- The Beginning of Jesus' Ministry (1:19-51)
- Changing Water into Wine (2:1-11)
- Cleansing the Temple (2:12-25)
- Jesus Teaches Nicodemus (3:1-21)
- John the Baptist's Final Testimony about Jesus (3:22-36)
- Jesus and the Samaritans (4:1-42)
- Healing of the Official's Son (4:43-54)
- Jesus' Visit to Jerusalem at an Annual Feast (ch. 5)
- Feeding the 5,000 and Jesus' Claim to Be the Bread of Life (ch. 6)
- Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles and Disputes over Who He Is (chs. 7-8)
- Healing of the Man Born Blind (ch. 9)
- Jesus is the Good Shepherd (10:1-21)
- Conflict at the Feast of Dedication over Jesus' Identity (10:22-42)
- The Raising of Lazarus (ch. 11)
- Statement of the Gospel's Purpose (20:30-31)
- Epilogue: Jesus' Recommissioning of the Disciples (ch. 21)
John 18 NLT
1 After saying these things, Jesus crossed
the Kidron Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of olive trees.
2 Judas, the betrayer, knew this place,
because Jesus had often gone there with his disciples.
3 The leading priests and Pharisees had
given Judas a contingent of Roman soldiers and Temple guards to accompany him.
Now with blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons, they arrived at the olive
grove.
4 Jesus fully realized all that was going
to happen to him, so he stepped forward to meet them. “Who are you looking
for?” he asked.
5 “Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied. “I
AM he,” Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.)
6 As Jesus said “ he,” they all drew back
and fell to the ground!
7 Once more he asked them, “Who are you
looking for?” And again they replied, “Jesus the Nazarene.”
8 “I told you that I AM he,” Jesus said.
“And since I am the one you want, let these others go.”
9 He did this to fulfill his own
statement: “I did not lose a single one of those you have given me.”
10 Then Simon Peter drew a sword and
slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest’s slave.
11 But Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword
back into its sheath. Shall I not drink from the cup of suffering the Father
has given me?”
12 So the soldiers, their commanding
officer, and the Temple guards arrested Jesus and tied him up.
13 First they took him to Annas, since he
was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest at that time.
14 Caiaphas was the one who had told the
other Jewish leaders, “It’s better that one man should die for the people.”
15 Simon Peter followed Jesus, as did
another of the disciples. That other disciple was acquainted with the high
priest, so he was allowed to enter the high priest’s courtyard with
Jesus.
16 Peter had to stay outside the gate. Then
the disciple who knew the high priest spoke to the woman watching at the gate,
and she let Peter in.
17 The woman asked Peter, “You’re not one
of that man’s disciples, are you?” “No,” he said, “I am not.”
18 Because it was cold, the household
servants and the guards had made a charcoal fire. They stood around it, warming
themselves, and Peter stood with them, warming himself.
19 Inside, the high priest began asking
Jesus about his followers and what he had been teaching them.
20 Jesus replied, “Everyone knows what I
teach. I have preached regularly in the synagogues and the Temple, where the
people gather. I have not spoken in secret.
21 Why are you asking me this question? Ask
those who heard me. They know what I said.”
22 Then one of the Temple guards standing
nearby slapped Jesus across the face. “Is that the way to answer the high
priest?” he demanded.
23 Jesus replied, “If I said anything
wrong, you must prove it. But if I’m speaking the truth, why are you beating
me?”
24 Then Annas bound Jesus and sent him to
Caiaphas, the high priest.
25 Meanwhile, as Simon Peter was standing
by the fire warming himself, they asked him again, “You’re not one of his
disciples, are you?” He denied it, saying, “No, I am not.”
26 But one of the household slaves of the
high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Didn’t
I see you out there in the olive grove with Jesus?”
27 Again Peter denied it. And immediately a
rooster crowed.
28 Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas ended in
the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the
Roman governor. His accusers didn’t go inside because it would defile them, and
they wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate the Passover.
29 So Pilate, the governor, went out to
them and asked, “What is your charge against this man?”
30 “We wouldn’t have handed him over to you
if he weren’t a criminal!” they retorted.
31 “Then take him away and judge him by
your own law,” Pilate told them. “Only the Romans are permitted to execute
someone,” the Jewish leaders replied.
32 (This fulfilled Jesus’ prediction about
the way he would die. )
33 Then Pilate went back into his
headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him. “Are you the king of
the Jews?” he asked him.
34 Jesus replied, “Is this your own
question, or did others tell you about me?”
35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own
people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have
you done?”
36Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly
kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over
to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.”
37 Pilate said, “So you are a king?” Jesus
responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world
to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is
true.”
38 “What is truth?” Pilate asked. Then he
went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any
crime.
39 But you have a custom of asking me to
release one prisoner each year at Passover. Would you like me to release this
‘King of the Jews’?”
40 But they shouted back, “No! Not this
man. We want Barabbas!” (Barabbas was a revolutionary.)
John 18 Bible
Commentary
Matthew Henry Bible
Commentary (complete)
<<
John 17 | John
18 | John
19 >>
(Read all of John 18)
Complete Concise
Hitherto this evangelist has recorded little of the history of Christ, only so
far as was requisite to introduce his discourses; but now that the time drew
nigh that Jesus must die he is very particular in relating the circumstances of
his sufferings, and some which the others had omitted, especially his sayings.
So far were his followers from being ashamed of his cross, or endeavouring to
conceal it, that this was what, both by word and writing, they were most
industrious to proclaim, and gloried in it. This chapter relates, I. How Christ
was arrested in the garden and surrendered himself a prisoner (v. 1-12). II.
How he was abused in the high priest's court, and how Peter, in the meantime,
denied him (v. 13-27). III. How he was prosecuted before Pilate, and examined
by him, and put in election with Barabbas for the favour of the people, and
lost it (v. 28-40).
Verses 1-12
The hour was now come that the captain of our salvation, who
was to be made perfect by sufferings, should engage the enemy.
We have here his entrance upon the encounter. The day of recompence is in his
heart, and the year of his redeemed is come, and his own arm works the
salvation, for he has no second. Let us turn aside now, and
see this great sight.
I. Our Lord Jesus, like a bold champion, takes the field first (v. 1, 2): When
he had spoken these words, preached the sermon, prayed his prayer, and
so finished his testimony, he would lose no time, but went forth immediately
out of the house, out of the city, by moon-light, for the passover was observed
at the full moon, with his disciples (the eleven, for Judas
was otherwise employed), and he went over the brook Cedron, which
runs between Jerusalem and the mount of Olives, where was a garden, not
his own, but some friend's, who allowed him the liberty of it. Observe,
1. That our Lord Jesus entered upon his sufferings when he had spoken
these words, as Mt. 26:1, When he had finished all these
sayings. Here it is intimated, (1.) That our Lord Jesus took his work
before him. The office of the priest was to teach, and pray, and offer
sacrifice. Christ, after teaching and praying, applies himself to make
atonement. Christ had said all he had to say as a prophet, and now he addresses
himself to the discharge of his office as a priest, to make his soul an
offering for sin; and, when he had gone through this, he entered upon
his kingly office. (2.) That having by his sermon prepared his disciples for
this hour of trial, and by his prayer prepared himself for it, he then
courageously went out to meet it. When he had put on his armour, he entered the
lists, and not till then. Let those that suffer according to the will of God,
in a good cause, with a good conscience, and having a clear call to it, comfort
themselves with this, that Christ will not engage those that are his in any
conflict, but he will first do that for them which is necessary to prepare them
for it; and if we receive Christ's instructions and comforts, and be interested
in his intercession, we may, with an unshaken resolution, venture through the
greatest hardships in the way of duty.
2. That he went forth with his disciples. Judas knew what
house he was in in the city, and he could have staid and met his sufferings
there; but, (1.) He would do as he was wont to do, and not alter his method,
either to meet the cross or to miss it, when his hour was come. It was his
custom when he was at Jerusalem, after he had spent the day in public work, to
retire at night to the mount of Olives; there his quarters
were, in the skirts of the city, for they would not make room for him in the
palaces, in the heart of the town. This being his custom, he could not be put
out of his method by the foresight of his sufferings, but, as Daniel, did then
just as he did aforetime, Dan. 6:10. (2.) He was as unwilling
that there should be an uproar among the people as his enemies
were, for it was not his way to strive or cry. If he had been
seized in the city, and a tumult raised thereby, mischief might have been done,
and a great deal of blood shed, and therefore he withdrew. Note, When we find
ourselves involved in trouble, we should be afraid of involving others with us.
It is no disgrace to the followers of Christ to fall tamely. Those who aim at
honour from men value themselves upon a resolution to sell their lives as
dearly as they can; but those who know that their blood is precious to Christ,
and that not a drop of it shall be shed but upon a valuable consideration, need
not stand upon such terms. (3.) He would set us an example in the beginning of
his passion, as he did at the end of it, of retirement from the world. Let
us go forth to him, without the camp, bearing his reproach, Heb.
13:13. We must lay aside, and leave behind, the crowds, and cares, and
comforts, of cities, even holy cities, if we would cheerfully take up our
cross, and keep up our communion with God therein.
3. That he went over the brook Cedron. He must go over this to
go to the mount of Olives, but the notice taken of it
intimates that there was something in it significant; and it points, (1.) At
David's prophecy concerning the Messiah (Ps. 110:7), that he shall
drink of the brook in the way; the brook of suffering in the way to
his glory and our salvation, signified by the brook Cedron, the black
brook, so called either from the darkness of the valley it ran through
or the colour of the water, tainted with the dirt of the city; such a brook
Christ drank of, when it lay in the way of our redemption, and therefore
shall he lift up the head, his own and ours. (2.) At David's pattern,
as a type of the Messiah. In his flight from Absalom, particular notice is
taken of his passing over the brook Cedron, and going up by the ascent
of mount Olivet, weeping, and all that were with him in tears too, 2
Sa. 15:23, 30. The Son of David, being driven out by the
rebellious Jews, who would not have him to reign over them (and
Judas, like Ahithophel, being in the plot against him), passed over the brook
in meanness and humiliation, attended by a company of true mourners. The godly
kings of Judah had burnt and destroyed the idols they found at the
brook Cedron; Asa, 2 Chr. 15:16; Hezekiah, 2 Chr. 30:14; Josiah, 2 Ki.
23:4, 6. Into that brook the abominable things were cast. Christ, being
now made sin for us, that he might abolish it and take it away, began
his passion by the same brook. Mount Olivet, where Christ began his sufferings,
lay on the east side of Jerusalem; mount Calvary, where he finished them, on
the west; for in them he had an eye to such as should come from the
east and the west.
4. That he entered into a garden. This circumstance is taken notice of only by
this evangelist, that Christ's sufferings began in a garden. In the garden of
Eden sin began; there the curse was pronounced, there the Redeemer was
promised, and therefore in a garden that promised seed entered the lists with
the old serpent. Christ was buried also in a garden. (1.) Let us, when we walk
in our gardens, take occasion thence to meditate on Christ's sufferings in a
garden, to which we owe all the pleasure we have in our gardens, for by them
the curse upon the ground for man's sake was removed. (2.) When we are in the
midst of our possessions and enjoyments, we must keep up an expectation of
troubles, for our gardens of delight are in a vale of tears.
5. That he had his disciples with him, (1.) Because he used to take them with
him when he retired for prayer. (2.) They must be witnesses of his sufferings,
and his patience under them, that they might with the more assurance and
affection preach them to the world (Lu. 24:48), and be themselves prepared to
suffer. (3.) He would take them into the danger to show them their weakness,
notwithstanding the promises they had made of fidelity. Christ sometimes brings
his people into difficulties, that he may magnify himself in their deliverance.
6. That Judas the traitor knew the place, knew it to be the
place of his usual retirement, and probably, by some word Christ had dropped,
knew that he intended to be there that night, for want of a better closet. A
solitary garden is a proper place for meditation and prayer, and after a
passover is a proper time to retire for private devotion, that we may pray over
the impressions made and the vows renewed, and clench the nail. Mention is made
of Judas's knowing the place, (1.) To aggravate the sin of Judas, that he would
betray his Master, notwithstanding the intimate acquaintance he had with him;
nay, and that he would make use of his familiarity with Christ, as giving him
an opportunity of betraying him; a generous mind would have scorned to do so
base a thing. Thus has Christ's holy religion been wounded in the house
of its friends,as it could not have been wounded any where else. Many an
apostate could not have been so profane, if he had not been a professor; could
not have ridiculed scriptures and ordinances, if he had not known them. (2.) To
magnify the love of Christ, that, though he knew where the traitor would seek
him, thither he went to be found of him, now that he knew his hour was
come. Thus he showed himself willing to suffer and die for us. What he
did was not by constraint, but by consent; though as man he said, Let
this cup pass away, as Mediator he said, "Lo, I come, I
come with a good will." It was late in the night (we may suppose eight or
nine o'clock) when Christ went out to the garden; for it was not only his meat
and drink, but his rest and sleep, to do the will of him that
sent him. When others were going to bed, he was going to prayer, going
to suffer.
II. The captain of our salvation having taken the field, the
enemy presently comes upon the spot, and attacks him (v. 3): Judas with his men
comes thither, commissioned by the chief priests, especially those among them
that were Pharisees, who were the most bitter enemies to Christ. This
evangelist passes over Christ's agony, because the other three had fully
related it, and presently introduces Judas and his company that came to seize
him. Observe,
1. The persons employed in this action—a band of men and officers from the
chief priests, with Judas. (1.) Here is a multitude engaged against
Christ—a band of men, speira—cohors, a regiment, a
Roman band, which some think was five hundred men, others a thousand. Christ's
friends were few, his enemies many. Let us therefore not follow a
multitude to do evil, nor fear a multitude designing evil to us, if
God be for us. (2.) Here is a mixed multitude; the band of men were
Gentiles, Roman soldiers, a detachment out of the guards that were posted in
the tower of Antonia, to be a curb upon the city; the officers of the
chief priests, hypeµretas. Either their domestic servants, or
the officers of their courts, were Jews; these had an enmity to each other, but
were united against Christ, who came to reconcile both to God in one
body. (3.) It is a commissioned multitude, not a popular tumult; no,
they have received orders from the chief priests, upon whose
suggestion to the governor that this Jesus was a dangerous man, it is likely
they had a warrant from him too to take him up, for they feared the
people. See what enemies Christ and his gospel have had, and are
likely to have, numerous and potent, and therefore formidable: ecclesiastical
and civil powers combined against them, Ps. 2:1, 2. Christ said it would be so
(Mt. 10:18), and found it so. (4.) All under the direction of Judas. He received this band
of men; it is probable that he requested it, alleging that it was
necessary to send a good force, being as ambitious of the honour of commanding
in chief in this expedition as he was covetous of the wages of this unrighteousness. He
thought himself wonderfully preferred from coming in the rear of the contemptible
twelve to be placed at the head of these formidable hundreds; he never made
such a figure before, and promised himself, perhaps, that this should not be
the last time, but he should be rewarded with a captain's commission, or
better, if he succeeded well in this enterprise.
2. The preparation they had made for an attack: They came with
lanterns, and torches, and weapons. (1.) If Christ should abscond,
though they had moonlight, they would have occasion for their lights; but they
might have spared these; the second Adam was not driven, as the first was, to
hide himself, either for fear or shame, among the trees of the garden. It
was folly to light a candle to seek the Sun by. (2.) If he should resist, they
would have occasion for their arms. The weapons of his warfare were
spiritual, and at these weapons he had often beaten
them, and put them to silence, and therefore they have now
recourse to other weapons, swords and staves.
III. Our Lord Jesus gloriously repulsed the first onset of the enemy, v. 4-6,
where observe,
1. How he received them, with all the mildness imaginable towards them, and all
the calmness imaginable in himself.
(1.) He met them with a very soft and mild question (v. 4): Knowing all
things that should come upon him, and therefore not at all surprised
with this alarm, with a wonderful intrepidity and presence of mind, undisturbed
and undaunted, he went forth to meet them, and, as if he had
been unconcerned, softly asked, "Whom seek you? What is
the matter? What means this bustle at this time of night?" See here, [1.]
Christ's foresight of his sufferings; He knew all those things that
should come upon him, for he had bound himself to suffer them. Unless
we had strength, as Christ had, to bear the discovery, we should not covet to
know what shall come upon us; it would but anticipate our pain; sufficient
unto the day is the evil thereof: yet it will do us good to expect
sufferings in general, so that when they come we may say, "It is but what
we looked for, the cost we sat down and counted upon." [2.] Christ's
forwardness to his sufferings; he did not run away from them, but went out to
meet them, and reached forth his hand to take the bitter cup. When the people
would have forced him to a crown, and offered to make him a king in Galilee,
but he withdrew, and hid himself (ch. 6:15); but, when they came to force him
to a cross, he offered himself; for he came to this world to suffer and went to
the other world to reign. This will not warrant us needlessly to expose
ourselves to trouble, for we know not when our hour is come; but we are called
to suffering when we have no way to avoid it but by sin; and, when it comes to
this, let none of these things move us, for they cannot hurt
us.
(2.) He met them with a very calm and mild answer when they told him whom they
were in quest of, v. 5. They said, Jesus of Nazareth; and he
said, I am he. [1.] It should seem, their eyes were
held, that they could not know him. It is highly probable that many of
the Roman band, at least the officers of the temple, had often seen him, if
only to satisfy their curiosity; Judas, however, to be sure, knew him well
enough, and yet none of them could pretend to say, Thou art the man we
seek. Thus he showed them the folly of bringing lights to see for him, for he
could make them not to know him when they saw him; and he has herein shown us
how easily he can infatuate the counsels of his enemies, and make them lose
themselves, when they are seeking mischief. [2.] In their enquiries for him
they called him Jesus of Nazareth,which was the only title they
knew him by, and probably he was so called in their warrant. It was a name of
reproach given him, to darken the evidence of his being the Messiah. By this it
appears that they knew him not, whence he was; for, if they had known him,
surely they would not have persecuted him. [3.] He fairly answers them: I
am he. He did not improve the advantage he had against them by their
blindness, as Elisha did against the Syrians, telling them, This is not
the way, neither is this the city; but improves it as an opportunity
of showing his willingness to suffer. Though they called him Jesus of Nazareth,
he answered to the name, for he despised the reproach; he might have
said, I am not he, for he was Jesus of Bethlehem; but
he would by no means allow equivocations. He has hereby taught us to own him,
whatever it cost us; not to be ashamed of him or his words; but
even in difficult times to confess Christ crucified, and manfully to
fight under his banner. I am he, Egoµ eimi—I am he, is
the glorious name of the blessed God (Ex. 3:14), and the honour of that name is
justly challenged by the blessed Jesus. [4.] Particular notice is taken, in a
parenthesis, that Judas stood with them. He that used to stand
with those that followed Christ now stood with those that fought against him.
This describes an apostate; he is one that changes sides. He herds himself with
those with whom his heart always was, and with whom he shall have his lot in
the judgment-day. This is mentioned, First, To show the impudence
of Judas. One would wonder where he got the confidence with which he now faced
his Master, and was not ashamed, neither could he blush; Satan
in his heart gave him a whore's forehead. Secondly, To show
that Judas was particularly aimed at in the power which went along with that
word, I am he, to foil the aggressors. It was an arrow
levelled at the traitor's conscience, and pierced him to the quick; for
Christ's coming and his voice will be more terrible to apostates and betrayers
than to sinners of any other class.
2. See how he terrified them, and obliged them to retire (v. 6): They
went backward, and, like men thunder-struck, fell to the
ground. It should seem, they did not fall forward, as humbling
themselves before him, and yielding to him, but backward, as standing it out to
the utmost. Thus Christ was declared to be more than a man, even when he was
trampled upon as a worm, and no man. This word, I am
he, had revived his disciples, and raised them up (Mt. 14:27); but the
same word strikes his enemies down. Hereby he showed plainly,
(1.) What he could have done with them. When he struck them down, he could have
struck them dead; when he spoke them to the ground, he could
have spoken them to hell, and have sent them, like Korah's company, the next
way thither; but he would not do so, [1.] Because the hour of his suffering was
come, and he would not put it by; he would only show that his life was not
forced from him, but he laid it down of himself, as he had
said. [2.] Because he would give an instance of his patience and forbearance
with the worst of men, and his compassionate love to his very enemies. In
striking them down, and no more, he gave them both a call to repent and space
to repent; but their hearts were hardened, and all was in
vain.
(2.) What he will do at last with all his implacable enemies, that will
not repent to give him glory; they shall flee, they shall fall, before him. Now
the scripture was accomplished (Ps. 21:12), Thou shalt make them turn
their back, and Ps. 20:8. And it will be accomplished more and
more; with the breath of his mouth he will slay the wicked, 2
Th. 2:8; Rev. 19:21. Quid judicaturus faciet, qui judicandus hoc facit?—What
will he do when he shall come to judge, seeing he did this when he came to be
judged?—Augustine.
IV. Having given his enemies a repulse, he gives his friends a protection, and
that by his word too, v. 7-9, where we may observe,
1. How he continued to expose himself to their rage, v. 7. They did not lie
long where they fell, but, by divine permission, got up again; it is only in
the other world that God's judgments are everlasting. When they were down, one
would have thought Christ should have made his escape; when they were up again,
one would have thought they should have let fall their pursuit; but still we
find, (1.) They are as eager as ever to seize him. It is in some confusion and
disorder that they recover themselves; they cannot imagine what ailed them,
that they could not keep their ground, but will impute it to any thing rather
than Christ's power. Note, There are hearts so very hard in sin that nothing
will work upon them to reduce and reclaim them. (2.) He is as willing as ever
to be seized. When they were fallen before him, he did not insult over them,
but seeing them at a loss, asked them the same question, Whom seek you? And
they gave him the same answer, Jesus of Nazareth. In his
repeating the question, he seems to come yet closer to their consciences:
"Do you not know whom you seek? Are you not aware that
you are in error, and will you meddle with your match? Have you not had enough
of it, but will you try the other struggle? Did ever any harden his
heart against God and prosper?" In their repeating the same
answer, they showed an obstinacy in their wicked way; they still call him Jesus
of Nazareth, with as much disdain as ever, and Judas is as unrelenting
as any of them. Let us therefore fear lest, by a few bold
steps at first in a sinful way, our hearts be hardened.
2. How he contrived to secure his disciples from their rage. He improved this
advantage against them for the protection of his followers. When he shows his
courage with reference to himself, I have told you that I am he, he
shows his care for his disciples, Let these go their way. He
speaks this as a command to them, rather than a contract with them; for they
lay at his mercy, not he at theirs. He charges them therefore as one
having authority: "Let these go their way; it is at your peril if
you meddle with them" This aggravated the sin of the disciples in
forsaking him, and particularly Peter's in denying him, that Christ had given
them this pass, or warrant of protection, and yet they had not faith and
courage enough to rely upon it, but betook themselves to such base and sorry
shifts for their security. When Christ said, Let these go their way,he
intended,
(1.) To manifest his affectionate concern for his disciples. When he exposed
himself, he excused them, because they were not as yet fit to suffer; their
faith was weak, and their spirits were low, and it would have been as much as
their souls, and the lives of their souls, were worth, to bring them into
sufferings now. New wine must not be put into old
bottles. And, besides, they had other work to do; they must go their
way, for they are to go into all the world, to preach the gospel. Destroy
them not, for a blessing is in them. Now herein, [1.] Christ gives us
a great encouragement to follow him; for, though he has allotted us sufferings,
yet he considers our frame, will wisely time the cross, and proportion it to our
strength, and will deliver the godly out of temptation, either
from it, or through it. [2.] He gives us a good example of love to our brethren
and concern for their welfare. We must not consult our own ease and safety
only, but others, as well as our own, and in some cases more than our own.
There is a generous and heroic love, which will enable us to lay down
our lives for the brethren, 1 Jn. 3:16.
(2.) He intended to give a specimen of his undertaking as Mediator. When he
offered himself to suffer and die, it was that we might escape. He was
our antipsychos—a sufferer in our stead; when he
said, Lo, I come, he said also, Let these go their
way; like the ram offered instead of Isaac.
3. Now herein he confirmed the word which he had spoken a little before (ch.
17:12), Of those whom thou gavest me, I have lost none. Christ,
by fulfilling that word in this particular, gave an assurance that it should be
accomplished in the full extent of it, not only for those that were now with
him, but for all that should believe on him through their word. Though Christ's
keeping them was meant especially of the preservation of their souls from sin
and apostasy, yet it is here applied to the preservation of their natural
lives, and very fitly, for even the body was a part of Christ's charge and
care; he is to raise it up at the last day, and therefore to
preserve it as well as the spirit and soul, 1 Th. 5:23; 2 Tim.
4:17, 18. Christ will preserve the natural life for the service to which it is
designed; it is given to him to be used for him, and he will not lose the
service of it, but will be magnified in it, whether by life or death; it
shall be held in life as long as any use is to be made of it. Christ's
witnesses shall not die till they have given in their evidence. But this is not
all; this preservation of the disciples was, in the tendency of it, a spiritual
preservation. They were now so weak in faith and resolution that in all
probability, if they had been called out to suffer at this time, they would
have shamed themselves and their Master, and some of them, at least the weaker
of them, would have been lost; and therefore, that he might lose none, he
would not expose them. The safety and preservation of the saints are owing, not
only to the divine grace in proportioning the strength to the trial, but to the
divine providence in proportioning the trial to the strength.
V. Having provided for the safety of his disciples, he rebukes the rashness of
one of them, and represses the violence of his followers, as he had repulsed
the violence of his persecutors, v. 10, 11, where we have,
1. Peter's rashness. He had a sword; it is not likely that he wore one
constantly as a gentleman, but they had two swords among them all (Lu. 22:38),
and Peter, being entrusted with one, drew it; for now, if ever, he thought it
was his time to use it; and he smote one of the high priest's servants, who
was probably one of the forwardest, and aiming, it is likely, to cleave him
down the head, missed his blow, and only cut off his right ear. The
servant's name, for the greater certainty of the narrative, is
recorded; it was Malchus, or Malluch, Neh.
10:4.
(1.) We must here acknowledge Peter's good-will; he had an honest zeal for his
Master, though now misguided. He had lately promised to venture his life for
him, and would now make his words good. Probably it exasperated Peter to see
Judas at the head of this gang; his baseness excited Peter's boldness, and I
wonder that when he did draw his sword he did not aim at the traitor's head.
(2.) Yet we must acknowledge Peter's ill conduct; and, though his good
intention did excuse, yet it would not justify him. [1.] He had no warrant from
his Master for what he did. Christ's soldiers must wait the word of command,
and not outrun it; before they expose themselves to sufferings, they must see
to it, not only that their cause be good, but their call clear. [2.] He
transgressed the duty of his place, and resisted the powers that were, which
Christ had never countenanced, but forbidden (Mt. 5:39): that you resist
not evil [3.] He opposed his Master's sufferings, and, notwithstanding
the rebuke he had for it once, is ready to repeat, Master, spare
thyself; suffering be far from thee; though Christ
had told him that he must and would suffer, and that his hour was now come.
Thus, while he seemed to fight for Christ, he fought against him. [4.] He broke
the capitulation his Master had lately made with the enemy. When he said, Let
these go their way, he not only indented for their safety, but in
effect passed his word for their good behaviour, that they should go away
peaceably; this Peter heard, and yet would not be bound by it. As we may be
guilty of a sinful cowardice when we are called to appear, so we may be of a
sinful forwardness when we are called to retire. [5.] He foolishly exposed
himself and his fellow disciples to the fury of this enraged multitude. If he
had cut off Malchus's head when he cut off his ear, we may suppose the soldiers
would have fallen upon all the disciples, and have hewn them to pieces, and
would have represented Christ as not better than Barabbas. Thus many have been
guilty of self-destruction, in their zeal for self-preservation. [6.] Peter
played the coward so soon after this (denying his Master) that we have reason
to think he would not have done this but that he saw his Master cause them to
fall on the ground, and then he could deal with them; but, when he saw him
surrender himself notwithstanding, his courage failed him; whereas the true
Christian hero will appear in the cause of Christ, not only when it is
prevailing, but when it seems to be declining; will be on the right side,
though it be not the rising side.
(3.) We must acknowledge God's over-ruling providence in directing the stroke
(so that it should do no more execution, but only cut off his ear, which was
rather marking him than maiming him), as also in giving Christ an opportunity
to manifest his power and goodness in healing the hurt, Lu. 22:51. Thus what
was in danger of turning to Christ's reproach proved an occasion of that which
redounded much to his honour, even among his adversaries.
2. The rebuke his Master gave him (v. 11): Put up thy sword into the
sheath, or scabbard; it is a gentle reproof, because it was his zeal
that carried him beyond the bounds of discretion. Christ did not aggravate the
matter, only bade him do so no more. Many think their being in
grief and distress will excuse them if they be hot and hasty with those about
them; but Christ has here set us an example of meekness in sufferings. Peter
must put up his sword, for it was the sword of the Spirit that
was to be committed to him—weapons of warfare not carnal, yet mighty. When
Christ with a word felled the aggressors, he showed Peter how he should be
armed with a word, quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged
sword, and with that, not long after this, he laid Ananias and
Sapphira dead at his feet.
3. The reason for this rebuke: The cup which my Father has given me,
shall I not drink it? Matthew relates another reason which Christ gave
for this rebuke, but John preserves this, which he had omitted; in which Christ
gives us, (1.) A full proof of his own submission to his Father's will. Of all
that was amiss in what Peter did, he seems to resent nothing so much as that he
would have hindered his sufferings now that his hour was come: "What, Peter, wilt
thou step in between the cup and the lip? Get thee hence, Satan." If
Christ be determined to suffer and die, it is presumption for Peter in word or
deed to oppose it: Shall I not drink it? The manner of
expression bespeaks a settled resolution, and that he would not entertain a
thought to the contrary. He was willing to drink of this cup, though it was a
bitter cup, an infusion of the wormwood and the gall, the cup of trembling, a
bloody cup, the dregs of the cup of the Lord's wrath, Isa.
51:22. He drank it, that he might put into our hands the cup of salvation, the
cup of consolation, the cup of blessing; and therefore he is
willing to drink it, because his Father put it into his hand. If
his Father will have it so, it is for the best, and be it so. (2.) A fair
pattern to us of submission to God's will in every thing that concerns us. We
must pledge Christ in the cup that he drank of (Mt. 20:23),
and must argue ourselves into a compliance. [1.] It is but a cup; a
small matter comparatively, be it what it will. It is not a sea, a red sea, a
dead sea, for it is not hell; it is light, and but for a moment. [2.] It is a
cup that is given us; sufferings are gifts. [3.] It is given us by a Father,
who has a Father's authority, and does us no wrong; a Father's affection, and
means us no hurt.
VI. Having entirely reconciled himself to the dispensation, he calmly
surrendered, and yielded himself a prisoner, not because he could not have made
his escape, but because he would not. One would have thought the cure of
Malchus's ear should have made them relent, but nothing would win upon
them. Maledictus furor, quem nec majestast miraculi nec pietas
beneficii confringere potuit—Accursed rage, which the grandeur of the
miracle could not appease, nor the tenderness of the favour conciliate.—Anselm.
Observe here,
1. How they seized him: They took Jesus. Only some few of them
could lay hands on him, but it is charged upon them all, for they were all
aiding and abetting. In treason there are not accessaries; all are principals.
Now the scripture was fulfilled, Bulls have compassed me (Ps.
22:12), compassed me like bees, Ps. 118:12. The breath
of our nostrils is taken in their pit, Lam. 4:20. They had so often
been frustrated in their attempts to seize him that now, having got him into
their hands, we may suppose they flew upon him with so much the more violence.
2. How they secured him: They bound him. This particular of
his sufferings is taken notice of only by this evangelist, that, as soon as
ever he was taken, he was bound, pinioned, handcuffed; tradition says,
"They bound him with such cruelty that the blood started out at his
fingers' ends; and, having bound his hands behind him, they clapped an iron
chain about his neck, and with that dragged him along." See Gerhard.
Harm. cap. 5.
(1.) This shows the spite of his persecutors. They bound him, [1.] That they
might torment him, and put him in pain, as they bound Samson to afflict him.
[2.] That they might disgrace him, and put him to shame; slaves were bound, so
was Christ, though free-born. [3.] That they might prevent his escape, Judas
having told them to hold him fast. See their folly, that they should think to
fetter that power which had but just now proved itself omnipotent. [4.] They
bound him as one already condemned, for they were resolved to prosecute him to
the death, and that he should die as a fool dieth, that is, as a malefactor,
with his hands bound, 2 Sa. 3:33, 34. Christ had bound the consciences of his
persecutors with the power of his word, which galled them; and, to be revenged
on him, they laid these bonds on him.
(2.) Christ's being bound was very significant; in this as in other things
there was a mystery. [1.] Before they bound him, he had bound himself by his
own undertaking to the work and office of a Mediator. He was already bound to
the horns of the altar with the cords of his own love to man, and duty to his
Father, else their cords would not have held him. [2.] We were bound
with the cords of our iniquities (Prov. 5:22), with the yoke
of our transgressions, Lam. 1:14. Guilt is a bond on the soul, by
which we are bound over to the judgment of God; corruption is a bond on the
soul, by which we are bound under the power of Satan. Christ, being made sin
for us, to free us from those bonds, himself submitted to be bound for us, else
we had been bound hand and foot, and reserved in chains of darkness. To his
bonds we owe our liberty; his confinement was our enlargement; thus the Son
maketh us free. [3.] The types and prophecies of the Old Testament were herein
accomplished. Isaac was bound, that he might be sacrificed; Joseph was bound,
and the irons entered into his soul, in order to his being
brought from prison to reign, Ps. 105:18, etc. Samson was bound in order to his
slaying more of the Philistines at his death than he had done in his life. And
the Messiah was prophesied of as a prisoner, Isa. 53:8. [4.] Christ was bound,
that he might bind us to duty and obedience. His bonds for us are bonds upon
us, by which we are for ever obliged to love him and serve him. Paul's
salutation to his friends is Christ's to us all: "Remember my
bonds (Col. 4:18), remember them as bound with him from all sin, and
to all duty." [5.] Christ's bonds for us were designed to make our bonds
for him easy to us, if at any time we be so called out to suffer for him, to
sanctify and sweeten them, and put honour upon them; these enabled Paul and
Silas to sing in the stocks, and Ignatius to call his bonds for Christ spiritual
pearls.—Epist. ad Ephes.
Verses 13-27
We have here an account of Christ's arraignment before the high priest, and
some circumstances that occurred therein which were omitted by the other
evangelists; and Peter's denying him, which the other evangelists had given the
story of entire by itself, is interwoven with the other passages. The crime
laid to his charge having relation to religion, the judges of the spiritual
court took it to fall directly under their cognizance. Both Jews and Gentiles
seized him, and so both Jews and Gentiles tried and condemned him, for he died
for the sins of both. Let us go over the story in order.
I. Having seized him, they led him away to Annas first, before
they brought him to the court that was sat, expecting him, in the house of
Caiaphas, v. 13. 1. They led him away, led him in triumph, as
a trophy of their victory; led him as a lamb to the slaughter, and
they led him through the sheep-gate spoken of Neh. 3:1. For through that they
went from the mount of Olives into Jerusalem. They hurried him away with
violence, as if he had been the worst and vilest of malefactors. We had been
led away of our own impetuous lusts, and led captive by Satan at his will, and,
that we might be rescued, Christ was led away, led captive by Satan's agents
and instruments. 2. They led him away to their masters that sent them. It was
now about midnight, and one would think they should have put him in ward (Lev.
24:12), should have led him to some prison, till it was a proper time to call a
court; but he is hurried away immediately, not to the justices of peace, to be
committed, but to the judges to be condemned; so extremely violent was the
prosecution, partly because they feared a rescue, which they would thus not
only leave no time for, but give a terror to; partly because they greedily
thirsted after Christ's blood, as the eagle that hasteth to the prey. 3.
They led him to Annas first. Probably his house lay in the way, and was
convenient for them to call at to refresh themselves, and, as some think, to be
paid for their service. I suppose Annas was old and infirm, and could not be
present in council with the rest at that time of night, and yet earnestly
desired to see the prey. To gratify him therefore with the assurance of their
success, that the old man might sleep the better, and to receive his blessing
for it, they produce their prisoner before him. It is sad to see those that are
old and sickly, when they cannot commit sin as formerly, taking pleasure in
those that do. Dr. Lightfoot thinks Annas was not present, because he had to
attend early that morning in the temple, to examine the sacrifices which were
that day to be offered, whether they were without blemish; if so, there was a
significancy in it, that Christ, the great sacrifice, was presented to him, and
sent away bound, as approved and ready for the altar. 4. This Annas was
father-in-law to Caiaphas the high priest; this kindred by marriage between
them comes in as a reason either why Caiaphas ordered that this piece of
respect should be done to Annas, to favour him with the first sight of the
prisoner, or why Annas was willing to countenance Caiaphas in a matter his
heart was so much upon. Note, Acquaintance and alliance with wicked people are
a great confirmation to many in their wicked ways.
II. Annas did not long detain them, being as willing as any of them to have the
prosecution pushed on, and therefore sent him bound to Caiaphas, to his house,
which was appointed for the rendezvous of the sanhedrim upon this occasion, or
to the usual place in the temple where the high priest kept his court; this is
mentioned, v. 24. But our translators intimate in the margin that it should
come in here, and, accordingly, read it there, Annas had sent him. Observe
here,
1. The power of Caiaphas intimated (v. 13). He was high priest that
same year. The high priest's commission was during life; but there
were now such frequent changes, by the Simoniacal artifices of aspiring men
with the government, that it was become almost an annual office, a presage of
its final period approaching; while they were undermining one another. God was
overturning them all, that he might come whose right it was. Caiaphas was high
priest that same year when Messiah was to be cut off, which intimates, (1.)
That when a bad thing was to be done by a high priest, according to the
foreknowledge of God, Providence so ordered it that a bad man should be in the
chair to do it. (2.) That, when God would make it to appear what corruption
there was in the heart of a bad man, he put him into a place of power, where he
had temptation and opportunity to exert it. It was the ruin of Caiaphas that he
was high priest that year, and so became a ringleader in the putting of Christ
to death. Many a man's advancement has lost him his reputation, and he had not
been dishonoured if he had not been preferred.
2. The malice of Caiaphas, which is intimated (v. 14) by the repeating of what
he had said some time before, that, right or wrong, guilty or innocent, it
was expedient that one man should die for the people, which refers to
the story ch. 11:50. This comes in here to show, (1.) What a bad man he was;
this was that Caiaphas that governed himself and the church by rules of policy,
in defiance of the rules of equity. (2.) What ill usage Christ was likely to
meet with in his court, when his case was adjudged before it was heard, and
they were already resolved what to do with him; he must die; so
that his trial was a jest. Thus the enemies of Christ's gospel are resolved,
true or false, to run it down. (3.) It is a testimony to the innocency of our
Lord Jesus, from the mouth of one of his worst enemies, who owned that he fell
a sacrifice to the public good, and that it was not just he should die,
but expedient only.
3. The concurrence of Annas in the prosecution of Christ. He made himself a
partaker in guilt, (1.) With the captain and officers, that without law or
mercy had bound him; for he approved it by continuing him bound when he should
have loosed him, he not being convicted of any crime, nor having attempted an
escape. If we do not what we can to undo what others have ill done, we are
accessaries ex post facto—after the fact. It was more
excusable in the rude soldiers to bind him than in Annas, who should have known
better, to continue him bound. (2.) With the chief priest and council that
condemned him, and prosecuted him to death. This Annas was not present with
them, yet thus he wished them good speed, and became a partaker
of their evil deeds.
III. In the house of Caiaphas, Simon Peter began to deny his Master, v. 15-18.
1. It was with much ado that Peter got into the hall where the court was
sitting, an account of which we have v. 15, 16. Here we may observe,
(1.) Peter's kindness to Christ, which (though it proved no kindness) appeared in
two things:—[1.] That he followed Jesuswhen he was led
away; though at first he fled with the rest, yet afterwards he took
heart a little, and followed at some distance, calling to mind the promises he
had made to adhere to him, whatever it should cost him. Those that had followed
Christ in the midst of his honours, and shared with him in those honours, when
the people cried Hosanna to him, ought to have followed him now in the midst of
his reproaches, and to have shared with him in these. Those that truly love and
value Christ will follow him all weathers and all ways. [2.] When he could not
get in where Jesus was in the midst of his enemies, he stood at the
door without, willing to be as near him as he could, and waiting for
an opportunity to get nearer. Thus when we meet with opposition in following
Christ we must show our good-will. But yet this kindness of Peter's was no
kindness, because he had not strength and courage enough to persevere in it,
and so, as it proved, he did but run himself into a snare: and even his
following Christ, considering all things, was to be blamed, because Christ, who
knew him better than he knew himself, had expressly told him (ch. 13:36), Whither
I go thou canst not follow me now, and had told him again and again
that he would deny him; and he had lately had experience of his own weakness in
forsaking him. Note, We must take heed of tempting God by running upon
difficulties beyond our strength, and venturing too far in a way of suffering.
If our call be clear to expose ourselves, we may hope that God will enable us
to honour him; but, if it be not, we may fear that God will leave us to shame
ourselves.
(2.) The other disciple's kindness to Peter, which yet, as it proved, was no
kindness neither. St. John several times in this gospel speaking of himself as
another disciple, many interpreters have been led by this to fancy that this
other disciple here was John; and many conjectures they have how he should come
to be known to the high-priest; propter generis nobilitatem—being of
superior birth, saith Jerome, Epitaph. Marcel., as if
he were a better gentleman born than his brother James, when they were both the
sons of Zebedee the fisherman; some will tell you that he had sold his estate
to the high priest, others that he supplied his family with fish, both which
are very improbable. But I see no reason to think that this other disciple was
John, or one of the twelve; other sheep Christ had, which were not of the fold;
and this might be, as the Syriac read it, unus ex discipulis aliis—one
of those other disciples that believe in Christ, but resided at
Jerusalem, and kept their places there; perhaps Joseph of Arimathea, or
Nicodemus, known to the high priest, but not known to him to be disciples of
Christ. Note, As there are many who seem disciples and are not so, so there are
many who are disciples and seem not so. There are good people hid in courts,
even in Nero's, as well as hid in crowds. We must not conclude a man to be no
friend to Christ merely because he has acquaintance and conversation with those
that were his known enemies. Now, [1.] This other disciple, whoever he was,
showed a respect to Peter, in introducing him, not only to gratify his
curiosity and affection, but to give him an opportunity of being serviceable to
his Master upon his trial, if there were occasion. Those that have a real
kindness for Christ and his ways, though their temper may be reserved and their
circumstances may lead them to be cautious and retired, yet, if their faith be
sincere, they will discover, when they are called to it, which way their
inclination lies, by being ready to do a professed disciple a good turn. Peter
perhaps had formerly introduced this disciple into conversation with Christ,
and now he requites his kindness, and is not ashamed to own him, though, it
should seem, he had at this time but a poor downcast appearance. [2.] But this
kindness proved no kindness, nay a great diskindness; by letting him into the
high priest's hall, he let him into temptation, and the consequence was bad.
Note, The courtesies of our friends often prove a snare to us, through a
misguided affection.
2. Peter, having got in, was immediately assaulted with the temptation, and
foiled by it, v. 17. Observe here,
(1.) How slight the attack was. It was but a silly maid, of so small account
that she was set to keep the door, that challenged him, and she only asked him
carelessly, Art not thou one of this man's disciples? probably
suspecting it by his sheepish look, and coming in timorously. We should many a
time better maintain a good cause if we had a good heart on it, and
could put a good face on it. Peter would have had some reason
to take the alarm if Malchus had set upon him, and had said, "This is he
that cut off my ear, and I will have his head for it;" but when a maid
only asked him, Art not thou one of them? he might without
danger have answered, And what if I am? Suppose the servants
had ridiculed him, and insulted over him, upon it, those can bear but little
for Christ that cannot bear this; this is but running
with the footmen.
(2.) How speedy the surrender was. Without taking time to recollect himself, he
suddenly answered, I am not. If he had had the boldness of the
lion, he would have said, "It is my honour that I am so;" or, if he
had had the wisdom of the serpent, he would have kept silence at this time, for
it was an evil time. But, all his care being for his own safety, he thought he
could not secure this but by a peremptory denial: I am not; he
not only denies it, but even disdains it, and scorns her words.
(3.) Yet he goes further into the temptation: And the servants and
officers stood there, and Peter with them v. 18.
[1.] See how the servants made much of themselves; the night being cold, they
made a fire in the hall, not for their masters (they were so eager in
persecuting Christ that they forgot cold), but for themselves to refresh
themselves. They cared not what became of Christ; all their care was to sit and
warm themselves, Amos 6:6.
[2.] See how Peter herded himself with them, and made one among them. He
sat and warmed himself. First, It was a fault bad enough that he did
not attend his Master, and appear for him at the upper end of the hall, where
he was now under examination. He might have been a witness for him, and have
confronted the false witnesses that swore against him, if his Master had called
him; at least, he might have been a witness to him, might have taken an exact
notice of what passed, that he might relate it to the other disciples, who
could none of them get in to hear the trial; he might have learned by his
Master's example how to carry himself when it should come to his turn to suffer
thus; yet neither his conscience nor his curiosity could bring him into the
court, but he sits by, as if, like Gallio, he cared for none of these things.
And yet at the same time we have reason to think his heart was as full of grief
and concern as it could hold, but he had not the courage to own it. Lord,
lead us not into temptation. Secondly, It was much worse that he
joined himself with those that were his Master's enemies: He stood with
them, and warmed himself; this was a poor excuse for joining with
them. A little thing will draw those into bad company that will be drawn to it
by the love of a good fire. If Peter's zeal for his Master had not frozen, but
had continued in the heat it seemed to be of but a few hours before, he had not
had occasion to warm himself now. Peter was much to be blamed, 1. Because he
associated with these wicked men, and kept company with them. Doubtless they were
diverting themselves with this night's expedition, scoffing at Christ, at what
he had said, at what he had done, and triumphing in their victory over him; and
what sort of entertainment would this give to Peter? If he said as they said,
or by silence gave consent, he involved himself in sin; if not, he exposed
himself to danger. If Peter had not so much courage as to appear publicly for
his Master, yet he might have had so much devotion as to retire into a corner,
and weep in secret for his Master's sufferings, and his own sin in forsaking
him; if he could not have done good, he might have kept out of the way of doing
hurt. It is better to abscond than appear to no purpose, or bad purpose. 2.
Because he desired to be thought one of them, that he might
not be suspected to be a disciple of Christ. Is this Peter? What a
contradiction is this to the prayer of every good man, Gather not my
soul with sinners! Saul among the prophets is not so absurd as David
among the Philistines. Those that deprecate the lot of the scornful hereafter
should dread the seat of the scornful now. It is ill warming
ourselves with those with whom we are in danger of burning ourselves, Ps.
141:4.
IV. Peter, Christ's friend, having begun to deny him, the high priest, his
enemy, begins to accuse him, or rather urges him to accuse himself, v. 19-21.
It should seem, the first attempt was to prove him a seducer, and a teacher of
false doctrine, which this evangelist relates; and, when they failed in the
proof of this, then they charged him with blasphemy, which is related by the
other evangelists, and therefore omitted here. Observe,
1. The articles or heads upon which Christ was examined (v. 19):
concerning his disciples and his doctrine. Observe,
(1.) The irregularity of the process; it was against all law and equity. They
seize him as a criminal, and now that he is their prisoner they have nothing
to lay to his charge; no libel, no prosecutor; but the judge
himself must be the prosecutor, and the prisoner himself the witness, and,
against all reason and justice, he is put on to be his own accuser.
(2.) The intention. The high priest then (oun—therefore, which
seems to refer to v. 14), because he had resolved that Christ must be
sacrificed to their private malice under colour of the public good, examined
him upon those interrogatories which would touch his life. He examined him,
[1.] Concerning his disciples, that he might charge him with sedition, and
represent him as dangerous to the Roman government, as well as to the Jewish
church. He asked him who were his disciples—what number they were—of what
country—what were their names and characters, insinuating that his scholars
were designed for soldiers, and would in time become a formidable body. Some
think his question concerning his disciples was, "What is now become of
them all? Where are they? Why do they not appear?" upbraiding him with
their cowardice in deserting him, and thus adding to the affliction of it.
There was something significant in this, that Christ's calling and owning his disciples
was the first thing laid to his charge, for it was for their sakes that
he sanctified himself and suffered. [2.] Concerning his
doctrine, that they might charge him with heresy, and bring him under the
penalty of the law against false prophets, Deu. 13:9, 10. This was a matter
properly cognizable in that court (Deu. 17:12), therefore a prophet could not
perish but at Jerusalem, where that court sat. They could not prove any false
doctrine upon him; but they hoped to extort something from him which they might
distort to his prejudice, and to make him an offender for some word or other,
Isa. 29:21. They said nothing to him concerning his miracles, by which he had
done so much good, and proved his doctrine beyond contradiction, because of
these they were sure they could take no hold. Thus the adversaries of Christ
while they are industriously quarrelling with his truth, willfully shut their
eyes against the evidences of it, and take no notice of them.
2. The appeal Christ made, in answer to these interrogatories. (1.) As to his
disciples, he said nothing, because it was an impertinent question; if his
doctrine was sound and good, his having disciples to whom to communicate it was
no more than what was practised and allowed by their own doctors. If Caiaphas,
in asking him concerning his disciples, designed to ensnare them, and bring
them into trouble, it was in kindness to them that Christ said nothing of them,
for he had said, Let these go their way. If he meant to
upbraid him with their cowardice, no wonder that he said nothing, for
Rudet haec opprobria nobis,
Et dici potuisse, et non potuisse refelli—
Shame attaches when charges are exhibited
that
cannot be refuted:
he would say nothing to condemn them, and could say nothing to justify them.
(2.) As to his doctrine, he said nothing in particular, but in general referred
himself to those that heard him, being not only made manifest to God, but made
manifest also in their consciences, v. 20, 21.
[1.] He tacitly charges his judges with illegal proceedings. He does not indeed
speak evil of the rulers of the people, nor say now to these princes, You
are wicked; but he appeals to the settled rules of their own court,
whether they dealt fairly by him. Do you indeed judge righteously? Ps.
58:1. So here, Why ask you me? Which implies two absurdities
in judgment: First, "Why ask you me now concerning my
doctrine, when you have already condemned it?" They had made an order of
court for excommunicating all that owned him (ch. 9:22), had issued out a
proclamation for apprehending him; and now they come to ask what his doctrine
is! Thus was he condemned, as his doctrine and cause commonly are,
unheard. Secondly, "Why ask you me? Must I accuse myself,
when you have no evidence against me?"
[2.] He insists upon his fair and open dealing with them in the publication of
his doctrine, and justifies himself with this. The crime which the sanhedrim by
the law was to enquire after was the clandestine spreading of dangerous
doctrines, enticing secretly, Deu. 13:6. As to this, therefore, Christ clears
himself very fully. First, As to the manner of his preaching.
He spoke openly, parreµsia—with freedom and plainness of speech; he
did not deliver things ambiguously, as Apollo did his oracles. Those that would
undermine the truth, and spread corrupt notions, seek to accomplish their
purpose by sly insinuation, putting queries, starting difficulties, and
asserting nothing; but Christ explained himself fully, with, Verily,
verily, I say unto you; his reproofs were free and bold, and his
testimonies express against the corruptions of the age. Secondly, As
to the persons he preached to: He spoke to the world, to all
that had ears to hear, and were willing to hear him, high or
low, learned or unlearned, Jew or Gentile, friend or foe. His doctrine feared
not the censure of a mixed multitude; nor did he grudge the knowledge of it to
any (as the masters of some rare invention commonly do), but freely
communicated it, as the sun does his beams. Thirdly, As to the
places he preached in. When he was in the country, he preached ordinarily in
the synagogues—the places of meeting for worship, and on the sabbath-day-the
time of meeting; when he came up to Jerusalem, he preached the same doctrine in
the temple at the time of the solemn feasts, when the Jews from all parts
assembled there; and though he often preached in private houses, and on
mountains, and by the sea-side, to show that his word and worship were not to
be confined to temples and synagogues, yet what he preached in private was the
very same with what he delivered publicly. Note, The doctrine of Christ, purely
and plainly preached, needs not be ashamed to appear in the most numerous
assembly, for it carries its own strength and beauty along with it. What Christ's
faithful ministers say they would be willing all the world should hear. Wisdom
cries in the places of concourse, Prov. 1:21; 8:3; 9:3. Fourthly, As
to the doctrine itself. He said nothing in secret contrary to
what he said in public, but only by way of repetition and explication: In
secret have I said nothing; as if he had been either suspicious of the
truth of it, or conscious of any ill design in it. He sought no corners, for he
feared no colours, nor said any thing that he needed to be ashamed of; what he
did speak in private to his disciples he ordered them to proclaim on the
house-tops, Mt. 10:27. God saith of himself (Isa. 45:19), I have not
spoken in secret; his commandment is not hidden, Deu. 30:11. And the
righteousness of faith speaks in like manner, Rom. 10:6. Veritas nihil
metuit nisi abscondi—truth fears nothing but concealment.—Tertullian.
[3.] He appeals to those that had heard him, and desires that they might be
examined what doctrine he had preached, and whether it had that dangerous
tendency that was surmised: "Ask those that heard me what I said
unto them; some of them may be in court, or may be sent for out of
their beds." He means not his friends and followers, who might be presumed
to speak in his favour, but, Ask any impartial hearer; ask your own officers.
Some think he pointed to them, when he said, Behold, they know what I
said, referring to the report which they had made of his preaching
(ch. 7:46), Never man spoke like this man. Nay, you may ask
some upon the bench; for it is probable that some of them had heard him, and
had been put to silence by him. Note, The doctrine of Christ may safely appeal
to all that know it, and has so much right and reason on its side that those
who will judge impartially cannot but witness to it.
V. While the judges were examining him, the servants that stood by were abusing
him, v. 22, 23.
1. It was a base affront which one of the officers gave him; though he spoke
with so much calmness and convincing evidence, this insolent fellow struck
him with the palm of his hand, probably on the side of his head or
face, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so? as if he had
behaved himself rudely to the court.
(1.) He struck him, edoµke rhapisma—he gave him a
blow. Some think it signifies a blow with a rod or wand, from rhabdos,
or with the staff which was the badge of his office. Now the scripture was
fulfilled (Isa. 50:6), I gave my cheeks,eis rhapismata (so the
Septuagint) to blows, the word here used. And Mic. 5:1, They
shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek; and the
type answered (Job 16:10), They have smitten me upon the cheek
reproachfully. It was unjust to strike one that neither said nor did
amiss; it was insolent for a mean servant to strike one that was confessedly a
person of account; it was cowardly to strike one that had his hands tied; and
barbarous to strike a prisoner at the bar. Here was a breach of the peace in
the face of the court, and yet the judges countenanced it. Confusion of face
was our due; but Christ here took it to himself: "Upon me be the curse,
the shame."
(2.) He checked him in a haughty imperious manner: Answerest thou the
high priest so? As if the blessed Jesus were not good enough to speak
to his master, or not wise enough to know how to speak to him, but, like a rude
and ignorant prisoner, must be controlled by the jailor, and taught how to
behave. Some of the ancients suggest that this officer was Malchus, who owed to
Christ the healing of his ear, and the saving of his head, and yet made him
this ill return. But, whoever it was, it was done to please the high priest,
and to curry favour with him; for what he said implied a jealousy for the
dignity of the high priest. Wicked rulers will not want wicked servants, who
will help forward the affliction of those whom their masters
persecute. There was a successor of this high priest that commanded the
bystanders to smite Paul thus on the mouth, Acts 23:2. Some
think this officer took himself to be affronted by Christ's appeal to those
about him concerning his doctrine, as if he would have vouched him to be a
witness; and perhaps he was one of those officers that had spoken honourably of
him (ch. 7:46), and, lest he should now be thought a secret friend to him, he
thus appears a bitter enemy.
2. Christ bore this affront with wonderful meekness and patience (v. 23): "If
I have spoken evil, in what I have now said, bear witness of
the evil. Observe it to the court, and let them judge of it, who are
the proper judges; but if well, and as it did become me, why smitest thou
me?" Christ could have answered him with a miracle of wrath,
could have struck him dumb or dead, or have withered the hand that was lifted
up against him. But this was the day of his patience and suffering, and he
answered him with the meekness of wisdom, to teach us not to
avenge ourselves, not to render railing for railing, but with
the innocency of the dove to bear injuries, even when with
the wisdom of the serpent, as our Saviour, we show the
injustice of them, and appeal to the magistrate concerning them. Christ did not
here turn the other cheek, by which it appears that that rule,
Mt. 5:39, is not to be understood literally; a man may possibly turn
the other cheek, and yet have his heart full of malice; but, comparing
Christ's precept with his pattern, we learn, (1.) That in such cases we must
not be our own avengers, nor judges in our own cause. We must rather receive
than give the second blow, which makes the quarrel; we are allowed to defend
ourselves, but not to avenge ourselves: the magistrate (if it be necessary for
the preserving of the public peace, and the restraining and terrifying of
evil-doers) is to be the avenger, Rom. 13:4. (2.) Our resentment of injuries
done us must always be rational, and never passionate; such Christ's here was; when
he suffered, he reasoned, but threatened not. He
fairly expostulated with him that did him the injury, and so may we. (3.) When
we are called out to suffering, we must accommodate ourselves to
the inconveniences of a suffering state, with patience, and by one indignity
done us be prepared to receive another, and to make the best of it.
VI. While the servants were thus abusing him, Peter was proceeding to deny him,
v. 25-27. It is a sad story, and none of the least of Christ's sufferings.
1. He repeated the sin the second time, v. 25. While he was warming himself
with the servants, as one of them, they asked him, Art not thou one of
his disciples? What dost thou here among us? He, perhaps, hearing that
Christ was examined about his disciples, and fearing he should be seized, or at
least smitten, as his Master was, if he should own it, flatly denied it, and
said, I am not.
(1.) It was his great folly to thrust himself into the temptation, by
continuing in the company of those that were unsuitable for him, and that he
had nothing to do with. He staid to warm himself; but those that warm
themselves with evil doers grow cold towards good people and good things, and
those that are fond of the devil's fire-side are in danger of the devil's fire.
Peter might have stood by his Master at the bar, and have warmed himself better
than here, at the fire of his Master's love, which many waters could
not quench, Cant. 8:6, 7. He might there have warmed himself with zeal
for his Master, and indignation at his persecutors; but he chose rather to warm
with them than to warm against them. But how could one (one disciple) be warm
alone? Eccl. 4:11.
(2.) It was his great unhappiness that he was again assaulted by the
temptation; and no other could be expected, for this was a place, this an hour,
of temptation. When the judge asked Christ about his disciples, probably the
servants took the hint, and challenged Peter for one of them, "Answer to
thy name." See here, [1.] The subtlety of the tempter in running down one
whom he saw falling, and mustering a greater force against him; not a maid now,
but all the servants. Note, Yielding to one temptation invites another, and
perhaps a stronger. Satan redoubles his attacks when we give ground. [2.] The
danger of bad company. We commonly study to approve ourselves to those with
whom we choose to associate; we value ourselves upon their good word and covet
to stand right in their opinion. As we choose our people we choose our praise,
and govern ourselves accordingly; we are therefore concerned to make the first
choice well, and not to mingle with those whom we cannot please without
displeasing God.
(3.) It was his great weakness, nay, it was his great wickedness, to yield to
the temptation, and to say, I am not one of his disciples, as
one ashamed of that which was his honour, and afraid of suffering for it, which
would have been yet more his honour. See how the fear of man brings a
snare. When Christ was admired, and caressed, and treated with
respect, Peter pleased himself, and perhaps prided himself, in this, that he
was a disciple of Christ, and so put in for a share in the honours done to his
Master. Thus many who seem fond of the reputation of religion when it is in
fashion are ashamed of the reproach of it; but we must take it for
better and worse.
2. He repeated the sin the third time, v. 26, 27. Here he was attacked by one
of the servants, who was kinsman to Malchus, who, when he heard Peter deny
himself to be a disciple of Christ, gave him the lie with great
assurance: "Did not I see thee in the garden with him? Witness
my kinsman's ear." Peter then denied again, as if he knew nothing of
Christ, nothing of the garden, nothing of all this matter.
(1.) This third assault of the temptation was more close than the former:
before his relation to Christ was only suspected, here it is proved upon him by
one that saw him with Jesus, and saw him draw his sword in his defence. Note,
Those who by sin think to help themselves out of trouble do but entangle and
embarrass themselves the more. Dare to be brave, for truth will out. A
bird of the air may perhaps tell the matter which we
seek to conceal with a lie. Notice is taken of this servant's being akin to
Malchus, because this circumstance would make it the more a terror to Peter.
"Now," thinks he, "I am gone, my business is done, there needs
no other witness nor prosecutor." We should not make any man in particular
our enemy if we can help it, because the time may come when either he or some
of his relations may have us at their mercy. He that may need a friend should
not make a foe. But observe, though here was sufficient evidence against Peter,
and sufficient provocation given by his denial to have prosecuted him, yet he
escapes, has no harm done him nor attempted to be done. Note, We are often
drawn into sin by groundless causeless fears, which there is no occasion for,
and which a small degree of wisdom and resolution would make nothing of.
(2.) His yielding to it was no less base than the former: He denied
again. See here, [1.] The nature of sin in general: the heart
is hardened by the deceitfulness of it, Heb. 3:13. It was a strange
degree of effrontery that Peter had arrived to on a sudden, that he could with
such assurance stand in a lie against so clear a disproof; but the
beginning of sin is as the letting forth of water, when once the fence
is broken men easily go from bad to worse. [2.] Of the sin of lying in
particular; it is a fruitful sin, and upon this account exceedingly
sinful: one lie needs another to support it, and that another. It is a
rule in the devil's politics Male facta male factis tegere, ne
perpluant—To cover sin with sin, in order to escape detection.
(3.) The hint given him for the awakening of his conscience was seasonable and
happy: Immediately the cock crew; and this is all that is here
said of his repentance, it being recorded by the other evangelists. This
brought him to himself, by bringing to his mind the words of Christ. See here,
[1.] The care Christ has of those that are his, notwithstanding their follies;
though they fall, they are not utterly cast down, not utterly
cast off. [2.] The advantage of having faithful remembrancers near us, who,
though they cannot tell us more than we know already, yet may remind us of that
which we know, but have forgotten. The crowing of the cock to others was an
accidental thing, and had not significancy; but to Peter it was the voice of
God, and had a blessed tendency to awaken his conscience, by putting him in
mind of the word of Christ.
Verses 28-40
We have here an account of Christ's arraignment before Pilate, the Roman
governor, in the praetorium (a Latin word made Greek), the
praetor's house, or hall of judgment; thither they hurried
him, to get him condemned in the Roman court, and executed by the Roman power.
Being resolved on his death, they took this course, 1. That he might be put to
death the more legally and regularly, according to the present constitution of
their government, since they became a province of the empire; not stoned in a
popular tumult, as Stephen, but put to death with the present formalities of
justice. Thus he was treated as a malefactor, being made sin for us. 2.
That he might be put to death the more safely. If they could engage the Roman
government in the matter, which the people stood in awe of, there would be
little danger of an uproar. 3. That he might be put to death with more reproach
to himself. The death of the cross, which the Romans commonly
used, being of all deaths the most ignominious, they were desirous by it to put
an indelible mark of infamy upon him, and so to sink his reputation for ever.
This therefore they harped upon, Crucify him. 4. That he might
be put to death with less reproach to them. It was an invidious thing to put
one to death that had done so much good in the world, and therefore they were
willing to throw the odium upon the Roman government, to make that the less
acceptable to the people, and save themselves from the reproach. Thus many are
more afraid of the scandal of a bad action than of the sin of it. See Acts
5:28. Two things are here observed concerning the prosecution:—(1.) Their
policy and industry in the prosecution: It was early; some
think about two or three in the morning, others about five or six, when most
people were in their beds; and so there would be the less danger of opposition
from the people that were for Christ; while, at the same time, they had their
agents about, to call those together whom they could influence to cry out
against him. See how much their heart was upon it, and how violent they were in
the prosecution. Now that they had him in their hands, they would lose no time
till they had him upon the cross, but denied themselves their natural rest, to
push on this matter. See Mic. 2:1. (2.) Their superstition and vile
hypocrisy: The chief priests and elders, though they came
along with the prisoner, that the thing might be done effectually, went
not into the judgment-hall, because it was the house of an
uncircumcised Gentile, lest they should be defiled, but kept
out of doors, that they might eat the passover, not the
paschal lamb (that was eaten the night before) but the passover-feast, upon the
sacrifices which were offered on the fifteenth day, the Chagigah, as
they called it, the passover-bullocks spoken of Deu. 16:2; 2 Chr. 30:24; 35:8,
9. These they were to eat of, and therefore would not go into the court, for
fear of touching a Gentile, and thereby contracting, not a legal, but only a
traditional pollution. This they scrupled, but made no scruple of breaking
through all the laws of equity to persecute Christ to the death. They
strained at a gnat, and swallowed a camel. Let us now see what passed
at the judgment-hall. Here is,
I. Pilate's conference with the prosecutors. They were called first, and stated
what they had to say against the prisoner, as was very fit, v. 29-32.
1. The judge calls for the indictment. Because they would not come into the
hall, he went out to them into the court before the house, to
talk with them. Looking upon Pilate as a magistrate, that we may give every one
his due, here are three things commendable in him:—(1.) His diligent and close
application to business. If it had been upon a good occasion, it had been very
well that he was willing to be called up early to the judgment-seat. Men in
public trusts must not love their ease. (2.) His condescending to the humour of
the people, and receding from the honour of his place to gratify their
scruples. He might have said, "If they be so nice as not to come in to me,
let them go home as they came;" by the same rule as we might say, "If
the complainant scruple to take off his hat to the magistrate, let not his
complaint be heard;" but Pilate insists not upon it, bears with them, and
goes out to them; for, when it is for good, we should become all things
to all men. (3.) His adherence to the rule of justice, in demanding
the accusation, suspecting the prosecution to be malicious: "What
accusation bring you against this man?" What is the crime you
charge him with, and what proof have you of it? It was a law of nature, before
Valerius Publicola made it a Roman law, Ne quis indicta causa
condemnetur—No man should be condemned unheard. See Acts 25:16, 17. It
is unreasonable to commit a man, without alleging some cause in the warrant,
and much more to arraign a man when there is no bill of indictment found
against him.
2. The prosecutors demand judgment against him upon a general surmise that he
was a criminal, not alleging, much less proving, any thing in particular worthy
of death or of bonds (v. 30): If he were not a malefactor, or
evildoer, we would not have delivered him to thee to be
condemned. This bespeaks them, (1.) Very rude and uncivil to Pilate, a company
of ill-natured men, that affected to despise dominion. When Pilate was so
complaisant to them as to come out to treat with them, yet they were to the
highest degree out of humour with him. He put the most reasonable question to
them that could be; but, if it had been the most absurd, they could not have
answered him with more disdain. (2.) Very spiteful and malicious towards our
Lord Jesus: right or wrong, they will have him to be a malefactor, and treated
as one. We are to presume a man innocent till he is proved guilty, but they
will presume him guilty who could prove himself innocent. They cannot say,
"He is a traitor, a murderer, a felon, a breaker of the peace," but
they say, "He is an evil-doer." He an evil-doer who went
about doing good! Let those be called whom he had cured, and fed, and
taught; whom he has rescued from devils, and raised from death; and let them be
asked whether he be an evil-doer or no. Note, It is no new thing for the best
of benefactors to be branded and run down as the worst of malefactors. (3.)
Very proud and conceited of themselves, and their own judgment and justice, as
if their delivering a man up, under the general character of a malefactor, were
sufficient for the civil magistrate to ground a judicial sentence upon, than
which what could be more haughty?
3. The judge remands him to their own court (v. 31): "Take you
him, and judge him according to your own law, and do
not trouble me with him." Now, (1.) Some think Pilate herein complimented
them, acknowledging the remains of their power, and allowing them to exert it.
Corporal punishment they might inflict, as scourging in their synagogues; whether
capital or no is uncertain. "But," saith Pilate, "go as far as
your law will allow you, and, if you go further, it shall be connived at."
This he said, willing to do the Jews a pleasure, but unwilling to do them the
service they required. (2.) Others think he bantered them, and upbraided them
with their present state of weakness and subjection. They would be the sole
judges of the guilt. "Pray," saith Pilate, "if you will be so,
go on as you have begun; you have found him guilty by your own law, condemn
him, if you dare, by your own law, to carry on the humour." Nothing is
more absurd, nor more deserves to be exposed, than for those to pretend to
dictate, and boast of their wisdom, who are weak and in subordinate stations,
and whose lot it is to be dictated to. Some think Pilate here reflects upon the
law of Moses, as if it allowed them what the Roman law would by no means
allow—the judging of a man unheard. "It may be your law will suffer such a
thing, but ours will not." Thus, through their corruptions, the law of God
was blasphemed; and so is his gospel too.
4. They disown any authority as judges, and (since it must be so) are content
to be prosecutors. They now grow less insolent and more submissive, and
own, "It is not lawful for us to put any man to death, whatever
less punishment we may inflict, and this is a malefactor whom we would have the
blood of."
(1.) Some think they had lost their power to give judgment in matters of life
and death only by their own carelessness, and cowardly yielding to the darling
iniquities of the age; so Dr. Lightfoot ouk exesti—It is not in
our power to pass sentence of death upon any, if we do, we
shall have the mob about us immediately.
(2.) Others think their power was taken from them by the Romans, because they
had not used it well, or because it was thought too great a trust to be lodged
in the hands of a conquered and yet an unsubdued people. Their acknowledgement
of this they designed for a compliment to Pilate, and to atone for their
rudeness (v. 30), but it amounts to a full evidence that the sceptre
was departed from Judah, and therefore that now the Messiah was come,
Gen. 49:10. If the Jews have no power to put any man to death, where
is the sceptre? Yet they ask not, Where is the Shiloh?
(3.) However, there was a providence in it, that either they should have not
power to put any man to death, or should decline the exercise of it upon this
occasion, That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spoke,
signifying what death he should die, v. 32. Observe, [1.] In general,
that even those who designed the defeating of Christ's sayings were, beyond
their intention, made serviceable to the fulfilling of them by an overruling
hand of God. No word of Christ shall fall to the ground; he
can never either deceive or be deceived. Even the chief priests, while
they persecuted him as a deceiver, had their spirit so
directed as to help to prove him true, when we should think that by taking
other measures they might have defeated his predictions. Howbeit, they
meant not so, Isa. 10:7. [2.] Those sayings of Christ in particular
were fulfilled which he had spoken concerning his own death. Two sayings of
Christ concerning his death were fulfilled, by the Jews declining to judge
him according to their law. First, He had said that he should be delivered
to the Gentiles,and that they should put him to death (Mt.
20:19; Mk. 10:33; Lu. 18:32, 33), and hereby that saying was fulfilled. Secondly, He
had said that he should be crucified (Mt. 20:19; 26:2), lifted up, ch.
3:14; 12:32. Now, if they had judged him by their law, he had
been stoned; burning, strangling, and beheading, were in some cases used among
the Jews, but never crucifying. It was therefore necessary that Christ should
be put to death by the Romans, that, being hanged upon a tree, he
might be made a curse for us (Gal. 3:13), and his
hands and feet might be pierced. As the Roman power
had brought him to be born at Bethlehem, so now to die upon a cross, and both
according to the scriptures. It is likewise determined concerning us, though
not discovered to us, what death we shall die, which should
free us from all disquieting cares about that matter. "Lord, what, and
when, and how thou hast appointed."
II. Here is Pilate's conference with the prisoner, v. 33, etc., where we have,
1. The prisoner set to the bar. Pilate, after he had conferred with the chief
priests at his door, entered into the hall, and called for Jesus to be brought
in. He would not examine him in the crowd, where he might be disturbed by the
noise, but ordered him to be brought into the hall; for he
made no difficulty of going in among the Gentiles. We by sin were become liable
to the judgment of God, and were to be brought before his bar; therefore Christ,
being made sin and a curse for us,was arraigned as a criminal. Pilate
entered into judgment with him, that God might not enter into judgment with us.
2. His examination. The other evangelists tell us that his accusers had laid it
to his charge that he perverted the nation, forbidding to give tribute
to Caesar, and upon this he is examined.
(1.) Here is a question put to him, with a design to ensnare him and to find
out something upon which to ground an accusation: "Art thou the
king of the Jews? ho basileus—that king of the Jews who
has been so much talked of and so long expected—Messiah the prince, art thou
he? Dost thou pretend to be he? Dost thou call thyself, and wouldest thou be
thought so?" For he was far from imagining that really he was so, or
making a question of that. Some think Pilate asked this with an air of scorn
and contempt: "What! art thou a king, who makest so mean
a figure? Art thou the king of the Jews, by whom thou art thus
hated and persecuted? Art thou king de jure—of right, while
the emperor is only king de facto—in fact?" Since it
could not be proved he ever said it, he would constrain him to say it now, that
he might proceed upon his own confession.
(2.) Christ answers this question with another; not for evasion, but as an
intimation to Pilate to consider what he did, and upon what grounds he went (v.
34): "Sayest thou this thing of thyself, from a suspicion
arising in thy own breast, or did others tell it thee of me, and
dost thou ask it only to oblige them?" [1.] "It is plain that thou
hast no reason to say this of thyself." Pilate was bound
by his office to take care of the interests of the Roman government, but he
could not say that this was in any danger, or suffered any damage, from any
thing our Lord Jesus had ever said or done. He never appeared in worldly pomp,
never assumed any secular power, never acted as a judge or divider; never were
any traitorous principles or practices objected to him, nor any thing that
might give the least shadow of suspicion. [2.] "If others tell it
thee of me, to incense thee against me, thou oughtest to consider who
they are, and upon what principles they go, and whether those who represent me
as an enemy to Caesar are not really such themselves, and
therefore use this only as a pretence to cover their malice, for, if so, the
matter ought to be well weighed by a judge that would do justice." Nay, if
Pilate had been as inquisitive as he ought to have been in this matter, he
would have found that the true reason why the chief priests were outrageous
against Jesus was because he did not set up a temporal kingdom in opposition to
the Roman power; if he would have done this, and would have wrought miracles to
bring the Jews out of the Roman bondage, as Moses did to bring them out of the
Egyptian, they would have been so far from siding with the Romans against him
that they would have made him their king, and have fought under him against the
Romans; but, not answering this expectation of theirs, they charged that upon
him of which they were themselves most notoriously guilty-disaffection to and
design against the present government; and was such an information as this fit
to be countenanced?
(3.) Pilate resents Christ's answer, and takes it very ill, v. 35. This is a
direct answer to Christ's question, v. 34. [1.] Christ had asked him whether he
spoke of himself. "No," says he; "am I a Jew, that
thou suspectest me to be in the plot against thee? I know nothing of the
Messiah, nor desire to know, and therefore interest not myself in the dispute
who is the Messiah and who not; the dispute who is the Messiah and who not; it
is all alike to me." Observe with what disdain Pilate asks, Am I a
Jew? The Jews were, upon many accounts, an honourable people; but,
having corrupted the covenant of their God, he made them contemptible
and base before all the people (Mal. 2:8, 9), so that a man of sense
and honour reckoned it a scandal to be counted a Jew. Thus good names often
suffer for the sake of the bad men that wear them. It is sad that when a Turk
is suspected of dishonesty he should ask, "What! do you take me for a
Christian?" [2.] Christ had asked him whether others told him.
"Yes," says he, "and those thine own people, who,
one would think would be biased in favour of thee, and the priests, whose
testimony, in verbum sacerdotis—on the word of a priest, ought
to be regarded; and therefore I have nothing to do but to proceed upon their
information." Thus Christ, in his religion, still suffers by those that
are of his own nation, even the priests, that profess relation to him, but do
not live up to their profession. [3.] Christ had declined answering that
question, Art thou the king of the Jews? And therefore Pilate
puts another question to him more general, "What hast thou done? What
provocation hast thou given to thy own nation, and particularly the priests, to
be so violent against thee? Surely there cannot be all this smoke without some
fire, what is it?"
(4.) Christ, in his next reply, gives a more full and direct answer to Pilate's
former question, Art thou a king? explaining in what sense he
was a king, but not such a king as was any ways dangerous to the Roman
government, not a secular king, for his interest was not supported by secular
methods, v. 36. Observe,
[1.] An account of the nature and constitution of Christ's kingdom: It is
not of this world. It is expressed negatively to rectify the present
mistakes concerning it; but the positive is implied, it is the kingdom
of heaven, and belongs to another world. Christ is a king, and has a
kingdom, but not of this world. First Its rise is not from
this world; the kingdoms of men arise out of the sea and the earth (Dan.
7:3; Rev. 13:1, 11); but the holy city comes from God out of heaven, Rev.
22:2. His kingdom is not by succession, election, or conquest, but by the
immediate and special designation of the divine will and counsel. Secondly, Its
nature is not worldly; it is a kingdom within men (Lu. 16:21), set up in their
hearts and consciences (Rom. 14:17), its riches spiritual, its powers
spiritual, and all its glory within. The ministers of state in
Christ's kingdom have not the spirit of the world, 1 Co.
2:12. Thirdly, Its guards and supports are not worldly; its
weapons are spiritual. It neither needed nor used secular force to maintain and
advance it, nor was it carried on in a way hurtful to kings or
provinces; it did not in the least interfere with the prerogatives of
princes nor the property of their subjects; it tended not to alter any national
establishment in secular things, nor opposed any kingdom but that of sin and
Satan. Fourthly, Its tendency and design are not worldly.
Christ neither aimed nor would allow his disciples to aim at the pomp and power
of the great men of the earth. Fifthly, Its subjects, though
they are in the world, yet are not of the world; they are
called and chosen out of the world, are born from, and bound for,
another world; they are neither the world's pupils nor its darlings, neither
governed by its wisdom nor enriched with its wealth.
[2.] An evidence of the spiritual nature of Christ's kingdom produced. If he
had designed an opposition to the government, he would have fought them at
their own weapons, and would have repelled force with force of the same nature;
but he did not take this course: If my kingdom were of this world, then
would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews, and
my kingdom be ruined by them. But, First, His followers did
not offer to fight; there was no uproar, no attempt to rescue him, though the
town was now full of Galileans, his friends and countrymen, and they were
generally armed; but the peaceable behaviour of his disciples on this occasion
was enough to put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. Secondly, He
did not order them to fight; nay, he forbade them, which was an evidence both
that he did not depend upon worldly aids (for he could have summoned legions
of angels into his service, which showed that his kingdom was
from above), and also that he did not dread worldly opposition, for he was
very willing to be delivered to the Jews, as knowing that what
would have been the destruction of any worldly kingdom would be the advancement
and establishment of his; justly therefore does he conclude, Now you
may see my kingdom is not from hence; in the world but not of
it.
(5.) In answer to Pilate's further query, he replies yet more directly, v. 37,
where we have, [1.] Pilate's plain question: "Art thou a king
then? Thou speakest of a kingdom thou hast; art thou then, in any
sense, a king? And what colour hast thou for such a claim? Explain
thyself." [2.] The good confession which our Lord Jesus witnessed before
Pontius Pilate, in answer to this (1 Tim. 6:13): Thou sayest that I am
a king, that is, It is as thou sayest, I am a king; for I came
to bear witness of the truth. First, He grants himself to be a king, though
not in the sense that Pilate meant. The Messiah was expected under the
character of a king, Messiah the prince; and therefore, having
owned to Caiaphas that he was the Christ, he would not disown to Pilate that he
was king, lest he should seem inconsistent with himself. Note, Though
Christ took upon him the form of a servant, yet even then he
justly claimed the honour and authority of a king. Secondly,He
explains himself, and shows how he is a king, as he came to bear
witness of the truth; he rules in the minds of men by the power of
truth. If he had meant to declare himself a temporal prince, he would have
said, For this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the
world, to rule the nations, to conquer kings, and to take possession
of kingdoms; no, he came to be a witness, a witness for the
God that made the world, and against sin that ruins the world, and by
this word of his testimony he sets up, and keeps up, his
kingdom. It was foretold that he should be a witness to the people,and,
as such, a leader and commander to the people, Isa. 55:4.
Christ's kingdom was not of this world, in which truth faileth (Isa.
59:15, Qui nescit dissimulare, nescit regnare—He that cannot dissemble
knows not how to reign), but of that world in which truth reigns eternally.
Christ's errand into the world, and his business in the world, were to
bear witness to the truth. 1. To reveal it, to discover to the world
that which otherwise could not have been known concerning God and his will
and good-will to men, ch. 1:18; 17:26. 2. To confirm it, Rom.
15:8. By his miracles he bore witness to the truth of
religion, the truth of divine revelation, and of God's perfections and
providence, and the truth of his promise and covenant, that all men
through him might believe. Now by doing this he is a king, and sets up
a kingdom. (1.) The foundation and power, the spirit and genius, of Christ's
kingdom, is truth, divine truth. When he said, I am the truth, he
said, in effect, I am a king. He conquers by the convincing evidence of truth;
he rules by the commanding power of truth, and in his majesty rides
prosperously, because of truth, Ps. 45:4. It is with his truth that he
shall judge the people, Ps. 96:13. It is the sceptre of his kingdom; he draws
with the cords of a man, with truth revealed to us, and received by us
in the love of it; and thus he brings thoughts into
obedience. He came a light into the world, and rules
as the sun by day. (2.) The subjects of this kingdom are those that are of
the truth. All that by the grace of God are rescued from under the
power of the father of lies, and are disposed to receive the
truth and submit to the power and influence of it, will hear Christ's voice,
will become his subjects, and will bear faith and true allegiance to him. Every
one that has any real sense of true religion will entertain the Christian
religion, and they belong to his kingdom; by the power of truth he makes them
willing, Ps. 90:3. All that are in love with truth will hear the voice of
Christ, for greater, better, surer, sweeter truths can nowhere be found than
are found in Christ, by whom grace and truth came; so that,
by hearing Christ's voice, we know that we are of the
truth, 1 Jn. 3:19.
(6.) Pilate, hereupon, puts a good question to him, but does not stay for an
answer, v. 38. He said, What is truth? and immediately
went out again.
[1.] It is certain that this was a good question, and could not be put to one
that was better able to answer it. Truth is that pearl of great price which
the human understanding has a desire for and is in quest of; for it cannot rest
but in that which is, or at least is apprehended to be, truth. When we search
the scriptures, and attend the ministry of the word, it must be with
this enquiry, What is truth? and with this prayer, Lead
me in thy truth, into all truth. But many put this question that have
not patience and constancy enough to persevere in their search after truth, or
not humility and sincerity enough to receive it when they have found it, 2 Tim.
3:7. Thus many deal with their own consciences; they ask them those needful
questions, "What am I?" "What have I done?" but will not
take time for an answer.
[2.] It is uncertain with what design Pilate asked this question. First, Perhaps
he spoke it as a learner, as one that began to think well of Christ, and to
look upon him with some respect, and desired to be informed what new notions he
advanced and what improvements he pretended to in religion and learning. But
while he desired to hear some new truth from him, as Herod to see some miracle,
the clamour and outrage of the priests' mob at his gate obliged him abruptly to
let fall the discourse. Secondly, Some think he spoke it as a
judge, enquiring further into the cause now brought before him: "Let me
into this mystery, and tell me what the truth of it is, the true state of this
matter." Thirdly, Others think he spoke it as a scoffer,
in a jeering way: "Thou talkest of truth; canst thou tell what truth is,
or give me a definition of it?" Thus he makes a jest of the everlasting
gospel, that great truth which the chief priests hated and persecuted, and
which Christ was now witnessing to and suffering for; and like men of no
religion, who take a pleasure in bantering all religions, he ridicules both
sides; and therefore Christ made him no reply. Answer not a fool
according to his folly; cast not pearls before swine. But, though
Christ would not tell Pilate what is truth, he has told his disciples, and by
them has told us, ch. 14:6.
III. The result of both these conferences with the prosecutors and the prisoner
(v. 38-40), in two things:—
1. The judge appeared his friend, and favourable to him, for,
(1.) He publicly declared him innocent, v. 38. Upon the whole matter, I
find in him no fault at all. He supposes there might be some
controversy in religion between him and them, wherein he was as likely to be in
the right as they; but nothing criminal appears against him. This solemn
declaration of Christ's innocency was, [1.] For the justification and honour of
the Lord Jesus. By this it appears that though he was treated as the worst of
malefactors he had never merited such treatment. [2.] For explaining the design
and intention of his death, that he did not die for any sin of his own, even in
the judgement of the judge himself, and therefore he died as a sacrifice for
our sins, and that, even in the judgment of the prosecutors themselves, one
man should die for the people, ch. 11:50. This is he that did
no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth (Isa. 53:9), who was
to be cut off, but not for himself, Dan. 9:26. [3.] For
aggravating the sin of the Jews that prosecuted him with so much violence. If a
prisoner has had a fair trial, and has been acquitted by those that are proper
judges of the crime, especially if there be no cause to suspect them partial in
his favour, he must be believed innocent, and his accusers are bound to
acquiesce. But our Lord Jesus, though brought in not guilty, is still run down
as a malefactor, and his blood thirsted for.
(2.) He proposed an expedient for his discharge (v. 39): You have a
custom, that I should release to you a prisoner at the passover; shall
it be this king of the Jews? He proposed this, not to the chief priests (he
knew they would never agree to it), but to the multitude; it was an appeal to
the people, as appears, Mt. 27:15. Probably he had heard how this Jesus had
been attended but the other day with the hosannas of the common people; he
therefore looked upon him to be the darling of the multitude, and the envy only
of the rulers, and therefore he made no doubt but they would demand the release
of Jesus, and this would stop the mouth of the prosecutors, and all would be
well. [1.] He allows their custom, for which, perhaps, they had had a long
prescription, in honour of the passover, which was a memorial of their release.
But it was adding to God's words, as if he had not instituted enough for the
due commemoration of that deliverance, and, though an act of mercy, might be
injustice to the public, Prov. 17:15. [2.] He offers to release Jesus to them, according
to the custom. If Pilate had had the honesty and courage that became a judge,
he would not have named an innocent person to be competitor with a notorious
criminal for this favour; if he found no fault in him, he was
bound in conscience to discharge him. But he was willing to trim the matter,
and please all sides, being governed more by worldly wisdom than by the rules
of equity.
2. The people appeared his enemies, and implacable against him (v. 40): They
cried all again and again, Not this man,let not him be
released, but Barabbas. Observe, (1.) How fierce and
outrageous they were. Pilate proposed the thing to them calmly, as worthy their
mature consideration, but they resolved it in a heat, and gave in their
resolution with clamour and noise, and in the utmost confusion. Note, The
enemies of Christ's holy religion cry it down, and so hope to run it down;
witness the outcry at Ephesus, Acts 19:34. But those who think the worse of
things or persons merely for their being thus exclaimed against have a very
small share of constancy and consideration. Nay, there is cause to suspect a
deficiency of reason and justice on that side which calls in the assistance of
popular tumult. (2.) How foolish and absurd they were, as is intimated in the
short account here given of the other candidate: Now Barabbas was a
robber, and therefore, [1.] A breaker of the law of God; and yet he
shall be spared, rather than one who reproved the pride, avarice, and tyranny
of the priests and elders. Though Barabbas be a robber, he will not rob them of
Moses's seat, nor of their traditions, and then no matter. [2.] He was an enemy
to the public safety and personal property. The clamour of the town is wont to
be against robbers (Job 30:5, Men cried after them as after a thief),
yet here it is for one. Thus those do who prefer their sins before Christ. Sin
is a robber, every base lust is a robber, and yet foolishly chosen rather than
Christ, who would truly enrich us.
John 19 NLT
1 Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a
lead-tipped whip.
2 The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and
put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him.
3 “Hail! King of the Jews!” they mocked,
as they slapped him across the face.
4 Pilate went outside again and said to
the people, “I am going to bring him out to you now, but understand clearly
that I find him not guilty.”
5 Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of
thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said, “Look, here is the man!”
6 When they saw him, the leading priests
and Temple guards began shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” “Take him
yourselves and crucify him,” Pilate said. “I find him not guilty.”
7 The Jewish leaders replied, “By our law
he ought to die because he called himself the Son of God.”
8 When Pilate heard this, he was more
frightened than ever.
9 He took Jesus back into the headquarters
again and asked him, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave no answer.
10 “Why don’t you talk to me?” Pilate
demanded. “Don’t you realize that I have the power to release you or crucify
you?”
11 Then Jesus said, “You would have no
power over me at all unless it were given to you from above. So the one who
handed me over to you has the greater sin.”
12 Then Pilate tried to release him, but
the Jewish leaders shouted, “If you release this man, you are no ‘friend of
Caesar.’ Anyone who declares himself a king is a rebel against Caesar.”
13 When they said this, Pilate brought
Jesus out to them again. Then Pilate sat down on the judgment seat on the
platform that is called the Stone Pavement (in Hebrew, ).
14 It was now about noon on the day of
preparation for the Passover. And Pilate said to the people, “Look, here is
your king!”
15 “Away with him,” they yelled. “Away with
him! Crucify him!” “What? Crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king
but Caesar,” the leading priests shouted back.
16 Then Pilate turned Jesus over to them to
be crucified. The Crucifixion So they took Jesus away.
17 Carrying the cross by himself, he went
to the place called Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, ).
18 There they nailed him to the cross. Two
others were crucified with him, one on either side, with Jesus between
them.
19 And Pilate posted a sign on the cross
that read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”
20 The place where Jesus was crucified was
near the city, and the sign was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, so that
many people could read it.
21 Then the leading priests objected and
said to Pilate, “Change it from ‘The King of the Jews’ to ‘He said, I am King
of the Jews.’”
22 Pilate replied, “No, what I have
written, I have written.”
23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus,
they divided his clothes among the four of them. They also took his robe, but
it was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.
24So they said, “Rather than tearing it apart,
let’s throw dice for it.” This fulfilled the Scripture that says, “They divided
my garments among themselves and threw dice for my clothing.” So that is what
they did.
25 Standing near the cross were Jesus’
mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary
Magdalene.
26 When Jesus saw his mother standing there
beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your
son.”
27 And he said to this disciple, “Here is
your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home.
28 Jesus knew that his mission was now
finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.”
29 A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so
they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his
lips.
30 When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It
is finished!” Then he bowed his head and released his spirit.
31 It was the day of preparation, and the
Jewish leaders didn’t want the bodies hanging there the next day, which was the
Sabbath (and a very special Sabbath, because it was the Passover). So they
asked Pilate to hasten their deaths by ordering that their legs be broken. Then
their bodies could be taken down.
32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs
of the two men crucified with Jesus.
33 But when they came to Jesus, they saw
that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs.
34One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side
with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out.
35 (This report is from an eyewitness
giving an accurate account. He speaks the truth so that you also may continue
to believe. )
36 These things happened in fulfillment of
the Scriptures that say, “Not one of his bones will be broken,”
37 and “They will look on the one they
pierced.”
38 Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had
been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked
Pilate for permission to take down Jesus’ body. When Pilate gave permission,
Joseph came and took the body away.
39 With him came Nicodemus, the man who had
come to Jesus at night. He brought about seventy-five pounds of perfumed
ointment made from myrrh and aloes.
40 Following Jewish burial custom, they
wrapped Jesus’ body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth.
41 The place of crucifixion was near a
garden, where there was a new tomb, never used before.
42 And so, because it was the day of
preparation for the Jewish Passover and since the tomb was close at hand, they
laid Jesus there.
John 19 Bible
Commentary
Matthew Henry Bible
Commentary (complete)
<<
John 18 | John
19 | John
20 >>
(Read all of John 19)
Complete Concise
Though in the history hitherto this evangelist seems industriously to have
declined the recording of such passages as had been related by the other
evangelists, yet, when he comes to the sufferings and death of Christ, instead
of passing them over, as one ashamed of his Master's chain and cross, and
looking upon them as the blemishes of his story, he repeats what had been
before related, with considerable enlargements, as one that desired to know
nothing but Christ and him crucified, to glory in nothing save in the cross of
Christ. In the story of this chapter we have, I. he remainder of Christ's trial
before Pilate, which was tumultuous and confused (v. 1-15). II. Sentence given,
and execution done upon it (v. 16-18). III. The title over his head (v. 19-22).
IV. The parting of his garment (v. 23, 24). V. The care he took of his mother
(v. 25-27). VI. The giving him vinegar to drink (v. 28, 29). VII. His dying
word (v. 30). VIII. The piercing of his side (v. 31-37). IX. The burial of his
body (v. 38-42). O that in meditating on these things we may experimentally
know the power of Christ's death, and the fellowship of his sufferings!
Verses 1-15
Here is a further account of the unfair trial which they gave to our Lord
Jesus. The prosecutors carrying it on with great confusion among the people,
and the judge with great confusion in his own breast, between both the
narrative is such as is not easily reduced to method; we must therefore take
the parts of it as they lie.
I. The judge abuses the prisoner, though he declares him innocent, and hopes
therewith to pacify the prosecutors; wherein his intention, if indeed it was
good, will by no means justify his proceedings, which were palpably unjust.
1. He ordered him to be whipped as a criminal, v. 1. Pilate, seeing
the people so outrageous, and being disappointed in his project of releasing
him upon the people's choice, took Jesus, and scourged him, that
is, appointed the lictors that attended him to do it. Bede is of opinion that
Pilate scourged Jesus himself with his own hands, because it is said, He
took him and scourged him, that it might be done favourably. Matthew
and Mark mention his scourging after his condemnation, but here it appears to
have been before. Luke speaks of Pilate's offering to chastise him, and
let him go,which must be before sentence. This scourging of him was
designed only to pacify the Jews, and in it Pilate put a compliment upon them,
that he would take their word against his own sentiments so far. The Roman
scourgings were ordinarily very severe, not limited, as among the Jews,
to forty stripes; yet this pain and shame Christ submitted to
for our sakes. (1.) That the scripture might be fulfilled, which
spoke of his being stricken, smitten, and afflicted, and the
chastisement of our peace being upon him (Isa. 53:5),
of his giving his back to the smiters (Isa. 50:6), of the ploughers ploughing
upon his back, Ps. 129:3. He himself likewise had foretold it, Mt. 20:19; Mk.
10:34; Lu. 18:33. (2.) That by his stripes we might be healed, 1
Pt. 2:4. We deserved to have been chastised with whips and scorpions, and beaten
with many stripes, having known our Lord's will and not done it; but
Christ underwent the stripes for us, bearing the rod of his Father's wrath,
Lam. 3:1. Pilate's design in scourging him was that he might not be condemned,
which did not take effect, but intimated what was God's design, that his being
scourged might prevent our being condemned, we having fellowship in his
sufferings, and this did take effect: the physician scourged, and so the
patient healed. (3.) That stripes, for his sake, might be sanctified and made
easy to his followers; and they might, as they did, rejoice in that shame (Acts
5:41; 16:22, 25), as Paul did, who was in stripes above measure, 2
Co. 11:23. Christ's stripes take out the sting of theirs, and alter the
property of them. We are chastened of the Lord, that we may not be
condemned with the world, 1 Co. 11:32.
2. He turned him over to his soldiers, to be ridiculed and made sport with as a
fool (v. 2, 3): The soldiers, who were the governor's
life-guard, put a crown of thorns upon his head; such a crown
they thought fittest for such a king; they put on him a purple robe, some
old threadbare coat of that colour, which they thought good enough to be the
badge of his royalty; and they complemented him with, Hail, king of the
Jews (like people like king), and then smote him with their
hands.
(1.) See here the baseness and injustice of Pilate, that he would suffer one
whom he believed an innocent person, and if so an excellent person, to be thus
abused and trampled on by his own servants. Those who are under the arrest of
the law ought to be under the protection of it; and their being secured is to
be their security. But Pilate did this, [1.] To oblige his soldiers' merry
humour, and perhaps his own too, notwithstanding the gravity one might have
expected in a judge. Herod, as well as his men of war, had
just before done the same, Lu. 23:11. It was as good as a stage-play to them,
now that it was a festival time; as the Philistines made sport with Samson.
[2.] To oblige the Jews' malicious humour, and to gratify them, who desired
that all possible disgrace might be done to Christ, and the utmost indignities
put upon him.
(2.) See here the rudeness and insolence of the soldiers, how perfectly lost
they were to all justice and humanity, who could thus triumph over a man in
misery, and one that had been in reputation for wisdom and honour, and never
did any thing to forfeit it. But thus hath Christ's holy religion been basely
misrepresented, dressed up by bad men at their pleasure, and so exposed to
contempt and ridicule, as Christ was here. [1.] They clothe him with a
mock-robe, as if it were a sham and a jest, and nothing but the product of a
heated fancy and a crazed imagination. And as Christ is here represented as a
king in conceit only, so is his religion as a concern in conceit only, and God
and the soul, sin and duty, heaven and hell, are with many all chimeras. [2.]
They crown him with thorns; as if the religion of Christ were a perfect
penance, and the greatest pain and hardship in the world; as if to submit to
the control of God and conscience were to thrust one's head into a thicket of
thorns; but this is an unjust imputation; thorns and snares are in the
way of the froward,but roses and laurels in religion's ways.
(3.) See here the wonderful condescension of our Lord Jesus in his sufferings
for us. Great and generous minds can bear any thing better than ignominy, any
toil, any pain, any loss, rather than reproach; yet this the great and holy
Jesus submitted to for us. See and admire, [1.] The invincible patience of a
sufferer, leaving us an example of contentment and courage, evenness, and
easiness of spirit, under the greatest hardships we may meet with in the way of
duty. [2.] The invincible love and kindness of a Saviour, who not only
cheerfuly and resolutely went through all this, but voluntarily undertook it
for us and for our salvation. Herein he commended his love, that he would not
only die for us, but die as a fool dies. First, He endured
the pain; not the pangs of death only, though in the death of the
cross these were most exquisite; but, as if these were too little, he submitted
to those previous pains. Shall we complain of a thorn in the flesh, and of
being buffeted by affliction, because we need it to hide pride from us, when
Christ humbled himself to bear those thorns in the head, and those buffetings,
to save and teach us? 2 Co. 12:7. Secondly, He despised
the shame, the shame of a fool's coat, and the mock-respect paid him,
with, Hail, king of the Jews. If we be at any time ridiculed
for well-doing, let us not be ashamed, but glorify God, for thus we are
partakers of Christ's sufferings. He that bore these sham honours was
recompensed with real honours, and so shall we, if we patiently suffer shame
for him.
II. Pilate, having thus abused the prisoner, presents him to the prosecutors,
in hope that they would now be satisfied, and drop the prosecution, v. 4, 5.
Here he proposes two things to their consideration:—
1. That he had not found any thing in him which made him obnoxious to the Roman
government (v. 4): I find no fault in him; oudemian aitian
heuriskoµ—I do not find in him the least fault, or cause
of accusation. Upon further enquiry, he repeats the declaration he had
made, ch. 18:38. Hereby he condemns himself; if he found no fault in him, why
did he scourge him, why did he suffer him to be abused? None ought to suffer
ill but those that do ill; yet thus many banter and abuse religion, who yet, if
they be serious, cannot but own they find no fault in it. If he found no fault
in him, why did he bring him out to his prosecutors, and not immediately
release him, as he ought to have done? If Pilate had consulted his own
conscience only, he would neither have scourged Christ nor crucified him; but,
thinking to trim the matter, to please the people by scourging Christ, and save
his conscience by not crucifying him, behold he does both; whereas, if he had
at first resolved to crucify him, he need not have scourged him. It is common
for those who think to keep themselves from greater sins by venturing upon less
sins to run into both.
2. That he had done that to him which would make him the less dangerous to them
and to their government, v. 5. He brought him out to them, wearing the crown of
thorns, his head and face all bloody, and said, "Behold the man whom
you are so jealous of," intimating that though his having been so popular
might have given them some cause to fear that his interest in the country would
lessen theirs, yet he had taken an effectual course to prevent it, by treating
him as a slave, and exposing him to contempt, after which he supposed the
people would never look upon him with any respect, nor could he ever retrieve
his reputation again. Little did Pilate think with what veneration even these
sufferings of Christ would in after ages be commemorated by the best and
greatest of men, who would glory in that cross and those stripes which he
thought would have been to him and his followers a perpetual and indelible
reproach. (1.) Observe here our Lord Jesus shows himself dressed up in all the
marks of ignominy. He came forth, willing to be made a spectacle, and to be
hooted at, as no doubt he was when he came forth in this garb, knowing that he
was set for a sign that should be spoken against, Lu. 2:34.
Did he go forth thus bearing our reproach? Let us go forth to him bearing
his reproach, Heb. 13:13. (2.) How Pilate shows him: Pilate
saith unto them, Behold the man. He saith unto them: so the original
is; and, the immediate antecedent being Jesus, I see no
inconvenience in supposing these to be Christ's own words; he said, "Behold
the man against whom you are so exasperated." But some of the
Greek copies, and the generality of the translators, supply it as we do, Pilate
saith unto them, with a design to appease them, Behold the man; not
so much to move their pity, Behold a man worthy your compassion, as to silence
their jealousies, Behold a man not worthy your suspicion, a man from whom you
can henceforth fear no danger; his crown is profaned, and cast to the
ground, and now all mankind will make a jest of him. The word however
is very affecting: Behold the man. It is good for every one of
us, with an eye of faith, to behold the man Christ Jesus in his
sufferings. Behold this king with the crown wherewith his mother
crowned him, the crown of thorns, Cant. 3:11. "Behold him, and be
suitably affected with the sight. Behold him, and mourn because of him. Behold
him, and love him; be still looking unto Jesus."
III. The prosecutors, instead of being pacified, were but the more exasperated,
v. 6, 7.
1. Observe here their clamour and outrage. The chief priests, who
headed the mob, cried out with fury and indignation, and their
officers, or servants, who must say as they said, joined with them in
crying, Crucify him, crucify him. The common people perhaps
would have acquiesced in Pilate's declaration of his innocency, but their
leaders, the priests, caused them to err. Now by this it
appears that their malice against Christ was, (1.) Unreasonable and most
absurd, in that they offer not to make good their charges against him, nor to
object against the judgment of Pilate concerning him; but, though he be
innocent, he must be crucified. (2.) It was insatiable and very cruel. Neither
the extremity of his scourging, nor his patience under it, nor the tender
expostulations of the judge, could mollify them in the least; no, nor could the
jest into which Pilate had turned the cause, put them into a pleasant humour.
(3.) It was violent and exceedingly resolute; they will have it their own way,
and hazard the governor's favour, the peace of the city, and their own safety,
rather than abate of the utmost of their demands. Were they so violent in
running down our Lord Jesus, and in crying, Crucify him, crucify him? and
shall not we be vigorous and zealous in advancing his name, and in
crying, Crown him, Crown him? Did their hatred of him sharpen
their endeavours against him? and shall not our love to him quicken our
endeavours for him and his kingdom?
2. The check Pilate gave to their fury, still insisting upon the prisoner's
innocency: "Take you him and crucify him, if he must be
crucified." This is spoken ironically; he knew they could not, they durst
not, crucify him; but it is as if he should say, "You shall not make me a
drudge to your malice; I cannot with a safe conscience crucify him." A
good resolve, if he would but have stuck to it. He found no fault in him, and
therefore should not have continued to parley with the prosecutors. Those that
would be safe from sin should be deaf to temptation. Nay, he should have
secured the prisoner from their insults. What was he armed with power for, but
to protect the injured? The guards of governors ought to be the guards of
justice. But Pilate had not courage enough to act according to his conscience;
and his cowardice betrayed him into a snare.
3. The further colour which the prosecutors gave to their demand (v. 7): We
have a law, and by our law, if it were but in our power to execute
it, he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. Now
here observe, (1.) They made their boast of the law, even
when through breaking the law they dishonoured God, as is
charged upon the Jews, Rom. 2:23. They had indeed an excellent law, far
exceeding the statutes and judgments of other nations; but in vain did they
boast of their law, when they abused it to such bad purposes. (2.) They
discover a restless and inveterate malice against our Lord Jesus. When they
could not incense Pilate against him by alleging that he pretended himself a
king, they urged this, that he pretended himself a God. Thus they turn every
stone to take him off. (3.) They pervert the law, and make that the instrument
of their malice. Some think they refer to a law made particularly against
Christ, as if, being a law, it must be executed, right or wrong; whereas there
is a woe to them that decree unrighteous decrees, and
that write the grievousness which they have prescribed, Isa.
10:1. See Mic. 6:16. But it should seem they rather refer to the law of Moses;
and if so, [1.] It was true that blasphemers, idolaters, and false prophets,
were to be put to death by that law. Whoever falsely pretended to be the Son of
God was guilty of blasphemy, Lev. 24:16. But then, [2.] It was false that
Christ pretended to be the Son of God, for he really was so; and they ought to
have enquired into the proofs he produced of his being so. If he said that he
was the Son of God, and the scope and tendency of his doctrine were not to draw
people from God, but to bring them to him, and if he confirmed his mission and
doctrine by miracles, as undoubtedly he did, beyond contradiction, by their law
they ought to hearken to him (Deu. 18:18, 19), and, if they
did not, they were to be cut off. That which was his honour,
and might have been their happiness, if they had not stood in their own light,
they impute to him as a crime, for which he ought not to be crucified, for this
was no death inflicted by their law.
IV. The judge brings the prisoner again to his trial, upon this new suggestion.
Observe,
1. The concern Pilate was in, when he heard this alleged (v. 8): When he heard
that his prisoner pretended not to royalty only, but to deity, he was the
more afraid. This embarrassed him more than ever, and made the case
more difficult both ways; for, (1.) There was the more danger of offending the
people if he should acquit him, for he knew how jealous that people were for
the unity of the Godhead, and what aversion they now had to other gods; and
therefore, though he might hope to pacify their rage against a pretended king,
he could never reconcile them to a pretended God. "If this be at the
bottom of the tumult," thinks Pilate, "it will not be turned off with
a jest." (2.) There was the more danger of offending his own conscience if
he should condemn him. "Is he one" (thinks Pilate) "that makes
himself the Son of God? and what if it should prove that he is
so? What will become of me then?" Even natural conscience makes men afraid
of being found fighting against God. The heathen had some
fabulous traditions of incarnate deities appearing sometimes in mean
circumstances, and treated ill by some that paid dearly for their so doing.
Pilate fears lest he should thus run himself into a premunire.
2. His further examination of our Lord Jesus thereupon, v. 9. That he might
give the prosecutors all the fair play they could desire, he resumed the
debate, went into the judgment-hall, and asked Christ, Whence art thou? Observe,
(1.) The place he chose for this examination: He went into the
judgment-hall for privacy, that he might be out of the noise and
clamour of the crowd, and might examine the thing the more closely. Those that
would find out the truth as it is in Jesus must get out of the noise of
prejudice, and retire as it were into the judgment-hall, to converse with
Christ alone.
(2.) The question he put to him: Whence art thou? Art thou
from men or from heaven? From beneath or from above? He had before asked
directly, Art thou a King? But here he does not directly
ask, Art thou the Son of God? lest he should seem to meddle
with divine things too boldly. But in general, "Whence art thou? Where
wast thou, and in what world hadst thou a being, before thy coming into this
world?"
(3.) The silence of our Lord Jesus when he was examined upon this head;
but Jesus gave him no answer. This was not a sullen silence,
in contempt of the court, nor was it because he knew not what to say; but, [1.]
It was a patient silence, that the scripture might be fulfilled, as a
sheep before the shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth, Isa.
53:7. This silence loudly bespoke his submission to his Father's will in his
present sufferings, which he thus accommodated himself to, and composed himself
to bear. He was silent, because he would say nothing to hinder his sufferings.
If Christ had avowed himself a God as plainly as he avowed himself a king, it
is probable that Pilate would not have condemned him (for he was afraid at the
mention of it by the prosecutors); and the Romans, though they triumphed over
the kings of the nations they conquered, yet stood in awe of
their gods. See 1 Co. 2:8. If they had known him to be
the Lord of glory, they would not have crucified him; and
how then could we have been saved? [2.] It was a prudent silence. When the
chief priests asked him, Art thou the Son of the Blessed? he
answered, I am, for he knew they went upon the scriptures of
the Old Testament which spoke of the Messiah; but when Pilate asked him he knew
he did not understand his own question, having no notion of the Messiah, and of
his being the Son of God, and therefore to what purpose should
he reply to him whose head was filled with the pagan theology, to which he
would have turned his answer?
(4.) The haughty check which Pilate gave him for his silence (v. 10): "Speakest
thou not unto me? Dost thou put such an affront upon me as to stand
mute? What knowest thou not that, as president of the
province, I have power, if I think fit, to crucify
thee, and have power, if I think fit, to release thee?" Observe
here, [1.] How Pilate magnified himself, and boasts of his own authority, as
not inferior to that of Nebuchadnezzar, of whom it is said that whom he
would he slew, and whom he would he kept alive. Dan. 5:19. Men in
power are apt to be puffed up with their power, and the more absolute and
arbitrary it is the more it gratifies and humours their pride. But he magnifies
his power to an exorbitant degree when he boasts that he has power to crucify
one whom he had declared innocent, for no prince or potentate has authority to
do wrong. Id possumus, quod jure possumus—We can do that only which we
can do justly. [2.] How he tramples upon our blessed Saviour: Speakest
thou not unto me? He reflects upon him, First, As if
he were undutiful and disrespectful to those in authority, not speaking when he
was spoken to. Secondly, As if he were ungrateful to one that
had been tender of him: "Speakest thou not to me who have laboured to
secure thy release?" Thirdly, As if he were unwise for
himself: "Wilt thou not speak to clear thyself to one that is willing to
clear thee?" If Christ had indeed sought to save his life, now had been
his time to have spoken; but that which he had to do was to lay down his life.
(5.) Christ's pertinent answer to this check, v. 11, where,
[1.] He boldly rebukes his arrogance, and rectifies his mistake: "Big as
thou lookest and talkest, thou couldest have no power at all against
me, no power to scourge, no power to crucify, except it were
given thee from above." Though Christ did not think fit to answer
him when he was impertinent (then answer not a fool according to his
folly, lest thou also be like him), yet he did think fit to answer him when
he was imperious; then answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be
wise in his own conceit, Prov. 26:4, 5. When Pilate used his power,
Christ silently submitted to it; but, when he grew proud of it, he made him
know himself: "All the power thou hast is given thee from above," which
may be taken two ways:—First, As reminding him that his power in
general, as a magistrate, was a limited power, and he could do no more than God
would suffer him to do. God is the fountain of power; and the powers
that are, as they are ordained by him and derived from him, so they
are subject to him. They ought to go no further than his law directs them; they
can go no further than his providence permits them. They are God's hand and his
sword, Ps. 17:13, 14. Though the axe may boast itself against him that
heweth therewith, yet still it is but a tool, Isa. 10:5, 15. Let the
proud oppressors know that there is a higher than they, to
whom they are accountable, Eccl. 5:8. And let this silence the murmurings of
the oppressed, It is the Lord. God has bidden Shimei curse
David; and let it comfort them that their persecutors can do no more than God
will let them. See Isa. 51:12, 13. Secondly, As informing him
that his power against him in particular, and all the efforts of that power,
were by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, Acts
2:23. Pilate never fancied himself to look so great as now, when he sat in
judgment upon such a prisoner as this, who was looked upon by many as the Son
of God and king of Israel, and had the fate of so great a man at his
disposal; but Christ lets him know that he was herein but an instrument in
God's hand, and could no nothing against him, but by the appointment of Heaven,
Acts 4:27, 28.
[2.] He mildly excuses and extenuates his sin, in comparison with the sin of
the ringleaders: "Therefore he that delivered me unto thee lies
under greater guilt; for thou as a magistrate hast power from above, and
art in thy place, thy sin is less than theirs who, from envy and malice, urge
thee to abuse thy power."
First, It is plainly intimated that what Pilate did was sin, a great
sin, and that the force which the Jews put upon him, and which he put upon
himself in it, would not justify him. Christ hereby intended a hint for the
awakening of his conscience and the increase of the fear he was now under. The
guilt of others will not acquit us, nor will it avail in the great day to say
that others were worse than we, for we are not to be judged by comparison, but
must bear our own burden.
Secondly, Yet theirs that delivered him to Pilate was the greater sin.
By this it appears that all sins are not equal, but some more heinous than
others; some comparatively as gnats, others as camels; some as motes in the
eyes, others as beams; some as pence, others as pounds. He that
delivered Christ to Pilate was either, 1. The people of the Jews, who
cried out, Crucify him, crucify him. They had seen Christ's
miracles, which Pilate had not; to them the Messiah was first sent; they were
his own; and to them, who were now enslaved, a Redeemer should have been most
welcome, and therefore it was much worse in them to appear against him than in
Pilate. 2. Or rather he means Caiaphas in particular, who was at the head of
the conspiracy against Christ, and first advised his death, ch. 11:49, 50. The
sin of Caiaphas was abundantly greater than the sin of Pilate. Caiaphas
prosecuted Christ from pure enmity to him and his doctrine, deliberately and of
malice prepense. Pilate condemned him purely for fear of the people, and it was
a hasty resolution which he had not time to cool upon. 3. Some think Christ
means Judas; for, though he did not immediately deliver him into the hands of
Pilate, yet he betrayed him to those that did. The sin of Judas was, upon many
accounts, greater than the sin of Pilate. Pilate was a stranger to Christ;
Judas was his friend and follower. Pilate found no fault in him, but Judas knew
a great deal of good of him. Pilate, though biassed, was not bribed, but Judas
took a reward against the innocent;the sin of Judas was a leading
sin, and let in all that followed. He was a guide to them that took
Jesus. So great was the sin of Judas that vengeance suffered
him not to live; but when Christ said this, or soon after, he was
gone to his own place.
V. Pilate struggles with the Jews to deliver Jesus out of their hands, but in
vain. We hear no more after this of any thing that passed between Pilate and
the prisoner; what remains lay between him and the prosecutors.
1. Pilate seems more zealous than before to get Jesus discharged (v. 12): Thenceforth, from
this time, and for this reason, because Christ had given him that answer (v.
11), which, though it had a rebuke in it, yet he took kindly; and, though
Christ found fault with him, he still continued to find no fault in Christ,
but sought to release him, desired it, endeavoured it. He
sought to release him; he contrived how to do it handsomely and
safely, and so as not to disoblige the priests. It never does well when our
resolutions to do our duty are swallowed up in projects how to do it plausibly and
conveniently. If Pilate's policy had not prevailed above his justice, he would
not have been long seeking to release him, but would have done it. Fiat
justitia, ruat coelum—Let justice be done, though heaven itself should
fall.
2. The Jews were more furious than ever, and more violent to get Jesus
crucified. Still they carry on their design with noise and clamour as before;
so now they cried out. They would have it thought that the commonalty was
against him, and therefore laboured to get him cried down by a multitude, and
it is no hard matter to pack a mob; whereas, if a fair poll had been granted, I
doubt not but it would have been carried by a great majority for the releasing
of him. A few madmen may out-shout many wise men, and then fancy themselves to
speak the sense (when it is but the nonsense) of a nation, or of all mankind;
but it is not so easy a thing to change the sense of the people as it is to
misrepresent it, and to change their cry. Now that Christ was in the hands of
his enemies his friends were shy and silent, and disappeared, and those that
were against him were forward to show themselves so; and this gave the chief
priests an opportunity to represent it as the concurring vote of all the Jews
that he should be crucified. In this outcry they sought two things:—(1.) To
blacken the prisoner as an enemy to Caesar. He had refused the kingdoms of this
world and the glory of them, had declared his kingdom not to be of this world,
and yet they will have it that he speaks against Caesar; antilegei—he
opposed Caesar,invades his dignity and sovereignty. It has always been the
artifice of the enemies of religion to represent it as hurtful to kings and
provinces, when it would be highly beneficial to both. (2.) To frighten the
judge, as no friend to Caesar: "If thou let this man go unpunished,
and let him go on, thou art not Caesar's friend, and therefore
false to thy trust and the duty of thy place, obnoxious to the emperor's
displeasure, and liable to be turned out." They intimate a threatening
that they would inform against him, and get him displaced; and here they
touched him in a sensible and very tender part. But, of all people, these Jews
should not have pretended a concern for Caesar, who were themselves so ill
affected to him and his government. They should not talk of being friends to
Caesar, who were themselves such back friends to him; yet thus a pretended zeal
for that which is good often serves to cover a real malice against that which
is better.
3. When other expedients had been tried in vain, Pilate slightly endeavoured to
banter them out of their fury, and yet, in doing this, betrayed himself to
them, and yielded to the rapid stream, v. 13-15. After he had stood it out a
great while, and seemed now as if he would have made a vigorous resistance upon
this attack (v. 12), he basely surrendered. Observe here,
(1.) What it was that shocked Pilate (v. 13): When he heard that
saying, that he could not be true to Caesar's honour, nor sure of
Caesar's favour, if he did not put Jesus to death, then he thought it was time
to look about him. All they had said to prove Christ a malefactor, and that
therefore it was Pilate's duty to condemn him, did not move him, but he still
kept to his conviction of Christ's innocency; but, when they urged that it was
his interest to condemn him, then he began to yield. Note, Those that bind up
their happiness in the favour of men make themselves an easy prey to the
temptations of Satan.
(2.) What preparation was made for a definitive sentence upon this
matter: Pilate brought Jesus forth, and he himself in great
state took the chair. We may suppose that he called for his robes, that he
might look big, and then sat down in the judgment-seat.
[1.] Christ was condemned with all the ceremony that could be. First, To
bring us off at God's bar, and that all believers through Christ, being judged
here, might be acquitted in the court of heaven. Secondly, To
take off the terror of pompous trials, which his followers would be brought to
for his sake. Paul might the better stand at Caesar's judgment-seat when his
Master had stood there before him.
[2.] Notice is here taken of the place and time.
First, The place where Christ was condemned: in a place called
the Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha, probably the place where he used
to sit to try causes or criminals. Some make Gabbatha to
signify an enclosed place, fenced against the insults of the
people, whom therefore he did the less need to fear; others an elevated
place, raised that all might see him.
Secondly, The time, v. 14. It was the preparation of the passover,
and about the sixth hour. Observe, 1. The day: It was the
preparation of the passover, that is, for the passover-sabbath, and the
solemnities of that and the rest of the days of the feast of unleavened bread.
This is plain from Lu. 23:54, It was the preparation, and the sabbath
drew on. So that this preparation was for the sabbath. Note, Before
the passover there ought to be preparation. This is mentioned as an aggravation
of their sin, in persecuting Christ with so much malice and fury, that it was
when they should have been purging out the old leaven, to get ready for the
passover; but the better the day the worse the deed. 2. The hour: It
was about the sixth hour. Some ancient Greek and Latin manuscripts
read it about the third hour, which agrees with Mk. 15:25. And it appears by
Mt. 27:45 that he was upon the cross before the sixth hour. But it should seem
to come in here, not as a precise determination of the time, but as an
additional aggravation of the sin of his prosecutors, that they were pushing on
the prosecution, not only on a solemn day, the day of the preparation, but,
from the third to the sixth hour (which was, as we call it, church-time) on
that day, they were employed in this wickedness; so that for this day, though
they were priests, they dropped the temple-service, for they did not leave
Christ till the sixth hour, when the darkness began, which frightened them
away. Some think that the sixth hour, with this evangelist, is, according to
the Roman reckoning and ours, six of the clock in the morning, answering to the
Jews' first hour of the day; this is very probable, that Christ's trial before
Pilate was at the height about six in the morning, which was then a little
after sun-rising.
(3.) The rencounter Pilate had with the Jews, both priests and people, before
he proceeded to give judgment, endeavouring in vain to stem the tide of their
rage.
[1.] He saith unto the Jews, Behold your king. This is a
reproof to them for the absurdity and malice of their insinuating that this
Jesus made himself a king: "Behold your king, that is,
him whom you accuse as a pretender to the crown. Is this a man likely to be
dangerous to the government? I am satisfied he is not, and you may be so too,
and let him alone." Some think he hereby upbraids them with their secret
disaffection to Caesar: "You would have this man to be your king, if he
would but have headed a rebellion against Caesar." But Pilate, though he
was far from meaning so, seems as if he were the voice of God to them. Christ,
now crowned with thorns, is, as a king at his coronation, offered to the
people: "Behold your king, the king whom God hath set
upon his holy hill of Zion;" but they, instead of entering into it with
acclamations of joyful consent, protest against him; they will not have a king
of God's choosing.
[2.] They cried out with the greatest indignation, Away with him, away
with him, which speaks disdain as well as malice, aron, aron—"Take
him, he is none of ours; we disown him for our kinsman, much more for
our king; we have not only no veneration for him, but no compassion; away
with him out of our sight:" for so it was written of him, he is
one whom the nation abhors (Isa. 49:7), and they hid
as it were their faces from him Isa. 53:2, 3. Away with him
from the earth, Acts 22:22. This shows, First, How we
deserved to have been treated at God's tribunal. We were by sin become odious
to God's holiness, which cried, Away with them, away with them, for
God is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. We were also
become obnoxious to God's justice, which cried against us, "Crucify
them, crucify them, let the sentence of the law be executed." Had
not Christ interposed, and been thus rejected of men, we had been for ever
rejected of God. Secondly, It shows how we ought to treat our
sins. We are often in scripture said to crucify sin, in conformity to Christ's
death. Now they that crucified Christ did it with detestation. With a pious
indignation we should run down sin in us, as they with an impious indignation
ran him down who was made sin for us. The true penitent casts away from him his
transgressions, Away with them, away with them (Isa. 2:20;
30:22), crucify them, crucify them; it is not fit that they
should live in my soul, Hos. 14:8.
[3.] Pilate, willing to have Jesus released, and yet that it should be their
doing, asks them, Shall I crucify your king? In saying this,
he designed either, First, To stop their mouths, by showing
them how absurd it was for them to reject one who offered himself to them to be
their king at a time when they needed one more than ever. Have they no sense of
slavery? No desire of liberty? No value for a deliverer? Though he saw no cause
to fear him, they might see cause to hope for something from him; since crushed
and sinking interests are ready to catch at any thing. Or, Secondly, To
stop the mouth of his own conscience. "If this Jesus be a king"
(thinks Pilate), "he is only kin of the Jews, and therefore I have nothing
to do but to make a fair tender of him to them; if they refuse him, and will
have their king crucified, what is that to me?" He banters them for their
folly in expecting a Messiah, and yet running down one that bade so fair to be
he.
[4.] The chief priests, that they might effectually renounce Christ, and engage
Pilate to crucify him, but otherwise sorely against their will, cried
out, We have no king but Caesar. This they knew would please
Pilate, and so they hoped to carry their point, though at the same time they
hated Caesar and his government. But observe here, First, What
a plain indication this is that the time for the Messiah to appear, even the
set time, was now come; for, if the Jews have no king but Caesar, then is
the sceptre departed from Judas, and the lawgiver from between his
feet, which should never be till Shiloh come to set up a spiritual
kingdom. And, Secondly, What a righteous thing it was with God
to bring upon them that ruin by the Romans which followed not long after. 1.
They adhere to Caesar, and to Caesar they shall go. God soon gave them enough
of their Caesars, and, according to Jotham's parable, since the trees choose
the bramble for their king, rather than the vine and the olive, an evil spirit
is sent among them, for they could not do it truly and sincerely, Jdg. 9:12,
19. Henceforward they were rebels to the Caesars, and the Caesars tyrants to
them, and their disaffection ended in the overthrow of their place and nation.
It is just with God to make that a scourge and plague to us which we prefer
before Christ. 2. They would have no other king than Caesar, and never have
they had any other to this day, but have now abode many days without a
king, and without a prince (Hos. 3:4), without any of their own, but
the kings of the nations have ruled over them; since they will have no king but
Caesar, so shall their doom be, themselves have decided it.
Verses 16-18
We have here sentence of death passed upon our Lord Jesus, and execution done
soon after. A mighty struggle Pilate had had within him between his convictions
and his corruptions; but at length his convictions yielded, and his corruptions
prevailed, the fear of man having a greater power over him than the fear of
God.
I. Pilate gave judgment against Christ, and signed the warrant
for his execution, v. 16. We may see here, 1. How Pilate sinned against his
conscience: he had again and again pronounced him innocent, and yet at last
condemned him as guilty. Pilate, since he came to be governor, had in many
instances disobliged and exasperated the Jewish nation; for he was a man of a haughty
and implacable spirit, and extremely wedded to his humour. He had seized upon
the Corban, and spent it upon a water-work; he had brought into Jerusalem
shields stamped with Caesar's image, which was very provoking to the Jews; he
had sacrificed the lives of many to his resolutions herein. Fearing therefore
that he should be complained of for these and other insolences, he was willing
to gratify the Jews. Now this makes the matter much worse. If he had been of an
easy, soft, and pliable disposition, his yielding to so strong a stream had
been the more excusable; but for a man that was so wilful in other things, and
of so fierce a resolution, to be overcome in a thing of this nature, shows him
to be a bad man indeed, that could better bear the wronging of his conscience
than the crossing of his humour. 2. How he endeavoured to transfer the guilt
upon the Jews. He delivered him not to his own officers (as
usual), but to the prosecutors, the chief priests and elders; so excusing the
wrong to his own conscience with this, that it was but a permissive
condemnation, and that he did not put Christ to death, but only connived at
those that did it. 3. How Christ was made sin for us. We
deserved to have been condemned, but Christ was condemned for us, that to us there
might be no condemnation. God was now entering into judgment
with his Son, that he might not enter into judgment with his servants.
II. Judgment was no sooner given than with all possible expedition the
prosecutors, having gained their point, resolved to lose not time lest Pilate
should change his mind, and order a reprieve (those are enemies to our souls,
the worst of enemies, that hurry us to sin, and then leave us no room to undo
what we have done amiss), and also lest there should be an uproar among
the people, and they should find a greater number against them than
they had with so much artifice got to be for them. It were well if we would be
thus expeditious in that which is good, and not stay for more difficulties.
1. They immediately hurried away the prisoner. The chief priests greedily flew
upon the prey which they had been long waiting for; now it is drawn into their
net. Or they, that is, the soldiers who were to attend the
execution, they took him and led him away, not to the place whence he came, and
thence to the place of execution, as is usual with us, but directly to the
place of execution. Both the priests and the soldiers joined in leading him
away. Now was the Son of man delivered into the hands of men, wicked
and unreasonable men. By the law of Moses (and in appeals by our law) the
prosecutors were to be the executioners, Deu. 17:7. And the priests here were
proud of the office. His being led away does not suppose him
to have made any opposition, but the scripture must be fulfilled, he
was led as a sheep to the slaughter,Acts 8:32. We deserved to have
been led forth with the workers of iniquity as criminals to
execution, Ps. 125:5. But he was led forth for us, that we might escape.
2. To add to his misery, they obliged him as long as he was able, to carry his
cross (v. 17), according to the custom among the Romans; hence Furcifer was
among them a name of reproach. Their crosses did not stand up constantly, as
our gibbets do in the places of execution, because the malefactor was nailed to
the cross as it lay along upon the ground, and then it was lifted up, and
fastened in the earth, and removed when the execution was over, and commonly
buried with the body; so that every one that was crucified had a cross of his
own. Now Christ's carrying his cross may be considered, (1.) As a part of his
sufferings; he endured the cross literally. It was a long and thick piece of
timber that was necessary for such a use, and some think it was neither
seasoned nor hewn. The blessed body of the Lord Jesus was tender, and
unaccustomed to such burdens; it had now lately been harassed and tired out;
his shoulders were sore with the stripes they had given him; every jog of the
cross would renew his smart, and be apt to strike the thorns he was crowned
with into his head; yet all this he patiently underwent, and it was but
the beginning of sorrows. (2.) As answering the type which
went before him; Isaac, when he was to be offered, carried the wood on which he
was to be bound and with which he was to be burned. (3.) As very significant of
his undertaking, the Father having laid upon him the iniquity of us all (Isa.
53:6), and he having to take away sin by bearing it in
his own body upon the tree, 1 Pt. 2:24. He had said in effect, On
me be the curse; for he was made a curse for us, and therefore on him
was the cross. (4.) As very instructive to us. Our Master hereby taught all his
disciples to take up their cross, and follow him. Whatever cross he calls us
out to bear at any time, we must remember that he bore the cross first, and, by
bearing it for us, bears it off from us in great measure, for thus he hath
made his yoke easy, and his burden light. He bore that end of
the cross that had the curse upon it; this was the heavy end; and hence all
that are his are enabled to call their afflictions for him light, and but
for a moment.
3. They brought him to the place of execution: He went forth, not
dragged against his will, but voluntary in his sufferings. He went forth out of
the city, for he was crucified without the gate, Heb. 13:12.
And, to put the greater infamy upon his sufferings, he was brought to the
common place of execution, as one in all points numbered among the
transgressors, a place called Golgotha, the place of a skull, where
they threw dead men's skulls and bones, or where the heads of beheaded
malefactors were left,—a place ceremonially unclean; there
Christ suffered, because he was made sin for us,that he might purge
our consciences from dead works, and the pollution of them. If one
would take notice of the traditions of the elders, there are two which are
mentioned by many of the ancient writers concerning this place:—(1.) That Adam
was buried here, and that this was the place of his skull, and they observe
that where death triumphed over the first Adam there the second Adam triumphed
over him. Gerhard quotes for this tradition Origen, Cyprian, Epiphanius,
Austin, Jerome, and others. (2.) That this was that mountain in the land of
Moriah on which Abraham offered up Isaac, and the ram was a ransom for Isaac.
4. There they crucified him, and the other malefactors with him (v. 18): There
they crucified him. Observe (1.) What death Christ died; the death of
the cross, a bloody, painful, shameful death, a cursed death. He was nailed to
the cross, as a sacrifice bound to the altar, as a Saviour fixed for his
undertaking; his ear nailed to God's door-post, to serve him for ever. He was
lifted up as the brazen serpent, hung between heaven and earth because we were
unworthy of either, and abandoned by both. His hands were stretched out to
invite and embrace us; he hung upon the tree some hours, dying gradually in the
full use of reason and speech, that he might actually resign himself a
sacrifice. (2.) In what company he died: Two others with him. Probably
these would not have been executed at that time, but at the request of the
chief priests, to add to the disgrace of our Lord Jesus, which might be the
reason why one of them reviled him, because their death was hastened for his
sake. Had they taken two of his disciples, and crucified them with him, it had
been an honour to him; but, if such as they had been partakers with him in
suffering, it would have looked as if they had been undertakers with him in
satisfaction. Therefore it was ordered that his fellow-sufferers should be the
worst of sinners, that he might bear our reproach, and that
the merit might appear to be his only. This exposed him much to the people's
contempt and hatred, who are apt to judge of persons by the lump, and are not
curious in distinguishing, and would conclude him not only malefactor because
he was yoked with malefactors, but the worst of the three because put in the
midst. But thus the scripture was fulfilled, He was numbered among the
transgressors. He did not die at the altar among the sacrifices, nor
mingle his blood with that of bulls and goats; but he died among the criminals,
and mingled his blood with theirs who were sacrificed to public justice.
And now let us pause awhile, and with an eye of faith look upon Jesus. Was ever
sorrow like unto his sorrow? See him who was clothed with glory stripped of it
all, and clothed with shame-him who was the praise of angels made
a reproach of men—him who had been with eternal delight and joy in
the bosom of his Father now in the extremities of pain and agony. See him
bleeding, see him struggling, see him dying, see him and love him, love him and
live to him, and study what we shall render.
Verses 19-30
Here are some remarkable circumstances of Christ's dying more fully related
than before, which those will take special notice of who covet to know Christ
and him crucified.
I. The title set up over his head. Observe,
1. The inscription itself which Pilate wrote, and ordered to be fixed to the
top of the cross, declaring the cause for which he was crucified, v. 19.
Matthew called it, aitia—the accusation; Mark and Luke
called it epigrapheµ—the inscription;John calls it by the
proper Latin name, titlos—the title: and it was
this, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews, Pilate intended
this for his reproach, that he, being Jesus of Nazareth, should
pretend to be king of the Jews, and set up in competition with Caesar, to whom
Pilate would thus recommend himself, as very jealous for his honour and
interest, when he would treat but a titular king, a king in metaphor, as the
worst of malefactors; but God overruled this matter, (1.) That it might be a
further testimony to the innocency of our Lord Jesus; for here was an
accusation which, as it was worded, contained no crime. If this be all they have
to lay to his charge, surely he has done nothing worthy of death or of bonds.
(2.) That it might show forth his dignity and honour. This is Jesus a
Saviour, Nazoµraios, the blessed Nazarite, sanctified to God; this
is the king of the Jews, Messiah the prince, the sceptre that should
rise out of Israel, as Balaam had foretold; dying for the good of his
people, as Caiaphas had foretold. Thus all these three bad men witnessed to
Christ, though they meant not so.
2. The notice taken of this inscription (v. 20): Many of the Jews read
it, not only those of Jerusalem, but those out of the country, and
from other countries, strangers and proselytes, that came up to worship at the
feast. Multitudes read it, and it occasioned a great variety of reflections and
speculations, as men stood affected. Christ himself was set for a sign, a
title. Here are two reasons why the title was so much read:—(1.) Because the
place where Jesus was crucified, though without the gate, was yet nigh
the city, which intimates that if it had been any great distance off
they would not have been led, no not by their curiosity, to go and see it, and
read it. It is an advantage to have the means of knowing Christ brought to our
doors. (2.) Because it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin, which made
it legible by all; they all understood one or other of these languages, and
none were more careful to bring up their children to read than the Jews
generally were. It likewise made it the more considerable; everyone would be
curious to enquire what it was which was so industriously published in the
three most known languages. In the Hebrew the oracles of God were recorded; in
Greek the learning of the philosophers; and in Latin the laws of the empire. In
each of these Christ is proclaimed king, in whom are hid all the treasures of
revelation, wisdom, and power. God so ordering it that this should be written
in the three then most known tongues, it was intimated thereby that Jesus
Christ should be a Saviour to all nations, and not to the Jews only; and also
that every nation should hear in their own tongue the wonderful works of
the Redeemer. Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, were the vulgar languages at that time
in this part of the world; so that this is so far from intimating (as the
Papists would have it) that the scripture is still to be retained in these
three languages, that on the contrary it teaches us that the knowledge of
Christ ought to be diffused throughout every nation in their own tongue, as the
proper vehicle of it, that people may converse as freely with the scriptures as
they do with their neighbours.
3. The offence which the prosecutors took at it, v. 21. They would not have it
written, the king of the Jews; but that he said of
himself, I am the king of the Jews. Here they show themselves,
(1.) Very spiteful and malicious against Christ. It was not enough to have him
crucified, but they must have his name crucified too. To justify themselves in
giving him such bad treatment, they thought themselves concerned to give him a
bad character, and to represent him as a usurper of honours and powers that he
was not entitled to. (2.) Foolishly jealous of the honour of their nation.
Though they were a conquered and enslaved people, yet they stood so much upon
the punctilio of their reputation that they scorned to have it said that this
was their king. (3.) Very impertinent and troublesome to Pilate. They could not
but be sensible that they had forced him, against his mind, to condemn Christ,
and yet, in such a trivial thing as this, they continue to tease him; and it
was so much the worse in that, though they had charged him with pretending to
be the king of the Jews, yet they had not proved it, nor had he ever said so.
4. The judge's resolution to adhere to it: "What I have written I
have written, and will not alter it to humour them."
(1.) Hereby an affront was put upon the chief priests, who would still be
dictating. It seems, by Pilate's manner of speaking, that he was uneasy in
himself for yielding to them, and vexed at them for forcing him to it, and
therefore he was resolved to be cross with them; and by this inscription he
insinuates, [1.] That, notwithstanding their pretences, they were not sincere
in their affections to Caesar and his government; they were willing enough to
have a king of the Jews, if they could have one to their mind. [2.] That such a
king as this, so mean and despicable, was good enough to be the king of the
Jews; and this would be the fate of all that should dare to oppose the Roman
power. [3.] That they had been very unjust and unreasonable in prosecuting this
Jesus, when there was no fault to be found in him.
(2.) Hereby honour was done to the Lord Jesus. Pilate stuck to it with
resolution, that he was the king of the Jews. What he had written was what God
had first written, and therefore he could not alter it; for thus it was
written, that Messiah the prince should be cut off, Dan. 9:26.
This therefore is the true cause of his death; he dies because the king of
Israel must die, must thus die. When the Jews reject Christ, and will not have
him for their king, Pilate, a Gentile, sticks to it that he is a king, which
was an earnest of what came to pass soon after, when the Gentiles submitted to
the kingdom of the Messiah, which the unbelieving Jews had rebelled against.
II. The dividing of his garments among the executioners, v. 23, 24. Four
soldiers were employed, who, when they had crucified Jesus, had
nailed him to the cross, and lifted it up, and him upon it, and nothing more
was to be done than to wait his expiring through the extremity of pain, as,
with us, when the prisoner is turned off, then they went to make a dividend of
his clothes, each claiming an equal share, and so they made four parts, as
nearly of the same value as they could, to every soldier a part; but his
coat, or upper garment whether cloak or gown, being a pretty piece of
curiosity, without seam, woven from the top throughout, they
agreed to cast lots for it. Here observe, 1. The shame they
put upon our Lord Jesus, in stripping him of his garments before they crucified
him. The shame of nakedness came in with sin. He therefore who was made sin for
us bore that shame, to roll away our reproach. He was stripped, that we might
be clothed with white raiment (Rev. 3:18), and that when we
are unclothed we may not be found naked. 2. The wages with
which these soldiers paid themselves for crucifying Christ. They were willing
to do it for his old clothes. Nothing is to be done so bad, but there will be
found men bad enough to do it for a trifle. Probably they hoped to make more
than ordinary advantage of his clothes, having heard of cures wrought by the
touch of the hem of his garment, or expecting that his admirers would give any
money for them. 3. The sport they made about his seamless coat. We read not of
any thing about him valuable or remarkable but this, and this not for the
richness, but only the variety of it, for it was woven from the top
throughout; there was no curiosity therefore in the shape, but a
designed plainness. Tradition says, his mother wove it for him, and adds this
further, that it was made for him when he was a child, and, like the
Israelites' clothes in the wilderness, waxed not old; but this
is a groundless fancy. The soldiers thought it a pity to rend it, for then it
would unravel, and a piece of it would be good for nothing; they would therefore
cast lots for it. While Christ was in his dying agonies, they were
merrily dividing his spoils. The preserving of Christ's seamless coat is
commonly alluded to to show the care all Christians ought to take that they
rend not the church of Christ with strifes and divisions; yet some have
observed that the reason why the soldiers would not rend Christ's coat was not
out of any respect to Christ, but because each of them hoped to have it entire for
himself. And so many cry out against schism, only that they may engross all the
wealth and power to themselves. Those who opposed Luther's separation from the
church of Rome urged much the tunica inconsutilis—the seamless coat; and
some of them laid so much stress upon it that they were called the Inconsutilistae—The
seamless. 4. The fulfilling of the scripture in this. David, in
spirit, foretold this very circumstance of Christ's sufferings, in that
passage, Ps. 22:18. The event so exactly answering the prediction proves, (1.)
That the scripture is the word of God, which foretold
contingent events concerning Christ so long before, and they came to pass
according to the prediction. (2.) That Jesus is the true Messiah; for in him
all the Old-Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah had, and have, their
full accomplishment. These things therefore the soldiers did.
III. The care that he took of his poor mother.
1. His mother attends him to his death (v. 25): There stood by the
cross, as near as they could get, his mother, and
some of his relations and friends with her. At first, they stood near, as it is
said here; but afterwards, it is probable, the soldiers forced them to stand
afar off, as it is said in Matthew and Mark: or they themselves removed out of
the ground. (1.) See here the tender affection of these pious women to our Lord
Jesus in his sufferings. When all his disciples, except John, has forsaken him,
they continued their attendance on him. Thus the feeble were as David (Zec.
12:8): they were not deterred by the fury of the enemy nor the horror of the
sight; they could not rescue him nor relieve him, yet they attended him, to
show their good-will. It is an impious and blasphemous construction which some
of the popish writers put upon the virgin Mary standing by the cross, that
thereby she contributed to the satisfaction he made for sin no less than he
did, and so became a joint-mediatrix and co-adjutrix in our salvation. (2.) We
may easily suppose what an affliction it was to these poor women to see him
thus abused, especially to the blessed virgin. Now was fulfilled Simeon's
word, A sword shall pierce through thy own soul, Lu. 2:35. His
torments were her tortures; she was upon the rack, while he was upon the cross;
and her heart bled with his wounds; and the reproaches wherewith they
reproached him fell on those that attended him. (3.) We may justly
admire the power of divine grace in supporting these women, especially the
virgin Mary, under this heavy trial. We do not find his mother wringing her
hands, or tearing her hair, or rending her clothes, or making an outcry; but,
with a wonderful composure, standing by the cross, and her
friends with her. Surely she and they were strengthened by a divine power to
this degree of patience; and surely the virgin Mary had a fuller expectation of
his resurrection than the rest had, which supported her thus. We know not what
we can bear till we are tried, and then we know who has said, My grace
is sufficient for thee.
2. He tenderly provides for his mother at his death. It is probable that
Joseph, her husband, was long since dead, and that her son Jesus had supported
her, and her relation to him had been her maintenance; and now that he was
dying what would become of her? He saw her standing by, and knew her cares and
griefs; and he saw John standing not far off, and so he settled a new relation
between his beloved mother and his beloved disciple; for he said to her, "Woman,
behold thy son, for whom henceforward thou must have a motherly
affection;" and to him, "Behold thy mother, to whom
thou must pay a filial duty." And so from that hour, that
hour never to be forgotten, that disciple took her to his own home.See
here,
(1.) The care Christ took of his dear mother. He was not so much taken up with
a sense of his sufferings as to forget his friends, all whose concerns he bore
upon his heart. His mother, perhaps, was so taken up with his sufferings that
she thought not of what would become of her; but he admitted that
thought. Silver and gold he had none to leave, no estate, real
or personal; his clothes the soldiers had seized, and we hear no more of the
bag since Judas, who had carried it, hanged himself. He had therefore no other
way to provide for his mother than by his interest in a friend, which he does
here. [1.] He calls her woman, not mother, not out of any
disrespect to her, but because mother would have been a cutting word to her
that was already wounded to the heart with grief; like Isaac saying to
Abraham, My father. He speaks as one that was now no
more in this world, but was already dead to those in it that were
dearest to him. His speaking in this seemingly slight manner to his mother, as
he had done formerly, was designed to obviate and give a check to the undue
honours which he foresaw would be given to her in the Romish church, as if she
were a joint purchaser with him in the honours of the Redeemer. [2.] He directs
her to look upon John as her son: "Behold him as thy son, who stands there
by thee, and be as a mother to him." See here, First, An
instance of divine goodness, to be observed for our encouragement. Sometimes,
when God removes one comfort from us, he raises up another for us, perhaps
where we looked not for it. We read of children which the church shall have
after she has lost the other, Isa. 49:21. Let none therefore reckon all gone
with one cistern dried up, for from the same fountain another may be
filled. Secondly, An instance of filial duty, to be observed
for our imitation. Christ has here taught children to provide, to the utmost of
their power, for the comfort of their aged parents. When David was in distress,
he took care of his parents, and found out a shelter for them (1 Sa. 22:3); so
the Son of David here. Children at their death, according to their ability,
should provide for their parents, if they survive them, and need their
kindness.
(2.) The confidence he reposed in the beloved disciple. It is to him he
says, Behold thy mother, that is, I recommend her to thy care,
be thou as a son to her to guide her (Isa. 51:18); and forsake her not
when she is old, Prov. 23:22. Now, [1.] This was an honour put upon
John, and a testimony both to his prudence and to his fidelity. If he who knows
all things had not known that John loved him, he would not have made him his
mother's guardian. It is a great honour to be employed for Christ, and to be
entrusted with any of his interest in the world. But, [2.] It would be a care
and some charge to John; but he cheerfully accepted it, and took her to
his own home, not objecting the trouble nor expense, nor his
obligations to his own family, nor the ill-will he might contract by it. Note,
Those that truly love Christ, and are beloved of him, will be glad of an
opportunity to do any service to him or his. Nicephoras's Eccl. Hist.
lib. 2 cap. 3, saith that the virgin Mary lived with John at Jerusalem
eleven years, and then died. Others, that she lived to remove with him to
Ephesus.
IV. The fulfilling of the scripture, in the giving of him vinegar to drink, v.
28, 29. Observe,
1. How much respect Christ showed to the scripture (v. 28): Knowing
that all things hitherto were accomplished, that the scripture
might be fulfilled, which spoke of his drinking in his
sufferings, he saith, I thirst, that is, he called for drink.
(1.) It was not at all strange that he was thirsty; we find him thirsty in
a journey (ch. 4:6, 7), and now thirsty when he was just at his journey's end.
Well might he thirst after all the toil and hurry which he had undergone, and
being now in the agonies of death, ready to expire purely by the loss of blood
and extremity of pain. The torments of hell are represented by a violent thirst
in the complaint of the rich man that begged for a drop of water to
cool his tongue. To that everlasting thirst we had been condemned, had
not Christ suffered for us.
(2.) But the reason of his complaining of it is somewhat surprising; it is the
only word he spoke that looked like complaint of his outward sufferings. When
they scourged him, and crowned him with thorns, he did not cry, O my head! or,
My back! But now he cried, I thirst. For, [1.] He would thus
express the travail of his soul, Isa. 53:11. He thirsted after
the glorifying of God, and the accomplishment of the work of our redemption,
and the happy issue of his undertaking. [2.] He would thus take care to see the
scripture fulfilled. Hitherto, all had been accomplished, and he knew it, for
this was the thing he had carefully observed all along; and now he called to
mind one thing more, which this was the proper season for the performance of. By
this it appears that he was the Messiah, in that not only the scripture was
punctually fulfilled in him, but it was strictly eyed by him. By this it
appears that God was with him of a truth—that in all he did he went
exactly according to the word of God, taking care not to destroy, but
to fulfil, the law and the prophets. Now, First, The
scripture had foretold his thirst, and therefore he himself related it, because
it could not otherwise be known, saying, I thirst; it was
foretold that his tongue should cleave to his jaws, Ps. 22:15. Samson, an
eminent type of Christ, when he was laying the Philistines heaps upon
heaps, was himself sore athirst (Jdg. 15:18); so was
Christ, when he was upon the cross, spoiling principalities and powers.
Secondly, The scripture had foretold that in his thirst he should have
vinegar given him to drink, Ps. 69:21. They had given him vinegar to drink
before they crucified him (Mt. 27:34), but the prophecy was not exactly
fulfilled in that, because that was not in his thirst; therefore now he
said, I thirst, and called for it again: then he would not
drink, but now he received it Christ would rather court an affront than see any
prophecy unfulfilled. This should satisfy us under all our trials, that the
will of God is done, and the word of God accomplished.
2. See how little respect his persecutors showed to him (v. 29): There
was set a vessel full of vinegar, probably according to the custom at
all executions of this nature; or, as others think, it was now set designedly
for an abuse to Christ, instead of the cup of wine which they used to
give to those that were ready to perish; with this they
filled a sponge, for they would not allow him a cup, and they
put it upon hyssop, a hyssop-stalk, and with this heaved it to his
mouth; hyssoµpoµ perithentes—they stuck it round with hyssop; so
it may be taken; or, as others, they mingled it with hyssop-water, and this
they gave him to drink when he was thirsty; a drop of water would have cooled
his tongue better than a draught of vinegar: yet this he submitted to for
us. We had taken the sour grapes, and thus his teeth
were set on edge; we had forfeited all comforts and refreshments, and
therefore they were withheld from him. When heaven denied him a beam of light
earth denied him a drop of water, and put vinegar in the room of it.
V. The dying word wherewith he breathed out his soul (v. 30): When he
had received the vinegar, as much of it as he thought fit, he
said, It is finished; and, with that, bowed his head, and gave
up the ghost. Observe,
1. What he said, and we may suppose him to say it with triumph and
exultation, Tetelestai— It is finished, a
comprehensive word, and a comfortable one. (1.) It is finished, that
is, the malice and enmity of his persecutors had now done their worst; when
he had received that last indignity in the vinegar they gave
him, he said, "This is the last; I am now going out of their
reach, where the wicked cease from troubling." (2.) It
is finished, that is, the counsel and commandment of his Father
concerning his sufferings were now fulfilled; it was a determinate
counsel, and he took care to see every iota and tittle of it exactly
answered, Acts 2:23. He had said, when he entered upon his sufferings, Father,
thy will be done; and now he saith with pleasure, It is done. It
was his meat and drink to finish his work (ch. 4:34), and the
meat and drink refreshed him, when they gave him gall and vinegar. (3.) It
is finished, that is, all the types and prophecies of the Old
Testament, which pointed at the sufferings of the Messiah, were accomplished
and answered. He speaks as if, now that they had given him the vinegar, he
could not bethink himself of any word in the Old Testament that was to be
fulfilled between him and his death but it had its accomplishment; such as, his
being sold for thirty pieces of silver, his hands and feet being
pierced, his garments divided, etc.; and now that this is done. It
is finished. (4.) It is finished, that is, the
ceremonial law is abolished, and a period put to the obligation of it. The
substance is now come, and all the shadows are done away. Just now the
veil is rent, the wall of partition is taken down, even the
law of commandments contained in ordinances, Eph. 2:14, 15. The Mosaic
economy is dissolved, to make way for a better hope. (5.) It
is finished, that is, sin is finished, and an end made of
transgression, by the bringing in of an everlasting righteousness. It
seems to refer to Dan. 9:24. The Lamb of God was sacrificed to take
away the sin of the world, and it is done, Heb. 9:26. (6.) It
is finished, that is, his sufferings were now finished, both those of
his soul and those of his body. The storm is over, the worst is past; all his
pains and agonies are at an end, and he is just going to paradise, entering
upon the joy set before him. Let all that suffer for
Christ, and with Christ, comfort themselves with this, that
yet a little while and they also shall say, It is finished. (7.) It
is finished, that is, his life was now finished, he was just ready to
breathe his last, and now he is no more in this world, ch.
17:11. This is like that of blessed Paul (2 Tim. 4:7), I have finished
my course, my race is run, my glass is out, mene,
mene—numbered and finished. This we must all come to
shortly. (8.) It is finished, that is, the work of man's
redemption and salvation is now completed, at least the hardest part of the
undertaking is over; a full satisfaction is made to the justice of God, a fatal
blow given to the power of Satan, a fountain of grace opened that shall ever
flow, a foundation of peace and happiness laid that shall never fail. Christ
had now gone through with his work, and finished it, ch. 17:4.
For, as for God, his work is perfect; when I begin, saith
he, I will also make an end. And, as in the purchase, so in
the application of the redemption, he that has begun a good work will
perform it; the mystery of God shall be finished.
2. What he did: He bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. He
was voluntary in dying; for he was not only the sacrifice, but the priest and
the offerer; and the animus offerentis—the mind of the offerer, was
all in all in the sacrifice. Christ showed his will in his sufferings, by
which will we are sanctified. (1.) He gave up the ghost. His
life was not forcibly extorted from him, but freely resigned. He had
said, Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit, thereby
expressing the intention of this act. I give up myself as a ransom for
many; and, accordingly, he did give up his spirit, paid down the price
of pardon and life at his Father's hands. Father, glorify thy name. (2.) He
bowed his head. Those that were crucified, in dying stretched up their
heads to gasp for breath, and did not drop their heads till they had breathed
their last; but Christ, to show himself active in dying, bowed his head first,
composing himself, as it were, to fall asleep. God had laid upon him
the iniquity of us all, putting it upon the head of this great
sacrifice; and some think that by this bowing of his head he would intimate his
sense of the weight upon him. See Ps. 38:4; 40:12. The bowing of his head shows
his submission to his Father's will, and his obedience to death. He
accommodated himself to his dying work, as Jacob, who gathered up his
feet into the bed, and then yielded up the ghost.
Verses 31-37
This passage concerning the piercing of Christ's side after his death is
recorded only by this evangelist.
I. Observe the superstition of the Jews, which occasioned it (v. 31): Because
it was the preparation for the sabbath, and that sabbath day, because
it fell in the passover-week, was a high day, that they might
show a veneration for the sabbath, they would not have the dead bodies
to remain on the crosses on the sabbath-day, but besought
Pilate that their legs might be broken, which would be a certain, but
cruel dispatch, and that then they might be buried out of sight. Note here, 1.
The esteem they would be thought to have for the approaching sabbath, because
it was one of the days of unleavened bread, and (some reckon) the day of the
offering of the first-fruits. Every sabbath day is a holy day, and a good day,
but this was a high day, megaleµ heµmera—a great day. Passover
sabbaths are high days; sacrament-days, supper-days, communion-days are high
days, and there ought to be more than ordinary preparation for them, that these
may be high days indeed to us, as the days of heaven. 2. The
reproach which they reckoned it would be to that day if the dead bodies should
be left hanging on the crosses. Dead bodies were not to be left at any time
(Deu. 21:23); yet, in this case, the Jews would have left the Roman custom to
take place, had it not been an extraordinary day; and, many strangers from all
parts being then at Jerusalem, it would have been an offence to them; nor could
they well bear the sight of Christ's crucified body, for, unless their
consciences were quite seared, when the heat of their rage was a little over,
they would upbraid them. 3. Their petition to Pilate, that their bodies, now as
good as dead, might be dispatched; not by strangling or beheading them, which
would have been a compassionate hastening of them out of their misery, like
the coup de grace (as the French call it) to those that are
broken upon the wheel, the stroke of mercy, but by the
breaking of their legs, which would carry them off in the most exquisite pain.
Note, (1.) The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.(2.) The
pretended sanctity of hypocrites is abominable. These Jews would be thought to
bear a great regard for the sabbath, and yet had not regard to justice and
righteousness; they made no conscience of bringing an innocent and excellent
person to the cross, and yet scrupled letting a dead body hang upon the cross.
II. The dispatching of the two thieves that were crucified with him, v.
32. Pilate was still gratifying the Jews, and gave orders as they
desired; and the soldiers came, hardened against all
impressions of pity, and broke the legs of the two thieves, which,
no doubt, extorted from them hideous outcries, and made them die according to
the bloody disposition of Nero, so as to feel themselves die. One of these
thieves was a penitent, and had received from Christ an assurance that he
should shortly be with him in paradise, and yet died in the same pain and
misery that the other thief did; for all things come alike to all. Many
go to heaven that have bands in their death, and die
in the bitterness of their soul. The extremity of dying agonies is no
obstruction to the living comforts that wait for holy souls on the other side
death. Christ died, and went to paradise, but appointed a guard to convey him
thither. This is the order of going to heaven—Christ, the first-fruitsand
forerunner, afterwards those that are Christ's.
III. The trial that was made whether Christ was dead or no, and the putting of
it out of doubt.
1. They supposed him to be dead, and therefore did not break his legs, v.
33. Observe here, (1.) That Jesus died in less time than persons crucified
ordinarily did. The structure of his body, perhaps, being extraordinarily fine
and tender, was the sooner broken by pain; or, rather, it was to show that he
laid down his life of himself, and could die when he pleased, though his hands
were nailed. Though he yielded to death, yet he was not conquered. (2.) That
his enemies were satisfied he was really dead. The Jews, who stood by to see
the execution effectually done, would not have omitted this piece of cruelty,
if they had not been sure he was got out of the reach of it. (3.) Whatever
devices are in men's hearts, the counsel of the Lord shall stand. It
was fully designed to break his legs, but, God's counsel being otherwise, see
how it was prevented.
2. Because they would be sure he was dead they made such an experiment as would
put it past dispute. One of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, aiming
at his heart, and forthwith came thereout blood and water, v.
34.
(1.) The soldier hereby designed to decide the question whether he was dead or
no, and by this honourable wound in his side to supersede the ignominious
method of dispatch they took with the other two. Tradition says that this
soldier's name was Longinus, and that, having some distemper
in his eyes, he was immediately cured of it, by some drops of blood that flowed
out of Christ's side falling on them: significant enough, if we had any good
authority for the story.
(2.) But God had a further design herein, which was,
[1.] To give an evidence of the truth of his death, in order to the proof of
his resurrection. If he was only in a trance or swoon, his resurrection was a
sham; but, by this experiment, he was certainly dead, for this spear broke up
the very fountains of life, and, according to all the law and course of nature,
it was impossible a human body should survive such a wound as this in the
vitals, and such an evacuation thence.
[2.] To give an illustration of the design of his death. There was much of
mystery in it, and its being solemnly attested (v. 35) intimates there was
something miraculous in it, that the blood and water should
come out distinct and separate from the same wound; at least it was very
significant; this same apostle refers to it as a very considerable thing, 1 Jn.
5:6, 8.
First, the opening of his side was significant. When we would protest
our sincerity, we wish there were a window in our hearts, that the thoughts and
intents of them might be visible to all. Through this window, opened in
Christ's side, you may look into his heart, and see love flaming there, love
strong as death; see our names written there. Some make it an allusion to the
opening of Adam's side in innocency. When Christ, the second Adam, was fallen
into a deep sleep upon the cross, then was his side opened, and out of it was
his church taken, which he espoused to himself. See Eph. 5:30, 32. Our devout
poet, Mr. George Herbert, in his poem called The Bag, very
affectingly brings in our Saviour, when his side was pierced, thus speaking to
his disciples:—
If ye have any thing
to send, or write
(I have no bag, but here is room),
Unto my Father's hands and sight
(Believe me) it shall safely come.
That I shall mind what you impart,
Look, you may put it very near my heart;
Or, if hereafter any of my friends
Will use me in this kind, the door
Shall still be open; what he sends
I will present, and somewhat more,
Not to his hurt. Sighs will convey
Any thing to me. Hark, Despair, away.
Secondly, The blood and water that flowed out of it were significant.
1. They signified the two great benefits which all believers partake of through
Christ-justification and sanctification; blood for remission, water for
regeneration; blood for atonement, water for purification. Blood and water were
used very much under the law. Guilt contracted must be expiated by blood;
stains contracted must be done away by the water of purification. These
two must always go together. You are sanctified, you are justified, 1
Co. 6:11. Christ has joined them together, and we must not think to put them
asunder. They both flowed from the pierced side of our Redeemer. To Christ
crucified we owe both merit for our justification, and Spirit and grace for our
sanctification; and we have as much need of the latter as of the former, 1 Co.
1:30. 2. They signified the two great ordinances of baptism and the Lord's
supper, by which those benefits are represented, sealed, and applied, to
believers; they both owe their institution and efficacy to Christ. It is not
the water in the font that will be to us the washing of regeneration, but
the water out of the side of Christ; not the blood of the grape that will
pacify the conscience and refresh the soul, but the blood out of the side of
Christ. Now was the rock smitten (1 Co. 10:4), now was the fountain opened
(Zec. 13:1), now were the wells of salvation digged, Isa. 12:3. Here is
the river, the streams whereof make glad the city of our God.
IV. The attestation of the truth of this by an eye-witness (v. 35), the
evangelist himself. Observe,
1. What a competent witness he was of the matters of fact. (1.) What he bore
record of he saw; he had it not by hearsay, nor was it only his own conjecture,
but he was an eyewitness of it; it is what we have seen and looked upon (1
Jn. 1:1; 2 Pt. 1:16), and had perfect understanding of, Lu.
1:3. (2.) What he saw he faithfully bore record of; as a faithful witness, he
told not only the truth, but the whole truth; and did not only attest it by
word of mouth, but left it upon record in writing, in perpetuam rei
memoriam—for a perpetual memorial. (3.) His record is undoubtedly true; for
he wrote not only from his own personal knowledge and observation, but from the
dictates of the Spirit of truth, that leads into all truth. (4.) He had himself
a full assurance of the truth of what he wrote, and did not persuade others to
believe that which he did not believe himself: He knows that he saith
true. (5.) He therefore witnessed these things, that
we might believe; he did not record them merely for his own
satisfaction or the private use of his friends, but made them public to the
world; not to please the curious nor entertain the ingenious, but to draw men
to believe the gospel in order to their eternal welfare.
2. What care he showed in this particular instance. That we may be well assured
of the truth of Christ's death, he saw his heart's blood, his life's blood, let
out; and also of the benefits that flow to us from his death, signified by the
blood and water which came out of his side. Let this silence the fears of weak
Christians, and encourage their hopes, iniquity shall not be their
ruin, for there came both water and blood out of Christ's pierced
side, both to justify and sanctify them; and if you ask, How can we be sure of
this? You may be sure, for he that saw it bore record.
V. The accomplishment of the scripture in all this (v. 36): That the
scripture might be fulfilled, and so both the honour of the Old
Testament preserved and the truth of the New Testament confirmed. Here are two
instances of it together:—
1. The scripture was fulfilled in the preserving of his legs from being broken;
therein that word was fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. (1.)
There was a promise of this made indeed to all the righteous, but
principally pointing at Jesus Christ the righteous (Ps.
34:20): He keepeth all his bones, not one of them is broken. And
David, in spirit, says, All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto
thee? Ps. 35:10. (2.) There was a type of this in the paschal lamb,
which seems to be specially referred to here (Ex. 12:46): Neither shall
you break a bone thereof; and it is repeated (Num. 9:12), You
shall not break any bone of it; for which law the will of the
law-maker is the reason, but the antitype must answer the type. Christ
our Passover is sacrificed for us, 1 Co. 5:7. He is the Lamb
of God (ch. 1:29), and, as the true passover, his bones were kept
unbroken. This commandment was given concerning his bones, when dead, as of
Joseph's, Heb. 11:22. (3.) There was a significancy in it; the strength of the
body is in the bones. The Hebrew word for the bones signifies the strength, and
therefore not a bone of Christ must be broken, to show that
though he be crucified in weakness his strength to save is not
at all broken. Sin breaks our bones, as it broke David's (Ps. 51:8); but it did
not break Christ's bones; he stood firm under the burden, mighty to save.
2. The scripture was fulfilled in the piercing of his side (v.
37): They shall look on me whom they had pierced; so it is
written, Zec. 12:10. And there the same that pours out the Spirit of grace, and
can be no less than the God of the holy prophets, says, They shall look
upon me, which is here applied to Christ, They shall look upon
him. (1.) It is here implied that the Messiah shall be pierced; and
here it had a more full accomplishment than in the piercing of his
hands and feet;he was pierced by the house of David and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, wounded in the house of his friends, as it
follows, Zec. 13:6. (2.) It is promised that when the Spirit is poured
out they shall look on him and mourn. This was in part fulfilled when
many of those that were his betrayers and murderers were pricked to the
heart, and brought to believe in him; it will be further fulfilled, in
mercy, when all Israel shall be saved; and, in wrath, when
those who persisted in their infidelity shall see him whom they have
pierced, and wail because of him, Rev. 1:7. But it is applicable to us
all. We have all been guilty of piercing the Lord Jesus, and are all concerned
with suitable affections to look on him.
Verses 38-42
We have here an account of the burial of the blessed body of our Lord Jesus.
The solemn funerals of great men are usually looked at with curiosity; the
mournful funerals of dear friends are attended with concern. Come and see an
extraordinary funeral; never was the like! Come and see a burial that conquered
the grave, and buried it, a burial that beautified the grave and softened it
for all believers. Let us turn aside now, and see this great sight. Here
is,
I. The body begged, v. 38. This was done by the interest of Joseph of
Ramah, or Arimathea, of whom no mention is made in
all the New-Testament story, but only in the narrative which each of the
evangelists gives us of Christ's burial, wherein he was chiefly concerned.
Observe, 1. The character of this Joseph. He was a disciple of Christ incognito—in
secret, a better friend to Christ than he would willingly be known to
be. It was his honour that he was a disciple of Christ; and some such there
are, that are themselves great men, and unavoidably linked with bad men. But it
was his weakness that he was so secretly, when he should have confessed Christ
before men, yea, though he had lost his preferment by it. Disciples should
openly own themselves, yet Christ may have many that are his disciples
sincerely, though secretly; better secretly than not at all, especially if,
like Joseph here, they grow stronger and stronger. Some who in less trials have
been timorous, yet in greater have been very courageous; so Joseph here. He
concealed his affection to Christ for fear of the Jews, lest
they should put him out of the synagogue, at least out of the sanhedrim, which
was all they could do. To Pilate the governor he went boldly, and
yet feared the Jews. The impotent malice of those that can but
censure, and revile, and clamour, is sometimes more formidable even to wise and
good men than one would think. 2. The part he bore in this affair. He, having
by his place access to Pilate, desired leave of him to dispose of the body. His
mother and dear relations had neither spirit nor interest to attempt such a
thing. His disciples were gone; if nobody appeared, the Jews or soldiers would
bury him with the thieves; therefore God raised up this gentleman to interpose
in it, that the scripture might be fulfilled, and the decorum owing to his
approaching resurrection maintained. Note, When God has work to do he can find
out such as are proper to do it, and embolden them for it. Observe it as an
instance of the humiliation of Christ, that his dead body lay at the mercy of a
heathen judge, and must be begged before it could be buried, and also that
Joseph would not take the body of Christ till he had asked and obtained leave
of the governor; for in those things wherein the power of the magistrate is
concerned we must ever pay a deference to that power, and peaceably submit to
it.
II. The embalming prepared, v. 39. This was done by Nicodemus, another person
of quality, and in a public post. He brought a mixture of myrrh and
aloes, which some think were bitter ingredients, to preserve the body,
others fragrant ones, to perfume it. Here is. 1. The character of Nicodemus,
which is much the same with that of Joseph; he was a secret friend to Christ,
though not his constant follower. He at first came to Jesus by night, but
now owned him publicly, as before, ch. 7:50, 51. That grace which at first is
like a bruised reed may afterwards become like a strong cedar, and the trembling
lamb bold as a lion. See Rom. 14:4. It is a wonder that Joseph
and Nicodemus, men of such interest, did not appear sooner, and solicit Pilate
not to condemn Christ, especially seeing him so loth to do it. Begging his life
would have been a nobler piece of service than begging his body. But Christ
would have none of his friends to endeavour to prevent his death when his hour
was come. While his persecutors were forwarding the accomplishment of the
scriptures, his followers must not obstruct it. 2. The kindness of Nicodemus,
which was considerable, though of a different nature. Joseph served Christ with
his interest, Nicodemus with his purse. Probably, they agreed it between them,
that, while one was procuring the grant, the other should be preparing the
spices; and this for expedition, because they were straitened in time. But why
did they make this ado about Christ's dead body? (1.) Some think we may see in
it the weakness of their faith. A firm belief of the resurrection of Christ on
the third day would have saved them this care and cost, and have been more
acceptable than all spices. Those bodies indeed to whom the grave is a long
home need to be clad accordingly; but what need of such furniture of the grave
for one that, like a way-faring man, did but turn aside into it, to tarry
for a night or two? (2.) However, we may plainly see in it the
strength of their love. Hereby they showed the value they had for his person
and doctrine, and that it was not lessened by the reproach of the cross. Those
that had been so industrious to profane his crown, and lay his honour in the
dust, might already see that they had imagined a vain thing; for, as God had
done him honour in his sufferings, so did men too, even great men. They showed
not only the charitable respect of committing his body to the earth, but the
honourable respect shown to great men. This they might do, and yet believe and
look for his resurrection; nay, this they might do in the belief and
expectation of it. Since God designed honour for this body, they would put
honour upon it. However, we must do our duty according as the present day and
opportunity are, and leave it to God to fulfil his promises in his own way and
time.
III. The body got ready, v. 40. They took it into some house
adjoining, and, having washed it from blood and dust, wound it in linen
clothes very decently, with the spices melted down, it is likely, into
an ointment, as the manner of the Jews is to bury, or to embalm (so
Dr. Hammond), as we sear dead bodies. 1. Here was care taken of Christ's body:
It was wound in linen clothes. Among clothing that belongs to
us, Christ put on even the grave-clothes, to make them easy to us, and to
enable us to call them our wedding-clothes. They wound the body with
the spices, for all his garments, his grave-clothes
not excepted, smell of myrrh and aloes (the spices here
mentioned) out of the ivory palaces (Ps. 45:8), and an ivory
palace the sepulchre hewn out of a rock was to Christ. Dead bodies and graves
are noisome and offensive; hence sin is compared to a body of death and
an open sepulchre; but Christ's sacrifice, being to God as a
sweet-smelling savour, hath taken away our pollution. No ointment or perfume
can rejoice the heart so as the grave of our Redeemer does, where there is
faith to perceive the fragrant odours of it. 2. In conformity to this example,
we ought to have regard to the dead bodies of Christians; not to enshrine and
adore their relics, no, not those of the most eminent saints and martyrs
(nothing like that was done to the dead body of Christ himself), but carefully
to deposit them, the dust in the dust, as those who believe that the dead
bodies of the saints are still united to Christ and designed for glory and
immortality at the last day. The resurrection of the saints will be in virtue
of Christ's resurrection, and therefore in burying them we should have an eye
to Christ's burial, for he, being dead, thus speaketh. Thy dead men
shall live, Isa. 26:19. In burying our dead it is not necessary that
in all circumstances we imitate the burial of Christ, as if we must be buried
in linen, and in a garden, and be embalmed as he was; but his being buried
after the manner of the Jews teaches us that in things of this
nature we should conform to the usages of the country where we live, except in
those that are superstitious.
IV. The grave pitched upon, in a garden which belonged to Joseph of Arimathea,
very near the place where he was crucified. There was a sepulchre, or vault,
prepared for the first occasion, but not yet used. Observe,
1. That Christ was buried without the city, for thus the manner of the Jews was
to bury, not in their cities, much less in their synagogues, which some have
thought better than our way of burying: yet there was then a peculiar reason
for it, which does not hold now, because the touching of a grave contracted a
ceremonial pollution: but now that the resurrection of Christ has altered the
property of the grave, and done away its pollution for all believers, we need
not keep at such a distance from it; nor is it incapable of a good improvement,
to have the congregation of the dead in the church-yard, encompassing the
congregation of the living in the church, since they also are dying, and
in the midst of life we are in death. Those that would not
superstitiously, but by faith, visit the holy sepulchre, must go forth out of
the noise of this world.
2. That Christ was buried in a garden. Observe, (1.) That Joseph had his
sepulchre in his garden; so he contrived it, that it might be a memento, [1.]
To himself while living; when he was taking the pleasure of his garden, and
reaping the products of it, let him think of dying, and be quickened to prepare
for it. The garden is a proper place for meditation, and a sepulchre there may
furnish us with a proper subject for meditation, and such a one as we are loth
to admit in the midst of our pleasures. [2.] To his heirs and successors when
he was gone. It is good to acquaint ourselves with the place of our
fathers' sepulchres; and perhaps we might make our own less formidable
if we made theirs more familiar. (2.) That in a sepulchre in a garden Christ's
body was laid. In the garden of Eden death and the grave first received their
power, and now in a garden they are conquered, disarmed, and triumphed over. In
a garden Christ began his passion, and from a garden he would rise, and begin
his exaltation. Christ fell to the ground as a corn of wheat (ch.
12:24), and therefore was sown in a garden among the seeds, for his dew
is as the dew of herbs, Isa. 26:19. He is the fountain of
gardens, Cant. 4:15.
3. That he was buried in a new sepulchre. This was so ordered (1.) For the
honour of Christ; he was not a common person, and therefore must not mix with
common dust He that was born from a virgin-womb must rise from a virgin-tomb.
(2.) For the confirming of the truth of his resurrection, that it might not be
suggested that it was not he, but some other that rose now, when many bodies of
saints arose; or, that he rose by the power of some other, as the man that was
raised by the touch of Elisha's bones, and not by his own power. He that
has made all things new has new-made the grave for us.
V. The funeral solemnized (v. 42): There laid they Jesus, that
is, the dead body of Jesus. Some think the calling of this Jesus intimates
the inseparable union between the divine and human nature. Even this dead body
was Jesus—a Saviour, for his death is our life; Jesus is still
the same, Heb. 13:8. There they laid him because it was the preparation day.
1. Observe here the deference which the Jews paid to the sabbath, and to the
day of preparation. Before the passover-sabbath they had a solemn day of
preparation. This day had been ill kept by the chief priests, who called
themselves the church, but was well kept by the disciples of Christ, who were
branded as dangerous to the church; and it is often so. (1.) They would not put
off the funeral till the sabbath day, because the sabbath is to be a day of
holy rest and joy, with which the business and sorrow of a funeral do not well
agree. (2.) They would not drive it too late on the day of preparation for the
sabbath. What is to be done the evening before the sabbath should be so
contrived that it may neither intrench upon sabbath time, nor indispose us for
sabbath work.
2. Observe the convenience they took of an adjoining sepulchre; the sepulchre
they made use of was nigh at hand.Perhaps, if they had had time,
they would have carried him to Bethany, and buried him among his friends there.
And I am sure he had more right to have been buried in the chief of the
sepulchres of the sons of David than any of the kings of Judah had; but it was
so ordered that he should be laid in a sepulchre nigh at hand, (1.) Because he
was to lie there but awhile, as in an inn, and therefore he took the first that
offered itself. (2.) Because this was a new sepulchre. Those that prepared it
little thought who should handsel it; but the wisdom of God has reaches
infinitely beyond ours, and he makes what use he pleases of us and all we have.
(3.) We are hereby taught not to be over-curious in the place of our burial.
Where the tree falls, why should it not lie? For Christ was buried in the
sepulchre that was next at hand. It was faith in the promise of Canaan that
directed the Patriarch's desires to be carried thither for a burying-place; but
now, since that promise is superseded by a better, that care is over.
Thus without pomp or solemnity is the body of Jesus laid in the cold and silent
grave. Here lies our surety under arrest for our debts, so that if he be
released his discharge will be ours. Here is the Sun of righteousness set for
awhile, to rise again in greater glory, and set no more. Here lies a seeming
captive to death, but a real conqueror over death; for here lies death itself
slain, and the grave conquered. Thanks be to God, who giveth us the
victory.
