John 7:17-53
16-18. doctrine ... not mine, &c.--that is, from Myself unauthorized; I am here by commission. 19-20. Did not Moses, &c.--that is, In opposing Me ye pretend zeal for Moses, but to the spirit and end of that law which he gave ye are total strangers, and in "going about to kill Me" ye are its greatest enemies. 21-24. I have done one work, &c.--Taking no notice of the popular appeal, as there were those there who knew well enough what He meant, He recalls His cure of the impotent man, and the murderous rage it had kindled (Joh 5:9, 16, 18). It may seem strange that He should refer to an event a year and a half old, as if but newly done. But their present attempt "to kill Him" brought up the past scene vividly, not only to Him, but without doubt to them, too, if indeed they had ever forgotten it; and by this fearless reference to it, exposing their hypocrisy and dark designs, He gave His position great moral strength. 25-27. some of them of Jerusalem--the citizens, who, knowing the long-formed purpose of the rulers to put Jesus to death, wondered that they were now letting Him teach openly. 28-29. cried Jesus--in a louder tone, and more solemn, witnessing style than usual. Ye both, &c.--that is, "Yes, ye know both Myself and My local parentage, and (yet) I am not come of Myself." but he that sent me is true, &c.--Probably the meaning is, "He that sent Me is the only real Sender of any one." 30-32. sought to take ... none laid hands--their impotence being equal to their malignity. 33-34. Yet a little while, &c.--that is, "Your desire to be rid of Me will be for you all too soon fulfilled. Yet a little while and we part company--for ever; for I go whither ye cannot come: nor, even when ye at length seek Him whom ye now despise, shall ye be able to find Him"--referring not to any penitential, but to purely selfish cries in their time of desperation. 35-36. Whither will he go, &c.--They cannot comprehend Him, but seem awed by the solemn grandeur of His warning. He takes no notice, however, of their questions. 37-39. the last day, that great day of the feast--the eighth (Le 23:39). It was a sabbath, the last feast day of the year, and distinguished by very remarkable ceremonies. "The generally joyous character of this feast broke out on this day into loud jubilation, particularly at the solemn moment when the priest, as was done on every day of this festival, brought forth, in golden vessels, water from the stream of Siloah, which flowed under the temple-mountain, and solemnly poured it upon the altar. Then the words of Is 12:3 were sung, With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of Salvation, and thus the symbolical reference of this act, intimated in Joh 7:39, was expressed" [Olshausen]. So ecstatic was the joy with which this ceremony was performed--accompanied with sound of trumpets--that it used to be said, "Whoever had not witnessed it had never seen rejoicing at all" [Lightfoot]. Jesus stood--On this high occasion, then, He who had already drawn all eyes upon Him by His supernatural power and unrivalled teaching--"Jesus stood," probably in some elevated position. and cried--as if making proclamation in the audience of all the people. If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink!--What an offer! The deepest cravings of the human spirit are here, as in the Old Testament, expressed by the figure of "thirst," and the eternal satisfaction of them by "drinking." To the woman of Samaria He had said almost the same thing, and in the same terms (Joh 4:13, 14). But what to her was simply affirmed to her as a fact, is here turned into a world-wide proclamation; and whereas there, the gift by Him of the living water is the most prominent idea--in contrast with her hesitation to give Him the perishable water of Jacob's well--here, the prominence is given to Himself as the Well spring of all satisfaction. He had in Galilee invited all the WEARY AND HEAVY-LADEN of the human family to come under His wing and they should find REST (Mt 11:28), which is just the same deep want, and the same profound relief of it, under another and equally grateful figure. He had in the synagogue of Capernaum (Joh 6:36) announced Himself, in every variety of form, as "the Bread of Life," and as both able and authorized to appease the "HUNGER," and quench the "THIRST," of all that apply to Him. There is, and there can be, nothing beyond that here. But what was on all those occasions uttered in private, or addressed to a provincial audience, is here sounded forth in the streets of the great religious metropolis, and in language of surpassing majesty, simplicity, and grace. It is just Jehovah's ancient proclamation now sounding forth through human flesh, "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no Money!" &c. (Is 55:1). In this light we have but two alternatives; either to say with Caiaphas of Him that uttered such words, "He is guilty of death," or falling down before Him to exclaim with Thomas, " My Lord AND MY God!" 40-43. Many ... when they heard this ... said, Of a truth, &c.--The only wonder is they did not all say it. "But their minds were blinded." 44-49. would have taken him; but, &c.--(See on Joh 7:30). 50-53. Nicodemus--reappearing to us after nearly three years' absence from the history, as a member of the council, probably then sitting.
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