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8. πάντες ὅσοι ἧλθον πρὸ ἐμοῦ. These words are difficult, and some copyists seem to have tried to avoid the difficulty by omitting either πάντες or πρὸ ἐμοῦ. But the balance of authority leaves no doubt that both are genuine. Some commentators would translate πρὸ ἐμοῦ ‘instead of Me.’ But this meaning of πρό is not common, and perhaps occurs nowhere in N.T. Moreover ‘instead of Me’ ought to include the idea of ‘for My advantage;’ and that is impossible here. We must retain the natural and ordinary meaning of ‘before Me:’ and as ‘before Me in dignity’ would be obviously inappropriate, ‘before Me in time’ must be the meaning. But who are ‘all that came before Me’? The patriarchs, prophets, Moses, the Baptist cannot be meant, either collectively or singly. ‘Salvation is of the Jews’ (Joh 4:22); ‘they are they which testify of Me’ (Joh 5:39); ‘if ye believed Moses, ye would believe Me’ (Joh 5:46); ‘John bare witness unto the truth’ (Joh 5:33): texts like this are quite conclusive against any such Gnostic interpretation. Nor can false Messiahs be meant: it is doubtful whether any had arisen at this time. Rather it refers to the ‘ravening wolves in sheep’s clothing’ who had been, and still were, the ruin of the nation, ‘who devoured widows’ houses,’ who were ‘full of ravening and wickedness,’ who had ‘taken away the key of knowledge,’ and were in very truth ‘thieves and robbers’ (Mat 7:15; Mat 23:14; Luk 11:39; Luk 11:52). These ‘came,’ but they were not sent. Some of them were now present, thirsting to add bloodshed to robbery, and this denunciation of them is no stronger than several passages in the Synoptists: e.g. Mat 23:33; Luk 11:50-51. The tense also is in favour of this interpretation; not were, but ‘are thieves, and robbers.’
οὐκ ἤκουσαν. For they found no authority, no living voice in their teaching (Mat 7:29). Comp. ‘To whom shall we go?’ (Joh 6:68). Hearers there were, but these were not the sheep, but blind followers, led by the blind. For the plural verb see Winer, p. 646.