Chapter XII

Verses 1-11. We come now to the final public appearance of our Lord before the Jews of Jerusalem. After this chapter the record of John’s Gospel gives us the blessed messages He spoke to His own disciples, which are not reported by the synoptic Gospels. And after they were finished He uttered that matchless prayer before He went to Gethsemane and willingly stretched forth His loving hands to be bound and led away “‘as a Lamb to the slaughter.”

What the other Gospels report that happened on the way to Jerusalem, like the healing of the blind man in Jericho, the incident with Zacchaeus, etc., is all omitted by the Apostle John. We shall not burden our pages with additional objections and questionings of an infidel Bible criticism.

He returned to Bethany. It was His last journey to Jerusalem, as we read in Luke’s Gospel. On the way there He informed His disciples what would now soon take place: “Behold we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man shall be accomplished. For He shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked and spitefully entreated and spit upon. And they shall scourge Him, and put Him to death, and the third day He shall rise again” (Luke xviii:31-33). Thus He walked along with His disciples in perfect calmness. He knew all the suffering and all the shame which awaited Him in David’s city. He set His face like flint in fullest confidence that He would not be ashamed but finish the work the Father gave Him to do and have the victory. (See Isaiah 1:6-7). He arrived in Bethany on the eve of the

Sabbath, that is, on Friday afternoon. He spent that last Sabbath with His beloved friends in Bethany; the next Sabbath His body rested in the tomb. Then on the first day of the week, following the Sabbath, He rode into Jerusalem publicly on an ass. In connection with His arrival in Bethany the fact is mentioned that Lazarus was there — “where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He raised from the dead.” Ever since Lazarus had been raised from the dead he had dwelt in Bethany as the witness of the omnipotent power of the Christ. That the miracle was widely known, that it was then made known to the Jews, who had come to attend the Passover, may be learned from verse nine; multitudes of Jews came to Bethany to see Lazarus.

“There they made Him a supper.”” Martha was as busy as ever with serving. She serves now without being cumbered with much serving. Then Lazarus is mentioned as being one of them that sat at the table with Him. Here Lazarus is mentioned for the last time; after this we never hear of him again. We do not know how long he lived, or how he lived. ‘The last record given of him is here, being at the table with Him who had raised him from the dead. This supper in Bethany is a beautiful type of that great coming marriage supper of the Lamb, which will take place in glory (Revelation xix). The Lord Jesus Christ will then meet His own in glory. Lazarus represents those who died and who are raised from among the dead; the sisters Martha and Mary, those who are alive when He comes. There is still another lesson. We have seen how Lazarus, dead, represents the sinner dead in trespasses and sins; his resurrection, the life he receives who believes on him; then followed liberty, “loose him and let him go.”” Here Lazarus is in fellowship with the Lord, enjoying communion with Him. Life, Liberty and Fellowship — these are the three great facts of the Gospel of Grace.

The great event which happened at this supper was when Mary is at His feet again and anoints them with spikenard, very costly, and then wiped His feet with her hair. It was the expression of her deepest love and gratitude, an act of worship by which she acknowledged Him as Lord. In Matthew and Mark the record tells us that she anointed His head also (Matthew xxvi:6-13; Mark xiv:3-9). In both of these Gospels we hear that the Lord declared wherever the Gospel is preached throughout the whole world, that her deed is to be mentioned; but in John’s Gospel the odor of the anointment is mentioned as filling the whole house. These differences are not discrepancies, nor is it necessary, in order to harmonize these differences, to invent several anointings, as some have done. There was but one anointing. She anointed both His head and His feet; John passes over the fact that she anointed His head. It must have been in this wise: she first anointed His head and then sank down at His feet and anointed them as an act of deepest humility, gratitude and worship. Thus alone the act as anticipation of His burial was fully expressed. And Mary of Bethany was not among the women who went to the sepulchre to embalm the body of our Lord; she knew He would rise from among the dead.

Let us also remember that the woman who was a sinner (Luke vii:38) wiped His feet with her hair. Here are no more tears, but all is joy and gladness; Mary brought her alabaster box containing a pound of ointment of spikenard, 3 very costly, not using just a little, but breaking the alabaster 3 box she emptied it all, for He is worthy of all. What the ointment was, the spikenard, cannot be ascertained; the fact is stated that it was of very great value. Such costly ointments were much used among the ancients and highly prized, but generally a very little was used of it. Perhaps the alabaster box containing the precious ointment was a great treasure of the family. It was the best Mary possessed and she gave it to Him. As we read in 1 Corinthians xi:15, the glory of the woman is her long hair; she put all her glory at His feet to glorify Him. She expressed in this way that Christ was her all; she bore witness to His Deity, and she alone among all His disciples had realized in faith that He was on the way to the cross, that He would die, be buried and rise again. No word was spoken by her, but her silent act of faith, adoration and worship, the savour of it, filled the whole house. It was done unto Him; it magnified Him, His blessed person and His equally blessed work, And sweet to Him was this act of worship, this lavish

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mn eb He expression of love. She is the standing pattern of true affection for the Lord Jesus Christ and devotedness unto Him. But that can only be attained by communion with Him, sitting at His feet as Mary did. Such devotedness to Him, exaltation of His ever blessed and worthy Name, is still the sweet savour unto Him and still fills the whole house. Such devotion Satan hates. He did not let this scene go unchallenged. His voice is heard through one of the disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray Him. According to Matthew and Mark the other disciples also had indignation, considering the great act of love as wasteful. Judas was the spokesman and the other disciples in their ignorance endorsed his sentiment. Before this our Lord had indicated the character of Judas, who was now about to betray Him. He knew that he had a devil (John vi:64). Judas had no affection for the Lord Jesus Christ, though he was a disciple; he had no affection for Him because he did not believe on Him as Lord, and always called Him, Rabbi. Therefore he did not think of the Lord Jesus. Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence (denarii), and given to the poor? It has been calculated that three hundred pence make about fifty dollars; the thirty pieces of silver for which Judas sold Christ make about fifteen dollars. But did he really care for the poor? ‘The omniscient Spirit of God tells us that it was but the cover for a more sordid motive. He was a thief; he carried the bag, and all along covetousness, the love of money, had led him to steal. This gives us an interesting side-light on the poverty of Him, who was rich, and had become poor. The bag was not a portmanteau, but a chest into which voluntary contributions both in coin and in provisions were put by friends, like Joanna, Susanna and many others (Luke viii:3). Thus the Son of God, the Creator of all things, in poverty was maintained, as well as His disciples, by the voluntary contributions of His friends. Judas had charge of all this. Many a nominal Christian uses today the same falsehood Judas used to hide the love of money. ‘They excuse themselves from certain duties, like assisting foreign missionary work. They plead “charity begins at home,” that the poor and needy must be helped, but in reality they are covetous and selfish.

“He was a thief.” This statement should silence the foolish inventions that Judas was moved by a noble purpose in betraying the Lord Jesus. The theory claims that Judas wanted the Lord Jesus to be King. He thought if He was betrayed and taken captive, He would exercise His divine power, overthrow His enemies and take the throne; thus it is claimed he tried to hasten the Kingship and Kingdom of Christ. He was a thief!

Then the Lord rebuked Judas and vindicated Mary. Her act was prophetic: it foretold His coming death and burial. To help the poor is always possible, for poverty will always exist throughout this age, and He added “but Me ye have not always.” He was soon to return to the Father, then His bodily presence would cease. Attention has been rightly called that this one statement of our Lord silences completely the abominable blasphemy of Rome of the Lord’s bodily presence in the “Mass.”

On that memorable day a large number of Jews came to Bethany; they had heard that He was there, and as the village was near Jerusalem they hurried there to see Him. They also were curious to see Lazarus to convince themselves that he was really alive. The crowds which came must have been very large; the attention of the chief priests was called to it and they at once consulted to put Lazarus to death also. The miracle could not be denied and so they tried to silence the witness. What a confirmation of another word of our Lord as to unbelief: ‘Neither will they believe though one rose from the dead”!

Many Jews going away from Bethany believed on Jesus, that He is the Messiah. They must have spread their conviction among others so that everywhere it must have been heard, something like this — He is the Messiah, none but the Messiah could raise any one from the dead.

Verses 12-19. A number of times in this Gospel we have learned how our Lord withdrew, disappearing from the multitudes, retiring into the wilderness to be alone; but now He no longer hides Himself. In chapter vi:15 they wanted to make Him King by force, but now He appears voluntarily and presents Himself as the promised King to Jerusalem. This had to be done before He died on the Cross, in fulfillment of the prediction uttered by Zechariah. This fact annihilates completely the invention of a prolific writer who has tried to demonstrate that Christ did not come as King with an offer of the promised kingdom; his theory has sadly miscarried.

The next day mentioned is the day known in Christendom as “Palm Sunday,” the beginning of that memorable week in which He died as the substitute of sinners, in which He laid in the grave; the next week begins with the glorious day of resurrection. On that day the 483 prophetic years given in Daniel’s great prophecy (Daniel ix) had expired. An immense crowd of people from all over the land had gathered in Jerusalem for the Passover feast. No doubt hundreds, if not thousands had seen Him, heard Him, were fed by Him in the wilderness; and now they were in the City, perhaps eagerly looking for Him. All at once the news sweeps through the crowd — He is coming! He is coming! The vast multitude had heard of the great miracle which had taken place in Bethany. There had been a stream of visitors and probably these brought the news to Jerusalem, He is coming to the feast. Soon a great throng of people gathered and as they went forth on the road they plucked branches from the palm trees to welcome the King. This was an ancient custom in welcoming Kings and victorious generals. The palm branches therefore denote victory; this is the case in the Book of Revelation (vii:9). The palm trees are very prominent also in the description of the Millennial Temple (Ezekiel xl, etc.). Then followed a mighty cry, “Hosanna!”’ Perhaps this cry came when the crowds beheld Him for the first time, riding upon the ass. Hosanna is taken from the Messianiccxviii Psalm. “Savenow, I beseech thee, O Lord” (verse 25). It is a cry for salvation. This was followed by another, partial quotation from the same Psalm. ‘Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.” But the words “The King of Israel’ are not found in the Psalm. It was added by the people in their enthusiasm in welcoming Him, whom many believed to be the promised Messiah. In Matthew’s Gospel, after the Lord had spoken the words of condemnation against the leaders of the nation, He said, before He left the house, “For I say unto you, Ye shall not see Me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in 1 the name of ie Lord.” This of course was not fulfilled when they cried thus when He was about entering Jerusalem. It will be fulfilled in the future when our Lord returns in power and glory and a remnant of His people welcomes Him as the deliverer.

Matthew tells us about the particulars of the preparation to enter Jerusalem upon the ass (Matthew xxi:7; see our exposition of Matthew). The ass is a symbol not of a great conqueror, but of humility. Yet we know from Deborah’s song that great men rode upon white asses (Judge. v:10). ‘No Roman soldier in the garrison of Jerusalem, who standing at his post or sitting in his barrack window, saw our Lord riding on an ass, could report to his centurion that He looked like one who came to wrest the kingdom of Judea out of the hand of the Romans, drive out the governor and his legions from the tower of Antonia, and achieve independence for the Jews with the sword.” The day is coming when He will sit upon a white charger, when He comes, not traveling over a dusty country road, but when He comes forth out of the opened heavens; then, and not till then will all the kingdoms fall, and His Kingdom come. Yet there can be no question that many in that vast throng expected something to happen at this time, some startling manifestation by which their carnal expectations of deliverance from the Roman power was to be realized. When it did not come, and they saw Him in the hands of the Romans, a bound captive, the crowds turned from the popular applause, the expecting “Hosanna,” to the horrible cry “Crucify Him!”

John alludes briefly to Zechariah’s prediction. It must be noticed that Zechariah’s great prediction was not fulfilled on that day. The Holy Spirit in quoting from it leaves out on purpose certain statements which can only be fulfilled when He comes again. In fact, like so many other Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament, Zechariah ix:9-11 is a blending of His first and second coming.

His disciples beheld all this and yet they understood not. They failed to see the meaning of all this. It was ordered thus by our Lord; His Spirit hid the full meaning of all these things for a purpose. Had they grasped it all, had they understood all about His sufferings, His rejection, His Cross (though it was plainly written in their Scriptures), the enemy might have brought the charge that all was a well-laid scheme. But the fact that they did not understand, nor expect His resurrection from the dead, makes deception, and self-deception especially, impossible. The truth came to them “when Jesus was glorified.” This means the gift of His Spirit after His resurrection and ascension, the Holy Spirit who is here as the witness that Christ is in glory, Of Him our Lord had said “He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John xiv:26). When He had come and dwelt in them they understood it all and saw how wonderfully the Lord had dealt with them, used them, and how Scripture had been accomplished.

Verse 17 puts before us once more that greatest of all miracles, the raising up of Lazarus. Those who had been in Bethany, who were the eye witnesses of what had taken place, were undoubtedly in the lead. They bare record, probably somewhat in the following manner: We are well acquainted with Lazarus, Mary and Martha. We often visited their home. Some time ago we received the news that Lazarus was very sick and a few days later we heard that he had died. We at once went to Bethany and found that the report was true. We went to mourn with our friends; some of us wrapped the corpse in the grave clothes and deposited him in the tomb; we put the stone before the tomb and then waited the customary three days. On the fourth day, this man Jesus of Nazareth came. He was a friend of the family; Mary and Martha had sent for Him, as soon as their brother had fallen sick. He delayed His coming till Lazarus was dead and put into the grave. He demanded to see the place where his friend rested in death. Then He astonished us by calling us to take away the stone. Some of us right here responded and we removed the stone from the opening of the tomb. Then He said “Lazarus come forth!’ No sooner was the word spoken but Lazarus came forth and life was restored to him, We saw it all and you can go to Bethany and see Lazarus and convince yourself that he is living. And this man, who is riding upon an ass, is the One who did all this. Such must have been their witness before the great multitude. For this cause, on account of this testimony the vast multitude came forth to meet Him, and to join in the cry of welcome.

His enemies, the Pharisees, now appear upon the scéne. They were the witnesses of this triumphal entrance of the hated and despised Nazarene, Him, whom they tried to stone, and had counselled to put to death. They acknowledge their helplessness? ‘“The Pharisees, therefore, said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? Behold the world is gone after Him.” They were at their wits’ end. All along they had planned and tried maliciously to incite the mob against Him, so that they might put Him out of the way. Perhaps they had hoped to accomplish something against Him with the large crowds of people filling the city. But instead of having the masses on their side, they saw that they were on the side of their enemy, acclaiming Him as the King of Israel. They looked on and said amongst themselves: “‘Behold what has happened!” “Just look at these multitudes with palm branches! Listen to the Hosanna cries!” ‘They confess that the whole world has gone after Him. How true this was! According to the reckoning of Josephus about three million people assembled from everywhere at the Passover time in Jerusalem, and they all shouted His name. The next paragraph tells us that even the attention of Greek Gentiles had been arrested and they desired to see Jesus.

What a moment of triumph! Yet not a word is said about Himself. No record given that He spoke one word in all this scene, or that He, in any way responded to the enthusiasm of the multitude. We believe, unmoved as He was, He looked beyond all what was taking place. He knew what was about to come.

Verses 20-22. And now certain Greeks asked for Him. This incident must have taken place sometime after the triumphal entry of our Lord into Jerusalem, for if it had been at that time, the inquiring Greeks would have beheld Him, for He was the central figure on that memorable day.

These Greeks were not Grecian Jews, that is Jews who had been away from Palestine and who had become more or less identified with Greek life and spoke the Greek language. Such were the Grecians mentioned in Acts vi. They were natives of Greece who, like some Romans, had turned away from idols and had become proselytes to the Jewish faith. They came up to Jerusalem to the feast to worship, for they had adopted the Hebrew religion, and came to Jerusalem to participate in the divinely commanded feasts of the Lord. To the same class of proselytes belonged the centurion whose son our Lord healed; Cornelius to whom Peter was sent, and the eunuch whom the evangelist Philip met on the road to Gaza.

Perhaps it was the Greek name of Philip which attracted them to him and to present their petition, “Sir, we would see Jesus.” The original is more emphatic, ““We wish, we desire to see Jesus.” We do not know what their motive was, probably more than idle curiosity. The historian Eusebius mentions a tradition that they had been sent by the Syrian king Edessa with a commission to invite Jesus to come to his realm, assuring Him a hearty and princely welcome. But this is nothing but a tradition. The visit of the wise men at the time of the infancy of our Lord was prophetic; the coming of these inquiring Greeks is also prophetic. The leaders of the nation were seeking even then to kill Him, but Gentiles came to seek to know Him; rejected by His own the Gentiles would turn to Him.

Verses 23-26. The request was not granted. Another one might have snatched this opportunity to increase his triumph, for while multitudes had acclaimed Him as the King of Israel, those from afar had come also to know Him. But our Lord is not carried away by any enthusiasm. Instead of motioning the Greeks into His presence to converse with them He said,‘“The hour is come, that the Son of Man should be glorified.”

It is a different glorification from that which man seeks for himself. He spoke of the glory which should follow,, His suffering. The coming of these Greeks indicated the time when the strangers from the commonwealth of Israel would seek Him as Saviour, when the middle wall of partition would be broken down, and the salvation of God would go far hence to the Gentiles, so that the other sheep (John x) might be gathered in, to form with the sheep from the Jewish fold, the one flock. But all this could not be accomplished by His earthly life; it necessitated His death. He had to be lifted up first on the cross before all could be drawn to Him. Through death alone could come the glory, the glory He received, and the glory of salvation for a lost world. The words which follow make this clear. ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except the corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” It is a simple, yet deep saying. The seed, the corn of wheat, may be stored in the granary but it is useless there. In order to be a blessing, to reproduce itself, to bestow life, the corn of wheat must be put into the ground, to decay and to die. Out of death life springs and much fruit results. He must die and only through His death could salvation and life be procured. Like the corn of wheat in the granary, if our Lord had done nothing but live and teach and do deeds of mercy, He would have remained alone. Like the corn of wheat put into the ground to die, He died and from His death, His life given vicariously, alone comes the harvest of salvation, life and glory. This great statement of our Lord, introduced with the solemn “Amen — Amen — Verily, Verily” disposed completely of the delusive teaching that union with Christ is brought about by His incarnation, by taking on a human body and living among men. A certain school speaks of Him as taking on sinful, fallen humanity, which is a wicked statement, and that by having taken upon Himself humanity, He lifts humanity back to the favor of God. This one verse silences this evil invention. Not His life, but His death lifts man from the horrible pit and the miry clay. ‘The Just One died for the unjust that He might bring us to God.” The verse answers another equally wicked invention of the natural mind. The modern theology regards the death of Christ as an act of self-denial; or they speak of Him as suffering the martyr’s death. When our Lord illustrates His coming death and the blessed results of His death, by the dying of the corn of wheat, He gives a complete answer to these modern enemies of His sacrificial and finished work on the cross.

But who is able to estimate the fruits of His death! It will take all eternity to know and to enjoy the surpassing riches of His grace. The source of all we have and are, what we shall have and shall be, is the cross of Christ, His blessed, precious death for us.

When the corn of wheat dies it reproduces itself in other corns of wheat. The life of the corn of wheat which passed through death is communicated. Even so, we, who have believed, possess His life, the life which passed through death.

“He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” The same statement we find in five other passages in the Gospels (Matthew x:39; xvi:25; Mark viii:35; Luke ix:24; xvii:33).

The same principle of self-sacrifice holds good for the believer, who follows Christ. His path is theirs, a path of suffering and shame. It means to be dead to the world, its glory and its ambitions, to give up and sacrifice, constantly reaching out after the things which are above. What Paul wrote to the Philippians illustrates this saying of our Lord, “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.. .for Whom I suffered the loss of all things, and to count them but dung, that I may win Christ... That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death” (Phil. iii:7-10). The practical condemnation which the statement of our Lord, “‘he that loveth his life shall lose it, etc.” passes on the life lived by many should never be overlooked. How few hate their lives here! How many love their lives, and care for nothing but how to make them comfortable and happy! The eternal loss or the eternal gain are often entirely forgotten. How little of the real self-denial and self-sacrifice is known even among God’s people in our easy going, pleasure and comfort loving generation! Let us remember it daily, ‘‘If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory” (Col. iii:1-4).

True service for the Lord is to follow Him. “If any man serve Me, let him follow Me.” It is a service inseparable from following Him, living in His fellowship, walking in His footsteps, being obedient to Him. How much there is called Christian service, and service for the Lord, which is but service in self-will! True service in Him and with Him has two great promises, given here by our Lord. The first is “Where I am, there shall also my servant be.” This gracious promise is repeated in the fourteenth chapter, ‘‘I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am ye may be also.” There will be an eternal union of Christ with His own, an eternal fellowship. All who are Christ’s and serve Him will be with Him; wherever He is there we shall be with Him. And whatever He has we shall have and possess with Him. But what does it mean, “If any man serve Me, him will My Father honour’”’! No Saint has ever discovered the full meaning of this great promise, one of the greatest in the Word of God. The Father’s delight is His Son. Him He has honored; to Him He has given the pre-eminence in all things. He delights in all who honor His Son, who exalt Him, give Him the first place in their lives, serve Him and follow in His footsteps. Such He will honor; His blessing will be upon them. What will it be in that coming eternity when we shall be in His presence! All who have served the Lord Jesus Christ, who have been true and loyal to Him, will be honored by the Father. This will be heaven: with Christ, and receiving honor and glory from the Father.

“It is impossible not to see throughout this verse that our Lord’s intention is to discourage the carnal and earthly expectations of His Jewish followers, and yet to encourage them by showing what they might confidently look for. They must follow in His steps if they were His true servants, and in so following they would find a cross, and not a crown, whatever they may be thinking, at that moment, while the hosannas of an excited crowd were sounding in their ears. But though they had a cross, they should not miss a reward finally, which would make amends for all. They would be with Christ in Glory. They would be honored by God the Father’’*

Verses 27-33. In the midst of this scene, when the Greeks had inquired for Him, when He had spoken of the necessity of His death, so that, like the dying corn of wheat, there might be from Him much fruit, He uttered these words of deep soulical emotion. What else did produce this sudden agony but the Cross, which loomed up before His eyes! He was even in His humiliation the omniscient Lord. He knew all things. He knew but a few days more and they would spit in His face, smite His cheeks, scourge His back with the cruel scourge, and nail Him to the tree. But the knowledge of the coming shame and suffering did not affect Him thus. There was something deeper than that. He was to suffer in a way not fully known tous. As the substitute of sinners He who knew no sin was to be made sin and a curse for us. Well says a German expositor: “The only solution of this extreme trouble is the vicarious significance of the sufferings and death of Christ. If our chastisement was upon Him, in order that we might have peace, then in Him must have been concentrated all the horror of death. He bore the sin of the world and the wages of that sin is death. Death therefore must to Him assume its most frightful form. The physical suffering was nothing compared to the immeasurable suffering of soul which impended over the Redeemer, and the full greatness and depth of which He clearly perceives.” f He looked forward to the cross, and knowing all it meant when He would become the Sin-bearer His holy soul was stirred by this deep agony. No finite mind can comprehend what it was when He said ‘‘Now is My soul troubled.” He adds, “What shall I say?’ It is a question of anguish, perplexity and deep distress.

Then follows a prayer: ‘‘Father, save Me from this hour.” This brief utterance must not be detached from the next statement, “But for this cause came [ unto this hour.”” The prayer to be saved from this hour reveals His human nature, though it was sinless, yet in that nature He could suffer

*Thoughts on John, {Hengstenberg, and instinctively He shrank from it. His human nature would suggest to ask the Father to save Him from this hour. Thus He spoke in Gethsemane also, “O My Father, if this cup may not pass away from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done” (Matt. xxvi:42). But He answers with a, No. While He tells out His feeling as a true man, He knows that for this cause, to suffer and to die as substitute of sinners, He came unto this hour. Thus He declared His entire submission to His will, to accomplish the purpose of His coming into the world. As one has said, “The struggle is like one of those fissures in the crust of the earth, which enables science to fathom the bowels of the earth. It lets us read the very inmost depths of the Lord’s being.”

But it was more than a submission to the will of the Father, who sent His Son. His great desire was that the Father’s Name might be glorified, ‘‘Father, glorify Thy Name.” In the great work He came to do the Father is glorified both as to His Name and His attributes. The agony and the pain which passed through His soul are forgotten and His holy ambition is the Father’s Glory. We see three significant steps in these utterances of our Lord. First, His sinless human soul shrank from the sufferings. In the second place He expresses His entire submission to the Father’s will, and finally He desires the Glory of the Father’s Name. It has been remarked that the utmost reach of the renewed will of a believer is to say always, “Father, glorify Thy Name in Me. Do with Me what Thou wilt, only glorify Thy Name.” The glory of God after all is the end for which all things were created. Paul was filled with this when he wrote the Philippians, as the prisoner in Rome, ‘““That in all things, by life or by death, Christ might be magnified in my body.”

And the Father answers at once. What had taken place, the words His well beloved Son had spoken, pleased Him. Therefore His voice was heard from heaven. It is the third time the Father spoke above His Son. That voice was heard when the Lord had gone into Jordan for baptism; it was heard on the Mount of Transfiguration, and now for the third time, as the Son of God is about to suffer and to die, the Father speaks. Here as at the other occasions the positive proof is given that the Father and the Son are two distinct persons. It was a miracle when that voice was heard; while we cannot explain it, as no other miracle can be explained, we reverently believe it. The voice declared, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.””? What glorification is this? Some have explained it as meaning that the Father had been glorified in His incarnation, in His miracles, in the Word which His Son had spoken, and now His Name was to be again glorified in His suffering and death. We believe it refers rather to the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead and to His own resurrection. When our Lord was informed of the illness of His friend, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but unto the glory of God.” When therefore Lazarus was raised from the dead it glorified the Name of the Father. Again, He would be glorified in the resurrection of His own Son.

That something miraculous had taken place the whole company of people who were present realized. All heard it and some said that it was thunder, while others hearing the sounds distinctly declared that it was an angel who had spoken. None recognized the Father’s voice, the Son only heard and understood. Some think that the Greeks, who were probably still in that company, said that it thundered, while the Jews knew that a voice had really spoken, and they thought it was an angel. But that there must have been persons among them who heard the actual voice is vouched for by the words of our Lord when He said: ‘This voice came not for My sake but for your sakes.” It confirmed once more the fact of His Deity.

“Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out.” This passage, which has been considered one of the difficult verses in this Gospel, becomes simple when we consider that it is anticipative. He speaks of the work of the Cross as already accomplished, and that the result of it will be the judgment of this world and the casting out of the Prince of this world (Satan). The death of Christ is the condemnation of this world and all its glory; believers, who are in Christ, dead with Him and risen with Him, are dead to the world and the world is dead unto them. The sentence of judgment is passed upon the world, and its prince is also judged, in due time he will be cast-out. How and when this is to be consummated the Book of Revelation tells us more fully (Rev. xii and xx). The death of Christ has stripped the prince of this world of his power and sealed his coming eternal doom, but it is by His death that He “spoiled principalities and powers, and made a show of them openly, triumphing over them” (Col. ii:15). In speaking these words our Lord regarded all accomplished by His sacrificial death, as it will be in fact in His Second Coming.

We quote an excellent comment on this verse by Dr. Lyman Abbott, given in his commentary on the Gospel of John, written fifty years ago, when this man was sound in the faith and not a critical unbeliever. ‘The world’s battle was fought and the victory won at Calvary. The Second Coming of Christ is not to redeem the world, but to realize for the world the fruits of redemption, in an established and eternal kingdom of righteousness, after, by the cross, humanity has been judged, the devil cast out, and the redeemed race lifted up. The passages of the New Testament which imply the continuing influence of the devil (Rom. xvi:20; 2 Cor. iv:4; Eph. ii:2; vi:12; etc.) are not inconsistent with Christ’s language here, because what Christ says is prophetic; He speaks of that as already accomplished which is absolutely certain to be accomplished by the power of that divine sacrifice, so soon by Him to be consummated.”

“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me. This He said, signifying what death He should die.” Quite often the statement of our Lord is applied to the preaching of the Gospel, that if Christ is lifted up in preaching, His power to attract will be manifested. This certainly is true, but it is not the meaning of the words our Lord spoke here. He spoke of His death by crucifixion. Nor does the lifting up mean His ascension. It must also be noticed when He speaks in this manner of His being lifted up, nailed to the cross, He did not say, “When I be lifted up,” but “zf I be lifted up.” His crucifixion was contingent; it was dependent on His own voluntary submission. Even in the hour of His arrest the way of deliverance was open to Him. And this great work finished, Christ crucified, lifted up, dying for sinners, making known the love and righteousness of God, is His power to draw all men unto Him. “All men” does not mean what Calvin read into it, and which a few of his followers still maintain, that it means only the elect. Nor does it mean the salvation of every member of the human race as others teach. All men means both Jews and Gentiles, those who hear the Gospel, and hearing, believe on Him. We must not think that these words support the deadly heresy of universal salvation. We must not suppose them to mean that all men shall actually be saved by Christ’s crucifixion, any more than we must suppose that Christ actually “‘lights” every one into the world (John i:9). The analogy of other texts shows plainly that the only reasonable sense is, that Christ’s crucifixion would have a “drawing” influence on men of all nations, Gentiles as well as Jews. Scripture and facts show us that all persons are not actually drawn to Christ. Many live and die and are lost in unbelief.* The meaning of this statement of our Lord is wider still. The day will come when the nations of the earth will be gathered into the kingdom.

Verses 35-36. The question they had asked of Him: “How sayest Thou, the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is the Son of Man?” He left unanswered. He knew that these questions came not out of sincere, seeking hearts. Behind them He saw sneers and ridicule and He never answered such. Instead He made some great declarations. He is the Light. For a little while longer, only for a few days, He would tarry with them. Soon He would be no longer in their midst. The day of light and opportunity for them as His people was drawing rapidly to a close. He had seen with His omniscient vision that the storm clouds of judgment were gathering over Jerusalem and the nation, and therefore urges them to act now, while it was still light for them, and flee to Him and to His shelter. Darkness was rapidly approaching and coming upon them, then would they wander about in darkness without any ray of light, without aim and without any peace and rest. History tells us how all this was fulfilled after they had delivered the Son of

*Bishop Ryle.

Man into the hands of the Gentiles. The years between the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus and the siege and destruction of Jerusalem under Titus in the year 70, were years of darkness and confusion. Judicial blindness settled upon them and ever since they were dispersed among the nations, the prediction of our Lord has been literally fulfilled; they walk in darkness and know not where they are going. And such is the fate of all who reject Him who is the Light and refuse to acknowledge Him as Saviour and Lord. A human being can find light, and be a child of light, only by believing on Him. Then He departed; He was hidden from them. This action may be looked upon as confirming what He had spoken, a kind of symbolical action. Verses 37-41. Here is a deep and interesting commentary on some of the great utterances of the Prophet Isaiah, which are of much importance at the present time, when this great prophetic book is so much slandered by the infidel critics in the camp of Protestantism. The first quotation is from the great Fifty-third chapter of Isaiah. Here is the fullest confirmation that this famous chapter, revealing the rejection, the death, the sacrificial work, the burial, the resurrection and glory of the Servant of the Lord, applies to the Lord Jesus Christ. The ancient synagogue always believed this. When it was found out by Jews that this chapter was extensively used in convincing Jews of the Messianity of the Lord Jesus Christ, they invented the theory that the person described in that chapter is not the Messiah, but the Jewish nation, that they suffer vicariously for the other nations. In doing this they revealed their awful blindness as well as hatred against the Lord. This miserable invention is upheld and taught in all the theological institutions, seminaries and Bible institutes which are on the side of the evolutionary, modern theology, if it deserves to be called by this honored name. In other words, destructive criticism has joined hands with infidel Judaism in rejecting the Messianic meaning of the great Isaiahian prophecy. Isaiah in the, Spirit foresaw the unbelief of the nation, which was now about to be consummated in the rejection of Jesus, our Lord. Some fatalists, ultra-Calvinists, claim upon these words, ““l’hey believed not on Him that the saying of Isaiah the Prophet might be fulfilled,” that they mean that their unbelief was manifested in order that this prophecy might be fulfilled. God knew that they would not believe, and therefore Isaiah spoke these words. Chrysostom wrote: “It was not because Isaiah spake these words that they believed not, because they were not about to believe, that He spake.”” The next statement appears more difficult: ‘Therefore they could not believe, because that Isaiah said again.” It does not mean that the Jews were unable to believe, though willing, because Isaiah had spoken these words seven hundred years before. Long before our Lord appeared on earth the Jewish people had deliberately hardened their hearts and turned away from Him. They were already in that state of judicial blindness, which Isaiah had predicted, and for this reason they were not able to believe.

The quotation is from Isaiah vi in connection with the great vision of the glory of the Lord. The words which are quoted here concerning their hardened hearts and their judicial blindness are quoted also in Matthew xiii and in the last chapter of the Book of Acts. The dispensational character of Matthew xiii is known to all Bible students and teachers, who divide the Word of Truth rightly. In the opening chapters of the Gospel of Matthew the Lord Jesus is seen as the promised King, heralding the Kingdom, that kingdom which is promised to Israel. In the twelfth chapter the opposition and the unbelief of the Jews becomes a known fact, and symbolically our Lord breaks off the relationship with His people Israel; and declares a coming new relationship with all who do the will of His Father. Then at the seashore He teaches concerning the kingdom in another form, the form it takes on after His own received Him not. In connection with this we find Isaiah vi quoted; and it is fitting that it should be so. ‘‘And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive; for this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them (Matt. xiii:14-15).*

Here in the Gospel of John, preceding the death of our Lord, the same prophecy is quoted. The continued miracles of our Lord, His words and His warnings were not heeded by the nation, hence they were given over to blindness as a just punishment, just as the Prophet had foreseen.

In the last chapter of Acts, the prisoner of the Lord, the great Apostle to the Gentiles, gathered in his lodging a number of Jews; they were “the chief of the Jews.” It is also understood by all well balanced Bible teachers that the Book of Acts begins with another testimony on kingdom lines to the Jews first, only to reveal the same hardness of hearts and blindness. When Paul gave a final testimony to these chief Jews and they turned a deaf ear to it, the passage of Isaiah is quoted for the last time (Acts xxvili:25- 31). The prediction of Isaiah has now been true for almost 1900 years, and will be in force till some day a remnant will return and “they shall look upon Him whom they pierced and mourn for Him” (Zech. xii:9-14).

“This is no doubt a very solemn and awful subject. It seems at first sight to make God the author of man’s destruction. But surely a moment’s reflection will show us that God is a Sovereign in punishing, and may punish in any way He pleases. Some He cuts off suddenly the moment they sin. Others He gives over to judicial blindness, and ceases to strive with their consciences. “The Judge of all the earth will certainly do right.’ Those whom He is said to ‘harden and blind’ will always be found to be persons whom He had previously warned, exhorted, and constantly summoned to repent. And never is He said to harden and blind, and give men up to judicial hardness and blindness, till after a long course of warnings. This was certainly the case with Pharaoh and with the Jews.

“The consequence of God blinding and hardening a person is that He does not ‘see’ his danger with his eyes, or ‘understand’ his position with his heart. The result is that he holds on his way unconverted, and dies without his soul’s disease

*See our larger Commentary on Matthew for a fuller treatment of this important truth.

being healed. ‘Seeing’ and ‘understanding’ are essential parts of conversion. No simpler reason can be given why myriads of church-goers continue careless, unaffected, unmoved and unconverted; they neither ‘see’? nor ‘understand.’ God alone can give them seeing eyes and understanding hearts, and ministers cannot. And one solemn reason why many live and die in this state is, that they have resisted God’s warnings, and are justly punished already with a judicial blindness and hardness, by Him whom they have resisted.

“The key to the whole difficulty, after all, lies in the answer we are prepared to give to the question: ‘Is God just in punishing the sinner?’ The true Christian and honest Bible reader will find no difficulty in answering that question in the affirmative. Once grant that God is just in punishing the ungodly, and there is an end of the problem. God may punish by giving over the obstinate sinner to a reprobate mind, as really as by sentencing him to everlasting fire at the last day.

“One thing only must never be forgotten. God ‘willeth not the death of any sinner.’ He is willing to soften the hardest heart, and to open the blind eyes of the greatest sinner. In dealing with men about their souls we must never forget this. We may well remind them that by hardened impenitence they may provoke God to give them up. But we must also press on them that God’s mercies in Christ are infinite, and that, if they are finally lost, they will have none but themselves to blame.’’*

And here is still another important fact and comment in connection with the sixth chapter of Isaiah. When Isaiah saw the Lord sitting in the temple and saw His Glory, He saw the Glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. ‘He saw His glory and spake of Him.” This is one of the blessed evidences that the Lord Jesus revealed Himself in pre-incarnation times and that He is God, and possesses the glory of God.

Verses 42-43. His testimony had not been in vain. A number of the chief rulers believed on Him; among them were Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. Yet they were

*Thoughts on John, cowards; they did not come out boldly to confess Him. From chapter ix:22, we learn that they had agreed among themselves, that if any did confess that Jesus is the Christ, that he should be put out of the synagogue. ‘This was before man a great dishonor; it meant that the excommunicated one was on the same level as the Gentile, outside, a dog. For such a one there was no hope of salvation nor any hope to participate in the future hope of the nation. The blind man, whom the Lord healed (chapter ix) was the first one whom they cast out, but he became one of the sheep of the flock the Shepherd came to gather. But there was a moral reason why they did not want to confess Him openly. They loved the praises of man more than the praise of God. They received honor from each other and did not seek the praise which comes from God only (John v:44). It showed that they had no true faith in God, hence they could not be true to their convictions. ‘They knew it meant ridicule and dishonor; it meant their standing and good name, as the world says. They were not willing to pay the price. And this is still the case with Jews and Gentiles as well. We have talked with Hebrews about the Lord Jesus and heard their confession, that they believed that He is their Messiah, but on account of the fear of being repudiated by their friends, and loss of business, they would not make a public confession. “The fear of man bringeth a snare” (Prov. xxix-25). It is thus among professing Christians and also among believers. The latter know often that the men who teach and preach are deniers of Christ and the Truth of God, but loving the praises of man more than the praise of God, they can continue in active fellowship with these modern Judases, and thus becoming partakers of their evil deeds (2 John verses 10-12). Such lose their rewards, while those who are not ashamed to confess Him before men, and leave “the camp” where He is denied and dishonored, will receive their glorious reward in the day of His appearing.

Verses 44-50. These words contain the final public testimony of our Lord, according to this Gospel. In the chapter which follows, the mass of unbelieving Jews are left behind and He is alone with the twelve; but soon he who was not a believer in Him, Judas, left, and Christ has but the eleven with Him.

He has departed. For a time He was not seen by them. At His return He uttered these solemn words. Once more He gives His great self-witness, so prominent in this Gospel, as to His unity with the Father. This great witness began with the fifth chapter. He also bears the same witness in the next section of this Gospel before His disciples. Belief in Him means not only belief in Himself but also in Him who sent Him, that is God, the Father. Seeing Him means seeing Him who sent Him. “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father” (xiv:9). There is such complete unity between the Father and the Son, that believing in the Son means believing in the Father. Perhaps our Lord spoke this word also for the encouragement of those who were afraid to confess Him, as He spoke later to His disciples — “‘Ye believe in God, believe also in Me.” In the next place He speaks of Himself once more as the Light. ‘I am come a light into the world that whosoever believeth on Me should not abide in darkness.”” He was always the Light, dwelling with God and in God, in that unapproachable Light. Of Him it is true, ‘God is Light, in Him there is no darkness at all.” But He came into the world, a world of darkness and sin. Through Him the darkness is dispelled and those who believe on Him abide no longer in darkness. “This verse shows that (1) Christ existed before His incarnation, even as the Sun exists before it appears above the Eastern hills; (2) that Christ is the one Saviour of the world, even as there is but one Sun; (3) that He came not for one nation, but for all, as the Sun shines for all the world.’’*

And those who hear His words and believe not, He does not judge; for He came not to judge the world, but to save the world. These words do not clash in the least with His statement in the fifth chapter when He said, ‘The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.” It must be understood the same way as John iii:17. In connection with His first coming our Lord does not judge; His judgment work is linked with His second coming. Of

*Dean Bourgon.

this future judgment He speaks in the following words: “He that rejecteth Me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him; the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” ‘The word “reject” means literally translated ‘“‘displace.”” ‘To reject Christ does not necessarily involve a deliberate rejection of His person. The simple fact of neglecting Him, thinking Him of not much importance is a rejection of Himself, whom the Father sent. Any one who slights Him thus, and does not give to Him the place which belongs to Him, also does not receive His words; while on the other hand those who receive Him, bow to His authority, believe on Him as Saviour, the sent-One of the Father, receive His words and obey them. They will be that which judgeth all who rejected Him, it is the word which He had spoken. In the judgment to come His Word will rise up and condemn all who did not believe, for in that day it will be found out that His Word is true and all who rejected it and did not receive Him, who is the living Word, will be judged. ‘The destructive Critics of today, with their inventions and hatred of the Word of God, will then receive their well deserved condemnation. Such a judgment is surely coming, for the infallible Son of God tells us so.

His words which He had spoken were not spoken independent of the Father. The Jews who listened to Him and to His words might think that He spoke of Himself, but He declares that all His words were God-given. What He spoke was always spoken in closest fellowship with the Father. He is the One whom Moses announced: “I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and I will put my words into his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him” (Deut. xvii:18-19). The Son of God had received from the Father the commandment, what He should say and what He should speak.

“When we read of the Father ‘sending’ Christ, and giving Christ a ‘commandment,’ we must carefully dismiss from our minds all idea of any inferiority to God the Father on the part of God the Son. The expressions are used in condescension to our weak faculties, to convey the idea of perfect oneness. We are not speaking of the relation that exists between two human beings like ourselves, but between the Persons in the Divine Trinity. The ‘sending’ of the Son was the result of the eternal counsel of that blessed Trinity, in which Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are co-equal and co-eternal. The eternal Son was as willing to be ‘sent’ as the eternal Father was to ‘send’ Him. — The ‘commandment’ given by the Father to the Son as to what He should teach and do, was not a commandment in which the Son had no part but to obey. It was simply the charge or commission arranged in the covenant of redemption, by all three Persons in the Trinity, which the Son was as willing to execute as the Father was willing to give.’”’*

The commandment of which He speaks particularly is that of life everlasting. The words He spoke are the words of life, as Peter said, ““Thou hast the words of eternal life.” Beginning with the third chapter we have followed the great unfoldings of that life which He came to reveal, and finally we read in His great prayer that the Father has given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as the Father has given Him.

With this statement the public ministry of our Lord as recorded in this Gospel ends. With the next chapter we enter into that part of the Gospel where we find our Lord alone with those given to Him by the Father, His eleven disciples.

*Dean Bourgon.