ther, he shall testify of me. And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. In process of time, mens eyes shall be opened, to discern the authority of your testimony; they shall give credit to your reports concerning me? because ye have been my companions from the very first, consequently eye and ear-witnesses of all that I have done and said, so that after a while you shall bear witness concerning me, and preach my religion far more successfully than it will be in your power to do at the beginning. John xvi. 1. These things have I spoken unto you, that yè should not be offended. The things which I have now told you, concerning the hatred of the world, the reason of that hatred, the dishonour done by it to God, the punishment wherewith it shall be followed, and the supernatural assistance which you shall receive, I have spoken to keep you from taking offence at the further discoveries I am going to make of the evils you shall be exposed to, and to prevent your being overcome by those evils when they befal you. 2. They shall put you out of the synagogues, (axotuvayayes non quas, they shall excommunicate you, see on ch. ix. 22. § 78.) yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you * will think he doth God service. The Jews will excommunicate you as the most execrable of men; nay, to such a length will their hatred of you carry them, that whoever killeth you will think he doth the most acceptable thing possible unto God. 3. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father nor me. The Jews will excommunicate you it denotes what in latter times has been called the eternal procession of the Holy Spirit, whereby the manner of his subsistence is defined, as that of the Son is by the word generation. In particular, the ancient Greek church, from this text inaintained, that the Holy Spirit derives his subsis tence from the Father only; whereas, the Latins have ever affirmed, that he proceeds equally from the Father and the Son. Beza is of opinion, that the eternal emanation of the Holy Ghost is by no means handled here, but only the effusion of the Holy Ghost on the apostles; so that he who formerly remained with God, came as it were out from him, in his gifts shed down on the apostles. Whatever be in this, it is certain that the Greek word signifies only to go out, and it is never used any where else to. signify any eternal emanation of the Holy Spirit. To conclude, concerning this emanation, it may be proper to observe, that they who assert it do not mean thereby any thing corporeal, but an emanation suitable to the spirituality of the divine nature, the manner of which, as it is not revealed to us, can neither be discovered nor explained by reason. Ver. 2. Will think he doth God service.] dožn λærguav z gosPigur to Dea, will think he offers sacrifice to God; for λargua signifies all the different parts of divine worship, so must be determined to particulars, by the circumstances. Here it signifies sacrifice, because it is joined with gor Pegel, the word which constantly denotes the offering up of a sacrifice; see Rom. xii. 1. This gives a beautiful turn to our Lord's sentiment, the time shall come when the killing you shall be thought a part of the worship of God, and equally meritorious and acceptable with the offering of sacrifices, you and kill you, and in so doing will think they serve God, because they are ignorant of his will concerning the abolition of the Jewish economy and the establishment of the new dispensation; also, because they do not know me to be the Messiah, and mistake the nature of my religion. For seeing Jesus is here speaking of the Jews, as is plain from verse 2. he cannot be supposed to say that they did not know God in general, but only, that they did not know his will concerning the gospel. 14. But these things have I told you, that when the time shall came, ye may remember that I told you of them. I have spoken of these things to you, that when they come to pass you may remember I foretold them, which indeed will be of manifold advantage to you, both as it will convince you that these things did not hap. pen beyond my expectation, and as it will hinder them from surprising or discouraging you. These things I said not to you at the beginning because I was with you. From Mat. x. 17,-28, it ap pears that Jesus plainly enough foretold the persecutions which his apostles and disciples were to meet with after his death. Wherefore, Tava de ujuv dž agxhs un eirov, must signify, I did not inculcate these things upon you from the beginning I did not frequently insist upon them, because the lesson would come time enough before my departure. Or by these things we may understand the Jews ignorance of God's designs, and their ignorance of Jesus as Messiah, particulars which he had just now mentioned as the causes why the Jews would persecute his apostles, and which, no doubt, were more afflicting to the latter than the per secutions themselves; because these persecutions, they supposed, would end in the enjoyment of the kingdom; whereas the rejection of their Master cut off their hopes all at once. 5. But now I go my way to him that sent me, and * none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? But now that my ministry is drawing towards a conclusion, and I am going to him that sent me, could no longer defer speaking of these things to you. In the mean time I cannot but take notice, that though I mentioned to you my departure once before, (chap. xiii. 33.) none of you has inquired of me the reasons of my departure, nor the effects of it. However, I impute this to the deep impression which my prediction concerning the persecutions you are to meet with when I am gone, hath made upon you, filling you with sadness, and engrossing your thoughts. 6. But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. 7. Nevertheless. I tell you •Ver. 5. None of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?] That the meaning affixed to this clause in the paraphrase is just, may be gathered from chap. xiii. 36. where we find Peter expressly asking him whither he was going. But it s ems neither Peter nor the rest had thought more of the matter, for which Jesus here justly blames them, as his departure was an event of great importance to his apostles. you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart I will send him unto you: Though you have not asked the reasons of my going away, I will declare them to you. Hear them then; it is necessary even on your account that I depart, because if I do not go away and take possession of my mediatorial kingdom, the Comforter, by whose assistance as I told you (chap. xv. 26.) you are to convert the world, will not be given you; whereas if I depart and take possession of my kingdom, I will send him unto you, as the first fruits of the exercise of my kingly power. 8. And when he is come he will convince the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment: XEYEH TOV KOσμov #Egi aμagtias, &C. He will convince the world of their sin, of my righteousness, and of my title to government. This description of the office of the Holy Ghost, seems to be taken from the office of an advocate at the bar, who, by producing witnesses, and pleading upon the proof, shews his adversary to be guilty of the crimes laid to his charge, or clears the innocence of his client falsely accused, and gets justice executed upon the guilty. 9. Of sin, because they believe not on me: When the Comforter comes he will, by the miraculous effusion of his gifts, convince the world of the sin they commit in disbelieving me, who, though absent, am able to confer such extraordinary powers on my ministers. Accordingly we find, that multitudes of the Jews were thus convinced by the miraculous effusion of the Holy Ghost upon the apostles, Acts ii. 37. 10. Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more: The Comforter by teaching you the true nature of Messiah's kingdom, and making you explain it to the world, will convince the Jews more especially of the fitness of my leaving the world, of my going to the Father, and of my not returning any more till the last day. That this is the meaning of the passage appears from the precedent and subsequent verses, in which the latter clauses are explicatory of the former. For as the sin of which the world was to be convinced was that of their not believing on Christ, and the judgment was that of the prince of VOL. II. this * Ver. 7. The Comforter.] #agaxλntos, Advocatus. Among the Romans, it was usual for those who had any great law-suit, to call their relations and friends to their assistance, who in this office were named advocati. These attended the parties in the court, some assisting them with counsel, others pleading for them, and others barely by their presence giving weight to their cause. Hence the word came to signify not only an advocate who pleads the cause of another, but a counsellor, a friend, a patron. In this passage the Holy Ghost is called waganλntos, or advocatus, in the largest sense, because he was to espouse the apostles cause, to accompany them wherever they went, to defend them from the attacks of their enemies, and to plead for them by the apologies, which he inspired them to deliver in their own behalf, and by the miracles which he enabled them to work in confirmation of their mission, so that he was in the properest sense their friend, counsellor, advocate, paron, and protector. this world; so the righteousness of which they were to be convinced, must have been the righteousness of Christ's going away, and of the disciples seeing him no more. And to say the truth, considering how firmly the Jews expected their Messiah was to erect a temporal kingdom, and to remain with them for ever on earth, it was absolutely necessary that the Holy Spirit should have been sent to convince them of the fitness of his departure out of the world. John xvi. 11. Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged: In the last place, when the Holy Ghost cometh, he will convert men from idolatry to the knowledge and practice of true religion, and by thus victoriously depriving the devil of that dominion which he has hitherto exercised over the minds of men, he will convince the world of judgment; he will demonstrate, not only that the world is governed by God, (so the word judgment is often used) but that all power in heaven and earth is given to me, who by my Spirit have dethroned the devil. Moreover, this present punishment of the devil will be an earnest and proof of that judgment which at the last day I will execute upon him and all his adherents. 12. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now: I have many other things to tell you besides those I have mentioned, but your prejudices in favour of your own nation and law, your aversion to the Gentiles, and your weakness of understanding are so great, that you cannot yet bear the discovery, for which reason I judge it more prudent to be silent. The things our Lord had in view, were the abolition of the whole Jewish economy, the doctrine of justification by faith only, the reception of the Gentiles into the church without subjecting them to the law of Moses, and the rejection of the Jewish nation. 13. Howbeit when he, even the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth: You will sustain no loss by my not discovering these things to you now, for when the Comforter comes, who, on account of his office, is fitly styled the Spirit of truth, he will inspire you with the knowledge of them, and of every other matter necessary for you to understand. And that you may have the greater confidence in, and satisfaction from the revelations which he shall make to you, know that he shall not speak to you of himself, but by my direction, revealing to you nothing but what he is commissioned to discover. For he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that he shall speak. Besides, his revelations shall be so full and complete, that he will discover unto you all such future events as you may be any way concerned to know. And he will shew you things to come. 14. He shall glorify me, for he shall receive (Xerai) of mine, and shall shew it unto you: He shall do me great honour in this respect, that all his revelations to you shall be perfectly conformable to the doctrines which I have taught you in person; for though he shall be instructed and commissioned commissioned by the Father, he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 15. All things that the Father hath are mine; therefore, said I, that he shall take (beta) of mine, and shew it unto you: Be not surprised that I said unto you, he shall receive of mine and shall shew it unto you, for the whole treasures of the Father's wisdom belong to me; see Col. ii. 3. Those who oppose the divinity of Christ, seem to be at a loss for an explication of this passage. Le Clerc tells us it is highly figurative, that the subject treated of is such as cannot be understood by reason; that the manner of it is not revealed, and therefore, that it is not possible to mark precisely the proper sense of every expression. All these things he told them it was their interest, as well as their duty, to rivet in their memories, because they were his dying words. A few hours would put an end to his life, and though he was to rise again from the dead, he was to remain but a very little while with them. He was soon to ascend into heaven, and to be seated at the right hand of God. 16.. A little while and ye shall not see me; and again, a little while and ye shall see me, because 1 go to the Father. The terms in which Jesus had spoken of his death, resurrection, and ascension, being very obscure, the disciples were altogether at a loss to understand them. Wherefore, having revolved them a while in their own minds, they asked one another privately if they could comprehend what he meant. But each of them declared, with a kind of astonishment, that he could affix no idea. to his words at all. John xvi. 17. Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us? a little while and ye shall not see me, and again, a little while and ye shall see me and because I go to the Father? 18. They said, there fore, what is this that he saith, a little while? we cannot tell what he saith. Jesus observing their perplexity, and knowing that they inclined to ask him about this matter, prevented them by signifying that he knew what they had been saying. 19. Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, do ye inquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while and ye shall not see me, and again, a little while and ye shall see me? I will explain myself upon this point: your not seeing me is an event that shall occasion great grief to you, and joy to my ene mies. From these circumstances you may collect, that by your not seeing me, I meant my dying. However, your sorrow shall be turned into joy, you shall see me again, for I will rise again from the dead. 20. Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice; and ye shall be sorry, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. The state of mind you shall Ver. 15. He shall take.] The original word here is the same with that in the former verse translated he shall receive; wherefore in both places the translation should have been the same. |