John 12:44

John 12:44-50 . Jesus — On some occasion or other, soon after this, in order to strengthen the faith of those timid and diffident disciples (if such they could be called) last mentioned, and to inspire them with courage; cried — Or proclaimed, with a loud voice, when, it appears, a considerable number of people were gathered about him; and said, He that believeth on me — Really and cordially; believeth not on me alone, but on him that sent me — And thereby does honour to the Father himself. As if he had said, My doctrine, declarations, and promises are so evidently from God, that he who believeth on me, may more properly be said to believe on God, by whose authority and whose word I preach. And he that seeth me — He that seeth the miracles which I perform, seeth the operation of his power by whom, as man, I act. Or, He that sees me and regards me with a lively faith, seeth him that sent me — As the perfections of the Father are displayed in me: whereas, he that shuts his eyes against me, excludes the only means of being brought to the true knowledge of the Father. I am come a light into the world — I am the Sun of righteousness, whose beams dispel the darkness of ignorance, folly, and sin, in which men are involved, and am come to deliver all who believe on me out of that darkness.

And if any man hear my words — Which I am so frequently and continually speaking; and yet believe not, I judge him not — Rather, I condemn him not; for I came not — I am not at present come; to judge (to condemn) the world — Or to perform any work of wrath and terror, whatever ill usage I may meet with in it; but the design of my present appearance is mild, kind, and gracious, and I am come to save the world — And make its inhabitants happy, in time and in eternity, if they will be so wise as to hearken to the proposals I offer. See! Christ came to save even those that finally perish! Even they are a part of that world which he lived and died to save. He that rejecteth me, &c., hath one that judgeth him — But though I shall not now execute judgment upon those who hear my doctrine and do not believe and obey it, nevertheless they shall not pass unpunished. The word that I have spoken shall judge, &c. — For the doctrine which I have preached shall bear witness against them at the day of judgment; and because it has aggravated their sin, it shall heighten their punishment. For I have not spoken of myself — Either on my own motion, or on any precarious conclusions, drawn from principles divinely taught; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment — Gave me ample instructions; what I should say, and what I should speak — Two words signifying the same thing. The Old Testament prophets sometimes spoke of themselves, but Christ spake by the Holy Spirit at all times.

Cried (ἔκραξεν) This is not meant to relate a reappearance of Jesus in public. The close of His public ministry is noted at John 12:36. It is in continuation of the Evangelist's own remarks, and introduces a summary of Jesus' past teaching to the Jews. Believeth - on Him that sent Me (πιστεύει - εἰς τὸν πέμψαντά με) This is the first and almost the only place in the Gospel where the words believe on are used with reference to the Father. This rendering in John 5:24 is an error. See John 14:1. The phrase is constantly associated with our Lord. At the same time it is to be noted that it contemplates the Father as the source of the special revelation of Christ, and therefore is not absolutely an exception to the habitual usage. The same is true of John 14:1.

{11} Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth {i} not on me, but on him that sent me. (11) The sum of the gospel, and therefore of salvation, which Christ witnessed in the midst of Jerusalem by his crying out, is this: to rest upon Christ through faith as the only Saviour appointed and given us by the Father. (i) This word not does not take anything away from Christ which is spoken of here, but is rather spoken in way of correction, as if he said, He that believes in me does not so much believe in me as in him that sent me. So is it in Mr 9:37.

44-50. Jesus cried—in a loud tone, and with peculiar solemnity. (Compare Joh 7:37). and said, He that believeth on me, &c.—This seems to be a supplementary record of some weighty proclamations, for which there had been found no natural place before, and introduced here as a sort of summary and winding up of His whole testimony.

The words, at first view, seem to contain a contradiction, and denying the same act as to the same person; as if any man could believe, and yet not believe on Christ; but there is nothing less in them. By the same figurative way of speaking God tells the prophet Samuel, 1 Samuel 8:7 , the people had not rejected Samuel, (that is, not Samuel alone), but they had rejected him. So Mark 9:37 , Whosoever receiveth me, receiveth not me, ( that is, not me alone), but him that sent me. So 1 Thessalonians 4:8 . Or else thus, He that believeth on me, doth not believe on a mere man, as I appear at present to the world, but he also believeth on God that sent me. The Jews owned one God the Father, and acknowledged him the object of their faith, John 14:1 , Ye believe in God; but they were blinded as to Christ, appearing only in the form of a man. So that our Saviour again by these words asserts his Divine nature, his oneness and equality with his Father; so as he was also the object of their faith, as well as his Father.

John 12:44 . Ἰησοῦς , Jesus ) This is the epilogue and recapitulation, given in the Gospel of John, of the public discourses of Christ. On this account He says in John 12:48-49 , I have spoken , as of a thing past.— ἔκραξε , He cried ) eagerly desiring the salvation of men. [ The words from John 12:44-50 , “He that believeth on Me,” etc., He spake in the very act of departure ( John 12:36 , ‘departed’), when He was now by this time removed from the men by a considerable interval: wherefore He is said to have cried, no doubt in order that those very persons, with whom He had spoken, might hear, not excluding the rest, who were then standing in the temple. John mentioned His hiding Himself previously (though really subsequent to John 12:44-50 ), John 12:36 , inasmuch as referring to the words , “Yet a little while,” etc, John 12:35-36 , “While ye have light, believe in the light.”— Harm. , p. 450.]— οὐ πιστεύει εἰς ἐμέ , he does not believe [merely] on Me ) His belief is not directed to Me alone: 1 Peter 1:21 , “Who by Him do believe in God , that raised Him up from the dead, and gave Him glory, that your faith and hope might be in God.” Christ refers and delegates all things to the Father.— ἀλλʼ εἰς , but on ) Faith in the Son is also at the same time faith in the Father, because the Father sent the Son, and because the Son and the Father are one ; with which comp. ver. foll., “He that seeth Me, seeth Him that sent Me;” ch.

44 . cried ] Comp. John 7:28 ; John 7:37 . The expression implies public teaching. believeth not on me ] His belief does not end there; it must include more. This saying does not occur in the previous discourses; but in John 5:36 and John 8:19 we have a similar thought. Jesus came as His Father’s ambassador, and an ambassador has no meaning apart from the sovereign who sends him. Not only is it impossible to accept the one without the other, but to accept the representative is to accept not him in his own personality but the prince whom he personates. These words are, therefore, to be taken quite literally. 44–50 . The Judgment of Christ The Evangelist has just summed up the results of Christ’s ministry (37–43). He now corroborates that estimate by Quoting Christ Himself. But as John 12:36 seems to give us the close of the ministry, we are probably to understand that what follows was uttered on some occasion or occasions previous to John 12:36 . Perhaps it is given us as an epitome of what Christ often taught.