Month: March 2021

The Plot to Kill Jesus

45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him,

John Gill

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary—To her house, to comfort her, and that came along with her to the grave:

And had seen what he did—In raising the dead body of Lazarus, and causing him to walk, though bound in grave clothes:

Believed in him—That he was the true Messiah: such an effect the miracle had on them; so that it was a happy day for them, that they came from Jerusalem to Bethany to pay this visit.

46 but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.

John Gill

But some of them went their way to the Pharisees—At Jerusalem, who were members of the council; so far were some of them from receiving any advantage by this miracle, that they were the more hardened, and filled with malice and envy to Christ, and made the best of their way to acquaint his most inveterate enemies:

And told them what Jesus had done—At Bethany; not to soften their minds, and bring them to entertain a good opinion of him, but to irritate them, and put them upon schemes to destroy him; thus even miracles, as well as the doctrines of the gospel, are to some the savour of death unto death, whilst to others the savour of life unto life.

47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs.

2 The kings of the earth set themselves,

and the rulers take counsel together,

against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,

Rashi

Kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel, etc.—Heb. רוזנים, senors (seigneurs) in Old French, lords.

Take counsel—Heb. נוסדו, an expression of counsel (סוד), furt konsilez in Old French (furent conseilles), they hold counsel (see below 55:15). And what is the counsel? . . .

3 “Let us burst their bonds apart

and cast away their cords from us.”

Rashi

Let us burst their bonds—Deronproms lor koyongles in Old French (as in Jer 27:2). These are the bonds with which the yoke is tied.

Their cords—Heb. עבתימו, lor kordes (leur cordes) in Old French.

4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;

the Lord holds them in derision. PSA 2:2-4

Rashi

Laughs . . . holds . . . in derision. . . . will speak—They are meant as the present tense.

48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

26 And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed.

Rashi

And after those weeks.

An anointed one—Heb. מָשִׁיחַ. This is purely an expression of a prince and a dignitary.

An anointed one shall be cut off—Agrippa, the king of Judea, who was ruling at the time of the destruction, shall be slain.

And shall have nothing—And shall not have. The meaning is that he shall not be.

And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy—The prince who shall come upon them. That is Titus and his armies.

And the city and the sanctuary—Lit. and the city and the Holy.

Its end shall come with a flood—Its end shall be damnation and destruction, for he will inundate the power of his kingdom through the Messiah.

And to the end there shall be wars of Gog the city will exist.

Desolations are decreed—A destruction of desolation.

27 And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator. DAN 9:26-27

Rashi

And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week—לָרַבִּים, with many, like “and all the chief officers of (רַבֵּי) the king,” in the Book of Jeremiah (39:13).

Shall make . . . strong—Titus shall make a strong covenant with many of Israel.

For one week—He will promise them the strengthening of a covenant and peace for seven years, but within the seven years, he will abrogate his covenant.

He shall put an end to sacrifice and offering—This is what he says in the first vision (8:25): “without warning he shall destroy many.” Without warning he shall destroy them.

And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate—This is a pejorative for pagan deities. i.e., on the wing of abominations and disgusting things, he shall place the one who makes desolate, the pagan deity, which is desolate like a silent stone.

Wing—Heb. כְּנַף, an expression of height, like the wing of a flying bird.

Until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator and the ruling of the abomination shall endure until the day that the decreed end upon it is poured out, in the days of the king Messiah.

Is poured out on the desolator—Total destruction shall descend upon the image of the pagan deity and upon its worshipers.

49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all.

John Gill

But one of them, Caiaphas—(See Gill on Mat 26:3; Luk 3:2; Joh 18:13).

Who was high priest that year—The high priesthood originally was not annual, but for life; but towards the close of the second temple, it came into the hands of the king, to appoint who would to be high priest; and it became venal; it was purchased with money; insomuch that they changed the priesthood once a twelve month, and every year a new high priest was made now this man being in such an high office, and a man of no conscience, and of bad principles, being a Sadducee, as seems from Act 4:6; 5:17, who denied the resurrection of the dead, and was unconcerned about a future state; and having no restraint upon him, in a bold, haughty, and blustering manner,

Said to them, “You know nothing at all”—You are a parcel of ignorant and stupid creatures, mere fools and idiots, to sit disputing and arguing, pro and con about such a fellow as this; what is to be done is obvious enough, and that is to take away this man’s life, without any more ado; it matters not what he is, nor what he does; these are things that are not to be considered, they are out of the question; would you save the nation, destroy the man; things are come to this crisis, that either his life must go, or the nation perish; and which is most expedient, requires no time to debate about.

50 Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.”

John Gill

Nor do you understand that it is better for you—Priests, Levites, Pharisees, the council, and ecclesiastical rulers of the people; who, as Caiaphas apprehended, must suffer in their characters and revenues, must quit their honourable and gainful posts and places, if Jesus went on and succeeded at this rate: wherefore it was most expedient and advantageous for them, which was the main thing to be considered in such a council, so he thought it was,

That one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish—He proceeded entirely upon this political principle, that a public good ought to be preferred to a private one; that it was no matter what the man was, whether innocent or not; common prudence, and the public safety of the nation, required him to fall a sacrifice, rather than the Romans should be exasperated and provoked to such a degree, as to threaten the utter ruin and destruction of the whole nation.

51 He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation,

And in the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron’s heart, when he goes in before the Lord. Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the Lord regularly. EXO 28:30

Rashi

The Urim and the Thummim—This was an inscription of the proper name of God which was placed between the folds of the breastpiece through which it would light up its words (מֵאִיר) and perfect (מְךְתַּמֵם) its words (Yoma 73b). In the second temple there was the breastpiece for it was impossible that the high priest should have lacked a garment, but that name was not within it. Because of that inscription, it was called “judgment,” as it is said, “and he shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim” (Num 27:21).

The judgment of the people of Israel—The object by means of which they are judged and admonished whether they should do a particular thing or whether they should not do it. According to the aggadic midrash (Zevachim 88b) that the breastpiece atoned for those who pervert justice—it was called “judgment” in allusion to the pardon thus given for perverse judgment.

52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.

53 So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.

For my enemies speak concerning me;

those who watch for my life consult together PSA 71:10

Rashi

For my enemies speak concerning me—My enemies speak concerning me, and consult together and say, “God has forsaken him.” We shall not be punished because of him since he has already stumbled in sin.

Sotah 21a:14

The baraita states: Alternatively: A transgression extinguishes the merit of a commandment, but a transgression does not extinguish the merit of the law. Rav Yosef says: Rabbi Menaḥem bar Yosei interpreted this verse as it was given on Mount Sinai, and had Doeg and Ahithophel only interpreted it in this way they would not have pursued David, as it is written: “For my enemies speak concerning me . . . and say, ‘God has forsaken him; pursue and seize him, for there is none to deliver’ ” (Psa 71:10-11). Doeg and Ahithophel incorrectly thought that since David had sinned, his sins had extinguished his merits and God had forsaken him.

54 Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.

55 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves.

So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments.” GEN 35:2

Rashi

Put away the foreign gods—Which you have in your possession from the spoil of Shechem.

Purify yourselves—From idolatry.

And change your garments—Lest you have in your possession a vestment that has been employed in idolatrous worship (Bereishit Rabbah 81:3).

56 They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?”

31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.

John Gill

The Jews picked up stones again to stone him—As they had done before (see Gill on Joh 8:59).

So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” EXO 17:4

Rashi

Almost ready means, if I wait but a little more they will stone me.

32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?”

John Gill

Jesus answered them, “Many good works”—Such as healing the sick, and all manner of diseases; dispossessing devils, cleansing lepers, giving sight to the blind, causing the dumb to speak, the deaf to hear, and the lame to walk; which were not only works of power, but of mercy and beneficence; and therefore are called good works, as well as they were great and miraculous ones:

I have showed you . . . from the Father—Which Christ did in the name, and by the command and authority of the Father; who gave him them to do, and did them by him; and which were evident and notorious, and were done so openly and publicly, that they could not be denied:

For which of these works are you going to stone me?—Suggesting, that his public life had been a continued series of such kind actions to the sons of men, and it could be for nothing else surely, that they took up stones to stone him; wherefore the part they acted, was a most ungrateful, cruel, and barbarous one.

20 Then the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God, ‘Why do you break the commandments of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you.’ ”

Rashi

Above the people—Higher than the people, in order to make his voice heard. In Eichah Rabbah, (Proem 23), it is interpreted as meaning that he relied on himself; he was a prince higher than all the people, a prophet and a priest, and it was the Day of Atonement, and he was the king’s son-in-law, and he was not afraid to say the prophecy. Concerning this incident, it was stated (Lam 2:20): “shall priest and prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord?”

21 But they conspired against him, and by command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord.

22 Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada, Zechariah’s father, had shown him, but killed his son. And when he was dying, he said, “May the Lord see and avenge!” 2CH 24:20-22

Rashi

And when he was dying, he said, “May the Lord see and avenge!”—For they have slain me only because I spoke as the Omnipresent’s medium, and since I have been slain for his sake, it is proper and fitting that he avenge my blood. And so it was: his blood was immediately requited, for “at the end of the year, etc.”

33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”

Bring out of the camp the one who cursed, and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him. LEV 24:14

Rashi

All who heard—“All” serves to include the judges also (Sifra, Emor, Chapter 19 1).

Who heard—This refers to the witnesses.

Lay their hands on his head—They said to him: your blood is on your head; we do not deserve punishment on account of your death, for it was you yourself who brought it about (Sifra, Emor, Chapter 19 2).

And let all the congregation stone him—(This means: the witnesses shall stone him), all the congregation standing by. From here we derive that a man’s agent is as himself, for only the witnesses are to stone him, but since they are acting as agents of all the congregation, Scripture considers it as if all the congregation is stoning him. (cf. Sifra, Emor, Chapter 19 23).

Sanhedrin 42b:1

MISHNA: When the trial has ended in a guilty verdict and the condemned man has been sentenced to be stoned, he is taken out to be stoned. The place of stoning was out of the court and a little beyond it, as it is stated with regard to the one who cursed: “Bring out of the camp him who has cursed, and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him” (Lev 24:14).

Sanhedrin 42b:5

The Gemara asks: From where is this matter derived that the stoning is carried out outside the three camps? As the Sages taught a baraita with regard to the verse: “Bring out of the camp the one who has cursed” (Lev 24:14). This means: Outside the three camps, i.e., even outside the camp of the Israelites. Do you say that he is taken outside the three camps, or is he perhaps taken outside only one camp? Proof is brought that he must be taken outside the three camps: It is stated here that the condemned man is taken “outside the camp” and it is stated with regard to the bulls brought as sin offerings that are burned that they must be burned “outside the camp” (Lev 4:12). Just as there, the bulls brought as sin offerings are burned when outside the three camps, so too here, the condemned man is taken outside the three camps.

Sanhedrin 43a:5

Rav Ashi said: The location of the place of stoning can be directly derived from the verse discussing the one who cursed but in a slightly different manner. Where was Moses sitting when the matter of the one who cursed was brought before him? In the Levite camp. And the Merciful One said to him: “Bring out the one who has cursed” (Lev 24:14), indicating that he should be taken out of the Levite camp into the Israelite camp. And God continued in that verse: “Out of the camp,” which is an additional command that he should be removed even further, to out of the Israelite camp. And the later verse, which says: “And they brought the one who had cursed out of the camp . . . thus the people of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses” (Lev 24:23), teaches us about the implementation of God’s instructions, i.e., that the people of Israel did in fact carry out his command.

34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’?

35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken—

John Gill

If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—The Syriac version reads, “because the word of God came to them”; either the divine “logos,” the essential word, the Son of God, who appeared to Moses, and made him a God to Pharaoh, and who appointed rulers and magistrates among the Jews; and who is the King of kings and Lord of lords, from whom all receive their power and dominion: this sense is favoured by the Ethiopic version, which renders it, “if he called them gods to whom God appeared, the word of God was with them”: or else the commission from God, authorizing them to act in the capacity of rulers and governors, is here meant; or rather the word of God, which, in the passage of Scripture cited, calls them so, as it certainly does.

And Scripture cannot be broken—Or be made null and void; whatever that says is true, there is no contradicting it, or objecting to it: it is a Jewish way of speaking, much used in the Talmud; when one doctor has produced an argument, or instance, in any point of debate, another says, “it may be broken”; or objected to, in such and such a manner, and be refuted: but the Scripture cannot be broken, that is not to be objected to, there can be no confutation of that.

36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?

Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,

a leader and commander for the peoples. ISA 55:4

Rashi

A witness to the peoples—A prince and a superior over them, and one who will reprove and testify of their ways to their faces. (Mss., however, read: One who reproaches them for their ways to their faces.)

37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me;

38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”

John Gill

But if I do—Works, which none but God can do:

Though you do not believe me—What Christ said in his doctrine and ministry, though they paid no regard to that, and did not receive his testimony, on the credit of him the testifier, as they ought to have done:

Believe the works—Not only that they are true and real, and not imaginary and delusory; but for the sake of them believe the above assertion, that Christ is the Son of God, he and his Father being one; or take such notice of these works and miracles, consider the nature, evidence, and importance of them, and the divine power that attends them,

That you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father—The Vulgate Latin, Persic, and Ethiopic versions read, or “in my Father,” as read the Syriac and Arabic versions; that they are one in nature, distinct in person, equal in power, and have a mutual inhabitation and communion in the divine essence; all which is manifest, by doing the same works, and which are out of the reach and power of any mere creature.

39 Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.

40 He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained.

41 And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.”

John Gill

And many came to him—From all the parts adjacent, having heard of his being there, and of the fame of him; and many of them doubtless personally knew him; these came to him, some very likely to be healed by him, others to see his person and miracles, and others to hear him preach:

And they said, “John did no sign”—Though it was now three years ago, yet the name, ministry, and baptism of John, were fresh in the memory of men in those parts; and what they say one to another, was not to lessen the character of John, but to exalt Jesus Christ, and to give a reason why they should receive and embrace him; for if John, who did no miracle, who only taught and baptized, and directed men to the Messiah, was justly reckoned a very great person, and his doctrine was received, and his baptism was submitted to, then much more should this illustrious person be attended to; who, besides his divine doctrine, did such great and amazing miracles; to which they add, though John did no miracle to confirm his mission, ministry, and baptism,

But everything that John said about this man was true—As that he was greater than he, was the Lamb of God, yea, the Son of God, the Saviour of the world, and true Messiah, who should baptize men with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

42 And many believed in him there.

Birth of Jesus Foretold

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.

I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and her offspring;

he shall bruise your head,

and you shall bruise his heel. GEN 3:15

Rashi

I will put enmity—Your sole intention was that Adam should die by eating it first and that you should then take Eve for yourself (Bereishit Rabbah 20:5), and you came to speak to Eve first only because women are easily influenced and know how to influence their husbands; therefore “I will put enmity.”

He shall bruise your head—Like (Deu 9:21), “And crushed it” which is translated by Onkelos as “I pounded it.”

And you shall bruise his heel—You shall have no height and you shall bruise him on the heel, and even from there you shall kill him. The word תְּשׁוּפֶנוּ is like (Isa 40:24): “He blows (נָשַׁף) on them.” When a serpent comes to bite, it blows with a kind of hissing sound, and since the two words coincide i.e., they sound alike, they are both used here.

28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”

29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.

John Gill

She was greatly troubled at the saying—At his speaking to her; she was surprised at the sight of him, and more at what he said to her;

And tried to discern—Or thought and reasoned within herself,

What sort of greeting this might be—For it was not usual with the Jews for a man to use any salutation to a woman; with them it was not lawful to be done in any shape or form; not by a messenger, nor even by her own husband; so that Mary might well be thrown into a concern what should be the meaning of this; and especially, that she should be addressed in such language, and saluted as a peculiar favourite of God, and blessed among women.

30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

John Gill

And the angel said to her—Observing the consternation and confusion she was in;

Do not be afraid, Mary—He calls her by her name, signifying that she was well known to him, as the saints are to the ministering angels, who are often sent to them, encamp about them, and do them many good offices; and bids her not be afraid, he had no ill design upon her, nor brought any ill news to her:

For you have found favor—Or “found grace with God;” and what that particular grace and favor was, is expressed in the following verses.

31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

John Gill

And behold, you will conceive in your womb—Though a pure virgin, which never knew a man; and therefore, a “behold” is prefixed to it, as being what was extraordinary and wonderful; as it is also, in the prophesy of it, in Isa 7:14 to which the angel manifestly refers, and is, by Matthew cited, as accomplished hereby (see Gill on Mat 1:22-23);

And bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus—Which signifies a “Saviour;” and a Saviour Christ is of God’s appointing, providing and sending; and a very suitable one, being a spiritual Saviour, and a complete one, both able and willing to save to the uttermost all that believe in him; nor is there any other, nor salvation in any other: he is the Saviour of his people, whom the Father has given him, even of all the elect, whether of Jews or Gentiles; and of them from all their sins, and from all their enemies; and whom he saves with a spiritual and eternal salvation.

32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,

11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house.

Rashi

From the time that I appointed—It is connected to what preceded it, and shall afflict them no more, as before, i.e., before the days of the judges. And as they also did from the days of the judges until now.

Moreover, the Lord declares to you—Today, through me, that he will establish a monarchy for you to have your son sit on your throne and he will secure the monarchy for you. And it is he that will build the house.

12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.

13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 2SA 7:11-13

33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

John Gill

And he will reign over the house of Jacob—Not over the Jews, the posterity of Jacob, in a literal sense; but over the whole Israel of God, consisting of Jews and Gentiles. For as his father David reigned over the Idumeans, Syrians, and others, as well as over the house of Judah and Israel, so this his son shall reign over both Jews and Gentiles: his kingdom shall be from one end of the earth to the other, even over all the elect of God; who in successive generations call themselves by the name of Jacob, and surname themselves by the name of Israel, of whatsoever nation they be; and this reign of his shall be “forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end;” referring to Isa 9:7 see also Dan 2:44; 7:14 he shall reign in the hearts of his people here unto the end of the world; and with his saints a thousand years in the new heavens and new earth; and with them to all eternity, in the ultimate glory.

34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

John Gill

And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be”—This she said not as doubting the truth of what was said; for she required no sign, as Zechariah did; nor is she charged with, and blamed for unbelief, as he was; yea, it is expressly said (Luk 1:45), that she believed: nor was this a curious question, as whether she should have this son by a man in a married state, or in her present virgin state; for she clearly understood the angel to mean the latter; and therefore her words express her admiration at it, and also her desire to be informed of the manner how it should be: as to the matter of fact, she did not dispute it, but wanted to be resolved by what means it would be brought about: she knew, by prophecy, that the Messiah was to be born of a virgin, and she perceived, by the angel’s declaration, that she was that virgin, but could not imagine in what way this amazing thing should be effected; and therefore proposes this question for the following reason,

Seeing I know not a man?—“A husband,” as the Arabic version renders it; not Joseph, nor any other man; for though she was espoused to Joseph, yet he had not taken her to wife; nor were they, as yet; come together; and before they did, she was found with child of the 

Holy Spirit (Mat 1:18), she was a pure virgin, untouched by man. The words are a “euphemism,” or a modest way of expressing carnal copulation; see Gen 4:1.

35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

John Gill

And the angel answered her—The angel gave her an account of the manner in which what he had said should be effected, as well as observed some things for the strengthening of her faith.

The Holy Spirit will come upon you—The words, “upon you,” are left out in the Syriac and Persic versions; but are retained in others, and in all copies: the formation of Christ’s human nature, though common to all the three persons, yet is particularly, and most properly ascribed to the Spirit; not to the first person, the Father, lest it should be thought that he is only the Father of him, as man; nor to the second person, the Son, since it is to him that the human nature is personally united; but to the third person, the Spirit, who is the sanctifier; and who separated, and sanctified it, the first moment of its conception, and preserved it from the taint of original sin. His coming upon the virgin must be understood in consistence with his omnipresence, and immensity; and cannot design any local motion, but an effectual operation in forming the human nature of her flesh and substance; and not in the ordinary manner in which he is concerned in the formation of all men (Job 33:4), but in an extraordinary way, not to be conceived of, and explained.

And the power of the Most High will overshadow you—By “the power of the Most High” is not meant the Lord Jesus Christ, who is sometimes called the power of God; but rather the Holy Spirit, as before, who is styled the finger of God, and power from on high (Luk 11:20; 24:49), unless it should be thought that the perfection of divine power common to all the three persons is intended: and so points out the means by which the wondrous thing should be performed, even by the power of God; and which should not only be employed in forming the human nature of Christ, but in protecting the virgin from any suspicion and charge of sin, and defending her innocence and virtue, by moving upon Joseph to take her to wife. In the word, “overshadow,” some think there is an allusion to the Spirit of God moving upon the face of the waters, in Gen 1:2 when, he brooded upon them, as the word may be rendered; and which is the sense of it, according to the Jewish writers.

36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.

37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”

38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

16 O Lord, I am your servant;

I am your servant, the son of your maidservant.

You have loosed my bonds. PSA 116:16

Rashi

Your servant, the son of your maidservant—There is no comparison between the training of a slave who was bought in the market and one who was born to a maidservant in the house.

You loosed my bonds—You untied from my neck the bars and the bonds.

Yevamot 77a:5

With regard to the same issue, Rava taught: What is the meaning of that which is written: “You have loosened my bonds” (Psa 116:16)? David said before the Holy One, blessed be he: Master of the universe, you have loosened the two bonds that were on me, on account of which I and my entire family might have been disqualified, i.e., Ruth the Moabite woman and Naamah the Ammonite woman. Owing to the allowance granted to Moabite and Ammonite women, we are permitted to enter the congregation.

The Truth Will Set You Free

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,

John Gill

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him—For he knew instantly who they were, and when they believed on him; and therefore he immediately turned himself to them, and thus addressed them;

If you abide in my word—Meaning the gospel, called his, because he was both the author, and preacher, and sum, and substance of it: and to continue in it, is having cordially received it, to abide by it, and hold it fast, and not to be moved from it, by the temptations of Satan; the cunning of those that lie in wait to deceive; nor by the revilings and persecutions, the frowns and flatteries of men: and when men continue thus steadfast in it, and faithful to it, it is an evidence that it has come with power, and has a place in their hearts, and that they are the true followers of Christ:

You are truly my disciples—There are two sorts of disciples of Christ; some are only nominal, and merely in profession such; and these sometimes draw back from him, discontinue in his word, and go out from among his people; which shows that they never were of them, nor are the true disciples of Jesus; for the genuine disciples of Christ continue in his gospel, hold fast to him, the head, and remain with his people; which to do to the end, is an evidence, of their being disciples indeed.

32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

5 Lead me in your truth and teach me,

for you are the God of my salvation;

for you I wait all the day long.

John Gill

Lead me in your truth and teach me—Meaning the word of God, the Scriptures of truth; and the gospel, which is the word of truth, and truth itself (Joh 17:17); and the sense is, either that God would lead him by his Spirit more and more into all truth, as contained in his word; or that he would lead him by it and according to it, that he might form his principles and his conduct more agreeably to it, which is the standard and rule of faith and practice: which leading is by teaching; and reasons urged for granting all the above petitions follow,

For you are the God of my salvation—Who, in infinite wisdom, contrived scheme and method of it in his Son, and by him effected it, and by his Spirit had made application of it to him: and since the Lord had done such great things for him, he hoped the requests he had made would be granted: he adds,

For you I wait all the day long—Or continually, in public and in private, attending to all the duties of religion, yet not trusting in them, but in the Lord; and therefore he entreated he might not be ashamed of his hope and expectation for deliverance and salvation.

8 Good and upright is the Lord;

therefore he instructs sinners in the way.

John Gill

Good and upright is the Lord—He is essentially, originally, and independently good of himself in his own nature, and he is providentially good to all his creatures; and he is in a way of special grace and mercy good to his own people: and he is “upright,” just in himself, righteous in all his ways and works, and faithful in all his promises; and the consideration of these excellent perfections of his encouraged the psalmist to entertain a holy confidence, that his petitions, respecting instruction and guidance in the ways of the Lord (Psa 25:4-5); would be heard and answered, notwithstanding his sins and transgressions;

Therefore he instructs sinners in the way—Such who are in sinful ways, he will teach them by his word and Spirit the evil of their ways, and bring them out of them, and to repentance for them; and he will teach them his own ways, both the ways and methods of his grace, in saving sinners by Christ, and the paths of faith and duty in which he would have them walk; see Psa 51:13.

9 He leads the humble in what is right,

and teaches the humble his way. PSA 25:5, 8-9

33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

John Gill

They answered him—Not the believing Jews, whom he peculiarly addressed, but the unbelieving Jews, who were present, and heard these things:

We are offspring of Abraham—This the Jews always valued themselves upon, and reckoned themselves, on this account, upon a level with the nobles and the princes of the earth.

“Says R. Akiba, even the poor of Israel are to be considered as if they were ‘noblemen,’ that are fallen from their substance, because they are the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob;”

And have never been enslaved to anyone—Which is a very great falsehood, for it was declared to Abraham himself, that his seed should serve in a land not theirs, and be afflicted four hundred years, as they were; and as the preface to the law which the Jews gloried in shows, which says, that the Lord their God brought them out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; and they were frequently overcome by their neighbours, the Moabites, Ammonites, and Philistines, and reduced to servitude under them, until delivered by one judge, or another: and not to take notice of their seventy years’ captivity in Babylon, they were at this very time under the Roman yoke, and paid tribute to Caesar; and yet such was the pride of their hearts, they would not be thought to be enslaved; and therefore, with an haughty air, add,

How is it that you say, “You will become free”?—When they thought themselves, and would fain have been thought by others, to have been free already, and so to stand in no need of being free.

34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.

John Gill

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you”—Taking no notice of their civil liberty, to which he could easily have replied to their confusion and silence, he observes to them their moral servitude and bondage, and in the strongest manner affirms, that

Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin—Which must be understood, not of one that commits a single act of sin, though ever so gross, as did Noah, Lot, David, Peter, and others, who yet were not the servants of sin; or of such who sin through ignorance, weakness of the flesh, and the power of Satan’s temptations, and especially who commit sin with reluctance, the spirit lusting against it; nor indeed of any regenerate persons, though they are not without sin; nor do they live without the commission of it, in thought, word, or deed; and though they fall into it, they do not continue and live in it, but rise up out of it, through the grace of God, and by true repentance; and so are not to be reckoned the servants of sin, or to be of the devil. But this is to be understood of such whose bias and bent of their minds are to sin; who give up themselves unto it, and sell themselves to work wickedness; who make sin their trade, business, and employment, and are properly workers of it, and take delight and pleasure in it: these, whatever liberty, they promise themselves, are the servants of corruption; they are under the government of sin, that has dominion over them; and they obey it in the lusts thereof, and are drudges and slaves unto it, and will have no other wages at last but death, even eternal death, if grace prevent not; see Rom 6:16; 2Pe 2:19.

35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.

36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you.

38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

John Gill

I speak of what I have seen with my Father—This is an aggravation of the sin of the Jews, in seeking to kill Christ, on account of his doctrine, since it was not his own, but his Father’s; was not merely human, but divine; was what he the only begotten Son, that lay in the bosom of his Father, had seen in his heart, in his purposes, and decrees, in his council, and covenant, and so was clear, complete, certain, and to be depended on:

And you do what you have heard from your father—Meaning the devil, whom, though they had not scan with their eyes, nor any of his personal actions; yet acted so much under his influence, and according to his will, as if they had close and intimate consultation with him, and took their plan of operation from him, and had him continually before them, as their example and pattern, to copy after.

You Are of Your Father the Devil

39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did,

40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did.

41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.”

John Gill

You are doing the works your father did—Not Abraham, but the devil.

They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality”—Meaning either literally, that they were not a brood of bastards, children of whoredom, illegitimately begotten in unlawful copulation, or wedlock; or figuratively, that they were not the children of idolaters, idolatry being called sexual immorality in Scripture; word, and the true worship of God, though in all this they might have been contradicted and refuted; to which they add,

We have one Father—even God—Israel being called by God his son, and firstborn to them belonged the adoption, in a national sense, and of this they boasted; though few of them were the children of God by special adoption, or God their Father by regenerating grace.

42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.”

John Gill

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father”—By adoption; and this was discovered by the grace of regeneration; or in other words, if they had been born of God,

You would love me—For in regeneration love to Christ is always implanted: it is a fruit of the Spirit, which always comes along with the superabounding grace of God in conversion; whoever are begotten again, according to abundant mercy, love an unseen Jesus; and where there is no love to Christ, there can be no regeneration: such persons are not born again; nor is God their Father, at least manifestatively:

For I came from God and I am here—The former of these phrases is observed by many learned men to be used by the Septuagint, of a proper natural birth, as in Gen 15:4; 35:11; and here designs the eternal generation of Christ, as the Son of God, being the only begotten of the Father, and the Son of the Father in truth and love; and the other is to be understood of his mission from him, as mediator:

I came not of my own accord—Or did not take the office to himself, without being called unto it, and invested with it, by his Father:

But he sent me—Not by force, or against the will of Christ, or by change of place, but by assumption of nature; he sent him at the time agreed upon, in human nature, to obtain eternal redemption for his people: and upon both these accounts Christ is to be loved by all regenerate persons, or who have God for their Father; both on account of his being the Son of God, of the same nature and essence with him, see 1Jn 5:1; and on account of his mission into this world, as mediator, since he was sent, and came to be the Saviour of lost sinners.

21 So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.”

John Gill

So he said to them again—It may be, immediately after he had said the above words; or rather some time after, it may be on the same day:

I am going away—Meaning, the way of all flesh, or that he should die: the way of speaking shows, that his death was certain, a determined thing; which must be, and yet was voluntary: he was not driven, nor forced, but went freely; this being the path, the way, through which he must enter into his kingdom and glory:

And you will seek me—That is, shall seek the Messiah, as their deliverer and Saviour, when in distress; and whom he calls himself, because he was the true Messiah, and the only Saviour and Redeemer of his people, in a spiritual sense; otherwise they would not, nor did they seek Jesus of Nazareth:

And you will die in your sin—Meaning, in their sin of unbelief, and rejection of him the true Messiah: the sense is, that in the midst of their calamities, which should come upon them, for their sin against him, they should in vain seek for the Messiah, as a temporal deliverer of them; for their nation, city, and temple, and they therein should utterly perish, for their iniquity; and their ruin would not only be temporal, but eternal: since it follows,

Where I am going, you cannot come—Signifying, that whereas he was going to his Father, to heaven and glory; to enjoy eternal happiness at his Father’s right hand, in the human nature; they should never come there, but whilst many sat down in the kingdom of heaven, with their fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who should come from afar, they would be shut out, and not suffered to enter in.

As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent to seek you. And when they would say, “He is not here,” he would take an oath of the kingdom or nation, that they had not found you. 1KI 18:10

Rashi

That they had not found you—That the nation was unable to find you.

22 So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”

John Gill

So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself”—Which was not only a wicked, but a foolish consequence, drawn from his words: for it by no means followed, because he was going away, and where they could not come, that therefore he must destroy himself; this seems to be what they would have been glad he would have done, and suggested the thought that he might do it, in which they imitated Satan (Mat 4:6), under whose influence they now apparently were, and hoped that he would, which would at once extricate them out of their difficulties on his account:

Since he says, “Where I am going, you cannot come”?—This is no reason at all; for had Christ’s meaning been, as they blasphemously intimate, they might have destroyed themselves too, and have gone after him.

23 He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.

John Gill

He said to them—Upon this wicked remark of theirs, and query on his words:

You are from below—Not only of the earth, earthy, and so spoke of the earth, and as carnal men; but even of hell, they were the children of the devil; they breathed his spirit, spoke his language, and did his lusts, as in Joh 8:44.

I am from above—Not with respect to his human body, which he did not bring with him from heaven, that was formed below, in the virgin’s womb; otherwise he would not have been the seed of the woman, the son of Abraham, David, and Mary: but either with regard to his divine nature and person, he was of God, the Son of God, the only begotten of the Father, who then lay in his bosom, and was in heaven above at that time; or to his mission, which was from heaven.

You are of this world—They were, as they were born into the world, sinful, carnal, and corrupt; they were in it, and belonged to it, had never been chosen, or called out of it; they had their conversation according to the course of it, and conformed to its evil customs and manners; they were under the influence of the God of the world, and were taken with the sinful and sensual lasts thereof; they were men of worldly spirits; they minded earth, and earthly things, and had their portion in this world, and might be truly called the men of it.

I am not of this world—He was in it, but not of it; he was come into it to save the chief of sinners, but he did not belong to it, nor did he conform to it; for though he conversed with sinners, ate with them, and received them, being called to repentance by him; yet he was separate from them, and did not as they did: nor did he pursue the pleasures, honours, and riches of this world, being all his days a man of sorrows, and despised of men; and though Lord of all, had not where to lay his head.

With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips

I have avoided the ways of the violent. PSA 17:4

Rashi

With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips, etc. My steps have held fast, etc.—From then on, for every deed of man that I came to perform, I watched myself by the word of your lips; I watched the ways of the violent, to turn away from them, so that I should not walk in them, but would support my steps constantly in your paths, that my feet should not falter from them. Another explanation:

For the works of man according to the word of your lips, etc.—Since a person must use his works according to the uprightness (decre—early editions) of the word of your lips, as you said, “You shall not commit adultery,” I have avoided the ways of the violent although I behaved unseemly according to the good you have done.

24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”

25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning.

26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.”

John Gill

I have much to say about you and much to judge—Being God omniscient, he knew their persons and actions, their lives and conversations, and all their sins and transgressions, which he could justly have complained of, and charged them with, and proved against them, and judged and condemned them for; but this was not his present business, he came not to judge and condemn, but to save: wherefore he waved these things, and took no notice of them, leaving them to his Father, who would call them to an account, and punish them for them:

But he who sent me is true—As to his promises concerning the mission of his Son, to be the Saviour of sinners; so to his threatenings, to bring down vengeance on those that disbelieve him, and reject him:

And I declare to the world—Or “in the world,”

What I have heard from him—As concerning his love, grace, and mercy to those that should believe in him, so of the destruction of the despisers and rejecters of him; which things he spoke not in secret, in a corner, but publicly and openly, before all the world, to Jews and Gentiles, and to as many as were in the treasury, in the temple at this time; see Joh 18:20.

27 They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father.

And he said, “Go, and say to this people:

“ ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;

keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ ” ISA 6:9

Rashi

Keep on hearing—I say to you, Keep on hearing, but do not strive to understand, and keep on seeing miracles that I have performed for you, yet do not strive to know me.

28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.

John Gill

So Jesus said to them—Upbraiding them with their ignorance, and giving them a sign, as well as pointing out the time when they either, by good or sad experience, should have knowledge of him:

When you have lifted up the Son of Man—Meaning himself, who was to be lifted up upon the cross, as the serpent was upon the pole, in the wilderness; and which signified the manner of death he should die, the death of the cross; and suggested, that what the Jews designed for his reproach, shame, and abasement, would be the way and means of his rise and exaltation; and this lifting him up, or crucifying him, he ascribes to them, because they would deliver him to Pontius Pilate to be condemned, and stir up the people to ask, and be importunate themselves for his crucifixion:

Then you will know that I am he—The Son of God, and true Messiah, as the centurion, and those that were with him, did, when they observed the earthquake; and the things that were done at his death; and after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, and the pouring forth of his Spirit, many of the Jews had not only a notional, but a true and spiritual knowledge of Jesus, as the Messiah; and upon the destruction of their temple, city, and nation, and their disappointment by false Christs, they doubtless many of them must, and did know, that the true Messiah was come, and that Jesus of Nazareth was he:

And that I do nothing on my own authority—(See Gill on Joh 5:19);

But speak just as the Father taught me—This he says not as lessening himself, or making himself inferior to the Father, but to show the excellency of his doctrine, and to assert the original, authority, and divinity of it; suggesting that it was not an human doctrine, or a device of man’s, or his own, as man, but was divine, and from God; see Joh 7:16.

29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.”

John Gill

And he who sent me is with me—By virtue of that near union there is between them, they being one in nature, essence, power, and glory, and by the gracious, powerful, comfortable, assisting, and strengthening presence of his Father, which he vouchsafed to him as man, and mediator;

He has not left me alone—Christ, as the Word, was with the Father from all eternity, and, as the Son of God, was in heaven, and in the bosom of the Father, when he, as the Son of Man, was here on earth; for though he came forth from the Father into this world, by assumption of the human nature, yet the Father was always with him, and he with the Father, through the unity of the divine nature; nor did he withhold his supporting and assisting presence from him as man; nor did he withdraw, at least he had not yet withdrawn his gracious and comfortable presence from him, though he afterwards did, when upon the cross: compare with this Joh 16:32;

For I always do the things that are pleasing to him—By submitting to gospel ordinances, as to baptism, at which the Father declared his well pleasedness in him; and by complying with the ordinances of the ceremonial law, which were typical of him; and by perfectly obeying the precepts of the moral law, and bearing the penalty of it; or by suffering and dying in the room and stead of his people; all which were the will of God, and well pleasing to him.

30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

John Gill

As he was saying these things—Concerning his being lifted up, or his crucifixion, and the knowledge the Jews should then have of him; of the excellency and divinity of his doctrine, of his mission from the Father, and of the Father’s presence with him, and of his always doing the things that are pleasing in his sight; which were spoken by him with majesty and authority, and came with power:

Many believed in him—As the Son of God, and true Messiah: faith came by hearing; Christ’s hearers were of different sorts; some understood him not, and disbelieved, and rejected him; others had their eyes, and their hearts opened, and received him, and his words.