Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 5:40
And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
40. ye will not come to me ] Not the future of ‘to come,’ but the present of ‘to will:’ ye are not willing to come to Me. This is at the root of their failure to read Scripture aright, their hearts are estranged. They have no will to find the truth, and without that no intellectual searching will avail. Note that here again man’s will is shewn to be free; the truth is not forced upon him; he can reject it if he likes. Comp. Joh 3:19.
that ye might have life ] ‘Ye fancy ye find life in your searching of the Scriptures, and ye refuse to come to Me in order to have it in reality.’
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And ye will not come … – Though the Old Testament bears evidence that I am the Messiah; though you professedly search it to learn the way to life, and though my works prove it, yet you will not come to me to obtain life. From this we may learn:
1.That life is to be obtained in Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the life, and he only can save us.
2.That, in order to do that, we must come to him – that is, must come in the way appointed, as lost sinners, and be willing to be saved by him alone.
3.That the reason why sinners are not saved lies in the will. The only reason why sinners die is because they will not come to Christ for life and happiness: it is not because they cannot, but because they will not (Henry).
- Sinners have a particular opposition to going to Jesus Christ for eternal life. They would prefer any other way, and it is commonly not until all other means are tried that they are willing to submit to him.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 40. And ye will not come to me] Though ye thus search the Scriptures, in hopes of finding the Messiah and eternal life in them, yet ye will not come unto me, believe in me, and be my disciples, though so clearly pointed out by them, that ye may have that eternal life which can only come through me.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
You will not own, embrace, and receive me as the true Messiah and Saviour of the world, though that be the only means by which you can obtain that eternal life which you pretend to be seeking after, and rightly think that the Scripture alone can show you the way to. These two verses teach us,
1. That the Holy Scriptures are the only writings which show us the way to life eternal.
2. That not only the Scriptures of the New, but also of the Old Testament, are of use in order thereunto, though the Old Testament Scriptures show us it more darkly, and those of the New Testament show it to us more clearly.
3. That both the one and the other point us to Christ, and to the receiving and embracing of him, as our Saviour, if we would have life.
4. That it is not sufficient for us to search the Scriptures, to be versed in and acquainted with them, unless we, in obedience to them, come to Christ.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And ye will not come to me,…. Which is to be understood, not of a corporeal coming to him; for many of the Jews did come to him in this sense; some for one thing, and some for another; some for the loaves, that they might eat and be filled; some to see his miracles, and others to partake of the benefit of them; some to hear him preach, and others to catch and cavil at what they could: nor is bare coming to hear Christ preached, or an outward attendance on, and submission to his ordinances, such a coming to him as is here designed; for with these eternal life is not connected: bodily exercise profiteth not in this way; but a spiritual coming to Christ, or a coming to him by faith is here meant; in which sense the phrase is frequently used in this Gospel, especially in the next chapter; see Joh 6:35; and those who come aright to Christ, come to him as the alone, able, suitable, and sufficient Saviour; and in themselves as sinners, and ready to perish; and as such they are received by him with a welcome: but these men did not see themselves as such; nor did they see any need they had of coming to Christ; for they thought they had eternal life elsewhere: and such were their ignorance of themselves and Christ; and such their prejudices against him; and such the depravity, perverseness, and stubbornness of their wills, that they had no inclination, desire, and will to come to Christ, any more than power; which is an argument against, and not for the free will of man, unless it be to that which is evil: and this perverseness of their wills to come to Christ, when revealed in the external ministry of the word, was blameworthy in them, since this was not owing to any decree of God, but to the corruption and vitiosity of nature; which being blameworthy in them, that which follows upon it must be so too; and it was the greater aggravation of their sin, that they had the Scriptures which testified of Christ, and pointed at him as the way of life, and yet would not come to him for it:
that ye might have life; that is, eternal life, as is expressed in the foregoing verse, and is so read here in Beza’s old copy, in the Syriac, Arabic, and Persic versions. This is in Christ, not only the purpose and promise of it, but that itself: he has the disposal of it, gives the right unto it, and a meetness for it, with all the comforts arising from it, and all the promises and blessings relating to it; and all that come to Christ by faith may, and shall have it: this is the will of the Father, the end of his giving of Christ, and of his mission and coming into the world, and is inseparably connected with believing in him.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
And ye will not come to me ( ). “And yet” () as often in John. “This is the tragedy of the rejection of Messiah by the Messianic race” (Bernard). See John 1:11; Matt 23:37 ( , and ye would not). Men loved darkness rather than light (Joh 3:19).
That ye may have life ( ). Life in its simplest form as in 3:36 (cf. 3:16). This is the purpose of John in writing the Fourth Gospel (20:31). There is life only in Christ Jesus.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
And. More than a simple copula. Rather and yet. See on Luk 18:7. Ye will not [ ] . Indicating stubborn determination. See on Mt 1:19.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And ye will not come to me,” (kai ou thelete elthein pros me) “And you all have not a strong will to approach or come to me,” at all, or you would know who I am, comprehend my identity from the Father, Joh 7:17. But though convicted, you have not a will or volition to come to me.
2) “That ye might have life.” (hina zoen echete) “In order that you may have, hold, or possess life,” eternal life, which is in the Son, Luk 24:27; Luk 24:44-45, 1Pe 1:10-11; Joh 10:27-28; 1Jn 5:11; Rev 22:17; Rev 22:19.
Thus concludes a summary of the Four-fold witness of Christ through 1) John the Baptist, 2) The work of Jesus and voice of the Father, 3) His own testimony, and 4) The Scriptures, Joh 5:33-40.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
40. And you will not come to me. He again reproaches them that it is nothing but their own malice that hinders them from becoming partakers of the life offered in the Scriptures; for when he says that they will not, he imputes the cause of their ignorance and blindness to wickedness and obstinacy. And, indeed, since he offered himself to them so graciously, they must have been willfully blind; but when they intentionally fled from the light, and even desired to extinguish the sun by the darkness of their unbelief, Christ justly reproves them with greater severity.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(40) And ye will not come to me.The real hindrance is once more traced to the will. (See Note on Joh. 3:9.) It is moral, not intellectual. The result of a true willingness to know the truth is certain, not problematic. Ye search because ye think ye have: if ye were willing to come, ye should really have.
The lesson is wide in its bearing. The Rabbinic spirit is not confined to Rabbis, nor is the merely literal study of the Scriptures limited to those of Juda. Dictionaries, and grammars, and commentaries, are tools; but the precious ore is in the mine, and is to be extracted by every man for himself. He who wisely uses the best means will know most of God and His truth; but this knowledge no man can purchase, and the essentials of it none need lack. It is to be learned in the closet, rather than in the library; in action and trust, rather than in scholarship and thought. Religion is not philosophy, and the world by knowledge has never known God. For every humble heart that willeth to be a scholar, God Himself willeth to be the Teacher.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
DISCOURSE: 1631
THE TRUE REASON OF MENS DESTRUCTION
Joh 5:40. Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
TO doubt whether men wish to be saved or not, may appear absurd. No man would hesitate to answer such a question in the affirmative. But though every one would prefer happiness to misery, they are but few who really prefer the way that leads to happiness. The text may be addressed to the generality amongst ourselves with the same propriety as to those who rejected the invitations of our Lord in the days of old. We shall take occasion from these words to inquire,
I.
What are the benefits of coming unto Christ
To come to Christ is a frequent expression in the Scriptures:
Let us first consider what is implied in this act
[It imports not an outward attendance on his person, but an inward affiance on him for salvation. It imports a coming to him with humility as sinners with faith as to the only Saviour and with love as to our rightful Lord and Master [Note: The full import of this act may perhaps be more clearly understood by expressing the very words and manner in which a sinner comes to Christ O my Lord and Saviour, behold I am vile, and justly deserve to be for ever spurned from thy footstool, &c. But thou hast died for sinners, even the chief, &c. I have no hope but in thee, &c. O receive a poor prodigal, &c. I look for redemption through thy blood; O let thy blood cleanse me from all sin, &c. And while I trust in thy name, enable me to depart from all iniquity, &c. Be thou my only Lord, and let every thought and desire of my heart be brought into captivity to thy holy will, &c.] ]
From a due performance of this act the most inestimable benefits will arise
[Temporal, spiritual, eternal life will flow from it. Even the temporal comforts of life are enjoyed by none so much as by him who believes in Christ; nor is there any other person who holds them by so sure a tenure [Note: 1Ti 4:8.]. He cannot fail of possessing them as far as they will conduce to his spiritual welfare. But spiritual life is a far richer blessing; and this is the believers assured portion. His soul shall be endued with a new and vital principle of grace [Note: Joh 10:10.]. Christ himself will live in him and be his life [Note: Gal 2:20. Col 3:4.]. As Lazarus when raised was enabled to perform the functions of animal life, of which he had been rendered, for a season, incapable, so shall the believers soul, which was once dead in trespasses and sins, be quickened to the discharge of all the duties and offices of the spiritual life. He shall enjoy sweet communion with God in secret, and find his supreme delight in fulfilling his blessed will. The man who thus daily comes to Christ for righteousness and strength is incomparably the happiest man on earth; but his happiness does not terminate with his present existence. No: he shall possess also eternal life. Believer, thou hast a never-fading crown of righteousness and glory awaiting thee at thy departure hence What a recompence is this of all thy labour! What encouragement to come continually to Christ does such a prospect afford thee!]
One would suppose that, with such prospects, all should be pressing toward the Saviour with their whole hearts. Let us then proceed to inquire,
II.
Whence it is that any fall short of these blessings?
The reason assigned in the text is the most just and most humiliating of any. There is no unwillingness in Christ to save us, but we are unwilling to go to him for salvation.
1.
We are indifferent about life
[We consider all pretensions to a new and spiritual life as enthusiasm, and therefore disdain to apply to Christ for it. As for eternal life, we do not wish to hear any thing about it. If the prospect of temporal advancement be held out to us, we can cheerfully and intensely bend our minds to the attainment of it; but if heaven and all its glory be offered us, we slight it utterly. We choose to talk of any subject rather than religion, and universally agree to banish that from our conversation. If at any time the thought of eternity be obtruded upon us, we turn from it with disgust; and are uneasy till some other topic be brought forward. Even in the house of God we hear of heavenly things as if they were fabulous and unworthy of our attention. We love our own ways, though they will end in death; and will not endure to be told of heaven, because we cannot reconcile our minds to the way that leads thither. To this effect is that declaration of Christ, They that hate me, love death [Note: Pro 8:34-36. It is Christ who speaks here, ver. 2231.].]
2.
We are averse to the way in which alone it is to be obtained
[We will not come to Christ for life: this appears to be too humiliating. If we could obtain life by any works of our own, we would gladly do them; but we cannot bear to be so entirely indebted to another. We do not choose to acknowledge ourselves lost and undone. We hope to establish some righteousness of our own. Hence we neither do, nor will, come to Christ for life and salvation. Besides, this way to life is too strict: as we do not like to come with humility, and faith, so neither do we feel that love which will instigate us to devote ourselves unreservedly to his service. We think that less religion will suffice, and are determined to perish, rather than endure such drudgery. In every ungodly sinner are the words of our Saviour verified, How often would I, but ye would not [Note: Mat 23:37.].]
Infer
1.
What ground for self-condemnation will there be in the day of judgment!
[Every condemned sinner, however full of excuses now, will then have his mouth shut; yea, even now a moments reflection must convince us, that every sinners condemnation is the effect of his own obstinacy. Who amongst you does not know, that he ought to read the word of God, and to seek his face, and to repent of sin, and to flee to Christ for refuge, and to give up himself to Christ in a way of holy obedience? Yet you will not do it. Your conscience at times remonstrates with you: yet you will not obey its voice: and your recollections of this in the eternal world will be one of the most bitter ingredients in the cup which you will drink to all eternity.]
2.
What astonishing grace and mercy are there in the Lord Jesus Christ!
[His reproof contains in it a most gracious invitation. He addresses all of us at this instant, Come unto me and I will give you life [Note: Mat 11:28.]. Let none resist him any longer. Let us go to him, and he will in no wise cast us out [Note: Joh 6:37.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
Ver. 40. Ye will not come to me ] Though clearly convinced by the Scriptures. See their obstinace and malice. Amos,Amo 6:12Amo 6:12 , compareth such untamable, untractable, masterless monsters, to horses running upon a rock, where first they break their hoofs and then their necks.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
40. ] I would connect these words with the former, and regard them as describing the inconsistency of those who think that they in the Scriptures, and yet will not come to Him of whom they testify, . So that will be spoken in a fine irony, And ye will not come to Me!
Observe, this command to the Jews to search their Scriptures, applies fortiori to Christians; who are yet, like them, in danger of idolizing a mere written book, believing that in the Bible they have eternal life, and missing the personal knowledge of Him of whom the Scriptures testify.
The here sets forth strikingly the freedom of the will , on which the unbeliever’s condemnation rests: see ch. Joh 3:19 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Joh 5:40 . . The true function of Scripture is expressed in the words, : they do not give life, as the Jews thought; they lead to the life-giver. God speaks in Scripture with a definite purpose in view, to testify to Christ; if Scripture does that, it does all. But to set it on a level with Christ is to do both it, Him, and ourselves grave injustice.
This closes the description of the threefold witness to Christ, and in Joh 5:41-47 , He exposes the source of their unbelief. This exposure is introduced by a disclaimer on His part of any chagrin at the want of homage and acceptance He received.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
will not come = do not will (Joh 5:6) to come.
to. Greek. pros. App-104.
might = may.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
40.] I would connect these words with the former, and regard them as describing the inconsistency of those who think that they in the Scriptures, and yet will not come to Him of whom they testify, . So that will be spoken in a fine irony, And ye will not come to Me!
Observe, this command to the Jews to search their Scriptures, applies fortiori to Christians; who are yet, like them, in danger of idolizing a mere written book, believing that in the Bible they have eternal life, and missing the personal knowledge of Him of whom the Scriptures testify.
The here sets forth strikingly the freedom of the will, on which the unbelievers condemnation rests: see ch. Joh 3:19.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 5:40. , come) in accordance with what the testimony of the Scriptures concerning Me demands.[109]
[109] , that ye might have life) What follows below is more severe: If ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins, ch. Joh 8:24.-V. g.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 5:40
Joh 5:40
and ye will not come to me, that ye may have life.-Notwithstanding these testimonies they refused to believe in him and come to him as his disciples. Jesus keeps it distinctly before them that through him alone they could receive spiritual life. [They rejected the light their own scriptures contained. Search implies painstaking, exhaustive examination.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
ye will not: Joh 5:44, Joh 1:11, Joh 3:19, Joh 8:45, Joh 8:46, Joh 12:37-41, Psa 81:11, Isa 49:7, Isa 50:2, Isa 53:1-3, Mat 22:3, Mat 23:37, Rev 22:17
that: Joh 6:27, Joh 6:37, Joh 6:40, Joh 6:68, Joh 6:69, Joh 7:37, Joh 7:38, Joh 11:25, Joh 11:26, Rom 6:23, 1Jo 5:11-13
Reciprocal: Gen 6:20 – two Isa 30:15 – and ye Jer 8:5 – they refuse Eze 3:7 – Israel will Luk 6:47 – cometh Luk 14:18 – all Joh 6:35 – he that cometh Joh 10:28 – I give Joh 16:9 – General Joh 20:31 – believing Act 8:28 – and sitting Act 10:43 – him Col 3:3 – your Col 3:16 – the word 2Ti 1:1 – the promise 2Ti 1:10 – and hath 2Ti 3:15 – which 1Pe 2:4 – To
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
0
The one person that their Scriptures predicted should come into the world to save it, these Jews refused to accept that they might be saved.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
THIS passage concludes our Lord Jesus Christ’s wondrous defense of His own divine mission. It is a conclusion worthy of the defense, full of heart-searching appeals to the consciences of His enemies, and rich in deep truths. A mighty sermon is followed by a mighty application.
Let us mark, in this passage, the reason why many souls are lost. The Lord Jesus says to the unbelieving Jews,-“Ye will not come to me that ye might have life.”
These words are a golden sentence, which ought to be engraven in our memories, and treasured up in our minds. It is want of will to come to Christ for salvation that will be found, at last, to have shut the many out of heaven.-It is not men’s sins. All manner of sin may be forgiven.-It is not any decree of God. We are not told in the Bible of any whom God has only created to be destroyed.-It is not any limit in Christ’s work of redemption. He has paid a price sufficient for all mankind.-It is something far more than this. It is man’s own innate unwillingness to come to Christ, repent, and believe. Either from pride, or laziness, or love of sin, or love of the world, the many have no mind, or wish, or heart, or desire to seek life in Christ. “God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” (1Jn 5:11.) But men stand still, and will not stir hand or foot to get life. And this is the whole reason why many of the lost are not saved.
This is a painful and solemn truth, but one that we can never know too well. It contains a first principle in Christian theology. Thousands, in every age, are constantly laboring to shift the blame of their condition from off themselves. They talk of their inability to change. They tell you complacently, that they cannot help being what they are! They know, forsooth, that they are wrong, but they cannot be different!-It will not do. Such talk will not stand the test of the Word of Christ before us. The unconverted are what they are because they have no will to be better. “Light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light.” (Joh 3:19.) The words of the Lord Jesus will silence many: “I would have gathered you, and ye would not be gathered.” (Mat 23:37.)
Let us mark, secondly, in this passage, one principal cause of unbelief. The Lord Jesus says to the Jews,-“How can ye believe which receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh of God only?” He meant by that saying, that they were not honest in their religion. With all their apparent desire to hear and learn, they cared more in reality for pleasing man than God. In this state of mind they were never likely to believe.
A deep principle is contained in this saying of our Lord’s, and one that deserves special attention. True faith does not depend merely on the state of man’s head and understanding, but on the state of his heart. His mind may be convinced. His conscience may be pricked. But so long as there is anything the man is secretly loving more than God, there will be no true faith. The man himself may be puzzled, and wonder why he does not believe. He does not see that he is like a child sitting on the lid of his box, and wishing to open it, but not considering that his own weight keeps it shut. Let a man make sure that he honestly and really desires first the praise of God. It is the want of an honest heart which makes many stick fast in their religion all their days, and die at length without peace. Those who complain that they hear, and approve, and assent, but make no progress, and cannot get any hold on Christ, should ask themselves this simple question,-“Am I honest?-Am I sincere?-Do I really desire first the praise of God?”
Let us mark, lastly, in this passage, the manner in which Christ speaks of Moses. He says to the Jews,-“Had ye believed Moses ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.”
These words demand our special attention in these latter days. That there really was such a person as Moses,-that he really was the author of the writings commonly ascribed to him,-on both these points our Lord’s testimony is distinct. “He wrote of me.” Can we suppose for a moment that our Lord was only accommodating Himself to the prejudices and traditions of His hearers, and that He spoke of Moses as a writer, though He knew in His heart that Moses never wrote at all? Such an idea is profane. It would make out our Lord to have been dishonest.-Can we suppose for a moment that our Lord was ignorant about Moses, and did not know the wonderful discoveries which learned men, falsely so called, have made in the nineteenth century? Such an idea is ridiculous blasphemy. To imagine the Lord Jesus speaking ignorantly in such a chapter as the one before us, is to strike at the root of all Christianity.-There is but one conclusion about the matter. There was such a person as Moses. The writings commonly ascribed to him were written by him. The facts recorded in them are worthy of all credit. Our Lord’s testimony is an unanswerable argument. The skeptical writers against Moses and the Pentateuch have greatly erred.
Let us beware of handling the Old Testament irreverently, and allowing our minds to doubt the truth of any part of it, because of alleged difficulties. The simple fact that the writers of the New Testament continually refer to the Old Testament, and speak even of the most miraculous events recorded in it as undoubtedly true, should silence our doubts. Is it at all likely, probable, or credible, that we of the nineteenth century are better informed about Moses than Jesus and His Apostles? God forbid that we should think so! Then let us stand fast, and not doubt that every word in the Old Testament, as well as in the New, was given by inspiration of God.
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Notes-
v40.-[And ye will not come to me…life.] The connection between this verse and the preceding one is not very clear. It is one of those abrupt elliptical transitions which occur frequently in John’s writings. I conjecture the link must be something of this kind: “The Scriptures testify plainly of Me. And yet in the face of this testimony ye have no will or inclination to come to Me by faith, that ye may have eternal life through Me.”
This verse evidently begins the third part of our Lord’s address to the Jews. He had declared the relation between Himself and God the Father. He had brought forward the evidence of His own Divine commission, and His claim to be received as the Messiah. And now He concludes by a most heart-piercing appeal to the consciences of His enemies, in which He exposes the true state of their hearts, and the real reasons why they did not believe in Him. If ever men were plainly dealt with, and received home-thrusts as to their own spiritual condition, it was on this occasion. In reading the conclusion of this chapter, one cannot but feel that a miraculous restraint must have been put on our Lord’s enemies. Otherwise it is difficult to understand how they could have allowed Him to bring such cutting and truthful charges against them. If ministers desire a warrant for dealing plainly with their hearers, and addressing them directly and personally about their sins, they have only to look at their Divine Master’s words in this passage.
The opening charge that our Lord makes, “Ye will not come to me,” misses much of its force in the English language. It is not the future tense of “come” that is used in the Greek. Two distinct verbs are employed. The right meaning is, “Ye do not will to come,”-“Ye have no heart, desire, or inclination to come to Me.”
Let it be noted here that (1.) we are all by nature dead in sins;-that (2.) spiritual life is laid up for sinners in Christ alone; He is the fountain of life;-that (3.) in order to receive benefit from Christ men must come to him by faith, and believe: believing is coming;-and, finally, (4.) that the real reasons why men do not come to Christ, and consequently die in their sins, is their want of will to come.
Let it be carefully noted, that both here and elsewhere the loss of man’s soul is always attributed in Scripture to man’s own want of will to be saved. It is not any decree of God. It is not God’s unwillingness to receive. It is not any limitation of Christ’s redeeming work and atonement. It is not any want of wide, broad, free, full invitations to repent and believe. It is simply and entirely man’s own fault,-his want of will. For ever let us cleave to this doctrine. Man’s salvation, if saved, is entirely of God. Man’s ruin, if lost, is entirely of himself. He “loves darkness rather than light.” He will have his own way.
We should observe in this concluding part of our Lord’s address, that He charges the Jews with four distinct sins: (1.) want of real will to come to Him, (2.) want of real love to God, (3.) undue desire of man’s praise, (4.) want of real faith in Moses’ writings.
v41.-[I receive not honour from men.] The connection between these words and the preceding verse is again not very clear. I conjecture that it must be as follows:-“I do not say these things, as if I desired the praise and honour of man. I do not complain of your not coming to Me, as if I only came into the world to seek man’s praise. It is not on My own account that I mention your unbelief, but on yours, because it shows the state of your hearts. Do not suppose that I stand in need of followers, and am covetous of man’s favour.”
v42.-[But I know you…not the love of God, &c.] The sense and connection here appear to be as follows:-“But the plain truth is, that I know and have long known the state of your hearts, and I know that you have no real love of God in you. You profess to worship the one true God, and to give Him honour. But you show by your conduct, that with all your profession you do not really love God.”
To a Jewish hearer this tremendous charge must have been peculiarly galling. It was a charge that none but our Lord could make with equal decision, because He read men’s hearts, and knew what was in them.
The word “I know” is literally “I have known.” Alford paraphrases the sentence,-“By long trial and bearing with your manners these many generations, and personally also, I have known, and do know you.”
In another place we find our Lord naming this sin as one of the special sins of the Pharisees. “Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue, and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God.” (Luk 11:42.)
Ferus remarks that the incredulity of the Jews did not arise from want of evidence, but want of love towards God.
v43.-[I am come in my father’s name…receive me not.] This sentence contains a proof of the assertion made in the preceding verse. “You show that you have no real love for God, by your not receiving Me who have come in my Father’s name, and desire nothing so much as His honour. If you really loved and honoured God as you professed to do, you would gladly receive and honour His Son.”
[If another…in his own name, Him ye will receive.] In this sentence our Lord supposes a case, to show the corrupt and carnal state of the Jews’ hearts. “If another public teacher shall appear, giving himself out to be some great one, not seeking God’s honour, and doing all in God’s name, but aiming to exalt himself, and get honour to himself, you will receive and believe him. You reject Me the true Son of God. You are ready to receive any false pretender who comes among you, though he may give no honour to the God whom you profess to worship. It is true then that you have no real love of God in you.”
I believe decidedly that our Lord spoke these words prophetically. He had in view the many false Christs and false Messiahs who arose within the first hundred years after His death, and by whom so many of the Jews were invariably deluded. According to Stier no less than sixty-four false Messiahs appeared to them, and were more or less believed.
The readiness with which they believed these impostors is a remarkable historical fact, and a striking fulfilment of the words before us. They proved as forward to believe these pretenders to a Divine mission who came in their own names, as they had been backward to believe our Lord.
I may add, however, that I am one of those who doubt whether the words of our Lord have even yet received their complete fulfilment. I think it highly probable that the world may yet see a personal Antichrist arise, who will succeed in obtaining credence from a vast portion of the Jewish nation. Then, and not till then, when Antichrist has appeared, this verse will be completely accomplished. Chrysostom, Cyril, Theophylact, Euthymius, Alcuin, Heinsius, take this view.
Stier remarks, “He of whom the Lord here prophecies, is finally Antichrist, with his open and avowed denial of God and of Christ; with his most daring ‘I,’ before which all the proud will humbly bow down, because they will find themselves in him, and will honour him as their true God. As the Father reveals Himself in Christ, so will Satan manifest himself in Antichrist, and give him all his work and witness, and his own honour as the prince of this world; and the wicked will yield themselves to him, because through unbelief they have already fallen into his nature, and fitly belong to him.”
Wordsworth remarks, “The Fathers were generally of opinion, grounded on this passage, that Antichrist would be received by the Jews.”
v44.-[How can ye believe, etc., etc.] This verse contains a very important principle. The substance of the meaning seems to be as follows:-Our Lord tells the Jews that they were not likely to believe, so long as they cared more for the praise of man than the praise of God. The true cause of their unbelief was a want of honesty and godly sincerity. With all their professed zeal for God, they did not really care so much for pleasing Him as for pleasing man. In this state of mind they were never likely to have faith, or to come to the knowledge of the truth. “How can ye believe, receiving and seeking honour from one another as ye do now?” It is not possible that you can believe, until you cease from your present earthly-mindedness, and honestly desire God’s praise more than man’s.
The great principle contained in the verse is the close connection between the state of a man’s heart and his possessing the gift of faith. Believing or not believing, to have faith or not to have faith, is not a thing that depends only on a man’s head being satisfied, and his intellect convinced. It depends far more on the state of a man’s heart. If a man is not thoroughly honest in his professed desire to find out the truth in religion,-if he secretly cherishes any idol which he is resolved not to give up,-if he privately cares for anything more than God’s praise,-he will go on to the end of his days doubting, perplexed, dissatisfied, and restless, and will never find the way to peace. His insincerity of heart is an insuperable barrier in the way of his believing. There is a mine of wisdom in the expression, “An honest and good heart.” (Luk 8:15.) For want of it many a one complains that he cannot get comfort in religion, and cannot see his way towards heaven, when the truth is that his own dishonesty of heart is the cause. There is something he loves more than God. The consequence is that he never feels an honest will to believe.
The “can” in this verse should be compared with the “will” in Joh 5:40. “Ye cannot because ye will not.”
[From God only.] This expression would be more literally rendered, “from the only God,”-the one true God, whom the Jews boasted that they alone knew and worshipped.
Doddridge remarks that the whole verse “has much more spirit in it, if we consider it as applied to the members of the Sanhedrim, who had such distinguished titles of honour, than if we only take it as spoken to a mixed multitude.” If, as many suppose, our Lord was making a formal defense of Himself and His divine mission before the great Ecclesiastical Assembly of the Jews, His words in this verse would come home to His hearers with stinging power.
v45.-[Do not think that I will accuse, etc.] We must not suppose that our Lord literally meant that there was any real likelihood of Moses or Himself standing up to make a formal accusation against the Jews. What He did mean was, that not to believe Him was not to believe Moses. There was no need for Him to accuse them of unbelief. Moses himself, for whom they professed such respect, might be their accuser, and prove them guilty. “Even now,” He says, “Moses accuseth you. His writings, daily read in your synagogue, are a constant witness of your unbelief.” There may also, it is highly probable, be a reference here to the Song of Moses, where he predicts the unbelief of the people, and desires the book of the law to be “put in the side of the ark, that it may be there for a witness against thee.” (Deu 31:26.)
Chemnitius remarks, “What the Lord says to the Jews, is exactly as if I were to say to the Papists, It is not I, but the very Fathers whose authority ye allege in favour of your superstition, who will accuse you of impiety. Or as if we were to say to the Pope, It is not we who accuse and condemn thee, but Christ himself, whose vicar thou callest thyself; and Peter whose successor thou wilt have thyself: and Paul whose sword thou pretendest to bear: they it is who will accuse thee.” Beza makes much the same remark, and observes, that none will be more opposed to the Roman Catholics in the judgment-day than Mary and the saints in whom they profess to trust!
The notion of some Romanists that the expression “Moses in whom ye trust,” justifies the invocation of saints, and putting confidence in them as mediators, is, as Chemnitius observes, too weak and groundless to need refutation.
v46.-[For had ye believed Moses….me.] These words are simply an amplification of the idea in the preceding verse. If the Jews had really believed Moses, they could not have helped believing Christ. The witness of Moses to Christ, was so distinct, express, and unmistakable, that true belief in his writings must inevitably have led them to belief in Christ.
[He wrote of me.] These words are very remarkable. In what sense our Lord used them, we cannot exactly know. At the very least we may conclude He meant that throughout the five books of Moses, by direct prophecy, by typical persons, by typical ceremonies, in many ways, and in divers manners, Moses had written of Him. There is probably a depth of meaning in the Pentateuch that has never yet been fully fathomed. We shall probably find at the last day that Christ was in many a chapter and many a verse, and yet we knew it not. There is a fulness in all Scripture far beyond our conception.
Let us note carefully that our Lord distinctly speaks of Moses as a real person who, as a matter of history, lived and wrote books, and of his writings as true genuine writings deserving of all credit, and of undeniable authority. In the face of such an expression as this, it is a mournful fact that any man called a Christian can throw doubt on the existence of Moses, or on the authority of the books attributed to him.
To say, as some have done, that our Lord was only accommodating Himself to the conventional language of the times, and that He did not really mean to assert His own belief either in the existence of Moses, or the authority of his writings, is to charge Him with downright dishonesty. It represents Him as One aiding and countenancing the dissemination of a lie!
To say, as some have done, that our Lord, born of a Jewish woman, and brought up among Jews, was not above the ignorant prejudices of the Jews, and did not really know that Moses ever existed, and that his writings are full of mistakes, is to talk downright blasphemy and nonsense. Fancy the eternal Son of God at any time talking ignorantly! Fancy above all that any trace of Jewish ignorance would be likely to be found in this chapter of John’s gospel, in which, above all other chapters perhaps, our Lord’s divine knowledge is most strikingly brought out!
v47.-[If ye believe not his writings, etc.] This verse is an extension of the thought contained in the preceding one, and a solemn and mournful conclusion of the whole address. There is evidently an intentional contrast between “writings” and “words,” as if our Lord would remind the Jews that “writings” are generally more relied upon than “sayings.”-“If you do not really believe what your own honoured lawgiver Moses WROTE,-and it is plain that you do not,-it is not likely that you will believe what I SAY. If you have no real faith in the things written in your Scriptures by that very Moses, for whom you profess such reverence, your favourite teacher and lawgiver, it is not to be wondered at that you have no faith in what I say, and that I speak to you in vain.”
The Greek word used here for “writings” is very remarkable. It is generally translated “letters,” as Luk 23:38. In 2Ti 3:15, it is rendered “Scriptures.” To my mind it is a strong indirect evidence in favour of the verbal inspiration of Scripture.
There is a sense in which these words should ring painfully in the ears of all the modern assailants of the Mosaic writings. It is just as true now, I firmly believe, as it was eighteen hundred years ago. They cannot divide Moses and Christ. If they do not believe the one, they will find sooner or later that they do not believe the other. If they begin with casting off Moses and not believing his writings, they will find in the end that to be consistent they must cast off Christ. If they will not have the Old Testament, they will discover at last that they cannot have the New. The two are so linked together that they cannot be separated. “What God hath joined together let no man put asunder.”
In concluding the notes on this wonderful chapter, one would like to know how this marvelous address was received by those who heard it. But here we meet with one of the peculiar “silences” of Scripture. Not one word is written to tell us what the Jews of Jerusalem thought of our Lord’s argument, or what effect it had upon them. Our own duty is clear. Let us take heed that it has some effect on ourselves.
The amazing fullness of our Lord’s teaching appears most strikingly in the address contained in this chapter. Within the short span of twenty-nine verses, we find no less than eleven mighty subjects brought forward: (1.) The intimate relation of the Father and the Son. (2.) The divine commission and dignity of the Son. (3.) The privileges of the man who believes. (4.) The quickening of the spiritually dead. (5.) The judgment. (6.) The resurrection of the body. (7.) The value of miracles. (8.) The Scriptures. (9.) The corruption of man’s will the secret of man’s ruin. (10.) The love of man’s praise the cause of unbelief. (11.) The importance of the writings of Moses.
Fuente: Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels
Joh 5:40. And ye will not come to me, that ye may have life. The Jews did search the sacred writings,to do so was their honour and their pride. Their own belief was that in possessing them they possessed eternal life; as one of their greatest teachers said, He who has gotten to himself words of the Law has gotten to himself the life of the world to come. But these very Scriptures were the writings that bore witness concerning Jesus (see the note on Joh 5:38). Had they entered into their spirit, they would have joyfully welcomed Him; yet they refused to come (it was not their will to come,see Joh 5:6) to Him for life. Such is the general meaning of the verses. The Jews had used the witness of the Scriptures as they had dealt with that given by the Baptist (Joh 5:35). What was designed as a means had been made by them an end; what should have led them to Christ detained them from Him. In a certain sense the Scriptures did contain eternal life, in that they bore witness of Him who was the true bestower of this gift; but as long as men busied themselves with the words of Scripture to the neglect of its purpose, believing that the former would give all they needed and sought, the Scriptures themselves kept them back from life.It is a little difficult to decide what is the reason for the emphasis which in the original is laid on ye (ye think that, etc.). The meaning may be: ye yourselves set such honour on the Scriptures that ye think eternal life is found in them. In this case an argument is founded on their own admissions. Or our Lord may intend to refer to this doctrine respecting the Scripture as their belief only not the truth, not His teaching; ye think that in the Scriptures ye have eternal life, but it is not truly so,eternal life is given by me alone. The latter meaning seems most in harmony with the context. So understood, the words do indeed rebuke that view of Scripture which rests everything on the letter, and also the inconsistency between the reverence which the Jews paid to the sacred writings and their neglect of the purpose they were designed to serve; but to the Scriptures the highest honour is assigned, for Jesus says, it is they which bear witness concerning me. When thus interpreted in the sense in which it appears necessary to understand them, the words of Joh 5:39 supply a lesson almost the opposite of that usually drawn from them. While they exalt instead of depreciating the Scriptures, their main object is to warn us against putting them into an undue position, or supposing that they are more than a guide to Him in whom alone life is to be gained (comp. Joh 6:63). The ordinary rendering of the first word (Search for Ye search) seems altogether inconsistent with the course of thought in these verses.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Here our Saviour upbraids the Jews for thier obstinate infidelity; that notwithstanding God the Father by a voice from heaven, and John the Baptist by his testimony on earth, notwithstanding all the miracles which they had seen wrought by Christ himself, and notwithstanding the scriptures, which they pretended so highly to esteem, did prove him to be the Messias, and the author of eternal life, which they professed to seek: yet such was their obstinacy, that they would not come unto him, nor believe in him. Ye will not come unto me, that ye may have life.
Hence observe, 1. A choice and invaluable mercy, which Christ stands ready to bestow upon poor sinners, that is life, both spiritual and eternal. A life of grace, in order to a life of glory.
Observe, 2. The gracious condition upon which this invaluable blessing may be had; and that is, upon coming to Christ, believing on him, and receiving of him.
3. Here is the true reason declared why sinners do miss of life and salvation by Jesus Christ, when he has so dearly purchased it for them, and does so freely tender it unto them, and that lies in their own willfulness and obstinacy; Ye will not come unto me.
Learn hence, That the true reason why so many sinners miss of salvation and eternal life, after all that Christ has done and suffered for them, is their own obstinacy and unwillingness to come to him, that they may have life. Man, by nature, has not only an inability, but a fixed enmity in his will against Jesus Christ.