night, being himself one of them. "Does our Law," he asked, 51 "judge a man without first, hearing what he has to say and ascertaining what his conduct is?" "Do you also come from 52 Galilee?" they asked in reply; "search, and see for yourself that no Prophet is of Galilaean origin." Jesus and a went away to their several homes; but 53,1 8
notorious Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At break of 2 inner. however He returned to the Temple, and there
the people came to Him in crowds. He seated Himself; and was teaching them when the Scribes and Pharisees brought to 3 Him a woman who had been found committing adultery. They made her stand in the centre of the court and they put the 4 case to Him. "Rabbi," they said, "this woman has been found in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the Law Moses 5 has ordered us to stone such women to death. But what do you say?" They asked this in order to put Him to the test, so 6 that they might have some charge to bring against Him. But Jesus stooped down and began to write with His finger on the ground. When however they persisted with their question, He 7 stood up and said to them, " Let the sinless man among you be the first to throw a stone at her." Then He stooped, and again 8 wrote on the ground. They listened to Him, and then, begin- 9 ning with the eldest, took their departure one by one till all were gone; and Jesus was left behind alone—and the woman in the centre of the court. Then standing up Jesus spoke to her. 10 "Woman," He said, "where are they? Has no one condemned 11 you?" "No one, Sir," she replied. "And/do not condemn you either," said Jesus; "go, and from this time do not sin any more."]
.. Once more Jesus addressed them. "I am the 12
The Testimony J
of the Father Light of the world," He said; "the man who and of the Son. f0llows me snal l certainly not walk in the dark, but shall have the light of Life." "You are giving testimony 13 about yourself," said the Pharisees; "your testimony is not true." "Even if I am giving testimony about myself," replied 14 Jesus, "my testimony is true; for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you know neither of these two
vii. 53 to viii. 11.] V.l. omits this paragraph.
4. Rabbi] Lit. ' Teacher.'
5. Such women]. A cruel half-statement of the Law (Dent. xxii. 24) which also condemned to death the man who shared the woman's sin and was perhaps himself largely responsible for it. Why did not the Scribes and Pharisees bring to Jesus on this occasion the guilty man as well as the guilty woman?
things. You judge according to appearances: I am judging 15 no one. And even if I do judge, my judgement is just ; for 16 I am not alone, but the Father who sent me is with me. In 17 your own Law too it is written that THE Testimony OF TWO MEN IS True (Deut. xix. 15). I am one giving testimony about 18 myself, and the Father who sent me gives testimony about me." "Where is your Father?" they asked. "You know my Father 19 as little as you know me," He replied ; "if you knew me, you would know my Father also." These sayings He uttered in the 20 treasury, while teaching in the Temple; yet no one arrested Him, because His time had not yet come. Christ's De Again He said to them, "I am going away. 21 parture now Then you will try to find me, but you will die in near at hand. vour sms Where I am going, it is impossible for you to come." The Jews began to ask one another, "Is he 22 going to kill himself, do you think, that He says, ' Where I am going, it is impossible for you to come'?" "You," He con- 23 tinued, "are from below, I am from above: you are of this present world, I am not of this present world. That is why I 24 told you that you will die in your sins ; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."
So they asked Him, "You—who are you?" Jesus replied, 25 "How is it that I am speaking to you at all? Many things I 26 have to speak and to judge concerning you ; but He who sent me is true, and the things which I have heard from Him are those which I have come into the world to speak." They did 27 not perceive that He was speaking to them of the Father. So 28 Jesus added, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He. Of myself I do nothing; but as the Father has taught me, so I speak. And He who sent me is 29 with me; He has not left me alone: for I do always what is pleasing to Him." As He thus spoke, many became believers 30 in Him.
15. Appearances] Or ' your human nature.' I am judging no one] I.E. as yet. Cp. v. 22 ; vii. 8 ; xvii. 9, n.
16. Just] Lit. ' true.'
20. Temple] I.e. 'Temple Courts.' Cp. Matt. xxvi. 25.
24. 28. / am Me] Some would render, 'I am ' (as in verse 58). On the interpretation see the Commentators. The Greek in these passages, and in xiii. 19, is the same as that of the LXX. in Deut. xxxii. 39; Isa. xiiii. 10; but it is not the same as that of Exod. iii. 14, last clause.
25. Asked] Or ' began asking,' as in verse 22. The tense (imperfect) probably indicates repeated or even clamourous asking. How is it tVtr.] Or (How useless) 'all that I have spoken to you from the beginning!' On 'have spoken' see Aorist, p. 10.
26. / have come &*c] Lit. ' I speak into the world.' Cp. Luke iv. 23, n.
. Jesus therefore said to the now believing Tews: 31
The Jews
boast of As for you, if you hold fast to my teaching, then ^Abraham."1 vou are truly my disciples; and you shall know 32
the Truth, and the Truth will make you free." They answered, "We are descendants of Abraham, and have 33 never at any time been in slavery to any one. What do those words of yours mean, 'You shall become free'?" "In most 34 solemn truth I tell you," replied Jesus, "that every one who commits sin is the slave of sin. Now a slave does not re- 35 main permanently in his master's house, but a son does. If then the Son shall make you free, you will be free indeed. 36 You are descendants of Abraham, I know ; but you want to 37 kill me, because my teaching gains no ground within you. The 38 words I speak are those I have learnt in the presence of the Father: therefore you also should do what you have heard from your father." "Our father is Abraham," they said. "If you 39 were Abraham's children," replied Jesus, "it is Abraham's deeds that you would be doing. But in fact you are longing to 40 kill me, a man who has spoken to you the truth which I have heard from God. Abraham did not do that. You are doing 41 •the deeds of your father." "We," they replied, "are not illegitimate children. We have one Father, namely God." "If God 42 were your Father," said Jesus, "you would love me; for it is from God that I came and I am now here. I have not come of myself, but He sent me. How is it you do not understand me 43 when I speak? It is because you cannot endure to listen to my words. The father whose sons you are is the devil; and you 44 desire to do what gives him pleasure. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand firm in the truth—for there is no truth in him. Whenever he utters his lie, he utters it out of his own store; for he is a liar, and the father of lies. But 45 because I speak the truth, you do not believe me. Which of 46 you convicts me of sin? If I speak the truth, why do you not believe me? He who is a child of God listens to God's words. 47
31. Said] Probably at some length, a summary only being given here. Such seems to be the force of the tense (imperfect). Holdfast to] Lit 'remain in.'
38. Learnt] Lit. 'seen.'
39. It is Abraham s deeds &*c] v.L. 'do Abraham's deeds.'
44. Does not stand] v.L. 'did not stand.' In the truth] Or 'by (or, with) the truth.' Cp. Eph. viii. 14. Out of his own store] I.E. 'in accordance with his own nature.' Of he1] Lit. 'of it.'
45. Speak] Or 'tell,' or 'say.' But the Greek verbs that correspond to these three English verbs are not always used with exactly the same shades of meaning as the latter. See Aorist 1.
46. Which ofyou convicts] The 'you' here is apparently emphatic, as the 'you' of the last clause of the verse undoubtedly is. The whole verse is a home-thrust.
You do not listen to them: and why? It is because you are
not God's children."
Jesus accused The Jews answered Him, "Are we not right in 48 of being a saying that you are a Samaritan and have a Demoniac. demon ? „ "i have not a demon," replied Jesus; 49 "on the contrary I honour my Father, and you dishonour me. It is not I however, who aim at glory for myself: there is One who 50 aims at it—and who judges. In most solemn truth I tell you, 51 if any one shall have obeyed my teaching he shall in no case ever see death." "Now," exclaimed the Jews, "we know that $2 you have a demon. Abraham died, and so did the Prophets, and yttyou say, ' If any one shall have obeyed my teaching, he shall in no case ever taste death.' Are you really greater than 53 our forefather Abraham? For he died. And the Prophets died. Who do you-make yourself out to be?" Jesus answered, 54 "Were I to glorify myself, I should have no real glory ; there is One who glorifies me—my Father whom you call your God. You do not know Him, but I know Him perfectly; and were I 55 to deny my knowledge of Him, I should be a liar like yourselves. On the contrary I do know Him, and I obey His commands. Abraham your forefather exulted in the hope of seeing 56 my day : he has seen it, and has been glad." "You are not yet 57 fifty years old," cried the Jews, "and have you seen Abraham i" Jesus answered, " In most solemn truth I tell you that before 58 Abraham came into existence, I am." Thereupon they took up 59 stones to pelt Him with, but He hid Himself and went away out of the Temple.
As He passed by, He saw a man who had been 1 Q receives sfght. Wind from his birth. So His disciples asked Him, 2
"Rabbi, who sinned—this man or his parents— that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither he nor 3 his parents sinned, but he was born blind in order that God's mercy might be openly shown in him. We must do the works 4
51. Teaching] Lit. 'word.'
52. Taste] On this inaccurate quotation see the Commentators.
53. Who] The objective interrogative 'Whom?' is now obsolescent.
55. Commands] Lit. 'word.'
56. In the hope 0f seeing] Lit. 'in order to see,' as though the longing and the hope hastened the event. Cp. 2 Pet. iii. 12. My day] Perhaps the day of the Redeemer s kingly triumph over all evil rather than that of His birth or even that of His death. Has seen] Beforehand.
59. Temple] v.L. adds 'and going through the midst of them He went His way, and so passed by.'
1. As He passed by] Or ' On one occasion as He passed along ' (through the streets of Jerusalem).
3. God's mercy] Lit. 'the works of God.'
4. We] The Lord associates His disciples with Himself, as in iii. 11 (Westcott). v.L. has ' I ' for 'we.'
of Him who sent me while there is daylight: night is coming on, when no one can work. When I am in the world, I am the 5 Light of the world."
After thus speaking, He spat on the ground, and then, knead- 6 ing the dust and spittle into clay, He smeared the clay over the man's eyes and said to him, "Go and wash in the Pool of 7 Siloam "—the name means ' Sent.' So he went and washed his eyes, and returned able to see.
His Acquaint- So nis neighbours, and the other people to 8 ances question whom he had been a familiar object because he lm' was a beggar, began asking, " Is not this the man who used to sit and beg?" Some replied," It is ;" others said, 9 "No, but he is like him." His own statement was, " I am the man." So they asked him, "How then were your eyes opened?" 10 He answered, " He whose name is Jesus made clay and smeared 11 my eyes with it, and then told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed and obtained sight." "Where is he?" 12 they inquired, but the man did not know.
They brought him to the Pharisees—the man 13 the°Pharisees. wno nad been blind. Now the day on which 14
Jesus made the clay and opened the man's eyes was the Sabbath. So the Pharisees renewed their questioning 15 as to how he had obtained his sight. "He put clay on my eyes," he replied, "and I washed, and now I can see." This 16 led some of the Pharisees to say, "That man has not come from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." But others argued, "How is it possible for a bad man to do such miracles?" And there was a division among them. So again they asked 17 the once blind man, "What is your account of him?—for he opened your eyes." He replied, " He is a prophet."
_. , The Jews, however, did not believe the state- 18
They appeal J
to his ment concerning him—that he had been blind and Parents. nad 0D{ained his sight—until they called his parents and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? 19 How is it then that he can now see?" "We know," replied the 20
5. The Light of the world] I.E. the sun in the world's sky. Cp. xi. 9. 7. Returned]. Or 'came home,' He had probably been sitting at his own door when Jesus (verse 1) passed by.
10. Asked] The tense (imperfect) seems to imply that more than one pressed him with the question.
11, 15, 18. Obtained] Cp. Mark x. 52, n.
16. That man] 'This man' would naturally mean "the man here present who says he was blind." Cp. Luke xiii. 2; xvii. 34. A bad man] Lit. 'a man a sinner.'
18. However] See Aorist, p. 54.
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