The Lord in the circle of His friends, the children of light; how He discloses and communicates to them the riches of His inner life, thereby consecrating them as bearers and ministers of His own life, with a view to the enlightenment and transfiguration of the world, and the union of the present and the hereafter.—Disclosure of Heaven (and explanations relative to the Heavenly life)
Joh_13:31—Joh_17:26
synoptical view
The farewell discourses of Jesus, as recorded by John, contain the most mysterious and most holy of all the sayings through which He manifested Himself to His own. They form the spiritual ante-celebration of His own glorification and that of His people in the new celestial life opened up by His death and resurrection. Distinction must be made between historical periods and those embracing different divisions of the subject matter; there exists, however, an exact correspondence in the march of the two. The total is the walk to the Mount of Olives and the revelation of heaven or the new heavenly home, high above the old Sheol of the dead.
First Period. From the end of the paschal meal, or the departure of Judas, to the end of the Supper. Starting-point of the meditation: the Supper; how it reveals the gulf that intervenes between the heavenly home that Christ discloses and whither He is going; but also transfigures the same, supplying Christ’s presence to the disciples, who sojourn on this earthly shore, until the time when they shall be ripe for heaven until the time when they shall be ripe for heaven and at liberty to follow the Lord as martyrs (Joh_13:36). Martyrdom the fairest, ripest fruit of the Lord’s Supper. Therefore: the task and goal of personal life in that Kingdom of glory, to found which Christ leaves this world, Joh_13:31-38.
Second Period. From the close of the Supper to the departure for the Mount of Olives. On stepping forth beneath the starry sky. Starting-point of the meditation: the going forth into the dark world, and the contemplation of the nocturnal heavens. Revelation of the heavens situate beyond the gulf. Exposition of heaven, or the Father’s House, as the goal of Christ and His people.
1. Christ as the Way to the goal; in the truth and life of His personal essence standing surety for the goal, in spite of the contradiction of out-ward agencies which reveal an apparently aim-less and pathless vista of misery and death (Thomas).
2.Christ as the Goal of the way, or the spiritual and heavenly theophany, in antithesis to the sensual and earthly theophany; or as the personal Christ, through whom the personal Father manifests Himself, and who, through the Holy Ghost, founds the fellowship of personal, heavenly life (Joh_13:20; Philip).
3. Christ, on His return, at once the Goal and the Way. How, in the communion of His people, He establishes the hidden heaven upon earth, as the Kingdom of the Spirit and of Love in antithesis to the ungodliness of the world (Judas Lebbæus).
4. The departure for the Passion as a departure for heaven, or the parting salutation as a pledge of greeting at a speedily ensuing meeting.
The one warranty for the heaven beyond this world—which warranty is given us through the heavenly Christ present in the world—branches out into various manifestations: (1) Of the heavenly Christ; (2) of the heavenly Father; (3) of the heavenly Spirit or other Paraclete; (4) of the heavenly and personal life and operation of Christians.
First promise of the Holy Ghost as the Spirit of Christ and the Church generally, Joh_13:16. Second promise of the Holy Ghost as the Spirit of evangelic knowledge and of enlightenment, Joh_13:26. Chap. 14.
Third Period. The walk from the city to the brook Kedron. Vineyards and nocturnal garden-fires on either side (see below). Starting-point of the meditation: the sight of the vineyards, of the cleansed vines and the burning branches. Glorification of this earthly shore; or the heavenly life upon earth, in the history of the Kingdom of Love or the Vine of God; in the judgment executed upon dead branches, and in the fruit bearing—love’s blessing—of living ones.
1. Divine establishment and cultivation of the heavenly Vine upon earth, or the establishment of the heavenly Kingdom of Love—a kingdom rich in joy. The fiery judgment upon dead branches; the purification of living ones; or the destiny of the Vine (Joh_15:1-8).
2. The fruit-bearing of disciples in their life of lave (Joh_13:9-17).
3. Verification of love in opposition to the hatred of the world, or the defensive conduct of the disciples of Jesus (Joh_13:18 to Joh_16:6).
4. Consummation of love in the fellowship of the Holy Ghost who convinces and conquers the world by the judgment of the Spirit, or the offensive conduct of disciples, Joh_16:7-11. Revelation of the future, together with the development of Christianity, Joh_13:12-15.
Third promise of the Holy Ghost as the Spirit of martyr-faithfulness, Joh_15:26. Fourth promise of the Holy Ghost as the Spirit of victorious might that overcometh the world, Joh_16:8-11. Fifth promise of the Holy Ghost as the Spirit of apostolic development and apocalyptic revelation of the future, Joh_16:12-15.
Fourth Period. Towards the end of the way. Conclusion of communications, and promise of future disclosures through the Holy Ghost. Starting-point of the meditation: The approach to the goal. Transfiguration of the union betwixt this world and the world beyond, in the new, heavenly life.
1. Promise of the revelation of the new and second heavenly life in the resurrection of Christ, Joh_13:16-22.
2. Promise of a new meeting, when He of the further shore shall hold intercourse with them who are still remaining on this side of the gulf, Joh_13:23-24.
3. Promise of life in the Spirit, Joh_13:25-27.
4. The flash of light from the Spirit, apportioned to the disciples even now in surveying the life of Jesus, Joh_13:28-31.
5. Christ’s consciousness of victory, His assurance of new life, as a legacy of consolation for His people, Joh_13:32-33. Joh_16:12-33.
Fifth Period. Before the crossing of the brook Kedron, the black brook in the gloomy vale. Period of final decision.
Development of Christ’s consciousness of victory in His high-priestly prayer for the transfiguration of the personal Kingdom of Love, or House of the Father, in this world and the next, through the sanctification or sacrifice of Christ, the redemption of mankind:
1. For the glorification of the Son, Joh_13:1-8;
2. For the glorification of His people, Joh_13:9-19;
3. For the glorification of all future believers until the disappearance of the world before the glory of the Son and of His heaven, Joh_13:20-24;
4. The perfect glorification of the Father, in conformity to His righteousness; the foundation of said glorification having already been laid by the Son, Joh_13:25-26. Or, the prayer for the perfection of the Kingdom of Love unto the absolute Epiphany, Revelation 21.; Tit_2:13; 1Jn_2:28; 1Jn_3:2. Chap. 17.
Synopsis. First Period: Antithesis between heaven and earth; Second Period: Heaven and its vouchers on earth; Third Period: Establishment and development of heaven on earth; Fourth Period: Internal union of heaven and earth; Fifth Period: The perfect appearing.
On the farewell discourses of Jesus see Luther’s Sermons of the year 1538, vol. 8. [ed. Walch]. Matthesius: Luther said this was the best book he had written. G. Lehr: De sublimitate sermonum Jesu Christi, John 13-16, Göttingen, 1774. Stark: Paraphr. et Comment, in Ev. John 13-17, Jena, 1814. An extensive catalogue of separate treatises see in Lilienthal’s Bibl. Archivar, p. 321; Danz, Universalwörterbuch der theolog. Literatur, p. 466, etc. On the sacerdotal prayer see below chap. 17. [Comp. also our introductory remarks on Joh_13:1, p. 405.—P. S.]
I
Strong Antithesis Between This Present World And The World Beyond; Also The Link Between Them Formed By The New Institution Of Christ (The Lord’s Supper, As The Commandment Of Brotherly Love). Grave Magnitude Of This Antithesis, Expressed In The Announcement Of Peter’s Denial. The Glorification Of Christ; And The New Covenant. The New Commandment As The Transfiguration Of The Law And Likewise Of The Antithesis Between Christ’s Visible Existence In The World Beyond And The Sojoun Of His People In Ihis Present World.
Joh_13:31-38
(Mat_26:26-35; Mar_14:22-31; Luk_22:31-38.)
31Therefore, when he [Judas] was [had] gone out, Jesus said,
Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32If God be [is] glorified in him, God shall [will] also glorify him in himself, and shall [will] 33straightway [immediately] glorify him. Little children [
ôå÷íßá
], yet a little while [only a little while longer] I am with you. Ye shall [will] seek me; and [,] as I 34 said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. A new commandment I give unto you, That [in order that,
ἵíá
] ye love one another; 35[even] as I have loved you, [in order] that ye also love one another. By this shall [will] all men know [perceive] that ye are my [
ἐìïß
disciples, if ye have love one to another.
36Simon Peter said [saith,
ëÝãåé
] unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him [omit him], Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou 37shalt [wilt] follow me afterwards. Peter said [saith] unto him, Lord, why cannot 38I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake [for thee]. Jesus answered [answereth] him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake [for me]? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow [will not have crowed], till [before] thou hast denied me thrice.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Joh_13:31. Now when he had gone out.—Chrysostom and others connect this sentence with the foregoing: “but it was night when he went out.” Not only the
ïῦ
̓
í
, but also the emphatic pause introduced by the word
íýî
, and the strong contrast between the preceding and the ensuing Sect, are declarative against this view.
Now is the Son of Man glorified [
ἐäïîÜóèç
].—This is not merely a proleptical announcement on the part of Jesus of approaching triumph [Meyer, Alford, etc.]. It is the celebration of an actual triumph. In spirit He has already vanquished the kingdom of darkness. His victory succeeded to His perturbation of spirit at the sight of Judas, and was gained on this wise: By the operation of His Spirit in perfect consistency with His truth, love and patience as opposed to the utmost falseness, embitterment and irritation, He, as the Christ, sundered Antichrist from the communion of the faithful through the mere exercise of His personal might. The victory gained by Him in spirit over Judas, is a victory over Satan himself and over those worldly temptations whose nature partakes of the spirit of Iscariot (see Leben Jesu, II., p. 1327; iii., p. 675). This victory lays the foundation for the victory in His psychical life (Gethsemane) and for that in His physical life (Golgotha): in view of this fact He is already glorified in principle.
Joh_13:32. If God is glorified in Him.—Antithesis to the Son of Man. It was while conserving to the uttermost His purely human nature that He, as the Son of Man, overcame Judas; but, as this Son of Man, He was also the instrument of God, Joh_5:19; 2Co_5:19. It is effectual to the glory of God Himself that evil,—the whole kingdom of Antichrist—is, in respect of its principle, overcome in so purely human a manner now, and that it shall henceforth be thus overcome throughout the world.
God will also glorify Him in Himself.—As God is glorified in the heart of Christ and in His victorious conduct, being therein set forth as the omnipotence of the Spirit, He shall also glorify Christ in Himself; i.e., He shall glorify the almighty spiritual power of the Son in His (the Father’s) divine providence, in His peculiar domain, the sphere, the revelation of the Father—and that especially in that world and from that world whither Christ is now returning.
Ἐíἑáõôῷ
has been interpreted by Chrysostom and Ammon as equivalent to
äéÜ
. Such an interpretation does away with the antithesis. In like manner the antithesis is weakened by the explanation of Cocceius: Since God was glorified, the Son also was glorified. Augustine and many others interpret the passage as referring to the exaltation: “ita scilicet, ut natura humana, quæ a verbo æterno suscepta est, etiam immortali æternitate donetur.” Tholuck refers to Php_2:9 : “The exaltation of the Son, which, in accordance with the representation of Paul, is the
çéóèüò
for His humiliation.” Meyer: By the return to the fellowship of God, out of which He went forth. From this point of view
ἐí ἑáõôῷ
needs defining. The existence of Christ was an existence in God, not alone from the time of His ascension, but from the moment of His death, inasmuch as He was removed from this present world. For this world His personal life was now hidden in God’s providence, but His personal essence issued forth again, clear and distinct, from the providence of God, simultaneously with the resurrection and the sending of the Spirit; an essence now glorified in divine spiritual might, and destined to be ever more and more glorified until His appearing. See Col_3:3. Hence the expression: in Him, has been in course of fulfilment ever since the death of Christ.
And shall immediately.—The second
êáß
introduces the modifying word,
åὐèýò
, from which it follows that the glorification of Christ in God shall take place immediately.
Joh_13:33. Little children, but yet a little while (a little longer).—After the stern dismissal of the traitor He is at liberty to unbosom Himself to the disciples and to reveal to them the love and grief that stir His heart at parting from them. Here for the first time we find the tender “little children,”
ôåêíßá
. With them too, however, He has to deal earnestly (see Comm. on Luke). He designs teaching them not to set their hearts upon following Him to death now. [Alford: “
ôåêíßá
—here only used by Christ (comp., however,
ðáéäßá
, Joh_21:5)—affectingly expresses not only His brotherly, but fatherly love (Isa_9:6) for His own, and at the same time their immature and weak state, now about to be left without Him.” The same term of endearment,
ôåêíßá
, little children, dear children, is used once by Paul, Gal_4:19, and seven times by John, the disciple of love, in his Epistle. According to Jerome the last exhortation of the aged John to his congregation in Ephesus was simply this: “Little children, love one another,” because this comprehended the whole of practical Christianity.—P. S.]
Ye cannot come.—As I said unto the Jews,Joh_7:34; Joh_8:21; Joh_8:24. He now says the same thing to them; although in another sense [and without the threatening addition: “and ye will not find Me, and ye will die in your sins.” The
æçôåῖí
of the unbelieving Jews is the vain looking for a deliverer after rejecting the true Messiah, the
æçôåῖí
of the disciples. is the seeking of faith and love.—P. S.]. What He says to them now [
ἂñôé
, emphatically put last, as Joh_13:7; Joh_13:37; Joh_16:12.—P. S.] is binding only for the present. For the present they cannot follow Him to heaven. From the two propositions: ye will miss Me, and: ye cannot follow Me now, the following results.
Joh_13:34. A new commandment I give unto you [
ἐíôïëὴí êáéíὴí äßäùçé ὑìῖí
].—Manifestly, the new commandment is to supply His [visible] presence to them for a time, until they come to Him again. Different interpretations, premising, in every ease, that the corollary:
ἵíá ἀãáðᾶôå ἀëëÞëïõò
, etc., contains the substance of the new commandment. The consideration that the commandment of neighborly love is not a new but an old one, (Lev_19:18; Mat_5:43 ff; Mat_19:19; Mat_22:39), has led some to ascribe an intensive sense to the adjective new, and others to take it in an altered sense.
1. The intensive sense [new in degree.]
(a.) One is not to love his neighbor simply as himself [
ὠò ἑáõôüí
], but more than himself [
õðὲñ ἑáõôüí
] (Cyril, Theod. Mopsueste [Theophyl., Euthym. Zigab.; among modern commentators, especially Knapp, Scripta var. arg., p. 369 sqq.] etc.). Without regard to other objections to the view, the idea of it is not clear. [Christ, Mat_22:39-40, and Paul, Rom_13:9, adopt the Old Testament commandment, “Love thy neighbor as thyself,”without addition, as the second great commandment which is like unto the first, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God,” etc. The
ὡò ἑáõôüí
is the highest measure of love and does not exclude, but includes the self-denial even to the sacrifice of life for our neighbor. Finally
êáèþò
does not indicate the degree, but the kind of love.—P. S.].
(b.) One should love his neighbor as Christ has loved His people. The following
ἠãÜðçóá
is modificative of
êáéíÞ
(Chrysostom, Tholuck). Against this view it has been objected (by De Wette) that the modifying clause does not apply to what precedes, but to that which follows it. A main consideration against the view just set forth is that it represents the most involved commandment as being given, without any instructions as to the manner of its fulfilment.
(c.) It is the new commandment of Christian brotherly love as distinguished from a general love to our neighbor. Grotius, Kölbing, Stud. u. Krit., 1845; and similarly Luthardt, [Ebrard, Brückner, Bäumlein, Hengstenberg, Godet]. Meyer: “The novelty lies in the impulsive power of love; the love of Christ, as experienced by us, should be this impellent. Thus the commandment, old in itself, is endowed with new explicitness, viz., the love
ἐí
X
ñéóôῷ
.” Here the fact is overlooked, that a commandment with which we are experimentally conversant and which is instinct with motive power, is no longer a mere commandment, but an inwardly impellent principle. Therefore,
(d.) The principle of the new life brought by Christ (De Wette). Meyer: That, indeed, is the new
ἐíôïëÞ
, but it is not so stated here. In that respect, then, Meyer’s own interpretation would be refuted.
(e.) The removal of the bounds which, in the Old Testament, inclosed neighborly love within national limits (Köstlin, Hilgenfeld). This has already been done, Mat_5:44, inasmuch as Christ there finds in the Old Testament commandment itself the germ of His commandment of neighborly love, in antithesis to the ordinance of the scribes.
(d.) One always new (Olshausen: never growing old, ever fresh [=
ἀåὶ êáéíÞ
].
(e.) A renewed one (Irenæus, Jansen) [Calvin, Maldonatus, Schöttgen].
(f.) A renewing [regenerating] one (Augustine), [Wordsworth].
(g.) An unexpected one (Semler: unexpected after the strife touching rank, Luk_22:24 ff.).
(h.) The
êáéíüôçò
of this commandment consists in its simplicity and unicity (?) Alford. Similarly Owen: “a love unique, simple, self-renewing and ever fresh.” The same applies to the old commandment.—P. S.]
3. We adhere to the view which we have previously set forth, viz., that the
ἐíôïëὴ êáéíÞ
, is indicative of the institution of the Lord’s Supper (Leben Jesu, ii., p. 1330; III.,681); and Meyer’s wondering note of exclamation we accept as a sign of affirmation. That Christ did not intend His precepts to be taken in the sense of outward laws, is a fact which the whole of the New Testament warrants us in assuming. But He did found institutions for His Church: the Lord’s Supper, Baptism, the ministry, etc., all centering in the Lord’s Supper. Of that Christ says:
ôὸ áἴìÜ ìïõ ôῆò êáéíῆò äéáèÞêò
(Mat_26:28; Mar_14:24), or, also,
ἡ êáéíὴ äéáèÞêç
(Luk_22:20). If
äéáèÞêç
and
ἐíôïëÞ
be thoroughly kindred ideas, the former is converted into the latter by the words: “Do this in remembrance of Me;” “Ye shall show forth,” etc.; if there be but one new
äéáèÞêç
, but one new
ἐíôïëÞ
, the one necessarily coincides with the other.
Moreover, it is just in this place that we should expect John to mention the Lord’s Supper. Tholuck: “The institution of the Lord’s Supper, omitted by John—on account of its being sufficiently well known by tradition—would here (Joh_13:34) find the place best befitting it. That Supper is not only a memorial feast of the Departing One (1Co_11:25), but a feast of union with His disciples in love until He comes, Rev_3:20; 1Co_11:26. In like manner it is a feast wherein His cherished ones are mutually united, 1Co_10:17.”—Attention should likewise be directed to the
ἠãÜðçóá
; on which word Meyer: “For Jesus perceives Himself to be at the end of His work of loving self-surrender.” This was undoubtedly the case at the institution of the Lord’s Supper, and it can be explained only by a reference to that institution.
In order that [
ἵíá
] ye may love one another,etc.—Agreeably to the foregoing explanation, these words do not constitute the substance of the new commandment, but the ethical purpose of it. The Lord’s Supper is to be the channel for the conveyance of light, impulse and strength for such a brotherly love. Two-fold construction:
1. The sentence:
êáèὼò ἠãÜðçóá
, etc., is a parallel sentence to the preceding one (Beza, De Wette and others).
Êáèὼò
, etc., is emphatically put first: “As I have loved you—that ye so love one another.” Meyer remarks with reason: This does not correspond with the simple Johannean style.
2. The sentence:
êáèὼò ἠøÜðçóá
, etc., is the apodosis to the preceding clause, and contains that which shall ensure compliance with the admonition: ye shall love one another. Meyer: “In order that ye may love one another, in accordance with My having loved you, in order that ye, on your part, might love one another.” This would make the last clause either tautological or oblique. The love of Jesus would be modified solely in accordance with its purpose of exciting love, and it would be accordingly required that the disciples’ love should exhibit a similar mode.
We come back to No. 1, with a different apprehension of it, however: The new institution is founded in order that the disciples may love one another; [its foundation being] in conformity to the fact that Christ has loved His people in order that they may love one another. That is: The Lord’s Supper is the sacrament by whichthe
êáèὼò
of His sacrificial death is brought home to the minds of His people; the ethical fruit that would spring from that death itself, viz., a company of believers living in the fellowship of brotherly love—shall now be realized by the Supper as the lively representation of His sacrificial death, and the substitute for His presence.
Joh_13:35. By this will all know (perceive).—Mutual brotherly love the distinctive mark of Christians, 1Jn_3:10; Neander’s Denkwürdigkeiten, I. p. 97; G. Arnold, Abbildung der ersten Christen, Vol. III. Tholuck: “The heathen were wont to exclaim with astonishment: ‘Behold how these Christians love one another, and how they are ready to die for one another.’ One Minucius Felix, the heathen, says of the Christians: ‘They love each other before knowing each other;’ and Lucian (in Peregrinus) sneeringly remarks: ‘Their law-giver has persuaded them that they are all brethren.’ ”
Joh_13:36. Lord, whither goest thou?—Peter finds a thorn in the saying of Jesus (Joh_13:33), of whose prick he cannot yet rid himself. Jesus, therefore, meets the true idea of his question with the answer: Thither thou canst not follow Me now. He thus makes an application of the general sentence (Joh_13:33) to him; comforting him, however, with the obscure intimation of his martyrdom, as He pacified the sons of Zebedee, Mat_20:23 (comp. Joh_21:18). By
äýíáóáé
Tholuck apprehends simply the subjective impossibility in Peter, whereas, on the other hand, he conceives
äýíáóèå
to be declarative of an objective impossibility. In both cases, however, an objective and a subjective import correspond. The disciples were no more ordained to pass through death immediately with Christ than they were ripe for such a journey. [The words
ἀêïëïõèÞóåéò
(
ìïé
is doubtful, see Textual Notes)
ὕóôåñïí
, are probably an allusion to the crucifixion of Peter, comp. Joh_21:18-19.—P. S.]
Joh_13:37. Why can I not follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thee.—It is clear to him that the going is to be through death. But not only does he undertake to die after the example of the Master; he even protests that he will lay down his life for Him.
Joh_13:38. Jesus answers in view of these facts and puts Peter to the blush. He uses the asseveration: Verily, verily. Lay down thy life for Me! Thou wilt not so much as confess Me. On the contrary, thou wilt deny Me. And that three times. And this will come to pass directly, before the cock hath crowed, before the ensuing morning. Peter again stood in need of strong and emphatic words.
As regards the time of this conversation with Peter, Luke’s account agrees with that of our Evangelist, while it supplies additional items (Luk_22:31-34). Matthew and Mark are induced to record the conversation after the departure of Jesus from the place where He celebrated the Passover to the Mount of Olives, by their desire to superordinate the more general declaration made by Jesus to all His disciples, to the effect that they should all be offended that night because of Him. This declaration might also very readily occasion Peter once more to avouch his faithful devotion.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. The exultant breathing again of Jesus after the departure of Judas: (a) A presage of the reviving and shining of the Church at the Last Day, Mat_13:43; Luk_21:28; (b) a sign expressive of the great victory of His Spirit in the spiritual combat with treason in the circle of disciples,—with Judas as the representative of Satan; (c) a symbolical sign for His Church, teaching her how she shall conquer the anti-Christian Adversary and finally expel him by a dynamical censure; all this she shall do (after the example of the Son of Man) in simple humanity, a state which God, in the person of His Son, has hallowed, and with whose conditions Ha has complied. Similarly, an intimation that we should solemnly rejoice at the open desertion of false brethren and members rather than be vexed at the same.
2. The contrast of the pure Son of Man, the representative of God’s honor, and the false friend who, from an historical point of view, became the tool of a Hierarchy possessing hearts hardened against Christ, or, regarded from an ethical stand-point, delivered himself up to be the tool of Satan.
3. Glorification is the revelation of internal spiritual power in the untrammeled appearance and activity of its life;—hence, appearance in conformity to the idea,—the real and perfect beauty, a representation of spiritual sovereignty in the unobstructed glory of life. The Father glorified through Christ. The highest victory of love over hate, of faithfulness over falseness, of humility over pride, of a repose of soul over excitement and self-perturbation, of brightness over demoniacal gloom, is the highest verification of the glory of the personal Son of Man, the central Hypostasis Himself, and, at the same time, the perfect glorification of the personal God, the Father, who has given such power to His Son and, through Him, to His children. The glorifying of the Son of Man in God. In and from the other world God glorifies Christ’s personality as the absolutely dynamical principle which retains its grasp of itself even in death, which breaks through all the bonds of death, soars above the highest heavens, comprehends in its personality the depths of the Spirit and pours them out over all flesh; in order to draw all mankind up into the Kingdom of personal life and love and, in and along with mankind, to glorify the world into the Father’s House.
4. The tender saying of Christ at His departure, Little children, etc., echoing in the words of His disciple; 1Jn_2:1; Joh_3:18. The chasm betwixt this world and the world to come disclosed, and closed, or glorified, by the Lord’s Supper.
5. Christ no new Law-giver, because He has comprehended all of His commandments: (a) In the institution of love which is His sacrament accompanied by His word, or (b) in the gift of His Spirit; two principal phases of the same blessing.
6. If the Lord’s Supper be intended to supply to us the presence of Christ, because He works and manifests Himself dynamically through it, how can the self-same thing be declared of the Comforter,Joh_14:16? For the reason that the office of the Comforter bears altogether upon the heritage left by Christ to His people, the institutions established by Him in word and sacrament; and only in the fellowship of the Holy Ghost has the proclamation of the death of Christ by word and sacrament its full truth.
7. The unsuspicious self-confidence of Peter a great warning to the Church and a foretoken of her history.
8. How Christ, by the celebration of the Love-feast and the Supper, has prepared His disciples for the new and great revelation of the heavenly Paradise, of heaven, and of the living connection between heaven and earth which He is to establish by means of them.
9. The divine assurance of Christ in view of the treason of Judas and the denial of Peter, an assurance of the absolute victory of Divine Providence over all the contradictions of evil; of the triumph of truth and righteousness over wickedness; of the triumph of love and grace over needy sinners.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Christ’s triumphant joy consequent upon the departure of the traitor.—The Lord’s subsequent aloneness with His disciples a type of the purified, heavenly Church: 1. in respect of the cordial intimacy; 2. the high festivity; 3. the rich revelation of love and life; 4. the glorious disclosures; 5. the presageful glimpse of eternity—in this communion.—What the Lord discourses of with His disciples after Judas has gone out: 1. Not another word does He say of Judas himself, let alone a harsh one; 2. but He talks of God’s triumphant over-ruling of his dark deeds.—Now is the Son of Man glorified. A blissful sense of victory is felt in the disburdened breast, after the weightiest of oppressions and the hottest of conflicts (Joh_13:21).—Judas goeth out to betray His Master, and Christ trembleth not—except for joy.—He looketh not upon that which is being done by men who have conspired together against Him, but upon what God doeth.—And therein also should the evangelical Church recognize and follow His example.—The mutual glorification of the Father and the Son. See Joh_17:1. How the Son of Man has glorified His God as the Friend of man in holy humanity. 2. How God glorifies the Son of Man as the Son of God in holy and divine sovereignty.—Dear little children. The sensations of the Lord in anticipation of His departure: 1. of grief; 2. of bliss; 3. of apprehension; 4. of good confidence.—Or: The horror and joy of Christ at the departure of Judas, in comparison with the mild grief with which He now departs from the disciples.—The intimation of Christ relative to His entrance into heaven: 1. He is now going thither; 2. the Jews, as Jews, can never come thither; 3. the disciples cannot now come thither.—A decided indication of our need to ripen for heaven by a Christian life.—Christ’s bequest to His people upon His departure, or the new commandment.—The Holy Supper the new life-law of Christ’s Church.—The Supper of the Church her fundamental law: 1. the sum of her institutions (Word, Baptism, Discipline, etc.); 2. the sum of her teaching; 3. the sum of her moral admonitions.—Love, the mark of Christians.—The interruption of Christ’s leave-taking with His disciples by the overweening protestations of Peter: 1. Once more a self-willed contradicting of Jesus’ words, and that after the foot-washing and the Supper; 2. the utterance of a stout vow of fidelity, a vow which the Lord foresaw would turn to denial.—Comparison of Judas and Peter at this moment: 1. Similar features: The former, out in the night, prostitutes himself to the enemy in determined apostasy; the latter, within the circle of disciples, lays claim to a fidelity for which he has not the strength. 2. The difference: In that case embitterment, in this love to the Lord; Yonder the utmost falseness, here sincerity and open outspokenness.—There is always a capability of redemption in the sincere man.—The sad certitude of Jesus touching the imminent denial of Peter, set in the calm assurance of the certain victory of grace.
Starke, Joh_13:31 : A wise teacher giveth not that which is holy unto the dogs, nor casteth the pearls of the divine word before swine, Mat_7:6; 2Ti_2:15.—Canstein: All the sufferings of true Christians end in their glorification; nay, they are themselves a glory to them.—Zeisius: In all tribulations the best course to be pursued is to fix the eye of faith immovably upon the promised, future glory.—Even in the midst of suffering, as in the deepest humiliation and in death itself, the most admirable beams of glory shine forth.—Zeisius: Christ’s glory is our glory also, for to this end (also) was He glorified, that He might bring us to everlasting radiance and glory.—A blissful death is the way to the eternal glory of God’s children in heaven.
Joh_13:34 :—Hedinger: Try thyself. Much love, much Christianity.—1Pe_1:22.—Zeisius: As the brethren of a fleshly order have their particular insignia, so love is the badge of spiritual brethren, or faithful Christians. He who has not this, has forfeited his order.
Joh_13:36.—Quesnel: God has His hours. What we cannot do at one time, He causes us to perform at another.
Joh_13:37.—Hedinger: Even in good hearts there is sometimes more presumption than strength, Php_2:13;—Christ must die for Peter before Peter can die for Christ.—Beware, therefore, of relying upon thyself. Everything must come of Christ’s Spirit and death.
Joh_13:38. We should not reject or disown our brethren on account of their many infirmities, but bear with them, in the confident hope of their renewal and purification, 1Co_10:12.—God sometimes lets His saints stumble and fall, so that the ruin latent in them may become right patent to them.
Heubner: Now. With the treason of Judas, Jesus looked upon His death as determined (the proximate sense of the “now,” however, is, that His victory was already decided), as good as accomplished and, by consequence, His glorification was the same.
Joh_13:32. A man is deserving of glory in proportion to what he himself has done and sacrificed for the glory of God.—He who makes that glory his first aim, may confidently hope that God will glorify him. How were the apostles glorified!
Joh_13:36. An assurance that an honest man grows in strength for duty, in the strength of spiritual life.
Gossner: On Joh_13:30. The devil is a stormy master; he demands to be served with speed, and he leaves a man no time to bethink himself. Away with thee quickly! Be off! he cries.
Joh_13:33. The way I go is as yet too rough for you (and the goal is still too high for you).—Throughout the world Christians should be known by love. Each reverences that grace in another, which the other honors in him.—On Joh_13:37. Human nature is so arrogant. It thinks itself able to outrun grace, until, having started in the race and stumbling, as in Peter’s case, pride dies at last.——Gerlach: By the word glorify we are to understand the revelation of the divine power and glory. The divine glory is God’s manifest, almighty, holy love.—This one another (Joh_13:34) deserves our special consideration.—In these last parting discourses Jesus is no longer speaking of the world, (? See Joh_16:8, etc.), but of His people only; therefore not of the love that sacrifices itself for another without meeting with any return from that other; but of the love existing in the mutual relationship of true disciples. It is the duty of these to strive for a unity like that of the Father and Son (Joh_17:21), and to manifest this unity before the world, that the world may know that Jesus was sent from God. This brotherly love is, in its nature, one and the same with a universal love; it differs, however, in expression.
Joh_13:36. In this annexed allusion to the future martyr’s death which Peter should suffer, there is contained a word of comfort that afterwards had the power to raise him up, when bitter grief at his deep fall brought him nigh unto despair. Comp. Luk_22:32.——Lisco:I will lay down my life. Thus he spoke with a lively consciousness of his sincere love and hearty attachment to Jesus; but, blinded with regard to his weakness, he gave himself credit for more moral strength and firmness of faith than he possessed.——Braune, Joh_13:31. An exultant cry of victory in the night in which He was betrayed.—God is glorified in Christ through suffering and death, and Christ is glorified in God through the (resurrection,) ascension into heaven and the exaltation to the right hand of the majesty of the Father.—Little children,1Pe_1:23.—And as I said unto the Jews. But with what a difference here. Here the sharp words are wanting, that were aimed at the Jews; but the perverse rejoinders are missing likewise (Joh_7:34; Joh_8:21).—A Christian destitute of this brotherly love, is like sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.—Peter proves that a man is always better than his bad, but worse than his good, moods.
Richter: Joh_13:37. That Peter did not, in the exercise of faith and obedience, keep silence, was the inward beginning of his fall.
Stier: Joh_13:34. If the
êáéíὴ äéáèÞêç
, spoken of in the institution of the Lord’s Supper, have reference to Exo_24:8, comp. Jer_31:31, then doubtless the
ἐíôïëὴ êáéíÞ
stands in closest connection with the
äéáèÞêç
. For the making of laws is the necessary accompaniment to a covenant.—As I have loved you. In Christ, a man, like us, the first perfect fulfilment of the law now stands before us as a living decalogue; but when faith petitions, strength to love in like manner issues forth from His perfectness and flows into us,Eph_5:1-2.—It has been falsely said Peter’s denial was thrice predicted; here, in accordance with Luke, in accordance with Matthew and Mark. Truer and more significant would be the statement that Peter thrice protested against such a catastrophe.—Nitzsch: It results of itself that those who love one another, are but practising and preparing themselves to extend their love outside of their own circle into the whole world.
[Craven: From Origen: Joh_13:31-32. It is the glory of the Man which is here meant; Christ at His death glorified God, making peace by the blood of His cross—thus the Son of Man was glorified, and God glorified in Him.—The word glory is here used in a different sense from that which some pagans attach to it, who defined glory to be the collected praises of many; the mind when it ascends above material things and spiritually sees God, is deified, and of this spiritual glory the visible glory on the face of Moses is a figure.—The whole of the Father’s glory shines upon the Son; of this glory He hath made all who know Him partakers.
Joh_13:33. Little children He says, for their souls were yet in infancy.
Joh_13:33. To seek Jesus, is to seek the Word, wisdom, righteousness, truth, all which is Christ.—As if He said, I say it to you but with the addition of now (Joh_13:36); the Jews would never be able to follow Him, but the disciples were unable only for a little while.——From Augustine: Joh_13:31. The unclean went out, the clean remained with the cleanser; thus will it be when the tares are separated from the wheat.
Joh_13:34. He teaches them how to fit themselves to follow Him.
Joh_13:36. He checks the forwardness of Peter but does not destroy his hope; nay, He confirms it.—Be not lifted up with presumption, thou canst not now; be not cast down with despair, thou shalt follow me, afterwards.
Joh_13:37. Peter knew his great desire, his strength he knew not.——From Chrysostom: Joh_13:34. As I have loved you; My love has not been the payment of something owing to you, but had its beginning on My side.
Joh_13:38. Thou (Peter) shalt know by experience that thy love is nothing, unless thou be enabled from above.——From Bede: Joh_13:36-38. Should any one fall, let the example of Peter save him from despair.
[From Burkitt: Joh_13:33. Little children; intimating the tender affection He bears His disciples.—Whither I go ye cannot come; till our work be done, whither Christ is gone we cannot come.
Joh_13:34. A new commandment because, urged from a new motive, and enforced by a new example.
Joh_13:35. Christ will have His disciples known by their profound affection to each other.—One of the best evidences we can have of our vital relation to Christ, is a hearty love toward fellow. Christians.
Joh_13:36. Though disciples shall certainly follow their Lord, they must patiently wait His time and finish His work.
Joh_13:37-38. The holiest of men knows not his own strength till temptation brings him to the trial.—None are so near falling as those who are most confident of their own standing.——From M. Henry: From Joh_13:31, to the end of chap. 14. Christ’s table-talk with His disciples; teaching us to make conversation at table serviceable to religion.
Joh_13:31. Christ did not begin this discourse till Judas had gone out; the presence of wicked people often a hindrance to good discourse.
Joh_13:31-32. Christ gives three comforting assurances concerning His sufferings—1. That He should be glorified in them, by (1) obtaining a glorious victory over Satan, (2) working out a glorious deliverance for His people, (3) giving a glorious example of self-denial and patience; 2. That God the Father should be glorified in them—those sufferings were, (1) the satisfaction of the Father’s justice, (2) the manifestation of the Father’s holiness and mercy; 3. That He Himself should be greatly glorified after them, in consideration of the glorification of the Father by them (Joh_13:32).—In the exaltation of Christ there was a regard had to His (self) humiliation, and a reward given for it; those who mind the business of glorifying God shall have the happiness of being glorified with Him.
Joh_13:33. The words little children do not declare so much their weakness, as His tenderness and compassion.—The declaration Whither I go ye cannot come suggests—1. high thoughts of Him, 2. low thoughts of themselves.—They could not follow Him to His cross, for they had not (then) courage; they could not follow Him to His crown, for they had not a sufficiency of their own, nor was their work yet finished.
Joh_13:34-35. He urges the great duty of mutual love by three arguments—1. The command of their Master; 2. The example of their Saviour; 3. The reputation of their profession.—Brotherly love is the badge of Christ’s disciples, by this—1. He knows them, 2. others (the world) know them.—The true honor of Christ’s disciples to excel in brotherly love.
Joh_13:36. Peter’s curiosity and the check given to it.—Believers must not expect to be glorified as soon as they are effectually called—there is a wilderness between the Red Sea and Canaan.
Joh_13:37-38. Peter’s (self-) confidence and the check given to that.—Peter was inconsiderate but not insincere; we are apt to think we can do anything, but without Christ we can do nothing.—It is good for us to shame ourselves out of our presumptuous confidence; shall a bruised reed set up for a pillar, or a sickly child undertake to be a champion?—Christ not only foresaw that Judas would betray Him, but that Peter would deny Him; He knows not only the wickedness of sinners, but the weakness of Saints.—The most secure are commonly the least safe.——From Scott: Joh_13:34. Alas! the commandment to love one another as Christ has loved us is still new and strange to most professed Christians.——From A. Clark: Joh_13:31. Now it fully appears (is about to appear) that I am the Person appointed to redeem a lost world by My blood.
Joh_13:34. Christ more than fulfilled the Mosaic precept; He not only loved His neighbor asHimself, but He loved him more than Himself—His commandment was strictly knew.
Joh_13:36; Joh_13:38. We should will, and then look to God for power to execute.——From Stier: Joh_13:31. A cry of exultation in the night in which He was betrayed.—The first glorification is the beginning and ground of that which follows as its consummation.—In His humiliation He is exalted, in this darkness of shame does His glory beam forth, from Golgotha go forth those attracting energies which are to wrest from Satan the world of mankind.—The glorification of God in the suffering and dying Son of man embraces—1. when we look into it, the self-offering of God in the person of this Son of man as a great and solitary fact; 2. when we look back, the shining forth of God in human nature generally, as the longed for goal of all aspiration and effort; 3. when we look forward, the representation and offering of God to humanity as the object of faith and love.—The purest honor of God shines forth in the deepest dishonor of this Son of Man.—All is human and all is Divine; the Ecce Homo is changed to the eye of faith into—Behold thy God!
Joh_13:32. The Lord speaks of a twofold glorification—1. He is made perfect through suffering; 2. the glorification of the Son of Man in God.
Joh_13:34. A new commandment—1. in the simplicity and plainness of the expression; 2. in the perfection of the new, now first existing, type; 3. in the power of fulfilment which flows from this life-giving type; 4. and consequently, in the abiding, living newness of this commandment.
Joh_13:37. Peter (a little child,Joh_13:33) would be a man before the time!——From A Plain Commentary (Oxford); Joh_13:34. The commandment called new because destined to become the gnat law of the new creation.—From Barnes: Joh_13:34-35. This commandment to be a badge of discipleship; it was called new because—1. it had never before been made that by which any class of men, had been distinguished; 2. of the extent to which it was to be carried.——From Owen: Joh_13:35. As a historical fact there has been no feature of Christianity exemplified in the life of believers, so potent in overcoming opposition as their mutual love.——From Whedon: Joh_13:36-38. Enough there was of a downfall to neutralize the pride of Peter, but his subsequent recovery evinced the earnestness of his profession.]
Footnotes:
Joh_13:31.—[Tischendorf, Alf. and W. & H. give
ὅôå ïῦ
̓
í
, in accordance with
à
. B. C. D. L. X.;
ïῦ
̓
í
is omitted in A. E. H. K., etc., and those ed. who wrongly join
ὅôå ἐîῆëèåí
to Joh_13:30.—P. S.]
Joh_13:32.—The words
åἰ ὁ èåὸò ἐäïîÜóèç ἐí áὐôῷ
are wanting in [
à
. * B. C. D., etc. Probably the repetition was regarded as superfluous. [They occur in
à
.c A. C.2 T.
Ä
., etc., they are retained by Tischend., omitted by Westc. and H., bracketed by Alf. The omission may have been occasioned by the similar endings of this and preceding clauses.—P. S.]
Joh_13:36.—[Tischendorf, Alford, Westcott and Hort omit
áὐôῷ
(text. rec.), in accordance with B. C.* L.; it occurs, however, in
à
. A. C.3 D., etc.—P. S.]
Joh_13:36.—The
ìïé
is wanting in [
à
.] B. C. * L. X., Vulgate, etc. [It occurs in A. C.3 D., etc., text. rec., but is omitted by Tischend., Alf., Westc. and Hort.—P.S.]
Joh_13:38.—[Instead of
ἀðåêñßèç
the best authorities read
ἀðïêñßíåôáé
, in accordance with
à
. B. C. L. X., etc.—P. S.]
Joh_13:38.—
ÖùíÞóῃ
, against
ÖùíÞóåé
, has very strong authority. [It is so given
à
. A. B. G., etc. and in the best crit. ed.—P. S.]
Joh_13:38.—The reading
ἀñíÞóῃ
decidedly preponderant over against the (synoptic) composite [
ἀðáñíÞóῃ
]. A milder term. [The former occurs in B. D. L. X.; the latter in
à
. A. C. T.
Ä
., etc.—P. S.]
[Similarly Stier and Alford connect Joh_13:33-34 : Ye will be left on earth, when I go to heaven; hut, unlike the Jews, ye will seek Me and find Me in the way of love to Me and to one another, forming a united body, the church, in which all will recognize My presence among you as My disciples.—P. S.]
[So also Wordsworth who, however, combines with this interpretation that of Augustine (renewing), see below, 2 f. Similarly Webster and Wilkinson: “This love was to resemble His love to them in manner and degree (
êáèþò
,
ê
.
ô
.
ë
.), and therefore must be grounded on their spiritual relationship to each other in Him.”—V. S.]
[In his fifth edition, Meyer has no “wondering note of exclamation,” but objects to Dr. Lange’s reference of
ἐòôïëÞ
to the institution of the Lord’s Supper, that it is not indicated in the connection, and is contrary to the parallel passage, 1Jn_2:8. But it should be remembered that these words were spoken at the very time when the Lord’s Supper in connection with the Agape was instituted and commanded to be observed to the second advent as a perpetual commemoration of Christ’s dying love. Neander, Ammon and Ebrard put the institution after Joh_13:32; Tholuck at Joh_13:34. Lange makes the
ἐíôïëὴ êáéíÞ
itself the
êáéíὴ äéáèÞêç
, the love-feast of which Christ says: “Do this in remembrance of Me.” This view is certainly ingenious and plausible, and allows
ἵíá
its full force.—P.S.]
[From a well-known passage in Tertullian’s Apologeticus, c. 39. He adds: “Yea, verily this must strike them (the heathen); for they hate each other, and are rather ready to kill one another. And even that we call each other brethren, seems to them suspicions for no other reason than that among them all expressions of kindred are only feigned. We are even your brethren in virtue of the common nature, which is the mother of us all; though ye, as evil brethren, deny your human nature. But how much more justly are those called and considered brethren, who acknowledge the one God as their Father; who have received the one Spirit of holiness; who have awaked from the same darkness of uncertainty to the light of the same truth?” Comp. my Church History, Vol. I., p. 336 ff., N.
