John Calvin (1509–1564) on John 12:48 and Jesus’s Ardent Desire

48. He who rejecteth me. That wicked men may not flatter themselves as if their unbounded disobedience to Christ would pass unpunished, he adds here a dreadful threatening, that though he were to do nothing in this matter, yet his doctrine alone would be sufficient to condemn them, as he says elsewhere, that there would be no need of any other judge than Moses, in whom they boasted, (John v. 45.) The meaning, therefore, is: “Burning with ardent desire to promote your salvation, I do indeed abstain from exercising my right to condemn you, and am entirely employed in saving what is lost; but do not think that you have escaped out of the hands of God; for though I should altogether hold my peace, the word alone, which you have despised, is sufficient to judge you.”

John Calvin, “Commentary on the Gospel of John,” in Calvin’s Commentaries, trans. William Pringle, vol. 18 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1996), 2:51. Erroll Hulse cites this passage in Calvin as he affirms Jesus’ desire for all to be saved in Who Saves, God or Me? Calvinism for the Twenty-First Century (Darlington, UK: Evangelical Press, 2008), 138.

The Torrance edition says:

48. He that rejecteth me. Lest the ungodly should flatter themselves that they can wanton against Christ with impunity, He adds the dreadful threat that, though He were to be quiet, His teaching would suffice of itself to condemn them—as He elsewhere says that no other judge would be needed but Moses in whom they boasted (John 5.45). The meaning therefore is, ‘Because I burn with a great desire for your salvation, I refrain from my right of condemning you and am entirely employed in saving what is lost. But do not imagine that you have slipped out of the hands of God; for even should I be altogether silent, the Word which you have despised, is of itself your fit judge.’

John Calvin, "The Gospel According to St John 11–21 and The First Epistle of John," in Calvin's New Testament Commentaries, ed. D. W. Torrance and T. F. Torrance, trans. T. H. L. Parker, 12 vols. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994–96), 5:53.

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