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1: In the beginning - (Referring to (Ge 1:1,Pr 8:23).)
When all things began to be made by the Word: in the beginning
of heaven and earth, and this whole frame of created beings, the
Word existed, without any beginning. He was when all things
began to be, whatsoever had a beginning. The Word - So termed(Ps 33:6), and frequently by the seventy, and in the Chaldee
paraphrase. So that St. John did not borrow this expression from
Philo, or any heathen writer. He was not yet named Jesus, or
Christ. He is the Word whom the Father begat or spoke from
eternity; by whom the Father speaking, maketh all things; who
speaketh the Father to us. We have, in (Joh 1:18), both a
real description of the Word, and the reason why he is so called.
He is the only begotten Son of the Father, who is in the bosom of
the Father, and hath declared him. And the Word was with God
- Therefore distinct from God the Father. The word rendered with,
denotes a perpetual tendency as it were of the Son to the Father,
in unity of essence. He was with God alone; because nothing
beside God had then any being. And the Word was God - Supreme,
eternal, independent. There was no creature, in respect of which
he could be styled God in a relative sense. Therefore he is
styled so in the absolute sense. The Godhead of the Messiah being
clearly revealed in the Old Testament, ((Jer 23:7,Ho 1:6,Ps 23:1))
the other evangelists aim at this, to prove that
Jesus, a true man, was the Messiah. But when, at length, some
from hence began to doubt of his Godhead, then St. John expressly
asserted it, and wrote in this book as it were a supplement to
the Gospels, as in the Revelation to the prophets.
2: The same was in the beginning with God - This verse repeats and
contracts into one the three points mentioned before. As if he
had said, This Word, who was God, was in the beginning, and was
with God.
3: All things beside God were made, and all things
which were made, were made by the Word.
In (Joh 1:1,2)is described the state of things
before the creation:(Joh 1:3), In the creation:(Joh 1:4), In the time of man's innocency:(Joh 1:5), In the time of man's corruption.
4: In him was life - He was the foundation of life to every living
thing, as well as of being to all that is. And the life was the
light of men - He who is essential life, and the giver of life to
all that liveth, was also the light of men; the fountain of
wisdom, holiness, and happiness, to man in his original state.
5: And the light shineth in darkness - Shines even on fallen man;
but the darkness - Dark, sinful man, perceiveth it not.
6: There was a man - The evangelist now proceeds to him who
testified of the light, which he had spoken of in the five
preceding verses.
7: The same came for (that is, in order to give) a testimony - The
evangelist, with the most strong and tender affection, interweaves
his own testimony with that of John, by noble digressions, wherein
he explains the office of the Baptist; partly premises and partly
subjoins a farther explication to his short sentences. What
St. Matthew, Mark, and Luke term the Gospel, in respect of the
promise going before, St. John usually terms the testimony,
intimating the certain knowledge of the relator; to testify of
the light - Of Christ.
9: Who lighteth every man - By what is vulgarly termed natural
conscience, pointing out at least the general lines of good
and evil. And this light, if man did not hinder, would shine
more and more to the perfect day.
10: He was in the world - Even from the creation.
11: He came - In the fulness of time, to his own - Country, city,
temple: And his own - People, received him not.
12: But as many as received him - Jews or Gentiles; that believe
on his name - That is, on him. The moment they believe, they are
sons; and because they are sons, God sendeth forth the Spirit of
his Son into their hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
13: Who were born - Who became the sons of God, not of blood - Not
by descent from Abraham, nor by the will of the flesh - By natural
generation, nor by the will of man - Adopting them, but of God - By
his Spirit.
14: Flesh sometimes signifies corrupt nature; sometimes the body;
sometimes, as here, the whole man. We beheld his glory - We his
apostles, particularly Peter, James, and John, (Lu 9:32).
Grace and truth - We are all by nature liars and children of wrath,
to whom both grace and truth are unknown. But we are made
partakers of them, when we are accepted through the Beloved.
The whole verse might be paraphrased thus: And in order to
raise us to this dignity and happiness, the eternal Word, by a
most amazing condescension, was made flesh, united himself to
our miserable nature, with all its innocent infirmities. And he
did not make us a transient visit, but tabernacled among us on
earth, displaying his glory in a more eminent manner, than even
of old in the tabernacle of Moses. And we who are now recording
these things beheld his glory with so strict an attention, that
we can testify, it was in every respect such a glory as became
the only begotten of the Father. For it shone forth not only in
his transfiguration, and in his continual miracles, but in all
his tempers, ministrations, and conduct through the whole series
of his life. In all he appeared full of grace and truth: he was
himself most benevolent and upright; made those ample discoveries
of pardon to sinners, which the Mosaic dispensation could not do:
and really exhibited the most substantial blessings, whereas that
was but a shadow of good things to come.
15: John cried - With joy and confidence; This is he of whom I
said - John had said this before our Lord's baptism, although he
then knew him not in person: he knew him first at his baptism,
and afterward cried, This is he of whom I said. &c. He is
preferred before me - in his office: for he was before me - in his
nature.
16: And - Here the apostle confirms the Baptist's words: as if
he had said, He is indeed preferred before thee: so we have
experienced: We all - That believe: have received - All that we
enjoy out of his fulness: and in the particular, grace upon
grace - One blessing upon another, immeasurable grace and love.
17: The law - Working wrath and containing shadows: was given - No
philosopher, poet, or orator, ever chose his words so accurately
as St. John. The law, saith he, was given by Moses: grace was by
Jesus Christ. Observe the reason for placing each word thus: The
law of Moses was not his own. The grace of Christ was. His
grace was opposite to the wrath, his truth to the shadowy
ceremonies of the law. Jesus - St. John having once mentioned the
incarnation {(Joh 1:14)) no more uses that name,
the Word, in all his book.
18: No man hath seen God - With bodily eyes: yet believers see him
with the eye of faith. Who is in the bosom of the Father - The
expression denotes the highest unity, and the most intimate knowledge.
19: The Jews - Probably the great council sent.
20: I am not the Christ - For many supposed he was.
21: Art thou Elijah? - He was not that Elijah (the Tishbite) of
whom they spoke. Art thou the prophet - Of whom Moses speaks,(De 18:15).
23: He said - I am that forerunner of Christ of whom Isaiah speaks.
I am the voice - As if he had said, Far from being Christ, or even
Elijah, I am nothing but a voice: a sound that so soon as it has
expressed the thought of which it is the sign, dies into air, and
is known no more.(Isa 40:3).
24: They who were sent were of the Pharisees - Who were peculiarly
tenacious of old customs, and jealous of any innovation (except
those brought in by their own scribes) unless the innovator had
unquestionable proofs of Divine authority.
25: They asked him, Why baptizest thou then? - Without any
commission from the sanhedrim? And not only heathens (who
were always baptized before they were admitted to circumcision)
but Jews also?
26: John answered, I baptize - To prepare for the Messiah;
and indeed to show that Jews, as well as Gentiles, must be
proselytes to Christ, and that these as well as those stand
in need of being washed from their sins.
28: Where John was baptizing - That is, used to baptize.
29: He seeth Jesus coming and saith, Behold the Lamb - Innocent;
to be offered up; prophesied of by Isaiah, (Isa 53:7),
typified by the paschal lamb, and by the daily sacrifice:
The Lamb of God - Whom God gave, approves, accepts of; who taketh
away - Atoneth for; the sin - That is, all the sins: of the world
- Of all mankind. Sin and the world are of equal extent.
31: I knew him not - Till he came to be baptized. How surprising
is this; considering how nearly they were related, and how
remarkable the conception and birth of both had been. But there
was a peculiar providence visible in our Saviour's living, from
his infancy to his baptism, at Nazareth: John all the time living
the life of a hermit in the deserts of Judea, (Lu 1:80), ninety
or more miles from Nazareth: hereby that acquaintance was prevented
which might have made John's testimony of Christ suspected.
34: I saw it - That is, the Spirit so descending and abiding on him.
And testified - From that time.
37: They followed Jesus - They walked after him, but had not the
courage to speak to him.
41: He first findeth his own brother Simon - Probably both of
them sought him: Which is, being interpreted, the Christ - This
the evangelist adds, as likewise those words in (Joh 1:38),
that is, being interpreted, Master.
42: Jesus said, Thou art Simon, the son of Jonah - As none had
told our Lord these names, this could not but strike Peter.
Cephas, which is Peter - Moaning the same in Syriac which Peter
does in Greek, namely, a rock.
45: Jesus of Nazareth - So Philip thought, not knowing he was born
in Bethlehem. Nathanael was probably the same with Bartholomew,
that is, the son of Tholomew. St. Matthew joins Bartholomew with
Philip, (Mt 10:3), and St. John places Nathanael in the midst
of the apostles, immediately after Thomas, (Joh 21:2), just as
Bartholomew is placed, (Ac 1:13).
46: Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? - How cautiously
should we guard against popular prejudices? When these had once
possessed so honest a heart as that of Nathanael, they led him
to suspect the blessed Jesus himself for an impostor, because he
had been brought up at Nazareth. But his integrity prevailed
over that foolish bias, and laid him open to the force of
evidence, which a candid inquirer will always be glad to admit,
even when it brings the most unexpected discoveries. Can any
good thing - That is, have we ground from Scripture to expect the
Messiah, or any eminent prophet from Nazareth? Philip saith,
Come and see - The same answer which he had received himself from
our Lord the day before.
48: Under the fig tree I saw thee - Perhaps at prayer.
49: Nathanael answered - Happy are they that are ready to believe,
swift to receive the truth and grace of God. Thou art the Son of
God - So he acknowledges now more than he had heard from Philip:
The Son of God, the king of Israel - A confession both of the
person and office of Christ.
51: Hereafter ye shall see - All of these, as well as thou, who
believe on me now in my state of humiliation, shall hereafter
see me come in my glory, and all the angels of God with me.
This seems the most natural sense of the words, though they
may also refer to his ascension.
