836 hi 0 S P E L S [rouuru GOSPEL. of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem that both here and in xii. 36 we ought (in spite of the where Davi-.1 was? " It is a curious instance of the degree L.'.'. usage) to translate Expfi/317 “was hid "’ (<_-/'. Ln. xix. 42 ; to which the dramatic character of tlie Fourth Gospel has lleb. xi. 23), and that we must suppose the intervention of been ignored, that even an acute commentator has inferred some supernatural agency in a judicial retribution hiding from this passage tl1at John “was not aware of the birth the Light from the children of darkness who seek to at Bethlehem.” The fact is that the author uses these and destroy it. similar errors and blind gropings of the people, the enemies, The section on light terminates with an appropriate sign, '1‘he and even the disciples of the Lord, to enhance the majesty the opening of the eyes of the blind 111an, who is sent to 0I_*0Hi" and insight of Him who walks above them all, high in the wash his eyes in the waters of a pool named Siloain. The light of heaven, while they are creeping in the mist around evangelist sees a mysterious meaning in the name of the 130° His feet. He does not stop to correct these vulgar errors, pool. As the Baptist had baptized in .l‘Inon near to Salim, blind for he presupposes that his readers are in the light, and 2'.e.,the “waters” near to and preparing the way for “pe-.1ec";=* man. able to see through them all; and it is with a frequency and the Samaritan woman had boasted of her well of almost betokening enjoyment that he repeats this device Sychar or drunkenness, and the impotent man had been over and over again, in every case holding up the error in healed in Bethesda or the “house of mercy,” so now the silence to the contempt or pity of his reader, and delighting opening of the eyes of the blind man is cticcted in part by to exhibit human folly glorifying the wisdom of God. 111- the direct action of the Light of the world, but in part also stances of this device occur in this very chapter. “ Who by the instrument-ality of water at a pool named “ Sent,"—— goeth about to kill Thee ‘l ” says the ignorant multitude (vii. a word which may apply to an aqueduct, “ 1m's.s~-io aquarum,” '_’0), at the very time when the arrest of Jesus is being or to Him whom the Jews expected as the “ Sent,” 2'.c., the planned by the Pharisees: “ Out of Galilee ariseth no pro- Messiah. The conclusion of the section on light (ix. 39), phet,” say the learned students of the law (vii. 52), so “For judgment I am come into this world; that they blinded by their malignity that they cannot even read the which see not might see, and that they which see might be books that describe the birthplaces of Elijah and Jonah ; made blind,” accords with the passage in Matthew and “ We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and the Luke where Christ acknowledges to the Father that it hath prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph,” seemed good to Him to reveal these things to babes and to says Philip, happy in the completeness of his new-fledged hide them from the wise and prudent (Mat. xi. 25 ; Lu. x. knowledge (i. 45), and ignorant that a time will come when 21) ; and the climax appropriately introduces the Pharisees, he will hear from “the son of Joseph ” this humiliating confident in the “lamp of the law,” asking, in a tone which rebuke, “ Have I been with you so long, and hast thou not suggests the utter impossibility of a11 atiirmative answer, known He, Philip?” “ Are we blind also '! ” The answer of Jesus distinguishes The doc- Passing over the story of the woman taken in adultery two kinds of darkness in the soul——the involuntary darkness ‘fine 0f as being an interpolation, we are led to that section of the arising from inexperience of the light, a11d the voluntary “gm” Gospel which treats of the doctrine of light. The mention darkness which arises from experience and rejection of the of the Father and the Son, as being two witnesses, bearing light. His answer explains the sense in which the word witness to the Son——according to the saying of “your “ hypocrite ” was so often applied to the Pharisees by Jesus law” that “ the testimony of two men is true” (viii. in the synoptists. The Pharisees were in darkness, and, like l2—17)—is a subtle use of the words of Scripture, such all other men, had received gleams from “the light which as we look for vainly in the teaching of Christ as pre- lighteth every man,” convicting them of their darkness, and served by the synoptists.‘ But the connexion between the leading them to say, “We see not,” if they had but been light and the truth, and between truth and freedom, and honest. But they persisted in saying, “We see.”4 There- the dialogue that follows upon the genuine children of fore, it is said to them, “Your sin remaineth” (ix. 41). Abraham, remind us, in part-, of the synoptic version of the These latter words, whether uttered or 11ot by Jesus in the B-.1ptist’s teaching about the children of Abraham (Mat. iii. exact shape in which the Fourth Gospel gives them, are un- 8 ; Lu. iii. 8); in part, of the teaching of St Paul conceru- doubtedly true to the spirit of His teaching ; and they ing the freedom of “Jerusalem which is above” (Gal. iv. furnish a suitable end to the discourses on light, bringing 26; and compare Rom. vi. 16-20).? prominently forward that “reproving” or “ convincing ” The climax of hatred and insult of the Jews is most ap- power of light which is one of the special attributes of that propriately expressed (viii. 48), “ Say we not well that Thou Holy Spirit to whom, step by step, the Fourth Gospel is art a Samaritan and hast a devil '1” and it is also appropriate leading us. to a discourse on “the Light that lighteth every man com- The metaphor of the good shepherd suggests an in1- The ing into the world” that the Jews should be informed that portant difference between the Fourth Gospel and the S00“ even Abraham saw that light and rejoiced. It is probable Gospels of Matthew and Luke, viz., the absence of all alle- _ _ gory and almost all parable in the former. Why did ' .,.‘£::“;:‘:a';: r:3?.:‘*::a ::.:*:::.r.s:;.;‘::;:::t:::.a*as the .author» W120 rejected 89 v=arab°1i°sw*=c.ts- heariir, and influencing the conscience to ’acknow]exlge and believe in remm only “us lmmble of the shepherd m. c(.)mmOn with the son ' them? The answer may be, part.ly that it 1s a parable 9 Yer. 35 and 36 seem difficult to connect with ver. 34, “ Ii"hoso- based upon the teaching of Philo, who distinguishes between ‘Eve,’ °‘;":1':)‘,€‘:ff%,f(:"hi‘:1sZ"i.0‘:_e”:‘”t gt 3”,‘ émd filleleifrveajlt “l_’lf‘1‘t~']”‘ mere indulgent “keepers of sheep ” and “shepherds,” some- S’;:1”‘{,mef0re shall make y0‘:1ef';;e,u3_e s_',‘:a,,°‘,‘)eaf’:,ee ,'nde$_’..' T1: what in the_san_1e way 111 which our parable distmguislies italicized words seem to confuse the thought. The argument that between uhnelmgs iand Shellllerdsi and 1'0 ml‘_15 that the_ seems required is this. “ l'o_meie servant, such as Moses, is a safe Supreme Sllepherd is ulod, who orders all llis flock oi
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pal-i‘nia’nent." J uI:it such an fl1‘£filn10llt is found in the Epistle to the (Phmmtm! &c'1 11)‘ In Part: l)Cflm'l’S! the autho" may have Hebrews (iii. 5; viii. 3. “ .los«-.s was faithful in all His house as a " ' ’— "‘" “ ' “" servant, . . . but Christ as a son over His own house, whose house 3 Philo (as well as the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews) are we ;" and in the same epi~tle Christ is said to “ abide" (/,u'i/cw) it emphasizes the fact that Mclcliiscilelc, the true High Priest, the giver priest continually, and to be able (Heb. vii. 24, ‘.25, to save men to of wine instead of water, is the King of Salim or peace (.lllc_r/., iii. 25). the uttcrmost, because He “abideth" (616; 1-2; péycw at‘;-rim sis 1-by 4 (ff. Philo, Who is the Ilvirf 15, “Look up, so as to convict aidwa). It seems probable, thu-r--fore, that some early teaching of the (e’)e'-yxew) the blind race of common men, which, though seeming to
church is here C0lllll.‘(5‘.l. by the addition of the italici/.r-.l words. see, is blinclcil.”