26 I have many things to say | am he, 3 and that I do nothing of and to judge of you: but he that myself; but as my Father hath sent me is true; and I speak to the taught me, I speak these things. world those things which I have heard of him. 29 And he that sent me is with me the Father hath not left me 27 They understood not that he alone; for I do always those things spake to them of the Father. that please him. 28 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up 2 the Son of man, then shall ye know that I 1 Ch. vii. 28. 2 Ch. iii. 14; xii. 32-34; xix. 18. The beginning. From the first discourse with them, or uniformly. 26. I have many things to say. There are many things which I might say, to reprove and expose your pride and hypocrisy. By this he implied that he understood well their character, and he was able to expose it. This indeed he had shown them in his conversations with them. And to judge of you. To reprove in you. There are many things in you which I might condemn. But he that sent me, is true. Is worthy to be believed, and his declarations about men are to be credited. The meaning of this verse may be tnus expressed: "I have indeed many things to say blaming or condemning you. I have already said many such things, and there are many more that I might say. But I speak only these things which God has commanded. I speak not of myself. I come to execute his commission, and he is worthy to be heard and feared. Let it not be thought, therefore, that my judgment is rash or harsh. It is such as is commanded by God." 27. They understood not. They knew not; or they were unwilling to receive him as a messenger from God. They doubtless understood that he meant to speak of God, but they were unwilling to acknowledge that he really came from God. 28. When ye have lifted up. When you have crucified. See Note, ch. iii. 14; also ch. xii. 32. The Son of man. See Note, Matt. viii. 19, 20. Then shall ye know. Then shall you have evidence or proof. That I am he. Am the Messiah, which I have professed to be. ¶And that I do nothing of myself. That 30 As he spake these words, many believed on him. 4 31 Then said Jesus to those Jews 3 Ch. vi. 38 ; xỉ. 42; xii. 49, 50. Num. xvi. 28-30. Heb. ii. 2, 3. 4 Ch. x. 42. is, you shall have proof that God has sent me; that I am the Messiah, and that God concurs with me, and approves my doctrine. This proof was furnished by the miracles that attended the death of Jesus, the earthquake, and darkness; but chiefly by his resurrection from the dead, which proved beyond a doubt that he was what he affirmed he vas, the Messiah. 29. Is with me. In working miracles, &c. Hath not left me alone. Though men had forsaken and rejected him, yet God attended him. Those things that please him. See Isa. liii. 10-12. Matt. iii. 17; xvii. 5. Luke iii. 22. Phil. ii. 8. 2 Pet. i. 17. His undertaking the work of redemption was pleasing to God, and he had the consciousness that in executing it he did those things which God approved. It is a small matter to have men opposed to us, if we have a conscience void of offence, and evidence that we please God. Compare Heb. xi. 5. 30. Many believed on him. Such was the convincing nature and force of the truths which he presented, that they believed he was the Messiah, and received his doctrine. This was the proper effect of preaching the gospel. While there were many that became more obstinate and hardened under it, there were many also who by the same truth were made penitent and believing. "The same sun that hardens the clay, softens the wax." (Clarke.) 31. If ye continue in my word. If you continue to obey my commandments, and receive my doctrines. Then are ye, &c. This is the true test of Christian character. Ch. xiv. 21. See l John ii. 4; iii. 24. 2 John 6. In this place Jesus cautions them against too much confidence which believed on him, If ye con- | be Abraham's seed, and were never tinue in my word, then are ye my in bondage to any man: how disciples indeed; sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? 32 And ye shall know 2 the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 3 33 34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever They answered him, We 5 committeth sin is the servant of from their present feelings. They were just converted, converted under a single sermon. They had had no time to test their faith. Jesus assures them that if their faith should abide the test, if it should produce obedience to his commandments, and a holy life, it would be proof that their faith was genuine, for the tree is known by its fruit. So we may say to all new converts. Do not repress your love or your joy. But do not be too confident. Your faith has not yet been tried; and if it does not produce a holy life, it is vain. Jas. ii. 17-26. 32. Shall know the truth. See Note, ch. vii. 17. The truth shall make you free. The truth here means the christian religion. Compare Gal. iii. 1. Col. i. 6. The doctrines of the true religion shall make you free. That is, it shall free you from the slavery of evil passions, corrupt propensities, and grovelling views. The condition of a sinner is that of a captive or a slave to sin. He is one who serves and obeys the dictates of an evil heart, and the promptings of an evil nature. Acts viii. 23. Rom. vi. 16, 17, 19, 20; vii. 6, 8, 11; viii. 21. Gal. iv. 3, 9. The effect of the gospel is to break this hard bondage to sin, and set the sinner free. We learn from this that religion is not slavery or oppression. It is true freedom, "He is the freeman whom the truth makes free, And all are slaves beside. The service of God is freedom from degrading vices and carnal propensities; from the slavery of passion and inordinate desires. It is a cheerful and delightful surrender of ourselves to Him whose yoke is easy, and whose burden is light. 33. They answered him. Not those who believed on him, but some who stood by and heard him. We be Abraham's seed. We are the children or descend ants of Abraham. Abraham was not a slave; and they pretended that they were his real descendants, inheriting his freedom as well as his spirit. They meant that they were the direct descendants of Abraham by Isaac, his heir. Ishmael, also Abraham's son, was the son of a bond-woman, Gal. iv. 21-23; but they were descended in a direct line from the acknowledged heir of Abraham. Were never in bondage to any man. This is a most remarkable declaration, and one evidently false. Their fathers had been slaves in Egypt; their nation had been enslaved in Babylon; it had repeatedly been subject to the Assyrians; it was enslaved by Herod the Great; and was at the very time they spoke groaning under the grievous and insupportable bondage of the Romans. But we see here: 1. That Jesus was right when he said, ver. 44, "Ye are of your father the devil; he is a liar, and the father of it." 2. Men will say any thing, however false or ridiculous, to avoid and oppose the truth. 3. Men groaning under the most oppressive bondage are often unwilling to acknowledge it in any manner, and are indignant at being charged with it. This is the case with all sinners. 4. Sin, and the bondage to sin, produces passion, irritation, and a troubled soul; and a man little what he says, and is often a liar. under the influence of passion regards 5. There is need of the gospel. That only can make men free, calm, collected, meek, and lovers of truth. And as every man is by nature the servant of sin, he should, without delay, seek an interest in that gospel, which only can make him free. 34. Whosoever commiteth sin, &c. In this passage Jesus shows them that he did not refer to political bondage, but to the slavery of the soul to evil passions and abideth | cause my word hath no place in 35 And the servant not in the house for ever: but the you. Son abideth ever. 3 36 If the Son therefore, shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. 37 I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, be 1 Gal. iv. 30. ? Isa, lxi. 1. 2. Gal. v. 1. 3 Rom. viii. desires. Is the servant. Is the slave of sin. He is bound to it as a slave is to his master. 38 I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father. 39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham 5 is our father. Je 4 Ch. xiv. 10, 24. 5 Matt. iii. 9. the descendants of Abraham. Jesus did not wish to call that in question, but he endeavoured to show them that they might be his descendants, and still lack entirely his spirit. See Note Matt. iii. 9. Ye seek to kill me. Ch. v. 16; vii. 32. ¶ Because my word. My doctrine; the principles of my religion. You have not the spirit of my doctrine; you hate it, and you therefore seek to kill me. Hath no place. That is, you do not embrace my doctrine, or it exerts no influence over you. The original word conveys the notion that there was no room for his doctrine in their minds. It met with obstructions, and did not penetrate into their hearts. They were so filled with pride, and prejudice, and false notions, that they would not receive his truth. And as they had not his truth or spirit, and could not bear it, they sought to kill him. 35. The servant abideth not, &c. The slave does not of course remain for ever, or till his death, with his master. If he is disobedient and wicked, the master sells him or turns him away. He is not the heir, and may at any time be expelled from the house of his master. But a son is the heir. He cannot be, in this manner, cast off or sold. He is privileged with the right of remaining in the family. This takes place in common life. So said the Saviour to the Jews: you, if you are disobedient and rebellious, may at any time be rejected from being the people of God, and be deprived of your peculiar privileges as a nation. You are in the condition of servants, and unless you are made free by the gospel, and become entitled to the privilege of the sons of God, you will be cast off like an unfaithful slave. Compare Heb. iii. 5, 6. ¶ Abideth not.¶ My Father. Remains not, or has not the legal right to remain. He may at any time be rejected or sold. In the house. In the family of his master. For ever. During the whole time of his life. ¶ The son. The heir. He remains, and cannot be sold or cast off. Ever. Continually. Till the day of his death. This is the privilege of a son, to inherit and dispose of the property. 36. If the Son, &c. The Son of God -heir of all things-who is for ever with God, and who has therefore the right and power to liberate men from their thraldom. | Shall make you free. Shall deliver you from the bondage and dominion of sin. Free indeed. Truly and really free. You shall be blessed with the most valuable freedom, not from the chains and oppressions of earthly masters and monarchs, but from the bondage of sin. 37. I know, &c. I admit that you are 38. I speak, &c. Ch. iii. 11-13. God. Your father. The devil. See ver. 44. To see here means to learn of. They had learned of, or been taught by the devil, and imitated him. 39. Abraham is our father. We are descended from Abraham. Of this the Jews boasted much, as being descended from such an illustrious man. See Notes on Matt. iii. 9. As Jesus did not expressly say whom he meant, ver. 38, when he said they did the works of their father, they obstinately persisted in pretending not to understand him, as if they had said. "We acknowledge no other father but Abraham, and to charge us with being the offspring of another is slander and calumny." ¶ If ye were Abraham's children. The words sons and children are often used to denote those who imitate another, or who have his spirit. See Note, Matt. i. 1. Here it means, "if you were worthy to be called sus saith unto them, If ye were | We be not born of fornication; Abraham's children, ye would do we 3 have one Father, even God. the works of Abraham. 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 5 he sent me. 40 But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this 2 did not Abraham. 41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, Rom. ii, 28, 29; ix. 7. Gal. iii. 7, 29. 2 Rom. iv. 12. 43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. 3 Isa. Ixiii. 16; lxiv. 8. 4 Mal. i. 6. 1 John € Isa. vi. 9. the children of Abraham, or if you had scended from those who acknowledged his spirit." 40. Ye seek to kill me. See ver. 37. ¶This did not Abraham. Or such things Abraham did not do. There are two things noted here in which they differed from Abraham: 1. In seeking to kill him, or possessing a murderous and bloody purpose. 2. In rejecting the truth as God revealed it. Abraham was distinguished for love to man as well as to God. He liberated the captives, Gen. xiv. 14-16; was distinguished for hospitality to strangers, Gen. xviii. 1-8; and received the revelations of God to him, however mysterious or however trying their observance. Gen. xii. 1— 4; xv. 4-6 ; xxii. It was for these things that he is so much commended in the New Testament, Rom. iv. 9; Gal. iii. 6; and as the Jews sought to kill Jesus instead of treating him hospitably and kindly, they showed that they had none of the spirit of Abraham. 41. The deeds of your father. See ver. 38. Jesus repeats the charge, and yet repeats it as if unwilling to name Satan as their father. He chose that they should infer whom he meant, rather than bring a charge so direct and repelling. When the Saviour delivered an awful or an offensive truth, he always approached the mind so that the truth might make the deepest impression. Of fornication. The people still professed not to understand him. And since Jesus had denied that they were the children of Abraham, they affected to suppose that he meant they were a mixed, spurious race; that they had no right to the covenant privileges of the Jews; that they were not worshippers of the true God. Hence they said, we are not thus descended. We have the evidence of our genealogy. We are worshippers of the true God, him, and we acknowledge no other God and Father than him. To be children of fornication is an expression in the scriptures denoting idolators or worshippers of other gods than the true God. Isa. i. 21; lvii. 3. Hos. i. 2; ii. 4. This they denied. They affirmed that they acknowledged no God for their Father but the true God. 42. If God were your Father. If you had the Spirit of God, or love to him, or were worthy to be called his children. ¶ Ye would love me. Jesus was the brightness of the Father's glory, and the express image of his person. Heb. i. 3. “Every one that loveth him that begs, loveth him that is begotten of him." i John v. 1. From this we see: 1. That af who truly love God love his Son Jess Christ. 2. That men that pretend they love God, and reject his Son, have no evidence that they are the friends of God. 3. That those who reject the Bible cannot be the friends of God. If they loved God, they would love Him who came from Him, and who bears his image. 43. Why do ye not, &c. My meaner is clear if you were disposed to understand me. Even because ye cannot hear my words. The word hear in this place is to be understood in the sense of bear, or tolerate, as in ch. vi. 60. His doctrine was offensive to them. They hated t and hence they perverted his meaning, and were resolved not to understand him. Their pride, vanity, and wickednes opposed it. The reason why sinners o not understand the Bible and its doctria, is because they cannot bear them. They hate them, and their hatred produc want of candour, a disposition to cav and to pervert the truth, and an obstinate de-purpose that it shall not be applied to 44 Ye1 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.3 When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his 1 Matt. xiii. 38. 1 John iii. 8. 2 2 Pet. ii. 4-6. Jude 6. 3 Gen. iii. 4, 5. 2 Chron. xviii. 20-22. Job i. 11; ii. 4-6. Acts v. 3. their case. Hence they embrace every form of false doctrine, and choose error rather than truth, and darkness rather than light. A disposition to believe God is one of the best helps for understanding the Bible. 44. Of your father the devil. That is, you have the temper, disposition, or spirit of the devil. You are influenced by him, you imitate him, and ought, therefore, to be called his children. See also Acts xiii. 10, "Thou child of the devil." 1 John iii. 8-10. ¶ The devil. See Note, Matt. iv. 1. The lusts. The desires, or the wishes. You do what pleases him. ¶ Ye will do. The word will here is not an auxiliary verb. It does not simply express futurity, or that such a thing will take place, but it implies an act of volition. This you will, or choose to do. The same mode of speech occurs in ch. v. 40. In what respects they showed that they were the children of the devil he proceeds to state: 1. In their murderous disposition. 2. In rejecting the truth. 3. In being favourable to falsehood and error. He was a murderer from the beginning. That is, from the beginning of the world, or the first records there are of him. This refers to the seduction of Adam and Eve. Death was denounced against sin. Gen. ii. 17. The devil deceived our first parents, and they became subject to death. Gen. iii. As he was the cause why death came into the world, he may be said to have been a murderer in that act, or from the beginning. We see here, by the way, that the tempter mentioned in Gen. iii. was Satan, or the devil, who is here declared to have been the murderer. Compare Rom. v. 12, and Rev. xii. 9. Besides, Satan has in all ages deceived men, and been the cause of their spiritual and eternal death. His work has been to destroy; and in the worst sense of the word he may be said to have been a murderer. It was by his instigation also that Cain killed his brother. 1 John iii. 12. As the Jews endeavoured to kill the Saviour, so they showed that they had the spirit of the devil. ¶ Abode not in the truth. He departed from the truth, or was false, and a liar. ¶ No truth in him. That is, he is a liar. It is his nature and his work to deceive. He speaketh of his own. The word own is in the plural number, and means of the things that are appropriate to him, or that belong to his nature. His speaking falsehood is originated by his own propensities or disposition; he utters the expressions of his genuine character. He is a liar. As when he deceived Adam, and in his deceiving, as far as possible, the world, and dragging man down to perdition. father of it. The father, or originator of falsehood. The word it refers to lie, or falsehood understood. From him falsehood first proceeded, and all liars possess his spirit, and are under his influence. As the Jews refused to hear the truth which Jesus spoke, so they showed that they were the children of the father of lies. The 46. Which of you convinceth me? To convince, with us, means to satisfy a man's own mind of the truth of any thing. But this is not its meaning here. It rather means to convict. Which of you can prove that I am guilty of sin?¶Of sin. The word sin here evidently means error, falsehood, or imposture. It stands opposed to truth. The argument of the Saviour is this: A doctrine might be rejected if it could be proved that he that delivered it was an impostor. But as you cannot prove this of me, you are bound to receive my words. 47. He that is of God. He that loves, fears, and honours God. Heareth God's words. Listens to, or attends to, |