compare John iii. 32 and v. 19.\n\nThere can be no doubt that the \"father\" of the Jews, to whom our Lord here refers, is \" the devil,\" when we read the verses following. It conveys an awful idea of the state of unbelieving and wicked men, that they are doing what they have seen and learned from the devil. There may, however, be special reference to the design of the Jews to kill Christ. Our Lord's meaning may be, \"Ye are doing what ye have seen with the devil your father. He has suggested to you to kill Me, and you are listening to his suggestion.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":728,"text":"John iii. 32","label":"John 3:32","href":"/jhn/3/#v32","status":"detected"},{"at":745,"text":"v. 19","label":"John 8:19","href":"/jhn/8/#v19","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.39.1","start":39,"end":39,"heading":"They answered...Abraham is our father","excerpt":"This is a repetition of what the Jews had already said. Startled at what our Lord said about their \" father,\" they reassert emphatically their relationship to Abraham.— \"What do you mean by thus speaking of our father ? Abraham is our father.\"\n\n[Jesus saith...if Abraham's children... works of Abraham.] Our Lord here tells them that it is possible to be Abraham's children according to the flesh, and yet not Abraham's children according to the Spirit. — \"If ye were true spiritual descendants of Abraham, you would show it by doing such things as Abraham did. Your works would be like his, because springing from a like faith.\"\n\nThe distinction here drawn by our Lord is a very important one for Christians to notice. The utter uselessness of carnal relationship, or formal outward succession, is a truth which man does not like to admit, but one that needs to be constantly taught in the Churches. How common to hear men say, \" we belong to the one true Church; we are in the direct succession from the Apostles.\" Such claims are utterly useless, if not accompanied by \" works.\"\n\nWe must never forget the importance of \" works,\" if put in their right place. They cannot justify us. They are at best full of imperfection. But they are useful evidences, and serve to show whose we are, and what our religion is worth.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.40.1","start":40,"end":40,"heading":"But now ye seek to kill me, &c.","excerpt":"Our Lord in this verse confirms the charge made in the preceding one, — that His enemies were not Abraham's spiritual children, although carnally descended from Abraham. — \" At this very moment you are wishing and endeavouring to put Me to death, not for any crime, but simply because I have spoken to you that mighty message of truth which I heard from My Father, and am sent to proclaim to the world as the Messiah. This is the very opposite of what your great forefather Abraham would have done. He longed to see My day. He rejoiced in the prospect of it. He would have hailed My appearance and message with delight. Your conduct, therefore, is an unanswerable proof that you are not Abraham's spiritual children.\"\n\nOur Lord's argument is the same that St. Paul uses to the Romans. \" He is not a Jew which is one outwardly.\" — \" They which are the children of the flesh are not the children of God.\" (Rom. ii. 28, 29 ; ix. 8.) The importance of it cannot be overrated. It establishes the great principle that fleshly relationship, or ecclesiastical connection, is nothing without grace in the heart, and indeed only adds to a man's condemnation.\n\nThe expression \" this did not Abraham \" is a Hebraism. Of course literally Abraham could not \" seek to kill \" Christ, because he never lived with Him on earth. The meaning must be \" your conduct is the very opposite of what Abraham would have done, and utterly contrary to the general tenor of what he did while he lived.\" Compare Deut. xvii. 3; Jer. vii. 22 — 31 : xix. 5 ; xxxii. 35, where the same form of speech is used.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":904,"text":"Rom. ii. 28, 29","label":"Romans 2:28–29","href":"/rom/2/#v28","status":"detected"},{"at":922,"text":"ix. 8","label":"Romans 9:8","href":"/rom/9/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":1481,"text":"Deut. xvii. 3","label":"Deuteronomy 17:3","href":"/deu/17/#v3","status":"detected"},{"at":1496,"text":"Jer. vii. 22","label":"Jeremiah 7:22","href":"/jer/7/#v22","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.40.2","start":40,"end":40,"heading":"","excerpt":"When our Lord calls Himself here simply \" a man,\" He uses an expression which He nowhere else employs in the Gospels. As a rule, He calls Himself\" the Son of man,\" when speaking of His human nature. Here, however, He seems to speak of Himself in the point of view in which His unbelieving enemies ought to have regarded Him, if they could not yet acknowledge His divinity. \" I am among you a man speaking the truth : and yet ye seek to kill Me.\" — The attempt of Jews and Socinians to show that our Lord was not really God, founded on this text, is futile. Our Lord's real and true humanity no sound Trinitarian thinks of denying.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.41.1","start":41,"end":41,"heading":"Ye do the deeds of your father","excerpt":"This means \"You are doing the things that your' father the devil approves and suggests to you. You are showing yourselves genuine children of the devil, by doing his works.\" The word \"ye\" in the Greek is emphatic, and may possibly be intended to contrast with \" I,\" at the beginning of the 35th verse.\n\n[Then said they... not born of fornication.'] These words can hardly be taken literally. Our Lord was speaking to the Jews not as individuals, but as a nation and a class, and was speaking of their descent in a religious point of view. The question was, \" Who was their father\"? From whom did they get their spiritual character? To whom were their proclivities and tendencies to be traced?\" This our Lord's hearers understood, and said, \" We be not born of fornication ; we are not heathens and idolaters at any rate, even if we are not as good as Abraham.\"— That idolatry was called fornication, because it was unfaithfulness to the covenant God, a forsaking Him for false gods, is, I think, clear from many places in the Old Testament. See for instance Jeremiah ii. 1—20, and iii. 1 — 3. I think this was in the minds of the Jews, when they spoke to our Lord here. This is Augustine's view.\n\nThe notion of Euthymius, Rupertus, and others, that the Jews refer to other children of Abraham, by Hagar and Keturah, and boast themselves his true children by Sarah, is not satisfactory. It is surely too much to charge Abraham with the sin of fornication, because he took Hagar to be his wife, at the instance of Sarah, and married Keturah after Sarah's death !\n\nThe notion of some, that the Jews refer here to the many marriages between Jews and Gentiles in the Old Testament times, (as seen in Ezra x. 1, etc.,) and repudiate them, is not probable.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1058,"text":"Jeremiah ii. 1","label":"Jeremiah 2:1","href":"/jer/2/#v1","status":"detected"},{"at":1695,"text":"Ezra x. 1","label":"Ezra 10:1","href":"/ezr/10/#v1","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.41.2","start":41,"end":41,"heading":"","excerpt":"Some have thought that the Jews insinuated wicked doubts of our Lord's legitimate birth in this phrase. But it seems unlikely.\n\n[We have one Father, even God.] The Jews here lay claim to be regarded as God's children. That God is called \"the Father \" of Israel in several places in the Old Testament, is undeniable. See Deut. xxxii. 6; 1 Chron. xxix. 10; Isai. lxiii. 16 and lxiv. 8 ; Mal. i. 6. But it is very clear that these texts specially refer to God's relation to Israel as a nation, and not to Israelites as individuals. The Jews, however, in their pride and self-righteousness, made no such nice distinction. They did not see that national sonship and covenant sonship without spiritual sonship, are nothing worth. Hence they brought on themselves the stern rebuke of the next verse.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":320,"text":"Deut. xxxii. 6","label":"Deuteronomy 32:6","href":"/deu/32/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":336,"text":"1 Chron. xxix. 10","label":"1 Chronicles 29:10","href":"/1ch/29/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":355,"text":"Isai. lxiii. 16","label":"Isaiah 63:16","href":"/isa/63/#v16","status":"detected"},{"at":385,"text":"Mal. i. 6","label":"Malachi 1:6","href":"/mal/1/#v6","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.42.1","start":42,"end":42,"heading":"Jesus said...If God...your Father...love me","excerpt":"Our Lord here tells the Jews, that although they might be children of God by covenant and nationality, they were evidently not God's children by grace and spiritual birth. If God was really their Father, they would show it by loving the Son of God, even Himself.\n\nLet us note carefully the great principle contained in this sentence. Love to Christ is the infallible mark of all true children of God. Would we know whether we are born again, whether we are children of God? There is one simple way of finding it out. Do we love Christ? If not, it is vain and idle to talk of God as our Father, and ourselves as God's children. No love to Christ, no sonship to God !\n\nThe favourite notion of many, that baptism makes us sons and daughters of God, and that all baptized people should be addressed as God's children, is utterly irreconcilable with this sentence. Unless a baptized person loves Christ, he has no right to call God Father, and is not God's child. He has yet to be born again, and brought into God's family. Before the point and edge of these words, the doctrine that spiritual re generation always accompanies baptism cannot stand.\n\nThe modern notion about God's universal Fatherhood, which finds such favour with many, is no less irreconcilable with this sentence than baptismal regeneration. That God the Father is full of love, mercy, and compassion to all is no doubt true. But that God is really and truly the spiritual Father of any one who does not love Christ can never be maintained without contradicting our Lord's words in this place.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.42.2","start":42,"end":42,"heading":"","excerpt":"The sentence is full of condemnation to all who know nothing experimentally of Christ, and neither think, nor feel, nor care anything about Him. Crowds of so-called Christians are in this unhappy state, and are plainly not God's children, whatever they may think. — The sentence is equally full of comfort for all true believers, however weak and feeble. If they feel drawn towards Christ in heart and affection, and can truly say \"I do love Him,\" they have the plainest mark of being God's children, and \"if children then heirs.\" (Rom. viii. 17.)\n\n[For I proceeded forth, etc.] Our Lord here shows the Jews His own divine nature and mission. He had proceeded forth, and come from God — the eternal Son from the eternal Father. He had not come of His own independent will and without commission, but specially sent and appointed by the Father, as His last and dearest Messenger to a lost world. Such was His nature. Such was His position and relation to the Father.— If therefore they really were children of God the Father, they would love Him as the Father's Sod, the Father's Messenger, the Father's promised Messiah. Not loving Him, they gave the plainest proof that they were not God's children. — A true child of God will love everything belonging to God, and specially he will love God's only begotten and beloved Son. He can see and find nothing nearer to the Father than the Son, who is the •' brightness of His glory and the express image of His person.\" (Heb. i. 3.) If, therefore, he does not love the Son, it is clear that he is no true child of the Father.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":532,"text":"Rom. viii. 17","label":"Romans 8:17","href":"/rom/8/#v17","status":"detected"},{"at":1466,"text":"Heb. i. 3","label":"Hebrews 1:3","href":"/heb/1/#v3","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.43.1","start":43,"end":43,"heading":"Why do ye not understand, &c.","excerpt":"In this verse, our Lord seems to me to draw a distinction between \"speech\" and \"word.\" The expression \" word \" is deeper than \" speech.\" By \" speech,\" He means \" My manner of speaking and expressing Myself.\" By \"word,\" He means generally \" My doctrine. \" — The sense is, \" How is it that ye do not understand My manner of expressing Myself to you, when I speak of such things as freedom and of 'your father' ? It is because ye will not receive and attend to My whole message, — the word that I bring to you from My Father.\" — Lightfoot takes this view.\n\nThis explanation seems to me to describe most accurately the state of things between our Lord and His hearers. They were continually misunderstanding, misinterpreting, and stumbling at, the expressions and language that He used in teaching them. Did He speak of \" bread\" ? They thought He meant literal bread. — Did He speak of \" freedom \" ? They thought He meant temporal and political freedom. — Did He speak of \" their Father\"? They thought He meant Abraham. — How was it that they so misunderstood His language and dialect? It was simply because their hearts were utterly hardened and closed against the whole \" word of salvation\" which He came to proclaim. Having no will to listen to and receive His doctrine, they were ready at every step to misconstrue the words and figures under which it was conveyed and placed before them.\n\nAny one who preaches the Gospel now must often observe that precisely the same thing happens in the present day. Hearers, who are strongly prejudiced against the Gospel, are constantly perverting, wresting, and misinterpreting the language of the preacher. None are so blind as those who will not see, and none so stupid as those who do not want to understand.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.43.2","start":43,"end":43,"heading":"","excerpt":"The \"cannot\" here is a moral inability. It is like \"no man can come unto Me,\" and \" His brethren could not speak peaceably unto him.\" (John vi. 44; Gen. xxxvii. 4.) It means, \"Ye have no will to hear with your hearts.\"\n\nChrysostom remarks : \" Not to be able here means not to be willing.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":135,"text":"John vi. 44","label":"John 6:44","href":"/jhn/6/#v44","status":"detected"},{"at":148,"text":"Gen. xxxvii. 4","label":"Genesis 37:4","href":"/gen/37/#v4","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.44.1","start":44,"end":44,"heading":"Ye are of your father the devil, &c.","excerpt":"This verse deserves special attention, both for the sternness of the rebuke it contains, and the deep subject which it handles. The general sense is as follows: \"Ye are so far from being spiritual children of Abraham, or true children of God, that, on the contrary, ye may be rightly called the children of the devil; and ye show it, by having a will set on doing the evil things which your father suggests to you. He, from the beginning of creation, was a being set on the destruction of man, and abode not in the original truth and righteousness in which he was created ; for now truth is not in his nature. When he now speaks and suggests a lie, he speaks out of his own peculiar inward nature, for he is emiently a liar, and the father of a lie.\"\n\nWhen our Lord says to the wicked Jews, \" Ye are of your father the devil,\" He does not mean that the wicked are made wicked by the devil in the same sense that the godly are made godly by God, created anew and begotten of God ; but He uses a common Hebraism, by which persons who are closely connected with, or entirely under the influence of, another, are called \"his children.\" It is in this sense that the wicked and unbelieving are truly the children of the devil. This must be carefully remembered. The devil has no power to \" create\" the wicked. He only finds them born in sin, and, working upon their sinful nature, obtains such an influence, that he becomes practically the \" father of the wicked.\" (See Matt. xiii. 38 and 1 John iii. 8; Matt. xiii. 19 ; Luke xvi. 8; xx. 34; Isai. lvii. 4; Numb. xvii. 10.)","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1464,"text":"Matt. xiii. 38","label":"Matthew 13:38","href":"/mat/13/#v38","status":"detected"},{"at":1483,"text":"1 John iii. 8","label":"1 John 3:8","href":"/1jn/3/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":1498,"text":"Matt. xiii. 19","label":"Matthew 13:19","href":"/mat/13/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":1515,"text":"Luke xvi. 8","label":"Luke 16:8","href":"/luk/16/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":1528,"text":"xx. 34","label":"Luke 20:34","href":"/luk/20/#v34","status":"detected"},{"at":1536,"text":"Isai. lvii. 4","label":"Isaiah 57:4","href":"/isa/57/#v4","status":"detected"},{"at":1551,"text":"Numb. xvii. 10","label":"Numbers 17:10","href":"/num/17/#v10","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.44.2","start":44,"end":44,"heading":"","excerpt":"Augustine says : \" Whence are those Jews sons of the devil?— By imitation, not by birth.\" He also refers to Ezek. xvi. 3, as a parallel case.\n\nWhen our Lord says, \" Ye will do the lusts of your father,\" we must remember that \"ye will \" is emphatic in the Greek. \" Ye have a will, and mind, and purpose, and disposition.\" — By \" doing the lusts,\" lie means \"ye follow those evil inclinations and desires \" which are peculiarly characteristic of the devil, and according to his mind, — such as to commit murder, and to love and tell a lie. The desire of the devil can only be for that which is evil.\n\nWhen our Lord says the devil was a \"murderer from the beginning,\" I do not think He refers exclusively to Cain's murder of Abel, -though I think it was in His mind. (See 1 John iii. 12.) I rather think He means that the devil, from the beginning of creation, was set on bringing death into the world, and murdering man both body and soul.\n\nOrigen remarks : \" It was not one man only that the devil killed, but the whole human race, inasmuch as in Adam all die. So that he is truly called a murderer.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":108,"text":"Ezek. xvi. 3","label":"Ezekiel 16:3","href":"/ezk/16/#v3","status":"detected"},{"at":769,"text":"1 John iii. 12","label":"1 John 3:12","href":"/1jn/3/#v12","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.44.3","start":44,"end":44,"heading":"","excerpt":"When our Lord says that the \" devil abode not in the truth,\" I think He teaches that the devil is a fallen spirit, and that he was originally made very good and \" perfect,\" like all other works of God's hands. But he did not continue in that state of truth and righteousness in which he was originally created. He kept not his first estate, but fell away. \" Truth \" seems to stand for all righteousness, and holiness, and conformity to the mind of God, who is \"Truth itself.\" This verse, and Jude 6, are the two clearest proofs in the Bible that the devil fell, and was not created evil at the beginning.\n\nThe word \"abode\" would be more literally rendered, \"stood.\"\n\nWhen our Lord says, \" Because there is no truth in him,\" He does not mean that this was the reason why the devil \" abode not in the truth.\" If this had been His meaning, He would have said, \" Truth was not in him.\" But He says, \"is.\" — His words are meant to describe the present nature of the devil. \"He is now a being in whom truth is not.\" — It seems to me a somewhat similar expression to that of St. Paul, when he says, \" I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly ; \" where \" because \" does not mean the reason why he obtained mercy. (1 Tim. i. 12.) The Greek word for \" because \" in both cases is the same.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1211,"text":"1 Tim. i. 12","label":"1 Timothy 1:12","href":"/1ti/1/#v12","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.45.1","start":45,"end":45,"heading":"And because I tell, &c.","excerpt":"Our Lord in this verse puts in strong contrast His own teaching and the lying suggestions of the devil, and the readiness of the wicked Jews to disbelieve Him and believe the devil. — \"The reason why you do not believe Me is, your thorough dislike to the truth of God. You are genuine children of your father the devil. If I told you things that are false, ye would believe Me. But because I tell you things that are true, you believe me not.\"\n\nWe see here how little cause faithful ministers of Christ have to feel surprise at the unbelief of many of their hearers. If they preach the truth, they must make up their minds not to be believed by many. It is only what happened to their Master. \" If they have kept My saying, they will keep yours also.\" (John xv. 20.)","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":753,"text":"John xv. 20","label":"John 15:20","href":"/jhn/15/#v20","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.46.1","start":46,"end":46,"heading":"Which of you convinceth me, &c.","excerpt":"Our Lord in this verse asks two questions, to which it was impossible for them to give an answer : \" Which of you can reprove or convince Me as an offender concerning sin of any kind? You know that you cannot lay any offence to My charge. Yet if I am free from any charge, and at the same time speak to you nothing but what is right and true, what is the reason that ye do not believe Me ? \"\n\nLet us note here the perfect spotlessness and innocence of our Lord's character. None but He could ever say, \"I have no sin. I challenge any one to find out any imperfection or fault in Me.\" Such a complete and perfect Sacrifice and Mediator is just what sinful man needs.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.47.1","start":47,"end":47,"heading":"He that is of God, &c.","excerpt":"Our Lord in this verse supplies an answer to His own questions, and conclusively proves the wickedness and ungodliness of His hearers. — \"He that is a true child of God hears with pleasure, believes, and obeys God's words, such as I bring to you from My Father. You, by not hearing, believing, and obeying them, prove plainly that you are not God's children. If you were, you would hear gladly, believe, and obey. Your not hearing proves conclusively that you are what I said, children, not of God, but of the devil.\"\n\nLet us note here that the disposition to hear and listen to truth is always a good sign, though not an infallible one, about a person's soul. It is said, in another place, \"My sheep hear my voice.\" (John x. 26, 27.) When we see people obstinately refusing to listen to counsel, and to attend to the Gospel, we are justified in regarding them as not God's children, not born again, without grace, and needing yet to be converted.\n\nLet us note here, as elsewhere, how carefully our Lord speaks of His teaching as \" God's words.\" It consisted of words and truths which God the Father had commissioned Him to preach and proclaim to man. It was not \" His own words \" only, but His Father's as well as His own.\n\nRollock observes, that there is no surer mark of an unsanctified nature than dislike to God's Word.\n\nMusculus, Bucer, and others maintain here that the phrase, \" He that is of God, heareth God's Words,\" must be confined to God's election; and means, \" He that was chosen of God from all eternity.\" I cannot, however, see reason for confining the sense so closely. I prefer to consider \" of God \" as including, not only election, but calling, regeneration, adoption, conversion, and sanctification. This is Rollock's view.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":718,"text":"John x. 26, 27","label":"John 10:26–27","href":"/jhn/10/#v26","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.48.1","start":48,"end":48,"heading":"Then answered the Jews...Samaritan...devil","excerpt":"This verse seems to contain nothing but personal abuse and blasphemous slander. Unable to answer our Lord's arguments, the unbelieving Jews lost their temper, and resorted to the last weapon of a disputant, — senseless invective and calling of names. The extent to which calling names is carried by Oriental people, even in the present day, is something far greater than in this country we can imagine.\n\n\"When the Jews called our Lord \" a Samaritan,\" they meant much the same as saying that He was no true Jew, and little better than a heathen. \"The Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.\" (John iv. 9.) When they said, \"Thou hast a devil,\" I think it meant rather more than \"thou art mad,\" as in John vii. 20, if we observe the following verse. It probably implied, \" Thou actest and speakest under the influence of the devil. The power Thou hast is from Satan, and not from God.\"\n\nLet us learn here how little cause Christians have to be surprised, if hard names and insulting epithets are applied to them. It is only what was done to their Master, and is no ground for discouragement in doing God's work.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":595,"text":"John iv. 9","label":"John 4:9","href":"/jhn/4/#v9","status":"detected"},{"at":701,"text":"John vii. 20","label":"John 7:20","href":"/jhn/7/#v20","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.48-59.1","start":48,"end":59,"heading":"JOHN VIII. 48—59.","excerpt":"We should observe, first, in this passage, what blasphemous and slanderous language was addressed to our Lord by His enemies. We read that the Jews \" said unto Him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil ? \" Silenced in argument, these wicked men resorted to personal abuse. To lose temper, and call names, is a common sign of a defeated cause.\n\nNicknames, insulting epithets, and violent language, are favourite weapons with the devil. When other means of carrying on his warfare fail, he stirs up his servants to smite with the tongue. Grievous indeed are the sufferings which the saints of God have had to endure from the tongue in every age. Their characters have been slandered. Evil reports have been circulated about them. Lying stories have been diligently invented, and greedily swallowed, about their conduct. No wonder that David said, \"Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue.\" (Psalm cxx. 2.)\n\nThe true Christian in the present day must never be surprised to find that he has constant trials to endure from this quarter. Human nature never changes. So long as he serves the world, and walks in the broad way, little perhaps will be said against him. Once let him take up the cross and follow Christ, and there is no lie too monstrous, and no story too absurd, for some to tell against him, and for others to believe. But let him take comfort in the thought that he is only drinking the cup which his blessed Master drank before him. The lies of his enemies do him no injury in heaven, whatever they may on earth. Let him bear them patiently, and not fret, or lose his temper. When Christ was reviled, \" He reviled not again.\" (1 Peter ii. 23.) Let the Christian do likewise.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":942,"text":"Psalm cxx. 2","label":"Psalms 120:2","href":"/psa/120/#v2","status":"detected"},{"at":1691,"text":"1 Peter ii. 23","label":"1 Peter 2:23","href":"/1pe/2/#v23","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.49.1","start":49,"end":49,"heading":"Jesus answered, I have not a devil, &c.","excerpt":"Our Lord's answer to the coarse invective of His enemies amounts to this : \" In saying that I have a devil you say that which is not true. I am simply honouring My Father in heaven by delivering His message to man, and you by your violent language are dishonouring Me, and in effect dishonouring and insulting my Father. Your insults do not strike Me only, but my Father also.\"\n\nLet us note our Lord's calmness and equanimity under insult. A solemn denial of the blasphemous charge laid against Him, and an equally solemn reminder that He was honouring the God whom they themselves professed to worship, are the only reply He condescends to make.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.50.1","start":50,"end":50,"heading":"And I seek not mine own glory","excerpt":"This sentence seems to arise out of the last verse.—\" Ye dishonour Me; but you do not move or hurt Me, for I did not come to seek my own glory, but the glory of Him that sent Me. I receive not honour from men.\" (See John vii. 18 and v. 41.) Here, as elsewhere, our Lord points to the great principle, \" that a true messenger from heaven will never seek his own glory, but his Master's.\"\n\n[ There is one that seeketh and judgeth.] There is a very solemn warning in these words. They mean, \"There is One, however, even my Father in heaven, who does seek and desire my glory; and not only seeks, but judges the conduct of all who dishonour Me, with deep displeasure, and will punish it at the last day.\"\n\nThere is comfort here for all Christ's members as well as for their Head. Though they may not think of it, there is One in heaven who cares deeply for them, sees all they go through, and will one day plead their cause. The latent thought seems the same as in Eccles. v. 8 — \"He that is higher than the highest regardeth.\" A believer may cheer himself with the thought, \" There is One that judgeth. There is One that sees all, that cares for me, and will set all right at the last day.\"\n\nEuthymius remarks on this verse that we should not heed things said against ourselves, but should vindicate the honour of God if things are said against God.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":216,"text":"John vii. 18","label":"John 7:18","href":"/jhn/7/#v18","status":"detected"},{"at":233,"text":"v. 41","label":"John 8:41","href":"/jhn/8/#v41","status":"detected"},{"at":961,"text":"Eccles. v. 8","label":"Ecclesiastes 5:8","href":"/ecc/5/#v8","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.51.1","start":51,"end":51,"heading":"Verily...If a man keep my saying...never see death","excerpt":"The mighty promise contained in this verse seems intended to wind up the whole conversation. All that our Lord had said had produced no effect. He therefore closes His teaching for the present by one of those mighty sayings which tower above everything near them, and of which St. John's Gospel contains so many. — \" Whether you will hear or not, whether you choose to know Me or not, I solemnly tell you that if any man receives, believes, and keeps My doctrine, he shall never see death. Despised and rejected as I am by you, life or death, heaven or hell, blessing or cursing, depend and hinge on accepting the message I proclaim to you. I am the way, the truth, and the life.\" — It is like Moses taking leave of Israel and saying, \" I call heaven and earth to record against you, that I have set before you life and death.\" (Deut. xxx. 15, 19.) Just so our Lord seems to say, \" I tell you once more, for the last time, that to keep My saying is the way to escape death.\"\n\nThe expression is parallel to the one our Lord uses in the synagogue of Capernaum. There He says, \" He that believeth in Me, hath everlasting life.\" Here it is \" shall never see death.\" (John vi. 47.)\n\nWe should notice here, as elsewhere, that when our Lord uses the expression, \"Verily, verily, I say unto you,\" which is familiar to all careful readers of St. John's Gospel, He is always about to say something of peculiar gravity and solemnity. See John i. 51; iii. 3, 5, 11; v. 19, 24, 25; vi. 26, 32, 47, 53; viii. 34, 51, 58; x. 1, 7; xii. 24; xiii. 16, 20, 21, 38; xiv. 12; xvi. 20, 23; xxi. 18.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":829,"text":"Deut. xxx. 15, 19","label":"Deuteronomy 30:15","href":"/deu/30/#v15","status":"detected"},{"at":829,"text":"Deut. xxx. 15, 19","label":"Deuteronomy 30:19","href":"/deu/30/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":1163,"text":"John vi. 47","label":"John 6:47","href":"/jhn/6/#v47","status":"detected"},{"at":1427,"text":"John i. 51","label":"John 1:51","href":"/jhn/1/#v51","status":"detected"},{"at":1439,"text":"iii. 3, 5, 11","label":"John 3:11","href":"/jhn/3/#v11","status":"detected"},{"at":1439,"text":"iii. 3, 5, 11","label":"John 3:3","href":"/jhn/3/#v3","status":"detected"},{"at":1439,"text":"iii. 3, 5, 11","label":"John 3:5","href":"/jhn/3/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":1454,"text":"v. 19, 24, 25","label":"John 5:19","href":"/jhn/5/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":1454,"text":"v. 19, 24, 25","label":"John 5:24–25","href":"/jhn/5/#v24","status":"detected"},{"at":1469,"text":"vi. 26, 32, 47, 53","label":"John 6:26","href":"/jhn/6/#v26","status":"detected"},{"at":1469,"text":"vi. 26, 32, 47, 53","label":"John 6:32","href":"/jhn/6/#v32","status":"detected"},{"at":1469,"text":"vi. 26, 32, 47, 53","label":"John 6:47","href":"/jhn/6/#v47","status":"detected"},{"at":1469,"text":"vi. 26, 32, 47, 53","label":"John 6:53","href":"/jhn/6/#v53","status":"detected"},{"at":1489,"text":"viii. 34, 51, 58","label":"John 8:34","href":"/jhn/8/#v34","status":"detected"},{"at":1489,"text":"viii. 34, 51, 58","label":"John 8:51","href":"/jhn/8/#v51","status":"detected"},{"at":1489,"text":"viii. 34, 51, 58","label":"John 8:58","href":"/jhn/8/#v58","status":"detected"},{"at":1507,"text":"x. 1, 7","label":"John 10:1","href":"/jhn/10/#v1","status":"detected"},{"at":1507,"text":"x. 1, 7","label":"John 10:7","href":"/jhn/10/#v7","status":"detected"},{"at":1516,"text":"xii. 24","label":"John 12:24","href":"/jhn/12/#v24","status":"detected"},{"at":1525,"text":"xiii. 16, 20, 21, 38","label":"John 13:16","href":"/jhn/13/#v16","status":"detected"},{"at":1525,"text":"xiii. 16, 20, 21, 38","label":"John 13:20–21","href":"/jhn/13/#v20","status":"detected"},{"at":1525,"text":"xiii. 16, 20, 21, 38","label":"John 13:38","href":"/jhn/13/#v38","status":"detected"},{"at":1547,"text":"xiv. 12","label":"John 14:12","href":"/jhn/14/#v12","status":"detected"},{"at":1556,"text":"xvi. 20, 23","label":"John 16:20","href":"/jhn/16/#v20","status":"detected"},{"at":1556,"text":"xvi. 20, 23","label":"John 16:23","href":"/jhn/16/#v23","status":"detected"},{"at":1569,"text":"xxi. 18","label":"John 21:18","href":"/jhn/21/#v18","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.51.2","start":51,"end":51,"heading":"","excerpt":"The expression \" keep my saying,\" means \" receive into his heart, believe, embrace, obey, and hold fast the doctrine or message which I am commissioned to teach.\" — The phrase \" my saying,\" means much more than the \" words I am speaking at this moment.\" It is rather the whole doctrine of My Gospel.\n\nThe expression \" never see death \" cannot be taken literally. Our Lord did not mean that His disciples would not die and be buried like other children of Adam. We know that they did die. The meaning is probably threefold: (1) \"He shall be completely delivered from that spiritual death Of condemnation under which all mankind are born ; his soul is alive and can die no more : (2) He shall be delivered from the sting of bodily death; his flesh and bones may sink under disease and be laid in the grave, but the worst part of death shall not be able to touch him, and the grave itself shall give him up one day : (3) He shall be delivered entirely from the second death, even eternal punishment in hell; over him the second death shall have no power.\"\n\nThe width and greatness of this promise are very remarkable. Ever since the day of Adam's fall death has been man's peculiar enemy. Man has found the truth of the sentence, \" In the day thou eatest thou shalt surely die.\" (Gen. ii. 27.) But our Lord boldly and openly proclaims that in keeping His saying there is complete deliverance from death. In fact, He proclaims Himself the One greater than death. None could say this but a Redeemer who was very God.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1277,"text":"Gen. ii. 27","label":"Genesis 2:27","href":"/gen/2/#v27","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.51.3","start":51,"end":51,"heading":"","excerpt":"Augustine says : \" The death from which our Lord came to deliver us was the second death, eternal death, the death of hell, the death of damnation with the devil and his angels. That is indeed death; for this death of ours is only a migration. What is it but a putting off a heavy load, provided there be not another load carried, by which the man shall be cast headlong into hell. This is the death of which the Lord says, * He shall not see death.' \"\n\nLet us note the breadth and fulness of this promise. It is for any one who keeps Christ's sayings. \" If a man,\" or rather it should be rendered, \" If any man,\" etc.\n\nLet us beware of putting a meaning on this promise which it was not intended to convey. The idea of some that it means \" believers shall be so completely delivered from death that they shall neither feel bodily pain nor mental conflict,\" is one that cannot be supported. It is not borne out by other passages of Scripture, and, as a matter of fact, it is contradicted by experience. The Gospel delivers believers from that \" fear of death \" which unbelievers feel, no doubt. (Heb. ii. 15.) But we have no right to expect believers to have no bodily conflict, no convulsion, no struggle, and no suffering. Flesh and blood must and will feel. \" I groan,\" said holy Baxter on his deathbed, \"but I do not grumble.\" Death is a serious thing, even though the sting is taken away.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1096,"text":"Heb. ii. 15","label":"Hebrews 2:15","href":"/heb/2/#v15","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.52.1","start":52,"end":52,"heading":"Then said the Jews, &c.","excerpt":"The argument of the Jews in this verse seems to be as follows : \" We know now by Thy own words that Thou art mad and hast a devil. Our great father Abraham and the prophets, holy and good as they all were, are all dead, and yet Thou presumest to say that if a man keep Thy saying he will never die. In short, Thou makest Thyself greater than Abraham, for Abraham could not escape death, while keeping Thy saying enables a man to escape death. To talk in this way is a plain\" proof that thou art mad.\"\n\nThe phrase \" to have a devil,\" in this place can hardly mean anything but \"to be mad or crazy.\"\n\nThe Jews, it will be observed, do not quote our Lord's words correctly. He had said, \" shall never see death.\" They report Him as saying, \" shall never taste of death.\"Whether this was a wilful perversion of His words is rather difficult to decide. Some think that the Jews intentionally exaggerated the promise, and put \"taste\" for \" see,\" in order to magnify the offence our Lord had committed. Others think that the difference means nothing, and that it only shows how thoroughly the Jews misunderstood our Lord, and thought that He referred to nothing but bodily death.\n\nHere, as elsewhere, we may remark how ready the Jews were to pervert and warp our Lord's meaning, and to put a carnal and gross sense on spiritual language.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.53.1","start":53,"end":53,"heading":"Art thou greater, &c.","excerpt":"The question in this verse shows that our Lord had again succeeded in arousing the curiosity of the Jews, and stirring them to inquire about His nature and person. — \"Who art Thou that talkest in this way? Whom dost Thou make Thyself? To say that those who keep Thy saying shall never die is to make Thyself superior to Abraham and the prophets, who are all dead. Who and what art Thou? Art thou really some one greater than Abraham? \"\n\nChrysostom observes that the question of the Jews reminds us of the Samaritan woman's question: \"Art thou greater than our father Jacob? \" (John iv. 12.)","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":577,"text":"John iv. 12","label":"John 4:12","href":"/jhn/4/#v12","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.54.1","start":54,"end":54,"heading":"If I honour myself...nothing, &c.","excerpt":"Our Lord's meaning in this verse seems to be as follows : \" If at any time I take to myself and claim honour, such honour would be worthless. He who puts honour on Me, and commissions Me to say that keeping My saying shall deliver a man from death, is My Father in heaven, — that very Being whom you profess to call your God. It is your own God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who has put such honour on Me, that life or death turn on keeping My sayings, and believing on Me.\"\n\nHere, as elsewhere, we should mark the carefulness with which our Lord disclaims all self-exaltation, and desire for glory and honour from man. If, in claiming for Himself to hold the keys of life and death, He seemed to claim honour, He carefully reminds the Jews that it is an honour put on Him by the Father in heaven, even by their own God. He desired no honour independent of Him, or in rivalry to Him.\n\nWhen our Lord says, \" My Father honoureth Me,\" the expression must include all the works, and signs, and miracles, which the Father gave Him to do ; as well as the words which He gave Him to speak. (John v. 26; xiv. 10, 11.)","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1093,"text":"John v. 26","label":"John 5:26","href":"/jhn/5/#v26","status":"detected"},{"at":1105,"text":"xiv. 10, 11","label":"John 14:10–11","href":"/jhn/14/#v10","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.55.1","start":55,"end":55,"heading":"","excerpt":"55. — [Yet ye have not known him, etc.] The meaning of this verse seems to be as follows : \" Although you say of My Father in heaven that He is your God, you do not really know Him, and are plainly ignorant of His character, His will, and His purposes. Professing to know Him, in works you deny Him. But I, on the contrary, know Him perfectly : for I am indeed one with Him from all eternity, and came forth from Him. So perfectly do I know Him, that I should be a liar, and a child of the devil, like yourselves, if I said I did not know Him. But I repeat that I know Him perfectly, and in all My words and works here on earth I carefully keep His sayings, and observe the commission he gave me.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.55.2","start":55,"end":55,"heading":"","excerpt":"There is undeniably a great peculiarity in the language of this verse. But- it is probably a Hebrew mode of putting in strong contrast the Jews' thorough ignorance of God, notwithstanding their high profession of being His chosen people, — and our Lord's perfect knowledge of God, notwithstanding the repeated assertions that He had a devil, was a Samaritan, and was consequently an enemy to the God of Israel. — The phrase, \" I should be a liar, like yourselves, if I said I did not know the Father,\" was just the phrase to convey the strongest idea to the Jews' minds of our Lord's knowledge. — In arguing with some men, nothing but the strongest language, and the most paradoxical expressions, have any effect.— Even God himself thinks it good to make such an asseveration as \"I swear by myself,\" and \" as I live,\" in order to command attention. (Jer. xxii. 5; Heb. vi. 13; Ezek. xxxiii. 11.) Those who blame ministers and preachers for using strong language, and say that they should never use any but gentle, tame, and mild phrases, can hardly have studied human nature or the style of Scripture with thorough attention.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":850,"text":"Jer. xxii. 5","label":"Jeremiah 22:5","href":"/jer/22/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":864,"text":"Heb. vi. 13","label":"Hebrews 6:13","href":"/heb/6/#v13","status":"detected"},{"at":877,"text":"Ezek. xxxiii. 11","label":"Ezekiel 33:11","href":"/ezk/33/#v11","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.56.1","start":56,"end":56,"heading":"Your father Abraham, &c.","excerpt":"Our Lord, in this verse, takes up the question of the Jews, as to His being greater than Abraham, and boldly gives an answer. \" You ask Me whether I am greater than Abraham. I tell you in reply that I am He whose coming and whose day of glory Abraham rejoiced to think he should see. Moreover by faith he even saw it, and when he saw it he was glad.\"\n\nThe precise meaning of the words of this verse is rather difficult to discover, though the general idea of it is plain and unmistakable. It is clear that our Lord implies that He is the promised Messiah, the Seed of Abraham, in whom all the generations of the earth should be blessed, — and of whom when Abraham first heard, \" he laughed \" for joy. (Gen. xvii. 17.)\n\n(a) Some think, as most of the Fathers and Reformers, that it means, \" Abraham rejoiced in the prospect of seeing, at some future time, My day, the clay of Messiah ; and by faith he did see it afar off.\"\n\n(b) Some think, as Maldonatus, Lampe, Stier, and Bloomfield, that it means, \" Abraham rejoiced when he was told that he should see My clay ; and he actually has seen it in Paradise, and has been gladdened there in the separate state by the sight.\"\n\n(c) Some think, as Brown, Olshausen, Alford, Webster, and Hengstenberg, that it means, \" Abraham's great desire and joyful expectation was to see My clay, and he actually saw Me when I appeared to him and talked with him on earth.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":702,"text":"Gen. xvii. 17","label":"Genesis 17:17","href":"/gen/17/#v17","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.56.2","start":56,"end":56,"heading":"","excerpt":"Of these three views the first appears to me the most probable, and most in keeping with the history of Abraham, in Genesis. It should be carefully observed that our Lord does not say that \"Abraham saw Me,\" but that \"he saw My day.\" The cause of Abraham's joy seems to have been, that there was to be of his seed a Messiah, a Saviour; and that he should see His clay, — the day of the Lord, the triumphant day of Messiah's complete victory and restitution of all things. This day he even saw by faith afar off, and was glad at the sight.— Our Lord's object does not seem to be to tell the Jews that Abraham had seen Him, but that He was \" the Seed,\" the Messiah, who was promised to their father Abraham. The Jews had asked whether he was greater than Abraham? \"Yes,\" he replies, \" I am. I am that very Messiah whose day Abraham rejoiced to hear of, and saw afar off by faith. If you were like Abraham you would rejoice to see Me.\"\n\nChrysostom and Euthymius think that \" My day,\" in this verse, means \"the day of the crucifixion, which Abraham foreshowed typically by offering the ram in Isaac's place.\" This however seems a very cramped and limited view.\n\nRupertus thinks that Abraham \" saw the day of Christ \" when he entertained the three angels who came to him.\n\nAugustine thinks it may refer to both the advents of Christ : first in humiliation, and second in glory.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.57.1","start":57,"end":57,"heading":"Then said the Jews, &c.","excerpt":"It is plain that the Jews here put a wrong meaning on our Lord's words, and suppose Him to say that Abraham had seen Him, and He had seen Abraham. Yet our Lord had only said, \" Abraham saw My day.\" It is another instance of their readiness to pervert His words.\n\nWhen the Jews said, \" Thou art not yet fifty years old,\" I believe they only meant, \" Thou art not yet a middle-aged man.\" Fifty years old was the turning point in life, at which the Levites and priests were excused from further active service in the tabernacle. (Numbers iv. 3.) I fancy the reference is to this.— Our Lord was at this time about thirty- three years old, or at most thirty -four. The notion of Irenaeus and Papias that He really was fifty before He was crucified, is utterly without warrant, and absurd.\n\nSome think that our Lord's countenance was so marred and aged by sorrow and care, that He looked much older than lie really was, and that hence the Jews supposed Him to be nearly fifty. But I prefer the former view.\n\nEuthymius thinks that the Jews thought our Lord was fifty years old, on account of His great wisdom and experience. This, however, seems a weak and untenable view.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":527,"text":"Numbers iv. 3","label":"Numbers 4:3","href":"/num/4/#v3","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.58.1","start":58,"end":58,"heading":"Jesus said...Before Abraham was, I am","excerpt":"This famous verse, I believe, can only receive one honest interpretation. It is a distinct assertion of our Lord's eternity, — His existence before all creation. '• I solemnly declare unto you that before Abraham was and existed I was, the great I AM, the same yesterday, to-clay, and forever, — the eternal God.\" All attempts to evade this explanation appear to me so preposterous that it is waste of time to notice them. The man who can think the words only mean, \" I am He who was promised to Adam before Abraham was born,\" seems past the reach of reasoning. — The name \" I AM,\" we must remember, is the very name by which God revealed Himself to the Jews, when He sent Moses to them : \" Say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me.\" (Exod. iii. 14.)\n\nLet us carefully note what a strong proof we have here of the pre-existence and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. He applies to Himself the very name by which God made Himself known when He undertook to redeem Israel. It was \" I AM \" who brought them out of the land of Egypt. It was \"I AM\" who died for us upon the cross. The amazing strength of the foundation of a sinner's hope appears here. Believing on Jesus we rest on divinity, on One who is God as well as man.\n\nThere is a difference in the Greek verbs here employed, which we should carefully notice. The Greek for \"was\" is quite different from the Greek for \" am.\" It is as if our Lord said, \" before Abraham was born, I have an existence individual and eternal.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":745,"text":"Exod. iii. 14","label":"Exodus 3:14","href":"/exo/3/#v14","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.58.2","start":58,"end":58,"heading":"","excerpt":"Chrysostom observes: \"He said not before Abraham was, I was, but, I AM. As the Father useth this expression I AM, so also doth Christ, for it signifieth continuous being, irrespective of all time. On which account the expression seemed to the Jews blasphemous.\"\n\nAugustine says: \"In these words acknowledge the Creator and discern the creature. He that spake was made the Seed of Abraham ; and that Abraham might be, He was before Abraham.\"\n\nGregory remarks : \" Divinity has no past or future, but always the present ; and therefore Jesus does not say before Abraham was I was, but I am.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.59.1","start":59,"end":59,"heading":"Then took they up stones to cast at him","excerpt":"It is clear that the Jews at any rate had no doubt what our Lord meant in the preceding verse, whatever modern Socinians may think. They saw and knew at once that He who spake to them boldly claimed to be Jehovah, and One far greater than Abraham, being very God. This they did not believe, and therefore regarded Him as a blasphemer who ought at once to be stoned. In their rage and fury they immediately took up stones, which were probably lying about on account of repairs of the temple, in order to stone Him. The whole proceeding appears to have been a tumultuous and disorderly one, not regularly conducted, but sudden and unauthorized, like the stoning of Stephen afterwards. (Acts vii. 58.)","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":684,"text":"Acts vii. 58","label":"Acts 7:58","href":"/act/7/#v58","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.59.2","start":59,"end":59,"heading":"but Jesus hid himself, &c.","excerpt":"I think this withdrawal can only be regarded as miraculous. The Greek word rendered \"hid Himself\" is literally \"was hid.\" It seems most improbable that our Lord could \" pass by \" and \" go through the midst \" of an angry crowd, whose eyes had for a long time been fixed and concentrated on Him, without being seen and stopped, unless there was a miraculous interposition. I believe that the eyes of His enemies were holden, and that they did not know Him for a season, or that by His own almighty power He rendered Himself temporarily invisible. It is only what He did at Nazareth on a similar occasion ; (Luke iv. 30 ;) and if we once concede that our Lord could work miracles at His will, there seems no reason to suppose that He would not work one on this occasion.\n\nLet us note that our Lord's enemies could do nothing to Him until His hour was come for suffering. When He was at last taken prisoner, brought before Pilate, and crucified, it was not because He could not escape, but because He would not. What He did here He might have done there.\n\nLet us note that it is not always the path of duty and of real obedience to God's will to sit still and submit to sufferings and death. It may be the will of God that we should \" flee to some other city \" and avoid death. (Matthew x. 23.) To court martyrdom and throw away life, when it might be saved, is not always the duty of a servant of Christ. Some of the martyrs of the primitive Church appear to have forgotten this.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":605,"text":"Luke iv. 30","label":"Luke 4:30","href":"/luk/4/#v30","status":"detected"},{"at":1275,"text":"Matthew x. 23","label":"Matthew 10:23","href":"/mat/10/#v23","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.59.3","start":59,"end":59,"heading":"","excerpt":"Augustine says : \"Jesus did not hide Himself in a corner of the temple as if He were afraid, or take refuge in a house, or run behind a wall or a pillar; but by His heavenly power He made Himself invisible to His enemies, and went through the midst of them.\"\n\nThe argument of Maldonatus, that this verse proves the possibility of Christ being corporally present in the Lord's Supper in the bread, is so preposterous that it requires no refutation. There is no positive proof that our Lord was actually invisible here. It is quite possible that the eyes of His enemies were \" holden that they could not know Him.\" (Luke xxiv. 16.) If He was invisible, Maldonatus proves too much. The bread in the Lord's Supper is seen, and after consecration the Roman Catholic says its substance is changed. But it is not invisible.\n\nIn leaving this remarkable chapter, we should not fail to notice the difficulties under which our Lord's public ministry was carried on. Ten times, between the 12th verse and the 59th, we find His enemies interrupting, contradicting, or reviling Him. Our Master's calm dignity and perfect meekness under all this \" contradiction of sinners \" ought to be a never forgotten example to His disciples.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough06ryle/expositorythough06ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":614,"text":"Luke xxiv. 16","label":"Luke 24:16","href":"/luk/24/#v16","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null}]},{"work_id":"westcott","author":"B. F. Westcott","short_name":"Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"title":"The Gospel According to St. John: The Authorised Version with Introduction and Notes","edition_short":"London: John Murray, 1892","author_url":"/commentators/westcott/","divisions":"verse","work_url":"/works/westcott/","entries":[{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.1.1","start":1,"end":1,"heading":"the mount of Olives","excerpt":"The Mount of Olives is nowhere mentioned by name in St John's Gospel. It is mentioned several times in each of the other Gospels in connexion with the last scenes of the Life of the Lord.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.2.1","start":2,"end":2,"heading":"he sat down","excerpt":"assumed the position of the authoritative teacher. Compare Matt. v. 1, xxiii. 2; Mark ix. 35.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":59,"text":"Matt. v. 1","label":"Matthew 5:1","href":"/mat/5/#v1","status":"detected"},{"at":71,"text":"xxiii. 2","label":"Matthew 23:2","href":"/mat/23/#v2","status":"detected"},{"at":81,"text":"Mark ix. 35","label":"Mark 9:35","href":"/mrk/9/#v35","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.3.1","start":3,"end":3,"heading":"the scribes and Pharisees","excerpt":"This is a common title in the Synoptists for the body summarily described by St John as the Jews. Compare Luke v. 30, vi. 7, xi. 53, xv. 2. St John never names \"the scribes.\"\n\nbrought (bring) unto him] We may suppose that the guilty woman had been brought first to them as a preparatory step to her trial.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":106,"text":"Luke v. 30","label":"Luke 5:30","href":"/luk/5/#v30","status":"detected"},{"at":118,"text":"vi. 7","label":"Luke 6:7","href":"/luk/6/#v7","status":"detected"},{"at":125,"text":"xi. 53","label":"Luke 11:53","href":"/luk/11/#v53","status":"detected"},{"at":133,"text":"xv. 2","label":"Luke 15:2","href":"/luk/15/#v2","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.4.1","start":4,"end":4,"heading":"was taken","excerpt":"hath been taken. The original  ... brings the present reality of guilt vividly before the reader  ....","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.5.1","start":5,"end":5,"heading":"Now Moses in the law...that such should be stoned","excerpt":"Deut. xxii. 43 f. The punishment of stoning was specified in the case of a betrothed bride. The form of death in other cases was not laid down, and according to Talmudic tradition it was strangulation. It seems better therefore to suppose that this exact crime had been committed than to suppose any inaccuracy in the statement. It is said also that a priest's daughter was stoned if she committed adultery ; but this was not a provision of the Law. Compare Lightfoot, ad loc.\n\nbut what] what therefore. .. Assuming this enactment as explicit, what conclusion canst thou draw for the guidance of our action in the present case ? Thou claimest to speak with authority and to fulfil the Law : solve our difficulty now.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":0,"text":"Deut. xxii. 43","label":"Deuteronomy 22:43","href":"/deu/22/#v43","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.6.1","start":6,"end":6,"heading":"This...tempting him","excerpt":"Compare Matt. xxii. 18. The dilemma corresponds to that in the question as to the tribute money. To affirm the binding validity of the Mosaic judgment would be to counsel action contrary to the Roman law. To set the Mosaic judgment aside would be to give up the claim to fulfil the Law. In either case there was material for accusation, practically fatal to the assumption of the Messiahship to which the Lord's teaching evidently pointed. He might be carried away into a premature declaration of His claims, and fall under the civil power; or he might disparage Moses, and lose the favour of the people. The \"temptation\" lay in the design to lead the Lord to one of these two answers.\n\nwrote] Both here  ..., and in v. 8  ..., the tense in the original presents the action as going on before the witnesses. It is quite vain to conjecture what was written, if indeed we are to understand anything more than the mere mechanical action of writing. The attitude represents one who follows out his own thoughts and is unwilling to give heed to those who question him. The very strangeness of the action marks the authenticity of the detail. ...","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":8,"text":"Matt. xxii. 18","label":"Matthew 22:18","href":"/mat/22/#v18","status":"detected"},{"at":717,"text":"v. 8","label":"John 8:8","href":"/jhn/8/#v8","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.7.1","start":7,"end":7,"heading":"He that is without sin","excerpt":"The colour of the word \"sinless\" is caught from the context. Though it would be unnatural to assume that all in the group of accusers were actually guilty of adultery, there is nothing unnatural in supposing that each could feel in himself the sinful inclination which had here issued in the sinful act. In this way the words of the Lord revealed to the men the depths of their own natures, and they shrank in that Presence from claiming the prerogative of innocence. At the same time the question as to the woman's offence was raised at once from a legal to a spiritual level. The judges were made to feel that freedom from outward guilt is no claim to sinlessness. And the offender in her turn was led to see that flagrant guilt does not bar hope. The Law as in a figure dealt with that which is visible; the Gospel penetrates to the inmost soul.\n\nfirst] taking, as it were, the place of the witness ; Deut. xvii. 7. For here the guiltless was required to take the place of a witness in a higher sense. There is nothing in the words which disparages legal punishment. These men were not the appointed instruments of the law.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":904,"text":"Deut. xvii. 7","label":"Deuteronomy 17:7","href":"/deu/17/#v7","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.8.1","start":8,"end":8,"heading":"again he stooped down","excerpt":"as unwilling to speak more.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.9.1","start":9,"end":9,"heading":"And they which heard...conscience, went out one by one","excerpt":"And they when they heard went out one by one, as they felt the power of Christ's sentence. The interpolated clause (being convicted by their own conscience) is a true explanation of the sense.\n\nbeginning at the eldest ... (the elders)] whose sorrowful experience of life was the fullest. The word is not a title of office, but simply of age.\n\nthe woman standing (being) in the midst] She still remained bound as it were by her sin in the presence of Christ. \" Two persons were left,\" Augustine says  ..., \" the unhappy woman and Compassion Incarnate \"  ....","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.10.1","start":10,"end":10,"heading":"When Jesus had...unto her","excerpt":"And Jesus lifting himself up said unto her.\n\nWoman ... thine accusers? hath ... thee?] Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn thee ? The question marks the interval during which the Lord had waited for the effect of His words.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.11.1","start":11,"end":11,"heading":"She said...And Jesus said unto her","excerpt":"And she said ... And Jesus said.\n\nNeither do I condemn thee] though I am truly sinless. The words are not words of forgiveness (Luke vii. 48), but simply of one who gives no sentence (comp. Luke xii. 14). The condemnation has reference to the outward punishment and not to the moral guilt : that is dealt with in the words which follow. \" Ergo et Dominus damnavit, sed peccatum non hominem \"  ....\n\ngo, and sin no more] go thy way: from henceforth sin no more. Comp. v. 14.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":128,"text":"Luke vii. 48","label":"Luke 7:48","href":"/luk/7/#v48","status":"detected"},{"at":190,"text":"Luke xii. 14","label":"Luke 12:14","href":"/luk/12/#v14","status":"detected"},{"at":467,"text":"v. 14","label":"John 8:14","href":"/jhn/8/#v14","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.12.1","start":12,"end":12,"heading":"Then spake Jesus again","excerpt":"Jesus therefore again spake. . . The opinions about Jesus were divided. The rulers were blinded by their prejudices. Jesus therefore traces back doubt and unbelief to want of inner sympathy with Himself. At the same time (again, vii. 37) the second symbol of the festival was interpreted.\n\nspake] This word compared with cried (vii. 37) suggests an occasion of less solemnity, probably after the Feast, but the time cannot be certainly determined.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.12.2","start":12,"end":12,"heading":"am the light of the world","excerpt":"In the court of the women, where this discourse was held (see v. 20), were great golden candelabra which were lighted on the first night of the Feast of Tabernacles, and perhaps on the other nights. The sight of these and the remembrance of the light which they had cast over the otherwise unbroken gloom of the city seems to have suggested the figure. But the lamps themselves were only images of the pillar of light which had guided the people in the wilderness, just as the libations (vii. 38) recalled the supply of water from the Rock. And it is to this finally that the words of the Lord refer. The idea of that light of the Exodus — transitory and partial — was now fulfilled in the living Light of the world. Compare Isai. xlii. 6, xlix. 6 ; Mal. iv. 2 ; Luke ii. 32. According to tradition \" Light\" was one of the names of Messiah. Compare Lightfoot and Wünsche, ad loc. The same title in all its fulness was given by the Lord to His disciples (Matt. v. 14) ; and St Paul (Phil. ii. 15) speaks of Christians as \"luminaries \" ( .... God is \" Light \" absolutely (1 John i. 5).\n\nlight) Compare Introd. p. xlvii.\n\nof the world] not of one nation only. This thought went beyond the popular hope. Buxtorf  ... quotes a remarkable saying from Talm. Hieros. 'Sabb.' ch. 2, that \"the first Adam was the light of the world.\"\n\nthat followeth] The thought of the pilgrimage still remains. The light is not for self-absorbed contemplation. It is given for action, movement, progress.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":62,"text":"v. 20","label":"John 8:20","href":"/jhn/8/#v20","status":"detected"},{"at":725,"text":"Isai. xlii. 6","label":"Isaiah 42:6","href":"/isa/42/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":740,"text":"xlix. 6","label":"Isaiah 49:6","href":"/isa/49/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":750,"text":"Mal. iv. 2","label":"Malachi 4:2","href":"https://openwordbible.org/mal/4/","status":"detected"},{"at":763,"text":"Luke ii. 32","label":"Luke 2:32","href":"/luk/2/#v32","status":"detected"},{"at":954,"text":"Matt. v. 14","label":"Matthew 5:14","href":"/mat/5/#v14","status":"detected"},{"at":982,"text":"Phil. ii. 15","label":"Philippians 2:15","href":"/php/2/#v15","status":"detected"},{"at":1070,"text":"1 John i. 5","label":"1 John 1:5","href":"/1jn/1/#v5","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.12.3","start":12,"end":12,"heading":"in darkness","excerpt":"in the darkness. The phrase does not simply describe an accompanying circumstance of the movement, but the sphere in which it takes place. \"The darkness\" is opposed to \"the light\" (compare i. 5, xii. 46; 1 John ii. 9, 11), and includes the conceptions of ignorance, limitation, death.\n\nshall have] not only shall look upon, or regard from a distance, but receive so that it becomes his own, a part of his true self. Comp. iv. 14, vi. 57. The Pauline phrase \" in Christ,\" or conversely \" Christ in me,\" expresses the fundamental thought.\n\nthe light of life] the light which both springs from life and issues in life ; of which life is the essential principle and the necessary result. Compare i. 4. Parallel phrases are The bread of life (vi. 35, note) ; the -water of life (Rev. xxi. 6) ; the tree of 'life, Rev. xxii. 14 ; and perhaps the crown of life, James i. 12.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":204,"text":"1 John ii. 9, 11","label":"1 John 2:11","href":"/1jn/2/#v11","status":"detected"},{"at":204,"text":"1 John ii. 9, 11","label":"1 John 2:9","href":"/1jn/2/#v9","status":"detected"},{"at":422,"text":"iv. 14","label":"John 4:14","href":"/jhn/4/#v14","status":"detected"},{"at":774,"text":"Rev. xxi. 6","label":"Revelation 21:6","href":"/rev/21/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":808,"text":"Rev. xxii. 14","label":"Revelation 22:14","href":"/rev/22/#v14","status":"detected"},{"at":855,"text":"James i. 12","label":"James 1:12","href":"/jas/1/#v12","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.12-20.1","start":12,"end":20,"heading":"4. The after teaching (viii. ia—20).","excerpt":"The Lord had applied to Himself one of the typical miracles of the Exodus (vii. 37 ff.): in this section He seems to apply to Himself that of the fiery pillar. As \" the light of the world\" He is self-attested (v. 12 f.). But for the apprehension of His nature sympathy is needed (14, 15). At the same time even as the Lord's judgment was an expression of the divine will, so His witness included that of the Father  ..., who could be recognised by those who truly knew Christ (v. 19).","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":210,"text":"v. 12","label":"John 8:12","href":"/jhn/8/#v12","status":"detected"},{"at":477,"text":"v. 19","label":"John 8:19","href":"/jhn/8/#v19","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.13.1","start":13,"end":13,"heading":"Thou bearest record of thyself","excerpt":"This objection points to the very characteristic of Christ's Being. It must be as they say because Christ is the light. The reality, the character of light, is attested by its shining. If men deny that it does shine, then there is no more room for discussion.\n\nthy record (witness) is not true] This is perhaps as much an independent assertion as a consequence from the fact that the witness to Christ was from Himself, and so formally imperfect. The Pharisees set their judgment against His assertion. He affirms a truth ; they, as claiming equal right of knowledge, deny it. Lightfoot (ad loc.) gives some interesting examples of the application of the law of witness to a particular case (' Rosh Hashanah,' i ff.). \"No man,\" it is said, \"can give witness for himself\" (Mishnah,- ' Ketub.' ii. 9).","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.14.1","start":14,"end":14,"heading":"Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true","excerpt":"The reply meets the objection of the Pharisees. The witness of Christ to Himself was essentially complete, and they had not that equality of knowledge on which they presumed to rely. A strong emphasis is thrown upon the pronoun  ..., to mark at once the peculiarity in the source and in the foundation of the witness. Compare v. 31. The \" I \" in the earlier passage marked the separate individuality ; here it marks the fulness of the whole Person.\n\nis true] in point of fact  ..., and not, as in xix. 35, in formal validity  ....\n\nfor (because) I know...] True witness even to a single fact in the spiritual life involves a knowledge of the past and of the future. In the past lie the manifold elements out of which the present grew ; in the future lies the revelation of what the present implicitly contains. He can bear witness to himself who has such knowledge of his own being. This no man has, but the Son has it, and in virtue of it He can reveal the Father. Comp.xvi. 28.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":326,"text":"v. 31","label":"John 8:31","href":"/jhn/8/#v31","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.15.1","start":15,"end":15,"heading":"","excerpt":"The thought of \"knowledge\" passes into that of \"judgment.\" The Pharisees had not the knowledge, nor could they in their present state gain the knowledge. They judged after the flesh (comp. 2 Cor. v. 16). They were content to form their conclusions on an imperfect, external, superficial examination. Without feeling any necessity for deeper or wider insight, they decided according to the appearance of things; and so by that part of our nature which deals with appearances. Christ, on the other hand, though He embraced in this knowledge all the circumstances, and aspects, and issues of life, judged no man. The time for this was not yet ; nor was this His work (xii. 47).\n\nThe contrast in these words may be compared with that below in v. 23, (26 ?).","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":189,"text":"2 Cor. v. 16","label":"2 Corinthians 5:16","href":"/2co/5/#v16","status":"detected"},{"at":739,"text":"v. 23","label":"John 8:23","href":"/jhn/8/#v23","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.16.1","start":16,"end":16,"heading":"","excerpt":"But this absence of judgment on Christ's part was not from any defect in the completeness of His knowledge. For He adds, And yet (even, vi. 51, note) if I judge, my judgment is true...\n\nis true., for (because)...] Not only true as answering to the special facts  ..., but true as satisfying our perfect conception of what judgment ought to be  ..., because it is not an isolated or personal judgment, but a judgment springing out of a conscious union with the Author of all Truth. A saying given in ' Pirke Aboth' (iv. 12) gives the characteristic thought which the Lord meets : \" Judge not alone  ..., for none may judge alone save ONE.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.17.1","start":17,"end":17,"heading":"is also written in your law, that the testimony","excerpt":"And even In your law — the Law which is your law — it is written. ..that the witness... The Pharisees had appealed to the Law ; the Law then of which they claimed absolute possession (vii. 49) is shewn to decide against them (Deut. xix. 15). The phrase does not in any way disparage or set aside the Law as a divine revelation, but marks the Jewish claim (v. 56, your father).\n\nIt is. ..written] The exact form used here  ... is found in St John of the old Scriptures only in this place (compare xx. 31). It is the common form of citation in other books. St John elsewhere uses the resolved form  ..., which is read here by Cod. Sin.; ii. 17, note, x. 34, (xv. 25).\n\nof two men] The word \"men\"  ... does not occur in the original text or in the LXX. It appears to be introduced here to indicate the superior force of the divine witness.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":226,"text":"Deut. xix. 15","label":"Deuteronomy 19:15","href":"/deu/19/#v15","status":"detected"},{"at":356,"text":"v. 56","label":"John 8:56","href":"/jhn/8/#v56","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.18.1","start":18,"end":18,"heading":"am one that bear witness...beareth witness","excerpt":"I am he that beareth witness  ...... The change in the form of the two clauses presents the difference of the mode in which the two witnesses give their testimony. He that gave the witness was one, but through Him the Father also spake and wrought: \" I am he that beareth witness ; and, at the same time, in and through me, the Father beareth witness of me, so that your objection loses its point.\" The witness of the Father from whom Christ came was given not merely in the miracles done but in the whole ministry of the Son.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.19.1","start":19,"end":19,"heading":"Then said they","excerpt":"They said therefore... The appeal to an absent, unseen, witness did not satisfy the Pharisees.\n\nWhere is thy Father?] The form of the question shews the spirit of the questioners. They do not say \"Who is thy Father?\" as if they were in uncertainty as to the reference, but \"Where...?\" implying that a reference to one whom they could not look upon and interrogate was of no avail for the purpose of the argument.\n\nYe neither know me, nor...] Rather, Ye know neither me nor... The question was futile. The mere fact that it was put shewed that the true answer to it could not be given or received. ...","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.20.1","start":20,"end":20,"heading":"These words spake Jesus in the treasury","excerpt":"The Treasury was in the Court of the women, the most public part of the temple (compare Mark xii. 41 ff. ; Luke xxi. 1). ...","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":88,"text":"Mark xii. 41","label":"Mark 12:41","href":"/mrk/12/#v41","status":"detected"},{"at":107,"text":"Luke xxi. 1","label":"Luke 21:1","href":"/luk/21/#v1","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.20.2","start":20,"end":20,"heading":"taught","excerpt":"Contrast Acts xxiv. 12.\n\nand no man...] and yet no man... ...\n\nlaid hands on him] took him, as in vii. 30, 32, 44, &c.\n\nhis hour] Comp. ii. 4, vii. 30, xiii. 1, note.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":9,"text":"Acts xxiv. 12","label":"Acts 24:12","href":"/act/24/#v12","status":"detected"},{"at":136,"text":"ii. 4","label":"John 2:4","href":"/jhn/2/#v4","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.21.1","start":21,"end":21,"heading":"unto them","excerpt":"v. 12, note.\n\nye shall seek me] The emphasis lies (as in vii. 34) upon the word seek. There is no contrast here between \"ye\" and \"me.\" The search was the search of despair under the pressure of overwhelming calamity; and the issue was not failure only but death, and death in sin, for the search under false motives, with false ends, was itself sin, an open, utter abandonment of the divine will.\n\nyour sin] The sin was one in its essence, though its fruits were manifold (i;. 24). Hence the order here is, \" in your sin shall ye die,\" while in v. 24 the emphasis is transposed (\" ye shall die in your sins\").\n\nwhither I  ... go, ye  ... cannot come] Compare vii. 34 (where I am...). Here the contrast of persons  ... is distinctly marked, as containing the ground of the separation. When the same words are applied to the disciples (xiii. 33) the impossibility of following is shewn to be for a time only (xiii. 36).","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":0,"text":"v. 12","label":"John 8:12","href":"/jhn/8/#v12","status":"detected"},{"at":545,"text":"v. 24","label":"John 8:24","href":"/jhn/8/#v24","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.21-30.1","start":21,"end":30,"heading":"21—30.","excerpt":"The subject of these verses is that which had been already partly announced at the feast (vii. 33 ff.). Christ shews the momentous issues which hang upon His brief sojourn with the Jews (v. 21), who are essentially opposite to Him in character  ..., and therefore only to be delivered by transforming faith in Him (v. 24). At present a plainer revelation of Himself was impossible (v. 25 f.) ; but hereafter all would be made clear (v. 28). Meanwhile His work was His witness  .... And this some were enabled to accept (v. 30).","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":187,"text":"v. 21","label":"John 8:21","href":"/jhn/8/#v21","status":"detected"},{"at":315,"text":"v. 24","label":"John 8:24","href":"/jhn/8/#v24","status":"detected"},{"at":382,"text":"v. 25","label":"John 8:25","href":"/jhn/8/#v25","status":"detected"},{"at":433,"text":"v. 28","label":"John 8:28","href":"/jhn/8/#v28","status":"detected"},{"at":520,"text":"v. 30","label":"John 8:30","href":"/jhn/8/#v30","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.21-59.1","start":21,"end":59,"heading":"5. The trial of true and false faith (21—59).","excerpt":"This section describes the spiritual crisis in the preaching to Israel. It consists of two parts. The first part (21 — 30) contains the distinct presentation of the one object of faith with the declaration of the consequences of unbelief (v. 24). This is closed by the notice of a large accession of disciples (v. 30). The second part (31 — 58) gives an analysis of the essential character and issues of selfish belief and false Judaism. ...","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":239,"text":"v. 24","label":"John 8:24","href":"/jhn/8/#v24","status":"detected"},{"at":311,"text":"v. 30","label":"John 8:30","href":"/jhn/8/#v30","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.22.1","start":22,"end":22,"heading":"Then said the Jews","excerpt":"The Jews, who were the speakers also in vii. 35, therefore said, in scornful contempt of such an assumption of superiority. The repetition of the imperfect  ... marks the record as a compressed summary.\n\nWill he  ... kill himself? because (that)...] The bitterness of the mockery, like the sternness of the denunciation, is increased (vii. 35). The questioners assume that no way can be open to Jesus which is not equally open to them, unless it be the way to Gehenna opened by self-murder. Thither indeed they could not follow Him. By the Jews suicide was placed on the same level with murder, Joseph. ' B. J.' in. 8 (14). 5 ; and the darkest regions of the world below were supposed to be reserved for those who were guilty of the crime  ... ....","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.23.1","start":23,"end":23,"heading":"","excerpt":"The Lord meets the taunt of His opponents by developing that difference of nature in which lay at once the cause of their inability to follow Him, and the cause of their inability to understand Him. He and they belonged essentially to different regions; the spring of their life, the sphere of their thoughts, were separated from the spring and the sphere of His by an infinite chasm. The difference was equally great whether it was regarded in its final source or in its present manifestation. The circumstances of earthly life give scope for the embodiment of two characters absolutely opposed. For earthly life lies between and in connexion with two orders, and it includes in itself two orders. It may be swayed by higher or lower influences; it may be fashioned on a fleeting or on an eternal type. And between these there can be no fellowship.\n\nThere can be in the way of nature no passage from the one to the other.\n\nYe are from beneath] Your whole being in its deepest principles is drawn from the powers of the lower, sensual, realm  ...-, you are \"flesh of flesh\" (iii. 6). ... Comp. Col. iii. 1 f.).\n\nye are of this world] true children of the fleeting order which you can see.\n\nI am not of this world] but the bringer in of a new and spiritual order, to which entrance can be gained only by a new birth.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1094,"text":"Col. iii. 1","label":"Colossians 3:1","href":"/col/3/#v1","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.24.1","start":24,"end":24,"heading":"said therefore","excerpt":"because this fatal chasm separates you from my true home and from the region of life, that ye shall die — here the emphasis is changed and lies upon the end \"death,\" and not upon the state \"sin\" — in your sins, which in their varied form reveal the presence of the one fatal source (v. 21). For there is but one mode of escape from death, one means of obtaining life, one \" way \" of approaching the Father by which earth and heaven are united, even fellowship by Faith with Him who is, and who has become man, and if ye believe not (unless ye believe) that I am, ye shall die in your sins.\n\nthat I am] not simply \" that I am the Messiah,\" such as your imagination has drawn for you- ; but far more than this, that I am, that in me is the spring of life and light and strength ; that I present to you the invisible majesty of God ; that I unite in virtue of my essential Being the seen and the unseen, the finite and the infinite.\n\nThe phrase \"I am \"  ... occurs three times in this chapter (vv. 24, 28, 58; comp. xiii. 19), and on each occasion, as it seems, with this pregnant meaning. Compare Deut. xxxii. 39 ; Isai. xliii. 10.\n\nElsewhere, in cases where the predicate is directly suggested by the context, this predicate simply is to be supplied : ch. ix. 9, xviii. 5, 6, 8. Comp. vi. 20; Matt. xiv. 27; Mark vi. 50, xiv. 62 ; Luke xxii. 70. And so it is used of the Messiah : Mark xiii. 6 ; Luke xxi. 8. Cf. Acts xiii. 25.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":283,"text":"v. 21","label":"John 8:21","href":"/jhn/8/#v21","status":"detected"},{"at":991,"text":"vv. 24, 28, 58","label":"John 8:24","href":"/jhn/8/#v24","status":"detected"},{"at":991,"text":"vv. 24, 28, 58","label":"John 8:28","href":"/jhn/8/#v28","status":"detected"},{"at":991,"text":"vv. 24, 28, 58","label":"John 8:58","href":"/jhn/8/#v58","status":"detected"},{"at":1013,"text":"xiii. 19","label":"John 13:19","href":"/jhn/13/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":1095,"text":"Deut. xxxii. 39","label":"Deuteronomy 32:39","href":"/deu/32/#v39","status":"detected"},{"at":1113,"text":"Isai. xliii. 10","label":"Isaiah 43:10","href":"/isa/43/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":1255,"text":"ix. 9","label":"John 9:9","href":"/jhn/9/#v9","status":"detected"},{"at":1284,"text":"vi. 20","label":"John 6:20","href":"/jhn/6/#v20","status":"detected"},{"at":1292,"text":"Matt. xiv. 27","label":"Matthew 14:27","href":"/mat/14/#v27","status":"detected"},{"at":1307,"text":"Mark vi. 50","label":"Mark 6:50","href":"/mrk/6/#v50","status":"detected"},{"at":1320,"text":"xiv. 62","label":"Mark 14:62","href":"/mrk/14/#v62","status":"detected"},{"at":1330,"text":"Luke xxii. 70","label":"Luke 22:70","href":"/luk/22/#v70","status":"detected"},{"at":1380,"text":"Mark xiii. 6","label":"Mark 13:6","href":"/mrk/13/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":1395,"text":"Luke xxi. 8","label":"Luke 21:8","href":"/luk/21/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":1412,"text":"Acts xiii. 25","label":"Acts 13:25","href":"/act/13/#v25","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.25.1","start":25,"end":25,"heading":"Then said they","excerpt":"They said therefore...\n\nWho art thou f] The question corresponds with the general translation \" I am.\" The wish of the questioners is evidently to draw from the Lord an open declaration that He is \"the Christ,\" that is the Deliverer such as they conceived of him.\n\nAnd Jesus saith... ,] Jesus saith...\n\n(1) Altogether, essentially, I am that which I even speak to you. That is to say, My Person is my teaching. ...","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.25.2","start":25,"end":25,"heading":"","excerpt":"(2) How is it that I even speak to you at all? How is it that I so much as speak with you? That is to say, The question which you ask cannot be answered. The very fact that it is proposed makes it clear, as it has been clear before, that it is vain for me to seek to lead you by my words to a better knowledge of myself.\n\nOf these two the second interpretation, which was in the main that of the Greek fathers, seems to fall in best with the general sense of the dialogue. See Additional Note.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.26.1","start":26,"end":26,"heading":"","excerpt":"We must suppose a pause after the last words, if they are taken interrogatively, and then the sad train of thought is continued. The Jews, even if they had misunderstood the revelation which Christ had given of Himself, and were unworthy of any further manifestation of His Person — and indeed in virtue of this their grievous fault — furnished many subjects for teaching and judgment. In them unbelief was embodied. So the sentence follows : I have many things to say and to judge of (concerning) you. The utterance of these judgments will widen the chasm between us. But they must be spoken at all cost ; they are part of my divine charge ; he that sent me is true', in His message there is no superfluity and no defect, and the things which I heard from Him, when I came on earth to do His will, these speak I unto the world.\n\nbut he...] .It seems best to find the opposition (as above) in the anticipated failure of these further revelations. ...","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.26.2","start":26,"end":26,"heading":"speak to","excerpt":"The construction is very remarkable  .... It is not simply \"address to the world,\" but \"speak into, so that the words may reach as far as, spread through, the world.\" Christ stands, as it were, outside the world, mediating between two worlds. Comp. 1 Thess. ii. 9  ..., iv. 8; Hebr. ii. 3.\n\nI have heard] I heard. Comp. v. 28, note, xv. 15, note.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":249,"text":"1 Thess. ii. 9","label":"1 Thessalonians 2:9","href":"/1th/2/#v9","status":"detected"},{"at":320,"text":"v. 28","label":"John 8:28","href":"/jhn/8/#v28","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.27.1","start":27,"end":27,"heading":"They understood not","excerpt":"preoccupied as they were with thoughts of an earthly deliverer, and perhaps with doubts as to the possibility that Jesus might have come to them from some one such as they looked for, who awaited the favourable time for his appearance.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.28.1","start":28,"end":28,"heading":"lifted up","excerpt":"Compare xii. 32, note.\n\nshall ye know] Compare Ezek. vii. 4, xi. 12, xii. 20.\n\nthat I do] It is not unlikely that the verb begins a new sentence, and does not depend on the \"that\" of the previous clause : \"you shall then perceive my true Nature. Yes, and in fact my whole work answers to a divine guidance.\"\n\nof myself] Compare v. 30, note, xv. 4, note.\n\ndo... speak these things] The present teaching was part of the appointed work of Christ. The last phrase is not general, as if it were equivalent to \"so I speak,\" but is used with a specific reference to the revelations which the Lord was even now making.\n\nmy Father hath taught] the Father taught. The mission of the Son is regarded as the point when He received all that was required for His work. The teaching is so far looked upon as compressed into one supratemporal act, and gradually realised under the conditions of human life.\n\nCompare the use of I heard  .... On the other hand I hear is used in regard to special acts (v. 30).","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":47,"text":"Ezek. vii. 4","label":"Ezekiel 7:4","href":"/ezk/7/#v4","status":"detected"},{"at":61,"text":"xi. 12","label":"Ezekiel 11:12","href":"/ezk/11/#v12","status":"detected"},{"at":69,"text":"xii. 20","label":"Ezekiel 12:20","href":"/ezk/12/#v20","status":"detected"},{"at":328,"text":"v. 30","label":"John 8:30","href":"/jhn/8/#v30","status":"detected"},{"at":985,"text":"v. 30","label":"John 8:30","href":"/jhn/8/#v30","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.29.1","start":29,"end":29,"heading":"","excerpt":"The whole being of the Son was in absolute harmony with the being of the Father, and the Father was personally present with the Son. In one sense there was a separation at the Incarnation: in another sense there remained perfect unbroken fellowship. There was a \" sending \" and yet a \" remaining together.\" He that \"sent\" was still with Him that \" was sent.\" The pregnancy of the phrase must be observed.\n\nthe Father ...alone] He, even He that sent me (so the words run, omitting the Father), at that crisis left me not alone — the new relation was superadded to and did not destroy the old relation — and men themselves can see the signs of this abiding communion, for (because) 7 — I  ...> in the complete Person on which you look — do always — not fitfully, Uncertainly, partially — the things that please Him.\n\nfor] The word seems to be used here as In Luke vii. 47, to indicate the sign of the truth of the statement made, and not to give the ground of the fact stated. The perfect coincidence of the will of the Son with the will of the Father is presented as the effect, and not as the reason of the Father's Presence. And yet here as always the two thoughts run into one another.\n\nthose things that please him] The service is positive, active, energetic, and not only a negative obedience, an abstention from evil. Comp. 1 John iii. 22; Exod. xv. 26; Isai. xxxviii. 3 ; Wisd. ix. 18.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":857,"text":"Luke vii. 47","label":"Luke 7:47","href":"/luk/7/#v47","status":"detected"},{"at":1329,"text":"1 John iii. 22","label":"1 John 3:22","href":"/1jn/3/#v22","status":"detected"},{"at":1345,"text":"Exod. xv. 26","label":"Exodus 15:26","href":"/exo/15/#v26","status":"detected"},{"at":1359,"text":"Isai. xxxviii. 3","label":"Isaiah 38:3","href":"/isa/38/#v3","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.30.1","start":30,"end":30,"heading":"believed on him","excerpt":"in the fullest sense : cast themselves upon Him, putting aside their own imaginations and hopes, and waiting till He should shew Himself more clearly. This energy of faith in a person  ... is to be carefully distinguished from the simple acceptance of a person's statements as true (irio-Ttvfiv ru-i, \" to tinue in my word, then are ye my 32 And ye shall know the truth, disciples indeed ; and the truth shall make you free.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.31.1","start":31,"end":31,"heading":"","excerpt":"His claims to Messiahship as true, who were convinced by what He said, but who still interpreted His promise and words by their own prepossessions (comp. vi. 15). They believed Him and did not believe In Him. The addition of the word \"Jews\" and the change in the construction of the verb distinguish sharply this group from the general company in v. 30 ; and the exact form of the original makes the contrast more obvious  ....\n\nThen said Jesus. ..] Jesus therefore said ...which had believed Him. See v. 30, note.\n\nIf ye... disciples indeed] If ye — even ye with your inveterate prejudices and most imperfect faith — abide in my word ye are truly my disciples. The emphasis lies on the pronoun (ye) and not, as we are inclined to place it, on the verb (abide). The sentence is a gracious recognition of the first rude beginning of faith. Even this, if it were cherished with absolute devotion, might become the foundation of better things. It included the possibility of a true discipleship, out of which knowledge and freedom should grow ; for there is a discipleship of those who for the time are in ignorance and in bondage.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":154,"text":"vi. 15","label":"John 6:15","href":"/jhn/6/#v15","status":"detected"},{"at":347,"text":"v. 30","label":"John 8:30","href":"/jhn/8/#v30","status":"detected"},{"at":502,"text":"v. 30","label":"John 8:30","href":"/jhn/8/#v30","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.31.2","start":31,"end":31,"heading":"continue in my word","excerpt":"The word, the revelation of Christ, is at once the element in which the Christian lives, and the spring of his life. He abides in the word, and the word abides in him (v. 38; 1 John ii. 14, i. 10). Just so, in the language of St Paul, the believer lives in Christ and Christ in the believer (Gal. ii. 20). The phrase which is used here and in vv. 37, 43  ... expresses the word which is tputy characteristic of Christ and not simply that which He utters. Comp. xv. 9 note. ...","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":168,"text":"v. 38","label":"John 8:38","href":"/jhn/8/#v38","status":"detected"},{"at":175,"text":"1 John ii. 14","label":"1 John 2:14","href":"/1jn/2/#v14","status":"detected"},{"at":190,"text":"i. 10","label":"1 John 1:10","href":"/1jn/1/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":292,"text":"Gal. ii. 20","label":"Galatians 2:20","href":"/gal/2/#v20","status":"detected"},{"at":343,"text":"vv. 37, 43","label":"John 8:37","href":"/jhn/8/#v37","status":"detected"},{"at":343,"text":"vv. 37, 43","label":"John 8:43","href":"/jhn/8/#v43","status":"detected"},{"at":461,"text":"xv. 9","label":"John 15:9","href":"/jhn/15/#v9","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.31-59.1","start":31,"end":59,"heading":"31—59.","excerpt":"This conversation lays open the essential differences between the men who would have given permanence to the Old Dispensation and Christ who fulfilled it. The historical and the spiritual, the external and the moral, the temporal and the eternal, are placed side by side. The contrast is made more complete because Abraham and not Moses is taken as the representative of Judaism.\n\n. The successive pleas of the Jews give in a natural order the objections which they took I to Christ's claims. \" We are Abraham's seed :...how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?\" (v. 33). ...","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":563,"text":"v. 33","label":"John 8:33","href":"/jhn/8/#v33","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.31-59.2","start":31,"end":59,"heading":"","excerpt":"With the help of the clue thus given it is more easy to follow the course of the argument. At the outset Christ promises freedom to those who honestly follow out an imperfect faith (31 f.). \"But we are free\" is the answer (v. 33). Not spiritually (vv. 33 — 36) ; nor does descent carry with it religious likeness (vv. 37 — 42). Inability to hear Christ betrays and springs from a close affinity with the powers of evil (vv. 43 — 47). Such a judgment is sober and true (in.'. 48 — 50). The word which Christ brings is life-giving  ...; and He Himself was before Abraham (vv. 54 — 58).","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":223,"text":"v. 33","label":"John 8:33","href":"/jhn/8/#v33","status":"detected"},{"at":248,"text":"vv. 33","label":"John 8:33","href":"/jhn/8/#v33","status":"detected"},{"at":314,"text":"vv. 37","label":"John 8:37","href":"/jhn/8/#v37","status":"detected"},{"at":420,"text":"vv. 43","label":"John 8:43","href":"/jhn/8/#v43","status":"detected"},{"at":570,"text":"vv. 54","label":"John 8:54","href":"/jhn/8/#v54","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.32.1","start":32,"end":32,"heading":"ye shall know the truth","excerpt":"Comp. i. 17, v. 33. This Truth is no mere abstract speculation. It is living and personal. Comp. v. 36, and xiv. 6.\n\nthe truth shall make you free] The freedom of the individual is perfect conformity to the absolute— to that which is. Intellectually, this conformity is knowledge of the Truth: morally, obedience to the divine Law. This principle is that which Socrates (for example) felt after when he spoke of vice as ignorance; and the Stoics when they maintained that \"the wise man alone is free.\" The Jews also had a saying, \" Thou wilt find no freeman but him who is occupied in learning of the Law,\" and hence they substituted mystically cheruth (freedom) for charuth (graven) in Exod. xxxii. 16 ('Perek R. Meir,' 2. ...\n\nTaylor, ad loc.~). These different thoughts are summed up in the noble paradox Deo servire at libertas.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":6,"text":"i. 17","label":"John 1:17","href":"/jhn/1/#v17","status":"detected"},{"at":13,"text":"v. 33","label":"John 8:33","href":"/jhn/8/#v33","status":"detected"},{"at":97,"text":"v. 36","label":"John 8:36","href":"/jhn/8/#v36","status":"detected"},{"at":687,"text":"Exod. xxxii. 16","label":"Exodus 32:16","href":"/exo/32/#v16","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.33.1","start":33,"end":33,"heading":"They answered","excerpt":"i.e. the Jews who believed Him who have just been characterized.\n\nWe be Abraham's seed] to whom the sovereignty of the world has been assured by an eternal and inalienable right. Comp. Matt. iii. 9 ; Luke iii. 8.\n\nand were never (have never yet been) in bondage to any man] The episodes of Egyptian, Babylonian, Syrian and Roman conquests were treated as mere transitory accidents, not touching the real life of the people, who had never accepted the dominion of their conquerors or coalesced with them.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":185,"text":"Matt. iii. 9","label":"Matthew 3:9","href":"/mat/3/#v9","status":"detected"},{"at":200,"text":"Luke iii. 8","label":"Luke 3:8","href":"/luk/3/#v8","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.34.1","start":34,"end":34,"heading":"","excerpt":"The answer to the national boast of the Jews lies in the affirmation of the true principle of freedom (Verily, verily. Comp. vv. 51, 58).\n\nWhosoever (Every one that) committeth sin] \"To commit sin\"  ... is not simply to commit single, isolated, acts of sin, but to live a life of sin (1 John iii. 4, 8). The exact contrast is doing the Truth (iii. 21; 1 John i. 6) on one side and doing righteousness on the other (1 John ii. 29, iii. 7). Sin as a whole — complete failure, missing of the mark, in thought and deed — is set over against Truth and Righteousness.\n\nthe servant] \"the slave,\" \"the bondservant\"  .... The same image occurs in St Paul (Rom. vi. 17, 20).","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":125,"text":"vv. 51, 58","label":"John 8:51","href":"/jhn/8/#v51","status":"detected"},{"at":125,"text":"vv. 51, 58","label":"John 8:58","href":"/jhn/8/#v58","status":"detected"},{"at":285,"text":"1 John iii. 4, 8","label":"1 John 3:4","href":"/1jn/3/#v4","status":"detected"},{"at":285,"text":"1 John iii. 4, 8","label":"1 John 3:8","href":"/1jn/3/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":352,"text":"1 John i. 6","label":"1 John 1:6","href":"/1jn/1/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":415,"text":"1 John ii. 29","label":"1 John 2:29","href":"/1jn/2/#v29","status":"detected"},{"at":430,"text":"iii. 7","label":"1 John 3:7","href":"/1jn/3/#v7","status":"detected"},{"at":647,"text":"Rom. vi. 17, 20","label":"Romans 6:17","href":"/rom/6/#v17","status":"detected"},{"at":647,"text":"Rom. vi. 17, 20","label":"Romans 6:20","href":"/rom/6/#v20","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.35.1","start":35,"end":35,"heading":"","excerpt":"The transition from the thought of bondage to sin to that of freedom through the Son is compressed. Bondage to sin is the general type of a false relationship to God. He who is essentially a bondman cannot be a son of God. Whatever may be his outward connexion with God it can last only for a time. Permanent union with God must rest upon an abiding and essential foundation. Even the history of Abraham shewed this: Ishmael was cast out; the promises centred in Isaac. Thus there is a two-fold change in thought, (1) from bondage to sin to the idea of bondage, and (2) from the idea of sonship (contrasted with the idea of bondage) to the Son. ...\n\nthe house] Comp. xiv. 2 ; Hebr. iii. 6 but the Son... ever] the Son abideth for ever.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":667,"text":"xiv. 2","label":"John 14:2","href":"/jhn/14/#v2","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.36.1","start":36,"end":36,"heading":"","excerpt":"This general principle, illustrated in the origin of the Jewish people by the parable of Isaac and Ishmael, has one absolute fulfilment. The Son, the true Son, is one. Through Him alone — in Him, in fellowship with Him — can lasting freedom be gained, seeing that He alone is free, and abideth unchangeable for ever.\n\nIf the Son therefore] The Son and not the Father is represented as giving freedom, in so far as He communicates to others that which is His own.\n\nfree indeed] The word translated indeed  ... occurs here only in St John. ... The conception of freedom which is given in this whole passage presents the principle which St Paul applied to the special case of external ordinances.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.37.1","start":37,"end":37,"heading":"","excerpt":"The conception of freedom having been thus illustrated, the Lord goes back to the claim of the Jews, and admits it in its historical sense.\n\nI know that ye are Abraham's seed; but...] Outwardly ye are sons; but in fact you seek to destroy the true Son. Your conceptions of the Father's will and purpose are so fatally wrong that they place you — however little the final issue may be apparent now — in deadly hostility to me. You believe me, but you would make me fulfil your thoughts. When you find that this cannot be, you too will see the murderous spirit revealed in you.\n\nThe ground of the hostility of the Jews was the fact that the revelation of Christ (my word) made no way, no progress in them. It had in some sense found an entrance, but it made no successful progress in their hearts.\n\nhath no place] maketh no way in you, hath not free course in you (Ow x^P*^ Vulg. non capit). The sense given in A.V.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.38.1","start":38,"end":38,"heading":"","excerpt":"And yet the word of Christ justly claimed acceptance, for it was derived from immediate knowledge of God. The things which I  ... — I myself directly, in my own Person — have seen with (in the presence of) the Father I speak. ...","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.38.2","start":38,"end":38,"heading":"have seen","excerpt":"The perfect revelation through the Son rests upon perfect and direct knowledge. He speaks to men in virtue of His immediate and open vision of God, which no man could bear (i. 18). The appeal to this Vision of God is peculiar to St John. Comp. iii. 34, vi. 46 (the Father); and though man naturally is unable to attain to the sight of God (v. 37; 1 John iv. 20), yet in Christ the believer does see Him now (xiv. 7, 9. Comp. iii. 11; 1 John iii. 6; 3 John IT), and shall see Him more completely (1 John iii. 2. Comp. Matt. v. 8; 1 Cor. xiii. 12).\n\nand ye do that which ye have seen with your father] Or, according to the more probable reading, the things which ye heard from... The verb in the original  ... is ambiguous. It may be imperative do ye, or indicative ye do. If it be taken as an imperative the sense will be: and do ye therefore the things which ye heard from the Father: fulfil in very deed the message which you have received from God, and in which you make your boast. If it be taken as an indicative \"the father\" must receive opposite interpretations in the two clauses (my Father, even God, and your father, even the devil: rov irarpos is to be read in both places). The sense will then be : and ye therefore, tragically consistent, do the things which ye heard from your father, the devil, whose spiritual offspring ye are. This thought has not yet been distinctly expressed, and in v. 41 your father is distinctly written  ..., but on the other hand v. 39 may be supposed to imply a special reference.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":244,"text":"iii. 34","label":"John 3:34","href":"/jhn/3/#v34","status":"detected"},{"at":340,"text":"v. 37","label":"John 8:37","href":"/jhn/8/#v37","status":"detected"},{"at":347,"text":"1 John iv. 20","label":"1 John 4:20","href":"/1jn/4/#v20","status":"detected"},{"at":425,"text":"iii. 11","label":"John 3:11","href":"/jhn/3/#v11","status":"detected"},{"at":434,"text":"1 John iii. 6","label":"1 John 3:6","href":"/1jn/3/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":496,"text":"1 John iii. 2","label":"1 John 3:2","href":"/1jn/3/#v2","status":"detected"},{"at":517,"text":"Matt. v. 8","label":"Matthew 5:8","href":"/mat/5/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":529,"text":"1 Cor. xiii. 12","label":"1 Corinthians 13:12","href":"/1co/13/#v12","status":"detected"},{"at":1402,"text":"v. 41","label":"John 8:41","href":"/jhn/8/#v41","status":"detected"},{"at":1470,"text":"v. 39","label":"John 8:39","href":"/jhn/8/#v39","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.39.1","start":39,"end":39,"heading":"If ye were...ye would do...Abraham","excerpt":"There is great variety of reading in the Greek texts in this passage. The most probable reading gives the sense : If ye are children of Abraham, do  ... the works of Abraham. Or perhaps it may be rendered: Ifjrea.ro children of Abraham, ye do the works of Abraham, a supposition which is obviously false. The emphasis is laid upon the community of nature (children), and not upon the inheritance of privilege (sons).\n\nFor the use of children see i. 12, xi. 52; 1 John iii. 1, 2, 10, v. 2; and for sons, xii. 36 (of light); xvii. 12 (of destruction). ...","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":461,"text":"1 John iii. 1, 2, 10","label":"1 John 3:1–2","href":"/1jn/3/#v1","status":"detected"},{"at":461,"text":"1 John iii. 1, 2, 10","label":"1 John 3:10","href":"/1jn/3/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":483,"text":"v. 2","label":"1 John 5:2","href":"/1jn/5/#v2","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.40.1","start":40,"end":40,"heading":"But now","excerpt":"As things really are.\n\na man] The word man  ... stands in contrast with of God, and so brings out the element of condescension in the Lord's teaching which exposed Him to the hostility of the Jews ; and at the same time it suggests the idea of human sympathy, which He might claim from them (a man), as opposed to the murderous spirit of the power of evil. The title is nowhere else used by the Lord of Himself. Compare Rom. v. 15 ; 1 Tim. ii. 5; Acts ii. 22. xvii. 31  ....\n\nthe truth, which I have heard (which I heard)] Compare v. 28 note.\n\nthis did not Abraham] who faithfully obeyed each word of God, and paid honour to those who spoke in His name, as to Melchizedek and the angels (Gen. xiv., xviii.). In the traditions of the East, Abraham, \"the Friend,\" is still spoken of as \"full of loving-kindness.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":420,"text":"Rom. v. 15","label":"Romans 5:15","href":"/rom/5/#v15","status":"detected"},{"at":433,"text":"1 Tim. ii. 5","label":"1 Timothy 2:5","href":"/1ti/2/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":447,"text":"Acts ii. 22","label":"Acts 2:22","href":"/act/2/#v22","status":"detected"},{"at":531,"text":"v. 28","label":"John 8:28","href":"/jhn/8/#v28","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.41.1","start":41,"end":41,"heading":"Ye do the deeds","excerpt":"Ye are doing the v. 38 the connexion is: \"Do not speak to works (as v. 38). ...\n\nThen said they...] They said... The line of thought seems to be this. You admit, the Jews argue, that we are historically descended from Abraham (v. 37), but you deny that we are spiritually like Abraham  .... You speak of another father whose spiritual seed we are. But we appeal to facts. Just as we are literally Abraham's true seed, so are we spiritually. We, with a proud emphasis, we be (were) not born of fornication. We do not owe our position to idolatrous desertion of Jehovah. We are the offspring of the union of God with His chosen people. Our spiritual descent is as pure as our historical descent.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":17,"text":"v. 38","label":"John 8:38","href":"/jhn/8/#v38","status":"detected"},{"at":68,"text":"v. 38","label":"John 8:38","href":"/jhn/8/#v38","status":"detected"},{"at":227,"text":"v. 37","label":"John 8:37","href":"/jhn/8/#v37","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.42.1","start":42,"end":42,"heading":"","excerpt":"The answer to the boast lies in the natural conditions of all kinsmanship. The true children of God in virtue of their nature can always recognise Him however He shews Himself. The Jews by their misunderstanding destroyed the claim which they set up. Cf. 1 John v. i.\n\nand came] and I am come  .... Comp. 1 John v. 20. In this word the stress is laid wholly on the present.\n\nneither came I...] for neither have I come  ...... Comp. iii. 2, 19, v. 43, vii. 28, xii. 46, xvi. 28, xviii. 37. Here the present is connected with the past act on which it rests. The deeper meaning of the first clause explains the form of the second. My Being is inherently divine in its derivation ; and so it is also in its manifestation to the world, for neither — not even — on this mission of infinite love have I come of myself. . . This act of supreme sacrifice is in absolute dependence on the Father's will. That which causes offence to you is done in obedience to Him.\n\nof myself] Comp. v. 30, note.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":305,"text":"1 John v. 20","label":"1 John 5:20","href":"/1jn/5/#v20","status":"detected"},{"at":432,"text":"iii. 2, 19","label":"John 3:19","href":"/jhn/3/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":432,"text":"iii. 2, 19","label":"John 3:2","href":"/jhn/3/#v2","status":"detected"},{"at":444,"text":"v. 43","label":"John 8:43","href":"/jhn/8/#v43","status":"detected"},{"at":974,"text":"v. 30","label":"John 8:30","href":"/jhn/8/#v30","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.43.1","start":43,"end":43,"heading":"","excerpt":"If the Jews had been true children of God they would have recognised His Son. But yet more than this. They failed not only in instinctive feeling towards Christ, but also in intellectual apprehension of His teaching. They had no love for Him, and therefore they had no understanding of His Gospel. They could not perceive the meaning or the source of His speech, in which little by little He familiarly set forth His work (comp. iv. 42), because they could not grasp the purport of His Word, the one revelation of the Incarnate Son in which all else was included.\n\nye cannot] inasmuch as the wilful service of another power hinders you (v. 44). The fatal obstacle was one of their own making. Comp. vii. 7, note.\n\nFor the form of the sentence see vv. 46, 47.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":429,"text":"iv. 42","label":"John 4:42","href":"/jhn/4/#v42","status":"detected"},{"at":637,"text":"v. 44","label":"John 8:44","href":"/jhn/8/#v44","status":"detected"},{"at":699,"text":"vii. 7","label":"John 7:7","href":"/jhn/7/#v7","status":"detected"},{"at":747,"text":"vv. 46, 47","label":"John 8:46–47","href":"/jhn/8/#v46","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.44.1","start":44,"end":44,"heading":"the","excerpt":"There is a strong emphasis on the pronoun in answer to the we, v. 41, Ye so-called children of Abraham, children of God, are of your father, true children of your true father, the devil, and the lusts (desires) of your father it Is your will to do  ... ; you deliberately choose as your own the feelings, passions, ends, which belong to him. You are, so to speak, his voluntary organs ; what he desires, that you carry out. ...","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":63,"text":"v. 41","label":"John 8:41","href":"/jhn/8/#v41","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.44.2","start":44,"end":44,"heading":"","excerpt":"John been put forward by a few recent critics, found some support in early times, and is adopted by Macarius Magnes without remark (n. c. 21): \"ye are of the father of the devil;\" as if the Jews and the devil were alike the offspring of another spiritual progenitor. According to this view the Jews are said to be murderers and liars like the devil, who followed the pattern of his (and their) father. But the interpretation finds no support elsewhere in Scripture.\n\nare of] draw your being from, and so reproduce in your character. Comp. iii. 31, viii. 23, 47, xv. 19, xvii. 14, 16, xviii. 36, 37 ; 1 John ii. 1 6, iii. 8, 10, 12, iv. 1 ff., v. 19.\n\nthe devil] xiii. 2; 1 John iii. 8, 10; Rev. xii.g.\n\nHe was a murderer from the beginning] When creation was complete he brought death upon the race of men by his falsehood (Rom. v. 12). For even before he had fallen through want of truth. ...\n\nThe reference appears to be to the Fall and not to the death of Abel (1 John iii. 12). The death of Abel was only one manifestation of the ruin wrought by selfishness (see 1 John iii. 8 ff.). Comp. Wisd. ii. 24 and abode not...] and stood not... See Additional Note.\n\nWhen he speaketh a lie...] ...","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":539,"text":"iii. 31","label":"John 3:31","href":"/jhn/3/#v31","status":"detected"},{"at":600,"text":"1 John ii. 1","label":"1 John 2:1","href":"/1jn/2/#v1","status":"detected"},{"at":643,"text":"v. 19","label":"John 8:19","href":"/jhn/8/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":671,"text":"1 John iii. 8, 10","label":"1 John 3:10","href":"/1jn/3/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":671,"text":"1 John iii. 8, 10","label":"1 John 3:8","href":"/1jn/3/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":824,"text":"Rom. v. 12","label":"Romans 5:12","href":"/rom/5/#v12","status":"detected"},{"at":965,"text":"1 John iii. 12","label":"1 John 3:12","href":"/1jn/3/#v12","status":"detected"},{"at":1067,"text":"1 John iii. 8","label":"1 John 3:8","href":"/1jn/3/#v8","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.44.3","start":44,"end":44,"heading":"","excerpt":"It is however most probable that this very difficult sentence should be translated quite differently: Whenever a man speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for his father also is a liar. A man, that is, by lying reveals his parentage and acts conformably with it. The omission of the subject with the verb is certainly harsh  ..., but scarcely more so than the other renderings of the pronoun  ....","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.45.1","start":45,"end":45,"heading":"And because","excerpt":"But because... If I had spoken falsehood, such is the argument, you would have recognised that which is kindred to yourselves, but... The final opposition between Christ and the devil lies in the opposition of Truth to Falsehood. And this opposition repeats itself in the children of the two spiritual heads. There must be that which is akin to Truth in us, if we are to believe Truth. ...","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.46.1","start":46,"end":46,"heading":"","excerpt":"Falsehood in action is sin. Falsehood within must shew itself. From words then the appeal is made to acts. Which of you convinceth (convict eth) me of sin? Who. that is, arraigneth me on a just charge of sin ? The word sin  ... is not to be taken for error or falsehood, but for \"sin\" generally, according to the uniform usage of the New Testament, and here probably, from the connexion, as measured by the Law. The words suggest but they do not prove the sinlessness of Christ. ...","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.46.2","start":46,"end":46,"heading":"convinceth","excerpt":"convicteth. Compare xvi. 8, note.\n\nAnd if I say the truth...] If I say truth, that which is true : truth, and not the Truth, the part and not the whole revelation. The absence of sin includes necessarily the absence of falsehood. Hence the Lord takes it as proved that His words are true.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.47.1","start":47,"end":47,"heading":"","excerpt":"We must suppose a pause after 46a, and again after 46b. Then follows the final sentence. The true child of God alone can hear the words  ..., each separate message, of God. For this reason, because the power of hearing (v. 43) depended on inward affinity, the Jews could not hear, because they were not of God. Comp. xviii. 37, vii. 17, xii. 48 f., xiv. 23, note; 1 John iv. 6.\n\nHe that is of God] the true child of God, who draws his life and support from Him.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":220,"text":"v. 43","label":"John 8:43","href":"/jhn/8/#v43","status":"detected"},{"at":317,"text":"xviii. 37","label":"John 18:37","href":"/jhn/18/#v37","status":"detected"},{"at":364,"text":"1 John iv. 6","label":"1 John 4:6","href":"/1jn/4/#v6","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.47.2","start":47,"end":47,"heading":"ye therefore...because","excerpt":"for this cause ye .because. This combination in St J ohn comthem not, because ye are not God.\n\nye are not of God] The whole scope of the argument proves that this state does not exclude true moral responsibility. ...","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.48.1","start":48,"end":48,"heading":"Then answered the Jews","excerpt":"The Jews answered... The key- word (the Jews) is introduced again in this new phase of the argument.\n\nSay we not well...?] The form of expression shews that the reproach was a current one ; so that a glimpse is here offered of the common judgment on Christ. He was in the eye of \"the Jews\" a Samaritan, a bitter foe of their nationality, and withal a breaker of the Law, and a frantic enthusiast, who was not master of his own thoughts and words. Thus the Jews turned back upon Christ both the charges which He had brought against them, that they were not legitimate children of Abraham, and that they were of the devil as their spiritual father. The pronoun is emphatic  ... : \"Are not we at last right...?\"\n\nthou art a Samaritan] There is bitter irony in the original words, from the position of the pronoun at the end of the clause, which it is difficult to reproduce. \"Thou that boastest great things of a kingdom and a fulfilment of the Law, after all art but a Samaritan.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.49.1","start":49,"end":49,"heading":"","excerpt":"The contrast is between the persons I and you. \"I  ..., even in these bold mysterious utterances which move your wonder, have not a demon, but speak only words of soberness, which I must speak that I may thereby fulfil my mission. ...","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.49.2","start":49,"end":49,"heading":"","excerpt":"The Lord leaves unnoticed the first epithet of reproach (thou art a Samaritan). He would not recognise the meaning which they attached to a difference of race.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.50.1","start":50,"end":50,"heading":"And","excerpt":"But when I speak of dishonour it is not that I shrink from it : I seek not mine own glory ; that quest is not my part, but belongs to another; and there is one that seeketh and judgeth — that seeketh and in the very act of seeking judgeth. For he who has failed in giving to me what is due is thereby condemned ; and the will of the Father is that all men should honour the Son even as they honour the Father (v. 23).\n\nthere is] V. 45, v. 54.\n\nthat... judgeth] The phrase is superficially opposed to v. 22. But the thought here is of the divine law which is self-executing in the very nature of things.\n\nseeketh] Philo, in a paraphrase of Gen. xlii. 22, his blood is required (LXX. e /cfj/relrai) , writes: \" He that requireth (o  ... is not man but God, or the Word, or the divine Law\" ('de Jos.' 29, II. p. 66).","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":410,"text":"v. 23","label":"John 8:23","href":"/jhn/8/#v23","status":"detected"},{"at":436,"text":"v. 54","label":"John 8:54","href":"/jhn/8/#v54","status":"detected"},{"at":500,"text":"v. 22","label":"John 8:22","href":"/jhn/8/#v22","status":"detected"},{"at":639,"text":"Gen. xlii. 22","label":"Genesis 42:22","href":"/gen/42/#v22","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.51.1","start":51,"end":51,"heading":"Verily, verily","excerpt":"These words (as always) introduce a new turn of thought. The claims of the Jews based upon their historical descent and their spiritual sonship have been met and set aside ; and the Lord now returns to the declaration of vv. 31 f., but with this difference, that what was then regarded in relation to state is now regarded in relation to action. For \" abiding in the word '' we have \" keeping the word,\" and for \" freedom '' we have \"victory over death.\"\n\nkeep my saying] keep my word, \"doctrinam credendo, promissa sperando, facienda obediendo,\" Bengel. The original term for \" keep\"  ... is characteristic of St John. ... The opposite to \"keeping  ... the word\" in this form would be to disregard it ; the opposite to \"keeping  ... the word\" in the other form would be to let it slip. \" Keeping the word \" of Christ is also to be distinguished from \"keeping His commandments\" (1 John ii. 3, 5) ; the former marks the observance of the whole revelation in its organic completeness, and the latter the observance of definite precepts.\n\nsee death] The exact phrase  ... is not found elsewhere in New Testament. ...","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":221,"text":"vv. 31","label":"John 8:31","href":"/jhn/8/#v31","status":"detected"},{"at":879,"text":"1 John ii. 3, 5","label":"1 John 2:3","href":"/1jn/2/#v3","status":"detected"},{"at":879,"text":"1 John ii. 3, 5","label":"1 John 2:5","href":"/1jn/2/#v5","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.51.2","start":51,"end":51,"heading":"","excerpt":"The \" sight \" described here is that of long, steady, exhaustive vision, whereby we become slowly acquainted with the nature of the object to which it is directed. The words must be compared with Gen. ii. 17. ...","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":196,"text":"Gen. ii. 17","label":"Genesis 2:17","href":"/gen/2/#v17","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.51.3","start":51,"end":51,"heading":"death","excerpt":"Just as \"life\" in St John is present, or rather eternal (xvii. 3), so \"death\" is not an event but a state, that selfish isolation which is the negation of life. Comp. xi. 25 f., vi. 50, v. 24 ; 1 John iii. 14.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":167,"text":"xi. 25","label":"John 11:25","href":"/jhn/11/#v25","status":"detected"},{"at":186,"text":"v. 24","label":"John 8:24","href":"/jhn/8/#v24","status":"detected"},{"at":194,"text":"1 John iii. 14","label":"1 John 3:14","href":"/1jn/3/#v14","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.52.1","start":52,"end":52,"heading":"Then said the Jews","excerpt":"The Jews said... The name is repeated here as in v. 48 at the beginning of the answer to the new self-revelation.\n\nwe know] The direct statement, made in apparent good faith, and yet (as the hearers thought) obviously and flagrantly false, could only be explained on the supposition of evil possession.\n\nAbraham... death] God had spoken to Abraham and to the prophets, and they had kept His word and yet died, who then was this with a word more powerful ? For the objection is intensified by the fact that the Lord did not simply claim life for Himself, but, what was far more, claimed to communicate eternal life.\n\nis dead] died. The argument rests upon the simple historic fact.\n\ntaste of death] The inaccuracy of quotation is significant. The believer, even as Christ (Hebr. ii. 9), does \"taste of death,\" though he does not \"see\" it in the full sense of v. 51.\n\n ... The \"cup of death\" is an Arabian image. Comp. Gesen. ' Thes.' s. v. DID.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":49,"text":"v. 48","label":"John 8:48","href":"/jhn/8/#v48","status":"detected"},{"at":858,"text":"v. 51","label":"John 8:51","href":"/jhn/8/#v51","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.53.1","start":53,"end":53,"heading":"Art thou","excerpt":"the Galilean, the Nazarene. Comp. iv. 12.\n\nwhich is dead.., are dead] More exactly, seeing that he  ... died, and the prophets died. ...\n\nwhom makest thou thyself?] Comp. v. 18, x. 33, xix. 7, 12 ; 1 John i. 10.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":34,"text":"iv. 12","label":"John 4:12","href":"/jhn/4/#v12","status":"detected"},{"at":171,"text":"v. 18","label":"John 8:18","href":"/jhn/8/#v18","status":"detected"},{"at":198,"text":"1 John i. 10","label":"1 John 1:10","href":"/1jn/1/#v10","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.54-55.1","start":54,"end":55,"heading":"54—55.","excerpt":"The Lord prefaces His answer as to the relative dignity of Abraham and Himself by a revelation of the principle in obedience to which the answer is given. It does not come from any personal striving after glory, but in obedience to the will of the Father which the Son knows absolutely and obeys. The Son \" makes Himself\" to be nothing : He is, and He declares Himself to be that which the Father, so to speak, makes Him.\n\nIf I honour myself my honour...] If I, I in obedience to my own impulse, glorify myself my glory... Comp. v. 31.\n\nit is my Father that honour eth me] there is my Father that glorifieth me. I glorify not myself, nor need I to do it ; there is one that glorifieth me... The construction is exactly parallel with v. 50.\n\nyour God] as claiming an exclusive connexion with Him.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":529,"text":"v. 31","label":"John 8:31","href":"/jhn/8/#v31","status":"detected"},{"at":733,"text":"v. 50","label":"John 8:50","href":"/jhn/8/#v50","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.55.1","start":55,"end":55,"heading":"I know him","excerpt":"Comp. vii. 29. For the difference between progressive and absolute knowledge see iii. 10 f. The special ignorance of these Jews stands in contrast with the knowledge which was characteristic of the nation: iv. 22.\n\na liar] for to hide the truth is no less falsehood than to spread error. Compare 1 John ii. 4, 22, iv. 20, v. 10.\n\nbut...] even in this crisis of separation, when my words will be misunderstood and so widen the breach between us (cf. v. 26), I proclaim the knowledge which I have and fulfil my mission by keeping His word.\n\nand keep his saying (word)] The relation of the Son to the Father is attested by the same active devotion as the relation of the believer to Christ (v. 51). Comp. xv. 10.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":6,"text":"vii. 29","label":"John 7:29","href":"/jhn/7/#v29","status":"detected"},{"at":296,"text":"1 John ii. 4, 22","label":"1 John 2:22","href":"/1jn/2/#v22","status":"detected"},{"at":296,"text":"1 John ii. 4, 22","label":"1 John 2:4","href":"/1jn/2/#v4","status":"detected"},{"at":314,"text":"iv. 20","label":"1 John 4:20","href":"/1jn/4/#v20","status":"detected"},{"at":322,"text":"v. 10","label":"1 John 5:10","href":"/1jn/5/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":449,"text":"v. 26","label":"John 5:26","href":"/jhn/5/#v26","status":"detected"},{"at":688,"text":"v. 51","label":"John 8:51","href":"/jhn/8/#v51","status":"detected"},{"at":702,"text":"xv. 10","label":"John 15:10","href":"/jhn/15/#v10","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.56.1","start":56,"end":56,"heading":"","excerpt":"This then is the answer. ...\n\nrejoiced  ... to see] The peculiar construction  ... may be explained by considering that the joy of Abraham lay in the effort to see that which was foreshadowed. It lay not in the fact that he saw, nor was it in order to see ; but partial vision moved him with the confident desire to gain a fuller sight. Winer's translation (' Gramm.' § xciv. 8, c) \"that he should see \" obscures this, sense.\n\nmy day] That is probably the historic manifestation of the Christ (comp. Luke xvii. 22) without any special reference to any particular point in it as the Passion. It may be however that the historic work of Christ is regarded in its consummation in the day which is spoken of emphatically as \" that day,\" \" the day of the Son of man\" (Luke xvii. 30), \" the day of Christ\" (Phil. i. 6, 10, ii. 16).\n\nbe saw it] The reference cannot be to any present vision in Paradise (comp. Hebr. xi. 13). The tense of the original is decisive against this view. All conjecture must be uncertain, but there is nothing unnatural in the supposition that the faith shewn in the offering up of Isaac may have been followed by some deeper, if transient, insight into the full meaning of the promises then renewed. Such faith was in itself, in one sense, a vision of the day of Messiah.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":500,"text":"Luke xvii. 22","label":"Luke 17:22","href":"/luk/17/#v22","status":"detected"},{"at":763,"text":"Luke xvii. 30","label":"Luke 17:30","href":"/luk/17/#v30","status":"detected"},{"at":801,"text":"Phil. i. 6, 10","label":"Philippians 1:10","href":"/php/1/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":801,"text":"Phil. i. 6, 10","label":"Philippians 1:6","href":"/php/1/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":817,"text":"ii. 16","label":"Philippians 2:16","href":"/php/2/#v16","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.56.2","start":56,"end":56,"heading":"","excerpt":"According to the Jewish tradition ('Bereshith R.' 44 Wünsche) Abraham saw the whole history of his descendants in the mysterious vision recorded in Gen. xv. 8 ff. Thus he is said to have \" rejoiced with the joy of the Law.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":148,"text":"Gen. xv. 8","label":"Genesis 15:8","href":"/gen/15/#v8","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.57.1","start":57,"end":57,"heading":"Then said the Jews","excerpt":"The Jews therefore said..., still persisting in the literal interpretation of the words.\n\nfifty years old] This age was the crisis of completed manhood (Num. iv. 3). There was an early tradition (probably based on this passage) that Christ was about 50 years old at the Passion (Iren. 'Adv. Haer.' ii. 22. 5 f.). This opinion was said to be derived from St John. However strange it may appear, some such a view is not inconsistent with the only fixed historic dates which we have with regard to the Lord's life, the date of His birth, His Baptism, and the banishment of Pilate.\n\nhast thou seen...] The language of the Lord is again (v. 52) misquoted ; and on this occasion the misquotation completely misrepresents the thought.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":153,"text":"Num. iv. 3","label":"Numbers 4:3","href":"/num/4/#v3","status":"detected"},{"at":633,"text":"v. 52","label":"John 8:52","href":"/jhn/8/#v52","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.58.1","start":58,"end":58,"heading":"","excerpt":"There can be no doubt as to the meaning of the final answer which follows as a natural climax to what had been said before. Abraham died : Christ was the Giver of life. Abraham was the father of the Jews : Christ was the centre of Abraham's hope. Abraham came into being as a man : Christ is essentially as God. And this closing revelation is prefaced by the solemn words which fix attention upon its substance. Verily, verily, I say unto you? Before Abraham was — was born, came to be — I am  ....\n\nI am] The phrase marks a timeless existence. In this connexion \"I was\" would have expressed simple priority. Thus there is in the phrase the contrast between the created and the uncreated, and the temporal and the eternal. At the same time the ground of the assurance in v. 51 is made known. The believer lives because Christ lives, and lives with an absolute life (comp. xiv. 19).","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":771,"text":"v. 51","label":"John 8:51","href":"/jhn/8/#v51","status":"detected"},{"at":872,"text":"xiv. 19","label":"John 14:19","href":"/jhn/14/#v19","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.59.1","start":59,"end":59,"heading":"Then took they up","excerpt":"They took up therefore..., as understanding rightly the claim which was advanced in the last words. If the sentence had been a simple affirmation of the claim to Messiahship, it would have been welcomed. Comp. x. 24. But it was the affirmation of a new interpretation of Messiah's nature and work. ...\n\ngoing through... passed by] This clause must be omitted in accordance with a combination of the best authorities.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":210,"text":"x. 24","label":"John 10:24","href":"/jhn/10/#v24","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null}]}],"citedBy":{"12":[{"id":"calvin.JHN.9.39.1","author":"John Calvin","author_dates":"1509-1564","tradition":"Reformed","era":"Reformation","died":1564,"ref":"John 9:39","href":"/jhn/9/#v39-calvin","text":"John 8:12","snippet":"In short, since Christ is, by his own nature, the light of the world, (John 8:12,) it is an accidental result, that some are made blind by his coming."},{"id":"henry.JHN.9.5.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 9:5","href":"/jhn/9/#v5-henry","text":"ch. viii. 12","snippet":"He had said this before, ch. viii. 12."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.1.4.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 1:4","href":"/jhn/1/#v4-bengel","text":"viii. 12","snippet":"Light and Life together: ch. viii. 12, “ He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life: 1 Tim. vi. 16, “ Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light, which no man can approach unto:” Phil. ii. 15, 16, “ Ye shine as …"},{"id":"bengel.JHN.4.10.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 4:10","href":"/jhn/4/#v10-bengel","text":"viii. 12","snippet":"… therefore followed by the crowd, He proceeds, “ Labour not for the meat that perisheth, but for that meat, which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you,”] etc. : and from light, ch. viii. 12 “I am the light of the world:” [an image suggested perhaps by the sun then rising: comp. ver. 2], “early in the morning”: which things are in nature the first, the most elementary, necessary, common to all and …"},{"id":"bengel.JHN.7.17.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 7:17","href":"/jhn/7/#v17-bengel","text":"viii. 12","snippet":"… will) known from the prophetic Scriptures. ... do) A most solid method of gaining the knowledge of the ... he shall know) he will exert himself to know; or rather, he will attain to this, that he shall know; comp. ch. viii. 12, “ He that followeth Me, shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life ;” 28, 31, 82, “If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth ;” xii. 35, “ Walk while ye …"},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.2-4.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:2–4","href":"/jhn/8/#v2-bengel","text":"ver. 12","snippet":"What follows also confirms the truth of this history, as at ver. 12, the mention of the darkness, “ He that followeth Me, shall not w ... in darkness,’ when this verse is compared with it, inasmuch as treating of adultery, a work of darkness; and at ver. 7 concerning ei nant, “Ye judge …"},{"id":"bengel.JHN.10.28.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 10:28","href":"/jhn/10/#v28-bengel","text":"viii. 12","snippet":"and I) The following and the life are closely connected, ch. viii. 12, “He that followeth Me, shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.\" ... shall not perish) ch. xvii. 12; Luke xv. 24; Jude ver. 11, ‘lost, ‘ perished’): i.e. they shall not destroy themselves, …"},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.16.2","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 3:16","href":"/jhn/3/#v16-ryle","text":"viii. 12","snippet":"The word, in my opinion, is so used in John i. 10, 29 ; vi. 33, 51 ; viii. 12. — Rom. iii. 19.— 2 Cor. v. 19.— 1 John ii. 2; iv."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.21.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:21","href":"/jhn/8/#v21-westcott","text":"v. 12","snippet":"v. 12, note."}],"13":[{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.5.31-32.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 5:31–32","href":"/jhn/5/#v31-chrysostom","text":"c. viii. 13","snippet":"The Jews were about to object to Him, “If thou bearest witness concerning thyself, thy witness is not true” ( c. viii. 13 ): therefore He spake these words in anticipation; as though He had said, “Ye will surely say to Me, we believe thee not; for no one that witnesseth of himself is readily held trustworthy among men."},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.10.15.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 10:15","href":"/jhn/10/#v15-chrysostom","text":"c. viii. 13","snippet":"( c. viii. 13."},{"id":"henry.JHN.10.24.3","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 10:24","href":"/jhn/10/#v24-henry","text":"ch. viii. 13","snippet":"… as a traitor, which was the thing they would have been at; for, let him tell them ever so plainly that he was the Christ, they would have this to say presently, Thou bearest witness of thyself, as they had said, ch. viii. 13."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.9-10.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:9–10","href":"/jhn/8/#v9-bengel","text":"ver. 3, 13","snippet":"Others, who also were of the Pharisees, remained, as appears from comparing ver. 3, 13. ... which is employed by John in no passage of all his writings, betrays the fact of these words being a gloss unknown to the ancients: he has everywhere expressed the force of that preposition by some other word.! …"}],"14":[{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.5.31-32.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 5:31–32","href":"/jhn/5/#v31-chrysostom","text":"c. viii. 14","snippet":"When He saith, “My witness is not true,” He rebuketh their opinion of Him, and the objection about to be urged by them against Him; but when He saith, “Though I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true” ( c. viii. 14 ), He declareth the very nature of the thing itself, namely, that as God they ought to deem Him trustworthy even when speaking of Himself."},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.15.26-27.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 15:26–27","href":"/jhn/15/#v26-chrysostom","text":"c. viii. 14","snippet":"But the, “proceedeth from the Father,” showeth that He knoweth all things exactly, as Christ also saith of Himself, that “I know whence come and whither I go” ( c. viii. 14 ), speaking in that place also concerning truth."},{"id":"henry.JHN.5.31.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 5:31","href":"/jhn/5/#v31-henry","text":"ch. viii. 14","snippet":"He sets aside his own testimony of himself (v. 31): \"If I bear witness of myself, though it is infallibly true (ch. viii. 14), yet, according to the common rule of judgment among men, you will not admit it as legal proof, nor allow it to be given in evidence."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.15-16.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:15–16","href":"/jhn/8/#v15-bengel","text":"ver. 14, 17","snippet":"My judgment) The same principle holds good of judgment as of testimony: ver. 14, 17, “ Though I bear se of Myself, yet My record is true the testimony of two—is true ;” ch. v. 80, etc., “ As I hear I judge; and My judgment is just, because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father.—There is …"},{"id":"ryle.JHN.5.31.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 5:31","href":"/jhn/5/#v31-ryle","text":"John viii. 14","snippet":"A comparison of this verse with John viii. 14 shows at once that the meaning of the words, \" My witness is not true,\" must be qualified and restrained, or else one place of Scripture would contradict the other."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.7.28.2","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 7:28","href":"/jhn/7/#v28-ryle","text":"John viii. 14","snippet":"This is an undeniably difficult expression; partly because it is hard to reconcile with John viii. 14, and partly because it is not clear how the Jews could be said to \"know our Lord\" and \"whence He was."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.9.1.2","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 9:1","href":"/jhn/9/#v1-ryle","text":"John viii. 14","snippet":"(John viii. 14."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.5.31.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 5:31","href":"/jhn/5/#v31-westcott","text":"viii. 14","snippet":"Comp. viii. 14."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.11.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:11","href":"/jhn/8/#v11-westcott","text":"v. 14","snippet":"Comp. v. 14."}],"15":[{"id":"henry.JHN.8.14.2","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 8:14","href":"/jhn/8/#v14-henry","text":"v. 15","snippet":"Because they were partial (v. 15): You judge after the flesh."},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.19.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 8:19","href":"/jhn/8/#v19-henry","text":"v. 15","snippet":"Thus, as Christ said of them (v. 15), they judge after the flesh."}],"16":[{"id":"bengel.JHN.5.29-31.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 5:29–31","href":"/jhn/5/#v29-bengel","text":"viii. 16","snippet":"A condition impossible to occur ; comp. ch. viii. 16, “ Yet if I judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent Me,” with ver. 13, “The Pharisees said, Thou bearest record, of Thyself; Thy record is not true.”"},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.14.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:14","href":"/jhn/8/#v14-bengel","text":"ver. 16","snippet":"The former head is treated of at ver. 16, etc., “If I judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent Me ;—the testimony of two—is true ;” the latter head is treated of at ver. 21, etc., “I go My way, and ye shall seek Me,” etc. …"},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.18.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:18","href":"/jhn/8/#v18-bengel","text":"ver. 16","snippet":"For when the Son is known, the Father is known: comp. ver. 16, “I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent Me ;” ver. 18, “I am one that bear witness, and the Father that sent Me beareth witness of Me,” wherein the Son is named before the Father."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.6.51.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 6:51","href":"/jhn/6/#v51-westcott","text":"viii. 16","snippet":"Comp. viii. 16 f., xv. 27 ; 1 John i. 3."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.7.33.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 7:33","href":"/jhn/7/#v33-westcott","text":"viii. 16, 18","snippet":"The thought of the Father is added in ch. viii. 16, 18."}],"17":[{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.15-16.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:15–16","href":"/jhn/8/#v15-bengel","text":"ver. 14, 17","snippet":"My judgment) The same principle holds good of judgment as of testimony: ver. 14, 17, “ Though I bear se of Myself, yet My record is true the testimony of two—is true ;” ch. v. 80, etc., “ As I hear I judge; and My judgment is just, because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father.—There is …"},{"id":"westcott.JHN.1.35.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 1:35","href":"/jhn/1/#v35-westcott","text":"viii. 17","snippet":"two of his disciples'] Comp. viii. 17."}],"18":[{"id":"henry.JHN.5.32.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 5:32","href":"/jhn/5/#v32-henry","text":"ch. viii. 18","snippet":"I take this to be meant of God the Father, for Christ mentions his testimony with his own (ch. viii. 18): I bear witness of myself, and the Father beareth witness of me."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.14.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:14","href":"/jhn/8/#v14-bengel","text":"ver. 18","snippet":"even though) He does not speak conditionally, but ... firms, that He bears witness of Himself, ver. 18, “I am one that bear witness of Myself."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.1.28.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 1:28","href":"/jhn/1/#v28-westcott","text":"viii. 18","snippet":"Comp. viii. 18, v. 39, xi. i."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.7.33.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 7:33","href":"/jhn/7/#v33-westcott","text":"viii. 16, 18","snippet":"The thought of the Father is added in ch. viii. 16, 18."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.53.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:53","href":"/jhn/8/#v53-westcott","text":"v. 18","snippet":"whom makest thou thyself?] Comp. v. 18, x. 33, xix. 7, 12 ; 1 John i. 10."}],"19":[{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.7.28.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 7:28","href":"/jhn/7/#v28-chrysostom","text":"c. viii. 19","snippet":"( c. viii. 19."},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.18.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 8:18","href":"/jhn/8/#v18-chrysostom","text":"Ver. 19","snippet":"( Ver. 19."},{"id":"henry.JHN.14.7.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 14:7","href":"/jhn/14/#v7-henry","text":"ch. viii. 19","snippet":"Christ had said to the Jews (ch. viii. 19): If you had known me, you would have known my Father also; and here the same to his disciples; for it is hard to say which is more strange, the wilful ignorance of those that are enemies to the light, or the defects …"},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.38.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 8:38","href":"/jhn/8/#v38-ryle","text":"v. 19","snippet":"Compare John iii. 32 and v. 19."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.6.27.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 6:27","href":"/jhn/6/#v27-westcott","text":"viii. 19","snippet":"Comp. viii. 19."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.44.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:44","href":"/jhn/8/#v44-westcott","text":"v. 19","snippet":"Comp. iii. 31, viii. 23, 47, xv. 19, xvii. 14, 16, xviii. 36, 37 ; 1 John ii. 1 6, iii. 8, 10, 12, iv. 1 ff., v. 19."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.14.7.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 14:7","href":"/jhn/14/#v7-westcott","text":"viii. 19","snippet":"Comp. viii. 19."}],"20":[{"id":"bengel.JHN.5.1.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 5:1","href":"/jhn/5/#v1-bengel","text":"viii. 20","snippet":"Even then there was remaining with His hearers a recollection of the treasury, a place in the temple: ch. viii. 20, “These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as He taught in the temple."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.6.58-60.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 6:58–60","href":"/jhn/6/#v58-bengel","text":"viii. 20","snippet":"this) that is, I Myself, ver. 57. ... the bread) His discourse goes back to those things which were set forth in ver. 32, “ My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.” ... teaching) Comp. ch. viii. 20, “These words spake Jesus, as He taught in the temple” [as here in the synagogue]; vii. 28. ... hard) There are no doubt many things which the carnal nature cannot but shrink from in this discourse, which is, if …"},{"id":"bengel.JHN.7.30-32.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 7:30–32","href":"/jhn/7/#v30-bengel","text":"viii. 20","snippet":"not yet) ch. viii. 20. ..."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.18.2","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:18","href":"/jhn/8/#v18-bengel","text":"ver. 20","snippet":"This passage contains a most clear testimony concerning the unity of the Father and of the Son: wherefore at ver. 20 [27?] it is described as something wonderful, that they did not understand Jesus. ... in the treasury) in that place, where any one might easily have been taken; where there was a very great crowd of men."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.7.30.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 7:30","href":"/jhn/7/#v30-ryle","text":"John viii. 20","snippet":"It is like John viii. 20, and xviii. 6."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.12.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:12","href":"/jhn/8/#v12-westcott","text":"v. 20","snippet":"In the court of the women, where this discourse was held (see v. 20), were great golden candelabra which were lighted on the first night of the Feast of Tabernacles, and perhaps on the other nights."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.10.23-24.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 10:23–24","href":"/jhn/10/#v23-westcott","text":"viii. 20","snippet":"The vividness and particularity of the description (was walking, surrounded, began to say, the porch of Solomon [comp. viii. 20]) are to be noticed."}],"21":[{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.31.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 8:31","href":"/jhn/8/#v31-chrysostom","text":"c. viii. 21","snippet":"( c. viii. 21."},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.24.2","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 8:24","href":"/jhn/8/#v24-henry","text":"v. 21","snippet":"The law saith absolutely to all, as Christ said (v. 21), You shall die in your sins, for we are all guilty before God; but the gospel is a defeasance of the obligation upon condition of believing."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.7.33.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 7:33","href":"/jhn/7/#v33-bengel","text":"viii. 21","snippet":"These words are a kind of text, on which the discourses of this and the following chapter are built as a superstructure ; ch. viii. 21, “ I go My way, and ye shall seek Me, and shall die in your sins; whither I go, ye cannot come,” etc."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.14.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:14","href":"/jhn/8/#v14-bengel","text":"ver. 21","snippet":"The former head is treated of at ver. 16, etc., “If I judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent Me ;—the testimony of two—is true ;” the latter head is treated of at ver. 21, etc., “I go My way, and ye shall seek Me,” etc. ... ye) It is with you the fault rests, that you do not attain to perceiving the truth of My testimony."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.22-23.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:22–23","href":"/jhn/8/#v22-bengel","text":"ver. 21","snippet":"What they mean to say is, that they can find Him anywhere. ... ye) Again Jesus passes by their interrogatory and proves what He ar ver. 21, “ Ye shall die in your sins; whither I go ye cannot come;” comp. ch. ii. 13, “No man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man, which is in heaven.” ... from those things which …"},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.24.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:24","href":"/jhn/8/#v24-bengel","text":"ver. 21","snippet":"ye shall die) The Jews had neglected the weightier words of ver. 21, “Ye shall seek Me, and shall die -in your sins :” all the rest they had taken up at ver. 22 [viz. that part of His words, “ Whither I go, ye cannot come”]: therefore now those weightier and more severe words are …"},{"id":"westcott.JHN.7.34.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 7:34","href":"/jhn/7/#v34-westcott","text":"viii. 21","snippet":"Comp. viii. 21, xiii. 33 (I go). ..."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.24.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:24","href":"/jhn/8/#v24-westcott","text":"v. 21","snippet":"… the region of life, that ye shall die — here the emphasis is changed and lies upon the end \"death,\" and not upon the state \"sin\" — in your sins, which in their varied form reveal the presence of the one fatal source (v. 21)."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.16.9.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 16:9","href":"/jhn/16/#v9-westcott","text":"viii. 21","snippet":"Comp. viii. 21, ix. 41."}],"22":[{"id":"bengel.JHN.7.35-36.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 7:35–36","href":"/jhn/7/#v35-bengel","text":"viii. 22","snippet":"whither) More unseasonably they afterwards say, Whether will He kill Himself? ch. viii. 22. ... thou shalt be a dispersion—a dispersed remnant—among all the kingdoms of the earth] xxx. 4. ... of the Greeks) in other words, the Jews outside of Palestine."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.21.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:21","href":"/jhn/8/#v21-bengel","text":"ver. 22","snippet":"I go) ver. 22, ch. xiii. 33, 36, [to Simon Peter] “ Whither I go, thou canst not follow Me now, but thou shalt follow Me afterwards ;” xiv. 4, “ Whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.”"},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.24.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:24","href":"/jhn/8/#v24-bengel","text":"ver. 22","snippet":"ye shall die) The Jews had neglected the weightier words of ver. 21, “Ye shall seek Me, and shall die -in your sins :” all the rest they had taken up at ver. 22 [viz. that part of His words, “ Whither I go, ye cannot come”]: therefore now those weightier and more severe words are repeated. ..."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.33.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:33","href":"/jhn/8/#v33-bengel","text":"ver. 22","snippet":"So also at ver. 22, they mutilated the preceding words of Jesus [taking no notice of the rest of His words, “‘ Ye shall seek Me, and shall die in your sins ;” they fastened only on, “ Whither I go, ye cannot come."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.4.29.3","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 4:29","href":"/jhn/4/#v29-ryle","text":"viii. 22","snippet":"In twelve of them the interrogative is used without \" not,\" viz., Matt. vii. 16; xxvi. 22, 26] Mark iv. 21; xiv. 9; Luke vi. 39; John vii. 31 ; viii. 22; xviii. 35; Acts x. 47 ; 2 Cor. i. 17; James iii. 11. — In only one place is the interrogative used with \" not,\" Matt. xii. 23."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.4.29.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 4:29","href":"/jhn/4/#v29-westcott","text":"John viii. 22","snippet":"The same phrase occurs Matt. xxvi. 22, 25; John viii. 22, xviii. 35; James iii. 11, &c."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.50.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:50","href":"/jhn/8/#v50-westcott","text":"v. 22","snippet":"that... judgeth] The phrase is superficially opposed to v. 22."}],"23":[{"id":"henry.JHN.17.16.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 17:16","href":"/jhn/17/#v16-henry","text":"ch. viii. 23","snippet":"See ch. viii. 23."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.15-16.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:15–16","href":"/jhn/8/#v15-bengel","text":"ver. 23","snippet":"[In antithesis to “from above,” ver. 23, “Ye are from beneath, I am from above.” —V. g.] ..."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.18.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:18","href":"/jhn/8/#v18-bengel","text":"ver. 23","snippet":"He shows plainly where the Father is, at ver. 23, ..."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.18.36.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 18:36","href":"/jhn/18/#v36-ryle","text":"John viii. 23","snippet":"It is the same preposition that we find in John viii. 23 : \" Ye are from beneath ; 1 am from above : ye are of this world ; I am not of this world.\""},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.15.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:15","href":"/jhn/8/#v15-westcott","text":"v. 23","snippet":"The contrast in these words may be compared with that below in v. 23, (26 ?)."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.50.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:50","href":"/jhn/8/#v50-westcott","text":"v. 23","snippet":"For he who has failed in giving to me what is due is thereby condemned ; and the will of the Father is that all men should honour the Son even as they honour the Father (v. 23)."}],"24":[{"id":"henry.JHN.8.21.2","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 8:21","href":"/jhn/8/#v21-henry","text":"v. 24","snippet":"… of Geneva (the Rhemists only excepted), for all the Greek copies have it in the singular number, en te hamartia hymon—in your sin, so all the Latin versions; and Calvin has a note upon the difference between this and v. 24, where it is plural, tais hamartiais, that here it is meant especially of the sin of unbelief, in hoc peccato vestro—in this sin of yours."},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.25.2","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 8:25","href":"/jhn/8/#v25-henry","text":"v. 24","snippet":"Christ is called Arche—the beginning (Col. i. 18; Rev. i. 8; xxi. 6; iii. 14), and so it agrees with v. 24, I am he."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.5.40.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 5:40","href":"/jhn/5/#v40-bengel","text":"viii. 24","snippet":"… of the Scriptures concerning Me demands.\" 412 ... from men) even from those by whom the : ... that ye might have life) What follows below is more severe : ... ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins, ch. viii. 24.—V. g."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.21.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:21","href":"/jhn/8/#v21-bengel","text":"ver. 24","snippet":"… and not find Me; and where I am, ... ye cannot come,” when they had plotted against Him, as at this place. ... sin) 'The Singular: the whole of perdition is one, arising from unbelief, through which all sins flourish, ver. 24, “If ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins” [Plural]."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.27.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:27","href":"/jhn/8/#v27-bengel","text":"ver. 24","snippet":"… 1 Cor. ii. 8, “ Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” ... ye shall know from the fact, what now ye believe not on the credit of My word; ver. 24, “I said, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.21.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:21","href":"/jhn/8/#v21-westcott","text":"v. 24","snippet":"Hence the order here is, \" in your sin shall ye die,\" while in v. 24 the emphasis is transposed (\" ye shall die in your sins\")."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.51.3","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:51","href":"/jhn/8/#v51-westcott","text":"v. 24","snippet":"Comp. xi. 25 f., vi. 50, v. 24 ; 1 John iii. 14."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.13.19.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 13:19","href":"/jhn/13/#v19-westcott","text":"viii. 24","snippet":"believe that I am he] Comp. viii. 24, note."}],"25":[{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.18.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:18","href":"/jhn/8/#v18-bengel","text":"ver. 25, 27","snippet":"And also in this passage, when asked as to the Father, He answers as to Himself; presently after, in turn, when asked Himself, He answers as to the Father; ver. 25, 27, “They said, Who art Thou?"},{"id":"westcott.JHN.19.9.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 19:9","href":"/jhn/19/#v9-westcott","text":"viii. 25","snippet":"Himself (comp. viii. 25, x. 24), explains the silence with which he was met."}],"26":[{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.27.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:27","href":"/jhn/8/#v27-bengel","text":"ver. 26","snippet":"… intimates his astonishment at the unbelief and blindness of the Jews; as at ch. xii. 37, “ But though He had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on Him.” ... the Father) the Father had sent Him, ver. 26; and had they known the Father, they would have known who Jesus was, ver. 29. ... then, not before: 1 Cor. ii. 8, “ Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the …"},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.33.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:33","href":"/jhn/3/#v33-westcott","text":"viii. 26","snippet":"Comp. viii. 26."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.16.13.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 16:13","href":"/jhn/16/#v13-westcott","text":"viii. 26, 40","snippet":"Comp. ch. viii. 26, 40, xv. 15. ..."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.16.21.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 16:21","href":"/jhn/16/#v21-westcott","text":"viii. 26","snippet":"Comp. viii. 26."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.18.20.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 18:20","href":"/jhn/18/#v20-westcott","text":"viii. 26","snippet":"to the (world] Comp. viii. 26. ..."}],"27":[{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.18.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:18","href":"/jhn/8/#v18-bengel","text":"ver. 25, 27","snippet":"And also in this passage, when asked as to the Father, He answers as to Himself; presently after, in turn, when asked Himself, He answers as to the Father; ver. 25, 27, “They said, Who art Thou?"}],"28":[{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.13.31.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 13:31","href":"/jhn/13/#v31-chrysostom","text":"c. viii. 28","snippet":"And this is what He said of Himself, “When I am lifted up, then ye shall know that I Am” ( c. viii. 28 ); and again, “Destroy this Temple” ( c. ii. 19 ); and again, “No sign shall be given unto you but the sign of Jonas."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.6.61-62.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 6:61–62","href":"/jhn/6/#v61-bengel","text":"viii. 28","snippet":"And yet, when ye shall see that, ye will acknowledge that the things which I have spoken are true; and ye will wonder, not at My doctrine, but at your own slowness of comprehension : ch. viii. 28, “ When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father hath taught Me, I speak these things ;’ Matt. xxvi. 64, “ Hereafter shall ye see the Son of …"},{"id":"bengel.JHN.7.17.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 7:17","href":"/jhn/7/#v17-bengel","text":"viii. 28, 32","snippet":"Comp. the future middle ... ch. viii. 28, 32, xiii. 7, 35, xiv. 20; Rev. ii. 28. ... concerning the doctrine) The article has a relative force at ver. 16 ... the doctrine, which is Mine) ix rot ... from God and of God, ver. 16."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.12.34.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 12:34","href":"/jhn/12/#v34-bengel","text":"viii. 28","snippet":"… ... who) They ask a double question : concerning His being lifted up, from ver. 32; concerning His being the Son of man, from ver. 23, “The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified” [with which comp. ch. viii. 28, “ When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am He”]. ..."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.34.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 3:34","href":"/jhn/3/#v34-ryle","text":"viii. 28","snippet":"(Compare John vii. 16 ; v. 19 ; xiv. 10, 11 ; viii. 28 ; xii. 49."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.6.62.2","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 6:62","href":"/jhn/6/#v62-ryle","text":"John viii. 28","snippet":"(Compare John viii. 28.)"},{"id":"ryle.JHN.7.16.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 7:16","href":"/jhn/7/#v16-ryle","text":"John viii. 28","snippet":"It is like, \" I can of my own self do nothing,\" (John v. 30,) and \"as my Father hath taught me I speak these things,\" (John viii. 28,) and \" I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me He gave me commandment what I should say and what I should speak."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.24.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:24","href":"/jhn/8/#v24-westcott","text":"vv. 24, 28, 58","snippet":"The phrase \"I am \" ... occurs three times in this chapter (vv. 24, 28, 58; comp. xiii. 19), and on each occasion, as it seems, with this pregnant meaning."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.26.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:26","href":"/jhn/8/#v26-westcott","text":"v. 28","snippet":"Comp. v. 28, note, xv. 15, note."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.40.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:40","href":"/jhn/8/#v40-westcott","text":"v. 28","snippet":"the truth, which I have heard (which I heard)] Compare v. 28 note."}],"29":[{"id":"henry.JHN.16.31-32.4","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 16:31–32","href":"/jhn/16/#v31-henry","text":"ch. viii. 29","snippet":"This he had comforted himself with all along (ch. viii. 29), He that sent me is with me, the Father hath not left me alone, and especially now at last."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.27.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:27","href":"/jhn/8/#v27-bengel","text":"ver. 29","snippet":"… ch. xii. 37, “ But though He had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on Him.” ... the Father) the Father had sent Him, ver. 26; and had they known the Father, they would have known who Jesus was, ver. 29. ... then, not before: 1 Cor. ii. 8, “ Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” ... ye shall know from the fact, what now ye believe not on …"},{"id":"westcott.JHN.15.10.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 15:10","href":"/jhn/15/#v10-westcott","text":"viii. 29","snippet":"even as I ... have kept my (the) Father's ...] The Filial relation of the Son to \"the Father\" (not \"His Father\") is set forth as the type of that of the disciple for his Master (comp. viii. 29)."}],"30":[{"id":"bengel.JHN.2.23.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 2:23","href":"/jhn/2/#v23-bengel","text":"viii. 30","snippet":"in the feast) the people being collected, ch. iv. 45, “ The Galilzans received Him, having seen all the things that He did at Jerusalem at the feast.” ... believed) as those, concerning whom ch. viii. 30 speaks : “ As He spake these words, many believed on Him ;” xii. 42, “ Among the chief rulers also many believed on Him.” ... signs) More signs are recorded as having been done by the Evangelists in Galilee, than in …"},{"id":"westcott.JHN.2.23.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 2:23","href":"/jhn/2/#v23-westcott","text":"viii. 30","snippet":"Comp. viii. 30 f., iv. 45."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.6.30.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 6:30","href":"/jhn/6/#v30-westcott","text":"viii. 30, 31","snippet":"Comp. viii. 30, 31, note."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.28.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:28","href":"/jhn/8/#v28-westcott","text":"v. 30","snippet":"of myself] Compare v. 30, note, xv. 4, note."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.31.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:31","href":"/jhn/8/#v31-westcott","text":"v. 30","snippet":"The addition of the word \"Jews\" and the change in the construction of the verb distinguish sharply this group from the general company in v. 30 ; and the exact form of the original makes the contrast more obvious ...."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.42.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:42","href":"/jhn/8/#v42-westcott","text":"v. 30","snippet":"of myself] Comp. v. 30, note."}],"31":[{"id":"henry.JHN.8.36.2","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 8:36","href":"/jhn/8/#v36-henry","text":"v. 31","snippet":"It is not alethos, the word used (v. 31) for disciples indeed, but ontos—really."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.58.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:58","href":"/jhn/8/#v58-bengel","text":"ver. 31","snippet":"In the same ch. ver. 31 (thou hast been) and art always with Me, as the Goth. ... od ef [before the mountains were brought forth, thou art], where Artemonius can by no effort of his change the punctuation."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.15.8.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 15:8","href":"/jhn/15/#v8-ryle","text":"John viii. 31","snippet":"Poole remarks, \" In Scripture, being often signifieth appearing,\" as in John viii. 31, and Romans iii. 4."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.5.24.3","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 5:24","href":"/jhn/5/#v24-westcott","text":"viii. 31","snippet":"Death and life are, as it were, two spheres of existence, like darkness and light: 1 John v. 19, 20, ch. viii. 31, note."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.6.30.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 6:30","href":"/jhn/6/#v30-westcott","text":"viii. 30, 31","snippet":"Comp. viii. 30, 31, note."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.14.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:14","href":"/jhn/8/#v14-westcott","text":"v. 31","snippet":"Compare v. 31."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.51.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:51","href":"/jhn/8/#v51-westcott","text":"vv. 31","snippet":"The claims of the Jews based upon their historical descent and their spiritual sonship have been met and set aside ; and the Lord now returns to the declaration of vv. 31 f., but with this difference, that what was then regarded in relation to state is now regarded in relation to action."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.54-55.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:54–55","href":"/jhn/8/#v54-westcott","text":"v. 31","snippet":"Comp. v. 31."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.17.17.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 17:17","href":"/jhn/17/#v17-westcott","text":"viii. 31","snippet":"Comp. viii. 31."}],"32":[{"id":"bengel.JHN.7.17.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 7:17","href":"/jhn/7/#v17-bengel","text":"viii. 28, 32","snippet":"Comp. the future middle ... ch. viii. 28, 32, xiii. 7, 35, xiv. 20; Rev. ii. 28. ... concerning the doctrine) The article has a relative force at ver. 16 ... the doctrine, which is Mine) ix rot ... from God and of God, ver. 16."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.18.38.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 18:38","href":"/jhn/18/#v38-bengel","text":"viii. 32, 36","snippet":"But the kingdom of truth is a kingdom of freedom ; for the truth makes free (ch. viii. 32, 36)."}],"33":[{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.9.40-41.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 9:40–41","href":"/jhn/9/#v40-chrysostom","text":"c. viii. 33, 41","snippet":"As in another place they said, “We were never servants to any man”; and, “We be not born of fornication” ( c. viii. 33, 41 ); so now they gape on material things alone, and are ashamed of this kind of blindness."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.39-40.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:39–40","href":"/jhn/8/#v39-bengel","text":"ver. 33","snippet":"Abraham) They attempt to defend what they had said, ver. 33, “ We be Abraham’s seed."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.19.15.2","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 19:15","href":"/jhn/19/#v15-ryle","text":"John viii. 33","snippet":"(John viii. 33."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.32.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:32","href":"/jhn/8/#v32-westcott","text":"v. 33","snippet":"Comp. i. 17, v. 33."}],"34":[{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.31-32.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:31–32","href":"/jhn/8/#v31-bengel","text":"ver. 34","snippet":"The Freedom is the exemption of the sons of God from all adverse control [namely, from sin, and its slavery; ver. 34, “ Whosoever committeth sin, is the servant of sin :” and from death ; ver. 51, “ If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death.” —V."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.51.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 8:51","href":"/jhn/8/#v51-ryle","text":"viii. 34, 51, 58","snippet":"See John i. 51; iii. 3, 5, 11; v. 19, 24, 25; vi. 26, 32, 47, 53; viii. 34, 51, 58; x. 1, 7; xii. 24; xiii. 16, 20, 21, 38; xiv. 12; xvi. 20, 23; xxi. 18."}],"35":[{"id":"bengel.JHN.12.36.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 12:36","href":"/jhn/12/#v36-bengel","text":"viii. 35","snippet":"light) who remain always attached to the light, ch. viii. 35, “ The ... abideth not in the house for ever : but the Son abideth ever.” ... that ye may become [not be, as Engl. ... inasmuch as ye are not so of yourselves. ..."}],"36":[{"id":"henry.JHN.8.35.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 8:35","href":"/jhn/8/#v35-henry","text":"v. 36","snippet":"… to be made free from sin by the rites and ceremonies of the law of Moses, for Moses was but a servant, and had not that perpetual authority in the church which the Son had; but, if the Son make you free, it is well,\" v. 36."},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.35.2","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 8:35","href":"/jhn/8/#v35-henry","text":"v. 36","snippet":"… and their dignity above the servants, that they abide in the house for ever; so he who is the Son, the first-born among many brethren, and the heir of all things, has a power both of manumission and of adoption (v. 36): If the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.31-32.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:31–32","href":"/jhn/8/#v31-bengel","text":"ver. 36","snippet":"So drws, in deed; ver. 36, “ Ye shall be free indeed.” ... ve are so already: only see that you continue so. ... the truth, concerning Me, as sent by the Father; concerning yourselves, as being My disciples indeed. ..."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.18.38.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 18:38","href":"/jhn/18/#v38-bengel","text":"viii. 32, 36","snippet":"But the kingdom of truth is a kingdom of freedom ; for the truth makes free (ch. viii. 32, 36)."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.32.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:32","href":"/jhn/8/#v32-westcott","text":"v. 36","snippet":"Comp. v. 36, and xiv. 6."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.14.2.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 14:2","href":"/jhn/14/#v2-westcott","text":"viii. 36","snippet":"the spiritual and eternal antitype of the transitory temple (ii. 1 6) in which I have the right of a son (comp. viii. 36)."}],"37":[{"id":"henry.JHN.21.25.4","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 21:25","href":"/jhn/21/#v25-henry","text":"ch. viii. 37","snippet":"It is the word that is used, ch. viii. 37, \"My word has no place in you."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.34.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:34","href":"/jhn/8/#v34-bengel","text":"ver. 37","snippet":"answered) Jesus replies in inverse order to the twofold objection of the Jews, and first goes on with the portion of the discourse concerning freedom, then discusses the portion concerning the children of Abraham, from ver. 37. ... he who habitually committeth sin, as opposed to the truth. ... is the slave) by the very fact, 2 Pet. ii. 19, “ While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption ; for of whom a man …"},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.56.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:56","href":"/jhn/8/#v56-bengel","text":"ver. 37, 39","snippet":"your Father) ver. 37, 39, “I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; Abraham is our father.” ... that) Evinced his eagerness with longing desire."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.31.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:31","href":"/jhn/8/#v31-westcott","text":"vv. 37, 43","snippet":"The phrase which is used here and in vv. 37, 43 ... expresses the word which is tputy characteristic of Christ and not simply that which He utters."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.38.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:38","href":"/jhn/8/#v38-westcott","text":"v. 37","snippet":"Comp. iii. 34, vi. 46 (the Father); and though man naturally is unable to attain to the sight of God (v. 37; 1 John iv. 20), yet in Christ the believer does see Him now (xiv. 7, 9."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.41.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:41","href":"/jhn/8/#v41-westcott","text":"v. 37","snippet":"You admit, the Jews argue, that we are historically descended from Abraham (v. 37), but you deny that we are spiritually like Abraham ...."}],"38":[{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.11.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 3:11","href":"/jhn/3/#v11-ryle","text":"John viii. 38","snippet":"(John viii. 38.)"},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.32.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 3:32","href":"/jhn/3/#v32-ryle","text":"viii. 38","snippet":"(John 7. 19, 30 ; viii. 38.)"},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.31.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:31","href":"/jhn/8/#v31-westcott","text":"v. 38","snippet":"He abides in the word, and the word abides in him (v. 38; 1 John ii. 14, i. 10)."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.41.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:41","href":"/jhn/8/#v41-westcott","text":"v. 38","snippet":"Ye are doing the v. 38 the connexion is: \"Do not speak to works (as v. 38). ..."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.14.16.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 14:16","href":"/jhn/14/#v16-westcott","text":"viii. 38","snippet":"The second that of a personal presence: comp. viii. 38, xiv. 23, 25, xvii. 5. ..."}],"39":[{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.56.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:56","href":"/jhn/8/#v56-bengel","text":"ver. 37, 39","snippet":"your Father) ver. 37, 39, “I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; Abraham is our father.” ... that) Evinced his eagerness with longing desire."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.38.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:38","href":"/jhn/8/#v38-westcott","text":"v. 39","snippet":"This thought has not yet been distinctly expressed, and in v. 41 your father is distinctly written ..., but on the other hand v. 39 may be supposed to imply a special reference."}],"40":[{"id":"henry.JHN.8.42.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 8:42","href":"/jhn/8/#v42-henry","text":"v. 40","snippet":"He had disproved their relation to Abraham by their going about to kill him (v. 40), but here he disproves their relation to God by their not loving and owning him."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.16.13.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 16:13","href":"/jhn/16/#v13-bengel","text":"viii. 40","snippet":"Concerning hearing, comp. ch. viii. 40, “ A man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God.”"},{"id":"westcott.JHN.16.13.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 16:13","href":"/jhn/16/#v13-westcott","text":"viii. 26, 40","snippet":"Comp. ch. viii. 26, 40, xv. 15. ..."}],"41":[{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.50.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 8:50","href":"/jhn/8/#v50-ryle","text":"v. 41","snippet":"(See John vii. 18 and v. 41."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.38.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:38","href":"/jhn/8/#v38-westcott","text":"v. 41","snippet":"This thought has not yet been distinctly expressed, and in v. 41 your father is distinctly written ..., but on the other hand v. 39 may be supposed to imply a special reference."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.44.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:44","href":"/jhn/8/#v44-westcott","text":"v. 41","snippet":"There is a strong emphasis on the pronoun in answer to the we, v. 41, Ye so-called children of Abraham, children of God, are of your father, true children of your true father, the devil, and the lusts (desires) of your father it Is your will to do ... ; you deliberately choose as your …"}],"42":[{"id":"henry.JHN.8.41.2","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 8:41","href":"/jhn/8/#v41-henry","text":"v. 42, 43","snippet":"Now our Saviour gives a full answer to this fallacious plea (v. 42, 43), and proves, by two arguments, that they had no right to call God Father."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.47-48.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:47–48","href":"/jhn/8/#v47-bengel","text":"ver. 42","snippet":"therefore [on this account]) The conclusion, Ye are not of God, ver. 42, is proved by the effect ; inasmuch as ye do not hear; ver. 42, “ If God were your Father ye would love Me.” ... they answered) with a most unjust retort, in the forms of cavil which they had so frequently used. ... do …"},{"id":"westcott.JHN.14.15.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 14:15","href":"/jhn/14/#v15-westcott","text":"viii. 42","snippet":"The subject of the love of the disciples for Christ (comp. viii. 42) is peculiar to this and the following section (15 — 31)."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.16.28.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 16:28","href":"/jhn/16/#v28-westcott","text":"viii. 42","snippet":"Comp. viii. 42, note."}],"43":[{"id":"henry.JHN.8.41.2","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 8:41","href":"/jhn/8/#v41-henry","text":"v. 42, 43","snippet":"Now our Saviour gives a full answer to this fallacious plea (v. 42, 43), and proves, by two arguments, that they had no right to call God Father."},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.48.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 8:48","href":"/jhn/8/#v48-henry","text":"v. 43, 47","snippet":"Hitherto they had cavilled at his doctrine, and had made invidious remarks upon it; but, having shown themselves uneasy when he complained (v. 43, 47) that they would not hear him, now at length they fall to downright railing, v. 48."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.12.48.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 12:48","href":"/jhn/12/#v48-bengel","text":"viii. 43","snippet":"My words) Inasmuch as the Jews were rejecting Christ Himself, for this reason they received not His words: ch. viii. 43, “ Why do ye not understand My speech?"},{"id":"ryle.JHN.4.42.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 4:42","href":"/jhn/4/#v42-ryle","text":"John viii. 43","snippet":"(Matt. xxvi. 73; Mark xiv. 70; John viii. 43.)"},{"id":"ryle.JHN.6.60.2","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 6:60","href":"/jhn/6/#v60-ryle","text":"viii. 43","snippet":"\" (See John v. 24 ; viii. 43; x. 3, 16, 27; xviii. 37; 1 John iv. 6.)"},{"id":"westcott.JHN.4.42.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 4:42","href":"/jhn/4/#v42-westcott","text":"viii. 43","snippet":"It occurs elsewhere in New Testament only ch. viii. 43 ; Matt. xxvi. 73 (Mark xiv. 70)."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.31.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:31","href":"/jhn/8/#v31-westcott","text":"vv. 37, 43","snippet":"The phrase which is used here and in vv. 37, 43 ... expresses the word which is tputy characteristic of Christ and not simply that which He utters."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.42.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:42","href":"/jhn/8/#v42-westcott","text":"v. 43","snippet":"Comp. iii. 2, 19, v. 43, vii. 28, xii. 46, xvi. 28, xviii. 37."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.47.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:47","href":"/jhn/8/#v47-westcott","text":"v. 43","snippet":"For this reason, because the power of hearing (v. 43) depended on inward affinity, the Jews could not hear, because they were not of God."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.15.7.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 15:7","href":"/jhn/15/#v7-westcott","text":"viii. 43, 47, 51","snippet":"Comp. viii. 43, 47, 51, xii. 47, 48, xvii. 6, 8, 14."}],"44":[{"id":"bengel.JHN.5.19.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 5:19","href":"/jhn/5/#v19-bengel","text":"viii. 44","snippet":"But the devil speaketh of his own, ch. viii. 44: and it is a characteristic of a false teacher to come in his own name, and to speak or act on the promptings of his own heart: ch. v. 43, “I am come in My Father’s name, and ye receive Me not: if another shall come in …"},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.39-40.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:39–40","href":"/jhn/8/#v39-bengel","text":"ver. 44","snippet":"… concerning another father of theirs. stood, as at ix. 33 ... a man) Jesus is wont to entitle Himself the Son of Man; but in this passage, He calls Himself a man: for to this passage corresponds the fact, that at ver. 44 He calls the devil a man-slayer ... a murderer of man]."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.43.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:43","href":"/jhn/8/#v43-bengel","text":"ver. 44","snippet":"why is it that) To this particle by and by answers ver. 44, “ Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye ... because) By this clause the one immediately preceding is explained. ... ch. xi. 47, “ What do we? for this man doeth many miracles;” ix. 17, “ …"},{"id":"ryle.JHN.6.70.2","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 6:70","href":"/jhn/6/#v70-ryle","text":"John viii. 44","snippet":"(John viii. 44."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.43.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:43","href":"/jhn/8/#v43-westcott","text":"v. 44","snippet":"ye cannot] inasmuch as the wilful service of another power hinders you (v. 44)."}],"45":[],"46":[{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.9.18.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 9:18","href":"/jhn/9/#v18-chrysostom","text":"c. viii. 46","snippet":"( c. viii. 46 ); and no man spake, nor said “Thou blasphemest because thou makest thyself without sin."},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.9.24.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 9:24","href":"/jhn/9/#v24-chrysostom","text":"c. viii. 46","snippet":"( c. viii. 46."},{"id":"henry.JHN.9.24.2","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 9:24","href":"/jhn/9/#v24-henry","text":"ch. viii. 46","snippet":"He had challenged them to their faces (ch. viii. 46) to convince him of sin, and they had nothing to say; but now behind his back they speak of him as a malefactor, convicted upon the notorious evidence of the fact."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.16.9.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 16:9","href":"/jhn/16/#v9-bengel","text":"viii. 46","snippet":"… sin) He is speaking not of sin generally, but concerning the sin of unbelief, ch. xv. 22, “If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin,” etc., which sin is an aberration from the primitive truth; ch. viii. 46, “ Which of you convinceth me of sin?"},{"id":"ryle.JHN.10.33.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 10:33","href":"/jhn/10/#v33-ryle","text":"viii. 46","snippet":"Our Lord's confident challenge, as in chap. viii. 46, seems to have been found unanswerable by the Jews."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.43.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:43","href":"/jhn/8/#v43-westcott","text":"vv. 46, 47","snippet":"For the form of the sentence see vv. 46, 47."}],"47":[{"id":"bengel.JHN.7.22.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 7:22","href":"/jhn/7/#v22-bengel","text":"viii. 47","snippet":"on this account) This is presently after explained by the ... to wit, not because: Comp. ch. viii. 47 [Ye therefore hear not—God’s words— because ye are not of God; ... x. 17, “ Therefore doth My Father love Me, because."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.7.22.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 7:22","href":"/jhn/7/#v22-ryle","text":"viii. 47","snippet":"Burgon shows that \" therefore \" is used just in the same way as here, at the beginning of a sentence, and pointing forward, in John v. 16, 18 ; viii. 47 ; x. 17 ; xii. 18, 39."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.10.26.2","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 10:26","href":"/jhn/10/#v26-ryle","text":"viii. 47","snippet":"I think these words refer to two sayings of our Lord, which He had used in speaking to the Jews, one in chap. viii. 47: \"He that is of God heareth God's words : ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God; \" and the other at the third and fourth verses of this chapter : \" The sheep hear His voice \" — \" the sheep follow Him, …"},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.43.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:43","href":"/jhn/8/#v43-westcott","text":"vv. 46, 47","snippet":"For the form of the sentence see vv. 46, 47."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.15.7.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 15:7","href":"/jhn/15/#v7-westcott","text":"viii. 43, 47, 51","snippet":"Comp. viii. 43, 47, 51, xii. 47, 48, xvii. 6, 8, 14."}],"48":[{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.4.45.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 4:45","href":"/jhn/4/#v45-chrysostom","text":"c. viii. 48","snippet":"( c. viii. 48."},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.10.2-4.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 10:2–4","href":"/jhn/10/#v2-chrysostom","text":"c. vii. 48","snippet":"( c. vii. 48."},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.10.19-21.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 10:19–21","href":"/jhn/10/#v19-chrysostom","text":"c. viii. 48","snippet":"( c. viii. 48 ); and here, “He hath a devil and is mad, why hear ye him?"},{"id":"henry.JHN.4.43.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 4:43","href":"/jhn/4/#v43-henry","text":"ch. viii. 48","snippet":"… as he could be any where, and had better success, yet after two days he left them, not so much because they were Samaritans, and he would not confirm those in their prejudices against him who said, He is a Samaritan (ch. viii. 48), but because he must preach to other cities, Luke iv. 43."},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.52.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 8:52","href":"/jhn/8/#v52-henry","text":"v. 48","snippet":"If now at last they had evidence to prove him mad, why did they say (v. 48), before they had that proof, Thou hast a devil?"},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.52-53.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:52–53","href":"/jhn/8/#v52-bengel","text":"ver. 48","snippet":"now we know) Previously they had spoken with some degree of doubt: ver. 48, “Say we not well that Thou art,” etc. ; but now to the solemn asseveration of Jesus, ver. 51, they oppose this assertion of theirs. ... whether [art] thou greater) Thou, say they, who dost promise to him, that keepeth …"},{"id":"ryle.JHN.4.9.2","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 4:9","href":"/jhn/4/#v9-ryle","text":"John viii. 48","snippet":"(John viii. 48."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.7.20.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 7:20","href":"/jhn/7/#v20-ryle","text":"John viii. 48","snippet":"The expression \" Thou hast a devil,\" may possibly be a repetition of the old charge, that our Lord wrought His miracles by Beelzebub, and was in league with the devil, as John viii. 48."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.52.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:52","href":"/jhn/8/#v52-westcott","text":"v. 48","snippet":"The name is repeated here as in v. 48 at the beginning of the answer to the new self-revelation."}],"49":[{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.47-48.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:47–48","href":"/jhn/8/#v47-bengel","text":"ver. 49","snippet":"Thus is made clear the reference of those things which Jesus replies in ver. 49, te., “I have not a devil, but I honour My Father,” etc., “and I seek not Mine own glory.” ..."}],"50":[{"id":"henry.JHN.8.49.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 8:49","href":"/jhn/8/#v49-henry","text":"v. 49, 50","snippet":"The meekness and mercifulness of Heaven shining in Christ's reply to this vile calumny, v. 49, 50."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.54-55.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:54–55","href":"/jhn/8/#v54-westcott","text":"v. 50","snippet":"The construction is exactly parallel with v. 50."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.17.1.3","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 17:1","href":"/jhn/17/#v1-westcott","text":"viii. 50","snippet":"Comp. viii. 50."}],"51":[{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.6.48.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 6:48","href":"/jhn/6/#v48-chrysostom","text":"c. viii. 51","snippet":"( c. viii. 51."},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.55.2","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 8:55","href":"/jhn/8/#v55-henry","text":"v. 51","snippet":"Christ requires of us (v. 51) that we keep his sayings; and he has set before us a copy of obedience, a copy without a blot: he kept his Father's sayings; well might he who learned obedience teach it; see Heb. v. 8, 9."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.31-32.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:31–32","href":"/jhn/8/#v31-bengel","text":"ver. 51","snippet":"The Freedom is the exemption of the sons of God from all adverse control [namely, from sin, and its slavery; ver. 34, “ Whosoever committeth sin, is the servant of sin :” and from death ; ver. 51, “ If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death.” —V."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.52-53.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:52–53","href":"/jhn/8/#v52-bengel","text":"ver. 51","snippet":"now we know) Previously they had spoken with some degree of doubt: ver. 48, “Say we not well that Thou art,” etc. ; but now to the solemn asseveration of Jesus, ver. 51, they oppose this assertion of theirs. ... whether [art] thou greater) Thou, say they, who dost promise to him, that keepeth Thy word, immortality, a privilege which was not enjoyed by so great men as Abraham and the …"},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.56.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:56","href":"/jhn/8/#v56-bengel","text":"ver. 51","snippet":"And inasmuch as he saw this day, which is to be altogether a day of life, he did not see death; ver. 51, etc., ... man keep My saying, he shall never see death :—Abraham is dead—and Thou sayest, If a man,” etc.—Thus the vehemence of the Jews is rebutted."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.3.4","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 3:3","href":"/jhn/3/#v3-ryle","text":"John viii. 51","snippet":"Thus we find, to \" see life,\"(John iii. 36,)— to \"see corruption,\" (Psalm xvi. 10,) — to \"see death,\" (John viii. 51,) — to see evil,\" (Psalm xc. 15,) — to \" see sorrow."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.6.50.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 6:50","href":"/jhn/6/#v50-westcott","text":"viii. 51","snippet":"not die] Comp. viii. 51, note."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.34.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:34","href":"/jhn/8/#v34-westcott","text":"vv. 51, 58","snippet":"Comp. vv. 51, 58)."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.52.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:52","href":"/jhn/8/#v52-westcott","text":"v. 51","snippet":"The believer, even as Christ (Hebr. ii. 9), does \"taste of death,\" though he does not \"see\" it in the full sense of v. 51."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.55.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:55","href":"/jhn/8/#v55-westcott","text":"v. 51","snippet":"and keep his saying (word)] The relation of the Son to the Father is attested by the same active devotion as the relation of the believer to Christ (v. 51)."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.58.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:58","href":"/jhn/8/#v58-westcott","text":"v. 51","snippet":"At the same time the ground of the assurance in v. 51 is made known."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.15.7.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 15:7","href":"/jhn/15/#v7-westcott","text":"viii. 43, 47, 51","snippet":"Comp. viii. 43, 47, 51, xii. 47, 48, xvii. 6, 8, 14."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.15.20.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 15:20","href":"/jhn/15/#v20-westcott","text":"viii. 51","snippet":"Comp. viii. 51 ff., xiv. 23, xvii. 6; 1 John ii. 5; Rev. iii. 8, 10, xxii. 7, 9."}],"52":[{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.5.24.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 5:24","href":"/jhn/5/#v24-chrysostom","text":"c. viii. 52","snippet":"( c. viii. 52."},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.6.54.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 6:54","href":"/jhn/6/#v54-chrysostom","text":"c. viii. 52","snippet":"… ( ver. 50 , not verbally quoted), and it was likely that this would stand in their way, (just as they before said, “Abraham is dead, and the prophets are dead; and how sayest Thou, that he shall not taste of death?”— c. viii. 52 , not verbally quoted."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.33.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:33","href":"/jhn/8/#v33-bengel","text":"ver. 52","snippet":"of Abraham) They appeal to Him afresh at ver. 52, “ Abraham is dead and the prophets; and Thou sayest,” ... we were in bondage to no man) They speak of their own age and generation ; for their forefathers had been in bondage to the kings of Egypt, and of Babylon. ... …"},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.57.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:57","href":"/jhn/8/#v57-westcott","text":"v. 52","snippet":"hast thou seen...] The language of the Lord is again (v. 52) misquoted ; and on this occasion the misquotation completely misrepresents the thought."}],"53":[{"id":"bengel.JHN.4.12.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 4:12","href":"/jhn/4/#v12-bengel","text":"viii. 53","snippet":"Comp. ch. viii. 53 “ Art Thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead?"}],"54":[{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.9.40-41.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 9:40–41","href":"/jhn/9/#v40-chrysostom","text":"c. viii. 54","snippet":"As He saith in that other place, “Of whom ye said that He was your God” ( c. viii. 54 ); so too here, “Now ye say that ye see, but ye see not."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.50.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:50","href":"/jhn/8/#v50-westcott","text":"v. 54","snippet":"there is] V. 45, v. 54."}],"55":[{"id":"bengel.JHN.8.50-51.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 8:50–51","href":"/jhn/8/#v50-bengel","text":"ver. 55","snippet":"… [if a man]) Jesus proves from the future effect, wherewith the Father is about to honour Him, that He and His word have nothing in common with the proud and murderous devil. ... will keep) , as I keep My Father’s word, ver. 55, “I know Him, and keep His saying."}],"56":[{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.1.10.2","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 1:10","href":"/jhn/1/#v10-chrysostom","text":"c. viii. 56","snippet":"( c. viii. 56."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.17.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:17","href":"/jhn/8/#v17-westcott","text":"v. 56","snippet":"The phrase does not in any way disparage or set aside the Law as a divine revelation, but marks the Jewish claim (v. 56, your father)."}],"57":[],"58":[{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.7.18.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 7:18","href":"/jhn/7/#v18-chrysostom","text":"c. viii. 58","snippet":"And if when He said, “Before Abraham was, I am” ( c. viii. 58 ), they were offended, what would have been their case if they had continually heard high expressions?"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.8.39-40.1","author":"Augustine of Hippo","author_dates":"354-430","tradition":"Patristic (Latin West)","era":"Early church","died":430,"ref":"John 8:39–40","href":"/jhn/8/#v39-augustine","text":"ver. 58","snippet":"For He said in another place, “Before Abraham was, I am” (ver. 58); and then they sought to stone Him."},{"id":"henry.JHN.1.15.2","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 1:15","href":"/jhn/1/#v15-henry","text":"ch. viii. 58","snippet":"He is before me, is my first, [1.] In respect of seniority: he was before me, for he was before Abraham, ch. viii. 58."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.51.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 8:51","href":"/jhn/8/#v51-ryle","text":"viii. 34, 51, 58","snippet":"See John i. 51; iii. 3, 5, 11; v. 19, 24, 25; vi. 26, 32, 47, 53; viii. 34, 51, 58; x. 1, 7; xii. 24; xiii. 16, 20, 21, 38; xiv. 12; xvi. 20, 23; xxi. 18."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.18.5.2","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 18:5","href":"/jhn/18/#v5-ryle","text":"John viii. 58","snippet":"(Exodus iii. 14), to which also our Lord certainly did refer in John viii. 58."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.24.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:24","href":"/jhn/8/#v24-westcott","text":"vv. 24, 28, 58","snippet":"The phrase \"I am \" ... occurs three times in this chapter (vv. 24, 28, 58; comp. xiii. 19), and on each occasion, as it seems, with this pregnant meaning."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.34.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:34","href":"/jhn/8/#v34-westcott","text":"vv. 51, 58","snippet":"Comp. vv. 51, 58)."}],"59":[{"id":"henry.JHN.8.37.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 8:37","href":"/jhn/8/#v37-henry","text":"v. 59","snippet":"They had attempted it several times, and were now designing it, which quickly appeared (v. 59), when they took up stones to cast at him."},{"id":"henry.JHN.10.31.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 10:31","href":"/jhn/10/#v31-henry","text":"ch. viii. 59","snippet":"It is not the word that is used before (ch. viii. 59), but ebastasan lithous—they carried stones—great stones, stones that were a load, such as they used in stoning malefactors."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.10.31.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 10:31","href":"/jhn/10/#v31-ryle","text":"John viii. 59","snippet":"(John viii. 59."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.5.18.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 5:18","href":"/jhn/5/#v18-westcott","text":"viii. 59","snippet":"Comp. viii. 59, x. 33; Mark ii. 7."}]}}