to be a witness · verb — present active indicative, 2nd person plural
because
ὅτιhoti
G3754
demonstrative · conjunction
ye have been
ἐστέesté
G2075
ye are
with
μετ᾽met᾽
G3326
properly · preposition
me
ἐμοῦemoû
G1700
of me
from
ἀπ᾽ap᾽
G575
"off · preposition
the beginning
ἀρχῆςarchēs
G746
(properly abstract) a commencement · noun — genitive singular feminine
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
1 John 4:14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
John 21:24 This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true.
Acts 10:39-42 And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:
Luke 1:2-3 Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
Acts 23:11 And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou…
1 John 1:1-2 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have hand…
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæ…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on John 15:26–end
Christ having spoken of the great opposition which his gospel was likely to meet with in the world, and the hardships that would be put upon the preachers of it, lest any should fear that they and it would be run down by that violent torrent, he here intimates to all those that were well-wishers to his cause and interest what effectual provision was made for supporting it, both by the principal testimony of the Spirit (Joh 15:26), and the subordinate testimony of the apostles (Joh 15:27), and testimonies are the proper supports of truth.
I. It is here promised that the blessed Spirit shall maintain the cause of Christ in the world, notwithstanding the opposition it should meet with. Christ,…
ye also shall bear witness--rather, "are witnesses"; with reference indeed to their future witness-bearing, but putting the emphasis upon their present ample opportunities for acquiring their qualifications for that great office, inasmuch as they had been "with Him from the beginning." (See on Luk 1:2).
Next: John Chapter 16
Adam Clarke on John 15:26
But when the Comforter is come - See on Joh 14:16 (note).
He shall testify and ye also shall bear witness - He shall bear his testimony in your souls, and ye shall bear this testimony to the world. And so they did, by their miracles, their preaching, their writings, their lives, and by their deaths. Our Lord appears to reason thus: In every respect the unbelief of the Jews is inexcusable. They believe not my doctrine, notwithstanding its purity and holiness. They believe not in the Father who sent me, notwithstanding I have confirmed my mission by the most astonishing miracles. One thing only remains now to be done, i.e. to send them the Holy Spirit, to convince them of sin, righteousness,…
And ye shall also bear witness,.... That is, of Christ; of all the things he did in Jerusalem, and in the land of the Jews; being eyewitnesses, and ministers, or servants of the word, who constantly attended upon him; of all the good he did to the bodies and souls of men; of the various miracles he wrought, and of the several doctrines which were taught by him: what they saw with their eyes, heard with their ears, and with their hands handled of the word of life, that they could declare, and did declare, and bore a faithful testimony to; they were to be, and were witnesses of his sufferings and death, of his resurrection from the dead, and ascension to heaven; they were a company of select m…
The Church Fathers
But when the Spirit bears witness, you yourselves also, He says, will bear witness with Him. For you have been eye-witnesses and spectators of what I have done among My own, being even with Me as My disciples.
When you speak, the Spirit, through its testimony, will confirm your words with evident signs, as also the apostle said, "My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power." The signs that happened through the power of the Spirit in the name of the Lord showed the greatness of him who underwent passion and, at the same time, the foolishness of those who dared crucify him.
For, if "those delivered it unto us, who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word;" then, what he says, is theirs. And why did he not say, `As they who were counted worthy of the Holy Spirit delivered them unto us;' but "Those who were eyewitnesses?" Because, in matter of belief, the very thing that gives one a right to be believed, is the having learned from eyewitnesses: whereas the other appears to foolish persons mere parade and pretension. And therefore John also speaks thus: "I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God." And Christ expresses Himself in the same way to Nicodemus, while he was dull of apprehension, "We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and no one receiveth our witness." Accordingly, He gave them leave to rest their testimony in many particulars on the fact of their having seen them, when He said, "And do ye bear witness concerning Me, because ye have been with Me from the beginning." The Apostles themselves also often speak in a similar manner; "We are witnesses, and the Holy Spirit which God hath given to those that obey Him."; and on a subsequent occasion, Peter, still giving assurance of the Resurrection, said, "Seeing we did eat and drink with Him." For they more readily received the testimony of persons who had been His companions, because the notion of the Spirit was as yet very much beyond them. Therefore John also at that time, in his Gospel, speaking of the blood and water, said, he himself saw it, making the fact of his having seen it equivalent, for them, to the highest testimony, although the witness of the Spirit is more certain than the evidence of sight, but not so with unbelievers.
Dictionary and topics
Apostle — A person sent by another; a messenger; envoy. This word is once used as a descriptive designation of Jesus Christ, the Sent of the Father (Heb. 3:1; John 20:21). It is, however, generally used as…
Church — Derived probably from the Greek kuriakon (i.e., “the Lord’s house”), which was used by ancient authors for the place of worship. In the New Testament it is the translation of the Greek word ecclesia,…
Apostles · .See COMMISSION OF, above, and — .See COMMISSION OF, above, and
Testimony · RELIGIOUS — RELIGIOUS
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John 15:22-27
22. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23. He who hateth me hateth my Father also. 24. If I had not done among them the works which no other man did, they would not have had sin; but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. 25. But that the word may be fulfilled which is written in their law. They have hated me without a cause. 26. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceedeth from the Father, will testify of me: 27. And you also will bear testimony, (or, are witnesses) because from the beginning you are with me.
22. If I had no…
