2nd Sunday of Easter

All things were common. Happy would it be for society, if the rich of the present day were to imitate, in some degree, this charity of the first disciples, by distributing to those that want. Both would hereby become more happy; nor would the rich derive less pleasure from such actions, than the poor. (St. John Chrysostom, hom. xi. in Acts.) --- That cold and fatal word, mine, and thine, which has caused so many misfortunes and wars, was banished from among them. (Id. hom. de St. Philogon.) --- Some take this to be the origin of a monastic life: but according to the Fathers, it is rather its progress and increase; for it began in the family of Jesus Christ. The apostles, indeed, may be said to institute here that common life, which they led under Christ, our Lord, and of which Peter speaks: behold, we have left all. This life, by St. Augustine and others, is called apostolic, and there among all, wives are particularly specified. Cajetan thinks no vow was required: St. Augustine is of a different sentiment. (Serm. de diversis & alibi.)

And great grace was in them all. All of them were present, were replenished with extraordinary graces of charity, zeal, &c. (Witham)

31-37. place was shaken-- glorious token of the commotion which the Gospel was to make ( Ac 17:6 ; compare Ac 16:26 ), and the overthrow of all opposing powers in which this was to issue.

they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and spake, &c.-- The Spirit rested upon the entire community, first, in the very way they had asked, so that they "spake the word with boldness" ( Ac 4:29 , 31 ); next, in melting down all selfishness, and absorbing even the feeling of individuality in an intense and glowing realization of Christian unity. The community of goods was but an outward expression of this, and natural in such circumstances.

32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. 33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. 34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, 35 And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. 36 And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, 37 Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

We have a general idea given us in these verses, and it is a very beautiful one, of the spirit and state of this truly primitive church; it is conspectus sæculi—a view of that age of infancy and innocence.

I. The disciples loved one another dearly. Behold, how good and how pleasant it was to see how the multitude of those that believed were of one heart, and of one soul ( v. 32 ), and there was no such thing as discord nor division among them. Observe here, 1. There were multitudes that believed; even in Jerusalem, where the malignant influence of the chief priests was most strong, there were three thousand converted on one day, and five thousand on another, and, besides these, there were added to the church daily; and no doubt they were all baptized, and made profession of the faith; for the same Spirit that endued the apostles with courage to preach the faith of Christ endued them with courage to confess it. Note, The increase of the church is the glory of it, and the multitude of those that believe, more than their quality. Now the church shines, and her light is come, when souls thus fly like a cloud into her bosom, and like doves to their windows, Isa. lx. 1 , 8 . 2. They were all of one heart, and of one soul. Though there were many, very many, of different ages, tempers, and conditions, in the world, who perhaps, before they believed, were perfect strangers to one another, yet, when they met in Christ, they were as intimately acquainted as if they had known one another many years. Perhaps they had been of different sects among the Jews, before their conversion, or had had discords upon civil accounts; but now these were all forgotten and laid aside, and they were unanimous in the faith of Christ, and, being all joined to the Lord, they were joined to one another in holy love. This was the blessed fruit of Christ's dying precept to his disciples, to love one another, and his dying prayer for them, that they all might be one. We have reason to think they divided themselves into several congregations, or worshipping assemblies, according as their dwellings were, under their respective ministers; and yet this occasioned no jealousy or uneasiness; for they were all of one heart, and one soul, notwithstanding; and loved those of other congregations as truly as those of their own. Thus it was then, and we may not despair of seeing it so again, when the Spirit shall be poured out upon us from on high.

II. The ministers went on in their work with great vigour and success ( v. 33 ): With great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The doctrine they preached was, the resurrection of Christ: a matter of fact, which served not only for the confirmation of the truth of Christ's holy religion, but being duly explained and illustrated, with the proper inferences from it, served for a summary of all the duties, privileges, and comforts of Christians. The resurrection of Christ, rightly understood and improved, will let us into the great mysteries of religion. By the great power wherewith the apostles attested the resurrection may be meant, 1. The great vigour, spirit, and courage, with which they published and avowed this doctrine; they did it not softly and diffidently, but with liveliness and resolution, as those that were themselves abundantly satisfied of the truth of it, and earnestly desired that others should be so too. Or, 2. The miracles which they wrought to confirm their doctrine. With works of great power, they gave witness to the resurrection of Christ, God himself, in them, bearing witness too.

III. The beauty of the Lord our God shone upon them, and all their performances: Great grace was upon them all, not only all the apostles, but all the believers, charis megale — grace that had something great in it (magnificent and very extraordinary) was upon them all. 1. Christ poured out abundance of grace upon them, such as qualified them for great services, by enduing them with great power; it came upon them from on high, from above. 2. There were evident fruits of this grace in all they said and did, such as put an honour upon them, and recommended them to the favour of God, as being in his sight of great price. 3. Some think it includes the favour they were in with the people. Every one saw a beauty and excellency in them, and respected them.

IV. They were very liberal to the poor, and dead to this world. This was as great an evidence of the grace of God in them as any other, and recommended them as much to the esteem of the people.

1. They insisted not upon property, which even children seem to have a sense of and a jealousy for, and which worldly people triumph in, as Laban ( Gen. xxxi. 43 ): All that thou seest is mine; and Nabal ( 1 Sam. xxv. 11 ): My bread and my water. These believers were so taken up with the hopes of an inheritance in the other world that this was as nothing to them. No man said that aught of the things which he possessed was his own, v. 32 . They did not take away property, but they were indifferent to it. They did not call what they had their own, in a way of pride and vainglory, boasting of it, or trusting in it. They did not call it their own, because they had, in affection, forsaken all for Christ, and were continually expecting to be stripped of all for their adherence to him. They did not say that aught was their own; for we can call nothing our own but sin. What we have in the world is more God's than our own; we have it from him, must use it for him, and are accountable for it to him. No man said that what he had was his own, idion — his peculiar; for he was ready to distribute, willing to communicate, and desired not to eat his morsel alone, but what he had to spare from himself and family his poor neighbours were welcome to. Those that had estates were not solicitous to lay up, but very willing to lay out, and would straiten themselves to help their brethren. No marvel that they were of one heart and soul, when they sat so loose to the wealth of this world; for meum—mine, and tuum—thine, are the great makebates. Men's holding their own, and grasping at more than their own, are the rise of wars and fightings.

2. They abounded in charity, so that, in effect, they had all things common; for ( v. 34 ) there was not any among them that lacked, but care was taken for their supply. Those that had been maintained upon the public charity were probably excluded when they turned Christians, and therefore it was fit that the church should take care of them. As there were many poor that received the gospel, so there were some rich that were able to maintain them, and the grace of God made them willing. Those that gather much have nothing over, because what they have over they have for those who gather little, that they may have no lack, 2 Cor. viii. 14, 15 . The gospel hath laid all things common, not so that the poor are allowed to rob the rich, but so that the rich are appointed to relieve the poor.

3. They did many of them sell their estates, to raise a fund for charity: As many as had possession of lands or houses sold them, v. 34 . Dr. Lightfoot computes that this was the year of jubilee in the Jewish nation, the fiftieth year (the twenty-eighth since they settled in Canaan fourteen hundred years ago), so that, what was sold that year being not to return till the next jubilee, lands then took a good price, and so the sale of those lands would raise the more money. Now,

(1.) We are here told what they did with the money that was so raised: They laid it at the apostles' feet —the left it to them to be disposed of as they thought fit; probably they had their support from it; for whence else could they have it? Observe, The apostles would have it laid at their feet, in token of their holy contempt of the wealth of the world; they thought it fitter it should be laid at their feet than lodged in their hands or in their bosoms. Being laid there, it was not hoarded up, but distribution was made, by proper persons, unto every man according as he had need. Great care ought to be taken in the distribution of public charity, [1.] That it be given to such as have need; such as are not able to procure a competent maintenance of themselves, through age, infancy, sickness, or bodily disability, or incapacity of mind, want either of ingenuity or activity, cross providences, losses, oppressions, or a numerous charge. Those who upon any of these accounts, or any other, have real need, and have not relations of their own to help them—but, above all, those that are reduced to want for well doing, and for the testimony of a good conscience, ought to be taken care of, and provided for, and, with such a prudent application of what is given, as may be most for their benefit. [2.] That it be given to every man for whom it is intended, according as he has need, without partiality or respect of persons. It is a rule in dispensing charity, as well as in administering justice, ut parium par sit ratio—that those who are equally needy and equally deserving should be equally helped, and that the charity should be suited and adapted to the necessity, as the word is.

(2.) Here is one particular person mentioned that was remarkable for this generous charity: it was Barnabas, afterwards Paul's colleague. Observe, [1.] The account here given concerning him, v. 36 . His name was Joses; he was of the tribe of Levi, for there were Levites among the Jews of the dispersion, who, it is probable, presided in their synagogue—worship, and, according to the duty of that tribe, taught them the good knowledge of the Lord. He was born in Cyprus, a great way off from Jerusalem, his parents, though Jews, having a settlement there. Notice is taken of the apostles' changing his name after he associated with them. It is probable that he was one of the seventy disciples, and, as he increased in gifts and graces, grew eminent, and was respected by the apostles, who, in token of their value for him, gave him a name, Barnabas—the son of prophecy (so it properly signifies), he being endued with extraordinary gifts of prophecy. But the Hellenist Jews (saith Grotius) called praying paraklesis, and therefore by that word it is rendered here: A son of exhortation (so some), one that had an excellent faculty of healing and persuading; we have an instance of it, ch. xi. 22-24 . A son of consolation (so we read it); one that did himself walk very much in the comforts of the Holy Ghost —a cheerful Christian, and this enlarged his heart in charity to the poor; or one that was eminent for comforting the Lord's people, and speaking peace to wounded troubled consciences; he had an admirable facility that way. There were two among the apostles that were called Boanerges—sons of thunder ( Mark iii. 17 ); but here was a son of consolation with them. Each had his several gift. Neither must censure the other, but both case one another; let the one search the wound, and then let the other heal it and bind it up. [2.] Here is an account of his charity, and great generosity to the public fund. This is particularly taken notice of, because of the eminency of his services afterwards in the church of God, especially in carrying the gospel to the Gentiles; and, that this might not appear to come from any ill-will to his own nation, we have here his benevolence to the Jewish converts. Or perhaps this is mentioned because it was a leading card, and an example to others: He having land, whether in Cyprus, where he was born, or in Judea, where he now lived, or elsewhere, is not certain, but he sold it, not to buy elsewhere to advantage, but, as a Levite indeed, who knew he had the Lord God of Israel for his inheritance, he despised earthly inheritances, would be encumbered no more with them, but brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet, to be given in charity. Thus, as one that was designed to be a preacher of the gospel, he disentangled himself from the affairs of this life: and he lost nothing upon the balance of the account, by laying the purchase-money at the apostles' feet, when he himself was, in effect, numbered among the apostles, by that word of the Holy Ghost, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them, ch. xiii. 2 . Thus, for the respect he showed to the apostles as apostles, he had an apostle's reward.

(ver. 2). "Let the house of Aaron now confess that His mercy endureth for ever"

(ver. 3). "Yea, let all now that fear the Lord confess that His mercy endureth for ever"

(ver. 4). Ye remember, I suppose, most beloved, what is the house of Israel, what is the house of Aaron, and that both are those that fear the Lord. For they are "the little and the great," who have already in another Psalm been happily introduced into your hearts: in the number of whom all of us should rejoice that we are joined together, in His grace who is good, and whose mercy endureth for ever; since they were listened to who said, "May the Lord increase you more and more, you and your children;" that the host of the Gentiles might be added to the Israelites who believed in Christ, of the number of whom are the Apostles our fathers, for the exaltation of the perfect and the obedience of the little children; that all of us when made one in Christ, made one flock under one Shepherd, and the body of that Head, like one man, may say, "I called upon the Lord in trouble, and the Lord heard me at large"

(ver. 13). For though there were a great multitude of believers, that might be compared to the countless sand, and brought into one communion as into one heap; yet "what is man, save Thou be mindful of Him?" He said not, the multitude of the Gentiles could not surpass the abundance of my host, but, "the Lord," he saith, "hath upheld me." The persecution of the Gentiles succeeded not in pushing forward, to its overthrow, the host of the faithful dwelling together in the unity of the faith.

8. "The Lord is my strength and my praise, and is become my salvation"

(ver. 14). Who then fall, when they are pushed, save they who choose to be their own strength and their own praise? For no man falleth in the contest, except he whose strength and praise faileth. He therefore whose strength and praise is the Lord, falleth no more than the Lord falleth. And for this reason He hath become their salvation; not that He hath become anything which He was not before, but because they, when they believed on Him, became what they were not before, and then He began to be salvation unto them when turned towards Him, which He was not to them when turned away from Himself.

9. "The voice of joy and health is in the dwellings of the righteous"

(ver. 15); where they who raged against their bodies thought there was the voice of sorrow and destruction. For they did not know the inward joy of the saints in their future hope. Whence the Apostle also saith, "As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing;" and again, "And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also."

10. "The right hand of the Lord hath brought mighty things to pass"

(ver. 22); for "It hath become the head Stone of the corner" to "make in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace; and that He might reconcile both unto God in one body;" circumcision, to wit, and uncircumcision.

17. "By the Lord was it made unto it"

(ver. 23): that is, it is made into the head stone of the corner by the Lord. For although He would not have become this, had He not suffered: yet He became not this through those from whom He suffered. For they who were building, refused Him: but in the edifice which the Lord was secretly raising, that was made the head stone of the corner which they rejected. "And it is marvellous in our eyes:" in the eyes of the inner man, in the eyes of those that believe, those that hope, those that love; not in the carnal eyes of those who, through scorning Him as if He were a man, rejected Him.

18. "This is the day which the Lord hath made"

(ver. 24). This man remembereth that he had said in former Psalms, "Since He hath inclined His ear unto me, therefore will I call upon Him as long as I live;" making mention of his old days; whence he now saith, "This is the day which the Lord hath made;" that is, wherein He hath given me Salvation. This is the day whereof He said, "In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of Salvation have I helped thee;" that is, a day wherein He, the Mediator, hath become the head Stone of the corner. "Let us rejoice," therefore, "and be glad in Him."

19. "Save me now, O Lord: prosper Thou well my way, O Lord"

PSALM CXVII. (CONFITEMINI DOMINO.)

The psalmist praiseth God for his delivery from evils; putteth his whole trust in him; and foretelleth the coming of Christ.

That he is good, is not here in Hebrew. The Septuagint insert the words in the two next verses. The people, priests, and all who fear God among the Gentiles must praise him (Psalm cxiii. 11.; Calmet) particularly now under the new law, since they have received greater benefits. (Worthington) --- Our Saviour seems to allude to this passage, observing that God alone is good, (Luke xviii. 28.) to intimate that the man who gave him that title, must also acknowledge his divinity. (St. Augustine) (Berthier)

Fall. I was very near falling. Hebrew, "pushing thou hast pushed me that," &c. (Menochius) --- "My sin has strongly pushed me." (Chaldean) (Calmet) --- Those who stick to the Hebrew suppose, that the psalmist addressed the chief of his enemies. But a letter or two may have been added, as St. Jerome, Felix, &c., admit not the second person. Houbigant prefers, "they have pushed me." (Berthier) ---By God's grace I was prevented from yielding to the force of temptation. (Worthington)

Just. Such were the Jews by their vocation, though many answered very ill the designs of God. (Calmet) --- Christians thank God for their redemption, and confessors are full of joy in their prisons and torments, Acts xvi. 25. (Berthier)

Corner. This was a sort of proverb, and is applied to David, Zorobabel, or the Jewish nation; but they can only be considered as figures of Christ, in whom this prediction was fulfilled, when he established his Church, and made one people of those who were before divided, Isaias xxviii. 16., Matthew xxi. 42., and Acts iv. 11. (Calmet) --- He was rejected by most of the Jews; yet he chose some of them, who, with the Gentiles, formed his Church. (Haydock) --- This all Christians now confess. (Worthington) --- The Pharisees pretended to build for the glory of God, when they opposed the designs of Christ, which, nevertheless, succeeded. They could not object to his application of this text, as they would have done, if it had been already verified in David, &c. (Berthier) --- He has laid the foundation. We must be living stones, if we would co-operate in this heavenly building, 1 Peter ii. 5.

Day. Of grace. (Worthington) --- The Church often repeats this during the paschal time, though God is equally the author of all days. (Haydock) See Ephesians iv. 30., and John viii. 56.

1 O give thanks unto the Lord ; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for e

ver. 2 Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for e

ver. 3 Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endureth for e

ver. 4 Let them now that fear the Lord say, that his mercy endureth for e

19 Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the Lord : 20 This gate of the Lord , into which the righteous shall enter. 21 I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. 22 The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. 23 This is the Lord 's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. 24 This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord : O Lord , I beseech thee, send now prosperity. 26 Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord : we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord . 27 God is the Lord , which hath showed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar. 28 Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee. 29 O give thanks unto the Lord ; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

We have here an illustrious prophecy of the humiliation and exaltation of our Lord Jesus, his sufferings, and the glory that should follow. Peter thus applies it directly to the chief priests and scribes, and none of them could charge him with misapplying it, Acts iv. 11 . Now observe here,

I. The preface with which this precious prophecy is introduced, v. 19-21 . 1. The psalmist desires admission into the sanctuary of God, there to celebrate the glory of him that cometh in the name of the Lord: Open to me the gates of righteousness. So the temple-gates are called, because they were shut against the uncircumcised, and forbade the stranger to come nigh, as the sacrifices there offered are called sacrifices of righteousness. Those that would enter into communion with God in holy ordinances must become humble suitors to God for admission. And when the gates of righteousness are opened to us we must go into them, must enter into the holiest, as far as we have leave, and praise the Lord. Our business within God's gates is to praise God; therefore we should long till the gates of heaven be opened to us, that we may go into them to dwell in God's house above, where we shall be still praising him. 2. He sees admission granted him ( v. 20 ): This is the gate of the Lord, the gate of his appointing, into which the righteous shall enter; as if he had said, "The gate you knocked at is opened, and you are welcome. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. " Some by this gate understand Christ, by whom we are taken into fellowship with God and our praises are accepted; he is the way; there is no coming to the Father but by him ( John xiv. 6 ), he is the door of the sheep ( John x. 9 ); he is the gate of the temple, by whom, and by whom only, the righteous, and they only, shall enter, and come into God's righteousness, as the expression is, Ps. lxix. 27 . The psalmist triumphs in the discovery that the gate of righteousness, which had been so long shut, and so long knocked at, was now at length opened. 3. He promises to give thanks to God for this favour ( v. 21 ): I will praise thee. Those that saw Christ's day at so great a distance saw cause to praise God for the prospect; for in him they saw that God had heard them, had heard the prayers of the Old-Testament saints for the coming of the Messiah, and would be their salvation.

II. The prophecy itself, v. 22, 23 . This may have some reference to David's preferment; he was the stone which Saul and his courtiers rejected, but was by the wonderful providence of God advanced to be the headstone of the building. But its principal reference is to Christ; and here we have, 1. His humiliation. He is the stone which the builders refused; he is the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, Dan. ii. 34 . He is a stone, not only for strength, and firmness, and duration, but for life, in the building of the spiritual temple; and yet a precious stone ( 1 Pet. ii. 6 ), for the foundation of the gospel-church must be sapphires, Isa. liv. 11 . This stone was rejected by the builders, by the rulers and people of the Jews ( Acts iv. 8 , 10 , 11 ); they refused to own him as the stone, the Messiah promised; they would not build their faith upon him nor join themselves to him; they would make no use of him, but go on in their building without him; they denied him in the presence of Pilate ( Acts iii. 13 ) when they said, We have no king but Cæsar. They trampled upon this stone, threw it among the rubbish out of the city; nay, they stumbled at it. This was a disgrace to Christ, but it proved the ruin of those that thus made light of him. Rejecters of Christ are rejected of God. 2. His exaltation. He has become the headstone of the corner; he is advanced to the highest degree both of honour and usefulness, to be above all, and all in all. He is the chief corner-stone in the foundation, in whom Jew and Gentile are united, that they may be built up one holy house. He is the chief top-stone in the corner, in whom the building is completed, and who must in all things have the pre-eminence, as the author and finisher of our faith. Thus highly has God exalted him, because he humbled himself; and we, in compliance with God's design, must make him the foundation of our hope, the centre of our unity, and the end of our living. To me to live is Christ. 3. The hand of God in all this: This is the Lord's doing; it is from the Lord; it is with the Lord; it is the product of his counsel; it is his contrivance. Both the humiliation and the exaltation of the Lord Jesus were his work, Acts ii. 23 ; iv. 27, 28 . He sent him, sealed him; his hand went with him throughout his whole undertaking, and from first to last he did his Father's will; and this ought to be marvellous in our eyes. Christ's name is Wonderful; and the redemption he wrought out is the most amazing of all God's works of wonder; it is what the angels desire to look into, and will be admiring to eternity; much more ought we to admire it, who owe our all to it. Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness.

III. The joy wherewith it is entertained and the acclamations which attend this prediction.

1. Let the day be solemnized to the honour of God with great joy ( v. 24 ): This is the day the Lord has made. The whole time of the gospel-dispensation, that accepted time, that day of salvation, is what the Lord has made so; it is a continual feast, which ought to be kept with joy. Or it may very fitly be understood of the Christian sabbath, which we sanctify in remembrance of Christ's resurrection, when the rejected stone began to be exalted; and so, (1.) Here is the doctrine of the Christian sabbath: It is the day which the Lord has made, has made remarkable, made holy, has distinguished from other days; he has made it for man: it is therefore called the Lord's day, for it bears his image and superscription. (2.) The duty of the sabbath, the work of the day that is to be done in his day: We will rejoice and be glad in it, not only in the institution of the day, that there is such a day appointed, but in the occasion of it, Christ's becoming the head of the corner. This we ought to rejoice in both as his honour and our advantage. Sabbath days must be rejoicing days, and then they are to us as the days of heaven. See what a good Master we serve, who, having instituted a day for his service, appoints it to be spent in holy joy.

2. Let the exalted Redeemer be met, and attended, with joyful hosannas, v. 25, 26 .

(1.) Let him have the acclamations of the people, as is usual at the inauguration of a prince. Let every one of his loyal subjects shout for joy, Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord! This is like Vivat rex—Long live the king, and expresses a hearty joy for his accession to the crown, an entire satisfaction in his government, and a zealous affection to the interests and honour of it. Hosanna signifies, Save now, I beseech thee. [1.] "Lord, save me, I beseech thee; let this Saviour be my Saviour, and, in order to that, my ruler; let me be taken under his protection and owned as one of his willing subjects. His enemies are my enemies; Lord, I beseech thee, save me from them. Send me an interest in that prosperity which his kingdom brings with it to all those that entertain it. Let my soul prosper and be in health, in that peace and righteousness which his government brings, Ps. lxxii. 3 . Let me have victory over those lusts that war against my soul, and let divine grace go on in my heart conquering and to conquer. " [2.] "Lord, preserve him, I beseech thee, even the Saviour himself, and send him prosperity in all his undertakings; give success to his gospel, and let it be mighty, through God, to the pulling down of strong-holds and reducing souls to their allegiance to him. Let his name be sanctified, his kingdom come, his will be done. " Thus let prayer be made for him continually, Ps. lxxii. 15 . On the Lord's day, when we rejoice and are glad in his kingdom, we must pray for the advancement of it more and more, and its establishment upon the ruins of the devil's kingdom. When Christ made his public entry into Jerusalem he was thus met by his well-wishers ( Matt. xxi. 9 ): Hosanna to the Son of David; long live King Jesus; let him reign for ever.

(2.) Let the priests, the Lord's ministers, do their part in this great solemnity, v. 26 . [1.] Let them bless the prince with their praises: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Jesus Christ is he that cometh — ho erchomenos, he that was to come and is yet to come again, Rev. i. 8 . He comes in the name of the Lord, with a commission from him, to act for him, to do his will and to seek his glory; and therefore we must say, Blessed be he that cometh; we must rejoice that he has come; we must speak well of him, admire him, and esteem him highly, as one we are eternally obliged to, call him blessed Jesus, blessed for ever, Ps. xlv. 2 . We must bid him welcome into our hearts, saying, "Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; come in by thy grace and Spirit, and take possession of me for thy own." We must bless his faithful ministers that come in his name, and receive them for his sake, Isa. lii. 7 ; John xiii. 20 . We must pray for the enlargement and edification of his church, for the ripening of things for his second coming, and then that he who has said, Surely I come quickly, would even so come. [2.] Let them bless the people with their prayers: We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. Christ's ministers are not only warranted, but appointed to pronounce a blessing, in his name, upon all his loyal subjects that love him and his government in sincerity, Eph. vi. 24 . We assure you that in and through Jesus Christ you are blessed; for he came to bless you. "You are blessed out of the house of the Lord, that is, with spiritual blessings in heavenly places ( Eph. i. 3 ), and therefore have reason to bless him who has thus blessed you."

3. Let sacrifices of thanksgiving be offered to his honour who offered for us the great atoning sacrifice, v. 27 . Here is, (1.) The privilege we enjoy by Jesus Christ: God is the Lord who has shown us light. God is Jehovah, is known by that name, a God performing what he has promised and perfecting what he has begun, Exod. vi. 3 . He has shown us light, that is, he has given us the knowledge of himself and his will. He has shined upon us (so some); he has favoured us, and lifted up upon us the light of his countenance; he has given us occasion for joy and rejoicing, which is light to the soul, by giving us a prospect of everlasting light in heaven. The day which the Lord has made brings light with it, true light. (2.) The duty which this privilege calls for: Bind the sacrifice with cords, that, being killed, the blood of it may be sprinkled upon the horns of the altar, according to the law; or perhaps it was the custom (though we read not of it elsewhere) to bind the sacrifice to the horns of the altar while things were getting ready for the slaying of it. Or this may have a peculiar significancy here; the sacrifice we are to offer to God, in gratitude for redeeming love, is ourselves, not to be slain upon the altar, but living sacrifices ( Rom. xii. 1 ), to be bound to the altar, spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise, in which our hearts must be fixed and engaged, as the sacrifice was bound with cords to the horns of the altar, not to start back.

4. The psalmist concludes with his own thankful acknowledgments of divine grace, in which he calls upon others to join with him, v. 28, 29 . (1.) He will praise God himself, and endeavour to exalt him in his own heart and in the hearts of others, and this because of his covenant-relation to him and interest in him: " Thou art my God, on whom I depend, and to whom I am devoted, who ownest me and art owned by me; and therefore I will praise thee. " (2.) He will have all about him to give thanks to God for these glad tidings of great joy to all people, that there is a Redeemer, even Christ the Lord. In him it is that God is good to man and that his mercy endures for ever; in him the covenant of grace is made, and in him it is made sure, made good, and made an everlasting covenant. He concludes this psalm as he began it ( v. 1 ), for God's glory must be the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, of all our addresses to him. Hallowed by thy name, and thine is the glory. And this fitly closes a prophecy of Christ. The angels give thanks for man's redemption. Glory to God in the highest ( Luke ii. 14 ), for there is on earth peace, to which we must echo with our hosannas, as they did, Luke xix. 38 . Peace in heaven to us through Christ, and therefore glory in the highest.

1-4. The trine repetitions are emphatic (compare Psa 118:10-12, 15, 16; 115:12 , 13 ).

Let ... say-- Oh! that Israel may say.

now-- as in Psa 115:2 ; so in Psa 118:3 , 4 . After "now say" supply "give thanks."

that his mercy-- or, "for His mercy."

13-16. The enemy is triumphantly addressed as if present.

22-23. These words are applied by Christ ( Mt 21:42 ) to Himself, as the foundation of the Church (compare Ac 4:11 ; Ep 2:20 ; 1Pe 2:4 , 7 ). It may here denote God's wondrous exaltation to power and influence of him whom the rulers of the nation despised. Whether (see on Psa 118:1 ) David or Zerubbabel (compare Hag 2:2 ; Zec 4:7-10 ) be primarily meant, there is here typically represented God's more wonderful doings in exalting Christ, crucified as an impostor, to be the Prince and Saviour and Head of His Church.

24. This is the day-- or period distinguished by God's favor of all others.

That Jesus is the Christ, the promised Messias, the Redeemer of the world, is born of God, is made his adoptive son by his grace in baptism. (Witham) --- Is born of God; that is, is justified, and become a child of God by baptism; which is also to be understood, provided the belief of this fundamental article of the Christian faith is accompanied with all the other conditions, which, by the word of God and his appointment, are also required for justification; such as a general belief of all that God has revealed and promised; hope, love, repentance, and a sincere disposition to keep God's holy law and commandments. (Challoner) --- Loveth him [1] that begot; i.e. the eternal Father. --- Loveth him also who was born of him; i.e. loveth him who is his only begotten and eternal Son. (Witham)

Eum qui genuit, Greek: ton gennesanta, generantem; which, in English, may be translated, the Father.

In this we know that we love the children of God, (that is, all men, and especially the faithful, who are made his adoptive children) when we love God, and keep his commandments, for these two branches of charity, the love of God and of our neighbour, are inseparable: the one is known and proved by the other. (Witham)

And his commandments are not heavy; not burdensome. Not but that they comprehend what seems hard to human frailty, and especially to men carried away with the love of vanities in this world, who think it hard to comply with Christ's doctrine of self-denials, of renouncing their inclinations, of suffering death, sooner than to sin against God, or to renounce their faith: but the love of God, and the promises of an eternal happiness in the next life, with the assistances which God gives them, make the yoke of Christ sweet, and his burden light. See Matthew xi. 30. How different is this doctrine from that of those late heretics, who pretend that God's commandments are impossible, even to just men, when they employ all their endeavours. See the first proposition of Jansenius, and this heresy of Calvin condemned by the council of Trent, session 6, cap. xi. canon. 18. (Witham)

This is the victory which overcometh the world, our faith. That is, a lively faith, working by charity, makes a man victorious over the greatest temptations, and over all the adversaries of his salvation. (Witham) --- Our faith; Not a bare speculative or dead faith, but a faith working by charity. (Galatians v. 6.) (Challoner)

Came by water and blood. The sense seems to be, by water, with which he ordered every one to be baptized and made Christians; 2ndly, by his blood shed on the cross for our redemption. (Witham) --- Blood: not only to wash away our sins by the water of baptism, but by his own blood. (Challoner) --- And it is the Spirit that testifieth that Christ [2] is the truth. By the Spirit, which is not here called the Holy Spirit, or the Holy Ghost, as in the next verse, is either meant the Spirit or soul of Christ, which dying he recommended into the hands of his Father, and which shewed that he was truly man, against Cerinthus, and some heretics of those times; or else it may signify the spirit of grace, given in this world to the faithful, in the same sense as St. Paul says, (Romans viii. 16.) that the Spirit himself giveth testimony to our Spirit, that we are the sons of God: and of which may be understood what is said here, (ver. 10.) He that believeth in the Son of God, hath the testimony of God in himself. (Witham)

Quoniam Christus est veritas; in most Greek copies is now read, Greek: oti to pneuma esti e aletheia, quoniam Spiritus est veritas.

1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

I. The apostle having, in the conclusion of the last chapter, as was there observed, urged Christian love upon those two accounts, as suitable to Christian profession and as suitable to the divine command, here adds a third: Such love is suitable, and indeed demanded, by their eminent relation; our Christian brethren or fellow-believers are nearly related to God; they are his children: Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, v. 1 . Here the Christian brother is, 1. Described by his faith; he that believeth that Jesus is the Christ —that he is Messiah the prince, that he is the Son of God by nature and office, that he is the chief of all the anointed world, chief of all the priests, prophets, or kings, who were ever anointed by God or for him, that he is perfectly prepared and furnished for the whole work of the eternal salvation-accordingly yields himself up to his care and direction; and then he is, 2. Dignified by his descent: He is born of God, v. 1 . This principle of faith, and the new nature that attends it or from which it springs, are ingenerated by the Spirit of God; and so sonship and adoption are not now appropriated to the seed of Abraham according to the flesh, not to the ancient Israel of God; all believers, though by nature sinners of the Gentiles, are spiritually descended from God, and accordingly are to be beloved; as it is added: Every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him, v. 1 . It seems but natural that he who loves the Father should love the children also, and that in some proportion to their resemblance to their Father and to the Father's love to them; and so we must first and principally love the Son of the Father, as he is most emphatically styled, 2 John 3 , the only (necessarily) begotten, and the Son of his love, and then those that are voluntarily begotten, and renewed by the Spirit of grace.

II. The apostle shows, 1. How we may discern the truth, or the true evangelical nature of our love to the regenerate. The ground of it must be our love to God, whose they are: By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, v. 2 . Our love to them appears to be sound and genuine when we love them not merely upon any secular account, as because they are rich, or learned, or kind to us, or of our denomination among religious parties; but because they are God's children, his regenerating grace appears in them, his image and superscription are upon them, and so in them God himself is loved. Thus we see what that love to the brethren is that is so pressed in this epistle; it is love to them as the children of God and the adopted brethren of the Lord Jesus. 2. How we may learn the truth of our love to God—it appears in our holy obedience: When we love God, and keep his commandments, v. 2 . Then we truly, and in gospel account, love God, when we keep his commandments: For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments; and the keeping of his commandments requires a spirit inclined thereto and delighting herein; and so his commandments are not grievous, v. 3 . Or, This is the love of God, that, as thereby we are determined to obedience, and to keep the commandments of God, so his commandments are thereby made easy and pleasant to us. The lover of God says, " O how I love thy law! I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart ( Ps. cxix. 32 ), when thou shalt enlarge it either with love or with thy Spirit, the spring of love." 3. What is and ought to be the result and effect of regeneration—an intellectual spiritual conquest of this world: For whatsoever is born of God, or, as in some copies, whosoever is born of God, overcometh the world, v. 4 . He that is born of God is born for God, and consequently for another world. He has a temper and disposition that tend to a higher and better world; and he is furnished with such arms, or such a weapon, whereby he can repel and conquer this; as it is added, And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith, v. 4 . Faith is the cause of victory, the means, the instrument, the spiritual armour and artillery by which we overcome; for, (1.) In and by faith we cleave to Christ, in contempt of, and opposition to, the world. (2.) Faith works in and by love to God and Christ, and so withdraws us from the love of the world. (3.) Faith sanctifies the heart, and purifies it from those sensual lusts by which the world obtains such sway and dominion over souls. (4.) It receives and derives strength from the object of it, the Son of God, for conquering the frowns and flatteries of the world. (5.) It obtains by gospel promise a right to the indwelling Spirit of grace, that is greater than he who dwells in the world. (6.) It sees an invisible world at hand, with which this world is not worthy to be compared, and into which it tells the soul in which it resides it must be continually prepared to enter; and thereupon,

6 This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. 9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.

The faith of the Christian believer (or the believer in Christ) being thus mighty and victorious, it had need to be well founded, to be furnished with unquestionable celestial evidence concerning the divine mission, authority, and office of the Lord Jesus; and it is so; he brings his credentials along with him, and he brings them in a way by which he came and in the witness that attends him.

I. In the way and manner by which he came; not barely by which he came into the world, but by and with which he came, and appeared, and acted, as a Saviour in the world: This is he that came by water and blood. He came to save us from our sins, to give us eternal life, and bring us to God; and, that he might the more assuredly do this, he came by, or with, water and blood. Even Jesus Christ; Jesus Christ, I say, did so; and none but he. And I say it again, not by or with water only, but by and with water and blood, v. 6 . Jesus Christ came with water and blood, as the notes and signatures of the true effectual Saviour of the world; and he came by water and blood as the means by which he would heal and save us. That he must and did thus come in his saving office may appear by our remembering these things:—

1. We are inwardly and outwardly defiled. (1.) Inwardly, by the power and pollution off sin and in our nature. For our cleansing from this we need spiritual water; such as can reach the soul and the powers of it. Accordingly, there is in and by Christ Jesus the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. And this was intimated to the apostles by our Lord, when he washed their feet, and said to Peter, who refused to be washed, Except I wash thee, thou hast no part in me. (2.) We are defiled outwardly, by the guilt and condemning power of sin upon our persons. By this we are separated from God, and banished from his favourable, gracious, beatific presence for ever. From this we must be purged by atoning blood. It is the law or determination in the court of heaven that without shedding of blood there shall be no remission, Heb. ix. 22 . The Saviour from sin therefore must come with blood.

2. Both these ways of cleansing were represented in the old ceremonial institutions of God. Persons and things must be purified by water and blood. There were divers washings and carnal ordinances imposed till the time of reformation, Heb. ix. 10 . The ashes of a heifer, mixed with water, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh, Heb. ix. 13 ; Num. xix. 9 . And likewise almost all things are, by the law, purged with blood, Heb. ix. 22 . As those show us our double defilement, so they indicate the Saviour's two-fold purgation.

3. At and upon the death of Jesus Christ, his side being pierced with a soldier's spear, out of the wound there immediately issued water and blood. This the beloved apostle saw, and he seems to have been affected with the sight; he alone records it, and seems to reckon himself obliged to record it, and seems to reckon himself obliged to record it, as containing something mysterious in it: And he that saw it bore record, and his record is true. And he knoweth, being an eye-witness, that he saith true, that you might believe, and that you might believe this particularly, that out of his pierced side forthwith there came water and blood, John xix. 34, 35 . Now this water and blood are comprehensive of all that is necessary and effectual to our salvation. By the water our souls are washed and purified for heaven and the region of saints in light. By the blood God is glorified, his law is honoured, and his vindictive excellences are illustrated and displayed. Whom God hath set forth, or purposed, or proposed, a propitiation through faith in his blood, or a propitiation in or by his blood through faith, to declare his righteousness, that he may be just, and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus, Rom. iii. 25, 26 . By the blood we are justified, reconciled, and presented righteous to God. By the blood, the curse of the law being satisfied, and purifying Spirit is obtained for the internal ablution of our natures. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit, the promised Spirit, through faith, Gal. iii. 13 , &c. The water, as well as the blood, issued out of the side of the sacrificed Redeemer. The water and the blood then comprehend all things that can be requisite to our salvation. They will consecrate and sanctify to that purpose all that God shall appoint or make use of in order to that great end. He loved the church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, Eph. v. 25-27 . He who comes by water and blood is an accurate perfect Saviour. And this is he who comes by water and blood, even Jesus Christ! Thus we see in what way and manner, or, if you please, with what utensils, he comes. But we see his credentials also,

II. In the witness that attends him, and that is, the divine Spirit, that Spirit to whom the perfecting of the works of God is usually attributed: And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, v. 6 . It was meet that the commissioned Saviour of the world should have a constant agent to support his work, and testify of him to the world. It was meet that a divine power should attend him, his gospel, and servants; and notify to the world upon what errand and office they came, and by what authority they were sent: this was done in and by the Spirit of God, according to the Saviour's own prediction, " He shall glorify me, even when I shall be rejected and crucified by men, for he shall receive or take of mine. He shall not receive my immediate office; he shall not die and rise again for you; but he shall receive of mine, shall proceed on the foundation I have laid, shall take up my institution, and truth, and cause, and shall further show it unto you, and by you to the world," John xvi. 14 . And then the apostle adds the commendation or the acceptableness of this witness: Because the Spirit is truth, v. 6 . He is the Spirit of God, and cannot lie. There is a copy that would afford us a very suitable reading thus: because, or that, Christ is the truth. And so it indicates the matter of the Spirit's testimony, the thing which he attests, and that is, the truth of Christ: And it is the Spirit that beareth witness that Christ is the truth; and consequently that Christianity, or the Christian religion, is the truth of the day, the truth of God. But it is meet that one or two copies should alter the text; and our present reading is very agreeable, and so we retain it. The Spirit is truth. He is indeed the Spirit of truth, John xiv. 17 . And that the Spirit is truth, and a witness worthy of all acceptation, appears in that he is a heavenly witness, or one of the witnesses that in and from heaven bore testimony concerning the truth and authority of Christ. Because (or for) there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. And so v. 7 most appositely occurs, as a proof of the authenticity of the Spirit's testimony; he must needs be true, or even truth itself, if he be not only a witness in heaven, but even one (not in testimony only, for so an angel may be, but in being and essence) with the Father and the Word. But here,

1. We are stopped in our course by the contest there is about the genuineness of v. 7 . It is alleged that many old Greek manuscripts have it not. We shall not here enter into the controversy. It should seem that the critics are not agreed what manuscripts have it and what not; nor do they sufficiently inform us of the integrity and value of the manuscripts they peruse. Some may be so faulty, as I have an old printed Greek Testament so full of errata, that one would think no critic would establish a various lection thereupon. But let the judicious collators of copies manage that business. There are some rational surmises that seem to support the present text and reading. As,

(1.) If we admit v. 8 , in the room of v. 7 , it looks too like a tautology and repetition of what was included in v. 6 , This is he that came by water and blood, not by water only, but by water and blood; and it is the Spirit that beareth witness. For there are three that bear witness, the Spirit, the water, and the blood. This does not assign near so noble an introduction of these three witnesses as our present reading does.

(2.) It is observed that many copies read that distinctive clause, upon the earth: There are three that bear record upon the earth. Now this bears a visible opposition to some witness or witnesses elsewhere, and therefore we are told, by the adversaries of the text, that this clause must be supposed to be omitted in most books that want v. 7 . But it should for the same reason be so in all. Take we v. 6 , This is he that came by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. It would not now naturally and properly be added, For there are three that bear record on earth, unless we should suppose that the apostle would tell us that all the witnesses are such as are on earth, when yet he would assure us that one is infallibly true, or even truth itself.

(3.) It is observed that there is a variety of reading even in the Greek text, as in v. 7 . Some copies read hen eisi — are one; others (at least the Complutensian ) eis to hen eisin — are to one, or agree in one; and in v. 8 (in that part that it is supposed should be admitted), instead of the common en te ge — in earth, the Complutensian reads epi tes ges — upon earth, which seems to show that that edition depended upon some Greek authority, and not merely, as some would have us believe, upon the authority either of the vulgar Latin or of Thomas Aquinas, though his testimony may be added thereto.

(4.) The seventh verse is very agreeable to the style and the theology of our apostle; as, [1.] He delights in the title the Father, whether he indicates thereby God only, or a divine person distinguished from the Son. I and the Father are one. And Yet I am not alone; because the Father is with me. I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another comforter. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Grace be with you, and peace from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, 2 John 3 . Then, [2.] The name the Word is known to be almost (if not quite) peculiar to this apostle. Had the text been devised by another, it had been more easy and obvious, from the form of baptism, and the common language of the church, to have used the name Son instead of that of the Word. As it is observed that Tertullian and Cyprian use that name, even when they refer to this verse; or it is made an objection against their referring to this verse, because they speak of the Son, not the Word; and yet Cyprian's expression seems to be very clear by the citation of Facundus himself. Quod Johannis apostoli testimonium beatus Cyprianus, Carthaginensis antistes et martyr, in epistolâ sive libro, quem de Trinitate scripsit, de Patre, Filio, et Spiritu sancto dictum intelligit; ait enim, Dicit Dominus, Ego et Pater unum sumus; et iterum de Patre, Filio, et Spiritu sancto scriptum est, Et hi tres unum sunt.—Blessed Cyprian, the Carthaginian bishop and martyr, in the epistle or book he wrote concerning the Trinity, considered the testimony of the apostle John as relating to the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit; for he says, the Lord says, I and the Father are one; and again, of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit it is written, And these three are one. Now it is nowhere written that these are one, but in v. 7 . It is probable than that St. Cyprian, either depending on his memory, or rather intending things more than words, persons more than names, or calling persons by their names more usual in the church (both in popular and polemic discourses), called the second by the name of the Son rather than of the Word. If any man can admit Facundus's fancy, that Cyprian meant that the Spirit, the water, and the blood, were indeed the Father, Word, and Spirit, that John said were one, he may enjoy his opinion to himself. For, First, He must suppose that Cyprian not only changed all the names, but the apostle's order too. For the blood (the Son), which Cyprian puts second, the apostle puts last. And, Secondly, He must suppose that Cyprian thought that by the blood which issued out of the side of the Son the apostle intended the Son himself, who might as well have been denoted by the water,—that by the water, which also issued from the side of the Son, the apostle intended the person of the Holy Ghost,—that by the Spirit, which in v. 6 is said to be truth, and in the gospel is called the Spirit of truth, the apostle meant the person of the Father, though he is nowhere else so called when joined with the Son and the Holy Ghost. We require good proof that the Carthaginian father could so understand the apostle. He who so understands him must believe too that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are said to be three witnesses on earth. Thirdly, Facundus acknowledges that Cyprian says that of his three it is written, Et hi tres unum sunt—and these three are one. Now these are the words, not of v. 8 , but of v. 7 . They are not used concerning the three on earth, the Spirit, the water, and the blood; but the three in heaven, the Father, and the Word, and the Holy Ghost. So we are told that the author of the book De baptismo hæreticorum, allowed to be contemporary with Cyprian, cites John's words, agreeably to the Greek manuscripts and the ancient versions, thus: Ait enim Johannes de Domino nostro in epistolâ nos docens, Hic es qui venit per aquam et sanguinem, Jesus Christus, non in aquâ tantùm, sed in aquâ et sanguine; et Spiritus est qui testimonium perhibet, quia Spiritus est veritas; quia tres testimonium perhibent, Spiritus et aqua et sanguis, et isti tres in unum sunt—For John, in his epistle, says concerning our Lord, This is he, Jesus Christ, who came by water and blood, not in water only, but in water and blood; and it is the Spirit that bears witness, because the Spirit is truth; for there are three that bear witness, the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and these three agree in one. If all the Greek manuscripts and ancient versions say concerning the Spirit, the water, and the blood, that in unum sunt—they agree in one, then it was not of them that Cyprian spoke, whatever variety there might be in the copies in his time, when he said it is written, unum sunt—they are one. And therefore Cyprian's words seem still to be a firm testimony to v. 7 , and an intimation likewise that a forger of the text would have scarcely so exactly hit upon the apostolical name for the second witness in heaven, the Word. Them, [3.] As only this apostle records the history of the water and blood flowing out of the Saviour's side, so it is he only, or he principally, who registers to us the Saviour's promise and prediction of the Holy spirit's coming to glorify him, and to testify of him, and to convince the world of its own unbelief and of his righteousness, as in his gospel, ch. xiv. 16, 17, 26; xv. 26; xvi. 7-15 . It is most suitable then to the diction and to the gospel of this apostle thus to mention the Holy Ghost as a witness for Jesus Christ. Then,

(5.) It was far more easy for a transcriber, by turning away his eye, or by the obscurity of the copy, it being obliterated or defaced on the top or bottom of a page, or worn away in such materials as the ancients had to write upon, to lose and omit the passage, than for an interpolator to devise and insert it. He must be very bold and impudent who could hope to escape detection and shame; and profane too, who durst venture to make an addition to a supposed sacred book. And,

(6.) It can scarcely be supposed that, when the apostle is representing the Christian's faith in overcoming the world, and the foundation it relies upon in adhering to Jesus Christ, and the various testimony that was attended him, especially when we consider that he meant to infer, as he does ( v. 9 ), If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this (which he had rehearsed before) is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. Now in the three witnesses on earth there is neither all the witness of God, nor indeed any witness who is truly and immediately God. The antitrinitarian opposers of the text will deny that either the Spirit, or the water, or the blood, is God himself; but, upon our present reading, here is a noble enumeration of the several witnesses and testimonies supporting the truth of the Lord Jesus and the divinity of his institution. Here is the most excellent abridgment or breviate of the motives to faith in Christ, of the credentials the Saviour brings with him, and of the evidences of our Christianity, that is to be found, I think, in the book of God, upon which single account, even waiving the doctrine of the divine Trinity, the text is worthy of all acceptation.

2. Having these rational grounds on out side, we proceed. The apostle, having told us that the Spirit that bears witness to Christ is truth, shows us that he is so, by assuring us that he is in heaven, and that there are others also who cannot but be true, or truth itself, concurring in testimony with him: For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one, v. 7 .

(1.) Here is a trinity of heavenly witnesses, such as have testified and vouched to the world the veracity and authority of the Lord Jesus in his office and claims, where, [1.] The first that occurs in order is the Father; he set his seal to the commission of the Lord Christ all the while he was here; more especially, First, In proclaiming him at his baptism, Matt. iii. 17 . Secondly, In confirming his character at the transfiguration, Matt. xvii. 5 . Thirdly, In accompanying him with miraculous power and works: If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not; but if I do, though you believe not me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in him, John x. 37, 38 . Fourthly, In avouching at his death, Matt. xxvii. 54 . Fifthly, In raising him from the dead, and receiving him up to his glory: He shall convince the world-of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and you see me no more, John xvi. 10 , and Rom. i. 4 . [2.] The second witness in the Word, a mysterious name, importing the highest nature that belongs to the Saviour of Jesus Christ, wherein he existed before the world was, whereby he made the world, and whereby he was truly God with the Father. He must bear witness to the human nature, or to the man Christ Jesus, in and by whom he redeemed and saved us; and he bore witness, First, By the mighty works that he wrought. John v. 17 , My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Secondly, In conferring a glory upon him at his transfiguration. And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, John i. 14 . Thirdly, In raising him from the dead. John ii. 19 , Destroy this temple, and in three days will I raise it up. [3.] The third witness is the Holy Ghost, or the Holy Spirit, and august, venerable name, the possessor, proprietor, and author of holiness. True and faithful must he be to whom the Spirit of holiness sets his seal and solemn testimony. So he did to the Lord Jesus, the head of the Christian world; and that in such instances as these:— First, In the miraculous production of his immaculate human nature in the virgin's womb. The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, Luke i. 35 , &c. Secondly, In the visible descent upon him at his baptism. The Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape, Luke iii. 22 , &c. Thirdly, In an effectual conquest of the spirits of hell and darkness. If I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come unto you, Matt. xii. 28 . Fourthly, In the visible potent descent upon the apostles, to furnish them with gifts and powers to preach him and his gospel to the world after he himself had gone to heaven, Acts i. 4, 5 ; ii. 2-4 , &c. Fifthly, In supporting the name, gospel, and interest of Christ, by miraculous gifts and operations by and upon the disciples, and in the churches, for two hundred years ( 1 Cor. xii. 7 ), concerning which see Dr. Whitby's excellent discourse in the preface to the second volume of his Commentary on the New Testament. These are witnesses in heaven; and they bear record from heaven; and they are one, it should seem, not only in testimony (for that is implied in their being three witnesses to one and the same thing), but upon a higher account, as they are in heaven; they are one in their heavenly being and essence; and, if one with the Father, they must be one God.

(2.) To these there is opposed, though with them joined, a trinity of witnesses on earth, such as continue here below: And there are three that bear witness on earth, the spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree in one, v. 8 . [1.] Of these witnesses the first is the spirit. This must be distinguished from the person of the Holy Ghost, who is in heaven. We must say then, with the Saviour (according to what is reported by this apostle), that which is born of the Spirit is spirit, John iii. 6 . The disciples of the Saviour are, as well as others, born after the flesh. They come into the world endued with a corrupt carnal disposition, which is enmity to God. This disposition must be mortified and abolished. A new nature must be communicated. Old lusts and corruptions must be eradicated, and the true disciple become a new creature. The regeneration or renovation of souls is a testimony to the Saviour. It is his actual though initial salvation. It is a testimony on earth, because it continues with the church here, and is not performed in that conspicuous astonishing manner in which signs from heaven are accomplished. To this Spirit belong not only the regeneration and conversion of the church, but its progressive sanctification, victory over the world, her peace, and love, and joy, and all that grace by which she is made meet for the inheritance of the saints in light. [2.] The second is the water. This was before considered as a means of salvation, now as a testimony to the Saviour himself, and intimates his purity and purifying power. And so it seems to comprehend, First, The purity of his own nature and conduct in the world. He was holy, harmless, and undefiled. Secondly, The testimony of John's baptism, who bore witness of him, prepared a people for him, and referred them to him, Mark i. 4 , 7 , 8 . Thirdly, The purity of his own doctrine, by which souls are purified and washed. Now you are clean through the word that I have spoken unto you, John xv. 3 . Fourthly, The actual and active purity and holiness of his disciples. His body is the holy catholic church. Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit, 1 Pet. i. 22 . And this signed and sealed by, Fifthly, The baptism that he has appointed for the initiation or introduction of his disciples, in which he signally (or by that sign) says, Except I wash thee, thou hast no part in me. Not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience towards God, 1 Pet. iii. 21 . [3.] The third witness is the blood; this he shed, and this was our ransom. This testifies for Jesus Christ, First, In that it sealed up and finished the sacrifices of the Old Testament, Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Secondly, In that it confirmed his own predictions, and the truth of all his ministry and doctrine, John xviii. 37 . Thirdly, In that it showed unparalleled love to God, in that he would die a sacrifice to his honour and glory, in making atonement for the sins of the world, John xiv. 30, 31 . Fourthly, In that it demonstrated unspeakable love to us; and none will deceive those whom they entirely love, John xiv. 13-15 . Fifthly, In that it demonstrated the disinterestedness of the Lord Jesus as to any secular interest and advantage. No impostor and deceiver ever proposes to himself contempt and a violent cruel death, John xviii. 36 . Sixthly, In that it lays obligation on his disciple to suffer and die for him. No deceiver would invite proselytes to his side and interest at the rate that the Lord Jesus did. You shall be hated of all men for my sake. They shall put you out of their synagogues; and the time comes that whosoever kills you will think that he doeth God service, John xvi. 2 . He frequently calls his servants to a conformity with him in sufferings: Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach, Heb. xiii. 13 . This shows that neither he nor his kingdom is of this world. Seventhly, The benefits accruing and procured by his blood (well understood) must immediately demonstrate that he is indeed the Saviour of the world. And then, Eighthly, These are signified and sealed in the institution of his own supper: This is my blood of the New Testament (which ratifies the New Testament), which is shed for many, for the remission of sins, Matt. xxvi. 28 . Such are the witnesses on earth. Such is the various testimony given to the author of our religion. No wonder if the rejector of all this evidence he judged as a blasphemer of the Spirit of God, and be left to perish without remedy in his sins. These three witnesses (being more different than the three former) are not so properly said to be one as to be for one, to be for one and the same purpose and cause, or to agree in one, in one and the same thing among themselves, and in the same testimony with those who bear record from heaven.

1Jo 5:1-21 . Who Are the Brethren Especially to Be Loved ( 1Jo 4:21 ); Obedience, the Test of Love, Easy through Faith, which Overcomes the World. Last Portion of the Epistle. The Spirit's Witness to the Believer's Spiritual Life. Truths Repeated at the Close: Farewell Warning.

1. Reason why our "brother" ( 1Jo 4:21 ) is entitled to such love, namely, because he is "born (begotten) of God": so that if we want to show our love to God, we must show it to God's visible representative.

Whosoever-- Greek, "Everyone that." He could not be our "Jesus" (God-Saviour) unless He were "the Christ"; for He could not reveal the way of salvation, except He were a prophet: He could not work out that salvation, except He were a priest: He could not confer that salvation upon us, except He were a king: He could not be prophet, priest, and king, except He were the Christ [Pearson, Exposition of the Creed].

born-- Translate, "begotten," as in the latter part of the verse, the Greek being the same. Christ is the "only-begotten Son" by generation; we become begotten sons of God by regeneration and adoption.

every one that loveth him that begat-- sincerely, not in mere profession ( 1Jo 4:20 ).

loveth him also that is begotten of him-- namely, "his brethren" ( 1Jo 4:21 ).

2. By-- Greek, "In." As our love to the brethren is the sign and test of our love to God, so (John here says) our love to God (tested by our "keeping his commandments") is, conversely, the ground and only true basis of love to our brother.

we know-- John means here, not the outward criteria of genuine brotherly love, but the inward spiritual criteria of it, consciousness of love to God manifested in a hearty keeping of His commandments. When we have this inwardly and outwardly confirmed love to God, we can know assuredly that we truly love the children of God. "Love to one's brother is prior, according to the order of nature (see on 1Jo 4:20 ); love to God is so, according to the order of grace ( 1Jo 5:2 ). At one time the former is more immediately known, at another time the latter, according as the mind is more engaged in human relations or in what concerns the divine honor" [Estius]. John shows what true love is, namely, that which is referred to God as its first object. As previously John urged the effect, so now he urges the cause. For he wishes mutual love to be so cultivated among us, as that God should always be placed first [Calvin].

3. this is-- the love of God consists in this.

not grievous-- as so many think them. It is "the way of the transgressor" that "is hard." What makes them to the regenerate "not grievous," is faith which "overcometh the world" ( 1Jo 5:4 ): in proportion as faith is strong, the grievousness of God's commandments to the rebellious flesh is overcome. The reason why believers feel any degree of irksomeness in God's commandments is, they do not realize fully by faith the privileges of their spiritual life.

4. For-- (See on 1Jo 5:3 ). The reason why "His commandments are not grievous." Though there is a conflict in keeping them, the sue for the whole body of the regenerate is victory over every opposing influence; meanwhile there is a present joy to each believer in keeping them which makes them "not grievous."

whatsoever-- Greek, "all that is begotten of God." The neuter expresses the universal whole, or aggregate of the regenerate, regarded as one collective body Joh 3:6 ; 6:37 , 39 , "where Bengel remarks, that in Jesus' discourses, what the Father has given Him is called, in the singular number and neuter gender, all whatsoever; those who come to the Son are described in the masculine gender and plural number, they all, or singular, every one. The Father has given, as it were, the whole mass to the Son, that all whom He gave may be one whole: that universal whole the Son singly evolves, in the execution of the divine plan."

overcometh-- habitually.

the world-- all that is opposed to keeping the commandments of God, or draws us off from God, in this world, including our corrupt flesh, on which the world's blandishments or threats act, as also including Satan, the prince of this world ( Joh 12:31 ; 14:30 ; 16:11 ).

this is the victory that overcometh-- Greek aorist, "... that hath (already) overcome the world": the victory (where faith is) hereby is implied as having been already obtained ( 1Jo 2:13 ; 4:4 ).

5. Who-- "Who" else "but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God:" "the Christ" ( 1Jo 5:1 )? Confirming, by a triumphant question defying all contradiction, as an undeniable fact, 1Jo 5:4 , that the victory which overcomes the world is faith. For it is by believing: that we are made one with Jesus the Son of God, so that we partake of His victory over the world, and have dwelling in us One greater than he who is in the world ( 1Jo 4:4 ). "Survey the whole world, and show me even one of whom it can be affirmed with truth that he overcomes the world, who is not a Christian, and endowed with this faith" [Episcopius in Alford].

6. This-- the Person mentioned in 1Jo 5:5 . This Jesus.

he that came by water and blood-- "by water," when His ministry was inaugurated by baptism in the Jordan, and He received the Father's testimony to His Messiahship and divine Sonship. Compare 1Jo 5:5 , "believeth that Jesus is the Son of God," with Joh 1:33 , 34, "The Spirit ... remaining on Him ... I saw and bare record that this is the Son of God"; and 1Jo 5:8 , below, "there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood." Corresponding to this is the baptism of water and the Spirit which He has instituted as a standing seal and mean of initiatory incorporation with Him.

and blood-- He came by "the blood of His cross" (so "by" is used, He 9:12 : "by," that is, with, "His own blood He entered in once into the holy place"): a fact seen and so solemnly witnessed to by John. "These two past facts in the Lord's life are this abiding testimony to us, by virtue of the permanent application to us of their cleansing and atoning power."

Jesus Christ-- not a mere appellation, but a solemn assertion of the Lord's Person and Messiahship.

not by, &c.-- Greek, "not IN the water only, but IN the water and IN (so oldest manuscripts add) the blood." As "by" implies the mean through, or with, which He came: so "in," the element in which He came. "The" implies that the water and the blood were sacred and well-known symbols. John Baptist came only baptizing with water, and therefore was not the Messiah. Jesus came first to undergo Himself the double baptism of water and blood, and then to baptize us with the Spirit-cleansing, of which water is the sacramental seal, and with His atoning blood, the efficacy of which, once for all shed, is perpetual in the Church; and therefore is the Messiah. It was His shed blood which first gave water baptism its spiritual significancy. We are baptized into His death: the grand point of union between us and Him, and, through Him, between us and God.

it is the Spirit, &c.-- The Holy Spirit is an additional witness (compare 1Jo 5:7 ), besides the water and the blood, to Jesus' Sonship and Messiahship. The Spirit attested these truths at Jesus' baptism by descending on Him, and throughout His ministry by enabling Him to speak and do what man never before or since has spoken or, done; and "it is the Spirit that beareth witness" of Christ, now permanently in the Church: both in the inspired New Testament Scriptures, and in the hearts of believers, and in the spiritual reception of baptism and the Lord's Supper.

because the Spirit is truth-- It is His essential truth which gives His witness such infallible authority.

28-31

CHAPTER 20

Ver. 19.Then the same day at evening, on the first day of the week. Or the feast of the Pasch. (See notes on Mat_28:1.)

When the doors were shut. Calvin says that Christ opened the doors, or entered through an open window, so as not to be compelled to admit that one dimension could penetrate anotherpenetratio dimensionum, or that two bodies could exist together in the same place, which Durandus (in iv. dist. 44, Quæst. vi.) says is even beyond the power of God. But S. John here intimates the contrary, for he says that the doors were shut, to signify that Christ passed through the closed doors, as He did both at His conception and nativity, and passed through the stone when He rose from the grave, thus manifesting the almighty power of His Godhead, and the gifts conferred upon His glorified Body. On this subject see Bellarmine, de Eucharistia, iii. 6, who quotes both Greek and Latin fathers on this point. As S. Augustine, "The closed doors opposed not His Body. Let us grant that God can do anything, which we admit, though we cannot understand. It all turns on the power of the Creator." (S. Ambrose on Luke 24; S. Hilary, de Trin. lib. iii.; S. Justin Martyr, Resp. ad Græcor Quæstiones; Epiphanius, Hæresi, lxiv.) "As our Lord rose from the grave, not by raising up another Body, but the very same, changing it into the subtile nature of a spirit, thus He entered the closed doors, a thing impossible to our gross bodies," &c. (Origen). And S. Cyril, "The Lord entered suddenly, the doors being closed, overcoming the ordinary nature of things by His omnipotence; for being true God, He is not under the power of nature." And Euthymius, quoting S. Chrysostom, "He did not knock at the doors, lest they should be alarmed, but as God entered through them, though closed."

Tropologically. Christ appears to those who have closed the doors of their mind to the world and the flesh, and gives them unexpectedly the sweetest peace. As S. Gregory (Lib. iv. in Lib. i. Reg. cap. v.) says, "They have their doors closed, who keep their bodies strictly guarded against human frailty and carelessness. They too are within, because they rest in the inward love of the life above. And the Lord appears to them on His Resurrection, because they behold His glory the more clearly, the more strictly they despise the world and imitate the mystery of His Passion. And they too can be filled with His Spirit within, because they enjoy His gifts and graces in abundance who have trained themselves for their enjoyment by despising the things of sight."

And stood. Without any previous sign of His coming, with the swiftness of thought.

Tropologically. S. Bernard says (Serm. vi. de Ascens.), "Thou art deceived, 0 Thomas, in hoping to see the Lord when separated from the company of the Apostles. The truth loves not holes and corners, takes no pleasure in places apart. He stands in the midst, that is, He takes pleasure in common discipline, common life, common studies."

And saith unto them, Peace be unto you. This is the usual Hebrew mode of greeting, for peace brings with it every good, war every evil.

Ver. 20.And when He had so said, He showed them His hands and His side. It is clear from this verse (and still more clearly from

ver. 27) that Christ after His Resurrection retained not only the scars, but even the very holes, of His wounds, and that really and not in appearance. So S. Augustine teaches in answer to Porphyrius (Epist. xlix. [al cii.] ad Deogratias). He did not fill them up with His glorified flesh, but left them open, in order that they might be incontrovertible proofs of the truth of His Body, and of Its Resurrection. So S. Cyril and Leontius.  S. Augustine says (in loc.), "The nails had wounded His hands, the spear had pierced His side, and the marks of the wounds were left, to heal the hearts of the doubtful." 2. This was a sign of His victory over sin, the world, the flesh, and the devil. So S. Augustine and S. Ambrose in Luke (cap. ult.) 3. To inspire us with greater confidence, inasmuch as Christ, by displaying these wounds to the Father, intercedes for us. See S. Anselm on Heb. 9 and [Pseudo]-Cyprian, de Baptismo Christi. 4. To enkindle our love, and to lead us in return willingly to bear even death itself for His sake. So S. Ambrose (ut supra), and S. Gregory in Son_3:5. That Christ might in the day of judgment convict Jews and reprobates of impiety and ingratitude, in neglecting such great grace. So S. Augustine. All theologians teach us (as well as S. Cyril, xii. 58) that Christ carried these wounds into heaven, and will retain them for ever. See Zec_13:6, Joh_19:37. It was miraculously so ordered by God that these wounds interfered not with the actions and motions of His Body. (See Suarez, iii. part, Quæst. xliv., Disput. xlvii. art. 4, sect. 2.)

S. Augustine accordingly thinks (de civ. xxii. 20) that it will be thus with the wounds of the martyrs. He thus writes, "Are we so inspired with love for the martyrs as to wish to behold in their bodies the scars of the wounds which they suffered for Christ? And it may be we shall see them. For this will not be a deformity, but an honour; and even though some of their limbs have been cut off, yet will they not appear without them at the resurrection. For it was said to them, 'Not a hair of your head shall perish.'" He adds, and "these proofs of their virtue must not be counted as defects."

S. Cyril (ut supra) seems to deny this; but he is not speaking of martyrs, but of those who have some natural defect, as those who are blind, deaf, &c. These will rise again with all their faculties.

Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord, and recognised Him by His wounds.  S. Augustine (de Civ. xxii. 19) says, "The brightness with which the righteous will shine as the sun, seems to have rather been veiled in Christ's person than wanting. For man's feeble sight could not have endured it, when steadily looking at Him, in order to recognise Him."

They were glad, not only because they saw that Christ was risen, but also because they hoped that all His gracious promises would now be made good.

Ver. 21.Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you. Why again? The Interlinear Gloss says, "It was a repeated confirmation, Peace upon peace, according to the prophet." Bede says, "He repeats it, because the virtue of charity is twofold, or because He is the peace who makes both one." The Gloss, "He offers peace, who came for the sake of peace; and He repeats His words to show that all things whether in heaven or in earth are restored to peace through Him." S. Chrysostom, "Because they were waging an unappeasable contest with the Jews." He proclaims peace in order to console them, and sets forth also the power of the cross, by which He drove away all sorrow, and conferred every good, which is peace. But a further joy was announced to the women, for they had to bear the curse, "in sorrow shalt thou bring forth," and they were indeed in sorrow.

As My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you. With like power, authority, end, mode, and love.

Observe here by this word 'as' Christ in a manner puts His Apostles on an equality with Himself, that is proportionately, as His successors and vicars. This word signifies likeness in office; with the same power and special authority with which the Father sent Me to found His Church, do I send you as its teachers and rulers (as I am Myself), that ye may have power to remit sin, as I also have. So Rupertus, S. Cyril, Theophylact, who maintain that by these words Christ made His Apostles His Vicars, the teachers and pastors of the world, and communicated to them His own office and authority, that is to say, all ecclesiastical authority, in fact made them Bishops. But Turrianus thinks that they were created Bishops on the day of Pentecost, as he writes in his notes on the Apostolic Constitution, vi. 11. Bellarmine (de Rom. Pontif, i. 24), following Turrecremata, thinks that only S. Peter was ordained Bishop by our Lord, and that the other Apostles were ordained by S. Peter. Suarez considers it more probable that all the Apostles were ordained Bishops by Christ, though not certain as to time and place (see Tract de Fide, Disput. v. sect. 1 num. 8). S. Augustine takes this latter view (Quæst. xcviii. in Quæst. N. and Vet. Test.) (2.) The word 'as' signifies similarity of origin. The beginning of Christ's mission, as also that of the Apostles, was God Himself. (3.) It signifies likeness of object or end, that is, the propagation of the faith and the salvation of the world. So S. Cyril and Leontius. (4.) Likeness of mode, that ye way confirm your teaching by miracles, as I have confirmed Mine. (5.) Likeness of mutual love. As the Father sent Me to shed My blood from love of Him, with the same love do I send you. For it is a mark of the supreme love of God when He makes any one his witness and martyr.

Hear S. Gregory. "In sending you forth among the perils of persecutors, I love you with the same love that the Father had to Me, when He sent Me to endure My Passion."

Ver. 22.And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Why did He breathe on them? (1.) To signify the nature of the Holy Spirit, as proceeding both from Him and the Father. For as a man by breathing on another imparts to him his breath, so the Father and the Son by breathing produce the Holy Spirit, and communicate to Him their Spirit and Godhead. So S. Augustine (in loc.), Cyril, Bede, and others. This breathing was not the Holy Spirit Himself, but a sign of Him: so that it means, Receive by this breathing,-as by a sign and instrumental cause, the gift of the Holy Spirit.

(2.) To signify that the Holy Spirit was consubstantial with Himself and the Father. (3.) To show that it was He who first breathed into Adam the breath of life. As if He would say, I first gave Adam his natural life by breathing on him, so by breathing on you, do I give you that Holy Spirit which bestows on you supernatural and divine life. I who first created men, am now their re-creator and restorer. See S. Cyril (Lib. xii. 56), Leontius, Euthymius, and S. Athanasius (Quæst. lxiv. ad Antiochum). (4.)  S. Cyril and S. Basil (de Spir. Sancto, cap. xvi.) and S. Ambrose (Serm. xx. in Ps. cxviii. [cxix.]) say that Christ, by these words, signified that He breathed into Adam not only breath but grace, and because he had lost grace by sin He restored it in this way to the Apostles, and through them to all men, being in fact the restorer of grace. He seems to say, Receive ye the Spirit which ye lost in Adam's person by sin. Breathe Him forth on penitents in the sacrament of penance, remit through Him their sins and restore them to the life of the Spirit by grace. Hear S. Cyril. "Man was at first made by the Word of God, and God breathed into him the breath of life, and strengthened him by the imparting of His Spirit. But since he fell by disobedience, God the Father refashioned him, and brought him to new life by His Son. And we may learn that as it was He who in the beginning created our nature, and sealed it by His Holy Spirit, so when He began the renewal of our nature, He gives the Spirit to the disciples by breathing on them, that just as we were created by Him at first, we may in like manner also be renewed by Him.

Symbolically. This breathing represents sin as a black cloud. For as a cloud is dispersed by the wind, so is every cloud of sin driven away by the breath of the Spirit. See Is. xliv. And again, it represents the judiciary power of remitting sins, which is exercised by the breath of the voice which says, I absolve thee.

Tropologically. It denotes that a Priest, in order to remit sin, should possess a mighty spirit, charity, and zeal, so as to breathe on penitents and lead them to true penitence, sorrow, and repentance, and thus dispose them for the remission of their sins. And so we see Confessors who are gifted with mighty resolution, wound with the spirit of their mouth many and great sinners, and convert them to holiness. Just as we read that S. Ambrose, when hearing the sins of those who confessed to him, was wont to weep, and thus by his own tears lead them to tears and contrition.

Receive ye the Holy Ghost. The Apostles had already received the Holy Ghost in Baptism and Holy Communion. But they were about to receive His fulness, according to Christ's promise, at Pentecost, in order to the conversion of the Gentiles, when the Holy Spirit descending on them visibly in form of fiery tongues, filled them to the full with all His gifts, and especially with the power of preaching. But here He confers on them the Holy Ghost for another purpose, the remission of sin. "Receive ye the Holy Ghost," that is, power to remit sins by the Holy Ghost. So Theophylact, Euthymius, and Rupertus. This signifies that He came as was prophesied by Isaiah (xxvii. 9), and that both Christ and the Father gave the Holy Ghost. And from hence it is clear that the Holy Ghost is given, not merely by grace making us acceptable (to God), but also by grace given freely, as is the power of remitting sins, which is given to priests even in mortal sin, when they are ordained. For the Holy Ghost is the primary author of grace who works in the sacrament, and by it remits sins, even though its minister be an ungodly man. Whence Cyril and Chrysostom thus expound the passage, Receive the Holy Ghost, that is, the power of remitting sin by the Holy Ghost, co-operating with you in that sacrament and remitting sins. And again, by the Holy Ghost you must understand with S. Augustine (in loc.), and S. Ambrose (Serm. x. in Ps. cxviii. [cxix.]), the very grace and charity of the Holy Ghost. For this was infused into the Apostles more fully and abundantly, and is likewise by the power of the sacrament of order infused into priests at their ordination (unless they put an obstacle and choose to continue in their sins, and refuse to be contrite for their past sins), so that they may duly and without sin administer the sacrament of penitence, and absolve sinners. For a priest who absolves others ought to be free from sin; if not, he is guilty of sin, and yet truly absolves sinners. From these words it is clear that the Holy Ghost has the primary and highest power of forgiving sins, and that He communicated this power to the Apostles, and accordingly that He Himself is truly God. (So S. Basil, Lib. v. contra Eunomium; S. Ambrose, Lib. iii. ch. 19, de Spir. Sancto, and S. Chrysostom, Hom. vi. on 2 Cor.) The same power is indeed common to the whole Holy Trinity, but specially belongs to the Holy Ghost, as do Goodness and Love, and all the work of sanctification, just as Power specially belongs to the Father, and to the Son Wisdom, and all its works.

2. Observe that the Holy Ghost and His power of remitting sins are here given them, not only for their own sakes, as about to be judges of sinners in the tribunal of penitence, but also for the sake of penitent sinners themselves. And consequently the same power is given even to wicked priests when they are ordained, as the power of judging in a secular court can be given to a wicked judge. But yet if they dispose themselves by penitence to the right reception of the Sacrament of Ordination, they will receive therein the Holy Ghost even to their own sanctification, to make them the more fit to sanctify others (penitents, for instance), as was here done to the Apostles.

3.  S. Cyril (and Maldonatus after him) remarks that the Holy Ghost was here conferred on S. Thomas, even though absent, and with it the consequent power of remitting sins, just as the spirit of prophecy was given by Moses to Eldad and Medad who were absent. But the contrary opinion seems more true. For Thomas was then unbelieving and incapable of receiving the Holy Spirit, and accordingly the Holy Ghost was given him on the eighth day when Christ appeared to him, and converted him by showing him His wounds. So Toletus, Ribera, and others.

Lastly, notice this act of Christ as an example for ecclesiastical ceremonies. Christ, by the ceremony of breathing on them, gave the Apostles the Holy Ghost and the power of remitting sins. Therefore ecclesiastical ceremonies are not useless, frivolous, and superstitious, but seemly, efficacious, and sacred.

Ver. 23.Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained. Calvin twists and turns this to make it mean the preaching of the Gospel, namely, that they to whom ye preach the Gospel, if they believe it, will have their sins forgiven by their mere belief. But every one sees that this explanation is strained, forced, foolish, and ridiculous. For in this way it would not be the Apostles, but believers themselves who would themselves remit their own sins, which is absurd. For no one is judge in his own case, or stands higher than himself, so as to remit his own sins. (2.) These two things, viz., preaching the Gospel and remitting sins, are clearly dissimilar and distinct, the one being the work of an Apostle in preaching, the other the judicial act of a judge. (3.) The Gospel must be preached to all: and consequently this absolution of Calvin's must be given even to all the wicked. But Christ wishes not that all sins should be remitted, but orders that some should be retained, and that the Apostles and their successors should be judges in this matter. (4.) Christ had already given the Apostles power to preach (Luke x. 1), and commanded them to preach to every creature. Why then should He repeat all this in such obscure and unintelligible words?

I say therefore, it is a matter of faith to understand this passage of the sacrament of penance, wherein the priest, as judge, remits not only the punishment but also the guilt of penitents who accuse themselves in confession. This is clear from the words themselves, all of which signify that a judicial power of remitting or retaining sins was here given to the Apostles as judges in the tribunal of conscience. For so all the Fathers and the whole Church in every age understood the words. See Council of Trent, sess. xiv. can. 3 and 1. Bellarmine quotes the testimonies of the Fathers (De Pœnit. iii 2), and amongst them S. Gregory, who says, "They hold the chief place in the Divine judgment, so as in the place of God to retain some men's sins, and remit the sins of others."

The meaning then is, "I give you by the Spirit the power of Order, which a man can have even when in sin, and I confer on you at the same time grace and sanctification, to enable you to exercise this power in a worthy and holy manner, not merely for the salvation of others, but also for your own. And ye will really remit sins as my ministers, and not merely announce that they are remitted, and whosesoever sins ye retain, either with some, because they do not come to you, or others because ye will consider them undeserving of absolution, are retained in heaven by God."

You may say, Cyril explains this passage as speaking of the preaching of the Gospel. I reply, Cyril does not explain these latter words, as speaking of the preaching of the Gospel, but the former words, "As the Father sent Me, even so send I you." But you will say again, Cyril says that sins are remitted in two ways, by Baptism and repentance. But I reply, "This is true, but not to the point. Christ is properly speaking of the tribunal of Penance, but Cyril extends His words to include Baptism. Christ is here speaking of the judicial remission of sins, which is to be had specially, not in Baptism, but in the sacrament of Penance only." See S. Chrysostom (Lib. iii. and vi. De Sacerdotio), where he shows that priests are of higher honour than not only kings but even angels, who have not the power of remitting sins.

Moreover, Christ by here instituting the tribunal of Penance, sanctioned, in this very way, Sacramental Confession, and enjoins it by Divine right. For sins cannot be remitted in this tribunal unless they are known, nor can they be known, unless they are confessed, for they are frequently secret; nay more, hidden in the mind. It is therefore necessary that the penitent should act as his own accuser, and should be at the same time a criminal, an accuser, and a witness against himself, and should humbly ask pardon of the priest, as his judge, for the sins whereof he accuses himself, and for which he is penitent. But if the priest sees that he is truly penitent, he will pronounce the sentence of absolution, and will, in the Name of Christ, as His Vicar, pardon all his sins. For Christ ratifies the sentence of His priest, and pardons everything which His priest pardons, and what he retains, Christ also retains. For Christ in the Gospel often bids men to repent of their sins. But this they should do in the way which Christ instituted, that is, by submitting to the Sacrament of Penance, that is, by confessing their sins to the priest, and asking him for absolution. See Council of Trent, sess. xiv. cap. v. Cajetan therefore is wrong in saying that Confession is not here enjoined. This error is a heresy since that Council, but Cajetan lived before it.

And whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained. This does not signify merely a refusal of absolution, but positive power. For it means, Those whom ye count unworthy of absolution, on account of their unfitness, whom ye reject, and consider guilty of sin, and deserving of hell, God will judge in like manner, who alone primarily and by His own authority forgives or retains sins. It belongs to God alone to condemn an offence against Himself. But in this matter He appoints priests to be as it were His Vicars. See Matt. xviii. 18. If a priest sees that a penitent has not serious sorrow for his sins, or no serious purpose of amendment, as refusing, e.g., to give up his concubine, or other occasions of sin, or who will not restore the good name or the wealth which he has stolen from his neighbour, the priest ought to refuse such a one absolution, to judge that he is unfit for absolution, and that he must abide in his sin, and incur the guilt of hell.

Lastly, observe that though the Apostles were ordained priests before His Passion, and at His last supper after the institution of the Eucharist with these words, Do this, &c., yet they then received only the power of consecrating the Eucharist; but after Christ's resurrection they received from Him another power, that of remitting sins. These are two different powers, and can be divided and separated from each other. For Christ had this pre-eminent power of appointing priests in a different way from that in which they were afterwards to be appointed. For now in the ordination of priests the matter is the Chalice and Paten with the Bread and Wine, the form being, "Receive thou power to offer sacrifice." And when the bishop delivers these vessels to any one, pronouncing these words, he makes him a perfect priest, and confers on him both the power of remitting sins and also of offering sacrifice. So that when he says afterwards, "Receive thou power to remit, sins" these words are not of the essence of the form, but merely declare the power which was given in those former words. (See Soto, Contr. Paludanem in iv. Dist. 24, Quæst. i., art. 4; and Gregory de Valentia, Tract de Ordine, disp. 9, Quæst. 1, punct. 5.)

Ver. 24.But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didimus, was not with them when Jesus came. Didymus means a twin. See notes on. chap. xi. 16. But here he is so called (double, doubtful) because he wavered and doubted as to Christ's resurrection. He was at that time weaker than the other Apostles, but afterwards (after Christ again appeared) was bolder and more full of faith than all of them, inasmuch as he alone traversed nearly the whole world in preaching the Gospel. Stapleton (de Vita Thomæ) says that he went to the furthest part of India, to Abyssinia and China, and even to America.

Was not with them. S. Chrysostom, Theophylact, and Euthymius suppose that having fled away with the other Apostles, he had not yet returned. But S. Augustine, Bede, Lyranus, D. Thomas, and others say in reply that he was with the other Apostles when the two disciples returned from Emmaus, but that he disbelieved their story, and went away. It is supposed that when S. Luke says (xxiv. 11), "their words seemed to them as idle tales," he was referring to S. Thomas.

Ver. 25.The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe.

Thomas sinned in this(1) by unbelief, (2) by obstinacy, (3) by pride, (4) by irreverence (for when all the other Apostles said that He had risen, he obstinately stood out, and refused to believe, (5) by presumption, because he would not believe, unless he thrust his hands into the wounds (canst thou then presume, 0 Thomas, to lay down laws for Christ?), (6) by persisting in this unbelief for eight days when, it may be, the Mother of Christ urged him to believeto be not merely unbelieving as to the mode of the resurrection (as S. Ambrose supposes), but even as to its truth, as though the other Apostles were taken in and deceived, having seen only a ghost or phantom, and not Christ Himself (See Origen, Lib. ii. Contr. Celsum; S. Augustine, Lib. xvi. Contra Faust. cap. 33; and S. Gregory, Hom. xxvi.)

Besides, this unbelief of S. Thomas' arose partly from his not believing Christ to be God. For had he believed this, he would easily have understood that Christ could have raised His Body to life again, and it is surprising that Cyril should say that Thomas believed Him to be God; and it partly arose from His excessive sorrow, especially because he alone had not seen Christ at the same time as the other Apostles. This wounded him much, and caused him to utter these bitter words. So Cyril, xii. 57. But God allowed it to be thus, in order that Thomas and we should be confirmed in humility, and in belief in the resurrection by this fresh appearance of Christ. So S. Gregory, Hom. xxvi., S. Augustine, Serm. clxi. (opus spurium), and others.

The print. In Vulgate, fixura, "the driving in" the mark which the nails made. (Pseudo)-Augustine (Serm. clix.) says, "He was seeking for the hands and the side, and while he was too curiously (dwelling on the wounds, he risked the death of his faith. The Lord wished him to see Him lest he should lose his soul by unbelief."

Ver. 26.And after eight days. The eighth day after the Lord's resurrection, the Octave of the Passover, when we commemorate this mystery, and read this Gospel. And from this S. Cyril observes that the Apostles, from these appearances of Christ, began from this time to hold the assemblies of the Church on the Lord's day, and to consecrate it, as it were, because He rose on that day, and thus guided the Apostles to observe the Lord's day instead of the Sabbath.

Again His disciples where within, in that upper chamber before mentioned. It is therefore far from probable, as S. Jerome (in Matt. ult.), Rupertus, and Ribera here suppose, that Christ appeared to S. Thomas and the Apostles, not in Jerusalem, but in Galilee, where He afterwards appeared, not only to the Apostles, but to all the disciples.

And Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst and said, Peace be unto you. Notice here, the wondrous condescension of Christ, who, in order to convert this unbelieving and obstinate Thomas, offered Himself a second time, not only to be seen, but also to be handled by him. And this He did, not for his sake only, but for the sake of the other Apostles, to strengthen both them and us also in the belief of His resurrection.

Ver. 27.Then saith He to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold My hands, and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into My side. Behold the kindness of Christ in humbling Himself to all Thomas' requests, and in all things complying with his wishes, in order to convert him. See, says S. Chrysostom, how for one single soul He displays His wounds, and because he was somewhat dull of comprehension seeks to give him proof by means of the dullest of his senses, I mean his touch.

And be not faithless, but believing. Thou thinkest, forsooth, that I did not know what thou saidst of Me when I was not present. But rest assured that I knew, and was present to hear thy words of unbelief. Do then as thou hast said, I offer thee My wounded hands and side to touch and handle, nay more, that thou mayest measure them with thy hand, that so thou mayest lay aside thy unbelief, and believe henceforth that I have risen, I the very same that hung on the Cross, and no other. And in this way Christ heals another wound of unbelief, for He shows that He knows even all secrets, and is a searcher of hearts, and consequently God. He therefore radically cures the disease, for Thomas did not believe that Christ had risen, because he did not believe Him to be God.

It may be asked whether Thomas really touched Christ's wounds. The Gloss doubts it. Euthymius denies it. But S. Augustine (in loc.) thinks the contrary. For he says, "He saw and touched the man, and confessed the God, whom he neither saw nor touched; but by means of that which he saw and touched, his doubts were all removed and he believed. So, too, S. Cyril, Theophylact, and Bede, and S. Chrysostom seems to be of the same opinion. Nor can it be thought that when the Lord said, "Reach hither thy finger," John would have omitted to state, if this had not been done, and that Thomas believed without having touched Him.

Besides, this was an express command, which Thomas doubtless obeyed. And He intended to leave thus a convincing proof of His resurrection to believers of all ages. Whence S. Augustine (Serm. cxlvii. [al. ccxlii.]), "He wished to exhibit in His flesh the scars of His wounds to some who doubted, to heal the wound of their unbelief." And S. Ambrose (in ult. Lucæ), "He would teach me by His touch, as Paul also taught." Hear S. Gregory (Hom. xxvi.): "This took place not by chance, but by Divine ordering. For the mercy of God wrought in wondrous wise, so that the doubting disciple, by touching the wounds in his Master's body, healed in us the wounds of unbelief. For the unbelief of Thomas availed more to confirm our faith, than even the faith of the disciples who believed. For while he is by his touch brought back to belief, our mind, putting aside all doubt, is confirmed in the faith." Again [Pseudol Augustine, Serm. clxi. [clxxii. in Append.], "Thomas being a holy, believing, and righteous man, carefully inquired into all these points, not as having any doubt himself, but to do away with the slightest suspicion of unbelief. For it would have sufficed for his own faith to have seen Him whom he knew. But it was for us that he brought it about that he touched Him whom he beheld. So that we might perchance say that our eyes were deceived, but we could not say that our hands had missed their mark. For we might have some doubt as to what we see in the dazzling glory of the resurrection, but we can have no doubt as to what we touch."

But it may be urged, Christ said, "See My hands." He did not say, Touch My hands. "Thomas therefore saw, but did not touch them." I answer, By seeing is meant, you may see by your very touchmay know assuredly that I who was crucified have risenthe very same person. "The sight," says S. Augustine (in loc.), "is a kind of general sense, and the noblest of all," and is here taken for any sense, even that of touch. See notes on Exo_20:10.

2. But it is said, "The glorified Body of Christ is subtile, and cannot be touched." S. Cyril, Chrysostom, Leontius, Theophylact say that it was by divine ordering here touched by Thomas, to furnish proof of the resurrection. For this kind of resistance, which exists in a body (wherewith one body resists another, and is, therefore capable of being touched) which is the property of bulk, is in the power of Christ and the Blessed, so as to remain, or be taken away by God, as they wish. And so also as regards their visibility, so that Christ was seen when He wished it, and not seen when He did not wish it. See notes on Luke ult.

Ver. 28.Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and my God. This was after he had fully ascertained that it was indeed Christ Himself, who had received these wounds on the cross, and who was now alive again. See Tertullian, de Anima, cap. xxviii.; S. Ambrose, in Ps. xliii. (xliv.); S. Hilary, de Trinit. Lib. iii.; S. Cyril, xii. 58; S. Gregory, Hom. xxvi.

My Lord and my God. That is, Thou art my Lord and my God. Thus showing that He was Very and true God by nature. Thomas here humbly and penitently confesses and condemns his former incredulity, with great profession of faith, hope, penitence, and love. By the word "Lord" he confesses Christ's human nature, by the word "God" His divine nature. "I," he would say, "because I believed not that thou wast God, did not believe that Thou hadst risen. But now I both believe that Thou art God, and that by the power of Thy Godhead Thou didst raise Thy Body to life again." So St. Hilary (Lib. vii. de Trinit.) and S. Ambrose (in Ps. xliii.), who also adds that the word "Lord" signifies that Christ is our Redeemer as having purchased us by His Blood, and thus becoming our Lord by the right of purchase and redemption. By these words, Suarez says that Thomas offered Christ the adoration of Latria. As S. Augustine said, "He saw and touched the man," &c. (see above on

ver. 27). Consequently the fifth Œcumenical Council (in Constit. Vigilii Papæ) anathematise Theodore of Mopsuestia, who maintained that these words were not a confession of Christ's Godhead, but merely an expression of astonishment. Note the words, "My Lord," &c. For though Christ is the Lord and God of all, yet He is especially mine, having as the good Shepherd sought me, as a sheep that was lost, and I love and venerate Him in return from my inmost soul, as specially my Lord and my God. Thou, 0 Jesus, art my God and my Lord, because by these Thy wounds, which I have now touched, and know to be most real, Thou hast procured and obtained for me that faith with which I believe that Thou hast really risen, and this hope of obtaining grace and glory through the merit of Thy wounds, and such fervent charity as to love Thee most ardently as my God and Lord, and to offer and devote myself entirely to Thee as Thy servant for ever, so as henceforth to wish to do nothing, but that which pleases, lauds, and glorifies Thee. Would that I could lay open and breathe forth this my heartfelt feeling to the whole world! Would that I could proclaim and set forth to all the world this my faith, hope, and love towards Thee! Thus S. Francis frequently used to say, "My God and my all;" and the Royal Prophet, "What have I in heaven but Thee," &c., Psa_73:24.

Ver. 29.Jesus saith unto him, Because thou hast seen Me (that is, touched and thus surely known), thou hast believed. Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed, Because there "faith has greater merit, where human reason does not afford a test," says S. Gregory. He used the past tense, because many had already believed, but does not exclude the present and the future. They both are, and will be blessed, who believe in Me, without seeing.  S. Augustine (in loc.) adds that they who will believe, did already believe in God's foreknowledge and predestination. But this remark is more subtle and acute than solid.

Hence S. Gregory (Hom. xxvi.), S. Hilary (de Trinit. lib. xii.), and S. Augustine (in loc.), say that Thomas saw one thing and believed another: he saw that Christ had risen, he believed that He was God, and consequently had raised Himself. By touching My human nature which has been raised (Christ would say) thou hast believed My Godhead which lay hid within, and which raised it up. For the resurrection of Christ had confirmed all His teachings, one of which was that He was the Messiah the Son of God, who would die on the cross for the salvation of men, and on the third day rise again. All which Thomas believed. Again, that which comes under our senses, which we see and touch, we can believe on divine authority, but for another formal reason. We see a thing because we behold it with our eyes, but we believe it because God has revealed it, especially if our senses can err, or if the matter involve anything which is not seen, as was the case with the resurrection of Christ, which was already past, for Thomas here doubted and was convinced of Christ's resurrection.

Thou wilt reply, that S. Augustine says, Tract xl. (on S. John), Faith is believing what thou seest not. I answer, This is true in the sense that the chief material objects of faith are such as cannot be seen. But the formal object of faith, that is to say, divine revelation, is always of such a kind, that is to say invisible. And therefore Thomas, so far as he beheld Christ, did not formally believe it. But because he saw and heard Christ, when raised, assert the same thing, he believed God, who by the mouth of Christ and the Apostles, stated and revealed to him that it was no phantom in the form of Christ (as he had before supposed), but Christ Himself who had really risen and appeared to the Apostles. Just as we say, "Because thou hast seen miracles, because thou hast heard the Gospel preached, therefore thou hast believed." The word therefore does not signify the reason or the formal cause of belief (for that is only the Divine Revelation), but only the predisposing cause which moves us to believe.

But thirdly, the words can be explained as signifying merely assent, and not properly faith. Just as we believe the things we see and know. So Toletus. Hear S. Gregory: "He touched the man, and confessed Him to be God;" and Theophylact, "He who before was unbelieving, showed himself, after he had touched His side, to be an excellent theologian, in asserting the twofold nature, and the one Person of Christ. For by calling Him Lord he confessed His human nature, and by calling Him God he confessed the divine Nature in one and the same Person."

Ver. 30.And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book. Both through His whole life, and specially after His resurrection (say S. Chrysostom and Theophylact). These latter in the presence of the Apostles only, the others before all the people. Besides these signs which I have just recorded, others were wrought to confirm the truth of the resurrection. And these I have omitted (says S. John) for brevity's sake, and because many of them are recorded by the other evangelists. So S. Thomas, Lyranus, Cajetan, Ribera, Toletus, and others.

S. John seems here to finish his Gospel, as S. Augustine says. The next chapter relates to the mysteries of the Church, and the primacy of S. Peter, to show how rapidly the disciples multiplied, over whom S. Peter was placed as Vicar. Jansenius considers, most improbably, that S. John added some things here, which subsequently occurred to him. But it would seem that the Holy Spirit, and John too, added them for an express purpose, and not merely from memory.

Ver. 31.But these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ (the long-promised Messiah), the Son of God: and that believing ye might have life (of grace here and glory hereafter) through His name, that is, through the merits and satisfaction of Christ, which are applied to us through the sacraments on our faith and obedience. We must therefore believe(1.) That He is the Saviour of the world. (2.) The long-expected Messiah. (3.) That He is God the Son of God. (4.) That He will give eternal life to those who believe in, and obey Him. "For," as S. Gregory says, "He truly believes, who sets forth his belief in his life."

*It is not the title of Ps. lv. in fact, but of Ps. xxi. -- Trans. (Return to the place.)

Check these Ps numbers for typos.

**This is a suppositious work, and is found only in Latin. (Return to the place.)

Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for feel of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and says to them, Peace be to you.20. And when he had so said, he showed to them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.21. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be to you: as my Father has sent me, even so send I you.22. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and says to them, Receive you the Holy Ghost:23. Whosesoever sins you remit, they are remitted to them; and whose soever sins you retain, they are retained.24. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.25. The other disciples therefore said to him, We have seen the Lord. But he said to them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

The disciples, when they heard what Mary told them, were obliged either to disbelieve, or, if they believed, to grieve that He did not count them worthy to have the sight of Him. He did not let them however pass a whole day in such reflections, but in the midst of their longing trembling desires to see Him, presented Himself to them: Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews.

Wherein is strewn the infirmity of the Apostles. They assembled with doors shut, through that same fear of the Jews, which had before scattered them: Came Jesus, and stood in the midst. He came in the evening, because they would be the most afraid at that time.

Or because He waited till all were assembled: and with shut doors, that he might show how that in the very same way he had risen again, i.e. with the stone lying on the sepulcher.

Some are strongly indisposed to believe this miracle, and argue thus: If the same body rose again, which hung upon the Cross, how could that body enter through shut doors? But if you comprehend the mode, it is no miracle: when reason fails, then is faith edified.

The shut door did not hinder the body, wherein Divinity resided. He could enter without open doors, who was as born without a violation of His mother’s virginity

It is wonderful that they did not think him a phantom. But Mary had provided against this, by the faith she had wrought in them. And He Himself too showed Himself so openly, and strengthened their wavering minds by His voice: And says to them, Peace be to you, i.e. Be not disturbed. Wherein too He reminds them; of what He had said before His crucifixion; My peace 1 give to you; and again, In Me you shall have peace.

And because their faith wavered even with the material body before them, He showed them His hands and side: And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side.

The nails had pierced His hands, the lance had pierced His side. For the healing of doubting hearts, the marks of the wounds were still preserved.

And what He had promised before the crucifixion, I shall see you again, and you, heart shall rejoice, is now fulfilled: Then were the disciples glad when they say the Lord.

The glory, wherewith the righteous shall shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father, i.e. in Christ’s body, we must believe to have been rather veiled than not to have been there at all. He accommodated His presence to man’s weak sight, and presented Himself in such form, as that His disciple could look at and recognize Him.

All these things brought them to a most confident faith. As they were in endless war with the Jews, He says again, Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be to you.

A repetition is a confirmation: whether He repeats it because the grace of love is twofold, or because He it is who made of twain one.

At the same time He shows the efficacy of the cross, by which He undoes all evil things, and gives all good things; which is peace. To the women above there was announced joy; for that sex was in sorrow, and had received the curse, In sorrow shall you bring forth. All hindrances then being removed, and every thing made straight, he adds, As My Father has sent Me, even so send I you

The Father sent the Son, appointed Him to the work of redemption. He says therefore, As My Father has sent Me, even so send I you; i.e. I love you, now that I send you to persecution, with the same love wherewith My Father loved Me, when He sent Me to My sufferings.

We have learnt that the Son is A equal to the Father: here He shows Himself Mediator; He Me, and I you.

Having then given them confidence by His own miracles, and appealing to Him who sent Him, He uses a prayer to the Father, but of His own authority gives them power: And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and says to them, Receive you the Holy Ghost.

That corporeal breath was not the substance of the Holy Ghost, but to show, by meet symbol, that the Holy Ghost proceeded not only from the Father, but the Son. For who would be so mad as to say, that it was one Spirit which He gave by breathing, and another which He sent after His ascension?

But why is He first given too the disciples on earth, and afterwards sent from heaven? Because there are two commandments of love, to love God, and to love our neighbor. The spirit to love our neighbor is given on earth, the spirit to love God is given from heaven. As then love is one, and there are two commandments; so the Spirit is one, and there are two gifts of the Spirit. And the first is given by our Lord while yet upon earth, the second from heaven, because by the love of our neighbor we learn how to arrive at the love of God.

Some say that by breathing He did not give them the Spirit, but made them meet to receive the Spirit. For if Daniel’s senses were so overpowered by the sight of the Angel, how would they have been overwhelmed in receiving that unutterable gift, if He had not first prepared them for it! It would not be wrong however to say that they received then the gift of a certain spiritual power, not to raise the dead and do miracles, but to remit sins: Whosoever sins you remit, they are remitted to them, and whosoever sins you retain, they are retained.

The love of the Church, which is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, remits the sins of those who partake of it; but retains the sins of those who do not. Where then He has said, Receive you the Holy Ghost, He instantly makes mention of the remission and retaining of sins.

We must understand that those who first received the Holy Ghost, for innocence of life in themselves, and preaching to a few others, received it openly after the resurrection, that they might profit not a few only, but many. The disciples who were called to such works of humility, to what a height of glory are they led! Lo, not only have they salvation for themselves, but are admitted to the powers of the supreme Judgment-seat; so that, in the place of God, they retain some men’s sins, and remit others. Their place in the Church, the Bishops now hold; who receive the authority to bind, when they are admitted to the ram; of government. Great the honor, but heavy the burden of the place. It is ill if one who knows not how to govern his own life, shall be judge of another’s.

A priest though he may have ordered well his own life, yet, if he have not exercised proper vigilance over others, is sent to hell with the evil doers. Wherefore, knowing the greatness of their danger, pay them all respect, even though they be not men of notable goodness. For they who are in rule, should not be judged by those who are under them. And their incorrectness of life will not at all invalidate what they do by commission from God. For not only cannot a priest, but not even angel or archangel, do any thing of themselves; the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost do all. The priest only furnishes the tongue, and the hand. For it were not just that the salvation of those who come to the Sacraments in faith, should be endangered by another’s wickedness.

At the assembly of the disciples all were present but Thomas, who probably had not returned from the dispersion: But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

Didymus, double or doubtful, because he doubted in believing: Thomas, depth, because with most sure faith he penetrated into the depth of our Lord’s divinity.

It was not an accident that that particular disciple was not present. The Divine mercy ordained that a doubting disciple should, by feeling in his Master the wounds of the flesh heal in us the wounds of unbelief. The unbelief of Thomas is more profitable to our faith, than the belief of the other disciples; for, the touch by which he is brought to believe, confirming our minds in belief, beyond all question.

But why does this Evangelist say that Thomas was absent, when Luke writes that two disciples on their return from Emmaus found the eleven assembled? We must understand that Thomas had gone out, and that in the interval of his absence, Jesus came and stood in the midst.

As to believe directly, and any how, is the mark of too easy a mind, so is too much inquiring of a gross one: and this is Thomas’s fault. For when the Apostle said, We have seen the Lord, he did not believe, not because he discredited them, but from an idea of the impossibility of the thing itself: The other disciples therefore said to him, We have seen the Lord. But he said to them, Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe. Being the grossest of all, he required the evidence of the grossest sense, viz. the touch, and would not even believe his eyes: for he does not say only, Except I shall see, but adds, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side.

And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be to you.27. Then says he to Thomas, Reach hither your finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither your hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.28. And Thomas answered and said to him, My Lord and My God.29. Jesus says to him, Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.30. And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:31. But these are written, that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you might have life through his name.

Consider the mercy of the Lord, how for the sake; of one soul, He exhibits His wounds. And yet the disciples deserved credit, and He had Himself foretold the event. Notwithstanding, because one person, Thomas, would examine Him, Christ allowed him. But He did not appear to him immediately, but waited till the eighth day, in order that the admonition being given in the presence of the disciples, might kindle in him greater desire, and strengthen his faith for the future. And after eight days again His disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be to you.

You ask; If He entered by the shut door, where is the nature of His body? And I reply; If He walked on the sea, where is the weight of His body? The Lord did that as the Lord; and did He, after His resurrection, cease to be the Lord?

Jesus then comes Himself, and does not wait till Thomas interrogates Him. But to show that He heard what Thomas said to the disciples, He uses the same words. And first He rebukes him; Then says He to Thomas, Reach hither your finger, and behold My hands; and reach hither your hand, and thrust it into My side: secondly, He admonishes him; And be not faithless, but believing. Note how that before they receive the Holy Ghost faith wavers, but afterward is firm. We may wonder how an incorruptible body could retain the marks of the nails. But it was done in condescension; in order that they might be sure that it was the very person Who was crucified.

He might, had He pleased, have wiped all spot and trace of wound from His glorified body; but He had reasons for retaining them. He showed them to Thomas, who would not believe except he saw and touched, and He will show them to His enemies, not to say, as He did to Thomas, Because you have seen, you have believed, but to convict them: Behold the Man whom you crucified, see the wounds which you inflicted, recognize the side which you pierced, that it was by you, and for you, that it was opened, and yet you cannot enter there.

We are, as I know not how, afflicted with such love for the blessed martyrs, that we would wish in that kingdom to see on their bodies the marks of those wounds which they have borne for Christ’s sake. And perhaps we shall see them; for they will not have deformity, but dignity, and, though on the body, shine forth not with bodily, but with spiritual beauty. Nor yet, if any of the limbs of martyrs have been cut off, shall they therefore appear without them in the resurrection of the dead; for it is said, There shall not an hair of your head perish. But if it be fit that in that new world, the traces of glorious wounds should still be preserved on the immortal flesh, in the places where the limbs were cut off there, though those same limbs withal be not lost but restored, shall the wounds appear. For though all the blemishes of the body shall then be no more, yet the evidences of virtue are not to be called blemishes.

Our Lord gave that flesh to be touched which He had introduced through shut doors: wherein two wonderful, and, according to human reason, contradictory things appear, viz. that after the resurrection He had a body incorruptible, and yet palpable. For that which is palpable must be corruptible, and that which is incorruptible must be impalpable. But He showed Himself incorruptible and yet palpable, to prove that His body after His resurrection was the same in nature as before, but different in glory.

Our body also in that resurrection to glory will be subtle by means of the action of the Spirit, but palpable by its true nature, not, as Eutychius says, impalpable, and subtler than the winds and the air.

Thomas saw and touched the man, and confessed the. God whom he neither saw nor touched. By means of the one he believed the other undoubtingly: Thomas answered and said to Him, My Lord and My God.

He who had been before unbelieving, after touching the body showed himself the best divine; for he asserted the twofold nature and one Person of Christ; by saying, My Lord, the human nature by saying, My God, the divine, and by joining them both, confessed that one and the same Person was Lord and God.

Jesus says to him, Because you have seen Me, you have believed.

He says not, has touched me, but, has seen me; the sight being a kind of general sense, and put in the place often of the other four senses; as when we say, Hear, and see how well it sounds; smell, and see how sweet it smells; taste, and see how well it tastes, touch, and see how warm it is. Wherefore also our Lord says, Reach hither your finger, and behold My hands. What is this but, Touch and see? And yet he had not eyes in his finger. He refers them both to seeing and to touching, when He says, Because you have seen, you have believed. Although it might be said, that the disciple did not dare to touch, what was offered to be touched.

But when the Apostle says, Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, it is plain that things which are seen, are objects not of faith, but of knowledge. Why then is it said to Thomas who saw and touched, Because you have seen Me, you have believed? Because he saw one thing, believed another; saw the man, confessed the God. But what follows is very gladdening; Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. In which sentence we are specially included, who have not seen Him with the eye, but retain Him in the mind, provided we only develop our faith in good works. For he only really believes, who practices what he believes.

He uses the past tense, in the future to His knowledge having already taken place by His own predestination.

If any one then says, Would that I had lived in those times, and seen Christ doing miracles! let him reflect, Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Here He means the disciples who had believed without seeing the print of the nails, and His side.

John having related less than the other Evangelists, adds, And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book. Yet neither did the others relate all, but only what was sufficient for the purpose of convincing men. He probably here refers to the miracles which our Lord did after His resurrection, and therefore says, In the presence of His disciples, and they being the only persons with whom He conversed after His resurrection.

Then to let you understand, that the miracles were not done for the sake of the disciples only, He adds, But these are written, that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; addressing Himself to mankind generally. And, this belief, he then profits ourselves, not Him in Whom we believe. And that believing you might have life through His name, i.e. through Jesus, which is life.

And the doors were[1] shut, or being shut; and remaining still shut, his glorified body entered by penetration through the doors, as he did at his resurrection. Maldonatus take notice, that Calvin was the first that denied this, against the belief of all the ancient Fathers and interpreters, who call this a miracle of divine power. (Witham) --- The same power which could bring Christ's whole body, entire in all its dimensions, through the doors, can, without the least question, make the same body really present in the sacrament; though both the one and the other be above our comprehension. (Challoner) --- Therefore it is a want of faith to limit the power of Christ, by the ordinary rules of place, and to deny that he can be in the blessed Sacrament, and on so many altars as he pleaseth. We do not still join the Ubiquists or Brentiani, who, quite contrary to the Zuinglians, maintain, that the humanity of Jesus Christ is in every place where his divinity is. This is contrary to faith. (Bristow)

29. Cum fores essent clausæ: januis clausis, Greek: ton thuron kekleismenon. See St. Ambrose, in Psal. cxviii.; St. Augustine, tract. 121. in Joan. De Agone Christiano, chap. 24. 4. 6. p. 257. Epist. ad Volusianum. t. 3. p. 405, where he says, demus Deum aliquid posse, quod nos fateamur investigare non posse. In talibus rebus tota ratio facti est potentia facientis. See St. Cyril on this place, lib. xii. p. 1092, 1103, and 1107. St. John Chrysostom, hom. lxxxv. p. 315. Lat. Ed. and hom. lxxxvii. Ed. Ben. p. 520, Greek: to gar outo lepton kai kouphon os kekleismenon eiselthein ton thuron. &c. See St. Jerome, ad Eustochium in Epitaph. Paulæ. t. 4. p. 685. and lib. i. cont. Jovin. t. 4. p. 178; St. Leo, serm. i. de Resurr.; St. Epiphanius, her. lxiv. p. 593. Ed. Petav. &c.

As the Father hath sent me. The word mission, when applied to our Saviour Christ, sometimes signifies his eternal procession from the Father, and sometimes his mission, as he was sent into the world to become man, and the Redeemer of mankind: the first mission agrees with him, as the eternal Son of God; the second, as man, or as both God and man. The mission which Christ here gives his apostles, is like this latter mission, which this great difference, that graces and divine gifts were bestowed on Christ, even as man, without measure: and the apostles had a much lesser share in both these missions. See St. Augustine, lib. iv. de Trin. chap. xix. xx. tom. 4. p. 829. and seq. (Witham) --- Jesus Christ here shews his commission, and so giveth power to his apostles to forgive sins, as when he gave them commission to preach and baptize throughout the world, he made mention of his own power. Hence, whosoever denies the apostles, and their successors, the right of preaching, baptizing, and remitting sins, must consequently deny that Christ, as man, had the power to do the same. St. Cyprian, in the 3rd century, ep. lxxiii. says: "for the Lord, in the first place, gave to St. Peter, on whom he built his Church, super quem ædificavit Ecclesiam, the power that what he loosed on earth, should be loosed also in heaven. And after his resurrection, he speaks also to his apostles, saying, as the Father sent me, &c. whose sins you shall forgive," &c. Why, on this occasion, passing over the other apostles, does Jesus Christ address Peter alone? Because he was the mouth, and chief of the apostles. (St. John Chrysostom, de Sacerd. lib. ii. chap. 1.)

Receive ye the Holy Ghost. It was said, (John vii. 39.) that the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not glorified. The sense must need be, that the holy Spirit was not given in that solemn manner, nor with so large an effusion of spiritual gifts and graces, till the day of Pentecost, after Christ's ascension: but the just, at all times, from the beginning of the world, were sanctified by the grace of the Holy Ghost, as no doubt the apostles were, before this time. Now at this present, he gave them the power of forgiving sins. (Witham) --- Some say, that our Saviour did not then confer the Holy Ghost on his disciples, but only prepared them for the receiving of the Holy Ghost. But surely we may understand, that even then they received some portion of spiritual grace, the power, not indeed of raising the dead, and working other miracles, but of forgiving sins. (St. John Chrysostom, hom. lxxxv. in Joan.) --- St. Cyril of Alexandria, speaking of the remission of sins, promised in this text, asks, "How then, or why, did Christ impart to his disciples a power, which belongs to the divine Spirit, should likewise possess the power of forgiving sins, and of retaining such as they judged expedient; that Holy Spirit, according to his good pleasure, forgiving and retaining, through the ministry of men." (In Joan. lib. xii. chap. 1.)

Whose sins you shall forgive,[2] &c. These words clearly express the power of forgiving sins, which, as God, he gave to his apostles, and to their successors, bishops and priests, to forgive sins in his name, as his ministers, and instruments, even though they are sinners themselves. For in this, they act not by their own power, nor in their own name, but in the name of God, who as the principal cause, always remitteth sins. This is generally allowed to be done by God's ministers in the sacrament of baptism, as to the remission of original sin; and the Catholic Church has always held the same of God's ministers, in the sacrament of penance. (See the Protestant Common Prayer Book, in the Visitation of the Sick.) --- Whose sins you shall retain, they are retained: by which we see, that to priests is given a power to be exercised, not only by forgiving, but also by retaining; not only by absolving and loosing, but also by binding, by refusing, or deferring absolution, according to the dispositions that are found in sinners, when they accuse themselves of their sins. From hence must needs follow an obligation on the sinner's part, to declare, and confess their sins in particular, to the ministers of God, who are appointed the spiritual judges, and physicians of their souls. A judge must know the cause, and a physician the distemper: the one to pronounce a just sentence, the other to prescribe suitable remedies. (Witham) --- See here the commission, stamped by the broad seal of heaven, by virtue of which, the pastors of Christ's Church absolve repenting sinners upon their confession. (Challoner)

[27.] Whose sins you shall forgive, &c. See St. Cyril, lib. xii. in Joan. p. 1101, Greek: metanoousi sugginoskontes. St. John Chrysostom, hom. lxxxvi. p. 517. nov. Ed., Magna est sacerdotum dignitas, quorum remiseritis peccata, &c. See also lib. iii. de sacerd. t. 1. p. 383. nov. Ed. Ibid., noli esse incredulus, sed fidelis, Greek: kai me ginou apistos, alla pistos.

Thomas ... was not with them. Yet no doubt the like power of forgiving sins was given to him, either at this time or afterwards. See St. Cyril. (Witham)

I will not believe. St. Cyril thinks, that the grief and trouble St. Thomas was under, might partly excuse his want of belief: however, we may take notice with St. Gregory, the his backwardness in believing, was permitted for the good of Christians in general, that thereby they might be more convinced of Christ's resurrection. (Witham) --- The doubts of St. Thomas are of greater advantage to the strengthening of our faith, than the ready belief of the rest of the apostles. For when he proceeded to touch, to assure his faith, our minds, laying aside every, even the least doubt, are firmly established in faith. (St. Gregory the Great)

Put in thy finger hither. Christ, to shew he knew all things, made use of the very same words in which St. Thomas had expressed his incredulous dispositions. Our blessed Redeemer would have the mark of the spear, and the prints of the nails to remain in his glorified body, to convince them it was the same body: and that they might be for ever marks of his victory and triumph over sin and the devil. The evangelist does not say, that St. Thomas went and touched Christ's body, though it is very probable he did as he was ordered. But how could a body that entered in, when the doors were shut, be felt, or be palpable? St. John Chrysostom[2] answers, that Christ at that time permitted his body to be palpable, and to resist another body, to induce St. Thomas to believe the resurrection; and that when he pleased, his body could not be felt. In like manner, his body was either visible or invisible, as he had a will it should be. In fine, he could eat in their sight, though he stood not in need of any nourishment. See St. Augustine.

Be not incredulous, but faithful. In the Greek, be not an unbeliever, but a believer. --- My Lord, and my God; that is, I confess thee to be my Lord, and my God; and with the Greek article, to be him, that is, the Lord, and the God. (Witham)

19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. 20 And when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. 21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: 23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. 24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

The infallible proof of Christ's resurrection was his showing himself alive, Acts i. 3 . In these verses, we have an account of his first appearance to the college of the disciples, on the day on which he rose. He had sent them the tidings of his resurrection by trusty and credible messengers; but to show his love to them, and confirm their faith in him, he came himself, and gave them all the assurances they could desire of the truth of it, that they might not have it by hearsay only, and at second hand, but might themselves be eye-witnesses of his being alive, because they must attest it to the world, and build the church upon that testimony. Now observe here,

I. When and where this appearance was, v. 19 . It was the same day that he rose, being the first day of the week, the day after the Jewish sabbath, at a private meeting of the disciples, ten of them, and some more of their friends with them, Luke xxiv. 33 .

There are three secondary ordinances (as I may call them) instituted by our Lord Jesus, to continue in his church, for the support of it, and for the due administration of the principal ordinances—the word, sacraments, and prayer; these are, the Lord's day, solemn assemblies, and standing ministry. The mind of Christ concerning each of these is plainly intimated to us in these verses; of the first two, here, in the circumstances of this appearance, the other v. 21 . Christ's kingdom was to be set up among men, immediately upon his resurrection; and accordingly we find the very day he arose, though but a day of small things, yet graced with those solemnities which should help to keep up a face of religion throughout all the ages of the church.

1. Here is a Christian sabbath observed by the disciples, and owned by our Lord Jesus. The visit Christ made to his disciples was on the first day of the week. And the first day of the week is (I think) the only day of the week, or month, or year, that is ever mentioned by number in all the New Testament; and this is several times spoken of as a day religiously observed. Though it was said here expressly ( v. 1 ) that Christ arose on the first day of the week, and it might have been sufficient to say here ( v. 19 ), he appeared the same day at evening; yet, to put an honour upon the day, it is repeated, being the first day of the week; not that the apostles designed to put honour upon the day (they were yet in doubt concerning the occasion of it), but God designed to put honour upon it, by ordering it that they should be altogether, to receive Christ's first visit on that day. Thus, in effect, he blessed and sanctified that day, because in it the Redeemer rested.

2. Here is a Christian assembly solemnized by the disciples, and also owned by the Lord Jesus. Probably the disciples met here for some religious exercise, to pray together; or, perhaps, they met to compare notes, and consider whether they had sufficient evidence of their Master's resurrection, and to consult what was now to be done, whether they should keep together or scatter; they met to know one another's minds, strengthen one another's hands, and concert proper measures to be taken in the present critical juncture. This meeting was private, because they durst not appear publicly, especially in a body. They met in a house, but they kept the door shut, that they might not be seen together, and that no one might come among them but such as they knew; for they feared the Jews, who would prosecute the disciples as criminals, that they might seem to believe the lie they would deceive the world with, that his disciples came by night, and stole him away. Note, (1.) The disciples of Christ, even in difficult times, must not forsake the assembling of themselves together, Heb. x. 25 . Those sheep of the flock were scattered in the storm; but sheep are sociable, and will come together again. It is no new thing for the assemblies of Christ's disciples to be driven into corners, and forced into the wilderness, Rev. xii. 14 ; Prov. xxviii. 12 . (2.) God's people have been often obliged to enter into their chambers, and shut their doors, as here, for fear of the Jews. Persecution is allotted them, and retirement from persecution is allowed them; and then where shall we look for them but in dens and caves of the earth. It is a real grief, but no real reproach, to Christ's disciples, thus to abscond.

II. What was said and done in this visit Christ made to his disciples, and his interview between them. When they were assembled, Jesus came among them, in his own likeness, yet drawing a veil over the brightness of his body, now begun to be glorified, else it would have dazzled their eyes, as in his transfiguration. Christ came among them, to give them a specimen of the performance of his promise, that, where two or three are gathered together in his name, he will be in the midst of them. He came, though the doors were shut. This does not at all weaken the evidence of his having a real human body after his resurrection; though the doors were shut, he knew how to open them without any noise, and come in so that they might not hear him, as formerly he had walked on the water, and yet had a true body. It is a comfort to Christ's disciples, when their solemn assemblies are reduced to privacy, that no doors can shut out Christ's presence from them. We have five things in this appearance of Christ:—

(1.) His kind and familiar salutation of his disciples: He said, Peace be unto you. This was not a word of course, though commonly used so at the meeting of friends, but a solemn, uncommon benediction, conferring upon them all the blessed fruits and effects of his death and resurrection. The phrase was common, but the sense was now peculiar. Peace be unto you is as much as, All good be to you, all peace always by all means. Christ had left them his peace for their legacy, ch. xiv. 27 . By the death of the testator the testament was become of force, and he was now risen from the dead, to prove the will, and to be himself the executor of it. Accordingly, he here makes prompt payment of the legacy: Peace be unto you. His speaking peace makes peace, creates the fruit of the lips, peace; peace with God, peace in your own consciences, peace with one another; all this peace be with you; not peace with the world, but peace in Christ. His sudden appearing in the midst of them when they were full of doubts concerning him, full of fears concerning themselves, could not but put them into some disorder and consternation, the noise of which waves he stills with this word, Peace be unto you.

(2.) His clear and undeniable manifestation of himself to them, v. 20 . And here observe,

[1.] The method he took to convince them of the truth of his resurrection, They now saw him alive whom multitudes had seen dead two or three days before. Now the only doubt was whether this that they saw alive was the same individual body that had been seen dead; and none could desire a further proof that it was so than the scars or marks of the wounds in the body. Now, First, The marks of the wounds, and very deep marks (though without any pain or soreness), remained in the body of the Lord Jesus even after his resurrection, that they might be demonstrations of the truth of it. Conquerors glory in the marks of their wounds. Christ's wounds were to speak on earth that it was he himself, and therefore he arose with them; they were to speak in heaven, in the intercession he must ever live to make, and therefore he ascended with them, and appeared in the midst of the throne, a Lamb as it had been slain, and bleeding afresh, Rev. v. 6 . Nay, it should seem, he will come again with his scars, that they may look on him whom they pierced. Secondly, These marks he showed to his disciples, for their conviction. They had not only the satisfaction of seeing him look with the same countenance, and hearing him speak with the same voice they had been so long accustomed to, Sic oculos, sic ille manus, sic ora, ferebat—Such were his gestures, such his eyes and hands! but they had the further evidence of these peculiar marks: he opened his hands to them, that they might see the marks of the wounds on them; he opened his breast, as the nurse hers to the child, to show them the wound there. Note, The exalted Redeemer will ever show himself open-handed and open-hearted to all his faithful friends and followers. When Christ manifests his love to believers by the comforts of his Spirit, assures them that because he lives they shall live also, then he shows them his hands and his side.

[2.] The impression it made upon them, and the good it did them. First, They were convinced that they saw the Lord: so was their faith confirmed. At first, they thought they saw an apparition only, a phantasm; but now they knew it was the Lord himself. Thus many true believers, who, while they were weak, feared their comforts were but imaginary, afterwards find them, through grace, real and substantial. They ask not, Is it the Lord? but are assured, it is he. Secondly, Then they were glad; that which strengthened their faith raised their joy; believing they rejoice. The evangelist seems to write it with somewhat of transport and triumph. Then! then! were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord, If it revived the spirit of Jacob to hear that Joseph was yet alive, how would it revive the heart of these disciples to hear that Jesus is again alive? It is life from the dead to them. Now that word of Christ was fulfilled ( ch. xvi. 22 ), I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice. This wiped away all tears from their eyes. Note, A sight of Christ will gladden the heart of a disciple at any time; the more we see of Christ, the more we shall rejoice in him; and our joy will never be perfect till we come where we shall see him as he is.

(3.) The honourable and ample commission he gave them to be his agents in the planting of his church, v. 21 . Here is,

[1.] The preface to their commission, which was the solemn repetition of the salutation before: Peace be unto you. This was intended, either, First, To raise their attention to the commission he was about to give them. The former salutation was to still the tumult of their fear, that they might calmly attend to the proofs of his resurrection; this was to reduce the transport of their joy, that they might sedately hear what he had further to say to them; or, Secondly, To encourage them to accept of the commission he was giving them. Though it would involve them in a great deal of trouble, yet he designed their honour and comfort in it, and, in the issue, it would be peace to them. Gideon received his commission with this word, Peace be unto thee, Judg. vi. 22, 23 . Christ is our Peace; if he is with us, peace is to us. Christ was now sending the disciples to publish peace to the world ( Isa. lii. 7 ), and he here not only confers it upon them for their own satisfaction, but commits it to them as a trust to be by them transmitted to all the sons of peace, Luke x. 5, 6 .

[2.] The commission itself, which sounds very great: As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

First, It is easy to understand how Christ sent them; he appointed them to go on with his work upon earth, and to lay out themselves for the spreading of his gospel, and the setting up of his kingdom, among men. He sent them authorized with a divine warrant, armed with a divine power,—sent them as ambassadors to treat of peace, and as heralds to proclaim it,—sent them as servants to bid to the marriage. Hence they were called apostles — men sent.

Secondly, But how Christ sent them as the Father sent him is not so easily understood; certainly their commissions and powers were infinitely inferior to his; but, 1. Their work was of the same kind with his, and they were to go on where he left off. They were not sent to be priests and kings, like him, but only prophets. As he was sent to bear witness to the truth, so were they; not to be mediators of the reconciliation, but only preachers and publishers of it. Was he sent, not to be ministered to, but to minister? not to do his own will, but the will of him that sent him? not to destroy the law and the prophets, but to fill them up? So were they. As the Father sent him to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, so he sent them into all the world. 2. He had a power to send them equal to that which the Father had to send him. Here the force of the comparison seems to lie. By the same authority that the Father sent me do I send you. This proves the Godhead of Christ; the commissions he gave were of equal authority with those which the Father gave, and as valid and effectual to all intents and purposes, equal with those he gave to the Old-Testament prophets in visions. The commissions of Peter and John, by the plain word of Christ, are as good as those of Isaiah and Ezekiel, by the Lord sitting on his throne; nay, equal with that which was given to the Mediator himself for his work. Had he an incontestable authority, and an irresistible ability, for his work? so had they for theirs. Or thus, As the Father hath sent me is, as it were, the recital of his power; by virtue of the authority given him as a Mediator, he gave authority to them, as his ministers, to act for him, and in his name, with the children of men; so that those who received them, or rejected them, received or rejected him, and him that sent him, ch. xiii. 20 .

(4.) The qualifying of them for the discharge of the trust reposed in them by their commission ( v. 22 ): He breathed on them, and said, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Observe,

[1.] The sign he used to assure them of, and affect them with, the gift he was now about to bestow upon them: He breathed on them; not only to show them, by this breath of life, that he himself was really alive, but to signify to them the spiritual life and power which they should receive from him for all the services that lay before them. Probably he breathed upon them all together, not upon each severally and, though Thomas was not with them, yet the Spirit of the Lord knew where to find him, as he did Eldad and Medad, Num. xi. 26 . Christ here seems to refer to the creation of man at first, by the breathing of the breath of life into him ( Gen. ii. 7 ), and to intimate that he himself was the author of that work, and that the spiritual life and strength of ministers and Christians are derived from him, and depend upon him, as much as the natural life of Adam and his seed. As the breath of the Almighty gave life to man and began the old world, so the breath of the mighty Saviour gave life to his ministers, and began a new world, Job xxxiii. 4 . Now this intimates to us, First, That the Spirit is the breath of Christ, proceeding from the Son. The Spirit, in the Old Testament, is compared to breath ( Ezek. xxxvii. 9 ), Come, O breath; but the New Testament tells us it is Christ's breath. The breath of God is put for the power of his wrath ( Isa. xi. 4 ; xxx. 33 ); but the breath of Christ signifies the power of his grace; the breathing of threatenings is changed into the breathings of love by the mediation of Christ. Our words are uttered by our breath, so the word of Christ is spirit and life. The word comes from the Spirit, and the Spirit comes along with the word. Secondly, That the Spirit is the gift of Christ. The apostles communicated the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, those hands being first lifted up in prayer, for they could only beg this blessing, and carry it as messengers; but Christ conferred the Holy Ghost by breathing, for he is the author of the gift, and from him it comes originally. Moses could not give his Spirit, God did it ( Num. xi. 17 ); but Christ did it himself.

[2.] The solemn grant he made, signified by this sign, Receive ye the Holy Ghost, in part now, as an earnest of what you shall further receive not many days hence. " They now received more of the Holy Ghost than they had yet received. Thus spiritual blessings are given gradually; to him that has shall be given. Now that Jesus began to be glorified more of the Spirit began to be given: see ch. vii. 39 . Let us see what is contained in this grant. First, Christ hereby gives them assurance of the Spirit's aid in their future work, in the execution of the commission now given them: " I send you, and you shall have the Spirit to go along with you." Now the Spirit of the Lord rested upon them to qualify them for all the services that lay before them. Whom Christ employs he will clothe with his Spirit, and furnish with all needful powers. Secondly, He hereby gives them experience of the Spirit's influences in their present case. He had shown them his hands and his side, to convince them of the truth of his resurrection; but the plainest evidences will not of themselves work faith, witness the infidelity of the soldiers, who were the only eye-witnesses of the resurrection. "Therefore receive ye the Holy Ghost, to work faith in you, and to open your understandings." They were now in danger of the Jews: "Therefore receive ye the Holy Ghost, to work courage in you." What Christ said to them he says to all true believers, Receive ye the Holy Ghost, Eph. i. 13 . What Christ gives we must receive, must submit ourselves and our whole souls to the quickening, sanctifying, influences of the blessed Spirit-receive his motions, and comply with them—receive his powers and make use of them: and those who thus obey this word as a precept shall have the benefit of it as a promise; they shall receive the Holy Ghost as the guide of their way and the earnest of their inheritance.

(5.) One particular branch of the power given them by their commission particularized ( v. 23 ): " Whosesoever sins you remit, in the due execution of the powers you are entrusted with, they are remitted to them, and they may take the comfort of it; and whosesoever sins you retain, that is, pronounce unpardoned and the guilt of them bound on, they are retained, and the sinner may be sure of it, to his sorrow." Now this follows upon their receiving the Holy Ghost; for, if they had not had an extraordinary spirit of discerning, they had not been fit to be entrusted with such an authority; for, in the strictest sense, this is a special commission to the apostles themselves and the first preachers of the gospel, who could distinguish who were in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity, and who were not. By virtue of this power, Peter struck Ananias and Sapphira dead, and Paul struck Elymas blind. Yet it must be understood as a general charter to the church and her ministers, not securing an infallibility of judgment to any man or company of men in the world, but encouraging the faithful stewards of the mysteries of God to stand to the gospel they were sent to preach, for that God himself will stand to it. The apostles, in preaching remission, must begin at Jerusalem, though she had lately brought upon herself the guilt of Christ's blood: "Yet you may declare their sins remitted upon gospel terms." And Peter did so, Acts ii. 38 ; iii. 19 . Christ, being risen for our justification, sends his gospel heralds to proclaim the jubilee begun, the act of indemnity now passed; and by this rule men shall be judged, ch. xii. 48 ; Rom. ii. 16 ; Jam. ii. 12 . God will never alter this rule of judgment, nor vary from it; those whom the gospel acquits shall be acquitted, and those whom the gospel condemns shall be condemned, which puts immense honour upon the ministry, and should put immense courage into ministers. Two ways the apostles and ministers of Christ remit and retain sin, and both as having authority:—[1.] By sound doctrine. They are commissioned to tell the world that salvation is to be had upon gospel terms, and no other, and they shall find God will say Amen to it; so shall their doom be. [2.] By a strict discipline, applying the general rule of the gospel to particular persons. "Whom you admit into communion with you, according to the rules of the gospel, God will admit into communion with himself; and whom you cast out of communion as impenitent, and obstinate in scandalous and infectious sins, shall be bound over to the righteous judgment of God."

III. The incredulity of Thomas, when the report of this was made to him, which introduced Christ's second appearance.

1. Here is Thomas's absence from this meeting, v. 24 . He is said to be one of the twelve, one of the college of the apostles, who, though now eleven, had been twelve, and were to be so again. They were but eleven, and one of them was missing: Christ's disciples will never be all together till the general assembly at the great day. Perhaps it was Thomas's unhappiness that he was absent—either he was not well, or had not notice; or perhaps it was his sin and folly—either he was diverted by business or company, which he preferred before this opportunity, or he durst not come for fear of the Jews; and he called that his prudence and caution which was his cowardice. However, by his absence he missed the satisfaction of seeing his Master risen, and of sharing with the disciples in their joy upon that occasion. Note, Those know not what they lose who carelessly absent themselves from the stated solemn assemblies of Christians.

2. The account which the other disciples gave him of the visit their Master had made them, v. 25 . The next time they saw him they said unto him, with joy enough, We have seen the Lord; and no doubt they related to him all that had passed, particularly the satisfaction he had given them by showing them his hands and his side. It seems, though Thomas was then from them, he was not long from them; absentees for a time must not be condemned as apostates for ever: Thomas is not Judas. Observe with what exultation and triumph they speak it: " We have seen the Lord, the most comfortable sight we ever saw." This they said to Thomas, (1.) To upbraid him with his absence: " We have seen the Lord, but thou hast not." Or rather, (2.) To inform him: " We have seen the Lord, and we wish thou hadst been here, to see him too, for thou wouldest have seen enough to satisfy thee." Note, The disciples of Christ should endeavour to build up one another in their most holy faith, both by repeating what they have heard to those that were absent, that they may hear it at second hand, and also by communicating what they have experienced. Those that by faith have seen the Lord, and tasted that he is gracious, should tell others what God has done for their souls; only let boasting be excluded.

26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. 27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. 29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. 30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: 31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

We have here an account of another appearance of Christ to his disciples, after his resurrection, when Thomas was now with them. And concerning this we may observe,

I. When it was that Christ repeated his visit to his disciples: After eight days, that day seven-night after he rose, which must therefore be, as that was, the first day of the week.

1. He deferred his next appearance for some time, to show his disciples that he was not risen to such a life as he had formerly lived, to converse constantly with them but was as one that belonged to another world, and visited this only as angels do, now and then, when there was occasion. Where Christ was during these eight days, and the rest of the time of his abode on earth, it is folly to enquire, and presumption to determine. Wherever he was, no doubt angels ministered unto him. In the beginning of his ministry he had been forty days unseen, tempted by the evil spirit, Matt. iv. 1, 2 . And now in the beginning of his glory he was forty days, for the most part unseen, attended by good spirits.

2. He deferred it so long as seven days. And why so? (1.) That he might put a rebuke upon Thomas for his incredulity. He had neglected the former meeting of the disciples; and, to teach him to prize those seasons of grace better for the future, he cannot have such another opportunity for several days. He that slips one tide must stay a good while for another. A very melancholy week, we have reason to think Thomas had of it, drooping, and in suspense, while the other disciples were full of joy; and it was owing to himself and his own folly. (2.) That he might try the faith and patience of the rest of the disciples. They had gained a great point when they were satisfied that they had seen the Lord. Then were the disciples glad; but he would try whether they could keep the ground they had got, when they saw no more of him for some days. And thus he would gradually wean them from his bodily presence, which they had doted and depended too much upon. (3.) That he might put an honour upon the first day of the week, and give a plain intimation of his will, that it should be observed in his church as the Christian sabbath, the weekly day of holy rest and holy convocations. That one day in seven should be religiously observed was an appointment from the beginning, as old as innocency; and that in the kingdom of the Messiah the first day of the week should be that solemn day this was indication enough, that Christ on that day once and again met his disciples in a religious assembly. It is highly probable that in his former appearance to them he appointed them that day seven-night to be together again, and promised to meet them; and also that he appeared to them every first day of the week, besides other times, during the forty days. The religious observance of that day has been thence transmitted down to us through every age of the church. This therefore is the day which the Lord has made.

II. Where, and how, Christ made them this visit. It was at Jerusalem, for the doors were shut now, as before, for fear of the Jews. There they staid, to keep the feast of unleavened bread seven days, which expired the day before this; yet they would not set out on their journey to Galilee on the first day of the week, because it was the Christian sabbath, but staid till the day after. Now observe, 1. That Thomas was with them; though he had withdrawn himself once, yet not a second time. When we have lost one opportunity, we should give the more earnest heed to lay hold on the next, that we may recover our losses. It is a good sign if such a loss whet our desires, and a bad sign if it cool them. The disciples admitted him among them, and did not insist upon his believing the resurrection of Christ, as they did, because as yet it was but darkly revealed; they did not receive him to doubtful disputation, but bade him welcome to come and see. But observe, Christ did not appear to Thomas, for his satisfaction, till he found him in society with the rest of his disciples, because he would countenance the meetings of Christians and ministers, for there will he be in the midst of them. And, besides, he would have all the disciples witnesses of the rebuke he gave to Thomas, and yet withal of the tender care he had of him. 2. That Christ came in among them, and stood in the midst, and they all knew him, for he showed himself now, just as he had shown himself before ( v. 19 ), still the same, and no changeling. See the condescension of our Lord Jesus. The gates of heaven were ready to be opened to him, and there he might have been in the midst of the adorations of a world of angels; yet, for the benefit of his church, he lingered on earth, and visited the little private meetings of his poor disciples, and is in the midst of them. 3. He saluted them all in a friendly manner, as he had done before; he said, Peace be unto you. This was no vain repetition, but significant of the abundant and assured peace which Christ gives, and of the continuance of his blessings upon his people, for they fail not, but are new every morning, new every meeting.

III. What passed between Christ and Thomas at this meeting; and that only is recorded, though we may suppose he said a great deal to the rest of them. Here is,

1. Christ's gracious condescension to Thomas, v. 27 . He singled him out from the rest, and applied himself particularly to him: " Reach hither thy finger, and, since thou wilt have it so, behold my hands, and satisfy thy curiosity to the utmost about the print of the nails; reach hither thy hand, and, if nothing less will convince thee, thrust it into my side. " Here we have, (1.) An implicit rebuke of Thomas's incredulity, in the plain reference which is here had to what Thomas had said, answering it word for word, for he had heard it, though unseen; and one would think that his telling him of it should put him to the blush. Note, There is not an unbelieving word on our tongues, no, nor thought in our minds, at any time, but it is known to the Lord Jesus. Ps. lxxviii. 21 . (2.) An express condescension to this weakness, which appears in two things:—[1.] That he suffers his wisdom to be prescribed to. Great spirits will not be dictated to by their inferiors, especially in their acts of grace; yet Christ is pleased here to accommodate himself even to Thomas's fancy in a needless thing, rather than break with him, and leave him in his unbelief. He will not break the bruised reed, but, as a good shepherd, gathers that which was driven away, Ezek. xxxiv. 16 . We ought thus to bear the infirmities of the weak, Rom. xv. 1, 2 . [2.] He suffers his wounds to be raked into, allows Thomas even to thrust his hand into his side, if then at last he would believe. Thus, for the confirmation of our faith, he has instituted an ordinance on purpose to keep his death in remembrance, though it was an ignominious, shameful death, and one would think should rather have been forgotten, and no more said of it; yet, because it was such an evidence of his love as would be an encouragement to our faith, he appoints the memorial of it to be celebrated. And in that ordinance where in we show the Lord's death we are called, as it were, to put our finger into the print of the nails. Reach hither thy hand to him, who reacheth forth his helping, inviting, giving hand to thee.

It is an affecting word with which Christ closes up what he had to say to Thomas: Be not faithless but believing; me ginou apistos — do not thou become an unbeliever; as if he would have been sealed up under unbelief, had he not yielded now. This warning is given to us all: Be not faithless; for, if we are faithless, we are Christless and graceless, hopeless and joyless; let us therefore say, Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief.

2. Thomas's believing consent to Jesus Christ. He is now ashamed of his incredulity, and cries out, My Lord and my God, v. 28 . We are not told whether he did put his finger into the print of the nails; it should seem, he did not, for Christ says ( v. 29 ), Thou hast seen, and believed; seeing sufficed. And now faith comes off a conqueror, after a struggle with unbelief.

(1.) Thomas is now fully satisfied of the truth of Christ's resurrection—that the same Jesus that was crucified is now alive, and this is he. His slowness and backwardness to believe may help to strengthen our faith; for hereby it appears that the witnesses of Christ's resurrection, who attested it to the world, and pawned their lives upon it, were not easy credulous men, but cautious enough, and suspended their belief of it till they saw the utmost evidence of it they could desire. Thus out of the eater came forth meat.

(2.) He therefore believed him to be Lord and God, and we are to believe him so. [1.] We must believe his deity—that he is God; not a man made God, but God made man, as this evangelist had laid down his thesis at first, ch. i. 1 . The author and head of our holy religion has the wisdom, power, sovereignty, and unchangeableness of God, which was necessary, because he was to be not only the founder of it, but the foundation of it for its constant support, and the fountain of life for its supply. [2.] His mediation—that he is Lord, the one Lord, 1 Cor. viii. 6 ; 1 Tim. ii. 5 . He is sufficiently authorized, as pleni-potentiary, to settle the great concerns that lie between God and man, to take up the controversy which would inevitably have been our ruin, and to establish the correspondence that was necessary to our happiness; see Acts ii. 36 ; Rom. xiv. 9 .

(3.) He consented to him as his Lord and his God. In faith there must be the consent of the will to gospel terms, as well as the assent of the understanding to gospel truths. We must accept of Christ to be that to us which the Father hath appointed him. My Lord refers to Adonai —my foundation and stay; my God to Elohim —my prince and judge. God having constituted him the umpire and referee, we must approve the choice, and entirely refer ourselves to him. This is the vital act of faith, He is mine, Cant. ii. 16 .

(4.) He made an open profession of this, before those that had been the witnesses of his unbelieving doubts. He says it to Christ, and, to complete the sense, we must read it, Thou art my Lord and my God; or, speaking to his brethren, This is my Lord and my God. Do we accept of Christ as our Lord God? We must go to him, and tell him so, as David ( Ps. xvi. 2 ), deliver the surrender to him as our act and deed, tell others so, as those that triumph in our relation to Christ: This is my beloved. Thomas speaks with an ardency of affection, as one that took hold of Christ with all his might, My Lord and my God.

3. The judgment of Christ upon the whole ( v. 29 ): " Thomas because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed, and it is well thou art brought to it at last upon any terms; but blessed are those that have not seen, and yet have believed. " Here,

(1.) Christ owns Thomas a believer. Sound and sincere believers, though they be slow and weak, shall be graciously accepted of the Lord Jesus. Those who have long stood it out, if at last they yield, shall find him ready to forgive. No sooner did Thomas consent to Christ than Christ gives him the comfort of it, and lets him know that he believes.

(2.) He upbraids him with his former incredulity. He might well be ashamed to think, [1.] That he had been so backward to believe, and came so slowly to his own comforts. Those that in sincerity have closed with Christ see a great deal of reason to lament that they did not do it sooner. [2.] That it was not without much ado that he was brought to believe at last: "If thou hadst not seen me alive, thou wouldst not have believed;" but if no evidence must be admitted but that of our own senses, and we must believe nothing but what we ourselves are eye-witnesses of, farewell all commerce and conversation. If this must be the only method of proof, how must the world be converted to the faith of Christ? He is therefore justly blamed for laying so much stress upon this.

(3.) He commends the faith of those who believe upon easier terms. Thomas, as a believer, was truly blessed; but rather blessed are those that have not seen. It is not meant of not seeing the objects of faith (for these are invisible, Heb. xi. 1 ; 2 Cor. iv. 18 ), but the motives of faith—Christ's miracles, and especially his resurrection; blessed are those that see not these, and yet believe in Christ. This may look, either backward, upon the Old-Testament saints, who had not seen the things which they saw, and yet believed the promise made unto the father, and lived by that faith; or forward, upon those who should afterwards believe, the Gentiles, who had never seen Christ in the flesh, as the Jews had. This faith is more laudable and praise-worthy than theirs who saw and believed; for, [1.] It evidences a better temper of mind in those that do believe. Not to see and yet to believe argues greater industry in searching after truth, and greater ingenuousness of mind in embracing it. He that believes upon that sight has his resistance conquered by a sort of violence; but he that believes without it, like the Bereans, is more noble. [2.] It is a greater instance of the power of divine grace. The less sensible the evidence is the more does the work of faith appear to be the Lord's doing. Peter is blessed in his faith, because flesh and blood have not revealed it to him, Matt. xvi. 17 . Flesh and blood contribute more to their faith that see and believe, than to theirs who see not and yet believe. Dr. Lightfoot quotes a saying of one of the rabbin, "That one proselyte is more acceptable to God than all the thousands of Israel that stood before mount Sinai; for they saw and received the law, but a proselyte sees not, and yet receives it."

IV. The remark which the evangelist makes upon his narrative, like an historian drawing towards a conclusion, v. 30, 31 . And here,

1. He assures us that many other things occurred, which were all worthy to be recorded, but are not written in the book: many signs. Some refer this to all the signs that Jesus did during his whole life, all the wondrous words he spoke, and all the wondrous works he did. But it seems rather to be confined to the signs he did after his resurrection, for these were in the presence of the disciples only, who are here spoken of, Acts x. 41 . Divers of his appearances are not recorded, as appears, 1 Cor. xv. 5-7 . See Acts i. 3 . Now, (1.) We may here improve this general attestation, that there were other signs, many others, for the confirmation of our faith; and, being added to the particular narratives, they very much strengthen the evidence. Those that recorded the resurrection of Christ were not put to fish for evidence, to take up such short and scanty proofs as they could find, and make up the rest with conjecture. No, they had evidence enough and to spare, and more witnesses to produce than they had occasion for. The disciples, in whose presence these other signs were done, were to be preachers of Christ's resurrection to others, and therefore it was requisite they should have proofs of it ex abundanti—in abundance, that they might have a strong consolation, who ventured life and all upon it. (2.) We need not ask why they were not all written, or why not more than these, or others than these; for it is enough for us that so it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, by whose inspiration this was given. Had this history been a mere human composition, it had been swelled with a multitude of depositions and affidavits, to prove the contested truth of Christ's resurrection and long argument drawn up for the demonstration of it; but, being a divine history, the penmen write with a noble security, relating what amounted to a competent proof, sufficient to convince those that were willing to be taught and to condemn those that were obstinate in their unbelief; and, if this satisfy not, more would not. Men produce all they have to say, that they may gain credit; but God does not, for he can give faith. Had this history been written for the entertainment of the curious, it would have been more copious, or every circumstance would have brightened and embellished the story; but it was written to bring men to believe, and enough is said to answer that intention, whether men will hear or whether they will forbear.

2. He instructs us in the design of recording what we do find here ( v. 31 ): "These accounts are given in this and the following chapter, that you might believe upon these evidences; that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, declared with power to be so by his resurrection."

(1.) Here is the design of those that wrote the gospel. Some write books for their diversion, and publish them for their profit or applause, others to oblige the Athenian humour, others to instruct the world in arts and sciences for their secular advantage; but the evangelists wrote without any view of temporal benefit to themselves or others, but to bring men to Christ and heaven, and, in order to this, to persuade men to believe; and for this they took the most fitting methods, they brought to the world a divine revelation, supported with its due evidences.

(2.) The duty of those that read and hear the gospel. It is their duty to believe, to embrace, the doctrine of Christ, and that record given concerning him, 1 John v. 11 . [1.] We are here told what the great gospel truth is which we are to believe—that Jesus is that Christ, that Son of God. First, That he is the Christ, the person who, under the title of the Messiah, was promised to, and expected by, the Old-Testament saints, and who, according to the signification of the name, is anointed of God to be a prince and a Saviour. Secondly, That he is the Son of God; not only as Mediator (for then he had not been greater than Moses, who was a prophet, intercessor, and lawgiver), but antecedent to his being the Mediator; for if he had not been a divine person, endued with the power of God and entitled to the glory of God, he had not been qualified for the undertaking-not fit either to do the Redeemer's work or to wear the Redeemer's crown. [2.] What the great gospel blessedness is which we are to hope for— That believing we shall have life through his name. This is, First, To direct our faith; it must have an eye to the life, the crown of life, the tree of life set before us. Life through Christ's name, the life proposed in the covenant which is made with us in Christ, is what we must propose to ourselves as the fulness of our joy and the abundant recompence of all our services and sufferings. Secondly, To encourage our faith, and invite us to believe. Upon the prospect of some great advantage, men will venture far; and greater advantage there cannot be than that which is offered by the words of this life, as the gospel is called, Acts v. 20 . It includes both spiritual life, in conformity to God and communion with him, and eternal life, in the vision and fruition of him. Both are through Christ's name, by his merit and power, and both indefeasibly sure to all true believers.

19-23. the same day at evening, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus-- plainly not by the ordinary way of entrance.

and saith unto them Peace be unto you-- not the mere wish that even His own exalted peace might be theirs ( Joh 14:27 ), but conveying it into their hearts, even as He "opened their understandings to understand the scriptures" ( Lu 24:45 ).

24-25. But Thomas-- (See on Joh 11:16 ).

was not with them when Jesus came-- why, we know not, though we are loath to think (with Stier, Alford and Luthardt) it was intentional, from sullen despondency. The fact merely is here stated, as a loving apology for his slowness of belief.

26-29. And after eight days-- that is, on the eighth, or first day of the preceding week. They probably met every day during the preceding week, but their Lord designedly reserved His second appearance among them till the recurrence of His resurrection day, that He might thus inaugurate the delightful sanctities of THE Lord's Day ( Re 1:10 ).

disciples were within, and Thomas with them ... Jesus ... stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.

30. many other signs-- miracles.

31. But these are written-- as sufficient specimens.

the Christ, the Son of God-- the one His official, the other His personal, title.