The Gospel of St. John ..

'

i

THE

GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN

ALEXANDER MACLAREN, D.D.

HODDER AND STOUGHTON

27 PATERNOSTER ROW

MDCCCXCIII

Printed by Hazelt, Watson, & Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury.

PREFACE

^ I ^HESE chapters were written as a commentary
on the International Sunday School Lessons
for the American Sunday School Times, from which
they are reprinted with the concurrence of the
proprietors.

CONTENTS

PAGE

I. THE WORD IN ETERNITY, TIME, AND FLESH . I
St. John i. I-18.

II. TWO days: John's last, and Christ's first ii

St. John i. 29-42.

III. THE first ray OF THE GLORY . . .20

St. John ii. i-i I.

IV. " HOW CAN THESE THINGS BE ? " . . -29

St. John iii. 1-17.

V. THE THIRSTY GIVER OF LIVING WATER . . 39

St. John iv. S-26.

VI. THE LIFE-GIVER AND JUDGE . . . -49

St. John V. 17-30.

VII. BREAD ENOUGH, AND TO SPARE . . • 58

St. John vi. I -14.

VIII. TRUE WORK FOR TRUE BREAD . . .66

St. John vi. 26-40.

IX. " THAT ROCK WAS CHRIST " . . . ■ 1^

St. John vii. 31-44.

X. FREEDOM AND SONSHIP . . . -85

St. John viii. 31-47.

XI. JESUS SEEING THE BLIND, AND THE BLIND

SEEING JESUS 95

St. John ix. I-Il, 35-38.

XII. THE SHEPHERD OF MEN .... I03

St. John X. I -16.

viii Contents

LESS. PAGE

XIII. THE CROWNING MIRACLE . . . .112

St, John xi. 21-44.

XIV. WHAT JESUS THOUGHT ABOUT THE CROSS . 121

St. John xii. 20-36.

XV. THE MASTER-SERVANT 130

St. John xiii. I- 17

XVI. THE PRESENT-ABSENT CHRIST AND THE ABID-
ING COMFORTER . . . . -139
St. John xiv. 1-3, 15-27.

XVII. THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES . . . I49

St. John XV, 1-16,

XVIII, THE SPIRIT CONVINCING THE WORLD AND

GUIDING THE CHURCH. . . . 158

St. John xvi. I-15.

XIX. THE INTERCESSOR 1 69

St. John xvii. 1-19,

XX. THE WILLING PRISONER . . . . 180

St. John xviii. I- 13.

XXI. THE RELUCTANT JUDGE, THE RESOLVED AC-
CUSERS, AND THE PATIENT CHRIST . 189
St. John xix. I -16.

XXII. "it IS finished" . . . . .198

St, John xix, 17-30,

XXIII. THE DAWNINGS OF FAITH IN THE RISEN

LORD . . . . . . .207

St. John XX. 1-18.

XXIV. THE SEA AND THE SHORE . . . . 2l6

St, John xxi. I-14.

XXV. REVIEW LESSON THOUGHTS . . . -2 23

LESSON I

The Word in Eternity, Time, and Flesh

St, John i. i-i8

1. "In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God.

2. The same was in the
beginning with God.

3. All things were made by
Him ; and without Him was not
any thing made that was made.

4. In Him was life ; and the
life was the light of men.

5. And the light shineth in
darkness ; and the darkness
comprehended it not.

6. There was a man sent
from God, whose name was
John.

7. The same came for a wit-
ness, to bear witness of the
Light, that all men through
Him might believe.

8. He was not that Light, but
was sent to bear witness of
that Light.

9. That was the true Light,
which lighteth every man that
Cometh into the world.

10. He was in the world,
and the world was made by
Him, and the world knew Him
not.

11. He came unto His own,
and His own received Him not.

12. But as many as received
Him, to them gave He power
to become the sons of God,
even to them that believe on
His name :

13. Which were born, not of
blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man,
but of God.

14. And the Word was made
flesh, and dwelt among us,
(and we beheld His glory, the
glory as of the only begotten
of the Father,) full of grace and
truth.

15. John bare witness of
Him, and cried, saying. This
was He of whom I spake. He
that Cometh after me is pre-
ferred before me : for He was
before me.

16. And of His fulness have
all we received, and grace for
grace.

17. For the law was given
by Moses, but grace and truth
came by Jesus Christ.

18. No man hath seen God'
at any time ; the only begotten
Son, which is in the bosom of
the Father, He hath declared
Him."

THE simplest words carry the deepest meanings.
These brief sentences of this wonderful prologue
are as inexhaustible in thought as they are inartificial in

2 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. i. 1-18

language. They unveil the eternal depths of Deity, and
gather all the history of man in time into one long pro-
cess of the effluent light warring with darkness, which
culminates in the incarnate Word, "the Light," whose
name at last is disclosed as Jesus Christ, the fountain of
all grace and truth, the only declarer of God. Volumes
could not worthily set forth the truths condensed in these
verses. Eighteen centuries have but spelled out a little
of the meaning of these eighteen verses. Heaven will
not exhaust them.

It is a mistake to try to force the style of John into
logical grooves. The great stones with which he builds
are laid on each other without mortar. The links of
connection are so numerous that each new student finds
some fresh one. And they are all there, and more
besides ; for the mighty facts which he tells in such
childlike, deep speech are all laced together by innu-
merable ties. We may, however, note that the two
references to the Baptist's testimony, w^hich break in
upon the flow of the evangelist's thought, seem to part it
into distinct portions, and to be themselves distinct. If
we read straight on, omitting John's two sayings, the
stream is continuous. We follow, then, this clue to a
division of the subject-matter, not, however, laying stress
on it.

I. Verses 1-5, then, begin by carrying us out of time and
creation, to unveil to our awestruck vision something of
the eternal depths of God, when none but God was, and
thence descend to reveal how things came to be, how a
universe has life, how what is but life in other creatures
rises in man to be light, and how, through all the ages,
the uncreated light has striven with the intrusive and

Less. I.] The "Word in Eternity, Time, and Flesh 3

obstinate darkness. God in Hiaiself, creation, preserva-
tion, and the whole history of man as moral, intellectual,
and spiritual, are here. " In the beginning God created^^
but " in the beginning the Word was,^^ When creatures
began to be, He was there already. That necessarily
implies eternal existence. John does not speak as if "^
his terms needed definition. Either they were already
familiar to his readers, or he felt that his statements
sufficiently explained them. This at least is clear, that
the three clauses of the first verse set forth the Word as
eternal, as a Person holding communion with God, and
as Himself Divine in nature.

At the close of the prologue he will identify this
eternal, Divine, personal Word with his dear Lord and
Master, but now he simply affirms, in that strangely
assured and yet quiet way of his, as if no proof were
needed. If we accept these words, we shall be wiser
than all philosophers, and have got nearer the heart of
things than they. The second verse forms the transition
to the activity of the Word in history. It gathers the
three clauses preceding into one, and thus presents that
Word as fitted for the work to be next ascribed to Him.

That work is, first, creation. Mark the contrast of the /
ante-temporal " was " of the first verse and the " came to
be" ("were made") of the third verse. Observe, too,
the universality of the Word's creative energy, as twice
signalised in the two clauses. Note the specific form of
His action. " Through Him " (not " by ") teaches, as in
Colossians i. 16 and other passages, that the Word is
the agent of creation, while the Father is the source.
Observe also the distinction between " through " and
" not apart from," or " without." The one presents Him

y

4 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. i. 1-18

as the agent ; the other insists on His presence with His
creation as necessary to its existence, and forbids us to
think of it as being hke a man's work, capable of subsist-
ing away from its maker. It is the same teaching as
Paul's in Colossians i. 17 : "In Him all things consist."
Observe, too, the difference of tense, " was made " and
^^ hath been made," the former expressing the original
creative act, the latter the continuous existence of the
things created.

If we keep to the division of verses in both the
Authorised and the Revised Versions, verse four rises in
the scale of being, and shows how not only inanimate
things came to be, but living things to live. The change
of preposition is significant. " Through Him " and " not
apart from Him " express a less close and wonderful
relation than " in Him." Life is a gift implying a closer
resemblance to its source than inanimate matter attains.
" With Thee is the fountain of life." Science is baffled
to tell what life is, and still more to produce it. John's
words go nearer the centre than any biology has reached.

" In Him was life " — not, of course, meaning that He
lives, but that He gives life. Then we rise still higher,
to the one creature who has self-conscious life, and can
turn himself partly round to catch a glimpse of the
source. " Light " is one of John's great, simple words,
which open out into unfathomable depths. Physical
light divides into three chief sets of beams. " The light
of men " does the same ; for we need not ask whether
it means purity, knowledge, or joy, since it means all,
and these three are really one. All that makes us men,
rising above the less conscious forms of life, which are
too low for morality or knowledge, and may be happy

Less. I.] The Word in Eternity, Time, and Flesh 5

but not blessed, and above inanimate being, flows from
the same hand which created and sustains.

May there not be in that singular " was " of the fourth
verse some faint gleam of the vanished Eden, where
God's idea of manhood was for a moment realised, and, in
unbroken communion, life was light ? The abrupt intro-
duction, in the next verse, of " darkness," hints at some
catastrophe unnamed, to account for its appearance.
And so the sad history of humanity is summed" up in
verse five as a continual meek shining of the light, side /
by side with its opposite, and, if we adopt the rendering
in the text of the Revised Version, a continual resistance
by the darkness ; or, if we take the margin, a continual
shining of the light in spite of resistance. There is a
paradox. Light dispels darkness. The two cannot co-
exist, but this light and darkness can and do. In these
few broad outlines the whole history of man is condensed, /V.
up to John Baptist. —

II. John's mission is regarded in verses 6-8 in its relation
to that light which is not yet presented as historically
manifested in Jesus. He, like all the prophets whose
missions may be summed up in his, was but "a man,"
who, like " all things," began to be. (Note that the " was "
of verse six is the same as " were made " of verse three,
and not the same as " was " of verse one.) His office
was to witness of it, being himself not light, but lighted ;
the scope of his mission was universal, and its purpose
the production of " belief." A pregnant contrast is
implied throughout. The description of John fits Jesus,
unless Jesus is what this Gospel proclaims Him, the
incarnate Light. Otherwise He too was but sent to point
away from Himself.

6 The Gospel of St. John [Chap, i 1-18

III. The section between the two utterances of the
Baptist deals with the incarnation under the two aspects
of the coming of the Light and the becoming flesh of the
Word, thus knitting together the two thoughts of the first
section. The former representation includes verses nine
to thirteen ; the latter, verse fourteen. In the former
part, verses nine and ten still retain some reference to
the action of the light before the incarnation. Verse
nine is ambiguous, but "coming into the world" is a
standing expression for the incarnation, and is therefore
most naturally referred to " the true light." The exist-
ence of the " true light," as distinguished from imperfect
realisations or reflections of it, such as John, the universal
action of the light on humanity, and the culmination
thereof in a historical " coming," are the great truths in
the ninth verse. But, before elaborating the last further,
the writer pauses for a moment on the same sad thought
as in verse five. " I speak of a * coming,' but it is of
One who was here before He ' came,' had been here
ever since He made this world, and had been moving
unrecognised among men, like a king incognito." That
was not because He hid Himself, but because the dark-
ness would have none of the light. The need for a
further coming is laid in the failure of the former, " being
in the world," to bring recognition.

All the preceding has been a majestic flight of stairs
from heaven to earth, and now we reach the foot. The
Light who was, " came," as John too " came," in so far
as both had a historical beginning and appeared among
men ; but the Light came, as this whole Gospel teaches,
in an altogether unique sense, as by His own will, and
from a previous state of being. " His own land " was

Less. I.] The Word in Eternity, Time, and Flesh 7

the scene of His action, and " His own people " repeated
the tragedy of the past, and again darkness rejected Hght.
But the mighty expenditure of power and love was not
all vain ; for this is the vindication of the new step, His
" coming," that some " received Him," and, in Him, new
gifts. The broken construction " as many ... to them "
puts emphasis on the condition of the gift, which is
further underscored, as it were, by its repetition in
another form at the end of the verse. To " believe on
His name " involves the recognition of His revealed
character, as the object not merely of intellectual know-
ledge, but of trust, since " believing on " is more than
simply believing. Such trustful acceptance of the
revealed name is " receiving." That faith is the condi-
tion of being entitled to "become sons of God." The
relationship thus expressed is not that incident to all
men, as deriving natural life from God and being objects
of His love and care, but is broadly distinguished from
anything belonging to men in virtue of their natural
birth, and is the result of another supernatural birth,
according to God's will, and dependent on "believing
on the name."

The arrangement of this section and of the first is a
case of " inverted parallelism." In the former we have
first the Word, then the Light ; in the latter, first the
Light, then the Word. So verse fourteen presents the
coming of the Light as also the becoming flesh of the
Word. Mark how the eternal " was " changes into the
temporal " became " ; how the mystery of mysteries is
declared in three simple words. The eternal, personal
being of the Word, the oneness of that Person before
and after incarnation, the reality, completeness, and per-

8 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. i. 1-18

manence cf the manhood, are affirmed for adoring wonder
and faith. "In the beginning was the Word" unveils
the depths of Deity. "The Word became flesh"
declares the union of God with man, and lays in the
depths the sure foundation for thought, love, and faith.
Nothing profounder, nothing bearing more directly and
closely on daily needs or immortal hopes, can be spoken
in the speech of earth. That becoming flesh was no
transient appearance. " He tabernacled among us," the
eye-witnesses, thus fulfilling the promises of God's dwell-
ing among men, and being in that flesh as in the true
temple, which tabernacle and temple but faintly shadowed.
" The temple of His body " is the meeting-place of God
and man, the place of sacrifice and of revelation. John
stays his hand for a moment as the remembrances of
that blessed time fill his heart, and recalls the " glory,"
the reality of which the Light that shone between the
cherubim was but the emblem, the lustre of the self-
manifestation of Divinity, by which the incarnate Word
was manifested as, in a unique sense, the Son, pre-
eminent among the " children." Then he pursues his
thought, and describes Him who dwelt among the group
of disciples as possessed, in perfect measure and manner,
of all love and all truth.

Again the Baptist's witness interposes in the stream,
and this time is more definitely directed to the historical
Person, identifying One standing in his presence with
the theme of his former proclamations. The whole dis-
course is gradually converging on one head. John
recognised, with beautiful self-abnegation, his own in-
feriority, and traced it to its cause, in the essential dignity
of the Word. Later in time, He is first in place, out-

Less. I.] The Word in Eternity, Time, and Flesh 9

stripping His forerunner, because He was before he
came.

Finally, verses 16-18 gather up the blessed issues of
incarnation, contrast these with previous revelation, and,
at last, declare how all the glorious names of Word, Light,
and Son meet in the man Jesus Christ. The close con-
nection of the first words with those of verse fourteen
shows that the stream of thought goes on, overleaping
the reference to the Baptist. Christ's " fulness " is the
perfect completeness of Divine powers with which He
is, so to speak, charged, and that fulness is a communi-
cative fulness. The personal experience of the Apostle
and his brethren comes in to attest that. Those who
can say, "We have received of it," need no arguments
beside to prove Him Divine. Those who " receive
Him" (ver. 12) do therein "receive" all spiritual gifts.
The grace of this moment, if used aright, is ever
exchanged for new grace, and that in increasing richness.

The law was given, in one definite act, as an external
and authoritative statute, fixed and rigid ; but what Jesus
brings "comes to be through Him," for ever flowing out
in a vital process and taking shape in men's hearts. The
contents of the law are statutes, those of Christ's gift are
love bestowed and bestowing, and truth, even the light
from the Light, and speech from the Word.

So Jesus Christ is disclosed as both Word and Light,
is set far above all messengers of God, is the Divine
communicator to men of all the Divine fulness, and the
source of all grace and truth. In one last sentence this
fisherman-apostle transcends all philosophy, and lays the
foundation stone of all true theology and of all the satis-
faction of the needs of humble souls. The limitations

lo The Gospel of St. John [Chap. i. 1-18

of our powers make the direct knowledge of God impos-
sible for man. The manhood of Him who in and from
eternity was the Word, and from the beginning has been
the light of men, makes it certain that the invisible God
is fully declared in Him, who in timeless union is " in
the bosom of the Father," and who yet tabernacled
among us, that the eyes which could not see God might
calmly and lovingly " behold His glory," and in gazing
might not only behold, but possess, the grace and truth
of which He is full, and of which the world without Him
is empty.

LESSON II

Two Days : John's Last and Christ's First

St. John i. 29-42

29. " The next day John seeth
Jesus coming unto him, and
saith, Behold the Lamb of God,
which taketh away the sin of
the world.

30. This is He of whom I
said, After me cometh a man
which is preferred before me :
for He was before me.

31. And I knew Him not:
but that He should be made
manifest to Israel, therefore am
I come baptizing with water.

32. And John bare record,
saying, I saw the Spirit descend-
ing from heaven like a dove,
and it abode upon Him.

33. And I knew Him not :
but He that sent me to baptize
with water, the same said unto
me, Upon whom thou shalt see
the Spirit descending, and re-
maining on Him, the same is
He which baptizeth with the
Holy Ghost.

34. And I saw, and bare
record that this is the Son of
God.

35. Again the next day after
John stood, and two of his
disciples ;

36. And looking upon Jesus

as He walked, he saith, Behold
the Lamb of God !

37. And the two disciples
heard him speak, and they
followed Jesus.

38. Then Jesus turned, and
saw them following, and saith
unto them, "What seek ye ?
They said unto Him, Rabbi,
(which is to say, being inter-
preted. Master,) where dwellest
Thou ?

39. He saith unto them, Come
and see. They came and saw
where He dwelt, and abode
with Him that day : for it was
about the tenth hour.

40. One of the two which
heard John speak, and followed
Him, was Andrew, Simon
Peter's brother.

41. He first findeth his own
brother, Simon, and saith unto
him, We have found the Messias,
which is, being interpreted, the
Christ.

42. And he brought him to
Jesus. And when Jesus beheld
him, He said, Thou art Simon
the son of Jona : thou shalt be
called Cephas, which is by in-
terpretation, A stone."

THE careful notes of time in this and the next
chapter show that Jesus had returned from the
temptation to the place where John was baptizing before

II

12 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. i. 29-42

the testimony of the latter here recorded. John i. 26
seems to show that Jesus was in the crowd when the
deputation from Jerusalem came ; but, at all events,
the first part of the lesson deals with John's new witness
to Him (vers. 29-34), while the second part gives the
effect of that testimony in the transference of the first
disciples from John to Jesus. These two days witnessed
the beginning of the greatest institution in the world, —
the Christian Church, — and the end of prophecy, which
reached its goal when its last representative stood in the
presence of Jesus, and, with pointing finger, designated
Him as the Lamb of God. To outward seeming they
were but a little knot of poor Jews. How kings and
Caesars would have scoffed, if told that they were the
nucleus of a movement which would shatter their thrones
and reshape the world ! " The kingdom of God cometh
not with observation."

The testimony of the Baptist, as recorded in this
section, is singularly unlike his preaching as reported in
the Synoptic Gospels. Here it points specifically to the
person of Jesus as the Messiah, and speaks a new
insight into His character and work. He is not here
the Judge with fan in hand, but the Lamb taking away
sin. This difference has been used as an argument
against the truth of this Gospel ; but there is nothing
suspicious or doubtful about it, if we only remember
that the other Gospels give John's preaching as it rang
in men's ears before the baptism of Jesus, while this
Gospel gives it as it was after that baptism had opened
his eyes to the person of the Messiah, and the descent
of the dove had taught him the inmost nature of
Messiah's rule and power.

Less. II.] Two Days : John's Last and Christ's First 13

The Baptist himself tells the process of his new
vision, in this section, and certainly the cause assigned
by him is adequate to the effect. No wonder that,
when he beheld " the Spirit descending like a dove and
abiding " on the unknown man's head, his heart leaped
up to recognise his Lord, and his stern spirit was bowed
in lowly adoration. The interval during which Jesus
was tempted in the wilderness gave John's new know-
ledge time to clear itself. Hence the eager swiftness of
his testimony when he saw Jesus coming to him, as
if calling on him for homage and witness. It is not
addressed to any particular hearer, but is a public
proclamation.

The point of the comparison with " the Lamb " is not
in character, but in office. The explanation which takes
it to mean innocence, patience, meekness, is miserably
shallow, and is negatived by the following clause, which
puts all the stress of comparison on taking away the
world's sin. Where did John get this comparison ?
There are three distinct sources in the Old Testament,
all tributary to this saying. There is the lamb of
history, when Abraham steadied his voice to answer,
" My son, God will provide Himself a lamb." The
Lamb of God is God-provided. There is the lamb of
ritual, both that offered daily and that of the passover,
which feast was near when John spoke. There is the
lamb of prophecy, set forth in Isaiah's great prophecy,
which is clearly in John's mind. There the ideas of
unresisting meekness and of vicarious sacrifice are clearly
expressed, and in the light of these we cannot but see
that the "taking away the sin of the world" by the
sacrifice of Himself is the very purpose for which God

14 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. i. 29-42

has provided the Lamb. Note the universahty of the
power of that sacrifice, — "the world." Note the com-
pleteness of its efficacy as dealing with " sin," the whole
mass as a whole, and not only with " sins " separately.
Note the hint of the manner of its operation in " taketh
away," which implies removal by Himself bearing the
burden. Note that not only the punishment, but the
reality of sin, is removed. How clear the insight of
John, then. And yet this is he who could send to ask,
" Art Thou He that should come ? " Let us beware
lest mists born of our own hearts wrap the brightest
stars of truth in a doleful film !

Verses thirty and thirty-one glow with thankful triumph
and lowly recognition of inferiority. Few prophets have
the joy of saying, " This is He of whom I spoke." At
such an hour of fulfilment the true prophet recalls with
thankfulness his words, spoken when no sign of their
accomplishment was visible, and he knew as little as
any by whom they were to be brought to pass. Well
for those who can thus recall unashamed their faith
and testimony w^hen they stand before Christ. Very
beautifully does John recall his witness borne when the
person of the Messiah was unknown to him, his con-
fidence even while thus ignorant that Jesus would be
manifested, and the subordinate office which he himself
discharged in his baptism by water.

Verses 32-34 may be a continuation of the preceding
testimony, but, as they are separated by the first words
of verse thirty-two, they are perhaps rather to be taken as
another cognate witness. They differ from the preceding
by giving the ground of John's new teaching and confi-
dence, in the visible descent of the Spirit like a dove

Less. II.] Two Days : John's Last and Christ's First 15

on Jesus at His baptism, and its abiding on Him. A
Divine message, how or when received we know not,
had set John to look for this sign. The abiding is as
much a part of it as the descent, for both facts express
in visible symbol the Divine operation which fitted the
manhood of Jesus for His Messianic work. The Spirit
came down, peaceful, tender, upon Him, and abode in
Him — not being given by measure, nor at moments of
special illumination or power, but in indissoluble union
with that pure and perfect manhood, which alone of all
men was capable of such perfect reception of the Spirit
of God. And the reception of the Spirit by Jesus, in
such fashion and measure, is the reason why He is able
to "baptize in the Holy Spirit." John gathers all into
one great saying, which sums up and concludes his own
ministry, and ushers, as it were, the Greater than he on
to the scene. For himself, he has seen and borne
witness. His work is done. For that other. He is, in
the highest sense of that great title, " the Son of God."
How much had to be suffered and learned before Christ's
disciples could fathom John's words ! That clear vision
was clouded to him, and still more to them, and did not
shine to be no more dimmed till the empty grave and
the parting on Olivet had " declared Him to be the Son
of God, with power over the Spirit of holiness."

Verses 35-42 tell the events of that fateful " morrow,"
the first day of Christ's ministry. They fall into two
parts, — how Jesus drew two souls to Himself, and
how these immediately drew others to Him. John's
repeated proclamation was a direct invitation to his
disciples to transfer their allegiance to the new Teacher,
and the obedience of the two was their deliberate

t6 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. i. 29-42

acceptance of Him. The unnamed one was, no doubt,
the evangelist himself Would any other writer have
had a motive for omitting one of the two names ?
Deeply interesting is the frequent use of the name of
" the Lamb " in the Apocalypse, if we remember that it
was the name which, long before Patmos, on that never-
to-be-forgotten day by the fords of the Jordan, had first
directed the young fisherman to Jesus. Well for us if
our latest faith is but the deepening of our earliest
thoughts of that Lord !

The two were following Jesus, as it were, by stealth,
when He " turned," as He ever does, to convert secret
into open discipleship, and to assure us that He knows
unspoken desires. The first words which He speaks are
His question to us all, " What seek ye ? " He would
have us make clear to ourselves what is our aim and
true quest in Hfe. He would have us search our hearts
to ascertain what we desire from Him, and what we
think that He can do for us. The knowledge of our
own motives and conceptions of Him and His work
underlies all profitable resort to Him ; and His question
is a veiled promise that the measure of our desires will
be the measure of His gifts. Note that His question is
" What ? " not " Whom ? " and that the two are not to
be put oif with a thing, but seek a person. "Where
dwellest Thou ? " means " We seek Thee, and to be
permanently with Thee." If we can answer Jesus so,
we shall be led by Him to secret, sweet converse, and
know, as John learned to do, the depth of the word
used slightly at first ; for we shall " abide " with and
in Him.

Jesus' second word is as universal and deep as His

Less. II.] Two Days : John's Last and Christ's First 1 7

first. " Come and see " is His invitation to us all, and
it means that faith must precede experience, and also it
promises that experience shall certainly and blessedly
follow faith. Note the verbal repetition of the words
of invitation in the narrative of what the two did.
Obedience was precise, immediate, and it was rewarded
according to promise. If our deeds accurately repeat
Christ's commands, and we fully respond to His invita-
tions. He will fully accomplish all hopes held out by
Him, and will give us more than we dreamed; for the
disciples but asked " where " He dwelt, and they not
only saw that, but abode there themselves.

No word tells what passed in that sacred interview,
begun, as it would seem, in the morning hours, and
lasting long. The personal revelation of Jesus, His
words and self, bound them to Him for ever. They
called Him Teacher before He had spoken to them, but
before He ceased to speak they were ready to confess
Him to be the Messiah ; and from that confession John,
at least, never flinched. The attractive force in Christi-
anity is Christ Himself. If we gain a glimpse of Him
as He really is, and know what we really seek, we shall
be drawn to His service. Personal experience is the best
evidence of His divinity.

The Christian Church was founded that day. It
began with two members. Their first impulse was to
impart their treasure. Observe how the next step is
told. Andrew's action is mentioned in such terms as to
suggest an unmentioned similar action by the other ; for
if there were a " first " finding " his own " brother, there
was probably a second finding of somebody else's brother.
It is extremely improbable that when Andrew brought

1 8 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. i. 29-42

Simon to Jesus, John came back unaccompanied by
James. But, however that may be, the natural impulse
of every true disciple of Christ is here beautifully illus-
trated. To bring others to Jesus will spontaneously
suggest itself to us, if we have found Him for ourselves.
The natural craving to utter conviction, the sense of
loyalty to Christ and of obligation from brotherhood, will
operate to that end. The word " shut up in our hearts "
will burn there like a fire, till we become weary of for-
bearing. If we know nothing of such necessity laid on
us from possessing the Gospel, we had better ask our-
selves whether we have any firm grasp of it.

The true weapon for us is here shown us. Andrew
did not begin to argue with Simon, or to submit to him
a few considerations tending to show the reasonableness
of Christianity, or the correspondence of the character
of Jesus with prophetic or rabbinic teaching. He did
not scold or threaten, and he was not in the least
eloquent, or poetic, or profound ; but he brought his
own experience in lieu of any other persuasive, " We have
found the Messiah." That is the best thing any of us
can say, if we would draw men to Jesus. Nothing can
refute " Whereas I was blind, now I see," and not much
can resist it. The limits of our work are also here.
" He brought him to Jesus." That is all we can do. If
we can get a man to come into direct relations with the
Lord, that Lord will do the rest.

Christ's treatment of Peter is significant. Christ reads
his old character and self; for whether His naming him
is supernatural knowledge or not, it implies, and is meant
to claim, complete knowledge. He sets in sharp con-
trast the present and the future of the man, — "Thou

Less. II.] Two Days : John's Last and Christ's First 19

art," " Thou shalt be." If the new name be meant
to prophesy character, it is a promise that the natural
impulsiveness and fitfulness shall be changed into solid
steadfastness. If it be intended to set forth office, it is a
prophecy that he shall be used for a foundation-stone of
the new building of the Church. In either meaning, it
at once reveals Christ's knowledge of present and future,
and establishes His authority. The imposition of a name
was an act of superiority, a designation to office, and a
gift of capacity. If we come to Jesus, He will receive
us, knowing us altogether in all the weakness of our old
selves, and will write upon us a new name, changing by
degrees our weakness into calm strength, and haply
using us for high service, but, at all events, appointing
us such tasks as we can do for and by Him.

Simon took many years and trials to grow up to be
Peter, but his destination was disclosed at first. We
know that Christ's servants are meant to be clothed with
His likeness. Let us "put off the old man and be re-
newed in the spirit of our minds " first, and then, by
daily efforts, " put on the new man," which is our destined
attire.

LESSON III

The First Ray of the Glory

St. John ii. i-ii

I. "And the third day there
was a marriage in Cana of

mother of

Jesus was
disciples, to

Gahlee ; and the
Jesus was there :

2. And both
called, and His
the marriage.

3. And when they wanted
wine, the mother of Jesus
saith unto Him, They have no
wine.

4. Jesus saith unto her,
Woman, what have I to do
with thee ? Mine hour is not
yet come.

5. His mother saith unto the
servants, Whatsoever He saith
unto you, do it.

6. And there were set there
six waterpots of stone, after the
manner of the purifying of the
Jews, containing two or three
firkins apiece.

7. Jesus saith unto them,
Fill the waterpots with water.

And they filled them up to the
brim.

8. And He saith unto them,
Draw out now, and bear unto
the governor of the feast. And
they bare it.

9. When the ruler of the
feast had tasted the water
that was made wine, and knew
not whence it was : (but the
servants which drew the water
knew;) the governor of the
feast called the bridegroom,

10. And saith unto him,
Every man at the beginning
doth set forth good wine ; and
when men have well drunk,
then that which is worse : but
thou hast kept the good wine
until now.

11. This beginning of mira-
cles did Jesus in Cana of Gali-
lee, and manifested forth His
glory ; and His disciples be-
lieved on Him."

T

HIS Gospel records just seven miracles before
the resurrection, and it calls them all " signs," or
symbolic acts revealing spiritual truth through material
things* The eleventh verse gives the point of view from

20

Less. III.] The First Ray of the Glory 21

which John regards them, as being manifestations of the
"glory as of the only-begotten" Son. They are the
sevenfold beams into which that white light is separated.
This first of them is, by its place in the series, especially
significant. The narrative is vivid, and charged with
minute details which speak of an eye-witness, and of
communications from Mary, made perhaps in the days
when John " took her unto his own home." It tells the
preliminaries of the sign, the sign itself, and the effects
of the sign.

I. Cana was the home of Nathanael, whose connec-
tion with it may possibly have been the reason why
Jesus and His six disciples went there. Mary appears
to have preceded them, and the invitation to them to
have followed their arrival. " The third day " is counted
from that when Philip and Nathanael were called, as
the distance from John's place of baptizing requires.
The addition of so many guests might naturally make
supplies run short, and lead Mary to appeal to Jesus,
as the cause of the deficiency, to suggest some way of
making it good. Her intimation is more than an intima-
tion. It is a request.

The whole incident is best understood by supposing
that Mary recognised in Him, not only her Son, but her
Lord, however incomplete her faith. That explains her
unspoken hope, His answer, and the else unaccountable
effect of it on her as shown in her instructions to the
servants. She tells the need and leaves Him to deal
with it. True prayer makes known wants, in humble
confidence that to tell them is sufficient, and submis-
sively refrains from prescribing a course to Him. To
speak the need, be it great or small, and to be silent

22 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. ii. i-ti

about the way of filling it, becomes those who trust His
wise and mighty love.

It need scarcely be said that no trace of sternness
or rebuke is in Christ's reply ; but while " woman " is
respectful and affectionate, the substance of His words
gives emphasis to His independence, and declares that,
now that He has begun His public work, the old days
of " subjection " are ended. Their ways diverge, and
henceforward He must be guided by His own conscious-
ness of fitting seasons for His working. Such a declara-
tion implies Mary's knowledge of His mission, and that
knowledge is still more inevitably implied in her words
to the servants. She still trusts to Him, and so implicitly
that she leaves everything to His disposal, and bespeaks
obedience for whatever He directs. Christ's delays
should but strengthen faith and submission.

No note of time gives the space between Christ's
answer and the miracle. It cannot have been long, but
He discerned some change in conditions, either material
or moral, which in a brief space made much change.
Possibly He waited for the deficiency to be apparent to
the disciples. Possibly He waited for the voice of
His heavenly Father, as well as of His earthly mother.
But, at all events, He knew that the right time had come.
His clock is not set by ours, and the beats that bring
the striking of His hour are not moments, but spiritual
conditions.

II. The miracle is next told, and that in very remark-
able fashion. There is not a word about the method,
nor even a statement that the miracle was wrought.
We are told what preceded and followed, but itself is
shrouded in silence. The servants fill the waterpots.

Less. III.] The First Ray of the Glory 23

then " Draw out now," and they draw, and carry to the
superintendent of the revels. We cannot even tell
where the miracle came in, or how far it extended.
Was all the water in these six great vessels, probably
some fifty gallons, changed into wine, or was the change
effected as the portion required was drawn, and on that
portion only ? It is impossible to say. The conspicuous
feature of the miracle is the entire absence of material
means. Sometimes our Lord employed material vehicles »
as clay, or spittle, or the touch of His hand ; sometimes
He wrought by a word. But here there is not even a
word. His will silently works with sovereign power on
matter which is plastic, as if touched. It is not even
" He spake, and it was done," but, more wonderful than
even that, He silently willed, and the "conscious water
knew its Lord, and blushed." In this beginning of
miracles, then, Jesus manifested forth His glory as
Creator and Sustainer of all things, without whom was
not anything made, and by whom all things consist and
change.

III. The results of the miracle are twofold. The
ruler of the feast, ignorant of the miracle, unconsciously
attests its reality and completeness ; the glory manifested
in it deepens the faith of the disciples.

The ruler's half-jesting speech compliments the bride-
groom's cellar at the expense of his prudence, and, in
its intention, is simply a suggestion that he is wasting
his best wine in producing it when palates are less
sensitive than at the beginning of the entertainment.
But it suggests a higher thought. Christ keeps His best
till last, whereas the world gives its best first ; and, when
palates are dulled and appetite diminished, " then that

24 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. H. i-n

which is worse." How tragically true that is ! In many
lives the early days of hope and vigour, when all was
fresh and wondrous, contrast miserably with the dreary
close, when habit and failing strength have taken the
edge off all delights of sense ; and memory, like a
lengthening chain, is dragged along, and, with memory,
regrets and remorse. In the weariness and monotony
of toilsome middle life, and in the deepening shadows
of advancing and solitary old age, worldly men have
to drink the dregs of the once foaming cup, which " at
the last biteth like a serpent." But Jesus keeps the best
for the end. No time can cloy His gifts, but advancing
years make them more precious and necessary. In His
service, " better is the end of a thing than the beginning
thereof." And when life is over here, and we pass into
the heavens, this word of the ruler at the humble feast
will serve to express our thankful surprise at finding all
so much better than our highest hopes and sweetest
experiences. "Thou hast kept the good wine until
now."

" The best is yet to be,
The last of life, for which the first was planned."

The wider significance of the sign is given in the
eleventh verse. It was a manifestation of Christ's glory,
and thereby it was the occasion of new faith to the
disciples. The light was His, and yet the Father's. The
mystery of His being is that His self-revelation was at
once ^'the effulgence of" the Father's "glory," and of
His own, as the eternal Light and only-begotten Son.
That manifestation (one of John's favourite words) led
susceptible hearts to new, deeper faith. It was a sign for
those who were already disciples, and had no recorded

Less. Ill,] The First Ray of the Glory 25

effect on others. Not only the miraculous fact, but the
whole revelation of Christ in the incident, is meant.
We have already seen that it " manifested forth His
glory " as being a creative act ; but there are other
gleams from it, which reveal other and gracious aspects
of our Lord's character and work.

It is not without meaning that Jesus began His work
by sanctioning and hallowing common, and especially
family, life. What a contrast there is between the
simple gladness of the rustic wedding and the tempta-
tion in the wilderness, from which Jesus had just come !
AVhat a contrast between the sublime heights of the
prologue and this opening scene of the ministry ! What
a contrast between the rigid, ascetic forerunner and this
Son of Man ! How unlike the anticipations of the
disciples, who would be all tingling with expectation
of the first exhibition of His Messiahship ! Surely the
fact that His first act was to hallow marriage and family
life has opened a fountain of sacred blessing. So He
breaks down that wicked division of life into sacred and
secular which has damaged both parts so much. So He
teaches that the sphere of religion is this world, not
only another. So He claims as the subjects of His
sanctifying power every relation of manhood. So He
says at the beginning of His career, " I am a man, and
nothing that belongs to manhood do I reckon foreign to
Myself." Where He has trod is hallowed ground.

The participation of the prince in the festivities of
his people dignifies these. Our King has sat at a
wedding feast, and the memory of His presence there
adds a new sacredness to the sacredest, and a new
sweetness to the sweetest, of human ties. The consecra-

26 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. ii. i-n

tion of His presence, like some pungent and perennial
perfume, lingers yet in the else scentless air of daily life.
" Sanctity " is not " singularity." We need not withdraw
from any region of activity or interest for affection or
intellect, in order to develop the whitest saintliness.
Christ's saints are to be " in the world, not of it," like
their Master, who went from the wilderness and its
fearful conflicts to begin His work amid the homely
rejoicings of a village wedding.

Further, He manifested His glory as the ennobler
and heightener of earthly joys. That may be taken,
with a possibly permissible play of fancy, as a lesson
suggested, if not as a meaning intended, by the change
of water into wine. The latter is, in the Old Testament
especially, a symbol of gladness. The Man of Sorrows
brings the gift of joy. To make men glad is an object
not unworthy of Him. If we may so say, it was worth
His while to come from heaven and agonise and die,
that He might pour everlasting and pure joy into weary
and sad hearts.

We are so much accustomed to draw joys from ignoble
sources, that in most of them there is a trace of something
not altogether creditable or lofty, and hence we often fail
to estimate rightly the importance of joy as an element
in Christian life. But Christ came to give the oil of joy
for mourning, and He does so in part by transforming
the less potent and invigorating draughts from earthen
waterpots into the new wine of the kingdom. The
commonest joys, if only they are not foul and sinful,
are capable of this transformation. If we bring them to
Jesus, and are " glad in the Lord," He will ennoble
them, and they will tend to ennoble us. A taper

Less. III.] The First Ray of the Glory 27

plunged into a jar of oxygen blazes more brightly.
Without Christ's presence, earth's joys at their best and
brightest are like some fair landscape in shadow. When
He comes to hallow them — as He always does when
He is invited — they are like the same scene when the
sun blazes out on it, flashes from every bend of the
rippling river, brings beauty into shady corners, opens
the flowers, and sets all the birds singing, in the sky.
Joys on which He can let the sunshine of His smile fall
will be bettered and prolonged thereby ; joys on which
He cannot, are not for His servants to meddle with.
If we cannot make the sign of the cross over our mirth,
and ask Him to bless it, we had better be sorrowful than
glad. If we keep Him out of our mirth, " the end of
that mirth is heaviness," however jubilant may be its
beginning.

But Christ can not only change the water of human
joy into the wine of heavenly gladness, but He can drop
an elixir into the cups of sorrow, and change them into
cups of blessing and salvation. One drop of that potent
influence can sweeten the bitterest draught, even though
many a tear has fallen into it. He can make Marah
into Elim, and can calm sorrow into a wilHng acquies-
cence not wholly unlike happiness. Christian sorrow
has a sister's likeness to Christian joy, though com-
plexion and dress be different. Jesus will repeat " this
beginning of miracles " in every sad heart that trusts
to Him.

Where He is invited as a guest. He brings richer
provision than was there before. No man is the poorer
by asking Him to accept what He can give. They who
bid Him to sup with them shall sup with Him. He

28 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. ii. i-n

supplies the deficiencies of earthly stores. The gifts He
gives do not perish with the using. The more we take,
the more we have. The largest waterpots will run dry
at last ; but Christ will give us a fountain within
springing unto life eternal, and when the world's cups
are empty He will satisfy the blessed thirst of every
spirit which longs for Him and His gifts.

LESSON IV

How Can these Things be ? "

St. John iii. 1-17

1. " There was a man of the
Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a
ruler of the Jews :

2. The same came to Jesus
bj'^ night, and said unto Him,
Rabbi, we know that Thou art
a teacher come from God : for
no man can do these miracles
that Thou doest, except God be
with him.

3. Jesus answered and said
unto him, Verily, verily, I say
unto thee. Except a man be
born again, he cannot see the
kingdom of God.

4. Nicodemus saith unto Him,
How can a man be born when
he is old ? can he enter the
second time into his mother's
womb, and be born ?

5. Jesus answered. Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, Except
a man be born of water and of
the Spirit, he cannot enter into
the kingdom of God.

6. That which is born of the
flesh is flesh ; and that which
is born of the Spirit is spirit.

7. Marvel not that I said unto
thee. Ye must be born again.

8. The wind bloweth where
it listeth, and thou hearest the
sound thereof, but canst not tell
whence it cometh, and whither
it goeth : so is every one that
is born of the Spirit.

9. Nicodemus answered and

said unto Him, How can these
things be ?

10. Jesus answered and said
unto him, Art thou a master of
Israel, and knowest not these
things ?

11. Verily, verily, I say unto
thee. We speak that we do
know, and testify that we have
seen ; and ye receive not our
witness.

12. If I have told you earthly
things, and ye believe not, how
shall 3^e believe, if I tell you of
heavenly things ?

13. And no man hath as-
cended up to heaven, but He
that came down from heaven,
even the Son of man which is
in heaven.

14. And as Moses lifted up
the serpent in the wilderness,
even so must the Son of man
be lifted up :

1 5 . That whosoever believeth
in Him should not perish, but
have eternal life.

16. For God so loved the
world, that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in Him should not
perish, but have everlasting
life.

17. For God sent not His
Son into the world to condemn
the world ; but that the world
through Him might be saved."

29

30 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. iii. 1-17

THE designation of Nicodemus as " a man of the
Pharisees " connects the narrative with the preced-
ing words, and presents it as an instance of our Lord's
discernment of character and motives, even when these
were unexpressed and dimly seen by the man himself.
He knew Nicodemus better than Nicodemus did, and
spoke to his unspoken thoughts. He "committed
Himself " to this " man " as seeing what was in him.
This wonderful disclosure of the very heart of the gospel,
made thus early and to a ruler, can only be touched here
in the slightest fashion. Volumes would not exhaust it,
but it must suffice to try to grasp its main sequence of
thought. In general, we may regard it as Christ's way
of educating a man who was ready to recognise Him as
a teacher to a fuller perception of what was needed for
discipleship, and to a loftier conception of His nature
and work. The utterances of Nicodemus divide the
whole into three parts.

I. We have the imperfect confession and its reception
(vers. 1-3). The nocturnal visit looks like timidity, or,
at least, a wish for secrecy and non-committal. The
acknowledgment by Nicodemus is made in the name of
others. Possibly he was sent by some of his colleagues
who shared his conviction, and wished further information
as to the programme of this new claimant of INIessiahship,
or he may have been speaking the general conclusion of
the Sanhedrim. If so, they stifled their first clear convic-
tions, and afterwards gave the lie to this confession.
Those who said " We know that Thou art a teacher come
from God " were not subsequently ashamed to say, with
equal confidence and arrogance, " We know that this
Man is a sinner," and " we know not from whence He

Less. IV.] "How Can these Things be?" 31

is." Light resisted is quenched. Wilful ignorance call-
ing itself knowledge binds sin on men.

There is an unpleasant tone of superiority, and almost
of patronage, in Nicodemus' testimonial. He conde-
scends to recognise in Jesus a " teacher," and calls Him
"Rabbi," though He had not graduated in the schools.
" From God " is put emphatically first, as if to signalise
the irregular inspiration of Jesus ; and the prominence
given to " we know " implies the speaker's consciousness
of the value of such a certificate to this undistinguished
teacher. But Nicodemus' error was mainly in his ■
inadequate conception of Christ's nature and work. If
we think of Jesus but as a teacher, even if we admit His
miracles as attesting God's presence with Him, His true
nature and kingdom are hid from our eyes. All merely
humanitarian conceptions of Him are here set aside by
His own hand, as unworthy of Him and impotent for us.

Whom did Nicodemus mean to convince by his argu-
ment about miracles ? It was singularly unnecessary as
addressed to Jesus, but its introduction suggests that the
speaker is reassuring his own somewhat shaky faith, which
found difficulty in admitting that a Galilean peasant was
a God-made rabbi. He has not said a word about what
he came for, and we can only infer it from Christ's
answer, which, as so often, replies to thoughts rather
than words. He wishes to know more of whether Jesus "^
claims to be the Messiah, and means to carry out the
Jewish idea of Messiah's kingdom, which John had
shadowed.

Our Lord's answer glances at his " except," and then
grapples directly with his unspoken thought, and tells
him that the kingdom of God is not brought into being

32 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. m. 1-17

through teachers, but requires, as the condition of even
beholding it, an entirely new beginning of life. There
must be new eyes for new seeing, and new seeing for
this new order of things, the kingdom of God. That
principle, which will be further developed in the sequel,
sweeps away the idea that the bringer of the kingdom is
merely to be either a school-trained rabbi or a God-sent
teacher. Something infinitely more and altogether
different from that is wanted. Human nature does not
require culture, but a new life. If Jesus is but a teacher.
He is but one of the long series whose teachings have
failed to arrest evil or bring the golden age. This
generation, with its confidence in the ennobling and
purifying effect of education, needs this truth as much
as Nicodemus did.

n. Nicodemus' question is not so foolish as it is
often supposed to be. Its second part shows that he
recognised the impossibility of the expression " born
again " being literally understood ; and its first member
asks what, in view of that plain impossibility, is the pro-
cess intended. One does not see what better question
he could have asked. The cautions founded upon its
supposed inappropriateness, to the effect that we should
beware of putting away truths because we do not under-
stand the manner of their being, seem beside the mark.
Was not this question the very one which Jesus desired
to evoke ? His answer does not deal with it as either
absurd or improper, but as the very thing for which He
had been waiting. That answer (vers. 5-8) is an explana-
tion of the manner and an enforcement of the necessity of
this new birth. In the fifth verse both of these thoughts
are stated, and rested on the sole authority of Jesus.

Less. IV.] "How Can these Things be?" ^^

The duplicated " verily," which is peculiar to this
Gospel, at once claims absolute authority for the teacher,
attests the importance of the lesson, and calls for our
best attention. We are bound to take His statements
on His bare word. What is arrogant presumption in
a human teacher is consistent with meekness in Him.
The truth thus heralded is all-important. Nicodemus'
" how can " is fully answered.

This new life is communicated " by water and Spirit."
Whatever be the meaning of the former factor, " water,"
its omission in the eighth verse shows that it is not on the
same level as the latter, " Spirit." It is generally referred
to baptism, and, if so, the relation of the two terms is that
of symbol and thing symbolised ; or, it may be, of cleans-
ing for the past old life, and impartation of the new.
But the explanation, which follows the analogy of John
the Baptist's phrase "with the Holy Ghost and with fire,"
taking water to mean simply the purifying energy of the
Spirit, is more in accordance with our Lord's absolute
silence, till the last of His words, in reference to the rite,
and with the omission in verse eight.

The necessity of the new birth is still more strongly
affirmed as the condition, not only of perceiving, but of
entering into, the kingdom of God. Therein is contained
the declaration of the spiritual character of that kingdom,
which, however it may be manifested on earth in institu-
tions, is essentially that order of things in which the will
of God reigns supreme. The Sanhedrim's dreams, which
Nicodemus shared, are shattered by the words. The
necessity of this new birth is enforced in the sixth verse
by the consideration that, as a stream cannot rise above
its source, the child but repeats the elements belonging

3

34 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. iii. 1-17

to the parent. " Flesh," by which is meant the whole of
human nature apart from the life-giving Spirit, can but
produce flesh. Man cannot find within the limits of his
own powers the conditions necessary for entrance into
the kingdom. The same law of kinship holds in the
higher region. Spiritual birth results in a life like its
source. That life, by its spiritual nature, is fit to enter
a kingdom which is spiritual. Therefore, these things
being so, the stringent demand for a new birth as pre-
liminary to becoming a subject of Messiah's (which is
God's) kingdom should cause no wonder.

Mark our Lord's emphatic "ye," corresponding to
Nicodemus' " we," but also significantly excepting Him-
self from the universal need.

A symbol lies ready at hand which may lighten the
wonder. The word necessarily translated " wind " in
verse eight is that used in the rest of the conversation,
as always, for " spirit " ; and the operation and effects of
the one agent are illustrations of those of the other.
The former seems to blow where it listeth, so little do
we know even yet of the laws determining its course.
It is audible in its effect, though unseen in itself, and its
source and its goal are beyond us. Thus free in its
working, invisible but manifest in result, coming from
hidden depths in God, and passing on to unknown issues,
the breath of God is breathed into " flesh," and makes it,
too, "spirit." Mark the significance of the apparently
irregular comparison attributing all these characteristics,
not, as we expect, to the Spirit, but to every one born
thereby. The offspring is as the parent. The Christian
in his new life has the law of the spirit of life within, and
is free thereby. The depths of his hidden life cannot be

Less. IV.] "How Can these Things be?" 35

tracked by fleshly eyes, but its results are manifest. It
has its origin in the secrets of Divine love, and its goal is
among things which eye hath not seen.

So Jesus answers the question, " How can a man be
born when he is old ? " A new life, which the Spirit
of God will give, is the only possible qualification for
entrance into the kingdom of God, either here or in its
ultimate perfection. What use would a " teacher " be,
if that be so?

III. Nicodemus' third utterance repeats more curtly,
and, as it were, wearily, his former question. Christ's
answer has a tone of rebuke at first, implying the presence
of something wrong, but soon passes to answer with
infinite patience what was good in the question, by un-
folding the great work which made it possible that " these
things " should " be." The conditions of entrance into
the kingdom having been laid down, the means of com-
pliance with them are next set forth. The tenth verse
has an accent of rebuke, and implies that "these things "
— that is, the necessity and reality of a spiritual influence
recreating men — were so far taught in the Old Testament
that the men whose business was to expound it, and
whose boast was that they "knew," should have been
familiar with them. Many a psalm (Jer. xxxi. ;^;^ ;
Ezek. xxxvi. 26) taught these truths. Ecclesiastics blind
to the vital centre of the revelation which they assume
to expound are found in all Churches.

The eleventh verse rebukes Nicodemus on another
ground, — that he was putting away strong testimony to the
truths in hand. But who are the " we " here associated
with Jesus ? The best answer is, the little group of
disciples, who, however imperfectly, had in some measure

36 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. iii. 1-17

accepted Christ's teaching, and begun to know the mys-
teries of the kingdom. On the one side are the Pharisees,
represented by Nicodemus, with his " we know " ; on the
other, the handful of Christ's followers who could say,
" We have seen, and we know," with better right.

The essential distinction of true Christian witnessing
is here set forth, in some measure anticipatively, as
being the result of personal and immediate knowledge ;
and John's first words in his Epistle are an echo. The
clearness of the witness and the rehableness of its
source make the guilt of rejecting the more deep,
and the wonder of it the more wonderful and sad.
This tenderly condescending " we " makes the presence
of some, at least, of the disciples probable; and that
would explain the minute • fulness of narrative, since, if
any were there, John would be.

The twelfth verse warns Nicodemus and us all that the
rejection of light given bars the reception of higher light,
and saddens the Speaker of it. It may seem strange that
the truths just spoken should be called " earthly " ; but
the strangeness disappears if we remember that that
epithet means having their place of manifestation on earth.
The new birth is not earthly in the sense of belonging
by nature to earth, but it is in that other of being brought
about and operating on earth. So it is capable of verifi-
cation through its effects, and therefore should be easier
to receive than the next declaration to be made. A
solemn lesson as to the connection between our attitude
to the first and second stages of Christ's teaching is
wrapped up in these words. If we will not learn a^ we
stand small chance of learning b.

The thirteenth verse naturally follows the claim that

Less. IV.] "How Can these Things be?" 37

Jesus was the trustworthy Revealer of heavenly things.
There was a witness to the earthly in which others were
united with Him, but in telling the heavenly He stood
alone. His sole office therein, and the reliableness of
these revelations resting on His word only, depend on
that great fact that He came down from heaven, and that,
as Son of Man, He is in heaven even while on earth.
His pre-existence, incarnation, continual communion with
the Father, uniqueness, and, as consequence of all. His
right to tell heavenly things, and our obligation to
receive them, simply because He has said them, are all
included in these few words.

And what are the heavenly things thus solemnly
brought to us for our faith ? The fact of the mission of
the Son of God from the heart of the Father. Of course,
the incarnation and the crucifixion are earthly things, in
so far as they have their fulfilment on earth ; but they
are heavenly, inasmuch as all which gives them their
value, and distinguishes them from any other birth or
death, lies in the heavenly truths unfolded in verses 14-
18. The brazen serpent was in the likeness of the cause
of the disease. Jesus came in the likeness of sinful
flesh. Its elevation was the symbol of the defeat of the
evil, and the means of making it conspicuous. Christ
was lifted on the cross in order to slay the sin in the
likeness of which He, sinless, died. A look brought
healing. Faith beholds, and is whole. The shameful
elevation of the cross was one stage in the elevation to
the throne, and Nicodemus and we are to learn that the
victory of the King is in His apparent defeat, and the
degradation of the lofty cross the direct path to the
height of the throne.

38 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. iii. 1-17

The sacrificial death of Christ on the cross, as in
obedience to a necessity (" must ") arising from the
very nature of God, the great gift of eternal life flowing
from Him to us, and the condition on which that gift is
ours, — namely, faith in Him, — are the heavenly things
which Jesus unfolded to Nicodemus as the full answer
to his question of how that new birth could be brought
about. Clearly, the knowledge which each man may
have of his own character, and the experience which he
has of men, confirm the earlier declaration that a radical
change, comparable to a new birth, is needful before
such a mortal creature can enter into the state of perfect
obedience to God's perfect will. As clearly, such a
change can only be effected by superhuman — that is, by
Divine — power. Then comes the great question, Can
and will such a power be put forth ; and, if so, where is
it, and how may I have it working on me ? The second
part of this conversation answers these questions. Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, the Son of Man, has come from
the Father, sent by the Father's love. He has died on
the cross for sin-stricken men. The look of faith brings
His gifts into our hearts. Eternal life is the fife con-
ferred in the new birth. They who believe in His name
are born, not of flesh, but of God ; and to them He gives
the Spirit, which quickens and changes their sinful selves
into its own likeness, and gives them authority to become
sons of God.

LESSON V
The Thirsty Giver of Living Water

St. John iv. 5-26

5. "Then cometh He to a
city of Samaria, which is called
Sychar, near to the parcel of
ground that Jacob gave to his
son Joseph.

6. Now Jacob's well was
there. Jesus therefore, being
wearied with His journey, sat
thus on the well : and it was
about the sixth hour.

7. There cometh a woman of
Samaria to draw water : Jesus
saith unto her, Give Me to
drink.

8. (For His disciples were
gone away unto the city to buy
meat.)

9. Then saith the woman of
Samaria unto Him, How is it
that Thou, being a Jew, askest
drink of me, which am a woman
of Samaria ? for the Jews have
no dealings with the Samaritans.

10. Jesus answered and said
unto her, If thou knewest the
gift of God, and who it is that
saith to thee. Give Me to drink ;
thou wouldest have asked of
Him, and He would have given
thee living water.

11. The woman saith unto
Him, Sir, Thou hast nothing to

draw with, and the well is
deep : from whence then hast
Thou that living water ?

12. Art Thou greater than
our father Jacob, which gave
us the well, and drank thereof
himself, and his children, and
his cattle ?

13. Jesus answered and said
unto her, Whosoever drinketh
of this water shall thirst again :

14. But whosoever drinketh
of the water that I shall give
him shall never thirst; but the
water that I shall give him
shall be in him a well of water
springing up into everlasting life.

15. The woman saith unto
Him, Sir, give me this water,
that I thirst not, neither come
hither to draw.

16. Jesus saith unto her, Go,
call thy husband, and come
hither.

17. The woman answered
and said, I have no husband.
Jesus said unto her. Thou hast
well said, I have no husband :

18. For thou hast had five
husbands ; and he whom thou
now hast is not thy husband :
in that saidst thou truly.

40

The Gospel of St. John [Chap. iv. 5-26

19. The woman saith unto
Him, Sir, I perceive that Thou
art a prophet.

20. Our fathers worshipped
in this mountain ; and ye say,
that in Jerusalem is the place
where men ought to worship.

21. Jesus saith unto her,
Woman, believe Me, the hour
Cometh, when ye shall neither
in this mountain, nor yet at
Jerusalem, worship the Father.

22. Ye worship ye know not
what : we know what we wor-
ship : for salvation is of the
Jews.

23. But the hour cometh?
and now is, when the true
worshippers shall worship the
Father in spirit and in truth :
for the Father seeketh such to
worship Him.

24. God is a Spirit : and they
that worship Him must worship
Him in spirit and in truth.

25. The woman saith unto
Him, I know that Messias
Cometh, which is called Christ :
when He is come, He will tell
us all things.

26. Jesus saith unto her, I
that speak unto thee am He."

THERE are seven sayings of our Lord in this con-
versation, which may be regarded as the seven
rounds of a ladder whose foot is on earth and its top in
heaven. The first is the request " Give Me to drink,"
which reveals a true manhood participant of physical
need and dependent on help. The last is the full
revelation of His dignity in " I that speak unto thee
am He." How wide the distance between these two !
The path from the valley to the height, and the reasons
for making a Samaritan woman the recipient of so clear
a revelation of the truth veiled from His own people,
will appear in studying the narrative. Observe that in
the earlier part of the conversation Jesus takes the
initiative and the woman answers, while in the latter,
after her conscience has been roused, the parts are
reversed. The passive recipient becomes the active
inquirer.

We must leave all topography and picturesque treat-
ment to others, and simply note the first step in the
ladder. Try to see with the woman's eyes a travel-worn

Less. V.J The Thirsty Giver of Living Water 4 1

Jew sitting alone by the well, and to hear with her ears
the request for a draught of water, which He evidently
sorely needed. Her question (probably put while she
was giving the boon asked for) is the simple expression
of wonder, with a little dash of rustic raillery in it, as
who should say, "Oh, then, a thirsty Jew is not quite
so proud as he would be if He did not want anything !
You can speak to a Samaritan, and that a woman, when
she can help you." Her wonder would have been
greater if she had known the deepest answer to her
question, His elevation above all national distinctions
and equal kinship to every human soul.

But, if we look at this scene with eyes enlightened
by fuller knowledge, how wonderful and precious it is,
as one pathetic evidence of the true humanity and
humiliation of our Lord ! He whose goings forth were
of old sat, a weary traveller, too tired to go with the
disciples to buy food, which He needed. The blazing
sun, His creature, made Him thirst who stills the
cravings of souls. Our question should be, " How is it
that Thou, being the Son of God, needest and askest
drink of one of us ? " The answer carries us deep into
the mysteries of God and the heart of the gospel.

The second step (vers. 10-12) is like a partial opening
of a giving hand to show a corner of the gift lying in
it, which is met by a half-bewildered answer, through
which appears a dawning sense of some deeper meaning
than the speaker has grasped. Our Lord does not yet
afford any clear indication of the nature of the gift, but
simply seeks to awaken a sense of great possibilities to
be had for the asking. He links His words on to the
woman's expressed wonder that He, being what she sees

42 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. iv. 5-26

Him, should cross the barrier to her. If she knew who
He, the " Jew," was, a deeper wonder would open to
her, and it would be she who would -sue to Him. " The
gift of God " is not defined, but the very generality of
the phrase stirs desires. It is perhaps best left in that
generality, as here meaning all that God gives through
Christ.

Two things then are pointed out, in which He would
have her feel her ignorance, — the gift of God, and the
true nature of Him, the Giver. If men rightly under-
stood what God wishes to give them, the knowledge
could not but kindle desire. If they understood it was
a gift, they would know that asking was the way to get
it. If they knew that Christ gave God's gift, they would
know to ask Him. That " if thou knewest " is, on
Christ's lips, a lament as well as a palliation. This
woman's ignorance was innocent. Ours is not. But
the knowledge here meant is more than intellectual
apprehension ; for, alas ! it is possible to know in that
way both of these subjects, and to have no motions of
desire towards them. Not only will real knowledge
produce desire, but every desire addressed to Jesus will
be answered. The sequence is certain. *,^now," "ask,'^,
"have," are links soldered fast together.

What is the " living water " ? Of course, the form of
the symbol has reference to the occasion of the whole
conversation. But the occurrence of the same metaphor
in the words to Nicodemus as to " water and the Spirit,"
and again in the great scene in the temple court (John
vii. 37), suggests that the emblem is here used for the
gift of the Holy Spirit. If so, the subsequent teaching
of the nature of true worship is based on the promise

Less, v.] The Thirsty Giver of Living Water 43

in this earlier part of the conversation, and a new hnk
between the parts is brought to Hght. But whatever
the meaning may be, there is no explanation of it at
this stage. Enough if now some longing for the un-
known precious gift and some dawnings of trust in its
Giver begin to move in the woman.

Her reply indicates growing seriousness and incipient
awe. She addresses Jesus with a title of respect, and
her question, pointing out the physical impossibility, is
like Nicodemus' parallel one, the first trace of per-
ception that more is meant than water. Her second
question lays hold of Christ's hint of concealed greatness;
and while it puts emphasis on ''Thou," — a wearied, thirsty,
solitary wayfarer, — and magnifies, with a touch of national
jealousy, " our father Jacob," whom she calls, with dis-
tinct reference to Christ's promise to give, the " giver " of
" the well," there is a tone of reverence in it which seems
to invite fuller disclosure. Thus far Christ's dealing has
told as He desired.

The next step (vers. 13-15) is a fuller explanation of
the gift, answered by asking which, however imperfect,
is not in vain. Water gives temporary relief to thirst,
and so all creatural delights and goods allay desires for
a space only. They fail in permanence because they are
external. If men are ever to cease to thirst, they must
have an inward fountain. Nothing outside of me can
permanently still my nature. Jesus does not define His
gift, but tells its blessed effects. He has something to
give which will pass into the spirit, and, there abiding,
will not only quench a moment's thirst, but will be a
self-reproducing fountain, — not merely like water in a
cup or even in Jacob's well, but " leaping up " towards

44 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. iv. 5-26

and reaching to the eternal Hfe from which it came. A
satisfying gift, an inward gift, a satisfying inward gift,
which is itself an active principle and the quickener of
action where it dwells, and which ever tends towards the
perfect consummation of eternal life, — what can this gift
be but that Spirit which He gives, and which is in us the
ground of all enduring blessedness, the spring of all glad
energy, the inspirer of all Teachings of heart and mind
towards the perfect life, of which it is the earnest ? The
great words in the seventh chapter, already referred to,
are the best commentary on this saying.

The woman's wonder has deepened into awe, and her
glimmering suspicions of something great in this "Jew "
pass into longings to possess this gift ; and her petition,
though it be spoken as in twilight, bears witness that new
desires are beginning. She does not understand, but
she feels that somehow this Stranger can give her the
cure of two evils, ^unsatisfied thirst and weary toil, the
latter being pathetically expressed in the Revised Version's
" come all the way hither." Even the dimmest per-
ception of His gift, which is strong enough to wing a
prayer to Him, is strong enough to bring an answer.
Even the desire to have earthly necessities supplied and
earthly toil alleviated is acceptable to Him.

The next step (vers. 16, 17) is the unexpected home-
thrust at her sin and the roused conscience. No ex-
planation of the startling suddenness of this address
is sufficient, if it supposes that Jesus did not know her
circumstances, or did not mean it as an assault on her con-
science. What other reason could there be for breaking
in on the flow of the conversation ? The lesson taught
by this sudden demand is that the consciousness of sin

Less, v.] The Thirsty Giver of living Water 45

must be evoked, and penitence precede the reception of
Christ's gift. The direct way to answer the woman's
prayer is to rouse her conscience.

The woman's answer proves that she is under the
spell of Christ's influence. There is shame in its brevity,
but also the need to tell Him the shameful truth. Per-
haps there may be also a shade of doubt whether He
could have the mysterious power she was beginning to
think He had, since He seemed to err. Did she half
think that she had found Him tripping ? If so, the next
step sets her right.

It is (vers. 17, 18) the full disclosure of her sin and
the full recognition of His prophetic authority. " He
knew all men " (John ii. 24), and His minute knowledge
of the foul details drove home the conviction that He
was " a prophet." She has got nearer the true con-
ception than Nicodemus, with his cold statement of a
reasoned conviction. A quickened conscience is a good
teacher. She does not resent the Stranger's intrusion
into her past, nor make excuses, but, as it were, falls in
a heap at His feet, utterly abject before Him. They are
not beyond hope who are within reach of conviction of
sin. From this point onward the woman takes the
mitiative, and Christ answers. That is a sign of growing
interest and earnestness.

So the next step (vers. 20-24) is her reference of the
fundamental question between her people and His to His
prophetic authority. The supposition that her question
was only a diversion, to get away from further allusions
to her life, is inconsistent both with her previous attitude
of reverence and awe and with the tone of Christ's
answer. The question raised by her divided the two

46 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. iv. 5-26

peoples, was important, and had evidently been seriously
thought of by her. She must have been profoundly
impressed by Jesus, to think of asking Him, " being a
Jew," to decide it for her. She all but offers, in asking
His judgment, to become a proselyte. But her notions
are those of formal worshippers, to whom the place made
worship acceptable, and who were more concerned about
the where than the how -ox the whom. She leaves out
the name of the object of worship, as if that w^ere less
important than the locality.

Our Lord's great answer lifts her high above half-
pagan notions. It deals with a prospect for the future
and a privilege for the present. At some hour, which is
yet to come and will come, the religion of sacred places
will melt away, with all its antagonisms, in a worship
which will be universal because it is filial. When that
hour strikes, Gerizim and Jerusalem will equally be
forsaken shrines. The fatherhood of God is the great
truth which Jesus proclaims as determining the externals
of worship.

But He also answers the question as to the relative
worth of Samaritan and Jewish worship. The difference
does not lie in the place of worship, but in the knowledge
of the worshippers. The Samaritans had cut themselves
off from God's progressive revelation of Himself in Israel,
and therefore their worship was of an unknown some-
what. The God to whom men attain by any other path
than ^hat of accepting His historical revelation of Him-
self, is a dim and colourless abstraction, a peradventure,
an object of fear or hope, as may be, but not of know-
ledge. Only they who accept and profit by that historical
revelation can be said to " know what they worship."

Less, v.] The Thirsty Giver of Living Water 47

The reason for this knowledge of the object of worship
is that, by God's appointment, " the [promised] salva-
tion " was to proceed from the Jews, which implies a
process of revelation among them. The woman's ques-
tion is thus answered, the true prerogative of Israel set
forth, even while the universal destination of that salvation
is asserted, and the fading away of all national pre-
eminence and local sanctity in the universal worship of
the Father foretold.

But the present has its privilege and its duty, as well
as the future its glorious, wide prospect. " The hour
now is." Because Jesus has come, it has come. His
coming is the revelation of the Father, and is the Father's
seeking for true worshippers. Such words, though parti-
ally understood, would lead the woman to feel more and
more the mysterious greatness of the Speaker, and would
sound as inviting her to become such a worshipper. The
true sanctuary is the worshipper's " spirit," that higher
part or aspect of human nature which is capable of
communion with God. Worship in spirit is possible
only on the basis of Christ's work. It leaves all ques-
tions of externals at the foot of the mountain. But that
communion in spirit with the Divine Spirit is to be also
" in truth." A true, though not full, knowledge is
possible on the basis of Christ's revelation, which gives
the substance of Jewish ritual shadows and the reality
which heathenism had overlaid with errors. True ideas
and right feelings are both drawn from Him.

The last step (vers. 25, 26) is the woman's Messianic
hope and Christ's full disclosure of Himself. The alien,
heretical Samaritan has a loftier ideal of Messiah than
the orthodox Jew. She thinks of a perfect Enlightener ;

48 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. iv. 5-26

he thought of a temporal prince. The heretic may
have in some respects a higher ideal than the orthodox
whose orthodoxy is stiffened into form. This soul,
though stained with fleshly lusts, and groping in much
darkness, was ready to hail Messiah ; and that for the
sake of His revealing power, and not for lower gifts.

Therefore Jesus at last throws back the cloak, of
which He had let a fold or two be blown aside, and
stands confessed in His full sovereign authority. Docile
reception of partial knowledge, and desire for its increase,
are ever rewarded. " Whosoever hath, to him shall be
given." An alien woman receives the full-orbed truth
which was hidden from rabbis and Pharisees. That
Christ who comes to give the Spirit which is the water
of life, and to reveal the Father, and to make worship in
spirit and truth possible for the humblest, will hold
familiar converse with outcasts and sinners. The initial
wonder of His speaking to an alien pales before the
stupendous wonder that the eternal Word becomes flesh
and talks, with human lips and Divine condescension,
with us.

LESSON VI

The Life-Giver and Judge

St. John v. 17-30

17. "But Jesus answered
them, My Father worketh
hitherto, and I work.

18. Therefore the Jews
sought the more to kill Him,
because He not only had broken
the Sabbath, but said also that
God was His Father, making
Himself equal with God.

19. Then answered Jesus
and said unto them. Verily,
verily, I say unto you, The Son
can do nothing of Himself, but
what He seeth the Father do :
for what things soever He
doeth, these also doeth the Son
likewise.

20. For the Father loveth the
Son, and showeth Him all
things that Himself doeth : and
He will show Him greater
works than these, that ye may
marvel.

21. For as the Father raiseth
up the dead, and quickeneth
them ; even so the Son quick-
eneth whom He will.

22. For the Father judgeth
no man, but hath committed all
judgment unto the Son.

23. That all men should
honour the Son, even as they
honour the Father. He that
honoureth not the Son honour-
eth not the Father which hath
sent Him.

24. Verily, verily, I say unto
you. He that heareth My word,
and believeth on Him that sent
Me, hath everlasting life, and
shall not come into condemna-
tion ; but is passed from death
unto life.

25. Verily, verily, I say unto
you. The hour is coming, and
now is, when the dead shall
hear the voice of the Son of
God : and they that hear shall
live.

26. For as the Father hath
life in Himself; so hath He
given to the Son to have life
in Himself;

27. And hath given Him
authority to execute judgment
also, because He is the Son of
man.

28. Marvel not at this : for
the hour is coming, in the
which all that are in the graves
shall hear His voice,

29. And shall come forth ;
they that have done good, unto
the resurrection of life ; and
they that have done evil, unto
the resurrection of damnation.

30. I can of Mine own self
do nothing: as I hear, I judge:
and My judgment is just ; be-
cause I seek not Mine own will,
but the will of the Father which
hath sent Me."

49

50 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. v. 17-30

IT was a strange state of mind to admit that Jesus
" did these things," — namely, miracles, — and yet to
take offence that it was " on the Sabbath day." Our
Lord's wonderful answer to these pedantic formalists
made one offence into two. Hatred sometimes divines
meanings hidden from love. The Jews were right when
they interpreted Him as claiming to be the Son of God
in a special sense (" His own Father "), and as therein
asserting equality with God. That great saying in the
seventeenth verse is the germ of all this lesson's remark-
able teaching. The Divine rest, which the Sabbath
symbolises, is not cessation of action. Both in that pre-
servation which is a continual creation, and in redeeming
activity, God unceasingly works. And the Son's work is
of the same order and conforms to the same law. The
rest of the lesson is Christ's defence of that claim, the
greatness of which had thrown His original offence of
Sabbath-breaking into the shade. Perhaps we may take
the triple " Verily, verily," as marking its stages.

I. Verses 19-23 assert that the work of the Son is
absolutely coincident and coextensive with that of the
Father, predict still more signal instances of that working
of Divine work by the Son, and, as practical consequence
of that identity of working, claim identity of reverence
for the Son and the Father. Throughout the whole the
personality of Jesus is kept subordinate to the exposition
of the relation of fatherhood and sonship in its most
perfect form. A true son will do as his father does ; a
true father will lovingly confide his motives and methods
to the son. Such ideal perfectness of paternal confidence
and filial following, Jesus declares, though without as yet
distinctly presenting His own person, to subsist between

Less. vi.J The Life-Giver and Judge 5 1

Him and God. The tremendous claim is made first
negatively, and then positively, — He does nothing of
Himself, but everything which God does, He does.
So, entire suppression of the human self, clear vision
of the working of God, power to do whatever Divine
power can do, and to do all these " in like manner,"
are the claims made here by Jesus. How can His
pretensions to be a meek and lowly pattern and religious
teacher be sustained in the face of such tremendous
assertions, except we beUeve Him to be Divine ? Surely
there is no escaping the conclusion that, if He ever
said such things, He is either arrogant to the verge of
madness, and undeserving of credit as a teacher and of
imitation as a pattern, or else He is the Son of God, able
to do Divine works, and worthy of Divine honour.

The ground of this absolute correspondence is laid
(ver. 20) in the Father's love, which implies perfect
communication of purposes and deeds. The words give
a glimpse into the eternal depths of Deity, and show
there the energy of love and the possibility of communion
before creatures were. They claim for the incarnate
Son the same unbroken share in the love of the Father
and undimmed vision of His work. They marvellously
unite lowly subordination and sameness of nature, and
however little we can read all their depths, they unmis-
takably proclaim that He of whom they are true is Divine.

But the communication is further set forth as being
gradual and progressive, and " greater works " are yet
to be shown and done. The miracles, of which one had
occasioned this whole discourse, are here put below the
future work, whether of redemption by the cross, or of
rule from the throne, or of resurrection and judgment.

52 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. v. 17-30

The whole of these are unitedly "the work of Christ,"
of which the single works are parts. Wonder is not the
final aim of any of His works, but the beginning of the
path which ends in faith. AVonder may breed attention,
and attention may recognise the truth which makes the
wonderful natural (" Marvel not^^^ ver. 28). It rouses
the soul, but its worth depends on what the roused
soul does next. If it beholds and despises, it w^onders
and perishes ; if it w^onderingly beholds and cries " My
Lord and my God ! " it lives and grows familiar w4th
what was once so strange.

Verses 21 and 22 instance two of these greater works,
and give definiteness to the claim of the correspondence
of the Son's work with the Father's. He has the Divine
power of giving and restoring life, and the awful preroga-
tive of judgment. These two are here stated in their
most general form, and in a more developed fashion
(as is usual in St. John's Gospel and Epistle) in the sub-
sequent context. It is God who kills and makes alive,
and only a Divine person could exercise that power on
" whom He will." Others might and could wield it,
as mere channels of Divine will ; but Jesus was not a
mere instrument, but the source of power, when He
stopped the bier with " I say unto thee. Arise." That
is no contradiction of His preceding disavowal of doing
anything of Himself, but is the assurance that His wuU
ever coincided with the Father's, as w^ell as the claim to
be Himself the true raiser from the dead, whether the
bodily or spiritually dead. Are we listening to a mere
man like ourselves ? If so, shall we call Him saint, sage,
or blasphemer ?

The prerogative of judgment is adduced as the ground,

Less. VI.] The Life-Giver and Judge ■ 53

or perhaps rather as the proof, of the other of Ufe-
giving ; and here for a moment the identity of the action
of the Father and the Son seems broken, for the
" Father judges no man." But it is still retained in
essence ; for it is the Father who has given the authority
to judge. Again we have to mark the many-sidedness
of the ineffable relation of Father and Son, which, when
it is presented in human speech, can only be shadowed
by apparent opposites, such as occur throughout this
context. They are not contradictions, but indications
that the full comprehension of the truth which they
complimentarily set forth is beyond us. Note, too, the
view here given of the Son's work, present as well as
future : He is, not merely will be, the Judge. In one
aspect He said, "God sent not His Son . . . to judge
the world." In another He said, " For judgment I am
come into this world."

The purpose of all this communication of Divine
powers and prerogatives is next stated, in words which
one cannot read without a shudder, unless one accepts
them as the utterance of a truly Divine consciousness.
Jesus declares that He is meant to receive a universal
homage, precisely identical with that rendered to God ;
and He further dares to assert that to withhold such
from Him is to withhold it from God. Yet the claim
is the claim of a Son ; and, even in making it, though it
surely is the most awful that ever came from sane lips,
He does not forget His filial subordination.

Can any theory of His nature do justice to both sides
of these solemn sayings, except that which sees in Him
the Word made flesh, who in the beginning was with
God and was God ?

54 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. v. 17-30

II. The second " verily, verily " (ver. 24) further un-
folds the bearing of the two great ideas of life-giving and
judgment. The personality of Jesus is more prominent
(" My word "). The conditions on which men receive
life and escape judgment are set forth with majestic
absoluteness, and all is commended as sufficiently estab-
lished by nothing more than His bare word. A teacher
of a new sort this, who makes the most astounding and
awful assertions, and never stops to prove them, but
simply says, " I tell you so, and that is enough." What
must He have thought of His word, who could thus
calmly declare that to accept it, and to trust in Him
whom it revealed, secures present possession of eternal
life and exemption from judgment ? That life is a
resurrection ; for every one possessing it passes from
death into it. The world is a graveyard. It was spoken
of to Nicodemus as a birth, here it is a resurrection.
The Son "quickens whom He will"; but that w^ill is
neither arbitrary as regards men, nor self-asserting as
regards the Father. The law of its harmonies with the
latter we do not know, but its conditions as to ourselves
we do. He wills to quicken all who receive His word.
The reception of that word removes its receivers from
the incidence of the judgment w^hich follows future
resurrection ; for the possession of eternal Hfe negatives
the need and possibility of judgment ; and if Christ's
words are daily judging and cleansing us here, and by
their light "we judge ourselves, we shall not be judged."
These great gifts are present gifts. The eternal life is
ours to-day, and the abolition of judgment in all its
terrible aspects, while it is active in all its beneficent ones,
is the privilege of every believing soul here and now.

Less. VI.] The Life-Giver and Judge 55

III. The third " verily, verily " introduces the full
development of these two great ideas, filling up their
contents and discriminating their aspects (vers. 25-27).
The first broadly marked feature is the clear separation
of two stages or epochs of resurrection and judgment, —
one present (" the hour cometh, and now is "), one future
(" cometh "). Clearly the former refers to the spiritual
quickening which has been spoken of in verse twenty-
four, as is established by that remarkable limitation,
" They that hear shall live," which is only explicable by
supposing that " the dead " are those sunk in the death
of sin and self, and that, among these, there are the
two classes of " some who believed " and " some who
believed not." They can exercise choice though they
be dead, and, if they will, can be deaf as well as dead.
Our Lord's personality is again veiled ; and while He
spoke of His voice in the former verse, here. He speaks
of " the voice of the Son of God." The quickening
power of that voice is traced (ver. 26) to the Son's
possession of " life in Himself," — a Divine prerogative,
which yet, by a bold paradox, is declared to be " given."
The two expressions "given" and "in Himself" seem
mutually exclusive, and can only be reconciled by the
recognition of the mysterious relation of Fatherhood and
Sonship in the depths of Deity. That Son, being in
Himself possessor of life, can impart it, and does do so
to all who hear His voice. The prerogative of judgment
necessarily resides where the power of life-giving resides,
but is here connected with our Lord's manhood, rather
than with His Divine Sonship, as it was in verse 22.
It is a Divine office, needing omniscience and other
purely Divine attributes, and these are presupposed as

56 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. v. 17-30

included in verse 22 ; but it is a blessed addition to the
thought that the Judge of men must be a man, who
knows our frame, not only with the knowledge of a God,
but by the experience of a man, and, as Judge no less
than as priestly Intercessor, " can have compassion on
the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way."

Verses 28 and 29 obviously refer to a future event,
the hour of which " comes," but is not " now " ; and
that event is unmistakably the universal resurrection of
the corporeally dead, as is clear from the unambiguous
description of its objects, as " all that are in the graves,"
and from the addition, as compared with verse 24, of
" shall come forth " ; and, yet more solemnly, from the
twofold nature of this resurrection, contrasted with the
one blessed result of that former. Life-giving is once
more connected with judgment ; but now the life given
is of such a kind that only a portion of its recipients
partake of "the resurrection of life," while others, who
also live again, have their resurrection unto "judgment."
The true life is the antithesis of the final judgment ;
and they who hear the voice of Jesus here and now
shall not come into that final judgment, while they who
hear it not shall at last hear it, and rise to a life which
is not life, but judgment.

Verse 30 carries us back to the beginning of this
wonderful outpouring of Christ's consciousness. His
own personality is now put in the foreground, as if
insisting on the application of all these great sayings
concerning " the Son " to Himself. But while He thus
makes the most awful claims, lowly self-abnegation blends
in the most unheard-of manner with these. He declares
Himself to be the fountain of fife, the Judge of the

Less. VI.] The Life-Giver and Judge 57

world, the eternal Son of God, capable of doing all
Divine acts ; and yet He abjures all independent self-
willed activity, and proclaims, in words of which their
lowliness and their consciousness of complete and con-
tinual conformity with the Father's will are equally
unique, that His judgments are always just, because
they are always the utterance of the Father's, which He
ever hears, because, without the smallest deflection, His
human will is conformed and submitted to the Father's.
This closing utterance of Christ's self-consciousness is
lowly humility in Him. What but the very insanity of
self-righteousness and fancied infallibility would it be in
any other man that ever lived ?

LESSON VII

Bread Enough, and to Spare

St. John vi, 1-14

1. " After these things Jesus
went over the sea of GaHlee,
which is the sea of Tiberias.

2. And a great multitude
followed Him, because they
saw His miracles which He
did on them that were diseased.

3. And Jesus went up into a
mountain, and there He sat
with His disciples.

4. And the passover, a feast
of the Jews, was nigh.

5. When Jesus then lifted
up His eyes, and saw a great
company come unto Him, He
saith unto Philip, Whence
shall we buy bread, that these
may eat ?

6. And this He said to prove
Him : for He Himself knew
what He would do.

7. Philip answered Him,
Two hundred pennyworth of
bread is not sufficient for them,
that every one of them may
take a little.

8. One of His disciples,
Andrew, Simon Peter's brother,
saith unto Him,

9. There is a lad here, which

hath five barley loaves, and
two small fishes : but what are
they among so many ?

10. And Jesus said. Make
the men sit down. Now there
was much grass in the place.
So the men sat down, in num-
ber about five thousand.

11. And Jesus took the
loaves ; and when He had
given thanks, He distributed to
the disciples, and the disciples
to them that were set down ;
and likewise of the fishes as
much as they would.

12. When they were filled,
He said unto His disciples,
Gather up the fragm.ents that
remain, that nothing be lost.

13. Therefore they gathered
them together, and filled twelve
baskets with the fragments of
the five barley loaves, which
remained over and above unto
them that had eaten.

14. Then those men, when
they had seen the miracle that
Jesus did, said, This is of a
truth that prophet that should
come into the world."

A

FTER these things." What things? Those
recorded in the fifth chapter as having occurred
in Jerusalem. There must, therefore, be inserted before

58

Less. VII.] Bread Enough, and to Spare 59

this narrative a journey from Jerusalem to Galilee ; and,
if the preceding incidents took place, as is probable, at
the Feast of Purim, several weeks had passed in Galilee.
Our narrative omits also our Lord's reasons for this
retirement to the eastern shores of the lake. John's
attention is fixed on the significance of the miracle, as
developed in the subsequent discourse on the bread of
life, to which it gave occasion, and on its importance as
a turning-point in the people's estimate of Jesus, to
whom they at first clung with enthusiastic hope, and
from whom they departed when the miracle was followed
by His " hard sayings " founded on it.

The double name for the lake is an indication that
this Gospel was not addressed to Jews familiar with the
scene. Its readers were more likely to have known the
name of Tiberias than the other. Verse 2 describes
vividly not merely the circumstances of that one time,
but the habitual environment at that period, — a throng
of eager gazers, drawn by curiosity more than by any
deeper feelings, who pressed on Jesus, regardless of
delicacy or of His need for repose and privacy. Part
of the reason for crossing the lake was to avoid these
intrusive sight-seers, but they came hurrying after, mak-
ing their way on foot round the head of the sea, and
destroying the seclusion needed both by Him and by
the disciples, who had just come back from their trial
mission. They had found some quiet spot on the hill-
side, and there "He sat with His disciples," glad of this
breathing-time. The note of time, in verse 4, explains
the crowd, and may also hint at the spiritual significance
of the feast, which was a truer passover than that in
Jerusalem.

6o The Gospel of St. John [Chap. vi. 1-14

The first point to observe is Christ's cheerful giving
up of repose and quick sympathetic foresight of men's
needs. No impatience disturbs His cahii as the vulgar
crowd come flocking towards Him. He surrenders the
prospect of quiet without a sigh, being ever ready to
" please not Himself," and finding His meat in doing
the Father's will. Before the mob is at His side. He
thinks for them of a want which they had not thought
of. They were not hungry yet, and had not troubled
themselves about food. But He cared for the careless.
His heart foresaw their need, and already knew what
He would do to supply it. So is it ever. Before we
call, He answers, and prepares to supply necessities as
yet unfelt.

The next point is the question asked by conscious
power and answered by practical common sense. In
the Synoptics, the question of how to get provision is
discussed first among the apostles privately at the close
of the day. John not only makes it originate with Jesus,
but times it before the people had arrived. It does not
seem unreasonable to suppose that the difference in the
times is the key that harmonises the accounts. The
question suggested by Jesus to Philip alone, and
answered by him only, worked in the latter's mind all
day ; and, when the evening came on, his answer is
again quoted by the disciples. John will then have
fused into one the two conversations at the beginning
and end of the day. The question was " to prove "
Philip ; that is, to see whether he had so grasped Christ's
power as to answer, " We need not buy, for Thou canst
supply." Does not Christ do with us thus still ? He
takes us, as it were, into His confidence, with interroga-

Less. VII.] Bread Enough, and to Spare 6i

tions that try us, whether we can rise above the level of
visible resources, and beheve in His unseen power.

Philip is always strong in his appreciation of what he
can see. When Nathanael said to him, " Can any good
thing come out of Nazareth ? " all he had to say was,
" Come and see," — the best answer he could have made,
but not the less characteristic. He broke in upon the
sacred words in the upper room with, " Show us the
Father." So here he sticks to the visible, and, running
his eye over the crowd, makes a rough-and-ready calcu-
lation, the data of which we do not know, that some
seven pounds might get a mouthful apiece for them.
He was a man of figures, and believed in statistics, and,
like some other folk of that sort, he left out one small
factor in his calculation, — namely, Jesus Christ. When
we have to deal with Christ's working — and when have
we not ? — the audacity of a faith that expects great things,
though there is nothing visible on which to build, is
wiser and more "practical " than the common sense that
creeps along the low levels of "fact," and does not see
the one all-important fact that we have a Divine Helper
at our sides.

Then comes the exhibition of the poor resources of
the disciples. Philip and Andrew were fellow-townsmen,
and appear together (John i. 44 ; xii. 22). Note how the
greater personality of Peter overshadows his brother, who
is known to the readers rather by his relationship than
for himself. Barley-loaves were the poor man's food, and
one loaf per thousand was little. Two small fishes were
still more ludicrously disproportionate to the case. The
disciples' own stores seem to have been empty, and they
would probably have been hungry though no crowd had

62 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. vi. 1-14

come. Would Jesus have wrought a miracle to feed
Himself? Christ's preparation for making our poor
resources adequate is to drive home the consciousness of
their insufficiency. When we have gone down into the
depths of our own impotence, and seen that the work we
have to do is far too great for our own strength, which is
weakness, we are fit to receive His with rejoicing and
overcoming might. We must be emptied of self if we
are to be filled with God.

The next point is the seating of the hungry multitude.
" Make the men sit down " was a test for both disciples
and crowd. It would kindle wonder and expectation,
and neither would have obeyed, unless some faint germ
of faith, at least in His power to spread a table even
there, had been quickened in them. At most, they
anticipated food, and the measure of their expectation
was the measure of His gift. A rudimentary trust
brought corporeal blessings. It impelled to obedience,
and obedience was rewarded according to its impulse
and their need. John remembers still, after all these
years, the flush of the spring grass on which the ranks
of wondering, waiting people sat by the quiet lake.
"Jesus therefore took the loaves." That is one of John's
significant " therefores." If we sit down as He bids us,
our mouths will not long be empty. If we do what He
tells us to do, we shall get the food which we need.
Our business is to obey and wait patiently in confidence ;
and His is to open His hand, when we are seated, and
let the mercy drop on us. " Trust in the Lord, and do
good ; . . . verily thou shalt be fed."

Next comes the miracle itself. Two points only are
noticed, — the thanksgiving and the distribution. Accord-

Less. VII.] Bread Enough, and to Spare 63

ing to the reading of the Revised Version, no mention is
made of the disciples' agency as the almoners of Christ's
gift, but His solitary figure fills the canvas. His tone or
expression must have made that thanksgiving memorable,
for, in verse 23, the place is referred to as "where they
did eat bread after that the Lord had given thanks."
The manner of the miracle and the point at which the
multiplication occurred are left obscure. But that allu-
sion in verse 23 seems to imply that it took effect at the
moment of the prayer, which John calls " thanks " and
the Synoptics " blessing."

What are the lessons of the " sign " ? It teaches
Christ's care for all forms of human want. It reveals
His continuous working as Sustainer of physical Hfe. In
the miracle, some of the links ordinarily present in the
chain which binds physical results to the Divine will were
absent, but their absence or presence does not affect the
reality of the connection between the staple from which
it hangs and the last visible effect. The cause of all
physical phenomena is the will of God, and that will
works in and through Jesus Christ, in whom is life, and
without whom nothing created subsists. He is Sustainer
as well as Creator. He holds the stars in His hand, and
He opens His hand, with the print of the nail in it, and
satisfies the desires of every living thing.

But the great lesson of the miracle is that which our
Lord Himself drew from it, in the following discourse on
the bread of life, which we have to study in our next
lesson, and may therefore leave for the present.

The result of the miracle is next presented in two
ways, — the abundance left over, and the people's excite-
ment. As to the former, note that the " broken pieces "

64 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. vi. 1-14

are not the crumbs that Uttered the grass after the
feast was over, but the pieces broken for distribution.
John alone records that Christ commanded the gathering.
He thereby taught economy in the use and storing of His
gifts, and bade the disciples recognise that dependence
on His miraculous power does not absolve from the
exercise of ordinary prudence.

But if we regard the whole incident in that symbolic
aspect in which He Himself presents it in the subsequent
discourse, this abundant overplus and the care taken of
it are fruitful of instruction. Men, women, and children,
all found enough in the bread from His hands. The
world scoffs at the barley-bread which Jesus gives, which
seems coarse to palates spoiled by the world's confec-
tionery ; but it gives life to the eaters. If any man wants
dainties that will tickle his diseased or fastidious appetite,
he will have to go elsewhere for them ; but if he wants
bread, to stay his hunger, let him go to Jesus, who is
"human nature's daily food."

But not only was there enough for each, but the
twelve baskets were filled — one carried by each apostle,
probably — with the food that had been prepared, and
was not needed. " The gift doth stretch itself as 'tis
received." Other goods and possessions perish with
using, but this increases with use. The more one eats,
the more there is for him to eat. All the world may live
on it for ever, and there will be more at the end than at
the beginning. In Christ's gift of the bread of life there
is always a certain unappropriated overplus, a quality of
infinity of resource, which surpasses our present power
of reception, and encourages us to hope for larger
possession when our faith is enlarged. That unrealised

Less. VII.] Bread Enough, and to Spare 65

possible attainment is not to be left unheeded, but to be
gathered up in the baskets of our growing faith, our more
ardent desire and more lowly obedience, that it may be
food for to-morrow, when we are able to make it our own.
The unwon treasures of His grace should stimulate end-
less hope, aspiration, and effort. To-morrow shall be as
this day, and much more abundant. That hope is folly,
and worse, if cherished in regard to any life but a
Christian life. Not to cherish it in regard to the Chris-
tian life is to fall beneath our privileges and to lose the
unused abundance prepared for us by the Master of the
feast.

The effect of the miracle on the crowd was simply to
work them into an unwholesome fever of carnal Messianic
hopes. How true to human nature their exclamation
is ! "A prophet that can give bread, — that is the sort
of prophet for us. We can understand that kind of
Messiah. The Samaritan heretic hoped for a Messiah
who would teach all things. We do not care for teach-
ing ; give us loaves." Alas ! the crowd has not got
much further than this even now. They had much
rather have some one who would find them bread with-
out working for it, than one who would bring God's love
and grace to them. Show them how to make money, or
put them in the way of increased material comfort or
prosperity, and they will hail you as a man of men, and
build a monument to you when you die. But how many
of us have no reverence for Jesus because we do not
care for the gifts He has to bring !

LESSON VIII
True Work for True Bread

St. John vi. 26-40

26. "Jesus answered them
and said, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, Ye seek Me, not be-
cause ye saw the miracles, but
because ye did eat of the loaves,
and were filled.

27. Labour not for the meat
which perisheth, but for that
meat which endureth unto
everlasting life, which the Son
of man shall give unto you : for
Him hath God the Father sealed.

28. Then said the}' unto Him,
What shall we do, that we
might work the works of God ?

29. Jesus answered and said
unto them, This is the work of
God, that ye believe on Him
whom He hath sent.

30. They said therefore unto
Him, What sign showest Thou
then, that we may see, and be-
lieve Thee? what dost Thou
work ?

31. Our fathers did eat manna
in the desert ; as it is written.
He gave them bread from
heaven to eat.

32. Then Jesus said unto
them, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, Moses gave you not that
bread from heaven ; but My
Father giveth you the true bread
from heaven.

33. For the bread of God
is He which Cometh down from
heaven, and giveth life unto the
world.

34. Then said they unto
Him, Lord, evermore give us
this bread.

35. And Jesus said unto them,
I am the bread of life : he that
Cometh to Me shall never hun-
ger ; and he that believeth on
Me shall never thirst.

36. But I said unto you. That
ye also have seen Me, and be-
lieve not.

37. All that the Father giveth
Me shall come to Me ; and him
that Cometh to Me I will in no
wise cast out.

38. For I came down from
heaven, not to do Mine own
will, but the will of Him that
sent Me.

39. And this is the Father's
will which hath sent Me, that
of all which He hath given Me
I should lose nothing, but should
raise it up again at the last day.

40. And this is the will of
Him that sent Me, that every
one which seeth the Son, and
believeth on Him, maj' have
everlasting life, and I will raise
him up at the last day."

IF we take into account the Jews' question to which
the beginning of this lesson is an answer, we have
in it four pairs of sayings by them, and repHes by Jesus.

66

Less. VIII.] True Work for True Bread 67

Theirs are three questions, — "When earnest Thou hither?"
"What must we do ? " " What dost Thou work ? "—and
a petition, " Give us this bread." His words follow the
channel marked by theirs, but yet have a progress of their
own, and reach their climax in His full disclosure of
Himself as the bread of life (ver. 35). There is then a
slight pause in the discourse, and verses 37-40 have
neither the metaphor of the bread nor any personal
address, but are our Lord's declaration of the great pur-
poses and certain issues of His work of lowly obedience
to the Father's will, which issues should be reached,
whether these men came to Him or no.

I. We have in verses 26 and 27 Christ's discernment
of their low motives and disclosure of the only worthy
aim of human effort. The Jews had spoken in their
question as if they were surprised and had the right to
be aggrieved that He had left them almost by stealth,
and so given them the trouble of coming all the way back,
across to Capernaum, to find Him. They mean to say,
"Surely our eagerness to make Thee a king deserved
at least more recognition than this." That surprised
" when " really meant an offended " why."

Jesus, as ever, answers thoughts, not words. The
surface of the question needed no answer ; for the miracle
had been wrought as evening came on, and now it was
morning, and the passage of the lake must have been in
the night. The question was inane and superfluous, and
is treated as such ; but the spirit which prompted it needs
correction. So our Lord first cuts deep into the ques-
tioners' hearts, and lays bare the gross, sensuous nature
of their admiration for and seeking after Him. They
had seen the " sign," but it was no sign to them. All

68 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. vi. 26-40

they saw or cared for was the loaves. This dissection
of motives lays bare a truth concerning a wider circle
than that which first heard it. The fatal predominance
of earthly tastes and appetites, which dulls perception of
and desire after higher good, besets us all. Religion
itself is often recommended for the sake of its material
advantages, and still more often neglected because we
much prefer loaves to signs. '

While verse 26 thus sets in clear light the often un-
conscious earthward gravitation of tastes and desires,
verse 27 points to the one worthy aim of human effort,
and in paradoxical form shows the means of attaining it.
" The meat which perisheth " is, by its transiency, proved
insufficient ; and the life which is full of toil to win it, in
any of its forms, sumptuous or coarse, dainties or bare
necessaries, is shown to be too low-pitched. They
labour for naught who labour for anything short of that
which is permanent in its effects and nourishes eternal
life. The description of this only sufficing possession as
the " meat which abideth unto eternal life " is entirely
parallel with that to the Samaritan woman, of the water
springing up unto life eternal ; and the whole course of
the two dialogues is similar.

How diffc«:ent men's lives would be if they had clearly
before them the only worthy aim ! That being plain,
how is it to be secured? Jesus answers by a double
word, which sounds contradictory, — " work," " the Son
of Man shall give." The solution of the paradox follows
presently. Here it is enough to notice that, since it is
a gift, the " work " does not earn it, and since there is to
be work, it is not an arbitrary gift. The Giver of living
water is the Giver of this bread. That claim, however

Less. VIII.] True Work for True Bread 69

lofty, is advanced in lowliness, and made to depend
wholly on the Father's destination and designation of
Him.

II. Verses 28 and 29 give the second turn in the
conversation. The questioners do not resent rebuke,
nor refuse obedience. It says something for them that
their question goes straight to the important point of
what they were to do. They are ready to do it, though
they understand little about the bread spoken of by Him.
But they take the "work," which He has been en-
joining, in an entirely external sense, as is shown by that
significant plural which they use. They had caught half
of Christ's sentence, and the other had passed by them
like idle wind. A heap of separate acts, such as God
required, seemed to them what He meant ; and now they
want direction as to what these are. When some dim
glimpses of what it is worth while to live for are caught,
men immediately want to set about doing things to secure
the aim. Such a state of mind is better than gross earth-
liness, but it is only twilight.

Christ's answer is divinely deep and simple. He sets
one " work " against the mass of " works " which they
thought would be needful. He declares that the single
work which God requires as the condition of the gift is
faith in the Son of Man, its Giver. To " believe on " is
more than simply " to believe," with which lower act of
the mind the Jews presently confound it. Here, then,
is set forth in germ the whole truth as to the conditions
of eternal life, and as to the relations of faith and works.
Not a multitude of meritorious deeds, but the one act of
trust ; not the mere credence of His words, but the moral
act of reliance on Him, is the way to receive ^His gift.

70 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. vi. 26-40

That, faith is the seed of all the manifold " works of
God " which a man can do ; and they who have that
faith will necessarily abound in these, and labour in all
that they do to be well-pleasing to Him, and, even when
toiling for perishable goods, will have an aim beyond
these, and will labour for Him, and, whether they eat or
drink, will do it in remembrance of the Giver of their
eternal life.

in. Verses 30-33 give the next stage. The invita-
tion to faith meets more opposition than the exhortation
to work. So it always does. Twenty-four hours had
not passed since they had seen the miracle which had
wrought them to the pitch of wishing to make a king of
Him, and now they are asking for a sign. Were their
memories short ? or was it not rather that they felt that
something more was contained in His call for faith than
they had thought of as in Him, and that they felt that the
loftier claims demanded fuller attestation ? The refer-
ence to Moses and the manna is relevant only if some
vague idea was in their minds that Jesus was claiming
to be at least another Moses, if not something more.
But note how they degrade the idea of faith to that of
simple credence, and how they make outward signs the
only ground of the poor, starved thing they call " belief."
Is there not, too, in their reiteration of Christ's own
word in their question " What dost Thou work? " almost
a scoff, as if they had said : " Work indeed ! Time
enough to tell us to work and to believe Thee, when Thou
hast done something to warrant belief and to vindicate
Thy right to command " ? Evidently they are beginning
to resist, and admiration and docility are passing into
critical withdrawal.

Less. VIII.] True Work for True Bread 71

Our Lord's answer is marked as solemn and important
by the twofold '*' verily." He, first, with infinite majesty
and calm, sets aside the suggested parallel with Moses,
which doubly fails in that the latter was not the giver,
and in that manna was not truly bread from heaven.
Note the contrast between the past gift of the manna
and the present (and continuous) gift of the bread.
Note the claim of unique relationship between Him who
has just called Himself the Giver, and the Father who in
and through Him gives. Note the emphatic collocation
of words in the original, " the bread out of heaven, the
true." That bread is the reality of which all earthly
food, even miraculous manna, is but the symbol. It,
and only it, truly feeds men. The wondrous charac-
teristics of that bread are then set forth in verse ;^^. It
is the direct gift of God, it is " that which cometh down
out of heaven " in continuous descent to hungry souls,
it not only sustains but gives life, and it is meant for the
whole world.

IV. No wonder that such words should stir desire for
such a gift. The Samaritan woman's petition for the
gift of the water to save her from thirst and toil is on the
same level as this cry, " Evermore give us this bread."
Deeply tainted with gross material misconceptions of
some mysterious outward good, the people are yet
touched with longings, and recognise His power to give
what they need. That cry never goes to Him in vain,
however dense the clouds of ignorance and error through
which it rises to Him. Therefore the point is reached
at which He can draw back the last veil, and show the
truth in its brightness. Some eyes will be dazzled and
turn away, but some may look and live.

72 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. vi. 26-40

At all events, the disclosure is the next step in
answering the cry. Jesus gives the bread by declaring
Himself to be the bread, and inviting us to Him that we
may take it by faith. The full disclosure of Himself,
is again a parallel to that to the Samaritan woman. If
we keep the immediately preceding description of the
characteristics of the bread of God in view, how wonder-
ful these words become ! In them Jesus asserts His
descent from the Father, His power to give life and to
feed, with the only true nourishment, all the wants of
every soul. Think of a man saying this to men, and,
what is more wonderful still, getting men to believe him,
and millions of them to answer, " Yes, we have tasted
this bread, and know all that he said is true." He gave
Himself to these Jews when He declared who He was, and
invited them to come that they might hunger no more.
He gives Himself to us, whom He invites to " believe on
Him " ; and He teaches us that coming is believing, and
access to Him as possible for us as for those who stood
by Him. If we exercise that faith which is coming to
Him, we shall neither know the weakness of hunger nor
the pangs of thirst ; but will be strong with the nourish-
ment of our powers, and glad with the satisfaction of our
desires, as they only can be who eat the bread of life and
drink the living water.

Verse 35 fully discloses the nature of the bread, the
blessed results of possessing it, and the condition of
receiving. But the sad fact that the listeners had not
exercised that condition, as was obvious from their very
petition, which proved them bhnd to the higher meanings
of His sayings and to His true character, presses on
His spirit, and draws out the lament and indictment

Less. VIII.] True Work for True Bread 73

which close His direct address. Verse 36 refers to a
previous saying, probably that in verse 26, the inner
meaning of which is truly preserved in the different
form of this verse. The Jews had just asked for a sign,
that they might see and believe. He tells them that
they had seen Him, the greatest of signs, and that the
sight had not led to belief. Sadness, wonder, and blame
blend in that saying. That we should see Jesus, and
not believe on Him, is the mystery and tragedy of the
world, and is, alas ! repeated to-day.

V. Verses 37-40 are separated from the preceding in
tone, by the absence of reference to the bread, and by
the cessation of personal address. Probably a pause in
Christ's utterance went before them. He seems to be
staying Himself, in face of the people's unbelief, by
gazing on the certain success of His work, quite as much
as to be holding forth yet more attractively the blessed
results of coming to Him, in still another attempt to win
their faith. Both strains are blended in these wonderful
words. Verses 37 and 38 sound principally the former,
and verses 39 and 40 mainly the latter, but in neither
case exclusively. " What if some did not believe ? "
Their unbelief shall not make the "purpose of God
without effect." For "all that the Father giveth Me
shall come to Me," where the neuter form is to be noted,
as presenting the body of believers in all ages and lands
as a definite whole, and the stress of the assurance is to
be observed, as being shall " reach Me," — not merely
come towards, but attain to.

Then, in the next clause, the individual members of
that whole are made prominent, and stress is laid on
His welcome of each. Men come to Him, not in a

74 The Gospel of St. Jolin [Chap. vi. 26-40

mass, but one by one. Faith is intensely personal, and
the wicket-gate lets in only one at a time. The blessed
assurance of welcome is familiar to us all, but its remark-
able connection is often passed by unnoticed. Here it
is represented as the result of the perfect docility and
submission of the Son to the will of the Father. The
fact of a man's coming to Him by faith is the sign to
Him that this man is the Father's gift to Him, and
therefore He takes him to His heart. In all His earthly
and heavenly work of redemption, whether it be His
incarnation, life, death, reign in heaven, or reception
and perfecting of believers. He is obedient to the Father,
and does nothing of Himself. Therefore He was patient
and undismayed, when men believed not. Therefore,
too, we may go to Him, assured of a welcolhe.

Verses 39 and 40 present the glorious issues of faith
in a double form, of which the similarities and the differ-
ences are equally noteworthy. " The will of Him that
sent Me " in the true reading in verse 39 becomes in
verse 40 "the will of My Father," so that the filial
relationship is made emphatic and declared to be unique
(" My Father "). In verse 39 the neuter form appears,
and the objects of Christ's care are described as " that
which He hath given Me " ; the totality being the main
thought, and the security of its present protection and
certainty of its future life being considered as resting on
the Father's gift and the Son's obedience ; while in verse
40 the same persons are individualised, and described
according to their own act of faith, which ensures His
response of eternal life.

In verse 39 the present blessedness of believers is
regarded as being safe keeping ; in verse 40, as being

Less. VIII,] True Work for True Bread 75

everlasting life. But the two types merge in the final
issue, though even there the one reads " it " and the
other " him." The resurrection of the body is the neces-
sary crown of that safe keeping and communicated life,
which are the believer's privilege here. That glorious
issue, without which the present experiences of the
believer would be futile and the whole of his earthly
life a confounding riddle, is wrought by Jesus Himself,
as is emphatically claimed by the majestic " I " which
the original underscores, so to speak, by its position, in
the fortieth verse. He who feeds on the bread of life
here cannot die. The resurrection to life must come as
the copestone of redemption. Without it the building
stands, would stand, a ruin, and the taunt would be
justified. This Jesus began to build, and was not able to
finish.

LESSON IX
"That Rock was Christ

St. John vii. 31-44

31. "And many of the people
believed on Him, and said,
When Christ cometh, will He
do more miracles than these
which this man hath done?

32. The Pharisees heard that
the people murmured such
things concerning Him ; and
the Pharisees and the chief
priests sent officers to take
Him.

33. Then said Jesus unto
them, Yet a little while am I
with you, and then I go unto
Him that sent Me.

34. Ye shall seek Me, and
shall not find Me : and where I
am, thither ye cannot come.

35. Then said the Jews
among themselves. Whither
will He go, that we shall not
find Him ? will He go unto
the dispersed among the Gen-
tiles, and teach the Gentiles ?

36. What manner of saying
is this that He said, Ye shall
seek Me, and shall not find
Me : and where I am, thither ye
cannot come ?

37. In the last day, that
great day of the feast, Jesus

stood and cried, saying. If any
man thirst, let him come unto
Me, and drink,

38. He that believeth on Me,
as the Scripture hath said, out
of his belly shall flow rivers of
living water.

39. (But this spake He of
the Spirit, which they that
believe on Him should receive :
for the Holy Ghost was not yet
given ; because that Jesus was
not yet glorified.)

40. Many of the people there-
fore, when they heard this
saying, said. Of a truth this is
the Prophet.

41. Others said. This is the
Christ. But some said, Shall
Christ come out of Galilee ?

42. Hath not the Scripture
said, That Christ cometh of the
seed of David, and out of the
town of Bethlehem, where
David was ?

43. So there was a division
among the people because of
Him.

44. And some of them would
have taken Him ; but no man
laid hands on Him."

THIS seventh chapter carries us into the midst
of the glad stir in Jerusalem at the Feast of
Tabernacles, and vividly reproduces the contending

76

Less. IX.] "That Rock was Christ" 77

opinions and feelings about Jesus. There were three
parties, — the " multitude," or the crowds of pilgrims,
who were favourably disposed to Him, but wavering
and easily swayed backwards and forwards as crowds
are ; the " Jews," the section who clung to carnal
Messianic hopes, and could not but be against such a
Messiah as Jesus ; and the official class, divided into
Pharisees and chief priests, the latter being mostly
Sadducees, and violently antagonistic to the former, but
one with them in hatred of Jesus. The chapter rings
with the Babel of these discordant voices. Our lesson
begins in the midst of the clamour, and may be con-
sidered with reference to the two sayings of our Lord
which it contains.

I. We note then, first, His prophecy of departure,
with its occasion and result (vers. 31-36). The calm
boldness of our Lord's teaching in the temple, and the
silence of the rulers, had impressed both the floating
population of pilgrims and some of the residents in
Jerusalem ; but the latter had been alienated by His
further declarations, while many of the former had been
drawn to Him with a fuller faith thereby. Mark the
"believed on Him" in verse 31, which expresses reli-
ance, and not mere credence. This faith was real,
though imperfect, as being founded on " signs." It was
not bold enough nor perhaps certain enough to affirm,
but only to whisper a question.

But those who have reached the point of asking what
more the Christ could do than this man does, are not
far from answering their own question with a full con-
fession. The action of the rulers was precipitated by
reports of these " murmurings " ; for any spark might

78 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. vii. 31-44

set the excited crowds in a blaze. It was humiliating
for Jewish officials to have to stifle the national hope
in which the Pharisees, at all events, shared ; but that
was the price they had to pay for place and power under
Rome. The decision to arrest Jesus marked a new
stage in the conflict of Divine love with unbelief, and
John is careful to note its occasion in the people's
ominous question, and its result in our Lord's saying.

That saying was apparently spoken in public, in the
hearing of His would-be captors. If we try to realise
the circumstances, the few calm words become majestic
and pathetic. We note their recognition that this was
the beginning of the end, a further stage in the struggle.
The " little while " was but about six months, and this
abortive attempt was like a signal-gun which opens a
battle. But Christ's consciousness that the term of His
continuance depends on Another than them is equally
audible in the words. He knows that whatever the
rulers may attempt. He will be with them still, and that
when He leaves them, it will be His own act. His
" hour " will tick out all its minutes before it strikes.
He will not leave off" nor be dragged from His work
till it is done. The completion of His message is
guaranteed to Himself and assured to men by the
thought of " Him that sent " Him.

How eloquent of a unique relation to life and death
and the future life is that calm word, " I go " — not I
am driven ; for men and death are impotent against
Him, unless He wills to die — " to Him that sent Me "
as a faithful messenger with an accomplished errand,
returning to, not entering for the first time, the land
beyond ! It is no human consciousness merely that

Less. IX.] « That Rock was Christ " 79

fronted the excited crowd and intending captors with
such words. They open a ghmpse into the Divine
depths of His spirit.

But even in that hour of peril He thinks less of
Himself than of men, and turns to these listeners with
almost a wail of sad forecast, through which the tone of
beseeching is heard. The incarnate Wisdom laments
even while He foretells, as did the personified Wisdom
in the Book of Proverbs, " They shall seek Me diligently,
but they shall not find Me." The sad prophecy does
not refer to penitence, but to the vain longings and
futile seekings which have been that strange nation's
bitter food ever since. The whole tragedy of its history
is condensed into a sentence. Like all prophetic
threatenings, it was said that it might not have to be
experienced, and mercy shaped His lips to stern speech.

Why would their seeking be vain ? Because they had
not the conditions needful for that place and state of
communion with the Father, whither He was going,
and to which He only can lead any of us. Earthly-
mindedness shuts us out from heaven and from finding
Christ here. If we are to be with Him there, we must
have sought Him here, with that true desire and seeking
which ever finds. Mark that He "is," even when on
earth, where He goes when He leaves earth. Mark,
too, the tone of invitation to make the best use of the
" little while." Conscious security till His work is done,
prophetic warning and loving call to present faith, are all
contained in these words.

The gross misunderstanding of them comes from the
deafness of prejudice and hate, which left unnoticed the
plain declaration "to Him that sent Me," in order to

8o The Gospel of St. John [Ch^. vii. 31-44

point a gibe at a Messiah who, when found out as an
impostor at home, would carry His fooHsh " teaching "
to the Gentiles. John is fond of recording sayings of
enemies which the irony of Providence fulfilled. Like
Caiaphas, these scoffers were wiser than they knew, and
their taunt shadowed the actual course of the gospel.
" Seeing ye condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal
life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles."

II. We have, secondly, the great call on the great day
of the feast. The promise to the Samaritan woman is
repeated and expanded in the temple-court. The well-
known ceremonial of the water-drawing on the seven
days of the feast naturally suggested it ; and if, as seems
probable, that rite was omitted on the last day, its very
omission made Christ's words the more emphatic. They
point, however, to the historical fact commemorated by
the rite, and not only to the rite itself ; namely, to the
miracle in the desert, when the thirsty crowds saw the
precious stream pouring from the rock. So here, again
Jesus lays His hand on the great facts and thoughts of
the old order, and claims to be that which they shadowed.
This Gospel of John, which we are sometimes told is
anti- Jewish, is really saturated with reminiscences of the
earlier revelation ; and in it Jesus claims to be the true
temple, the reality of what the serpent typified, the real
manna, the water-yielding rock, the pillar of cloud and
fire, and the true Paschal Lamb.

The general idea contained in the emblem here needs
no elucidation. Whatever thirst or longing desire is felt
by man, Jesus will satisfy it. We stand awed as well as
attracted by the majestic and unconditional universality
of the promise. Who is this who fronts the whole race

Less. IX.] "That Rock was Christ" 8i

of men with open arms of invitation and calm confi-
dence in His sufficiency for all the wants of every
man? What majestic assurance in that "Me"! What
wide-stretching, deep-reaching, individualising mercy of
invitation in that " any man " ! What universal invita-
tion and Divine simplicity of conditions in that " let
him come " ! What wealth of promise that no coming
can be vain, in that collocation " let him come . . . and
drink " ! Coming is believing ; believing is sure to bring
partaking ; partaking is sure to still all painful desire.
And all this blessedness is offered to every man down
the ages and through the world ; for every man thirsts,
and may therefore come.

Nor does the gift stop with the satisfaction of the
comer's own needs. He becomes a fountain for the
slaking of others' thirst. Note Christ's own explanation
of " coming," as synonymous with " believing on " Him.
What " Scripture " is here quoted by our Lord ? No
Old Testament passage says in so many words, " Out of
his belly shall flow," etc. ; but there may be allusions to
several, such as Isaiah Iviii. ii. The difficulty of finding
words analogous to those apparently quoted may be
lightened if we refer to the original incident of the
flowing stream from the rock in the wilderness ; for
there we read, " There shall come water out of it "
(Exod. xvii. 6).

If this be recognised as the source of the quotation,
we have the great thought that they who come to that
Rock, and slake their own thirst there, become, in their
measure of union with Him, as rocks yielding water for
other thirsty souls. The result of real communion with
Jesus Christ is not terminated in the rest, as of satisfied

6

82 The Gospel of St. John [Chap, vU. 31-44

desires, which it brings, but passes on further to make
us the medium of bringing hke blessings to others. The
end of personal religion is not personal reception, but
communication, for which reception is the indispensable
prior requisite. If a professing Christian has no impulse
to impart, he had better examine himself whether he
has drunk of the water of life. The paradox is true
that we slake our own thirst by giving to others to drink.
In England we have in some places what we call
" swallow-holes," where a river plunges into the ground
and is lost. Too many" professing Christians are like
those. But we are meant to be water-carriers, not
water-drinkers only.

We have already seen, in the conversation with the
woman of Samaria, that the water represents the gift of
the Spirit ; and that is the explanation which John gives
in a parenthesis. He lays stress on the " shall " in
verse 38, and regards it as pointing to a future gift.
That thought is even more strongly expressed in the
original, which might be read "were going to receive."
Some modern critics, who know Christ's meaning better
than John, think that he has made a mistake here, and
that the "shall" in verse 37 is only the future of
promise ; but both the history of the Primitive Church
and parallel sayings in this Gospel show that the evan-
geHst's comment is right. The promise of satisfaction
to individual thirst by coming to Jesus was for the then
present as well as for every future ; but that of the
transformation of believers into fountains of spiritual
influence was for the future only.

The change effected on the apostles at Pentecost is
the best commentary on the words here. The same rela-

Less. IX.] " That Rock was Christ " 83

tion between the full gift of the Spirit and the glorifying
of Jesus (mark the emphasis laid by the name on the
humanity of our Lord) which is here indicated, is fully
developed in our Lord's words in the upper room.
The atoning work of Jesus had to be complete before
the Spirit could dwell in men's hearts ; and, since it is
His office to apply to the soul that finished work, it
evidently must be finished ere the Spirit could possess
the material for His work. The " glorifying " of Jesus
embraces not only His ascension, but His death. John
takes the complementary view to Paul. To the latter,
Christ's death is the lowest stage in His humiliation,
while to the former it is the first step in His exaltation.
Both thoughts are true. The zenith is the nadir. The
cross is the throne. There the glory of endless pity, of
Divine love, of Almighty power to redeem, shines forth.
The solemn calm of Christ's voice is followed by
the recurrent jangle of conflicting tongues. The brief
utterances in their direct form give a vivid impression of
the eager controversies which surged round Jesus, like
noisy waves on some steadfast rock. Two opinions were
formed by those impressed by Christ's words, according
to one of which He was "the Prophet " (Deut. xviii. 15),
while others, who had got beyond the " murmurings "
of verse 31, boldly acknowledged Him as the Christ.
John details the objection to this view which came from
some learned authorities, who knew their Old Testament
in its letter, and demanded that Messiah should be born
in Bethlehem. It did not matter what Divine wisdom,
tenderness, purity, and power were in this Jesus. All
these could not show Him to be Messiah. Where does
He come from, not what He is, is the important point.

$4 The Gospel of St. John [Chap vii. 31-44

Better the ignorance that discerned His sweetness and
bowed to His authority, than the learned bhndness that
pottered over the letter and let the spirit slip. Are
there not a few Biblical scholars of that breed left yet ?
But John is struck again, much as when quoting the
sarcasm in verse 35, with the thought that these wise
people knew so little, and that the condition, the sup-
posed non-fulfilment of which made their belief in this
Christ impossible, whatever grace and truth He might
disclose, had really been fulfilled, if they had only
known it.

The same thing is continually recurring. Grave
objections are made by partial knowledge, especially of
the self-conceited and unspiritual sort, which fuller know-
ledge converts into arguments for the faith which they
were supposed to destroy. Spiritual instincts are better
guides to Jesus than microscopic literalism ; and, if a
man feels that he is thirsty, and is touched by Christ's
gracious and majestic promise of living water, he need
not pay much attention to objectors who would rob
him of his faith because this or that bit of geography
or history seems wrong. Probably it is right after all.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem, though these cavillers
thought that He was not, and knew that the Christ must
be.

LESSON X

Freedom and Sonship

St. John viii. 31-47

31. " Then said Jesus to those
Jews which believed on Him,
If ye continue in My word,
then are ye My disciples in-
deed ;

32. And ye shall know the
truth, and the truth shall make
you free.

^^. They answered Him, We
be Abraham's seed, and were
never in bondage to any man :
how sayest Thou, Ye shall be
made free ?

34. Jesus answered them,
Verily, verily, I say unto you.
Whosoever committeth sin is
the servant of sin.

35. And the servant abideth
not in the house for ever : but
the Son abideth ever.

36. If the Son therefore shall
make you free, ye shall be free
indeed.

37. I know that ye are
Abraham's seed ; but ye seek
to kill Me, because My word
hath no place in you.

38. I speak that which I
have seen with My Father :
and ye do that which ye have
seen with your father.

39. They answered and said
unto Him, Abraham is our
father. Jesus saith unto them.
If ye were Abraham's children,
ye would do the works of
Abraham.

40. But now ye seek to kill
Me, a Man that hath told you
the truth, which I have heard
of God : this did not Abraham.

41. Ye do the deeds of your
father. Then said they to Him,
We be not born of fornication ;
we have one Father, even God.

42. Jesus said unto them, If
God were your Father, ye
would love Me : for I proceeded
forth and came from God ;
neither came I of Myself, but
He sent Me.

43. Why do ye not under-
stand My speech ? even because
j"e cannot hear My word.

44. Ye are of your father the
devil, and the lusts of your
father ye will do. He was a
murderer from the beginning,
and abode not in the truth,
because there is no truth in
him. When he speaketh a lie,
he speaketh of his own : for
he is a liar, and the father of
it.

45. And because I tell you
the truth, ye believe Me not.

46. Which of you convinceth
Me of sin ? And if I say the
truth, why do ye not believe
Me?

47. He that is of God hear-
eth God's words : ye therefore
hear them not, because ye are
not of God."

85

86 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. viii. 31-47

THE remarkable description of the persons addressed
in this conversation seems, at first sight, to blend
incongruous characteristics, since John generally uses
" Jews " to mean the section of the people who held
fast by the hope of an earthly conqueror as Messiah,
and were therefore opposed to Jesus. How could such
persons "believe Him " ? And how could believers be
called " children of the devil," and charged with seeking
to kill Jesus ? The observation of the distinction
between " believed on " (ver. 30) and " believed " gives
the key. The former means reliance ; the latter, mere
credence. Such incomplete faith was quite consistent
with retaining their carnal expectations, and must neces-
sarily issue in falling away, when they understood
Christ's true character. They had got to the point of
beheving Him the Messiah, but it must be their sort of
Messiah. The words of our Lord, in verse 31, imply
that these people were not yet " disciples indeed."

Our Lord's words in verses 31 and 32 are, then, His
welcome and warning to very imperfect faith. He is
willing to accept the least adequate recognition, and to
deepen it. He lays down a condition, and gives a
promise. The condition is " abiding in His word,"
where the singular is to be observed as marking His
revelation as a whole, and the expression " abide in "
as suggesting that " word " as the atmosphere in which
the believer lives and moves. The converse representa-
tion of the word as abiding in us is also common in this
Gospel. That word is the element in which we should
live and the inward root of our lives. Faithful adherence
to it develops rudimentary and half-seeing faith into
completeness, as the triple promise holds forth.

Less. X.] Freedom and Sonship 87

True discipleship, in contrast to the crude adhesion
given by these Jews ; knowledge of the truth, which
surpasses their present position both in respect to the
sweep and elevation of that which is known and in
regard to the manner of knowledge, which will be not
mere head-work, but the fruit of experience and posses-
sion ; and freedom brought about by that truth, — are
the gifts waiting the disciple who abides in the Word.
Intellectual freedom consists in the subjugation of the
understanding to the truth which delivers from errors,
prejudices, and the babble of human opinion. Moral
freedom consists in the submission of the will to duty,
which is the practical outcome of truth. To do as we
ought is liberty ; to do as we like is slavery. Spiritual
freedom consists in the bowing down of the whole man
to God, who is revealed by the truth, and to serve whom
is to be master of self and things.

Skin-deep discipleship took offence at a promise in
which it detected a view of its present condition which it
resented. So it does to-day. Tell men that Jesus will
redeem them from their sins, and they fire up at the
implication that they are sinners.

How could these Jews assert that they had never been
in bondage, with Egypt and Babylon in their history, and
Roman eagles, visible from the temple, flaunting in " the
castle " ? They used the same strange power of ignoring
disagreeable facts which blinds so many of us to our
slavery. Sin's fetters are riveted when the bondsman
lifts his manacled hands and protests his freedom. Pride
of and trust in their descent, as if it gave them inahen-
able rights, and a vain assertion of liberty, were all that
Christ's great promise evoked. The veneer of faith was

88 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. viH. 31-47

very thin, and was already worn through and the baser
core presented.

Our Lord takes up these two pleas in reverse order in
His answer (vers. 34-38). First He sets forth the prin-
ciples of true freedom ; and, next, of true sonship. The
solemn words in verse 34, introduced by that double
" verily " which always indicates important and often
unwelcome truth, and calls for special docility, tear away
the flimsy veil, and disclose the fact which it is so easy
and fatal to miss. True freedom or slavery is not an
affair of political or social arrangements, but a condition
of the spirit. The real bondage is that which enslaves
the will and prevents doing right. The perverted state
of the sinner, the terrible power of repeating itself which
sin possesses, the impotence of the better nature to cast
off the chains woven by acts, are all revealed as by a
lightning flash in that awful saying, which shatters so
much of our boasted independence, and is verified daily
in the experience of those who cast off the restraints of
virtue only to be tied and bound by the heavier fetters
of vice. The stern brevity of the words adds to their
force.

With like condensation, the fate of the slave is set
forth in verse 35, and contrasted with that of the son.
The boast of the Jews had been that, as sons of Abraham,
they possessed inalienable freedom and secure tenure of
their land. The answer lies in the difference between
the permanency of slave and son, as the old story of
Hagar and Ishmael showed it. The " slave " of verse
35 is necessarily the ideal of the class, and the reference
to sin as the master is dropped. Slaves, whoever their
lords, are not permanent dwellers ; sons, whoever their

Less. X.] Freedom and Sonship 89

fathers, are. This is true in relation to men and God.
He who is sin's slave cannot claim the right of per-
manent enjoyment of God's blessings which he possesses
for a time. Such secure continuance is the prerogative
of a son. And the connecting thought implied is that
slaves of sin cannot be sons of God.

The saying rang the knell of the national privileges of
the Jews, and it discloses weighty and sad truths applic-
able to us ; namely, the essentially transitory character
of sinful men's possession of any outward blessings, and
the dread sentence of exclusion, which must ultimately
sever them from the family of God. There is something
very terrible in these swift strokes as of a glittering sword,
with which Jesus here so authoritatively shears through
the outward shows, and lays bare realities and conse-
quences.

As He passed from the specific idea of slave of sin to
the general one of slave, so, with reverse motion. He
next passes from the general idea of the sonship to the
specific idea of " the Son " — of God, that is. Because
the Son is ever in the Father's house. He can give
true freedom. He does not yet say, " I am that Son,"
but He scarcely conceals that He is. What "the
truth " does in verse 32 the Son does here, and, since
that truth is equivalent to " My word," no doubt as to
who this Son was could exist. He abides for ever in the
Father's house, as He has told us all through the earlier
lessons from this Gospel, being there even while incar-
nate. That abiding implies His full carrying out of the
Father's will and wielding of the Father's power. There-
fore He has power to break every yoke of bondage, and
they who let Him show them their slavery and loose

90 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. viii. 31-47

their chains are set free, and share in the prerogative of
sons, and dwell for ever in the Father's house.

The second part of our Lord's answer deals, in the
light of these truths, with the first part of the Jews' boast,
and the remainder of the lesson turns on the true idea of
fatherhood and sonship. The great truth is brought out,
that true sons do the will and possess the likeness of
their Father, and that thought is directed to shatter the
two boasts of " the Jews " to be the children of Abraham
and of God, and to force home to them their true descent.

In verses 37 and 38 Jesus admits their natural descent,
and sets against it their attitude to Himself. Already
they had passed from crude faith to hate, which will
appear incredible only to those who do not know that
no enemies are so embittered as disenchanted and rene-
gade admirers. No doubt, Christ's charge drew into
consciousness lurking feelings. Mark the reason He
assigns for their hate, " My word hath not free course
in you." Their beginning of belief did not grow. His
truth, as more clearly unveiled, did not advance in them.
Standing still is going back. If rudimentary faith does
not mature, it rots. Our only safety is in the victorious
progress of Christ's whole word in mind, heart, and life.

Verse 38 gives the reason for their non-acceptance of
His word. He speaks what He has seen with His
Father ; they do what they have heard of theirs. Note
the contrasts of " seen " and " heard," and of " with " and
"from." Jesus claims superhuman vision of God and
absolute correspondence of His revealing word with the
Divine things beheld and revealed. Again, He " speaks " ;
they " do." For all His deeds are words in, and parts
of, His word.

Less. X.] Freedom and Sonship 91

Thus far, our Lord keeps to the general thought of
sonship as involving likeness, and does not plainly speak
the names of the two fathers. We may by our actions
make ourselves completely deaf to Christ's words ; and
nothing stops the ears of the spirit so surely as the wax
of evil deeds consolidated into habits. Conduct betrays
parentage.

Verses 39-41 reiterate the truth more sternly, in answer
to the repeated boast of descent from Abraham. They
differ from the preceding in saying plainly that there was
absolute contradiction between the deeds of the patriarch
and these, his descendants, in the designation of Jesus,
in which His true manhood. His ministry of truth, and
its source in God, are plainly declared, this being an
advance on the previous clause, in which the Father was
unnamed, and so preparing for the naming of the other
" father."

In verse 41 the Jews show that they partly understood
what Father Jesus claimed, and they follow Him on to
His own ground, asserting that they too, because legiti-
mately descended in the flesh from Abraham, are God's
sons. The boast is shivered by the application of the
same principle which shattered the former. But the
principle is applied with a noticeable difference. Love
to Jesus is " the spot of God's children." Think of one
of us making men's love to himself the sign of being
kindred with God !

How deep this saying cuts into the reasons for turning
away from Jesus ! Why will God's children necessarily
love Jesus ? Because He " came forth " in the past act
of incarnation, which was His act, and " is come," stand-
ing there while He speaks, and " has not come," a phrase

92 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. viii. 31-47

including past and present in one continuous whole, and
the assertion regarding each being that He is " sent."
So he that " loveth Him that begat loveth Him also that
is begotten of Him."

Next, Jesus lays bare the ground of the Jews' failure
in understanding as well as in love. " My speech " is
less general and comprehensive than "My word."
" Understand " is a subsequent process to " hear.'
" Cannot " is a self-caused inability, the ground of which
is immediately disclosed. Men can make themselves
incapable of even hearing the word of Christ ; and that
general incapacity which comes from contrariety of moral
disposition will prevent their grasping the meaning of
His single utterances. A right judgment on His sayings
requires spiritual susceptibility for His mission as a
whole.

And now the awful revelation of the true paternity of
these degenerate sons of Abraham is flashed forth. The
inmost ground of want of love to Christ, and of incapacity
to accept His word, is kindred with the great antagonist
of God ; and that kinship, it is to be observed, is dis-
tinctly declared as voluntary in the emphatic expression,
"Ye will to do." Men are members of that family be-
cause they choose to be so, and do things contrary to
God's will and accordant with Satan's " lusts." What
are these lusts? Two are specified, both germane to
the Jews' feelings to Jesus, — murderous hate and aver-
sion to the truth.

The distinct reference to the Fall, by which death came
on men, is to be noted ; and there seems also a dim
glimpse of a previous fall of the Tempter from " the
truth." A spiritual being — man or angel — who has not

Less. X.] Freedom and Sonship 93

" truth " within, — that is, no sincerity, uprightness of
will, or affinity with the revelation of God, which is " the
truth," — cannot continue in it as his life's atmosphere.
He has no lungs fitted to breathe it, and will suifocate
there, like a man in water or a fish on land.

If we adopt the rendering of the difficult closing
sentence of verse 44 in the Revised Version and in the
Authorised Version, it carries on the allusion to the Fall
and the Satanic lie then. " Of his own " points to the
true diabolic nature, in contrast to that of the Son, who
did and spoke nothing of Himself. Wherever such
self-origination and casting off of filial obedience are,
there are the " devil's marks," deep stamped. All his
words are lies, his promises and his denials of God's
threats. Himself a liar, he breeds lies in others. It is
hard to beheve that these solemn words of Christ's were
only accommodated to Jewish superstition. They open
a dread glimpse into the anarchic kingdom of antagonism
to God, and press home the alternative, — either children
of God or of the Devil.

The close of the lesson gathers all up to a point. So
blinded were the Jews by the glamour cast by Satan's
lies, that they rejected Jesus just because He spoke the
truth. The highest truth has this for one of its credentials
— that sinful men do not accept it. Tongues accus-
tomed to the coarse pungency of leeks and garlic do not
like manna. The devil's children naturally take to lies,
and turn away from truth. Verse 46 in its first part gives
as proof that He spoke the truth the unanswerable
challenge to convict Him of sin. That glove lies in the
lists still, and eighteen hundred years have produced no
champion bold enough to lift it and say, " I will." Jesus

94 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. viii. 31-47

asserts His sinlessness, and the world admits the claim.
But does it accept the consequence, that sinlessness in
action implies truth in speech ? So He takes for granted
here — and surely, if it be true that His manhood was
utterly free from sin, the only explanation is to be found
in the recognition of His sonship, and involved therein—
the vahdity of His claim to be the perfect Revealer of
the truth. On the basis of His flawless purity is solidly
planted the searching question, " Why do ye not believe
Me?" and no less solidly the final crushing unveiling
of the ultimate reason for all unbelief, " Ye therefore
hear them not, because ye are not of God."

LESSON XI

Jesus Seeing the Blind, and the Blind Seeing Jesus

St. John ix. i-ii, 35-38

1. "And as Jesus passed by,
He saw a man which was blind
from his birth.

2. And His disciples asked
Him, saying. Master, who did
sin, this man, or his parents,
that he was born blind ?

3. Jesus answered, Neither
hath this man sinned, nor his
parents : but that the works of
God should be made manifest
in him.

4. I must work the works of
Him that sent Me, while it is
day : the night cometh, when
no man can work.

5. As long as I am in the
world, I am the light of the
world.

6. When He had thus spoken,
He spat on the ground, and
made clay of the spittle, and He
anointed the eyes of the blind
man with the clay.

7. And said unto him. Go,
wash in the pool of Siloam,
(which is by interpretation,
Sent.) He went his way there-
fore, and washed, and came
seeing.

8. The neighbours therefore,

and they which before had
seen him that he was blind,
said, Is not this he that sat and
begged ?

9. Some said, This is he :
others said. He is like him : but
he said, I am he.

10. Therefore said they unto
him. How were thine eyes
opened ?

11. He answered and said,
A man that is called Jesus
made clay, and anointed mine
eyes, and said unto me, Go to
the pool of Siloam, and wash :
and I went and washed, and I
received sight. . . .

35. Jesus heard that they
had cast him out; and when
He had found him, He said unto
him. Dost thou believe on the
Son of God ?

36. He answered and said,
Who is He, Lord, that I might
believe on Him ?

37. And Jesus said unto him,
Thou hast both seen Him, and
it is He that talketh with thee.

38. And he said, Lord, I
believe. And he worshipped
Him."

IT is remarkable that, while the other evangelists tell
of miracles done at the request of others, all but
one of those which John records were spontaneous on

95

96 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. ix. 1-38

Christ's part. That characteristic is strikingly brought
out in this narrative. " He saw " the man. No one
interceded for him. The disciples regarded him only as
a theological problem. He himself sat silent, waiting
for alms, all unconscious of the kind eyes fixed on him.
But Jesus saw and pitied, recognised the will of the
Father, and was about to intervene with heahng when
He was delayed by the question of the disciples.

Two ways of looking at suffering are suggested by
the disciples' inquiry and Christ's answer. The former
glanced at the blind man without pity. His was a
common calamity, and interested them only as raising a
doubt as to the persons to be blamed for it. Perhaps
they remembered the saying to another sufferer, " Thou
art made whole : sin no more." A commonplace of
their religion was the connection between sin and suffer-
ing ; and as, in this case, the affliction had been from
birth, it strikes them as a curious question whether there
had been sin in some previous state of existence, or
whether it was a case of the children's expiating the
parents' fault.

Christ's answer falls into three parts (vers. 3-5). First,
He teaches the disciples and us how to look at suffering.
So far as we are concerned, the chief consideration is
that it gives opportunity for manifesting "the works of
God" by helping to remedy it. No doubt there is a
connection between sin and sorrow, and Jesus recognised
it when He pronounced forgiveness to the palsied man
before He healed his body. But to study misery as
material for theological speculations or for censorious
adjudging blame, is to miss its true purpose for us. Not
what brought it, but what we can do to remove it, is the

Less. XI.] Jesus Seeing the Blind 97

question for us. Speculations about "the origin of evil"
may ossify the heart so that it throbs with no pity. That
question is deeply interesting and important in its own
place, but that place is not when we are standing beside
the sufferer. Discuss the cause of the fire as much as
you like, but try to put it out first and philosophise
afterwards. The purpose of the evil around us, in
reference to us, is to touch us with pity and summon us
to help. " The works of God " are works of alleviation
of affliction done by men who, in thus working, are
carrying out the Divine purpose and imitating the Divine
acts. We are likest God when we strive to reduce the
sum of human misery.

Verse 4 unfolds the secret of Christ's unwearied
diligence in His appointed task. The reading adopted
in the Revised Version, "we must work," associates
us with Him, and sets forth the great " must " which
dominated His life as meant to dominate ours. But
if that be the true reading, the difference oetween the
Master and the servants remains ; for our obligation is
consequent on His mission, and His relation to the
Father is that of being " sent " in a special manner.
Jesus here shows us His inmost heart. That solemn
" must " ruled all His life, and, in this Gospel, is often
on His lips. But it was no unwelcome necessity re-
luctantly obeyed, but was inwoven with His deepest will
and the occasion of His continual delight. Because
His spirit said, " I delight to do Thy will," He was
thereby "anointed with the oil of gladness above His
fellows."

Jesus, too, as well as we, was stimulated to fill the
moments with toil by the consciousness that the time

7

98 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. ix. 1-38

was short. He, too, must make the most of the oppor-
tunities of earthly Hfe ; for, after it, the season for these
gentle works of Omnipotence clothed in flesh would be
ended. True, the " night " was really day, and the rest
which followed earthly toil was to be filled with loftier
work than giving this man sight ; but still, the form of
work which He then was doing could not be done in a
near future. Therefore His course on earth, besides
its .grander and more recondite features, is marked by
the homely virtue of hard work, and utilising every
moment.

These two characteristics are to be reproduced by us,
whether this verse is to be read " we " or " I." The
quick response of a shoot of pity and love when we see
sorrow; the consciousness of a great necessity, which
we rejoice to obey, bidding us help the sufferers, and
so do God's works ; the unhasting, unresting diligence
which marks the evening shadows lengthening, while so
much of the harvest is unreaped, and therefore is a
miser of time and prodigal of strength, — these are the
signs of a true disciple. Let us leave the question of
the cause of the misery to censorious and curious people,
except so far as the knowledge of the cause may direct
wise effort to cure ; and let us feel that every sorrow
which we see has a message and purpose for us, and is
God's call to us to soothe and, if possible, remove it.

Verse 5 is the majestic utterance of His conscious
power, which power here is present to His mind, as, if
we may so say, the measure of His responsibility. He
knows that He is " the Light of the world," and can give
the lower light for the eyes, and the higher for the spirit,
to this man, as to every man. Therefore He pauses

Less. XI.] Jesus Seeing the Blind 99

before him, full of pity, of filial obedience, and of
consciousness of power. The words are to be taken
in their widest and deepest meaning, as declaring what
John said in the prologue to the Gospel, that He is the
Light of men, in all senses of that word, and to all. He
did not cease to be " in the world " when He ascended,
any more than He began to be in it when He was born ;
but the period of His earthly life had special modes of
manifesting Him as the Light, and one of these was such
a miracle as this. While, then, in one aspect, the saying
is parallel to the preceding, in another it stretches far
beyond it, and declares a presence and an influence
coeval with creation and coextensive with humanity.
Christ is the Light of the world in a sense in which none
others are ; but the same condescension which underlies
the possible " we " preceding, associates us with Him
in the name, and, derived though our radiance be. He
calls His servants " the lights of the world." The name
should be to us what here it was to Him, a call to let
the light shine on darkened eyes.

The miracle proper is the smallest part of this narra-
tive, and is distinguished by the special feature of our
Lord's use of means, which was rare with Him, and in
each case probably to be accounted for by the spiritual
needs of the subjects. It might be a help to feeble
faith, to a man who has not seen His gentle face nor
marked the pity in His eye. The touch of His hand
on the poor sightless eyes, and the clay laid there by it,
would aid apprehension, and be a crutch for faith.

Another peculiarity is the healing at a distance, of
which we have another example in the fourth chapter.
The significance of the name " Siloam " was the reason

loo The Gospel of St. John [Chap. ix. 1-38

for its place in the cure. The name refers either to the
gushing out of the waters discharged from an underground
channel, or, less probably, to their being a gift sent
from God. Already in John vii. 37 the water from that
spring was taken by our Lord as a type of Himself; and
here the emphasis is to be laid, not on the fact that the
blind man was " sent " to the fountain, but that He
who was " sent from God " was the true agent in his
cure.

Again, the method of cure suspends healing on obedi-
ence, as in the other case where the command " Stretch
forth thy hand " was addressed to a man who could
not stretch it out, but who, trying, became able. Com-
pliance with Christ's conditions brings healing. For us
the condition is faith. We have to wash in the true
Fountain, " sent of God " for sin and uncleanness ; and,
if we do, we shall come seeing, and clean.

The buzz of talk among the neighbours is vividly
given, and attests the conspicuous notoriety of the
miracle. The blind man's character is strongly marked
throughout. He sturdily adheres to facts, will not be
tempted one inch beyond them, declines to speculate
or to profess to know anything more than he does know ;
has a touch of dry sarcasm and quick-wittedness, and,
withal, docility very touching when combined with such
independence. Therefore he gets the better sight, as
told in the closing verses of the lesson.

His conceptions of Jesus had been steadily rising,
from " the man Jesus " to " a prophet," and " from
God." Opposition and the floundering of the Pharisees
in trying to explain away his cure had led him to pro-
gressive preparedness for the fuller revelation. The

Less. XI.] Jesus Seeing the Blind loi

excommunication left him sad, but unshaken. Jesus
went to look for the outcast, as He ever does. The
question "Dost thou believe ? " is really an invitation to
believe ; and it is to be observed that our Lord here
asks for faith in its deepest sense — ^namely, that believ-
ing on Him which we have had frequent occasion to
distinguish from simply believing Him. It is reliance
absolute and firm which He seeks. And the object of
that faith is " the Son of God," in the full meaning of
that great name, the whole significance of which yet
waited to be revealed. How the strong, sturdy man
who had held his own with the Sanhedrim, and given
back sarcasm for threat, melts and bows in docility
before Him whom he had such good cause to trust,
and whose greatness had been slowly shining in on his
newly seeing soul !

It is not bhnd submission which professes its readi-
ness to accept further teaching from a teacher who has
done so much for him. If Jesus were the prophet
which His acts convinced the man that He was, then
His words were to be taken as truth, whatever they
declared or demanded. The recognition of Him as
" from God," honestly followed out, will lead to some-
thing more wonderful still. Where there has been true
adherence to present measures of light, and willingness
to follow that light wherever it leads, Jesus will come
and disclose Himself Many a man has found that to
be cast out by men is to be found by Christ, and that,
when hunted from the fellowship of formalists, his soli-
tude has been illumined by the sunshine of that face.

The answer of our Lord to the man's eager question
is very beautiful. He does not say " I am He," but

102 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. ix. 1-38

describes Himself by two characteristics, the first of
which (" thou hast seen Him ") touches deHcately the
obHgation under which the man lay to Him, and the
proof in the miracle of His love and power. " That
thou canst see at all is My gift, and My better gift is
that thou dost see Me." The second emphasises the
wonderful fact that the Son of God stands in human
form before him, and talks in familiar friendship. It is
like the word to the Samaritan woman, " I that speak
unto thee am He " ; and both lay on our hearts the
gracious and astounding mystery of incarnate love, by
which the Son of God dwells among us, and men can
speak face to face with Him as a man speaketh with his
friend.

Thus flooded with light, the soul of this poor bhnd
man bows in lowly adoration, compact of gratitude, awe,
and loving trust, and worships the Bringer of sight to his
eyeballs and of the better vision to his spirit. If we will
listen to Jesus, He will talk with us ; and if we will obey
His conditions and go to the fountain " Sent," which is
Himself, and wash there, we too shall see, and have for
ours the irrefragable argument of experience with which
this bhnd beggar pulverised the cavils of the Sanhedrim :
" Whether He be a sinner or no, I know not : one thing
I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see."

LESSON XII

The Shepherd of Men

St. John x, i-i6

1. "Verily, verily, I say unto
you, He that entereth not by
the door into the sheepfold, but
climbeth up some other way,
the same is a thief and a robber.

2. But he that entereth in by
the door is the shepherd of the
sheep.

3. To him the porter open-
eth ; and the sheep hear his
voice : and he calleth his own
sheep by name, and leadeth
them out.

4. And when he putteth forth
his own sheep, he goeth before
them, and the sheep follow him :
for they know his voice,

5. And a stranger will they
not follow, but will flee from
him : for they know not the
voice of strangers.

6. This parable spake Jesus
unto them : but Ihey under-
stood not what things they
were which He spake unto
them.

7. Then said Jesus unto them
again. Verily, verily, I say unto
j-ou, I am the Door of the
sheep.

8. All that ever came before
Me are thieves and robbers :
but the sheep did not hear
them.

9. I am the Door : b}' Me if

any man enter in, he shall be
saved, and shall go in and out,
and find pasture.

10. The thief cometh not, but
for to steal, and to kill, and
to destroy : I am come that
they might have life, and that
they might have it more abund-
antly.

11. I am the Good Shepherd :
the good shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep.

12. But he that is an hireling,
and not the shepherd, whose
own the sheep are not, seeth
the wolf coming, and leaveth
the sheep, and fleeth : and the
wolf catcheth them, and scatter-
eth the sheep.

13. The hireling fleeth. be-
cause he is an hireling, and
careth not for the sheep.

14. I am the Good Shepherd,
and know M3' sheep, and am
known of Mine.

15. As the Father knoweth
Me, even so know I the Father :
and I lay down My life for the
sheep.

16. And other sheep I have,
which are not of this fold :
them also I must bring, and
they shall hear My voice ; and
there shall be one fold, and
one Shepherd."

lO'

I04 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. x. 1-16

THE Pharisees' treatment of the bhnd man showed
what tender shepherds they were, and their
indignant " Are we blind ? " betrayed their irritable
self-conceit. Therefore Christ assails their consciences
in this lesson, which must be taken in close connection
with what goes before. We have, first, a picture of a
true shepherd, and then the expansion and application
of its two principal ideas.

I. The " parable " (vers. 1-5) sets forth the ideal of a
true shepherd ; but, since that ideal is fulfilled in Jesus,
it is also His own portrait of Himself, though the
personal reference is quite in the background. The
picture is meant to rouse the consciences of the un-
worthy shepherds by showing them what they should be ;
but that application is also in the background. It is
not always wise to say, " Thou art the man." It is
often better to hold up the portrait of what a man
should be, and leave him to say whether it is a likeness
of him.

A true shepherd enters the fold by the door. A fold
is an external organisation : in its original meaning here>
the Jewish theocracy ; for us, the Christian Church.
This Gospel has all along been insisting on the activity
of the eternal Word before incarnation ; and therefore
we must take it that from the beginning all true shep"
herds and guides — lawgivers, prophets, kings — entered
on their office through Him. Honest men go in by
the door. If we see one getting over the fence, we
conclude that he is on no good errand. The unworthy
teachers of that day had selfish ends to further, and,
whether by stealth like "a thief" or by violence like a
" robber," sought their own gain. They are dead and

Less. XII.] The Shepherd of Men 105

gone, but the warning is much needed by Christian
teachers of all degrees. He is no true shepherd who
does not derive his office from Jesus, and use it for
Him. "Not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord;
and ourselves your servants," should be our motto.
Reliance on one's own powers, entrance on such sacred
tasks from one's own self-will, discharge of them for
one's own advantage, either as regards money or glory,
making anything but Jesus one's theme, are signs of
being thieves, not shepherds. These are the dangers
besetting all religious teaching. Conceit climbs high ;
the door is low-pitched, and a man must stoop to go in.

"To him the porter openeth." The meaning of this
second trait is obscure. To treat it as mere embellish-
ment seems scarcely reverent ; to explain it as referring
to recognition by ecclesiastical authorities is incongruous
— for these are "shepherds." The explanation which
sees in it the work of the Divine Spirit furthering Christ-
derived and Christ-devoted work seems worthiest. He
who enters on his service through the door will find a
mighty power clearing away obstacles and prospering his
goings.

Next we see the shepherd in the fold (ver. 3). His
only weapon is his voice, and " the sheep " hear it.
The presence in the fold of unworthy members is pro-
bably lightly indicated ; but the main point is that
prepared hearts recognise the truth, and in like manner
the selective work of the shepherd may be glanced at, as
well as the tenderness of the bond between him and the
flock in that sweet phrase, "his own sheep." Each true
Christian teacher will find some who will specially
respond to his manner of setting forth the truth.

io6 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. x. 1-16

Diversities of gifts correspond to diversities of needs.
Individualising care and tender knowledge of each are
marks of the true shepherd. To call by name implies
this and more. To a stranger all sheep are alike ; the
shepherd knows them apart. It is a beautiful picture of
loving intimacy, lowliness, care, and confidence, and one
which every teacher should ponder. Contrast with it
the Pharisees' treatment of the blind man.

Having gathered his own sheep, the shepherd " leadeth
them out." So we have next the shepherd and flock
outside the fold. They are taken out to pasture and
exercise, which, in the most wide application, suggests
that the activities of Hfe are to be regulated by the truth
that religious teaching finds its goal in obedient conduct ;
that to do, and not to meditate or rest, is the end of man.
But there is, probably, also a hint that the time for the
separation between sheep and goats in Israel was at hand,
and that Jesus was soon to call His own from the mass,
and guide them to new pastures. The hint of the
establishment of the Church apart from the synagogue is
here.

But the main point in the sweet picture is the relation
of confidence and close companionship between shepherd
and sheep, — he going before ; they, drawn by his voice,
following, safe in his presence and secure from wandering,
when behind him. Lessons for all Christian teachers lie
on the surface ; that is the ideal for them. They miser-
ably fail if they are not leaders in holy living, just as
disciples fail if they merely admire their voices, and do
not follow their footsteps. Of course, through this ideal
picture of what every true shepherd should be shines the
actual realisation of it in Christ, who is Himself the

Less. XII.] The Shepherd of Men 107

Shepherd whom He drew ; but that is in the back-
ground.

II. The expansion and apphcation to Christ of the
figure of the door. Note that new phase of the idea,
conveyed in caUing it " the door of the sheep," not
merely, as before, for the shepherds to go in by.
Observe, too, the pause before developing the meaning
of the emblem, to denounce again the " thieves and
robbers." Here these must be false mediums of access
to whatever the door leads to ; that is to say, pretenders
to open the way to God, to safety, and pasture. The
omission of " ever " in the Revised Version and the
present tense " are " show that the pretenders spoken of
are cotemporaries of Jesus, though " before Him " as
already exercising their false authority. In fact, He
means the existing rulers, whose pretensions to give
access to God are as baseless and inspired by the same
self-seeking as their claims to be the true shepherds.

But that is but a momentary flash of lightning. He
returns to set forth the wonders to which He admits, in
words which only familiarity robs of their sublime self-
consciousness. The picture has somewhat shifted. The
flock are now outside, and the fold is not so definitely
an organisation. It is rather the true home of wander-
ing souls, the fold of God. Jesus here stands before the
whole world, and, with universal invitation, witnessing to
His claim of Divine universality of power, presents Him-
self as the medium by which every man may have all that
he needs.

Three things are requisite for vigorous life, — security,
a field for exercise of activity, and food. Jesus says that
He will supply them all. The condition is entrance

io8 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. x. 1-16.

through Him, which is plainly tantamount to faith in
Him as our sole means of access to God. Then comes
security; for the figure of the flock is kept up, and
" saved " has probably not so much the full Christian
meaning as the general one of safety, — from outward
disasters, which will not hurt us if we are in Him ; from
inward evil, which will not tempt if we dwell in the fold ;
and thus, finally, from everything outward or inward
which could sadden, hurt, or stain our souls. The
many temporary and partial deliverances are crowned
by the final complete salvation. If we keep behind the
breakwater, and cast anchor with Jesus between us and
the wind, we shall ride out the storms. We shall, further,
have the free exercise of powers. " Go in and out "
means free, unrestricted activity. Both the contempla-
tive and active sides of life are included. Within the
fold is repose ; without is healthful exercise. We must
go deep into God if we would be blessed, and Jesus
leads us into the secret place of the Most High, where
we can renew strength and regain calmness. We must
go out into the world ; and Jesus gives us a pattern for
action, motives for service, and new powers, as none
else can. Christians should be complete men. But we
must " go in " first, if we are to "go out" charged with
blessing for others.

Further, Jesus gives provision for all true wants, food
for all powers, desires, and aspirations, and He makes
the desert yield supplies. Without Him, the world is
like the burnt-up pastures after drought, where starving
sheep mumble some dry stalks that crumble to dust in
their mouths ; but, with Him, it is like the same pastures
after rain, — green with juicy grass.

Less. XII,] The Shepherd of Men 109

The transition to the image of the shepherd is pre-
pared for in verse 10, in which the persons (" thief,"
" I ") are contrasted, the general truth appHcable to a
class (" Cometh ") set by the side of the single past
coming which has abiding presence as result (" am
come "), and the effects of the selfish teacher's lessons —
which are robbing the true Owner of His sheep by making
them partisans of a man, spiritual death and the des-
truction of what would nourish life — are presented in
contrast with the hfe in its deepest and widest sense
which He gives, and the abundance of all that will
nourish and increase it.

in. We have the image of the shepherd applied
to Jesus (vers. 11-16). "Good" means "beautiful" as
well as " excellent," and suggests the gracious and lovely
attractiveness of our Lord's character as Shepherd.
Note the strangeness of a man's saying anything like
this about himself Is not Jesus harder to understand
if we reject His Divinity than if we accept it?

But what is the one token that He is the Good Shep-
herd ? His laying down His life. Here is a prophecy
of His death, a claim that He lays down His life volun-
tarily as one might put aside a garment, a declaration
that His death is " for the sheep," and the plain impli-
cation that it is the very centre and heart of His work,
establishing His claim to be our Shepherd. True, the
whole meaning and power of it are not revealed, but it
is set forth as the climax of self-sacrificing care, and as
the way of saving the flock from the wolf We shall
not understand Jesus, nor see the fairest beauty in Him,
till we learn that His voluntary death for us is the
keystone of His work.

no The Gospel of St. John [Chap. x. 1-16

The contrast now is with hirelings, not thieves. The
wolf does what the thieves did, — kills and destroys.
Whoever fills any office involving the care and guidance
of men, and is swayed by mercenary considerations, will
have a quick eye to see danger far off, and will look
after himself, deserting duty to keep life. There are
whole packs of wolves snuffing round every fold, and
hirelings always have been, and will be, cowards.
" Faithful unto death " he only will be who has caught
his inspiration from Jesus, and does his work '' all for
love, and nothing for reward."

Another mark of the Good Shepherd is the per-
fect knowledge and sympathy between Him and the
flock. " I know Mine own, and Mine own know Me."
That throws a bridge across the gulf between us, and
likens the humble upward movement of the dependent
love, which is knowledge and possession, to the down-
ward flow of that love which is Divine. His knowledge
of us guarantees our safety and peace. " The Lord
knoweth them that are His " is the seal stamped on the
foundation, by which it " standeth sure." Ours of Him
clings and trusts and grows, and is enriched by experience.
But yet, with all differences, the lower is like the higher
and the same sympathy and love look out of the eyes
of the Shepherd and of the flock. Deep words, which
we can only bow before in adoration, declare that the
union of knowledge and love between Christ and us has
its original in that ineffable union between the Father
and the Son. The unknown is made to explain the
known ; and it does so if it helps us to feel how sacred,
deep, and, in its possibilities, inexhaustible, is the
bond which knits the humblest soul that follows the

Less. XII.] The Shepherd of Men. 1 1 1

Shepherd to Him whom he feebly loves and dimly
knows.

These mysteries of intimacy will not seem impossible
if we turn again to gaze on the blessed fact which
founds them, even the death of Christ for the sheep.
That- sacrifice is the indispensable prerequisite if we are
ever to come to this satisfying and wonderful communion
of heart and mind with Him. Here Jesus declares that
He will do what He has just said that a good shepherd
must be ready to do.

And, as He sees the cross rising before His prophetic
eye, the narrow bounds of the " fold " which then was
melt away, and He sees the " other sheep " flocking to
His call. The thought of the universality of His redemp-
tion is very frequently associated with His prevision of
the cross, as if, before He suffered, He saw of the travail
of His soul, and was satisfied. These triumphant words
teach us the spirit in which we should look on the
outlying regions as belonging to Christ, as containing
some who are His, and as sure to be won for Him.
They teach us the Divine necessity which lay on His
Spirit, and should press on ours. They assure us that
He is now fulfilling that " must," and will help His
servants to fulfil it. They bid us lift our eyes beyond
the narrow bounds of existing organised Christianity, and
rouse our faith and expectations to embrace what He
saw then. They set the final state of His Church
before us. He shows us a " flock," not a " fold " ; one,
not because of a surrounding wall, but because of a
central Lord and Leader. If the shepherd be in the
midst, the sheep will couch round him, and be one
because all are knit to the one Shepherd.

LESSON XIII

The Crowning Miracle

St. John xi. 21-44

21. "Then said Martha unto
Jesus, Lord, if Thou hadst been
here, my brother had not died.

22. But I know, that even
now, whatsoever Thou wilt ask
of God, God will give it Thee.

23. Jesus saith unto her. Thy
brother shall rise again.

24. Martha said unto Him, I
know that he shall rise again in
the resurrection at the last day.

25. Jesus said unto her, I am
the resurrection, and the life :
he that believeth in Me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live :

26. And whosoever liveth and
believeth in Me shall never die.
Believest thou this ?

27. She saith unto Him, Yea,
Lord : I believe that Thou art
the Christ, the Son of God,
which should come into the
world.

28. And when she had so
said, she went her way, and
called Mary her sister secretly,
saying. The Master is come, and
calleth for thee.

29. As soon as she heard
that, she arose quickly, and
came unto Him.

30. Now Jesus was not yet

come into the town, but was in
that place where Martha met
Him.

31. The Jews then which
were with her in the house,
and comforted her, when they
saw Mary, that she rose up
hastily and went out, followed
her, saying, She goeth unto the
grave to weep there.

32. Then when Mar}?^ was
come where Jesus was, and
saw Him, she fell down at His
feet, saying unto Him, Lord, if
Thou hadst been here, my
brother had not died.

33. When Jesus therefore
saw her weeping, and the Jews
also weeping which came with
her, He groaned in the spirit,
and was troubled,

34. And said. Where have
ye laid him ? They said unto
Him, Lord, come and see.

35. Jesus wept.

36. Then said the Jews, Be-
hold how He loved him !

37. And some of them said,
Could not this man, which
opened the eyes of the blind,
have caused that even this man
should not have died ?

112

Less. XIII.] The Crowning Miracle 113

38. Jesus therefore again up His eyes, and said, Father,
groaning in Himself cometh to I thank Thee that Thou hast
the grave. It was a cave, and heard Me.

a stone lay upon it. 42. And I knew that Thou

39. Jesus said, Take ye away hearest Me always : but be-
the stone. Martha, the sister cause of the people which stand
of him that was dead, saith by I said it, that they may
unto Him, Lord, by this time believe that Thou hast sent Me.
he stinketh : for he hath been 43. And when He thus had
dead four days. spoken, He cried with a loud

40. Jesus saith unto her, voice, Lazarus, come forth.
Said I not unto thee, that if 44. And he that was dead
thou wouldest believe, thou came forth, bound hand and
shouldest see the glory of God ? | foot with graveclothes : and his

41. Then they took away the i face was bound about with a
stone from the place where the 1 napkin. Jesus saith unto them,
dead was laid. And Jesus lifted ! Loose him, and let him go."

JOHN records seven miracles before the crucifixion,
all deeply significant. The raising of Lazarus is the
last, and, if we can compare miracles, the greatest.
It crowns the whole, not only by its revelation of the Life-
giver, but by its disclosing of Christ's human sympathy
and individualising love, the majesty of the manner of
His work, the pathos and rich store of consolation for
bleeding hearts hived in the inimitable narrative. The
direct effect of the miracle in precipitating Christ's death
is also part of the reason for the minute account of it.
The story is as inexhaustible as inimitable, and we can
only skim its surface. The material naturally gathers
into four portions.

L Jesus and Martha; the drawing forth of faith. —
It was like Martha to be in the way to get the news
of Christ's arrival, and to rush to Him without telling
Mary. Grief that can work is easier to bear than grief
that sits still and broods. ^' If Thou hadst been here "
is not meant for reproach, but regret, mingled with trust
that somehow Jesus could have hindered the blow.

8

IT4 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xi. 21-44

Sorrowful hearts are but too apt, like the man with the
legion, to cut themselves with this sharp knife. We all
know the bitter thought, " How different everything

would have been, if only " Regret passed quickly

into a wild hope, which did not venture to name itself.
She means " resurrection " when she only dares to say
"whatever." Perhaps she knew of the raisings of Jairus'
daughter and the widow's son. But the wistful belief
that Jesus could was shaded by a doubt if He would,
and her words are a petition. The imperfection of her
conception is obvious as regards Christ's relation to God
and to His own gifts ; but the strength of the faith, born
of sorrow and sore need, is beautiful. Despair grasps
Jesus, and is transformed into faith that dares to expect
even impossibilities. Thick smoke-wreaths flare up,
when they are once set on fire.

The purpose of Christ's treatment of Martha was to
evoke and enlighten her faith, which, though not needful
for the miracle, was needful for her getting the full good
of it. So His first reply is intentionally indefinite. If
the hope she expressed were deep and solid, she would
apply the promise to the moment ; if not, it would
sound remote. Jesus grants requests, but often in such
a form that faith is needed to perceive the grant.
" The gift doth stretch itself as 'tis received." Will
Martha take what is given, or spill the most of it by
tremulous faith ? Her answer is almost impatient, as it
puts away the far-off prospect as all insufficient for
present comfort. Heart's agony makes short work of
religious commonplaces. It is a dreary, long road to
" the last day," and she wants Lazarus now. How true
to nature that putting away of the very hope that she

Less. XIII.] The Crowning' Miracle 115

had been cherishing ! So swiftly does the mood change,
and what seemed soHd melt into cloud.

But this at least has been gained, that the thought
of resurrection has been twice spoken, and the way
prepared for the full glorious declaration which Jesus
offers to her faith : " I am the resurrection." That sets
right her notion of His relation to His gift, and, in its
assumption of the power of His personality, contrasts
with " God will give it thee." It also meets the sad
postponement to a far-off future, and teaches that in
Him standing by her side was power to effect a resur-
rection now as well as then. Whenever and however it
takes place, it is His work.

The order of words is profoundly significant ; for
" resurrection " comes first, not simply as the subject in
hand, but as being the issue of what is named second,
" life." Jesus is the former because He is the latter,
and partaking in resurrection is the certain issue of par-
taking in life. Therefore two paradoxes for sense are
true on condition of union with Jesus by faith. If He
is the resurrection, they who believe live, though they
die. If He is the hfe, they who, in this mortal being,
are united to Him by faith, never really die; for the
name of death is not to be given to the physical fact,
which does not touch the life eternal. United to Jesus,
we are vital with a life over which the shadow called
Death has no dominion ; and having passed through the
dark sea, as some bright stream may through a sullen
lake, without losing its current or a drop of its waters,
shall flow on beyond to meet the sunny ocean. The
resurrection of all believers is the consequence of their
possession of Christ's life,

ii6 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xi. 21-44

These were stupendous truths to flash upon tear-
dimmed eyes, and to be followed by the searching
question, "Believest thou this?" But great truths are
quickly assimilated by deeply moved souls, and lasting
faith sometimes grows, or becomes conscious of its growth,
as fast as Jonah's gourd. Martha's answer fully accepts
the wonderful words, and is not rash credulity ; for she
builds her swift belief on rock when she says, " I have
believed that Thou art the Christ." That faith had
been slow to grow, but it prepared for the unhesitating
acceptance of all that He showed her.

II. Jesus and Mary ; sympathy with grief. — The work
on Martha was done when her faith thus triumphantly
closed with the great promise, and now she sought her
sister. Apparently Jesus bade her go ; for her words
to Mary are scarcely her own inference. Her calling
" secretly " indicates the natural wish to get rid of
heartless " comforters," but the effort was vain. Mary's
characteristic swift setting out did not shake off the
conventional sympathisers, who understood sorrow so
little that they would not let it have a moment of solitude
to break down in, and be relieved.

Note the delicate difference between the sisters, in
that while both say the same thing, and thereby show
how monotonously they had said it to one another in
the four dreary days, Mary falls at Christ's feet, and has
no word of hope for " even now." The difference of
character makes their treatment different. Martha got
teaching ; Mary, sympathy. Christ's tears would do
more for her than words.

That picture of the emotion of Jesus is too sacred for
cool comment. But we may reverently mark the token

Less. XIII.] The Crowning Miracle 117

of Christ's true manhood, in that the sight of tears
brings His, as well as in that He has tears to be brought.
Surely, of all the signs of His manhood none is more
precious than this. It sanctions sorrow, and sets its
limits. It reveals the reality of His sympathy, the depth
of His personal affection. It lets us see dimly that He
could not take away grief without feeling its pressure,
and that His work was not done without painful cost.

But tears were not all that the sight of sorrow evoked.
That other phase of emotion, described in the margin
of the Revised Version as " moved with indignation in
the spirit," opens a glimpse into a deep region. What
was the cause of this strange storm of anger which swept
across that calm spirit ? Surely the most worthy answer
is that He saw in this one death and these two weeping
sisters, as it were, one drop in the ocean of woes which
covered the earth. He summons all the miseries of
man before Him, and sees them all in connection with
their cause, sin, and possibly the personal tempter, whose
handiwork of murdering was so near. But that brief
agitation did not delay His work ; and the very fact that
He felt it, even when the end of the sorrow was so near,
shows how keen His sympathy was, and is, with transitory
ills. If Jesus did not feel with us the pains which He
knows are brief, what pains would He feel ?

Another apparent taking of human conditions is His
question — the only one of the kind in the Gospels — as
to the situation of the tomb. But perhaps it was rather
meant as an invitation to the " Jews " to do what they
ask Him to do, — "come and see." An evident desire
for publicity marks Him at this stage, and, knowing
what would come of it. He courts the presence of wit-

ii8 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xi. 21-44

nesses. How natural the fresh burst of tears as they
drew near the tomb ! And how cool the criticisms of the
curious group, some struck by the tokens of His affection,
but not sharing it, and others half scoffing, and suggest-
ing that His letting so dear a friend die discredited His
power to cure a blind stranger ! Malice is ingenious and
shallow. Think of men having actually seen Jesus weep-
ing, and having nothing else to say about it than this !

HI. Jesus at the tomb. — Majestic calm of conscious,
unbroken communion ! The emotion is past, and the
habitual calm majesty reassumed. The command to
take away the stone is in accord with Christ's continual
economy in the use of miraculous power. Whatever man
can do is to be done by man ; and, besides, the men
whose hands rolled away the stone were made witnesses
of the resurrection.

John has a delicate touch in reminding us of Martha's
relationship to " him that was dead," as explaining the
natural shrinking of her love from the exposure of the
dear form in its dishonour. But she was faltering in
her faith, or she would not have so spoken. Therefore
Jesus puts out a hand to hold her up, as He did to Peter
sinking, and His reminder of the previous conversation
puts its true purport into other words. He had, in
effect, told her that, if she believed, she would see the
glory of God, when He had sought to draw out her
faith, and spread before her astonished eyes the resur-
rection and the life which come by faith. Her faith was
not the condition of the miracle, but it was of her enjoy-
ing (seeing) all that the miracle meant and prophesied.
The outward fact might be seen by eyes all blind to the
glory that shone in it.

Less. XIII] The Crowning Miracle T19

With like majesty sounds the solemn thanksgiving
before the mighty act. It was not a prayer, such as
Martha had meant. He does not ask for a gift, but He
gives thanks. He traces, indeed, as always, the miracle
to the Father ; for He does nothing of Himself, and gives
life to whom He will in conformity with the Father's
gift. But that relation is by no means parallel with the
relation of other men who wrought miracles by Divine
power, and must be taken in conjunction with the teach-
ing of chapter v. ; for He has the consciousness of
unbroken communion with the Father, and of continual
fulfilment of His will.

The prayer of thanksgiving, then, was spoken in order
that the bystanders might, by hearing it, and seeing the
miracle that followed, be led to recognise the true import
of the miracle as a sign that He was sent from God.
The prayer was a solemn appeal to God, a confident
assumption of what was to follow. If it did follow, the
appeal was effectual and the conclusion plain.

IV. Jesus and the living dead ; the life-giving word.
— The actual miracle is briefly told, but with unsurpass-
able vividness and solemnity. The brief emotion showed
the Son of Man, but, as is always the case, the tokens of
His humiliation lie side by side with those of His glory.
The same voice that had sobbed in human grief now
spoke in Divine power. Curt and authoritative is its
utterance. He named the man, who still lived. The
man heard, wherever he was, and dull as his ear was to
sisters' weeping and all earthly noises. Wherever he
was, he was not out of reach of Christ's will, and that
voice could pierce the depths of the unseen world ;
Christ's commands run through the universe. The mere

I20 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xi. 21-44

words were breath, but the will was mighty. Who is He
whose bare will has power over material existences, and
can shoot out its behests wherever there are creatures ?

Who could paint that picture of the swathed form
stumbhng from the tomb, bound hand and foot, and
the unaccustomed eyes shrinking from the sunlight,
which had grown strange to them ? What awe would
await the taking away of the napkin from the face, and
how the gazers would look to see what traces of the
unseen world were there ! But the reticence of the story
is one of its charms. No eye is allowed to see the joy
of the sisters or to peer into the home that night.
" Loose him, and let him go." Christ's p_art_is done.
Other hands may undo the graveclothes ; His will has
loosed the grip of death.

LESSON XIV

What Jesus Thought about the Cross

St. John xii. 20-36

20. " And there were certain
Greeks among them that came
up to worship at the feast :

21. The same came therefore
to Philip, which was of Beth-
saida of Gahlee, and desired
him, saying, Sir, we would see
Jesus.

22. Philip Cometh and telleth
Andrew : and again Andrew
and Philip tell Jesus.

23. And Jesus answered them,
saying, The hour is come, that
the Son of man should be
glorified.

24. Verily, verily, I say unto
you. Except a corn of wheat
fall into the ground and die, it
abideth alone : but if it die, it
bringeth forth much fruit.

25. He that loveth his life
shall lose it ; and he that hateth
his life in this world shall keep
it unto life eternal.

26. If any man serve Me, let
him follow Me ; and where I
am, there shall also My servant
be : if any man serve Me, him
will My Father honour.

27. Now is My soul troubled ;
and what shall I say ? Father,
save Me from this hour : but for
this cause came I unto this hour.

28. Father, glorify Thy name.
Then came there a voice from
heaven, saying, I have both

glorified it, and will glorify it
again.

29. The people therefore, that
stood by, and heard it, said
that it thundered : others said.
An angel spake to Him.

30. Jesus answered and said.
This voice came not because of
Me, but for your sakes.

31. Now is the judgment of
this world : now shall the prince
of this world be cast out.

32. And I, if I be lifted up
from the earth, will draw all
men unto Me.

33. This He said, signifying
what death He should die.

34. The people answered
Him, We have heard out of
the law that Christ abideth for
ever : and how sayest Thou,
The Son of man must be lifted
up ? who is this Son of man ?

35. Then Jesus said unto
them, Yet a little while is the
light with you. Walk while
ye have the light, lest darkness
come upon you : for he that
walketh in darkness knoweth
not whither he goeth.

36. While ye have light, be-
lieve in the light, that ye may
be the children of light. These
things spake Jesus, and de-
parted, and did hide Himself
from them."

121

122 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xii. 20-36

THE remarkable request of some Greek proselytes
to see Jesus, interesting as it is, is but the starting-
point of the great thoughts in this lesson. These carry
the Evangelist so completely away that he does not tell
us what came of the request. Jesus saw in it the first
drops of the shower, the beginning of the Gentiles com-
ing to His feet ; and that prospect brought with it the
vision of the death that must" first be endured. The
theme, then, of the lesson is what Jesus thought and felt
about the Cross. " The place whereon thou standest is
holy ground." We may note a difference in the tone of
His words before and after the heavenly voice, and so
take the whole as gathered into four parts.

I. The prevision of the near Cross, and the troubled
soul of Jesus. The first emotion stirred by the request
was triumph. " The hour is come, that the Son of Man
should be glorified." Now, the subsequent context shows
that the " glory " in view is chiefly that of His bringing
men to Himself by His death, and that of the return to
the pre-incarnate glory with the Father. But it is not
to be forgotten that in this Gospel the Cross is always
presented as the summit of Christ's glory, rather than as
His lowest humiliation. It was His throne, because in it
were most wondrously manifested the redeeming power
and love which are the very flashing central light of all
His brightness. In all His life we " behold His glory,
. . . full of grace and truth " ; but the rays are focussed
there, where He hangs dying in the dark. There all
paradoxes met. Shame is glory ; weakness is strength ;
death is life.

Verses 24-26 point to 'the wide range of the same
paradox of which the Cross is the crowning example. It

Less. XIV.] What Jesus Thoug^ht about the Cross 123

is seen in nature, where fruit is only possible by the
destruction of the seed. No converts without martyrs,
whether literally by actual death or by the daily dying
of self-sacrifice. Life exemplifies the law. Eager
clutching at the delights of natural life, and making
it one's chief aim, is the sure way to lose all its sweet-
ness and to miss the higher life, while the subordination,
and, if needful, the sacrifice of "life in this world," leads
straight to the possession of " life eternal." That was
the truth for lack of which Greek literature, art, and
glory rotted and perished. Discipleship demands the
same conditions. Christ's servant must be Christ's
follower on that road. The Cross must be his pattern
as well as his trust. In a later part of this lesson (vers.
31, 32) the virtue of Christ's death, which has no parallel
in the servant's " following," is stated ; but here the
possibility and necessity that discipleship shall be imita-
tion even of that inimitable death are solemnly declared,
with the appended blessed assurance that faithful follow-
ing means final union and lowly service, a share in His
honour and glory.

But swiftly a wave of agitation breaks upon the rock
of His steadfast will. It is a true wave, but it breaks,
and the rock is unshaken. Jesus had the natural, in-
stinctive human recoil froni death, and that clashed
against the will to suffer. But it was His " soul," not
His "spirit," which was " troubled." The hesitation so
pathetically expressed here did not extend to His will,
and was sinless. Whether we read the prayer " Save Me
from this hour " as a question or as a definite petition, it
seems to represent the one alternative of " what " He
"should say," and is immediately superseded by the

124 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xii. 20-39

prayer in which the perturbed soul as well as the un-
moved spirit unite. It is put aside, because Jesus sees
the Cross as the great purpose of His coming, and so the
very sight of the dreaded thing as the goal of His work
gives strength to embrace it.

An old monkish painter makes the strengthening
angel in Gethsemane hold forth a cross, and there is
deep truth in the picture. The prayer, in which the
whole man Jesus utters Himself, grasps the name
" Father," and, in filial submission and trust, asks only
that His name may be glorified. That is really a prayer
that Jesus may die ; but the pain is all lost in the con-
templation of the issue, and so the universal pattern for
true sons is set, and the victory in this prelude of Geth-
semane is won. We can see but a little way into the
depths of Christ's nature, and shall better use this tender
and mysterious shrinking of human weakness overcome
by fiHal submission and resolved sacrifice, if we adore the
love that kept His will so firm, than if we curiously
speculate beyond our depth .

H. We have the heavenly voice and how it sounded
to dull ears (vers. 28, 29). The Revised Version gives
"therefore" instead of "then" in verse 28 and thus
brings out the significant connection of the voice with
that prayer. Such prayer is sure of answer, and such
filial surrender is sure of tokens of the Father's approval.
If our prayers were more often like His, we should more
often hear the voice following close upon them, and
repeating in accents loud as thunder and sweet as an
angel's speech our own low breathings turned into
promises. As in the conspicuous humility of the
baptism, and in the hour on the mountain when the

Less. XIV.] What Jesus Thought about the Cross 125

mighty dead spake with Him of His decease, the Father's
voice witnessed to Him. The past acts of glorifying are
those of Christ's earthly ministry ; the future are the
declaring more gloriously of that name to the whole
world by the Cross and subsequent triumph.

Every man hears in God's voice what he is fit to hear.
Obviously there was an objective something, an audible
sound. To the deafest there was a vague impression of
some majestic noise from heaven, which said nothing,
but was grand and meaningless as a thunder-clap.
Others, a little more susceptible, caught something like
articulate words, but discerned no significance, though
they felt their sweetness and dignity, and so thought
them an angel's voice. " Ye therefore hear them not,
because ye are not of God." We can dull our ears till
they will not even recognise God's voice as thunder, and,
if it sounds meaningless to us, it is our own fault.

HI. We have Christ's triumphant vision of the issues of
the cross (vers. 30-33). Did Jesus not need the voice ?
His filial submission was perfect, and His assurance that
His death was to glorify the Father's name was entire
before it came. His words do not necessarily imply
that He drew no strength from it, but only that His
strengthening was not its main purpose. An absolute
negative often in Scripture means a comparative one.
But how could a voice be sent for people who did not
understand it ? Some of them would ; and the deafness
of men does not compel the dumbness of God. The
revelation is given, and they who are capable receive it.
Let us see that we do not make ourselves unfit to profit
by what is sent for our sakes.

What did the voice teach its hearers? The true

126 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xii. 20-36

meaning of Christ's past life, and of the great crisis now
impending.

Jesus translates its lessons in the next words, which
show Him, Victor over all the shrinking of flesh,
triumphing in the world-wide and world-saving results
of the Cross. He anticipates the rapidly approaching
hour, and in the eagerness, if we may so say, of loving
self-sacrifice, stretches out to meet the coming doom,
in that prophetic and repeated "now." His death is
the judgment of this world. Does not the fact of His
death considered as the act of men reveal, as nothing
else does, the depth of human alienation from God and
goodness ? If He thought of Himself only as a martyr,
one among many, it was gross exaggeration to say that
His death headed the black roll of the world's sins.
On that hypothesis of His person, there have been
many other deaths quite as criminal. Only the full-
toned view of who and what the victim was warrants
such a construction of the guilt of His slaying as is here.

Still more extravagant, on the supposition that Jesus
is simply the best of men and teachers, is that other
triumphant cry of victory over the defeated and cast-out
" prince of this world." Only the full-toned' view of
the death of Christ as the sacrifice for the world's sins
can warrant such a construction of its power to redeem
the world from the tyranny of that usurper, and to
dislodge him from his fortress. He and all his hosts
hold their own, undisturbed by teachers and martyrs,
but they flee before the power of the Cross of the Son
of God, "who taketh away the sin of the world." He
" made a show of them openly, triumphing over them
in it."

Less. XIV.] What Jesus Thought about the Cross 127

The judgment and defeat are immediate results of
the Cross, but the last issue, which Jesus stays Himself
by beholding, is one that begins, indeed, contempor-
aneously with these, but stretches on through all time,
and blesses each coming generation. Of course, the
"lifting up" here is primarily a designation of the
crucifixion (John iii. 14) ; but that is contemplated in
connection with the other lifting up from the earth, in
His ascension and session at the right hand of God-
To draw men to Himself is the work of Christ till
the end of the world. His magnet is the Cross. That
drawing does not imply universal yielding to itself, for
there may be resistance to it ; but for evermore there
stream out from that Cross powers which lay hold on
hearts, and sweetly and mightily grapple them to Jesus.
He Himself, and nothing less, is the centre ; and what
conquers men to be His, is His death.

Every form of so-called Christianity which weakens
or obscures the sacrificial death of Jesus weakens the
power of Christianity. A Christ without a cross is no
match for the drawings of the world and its prince.
This is the grand vision on His own death, in which
Jesus found strength, and in which we shall find peace,
pardon, and purity.

IV. We have the objection of the crowd, and Christ's
last warnings to the nation. There must have been
more spoken than is reported, or the people would not
have puzzled about " the Son of man " being lifted up,
since that title is not employed in the saying, though it
occurs in verse 23. They knew that Jesus claimed to
be the Messiah, and, building on passages which spoke
of His kingdom as everlasting, they anticipated Messiah's

128 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xii. 20-36

permanent, miraculous life on earth. They have heard
Jesus saying that "the Son of Man" is to be lifted up
from the earth, and they supposed that He was speaking
of Himself by that name ; but, if so, what about His
Messianic claims ? They are in a fog, and are pottering
about interpretations of the law, instead of letting the
light, which was shining before them, shine into them.

Texts out of the Prophets were all very well, but, if
they would open their eyes and their hearts to Him
standing there before them, they would find all their
pedantic difficulties melt away. The best way to deal
with similar trivial objections sometimes is to press the
positive revelation of Christ, and let that speak. So
here Jesus does not " answer " the question, but speaks
a solemn warning — His last words before the cross — to
the nation. The time was short. In a few minutes
He would go over Olivet to Bethany, only to return
for the upper room and the cross. But still there was
time.

Two exhortations are given, the former enforced by
the misery of darkness, the latter by the blessings of
transformation into light. The former counsels " walk
while ye have the light." Progress in the knowledge
of Him could yet be won. Action correspondent to
the light was yet possible. So is it ever. And the
solemn alternative is certain if we do not " walk."
Darkness is, as it were, hurrying up behind, and only
by diligent carrying out of Christ's precepts, and pressing
towards fuller knowledge, can we escape it. If it fall on
us, we shall wander without guide or clear aim, and be
lost in the desert. The history of Israel ever since is a
commentary on the words, as it strays through the world

Less. XIV.] What Jesus Thought about the Cross 129

with no aim or hope beyond earth. They are a parable
and warning for us.

But Jesus will not let His last word be a threat.
Therefore, in still clearer tones, He speaks a merciful
invitation and a glorious promise. Believe on the light,
is His invitation to us all. And the gracious hope is
offered to each, of becoming, by faith, changed into
the substance of that to which we trust, and having all
our darkness of sorrow, ignorance, and sin turned into
light in the Lord. So some poor wreath of cold, wet
mist, lying near the rising sun, is suffused with light
in all its dank depths, and glows with radiant hues
caught from the great Hght near which it hangs.

LESSON XV
The Master-Servant

St. John xiii. 1-17*

1. "Now before the feast of
the passover, when Jesus knew
that His hour was come that
He should depart out of this
world unto the Father, having
loved His own which were in
the world, He loved them unto
the end.

2. And supper being ended,
the devil having now put into
the heart of Judas Iscariot,
Simon's son, to betray Him ;

3. Jesus knowing that the
Father had given all things into
His hands, and that He was
come from God, and went to
God ;

4. He riseth from supper, and
laid aside His garments ; and
took a towel, and girded Him-
self.

5. After that He poureth
water into a bason, and began
to wash the disciples' feet, and
to wipe them with the towel
wherewith He was girded.

6. Then cometh He to Simon
Peter : and Peter saith unto
Him, Lord, dost Thou wash my
feet?

7. Jesus answered and said
unto him, "\4^»hat I do thou know-
est not now ; but thou shalt
know hereafter.

8. Peter saith unto Him,
Thou shalt never wash my feet.

Jesus answered him. If I wash
thee not, thou hast no part
with Me.

9. Simon Peter saith unto
Him, Lord, not my feet only,
but also my hands and my head.

10. Jesus saith to him. He
that is washed needeth not save
to wash his feet, but is clean
every whit : and ye are clean,
but not all.

11. For He knew who should
betray Him ; therefore said He,
Ye are not all clean.

12. So after He had washed
their feet, and had taken His
garments, and was set down
again. He said unto them. Know
ye what I have done to you ?

13. Ye call me Master and
Lord : and ye say well ; for so
I am.

14. If I then, your Lord and
Master, have washed your feet ;
ye also ought to wash one
another's feet.

15. For I have given you an
example, that ye should do as I
have done to you.

16. Verily, verily, I say unto
you, The servant is not greater
than his lord ; neither he that
is sent greater than he that sent
him.

17. If ye know these things,
happy are ye if ye do them. "

no

Less. XV.] The Master-Servant 131

IN this lesson we have four stages, — the gUmpse into
the heart of Jesus, and the impelHng motives to the
great act of tender humility ; that act itself described in
all the details of its lowHness ; the episode of the mis-
placed and spurious humility which was really arrogance ;
and the application, by the Master and Lord, of the
lesson which He taught in the form of a servant.

I. Verse i should be regarded as an introduction, not
only to the one act of foot-washing, but to the whole
following section, including all the sacred teachings of
the upper room. It is best to adopt the marginal render-
ing of "to the uttermost " ; for John is more concerned
to tell us how, at that supreme moment, Christ's love
shone forth as absolutely perfect, than simply to assure
us of its continuance. So understanding the last clause
of the verse, its Iformer part becomes an explanation of
the influences which gave rise to the special manifesta-
tions of that love in the succeeding acts, discourses, and
prayer. When, then, are these influences ?

First, the consciousness that separation was at hand.
We have heard much about " His hour " in this Gospel.
His unbroken communion with the Father taught Him
the duty proper to each moment, and He never acted
without the illuminating assurance that it was the time
to act. But now the supreme hour was close at hand.
For what ? The language is remarkable, — " that He
should depart out of this world unto the Father."

Then His death was voluntary and His own act, as it
is ever represented in this Gospel. He is not cast out
of the world by others, but departs. He goes, not to
the grave, but " to the Father." So may death be to us,
if we are His.

132 The Gospel of St. John [Chap.xiii. 1-17

This consciousness increased the manifestations of
His love. We, too, know that parting brings deeper
tenderness, as an earthquake may lay bare hidden veins
of gold. The heart crowds all its love into a look or a
word or an embrace which two may find it life to re-
member. Blessed is it to know that Jesus felt the same,
arid sought to make the last moments tender moments,
for His sake as well as for ours. But it was more than
human love w^hich so forgot His own sufferings in the
desire to pour itself into the hearts that were soon to be
stricken and solitary.

That love, too, was one which owned the obligation
created by its own past. " Having loved, . . . He loved."
Alas, how much human love has the opposite for its
epitaph, " Having loved, ... he tired of loving " ! But
Christ's past is the pledge of His future, and every " has "
of His holds a " will " in its hand. Even earthly love
may sometimes have in its depth the guarantee that it
is not " born for death " ; but how much more Christ's,
which is, as He is, the same yesterday, and to-day, and
for ever ! That love clasps " its own " with special
tenderness, and it is moved to pour itself out over
those who trust Him, with such specialty because He
knows their dangers, left to fight and be tempted "in
the world."

Verses 2 and 3, in similar fashion, give the precise
date and the impelling motives of the foot-washing. The
time was " during supper " (Rev. Ver.), at what point in
the meal we are not told, and need not try to guess.
Possibly, as has been thought, the usual washing of the
guests' feet had been omitted at the beginning of the
meal, and the dispute as to who was greatest may have

Less. XV.] The Master-Servant 133

been connected with that omission. But that is un-
certain. Why is the treachery of Judas brought into
prominence at this point ? Probably to enhance the
lowly forbearance which washed even his feet, as well
as to explain the allusions to him in what follows, and to
suggest that Jesus read his heart, and saw, in its black
resolve, the token that His hour was come.

At that hour of clearly discerned nearness to the cross,
Jesus was unhesitatingly conscious of universal authority,
of His pre-incarnate glory and mission, and of His return
to the Father. That consciousness must be taken along
with the motives in verse i, and then we learn that the
lowliness of Jesus, when He stooped to be a servant, was
based on His knowing himself Divine and on His infinite
love. Not although^ but because^ He was conscious of
Divine authority, origin, and destination, did He humble
Himself thus. What a strange " therefore " it is in the
world's eyes !

n. Verses 4 and 5 give with awe-struck particularity
the marvellous details of the fact, which had left an in-
effaceable impression on the disciple who reclined next
the Lord at the table, and which now come all back to
him, step by step, with yet deeper sense of their wonder
and meaning. We can see the little company startled by
His rising, and watching in silence each successive detail.
The task was that of a slave, or, at least, of the lowest
in rank of those present. The disciples had had a hot
journey from Bethany, and, no doubt, needed the service.
No part of the servile task did He omit, not even the
indignity of divesting Himself of His upper robe, and
wrapping round Him the slave's towel ; Himself filled
the bason that stood ready, and thought nothing un-

134 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xUi. 1-17

worthy, even to wiping the wet feet with the towel which
touched His own body.

Well may the Evangelist linger over such a deed, and
well may we try to print deep on our hearts its gracious-
ness and stringent exhortation to us. But while the deed
was in itself the most touching manifestation of the tender
emotions that then filled Christ's heart, and loses its
supreme beauty unless we think of it as the spontaneous
outgush of His love, we can scarcely fail to note how it
symbolises His whole work, or, rather, how it shows the
same principles at work on a lower plane, which find their
highest manifestation in His incarnation and life of ser-
vice. He rose from His place in the uncreated glory.
He divested Himself of the robes of His Divine majesty.
He assumed the form of a servant, and girded Himself
with the slave's badge. He filled the bason, providing
the means of cleansing. He applied the cleansing water.
Alone He originated, prepared for, effected, carried out,
and completed the work. " Himself doing all things with
all alacrity."

IH. Verses 6-1 1 give the ill-timed humility of Peter,
which was really presumption with a mask on. The
language of verse 6 implies that others had been washed
before Peter ; but his impetuous love, his strong self-
will, and his hking for being unlike the others, burst
out in the remonstrance. He had thought that he knew
better than Christ before now, and he was always ready
with his advice. No doubt his question came from
the sense of his own inferiority, as is marked by the
emphatic pronouns " Thou " and " I." But an adequate
sense of it would have taught him that Christ could n^t
degrade Himself, however low He stooped, and that he,

Less. XV.] The Master-Servant 135

Peter, could not be unworthy to receive anything which
Jesus chose to give.

The gentle answer, which repressed rashness by
impressing present ignorance and promising future know-
ledge, may teach us all how perilous it is to make our-
selves the judges of what is becoming to a Divine love
dealing with sinful men. The partial explanation
immediately following can scarcely be what Jesus meant
by the promise of knowledge hereafter ; for " after these
things " seems to stretch to all the incidents of the
passion on which He was now entering, and the time
of illumination, when all the significance should be
plain, was years ahead.

But rash self-will is not to be repressed by considera-
tions of its ignorance, and forbearance may only make
it bolder. The comparatively modest question changed
into obstinate, rude refusal. " Never " is opposed to
" hereafter," as if he said, " I do not care what the future
may teach me, which I do not know now ; but I know
this, that no future can teach me to let Thee do such
a thing to me." It was a flat contradiction of Christ,
and assumed superior knowledge to His. It strained the
tie of discipleship to almost breaking-point. So closely
does "voluntary humility " neighbour arrogant self-
assertion and pride ; so dangerous is it to suppose our-
selves too lowly for Jesus to stoop to serve and cleanse
us.

Christ's answer has a tone of sternness in its plain
statement of what was involved. Peter had said " never,"
and Jesus accepts the word, and probes the speaker's
heart, to see if he will stand by his refusal when he
knows that it means losing all share in Him. It is

136 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xiii. 1-17

usually said by commentators now that the context
forbids any direct reference to the forgiveness of sins,
and limits the meaning of the solemn words to a
declaration that separation must follow the want of sub-
mission. But the reference to forgiveness and cleansing
from sin is undeniable in verse 10, and it seems most
natural to see it here also. If Jesus is not our Saviour
from the guilt and power of sin, we have no vital union
with Him. He must be that or nothing ; and the
converse is also true, that, if He is anything to us, He
will cleanse us.

The prospect of separation from the Lord whom he
loved so deeply brings the wayward, true-hearted disciple
back to lowliness and a passion of clinging affection.
These quick revulsions, all so genuine and so whole-
souled, give a charm to Peter which the others lack.
" If washing means union with Thee, and what is un-
washed is parted from Thee, let my whole self be blessed
with it." It is the vehement cry of the soul longing for
union with Jesus. Does it wake an echo in ours ? If
we have any real love for that Lord, it will. It will,
if we have any deep sense of our own sin, and con-
sciousness that it makes separation. One film of sin is
a thicker barrier than would be made if the space from
this spot to His throne were covered with solid wall.

Jesus answers the request, which went as much too
far on the one side as the refusal did on the other,
by great words, capable of such wide application, and
throwing light on the whole teaching of Scripture as
to sanctification. There is an initial cleansing of the
whole man, comparable to the entire bathing of the
body. That corresponds to the entire forgiveness and

Less. XV.] The Master-Servant 137

ideally complete cleansing by the impartation of the
new nature, which is given in the initial act of faith.
But the ways of the world are foul, and bare or sandalled
feet on dusty or muddy roads are stained by travel. So
the cleansed spirit has yet to avail itself of continual
fresh resort to the blood of cleansing, and daily to pray
for pardon as for daily bread. So the lessons of the
whole episode are : No Christ for us unless He cleanse ;
no cleansing for us unless from Christ ; no cleansing
without faith, and daily cleansing for stains contracted
even by cleansed men.

IV. Verses 12-17 .?ive the application of the pattern
to ourselves. We note the remarkable juxtaposition of
humility and loftiness. Seated again at table, Jesus
declares His supreme authority as Teacher of truth and
Ruler of life in uncompromising tones. No man ever
rendered Him higher honour or titles than He accepted
as His right. The mystery of the Master-Servant, un-
approachable as it is, has yet an imitable side ; and in
that most pathetic and wonderful incident Jesus sets
forth the law for all His followers. That law is that
dignity binds to service. If we are Christ's, we must
stoop to serve, and serve to cleanse. The noblest form
of help is to help men to get rid of their sin. The
highest glory of powers and gifts is to humble one-
self for the lowest, and to be ready to be a slave, if we
may wash any stained soul or bind any bleeding feet.

The example of Christ includes what He has done
for us. Some of us are willing to look to the Cross as
the foundation of our hope, who are not willing to take
it as the law of our lives. But the benefits of the gospel
are meant to impel us to corresponding action. How

138 The Gospel of St. John [Chap.xiii. 1-17

little any of us have caught the whole sweep of the
meaning of that imperative " example, that ye should do
as I have done to you." What have we received from
Him ? What have we given to men ? Are we not too
much like some sullen, land-locked lake, which receives
many streams and gives forth none ? If our acts to
others are not widened to correspond to Christ's to and
for us, the reverse process will set in, and Christ's acts
and gifts to us will shrink to the narrowness of ours to
-others.

We all know that He is our example, and that even
in the supreme and unapproachable gift of His death we
ought to find the model for our lives. But the gulf
between knowledge and practice is all too wide, and so
our Lord adds one more to the Beatitudes, pronouncing
those blessed who add doing to knowing. Only they
really know who translate all their knowledge into
performance. Only they are truly blessed who have
no principles which do not regulate conduct, and no
conduct which is not regulated by principle. The one
principle which can shape all life into blessedness is,
Do as Jesus has done for you. Stoop that you may
serve, and let your service be cleansing.

LESSON XVI

The Present-Absent Christ and the Abiding
Comforter

St. John xiv. 1-3, 15-27

1. "Let not your heart be
troubled : ye believe in God,
believe also in Me.

2. In My Father's house are
many mansions : if it were not
so, I would have told you, I
go to prepare a place for you,

3. And if 1 go and prepare a
place for you, I will come again,
and receive you unto Myself;
that where I am, there ye may
be also. . . .

15. If ye love Me, keep My
commandments.

16. And I will pray the
Father, and He shall give you
another Comforter, that He may
abide with you for ever ;

17. Even the Spirit of truth ;
whom the world cannot receive,
because itseeth Him not, neither
knoweth Him : but ye know
Him ; for He dwelleth with
you, and shall be in you.

18. I will not leave you com-
fortless : I will come to you.

19. Yet a little while, and
the world seeth Me no more ;
but ye see Me : because I live,
ye shall live also.

20. At that day ye shall know
that I am in My Father, and ye
in Me, and I in you.

21. He that hath My com-
mandments, and keepeth them,
He it is that loveth Me : and

he that loveth Me shall be loved
of My Father, and I will love
Him, and will manifest Myself
to Him.

22. Judas saith unto Him,
not Iscariot, Lord, how is it
that Thou wilt manifest Thy-
self unto us, and not unto the
world ?

23. Jesus answered and said
unto him, If a man love Me, he
will keep My words : and My
Father will love him, and we
will come unto him, and make
our abode with him

24. He that loveth Me not
keepeth not My sayings : and
the word which ye hear is not
Mine, but the Father's which
sent Me.

25, These things have I
spoken unto you, being yet
present with you.

26, But the Comforter, which
is the Holy Ghost, whom the
Father will send in My name,
He shall teach you all things,
and bring all things to your
remembrance, whatsoever I
have said unto you.

27, Peace I leave with you.
My peace I give unto you : not
as the world giveth, give I unto
you. Let not your heart be
troubled, neither let it be
afraid."

139

I40 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xiv. 1-3, 15-27

THE depth, sweetness, and calm of these wonderful
words in the upper room lift them high above
comment. Who can reproduce their tender music, or ex-
haust their deep meaning ? We can but skim the surface.

I. The first three verses apply the simplest and most
sufficient soothing to the sorrow for His departure. In
verse i the exhortation to twofold and yet single trust
presents faith in God, which is also faith in Jesus, as the
one antidote to trouble of heart. What is the use of
telling men not to be troubled, unless you can show
them how ? How else can coiling sorrow be cast out
than by faith ? Jesus asks the same trust which we give
to God, and these two are one. He does not bid us
ruin our faith by dividing it between two objects.
Strange words from a Man who was within twenty-four
hours of death !

Verse 2 clothes great truths in simple words, and
changes the aspect of departure by the revelation of the
place whither He goes, and of the share they had in
His going, and appeals to His frankness in telling them
the sad tidings, as assuring them that He would not
have hidden it from them if His departure had been
parting. It is really the preparation for their eternal
reunion. " My Father's house. . . . Wist ye not that
there is My place ? " Heaven is the true temple, and
in it is room for these eleven poor men, and for millions
more. The places there are "mansions," perpetual
abodes. Unchangeableness and repose breathe from
the word. Jesus tells us all that we need, though less
than we sometimes wish. If there were any dismal
separation, any dark shadow brooding over that future.
He would not leave us to find it out too late. We may

Less. XVI.] The Abiding Comforter 141

utterly trust His absolute frankness, and be content to
know that the gaps in our knowledge hide nothing
terrible, or affecting permanent repose in and with Him
in the Father's house.

Verse 3 opens the blessed prospect of return and
reunion. How He prepares the place we know not,
nor need to know. Perhaps, if He had not gone thither
in human form, there had been no place. Certainly, if
He stood not before the throne, we could never stand
there. Only because the Lamb is " in the midst of the
throne," can the elders, the representatives of redeemed
manhood, " adore around."

n. Verses 15-17 are mainly occupied with the promise
of the Comforter. They present to our thoughts the
loving obedience which secures the Saviour's interces-
sion, the praying Christ, the giving Father, and the
abiding Spirit. Hitherto "believe" has been the key-
word. Now it is " love." Jesus has just promised to
do whatsoever we ask in His name. Now He bids us
do whatsoever He commands. On both sides is love
set in motion by a message from the other. His love
commands, and delights to be asked. Ours should ask,
and delight to be commanded. Verse 15 contains the
all-sufficient guide for life. His " commandments " are
Himself. That pattern is enough for conduct, for
character, and for all perplexities. Here is the all-
powerful motive. " Ye will keep," says the Revised
Version. Love will have power to sway life. It is the
foundation of obedience, and obedience is its sure out-
come. All the emotional, mystic, and select experiences
of Christians must submit to this plain test : Do they
help to obedience ?

142 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xiv. 1-3, 15-27

The root of such active love is " beHeve," and its
issues are next unfolded. " I will pray, . . . and He
will give." His intercession is our hope. It is His
present work. His presence within the veil, His con-
tinual presenting of His finished work as the reason for
blessing being given to us, are truths of which we can
but grasp part ; but without them the Cross would lack
its meaning and be shorn of its power. Jesus is sure of
answer to His prayer.

The one all-inclusive gift secured by Christ's interces-
sion is " the Comforter." We probably know that that
name has shrunk in significance in our modern English,
and that it means, and was understood at the date of
the earlier translations to mean, more than it now does.
It is wider than " consoler," meaning literally " one called
to aid another," and so covering the meanings of
" advocate," " helper," " strengthener," " guide," and
"instructor." By whatever processes a man can be
made strong, these are the Spirit's work. This Advocate
is to replace Christ, and carry on His work. He is
" another Comforter," and is to be an abiding presence,
not going away, as Jesus was about to do. But mark
how He will do His work. He is " the Spirit of truth."
Not that He brings new truth, — that is Christ's work, —
but the Spirit has for His weapon and source of strength
the revelation summed and finished in Christ's person
and work.

The world — that is, the aggregate of men considered
as separated from God and immersed in the material —
cannot have this Strengthener, any more than low, sen-
suous natures are capable of perceiving the highest forms
of natural beauty or of art. Of course, the " conviction "

Less. XVI.] The Abiding Comforter 143

which the Spirit works on " the world " is not the
matter in hand here. But men put out their eyes by
sin and worldly lusts, and cannot see what purer vision
suns itself in beholding. Some men need oculists, not
light. The world cannot receive, because it does not
know. The disciples know, because they receive.
Possession and knowledge are mutual cause and effect ;
or perhaps, rather, they are one and the same thing.
Even at that hour the Spirit abode with the disciples,
for He was in Christ ; but the future was to bring a
clearer, closer knowledge and possession, when, after
Pentecost, He should not only be with, but in, them.
These great promises are for all Christian souls* to the
end. The way to the personal experience of their sweet
truth is, as this discourse shows, first, " believe " ; then,
" love " ; then, " do His commandments."

HI. Verses 18-21 carry the comfort of the sorrowing
disciples still further, by assuring them that Christ Him-
self will come to them, and give them greater gifts than
they could ever possess otherwise. Reunion, influence
from afar, the preparation of a place, were not all that
they craved for. So there are, in verses 18 and 19,
three paradoxes : the absent Christ is present ; the
unseen Christ is visible ; the dying Christ is life-giving.
The word rendered "comfortless" (ver. 18) is "orphans."
The forlorn disciples would be like fatherless and
motherless children without Him, and nothing would
keep them from being so but His presence. Unless
Christ be with us, we are desolate.

He does not say " I will come," but " I come," — an
immediately impending coming. If His future coming
were meant, then till then all His people are to be as

144 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xiv. 1-3, 15-27

orphans ; and that cannot be. There is a coming, then,
contemporaneous with His bodily absence. " Bodily "
is not a synonym for " real." He came in the very act
of going. Being absent, He is present with us, if we
will. How the vivid belief in Christ's real presence
would calm, glorify, and hallow life ! Again, the unseen
Christ is a seen Christ. " Yet a little while " is best
interpreted as covering all the time till the ascension,
and the brief appearances during the forty days are too
little to be the fulfilment of this promise, which neces-
sarily has the same extension in time as the coming —
that is, is continuous and permanent.

" See," when denied as to the world, means bodily
sight ; when promise to disciples, spiritual perception.
Every Christian life may be blessed with the vision of
the present Christ. " See " is a strong word, implying
very vivid, direct, and certain knowledge and conscious-
ness. Is Jesus so near us, and are we so aware and
sure of Him, that the sight of sense is less than that of
spirit? Again, the dying Christ lives and gives life.
" I live " is a timeless present tense, all but identical
with "Jehovah." We Hve because, and therefore, as
long as, and, in a true correspondence, in the same
manner as He lives. We can never die as long as the
eternally " living who became dead " is alive, and that
is "for evermore."

Verse 20 discloses the blessed consequence of His
coming. Because the disciple has Christ's presence,
sees Him and draws kindred life from Him, he will
know by experience Christ's indwelling at once in the
Father and in His servant, and His servant's indwelling
in Him. " That day " is the whole period between

Less. XVI.] The Abiding Comforter 145

ascension and return in bodily form. In that period
the experiences just promised will be the best teachers
of fundamental Christian truth. But how can the rela-
tion between Father and Son ever have any verification
in ourselves ? If these preceding promises be fulfilled
to me, my experiences will be such as to be inexplicable,
except on the supposition of their having a Divine
source. They bear the signature of a Divine hand.
I know that it is Jesus who gives them, and that He
could not give them unless He was in the Father.
Similarly, the consciousness of Christ present, seen,
life-giving, carries the knowledge that Jesus is in us ;
for we feel His touch, and we are in Him ; for we are
aware of the power that encompasses us and the atmo-
sphere in which we have our being.

Verse 21 closes the first section of the discourse. Its
first words are substantially equivalent to verse 15, but
the slight difference is significant. The former saying
begins with the root, and works outward to the fruit ;
while this verse takes the reverse order, beginning with
the fruit and going inwards to the root. Note that
" hath My commandments." The only real possession
of them is in the heart. Practical obedience is the test
of love. The emphatic " he " and the order of the
sentence, putting the fruits first, give it a sharp edge
as against false pretensions. Christ stamps with His
hall-mark as gold no mere emotion, however genuine
and passionate, but only that which issues in Christian
conduct and character.

Such love is rewarded by further and sweeter gifts
of Divine love and manifestation. What boldness in
saying that, if a man loves Christ, God will love him !

10

146 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xiv. 1-3, 15-27

Of course, that saying does not begin at the very
beginning. " We love Him because He first loved us "
digs a story deeper down in the building. What is in
hand is, not how a man comes to receive the love of
God at first, but how a Christian grows in possession
of it. God loves all men, but the heart that believes
and therefore loves, and loves and therefore obeys, will
receive deeper and sweeter tokens of God's love. Further,
Christ will meet us on the path of obedience, with more
and more of His love unveiled to our eyes.

IV. In verses 22-24, Judas' question gives occasion
for a statement of the conditions of Christ's self-mani-
festation, both positively and negatively. The question
is that of a listener dimly understanding Jesus, perceiving
that the public display which had seemed coming, when
Christ rode into Jerusalem, was somehow not to be.
"What is come to pass that?" etc. He understands
that somehow " unto us, and not unto the world," is the
revelation to be made. Christ answers both parts of
the question, and tells us what brings Christ and what •
Christ brings, and then what keeps away Him and His
gifts. Note the width of the words " if a man," instead
of "if ye" (ver. 15), thus telling Judas that his com-
placent assumption, " unto us," was a narrow reading of
the sw^eep of the promise.

We have already seen what brings Christ, and need
only here note that the test of love is said to be
keeping Christ's " word," which suggests that not only
His commandments, but all His words, are to be
treasured, and, further, that His many words are one
whole, and, further, that every word of His holds some
law for practical life in its depths. Obedience brings

Less. XVI.] The Abiding Comforter 147

the sense of the Father's love, and the reality of His
abiding presence, which is also Christ's presence. How
close must be that union of Father and Son whereby
Jesus could dare to say, " We will come " ! How
blessed the dwelling of the Divine guest, which is
permanent, as long as the obedience which is its con-
dition endures ! The negative side shows what keeps
away Jesus. Unloving disobedience closes the heart.
Two principles are laid down. First, no love, no
obedience. Second, disobedience to Christ is dis-
obedience to God. Jesus is sure that all He speaks is
God's word. What should we think of a religious
teacher who began by saying, " Remember that every-
thing which I say God says " ? The conclusion is not
stated, but easily drawn. Unloving obedience, then,
will keep away Christ, and in Him God. It is possible,
then, not to see Christ, though He stands beside us.
The simple absence of love is fatal.

V. A slight pause in the flow of speech seems to
come in, and then in verses 25 and 26 Jesus looks back
on what He has said, and contrasts His teaching with
that future teaching by the Comforter, whom He has
already, in a different connection, promised. Mark the
name here given to the Teacher-Spirit. His office of
Strengthener is brought into immediate connection with
His teaching ; for what can more fully equip us with
power from on high than the firm grasp of the truth as
it is in Jesus ? That Teacher is, further, " the Holy
Ghost." That name in this connection suggests that
there is no holiness without such knowledge, and no
learning of the truth without holiness. This Teacher-
Spirit is " sent in Christ's name." In some deep sense

14S The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xiv. 1-3, 15-27

God acts as representing Christ, and it is on the
historic manifestation of Christ as basis that the Spirit
is sent. Revelation must be complete before He who
came to unfold and impress it had material to work
with. Mark, too, the unmistakable declaration of the
personality of the Spirit : " He shall teach." That
cannot be said of an influence.

The lesson-book of the Teacher-Spirit is clearly set
forth as Christ, " all things whatsoever I have said."
Jesus Himself contrasts here the partial understanding
of His words while on earth with the fuller grasp of
their inexhaustible meaning to be attained hereafter.
His words can never be fathomed, much less exhausted.
The Spirit is ever with His Church, teaching each age
to understand some little bit more of their depth. True
progress consists, not in getting beyond Jesus, but in
getting more deeply into His ever-fresh truth. The
problems of this generation will find their solution
where those of past generations have found theirs, and
the old commandment of the old Christ will be the new
commandment of the new Christ. As long as we have
an abiding Spirit to teach the endless fulness of His
words to loving obedience, we need not fear, though
the things which can be shaken are removed. The
world will not outgrow Jesus Christ. All change will
but make more plain His inexhaustibleness, and reveal
new treasures in His familiar and enduring words.

LESSON XVII
The Vine and the Branches

St. John xv. i-i6

1. "I am the true vine, and
My Father is the husbandman.

2. Every branch in Me that
beareth not fruit He taketh
aw^ay : and every branch that
beareth fruit, He purgeth it,
that it may bring forth more
fruit.

3. Now^ ye are clean through
the word which I have spoken
unto you.

4. Abide in Me, and I in
you. As the branch cannot
bear fruit of itself, except it
abide in the vine ; no more can
ye, except ye abide in Me.

5. I am the vine, ye are the
branches : He that abideth in
Me, and I in him, the same
bringeth forth much fruit : for
without Me ye can do nothing.

6. If a man abide not in Me,
he is cast forth as a branch,
and is withered ; and men
gather them, and cast them
into the fire, and they are
burned.

7. If ye abide in Me, and
My words abide in you, ye
shall ask what ye will, and it
shall be done unto you.

8. Herein is My Father
glorified, that ye bear much
fruit ; so shall ye be My dis-
ciples.

9. As the Father hath loved
Me, so have I loved you : con-
tinue ye in My love.

10. If ye keep My command-
ments, ye shall abide in My
love ; even as I have kept My
Father's commandments, and
abide in His love.

11. These things have I
spoken unto you, that My joy
might remain in you, and that
your joy might be full.

12. This is My command-
ment. That ye love one another,
as I have loved you.

13. Greater Jove hath no man
than this, that a man lay down
his life for his friends.

14. Ye are My friends, if ye
do whatsoever I command you.

15. Henceforth I call you
not servants; for the servant
knoweth not what his Lord
doeth : but I have called you
friends ; for all things that I
have heard of My Father I
have made known unto you.

16. Ye have not chosen Me,
but I have chosen you, and
ordained you, that ye should
go and bring forth fruit, and
that your fruit should remain ;
that whatsoever ye shall ask
of the Father in My name. He
may give it you."

149

150 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xv. 1-16

THE last words of the fourteenth chapter show that
there is a sHght break in the discourse, and possibly
a change of place. Many guesses have been made as to
the occasion suggesting the parable of our lesson ; but
these are unimportant. A vine by the wayside, or the
golden vine on the temple doors, or the " fruit of the
vine" which had just been used for the Lord's Supper,
may have shaped the allusion.

I. The lovely and significant parable occupies verses
1-8. It falls into two halves, of which the first (vers.
1-4) gives the image in its most general aspect, and the
second (vers. 5-8) dwells on the branches abiding in the
vine, and the solemn issues involved. Jesus is the " true
Vine," the reality of which the material one to which He
perhaps pointed is but a shadow, and of which Israel
had failed to be the spiritual emblem which it was
meant to be. One life fills the plant from root through
stem, and reddens and mellows each cluster. So His
life pervades all His true followers ; and that one life
results in oneness of relation to God, of character, and
of destiny. We are sons of God in Him, lights of the
world by Him, clothed with His righteousness, sanctified
by His Spirit, and at last with Him and glorified with
His glory.

The husbandman and his dressing of the vine comes
next. Christ is usually presented as the Cultivator, but
the form of the parable requires that here the Father,
who, however, works through the Son, should do that
office. The vinedresser's chief tool is a knife. Pruning
looks merciless and wasteful, but it is done scientifically,
without random strokes. Nothing is cut away except
that which it is gain to lose. Dead wood has to be cut

Less. XVII.] The Vine and the Branches 151

out, and living wood has to be cut back. The whole
strain of the parable implies that life, however imperfect,
will produce some fruit, and therefore leads to tlie
conclusion that the utterly fruitless branches are people
with a merely nominal connection with Christ, whose
"taking away" is simply making visible the fact that
they are not His at all.

But pruning is needed by true branches, for we all
have two natures if we are in Christ, and the one
flourishes at the other's expense ; therefore the Husband-
man has to cut the rank shoots from self, that all our
force may be thrown into growing fruit. Then we have
the condition of fruitfulness laid down as abiding in
Christ. There may be much work and no fruit. What
we bring forth " of ourselves " is no more fruit than
cankers are roses. The reception of the life which
secures fruit depends on our own effort. We have to
take pains that we may abide in Christ, and so secure
His abiding in us. If a canal lock be empty, the water
will press on it, and open the gates, and fill it. If we
empty the heart, Christ will come in. If we abide in
Him, by thought, love, desire, by submission and re-
ference of all work to Him, He will dwell in us, and we
shall be fruitful branches.

Verses 5-8 repeat, but with additions, these truths.
Christ was not afraid of repetition. He broke the bread
of life small, and fed the disciples little and often. In
these four verses are four aspects of the great truth of
union with Him. First, the fruitfulness of union. Note
the pointed application of the truth, " Ye are the
branches." Toothless generalities are useless ; there
must be a driving home of truth to the individual. The

152 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xv. 1-16

great condition of fruit-bearing is quiet abiding in
Christ, — a temper far remote from noise and bustle.
We must be much within the veil, and have still hearts ;
and the harder our work, the more must we " labour to
enter into that rest."

Mark the promise of "much fruit." Why do we bear
a shrivelled cluster or two, more like marbles than grapes ?
Because we do not abide in Him. Christ puts but two
alternatives, — no fruit or much. The average crop now-
adays is " little." " Apart from Me, nothing," is the
emphatic statement here. Life without Jesus is a long
sum, which, added up, has for its total a cipher.

Second, the converse truth is stated, that separation
means withering and destruction. How the leaves shrivel
on a plucked branch ! So, separate from Christ, men
wither and Churches droop. Withering brings destruction.
The language describes what befalls actual branches in
literal vines, but is symbolic of the fate of men apart from
Jesus. Note the mysterious language : " They gather."
Who do ? and who cast into the fire ? All is left in un-
explained awfulness. Enough to know that to be in the
Vine or thrown into the fire are the alternatives. Once
more, union with Christ brings satisfaction of desires.
If He, by His words, abide in us, and we in Him, our
" will " harmonises with His, and we get our wishes when
they are moulded by His indwelling word.

Once more, union with Him leads to God's glorifying
and our increasing discipleship. Do we so live that the
sight of us kindles sweeter and worthier thoughts of God
in men? Thus abiding, we shall "become" (as the
accurate rendering is) His disciples. We never, on
earth, reach full discipleship, but should be ever in pro-

Less. XVII.] The Vine and the Branches 153

cess of becoming His true servants. The fruit borne
by union with Him will help us nearer to Him.

II. Verses 9-1 1 are a kind of conclusion of the parable,
presenting a somewhat different aspect of its main drift,
and telhng us His purpose in it. Three things are spoken
of in these verses as abiding, — love, obedience, joy. The
abiding is, first, abiding in love. Christ claims to be in
an altogether unique manner the object of the Father's
love, and — no less wonderful — to be able to love like
the Father, — as deeply, purely, fully, eternally, and with
all the unnamable perfectness of Divine love. In that
mysterious, tender, perfect love He bids us abide, —
meaning thereby, not the continuance of our emotion
of love to Him, but our keeping ourselves in the sacred
precincts of His love to us. That abiding is in our own
power. The dwellers in the clefts of that riven Rock need
no other defence.

The second abiding thing is obedience, by which we
abide in the love of Christ. Fruit is grown without effort,
but the human side of the truth is more prominent here,
where the converse of the previous thought is set forth ;
namely, that obedience is the condition of abiding.
Jesus does not say " Obey God as I have done, and He
will love you," but " Obey Me as I obey Him, and I will
love you." Who is He that thus comes between us and
God ? And does He come between, or rather lead us to
the Father ? He does love us the better the more we do
His will. That love which sought the wandering sheep
will pour itself more tenderly on it when it follows close
at the heels of the Shepherd.

The third abiding thing is joy, if the reading of the
Authorised Version be retained. This was a strange

154 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xv. 1-16

time for Jesus to speak of His joy, with Gethsemane and
Calvary so near. Was the Man of Sorrows a joyful man ?
He was anointed with the oil of gladness above His
fellows, because He absolutely surrendered Himself to the
Father's will ; and that joy He will give us if we too give
up ourselves at the bidding of love. Such joy will be
progressive, ever full, and ever advancing towards fulleo:
possession of His joys.

HI. Verses twelve and thirteen pass from the relation
of branches to vine to that of branches to each other, of
which the natural expression is mutual love. The com-
mandments are all summed in one — love. Then love is
obligatory. But can it be produced to order ? Com-
mandment and love do not go well together, but yet
much may be done to cultivate it. Christians should
feel nearer to each other, however unlike in temperament,
culture, and position, than they are to non-Christians to
whom in these respects they may be most hke. If this
be the sum of His commandments, it must be the essence
of our duty, and hold every other right feeling and deed
in germ in itself. When Jesus was about to leave His
little flock. He did not talk to them about institutions.
Church order, and the like, but gave this one all-sufficient
injunction. If that be right, everything will come right.

Further, He here gives the pattern and measure of
mutual love. He had just declared that His love was
like God's, and now He bids us make ours like His.
Think of a man calmly saying, "I am the embodiment
of perfect love, the pattern for all hearts." But still
more remarkable is it that He sets before us His death
as our pattern, not, indeed, in its propitiatory character,
but as being a voluntary, love-impelled surrender for our

Less. XVII.] The Vine and the Branches 155

good. That is the model for us, — a solemn thought
which may well bring a blush to our cheeks and peni-
tence to our consciences. " For His friends." But He
died for enemies, that He might make them friends.
The word here does not mean those who loved Him,
but those whom He loved, and so refers to the same
persons as Paul had in view in his variation of this
saying, and called " enemies."

IV. The closing verses of the lesson describe Christ's
friends. They tell us what His friends do for Him, what
He does for them, how they come to be so. " Friends "
here means mainly those who love Him, and Jesus here
stoops to accept and rejoice in the imperfect love of these
poor men and of us. But the singular blending of friend-
ship and authority is noticeable. He commands, though
He is Friend ; He is Friend, though He commands. So
we should cherish at once absolute submission and closest
friendship. Obedience will knit the tie between Him
and us more closely ; and the closer tie will give clearer
insight into His will, and fuller joy in doing it.

Verse fifteen tells us what Christ does for His friends.
The slave may see what his lord does, but does not
know his purpose or motive, and so cannot estimate
his acts. A servant in his master's confidence is some-
thing more than a servant. But Jesus calls His disciples
" friends," and had called them so in act before He here
named them so. Jesus recognises the obligation of per-
fect frankness, and He will tell His friends everything
that He can. Of course, that frankness has its limits in
the power of reception in the hearers ; for He does not
pour His treasures into vessels that will spill them, and
there were many things yet to be spoken which remained

156 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xv. 1-16

unspoken " because ye cannot carry them now." That
frankness continues, and to-day we, if we listen to Him,
may know all which it concerns us to know, and may
peacefully acquiesce in ignorance about much which we
sometimes feel we wish to know. Let us be certain that
we have caught all the words which He has spoken. That
still small voice is not heard amid the babble of earth and
the cries of our own hearts ; but if we keep silent before
the Lord, it will fill the silence with music.

Then we have, in verse sixteen, how and why Christ's
friends come to be so. The reference is primarily to the
apostles, chosen and ordained to their office, and in their
apostolic labours bringing forth abiding fruit. But the
saying has a far wider application. The beginning of all
friendship between Christ and men lies with Him. I
suppose that every man who has felt Christ's love will
say, whatever his theological standpoint, " I was appre-
hended of Christ." It is because He lays His seeking
hand upon us that we come to Him, and His choice of
us precedes ours of Him.

This is how men come to be His friends, because,
when they were enemies, He gave Himself for them, and
has ever since been sending the rays of His love to draw
us to Himself. The purpose is twofold. First, it re-
spects service or fruit. " That ye may go." That word
hints at parting, gives them a quasi-independent position,
and yet shows the real union in separation. Wherever
we go in obedience to His will, we carry His friendship.
" That ye may bring forth fruit." This recalls the parable.
Both ideas of keeping commandments and bringing forth
fruit are needed to set forth the whole truth of Christian
service. It is more than effortless growth or than painful

Less. xviL] The Vine and the Branches 157

effort. There must be first unity of life with Jesus, and
then toil. Both are essential. " That your fruit should
remain." Nothing corrupts faster than fruit. One sort
only is incorruptible. The only activity that outlasts
time and the world is that of those whose deeds are begun,
continued, and ended in Him.

The other half of the issues of friendship with Jesus is
the satisfaction of our desires, stated in substantially the
same terms as we have already considered. To " ask in
Christ's name " is more than merely to put that name as
a kind of charm at the end of our prayers. It is to ask
as — in some sense — His representatives, filled with His
spirit, as well as in reliance on His sacrifice and inter-
cession. Such prayers will not be self-willed, but in
accordance with the will of Christ, and therefore of God ;
and therefore they will be answered. If we make Christ's
desires ours, and our desires Christ's, they will be satis-
fied.

LESSON XVIII

The Spirit Convicting the World and Guiding the

Church

St. John xvi. 1-15

1. "These things have I
spoken unto you, that ye should
not be offended,

2. They shall put you out of
the synagogues: yea, the time
Cometh, that whosoever killeth
you will think that he doeth
God service.

3. And these things will they
do unto 3''0u, because they have
not known the Father, nor
Me.

4*. But these things have I
told you, that when the time
shall come, ye may remember
that I told you of them. And
these things I said not unto
you at the beginning, because
I was with you.

5. But now I go My way to
Him that sent Me; and none
of you asketh Me, Whither
goest Thou ?

6. But because I have said
these things unto you, sorrow
hath filled your heart.

7. Nevertheless I tell you the
truth ; It is expedient for you
that I go away : for if I go not
away, the Comforter will not

come unto you ; but if I depart,
I will send Him unto you.

8. And when He is come, He
will reprove the world of sin,
and of righteousness, and of
judgment :

9. Ofsin, because they believe
not on Me ;

10. Of righteousness, because
I go to My Father, and ye see
Me no more.

11. Of judgment, because the
prince of this world is judged.

12. I have yet many things
to say unto you, but ye cannot
bear them now.

13. Howbeit when He, the
Spirit of truth, is come. He
will guide you into all truth : for
He shall not speak of Himself;
but whatsoever He shall hear,
that shall He speak : and He
will show you things to come.

14. He shall glorify Me : for
He shall receive of Mine, and
shall show it unto you.

15. All things that the Father
hath are Mine : therefore said
I, that He shall take of Mine,
and shall show it unto you."

THE unbroken flow of thought and many subtle
links of connection in this wonderful discourse
baffle attempts to group its deep teachings in any rigid

158

Less. XVIII.] The Spirit 159

sequence. But we can trace in this lesson three main
ideas, which may assist us in grasping its significance if
we keep in view.

I. Verses 1-6 are a kind of landing-place or pause in
the discourse, mainly looking back on the previous
utterances, and contemplating the reasons for speech
now and silence before. First, in verses 1-4 the reasons
for speech now are given in a double form, — " that ye
should not be made to stumble" (ver. i), and "that
when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told
you of them " (ver. 4). These two views of the reasons
for speech are separated by a reiteration, in more emphatic
form, of the dark prospect of persecution.

In the previous chapter the disciples were taught to
expect the hatred of " the world," but here that world
is formally identified with the apostate Jewish Church.
"The synagogue" is "the world." The organised body
calling itself God's Church may become the most ram-
pant enemy of Christ's people and the fullest embodiment
of all that makes " the world." Such a body will do the
cruellest things religiously, and offer up Christ's servants
as sacrifices to God. That is partly aggravation and
partly alleviation of the sin. A Church which has
become " world " will persecute as a duty ; and the
reason is that, although it may be rigidly orthodox and
versed in theology, it " does not know " either God or
Christ. It does not know the former because it will not
know the latter.

The first reason which Jesus gives for present speech
is that the disciples might be kept from stumbling when
the forewarned evils burst on them. The stumbling-
block for them in finding themselves at odds with the

i6o The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xvi. 1-15

synagogue as to the claims of Jesus is of such magnitude
as we can scarcely realise. But forewarned is forearmed,
and that is as true about our difficulties as about theirs.
If we try to follow Christ, we shall often have to stand
in such a very small minority, and have against us such
a mass who take such a different view of duty, that
we shall be tempted to distrust our own consciences and
to yield. We shall be heartened to stand firm if we
remember Christ's warnings. So is it also in regard to
other sorrows and trials. We have fair and full warning
of them. Jesus does not enlist recruits by rose-tinted
pictures of delights and concealment of trials in His
service, but lets us understand from the beginning that
we must make up our minds to antagonisms that we
might otherwise escape, and "enter the kingdom through
much tribulation." Sorrow anticipated is half overcome.
Sorrow foretold gives confidence in our Guide. He has
told us this, and He is right. If there were anything
worse, He would have told us, and He will be right, too,
in His predictions of good. He foretold Marah and its
bitter waters ; shall we not trust Him when He foretells
Elim and its wells and palms ?

"When their hour is come," says Jesus. "Their
hour " is their appointed time. Who appointed it ? He
did, and therefore their punctual arrival up to time
shows that they come in obedience to Him. Further,
we have His reasons for past silence, — " Not unto you
from the beginning, for I was with you." There had
been passing hints before, but no such detailed exhibi-
tion, and that because He was still with them. That
expresses superb confidence in His power to shield
them. No harm can come as long as He is with them.

Less. XVIII.] The Spirit i6i

For US; too, sorrows though foretold in general terms, are
largely hidden till near. There needs an adaptation of
ear to word, which only experience gives. Great tracts
of Scripture He dark to us till life explains them, and
then they come on us with the force of a new revelation,
like the messages which of old were sent by a roll of
parchment coiled upon a baton and then written upon,
and were unintelligible unless the receiver had a corre-
sponding roller to wrap them round. Thank God for
the loving reticence as well as for the loving frankness of
His forewarnings of sorrow !

One more thought lies here ; namely, that the imperfect
apprehension of Christ's words leads to sorrow instead
of joy (vers. 5, 6). He had been telling them that He
was "going," and all that they thought was "Going!
then what is to become of us ? " If there had been
more love to Him, and they had said " Going ! then
what is to become of Him ? " sorrow would not have
filled their hearts, but joy would have flooded out sorrow,
because He went to Him that sent Him, and therefore
went with His work done. The steadfast contemplation
of the ascended Christ is a sovereign antidote against
solitude, the victory over a hostile world, the cure for
every sorrow.

H. Verses 7-1 1 set forth one aspect of that gift of the
Spirit, which has already been promised in these parting
words; namely, its operation on "the world" through
the disciples. Think of these eleven poor men and their
peasant Leader at that moment. They were neither very
wise nor strong, and outside that upper room there was
scarcely a creature who had the least belief in either
Him or them. They had everything against them, and,

II

i62 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xvi. 1-15

most of all, their own hearts, while they had nothing
for them but their Master's promises. They were
desolate at the thought of His going. And now He
bids them think of that going away as pure gain for
them, and explains that staggering statement by the
assurance of the coming of the Spirit.

Paul said, " To abide in the flesh is more needful
for you." Jesus said, " It is expedient for you that I go
away." Why this difference ? Because of the essential
difference of the relation of the two to those whom
they left. Paul's work ended when he went ; Jesus'
continued after He went. He is nearer us w^hen He has
left us, and works more mightily for us after departure.
Death drops an iron gate between the dead and the
living, through which no helping hand can be stretched,
but Christ's influence flows unchecked through the
grated door. Who is He of whom this is true, and what
sort of work is that which is continued and perfected
after death ?

Here again we meet the declaration that the Spirit's
coming is inseparably connected with Christ's departure.
The complete work of Christ was the necessary pre-
liminary, and, in some sense, the procuring cause of that
gift ; and since the Word is the Spirit's instrument, the
revelation must be complete before the application of it
can begin in its full energy. Christ must be at the right
hand of God before He can bestow that Spirit, ascending
on high that He may receive for, and give the gift to,
spirits fitted to receive it by faith in His completed
work.

It is by being " sent unto you " that the Spirit is to
"convict the world"; that is to say, the subject in hand

Less. XVIII.] The Spirit 163

here is the conviction wrought by the Spirit using Chris-
tian men as its organs. Note the process of " convic-
tion," which is no mere demonstration of truth. Certain
facts are borne in upon understanding and conscience,
and along with these, the conviction of error and fault
in relation to them. " He shall convict the world in
respect of sin." That is the first step towards the world's
ceasing to be "world." Apart from the conviction of
sin which is characteristic of the gospel, men have
wholly inadequate notions of what it is, its inwardness,
universality, and gravity as affecting man's whole being
and relation to God. Every blunder and heresy that
leads men away from the true conception of Christ and
His work may be traced to defective notions or realisa-
tion of the fact of sin.

After the conviction of sin comes the dawning of the
sunrise of righteousness. Obviously, " the world " is the
subject throughout these verses. It is to be convinced,
and it must be its sin and its righteousness and its
judgment which are in view. There is but one way by
which a conviction of righteousness as mine can follow
one of sin as mine ; namely, by the sight of a righteous-
ness given from above, to sweep away my sin, and make
me righteous as Christ is. That conviction will not be
ours unless the other has gone before. The one convic-
tion without the other is misery ; the second without
the first is irrelevant, as medicine to a man that thinks
himself well.

Finally comes the conviction of " judgment." If there
are in the world sin and righteousness, and the two
collide, what then ? Which will go down ? Righteous-
ness will triumph, and there will be " judgment," which

164 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xvi. 1-15

will destroy the sin. There is a continual judgment
going on now, and there is a future one beyond the
grave. That is a terrible, but also a blessed, thought ;
terrible if I do not make that righteousness mine,
blessed if I do, since it assures me that in the one case
I must perish with the sin to which I cling, and in the
other that I shall be separated from all my evil, and
filled with perfect righteousness.

This threefold conviction which the Spirit in believers
will work in the world rests on three facts : one of ex-
perience, one of history, and one of revelation, — all
three having reference to Jesus and His relation to men.
These are, the world's unbelief, Christ's ascension, and
the judgment of the Prince of the world. Unbelief in
Jesus is the climax and strongest proof of sin. Strange
words ! Here is a Man who dares to say that, full as the
world is of hideous crimes, a mere negative and inward
thing, namely, men's rejection of Him, is worst of all.
What does the rejection of Christ betray the rejecter to
be ? He turns away from the loftiest, tenderest revela-
tion of God's love, seeing nothing there to desire.
Surely that augurs criminal blindness. He rejects the
blessings of forgiveness, cleansing, and purity, and of a
heaven which is the perfection of these. Surely that
augurs earthly-mindedness gross and ignoble. The
essence of sin is living to self Belief in Christ is the
surrender of self So unbelief is a " typical " sin in its
" purest " form. The mother-tincture is there concen-
trated which, variously coloured and perfumed, makes
the evil of all sins.

There is a fact of history as the ground of the convic-
tion of righteousness. He " goes to the Father and we

Less. XVIII.] The Spirit 165

see Him no more." He speaks as if the process had
begun. His death, resurrection, and ascension are its
stages. The apostles' great argument to convince the
world of righteousness was to be the ascended Christ.
With the supernatural fact of His ascension and abode
with the Father stands or falls His power of giving us
His own righteousness. If He cannot give me that,
what does His having had it matter to me ? Nothing.
But if He is above to bestow upon us the law of the
Spirit of Life in Him, which will make us free from the
law of sin, then we may cherish hope that we too shall
be made like Him. If He has gone to the Father, His
righteousness may be the world's ; if He has not, it is
useless to any but Himself.

A fact made known only by revelation, the judgment
of the Prince of the world, is the ground of the final
conviction. The world has a Prince. However ludicrous
vulgar superstitions may have made the notion, there
is nothing ridiculous, nor anything which we have the
right to call incredible, in Christ's solemn declaration
that the kingdom of darkness has a King. The Cross
was the judgment of that Prince, as is frequently taught
in Scripture. Then the power of evil was broken in its
centre. The serpent's head has been bruised, though
still it writhes and swings " the scaly horror of its folded
tail." But the strong man is bound, and his house is
being spoiled. The judgment of the Prince prophesies
the judgment of the world. That thought ought to be
a hope, but it often is a fear. Whether hope or fear,
it is a fact as certain as the Cross in the past or the
throne in the present. If we know our own sin, and
Christ's righteousness as ours, we can rejoice in the

i66 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xvi. 1-15

hope of the final judgment, and have boldness before
Him when it comes.

III. I can but glance at the final portion of the lesson,
in which the aspect of the Spirit's work as the Guide
into all truth for believing souls is presented (vers. T2-15).
Note the avowed incompleteness of Christ's own teaching
(ver. 12). How does this representation agree with the
other that He had made known " all things whatsoever
He had heard of the Father " ? There is a difference
between bud and flower, principles and their develop-
ment. He did give the fundamental, seminal principles,
but not their unfolding, their consequences, or their
mutual relations. As to these, there was much to be
said which the disciples were not able to " carry."

People tell us, "Your modern theology isn't in the
Gospels ; we stick by Jesus, not by Paul." I do not
admit that the silence of Jesus about His sacrificial
death and the atoning power of it is so absolute ; but
I do admit that He says little about it. What then ?
That reticence is exactly what He told us we should find
in His words. The Cross had to be endured before it
could be explained. Jesus came to be the sacrifice, not
to speak about it. Those who say that they take His
words as the only source of their Christianity are flying
in the face of His words in saying so ; for He proclaimed
their incompleteness, and referred us for fuller knowledge
to a subsequent teacher.

Next we have declared the completeness of the truth
into which the Spirit leads. Mark the personality of
the Spirit, — " He," not " it." Note His designation as
" the Spirit of truth," which is His characteristic and
weapon. Note His office — " shall guide," as with a

Less. XVIII.] The Spirit 167

loving hand put out to lead, so suggesting the gracious-
ness, gentleness, and gradualness of the teaching. Note
the width of the promise, " all truth." That is not a
promise of omniscience, but the assurance of gradual
and growing acquaintance with the spiritual truth revealed
in Jesus. Not to-day, nor to-morrow, will it all be known,
but step by step we shall be led.

"He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He
shall hear, that shall He speak." The Spirit stands to
Jesus as Jesus stands to the Father. Where does the
Spirit " hear " ? In the depths of Deity. And especially
" things to come " would be made known — the evolving
glory of the kingdom, and " all the wonder that should
be " — in the new order which Christ should establish.
It might appear as if two independent sources of
illumination were set forth. Therefore in the last verses
of the lesson we see the union of the two beams. " He
shall glorify Me." Think of a man saying that ! So
fair is Christ that to make Him known is to make Him
glorious. " He shall take of Mine." All the Spirit brings
is Christ's ; His office is not to give new revelation, but
to interpret that given. He guides into " the truth,"
which Jesus declared Himself to be.

" All things that the Father hath are Mine : therefore
said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall show it
unto you." What awful words ! A Divine teaching
Spirit can only teach concerning God, and Christ here
explains the preceding words, in which, if He were but
human, He had given that Spirit an unworthy office, by
the solemn, articulate claim that whatever is God's is
His, and whatever is His is God's. He puts out an
unpresumptuous hand and lays hold on all the con-

i68 The Gospel of St. John [Chap.xvi. 1-15

stellated glories of the Divine nature, saying, " They
are Mine"; and the Father admits the claim, and
answers, " Son, Thou art ever with Me, and all that I
have is Thine." Let us add our " Amen," and trust our
all to Him who makes us possessors of all that is His,
that so we may be " filled with all the fulness of God."

LESSON XIX
The Intercessor

St. John xvii. 1-19

1. "These words spake Jesus,
and lifted up His eyes to heaven,
and said, Father, the hour is
come ; glorify Thy Son, that
Thy Son also may glorify Thee :

2. As Thou hast given Him
power over all flesh, that He
should give eternal life to as
many as Thou hast given Him.

3. And this is life eternal,
that they might know Thee the
only true God, and Jesus Christ,
whom Thou hast sent.

4. I have glorified Thee on
the earth : I have finished the
work which Thou gavest Me to
do.

5. And now, O Father, glorify
Thou Me with Thine own self
with the glory which I had
with Thee before the world
was.

6. I have manifested Thy
name unto the men which Thou
gavest Me out of the world :
Thine they were, and Thou
gavest them Me ; and they have
kept Thy word.

7. Nowthey have known that
all things whatsoever Thou hast
given Me are of Thee.

8. For I have given unto
them the words which Thou

gavest Me ; and they have
received them, and have known
surely that I came out from
Thee, and they have believed
that Thou didst send Me.

9. I pray for them : I pray
not for the world, but for them
which Thou hast given Me ; for
they are Thine.

10. And all Mine are Thine,
and Thine are Mine ; and I am
glorified in them.

11. And now I am no more
in the world, but these are in
the world, and I come to Thee.
Holy Father, keep through
Thine own name those whom
Thou hast given Me, that they
may be one, as we are.

12. While I was with them
in the world, I kept them in
Thy name : those that Thou
gavest Me I have kept, and
none of them is lost, but the
son of perdition ; that the
Scripture might be fulfilled.

13. And now come I to Thee ;
and these things I speak in the
world, that they might have
My joy fulfilled in themselves.

14. I have given them Thy
word ; and the world hath
hated them, because they are

169

T70

The Gospel of St. John [Chap.xvii. 1-19

not of the world, even as I am
not of the world.

15. I pray not that Thou
shouldest take them out of the
world, but that Thou shouldest
keep them from the evil.

1 6. They are not of the world,
even as I am not of the world.

17. Sanctify them through
Thy truth : Thy word is truth.

18. As Thou hast sent Me
into the world, even so have I
also sent them into the world.

19. And for their sakes I sanc-
tify Myself, that they also might
be sanctified through the truth."

WE may well despair of doing justice, in a lesson,
to the deep thoughts of this prayer, which
volumes would not exhaust. Who is worthy to speak
or to write about such sacred words ? Perhaps we may
best gain some glimpses of their great and holy sublimity
by trying to gather their teaching round the centres of
the three petitions, — "glorify" (vers, i, 5), "keep" (ver.
11), and "sanctify" (ver. 17).

I. In verses 1-5 Jesus prays for Himself, that He
may be restored to His pre-incarnate glory ; but yet the
prayer desires not so much that glory as affecting Him-
self, as His being fitted thereby for completing His work
of manifesting the Father. There are three main points
in these verses, — the petition, its purpose, and its grounds.

As to the first, the repetition of the request in verses
I and 5 is significant, especially if we note that in the
former the language is impersonal, " Thy Son," and
continues so till verse 4, where " I " and " Me " appear.
In verses 1-3, then, the prayer rests upon the ideal
relations of Father and Son, realised in Jesus, while in
verses 4 and 5 the personal element is emphatically
presented. The two petitions are in their scope identical.
The " glorifying " in the former is more fully explained
in the latter as being that which He possessed in that
ineffable fellowship with the Father, not merely before
incarnation, but before creation. In His manhood He

Less. XIX.] The Intercessor 171

possessed and manifested the "glory as of the only
begotten of the Father, full 'of grace and truth"; but
that glory, lustrous though it was, was pale, and humilia-
tion compared with the light inaccessible, which shone
around the eternal Word in the bosom of the Father.
Yet He who prayed was the same Person who had
walked in that light before time was, and now in human
flesh asked for what no mere manhood could bear.
The first form of the petition implies that such a par-
taking in the uncreated glory of the Father is the natural
prerogative of One who is " the Son," while the second
implies that it is the appropriate recompense of the
earthly life and character of the man Jesus.

The petition not only reveals the conscious Divinity
of the Son, but also His willing acceptance of the cross ;
for the glorifying sought is that reached through death,
resurrection, and ascension, and that introductory clause
" the hour is come " points to the impending sufferings
as the first step in the answer to the petition. The
crucifixion is always thus treated in this Gospel, as being
both the lowest humiliation and the " lifting up " of the
Son ; and here He is reaching out His hand, as it were,
to draw His sufferings nearer. So willingly and desir-
ingly did this Isaac climb the mount of sacrifice. Both
elements of the great saying in the Epistle to the
Hebrews are here : " For the joy that was set before
Him [He] endured the cross."

The purpose of the petition is to be noted; namely,
the Son's glorifying of the Father. No taint of selfish-
ness corrupted His prayer. Not for Himself, but for men,
did He desire His glory. He sought return to that serene
and lofty seat, and the elevation of His weak manhood

172 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xvii. 1-19

to the throne, not because He was wearied of earth or
impatient of weakness, sorrows, or Hmitations, but that
He might more fully manifest, from that glory, the Father's
name. To make the Father known is to make the Father
glorious ; for He is all fair and lovely. That revelation
of Divine perfection, majesty, and sweetness was the end
of Christ's earthly life, and is the end of His heavenly
Divine activity. He needs to reassume the prerogatives
of which He needed to divest Himself, and both neces-
sities are one. He had to lay aside His garments and
assume the form of a servant that He might make God
known ; but, that revelation being complete. He must
take His garments and sit down again, before He can go
on to tell all the meaning of what He has " done unto us."
The ground of the petition is twofold. Verses 2 and
3 represent the glory sought for, as the completion of
the Son's mission and task. Already He had been
endowed with authority over all flesh, for the purpose
of bestowing eternal life ; and that eternal Hfe stands in
the knowledge of God, which is the same as the know-
ledge of Christ. The present gift to the Son and its
purpose are thus precisely parallel with the further gift
desired, and that is the necessary carrying out of this.
The authority and office of the incarnate Christ demand
the glory of and consequent further manifestation by
the glorified Christ. The life which He comes to give
is a life which flows from the revelation He makes of the
Father, received, not as mere intellectual knowledge, but
as loving acquaintance.

The second ground for the petition is in verse 4, the
actual perfect fulfilment by the Son of that mission.
What untroubled consciousness of sinless obedience and

Less. XIX.] The Intercessor 173

transparent shining through His life of the Father's like-
ness and will He must have had who could thus assert
His complete realisation of that Father's revealing pur-
pose, as the ground of His deserving and desiring
participation in the Divine glory ! Surely such words
are either the acme of self-righteousness or the self-
revealing speech of the Son of God.

n. With verse 6 we pass to the more immediate refer-
ence to the disciples, and the context from thence to
verse 15 may be regarded as all clustered round the
second petition, "keep " (ver. 11). That central request
is preceded and followed by consideration of the dis-
ciples' relation to Christ and to the world, which may be
regarded as its grounds. The whole context preceding
the petition may be summed up in two grounds for the
prayer, — the former set forth at length, and the latter
summarily ; the one being the genuine, though incom-
plete, discipleship of the men for whom Christ prays
(vers. 6-10), and the latter their desolate condition
without Jesus (ver. 11).

It is beautiful to see how our Lord here credits the
disciples with genuine grasp, both in heart and head, of
His teaching. He had shortly, before had to say, " Have
I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not
known Me ? " and soon *' they all forsook Him and fled."
But beneath misconception and inadequate apprehension
there lived faith and love ; and He saw the full corn in
the ear, when only the green blade was visible, pushing
itself above the surface. We may take comfort from this
generous estimate of imperfect disciples. If He did not
tend, instead of quenching, dimly burning wicks, where
would He have " lights in the world "?

174 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xvii. 1-19

Verse 6 lays down the beginning of discipleship as
threefold : Christ's act in revealing ; the Father's, in
giving men to Jesus ; and men's, in keeping the Father's
word. " Thy word " is the whole revelation by Christ,
which is, as this Gospel so often re'peats, not His own,
but the Father's. These three facts underlying disciple-
ship are pleas for the petition to follow ; for unless the
feeble disciples are " kept " in the name, as in a fortress,
Christ's work of revelation is neutralised, the Father's
gift to Him made of none effect, and the incipient dis-
ciples will not " keep " His word. The plea is, in effect,
" Forsake not the works of Thine own hands " ; and, like
all Christ's prayers, it has a promise in its depths, since
God does not begin what He will not finish ; and it has
a warning, too, that we cannot keep ourselves unless a
stronger hand keeps us.

Verses 7 and 8 carry on the portraiture of discipleship,
and thence draw fresh pleas. The blessed result of
accepting Christ's revelation is a knowledge, built on
happy experience, and, like the acquaintance of heart
with heart, issuing in the firm conviction that Christ's
words and deeds are from God. Why does He say, " All
things whatsoever Thou hast given," instead of simply
" that I have " or " declare " ? Probably it is the natural
expression of His consciousness, the lowly utterance of
His obedience, claiming nothing as His own, and yet
claiming all, while the subsequent clause " are of Thee "
expresses the disciples' conviction. In like fashion our
Lord, in verse 8, declares that His words, in their mani-
foldness (contrast ver. 6, "Thy word"), were all received
by Him from the Father, and accepted by the disciples,
with the result that they came, as before, to " know "

Less. XIX.] The Intercesso 175

by inward acquaintance with Him as a person, and so
to have the Divinity of His person certified by experi-
ence, and further came to " beHeve " that God had sent
Him, which was a conviction arrived at by faith. So
knowledge, which is personal experience and acquaint-
ance, and faith, which rises to the heights of the Father's
purpose, come from the humble acceptance of the Christ
declaring the Father's name. First faith, then knowledge,
and then a fuller faith built on it, and that faith in its
turn passing into knowledge (ver. 25), — these are the
blessings belonging to the growth of true discipleship,
and are discerned by the loving eye of Jesus in very
imperfect followers.

In verse 9 Jesus assumes the great office of Intercessor.
" I pray for them " is not so much prayer as His solemn
presentation of Himself before the Father as the High
Priest of His people. It marks an epoch in His work.
The task of bringing God to man is substantially com-
plete. That of bringing men by supplication to God is
now to begin. It is the revelation of the permanent
office of the departed Lord. Moses on the Mount holds
up the rod, and Israel prevails (Exod. xvii. 9). The
limitation of this prayer to the disciples applies only to
the special occasion, and has no bearing on the sweep
of His redeeming purpose or the desires of His all-pitying
heart. The reasons for His intercession follow in verses
9-1 1 a. The disciples are the Father's, and continue
so even when " given " to Christ, in accordance with
the community of possession which oneness of nature
and perfectness of love establish between the Father and
the Son. God cannot but care for those who are His.
The Son cannot but pray for those who are His. Their

176 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xvii. 1-19

having recognised Him for what He was binds Him to
pray for them. He is glorified in disciples, and if we
show forth His character He will be our Advocate.
The last reason for His prayer is the loneliness of the
disciples and their exposure in the world without Him.
His departure impelled Him to intercede, both as being
a leaving them defenceless and as being an entrance
into the heavenly state of communion with the Father.

In the petition itself (ver. 11), observe the invocation
" Holy Father," with special reference to the prayer for
preservation from the corruption of the world. God's
holiness is the pledge that He will make us holy, since
He is Father as well. Observe the substance of the
request, that the disciples should be kept, as in a fortress,
within the enclosing circle of the name which God has
given to Jesus. The name is the manifestation of the
Divine nature. It was given to Jesus, inasmuch as He,
the Word, had from the beginning the office of revealing
God ; and that which was spoken of the angel of the
covenant is true in highest reality of Jesus : " My name
is in Him." " The name of the Lord is a strong tower :
the righteous runneth into it and is safe."

Observe the issue of this keeping ; namely, the unity
of believers. The depths of that saying are beyond us,
but we can at least see thus far, — that the true bond of
unity is the name in which all who are one are kept ; that
the pattern of the true unity of believers is the ineffable
union of Father and Son, which is oneness of will and
nature, along with distinctness of persons ; and that
therefore this purpose goes far deeper than outward unity
of organisation.

Then follow other pleas, which are principally drawn

Less. XIX.] The Intercessor 177

from Christ's relation to the disciples, now ending;
whereas the former ones were chiefly deduced from the
disciples' relation to Him. He can no more do what
He has done, and commits it to the Father. Happy
we if we can leave our unfinished tasks to be taken up
by God, and trust those whom we leave undefended to
be shielded by Him ! " I kept " is, in the Greek, expres
sive of continuous, repeated action, while " I guarded"
gives the single issue of the many acts of keeping. Jesus
keeps His disciples now as He did then, by sedulous,
patient, reiterated acts, so that they are safe from evil.
But note where He kept, — " in Thy name." That is
our place of safety, a sure defence and inexpugnable
fortress. One, indeed, was lost ; but that was not any
slur on Christ's keeping, but resulted from his own evil
nature, as being " a son of loss " (if we may so preserve
the affinity of words in the Greek), and from the Divine
decree from of old. Sharply defined and closely united
are the two apparent contradictories of man's free choice
of destruction and God's foreknowledge. Christ saw
them in harmony, and we shall do so one day.

Then the flow of the prayer recurs to former thoughts.
Going away so soon He yearned to leave them sharers
of His own emotions in the prospect of His departure to
the Father, and therefore He had admitted them (and
us) to hear this sacred outpouring of His desires. If we
laid to heart the blessed revelations of this disclosure 01
Christ's heart, and followed Him with faithful gaze as
He ascends to the Father, and realised our share in that
triumph, our empty vessels would be filled by some of
that same joy which was His. Earthly joy can never be
full ; Christian joy should never be anything less than full.

12

lyS The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xvii. 1-19

Then follows a final glance at the disciples' relation to
the world, to which they are alien because they are of
kindred to' Him. This is the ground for the repetition of
the prayer " keep," with the difference that formerly it
was " keep in Thy name," and now it is ^^from the evil."
It is good to gaze first on our defence, the munitions of
rocks where we lie safely, and then we can venture to
face the thought of " the evil " from which that keeps us,
whether it be personal or abstract.

III. Verses 16-19 give the final petition for the im-
mediate circle of disciples, with its grounds. The posi-
tion of alienation from the world, in which the disciples
stand by reason of their assimilation to Jesus, is repeated
here. It was the reason for the former prayer, " keep " ;
it is the reason for the new petition, " sanctify." Keep-
ing comes first, and then sanctifying, or consecration.
Security from evil is given that we may be wholly devoted
to the service of God. The evil in the world is the
great hindrance to that. The likeness to Jesus is the
great ground of hope that we shall be truly consecrated.
We are kept " in the name " ; we are consecrated " in
the truth," which is the revelation made by Jesus, and
in a very deep sense is Himself That truth is, as it
were, the element in which the believer lives, and by
abiding in which His real consecration is possible.

Christ's prayer for us should be our aim and deepest
desire for ourselves, and His declaration of the condition
of its fulfilment should prescribe our firm adhesion to,
and constant abiding in, the truth as revealed and
embodied in Him, as the only means by which we can
attain the consecration which is at once, as the closing
verses of the lesson tell us, the means by which we may

Less. XIX.] The Intercessor 179

fulfil the purpose for which we are sent into the world,
and the path on which we reach complete assimilation
to His perfect self-surrender. All Christians are sent
into the world by Jesus, as Jesus was sent by the Father.
We have the charge to glorify Him. We have the
presence of the Sender with us, the sent. We are
inspired with His Spirit. We cannot do His work
without that entire consecration which shall copy His
devotion to the Father and eager swiftness to do His
will. How can such ennobling and exalted consecration
be ours ? There is but one way. He has " consecrated
Himself," and by union with Him, through faith, our
selfishness may be subdued, and the Spirit of Christ may
dwell in our hearts, to make us " living sacrifices, con-
secrated and acceptable to God." Then shall we be
" truly consecrated," and then alone, when we can say,
" I live ; yet not I, but Christ hveth in me." That is
the end of Christ's consecration of Himself, — the prayer
which He prayed for His disciples,— and should be the
aim which every disciple earnestly pursues.

LESSON XX

The Willing Prisoner

St. John xviii. I-13

1. "When Jesus had spoken
these words, He went forth with
His disciples over the brook
Cedron, where was a garden,
into the which He entered, and
His disciples.

2. And Judas also, which be-
trayed Him, knew the place :
for Jesus ofttimes resorted
thither with His disciples.

3. Judas then, having re-
ceived a band of men and
officers from the chief priests
and Pharisees, cometh thither
with lanterns and torches and
weapons.

4. Jesus therefore, knowing
all things that should come upon
Him, went forth, and said unto
them, Whom seek ye ?

5. They answered Him, Jesus
of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto
them, I am He. And Judas
also, which betrayed Him, stood
with them.

6. As soon then as He had
said unto them, I am He, they
went backward, and fell to the
ground.

7. Then asked He them again,
Whom seek ye ? And they
said, Jesus of Nazareth.

8. Jesus answered, I have
told you that I am He : if there-
fore ye seek Me, let these go
their way :

9. That the saying might be
fulfilled, which He spake, Of
them which Thou gavest Me
have I lost none.

10. Then Simon Peter having
a sword drew it, and smote the
high priest's servant, and cut
off his right ear. The servant's
name was Malchus.

11. Then said Jesus unto
Peter, Put up thy sword into
the sheath : the cup which My
Father hath given Me, shall I
not drink it ?

12. Then the band and the
captain and officers of the Jews
took Jesus, and bound Him,

13. And led Him away to
Annas first ; for he was father
in law to Caiaphas, which was
the high priest that same
year."

JOHN'S omissions and additions in this section are
equally significant. He has no mention of the agony
in Gethsemane, and he alone records the remarkable
incident of the panic which shook the soldiers. His

180

Less. XX.] The Willing Prisoner i8i

narrative is most naturally taken here, as everywhere, as
a supplement to the Synoptics, for the special purpose
of bringing out the facts which showed Jesus to be " the
Son of God." This is his own account of his design,
and is well illustrated in this lesson.

I. We have the two so diiferent companies converging
on the one spot. It is only John who mentions the
passage of the Kidron, the generally dry torrent-bed
between the temple mount and Olivet, which had seen
the crossing of another king of Israel, a fugitive from a
traitor son (2 Sam. xv. 23). John alone tells us that
the place was " a garden." Gethsemane witnessed
victory; Eden saw defeat. The place seems to have
been chosen not only for quiet and seclusion, but because
it was His habitual resort, and may even have been His
usual open-air sleeping-place (John viii. i). The refer-
ence to Judas' knowledge of the place implies that that
knowledge was one reason for its selection. The motive
for secrecy was past since His " desire to eat this passover
with you " was fulfilled, and now Jesus seems to smooth
the path for His captors.

On the one hand, then, we see the little band coming
from the city in deep silence, and passing into the olive-
garden, where the tremulous shadows of the leaves
somewhat obscured the paschal moon ; and, on the other,
we see the armed soldiers of the Roman garrison and
the temple police, headed by Judas, and carrying useless
swords which had no power against Jesus, and super-
fluous "lanterns and torches," which were absurd in that
clear moonlight. The contrast of the two groups is
striking as they pass through the silent midnight to meet
beneath the olives. One starts from heaven, the other

I«2

The Gospel of St. John [Chap, xviii. 1-13

from hell, and they touch there. Infinite love and the
mystery of Divine endurance for man stream from the
one, like the encircling moonbeams ; diabolic hate and
treachery flame in the other, like the smoky torches with
which they affronted the moon. How many opposing
paths met in that meeting ! John has no record of the
solemn scene in the depths of the garden. He takes
the readers' knowledge of it for granted; but he fixes
our attention on these two groups, and wishes us to feel
the impressiveness of the contrast, as well as the voluntary
surrender of Jesus to His captors, implied in His choice
of the place.

II. John's special contributions to the narrative of our
Lord's capture are the momentary flash of glory which
struck awe into the band, and the care of Jesus for His
disciples' safety even in that supreme moment. What
calm majesty there is in His coming forth from the garden
to meet the approaching crowd, and how His willing
surrender, not so much to the violence of men as to the
purpose of the Father, is expressed in that explanation
of the consciousness which impelled Him, as a similar
consciousness had led Him to gird Himself with the
towel ! Probably Judas' kiss was given at this first
meeting with the band; but, as would be likely in the
uncertain light (made more uncertain by the torches)
and confusion, it was unnoticed by most, and the traitor
slunk back among the others, as he appears in verse five.

The quiet question " Whom seek ye ? " fell on the
ears of the foremost ranks of the captors. Did it remind
John of the other, so like and yet so unlike it, " What
seek ye ? " which had drawn him to Jesus at first ? Its
purpose was apparently to protect the disciples, and

Less. XX.] The Willing Prisoner 183

perhaps to appeal to the conscience of some among the
tools of the priests. If men would put their sinful
purposes into plain words, they would sometimes shrink
from executing them. But here the answer came from
many lips, and was not without a shade of contempt for
their prey, "Jesus the Nazarene." They did not suppose
that their questioner was their prisoner ; and when the
tranquil voice said " I am He," they recoiled, and some
of them "fell to the ground," perhaps thrown down by
the falling back of the front ranks.

We need not ask if this was a miracle. However
produced, a strange awe and terror smote the rude
soldiers. His calm dignity impressed them, as that of
virgin martyrs and grey-headed confessors has often done.
But that will not explain the fact, which seems most
worthily attributed to a momentary shining forth of
Christ's indwelling divinity, somewhat like that which
shone through His corporeal frame at the transfiguration.
It may not have been the work of His will at all, but
the elevation of spirit attendant on the solemn scene in
Gethsemane may have transfigured for a moment His
lowly manhood, and let some beams of His glory through.
But however that may be, we can scarcely fail to see
here a revelation of His majesty, which is all the more
eloquent as coming at the hour of deepest humiliation.

We have frequently had occasion to note how John
delights to bring into juxtaposition instances of both, as
indeed do all the evangelists. The interweaving of
lowliness and glory makes the very differentia of the
character portrayed by them all. He is a weak infant,
but angels hover round the manger, and a star leads
worshippers to it. He bows His head to John's baptisai,

184 The Gospel of St. John [Chap, xviii. 1-13

but heaven opens and the dove descends. He falls
asleep in the boat, but wakes to still the storm with a
word. He weeps by a grave, but He raises its tenant.
He all but faints in His agony in the garden, but angels
strengthen Him. The same union of opposites is in
this incident. He is to be led, bound by rude hands,
before an unjust judge. But as He passes into their
power, one flash of brightness " above that of the noon-
day sun " tells of the hidden glory. " What will He do
when He shall come as judge, if He did this when
giving Himself up as a prisoner ? " (Augustine.)

The moment was propitious for escape, if He had
chosen, as the soldiers lay huddled together in terror.
Why did He not pass through the midst of them, and
go His way ? It would have been perfectly easy. But,
instead. He stands still and repeats the question. Verse
seven literally reads " Inhere/ore He asked them again,"
which suggests that the second putting of the question
was meant to stimulate the soldiers to their ofhce. Thus
here again, even if that interpretation of the " Therefore "
be not sustained, we have a distinct instance, in the facts
themselves, of Christ's voluntary surrender to the fate
which He could easily have avoided. Not only in the
great resolve to enter into our human limitations, but
step by step, through all His earthly life. His steadfast
will travelled towards the Cross ; and the voluntariness of
His death is most strongly marked in the events of that
last journey to Jerusalem, and especially of the final days
there. The studied publicity — and we had almost said
offensiveness to the rulers — of His last entrance and
utterances; the withdrawal till the passover; the pre-
cautions against interruption at the Last Supper ; the

Less. XX.] The Wniing Prisoner 185

resort to the usual place, Gethsemane ; and this refusal
to avail Himself of the means of safety open to Him at
this last moment, — are all of one piece, and present Him,
not as the passive Victim of men's hate, but as the volun-
tary Sacrifice, who chooses time and place for the con-
summate act of His love and of our redemption. " No
man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself."
His death was His act. He died because He chose,
and He chose because He would obey the Father and
loved the world. This Sacrifice was not bound to the
altar, but laid Himself willingly there ; or, if bound at all,
it was with "cords of love."

The last word to the captors explains the motive for
the previous repeated question as being the shielding of
the disciples, by the clear definition of the limitation of
the arrest to Himself. The disciples were innocent, and
they were unfit for such a trial. One day many of them
would have to die for Him, but not yet. So, even at that
hour of peril for Himself, all His care is for His humble
friends, and He was ready to yield Himself to bonds and
death to secure their liberty. " Let these go their way "
gives the sheep permission to scatter, now that the
Shepherd is taken. John sees in this a fulfilment, on a
small scale, of the great words which he quotes from the
intercessory prayer ; not that he thought that such a
trivial and transient matter exhausted their meaning, but
he sees in it, as in a tiny mirror, the reflection of the
much mightier, eternal safe-keeping of all Christ's ser-
vants. A dewdrop is rounded by the same law which
shapes planets into spheres. The greatest may be shown
in the smallest.

This incident is as a parable. It shows Christ's self-

i86 The Gospel of St. John [Chap, xviii. 1-13

forgetting care. In it He gives Himself up as a prisoner,
that His servants may go free. To all our foes He says,
Take Me, and let these go. Guilt, sorrow, pains and ills,
death and hell, are thus addressed, or rather commanded,
by Him. His speech to them is, like that to His captors,
authoritative, and liker the orders of a prince than the
entreaty of a prisoner. Jesus has met our enemies like
a mother who gives herself to the wolves that her
children may escape. The transcendent sacrifice of His
death is mirrored, in its principle and effects, in these
wondrous words, " If ye seek Me, let these go their
way."

III. The rash and futile attempt at resistance follows,
in strong contrast to the unused power of overcoming by
Divine might, which Jesus willed to keep latent. He
would not use the effectual defence which He possessed ;
but Peter, who with the others had by this time joined
the company outside the enclosure, produces some sword
which he had got hold of, and strikes at random. Half
asleep, and dazzled by the uncertain light, and agitated,
and probably more used to haul nets than handle swords,
he happily missed the head, and took only an ear. An
eyewitness is manifest in the specification of " the right
ear."

It is right and easy to blame the rashness of Peter,
but let him have the credit of brave devotion. It is
easy to see that one sword flourished would only provoke
twenty to leap from their scabbards, and bring on a
hopeless struggle. But how many of us would have
been courageous enough to have done what he did ?
Prudence is a very valuable virtue, but courage set on
fire by love is better, and its condemnation, if it be

Less. XX.] The Willing Prisoner 187

sometimes rash, should be very lenient. John knew,
and, now that so many years had passed, could venture
to tell, the names of both actors in what had so nearly
been a tragedy, which names the other evangelists either
did not know, or thought it better to suppress.

Our Lord's command to sheathe his useless weapon
is given in a form which implies the prayer in Gethsemane,
which John does not record. He had asked that the
cup should pass from Him, and the answer was the full
acquiescence of His will in the Father's will that He
should drink it. The cup was felt to be given, and that
was better than that it should have been taken away.
The best answer to our prayers is the submission of our
wills and the recognition of the Father's hand as com-
mending the chalice to our lips. The cup may remain,
but its bitterness is taken away when we know it to be
the " cup which our Father hath given us."

IV. The actual capture is briefly described. The
soldiers of the Roman garrison and their officer are
significantly named before the Jewish officials. Evidently
the arrest was beyond the power of the priests without
the help of Pilate, and also the co-operation of Gentile
and Jew, which runs through the whole story of the
passion, and points so deep truths, is meant to be noted
from the beginning.

John alone records the appearance before Annas, and
his remark that Jesus was led to his house " first " seems
to imply that he wishes to supplement the other accounts,
which tell only of Christ's appearance before Caiaphas.
The name of the judge was sufficient to stamp the
character of shameless injustice on the whole procedure.
Annas had himself been high priest, and several of his

i88 The Gospel of St. John [Chap, xviii. 1-13

sons, as well as his son-in-law Caiaphas, held the office
in succession during his lifetime, in flagrant violation
of the law for the high-priesthood. Such worldly
intriguers, who prostituted their office for personal ends,
were the judges before whom Jesus, the reahty of which
their desecrated office was the shadow, stood as a
criminal. The irony of providence could no further go
than that such a man as Annas or as Caiaphas should
hold that position at such a time. And this it is which
John would point out by his remark that Caiaphas, of
all men in the world, should have been " high priest
that year," the unworthy holder of the office which gave
such a man power of life and death over Jesus. Caiaphas
on the bench, and Jesus at the bar ! What could the
end of that be ?

LESSON XXI

The Reluctant Judge, the Resolved Accusers, and the
Patient Christ

St. John xix. 1-16

1. "Then Pilate therefore
took Jesus, and scourged Him.

2. And the soldiers platted a
crown of thorns, and put it on
His head, and they put on Him
a purple robe,

3. And said, Hail, King of
the Jews ! and they smote Him
with their hands.

4. Pilate therefore went forth
again, and saith unto them.
Behold, I bring Him forth to
you, that ye may know that I
find no fault in Him.

5. Then came Jesus forth,
wearing the crown of thorns,
and the purple robe. And
Pilate saith unto them, Behold
the Man !

6. When the chief priests
therefore and officers saw Him,
they cried out, saying, Crucify
Hnn, crucify Him. Pilate saith
unto them. Take ye Him, and
crucify Him : for I find no fault
in Him.

7. The Jews answered him,
We have a law, and by our
law He ought to die, because
He made Himself the Son of
God.

8. When Pilate therefore

189

heard that saying, he was the
more afraid ;

9. And went again into the
judgment hall, and saith unto
Jesus, Whence art Thou ? But
Jesus gave him no answer.

10. Then saith Pilate unto
Him, Speakest Thou not unto
me ? knowest Thou not that I
have power to crucify Thee,
and have power to release Thee ?

11. Jesus answered. Thou
couldest have no power at all
against Me, except it were
given thee from above : there-
fore he that delivered Me unto
thee hath the greater sin.

12. And from thenceforth
Pilate sought to release Him :
but the Jews cried out, saying.
If thou let this Man go, thou
art not Caesar's friend : whoso-
ever maketh himself a king
speaketh against Caesar.

13. When Pilate therefore
heard that saying, he brought
Jesus forth, and sat down in
the judgment seat in a place
that is called the Pavement,
but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha.

14. And it was the prepara-
tion of the passover, and about

190 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xix. 1-16

the sixth hour : and he saith King ? The chief priests

unto the Jews, Behold your
King!

15. But they cried out, Away
with Him, away with Him,
crucify Him. Pilate saith unto
them, Shall I crucify your

answered. We have no king
but Caesar.

16. Then delivered he Him
therefore unto them to be
crucified. And they took Jesus,
and led Him away."

THE Struggle between the vacillation of Pilate and
the fixed malignity of the rulers is the principal
theme of this fragment of Christ's judicial trial. He
Himself is passive and all but silent, speaking only one
sentence of calm rebuke. The frequent changes of
scene from within to without the prsetorium indicate
the steps in the struggle, and vividly reflect the irresolu-
tion of Pilate. These changes may help to mark the
stages in the lesson.

I. The cruelties and indignities in verses 1-3 were
inflicted within the " palace," to which Pilate, with his
Prisoner, had returned after the rulers' vote for Barabbas.
John makes that choice of the robber the reason for the
scourging of Jesus. His thought seems to be that Pilate,
having failed in his attempt to get rid of the whole
difficulty by releasing Jesus, according to the " custom,"
ordered the scourging, in hope that the lighter punish-
ment might satisfy the turbulent crowd, whom he wished
to humour, while, if possible, saving their Victim. It
was the expedient of a weak and cynical nature, and,
like all weak attempts at compromise between right and
wrong, only emboldened the hatred which it was meant
to appease. If by clamour the rulers had succeeded
in getting Pilate to scourge a Man whom he thought
innocent, they might well hope to get him to crucify,
if they clamoured loudly and long enough.

One attitude only befitted Pilate, since he did not in

Less. XXI.] The Reluctant Judge 191

the least believe that Jesus threatened the Roman
supremacy ; namely, to set Him at liberty, and let the
disappointed rulers growl like wild beasts robbed of their
prey. But he did not care enough about a single half-
crazy Jewish peasant to risk his standing well with his
awkward subjects, for the sake of righteousness. The
one good which Rome could give to its vassal nations
was inflexible justice and a sovereign law ; but in Pilate's
action there was not even the pretence of legality.
Tricks and expedients run through it all, and never
once does he say. This is the law, this is justice, and by
it I stand or fall.

The cruel scourging which, in Roman hands, was a
much more severe punishment than the Jewish " beating
with rods," and often ended in death, was inflicted on the
silent, unresisting Christ, not because His judge thought
that it was deserved, but to please accusers whose charge
he knew to be absurd. The underlings naturally followed
their betters' example, and, after they had executed
Pilate's orders to scourge, covered the bleeding wounds
with some robe, perhaps ragged, but of the royal colour,
and crushed the twisted wreath of thorn-branch down
on the brows, to make fresh wounds there. The jest
of crowning such a poor, helpless creature as Jesus
seemed to them, was exactly on the level of such rude
natures, and would be the more exquisite to them
because it was double-barrelled, and insulted the nation
as well as the "king." They came in a string, as the
tense of the original word suggests, and offered their
mock reverence. But that became tame after a Httle,
and mockery passed into violence, as it always does in
such natures. These rough legionaries were cruel and

192 The Gospel of St. Jolin [Chap. xix. 1-16

brutal, and they were unconscious witnesses to His
kingship as founded on suffering ; but they were innocent
as compared with the polished gentleman who pro-
stituted justice on the judgment-seat, and the learned
Pharisees who were howling for blood outside.

II. In verses 4-8 the scene changes again to without
the palace, and shows us Pilate trying another expedient,
equally in vain. The hesitating governor has no chance
with the resolute, rooted hate of the rulers. Jesus silently
and unresistingly follows Pilate from the hall, still wear-
ing the mockery of royal pomp. Pilate had calculated
that the sight of Him in such guise, and bleeding from
the lash, might turn hate into contempt, and perhaps
give a touch of pity. " Behold the Man ! " as he meant
it, was as if he had said, " Is this poor, bruised, spiritless
Sufferer worth hate or fear ? Does He look like a king
or a dangerous enemy ? " Pilate for once drops the scoff
of calling Him their king, and seeks to conciliate and
move to pity. The profound meanings which later ages
have delighted to find in his words, however warrantable,
are no part of their design as spoken, and we gain a better
lesson from the scene by keeping close to the thoughts
of the actors. What a contrast between the vacillation
of the governor, on the one hand, afraid to do right and
reluctant to do wrong, and the dogged malignity of the
rulers and their tools on the other, and the calm, meek
endurance of the silent Christ, knowing all their thoughts,
pitying all, and fixed in loving resolve, even firmer than
the rulers' hate, to bear the utmost, that He might save a
world !

Some pity may have stirred in the crowd, but the
priests and their immediate dependants silenced it by the

Less. XXL] The Reluctant Judge 193

yell of fresh hate at the sight of the Prisoner. Note how
John gives the very impression of the tierce, brief roar,
like that of wild beasts for their prey, by his "Crucify,
crucify," without addition of the person. Pilate lost
patience at last, and angrily and half seriously gives per-
mission to them to take the law into their own hands.
He really means, " I will not be your tool, and, if my
conviction of ' the Man's ' innocence is to be of no
account, you must punish Him; for I will not." How
far he meant to abdicate authority, and how far he was
launching sarcasms, it is difficult to say. Throughout he
is sarcastic, and thereby indicates his weakness, indem-
nifying himself for being thwarted by sneers, which sit
ill on authority.

But the offer, or sarcasm, whichever it was, missed
fire, as the appeal to pity had done, and only led to the
production of a new weapon. In their frantic determina-
tion to compass Jesus' death, the rulers hesitate at no
degradation ; and now they adduced the charge of
blasphemy, and were ready to make a heathen the judge.
To ask a 'Roman governor to execute their law on a
religious offender, was to drag their national prerogative
in the mud. But formal religionists, inflamed by
religious animosity, are often the degraders of religion
for the gratification of their hatred. They are poor
preservers of the Church who call on the secular arm to
execute their " laws." Rome went a long way in letting
subject peoples keep their institutions ; but it was too
much to expect Pilate to be the hangman for these
furious priests, on a charge scarcely intelligible to him.

What was Jesus doing while all this hell of wickedness
and fury boiled round Him ? Standing there, passive

13

194 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xix. 1-16

and dumb, "as a sheep before her shearers." Himself
is the least conspicuous figure in the history of His own
trial. In silent communion with the Father, in silent
submission to His murderers, in silent pity for us, in
silent contemplation of the joy that was set before Him,
He waits on their will.

IH. Once more the scene changes to the interior of
the praetorium (vers. 9-1 1). The rulers' words stir a
deepened awe in Pilate. He " was the more afraid."
Then he had been already afraid. His wife's dream,
the impression already produced by the person of Jesus,
had touched him more deeply than probably he himself
was aware of; and now this charge that Jesus had
" made Himself the Son of God " shook him. What if
this strange Man were in some sense a messenger of the
gods ? Had he been scourging one sent from them ?
Sceptical he probably was, and therefore superstitious ;
and half-forgotten and disbelieved stories of gods who
had come dow^n in the likeness of men would swim up
in his memory. If this Man were such, His strange
demeanour would be explained. Therefore he carried
Jesus in again, and, not now as judge, sought to hear
from His own lips His version of the alleged claim.

"Why did not Jesus answer such a question ? His
silence was answer ; but, besides that, Pilate had not
received what Jesus had already declared to him as to
His kingdom and His relation to " the truth " as he ought,
and careless turning away from Christ's earlier words is
righteously and necessarily punished by subsequent
silence, if the same disposition remains. That it did
remain Christ's silence is proof. Had there been any
use in answering, Pilate would not have asked in vain,

Less. XXI.] The Reluctant Judge 195

If Jesus was silent, we may be sure that He who sees all
hearts and responds to all true desires was so because
He knew that it was best to say nothing. The question
of His origin had nothing to do with Pilate's duty then,
which turned, not on whence Jesus had come, but on
what Pilate believed Him to have done, or not to have
done. He who will not do the plain duty of the moment
has little chance of an answer to his questions about
such high matters.

The shallow character of the governor's awe and interest
is clearly seen from the immediate change of tone to
arrogant reminder of his absolute authority. "To me
dost Thou not speak ? " The pride of offended dignity
peeps out there. He has forgotten that a moment since
he half suspected that the Prisoner, whom he now seeks to
terrify with the cross and to allure with deliverance, was
perhaps come from some misty heaven. Was that a
temper which would have received Christ's answer to his
question ?

But one thing he might be made to perceive, and
therefore Jesus broke silence for the only time in this
lesson, and almost the only time before Pilate. He reads
the arrogant Roman the lesson which he and all his
tribe in all lands and ages need, — that their power is
derived from God, therefore in its foundation legitimate
and in its exercise to be= guided by His will and used for
His purposes. It was God who had brought the Roman
eagles, with their ravening beaks and strong claws, to the
Holy City. Pilate was right in exercising jurisdiction
over Jesus. Let him see that he exercised justice. And
let him remember that the power which he boasted that
he " had " was " given." The truth as to the source of

196 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xix. 1-16

power made the guilt of Caiaphas or of the rulers the
greater, inasmuch as they had neglected the duties to
which they had been appointed, and by handing over
Jesus on a charge which they themselves should have
searched out, had been guilty of " theocratic felony."
This sudden flash of bold rebuke, reminding Pilate of his
dependence, and charging him with " the lesser " but yet
real " sin," went deeper than any answer to his question
would have done, and spurred him to more earnest efl'ort,
as John points out. He " sought to release Him," as if
formerly he had been rather simply unwilling to condemn
than anxious to deliver.

IV. So the scene changes again to outside. He first
went out alone, leaving Jesus within, and was met before
he had time, as would appear, to speak, by the final
irresistible weapon which the rulers had kept in reserve.
An accusation of treason was only too certain to be
listened to by the suspicious tyrant who was then
emperor, especially if brought by the authorities of a
subject nation. Many a provincial governor had had but
a short shrift in such a case, and Pilate knew that he was
a ruined man if these implacable zealots howling before
him went to Tiberius with such a charge. So the die
was cast. With rage in his heart, no doubt, and knowing
that he was sacrificing innocent blood to save himself,
he turned away from the victorious mob, apparently in
silence, and brought Jesus out once more. He had no
more words to say to his Prisoner. Nothing remained
but the formal act of sentence, for which he seated him-
self, with a poor assumption of dignity, yet feeling all the
while, no doubt, what a contemptible surrender he was
making.

Less. XXI.] The Reluctant Judge 197

Judgment-seats and mosaic pavements do not go far to
secure reverence for a judge who is no better than an
assassin, killing an innocent man to secure his own ends.
Pilate's sentence fell most heavily on himself. If " the
judge is condemned when the guilty is acquitted," he is
tenfold condemned when the innocent is sentenced.

Pilate returned to his sarcastic mood when he returned
to his injustice, and found some satisfaction in his old
jeer " your King." But the passion of hatred was too
much in earnest to be turned or even affected by such
poor scoffs, and the only answer was the renewed roar
of the mob, which had murder in its tone. The repeti-
tion of the governor's taunt " Shall I crucify your King ? "
brought out the answer in which the rulers of the nation
in their fury blindly flung away their prerogative. It is
no accident that it was " the chief priests " who answered,
" We have no king but Caesar." Driven by hate, they
deliberately disown their Messianic hope, and repudiate
their national glory. They who will not have Christ
have to bow to a tyrant. Rebellion against Him brings
slavery.

LESSON XXII
"It is Finislied"

St. John xix. 17-30

17. "And He bearing His
cross went forth into a place
called the place of a skull, which
is called in the Hebrew Gol-
gotha:

18. Where they crucified
Him, and two other with Him,
on either side one, and Jesus in
the midst.

19. And Pilate wrote a title,
and put it on the cross. And
the writing was, JESUS OF
NAZARETH THE KING OF
THE JEWS.

20. This title then read many
of the Jews : for the place
where Jesus was crucified was
nigh to the city : and it was
written in Hebrew, and Greek,
and Latin.

21. Then said the chief priests
of the Jews to Pilate, Write not,
The King of the Jews; but that
He said, I am King of the Jews.

22. Pilate answered. What I
have written I have written.

23. Then the soldiers, when
they had crucified Jesus, took
His garments, and made four
parts, to every soldier a part ;
and also His coat : now the
coat was without seam, woven
from the top throughout.

24. They said therefore among
themselves, Let us not rend it.

but cast lots for it, whose it shall
be : that the Scripture might
be fulfilled, which saith. They
parted My raiment among them,
and for My vesture they did cast
lots. These things therefore
the soldiers did.

25. Now there stood by the
cross of Jesus His mother, and
His mother's sister, Mary the
wife of Cleophas, and Mary
Magdalene.

26. When Jesus therefore
saw His mother, and the disciple
standing by, whom He loved,
He saith unto His mother.
Woman, behold thy son !

26. Then saith He to the
disciple, Behold thy mother !
And from that hour that disciple
took her unto his own home.

28. After this, Jesus knowing
that all things were now ac-
complished, that the Scripture
might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.

29. Now there was set a
vessel full of vinegar : and they
filled a spunge with vinegar,
and put it upon hyssop, and
put it to His mouth.

30. When Jesus therefore
had received the vinegar, He
said, It is finished : and He
bowed His head, and gave up
the ghost,"

198

Less. XXII.] " It is Finished " 199

THE supplementary character of John's account of
the crucifixion is shown by both its omissions and
additions, as compared with the other Gospels. These
deserve careful examination. So far as any purpose
beyond that of contributing incidents to complete the
narratives can be discerned, we cannot but feel that the
impression from the whole account is that of the calm
majesty of voluntary suffering, in filial obedience ful-
filling the will of the Father and the word of prophecy.
Such an impression corresponds entirely to the point of
view of John's Gospel, which is none the less trustworthy
as a record of facts because the facts are chosen with a
purpose.

I. The account of the act of crucifixion is singularly
brief, but even in it we find a noteworthy addition, in
the statement that Jesus " went out, bearing the cross
for Himself." The practice was that the condemned
man should carry his cross, and that cruel indignity too
was endured by Jesus at the beginning of the short
passage to Golgotha, as is shown by John's accurate
words, " ive7tt out, bearing." These perfectly harmonise
with, and may almost be said to presuppose, what the
other evangelists tell us ; that is, that when the sad pro-
cession was outside the gate, it was needful to find some
one else to carry the burden, which His physical strength
sank under. Simon of Cyrene was " coming out of the
country," when he was pressed into that service, which
suggests that he was met outside the city. The other
evangelists give the sequel, which teaches the weakness
of Christ's flesh. John gives the first arrangement, which
teaches the meek willingness of His spirit.

His bearing His cross, like Isaac's carrying the wood

200 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xix. 17-50

for his own burning, speaks of patient submission to a
Father's will, and gives pathetic meaning to the exhorta-
tion to "go forth unto Him without the camp, bearing
His reproach." We, too, have sometimes to carry the
cross on which we are to be crucified.

John leaves the agents of the crucifixion somewhat
indefinite by that vague " they," which, however, is prob-
ably to be taken as meaning the persons last named;
that is, " the chief priests." Whose hands actually nailed
Him to the cross mattered little. Probably the soldiers
did it, as executioners, skilled in the art; but the real
agents were the priests. The ignorant legionaries were
no more guilty than their own hammers. The hands
that used them as tools w^ere those really stained with
innocent blood. AVhile the plea of Christ's dying prayer
for His murderers applied to all concerned, its ample
folds covered entirely the ignorant instruments of crimin-
ally and partially ignorant rulers.

John touches most slightly on the companions in
suffering, omitting their crimes and the taunt implied in
the association of such men with Jesus ; and omitting,
too, the jeers of the one and the penitence of the other,
and seeing an unintended but eloquent symbol of Christ's
dignity, even in humiliation, in His place in the midst.
It had been meant to imply that He was chief in crime ;
it is a watness to His being the centre of all things, and
chief wherever He is — " Him first, Him last. Him midst
and without end."

H. The next section tells of the royal proclamation in
many tongues, and adds much to the accounts of the
other Gospels. John uses the technical Latin word for
the inscription, " title " ; and he alone tells us that it

Less. XXII.] "It is Finished" 201

was fixed on the cross by Pilate's orders, and possibly
was written by his own hand. It was the last fling of
his malice, directed not against Jesus, but the priests.
Like many another scoffer, Pilate did not see that the
sharpest edge of his gibe cut himself; for, if he thought
the pretensions to royalty of such a poor creature so
ludicrous, the more disgrace to the unjust judge who let
Him be hung up there to die. Caiaphas, the unworthy
high priest, had unconsciously uttered one prophecy.
Pilate, the unworthy governor, unconsciously spoke
another. " This " — this fainting, bleeding, dying Man —
is King, not of Jews only, but of all men, just because He
hangs there helpless. The cross is His throne. The crown
of thorns will be wreathed round with the many crowns
of universal dominion. A rule, compared with which
Rome's was limited, vulgar, superficial, and transient, was
established then. The Redeemer of men is their King.
The fact of the inscription being in three languages is
peculiar to John, for the similar clause in Luke is not
genuine. The motive for the triple " title " was, probably,
the presence at the passover of foreign-born Jews, to all
of whom it was desired to make it legible. But we may
permissibly see in this accident another unconscious
prophecy. Hebrew was the language of revelation ;
Latin, the tongue of civil authority and law ; Greek, that
of philosophy and art. These all find their fulfilment
in the Christ, and their highest glory is to proclaim Him.
Not only these cultivated languages but the rude speech
of tribes who were barbarians then was to be capable of
receiving and re-echoing the message of His reign, as has
been the case with our own English, the ancestor of
which was the speech of unlettered tribes when Pilate

202 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xix. 17-30

wrote, and as has been true in the many tongues which
Christ's missionaries have been the first to reduce to
writing, for the very purpose of entrusting the name of
Christ the King to them.

The vigilance of the priests scented possible danger in
the reading of the title by the crowds, and their brusque
demand to have it altered shows how they were ready
to presume on Pilate's compliance. But, like all who
yield what they know they should not give up, he tried
to cover his weakness by obstinacy. If he had asserted
himself a little sooner, he would have escaped his bad
pre-eminence. He did not know what he had written,
in imperishable characters, in the record of his deeds ;
and, while he thought himself announcing with fitting
dignity his determination, he was declaring that the black
lines he had traced would last for ever. Strange that the
awful truth of the ineffaceableness of our deeds should
come from his lips ! Blessed we if we have learned that
He whom Pilate slew will blot out our sins from His
book. The characteristic of the whole procedure of
Jewish accusers and Roman governor is repeated here.
They reject, and he proclaims, the King.

HI. The additions in the account of the soldiers
dividing His garments are as significant as in the other
sections. All tell of parting them and casting lots ; but
John, who stood there, saw and heard the whole, and
fills up the narrative of the Synoptics. There is some-
thing very horrible in the matter-of-course way in which
the soldiers, as soon as they had finished their grim task,
set about securing their booty. They had not nerves
easily thrilled by the sight of pain, and could coolly allot
a dying man's garments, their perquisites, before his

Less. XXII.] " It is Finished " 203

very eyes. The outer garments could be divided among
them into four parts, but the inner vestment was all of
one piece, and would be ruined if cut. Therefore it
was drawn lots for.

The literal correspondence of their proceeding with
the words of the twenty-second Psalm, from which Jesus
took the bitter cry, " My God, My God, why hast Thou
forsaken Me ? " seemed to the evangelist a fulfilment of
prophecy. No doubt the Psalm came from the heart
of a sufferer, whether David or an ideal impersonation
of Israel, but equally certainly it contains details which
never had been applicable to any sufferer, and in which,
if we do not see the foreshadowing of the Prince of
sufferers, we can only see tasteless exaggerations. We
do not need to construct a theory of prophecy (which
only a prophet could do) in order to be sure that unless
these and other parts of this Psalm are direct prophecies
of the minute details of the sufferings of Jesus, they
swing in the air, attached to no one. "These things
therefore the soldiers did," says John, as if they were
but the bhnd instruments to fulfil the prophecy. High
above all their cruelty and stohd greed we are to see
the working out of the purpose of God, — a point of
view which does not in the least diminish the freedom
or responsibility of the actors.

IV. Another group, as profoundly moved as the
soldiers were indifferent, stood by the cross, and the
original marks the striking contrast between the weeping
friends and the legionaries. Does John mean that there
were three women there, or four? There are strong
reasons for supposing four ; and, if so, the likelihood is
that the unnamed sister of Jesus' mother was " the

204 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xix. 17-30

mother of Zebedee's children," which makes the sub-
sequent incident all the more natural and pathetic.
Jesus knew that sorrow which accompanies death, the
pain of leaving dear ones whom we have sheltered to a
rough world ; and on His cross His heart not only bore
the sins of men, but felt filial care for the mother whom
He loved as a son.

His address to Mary as " woman " has no trace of the
associations which now cling to the word, while yet it
gently warns her that the special relationship is ended,
and that henceforth adoring love of her Lord is to take
the place of maternal love. Mary's experience of the
conflict between earthly and heavenly love was peculiarly
sharp, because the same person was the object of both.
*' Behold thy son ! " authoritatively commanded her to
thmk no longer of Him in that relation, and lovingly
provided for her another comforter, protector, and object
for her affections.

Does He not speak thus to all mourning souls who
love Him, bidding them find, and assuring them that they
may find, in those who represent Him in the world,
solace for their grief and objects for their care ? And
does not His entrusting of Mary to John illustrate by a
tender example how love to Him fits us to carry on His
tasks, and makes us, in very blessed and wonderful
fashion. His representatives on earth ? Happy we if we
accept as swiftly and thankfully the offices which He
honours us by giving, as did that disciple who left even
the cross in order to take Mary to "his own home."
So the mother glides out of the Gospels ; and the only
time we hear of her again is when she is named, after
the apostles, as one of the disciples.

Less.xxii.] « It is Finished " 205

V. The last earthly act was to provide for His mother,
and, that done, Jesus knew " that all things " were '' now
finished," and nothing remained but to die. The con-
sciousness of accomplished work calmly fills His mind.
That consciousness allows Him to give heed to the
physical craving which He had repressed, or, possibly,
scarcely felt, while anything remained to be done. Of
course, the narrative does not mean that Jesus said " I
thirst " in order to carry out the Messianic programme,
but that His cry, like all the rest of the passion, was
Divinely ordered so as to fulfil the prophecies. It is
the last expression of bodily suffering, keenly felt once
more, in the cessation of the tension of care for others.
His pity and love bore Him above these pangs, but
not so completely as to deaden them. He had refused
the stupefying draught previously offered, but now He
accepted the vinegar, which was meant to refresh, and
was given with a touch of human kindness.

The same lips, which were parched with thirst and
feebly uttered the complaint, spoke in the next moment,
when moistened with the drops from the sponge, the
triumphant " It is finished." Mark the absence of
specification of what was finished. The indefinite ex-
pression is a universal one. All that Jesus had come
to do was known by Him to be accomplished. Who
of us dare go out of this life of half-done tasks and
imperfect service with such a claim on our lips ? It far
transcends Paul's " I have finished my course." Jesus,
and only He, dying, looks back on no defects, departures,
or omissions. He has done all that the Father gave
Him to do, all that love prompted, all that the world
needed. That dying word is like to, but greater than,

2o6 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xix. 17-30

the voice of the Creator pronouncing that His world
was " very good." The Divine ideal of redemption,
mightier than that of creation, is accomplished, and
that finished work remains for ever, needing no supple-
ment, and tolerating none, but abiding through the ages,
the foundation of men's hopes and the assurance of their
salvation.

The consciousness of completed work could only
be followed by the voluntary death. " He bowed His
head," unbent till then, and inclined at last, not by
reason of weakness, but by His own will. He " gave
up His spirit," — an expression which is not a mere
euphemism for natural death, but distinctly means that
the death of Jesus was the act of Jesus. The dark
waters were indeed round Him, but could not cover
Him till He chose, as some man, standing breast-high
in the ocean, might will to bow his head beneath the
sullen sea, and so voluntarily let it roll its heavy, sluggish
wave above his corpse.

LESSON XXIII

The Dawnings of Faith in the Risen Lord

St. John xx. i-i8

1. " The first day of the week
Cometh Mary Magdalene early,
when it was yet dark, unto the
sepulchre, and seeth the stone
taken awaj' from the sepulchre.

2. Then she runneth, and
Cometh to Simon Peter, and to
the other disciple, whom Jesus
loved, and saith unto them,
They have taken away the Lord
out of the sepulchre, and we
know not where they have laid
Him.

3. Peter therefore went forth,
and that other disciple, and
came to the sepulchre.

4. So they ran both together :
and the other disciple did out-
run Peter, and came first to the
sepulchre.

5. And he stooping down, and
looking in, saw the linen clothes
lying ; yet went he not in.

6. Then cometh Simon Peter
following him, and went into
the sepulchre, and seeth the
linen clothes lie,

7. And the napkin, that was
about His head, not lying with
the linen clothes, but wrapped
together in a place by itself.

8. Then went in also that
other disciple, which came first
to the sepulchre, and he saw,
and believed.

9. For as yet the}' knew not
the scripture, that He must rise
again from the dead.

10. Then the disciples went
away again unto their own
home.

11. But Mary stood without
at the sepulchre weeping : and
as she wept, she stooped down,
and looked into the sepulchre,

12. And seeth two angels in
white sitting, the one at the
head, and the other at the feet,
where the body of Jesus had
lain.

13. And they say unto her,
Woman, why weepest thou ?
She saith unto them. Because
they have taken away my Lord,
and I know not where they
have laid Him.

14. And when she had thus
said, she turned herself back,
and saw Jesus standing, and
knew not that it was Jesus.

15. Jesus saith unto her,
Woman, why weepest thou ?
whom seekest thou ? She, sup-
posing Him to be the gardener,
saith unto Him, Sir, if thou
have borne Him hence, tell me
where thou hast laid Him, and
I will take Him away.

16. Jesus saith unto her,
Mary. She turned herself, and

207

2o8 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xx. i-iS

saith unto Him, Rabboni ;
which is to say, Master.

17. Jesus saith unto her.
Touch Me not ; for I am not
yet ascended to My Father : but
go to My brethren, and say
unto them, I ascend unto My

Father, and your Father ; and
to My God, and your God.

18. Mary Magdalene came
and told the disciples that she
had seen the Lord, and that He
had spoken these things unto
her."

JOHN'S purpose in his narrative of the resurrection is
not only to estabhsh the fact, but also to depict the
gradual growth of faith in it, among the disciples.
The two main incidents in this lesson, the visit of Peter
and John to the tomb and the appearance of our Lord
to Mary, give the dawning of faith before sight and the
rapturous faith born of sight. In the remainder of the
chapter, beyond our lesson, are two more instances of
faith following vision, and the teaching of the whole is
summed up in Christ's words to the doubter : " Because
thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed : blessed are they
that have not seen, and yet have believed."

I. The open sepulchre and the bewildered alarm it
excited. The act of resurrection took place before sun-
rise. " At midnight," probably, " the bridegroom came."
It was fitting that He who was to scatter the darkness of
the grave should rise while darkness covered the earth,
and that no eye should behold " how " that dead was
"raised up." The earthquake, and the descent of
angels, and the rolling away of the stone, were after the
tomb was empty.

John's note of time seems somewhat earlier than that
of the other Gospels, but is not so much so as to require
the supposition that Mary preceded the other women.
She appears alone here, because the reason for mention,
ing her at all is to explain how Peter and John knew of
the empty tomb, and she alone had been the informant.

Less. XXIII.] Dawnings of Faith in the Risen Lord 209

In these Eastern lands, " as it began to dawn/' '' very
early, at the rising of the sun," and " while it was yet
dark," are times very near each other, and JNIary may have
reached the sepulchre a little before the others. Her
own words " we know not " show that she had spoken
with others who had seen the empty grave. We must
therefore suppose that she had with the others come to
it, seen that the sacred corpse was gone and their spices
useless, exchanged hurried words of alarm and bewilder-
ment, and then had hastened away, before the appearance
of the angels.

The impulse to tell the leaders of the forlorn band the
news which she thinks to be so bad was womanly and
natural. It was not hope, but wonder and sorrow, that
quickened her steps, as she ran through the still morning
to find them. Whether they were in one house or not is
uncertain ] but, at all events, Peter's denial had not cut
him off from his brethren, and the two who were so con-
stantly associated before and afterwards were not far
apart that morning. The disciple who had stood by the
cross to almost the last had an open heart and probably
an open house for the denier. "Restore such an
one, . . . considering thyself."

Mary had seen the tomb empty, and springs to the
conclusion that " they " — some unknown persons — have
taken away the dead body, which, with clinging love that
tries to ignore death, she still calls " the Lord." Possibly
she may have thought that the resting-place in Joseph's
new sepulchre was only meant for temporary shelter
(ver. 15). At all events, it was gone, and the fact
suggested no hope to her. How often do we, in like
manner, misinterpret as dark what is really pregnate with

14

210 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xx. 1-18

light, and blindly attribute to " them " what Jesus does !
The tone of mind thus remote from anticipation of the
great fact is a precious proof of the historical truth of
the resurrection ; for here was no soil in which hallu-
cinations would spring, and such people would not have
believed Him risen unless they had seen Him living !

II. Peter and John at the tomb, the dawning of faith
and the continuance of bewildered wonder. In the
account, we may observe, first, the characteristic con-
duct of each of the two. Peter is first to set out, and
John follows, both men doing according to their kind.
The younger runs faster than his companion. He
looked into the tomb, and saw the wrappings lying ; but
the reverent awe which holds back finer natures kept
him from venturing in. Peter is not said to have looked
before entering. He loved with all his heart, but his
love was impetuous and practical, and he went straight
in, and felt no reason why he should pause. His bold-
ness encouraged his friend, as the example of strong
natures does. Most of my readers will recall Bushnell's
noble sermon on " Unconscious Influence," from this
incident, and need no more about it.

Observe, too, the further witness of the folded grave-
clothes. John from outside had not seen the napkin,
lying carefully rolled up apart from the other cloths. It
was probably laid in a part of the tomb invisible from
without. But the order of these came to him, when he
saw them, with a great flash of illumination. There had
been no hurried removal.

Here had been no hostile hands, or there would not
have been this deliberation ; nor friendly hands, or there
would not have been such dishonour to the sacred dead

Less.xxiii.] Dawnings of Faith in the Risen Lord 211

as to carry away the body nude. What did it mean?
Could He Himself have done for Himself what He had
bade them do for Lazarus ? Could He have laid aside
the garments of the grave as needing them no more ?
"They have taken away," — what if it were not " they,"
but He ? No trace of hurry or struggle was there. He
did " not go out with haste, nor go by flight," but
calmly, deliberately, in the majesty of His lordship over
death. He rose from His slumber and left order in the
land of confusion.

Observe, too, the birth of the apostle's faith. John
connects it with the sight of the folded garments. " Be-
lieved " here must mean more than recognition of the
fact that the grave was empty. The next clause seems
to imply that it means belief in the resurrection. The
scripture, which they " knew " as scripture, was for John
suddenly interpreted, and he was lifted out of the
ignorance of its meaning, which till that moment he had
shared with his fellow-disciples. Their failure to under-
stand Christ's frequent distinct prophecies that He
would rise again the third day has been thought
incredible, but is surely intelligible enough if we re-
member how unexampled such a thing was, and how
marvellous is our power of hearing, and yet not hearing,
the plainest truth. We all in the course of our lives are
lost in astonishment, when things befall us which we
have been plainly told will befall. The fulfilment of
all Divine promises (and threatenings) is a surprise, and
no warnings beforehand teach one tithe so clearly as
experience.

John believed, but Peter still was in the dark. Again
the former had outrun his friend. His more sensitive

212 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xx. i-iS

nature, not to say his deeper love, — for that would be
unjust, since their love differed in quality more than in
degree, — had gifted him with a more subtle and swifter-
working perception. Perhaps if Peter's heart had not
been oppressed by his sin, he would have been readier
to feel the sunshine of the wonderful hope. We con-
demn ourselves to the shade when we deny our Lord by
deed or word.

III. The first appearance of the Lord, and revelation
of the new form of intercourse. Nothing had been said
of Mary's return to the tomb ; but how could she stay
away? The disciples might go, but she lingered,
woman-like, to indulge in the bitter-sweet of tears.
Eyes so filled are more apt to see angels. No wonder
that these calm watchers, in their garb of purity and joy,
had not been seen by the two men. The laws of such
appearance are not those of ordinary optics. Spiritual
susceptibility and need determine who shall see angels,
and who shall see but the empty place. Wonder and
adoration held these bright forms there. They had
hovered over the cradle and stood by the shepherds at
Bethlehem, but they bowed in yet more awestruck
reverence at the grave, and death revealed to them a
deeper depth of Divine love.

The presence of angels was a trifle to Mary, who had
only one thought, — the absence of her Lord. Surely
that touch of her unmoved answer, as if speaking to
men, is beyond the reach of art. She says " My Lord "
now, and "/ know not," but otherwise repeats her
former words, untouched by any hope caught from John.
Her clinging love needed more than an empty grave and
folded clothes and waiting angels to stay its tears, and

Less.xxiii.] Dawnings of Faith in the Risen Lord 213

she turned indifferently and wearily away from the inter-
ruption of the question to plunge again into her sorrow
Chrysostom suggests that she " turned herself," because
she saw in the angels' looks that they saw Christ sud-
denly appearing behind her ; but the preceding explana-
tion seems better. Her not knowing Jesus might be
accounted for by her absorbing grief. One who looked
at white-robed angels, and saw nothing extraordinary,
would give but a careless glance at the approaching
figure, and might well fail td recognise Him. But
probably, as in the case of the two travellers to
Emmaus, her " eyes were holden," and the cause of non-
recognition was not so much a change in Jesus as an
operation on her.

Be that as it may, it is noteworthy that His voice,
which was immediately to reveal Him, at first suggested
nothing to her ; and even His gentle question, with the
significant addition to the angels' words, in " Whom
seekest thou ? " which indicated His knowledge that
her tears fell for some person dear and lost, only made
her think of Him as being the gardener, and therefore
probably concerned in the removal of the body. If
He were so. He would be friendly ] and so she ventured
her pathetic petition, which does not name Jesus (so
full is her mind of the one, that she thinks everybody
must know whom she means), and which so overrated
her own strength in saying "I will take Him away."
The first words of the risen Christ are on His lips yet
to all sad hearts. He seeks our confidences, and would
have us tell Him the occasions of our tears. He would
have us recognise that all our griefs and all our desires
point to one person, — Himself, — as the one real object

2 14 The Gospel of St. John [Chap xx. 1-18

of our " seeking," whom finding, we need weep no
more.

Verse sixteen tells us that Mary turned herself to see
Him when He next spoke, so that, at the close of her
first answer to Him, she must have once more resumed
her gaze into the tomb, as if she despaired of the new-
comer giving the help she had asked.

Who can say anything about that transcendent
recognition, in which all the stooping love of the risen
Lord is smelted into one word, and the burst of rapture,
awe, astonishment, and devotion pours itself through
the narrow channel of one other ? If this narrative is"
the work of some anonymous author late in the second
century, he is indeed a " great unknown," and has
managed to imagine one of the two or three most
pathetic " situations " in literature. Surely it is more
reasonable to suppose him no obscure genius, but a
well-known recorder of what he had seen, and knew
for fact. Christ's calling by name ever reveals His
loving presence. We may be sure that He knows us
by name, and we should reply with the same swift
cry of absolute submission as sprang to Mary's lips.
" Rabboni ! Master ! " is the fit answer to His call.

But Mary's exclamation was imperfect in that it ex-
pressed the resumption of no more than the old bond,
and her gladness needed enlightenment. Things were
not to be as they had been. Christ's " Mary " had
indeed assured her of His faithful remembrance and of
her present place in His love ; but when she clung to
His feet she was seeking to keep what she had to learn
to give up. Therefore Jesus, who invited the touch
which was to establish faith and banish doubt (Luke xxiv.

Less. XXIII.] Dawnings of Faith in the Risen Lord 215

39 ; John XX. 27), bids her unclasp her hands, and
gently instils the ending of the blessed past by opening
to her the superior joys of the begun future. His words
contain for us all the very heart of our possible relation
to Him, and teach us that we need envy none who com-
panied with Him here. His ascension to the Father is
the condition of our truest approach to Him. His pro-
hibition encloses a permission. " Touch Me not ; for I
am not yet ascended," implies " When I am, you may."

Further, the ascended Christ is still our Brother.
Neither the mystery of death nor the impending mystery
of dominion broke the tie. Again, the resurrection is
the beginning of ascension, and is only then rightly
understood when it is considered as the first upward
step to the throne. " I ascend," not " I have risen, and
will soon leave you," as if the ascension only began forty
days after on Olivet. It is already in process. Once
more the ascended Christ, our Brother still, and capable
of the touch of reverent love, yet is separated from us
by the character, even while united to us by the fact, of
His fihal and dependent relation to God. He cannot
say " Our Father " as if standing on the common human
ground. He is Son, as we are not, and we are sons
through Him, and can only call God our Father because
He is Christ's.

Such were the immortal hopes and new thoughts
which Mary hastened from the presence of her recovered
Lord to bring to the disciples. Fragrant though but
partially understood, they were like half-opened blossoms
from the tree of life planted in the midst of that garden,
to bloom unfading, and ever disclosing new beauty in
believing hearts till the end of time.

LESSON XXIV
The Sea and the Shore

St. John xxi. 1-14

1. "After these things Jesus
showed Himself again to the
disciples at the sea of Tiberias ;
and on this wise showed He
Himself.

2. There were together Simon
Peter, and Thomas called Didy-
mus, and Nathanael of Cana in
Galilee, and the sons of Zebe-
dee, and two other of His
disciples.

3. Simon Peter saith unto
them, I go a fishing. They say
unto him, We also go with
thee. They went forth, and
entered into a ship immediately;
and that night they caught
nothing.

4. But when the morning was
now come, Jesus stood on the
shore : but the disciples knew
not that it was Jesus.

5. Then Jesus saith unto
them, Children, have ye any
meat ? They answered Him,
No.

6. And He said unto them,
Cast the net on the right side
of the ship, and ye shall find.
They cast therefore, and now
they were not able to draw it
for the multitude of fishes.

7. Therefore that disciple
whom Jesus loved saith unto
Peter, It is the Lord. Now

when Simon Peter heard that
it was the Lord, he girt his
fisher's coat unto him, (for he
was" naked,) and did cast him-
self into the sea.

8. And the other disciples
came in a little ship ; (for they
were not far from land, but as
it were two hundred cubits,)
dragging the net with fishes.

9. As soon then as they were
come to land, they saw a fire
of coals there, and fish laid
thereon, and bread.

10. Jesus saith unto them,
Bring of the fish which 3'e have
now caught.

11. Simon Peter went up, and
drew the net to land full of
great fishes, an hundred and
fifty and three : and for all there
were so many, yet was not the
net broken.

12. Jesus saith unto them,
Come and dine. And none of
the disciples durst ask Him,
"Who art Thou ? knowing that
it was the Lord.

13. Jesus then cometh, and
taketh bread, and giveth them,
and fish likewise.

14. This is now the third
time that Jesus showed Him-
self to His disciples, after that
He was risen from the dead."

216

Less. XXIV.] The Sea and the Shore 217

THE last chapter of this Gospel is obviously an
appendix by the author. The last verses of
chapter xx. are clearly intended as the conclusion of
the whole, and, as clearly, chapter xxi. is by the same
hand as the former. It falls into two parts, — the former
setting forth the work of the Church as a whole, and the
latter the varying tasks of individuals. The former is
our lesson, which is parted off from the second half by
the notice in verse fourteen.

I. We note the little group and their night of toil.
The catalogue is significant. There are seven of the
disciples together, and the fact that they were together
implies the resurrection. What stopped the disintegrat-
ing process which began at Calvary ? Why had not the
sheep scattered when the Shepherd was smitten ? They
would certainly have sought safety in flight, and buried
their shattered illusions and hopes in isolation, unless
some powerful magnet had drawn them together. It is
no exaggeration to say that the holding together of the
apostles after the crucifixion is not the least cogent proof
of the resurrection.

The fact that they were in Galilee is significant. Jesus
had bid them go ; and by the narration of this incident
John unites the cycle of appearances of the risen Lord
in Jerusalem and in Galilee, which are recorded separately
in the Synoptics. Nor is the composition of the company
unimportant. As a whole, it is the reproduction of the
original nucleus mentioned in chapter i. Peter, John,
and Nathanael are named here ; and the conjecture that
the remaining two of the first five disciples — namely,
Andrew and Philip — are the anonymous two of this
narrative seems reasonable. If so, all who had been

2t8 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xxi. 1-14

at the beginning were recipients of this " manifestation,"
with the addition of Thomas and James, who make
up the number of completeness, the symboHc seven,
which indicates the representative character of the
group.

The individuals are significant, as is the order of
mention. First comes Peter, not merely because he
was usually foremost ; for he is associated with Thomas,
the denier with the doubter, as if the two greatest sinners
were put first, the more to enhance the love which drew
near to them. Then comes Nathanael, the guileless,
who had been seeing ever greater things during all the
Lord's ministry, and had never been heard of again
since that first day. He is the type of quiet growth,
silent advance in vision, and Christ-like guilelessness.
Then come the sons of Zebedee, John hiding himself as
much as possible, according to his wont. Who but him-
self would have put him in that place ? It is an unmis-
takable sign of his authorship. Then come the two
anonymous disciples, who had nothing to make their
names worth handing down, but yet were worthy to see
the Lord on the shore. Commonplace people, with no
special brilliancy of gifts or distinguished capacity of
service, are none the worse for obscurity, and see the
Master just as well.

Peter is leader as usual. His purpose to " go a-fish-
ing " was welcomed by the others. It was no despairing
return to their old trade, as if the high hopes with which
they had left it were all gone to water, but the calm oc-
cupation of themselves with wholesome toil, while with
patience waiting for the promised presence of Jesus.
The best way of spending times of expectation of great

Less. XXIV.] The Sea and the Shore 219

events is in the discharge of small ordinary duties. To
fishers at their work Jesus manifests Himself.

II. What befell them at sea. The long night of fruit-
less toil perhaps may have reminded some of them of the
other similar experience ; but, more probably, they were
too busy and weary to think of anything but their empty
nets. Whether they remembered that first miraculous
draught of fishes or no, we must keep it constantly in
view, if we would understand this incident, and must
remember that our Lord Himself gave it a symbolical
meaning. The whole of the events in this lesson point
to that symbolism as a chief part of the intention ; and,
while it is easy to be over-ingenious in translating the
facts into parables, it is unwise to shut our eyes to the
broad features which receive their full meaning only
when so translated.

As the day was breaking over the Eastern girdling
hills, and the cold air at sunrise telling of a change in
the dark world, Jesus stood on the shore. The place is
significant, — the disciples tossing on the water, the Lord
standing on the firm beach, with the light playing round
Him. Can we fail to see in that the picture of the con-
dition of His servants in contrast with the rest and
stable glory where He dwells ? And may we not see
in His attitude the same inspiring truth which upheld
Stephen dying, when he saw the Son of Man in the
opened heaven, standing as ready to help ? The dis-
ciples did not recognise Him. Throughout the forty
days His will determined when He should be known.

The Unknown speaks as a superior, using the address
" Children," and His question in the original implies
the expectation of a "No." "Then you have not any-

220 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xxi. 1-14

thing to eat ? " He knew the state of things before
asking, but He wished the acknowledgment. Is not
that ever His procedure with His servants, drawing
them to confess their failure, and so preparing them for
the blessing, which He cannot send except to the con-
sciously weak and powerless ? An honest and humble
" No " is generally followed by correction of methods or
fields, and that by full nets. If we said it more readily
to Him who is ever interested in our work, we should not
have to say it so often to ourselves.

The prompt obedience to the Stranger's directions
was probably due to the disciples' belief that He had
seen from the shore some sign of a shoal which they in the
twilight had not noticed. None of them had any thought
of His being anything more than a passing traveller,
stopping to look on. The swift result is, alas ! not
always the experience of even the humblest and most
docile of Christ's servants ; but we may be sure that,
though in regard to immediate issues the parable of
this incident may fail, it does not fail in regard to their
certainty. Jesus did not promise them that they should
find at once, nor does He promise us ; but He does
promise that, sooner or later, our labour will not be " in
vain," if it be " in the Lord."' And that may content us. "

The beautiful episode of Peter and John is full of
meaning. Love has quick eyes, and is first to discern
the Christ. Its prerogative is to trace His working
where others do not see Him ; and for love it is enough
to know that " it is the Lord," and to sit quietly blessed
in contemplation. But there is another kind of faithful
devotion, not so quick to discern, but eager to act.
John could sit still, satisfied to gaze, but Peter flung his

Less. XXIV.] The Sea and the Shore 221

upper garment about him, and was over the side and
splashing in the water before he knew what he was doing.
He was only a hundred yards off, and would have been
by Jesus almost as soon if he had sat still ; but that was
not his way, and "there are diversities of operations."
Besides, penitence and the blended shame and joy of
restoration made him flounder thus quickly to his Lord.
He had said, " Depart from me ; for I am a sinful man,
O Lord," on that first similar occasion ; but the sense
of sin which drives to Jesus is deeper and wholesomer
than that which drives from Him. The safest place for
the forgiven penitent is close to the Lord.

HI. What befell on the shore. If the sea is the
symbol of this unquiet world, and the night of toil ended
by the securing the fish, that of the Church's work as
fishers of men, the stable shore and what happened there
must be the symbol of the rest that remaineth for the
people of God. Who kindled that mysterious fire, or
whence came the fish and bread, we cannot tell. But
its meaning is clear enough. Not only may it teach us
how even here Jesus provides seasons of refreshing
repose for wearied servants, and cares for their need,
but it prophesies of the repast which He prepares here-
after for them ; and that aspect of the meal gives signi-
ficance to the command to bring of the fish now caught.
For in that world of rest we shall eat the fruit of our
doings, and the results of Christian service are parts of
the provision of His table in His kingdom.

Peter is again first to haul in the net. An eye-witness
speaks in the precise enumeration of number and speci-
fication that they were " great fishes." Fantastic expla-
nations of these points have been given, which need not

222 The Gospel of St. John [Chap. xxi. 1-14

be repeated, but the unbroken net may be meant to
teach that all Christ's true servants will be landed on
that peaceful shore.

Jesus invites His disciples to the meal, but they hold
back in awe. There the parallel fails ; for then the
profounder the reverence, the closer the approach, and
in the sunlit certainties of the land where we shall see
Him as He is, none of the disciples will need to ask,
Who art Thou ? knowing that it is the Lord. Then He
Himself will come forth and serve His feasting servants,
according to His own promise, and as He did on that
morning by the lake. For us, too, the scene of our
labours, failures, and darkened nights of toil and weeping
will he sleeping in the morning sunlight, and from the
Lord's own hands we shall receive the blessed results
which His grace has given to issue from our poor service,
mingled with the yet more blessed and glorious issues,
with which we have nothing to do but to receive them
at His hands.

LESSON XXV
Review Lesson Thoughts

THE passion week occupies nearly half of this Gospel.
Why should it ? The answer will carry us far
into the mystery of the Cross, which thus throws its
shadow, or rather its light, over so wide a field.

Lessons XIIL and XIV. are preliminary to the main
theme. The raising of Lazarus was closely connected with
the crucifixion, as the excitement it produced steeled and
precipitated the rulers' resolution. It casts light on the
Cross, by the strange contrast between Jesus as giving
life to the dead and Himself dying.

The narrative brings out three phases in the self-
revelation of Jesus, — His dignity, as expressed in His
majestic promise to the sisters ; His declaration, impos-
sible to sane human lips, that He is resurrection and
life, in whom, believing, dead men live, and, living,
never die; His authoritative questioning as to faith in
Him, and His acceptance of the twofold tide of the
Christ and Son of God. The second phase is that of
His sharing in the true human emotions of sorrow and
indignation at the ravages of sin, His troubles and tears.
The third is His Divine, life-giving power, breaking the
fetters with a word. He weeps, and He says, " Lazarus,
come forth." To know Him aright, we must take both

223

2 24 T^® Gospel of St. John

into account. To understand the Cross, we must
remember the grave of Lazarus.

Lesson XIV. gives a further preparation for that central
mystery of love, by teaching us to look at Christ's death
with His eyes. So beheld it is wondrously transfigured,
and becomes radiant with glory, — the condition of His
bringing forth much fruit, the pattern to which the lives
of all true servants must conform, since only followers
are reckoned servants. But amid all the glorious
anticipations there blends the minor key of human
shrinking, and the calm spirit is troubled, and flesh
prompts the cry for escape ; but the unfaltering will and
unwavering love to us keep Him from yielding to the
innocent recoil from death. The heavenly Voice
answered the filial prayer, and once more the visions
of what His death would do filled His thoughts. It was
to be the judgment of the world, the casting out of the
world's Prince, — the all-attractive magnet to bring hearts
to Him, drawn by the all-subduing forces of His sacri-
fice. There is but one conception of Christ's death,
which saves these visions from the name of fond
delusions, and delivers Him from the charge of going to
His death with a false idea of His own importance ; and
that is the belief that He died the sacrifice for the sins
of the world.

Lessons XV. to XIX. carry us to the upper room,
that simple chamber on the roof, which by these few
hours has become for all time " the holy place of the
tabernacles of the Most High." First came a deed of
transcendent love, fitly followed by the inexhaustible
words of comfort and teaching; and these, again, lead
up to the great prayer, than which the speech of earth

Review Lesson Thoughts 225

can utter, and the ears of mortals hear, nothing more
sacred. Silent adoration is more to the purpose than
many words.

In Lesson XV. the central truth is that of Jesus as
servant, and of cleansing as His lowliest, loftiest service.
The sweet and wondrous story is preceded by a pro-
found exposition of its motives, from which we learn
that even Christ's love was capable of increasing tender-
ness, and that He too felt the truly human impulse to
make last moments specially full of tokens of love. The
consciousness of His Divine origin, authority, and
destination moved Him to the lowly garb and act
of the attendant slave. So His humiliation became a
revelation of His exaltation, and in it He taught us the
right use of felt power and superiority. How different
the world and we should be if we laid that lesson to
heart ! The act of service reminds us, as in a sensible
symbol, of the emptying Himself of His garments of
glory, but is yet more impressive and touching in its
literality than as a symbol. This unclothed, stooping
Man, washing the dusty feet, and taking their foulness
on to the cloth that wrapped Himself, is the incarnate
God. Who can say anything worthy ? The lesson of
cleansing, as essential to participation in Him, needs
no enforcement, nor the teaching that this lowly act
of His is the law for us. What they need is that
we should live as if we believed them, and should
not be content with admiring the story, but should
follow it.

The sweet and deep consolations of the three succeed-
ing lessons scarcely admit of summarising; but we
should try to grasp firmly the main thought of each.

15

2 26 The Gospel of St. John

That of Lesson XVI. seems to be the great truth that
the absent Christ is present with all who love Him,
and that through the Divine Spirit. " Let not your
heart be troubled" gives the purpose of the whole.
" Believe also in Me " shows how troubled hearts may
be calmed and solitary ones companioned. His absence
is but in continuation of the design of His presence.
He has gone before us to prepare the many mansions
of the Father's house, just as, if we may say so, the
two disciples had gone before the rest to prepare the
chamber where they were. Separation for such a
purpose means reunion. The permanent presence of
the Advocate, the Spirit of strength, is assured to all
Christians, and in that presence Jesus Himself comes
to us. "Presence" and "absence" are delusive words
when applied to the relations between us and our Lord.
No Christian has any right to think of Jesus as away
from him. He comes by His Spirit, and we can bring
and keep Him by keeping His word. Then He will
make His abode wath us.

Lesson XVIL sets forth the indissoluble union,
independent of " place," between Christ and us, by the
parable of the vine. The main idea in it is the unity of
life between Christ and us. That unity is not to be
weakened and watered down into metaphor. The life
of Jesus Christ does move in every Christian spirit, as
truly as the vine's sap permeates every blushing cluster
and tiny twig. We are fruitful only in the measure in
which it permeates us. But that unity is of a higher
kind than vegetative oneness, which does not mean that
it is less real. A branch can depart from this Vine,
and there must be the conscious effort to abide. How

Review Lesson Thoughts 227

do we resist the tendency to separation? By letting
His words abide in us (John xv. 7), and keeping His
commandments (John xv. 10). And what are His
commandments ? They are all one, — love (John xv.
12). And what are the results of abiding? Fruit,
true discipleship, the abiding in us of His perfect joy,
filling our hearts, the possession of His confidence,
insight into His doings. His friendship, and the power
of reception of all that we desire when our desires are
abiding in Him.

Lesson XVHI. expands the promise of the Spirit as the
continual possession of believers, and that especially in
two ways, as convicting the world by the ministry of
Christians, and as teaching the Church. In regard to
their defenceless position in a hostile world. Christians
are to fall back trustfully on the assurance that they
have an unfailing Helper, who, through them, will carry
on the great plea against the world. The world's sin is
mainly manifest in its unbelief in Him. What must
He have been who could set that at the head of the
catalogue of sins ? A righteousness which may be the
world's is revealed by the ascension and glory of the
Crucified, and a judgment which will crush sin, if it
have not been cleansed by accepting Christ's righteous-
ness, is established by the fact that already in the Cross
the Prince of the world has been cast out. These three
truths are the staple of the Church's message, and will
be victorious in proportion as we hold to them, and
proclaim them in dependence on the convincing Spirit.
His work lies within the Church as well as on the world
by the Church ; and step by step He guides docile
souls into all truth concerning Jesus, glorifying Him as

2 28 The Gospel of St. John

Jesus has glorified the Father. This teaching Spirit is
with us if we are abiding in Christ.

The unapproachable sanctity of the intercessory
prayer bids us listen in silence. Jesus prays for Himself.
Note His petition, that He may be glorified ; its purpose
not His own advantage, but ours, attained by His glori-
fying of the Father ; its grounds, namely, that His return
to His eternal glory is the completion of the gifts and
mission already His (vers. 2, 3), and the fit reward of His
work (ver. 4). Then comes the prayer for the disciples,
which is summed in that one petition, "keep." That
prayer, like the former, is grounded on two thoughts, —
the genuine though imperfect discipleship of His disciples
(vers. 6-10), and their desolation when left by Him (ver.
11). To be kept "in the Name" is the true security
and blessedness. It is Christ's desire for us, if we are
His. This prayer was the beginning of His continual
intercession. Like the mighty angel of the Apocalypse,
He stands here, as with one foot on the sea of time and
the other on the eternal shore, and lifts up the voice
which God heareth always, for us tossing on the billows.
The glorified Christ is the interceding Christ.

Lessons XX. and XXI. go together, as the arrest and
trial. The chief point in the former is the revelation of
Christ's voluntary surrender to force which by one flash of
His will He could paralyse. The contrast between such
power kept by Him sheathed and idle, and Peter's foolish
brandishing of his useless weapon, heightens the impres-
sion of the Lord's meek submission, while His words to
the soldiers express the motive for His submission to
suffering and death so distinctly that they need no
change in order to set forth the very heart of His

Review Lesson Thoughts 229

redeeming work : " If ye seek Me, let these go their
way."

The next lesson is more occupied with Pilate and
rulers than with Jesus, and that very fact is eloquent of
His meek patience, as a lamb silent before its shearers.
Three types of character appear united against Jesus.
The rude soldiers mock, and their mockery turns to
honour and prophecies. Pilate is self-interested, irreso-
lute, troubled by suspicions that this is no common man,
and certainly no malefactor. But he gets no answer to
his question, because he had not heeded former answers
to former ones, was stifling convictions, and doing violence
to conscience for personal advantage. His taunts at the
Jews and their helpless King told how ill at ease he was,
and how degraded in his own eyes by cowardly compli-
ance with a howling mob. The bitter enmity of the
rulers drove them on to deny their King, and to be false
to their national hopes. They hated Jesus so much that
they swore loyalty to Tiberius. Christ, or tyrants, is the
alternative for us too.

John's account of the crucifixion is intended to
emphasise the calm majesty of the dying Christ, and to
point to His cross as His regal throne. Hence he tells
of the central place between the malefactors, and not of
the scoffs of one of them, and dwells on the fact that the
inscription was set by Pilate's order, and that it pro-
claimed Christ's royalty in the three languages which
divided the civilised world ; and that it not only pro-
claimed His royalty as His claim, but as a fact, and that
it was a permanent record. Hence, too, he tells of the
rent garments and unrent robe, and points to the minute
correspondence of the details with the Psalm in which a

230 The Gospel of St. John

royal sufferer of old had spoken. Hence he tells, hid-
ing himself, of the calmness of loving care which had
entrusted him with the precious bequest of the mother of
the Lord ; and hence he tells how, with that last act of
thoughtful filial love, Jesus felt His mission done, and, in
triumphant consciousness of a finished work, willed to
die, and bowing His head, which drooped because He
bowed it, died, and therein proved Himself the Lord of
death and life.

The tvv^o scenes from the resurrection morning illustrate
the growth of the disciples' faith in the risen Lord. The
evangelist hides his own personality, but he tells that he
was the first to believe in the resurrection ; and his narra-
tive, so vivid and minute, shows how that morning lived
in his memory. The first faith in Christ's resurrection
came not from sight, but from the evidence of the empty
tomb, the folded grave-clothes, and the flash of light
upon " the Scripture," which these brought to John. He
outran Peter and them all in faith ; and though Peter
was first in the tomb, his companion was first to under-
stand the meaning of what met them there. The second
believer in the resurrection was the first beholder of the
risen Lord. But it was not sight, but hearing, that
revealed Him ; and we may be sure that hearing would
have been as ineffectual as sight, unless He had willed to
be known. We cannot tell why Jesus chose to be seen
first by Mary, unless we take the other evangelist's hint,
"out of whom He had cast seven devils," as supplying
the reason, in that she owed so much and loved so
much ; but we can lay to heart the teaching as to the
possibility of more blessed intercourse with the ascended
Lord than any clasping of His feet here could ever bring,

Review Lesson Thoughts 231

and may thankfully and humbly claim the brotherhood
with Him on His throne, and the participation with Him
in the Fatherhood of His Father and ours, which He has
given to us all, when He gave them to the kneeling
woman.

The last scene by the lake in the morning light is
clearly best understood as being a prophetical repetition,
with significant differences, of the first miraculous
draught of fishes, directed not only, as that was, to
impressing by symbol the conditions of service on the
future fishers of men, but also, while confirming the
lessons of that earlier scene, going beyond it, in its
blessed symbols of the reward. The fire on the shore,
the presence of the recognised Lord in the breaking
morning, the various ways by which the disciples reach
the beach, the firm shore itself, the refreshment prepared,
the command to bring the fish they had caught, the
meal at which Jesus is the servant, all point on to the
result and reward of His servants' toil, when they " rest
from their labours," by the fire which His own hands
have kindled on the eternal shore, and " their works do
follow them," inasmuch as they are bidden " to bring of
the fish which they had caught."

Printed by Hazelly Watson, 6^ Vzney, Ld., London and Aylesbury.

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