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Survey of the chapter
In chapters 13 and 14 of John’s Gospel the Lord had prepared His own for His departure, and gave them instruction to help them when they would be gathered together after His ascension. In chapters 15 and 16 He prepared them for their task of bearing testimony in the world with all its hostility. In chapter 17 He prays for them, and for those who would believe as a result of their faithful testimony. By doing this in their hearing, (if verse 11 is to be understood as meaning they were with Him), He gave them insight into His concern for them, and gave them the underlying purpose of their testimony, namely to enable Him to glorify His Father in the giving of eternal life to those who would believe on Him through them.

There is a marked difference between the synoptic gospels, (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), and John’s gospel in relation to the prayers of the Lord Jesus just before His arrest. We could set them out as follows:

We know from Matthew 26:30 that Christ went from the upper room to the Mount of Olives, and then to a place called Gethsemane, verse 26. We know also from John’s account that He had left the Upper Room before His teaching about the True Vine, and the coming of the Spirit to guide into all truth. Before, also, His prayer as recorded in John 17. It was after this prayer that He crossed the brook Cedron, and went into Gethsemane, John 18:1.

We may have difficulty in seeing how the one who prayed the prayer of John 17, with all its confidence that He would be glorified in His Father’s presence, also prayed the earnest prayers in Gethsemane that the cup of suffering might pass from Him. But one emphasises the reality of His Deity, and the other the reality of His manhood. “Great is the mystery of godliness”, so we should not be surprised if we have difficulty. But faith accepts what Scripture says, even though it baffles the mind.

Structure of prayer
The prayer consists of an opening statement, then five requests with the reason for the request, then a final statement, as follows:

The Son addresses His Father six times, as follows:

The first three verses are in the third person, as if the Lord is connecting with what He said about His relationship with the Father in John 5:19-29, (which also is in the third person), and basing His prayer on it. He had also spoken in the third person in John 7:18 when He said, “He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but He that seeketh His glory that sent Him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him”. We are assured, therefore, that His request for glory in this prayer is only so that He may glorify the Father even more, and in a fresh way. So the structure of the prayer may also be thought of as follows:

(i) Opening statement: “Father, the hour is come”.
(ii) First request, verses 1-4 “Father…glorify Thy Son”.
Reason, verse 2 “As Thou hast given Him power over all flesh”.

The intimacy of a shared relationship

17:1
These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:

These words spake Jesus- this is probably a reference to the previous words in chapter 16. Of course John is writing about an historical event, and therefore uses the historical and personal name Jesus. He and his fellow apostles never addressed the Lord Jesus as simply Jesus; and nor should we. He said to them, “Ye call me master and Lord: and ye do well; for so I am”, John 13:13.

And lifted up his eyes to heaven- He was conscious that there was nothing between His Father and Himself. Aaron had to make a cloud of incense to protect him from the sight of God and His glory, but this is not necessary for the Son of God, even when become flesh. The seraphim veil their faces in the presence of God, Isaiah 6:2, but He, the Son of God, needs not to do so.

The sinner of Luke 18:13 “would not so much as lift his eyes up to heaven”, but this one is sin-free, and has nothing on His conscience. Job had said long before that “God shall save the humble person”, or as the margin renders it, “the man of downcast eyes”, Job 22:29, but this is a different sort of man, who needs not to avert His gaze from God.

The physical act of lifting the eyes is symbolic of the attitude He always had, and also anticipates His ascension, and His subsequent priestly ministry in the heavenly sanctuary.

And said, Father, the hour is come- the hour is mentioned throughout John’s Gospel, and includes His death, resurrection, and ascension. He knew His hour was come through communion with His Father, as we learn for John 13:1, “when Jesus knew that his hour was come”.

And said, Father, the hour is come- these words assure us that He knew the Father’s mind as to when He should die. John has already told us that “He knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father”, John 13:1. Even at that point He was in spirit projecting Himself forward into the Father’s presence, so eager was He to be back there. It is one of the signs of His equality with the Father that He sees what the Father is doing, John 5:19, and this is no exception. He is freely able to tell the Father this fact, knowing that the Father knows too.

Special note on glory
Glory may be defined as “the display of excellence”. In the case of Divine persons this excellence cannot be increased, for it is an essential part of their Being. (By “essential” in this context is meant “that which of the essence or nature of a person”). The excellence of Divine persons cannot be increased, but just as when we look at an object through a microscope it is magnified in our eyes even though it remains the same size really, so Divine persons may be magnified in our thinking. So when in the next phrase the Son asks to be glorified, He is asking in the context of His request in verse 2 that He may be granted fresh opportunities to bestow eternal life on men, which will result in further glory for the Father. In this way both the Father and the Son will be magnified in the eyes of believers.

Glorify thy Son- note the simple title, “thy Son”, shows He is confident of His relationship as Son, and confident, also, that He will not be confused by the Father with anyone else. This shows us there is a marked difference between angels as sons of God and the Only Begotten Son of God. Only Divine persons have a right to glory. Believers shall be glorified only because of Divine grace.

The reference to Himself is in the third person, just as in John 5:17-26, where He sets out the doctrine of His relationship with the Father. There it is for the benefit of men, so that they may believe on Him, here, so that His apostles may be reminded of that discourse, and the truth it contained. There is a difference in John 5 however, for there it is simply “the Son”, whereas here the consciousness of the relationship comes out more fully, “Thy Son”.

His appeal to the Father is for a particular sort of glory to come to Him, whereas in Gethsemane the prayer will be for a particular sort of suffering to pass from Him. He is not asking for selfish reasons, but so as to be enabled to glorify His Father in a more intense way. He is aware that as a man He is committed to glorifying the Father. We may think of Him being glorified in the following five ways:

The glory of His environment
He will be taken from this earth with all its shame to the glory of heaven with all its perfection. He will be “received up into glory”, 1 Timothy 3:16.

The glory of His enthronement
From hanging on a cross, and laying in a tomb, He will be seated on a throne, and that the throne of God.

The glory of His enlargement
From being despised and rejected of men, He will be magnified by all in heaven, and eventually by all created beings.

The glory of His entitilement
From having His Deity challenged to having it recognised. All men shall at last honour the Son in this way, John 5:23, and His return to heaven will start the process.

The glory of His endowment
He could claim as a man upon the earth He could give eternal life, John 5:26, but this was limited mainly to Israel. Consequent upon His ascension He will give everlasting life to any who come to Him in repentance and faith. It is this last aspect that He will emphasise in the next statements.

That thy Son also may glorify thee- the foregoing glories will all result in fresh opportunities for Christ to glorify His Father. Even though He will have been glorified in heaven, he will still be a subject man, determined to honour God.

Here what is emphasised is the glory of the freedom to give eternal life to men. This gift of eternal life was known by men even in Old Testament times, or else they could not commune with God as they did; but it is now going to be given, not as before, in connection with the earthly reign of the Messiah, but His place in heaven. The only two places in the Old Testament where eternal life is mentioned are Psalm 133:3 and Daniel 12:2, where the idea is of the enjoyment of eternal life in the kingdom of the Messiah on earth.

17:2
As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.

As thou hast given Him power over all flesh- this request is made in view of the truth of John 5:26, where we learn that the Father has given to the Son to have life in Himself. Not in the sense that He personally did not have life before, obviously, for He is “that eternal life which was with the Father” before He was manifest on earth, 1 John 1:2. Rather, He is given the task as Son of God become man, and of being the vessel from which the precious gift of eternal life is dispensed. It is in relation to that task that He asks to be glorified in heaven so that He may do it freely, with the cross of Calvary behind Him.

Eternal life is the life of God, and is imparted to a person the moment they believe the gospel, for the Saviour Himself said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life”, John 5:24. Clearly, to not hear His word, and not believe God, is to be in a state of spiritual death, and to be under condemnation from God. Those who have eternal life are safe from that condemnation.

So He has authority over all flesh, being the Son of God with life in Himself for others. Part of this authority will involve sending forth His own to preach and convert men. This work will be expedited by His return to heaven and the sending forth of the Holy Spirit. As He said in John 14:12, “greater works than these shall ye do, because I go to the Father”, for His return to heaven will set in train a process which will enable greater works to be done.

That he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him- notice the deliberate contrast here between “flesh”, unbelievers, and “eternal life”, the life believers have. This is highlighted in the next verse by the reversal of the word-order. Flesh is the word for man in his frail and mortal state; eternal life is the life of those who are empowered and destined for resurrection glory. The Son has authority over all flesh, the whole of mankind in their weak and vulnerable state. He has the right to remedy their pathetic condition. And He remedies it by granting the great gift of eternal life when they believe. “Should give” does not indicate obligation, but opportunity; they come so He can give them life.

In theory it was possible to inherit eternal life by keeping the law perfectly, in letter and spirit. The Lord Jesus agreed with the lawyer that if he kept the law he would have eternal life as a right, because he had earned it, Luke 10:28. But as the parable of the Good Samaritan which follows indicates so clearly, man is far from keeping the law, for those who taught the law, like the priest and the Levite, had no interest in “loving their neighbour as themselves”, for they passed by on the other side. And certainly the half-dead man was in no condition to keep the law. Only an exhibition of grace could remedy the situation. To inherit eternal life is impossible to man, but to receive it as a gift is a glorious and available possibility, in Christ.

This gift is given only to those who have been given to the Son. We know from John 6:36-45 who these people are. They are those who have listened to the testimony of the Word of God, (“And they shall be all taught of God”), and as a result, having heard from the Father concerning the Son, they come to Him in faith. There were those who had physically seen the Lord Jesus, yet were unbelieving; only those who see Him for who He is in the Scriptures shall come in the proper way, the way of faith. It is everyone who seeth the Son and believeth on Him, who is given by the Father to the Son.

So when the Lord says “whom thou hast given him”, He is looking at things from the perspective of what will be true of many in the future, as they come to Him. He will be able to say, in effect, “The Father has given Me these people, therefore I will give them eternal life”. So the Father gives to the Son; the Son accepts them, for He knows it is His Father’s will that He should do so, John 6:37-39, and then the Son gives them eternal life.

17:3
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

And this is life eternal- there is highlighted now the great difference between believers and unbelievers. The latter simply have natural life to enable them to have dealings with the natural world and other men. Those who have eternal life are able to appreciate God and His things. This appreciation comes through the possession of eternal life, which enables God to be known, for it is the very life of God. The words, “this is life eternal” do not introduce a definition of eternal life, but rather give an indication as to how eternal life expresses itself, namely in the progress in the knowledge of God.

That they might know thee the only true God- it is important to notice the significance of the word “that”. It means “in order that”, giving the idea of a purpose to be realised, a goal to be reached. And indeed there is a goal to be reached, and it is the knowledge of God. The eternal life which those who believe receive the moment they exercise faith in Christ enables them not only to know God initially, but also to progress in the knowledge of God and His Son. The result of this progress is detailed for us in 1 John 2:12-27, where the apostle reviews the progress of those in the family of God, and divides them into infants, young men and fathers. The apostle Paul also spoke of this matter to the Colossians and wrote about “increasing in the knowledge of God”, Colossians 1:10. Peter also exhorted his readers to “grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ”, 2 Peter 3:18. The knowledge of natural earthly things pales into insignificance compared to this knowledge. Yet too often we prefer the earthly to the heavenly, the natural to the spiritual, but this is to our loss. It also dishonours the One who gave the great gift to us.

The description of God here as the only true God is appropriate in the context of the mention of all flesh. It is not just Jews who are able to receive the gift of eternal life; Gentiles also, even though sunk in idolatry, may do so also, once they have learnt from the Father. When they have realised that there is but one God who is true to the concept of God, then they are in a position to know Him. God is the only being that possesses the features that God should have, hence He is true, meaning He is real, ideal and genuine.

And Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent- it is important to notice the title Christ gives to Himself here. It is not “that they may know thee, the Father, and thy Son”, but “God, and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent”. It is God’s Son as sent into the world, with all that implies in terms of His incarnation, teaching, death, and resurrection, that He is to be known.

Some who teach error have highlighted this apparent separation between the only true God and Jesus Christ. They say that this goes to show that He is not God. This is not the case however, for other scriptures testify fully that Jesus Christ is God. We could raise the same objection in 1 Corinthians 8:6, where the apostle writes, “but to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him”. We could argue that there is one God, known as the Father, and therefore the Lord Jesus is not God. But we could also argue that because there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, then the Father is not Lord. But God is certainly Lord in the Old Testament! And the Lord Jesus referred to Him as Lord in Matthew 11:25, as did the believers in Acts 4:24. And if He is Father, who is He Father of? Paul does not write “our Father”, but “the Father”, so He is emphasising a Person, not a relationship with believers. He is the Father of the Son, and they share the same nature.

The reason the apostle writes of God and Lord is because he has referred to the demons behind idol-worship as “gods many and lords many”, verse 5. In that case, the gods and the lords were the same beings, (the false god Baal for instance, with Baal meaning “lord”). The point is that demons present themselves as gods, in opposition to God, and as lords in opposition to Christ. Christianity will have none of that, and recognises but one God and one Lord. As if to clear up any misunderstanding on this point, the apostle John writes of the Lord Jesus in his first epistle, “This is the true God, and eternal life”, 1 John 5:20.

So the reason why Jesus Christ is mentioned separately is because He has been sent, and has come into manhood. He is Jesus, the man, and Christ, the Messiah. As such He makes eternal life available to men, not only through who He is, but also by what He did at Calvary. The fact that He is the Sent One is proof of His Deity. As is also the fact that to know Him is to know God. In the Father is the essence of eternal life, and also in the Son, but in addition, as Jesus Christ the Sent One He gives the exhibition of eternal life, for “the life was manifested”, 1 John 1:2. This does not undermine His Deity, but reinforces it.

17:4
I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

I have glorified thee on the earth- the mention of being sent leads on to what He was sent for. He glorified the Father on earth, and now is asking for further opportunity to do so in heaven, on the basis that He has been faithful to His mission. Note that it is “on the earth”, not “in the world”. It is the geographical location that is in view here, in contrast to heaven, where He is in spirit already.

I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do- His whole mission is seen as one work, and is described in verse 6. When, on the cross, He said “Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit” the Lord was alluding to the Psalm 31:5, which was the evening prayer of a pious Israelite when he laid down to sleep, his work done for the day. This is the basis for His next request. If He was faithful in glorifying His Father on earth, He will be faithful in glorifying Him when He gets back to heaven, and bestows eternal life on those who believe.

(iii ) Second request, verses 5-11(a) “O Father, glorify Thou me”.
Reason, verse 4 “I have glorified thee on the earth”.

The intensity of a solemn request

17:5
And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

And now- as a consequence of the truth of verse 5.

O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self- a very personal request, based on His relationship with the Father, (the word “thou” is emphatic). Others will glorify Him, but the glory He longs for most is from His Father. “O Father” tells of the strong feelings of love He has for the Father, and the earnestness of His request.

With the glory which I had with thee before the world was- time began when the world began, (“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth”, Genesis 1:1), so this is eternal glory. Note that He is aware of what His position was before He came into the world. He addresses the Father as His Father in connection with eternity, so He must have been His Son in eternity.

It is not that He lost or left behind the glory of being associated with God as an equal, but He asks for more of the same glory, but this time as a man. When He was in eternity with His Father before the world was created, He had the glory that is suited to the Son of God, who is equal with the Father. The world did not recognise that glory when He came to earth, and instead of showering Him with glory, they would have showered Him with stones because He claimed equality with God. The name “Jesus” will cause all to bow, as they are compelled to acknowledge that He is God, as is written, “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”, Philippians 2:9-11. It had already been prophesied that every knee would bow to God. The prophet records God’s words, “I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear”, Isaiah 45:23. So the insistence by God that every knee should bow to His Son is the sure sign of His Deity.

There are nine passages at least that tell us about conditions in eternity:

Divine Glory
“the glory which I had with thee before the world was”, John 17:5.

Divine Love
“Thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world”, John 17:24.

Divine Power
“for the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead”, Romans 1:20.

Divine Choice
“according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world”, Ephesians 1:4.

Divine Purpose
“according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord”, Ephesians 3:11.

Divine Equality
“Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God”, Philippians 2:6.

Divine Promise
“in hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began”, Titus 1:2.

Divine Foreordination
“the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world”, 1 Peter 1:19,20.

Divine Communion
“that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us”, 1 John 1:2.

17:6
I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: Thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

I have manifested thy name- we now learn what the finished work mentioned in verse 4 was. The expression “Thy name” means all that comes to mind when the Father is named. When Moses asked to see God’s glory, God told Him His titles and attributes. “And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped”, Exodus 34:5-8. These are the features that may be seen in Christ as we read the gospel records, as He manifested His Father’s name. Even the visiting of iniquity was plainly spoken of, even though He had not come to condemn the world but to save.

The apostles were privileged to see the glory of the ideal relationship between Father and Son, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth”, John 1:14.

Unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world- the apostles, despite being Israelites, were in the world, for the status of Israel as a nation was diminished. They no doubt thought it to be a privilege to be in Israel. They will soon learn that the best blessing is to be in the church.

Thine they were- the apostles are in view in verses 6-19. They belonged to the Father in that they believed in the God of Israel. Then they came to the Son, and He accepted them as a gift from His Father.

And thou gavest them me- they were given to Christ as apostles and companions, after His night in prayer.

And they have kept thy word- this is the supreme test. Have they received and retained the truth expressed from heaven at Christ’s baptism, “This is my beloved Son”? Their apostleship began when He chose them, but they had all been with Him since the time He was baptised, for the qualification for apostleship was to have seen Him from His baptism until His ascension, Acts 1:21,22.

There is a sense in which all believers have heard from the beginning, but only because they have accepted the testimony of the apostles who were there personally to hear the word from heaven which declared that Jesus of Nazareth was God’s beloved Son. What they heard and saw they have passed on, as indicated in 1 John 1:3; 2:24.

17:7
Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.

Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee- the apostles came to realise and believe that the things Christ said to them were from the very presence of the Father, as He communed with Him day by day. He is privy to the ongoing Divine Conversation in heaven. The Father did not give Him words that were from some other source. The next verse shows that the “all things” refers to words.

17:8
For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me- the subject matter of the Divine Conversation was passed on. It is not now the word from the Father at Jordan, but “the words”, meaning the detailed sayings about the relationship between the Father and the Son, as given by John’s gospel. Just as the apostle John lay in the bosom of Christ and learnt His secrets, 13:23, so the Only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, tells out His secrets, 1:18; 8:26; 12:49,50. He not only hears, but tells what He hears. John writes, “Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught. And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him”, John 7:14-18.

And they have received them- not only are the doctrines safely passed on by the Son, but they are received in faith by the apostles.

And have known surely that I came out from thee- in the previous chapter we read that the Lord said, “I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speaketh thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest no that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God”, John 16:28-30. They had become convinced of His authenticity as the Son.

And they have believed that thou didst send me- this is His authority as the Son, for He is commissioned by the Father. This is important, for He said to them after His resurrection, “as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you”, John 20:21. They knew what was involved in them being sent by appreciating what was involved in Him being sent. They were apostles, sent ones, but He is “the apostle and high priest of our profession”, Hebrews 3:1. He was sent from heaven as God’s Apostle, and has returned to heaven to act as High Priest.

17:9
I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

I pray for them- “I” is emphatic, as if He said “I, the One who is in equal relationship with Thyself”. He knows they will be attacked by those who deny His Deity. He has prepared them for this in the upper room, now He prays for them as well, for they may not always appreciate what He told them, and He is charged with keeping them safe from apostasy.

I pray not for the world- He will pray for the world on the cross with the words, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”, Luke 23:34. Such is the marked difference between His own and the world, that He is able to pray for them without praying for the world.

But for them which thou hast given me- they are entrusted to Him, and He faithfully prays for their preservation, especially from departing from the truth. Because the Father loves the Son, He has given all things to Him, including the task of caring for His people, see John 3:35.

For they are thine- they were believers in God before they met Him. He said to them in the upper room, “Ye believe in God, believe also in me”, John 14:1. They did believe in Him at that point, so the exhortation is to believe in Him just as much when He was gone away as when He was with them. They had not seen the Father, yet believed in Him. They would not see the Son physically after His ascension, but that should not prevent them believing in Him still.

17:10
And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.

And all mine are thine- we might have expected Him to say, first of all, “All thine are mine”, but that might make us think that the Father has given them over so completely that they are not His own any more. Rather, the Lord is saying that all those He now has as His own still belong to the Father.

And thine are mine- all that still belong to the Father are His as the Son. Only Divine persons can each possess the same persons wholly, without depriving the other. The Father has given them to the Son, but they are still His. The Son has accepted them as belonging to the Father still, but they are His also.

And I am glorified in them- both the Father and the Son are glorified through those who possess eternal life, in accordance with His request at the outset of His prayer, “glorify thy Son, that thy Son may glorify thee”, that is, by giving eternal life, verse 1. He is glorified through all who receive the gift of eternal life, but the reference is here specifically to the apostles, who will be the means whereby the life-giving word of the gospel will be initially spread abroad. He is confident that they will be faithful in their evangelism, and so bring glory to Him.

17:11
And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

And now I am no more in the world- in spirit He is back with the Father, and this gives character to the prayer. He is praying as if He is back in heaven, even though He has not yet endured the cross.

But these are in the world- His departure will leave them vulnerable. As the Good Shepherd, He is concerned about leaving them in a world full of thieves, robbers and wolves.

And I come to thee- with all that implies in terms of His acceptance by the Father, (of which He is confident), and His present ministry in heaven for them. He would not only make His presence known to them as they go forth preaching, but He will sit on the right hand of God, still serving their interests there, for He has taken servant-hood for ever, Mark 16:19,20. He looks at going to the cross as the way to come to His Father. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, Hebrews 12:2. He despised the shame from men, but prized the glory from His Father.

(iv) Third request, verses  11(b)-19
“Holy Father, keep…those thou hast given Me”.
Reason, verse 12 “I kept them in thy name”.

The interest in a sanctified company

Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me- the Holy name of His Father, (that is, His Holiness of character and actions), will shield them from the unholiness of the world. “Be ye holy, for I am holy”, were O1d Testament words, but quoted by the apostle Peter as being relevant today, Peter 1:16. Holiness is a positive thing, for God was holy before there was unholiness. God is separate from sin and from error, and those who are preserved in the atmosphere of the holiness of God will be separate from sin and error too. God’s Holy Spirit will enable this to happen in practical terms.

That they may be one, as we are- the oneness of the apostles was vital. That is why Judas must go before Pentecost, and be replaced by another, so that Peter can stand up with the eleven, Acts 2:14, presenting a united front. The oneness “as we are” may simply be oneness of aim and intention here, rather than the more intense oneness of verses 21-23. Note that the oneness is based on separation from sin and error. There can be no true fellowship between believers when sin and error is condoned.

17:12
While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name- He ever sanctified the Lord in His heart, and therefore did nothing to offend Divine Holiness, and therefore His own were preserved from defiling influences. It might be asked why He cannot continue to do from heaven what He had been doing on earth. Is not the answer that when He was here, the Holy Spirit was with them because He was with Christ, 14:16,17. With Him gone, the Holy Spirit will come to indwell them to show them what is holy.

Those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost– this even included physical protection, as is seen in the Garden of Gethsemane, when he said, “If therefore ye seek me, let these go their way: that the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, ‘Of them which thou hast given me I have lost none'”, 18:8,9.

But the son of perdition- John is careful to tell us in his account of the arrest of Christ that Judas stood with the soldiers in the Garden of Gethsemane, 18:5. He had changed sides, and removed himself from Christ’s protection. He is called the son of perdition or destruction, for he not only sides with those who seek to destroy Jesus, but also destroyed himself by suicide, and went to “his own place”, Acts 1:25, for he had opted for hell not heaven. After Pentecost the believer is joined eternally to Christ. Whilst he may live a carnal life, he cannot be lost, for “he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit”, 1 Corinthians 6:17. The Spirit of God has formed a link which is on the very highest level, and it cannot be broken.

That the scripture might be fulfilled- the apostle Peter made it clear that Judas “by transgression fell”, so he was not predestined to fall. The Lord made several attempts to bring him back, but he was determined. It was not that Christ let him slip through His fingers so that a scripture could be fulfilled, but rather that he allowed himself to be manipulated by Satan, and finished up as the betrayer. By that process, scripture was fulfilled. The betrayer is not named in the Old Testament. He was spoken of in terms of the actions of Ahithophel, David’s trusted companion who turned against him. See Psalm 41:9; 69:22,23; 109:6-8.

17:13
And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

And now come I to thee- the construction of the words “and now” often introduces a fresh aspect to things. So the contrast may be between Judas going to perdition and Christ going to heaven; or between the “with them in the world” of verse 12, and “now come I to Thee” of this verse.

He is conscious of His destination, and confident that Calvary would satisfy the Father’s heart, and He would be raised to return to being with the Father, this time in a body. He would set Himself down on the right hand of the Majesty on high, confident He had the right to do so. John’s Gospel may be thought of as the “Burnt Offering Gospel”, and the burnt offering of Leviticus 1 was also called the ascending offering.

And these things I speak in the world- this may well indicate that He spoke out loud with His disciples present. They could not share in His Gethsemane sufferings, so He withdrew from them a distance. They will share His heavenly glories, so He speaks so they can hear, and be encouraged.

That they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves- if they had heard His groanings in Gethsemane they would have despaired utterly. They can hear these words and be filled with joy. But it is not primarily that they would be blessed, but that He would be glorified. This is His joy, the joy of returning to His Father, the joy that strengthened Him to endure the cross, Hebrews 12:2. Being with Him will involve sharing His joy. The joy would be fulfilled in themselves personally, so they would not just be joyful because He would be joyful. They would find that His joy would fulfil its purpose in their hearts, as they changed from being filled with sorrow because He said He was going away, 16:6, to returning to Jerusalem with great joy after the ascension, Luke 24:52,53. As He said to them, “If ye loved me ye would rejoice that I said unto you I go to the Father”, 14:28. Note the things that are especially Christ’s: “His own”, 13:1; “My peace”, 14:27; “My love”, 15:9; “My glory”, 17:24.

17:14
I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

I have given them thy word- this has the idea of a body of teaching. Either the sum total of what He had told them during His ministry, or the teaching in the upper room. Whichever is meant, it was the word of the Father, faithfully transmitted to them.

And the world hath hated them- to side with Christ is to oppose the world and be hated by it. The world cannot be indifferent to those who love Christ, for He came into the world to cause division, and He has been successful. The condemnation of this world is that light is come into it and men loved darkness rather than light, and went further, and hated the light, John 3:19,20. To believe in the light is to be hated by the world. The hostility against the disciples increased after the raising of Lazarus, 12:10. Before, He had shielded them by taking the force of the opposition upon Himself, but He is now preparing them to take the force themselves.

Because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world- this world-system is centred around opposition to God. To distance one-self from it is to be like Christ, and therefore to be hated.

They are not of the world because they are born of God; He is not of the world because He is the Son of God from heaven. Relationship to God is in view in each case, although not of the same kind exactly.

17:15
I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world- because they have the life of God in their souls, and believe in Him, they are able to overcome the world, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” 1 John 5:4,5. Because believers have eternal life, and that life is superior to the life of the world, they can safely be left in it, especially as they are indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

Believers are needed in the world to testify about Christ, and bring glory to Him in this hostile scene, thus demonstrating the superiority of faith.

But that thou shouldest keep them from the evil- perhaps He refers in particular to the evil doctrines which deny the Father and the Son, which represent the greatest evil in the world.

17:16
They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world- these words are similar to verse 14, but there it was the reason for the hatred of the world. Here it is advanced as the reason why the Father should sanctify them, verse 17. The Son asks the Father to have dealings with them because they are not of the world, implying that they are of the Father. All that is in the world is not of the Father, 1 John 2:16, so the fact that they are not of the world implies that they are of the Father.

17:17
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Sanctify them through thy truth- as those who are not of the world they are separated to God. This is the Son’s desire for His own, that the Father who begot them may keep them separate from everything that does not harmonise with the life they have been given. Eternal life is in contrast to the life of men in the flesh, verse 3, so they are separate from Adam’s world, but they still have the capability of walking after the flesh, even though not in the flesh, Romans 8:9,4. “Thy truth” is everything that tells us about the Father.

Thy word is truth- the source of that truth about the Father is found in the word the Son gave to them from the Father, verse 14. That is the standard in a world full of error about the Father and the Son. The word separated us from the world in the first place, for we are begotten by the word of truth, James 1:18, and what separates initially, separates constantly. The true believer knows the truth about Divine Persons, and is able to distinguish it from error, 1 John 2:21. Antichrists deny the Father and the Son, 1 John 2:22. The statement “Thy word is truth” is for the benefit of the disciples. He is still speaking mainly about the apostles, and He knew they would be under extreme pressure after Pentecost, for they would be teaching things that the ruling religious classes would resist. It is vital that they do not give way, but hold fast to that which He taught them.

17:18
As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world- He desires the Father’s protection for them, since they have been sent into a world full of error to preach the truth. He sent them forth to bear fruit, 15:16, and bear witness, 15:27. What a dignified position the apostles were in, sent forth in the same way as the Son had been. This lends dignity to the word they carried with them.

17:19
And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

And for their sakes I sanctify myself- He separates Himself from being in the world by going to heaven to minister to them from there, the place of power at God’s right hand. The Father sanctified Him and sent Him into the world, 10:36, and now He makes the return journey, confident He has the right to go back to heaven.

Just as He was not made more holy in order to come down, so He is not making Himself more holy to return. He does not need to be purified, as Aaron did before he was made high priest, for He is “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens”, Hebrews 7:26.

That they also might be sanctified through the truth- what sanctified or separated the apostles from the rabbis and the other teachers in Israel was the truth given to them exclusively by the Lord Jesus. That truth was about the relationship between the Father and the Son, and all that flows from it. If He did not separate Himself by going back to heaven, the Holy Spirit would not come to empower them as they made known this truth in a world that was hostile to it. In this way they would “also” be sanctified, that is, as well as Him being sanctified.

There is no mention of the Holy Spirit in this prayer, but His coming is implied here. It was after He had returned to heaven that the Lord Jesus prayed the Father that He would give His people the Holy Spirit, John 14:16; 15:26.

(v) Fourth request, verses 20-23 “Thou, Father…that they all may be one”.
Reason, verses 21,23: “That the world may believe…know”.

The integration in a special oneness

17:20
Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

Neither pray I for these alone- up to this point He has concentrated on the apostles.

But for them also which shall believe on me through their word- the word is given to them, and they so make it their own, and are so empowered by it, that it becomes their word. Luke tells us that “Then they that gladly received his word, were baptised”, Acts 2:41. Peter had made the word his own.

17:21
That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.

That they all may be one- unity is vital if the world is going to believe. This unity is now defined for us. Because it is modelled on the oneness of the Persons of the Godhead, this unity is not organisational nor ecumenical.

As thou, Father, art in me- the Father is perfectly expressed in the Son, for “he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father”, 14:9. To know the Son is to know the Father, 14:7. This shows the oneness of the Father and the Son. The ways, works and words of the Son were all an expression of the Father, for God was manifested in the flesh in the person of Christ. The fact that He was a man in the body, far from being a hindrance, was an asset, for He, a Divine person, was able to express a Divine Person perfectly, but do it in a way that could be comprehended by those who were seeking the truth.

And I in thee- He is in Him in the sense that there is no point at which they diverge, whether it be in nature, character, will, or action. In 14:10 these two phrases are the other way round, perhaps because the disciples would have more difficulty with the idea that a man in the flesh was one with the Father. He does not communicate the truth regarding the Father as one who is merely a separate agent. He does so as one with the Father. The prophets of old time were agents God used to bring His truth to the people, but in the last days He has spoken by His Son, Hebrews 1:1,2.

That they also may be one in us- this does not mean, of course, that believers are one with Divine persons, but they are one with one another because of their relationship with Divine persons, who are themselves one in essence and aim. Eternal life is the life of God, and the believer has that eternal life in common with all other believers, and that forms a bond of unity. We are to abide in the Father and the Son, 1 John 2:24. Clearly, the oneness here is not organisational, but living, the unity of those who share eternal life with one another. No amount of amalgamation of denominations can produce this unity. The ecumenical movement is a tool of Satan to bring in a world “church” that will facilitate the emergence of the Antichrist.

That the world may believe that thou hast sent me- this is not guaranteed, but the potential is there. It is “may”, not “shall”. But on the other hand, the Lord does not exclude any as being beyond belief. When the people of the world see Divine life worked out in the lives of God’s people, then they will see the same thing in principle as when Christ was here. Just as we read “And many believed on Him”, so, ideally, many should believe through the testimony of Christians. Someone has said, “The world does not believe because it does not believe we believe the things we say we believe”.

17:22
And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

And the glory which thou gavest me- He is conscious that His request for glory in verse 5 will be answered, and He prays now on the basis that it is. He had sought the glory of the recognition of His association with God, even as a man, which glory had been withheld from Him by men during His ministry on earth.

I have given them- believers are to be associated with Divine persons, but only mediately through Him. Still it is His glory that they receive. He speaks in the past tense, for He is anticipating His departure to the Father, and the association of believers with Him there. The apostle Paul also spoke in the past tense when he said, “whom he justified, them he also glorified”, Romans 8:30. The glory is defined by the words, “conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren”, verse 29. The eternal state of glory of believers opens out before the apostle’s mind, and so certain is it that he can speak, inspired of the Holy Spirit, as if it is realised already. Believers will have the glory of association with one who, in His own right has association with the Father.

That they may be one, even as we are one- the way this will happen is told us in the next verse. Divine persons have the same will as one another; believers when conformed to the image of God’s Son will never deviate from the will of God.

17:23
I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

I in them- according to the words He had spoken earlier, in the upper room, it would be at Pentecost that He would come to them, for the Godhead is one, and the coming of the Spirit makes good to us in our hearts the presence of the Father and the Son.

And thou in me- the Spirit indwells us, the Son is in us by that Spirit, and the Father is in the Son, working out His purpose through Him. So all three persons of Godhead are active in believers, and this is the ground of unity.

That they may be made perfect in one- if Divine Persons form the unity, then it must be perfect. It is not a process, as if believers were perfected into one, but made perfect in one the moment the Spirit comes at conversion.

And that the world may know that thou hast sent me- the disciples had said, “we believe that thou camest forth from God”, 16:30. As they went forth and preached that, and its implications, then some would believe. These words, however, look on to beyond that, for it is not the world believing, as in verse 21, but the world knowing, irrespective as to whether any believe or not.

And hast loved them, as thou hast loved me- the Father’s love towards them is of the same sort as His love for His Son. This does not mean that it is to the same degree, for that would devalue the Father’s love for the Son. (The word meaning “precisely as” is not used here). As the world sees the believers living in the good of the love of their Father, they will realise that their faith is real. “By this shall all men know ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another”, John 13:35. Disciples are learners, so as those who are learning of Him, we are to live out what we learn.

(vi) Fifth request, verse 24
Father, I will…may be with Me”.
Reason, verse 24: “For Thou lovedst Me”.

The incentive of a shared affection

17:24
Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

Father, I will- confident that His prayer will be answered, and that His will and that of His Father is the same, He makes known that will. There is no element of independence in His person because He has become man. We may compare His statement here with the one in His Gethsemane prayer, where He said, “Not my will”. There it was to do with God’s will regarding His sufferings; here to do with God’s will regarding those whom He has been given. In other words, He is indicating His will for others.

That they also, whom thou hast given me- as well as the apostles who were given Him, verse 6, He now thinks of those who will believe through their word, verse 20. The apostles were given as those who already believed in God. The rest of believers are given to the Son when they come in faith initially. The word “given” is in the past tense because the Lord is projecting His mind to when the last believer is gathered in, and the moment of glory is come; He is thinking of them as having come to Him in the then-past.

Be with me where I am- is this spoken as if already back in heaven, or is it that we shall be with Him wherever He is? If He is in heaven, we shall be with Him, 14:3; if He is on earth, we shall be with Him there too, Colossians 3:4. We read, “These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth”, Revelation 14:4. That reference is not to church saints, but it illustrates a principle.

That they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me- He wills that the glory of association with the Godhead asked for in verse 5, may be seen by His people. He is confident that His request will be granted, and now He speaks as if it has happened, “thou hast given Me”. The apostles saw His glory as He lived on the earth, for we read “Jesus manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him”, John 2:11, but this is resurrection, ascended glory, the compensation for the sufferings He endured. When the apostle Paul was caught up to the third heaven, he “heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter”, 2 Corinthians 12:2,3. Even the telling of His glory was more than could be taken in, but in eternity believers will have glorified bodies, released from the restrictions of earth, and their minds will be able to take in and appreciate His glory. Remember that glory may be defined as “the display of excellence”.

For thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world- this is the solid ground of the request, an appeal the Father cannot refuse, even if He wished to, which He does not. “The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand”, John 3:35. He is conscious of having enjoyed the eternal love of His Father; He has not lost the sense of that by becoming man. So the solid basis of the believer’s state of blessedness will be the eternal love of the Father for His Son. And since love is what God is, then the position will be grounded on the very being of God.

(vii) Final statement, verses 25,26
O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee…I will declare it (name)”.

The indignation over a spurned revelation

17:25
O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.

O righteous Father- now we have the closing statement of the prayer, beginning with “O righteous Father”, for it has to do with the lack of response to the revelation the Son has given of the Father. The Son is righteously indignant that this is the case, hence the strength of feeling expressed in the “O”, and the title “righteous Father”.

The world hath not known thee- not so much that it does not know after He has been here, but, rather, it did not know God when He came. The verb is in the pluperfect, signifying that something was true further back than if the perfect tense had been used. The world has not got to know God after all the interventions He has made during the centuries. This is not an admission of failure, as if to say that even though He has been here the world is still unchanged. It is a tribute to His success that even though the world in general did not know God before He came, (“the darkness comprehended it not”, John 1:5), there are some who now know the Father.

But I have known thee- the ignorance of the world is contrasted with His perfect knowledge of the Father, which knowledge He has imparted to those who believed on Him.

And these have known that thou hast sent me- this sums up their belief, for if they believe He was sent of the Father, they must believe all that He taught them of the Father, being in full agreement with Him.

17:26
And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

And I have declared unto them thy name- not only did He hallow the name of His Father, but He expounded by His life and Person the things that are true of the Father, so that those who believe may have that knowledge too, in their measure. To know Him is to know the Father, 14:7.

And will declare it- this declaration of the Father is ongoing, for the cross will bring out fresh features about God. When Judas went out to finalise plans for the arrest, the Lord said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him”, 13:31. The betrayal by Judas would set in motion a train of events leading to Calvary and beyond. The process of further declaration began with the words to Mary Magdalene, “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God”, John 20:17. In this way the prophecy of Psalm 22:22 began to be fulfilled, for the Messiah promises, “I will declare thy name unto My brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee”. Instead of being surrounded by those who hate Him as they gather around the cross, He will be surrounded by those who love Him for all eternity.

That the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them- the hearts of the believers will be drawn to their Father in love as “the Son of the Father in truth and in love”, 2 John 3, teaches them. The love will not only be “in them” for their own enjoyment, but it will be “in them” to show to others. “And every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God”, 1 John 4:7.

And I in them- the more we know of God and His love, the more we shall realise that He is fully expressed in His Son. The more we realise this, the more we shall hold the Son in our hearts in love, and shall express Him to others. This implies the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, as John 14:16-21 explains.

JOHN 8

We have noticed the ways in which the narrative draws upon the matters relevant to the feast of tabernacles, and we now come to the counterpart of the pillar of cloud, given by God to guide the Israelites across the desert, and also to shelter them from the burning heat of the sun. John shows how the Lord Jesus sheltered a woman from unjust treatment, and also spoke of Himself as the one able to guide those who believe in Him.

(d)   A reminder of the pillar of cloud.

8:1
Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.

Jesus went unto the mount of Olives- the last verse of chapter seven tells us that “every man went to his own house”. The verses previous to that record a conversation between the chief priests and Pharisees in which it was clear that they did not recognise Him as being a prophet of God. It is no surprise then that they did not invite the Lord to their house for the night. As it was the end of the feast of tabernacles, perhaps the Lord preferred to be alone in His booth on the mount.

As He sat upon the Mount of Olives, situated as it is on the east side of the city, He was positioned on the mount to which He will return to set up His kingdom, the very time to which the feast of tabernacles looked. In fact the very chapter which says, “And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives”, also speaks of the nations coming to Jerusalem to “keep the feast of tabernacles”, See Zechariah 14:4,9,16.

8:2
And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.

And early in the morning he came again into the temple- the feast is over, and the ceremonial year has run its course. The lamps are extinguished, and the people prepare to return to their homes. They did this quite literally, because the feast of tabernacles was celebrated, not in one’s house, but in a temporary booth made of tree branches pitched either in a garden, or by the roadside.

Christ comes early to the temple to make Himself available to any who linger in the sacred precincts, perhaps meditating on the current condition of the nation, and wondering whether the land of promise will ever be their land truly. Looking over the temple courts is the Roman Fortress of Antonia, with its watchmen keeping an alert eye on the situation below; a grim reminder that the age of glory had not yet arrived. Who will lead the nation, Joshua-like, into the liberty and glory of the kingdom? And on what basis will that kingdom be governed? Roman law, as represented by the Fortress of Antonia, or Jewish law, as represented by the scribes and Pharisees who figure in the next narrative, or the law of Christ as Messiah? This is one of the matters addressed in this section. The Court of the Women is reached by coming through the east gate of the Temple, the place where the light of the rising sun first strikes. But the Lord will claim in verse 12 that He is the “Light of the World”.

And all the people came unto him- we know from verse 20 that He taught in the Treasury. Now the Pharisees considered it their right to be the only teachers in the Treasury, so this is a confrontation with them, and explains why they were involved in the attack upon the authority of Christ which follows. It was here that members of the Sanhedrin would be on feast days and on the sabbath, to answer questions. How annoyed they must have been that the crowds are gathering around Christ. They respond to this situation by trying, once again, to undermine His authority and popularity as a teacher.

And he sat down, and taught them- this was the usual posture. It was the practice to stand to read the Scriptures, and sit to teach them. We see this happen when the Lord went to the synagogue in Nazareth, Luke 4:16,20. The Lord Himself referred to Moses’ seat, meaning the chair on which those who taught the law of Moses would sit, Matthew 23:2.

8:3
And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,

And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery- these are the men the people looked to for the interpretation of the law, whether in principle or in practice. The scribes were the learned men who sought to carefully explain the law. The Pharisees were those who professed to be very diligent about the keeping of the law.

This is the only time John mentions the scribes. Interestingly, the passage contains the only reference to the Lord Jesus writing. The scribes were “the writers”, and they are set against another Writer in this passage.

The sin of adultery is very serious, for it is an act of rebellion against God, an act of treachery against one’s spouse, and undermines the basis of society. God as Creator and Moral Governor of the world instituted marriage as a relationship of love, care, and fellowship, in which men and women might show mutual respect and love, and raise children in a stable environment.

The law of Moses was the code of conduct for Israel, and constituted the terms upon which the Lord covenanted to continue with the nation, and be their God. Failure to keep this covenant had already resulted in them being carried away into captivity.

There was the additional factor in the Old Testament, that the Messiah was going to be born of the line of David, and it was vitally important that that line should be preserved and known. Hence there were severe penalties imposed on immorality, lest a child should be born whose exact genealogy was not known. So it was that Joseph, the espoused husband of Mary, could be addressed as “son of David” by the angel that visited him, Matthew 1:20, for his genealogy in that chapter shows him to be of David’s line, and the angel, by addressing him in the way he did, authenticates the genealogy as Matthew gives it. Mary also knew that she was descended from David, for we have her genealogy in Luke 3:23-38.

And when they had set her in the midst- they are using every means whereby they might embarrass the Lord, and put Him into a difficult position, and thus undermine His authority, and His popularity with the crowds. One of the things that impressed the people was that “He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes”, Matthew 7:29. By putting the woman in the midst they interrupt His teaching, and make their question unavoidable.

8:4
They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.

They say unto him, Master- they cannot deny that He was an accomplished teacher, (this is the idea with the word “Master”), even though He had not learnt in their schools. He was recognised as being competent enough to be asked to teach in the synagogue, and when He did this, “they were astonished at his doctrine, for his word was with power”, Luke 4:31,32. There is a touch of sarcasm here, however, in their description of Him as Master, for they are trying to destroy His role as a teacher.

This woman was taken in adultery- the feast of tabernacles brought many pilgrims to Jerusalem, and the celebration involved living and sleeping in temporary shelters, to symbolise the journey of the children of Israel through the wilderness. The fact that the shelters, or booths, were made of branches from trees growing in the land of Israel, highlighted the fact that their wilderness journey was over. In these circumstances there were a great many temptations, and it may be that this woman had fallen in this way. It may be, of course, that she had not sinned at all, but the Lord’s words to her, “go, and sin no more”, verse 11, would suggest otherwise.

In the very act- now this statement is crucial, for if it is true, then they must know who the man is with whom the adultery was committed. They are going to refer to the law of Moses, but that law stated very clearly that both the man and the woman involved in this sin were to be put to death. But they have not arrested the man. Nor have they brought him to the temple. They thereby show disregard for the law they are claiming to uphold. This is the first reason why the Lord Jesus does not condemn the woman. A court of law would wish to establish the facts of the case, and cross-examine the accused, as well as any witnesses. The Jews were very cautious and scrupulous in a “trial for life”, that is, one in which the charge carried a death penalty.

At His own trial, He refused to answer at certain points, for the law was being broken by their actions and accusations, and He would not condone the illegality of the proceedings. And this is the case here. To go along with their suggestions would be to sanction unrighteousness, and to Him, “Jesus Christ the Righteous” as John calls Him, 1 John 2:1, that is unthinkable, even if it gives the wrong impression. Truth is more important than reputation.

8:5
Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?

Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned- one of the features of the feast of tabernacles was the reading, once every seven years, of the whole of the Books of Moses, Deuteronomy 31:10-11. In fact, one of the names the Jews gave to the feast was “the feast of the joy of the law”.

There had been a discussion the previous day about the Law of Moses, as recorded in 7:14-36, and the Lord had accused them of not keeping the law, verse 19. The scribes and Pharisees had no doubt felt the force of that charge, and were now seeking to show that He was wrong, hence they appeal to Moses in the Law.

The sense of the word “such” is “such women”, so they are concentrating wholly on her, whereas Moses in the law said, “And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.” Leviticus 20:10. And the book of Deuteronomy is just as clear, “If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel.” Deuteronomy 22:22. It is noticeable in both statements that the emphasis is put upon the man, even though both he and the woman were guilty, whereas the Pharisees were emphasising the woman. They also conveniently ignore the fact that it was not lawful for them to put anyone to death, (except a person who went beyond the middle wall of partition in the temple), for the power to stone to death had been taken away from them by the Romans. They acknowledged this to Pilate a few months later, John 18:31.

But what sayest thou? By the word “but” they acknowledge that His teaching had a different character to simply expounding the law. And indeed that was the case, “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” John 1:17. In the synagogue at Nazareth “they marvelled at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth”, Luke 4:22. It is also said, “For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes”, Matthew 7:29. They are trying to manipulate this difference to suggest He was teaching contrary to the law. This may explain the presence of the scribes in this incident, for the people can see the difference between Christ’s word and theirs, and their authority is being undermined.

8:6
This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though Hhe heard them not.

This they said, tempting him- this is the only place where the word “tempt” occurs in John’s Gospel. John does not record the temptation of the Lord by the Devil in the wilderness, but he does record this temptation during the feast which recalled Israel’s wilderness experience. They had been tempted there more than once in the matter of immorality, as Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 10:7,8.

That they might have to accuse him- if He says the woman should not be stoned, then they will take Him before the Jewish court as a false prophet. If He says she should be stoned, then they will take Him before the Gentile court, and say that He is a rebel against Rome, for the Romans had withdrawn the right of Israel to execute the death penalty. To call for stoning was to go against the law of Rome.

But if He refuses to answer, this may look to the crowd as if He has been out-witted, and His authority will be destroyed, for He had been unsparing in His criticisms both of the scribes and the Pharisees, Matthew 5:20; 12:38,39.

But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not- we know from verse 2 that He was sitting down to teach, and He is not said to rise. The fact that He said nothing, and that we are not told what He wrote, leads us to see in His actions truth symbolised rather than spoken.

Consider the following things:

1. The Lord required the people to read the whole law every seven years, during the feast of tabernacles, and therefore it is no surprise to find references to the law in chapter 7. “Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law?” verse 19. “If a man on the circumcision receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken”, verse 23. “But this people that knoweth not the law are cursed.” verse 49, (the words of the chief priests and Pharisees, not Christ). And in verse 5 of this chapter the scribes and Pharisees speak of “Moses in the law”. And the whole incident has to do with the relationship between law and grace, with the scribes representing law, and Christ representing grace. It is highly significant therefore that, whilst still sitting in the attitude of a teacher, the Lord should be said to write with His finger. But this is what God had done in connection with the law, for we read that the tables of stone had the ten commandments written on them, not by Moses, but by the finger of God, Exodus 31:18. Furthermore, Moses said in his blessing, “From his right hand went a fiery law for them”, Deuteronomy 33:2. They surely cannot fail to note the significance of this silent action.

2. It is said that a person sitting down and stooping forward is able to write about sixteen Hebrew letters on the ground. The Lord wrote twice on the ground. Could it be that He wrote, “and that will by no means clear the guilty”, the first time, and then, “forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin”, the second time? The first expression has ten letters, and the second, fifteen. They are the words of God to Moses, when He showed him His glory, Exodus 34:5-7. Significantly, they are spoken in the interval between the breaking of the first tables of stone, (because the people had broken the law), and the writing of the second. Significantly, also, that in that interval the words “grace” and “gracious” are mentioned seven times. The Lord is indicating to Moses that when the law is broken, God glorifies Himself by acting in grace. So it is in John 8. As far as sin is concerned, He is prepared to act in grace. But that does not mean the guilty will be cleared, but that He will provide a substitute for the guilty. This corresponds to the words of Christ to the woman in verse 11, and will result in Him showing His glory, as God did to Moses.

3. The writing was on the ground, in the dust of the temple courts. As soon as the incident is over and the bustle of the pilgrims in the temple courts resumes, the writing will be trampled underfoot. This was how the people were treating the writing of God in the law, and alas, the writing of God in grace in the gospel. When Moses broke the tables of the law, he ground it to powder, Exodus 32:20, and put it upon water, and made the children of Israel drink it, which is a very similar thing to what happened at the trial of jealousy, as we shall see in point 5. God had declared in the law that He was a jealous God, jealous for the affection of His people, but they were unfaithful.

4. Jeremiah wrote, “O Lord, the Hope of Israel, All that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the fountain of living waters.” Jeremiah 17:13. Note the reference to God being the fountain of living waters, for this is what the Lord claimed to be the previous day, when He cried, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink”, 7:37. And then He went on to speak of living water, verse 38. The warning in Jeremiah was that those who forsake the fountain of living waters will be written in the earth, or dust. Could the scribes avoid seeing the connection? And were they not being warned of their downfall if they persisted in their unbelief? When Moses volunteered to die for the nation after they had made the golden calf, he spoke in terms of being blotted “out of thy book that thou hast written”. God replied, “Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book”, Deuteronomy 32:32,33. David referred to this book also in Psalm 139:16 when he referred to himself before he was born, “And in thy book all my members were written”. So God records all who are conceived amongst men, and who, because of sin, if they do not obtain life from Him, will die, and thus their names will be erased from that book, as not being upon the earth any more.

So it may be that the Lord wrote the names of those who were accusing the woman, beginning with the eldest. When they persisted in asking Him for His verdict, He continued until He had listed them all. The fact that He knew their individual ages would convince them of His God-given authority. They knew that soon those names would be obliterated by the feet of the pilgrims, the sure sign that their names were not written in God’s heavenly book of life, but only in the dust of earth.

8:7
So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

So when they continued asking him- instead of drawing conclusions from what He was doing, however, they merely kept questioning Him, pestering for an answer, because they thought they had trapped Him. Or did they continue like this to cover up their embarrassment if they did see the significance of His actions?

He lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her- raising Himself from His stooping position, He looks the accusers in the eye, and challenges them to do what the Law required them to do if due process had been followed, and the woman was indeed guilty. The honour of their God demanded it, since He does not “clear the guilty”. They know very well that they cannot prosecute the woman without prosecuting the man, and since they arrested this woman in the act of adultery, they could, and should, have arrested him as well.

“Without sin” in this context would not mean without sin absolutely, for if that was the requirement, then the penalty of the law could never be exacted, (for all have sinned), and no stoning could ever take place even though God required it is some circumstances. The sense is, “He that is without the sin of not complying with the relevant procedures the law requires in this situation”. This is the reason for the “among you”, for He was confident that He Himself was not guilty of judging unrighteously and without due process.

8:8
And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.

And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground- if the first writing was to enforce the law and judge the guilty, and was for the benefit of the Pharisees, then the second writing, if it was indeed from Exodus 34:6 emphasised that God was merciful and gracious, and would be for the benefit of the accused woman. It is as if grace has two tables of writing also, for it is the revelation of the God who is light, “sin no more”, (corresponding to “by no means clear the guilty”), and love, “neither do I condemn thee”, (corresponding to “merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in goodness and truth”, Exodus 34:7). Grace does not condone sin, but it superior to law in that it does what the law could not do, namely, give the power to sin no more, see Romans 8:1-4. Notice that the Lord stoops down to write, not to pick up a stone to throw at the woman.

8:9
And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last- so every one of them felt the full force of the law, as their hypocrisy was exposed. Those who were most versed in the law, the eldest, would realise that He had uncovered their faulty application of the law, irrespective of whether the woman was guilty or not. And those who were youngest, and went out last, would be the ones most likely to be committing the sin of which they accused the woman. A witness who threw the first stone would condemn himself if he was guilty of the same sin.

And Jesus was left alone- we have already noted the words of Deuteronomy 19:20, “And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you.” In other words, those which remain after the false witness has been stoned should take note. But there are none that remain in this situation, and by leaving they all condemn themselves as either false witnesses or false prosecutors. The only one left is the Judge of all the earth. What will He say to the woman?

And the woman standing in the midst- it is a true law-court scene now, with the Divine Judge sitting, and the accused standing before Him alone, with nowhere to hide. The scribes and Pharisees had set her in the midst of their unrighteous “court”, and she still stands there, but now in the midst of His “court”. She does not try to escape, even though her accusers have left the scene.

8:10
When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?

When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman- by this is meant that He only saw the woman in the context of the accusations made against her. Man’s court had disbanded. There were no doubt many crowding around in the temple courts to see the outcome of the incident.

He said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? He speaks of the beginning and the end of the judgement process, the accusation and the condemnation. They had made the accusation, but why were they not condemning her if their charge was right? They had seemed so confident they would win the case, yet now they had abandoned it.

8:11
She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

She said, No man, Lord- notice her respect for Him. She could have simply called Him “Sir”, but goes further in her acknowledgement of Him.

And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee- this is His verdict on the situation, and has been much misunderstood. Superficially looked at, it seems as if He is condoning her sin, and failing to impose the full weight of the law. He had consistently condemned adultery in His ministry, and we may be sure He has not changed now.

The fact is that He had not come to judge men but to save them, and to do so on a righteous basis. Nor has He the right to set up His own system of justice until He comes to reign, for as He said when a man wanted Him to decide a case against his brother, “Man, who made me a judge and a divider over you?” Luke 12:14.

Nor does He condemn this woman, for those who professed to have witnessed what she had done had abandoned their testimony. The case cannot proceed if there are no witnesses. In this way He upheld the righteousness of the law which demanded that true witnesses should support the accusation made.

In a day to come, when Christ reigns in righteousness, the prophet foretold that “He shall not judge after the sight of his eyes”, Isaiah 11:3, meaning He will not need objects presented as evidence. “Neither reprove after the hearing of his ears”, meaning He will not need to call witnesses to give evidence. “But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity the meek of the earth”, Isaiah 11:4.

Go, and sin no more- how significant this is, for as He, the Righteous Judge, dismisses her from the courtroom, He shows that He all along knew the facts of the case, that she was indeed guilty. For when He rules and exercises judgement, there will be no need of witnesses, for He shall fully know the facts of each case, and He gives a foretaste of that here, but without disturbing the Jewish legal system as He did so.

He shows her grace in accordance with the words, “The Lord…merciful and gracious”, but He also manifests that aspect of the name of God which tells He “will not clear the guilty”, Exodus 34:6,7. Grace and truth are perfectly balanced in Him. But this grace to her does not mean she may continue in the sin of adultery, for righteousness forbids it.

So how can He let her go, even allowing for the failure of her accusers? If He knows she has sinned, how can He let her walk free? It is because of another aspect of the character and glory of God revealed to Moses. He was told that God was able to forgive iniquity and transgression and sin, Exodus 34:7. But the word for “forgive” is the same as “carry away”, as used of the scapegoat when it bore away the sins of Israel. And this woman is in the presence of one who in a few months time will take away the sin of the world, John 1:29. When she comes by faith to know Him in that capacity she will be given power to not commit adultery any more. The women of Luke 7:50 amd 8:48 were told to go in peace because they were already believers when they came to Him.  This woman has been brought as a guilty sinner before Him, which would be why the Lord says “Go”, and not “Go in peace”, for the peace that comes through the forgiveness of sins has not become hers yet. Only when she believes will she know this, and the benefit of His sin-bearing at Calvary will be credited to her.  

(e)   A reminder of the pillar of fire.

8:12
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Then spake Jesus again unto them- He had spoken in verse 2, and now He teaches them again.  This strongly implies that there is something in between that warrants the “then”, and “again”.  That “something” is the account of the woman taken in adultery, a passage some say should not be here.  This is yet another reason why they are wrong.

Saying, I am the light of the world- during the feast the Jews traditionally erected two immense lampstands in the temple courts, and their light blazed out over the city during the days of the feast. Thus was commemorated the way God had led His people by means of the pillar of fire as they travelled through the unknown desert.

The lights that have lit up the city have been extinguished, however, for the feast is finished, and the people are preparing to go home. They know the way to their own home, but do they know the way to heaven? The sun is newly risen, yet this light cannot provide guidance for the spiritual journey.

He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness- just as Israel journeyed in the light of the pillar of fire, even though it was night all around, so this is a pathway trodden by those who follow Him, and who therefore believe in Him. Many followed the pillar of fire who were not believers, but this source of guidance is different.

Only one who has the same character as the pillar of fire that lit up the camp of Israel in the wilderness can be sufficient to light any in the world. There is no other light apart from Him, for He is “the true light, that lighteth every man that cometh into the world”, John 1:9. Anyone who has ever lived, (that is, that has come into the world), and has a degree of enlightenment, has only had that light from Christ. It was either light indirectly through creation, and the commandments, or through the prophets up until John the Baptist, or directly, when Christ came.

The pillar of fire had indeed led them to the land of promise, but long after they had arrived David had spoken of true rest in the land as being still future, for Joshua had not given it to them, see Hebrews 4:8. This must have given many cause for thought as they sat in their booths at the time of the feast of tabernacles.

The lampstands were large in size, but this claim is larger still. It begins with the words “I am”, telling of His timelessness. We are not told what happened to the pillar of fire after the temple had replaced the tabernacle, so it is clearly not necessary for us to know. This light, however, has a timeless and unchangeable character, and will never be recalled or replaced. Even in eternity, the light of the city of God shall be the Lamb, Revelation 21:23. At the present time, He may be relied upon to light the pathway until our pilgrimage is over.

He is the light of the world, not just of a small nation as it travelled through the desert. This is in line with John’s approach in his gospel, for he is interested in the world as a whole, and he related the person of Christ to all men. He comes into the world to light all men, John 1:9; He is the lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world, 1:29; He is the evidence that God loves the world, 3:16; He came that the world through Him might be saved, 3:17; He is hailed as the Saviour of the world, 4:42; He is the bread that gives life to the world, 6:51; and here He is the light of the world.

But shall have the light of life- if men walk in the light at all, it is because they believe in Him, and therefore have everlasting life. His light shines on the pathway of those who believe on Him, even though men all around are in the darkness of unbelief.

Six out of the seven “I am” statements of Christ in John’s gospel are followed by a statement showing the need for faith. (The exception is found in John 10:11). The light He gives is reserved for believers only, emphasising that the light is spiritual in character, not discernible by the men of the world, for “the darkness comprehended it not”, John 1:5.

Special note on relativism
We live in a pluralistic world, where men have diverse views about spiritual matters. This situation prevails because the world is largely dominated by relativism, with all views about spiritual matters thought of as equally valid, and unchallengeable. This is not what our verse is saying, nor for that matter, what any other verse of scripture is saying. The God of heaven is the source of all absolutes; nothing is relative with Him. Abandon God, and all absolute standards are abandoned also, and there is nothing left to cling to but one’s own ideas, and those of fellow-men. All certainty is gone, and perplexity rules. But not for those who follow Christ, for He floods the scene with the light of His person, and that light is the light of God.

8:13
The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true.

The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true- in a Jewish court of law, statements that are made must be supported by the testimony of others. The accused person’s own testimony was not allowed, unless supported by others. This is why the Pharisees dispute His right to testify about Himself. The testimony of Christ, if it were unsupported by others, would not be valid in a court of law. It would not be true or in line with the principles of justice. Notice that the Pharisees have reappeared after their experience in connection with the woman taken in adultery.

8:14
Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.

Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true- as He had explained in 5:30, His will was the same as the Father’s, (for He had come to do the Father’s will alone). They would readily admit that the judgement of their God was right, for Abraham had said so, Genesis 18:25, so if He is equal with God, His judgement is right, too.

In 5:31 He had said “If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. The sense of this is “If I bear witness of Myself without any support from anyone or anything else, My witness is not allowable as evidence in My case”. Jewish law would not allow a man to testify for himself, unless there was at least one other to support him. That the Son has another, is seen in the next verse, for He says, “There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true”.

For I know whence I came, and whither I go- as a man upon earth, He was deeply conscious of the fact that He had come forth from the Father. Similarly, He was also deeply conscious that He would be going back to His Father with honour. Such knowledge gives Him the right to testify of Himself, for it is not knowledge that an ordinary man could have; He must be more than man. If that is the case, He has every right to bear witness to Himself, just as the Godhead bears witness to Itself.

But ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go- because they had not this knowledge they were not competent to witness against Him. Moreover, that knowledge was beyond them, (“ye cannot tell”), being mere mortals. The only way they could know He came from heaven and went back there, was to accept His Divine testimony on the matter. This they refused to do, despite the evidence He gave.

8:15
Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man.

Ye judge after the flesh- the reason for their inability to understand these things is now highlighted. They were not born again, and were mere men in the flesh, despite their zeal for religion. Those who do not have eternal life are classed as “flesh” in 17:2, whether they be Jews or Gentiles.

I judge no man- He, on the other hand, had not come to judge but to save. “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” John 3:17. This truth is illustrated in this very chapter, where the Lord says to the woman, “Neither do I condemn thee”. He did not condemn the woman, for if He had done so, and she had been stoned to death, she could not have exercised faith in Him afterwards. He did condemn her sin, however, with the words “Go, and sin no more”. Clearly, He was expecting her to repent. The Pharisees would have stoned her to death, leaving her no opportunity to believe Him.

8:16
And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.

And yet if I judge, my judgment is true- leaving aside the fact that He had not come to judge in order to condemn, nevertheless at any time when He does judge to give an assessment of the situation, we may rest assured that His judgement is true. The difference between these two aspects, namely judging to condemn or judging to assess is found also in John 3:17 and 19, “God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world…this is the condemnation”. Christ did not come to pronounce sentence, but to give opportunity to men to avoid a sentence of condemnation. They can do this by coming to terms with the assessment He makes of their sinful condition, and as a result repenting toward God, and believing in Him. For as He said elsewhere, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” John 5:24.

For I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me- His judgement is always true because He is in perfect harmony with the Father who sent Him, and the Father would not judge in an untrue way. He is not alone as if the Father is not bearing witness to Him. We may understand the phrases as “I do not stand alone in the witness box, but My Father, the ‘judge of all the earth who does right’, Genesis 18:25, who sent Me on My mission, is with Me in My witness”. As the next verse indicates, a witness on his own is not acceptable in a court of law, but He is not alone in His witness. A similar expression is found in verse 29, in a slightly different context, and with a slightly different meaning.

8:17
It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.

It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true- note that He describes the law as their law; in other words, it is the one they claimed to love, and be keeping and enforcing. The law said, “One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.” Deuteronomy 19:15.

8:18
I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.

I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me- notice the logic of this argument. If they were prepared to accept the united testimony of two mortal, fallible men, why should they refuse the united testimony of two of the members of the Godhead? The only reason is because of unbelief, which is about to be addressed. John wrote, “If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.” 1 John 5:9.

8:19
Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.

Then said they unto him, Where is thy father? Notice they do not ask “Who is Thy Father”, but “Where?”. He has claimed to have the Father as His witness, but they cannot see Him, and He cannot be brought to a court of law to be cross-examined as to His truthfulness. They are thinking on a purely natural level. They are not interested in knowing Him as a person. They are laying a trap, hoping that He will give a further discourse like the one in John 5 about His Deity, so that will have a fresh reason to bring Him before the authorities.

Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father- they have heard the truth throughout His ministry, and have not believed it. If they had believed His teaching they would have got to know the Father. Not knowing Him means not knowing the Father; the one follows from the other. Just as He refused to perform yet another miracle, a sign from heaven, after three years of signs, Matthew 12:39, so here He refuses to satisfy the curiosity of unbelief by giving them yet another discourse.

If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also- the two witnesses He had spoken of had made their presence felt for three years, but they had refused to believe. The Lord has nothing more to say to such people. He would declare later on to His own, “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father”, John 14:9. To know the Son is to know the Father, for He has declared Him, John 1:8.

8:20
These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come.

These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as He taught in the temple- this place is significant for three reasons. First, it was the very place where the lampstands had been set up. Second, it was next to the room where the Sanhedrin, the council of the Jews, met to decide policy. And third, it was an area of the temple courts that the scribes reserved for themselves in which to teach.

So His assertion that He was the light of the world was said in the very place where the lamps were. He taught in the very place where the scribes taught, so that the contrast between the teaching might be very apparent. And He was insistent that far from being bound by their decisions about Him, His hour was not yet come. They could do nothing without Divine permission.

And no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come- when His hour had come, then they would be allowed to lay hands on Him and crucify Him, but only because it was God’s determinate counsel to allow it to happen, Acts 2:23. There was the consideration also, that Daniel’s prophecy regarding the cutting off of the Messiah was to happen according to God’s timetable, not man’s, Daniel 9:26. The authorities were very sensitive to the fact that the people followed Him, and they realised they needed to pick the moment of His arrest very carefully. In the event, they arrested Him on a feast day, (a thing they were resolved not to do because they feared an uproar amongst the people, Matthew 26:5), showing that they were not in control of the situation, but God.

8:21
Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.

Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way- next door to the place where they thought they were deciding which way He would go, He states He is going His way, which was God’s way. This gives great confidence to those who follow Him, for they know that He only treads a pathway pleasing to His Father. Just as much confidence, in fact, as Israel had when they followed the pillar of fire in the darkness.

And ye shall seek me- they would not seek Him so as to be saved, for all who seek in that way will surely find, it is God’s promise, Jeremiah 29:13,14. These will seek Him out to arrest Him. As He said in Gethsemane, when they came to arrest Him, “Whom seekest thou?” John 18:4.

And shall die in your sins- because they did not seek salvation, and because they would show their wicked unbelief by seeking Him out so as to arrest, try, and crucify Him, then it was certain that, as unbelievers, they would die in their sins. They would die as sinners as a direct result of their own sins; their sins would give character to their state when they died. It is the opposite of dying “in faith”, or “in the Lord”.

They would themselves say, “His blood be on us, and on our children”, asserting that they were prepared to accept full responsibility for His death, and teach their children to think the same. Sadly, they and their children perished at the siege of Jerusalem. They would be like Korah, and know the swift judgement of God, for he went down alive into the pit, Numbers 16:31,32. Yet we see the grace of God in evidence even in the days of the law, for on that occasion the scripture says, “Nevertheless the children of Korah died not”, Numbers 26:11. Those of Christ’s day would associate their children with their sin, whereas God saw to it that Korah’s children were spared, for He wanted them to praise Him in the temple, as is seen in the fact that there are eleven psalms with “For the sons of Korah” in the title.

The Egyptians died in the very act of pursuing Israel, for “the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud”, Exodus 14:24, and “the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea”, verse 27.

Whither I go, ye cannot come- those who act thus can never get into heaven whilst they remain rebellious, and hence never enter into the good of what He says to His own, “Where I am, there ye may be also”, John 14:3.

8:22
Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come.

Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come- the Jews believed that those who committed suicide went to the lowest part of hell. Since, as circumcised Jews, they believed they were fit to be in Abraham’s bosom, the place of blessedness, and then be raised to enter the kingdom, they would not be where Jesus was after death if he killed Himself. Notice how confident they are in their belief that their destiny was sure; they cannot go to where the lost go, so they believe. That they were wrong is now told them in no uncertain terms, for they are in grave danger.

8:23
And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.

And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath- they thought He was going “beneath”, as a suicide; they now learn that they are from beneath. In other words, that which characterises those who are in a place of torment in hell, even unbelief, characterises them too. They share the infidelity of those who are lost.

I am from above- on the other hand, that which characterises the presence of God, even holiness and righteousness, characterises Him.

Ye are of this world- they were of this world, even though they prided themselves in being of Israel, the favoured nation. They were sure they were different, “The People” amongst “the peoples”, “The Nation” amongst “the nations”, yet separate from them and superior to them. They now have to learn the hard and unpalatable truth, that as Solomon their wisest king had said, “As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man”, Proverbs 27:19. In other words, like a reflection of a face in the water, the heart of one man is the reflection of the heart of another. As the apostle Paul put it, “For there is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”, Romans 3:22,23. This is why the gospel needs to come to the Jew as much as to the Greek, Romans 1:16.

I am not of this world- He was not the product of this world-system, ruled over, as it is, by Satan himself. He was separate entirely from its thinking, attitudes, ways and words. He had come to bring heaven within reach of men, and to lift them up to heaven. Those who believe in Him do not go beneath, but above, to His Father’s presence in heaven. He holds the keys of hell and death, so has total control, and locks hell so that His people cannot go there under any circumstances.

8:24
I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

I said therefore unto you that ye shall die in your sins– His statement that they would die in their sins is now seen to be justified, given their origin, character, and destiny.

He has made several very bold claims in the conversation in the temple courts, hence His statement, “I said therefore unto you”.

(a) He claimed to be the light of the world, verse 12, and as such competent to enlighten anyone, whilst He Himself did not need to be enlightened. (The pillar of fire did not burn because it was supplied from elsewhere). This statement on the lips of any other would be preposterous.

(b) He was conscious of having been in heaven before He was born, verse 14.

(c) He was also conscious of His mission, and that He would return from whence He came, verse 14.

(d) He claimed to be fully in harmony with God the Father, even to the extent of being able to judge men, something only God can do, verse 16.

(e) He claimed the full approval of the Father in that He had witnessed to His delight in Him, verse 18.

For if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins- taking all these statements together, and remembering His earlier teaching about Himself, there is no doubt that by using the phrase “I am he”, that He is making a claim to Deity. It is not so much that “I am” is a claim to Deity, as in verse 58 it will be, but that He is claiming that His consistent testimony, throughout His whole ministry was that He is equal with God. The passage is about testimony, and who is able to give it. By refusing to believe His testimony regarding His Deity, they were condemning themselves to die unforgiven, and would take their sins with them to the Great White Throne judgement.

8:25
Then said they unto him, Who art thou? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning.

Then said they unto him, Who art thou? They perhaps begin to worry as He speaks like this, (perhaps “die in your sins” three times over has done its work in their conscience), and anxiously ask who He is. They also may also be trying to trap Him into a direct claim to be the Son of God, so that their plans to arrest Him can be furthered.

And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning- it is too late in His ministry to offer them fresh revelation as to Himself. They have had three years of abundant proof that He is the Son of God, so what more can He offer? As God said about Israel regarding the vineyard He had so carefully tended, “What could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it?” Isaiah 5:4. And the parable of the fig tree in the vineyard is of similar import, for the vineyard owner said, “Behold these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none”, Luke 13:7.

By pointing them to what He said from the beginning, He is no doubt referring them to the first public discourse He made in John’s gospel, which was on the subject of His Deity, and was given in Jerusalem. He had on that occasion made belief in His word, (that is, the word or theme of His Deity), the test. To believe this is to pass from death to life, to not believe is to be condemned.

There is more to this than simple statements of doctrine, however, for He is what He said, and that from the beginning until the moment He spoke to them. He was the full expression of everything He taught; there was never a discrepancy between word and practice. He is the Word, John 1:1. Luke writes of those things that “Jesus began both to do and teach”, Acts 1:1, so His doing was matched by His teaching. They should have believed when He told them of His Deity at the beginning, but now that He has lived and taught amongst them they are totally without excuse, and should not, at this late stage, be asking who He is. He is altogether and exactly what He has consistently said He is. After all, He is “Jesus Christ the Same”, Hebrews 13:8.

8:26
I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him.

I have many things to say and to judge of you- these are ominous words, telling as they do of His ability to say what their hearts are like, and judge them for their unbelief. He has had all judgement committed unto Him by the Father, and one day He will make known that judgement, 5:22.

But he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him- just as in the day of judgement He will judge as He hears from the Father, John 5:30, so now He speaks the words that are in line with His Father’s will. And because His Father’s judgement is right, as Abraham acknowledged, Genesis 18:25, so His must be too, for they communicate on the matter.

Note that His jurisdiction extends to the whole world, and that He makes no distinction between the judgement of the Jew and that of the Gentile, and certainly no concession to the former. God judges without respect of persons, as the apostle Paul emphasised in Romans 2:5-11.

8:27
They understood not that he spake to them of the Father.

They understood not that he spake to them of the Father- it is no surprise to learn that they did not know of whom He spake, for to know Him is to know the Father, and to not know Him is to not know the Father, for as He would say later on, “if ye had known me, ye should have known my father also”, 14:7.

8:28
Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.

Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he- there are four aspects to this. First, at Calvary, when Christ died, evidence was given as to the interest of heaven in what was happening on the central cross. The rocks were rent, the veil was rent, the graves were opened, the sun was darkened supernaturally, a great darkness came over the earth. No wonder the centurion at the crucifixion exclaimed, “Truly this was the Son of God”, for things were happening that were beyond the power of man to accomplish, Matthew 27:54.

Second, Christ rose from the dead without the stone over the entrance to His grave being moved, without the seal being broken, and without the guards knowing anything of it. See Matthew 27:51-53; 28:2-4.

Third, after this, abundant testimony was given in Israel, and beyond in the wider world where Jews were living, that Christ was indeed alive, and this was clear proof that His claim to Deity was genuine. If He had been an imposter, God would have left Him in the grave.

Fourth, as if the foregoing were not enough, the fiercest opponent of Christ’s claims, Saul of Tarsus, was converted when He appeared to him from heaven. And immediately Saul went into the synagogue at Damascus and preached that Jesus is the Son of God, Acts 9:20. All those listed by the apostle Paul as witnesses to the resurrection were radically changed by seeing Him alive. See 1 Corinthians 15:5-10.

So the Lord is indicating here that, in grace, a further opportunity will be given to the nation of Israel to believe on Him, and get to know that He is the “I am”. The owner of the fig tree was persuaded to spare it for a little while longer, Luke 13:8,9. So if the three years in the parable represented the ministry of Christ, then the further year was the period post-Pentecost when the gospel was preached “to the Jew first”.

But there is also a warning here, for it is “know”, not necessarily believe. It was the same in John 5:28, “marvel”, but not necessarily believe. As Paul quoted to the men of Antioch, “Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish”, Acts 13:41. The question is whether they will respond in faith to the evidence presented to them. And this is the question all of us must face. To only “wonder”, or “marvel”, and not believe, is to perish.

And that I do nothing of myself- note that Christ is not claiming Deity in competition with the Father. He does nothing of Himself, but acts fully in line with the will of the Father, for Divine Persons cannot act independently of one another, or else God would not be “one Lord”, Mark 12:29.

But as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things- He had many things to say to them if they were prepared to respond to His doctrine. He had many things by which to judge them if they refused His doctrine. He knew how to apply the word because He speaks as His Father has taught Him. It is not “what my Father hath taught me”, but “as my Father hath taught me”. In other words, it is not the content that is taught Him, as if He needed to learn in that sense, but the timing and context of the speaking was done in full communion with the Father. So whether the speaking was for blessing or for condemnation, it was done in harmony with the Father, as He will emphasise in the next verse. This is a warning to them, for if they reject His words, and their implications, they are rejecting the words of the God of Israel, whose law they claim to obey.

He speaks in this verse of His person, “I am He”, His works, “do nothing of myself”, and His words, “As my Father hath taught me, I speak these things”.

8:29
And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.

And he that sent me is with me- their opposition to Him, and His apparent isolation, was not as a result of the Father deserting Him because He taught error. On the contrary, the Father was with Him in every sense of the words. This could not be said if He was leading the people astray. He will not only be vindicated after the Cross, but was already vindicated, if they only realised it.
The Father hath not left me alone- this makes it very clear that when He said “He that sent me”, He meant His Father. Not only is the Father with Him in the sense that they commune as those who are in perfect harmony, but the Father is always willing to associate with the Son as He passes on to men what has been the subject of His communion with the Father. It therefore has heaven’s approval, and should be believed.

For I do always those things that please him- everything that the Son did as He taught the people was well-pleasing to His Father. It did not please the Pharisees, but they were not competent judges in the matter. God had signalled that He was well pleased with His Son at His baptism, after His obscurity in Nazareth. His testimony at the end of His public ministry was the same- well pleased. See Matthew 3:17, 17:5. The only difference is that on the second occasion He had added, “hear him”, as if when He began His public ministry the Father fully expected them to hear Him, but in large part they had not listened to Him during His ministry, so needed to be exhorted to do so on the second occasion of a word from heaven. It was not too late to hear Him and believe in Him.

Note the character of the testimony of Christ as seen in these verses:

Verse 24
Vital testimony

Disbelief results in persons dying in their sins.

Verse 25
Consistent testimony

It was the same at the end as at the beginning.

Verse 26
Gracious testimony

He had not come to condemn.

Verse 27
Dependant testimony

He would only speak words that were from His Father.

Verse 28
Vindicated testimony

His lifting up on the cross is the first stage of the road back to the Father for Him.

Verse 29
United testimony

He speaks as one who is in complete fellowship and harmony with the Father.

The godly Israelite, as he sat in his booth during the feast of tabernacles, would not only look back, and trace God’s faithful dealings with His nation over the years, but would also look forward. After all, the very booth he sat under had been made of the trees growing in the land of Israel. There was no command from God to use the trees of the desert, like the shittim tree. But there was a problem, for the land they called their own was dominated by a foreign power, and this must have given pause for thought to many of them. Did the fault lay with them? Was there something they were not aware of, which disqualified them from full enjoyment of the land? Thoughts such as these may very well have brought some of them to their senses, and made them more responsive to the words of Jesus of Nazareth, as He spake with authority in the courts of the temple. So it is that our next verse tells of their belief in Him.

8:30
As he spake these words, many believed on him.

As he spake these words, many believed on him- instead of immediately owning these people as true believers, the Lord put them to the test. He did not disown them so radically as He had done in similar circumstances in Jerusalem at the beginning, when He did not trust Himself to those who merely believed because they had seen miracles, John 2:23,24. These are different, for they are not reacting to miracles, but to profound teaching. Are they simply impressed with the words, or do they believe in their hearts? Verse 45 will give us the answer.

(f)  The land was for the seed of Abraham.

8:31
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed- the test is continuance, as it ever is. A consideration of the following Scriptures will make this clear:

“To present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: if ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the faith of the gospel”, Colossians 1:22, 23.

“But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them”, 2 Timothy 3:14.

“But Christ as a Son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end”, Hebrews 3:6.

“For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end”, Hebrews 3:14.

“Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.” 1 John 2:24.

The parable of the sower spoke of those who “for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away”, Luke 8:13. “My word” means what it did in John 5:24, the subject of His Deity. This is the crucial test, what a person thinks of Christ, and in particular, whose Son He is, see Matthew 22:42.

8:32
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free- this is a bold claim, that to believe on Him is to know the truth. No mere man could have said these words without being thought a lunatic or a liar. But if He is who He claimed to be, then His word is truth, and that truth has a liberating effect.

The truth as to the person of the Lord Jesus, when known and believed, will not only result in initial freedom, but it will ensure ongoing and progressive freedom as well. These things are spoken of in Romans chapter 6, where the apostle Paul shows how that to be associated with Christ results in freedom from obligation to continue in sin.

8:33
They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?

They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man- they are clearly misunderstanding His words about freedom. They think of it in terms of bondage to men, as spoken of in Leviticus 25:39-42, where Israelites are prohibited from making a fellow Israelite into their slave. They realised that if the Lord says truth makes free, then He is not referring to national bondage to Assyria or Rome, for that would be political bondage.

How sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? He must be speaking of personal freedom. In that case, they would have argued, they were already free, for the law prevented them from  enslaving one another as Israelites.

8:34
Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you- the truth about to be imparted is of critical importance, hence the “Verily, verily”, insisting on His authority to set out new truth.

Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin- this makes clear that He refers neither to political nor social slavery, but rather the slavery to a sinful nature which all men experience. This bondage to the dictates of sin from within, not outward circumstances, is what makes a man a slave. Natural men all commit sin as a matter of habit and practice, being powerless to break free, and they thereby show themselves to be slaves.

8:35
And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.

And the servant abideth not in the house for ever- the Jews had claimed in verse 33 to be Abraham’s seed. This gives the Lord Jesus the opportunity to point out to them the spiritual meaning that lay behind a significant event in the experience of Abraham and Isaac. On the day that Isaac was weaned, his father had made a great feast to celebrate the occasion. Ishmael, however, cruelly mocked Isaac, and consequently was cast out of Abraham’s house, Genesis 21:1-14 .

Now Ishmael was the son of Hagar, the slave-girl from Egypt. Nonetheless he could claim to be Abraham’s seed, for Abraham was his father. The Jews, too, were naturally descended from Abraham. As slaves to sin, however, they were no different to Ishmael, the child of the slave. As such, they had no right to be in God’s house.

Hagar had fled from Abraham’s house before, in Genesis 16:6-9, but on that occasion she was instructed to return. The difference being that not until Isaac was born could the critical point be reached. Reaction to the son, whether Isaac or Christ, is the test.

But the Son abideth ever- the One who is worthy of a settled place in the Father’s presence is the Son of God Himself, verse 35. He has no sin within to enslave Him, and He is perfectly free to do the Father’s will.

Four events in the life of Isaac especially highlight the fact of his sonship. These are his remarkable birth; his presentation to the world at his weaning; his death, in a figure, (Hebrews 11:19); and his coming to receive his bride to himself. It is easy to see how these events prefigure the birth of Christ, His presentation to the world at His baptism, His sacrificial death, and His coming again for His own. He is totally absorbed in the will of the Father, and worthy of His place as a Son in His presence.

8:36
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed- the wonder of it all, however, is that others besides the Lord Jesus may share that place of freedom in the Father’s presence. Those made free by the application of the truth to their souls, are made free indeed. This particular word for “indeed”, is only used here in John’s gospel. It is based on the word “to be”, and indicates that those who are made free by the Lord Jesus are free to the very core of their being. They are not superficially free. They are as free, in fact, as the Son is free, and with the same result, namely favour with the Father, and ultimately a place in the Father’s house on high, John 14:2,3.

8:37
I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.

I know that ye are Abraham’s seed- there was no doubt they were descended from Abraham as to the flesh, but their attitude towards Him suggested there was something badly wrong. After all, in the illustration just given from the weaning of Isaac we learn that it is possible to be either Isaac-like, with a place in the house, or Ishmael-like, and having no claim on the house, being the son of the slave-woman. The apostle Paul will use this historical event as an allegory to teach a similar truth in Galatians 4:21-31.

But ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you- Ishmael persecuted Isaac, thus showing his slave character. The Jews sought to kill Christ, thus exposing themselves as being like Ishmael, and not Isaac. The reason they did this was on the same principle as Ishmael acted. He rebelled against the idea of Isaac being the true son, and the Jews rebelled against the idea that Christ was the only begotten Son of God.

The word “place” has the idea of making room for something or someone. The words could be translated “My word hath no entrance in you”. Faith makes room in the heart for Christ and His word.

8:38
I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.

I speak that which I have seen with my Father- the word used for seeing here is the one which implies a discerning mind, acting upon what is seen. He had said in His initial discourse concerning His Deity that “The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth”, John 5:19,20.

Such is the love between the persons of the Godhead that they withhold nothing from each other. The word “sheweth” is the same as in John 14:8, “shew us the Father”. Note the reply, “He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father”. Clearly the Father cannot be physically seen, (so neither the physical appearance of the Father nor of the Lord Jesus is in view), but He can be discerned spiritually as a result of knowing and understanding the person and ministry of the Lord Jesus. So here, the Father shews the Son what He is doing in the sense that He hides nothing of the purpose of His acting from Him. Because He is the Son, and therefore shares the nature of Deity, the Lord Jesus has infinite capacity to understand the Father’s purpose and actions. The work He performed on the impotent man was a very wonderful thing, therefore, for it was the reproduction of what the Father was showing the Son, and therefore the expression of Divine communications, and an evidence of the Father’s love for the Son.

And ye do that which ye have seen with your father- as one who perfectly understands the mind of His Father, the Lord is now exposing the true source of their hostility to Him, and the seriousness of it. There are two fathers, God the Father, and the devil their father. There is a further contrast, in that there is emphasis on what they do as a result of seeing, and what He does as a result of seeing. What Christ sees is the will of His Father, meaning He has perfect insight into it. What He sees He then speaks. What they see is the murderous intent of their father the devil, and what they see they seek to do.

8:39
They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.

They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father- they clearly do not understand yet that when He speaks of their father, He means the devil. They are still thinking of descent from father Abraham.

Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham- let the test of the works for which Abraham was known be applied to them. He was marked by faithfulness to God, righteousness, and communion with God, being known as the friend of God. As the apostle Paul shows in Romans 4:1,16, Abraham is not only the natural father of the Jews, but he is the father of the faithful. They have him as their example.

8:40
But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.

But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham- as a man who welcomed the truth of God when it came to him, Abraham should have been their rôle model. The last thing Abraham would have done was seek to kill the Messiah, for verse 56 will say that he rejoiced that he might see Messiah’s day.

When the word of God came to Abraham, he obeyed, even to the extent of offering up his only begotten son on an altar. Such was his respect for the word of God. Now God is speaking in His Son, and the Jews showed they were not true sons of Abraham by rejecting that word. The idea behind “heard of God” is that He heard as one who was near. Christ is claiming a closeness of communion which far exceeded that which Abraham knew even though he was the friend of God.

8:41
Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.

Ye do the deeds of your father- having said who they did not act like, Abraham, the Lord tells who they did act like, but He waits for them to confess that this is the Devil. If they did this they would be on the way to faith in Him, but alas it is not so.

Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God- one of the titles God gave the nation of Israel was “my son”. The word to Pharoah was “Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn…let my son go”, Exodus 4:22,23. And in Hosea 11:1 God said “When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.” From this they inferred that God was their Father. There was no doubt about their parentage, they claim, for none other was involved; it was not a matter of fornication. They claimed that as a nation they were united in having but one Father.

8:42
Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.

Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me- again, their claim is put to the test. Given Christ’s special relationship with the Father, they would love Him as much as they claimed to love God, for they would be in the family of God and share the life of God.

For I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me- there are four things said here about the coming of the Son of God from heaven. First, that He proceeded forth. The preposition here is “ek”, speaking of source. God the Father gives character to heaven, and therefore to proceed forth from heaven is to proceed forth from God.

Second, that He came from God. That is, having denoted His intention of coming from God, He made good His intention and arrived. The words literally translated are, “I from God came forth and am come”.

Third, that He had not come on His own initiative. Here the preposition is “apo”, meaning “away from”. His departure from God to come to earth was not an independent action, but was done in full harmony with the will of the Father. The “neither” anticipates any objection from His hearers.

Fourth, that He was sent. This shows the importance that the Father attached to His coming, for He was entrusted with a task from the Father, even to reveal Him. He could do this fully because He was His Son. If they were in relationship with God as their Father, they would be sympathetic to His mission, and would love Him.

Note the great contrast between Christ coming down from the Father to do His will, with the Devil seeking to rise above God to assert his will.

8:43
Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.

Why do ye not understand my speech? It is clear to Him that they do not understand what He means when He speaks of their father.

Even because ye cannot hear my word- He now explains why it is that they do not understand Him. It was because they had closed their ears to His doctrine about His Sonship, which was His theme, or word. They had shut out the truth so that they could not hear and receive it by faith. “His speech” means the actual words He was using, “His word” was the theme of those words.

8:44
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do- now comes the plain and unmistakable statement, that they were of their father the Devil. And children imitate their father, and often share his failings. “Will do” is not a prophecy about the future, but means they were willing and desirous of doing the lusts of the Devil.

He was a murderer from the beginning- that He is justified in claiming that they sought to kill Him is seen in the fact that their father, whose lusts they imitated, was a murderer. He had used a deadly murder-weapon at the beginning of human history when he said to Eve, “Ye shall not surely die”, Genesis 3:4. But the opposite was the case, for God’s word to Adam had been, “thou shalt surely die”, Genesis 2:17, and so it came to pass. Ever since, man has been alienated from the life of God through ignorance of the truth of God as found in His word, Ephesians 4:18.

And abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him- this is why the Devil, formerly Lucifer, became a murderer, because he rebelled against the life-giving, life-maintaining truth of God. Given a place of glory and responsibility in heaven, he apostatized, and no longer stood in the truth. To apostatize is “to move away from a previous stand.” It is not a matter of not standing in the truth when unfallen, but of not doing so ever since he has fallen. The stand he takes determines the character he bears.

The reason why he has not stood in the truth since the time of his fall is that there is no truth in him; he has cast off all hold on the truth, being completely given over to falsehood. He may use truth mixed with error to deceive men, but he does not believe the truth. He is the Arch-Infidel.

When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it- this explains the fact that, when he speaks a lie, which he habitually does, he speaks of, or out of, his own; that is, of that which he has made his own, in opposition to the truth of God. He lies as a matter of habit, and is the first to lie, and the father or prime example to others when they lie as his children.

8:45
And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not- when Christ told them the truth, they did not believe Him, for they had been so influenced by the Devil that they only responded to falsehood; truth held no attraction for them. The same is true today, for men’s minds are attracted to the lies of the devil, and are conditioned to believe them, gravitating towards lies and away from the truth. Only the work of the Spirit of God can remedy this. The adoption of worldly methods will not overcome this in-built opposition to the truth.

8:46
Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?

Which of you convinceth me of sin? If they were so confident that they were right about Him, and were therefore justified in rejecting His word, let them convince or convict Him of the sin of lying in His testimony to them about Himself.

And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? If they could not show where He was lying , (which meant that He spoke the truth, for there is no third position), then why, since they claimed God as their Father, did they not believe in Him as His Son? This is a direct challenge to them, to produce witnesses in a court of law if they can.

8:47
He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

He that is of God heareth God’s words- as they gave no answer to His question, He has to answer for them. If they were the children of God, and therefore “of God”, they would respond to what their God said, and He was speaking through His Son.

Ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God- the fact that they did not hear the words of God with the hearing of faith, showed they were not of God. They had no life from Him. The only alternative was that they were of the devil. Note the confidence the Lord has that He speaks the words of God; for Him there is no doubt about that.

8:48
Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?

Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? Instead of taking serious note of these solemn words, the Jews respond only with rudeness and blasphemy. This is the classic sign that they have been defeated. When challenged to show that He was wrong, they could only respond with insults. We know from Acts 8:9,11 that Simon Magus was in Samaria, acting in league with the devil. He was doing the lusts of his father. They slander the Lord by comparing Him to someone like that.

He was pleased to liken Himself to a Samaritan when it was a question of doing good works, Luke 10:33, and to show that He had no prejudice against other nations, as the other Jews had. Perhaps this is why He ignored their comparison of Him to a Samaritan.

8:49
Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me.

Jesus answered, I have not a devil- the fact that He was not possessed of a devil was evident from the whole tenor of His words and deeds, so it only had to be stated. But stated it must be, to set the record straight. Any suggestion that Christ was in any way siding with the devil was immediately rebuked. To suggest it is to sin against the Holy Spirit, for it was by His power that Christ’s miracles were done, Matthew 12:22-32.

But I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me- to be of the devil involves furthering his interests, and thus glorifying him, for that is what he wants, even the worship of men.

What confirmed that He was not of the devil was the fact that He honoured His Father, and this was in direct contrast to the prince of devils, Lucifer, who in pride sought to elevate himself above God, Isaiah 14:13,14. The Jews show which side they are on by not honouring the Son of God by accepting His claims.

8:50
And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.

And I seek not mine own glory- they are warned here against suggesting that He only spoke of Himself so as to gain glory. If they did honour Him as the one who spoke for His Father, it would not make Him full of pride, for His whole desire was to honour His Father alone, and reserve no glory for Himself. This is in marked contrast to the devil, for pride has marked him at and since his fall; it is his condemnation, 1 Timothy 3:6.

There is one that seeketh- there is only one who may seek glory, and that is the Father. The Son has taken the place of subjection and servant-hood, and only sought glory for His Father when He was here. The Father made it very clear in John 12:28, just before Christ went to the cross, that His name had been glorified by His Son. The only reason why the Son sought glory in His prayer to His Father was so that He might have the opportunity to further glorify His Father in heaven, just as He had glorified Him on earth, John 17:1.

And judgeth- not only does the Father rightly seek glory, but He judges those who refuse to give it to Him by believing His Son. When, on the brink of eternity, all creatures shall bow the knee to Jesus and own Him Lord, it will be “to the glory of God the Father”, Philippians 2:11.

8:51
Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.

Verily, verily, I say unto you- a change of subject is signalled by the “Verily, verily”, a phrase which indicates that a new topic is being introduced. There is a connection of thought, however, with what has gone before, and it is this. The devil was “a murderer from the beginning”, verse 44, the reason being that he did not abide in the truth. He brought about both the physical and spiritual death of Adam and his wife, and all others also, by persuading them to not abide in the truth either. He did this by turning them from the known word of God.

If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death- by contrast, the Lord Jesus claims to bring those who do abide in the truth into such a state that they shall never experience death as unbelievers do, as the “King of Terrors”, but rather, as a servant who ushers into the presence of God. As the apostle Paul puts it, writing to the believers at Corinth, “For all things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; and ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.” 1 Corinthians 3:21,22. All the things and people he lists are at their disposal to use for God’s glory. They may fear the process of dying, but they do not fear death itself. The apostle could write, “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:28,29.

It is noticeable that the figures of speech used in the New Testament for the death of believers are all gentle ones. The Lord Jesus, speaking of Lazarus, said, “Our friend Lazarus sleepeth”, John 11:11. Peter spoke of his death as a putting off of his tabernacle, 2 Peter 1:14, meaning that his body was like a tent that needed to be taken down so the next stage of the journey could be undertaken. Paul spoke of his death as being like the pouring out of a drink offering on the sacrifices on the altar, Philippians 2:17; 2 Timothy 4:6. He also in the latter verse thought of his death as a departure, a word used in Greek poetry for the loosing of a ship from its moorings.

But the devil brought man into spiritual death as well as physical death. The Lord Jesus delivers from this too, for He had already taught that the one who believes in Him “is passed from death unto life”, John 5:24.

All this depends on a man keeping His saying; in other words, believing the truth He brought, with the intention of remaining in belief. The devil abode not in the truth and dragged others down with him, but Christ brings into the truth and maintains the believer there. As a result, death recedes in favour of meeting the Lord on the other side.

8:52
Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.

Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil- it is very obvious that believers like Abraham and the prophets have died, so they conclude He must have a devil, which has affected His mind. To them, this last saying confirms what they thought of Him in verse 48.

The Jews are only capable of understanding His words on a natural and physical level. They are only thinking in terms of whether a person will actually die or not, and not in terms of whether that death will have any power over the one dying, and whether it will affect his spiritual status. Far from heeding the warning about the consequences of unbelief, and the danger of attributing His works to the devil, they persist in their unbelief. After all, who yet escaped death, apart from Enoch and Elijah?

Abraham is dead, and the prophets- Abraham and the prophets were nothing if they were not those who believed the word of God, yet after having believed it, they still died.

And thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death- they think He must be claiming to be someone superior to God, if hearing and believing God did not prevent Abraham and the prophets dying, but hearing and believing His word will prevent men dying. But He had not said this. He spoke of men not seeing death in the same way as an unbeliever sees death. This marks a change in God’s dealings with men, for He had introduced His Son into the world to bring life and immortality to light, 2 Timothy 1:10, so that the Christian believer’s attitude to death is radically different to even the attitude of Abraham, fine believer though he was.

Notice they change His phrase “see death” to “taste of death”. The latter phrase is more physical, (death is not an object which may be seen or not seen), and is on the level they are thinking, whereas the former phrase is spiritual, on the level He is thinking and speaking.

8:53
Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?

Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? As religious Jews, they could never allow that any man was greater than God, so they fall back on the argument that if Abraham, the model believer in God, eventually died, it was because he was lacking in something.

If a man’s word can prevent a man from dying, then he must not be liable to death himself. God acknowledged Abraham to be a prophet, with the word to Abimelech, “he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live”, Genesis 20:7. If Abraham’s word was effective, even to the extent of praying for a man so that he changed his ways and did not die under God’s judgement, he must indeed be a great man, and his word very effective. Yet despite this he himself died.

In verse 53 the Jews use the emphatic pronoun “Thou” of Him twice, as if despising His claims by suggesting He is making Himself more than He really is. This is matched in verses 54 and 55 by the Lord referring to Himself with the emphatic “I”, as He counters their suggestion that He is elevating Himself. The reverse was the case.

And the prophets are dead- this has the form of an exclamation, as if to say, “Even the prophets, the men God used to bring His word to the people, (and who, by implication, believed that word themselves), even they have died!”. They think the dramatic fact only needs to be stated to prove their point.

Whom makest thou thyself? The Lord does not answer their question as to whether He is greater than Abraham, for that has to be decided by His hearers as they weigh up the evidence. As He implies in the next verse, He did not come to make Himself anything, except to make Himself of no reputation. He was here for the glory of His Father alone.

8:54
Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:

Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing- the only honour worth having is honour from God, and this is all the Lord wished for.

It is my Father that honoureth me- He honoured Him as He emerged out of the waters of Jordan at the start of His public ministry, and He honoured Him by giving Him works to do and words to teach during His ministry. This was honour enough for Christ.

Of whom ye say, that he is your God- if they had life from God they would not need to be told these things, for they would see the evidence and receive His claims. Note the change of title. They only knew God as the God of Israel; they did not know Him as “the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”, as the apostle Paul, (a converted Jew), put it, Ephesians 3:14.

8:55
Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.

Yet ye have not known him- they said God was their God but had not, for all their religion, got to know Him. The reason for this was that they rejected the testimony of the One who came to declare Him, John 1:18. After all that, (“yet”), they did not know Him!

But I know him- by contrast, He can say with confidence that He knows Him. Not indeed, with the knowledge that is the result of progress, but the knowledge that is the result of relationship.

And if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you- again He distances Himself from any association with “the liar, and the father of it”, verse 44. And again, He declares that they are allied to the devil. They spoke with forked tongue, claiming to know God, but not knowing His Son.

But I know him, and keep his saying- note the link between knowing the Father and keeping His saying. The latter is the sign of the former. Every particular aspect of the truth that was given Him to pass on to men, (“His saying”), was carefully preserved in His mind as a thing very precious to Him. He also passed on that word to those who desired to know it, so that they might count it precious too.

8:56
Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.

Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day- the Jews had a saying about the eighth day of the feast of tabernacles, (the feast that had just finished), and they called it “The day of the rejoicing of the law”. Perhaps this was because they were required to read the whole of the law once every seven years at that feast, Deuteronomy 31:10,11.

Abraham rejoiced to see, but did not actually see. The rejoicing was in the prospect, not the reality. The force of the expression used is, “Abraham rejoiced that he might see My day”. Was Abraham not given foretastes of the coming of the Messiah in the birth, miraculously, of Isaac, whose name means “Laughter”. Or the occasion of Isaac’s weaning, when he was presented to a hostile and persecuting world. Or when he offered him upon the altar at Moriah, and received him back again from the dead in a figure? The Jews had the great advantage of seeing the reality of what Abraham only saw in illustration, even His birth, His presentation to the world at His baptism, and soon, His death and resurrection. Should they not be rejoicing also at seeing things which prophets and righteous men had not had the privilege of seeing, Matthew 13:17?

8:57
Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?

Then said the Jews unto him, thou art not yet fifty years old- it was when a man was this age that they said he was qualified to give an opinion. Perhaps it was based upon the fact that it was at that age that a Levite changed from doing manual work, (“the service of the burden in the tabernacle of the congregation”, Numbers 4:47), to a more academic role in deciding matters on which the people could not agree, Deuteronomy 17:8-11. Moses also associated the Levites with himself before he died as he exhorted the people to “obey the voice of the Lord thy God, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day”, and they recited the cursings that would come on the people if they disobeyed those commandments, Deuteronomy 27:9,10,14-26.

The Lord Jesus had fulfilled that dual Levitical role, exhorting the people to obey the word of God He brought to them, and warning them of the consequences of disobeying that word. So in effect, by saying the Lord was not yet fifty years old, they imply He had not reached the age when the Levites were thought wise enough to teach.

And hast thou seen Abraham? They completely misunderstand the import of His words. He had said nothing about Him seeing Abraham, but rather Abraham seeing Him. Are they deliberately twisting His words because they know they have lost the argument?

They have already suggested He was suicidal, verse 22, “Will he kill Himself”. Then in verse 48 that He was demon-possessed, which they had connected in 7:20 with the idea that He was paranoid and thought they were trying to kill Him, “who goeth about to kill thee?” In 10:20 they would say that He had a devil and was therefore mad. Now they think Him to be a fantasist, imagining that He had lived at the time of Abraham. Clearly they have a very low view of Christ, despite all the evidence He had given them of His relationship with the Father. Obviously, even if He were fifty years old, (and He was not, for He was about thirty three years old), the start of His life on earth would not reach back to Abraham’s time, so that they could meet.

Even today, Christians are sometimes thought to have a mental problem because what they believe is so different to the opinions in the world. This was the experience of the apostle Paul, for when he had made his defence before King Agrippa, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad”, Acts 26:24.

8:58
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you- here we have another instance of a formula which introduces something new. It asserts the truth of a thing before it is spoken, to pre-empt the denial that may come when it is heard.

Before Abraham was, I am- this is the shortest discourse that follows a “Verily, verily”, yet how profound it is. Far from being delusional, and thinking with deranged mind that He had lived at the time of Abraham, by this statement the Lord claims to be timeless. The normal rules of human existence do not apply to Him, for He is God, and to Him all is one eternal now. If Adam were alive today he could say “Before Abraham was, I was”. An angel could say, “Before Adam was, I was”. But these are creatures of time. The Lord Jesus indeed could have said, “Before Abraham was, I was”, for that was the case. But to say not, “I was”, but “I am”, when the reference is to the past, is to claim timelessness. Only an eternal Being can claim that He is still present in the past, as if time is immaterial. The Jews thought He was claiming to have lived in Abraham’s time in the past. What He really claims is that “past” is not relevant to His Being. He does not have to travel back in time to Abraham’s day, for it is as if it is “now” to Him.

8:59
Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

Then took they up stones to cast at him- if there were those in Israel who had mental problems, then they were to be borne with, pitied, and cared for. But there is to be no pity for a blasphemer; he must be put to death. No matter that the Romans had withdrawn the right to execute from them. They feel their law was superior to the law of Rome, and He must be immediately dealt with apart from that law, for the honour of their God was involved. They would cite the words of Leviticus 24:16, “And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death”.

But in what way can He be thought to have blasphemed the name of the Lord? The expression “I am” would immediately be recognised by the Jews as a name for God, for it would remind them of the incident at the burning bush, where God revealed Himself to Moses with the words, “I am that I am”: and He said, This thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, “I am hath sent me unto you”, Exodus 3:14. So if the Lord Jesus claims this title, He is claiming to be God, and to set a man’s name on a level with God’s name is blasphemy.

There was also the crime of drawing others away to a false god, which they believe Him to be, and this was to be punished by stoning also. The law was, that if a man claimed to be a prophet, and also gave a sign or a wonder which came to pass, and he also encouraged the people to go after other gods, then he was to be stoned to death, Deuteronomy 13:1-5. Now the Lord Jesus claimed to unfold the mind of God like a prophet, He did signs and wonders, and the Jews thought that His claim to be the “I am” was a claim to Deity, and therefore a claim also on the worship of the people, thus leading them away from the worship of the God of Israel. So on two counts they felt justified in stoning Him. At His trial this double accusation was blended into one with the words, “We have a law, and by our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God”, John 19:7.

Ever since the promise of a coming deliverer was given to Adam and Eve, one who would bruise the serpent’s head, Satan had sought to prevent the coming of Christ. Some of his major attempts are as follows:

1. The murder of Abel by Cain.

2. The mingling of the sons of God with the daughters of men in the days of Noah, thus seeking to prevent the true line being preserved.

3. The taking of Sarah, Abraham’s wife, into the palace by Pharoah.

4. The taking of Sarah into Abimelech’s palace.

5. The decree of Pharoah to kill all Hebrew sons when they were born.

6. The destruction of the seed royal except one, by Athaliah.

7. The attempt by Haman to exterminate the Jews in Esther’s time.

But God preserved the line, and at last Christ was born. Now the Devil’s attention turned to preventing Him from dying in the way Scripture prophesied, namely by crucifixion.

1. Herod sought to kill Him by the sword.

2. Satan tempted Him to cast Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple.

3. The men of Nazareth sought to kill Him by throwing Him over a cliff.

4. The storm on the lake was an attempt to drown Him, so that His grave would not be known.

5. The Jews sought to kill Him by stoning more than once.

6. Pilate offered to let the Jews execute Him, which would again be by stoning to death.

7. They manipulated events so that Pilate sent Him to Herod, so He could be beheaded, as John the baptist had been.

8. Pilate pronounced Him to be without fault, and then had Him scourged, which was called “The first death”.

But at God’s time, and in God’s way, Jesus Christ, the Son of God was crucified, and died for our sins.

But Jesus hid himself- He never used His powers as God unnecessarily, but lost Himself in the crowds. He could not have had distinctive and extravagant dress or else the people would have recognised Him. He was content to be here in humility and lowliness.

And went out of the temple- His teaching has been rejected, and the Lord retires, for He will not force His doctrine on men.

Going through the midst of them, and so passed by- how solemn it was that the Jews created conditions whereby the Christ of God could not remain with them. The Pharisees had left Him in the incident of the woman at the beginning of the chapter, and now He leaves them in their state of unbelief.