John Calvin Commentary John 19:7

"The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God." — John 19:7 (ASV)

We have a law. They mean that, in proceeding against Christ, they do what is right, and are not motivated by hatred or sinful passion, for they perceived that Pilate had indirectly rebuked them. Now, they speak as in the presence of a man who was ignorant of the law; as if they had said, “We are permitted to live according to our own manner, and our religion does not permit any man to boast of being the Son of God.” Besides, this accusation was not altogether lacking plausibility, but they erred greatly in its application.

The general doctrine was undoubtedly true: it was not lawful for men to assume any honor that is due to God, and those who claimed for themselves what is unique to God alone deserved to be put to death. But the source of their error related to the person of Christ, because they did not consider what titles are given by Scripture to the Messiah, from which they could easily have learned that he was the Son of God, and did not even trouble themselves to inquire whether or not Jesus was the Messiah whom God had previously promised.

We see, then, how they drew a false conclusion from a true principle, for their reasoning is flawed. This example warns us to distinguish carefully between a general doctrine and its application. There are many ignorant and unstable persons who reject the very principles of Scripture if they have once been deceived by the appearance of truth; and such license spreads too rapidly in the world every day. Let us, therefore, remember that we ought to guard against deception, so that true principles may retain all their force, and that the authority of Scripture may not be diminished.

On the other hand, we can easily find a reply to wicked men who falsely and improperly cite the testimony of Scripture, and the principles they draw from it, to support their bad designs. This is just as the Papists, when they highly praise the authority of the Church, bring forward points on which all God's children agree.

They maintain that the Church is the mother of believers, that she is the pillar of truth, that she ought to be heard, and that she is guided by the Holy Spirit. All this we ought to admit; but when they wish to claim for themselves all the authority that is due to the Church, they wickedly, and with sacrilegious arrogance, seize what does not belong to them at all.

For we must inquire into the basis of their assumption that they deserve the title of 'The Church'; and here they completely fail. Similarly, when they exercise furious cruelty against all the godly, they do so on this pretext: that they have been appointed to defend the faith and peace of the Church. But when we examine the matter more closely, we plainly see that there is nothing they care less about than the defense of true doctrine, that they are least concerned about peace and harmony, and that they only fight to uphold their own tyranny. Those who are satisfied with general principles, and do not attend to the circumstances, imagine that the Papists are right in attacking us; but investigation of the matter quickly dispels that smoke by which they deceive the naive.