probably Bethany (Matt. xxi. 17, Mark xi. 11; Luke xxi. 37). The one point which he would make prominent is the Christ's withdrawal from His people. Their time of probation is over. They have closed their eyes again and again to the Light; and now the Light itself is gone. He was hidden from them.

37-43. THE JUDGMENT OF THE EVANGELIST.

S. John here sums up the results of the ministry which has just come to a close. Their comparative poverty is such that he can explain it in no other way than as an illustration of that judicial blindness which had been foretold and denounced by Isaiah. The tragic tone returns again: see on i. 5.

37. Tоσаûтa. So many, not 'so great' (vi. 9, xxi. 11). The Jews admitted His miracles (vii. 31, xi. 47). S. John assumes them as notorious, though he records only seven (ii. 23, iv. 45, vii. 31, xi. 47).

38. iva...npwon. Indicating the Divine purpose. Comp. xiii. 18, xv. 25, xvii. 12, xviii. 9, 32, xix. 24, 36. It is the two specially Hebraistic Gospels that most frequently remind us that Christ's life was a fulfilment of Hebrew prophecy. Comp. Matt. i. 22 (note), ii. 15, 17, iv. 14, viii. 17, xii. 17, xiii. 35, xxi. 4, xxvi. 54, 56, xxvii. 9. The quotation closely follows the LXX. Τῇ ἀκοῇ ἡμῶν is what they heard from us rather than what we heard from God (1 Thess. ii. 13): o ẞpaxiwv Kupiou means His power (Luke i. 5; Acts xiii. 17).

39. Sid ToÛTO. For this cause: as usual (vv. 18, 27, v. 18, vii. 21, 22, viii. 47, x. 17) this refers to what precedes, and or following gives the reason more explicitly. For ouk Súvavтo see on vii. 7. It had become morally impossible for them to believe. Grace may be refused so persistently as to destroy the power of accepting it. 'I will not' leads to 'I cannot' (Rom. ix. 6—xi. 32).

40. TETÚÓλWKEV. The nominative is ó Ocós. Here the quotation follows neither the Hebrew nor the LXX. of Is. vi. 10 very closely. The nominative to láσoua is Christ. God has hardened their hearts so that Christ cannot heal them. Comp. Matt. xiii. 14, 15, where Jesus quotes this text to explain why He teaches in parables; and Acts xxviii. 26, where S. Paul quotes it to explain the rejection of his preaching by the Jews in Rome. For iva see Winer, p. 575.

41. ὅτι εἶδεν. Because he saw. Here, as in v. 17, authorities vary between or and őre, and here örɩ is to be preferred. Christ's glory was revealed to Isaiah in a vision, and therefore he spoke of it. The glory of the Son before the Incarnation, when He was èv μоpôî ΋oû (Phil. ii. 6), is to be understood.

42. öμws μévτol. Here only in N. T. For μévrou see on iv. 27. In spite of the judicial blindness with which God had visited them many even of the Sanhedrin believed on Him. We know of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. But because of the recognised champions of orthodoxy both in and outside the Sanhedrin (vii. 13, ix. 22) they continually abstained (imperf.) from making confession. 'ATOσνváywyos occurs in N. T. only here, ix. 22, xvi. 2.

43. Tην Sóğav T. dvep. The glory (that cometh) from men rather than the glory (that cometh) from God (see on v. 41, 44). Joseph and Nicodemus confessed their belief after the crisis of the Crucifixion. Gamaliel did not even get so far as to believe on Him.

44 50. THE JUDGMENT OF CHRIST.

The Evangelist has just summed up the results of Christ's ministry (37-43). He now corroborates that estimate by quoting Christ Himself. But as v. 36 seems to give us the close of the ministry, we are probably to understand that what follows was uttered on some occasion or occasions previous to v. 36. Perhaps it is given us as an epitome of what Christ often taught.

44. κpažev. The word implies public teaching (vii. 28, 37).

où miot. eis éμé. His belief does not end there; it must include more. This saying does not occur in the previous discourses; but in v. 36 and viii. 19 we have a similar thought. Jesus came as His Father's ambassador, and an ambassador has no meaning apart from the sovereign who sends him. Not only is it impossible to accept the one without the other, but to accept the representative is to accept not him in his own personality but the prince whom he personates. These words are, therefore, to be taken quite literally. Only here and xiv. 1 does S. John use ToтEVEL Els, so frequent of believing on Jesus, of believing on the Father.

45. ὁ θεωρών. He who beholdeth, contemplateth (vi. 40, 62, vii. 3, xiv. 17, 19, xvi. 10, 16, 17, 19, &c.).

46. yw pws. I, with great emphasis, am come as light (vv. 35, 36, viii. 12, ix. 5). "Iva, of the Divine purpose. Till the Light comes all are in darkness (i. 5); but it is not God's will that anyone should abide in darkness. With Tas comp. i. 7, iii. 15, xi. 26: there is no limitation of race.

47. dkoúσn. In a neutral sense, implying neither belief nor unbelief (Matt. vii. 24, 26; Mark iv. 15, 16). For ¡ýμaтa see on iii. 34.

μὴ φυλάξῃ. Keep them not, i. e. fulfil them not (Luke xi. 28, xviii. 21). A few authorities omit un, perhaps to avoid a supposed inconsistency between vv. 47 and 48.

48. xe. Hath his judge already, without My sentencing him (lii. 18, v. 45). The hearer may refuse the word, but he cannot refuse the responsibility of having heard it. For the retrospective use of ékeîvos see on i. 18, and for ev t. éσxáty jμépa see on vi. 39. This verse is conclusive as to the doctrine of the last judgment being contained in this Gospel.

49. ÖTL. Because. It introduces the reason why one who rejects Christ's word will be judged by His word;-because that word is manifestly Divine in origin. With è èμavrov, out of Myself as source, without commission from the Father, comp. άr' èμavтoû, v. 30, vii. 17, 28, viii. 28, 42, x. 18, xiv. 10.

autós. Himself (and none other) hath given Me commandment (see on iii. 35, x. 18), what I should say and how I should say it; elπw refers to the doctrine, λaλnow to the form in which it is expressed (see on viii. 43, and comp. xiv. 10, xvi. 18).

"The commission

50. The Son's testimony to the Father. which He has given Me is (not shall be) eternal life' (iii. 15, 16). "The things therefore which I speak, even as the Father hath said to Me, so I speak.'

With this the first main division of the Gospel ends. CHRIST'S REVELATION OF HIMSELF TO THE WORLD IN HIS MINISTRY is concluded. The Evangelist has set before us the TESTIMONY to the Christ, the WORK of the Christ, and the JUDGMENT respecting the work, which has ended in a conflict, and the conflict has reached a climax. We have reached the beginning of the end.

CHAPTER XIII.

1. ἦλθεν for ἐλήλυθεν (from xii. 23).

2. γινομένου for γενομένου, with BLX [N has γεινομένου] against AD. ἵνα παραδοῖ αὐτὸν Ἰούδας Σίμωνος Ισκαριώτης for Ιούδα Σ. Ισκαριώτου, ἵνα αὐτὸν παραδῷ (correction to avoid difficulty of construction) with NBLMX against AD.

6. Omit και before λέγει, and ἐκεῖνος before Κύριε.

12. καὶ ἀνέπεσεν for ἀναπεσών.

24.

καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ, Εἰπὲ τίς ἐστιν (BCLX) for πυθέσθαι τίς ἂν εἴη (AD). In we have the two readings combined.

25. ἀναπεσών for ἐπιπεσών (from Luke xv. 20?).

26. βάψω for βάψας, and καὶ δώσω αὐτῷ for ἐπιδώσω (correction to avoid awkwardness). The readings vary much. Báyas ouv for kal ἐμβάψας, and Ισκαριώτου for Ισκαριώτη (comp. vi. 71).

38. ἀποκρίνεται for ἀπεκρίθη αὐτῷ: φωνήσῃ for φωνήσει: ἀρνήση for ἀπαρνήσῃ.

We now enter upon the second main division of the Gospel. The Evangelist has given us thus far a narrative of CHRIST'S MINISTRY presented to us in a series of typical scenes (i. 18-xii. 50). He goes on to set forth the ISSUES OF CHRIST'S MINISTRY (xiii.-xx.). The last chapter (xxi.) forms the EPILOGUE, balancing the first eighteen verses (i. 1-18), which form the PROLOGUE.

The second main division of the Gospel, like the first, falls into three parts: 1. THE INNER GLORIFICATION OF CHRIST IN HIS LAST

DISCOURSES (xiii.—xvii.); 2. THE OUTER GLORIFICATION OF CHRIST IN HIS PASSION (Xviii., xix.); 3. THE VICTORY COMPLETED IN THE RESURRECTION (XX.). These parts will be subdivided as we reach them. xiii. 1 is a prologue to the first part.

xiii.—xvii. THE INNER GLORIFICATION OF CHRIST IN HIS

LAST DISCOURSES.

1. His love in Humiliation (xiii. 1—30); 2. His Love in keeping His own (xiii. 30-xv. 27); 3. the Promise of the Paraclete and of Christ's Return (xvi.): 4. Christ's Prayer for Himself, the Apostles, and all Believers (xvii.).

CHAP. XIII. 1-30. LOVE IN HUMILIATION.

This section has two parts in strong dramatic contrast: 1. the washing of the disciples' feet (2-20); 2. the self-excommunication of the traitor (21-30). As v. 1 forms an introduction to this part of the Gospel (xiii.— xvii.), so vv. 2, 3, to this section (2—20).

1. πρὸ δὲ τ. ἑορτῆς τ. π. Can this mean, Now on the Feast before the Passover (comp. xii. 1)? Nowhere else does S. John use the periphrasis 'the Feast of the Passover,' which occurs in N. T. only Luke ii. 41. The words give a date, not to eldus, nor dyaдýσas, nor nyámnoev, but to the narrative which follows. Some evening before the Passover Jesus was at supper with His disciples; and probably Thursday, the beginning of Nisan 14. But the difficult question of the Day of the Crucifixion is discussed in Appendix A.

eidus. Knowing, i. e. 'because He knew' rather than 'although He knew.' It was precisely because He knew that He would soon return to glory that He gave this last token of self-humiliating love. For pa see on ii. 4, vii. 6, xi. 9. Till His hour came His enemies could do no more than plot (vii. 30, viii. 20). Divine purpose (xii. 23, xvi. 2, 32; xi. 50). μεταβῇ ἐκ τ. κ. τ., pass over out of this world, Oavárou (v. 24; 1 John iii. 14). For åуaяâv see on xi. 5, xxi. 15. Tous idious. Those whom God had given Him (xvii. 11, vi. 37, 39; Acts iv. 23, xxiv. 23), still amid the troubles of the world.

The va points to the Winer, p. 426. With comp. μεταβέβηκεν ἐκ τ.

eis Téλos. Vulg. in finem. To the end of His life' is probably not the meaning: this would rather be μéxp Téλovs (Heb. iii. 6, 14), or axp Téλous (Heb. vi. 11; Rev. ii. 26), or ëws Téλous (1 Cor. i. 8; 2 Cor. i. 13). A.V. renders eis Téλos 'unto the end,' here, Matt. x. 22, and xxiv. 13; 'continual,' Luke xviii. 5; 'to the uttermost,' 1 Thess. ii. 16. In all these passages eis Téλos may mean either at last, finally,' or 'to the uttermost, utterly.' To the uttermost seems preferable here. Comp. LXX. of Amos ix. 8; Ps. xvi. 11, xlix. 10, Ixxiv. 3. The expression points to an even higher power of love exhibited in the Passion than that which the Christ had all along displayed..

6

2. δείπνου γινομένου. Neither this nor δ. γενομένου (Mark vi. 2) can mean 'supper being ended;' and the supper is not ended (v. 26). The former means 'when supper was beginning' or 'was at hand;' the latter, supper having begun.' If the Lord's act represents the customary washing of the guests' feet by servants before the meal, 'when supper was at hand' would be the better rendering of ð. γινομένου: but ἐκ τοῦ δείπνου in v. 4 seems to be against this.

T. Siaẞóλov K.T.λ. The devil having now put it into the heart, that Judas, Simon's son, Iscariot, should betray Him. Whose heart? Only two answers are possible grammatically; (1) the heart of Judas, (2) the devil's own heart. The latter is incredible, if only for the reason that S. John himself has shewn that the devil had long been at work with Judas. The meaning is that of the received reading, but more awkwardly expressed. The traitor's name is given in full for greater solemnity, and comes last for emphasis. Note the position of Iscariot, confirming the view (see on vi. 71) that the word is a local epithet rather than a proper name.

3. eidos. 'Because He knew,' as in v. 1. For távтa edwкev see on iii. 35 and comp. Eph. i. 22; Phil. ii. 9—11. Note the order; and that it was from God He came forth, and unto God He is going. "He came forth from God without leaving Him; and He goeth to God without deserting us" (S. Bernard).

4. тd iμária. His upper garments which would impede His movements. The plural includes the girdle, fastenings, &c. (xix. 23). The minuteness in vv. 4, 5 shews the eyewitness. Luke xxii. 27.

5. T. VITTηpа. The bason, which stood there for such purposes, the large copper bason commonly found in oriental houses.

ἤρξατο νίπτειν. Ἤρξατο is not a mere amplification as in the other Gospels (Matt. xi. 7, xxvi. 22, 37, 74; Mark iv. 1, vi. 2, 7, 34, 55; Luke vii. 15, 24, 38, 49; &c. &c.), and in the Acts (i. 1, ii. 4, xviii. 26, &c.). The word occurs nowhere else in S. John, and here is no mere periphrasis. He began to wash, but was interrupted by the incident with S. Peter. With whom He began is not mentioned: from very early times some have conjectured Judas. Contrast the mad insolence of Caligula,quosdam summis honoribus functos ad pedes stare succinctos linteo passus est. Suet. Calig. xxvI. One is unwilling to surrender the view that this symbolical act was intended among other purposes to be a tacit rebuke to the disciples for the strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest' (Luke xxii. 24); and certainly I am among you as he that serveth' (v. 27) seems to point directly to this act. This view seems all the more probable when we remember that a similar dispute was rebuked in a similar way, viz. by symbolical action (Luke ix. 46-48). The dispute may have arisen about their places at the table, or as to who should wash the others' feet. That S. Luke places the strife after the supper is not fatal to this view; he gives no note of time, and the strife is singularly out of place there, immediately after their Master's self-humilia