Again therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world; he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Jesus speaks in the temple treasury. The crowd that wanted to stone a woman has just walked away, one by one. He does not offer a new rule or a better teacher. He offers Himself as the light for the whole world. Anyone who follows Him carries that light inside as life.
The setting matters. He stands in the building where God's glory once lived. He takes that glory for Himself. Then He widens the audience far past Israel.
He was standing in the temple, which He called His Father's house right up to the moment they finally rejected Him. God's glory of old had lived there. He stood in the treasury, where worshippers brought their gifts, and there He claimed that glory as His own. "I am the Light of the world," He says. The Sun is indeed rising above the hills of Judea, and the nations far and wide are to enjoy its light. More than that: Israel herself now appears as part of that world lying in darkness.
Light does not stop at a border. Neither does God, once He shows Himself.
When the sun rises, it treats no one as a special case. Once God shows Himself, we can ask what the apostle asked: "Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also?" That is what we read here: "I am the light of the world." And again: "God so loved the world." And again: "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him."
The accusers had just walked out. That scene is the picture; this verse is the teaching drawn from it.
What happened with the woman shows the Lord as the Light. That Light exposes everyone who comes into His presence. Now He declares openly that He is the Light of the world. Christ came into the darkness of the world, and His presence uncovered man completely and revealed God fully.
The chapter began with men quoting the law of Moses at Him. His answer replaces a written standard with a living one.
He had just acted as light among those who had appealed to law; here He goes on, but widens the sphere... The life was the light of men, the perfect display and guide of the life He was to His followers. The law never is this — good if a man uses it lawfully, but not for a righteous man whose Christ is.
The difference is not only in the standard but in the effect. One condemns; the other supplies what it asks for.
If the law shone, it was death. And man could not bear it... But Christ is something real and positive in Himself: He is the light of life. To walk in the light of this life, you must first have the life. That is why He says, "whoever follows Me."
Everything in the promise hangs on one phrase at its centre. Nothing else qualifies a person, and no achievement can take its place.
These words from the Master's lips stop us short: "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." Notice the words, "whoever follows Me." Only Jesus gives life and light. A man who does not follow Jesus is sunk in death and darkness, even if he has the most brilliant mind and all the learning of science and knowledge.
The promise also works in reverse. It gives a test for dark days.
If, as too often happens with us, our way seems dark, does it not warn us that we are only following Him feebly?
The promise is more than a lamp held out on the path ahead. Light also enters the heart.
In Himself, Christ is the Life, and that Life is the Light of men... But Christ received in the heart, the life received, becomes the light for that heart. In His light it finds light, and so in following Him it has the "light of life."
The two gifts belong together. God does not give the one without the other.
As we get "life" so we get "light" in Christ... God would not give us life and leave us in the dark. This would not be like Him. He has given us His Son; and believing in Him, we get life. Then following Him, we get light — the light of life.
- Light — He claims the temple's ancient glory as His own. He will not keep it inside one nation. The sun rising over Judea is meant for the world.
- Exposure — Light shows things as they are. It uncovers man and reveals God — as the accusers had just found out.
- Following — The whole promise turns on "whoever follows Me." Talent and learning leave a person in the dark without it.
- Life — Light received is not only a path lit ahead but life within, because God does not give life and leave His people in the dark.
- Freedom from darkness — The law shone, and it meant death. This light gives the very life it asks for, so the follower never walks in darkness.
The Pharisees therefore said to him, Thou bearest witness concerning thyself; thy witness is not true.
Jesus has just called Himself the light of the world. The Pharisees do not answer that claim — they attack the One making it, so the argument turns to who He is.
The Pharisees are not attacking one phrase. They are attacking the whole claim.
The Pharisees did not want to follow Jesus. They did not want to hear that if they refused, they would lack the light of life. So they argue that He was bearing testimony to Himself. The argument now is about the truth of His Person and His testimony. The two are joined in "light of the world" and "light of life," and they could not be separated. Earlier in the chapter their hostility showed itself another way. They tried to set Jesus against Moses, to destroy His testimony to the people. Here they try to make it invalid by claiming that He bore witness to Himself.
The charge is not that Jesus is lying. It is a point of law.
A full, divine claim; and the Pharisees on their side at once challenge it. They say, "You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true." But that can only mean "invalid." A man may of course speak truly about himself. But if nothing supports his testimony, it is not enough. The Lord tells them that He speaks from knowledge, while they have only ignorance to set against it. They should at least have been able to see that God had sent Him. If they had admitted that, they would have seen that He was able to testify too.
Earlier Jesus had said that if He bore witness of Himself, His witness was not true (John 5:31). His opponents now quote that principle back at Him — and misuse it.
Such powerful testimony stirs up the pride and hostility of those listening. They could not help feeling that He spoke of a privilege and a blessing they did not share... They turn His own words in John 5:31 against Him, but very unfairly. There He was speaking of testimony that stood alone and was only human — the kind that pride gives itself. Here, as He goes on to show, He has the highest support of all, God Himself.
John 5 and John 8 look like they clash. The answer turns on one word: alone.
In John 5 He speaks not only as Son, but as one who has become flesh. He does nothing of Himself except what He sees the Father doing. Our Lord's argument is that if He were the only one bearing witness of Himself, His witness would not be true. So He answers the Jews with grace, and His answer searches them. They had claimed that if a man bears witness about himself, his witness cannot be true. There had to be two witnesses; three were better, more than enough, according to Jewish law. So Christ says, "If I (alone) bear witness of myself, my witness is not true." It could not be that His should be the lone testimony concerning Himself. First, John the Baptist bore witness to Him. Next came the witness of the works given Him to do. Third came the Father's voice. And there were the Scriptures as well. It was far more than enough.
Their demand for proof says more about them than about Jesus.
They are in the dark about the glory of His Person as the Son. They see Him only as a man, and judge Him by man's standards. So they conclude that His witness is not true, because He bears witness about Himself. As someone has said, "They stand in the light of day and demand formal proof that the sun has risen."
The Pharisees keep arguing, and their problem is not a shortage of evidence.
Despite what had just happened, the Pharisees keep up their pointless arguing. They talk about testimony. But how can they accept testimony about Him, when they refuse to bow to the testimony about themselves? They do not know Christ, yet they would sit in judgment on Him.
- Light offered. Jesus claimed to be the light of the world. His Person and His testimony stand or fall together.
- Light challenged. "Not true" means "not valid." Their argument: a witness with nothing to back him up does not count.
- Light misquoted. They turn His own earlier words against Him. But there He spoke of testimony that stood alone and was only human.
- Light confirmed. He does not stand alone. John the Baptist, His works, the Father's voice and the Scriptures all speak for Him — far more than the two witnesses their own law required.
- Light refused. They would not accept the light's verdict on themselves, yet they demanded more proof. They stand in daylight and ask whether the sun has risen.
Jesus answered and said to them, Even if I bear witness concerning myself, my witness is true, because I know whence I came and whither I go but ye know not whence I come and whither I go.
Jesus had just called Himself the light of the world. The Pharisees answered that a man who speaks about himself proves nothing (v. 13). His reply rests on something only He could know: where He came from and where He is going.
They judged the light by a rule made for ordinary men.
They are in darkness about the glory of His Person as the Son. They see Him only as a man, and judge Him by man's standards. So they conclude that His witness is not true, because He bears witness about Himself. As one has said, "They stand in the light of day and demand a formal proof that the Sun has risen."
Earlier Jesus had said, "If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true" (John 5:31). Older translations read simply, "If I bear witness of myself." That earlier saying is what the Pharisees now turn against Him.
There is no contradiction between these Scriptures. Together they bring out the whole truth of the Person of the eternal Son. The Pharisees no doubt thought they had caught Him in an inconsistency when they pointed back to His earlier words. But the Lord's reply explains what those words meant. In chapter 5 He had said, "If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true". He then went on to show that He had not been alone in His testimony to Himself. John, His own works, the Father Himself, and Moses all agreed in that testimony.
The reason He gives for His witness being true is His own knowledge. One writer weighs the exact words He used.
Nothing could exceed the tremendous significance of these words of Christ. Why should His witness be true when He bore witness to Himself? Because He knew where He came from and where He was going... Now notice. The Lord Jesus does not say, "I know that I came" — wonderful as that would be. He says, "I know where I came from." This is His glory as God. This deep, marvellous conscious knowledge lies in His eternal Divine Nature... He had come from the Father and was returning there. That place was the home of His Divine affections. He did not come out from that place as Man; He came out as God.
Notice what He does not fall back on.
Notice here that our Lord does not rest on His divine authority or nature, but on His witness. He could speak from His close association with God, even the Father. He came from the Father, and He was going back to Him. He spoke as a faithful witness, a witness of the truth, and the Truth. He knew, and they did not know; yet they judged, and He did not. But that was love, and because He came as a witness, a Saviour, not a judge.
The second half of the verse turns to their ignorance. It reached to both the Son and the Father.
They were wholly ignorant of the Father as of the Son. They never thought of heaven. The Lord was always conscious of the truth of His Person and mission. His witness could not be separated from the Father's... He never lost the sense, even for a moment, of where He came from and where He was going. They had no true idea of either. They were in utter darkness, though the light was there shining in Him.
That knowledge marked the way He lived, and one writer turns it into a question for us.
What marked out His way? It was this constant, blessed, wonderful fellowship with all that belonged to that blessed place He came from. As He said, "I know where I came from, and where I am going." There was that blessed distinctiveness and separateness about His walk here. Is there, in our measure, that about us? As we walk along every day, are we like people who know where we come from and where we are going? ... What I am speaking of is a practical thing. It goes down into the smallest circumstances of our daily life.
- Challenged — The Pharisees judged Him by a rule made for ordinary men. They stood in the light and demanded proof of it.
- Consistent — John 5:31 and this verse do not clash. There He denied being a lone witness. Here He speaks as the witness who is never alone.
- Conscious — His answer rests on knowing where He came from, not just that He came. That knowledge belongs to His eternal Divine Nature.
- Compassionate — He knew and they did not, yet they judged and He did not. He came as a witness and Saviour, not a judge.
- Carried out — Knowing where you came from and where you are going should mark daily life, down to its smallest details.
Ye judge according to the flesh, I judge no one.
Jesus answers men who have just challenged Him. He names the standard they judged by, then refuses to pass sentence on anyone — which raises a question: why did the Light of the world condemn no one?
To judge "according to the flesh" is to judge by what a person is born with. That is all these men were using:
They would judge matters only by their natural senses. Those senses could never discern the things of God. He Himself, though the Light of the world, judged no one. He had come to save, not to judge.
Behind these confident opinions sits one fixed interest: self. That is why a life spent serving others became unbearable to the men listening:
Self is the source and object of all the activity of the flesh, according to which the Jews were judging. Christ brought love as well as light into the world. He was judging none; He was serving all. This made Him unbearable to the self-satisfied. Yet He is to be the Judge of all.
Earlier in the chapter, men dragged a woman in for sentencing. The same contrast now returns in words instead of deeds:
In the ignorance and self-confidence of the flesh they take it on themselves to judge, as they did with the woman. He, in the glory of His Person, revealing the Father in grace, refuses to judge. Yet He truly was able to judge. He was not acting alone. He always had the mind of the Father who sent Him.
His silence was not weakness or lack of knowledge. He had every qualification they lacked, and still He held back — because of what He had come to be:
He knew, and they did not know; yet they judged, and He did not. But that was love, and because He came as a witness, a Saviour, not a judge. Yet, if He had judged, His judgment was true. Notice again: not simply because He was God. That is not the point put forward here. It is because He, the Son, Jesus, was not alone. Even so, He was able to judge: "I and the Father who sent me."
He pronounced no sentence, yet nobody stayed neutral around Him. What He refused to do still happened to those who came near Him:
The object of His mission was not judgment but salvation, yet the effect of His life was judgment upon everyone with whom He came in contact. No one could stand in the light of Christ's moral glory and escape judgment at the very centre and source of his being. When Peter saw himself in that light, he cried out, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord" (Luke 5).
His refusal to judge belongs to this moment, not to all time. The order of His two comings is itself the good news:
For the believer, everything that would have to be dealt with in judgment at His second coming has already been dealt with on the cross. The One who is to come as judge has come as the Saviour. That is what I get in the gospel... God has dealt with the world as to its sins in grace before He deals with it in judgment. He deals with them as sinners, as responsible and lost, but not in judgment — He came "to seek and to save the lost."
- Flesh judges. His critics measured Christ by their natural senses. Those senses "could never discern the things of God."
- Self decides. Self is both the source and the aim of the flesh's judging. So a Man who served everyone and condemned no one was unbearable to them.
- Love withholds. He knew what they did not, and could have judged truly — He refrained because He came as Saviour, not judge.
- Light exposes. He passed no sentence, yet no one stood in His moral glory undisturbed. Peter's cry in Luke 5 shows what nearness to Him does.
- Grace precedes judgment. The One who is to judge came first to save. At the cross He dealt with everything He would otherwise deal with at His return.
And if also I judge, my judgment is true, because I am not alone, but I and the Father who has sent me.
Jesus has just told the Pharisees that they judge by human standards, while He judges no one. Yet He adds that if He did judge, His verdict would stand — and His reason is not His own authority, but that He is not alone.
He came for a purpose other than judging. Yet His presence exposed everyone who came near Him.
Again, He says, "I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true" (John 8:15-16). The purpose of His mission was not judgment but salvation. Yet the effect of His life was judgment on everyone He met. No one could stand in the light of Christ's moral glory and escape judgment at the very center and source of his being. When Peter saw himself in that light, he exclaimed, "Depart from me for I am a sinful man, O Lord" (Luke 5).
His refusal to judge was not weakness or inability. It was deliberate, and it had a motive.
Notice that our Lord does not rest here on His divine authority or nature, but on His witness. He was able to bear that witness because of His closeness to God, even the Father, from whom He came and to whom He went. He spoke as a faithful witness, a witness of the truth, and He was the Truth. He knew, and they did not; yet they judged, and He did not. But that was love, because He came as a witness and a Saviour, not a judge. Yet, if He had judged, His judgment was true. Notice again: not simply because He was God. That is not the point put forward here. It is because He, the Son, Jesus, was not alone. Even so, He did have the ability to judge: "I and the Father who sent me."
Saying "I judge no one" and "my judgment is true" in two sentences looks like a contradiction. It holds together because of who He is one with, and because of a day still to come.
In the case of the woman the Lord had refused the place of Judge. It will be His in a coming day, but not today; and He refuses it again in front of the Pharisees in verse 15. Yet even while refusing it, His words sound like a paradox. He states that His judgments are true, because He is so completely one with the Father who had sent Him. In the age to come all judgment will be His, yet He will carry it out in full accord with the Father.
What drove their judging is also what made them unable to bear Him.
Self is the source and object of all the activity of the flesh, according to which the Jews were judging. Christ brought love as well as light into the world. He was judging none; He was serving all. This made Him intolerable to the self-complacent. Yet He is to be the Judge of all... "Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me." Everyone accepted the principle that two or three witnesses settle every word. The Lord appeals to that here, pointing out that their own law counts the witness of two men as true (verse 17). How much more, then, the testimony of the Father and the Son!
Others put the same contrast in terms of what each side was capable of. They had no power to see beyond the visible.
They would judge matters only by their natural senses, which could never discern the things of God. He Himself, however, though the Light of the world, judged no man: He had come to save, not to judge. In the future of course He will judge. If and when He judges, His judgment is absolutely in truth, for He judges in perfect co-ordination with the Father, not independently.
Not being alone is more than a legal point here. It describes how the Son lived all the way through.
Not only was His witness true, but His judgment was true, a judgment in which He was not alone, for the Father was with Him in it. How different their judgments in the flesh! The Father is His constant companion; He is not alone (John 8:29; John 16:32). He always has the joy and support of the Father's company. What a thing for our hearts to dwell on: the joy of divine Persons who are the source of the eternal life that is ours to enjoy, and who make it known. The Father is with Him, and He makes the Father known — and that is the proof that His word is true.
- Mission — His mission was salvation, not judgment; that is why He refused the place of judge in the case of the woman.
- Effect — Still, no one could stand in the light of His moral glory and escape judgment at the very centre of his being.
- Ground — His judgment is true, and not simply because He is God. That is not the point here. It is true because He is not alone: the Father who sent Him is in it with Him.
- Contrast — the Jews judged out of self, the source and object of all the activity of the flesh; He judged none and served all.
- Coming day — the place He refused then will be His in the age to come, and even then He will judge in full accord with the Father.
And in your law too it is written that the testimony of two men is true
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
I am [one] who bear witness concerning myself, and the Father who has sent me bears witness concerning me.
The Pharisees had just told Jesus that no one can trust a man who testifies about himself. He answers by naming two witnesses — Himself, and the Father who sent Him — and so meets their own legal standard for evidence.
The objection was not random. His opponents had picked up something He Himself had said in an earlier dispute and threw it back at Him.
They turn His own words in John 5:31 against Himself, but most unfairly. There He was speaking of testimony that stands alone and is merely human — the kind vanity gives itself. Here, as He goes on to show, He has the highest support of all: God Himself.
One question settles the tension between the two statements: did He ever stand alone?
Earlier He had said that if He bore witness of Himself, His witness was not true — that is, not valid (John 5:31). Now He insists that in doing this, His witness is true. The answer is not hard. If He were only a witness independent of the Father, His witness would carry no weight. But in fact His witness was not simply "of Himself" — not an independent witness. It was in total unity with the Father, from whom He had come and to whom He was going.
The rule He quotes is a rule about how evidence reaches other people, not about whether a fact is real.
The testimony of one man might be true — absolutely; just as true in itself as that of two. But it would not be true in the same way to others: it would need confirmation. The Lord appeals therefore to another testimony — His Father's. This confirmed His own so fully that no more testimony could be needed.
He satisfies their standard, and in doing so overwhelms it.
Everyone accepted the rule that two or three witnesses settle every matter. The Lord appeals to it here: "And in your law too it is written that the witness of two men is true" (verse 17). How much more, then, the testimony of the Father and the Son!
The Father's testimony was not just an idea. He had already spoken aloud, and would speak again.
Speaking of the Father led on to the double testimony to the Lord, following the principle laid down in the law. Did they want two witnesses about Him? He would supply them. They were Himself and His Father… That had already happened at His baptism by John, the son of Zacharias (Matthew 3:17). On the mountain where He was transfigured, the same testimony came a second time (Matthew 17:5). And the Father's voice would be heard again (John 12:28).
Other writers see that witness running through everything Jesus said and did.
The Father Who had sent Him supported His witness, bearing witness to Him in the words and works of the Lord.
Notice what the sentence assumes about the Speaker. No servant of God had ever set himself beside the Father as a matching witness.
Had anyone ever claimed to know the Father? Could a mere son of man join himself with the Father like this, with no thought of sin or of an offering for sin? No — the One who speaks this way, though truly Man, is greater than man… See what man's wickedness and Satan's hatred brought about! The holy covering is torn away, and the divine Person shines out!
They answered by asking where His Father was — and the question condemned them.
"They said to Him then, Where is Your Father? Jesus answered, You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also" (verse 19). Such ignorance of the only true God and of Jesus Whom He sent is death — eternal death. It is all the more solemn because He said it not to pagans, but to Jews who had the words of God… Their words and actions showed that they were completely cut off from the Father and did not know Him.
- Two. Their own law asked for two witnesses; He answers with two — Himself and the Father who sent Him.
- Valid. One man's word can be true and still need confirming to others. So He calls in a second witness.
- Confirmed. The Father spoke aloud at the baptism and on the mountain, and would speak again. Writers also see that witness in the Lord's words and works.
- Greater. No mere man could set himself beside the Father as an equal witness; the claim itself shows who is speaking.
- Blind. Their reply, "Where is your Father?", proved they knew neither Witness. Knowing the Father starts with knowing the Son.
They said to him therefore, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye know neither me nor my Father. If ye had known me, ye would have known also my Father.
Jesus had been speaking about His Father. The leaders replied with a question about a place. His answer ignored the question and went straight to their condition — and to the only way anyone comes to know God.
Their question revealed the people asking it. One writer sees light doing its work on those standing in it:
The Pharisees expose the darkness of their souls by asking, "Where is your Father?" Had they known the Lord they would have known the Father. Sadly, they knew neither the Son nor the Father. The light has made the utter darkness of man plain. That exposure stirred up such hostility that they would have laid hands on Him. But His hour had not yet come.
Notice what the Lord does not say. He gives them no address. He turns them from a place to a Person:
He spoke of His Father. Where was He? they asked. The Lord did not answer that question. He gave them a bold reply: "You know neither Me nor My Father. If you knew Me, you would know My Father also." In seeing Him they could see the Father, as He later told the Apostle Philip. The Father was in Him, and He was in the Father (14:9-10). This discourse took place in the treasury. Light was indeed shining, but the darkness did not grasp it.
The verse rests on who Jesus is. Not everyone looking at Him saw the same thing:
His essential glory was hidden from the natural eye. Yet some did see His glory, because the Holy Spirit had opened their eyes. They saw not simply His moral glory, but His divine glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father. So down here as Man He was the perfect expression of God... Creation was an unfolding, a display or revelation of God (see Romans 1:19-20). But the Word become flesh was the revelation of the Father. He said to the Jews, "If you knew me, you would know my Father also" (John 8:19), and to Philip, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father." (John 14:9.)
("Only begotten" is the older wording for God's unique, one-of-a-kind Son.)
Behind the sharp reply lies something lost. These men were standing in front of the fullest disclosure God has ever made of Himself, and it passed them by:
Their blind unbelief kept them from receiving and enjoying the greatest revelation ever brought to men. Every moral feature of the Father appeared in that blessed Person. He was brought up with the Father, cherished by His love, and daily His delight before the foundation of the world. In Him the Father's grace had been shining out, and the secrets of His heart unfolded.
These men had every advantage. They held God's own words:
Such ignorance of the only true God and of Jesus whom He sent is death, eternal death. It is all the more solemn, because He said it not to the pagan nations, but to Jews who had God's own words... Their sayings and doings betrayed their state of utter alienation from and ignorance of the Father. All the persecution and hatred that followed, whether aimed at Christ or at the Church, simply flowed from this... Their malice was as plain as it was deadly; and it was against the Father as much as against the Son.
The setting sharpens the point. Jesus said this in the temple, the one place on earth where people named and worshipped the true God:
We are now brought to the temple at Jerusalem, to the centre not of worldly wisdom, but of worldly religion. Surely here we shall find the knowledge of the true God. Is not the temple of Jehovah Himself their boast, with its altar? Yes; but God Himself is there in the person of the Son, and the religious leaders would not have Him. Despised and rejected He says (v. 19), "You know neither Me nor My Father."
- The question — they asked where His Father was, and the asking proved they knew neither the Father nor the Son in front of them.
- The verdict — Jesus never gave them a location; He gave them their condition.
- The way — creation displays God, but the Word made flesh reveals the Father; whoever has seen the Son has seen Him.
- The loss — unbelief shut them out of the greatest revelation ever brought to men, the Person in whom every feature of the Father appeared.
- The warning — He said this to men who held God's own words, at the very centre of their religion. They still did not know Him.
These words spoke he in the treasury, teaching in the temple; and no one took him, for his hour was not yet come.
Jesus teaches in the most public part of the temple, surrounded by men who want Him dead. Nothing happens to Him, because His hour had not yet come.
The treasury was a real, identifiable spot in the temple complex, and Scripture connects it with what people gave to God.
Part of the temple was called "the treasury." It held the things set apart for the LORD. These included the gold, silver, and vessels of bronze and iron taken from Jericho (Joshua 6:19). The freewill offerings of the people were also handed in at "the treasury" (Mark 12:41, 43). On one occasion the Lord spoke to the people "in the treasury, as he taught in the temple." This was no doubt in the outer part, where He could watch the people bringing in their gifts (Luke 21:1; John 8:20).
Jesus had just told them they knew neither Him nor His Father.
Such ignorance of the only true God and of Jesus whom He sent is death, eternal death. It is all the more solemn because He said it not to pagans but to Jews who had the words of God. They were saying these things because they did not know the Father or the Son... Their words and actions showed that they were cut off from the Father and knew nothing of Him. All the persecution and hatred that followed, whether against Christ or against the Church, was only the result. Their malice was as clear as it was deadly, and it was against the Father as much as against the Son.
John's Gospel speaks of several hours, and they are not all the same.
In the course of our Lord's earthly path we hear of other "hours." At Cana of Galilee He could say to His mother, "My hour has not yet come" — the hour of His manifestation in glory to the world. In John 5 we read, "An hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live" — the hour of His grace to sinners. Facing man's hatred we twice read that "no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come" — the hour of His suffering.
Commentators differ over the words spoken at Cana. Another writer reads "My hour" there as the same hour named here.
As for the words "My hour" — how are we to understand them? Many explanations have been suggested. We believe chapters 7:30 and 8:20 give the clue. They speak of "His hour." To His mother He said "My hour." Should we not conclude that all three refer to the same time? It is the hour when He would be subject to men's will, submitting to human control.
They had every wish to seize Him. Something outside them held them back.
So He spoke in the treasury of the temple, and the hand of God was still upon them: they could do nothing. No one laid a hand on Him, for His hour to deliver Himself up — an hour that waited on His will, not theirs — had not yet come.
Nothing visible shielded Him. To anyone watching, He looked exposed.
All through His public life He was exposed to the world's hatred. It was so even at His birth. At all times men seemed to have Him at their mercy. Judging by all He went through, He had no guard around Him, no army of angels going up and down to keep Him safe or supply Him. Nor would He raise His voice in the streets. He refused to form a party for Himself and answer plot with plot, though He could have done so. And yet no one could lay hands on Him until His hour came. As He was born in the fullness of time, so in the fullness of time — and not before — He had to die.
The arrest, when it came, was not a defeat that caught up with Him at last.
When the hour came for Him to die, He gave His life, just as He said: "I lay down my life... No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father" (John 10:17-18)... when the time came for Him to leave this world, He gave His life as a voluntary offering. Through redemption He laid the foundation for carrying out all His will.
- Place. The treasury took in the people's offerings — the open, crowded part of the temple. He taught there in full view of men who wanted Him gone.
- Provocation. His words exposed that they knew neither Him nor the Father. Their hatred struck at the Father as much as at the Son.
- Protection. They could do nothing. God's hand was on them, and He stood among them without a guard or a visible defender.
- Hour. "His hour" is the hour of His suffering — the moment He would submit to men's will and human control.
- Gift. The delay waited on His will, not theirs. When the hour came, no one took His life from Him; He laid it down of His own accord.