Exposition of John, Chapter 6 · Verse 50
Verſe 70. Jeſus anſwered them, Have not I choſen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?
71. He ſpake of Judas Iſcariot the ſonne of Simon: for he it was that ſhould betray him, being one of the twelve.
Chriſt, having drawen out this confeſſion, doth correct Peters charity, and warne them of a yet ſadder defection, of one of them twelve whom he had choſen to be Apoſtles. Unto which John ſubjoins a declaration, ſhewing who it was that Chriſt ſpake of. Whence learn, 1. In times wherein men appeare very forward and reſolute, when others are turning away, Chriſt alloweth them not to be ſecure, but would have them warned and ſenſible of the hazard of more and worſe defection; Therefore, when a few of many have now ſtood, Chriſt ſeeth it fit to tell them they were not all ſound. 2. Albeit Chriſt do approve of mens charitable judgement of others; yet that judgement is not ſtill according to veritie, nor to be built upon by hypocrites; Therefore, albeit Chriſt do not reprove Peters charity, yet he ſheweth that it is miſtaken of one in the number. 3. Very general Apoſtacies, reducing ſincere profeſſours to a ſmall number, will not alwayes ſeparate all the chaffe from the wheat; But when multitudes make defection, and only a very few do ſtand, there may be yet hypocrites and traitors, even among theſe; for, Judas went not yet away with the ſtreame of this defection, becauſe he kept the bag yet, and his tentation was not yet come. 4. As there is no ſocietie in the earth ſo holy, but it is poſſible ſome of them may be wicked; Yea, and they may have an eminent ſpiritual calling and office in the Church, who yet are but wicked hypocrites, and will totally and finally fall away and betray Chriſt; So the eminency of mens office and employment renders their defection the more odious: And particularly, Apoſtacy is very odious in Miniſters; Therefore, ſaith he, have not I choſen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? Whereby, partly, he inſinuates that their election to an office, was no ground to build upon, that they were all ſound; And partly, he aggravates his defection from this, and therefore puts it to be conſidered by them, by this queſtion. It is not needful to enquire why Chriſt made choice only of twelve, and would have that number filled up, when Judas went to his place, Act. 1.21, 22, &c. It ſufficeth us, that as Iſrael according to the fleſh ſprang from twelve Patriarchs, ſo he would have his Iſrael in the ſpirit, collected and brought to him, by twelve Apoſtles. 5. Such as, being entruſted by Chriſt, do not only make Apoſtacy, but turn perſecutors and traitors to him, are not only adverſaries to him, as Satan is, but do reſemble the devil, (who is a liar and murderer,) in crueltie under pretext of friendſhip; are acted and poſſeſſed by him; and, are odious unto God, as he is; Therefore the traitour gets this name, one of you is a devil, becauſe he ſhould betray him. Which is far different from what he ſaid to Peter, when he called him Satan, Matth. 16.23. for it was only a fit of tentation in him, wherein Satan abuſed his corruption and tongue for the time, but Satan had a dwelling and dominion in Judas. 6. How cloſly ſoever hypocrites and traitours carry themſelves among Gods people, yet they will not deceive Chriſt; but he knoweth them well enough, though all ſhould give them charitie; for, ſo much doth he declare here. 7. Albeit Chriſt, when he warnes the ſocieties of his people, would have all to trie and watch over themſelves; Yet ſuch as are ſincere, ſhould have no thoughts that he is ſuſpitious of them, or doth not approve of them: for, both theſe appeare here; he warnes them in general of the unſoundneſſe of one, not naming him; not only becauſe he would let him diſcover himſelfe, and would not hinder that work wherein he was to be an inſtrument; but that they might all ſearch themſelves; And yet John names him particularly, and for what cauſe Chriſt ſpake ſo of him; and this he did, not only to free another Apoſtle called Judas alſo, Luk. 6.16. (and therefore he deſcribes the traitour from his parentage, and from his country, Iſcariot, or, a man of that city Reioth, Joſh. 15.25. or, as ſome take it to be a Syriake word, and render it a purſe bearer, and ſo it is a deſignation of him from his particular employment in Chriſts company, Joh. 12.6. and 13.29.) but alſo to ſhew that this general doctrine did reflect upon none of the reſt of the Apoſtles integritie.
CHAP. VII.
IN this Chap. John continueth his Narration of Chriſts life and doctrine; Recording, firſt, That to avoid the fury of theſe in Judea, be continued ſtill in Galilee after the former Sermon, till the feaſt of Tabernacles, ver. 1. Secondly, That he refuſed to go up with his friends to that feaſt, ver. 2.—9. Thirdly, That at laſt he went up, ver. 10. with what he did, and what occurred concerning him at that feaſt. And namely, 1. The peoples carriage and ſpeeches about him, before he ſhewed himſelfe, ver. 11, 12, 13. 2. His preaching in the mid dayes of the feaſt, and his conferences and debates with the people, and inhabitants of Jeruſalem, and his hazard from the Phariſees thereupon, ver. 14. … 36. 3. His ſweet Sermon on the laſt day of the feaſt, with the effects thereof, and the confuſion that aroſe in the councel of the Rulers about him, from, ver. 37. to the end.