_CHRIST COMFORTETH HIS DISCIPLES AGAINST TRIBULATION, BY THE PROMISE OF THE HOLY GHOST, AND BY HIS RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION; ASSURETH THEM THAT THEIR PRAYERS MADE IN HIS NAME WILL BE ACCEPTABLE TO HIS FATHER. PEACE IN CHRIST, AND IN THE WORLD AFFLICTION._ _Anno Domini 33._... [ Continue Reading ]
THESE THINGS HAVE I SPOKEN, &C.— "The things which I have now told you, concerning the hatred of the world, the reason of that hatred, the dishonour done by it to God, the punishment wherewith it shall be followed, and the supernatural assistance which you shall receive,—I have spoken to keep you fr... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY SHALL PUT YOU OUT OF THE SYNAGOGUE:— That is, "They shall excommunicate you." See Ch. John 9:22 and 1 Corinthians 16:22. Instead of, _He doth God service,_ we may render the original, _offereth a sacrifice to God._ The word λατρεια, signifiesallthedifferentpartsof divine worship, and so must be... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THESE THINGS WILL THEY DO, &C.— "And these immoral and pernicious principles and practices will they embrace and execute against you as my disciples, because through the wilful blindness and hardness of their hearts, they do not know, so as to believe and love, either my Father or me.... [ Continue Reading ]
THESE THINGS I SAID NOT, &C.— The original signifies, "I did not _inculcate_ these things upon you from the beginning;—I did not _insist_ upon them, because the lesson would come time enough before my departure." _These things_ may be understood of the Jews' ignorance of God's designs, and their wil... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT NOW I GO MY WAY— "But now that my ministry is drawing towards a conclusion, and I am going to him that sent me, I could no longer defer speaking of these things to you. In the mean time I cannotbut take notice, that though I mentioned to you my departure once before, (Ch. John 13:33.) none of yo... [ Continue Reading ]
NEVERTHELESS, I TELL YOU THE TRUTH;— Though you have not asked the reasons of my going away, I will declare them to you. It is necessary even on your account that I depart; because, if I do not ascend into heaven, and take possession of my mediatorial kingdom, _the Comforter,_ by whose assistance, a... [ Continue Reading ]
AND WHEN HE IS COME, HE WILL REPROVE— _He will convince,_ &c. "And he, coming from on high, by virtue of my death, and in consequence of my resurrection and exaltation, shall carry on my cause in this lower world by demonstratively convincing both Jews and Gentiles, wherever my gospel comes, of thei... [ Continue Reading ]
OF SIN, BECAUSE, &C.— "When the Comforter comes, he will, by the miraculous effusion of his gifts, accompanied with divine grace, convince the world of the sin that they commit indisbelieving me; who, though absent in respect to my bodily presence, am able to confer such extraordinary powers on my m... [ Continue Reading ]
OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, BECAUSE, &C.— "He shall likewise convince them of the righteousness of my person and cause, and of the necessity, suitableness, and perfection of that atonement, which I am come to accomplish by my obedience unto death; because I am going to be exalted at my Father's right hand, an... [ Continue Reading ]
OF JUDGMENT, BECAUSE, &C.— "In the last place, when the Holy Ghost thus cometh, he will convert men from idolatry and from vicious tempers and vicious practices, to the knowledge, experience, and practice of true religion; and by thus victoriouslydeprivingSatanofthatdominionwhichhe has hitherto exer... [ Continue Reading ]
I HAVE YET MANY THINGS TO SAY UNTO YOU,— These _other things_ to which our Lord refers, might probably relate to the abrogation of the ceremonial law, to the doctrine of justification by faith, the rejection of the Jews, the calling of the Gentiles, and the like, which the disciples could not fully... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN HE, THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH, IS COME,— The personality of the Holy Ghost is strongly and incontestably marked by the mention of his _coming,_ being _sent, guiding,_ &c. as well as by the particularity in the original; wherein the word rendered _he;_ εκεινος, is of the masculine gender, though the w... [ Continue Reading ]
HE SHALL TAKE OF MINE— _He will receive of mine,_ ληψεται the same word as in John 16:14 and consequently the translation should be the same in both places. "Be not surprized that I said unto you, _He will receive of mine,_ &c. for the whole treasure of the Father's wisdom belongs to me." See Coloss... [ Continue Reading ]
A LITTLE WHILE, AND YE SHALL NOT SEE ME:— Our Lord hinted to them, that it was their interest, as well as their duty, to rivet all these things in their memory, because they were his dying words. A few hours would put an end to his life; and though he was to rise again from the dead, he was to remai... [ Continue Reading ]
WHAT IS THIS THAT HE SAITH,— There are so many passages in the preceding discourse relating to Christ's goingto the Father, that it is a strange instance of the dulness of the apostles at that time, that they did not understand him. Perhaps it is recorded on purpose to shew us what an alteration the... [ Continue Reading ]
A WOMAN WHEN SHE IS IN TRAVAIL— "The state of mind you will be in, when the events happen of which I am speaking, cannot be described better than by comparing it to the condition of a woman in travail. During her labour she has exquisite pain, because the birth approaches; but as soon as the is deli... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THAT DAY YE SHALL ASK ME NOTHING.— _"You shall not inquire any thing of me,_ u949?κ ερωτησετε :—One great source of your joy, in the period I am speaking of, will be, that your understanding shall be enlarged and enlightened; so that you shall have no need of my personal presence with you, nor an... [ Continue Reading ]
I SHALL SHEW YOU PLAINLY OF THE FATHER.— I will then make a free, open, and full discovery of my Father; of his gracious counsels concerning the church; of the nature and design of my sufferings and death; of the reasons of my going to him; of the business which I go to transact with him; of the con... [ Continue Reading ]
AT THAT DAY YE SHALL ASK IN MY NAME:— This is the fifth time our Lord enjoined his apostles to offer up their petitions in his name. See John 16:23. Ch. John 14:13 and John 15:16. The frequency of the injunction shews the importance of the matter enjoined; for whether we understand Jesus as speaking... [ Continue Reading ]
I CAME FORTH FROM THE FATHER, &C.— "To conclude. The true and proper meaning of my discourse to you at this time, and particularly of the expression which appeared so obscure to you, is, that as I came forth from the Father, and was commissioned by the Father, and came into the world to reveal his w... [ Continue Reading ]
HIS DISCIPLES SAID— "We acknowledge that now thou speakest in such a manner as we can understand; for what thou sayest is by no means dark, like the things before delivered. Moreover, by what thou hast now spoken, we clearly perceive that thou knowest the hearts of men; and that in conversing with m... [ Continue Reading ]
EVERY MAN TO HIS OWN,— Εις τα ιδια : To his own habitation and employment. Dr. Heylin renders it, _Every man to take care of himself._... [ Continue Reading ]
THESE THINGS I HAVE SPOKEN— "I have told you these things, that you may have consolation in the prospect of the benefits that you are to receive, a lasting _peace,_ and serenity of soul, by the exercise of your faith in me; and thus, free from all anxiety and perturbation, may not be terrified when... [ Continue Reading ]