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Joh_15:11. Conclusion of the section Joh_15:1-10 ( ταῦτα ).
ἵνα ἡ χαρὰ , κ . τ . λ .] Note the juxtaposition of ἡ ἐμή and ἐν ὑμῖν ; that my joy may be in you, i.e. that the same joy which I have may be yours. The holy joyous tone of soul is intended, the conscious moral courage of joy, which also rises victorious over all suffering, as Christ, in virtue of His fellowship with the Father and of His obedience towards Him, must and did possess it (comp. Joh_17:13), and as it is so often audible in Paul’s writings also in the sense of Christ (1Co_7:30; 2Co_13:11; Php_2:17-18; Php_4:4; Rom_14:17; Gal_5:22). Yet ἡ ἐμή is not: the joy produced by me (Calvin, De Wette), or of which I have opened to you the spring (Tholuck), which is forcing a meaning on the simple possessive expression (comp. Joh_3:29, Joh_17:13; 2Co_2:3), and does not satisfy the significant juxtaposition of ἡ ἐμή and ἐν ὑμῖν (comp. 2Co_2:3 : ὅτι ἡ ἐμὴ χαρὰ πάντων ὑμῶν ἐστιν ). The explanations: mea de vobis laetitia (corresponding to χαίρειν ἐν ; so Augustine, Schoettgen, Lampe, Kuinoel, Ebrard, Hengstenberg, and several others), or even: gaudium vestrum de me (Euth. Zigabenus, Grotius, Nösselt, Klee, and several others), are to be rejected because the correct reading is ᾖ (see critical notes). Luthardt: that my joy may have its cause and object in you (not in anything else). This is grammatically correct ( ἐν of causal foundation): the πληρωθῇ , however, which is subsequently said of the joy of the disciples, presupposes that in the first clause the joy of the disciples themselves, the consummation of which is intended, is already indicated; πληρωθῇ otherwise would remain without corresponding correlation. Had the object been merely to express the reciprocity of the joy, we would necessarily have expected in the second half simply: καὶ ἡ χαρὰ ὑμῶν ἐν ἐμοί . See, in answer to Luthardt, also Hofmann, Schriftbew. II. 2, p. 325 f.
If Christ’s joy is in His own, their joy will be thereby completed (comp. Joh_3:29), developed to its full measure in contents, purity, strength, victoriousness, etc. Comp. Joh_16:24; 1Jn_1:4; 2Jn_1:12. Hence: κ . ἡ χαρὰ ὑμ . πληρωθῇ .