Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 14:30
Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
30. Hereafter I will not talk much ] Literally, No longer shall I speak many things: comp. Joh 15:15.
the prince of this world cometh ] Better, the ruler of the world is coming. The powers of darkness are at work in Judas and his employers. See on Joh 12:31.
and hath nothing in me ] Quite literal: there is nothing in Jesus over which Satan has control. ‘Let no one think that My yielding to his attack implies that he has power over Me. The yielding is voluntary in loving obedience to the Father.’ This declaration, in me he hath nothing, could only be true if Jesus were sinless. On the import of this confident appeal to His own sinlessness see notes on Joh 8:29; Joh 8:46 and Joh 15:10.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Will not talk much – The time of my death draws near. It occurred the next day.
The prince of this world – See the notes at Joh 12:31.
Cometh – Satan is represented as approaching him to try him in his sufferings, and it is commonly supposed that no small part of the pain endured in the garden of Gethsemane was from some dreadful conflict with the great enemy of man. See Luk 22:53; This is your hour and the power of darkness. Compare Luk 4:13.
Hath nothing in me – There is in me no principle or feeling that accords with his, and nothing, therefore, by which he can prevail. Temptation has only power because there are some principles in us which accord with the designs of the tempter, and which may be excited by presenting corresponding objects until our virtue be overcome. Where there is no such propensity, temptation has no power. As the principles of Jesus were wholly on the side of virtue, the meaning here may be that, though he had the natural appetites of man, his virtue was so supreme that Satan had nothing in him which could constitute any danger that he would be led into sin, and that there was no fear of the result of the conflict before him.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Joh 14:30
Henceforth I will not talk much with you
Christ as a conversationalist
I.
CHRISTS GREATEST WORK WAS DONE BY CONVERSATION.
1. In the four Gospels there are but five discourses properly so called–that in the synagogue at Nazareth, that upon the Mount, that on the Bread of Life in the synagogue at Capernaum, that on the seashore, when He practically traced the future of His kingdom, and that at Jerusalem respecting His second coming. All the rest is conversation, sometimes drifting into monologue. It is significant that the two greatest teachers–Christ and Socrates–taught chiefly in this way.
2. Here is an open door for you all! You cannot write books or preach; but there is no better way into a human heart than by conversation. I write my article and send it to the newspaper. I know not who looks upon it. I stand here and talk, and look into your faces. Some of them answer me back. This is better work than that of the pen. But the best of all is conversation when you open your soul to me, and I open mine to you. In this lies the largest part of our influence. What might we not do with it!
II. Notice, as a characteristic of every good conversationalist, and preeminently of Christ, His QUICK AND CATHOLIC SYMPATHIES.
1. We open this Gospel and find Him talking on the same plane with a Jewish rabbi. We turn the page and behold Him condescending to the level of the depraved Samaritan. Further on we see Him in conversation with His enemies; and, lastly, here with His disciples–in every case alike in sympathy, in touch–what we call tact. What is tact? The touch of one soul with another. I can talk music a little with the musician, for I am fond of music; less of art with the artist, for I know less; about theology with the theologian if he is not too far removed from me theologically; but if I cannot talk with the car conductor, the day labourer, it is because my sympathies are narrow.
2. Christs sympathies were as quick as they were catholic. His soul was receptive as well as distributive. The musician plays on the keys of the organ. They are inert, and answer to his touch. But when the speaker plays on a human soul, he must be keys as well as fingers–he must respond as well as move. There is no flash of thought, question of perplexity, or sorrow anywhere that Christ does not instantly meet.
III. Because He had this quick and catholic sympathy HE DREW MEN OUT. He made them express themselves; oftentimes against their will–evoked their doubts, sins, difficulties. Witness His treatment of Philip, Thomas, and Jude in this conversation. This is rare power: worth more than eloquence or poetry. He knew what was in man; and more than once He saw them doubting among themselves, and phrased His answer to their doubting.
IV. HE HAD THE GIFT OF TURNING EVERYTHING TO ACCOUNT. He asks for a drink of water, and this suggests the water of life; He fed a multitude with bread, and then talked naturally about the bread of life. A friend of mine, on entering a train, asked the brakeman, When shall we get to Albany? I do not know, surlily replied the man, there is nothing certain on a train. Nothing but death, said my friend. Well, that is so. Yes, and therefore we ought to be ready for it. That is a fact, said the brakeman. If my friend had gone out of his way to preach he would not have got an answer.
V. CONVERSATION WITH CHRIST WAS ALWAYS THE INSTRUMENT OF DIVINE MINISTRY. Christ never declined an invitation; but wherever He went, He carried His message of love and goodness, and turned the least incidents into moral lessons, He was always master of the conversation. He was not carried by its drift, wherever it might go, but, like a skilful pilot with his hand on the helm, guided it in what direction He would have it go. (Lyman Abbott, D. D.)
We must prize our opportunities
Make we the best of our Christian friends while we have them: as we would do of a borrowed book or tool that we knew not how soon may be sent for by the right owner. (J. Trapp.)
Interruption
Christ thus closed the conversation to intimate to His disciples
I. THE VALUE OF WHAT HE HAD SPOON IN THE PAST.
1. As their rule of life. If ye love Me, keep My commandments.
2. As teaching them to draw instruction from every source.
3. As being the means of life.
II. THE NEED OF CONCENTRATION IN AN APPROACHING CONFLICT. a time of peace was followed by a time of trial. Christ was ready for it, and concentrated every faculty for a final struggle with the devil, who was worsted by Him in the wilderness, and left Him then for a season.
II. THAT THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF FREEDOM FROM THE CONDEMNATION OF SIN GIVES THE GREATEST POWER TO WITHSTAND THE ASSAULTS OF SATAN. There was no ledge in Christ on which the devil could stand, nothing at which he could clutch. Our weaknesses Satan knows too well. He has something in us. But we may rejoice in freedom from condemnation. Doubt as to this is what Satan loves to take hold of; and it is frequently a sincere Christians weakest point
IV. THAT HE HAS RESOLVED TO MAINTAIN PURITY. Shall have. Christ had no doubt about the issue: nor need there be any in those whom Christ upholds. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Against the Church the gates of hell shall not prevail.
V. THAT THE DISCIPLES MIGHT LEARN MORE FROM SEEING THAN HEARING. It is not what a man says, but what he does, that influences others. Christ has said: Whosoever taketh not up his cross, etc. Did He shrink from taking it up Himself? Christ ceases to talk, and allows His life to speak.
VI. CHRISTS SORROW THAT HIS INTERCOURSE WITH HIS DISCIPLES HAD TO BE INTERRUPTED. All are subject to all sorts of interruptions here. We must be prepared for breaks in life, gaps in the family, vacant chairs. Still we may, with Christ, take up the joyful life. Death possesses nothing permanent in us. (Homiletic Magazine.)
The prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in Me
The coming struggle
I. THE ENEMY–the prince of this world.
1. Of large dominions (Mat 4:8).
2. Of many subjects (Eph 2:2).
3. Of great power (Eph 2:2; Eph 6:12).
4. Of subtle craft (Gen 3:1; Rev 12:9).
5. Of evil mind (1Jn 2:13; 1Jn 3:8; 1Jn 8:44; Rev 12:10).
II. THE ONSET. The prince of this world cometh.
1. Its proximity. Judas was at hand, and in him Satan was drawing near.
2. Its violence. Quite an army had the devil put in force against the Saviour.
3. Its aim. It was directed against heavens purpose of redemption. It was meant by destroying Christ to confound the counsel of salvation.
4. Its skill. The campaign had on Satans side been planned with ingenuity. Judas, an apostle, had been persuaded to become a traitor. The ecclesiastical authorities had been turned against Gods Son. The Roman power had been secured to lend assistance in affecting His arrest. All signs augured well for the success of his infernal scheme.
III. THE DEFEAT. The prince of this world hath nothing in Me.
1. The seeming victory. Outwardly, Satan was to triumph. Yet it was not to be because of any power which Satan possessed; but to be of Christs free will (Joh 10:18).
2. The actual overthrow (Heb 2:14; Col 2:15).
Learn
1. That Christ is wiser than Satan.
2. That as He conquered so shall His people. (T. Whitelaw, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 30. The prince of this world] , of this, is omitted by ABDEGHKLMS, Mt. BH, one hundred others; both the Syriac, later Persic, all the Arabic, and several of the primitive fathers. I rather think the omission of the pronoun makes the sense more general; for, had he said THIS world, the words might have been restrained to the Jewish state, or to the Roman government. But who is the person called here the prince of the world?
1. Mr. Wakefield thinks that Christ speaks here of himself, as he does in Joh 12:31, (see the note there,) and translates this verse and the following thus: For the ruler of this world is coming; and I have nothing now to do, but to convince the world that I love the Father, and do as he commanded me. On which he observes that our Lord speaks of what he shall be, when he comes again, and not of what he then was: compare Joh 14:18; Joh 16:16; Joh 17:2; Mt 28:18; Php 2:9. And how often does he speak of himself, as the Son of man, in the third person! See his vindication of this translation in the third vol. of his New Testament.
2. Others think that our Lord refers to the Roman government, the ruler of the world, who, by its deputy, Pilate, was going to judge him, but who should find nothing ( , which is the reading found in some excellent MSS. and versions, and is followed by almost all the primitive fathers,) as a just cause of death in him-nothing in the whole of his conduct which was in the least reprehensible; and this indeed Pilate witnessed in the most solemn manner. See Joh 18:38; Joh 19:4; Joh 19:12; see also Lu 23:4, c., and Mt 27:24.
3. But the most general opinion is that Satan is meant, who is called the prince of the power of the air, Eph 2:2 and who is supposed to be the same that is called the god of this world, 2Co 4:4; and who at his last and most desperate trial, the agony in the garden, should be convinced that there was nothing of his nature in Christ, nothing that would coincide with his solicitations, and that he should find himself completely foiled in all his attacks, and plainly foresee the impending ruin of his kingdom. It is very difficult to ascertain the real meaning here: of the different opinions proposed above, the reader must take that which he deems the most likely.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I shall not have much time hereafter to reveal my mind to you, my suffering is very near; the devil, who is
the prince of this world, See Poole on “Joh 12:31“, See Poole on “Joh 16:11” and See Poole on “Eph 6:12” he cometh by the evil angels, or rather by vile and wicked men, as his instruments, Judas and the soldiers. He doth not say wherefore he came, but it is easily understood. And he hath nothing in me that he can justly fault, and take advantage against me, for he findeth no guilt in me to give him any advantage against me; I shall die as an innocent person, and be cut off, but not for myself, (as it was prophesied of the Messiah, Dan 9:26), but (as it is there, Joh 14:24), to finish transgression, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
30, 31. Hereafter I will not talkmuch with you“I have a little more to say, but My workhastens apace, and the approach of the adversary will cut it short.”
for the prince of thisworld(See on Joh 12:31).
comethwith hostileintent, for a last grand attack, having failed in His firstformidable assault (Lu4:1-13) from which he “departed [only] for a season“(Joh 14:13).
and hath nothing inmenothing of His ownnothing to fasten on. Glorioussaying! The truth of it is, that which makes the Person andWork of Christ the life of the world (Heb 9:14;1Jn 3:5; 2Co 5:21).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Hereafter I will not talk much with you,…. Meaning before his death; for after his resurrection he talked much with them, about the things pertaining to the kingdom of God; being seen of them and conversing with them, for the space of forty days; not much, he says, chiefly what is delivered in the two next chapters: the design of this was, to observe to them that his time of departure was near at hand, and to quicken their attention to what he did say to them; since they could not expect to hear him long, or much more from him; he would be otherwise engaged;
for the prince of this world cometh: by “the prince of this world”, is meant the devil; why he is so called, [See comments on Joh 12:31]; the reason why Christ chooses to use this circumlocution, rather than to say Satan or the devil cometh, is partly to point out what a powerful adversary he had, and was about to engage with, and partly to observe to his disciples, what they must expect from the world, even hatred and persecution; since Satan was the prince of it, and had such powerful influence over the minds of the men of it. When it is said that he cometh, it is to be understood of his coming to Christ, though it is not expressed, and that with an intent agreeably to his character, as a thief, to kill and to destroy; and not of his coming merely by Judas, into whom he had already entered, and had put it into his heart to betray him; and by the armed soldiers, who would accompany him to apprehend him; and by the chief priests, rulers, and people of the Jews, who with united voices would cry, Crucify him, Crucify him; nor only invisibly by his angels, his principalities and powers, he was now employing in different ways, to bring about his purposes; but of his coming himself personally, and visibly: as he visibly appeared to Christ in the wilderness, tempting him, where he left him for a season; so this season or opportunity being come, he takes it, and visibly appears to him in the garden, where a sharp agony and combat was between them; what success he had in this conflict, is next mentioned;
and hath nothing in me; or as some copies read it, “shall find nothing in me”; or as others, “hath nothing to find in me”; Christ had no sin in him, which can be said of none but him. The Jews say e, that Samuel, by whom they mean the devil, when he wrestled with Jacob, , “could not find any iniquity in him”, he had committed; but this is only true of Jacob’s antitype: for though his emissaries sought diligently for it, they could find none in him; though he had sin upon him, he had none in him; the sins of his people were imputed to him, but he had no sin inherent in him; hence, though he the Messiah was “cut off”, according to Da 9:26, “but not for himself”; which by the Septuagint is rendered
, “but there is no judgment” or “condemnation in him”, i.e. no cause of condemnation; which agrees with what is here said: though the accuser of men sought to have something against him, to accuse him of, he could find none; some pretences indeed were made, and charges brought, but could not be made good, insomuch that the judge himself said, “I find in him no fault at all”,
Joh 18:38: so that the devil had no power over him, no rightful power, nor any but what he had by permission, nor indeed did he prevail over him; for though according to the first prophecy of the Messiah, Satan bruised the heel of Christ; yet Christ bruised his head, destroyed him and his works, spoiled him, and his principalities and powers; whence it appears that the death of Christ was not owing to any sin of his own, for he had none, nor could any be found in him; nor to the superior power of the devil over him; he submitted to death, not through the power of Satan over him, and complied with all the circumstances leading to it, not out of fear of him, but in love to his Father, and obedience to his command; as is clear from the following verse.
e Tzeror Hammor, fol. 44. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The prince of the world ( ). Satan as in 12:31 which see.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Hereafter I will not talk [ ] . Rev., more correctly, I will no more speak.
The prince of this world. The best texts read, “of the world.”
Hath nothing in me. No right nor power over Christ which sin in Him could give. The Greek order is, in me he hath nothing.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1 ) “Hereafter I will not talk much with you:” (ouketi polla laleso meth’ humon) “I will no longer speak with you all (about) many things,” converse but little with you after my seizure by the plotter-band who comes from the chief priests to execute my betrayal, condemnation, and death, Mat 26:14-16; Mar 14:10-11.
2) “For the prince of this world cometh,” (erchetai gar ho tou kosmou archon) “For the ruler of this present world order is coming of his own choice,” Joh 6:70-71; Joh 3:27, is coming down upon and against me, the prince of power of the air, in doing his thing, through Judas Iscariot and the wicked Jewish rulers, 1Jn 5:19; Eph 2:2; 1Th 2:14-15.
3) “And hath nothing in me.” (kai en emoi ouk ouden) “And he does not have or hold in sympathy with anything in me,” in harmony with my nature, or in sympathy with anything that I have taught or do, Luk 4:13; This Devil himself incited those wicked ones, whose hour had now come to do their worst, Luk 22:52-53.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
30. Henceforth I will not talk much with you. By this word he intended to fix the attention of the disciples on himself, and to impress his doctrine more deeply on their minds; for abundance generally takes away the appetite, and we desire more eagerly what we have not in our possession, and delight more in the enjoyment of that which is speedily to be taken from us. In order, therefore, to make them more desirous of hearing his doctrines, he threatens that he will very soon go away. Although Christ does not cease to teach us during the whole course of our life, yet this statement may be applied to our use; for, since the course of our life is short, we ought to embrace the present opportunity.
For the prince of this world cometh He might have said, in direct language, that he would soon die, and that the hour of his death was at hand; but he makes use of a circumlocution, to fortify their minds beforehand, lest, terrified by a kind of death so hideous and detestable, they should faint; for to believe in him crucified, what is it but to seek life in hell? First, he says that his power will be given to Satan; and next he adds, That he will go away, not because he is compelled to do so, but in order to obey the Father.
The devil is called the prince of this world, not because he has a kingdom separated from God, (as the Manicheans imagined,) but because, by God’s permission, he exercises his tyranny over the world. Whenever, therefore, we hear this designation applied to the devil, let us be ashamed of our miserable condition; for, whatever may be the pride of men, they are the slaves of the devil, till they are regenerated by the Spirit of Christ; for under the term world is here included the whole human race. There is but one Deliverer who frees and rescues us from this dreadful slavery. Now, since this punishment was inflicted on account of the sin of the first man, and since it daily grows worse on account of new sins, let us learn to hate both ourselves and our sins. While we are held captives under the dominion of Satan, still this slavery does not free us from blame, for it is voluntary. It ought also to be observed, that what is done by wicked men is here ascribed to the devil; for, since they are impelled by Satan, all that they do is justly reckoned his work.
And hath nothing in me. (74) It is in consequence of the sin of Adam that Satan holds the dominion of death, and, therefore, he could not touch Christ, who is pure from all the pollution of sin, if he had not voluntarily subjected himself. And yet I think that these words have a wider meaning than that in which they are usually explained; for the ordinary interpretation is, “Satan hath found nothing in Christ, for there is nothing in him that deserves death, because he is pure from every stain of sin.” But, in my opinion, Christ asserts here not only his own purity, but likewise his Divine power, which was not subject to death; for it was proper to assure the disciples that he did not yield through weakness, lest they should think less highly of his power. But in this general statement the former is also included, that, in enduring death, he was not compelled by Satan. Hence we infer, that he was substituted in our room, when he submitted to death.
(74) This is the literal rendering of καὶ ἐν ἐμοὶ οὐκ ἔχει οὐδὲν and corresponds to other modern versions; as, for example, the German, und hat nichts an mir; though Wolffus quotes a marginal reading of a German translation, an mir wird er nicht nichts unden, — he will find nothing in me. The latter agrees with a Greek reading καὶ ἐν ἐμοὶ οὐχ εὑρήσει οὐδὲν and will find nothing in me; and. with another reading καὶ ἐν ἐμοὶ οὐκ ἔχει οὐδὲν εὑρεῖν, and hath nothing to find in me. — Ed
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(30) Hereafter I will not talk much with you.Better, I will no more, or, I will not continue to talk much with you. The discourse is broken by the thought that the hour of the conflict is at hand, and that He must go forth to meet it.
For the prince of this world cometh.Better, is coming. The approach is thought of as then taking place. For the phrase, prince of this world, comp. Note on Joh. 12:31. The prince of evil is here regarded as working in and by Judas, who is carrying out his plans and doing his work. (Comp. Notes on Joh. 6:70; Joh. 13:2; Joh. 13:27.)
And hath nothing in me.The words are to be taken in their full and absolute meaning, and they assert that the prince of this world possesses nothing in the person of Christ. In Him he has never for a moment ruled. For this appeal to perfect sinlessness, comp. Note on Joh. 8:29. It follows from this that His surrender of Himself is entirely voluntary. (Comp. Note on Joh. 10:18.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
30. Will not talk much The period of silence is approaching. The betrayer, the officer, and the crucifier, under the prince of this world, will soon absorb him. Fright will disperse them; and, except his precious utterances in his resurrection body, they will soon be left forever to the recollections of their own hearts, and the ministration of the Spirit.
The prince of this world Satan, with all the powers of evil.
Cometh To inflict sufferings and cut short all discourse.
Hath nothing in me Hath no basis in my mind or will by which he can bring me to sin, or rightfully bring destruction upon me. This means, not that Jesus was without ability to will wrongly, but that he maintains a free will not to exercise that ability. He so, by will, shuts Satan off, that the tempter finds nothing upon which he can grapple.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“I will not speak with you much more. For the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in me, but that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father commanded me, so I do. Arise, let us go from here”.
He now lets them know that He feels that He has said almost all that needs to be said for their encouragement, and that now He will prepare Himself for what He must face. He does not, He says, have much more to say. What He does have to say, however, will be important for it concerns the very purpose of His coming, and we find it in chapters 15-16. But He recognises that time is short because ‘the ruler of this world’ was on his way, already gathering his contingents so that he can arrest Jesus and put Him to death.
‘The ruler of this world’. Humanly speaking this refers to earthly authorities (in this case Jewish and Roman), who rule in this world, seen as a unity, But behind them undoubtedly lies a shadowy figure who orchestrates their actions, Satan himself (compare his stated ability to guarantee Jesus political success on a large scale if He will only honour him – Mat 4:8-9; Luk 4:5-7). While elsewhere ‘the ruler of this world’ could be looked on as a general designation for any ‘ruling authority’ here it is far more likely that Satan himself is primarily in mind. As John says ‘the whole world lies in the arms of the Evil One’ (1Jn 5:19). Judas was one who would come and we already know that Satan has entered him (Joh 13:27).
‘Has nothing in me.’ This may partly signify that the ‘Accuser’ has nothing to accuse Him of (‘nothing on Me’). And that his worldly counterparts too will challenge Him in vain. But it also speaks of all the efforts made by Satan to find a chink in His armour (he ‘has no way in’). For a while Satan and his minions probably thought that they were going to be hugely successful, and might possibly even thwart God, but their efforts would prove to be miserly and futile. They discovered that even in the few short hours of their ‘almost’ success they had nothing in Him and could do nothing to Him.
Satan had probably been confident that once he had Jesus at his mercy on the cross some chink would appear through which he could attack Him. How he must therefore have gloried when he saw Jesus’ anguish in Gethsemane, and the battered broken figure at the cross. It would have appeared to him that victory was at hand. But when the final moment came he found that he had failed, and that it was he himself who was defeated. There proved to be no chink in Jesus’ armour, and so he himself, together with his minions, was bound and made captive (see Col 2:15. Ironically just as Jesus had been). Jesus not only proved Himself beyond their power, but also over them in power. And finally in the last analysis He has nothing to give them that they will receive, for they will not accept it. They are thus an irrelevance. The only worthwhile thing they will do is demonstrate to all that He loves the Father, for what He will go through is at the Father’s command.
“Arise, let us go from here”.
At first this may appear to be a suggestion that they now leave the Upper Room. But the Greek word agomen (let us go) implies in normal Greek usage ‘going to meet the enemy’, thus we might translate this as ‘let us march to meet him’. Compare its use in Mat 26:46; Mar 14:42; Joh 11:16, where, in each case, it is used at a crisis point. Had the aim been just to leave the place another word would surely have been used.
So ‘Arise’ may well be translated ‘bestir yourselves’. This might therefore indicate that this was not necessarily the end of the conversations in the Upper Room, but a rallying cry to the disciples in the midst of His discourse, and a declaration that He is not fearful of the ruler of this world. He may well be saying, “The ruler of this world comes — bestir yourselves, let us go to meet him.” It is an indication that Jesus will not stay in hiding or flinch from what lies ahead, but is rather ready for all that they can do. In this regard we should note that it is quite common for preachers to include such stirring words in their sermons, and then to continue with their message.
On the other hand, it may be that at this stage they did perhaps begin to rise from their reclining positions and stand up to make preparations for leaving. Jesus is, however, then shown as having continued His teaching through chapters 15 and 16 followed by His final prayer in chapter 17. There is nothing unlikely in the suggestion. People regularly say ‘time to go’, and then remain on for some time. The disciples would have been quite used to listening standing up (they were a lot tougher than we are) and it would have given them opportunity to relieve aching muscles while Jesus continued speaking. It is indeed possible that at the same time some of them cleared away the remnants of the meal, and put the room in order while Jesus continued to speak. But it seems more likely to us that it was simply a wake up call in the middle of His message.
(It is in fact quite common for someone today to say, ‘come on, it is time we were going’, only for it to be followed by delay while certain things are done and further conversation takes place, often for some time. There is thus no unlikelihood in the above, whichever interpretation we accept).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Joh 14:30-31. Hereafter I will not talk to much with you: “I shall not have much opportunityto talk with you after this; because the devil is now excitinghis emissaries to take away my life; in which he will succeed. However, be assured, that I shall undergo the punishment of death; not because I deserve it, for he hath nothing in me;no guilt of mine to give him power over me, nor any inward corruption to take part with his temptation: but I undergo this death, for this grand reason among othersto shew the world, how much I love the Father, Joh 14:31 for in this I act according to his express commandment. Arise, therefore; let us go hence. Let us, in conformity to the divine will, go away to the place where I shall be betrayed, that I mayenter on my business.” Accordingly, he finished the passover with singinga hymn, and went out to the mount of Olives. See Mat 26:30. As our Lord foreknew of course the danger to which he exposed himself by this motion, nothing can give a greater illustration of the voluntary manner in which he encountered death, than the intrepidity and magnanimity of these few words, Arise: Let us go hence. The present passage appears rather more clear in Dr. Heylin’s translation: For the prince of the world is coming; not that he has any claim in me: Joh 14:31. But only that the world may know, &c.
Inferences.How noble a cordial has our Lord provided to relieve all the troubles of our hearts! the strength of which shall continue to the remotest ages; even faith in his Father, and in him. May that divine and operative principle be confirmed by what we have been now reading!
It is striking to observe, with what a holy familiarity our Lord speaks of the regions of glorynot like one dazzled and overwhelmed with the brightness of the idea; but as accustomed and familiarized to it by his high birth. In my Father’s house are many mansions: delightful, and reviving thought!and many inhabitants in them, who, we hope, through grace, will be our companions there, and every one of them increase and multiply the joy.
It was not for the apostles alone, that Christ went to prepare a place: he is entered into heaven as the forerunner of all the faithful; and we, if we are believers indeed, may be said by virtue of our union with him, to sit together in heavenly places in him. It is our duty and our happiness continually to be tending thither in more affectionate desires, and more ardent pursuits. We know the way, we hear the truth; may we also feel the life! by Christ, as the true living way, may we come to the Father: in Christ may we see him, and have our eyes and hearts opened to those beams of the divine glory, which are reflected from the face of his only-begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth.
Has he been thus discovered to us as our Father and our God?If he have, let it diffuse a sacred and lasting pleasure over our souls, though other desirable objects may be veiled or removed; and engage us to maintain a continual fellowship with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
We are invited to this by every declaration of his readiness to hear and answer our prayers; and although those miraculous powers are ceased, whereby the apostles were enabled to equal, or even to exceed, the works of their Master, yet as we have so many important errands to the throne of grace, in which the glory of God and the salvation of our souls are concerned, let us come with a holy boldness to it; in dependance on Jesus, that great High Priest over the house of God, who is passed into the highest heavens, and, amidst all the grandeur of that exalted state, regards his humble followers on earth, and ever appears under the character of their advocate and friend.
If we are not entirely strangers to the divine life, we cannot surely read such discourses as these before us, without feeling some warm emotions of love to Christ: and if indeed we feel them, we shall seriously consider how they are to be expressed. Our Lord directs us to do it in the most solid and most acceptable manner, by a constant care to keep his commandments: and certainly such commandments as his cannot be grievous to a soul that truly loves him. The more we live in the practice of them, the more cheerfully may we expect the abundant communication of his Spirit to animate and strengthen us.
If we are Christians indeed, we cannot in any circumstance of life look on ourselves as helpless and abandoned orphans. Human friends may forsake us, but Christ will come to us: he will manifest himself to the eye of faith, though to the eye of sense he is invisible: and his heavenly Father will love us, and watch over us for our good: yea, he will come and dwell in the obedient soul, by the gracious tokens of his intimate and inseparable presence. Do we any of us experience this blessing? We have surely reason to say that by way of admiration, which the apostles said by way of eminence: “Lord, how, and whence is it that thou wilt manifest thyself to us, and not to the world? What have we done to deserve these gracious and distinguishing manifestations? Nay, how much have we done to forfeit them?”
With what unutterable joy should we review that rich legacy of our dying Lord, Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you. Lord, evermore give us this peace; peace with God, peace with our own consciences, peace with our fellow-creatures: for if thou wilt give quietness, who can cause trouble? How serenely then may we pass through the most turbulent scenes of life, when all is quiet and harmonious within! Thou hast made peace through the blood of thy cross; may we preserve the precious purchase, an inestimable gift, inviolate till it issue in everlasting peace! In this let our hearts be encouraged; in this let them rejoice; and not in our own happiness alone, but also in that of our glorified and exalted Redeemer. As the members of his body we ought certainly to maintain a pleasing sympathy with our Head, and to triumph in his honour and felicity as our own. If we love
Christ, we should rejoice, because he is gone to the Father. The same consideration may in its degree comfort us, when our pious friends are removed. If we love them with a rational and generous friendship, and are not too much influenced by selfish affections, under that specious name, our joy for their exaltation will greatly temper the sorrow which our own loss must give us.
Our Lord uttered the words Joh 14:30 in the near view of a grievous assault from the prince of this world, who is the prince of darkness. But there was no corruption in him to take part with the enemy. Too much alas! does he find in us to abet his temptations. Let us earnestly pray, that the grace of God may be sufficient for us; and that as his love to the Father engaged him to go through this painful conflict with the tempter, his love to us may make us partakers of his victory, even here below. In his name let us set up our banners, and the powers of hell shall flee before us.
REFLECTIONS.1st, To comfort his disciples against the approaching trials, which would be apt to shake the foundation of all their hopes,
1. Our Lord exhorts them to maintain unshaken confidence in him amidst all their difficulties. Let not your heart be troubled: the thought that one disciple should betray him; another deny him; that he should suffer, die, and leave them; these things deeply affected them: and he, who knows the souls of his people in adversity, endeavours to provide for their comfort. Ye believe in God, in some good measure, according to the revelation that he had made of himself in his word: believe also in me, as the true Messiah, as the almighty Saviour, able to support you in all your exigencies, and to comfort you under every affliction. Or, it may be read, Believe in God; live in the constant exercise of faith in the power and grace of my Father: and believe also in me; have the same confidence in me, who am one with him in the same undivided Godhead.
2. He assures them that his absence would be to their great advantage. In my Father’s house, in heaven, the place where the Father makes the brightest manifestations of his glory, there are many mansions, abiding dwelling places, where there is most perfect peace and joy, and love and happiness. If it were not so, I would have told you; and not encouraged you to follow me at the loss of all things, if I had not an eternal recompence to bestow upon you. I go to prepare a place for you, as your forerunner, to take possession of the purchased inheritance, to be ready there to receive and welcome you, having previously prepared you for the mansions prepared for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, though I leave you soon, I will come again, and that quickly, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also; admitted to my presence, partaking of my glory, and made for ever blessed and happy in the enjoyment of my love and favour. Note; (1.) The believing prospect of the glory which shall be revealed, should comfort us under all our present trials and afflictions. (2.) In heaven there are mansions for all the faithful of every age and nation: none shall thrust his mate; for there is room enough for all. (3.) None who steadily trust in Jesus, whatever they may quit or lose for his sake, shall ever have cause to lament their choice: in heaven they will be abundantly repaid. (4.) They who perseveringly look for a better country, that is, a heavenly, shall by blessed experience shortly prove the faithfulness of him who hath promised to bring thither all his faithful people; who also will do it: and well may we comfort one another with these words.
2nd, Having set before them the happiness provided for them, Christ farther encourages them, saying, Whither I go, ye know; I have repeatedly told you; and the way ye know, which I have taught you by my word and my example.
1. Thomas replied to this, Lord, We know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way? Though in general they had some knowledge of the way to heaven, where Christ was going; yet Thomas, mistaking our Lord’s discourse, and having his head filled with the conceits of Christ’s temporal kingdom, like the rest, supposes that he was going somewhere to erect his throne upon earth, but where was a secret to him; and he wished to know, as Peter had done, that, though with less self-confidence, he might follow his Master.
2. Jesus answers, I am the way; through his blood alone there is access to God, and, by his grace alone, can we be enabled to walk in the path which leads to eternal glory: the truth; whom all the ritual services prefigured, in whom they were fulfilled, whose promises are faithful, and who has never failed those that trust him: and the life; who has life in himself, and is the author of spiritual and eternal life to his faithful saints: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me; in our present fallen state we can neither draw near to the throne of grace with acceptance, but by Jesus Christ as our advocate and surety; nor can we ever hope to appear before the throne of glory but through the infinite merits and prevalent intercession of the same all-sufficient Saviour. If ye had known me, in my true character as God, as well as man, ye should have known my Father also; forasmuch as we are in nature and essence one: and from henceforth, as by this intimation you may perceive my meaning, ye know him, and have seen him, in me. Note; (1.) The knowledge of the Godhead of the Redeemer is an essential and fundamental article of our faith. (2.) Christ can discover in his disciples more knowledge of his blessed self than they sometimes think themselves possessed of.
3. Philip, not yet entering fully into his Master’s meaning, saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, some divine representation of him, and it sufficeth us; this will fully satisfy us, and silence all our further inquiries.
4. Jesus gently rebukes the dulness of his comprehension, and saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? my divine original, as well as mission? He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father; the divine perfections which I have displayed, prove my essential Godhead, as partaker of the same nature, attributes, and glory with him: and how sayest thou, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? though in person distinct, yet in essence one, inseparably united in the same eternal Godhead? The words that I speak unto you, deep and mysterious as some of the doctrines are which I declare, I speak not of myself, by any authority purely my own, or as apart from the Father; but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works which confirm my divine mission, and set God’s seal to the truths which I deliver. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me, upon the credit of the testimony which I bear; or else if you think that insufficient, believe me for the very works’ sake, which are such convincing proofs of the truths which I preach, and done in such a godlike manner, by my word, in my own name, and by my own power, as shews my Godhead and glory. Note; (1.) They who have been long in Christ’s school, should make their profiting appear. They are justly culpable who, blessed with the richest means, do not grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. (2.) In Christ Jesus we behold a brighter display of God’s glory and presence than ever otherwise appeared, seeing in him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
3rdly, The thoughts of the loss of their Master’s presence and company dejected his poor disciples. To comfort them, therefore, he promises,
1. To endue them with the most astonishing miraculous powers. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, as you do, the works that I do, shall he do also; the same miracles ye have seen me perform: yea, and greater works than these, shall he do; more numerous and more wonderful, (see Act 5:15; Act 19:12.) And particularly this may refer to the gift of tongues, and the vastly superior success which should attend the preaching of the apostles, and the much more numerous converts that they should make, than their Master had done; and this because I go unto my Father, when, having received all power in heaven and earth, he would, in the most abundant manner, pour out his Spirit upon them from on high, to enable them for the great work whereunto he had ordained them.
2. To grant them all their petitions. Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, pleading my promises, and depending on my intercession; that will I do, by my own divine power, giving you an answer to every prayer according to the various necessities of your souls; that the Father may be glorified in the Son; and his glory should be the end of all our petitions; and, in glorifying them, Christ designs to advance his Father’s honour, and manifest his power, grace, and faithfulness. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it, grant you every needful supply of grace and strength for your support and success in the work of the gospel.
4thly, Our Lord proceeds to encourage and comfort them in the view of the service before them, and in the prospect of his departure from them.
1. They must give a proof of their love to him by their observance of his commandments. If ye love me, keep my commandments. He speaks not as doubting the truth of their regard, but as quickening them to give increasing proofs of the sincerity of their love, by a conscientious respect to all his precepts.
2. He promises to send them another Comforter, who should abundantly supply the loss of his bodily presence. I will pray the Father, and be effectually your advocate, and he shall give you another Comforter and counsellor, to support, direct, and quicken you; that he may abide with you for ever, carry you through all your trials, and death itself, to an eternal inheritance in glory; even the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of the true God, whose inspiration has dictated the sacred oracles, and who leads the minds of benighted sinners into the knowledge of all truth; whom the world cannot receive, the men of the world, who harden their hearts in pride and impenitence; because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; are wilful strangers to his operations; are led by sight, not by faith; and therefore count his teaching to be foolishness and enthusiasm. But ye know him, as having already illuminated your hearts, and sanctified, in a measure, your souls: for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you, as his living temples, guiding, governing, strengthening, comforting, and blessing you continually. Note; (1.) In the one Godhead there are three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each possessed of the same divine perfections. (2.) All Christ’s true disciples to the end of time may expect divine teaching and consolation amidst all their trials; and, while they are looking to him, shall be strengthened, quickened, and comforted in his blessed work and ways. (3.) Every faithful soul is the temple of the Holy Ghost, and by experience feels the indwelling power of his grace.
5thly, Christ pursues the same reviving subject. He was indeed going from them for a while, but his absence would not be long.
1. I will not leave you comfortless, as orphans: I will come to you; either at his resurrection, or by the mission of his Spirit, or by his final appearing to judgment. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; they who rejected him, would no more be favoured with a sight of him after his resurrection, till he should come to judgment; but ye see me; I will appear to you; you shall see me now by faith, and shortly shall eternally enjoy the full vision of me in glory. Because I live, ye shall live also; I, as the fountainhead of spiritual life, will communicate the living influences to you my faithful members; and, vitally and perseveringly united to me, you shall live in holy conformity to me here, and in the eternal enjoyment of me hereafter. At that day, of Christ’s resurrection as a triumphant conqueror over all his foes; or when, by the effusion of the Holy Ghost, their minds should be more deeply illuminated; and most especially when they should come to meet him in the kingdom of his glory; ye shall know that I am in my Father, one in essential union; and ye in me, and I in you, as living members of my body mystical, joined to me in one spirit. And, in consequence of this, he that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, who truly understands, and in simplicity obeys them; he it is that loveth me; he gives hereby an undoubted proof of his unfeigned affection to me: and he that loveth me, shall be loved of my Father for my sake, who am his Well-beloved and Only-begotten; and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him, making the richest discoveries of my grace to his soul. Note; (1.) Every faithful soul is a partaker of a divine nature, and lives in a state of close spiritual union with the Son of God. (2.) Christ gives increasing discoveries of his truth and love to the souls of his faithful people. (3.) The proof of our love to Jesus must appear in our fidelity and obedience. If we say we abide in him, and walk in darkness, we lie. (4.) Though our love to him is not the cause of his love to us, but the effect; yet, if we, through grace, perseveringly cleave to him in faith and love, and more and more manifest the fruits thereof, we shall find brighter manifestations made to our souls of our interest in him; shall experience sweeter foretastes of the eternal bliss which is promised to the faithful; and shall receive increasing supplies of his Spirit, to perfect in us what is yet lacking, and to prepare us for our eternal abode with him.
2. One of Christ’s disciples, not fully apprehending his meaning, desired him to explain it; Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, but Jude the brother of James the Less, Lord, How is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? What is the wondrous method by which thou wilt honour us with thy presence, when thou comest in thy kingdom, and yet not be manifest to the world at large? See the Annotations.
3. Christ graciously confirms and explains what he had spoken, Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and make the most delightful discoveries to him of his grace and favour; and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him; talking up our dwelling in the temple of his heart, manifesting our gracious presence to him, and maintaining the most blessed and abiding communion with him. On the other hand, He that loveth me not, keepeth not my sayings; and thereby proves his aversion to me, shuts the door of his heart against me, and wilfully rejects my gospel, with all its inestimable blessings. And the word which ye hear, is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me; therefore they who disrelish and reject it, must be necessarily excluded from his favour as well as mine.
6thly, For the further encouragement of his disciples, he proceeds,
1. To assure them of the teachings and consolations of the Holy Ghost. These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you; the time being short, I have endeavoured to lay them clearly before you: but the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, the third person in the sacred Trinity, whom the Father will send in my name, at my intercession, to supply my absence, and to advance my kingdom and glory; he shall teach you all things, opening your understandings to clearer discoveries of the truth, enlarging your capacities, and strengthening your memories; for he shall bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you; he would not only revive the memory of all the works and discourses of Christ, which they had forgotten, but give them a distinct knowledge of what, at the time Christ spoke, they did not understand.
2. He engages to give them peace under all their troubles. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, as my last bequest; peace with God, as reconciled to you; peace in your own consciences, from the confidence of his love; peace with each other, united in bonds of firmer union; my peace, which none but I your Master could procure or bestow, the purchase of my blood, the fruit of my intercession; I give it freely, fully to you, and all who follow you as my disciples. Not as the world giveth, give I unto you: not as a piece of compliment, but as a real blessing; not as worldly gifts, of little or no price, but as a gift infinitely more valuable than all that earth can bestow. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid, under the apprehension of any sufferings or trials when I am absent from you: my peace, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds.
3. He assures them that his departure would be for his own glory and their good, and therefore they ought rather to rejoice than be sorry for it. Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away and come again unto you, to take you to the mansions prepared for you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said I go unto the Father, and receive the mediatorial throne; for my Father is greater than I, not in his divine nature, but as in the oeconomy of man’s salvation the Son of God humbled himself to take the human nature, and submitted to the form of a servant: and therefore, though equal to the Father, as touching his Godhead, yet he was inferior to the Father, as touching his manhood; however, it became them to be joyful in his exaltation, as the man Christ Jesus. And now I have told you before it come to pass, that when it is come to pass, in my death, resurrection, ascension, and the effusion of the Holy Ghost, ye may believe that I am the true Messiah, and will assuredly fulfil all the promises which I have made unto you.
4. He tells them, that the great enemy of souls would now be finally vanquished. Hereafter I will not talk much with you; the time of my departure is at hand: for the prince of this world, he who has usurped the dominion over the hearts of fallen men, and once pretended to offer me the kingdoms of the world (Luk 4:5-7.), he cometh, with all his fury and rage, to make his last, his desperate attack; and hath nothing in me; all his attempts will be baffled, and his malice recoil upon his own head with greater aggravation of his guilt; and, to his utter confusion and destruction, he will find no guilt in me to accuse my conscience, no legal power over me in consequence of sin, no corruption to work upon, or to afford an opening for his temptation: and as Christ once conquered for his faithful people in his own person, so will he conquer in them, and bruise Satan shortly under their feet.
5. He informs them, that his departure from them was according to the Father’s commandment, and a matter of his most willing obedience. But, that the world may know that I love the Father, though Satan hath no power over me, I am ready to lay down my life, according to my Father’s will: and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do; readily offering myself to suffer according to his most gracious will. Arise, let us go hence, and meet the approaching danger. Note; When duty calls, and God so ordains, instead of flying from sufferings, we must cheerfully offer ourselves up, willing to glorify God, if he so please, even in the fire.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Joh 14:30 . , . . .] “Quasi dicat: temporis angustiae abripiunt verba,” Grotius.
For the prince of the world (see on Joh 12:31 ) is coming (is already drawing near). Jesus sees the devil himself in the organs and executors of his design (Joh 13:2 ; Joh 13:27 , Joh 6:70 ; Luk 4:13 ).
] is here emphatically placed first in antithesis to .
] and in me (antithesis of the , Joh 17:16 ) he possesses nothing , namely, as pertaining to his dominion, which more minute definition flows from the conception of the ; hence neither (Kuinoel), nor (Nonnus), nor “of which he could accuse me before God” (Ewald), is to be supplied; nor again is the simple sense of the words to be transformed into “he has no claim on me” (Tholuck, Hofmann, and several others); comp. Luther: “cause and right.” In any case, Christ expresses the full moral freedom with which He subjects Himself to death (Joh 10:18 ). The sinlessness , which Cyril., Augustine (“in me non habet quicquam, nullum omnino scilicet peccatum ”), Euth. Zigabenus, Cornelius a Lapide, and many others, including Olshausen, here find expressed, certainly lies at the foundation as a necessary causal presupposition , since only provided that Jesus were sinless, could the devil have in Him nothing that was his, but is not directly expressed . That He has already overcome the world (Joh 16:33 ) is not the reason (Lcke), but the consequence of His freedom from the prince of the world.
The is not: but (Ebrard, Godet); for the antithesis first follows with . Therefore: he comes, and is powerless over me (wherefore I needed not to surrender myself to him), but, nevertheless, that , etc, Joh 14:31 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
Ver. 30. Hereafter I will not, &c. ] Make we the best of our Christian friends while we have them; as we would do of a borrowed book or tool, that we know not how soon they may be sent for by the right owner.
The prince of this world cometh ] In his limbs and instruments, those breathing devils that put Christ to death. Persecutors are set to work by Satan; “the devil shall cast some of you into prison,”Rev 2:10Rev 2:10 . Why? Is he become a justice of peace, to send men to prison? Yes, by his agents. But why would Christ be so used by him and his? Hear the next words.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
30. ] .: then, as Stier remarks, He had some words more to say, and was not about to break off at Joh 14:31 , as some have supposed: cf. Grotius: “q. d., temporis angusti abripiunt verba.”
. . ] i.e. Satan: not, Satan in Judas, but Satan himself , with whom the Lord was in conflict during His passion: see Luk 4:13 (and note), and Luk 22:53 .
. ] “Nullum scilicet omnino peccatum.” Aug [203] ibid. 2. This is the only true interpretation: has nothing in Me no point of appliance whereon to fasten his attack. But Meyer well observes, that this is rather the fact to be assumed as the ground of what is here said, than the thing itself which is said. De Wette, Lcke, Tholuck, and many others render it, “ has no power over me ,” , Euthym [204]
[203] Augustine, Bp. of Hippo , 395 430
[204] Euthymius Zigabenus, 1116
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Joh 14:30 . . “I will no longer speak much with you”; “temporis angustiae abripiunt verba,” Grotius. . “The ruler of this world” is Satan, see Joh 12:31 . He “comes” in the treachery of Judas (Joh 13:27 ) and all that followed. But this coming was without avail, because , “in me he hath nothing,” nothing he can call his own, nothing he can claim as his, and which he can use for his purposes. He is ruler of the world, but in Christ has no possessions or rule. A notable assertion of sinlessness.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
John
CHRIST FORESEEING HIS PASSION
Joh 14:30 – Joh 14:31
The summons to departure which closes these verses shows that we have now reached the end of that sacred hour in the upper room. In obedience to the summons, we have to fancy the little group leaving its safe shelter, as sailors might put out from behind a breakwater into a stormy sea. They pass from its seclusion and peace into the joyous stir of the crowded streets, filled with feast-keeping multitudes, on whom the full paschal moon looked down, pure and calming. Somewhere between the upper chamber and the crossing of the brook Kedron, the divine words of the following chapters were spoken, but this discourse, closely connected as it is with them, reaches its fitting close in these penetrating, solemn words of outlook into the near future, so calm, so weighty, so resolute, so almost triumphant, with which Christ seeks finally to impart to His timorous friends some of His own peace and assurance of victory.
They lead us into a region seldom opened to our view, and never to be looked upon but with reverent awe. For they tell us what Christ thought about His sufferings, and how He felt as He went down to that cold, black river, in which He was to be baptized. ‘Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place where thou standest is holy ground.’ So, reverently listening to the words, sacred because of the Speaker, the theme, and the circumstances, we note in them these things: His calm anticipation of the assailant, His unveiling of the secret and motive of His apparent defeat, and His resolute advance to the conflict. Let us look at these three points.
I. First, we have here our Lord’s calm anticipation of the assailant.
Note how the Master, with that clear eye which saw to the depths as well as the heights, and before which men and things were but, as it were, transparent media through which unseen spiritual powers wrought, just as He discerns the Father’s will as supreme and sovereign, sees here-beneath Judas’s treachery, and Pharisees’ and priests’ envy, and the people’s stolid indifference, and the Roman soldiers’ impartial scorn-the workings of a personal source and centre of all. The ‘Prince of this world,’ who rules men and things when they are severed from God, ‘cometh.’ Christ’s sensitive nature apprehends the approach of the evil thing, as some organisations can tell when a thunderstorm is about to burst. His divine Omniscience, working as it did, even within the limits of humanity, knows not only when the storm is about to burst upon Him, but knows who it is that has raised the tempest. And so He says, ‘The Prince of this world cometh.’
But note, as yet more important, that tremendous and unique consciousness of absolute invulnerability against the assaults. ‘He hath nothing in Me.’ He is ‘the Prince of the world,’ but His dominion stops outside My breast. He has no rule or authority there. His writs do not run, nor is His dominion recognised, within that sacred realm.
Was there ever a man who could say that? Are there any of us, the purest and the noblest, who, standing single-handed in front of the antagonistic power of evil, and believing it to be consolidated and consecrated in a person, dare to profess that there is not a thing in us on which he can lay his black claw and say-’That is mine?’ Is there nothing inflammable within us which the ‘fiery darts of the wicked’ can kindle? Are there any of us who bar our doors so tightly as that we can say that none of his seductions will find their way therein, and that nothing there will respond to them? Christ sets Himself here against the whole embattled and embodied power of evil, and puts Himself in contrast to the universal human experience, when He calmly declares ‘He hath nothing in Me.’ It is an assertion of His absolute freedom from sinfulness, and it involves, as I take it, the other assertion-that as He is free from sin, so He is not subject to that consequence of sin, which is death, as we know it. Another part of Scripture speaks to us in strange language, which yet has in it a deep truth, of ‘him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.’ Men fall under the rightful dominion of the king of evil when they sin, and part of the proof of his dominion is the fact of physical death, with its present accompaniments. Thus, in His calm anticipation, Jesus stands waiting for the enemy’s charge, knowing that all its forces will be broken against the serried ranks of His immaculate purity, and that He will come from the dreadful close unwounded all, and triumphant for evermore.
But do not let us suppose that because Christ, in His anticipation of suffering and death, knew Himself invulnerable, with not even a spot on His heel into which the arrow could go, therefore the conflict was an unreal or shadowy one. It was a true fight, and it was a real struggle that He was anticipating, thus calmly in these solemn words, as knowing Himself the Victor ere He entered on the dreadful field.
II. So note, secondly, in these words, our Lord’s unveiling of the motive and aim of His apparent defeat.
The first point I note in this division of my discourse is that Christ would have us regard His sufferings and His death as His own act. Note that remarkable phrase, ‘thus I do.’ A strange word to be used in such a connection, but full of profound meaning. We speak, and rightly, of the solemn events of these coming days as the passion of our Lord, but they were His action quite as much as His passion. He was no mere passive sufferer. In them all He acted, or, as He says here, we may look upon them all, not as things inflicted upon Him from without by any power, however it might seem to have the absolute control of His fate, but as things which He did Himself.
There is one Man who died, not of physical necessity, but because of free choice. There is one Man who chose to be born, and who chose to die; who, in His choosing to be born, chose humiliation, and who, in choosing to die, chose yet deeper humiliation. This sacrifice was a voluntary sacrifice, or, to speak more accurately, He was both Priest and Sacrifice, when ‘through the Eternal Spirit He offered Himself without spot unto God.’ The living Christ is the Lord of Life, and lives because He will; the dying Christ is the Lord of Death, and dies because He chose. He would have us learn that all His bitter sufferings, inflicted from without as they were, and traceable to a deeper source than merely human antagonism, were also self-inflicted and self-chosen, and further traceable to the Father’s will in harmony with His own. ‘Thus I do,’ and thus He did when He died.
Then, further, our Lord would have us regard these sufferings and that death as being His crowning act of obedience to His Father’s will. That is in accordance with the whole tone of His self-consciousness, especially as set before us in this precious Gospel of John, which traces up everything to the submission of the divine Son to the divine Father, a submission which is no mere external act, but results from, and is the expression of, the absolute unity of will and the perfect oneness of mutual love. And so, because He loved the Father, therefore He came to do the Father’s will, and the crowning act of His obedience was this, that He was ‘obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross.’ It was a voluntary sacrifice, but that voluntariness was not self-will. It was a sacrifice in obedience to the Father’s will, but that obedience was not reluctant. Christ was the embodiment of the divine purpose, formed before the ages and realised in time, when He bowed His head and yielded up the ghost. The highest proof of His filial obedience was the Cross. And to it He points us, if we would know what it is to love and obey the Father.
Now it is to be noticed that this motive of our Lord’s death is not the usual one given in Scripture. And I can suppose the question being put, ‘Why did not Jesus Christ say, in that supreme moment, that He went to the Cross because of His love to us rather than because of His love to the Father?’ But I think the answer is not far to seek. There are several satisfactory ones which may be given. One is that this making prominent of His love to God rather than to us, as the motive for His death, is in accordance with that comparative reticence on the part of Jesus as to the atoning aspect of His death, which I have had frequent occasion to point out, and which does not carry in it the implication that that doctrine was a new thing in the Christian preaching after Pentecost. Another reason may be drawn from the whole strain and tone of this chapter, which, as I have already said, traces up everything to the loving relations of obedience between the Father and Son. And yet another reason may be given in that the very statement of Christ’s love to God, and loving obedience to the Father’s commandment as the motive of His death, includes in it necessarily the other thing-love to us. For what was the Father’s commandment which Christ with all His heart accepted, and with His glad will obeyed unto death? It was that the Son should come as the Ransom for the world. The Son of man was sent, ‘not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a Ransom for many.’ Or, as He Himself said, in one of His earliest discourses, ‘God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish.’ And for what He gave that Son is clearly stated in the context itself of that passage-’As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.’
To speak of Christ’s acceptance of the Father’s commandment, then, is but another way of saying that Christ, in all the fullness of His self-surrender, entered into and took as His own the great, eternal divine purpose, that the world should be redeemed by His death upon the Cross. The heavenward side of His love to man is His love to the Father, God.
Now there is another aspect still in which our Lord would here have us regard His sufferings and death, and that is that they are of worldwide significance.
Think for a moment of the obscurity of the speaker, a Jewish peasant in an upper room, with a handful of poor men around Him, all of them ready to forsake Him, within a few hours of His ignominious death; and yet He says, ‘I am about to die, that the echo of it may reverberate through the whole world.’ He puts Himself forth as of worldwide significance, and His death as adapted to move mankind, and as one day to be known all over the world. There is nothing in history to approach to the gigantic arrogance of Jesus Christ, and it is only explicable on the ground of His divinity.
‘This I do that the world may know.’ And what did it matter to the world? Why should it be of any importance that the world should know? For one plain reason, because true knowledge of the true nature and motive of that death breaks the dominion of the Prince of this world, and sets men free from his tyranny. Emancipation, hope, victory, purity, the passing from the tyranny of the darkness into the blessed kingdom of the light-all depend on the world’s knowing that Christ’s death was His own voluntary act of submission to the infinite love and will of the Father, which will and love He made His own, and therefore died, the sacrifice for the world’s sin.
The enemy was approaching. He was to be hoist with his own petard. ‘He digged a pit; he digged it deep,’ and into the pit which he had digged he himself fell. ‘Oh, death! I will be thy plague’ by entering into thy realm. ‘Oh, grave! I will be thy destruction’ by dwelling for a moment within thy dark portals and rending them irreparably as I pass from them. The Prince of this world was defeated when he seemed to triumph, and Christ’s mighty words came true: ‘Now shall the Prince of this world be cast out.’ He would have the world know-with the knowledge which is of the heart as well as the head, which is life as well as understanding, which is possession and appropriation-the mystery, the meaning, the motive of His death, because the world thereby ceases to be a world, and becomes the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
III. Lastly, notice here the resolute advance to the conflict.
But there is more in the words than the mere close of a conversation, and a summons to change of place. They indicate a kind of divine impatience to be in the fight, and to have it over. The same emotion is plainly revealed in the whole of the latter days of our Lord’s life. You remember how His disciples followed amazed, as He strode up the road from Jericho, hastening to His Cross. You remember His deliberate purpose to draw upon Himself public notice during that dangerous and explosive week before the Passover, as shown in the publicity of His entry into Jerusalem, His sharp rebukes of the rulers in the Temple, and in every other incident of those days. You remember His words to the betrayer: ‘That thou doest, do quickly.’ These latter hours of the Lord were strongly marked by the emotion to which He gave utterance in His earlier words: ‘I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!’ Perhaps that feeling indicated His human shrinking; for we all know how we sometimes are glad to precipitate an unwelcome thing, and how the more we dread it, the more we are anxious to get it over. But there is far more than that in it. There is the resolved determination to carry out the Father’s purpose for the world’s salvation, which was His own purpose, and was none the less His though He knew all the suffering which it involved.
Let us adore the steadfast will, which never faltered, though the natural human weakness was there too, and which, as impelled by some strong spring, kept persistently pressing towards the Cross that on it He might die, the world’s Redeemer.
And do not let us forget that He summoned His lovers and disciples to follow Him on the road. ‘Let us go hence.’ It is ours to take up our cross daily and follow the Master, to do with persistent resolve our duty, whether it be welcome or unwelcome, and to see to it that we plant no faltering and reluctant foot in our Master’s footsteps. For us, too, if we have learned to flee to the Cross for our redemption and salvation, the resolve of our Redeemer and the very passion of the Saviour itself become the pattern and law of our lives. We, too, have to cast ourselves into the fight, and to take up our cross, ‘that the world may know that we love the Father, and as the Father hath given us commandment.’ And if we so live, then our death, too, in some humble measure, may be like His-the crowning act of obedience to the Father’s will; in which we are neither passively nor resistingly dragged under by a force that we cannot effectually resist, but in which we go down willingly into the dark valley where death ‘makes our sacrifice complete.’
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
Hereafter I will not = No longer (Greek. ouk eti) will I.
prince. See Joh 12:31.
nothing. Greek. ouk ouden, a double negative, for emphasis. No sin for Satan to work upon. Compare Joh 8:46. 2Co 6:21. Heb 4:15. 1Pe 2:22, 1Pe 2:23; 1Jn 3:5.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
30.] .:-then, as Stier remarks, He had some words more to say, and was not about to break off at Joh 14:31, as some have supposed: cf. Grotius: q. d., temporis angusti abripiunt verba.
. . ] i.e. Satan:-not, Satan in Judas, but Satan himself, with whom the Lord was in conflict during His passion: see Luk 4:13 (and note), and Luk 22:53.
.] Nullum scilicet omnino peccatum. Aug[203] ibid. 2. This is the only true interpretation: has nothing in Me-no point of appliance whereon to fasten his attack. But Meyer well observes, that this is rather the fact to be assumed as the ground of what is here said, than the thing itself which is said. De Wette, Lcke, Tholuck, and many others render it, has no power over me,- , Euthym[204]
[203] Augustine, Bp. of Hippo, 395-430
[204] Euthymius Zigabenus, 1116
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 14:30. , no longer henceforth) For which reason ye ought the more diligently to hold fast these things which I speak.-, cometh) is already now coming: having been cast out, ch. Joh 12:31, he rushes upon Me. So afterwards he assailed the women spoken of in Rev 12:9; Rev 12:13.-, for) The enemy, as being already in the act of making his assault, either on account of the shortness of the time did not suffer Him to speak more, or he ought not to hear the Lords words; or, had more been said to the disciples, he might have snatched it from them.-, of the world) Even then the prince of the world agitated (influenced) the world, when the world, in compliance with its prince, crucified Christ.-, and) and cannot prevent Me from going from the world straightway to the Father.- , in Me) although Jesus was now approaching death, of which the devil in other respects had the power.-, nothing) no share of claim (right) or power over Me. The righteousness of Christ was perfect: a becoming protestation. Here Jesus gets rid of (removes out of the way) the prince of the world; in the second and closing part of this discourse, He gets rid of the world; ch. Joh 16:33, In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 14:30
Joh 14:30
I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of the world cometh:-The prince of the world was Satan. He was embodied in the wicked rulers, Jewish and Gentile, that were compassing the death of Jesus.
and he hath nothing in me;-As the rulers of the kingdoms of this world, instigated by the prince of this world, they found nothing in Jesus for them to uphold, defend, or cherish. His works and spirit were antagonistic to theirs. [There was then, as now, nothing in common between the prince and spirit of the world and Christ, and hence had no sympathy for him. The devil never did, and never will, capture a man unless he finds something in him common with himself. If he finds a sinful ambition or lust in him, he seizes upon it and makes it the means of his ruin.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
I: Joh 16:12, Luk 24:44-49, Act 1:3
the: Joh 12:31, Joh 16:11, Luk 22:53, 2Co 4:4, Eph 2:2, Eph 6:12, Col 1:13, 1Jo 4:4, 1Jo 5:19,*Gr: Rev 12:9, Rev 20:2, Rev 20:3, Rev 20:7, Rev 20:8
and: Luk 1:35, 2Co 5:21, Heb 4:15, Heb 7:26, 1Pe 1:19, 1Pe 2:22, 1Jo 3:5-8
Reciprocal: Gen 3:15 – thou Lev 17:7 – unto devils Job 2:2 – From going Psa 22:21 – me from Dan 9:26 – but not Mat 4:1 – to Mat 4:9 – I give Mat 4:11 – the devil Mat 12:26 – his Luk 4:6 – and to Luk 4:13 – General Joh 8:46 – convinceth Joh 9:24 – we know Rom 12:2 – be not Rom 15:3 – Christ Gal 1:4 – from Tit 2:12 – this Rev 9:11 – they had
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
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This was the Lord’s way of repeating what he had said before, namely, that his conversations with them would soon be ended. According to Luk 4:6; Joh 12:31; Joh 16:11; Eph 2:2, the prince of this world is Satan. Bath nothing in me. 1Jn 3:5 states that “in him [the Son of God] is no sin.” There was nothing in the character of Jesus that was of interest to Satan, hence he determined to have Him removed from the world, and thus from the association with his apostles.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
[The prince of this world cometh.] Seeing this kind of phrase, the prince of this world; was, in the common acceptation of the Jewish nation, expressive of the devil ruling among the Gentiles, it may very well be understood so in these words; because the very moment of time was almost come about, wherein Christ and the devil were to enter the lists for the dominion and government, which of those two should have the rule over the Gentiles.
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Joh 14:30. I will no longer talk much with you, for the prince of the world cometh. (Comp. on chap. Joh 12:31.) Here it is particularly to be noted that the prince of this world is equivalent to the world in its essence. He embodies the spirit of the world, so that what is said of it may be said of him, what is said of him may be said of it. Observe the cometh, the contrast of the coming of Jesus.And he hath nothing in me.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Vv. 30, 31. I will no more speak much with you; for the prince of this world is coming, and he has nothing in me. 31. But that the world may know that I love my Father and that I act according as the Father has commanded me, arise, let us go hence.
Jesus feels the approach of His invisible enemy. There is here not merely the presentiment of the near arrival of Judas, but also of the conflict which He will have to undergo with Satan in Gethsemane.
Two quite different explanations of these verses may be given, the result of which, however, is fundamentally the same. Either the and, , before , is understood in a concessive sense: He comes, and [in truth] he has nothing in me which can be a reason for his power over me; then Jesus adds: but () in order that the world may know the love which I have for my Father, I yield myself to him freely. Arise! Or this , and, may be taken in the adversative sense, as so frequently in John: He is coming; but he has no hold upon me; nevertheless (), in order that the world may know,… arise and let us go hence, and that I may be delivered to this enemy! This second meaning seems to me to present a clearer thought; is frequently adversative in John, and we have explained the reason of it; comp. e.g. Joh 6:36 and Joh 15:24.No more speak much does not exclude the few discoursings which are still to follow. The prince of this world, see Joh 12:31. Nothing in me: nothing which appertains to his domain and which gives him a right and power over me, the object of his hatred. These words imply in Him who utters them the consciousness of the most perfect innocence. The in order that has often been made dependent on , I do; In order that the world may know…my love for my Father,…I am going to do according to what He has commanded me. But the , before, does not allow this construction. Or the has been made to depend on a verb understood:
This happens thus in order that the world may know that I love my Father, and that I do what he has commanded me; so Tischendorf; and this would be better. But how much more lively is a third construction, which makes the in order that depend on the two following imperatives: In order that the world may know,…arise, let us go hence! This way of speaking is absolutely the same with that triumphant apostrophe of Jesus, which is preserved by the three Synoptics (Mat 9:6 and parallels): That you may know …arise and walk!
To arise in order to go to Gethsemane was indeed to yield Himself voluntarily to the perfidy of Judas, who was to seek Him in that place well known by him, and to the power of Satan, who was preparing there for Jesus a last decisive conflict, the complement of that in the desert. Jesus knew well that they would not come to seize Him in the midst of the city, in the room where He was at this moment.
The imperatives: arise, let us go, may not have been immediately followed by a result; this is what Meyer, Luthardt, Weiss, Keil and Reuss think, who suppose that Jesus still remained in the room until after the sacerdotal prayer. They rest upon the He went out in Joh 18:1, and on the solemn prayer of ch. 17, which cannot have been made outside. We shall see that these reasons are not decisive. On the other hand, we do not understand why John should have mentioned so expressly the order to depart, if it had not been followed by a result; or at least why did he not, in this case, indicate the delay by a word of explanation, as in Joh 11:6? Gess says rightly: Since Jesus, by the order of Joh 14:31, gave the signal for departing, we must represent to ourselves the following discourses, chs. 15, 16, as uttered on the way to Gethsemane.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
14:30 {11} Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath {m} nothing in me.
(11) Christ goes to death not unwillingly, but willingly, not that he is yielding to the devil, but rather that he is obeying his Father’s decree.
(m) As one would say, “Satan will eventually set upon me with all the might he can, but he has no power over me, neither will he find any such thing in me as he thinks he will.”
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Jesus would not speak much longer with the disciples because His passion was imminent. He did not mean that His present discourse was almost over. Satan, the being who under God’s sovereign authority controlled the present course of events, was about to crucify Jesus (cf. Joh 6:70; Joh 13:21; Joh 13:27). "He has nothing in Me" or "He has no hold on me" translates a Hebrew idiom and means Satan has no legal claim on me. Satan would have had a justifiable charge against Jesus if Jesus had sinned. Jesus’ death was not an indication that Satan had a claim on Jesus but that Jesus loved His Father and was completely submissive to His will (Php 2:8).
Many commentators interpreted the final sentence in this verse as an indication that Jesus ended His discourse here and that He and the Eleven left the upper room immediately. They viewed the teaching and praying that we find in chapters 15-17 as happening somewhere in Jerusalem on the east side of the Kidron Valley before Jesus’ arrest (cf. Joh 18:1). However, it seems more probable to many interpreters, including myself, that this sentence did not signal a real change of location but only an anticipated change, in view of Joh 18:1. Anyone who has entertained people in their home knows that it is very common for guests to say they are leaving and then stay quite a bit longer before really departing.
Why would John have recorded this remark if it did not indicate a real change of location? Perhaps he included it to show Jesus’ great love for His followers that the following three chapters articulate. [Note: Carson, The Gospel . . ., 479.] The time of departure from the upper room is not critical to a correct interpretation of Jesus’ teaching.