John 8:47 Komentář

In this chapter we have, I. Christ's evading the snare which the Jews laid for him, in bringing to him a woman taken in adultery (Joh 8:1-11). II. Divers discourses or conferences of his with the Jews that cavilled at him, and sought occasion against him, and made every thing he said a matter of controversy. 1. Concerning his being the light of the world (Joh 8:12-20). 2. Concerning the ruin of the unbelieving Jews (Joh 8:21-30). 3. Concerning liberty and bondage (Joh 8:31-37). 4. Concerning his Father and their father (Joh 8:38-47). 5. Here is his discourse in answer to their blasphemous reproaches (Joh 8:48-50). 6. Concerning the immortality of believers (Joh 8:51-59). And in all this he endured the contradiction of sinners against himself.

Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives. Which lay eastward of Jerusalem, about a mile from it; hither Christ went on the evening of the last day of the feast of tabernacles; partly to decline the danger, and avoid the snares the Jews might lay for him in the night season; having been disappointed and confounded in the daytime; and it may be for the sake of recreation and diversion, to sup with his dear friends Lazarus, Martha, and Mary, who lived at Bethany, not far from this mount; and chiefly for private prayer to God, on account of himself as man, and for his disciples, and for the spread of his Gospel, and for the enlargement of his interest; this being his common and usual method, Luk 21:37. . John 8:2 joh 8:2 joh 8:2 joh 8:2And early in the morning he came again into the temple,.... Which shows his diligence, constancy, and assiduity, in his ministerial work, as well as his courage and intrepidity; being fearless of his enemies, though careful to give them no advantage against him, before his time: and all the people came unto him; which also commends the industry and diligence of his hearers, who were forward to hear him, and were early at the temple for that purpose, and that in great numbers: and he sat down and taught them; he sat, as his manner was; See Gill on Mat 5:1; and taught them as one having authority, and such doctrine, and in such a manner, as never man did; with all plainness, boldness, and freedom.

I seek not mine own glory,.... In his doctrine, or in his miracles; which showed that he was no impostor, but a true, faithful, and upright person; and though he was so very much reproached and abused, he was not over solicitous of his own character, and of retrieving his honour, and of securing glory from man; he knew that Wisdom was justified of her children, and he committed himself to God that judgeth righteously, who would take care of his glory, and vindicate him from all the unjust charges and insults of men: there is one that seeketh and judgeth; meaning God his Father, who had his glory at heart; who had glorified him on the mount, and would glorify him again, when he should raise him from the dead, and spread his Gospel in all the world; and when he would judge the nation of the Jews, and bring wrath upon them, upon their nation, city and temple, for their contempt and rejection of him.

(tom. xx. 24.) But how is this said to the Jews who believed on Him? Consider: a man may believe in one sense, not believe in another; e. g. that our Lord was crucified by Pontius Pilate, but not that He was born of the Virgin Mary. In this same way, those whom He is speaking to, believed in Him as a worker of miracles, which they saw Him to be; but did not believe in His doctrines, which were too deep for them.

"Why do ye not understand My speech?" Since they were always doubting, saying, "What is it that he saith, 'Whither I go ye cannot come'?" therefore He telleth them, "Ye do not understand My speech," "because ye have not the word of God. And this cometh to you, because that your understanding is groveling, and because what is Mine is far too great for you." But what if they could not understand? Not to be able here means not to be willing; for "ye have trained yourselves to be mean, to imagine nothing great." Because they said that they persecuted Him as being themselves zealous for God, on this account He everywhere striveth to show that to persecute Him is the act of those who hate God, but that, on the contrary, to love Him is the act of those who know God.

But how came it into their thoughts to betake themselves to God? He had shown them unworthy of Abraham; desiring therefore to escape this charge, they mounted higher. For when He reproached them with murder, they said this, making it, as it were, a kind of excuse for themselves that they were avenging God. Therefore He showeth that this very thing is the act of men opposing God. And the, "I came forth," showeth that He was from thence. He saith, "I came forth," alluding to His arrival among us. But since they would probably say to Him, "Thou speaketh certain things strange and new," He telleth them that He was come from God. "And therefore with good reason ye hear them not, because ye are of the devil. For on what account would ye kill Me? What charge have ye to bring against Me? If there be none, why do ye not believe Me?" Thus then having proved them to be of the devil by their lying and their murder, He showeth them also to be alien from Abraham and from God, both because they hated One who had done no wrong, and because they would not hear His word.

(Tr. xlii. 16) Apply this not to their nature, but to their faults. They both are from God, and are not from God at the same time; their nature is from God, their fault is not from God. This was spoken too to those, who were not only faulty, by reason of sin, in the way in which all are: but who it was foreknown would never possess such faith as would free them from the bonds of sin.

"He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God." Here, again, it is not of their nature as men, but of their depravity, that you are to think. In this way they are of God, and yet not of God. By nature they are of God, in depravity they are not of God.

We must here understand that certain are of God, not as though begotten of His Essence (for that were foolish), nor yet according to what is said through Paul, All things are of God (for since He is Creator and Maker of all things who giveth being to all, the Divine Paul saith that all things are of Him): but it will not harmonize so to understand it here, for all are of God, both bad and good, in so far as He is Creator of all. He says therefore that he is of God who by virtue and a right conversation is related to God, and accounted worthy of kinness to Him, in that He deigns to enrol such among His children. He therefore, He says, that is of God will receive most readily and gladly the Divine words (for that which is of kin and own is always dear) but he that is not of God, i. e., he who in no wise prizes relationship with Him, will not most gladly hear the Divine words: for neither will good easily inexist the bad, nor will longing for virtue be to them a thing worth fighting for, since their mind has been filled with the extremest depravity and looks to only its own will. But when Christ says, He that is of God heareth God's words, let no one think that He is bidding us to give the Divine voice entry in merely our bodily ears. For who that is, even though he be a thoroughly bad man, will not surely hear the voice of him who speaketh, if he have not by some disease lost his hearing? But the word heareth, He here puts instead of Consents, believes and lays up in his mind, as it is said in the book of Proverbs, The wise will receive commandments in his heart. For that of the unwise or despisers the word borne about, like some meaningless sound and like some din that annoys to no purpose, forthwith departs from the recipients: but into the heart of the prudent like some generous soil it sinks in. Full wisely does now the Lord, convicting the madness of the Jews and showing that they blaspheme without restraint, say that His words are the words of God. For He reinstructs them (He says) to think more becomingly of Him and not to deem that of Joseph or any other of those on the earth did He of a truth spring, but to believe that of the Essence of God the Father He hath appeared God of God. Which they indeed understanding are annoyed and burn with hotter wrath, adding iniquity to their iniquity, as it is written, through those things whereby they insult Him yet more.

But what follows is very terrifying: "He who is of God hears the words of God; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God." For if he who is of God hears the words of God, and whoever is not of him cannot hear his words, let each one ask himself whether he perceives the words of God in the ear of his heart, and he will understand where he is from. The Truth commands us to desire the heavenly homeland, to crush the desires of the flesh, to shun the glory of the world, not to covet what belongs to others, and to give away what is our own. Therefore let each one of you consider within himself whether this voice of God has taken hold in the ear of his heart, and he will recognize that he is already of God. For there are some who do not deign to receive the precepts of God even with the ear of the body. And there are some who indeed receive them with the bodily ear, but embrace them with no desire of the mind. And there are some who gladly receive the words of God, so that they are even moved to tears of compunction, but after the time of weeping they return to iniquity. These certainly do not hear the words of God, who scorn to put them into practice by their deeds. Therefore, dearest brothers, call your life back before the eyes of your mind, and with profound consideration fear what sounds from the mouth of Truth: "Therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."

(ut sup.) Let him then, who would understand God's words, ask himself whether he hears them with the ears of his heart. For there are some who do not deign to hear God's commands even with their bodily ears; and there are others who do this, but do not embrace them with their heart's desire; and there are others again who receive God's words readily, yea and are touched, even to tears: but who afterwards go back to their sins again; and therefore cannot be said to hear the word of God, because they neglect to practise it.

As if to say: If ye are the sons of God, ye ought to hold sinners in hatred. If ye hate Me, when ye cannot convince Me of sin, it is evident that ye hate Me because of the truth: i. e. because I said I was the Son of God.

"He who is of God hears the words of God." Therefore, if you too were sons of God, you would not turn away from Me, the Son of God, who came down from heaven and exalts the words of God.

He then begins with a reasonable and true starting point, saying, he who is of God hears the words of God. For we read in Sirach (13:15): "Every creature loves its like." Therefore, whoever is of God, to that extent possesses a likeness to the things of God and clings to them. Thus, he who is of God gladly hears the words of God: "Every one who is of the truth hears my voice" (18:37). The word of God ought to be heard gladly by those, above all, who are of God, since it is the seed by which we are made the children of God: "He called them gods to whom the word of God came" (10:35). He draws his conclusion from this saying, the reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God. This is like saying: The reason for your unbelief is not my sin, but your own wickedness; as Sirach (6:20) says: "She seems very harsh to the uninstructed." Augustine says about them that as to their nature, they are of God, indeed; but by reason of their vice and evil affection they are not of God. For this statement was made to those who were not just sinful, for this was common to all; it was made to those of whom it was foreknown that they would not believe with that faith by which they could have been set free from the chains of their sins. It should be noted, as Gregory says, that there are three degrees of being badly disposed in one's affections. Some refuse to physically hear God's precepts. Of these we read: "Like the deaf adder that stops its ear" (Ps 58:4). Others hear them physically, but they do not embrace them with the desire of their heart, since they do not have the will to obey them: "They hear what you say, but they will not do it" (Ez 33:32). Finally, there are those who joyfully receive the words of God and even weep with tears of sorrow; but after the time of crying is past and they are oppressed with troubles or allured by pleasures, they return to their sins. An example of this is given in Matthew (c 13) and Luke (c 8), where we read of the word being choked by cares and anxieties. "But the house of Israel will not listen to you; for they are not willing to listen to me" (Ez 3:7). Consequently, a sign that a person is of God is that he is glad to hear the words of God, while those who refuse to hear, either in affection or physically, are not of God.

The story of the woman taken in adultery, Joh 8:1-11. Jesus declares himself the light of the world, Joh 8:12. The Pharisees cavil, Joh 8:13. Jesus answers, and shows his authority, Joh 8:14-20. He delivers a second discourse, in which he convicts them of sin, and foretells their dying in it, because of their unbelief, Joh 8:21-24. They question him; he answers, and foretells his own death, Joh 8:25-29. Many believe on him, in consequence of this last discourse, Joh 8:30. To whom he gives suitable advice, Joh 8:31, Joh 8:32. The Jews again cavil, and plead the nobility and advantages of their birth, Joh 8:33. Jesus shows the vanity of their pretensions, and the wickedness of their hearts, Joh 8:34-47. They blaspheme, and Christ convicts and reproves them, and asserts his Divine nature, Joh 8:48-58. They attempt to stone him, Joh 8:59.

He that is of God - Meaning probably himself: he who came from God, or was born of God - heareth the words of God - has the constant inspiration of his Spirit, speaks nothing but truth, and cannot possibly err.

THE WOMAN TAKEN IN ADULTERY. (Joh 8:1-11) Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives--This should have formed the last verse of the foregoing chapter. "The return of the people to the inert quiet and security of their dwellings (Joh 7:53), at the close of the feast, is designedly contrasted with our Lord's homeless way, so to speak, of spending the short night, who is early in the morning on the scene again. One cannot well see why what is recorded in Luk 21:37-38 may not even thus early have taken place; it might have been the Lord's ordinary custom from the beginning to leave the brilliant misery of the city every night, that so He might compose His sorrowful and interceding heart, and collect His energies for new labors of love; preferring for His resting-place Bethany, and the Mount of Olives, the scene thus consecrated by many preparatory prayers for His final humiliation and exaltation" [STIER].