(40) And went away again beyond Jordan.--Comp. Note on John 1:28. In Matthew 19:1 we have the fuller expression, "the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan," referring to the same locality. The whole of Judaea proper was Cis-Jordanic, and the "Judah upon Jordan" (Joshua 19:34) was the boundary "toward the sun-rising" of the tribe of Naphthali--i.e., it answered to what was afterwards known as Gaulonitis, and is now known as the Jolan. Josephus [Wars, iii. 3) expressly enumerates Gaulonitis as belonging to Judaea in the time of our Lord. For the explanation of this spread of the name, which has always been a geographical crux, see von Raumer's argument in Dr. Caspari's summary (Chron. and Geogr., Introd., Eng. Trans., p. 90). We have to think, then, probably of Bethania or Tellanihje, to the north of the Sea of Galilee, on the eastern side of the Jordan, as the place of our Lord's retirement. He had taught the Jews by divine words, and they had sought to stone Him (John 10:31, and John 8:59). He had appealed to divine works, and they had attempted to take Him by force (John 10:39, and John 7:30; John 7:32; John 7:44). He sees in all this the darkness which foreshadows the night, and He retires from the city to visit it no more until the final Passover, when the night will be at hand. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!"

And there he abode.--How long we have no means of judging. The time from Dedication to Passover (December to April) is divided, by the visit to Bethany near Jerusalem, and the raising of Lazarus, into two parts of uncertain duration, one of which is spent in Gaulonitis and the other in Ephraim (John 11:54).

Verses 40-42. -

(4) Beyond Jordan. The susceptibility of those who had been prepared for his Word by the early ministry of John. Verse 40. - And he went away again (see John 1:28, note) beyond Jordan, to the place where John at first baptized; a place enriched for him by many solemn associations. There he submitted to baptism, to fasting, and temptation. There he had heard the first testimonies of John. There he had gathered round him his most susceptible and appreciative hearers. There Andrew and Simon, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, came under his mighty spell. There the first intuition of his Messiahship dawned on the noblest of his followers. The entire suggestion, is unquestionably historic. That special scene of our Lord's ministry was indelibly impressed on the memory of the beloved disciple. The place where John at first baptized; i.e. the place occupied by John before he came to OEnon, and therefore in the district where he delivered his most solemn testimonies to the people, to the Sanhedrin, to the first disciples. And there he abode. How long, we know not. The repose was soon broken.

10:39-42 No weapon formed against our Lord Jesus shall prosper. He escaped, not because he was afraid to suffer, but because his hour was not come. And He who knew how to deliver himself, knows how to deliver the godly our of their temptations, and to make a way for them to escape. Persecutors may drive Christ and his gospel our of their own city or country, but they cannot drive him or it out of the world. When we know Christ by faith in our hearts, we find all that the Scripture saith of him is true.And went away again beyond Jordan,.... Where he had been before; and whither he went; not merely for the security of his person, much less to indulge himself in ease, but to preach the Gospel, work miracles, and bring many souls to believe on him, as did: and he went

into the place where John at first baptized; that is, Bethabara, where he baptized before he was at Aenon, near Salim, John 1:28, and was the place where Christ himself was baptized, and where John bore such a testimony of him:

and there he abode; how long is not certain, perhaps till he went to Bethany, on account of raising Lazarus from the dead.