Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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John
Book: John
Chapter: 1
Overview:
The Divinity of
Christ.
(1-5) His Divine and human nature.
(6-14) John the Baptist's
Testimony to
Christ.
(15-18) John's
public
Testimony concerning
Christ.
(19-28) Other testimonies of
John concerning
Christ.
(29-36) Andrew and another
Disciple
follow
Jesus.
(37-42) Philip and
Nathanael called.
(43-51)
1-5 The plainest reason why the
Son of God is called the
Word,
seems to be, that as our words explain our minds to others,
So
was the
Son of God sent in order to reveal his
Father's mind to
the world. What the
Evangelist says of
Christ proves that he is
God. He asserts, His existence in the beginning; His coexistence
with the
Father. The
Word was with
God. All things were made
By
him, and not as an instrument. Without him was not any thing
made that was made, from the highest
Angel to the meanest
Worm.
This shows how
Well qualified he was for the work of our
Redemption and
Salvation. The
Light of reason, as
Well as the
Life of sense, is derived from him, and depends upon him. This
eternal
Word, this true
Light shines, but the
Darkness
comprehends it not. Let us pray without ceasing, that our eyes
may be opened to behold this
Light, that we may walk in it; and
thus be made
Wise unto
Salvation,
By Faith in
Jesus Christ.
6-14 John the Baptist came to
Bear Witness concerning
Jesus.
Nothing more fully shows the
Darkness of men's minds, than that
when the
Light had appeared, there needed a
Witness to
Call
attention to it.
Christ was the true
Light; that great
Light
which deserves to be called
So.
By his
Spirit and
Grace he
enlightens all that are enlightened to
Salvation; and those that
are not enlightened
By him, perish in
Darkness.
Christ was in
the world when he took our nature upon him, and dwelt among us.
The Son of the Highest was here in this lower world. He was in
the world, but not of it. He came to save a lost world, because
it was a world of his own making. Yet the world knew him not.
When he comes as a
Judge, the world shall know him. Many say
that they are
Christ's own, yet do not receive him, because they
will not part with their sins, nor have him to reign over them.
All the children of
God are born again. This new
Birth is
through the
Word of God as the means, 1Pe 1:23, and
By the
Spirit of
God as the Author.
By his Divine presence
Christ
always was in the world. But now that the
Fulness of time was
come, he was, after another manner,
God manifested in the
Flesh.
But observe the beams of his Divine
Glory, which darted through
this
Veil of
Flesh. Men discover their weaknesses to those most
familiar with them, but it was not
So with
Christ; those most
intimate with him saw most of his
Glory. Although he was in the
form of a servant, as to outward circumstances, yet, in respect
of graces, his form was like the
Son of God. His Divine
Glory
appeared in the
Holiness of his doctrine, and in his miracles.
He was full of
Grace, fully acceptable to his
Father, therefore
qualified to plead for us; and full of
Truth, fully aware of the
things he was to reveal.
15-18 As to the order of time and entrance
On his work,
Christ
came after
John, but in every other way he was before him. The
expression clearly shows that
Jesus had existence before he
appeared
On Earth as
Man. All
Fulness dwells in him, from which
alone fallen sinners have, and shall receive,
By Faith, all that
renders them
Wise, strong, holy, useful, and happy. Our
receivings
By Christ are all summed up in this one
Word,
Grace;
we have received "even
Grace," a
Gift So great,
So rich,
So
invaluable; the good will of
God towards us, and the good work
of
God in us. The
Law of
God is holy, just, and good; and we
should make the proper use of it. But we cannot derive from it
Pardon,
Righteousness, or strength. It teaches us to adorn the
doctrine of
God our
Saviour, but it cannot supply the place of
that doctrine. As
No Mercy comes from
God to sinners but through
Jesus Christ,
No Man can come to the
Father but
By him;
No Man
can know
God, except as he is made known in the only begotten
and beloved Son.
19-28 John disowns himself to be the
Christ, who was now
expected and waited for. He came in the
Spirit and power of
Elias, but he was not the person of
Elias.
John was not that
Prophet whom
Moses said the
Lord would raise up to them of their
brethren, like unto him. He was not such a
Prophet as they
expected, who would rescue them from the
Romans. He gave such an
account of himself, as might excite and awaken them to hearken
to him. He baptized the people with water as a profession of
Repentance, and as an outward sign of the spiritual blessings to
be conferred
On them
By the
Messiah, who was in the midst of
them, though they knew him not, and to whom he was unworthy to
render the meanest service.
29-36 John saw
Jesus coming to him, and pointed him out as the
Lamb of
God. The paschal
Lamb, in the shedding and sprinkling of
its
Blood, the roasting and
Eating of its
Flesh, and all the
other circumstances of the ordinance, represented the
Salvation
of sinners
By Faith in
Christ. And the lambs sacrificed every
morning and
Evening, can only refer to
Christ slain as a
Sacrifice to redeem us to
God By his
Blood.
John came as a
preacher of
Repentance, yet he told his followers that they were
to look for the
Pardon of their sins to
Jesus only, and to his
Death. It agrees with
God's
Glory to
Pardon all who depend
On
the atoning
Sacrifice of
Christ. He takes away the
Sin of the
world; purchases
Pardon for all that repent and believe the
Gospel. This encourages our
Faith; if
Christ takes away the
Sin
of the world, then why not my
Sin? He bore
Sin for us, and
So
bears it from us.
God could have taken away
Sin,
By taking away
the sinner, as he took away the
Sin of the old world; but here
is a way of doing away
Sin, yet sparing the sinner,
By making
his Son
Sin, that is, a
Sin-Offering, for us. See
Jesus taking
away
Sin, and let that cause
Hatred of
Sin, and resolutions
against it. Let us not
Hold that
Fast, which the
Lamb of
God
came to take away. To confirm his
Testimony concerning
Christ,
John declares the appearance at his
Baptism, in which
God
himself bore
Witness to him. He saw and bare record that he is
the
Son of God. This is the
End and object of
John's
Testimony,
that
Jesus was the promised
Messiah.
John took every opportunity
that offered to lead people to
Christ.
37-42 The strongest and most prevailing argument with an
awakened soul to follow
Christ, is, that it is he only who takes
away
Sin. Whatever
Communion there is between our souls and
Christ, it is he who begins the discourse. He asked, What seek
ye? The question
Jesus Put to them, we should all
Put to
ourselves when we begin to follow Him, What do we design and
desire? In following
Christ, do we seek the favour of
God and
eternal
Life? He invites them to come without delay. Now is the
accepted time, 2Co 6:2. It is good for us to be where
Christ
is, wherever it be. We ought to labour for the spiritual welfare
of those related to us, and seek to bring them to Him. Those who
come to
Christ, must come with a fixed resolution to be firm and
constant to him, like a
Stone, solid and stedfast; and it is
By
his
Grace that they are
So.
43-51 See the nature of true Christianity, it is following
Jesus; devoting ourselves to him, and treading in his steps.
Observe the objection
Nathanael made. All who desire to profit
By the
Word of God, must beware of prejudices against places, or
denominations of men. They should examine for themselves, and
they will sometimes find good where they looked for none. Many
people are kept from the ways of religion
By the unreasonable
prejudices they conceive. The best way to remove false notions
of religion, is to make trial of it. In
Nathanael there was
No
guile. His profession was not hypocritical. He was not a
dissembler, nor dishonest; he was a sound character, a really
upright, godly
Man.
Christ knows what men are indeed. Does He
know us? Let us desire to know him. Let us seek and pray to be
Israelites indeed, in whom is
No guile; truly Christians,
approved of
Christ himself. Some things weak, imperfect, and
sinful, are found in all, but hypocrisy belongs not to a
believer's character.
Jesus witnessed what passed when
Nathanael
was under the
Fig-tree. Probably he was then in fervent
Prayer,
seeking direction as to the
Hope and Consolation of
Israel,
where
No human
Eye observed him. This showed him that our
Lord
knew the secrets of his
Heart. Through
Christ we commune with,
and benefit
By the holy angels; and things in
Heaven and things
On Earth are reconciled and united together.