2d. That we are not to keep back truth because it will irritate and enrage sinners. The fault is not in the truth, but in the sinner. 3d. That when one portion of truth enrages hypocrites, they will be enraged the more they hear. Had broken the sabbath. They supposed he had broken it. Making himself equal with God. This shows that in the view of the Jews, the name Son of God, or calling God his Father, impied equality with God. The Jews were the best interpreters of the meaning of their own language, and as Jesus did not deny the correctness of their interpretations, it follows that he meant to be so understood. See ch. x. 29-38. The interpretation of the Jews was a very natural and just one. He not only said that God was his Father, but he said that he had the same right to work on the sabbath that God had; that by the same authority, and in the same manner, he could dispense with the obligation of the day. They had now two pretences for seeking to kill him; one for making himself equal with God, which they considered blasphemy; and the other for violating the sabbath. For each of these the law denounced death. Num. xv. 35. Lev. xxiv. 11-14. 19. The Son can do nothing of himself. Jesus having stated the extent of his authority, proceeds here to show its source and nature, and to prove to them that what he had said was true. The first explanation which he gives is in these words-The Son-whom he had just impliedly affirmed to be equal with God did nothing of himself. That is, nothing without the appointment of the Father; nothing contrary to the Father, he immediately explains it. When it is said that he CAN do nothing or FMSELF, it is meant, that such is the union subsisting between the Father and the Son, that he can do nothing independently, or separate from the Fa ther Such is the nature of this union, of himself, but what he seeth the Father do for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. 20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will c Matt.3.17. c.3.35. 17.26. that he can do nothing which has not the concurrence of the Father, and which he does not command. In all things he must, from the necessity of his nature, act in accordance with the nature and will of God. Such is the intimacy of the union, that the fact that he does any thing is proof that it is by the concurring agency of God. There is no separate action; no separate existence, but in being and in action the most perfect oneness between him and the Father. Comp. John x. 30; xvü. 21. What he seeth the Father do. In the works of creation and Providence; in making laws, and in the government of the universe. There is a peculiar force in the word seeth here. No man can see God acting in his works. But this implies that the Son sees him act, as we see our fellow-men act; and that he has a knowledge of him, therefore, which no mere mortal could possess. ¶ What things soever. In the works of creation, Providence, and in the government of the worlds. The word is without limit ALL that the Father does, the Son likewise does. This is as high an assertion as possible of his being equal with God. If one does all that another does or can do, then there is proof of equality. If the Son does all that the Father does, then like him, he must be Almighty, Omniscient, All-present, and infinite in every perfection; or in other words, he must be God. If he had this power, then he had authority, also, to do on the sabbath-day what God did. 20. The Father loveth the Son. This authority he traces to the love which the Father has for him-that peculiar, ineffable, infinite love, which God has for his only-begotten Son, feebly and dimly illustrated by the love which an earthly parent has for an only child. Showeth him. Makes him acquainted with. Conceals nothing from him. From us, and from apostles, prophets a Lu.8.54. c.11.25. 17.2. and philosophers, no small part of the doings of God are concealed. From the Son nothing is. And as God shows him all that he does, he must be possessed of Omniscience. For to no finite mind could be imparted a knowledge of all the works of God. Will show him. Will appoint and direct him to do greater works than these.' ¶ Greater works than these. Than healing the impotent man, and commanding him to carry his bed on the sabbath-day. The greater works to which he refers are those which he proceeds to specify. He will raise the dead and judge the world, &c. May marvel. May wonder, or be amazed. 22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son : 23 That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the b Matt.11.27. Ac.17.31. 2 Cor.5.10. depended on his will whether Lazarus and the widow's son should come to life. So it depends on his will whether sinners shall live. He has power to renew them, and the renewing of the heart is as much the result of his will as the raising of the dead. 22. Judgeth no man. Jesus is in these verses showing his equality with God. He affirmed (ver. 17.), that he had the same power over the sabbath that his Father had; in ver. 19, that he did the same things as the Father; in ver. 21, particularly that he had the same power to raise the dead. He now adds that God has given him the authority to judge men. The Father pronounces judgment on no one. This office he has committed to the Son. The power of judging the world implies ability to search the heart, and Omniscience to understand the motives of all actions. This is a work which none but a divine being can do, and it shows, therefore, that the Son is equal to the Father. Hath committed, &c. Hath appointed him to be the judge of the world. In the previous verse he had said that he had power to raise the dead, he here adds that it will be his also to judge them when they are raised. See Mat: xxv. Acts xvii. 31. 21. As the Father raiseth up the dead. God has power to raise the dead. By his power it had been done in at least two instances by the prophet Elijah, in the case of the son of the widow of Sarepta, (1 Kings xvii. 22); and by the prophet Elisha in the case of the Shunamite's son. 2 Kings iv. 32-35. The Jews did not doubt that God had power to raise the dead. Jesus here expressly affirms it, and says that he has the same power. Quickeneth them. Gives them life. This is the sense of the word quickeneth throughout the Bible. Even so. In the same manner. By the same authority and power. The 23. That all men should honor, &c power of raising the dead must be one To honor is to esteem, reverence of the highest attributes of the divinity. praise, do homage to. We honor one As Jesus affirms that he has the power when we ascribe to him in our hearts. in the same manner as the Father, so it and words, and actions, the praise ame follows that he must be equal with God. obedience which are due to him. We The Son quickeneth. Gives life to. honor God when we obey him a This may either refer to his raising the worship him aright. We honor the dead from their graves, or giving spirit-Son when we esteem him to be as h ual life to those who are dead in tres- is; when we have right views and feel passes and sins. The former he did in ings towards him. As he is declared the case of Lazarus, and the widow's to be God (John i. 1.), as he here says son at Nain. John xi. 43, 44. Luke that he has power and authority equal vii. 14, 15. The latter he did in the with God, so we honor him when wo case of all those who were converted regard him as such. The primitive by his power, and still does it in any Christians are described by Pliny, in a case of conversion. Whom he will. letter to the emperor Trajan, as meet It was in the power of Jesus to raise up ing together to sing hymns to Christ as any of the dead as well as Lazarus. It God. So we honor him aright when Son, honoureth not the Father | lieveth on him that sent me, hath which hath sent him. everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. 24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and be a c.6.40,47. we regard him as possessed of wisdom, goodness, power, eternity, omniscience -equal with God. Even as. To the same extent; in the same manner. Since the Son is to be honored EVEN AS the Father, it follows that he must be equal with the Father. To honor the Father must denote religious homage, or the rendering of that honor which is due to God; so to honor the Son must also denote religious homage. If our Saviour here did not intend to teach that he ought to be worshipped, and to be esteemed as equal with God, it would be difficult to teach it by any language which we could use. THe that honoreth not the Son. He that does not believe on him, and render to him the homage which is his due as the equal of God. ¶ Honoreth not the Father. Does not worship and obey the Father the first person of the Trinity, that is, does not worship God. He may imagine he worships God, but there is no God but the God subsisting as the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. He that withholds proper homage from one, withholds it from all. He that should refuse to honor the Father, could not be said to honor God; and in the like manner, he that honoreth not the Son, honoreth not the Father. This appears further from the following considerations: 1st. The Father wills that the Son should be honored. He that refuses to do it, disobeys the Father. 2d. They are equal. He that denies the one, denies also the other. 3d. The same feeling that leads us to honor the Father, will also lead us to honor the Son, for he is "the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person. Heb. i. 3. 4th. The evidence of the existence of the Son is the same as that of the Father. He has the same wisdom, goodness, omnipresence, truth. And from these verses we may learn, 1st. That those who do not render proper homage to Jesus Christ, do not worship the true God. 2d. There is no such God as the infidel professes to believe in. There can be but one God, VOL. II. 21 b 1 Jno.3.14. and if the God of the Bible be the true God, then all other gods are false gods, and cannot save. 3d. Those who with hold proper homage from Jesus Christ, who do not honor him EVEN AS they honor the Father, cannot be Christians. 4th. One evidence of piety is when we are willing to render proper praise and homage to Jesus Christ-to love him, and serve, and obey him, with all our hearts. 5th. As a matter of fact, it may be added, that they who do not honor the Son, do not worship God at all. The infidel has no form of worship. He has no place of secret prayer; no temple of worship; no family altar. Who ever yet heard of an infidel that prayed? Where do such men build houses of worship? Where do they meet to praise God? Nowhere. As certainly as we hear the name infidel, we are certain at once that we hear the name of a man who has no form of re ligion in his family; who never prays in secret; and who will do nothing to maintain the public worship of God. Account for it as men may, it is a fact that no one can dispute, that it is _only they who do honor to the Lord Jesus that have any form of the worship of God, or that honor him; and their veneration for God is just in proportion to their love for the Redeemer-just as they honor him. To 24. He that heareth my word. hear, in this place evidently denotes not the outward act of hearing, but to re. ceive in a proper manner; to suffer it to make its proper impression on the mind; to obey. The word hear is often used in this sense. Matt. xi. 15. John viii. 47. Acts iii. 23. Many persons outwardly hear the gospel, who neither understand nor obey it. My word. My doctrine, my teaching. All that Jesus taught about himself, as well as about the Father. On him that sent me. On the Father, who, in the plan of redemption, is represented as sending his Son to save men. See John iii. 17. Faith in God who sent his Son, is here represented as being connected with everlasting life. But there can be 25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when-the dead" shall hear the voice a ver.28. Ep.2.1. of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. 26 For as the Fa her hath life in lasting life. Because Christ is the au thor of this life in the soul, he is called the life (John i. 4); and as he has always existed, and is the source of all life, he is called the eternal life. 1 John v. 20. 25. The hour. The time. ¶ Is coming. Under the preaching of the gospel, as well as in the resurrection of the no faith in him who sent his Son, without faith also in him who is sent. The belief of one of the true doctrines of reLigion is connected with, and will lead to, the belief of all. ¶ Hath everlasting life. The state of man by nature is represented as death in sin. Eph. ii. 1. Religion is the opposite of this, or is life. The dead regard not any thing. They are unaffected by the cares, plea- dead. ¶ Now is. It is now taking sures, amusements, of the world. They place. Sinners were converted under hear neither the voice of merriment, his ministry, and brought to spiritual nor the tread of the living over their life. The dead. Either the dead in graves. So with sinners; they are un- sins, or those that are in their graves. moved with the things of religion. The words of the Saviour will apply to They hear not the voice of God; they either. Language, in the scriptures, is see not his loveliness; they care not often so used as to describe two similar for his threatenings. But religion is events. Thus the destruction of Jerulife. The Christian lives with God, salem and the end of the world are deand feels and acts as if there was a scribed by Jesus in the same language. God. Religion, and its blessings, here Matt. xxiv., xxv. The return of the and hereafter, are one and the same. Jews from Babylon, and the coming of The happiness of heaven is living unto the Messiah, and the spread of his gosGod-being sensible of his presence, pel, are described in the same language and glory, and power, and rejoicing in by Isaiah. Isa. xl.-lxi. Comp. Notes that. There shall be no more death on Isa. vii. 14. The renewal of the there. Rev. xxi. 4. This life, or this heart, and the raising of the dead at the religion, whether on earth or in heaven, judgment, are here also described in is the same- the same joys extended similar language because they so far and expanded for ever. Hence, when resemble each other, that the same lan a man is converted, it is said that he guage will apply to both. The voice has everlasting life; not merely shall of the Son of God. The voice is that by have, but is already in possession of, which we give command. Jesus raised that life or happiness which shall be up the dead by his command, or by his everlasting. It is life begun, expand- authority. When he did it he spoke, ing, ripening for the skies. He has or commanded it to be done. Mark v. already entered on the inheritance 41: "He took the damsel by the hand, that inheritance which is everlasting. and said, Talitha-cumi." Luke vii. 14: Shall not come into condemnation. He" And he came and touched the bier— was by nature under condemnation. and said, Young man, I say unto thee, See John iii. 18. Here it is declared arise." John xi. 43; "He cried with that he shall not return to that state, or a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth." he will not be again condemned. This So it is by his command that those who promise is sure; it is made by the Son are dead in sins are quickened, or made of God; and there is no one that can alive. Ver. 21. And so at the day of pluck them out of his hand. John x. judgment the dead will be raised by 28. But is passed from death unto his command or voice, though there is life. Has passed over from a state of no reason to think that his voice will be spiritual death to the life of the Chris- audibly heard. Ver. 28. T Shall live tian. The word translated is passed, Shall be restored to life. would be better expressed by has pass- 26. As the Father hath life. God is ed. It implies that he has done it vo- the source of all life. He is thence luntarily; that none compelled him; called the living God, in opposition to and that the passage is made unto ever-idols, which have no life. Aots xiv. 15, himself, so hath he given to the Son 27 And hain given him authority to have life" in himself; to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man a 1 Cor.15.45. b ver.22. pointed, is inferior in nature to him who appoints him. A son may be appointed to a particular work by a parent, and yet, in regard to talents and every other qualification, may be equal or superior to the father. He sustains the relation of a son, and in this relation there is ar official inferiority. General Washing ton was not inferior in nature and ta In **We preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities (idols) unto the living God." Josh. iii. 10. 1 Sam. xvii. 26. Jer. x. 10. See also Isa. xl. 18-31. In himself. This means, that life in God, or existence, is not derived from any other being. Our life is derived trom God. Gen. ii. 7: God "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul."-i. e. a liv-lents to the men who commissione. ng being. All other creatures derive him. He simply derived authority from this life from him. Ps. civ. 20, 29:- them to do what he was otherwise fully "Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they able to do. So the Son, as Mediator, are created; thou takest away their is subject to the Father; yet this proves breath, they die, and return to their nothing about his nature. To have dust." But God is underived. He al- life. That is, the right or authority of ways existed as he is. Ps. xc. 2: "From imparting life to others, whether dead everlasting to everlasting thou art God." in their graves or in their sins. He is unchangeably the same. James i. himself. There is much that is remark. 17. It cannot be said that he is self-ex-able in this exssion. It is IN him as istent, because that is an absurdity. No it is IN God. He has the control of it, being can originate or create himself. and can eise it as he will. The But he is not dependent on any other prophets apostles are never repre for life. Of course, no being can take sented as having such power in them away his existence; and of course, also, selves. They were dependent; they no being can take away his happiness. performed miracles in the name of God, He has in himself infinite sources of and of Jesus Christ. Acts iii. 6. iv. 30; happiness; and no other being, no xvi. 18. But Jesus did it by his own change in his universe, can destroy that name, authority, and power. He had happiness. So. In a manner like his. but to speak and it was done. Mark v. It corresponds to the first " as," imply- 41. Luke vii. 14. John xi. 43. This ing that one is the same as the other; wonderful commission he bore from life in the one is the same, and possess-God to raise up the dead as he pleased, ed in the same manner, as in the other. to convert sinners when and where he ¶ Hath he given. This shows that the pleased, and finally to raise up all the power or authority here spoken of was dead, and pronounce on them an etergiven, or committed to the Lord Jesus. nal doom according to the deeds done This evidently does not refer to the in the body. None could do this but manner in which the second person of he who had the power of creation, the Trinity exists; for the power and equal in power to the father; and the authority of which Christ here speaks power of searching all hearts, equal in is that which he exercises as Mediator. omniscience to God. It is the power of raising the dead, and 27. Hath given him authority. Hath judging the world. In regard to his appointed him to do this. Has made livine nature, it is not affirmed here him to be judge of all. This is reprethat it is in any manner derived. Nor sented as being the appointment of the does the fact that God is said to have Father. Acts xvii. 31. The word augiven him this power prove that he was thority, here, (commonly rendered powinferior in his nature, or that his exist-er), implies all that is necessary to exence was derived. For, 1st. It has refer-ecute judgment; all the physical power ence merely to office. As Mediator, he to raise the dead, and to investigate the may be said to have been appointed by actions and thoughts of the life; and al the Father. 2d. Appointment to office the moral right or authority to sit in does not prove that the one who is ap- judgment on the creatures of God and |