sent me. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. 31 There is another that beareth witness of me, and I know that the 32 witness which he witnesseth of me is true. Ye sent unto John, 33 and he bare witness unto the truth. But I receive not testimony 34 from man but these things I say, that ye might be saved. He 35 was a burning and a shining light and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. But I have greater witness than 36 that of John for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. And the Father himself which hath sent 37 me, hath borne witness of me. 31. My witness is not true, i. e. avails not, or is not worthy of credit. Some, however, read this verse interrogatively, and it thus accords better with chap. viii. 14, 18. This discourse of Jesus is logically arranged. He first states, ver. 19-30, what his authority is, and now proceeds to give some arguments in proof of his possessing the authority described, prefacing them with the remark, in the present verse, that his own testimony would not substantiate his claims. The four arguments are 1. the witness of John the Baptist; 2. miracles; 3. the direct voice of God from heaven; 4. the Scriptures and Moses. 32, 33. There is another, i. e. John. Ye sent unto John, &c. Chap. i. 19, 20. He did not profess to be the Messiah, but constantly avowed himself as only his forerunner. 34. These things I say, that ye, &c. In reality, Jesus did not need the testimony of John; for his mission and ministry stood on their own solid foundation of merit and miracle; but, out of condescension to the ignorance of the Jews, he cited the Baptist's testimony, for their benefit, because they regarded him as a true prophet. 35. He was. a burning and a shining light. Common expressions among the Jews, who called their : Ye have neither heard his voice distinguished rabbins by the titles of "the candle," "the candle of the law," "the lamp of light," &c. - Ye were willing for a season, &c. At first, the Jews were very favorably disposed to John, and flocked in crowds to his baptism; but their enthusiasm afterwards subsided. Luke vii. 30. 36. Greater witness, &c. He proceeds to the stronger evidences, furnished by his supernatural gifts. The works which the Father hath given, &c. Or, enabled; meaning his miracles, which he here, as well as elsewhere, expressly declares, bore him witness, that the Father sent him. It would seem incredible, were it not a known fact, that any should deny that the wonderful works of Jesus had, as their main, specific, and declared object, the confirmation of his mission by a divine seal. 37. Hath borne witness of me. Not only through the medium of miracles, but directly, in the signs at the baptism of Jesus, and also at the transfiguration, and in the temple. Mat. iii. 17; Luke ix. 35; John xii. 28, 30.-Ye have neither heard, &c. Some critics read this clause interrogatively, "Have ye neither heard?" &c., as if to rebuke them for their forgetfulness of the wonderful and awe'inspiring tokens of the divine pres 38 at any time, nor seen his shape. And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. 39 Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life : 40 and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to 41 me, that ye might have life. I receive not honor from men. 42 But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. 43 I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if an44 other shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. How can ence, which had accompanied his ministry. 38. And ye have not his word, &c. The fact that they did not welcome their Messiah, was evidence of their apostasy from God, in whose authority and name he had come. If their deeds had been true, they would have gladly come to the new light that was now shining. If their characters had possessed a moral congeniality with the principles and purposes of God, they would have been ready to believe in his Son, and follow his commands; but it was far otherwise. 39. Search the Scriptures. This is capable of being taken in any one of three ways: as an interrogation; or in the indicative mode; or in the imperative, as done in the present version. Most critics decide in favor of the indicative - Ye search the Scriptures, &c.- In them ye think ye have eternal life. The Jews entertained the highest reverence for their sacred books, searched them diligently, though not always to the best advantage, and deemed them as the standard of duty, and the guide to future blessedness. They are they which testify, &c. It is these very records, which you habitually consult, that furnish proofs of my Messiahship. Your own books are my witnesses. 40. That ye might have life. Wakefield, with others, translates that, though. Jesus pleads with their VOL. II. 20 wilfulness, and sorrowfully reminds them, that they were depriving themselves of that true life and blessedness, with which he came to inspire the human soul. A deep current of compassion always flows through his discourses, however severe, for his rebukes were inspired by love.. He probed the wound only that he might heal it. 41. I receive not honor from men.. I am independent of human testimony and applause. The credentials of Jesus were not human, but divine. Or, I disclaim the ambition and honor of a temporal kingdom, which you are eager to establish.. My kingdom is not of this world. 42, 43. That ye have not the love of God in you. The same thought is expressed in ver. 38, and elsewhere. It was their destitution of truth, love, and holiness, which rendered them insensible or hostile to the claims of him, in whom these excellences shone with full refulgence. Chap. vii. 17.—If another shall come in his own name, &c. The predictions of this verse received a melancholy fulfilment. Jesus, coming in his Father's name, and sealed with the Father's glorious witness, was rejected and slain by his countrymen; while many false pretenders to divine authority, coming in their own name, or with their own selfish and ambitious purposes, found ready adherents, and a cordial welcome. Norton, however, considers reference ye believe, which receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from God only? Do not think that I will ac- 45 cuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would 46 have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his 47 writings, how shall ye believe my words? to be here made to false teachers, and not to false Messiahs. 44. How can ye believe, which receive honor, &c. Alluding, as some conjecture, to the members of the Sanhedrim. In this verse, he strikes upon the fatal obstruction to his ministry among the Jews. They sought honor one of another. They were ambitious. They looked for a temporal prince in their Messiah, and the erection of a more glorious throne than that of David or Solomon. This spirit of self-aggrandizement had made them vain and ostentatious in their prayers and alms-giving, and emulous of the uppermost places at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues. It was on this account, eminently, that they did not welcome the self-denying, humble, and spiritual Jesus, whose crown was a crown of righteousness, whose sword the sword of the Spirit, and the highest reward of whose kingdom, which came not with observation, but was within, consisted in the consciousness of virtue, the pleasure of doing good and obeying God, and the martyr's cross, for the sake of a divine Master. 45, 46. There is one that accuseth you, even Moses. As they prided themselves upon being most faithful disciples of the great lawgiver of their nation, our Lord reminds them of the ample testimony which his writings afforded to the truth and authority of his Messiahship. The very one in whom they especially trusted, condemned their conduct. For he wrote of me. Gen. iii. 15, xxii. 18; Deut. xviii. 15, 18. Various intimations are scattered throughout the Pentateuch, that the Jewish dispensation was but introductory to one far more glorious and universal, and that in the seed of Abraham all nations would finally be blessed. 47. But if ye believe not his writings, &c. As much as to say, if they did not credit his writings, how could they be supposed capable of receiving more advanced and spiritual communications from Christ? Luke xvi. 31. This discourse of our Saviour presents some of the highest subjects for human thought, and some of the most impressive reasons why we, as well as the Jews, should believe in him as the Messiah, the Son of God. The testimony of John the Baptist, the sublime miracles which Christ performed, the witness which God repeatedly gave him, and the prophetic declarations of the Mosaic dispensation, still speak to us through the living page of the book of inspiration; and can any man innocently reject such various and overwhelming evidence? Or, if any one is too hardened to be convinced by these arguments, though strong and conclusive, oh, let him not resist the pleadings of compassion, and the merciful intercessions, which broke forth from the quivering lips of the Divine Sufferer on the cross! Let love persuade, where reason cannot convince. CHAPTER VI. The Miracle of the Five Thousand, Instructions of Christ, and the Confession of Peter. AFTER these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which 2 is the Sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were dis3 eased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat 4 with his disciples. And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was 5 nigh. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy 6 bread that these may eat? (And this he said to prove him: for CHAPTER VI. 1-13. Parallel to Mat. xiv. 1321, Mark vi. 31-44, and Luke ix. 10-17. See notes thereupon. 1. After these things. This date is quite uncertain. The chronological order of events in Matthew is preferable to that of John. Which is the Sea of Tiberias. So called from Tiberias, an adjacent city, on the west side. This was a more modern name than that of the Sea of Galilee. We have here an indication, that John wrote for readers out of Palestine, who were not familiar with its geography. 2. Because they saw his miracles. It was one of the uses of the miracles, to attract multitudes together to listen to the preaching of Christ. 3. And Jesus went up into a mountain. Probably to avoid a tumultuous crowd; see ver. 15. Sat. An intimation, in the judgment of some, that he there instructed his disciples, since this was the posture of a teacher. 4. The passover. According to the authority of Carpenter and Palfrey, this was the last passover, which occurred at the time of the crucifixion. Hence it is supposed, that a transposition is necessary, and that this chapter is located, in time, between ver. 54 and 55 of chap. xi. these, 5. Saw a great company come unto him. The multitude mentioned in ver. 2, had discovered Jesus in his place of retirement. He saith unto Philip. Jesus was now in the region of Bethsaida Julias, or of Gaulonitis, as distinguished from Bethsaida of Galilee, as we learn from Luke ix. 10. Since Philip belonged there, John i. 44, xii. 21, the question is naturally addressed to him, what provisions of hospitality could be made for the famishing multitude. The undesigned coincidences and harmonies, in relation to minute facts in the Gospels, impress us with an indescribable sense of their truth and fidelity. 6. To prove him, i. e. to test and strengthen his faith. -For he him Philip answered him, Two 7 sufficient for them, that ev he himself knew what he would do.) hundred pennyworth of bread is not ery one of them may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, 8 Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which 9 hath five barley-loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. (Now 10 there was much grass in the place.) So the men sat down in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves; and 11 when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes, as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto 12 his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve 13 baskets with the fragments of the five barley-loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. Then those 14 men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that Prophet that should come into the world. When 15 self knew, &c. This verse is understood to contain the inference of John, not the declaration of Jesus. This mode of writing has more examples in the present evangelist, than in all the others, and indicates a later period of composition. 7.-Two hundred pennyworth. More properly, worth two hundred denarii, each reckoned at about 14 cents, constituting a sum of 48 dollars. 9, 10. Barley-loaves. According to ancient authors, this was regarded as the poorest kind of bread in the east. It is supposed, that this youth had brought the food for sale. There was much grass in the place. The description of an eye-witness. 12. Gather up the fragments that remain, &c. This would show, that more had been miraculously created, than there was at first, and that what remained was genuine bread. Still further, as hinted in the text, a lesson of frugality was inculcated by a direction to gather up the broken fragments. Though able, by his miraculous power, to multiply the loaves and fishes to an indefinite extent, yet Jesus forbade all wastefulness, as much as if every particle of the food had been wrung from the earth by the sweat of the brow. Then it is clearly wrong to squander any of the rich gifts of that Providence, which levies contributions from earth, seas, and skies, to supply the needy and dependent world, and which hath made every thing beautiful, every thing useful, in its season. Prodigality is a sin, both against the poor, who are suffering for the necessaries of life, and against God, the Giver of abundance and riches. "Waste not, want not," is one of the first principles of political economy. 14. This is of a truth that Prophet. The evangelist, agreeably to his object, chap. xx. 31, states the moral effect which was produced by the miracle, in leading the people to believe in Jesus as a divine Teacher. By Prophet, is here meant, not merely a foreteller of future events, but a divine teacher. From the conduct |