Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 8:54
Jesus answered, If I honor myself, my honor is nothing: it is my Father that honoreth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:
54. If I honour myself ] Better, If I shall have glorified Myself, My glory is nothing. It is not the same word as is rendered ‘honour’ in Joh 8:49, therefore another English word is desirable. There is My Father who glorifieth Me in miracles and the Messianic work generally. Comp. Joh 8:50.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
54 56. Christ first answers the insinuation that He is vain-glorious, implied in the question ‘whom makest Thou Thyself?’ Then He shews that He really is greater than Abraham.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
If I honour myself – If I commend or praise myself. If I had no other honor and sought no other honor than that which proceeds from a desire to glorify myself.
My honour is nothing – My commendation or praise of myself would be of no value. See the notes at Joh 5:31.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Joh 8:54
If I honour Myself, My honour is nothing
The Father honouring the Son
To honour is to do or to speak of a person so as not only to show our esteem, but to make others esteem.
Thus God honoured Abel, Enoch, Abraham, Moses, David, etc. This is specially seen in His dealings with His Son–the purpose of His delight in Him is to secure for Him the delight of all in earth and heaven.
I. THE BESTOWER OF THE HONOUR. The value of the honour depends on him who bestows it. Honour bestowed for price, or by self, unworthy hands, or those incapable of judging, is worthless. It was no honour for Felix to be flattered by Tertullus. The Father, however, knows what He is bestowing, and Him on whom He is bestowing it. He is a fit judge of both the Person and the honour. We may be well assured, therefore, that the honour received by Christ is well bestowed.
II. THE RECEIVER OF THE HONOUR. The Son–very God and very Man. The God-Man in whom the two natures meet. A new thing on earth and in heaven. One in whom all created and uncreated perfection meet. The only one without flaw.
III. THE NATURE OF THE HONOUR.
1. It is Divine honour; but it is more. It is not only all the honour which the Father and the Spirit receive, it is something arising out of the superadded humanity, and which neither the Father nor the Spirit can receive.
2. It is human honour–honour in connection with His perfect manhood, of which He is the only example, and as such is entitled to all the honour which God intended for the race. Nay, more; honour such as Adam could not receive, because arising from His manhoods connection with the Godhead. Thus the Godhead gets an honour such as it could not have got save in virtue of its connection with the creaturehood, and vice versa. There is in this way a peculiar honour created, and a peculiar vessel for receiving it. From this too springs peculiar honour to the Father such as no one else can give.
IV. THE TIMES AND WAYS IN WHICH THIS HONOUR IS BESTOWED. At His birth, baptism, transfiguration, resurrection, ascension, second coming. Every day, dishonoured by man, the Father honoured Him when here. At present, in heaven, He receives glory and honour. Hereafter ill His kingdom, the honour is to be fully bestowed.
V. THE RESULTS OF ALL THIS. The bearings of this honour on the universe are inconceivable. It is the pledge and measure of all the blessings the universe shall receive forever. The results are:
1. To the Father. Through this honour the Father is more fully manifested and glorified; for all that the Son receives and does is to the glory of God the Father.
2. To the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirits office to glorify the Son, and by means of this His Godhead is declared and illustrated, and His wisdom and power displayed.
3. To the whole Godhead.
4. To the Church. Christs honour is hers; for all that He has is hers. The Bridegrooms glory is not for Himself alone. She shares His riches, His inheritance, His kingdom, by faith now, in reality by and by.
5. To heaven. The greatness of the Kings honour adds to the glory of His palace, and metropolis.
6. To angels. He is their head as well as ours, though not so closely knit to them as to us. They are His hosts, His servants, His royal retinue, and each shines more brightly from the glory put upon Him.
7. To earth. At present we do not see any change, but the curse is to pass away, and earth to be made more fair than Paradise. For was it not His birthplace, and His body of its dust?
8. To the universe. Every planet and fragment of creation shall receive fresh lustre from this newly lighted sun. Conclusion: Let us honour Christ now. He will be honoured hereafter, but now that He receives so much dishonour let us honour Him. Sinner, honour Him by coming to Him for salvation. The honour which the Father puts upon Him is the security for a present pardon, and God honours Him by blessing you. (H. Bonar, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 54. Your God] Many MSS. and most of the versions read , our, instead of . The variation is of very little consequence. They called God their God, while enemies to him both in their spirit and conduct.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
If I honour myself, my honour is nothing; this is much the same with what our Saviour said, Joh 5:31, which he seemed to contradict, Joh 5:14; (see the notes on both those places); the meaning is, If I seek mine own honour and glory; or, If I arrogate to myself what indeed doth not belong to me; or, If I alone honour myself, which (by the next words) seemeth to be the true sense of the phrase here. My Father is he who honoureth me, by witnessing from heaven that I am his beloved Son; by sending me into the world to accomplish his work; by many signs and wonders: and you say, that this my Father is your God. If therefore you will not give credit to me and my testimony, yet you ought to give credit to him, whom you own as your God.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
54-56. If I honour myself, my honouris nothing, &c.(See on Joh5:31, &c.).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Jesus answered, if I honour myself, my honour is nothing,…. It is empty and vain, and will not continue; see 2Co 10:18;
it is my Father that honoureth me: by a voice from heaven, both at his baptism, and transfiguration, declaring him to be his beloved Son, and by the works and miracles he did by him; as he afterwards also honoured him by raising him from the dead, and setting him at his own right hand, by pouring forth his Spirit on his disciples, and succeeding his Gospel in every place:
of whom ye say that he is your God; your covenant God and Father, being the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; of this the Jews boasted. The Alexandrian copy, and some others, and all the Oriental versions read, “our God”.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
If I glorify myself ( ). Third-class condition with and first aorist active subjunctive (or future active indicative) of .
It is my Father that glorifieth me ( ). The position and accent of mean: “Actually my Father is the one,” etc.
Of whom ye say ( ). The accusative of the person () with is regular (cf. 10:36).
Your God ( ). So Aleph B D and apparently correct, though A C L W Delta Theta have (our God). The can be taken as recitative (direct quotation, , our) or declarative (indirect, that, and so ). The Jews claimed God as their peculiar national God as they had said in 41. So Jesus turns this confession and claim against them.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “Jesus answered, If I honor myself, my honor is nothing: (apekrithe lesous) “Jesus replied,” (ean ego doksaso ematuon he doksa mou ouden estin) “If I glorify myself, my glory is (exists as) not a thing,” Joh 5:31. He bare witness of the Father, to glorify the Father, or to honor and serve the Father, not to establish a personal identity for self glory, Joh 17:4-5.
2) “It is my Father that honoureth me,” (estin ho pater mou ho doksazon me) “It is my Father who is glorifying me,” honoring me, as I teach His words and do deeds that honor Him, a thing you all are not doing, See? Joh 8:50; Joh 5:41; Joh 16:14; Joh 17:1; Act 3:13.
3) “Of whom ye say, that he is your God:”- (hon humeis legete hoti theos hemon estin) “Of whom you all say, He is our God,” since He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whom you all claim as your fathers, a thing you try to monopolize, and through which racial ties you think you will enter heaven, Joh 8:33; Joh 8:37; Joh 8:40; Mat 22:31-33.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
54. If I glorify myself. Before replying to that unjust comparison, he begins by saying that he does not seek his own glory, and thus meets their slander. If it be objected, that Christ also glorified himself, the answer is easy, that he did so, not as man, but by the direction and authority of God. For here, as in many other passages, he distinguishes between himself and God, by way of concession. In short, he declares that he desires no glory whatever but what has been given him by the Father. We are taught by these words that, when God glorifies his Son, he will not permit the world to hate or despise him (246) with impunity.
Meanwhile, those voices sounding from heaven, Kiss the Son, (Psa 2:12,) Let all the angels worship him, (Heb 1:6,) Let every knee bow to him, (Phi 2:10,) Hear ye him, (Mat 17:5,) Let the Gentiles seek him, (Rom 15:11,) and Let all flesh be humbled, ought greatly to encourage believers to render honor and reverence to Christ. We are also reminded by these words, that all the honor which men procure for themselves is trivial and worthless. How blind then is ambition, when we labor so earnestly about nothing! Let, us continually keep before our eyes that saying of Paul,
Not he who commendeth himself is approved, but whom God commendeth, (2Co 10:18.)
Besides, as we are destitute of the glory of God, let us learn to glory in Christ alone, so far as by his grace he makes us partakers of his glory.
Of whom you say that he is your God. He pulls off from them the false mask of the name of God which they were accustomed to employ. “I know,” he says, “how presumptuously you boast that you are the people of God; but it is a false title, for you know not God. ” Hence also we learn what is the true and lawful (247) profession of faith. It is that which proceeds from true knowledge. And whence comes that knowledge, but from the word? Consequently, all who boast of the name of God without the word of God are mere liars. Yet to their audacity Christ opposes the assurance of his conscience; and thus all the servants of God ought to be prepared in their hearts to be satisfied with this alone, that God is on their side, though the whole world should rise against him. Thus anciently the Prophets and Apostles had invincible courage and magnanimity, which stood firm against the dreadful attacks of the whole world, because they knew by whom they were sent. But when solid knowledge of God is wanting, there is nothing to support us.
And if I shall say that I know him. By this clause, Christ testifies that the necessity of his office constrains him to speak, because silence would be a treacherous denim of the truth. This is a remarkable statement, that God reveals himself to us for this purpose, that we may confess before men the faith which we have in our hearts, when it is needful. For it ought powerfully to strike terror into our minds, that they who act hypocritically to please men, and either deny the truth of God or disfigure it by wicked glosses, not only are gently reproved, but are sent back to the children of the devil.
(246) “ En haine et mespris.”
(247) “ La vraye et legitimo profession.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(54) If I honour myself, my honour is nothing.The word rendered honour is not the same as that in Joh. 8:49. It is better to read glorify here. Following all the better MSS. the tense is past. We have then, If I shall have glorified Myself, My glory is nothing. Stress is to be laid upon the pronoun. If I, for My part, as distinct from the Father, shall have glorified Myself.
It is my Father that honoureth me.Better, as before, . . . glorifieth Me. This is the answer to their question, Whom makest Thou Thyself? The attribute of life in Himself, and the power to communicate this to those who kept His word, was the gift of the Father to the Son. (See Note on Joh. 5:26.)
Of whom ye say, that he is your God.Some of the better MSS., and most modern editors, read . . . He is our God. The identification of the Father with the God of Israel is important. It may be, as some have supposed, that the phrase, He is our God, belonged to common liturgical forms or hymns, and was thus frequently on their lips.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
54. Honour myself If my honour is, as you say, self-fabricated.
Is nothing It is the nothing you pronounce it.
Your God The source of my true dignity is the God of Abraham, of the prophets, of Israel, and, as ye claim, of yourselves. Your quarrel is therefore with them and Him.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Jesus answered, ‘If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is your God. But you have not known him. But I know him, and if I said that I did not know him I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and keep his word’.
Jesus did not directly answer their jibe. Rather He diffused their argument by disclaiming any desire to glorify Himself. They claimed that His Father was their God. Well, let them consider this. It was the One Whom they claimed as their God Who was the One Who would glorify Jesus, and indeed was already doing so through His wonderful works. Thus by not recognising Him they were proving that they did not actually know the Father. In contrast with them Jesus did know Him and He kept His word faithfully, as their own failure to convict Him of sin earlier established. To suggest any other position would make Him a liar like them. There was obviously now no holding back. Both had made their positions clear.
‘You have not known Him — but I know Him.’ The first ‘know’ is ginosko, to know by experience, the second is oida, to know by understanding. This may be an intentional contrast, stressing that whilst they had not even truly experienced the Father, Jesus had not only experienced His Father but knew His mind. He knew Him through and through (compare Mat 11:25-27).
At this point Jesus, in full awareness of what He is doing, now makes His past comments absolutely clear. They had asked Him whether He was greater than Abraham. Well, He would now tell them the truth.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Joh 8:54-55 . Justification against the charge of self-exaltation contained in the words . . Jesus gives this justification a general form, and then proceeds to make a special declaration regarding Abraham , which makes it clear that He is really greater than Abraham.
] emphatic designation of self (comp. Joh 5:30-31 , Joh 7:17 ); , however, is not the future [see the critical notes] (although with the indicative is not absolutely to be condemned; see on Luk 19:40 ; Mat 18:19 ), but, according to regular usage, the Conj. Aor .: in case I shall have glorified myself .
, etc.] my Father is the one who glorifies me , He is my glorifier. The Partic. Praes. with the article has a substantival force, and denotes habitual , continuous doing; hence it refers not merely to a particular mode and act of exclusively, but to its whole course (in the works wrought, in the divine testimonies, and in His final glorification).
, etc.] On the construction see Joh 10:36 . Comp. on Joh 5:27 , Joh 9:19 ; Act 21:29 . Jesus unfolds to them why this activity of God, by which He is honoured, is hidden from them; notwithstanding, namely, their theocratic fancy, “ it is our God ,” they have not known God. [37] Jesus, on the contrary, is certain that He knows Him, [38] and keeps His word.
] a liar like unto you . “ Mendax est qui vel affirmat neganda, vel negat affirmanda ,” Bengel. The charge points back to Joh 8:44 ; with the Gen. as in Theophr. H. pl . ix. 11, also Xen. Anab . iv. 1. 17; see Bornemann, ad h. l .
] but , far from being such a liar.
. . ] exactly as in Joh 8:51 . The entire life and work of Christ were in truth one continuous surrender to the counsel of God, and obedience (Phi 2:8 ; Rom 5:19 ; Heb 5:8 ) to the divine will, whose injunctions He constantly discerned in His fellowship with the Father, Joh 4:34 . Comp. as to the subject-matter, Joh 8:29 .
[37] Not because they held another divine being, their own national god, to be the highest (Hilgenfeld); but because they had formed false conceptions of the one true God, who had manifested Himself in the Old Test., and had not understood His highest revelation in Christ, in consequence of their blindness and hardness of heart. Comp. ver. 19, and see Weiss, Lehrbegr. p. 60 f. In Hilgenfeld’s view, indeed, John teaches that the Jewish religion, as to its substance, was the work of the Demiurge , and it was only without his knowledge that the Logos hid in it the germs of the highest religion! By the same exegesis by which this doctrine is derived from John, one might very easily show it to be taught by Paul, especially in the sharp antagonism he assumes between and , if one desired, i.e. if one were willing to bring down this apostle to the period of transition from the Valentinian to the Marcionite Gnosis.
[38] Regarding Himself , Jesus does not say (although considered in itself He might have said it, comp. Joh 17:25 ), because He here speaks in the consciousness of His immediate , essential knowledge of the Father. According to Ewald, the words, “ It is our God ,” contain an allusion to well-known songs and prayers which were constantly repeated. But the frequent occurrence of “ our God ” in the O. T. is quite sufficient to explain their import.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:
Ver. 54. It is my Father that honoureth me ] According to that, “Them that honour me, I will honour,” 1Sa 2:30 ; this is a bargain of God’s own making. Fame follows virtue, as the shadow the body; or if not, yet she is proprio contenta theatro, content with her own applause.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
54, 55. ] The argument in these verses is: ‘The same God who is the God of Abraham, is my Father; He it is who honours (glorifies) me, and it is His word that I keep. I was promised by Him to Abraham.’
, ‘glorify myself to this high designation, of being able to deliver from death.’
. ] Whom you are in the habit of calling your God (for so of course the imports) i.e. the God of Israel. A most important identification, from the mouth of our Lord Himself, of the Father , with the God of Israel in the O.T. The here is not ‘ but ,’ nor ‘ although; ’ the sense is, of Whom ye say ‘He is our God,’ and know Him not . Then what follows sets forth the contrast between them, the pretended children of Abraham, who know not Abraham’s God (the liars ), and Him who knows Him, and keeps His word, so that His word works in and by Him; yea, He is . His allowing their denial of this state of knowledge and union would be as great a lie in Him , as their assumption of it was in them .
(instead of the more usual ) signifies the being ‘one of them;’ as we say, ‘the like of them.’
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Joh 8:54 . To their question Jesus, as usual, gives no categorical answer, but replies first by repelling the insinuation contained in their question and then by showing that He was greater than Abraham (see Plummer). . “If I shall have glorified myself, my glory is nothing; my Father is He who glorifieth me.” He cannot get them to understand that it is not self-assertion on His part which prompts His claims, but fulfilment of His Father’s commission. This “Father” of whom He speaks and who thus glorifies Him is the same “of whom you say that He is your God?”. His witness therefore you ought to receive; and the reason why you do not is this, , , “you have not learned to know Him, but I know Him”. The former verb denotes knowledge acquired, by teaching or by observation; in contrast to the latter, which denotes direct and essential knowledge. . So far from the affirmations of Jesus regarding His connection with the Father being false, He would be false, a liar and like them, were He to deny that He enjoyed direct knowledge of God. “But, on the contrary, I know Him and all I do, even that which offends you, is the fulfilment of His commission, the keeping of His word.”
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
honour = glorify. Greek doxazo. See p. 1511.
honour = glory. See note on Joh 5:41.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
54, 55.] The argument in these verses is: The same God who is the God of Abraham, is my Father;-He it is who honours (glorifies) me, and it is His word that I keep. I was promised by Him to Abraham.
, glorify myself to this high designation, of being able to deliver from death.
.] Whom you are in the habit of calling your God (for so of course the imports)-i.e. the God of Israel. A most important identification, from the mouth of our Lord Himself, of the Father, with the God of Israel in the O.T. The here is not but, nor although; the sense is, of Whom ye say He is our God, and know Him not. Then what follows sets forth the contrast between them, the pretended children of Abraham, who know not Abrahams God (the liars), and Him who knows Him, and keeps His word, so that His word works in and by Him; yea, He is . His allowing their denial of this state of knowledge and union would be as great a lie in Him, as their assumption of it was in them.
(instead of the more usual ) signifies the being one of them; as we say, the like of them.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 8:54. , answered) He refutes those words [of last ver.] thou thyself.- , ) A very similar construction occurs, ch. Joh 10:36, – , . Also Gal 1:23, , ; Jam 1:13, , and Jos 22:34 in the Heb., The children of Reuben and Gad, called the altar Ed: for it shall be a witness between us, etc. For the Septuag. have for ; as in this passage some have written for [So [230][231] [232][233][234] Rec. Text. But [235][236] and Vulg. have .-, ye say)] falsely.
[230] the Vatican MS., 1209: in Vat. Iibr., Rome: fourth cent.: O. and N. Test. def.
[231] Bez, or Cantabrig.: Univ. libr., Cambridge: fifth cent.: publ. by Kipling, 1793: Gospels, Acts, and some Epp. def.
[232] Vercellensis of the old Itala, or Latin Version before Jeromes, probably made in Africa, in the second century: the Gospels.
[233] Veronensis, do.
[234] Colbertinus, do.
[235] the Alexandrine MS.: in Brit. Museum: fifth century: publ. by Woide, 1786-1819: O. and N. Test. defective.
[236] Ephrmi Rescriptus: Royal libr., Paris: fifth or sixth cent.: publ. by Tisch. 1843: O. and N. T. def.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 8:54
Joh 8:54
Jesus answered, If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing: it is my Father that glorifieth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God;-To honor himself was selfish and human. But Jesus relied on him whom they claimed as their God to honor him.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
If: Joh 8:50, Joh 2:11, Joh 5:31, Joh 5:32, Joh 7:18, Pro 25:27, 2Co 10:18, Heb 5:4, Heb 5:5
it is: Joh 5:22-29, Joh 5:41, Joh 7:39, Joh 13:31, Joh 13:32, Joh 16:14, Joh 16:15, Joh 17:1, Joh 17:5, Psa 2:6-12, Psa 110:1-4, Dan 7:13, Dan 7:14, Act 3:13, Eph 1:20-23, Phi 2:9-11, 1Pe 1:12, 1Pe 1:21, 2Pe 1:17
ye say: Joh 8:41, Isa 48:1, Isa 48:2, Isa 66:5, Hos 1:9, Rom 2:17-29
Reciprocal: Isa 41:10 – for I am thy God Jer 9:3 – they know Jer 22:16 – was not Mar 7:6 – honoureth Joh 5:18 – God was Joh 5:34 – I receive Joh 7:28 – whom Joh 8:19 – Ye neither Joh 11:4 – that Joh 12:43 – the praise of God Joh 15:21 – because Joh 17:3 – this Act 17:23 – ignorantly Eph 1:17 – in the knowledge 1Jo 2:13 – ye have known 1Jo 4:8 – knoweth 1Jo 5:7 – The Father
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
4
This verse has the same reasoning Jesus gives in verses 14-18.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Joh 8:54-55 a. Jesus answered, If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing: it is my Father that glorifieth me, of whom ye say that he is your God, and have not got knowledge of him. First, Jesus answers the direct question, Whom makest Thou Thyself? and the general charge of self-exaltation which those words contain. The specific reference to Abraham He speaks of afterwards (Joh 8:56). The tenor of His reply resembles that of Joh 8:50; but, as elsewhere, the second statement has the greater force and clearness. The reality of the glory of Jesus consists in this, that it comes from His Father, whom they called their God, but of whom they had gained no knowledge.
Joh 8:55 b. But I know him; and if I should say. I know him not, I shall be like unto you, a liar: but I know him, and keep his word. Jesus can say, I know God, by direct, intuitive, perfect knowledge. The word which He uses in reference to Himself (I know) is different from that used in the preceding clause, this latter (ye have got knowledge) referring to the result of experience, to knowledge gained by many acts of perception. Were Jesus to deny His immediate knowledge, He would be as false as they have been in professing to know God. The last words are interesting as bringing out once more the truth which we have seen presented in earlier verses: His own work in the execution of the Fathers will is the model of the work which He requires from man. His people keep His word (Joh 8:51): He Himself keeps the Fathers word. So, in chap. Joh 20:21, He says to the apostles, As my Father hath sent me, I also send you.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Joh 8:54-55. Jesus answered, If I honour myself, (referring to their words, Whom makest thou thyself?) my honour is nothing If I should speak in praise of myself, you would call it vain and foolish; and say to me as the Pharisees did lately, (Joh 8:13,) Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true, nor to be regarded. Wherefore, instead of giving a description of my dignity, I shall only tell you, it is my Father that honoureth me, which he does in a remarkable manner, by the miracles which he enables me to perform, by the descent of his Spirit upon me at my baptism, and by his voice uttered from heaven, declaring me to be his beloved Son. This I think may be sufficient to convince you that I am able to do for my disciples what I said, especially when I tell you further, that my Father is he of whom ye say, that he is your God And whom you pretend to worship as such. Yet ye have not known him Yet you are ignorant of him. You neither form right conceptions of his attributes, nor acknowledge him in the manner you ought to do; so that you give the lie to your profession. But I know him Perfectly and intimately; and if I should say, I know him not If I should retract my pretensions to that peculiar and intimate knowledge of him, which I have so often professed; I should be a liar like unto you And you would have reason to doubt my testimony as to other things. But I know him, and keep his saying , his word. I have both a perfect acquaintance with him, and obey his laws. This clause plainly shows that Christ is not speaking here of a speculative, but of a practical knowledge of God.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Vv. 54-56. Jesus answered, If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing; he who glorifies me is my Father, he of whom you say that he is your God; 55 and yet you do not know him, but I know him; and if I say that I do not know him, I shall be like to you a liar; but I know him and I keep his word. 56. Abraham, your father, rejoiced in the hope of seeing my day; and he saw it, and was glad.
In one sense, Jesus glorifies Himself, indeed, whenever He gives testimony to Himself; but the emphasis is on , I, I alone, without the Father, seeking and attributing to myself a position which has not been given to me. The word may be either the future indicative or the aorist subjunctive. Here is the answer to the question: Whom dost thou claim to be? Nothing except that which the Father has willed that I should be. And this will of the Father with regard to Him is continually manifested by striking signs which the Jews would easily discern, if God were to them really what they claim that He is: their God. But they do not know Him; and therefore they do not understand the signs by which He whom they declare to be their God accredits Him before their eyes.
This ignorance of God which Jesus encounters in the Jews awakens in Him, by the law of contrast, the feeling of the real knowledge which He has of the Father, in whose name and honor He speaks: He affirms this prerogative with a triumphant energy, in Joh 8:55. It is, as it were, the paroxysm of faith which Jesus has in Himself, a faith founded on the certainty of that immediate consciousness which He has of God. If He did not assert Himself thus as knowing God, He would be also a liar like them, when they claim to know Him. And the proof that He does not lie is His obedience, which stands in contrast with their disobedience. Thus are the unheard of affirmations prepared for, which are to follow in Joh 8:56; Joh 8:58. , I know him, designates direct, intuitive knowledge, in opposition to (literally, you have learned to know), which relates to an acquired knowledge.
After having thus answered the reproach: Thou glorifiest thyself, Jesus comes to the question raised by them: Art thou greater than our father Abraham? and He does not hesitate to answer plainly: Yes! I am, for after having been the object of his hope when he was on earth, my coming was that of his joy in Paradise where he now is! There is a keen irony in this apposition: Abraham, your father. Their spiritual patron rejoicing in the expectation of an appearance which excites only their spite! The word rejoiced designates the joy of hope, as is indicated by the , to the end of seeing. To see Himthis was the aim and object of the exultant joy of the patriarch. The question is evidently of what took place in Abraham’s heart, when he received from the mouth of God the Messianic promises, such as Gen 12:3; Gen 22:18 : In thy seed shall all the nations be blessed, because thou hast obeyed my voice. The expression my day can only designate the present time, that of Christ’s appearance on earth (Luk 17:22). The explanations of Chrysostom (the day of the Passion) and Bengel (the day of the Parousia) are not at all justified here. Hofmann and Luthardt understand by it the promised birth of Isaac, a promise in which Abraham saw the pledge of that of the Messiah. But the expression: my day, can only refer to a fact concerning the person of Christ Himself.
The relation between the , to see, and the past , and he saw, proves that this last term expresses the realization of the desire which had caused the patriarch to rejoice, the appearance of Jesus here below. The second aorist passive, , well expresses the calm joy of the sight, in contrast with the exultant joy of the expectation (). Jesus therefore reveals here, as most of the interpreters acknowledge, a fact of the invisible world, of which He alone could have knowledge. As at the transfiguration we see Moses and Elijah acquainted with the circumstances of the earthly life of Jesus, so Jesus declares that Abraham, the father of believers, is not a stranger, in his abode of glory, to the fulfillment of the promises which had been made to Him,that he beheld the coming of the Messiah on the earth. No doubt we know not in what form the events of this world can be rendered sensible to those who live in the bosom of God. Jesus simply affirms the fact. This interpretation is the only one which leaves to the words their natural meaning.
The Fathers apply the , we saw, to certain typical events in the course of the life of Abraham, such as the birth or the sacrifice of Isaac, in which the patriarch, by anticipation, beheld the fulfillment of the promises. These explanations are excluded by the marked opposition which the text establishes between the joy of the expectation and that of the actual sight. The same is true of that ofHengstenberg and Keil, who apply the last words of the verse to the visit of the angel of the Lord as Logos-Jesus (Genesis 18). The expression my day can receive, in all these applications, only a forced meaning. The Socinian explanation: Abraham would have exulted, if he had seen my day, is no longer cited except as calling it to mind. What can be made of the second clause with this interpretation?
By bringing out this two-fold joy of Abraham, that of the promise and that of the fulfillment, Jesus puts the Jews to the blush at the contrast between their feelings and those of their alleged father.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
8:54 {18} Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is {s} nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:
(18) There is no one further from seeking glory than Christ, but his Father has set him above all things.
(s) In saying this Christ grants their opinion, though not agreeing with it, as if he had said, “Be it so, let this report which I give of myself be of no force; yet there is another that glorifies me, that is, that honours my name.”
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Jesus then refuted His critics’ accusation that He was glorifying Himself. Any glory apart from glory that God bestows amounts to nothing (cf. Heb 5:5). Rather Jesus said that it was the Father who was glorifying Him. Ironically His critics, who claimed to know God, failed to perceive that this was what God was doing.
"Their relation to God was formal; his was familial." [Note: Tenney, "John," p. 98.]