John 12:44-50 - Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Jesus On some occasion or other, soon after this, in order to strengthen the faith of those timid and diffident disciples (if such they could be called) last mentioned, and to inspire them with courage; cried Or proclaimed, with a loud voice, when, it appears, a considerable number of people were gathered about him; and said, He that believeth on me Really and cordially; believeth not on me alone, but on him that sent me And thereby does honour to the Father himself. As if he had said, My doctrine, declarations, and promises are so evidently from God, that he who believeth on me, may more properly be said to believe on God, by whose authority and whose word I preach. And he that seeth me He that seeth the miracles which I perform, seeth the operation of his power by whom, as man, I act. Or, He that sees me and regards me with a lively faith, seeth him that sent me As the perfections of the Father are displayed in me: whereas, he that shuts his eyes against me, excludes the only means of being brought to the true knowledge of the Father. I am come a light into the world I am the Sun of righteousness, whose beams dispel the darkness of ignorance, folly, and sin, in which men are involved, and am come to deliver all who believe on me out of that darkness. And if any man hear my words Which I am so frequently and continually speaking; and yet believe not, I judge him not Rather, I condemn him not; for I came not I am not at present come; to judge (to condemn) the world Or to perform any work of wrath and terror, whatever ill usage I may meet with in it; but the design of my present appearance is mild, kind, and gracious, and I am come to save the world And make its inhabitants happy, in time and in eternity, if they will be so wise as to hearken to the proposals I offer. See! Christ came to save even those that finally perish! Even they are a part of that world which he lived and died to save. He that rejecteth me, &c., hath one that judgeth him But though I shall not now execute judgment upon those who hear my doctrine and do not believe and obey it, nevertheless they shall not pass unpunished. The word that I have spoken shall judge, &c. For the doctrine which I have preached shall bear witness against them at the day of judgment; and because it has aggravated their sin, it shall heighten their punishment. For I have not spoken of myself Either on my own motion, or on any precarious conclusions, drawn from principles divinely taught; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment Gave me ample instructions; what I should say, and what I should speak Two words signifying the same thing. The Old Testament prophets sometimes spoke of themselves, but Christ spake by the Holy Spirit at all times. God the Father gave him, 1st, His commission; he sent him, as his agent and plenipotentiary, to concert matters between him and man; to set on foot a treaty of peace, and to settle the articles thereof. 2d, His instructions; which are here called a commandment; for they were like those given to an ambassador, directing him not only what he may say, but what he must say. The Messenger of the covenant was intrusted with a message which it was necessary he should deliver. Christ, as Son of man, did not speak that which was of human device or contrivance; and, as Son of God, he did not act separately from, but in perfect union with, his eternal Father. Observe, reader, our Lord Jesus, though he were a Son, learned obedience himself before he taught it us. And I know that his commandment Understood, believed, and obeyed; is life everlasting That is, is the way to it, and the beginning of it. Whatsoever I speak, therefore Whatsoever I declare in my doctrine to those that hear me; even as the Father said unto me, so I speak I alter nothing in the message which he has sent me to deliver. In other words, because I am sensible that the doctrines and precepts which the Father hath commanded me to declare, are the only conditions of eternal life, and that it depends upon the knowledge and observance of them; therefore I have proposed them with the greatest faithfulness, plainness, and confidence. Hence I am worthy of credit; both in respect of my commission, and in respect of the fidelity with which I have executed it. So that the doctrine which I preach should be received as coming from the Father, and you should consider that by rejecting it you will be guilty of despising his authority. Thus, what is contained in this last paragraph appears to be, with St. John, the epilogue of our Lord's public discourses, and a kind of recapitulation of them.