The Gospel According to St. John; commentaries on Hebrews and 1–3 John

19. The hatred of the world to the disciples could not but follow necessarily from the choice of Christ, by which they were drawn out of the world to Him. This hatred, therefore, became to them a memorial of their great hopes. Comp. Matt. v. 14 f.; Rom. viii. 17; i Pet. iv. iz f.

If ye were of the world, the world would

cause ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

<Matt. 10. said unto you, « The servant is not

persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.

love] The love (f>0t'X«) is that of nature, and not of moral choice (dyanarf, v. 17).

bis (Its) own... you] The love of the world is marked as selfish. It is directed to that which specially belongs to itself: to a quality and not to a person (TO idiov, Vulg. quod suum enif). The fivefold repetition of "the world " brings out vividly the antagonist of

20. the word] The reference appears to be not to xiii. 16, but to some earlier occasion on which the words were used, with an application like the present one, Matt. x. 24.

If they have persecuted (they persecuted)...// they have kept (they kept)...] The subject is left indefinite, being naturally supplied from " the world," and the alternatives are simply stated. The disciples could look back and discern what they had to expect: some courageous followers, some faithful hearers, out of misunderstanding, or careless, or hostile multitudes.

21. But...] The Lord, with an abrupt transition, anticipates the judgment and deals with it. Persecution and rejection were inevitable; but they were not really to be feared. The disciples could bear them, because they sprang from ignorance of God, and so indirectly witnessed that the disciples knew Him.

do unto you] The original phrase, according to the true text, is very remarkable (iroiija-ova-iv fls v/xar). The disciples were to be not only in fact the victims of the world's hatred, but the object which the world deliberately sought to overpower.

for my name's sake] Comp. Acts v. 41 (for the name); I Pet. iv. 14. The hostility of the Jews to the disciples was called out by the fact that these proclaimed Christ as being what He had revealed Himself to be, the Christ, the Son of the living God. This was His " name; " and it became the ground of accusation, because the Jews knew not God, that God whom they professed to honour, from whom Christ came.

because] The true knowledge of God carries with it the knowledge of Christ (viii. 42 (comp. i John v. i); and conversely the knowledge of Christ is the knowledge of God (xii. 44). Comp. Luke xxiii. 34.

22—25. The Lord, having shewn the fact and the ground of the hatred which His disciples would experience, shews also that the hatred is without excuse and yet inevitable. To this end He marks the double testimony which He had Himself offered to His Person and to His office, the testimony of teaching (vv. 22, 23), and the testimony of works (24). He had made the Father known. The parallelism between the two declarations is remarkable:

If I had not come and spoken to them, they had not had sin:

But now they have no excuse for their sin. He that hateth me hateth my Father

If I had not done among them the works which none other did, they had not had sin:

But now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father.

The same two forms of witness are appealed to in the same order in xiv. 10, n. Compare also Matt. xiii. 16 f.; Luke x. 23 f.

22. come'] The word appears to be used in its technical sense: " If I had not claimed the true functions of Messiah, and spoken in that capacity, and wrought "the works of the Christ," they might then have treated me as a mere man and rejected me without sin." Comp. ix. 41. The Jews had the power and the opportunity of discerning Christ's real nature, so that they were inexcusable. Compare Deut. xviii. 18, 19, where the responsibility of discernment is laid upon the people.

unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no ' cloke for their sin.

23 He that hateth me hateth my Father also.

24 If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.

25 But this cometb to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, "They hated me without a cause.

26 fBut when the Comforter is*"Luke*«- come, whom I will send unto you chap. i4. from the Father, even the Spirit of26 truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

mark the abiding effects of sin. But in the latter the act is the central point, and in the former the responsibility for the act.

for (irtpi) their sin] in the matter of, concerning their sin. They have nothing which they can even plead in their own defence as in times of ignorance (i Pet. 1-14; Acts xvii. 30; Rom. iii. 25).

23. He that hateth me hateth...'] It is assumed that "the Jews" hate Christ; and so the necessary consequences of this feeling are laid open. Hatred of the Son as Son carries with it hatred of the Father, in which character He had revealed God. Here in connexion with teaching (v. 22) the inward disposition of hatred only is touched upon, and that in a general form (be that hateth}. In v. 24 the feeling is marked in its historic form (have seen and have hated). For the combination me...my Father see i John ii. 23, v. 10.

24. For those who could not enter into the witness of words Christ added the subordinate witness of works (xiv. 10 ff., note). The works are characterized (which none other did: comp. Matt. ix. 33); the words are undefined (come and spoken). The works of Christ might be compared with other works; His words had an absolute power (vii. 46. Comp. Matt. vii. 29). Augustine (in loc.) has an interesting comparison of other miracles with the miracles of Christ.

both seen] so far as the works revealed outwardly the majesty and will of God, and of Christ, as the representative of God. Comp. xiv. 9.. Contrast v. 23.

25. But this cometh to pass that...might (may)...] Comp. i. 8, £zrf he came f /fort..., ix.3, but this hath come to pass that..., xi. 4, xiii. 18, xiv. 31; i John ii. 19; Mark xiv. 49. However startling it might be that the Jews should reject Him whom they professed to reverence, by doing so they fulfilled the Scripture. Comp. Acts xiii. 27. It could not but be that the divine type, foreshadowed in the history of king and prophet, should be completely realised. Comp. xii. 38 f.

in their law] The Lord separates His society from the unfaithful synagogue (their law). The very books which the Jews claimed to follow condemned them. For the extension of the term " Law" to the Psalms see x. 34, note. The phrase occurs in Ps. xxxv. (xxxiv.) 19, and in Ps. Ixix. (Ixviii.) 4.

26, 27. There is a pause after v. 25. The Lord had dwelt on the hatred with which He had been met. Yet that was not to prevail. The hostility of the world is therefore contrasted with the power by which it should be overcome. In -vv. 26, 27 the thought is of the vindication of the Lord; in ch. xvi. this passes into the thought of the support of the disciples.

/ (tyto) will send] Comp. xvi. 7. The use of this phrase, involving the claim to divine power at this crisis of rejection, is made most significant by the emphatic pronoun.

from the Father] The preposition (irapa) which is used in both clauses expresses properly position (" from the side of"), and not source («'£, " out of"). The remarkable use in Luke vi. 19 is explained by Luke viii. 44.

the Spirit of truth] xiv. 17, xvi. 13; i John iv. 6. Christianity is itself " the Truth." It was the office of the Spirit to interpret and enforce it. The genitive describes the substance of that with which the Spirit dealt, and not a mere characteristic of the Spirit, thai His witness is true.

proceedeth] The original term (eKTropfverat, Vulg. procedit) may in itself either describe proceeding from a source, or proceeding on a mission. In the former sense the preposition

27 And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.

~"*HESE things have I spoken un- JL to you, that ye should not be offended.

out of (i K, e) would naturally be required to define the source (Rev. i. 16, &c.); on the other hand the preposition from (from the side of, napd, a) is that which is habitually used with the verb to come forth of the mission of the Son, e.g. xvi. a?, xvii. 8. The use of the latter preposition (irapa) in this place seems therefore to shew decisively that the reference here is to the temporal mission of the Holy Spirit, and not to the eternal Procession. In accordance with this usage the phrase in the Creeds is uniformly " which proceedeth out of (TO TTV. TO ayiov TO e'»c rou irarpbs (K.TTOpfv6p,(vov); and it is most worthy of notice that the Greek fathers who apply this passage to the eternal Procession instinctively substitute "out of" (eV) for "from" (n-apd) in their application of it: e.g. Theodore of Mopsuestia ('Cat' in loco). At the same time the use of the present (proceedeth) in contrast with the future (I will send), brings out the truth that the mission of the Spirit consequent on the exaltation of the Son was the consummation of His earlier working in the world. In this respect the revelation of the mission of the Spirit to men (which proceedeth, I will send) corresponds to the revelation of the eternal relations of the Spirit (from the Father, through the Son).

from the Father] not from My Father. The mission is connected with the essential relation of God to man.

The witness of the Spirit was not only given through the disciples (Matt. x. 19, ao), but is also given more widely in the continuous interpretation of the life of Christ by the experience of men.

27. ye also shall bear witness] The verb (napTvptlrt) may be indicative (and ye also bear witness), or imperative (and do ye also bear witness). The imperative seems at first sight to fall in better with the general tenour of the passage (w. 18, 20); but on the other hand 3" John la, which is evidently moulded on this passage, favours the indicative; and yet more, in these two verses Christ is speaking of the witness which should maintain His cause against the world and not enjoining duties. On the whole, therefore, the imperative is less appropriate. The present tense is used of the witness of the disciples, inasmuch as their witness was already begun in some sense, in contrast with that of the have been with...~\ are with me... The relation was present and unbroken. Com p. Luke xv. 31.

For the two- fold witness see Acts v. 3 a. On the one side there is the historical witness to the facts, and on the other the internal testimony of personal experience.

4. The world and the Paraclete (xvi. I — ii). In this section the manifestation of the hatred of the world is followed out to its last issues (i— 4 a), in the prospect of that crisis of separation, which is the condition of the mission of the Paraclete (4 b — 7), who finally tries and convicts the world (8 — n). The antagonistic forces of the world and the Paraclete are portrayed in the most energetic opposition. The warning is answered by the promise.

CHAP. XVI. 1 ff. In the last section the hatred of the world was exhibited in its general character as inevitable and inexcusable, in contrast to the witness to Christ; it is now shewn in its intense activity as the expression of a false religious zeal.

1. These things'] The reference appears to be to the whole revelation of the vital union of the believer with Christ, of the self-sacrifice of Christians, of their power of devotion, of their suffering as sharers with Christ, of their witness coincident with the witness of the Spirit; and not only to the last section (xv. 17 — 37). Compare xv. ii.

not be offended (o-Kai>8a\io-dr)Tf)] Comp. vi. 61. The image of stumbling over some obstacle in the way (o-Kai>8a\ov, "offence," i John ii. 10), which is common in the first two Gospels (e.g. Matt. xiii. ai) and is found more rarely in St Luke, occurs in this form only in these two places in the Gospel of St John. It is expressed otherwise in xi. 9 f. (comp. Rom. ix. 33). The offence lay in the opposition on the part of the world to that which the disciples were taught to regard as rightly claiming the allegiance of all

2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.

4 But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of

men, and especially in the opposition of Israel to that which was the true fulfilment of their national hopes. No trial could be greater to Jewish apostles than the fatal unbelief of their countrymen. Comp. Rom. x.

yea (dXXa, Vulg. sed~)~] The exclusion from religious fellowship might seem the climax of religious hostility, but there was something more formidable still. The contrast is between what the disciples could perhaps anticipate, and the real extremity of hatred. They shall put you out of the synagogue; this, indeed, however grievous, you may be prepared to bear; but far more than this; The hour cometh that their full malignity may be shewn, when putting you to death will seem to be the performance of a religious duty.

the time (hour) cometh, that...~\ The issue is represented in relation to the whole divine purpose which it fulfilled (Luke ii. 35). This uttermost manifestation of the violence of unbelief was part of the counsel of God. He provided for such an end (ep^trat Iva). Comp. •v. 32, xii. 23, xiii. i.

whosoever...] every one who... This will be the universal spirit, not only among Jews, who will be the first adversaries of the Church, but among Gentiles, who will accuse you of impious crimes (Tac. 'Ann.' XV. 44; Suet. ' Nero,' 16).

doeth God service'] offereth service unto God (d, hostiam offer re Deo, Vulg. obsequium prtestare Deo). The phrase expresses the rendering of a religious service (Xarpfi'a, Rom. ix. 4; Hebr. ix. i, 6), and more particularly the rendering of a sacrifice as service (rrpoo— fapdv, Hebr. v. i ff., viii. 3 f., ix. 7 ff. &c.). The slaughter of Christians, as guilty of blasphemy (Acts vii. 57 f., vi. 13), would necessarily be regarded by zealots as an act of devotion pleasing to God, and not merely as a good work. The Midrash on Num. xxv. 13 ([Phinehas'] made an atonement) may serve as a commentary. " Was this said because he offered an offering (Korban)? No; but to teach them that every one that sheds the blood of the wicked is as he that offereth an offering " (' Midrash R.' ad!oc.).

3. do unto you] Omit unto you. The action itself, without regard to the particular objects of it, is the central thought.

because they have not known..."] because they knew not... This fatal error was the consequence of a failure to know God. The evil act followed upon the blinded thought. The Jews in their crisis of trial " did not recognise" (OVK f-yvoHmv) the Father and Christ. Their sin is not placed in the want of knowledge in itself (OVK oiSatri, xv. 21, viii. 19, vii. 28), but in the fact that when the opportunity of learning was given to them they did not gain the knowledge which was within their reach (comp. xvii. 25, i. 10).

In this connexion the change from "Him that sent me" (xv. 21) to "the Father" (not " my Father ") is significant. " The Father " marks an absolute and universal relation of God to man which Christ came to reveal; " Him that sent me" marks the connexion of Christ with the Old Covenant.

4. But these things have I told you] But these things have I spoken unto you. The strong adversative (aXXa) is difficult to explain. The reference has been supposed to be to the words immediately preceding; as though it were implied that careful reflection might have shewn the disciples after Christ's death what must be their position. This being so, their Master might have left them to the teaching of experience, but for their sake He forewarned them. It is however perhaps more simple to take the but as abruptly breaking the development of thought; "but, not to dwell on the details of the future..."

ye may... of them] ye may remember them how that I (e'yw) told you. Comp. xiii. 19. The pronoun I is emphatic. Christ Himself had foreseen what caused His disciples perplexity. As knowing this they could be patient.

4 b ff. The revelation which has been given answers to a crisis of transition. The departure of Christ is the condition of the coming of the Paraclete. Separation and suffering are the preparation for victory.

And (But, 8f) these things I said not unto you (told you not) at (from) the beginning} The exact phrase (V| apxns) occurs in the New Testament janly here and in ch. vi. 64. The preposition suggests the notion of that which flows "out of" a source in a continuous stream, rather than of that which first began from a certain point. Comp. Isai. xl. 21, xli. 26, xliii. 9 (LXX.); Ecclus. xxxix.

them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.

5 But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?

6 But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.

7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

8 And when he is come, he will 'reprove the world of sin, and of1Or. righteousness, and of judgment:

If this difference be regarded, the relation of this statement to the warnings of future trials given at earlier times as recorded by the Synoptists (Matt. v. 10, x. 16 ff.; Luke vi. ^^ f.) becomes intelligible. The future fate of the disciples had not been unfolded little by little in unbroken order as a necessary consequence of their relation to Christ. Here and there t had been indicated before, but now it was shewn in its essential relation to their faith. But these things must not be limited to the prediction of sufferings only. Christ had spoken also of the new relation of the disciples to Himself through the Paraclete. This fresh revelation was part of the vision of the future now first unfolded.

because I was with you] Comp. Matt. ix. 15. 5. But now I go my way to (go unto)...] Hitherto Christ had Himself borne the storm of hostility, and shielded the disciples: now He was to leave them, and the wrath of His enemies would be diverted upon them, though they would have another Advocate. The clause is to be closely connected with that which follows: " I go my way and yet none of you..."

and none of you... ~] Christ was going; so much the disciples realised. But their thoughts were bent upon their own immediate loss, and no one asked how this departure affected Him; so completely had their own sorrow absorbed them. Thus theymissed the abiding significance of His departure for themselves. The isolated questions of St Peter and St Thomas (xiii. 36, xiv. 5) are not inconsistent with these words. Those questions were not asked with a view to the Lord's glory; and much had been said since which might have moved the disciples to a persistency of inquiry.

6. because I have said (spoken) these things'] Comp. w. i, 4. The prospect of misunderstanding and suffering and separation to be faced shut out all thoughts of consolation and strength.

7. Nevertheless...'] But though you are silent, unable to look onward to the later issues of immediate separation, I (eyo>), I, on my part, fulfil to the last my ministry of love — / tell you the truth, it is expedient for you that I (tyw) go away. The disciples were deceived by the superficial appearance of things. To remove their error Christ tells them the truth, revealing, laying bare, the reality which was hidden from eyes dimmed by sorrow.

// is expedient] Comp. xi. 50, xviii. 14. From opposite sides (" it is expedient for KJ," xi. 50; but here "it is expedient for you") the divine and human judgments coincide. Comp. vii. 39 note.

The personal pronoun in the first case (that I go) is emphatic. Attention is fixed upon the Person of the Lord as He was known, in order to prepare the hearers for the thought of "another Advocate" (xiv. 16).

for if I go not away] Here the emphasis is changed. The stress is laid upon the thought of departure. To bring out this idea still more clearly, that which is first spoken of as a "departure" with the predominant notion of separation (eav ^ aV/X&a) is afterwards spoken of as a "journey," with the predominant notion of an end to be gained (e'ai> nopfvQta). In -v. 10 the idea is that of a " withdrawal " (vTrdyu). Comp. vii. 33, note. the Comforter (Advocate) will not come... I will send him...'] The absence of the pronoun before the verb here (ire^o>, I will send; compare ey<* Tre'/xV"") xv- a<>, / will send) gives predominance to the thought of the Mission of the Spirit as a fact. Comp. Luke xxiv. 49; Acts i. 4. The departure of Christ was in itself a necessary condition for the coming of the Spirit to men. The withdrawal of His limited bodily Presence necessarily prepared the way for the recognition of a universal Presence. Comp. vii. 39. And again the presence of Christ with the Father, the consummation of His union with the Father as God and Man, was the preliminary to the Mission of the Spirit. He sent the Spirit in virtue of His ascended Manhood.

And yet again the mission and the reception of the Spirit alike required a completed atonement of Man and God (Hebr. ix. 26 ff.), and the glorifying of perfect humanity in Christ.

8 ff. The promise of the Paraclete is followed by the description of His victory. The synagogue has become the world; and the world finds its conqueror.

8. And when he is come, he..."] And h e (eVetj/or) whan lie is come... The whole action

9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;

of the Spirit during the history of the Church is gathered up under three heads. The categories of sin, righteousness and judgment, include all that is essential in the determination of the religious state of man, and to these the work of the Paraclete is referred. His office is to convict (<?'A6yx«i>, Vulg. arguere) the world — humanity separated from God, though not past hope — concerning (irtpi, "in the mattei of") sin and righteousness and judgment.

The idea of "conviction" is complex. It involves the conceptions of authoritative examination, of unquestionable proof, of decisive judgment, of punitive power. Whatever the final issue may be, he who "convicts" another places the truth of the case in dispute in a clear light before him, so that it must be seen and acknowledged as truth. He who then rejects the conclusion which this exposition involves, rejects it with his eyes open and at his peril. Truth seen as truth carries with it condemnation to all who refuse to welcome it. The different aspects of this "conviction" are brought out in the usage of the word in the N.T. There is first the thorough testing of the real nature of the facts (ch. iii. 20; Eph. v. 13); and then the application of the truth thus ascertained to the particular person affected (James ii. 9; Jude 15, (aa), i Cor. xiv. 24; a Tim. iv. a; comp. Matt, xviii. 15; John viii. 9); and that in chastisement (i Tim. v. 20; Titus i. 9, ii. 15; comp. Eph. v. ii); or with a distinct view to the restoration of him who is in the wrong (Rev. iii. 19; Hebr. xii. 5; Titus i. 13).

The effect of the conviction of the world by the Spirit is left undecided so far as the world is concerned; but for the Apostles themselves the pleading of the Advocate was a sovereign vindication of their cause. In the great trial they were shewn to have the right, whether their testimony was received or rejected. The typical history recorded in the Book of the Acts illustrates the decisive twofold action of the divine testimony (a Cor. ii. 1 6); for the presentation of the Truth in its power must always bring life or death, but it may bring either; and in this respect the experience of the Apostles on the Day of Pentecost (Acts ii. 13, 41) has been the experience of the Church in all ages. The divine reproof is not simply a final sentence of condemnation; it is also at the same time a call to repentance, which may or may not be heard. The Gospel of St John itself, as has been well pointed out (Kbstlin, ' Lehrbegriff,' 205) is a monument of the Spirit's conviction of the world concerning sin (iii. 19 — ai, v. a8 f., 38 — 47, viii. ai ff., 34 — 47, ix. 41, xiv. a?, xv. 18 — 24); righteousness (v. 30, vii. 18, 24, viii. 28.

sin...righteousness... judgment] The three conceptions, sin, righteousness, and judgment, are given first in their most abstract and general form. These are the cardinal elements in the determination of man's spiritual state. In these his past and present and future are severally summed up. Then when the mind has seized the broad divisions of the spiritual analysis the central fact in regard to each is stated, from which the process of testing, of revelation, of condemnation, proceeds. In each case the world was in danger of a fatal error, and this error is laid open in view of the decisive criterion to which it is brought.

The three subjects are placed in a natural and significant order. The position of man is determined first; he is shewn to have fallen. And then the position of the two spiritual powers which strive for the mastery over him is made known; Christ has risen to the throne of glory; the prince of the world has been judged. The subjects may also be regarded from another point of sight. When the conviction concerning sin is complete, there remains for man the choice of two alternatives; on the one side there is a righteousness to be obtained from without; and on the other, a judgment to be borne.

So far it may be said that in the thought ot "sin" man is the central subject, as himself sinful; in the thought of "righteousness," Christ, as alone righteous; in the thought ot "judgment," the devil, as already judged.

Yet once again the three words, sin, righteousness, judgment, gain an additional fulness of meaning when taken in connexion with the actual circumstances under which they were spoken. The "world," acting through its representatives, had charged Christ as "a sinner" (John ix. 34). Its leaders "trusted that they were righteous" (Luke xviii. 9), and they were just on the point of giving sentence against "the prince of life" (Acts iii. 15) as a malefactor (John xviii. 30). At this point the threefold error (Acts iii. 17), which the Spirit was to reveal and reprove, had brought at last its fatal fruit.

of... of...'] The Spirit will convict the world "concerning, in the matter of (n(p'C) sin, of righteousness, of judgment." He will not simply convict the world as sinful, as without righteousness, as under judgment, but He will shew beyond contradiction that it is wanting in the knowledge of what sin, righteousness, and judgment really are; and therefore in need of a complete change (jttravoid).

9 ff. because... because... because] Three distinct facts answering to the spiritual character-

10 Of righteousness, because I go n Of judgment, because the prince to my Father, and ye see me no more; of this world is judged.

istics of the world, of Christ, and of the prince of the world, are stated, which severally form the basis of the action of the Spirit. The conjunction is not to be taken simply as explanatory ("in so far as"), but as directly causal; "because this and this and this is beyond question, the innermost secrets of man's spiritual nature can be and are discovered." Comp. Luke ii. 34, 35.

9. Of sin, because they believe not on me] The want of belief in Christ when He is made known, lies at the root of all sin, and reveals its nature. Sin is essentially the selfishness which sets itself up apart from, and so against God. It is not defined by any limited rules, but expresses a general spirit. Christ is thus the touchstone of character. To believe in Him, is to adopt the principle of self-surrender to God. Not to believe in Him, is to cleave to legal views of duty and service which involve a complete misunderstanding of the essence of sin. The Spirit therefore, working through the written and spoken word, starts from the fact of unbelief in the Son of Man, and through that lays open what sin is. In this way the condition of man standing alone is revealed, and he is left without excuse. Comp. viii. ai, ix. 41.

10. Of righteousness, because I go... ~] The Person of Christ, offered as the object of man's faith, serves as a test of the true appreciation of sin. The historical work of Christ, completed at His Ascension, serves as a test of the true appreciation of righteousness. The Life and Death and Resurrection of the Son of God placed righteousness in a new light. By these the majesty of law and the power of obedience and the reality of a divine fellowship, stronger than death, were made known once for all. For a time the Lord had shewn in an outward form the perfect fulfilment of the Law, and the absolute conformity of a human life to the divine ideal. He had shewn also how sin carries with it consequences which must be borne; and how they had been borne in such a way that they were potentially abolished. In that life, closed by the return to the Father, there was a complete exhibition of righteousness in relation to God and man. The Son had received a work to do, and having accomplished it He returned not simply to heaven but to the Father who sent Him, in token of its absolute fulfilment. This revelation once given was final. Because nothing could be added to it (/ go to the Father); because after that Christ was withdrawn from human eyes He had passed into a new sphere (ye see me no more), there was fixed for all time that by which men's estimate of righteousness might be tried. On the other hand, till Christ had been raised to glory "righteousness" had not been vindicated. The condemnation of Christ by the representatives of Israel shewed in the extremest form how men had failed to apprehend the nature of righteousness. The Spirit, therefore, starting from the fact of Christ's life, His suffering, and His glory, regarded as a whole, lays open the divine aspects of human action as concentrated in the Son of Man. In this way the possibilities of life are revealed in fellowship with Him who has raised humanity to heaven.

righteousness'] The word occurs only in this passage in St John's Gospel. In his first Epistle it is found in the phrase " do righteousness" (ii. 39, iii. 7, 10; comp. Rev. xxii. ii, [xix. nj). "Righteousness" is evidently considered in its widest sense. Each limited thought of righteousness, as of God's righteousness in the rejection of the Jews, or of man's righteousness as a believer, or even of Christ's righteousness, otherwise than as the fulfilment of the absolute idea in relation both to God and man, is foreign to the scope of the passage. The world is examined, convicted, convinced, as to its false theories of righteousness. In Christ was the one absolute type of righteousness; from him a sinful man must obtain righteousness. Just as sin is revealed by the Spirit to be something far different from the breaking of certain specific injunctions, so righteousness is revealed to be something far different from the outward fulfilment of ceremonial or moral- observances. Comp. Matt. v. ao, vi. 33; Rom. iii. ai f., x. 3.

1 go to the Fatter (not my Father), and ye see (behold) me no more] The idea of the first clause is that of a completed work (viii. 14, xiii. 3); that of the second a changed mode of existence. There is no contrast in the second clause between the disciples and others; in the original the pronoun is not expressed, and the emphasis lies upon the verb, "ye behold me" (tffwpftrf). Comp. w. 16 ff. The new mode of existence is indicated as absolute (ye behold), and not merely relative to the world (they shall behold).

11. Of judgment, because the prince (ruler) of this world is (hath been) judged] The world hitherto had passed sentence on success and failure according to its own standard. At length this standard had been overthrown. He in whom the spirit of the world was concentrated had been judged at the very moment and in the very act by which he appeared to common eyes to have triumphed. The Lord therefore looks forward to the consummation

all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew 1 3 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of you things to come, truth, is come, he will guide you into 14 He shall glorify me: for he

12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

of His own Passion as the final sentence in which men could read the issues of life and death. And the Spirit starting from this lays open the last results of human action in the sight of the Supreme Judge. In this way the final victory of right is revealed in the realisation of that which has been indeed already done.

The office of the Paraclete is not confined to the conviction of the world. He carries forward the work which Christ had begun for the disciples, and guides them into all the Truth (vv. 12, 13). By this He glorifies Christ (v. 14), to whom all things belong

This section distinctly marks the position of the apostles with regard to revelation as unique; and so also by implication the office of the apostolic writings as a record of their teaching. The same trust which leads us to believe that the apostles were guided into the Truth, leads us also to believe that by the providential leading of the Spirit they were so guided as to present it in such a way that it might remain in a permanent form.

12. I have yet...~\ The principles had been fully laid down (xv. 15); yet there was still need of a divine commentary to apply these to individual life, and to the formation of a universal Church. In especial the meaning of the Passion had to be unfolded, for though the Passion was potentially included in the Incarnation, neither the one nor the other could be grasped by the disciples till the Son of man was outwardly glorified.

bear] The original word (jSmrrafcu', Vulg. portare, all. bajulare) implies that such teaching as that of the Cross would have been a crushing burden. Comp. ch. xix. 17; Luke xi. 46, xiv. 27, Gal. vi. 2, 5; Acts xv. 10. The Resurrection brought the strength which enabled believers to support it.

now] at this point in your spiritual growth (aprt). The word stands emphatically at the end. Compare xiii. 33, note.

the Spirit of truth... into all truth (the truth)] He who gives expression to the Truth (see xiv. 17) guides men into its fulness. He leads them not (vaguely) " into all truth," but "into all the Truth" (tls Tr/v dXijdfiav iraaav'), into the complete understanding of and sympathy with that absolute Truth, which is Christ Himself. The order of the original is remarkable; the truth in all its parts (TTJV d\. Tracrav, according to the true reading). Comp. v. az; Matt. ix. 35; Acts xyi. 26; Rom. xii. 4.

guide] Christ is " the way " by which men are led to " the truth." By Him we go to Him. The Spirit "guides" men who j follow His leading; He does not " tell " His I message without effort on their part. He also guides them "into the Truth," which is the domain upon which they enter, and not something to be gazed upon from afar.

Philo, commenting upon Ex. xvi. 23, has a corresponding phrase: "The mind [of Moses] would not have gone thus straight to the mark unless there had been a divine Spirit which guided it (TO -rrodrjyfTovv) to the truth " ('De Vit. Mos.' in. 36, n. p. 176).

for he shall not...] The test of His true guidance lies in the fact that His teaching is the perfect expression of the one will of God: it is not "of Himself" (see xv. 4, note). That which is affirmed of the Son is affirmed also of the Spirit. Comp. ch. viii. 26, 40, xv. 15. But it may be observed that the message of the Son is on each occasion spoken of as definite (/ heard, TJKOVO-O), while the message of the Spirit is continuous or extended (whatsoever he shall bear, or heareth, ova. a.Kov<rei, or aKovei, or ova av a.Ko\><rr])- The message of Christ given in His historical, human life, was in itself complete at once. The interpretation of that message by the Spirit goes forward to the end of time.

whatsoever... ~\ The message of the Spirit is continuous, and it is also complete. Nothing is kept back which is made known to Him in the order of the divine wisdom.

shall hear] The verb is left absolute. The fact which is declared is that the teaching of the Spirit comes finally from the one source of Truth. The words that follow shew that no distinction is made in this respect between that which is of the Father and that which is of shall receive of mine, and shall shew shall take of mine, and shall shew it it unto you. unto you> e mine: therefore said I, that he see me: and again, a little while, and and he...] A special part of the whole teaching is marked out with reference to the work of the apostles. They lived in a crisis of transition. For them the Spirit had a corresponding gift: He will declare unto you the things that are coming.

things to come] the things that are to come, not simply some things to come, but the whole system of the world to be; or still more exactly " the things that are coming " (ra tpxofuva, Vulg. qua: Centura sunt), "that future which even now is prepared, and in the very process of fulfilment." The phrase, which occurs here only in the N. T., corresponds with " he that cometh " (Luke vii. 19 f., &c.), and " the age that cometh " (Luke xviii. 30). The reference is, no doubt, mainly to the constitution of the Christian Church, as representing hereafter the divine order in place of the Jewish economy.

14. He — that divine Person to whom we are now looking afar off (««vor)— shall glorify me] The work of the Spirit in relation to the Son is presented as parallel with that of the Son in relation to the Father. Comp. xiv. 26, xvii. 4. He "glorifies" the Son, that is, makes Him known in His full majesty by gradual revelation, taking now this fragment and now that from the whole sum of Truth. For the manifestation of the Truth is indeed the glorification of Christ. The pronoun (e'/ie) is placed emphatically before the verb. It was Christ, and none other, who was the subject of the Spirit's teaching.

for (because) be shall...] To make Christ better known is assumed to be the same as spreading His glory.

shall receive] shall t&Tte (as in v. 15). The original verb may be rendered either "receive" or " take." It suggests (as distinguished from 8fXf<r0ai) the notion of activity and effort on the part of the recipient; and in this connexion " take" brings out well the personal action of the Spirit. Comp. xx. 22, note.

of mine] All that is Christ's is at first contemplated in its unity (TO (pots'), and then in its manifold parts (all things).

Spirit was a message of absolute divine Truth; tliat Truth which belonged to the Father belonged also to the Son; therefore Christ could say that the Spirit would take of that which was His in order to fulfil His works.

shall take] According to the true reading, taketh. The work is even now begun (Xapj&Wi), and not wholly future (shall take, i, -v. 14).

The prospect of the fulfilment of the work of the Paraclete for the world and for the disciples is followed by a revelation of the condition in which the disciples themselves will be. They are to stand in a new relation to Christ (16 — 18). A time of bitter sorrow is to be followed by joy (19, 20), by joy springing (so to speak) naturally out of the sorrow (21, 22); and this joy is to be carried to its complete fulfilment (23, 24).

In this and the following section the disciples again, though in a body and at first indirectly, appear as speakers. The form of the first part of the discourses is partly resumed at the close, though under new conditions.

16. ye shall not see me... ye shall see me] ye behold me no more...ye shall see me. The last clause, because I go unto the Father, must be omitted in accordance with a very strong combination of authorities. The words have evidently been introduced from v. 17; and they do not occur in the Lord's repetition of the sentence, v. 19. This verse offers a superficial contradiction to xiv. 19, which may perhaps have arrested the attention of the disciples. Comp. <v. 12, viii. 14. In xiv. 19 the thought is of the contrast between the world and the disciples; here the thought is of the contrast between two stages in the spiritual history of the disciples themselves. As contrasted with the world the disciples never lost the vision of Christ. Their life was unbroken even as His life, and so also their direct relation to Him. But on the other hand, the form of their vision was altered. The vision of wondering contemplation, in which they observed little by little the outward manifestation of the Lord (dtcapid), was changed and transfigured into sight (o^ts), in which they seized at once intuitively all that Christ was. As long as His earthly presence was the object on which their eyes were fixed, their view was necessarily imperfect. His glorified presence shewed Him in His true nature.

ye shall see me] The fulfilment of this promise must not be limited to any one special

ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.

17 Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father?

1 8 They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith.

were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye inquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me?

That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.

event, as the Resurrection, or Pentecost, or the Return. The beginning of the new vision was at the Resurrection; the potential fulfilment of it was at Pentecost, when the spiritual Presence of the Lord was completed by the gift of the Holy Spirit. This Presence slowly realised will be crowned by the Return. After each manifestation there is a corresponding return to the Father.

17. Then said some of his disciples...'] Some of his disciples therefore said... The particularity of the expression, as compared with •v. 29, iv. 33, seems to mark a distinct impression on the mind of the Evangelist as to the actual scene. He, we may suppose, was himself silent.

What is this...'] The difficulty of the disciples was twofold, (i) as to the fact itself which was announced, and (a) as to the reason which they felt to be alleged in explanation of it. It is best to keep the rendering because, for the conjunction (OTI) which introduces the second clause. It may however serve simply to introduce the words quoted: and I go to the Father. But v. 10 seems to shew that it was not only the departure which was perplexing, but also the consequences connected with it; and it is from this verse that the words are quoted, since they are not found in the true text of v. 16.

18. What is this that he saith, A little while?'] What is this little while whereof he speaketh? What are these strange intervals, marked by separation and change, which break the tenour of our intercourse?

he saith] The original marks the difference between the purport of the saying (o Xey« piKpov, Vulg. quod dicit modicum), and the form in which the saying was conveyed (o XaX«, Vulg. quid loquitur). Comp. vjii. 43, XJi. 49.

19. Now (omit) Jesus knew (perceived, eyfa>)] The word used probably indicates an outward occasion for the Lord's words, though indeed He read the heart. The anxious looks and whisperings of the disciples would alone be sufficient to reveal their wish. Compare v. 6, vi. 15 (yj/ovs); and on the other hand, vi. 6 (J)8fi), xiii. i, 3, xviii. 4 («»8«s). Comp. ii. 24, note.

of that 1 said] concerning this, that (ort) I said. ye shall not see me~] ye behold me not.

20 ff. The Lord in His answer takes for granted that which He had already made known, and reveals the character of the double interval (20—22), and the new relation to the Father realised for the disciples by His departure (23, 24).

20. ye shall...] The order in this first clause is very remarkable (jcXavo-ere *at dprfv^afrfvp.f'is). Attention is at once fixed on the sadness of the immediate future for the disciples. It is as if «the Lord had said to them: "Sorrow and lamenjtation there shall be. Do not marve! at this. And they shall be your lot. Meanwhile the world shall rejoice. Yes: this shall be the issue of thaf first 'little while.' Te (omit a nd) shall be sorrowful; but your sorrow, in that you think that you have lost me, shall be turned into joy. This shall be the issue of the second 'little while.' "

ye shall weep and lament] The words mark the open expression of intense sorrow. Such lamentation was the natural accompaniment of Christ's death. Comp. Luke xxiii. 27 f., ch. xx. ii.

the world shall rejoice] as having _ been freed from one who was a dangerous innovator as well as a condemner of its ways.

and (omit) ye (vpf'is) shall be sorrowful] The inward feeling is now substituted for the outward expression of grief. The first sharp utterance or lamentation was to be followed by a more permanent sorrow. The words, which had an immediate fulfilment in the experience of the Apostles before the Resurrection, and again before Pentecost, have also a wider application. The attitude of sorrow

vail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.

sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.

23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. * Verily, verily, I say " Matt-?• unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask?

marks in one aspect the state of the Church until the Return. Comp. v. 16, note.

21. A (woman] The exact form of expression (17 yvvrf) marks not simply a single case, but the universal law. The illustration is not taken from any one woman, but from woman as such.

a man} a being endowed with all the gifts of humanity (avBpmiros, Vulg. homo). The potential fulness of the completed life is regarded as present to the mother's mind.

born into the world'] The complex phrase marks not only the fact but the sphere of the new life. The man is introduced to a place in the great order in which he has a part to play. Comp. viii. 26.

The image of a new birth is constantly applied to the institution of Messiah's kingdom. Comp. Matt. xxiv. 8; Mark xiii. 8 (o>8u>«); Rom. viii. 22 (owaSiVet). And it is applied more generally to the passage to joy through sorrow: Isai. Ixvi. 6 if.; Hos. xiii. 13. St Paul uses the same image to describe the relation of an apostle to his converts, Gal. iv. 19.

22. And ye (v/xetr) now therefore..."] Or, Ye also therefore now.... The application or the image (therefore) clearly indicates that something more is intended by it than the mere passage of the disciples through suffering to joy. The proper idea of birth-throes is not that of the transition from suffering to joy, but of suffering as the necessary condition and preparation for joy. Under this aspect the disciples in some sense occupied the position of the mother. It was their office, as the representatives of the Church, to realise the Christ of the Resurrection and present Him to the world (comp. Rev. xii. z ff.). The time of transition from their present state to that future state was necessarily a period of anguish, and that time was even now come (now ye have). But the image is not exhausted by this application. It appears also to have a reference to Christ Himself. For Him death was as the travail-pain issuing in a new life (Acts ii. 24). His passage through the grave was as the new birth of humanity brought about through the extremity of sorrow.

have sorrow] The phrase is not identical with be sorrowful, but expresses the full realisation of sorrow. See iii. 15, note.

/ (will see you again] The implied reference to Christ as Himself rising through the Passion to His glory seems to have led to the use of the first person here, as contrasted with the second person which was used before (w. l6> I9)J"? shall see me). The highest blessing lies not in the thought that God is the object of our regard, but that we are objects of God's regard. Comp. Gal. iv. 9; i Cor. viii. 3; (ch. x. 14, 15).

and your joy... taketh (perhaps shall take)..."] The sorrow of the disciples (v. 20) underwent a sudden transformation. Their joy was stable. The turn of the sentence implies that they would have enemies, but that their enemies would not prevail.

23. in that day] when the new relation is realised, and you enjoy the fulness of my glorified presence (xiy. 20). "That day" begins with Pentecost and is consummated at the Return. The Lord now brings before the disciples the consequences of this "going to the Father" (v. 17), perfect knowledge, the perfect fulfilment of prayer, perfect joy.

ye shall ask me (epe OVK f'pwrr/crfre) nothing"] ye shall ask me no question. All will then be clear. The mysteries which now perplex you will have been illuminated. You will not need to seek my guidance when you enjoy that of the Spirit. The verb (epomfo-eTf) appears to answer directly to the same word used before in v. 19 (epwrqv), and so to be used in the same sense. The phrase may however be rendered (as A. V.) ye shall ask me nothing, in the sense " ye shall make no request of me." But the context appears to favour the other interpretation. Thus the change in the position of the disciples as suggested in this clause when compared with the next is twofold. Their relation to Christ (the pronoun me stands in a position of emphasis) is to be fulfilled in the recognition of a relation to the Father. The questioning of ignorance is to be replaced by the definite prayer which claims absolute accomplishment as being in conformity with the will of God. Comp. xv. 1 6 n.

Verily, verily..."] According to uniform usage this formula introduces a new thought. The preceding clause must therefore, as it seems, te taken rather with what has gone before than with these words.

the Father in my name, he will give it you.

24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.

25 These things have I spoken unto you in ' proverbs: but the time

cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in "proverbs, but I shall 5Or-,,

26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:

Whatsoever ye shall ask (alnj<nfri)-"in my name, he...'] Rather, according to the true reading: if ye shall ask anything of...he shall give it you in my name.

the Father] The return of Christ to the Father restored in its completeness the connexion of man with God, which had been broken.

give it you in my name] Not only is the prayer offered in Christ's name (v. 24, xv. 1 6), but the answer is given in His name. Every divine gift represents in part the working of that Spirit who is sent in His name (xiv. 26).

24. Hitherto] As yet Christ Himself was not fully revealed. His name in its complete significance was not made known; nor had the disciples at present the power to enter into its meaning.

ask] The end is assumed to be already reached. The command implies a continuous prayer (atreire, Matt. vii. 7), and not a single petition (Mark vi. 22, atnjo-ov).

may be full (fulfilled)] The phrase implies not only the fact (&a...*rXiMM»d$1 xv. u), but the abiding state which follows (u>a... 77 ireir\T)papevr), comp. xvii. 13; i John i. 4; 2 John 12). This fulness of joy is the divine end of Christ's work according to the Father's will.

This section forms a kind of epilogue to the discourses. The Lord gathers up in a brief summary His present and future relations to the disciples (25 — 27), and the character of His mission (28). This is followed by a confession of faith on the part of the disciples (29, 30); to which the Lord replies with a warning, and with a triumphant assurance (31 — 33).

25 — 27. The teaching of w. 23 f. is unfolded more fully in these verses. There will be hereafter no need of questioning, because the revelation will be plain ("23 a, 25): the fulfilment of prayer in Christ s name will be absolute, because of the relation established between believers and the Father (23 b, f., 26 f.).

25. These things... in pro-verbs'] All that had been said since they had left the Upper Room. Of these revelations part had been veiled in figures (the Vine, the Woman in travail), and part was for the time only half intelligible. A deeper meaning lay beneath the words, which could not yet be made plain. It seems to be unnatural to limit the reference to the answer to the question in v. 17. The description applies in fact to all the earthly teaching of the Lord. The necessity which veiled His teaching to the multitudes (Matt, xiii. ii ff.) influenced, in other ways, His teaching to the disciples. He spoke as they could bear, and under figures of human limitation.

but the time comet h~] the hour cometh. Omit but. Comp. iv. 21, note. From the day of Pentecost, Christ, speaking through the Holy Spirit, has declared plainly the relation of the Father to men (fw. 13 ff., xiv. 26).

shew you] tell you, or declare unto you, •w. 13 ff.; i John i.2 f. The original word according to the true text (dn-ayyeX<5) marks the origin rather than the destination (avayyeXeS) of the message.

plainly} without reserve, or concealment. Here the objective sense of the original term (irappr](ria, Vulg.palam) prevails. See vii. 13,

26. At that day...'] <v. 23, note. The fulness of knowledge leads to the fulness of prayer. The clearer revelation of the Father issues in the bolder petitions "in the Son's name;" and this revelation is given by the Paraclete after Pentecost.

/ say not... that I (eya)] Your confidence will then rest upon a direct connexion with God. I speak not therefore of my own intercession in support of your requests. This intercession however is still necessary (i John ii. i f.) so far as the disciples realise imperfectly their position as sons.

pray (ask) the Father for you] not directly "in behalf of you," but "about you" (ire pi v^a>v), as inquiring what was the Father's will, and so laying the case before Him. Comp. Luke iv. 38; ch. xvii. 9, 20. This use of ask (epwraf) in connexion with prayer addressed to God is peculiar to St John. It expresses a request made on the basis of fellowship and is used in the Gospel only of the petitions of the Lord (contrast alrfiv, xi. 22, note). This peculiarity of sense explains the use of the word in i John v. 16, where the circumstances exclude the idea of prayer for a brother in fellowship with the common Father.

you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from

28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I

now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no 'proverb. "Or,

30 Now are we sure that thou^' knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by

n^, mim LUC m. again, i tnat any man snouid ask tnee: by leave the world, and go to the Father, this we believe that thou earnest forth 29 His disciples said unto him, Lo, from God.

27. the Father himself, without any pleading on my part, lovethyou with the love which springs from a natural relationship (<pi\fl), for the disciples are also sons (Rom. viii. 15). Comp. v. 20; Rev. iii. 19. This assurance carries out yet further the promise in xiv. 21, 2 3 (ayairqv).

ye have loved me (nt(])t\ri<aT()] The word is used here only in the Gospels of the affection of the disciples for their Lord (yet see xxi. 15 ff., note), and the juxtaposition of the pronouns (v^ds */ie TT*<£.) gives force to the personal relationship. Comp. Matt. x. 37. The word is used also i Cor. xvi. 22. The love of the disciples is to be regarded no less as the sign than as the cause of the Father's love (xiv. 21, 23). His love made their love possible, and then again responded to it (i Johniv. 10; "donumDeiestdiligereDeum," Aug. ad loc.). Their love is regarded both in its origin, and in its continuance (have loved, 7rf(j)i\^KaTf): His love, in its present operation (loveth, 0(XfI).

came out from God] According to the trile reading, came forth from the Father. The preposition used here (nnpa) denotes the leaving a position (as it were) by the Father's side (comp. xv. 26); that used in the next verse («) an issuing forth from the Father as the spring of deity. The twofold requirement of true discipleship is laid down to be: (i) personal devotion, (2) belief in the per-* sonal (t'yoi) mission of Christ from heaven (xvii. 8). The recognition of the Son depends on a right sense of His relation to the Father. The common reading (from God) obscures this thought.

28. / came forth from...~] I came out from.,.. No phrase could express more completely unity of essence than the true original of these words (tgqXdov eV). Comp. viii. 42, note. Thus the Lord, while He recognises the faith of the disciples, lays before them a revelation of deeper mysteries. The verse is indeed a brief summary of the whole historic work of Christ: clause answers to clause: the Mission, the Nativity; the Passion, the Ascension.

again] This revelation is complementary to the other. Comp. i John ii. 8.

go to the Father] That which was before (w. 10, 17) described as a withdrawal, is now again described as a journey

29 f. The Lord had interpreted the disciples' thoughts, atid they openly confess their gratitude and faith, as satisfied with what they can grasp already.

Lo, now...Now we know...] The revelation seemed to the disciples to have outrun the promise. Their Master had spoken of some future time in which He would give a clear declaration of the Father. They answer, Now thou speakest plainly; and we need not wait in darkness any longer. Now we know that which makes silent patience easy.

Lb~] The sharp interjection is characteristic of St John's narrative. It occurs more often in his Gospel than in all the other books of the N. T. together. Comp. iii. a6, v. 14, xi. 36, xii. 19, xix. 4, 5, 14, &c.

30.. Now are <we sure] Now we know. The discernment of their thought (v. 19) seemed to the disciples a sure pledge that ail was open before Christ. A human helper needs to have the thoughts of those whom he has to help interpreted to him. In such a case the question is the natural prelude to assistance. So the disciples had hitherto stood towards Christ; but now they had gained a fresh confidence. It was enough for the believer to feel the want. The Lord would satisfy it as was best, without requiring to hear it from him.

by this~\ Literally "in this" («/ TOUTW). The proof is rather vital (so to speak) th'an instrumental. Comp. i John ii. 3, 5, iii. 16, 19, 24, iv. 9, 10, 13, 17, v. 2. Conscious of the Lord's knowledge of their hearts, they found in this the assurance of His divine mission (a-iro 6tov). The "that" (on) is to be connected with "believe," and gives the object of faith. St John's usage generally is against the connexion of the particle with " in this" in the sense of "because;" ch. xiii. 35; i John ii. 3, 5, iii. 19, 24, v. a. In i John iv. 13 the two constructions occur together.

earnest forth from God] This common confession of faith shews how little even yet

**' shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is

unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

the disciples had apprehended the nature of Christ. As a body they had not advanced as far as the Baptist.

31 ff. The answer of the Lord recognises the faith of the disciples, and indicates its incompleteness. The last trial had not yet come outwardly; but even this was already surmounted. In the victory of the Master the essential peace of the disciple was included.

31. Do ye now 'believe?'} The words are half question, half exclamation (xx. 29). The power and the permanence of their faith are brought into doubt, and not its reality. The now (apri) marks more than a mere point of time (vvv, w. 29, 30). It suggests a particular state, a crisis; v. 12, xiii. 7, 33; Rev. xii. 10.

32. yea, is now (omit now) come] This clause, as contrasted with "and now is" (iv. 23), presents rather the fulfilment of condition than the beginning of a period.

that ye shall be scattered...and sfyall leave...] that ye may^ be scattered...and leave... Comp. v. 2 note. Even this was part of the divine counsel.

to his own] i.e. "to his own home" (xix. 27; Luke xviii. 28, true reading), or (more generally) "to his own pursuits." The bond which had held them together in a society was to be broken; Matt. xxvi. 56.

and yet] For the use of the conjunction see viii. 20. It is natural to imagine a pause after which this clause is solemnly added.

is with me'] both now and always. This truth must be set side by side with the mysterious reference to a moment of leaving in Matt, xxvii. 46 (fycar&am)* See note on that passage.

33. These things...] All that has been spoken since the departure of Judas: the words to the faithful.

in me ye might (may) have...In the world..."] The believer lives two lives in two different spheres, the eternal life in Christ, the temporal life in the world. There is distrust, division, isolation for a time, but Christ becomes again the centre of a vital union.

ye shall have] ye have. Even then their conflict had begun.

/ (eyo>) bave overcome the world] The pronoun stands out with stronger emphasis from the absence of the pronoun of the second person in the parallel clause. Thus in His last recorded words of teaching before the Passion, the Lord claims the glory of a conqueror. Comp. i John v. 4 (»; vmija-acra'). The Christian's vjctory is in virtue of that which Christ has already won for all time. The image of the "victory" of believers recurs constantly in i John and Rev. Elsewhere it is found only in Rom. viii. 37, xii. 21.

i. This chapter stands alone in the Gospels. It contains what may be most properly called "the Lord's Prayer," the Prayer which He Himself used as distinguished from that which He taught to His disciples. On other occasions we read that the Lord "prayed" (Matt. xiv. 23 and parallels, xix. 13; Mark i. 35; Luke iii. 21, v. 16, ix. 18, 28 f., xi. i), but here the complete outline of what He said is preserved. In this respect it is noticeable that the other Evangelists have recorded words used shortly afterwards at Gethsemane (Matt. xxvi. 36 ff. and parallels). The nearest parallel to the Prayer is the Thanksgiving in Matt. xi. 25 ff. St John, it may be added, never speaks in his narrative of the Lord as " praying," as the other Evangelists do, but on one occasion he gives words of thanksgiving which imply a previous prayer, xi. 41 f., and on another occasion he gives a brief prayer: xii. 27, note.

a. It is evident from v. i that the prayer was spoken aloud (comp. Matt. xi. 25 ff.). While it was a communing of the Son with the Father, it was at the same time a most solemn lesson by the Master for the disciples (v. 13). At the supreme crisis of the Lord's work they were allowed to listen to the interpretation of its course and issue, and to learn the nature of the office which they had themselves to fulfil. The words are a revelation of what He did and willed for men, and a type of that fellowship with the Father in which all is accomplished. Teaching is crowned by prayer. Such words, however little understood at the time, were likely to be treasured up, and to grow luminous by the divine teaching of later experience.

3. There is no direct evidence to shew where the Prayer was uttered. It is most natural to suppose that it followed directly after the close of the address to the disciples (xvi. 33); and in that case that it followed without change of place. The discourses again in cc. xv., xvi. allow no break, and, though they may have been spoken on the way, it seems more likely that xiv. 31 marks the departure to some fresh spot in which chapters xv. — xvii. were spoken. St John's usage admits such a change of scene without explicit notice; and the second group of discourses forms a distinct whole, which at least suggests corresponding external conditions.

It is scarcely possible that chapters xv., xvi. could have been spoken in the streets of the city. It is inconceivable that ch. xyii. should have been spoken anywhere except under circumstances suited to its unapproachable solemnity. The character of the descent to the Kidron, and of the ground on the western side, does not afford a suitable locality. The upper chamber was certainly left after xiv. 31. One spot alone, as it seems, combines all that is required to satisfy the import of these last words, the Temple Courts. It may be true that there is nothing in the narrative which points immediately to a visit there; but much in what is recorded gains fresh significance if regarded in connexion with the seat of the old worship. The central object was the great Golden Vine(comp. Fergusson, ' The Temples of the Jews,' pp. 151 ff.), from which the Lord derived the figure of His own vital relation to His people. Everything which spoke of a divine Presence gave force to the promise of a new Advocate. The warning of persecution and rejection found a commentary in the scenes with which the temple had been associated in the last few days. Nowhere, as it seems, could the outlines of the future spiritual Church be more fitly drawn than in the sanctuary of the old Church. Nowhere, it is clear, could our High Priest more fitly offer His work and Himself and believers to the Father, than in the one place in which God had chosen to set His Name.

It may indeed have been not unusual for Paschal pilgrims to visit the temple during the night. At least it is recorded that at the Passover " it was the custom of the priests to open the gates of the temple at midnight" (« /i«np WKTOJ) (Jos. 'Antt.' XVIII. 2. 2). Such a visit, therefore, as has been supposed, is in no way improbable.

4. This prayer of consecration is the complement to the Agony. There is no inconsistency between the two.parts of the one final conflict. Viewed from the divine side, in its essential elements, the victory was won (xiii. 31). Viewed from the human side, in its actual realisation, the victory was yet future (xiv. 30). All human experience bears witness in common life to the naturalness of abrupt transitions from joy to sadness in the contemplation of a supreme trial. The absolute insight and foresight of Christ makes such an alternation even more intelligible. He could see, as man cannot do, both the completeness of His triumph and the suffering through which it was to be gained. Something of the same kind is seen in the conflict of deep emotion joined with words of perfect confidence at the grave of Lazarus (xi. IT, 23. 33> 35> 38, 40 ff.); and again on the occasion of the visit of the Greeks (xii. 23,

5. The general scope of the prayer, which is at once a prayer and a profession and a revelation, is the consummation of the glory of God through Christ, the Word Incarnate, from stage to stage, issuing in a perfect unity (vv. 21 ff.). The Son offers Himself as a perfect offering, that so His disciples may be offered afterwards, and through them, at the last, the world may be won. In the perfected work of the Saviour lies the consecration of humanity. The Son declares the accomplishment of the Father's work, and this being accomplished expresses His own will (v. 24).

(The past as the basis for the future.) Prayer for fresh glory as the condition of the Father's glory (i). Such was Christ's work on earth in its aim (2), method (3).

This had been accomplished (4). Christ therefore claims to resume His glory (5).

(The Revelation of the Father by the Son.) i. The revelation given and accepted (6 — 8). 2 The disciples watched over though left (9— n).

r I AHESE words spake Jesus, and J_ lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:

2 "As thou hast given him power "8Mattover all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.

By the faith of believers to come (20, 21). By the glory of the disciples (22, 23).

1 — 5. The completion of the work given by the Father to the Son is the ground for His glorifying by the Father. The work of the Son was to give eternal life to men. This life is the knowledge of God. The glory of the Son, resting upon His perfected work, issues therefore in the glory of the Father; for to know' God is to give Him honour.

CHAP. XVII. 1. These words'] These things (raCra). The reference is to that which precedes. The Lord completed His words of warning and hope and love with the final assurance of victory, and then He turned from earth to heaven, from the disciples to the Father, from teaching to prayer.

lifted up... and said...'] St John does not separate the two actions: lifting up... he said... The trait marks at once the new region to which the thoughts of the Lord are turned, and the sense of perfect fellowship with the spiritual world. Comp. ch. xi. 41; Luke xviii. 13; Acts vii. 55.

The attitude forms a natural contrast to Luke xxii. 41, and parallels.

the hour] Comp. vii. 30, viii. 30, xii. 23, xiii. i, note. All the circumstances of redemption proceeded (is come, comp. ii. 4) according to a divine law. In the accomplishment of this there is no delay and no haste.

(omit also)...'] The " glorifying" of the Son is the fuller manifestation of His true nature. This manifestation, given in the fact of His victory over death, established by the Resurrection and Ascension, is set forth as having for its end the fuller manifestation of the Father. It is through the Son that men know and see the Father, ch. xiv. 7 ff.; and the one end of all work and of all partial ends is the glory of the Father. The " glorifying " of the Son must not be limited to His support in the Fission, nor to His wider acknowledgment, though the revelation of His Being includes the thoughts which were suggested by these partial interpretations. Comp. xii. 23, note. The true commentary on the words is Phil, ii. 9 ff.

It must be observed that the prayer is expressed in an impersonal form. It is based upon, essential relations (thy Son, the Son, not me, I). In this respect it corresponds to the promise in Ps. ii. 8. Comp. viii. 50.

2. As th6u hast given him power..."] Even as thou gavest him authority... The complete elevation of the Incarnate Son to His divine glory was necessarily presupposed in His mission. He received a legitimate authority (fgavo-id) over humanity as its true Head, and this could only be exercised in its fulness after the Ascension. At the same time the exaltation of the Son as Saviour carried with it the glorification of the Father, as the spring of the eternal life which Christ sent through the Spirit from heaVen.

thou gavest...] The original charge once given (e5o>Ka?) is treated as the ground and measure of the prayer for its fulfilment. Nothing is said or implied as to the sovereignty of the Son over other created beings (e.g. angels). His office is regarded primarily in relation to man fallen.

3 And this is life eternal, that they and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast might know thee the only true God, sent.

From this point of sight the whole clause brings out forcibly the scope of the Incarnation, as designed to bring a higher life to that which in itself was incapable of regaining fellowship with God. Comp. Iren. ' Adv. hxr.' v. 1 6. 2.

At the same time the universality of the Gospel is laid open. Not all Israel only (Luke ii. 10, all the people, Matt. xv. 34), but all humanity are the subjects of Messiah (Matt, xxviii. 19).

give.,.to as many as thou hast...'] The original form of expression is remarkable: that all that (nav o) thou hast given him to them he should give. The Christian body is first presented in its unity as a whole, and then in its individual members. Comp. "v. 24, vi. 37.

The contrast implied in qll flesh and all that has been given, marks a mystery of the divine working which we cannot understand. The sovereignty is universal, the present blessing is partial. Comp. iii. 16.

3. And this is life eternal (the life eternal)] The definition is not of the sphere (in this), but of the essence of eternal life (comp. xii. 50). The subject is taken from the former clause: The life eternal — the life eternal, of which Christ had just now (as ever) spoken (i; atowos £&)>;) — it this, that... Eternal life lies not so much in the possession of a completed knowledge as in the striving after a growing knowledge. The that (£/a) expresses an aim, an end, and not only a fact. Comp. iv. 34, vi. 29. So too the tense of the verb (•ytpwoTKoxri) njarks continuance, progress, and not a perfect and past apprehension gained once for all. Comp. v. 23, x. 38; i John v. 20; ch. xiv. 31 (iva yfw), xix. 4; I John iv. 7, 8 (yivaxricei, tyvco).

The knowledge which is life, the knowledge which from the fact that it is vital is always advancing (yivciorKoxn, see above), is twofold; a knowledge of God in His sole, supreme Majesty, and a knowledge of the revelation which He has made in its final consummation in the mission of Christ. To regard the phrase the only true God as embracing here both thee and him whom thou didst send, a construction adopted by Ccssarius (Cramer, ' Cat.' ad loc.) and by many Latin fathers from Augustine downwards, or to regard the juxtaposition of thee, the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, as in any way impairing the true divinity of Christ, by contrast with the Father, is totally to misunderstand the passage. It is really so framed as to meet the two cardinal errors as to religious truth which arise in all times, the error which finds expression in various forms of polytheism, and the error which treats that which is preparatory in revelation as final. On the one side men make for themselves objects of worship, many and imperfect. On the other side they fail to recognise Christ when He comes. The primary reference is, no doubt, to the respective trials of Gentile and Jew, but these include in themselves the typical trials of all ages. Cyril of Alexandria (ad loc.} justly remarks that the knowledge of God as the Father really involves a knowledge of the Son as God. The true (d\r)6iv6s) God is the Father who is made known in and by the Son (i John v. 20). And the revelation of God as Father, which is the Personal revelation of God as love in Himself, involves at the same time the knowledge q( the Holy Spirit. The epigram which expresses the teaching of St Augustine, "ubi amor ibi Trinitas," has its fulfilment in this conception. Comp. Aug. ' De Trin.' vin. 14, ix. 8.

this it...'] Life — eternal life — is characteristically spoken of by St John as truly present: iii. 36, v. 24, vi. 47, 54; i John v. 1 2; and the possession of this life may become a matter of absolute knowledge: i John v. 13. At the same time this life is regarded as future in its realisation: iv. 14, 36, vi. 27, xii. 25. The two thoughts are united in vi. 40, see might know] may know. In such a connexion " knowledge " expresses the apprehension of the truth by the whole nature of man. It is not an acquaintance with facts as external, nor an intellectual conviction of their reality, but an appropriation of them (so to speak) as an influencing power into the very being of him who "knows "them. " Knowledge " is thus faith perfected; and in turn it passes at last into sight (i John iii. 2; comp. i Cor. xiii. 9 ff.). It is remarkable that the noun (yvao-is, eirtyvaHTis) is not found in the writings of St John; the verb on the contrary (yu/wo-KO)) is relatively more frequent in these than in any other section of the New Testament. As in the corresponding case of " faith" (see ii. 23, note) St John dwells on the active exercise of the power, and not on the abstract idea.

4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

the only true God] On the word "true" (dX?;#ii/or) see iv. 23, note. There are many to whom the name of God has been applied (i Cor. viii. 4 ff.), but One only fulfils the conception which man can dimly form of the absolute majesty of God. Comp. Rom. xvi. 27; i Tim. vi. 15 f.

Jesus Christ^ whom thou hast sent"] Him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ. The emphasis is laid on the single historic fact of Christ's mission (didst send, dirf<rrei\ai), and not on the continuity of its effects (hast sent, direa-ra^Kus, v. 36, xx. 21, note).

even Jesus Christ] The occurrence of these words creates.great difficulty. The diffi-i culty is materially lessened if Christ is regarded as a predicate: " that they know...Jesus as Christ." The general structure of the sentence however is unfavourable to this view. The complex name "Jesus Christ" appears to answer exactly to the corresponding clause, " the only true God." These two clauses are thus most naturally taken to define the persons indicated before, "Thee" and "Him whom Thou didst send." If we accept this construction we have then to consider whether the definitions are to be treated as literally parts of the prayer, or as words used by the Evangelist in his record of the prayer, as best fitted in this connexion to convey the full meaning of the original language. In favour of the latter view it may be urged (i) that the use of the name "Jesus Christ "by the Lord Himself at this time is in the highest degree unlikely, while the compound title, expressing as it did at a later time the combination of the ideas of true humanity and of divine office, may reasonably be supposed to give the exact sense of the Lord's thought; (2) that the phrase "the only true God " recalls the phrase of St John "the true God" (i John v. 20), and is not like any other phrase used by the Lord; (j) that the clauses, while perfectly natural as explanations, are most strange if they are taken as substantial parts of the actual prayer. It is no derogation from the truthfulness of the record that St John has thus given parenthetically and in conventional language (so to speak) the substance of what the Lord said probably at greater length.

4, 5. I have glorified (I glorified)...^«<^ now... glorify...] The prayer of v. i is repeated from the opposite point of view. Here the glorifying of Christ is treated as a consequence of work done, and there as a preparation for work still remaining to be done. There is also this further difference in expression, that in v. i the form is indirect (thy Son), while here it is direct (/, me). The reason of this appears to be that in v. i the central idea is that of the general relation of Son and Father, while here the attention is fixed on what Christ had done as man. The eternal glory of the Son is to be resumed by the Incarnate Son.

The parallelism between v. 4 and v. 5 is very close: / glorified thee upon earth: Do Thou glorify me with Thine o<wn self (/. e. in heaven). And in each\;ase the personal relation is made emphatic by the juxtaposition of the pronouns (7, Thee, v. 4; Me, Thou, -v. 5).

4. I glorified...] The historical mission of Christ is now regarded as ended; the earthly work is accomplished. By a life of absolute obedience and love Christ had revealed— and therefore glorified — the Father.

/ have finished'} According to the true reading, having finished (perfected, rt- Afioxras). The participle defines the mode in which the glory of God was secured: there is but one actfon. For the use of the word "perfect" (Vulg. consummavij comp. iv. 34, work... gayest (hast given)} Comp. v. 36. Here the work is contemplated in its unity, as accomplished, and there in its manifold parts, as still to be done. Christ's" work is not selfchosen, but wrought out in perfect obedience.

with thine own self...with thee~\ The sense of the preposition in this construction (irapa aeavr&j irapa troi) in St John is always local (and not ethical), either literally (i. 40, iv. 40, xiv. 25, xix. 25; Rev. ii. 13) or figuratively, as expressing a direct spiritual connexion (viii. 38, xiv. 1 7, 23). The sense therefore here, in both cases, is "in fellowship with thee." The rendering "in thy sight," which is supported by the usage of other writers of the New Testament (Luke ii. 52; 2 Thess. i. 6; i Pet. ii. 4, &c.), is excluded alike by St John's usage and by the context.

Thus the verse presents a contrast between the state of the Incarnate Son and of the Eternal Word. The Person is one (glorify me... which I had...}, but by the assumption of manhood the Son for a time emptied Himself of that which He afterwards received again.

which I had} in actual possession and not as the object of the divine thought. Comp. i. i. The " glory" here spoken of is not the predestined glory of Christ's humanity, but to the men which thou gavest me things whatsoever thou hast given me the world: thine they were, are of thee and thou gavest them me; and they 8 For I have given unto them have kept thy word.

before the world was"] Comp. v. 24 note The glory of the Eternal Word spoken of here is distinguished from the glory of Christ, the Incarnate Word, spoken of in v. 22, though the two correspond to one another. The one is supra-temporal (f8a»cas. v. 24); the other is a present possession (8(du>Kas, v. 22).

For St Paul's statement of the fulfilment of these words see Phil. ii. 9 ff.

6 ff. The fulfilment by Christ of His work among men contained the promise of the wider work which should be accomplished for and through them on His exaltation. Thus the current of His prayer passes naturally into a new channel. As He had prayed for Himself, He prays for His disciples. The petition glorify me is represented in new relations by keep them (v. ii), and sanctify them (v..*i\ The glory of Christ, and of the Father in Christ, was to be realised by the continuance and completion of that which He had begun in men.

6. The prayer for the disciples is based upon a threefold declaration 6f what they were in relation to Christ (/ manifested thy name to the men...), in relation to the Father (thine they were...), and in theftiselves (they have kept thy word). Each statement is a plea in favour of the petitions which follow. Together they form a portraiture of true discipleship.

/ have manifested'] I manifested. The phrase is exactly parallel with " I glorified " in v. 4. Christ made known perfectly the name of God as Father in His life. Even to the Jew this conception of the relation of God to man was new. The revelation however was not made to all, but to those who by sympathy were fitted to receive it.

unto the men (rot? avdpwitois)'] The full form of the phrase (as contrasted with "to those whom...") seems to mark a certain correspondence between the revelation and the recipients of it. As men the disciples were enabled to receive the teaching of the Son of man (comp. i. 4).

gavest] Comp. w. 2, 24, vi. 37, x. 29, xviii. 9. It is only by the influence of the Father that men can come to Christ, vi. 44, 65. Yet the critical act admits of being described from many sides. The Father is said to "draw" men (vi. 44), and Christ also draws them (xii. 32). Christ " chooses " men (vi. 70, xv. 1 6); and men freely obey His calh thine'] not only as creatures of God, or as representatives by birth of Israel, the chosen people, but as answering to the true character of Israel (i. 47).

thy word] The revelation of Christ as a whole (d Xdybff, Vulg. sermo) is spoken of as the Father's word (comp. vii. 16, xii. 48, 49). All was included implicitly in the word by which the disciples were bidden to seek Christ (vi. 45). As they "heard" this at first, so they continued to hear it. On keep (mow) see viii. 51, note.

7, 8f. These verses unfold the growth of discipleship which is summarised in the preceding clause (they have kept thy word). The disciples who followed Christ in obedience to the Father had come to know by actual experience the nature and the source of His mission. They trusted Him, and then they found out little by little in whom they had trusted.

7. Now they have known] Now thy know (tyv&Kav), now they have learnt through the teaching of discipleship. The English present seems to express best, both here and in v. 8, the actual result of past experience. Comp. v. 42, vi. 69, viii. 52, 55, xiv. 9; i John ii. 4.

all things whatsoever thou hast given] It might have seemed simpler to say "all that I have," but by such a mode of expression the thought of the special charge committed to the Son would have been lost. And yet further, the reference is to all the elements of the Lord's Life and Work — His words and acts — which are severally attributed to the Father's love (v. 19, 30, viii. 28, xii. 49 f., xiv. 10), and now regarded in their abiding consequence (are, not were).

8. The fuller insight which the disciples gained into the being of Christ came through, the gradual manifestations which He "gave" and they " received."

the words...'] That teaching which was before (v. 6) regarded in its unity, is now regarded in its component elements (TO pijfiara). That which was organically one, was made known in many parts according to the Father's will (the words which thou gavest me).

The contrast between " the word " (Xdyor), the complete message, and " the saying " (pfjfM), the detached utterance, is frequently important in St John, and yet difficult to express without a paraphrase. Comp. v. 38

have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me j for they are thine.

10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.

1 1 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, they have received...and have known...and they have believed...] they received... and know...and believed... The issues of the reception of the successive relations of Christ are gathered under the two heads of knowledge and faith (comp. vi. 69, note), and both alike are directed to the recognition of Christ and His mission. The disciples in their converse with their Master perceived, and perceived truly, on such evidence as to exclude all doubt, that the source of His life was divine. This was a matter on which they could themselves judge. So far the voice of conscience was authoritative as to the character of Christ. But beyond this they believed that Christ was directly sent by God to fulfil a special office. This was no longer within the province of knowledge; it was a conclusion of faith. Yet here again in due course " faith" is transformed into knowledge, v. 25.

9 fF. The Lord has set forth the character and the position of the disciples, what they had received and made their own; He now looks forward to their future. They are watched over though left (9 — n).

9. I pray for them] The pronouns are emphatic: " I on my part, in answer to their devotion; I, thy Son, for those who have been faithful to Thee." The emphatic " I " occurs throughout the prayer; see specially vv. 4, 12, 14, 19. On the word for "pray" (epcurw, "ask") see xvi. 26, note.

The exclusion of " the world" from Christ's prayer is no limitation of the extent of His love (comp. v. 21, note), but a necessary result of the immediate circumstances of the prayer. His work is fulfilled in ever-increasing circles of influence. At present He is interceding for those who have been prepared beforehand to continue His work; and in their behalf He pleads a request of which the fulfilment is guaranteed (so to speak) by a threefold claim. The disciples for whom intercession is made were indeed the Father's (they are thine: comp. v. 6), and therefore He could not but regard His own children. And further, in respect of their relation to Christ, so far as they had been attached to Him this also was a relation to the Father equally (all things that are mine are thine). And thirdly, this relation had issued in Christ's glory, and therefore in the glory of the Father, so that by the fulfilment of their part hitherto they called out fresh gifts of divine love (/ have been glorified in them).

ip. all nfine are thine...'] all things that are mine are thine... This general statement, which is expressed in the most comprehensive form, and does not include only persons, prepares the way for the next. Service rendered to Christ is rendered to the Father (xiii. 20), so that those who were from the first God's children had become nearer to His love by their faith in the Son of God. The second clause (and the things that are thine are mine) is not required by the argument, but serves to emphasize the assertion of the perfect communion of the Son and the Father. The words are not to be regarded as parenthetical, but as part of the exposition of the argument, which is made by parallel sentences.

lam (I have been) glorified] To "glorify" God (or Christ) is to make Him known or to acknowledge Him as being what He is (xiL 28, note). Here then Christ bears witness to the faith of the disciples who had been enabled to recognise and to confess Him even in His state of self-humiliation (vi. 69). This glory gained in the persons of the disciples is not looked upon as past (edogda-drjv, xiii. 31), but as abiding (fif 8o£ao><u, * Pet. i. 8; a Cor. iii. 10).

in them~\ Faithful disciples are the living monuments in which Christ's glory is seen. So also a church is the " glory" of its founder, i Thess. ii. 20.

11. The declaration of the grounds on which the prayer is urged is followed by the statement of the circumstances which make the prayer necessary. These are simply coordinated (and... and... and); and the bare enumeration of the facts is left without comment. Christ leaves the world, the disciples remain in the world; Master and scholars must then be separated, so that the old connexion will be broken. Christ goes to the Father; He enters therefore upon a new sphere of His mediatorial work, in which His mode of action will be changed.

keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name:

those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; 'that the scrip- ^P ture might be fulfilled.

/ come to thei\ The return of Christ to the Father involves more than a local separation from His people. It has a spiritual correspondence with His "coming" into the world (viii. 14, xiii. 3), by which the idea of separation (/ am no more in the 'world...') passes into that of a new union. It typified a new relation towards the disciples. For a time they would be unable to "see" Him (xvi. 10, 16 ff.), or to "follow" Him (xiii. 33, 36 f.: comp. vii. 33 ff., viii. 21 flf.). Yet this change was designed to contribute to their good (xvi. 7), and was to be followed by a fresh "coming" to them (xiv. 3 fF., 18, 23, 28, xxi. 22 f.).

Holy Father...] The substance of the prayer here at length finds expression when the pleas in support of it, and the occasion which calls it out, have been set forth. The unique phrase of address (Holy Father, comp. Rev. vi. 10; i John ii. 20; v. 25, righteous Father) suggests the main thought. The disciples hitherto had been kept apart from the corruption of the world by the present influence of Christ. The revelation of holiness which He had made had a power at once to separate and to unite. He asks that God, regarded under the separate aspects of purity and tenderness, may carry forward to its final issue (that they may be one even as we are) that training which He had Himself commenced, and that too in the same way (keep in thy name, comp. v. 12). The "name" of the Father, the knowledge of God as Father, is regarded as an ideal region of security in which the disciples were preserved. It is the ground of their safety and not of Christ's power.

keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me} According to the text which is supported by overwhelming authority, the rendering must be: keep them in thy name which thou hast given me. The phrase is very remarkable, and has no exact parallel except in v. 12. Perhaps the same thought is found in Phil. ii. 9 f.; and it is illustrated by the imagery of the Apocalypse. Thus in Rev. ii. 17, a promise is made to the victorious Christian: I will give Aim a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it; and again it is said of "the Word of God: " he had a name written that no man knew but he himself (xix. la); and again of the saints in glory, they shall see his face, and his name shall be on their foreheads (xxii. 4). These passages suggest the idea that the " giving of the Father's name" to Christ expresses the fulness of His commission as the Incarnate Word to reveal God. He came in His Father's name (v. 43), and to make that name known (comp. vv. 4 ff.). He spoke what He had heard (viii. 26, 40, xv. 15). And all spiritual truth is gathered up in "the name" of God, the perfect expression (for men) of what God is, which " name " the Father gave to the Son to declare when He took man's nature upon Him. Comp. Exod. xxiii. 21.

one, even as five are] The unity is not only of will and love but of nature, perfectly realised in absolute harmony in Christ. As the divine Unity consists with a variety of Persons, so too the final unity of men does not exclude but perfectly harmonizes the separate being of each in the whole.

as we are} The use of the plural pronoun in such a connection is a distinct assertion of sameness of essence. The " we " which unites the Father and Christ affirms that their nature is one. Comp. x. 28, 29.

12 f. The Lord looks back upon the work which He had wrought for the disciples (v. 12), now that He is passing into the new order (v. 13). The place which He had occupied (I [«y«] kept) must hereafter be filled otherwise.

12. While... with them (omit in the world) I kept... kepi] While... with them I kept— guarded. The tenses of the original verb (e'nfpow, «<£vXa£a, Vulg. servabam, custodivi) mark respectively the continuous action of watching and its completed issue. The difference between the verbs themselves appears to be that "kept" (rripelv) expresses the careful regard and observance of that which is looked at as without (e.g. Matt, xxvii. 36), while "guarded" (c^uXao-o-eti/) describes the protection of something held as it were within a line of defence from external assaults.

in thy name: those that thou gavest me 1 have kept...} in thy name that thou hast given me; and I guarded them... as in v. n.

but...} The excepting phrase («' p?) does not necessarily imply that Judas is reckoned among those whom the Lord "guarded." The exception may refer simply to the statement "not one perished." Comp. Matt. xii. 4; Luke iv. 26, 27; Gal. i. 19, ii. 16; Rev. xxi. 27. Contrast xviii. 9.

the son of perdition} He whose character was defined by this terrible mark, 2 Thess. ii. 3; (28. xii. 5). Comp. xii. 36, note. The solemn repetition of cognate words in the on-

these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

1 6 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

that the scripture...] Judas was lost, but even the fall of Judas found a place in the whole scheme of divine Providence, comp. xii. 38, note. The reference is to Ps. xli. 9 (ch. xiii. 1 8), rather than to Ps. cix. 8 (Acts i. 20).

13. And now come /...] But now I come... The old relation was on the point of being broken.

Christ was, so to speak, already on His way to the Father, but at the same time He had not yet left the world. His prayer therefore was offered while He was still on the scene of human conflict, that the disciples, conscious of His intercession, might be able when alone to realise in themselves (comp. xiv. 23) that joy, characteristic of Him (comp. xv. n, note), which they had hitherto found in His presence.

these things I speak... that they might (may)...] The prayer was uttered aloud that the disciples might draw strength from the words which they heard.

14, 15. The joy of Christ must be won through conflict. The disciples are strong by the Word of God and by the Lord's intercession, but the world naturally hates them.

14. I (e'yw) have given... ~\ The revelation which the Lord had made is now regarded in its completeness (rov \oyov as compared with ra pjp.ara, v. 8), and in connexion with Himself (eyw 8.): / in the fulness of my presence have given... The disciples were furnished with their power, and the crisis which decided their future was over. When they came before the world the world hath hated (bated) them, shewed at once and decisively its position of antagonism to the Gospel. The single act (hated, fpia-rjo-ev) is contrasted with the permanent endowment (Se'SwKa). On the other hand, see xv. 18, 24 (fjLffjiio-r)K(v). These two facts, / have given... and the world hated..., form the conditions which determine the nature of the apostolic work.

15. It might have seemed best that the Lord should remove His disciples from a scene of inevitable conflict. But for them, as for Himself (xii. 27), the conflict was the condition of victory. His prayer therefore was for their protection, and not for their withdrawal either by isolation or by removal.

from the evil} out of the evil one. The parallel words in i John v. 18, 19, seem to shew conclusively that the original phrase (fK rov irovrjpov, Vulg. ex malo), which is of doubtful gender, is here masculine (the evil one). Just as Christ is Himself the medium or sphere in which the believer lives and moves ((v xpurroi), so the prince of the world, the evil one, is the medium or sphere in which they live and move who are given up to him (eV r<5 TTOMjpw). The relation of man to good and evil is a personal relation; and the Lord prays that His disciples may be kept out of the range of the pervading influence of His enemy. He does not pray only that they may be delivered from the outward assault of the evil one (2 Thess. iii. 3, <t>v\d<raretv dno rov Trovrjpov), but that they may be preserved from resting within his domain. St John especially dwells on this personal character of the evil with which man has to contend, i John ii. 13, 14 (vtviK^Kart rov iii. 12 (fK rov irovrjpov rjv); V. 18 (o

16 — 19. The issue of the disciples' conflict is not only victory but complete consecration. The truth for which they are hated and by which they are strong (v. 14) is the power by which they are transformed.

16. The last clause of v. 14 is repeated as the ground of a new petition. Protection is to be followed by hallowing. The possibility of this complete consecration, no less than the certain prospect of hostility, lies in the affinity of the disciples to their Lord (they are not... even as 1 am not...'). A transposition gives emphasis to the idea of " the world," which comes at the beginning and end of the verse (of the world they are not... I am not of the world).

The prayer is that the consecration which is represented by admission into the Christian society may be completely realised in fact;

world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

19 And for their sakes I sanctify I0r>t"'1? myself, that they also might be 'sanc-