Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 15:27
And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
27. And ye also shall bear witness ] Better, Nay, ye also bear witness: the verb is present, not future. It is also possible to take the verb as an imperative (comp. Joh 15:18 and Joh 14:1), but the conjunctions used are against this. The testimony of the disciples is partly one and the same with the testimony of the Spirit, partly not. It is partly the same, so far as it depends on the illumination of the Spirit, who was to bring all things to their remembrance and lead them into all truth. This would not be true in its fulness until Pentecost. It is partly not the same, so far as it depends upon the Apostles’ own personal experience of Christ and His work. This is the case at once; the experience is already there; and hence the present tense. Comp. Act 5:32, where the Apostles clearly set forth the twofold nature of their testimony, and Act 15:28, where there is a parallel distinction of the two factors.
have been with me ] Literally, are with Me; i.e. have been and still are.
from the beginning ] As usual the context decides the meaning of ‘beginning’ (see on Joh 1:1). Here plainly the meaning is from the beginning of Christ’s ministry. They could bear witness as to what they themselves had seen and heard. Comp. Act 1:22; Luk 1:2.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Ye also shall bear witness – You shall be witnesses to the world to urge on them the evidences that the Lord Jesus is the Messiah.
Have been with me – They had for more than three years seen his works, and were therefore qualified to bear witness of his character and doctrines.
From the beginning – From his entrance on the public work of the ministry, Mat 4:17-22. Compare Act 1:21-22.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Joh 15:27
And ye also shall bear witness
True Christian testimony
(text in conjunction with Joh 16:1-4):–In this we see
I.
THE SPIRIT OF GODLY HUMILITY. It comes only from the Lord, and serves the Lord only (Joh 15:26). Do not trust your own talents and power, but implore heavens blessing. Otherwise you will be in the case of Gehazi with the prophets stick. The witnessing must be concerning Him, not concerning us, our zeal, wisdom, or success.
II. SINCERE TRUTH. It comes from the heart and goes to the heart (Joh 15:27).
III. FEARLESS COURAGE (Joh 16:2). Stephen and the martyrs of everyage had this. If an unfriendly world has persecuted the Master, His followers must not expect to escape, although it may only take the form of a smile or a sneer.
IV. HOLY LOVE–a love for men that says, They do not know the Lord (Joh 15:3). He prayed for His enemies because they knew not what they did. It is not all malignity which meets us in the shape of evil at the hands of our fellow creatures–much of it is folly, blindness, and infirmity. (C. Gerok, D. D.)
Witness bearing for Christ
I. ITS NATURE. To witness is to give testimony: and testimony is a statement of facts within the knowledge of the witness.
1. The facts. Christ risen; alive; living in the witness; saving the witness now. The facts relate to a present experience, and not to what may have been realized years ago.
2. A knowledge of the facts. No court will admit a desire, hope, belief, as evidence. So the Christian witness must know that Christ is able to save.
3. A statement of the facts known. A holy life is necessary not only to salvation, but to give credibility to testimony; but it cannot of itself bear testimony. We must declare Christ as the source of our excellencies and joys, and confirm our statement by a consistent life.
II. ITS OBLIGATIONS. The text is imperative. It is not a matter of option whether we bear witness or not.
1. It is demanded by the constitution of things. Science, art, and enterprize, etc., are largely dependent on testimony for success. And so the gospel is spread by the testimony of those who enjoy it as a living power in the soul.
2. It is one of the ordained weapons for the conquest of the world. Our Lord did not burden His soldiers. One coat, a pair of shoes, and two weapons–the Word and the testimony–made up their outfit. They preached Christ from the prophecies and then charged upon the enemy by their testimony. They testified and preached. Paul was made a minister and a witness. The secret of many failures is a want of true and deep experience which enables the preacher to join clear and definite testimony to the Word.
3. Its power to stir and overcome the wicked one. Witness the success of evangelists of very limited ability. (S. Baker.)
The witness of the Church to Christ
It is in truth one of the most serious things in life to be called upon solemnly to bear witness before our fellow men and with the invocation of the presence and help of God, even to ones own observation, experience, conviction. To speak out simply and fully, without regard to consequences, the whole truth and nothing but the truth of those matters on which our testimony may be required, involves a simplicity of mind, a straightforwardness, and a courage which are probably less common than we are apt to suppose. How much more awful the duty of bearing witness for God, of representing to the world His thoughts, His words, His life! And yet this is the duty of all who know Him. It was the work to which He called that ancient people whom He separated from the idolatrous nations of the earth, and recorded His incommunicable Name among them. But even He, the Holy Ghost, is not alone in the work of testifying of Jesus; for He adds, And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with Me from the beginning. The members of His mystical body are to be fellow workers with God, and organs of the Divine Spirit. And what is the nature of the witness which they were to carry to the world.
1. They were to testify to His Person. Bear witness–not merely of My doctrine, not merely of My works but–of Me. It is the one most marked peculiarity of our blessed Lords teaching. Other teachers and leaders had been contented to have followers who would receive and disseminate their doctrines. And the true witness must also direct men to Him, as the God man, the Redeemer, the Prophet, Priest, and King of humanity.
2. They were to testify to His work. They had been with Him from the beginning, and had heard His words and seen His deeds of truth and love and power. The testimony to His work is the completion of the witness to His Person. What He has done for us must explain what He is to us.
3. But they were also to testify to His life. It was in His life that the nature of His person and the character of His work were most fully disclosed. His
Divine greatness, His moral sublimity, His redeeming power all shone out in the unequalled, unapproachable grandeur of His life. It declared itself to be unearthly, superhuman, from God. This, then, is the very core of our witness for Christ–not merely a better life than the life of the world: it will of course be in all respects a better life, but that is not all: it must be another life, drawing its origin from a higher source, animated by a higher principle, directed towards a higher end. It is not difficult to account for the profound impression produced upon men of all ages and lands, and of the most various culture, by the grandeur and sublimity of the character of Jesus Christ. Men could not help being struck with the absolute self-renunciation, the entire spirit of self-sacrifice which pervaded, like an atmosphere, His every thought, and word, and deed. It was a thing, a thought so absolutely new to the world. Obedience more or less ready and willing to the command of a superior they were not unacquainted with. But the complete, voluntary, and a cheerful surrender of a will to God, so complete and entire that there was no hesitancy, no momentary effort at self-assertion, was a phenomenon unexpected and startling, which revealed a kind of spiritual force which they had never seen in operation. Can we wonder that, when men have seen the disciples of Jesus fond of worldly display, greedy of honour, ambitious of place and of power, craving for earthly distinction, they should have found us false witnesses for God, and laughed us to scorn? Can we wonder that some, not caring to mark the startling contrast between the Master and the scholar, should have blasphemed the Holy Name by which we are called? Mark another element in the superhuman life of Christ: His ardent and unquenchable love of souls. They who would be witnesses for our Lord must first be deeply convinced of the unworldliness of the life of Christ, they must have heard and received His testimony to Himself and to them: Ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. And yet again, we do not learn from the example of our Lord that ours need not be, ought not to be, an unsympathetic unworldliness? The light of Christ was not the clear cold, hard moonlight of a winters night; but the bright, soft, warm sunshine of a summers day. The unworldliness of the Son of God was not that of a stern asceticism which refused to own relationship with those who could not rise to its level. It was on the contrary gentle, tolerant, winning. The life of unworldliness of which we have spoken, as the true witness for Christ, is beset with great and peculiar difficulties in our own day. (W. R. Clark, M. A.)
.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
He adds also, they should testify, &c.: the apostles, and their successors, by the preaching of the gospel; but particularly the apostles, Act 10:39; 1Jo 1:2,3, being chosen witnesses, Act 10:41. And they were competent witnesses, because they had been with Christ from the beginning of his public ministry. We shall find the testimony of his apostles and of the Holy Ghost both joined together, Act 5:32.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
27. ye also shall bearwitnessrather, “are witnesses”; with referenceindeed to their future witness-bearing, but putting theemphasis upon their present ample opportunities for acquiringtheir qualifications for that great office, inasmuch as they had been”with Him from the beginning.” (See on Lu1:2).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And ye shall also bear witness,…. That is, of Christ; of all the things he did in Jerusalem, and in the land of the Jews; being eyewitnesses, and ministers, or servants of the word, who constantly attended upon him; of all the good he did to the bodies and souls of men; of the various miracles he wrought, and of the several doctrines which were taught by him: what they saw with their eyes, heard with their ears, and with their hands handled of the word of life, that they could declare, and did declare, and bore a faithful testimony to; they were to be, and were witnesses of his sufferings and death, of his resurrection from the dead, and ascension to heaven; they were a company of select men, chosen before of God, for this purpose; they were the most proper to be concerned herein, having been for a considerable time his intimates and associates:
because ye have been with me from the beginning; from the beginning of his ministry; for as soon as he entered on his public work, he called them to be followers of him; and who continued with him to the end, and therefore were the most capable of bearing a testimony concerning his person, doctrines, and works; of all he did and suffered, from first to last.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
And ye also bear witness ( ). Present active indicative or imperative (do ye bear witness), same form of . “Ye also” as well as the Holy Spirit, ye also when filled with and taught by the Holy Spirit the things concerning Jesus. It is here that Christians fail most.
Have been (). Progressive present of , “are with me from the beginning of my ministry as in 14:9. They were chosen to be with Christ (Mr 3:14).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Shall bear witness [] . Present tense, bear witness. So Rev. Or, it may be taken as imperative : bear ye witness.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And ye also shall bear witness.” (kai humeis de martureite) “Then you all shall also witness concerning me,” Act 1:8; Act 2:32; Act 4:20; You all who are the branches, with vital heart connection with the vine, whom I have chosen as my House, my light-bearing agency, my preserving workers, as the salt of the earth, and as my bride, Mar 13:34; 1Ti 3:15; Mat 5:13-16; Joh 3:29.
2) “Because ye have been with me from the beginning.” (hoti ap’ arches met’ emou este) “Because you all (as my church) are and have been with me from the beginning,” 1Jn 1:2, of my ministry, in Galilee, Act 10:37; Mat 4:12-22; And as apostles from the baptism of John, Act 1:21-22. And you shall continue, after you are empowered, to go to all nations with my message, Joh 20:21; Luk 24:46-49; Act 1:8; Act 2:4.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
27. And you also bear testimony. Christ means that the testimony of the Spirit will not be of such a nature that the apostles shall have it for their private advantage, or that they alone shall enjoy it, but that by them it will be widely diffused, because they will be organs of the Holy Spirit, as indeed, he spoke by their mouth. We now see in what way faith is by hearing, (Rom 10:17,) and yet it derives its certainty from the seal and earnest of the Spirit, (Eph 1:13.) Those who do not sufficiently know the darkness of the human mind imagine that faith is formed naturally by hearing and preaching alone; (92) and there are many fanatics who disdain the outward preaching, and talk in lofty terms about secret revelations and inspirations, ( ἐνθουσιασμοὺς) But we see how Christ joins these two things together; and, therefore, though there is no faith till the Spirit of God seal our minds and hearts, still we must not go to seek visions or oracles in the clouds; but the word,
which is near us, in our mouth and heart, (Rom 10:8,)
must keep all our senses bound and fixed on itself, as Isaiah says beautifully:
My Spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever, (Isa 59:21.)
Because you are with me from the beginning. This clause was added in order to inform us that so much the greater credit is due to the apostles on this ground, that they were eye-witnesses of what they relate; as John says,
what we have heard, what we have seen, what our hands have handled, we declare to you; (1Jo 1:1)
for thus the Lord intended to provide for our welfare in every possible way, that nothing might be wanting for a full confirmation of the Gospel.
(92) “ De la seule ouye et predication.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(27) And ye also shall bear witness.The tense is present, and ye also bear witness; or, and ye also are witnesses. (Comp. Notes on Luk. 24:48-49.) The Apostles themselves distinguished between their own witness of things which had come within their own experience and the witness borne by the power of the Holy Spirit, of which the Day of Pentecost was the first great instance. (Comp. Act. 5:32.)
Because ye have been with me from the beginning.Comp. Joh. 1:7; and Notes on Act. 1:21-22. The beginning of course means the beginning of the Messianic teaching and works of which they were to be witnesses.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
27. Ye witness Indescribable glory and honour! Ye are permitted to cooperate with the Spirit of truth to the lordship and headship of Jesus the Christ, for yours has been the indescribable honour to have been with me from the beginning. Kings and princes are honored. They have a conspicuous place in history. But far above kings, emperors, or czars, is the dignity to have been an original witness to Christ, a co-worker with the Spirit of truth, an apostle of the indestructible Church.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Joh 15:27. And ye also shalt bear witness, “In process of time men’s eyes shall be opened, to discern the authority of your testimony. They shall give credit to your reports concerning me, because you have been my companions from the very first, consequently eye and ear-witnesses of all that I have done and said; so that after a while, you shall bear witness concerning me, and preach my divine religion far more successfully, than it would be in your power to do at present.” See 1Jn 1:1; 1Jn 1:10.
Inferences.From this discourse every sincere reader may learn to regard Christ at all times as the spiritual Head, from whom life and vigour are to be derived to all believers. By the exercise of an unfeigned faith it behoves all such to abide in him, as the true vine, always sensible that without him we can do nothing; that all things are possible to him who believeth; but that, if we are in him by an external profession only, we are not only in danger of being cut off and taken away, but shall, in the end, be cast into the fire.
May we rather be thoroughly purged and pruned, though it were with the most painful dispensations of providence, if by this means our fruitfulness may be promoted, to the glory of God, and the benefit of the world! May his word operate upon us, to cleanse us from our remaining pollutions!And, if we thus desire to be clean, let us take heed to our way, according to the tenor of this parable.
We see our encouragement to pray; it is Christ who offers it; and, taking it at his hand, we need never be dismayed, nor yield to unbelieving suspicions. As the Father hath loved Christ, so doth he also love his faithful people. Be it our care then to preserve and cultivate this sacred affection; and, whatever it may cost us, to endeavour for a continuance in his love, and to avoid whatever would forfeit the invaluable blessing; making it, above all things, our care to keep his commandments.
Christ, always observing the will of his heavenly Father, cannot but always and invariably continue the object of his love and delight. May our conduct be the transcript of his glorious pattern; such as that he may see reason to rejoice in us, and then we also shall have the surest foundation for a sublime and solid joy!
The Son of God condescends to speak under the character of a friend! O with what humble gratitude should sinful man attend to his gracious words! Behold, he lays aside the majesty of a sovereign, to assume this more tender and endearing relation: surely then our overflowing hearts must inquire, “Blessed Jesus, what shall we do, to express the friendship incumbent on our side?”Let us but observe what he has here declared, and trust his fidelity for its acceptance; Ye are my friends indeed, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Lord, we will gladly run the way of thy commandments, when, on this noblest principle, thou shalt have enlarged our hearts.
Jesus, the friend of sinners, hath loved us with an affection so unexampled, as hath approved itself stronger than death; and, in return, he requires us to love one another after the pattern of his blessed example. How gracious a command! how divine a stipulation! how merciful, not to our fellow-creatures only, but to ourselves also; who surely must feel the benefit of such a practice, in the delight inseparable both from the interchange of benevolent affections, and the circulation of kind and friendly offices.
Who would not imagine that the whole admiring world must feel and obey the charm, thus mercifully applied by the Son of God? Yet, instead of this, behold they even hate Christ, and persecute his servants for his sake, though without a cause, and against the strongest engagements to mutual charity and tenderness.Miserable creatures! who, by a necessary consequence, whatever they may fondly imagine, hate, by so doing, the Father also, and stand continually exposed to all the terrors of an almighty Enemy!
Where is the wonder if the world hate us, or what believer need regard its harshest injuries? If we are of that blessed company who are not of the world, let us remember that neither is the servant greater than his Lord. But surely the opposition which the gospel brings with it is nothing, when compared with those blessings which it entails by an everlasting covenant upon all who faithfully and perseveringly embrace it. Were the sufferings and difficulties attending it, a thousand times greater than they are, we ought at any rate to esteem the pearl of great price as the most happy purchase of the soul; and daily to be returning our most thankful acknowledgments that Christ was pleased to send forth his apostles, qualified with such a knowledge of himself, assisted by such power from his Holy Spirit, and appointed to go, and to bring forth such fruit, as should remain to the remotest ages.
Through his guardian care it still remains, and we trust shall for ever remain abundantly in the world! Oh may it flourish more and more amongst us! may its efficacy in our hearts and lives be more universally apparent! and may divine grace convince those who now reject and oppose the kingdom of Christ within them, that amid such various evidences of his having come, and done, and spoken unto them, as none other man ever did,they have no cloak for their sin: for alas! with whatever fond excuses such may venture to amuse themselves and others, it will but too quickly appear, as the prophet emphatically expresses it, that the bed is too short to stretch themselves upon, and the covering too narrow to wrap themselves in it. See Joh 15:22 and Isa 28:20.
REFLECTIONS.1st, We have a continuation of Christ’s farewell discourse to his disconsolate disciples.
1. He represents himself under the figure of a vine. I am the true vine; as a vine, mean and weak in his outward appearance, yet spreading on every side; sending his salvation to the ends of the earth, and bringing forth the most reviving fruits, pleasing to God, and cheering to man: the true vine, the life-giving source of spiritual influences, conveyed from him to all the branches of his body mystical: and my Father is the husbandman, who planted it in the earth, and with watchfulness and care every moment preserves and waters it; supporting Christ in the exercise of his divine offices, with complacence delighting in him, and guarding him and every faithful member of his church, who are grafted upon him, and persevere in their union to him, from every evil.
2. His people are the branches, on whom the great husbandman employs his care. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away. Some bear not the true fruits of grace and holiness; these the Lord taketh away. In time of persecution they fall off; or they turn aside into errors in principle, or immoralities in conduct; or, if they be spared to the last, by death they are cut off, and perish. And every branch in me that beareth fruit, bringing forth the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ to the praise and glory of God; he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit: by his word, his Spirit, his afflictive providences, he purifies, sanctifies, and guards the soul, removing out of the heart all the obstructions which might prevent a constant intercourse and communion between the believer and himself; and bearing away or removing those external objects, which he foresees would alienate the soul from God: and he also encourages, cultivates, and increases the gracious dispositions which he hath implanted, that they may shoot forth more vigorously, and bring forth more abundantly in all good conversation and godliness.
3. As he had now purged out Judas from among them, he exhorts them to approve their fidelity. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you, your hearts being purified by faith, which is the way whereby the word becomes effectual to all Christ’s faithful disciples in every age, purging out the dross of indwelling evil, and sanctifying the soul. Abide in me, as the root and stock whence all spiritual supplies of grace are drawn; placing all your dependance on my infinite merit and intercession, my Spirit and power; and I will then abide in you, as the living principle of all goodness. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself; except it abide in the vine, and maintain a constant communication with the root, no more can ye, except ye abide in me. The best of men must maintain habitual communion with Jesus, if they would continue to bring forth fruit unto God. I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, in the constant exercise of faith, and I in him, by the powerful operations of my Spirit, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me, separate from me, and for a moment destitute of my quickening influence, ye can do nothing truly good and acceptable to God, but must wither, droop, and die, as a branch deprived of communication with the living root. Without Christ we can do nothing towards our justification, sanctification, or glorification; he must be to us all and in all.
4. He warns them of the fatal consequences of departure from him. If a man abide not in me; basely desert my cause, and make shipwreck of faith and a good conscience; he is cast forth as a branch; excommunicated from the company of the pious here below, if his iniquities are brought to light; or, at farthest, cut off at death from the society of the blessed, and is withered; his gifts wither; his zeal grows cold; his devotion dies; his reputation decays; his hopes perish; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned; and thus shall the angels of God at the last gather out of Christ’s kingdom all that offend and do iniquity, when apostates will have their portion with the unbelievers and impenitent, and the whole be cast together into everlasting burnings. Let us read and tremble.
5. He assures them that the prayers of all his faithful people should be heard and answered. If ye abide in me, steadily cleaving to me under all discouragements; and my words abide in you, and habitually influence your conduct; ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you; whatever is for his glory and our good shall be granted. And herein is my Father glorified, by your abiding in me; and asking and receiving out of my fulness; that ye bear much fruit of grace, which will redound to his praise; so shall ye be my disciples, evidently prove to be such by your good conversation and approved fidelity; and shall be acknowledged by me in the day of my appearing and glory.
2nd, We have,
1. The love of Christ towards his faithful people. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you; and this love of his appeared most eminent:
[1.] In his laying down his life for them. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends; but greater even than this has been the love of Jesus: when we were enemies, Christ died for us.
[2.] In his kindness towards them, admitting them into his favour and friendship. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you, and herein shew yourselves faithful to me. Henceforth I call you not servants; though to be employed by such a Master, and that he condescends to accept our services, is abundant honour; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth, nor is admitted to any such intimacy and familiarity as you have been indulged with: but I have called you by the honourable name of friends, and have treated you with the most cordial affection and confidence; for all things that I have heard of my Father, I have made known unto you; all things that as Mediator he came to preach and teach, respecting the salvation of sinners, and the counsels of grace; he had kept back nothing from them, and his Spirit would shortly give them a clearer knowledge of what he had revealed to them.
[3.] In his ordaining them to the high dignity of apostleship. Ye have not chosen me, and by your choice laid any obligations on me to return the kindness: but I have chosen you first, from the rest of the Jews, to bear witness of me, Joh 15:27 and to be my apostles: and ordained you, that is to say, appointed you, to your apostleship, that ye should go abroad into the world, and bring forth much fruit, in the purity of your conversation, and the abundant success of your ministry; and that your fruit should remain in a succession of genuine Christians; so that the blessed effects of your labours, preaching, and writings, should continue to the later ages.
[4.] In his granting them all their petitions. That whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you; and the assurance of being heard is the great inducement and encouragement to us to pray. How can we but be happy to draw near to God, when we are thus assured of receiving an answer of peace?
2. He exhorts them, from the consideration of his love to them, to make a due and grateful return to him, by loving and serving him and one another. Continue ye in my love; steadfastly and perseveringly cleave to me, and then, believe me, my regard to you will be invariable. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; if you approve your fidelity, you shall have increasing supplies of grace ministered to you, yet farther to establish, strengthen, and settle you: even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, with unabating ardour and constancy; and abide in his love, am now, and shall for ever be, the object of his highest delight and complacence, as you in such case shall be of mine. And next to your love of me, this is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you; and again, Joh 15:17 this being among the best proofs of real love to Jesus, and the great commandment which he especially enjoins, as the distinguishing badge of true discipleship. Note; (1.) The love of Christ known and believed, can alone engage our hearts to a return of love. (2.) The firm purpose of universal obedience to Christ’s commands, is the sure evidence of love without dissimulation. (3.) No duty is more frequently and earnestly urged upon us, than Christian love; because in nothing do we more resemble him, whose nature and name is Love; and nothing is more ornamental to our profession.
3. They who will be faithful to the Saviour, must expect the enmity of a sinful world; where wicked men, many and mighty, will unite in hatred, opposition, and persecution against them.
[1.] The followers of Jesus may expect to be hated, persecuted, despised. Since the original enmity put between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman, never was there, I believe, one truly godly man, but more or less experienced the like treatment.
[2.] So dealt they with our great Lord and Master, whose example should reconcile us to suffer with him. If the world hate you, wonder not; ye know that it hated me before it hated you: never was character so spotless as his, never one suffered so much from the enmity of the world.
[3.] The reason of the world’s hatred of us is evident. If ye were of the world, conformed to it in your tempers, manners and practice, the world would love his own, would caress and esteem you; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you; because you are members of my mystical body, and my faithful ministers, and your heavenly minds and conversation cannot but witness against and reprove their vain and wicked ways, therefore their anger rises. Note; The men of the world have not only a hatred to Christians in general, but an especial enmity against gospel ministers, whose preaching and rebukes exasperate those who reject the counsel of God against their own souls.
4. He reminds them, that this was no more than he had all along taught them to expect. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his Lord, nor may expect more respectful treatment. If they have persecuted me, with all manner of rancour, reviling, and injuries, they will also persecute you, my ambassadors, who hear the same message, and go forth into the same world that lieth in wickedness: if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also: but in general they have not kept my word, and therefore the gospel that you preach will be despised and rejected, and your words be misrepresented, cavilled at, and ridiculed, as mine in general have been. But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because you have an interest in my love, vindicate my honour, and preach my gospel, whatever other pretences they may feign as the ground of their opposition; because they know not him that sent me, their minds are blinded by pride and prejudice, ignorant of the true God and his Messiah. Note; (1.) The faithful ministers of the gospel must not be surprised, if their preaching is treated with contempt or ridicule; their Lord was so insulted. (2.) Persecutors often pretend other causes to cover their enmity against God’s people; but whatever be their pretext, the true reason is his image in them which they cannot bear, and his gospel which they abhor.
5. Christ suggests the inexcusable guilt of those who reject him and his gospel. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin, comparatively speaking; but now they have no cloak for their sin, their infidelity is most wilful, their impenitence obstinate. He that hateth me, hateth my Father also; the hatred shewn to his person, ministers, and gospel, ultimately centres in God himself. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, such stupendous miracles as incontestably proved my divine mission, they had not had sin; they might have had some cloak for their unbelief; but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father; rejecting the testimony that he thus hath borne to me, and fixed in a rooted aversion to me and him. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, (Psa 69:4.) They hated me without a cause. Note; (1.) They are left most inexcusable, and their guilt is most aggravated, who obstinately persist in unbelief, and go to hell with bibles in their hands. (2.) They who hate the gospel, and Christ, the author of it, whatever they may pretend, truly hate God. Enemies to the Christian religion, are enemies to all religion; and Deist is really but another name for Atheist. (3.) Enmity against Christ and his gospel is most absurd and unreasonable; it is quarrelling with our own mercies, and being, in fact the worst enemies to ourselves.
3rdly, Though the enemies of the true disciples of Jesus are many and mighty, he has provided such supports for his faithful people, as shall enable them to triumph over all opposition.
1. His Spirit shall be their comfort and strength. But when the Comforter is some, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me. On the day of Pentecost, the most abundant influences of the Holy Ghost were to be poured forth upon them, he being the third Person in the sacred Trinity, proceeding from the Father and the Son, whose peculiar office in the oeconomy of man’s salvation is to testify of Christ, as the Spirit of truth speaking in the apostles, and bearing witness to the divine glory and grace of the Redeemer, and making the preaching of the gospel effectual to the consciences of men. He is the advocate, convincing men of sin, righteousness, and judgment; the Comforter, filling the souls of Christ’s faithful people with joy unspeakable and full of glory.
2. They shall themselves hereby be enabled to bear a noble testimony for Christ. Ye shall bear witness, preaching my gospel in the face of all opposers, and confirming it by the miraculous powers with which you shall be invested: and your evidence cannot be justly excepted against, because ye have been with me from the beginning, and speak the things of which you yourselves have the most undoubted assurance. Note; Ministers can then powerfully preach Christ, when they have themselves experimentally known him, have been with him in faith and love, and for a season have walked in a state of communion with him.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
REFLECTIONS
Reader! do not fail to observe the intimate oneness and union between Christ and his Church. The vine and its branches are not more closely formed in one, than Jesus and his people. Indeed, there are no figures, no images, either in nature or art, which can fully come up to the resemblance. All figures must fall short of the reality. But while we observe the closeness of union, let you and I be still more anxious to know whether we are the happy partakers of it. Are we indeed One with Christ, and Christ with us? H e that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit. One principle actuates both. What Jesus loves, we love; what Jesus hates, we hate. We look to Jesus for all things, and desire to eye Jesus in all things. Moreover, if one Spirit be in both, we shall undertake nothing but in his strength, and seek nothing but his glory. And as the branch wholly hangs upon, and is kept alive by the vine, so all our graces are kept alive by life in Jesus, and communications from Jesus. Oh! for grace to know these things in a lively, active, spiritual enjoyment of them, that we may be increasing in desires after him, and loosening from everything that is not in him, till we come to see him as he is, and dwell with him forever.
Blessed Holy Comforter of the Lord’s people? Gracious Spirit of truth to lead into all truth! Oh! grant to me the knowledge of my Lord under all his sweet and precious offices! Send out Lord! thy light and thy truth to guide my poor soul continually! And, oh! for the daily, hourly renewing of the Holy Ghost, to be shed abundantly upon the churches and people, through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
27 And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
Ver. 27. And ye also shall bear witness ] Thus Word and Spirit go together, according to the promise, Isa 59:21 . The manna of the Spirit comes down from heaven in the dews of the ministry of the gospel, Num 11:2 ; 1Pe 1:22 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
27. ] The disciples are not, as some have supposed, here mentioned as witnesses separate from and working with the Holy Spirit. The witness is one and the same the Spirit will witness in and by them; the . belongs to the whole: see Luk 24:48-49 , where this is strongly expressed. This verse alludes to the historical witness which the Holy Ghost in the ministers and eye-witnesses of the word, Luk 1:2 , should enable them to give, which forms the human side ( . , “quin et vos,” Erasm.) of this great testimony of the Spirit of truth, and OF WHICH OUR INSPIRED GOSPELS ARE THE SUMMARY: the divine side being, His own indwelling testimony in the life and heart of every believer in all time. But both the one and the other are given by the self-same SPIRIT; neither of them inconsistent with, or superseding the other.
Beware of taking imperative as Hofmann, Schriftb. ii. 2, p. 15. It would thus be very abrupt and unnatural. The , and the reason, . . ., seem decisive against it.
, as in reff., and in the sense of Act 1:21 : ‘from the beginning of the Lord’s ministry.’
The present tenses set forth the connexion between the being (continuing to be) witnesses, and the being (having been throughout) companions of the Lord in His ministry. Cf. , 1Jn 3:8 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Joh 15:27 . , “and do ye also witness,” or, if indicative, “and ye also witness”. Most prefer the indicative. “The disciples were already the witnesses which they were to be in the future.” Meyer. This agrees with the following. They were able to act as witnesses , “because from the beginning,” of the Messianic activity, “ye are with me”. The present, , is natural as Jesus is looking at their entire fellowship with Him, and that was still continuing. Cf. Mar 3:14 , , ; also Act 1:21 ; Act 4:13 .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
shall bear witness = testify, or are testifying (present).
ye have been = ye are.
with. Greek. meta. App-104.
from the beginning. See note on Joh 8:44.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
27.] The disciples are not, as some have supposed, here mentioned as witnesses separate from and working with the Holy Spirit. The witness is one and the same-the Spirit will witness in and by them; the . belongs to the whole: see Luk 24:48-49, where this is strongly expressed. This verse alludes to the historical witness which the Holy Ghost in the ministers and eye-witnesses of the word, Luk 1:2, should enable them to give,-which forms the human side ( . , quin et vos, Erasm.) of this great testimony of the Spirit of truth, and OF WHICH OUR INSPIRED GOSPELS ARE THE SUMMARY: the divine side being, His own indwelling testimony in the life and heart of every believer in all time. But both the one and the other are given by the self-same SPIRIT;-neither of them inconsistent with, or superseding the other.
Beware of taking imperative as Hofmann, Schriftb. ii. 2, p. 15. It would thus be very abrupt and unnatural. The , and the reason, …, seem decisive against it.
, as in reff., and in the sense of Act 1:21 :-from the beginning of the Lords ministry.
The present tenses set forth the connexion between the being (continuing to be) witnesses, and the being (having been throughout) companions of the Lord in His ministry. Cf. , 1Jn 3:8.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 15:27. , but, moreover) The Antithesis is between the future , He shall testify, Joh 15:26, and the Present, , ye bear witness.[362])-, ye bear witness) viz., of Me.- , from the beginning) ch. Joh 16:4, These things I said not unto you at the beginning ( ), because I was with you. Ye are () from the beginning, i.e., Ye have been from the beginning, and still are with Me. A similar phrase occurs, 1Jn 3:8, where see the note, The devil sinneth from the beginning, an abbreviated expression for [He hath sinned from the beginning and still sinneth.]
[362] But Engl. Vers. makes it future, Ye also shall bear witness. So b and some MSS. of Vulg. testimonium perhibebitis. But the best MSS. of the Vulg., viz. Fuldensis and Amiatinus, have the present perhibets.-E. and T.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 15:27
Joh 15:27
and ye also bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.-These disciples that now were so disheartened and disconsolate over his leaving them, in the days when the Holy Spirit should come to bear witness of him, would with gladness and joy join with the Spirit in bearing witness to the world of him and his works. Here the specific work of the Holy Spirit is said to bear witness of Jesus, and this witness of the Spirit is in and through the witness of the apostles themselves.
Questions on John Chapter Fifteen
E.M. Zerr
1. Who is the vine?
2. In what relation is the father?
3. What is done with fruitless branches?
4. How does he treat the others?
5. By what means is the cleansing done?
6. In what was it given?
7. What mutual abiding is taught?
8. When can a branch not bear fruit?
9. To whom is this likened?
10. To whom is Jesus speaking?
11. What does he call them?
12. Tell what the branch is required to do.
13. Is every disciple required to do this?
14. When can they do nothing?
15. What man is cast forth as a branch?
16. Tell how he becomes then?
17. What is done with him then?
18. What must abide in the branches?
19. If so what may they expect?
20. Who is glorified by the fruit bearing?
21. What relation to Christ does this cause?
22. In what were they to continue?
23. Tell what example is mentioned.
24. How may this abiding be done?
25. Tell who had already done so.
26. For what purpose had Jesus spoken these things?
27. What was his commandment?
28. State the greatest proof of love.
29. Who are the friends of Jesus?
30. How were they above the servants?
31. Who did the choosing?
32. For what were they ordained?
33. With what assurance?
34. Repeat the command then given them.
35. Why might the world hate the disciples?
36. Tell whom the world loves.
37. From where had the disciples been chosen?
38. Of what did Jesus remind his disciples?
39. Who were destined to be persecuted?
40. What respect would be had for the word?
41. For whose sake will this all be done?
42. What ignorance was responsible for this?
43. Why does this ignorance not excuse them?
44. What hates cannot be separated?
45. State what works made them responsible.
46.Thy then saw and hated whom?
47. From what document does Jesus quote?
48. Tell what he quoted.
49. Who was now promised to come?
50. From where does it proceed?
51. What will he do?
52. Who else will do so?
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
ye also: Joh 21:24, Luk 24:48, Act 1:8, Act 1:21, Act 1:22, Act 3:15, Act 4:20, Act 4:33, Act 10:39-42, Act 13:31, Act 18:5, Act 23:11, 1Pe 5:1, 1Pe 5:12, 2Pe 1:16-18, Rev 1:2, Rev 1:9
have: Mar 1:1, Luk 1:2, Luk 1:3, 1Jo 1:1, 1Jo 1:2
Reciprocal: 2Ki 2:15 – The spirit Isa 43:10 – my witnesses Joh 12:17 – bare Act 2:32 – whereof Act 5:32 – are Act 8:25 – when they had Act 20:24 – to testify Act 22:15 – thou shalt 2Ti 1:8 – the testimony Heb 2:3 – and was 1Jo 4:14 – we have Rev 3:1 – he that Rev 11:3 – witnesses
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
QUALIFICATIONS FOR WITNESS
And ye also shall hear witness, because ye have been with Me from the beginning.
Joh 15:27
Here we see for what our Lord has been preparing His Apostles all along during His ministry. They have been with Him from the beginning, very close to Him. They have been learning of Him; they have been initiated into the Divine mystery; they have been gradually educated to see who He is. They have been led to put their trust in Him in a way that they could not have put their trust in a merely human being. They are convinced that He is the Christ, the Messiah. They are sure that He has the words of eternal life. They believe in Him absolutely.
As with the first witnesses so with us, and we may say even more with us, it is necessary that there should be certain qualifications if the testimony is to be effective.
I. The witness must know the truth to which he witnesses.He must have been with the Lord. In the beginning it was essential that an apostle should have seen the Lord. We have not seen Him with our bodily eyes, but to be good witnesses we must have seen Him by faith.
II. He must show the truth of what he says in his life.If the Apostles had merely preached Christ, and had not shown by their lives that He was to them what they asserted that He was, they could never have borne a successful witness.
III. He must have a conscious realisation of the Presence of Christ.We tell others of Christ by our words and by our lives, but we are not merely relying on a past fact. The fact itself to which we witness is in us, and with us. Christ, the living Christ, is speaking in us. Believe this and act as if it were true, which it is. How much more powerful could our witness be? Instead of saying, What would Jesus do if He were here? say, What is Jesus doing now in me, and in the Church? What might He not do if we were not preventing His spirit from working by our foolishness and our sin? It is not Christ that fails, not Christianity, but Christians.
Rev. the Hon. J. Adderley.
Illustrations
(1) There was a holy man who lived not long ago who said he thought he could say that he knew Christ better than any earthly friend. Perhaps we should hardly dare to speak thus, but we might all know Him very much better than we do. Many of us know characters in history, and even in fiction, almost as if we had met them face to face. At least, we Christians should know Christ as well as that. Yet how little some of us know of the words of Christ, how little we have thought out what His teaching involves in ordinary practice.
(2) We cannot be Christians in fragments. Christianity finds expression in a Christian life, and not simply in Christian acts. There is an infinite difference between failure and acquiescence in failure. It is not humility, but indolence, which accepts a low standard. If we deliberately live below our calling, it is sin. We shrink instinctively from hypocrisy: but it is no less hypocrisy to dissemble the good desires by which we are possessed, than to affect devotion which we do not feel. Our Faithwe must dare to say it, with whatever shame it may belays upon us great obligations and offers great resources. The Lord says to us, if we are His disciples, Ye are the light of the world; ye are the salt of the earth. Such a commission constrains us to inquire importunately, till our souls return some answer, What have we done, what are we doing, to bring home to men the Gospel of the risen Christ, by which things transitory and corruptible are invested with an eternal glory?
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
7
The apostles had been personally with Jesus from the beginning of his personal work (Mar 3:14; Act 1:21-22). That would qualify them to speak as eye and ear witnesses, and the Spirit of truth would see that their memory was accurate.