John 12

— because that Esaias said again.] Because that which Esaias had said was verified in them. Dr. Whitby.

— he loved them unto the end.] Now, before His departure, He, in a more particular and affectionate manner, at His last supper, discovered an earnest concern and exceeding great love towards them. Dr. S. Clarke.

John 12:2

2. — the devil having now put &c.] Judas having now yielded to the temptations of the devil, and the enticements of his own corrupt and covetous inclinations, so as to resolve not only to forsake, but betray his Master. Dr. S. Clarke.

John 12:3

3. Then took Mary &c.] Mary, the sister of Lazarus, chap. xi. 2. It is the opinion more generally received among commentators, that the circumstance here detailed of Mary’s anointing Jesus’s feet is distinct from that related at Matt. xxvi. 6; Mark xiv. 3. This event was six days before the passover; that, two days, Matt. xxvi. 2: this occurred in the house of Lazarus, that in the house of Simon the leper, Matt. xxvi. 6. In this, Mary anoints the feet of Jesus; in that, a woman, not named, pours ointment on His head, Matt. xxvi. 7. Drs. Lightfoot, Whitby, and Macknight.

3, 4. Jesus knowing that the Father &c.] Jesus knowing sufficiently the dignity of His person; that He was the eternal Son of God, who had come from God the Father, and was now near His time of returning to Him again, humbled Himself by the striking act of condescension related in the ensuing verses. Dr. Hammond. Hereby setting us a most powerful example of humility and kindness towards each other. Bp. Mann.

John 12:4

4. — his garments:] Properly, ‘His upper garment,’ “and girded Himself;” bound His other garments about Him, as was usual for one who served. Dr. Hammond.

John 12:5

5. — for three hundred pence.] Three hundred Roman pence; between nine and ten pounds of our money.

6. — wash the disciples’ feet.] By the ceremony of washing His disciples’ feet, our Lord signified the efficacy and value of His own precious blood, by which alone they, and all mankind, were to have all their sins purged and washed away for ever. Bp. Hurd.

John 12:6

6. — had the bag.] Was purse-bearer to Jesus and the Apostles. Dr. S. Clarke.

John 12:7

7. — against the day of my burying hath she kept this.] She has performed this as a fit ceremony for My burial, which is near at hand. Dr. Whitby. It was the custom among the Jews to anoint dead bodies with perfumes and spices. See note at Matt. xxvi. 10.

8. — but thou shalt know hereafter.] After the ceremony is finished, I will tell thee it was intended as an example of that humility which I would have you exhibit in ministering to the meanest Christians, although in station and office you are far superior to them, ver. 14. Dr. Whitby.

John 12:8

8. For the poor &c.] Ye will have opportunities enough of shewing charity to the poor; but this is the last opportunity she could have had of expressing her kindness to Me; it is therefore a seasonable service in her. Dr. Hammond.

John 12:13

13. Took branches of palm trees, &c.] See notes at Matt. xxi. 1—9.

John 12:16

16. These things understood not &c.] The disciples did not comprehend that in these events there was any completion of prophecies concerning Jesus, till the time when Jesus was advanced to the throne of His glory, and had shed upon them the Spirit of truth, when they not only understood that these things were done according to the words of Zechariah the Prophet, chap. ix. 9; but also that His kingdom was of a spiritual nature, over the hearts and consciences of men. Dr. Whitby.

John 12:17

17. — bare record.] Freely made acknowledgment of that signal miracle at Jerusalem. Dr. Hammond. Or it is meant, generally, they bare record, by their hosannas, that He is the Christ. Dr. Whitby.

John 12:20

20. — certain Greeks] All foreigners, who used the Greek language, (then extensively spoken,) were called Greeks; and those of them, who came to worship at Jerusalem, being converted from idolatry, yet not being circumcised, were not acknowledged as perfect Jews, but were distinguished by the name of “devout men,” Acts ii. 5, 10; x. 2; xxii. 12. Bp. Mann. They are supposed to have been “proselytes of the gate,” who were permitted to worship in the court of the Gentiles, but not to celebrate the feast. Dr. Hammond.

Christ prayeth to his Father. Anno DOMINI 32.

John 12:22

22. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew:] Christ had forbidden His Apostles to go into the coasts of the Gentiles, Matt. x. 5: on this account, the Apostles seem to have doubted whether such uncircumcised persons might be admitted to converse with Him, and therefore they consult Him before they bring them to Him. Dr. Whitby.

John 12:23

23.—The hour is come, &c.] The time is now approaching, when the power and glory of the Messiah shall begin to be manifested, not only to the Jews, but also to all the nations of the world. Dr. S. Clarke.

John 12:24

24.—Except a corn of wheat &c.] As a grain of wheat does not bring forth fruit, except it be first cast into the earth, and there die; but, if it die, it will bring forth much fruit; in like manner I must first die, and be cast into the earth, and then a mighty harvest of the Gentile world will spring up and be the produce of My death, Isai. xxvi. 19. Dr. Lightfoot.

—it abideth alone:] Abideth without increase. Dr. Whitby.

John 12:25

25. He that loveth his life &c.] As ye see, He continues, that the way by which I Myself must attain to My kingdom is by suffering and death; so ye, and all who intend to be My disciples, must take notice that the way, by which ye likewise must attain eternal life, is the same way of suffering and affliction. Dr. S. Clarke.

—that hateth his life] That loveth it not so well, as to be unwilling to part with it for the sake of Jesus and His Gospel. Bp. Pearce.

25. Father, glorify thy name.] Father, I resign Myself entirely to Thy all-wise disposal. Glorify Thy name in Me, by what means and in what manner soever Thou thinkest fit. Dr. S. Clarke.

—I have both glorified it, &c.] By the raising of Lazarus, chap. xi. 4, and by all the other miracles which I have given in testimony of Thy Divine mission, chap. ii. 11. “And I will glorify it again” by Thy resurrection and exaltation to the right hand of glory, Acts iii. 13; by the mission of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles, the witnesses of Thy resurrection, chap. xvi. 14; and by giving Thos a name above every name, Eph. i. 20, 21; Philipp. ii. 9, 10. Dr. Whitby.

John 12:27

27.—Father, save me from this hour:] Nature would prompt Me to prefer this petition; but this I cannot say, since “for this cause came I unto this hour,” that I should die for the sins of the world. That it might not be thought by those who were called upon to follow His example, that He had not the same sense of pain and sorrow which other men have, He here shews that He had the same natural feelings as other men, but that they were overruled by the desire of promoting His Father’s glory. Dr. Whitby.

—but for this cause came I unto this hour.] Our Lord was born into the world for this end, to suffer and to be put to death; He took up His life, in order thus to lay it down; and was made a living man for this very purpose, to be crucified and slain. Dr. Ogden.

John 12:30

30.—not because of me, but &c.] Not to answer or satisfy Me, but convince and confirm you. Dr. Hammond.

John 12:31

31. Now is the judgment &c.] Now is the time when the powers of this present world are about to be called into judgment; and Satan, who still reigns in the children of disobedience, shall be dispossessed of the dominion which he exercises in the world. Dr. S. Clarke.

—the prince of this world] Our Saviour speaks after a mode of expression very familiar among the Jews, when He calls Satan “the prince of this world:” in opposition to him was the Prince, whose kingdom was not of this world, that is, the Prince of “the world to come,” Heb. ii. 5. Dr. Lightfoot. Satan is called “the prince of this world,” as having maintained his empire both among Jews and Gentiles, leading them captive into sin and perdition. Rosenmüller.

John 12:32

32. And I, if I be lifted up &c.] When I am lifted up upon the cross, I shall cause men of all nations to believe on Me. Dr. Whitby.

John 12:34

34.—We have heard out of the law &c.] Under the term “Law” they included the Prophets and all their Scriptures. That Christ was to abide for ever, they gathered from the passages where His kingdom is represented to be everlasting, as Dan. vii. 14; Ezek. xxxvii. 25; Isai. ix. 7; and from God’s promise to David, Psal. lxxxix. 36, 37. But, had they sufficiently attended also to other passages, in which He is represented as a suffering Messiah, Psal. xxii. 18; xl. 6; Isai. liii. 2, 12; Dan. ix. 26, &c. they would have had their scruples removed, and would have believed what

The general blindness of the Jews. Anno DOMINI 33. be lifted up? who is this Son of man?

John 12:35

35. — the light with you.] The presence of Christ while on earth. Grotius.

— lest darkness come upon you.] Lest ye be for ever left in an unhappy state of blindness and darkness. Dr. Hammond. Darkness indeed came upon the Jews in a wonderful manner, after the light of the Gospel was taken from them, when they sinned against all laws civil and sacred, and were given up by God to the deserved consequences of their blindness. Dr. Whitby.

John 12:37

37. But though he had done — yet they believed not on him.] The Evangelist does not mean to impute the defect of their belief to any doubt about the miracles, but to their not perceiving, what all now sufficiently perceive, and what they would have perceived, had not their understandings been governed by strong prejudices, the infallible attestation which the works of Jesus bore to the truth of His pretensions. Archdeacon Paley.

John 12:38

38. That the saying — might be] So that the saying was fulfilled. See Notes at Matt. 1. 22. Dr. Whitby.

John 12:39

39. — they could not believe.] It was very difficult for them to believe; they were very unwilling to believe. Abp. Newcome.

It is not meant that they had a will to believe, and could not; but that they set themselves against having such a will. Dr. Wall.

They were not constrained in their infidelity, because Isaiah had said, “He hath blinded their eyes,” &c.; but it is meant that those things were true which the Prophet had foretold concerning them. Dr. Lightfoot.

There are many passages in the Gospels similar to this, ver. 38—40; and we are not to understand by them, that the events took place merely for the purpose that the sayings of the ancient Prophets might be fulfilled; or that God, by hardening the hearts and blinding the understandings of the Jews, made it impossible for them to believe. God foresaw that a very large proportion of the Jews would reject the Gospel, and

report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?

John 12:41

41. — when he saw his glory.] In this passage is afforded a clear and illustrious proof of the Divinity of Christ. The Evangelist manifestly speaks of Esaias having seen the glory of Christ. But the Prophet says, (chap. vi. 5.) in the passage alluded to, “Mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” It follows therefore, by the clearest inference, that Christ is the same with “the Lord of hosts.” Dr. Whitby.

John 12:42

42. — many believed on him.] Many of the rulers were inwardly convinced that He was the Messiah, and believed on Him as such; still expecting that He would by some surprising providence be raised to the throne of Israel; but they were afraid at this time to confess the convictions of their hearts concerning Him, on account of the enmity of the Pharisees. Dr. Doddridge.

John 12:43

43. For they loved the praise of men &c.] That is, they chose rather to obtain worldly praise, and to preserve their worldly dignities, than to give glory to God by acknowledging Jesus for the Messiah. Bernasobre.

— they loved the praise &c.] They valued their reputation with men, more than the honour of God; and were more concerned for their temporal interest in the present world, than for the satisfaction of a good conscience, in the hope of that which is to come. Dr. S. Clarke.

What strange infatuation was this! that the human mind should be capable of believing that there is a God, and yet of preferring the creatures before Him; and should imagine the vain breath of popular applause, or censure, to be of such consequence, that God ought to

Christ warneth his unbelieving hearers. S. JOHN. He washeth his disciples’ feet.

A DPO DOMINI 33. believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.

John 12:44

44. — not on me, but &c.] Not on Me only, but also on “Him that sent Me,” and set His seal to My testimony. Dr. Whitby.

John 12:45

45. And he that seeth me &c.] He that seeth My works, (as well as heareth My doctrine,) cannot but perceive plainly My Father’s power present in what I do, and the evidence of His authority accompanying what I teach. Dr. S. Clarke.

John 12:47

47. — I judge him not:] While I am here on earth, I pass not sentence on him; for here I perform the office of a Prophet, not of a Judge, chap. viii. 15. Dr. Whitby.

— for I came not &c.] The end of My present coming is not to condemn, but to save: My second coming will be to execute judgment. Bp. Mann.

John 12:48

48. — the same shall judge him in the last day.] We should carefully attend to our Saviour’s expressions here, that those who would not hear His word, should be judged by that same word which they rejected. This declaration is made to all to whom the Gospel is preached; and warns Christians in all ages to make a better use than the Jews did of this Divine light, lest darkness overtake them, and lest the Gospel, which is preached to them, become the cause of their condemnation. Ostervold.

John 12:50

50. — his commandment is life everlasting:] That is, to keep His commandments is the only way to everlasting life. Bp. Mann.

Chap. XIII. ver. 1. — before the feast of the passover.]

mandeth them to love one another, 35 and forewarneth Peter of his denial.

AARB DOMINI 33. a Matt. 26. 2.

NOW before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.