Chapter XII: 1‐8. *The Supper in Bethania six days before the Pasch

9‐11. *The chief priests think of killing Lazarus.*

12‐19. *On the day after the supper Christ enters Jerusalem in
triumph, to the disgust of the Pharisees.*

20‐22. *Some Gentile Proselytes wish to see Him.*

23‐33. *Christ (at the temple) foretells the near approach of His
passion, and a voice from heaven is heard.*

34‐36. *He continues to refer to His approaching death, and
exhorts the people to faith.*

37‐43. *Yet though they had witnessed many miracles, most of them
refused to believe, as the prophets had foretold.*

44‐50. *Christ’s testimony regarding the object of the
Incarnation, and the necessity of faith in Him.*

1. Iesus ergo ante sex dies 1. Jesus therefore six days paschae venit Bethaniam, ubi before the pasch came to Lazarus fuerat mortuus, quem Bethania, where Lazarus had suscitavit Iesus. been dead, whom Jesus raised to life.

1. Maldonatus connects with xi. 55: since the Pasch was near, Jesus on His way to Jerusalem to celebrate it, came to Bethania. *Six days before the pasch.* This peculiar Greek construction would be better rendered in Latin; “sex diebus ante pascha.” We have now entered upon the last week of our Divine Lord’s mortal life, but there is a diversity of opinion regarding the exact day here indicated. The principal views regarding the days of our Lord’s arrival at Bethania, of the supper there, and of the triumphant entry into Jerusalem, are:—

(1) Arrival at Bethania on Friday; the supper (_a_) on the same evening, or (_b_) according to others, on Saturday evening; the triumphal entry on Sunday.

(2) Arrival at Bethania on Saturday evening; the supper on the same evening; the entry into Jerusalem (_a_) on Sunday, or (_b_) according to others, on Monday.

(3) Arrival on Sunday; supper on the same evening; the entry into Jerusalem on Monday.

2. Fecerunt autem ei coenam 2. And they made him a supper ibi: et Martha ministrabat, there: and Martha served, but Lazarus vero, unus erat ex Lazarus was one of them that discumbentibus cum eo. were at table with him.

2. In Bethania then (in the house of Simon the leper, as we learn from Matt. xxvi. 6; Mark xiv. 3) a supper was prepared for Jesus, at which Lazarus was present and Martha served. We take it as certain that Matthew (xxvi. 6‐13) and Mark (xiv. 3‐9) refer to the same unction of Christ which is recorded by St. John in the following verses here. If not, we should have to suppose that the same murmuring for the same cause in the same circumstances took place a second time within four days, though reprehended by Christ on the first occasion it occurred. That SS. Matthew and Mark seem to refer to an occasion _two_ days before the Pasch (Matt. xxvi. 2; Mark xiv. 1), while St. John refers to an occasion _six_ days before, is readily explained. The two Synoptic Evangelists record this anointing of Jesus by Mary out of its place, and in connection with the treachery of Judas, because it was it that finally determined Judas to betray our Lord.(79)

3. Maria ergo accepit libram 3. Mary therefore took a pound unguenti nardi pistici, of ointment of right pretiosi, et unxit pedes Iesu, spikenard, of great price, and et extersit pedes eius anointed the feet of Jesus, capillis suis: et domus and wiped his feet with her impleta est ex odore unguenti. hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.

3. When we bear in mind the prominence given to Lazarus, Martha, and Mary in the preceding chapter, and find two of the three mentioned in verse 2 here, it is certain that the Mary mentioned here, in verse 3, can be no other than she who was sister to Martha and Lazarus.

*Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of right spikenard.* We learn from Matthew and Mark that the ointment was contained in an alabaster box. Alabaster is a species of stone resembling marble, and derives its name from Alabastron, a town in Egypt, near which it was found in large quantities. The term “alabaster box” came in time to be applied to any box for holding perfumes.

*Spikenard*, or nard, is a famous aromatic substance obtained from an eastern plant of the same name. It is said in our Rhemish Version to be *right* spikenard. The Greek adjective thus translated is πιστικῆς, which may mean _genuine_, from πίστις; or _liquid_, from πίστος (πίνω, to drink); or, as St. Augustine says, the nard may have been so called from the place in which it was obtained. St. John tells us that Mary anointed the _feet_ of our Lord, who, according to the Jewish custom, would be reclining on His left side upon a couch, with His feet stretching out behind. The first two Evangelists mention only the unction of our Lord’s head, so that St. John supplements their account. The fact that the odour of the ointment filled the house, is mentioned as a proof of its excellence. Pliny (xiii. 3) refers to such unctions among the Romans: “Vidimus etiam vestigia pedum tingi.”

4. Dixit ergo unus ex 4. Then one of his disciples, discipulis eius, Iudas Judas Iscariot, he that was Iscariotes, qui erat eum about to betray him, said: traditurus: 5. Quare hoc unguentum non 5. Why was not this ointment veniit trecentis denariis, et sold for three hundred pence, datum est egenis? and given to the poor?

4, 5. From SS. Matt. and Mark, it would seem that at least two of the disciples must have murmured, for St. Matt. says: “And the disciples seeing it, had indignation;” and St. Mark: “Now there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said: Why was this waste of the ointment made?” We may admit, then, that some of the others joined Judas in murmuring, but probably from a different motive; or, we may hold, with some commentators, that the plural is used indefinitely for the singular.

*Judas Iscariot* (Gr. Judas Iscariot, _son of Simon_: see notes on vi. 72) spoke out, asking why this ointment was not sold at 300 pence, and the price given to the poor? We discussed above on vi. 7, the value of the Roman silver penny at this time current in Palestine, from which it appears that this box of ointment was thought to be worth nearly £10 of our money.

6. Dixit autem hoc, non quia 6. Now he said this, not de egenis pertinebat ad eum, because he cared for the poor; sed quia fur erat, et loculos but because he was a thief, habens, ea quae mittebantur and having the purse, carried portabat. the things that were put therein.

6. St. John here declares the motive of Judas. It was not love for the poor, as he pretended, but because, being purse‐bearer, for our Lord and the disciples, he was always anxious to receive money, that he might have an opportunity of filching some of it for himself. Whether with our Rhemish Version we give ἐβάσταζεν the meaning of “carried,” or, as others prefer, “made away with,” at all events, it is plain from the verse, in which Judas is declared a thief, that he sometimes appropriated to his own uses money from the common purse. In his case, too, the saying was true: “Nemo repente fit turpissimus.”

7. Dixit ergo Iesus: Sinite 7. Jesus therefore said: Let illam ut in diem sepulturae her alone, that she may keep meae servet illud. it against the day of my burial.

7. There is a difference of reading in this verse. Many ancient authorities read: *She has kept it* (τετήρηκεν) *against the day of my burial*; and the meaning of this reading is plain. The more probable(80) Greek reading, however, is: “_That she might keep it_ (ἱνα ... τηρήσῃ) _against the day of My burial_.” In this reading we take our Lord’s reply to mean: Let her alone: it was not sold (Judas had asked: Why was it not sold?) in order that she might keep it against the day of My burial. Thus we would read “servaret” instead of “servet” in the Vulgate; and we take “ut” to depend not on “sinite,” but on some words such as “non veniit” (it was not sold) understood. St. John’s report of Christ’s words agrees substantially with that of St. Mark, who represents our Lord as saying: “She is come beforehand to anoint My body for the burial” (Mark xiv. 8); and both accounts, as well as that of St. Matt. (xxvi. 12), “She hath done it for My burial,” signify that our Lord’s death was so close at hand that this unction might be regarded as a preparation for His burial; and hence Mary was not to be blamed, inasmuch as such honours were usually paid to bodies before burial.

Immediately after their account of this unction, SS. Matt. and Mark narrate the compact of Judas with the Jews to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver; so that it is extremely probable that it was spite at losing the price of the ointment used on this occasion that finally determined Judas to betray our Lord.

8. Pauperes enim semper 8. For the poor you have habetis vobiscum: me autem non always with you; but me you semper habetis. have not always.

8. *But me you have not always.* Christ as God is, no doubt, everywhere, even now; and even as man He is still upon our altars in the Blessed Sacrament; but He is no longer with us in a mortal body capable of deriving sensible pleasure and comfort from such ministrations as those of Mary upon this occasion.

9. Cognovit ergo turba multa 9. A great multitude therefore ex Iudaeis quia illic est: et of the Jews knew that he was venerunt, non propter Iesum there: and they came, not for tantum, sed ut Lazarum Jesus’ sake only, but that viderent, quem suscitavit a they might see Lazarus, whom mortuis. he had raised from the dead. 10. Cogitaverunt autem 10. But the chief priests principes sacerdotum ut et thought to kill Lazarus also: Lazarum interficerent. 11. Quia multi propter illum 11. Because many of the Jews abibant ex Iudaeis, et by reason of him went away, credebant in Iesum. and believed in Jesus.

9‐11. A great multitude, on learning that Christ was in Bethania, flocked out to see the wonder‐worker, and Lazarus whom He had raised from the dead; and so many were being converted by that miracle, that the chief priests thought of putting Lazarus to death, that they might thus get rid of a living and manifest proof of the almighty power of Jesus.

12. In crastinum autem turba 12. And on the next day a multa, quae venerat ad diem great multitude, that was come festum, cum audissent quia to the festival day, when they venit Iesus Ierosolymam. had heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,

12. On the day after the supper, which we take to have been Sunday or Monday, that is, the first or second day of the Jewish week, a great multitude came to meet our Lord and escort Him into Jerusalem. Hundreds of thousands always flocked to Jerusalem for the Pasch, and though the feast was still some days off, a great number had already arrived. Doubtless many of the inhabitants of Jerusalem were also among the crowd on this occasion.

13. Acceperunt ramos palmarum, 13. Took branches of palm‐ et processerunt obviam ei, et trees, and went forth to meet clamabant: Hosanna, benedictus him, and cried: Hosanna, qui venit in nomine Domini, blessed is he that cometh in rex Israel. the name of the Lord, the king of Israel.

13. Carrying palm branches, with shouts of joy and triumph, they hailed Jesus as the Messias, and King of Israel; in the words of the great Paschal chant (Ps. cxvii. 26), *Hosanna* (הושׂענא, which is contracted for הושׂיעה נא) means: _pray_, _save_, or: _save, I beseech_. It may be taken here as a prayer to Jesus to save them, or rather as a prayer to God to save and bless their Messias. Or it may be that it was used as an expression of joy without attention to its literal meaning, as the expressions “vivat,” “vive le roi,” and the like, are sometimes used at the present day.

14. Et invenit Iesus asellum, 14. And Jesus found a young et sedit super eum, sicut ass, and sat upon it, as it is scriptum est: written:

14. From the Synoptic Evangelists we learn that Jesus sent His disciples telling them where they should find the colt, and St. Matthew tells us that they brought the colt and its mother, and spread their garments upon both (ἐπ᾽ αὐτῶν, Matt. xxi. 7). They spread their garments upon both, because they did not know upon which He would choose to sit. And St. Matthew adds that Jesus sat _upon them_ (ἑπάνω αὐτῶν); that is, as we take it, upon the garments that had been spread upon the colt. In this way the accounts of the four Evangelists are reconciled.

Another difficulty occurs here, if we compare the parallel passage of St. Luke (xix. 29). For, whereas St. John’s account naturally leads us to suppose that the ass’s colt was procured on the way _between_ Bethania, where Christ had supped on the preceding night (xii. 1, 2) and Jerusalem, St. Luke, on the other hand, says: “And it came to pass _when He was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethania_, unto the mount called Olivet, He sent two of His disciples, saying, Go into the town which is over against you, at your entering into which you shall find the colt of an ass tied,” &c. We have searched in vain for a satisfactory solution of this difficulty. If the words of St. Luke are to be taken strictly as meaning that Christ was not merely near to, but _approaching_ Bethania, then we would hold that on this morning, before the procession started, He had retired from Bethania eastward, and therefore farther away from Jerusalem, and was now again approaching the village on His way to the Holy City. There is nothing improbable in this supposition, for Christ did many things which the Evangelists have not recorded (John xxi. 25), and it enables us to reconcile two accounts, which are not easily reconciled otherwise.

15. Noli timere filia Sion: 15. _Fear not, daughter of ecce rex tuus venit sedens Sion: behold, thy king cometh, super pullum asinae. sitting on an ass’s colt._

15. St. Matthew (xxi. 4) says that these things were done that prophecy might be fulfilled; that is, they were brought about by God, not by the disciples, who, as St. John tells us in the next verse, were ignorant that they were fulfilling a prophecy. The whole quotation here is substantially from Zach. ix. 9: “Rejoice greatly (‘fear not,’ of St. John) O daughter of Sion; shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold thy King will come to thee, the Just and Saviour: He is poor and riding upon an ass, and (even) upon a colt the foal of an ass.”

16. Haec non cognoverunt 16. These things his disciples discipuli eius primum: sed did not know at the first: but quando glorificatus est Iesus, when Jesus was glorified, then tunc recordati sunt quia haec they remembered that these erant scripta de eo, et haec things were written of him, fecerunt ei. and that they had done these things to him.

16. The disciples did not know at that time that prophecy was being fulfilled; but when the light of the Holy Ghost had flooded their souls at the first Pentecost (Acts ii. 4), then they recognised in these things the fulfilment of prophecy.

17. Testimonium ergo 17. The multitude therefore perhibebat turba quae erat cum gave testimony, which was with eo quando Lazarum vocavit de him when he called Lazarus out monumento, et suscitavit eum a of the grave, and raised him mortuis. from the dead.

17. *When he called Lazarus out of the grave.* It is doubtful, and authorities are much divided, whether the true reading here is _when_ (ὅτε), or _that_ (ὅτι). In the former reading, eye‐witnesses of the miracle now bore testimony of it; in the latter, the crowd that was now with Him having heard and believed that the miracle had been wrought, now bore witness _that_ Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead.

18. Propterea et obviam venit 18. For which reason also the ei turba, quia audierunt eum people came to meet him: fecisse hoc signum. because they heard that he had done this miracle.

18. It was on account of this miracle too that the crowd had come out to meet Him. We take “the multitude” in this verse to be the same as that referred to in the preceding (ὁ ὄχλος); and what St. John tells us is, that their coming out to meet Him, and their testimony regarding Him, both proceeded from the fact that He had raised Lazarus from the dead.

19. Pharisaei ergo dixerunt ad 19. The Pharisees therefore semetipsos: Videtis quia nihil said among themselves: Do you proficimus? ecce mundus totus see that we prevail nothing? post eum abiit. behold, the whole world is gone after him.

19. The jealousy of the Pharisees is at once aroused, and, as often happens in such circumstances, they exaggerate, saying that the whole world had gone after Him.

Our Lord moved on towards Jerusalem, riding upon the ass,(81) between two enthusiastic crowds (see Matt. xxi. 9; Mark xi. 9). As He approached the city, and shouts of joy and thanksgiving rose from the crowds which preceded and followed, some Pharisees, as we learn from St. Luke, bade Jesus rebuke His disciples for the words of homage they were using. To whom He replied: “I say to you, if these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out” (Luke xix. 40). Then when He had mounted the summit of Olivet, and the city and temple burst upon His view, He wept, and “went on to prophesy the destruction of the city with a particularity of detail, to the exactness of which the subsequent history bears wonderful testimony.” (Coleridge, _Life of our Life_, vol. ii., p. 187). See Luke xix. 41‐44.

When the procession entered Jerusalem, the “whole city was moved, saying, Who is this?” And the people said, “This is Jesus the Prophet from Nazareth of Galilee” (Matt. xxi. 10, 11). As we learn from St. Mark, Jesus went up to the temple, and there the events occurred which St. John records down to verse 36.

20. Erant autem quidam 20. Now there were certain gentiles, ex his qui gentiles among them who came ascenderant ut adorarent in up to adore on the festival die festo. day. 21. Hi ergo accesserunt ad 21. These therefore came to Philippum, qui erat a Philip, who was of Bethsaida Bethsaida Galilaeae, et of Galilee, and desired him, rogabant eum, dicentes: Domine saying: Sir, we would see volumus Iesum videre. Jesus. 22. Venit Philippus, et dicit 22. Philip cometh and telleth Andreae: Andreas rursum et Andrew. Again Andrew and Philippus dixerunt Iesu. Philip told Jesus.

20‐22. Some Gentiles, who were probably proselytes, had come to Jerusalem for the Pasch, and they ask Philip that they may see, that is, speak with Jesus. Philip consults his fellow‐townsman, Andrew (John i. 44), and they both make known the request to Jesus. Our Lord was probably in the Court of the Jews, into which the Gentiles could not enter, so that their request meant that Jesus should come out into the Court of the Gentiles. See above on ii. 14.

23. Iesus autem respondit eis, 23. But Jesus answered them dicens: Venit hora, ut saying: The hour is come, that clarificetur Filius hominis. the son of man should be glorified.

23. The Evangelist does not tell us whether Jesus granted an audience to these Gentiles, but goes on to record His reply to the disciples: *The hour is come that the son of man should be glorified*: _i.e._, the hour of His death to be followed by His glorious resurrection and ascension by the descent of the Holy Ghost, and the call of the Gentiles.

24. Amen, amen dico vobis, 24. Amen, amen, I say to you, nisi granum frumenti cadens in unless the grain of wheat terram, mortuum fuerit, falling into the ground die; 25. Ipsum solum manet: si 25. Itself remaineth alone. autem mortuum fuerit, multum But if it die, it bringeth fructum affert. Qui amat forth much fruit. He that animam suam, perdet eam: et loveth his life shall lose it: qui odit animam suam in hoc and he that hateth his life in mundo, in vitam aeternam this world, keepeth it unto custodit eam. life eternal.

24, 25. In a beautiful comparison our Lord points out that as the grain of wheat dies in order that it may fructify, so in the providence of God His death is necessary to His triumph and His glory. And applying this doctrine to His disciples, He points out that whoever loveth his life inordinately here, shall lose it for eternity, and he that hateth (a Hebraism for _loveth less_) his life in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal.

26. Si quis mihi ministrat, me 26. If any man minister to me, sequatur: et ubi sum ego, let him follow me: and where I illic et minister meus erit. am, there also shall my Si quis mihi ministraverit, minister be. If any man honorificabit eum Pater meus. minister to me, him will my Father honour.

26. *If any man minister to me, let him follow me.* This exhortation to follow Christ in despising this life for God’s sake, is addressed to all His followers, who are to minister to Him by the service of devout lives; but it is applicable in a special way to Priests, for to them belongs the privilege of the special ministry. To such as imitate Him He gives the glorious promise, that where He is, that is, in the glory of the Father, which as God He then enjoyed, and which as man He was to merit by His passion, there also shall His followers be.

27. Nunc anima mea turbata 27. Now is my soul troubled. est. Et quid dicam? Pater, And what shall I say? Father, salvifica me ex hac hora. Sed save me from this hour. But propterea veni in horem hanc. for this cause I came unto this hour.

27. The thought of His approaching Passion now disturbed His human soul, for as He was true man, His humanity naturally shuddered at the suffering and death He was about to undergo. Compare Matt. xxvi. 38; Mark xiv. 34. Christ, of course, permitted this fear to seize upon Him, so that it was wholly voluntary; and He manifested it at this particular time, probably lest His disciples should be tempted to say that it was easy for Him who was God to exhort others to despise their life and endure suffering. He shows them, therefore, that He dreads death like the rest of men; and St. John records the fact because of the Docetae, who denied the reality of the Incarnation, and consequently of Christ’s sufferings. See above on i. 14, and Introd. IX.

*Father save me from this hour.* Some read this with a note of interrogation after it, as if the meaning were: Shall I say to the Father to save Me from this hour? But we may understand the words as a conditional prayer proceeding from Christ’s human will; conditional, that is, upon his Father’s will to save Him from the Passion which He was to undergo, just as in St. Luke xxii. 42: “Father, if Thou wilt, remove this chalice from Me; but not My will, but Thine be done.” That such, indeed, is the meaning here, is proved by what follows, where Jesus retracts this conditional prayer, saying that it was for the very purpose that He might suffer, that He came unto this hour.

28. Pater, clarifica nomen 28. Father, glorify thy name. tuum. Venit ergo vox de coelo: A voice therefore came from Et clarificavi, et iterum heaven: I have both glorified clarificabo. it, and will glorify it again.

28. In this verse, then, He prays absolutely to the Father to glorify His name by the sufferings and death of the Son. And a voice came from the air, produced there by God or an angel, saying: *I have both glorified (it), and will glorify (it) again*. The sense of these words of the Father is disputed. The Latin fathers understand the sense to be; I have glorified Thee from all eternity, and will glorify Thee again as God‐man after Thy ascension. In favour of this view is the prayer of Christ: “And now glorify Thou Me, O Father, with Thyself, with the glory which I had before the world was, with Thee” (John xvii. 5). The Greek fathers, on the other hand, all take the sense to be: I have already glorified Thee by many miracles, and will again glorify Thee in the miracles to be wrought at Thy death, resurrection, and ascension, and afterwards by Thy followers in Thy name. It will be noted that the fathers generally understand the words of God the Father in reference to the glorification of Christ, whereas Christ’s prayer regarded the glorification of the Father’s name. We feel convinced, however, that the _direct_ object of glorification in both instances is the Father’s name. For when Christ prays: “Glorify Thy name,” and the Father answers: “I have glorified, and will again glorify,” obviously the answer must refer to the glorification of the Father’s name, for which Christ had prayed. Since, however, the glorification of the Father was to be brought about by the glorification of the Son; hence, this too is indirectly referred to, and our interpretation agrees substantially with that of the fathers.

29. Turba ergo quae stabat et 29. The multitude therefore audierat, dicebat tonitruum that stood and heard, said esse factum. Alii dicebant: that it thundered. Others Angelus ei locutus est. said, An Angel spoke to him. 30. Respondit Iesus, et dixit: 30. Jesus answered and said: Non propter me haec vox venit, This voice came not because of sed propter vos. me, but for your sakes.

30. Jesus declares that the voice from heaven was the Father’s testimony to Him, given for their sakes, in order that they might believe in Him.

31. Nunc iudicium est mundi: 31. Now is the judgment of the nunc princeps huius mundi world: now shall the prince of eiicietur foras. this world be cast out.

31. *Now is the judgment of the world.* There is a difference of opinion as to what judgment is here spoken of; whether the judgment of liberation of the world in general, or the judgment of condemnation of the _wicked_ world. In favour of the former, it is argued—(_a_) that since Satan was to be cast out, or deprived of his dominion over the world, therefore the world was to be liberated; (_b_) that verse 32 declares the effect of this judgment: the world shall be liberated, and as a consequence I shall draw all things to Myself; (_c_) that the world to be judged is that over which Satan had ruled, and from which he was now to be cast out. But before the Incarnation he had held sway over the whole world (Rom. iii. 23, xi. 32; Gal. iii. 22). Therefore, it is the whole world that is to be judged, and hence there must be question of the judgment of liberation. So St. Aug., Mald., A Lap., Tolet., Beel., Patriz.

In favour of the latter view, which is held by St. Chrysostom and most of the Greek fathers, it is argued—(_a_) that St. John always uses κρίσις of the judgment of condemnation; (_b_) that the world in the beginning of the verse is the same whose prince is to be deprived of his dominion; that, therefore, it should stand or fall with its prince; hence since he is to be stripped of his dominion, it is to be condemned; (_c_) that in the discourse after the Last Supper, Christ always means by the world, the _wicked_ world, opposed to Himself (John xiv. 17, 22, 30; xv. 18, 19; xviii. 9, 16, 25); therefore, also here, and hence there must be question of the judgment of condemnation. *The prince of this world* is plainly the devil. See also 2 Cor. iv. 4; Eph. ii. 2, vi. 12. In the Talmud the same title is given to the prince of devils. By Christ’s death the devil was cast out: that is, deprived of that almost universal sway which he had exercised over men before the coming of Christ. “At nondum diabolus e mundo ejectus videtur esse, cum in eo adhuc grassetur. Ejectus foras dicitur non quod nunc in mundo non sit, et in multis etiamnum dominetur; sed quod, quantum in Christo fuit, ejectus fuerit, ita ut, si homines vellent, nihil prorsus in ipsos haberet potestatis. Homines illi postea portam arcis aperuerunt, et proditione quadam in suam quisque domum admittit. Itaque etiam nunc regnat et operatur, sed in filios diffidentiae, Eph. ii. 2” (Mald. on this verse).

32. Et ego si exaltatus fuero 32. And I, if I be lifted up a terra, omnia traham ad from the earth, will draw all meipsum: things to myself.

32. *And I, if I be lifted up from the earth.* Christ here predicted that after His death on the cross (see next verse) He should become a centre of attraction, and draw all men (πάντας is the more probable reading, not πάντα), both Jews and _Gentiles_ to Himself. This marvellous prophecy began to be fulfilled in the centurion and his companions (Matt. xxvii. 54), and the rest of the multitude that witnessed the crucifixion (Luke xxiii. 48), and is daily receiving its fulfilment still.

33. Hoc autem dicebat, 33. (Now this he said, significans qua morte esset signifying what death he moriturus. should die.)

33. St. John here gives us an authentic interpretation.

34. Respondit ei turba: Nos 34. The multitude answered audivimus ex lege quia him: We have heard out of the Christus manet in aeternum; et law, that Christ abideth for quomodo tu dicis, Oportet ever; and how sayest thou: The exaltari Filium hominis? Quis son of man must be lifted up? est iste Filius hominis? Who is this son of man?

34. The multitude understood Jesus to speak of His death, or at least of His withdrawal from them, and object that He cannot be the Messias, who, as they understood the Scriptures (the law is here put for the whole Scriptures), was to remain for ever. They quote no single text, but probably they had gathered this idea from many passages; _e.g._, Isai. ix. 6, 7; Ps. cix. 4; Dan. vii. 13, 14, &c. It is not unlikely that they had the passage of Daniel specially before their minds, for there the power of the _Son of Man_ is described as “an everlasting power that shall not be taken away, and His kingdom (a kingdom) that shall not be destroyed.” Hence, they argued, if Christ was to die, He could not be the Messias, but must be some other _Son of Man_ than he spoken of by Daniel.

35. Dixit ergo eis Iesus: 35. Jesus therefore said to Adhuc modicum, lumen in vobis them: Yet a little while, the est. Ambulate dum lucem light is among you. Walk habetis, ut non vos tenebrae whilst you have the light, comprehendant: et qui ambulat that the darkness overtake you in tenebris, nescit quo vadat. not. And he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.

35. Christ might have easily replied, showing them from the same Scriptures that the Messias was to suffer and die (see, _e.g._, Isai. liii.; Dan. ix. 26); but probably because He saw that the motive of the multitude in objecting was not to seek light, but to disprove His claim to be the Messias, He did not vouchsafe a reply to their objection, but went on to exhort them to believe, for thus they should find a solution of all their difficulties.

*Yet a little while*; _i.e._, a few days more, the light, which is Himself, is to be among them. He exhorts them, therefore, to walk, that is, to believe, while He is present among them, in order that darkness, that is, the time when He is gone from among them, may not find them still in their unbelief.

*And* (καί = γάρ) *he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth*. Christ does not mean to say that they could not believe after His death; but just as, though it is quite possible to walk during the time of darkness, still it is easier to walk in daylight, so it was easier for them to believe now, when He, the Sun of Justice was corporally present among them, than it would be when He had withdrawn His light. We take, “darkness,” then, with Mald., not of sin, nor of unbelief, but, as opposed to the light which is Christ, of the time when Christ could be no longer present among them, after His death, as in verse ix. 4; xi. 9, 10.

36. Dum lucem habetis, credite 36. Whilst you have the light, in lucem, ut filii lucis believe in the light, that you sitis. Haec locutus est Iesus: may be the children of light. et abiit, et abscondit se ab These things Jesus spoke, and eis. he went away, and hid himself from them.

36. He now explains what He means by telling them to walk. It is that they should believe. *That you may be* (become) *the children of light*. The phrase “children of light” is a Hebraism, meaning those who are to possess the light, who are destined for it. Compare Luke xvi. 8; Eph. v. 8.

*And he went away, and hid himself from them.* SS. Matt. and Mark tell us that He went to Bethania with the twelve and remained there (Matt. xxi. 17; Mark xi. 11).

37. Cum autem tanta signa 37. And whereas he had done so fecisset coram eis, non many miracles before them, credebant in eum: they believed not in him. 38. Ut sermo Isaiae prophetae 38. That the saying of Isaias impleretur, quem dixit: the prophet might be Domine, quis credidit auditui fulfilled, which he said: nostro? et brachium Domini cui _Lord, who hath believed our revelatum est? hearing? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?_ 39. Propterea non poterant 39. Therefore they could not credere, quia iterum dixit believe, because Isaias said Isaias: again. 40. Excaecavit oculos eorum, 40. _He hath blinded their et induravit cor eorum: ut non eyes, and hardened their videant oculis, et non heart, that they should not intelligant corde, et see with their eyes, nor convertantur, et sanem eos. understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them._

37‐40. Before closing this first part of the _narrative_ portion of the Gospel (see Introd. iv.), St. John pauses in the history to note the hard‐ hearted incredulity of the Jews, notwithstanding the fact that Christ had wrought _so many_ miracles; an incredulity, however, which had been foretold by Isaias, which, therefore, came to pass now _in order that_ (ἱνα) the prediction of the Prophet should be fulfilled (verses 37, 38); and which came to pass necessarily (_necessitate consequente_), because, as Isaias declared, they no longer had the abundant graces necessary in order that they might believe (verses 39, 40). Thus the incredulity of the Jews in our Lord’s time was _necessary_ to the end that prophecy might be fulfilled. How then, we may ask, was that incredulity culpable, if those who were incredulous were not free and able to believe? The answer is, that this incredulity was necessary by a necessity consequent upon the prediction of the inspired Prophet, which prediction was itself consequent upon God’s foreknowledge that the Jews would, culpably and of their own free will, remain incredulous. God foresaw this incredulity, predicted it, because He foresaw it was to be; and, of course, it came to pass, as He had foreseen it would. Hence, when God foresees, or His Prophet predicts, the commission of a certain sin, that sin is infallibly, yet freely committed. It is, as if we saw a man walking across a plain; he does so, not because we see him, but we see him because he walks. Similarly, in the boundless plain of His eternal present, God sees all things that are to be, and they happen, not because He sees them, but He sees them because they are to happen.

Note, in verse 38, that *our hearing* means what has been heard _from_ us, for the preachers of the Gospel are represented in Isaias as complaining of the small number of those who listened to them. *The arm of the Lord* is Christ, according to several of the fathers; or we may take it to mean the power of the Lord in the work of man’s redemption.

Note, in verse 40, where the prophecy is cited freely, after neither the Hebrew nor the Septuagint, that it is not meant that God blinded any man _positively_, but only negatively, by the withdrawal of His more abundant graces.

41. Haec dixit Isaias, quando 41. These things said Isaias vidit gloriam eius, et locutus when he saw his glory, and est de eo. spoke of him.

41. See Isaias vi. 1, 9, 10, where the Prophet says: “I saw the Lord” (אדני = the Supreme God), words which are here referred by St. John to the Prophet’s having seen Christ; therefore, according to St. John, Christ is the Supreme God.

It would also seem from this verse that the Son of God Himself, and not merely an angel representing Him, appeared to Isaias on that occasion. It was the common opinion of the fathers, though denied by most of the scholastics, that God sometimes appeared in the O. T. apparitions.

*And spoke of him*, rather, “and he spoke of Him,” for this clause does not depend upon the preceding “when.” It is a statement that it was of Christ Isaias spoke the words just quoted.

42. Verumtamen et ex 42. However many of the chief principibus multi crediderunt men also believed in him: but in eum: sed propter pharisaeos because of the Pharisees they non confitebantur, ut e did not confess _him_, that synagoga non eiicerentur: they might not be cast out of the synagogue.

42. See above on ix. 22.

43. Dilexerunt enim gloriam 43. For they loved the glory hominum magis quam gloriam of men, more than the glory of Dei. God. 44. Iesus autem clamavit, et 44. But Jesus cried, and said: dixit: Qui credit in me, non He that believeth in me, doth credit in me sed in eum qui not believe in me, but in him misit me. that sent me.

44. These words of our Lord recorded in the remainder of this chapter seem to have been spoken on a subsequent day of Holy Week (see verse 36); but on what precise day, it is difficult to determine. *Doth not believe in me* is the Hebrew way of saying: doth not _so much_ believe in Me, as in Him that sent Me. Compare Mark ix. 36.

45. Et qui videt me, videt eum 45. And he that seeth me, qui misit me. seeth him that sent me.

45. In these words Christ declares His unity of nature with the Father. “Sensus est de visione corporali, non quod Deus oculo corporeo videatur immediate, et per se, sed mediante humanitate, cui Divina substantia Patris et Filii est unita” (Tolet.).

46. Ego lux in mundum veni: ut 46. I am come a light into the omnis qui credit in me, in world; that whosoever tenebris non maneat. believeth in me, may not remain in darkness.

46. *Darkness* here means unbelief and sin.

47. Et si quis audierit verba 47. And if any man hear my mea, et non custodierit, ego words and keep them not: I do non iudico eum, non enim veni not judge him: for I came not ut iudicem mundum, sed ut to judge the world, but to salvificem mundum. save the world.

47. *I do not judge him*; _i.e._, I do not _condemn_ him. Compare iii. 17; viii. 15, 50. At his _first_ coming Christ did not come to condemn, but to save.

48. Qui spernit me, et non 48. He that despiseth me, and accipit verba mea, habet qui receiveth not my words, hath iudicet eum: sermo quem one that judgeth him: the word locutus sum, ille iudicabit that I have spoken, the same eum in novissimo die. shall judge him in the last day.

48. *Hath one that judgeth him*; namely, the Father (viii. 50). Hence the sense of the verse is that he that despiseth Me ... hath one that judgeth him _even now_; and moreover, on the last day My words shall rise in judgment against him.

49. Quia ego ex meipso non sum 49. For I have not spoken of locutus, sed qui misit me myself, but the Father who Pater, ipse mihi mandatum sent me, he gave me dedit quid dicam, et quid commandment what I should say, loquar. and what I should speak.

49. This verse gives the reason why the words of Christ shall stand in judgment against the unbeliever; because His words were not merely His own, uttered by His private authority, but spoken by the command of His Father, whom therefore they despise, in despising Him. In our view Christ here speaks of Himself as man.

If *say* and *speak* are to be distinguished, then “say” (εἴπω) refers to the formal discourses, “speak” (λαλήσω) to the ordinary conversations; so that in all His words Christ had spoken to them the words of God.

50. Et scio quia mandatum eius 50. And I know that his vita aeterna est. Quae ergo commandment is life ego loquor, sicut dixit mihi everlasting. The things Pater, sic loquor. therefore that I speak; even as the Father said unto me, so do I speak.

50. To show them their folly, and in the hope of yet inducing them to believe, He tells them He knows with certainty that the command of the Father (that is, what the Father had commanded Him to say and do, and hence, all His own words and works) is the cause of life eternal to mankind. Hence their folly in not believing.

*The things therefore that I speak; even as the Father said unto me, so do I speak.* Thus He concludes, insisting on the fact that He is the legate of God (consubstantial with the Father, verse 45), and as such worthy to be believed.