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Joh_15:22-24. Sinfulness, not of this non-acquaintance with God (Ebrard, Ewald, Godet), but, as Joh_15:23-25 show, of this hatred of the name of Jesus, in respect of which they are inexcusable, since He has come and spoken to them (Joh_15:22-23), and done before their eyes His Messianic works (miracles), Joh_15:24.
ἁμαρτ . οὐκ εἶχον ] For their hatred of my name would then be excusable, because, without my appearance and discourses, the true knowledge of Him who sent me—and the non-acquaintance with whom is in truth the ground of their hatred (Joh_15:21)—would have remained inaccessible to them. My appearance and discourses ought to have opened their eyes, and brought them to the knowledge of Him who sent me; but since this has not taken place, their hatred against me, which flows from their non-acquaintance with Him who sent me, is inexcusable; it is the hatred of hardened blindness before God’s revelation of Himself in my advent and discourses.
The moment of the protasis lies in ἧλθον and ἐλαλ . αὐτοῖς together (not merely in the latter); ἦλθον is the Messianic ἔρχεσθαι , correlative to the preceding τ . πέμψαντά με . The ἁμαρτία , however, referable to the μισεῖν ,[168] must not be referred merely to unbelief, which does not correspond to the context in Joh_15:19; Joh_15:21; Joh_15:23-25 (in answer to Bengel, Luthardt, Lange, Hengstenberg, and several others). The words ἁμαρτ . οὐκ ἔχειν , Joh_9:41, were spoken of unbelief.
The non-occurrence of ἄν with ΕἾΧΟΝ is as in Joh_8:39.
ΝῦΝ ΔΈ ] But thus, since I have appeared and have spoken to them.
πρόφασιν οὐκ ἔχουσι , κ . τ . λ .] In that supposed case they would have no sin, so far, namely, as their hatred would be only an excusable peccatum ignorantiae; but as the matter stands, they have no pretext in respect of their sin (to which they are subject through their hatred); they can allege nothing by way of escape. πρόφασιν ἔχειν , to have evasions, exculpations, only here in N. T., very frequently in the classics; Dem. 526. 15; Plat. Pol. v. p. 469 C; Xen. Cyr. iii. 1. 27. Antithesis: ἀφελεῖν πρόφασιν , Dem. 26. 2, 635. 24. Euth. Zigabenus well remarks: ἈΠΟΣΤΕΡΕῖ ΤΟῪς ἸΟΥΔΑΊΟΥς ἉΠΆΣΗς ΣΥΓΓΝΏΜΗς ἘΘΕΛΟΚΑΚΟῦΝΤΑς .
Joh_15:23. And how exceedingly great is this sin! Comp. v. 23.
Joh_15:24, parallel to Joh_15:22, as there from the discourses, which the unbelieving have heard, so here similarly from that which they have seen, revealing their guilt.
οὐδεὶς ἄλλος ] that is, according to their nature and appearance, divine works, Joh_5:36, Joh_9:3-4, Joh_10:37, Joh_14:10, et al.
νῦν δὲ καὶ ἑωράκασι κ . τ . λ .] But thus ( νῦν δέ , as in Joh_15:22), they have actually seen (as Joh_6:36), and yet hated both me and my Father. Not merely μεμισ ., but also already ἙΩΡΆΚ ., is connected with ΚΑῚ ἘΜῈ , Κ . Τ . Λ .; in the works they have seen Christ (Joh_10:25) and the Father (Joh_14:10); for both have revealed themselves in them, which, indeed, the unbelieving have seen only as an external sensuous occurrence, not with the inward understanding, giving significance to the outward σημεῖα ; not with the eye of spiritual knowledge and inward being, Joh_6:26.
[168] Hence, too, on the question as to the salvation of the heathen, to whom Christ has not been preached, nothing is to be gathered from the present passage; and one may now, with Augustine, decide in favour of mitiores poenas for them, or, in confirmation of their condemnation, propose, with Melanchthon, to extend the words of Christ to the protevangelium in paradise, and bring in at the same time the natural moral law, Romans 2.