that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? 23 Jesus answered and said unto him, e If a man love me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. 24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my : g ver. 10. ch. sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but 19, 38; vii. 16 vii. the Father's which sent me. 25 These things have I 28: xii. 49. r e ver. 15. fl John ii. 24. Rev. iii. 20. h ver. 16. Luke xxiv. ch.xv. spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 26 But the Comforter, [s which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father 49 26: xvi. 7. i ch. ii. 22: xii. will send in my name, 'he shall teach you all things, and 16: xvi. 13. tbring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have 1 John ii. 20, 27. rrender, while yet abiding with you. omit: not expressed in the original. If any word is supplied, even would be better. trender, bring to your remembrance all things which I spake unto you. the [brother] of James," in Luke vi. 16: see note on Matt. x. 3. Meyer remarks that the words not Iscariot are in reality superfluous, after ch. xiii. 30, but are added by St. John from his deep horror of the Traitor who bore the same name. The question seems to be put with the Jewish idea, that the Messiah, the King and Judge of the nations, must necessarily manifest himself to the world. [In reference to the reading in the margin, "And how is it, &c. ?", we may remark, that and, preceding an interrogation, expresses astonishment at what has just been said, and, assuming it, connects to it a conclusion which appears to refute or cast doubt on it.] how is it that] literally, What has happened, that .? 23, 24.] These verses contain the answer to the question in both its parts :"how is it, that Thou wilt manifest Thyself to us," because love to Christ, leading to the keeping of His word, is the necessary condition of the indwelling and manifestation in man of the Father and the Son;-" how is it, that Thou wilt not manifest Thyself to the world?" because want of love to Christ, leading to neglect of His words, necessarily excludes from communion with the Father and the Son, and the Spirit, who reveals the Son in man. "The addition, we will come unto him, and make our abode with him, makes this incapacity still plainer and more deeply felt." Meyer. For (and meaning,—hence you may infer what I am setting forth) the word which ye hear (and which the world keepeth not, but neglects),—is not Mine, but the Father's. On the gracious and wonderful promise of ver. 23, see Rom. viii. 15. 25-31.] His farewell, and the parting bequest of His Love. 25.] have I spoken is anticipatory, referring, as "I said" (ver. 26), to the futures," shall teach," and "shall bring to remembrance." Meyer supposes that a pause took place here, and the Lord looks back on what He had said to them. But this does not seem so natural. 26.] But-as if He had said, 'I know that ye do not understand them yet: but' &c. the Holy Ghost] The Paraclete, or Comforter, is now more closely defined by this well-known Name,—and, by the words, whom (which) the Father will send, and the pronoun He..., designated personally, as One sent, and One acting on them. in my name] not, in My stead,' but in regard of me-'in answer to My prayer, and prayers in My name,-to those who bear My name,-and as a means of manifesting Me.' shall teach you all things stands by itself, not with "whatsoever I have said unto you:" shall teach you all things,-all that can and may be learnt by you, all that belongs to your work and life in Me.' and bring all things to your remembrance] What is not understood is liable to be forgotten ;-and therefore in this word is implied the giving them a right understanding of, as well as recalling, what Jesus had said to them: see ch. ii. 22; xii. 16. It is on the fulfilment of this promise to the Apostles, that their sufficiency as Witnesses of all that the Lord did and taught, and consequently THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE GOSPEL NAR said unto you. give unto you 27k Peace I leave with you, my peace Ik Phil. iv. 7. not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Col. iii. 15. n xvi. 10: xx. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 1 ver. 1. 28 Ye have heard how m I said unto you, I go away, and m ver. 3, 18. come [again] unto you. If ye loved me, ye would I rejoice, because [ I said] I go unto the Father: for my n ver. 13. ch. 29 And now I have told you och, xiii. 19: Father is greater than I. before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. Z 30 a Hereafter I will not talk much with you: P for the prince of this world cometh, and pch, xii. 31: 17. xvi. 4. xvi. 11. a not expressed in the original. y omit. a render, I will no more. · RATIVE, is grounded. 27.] This is introduced by ver. 25, which suggests the speedy close of the discourse. It was customary to take leave with wishes of peace-so 1 Sam. i. 17: Luke vii. 50: Acts xvi. 36: 1 Pet. v. 14: 3 John 15. Also, to reassure by such words; see Gen. xliii. 23: Judg. vi. 23. But our Lord distinguishes His peace, true peace, the peace which I have and give' (see ch. xv. 11), from the mere empty word used in the world's form of greeting. Peace (in general) He leaves with them;-His peace He gives to them, over and above that other. The words, as the world giveth, must refer, I think, to the world's manner of giving,-not to the unreality of the world's peace, of which, however true, there is no direct mention here. The world can only give peace in empty formulæ, saying 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace: Jer. vi. 14 al. 28.] The former part of the verse gives a reason why their heart should not be troubled ;— then the rest of the verse removes all ground of fear, since it is an exaltation of Him whom they loved, which is about to happen; and therefore a ground of joy, and not of fear. my Father is greater than I] And therefore the going of Jesus to the Father is an advancement. This word greater, as Luther well remarks, is not here used as referring to the Nature or Essence of the Son as related to the Father, but as indicating that particular subordination to the Father in which the Lord Jesus then was,-and the cessation of the state of humiliation, and entering into His glory, which would take place on His being received up to the Father. So also Calvin : "Christ is not here comparing the Divinity of the Father with His own, nor His human nature with the & render, would have rejoiced. z render, may. b render, the. divine essence of the Father, but rather His present state with the heavenly glory to which He was soon to be exalted." And Cocceius: "The inferiority here is not to be understood as meaning, according to His human nature; for the words point to an inferiority which would be laid aside, on His going to the Father." And this removes all reason for fear, as they will be exalted in Him. The whole doctrinal controversy which has been raised on these words (especially by the Fathers against the Arians), seems not to belong to the sense of the passage. That there is a sense in which the Father is greater than even the glorified Son, is beyond doubt (see especially I Cor. xv. 27 f.); but as on the one hand that concession is no concession to Arianism, because it is not in the essential being of the Son, but in His Mediatorial office, that this His inferiority consists, so on the other hand this verse implies in itself no such inferiority, the discourse being of another kind. 29.] I have told you-viz. the prophecies of My Resurrection and Ascension,' &c. ye may believe] See ch. xiii. 19, where the words "that I am He" are supplied. That ye may believe, in the fullest sense of the word. "Not that they did not previously believe Him to be the Son of God: but then, when that was fulfilled in Him, which He had before predicted,— this their faith, which now, when he was speaking to them, was small, and, when He died, was almost extinguished, revived and flourished." Augustine. See 1 John v. 13. 30.] I will no more talk much with you:- then, as Stier remarks, He had some words more to say, and was not about to break off at ver. 31, as some have supposed. The necessity of the time broke off further words. the prince of this world] i. e. q ch. x. 18. Phil. ii. 8. Heb. v.8. hath nothing in me. 31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence. XV. 1I am the true vine, and my Father is the husband Satan-not, Satan in Judas, but Satan himself, with whom the Lord was in conflict during His passion: see Luke iv. 13 (and note), and xxii. 53. hath nothing in me] i.e. as Augustine, "findeth no sin in Me." This is the only true interpretation: has nothing in Me-no point of appliance whereon to fasten his attack. But Meyer well observes, that this is rather the fact to be assumed as the ground of what is here said, than the thing itself which is said. Tholuck, and many others render it, has no power over me,' or as Euthymius, finds nothing worthy of death. 31.]But My Death is an act of voluntary obedience, that it may be known that I love and obey the Father-that the glory of the Father in and by Me may be manifested.' The construction is elliptic: supply, But (his power over Me for death will be permitted by Me) that,' &c. And the period should be at so I do, as in the text. Meyer and others would put only a comma here, and carry on the sense, 'But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father commanded me, thus I do, arise, let us go hence. I need only put it to the inner feeling of any who have learned to appreciate the majesty and calmness of our Lord's discourses, whether a sentence so savouring of theatrical effect is likely to have been spoken by Him. We may notwithstanding safely believe that the words "Arise, let us go hence," without this connexion, do undoubtedly express the holy boldness of the Lord in going to meet that which was to come upon Him, and are for that reason inserted by St. John. Arise, let us go hence] These words imply a movement from the table to depart. Probably the rest of the discourse, and the prayer, ch. xvii., were delivered when now all were standing ready to depart. There would be some little pause, in which the preparations for departure would be made. But the place is clearly the same, see ch. xviii. 1," when Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth :"-besides which, we can hardly suppose, as Grotius and others, discourses of a character like those in ch. xv. xvi. to have been delivered to as many as eleven persons, while walking by the way, and in a time of such publicity as that of the Paschal feast. Still less is the supposition of Bengel and Beausobre pro bable,-that ch. xiii. xiv. happened outside the city, and that between ch. xiv. and xv. the paschal meal takes place. Compare also ch. xiii. 30, which is decisive against this idea. CHAP. XV. 1-27.] Injunction to vital union in love with Jesus and one another. 1-11.] Their relation to Him. Various circumstances suggestive of this similitude, of the vine and its branches, have been imagined; but none of them are satisfactory. The vineyards on the way to Gethsemane,-the carved vine on the great doors of the temple,-a vine trained about the window of the guest-chamber,—are all fanciful, and the two first (see on ch. xiv. 31) inapplicable. The cup, so lately partaken, is certainly nearer,-see below. But I believe that most probably the Lord did not take the similitude from any outward suggesting occasion, but as a means of illustrating the great subject, the inner unity of Himself and His. Occasion enough was furnished, by the Old Test. symbolism of the vineyard and the vine,— Isa. v. 1 ff.; Jer. ii. 21; Ezek. xix. 10 ff., and especially Ps. lxxx. 8-19: by the intimate analogy of vegetable life (of which the tree bearing fruit is the highest kind, and of such trees the vine the noblest) with spiritual, and perhaps also by the fruit of the vine having been so recently the subject of their attention and the Lord's prophecy, Luke xxii. 18 and the parallel places. 1.] The Vine and branches stand in a much nearer connexion than the Shepherd and the sheep, or the lord of the vineyard and the vines; and answer to the Head and members in Eph. v. 23, 30; Col. ii. 19, linked together by a common organization, and informed by one and the same life. the TRUE vine] not only, the vine by which prophecy is fulfilled:' not only, the vine in which the organism and qualities of the vine are most nobly realized, but, as in ch. i. 9, the true, i. e. the original, or archetypal: that which served for the pattern of all such afterwards. The material creations of God are only inferior examples of that finer spiritual life and organism, in which the creature is raised up to partake of the divine nature; only figures of the true, Heb. ix. 24; 66 'patterns (i. e. representations) of things in the heavens,” ib. 23; see ch. vi. 32. the husbandman] Not " ( 2 a man. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit a Matt. xv. 13. he taketh away and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. с xvii. 17. As the 1 Pet i. 22. c Col. i. 23. John ii 6. d Hos. xiv. 8. Phil. i. 11: iv. 13. 3 be Now are ye clean through the word which I have bch. xii. 10: spoken unto you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. Eph. v. 26. branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: 8 for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is ecast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather f d abide in the only the tiller of the land, but the vine- e Matt. iii. 10: vii. 19. Acts iv. 12. render, as above, bear. render, cleanseth. e render, Ye are clean already by reason of. h render, they. you"), which (see on ver. 2 above) would be contrary to the sense: but as a clause dependent on the former, Take care that ye abide in Me and I in you:' both these being necessary to the bringing forth fruit: see ver. 5, where the two are similarly bound together. Here the natural strictness of the similitude is departed from. The branch cannot sever itself from the vine: but, such a case supposed, every one will see the inevitable consequence. Bengel says well, "This passage plainly shews the difference between what takes place in nature and what takes place in grace." It is the permitted free-will of the creature which makes the difference between the branches in the two cases. 5.] The interpretation of the allegory which each mind was forming for itself, the Lord solemnly asserts for them. Notice the term the same-he and no other: "it is he, that beareth much fruit." The separation indicated in the last clause of the verse is more than without Me,' the words are best rendered apart, or separate from Me, from being in Me and I in you. The word because has respect rather to the sense, than to the words themselves: because union with Me is the sole efficient cause of fruit being produced, you having no power to do any thing, to bring any thing to perfection, to do any of those things which belong to that which ye are, separate from Me. 6.] This verse is a most important testimony against supra-lapsarian error, shewing us that falling from grace is possible, and pointing out the steps of the fall. Observe this is not said of the unfruitful branch, which the Father takes away (in judgment): but of one who will them, and cast them into the fire, and they i are burned. 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, kye shall MAX 28. ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto 8 g Herein you. h m bear much fruit; ch. xiv. 13, g Matt. v. 16. Phil. i. 11. h ch. viii. 31: is Father glorified, that ye 80 shall ye be my disciples. 9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. 10 i If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that k that your joy might be full. 12 1 This is my commandment, That ye love one f ver. 18. i ch. xiv. 15, 21, 23. k ch. xvi. 24: xvii. 13. 1 John i. 4. 1 ch. xiii. 34. Thess. iv.. my joy might remain in you, and 1 Pet. iv. 8. 1 John iii. 11: iv. 21. i render, burn. kread, ask (imperative). m read and render, and so shall ye become. read, that ye bear much fruit, and become. render, as below, abide. " not abide in Christ, becomes separate from Him: (1) he is cast out (of the vineyard, or of the Vine) like a branch in such a case: (2) he becomes dried up, having lost the supply of life-giving sap ('quenched the Spirit,' 1 Thess. v. 19): (3) he is gathered up with other such (Matt. xiii. 40) by the angels at the great day: (4) is cast into the fire, as the result of that judgment; and finally (5) burneth;' not, is burned,' in any sense of being consumed; "and must burn," as Luther renders it. 7.] All bringing forth fruit is the result of answered prayer for the assisting grace of God: and therefore the answer of all prayer is here promised to those who abide in Christ and have His word (Heb. vi. 5) abiding in them. The imperative is used by anticipation, of the future time. This not having been seen, it has probably been altered to the future, as in the A. V.: see ch. xiv. 13. whatsoever ye will, in the supposed case, is necessarily in the way of God's will, and as tending to bearing much fruit. 8.] Herein belongs to the following words, not the preceding: as in the text. The much fruit is not merely large success in the apostolic mission,' but individual advance in bring ing forth the fruits of the Spirit.' According to the reading cited in the margin, the Father's glorification is continued by another result, and that ye may become My (true) disciples] "It is the foundation of being a Christian, to become a disciple of Christ: it is the completion of being a Christian, to be a disciple of Christ." Bengel. According to the reading with the verb in the future, the 1 render, whatsoever. Many ancient authorities actual result of what precedes is stated: and so ye shall become My disciples. 9.] The Love between the Father and Christ is compared with that between Christ and His disciples. As the Father hath loved the Son, so the Son His disciples.' The words my love may be understood as meaning the love of Me;-but the sense is not good, and the expression is not parallel with the same expression in ver. 10; so that I prefer my love, the love which I have towards you; remain in it; do not cast yourselves out of it. The other sense is implied in this, but not expressed. 10.] The way thus to remain is prescribed; even that way of simple obedience to His Will, which He followed to the Will of the Father. On the words my love, see above. 11. have I spoken] Again anticipatory, hastening to the end of the discourse, and treating it as ended. my joy] not joy concerning Me, nor 'joy derived from Me,' nor My joy over you,' but My joy, properly speaking (see 2 Cor. ii. 3, "My joy is the joy of you all"): "His own holy exultation, the joy of the Son in the consciousness of the love of God, of His Unity with the Father: see ver. 10." (Lücke.) and that your joy might be full] That their joy might, by the indwelling of that His Joy, be uplifted and ennobled even to fulness,-—— to the extreme of their capability and satisfaction, and might remain so. 12-17.] Union in love with one another enjoined on them. 12.] That He may shew them that it is no rigid code of keeping commandments in the legal sense, ver. 11 is inserted, and now the commandment (as including all others) is again |