The Lord was not at home, evidently, in Jerusalem. It must have been a dreadful place to Jesus, at the end of His earthly mission, when every one and every thing was stamped with its true character. Its past glory, and present captivity and shame, its place in God’s counsels as the center of His earthly dominion, were all known to Him. The throne of God had been there, the glory itself had dwelt in the midst of it. All its wondrous history, one cannot doubt, was before the Lord’s mind, and He, its glorious King, where was He? The Idumean was sitting upon His throne, the Romans were in power in Emmanuel’s land.
How unceasingly all the beautiful feelings of His holy soul, all quick and delicate as they ever were, not as in others, blunted or perverted by sin, must have been outraged in witnessing its degradation, and thinking of its downfall! She came down wonderfully (Lam. 1:99Her filthiness is in her skirts; she remembereth not her last end; therefore she came down wonderfully: she had no comforter. O Lord, behold my affliction: for the enemy hath magnified himself. (Lamentations 1:9)). What exquisite pain to know and feel that now there was no hope! If thou hadst known, even thou, [the Sodom and Egypt of cities] at least in this thy day, the things that are for thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes . . . because thou knewest not the season of thy visitation.” Its holy places, even, were in the power of the enemy, on what single thing there could the eyes and heart of Jesus now rest? Yet Jehovah Himself had once said, “Mine eyes and Mine heart shall be there perpetually” (2 Chron. 7:1616For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. (2 Chronicles 7:16)).
He spake little of His own sorrows, but much of those of others. When He saw the city, He wept over it; but He taught in the temple, His feelings perfect, His zeal unbroken, His love unwearied. In Luke 21, speaking of the same time, it says, “In the daytime He was teaching in the temple; and at night, He went out, and abode in the mount that is called the mount of Olives, and all the people came early in the morning to Him in the temple for to hear Him” (vss. 37-38). The “Hope of Israel” was now, indeed, as a stranger in the land, and a wayfaring man, that turned aside, that He might not tarry in the beloved city, even for a night.
At the end of John 11, it says, He had gone away to a city called Ephraim near the desert, and now He is come to Bethany, a little mountain village, on the mount of Olives — there prepare Him a supper. The Bethany family was there, but it was not in their house; this, however, did not hinder Martha from serving, and this time she needed no one to help her; neither did the company keep Mary from His feet, and Lazarus was at the table with Him, the heart of each governed by His presence. What a blessed scene this supper, at Bethany — Jesus was there, and His friends; what a contrast to the former scenes! All is reverential love and interest in Him, which knew no bounds; was He not there?
The supper was made for Him, and then there was the sweet odor filling the house, and Lazarus; the trophy of His power over death, and witness of the manifestation of the glory of God, was at table with Him.
But one was present whose whole moral being was out of harmony with all before him, his sympathies and tastes had never been formed by the teaching and power of Jesus (a spot in that feast of love); he was near Him, saw Him, heard His word, but remained a stranger to the truth of His nature and character. Seared in conscience and hard of heart, he was the first and fittest to give expression to the piety of a worldly religionist — “Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?” To give to the poor would ensure a rich harvest of praise, even though the gift was with another’s money; to spend it upon Jesus of Nazareth, the instincts of his nature told him, was simply loss in this world; and Satan himself had put this thought into his heart, as for himself, he was but a thief! There you have a sample of a great deal of the charity of this world. The devil acting upon a covetous, world-loving nature, he would keep what he could for himself, give perhaps a little to the poor, and obtain the world’s favor in return. But Satan had not done with him yet; afterwards he put into his heart the thought of betraying Jesus. He obtained money more quickly by that means — thirty pieces of silver — and finally he enters into him! An awful history surely! Was not his presence a spot in that feast of love?
What a contrast to all this we have in the history of Mary! She, who had in heart and spirit laid hold of the true riches, receives a second time testimony from Jesus — “Against the day of My burying hath she kept this”; on the former occasion it was, “Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” Her intelligence is awakened through her affections, the world, she feels, is against Him; for her He is the measure of the value of everything it contains. It is not without interest of a solemn character, that we find that whilst the odor of Mary’s offering was yet filling the house, Judas was bargaining (Matt. 26) for thirty pieces of silver to betray the Lord! But who maketh thee to differ?
A great crowd of Jews came, not only because of Jesus, but, that they might see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead; but the chief priests seek to kill him also, because on his account many of, the Jews, went away and believed on Jesus. So they had cast out the blind man who had received sight. Their counsel was to destroy from off the earth both Jesus and His testimony.
Thus Satan raged, and thus thus the adversary advanced like the sea, wave succeeding wave. We had Sadducees, Pharisees, Herodians, scribes, doctors, and now, at the end, the chief priests, hitherto in the background, and finally the Gentiles, in the person of Pilate. But all their rage could not prevent Jesus being glorified by God as His Son, wielding God’s power over death itself; and that without changing His outward place and, being acknowledged by man on earth in every department of the future glory. The fruits of His testimony and work: on earth, too, must be seen and tasted, anticipatively. Already, manifested as Son of God, He takes His place at Bethany in the midst of His disciples, their Center and Object; the risen Lazarus at the table with Him; Martha serving; Mary anointing His feet; communion, service, worship.
Verse 12. A great crowd of Jews go forth to meet Him as He entered Jerusalem, and hail Him as the King of Israel (David’s Son), coming in the name of the Lord. “Hosanna” (Save now), they say (Psa. 118). Thus far we have a foreshadowing of His glory in His relationship with the church and the Jews (Israel). A third relationship we come to presently. But remark how powerless were all the efforts of the enemy to hinder these testimonies to the glories of Jesus. They would fain have killed Lazarus; but not a hair of his head could they touch while his testimony to Jesus glory was needed. The testimony spread everywhere; verse 9, “A great crowd of the Jews”; verse 17, the crowd that was with Him when He raised Lazarus from the grave bore Him testimony; verse 18, “Therefore also the crowd met him, because they had heard”; in each of these verses the word is “crowd.” In verse 12, we have also the expression, a great crowd, “when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,” and so on. See also Luke 21:3838And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple, for to hear him. (Luke 21:38), “All the people came early in the morning to Him in the temple for to hear Him.” Many went up out of the country, too, before the Passover, and then sought for Jesus.
We find also, in the beginning of the Lord’s service, the same interest everywhere awakened. (See Mark 1:37, 45; 3:7, 20, 32; 5:137And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee. (Mark 1:37)
45But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter. (Mark 1:45)
7But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judea, (Mark 3:7)
20And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. (Mark 3:20)
32And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. (Mark 3:32)
1And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. (Mark 5:1), and more). These opposers must learn that the weakness of God is stronger than men. “Perceive ye,” say the Pharisees, “how ye prevail. nothing? behold, the world is gone after Him.” It is always so when God works. If all the leaders of the nation had been in favor of the testimony, could it have spread as it did when all were against it? I believe not. Even in the last effort of human enmity, when with wicked hands they took and killed the Prince of life, they were but accomplishing the purpose of God. “For in truth against Thy holy servant Jesus, whom Thou hadst anointed, . . . to do whatsoever Thy hand and Thy counsel had determined before should come to pass.” Howbeit, they thought not so!
It was just the same with regard to His birth in this world. Caesar Augustus had made a decree that a census should be made of all the world, but it did not take effect until Cyrenius had the government of Syria, and each person was to go to his own city to be inscribed. This was the way the purpose of God relative to the time and place of Jesus birth was to be accomplished. The great emperor was but an instrument in the hand of God, for the accomplishment of His purposes.
Verse 20. “And there were certain Greeks among those who came up that they might worship in the feast.” Now the Gentiles will form one part of the glorious earthly kingdom of the Son of Man. “Righteous and true are Thy ways, O King of nations. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only art holy; for all nations shall come and do homage before thee; for Thy righteousnesses have been made manifest” (Rev. 15:3, 43And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. 4Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest. (Revelation 15:3‑4), JND.).
Did not Jesus know that it was of Him that it was written (Dan. 7:13, 1413I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. (Daniel 7:13‑14)), that He was to be the glorious Administrator of that everlasting dominion? The government was to be upon His shoulder, of the increase of that government and peace, no end. Already one part of Isaiah 42, “He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street, a bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking flax shall He not quench,” had had its accomplishment in His position and walk (Matt. 12:18-2118Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall show judgment to the Gentiles. 19He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. 20A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. 21And in his name shall the Gentiles trust. (Matthew 12:18‑21)). He was to show judgment to the Gentiles. He would rule over them, and in His name would they hope, which would be accomplished in His second advent; that reign was to come. It was of Jehovah’s chosen Servant and Beloved One, in whom His soul was well pleased, that this was said — no lifting up His voice in the street till the time of victory came. In the meantime, always only victorious, He neither failed nor was discouraged. He suffered, it is true, but He overcame even the world itself. The history of the professing church is the converse of this; it has ceased to suffer, and the world is its overcomer.
Was not all this present to His spirit when the Gentiles were announced — the day of glory come, when as Son of Man He shall be glorified; for in this character He takes the kingdom. But with this thought of glory — “Now is the Son of Man glorified” — was immediately associated that of death. Without that, where was the kingdom of the Son of Man? And were lost sinners to be the co-heirs of the King of glory, or who were to shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father? No, abiding alone, the everlasting gates would doubtless have lifted up their heads to let the King of glory in, but where would be His followers then? And what of the oil of gladness, wherewith He was to be anointed above His fellows in the day of victory? (Psa. 45).
The Gentiles always have their place, as such, in Scripture, until the everlasting state, when distinctive names disappear; and we read of the tabernacle of God being with men, as such, and God dwelling with them. When Christ was born, the angels had announced God’s delight in men — He has His way in the end. By what a path it has been reached, the sufferings and glories of Jesus! So, the corn of wheat must fall into the ground and die, to bring forth much fruit. The Scriptures must be fulfilled, Jesus must die; but if the corn of wheat dies, how abundant the fruit, filling heaven and earth to their utmost bounds!
“The hour is come that the Son of Man should be glorified.” It is as if He said, “All the elements of the glory are passing before Me.” He dies, and goes to heaven, and sits on the Father’s throne till His enemies are subjected unto Him; in the meantime, a more ancient counsel is being accomplished — the heavenly church gathered out.
But if the state of man — of the world — is such that He must die, and this is connected with the judgment of this world, what is the value of life in it? We have got a measure for that, unknown before, in His death; how little this is taken up by the saints! yet few things are more serious, whether viewed from the Lord’s side, or that of His saints. Then He teaches us that service to Him is realized in following Him; but this would naturally involve death; and so in another place he says, “Let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” The rewards of service are, to be where He is, not merely as to place, but including position also, as other scriptures teach us; and honor from His Father for service to Himself. Were ever such incentives to devotedness presented to the heart of man? And what is service which is not rendered consciously to Himself?
He is training the disciples for service; let us mark the time and scene and elements of instruction. The hour of His glorification, and also of His soul’s trouble, was come; was there ever an hour like that? Rejected by man, and in that rejection the world judged; what must be the consequence of living in it? What else but to lose life in it (life in this world ), and not keep it “unto life eternal”? Thus the conscience would be awakened, and the heart, detached from the love of this poor condemned world, would be drawn to Him who died for us in love. The world was already judged, and then if any man served Him (it was a matter of the heart and spiritual leading), the encouragement and rewards were with the Father and the Son. Honor from the Father, and to be where Jesus is. What encouragement for the heart of the good and faithful servant to continue in his work!
As to the expression, “love his life in this world,” suppose a man who, while in the habit of speaking of religious things, showed that his mind was on earthly things, his life governed by, and rooted in ,the things of this world, would you not say of such an one, “He loves his life in this world”? And mark the expression, “this world,” how often repeated; “life in this world”; “judgment of this world”; “prince of this world”; “depart out of this world”; and the Lord’s words (John 17), “The world has not known Thee.” “Now is My soul troubled,” that is all that this world brought to the soul of Jesus,
He fully tried and tasted
Its bitterness and woe.
Yet that was not even a shadow (His rejection by man) of the sorrow which none could share, His being forsaken by God. No, He would not say, “Father, save Me from this hour,” while permitting us to know that His soul was troubled. “Father, glorify Thy name,” uttered in the shadow of the cross, as it were, is but the completion of the thought formed in the brightness of the eternal glory — “I come . . . I delight to do Thy will, O My God.” He is “the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever.”
He says, in verse 27, “Now is My soul troubled, and what shall I say?” This is soul-trouble. He says nothing of that when He is talking of the corn of wheat; then He refers to others also — “much fruit “—but now He speaks of Himself.
It was part of His piety to fear death; “who in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with strong crying and tears, unto Him that was able to save Him from death, and was heard for His piety.” He feared death as a man, a holy man, and did not play the part of a hero, who is often most heroic when he has succeeded best in hiding his fears. But this holy and incomparable Man feared death as God’s judgment of sin, a sinless Sufferer enduring it for the sake of others, as One who would go through everything that God might be glorified. Now people are trying to hide the real character of death everywhere. The graveyards are converted into pleasure grounds, that one may forget that beneath lie the remains of those who once were as they are, now sown in corruption, dishonor, and weakness. Indeed, to hide from his own sight, and from the eye of God, were it possible, his own state, whether in life or in death, has been man’s great effort from the beginning; it suits him to hide, because he is of the darkness.
But Christ is a Revealer, the Light itself, as He is going to tell them. Only those who, by the grace of God, are now light in Him, reject the hidden things of shame, occupied with the manifestation of the truth, His life in them coming out as light. “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” It is not that anything came in between His soul and God, whose glory was reflected there, considering Him merely on the human side, if this were possible. What death means, His appreciation of it, we have in the words, “Now is My soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour”: The anguish of His soul comes out. In Gethsemane He was in an agony, and sweat great drops of blood. So here, His soul is troubled, but it all merges in, “Father, glorify Thy name, reminding us of, “I thank Thee, O Father” (Matt. 11:2525At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. (Matthew 11:25)); words uttered when His rejection was evident.
“Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again” (vs. 28). It is just as in John 11, “Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?” “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” And I believe that was in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. “He was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father” (Rom. 6:44Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4)). If you look at a dead body, you feel that God’s power alone can raise it. The people thought various things; some said that it thundered, others said, “An angel spake to Him.”
Verses 30-50. Now we are coming to the end of His service in the world. In the first part of this chapter He seems wholly passive, the blessed object of the affections and attentions of others. Here He feels that the hour of His trouble and of His glorification has come; and first addressing the Father, He gives forth His final testimony on earth. He does not take up classes of the people, as in Matthew, it is His final testimony among men. There are three things that , it. First, the judgment of this world; then, “now shall the prince of this world be cast out”; and, “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me.” This is not dealing with particular classes in Israel, but the summing up of several great results of His work on the cross. So, in John 16, you get the result of the coming of the Holy Ghost; what His presence on earth demonstrates; here the result of Christ’s work on the cross. “Now is the judgment of this world.” The “now” took in, of course, the hour of the cross.
Now look at John 16, as to the presence of the Holy Ghost (vs. 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. And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. “Bring demonstration,” it should be (see New Trans.); it does not mean “convince,” for that word supposes a work of the Holy Ghost in the conscience, but His presence will prove the world guilty of sin. “Of sin, because they believe not on Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father, and ye see Me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.” You will note two things; first, the result of Jesus work (John 12): this world judged; the prince of this world cast out; and the drawing of all men unto Him. Secondly, the presence of the Holy Ghost would be the demonstration of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Christ was no longer here, He had gone up in righteousness, the only righteous Man, and because of righteousness He had gone up to glory. The hope of righteousness is glory. “Thou lovest righteousness, . . . therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows” (Psa. 45).
“Of sin” — because if they had believed on Him, He would have been sitting on the throne of His father David; instead of that, the Holy Ghost would be here. Sin in them; righteousness in Christ. The judgment of Satan, the prince of this world, is connected with the glorification of Jesus, and presence of the Holy Ghost. (Read Psa. 68:1818Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them. (Psalm 68:18)). It is a solemn thing to think that, as far as the world, as such, is concerned, the presence of the Holy Ghost only brings the demonstration of its judgment. Neither the first advent, nor the presence of the Holy Ghost, affects its condition; the second advent will do that. The Spirit they would not receive, because they could not see Him. “Whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him.” Christ could not have broken the bands of death, apart from the overthrow of Satan’s power. But when the Lord Jesus rose from death, then Satan was judged. He spoiled principalities and powers, and made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it, and annulled, at the same time, the power of death. This was victory indeed.
Three judicial dealings yet await Satan. He is to be cast out of heaven, where he had acted as adversary and accuser of the brethren, already cast out, for faith, as to the power he exercised over the heart and conscience of men. Then he is to be bound with a chain, and cast into the bottomless pit; and finally, at the end of the millennium, having been loosed for a little while, he is cast into the lake of fire. Think of the contrast between this and all that we have had hitherto! It was the Lord that had been cast out and rejected, all His rights denied. It was man’s day then, and not yet the Lord’s. Now, for faith, it is all reversed morally: “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven”; and the power of the Spirit is present; when we get on to Revelation, the thing is actually accomplished; Jesus comes from heaven as King of kings and Lord of lords, and Satan is put into the bottomless pit.
Verse 31. “Now is the judgment of this world.” People do not believe that — that the world is judged is explained away, and also the solemn truth that man is already lost. They say, “If you continue to do so-and-so, you will be lost.” But God says man is lost already. It is a most solemn revelation, because you get the judgment of the world and its prince inseparably connected.
What a wondrous hour this was! if we consider it as extending to the cross itself, beginning with, “The hour is come that the Son of Man should be glorified.” And in John 17, “Father, the hour is come, glorify Thy Son.” What mighty thoughts were filling the soul of Jesus in that hour! That His name was to be great among the Gentiles, His Spirit in the prophets had long since foretold; but first there was to be the moral glory of the cross (John 13:31, 3231Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him. (John 13:31‑32)), and then glory with His Father — God glorified in Him and He in God. Even His being lifted up on the cross is a thought of glory, for there He would be the great attractive object for “all men” — “will draw all men unto Me.” And when He speaks of dying, it is with no thought of sorrow, but that like the corn of wheat, which, when it dies, yields much fruit, so the Son of Man, having reached the glory by the path of death, might not be alone, become, when ascended, Head of the assembly, His body, united to Him by the Holy Ghost, and “First-born among many brethren.”
Yet was His soul troubled — no note of sympathy from those who heard His expression of it — His words were few, and the feeling seemed to merge in the yet deeper one: “Father, glorify Thy name.” It was necessary for the unfolding of His perfections that the fact of His soul-trouble should appear and be recorded, else one might have failed in realizing that it was the Son of Man who was so calmly unfolding such mighty events — Himself the Disposer of them — the judgment of this world; the casting out of its prince; and the result of the final act of his armies, led on by the power of darkness, being the drawing of all men unto Him. In the words of Psalm 8, we might say, “Lord, what is man,” that could claim all that these words imply in the day of His humiliation and rejection! Man on earth, the Conqueror of Thine enemy and Glorifier of Thy name, as in heaven the Sitter upon Thy throne, set over all the works of Thy hands!
With regard to the expression, “abideth alone,” (John 12:2424Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. (John 12:24)) the Lord, while on earth, was necessarily, alone. Before He could have His spiritual body, He must be in heaven as its Head, redemption being accomplished, and the Holy Ghost down here to unite the members to the Head in heaven.
Verse 34. “The people answered Him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest Thou, The Son of Man must be lifted up? who is this Son of Man?” From this passage we learn how little they knew of their own Messiah, a people perishing from lack of knowledge; yet to them pertained the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service, and the promises. Whose are the fathers, and of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came, “who is over all, God blessed forever” (Rom. 9:4-54Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; 5Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. (Romans 9:4‑5)). Yet the most prominent facts concerning Him in Scripture were all unknown. His humiliation in connection with His exaltation, His face so marred; the sorrows that characterized Him, “tormented for our transgressions”; the bearing our griefs and carrying our sorrows; the healing with His stripes; in a word, whatever in His life and death had been revealed in the law and prophets, as ordered for God’s glory and suited to man’s need, had been hidden from the people — the connection of the sufferings and the glories absolutely unknown. Take for instance, “They shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek . . . out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel: whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” “And he shall stand and rule in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God; and they shall abide; for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth” (Mic. 5). Compare with this profound ignorance on the part of the Jewish people, the actual knowledge of Christ in His present relations to the church and the world as Man glorified — the second Man — possessed even externally by professing Christians, and I do not think that the difference will be very considerable.
In the thought that the Christ should abide for ever, sin and its judgment were ignored! But where was the priest? “for his lips should keep knowledge, and they [the people] should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.” This is what the Lord of hosts said of them by His servant — “Ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble . . . ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi” — they were despisers of His name — “Unto you, O priests, that despise My name” (Mal. 2:88But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 2:8)). In the Apostle John’s day, it was the same generation — the priests were confederate against the Lord.
Then, of His glorious character as Son of Man, in which title He receives the dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all nations should serve Him, an everlasting dominion which should not pass away (Dan. 7), they knew no more, it would appear, than of a suffering Christ, in the next chapter but one, of the same prophet; “Messiah shall be cut off, and shall have nothing.”
But it was too late to talk of these glorious titles which imply relationship with men — the throne of God at Jerusalem, or “the kingdom of the world”, when He has His earthly rights and glories. The people were in darkness, the darkness of moral death, yet the Light was still with them, they might yet believe before it left them for its own regions; and remark, He does not say now, “Light of the world.” It was all over with the world — He had come as Light into it. It is no question here of any national or ecclesiastical standing or responsibility, but one of light and darkness, of the reception or rejection of One present as Light. They might at least have said, “What is light?” as Pilate inquired, “What is truth?” there was some sign of conscience there, but here all is silent as the grave, The light shines in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. Their eyes were blinded, their heart hardened, that they might not see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and He should heal them. It appears that the people whom the Lord addressed here, were the same generation, morally, as those addressed by Isaiah, in the message of the Lord, when He saw His glory. Compare also Paul’s address to the Jews, who visited him in His lodgings at Rome (Acts 28), “Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet” and Matthew 13:14-1514And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 15For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. (Matthew 13:14‑15). I think the Lord had Isaiah 6 in His mind in that scene in John 9:3939And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. (John 9:39). “For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.” We see that there is such a thing as being given over judicially to moral blindness in this world.
Thus the characteristics of that generation are all before us. Their eyes were blinded, their hearts hardened; “they loved glory from men rather than glory from God”; “they loved life in this world”; they believed not on Jesus — yet the glory (Jesus) was loath to leave them. It had already departed, and hidden itself behind the dark clouds of their unbelief; but once more, before it shines as Sun of righteousness, it rose upon the horizon as Light. “I am come as light into the world” — a Light, and not a Judge. Who that had really seen it could abide in darkness?
Verses 49, 50. “For I have not spoken of Myself; but the Father which sent Me, He gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto Me, so I speak.” Moreover, the commandment that He had received from the Father (to speak as commanded) embraced His whole testimony on earth; the words were the Father’s words, the reception of the testimony was life eternal. Thus His final testimony to them closes with the glorious truth, that Life and Light are found only in Christ.