The Prologue of the Gospel of John stands in the most intimate connection with the plan and purpose of the Gospel as a whole. It is not to be regarded as a philosophical speculation to which the historical life of the Redeemer shall be afterwards conformed. It contains rather a short summary of that... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:1. IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD. This sublime opening of the Gospel carries our thoughts at once to the no less sublime opening of the Book of Genesis, whose first words the Evangelist certainly had present to his mind. He too will tell of a creation, and a creation has a ‘beginning.' The wo... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:2. THE SAME WAS IN THE BEGINNING WITH GOD. ‘The same' He who has just been spoken of as God was in the beginning ‘with God': _i.e.,_ ‘He of whom I have spoken as God, was in the beginning in active, eternal communion with God, not simply the Word with God, but God with God.' The elements of t... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:3. ALL THINGS CAME INTO BEING THROUGH HIM, AND APART FROM HIM NOT EVEN ONE THING CAME INTO BEING. Such a combination of two clauses, the first positive, the second negative (see note on John 1:20), is characteristic of John's style. The two together assert the truth contained in them with a u... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:5. AND THE LIGHT SHINETH IN THE DARKNESS. The darkness here spoken of is not an original darkness coexistent with created being (John 1:3). It belongs to the development of thought begun at John 1:4, and is coexistent only with the moral process of rejecting the Word, implied, though not expr... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:6. THERE AROSE A MAN, SENT FROM GOD, whose name was John. With this verse we pass forward into the times of the Incarnate Word. The section upon which we first enter is, as compared with the second, general; hence the Incarnation is only implied, not expressly mentioned. The immediate prepara... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:7. THE SAME CAME FOR WITNESS, THAT HE MIGHT BEAR WITNESS CONCERNING THE LIGHT, THAT ALL MIGHT BELIEVE THROUGH HIM. The impression produced by the Baptist had been great, but he had come to bear witness to One higher than himself. Here we meet for the first time with this word ‘witness,' one o... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:8. HE WAS NOT THE LIGHT, BUT HE WAS THAT HE MIGHT BEAR WITNESS CONCERNING THE LIGHT. The thought of the greatness of the witness borne by John underlies the words of this verse. Great as the Baptist was, he was not the Light. What he _was_ is not expressed, but only the purpose which he was t... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:9. THERE WAS THE TRUE LIGHT, WHICH LIGHTETH EVERY MAN, COMING INTO THE WORLD. This almost literal rendering of the Greek will show how it is that these simple words have been so variously explained. As in the English, so in the Greek, the word ‘coming' might be joined either with 'light' or w... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:10. He WAS IN THE WORLD, AND THE WORLD CAME INTO BEING THROUGH HIM, AND THE WORLD KNEW HIM NOT. The subject is still the Light, which (John 1:9) was existent, and was ‘coming into the world.' In the world, indeed, it was already (though the complete manifestation was yet to come), and here th... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:11. HE CAME UNTO HIS OWN HOME, AND HIS OWN ACCEPTED HIM NOT. Is this verse practically a repetition of John 1:10, in language more solemn and emphatic? Or do we here pass from the thought of the world in general to that of the Jewish people. The question is one of some difficulty. As John 1:1... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:12. BUT AS MANY AS RECEIVED HIM, TO THEM GAVE HE RIGHT TO BECOME CHILDREN OF GOD, EVEN TO THEM THAT BELIEVE IN HIS NAME. We have beheld the light shining in the darkness (John 1:10-11); the thought of this verse is, that the darkness overcame it not! As we have already seen (see note on John... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:13. WHICH WERE BEGOTTEN, NOT OF BLOOD, NOR OF THE WILL OF THE FLESH, NOR OF THE WILL OF MAN, BUT OF GOD. The spiritual history of those who are spoken of in John 1:12 is here continued, and the nature of their sonship more fully defined. It is easy to see that in the three clauses there is a... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:14. AND THE WORD BECAME FLESH. With this verse we enter upon the fuller and more concrete aspect of the Word appearing among men. As personally come in the flesh, however, the Word contrasts with what He was in His preexistent state; and hence, before we have the Baptist introduced to us, we... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:15. JOHN BEARETH WITNESS CONCERNING HIM, AND HATH CRIED, SAYING, THIS WAS HE OF WHOM I SPAKE, HE THAT COMETH AFTER ME HAS BECOME BEFORE ME, BECAUSE HE WAS BEFORE ME. We have seen that John 1:14 is parallel to John 1:1-5. In like manner this verse is parallel to John 1:6-8; but it is also an a... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:16. BECAUSE OUT OF HIS FULLNESS WE ALL RECEIVED, AND GRACE FOR GRACE. In order to understand this verse, and especially the very difficult word ‘because,' with which the true read ing of the verse begins, we must look at the structure of the whole passage. Along with John 1:17-18, this verse... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:17. BECAUSE THE LAW WAS GIVEN THROUGH MOSES: GRACE AND TRUTH CAME THROUGH JESUS Christ. It is very possible that this verse should be taken as directly parallel to John 1:11; hence the definite reference to the pre-Christian revelation here (see note on John 1:11). The thought of Christian ex... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:18. NO ONE HATH SEEN GOD AT ANY TIME; ONE WHO IS ONLY BEGOTTEN GOD, HE THAT IS IN THE BOSOM OF THE FATHER, HE DECLARED HIM. It is not possible in a commentary such as this to defend the reading which we here adopt, ‘God' instead of ‘Son.' But the passage is so extremely important that we may... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:19. AND THIS IS THE WITNESS OF JOHN, WHEN THE JEWS SENT UNTO HIM FROM JERUSALEM PRIESTS AND LEVITES TO ASK HIM, WHO ART THOU? The preceding verses (John 1:1-18) are so strongly marked in character, and so distinctly constitute one coherent whole, that we cannot but place them in a section by... [ Continue Reading ]
We enter here upon the second great division of the Gospel, extending from John 1:19 to John 2:11, and containing the presentation of Jesus, as He takes His place in the field of human history and, alike in the witness borne to Him by the Baptist and in His manifestation of Himself to His disciples,... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:20. AND HE CONFESSED AND DENIED NOT. AND HE CONFESSED, I AM NOT THE CHRIST. The answer of the Baptist is reported with great solemnity. The effect of the double statement, ‘he confessed and denied not' (comp. John 1:3; 1 John 2:4; 1 John 2:27) is to give peculiar impressiveness to the words:... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:21. AND THEY ASKED HIM, WHAT THEN? ART THOU ELIJAH? AND HE SAITH, I AM NOT. The question was a natural one, for the thought of the coming of Elijah was intimately associated with that of the coming of Messiah (Malachi 4:5). The answer seems less natural, for our Lord, when He spoke of the Bap... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:22. THEY SAID THEREFORE UNTO HIM, WHO ART THOU? THAT WE MAY GIVE AN ANSWER TO THEM THAT SENT US. WHAT SAYEST THOU OF THYSELF? The Baptist has disowned the three suppositions that have been made. He is not ‘the Christ,' not ‘Elijah,' not ‘the prophet.' The deputation now appeal directly to him... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:23. HE SAID, I AM A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD, AS SAID THE PROPHET ISAIAH. The words are from Isaiah 40:3, and, though slightly modified in form, they completely express the sense of the original passage. To captive Israel, whose warfare is now a... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:24. AND SOME FROM AMONG THE PHARISEES HAD BEEN SENT. We cannot doubt that these words are introduced to lead on to the following statement, rather than to give completeness to the account of the preceding verses. It is not necessary, however, to think of a second and entirely new deputation.... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:25. AND THEY ASKED HIM, AND SAID UNTO HIM. Why baptizest thou then, if thou art not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet? The ‘Jews,' the representatives of the theocratic spirit of the people, had been mainly concerned about the position of the Baptist in relation to the national hopes. C... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:26-27. JOHN ANSWERED THEM, SAYING, I BAPTIZE IN WATER. The meaning of the Baptist's answer has been greatly obscured by the insertion of ‘but' after these words. It has thus been supposed that the object of the Baptist is to depredate his baptism by bringing it into comparison with the baptis... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:28. THESE THINGS WERE DONE IN BETHANY BEYOND JORDAN. There can be no doubt that Bethabara is not the true reading in this verse. Origen, writing in the third century, states that he found _Bethany_ in almost all copies of the Gospel. This statement is decisive. It cannot be set aside, nor ind... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:29. THE NEXT DAY HE SEETH JESUS COMING UNTO HIM. The ‘day' is that immediately following the day of the first testimony, and the climactic arrangement of the narrative is already perceptible. Already Jesus is in a different position. On the previous day He was spoken of as ‘coming after' John... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:30. See the note upon John 1:15. Here, as there, the words refer to testimony given by the Baptist to Jesus at some point of time and on some occasion not recorded.... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:31. AND I KNEW HIM NOT: BUT THAT BE MAY BE MADE MANIFEST TO ISRAEL, THEREFORE CAME I, BAPTIZING IN WATER. The explanation of the first clause of this verse will be best given when we come to John 1:33. The object which the Baptist here assigns for his work of baptizing may at first sight seem... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:32. AND JOHN BARE WITNESS, SAYING. I HAVE BEHELD THE SPIRIT DESCENDING. The effect of what the Baptist had seen had remained, and still remains, with him in all its power: ‘I _have_ beheld.' AND IT ABODE UPON HIM. John had not merely seen the Spirit descend with dove-like motion upon Jesus;... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:34. AND I HAVE SEEN, AND HAVE BORNE WITNESS THAT THIS IS THE SON OF GOD. ‘ I _have_ seen,' for the result of the seeing abides unchanged and ever present: ‘I _have_ borne witness, for the Baptist has entered on that one witness-bearing for which he was sent (John 1:7), and which it will hence... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:35. AND I KNEW HIM NOT. The first clause of this verse, like that of John 1:31, is attended with peculiar difficulty, for it is hardly possible to imagine that, intimately connected as the families of Jesus and of the Baptist were, the former should have been for thirty years personally unkno... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:35-36. IN THESE VERSES WE HAVE A NEW TESTIMONY BORNE BY THE BAPTIST TO JESUS. In John 1:29 we were simply told that John ‘seeth Jesus coining unto him and saith;' _to whom_ the words were spoken we know not. There is therefore great importance in the definite statement of John 1:35, that John... [ Continue Reading ]
The same general subject is continued in this section Jesus taking His place on the stage of history. We pass now, however, from the witness of the Baptist, given on two successive days, to the manifestation of Himself by Jesus to hearts open to receive and welcome Him. This manifestation takes plac... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:37. AND THE TWO DISCIPLES HEARD HIM SPEAK, AND THEY FOLLOWED JESUS. The witness of the Baptist has its proper effect, an effect, we cannot doubt, foreseen and designed by himself (chap. John 3:27-30). Those who listen to it turn from him, and follow Jesus.... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:38. AND JESUS TURNED AND BEHELD THEM FOLLOWING, AND SAITH UNTO THEM, WHAT SEEK YET? They who thus follow Jesus shall not do so in vain. As in the sense of their own unworthiness they walked after Him, He turned, and inquired what they sought. AND THEY SAID UNTO HIM, RABBI, WHICH IS TO SAY, B... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:39. HE SAITH UNTO THEM, COME, AND YE SHALL SEE. They came therefore and saw where he abode, and abode with him that day. The seeker shall not seek in vain. They had asked where He abode; and that the answer of Jesus was a direct meeting of their request is proved by the statement immediately... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:40. ONE OF THE TWO WHICH HEARD FROM JOHN AND FOLLOWED HIM, WAS ANDREW, SIMON PETER'S BROTHER. Andrew belonged to Bethsaida (John 1:44), and is again referred to in John 6:8; John 12:22. That he is now spoken of as the brother of Peter is an interesting indication of the importance attached by... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:41. HE FIRST FINDETH HIS OWN BROTHER SIMON, AND SAITH UNTO HIM, WE HAVE FOUND THE MESSIAH (WHICH IS, BEING INTERPRETED, CHRIST). The peculiar language of this verse leads directly to the conclusion that each of the two disciples mentioned in the previous verse had gone in search of his brothe... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:42. HE BROUGHT HIM TO JESUS. There can be little doubt that Peter had shared the expectations and longings of his brother Andrew, as well as of all those more earnest spirits of the time who were waiting for ‘the consolation of Israel.' He too had been ‘seeking,' and he too finds. JESUS LOOK... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:43. THE NEXT DAY HE WOULD GO FORTH INTO GALILEE. On this day begins the journey consummated at John 2:1 (see note). And he findeth Philip; and Jesus saith unto him, Follow me. The first two disciples had ‘sought' and ‘followed' Jesus; then they had found Him. Now Jesus (seeks and) ‘finds' Phi... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:44. NOW PHILIP WAS OF BETHSAIDA, OUT OF THE CITY OF ANDREW AND PETER. This verse appears to be inserted for the purpose of clearly showing that these three disciples were Galileans. The next verse would lead to a similar inference in regard to Nathanael, and this inference is confirmed by cha... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:45. PHILIP FINDETH NATHANAEL, AND SAITH UNTO HIM, WE HAVE FOUND HIM OF WHOM MOSES IN THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS DID WRITE, JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE SON OF JOSEPH. It was in all probability on the journey from Bethany beyond Jordan to Cana of Galilee that Jesus had ‘found' Philip. As on the journe... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:46. AND NATHANAEL SAID UNTO HIM, CAN THERE ANY GOOD THING COME OUT OF NAZARETH? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. The mind of Nathanael (who, from his close association with Philip, is probably to be identified with the Bartholomew of the earlier Gospels) is, as we shall more fully see bel... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:47. JESUS SAW NATHANAEL COMING TO HIM, AND SAITH OF HIM, BEHOLD, AN ISRAELITE INDEED, IN WHOM IS NO GUILE. Again, as at John 1:43, we are left to infer that the call thus addressed to Nathanael was obeyed; and in his obedience to it he illustrates the frame of mind for which he is immediately... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:48. NATHANAEL SAITH UNTO HIM, WHENCE KNOWEST THOU ME? The words of Jesus had been spoken while Nathanael was drawing near, and the latter heard them. He does not deny the truth of the commendation, and yet it can hardly be said, on the other hand, that he accepts it. It is enough for him that... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:49. NATHANAEL ANSWERED HIM, RABBI, THOU ART THE SON OF GOD; THOU ART KING OF ISRAEL. The confession is the highest that has yet been made, for it is impossible to understand ‘Son of God' as the simple equivalent of Messiah (see note on John 1:34). Yet it is a confession coming out of the very... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:50. JESUS ANSWERED AND SAID UNTO HIM, BECAUSE I SAID UNTO THEE, I SAW THEE UNDER THE FIG TREE, BELIEVEST THOU? THOU SHALT SEE GREATER THINGS THAN THESE. An intimation of that growth of divine revelation which this Gospel teaches us shall be made the portion of all,-of some to an ever-increasi... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:51. AND HE SAITH UNTO HIM, VERILY, VERILY, I SAY UNTO YOU. This is the first occasion on which we find the repeated ‘Verily,' so characteristic of the discourses related in this Gospel. The formula is always employed to mark some important step in a discourse, where the words of Jesus either... [ Continue Reading ]