THE TITLE OF THE GOSPEL. This title appears in the MSS. in different forms. The simplest is that which we find in א B D: κατὰ᾿Ιωάννην (_according to John_). The majority of the Mjj. and א (at the end of the book): εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ᾿Ιωάννην, _Gospel according to John._ T. R., with a large number of Mn... [ Continue Reading ]
[See also the "General Considerations on the Prologue" in the comments of John 1:18.] At John 1:1, John finds in eternity the subject of the history which he is going to relate, the Logos; at John 1:2, he takes his place with Him at the beginning of time; in the 3d verse, he shows Him to us coopera... [ Continue Reading ]
PROLOGUE: 1:1-18. EACH evangelist begins his book in a manner appropriate to the aim of his narrative. Matthew proposes to prove the _right_ of Jesus to the Messianic throne. He opens his story with His genealogy. Mark desires quite simply to collect _memorials_ fitted to give a comprehension of the... [ Continue Reading ]
FIRST SECTION: THE LOGOS. 1:1-14. It would be difficult not to recognize in these first verses an allusion to the beginning of Genesis. The first words of the two writings manifestly correspond with each other. The _beginning_ of which John here speaks can only be that which Moses had made the start... [ Continue Reading ]
[See also the "General Considerations on the Prologue" in the comments of John 1:18.] VV. 2. “ _This Word was in the beginning with God._ ” With this Logos which John has in a manner just discovered in eternity, he takes his place at that beginning of time (John 1:1) from which he went backward eve... [ Continue Reading ]
[See also the "General Considerations on the Prologue" in the comments of John 1:18.] VV. 3. “ _All things were made through Him, and not one of the things which exist was made without Him._ ” The work of creation was the first act of the divine revelation _ad extra._ The preposition διά, _through_... [ Continue Reading ]
[See also the "General Considerations on the Prologue" in the comments of John 1:18.] VV. 4: “ _In Him there was life_, _and the life was the light of men._ ” A large number of authorities join with this verse the words ὃ γέγονεν (_that which subsists_), which we have united with the preceding verse... [ Continue Reading ]
[See also the "General Considerations on the Prologue" in the comments of John 1:18.] VV. 5: “ _And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness apprehended it not._ ” What, then, is this _darkness_ (σκοτία) which all at once fills the scene of the world created and enlightened by the Word? I... [ Continue Reading ]
SECOND SECTION: UNBELIEF. 1:5-11. This Logos, light of the world, appears in the world buried in the darkness of sin; He is not recognized and is rejected (John 1:5). And yet God had taken all precautions to prevent such a result (John 1:6-8). But the impossible is realized (John 1:9-11).... [ Continue Reading ]
[See also the "General Considerations on the Prologue" in the comments of John 1:18.] VER. 6. “ _There appeared a man sent from God; his name was John._ ” The forerunner is not mentioned here as representing, either the whole of the Jewish economy, or prophetism in particular, as is thought by the... [ Continue Reading ]
[See also the "General Considerations on the Prologue" in the comments of John 1:18.] VER. 7. “ _This one came as a witness, to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him._ ” The pronoun οὖτος, _this one_, sums up all the statements of the preceding verse, as οὗτος of John 1:2 su... [ Continue Reading ]
[See also the "General Considerations on the Prologue" in the comments of John 1:18.] VER. 8. “ _He was not the light; but [he came] to bear witness to the light._ ” The emphasis is not, as _Meyer_ and _Weiss_ think, on the verbal idea, _was_, but on the subject _He_, in contrast with the other per... [ Continue Reading ]
[See also the "General Considerations on the Prologue" in the comments of John 1:18.] VER. 9. “ _The true light, which enlightens every man, came into the world._ ” I think I must positively decide for this interpretation, making the participle ἐρχόμενον, _coming_, the predicate of the verb ἦν, _wa... [ Continue Reading ]
[See also the "General Considerations on the Prologue" in the comments of John 1:18.] VER. 10. “ _He was in the world and the world had been made by Him, and the world knew Him not._ ” A contrast is evidently intended between the first words of this verse and the last words of John 1:9. This contra... [ Continue Reading ]
[See also the "General Considerations on the Prologue" in the comments of John 1:18.] VER. 11. “ _He came to His own and they that were His own received Him not._ ” A relation of gradation might be established between this verse and the preceding, if this verse were applied to the rejection of the... [ Continue Reading ]
THIRD SECTION: FAITH, 1:12-18. [See also the "General Considerations on the Prologue" in the comments of John 1:18.] The appearance of the Word, therefore, did not succeed in scattering the darkness of mankind and overcoming the resistance of Israel as a nation. Nevertheless, His mission could not... [ Continue Reading ]
[See also the "General Considerations on the Prologue" in the comments of John 1:18.] VER. 13. “ _Who were born_, _not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God._ ” It seems, at the first glance because of the past verb: _who were born_ that the apostle places regen... [ Continue Reading ]
[See also the "General Considerations on the Prologue" in the comments of John 1:18.] VER. 14. “ _And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, a glory as of the only-begotten Son coming from the presence of the Father full of grace and truth._ The connection between this ve... [ Continue Reading ]
[See also the "General Considerations on the Prologue" in the comments of John 1:18.] VER. 15. _John bears witness of him, and cries, saying:This is he of whom I spoke when I said_, _He who comes after me hath preceded me, because he was before me._ ” The present, _bears witness_ is ordinarily exp... [ Continue Reading ]
[See also the "General Considerations on the Prologue" in the comments of John 1:18.] VER. 16. “ _And of his fullness we have all received, and grace for grace._ ” By that first feature of the divine character, _grace_, the Church recognized in Jesus the Word made flesh. The two words, χάρις (_grac... [ Continue Reading ]
[See also the "General Considerations on the Prologue" in the comments of John 1:18.] VER. 17. “ _For the law was given by Moses; grace and truth came by Jesus Christ._ ” John, who had reached the light of the new revelation through the preparatory system of the old, could not fail to point out in... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 18. “ _No one has ever seen God; the only-begotten Son_, _who is in the bosom of the Father, he has revealed him to us._ ” The absence of a particle between John 1:17-18 is the proof of a very intimate relation of thought or feeling between the two. The second becomes thus, as it were, an ener... [ Continue Reading ]
FIRST CYCLE: 1:19-2:11. This cycle comprises three sections: 1. The testimonies borne by John the Baptist to Jesus, John 1:19-37; John 2. The first personal manifestations of Jesus and the faith of His first disciples, John 1:38-51; John 3. His first miraculous sign, John 2:1-11. The facts related i... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 19. “ _And this is the testimony which John gave when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?_ ” It is quite strange to see a narrative beginning with the word _and._ This fact is explained by the relation which we have just indicated between John 1:19 and Joh... [ Continue Reading ]
I. FIRST TESTIMONY: JOHN 1:19-28. In unfolding in the Prologue the contents of faith, the apostle had adduced two testimonies of John the Baptist (John 1:6-8 and John 1:15); the second contains, as _Baur_ well says, “the idea of the absolute preexistence of the Messiah,” and consequently the true t... [ Continue Reading ]
II. SECOND TESTIMONY: VV. 29-34. How can we comprehend the fact that the deputies of the Sanhedrim left John without asking him who the person was of whom he intended to speak? Either they did not care to know, or they affected to despise the declaration of the one who spoke to them in this way. In... [ Continue Reading ]
FIRST SECTION: 1:19-37. THE TESTIMONIES OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. These testimonies are three in number and were given on three successive days (see John 1:29; John 1:35, “ _the next day_).” These three days, eternally memorable for the Church, had left on the heart of the evangelist an ineffaceable imp... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 20. “ _And he confessed, and denied not, and confessed:I am not the Christ._ ” Before pointing out the contents of the response of John the Baptist, the evangelist sets forth its characteristics: it was ready, frank, categorical. The first _he confessed_, indicates spontaneity, eagerness. By th... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 21. “ _And they asked him: what then?Art thou Elijah? And he said I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered, No._ ” Some interpreters understand the question τί οὖν (_what then?_) in the same or nearly the same sense as the preceding: “If thou art not the Christ, _what art thou then?_ ” B... [ Continue Reading ]
“ _They said then to him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to those who sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?_ 23. _He said, I am a voice crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah._ ” The deputies have now exhausted the suppositions which were fu... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 24. “ _And those who were sent were of the Pharisees._ ” We translate according to the T. R., which is in conformity with the majority of the Mjj., with the Mnn., and with the greater part of the Vss. According to this reading, the participle ἀπεσταλμενοι, _sent_, is defined by the article οἱ,... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 25. “ _And they asked him and said unto him; why baptizest thou then, if thou art not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet._ ” The strictest guardians of rites conceded, indeed, to the Messiah or to one of His forerunners the right of making innovations in the matter of observances; and if J... [ Continue Reading ]
“ _John answered them saying, Yea, I baptize with water;in the midst of you there standeth one whom you know not;_ 27. _He who comes after me but who was before me_ _the latchet of whose sandal I am not worthy to loose._ ” This reply has been regarded as not very clear and as embarrassed. _De Wette_... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 28. “ _These things were done at Bethany_, _beyond the Jordon_, _where John was baptizing._ ” The notice of John 1:28 is certainly not suggested to John by a geographical interest; it is inspired by the solemnity of this whole scene, and by the extraordinary gravity of this official testimony... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 29. “ _The next day he sees Jesus coming to him, and he says: Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world._ ” The very next day after the day when John had proclaimed the presence of the Messiah in the midst of the people, Jesus approaches His forerunner, who recognizes Him and d... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 30. “ _This is he concerning whom I said: After me cometh a man who has preceded me, because he was before me._ ” This saying, while applying to Jesus as _present_ (_this is he_) the testimony uttered on the preceding day in His absence (John 1:26-27), is designed to solve the enigma which that... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 31. “ _And neither did I know him; but that he might be manifested to Israel, I am come baptizing with water._ The word κἀγώ, _and neither I_, placed at the beginning and repeated, as it is in John 1:33, has necessarily an especial emphasis. The meaning is obvious; he has just said to his heare... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 32. “ _And John bore witness saying: I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove, and it abode upon Him._ ” This declaration is introduced with a peculiar solemnity by the words: “ _And John bore witness._ ” Here, indeed, is the decisive act, as _Hengstenberg_ calls it, the _punctum saliens_ of... [ Continue Reading ]
THE GIFT MADE TO JESUS IN THE BAPTISM. Vv. 32, 33, suggest an important question: Did Jesus really _receive_ anything at His baptism? _Meyer_ denies this, alleging that this idea has no support in our Gospel, and that, if the Synoptics say more, it is because they contain a tradition which had been... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 33. “ _And neither did I know him; but he who sent me to baptize with water, he said to me: The man on whom thou shalt see the Spirit descend and abide, is he who baptizeth with the Holy Spirit._ ” Not only was a sign given (John 1:32); but this sign was that which had been promised, and the me... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 34. “ _And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God._ ” The ἐγώ, _I_, in κἀγώ, distinguishes, as in John 1:31; John 1:33, him who alone was to _see_, and who _also_ (καί) has seen, from all the others who were to _believe_ on the ground of his testimony. The perfects: _I h... [ Continue Reading ]
III. THIRD TESTIMONY: VV. 35-37. Vv. 35, 36. “ _On the next day, John was again standing there, and two of his disciples with him;_ 36, _and fixing his eyes upon Jesus as he passed he saith: Behold the Lamb of God._ ” Holy impressions, great thoughts, an unutterable expectation doubtless filled, ev... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 37. “ _And the two disciples heard him speak thus, and they followed Jesus._ ” John's word, which was an exclamation, was understood. It is very evident that, in the thought of the evangelist, these words: “ _And they followed Jesus_,” conceal, under their literal sense, a richer meaning. This... [ Continue Reading ]
“ _Then Jesus turned and saw them following and saith unto them, What seek ye?_ 39. _They said unto Him: Rabbi_ (_which is to say, Master_) _where dwellest thou?_ ” Jesus, hearing footsteps behind Him, turns about. He sees these two young men who are following Him with the desire to accost Him, but... [ Continue Reading ]
SECOND SECTION: 1:38-52. BEGINNINGS OF THE WORK OF JESUS. BIRTH OF FAITH. Testimony is the condition of faith. For faith is, at the outset, the acceptance of a divine fact on the foundation of testimony. But there is here only an external relation between the believer and the object of faith. In ord... [ Continue Reading ]
I. FIRST GROUP: VV. 38-43. We have just mentioned John. Almost all the adversaries of the authenticity themselves acknowledge that the author, in relating his story as he does here, wishes to pass himself off as one of the apostles. Even _Hilgenfeld_ says: “Andrew and an unnamed person who is assur... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 40. “ _He saith unto them: Come, and you shall see.They came and saw where he abode: and they remained with him that day; it was about the tenth hour._ ” The disciples made inquiries as to His dwelling, that they might afterwards visit Him there. Jesus invites them to follow Him at once: “Come... [ Continue Reading ]
“ _Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard John's words and followed Jesus._ 42. _As the first, he findeth his own brother Simon, and saith to him: We have found the Messiah_ (_which means: the Christ_).” At this point of the narrative, the author names his companion Andrew. It i... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 43. “ _And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus, looking upon him fixedly, saith, Thou art Simon, son of Jonas_, _thou shalt be called Cephas_ (_which means: Peter_).” The pres. _he finds_ and _he says_ (John 1:42) were descriptive; the aor. _he brought_ indicates the transition to the following act:... [ Continue Reading ]
“ _The next day he resolved to set out for Galilee, and finds Philip; and Jesus says to him: Follow me._ 45. _Now Philip was of Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter._ ” The aorist, ἠθέλησεν (_wished_), indicates quite naturally, a realized wish. The words: “ _He wished to set out and He finds,... [ Continue Reading ]
II. SECOND GROUP: JOHN 1:44-51. The following narrative seems to be contrived for the purpose of driving to despair, by its conciseness, the one who attempts to account for the facts from an external point of view. Does John 1:44 express merely the _intention_ of setting out for Galilee? Or does it... [ Continue Reading ]
“ _Philip finds Nathanael and says to him: We have found Him of whom Moses, in the law, and the prophets did write, Jesus, the son of Joseph, of Nazareth._ ” Philip's part in the calling of Nathanael is like that of Andrew in the calling of Peter, and that of Peter and Andrew in his own. One lighted... [ Continue Reading ]
“ _And Nathanael said unto him: Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip says to him: Come and see._ ” According to _Meyer_, Nathanael's answer alludes to the reputation which the town of Nazareth had had for immorality; according to Lucke and _de Wette_, to the smallness of the place. But the... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 48. “ _Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him and says of him: Behold a true Israelite, in whom there is no guile._ ” Nathanael is one of those upright hearts who have only to see Jesus in order to believe in Him; Philip is not mistaken. Jesus Himself, as He sees him, also signalizes in him this qua... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 49. “ _Nathanael says to Him: whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said to him: Before Philip called thee, when thou wert under the fig-tree, I saw thee._ ” This reply by which Nathanael seems to appropriate to himself the eulogy contained in John 1:48 has been criticised as not modest. B... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 50. “ _Nathanael answered and said to him:Master, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel._ ” By the title _Son of God_, he expresses the thrilling impression which was made within his mind by the intimate relation between Jesus and God, of which he had himself just had experience... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 51. “ _Jesus answered and said to him: Because I said unto thee that I saw thee under the fig-tree, thou believest; thou shalt see greater things than these._ ” Since Chrysostom, most interpreters (Lucke, _Meyer_, etc.), editors and translators (_Tischendorf, Rilliet_), give to the words: _Thou... [ Continue Reading ]