Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 8:28
Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am [he,] and [that] I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
28. Then said Jesus unto them ] Better, as so often (see on Joh 8:21), Therefore said Jesus, i.e. in consequence of their gross want of perception. ‘Unto them’ is of doubtful authority.
When ye have lifted up ] On the Cross: comp. Joh 3:14 and Joh 12:32. The Crucifixion was the act of the Jews, as Peter tells them in Solomon’s Porch (Act 3:13-15).
then shall ye know ] Better, then shall ye perceive. It is the same verb as is used in Joh 8:27, and evidently refers back to that (comp. Joh 8:43). Had they known the Messiah they would have known His Father also (Joh 14:9). But when by crucifying Him they have brought about His glory, then and not till then will their eyes be opened. Then will facts force upon them what no words could teach them. Comp. Joh 12:32.
that I am he ] See on Joh 8:24.
but as my Father hath taught me ] Better, but that as My Father taught Me, i.e. before the Incarnation; aorist, not perfect, like ‘heard’ in Joh 8:26. The construction depending on ‘then shall ye understand’ continues to the end of this verse, and possibly down to ‘is with Me.’
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
When ye have lifted up – When you have crucified. See Joh 3:14 note; also Joh 12:32 note.
The Son of man – See the notes at Mat 8:19-20.
Then shall ye know – Then shall you have evidence or proof.
That I am he – Am the Messiah, which I have professed to be.
And that I do nothing of myself – That is, you shall have proof that God has sent me; that I am the Messiah; and that God concurs with me and approves my doctrine. This proof was furnished by the miracles that attended the death of Jesus – the earthquake and darkness; but chiefly by his resurrection from the dead, which proved, beyond a doubt, that he was what he affirmed he was – the Messiah.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Joh 8:28-29
When ye have lifted up the Son of Man.
–As instruments they would lift Him to the cross; as a result He would ascend to His throne. (W. H. Van Doren, D. D.)
Christ forecasting His death and destiny
Christs language here
I. REVEALS HIS SUBLIME HEROISM IN THE PROSPECT OF A TERRIBLE DEATH. When ye have lifted up, an expression more than once used to signify His crucifixion. This was
1. The culmination of human wickedness. This could reach no higher point than the putting to death of the Son of God.
2. The culmination of human suffering. Crucifixion involved ignominy, insult, torture. Yet how calmly Christ speaks about it–He endured the
Cross and despised the shame. There was no faltering note, no complaint, no perturbation, dismay.
II. EXPRESSES HIS UNSHAKEN FAITH IN THE TRIUMPH OF HIS CAUSE. Then shall ye know, etc.
1. He was not discouraged by apparent failure. To the world His life ending in crucifixion would appear a stupendous failure: to Him it was a success. His death was as a seed falling into the earth.
2. He did not despair of mans improvability. He believed that there would come a reaction in mens minds concerning Him. When He was gone they would begin to think, recognize, and give Him credit for excellency, which they did not when He was amongst them.
3. He was not doubtful of ultimate success. He saw the day of Pentecost, the result of apostolic labours, the triumph of His truth through all successive ages, and at last His character moulding the race to His own ideal.
III. IMPLIES A PRINCIPLE OF CONDUCT COMMON IN ALL HISTORY: viz., that good men undervalued in life are appreciated when gone. We see this principle
1. In the family. Members may live together for years, and through infirmity of temper, clashing of tastes, collision of opinion, etc., excellencies may be entirely overlooked. One dies–father, mother, brother, sister–and then attributes of goodness come up in the memory that never appeared before.
2. In the State. Public men, devoted to the common good, and loyal to conscience, clash with popular opinions and prejudices and are bitterly denounced. They die, and their virtues emerge, and fill the social atmosphere with fragrance. Burke, Hume, and Cobden are examples of this.
3. In the Church. A minister labours for years among a people–too thoughtful to be appreciated by the thoughtless, too honest to bow to current prejudices–so that his work passes unacknowledged and unrequited. He dies, and has a moral epiphany. It was so with Arnold and Robertson.
IV. INDICATES A CONSCIOUSNESS OF HIS PECULIAR RELATION TO THE ETERNAL FATHER. As my Father hath taught me, etc. (Joh 8:29).
1. He was the Pupil of the Father.
2. He was the Companion of the Father.
3. He was the servant of the Father. I do always those things that please Him, though I displease you.
Conclusion:
1. This subject reveals the sublime uniqueness of Christ. Who, amongst all the millions of men that have appeared, could use such language as this? Who could forecast such a terrible future with such accuracy and composure? Who could proclaim such a Divine relationship? As our system has but one sun, our universe has but one Christ.
2. This subject suggests the Christ verifying force of human history. What Christ here predicts history has established. Through His crucifixion ever increasing multitudes have been convinced that He is the true Messiah. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
He that hath sent Me is with Me
1. Unity of essence.
2. Communion of spirit.
3. Consciousness of favour.
4. Present help.
5. One in eternal plans.
Jehovah was ever at His right hand in might, majesty, and love. To be with God is to have light without darkness, truth without falsehood, power without weakness, love without limit. The sunbeams spread their golden wings over us, and yet abide with the sun, from whence they flow. He who sent His Son into the world was so with Him, that He shared, so to speak, all the opprobrium and enmity with which His mission was met. In the same manner is Christ with His people. (Mat 25:40). (W. H. Van Doren, D. D.)
The exemplary life
I. LIFE COMMISSIONED BY GOD. Sent me. Christ was appointed by God to His Work (1Jn 4:14). Every life is a plan of God. Cunning workmen in building the Temple were inspired by Him. He sends to all kinds of lawful work. Lowly workers realize this, it will exalt and encourage you.
II. LIFE APPROVED OF GOD. Our Lords life and work were ever well pleasing to God. So may our life and work be if, by His help, we are diligent, faithful, unselfish, and do all as unto Him.
III. LIFE ACCOMPANIED BY GOD. Please God in your life and you will realize His gracious presence. His presence is an assurance of support in trial, victory in conflict, guidance, progress, etc. (W. Jones.)
The Father hath not left Me alone. Let us not think holiness in the hearts of men here in the world is a forlorn, forsaken, and outcast thing from God, that He hath no regard of. Holiness, wherever it is, though never so small, if it be but hearty and sincere, it can no more be cut off and discontinued from God, than a sunbeam here upon earth can be broken off from its intercourse with the sun, and be left alone amidst the mire and dust of this world. The sun may as well discard its own rays, and banish them from itself, into some region of darkness, far remote from it, where they shall have no dependence at all upon it, as God can forsake and abandon holiness in the world, and leave it a poor orphan thing, that shall have no influence at all from Him to preserve and keep it. Holiness is something of God, wherever it is; it is an efflux from Him, that always hangs upon Him, and lives in Him, as the sunbeams, though they gild this lower world, and spread their golden wings over us, yet they are not so much here, where they shine, as in the sun, from whence they flow. God cannot draw a curtain betwixt Himself and holiness, which is nothing but the splendour and shining of Himself. He cannot hide His face from it; He cannot desert it, in the world (Mat 28:20; Act 9:4-5; 2Ti 4:17). (R. Cudworth.)
I do always those things which please Him.–Eternally, past, present, and future at all times, everywhere, in all ways, He requires from all, and teaches all those things which please God. Of whom but the eternal Son and Spirit can this be said? (W. H. Van Doren, D. D.)
The Christians motto
Observe Christ as
I. THE MEDIATOR. Our text is true of our Lord every way.
1. Of His incarnation we read, Lo, I come I delight to do Thy will. He did the thing which pleased the Father during His obscure life as the carpenters Son. He was The holy child Jesus. At the end of His retirement the Father set His seal upon His beloved Son in whom He was well pleased at His baptism, when He fulfilled all righteousness, a type of the perfect obedience He intended to render. His temptation and victory were well pleasing to God, the token whereof was the ministration of angels. Throughout His life He fulfilled Isa 42:21. He magnified the ceremonial law by coming under it and observing it until the time when it passed away; and the moral law by such obedience as enabled Him to say, Which of you convinceth him of sin. Hence the same attestation at the Transfiguration as at the Baptism, and the answer to His prayer, Father, glorify Thy name. The miracles were tokens of the Fathers pleasure Act 2:22). In His death it pleased the Father to bruise Him. It pleased God that He should ascend, for He received gifts for men. God is pleased with His intercession, for it is all prevalent. It will please that He should come again; for all judgment is committed to His hands.
2. The saving works of Jesus are lovely in the Fathers eyes. The pleasure of the Lord shall prosper, etc. I have no pleasure in the death, etc.
3. The benefits which Christ confers on the saints please the Father; for it pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell, and it pleases Him when of His fulness we receive grace for grace.
II. THE MODEL. In taking Christ as our example
1. It implied that we ourselves are rendered pleasing to God. As long as a man is obnoxious to God, all he does is obnoxious. They that are in the flesh cannot please God.
2. Included in this is the avoiding all things that displease Him.
(1) Pride, whether of talent, self-righteousness, wealth, dress, rank. The Lord resisted the proud.
(2) Sloth–which God couples with wickedness.
(3) Unwatchfulness, carelessness, indifference, neglect.
(4) Anger, oppression, craftiness, covetousness, worldliness.
(5) Unbelief–doubts of His power and faithfulness.
(6) Murmuring.
3. It should be our intent and earnest design to please God. We shall not do this by accident; we must give our whole souls to it.
4. The text is positive and practical. Do.
(1) Christ was prayerful, and it cannot please the Father for His child not to speak to Him.
(2) Christ loved God and man.
(3) Christ pleased not Himself, and to please God we must deny ourselves.
(4) Christ was separate from sinners, and we must not be conformed to the world.
(5) To please God note Psa 69:30, and Heb 13:16, and learn to cultivate a thankful spirit; note– 1Jn 3:22, and Heb 11:5-6. and believe; note Col 1:10, and learn that resignation is pleasing to God.
5. These things must be actually done. I do. It will not suffice to talk or pray about them or to be charmed with them.
6. Always. At home as husband or wife, etc.; at business as master or servant. There must not be at any moment anything that we should not like God to see, nor be where we should not like Christ to find us.
7. By doing the things that please God.
(1) We shall enjoy and retain the presence of the Father, not otherwise.
(2) We shall be girded with strength; otherwise we shall be impotent.
(3) The Lord will be with us in our work.
Conclusion:
1. Is this too high a model? Would you prefer an example that would let you be contented with a measure of sin? Do you think it an impossible ideal? But what about the promised help of the Spirit?
2. Have you failed? Then grieve over it, and try again. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
We must please God always
It will not suffice to say I do the things which please God when I go out to worship. The Christian must aim to say I do always. I have known some persons take a holiday from Christs service sometimes. They say Once a year surely one may indulge. If holiness is slavery then surely you are the slave of sin. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Conduct insisted by love
A child had a beautiful canary, which sang to him from early morning. The mother of the child was ill–so ill that the song of the little bird, which to the boy was delicious music, disturbed and distressed her so that she could scarcely bear to hear it. He put it in a room far away, but the birds notes reached the sick bed, and caused pain to her in her long, feverish days. One morning, as the child stood holding his mothers hand, he saw that when his pet sang, an expression of pain passed over her dear face. She had never yet told him that she could not bear the noise, but she did so now. It is no music to me, she said, as he asked her if the notes were not pretty. He looked at her in wonder. And do you really dislike the sound? Indeed I do, she said. The child, full of love to his mother, left the room. The golden feathers of the pretty canary were glistening in the sunshine, and he was trilling forth his loveliest notes; but they had ceased to please the boy. They were no longer pretty or soothing to him, and taking the cage in his hand he left the house. When he returned he told his mother that the bird would disturb her rest no more, for he had given it to his little cousin. But you loved it so, she said; how could you part with the canary? I loved the canary, mother, he replied; but I love you more. I could not really love anything that gave you pain. It would not be true love if I did. (Quiver.)
As He spake these words many believed on Him
The force of truth
A woman in Scotland, who was determined, as far as possible, not to have anything to do with religion, threw her Bible and all the tracts she could find in her house into the fire. One of the tracts fell down out of the flames, so she picked it up and thrust it in again. A second time it slipped down, and once more she put it back. Again her evil intention was frustrated, but the next time she was more successful, though, even then only half of it was consumed. Taking up the portion that fell out of the fire, she exclaimed, Surely the devil is in that tract, for it wont burn. Her curiosity was excited; she began to read it, and it was the means of her conversion. It was one of my sermons. Verily that sermon, and the woman too, were saved, yet so as by fire. What wondrous ways the Lord has of bringing home the truth! (C. H. Spurgeon.)
A word in season
Lady Huntingdon once spoke to a workman who was repairing a garden wall, and pressed him to thoughtfulness on the state of his soul. Some years afterwards, she was speaking to another man on the same subject, and said, Thomas, I fear you never pray, nor look to Jesus Christ for salvation. Your ladyship is mistaken, answered the man; I heard what passed between you and James at such a time, and the word you designed for him took effect on me. How did you hear it? I heard it on the other side of the garden, through a hole in the wall, and shall never forget the impression I received.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 28. When ye have lifted up] When ye have crucified me, and thus filled up the measure of your iniquities, ye shall know that I am the Christ, by the signs that shall follow; and ye shall know that what I spoke is true, by the judgments that shall follow. To be lifted up, is a common mode of expression, among the Jewish writers, for to die, or to be killed.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
It is your unhappiness, that while I am alive, and preaching the gospel to you, inviting you to repentance, and faith in me, as the true Messiah, you will not believe me to be indeed what I am; but you shall lift me up upon the cross, (for that is meant by lifting up, as Joh 3:14; 12:32), and when that time cometh, you shall know that I am the light of the world, as Joh 8:12; for after that, the gospel began to be preached to all nations: or, that I am the true Messiah, he whom the Father hath sent into the world. Some of you shall then know it by those signs and wonders that shall attend my death and resurrection, and to your shame and confusion: others of you shall know it to your eternal joy and salvation; believing on me then, whom you will not now acknowledge; and that what I have done, I have only done by commission from my Father, not of myself; and that what I have taught, I have had in commission from my Father to teach.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
28-30. When ye have lifted up theSon of manThe plainest intimation He had yet given inpublic of the manner and the authors of His death.
then shall ye know that I amhe, &c.that is, find out, orhave sufficient evidence, how true was all He said, though they wouldbe far from owning it.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then said Jesus unto them,…. Upbraiding them with their ignorance, and giving them a sign, as well as pointing out the time when they either, by good or sad experience, should have knowledge of him:
when ye have lift up the son of man; meaning himself, who was to be lifted up upon the cross, as the serpent was upon the pole, in the wilderness; and which signified the manner of death he should die, the death of the cross; and suggested, that what the Jews designed for his reproach, shame, and abasement, would be the way and means of his rise and exaltation; and this lifting him up, or crucifying him, he ascribes to them, because they would deliver him to Pontius Pilate to be condemned, and stir up the people to ask, and be importunate themselves for his crucifixion:
then shall ye know that I am [he]; the Son of God, and true Messiah, as the centurion, and those that were with him, did, when they observed the earthquake; and the things that were done at his death; and after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, and the pouring forth of his Spirit, many of the Jews had not only a notional, but a true and spiritual knowledge of Jesus, as the Messiah; and upon the destruction of their temple, city, and nation, and their disappointment by false Christs, they doubtless many of them must, and did know, that the true Messiah was come, and that Jesus of Nazareth was he:
and that I do nothing of myself; [See comments on Joh 5:19];
but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things; this he says not as lessening himself, or making himself inferior to the Father, but to show the excellency of his doctrine, and to assert the original, authority, and divinity of it; suggesting that it was not an human doctrine, or a device of man’s, or his own, as man, but was divine, and from God; see Joh 7:16.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
When ye have lifted up the Son of man ( ). Indefinite temporal clause with ( + ) and the first aorist active subjunctive of , to lift up (Koine verb from , height), used several times in John of the Cross of Christ (John 3:14; John 8:28; John 12:32; John 12:34). It is unnecessary to render the aorist subjunctive as if a future perfect, simply “whenever ye lift up” (actually lift up, ingressive aorist). In Ac 2:33 the verb is used of the Ascension.
Shall ye know (). Future (ingressive aoristic) middle of . Cognoscetis ex re quod nunc ex verbo non creditis (Bengel). But the knowledge from the facts like the fall of Jerusalem will come too late and will not bring a change of heart. The Holy Spirit will convict them concerning judgment (16:8). For
I am ( ) see on verse 24.
As the Father taught me ( ). This claim Jesus repeats (see verse 26) and clearly makes on his arrival at the feast (7:16f.). This fact marks Jesus off from the rabbis.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Lifted up. See on 3 14.
Ye shall know [] . Render, perceive, here as in ver. 27.
I am He. As in ver. 24, on which see note.
Of myself [ ] . Properly, from myself, as Rev., at Rev 7:17, but not here. See on 7 17.
Hath taught [] . Rev., more correctly, taught. The aorist tense, regarding the teaching as a single act. Compare hkousa, I heard, Joh 3:32. I speak these things [ ] . Not equivalent to so I speak (i. e., as the Father taught me), but an absolute declaration with reference to these present revelations.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Then said Jesus unto them,” (eipen oun ho lesous) “Then Jesus said (further) to them,” explaining, clarifying, to these self-righteous Pharisees, Joh 8:13.
2) “When ye have lifted up the Son of man,” (auton hupsosete ton huion tou anthropou) “When you all lift up the Son of man,” the heir of humanity, Joh 3:14; Joh 12:32, to crucify Him in the form of the cruel Roman death, the one who came as the Son of man, “to seek and to save that which was lost,” Luk 19:10; Gal 3:13; 1Pe 2:24.
3) “Then shall ye know that I am he,” (tote gnosesthe hoti ego eimi) “At that point of time you all will know that I exist as the self-existing one,” then and not before then, as they had fixed their own destiny in unbelief, Pro 29:1; Mat 27:54; Luk 23:47, the heir of humanity, the Creator, the Life, the Light, the Bread, and the Water of Life, all that I have told you that I was and am, Joh 5:43.
4) “And that I do nothing of myself;”- (kai ap’ emautou poio ouden) “And from myself I do not a thing,” that is, originating from myself alone, I do nothing,” apart from the will and work of Him who sent me, Joh 6:38; Joh 17:4-5; Some knew when He was lifted up, and many directly afterward, Act 2:41; Act 21:20.
5) “But as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.” (alla kathos edidaksen me ho pater tauta lalo) “But just as the Father taught or instructed me, I speak forth these things,” things that they were directed in their own law to heed, to obey, Deu 18:15; Deu 18:18-19; Act 3:22-23.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
28. When you shall have exalted the Son of man. Offended at that stupidity which the Evangelist has described, Christ again declares that they do not deserve that he should open his mouth to speak to them any more. (230) “You now,” says he, “have all your senses — as it were — fascinated, and, therefore, you understand nothing of all that I say; but the time will yet come, when you shall know that a Prophet of God has lived among you, and has spoken to you.” This is the manner in which we ought to deal with wicked men; we ought expressly to summon them to the judgment-seat of God. But this knowledge, which Christ speaks of, comes too late, when the reprobate and unbelievers, (231) dragged to punishment, reluctantly acknowledge that God, to whom they ought mildly to have given honor and reverence, is their Judge. For he does not promise them repentance, but declares that, after they have been struck with new and unexpressed horror at the wrath of God, they will be aroused from that sleep in which they now repose. Thus Adam’s eyes were opened, so that, overwhelmed with shame, he sought in vain for places of concealment, and ultimately was convinced that he was ruined. Yet that knowledge of Adam, which was in itself useless, turned to his advantage through the grace of God; but the reprobate, being overwhelmed with despair, have their eyes opened only for this purpose, that they may perceive their destruction. To this kind of knowledge God conducts them in a variety of ways. Sometimes it happens that, constrained by heavy afflictions, they learn that God is angry with them; sometimes, without any outward punishment, he inwardly torments them; and, at other times, he permits them to sleep until he call them out of the world.
By the term exalt Christ points out his own death. He mentions his death, in order to warn them that, though they destroy him according to the flesh, they will gain nothing by it; as if he had said, “Now you treat me with haughty scorn, while I speak to you; but ere long your wickedness will proceed farther, even so far as to put me to death. Then will you triumph, as if you had gained your wish, but within a short time you shall feel, to your utter ruin, how widely my death differs from destruction.” He employs the word exalt, in order to vex them the more. Their intention was to plunge Christ into the lowest hell. He tells them that they will be completely disappointed, and that the event will be altogether contrary to what they thus expect. He may, indeed, have intended to allude to the outward form of his death, that he was to be lifted up on the cross; but he looked chiefly to the glorious result of it, which soon afterwards followed, contrary to the expectation of all. True, indeed, in the cross itself he gained a splendid triumph over Satan, before God and the angels, by blotting out the hand-writing of sin, and cancelling the condemnation of death, (Col 2:14😉 but it was only after that the Gospel had been preached, that this triumph began to be made known to men. The same thing which happened shortly afterwards — that Christ rose out of the grave, and ascended to heaven — is what we ought daily to expect; for, notwithstanding all the contrivances of wicked men to oppress Christ in his Church, not only will he rise in spite of them, but he will turn their wicked efforts into the means of promoting the progress of his kingdom.
That I am. I have already stated that this does not refer to Christ’s Divine essence, but to his office; which appears still more clearly from what follows, when he affirms that he does nothing but by the command of the Father; for this means, that he was sent by God, and that he performs his office faithfully.
And that I do nothing of myself. That is, I do not put myself forward, to attempt anything rashly. Again, the word speak, refers to the same thing, that is, to the office of teaching; for when Christ wishes to prove that he does nothing but by the commandment of the Father, he says that he speaks as he has been taught by Him. The meaning of the words, therefore, may be summed up thus: In the whole of these proceedings, which you condemn, no part is my own, but I only execute what God has enjoined upon me; the words which you hear from my mouth are his words, and my calling, of which He is the Author, is directed by him alone. Let us remember, however, what I have sometimes mentioned already, that these words are accommodated to the capacity of the hearers. For, since they thought that Christ was only one of the ordinary rank of men, he asserts that whatever in him is Divine is not his own; meaning that it is not of man or by man; because the Father teaches us by him, and appoints him to be the only Teacher of the Church; and for this reason he affirms that he has been taught by the Father
(230) “ Qu’il ouvre plus sa bouche pour leur dire rein.”
(231) “ Les reprouvez et infideles.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(28) Then said Jesus unto them.Better, There-fore . . . The teaching arises immediately out of the want of understanding just mentioned.
When ye have lifted up the Son of man.Better, When ye shall have lifted up . . . (Comp. Notes on Joh. 3:14; Joh. 6:62; Joh. 12:32; Joh. 12:34.) Both the Crucifixion and Ascension are implied here. Now. for the first time, they are marked out as the instruments of the Crucifixion (comp. Act. 3:15), and therefore the means by which He will return to His Fathers throne.
Then shall ye know . . .These words confirm the view that the teaching of these verses arises immediately out of their present ignorance. Then the veil will be removed. Then the death of Christ will be followed by His glory. As we read these words they impress us with that calm of assured certainty with which they are uttered (comp. Joh. 8:12) before the events, and reminds us of the signal way in which they were fulfilled. (Comp., e.g., Notes on Mat. 23:39 and Act. 2:37.)
That I am he.Comp. Note on Joh. 8:24.
And that I do nothing of myself.This is dependent on know that in the previous clause; as is the remainder of the verse, and probably the first clause of the following verse also. They will then know that He is divine, and that the acts and words which they cannot now understand are part of the divine life in union with the Father. Now they marvel and ask, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? (Joh. 7:15): then they shall know that according as the Father taught Him, He spake these things. Now they cannot understand the witness of the Father (Joh. 8:19): then they shall know that He that sent Him was with Him.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
28. When ye have lifted up Jesus here plainly means the lifting to the cross. And this by implication embraces his lifting to his throne of glory.
That I am Rejecting the unauthorized he. Even on his cross the shuddering Jews, amidst the signs from heaven, felt a guilty consciousness that they were crucifying the Holy One. But the words from this extend into a broader meaning. It is the crucifixion by which the world knows the power of Christ, the Redeemer and Judge. Consequent upon that, Israel must look upon Him whom they have pierced, and mourn. The cross is the prelude to the judgment-throne.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘So Jesus said, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am, and that I do nothing of myself but say just what my Father has taught me’.
Jesus now again faces them up to what He knows they are going to do with Him. He knows that His days are numbered. But He also knows that this will be for the good of those who respond to Him.
‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man.’ Note His claim again to be the Messianic Son of Man. The phrase ‘lifted up’ occurs a number of times in John’s Gospel. In Joh 3:14 it refers to His crucifixion, but must contain the seeds of His glorification, for His lifting up will offer eternal life to those who believe in Him. In Joh 12:32 it is specifically stated to also refer to His crucifixion, but again must include the idea of His glorification, for how else could He draw all men to Him? Thus here it is probably intended again to include both, while considering mainly the latter. Without being aware of it they will contribute both to His lifting up in death and His lifting up in resurrection and exaltation.
The phrase was deliberately vague, and had a deliberate dual meaning. Jesus could not say blatantly ‘when you have killed me’ (for the sake of the listening crowds), and besides that would only have signified one aspect of His death. He wanted to present His death both in its starkness and in its triumph. So ‘lifted up’ stressed both those things. He would be lifted up as a public spectacle, like the golden serpent (Joh 3:14), and yet also He would be lifted up to God.
The words here are general and not specific. ‘You’ refers to the Jews as a whole, yes, and even to the world. Their main significance is for those who would later believe, and there were many. It is they who will come to know that Jesus is the ‘I am’, and that He reflected His Father’s will. So His death will be a triumph because for many it will result in belief and understanding. But the Pharisees as a whole will know it in a more general sense when they see the impact of His death and resurrection. Then they too will have to face up to the truth about Him, even though they finally reject it.
We may compare this with the idea in Mat 26:64 (compare Luk 22:69), when He says, again to the Jewish leaders, ‘From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of Heaven’, where the point was that while they themselves would not respond to His being made Lord, they would see that there would be many who would. They would be aware of His impact as the Son of Man.
‘That I am.’ The Pharisees would understand this as meaning ‘that I am the Coming One.’ But the writer wants us to see the deeper meaning, ‘that I am the “I am”.’ (Joh 8:58).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The distinguishing sign:
v. 28. Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of Man, then shall ye know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father hath taught Me, I speak these things.
v. 29. And He that sent Me is with Me; the Father hath not left Me alone; for I do always those things that please Him.
v. 30. As He spake these words, many believed on Him. In spite of all the enmity and the lack of understanding, the Lord continues to proclaim His message concerning Himself and His office in the world. He points forward to the great culmination of His labors in the world. The time would come that they would raise up the Son of Man, nail Him to the cross. Through this death He would enter into the glory of His Father. This fact would become a distinguishing mark. He that believes on the crucified Christ has the necessary spiritual understanding of the Gospel and its meaning. They that reject the crucified Christ will find that He will become their Judge. To them He will be revealed in the majesty of His divine power, and they will understand when it is too late that He did nothing in His labors on earth on His own initiative, by arrogant presumption, but that He had spoken only what the Father had taught Him to say. For the union between the two persons of the Godhead is so intimate that all their great undertakings for the salvation of mankind are done together. For although He has been sent out by the Father, yet the Father is with Him; there is a distinction of persons, but one divine essence. He is true to the purpose of the Father, to the divine will for the salvation of the world; and therefore His conduct pleases the Father at all times, there is perfect sympathy and correspondence between them. Now finally some of the divine truths penetrated into the hearts and minds of some of the hearers, and many were won for Christ. His Word, whenever and wherever it is preached, will always have some effect and success, on account of its inherent power.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Joh 8:28-29. When ye have lifted up the Son of man, “When you have crucified me, you shall know both who I am, and who my Father is. The miracles accompanying my death, my resurrection from the dead, the effusion of the Spirit on my disciples, and the destruction of your nation, shall demonstrate that I am the Light of the world, the Messiah; and that I do nothing merely by my own authority, but by my Father’s direction, speaking such doctrines only as he has commissioned me to teach. Besides, my Father is always with me; Joh 8:29 for though I shall be crucified as a malefactor, that disaster will not come upon me because he has deserted me. In no period of my ministry, not even at my death, will my Father leave me; for I always act agreeably to his will.”
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Joh 8:28-29 . ] not merely “a continuation of the narration” (De Wette), but: therefore , in reference to this non-understanding, as is also confirmed by the words , which refer to in Joh 8:27 , and, indeed, considered as to its matter, logically correct, seeing that if the Jews had recognised the Messiahship of Jesus, they would also have understood what He said to them of the Father.
, etc.] when ye shall have lifted up , namely, on to the cross. Comp. on Joh 3:14 , Joh 6:62 . The crucifixion is treated as an act of the Jews, who brought it about, as also in Act 3:14 f.
-g0- -g0- .] Comp. Joh 12:32 , Joh 6:62 . Then will the result follow, which till then you reject, that you will know, etc. Reason: because the death of Jesus is the condition of His , and of the mighty manifestations thereof (the outpouring of the Spirit; miraculous works of the apostles; building up of the Church; punishment of the Jews; second coming to judgment). Then shall your eyes be opened, which will take place partly with your own will, and still in time (as in Act 2:36 ff; Act 4:4 ; Act 6:7 ; Rom 11:11 ff.); partly against your will, and too late (comp. on Mat 23:39 ; Luk 13:34 f.). Bengel aptly remarks: “cognoscetis ex re , quod nunc ex verbo non creditis.”
, etc.] still dependent on , and, indeed, as far as ; so that to the universal , the special and the general (is my helper and support) together correspond. Hence there is no brevity of discourse requiring to be completed by supplying in thought to , and along with (De Wette, after Bengel). Nonnus already took the correct view (he begins Joh 8:29 with , etc.); and the objection (Lcke, De Wette, and several others) that , etc. would then stand too disconnected, has no force, since it is just in John that the asyndetic continuation of a discourse is very common, and, in fact, would also be the case here if . etc. were no longer dependent on .
] is arbitrarily and without precedent (Mat 9:33 cannot be adduced as one) explained as equivalent to , from a commingling of two notions. By the demonstrative Jesus means His doctrine generally (comp. Joh 8:26 ), with whose presentation He was now occupied . But of this He discoursed in harmony with the instructions received from the Father, i.e. in harmony with the instructions derived from His direct intuition of divine truth with the Father prior to His incarnation. Comp. Joh 8:38 ; Joh 1:18 ; Joh 3:13 ; Joh 6:46 ; Joh 7:16 f.
, etc.] Independent corroboration of the last thought, negatively expressed on account of His apparent forsakenness in the face of many and powerful enemies. The Praet . refers to the experience felt in every case, during the course of His entire activity, until now (comp. afterwards ), not to the point of time when He was sent; the reason afterwards assigned would not be appropriate to this latter reference. Comp. also Joh 16:32 .
, etc.] because I , etc. Reason assigned for the , etc. How could He ever leave me alone, as I am He who, etc.? ( with emphasis). Comp. Joh 15:10 . Olshausen regards , etc. as the expression of equality of essence , and as assigning the ground of His knowledge . The former idea is erroneous, as the meaning of , etc. is identical with that of ; and the latter would be an inadequate reason, because it relates merely to moral agreement.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
28 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he , and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
Ver. 28. When ye have lifted up the Son, &c. ] 1. Upon the cross, as the brazen serpent was upon a pole. And, 2. By the cross to the crown, though they intended no such thing. If there be any way to heaven on horseback (said Bradford) it is by the cross.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
28. ] This connects ( being the continuation of the foregoing, see above on Joh 8:21 ) with Joh 8:26 , and also with Joh 8:27 , as the shews, referring to the . On . see ch. Joh 3:14 . ‘When ye shall have been the instruments of accomplishing that death by which He shall enter into His glory:’ for the latter idea is clearly implied here.
. ] Perhaps, in different ways: some, by the power of the Holy Spirit poured out after the exaltation of Christ, and to their own salvation; others by the judgments which were to follow ere long, and to their own dismay and ruin.
The construction and connexion of the following appears to be this: depends on , and is an expansion of : whereas Joh 8:29 is an independent assertion.
The interchange of and is remarkable. The construction is not elliptical, so that . should be understood in both cases; but the declaration of Joh 8:25 is still in the Lord’s mind, His being all a declaration of the Father , a in the widest sense. Cf. Bengel: “cognoscetis ex re , quod nunc ex verbo non creditis.”
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Joh 8:28 . Therefore ( ) Jesus said to them, , “when ye have lifted up the Son of Man, them shall ye know that I am He”. has the double reference of elevation on the cross and elevation to the Messianic throne, cf. Joh 3:14 . The people were thus to elevate Him and then they would recognise Him, Act 2:37 , etc. “that I am He,” i.e. , “the Son of Man”. What follows is not dependent on (against Meyer, Holtzmann, Westcott); the begins a new statement, as the present, , shows. The sequence of thought is: ye shall know that I am Messiah: and indeed I now act as such, for of myself I do nothing, but as my Father has taught me, so I speak. This is the present proof that He was Messiah.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
When . . . then. Revealing that, after that, men would believe in the truth of His Deity,
have = may, or shall have,
lifted up. Compare Joh 3:14; Joh 12:34.
Son of man. App-98.
know. App-132. , as in Joh 8:27. I do, &c. Note the complex Ellipsis (App-6) = “Of Myself I do nothing [nor speak); but according as the Father taught Me, these things I speak [and do them]”.
nothing. Greek ouden.
of = from. Greek. apo. App-101.
hath taught = taught.
I speak, &c. See note on “My doctrine”, Joh 7:16.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
28.] This connects ( being the continuation of the foregoing, see above on Joh 8:21) with Joh 8:26, and also with Joh 8:27, as the shews, referring to the . On . see ch. Joh 3:14. When ye shall have been the instruments of accomplishing that death by which He shall enter into His glory: for the latter idea is clearly implied here.
.] Perhaps, in different ways:-some, by the power of the Holy Spirit poured out after the exaltation of Christ, and to their own salvation; others by the judgments which were to follow ere long, and to their own dismay and ruin.
The construction and connexion of the following appears to be this: depends on , and is an expansion of : whereas Joh 8:29 is an independent assertion.
The interchange of and is remarkable. The construction is not elliptical, so that . should be understood in both cases; but the declaration of Joh 8:25 is still in the Lords mind, His being all a declaration of the Father,-a in the widest sense. Cf. Bengel: cognoscetis ex re, quod nunc ex verbo non creditis.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 8:28. Then said Jesus unto them;
That is, to the Jews who were questioning and opposing him,-
Joh 8:28. When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
Blessed be God, there were many, after the crucifixion of Christ, who did. believe in him! Yet, alas! in others, the blindness of heart continued, and they would not see the Messiah in him who was crucified. We, who believe in the uplifted Saviour, can see the Father in the Son; and to us, faith has become a most blessed thing; and we know that he does nothing of himself, and that, as the Father has taught him, so he speaks.
Joh 8:29. And he that sent me is with me:
I commend that short sentence to all my Masters servants, for there is great comfort in it, Your Lord could say this, and so can you if you are truly employed in his service: He that sent me is with me?
Joh 8:29. The Father hath not left me alone;
There is another precious motto for you. Jesus could truly say, The Father hath not left me alone; and, as he did not leave his only-begotten and well-beloved Son, so he will not leave any of his sons.
Joh 8:29. For I do always those things that please him.
Let us labour earnestly to be able to say that. If there is anything which would not please God, let us have nothing to do with it; if it would not please God, it ought not to please us. Blessed shall that servant of the Lord be, who can sincerely say, I do always those things that please him.
Joh 8:30-32. As he spake these words, many believed on him. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
There is such a thing as a temporary faith; beware of it, I beseech you. Men appear to believe in Christ for a little while, like that seed which was sown upon the rock, which speedily sprang up, and just as quickly withered away. God-given faith is not temporary, but permanent: If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed. God gives us the faith which is able to endure the fire of persecution, and which continues steadfast even when exposed to the evil example of an ungodly world. He that endureth to the end shall be saved; but temporary faith brings only delusion, and ends in destruction.
Joh 8:33-34. They answered him, We be Abrahams seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
Depend upon it, acts of sin breed habits of sin; and habits are the chains which slaves wear. How many there are who are bound to their lusts with many fetters! Once, they seemed to enjoy the sin, and to hold it in subjection; but now it has bound them, and they cannot escape from it.
Joh 8:35-36. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
If he sets you free from sin, you will never go back to its slavery again. There is no emancipation like that which Jesus brings, for it is eternal; when he snaps the fetter, he sets the believer free for ever.
Joh 8:37-38. I know that ye are Abrahams seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
It is a common characteristic of children to tell what they see; what they witness at home, they are sure to tell abroad. If you are a child of God, you will act and speak like your Father does; and if you are a child of the devil, you will act and speak like him. Our parentage may be discovered by our acts and our words: I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
Joh 8:39. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abrahams children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
That is, if you were the true spiritual children of faithful Abraham, you would act as he did.
Joh 8:40-42. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
If any man has a right idea of God, and really loves God, if he will study the character of Christ, he will see that Christ is the very image of God in human flesh, and he will fall in love with Christ. That result is inevitable. Men form wrong ideas of God; and then, when they read the life of Christ,
they see no likeness between the Christ and their conception of God; nor is there any. But if they would take their idea of God from Gods own Word, then they would see that, in the person of the Man of Nazareth, the Divine character truly shines out, but it is toned down so as to meet the human eye without the excessive glare that would blind it. But it is the same Light of Light, the same Love of Love, the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, for in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, he is the express image of God, and he who truly knows God will know that Christ also is God, for Father and Son are one.
Joh 8:43-47. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. Which of you convinceth me of sin! And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? He that is of God heareth Gods words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
What a wonderful character was the character of Christ! We get a strange light cast upon it as we read this dialogue in which he endured such contradiction of sinners against himself. My brethren, in Christ there is all the tenderness of a woman; but do not think that he is effeminate, far from it. What masculine force, what vigor what power, there is in him! There are some people who, if we speak plainly against error, tell us that we are uncharitable, and that we have not the spirit of Christ. Is it so? Did there ever fall from any lips more burning words than those which we find here, when he is brought into conflict with his foes? The fact is, he is meek and lowly, but he is most courageous; he is genial and kind, but he is honest and true. He speaks with suavity and gentleness; but, at the same time, there is great force about every expression that he uses. He does not mince matters when he is dealing with sin. There is no velvet on his lips; he utters no honeyed phrases. Naked truth flashes, like a scimitar from its scabbard, when he has to deal with those who oppose the truth. Because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? He that is of God heareth Gods words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
Joh 8:48. Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?
You know this form of answer; it is an old trick, when there is no case, abuse the plaintiff. So, when there is no answer to what Christ has said, call him a Samaritan, and say that he has a devil.
Joh 8:49-51. Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me. And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth. Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
What glorious gospel brilliance Christ suddenly flashes upon these men! He promises even to them that, if they will keep his saying, they shall live for ever, they shall be partakers of an eternal, unquenchable life. It might have seemed to us to be like casting pearls before swine to proclaim that great truth to such hearers; but our Masters infinite wisdom does not permit us to think so.
Joh 8:52-56. Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself? Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: yet ye have not known him, but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
He will not answer their questions, for they do not ask that they may learn. They ask that they may cavil; so he multiplies his riddles. He lets the light blind them yet more, Now he speaks, not so much of the undying life of believers, as of his own eternal existence, long before the prophets and Abraham of whom they had spoken.
Joh 8:57-58. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
Before there was any Abraham, there was this glorious Christ of ours existing as the Eternal I AM, in all the infinity of his glory. Now comes a thoroughly characteristic Jewish answer,
Joh 8:59. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them. and so passed by.
They believed that he claimed to be God, as he certainly did, and therefore they tried to stone him; and there is no foothold for those who say that Christ was a very good man, but only a man. If he was not the Son of God, he was not a good man, for no good man would have left upon his followers, and upon his foes, too, the impression that he claimed to be God, if he was not; and no good man could have claimed to be God if he was not really so. Rank him either amongst the grossest of impostors, or else as the Son of God, one or the other. There is no halting-piece between the two. Blessed be thy name, O Son of Mary, thou art also the Son of the Highest, and as such we worship and adore thee!
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
Joh 8:28. , ye shall lift up) on the cross.-) then, not before: 1Co 2:8, Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.-) ye shall know from the fact, what now ye believe not on the credit of My word; Joh 8:24, I said, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins. We read the event recorded, Mat 27:54, When the centurion, and they that were with him, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly and said, Truly this was the Son of God; Luk 23:47, etc., All the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts; Act 2:41, Three thousand souls-added [to the church on Pentecost]; Joh 21:20, Thou seest how many thousands of Jews there are, which believe.-, and) The connection of the words is this; I am (that which at some time to come ye shall know) and I do nothing of Myself, etc. From this to the end of Joh 8:29 there are four sentences: The first begins with, and I of Myself; the second with, and He who; the third with, hath not left me; the fourth with, because [for]. Of these the second and third are parallel; and also the first and fourth.-, I do) Understand, and I speak.–, as-these things) A similar mode of expression occurs, Num 32:31, -, whatsoever things [the Lord hath said]-so [will we do].-See Comen. in Didact.-) these things, which I speak, I speak. Understand, and I do. The one is to be supplied from the other.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 8:28
Joh 8:28
Jesus therefore said, When ye have lifted up the Son of man,-He was to be lifted up on the cross. This foretold the manner of his death [and proved his divinity. No one but a divine being could foretell the future.]
then shall ye know that I am he,-After he was crucified they would know by the signs following that he is the Son of God, and that the Father was with and in him. Even those who failed to believe on him owned his divine power. [His resurrection would be the grounds of an increase in discipleship. Fifty days after his crucifixion about three thousand in one day obeyed the gospel and became his followers. A few weeks later other thousands did likewise. The very act that his enemies hoped would blot his name from history was the means of filling the world with obedient believers. Jesus on the cross became a badge of honor instead of a symbol of shame. It is the central act and foundation of the Christian religion. It gives spiritual life to man.]
and that I do nothing of myself, but as the Father taught me, I speak these things.-[He was his Fathers agent and did nothing not authorized by him.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Son of man
(See Scofield “Mat 8:20”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
When: Joh 3:14, Joh 12:32-34, Joh 19:18
then: Mat 27:50-54, Act 2:41, Act 4:4, Rom 1:4, 1Th 2:15, 1Th 2:16
and that: Joh 5:19, Joh 5:30, Joh 6:38, Joh 11:42, Joh 12:49, Joh 12:50, Num 16:28-30, Heb 2:2, Heb 2:3
but: Joh 3:11
Reciprocal: Gen 7:5 – all that Deu 18:18 – he shall Joh 5:43 – come Joh 7:16 – My Joh 14:10 – words Joh 14:24 – and Joh 17:7 – are Act 13:27 – because
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
8
This lifting up refers to the crucifixion, which Jesus had predicted in chapter 3:14. The fulfillment of that prediction, and the Gospel facts that immediately were to follow, would convince some of them that Jesus was a true prophet and teacher. Having proved that he was true, the people would have reason to believe that He was the one sent to the earth from God.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Joh 8:28. Jesus therefore said, When ye have lifted on high the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am, and that of myself I do nothing; but even as the Father taught me, I speak these things. They know not the truth now: when through their own deed the Son of man has been raised on high, their eyes will be opened, they will see what they have done, and will then know that His words were true, that the claims which they resisted the Father Himself has ratified. The lifting on high includes both the death and the glorification of Jesus, though the latter meaning only would be understood as yet (see the note on chap. Joh 3:14). Some prefer to place a stop at the word am, and to take the clauses that follow as independent. This view, however, seems much less natural than the other. The three parallel clausescontaining the thoughts of (1) pure existence (as to what is implied in this, see Joh 8:24), (2) continued dependence on the Father in all action (see chap. Joh 5:19-20), and (3), as a part of such action, speaking in constant harmony with the Fathers will and teaching (chap. Joh 5:30, Joh 8:26)express the claims made by Jesus, the truth of which (of each and of all) will be established when He is lifted up on high.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Joh 8:28-29. Then said Jesus, When ye have lifted up the Son of man From the earth on the cross; and have proceeded so far as to put him to a violent death, then, instead of seeing his cause and interest overborne by that outrageous attempt, shall ye know By some new and convincing tokens; that I am he This, doubtless, refers to the prodigies attending his death, his resurrection, and ascension, the effusion of the Holy Spirit upon his disciples, the amazing miracles wrought by the apostles in his name, and the wonderful success which he should give to the gospel through their ministry; and that I do nothing of myself Nothing by my own authority, separate from that of my Father; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak I teach such doctrines only as he has commissioned me to declare; and he that sent me is with me Besides, my Father is always with me to bear his testimony to the truth of what I say, and to support and vindicate me. The Father hath not left me alone Never from the moment I came into the world, nor will he ever leave me; for I do always those things that please him I always act agreeably to his will, and faithfully and constantly pursue the important work which he has committed to my trust.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Vv. 28, 29. Jesus therefore said to them, when you have lifted up the Son of man, then shall you know that I am he and that I do nothing of myself, but that I speak these things to you according to the teachings of my Father, 29 and that he that sent me is with me; the Father has not left me alone, because I do always that which is pleasing to him.
The lifting up of the Son of man refers especially to the death on the cross; this appears from the second person: you have lifted up. But Jesus could not hope that the cross would by itself cause the scales to fall from the eyes of the Jews and extort from them the confession: It is He! It could not produce this effect except by becoming for Him the stepping-stone to the throne and the passage to glory. The word to lift up, therefore, contains here the same amphibology as in Joh 3:14, and the second person of the plural assumes thus a marked tinge of irony: When by killing me you shall have put me on the throne…. The term Son of man designates that lowly appearance which is now the ground of His rejection. The recognition of Jesus here predicted took place in the conscience of all the Jews without exception when, after the sending of the Holy Spirit, the holy and divine nature of His person, of His work and of His teaching was manifested in Israel by the apostolic preaching, by the appearance of the Church, and then, finally, by the judgment which struck Jerusalem and all the people. At the sight of this, the want of understanding came to its end whether they would or not, and was transformed into faith in some, in others into voluntary hardening. This recognition never ceases to be effected in Israel by reason of the spectacle of the development of the Church; it will end in the final conversion of the nation, when they will cry out with one voice, as if on a new Palm-day: Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord (Luk 13:35). What calm dignity, what serene majesty, in these words: Then you shall know …! They recall, as Hengstenberg remarks, those grave and menacing declarations of Jehovah: Mine eye shall not pity thee… and ye shall know that I am the Lord, Eze 7:4. Comp. the same form of expression, Eze 11:10; Eze 12:20; Exo 10:2, etc. Weiss compares with this saying the word of Jesus respecting the sign of Jonah (Mat 12:39 ff.). A still more striking parallel in the Synoptics seems to me to be the word addressed to the Sanhedrim, Mat 26:64 : You shall see the Son of man seated at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven. Some interpreters claim that John should have written , thus, instead of , these things. But the thought is this: and that I declare to you these things () which you hear,according to () the teaching which I have received from the Father. The expression is therefore correct. The whole of the end of the verse depends on , you shall know. Jesus here sums up all His preceding affirmations, while presenting them by anticipation as the contents of that future recognition which He announces: that I am he; comp. Joh 8:24 : that I do and teach nothing of myself; comp. Joh 7:16-17. This verse therefore means: You yourselves will then say amen to all these declarations which you so lightly reject at this hour.
It appears to me natural to make the first clause of Joh 8:29 also depend on the verb, You shall know; it sums up the declarations of Joh 8:16-18. The following clause then reproduces very forcibly (by asyndeton) this last affirmation: is with me. In contrast with the present which escapes Him, Jesus with assured confidence lays hold of the future: You may reject me if you will, yet the Father remains in inner communion with me, as I have said to you, and He will protect my work. One might be tempted to understand the words in this sense. In sending me, He has not suffered me to come alone here below; He has willed to accompany me Himself. This indeed would be the most simple sense of the aorist. But in this case, how are we to understand what follows: Because I do always that which is pleasing to Him? Hengstenberg, who explains thus, has recourse to the divine foreknowledge: He has not suffered me to come alone, since He well knows that I am faithful to Him in all things. This sense is evidently forced. We must therefore understand the aorist in the sense in which we find it in the passage, Act 14:17 : God has not left Himself without witness. God has, in no moment of my career, left me to walk alone, because at every moment He sees me doing that which pleases Him. An instant therefore, a single one, in which Jesus had acted or spoken of His own impulse would have brought a rupture between Him and God; God would have immediately withdrawn from Jesus Himself, and that in the measure in which this will of His own was fixed within Him.
The voluntary and complete dependence of Christ was the constant condition of the co-operation of the Father; comp. the words of Joh 10:17 and Joh 15:10, which express in the main the same thought. Certainly, if the evangelist had written his Gospel to set forth the theory of the Logos, he would never have put this saying into the mouth of Jesus. For it seems directly to contradict it. The communion of the Son and the Father is regarded here as resting upon a purely moral condition. But we see by this how real was the feeling which Jesus had of His truly human existence, and how John himself has taken for granted the humanity of his Master. , that which is pleasing to Him, designates the will of the Father, not from the point of view of the articles of a code, but in that which is most spiritual and inward in it. Indeed, this term does not express the contents only of the doing of Jesus, but its motive. He did not only what was pleasing to the Father, but He did it because it was pleasing to Him. It is proved by this saying that Jesus had the consciousness, not only of not having committed the least positive sin, but also of not having neglected the least good, and that in His feelings as well as in His outward conduct.
Here is one of the passages where we can make palpable the fact that the discourses of Jesus in the fourth Gospel are not compositions of the writer, but real discourses of Christ. 1. The communion with God which Jesus affirms can only be a real historical fact. It cannot have been invented by the author. If it were not in the experience, it would not be in the thought. 2. The allusion to the Jewish law (Joh 8:17-18), in order to justify a fact of so inward a nature, contains a surprising accommodation, which necessarily implies the historical surroundings in which Jesus taught. 3. The locality indicated with so much precision in Joh 8:20 testifies of a perfectly accurate historical recollection; otherwise, there would be here a piece of charlatanism, which it would be impossible to reconcile with the seriousness of the whole narrative.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
THE CRUCIFIXION
Joh 8:28-29. Then Jesus said, When you may lift up the Son of man, then you shall know that I am He; and I do nothing of Myself; but as the Father taught Me, these things I speak. In that memorable sermon to Nicodemus, in the beginning of His ministry, in His reference to Moses lifting up the serpent, our Lord assures us by what death He is going to die. Here He repeats the affirmation. This was quite a new departure, as the Jews had no such a punishment, it being peculiarly Roman. Hence, His death by the hands of the Gentiles, by the most cruel of all methods, He predicts ever and anon. When His ministry thus wound up, it was too late for those hard-hearted, unbelieving Jews, as doubtless the Holy Spirit withdrew, leaving them to their dreadful doom; meanwhile, the darkening sun, rending rocks, heaving earthquakes, bursting tombs, risen saints, rending veil, descending angels, empty sepulcher, etc., would inundate them with conviction that they had actually killed the Prince of light, not a few of them repenting and getting saved during the Pentecostal revival, but vast multitudes only the more hardened, evidently having crossed the dead- line, and sealed their doom in endless woe. The One having sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, because I always do those things pleasing unto Him. Jesus is our only Paragon. Such is the bountiful redeeming grace which He gives His humble followers, that we are enabled always to do those things pleasing to the Father, thus walking in His footprints and emulating His example.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Lifting up (Gr. hypsoo) the Son of Man refers to His crucifixion, which John viewed as His exaltation (cf. Joh 3:14; Joh 12:23). The title "Son of Man" is messianic (Dan 7:13-14) with emphasis on His perfect humanity. Jesus’ enemies would lift Him up. When they did, they would realize that Jesus was the self-existent God. Jesus did not mean that His crucifixion would convince all His critics of His true identity but that that exaltation would be the key to many of them believing on Him (cf. Joh 12:32). The Crucifixion would convince many unbelievers of Jesus’ true identity (cf. Acts 2).
"This concept of the death on the cross of one who was one with the Father is the great central thought of this Gospel." [Note: Morris, p. 398.]
Jesus again affirmed that everything He said came from and with the authority of His Father (cf. Joh 8:16; Joh 8:18; Joh 8:26). All that He said and did was the Father’s will, including the Cross. Jesus continually expressed His dependence on the Father and gloried in the Father’s presence with Him (cf. Joh 3:34; Joh 5:30; Joh 6:38; Joh 8:16; et al.). Even though His own rejected Jesus and crucified Him, the Father never abandoned Him. Jesus’ ultimate purpose was to please His Father.