Chapter XII.1-8.The Supper in Bethania six days before the Pasch.9-11.The chief priests think of killing Lazarus.12-19.On the day after the supper Christ enters Jerusalem in triumph, to the disgust of the Pharisees.20-22.Some Gentile Proselytes wish to see Him.23-33.Christ (at the temple) foretells the near approach of His passion, and a voice from heaven is heard.34-36.He continues to refer to His approaching death, and exhorts the people to faith.37-43.Yet though they had witnessed many miracles, most of them refused to believe, as the prophets had foretold.44-50.Christ's testimony regarding the object of the Incarnation, and the necessity of faith in Him.1. Iesus ergo ante sex dies paschae venit Bethaniam, ubi Lazarus fuerat mortuus, quem suscitavit Iesus.1. Jesus therefore six days before the pasch came to Bethania, where Lazarus had been dead, whom Jesus raised to life.1. Maldonatus connects withxi. 55: since the Pasch was near, Jesus on His way to Jerusalem to celebrate it, came to Bethania.Six days before the pasch.This peculiar Greek construction would be better rendered in Latin;“sex diebus ante pascha.”We have now entered upon the last week of our Divine Lord's mortal life, but there is a diversity of opinion regarding the exact day here indicated. The principal views regarding the days of our Lord's arrival at Bethania, of the supper there, and of the triumphant entry into Jerusalem, are:—(1) Arrival at Bethania on Friday; the supper (a) on the same evening, or (b) according to others, on Saturday evening; the triumphal entry on Sunday.(2) Arrival at Bethania on Saturday evening; the supper[pg 209]on the same evening; the entry into Jerusalem (a) on Sunday, or (b) according to others, on Monday.(3) Arrival on Sunday; supper on the same evening; the entry into Jerusalem on Monday.2. Fecerunt autem ei coenam ibi: et Martha ministrabat, Lazarus vero, unus erat ex discumbentibus cum eo.2. And they made him a supper there: and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of them that were at table with him.2. In Bethania then (in the house of Simon the leper, as we learn from Matt. xxvi. 6; Mark xiv. 3) a supper was prepared for Jesus, at which Lazarus was present and Martha served. We take it as certain that Matthew (xxvi. 6-13) and Mark (xiv. 3-9) refer to the same unction of Christ which is recorded by St. John in the following verses here. If not, we should have to suppose that the same murmuring for the same cause in the same circumstances took place a second time within four days, though reprehended by Christ on the first occasion it occurred. That SS. Matthew and Mark seem to refer to an occasiontwodays before the Pasch (Matt. xxvi. 2; Mark xiv. 1), while St. John refers to an occasionsixdays before, is readily explained. The two Synoptic Evangelists record this anointing of Jesus by Mary out of its place, and in connection with the treachery of Judas, because it was it that finally determined Judas to betray our Lord.793. Maria ergo accepit libram unguenti nardi pistici, pretiosi, et unxit pedes Iesu, et extersit pedes eius capillis suis: et domus impleta est ex odore unguenti.3. Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of right spikenard, of great price, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.3. When we bear in mind the prominence given to Lazarus, Martha, and Mary in the preceding chapter, and find two of the three mentioned in verse 2 here, it is certain that the Mary mentioned here, in verse 3, can be no other than she who was sister to Martha and Lazarus.Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of right spikenard.We learn from Matthew and Mark that the ointment was contained in an alabaster box. Alabaster is a species of stone resembling marble, and derives its name[pg 210]from Alabastron, a town in Egypt, near which it was found in large quantities. The term“alabaster box”came in time to be applied to any box for holding perfumes.Spikenard, or nard, is a famous aromatic substance obtained from an eastern plant of the same name. It is said in our Rhemish Version to berightspikenard. The Greek adjective thus translated is πιστικῆς, which may meangenuine, from πίστις; orliquid, from πίστος (πίνω, to drink); or, as St. Augustine says, the nard may have been so called from the place in which it was obtained. St. John tells us that Mary anointed thefeetof our Lord, who, according to the Jewish custom, would be reclining on His left side upon a couch, with His feet stretching out behind. The first two Evangelists mention only the unction of our Lord's head, so that St. John supplements their account. The fact that the odour of the ointment filled the house, is mentioned as a proof of its excellence. Pliny (xiii. 3) refers to such unctions among the Romans:“Vidimus etiam vestigia pedum tingi.”4. Dixit ergo unus ex discipulis eius, Iudas Iscariotes, qui erat eum traditurus:4. Then one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, he that was about to betray him, said:5. Quare hoc unguentum non veniit trecentis denariis, et datum est egenis?5. Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?4, 5. From SS. Matt. and Mark, it would seem that at least two of the disciples must have murmured, for St. Matt. says:“And the disciples seeing it, had indignation;”and St. Mark:“Now there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said: Why was this waste of the ointment made?”We may admit, then, that some of the others joined Judas in murmuring, but probably from a different motive; or, we may hold, with some commentators, that the plural is used indefinitely for the singular.Judas Iscariot(Gr. Judas Iscariot,son of Simon: see notes onvi. 72) spoke out, asking why this ointment was not sold at 300 pence, and the price given to the poor? We discussed above onvi. 7, the value of the Roman silver penny at this time current in[pg 211]Palestine, from which it appears that this box of ointment was thought to be worth nearly £10 of our money.6. Dixit autem hoc, non quia de egenis pertinebat ad eum, sed quia fur erat, et loculos habens, ea quae mittebantur portabat.6. Now he said this, not because he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and having the purse, carried the things that were put therein.6. St. John here declares the motive of Judas. It was not love for the poor, as he pretended, but because, being purse-bearer, for our Lord and the disciples, he was always anxious to receive money, that he might have an opportunity of filching some of it for himself. Whether with our Rhemish Version we give ἐβάσταζεν the meaning of“carried,”or, as others prefer,“made away with,”at all events, it is plain from the verse, in which Judas is declared a thief, that he sometimes appropriated to his own uses money from the common purse. In his case, too, the saying was true:“Nemo repente fit turpissimus.”7. Dixit ergo Iesus: Sinite illam ut in diem sepulturae meae servet illud.7. Jesus therefore said: Let her alone, that she may keep it against the day of my burial.7. There is a difference of reading in this verse. Many ancient authorities read:She has kept it(τετήρηκεν)against the day of my burial; and the meaning of this reading is plain. The more probable80Greek reading, however, is:“That she might keep it(ἱνα ... τηρήσῃ)against the day of My burial.”In this reading we take our Lord's reply to mean: Let her alone: it was not sold (Judas had asked: Why was it not sold?) in order that she might keep it against the day of My burial. Thus we would read“servaret”instead of“servet”in the Vulgate; and we take“ut”to depend not on“sinite,”but on some words such as“non veniit”(it was not sold) understood. St. John's report of Christ's words agrees substantially with that of St. Mark, who represents our Lord as saying:“She is come beforehand to anoint My body for the burial”(Mark xiv. 8); and both accounts, as well as that of St. Matt. (xxvi. 12),“She hath done it for My burial,”signify that our Lord's death was so close at hand that this unction might be regarded as a preparation for His burial; and hence Mary was not to be blamed, inasmuch as such[pg 212]honours were usually paid to bodies before burial.Immediately after their account of this unction, SS. Matt. and Mark narrate the compact of Judas with the Jews to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver; so that it is extremely probable that it was spite at losing the price of the ointment used on this occasion that finally determined Judas to betray our Lord.8. Pauperes enim semper habetis vobiscum: me autem non semper habetis.8. For the poor you have always with you; but me you have not always.8.But me you have not always.Christ as God is, no doubt, everywhere, even now; and even as man He is still upon our altars in the Blessed Sacrament; but He is no longer with us in a mortal body capable of deriving sensible pleasure and comfort from such ministrations as those of Mary upon this occasion.9. Cognovit ergo turba multa ex Iudaeis quia illic est: et venerunt, non propter Iesum tantum, sed ut Lazarum viderent, quem suscitavit a mortuis.9. A great multitude therefore of the Jews knew that he was there: and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.10. Cogitaverunt autem principes sacerdotum ut et Lazarum interficerent.10. But the chief priests thought to kill Lazarus also:11. Quia multi propter illum abibant ex Iudaeis, et credebant in Iesum.11. Because many of the Jews by reason of him went away, and believed in Jesus.9-11. A great multitude, on learning that Christ was in Bethania, flocked out to see the wonder-worker, and Lazarus whom He had raised from the dead; and so many were being converted by that miracle, that the chief priests thought of putting Lazarus to death, that they might thus get rid of a living and manifest proof of the almighty power of Jesus.12. In crastinum autem turba multa, quae venerat ad diem festum, cum audissent quia venit Iesus Ierosolymam.12. And on the next day a great multitude, that was come to the festival day, when they had heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,12. On the day after the supper, which we take to have been Sunday or Monday, that is, the first or second day of the Jewish week, a great multitude came to meet our Lord and escort Him into Jerusalem. Hundreds of thousands always flocked to Jerusalem for the Pasch, and though the feast was still some days off, a great number had[pg 213]already arrived. Doubtless many of the inhabitants of Jerusalem were also among the crowd on this occasion.13. Acceperunt ramos palmarum, et processerunt obviam ei, et clamabant: Hosanna, benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini, rex Israel.13. Took branches of palm-trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried: Hosanna, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel.13. Carrying palm branches, with shouts of joy and triumph, they hailed Jesus as the Messias, and King of Israel; in the words of the great Paschal chant (Ps. cxvii. 26),Hosanna(הושׂענא, which is contracted for הושׂיעה נא) means:pray,save, or:save, I beseech. It may be taken here as a prayer to Jesus to save them, or rather as a prayer to God to save and bless their Messias. Or it may be that it was used as an expression of joy without attention to its literal meaning, as the expressions“vivat,”“vive le roi,”and the like, are sometimes used at the present day.14. Et invenit Iesus asellum, et sedit super eum, sicut scriptum est:14. And Jesus found a young ass, and sat upon it, as it is written:14. From the Synoptic Evangelists we learn that Jesus sent His disciples telling them where they should find the colt, and St. Matthew tells us that they brought the colt and its mother, and spread their garments upon both (ἐπ᾽ αὐτῶν, Matt. xxi. 7). They spread their garments upon both, because they did not know upon which He would choose to sit. And St. Matthew adds that Jesus satupon them(ἑπάνω αὐτῶν); that is, as we take it, upon the garments that had been spread upon the colt. In this way the accounts of the four Evangelists are reconciled.Another difficulty occurs here, if we compare the parallel passage of St. Luke (xix. 29). For, whereas St. John's account naturally leads us to suppose that the ass's colt was procured on the waybetweenBethania, where Christ had supped on the preceding night (xii.1,2) and Jerusalem, St. Luke, on the other hand, says:“And it came to passwhen He was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethania, unto the mount called Olivet, He sent two of His disciples, saying, Go into the town which is over against you, at your[pg 214]entering into which you shall find the colt of an ass tied,”&c. We have searched in vain for a satisfactory solution of this difficulty. If the words of St. Luke are to be taken strictly as meaning that Christ was not merely near to, butapproachingBethania, then we would hold that on this morning, before the procession started, He had retired from Bethania eastward, and therefore farther away from Jerusalem, and was now again approaching the village on His way to the Holy City. There is nothing improbable in this supposition, for Christ did many things which the Evangelists have not recorded (Johnxxi. 25), and it enables us to reconcile two accounts, which are not easily reconciled otherwise.15. Noli timere filia Sion: ecce rex tuus venit sedens super pullum asinae.15.Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy king cometh, sitting on an ass's colt.15. St. Matthew (xxi. 4) says that these things were done that prophecy might be fulfilled; that is, they were brought about by God, not by the disciples, who, as St. John tells us in the next verse, were ignorant that they were fulfilling a prophecy. The whole quotation here is substantially from Zach. ix. 9:“Rejoice greatly (‘fear not,’of St. John) O daughter of Sion; shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold thy King will come to thee, the Just and Saviour: He is poor and riding upon an ass, and (even) upon a colt the foal of an ass.”16. Haec non cognoverunt discipuli eius primum: sed quando glorificatus est Iesus, tunc recordati sunt quia haec erant scripta de eo, et haec fecerunt ei.16. These things his disciples did not know at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things to him.16. The disciples did not know at that time that prophecy was being fulfilled; but when the light of the Holy Ghost had flooded their souls at the first Pentecost (Acts ii. 4), then they recognised in these things the fulfilment of prophecy.17. Testimonium ergo perhibebat turba quae erat cum eo quando Lazarum vocavit de monumento, et suscitavit eum a mortuis.17. The multitude therefore gave testimony, which was with him when he called Lazarus out of the grave, and raised him from the dead.17.When he called Lazarus out of the grave.It is[pg 215]doubtful, and authorities are much divided, whether the true reading here iswhen(ὅτε), orthat(ὅτι). In the former reading, eye-witnesses of the miracle now bore testimony of it; in the latter, the crowd that was now with Him having heard and believed that the miracle had been wrought, now bore witnessthatJesus had raised Lazarus from the dead.18. Propterea et obviam venit ei turba, quia audierunt eum fecisse hoc signum.18. For which reason also the people came to meet him: because they heard that he had done this miracle.18. It was on account of this miracle too that the crowd had come out to meet Him. We take“the multitude”in this verse to be the same as that referred to in the preceding (ὁ ὄχλος); and what St. John tells us is, that their coming out to meet Him, and their testimony regarding Him, both proceeded from the fact that He had raised Lazarus from the dead.19. Pharisaei ergo dixerunt ad semetipsos: Videtis quia nihil proficimus? ecce mundus totus post eum abiit.19. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves: Do you see that we prevail nothing? behold, the whole world is gone after him.19. The jealousy of the Pharisees is at once aroused, and, as often happens in such circumstances, they exaggerate, saying that the whole world had gone after Him.Our Lord moved on towards Jerusalem, riding upon the ass,81between two enthusiastic crowds (see Matt. xxi. 9; Mark xi. 9). As He approached the city, and shouts of joy and thanksgiving rose from the crowds which preceded and followed, some Pharisees, as we learn from St. Luke, bade Jesus rebuke His disciples for the words of homage they were using. To whom He replied:“I say to you, if these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out”(Luke xix. 40). Then when He had mounted the summit of Olivet, and the city and temple burst upon His view, He wept, and“went on to prophesy the destruction of the city with a particularity of detail, to the exactness of which the subsequent history bears wonderful testimony.”[pg 216](Coleridge,Life of our Life, vol. ii., p. 187). See Luke xix. 41-44.When the procession entered Jerusalem, the“whole city was moved, saying, Who is this?”And the people said,“This is Jesus the Prophet from Nazareth of Galilee”(Matt. xxi. 10, 11). As we learn from St. Mark, Jesus went up to the temple, and there the events occurred which St. John records down to verse 36.20. Erant autem quidam gentiles, ex his qui ascenderant ut adorarent in die festo.20. Now there were certain gentiles among them who came up to adore on the festival day.21. Hi ergo accesserunt ad Philippum, qui erat a Bethsaida Galilaeae, et rogabant eum, dicentes: Domine volumus Iesum videre.21. These therefore came to Philip, who was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying: Sir, we would see Jesus.22. Venit Philippus, et dicit Andreae: Andreas rursum et Philippus dixerunt Iesu.22. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew. Again Andrew and Philip told Jesus.20-22. Some Gentiles, who were probably proselytes, had come to Jerusalem for the Pasch, and they ask Philip that they may see, that is, speak with Jesus. Philip consults his fellow-townsman, Andrew (Johni. 44), and they both make known the request to Jesus. Our Lord was probably in the Court of the Jews, into which the Gentiles could not enter, so that their request meant that Jesus should come out into the Court of the Gentiles. See above onii. 14.23. Iesus autem respondit eis, dicens: Venit hora, ut clarificetur Filius hominis.23. But Jesus answered them saying: The hour is come, that the son of man should be glorified.23. The Evangelist does not tell us whether Jesus granted an audience to these Gentiles, but goes on to record His reply to the disciples:The hour is come that the son of man should be glorified:i.e., the hour of His death to be followed by His glorious resurrection and ascension by the descent of the Holy Ghost, and the call of the Gentiles.24. Amen, amen dico vobis, nisi granum frumenti cadens in terram, mortuum fuerit,24. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die;25. Ipsum solum manet: si autem mortuum fuerit, multum fructum affert. Qui amat animam suam, perdet eam: et qui odit animam suam in hoc mundo, in vitam aeternam custodit eam.25. Itself remaineth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it: and he that hateth his life in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal.24, 25. In a beautiful comparison our Lord points out that as the grain of wheat dies in order that it may fructify, so[pg 217]in the providence of God His death is necessary to His triumph and His glory. And applying this doctrine to His disciples, He points out that whoever loveth his life inordinately here, shall lose it for eternity, and he that hateth (a Hebraism forloveth less) his life in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal.26. Si quis mihi ministrat, me sequatur: et ubi sum ego, illic et minister meus erit. Si quis mihi ministraverit, honorificabit eum Pater meus.26. If any man minister to me, let him follow me: and where I am, there also shall my minister be. If any man minister to me, him will my Father honour.26.If any man minister to me, let him follow me.This exhortation to follow Christ in despising this life for God's sake, is addressed to all His followers, who are to minister to Him by the service of devout lives; but it is applicable in a special way to Priests, for to them belongs the privilege of the special ministry. To such as imitate Him He gives the glorious promise, that where He is, that is, in the glory of the Father, which as God He then enjoyed, and which as man He was to merit by His passion, there also shall His followers be.27. Nunc anima mea turbata est. Et quid dicam? Pater, salvifica me ex hac hora. Sed propterea veni in horem hanc.27. Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this cause I came unto this hour.27. The thought of His approaching Passion now disturbed His human soul, for as He was true man, His humanity naturally shuddered at the suffering and death He was about to undergo. Compare Matt. xxvi. 38; Mark xiv. 34. Christ, of course, permitted this fear to seize upon Him, so that it was wholly voluntary; and He manifested it at this particular time, probably lest His disciples should be tempted to say that it was easy for Him who was God to[pg 218]exhort others to despise their life and endure suffering. He shows them, therefore, that He dreads death like the rest of men; and St. John records the fact because of the Docetae, who denied the reality of the Incarnation, and consequently of Christ's sufferings. See above oni. 14, andIntrod. IX.Father save me from this hour.Some read this with a note of interrogation after it, as if the meaning were: Shall I say to the Father to save Me from this hour? But we may understand the words as a conditional prayer proceeding from Christ's human will; conditional, that is, upon his Father's will to save Him from the Passion which He was to undergo, just as in St. Luke xxii. 42:“Father, if Thou wilt, remove this chalice from Me; but not My will, but Thine be done.”That such, indeed, is the meaning here, is proved by what follows, where Jesus retracts this conditional prayer, saying that it was for the very purpose that He might suffer, that He came unto this hour.28. Pater, clarifica nomen tuum. Venit ergo vox de coelo: Et clarificavi, et iterum clarificabo.28. Father, glorify thy name. A voice therefore came from heaven: I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.28. In this verse, then, He prays absolutely to the Father to glorify His name by the sufferings and death of the Son. And a voice came from the air, produced there by God or an angel, saying:I have both glorified (it), and will glorify (it) again. The sense of these words of the Father is disputed. The Latin fathers understand the sense to be; I have glorified Thee from all eternity, and will glorify Thee again as God-man after Thy ascension. In favour of this view is the prayer of Christ:“And now glorify Thou Me, O Father, with Thyself, with the glory which I had before the world was, with Thee”(Johnxvii. 5). The Greek fathers, on the other hand, all take the sense to be: I have already glorified Thee by many miracles, and will again glorify Thee in the miracles to be wrought at Thy death, resurrection, and ascension, and afterwards by Thy followers in Thy name. It will be noted that the fathers generally understand the words of God the Father in reference to the glorification of Christ, whereas Christ's prayer regarded the glorification of the Father's name. We feel convinced, however, that thedirectobject[pg 219]of glorification in both instances is the Father's name. For when Christ prays:“Glorify Thy name,”and the Father answers:“I have glorified, and will again glorify,”obviously the answer must refer to the glorification of the Father's name, for which Christ had prayed. Since, however, the glorification of the Father was to be brought about by the glorification of the Son; hence, this too is indirectly referred to, and our interpretation agrees substantially with that of the fathers.29. Turba ergo quae stabat et audierat, dicebat tonitruum esse factum. Alii dicebant: Angelus ei locutus est.29. The multitude therefore that stood and heard, said that it thundered. Others said, An Angel spoke to him.30. Respondit Iesus, et dixit: Non propter me haec vox venit, sed propter vos.30. Jesus answered and said: This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.30. Jesus declares that the voice from heaven was the Father's testimony to Him, given for their sakes, in order that they might believe in Him.31. Nunc iudicium est mundi: nunc princeps huius mundi eiicietur foras.31. Now is the judgment of the world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.31.Now is the judgment of the world.There is a difference of opinion as to what judgment is here spoken of; whether the judgment of liberation of the world in general, or the judgment of condemnation of thewickedworld. In favour of the former, it is argued—(a) that since Satan was to be cast out, or deprived of his dominion over the world, therefore the world was to be liberated; (b) that verse 32 declares the effect of this judgment: the world shall be liberated, and as a consequence I shall draw all things to Myself; (c) that the world to be judged is that over which Satan had ruled, and from which he was now to be cast out. But before the Incarnation he had held sway over the whole world (Rom. iii. 23, xi. 32; Gal. iii. 22). Therefore, it is the whole world that is to be judged, and hence there must be question of the judgment of liberation. So St. Aug., Mald., A Lap., Tolet., Beel., Patriz.In favour of the latter view, which is held by St. Chrysostom and most of the Greek fathers, it is argued—(a) that St. John always uses κρίσις of the judgment of condemnation; (b) that the world in the beginning of the verse is the same whose prince is to be deprived of his dominion; that, therefore, it should stand or fall with its prince; hence since he is to be stripped of his dominion, it is to be condemned; (c) that in the discourse after the Last Supper, Christ always means by the world, thewickedworld, opposed to Himself (John xiv.17,22,30; xv.18,19; xviii.9,16,25); therefore, also here, and hence there must be question of the judgment of condemnation.[pg 220]The prince of this worldis plainly the devil. See also 2 Cor. iv. 4; Eph. ii. 2, vi. 12. In the Talmud the same title is given to the prince of devils. By Christ's death the devil was cast out: that is, deprived of that almost universal sway which he had exercised over men before the coming of Christ.“At nondum diabolus e mundo ejectus videtur esse, cum in eo adhuc grassetur. Ejectus foras dicitur non quod nunc in mundo non sit, et in multis etiamnum dominetur; sed quod, quantum in Christo fuit, ejectus fuerit, ita ut, si homines vellent, nihil prorsus in ipsos haberet potestatis. Homines illi postea portam arcis aperuerunt, et proditione quadam in suam quisque domum admittit. Itaque etiam nunc regnat et operatur, sed in filios diffidentiae, Eph. ii. 2”(Mald. on this verse).32. Et ego si exaltatus fuero a terra, omnia traham ad meipsum:32. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself.32.And I, if I be lifted up from the earth.Christ here predicted that after His death on the cross (see next verse) He should become a centre of attraction, and draw all men (πάντας is the more probable reading, not πάντα), both Jews andGentilesto Himself. This marvellous prophecy began to be fulfilled in the centurion and his companions (Matt. xxvii. 54), and the rest of the multitude that witnessed the crucifixion (Luke xxiii. 48), and is daily receiving its fulfilment still.33. Hoc autem dicebat, significans qua morte esset moriturus.33. (Now this he said, signifying what death he should die.)33. St. John here gives us an authentic interpretation.34. Respondit ei turba: Nos audivimus ex lege quia Christus manet in aeternum; et quomodo tu dicis, Oportet exaltari Filium hominis? Quis est iste Filius hominis?34. The multitude answered him: We have heard out of the law, that Christ abideth for ever; and how sayest thou: The son of man must be lifted up? Who is this son of man?34. The multitude understood Jesus to speak of His death, or at least of His withdrawal from them, and object that He cannot be the Messias, who, as they understood the Scriptures (the law is here put for the whole Scriptures), was to remain for ever. They quote no single text, but probably they had gathered this idea from many passages;e.g., Isai. ix. 6, 7; Ps. cix. 4; Dan. vii. 13, 14, &c. It is not unlikely that they had the passage of Daniel specially before their[pg 221]minds, for there the power of theSon of Manis described as“an everlasting power that shall not be taken away, and His kingdom (a kingdom) that shall not be destroyed.”Hence, they argued, if Christ was to die, He could not be the Messias, but must be some otherSon of Manthan he spoken of by Daniel.35. Dixit ergo eis Iesus: Adhuc modicum, lumen in vobis est. Ambulate dum lucem habetis, ut non vos tenebrae comprehendant: et qui ambulat in tenebris, nescit quo vadat.35. Jesus therefore said to them: Yet a little while, the light is among you. Walk whilst you have the light, that the darkness overtake you not. And he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.35. Christ might have easily replied, showing them from the same Scriptures that the Messias was to suffer and die (see,e.g., Isai. liii.; Dan. ix. 26); but probably because He saw that the motive of the multitude in objecting was not to seek light, but to disprove His claim to be the Messias, He did not vouchsafe a reply to their objection, but went on to exhort them to believe, for thus they should find a solution of all their difficulties.Yet a little while;i.e., a few days more, the light, which is Himself, is to be among them. He exhorts them, therefore, to walk, that is, to believe, while He is present among them, in order that darkness, that is, the time when He is gone from among them, may not find them still in their unbelief.And(καί = γάρ)he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. Christ does not mean to say that they could not believe after His death; but just as, though it is quite possible to walk during the time of darkness, still it is easier to walk in daylight, so it was easier for them to believe now, when He, the Sun of Justice was corporally present among them, than it would be when He had withdrawn His light. We take,“darkness,”then, with Mald., not of sin, nor of unbelief, but, as opposed to the light which is Christ, of the time when Christ could be no longer present among them, after His death, as in verseix. 4; xi.9,10.36. Dum lucem habetis, credite in lucem, ut filii lucis sitis. Haec locutus est Iesus: et abiit, et abscondit se ab eis.36. Whilst you have the light, believe in the light, that you may be the children of light. These things Jesus spoke, and he went away, and hid himself from them.36. He now explains what He means by telling them to walk. It is that they should believe.That you may be(become)the children of light. The phrase“children of light”is a Hebraism, meaning those who are to possess the light,[pg 222]who are destined for it. Compare Luke xvi. 8; Eph. v. 8.And he went away, and hid himself from them.SS. Matt. and Mark tell us that He went to Bethania with the twelve and remained there (Matt. xxi. 17; Mark xi. 11).37. Cum autem tanta signa fecisset coram eis, non credebant in eum:37. And whereas he had done so many miracles before them, they believed not in him.38. Ut sermo Isaiae prophetae impleretur, quem dixit: Domine, quis credidit auditui nostro? et brachium Domini cui revelatum est?38. That the saying of Isaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he said:Lord, who hath believed our hearing? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?39. Propterea non poterant credere, quia iterum dixit Isaias:39. Therefore they could not believe, because Isaias said again.40. Excaecavit oculos eorum, et induravit cor eorum: ut non videant oculis, et non intelligant corde, et convertantur, et sanem eos.40.He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart, that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.37-40. Before closing this first part of thenarrativeportion of the Gospel (seeIntrod. iv.), St. John pauses in the history to note the hard-hearted incredulity of the Jews, notwithstanding the fact that Christ had wroughtso manymiracles; an incredulity, however, which had been foretold by Isaias, which, therefore, came to pass nowin order that(ἱνα) the prediction of the Prophet should be fulfilled (verses 37, 38); and which came to pass necessarily (necessitate consequente), because, as Isaias declared, they no longer had the abundant graces necessary in order that they might believe (verses 39, 40). Thus the incredulity of the Jews in our Lord's time wasnecessaryto the end that prophecy might be fulfilled. How then, we may ask, was that incredulity culpable, if those who were incredulous were not free and able to believe? The answer is, that this incredulity was necessary by a necessity consequent upon the prediction of the inspired Prophet, which prediction was itself consequent upon God's foreknowledge that the Jews would, culpably and of their own free will, remain incredulous. God foresaw this incredulity, predicted it, because He foresaw it was to be; and, of course, it came to pass, as He had foreseen it would.[pg 223]Hence, when God foresees, or His Prophet predicts, the commission of a certain sin, that sin is infallibly, yet freely committed. It is, as if we saw a man walking across a plain; he does so, not because we see him, but we see him because he walks. Similarly, in the boundless plain of His eternal present, God sees all things that are to be, and they happen, not because He sees them, but He sees them because they are to happen.Note, in verse 38, thatour hearingmeans what has been heardfromus, for the preachers of the Gospel are represented in Isaias as complaining of the small number of those who listened to them.The arm of the Lordis Christ, according to several of the fathers; or we may take it to mean the power of the Lord in the work of man's redemption.Note, in verse 40, where the prophecy is cited freely, after neither the Hebrew nor the Septuagint, that it is not meant that God blinded any manpositively, but only negatively, by the withdrawal of His more abundant graces.41. Haec dixit Isaias, quando vidit gloriam eius, et locutus est de eo.41. These things said Isaias when he saw his glory, and spoke of him.41. See Isaias vi. 1, 9, 10, where the Prophet says:“I saw the Lord”(אדני = the Supreme God), words which are here referred by St. John to the Prophet's having seen Christ; therefore, according to St. John, Christ is the Supreme God.It would also seem from this verse that the Son of God Himself, and not merely an angel representing Him, appeared to Isaias on that occasion. It was the common opinion of the fathers, though denied by most of the scholastics, that God sometimes appeared in the O. T. apparitions.And spoke of him, rather,“and he spoke of Him,”for this clause does not depend upon the preceding“when.”It is a statement that it was of Christ Isaias spoke the words just quoted.42. Verumtamen et ex principibus multi crediderunt in eum: sed propter pharisaeos non confitebantur, ut e synagoga non eiicerentur:42. However many of the chief men also believed in him: but because of the Pharisees they did not confesshim, that they might not be cast out of the synagogue.42. See above onix. 22.[pg 224]43. Dilexerunt enim gloriam hominum magis quam gloriam Dei.43. For they loved the glory of men, more than the glory of God.44. Iesus autem clamavit, et dixit: Qui credit in me, non credit in me sed in eum qui misit me.44. But Jesus cried, and said: He that believeth in me, doth not believe in me, but in him that sent me.44. These words of our Lord recorded in the remainder of this chapter seem to have been spoken on a subsequent day of Holy Week (see verse 36); but on what precise day, it is difficult to determine.Doth not believe in meis the Hebrew way of saying: doth notso muchbelieve in Me, as in Him that sent Me. Compare Mark ix. 36.45. Et qui videt me, videt eum qui misit me.45. And he that seeth me, seeth him that sent me.45. In these words Christ declares His unity of nature with the Father.“Sensus est de visione corporali, non quod Deus oculo corporeo videatur immediate, et per se, sed mediante humanitate, cui Divina substantia Patris et Filii est unita”(Tolet.).46. Ego lux in mundum veni: ut omnis qui credit in me, in tenebris non maneat.46. I am come a light into the world; that whosoever believeth in me, may not remain in darkness.46.Darknesshere means unbelief and sin.47. Et si quis audierit verba mea, et non custodierit, ego non iudico eum, non enim veni ut iudicem mundum, sed ut salvificem mundum.47. And if any man hear my words and keep them not: I do not judge him: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.47.I do not judge him;i.e., I do notcondemnhim. Compareiii. 17; viii.15,50. At hisfirstcoming Christ did not come to condemn, but to save.48. Qui spernit me, et non accipit verba mea, habet qui iudicet eum: sermo quem locutus sum, ille iudicabit eum in novissimo die.48. He that despiseth 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.48.Hath one that judgeth him; namely, the Father (viii. 50). Hence the sense of the verse is that he that despiseth Me ... hath one that[pg 225]judgeth himeven now; and moreover, on the last day My words shall rise in judgment against him.49. Quia ego ex meipso non sum locutus, sed qui misit me Pater, ipse mihi mandatum dedit quid dicam, et quid loquar.49. For I have not spoken of myself, but the Father who sent me, he gave me commandment what I should say, and what I should speak.49. This verse gives the reason why the words of Christ shall stand in judgment against the unbeliever; because His words were not merely His own, uttered by His private authority, but spoken by the command of His Father, whom therefore they despise, in despising Him. In our view Christ here speaks of Himself as man.Ifsayandspeakare to be distinguished, then“say”(εἴπω) refers to the formal discourses,“speak”(λαλήσω) to the ordinary conversations; so that in all His words Christ had spoken to them the words of God.50. Et scio quia mandatum eius vita aeterna est. Quae ergo ego loquor, sicut dixit mihi Pater, sic loquor.50. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting. The things therefore that I speak; even as the Father said unto me, so do I speak.50. To show them their folly, and in the hope of yet inducing them to believe, He tells them He knows with certainty that the command of the Father (that is, what the Father had commanded Him to say and do, and hence, all His own words and works) is the cause of life eternal to mankind. Hence their folly in not believing.The things therefore that I speak; even as the Father said unto me, so do I speak.Thus He concludes, insisting on the fact that He is the legate of God (consubstantial with the Father, verse 45), and as such worthy to be believed.[pg 226]
Chapter XII.1-8.The Supper in Bethania six days before the Pasch.9-11.The chief priests think of killing Lazarus.12-19.On the day after the supper Christ enters Jerusalem in triumph, to the disgust of the Pharisees.20-22.Some Gentile Proselytes wish to see Him.23-33.Christ (at the temple) foretells the near approach of His passion, and a voice from heaven is heard.34-36.He continues to refer to His approaching death, and exhorts the people to faith.37-43.Yet though they had witnessed many miracles, most of them refused to believe, as the prophets had foretold.44-50.Christ's testimony regarding the object of the Incarnation, and the necessity of faith in Him.1. Iesus ergo ante sex dies paschae venit Bethaniam, ubi Lazarus fuerat mortuus, quem suscitavit Iesus.1. Jesus therefore six days before the pasch came to Bethania, where Lazarus had been dead, whom Jesus raised to life.1. Maldonatus connects withxi. 55: since the Pasch was near, Jesus on His way to Jerusalem to celebrate it, came to Bethania.Six days before the pasch.This peculiar Greek construction would be better rendered in Latin;“sex diebus ante pascha.”We have now entered upon the last week of our Divine Lord's mortal life, but there is a diversity of opinion regarding the exact day here indicated. The principal views regarding the days of our Lord's arrival at Bethania, of the supper there, and of the triumphant entry into Jerusalem, are:—(1) Arrival at Bethania on Friday; the supper (a) on the same evening, or (b) according to others, on Saturday evening; the triumphal entry on Sunday.(2) Arrival at Bethania on Saturday evening; the supper[pg 209]on the same evening; the entry into Jerusalem (a) on Sunday, or (b) according to others, on Monday.(3) Arrival on Sunday; supper on the same evening; the entry into Jerusalem on Monday.2. Fecerunt autem ei coenam ibi: et Martha ministrabat, Lazarus vero, unus erat ex discumbentibus cum eo.2. And they made him a supper there: and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of them that were at table with him.2. In Bethania then (in the house of Simon the leper, as we learn from Matt. xxvi. 6; Mark xiv. 3) a supper was prepared for Jesus, at which Lazarus was present and Martha served. We take it as certain that Matthew (xxvi. 6-13) and Mark (xiv. 3-9) refer to the same unction of Christ which is recorded by St. John in the following verses here. If not, we should have to suppose that the same murmuring for the same cause in the same circumstances took place a second time within four days, though reprehended by Christ on the first occasion it occurred. That SS. Matthew and Mark seem to refer to an occasiontwodays before the Pasch (Matt. xxvi. 2; Mark xiv. 1), while St. John refers to an occasionsixdays before, is readily explained. The two Synoptic Evangelists record this anointing of Jesus by Mary out of its place, and in connection with the treachery of Judas, because it was it that finally determined Judas to betray our Lord.793. Maria ergo accepit libram unguenti nardi pistici, pretiosi, et unxit pedes Iesu, et extersit pedes eius capillis suis: et domus impleta est ex odore unguenti.3. Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of right spikenard, of great price, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.3. When we bear in mind the prominence given to Lazarus, Martha, and Mary in the preceding chapter, and find two of the three mentioned in verse 2 here, it is certain that the Mary mentioned here, in verse 3, can be no other than she who was sister to Martha and Lazarus.Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of right spikenard.We learn from Matthew and Mark that the ointment was contained in an alabaster box. Alabaster is a species of stone resembling marble, and derives its name[pg 210]from Alabastron, a town in Egypt, near which it was found in large quantities. The term“alabaster box”came in time to be applied to any box for holding perfumes.Spikenard, or nard, is a famous aromatic substance obtained from an eastern plant of the same name. It is said in our Rhemish Version to berightspikenard. The Greek adjective thus translated is πιστικῆς, which may meangenuine, from πίστις; orliquid, from πίστος (πίνω, to drink); or, as St. Augustine says, the nard may have been so called from the place in which it was obtained. St. John tells us that Mary anointed thefeetof our Lord, who, according to the Jewish custom, would be reclining on His left side upon a couch, with His feet stretching out behind. The first two Evangelists mention only the unction of our Lord's head, so that St. John supplements their account. The fact that the odour of the ointment filled the house, is mentioned as a proof of its excellence. Pliny (xiii. 3) refers to such unctions among the Romans:“Vidimus etiam vestigia pedum tingi.”4. Dixit ergo unus ex discipulis eius, Iudas Iscariotes, qui erat eum traditurus:4. Then one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, he that was about to betray him, said:5. Quare hoc unguentum non veniit trecentis denariis, et datum est egenis?5. Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?4, 5. From SS. Matt. and Mark, it would seem that at least two of the disciples must have murmured, for St. Matt. says:“And the disciples seeing it, had indignation;”and St. Mark:“Now there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said: Why was this waste of the ointment made?”We may admit, then, that some of the others joined Judas in murmuring, but probably from a different motive; or, we may hold, with some commentators, that the plural is used indefinitely for the singular.Judas Iscariot(Gr. Judas Iscariot,son of Simon: see notes onvi. 72) spoke out, asking why this ointment was not sold at 300 pence, and the price given to the poor? We discussed above onvi. 7, the value of the Roman silver penny at this time current in[pg 211]Palestine, from which it appears that this box of ointment was thought to be worth nearly £10 of our money.6. Dixit autem hoc, non quia de egenis pertinebat ad eum, sed quia fur erat, et loculos habens, ea quae mittebantur portabat.6. Now he said this, not because he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and having the purse, carried the things that were put therein.6. St. John here declares the motive of Judas. It was not love for the poor, as he pretended, but because, being purse-bearer, for our Lord and the disciples, he was always anxious to receive money, that he might have an opportunity of filching some of it for himself. Whether with our Rhemish Version we give ἐβάσταζεν the meaning of“carried,”or, as others prefer,“made away with,”at all events, it is plain from the verse, in which Judas is declared a thief, that he sometimes appropriated to his own uses money from the common purse. In his case, too, the saying was true:“Nemo repente fit turpissimus.”7. Dixit ergo Iesus: Sinite illam ut in diem sepulturae meae servet illud.7. Jesus therefore said: Let her alone, that she may keep it against the day of my burial.7. There is a difference of reading in this verse. Many ancient authorities read:She has kept it(τετήρηκεν)against the day of my burial; and the meaning of this reading is plain. The more probable80Greek reading, however, is:“That she might keep it(ἱνα ... τηρήσῃ)against the day of My burial.”In this reading we take our Lord's reply to mean: Let her alone: it was not sold (Judas had asked: Why was it not sold?) in order that she might keep it against the day of My burial. Thus we would read“servaret”instead of“servet”in the Vulgate; and we take“ut”to depend not on“sinite,”but on some words such as“non veniit”(it was not sold) understood. St. John's report of Christ's words agrees substantially with that of St. Mark, who represents our Lord as saying:“She is come beforehand to anoint My body for the burial”(Mark xiv. 8); and both accounts, as well as that of St. Matt. (xxvi. 12),“She hath done it for My burial,”signify that our Lord's death was so close at hand that this unction might be regarded as a preparation for His burial; and hence Mary was not to be blamed, inasmuch as such[pg 212]honours were usually paid to bodies before burial.Immediately after their account of this unction, SS. Matt. and Mark narrate the compact of Judas with the Jews to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver; so that it is extremely probable that it was spite at losing the price of the ointment used on this occasion that finally determined Judas to betray our Lord.8. Pauperes enim semper habetis vobiscum: me autem non semper habetis.8. For the poor you have always with you; but me you have not always.8.But me you have not always.Christ as God is, no doubt, everywhere, even now; and even as man He is still upon our altars in the Blessed Sacrament; but He is no longer with us in a mortal body capable of deriving sensible pleasure and comfort from such ministrations as those of Mary upon this occasion.9. Cognovit ergo turba multa ex Iudaeis quia illic est: et venerunt, non propter Iesum tantum, sed ut Lazarum viderent, quem suscitavit a mortuis.9. A great multitude therefore of the Jews knew that he was there: and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.10. Cogitaverunt autem principes sacerdotum ut et Lazarum interficerent.10. But the chief priests thought to kill Lazarus also:11. Quia multi propter illum abibant ex Iudaeis, et credebant in Iesum.11. Because many of the Jews by reason of him went away, and believed in Jesus.9-11. A great multitude, on learning that Christ was in Bethania, flocked out to see the wonder-worker, and Lazarus whom He had raised from the dead; and so many were being converted by that miracle, that the chief priests thought of putting Lazarus to death, that they might thus get rid of a living and manifest proof of the almighty power of Jesus.12. In crastinum autem turba multa, quae venerat ad diem festum, cum audissent quia venit Iesus Ierosolymam.12. And on the next day a great multitude, that was come to the festival day, when they had heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,12. On the day after the supper, which we take to have been Sunday or Monday, that is, the first or second day of the Jewish week, a great multitude came to meet our Lord and escort Him into Jerusalem. Hundreds of thousands always flocked to Jerusalem for the Pasch, and though the feast was still some days off, a great number had[pg 213]already arrived. Doubtless many of the inhabitants of Jerusalem were also among the crowd on this occasion.13. Acceperunt ramos palmarum, et processerunt obviam ei, et clamabant: Hosanna, benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini, rex Israel.13. Took branches of palm-trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried: Hosanna, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel.13. Carrying palm branches, with shouts of joy and triumph, they hailed Jesus as the Messias, and King of Israel; in the words of the great Paschal chant (Ps. cxvii. 26),Hosanna(הושׂענא, which is contracted for הושׂיעה נא) means:pray,save, or:save, I beseech. It may be taken here as a prayer to Jesus to save them, or rather as a prayer to God to save and bless their Messias. Or it may be that it was used as an expression of joy without attention to its literal meaning, as the expressions“vivat,”“vive le roi,”and the like, are sometimes used at the present day.14. Et invenit Iesus asellum, et sedit super eum, sicut scriptum est:14. And Jesus found a young ass, and sat upon it, as it is written:14. From the Synoptic Evangelists we learn that Jesus sent His disciples telling them where they should find the colt, and St. Matthew tells us that they brought the colt and its mother, and spread their garments upon both (ἐπ᾽ αὐτῶν, Matt. xxi. 7). They spread their garments upon both, because they did not know upon which He would choose to sit. And St. Matthew adds that Jesus satupon them(ἑπάνω αὐτῶν); that is, as we take it, upon the garments that had been spread upon the colt. In this way the accounts of the four Evangelists are reconciled.Another difficulty occurs here, if we compare the parallel passage of St. Luke (xix. 29). For, whereas St. John's account naturally leads us to suppose that the ass's colt was procured on the waybetweenBethania, where Christ had supped on the preceding night (xii.1,2) and Jerusalem, St. Luke, on the other hand, says:“And it came to passwhen He was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethania, unto the mount called Olivet, He sent two of His disciples, saying, Go into the town which is over against you, at your[pg 214]entering into which you shall find the colt of an ass tied,”&c. We have searched in vain for a satisfactory solution of this difficulty. If the words of St. Luke are to be taken strictly as meaning that Christ was not merely near to, butapproachingBethania, then we would hold that on this morning, before the procession started, He had retired from Bethania eastward, and therefore farther away from Jerusalem, and was now again approaching the village on His way to the Holy City. There is nothing improbable in this supposition, for Christ did many things which the Evangelists have not recorded (Johnxxi. 25), and it enables us to reconcile two accounts, which are not easily reconciled otherwise.15. Noli timere filia Sion: ecce rex tuus venit sedens super pullum asinae.15.Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy king cometh, sitting on an ass's colt.15. St. Matthew (xxi. 4) says that these things were done that prophecy might be fulfilled; that is, they were brought about by God, not by the disciples, who, as St. John tells us in the next verse, were ignorant that they were fulfilling a prophecy. The whole quotation here is substantially from Zach. ix. 9:“Rejoice greatly (‘fear not,’of St. John) O daughter of Sion; shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold thy King will come to thee, the Just and Saviour: He is poor and riding upon an ass, and (even) upon a colt the foal of an ass.”16. Haec non cognoverunt discipuli eius primum: sed quando glorificatus est Iesus, tunc recordati sunt quia haec erant scripta de eo, et haec fecerunt ei.16. These things his disciples did not know at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things to him.16. The disciples did not know at that time that prophecy was being fulfilled; but when the light of the Holy Ghost had flooded their souls at the first Pentecost (Acts ii. 4), then they recognised in these things the fulfilment of prophecy.17. Testimonium ergo perhibebat turba quae erat cum eo quando Lazarum vocavit de monumento, et suscitavit eum a mortuis.17. The multitude therefore gave testimony, which was with him when he called Lazarus out of the grave, and raised him from the dead.17.When he called Lazarus out of the grave.It is[pg 215]doubtful, and authorities are much divided, whether the true reading here iswhen(ὅτε), orthat(ὅτι). In the former reading, eye-witnesses of the miracle now bore testimony of it; in the latter, the crowd that was now with Him having heard and believed that the miracle had been wrought, now bore witnessthatJesus had raised Lazarus from the dead.18. Propterea et obviam venit ei turba, quia audierunt eum fecisse hoc signum.18. For which reason also the people came to meet him: because they heard that he had done this miracle.18. It was on account of this miracle too that the crowd had come out to meet Him. We take“the multitude”in this verse to be the same as that referred to in the preceding (ὁ ὄχλος); and what St. John tells us is, that their coming out to meet Him, and their testimony regarding Him, both proceeded from the fact that He had raised Lazarus from the dead.19. Pharisaei ergo dixerunt ad semetipsos: Videtis quia nihil proficimus? ecce mundus totus post eum abiit.19. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves: Do you see that we prevail nothing? behold, the whole world is gone after him.19. The jealousy of the Pharisees is at once aroused, and, as often happens in such circumstances, they exaggerate, saying that the whole world had gone after Him.Our Lord moved on towards Jerusalem, riding upon the ass,81between two enthusiastic crowds (see Matt. xxi. 9; Mark xi. 9). As He approached the city, and shouts of joy and thanksgiving rose from the crowds which preceded and followed, some Pharisees, as we learn from St. Luke, bade Jesus rebuke His disciples for the words of homage they were using. To whom He replied:“I say to you, if these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out”(Luke xix. 40). Then when He had mounted the summit of Olivet, and the city and temple burst upon His view, He wept, and“went on to prophesy the destruction of the city with a particularity of detail, to the exactness of which the subsequent history bears wonderful testimony.”[pg 216](Coleridge,Life of our Life, vol. ii., p. 187). See Luke xix. 41-44.When the procession entered Jerusalem, the“whole city was moved, saying, Who is this?”And the people said,“This is Jesus the Prophet from Nazareth of Galilee”(Matt. xxi. 10, 11). As we learn from St. Mark, Jesus went up to the temple, and there the events occurred which St. John records down to verse 36.20. Erant autem quidam gentiles, ex his qui ascenderant ut adorarent in die festo.20. Now there were certain gentiles among them who came up to adore on the festival day.21. Hi ergo accesserunt ad Philippum, qui erat a Bethsaida Galilaeae, et rogabant eum, dicentes: Domine volumus Iesum videre.21. These therefore came to Philip, who was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying: Sir, we would see Jesus.22. Venit Philippus, et dicit Andreae: Andreas rursum et Philippus dixerunt Iesu.22. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew. Again Andrew and Philip told Jesus.20-22. Some Gentiles, who were probably proselytes, had come to Jerusalem for the Pasch, and they ask Philip that they may see, that is, speak with Jesus. Philip consults his fellow-townsman, Andrew (Johni. 44), and they both make known the request to Jesus. Our Lord was probably in the Court of the Jews, into which the Gentiles could not enter, so that their request meant that Jesus should come out into the Court of the Gentiles. See above onii. 14.23. Iesus autem respondit eis, dicens: Venit hora, ut clarificetur Filius hominis.23. But Jesus answered them saying: The hour is come, that the son of man should be glorified.23. The Evangelist does not tell us whether Jesus granted an audience to these Gentiles, but goes on to record His reply to the disciples:The hour is come that the son of man should be glorified:i.e., the hour of His death to be followed by His glorious resurrection and ascension by the descent of the Holy Ghost, and the call of the Gentiles.24. Amen, amen dico vobis, nisi granum frumenti cadens in terram, mortuum fuerit,24. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die;25. Ipsum solum manet: si autem mortuum fuerit, multum fructum affert. Qui amat animam suam, perdet eam: et qui odit animam suam in hoc mundo, in vitam aeternam custodit eam.25. Itself remaineth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it: and he that hateth his life in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal.24, 25. In a beautiful comparison our Lord points out that as the grain of wheat dies in order that it may fructify, so[pg 217]in the providence of God His death is necessary to His triumph and His glory. And applying this doctrine to His disciples, He points out that whoever loveth his life inordinately here, shall lose it for eternity, and he that hateth (a Hebraism forloveth less) his life in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal.26. Si quis mihi ministrat, me sequatur: et ubi sum ego, illic et minister meus erit. Si quis mihi ministraverit, honorificabit eum Pater meus.26. If any man minister to me, let him follow me: and where I am, there also shall my minister be. If any man minister to me, him will my Father honour.26.If any man minister to me, let him follow me.This exhortation to follow Christ in despising this life for God's sake, is addressed to all His followers, who are to minister to Him by the service of devout lives; but it is applicable in a special way to Priests, for to them belongs the privilege of the special ministry. To such as imitate Him He gives the glorious promise, that where He is, that is, in the glory of the Father, which as God He then enjoyed, and which as man He was to merit by His passion, there also shall His followers be.27. Nunc anima mea turbata est. Et quid dicam? Pater, salvifica me ex hac hora. Sed propterea veni in horem hanc.27. Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this cause I came unto this hour.27. The thought of His approaching Passion now disturbed His human soul, for as He was true man, His humanity naturally shuddered at the suffering and death He was about to undergo. Compare Matt. xxvi. 38; Mark xiv. 34. Christ, of course, permitted this fear to seize upon Him, so that it was wholly voluntary; and He manifested it at this particular time, probably lest His disciples should be tempted to say that it was easy for Him who was God to[pg 218]exhort others to despise their life and endure suffering. He shows them, therefore, that He dreads death like the rest of men; and St. John records the fact because of the Docetae, who denied the reality of the Incarnation, and consequently of Christ's sufferings. See above oni. 14, andIntrod. IX.Father save me from this hour.Some read this with a note of interrogation after it, as if the meaning were: Shall I say to the Father to save Me from this hour? But we may understand the words as a conditional prayer proceeding from Christ's human will; conditional, that is, upon his Father's will to save Him from the Passion which He was to undergo, just as in St. Luke xxii. 42:“Father, if Thou wilt, remove this chalice from Me; but not My will, but Thine be done.”That such, indeed, is the meaning here, is proved by what follows, where Jesus retracts this conditional prayer, saying that it was for the very purpose that He might suffer, that He came unto this hour.28. Pater, clarifica nomen tuum. Venit ergo vox de coelo: Et clarificavi, et iterum clarificabo.28. Father, glorify thy name. A voice therefore came from heaven: I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.28. In this verse, then, He prays absolutely to the Father to glorify His name by the sufferings and death of the Son. And a voice came from the air, produced there by God or an angel, saying:I have both glorified (it), and will glorify (it) again. The sense of these words of the Father is disputed. The Latin fathers understand the sense to be; I have glorified Thee from all eternity, and will glorify Thee again as God-man after Thy ascension. In favour of this view is the prayer of Christ:“And now glorify Thou Me, O Father, with Thyself, with the glory which I had before the world was, with Thee”(Johnxvii. 5). The Greek fathers, on the other hand, all take the sense to be: I have already glorified Thee by many miracles, and will again glorify Thee in the miracles to be wrought at Thy death, resurrection, and ascension, and afterwards by Thy followers in Thy name. It will be noted that the fathers generally understand the words of God the Father in reference to the glorification of Christ, whereas Christ's prayer regarded the glorification of the Father's name. We feel convinced, however, that thedirectobject[pg 219]of glorification in both instances is the Father's name. For when Christ prays:“Glorify Thy name,”and the Father answers:“I have glorified, and will again glorify,”obviously the answer must refer to the glorification of the Father's name, for which Christ had prayed. Since, however, the glorification of the Father was to be brought about by the glorification of the Son; hence, this too is indirectly referred to, and our interpretation agrees substantially with that of the fathers.29. Turba ergo quae stabat et audierat, dicebat tonitruum esse factum. Alii dicebant: Angelus ei locutus est.29. The multitude therefore that stood and heard, said that it thundered. Others said, An Angel spoke to him.30. Respondit Iesus, et dixit: Non propter me haec vox venit, sed propter vos.30. Jesus answered and said: This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.30. Jesus declares that the voice from heaven was the Father's testimony to Him, given for their sakes, in order that they might believe in Him.31. Nunc iudicium est mundi: nunc princeps huius mundi eiicietur foras.31. Now is the judgment of the world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.31.Now is the judgment of the world.There is a difference of opinion as to what judgment is here spoken of; whether the judgment of liberation of the world in general, or the judgment of condemnation of thewickedworld. In favour of the former, it is argued—(a) that since Satan was to be cast out, or deprived of his dominion over the world, therefore the world was to be liberated; (b) that verse 32 declares the effect of this judgment: the world shall be liberated, and as a consequence I shall draw all things to Myself; (c) that the world to be judged is that over which Satan had ruled, and from which he was now to be cast out. But before the Incarnation he had held sway over the whole world (Rom. iii. 23, xi. 32; Gal. iii. 22). Therefore, it is the whole world that is to be judged, and hence there must be question of the judgment of liberation. So St. Aug., Mald., A Lap., Tolet., Beel., Patriz.In favour of the latter view, which is held by St. Chrysostom and most of the Greek fathers, it is argued—(a) that St. John always uses κρίσις of the judgment of condemnation; (b) that the world in the beginning of the verse is the same whose prince is to be deprived of his dominion; that, therefore, it should stand or fall with its prince; hence since he is to be stripped of his dominion, it is to be condemned; (c) that in the discourse after the Last Supper, Christ always means by the world, thewickedworld, opposed to Himself (John xiv.17,22,30; xv.18,19; xviii.9,16,25); therefore, also here, and hence there must be question of the judgment of condemnation.[pg 220]The prince of this worldis plainly the devil. See also 2 Cor. iv. 4; Eph. ii. 2, vi. 12. In the Talmud the same title is given to the prince of devils. By Christ's death the devil was cast out: that is, deprived of that almost universal sway which he had exercised over men before the coming of Christ.“At nondum diabolus e mundo ejectus videtur esse, cum in eo adhuc grassetur. Ejectus foras dicitur non quod nunc in mundo non sit, et in multis etiamnum dominetur; sed quod, quantum in Christo fuit, ejectus fuerit, ita ut, si homines vellent, nihil prorsus in ipsos haberet potestatis. Homines illi postea portam arcis aperuerunt, et proditione quadam in suam quisque domum admittit. Itaque etiam nunc regnat et operatur, sed in filios diffidentiae, Eph. ii. 2”(Mald. on this verse).32. Et ego si exaltatus fuero a terra, omnia traham ad meipsum:32. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself.32.And I, if I be lifted up from the earth.Christ here predicted that after His death on the cross (see next verse) He should become a centre of attraction, and draw all men (πάντας is the more probable reading, not πάντα), both Jews andGentilesto Himself. This marvellous prophecy began to be fulfilled in the centurion and his companions (Matt. xxvii. 54), and the rest of the multitude that witnessed the crucifixion (Luke xxiii. 48), and is daily receiving its fulfilment still.33. Hoc autem dicebat, significans qua morte esset moriturus.33. (Now this he said, signifying what death he should die.)33. St. John here gives us an authentic interpretation.34. Respondit ei turba: Nos audivimus ex lege quia Christus manet in aeternum; et quomodo tu dicis, Oportet exaltari Filium hominis? Quis est iste Filius hominis?34. The multitude answered him: We have heard out of the law, that Christ abideth for ever; and how sayest thou: The son of man must be lifted up? Who is this son of man?34. The multitude understood Jesus to speak of His death, or at least of His withdrawal from them, and object that He cannot be the Messias, who, as they understood the Scriptures (the law is here put for the whole Scriptures), was to remain for ever. They quote no single text, but probably they had gathered this idea from many passages;e.g., Isai. ix. 6, 7; Ps. cix. 4; Dan. vii. 13, 14, &c. It is not unlikely that they had the passage of Daniel specially before their[pg 221]minds, for there the power of theSon of Manis described as“an everlasting power that shall not be taken away, and His kingdom (a kingdom) that shall not be destroyed.”Hence, they argued, if Christ was to die, He could not be the Messias, but must be some otherSon of Manthan he spoken of by Daniel.35. Dixit ergo eis Iesus: Adhuc modicum, lumen in vobis est. Ambulate dum lucem habetis, ut non vos tenebrae comprehendant: et qui ambulat in tenebris, nescit quo vadat.35. Jesus therefore said to them: Yet a little while, the light is among you. Walk whilst you have the light, that the darkness overtake you not. And he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.35. Christ might have easily replied, showing them from the same Scriptures that the Messias was to suffer and die (see,e.g., Isai. liii.; Dan. ix. 26); but probably because He saw that the motive of the multitude in objecting was not to seek light, but to disprove His claim to be the Messias, He did not vouchsafe a reply to their objection, but went on to exhort them to believe, for thus they should find a solution of all their difficulties.Yet a little while;i.e., a few days more, the light, which is Himself, is to be among them. He exhorts them, therefore, to walk, that is, to believe, while He is present among them, in order that darkness, that is, the time when He is gone from among them, may not find them still in their unbelief.And(καί = γάρ)he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. Christ does not mean to say that they could not believe after His death; but just as, though it is quite possible to walk during the time of darkness, still it is easier to walk in daylight, so it was easier for them to believe now, when He, the Sun of Justice was corporally present among them, than it would be when He had withdrawn His light. We take,“darkness,”then, with Mald., not of sin, nor of unbelief, but, as opposed to the light which is Christ, of the time when Christ could be no longer present among them, after His death, as in verseix. 4; xi.9,10.36. Dum lucem habetis, credite in lucem, ut filii lucis sitis. Haec locutus est Iesus: et abiit, et abscondit se ab eis.36. Whilst you have the light, believe in the light, that you may be the children of light. These things Jesus spoke, and he went away, and hid himself from them.36. He now explains what He means by telling them to walk. It is that they should believe.That you may be(become)the children of light. The phrase“children of light”is a Hebraism, meaning those who are to possess the light,[pg 222]who are destined for it. Compare Luke xvi. 8; Eph. v. 8.And he went away, and hid himself from them.SS. Matt. and Mark tell us that He went to Bethania with the twelve and remained there (Matt. xxi. 17; Mark xi. 11).37. Cum autem tanta signa fecisset coram eis, non credebant in eum:37. And whereas he had done so many miracles before them, they believed not in him.38. Ut sermo Isaiae prophetae impleretur, quem dixit: Domine, quis credidit auditui nostro? et brachium Domini cui revelatum est?38. That the saying of Isaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he said:Lord, who hath believed our hearing? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?39. Propterea non poterant credere, quia iterum dixit Isaias:39. Therefore they could not believe, because Isaias said again.40. Excaecavit oculos eorum, et induravit cor eorum: ut non videant oculis, et non intelligant corde, et convertantur, et sanem eos.40.He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart, that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.37-40. Before closing this first part of thenarrativeportion of the Gospel (seeIntrod. iv.), St. John pauses in the history to note the hard-hearted incredulity of the Jews, notwithstanding the fact that Christ had wroughtso manymiracles; an incredulity, however, which had been foretold by Isaias, which, therefore, came to pass nowin order that(ἱνα) the prediction of the Prophet should be fulfilled (verses 37, 38); and which came to pass necessarily (necessitate consequente), because, as Isaias declared, they no longer had the abundant graces necessary in order that they might believe (verses 39, 40). Thus the incredulity of the Jews in our Lord's time wasnecessaryto the end that prophecy might be fulfilled. How then, we may ask, was that incredulity culpable, if those who were incredulous were not free and able to believe? The answer is, that this incredulity was necessary by a necessity consequent upon the prediction of the inspired Prophet, which prediction was itself consequent upon God's foreknowledge that the Jews would, culpably and of their own free will, remain incredulous. God foresaw this incredulity, predicted it, because He foresaw it was to be; and, of course, it came to pass, as He had foreseen it would.[pg 223]Hence, when God foresees, or His Prophet predicts, the commission of a certain sin, that sin is infallibly, yet freely committed. It is, as if we saw a man walking across a plain; he does so, not because we see him, but we see him because he walks. Similarly, in the boundless plain of His eternal present, God sees all things that are to be, and they happen, not because He sees them, but He sees them because they are to happen.Note, in verse 38, thatour hearingmeans what has been heardfromus, for the preachers of the Gospel are represented in Isaias as complaining of the small number of those who listened to them.The arm of the Lordis Christ, according to several of the fathers; or we may take it to mean the power of the Lord in the work of man's redemption.Note, in verse 40, where the prophecy is cited freely, after neither the Hebrew nor the Septuagint, that it is not meant that God blinded any manpositively, but only negatively, by the withdrawal of His more abundant graces.41. Haec dixit Isaias, quando vidit gloriam eius, et locutus est de eo.41. These things said Isaias when he saw his glory, and spoke of him.41. See Isaias vi. 1, 9, 10, where the Prophet says:“I saw the Lord”(אדני = the Supreme God), words which are here referred by St. John to the Prophet's having seen Christ; therefore, according to St. John, Christ is the Supreme God.It would also seem from this verse that the Son of God Himself, and not merely an angel representing Him, appeared to Isaias on that occasion. It was the common opinion of the fathers, though denied by most of the scholastics, that God sometimes appeared in the O. T. apparitions.And spoke of him, rather,“and he spoke of Him,”for this clause does not depend upon the preceding“when.”It is a statement that it was of Christ Isaias spoke the words just quoted.42. Verumtamen et ex principibus multi crediderunt in eum: sed propter pharisaeos non confitebantur, ut e synagoga non eiicerentur:42. However many of the chief men also believed in him: but because of the Pharisees they did not confesshim, that they might not be cast out of the synagogue.42. See above onix. 22.[pg 224]43. Dilexerunt enim gloriam hominum magis quam gloriam Dei.43. For they loved the glory of men, more than the glory of God.44. Iesus autem clamavit, et dixit: Qui credit in me, non credit in me sed in eum qui misit me.44. But Jesus cried, and said: He that believeth in me, doth not believe in me, but in him that sent me.44. These words of our Lord recorded in the remainder of this chapter seem to have been spoken on a subsequent day of Holy Week (see verse 36); but on what precise day, it is difficult to determine.Doth not believe in meis the Hebrew way of saying: doth notso muchbelieve in Me, as in Him that sent Me. Compare Mark ix. 36.45. Et qui videt me, videt eum qui misit me.45. And he that seeth me, seeth him that sent me.45. In these words Christ declares His unity of nature with the Father.“Sensus est de visione corporali, non quod Deus oculo corporeo videatur immediate, et per se, sed mediante humanitate, cui Divina substantia Patris et Filii est unita”(Tolet.).46. Ego lux in mundum veni: ut omnis qui credit in me, in tenebris non maneat.46. I am come a light into the world; that whosoever believeth in me, may not remain in darkness.46.Darknesshere means unbelief and sin.47. Et si quis audierit verba mea, et non custodierit, ego non iudico eum, non enim veni ut iudicem mundum, sed ut salvificem mundum.47. And if any man hear my words and keep them not: I do not judge him: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.47.I do not judge him;i.e., I do notcondemnhim. Compareiii. 17; viii.15,50. At hisfirstcoming Christ did not come to condemn, but to save.48. Qui spernit me, et non accipit verba mea, habet qui iudicet eum: sermo quem locutus sum, ille iudicabit eum in novissimo die.48. He that despiseth 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.48.Hath one that judgeth him; namely, the Father (viii. 50). Hence the sense of the verse is that he that despiseth Me ... hath one that[pg 225]judgeth himeven now; and moreover, on the last day My words shall rise in judgment against him.49. Quia ego ex meipso non sum locutus, sed qui misit me Pater, ipse mihi mandatum dedit quid dicam, et quid loquar.49. For I have not spoken of myself, but the Father who sent me, he gave me commandment what I should say, and what I should speak.49. This verse gives the reason why the words of Christ shall stand in judgment against the unbeliever; because His words were not merely His own, uttered by His private authority, but spoken by the command of His Father, whom therefore they despise, in despising Him. In our view Christ here speaks of Himself as man.Ifsayandspeakare to be distinguished, then“say”(εἴπω) refers to the formal discourses,“speak”(λαλήσω) to the ordinary conversations; so that in all His words Christ had spoken to them the words of God.50. Et scio quia mandatum eius vita aeterna est. Quae ergo ego loquor, sicut dixit mihi Pater, sic loquor.50. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting. The things therefore that I speak; even as the Father said unto me, so do I speak.50. To show them their folly, and in the hope of yet inducing them to believe, He tells them He knows with certainty that the command of the Father (that is, what the Father had commanded Him to say and do, and hence, all His own words and works) is the cause of life eternal to mankind. Hence their folly in not believing.The things therefore that I speak; even as the Father said unto me, so do I speak.Thus He concludes, insisting on the fact that He is the legate of God (consubstantial with the Father, verse 45), and as such worthy to be believed.[pg 226]
Chapter XII.1-8.The Supper in Bethania six days before the Pasch.9-11.The chief priests think of killing Lazarus.12-19.On the day after the supper Christ enters Jerusalem in triumph, to the disgust of the Pharisees.20-22.Some Gentile Proselytes wish to see Him.23-33.Christ (at the temple) foretells the near approach of His passion, and a voice from heaven is heard.34-36.He continues to refer to His approaching death, and exhorts the people to faith.37-43.Yet though they had witnessed many miracles, most of them refused to believe, as the prophets had foretold.44-50.Christ's testimony regarding the object of the Incarnation, and the necessity of faith in Him.1. Iesus ergo ante sex dies paschae venit Bethaniam, ubi Lazarus fuerat mortuus, quem suscitavit Iesus.1. Jesus therefore six days before the pasch came to Bethania, where Lazarus had been dead, whom Jesus raised to life.1. Maldonatus connects withxi. 55: since the Pasch was near, Jesus on His way to Jerusalem to celebrate it, came to Bethania.Six days before the pasch.This peculiar Greek construction would be better rendered in Latin;“sex diebus ante pascha.”We have now entered upon the last week of our Divine Lord's mortal life, but there is a diversity of opinion regarding the exact day here indicated. The principal views regarding the days of our Lord's arrival at Bethania, of the supper there, and of the triumphant entry into Jerusalem, are:—(1) Arrival at Bethania on Friday; the supper (a) on the same evening, or (b) according to others, on Saturday evening; the triumphal entry on Sunday.(2) Arrival at Bethania on Saturday evening; the supper[pg 209]on the same evening; the entry into Jerusalem (a) on Sunday, or (b) according to others, on Monday.(3) Arrival on Sunday; supper on the same evening; the entry into Jerusalem on Monday.2. Fecerunt autem ei coenam ibi: et Martha ministrabat, Lazarus vero, unus erat ex discumbentibus cum eo.2. And they made him a supper there: and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of them that were at table with him.2. In Bethania then (in the house of Simon the leper, as we learn from Matt. xxvi. 6; Mark xiv. 3) a supper was prepared for Jesus, at which Lazarus was present and Martha served. We take it as certain that Matthew (xxvi. 6-13) and Mark (xiv. 3-9) refer to the same unction of Christ which is recorded by St. John in the following verses here. If not, we should have to suppose that the same murmuring for the same cause in the same circumstances took place a second time within four days, though reprehended by Christ on the first occasion it occurred. That SS. Matthew and Mark seem to refer to an occasiontwodays before the Pasch (Matt. xxvi. 2; Mark xiv. 1), while St. John refers to an occasionsixdays before, is readily explained. The two Synoptic Evangelists record this anointing of Jesus by Mary out of its place, and in connection with the treachery of Judas, because it was it that finally determined Judas to betray our Lord.793. Maria ergo accepit libram unguenti nardi pistici, pretiosi, et unxit pedes Iesu, et extersit pedes eius capillis suis: et domus impleta est ex odore unguenti.3. Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of right spikenard, of great price, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.3. When we bear in mind the prominence given to Lazarus, Martha, and Mary in the preceding chapter, and find two of the three mentioned in verse 2 here, it is certain that the Mary mentioned here, in verse 3, can be no other than she who was sister to Martha and Lazarus.Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of right spikenard.We learn from Matthew and Mark that the ointment was contained in an alabaster box. Alabaster is a species of stone resembling marble, and derives its name[pg 210]from Alabastron, a town in Egypt, near which it was found in large quantities. The term“alabaster box”came in time to be applied to any box for holding perfumes.Spikenard, or nard, is a famous aromatic substance obtained from an eastern plant of the same name. It is said in our Rhemish Version to berightspikenard. The Greek adjective thus translated is πιστικῆς, which may meangenuine, from πίστις; orliquid, from πίστος (πίνω, to drink); or, as St. Augustine says, the nard may have been so called from the place in which it was obtained. St. John tells us that Mary anointed thefeetof our Lord, who, according to the Jewish custom, would be reclining on His left side upon a couch, with His feet stretching out behind. The first two Evangelists mention only the unction of our Lord's head, so that St. John supplements their account. The fact that the odour of the ointment filled the house, is mentioned as a proof of its excellence. Pliny (xiii. 3) refers to such unctions among the Romans:“Vidimus etiam vestigia pedum tingi.”4. Dixit ergo unus ex discipulis eius, Iudas Iscariotes, qui erat eum traditurus:4. Then one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, he that was about to betray him, said:5. Quare hoc unguentum non veniit trecentis denariis, et datum est egenis?5. Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?4, 5. From SS. Matt. and Mark, it would seem that at least two of the disciples must have murmured, for St. Matt. says:“And the disciples seeing it, had indignation;”and St. Mark:“Now there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said: Why was this waste of the ointment made?”We may admit, then, that some of the others joined Judas in murmuring, but probably from a different motive; or, we may hold, with some commentators, that the plural is used indefinitely for the singular.Judas Iscariot(Gr. Judas Iscariot,son of Simon: see notes onvi. 72) spoke out, asking why this ointment was not sold at 300 pence, and the price given to the poor? We discussed above onvi. 7, the value of the Roman silver penny at this time current in[pg 211]Palestine, from which it appears that this box of ointment was thought to be worth nearly £10 of our money.6. Dixit autem hoc, non quia de egenis pertinebat ad eum, sed quia fur erat, et loculos habens, ea quae mittebantur portabat.6. Now he said this, not because he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and having the purse, carried the things that were put therein.6. St. John here declares the motive of Judas. It was not love for the poor, as he pretended, but because, being purse-bearer, for our Lord and the disciples, he was always anxious to receive money, that he might have an opportunity of filching some of it for himself. Whether with our Rhemish Version we give ἐβάσταζεν the meaning of“carried,”or, as others prefer,“made away with,”at all events, it is plain from the verse, in which Judas is declared a thief, that he sometimes appropriated to his own uses money from the common purse. In his case, too, the saying was true:“Nemo repente fit turpissimus.”7. Dixit ergo Iesus: Sinite illam ut in diem sepulturae meae servet illud.7. Jesus therefore said: Let her alone, that she may keep it against the day of my burial.7. There is a difference of reading in this verse. Many ancient authorities read:She has kept it(τετήρηκεν)against the day of my burial; and the meaning of this reading is plain. The more probable80Greek reading, however, is:“That she might keep it(ἱνα ... τηρήσῃ)against the day of My burial.”In this reading we take our Lord's reply to mean: Let her alone: it was not sold (Judas had asked: Why was it not sold?) in order that she might keep it against the day of My burial. Thus we would read“servaret”instead of“servet”in the Vulgate; and we take“ut”to depend not on“sinite,”but on some words such as“non veniit”(it was not sold) understood. St. John's report of Christ's words agrees substantially with that of St. Mark, who represents our Lord as saying:“She is come beforehand to anoint My body for the burial”(Mark xiv. 8); and both accounts, as well as that of St. Matt. (xxvi. 12),“She hath done it for My burial,”signify that our Lord's death was so close at hand that this unction might be regarded as a preparation for His burial; and hence Mary was not to be blamed, inasmuch as such[pg 212]honours were usually paid to bodies before burial.Immediately after their account of this unction, SS. Matt. and Mark narrate the compact of Judas with the Jews to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver; so that it is extremely probable that it was spite at losing the price of the ointment used on this occasion that finally determined Judas to betray our Lord.8. Pauperes enim semper habetis vobiscum: me autem non semper habetis.8. For the poor you have always with you; but me you have not always.8.But me you have not always.Christ as God is, no doubt, everywhere, even now; and even as man He is still upon our altars in the Blessed Sacrament; but He is no longer with us in a mortal body capable of deriving sensible pleasure and comfort from such ministrations as those of Mary upon this occasion.9. Cognovit ergo turba multa ex Iudaeis quia illic est: et venerunt, non propter Iesum tantum, sed ut Lazarum viderent, quem suscitavit a mortuis.9. A great multitude therefore of the Jews knew that he was there: and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.10. Cogitaverunt autem principes sacerdotum ut et Lazarum interficerent.10. But the chief priests thought to kill Lazarus also:11. Quia multi propter illum abibant ex Iudaeis, et credebant in Iesum.11. Because many of the Jews by reason of him went away, and believed in Jesus.9-11. A great multitude, on learning that Christ was in Bethania, flocked out to see the wonder-worker, and Lazarus whom He had raised from the dead; and so many were being converted by that miracle, that the chief priests thought of putting Lazarus to death, that they might thus get rid of a living and manifest proof of the almighty power of Jesus.12. In crastinum autem turba multa, quae venerat ad diem festum, cum audissent quia venit Iesus Ierosolymam.12. And on the next day a great multitude, that was come to the festival day, when they had heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,12. On the day after the supper, which we take to have been Sunday or Monday, that is, the first or second day of the Jewish week, a great multitude came to meet our Lord and escort Him into Jerusalem. Hundreds of thousands always flocked to Jerusalem for the Pasch, and though the feast was still some days off, a great number had[pg 213]already arrived. Doubtless many of the inhabitants of Jerusalem were also among the crowd on this occasion.13. Acceperunt ramos palmarum, et processerunt obviam ei, et clamabant: Hosanna, benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini, rex Israel.13. Took branches of palm-trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried: Hosanna, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel.13. Carrying palm branches, with shouts of joy and triumph, they hailed Jesus as the Messias, and King of Israel; in the words of the great Paschal chant (Ps. cxvii. 26),Hosanna(הושׂענא, which is contracted for הושׂיעה נא) means:pray,save, or:save, I beseech. It may be taken here as a prayer to Jesus to save them, or rather as a prayer to God to save and bless their Messias. Or it may be that it was used as an expression of joy without attention to its literal meaning, as the expressions“vivat,”“vive le roi,”and the like, are sometimes used at the present day.14. Et invenit Iesus asellum, et sedit super eum, sicut scriptum est:14. And Jesus found a young ass, and sat upon it, as it is written:14. From the Synoptic Evangelists we learn that Jesus sent His disciples telling them where they should find the colt, and St. Matthew tells us that they brought the colt and its mother, and spread their garments upon both (ἐπ᾽ αὐτῶν, Matt. xxi. 7). They spread their garments upon both, because they did not know upon which He would choose to sit. And St. Matthew adds that Jesus satupon them(ἑπάνω αὐτῶν); that is, as we take it, upon the garments that had been spread upon the colt. In this way the accounts of the four Evangelists are reconciled.Another difficulty occurs here, if we compare the parallel passage of St. Luke (xix. 29). For, whereas St. John's account naturally leads us to suppose that the ass's colt was procured on the waybetweenBethania, where Christ had supped on the preceding night (xii.1,2) and Jerusalem, St. Luke, on the other hand, says:“And it came to passwhen He was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethania, unto the mount called Olivet, He sent two of His disciples, saying, Go into the town which is over against you, at your[pg 214]entering into which you shall find the colt of an ass tied,”&c. We have searched in vain for a satisfactory solution of this difficulty. If the words of St. Luke are to be taken strictly as meaning that Christ was not merely near to, butapproachingBethania, then we would hold that on this morning, before the procession started, He had retired from Bethania eastward, and therefore farther away from Jerusalem, and was now again approaching the village on His way to the Holy City. There is nothing improbable in this supposition, for Christ did many things which the Evangelists have not recorded (Johnxxi. 25), and it enables us to reconcile two accounts, which are not easily reconciled otherwise.15. Noli timere filia Sion: ecce rex tuus venit sedens super pullum asinae.15.Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy king cometh, sitting on an ass's colt.15. St. Matthew (xxi. 4) says that these things were done that prophecy might be fulfilled; that is, they were brought about by God, not by the disciples, who, as St. John tells us in the next verse, were ignorant that they were fulfilling a prophecy. The whole quotation here is substantially from Zach. ix. 9:“Rejoice greatly (‘fear not,’of St. John) O daughter of Sion; shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold thy King will come to thee, the Just and Saviour: He is poor and riding upon an ass, and (even) upon a colt the foal of an ass.”16. Haec non cognoverunt discipuli eius primum: sed quando glorificatus est Iesus, tunc recordati sunt quia haec erant scripta de eo, et haec fecerunt ei.16. These things his disciples did not know at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things to him.16. The disciples did not know at that time that prophecy was being fulfilled; but when the light of the Holy Ghost had flooded their souls at the first Pentecost (Acts ii. 4), then they recognised in these things the fulfilment of prophecy.17. Testimonium ergo perhibebat turba quae erat cum eo quando Lazarum vocavit de monumento, et suscitavit eum a mortuis.17. The multitude therefore gave testimony, which was with him when he called Lazarus out of the grave, and raised him from the dead.17.When he called Lazarus out of the grave.It is[pg 215]doubtful, and authorities are much divided, whether the true reading here iswhen(ὅτε), orthat(ὅτι). In the former reading, eye-witnesses of the miracle now bore testimony of it; in the latter, the crowd that was now with Him having heard and believed that the miracle had been wrought, now bore witnessthatJesus had raised Lazarus from the dead.18. Propterea et obviam venit ei turba, quia audierunt eum fecisse hoc signum.18. For which reason also the people came to meet him: because they heard that he had done this miracle.18. It was on account of this miracle too that the crowd had come out to meet Him. We take“the multitude”in this verse to be the same as that referred to in the preceding (ὁ ὄχλος); and what St. John tells us is, that their coming out to meet Him, and their testimony regarding Him, both proceeded from the fact that He had raised Lazarus from the dead.19. Pharisaei ergo dixerunt ad semetipsos: Videtis quia nihil proficimus? ecce mundus totus post eum abiit.19. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves: Do you see that we prevail nothing? behold, the whole world is gone after him.19. The jealousy of the Pharisees is at once aroused, and, as often happens in such circumstances, they exaggerate, saying that the whole world had gone after Him.Our Lord moved on towards Jerusalem, riding upon the ass,81between two enthusiastic crowds (see Matt. xxi. 9; Mark xi. 9). As He approached the city, and shouts of joy and thanksgiving rose from the crowds which preceded and followed, some Pharisees, as we learn from St. Luke, bade Jesus rebuke His disciples for the words of homage they were using. To whom He replied:“I say to you, if these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out”(Luke xix. 40). Then when He had mounted the summit of Olivet, and the city and temple burst upon His view, He wept, and“went on to prophesy the destruction of the city with a particularity of detail, to the exactness of which the subsequent history bears wonderful testimony.”[pg 216](Coleridge,Life of our Life, vol. ii., p. 187). See Luke xix. 41-44.When the procession entered Jerusalem, the“whole city was moved, saying, Who is this?”And the people said,“This is Jesus the Prophet from Nazareth of Galilee”(Matt. xxi. 10, 11). As we learn from St. Mark, Jesus went up to the temple, and there the events occurred which St. John records down to verse 36.20. Erant autem quidam gentiles, ex his qui ascenderant ut adorarent in die festo.20. Now there were certain gentiles among them who came up to adore on the festival day.21. Hi ergo accesserunt ad Philippum, qui erat a Bethsaida Galilaeae, et rogabant eum, dicentes: Domine volumus Iesum videre.21. These therefore came to Philip, who was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying: Sir, we would see Jesus.22. Venit Philippus, et dicit Andreae: Andreas rursum et Philippus dixerunt Iesu.22. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew. Again Andrew and Philip told Jesus.20-22. Some Gentiles, who were probably proselytes, had come to Jerusalem for the Pasch, and they ask Philip that they may see, that is, speak with Jesus. Philip consults his fellow-townsman, Andrew (Johni. 44), and they both make known the request to Jesus. Our Lord was probably in the Court of the Jews, into which the Gentiles could not enter, so that their request meant that Jesus should come out into the Court of the Gentiles. See above onii. 14.23. Iesus autem respondit eis, dicens: Venit hora, ut clarificetur Filius hominis.23. But Jesus answered them saying: The hour is come, that the son of man should be glorified.23. The Evangelist does not tell us whether Jesus granted an audience to these Gentiles, but goes on to record His reply to the disciples:The hour is come that the son of man should be glorified:i.e., the hour of His death to be followed by His glorious resurrection and ascension by the descent of the Holy Ghost, and the call of the Gentiles.24. Amen, amen dico vobis, nisi granum frumenti cadens in terram, mortuum fuerit,24. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die;25. Ipsum solum manet: si autem mortuum fuerit, multum fructum affert. Qui amat animam suam, perdet eam: et qui odit animam suam in hoc mundo, in vitam aeternam custodit eam.25. Itself remaineth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it: and he that hateth his life in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal.24, 25. In a beautiful comparison our Lord points out that as the grain of wheat dies in order that it may fructify, so[pg 217]in the providence of God His death is necessary to His triumph and His glory. And applying this doctrine to His disciples, He points out that whoever loveth his life inordinately here, shall lose it for eternity, and he that hateth (a Hebraism forloveth less) his life in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal.26. Si quis mihi ministrat, me sequatur: et ubi sum ego, illic et minister meus erit. Si quis mihi ministraverit, honorificabit eum Pater meus.26. If any man minister to me, let him follow me: and where I am, there also shall my minister be. If any man minister to me, him will my Father honour.26.If any man minister to me, let him follow me.This exhortation to follow Christ in despising this life for God's sake, is addressed to all His followers, who are to minister to Him by the service of devout lives; but it is applicable in a special way to Priests, for to them belongs the privilege of the special ministry. To such as imitate Him He gives the glorious promise, that where He is, that is, in the glory of the Father, which as God He then enjoyed, and which as man He was to merit by His passion, there also shall His followers be.27. Nunc anima mea turbata est. Et quid dicam? Pater, salvifica me ex hac hora. Sed propterea veni in horem hanc.27. Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this cause I came unto this hour.27. The thought of His approaching Passion now disturbed His human soul, for as He was true man, His humanity naturally shuddered at the suffering and death He was about to undergo. Compare Matt. xxvi. 38; Mark xiv. 34. Christ, of course, permitted this fear to seize upon Him, so that it was wholly voluntary; and He manifested it at this particular time, probably lest His disciples should be tempted to say that it was easy for Him who was God to[pg 218]exhort others to despise their life and endure suffering. He shows them, therefore, that He dreads death like the rest of men; and St. John records the fact because of the Docetae, who denied the reality of the Incarnation, and consequently of Christ's sufferings. See above oni. 14, andIntrod. IX.Father save me from this hour.Some read this with a note of interrogation after it, as if the meaning were: Shall I say to the Father to save Me from this hour? But we may understand the words as a conditional prayer proceeding from Christ's human will; conditional, that is, upon his Father's will to save Him from the Passion which He was to undergo, just as in St. Luke xxii. 42:“Father, if Thou wilt, remove this chalice from Me; but not My will, but Thine be done.”That such, indeed, is the meaning here, is proved by what follows, where Jesus retracts this conditional prayer, saying that it was for the very purpose that He might suffer, that He came unto this hour.28. Pater, clarifica nomen tuum. Venit ergo vox de coelo: Et clarificavi, et iterum clarificabo.28. Father, glorify thy name. A voice therefore came from heaven: I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.28. In this verse, then, He prays absolutely to the Father to glorify His name by the sufferings and death of the Son. And a voice came from the air, produced there by God or an angel, saying:I have both glorified (it), and will glorify (it) again. The sense of these words of the Father is disputed. The Latin fathers understand the sense to be; I have glorified Thee from all eternity, and will glorify Thee again as God-man after Thy ascension. In favour of this view is the prayer of Christ:“And now glorify Thou Me, O Father, with Thyself, with the glory which I had before the world was, with Thee”(Johnxvii. 5). The Greek fathers, on the other hand, all take the sense to be: I have already glorified Thee by many miracles, and will again glorify Thee in the miracles to be wrought at Thy death, resurrection, and ascension, and afterwards by Thy followers in Thy name. It will be noted that the fathers generally understand the words of God the Father in reference to the glorification of Christ, whereas Christ's prayer regarded the glorification of the Father's name. We feel convinced, however, that thedirectobject[pg 219]of glorification in both instances is the Father's name. For when Christ prays:“Glorify Thy name,”and the Father answers:“I have glorified, and will again glorify,”obviously the answer must refer to the glorification of the Father's name, for which Christ had prayed. Since, however, the glorification of the Father was to be brought about by the glorification of the Son; hence, this too is indirectly referred to, and our interpretation agrees substantially with that of the fathers.29. Turba ergo quae stabat et audierat, dicebat tonitruum esse factum. Alii dicebant: Angelus ei locutus est.29. The multitude therefore that stood and heard, said that it thundered. Others said, An Angel spoke to him.30. Respondit Iesus, et dixit: Non propter me haec vox venit, sed propter vos.30. Jesus answered and said: This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.30. Jesus declares that the voice from heaven was the Father's testimony to Him, given for their sakes, in order that they might believe in Him.31. Nunc iudicium est mundi: nunc princeps huius mundi eiicietur foras.31. Now is the judgment of the world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.31.Now is the judgment of the world.There is a difference of opinion as to what judgment is here spoken of; whether the judgment of liberation of the world in general, or the judgment of condemnation of thewickedworld. In favour of the former, it is argued—(a) that since Satan was to be cast out, or deprived of his dominion over the world, therefore the world was to be liberated; (b) that verse 32 declares the effect of this judgment: the world shall be liberated, and as a consequence I shall draw all things to Myself; (c) that the world to be judged is that over which Satan had ruled, and from which he was now to be cast out. But before the Incarnation he had held sway over the whole world (Rom. iii. 23, xi. 32; Gal. iii. 22). Therefore, it is the whole world that is to be judged, and hence there must be question of the judgment of liberation. So St. Aug., Mald., A Lap., Tolet., Beel., Patriz.In favour of the latter view, which is held by St. Chrysostom and most of the Greek fathers, it is argued—(a) that St. John always uses κρίσις of the judgment of condemnation; (b) that the world in the beginning of the verse is the same whose prince is to be deprived of his dominion; that, therefore, it should stand or fall with its prince; hence since he is to be stripped of his dominion, it is to be condemned; (c) that in the discourse after the Last Supper, Christ always means by the world, thewickedworld, opposed to Himself (John xiv.17,22,30; xv.18,19; xviii.9,16,25); therefore, also here, and hence there must be question of the judgment of condemnation.[pg 220]The prince of this worldis plainly the devil. See also 2 Cor. iv. 4; Eph. ii. 2, vi. 12. In the Talmud the same title is given to the prince of devils. By Christ's death the devil was cast out: that is, deprived of that almost universal sway which he had exercised over men before the coming of Christ.“At nondum diabolus e mundo ejectus videtur esse, cum in eo adhuc grassetur. Ejectus foras dicitur non quod nunc in mundo non sit, et in multis etiamnum dominetur; sed quod, quantum in Christo fuit, ejectus fuerit, ita ut, si homines vellent, nihil prorsus in ipsos haberet potestatis. Homines illi postea portam arcis aperuerunt, et proditione quadam in suam quisque domum admittit. Itaque etiam nunc regnat et operatur, sed in filios diffidentiae, Eph. ii. 2”(Mald. on this verse).32. Et ego si exaltatus fuero a terra, omnia traham ad meipsum:32. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself.32.And I, if I be lifted up from the earth.Christ here predicted that after His death on the cross (see next verse) He should become a centre of attraction, and draw all men (πάντας is the more probable reading, not πάντα), both Jews andGentilesto Himself. This marvellous prophecy began to be fulfilled in the centurion and his companions (Matt. xxvii. 54), and the rest of the multitude that witnessed the crucifixion (Luke xxiii. 48), and is daily receiving its fulfilment still.33. Hoc autem dicebat, significans qua morte esset moriturus.33. (Now this he said, signifying what death he should die.)33. St. John here gives us an authentic interpretation.34. Respondit ei turba: Nos audivimus ex lege quia Christus manet in aeternum; et quomodo tu dicis, Oportet exaltari Filium hominis? Quis est iste Filius hominis?34. The multitude answered him: We have heard out of the law, that Christ abideth for ever; and how sayest thou: The son of man must be lifted up? Who is this son of man?34. The multitude understood Jesus to speak of His death, or at least of His withdrawal from them, and object that He cannot be the Messias, who, as they understood the Scriptures (the law is here put for the whole Scriptures), was to remain for ever. They quote no single text, but probably they had gathered this idea from many passages;e.g., Isai. ix. 6, 7; Ps. cix. 4; Dan. vii. 13, 14, &c. It is not unlikely that they had the passage of Daniel specially before their[pg 221]minds, for there the power of theSon of Manis described as“an everlasting power that shall not be taken away, and His kingdom (a kingdom) that shall not be destroyed.”Hence, they argued, if Christ was to die, He could not be the Messias, but must be some otherSon of Manthan he spoken of by Daniel.35. Dixit ergo eis Iesus: Adhuc modicum, lumen in vobis est. Ambulate dum lucem habetis, ut non vos tenebrae comprehendant: et qui ambulat in tenebris, nescit quo vadat.35. Jesus therefore said to them: Yet a little while, the light is among you. Walk whilst you have the light, that the darkness overtake you not. And he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.35. Christ might have easily replied, showing them from the same Scriptures that the Messias was to suffer and die (see,e.g., Isai. liii.; Dan. ix. 26); but probably because He saw that the motive of the multitude in objecting was not to seek light, but to disprove His claim to be the Messias, He did not vouchsafe a reply to their objection, but went on to exhort them to believe, for thus they should find a solution of all their difficulties.Yet a little while;i.e., a few days more, the light, which is Himself, is to be among them. He exhorts them, therefore, to walk, that is, to believe, while He is present among them, in order that darkness, that is, the time when He is gone from among them, may not find them still in their unbelief.And(καί = γάρ)he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. Christ does not mean to say that they could not believe after His death; but just as, though it is quite possible to walk during the time of darkness, still it is easier to walk in daylight, so it was easier for them to believe now, when He, the Sun of Justice was corporally present among them, than it would be when He had withdrawn His light. We take,“darkness,”then, with Mald., not of sin, nor of unbelief, but, as opposed to the light which is Christ, of the time when Christ could be no longer present among them, after His death, as in verseix. 4; xi.9,10.36. Dum lucem habetis, credite in lucem, ut filii lucis sitis. Haec locutus est Iesus: et abiit, et abscondit se ab eis.36. Whilst you have the light, believe in the light, that you may be the children of light. These things Jesus spoke, and he went away, and hid himself from them.36. He now explains what He means by telling them to walk. It is that they should believe.That you may be(become)the children of light. The phrase“children of light”is a Hebraism, meaning those who are to possess the light,[pg 222]who are destined for it. Compare Luke xvi. 8; Eph. v. 8.And he went away, and hid himself from them.SS. Matt. and Mark tell us that He went to Bethania with the twelve and remained there (Matt. xxi. 17; Mark xi. 11).37. Cum autem tanta signa fecisset coram eis, non credebant in eum:37. And whereas he had done so many miracles before them, they believed not in him.38. Ut sermo Isaiae prophetae impleretur, quem dixit: Domine, quis credidit auditui nostro? et brachium Domini cui revelatum est?38. That the saying of Isaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he said:Lord, who hath believed our hearing? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?39. Propterea non poterant credere, quia iterum dixit Isaias:39. Therefore they could not believe, because Isaias said again.40. Excaecavit oculos eorum, et induravit cor eorum: ut non videant oculis, et non intelligant corde, et convertantur, et sanem eos.40.He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart, that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.37-40. Before closing this first part of thenarrativeportion of the Gospel (seeIntrod. iv.), St. John pauses in the history to note the hard-hearted incredulity of the Jews, notwithstanding the fact that Christ had wroughtso manymiracles; an incredulity, however, which had been foretold by Isaias, which, therefore, came to pass nowin order that(ἱνα) the prediction of the Prophet should be fulfilled (verses 37, 38); and which came to pass necessarily (necessitate consequente), because, as Isaias declared, they no longer had the abundant graces necessary in order that they might believe (verses 39, 40). Thus the incredulity of the Jews in our Lord's time wasnecessaryto the end that prophecy might be fulfilled. How then, we may ask, was that incredulity culpable, if those who were incredulous were not free and able to believe? The answer is, that this incredulity was necessary by a necessity consequent upon the prediction of the inspired Prophet, which prediction was itself consequent upon God's foreknowledge that the Jews would, culpably and of their own free will, remain incredulous. God foresaw this incredulity, predicted it, because He foresaw it was to be; and, of course, it came to pass, as He had foreseen it would.[pg 223]Hence, when God foresees, or His Prophet predicts, the commission of a certain sin, that sin is infallibly, yet freely committed. It is, as if we saw a man walking across a plain; he does so, not because we see him, but we see him because he walks. Similarly, in the boundless plain of His eternal present, God sees all things that are to be, and they happen, not because He sees them, but He sees them because they are to happen.Note, in verse 38, thatour hearingmeans what has been heardfromus, for the preachers of the Gospel are represented in Isaias as complaining of the small number of those who listened to them.The arm of the Lordis Christ, according to several of the fathers; or we may take it to mean the power of the Lord in the work of man's redemption.Note, in verse 40, where the prophecy is cited freely, after neither the Hebrew nor the Septuagint, that it is not meant that God blinded any manpositively, but only negatively, by the withdrawal of His more abundant graces.41. Haec dixit Isaias, quando vidit gloriam eius, et locutus est de eo.41. These things said Isaias when he saw his glory, and spoke of him.41. See Isaias vi. 1, 9, 10, where the Prophet says:“I saw the Lord”(אדני = the Supreme God), words which are here referred by St. John to the Prophet's having seen Christ; therefore, according to St. John, Christ is the Supreme God.It would also seem from this verse that the Son of God Himself, and not merely an angel representing Him, appeared to Isaias on that occasion. It was the common opinion of the fathers, though denied by most of the scholastics, that God sometimes appeared in the O. T. apparitions.And spoke of him, rather,“and he spoke of Him,”for this clause does not depend upon the preceding“when.”It is a statement that it was of Christ Isaias spoke the words just quoted.42. Verumtamen et ex principibus multi crediderunt in eum: sed propter pharisaeos non confitebantur, ut e synagoga non eiicerentur:42. However many of the chief men also believed in him: but because of the Pharisees they did not confesshim, that they might not be cast out of the synagogue.42. See above onix. 22.[pg 224]43. Dilexerunt enim gloriam hominum magis quam gloriam Dei.43. For they loved the glory of men, more than the glory of God.44. Iesus autem clamavit, et dixit: Qui credit in me, non credit in me sed in eum qui misit me.44. But Jesus cried, and said: He that believeth in me, doth not believe in me, but in him that sent me.44. These words of our Lord recorded in the remainder of this chapter seem to have been spoken on a subsequent day of Holy Week (see verse 36); but on what precise day, it is difficult to determine.Doth not believe in meis the Hebrew way of saying: doth notso muchbelieve in Me, as in Him that sent Me. Compare Mark ix. 36.45. Et qui videt me, videt eum qui misit me.45. And he that seeth me, seeth him that sent me.45. In these words Christ declares His unity of nature with the Father.“Sensus est de visione corporali, non quod Deus oculo corporeo videatur immediate, et per se, sed mediante humanitate, cui Divina substantia Patris et Filii est unita”(Tolet.).46. Ego lux in mundum veni: ut omnis qui credit in me, in tenebris non maneat.46. I am come a light into the world; that whosoever believeth in me, may not remain in darkness.46.Darknesshere means unbelief and sin.47. Et si quis audierit verba mea, et non custodierit, ego non iudico eum, non enim veni ut iudicem mundum, sed ut salvificem mundum.47. And if any man hear my words and keep them not: I do not judge him: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.47.I do not judge him;i.e., I do notcondemnhim. Compareiii. 17; viii.15,50. At hisfirstcoming Christ did not come to condemn, but to save.48. Qui spernit me, et non accipit verba mea, habet qui iudicet eum: sermo quem locutus sum, ille iudicabit eum in novissimo die.48. He that despiseth 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.48.Hath one that judgeth him; namely, the Father (viii. 50). Hence the sense of the verse is that he that despiseth Me ... hath one that[pg 225]judgeth himeven now; and moreover, on the last day My words shall rise in judgment against him.49. Quia ego ex meipso non sum locutus, sed qui misit me Pater, ipse mihi mandatum dedit quid dicam, et quid loquar.49. For I have not spoken of myself, but the Father who sent me, he gave me commandment what I should say, and what I should speak.49. This verse gives the reason why the words of Christ shall stand in judgment against the unbeliever; because His words were not merely His own, uttered by His private authority, but spoken by the command of His Father, whom therefore they despise, in despising Him. In our view Christ here speaks of Himself as man.Ifsayandspeakare to be distinguished, then“say”(εἴπω) refers to the formal discourses,“speak”(λαλήσω) to the ordinary conversations; so that in all His words Christ had spoken to them the words of God.50. Et scio quia mandatum eius vita aeterna est. Quae ergo ego loquor, sicut dixit mihi Pater, sic loquor.50. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting. The things therefore that I speak; even as the Father said unto me, so do I speak.50. To show them their folly, and in the hope of yet inducing them to believe, He tells them He knows with certainty that the command of the Father (that is, what the Father had commanded Him to say and do, and hence, all His own words and works) is the cause of life eternal to mankind. Hence their folly in not believing.The things therefore that I speak; even as the Father said unto me, so do I speak.Thus He concludes, insisting on the fact that He is the legate of God (consubstantial with the Father, verse 45), and as such worthy to be believed.
1-8.The Supper in Bethania six days before the Pasch.9-11.The chief priests think of killing Lazarus.12-19.On the day after the supper Christ enters Jerusalem in triumph, to the disgust of the Pharisees.20-22.Some Gentile Proselytes wish to see Him.23-33.Christ (at the temple) foretells the near approach of His passion, and a voice from heaven is heard.34-36.He continues to refer to His approaching death, and exhorts the people to faith.37-43.Yet though they had witnessed many miracles, most of them refused to believe, as the prophets had foretold.44-50.Christ's testimony regarding the object of the Incarnation, and the necessity of faith in Him.
1-8.The Supper in Bethania six days before the Pasch.
9-11.The chief priests think of killing Lazarus.
12-19.On the day after the supper Christ enters Jerusalem in triumph, to the disgust of the Pharisees.
20-22.Some Gentile Proselytes wish to see Him.
23-33.Christ (at the temple) foretells the near approach of His passion, and a voice from heaven is heard.
34-36.He continues to refer to His approaching death, and exhorts the people to faith.
37-43.Yet though they had witnessed many miracles, most of them refused to believe, as the prophets had foretold.
44-50.Christ's testimony regarding the object of the Incarnation, and the necessity of faith in Him.
1. Maldonatus connects withxi. 55: since the Pasch was near, Jesus on His way to Jerusalem to celebrate it, came to Bethania.Six days before the pasch.This peculiar Greek construction would be better rendered in Latin;“sex diebus ante pascha.”We have now entered upon the last week of our Divine Lord's mortal life, but there is a diversity of opinion regarding the exact day here indicated. The principal views regarding the days of our Lord's arrival at Bethania, of the supper there, and of the triumphant entry into Jerusalem, are:—
(1) Arrival at Bethania on Friday; the supper (a) on the same evening, or (b) according to others, on Saturday evening; the triumphal entry on Sunday.
(2) Arrival at Bethania on Saturday evening; the supper[pg 209]on the same evening; the entry into Jerusalem (a) on Sunday, or (b) according to others, on Monday.
(3) Arrival on Sunday; supper on the same evening; the entry into Jerusalem on Monday.
2. In Bethania then (in the house of Simon the leper, as we learn from Matt. xxvi. 6; Mark xiv. 3) a supper was prepared for Jesus, at which Lazarus was present and Martha served. We take it as certain that Matthew (xxvi. 6-13) and Mark (xiv. 3-9) refer to the same unction of Christ which is recorded by St. John in the following verses here. If not, we should have to suppose that the same murmuring for the same cause in the same circumstances took place a second time within four days, though reprehended by Christ on the first occasion it occurred. That SS. Matthew and Mark seem to refer to an occasiontwodays before the Pasch (Matt. xxvi. 2; Mark xiv. 1), while St. John refers to an occasionsixdays before, is readily explained. The two Synoptic Evangelists record this anointing of Jesus by Mary out of its place, and in connection with the treachery of Judas, because it was it that finally determined Judas to betray our Lord.79
3. When we bear in mind the prominence given to Lazarus, Martha, and Mary in the preceding chapter, and find two of the three mentioned in verse 2 here, it is certain that the Mary mentioned here, in verse 3, can be no other than she who was sister to Martha and Lazarus.
Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of right spikenard.We learn from Matthew and Mark that the ointment was contained in an alabaster box. Alabaster is a species of stone resembling marble, and derives its name[pg 210]from Alabastron, a town in Egypt, near which it was found in large quantities. The term“alabaster box”came in time to be applied to any box for holding perfumes.
Spikenard, or nard, is a famous aromatic substance obtained from an eastern plant of the same name. It is said in our Rhemish Version to berightspikenard. The Greek adjective thus translated is πιστικῆς, which may meangenuine, from πίστις; orliquid, from πίστος (πίνω, to drink); or, as St. Augustine says, the nard may have been so called from the place in which it was obtained. St. John tells us that Mary anointed thefeetof our Lord, who, according to the Jewish custom, would be reclining on His left side upon a couch, with His feet stretching out behind. The first two Evangelists mention only the unction of our Lord's head, so that St. John supplements their account. The fact that the odour of the ointment filled the house, is mentioned as a proof of its excellence. Pliny (xiii. 3) refers to such unctions among the Romans:“Vidimus etiam vestigia pedum tingi.”
4, 5. From SS. Matt. and Mark, it would seem that at least two of the disciples must have murmured, for St. Matt. says:“And the disciples seeing it, had indignation;”and St. Mark:“Now there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said: Why was this waste of the ointment made?”We may admit, then, that some of the others joined Judas in murmuring, but probably from a different motive; or, we may hold, with some commentators, that the plural is used indefinitely for the singular.
Judas Iscariot(Gr. Judas Iscariot,son of Simon: see notes onvi. 72) spoke out, asking why this ointment was not sold at 300 pence, and the price given to the poor? We discussed above onvi. 7, the value of the Roman silver penny at this time current in[pg 211]Palestine, from which it appears that this box of ointment was thought to be worth nearly £10 of our money.
6. St. John here declares the motive of Judas. It was not love for the poor, as he pretended, but because, being purse-bearer, for our Lord and the disciples, he was always anxious to receive money, that he might have an opportunity of filching some of it for himself. Whether with our Rhemish Version we give ἐβάσταζεν the meaning of“carried,”or, as others prefer,“made away with,”at all events, it is plain from the verse, in which Judas is declared a thief, that he sometimes appropriated to his own uses money from the common purse. In his case, too, the saying was true:“Nemo repente fit turpissimus.”
7. There is a difference of reading in this verse. Many ancient authorities read:She has kept it(τετήρηκεν)against the day of my burial; and the meaning of this reading is plain. The more probable80Greek reading, however, is:“That she might keep it(ἱνα ... τηρήσῃ)against the day of My burial.”In this reading we take our Lord's reply to mean: Let her alone: it was not sold (Judas had asked: Why was it not sold?) in order that she might keep it against the day of My burial. Thus we would read“servaret”instead of“servet”in the Vulgate; and we take“ut”to depend not on“sinite,”but on some words such as“non veniit”(it was not sold) understood. St. John's report of Christ's words agrees substantially with that of St. Mark, who represents our Lord as saying:“She is come beforehand to anoint My body for the burial”(Mark xiv. 8); and both accounts, as well as that of St. Matt. (xxvi. 12),“She hath done it for My burial,”signify that our Lord's death was so close at hand that this unction might be regarded as a preparation for His burial; and hence Mary was not to be blamed, inasmuch as such[pg 212]honours were usually paid to bodies before burial.
Immediately after their account of this unction, SS. Matt. and Mark narrate the compact of Judas with the Jews to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver; so that it is extremely probable that it was spite at losing the price of the ointment used on this occasion that finally determined Judas to betray our Lord.
8.But me you have not always.Christ as God is, no doubt, everywhere, even now; and even as man He is still upon our altars in the Blessed Sacrament; but He is no longer with us in a mortal body capable of deriving sensible pleasure and comfort from such ministrations as those of Mary upon this occasion.
9-11. A great multitude, on learning that Christ was in Bethania, flocked out to see the wonder-worker, and Lazarus whom He had raised from the dead; and so many were being converted by that miracle, that the chief priests thought of putting Lazarus to death, that they might thus get rid of a living and manifest proof of the almighty power of Jesus.
12. On the day after the supper, which we take to have been Sunday or Monday, that is, the first or second day of the Jewish week, a great multitude came to meet our Lord and escort Him into Jerusalem. Hundreds of thousands always flocked to Jerusalem for the Pasch, and though the feast was still some days off, a great number had[pg 213]already arrived. Doubtless many of the inhabitants of Jerusalem were also among the crowd on this occasion.
13. Carrying palm branches, with shouts of joy and triumph, they hailed Jesus as the Messias, and King of Israel; in the words of the great Paschal chant (Ps. cxvii. 26),Hosanna(הושׂענא, which is contracted for הושׂיעה נא) means:pray,save, or:save, I beseech. It may be taken here as a prayer to Jesus to save them, or rather as a prayer to God to save and bless their Messias. Or it may be that it was used as an expression of joy without attention to its literal meaning, as the expressions“vivat,”“vive le roi,”and the like, are sometimes used at the present day.
14. From the Synoptic Evangelists we learn that Jesus sent His disciples telling them where they should find the colt, and St. Matthew tells us that they brought the colt and its mother, and spread their garments upon both (ἐπ᾽ αὐτῶν, Matt. xxi. 7). They spread their garments upon both, because they did not know upon which He would choose to sit. And St. Matthew adds that Jesus satupon them(ἑπάνω αὐτῶν); that is, as we take it, upon the garments that had been spread upon the colt. In this way the accounts of the four Evangelists are reconciled.
Another difficulty occurs here, if we compare the parallel passage of St. Luke (xix. 29). For, whereas St. John's account naturally leads us to suppose that the ass's colt was procured on the waybetweenBethania, where Christ had supped on the preceding night (xii.1,2) and Jerusalem, St. Luke, on the other hand, says:“And it came to passwhen He was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethania, unto the mount called Olivet, He sent two of His disciples, saying, Go into the town which is over against you, at your[pg 214]entering into which you shall find the colt of an ass tied,”&c. We have searched in vain for a satisfactory solution of this difficulty. If the words of St. Luke are to be taken strictly as meaning that Christ was not merely near to, butapproachingBethania, then we would hold that on this morning, before the procession started, He had retired from Bethania eastward, and therefore farther away from Jerusalem, and was now again approaching the village on His way to the Holy City. There is nothing improbable in this supposition, for Christ did many things which the Evangelists have not recorded (Johnxxi. 25), and it enables us to reconcile two accounts, which are not easily reconciled otherwise.
15. St. Matthew (xxi. 4) says that these things were done that prophecy might be fulfilled; that is, they were brought about by God, not by the disciples, who, as St. John tells us in the next verse, were ignorant that they were fulfilling a prophecy. The whole quotation here is substantially from Zach. ix. 9:“Rejoice greatly (‘fear not,’of St. John) O daughter of Sion; shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold thy King will come to thee, the Just and Saviour: He is poor and riding upon an ass, and (even) upon a colt the foal of an ass.”
16. The disciples did not know at that time that prophecy was being fulfilled; but when the light of the Holy Ghost had flooded their souls at the first Pentecost (Acts ii. 4), then they recognised in these things the fulfilment of prophecy.
17.When he called Lazarus out of the grave.It is[pg 215]doubtful, and authorities are much divided, whether the true reading here iswhen(ὅτε), orthat(ὅτι). In the former reading, eye-witnesses of the miracle now bore testimony of it; in the latter, the crowd that was now with Him having heard and believed that the miracle had been wrought, now bore witnessthatJesus had raised Lazarus from the dead.
18. It was on account of this miracle too that the crowd had come out to meet Him. We take“the multitude”in this verse to be the same as that referred to in the preceding (ὁ ὄχλος); and what St. John tells us is, that their coming out to meet Him, and their testimony regarding Him, both proceeded from the fact that He had raised Lazarus from the dead.
19. The jealousy of the Pharisees is at once aroused, and, as often happens in such circumstances, they exaggerate, saying that the whole world had gone after Him.
Our Lord moved on towards Jerusalem, riding upon the ass,81between two enthusiastic crowds (see Matt. xxi. 9; Mark xi. 9). As He approached the city, and shouts of joy and thanksgiving rose from the crowds which preceded and followed, some Pharisees, as we learn from St. Luke, bade Jesus rebuke His disciples for the words of homage they were using. To whom He replied:“I say to you, if these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out”(Luke xix. 40). Then when He had mounted the summit of Olivet, and the city and temple burst upon His view, He wept, and“went on to prophesy the destruction of the city with a particularity of detail, to the exactness of which the subsequent history bears wonderful testimony.”[pg 216](Coleridge,Life of our Life, vol. ii., p. 187). See Luke xix. 41-44.
When the procession entered Jerusalem, the“whole city was moved, saying, Who is this?”And the people said,“This is Jesus the Prophet from Nazareth of Galilee”(Matt. xxi. 10, 11). As we learn from St. Mark, Jesus went up to the temple, and there the events occurred which St. John records down to verse 36.
20-22. Some Gentiles, who were probably proselytes, had come to Jerusalem for the Pasch, and they ask Philip that they may see, that is, speak with Jesus. Philip consults his fellow-townsman, Andrew (Johni. 44), and they both make known the request to Jesus. Our Lord was probably in the Court of the Jews, into which the Gentiles could not enter, so that their request meant that Jesus should come out into the Court of the Gentiles. See above onii. 14.
23. The Evangelist does not tell us whether Jesus granted an audience to these Gentiles, but goes on to record His reply to the disciples:The hour is come that the son of man should be glorified:i.e., the hour of His death to be followed by His glorious resurrection and ascension by the descent of the Holy Ghost, and the call of the Gentiles.
24, 25. In a beautiful comparison our Lord points out that as the grain of wheat dies in order that it may fructify, so[pg 217]in the providence of God His death is necessary to His triumph and His glory. And applying this doctrine to His disciples, He points out that whoever loveth his life inordinately here, shall lose it for eternity, and he that hateth (a Hebraism forloveth less) his life in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal.
26.If any man minister to me, let him follow me.This exhortation to follow Christ in despising this life for God's sake, is addressed to all His followers, who are to minister to Him by the service of devout lives; but it is applicable in a special way to Priests, for to them belongs the privilege of the special ministry. To such as imitate Him He gives the glorious promise, that where He is, that is, in the glory of the Father, which as God He then enjoyed, and which as man He was to merit by His passion, there also shall His followers be.
27. The thought of His approaching Passion now disturbed His human soul, for as He was true man, His humanity naturally shuddered at the suffering and death He was about to undergo. Compare Matt. xxvi. 38; Mark xiv. 34. Christ, of course, permitted this fear to seize upon Him, so that it was wholly voluntary; and He manifested it at this particular time, probably lest His disciples should be tempted to say that it was easy for Him who was God to[pg 218]exhort others to despise their life and endure suffering. He shows them, therefore, that He dreads death like the rest of men; and St. John records the fact because of the Docetae, who denied the reality of the Incarnation, and consequently of Christ's sufferings. See above oni. 14, andIntrod. IX.
Father save me from this hour.Some read this with a note of interrogation after it, as if the meaning were: Shall I say to the Father to save Me from this hour? But we may understand the words as a conditional prayer proceeding from Christ's human will; conditional, that is, upon his Father's will to save Him from the Passion which He was to undergo, just as in St. Luke xxii. 42:“Father, if Thou wilt, remove this chalice from Me; but not My will, but Thine be done.”That such, indeed, is the meaning here, is proved by what follows, where Jesus retracts this conditional prayer, saying that it was for the very purpose that He might suffer, that He came unto this hour.
28. In this verse, then, He prays absolutely to the Father to glorify His name by the sufferings and death of the Son. And a voice came from the air, produced there by God or an angel, saying:I have both glorified (it), and will glorify (it) again. The sense of these words of the Father is disputed. The Latin fathers understand the sense to be; I have glorified Thee from all eternity, and will glorify Thee again as God-man after Thy ascension. In favour of this view is the prayer of Christ:“And now glorify Thou Me, O Father, with Thyself, with the glory which I had before the world was, with Thee”(Johnxvii. 5). The Greek fathers, on the other hand, all take the sense to be: I have already glorified Thee by many miracles, and will again glorify Thee in the miracles to be wrought at Thy death, resurrection, and ascension, and afterwards by Thy followers in Thy name. It will be noted that the fathers generally understand the words of God the Father in reference to the glorification of Christ, whereas Christ's prayer regarded the glorification of the Father's name. We feel convinced, however, that thedirectobject[pg 219]of glorification in both instances is the Father's name. For when Christ prays:“Glorify Thy name,”and the Father answers:“I have glorified, and will again glorify,”obviously the answer must refer to the glorification of the Father's name, for which Christ had prayed. Since, however, the glorification of the Father was to be brought about by the glorification of the Son; hence, this too is indirectly referred to, and our interpretation agrees substantially with that of the fathers.
30. Jesus declares that the voice from heaven was the Father's testimony to Him, given for their sakes, in order that they might believe in Him.
31.Now is the judgment of the world.There is a difference of opinion as to what judgment is here spoken of; whether the judgment of liberation of the world in general, or the judgment of condemnation of thewickedworld. In favour of the former, it is argued—(a) that since Satan was to be cast out, or deprived of his dominion over the world, therefore the world was to be liberated; (b) that verse 32 declares the effect of this judgment: the world shall be liberated, and as a consequence I shall draw all things to Myself; (c) that the world to be judged is that over which Satan had ruled, and from which he was now to be cast out. But before the Incarnation he had held sway over the whole world (Rom. iii. 23, xi. 32; Gal. iii. 22). Therefore, it is the whole world that is to be judged, and hence there must be question of the judgment of liberation. So St. Aug., Mald., A Lap., Tolet., Beel., Patriz.
In favour of the latter view, which is held by St. Chrysostom and most of the Greek fathers, it is argued—(a) that St. John always uses κρίσις of the judgment of condemnation; (b) that the world in the beginning of the verse is the same whose prince is to be deprived of his dominion; that, therefore, it should stand or fall with its prince; hence since he is to be stripped of his dominion, it is to be condemned; (c) that in the discourse after the Last Supper, Christ always means by the world, thewickedworld, opposed to Himself (John xiv.17,22,30; xv.18,19; xviii.9,16,25); therefore, also here, and hence there must be question of the judgment of condemnation.[pg 220]The prince of this worldis plainly the devil. See also 2 Cor. iv. 4; Eph. ii. 2, vi. 12. In the Talmud the same title is given to the prince of devils. By Christ's death the devil was cast out: that is, deprived of that almost universal sway which he had exercised over men before the coming of Christ.“At nondum diabolus e mundo ejectus videtur esse, cum in eo adhuc grassetur. Ejectus foras dicitur non quod nunc in mundo non sit, et in multis etiamnum dominetur; sed quod, quantum in Christo fuit, ejectus fuerit, ita ut, si homines vellent, nihil prorsus in ipsos haberet potestatis. Homines illi postea portam arcis aperuerunt, et proditione quadam in suam quisque domum admittit. Itaque etiam nunc regnat et operatur, sed in filios diffidentiae, Eph. ii. 2”(Mald. on this verse).
32.And I, if I be lifted up from the earth.Christ here predicted that after His death on the cross (see next verse) He should become a centre of attraction, and draw all men (πάντας is the more probable reading, not πάντα), both Jews andGentilesto Himself. This marvellous prophecy began to be fulfilled in the centurion and his companions (Matt. xxvii. 54), and the rest of the multitude that witnessed the crucifixion (Luke xxiii. 48), and is daily receiving its fulfilment still.
33. St. John here gives us an authentic interpretation.
34. The multitude understood Jesus to speak of His death, or at least of His withdrawal from them, and object that He cannot be the Messias, who, as they understood the Scriptures (the law is here put for the whole Scriptures), was to remain for ever. They quote no single text, but probably they had gathered this idea from many passages;e.g., Isai. ix. 6, 7; Ps. cix. 4; Dan. vii. 13, 14, &c. It is not unlikely that they had the passage of Daniel specially before their[pg 221]minds, for there the power of theSon of Manis described as“an everlasting power that shall not be taken away, and His kingdom (a kingdom) that shall not be destroyed.”Hence, they argued, if Christ was to die, He could not be the Messias, but must be some otherSon of Manthan he spoken of by Daniel.
35. Christ might have easily replied, showing them from the same Scriptures that the Messias was to suffer and die (see,e.g., Isai. liii.; Dan. ix. 26); but probably because He saw that the motive of the multitude in objecting was not to seek light, but to disprove His claim to be the Messias, He did not vouchsafe a reply to their objection, but went on to exhort them to believe, for thus they should find a solution of all their difficulties.
Yet a little while;i.e., a few days more, the light, which is Himself, is to be among them. He exhorts them, therefore, to walk, that is, to believe, while He is present among them, in order that darkness, that is, the time when He is gone from among them, may not find them still in their unbelief.
And(καί = γάρ)he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. Christ does not mean to say that they could not believe after His death; but just as, though it is quite possible to walk during the time of darkness, still it is easier to walk in daylight, so it was easier for them to believe now, when He, the Sun of Justice was corporally present among them, than it would be when He had withdrawn His light. We take,“darkness,”then, with Mald., not of sin, nor of unbelief, but, as opposed to the light which is Christ, of the time when Christ could be no longer present among them, after His death, as in verseix. 4; xi.9,10.
36. He now explains what He means by telling them to walk. It is that they should believe.That you may be(become)the children of light. The phrase“children of light”is a Hebraism, meaning those who are to possess the light,[pg 222]who are destined for it. Compare Luke xvi. 8; Eph. v. 8.
And he went away, and hid himself from them.SS. Matt. and Mark tell us that He went to Bethania with the twelve and remained there (Matt. xxi. 17; Mark xi. 11).
37-40. Before closing this first part of thenarrativeportion of the Gospel (seeIntrod. iv.), St. John pauses in the history to note the hard-hearted incredulity of the Jews, notwithstanding the fact that Christ had wroughtso manymiracles; an incredulity, however, which had been foretold by Isaias, which, therefore, came to pass nowin order that(ἱνα) the prediction of the Prophet should be fulfilled (verses 37, 38); and which came to pass necessarily (necessitate consequente), because, as Isaias declared, they no longer had the abundant graces necessary in order that they might believe (verses 39, 40). Thus the incredulity of the Jews in our Lord's time wasnecessaryto the end that prophecy might be fulfilled. How then, we may ask, was that incredulity culpable, if those who were incredulous were not free and able to believe? The answer is, that this incredulity was necessary by a necessity consequent upon the prediction of the inspired Prophet, which prediction was itself consequent upon God's foreknowledge that the Jews would, culpably and of their own free will, remain incredulous. God foresaw this incredulity, predicted it, because He foresaw it was to be; and, of course, it came to pass, as He had foreseen it would.[pg 223]Hence, when God foresees, or His Prophet predicts, the commission of a certain sin, that sin is infallibly, yet freely committed. It is, as if we saw a man walking across a plain; he does so, not because we see him, but we see him because he walks. Similarly, in the boundless plain of His eternal present, God sees all things that are to be, and they happen, not because He sees them, but He sees them because they are to happen.
Note, in verse 38, thatour hearingmeans what has been heardfromus, for the preachers of the Gospel are represented in Isaias as complaining of the small number of those who listened to them.The arm of the Lordis Christ, according to several of the fathers; or we may take it to mean the power of the Lord in the work of man's redemption.
Note, in verse 40, where the prophecy is cited freely, after neither the Hebrew nor the Septuagint, that it is not meant that God blinded any manpositively, but only negatively, by the withdrawal of His more abundant graces.
41. See Isaias vi. 1, 9, 10, where the Prophet says:“I saw the Lord”(אדני = the Supreme God), words which are here referred by St. John to the Prophet's having seen Christ; therefore, according to St. John, Christ is the Supreme God.
It would also seem from this verse that the Son of God Himself, and not merely an angel representing Him, appeared to Isaias on that occasion. It was the common opinion of the fathers, though denied by most of the scholastics, that God sometimes appeared in the O. T. apparitions.
And spoke of him, rather,“and he spoke of Him,”for this clause does not depend upon the preceding“when.”It is a statement that it was of Christ Isaias spoke the words just quoted.
42. See above onix. 22.
44. These words of our Lord recorded in the remainder of this chapter seem to have been spoken on a subsequent day of Holy Week (see verse 36); but on what precise day, it is difficult to determine.Doth not believe in meis the Hebrew way of saying: doth notso muchbelieve in Me, as in Him that sent Me. Compare Mark ix. 36.
45. In these words Christ declares His unity of nature with the Father.“Sensus est de visione corporali, non quod Deus oculo corporeo videatur immediate, et per se, sed mediante humanitate, cui Divina substantia Patris et Filii est unita”(Tolet.).
46.Darknesshere means unbelief and sin.
47.I do not judge him;i.e., I do notcondemnhim. Compareiii. 17; viii.15,50. At hisfirstcoming Christ did not come to condemn, but to save.
48.Hath one that judgeth him; namely, the Father (viii. 50). Hence the sense of the verse is that he that despiseth Me ... hath one that[pg 225]judgeth himeven now; and moreover, on the last day My words shall rise in judgment against him.
49. This verse gives the reason why the words of Christ shall stand in judgment against the unbeliever; because His words were not merely His own, uttered by His private authority, but spoken by the command of His Father, whom therefore they despise, in despising Him. In our view Christ here speaks of Himself as man.
Ifsayandspeakare to be distinguished, then“say”(εἴπω) refers to the formal discourses,“speak”(λαλήσω) to the ordinary conversations; so that in all His words Christ had spoken to them the words of God.
50. To show them their folly, and in the hope of yet inducing them to believe, He tells them He knows with certainty that the command of the Father (that is, what the Father had commanded Him to say and do, and hence, all His own words and works) is the cause of life eternal to mankind. Hence their folly in not believing.
The things therefore that I speak; even as the Father said unto me, so do I speak.Thus He concludes, insisting on the fact that He is the legate of God (consubstantial with the Father, verse 45), and as such worthy to be believed.