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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/22376-8.txt b/22376-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..fd43ea4 --- /dev/null +++ b/22376-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9194 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Love to the Uttermost, by F. B. Meyer + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Love to the Uttermost + Expositions of John XIII.-XXI. + +Author: F. B. Meyer + +Release Date: August 23, 2007 [EBook #22376] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LOVE TO THE UTTERMOST *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + +LOVE TO THE UTTERMOST + +EXPOSITIONS OF JOHN XIII--XXI. + + +BY + +F. B. MEYER, B. A. + + + +Author of + + "The life and Light of Men: Expositions of John I.--XII.;" + "Old Testament Heroes;" + "The Shepherd Psalm;" etc. + + + +NEW YORK ---- CHICAGO ---- TORONTO + +Fleming H. Revell Company + +Publishers of Evangelical Literature + + + + +Copyright, 1898-1899 + +by + +Fleming H. Revell Company + + + + +THIS BOOK ON + +THE UTTERMOST LOVE OF CHRIST + +IS DEDICATED + +TO MY DEAR WIFE, + +WHOSE PATIENT CARE OF OUR HOME + +HAS ENABLED ME + +TO WRITE SO MUCH AND TRAVEL SO FAR + +IN HIS SERVICE. + + + + +PREFACE + +The former book on the first twelve chapters of this sublime Gospel was +called, _The Life and Light of Men_. The title was naturally suggested +by the subject-matter of those chapters. We had little difficulty in +finding a title for the present book, which covers, however cursorily, +the remainder of the Gospel. It lay open before us in the opening +verses of the thirteenth chapter, as translated in the margin of the +Revised Version. "Having loved His own which were in the world, _He +loved them to the uttermost_." + +It has been impossible, in the limited space at my disposal, to deal +with these chapters as I would. Indeed, to do so, it would be +necessary to know the length, and breadth, and depth, and height of the +Love of God, which passeth knowledge. Time has been allowed to elapse, +in the hope that the view would be clearer, and the expression more +adequate, of the deep things to which the Lord gave expression. But it +is useless to wait till one is satisfied of the adequacy of one's work, +else life will have run its course before a beginning has been made. +At the end of ten more years, the task would seem still more +impracticable. + +In the closing chapters I have woven together the narratives of the +four evangelists, so as to give a succinct and connected account of the +last hours of our Lord's life, and especially of His death. It has +been a great delight thus to tread the _Via Crucis_, which is also the +_Via Lucis_--the Way of the Cross, which is the Way of Life, and Light, +and Love. + +F. B. MEYER. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + I THE LAVER IN THE LIFE OF JESUS + II THRICE BIDDEN TO LOVE + III HEAVEN DELAYED, BUT GUARANTEED + IV "MANY MANSIONS" + V THE REALITY OF WHICH JACOB'S DREAM WAS THE SHADOW + VI CHRIST REVEALING THE FATHER + VII THE GREAT DEEDS OF FAITH + VIII HOW TO SECURE MORE AND BETTER PRAYER + IX THE OTHER PARACLETE + X THE THREE DISPENSATIONS + XI THREE PARADOXES + XII MANY MANSIONS FOR GOD + XIII CHRIST'S LEGACY AND GIFT OF PEACE + XIV THE STORY OF THE VINE + XV "ABIDE IN ME, AND I IN YOU" + XVI PRAYER THAT PREVAILS + XVII THE HATRED OF THE WORLD + XVIII THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ON THE WORLD + XIX CHRIST'S RETICENCE SUPPLEMENTED BY THE SPIRIT'S ADVENT + XX THE CONQUEROR OF THE WORLD + XXI CONSECRATED TO CONSECRATE + XXII THE LORD'S PRAYER FOR HIS PEOPLE'S ONENESS + XXIII THE LOVE THAT BOUND CHRIST TO THE CROSS + XXIV DRINKING THE CUP + XXV THE HALL OF ANNAS + XXVI HOW IT FARED WITH PETER + XXVII THE TRIAL BFFORE CAIAPHAS + XXVIII "JUDAS, WHICH BETRAYED HIM" + XXIX THE FIRST TRIAL BEFORE PILATE + XXX THE SECOND TRIAL BEFORE PILATE + XXXI THE SEVEN SAYINGS OF THE CROSS + XXXII CHRIST'S BURIAL + XXXIII THE DAY OF RESURRECTION + XXXIV THE LAKE OF GALILEE + XXXV PETER'S LOVE AND WORK + XXXVI THE LIFE-PLAN OF PETER AND JOHN + XXXVII BACK TO THE FATHER + + + + +LOVE TO THE UTTERMOST + +Expositions of John xiii.-xxi. + + +I + +The Laver in the Life of Jesus + +"He poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, +and to wipe them with a towel wherewith He was girded."--JOHN xiii. 5. + + +In the court of the Temple there were two objects that arrested the eye +of the entering worshipper--the Brazen Altar, and the Laver. The +latter was kept always full of pure, fresh water, for the constant +washings enjoined by the Levitical code. Before the priests were +consecrated for their holy work, and attired in the robes of the sacred +office, they washed there (Ex. xxix. 4). Before they entered the Holy +Place in their ordinary ministry, and before Aaron, on the great Day of +Atonement, proceeded to the Most Holy Place, with blood, not his own, +it was needful to conform to the prescribed ablutions. "He shall bathe +his flesh in water" (Lev. xvi. 4). + +First, then, the Altar, and then the Laver; the order is irreversible, +and the teaching of the types is as exact as mathematics. Hence, when +the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews invites us to draw near, and +make our abode in the Most Holy Place, he carefully obeys the Divine +order, and bids us "draw near, with a true heart, in full assurance of +faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our +bodies washed with pure water." + +In this scene (John xiii. 1-14), on the eve of our Lord's betrayal, we +find the spiritual counterpart of the Laver, just as the Cross stands +for the Brazen Altar. + + +I. THE CIRCUMSTANCE THAT LED TO THIS ACT OF LOVE.--In order fully to +understand this touching incident, it is necessary to remember the +circumstances out of which it sprang. On the way from Bethany to the +upper room in which the Supper had been prepared, and on entering +therein, our Lord must have been deeply absorbed in the momentous +events in which He was to be the central figure; but He was not +unmindful of a contention which had engaged His disciples, for they had +been disputing one with another as to which of them should be the +greatest. The proud spirit of the flesh, which so often cursed the +little group, broke out in this awful hour with renewed energy, as +though the prince of this world would inflict a parting blow on his +great Antagonist, through those whom He loved best. It was as if he +said, "See the results of Thy tears and teachings, of Thy prayers and +pleadings; the love which Thou hast so often inculcated is but a +passing sentiment, that has never rooted itself in the soil of these +wayward hearts. It is a plant too rare and exotic for the climate of +earth. Take it back with Thee to Thine own home if Thou wilt, but seek +not to achieve the impossible." It was heartrending that this +exhibition of pride should take place just at this juncture. These +were the men who had been with Him in His temptations, who had had the +benefit of His most careful instructions, who had been exposed to the +full influence of His personal character; and yet, notwithstanding all, +the rock-bed of pride, that cast the angels down from heaven, that led +to the fall of man, obtruded itself. This occasion in which it +manifested itself was very inopportune; already the look of Calvary was +on the Saviour's face, and the sword entering His heart. Surely, they +must have been aware that the shadow of the great eclipse was already +passing over the face of their Sun. But even this did not avail to +restrain the manifestation of their pride. Heedless of three years of +example and teaching; unrestrained by the symptoms of our Lord's +sorrow; unchecked by the memory of happy and familiar intercourse, +which should have bound them forever in a united brotherhood, they +wrangled with high voices and hot faces, with the flashing eye and +clenched fist of the Oriental, as to who should be first. + +And if pride thus asserted itself after _such_ education, and under +_such_ circumstances, let us be sure that it is not far away from any +one of us. We do not now contend, in so many words, for the chief +places; courtesy, politeness, fear of losing the respect of our +fellows, restrain us. But our resentment to the fancied slight, or the +assumption by another of work which we thought our own; our sense of +hurtness when we are put aside; our jealousy and envy; our detracting +speeches, and subtle insinuations of low motive, all show how much of +this loveless spirit rankles in our hearts. We have been planted in +the soil of this world, and we betray its flavor; we have come of a +proud stock, we betray our heredity. + + +II. LOVE'S SENSITIVENESS TO SIN ON THE PART OF ITS BELOVED.--Consider +these epithets of the love of Christ: + +_It was unusually tender_.--When the hour of departure approaches, +though slight reference be made to it, love lives with the sound of the +departing wheels, or the scream of the engine, always in its ear; and +there are given a tenderness to the tone, a delicacy to the touch, a +thoughtfulness for the heartache of those from which it is to be +parted, which are of inexpressible beauty. All that was present with +Christ. He was taking that Supper with them before He suffered. He +knew that He would soon depart out of this world unto the Father; His +ear was specially on the alert; His nature keenly alive; His heart +thrilling with unusual tenderness, as the sands slowly ran out from the +hour-glass. + +_It was supreme love_.--"Having loved His own that were in the world, +He loved them unto the end." Those last words have been thought to +refer to the end of life, but it surely were superfluous to tell us +that the strong waters of death could not quench the love of the Son of +Man. When once He loves, He loves always. It is needless to tell us +that the Divine heart which has enshrined a soul will not forsake it; +that the name of the beloved is never erased from the palms of the +hands, that the covenant is not forgotten though eternity elapse. Of +course Christ loves to the end, even though that end reaches to +endlessness. We do not need to be assured that the Immortal Lover, who +has once taken us up to union with Himself, can never loose His hold. +Therefore it is better to adopt the alternative suggested by the margin +of the Revised Version, "He loved them to the uttermost." There was +nothing to be desired. Nothing was needed to fill out the ideal of +perfect love. Not a stitch was required for the needle-work of wrought +gold; not a touch demanded for the perfectly achieved picture; not a +throb additional to the strong pulse of affection with which He +regarded His own. + +It is very wonderful that He should have loved such men like this. As +we pass them under review at this time of their life, they seem a +collection of nobodies, with the exception perhaps of John and Peter. +But they were His own, there was a special relationship between Him and +them. They had belonged to the Father, and He had given them to the +Son as His special perquisite and belonging. "Thine they were, and +Thou gavest them Me." May we dare, in this meaning, to apply to Christ +that sense of proprietorship, which makes a bit of moorland waste, a +few yards of garden-ground, dear to the freeholder? + + "Breathes there the man with soul so dead, + Who never to himself hath said, + This is my own . . .?" + + +It was because these men were Christ's own, that the full passion of +His heart set in toward them, and He loved them to the utmost bound; +that is, the tides filled the capacity of the ocean-bed of possibility. + +_It was bathed in the sense of His Divine origin and mission_.--The +curtain was waxing very thin. It was a moment of vision. There had +swept across His soul a realization of the full meaning of His +approaching triumph. He looked back, and was hardly conscious of the +manger where the horned oxen fed, the lowly birth, the obscure years, +in the sublime conception that He had come forth from God. He looked +forward, and was hardly conscious of the cross, the nail, the +thorn-crown, and the spear, because of the sublime consciousness that +He was stepping back, to go to Him with whom He realized His identity. +He looked on through the coming weeks, and knew that the Father had +given all things into His hands. What the devil had offered as the +price of obeisance to himself, that the Father was about to give Him, +nay, had already given Him, as the price of His self-emptying. And if +for a moment He stooped, as we shall see He did, to the form of a +servant, it was not because of any failure to recognize His high +dignity and mission, but with the sense of Godhead quick on His soul. + +The love which went out toward this little group of men had Deity in +it. It was the love of the Throne, of the glory He had with the Father +before the worlds were, of that which now fills the bosom of His +ascended and glorified nature. + +_He was aware of the task to which He was abandoning these men_.--He +knew that as He was the High Priest over the house of God, they were +its priests. He knew that cleansing was necessary before they could +receive the anointing of the Holy Ghost. He knew that the great work +of carrying forward His Gospel was to be delegated to their hands. He +knew that they were to carry the sacred vessels of the Gospel, which +must not be blurred or fouled by contact with human pride or +uncleanness. He knew that the very mysteries of Gethsemane and Calvary +would be inexplicable, and that none might stand on that holy hill, +save those that had clean hands and a pure heart; and because of all +this, He turned to them, by symbol and metaphor, to impress upon their +heart and memory the necessity of participating in the cleansing of +which the Laver is the type. + +The highest love is ever quickest to detect the failures and +inconsistencies of the beloved. Just because of its intensity, it can +be content with nothing less than the best, because the best means the +blessedest; and it longs that the object of its thought should be most +blessed forever. It is a mistake to think that green-eyed jealousy is +quickest to detect the spots on the sun, the freckles on the face, and +the marring discords in the music of the life; love is quicker, more +microscopic, more exacting that the ideal should be achieved. Envy is +content to indicate the fault, and leave it; but love detects, and +waits and holds its peace until the fitting opportunity arrives, and +then sets itself to remove, with its own tenderest ministry, the defect +which had spoiled the completeness and beauty of its object. + +Perhaps there had never been a moment in the human consciousness of our +Lord, when, side by side with this intense love for His own, there had +been so vivid a sense of oneness with His Father, of His unity with the +source of Infinite Purity and Blessedness. We might have supposed that +this would have alienated Him from His poor friends, but in this our +thoughts are not as His. Just because of His awful holiness, He was +quick to perceive the unholiness of His friends, and could not endure +it, and essayed to rid them of it. Just because of His Divine goodness +He could detect the possibilities of goodness in them, and be patient +enough to give it culturing care. + +The most perfect musician may be most tortured by incompetence; but he +will be most likely to detect true merit, and give time to its +training. "The powerfullest magnet will pick out, in the powdered dust +of the ironstone, fine particles of metal that a second or third-rate +magnet would fail to draw to itself." Do not dread the awful holiness +of Jesus; it is your hope. He will never be content till He has made +you like Himself; and side by side with His holiness, never fail to +remember His gentle, tender love. + + +III. THE DIVINE HUMILITY, THAT COPES WITH HUMAN SIN.--"He riseth from +supper, and layeth aside His garments; and He took a towel and girded +Himself." This is what the apostle calls taking upon Himself the form +of a servant. The charm of the scene is its absolute simplicity. You +cannot imagine Christ posturing to the ages. There was no aiming at +effect, no thought of the beauty or humility of the act, as there is +when the Pope yearly washes the feet of twelve beggars, from a golden +basin, wiping them with a towel of rarest fabric! Christ did not act +thus for show or pretence, but with an absolutely single purpose of +fulfilling a needed office. And in this He set forth the spirit of our +redemption. + +_This is the key to the Incarnation_.--With slight alteration the words +will read truly of that supreme act. He rose from the throne, laid +aside the garments of light which He had worn as His vesture, took up +the poor towel of humanity, and wrapped it about His glorious Person; +poured His own blood into the basin of the Cross, and set Himself to +wash away the foul stains of human depravity and guilt. + +As pride was the source of human sin, Christ must needs provide an +antidote in His absolute humility--a humility which could not grow +beneath these skies, but must be brought from the world where the +lowliest are the greatest, and the most childlike reign as kings. + +_This is the key to every act of daily cleansing_.--We have been +washed. Once, definitely, and irrevocably, we have been bathed in the +crimson tide that flows from Calvary. But we need a daily cleansing. +Our feet become soiled with the dust of life's highways; our hands +grimy, as our linen beneath the rain of filth in a great city; our lips +are fouled, as the white doorstep of the house, by the incessant throng +of idle, unseemly and fretful words; our hearts cannot keep unsoiled +the stainless robes with which we pass from the closet at morning +prime. Constantly we need to repair to the Laver to be washed. But do +we always realize how much each act of confession, on our part, +involves from Christ, on His? Whatever important work He may at that +moment have on hand; whatever directions He may be giving to the +loftiest angels for the fulfillment of His purposes; however pressing +the concerns of the Church or the universe upon His broad shoulders, He +must needs turn from all these to do a work He will not delegate. +Again He stoops from the throne, and girds Himself with a towel, and, +in all lowliness, endeavors to remove from thee and me the strain which +His love dare not pass over. He never loses the print of the nail; He +never forgets Calvary and the blood; He never spends one hour without +stooping to do the most menial work of cleansing filthy souls. And it +is because of this humility He sits on the Throne and wields the +sceptre over hearts and worlds. + +_This is the key to our ministry to each other_.--I have often thought +that we do not often enough wash one another's feet. We are conscious +of the imperfections which mar the characters of those around us. We +are content to note, criticise, and learn them. We dare not attempt to +remove them. This failure arises partly because we do not love with a +love like Christ's--a love which will brave resentment, annoyance, +rebuke, in its quest,--and partly because we are not willing to stoop +low enough. + +None can remove the mote of another, so long as the beam is left in the +eye, and the sin unjudged in the life, None can cleanse the stain, who +is not willing to take the form of a servant, and go down with bare +knees upon the floor. None is able to restore those that are overtaken +in a fault, who do not count themselves the chief of sinners and the +least of saints. + +We need more of this lowly, loving spirit: not so sensitive to wrong +and evil as they affect us, as anxious for the stain they leave on the +offender. It is of comparatively small consequence how much we suffer; +it is of much importance that none of Christ's disciples should be +allowed to go on for a moment longer, with unconfessed and unjudged +wrongs clouding their peace, and hindering the testimony which they +might give. Let us therefore watch for each other's souls: let us +consider one another to provoke to love and good works; let us in all +sincerity do as Christ has done, washing each other's feet in all +humility and tender love. But this spirit is impossible save through +fellowship with the Lamb of God, and the reception of His holy, humble +nature into the inmost heart, by the Holy Ghost. + + + + +II + +Thrice Bidden to Love + +"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have +loved you, that ye also love one another."--JOHN xiii. 34. + + +Anacreon complains that when they asked him to sing of heroic deeds, he +could only sing of love. But the love with which he fills his sonnets +will bear as much comparison with that of which Jesus spoke in His last +discourse, as the flaring oil of a country fair with the burning of the +heavenly constellations. Even the love that binds young hearts is too +selfish and exclusive to set forth that pure ray which shone from the +heart of the Son of Man, and shines and will shine. What word shall we +use to describe it? + +_Charity?_--The disposition denoted by this great word does not fulfill +the measure of the love of Christ. It is cold and severe. It can be +organized. It casts its dole to the beggar and turns away, content to +have relieved the sentiment of pity. By being employed for one +manifestation of love, charity is too limited and restricted in its +significance to become an adequate expression of the Divine love which +Drought Jesus from the throne, and should inspire us to lay down our +lives for the brethren. + +_Philanthropy?_--This is a great word, "the love of man." And yet the +philanthropist is too often content with the general patronage of good +works, the elaboration of schemes, the management of committees, to do +much personal work for the amelioration of the world. The word is +altogether too distant, too deficient in the personal element, too +extensive in its significance. It will not serve to represent the +Divine compassion with which the heart of Christ was, at the moment of +speaking, in tumult. + +_Complacency?_--No; for this is the emotion excited by the +contemplation of merit and virtue, which turns away from sin and +deformity; and the sentiment denoted by our Master's words is one that +is not brought into existence by virtue, nor extinguished by demerit +and vice. + +Since all these words fail, we are driven to speak of love, as Christ +used the word, as being the essence of the Divine nature, for God is +love. It is the indwelling of God in the soul. It is the transmitting +through our lives of that which we have received in fellowship with the +uncreated glory of the Divine Being. That which was in the beginning +between the Father and the Son; that which constrained our Emmanuel to +sojourn in this world of sin; that which inspired His sacrifice; that +which dwells perennially in His heart, vanquishing time and distance; +which overflows all expressions, and defies definition--is the love of +which these words speak, and which we are commanded to entertain toward +each other. + +_It is a commandment_: "These things I command you." "This is His +commandment: that we should believe in the name of His Son Jesus +Christ, and love one another even as He gave us commandment." +Obviously, then, obedience must be possible. Christ had gauged our +nature not only as Creator, but by personal experience. He knew what +was in man. The possibilities of our nature were well within His +cognizance; therefore it must be possible for us to love one another +qualitatively, if not quantitatively, as He has loved us. Do not sit +down before this great command and say it is impossible; that were to +throw discredit on Him who spake it. Dare to believe that no word of +His is vain. He descries eminences of attainment which it is possible +for us all to reach: let us surrender ourselves to Him, that He should +fulfill in us His ideal, and make us experts in the science of love. + +_It is a new commandment_.--Archbishop Ussher on a memorable occasion +called it the eleventh. It is recorded that having heard of the +simplicity and beauty of the ordering of Rutherford's home, he resolved +to visit it for himself. One Saturday night he arrived alone at the +Manse, and asked for entertainment over the next day. A simple but +hearty welcome was accorded him; and after partaking of the frugal +fare, he was invited to join the household in religious exercises which +ushered in the Lord's day. + +"How many commandments are there?" the master asked his guest, wholly +unaware who he was. + +"Eleven," was the astonishing reply; at which the very servants were +scandalized, regarding the newcomer as a prodigy of ignorance. But the +man of God perceived the rare light of character and insight which +gleamed beneath the answer, and asked for a private interview. This +issued in the invitation to preach on the following day. To the +amazement of the household, so scandalized on the previous night, the +stranger appeared in the master's pulpit, and announced the words on +which we are meditating as his text, adding, "This may be described as +the eleventh commandment." + +_Obedience to this fulfills the rest_.--Love is the fulfilling of the +law. Do we need to be told to have no other gods but God, to forbear +taking His name in vain, and to devote one day in seven to the +cultivation of a closer relationship with Him, if we love Him with all +our soul and mind and strength? Do we need to be warned against +killing our neighbor, stealing his goods, or bearing false witness +against his character, if we love him as ourselves? Only let a man be +filled with this divine disposition which is the unique characteristic +of God; let him be filled with the spirit of love; let him be perfected +in love, and, almost unconsciously, he will not only be kept from +infringing the prohibitions of the law of Sinai, but will be inspired +to fulfill the requirements of the Mount of Beatitudes. Love, and do +as you like. You will like to do only what God would like you to do. + +_There is a very important purpose to be realized in obeying this +command_.--"By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye +have love one to another." Every Church claims to be the true +representative of Christ. The Eastern, because it occupies the lands +where Christianity was cradled. The Roman Catholic, because it +professes to be able to trace its orders to the apostles. But, amid +the hubbub of rival claims, the world, unconvinced, still awaits the +emergence of the true Bride of the Lamb. The one note of the true +Church is Love. When once men of different nationalities and countries +behold its manifestation, they do not hesitate to acknowledge the +presence of God, and to admit that those who are animated by perfect +love to Him and to one another constitute a unique organization, which +cannot have originated in the will or intellect of man, but, like the +New Jerusalem, must have come out of heaven from God. So sublime, so +transcendent, so unearthly is love, that its presence is significant of +the handiwork of God, as the fire that burned in the bush indicated +that the "I AM" was there. + +Love is a supreme test, not only of the Church, but of the individual. +It has been the mistake of every age to make faith rather than love the +test of Christianity. "Tell me how much a man believes, and I shall +know how good a Christian he is!" The whole endeavor of the mediaeval +Church was to reduce the followers of Christ to a uniformity of belief. +And in our own time, a man is permitted by consent to be grasping after +money, imperious in temper, uncharitable in speech, without losing +position in the Church, so long as he assents to all the clauses of an +orthodox creed. + +With Christ, however, love is all-important. A man may have faith +enough to remove mountains, but if he have not love, he is nothing, and +lighter than vanity in the estimation of heaven. Faith ranks with hope +and love, but it is destined to pass as the blossoms of spring before +the fruit of autumn, whilst love shall abide forevermore. A man may +have a very inadequate creed; like the woman of old, he may think there +is virtue in a garment, or a rite; like Thomas, he may find it +impossible to attain to the exuberant confidence of his brethren; but +if he loves Christ enough to be prepared to die for Him, if through the +narrow aperture of a very limited faith, love enough has entered his +soul from the source of love, Christ will entrust him with the tending +of His sheep and lambs, and call him into the secret place. Of course, +the more full-orbed and intelligent our faith, the quicker and intenser +will be our love. But faith, after all, is but the hand that takes, +whilst love is the fellowship of kindred hearts that flash each on the +other the enkindling gleam. + +If you do not love, though you count yourself illumined with the light +of perfect knowledge, you are in the dark. "He that hateth his brother +is in the darkness, even until now." + +If you do not love, you are dead. "He that loveth not, abideth in +death." The light sparkle of intellectual or emotional life may light +up your words, and fascinate your immediate circle of friends, but +there will be no life toward God. Love is the perfect tense of live. +Whoso does not love does not live, in the deepest sense. There are +capacities for richer existence that never unfold until love stands at +the portal and sounds his challenge, and summons the sleeper to awake +and arise. + +If you do not love, you are under the thrall of the devil, into whose +dark nature love never comes. "Herein the children of God are manifest +and the children of the devil. Cain was of the wicked one, and slew +his brother." + +"As I have loved you." Life is one long education to know the love of +God. "We have known and believed the love that God hath to us," is the +reflection of an old man reviewing the past. Each stage of life, each +phase of experience, is intended to give us a deeper insight into the +love wherewith we are loved; and as each discovery breaks upon our glad +vision, we are bidden to exemplify it to others. Does Jesus forgive to +the seventy-seventh time? We must forgive in the same measure. Does +Jesus forget as well as forgive? We, too, must forgive after the same +fashion. Does Jesus seek after the erring, and endeavor to induce the +temper of mind that will crave forgiveness? We also must seek the man +who has transgressed against us, endeavoring to lead him to a better +mind. The Christian knows no law or limit but that imposed by these +significant words, spoken on the eve of Christ's sacrifice, "As I have +loved you." + +Thus all life gives opportunities for the practice of this celestial +temper and disposition. It has been said that talent develops in +solitude, whilst character is made in the strain of life. Be it so. +Then the character of loving may be made stronger by every association +we have with our fellows. Each contact with men, women, and children, +may give us an opportunity of loving with a little more of the +strength, purity, and sweetness of the love of Christ. The busiest +life can find time for the cultivation of this spirit. That which is +spent in a crowd will even have greater opportunities than the one +which is limited to solitude. The distractions and engagements that +threaten to break our lives up to a number of inconsiderable fragments +may thus conduce to a higher unity than could be gained by following +one occupation, or concentrating ourselves on one object. + +Let us gird up the loins of our minds, and resolve to seek a baptism of +love from the Holy Ghost, that we may be perfected in love; that we may +love God first, and all else in Him, ascending from our failures to a +more complete conformity to the love wherewith He has loved us; +embracing the sinful and erring in the compass of our compassion, as we +embrace the Divine and Eternal in the compass of our adoration and +devotion. + + + + +III + +Heaven Delayed, but Guaranteed + +"Simon Peter said unto Him, Lord, whither goest Thou? Jesus answered +him. Whither I go, thou canst not follow Me now; but thou shalt follow +Me afterward."--JOHN xiii. 36. + + +These chapters are holy ground. The last words of our dearest, spoken +in the seclusion of the death-chamber to the tear-stained group +gathered around, are not for all the world, and are recorded only to +those whose love makes them able to appreciate. And what are these +words that now begin to flow from the Master's lips, but His last to +His own? They were held back so long as Judas was there. There was a +repression caused by his presence which hindered the interchange of +confidences; but, when he was gone, love hastened to her secret stores, +and drew forth her choicest, rarest viands to share them, that they +might be in after days a strength and solace. + +This marvellous discourse, which begins in chapter xiii. 31, continues +through chapters xiv., xv., xvi., and closes in the sublime prayer of +chapter xvii. Better that all the literature of the world should have +shared the fate of the Alexandrian library, than that these precious +words should have been lost amid the fret of the ages. + +The Lord commences His discourse by speaking of His speedy departure. +"Little children," He said, using a term which indicated that He felt +toward them a parental tenderness, and spoke as a dying father might +have done to the helpless babes that gathered around his bed, "I am to +be with you for a very little time longer; the sand has nearly run out +in the hour-glass. I know you will seek Me; your love will make you +yearn to be with Me where I am, to continue the blessed intimacy, the +ties which within the last few weeks have been drawn so much closer; +but it will not be possible. As I said to the Jews, so must I say to +you, Whither I go, ye cannot come." He then proceeds to give them a +new commandment of love, as though He said: "The _cannot_ which +prevents you following Me now is due to a lack of perfect love on your +part, as well as for other reasons; it is necessary, therefore, that +you wait to acquire it, ere you can be with Me where I am." + +Simon Peter hardly hears Him uttering these last words; he is pondering +too deeply what he has just heard, and calls the Master back to that +announcement, as though He had passed it with too light a tread: "Going +away! Lord, whither goest Thou?" To that question our Lord might have +given a direct answer: "Heaven! The Father's bosom! The New +Jerusalem! The City of God!" Any of these would have been sufficient; +but instead He says in effect: "It is a matter of comparative +indifference whither I go; I have no wish to feed curiosity with +descriptions of things in the heavens, which you could not understand." +The main point for you, in this brief life, is so to become assimilated +to Me in humility, devotion, likeness, and character, that you may be +able to be My companion and friend in those new paths on which I am +entering, as you have been in those which I am now leaving. "Whither I +go, thou canst not follow Me now; but thou shalt follow Me afterward." + +The words staggered Peter; he could not understand what Christ meant; +he could not see how much had to be done before he could share in +Christ's coming glory. He made the same mistake as James and John had +done before, and wanted the throne, without perceiving that it was +conditioned on fellowship in the cup and the baptism into death. With +deep emotion he persisted in his inquiries: "Why cannot I follow Thee +now? There is no place on earth to which I would not go with Thee. +Have I not already left all to follow Thee? Have I not been with Thee +on the Transfiguration Mount, as well as in Thy journeyings? There is +but one experience through which I have not passed with Thee, and that +is death; but if that stands next in Thy life-plan, I will lay down my +life for Thy sake. Anything to be with Thee." + +How little Peter knew himself! How much better did Christ know him. +"What! dost thou profess thyself willing to die with Me? Verily, +verily, I say unto thee, thou shalt deny Me thrice, between now and +cock-crow to-morrow morning." These words silenced Peter for all the +evening afterward. He does not appear to have made another remark, but +was absorbed in heart-breaking grief: though all the while there rang +in his heart those blessed words of hope: "Whither I go, thou canst not +follow Me now; but thou shalt follow Me afterward"--words which our +Lord caught up and expanded for the comfort of them all, who now with +Peter for the first time realized that they were about to be parted +from Jesus, and were almost beside themselves with grief: "Let not your +heart be troubled. . . ." + + +I. THE DESIRE TO BE WITH CHRIST.--This was paramount. These simple men +had little thought of heaven as such. If Christ had begun to speak of +golden pavement, gates of pearl, and walls of chrysolite, they would +have turned from His glowing words with the one inquiry, "Wilt Thou be +there?" If that question had been answered uncertainly, they would +have turned away heart-sick, saying: "If Thou art not there, we have no +desire for it; but if Thou wert in the darkest, dreariest spot in the +universe, it would be heaven to us." + +There were three desires, the strands of which were woven in this one +yearning desire and prayer to be with Christ. They wanted His love, +His teaching, His leading into full, richer life. And is not this our +position also? We want Christ, not hereafter only, but here and now, +for these three self-same reasons. + +_We want His love._--There is no love like His--so pure and constant +and satisfying. What the sun is to a star-light, and the ocean to a +pool left by the retiring tide, such is the love of Jesus compared with +all other love. To have it is superlative blessedness; to miss it is +to thirst forever. + +_We want His light._--He speaks words that cast light on the mysteries +of existence, on the dark problems of life, on the perplexing questions +which are perpetually knocking at our doors. + +_We want His life._--Fuller and more abundant life is what we crave. +It is of life that our veins are scant. We desire to have the mighty +tides of divine life always beating strongly within us, to know the +energy, vigor, vitality of God's life in the soul. And we are +conscious that this is to be found only in Him. + +Therefore we desire to be with Him, to drink deeper into His +fellowship, to know Him and the power of His resurrection, to be +brought into an abidingness from which we shall never recede. We have +known Christ after the flesh; we desire to know Him after the Spirit. +We have known Him in humiliation; we want to know Him in His glory. We +have known Him as the Lamb of the Cross; we want to know Him as the +Divine Man on the throne. + + +II. THE FATAL OBSTACLE TO THE IMMEDIATE GRANTING OF THESE +DESIRES.--"Thou canst not follow Me _now_." There is thus a difference +in His words to His disciples, and those to the Jews. These also were +told that they could not follow Him, but the word now was omitted. +There was no hope held out to them of the great gulf being bridged. +That was the _cannot_ of moral incompatibility; this, of temporary +unfitness, which by the grace of God would finally pass away, and the +whole of their aspirations be realized (John vii. 34; viii. 21). + +It is easy to see why Peter was unfit for the deeper realization of +Christ in His resurrection. Our Lord had just spoken of being +glorified through death. It was as Judas left the chamber, intent on +his betrayal, that Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified!" He +saw that the hidden properties of His being could only be unfolded and +uttered through death and resurrection. But Peter had little sympathy +with this; he might avow his determination to die, but he had never +really entered into the meaning of death, and all it might involve. + +He could not detect evil. The traitor was beside him; but he had to +ask the beloved disciple to elicit from Jesus who it might be by whom +the Master would be betrayed. + +He was out of sympathy with the Lord's humiliation, so that he chode +with Him for stooping to wash his feet; and if he could not understand +the significance and necessity of this lowly deed of love, how could he +enter into the spirit of that life which was planted in death, and +which bore even in resurrection the print of the nails? + +He strove with the rest for the primacy. Who should be the greatest? +was the question that agitated them, as the other evangelists tell us, +in that solemn hour. And none that was possessed with that spirit of +pride and emulation could be in harmony with that blessed world where +the greatest are the lowliest, the highest the least, and the King set +on the right hand of power, because more capable of humbling Himself +than any beside. + +But, besides all this, Peter was animated by the strong spirit of +self-assertion and determination. Always on the lake shore he had been +able to get to the front by his stronger voice, and broader shoulders, +and more vehement manner. Why should he not do the same now? Why +could he not keep pace with Christ even through the dark valley, and +accompany Him through unknown worlds? + +It cannot be, said Christ; you are too strong in your carnal strength, +too self-reliant, too confident. It is not possible for you to be with +Me, in the life that springs from death, and to which death is the +door, till you have deeply drunk into the spirit of My death. You are +too strong to follow Me when I descend to the lowest on My way to the +highest; I must take for My companion now a forgiven malefactor; but I +will some day come for you, and receive you to Myself. + +So Peter had to be broken on the wheel of a servant-girl's question, +and humbled to the dust. In those bitter hours he was thoroughly +emptied of his old proud, self-reliant, vain-glorious spirit, and +became as a little child. + +This must be our path also. We must descend with Christ, if we would +ascend to sit at His side. We must submit to the laying of our pride +in the very dust. We must accept humiliations and mortifications, the +humblings of perpetual failure and shortcoming, the friction and fret +of infirmity and pain; and when we have come to an end of ourselves, we +shall begin to know Christ in a new and deeper fashion. He will pass +by and say, "Live!" The spirit of His life will enter into us; the +valley of Achor will become a door of hope, and we shall sing God's +glad new song of Hope. The ideal which had long haunted us, in our +blood, but unable to express itself, will burst into a perfect flower +of exquisite scent and hue. + + +III. THE CERTAINTY OF THE ULTIMATE GRATIFICATION OF EVERY DESIRE GOD +HAS IMPLANTED.--This is an absolute certainty, that God inserts no +desire or craving in our nature, for which there is no appropriate +gratification. The birds do not seek for food which is not ready for +them. The young lions do not ask for prey that is not awaiting them +somewhere in the forest glade. Hence the absoluteness of that +_shall_--"Thou _shalt_ follow Me afterward." It is as if Jesus said, +"I have taught you to love Me, and long after Me; and I will certainly +gratify the appetite which I have created." + +Pentecost was the Divine fulfillment of all those conditions of which +we have been speaking. It was not enough that Peter should be an +emptied and broken man; he must become also a God-possessed, a +Spirit-filled man. Thus only could he be fitted to know Christ after a +spiritual sort, and to participate in His Resurrection Life. It was +surely to the Advent of the Holy Ghost that our Lord referred in that +significant _afterward_. + +We too must seek our share in Pentecost. Do not be content with "Not +I"; go on to say, "but Christ." Do not be satisfied with the emptying +of the proud self-life; seek the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Do not +stop at the cross, or the grave; hasten to the upper room, where the +disciples are baptized in fire and glory. The Holy Spirit will enable +you to abide in Christ, because He will bring Christ to abide in you; +and life, through His dear grace, shall be so utterly imbued with +fellowship with the blessed Lord, that, whether present or absent, you +will live together with Him. It is the man who is really filled with +the Spirit of God who can follow Jesus, as Peter afterward did, to +prison and to death, who can drink of the cup of which He drank, and be +baptized with the baptism with which He was baptized. + +"Why should I fear?" asked Basil, of the Roman prefect. "Nothing you +have spoken of has any effect upon me. He that hath nothing to lose is +not afraid of _confiscation_. You cannot banish me, for the earth is +the Lord's. As to _torture_, the first stroke would kill me, and _to +kill me is to send me to glory_." + + + + +IV + +"Many Mansions" + +"I go to prepare a place for you."--JOHN xiv. 2. + + +The cure for heart-trouble, when the future is full of dread, is +faith--faith directed to Jesus; and just such faith as we give God, for +He is God. He has shown Himself well worthy of that trust; all His +paths toward us have been mercy and truth; and we may therefore safely +rest upon His disclosures of that blessed life, of which the present is +the vestibule. "Let not your heart be troubled," He says, "ye believe +in God, believe also in Me." Or it might be rendered, "Believe in God, +believe also in Me." + +Let us listen to Him, as He discourses of the Father's house and its +many mansions. + +_Heaven is a home._--"My Father's house." What magic power lies in +that word! It will draw the wanderer from the ends of the earth; will +nerve the sailor, soldier, and explorer with indomitable endurance; +will bring a mist of tears to the eyes of the hardened criminal, and +soften the heart of stone. One night in the trenches of the Crimea the +bands played "Home, sweet Home," and a great sob went through the army. + +But what makes home home? Not the mere locality or building; but the +dear ones that lived there once, now scattered never to be reunited, +only one or two of whom are still spared. It was father's house, +though it was only a shepherd's shieling; he dwelt there, and mother, +and our brothers and sisters. And where they dwell, or where wife and +child dwell, there is home. + +Such is Heaven. Think of a large family of noble children, of all +ages, from the little child to the young man beginning his business +career, returning after long severance to spend a season together in +the old ancestral home, situated in its far-reaching grounds, and you +can form some idea of what it will be, when the whole Family of the +Redeemed gather in the Father's house. All reserve, all shyness, all +restraint gone forever. God has given us all the memory of what home +was, that we may guess at what awaits us, and be smitten with +homesickness. As the German proverb puts it: "Blessed are the +homesick, for they shall reach home." + +_Heaven is very spacious._--There are "_many_ mansions." There is no +stint in its accommodation. In the olden Temple there were spacious +courts, long corridors, and innumerable chambers, in which a vast +multitude could find a home day and night. The children trooped about +and sang around their favorite teacher. The blind and lame sheltered +themselves from heat or storm. The priests and Levites in great +numbers lived there. All of this probably suggested the Master's words. + +Heaven too will contain immense throngs, without being crowded. It +will teem with innumerable hosts of angels, and multitudes of the +redeemed which no man can number. Its children will be as the grains +of sand that bar the ocean's waves, or the stars that begem the vault +of night. But it can easily hold these, and myriads more. Yet there +is room! As age after age has poured in its crowds, still the cry has +gone forth, There is still room! The many mansions are not all +tenanted. The orchestra is not full. The complement of priests is not +complete. + +Do not believe those little souls, who would make you believe that +Heaven is a little place for a select few. If they come to you with +that story, tell them to begone! tell them that they do not know your +Father's heart; tell them that all He does must be worthy of Himself. +Jesus shall see of the travail of His soul, and be satisfied. + +_Heaven is full of variety._--It is not like one great hall; there are +myriads of adjacent rooms, "mansions," which will be fitted up, so to +speak, differently. One for the sweet singer, another for the little +ones and their teachers, another for the student of the deep mysteries +of the Kingdom, another for those who may need further instruction in +the mysteries of God. + +Heaven's life and scenery are as various as the aptitudes and +capacities of souls. Its music is not a monotone, but a chorale. It +is as a home, where the parents delight to develop the special tastes +of their children. This is surely what Jesus meant when He said, "I go +to prepare a place for you." He is ever studying our special +idiosyncrasies--what we need most, and can do best; and when He has +ascertained it, He suits our mansion accordingly. + +When a gardener is about to receive some rare exotic, he prepares a +place where it will flower and fruit to the best advantage. The +naturalist who is notified of the shipment of some new specimen, +prepares a habitat as suited as possible to its peculiarities. The +mother, whose son is returning from sea, prepares a room in which his +favorite books and pictures are carefully placed, and all else that her +pondering heart can devise to give him pleasure. So our Lord is +anxious to give what is best in us its most suitable nourishment and +training. And He will keep our place against our coming. It will not +suit another, and will not be given to another. + +That all this will be so, is witnessed by the instincts of our hearts, +and if it had not been so, He would have told us. That little clause +is inimitably beautiful; it seems to teach that where He permits His +children to cherish some natural presentiment of the blessed +future--its solemn troops and sweet societies; its friendships, +recognitions, and fellowships; its holy service, and special +opportunities--that He really assents to our deepest and most cherished +thoughts. If it had not been so, He would have told us. + +_The charm of Heaven will be the Lord's presence._--"Where I am, ye +shall be also." We shall see His face, and be forever with Him. What +would not men give, if some old manuscripts might turn up with new +stories of His wondrous life, new parables as charming as those of the +Good Shepherd and the Prodigal Son; new beatitudes; new discourses like +that on the Vine. God might have permitted this. But what would it be +in comparison with all that lies before! The past has lost much; but +the future holds infinitely more. We shall see new Gospels enacted +before our eyes, behold Christ as a real visible person in the glory of +Divine manhood, hear Him speak to us as His friends, and shall know +what He meant when He promised to gird Himself, and come forth to serve +His servants. + +If you are in doubt as to what Heaven is like, is it not enough to know +that it will be in accord with the nature and presence and choice of +Jesus Christ? + +After His resurrection, He spent forty days among His disciples, that +men might see what the risen life was like. As He was, and is, so +shall we be. His body is the pattern in accordance to which this shall +be fashioned. What He was to His friends after His resurrection, we +shall be to ours, and they to us. We shall hear the familiar voices +and the dear old names, shall resume the dear relationships which death +severed, and shall speak again of the holy secrets of our hearts with +those who were our twin-spirits. + +And He will come again, either in our death hour or in His Second +Advent, "to receive us" to Himself. If we only could believe this, and +trust Him who says it, our hearts could not be troubled, though death +itself menaced us; for we should realize, that to be received at the +moment of dissolution by the hands of Jesus, into the place on which He +has lavished time and thought and love, must be "far better" than the +best that earth could offer. + + + + +V + +The Reality of which Jacob's Dream was the Shadow + +"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man +cometh unto the Father, but by Me."--JOHN xiv. 6. + + +We all know more truth than we give ourselves credit for. A moment +before the Lord had said, "Whither I go ye know, and the way ye know." +Thomas, the pessimist--always inclined to look at the dark side of +things--directly contradicted Him, saying, "Master, we are absolutely +ignorant of the goal to which Thy steps are bending; it is impossible, +therefore, for us to know the path that lies through the gloom, and by +which Thou art to come to it." It was a strange collision, the +Master's "Ye know," and Thomas's "We know not." Which was right? + +There is no doubt that Jesus was right, and they did know. In many a +discourse He had given sufficient materials for them to construct a +true conception of the Father's house, and the way to it. These +materials were lying in some dusty corner of their memory, unused, and +Christ knew this. He said, therefore, in effect, "Go back to the +teachings I have given you; look carefully through the inventory of +your knowledge; let your instincts, illumined by My words, supply the +information you need: there are torches in your souls already lighted, +that will cast a radiant glow upon the mysteries to the brink of which +you have come." + +This is true of us all. Christ never conducts to experiences for which +He has not previously prepared us. As the great ocean-steamers take in +their stores of coal and provision, day and night, for weeks previous +to their sailing; so, by insensible influences, Christ is ever +anticipating the strain and stress of coming circumstance, passing in +words which are spirit and life, though they may stand in their heavy +packing-cases in the hold, until we are driven to unpack, examine, and +use their contents. Not unseldom sorrow is sent for no other purpose +than to compel us to take cognizance of our possessions. Many a fabric +of manufacture, many an article of diet, many an ingenious process has +been suggested in days of scarcity and famine. So, old words and +truths come back in our sore need. Christ often speaks to us, as a +teacher to a nervous child, saying, "You know quite well, if you would +only think a little." More truth is stored in memory than recollection +can readily lay hands upon. + +Thomas persisted in his protestations of ignorance, and so the Lord +uttered for his further information the royal sentence, which sums up +Christianity in the one simple pronoun "I." It was as if He said to +His disciples gathered there, and to His Church in all ages, "To have +Me, to know Me, to love and obey Me, this is religion; this is the +light for every dark hour, the solution for all the mysteries." +Christianity is more than a creed, a doctrinal system, a code of +rules--it is Christ. + + +I. CHRIST, AS THE WAY.--"I am the Way," said our Lord. The conception +of life as a pilgrimage is as old as human speech. On the third page +of our Bibles we are told that "Enoch walked with God." The path of +the Israelites through the desert was a pilgrim's progress, and the +enduring metaphor for our passage from the cross to the +Sabbath-keeping. Isaiah anticipated the rearing up of a highway which +should be called the way of holiness, which should not be trodden by +the unclean; no lion should be there, or ravenous beast go up thereon; +but the ransomed of the Lord should walk there, and go with singing to +Zion. But in the furthest flights of inspired imagination, the prophet +never dreamed that God Himself would stoop to become the trodden path +to Himself, and that the way of holiness was no other than that Divine +Servant who so often stood before Him for portrayal. "_I_ am the way," +said Christ. + +He fulfills all the conditions of Isaiah's prediction. + +He saw a highway. A highway is for all: for kings and commoners; for +the nobleman daintily picking his way, and the beggar painfully +plodding with bare feet. And Jesus is for every man. "Whosoever will, +let him come"; let him step out and walk; let him commit himself to Him +who comes to our doors that He may conduct us to the pearly gate. + +It was a way of holiness, where no unclean or leprous person was +permitted to travel. Neither can we avail ourselves of the gracious +help of Christ, so long as we are harboring what He disapproves, or +doing what He forbids. + +It was so plain and straight, that wayfaring men though fools could not +mistake it. And the Master said, that whilst the wise and prudent +might miss His salvation, babes would find it. "Hidden from the wise +and prudent, but revealed to babes." + +It afforded perfect immunity from harm. The wild beasts of the forest +might roar around it, but they were kept off that thoroughfare by an +invisible and impassable fence. Who is he that can harm us whilst we +follow that which is good? The special Divine permission was +necessary, before Satan could tempt Job, whose heart was perfect with +his God. + +It was trodden with song. And who can describe the waves of joy that +sometimes roll in on the believing, loving soul. There is always +peace, but sometimes there is joy unspeakable and full of glory. The +hands of Jesus shed the oil of gladness on our heads, whilst the +lamentation and regret that haunt the lives of others are abashed, as +the spectres of the night before the roseate touch of morn. + +What further thought did Christ mean to convey, when He said, "I am the +Way"? We cannot see the other side of the moon. The full import of +these words, as they touch His wonderful nature, as it lies between Him +and His Father, is beyond us; but we may at least study the face they +turn toward our lives. + +The true value of a way is never realized until we are following it +through an unknown country, or groping along it in almost absolute +darkness. I remember, during a tour in Switzerland, on starting for a +long day's march, the comfort of the assurance that I had only to keep +to one road which was clearly defined, and it would inevitably bring me +to my destination. How different this to another experience of making +my way, as I might, across the hillsides in the direction which I +fancied was the right one! All that had to be done in the first +instance was to follow the roadway, to obey its sinuous windings, to +climb the hills where it climbed, to descend the valleys where it +descended, to cross the rivers and torrents at the precise point with +it. It seemed responsible for me as long as I kept to it. Whenever I +thought to better myself by wandering right or left, I found myself +landed in some difficulty, and when I returned to it, it seemed to say, +"Why did you leave me? I know that sometimes I am rough and difficult; +but I can do better for you, than you can for yourself, and indeed I am +the only possible way. Obey me, and I will bring you home." It is so +that Christ speaks to us. + +Each day, as we leave our home, we know that the prepared path lies +before us, in the good works which God has prepared for us to walk in. +And when we are ignorant of their direction, and are at a loss as to +where to place our steps, we have only to concern ourselves with +Christ, and almost unconsciously we shall find ourselves making +progress on the destined way. Christ is the Way: love Christ, trust +Christ, obey Christ, be concerned with Christ, and all else will be +added. Christ is the Way. When the heart is wrapped up in Him, it is +on the way, and it is making progress, although it never counts the +rate or distance, so occupied is it with Him. + +"I fear I make no progress," sighs the timid soul. + +"But what is Christ to thee?" + +"Everything." + +"Then if He be all in all to thee, thou art most certainly on God's +way; and thou art making progress toward thy home, albeit that it is +unconsciously. Be of good cheer, Christ is the Way; remember the +ancient pilgrims, of whom it is written, that the way was in their +hearts." + +"But God the Father is so little to me!" + +"But to deal with Christ is to deal with God: to be wrapped up in the +love of Christ is to make ever deeper discoveries into the heart of +God. He is the Way to God: to know Him is to come to the Father." + + +II. CHRIST AS THE TRUTH.--The thought grows deeper as we advance. +Obedience to the Way conducts to the vision of the Truth; ethics to +spiritual optics. The truth-seeker must first submit himself in all +humility and obedience to Christ; and when he is willing to do His +will, he is permitted to know. + +(1) Christ is more than a teacher. "We know that Thou art a Teacher, +come from God," said Nicodemus. He is more, He is the Truth of God. +All truth is ensphered in Him. All the mysteries of wisdom and +knowledge are hidden in Him. We fully know truth only as it is in +Jesus. When the Spirit of Truth would lead us into all truth, He can +do nothing better than take of the things of Christ, and reveal them to +us, because to know Christ is to know the Truth in its most complete, +most convenient, and most accessible form. If you know nothing else, +and know Christ intimately and fully, you will know the Truth, and the +Truth will make you free. If you love truth, and are a child of the +truth, you will be inevitably attracted to Christ, and recognize the +truth that speaks through His glorious nature. "He that is of the +truth heareth My voice." + +(2) Distinguish between Christ the Truth, and truth about Him. Many +true things may be said about Him; but we are not saved by truths about +Him, but by Himself the Truth. + +Not the indubitable fact that Jesus died; but the Person of Him who +died and lives forevermore. + +Not the certain fact that Jesus lay in the grave; but the blessed Man +Himself, who lay there for me. + +Not the incontestable facts of His resurrection and ascension; but that +He has borne my nature to the midst of the throne, and has achieved a +victory which helps me in my daily struggle. + +This is the ground basis of all true saving faith. The soul may accept +truths about Christ, as it would any well-authenticated historical +fact; but it is not materially benefited or saved until it has come to +rest on the bosom of Him of whom these facts are recorded. + +(3) To know Christ as Truth demands truth in heart and life. The +insincere man; the trifler; the flippant jester who takes nothing +seriously; the superficial man who uses the deepest expressions, as +counters for society talk; the inconsistent man who is daily doing +violence to his convictions, by permitting things which his conscience +condemns--must stand forever on the outskirts of the Temple of Truth: +they have no right to stand before the King of Truth. If you have +never discerned the truth as it is in Jesus, it becomes a serious +question whether you are perfectly true, or whether you are not, like +Pilate, harboring insincerity in your heart, which blinds your eyes to +His ineffable attributes. + +(4) Concern yourself with Christ. Be content to let the world and its +wisdom alone. "The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God . . . +He taketh the wise in their own craftiness." Give yourself to know +Christ, who is made unto us wisdom, as well as sanctification and +redemption. To know Him is to be at the fountain-head of all truth; +and the soul which has dwelt with Him by day and night will find +itself, not only inspired by an undying love for the true, but will be +able to hold fellowship with truth-lovers and truth-seekers everywhere; +nay, will be able even to instruct those who have the reputation of +great learning and knowledge in the schools of human thought. "I have +more understanding than all my teachers; for Thy testimonies are my +meditation. I understand more than the aged, because I have kept Thy +precepts." To know and to possess Christ, is to have the Word, that is +the Wisdom of God, enshrined as a most sacred possession in the heart. + + +III. CHRIST AS THE LIFE.--It is not enough to know; we need life. Life +is, indeed, the gate to knowledge. "This is life eternal _that_ they +should know Thee." It was imperative, therefore, that Jesus should +become a source of life to men, that they might know the Truth, and be +able to walk in the Way, and more especially since death had infected +and exhausted all the springs of the world's vitality. + +It was into a world of death that the Son of God came. The spring of +life in our first parents had become tainted at its source. At the +best Adam was only a living soul. Dead--dead--dead in trespasses and +sins; such was the Divine verdict, such the course of this world. +Earth resembled the valley in the prophet's vision, full of bones, very +many and very dry. All the reservoirs of life were spent; its +fountains had died away in wastes of sand. + +Then the Son of God brought life from the eternal throne, from God +Himself; and became a Life-giving Spirit. His words were spirit and +life: He was Himself the Resurrection and the Life: those that believed +in Him became partakers of the Divine Nature. The tree of life was +again planted on the earth's soil, when Jesus became incarnate. "I +give eternal life unto My sheep," He said, "and they shall never +perish." "He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life." + +If, then, you are wanting life, and life more abundantly, you must have +Christ. Do not seek _it_, but _Him_: not the stream but the fountain; +not the word, but the speaker; not the fruit, but the tree. He is the +Life and Light of men. + +And if you have Christ you have life. You may not be competent to +define or analyze it; you may not be able to specify the place or time, +when it first broke into your soul; you may hardly be able to +distinguish it from the workings of your own life: but if you have +Christ, trust Christ, desire Christ above all, you have the Life. "He +that hath the Son hath the Life; he that hath not the Son of God hath +not the Life." "We know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is +true . . . this is eternal life." "I," said Jesus, "am the Way, the +Truth, and the Life." + + + + +VI + +Christ Revealing the Father + +"Philip saith unto Him, Lord, shew us the Father and it sufficeth us. +Jesus saith unto him, He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father."--JOHN +xiv. 8, 9. + + +The longing of the universal heart of man was voiced by Philip, when he +broke in, rather abruptly, on our Lord's discourse with the challenge +that He should answer all questions, dissipate all doubt, by showing +them the Father. Is there a God? how can I be sure that He is? what +does He feel toward us?--these are questions which men persistently +ask, and wait for the reply. And the Master gave the only satisfactory +answer that has ever been uttered in the hearing of mankind, when He +said in effect, "The knowledge of God must be conveyed, not in words or +books, in symbols or types, but in a life. To know Me, to believe in +Me, to come into contact with Me, is to know the deepest heart of God. +'He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; how sayest thou then, Show +us the Father?'" + + +I. PHILIP'S INQUIRY.--_It bore witness to the possible growth of the +human soul_. Only three short years before, as we are told in the +first chapter of this Gospel, Christ had found him. At that time he +was probably much as the young men of his age and standing. Not +specially remarkable save for an interest in, and an earnestness about, +the advent of the Messiah; his views, however, of his person and work +were limited and narrow: he looked for his advent as the time for the +reëstablishment of the kingdom of David, and deliverance from the Roman +yoke. But three years of fellowship with Jesus had made a wonderful +difference in this young disciple. The deepest mysteries of life and +death and heaven seemed within his reach. He is not now content with +beholding the Messiah, he is eager to know the Father, and to stand +within the inner circle of His presence-chamber. + +The highest watermark ever touched by the great soul of Moses was when +he said, amid the sublimities of Sinai, "I beseech Thee, show me Thy +glory." But in this aspiration Philip stands beside him. There is a +close kinship between the mighty lawgiver and the fishermen of +Bethsaida. How little there is to choose between, "Show me Thy glory," +and "Show us the Father." Great and marvellous is the capacity of the +soul for growth! + +_It truly interpreted the need of man._--"It sufficeth us." From +nature, with all her voices that speak of God's power and Godhead; from +the page of history, indented with the print of God's footprints; from +type and ceremony and temple, though instituted by God Himself; even +from the unrivalled beauty of our Saviour's earthly life--these men +turned unsatisfied, unfilled, and said, "We are not yet content, but if +Thou wouldest show us the Father, we should be." + +And would it not suffice _us_?--Would it not be sufficient to give new +zest and reality to _prayer_, if we could realize that it might be as +familiar as the talk of home, or like the petitioning of a little +child? Would it not suffice to make the most irksome _work_ pleasant, +if we could look up and discern the Father's good pleasure and smile of +approval? Would it not suffice to rob _pain_ of its sting, if we could +detect the Father's hands adjusting the heat of the furnace? Would it +not suffice to shed a light across the dark mystery of _death_, if we +felt that the Father was waiting to lead us through the shadows to +Himself? How often the cry rises from sad and almost despairing +hearts, "Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us." + +_But surely this request was based on a mistake._--Philip wanted a +visible theophany, like that which Moses beheld, when the majestic +procession swept down the mountain pass; or as the elders saw, when +they beheld the paved sapphire work; or after the fashion of the +visions vouchsafed to Elijah, Isaiah, or Ezekiel. He wanted to see the +Father. But how can you make wisdom, or love, or purity visible, save +in a human life? + +Yet this is the mistake we are all liable to make. We feel that there +must be an experience, a vision, a burst of light, a sensible +manifestation, before we can know the Father. We strain after some +unique and extraordinary presentation of the Deity, especially in the +aspect of Fatherhood, before we can be completely satisfied, and thus +we miss the lesson of the present hour. Philip was so absorbed in his +quest for the transcendent and sublime, that he missed the revelations +of the Father which for three years had been passing under his eyes. +God had been manifesting His tenderest and most characteristic +attributes by the beauty of the Master's life, but Philip had failed to +discern them; till now the Master bids him go back on the photographs +of those years, as fixed in his memory, to see in a thousand tiny +illustrations how truly the Father dwelt in Him, and lived through His +every word and work. + +Are you straining after the vision of God, startled by every footstep, +intently listening till the very atmosphere shall become audible, +expecting an overwhelming spectacle? In all likelihood you will miss +all. The kingdom comes not with outward show. When men expected +Christ to come by the front door, He stole in at the back. Whilst +Philip was waiting for the Father to be shown in thunder and lightning, +in startling splendor, in the stately majesty that might become the +Highest, he missed the daily unfolding of the Divine Nature that was +being afforded in the Life with which he dwelt in daily contact. + +_Philip's request emphasized the urgent need of the ministry of the +Holy Spirit._--"If ye had known Me". . . the Saviour said. "Have I +been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me?" They +failed to know the Father, because they failed to know Christ, and they +failed in this because they knew Him only after the flesh. They were +so familiar with Him as their Friend, His love was so natural, tender, +and human, He had become so closely identified with all their daily +existence, that they did not recognize the fire that shone behind the +porcelain, the Deity that tabernacled beneath the frail curtains. + +Often those who dwell amid the loveliest or grandest scenery miss the +beauty which is unveiled to strangers from a distance. Certain lives +have to be withdrawn from us before we understand how fair they were, +and how much to us. And Jesus had to leave His disciples before they +could properly appreciate Him. The Holy Spirit must needs take of the +things of Christ, and reveal them, before they could realize their true +significance, symmetry, and beauty. + +Two things are needful, then: first, we must know Christ through the +teaching of the Holy Ghost; and next, we must receive Him into our +hearts, that we may know Him, as we know the workings of our own +hearts. Each knows himself, and could recognize the mint-mark of his +own individuality; so when Christ has become resident within us, and +has taken the place of our self-life, we know Him as we know ourselves. +"What man knoweth the things of man save the spirit of man which is in +him?--but we have the mind of Christ?" + + +II. THE LORD'S REPLY.--"He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father." + +He did not rebuke the request, as unfit to proffer, or impossible to +satisfy. He took it for granted that such a desire would exist in the +heart, and that His disciples would always want to be led by Him into +the Father's presence. In this His ministry resembled that of the +great forerunner, who led His disciples into the presence of the +Bridegroom, content to decrease if only He might increase. The +Master's answer was, however, widely different from John's. The +forerunner pointed to Jesus as He walked, and said, "Behold the Lamb of +God"; Jesus pointed to Himself, and said, "I and My Father are One; to +have seen Me is to have seen the Father; to have Me is to possess the +Father." + +It troubled the Lord greatly that He had been so long time with them, +and yet they had not known Him; that they had not realized the source +of His words and works; that they had concentrated their thought on +Him, instead of passing, as He meant them to do, from the stream to the +source, from the die to the seal, from the beam of the Divine Glory to +its Sun. He bade them, therefore, from that moment realize that they +knew and had seen the Father in knowing and seeing Himself. Not more +surely had the Shechinah dwelt in the tabernacle of old, than did it +indwell His nature, though too thickly shrouded to be seen by ordinary +and casual eyes. + +Let us get help from this. Many complain that they know Christ, pray +to Christ, are conscious of Christ, but that the Father is far away and +impalpable. They are therefore straining after some new vision or +experience of God, and undervaluing the religious life to which they +have already attained. It is a profound mistake. To have Jesus is to +have God; to know Jesus is to know God; to pray to Jesus is to pray to +God. Jesus is God manifest in the flesh. Look up to Him even now from +this printed page, and say, "My Lord and my God." + +Jesus is not simply an incarnation of God in the sense in which, after +the fashion of the Greek mythology, gods might come down in the +likeness of men, adopting a disguise which they would afterward cast +aside; Jesus is God. All the gentle attributes of His nature are +God's; and all the strong and awful attributes of power, justice, +purity, which we are wont to associate with God, are His also. + +Happy is the moment when we awake to realize that in Jesus we have God +manifest and present; to know this is the revelation of the Father by +the Son, of which our Saviour spoke in Matt. xi. 27. + + +III. A GLIMPSE INTO THE LORD'S INNER LIFE.--This Gospel is the most +lucid and profound treatise in existence on His inner life. It is the +revelation of the principles on which our Saviour lived. + +So absolutely had He emptied Himself that He never spake His own words: +"The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of Myself." He never did +His own works: "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. . . . The +Father abiding in Me doeth His works." This was the result of that +marvellous self-emptying of which the Apostle speaks. Our Lord speaks +as though, in His human nature, He had a choice and will of His own. +"Not My will, but Thine be done," was His prayer. Perhaps it was to +this holy and divine personality that Satan made appeal in the first +temptation, bidding Him use His powers for the satisfaction of His +hunger, and in independence of His Father's appointment. But however +much of this independence was within our Lord's reach, He deliberately +laid it aside. Before He spoke, His spirit opened itself to the +Father, that He might speak by His lips; before He acted. He stilled +the promptings of His own wisdom, and lifted Himself into the presence +of the Father, to ascertain what He was doing, and to receive the +inflow of His energy (John v. 19; xii. 44, 49). + +These are great mysteries, which will engage our further consideration. +In the meanwhile, let us reason that if our Lord was so careful to +subordinate Himself to the Father that He might be all in all, it well +becomes us to restrain ourselves, to abstain from speaking our own +words or doing our own works, that Jesus may pour His energies through +our being, and that those searching words may be fulfilled in us also, +"Striving according to His working, which worketh in Me mightily." + + + + +VII + +The Great Deeds of Prayer + +"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works +that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; +because I go unto My Father."--JOHN xiv. 12. + + +Whenever our Lord was about to say something usually important, He +introduced it by the significant expression, "_Verily, verily_"; or, as +it is in the original, "Amen, amen, I say unto you." The words well +become His lips, who in the Book of Revelation is called "the Amen, the +Faithful and True Witness." They are really our Lord's most solemn +affirmation of the truth of what He was about to utter, as well as an +indication that something of importance is about to be revealed. + +Indeed, it was necessary in the present case that the marvellous +announcement of the text should receive unusual confirmation, because +of its wide extent. If our Lord had ascribed this power of doing +greater works than Himself in His earthly life, to apostle, prophet, or +illustrious saint, we should have required no special assurance of its +deliberate truth; but to learn that powers so transcendent are within +the reach of any ordinary believer, to learn that any one who believes +may outdo the miracles on the outskirts of Nain, and at the tomb of +Bethany, is as startling as it is comforting. There is no reason why +the humblest soul that ponders this page should not become the medium +and vehicle through which the Christ of the glory shall not surpass the +Christ of Galilee, Jerusalem, and Judea. + +The best method of treating these words is to take them clause by +clause as they stand. + + +I. THE FIRST NOTE IS FAITH.--"He that believeth on Me." Three +varieties of faith are alluded to in the context. Faith in His works: +"Believe the works." Faith in His words: "Believe Me." Faith in +Himself, as here. In the Greek the preposition translated _in_, would +be better rendered _into_, as though the believer was ever approaching +the heart of Christ in deeper, warmer, closer fellowship; perpetual +motion _toward_, combined with unbroken rest _in_. Each of these three +forms of faith plays an important part in the Christian life. + +Arrested by the works of Christ--His irresistible power over nature, +His tender pity for those who sought His aid, the blessed and +far-reaching results of His miracles--we cry with Nicodemus, "Verily, +this is a Teacher come from God; for none can do such miracles, except +God be with him." The Master perpetually appealed to the witness borne +by His works to His Divine mission, as when He said, "If I had not done +among them the works which none other did, they had not had sin, but +now have they both seen and hated both Me and My Father." And again, +"The very works that I do bear witness of Me." But at the best the +works of Christ are only like the great bell ringing in the +church-tower calling attention to the life being unfolded within, and +are not calculated to induce the faith to which the greater works are +possible. + +Next we come to the words of Christ. They are spirit and life: they +greatly feed the soul. He speaks as none other has ever spoken of the +mysteries of life, death, God, and eternity. It is through the words +that we come to the Speaker. By feeding on them we are led into vital +union with Himself. But His words, as such, and apart from Him, will +not produce works that shall surpass those He wrought in His earthly +ministry. + +Therefore from works and words we come to the Lord Himself with a trust +which passes up beyond the lower ranges of faith; which does not simply +receive what He waits to give, or reckon upon His faithfulness, but +which unites us in indissoluble union with Himself. This is the +highest function of faith; it is _unitive_: it welds us in living union +with our Lord, so that we are one with Him, as He is one with God. + +We are in Him in the Divine purpose which chose us in Him before the +foundation of the world; grafted into Him in His cross; partaking of a +common life with Him through the regeneration of the Holy Ghost. But +all these become operative in the union wrought by a living faith; so +that the strongest assertions which Jesus made of the close +relationship between His Father and Himself become the current coin of +holy speech, as they precisely describe the union which subsists +between us and Jesus. The living Saviour has sent us, and we live by +the Saviour. The words we speak are not from ourselves, but the +Saviour within us, He doeth His works. We are in Him and He in us, all +ours are His, and His ours. + +Stay, reader, and ask thyself whether thou hast this faith which +incorporates thee with the Man who died for thee on the cross, and now +occupies the Throne, the last Adam who has become a life-giving Spirit. + + +II. A TRUE FAITH ALWAYS WORKS.--"He that believeth in Me, the works +that I do shall He do also." + +There are many counterfeits of faith in the world. Electroplate! +veneer! They will inevitably fail in the last supreme test, if not +before. James especially calls attention to the distinction between a +living and a dead faith. It becomes us to be on our guard. + +The test of genuine faith are twofold. In the _first_ place, a +genuine, living faith has Christ for its object. The hand may tremble, +but it touches His garment's hem; the eye may be dimmed by doubt, but +it is directed toward His face; the feet may stumble, but as the +fainting pilgrim staggers onward, this is his repeated cry, "Thou, O +Christ, art all I want." + +In the _second_ place, a true faith works. Its works approve its +nature, and show that it has reached the heart of Christ, and becomes +the channel through which His life-forces pour into the soul. Jacob +knew that Joseph was alive and that his sons had opened communications +with him, because of the wagons that he sent; and we may know that +Jesus lives beyond the mist of time, and that our faith has genuinely +connected us with Him, because we feel the pulse of His glorious nature +within our own. And when this is so, we cannot but work out what He is +working within. + +Ask me why a true faith must work! Ask why the branch can do no other +than bear clusters of ruddy grapes; its difficulty would be to abstain +from bearing; the vitality of the root accounts for its life and +productiveness. Blame the lark, whose nature vibrates in the sunshine, +for pouring from its small throat acres of sound; blame the child, full +of bounding health, for laughing, singing, and leaping; blame the +musician, whose soul has caught some fragments of the music of +eternity, for pouring it forth in song, before you wonder why it is +that the true faith which has opened the way from the believer to his +Lord produces those greater works. + + +III. THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF WORK INDICATED.--(1) "_The works that I do +shall he do also._"--What a blessing Christ's ministry must have been +to thousands of sufferers! He passed through Galilee as a river of +water of life. In front of Him were deserts of fever blasted by the +sirocco, and malarious swamps of ague and palsy, and the mirage of the +sufferer's deferred hope; but after He had passed, the parched ground +became a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water, the eyes of the +blind were opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped, the lame man +leaped as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sang. + +How glad the sick of any district must have been when it was rumored +that He was on His way to it! What eager consultations must have been +held as to the best means of conveying them into His presence! What +sleepless nights must have been spent of speculation as to whether, and +how, He would heal! + +Such results followed the labors of the apostles. The lame man at the +beautiful gate of the Temple; the palsied Aeneas; the dead Dorcas; the +crowds in the streets over-shadowed by Peter's passing figure; the +miracles wrought by Paul at Paphos, Lystra, Philippi, and Malta--all +attested the truth of the Master's words, "The works that I do shall ye +do also." There is no doubt that, if it were necessary, such miracles +might be repeated, if only the Church exercised the same faith as in +those early days of her ministry to the world. But there are greater +works than these. + +(2) "_Greater works than these shall ye do._"--The soul is greater than +the body, as the jewel than the casket. All work, therefore, which +produces as great an effect on the soul-life as miracles on the +physical life, must be proportionately greater, as the tenant is +greater than the house, as the immortal than the mortal. It is a +greater work to give sight to the blind soul than to the blind body; to +raise the soul from its grave than Lazarus from his four days' sleep. + +Again, eternity is also greater than time, as the ocean is greater than +a creek. The ills from which the miracles of Christ delivered the +suppliant crowds, were at the most limited by years. The flesh of the +leper became wrinkled with old age; Jairus' daughter fell again on +sleep; the generation which had been benefited by the mighty works, +passed away without handing on a legacy of health to succeeding time! +But if a sinner is turned from the error of his ways, if salvation +comes to a nature destined for immortality, and lifts it from the +slough of sin to the light of God, the results must be greater because +more permanent and far-reaching. + +Moreover, the pain from which the word of the Gospel may save, is +infinitely greater than that which disease could inflict. Men have +been known to brave any physical torture rather than endure the +insupportable anguish of a sin-laden conscience. The worm that never +dies is more intolerable than cancer; the fire that is never quenched +keener than that of fever. To save a soul from these is, therefore, a +greater work. + +Christ hinted at this distinction in one of His earliest miracles, when +He proposed to forgive the sick of the palsy his sins, before bidding +him walk; and bade the seventy rejoice more that their names were +written in heaven than that the devils were subject to them. The +apostles bear witness to a growing appreciation of this distinction, by +the small space given in the Acts of the Apostles to their miracles, +compared with the greater attention concentrated on their discourses; +and surely the history of Christendom bears witness to the great and +permanent character of spiritual work. The Church could not have +influenced the world as she has done, had she been nothing more than a +healer of diseases and an exorciser of demons. + + +IV. THE SOURCE OF THESE GREATER WORKS.--"Because I go to the Father." +Clearly the Church has had an argument to present to men which even her +Master could not use. He could not point, except indefinitely, to the +cross, its flowing blood, its testimony to a love which the cold waters +of death could not staunch. Through the ages this has been the +master-motive, the supreme argument. + +Then, again, the Master could not count upon the coöperation of the +Spirit in His convicting power, as we can. "When He is come, He will +convict the world of sin"; but He did not come till after that brief +career of public ministry had closed. Speaking reverently, we may say +that the Church has an Ally that even her Master had not. + +But the main reason is yet to come. Perhaps an illustration will best +explain it. Supposing the great painter, Raphael, were to infuse his +transcendent power, as he possessed it during his mortal life, into +some young brain, there is no reason why the genius of the immortal +painter should not effect, through a mere tyro in art, results in form +and color as marvellous as those which he bequeathed to coming time. +But suppose, further, that after having been three hundred years amid +the tones, forms, and colors of the heavenly world, he could return, +and express his thoughts and conceptions through some human medium, +would not these later productions be greater works than those which men +cherish as a priceless legacy? So if the Lord were to work in us such +works only as He did before He ascended to His glory, they would be +inferior to those which He can produce now that He has entered into His +glorified state, and has reassumed the power of which He emptied +Himself when He stooped to become incarnate. This is what He meant +when He said, "Because I go unto the Father." + +Open your hearts to the living, risen, glorified Saviour. Let Him live +freely in your life, and work unhindered through your faith; expect Him +to pour through you as a channel some of those greater works which must +characterize the closing years of the present age. Remember how the +discourses and miracles of His earthly life even increased in +importance and meaning; for such must be the law of His ministry in the +heavenlies. According to our faith it will be unto us. The results +which we see around us are no measure of what Christ would or could do, +they indicate the straitening effect of our unbelief. Lift up your +heads, O ye gates, and be ye lifted up, ye low-browed doors of +unbelief; and the King of Glory shall come in with His bright and +mighty retinue, and shall go out through human lives to do greater +works by the instrumentality of His people than ever He wrought in the +course of His earthly ministry. + + + + +VIII + +How to Secure More and Better Prayer + +"And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, +that He may abide with you forever."--JOHN xiv. 16. + + +The great lack of our life is that we do not pray more. And there is +no failure so disastrous or criminal as this. It is very difficult to +account for it. If in all times of discouragement and vicissitude we +could have access to one of the wisest and noblest of our fellow +creatures, or to some venerated departed saint, or to the guardian +angel deputed to attend our steps, or to the archangel that presides as +vicegerent over this system of worlds, how strong and brave we should +become! Whatever our need, we would at once seek His august presence, +and obtain His counsel and assistance. How extraordinary is our +behavior then with respect to prayer, and that we make so little of our +opportunities of access into the presence of our Father, in whom +wisdom, power, and love blend perfectly, and who is always willing to +hear us--nay, is perpetually urging us to come! + +The reason may lie in the very commonness of our opportunities. The +swing-door of prayer stands always waiting for the least touch of faith +to press it back. If our Father's presence-chamber were opened to us +only once a year, with how much greater reverence would we enter it, +how much more store would we set on it! We should anticipate the honor +and privilege of that interview for the whole year, and eagerly avail +ourselves of it. Alas, that familiarity with prayer does not always +increase our appreciation of its magnificence! + +The cause of our apathy is probably also to be sought in the effort +which is required to bring our sensuous and earth-bound natures into +true union with the Spirit of God. True prayer is labor. Epaphras +labored in his intercessions. Our feet shrink from the steep pathway +that climbs those heights; our lungs do not readily accustom themselves +to the rare air that breathes around the summit of the Mount of +Communion. + +But there is a deeper reason yet: we have not fully learned or obeyed +the laws and conditions of prayer. Until they are apprehended and +complied with, it is not possible for us to pray as we might. They are +not, however, very recondite. The least advanced in the Divine school +may read them on this page, where Christ unbares the deepest philosophy +of devotion in the simplest phrases. + +It is evident that He expected that the age which Pentecost was to +inaugurate, and to which He so frequently refers as "in that day," +would in a special sense be the Age of Prayer. Mark how frequently in +this last discourse He refers to it--(xiv. 13, 14; xv. 7, 16; xvi. 24, +26). Clearly the infilling of the Holy Spirit has a special bearing on +the prayerfulness of the individual and the Church. But this will +unfold as we proceed. + + +I. THE PRAYING CHRIST.--"I will pray the Father." It is true that He +sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, because He had +completed the work for which He became man. That session indicated a +finished atonement. As the Father rested from the work of creation, so +the Son entered into His rest, having ceased from the work of +redemption, so far as it could be effected in His death, resurrection, +and ascension. But as in His rest the Father worked in Providence, +sustaining that which He had created, so did the Saviour continue to +work after He had entered into His Sabbath-keeping. + +We have already dealt with one branch of His twofold activity, in _His +work through those who believe_. The greater works which the risen +Saviour has been, and is, achieving through His people bear witness to +the perpetual energy streaming from His life in the azure depths. "The +apostles," Mark tells us, "went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord +working with them, and confirming their word with signs following." + +The other branch of His twofold ministry is _His intercession on our +behalf_. He says, "I will pray the Father" for you. + +(1) What a contrast to the assertions which we have already pondered of +His oneness with the Father, and to His assurance in almost the same +breath that He would Himself answer His people's prayers! It is +inexplicable, save on the hypothesis that He has a dual nature, by +virtue of which, on the one hand, He is God, who answers prayer, and on +the other the Son of Man, who pleads as the Head and Representative of +a redeemed race. + +(2) It is, however, in harmony with Old Testament symbolism. The High +Priest often entered the Presence of God with the names of the people +on his breast, the seat of love, and on his shoulder, the seat of +power; and once a year, with a bowl of blood and sprig of thyme in his +hands, pleaded for the entire nation. What more vivid portrayal could +there be of the ceaseless intercession of that High Priest who was once +manifested to bear the sin of many, and who now appears in the presence +of God for us. + +(3) In the days of His flesh, He pleaded for His _Church_, as in the +sublime intercessory prayer of chapter xvii.; for _individuals_, as +when He said, "Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired to have you that he may +sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee"; and for _the world_, as +when He first assumed His High-priestly functions, saying from His +cross, "Father, forgive them; they know not what they do." Thus He +pleads still. For Zion's sake He does not hold His peace, and for +Jerusalem's sake He does not rest. For His Church, for individual +believers, for thee and me, He says in heaven, as on earth, "Father, I +pray for them." Perennially from His lips pours out a stream of tender +supplication and entreaty. This is the river that makes glad the city +of God. Anticipating coming trial; interposing when the cobra-coil is +beginning to encircle us; pitying us when the sky is overcast and +lowering; not tiring or ceasing, though we are heedless and unthankful; +He pleads on the mountain brow through the dark hours, whilst we sleep. + +(4) These intercessions are further stimulated by our love and +obedience. "If ye love Me, keep My commandments, _and_ I will pray the +Father." He looks on us, and where love is yearning to love more +fully, and obedience falters in its high endeavors, He prays yet more +eagerly, that grace may be given us to be what we long to be. He prays +for those who do not pray for themselves; but He is even more intent on +the perfecting of those who are the objects of His special interest, +because of their loyalty and love--"I pray for them; I pray not for the +world." + +(5) His special petition is that we may receive the gift of Pentecost. +"I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter." It +would almost seem as though He spent the mysterious ten days between +His ascension and Pentecost in special intercession that His Church +might be endued with power from on high. The pleading Church on earth +and the pleading Saviour in heaven were at one. The two voices agreed +in perfect symphony, and Pentecost was the Father's answer. The +Saviour prayed to the Father, and He gave another Comforter. Nor has +He ceased in this sublime quest. It is not improbable that every +revival of religion, every fresh and deeper baptism of the Spirit, +every new infilling of individual souls, has been due to our Saviour's +strong cryings on our behalf. It may be that at this hour He is +engaged in asking the Father that He would dower the universal Church +with another Pentecost; and if so, let us join Him in the prayer. + + +II. THE PRAYING CHURCH.--"Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name." + +(1) Prayer must be addressed to the Father. As soon as we utter that +sacred name, the Divine nature responds; and, to put it vividly, is on +the alert to hear what we desire. A little child cannot utter a sigh +however slight, a sob however smothered, without awakening the quick +attention of its mother; and at the first whisper of our Father's name, +He is at hand to hear and bless. Alas! we have too often grieved His +Holy Spirit by a string of selfish petitions, or a number of formal +platitudes! To the wonderment of angels, we thus fritter away the most +precious and sacred opportunities. Be still, then, before you pray, to +consider what to ask; order your prayers for presentation: and be sure +to begin the blessed interview with words of sincere and loving +appreciation and devotion. + +(2) The conditions of successful prayer are clearly defined in these +words. There must be _love_ to Christ and to all men; _obedience_ to +His will, so far as it is revealed; _recognition_ of His mediation and +intercession, as alone giving us the right to draw nigh; +_identification_ with Him, so as to be able to use His name; +_passionate desires for the Father's glory_. Where these five +conditions exist, there can be no doubt as to our receiving the +petitions which we offer. Prayer that complies with them cannot fail, +since it is only the return tide of an impulse which has emanated from +the heart of God. + +(3) Note how the Saviour lives for the promotion of His Father's glory. +How often, during His earthly ministry, He declared that He was +desiring and seeking this beyond all else! Though His prayer could +only be granted by His falling into the ground to die, He never +flinched from saying, "Father, glorify Thy Name." But here He tells us +that through the ages as they pass He will still be set on the same +quest. By all means He must glorify His Father; and if, in any prayer +of ours, we can show that what we ask will augment the Father's glory, +we are certain to obtain His concurrence and glad acquiescence. +"That," He says, "will I do." + +(4) We must pray "in His Name." As the ambassador speaks in the name +of queen and country; as the tax-collector appeals in the name of the +authorities; both deriving from their identification with their +superiors an authority they could not otherwise exercise; so our words +become weighted with a great importance when we can say to our Father, +"We are so one with Jesus that He is asking in and through us; these +words are His; these desires His; these objects those on which His +heart is set. We have His sanction and authority to use His name." +When we ask a favor in the name of another, that other is the +petitioner, through us; so when we approach God in the Name of Jesus, +it is not enough to append His sacred name as a formula, but we must +see to it that Jesus is pleading in us, asking through our lips, as He +is asking through His own in the heart of the sapphire throne. + + +III. THE LINK BETWEEN THESE TWO.--"He will give you another Comforter." +The word Comforter might be rendered Advocate. We have two Advocates; +one with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous, and one with us. As +the one went up, the other came down. As the one sat down at the right +hand of God, the other rested on the heads and hearts of the company in +the upper room. As the one has compassion on our infirmities, so the +other helps our infirmities. As the one ever liveth to intercede for +us in heaven, so the other maketh intercession in us for the saints +with groanings that cannot be uttered. + +This is the clue to the mystery of prayer. It is all-important that +the Church on earth should be in accord with its Head in His petitions +before the Throne. Of what avail is it for a client and advocate to +enter an earthly court of justice unless they are in agreement? Of +what use is it to have two instruments in an orchestra which are not +perfectly in tune? And how can we expect that God will hear us unless +we ask what is according to His will, and, therefore, what is in the +heart and thought of Jesus? + +This, then, is the problem that confronts us. How can we ascertain +what Jesus is pleading for? We may guess it generally, but how be +assured of it particularly? Who will tell us the direction in which +the current of His mighty pleadings is setting, that we may take the +same direction? These inquiries are answered in the ministry of the +Holy Spirit. On the one hand, He fills and moves the Head, and on the +other, His members. There is one Spirit of life between Jesus in the +glory and His believing people everywhere. One ocean washes the shores +of all natures in which the life of God is found. + +Be still, therefore, and listen carefully to the voice of the Spirit of +God speaking in thine heart, as thou turnest from all other sounds +toward His still small whisper, and He will tell thee all. Coming, as +He does, from the heart of Jesus, He will tell thee His latest thought. +In Him we have the mind of Christ. Then, sure that we are one with +Him, and therefore with the Father, we shall ask what is according to +His will to give. Prayer goes in an eternal circle. It begins in the +heart of God, comes to us through the Saviour and by the Spirit, and +returns through us again to its source. It is the teaching of the +raindrops, of the tides, of the procession of the year; but wrought out +and exemplified in the practice of holy hearts. + + + + +IX + +The Other Paraclete + +"He shall give you another Comforter."--JOHN xiv. 16. + + +There was no doubt in our Lord's mind that His asking would be at once +followed by the Father's giving. Indeed, the two actions seemed, in +His judgment, indissolubly connected--"I will ask, and He shall give." +From which we learn that prayer is a necessary link in the order of the +Divine government. Though we are assured that what we ask is in God's +purpose to communicate--that it lies in the heart of a promise, or in +the line of the Divine procedure, yet we must nevertheless make +request. "Ye have not," said the Apostle James, "because ye ask not." +"Ask," said the Master, His eye being open to the laws of the spiritual +world, "and it shall be given you." + +The prayer of the Head of the Church was heard, and He received the +Holy Spirit to bestow Him again. "Having received of the Father the +promise of the Holy Spirit," said the Apostle Peter, "He hath shed +forth this, which ye now see and hear." Thus the Holy Spirit is the +gift of the Father, through the Son, though He is equal with each of +the blessed Persons in the Trinity, and is with them to be worshipped +and glorified. + + +I. THE PERSONALITY OF THE HOLY GHOST.--That word, "another"--"He shall +give you _another_ Comforter"--is in itself sufficient to prove the +Divinity and Personality of the Holy Ghost. If a man promises to send +another as his substitute, we naturally expect to see a man like +himself, occupying his place, and doing his work. And when Jesus +foreannounced another Comforter, He must have intended a Person as +distinct and helpful as He had been. A breath, an afflatus, an +impersonal influence could not have stood in the same category with +Himself. + +There are those who think that the Holy Spirit is to the Lord Jesus +what a man's spirit is to his body; and imagine that our Lord simply +intended that the spirit of His life-teaching and self-sacrifice would +brood over and inspire His followers; but this could not have fulfilled +the promise of "the other Comforter." It would simply have been +Himself over again, though no longer as a living Person; rather as the +momentum and energy of a receding force which gets weaker and ever +weaker as the ages pass. Thus the spirit of Napoleon or of Caesar is +becoming little more than a dim faint echo of footsteps that once shook +the world. + +Jesus knew how real and helpful He had been to His followers--the +centre around which they had rallied; their Teacher, Brother, Master; +and He would not have tantalized them by promising another Paraclete, +unless He had intended to announce the advent of One who would adjust +Himself to their needs with that quickness of perception, and +sufficiency of resource, which characterize a personal Leader and +Administrator. There were times approaching when the little band would +need counsel, direction, sympathy, the interposition of a strong wise +Hand--qualities which could not be furnished by the remembrance of the +past, fading like the colors on clouds when the sun has set; and which +could only be secured by the presence of a strong, wise, ever-present +Personality. "I have been one Paraclete," said the Lord in effect; +"but I am now going to plead your cause with the Father, that another +Paraclete may take My place, to be My other self, and to abide with you +forever." + +There is no adequate translation for that word _Paraclete_. It may be +rendered Comforter, Helper, Advocate, Interpreter; but no one word +suffices. The Greek simply means one whom you call to your side, in a +battle, or a law-court, to assist you by word or act. Such a One is +Christ; such a One is the Holy Spirit. He is a definite Person whom +you can call to, and lean on, and work with. If a man were drowning, +he would not call to the wandering breath of the wind; but to any +person who might be on the bank. The Spirit is One whom you can summon +to your side; and it is therefore quite in keeping with Scripture to +pray to the Holy Spirit. On the whole we are taught to direct prayer +to the Father, through the Son, and as prompted by the Holy Spirit; but +as a matter of practice and habit, it is indifferent which Person in +the Holy Trinity we address, for each is equally God. As the Father is +God, so also is the Son, and so the Holy Spirit. In her hymns and +liturgies the Church has never hesitated to summon the Holy Spirit to +her help. + +It is in recognition of the Personality of the Holy Spirit that the +historian of the Acts of the Apostles quotes His solemn words, +"Separate _Me_ Barnabas and Saul"; tells us that Ananias and Sapphira +lied to Him; and records that the Church at Jerusalem commenced its +encyclical letter with the words, "It seemed good to the Holy Ghost and +to us." Happy that body of Christians which has come to realize that +the Holy Ghost is as certainly, literally, and personally present in +its midst, as Jesus Christ was present when, in the days of His flesh, +He tarried among men! + + +II. A SEVENFOLD PARALLEL BETWEEN THE ADVENTS OF THE TWO +PARACLETES.--(1) _Each was in the world before His specific +advent._--Long before His incarnation the delights of the Son of God +were with men. In Angel-form, He visited their tents, spoke with them +face to face, calmed their fears, and fought on their behalf. He trod +the holy fields of Palestine with noiseless footfall that left no +impress on the lightest sands, long before He learned to walk with +baby-feet, or bore His cross up Calvary. + +So with the Holy Spirit. He brooded over chaos, strove with men before +the deluge, moved holy men to write the Scriptures, foreshadowed the +advent of the Messiah, equipped prophets and kings for their special +mission. In restraining evil, urging to good, preparing the way for +Christ, the Holy Spirit found abundant scope for His energies. But His +influence was rather external than internal; savored rather of gift +than grace; and dealt more often with the few than with the many--with +the great souls that reared themselves to heaven like Alpine summits +touched with the fires of dawn, rather than with the generality of men, +who dwelt in the valley of daily commonplace, enwrapped in the mists of +ignorance and unbelief. It was to be the special prerogative of this +age, that He should be poured out on all flesh, so that sons and +daughters should prophesy, whilst servants and handmaidens participated +in His gracious influences. + +(2) _The advent of each was previously announced._--From the Fall, the +coming of the great Deliverer was foretold in type and sign, in speech +and act, in history and prophecy. Indeed, as the time of the +Incarnation drew nigh, as Milton tells us in his sublime ode on the +Incarnation, surrounding nations had caught from the chosen people the +spirit of expectancy, and the world was in feverish anticipation of the +coming of its Redeemer. He was the Desire of all nations. All the +ages, and all the family of man, accompanied Mary to Bethlehem, and +worshipped with the Magi. + +So with the Holy Spirit. Joel distinctly foretold that in the last +days of that dispensation. God would pour out of His Spirit; and His +message is echoed by Isaiah, Zechariah, Ezekiel, and others; till Jesus +came, who more specifically and circumstantially led the thoughts of +His disciples forward to the new age then dawning, which should be +introduced and signalized by the coming and ministry of the Spirit. + +(3) _Each was manifested in a body._--The Lord Jesus in that which was +prepared for Him by the Father, and born of a pure Virgin. We are +told, that He took on Him the form of a servant, and was made in the +likeness of man. Similarly the Holy Spirit became, so to speak, +incorporate in that mystical Body, the Church, of which Jesus is the +Head. + +On the day of Pentecost, the hundred and twenty who were gathered in +the upper room, and who, up to that time, had had no corporate +existence, were suddenly constituted a Church, the habitation and home +of the Divine Spirit. What the human body of Jesus was to the second +Person of the Holy Trinity, that the infant Church was to the third; +though it did not represent the whole body, since we must add to those +gathered in the upper room many more in heaven and on earth, who by +virtue of their union with the risen Christ constituted with them the +Holy Catholic Church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who +filleth all in all. "This," said the Blessed Spirit, "is My rest +forever; here will I dwell, for I have desired it." + +(4) _Each was named before His advent._--"Thou shalt call His name +Emmanuel." "His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty +God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." Thus was the Lord +Jesus designated to loving hearts before His birth. + +So also with the Holy Spirit. The last discourses of Jesus are full of +appellatives, each setting forth some new phase of the Holy Spirit's +ministry; some freshly-cut facet of His character. The Spirit of +Truth; the Holy Spirit; the Paraclete; the Spirit of Conviction--such +are some of the names by which He was to be known. + +(5) _Each was dependent on another._--Our Lord said distinctly, "The +Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do"; and He +said of the Holy Spirit, using the same preposition, "He shall not +speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak." + +What a conception is here! It is as though the Holy Spirit were ever +listening to the Divine colloquy and communion between the Father and +the Son, and communicating to receptive hearts disclosures of the +secrets of the Deity. The things which eye hath not seen, nor ear +heard, God hath revealed unto us by His Spirit; "for the Spirit +searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." + +(6) _Each received witness._--The Father bore witness to His Son on +three separate occasions. On the first, at His baptism, He said, "This +is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased"; on the second, when the +three apostles were with Him on the holy mount, and He received from +the Father glory and honor; and on the third, when the inquiry of the +Greeks reminded Him of His approaching death, and the voice from heaven +assured Him that glory would accrue to the Father through His falling +into the ground to die. + +So in regard to the Holy Spirit. Seven times from the throne the +ascended Lord summons those that have ears, to hear what the Spirit +saith to the churches; as though to emphasize the urgent importance of +His message, and the necessity of giving it our most earnest heed, lest +we should drift past it. + +(7) _The presence of each is guaranteed during the present age._--"I am +with you," saith the Lord, and they were among the closing words of His +posthumous ministry, "all the days, even unto the end of the age"; and +here it is foretold that the Comforter would abide during the age, for +so the phrase might more accurately be rendered. + +This is specially the age of the Holy Spirit. He may be grieved, +ignored, and rejected; but He will not cease His blessed ministry to +the bride, till the Bridegroom comes to claim her for Himself. Oh, let +us avail ourselves of His gracious presence to the utmost of our +opportunity, that He may realize in us the full purpose of His +ministry. Let us not pray for Him, as if in any degree He had been +withdrawn, but as believing that He is as much with the Church of +to-day as on the day of Pentecost; as near us as when awe-struck eyes +beheld Him settling in flame on each meekly-bowed head. + +The Lord said, "He shall remain with you to the end of the age." The +age is not closed, therefore He must be with us here and now. There +can be no waning of His grace or power. The pot of oil is in the +Church, only she has ceased to bring her empty vessels. The mine is +beneath our feet, but we do not work it as of yore. The electric +current is vibrating around, but we have lost the art of switching +ourselves on to its flow. It is not necessary then for us to pray the +Father that He should give the Holy Paraclete in the sense in which He +bestowed Him on the Day of Pentecost in answer to the request of our +Lord. That prayer has been answered: the Paraclete is here; but we +need to have the eyes of our heart opened to perceive, and the hand of +our faith strengthened that we may receive, Him. + +The work of the Holy Spirit in and through us is conditioned by certain +great laws, which call for our definite and accurate obedience. Not on +emotion, nor on hysteric appeals, nor on excitement, but on obedience, +does the power of God's Spirit pass into human hearts and lives. +Therefore, let us walk in the Paracletism of the Paraclete, continually +in the current of His gracious influences, which will bear us on their +bosom ever nearer to our Lord. Oh to glorify Him; to know and love +Him; to become passionately eager that all hearts should enthrone Him +regardless of the personal cost it may involve! Glory be to the +Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the +beginning, is now, and shall be forevermore. Amen. + + + + +X + +The Three Dispensations + +"The Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth +Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with +you, and shall be in you."--JOHN xiv. 17. + + +They are lofty themes which we have been discussing in the foregoing +pages; and just because they touch the highest matters of the spiritual +life, they involve us in profound responsibility. It was because +Capernaum had been exalted to heaven in privilege, that she could be +cast down to hell. Of those to whom much is given, much is required. +Better not to have known these truths of the inner life, if we are +content to know them only by an intellectual apprehension, and make no +effort to incorporate them into the texture of our character. Few +things harden more certainly than to delight in the presentation of the +mysteries of the kingdom, without becoming the child of the kingdom. + +The object, therefore, which now engages us is less one of elucidation +than of self-examination. Let us discern ourselves. Let us see +whether we be in the faith. Let us expose soul and spirit to the +discrimination of the Word of God, which is a discerner of the thoughts +and intents of the heart. + + +I. THERE ARE TWO AVENUES OF KNOWLEDGE.--"Whom the world cannot receive, +because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him." Three things are +specified as beyond the range of the world's power: it does not +receive, it does not know, it does not see, the things of the unseen +and eternal world. It cannot see them, therefore it does not know +them, and therefore does not receive them, and this is especially true +of its attitude toward the Holy Ghost. + +When the world hears talk of the Holy Spirit it brings to bear upon Him +those organs of cognition which it has been accustomed to apply to the +objects of the natural world, and even to the human life of Christ. +But, as might have been expected, these are altogether useless. It is +as absurd to endeavor to detect the presence of the spiritual and +eternal by the faculties with which we discern what is seen and +temporal, as it would be to attempt to receive the impression of a +noble painting by the sense of taste, or to deal with the problems of +astronomy by the tests that are employed in chemical analysis. The +world, however, does not realize its mistake. It persists in applying +tests to the Spirit of God which may be well enough in other regions of +discovery, but which are worse than useless here. "The natural man +receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he know +them, because they are spiritually discerned." "Whom the world cannot +receive, for it beholdeth Him not, neither knoweth Him." + +There was a touch of this worldly spirit even in Thomas, when he said, +"Except I see in His hand the print of the nails, and thrust my hand +into His side, I will not believe"; and in so far as the world-spirit +is permitted to hold sway within us, our powers of spiritual perception +will be blunted, and become infected with the tendency to make our +intellect or imagination our sole means of apprehending Divine truth. + +There is a better way than this; and our Lord indicates it when He +says, "Ye know Him, for He abideth with you, and shall be in you." +Pascal said, "The world knows in order to love: the Christian loves, in +order to know." The same thought underlies these words of Christ. The +world attempts to see the Spirit, that it may know and receive Him; the +child of God receives Him by an act of faith that he may know Him. + +An illustration of this habit is given in the story of Naaman. The +spirit of the world whispered to him of the desirability of _knowing_ +that the waters of Israel possessed curative properties, before he +committed himself absolutely to the prophet's directions; and if he had +waited to know before bathing in them, he would have remained a +helpless leper to the end of his days. His servants, however, had a +clearer perception of the way of faith, and persuaded him to dip seven +times in the Jordan. He acted on the suggestion, dipped seven times, +and his flesh came as that of a little child. Similarly we are called +to act upon grounds which the world would hold to be inadequate. We +hear the testimony of another; we recognize a suitability in the +promise of the Scripture to meet the deep yearnings of our soul; we +feel that the words and works of Jesus Christ constitute a unique claim +for Him, and we open our hearts toward Him. In absolute humility and +perfect obedience we yield to Him our whole nature. Though the night +be yet dark, we fling wide our windows to the warm southwest wind +coming over the sea. The result is that we begin to know, with an +intuitive knowledge that cannot be shaken by the pronouncements of the +higher criticism. We have received the Spirit, and our after life is +too short to unfold all that is involved in that unspeakable gift. We +know Him because He abideth with us, and is in us. No man knoweth the +things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him; and we can +only know the Spirit of God when He has taken up His residence within +us, and witnesses with our spirit, as One who is interwoven with the +very texture of the inner life. + +Consecration is therefore the key to this higher knowledge, and if any +who read this page are yearning after a discernment of the things of +God on which they may build the house of their faith amid the swirl of +the storm and the beat of the wave of modern doubt, let them open their +entire nature, humbly to receive, diligently to obey that Spirit whom +Christ waits to give to all who seek. + + +II. THE CHARACTERISTIC OF THIS DISPENSATION.--"He shall be _in_ you." +It has been repeatedly said that creation is the work of the Father, +redemption of the Son, and regeneration of the Holy Spirit. It may +also be said, that there are three dispensations: that of the Father, +in the earlier history of mankind; that of the Son, culminating in our +Lord's ascension; and that of the Holy Spirit, in which we are now +living. In the history of the world these were successive. In the +history of souls they may be the contemporaneous. In the same house +one member may be in the dispensation of the Father, another in that of +the Son, and a third in that of the Holy Ghost. It is highly +necessary, says the saintly Fletcher, that every good steward of the +mysteries of God should be well acquainted with this fact, otherwise he +will not rightly divide the word of life. There is peril lest we +should give the truth of one order of dispensation to those who are +living on another level of experience. + +There is a remarkable illustration of this in the life of John the +Baptist, who clearly realized the distinction on which we are dwelling, +and used it with remarkable nicety, when approached by various classes +of character. When Gentile soldiers came to him, in Roman regimentals, +he merely bade them do violence to no man, and be content with their +wages. When Jews came he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!" To his eagle +eye a further dispensation was unveiled to which he alluded when he +said, "He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire." +Similarly they to whom inquirers address themselves should diagnose +their spiritual standing, that they may lovingly and wisely administer +the truth suitable to their condition. + +_The dispensation of the Father_ includes those who hope that He has +accepted and forgiven them, but have no clear perception of the atoning +work of Christ; are governed rather by fear than love; tremble beneath +the thunders of Sinai more often than they rejoice at the spectacle of +Calvary; are tossed to and fro between hope and despair; desire the +favor of God, but hesitate to speak confidently of having attained it. +Such are to be found in churches where the Gospel is veiled beneath +heavy curtains of misconception and formalism. In the same class we +might put men like Cornelius, who in every nation fear God and work +righteousness. + +_The dispensation of the Son_ includes those who clearly perceive His +Divine nature, and rejoice in His finished propitiation; they know that +they are accepted in the Beloved; they receive His teachings about the +Father; they submit to the rule of life which He has laid down; but +they know comparatively little of the inner life, or of their oneness +with Christ in resurrection and ascension; they understand little of +what the apostle meant by speaking of Christ being formed in the soul; +and like the disciples at Ephesus they know but little of the mission +and in-filling of the Holy Spirit. + +_The dispensation of the Holy Spirit_ includes those who have claimed +their share in Pentecost. In their hearts the Paraclete dwells in +sanctifying grace, on their heads He rests in mighty anointing. The +previous class resemble Ruth the gleaner; the latter, Ruth the bride. +The one dwells in Romans vii. and Hebrews iii.; the other in Romans +viii. and Hebrews iv. For those the water has to be drawn from the +well, in these it springs up to everlasting life. Oh to know the +"in-ness" of the Holy Ghost. Know ye not that Jesus Christ is in you +by the Spirit, unless ye be reprobate! + + +III. THE SYMPTOMS OF THE INDWELLING.--We must distinguish here, as Dr. +Steele suggests, between what is variable, and what is constant. + +_These vary_--(1) The joy of realization, which is sometimes +overpowering in its intensity, at other times like the ebbing tide. + +(2) Agony for souls, which would be insupportable if it were permanent. +Christ only asks us to watch in Gethsemane for one hour. + +(3) Access in prayer. Sometimes the vision is face to face; at others, +though we grasp as in Jacob's night-wrestle, we cannot behold. Like +Esther, we seem to wait in the ante-chamber. As the lark of which +Jeremy Taylor speaks, we rise against the east wind. + +(4) The openings of Scripture. The Bible does not seem to be always +equally interesting. At times it is like the scented letter paper, +smelling of aloes and cassia, bearing the handwriting we love; at +others it resembles the reading book of the blind man, the characters +in which, by constant use, have become almost obliterated, so as hardly +to awake answering thought. + +(5) The pressure of temptation. We sometimes think that we are getting +out of the zone of temptation. The pressure is so reduced that we +think we shall never suffer again as we have done. Then, all suddenly, +it bursts upon us, as the fury of the storm, when, after an hour's +cessation, it takes the mariner unawares. + +All these symptoms are too variable to be relied upon for a diagnosis +of our spiritual condition, or an evidence of the dispensation to which +we belong. + +_These are constant_--(1) The consciousness of being God's. This is to +be distinguished from the outgoing of our faith and love toward God. +At the beginning of our experience we hold Him, but as the Holy Spirit +dwells more fully we realize that we are held by Him. It is not our +love to God, but His love to us; not our faith, but His faithfulness; +not the sheep keeping near the Shepherd, but the Shepherd keeping the +sheep near to Himself. A happy sense steals over the heart, as over +the spouse, "I am my Beloved's, and His desire is toward me." + +(2) The supremacy of Jesus in the heart. There is no longer a double +empire of self and Christ, as in the poor Indian who said to the +missionary, "I am two Indians, good and bad"; but there is the +undivided reign of Christ, who has put down all rule and authority and +power--as in the case of Martin Luther, who said, "If any one should +ask of my heart, who dwells here, I should reply, not Martin Luther, +but Christ." + +(3) Peace, which looks out upon the future without alarm, because so +sure that Christ will do His very best in every day that lies hidden +beneath the haze of the future; which forbears to press its will too +vehemently, or proffer its request too eagerly, because so absolutely +certain that Jesus will secure the highest happiness possible, +consistently with His glory and our usefulness to men. + +(4) Love. When the Spirit of God really dwells within, there is a +baptism of love which evinces itself not only in the household, and to +those naturally lovable, but goes out to all the world, and embraces in +its tenderness such as have no natural traits of beauty. Thus the soft +waters of the Southern Ocean lap against unsightly rocks and stretches +of bare shingle. + +Where love reigns in the inner chamber of the soul, doors do not slam, +bells are not jerked violently, soft tones modulate the speech, gentle +steps tread the highways of the world, bent on the beautiful work of +the messengers of peace, and the very atmosphere of the life is warm +and sunny as an aureole. There is no doubt of the indwelling Spirit +where there is this outgoing love. + +(5) Deliverance from the love and power of sin, so that it becomes +growingly distasteful, and the soul turns with loathing from the +carrion on which it once fed contentedly. This begets a sense of +purity, robed in which the soul claims kinship to the white-robed +saints of the presence-chamber, and reaches out toward the blessedness +of the pure in heart who see God. There is still a positive rain of +smut and filth in the world around; there is a recognition of the evil +tendencies of the self-life, which will assert themselves unless +graciously restrained; but triumphing above all is the purity of the +indwelling Lord, who Himself becomes in us the quality for which holy +souls eagerly long. + + + + +XI + +Three Paradoxes + +"I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." + +"The world seeth Me no more; but ye see Me." + +"Because I live, ye shall live also."--JOHN xiv. 18, 19. + + +The Bible and Christian life are full of paradoxes. Paul loved to +enumerate them; they abound also in the discourses of our Lord. Here +are three. + +The Master had declared His purpose of leaving His apostles and friends +and returning to His Father: but in the same breath He says, "I will +not leave you desolate; I come to you." + +Again, He had forewarned them that He would be hidden from them; yet +now He tells them that they would still behold Him. + +Further, with growing emphasis and clearness, He had unfolded His +approaching death by the cruel Roman method of the cross; yet He claims +the timeless life of an ever-present tense and insists that their life +will depend on His. + +Absent, yet present; hidden, yet visible; dying, yet living and +life-giving--such are the paradoxes of this paragraph in His marvellous +farewell discourse; and they reveal three facts of which we may live in +perpetual cognizance. + + +I. WE MAY ENJOY THE PERPETUAL RECOGNITION OF THE ADVENT OF CHRIST.--"I +will not leave you orphans, or desolate, I come unto you" (R. V.). +Note the majesty of those last words; they are worthy of Deity; He +speaks as though He were always drawing nigh those He loves: "I come +unto you." + +_Christ is always present, yet He comes._--The Creator had been always +immanent in His universe, but He came in each creative act; the +Lawgiver had been ever-present in the Church in the wilderness, but He +came down on Sinai, and His glory lit up the peaks of sandstone rock; +the Deliverer was never for a moment absent from the side of the +Shepherd-King, but in answer to His cry for help He came down riding +upon a cherub, flying on the wings Of wind; the Holy Spirit had been in +the world from the earliest days of prayer and inspired speech, but He +came down from the throne to sit on each bowed head in lambent flame. +So Christ is with us all the days, yet He comes. He will come at last +to receive His own to Himself, and to judge the world; but He comes in +dark and lonely hours that we may not be desolate. + + "For warm, sweet, tender, even yet + A present help is He; + And faith has yet its Olivet + And love its Galilee. + The heeling of His seamless dress + Is by our beds of pain; + We touch Him in life's throng and press, + And we are whole again." + + +_He comes when we need Him most._--When the storm is high, and the +water is pouring into the boat; when the house is empty because the +life that made it home has fled; when Jericho has to be attacked on the +morrow, and the Jordan crossed; when lover and friend stand aloof; when +light is fading before dimming eyes, and names and faces elude the +grasp of the aged mind; when the last coal is turning to grey ash; when +the rush of the river is heard in the valley below--Jesus says, I come. +It is in the hour of desolation, when Lazarus has been in the grave +four days already, that the glad tidings are whispered in the ear of +the mourner, "The Master is come." "I will not leave you orphans," He +said, "I come unto you." Oh, blessed orphanhood, it were well to be +bereaved, to have such comforting! + +_He pays surprise visits._--He does not always wait to be invited; but +sometimes, when we lie sleeping with wakeful hearts, we hear His gentle +voice calling to us, "Arise, My love, and come away." Then as we lift +the door-latch, our hand drops with the sweet-smelling myrrh which +betrays His presence. How often when we have been losing ground, +getting lukewarm and worldly, we have suddenly been made aware of His +reviving presence, and He has said, I come. He comes, as the +wood-anemones and snowdrops (the most fragile and tender flowerets of +spring) penetrate the hard ground to announce that the winter is over +and gone, and that the time of the singing of birds is come. + +_It is well to put ourselves in His way._--There are certain beaten +tracks well-worn by His feet, and if we would meet Him we must frequent +their neighborhood. Olivet, where He used to pray; Calvary, where He +died; Joseph's garden, where He rose, are dear to Him yet. When we +pray or meditate; when we commemorate His dying love at the memorial +feast; when we realize our union with Him in death and resurrection; +when we open our hearts to the breathing of the Holy Spirit--we put +ourselves in His way, and are more likely to encounter Him when He +comes. "To them that look for Him shall He appear." "Behold the +Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet Him"--but take the path by which +He is sure to travel. Be in the upper room, with the rest of the +disciples, so that you may not, like Thomas, miss Him when He comes. + +_His footsteps are noiseless._--It is said of old, "Thy footsteps are +not known," therefore we need not be surprised if He steal in upon us +as a thief in the night, or as spring over the wolds. There is no +blare of trumpet or voice of herald; we cannot say, Lo here, or Lo +there; when the King comes there is no outward show; "He does not +strive, nor cry, nor lift up, nor cause His voice to be heard in the +street." + +"He entered not by the eyes," says St. Bernard, "for His presence was +not marked by color; nor by the ears, for there was no sound; nor by +the touch, for He was impalpable. How then did I know that He was +present? Because He was a quickening power. As soon as He entered He +awoke my slumbering soul. He moved and pierced my heart, which before +was stony, hard, and sick. He began also to pluck up and destroy, to +build and plant, to freshen the inner drought, to enlighten the +darkness, to open the prison-house, to make the crooked straight and +the rough smooth; so that my heart could bless the Lord with all that +was within me." + +Oh, lonely, desolate soul, open thy door to Him; wait not on the alert +to detect His entrance, only believe that He is there; and presently, +and before ever thou art aware, thou wilt find a new fragrance +distilling through the heart-chamber, a new power throbbing in thy +pulse. + + +II. WE MAY ENJOY THE PERPETUAL RECOGNITION OF THE PRESENCE OF +CHRIST.--"The world beholdeth Me no more, but ye behold Me." Nothing +makes men so humble and yet so strong as the vision of Christ. + +_It induces humility._--When Isaiah beheld His glory more resplendent +than the sheen of the sapphire throne, he cried that he was undone; +when Peter caught the first flash of His miraculous power gleaming +across the waves of Galilee, just when the fish were struggling in the +full net, he besought Him to depart, because he felt himself a sinful +man; and when John saw Him on the Isle of Patmos, he fell at His feet +as dead, though, surely, if any of the apostles could have faced Him +unabashed, it had been he. + +This is specially noticeable in the Book of Job. Few books are so +misunderstood. It is supposed to contain the description of the +victory of Job's patience; in reality it delineates its testing and +failure. It shows how he who was perfect, according to the measure of +his light, broke down in the fiery ordeal to which he was exposed; and +finally was forced to cry, "I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the +ear, but now mine eye seeth Thee; wherefore I abhor myself and repent, +in dust and ashes." + +Wouldst thou be humble, wouldst thou know thyself a worm and no man, +wouldst thou see that thou art verily undone, defiled, and helpless? +Then ask the blessed Spirit to reveal Jesus in all His matchless beauty +and holiness, eliciting the confession that thou are the least of +saints and the chief of sinners. This is no forced estimate, when we +take into account the opportunities we have missed, the gifts we have +misused, the time we have wasted, the light which we have resisted, the +love which we have requited with neglect. + +_It produces strength._--See that man of God prone on the floor of his +chamber, shedding bitter tears of godly sorrow, not forgiving himself, +albeit that he knows himself forgiven; bowing his head as a bulrush, +crying that he is helpless, broken, and at the end of himself--Will he +be able to stand as a rock against the beat of temptation, and the +assault of the foe? Yes, verily, for the same presence which is a +source of humility in private, will inspire to great deeds of faith and +heroism when he is called to stand in the breach or lead the assault. + +It is this vision of the present Lord that, in every age of the Church, +has made sufferers strong. "The Lord is on my right hand, I shall not +be moved," said one. "The Lord stood by me, and strengthened me," said +another. In many a dark day of suffering and persecution; in the +catacombs; in the dens and caves where Waldenses hid; on the hillsides +where the Covenanters met to pray; in the beleaguered cities of the +Netherlands; in prison and at the stake--God's saints have looked to +Him, and been lightened, and their faces have not been ashamed. +"Behold," said the first martyr, "I see the heavens opened, and the Son +of Man standing on the right hand of God." + +Oh for more of the open vision of Jesus, ministered to us by the +gracious Spirit! Would that His words were oftener verified in our +experience: "Ye behold Me!" He is always with us; and if only our +eyes were not holden, we should behold Him with the quick perception of +the heart. Indeed, the race can only be rightly run by those who have +learned the blessed secret of looking off unto Him. "We see Jesus." + +It is a most salutary habit to say often, when one is alone, "Thou art +near, O Lord." "Behold, the Lord is in this place." We may not at +first realize the truth of what we are saying. His presence may be +veiled, as the forms of mountains swathed in morning cloud. But as we +persist in our quest, putting away from us all that would grieve Him, +and cultivating the attitude of pure devotion, we shall become aware of +a Divine presence which shall be more to us than a voice speaking from +out the Infinite. + + +III. WE MAY ENJOY THE PERPETUAL RECOGNITION OF THE LIVING +CHRIST.--"Because I live, ye shall live also." There are many +life-verses in this Gospel which shine like stars in the firmament of +Scripture. Amongst them, in the first chapter, that, in the Word as +manifested to men, was _life_; and in the fifth chapter, that, "as the +Father had life in Himself He gave to the Son to have life also in +Himself." The Father is the fountain of life. Eternal life is ever +rising up in His infinite Being with perennial vigor; and all things +living, from the tiny humming-birds in the tropical forest to the +strongest archangel beside the sapphire throne, derive their being from +Him. Thus we have seen ferns around a fountain, nourishing their +fronds on its spray. All things owe their existence and continued +being to the unmeasured life, which has been from all eternity +treasured up in God, and is ever flowing out from God. + +This life was Christ's, in the mystery of the eternal Trinity, before +the worlds were made; but it was necessary that He should receive it +into His human nature, so as to become the reservoir and storehouse +from which all who were one with Him might receive grace on grace. "I +am come," He said, "that they might have life, and that they might have +it more abundantly." This life dwelt in Him during His earthly +ministry, though comparatively few availed themselves of it; His death +set it abroach for all the world; the smitten rock yielded streams of +living water; the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit; from His +throne He proclaimed Himself as He that liveth, though He became dead, +and is alive forevermore. + +_We live by His life._--Our life is as dependent upon Him as a babe's +on its mother. Could ought happen to Him, we should instantly feel the +effect. Long before He succumbed, we must. We have no independent, +self-derived, or self-sustained life. Apart from Him we wither. + +_We live in His life._--The tiny streamlet of our being has joined His, +is merged in it, and flows on together with it, to the great ocean of +eternity. To us to live is Christ, both here and hereafter. Our aims +and purposes are merged in His; we are enriched in all that enriches +Him; gladdened by all that promotes His happiness and glory; made more +than conquerors through our oneness with Him, in the victory that has +overcome the world. + +_We live because He lives in us._--At the moment of regeneration He +came to indwell. He that hath the Son hath life; he that hath life +hath the Son. It has pleased God to reveal His Son in us. We have +found Him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write, and we +have found Him in our hearts. Where dwellest Thou? we asked Him; and +He replied, Come and see; and He manifested Himself as having become to +us the inward principle of an endless life. Christ dwells deep in our +heart, and we are beginning to comprehend the immensity of the Divine +love of which He is the exponent. + +Let us draw on this life more confidently, availing ourselves of it +perpetually in all our time of need--in all time of our sickness and of +our wealth, in adversity and prosperity, in the hour of mortal anguish +and the day of judgment; and finding what we could not do or bear or +encounter, Jesus can do and bear and meet in and through us, to the +Father's eternal glory. + + "Lord Jesus Christ, grow Thou in me, + And all things else recede." + + + + +XII + +Many Mansions for God + +"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."--JOHN xiv. 23. + + +The Immanence of God! That God should be willing to make His home +_with_ man is much; but that He should be willing to come in--to +indwell, occupy, and possess our nature--this is incomprehensible to +the intellect, though it may be received and rejoiced in by the heart. +This is no subject for light and thoughtless speech. We touch on the +profoundest mysteries of the Being of the Infinite, and the capacity of +human nature. Be reverent, O my soul, in the consideration of such a +theme, and take the shoes from off thy feet, for the Bush burns with +fire! + +It was owing to the question of Jude, that the universal application of +our Master's words is so clear. A day or two before, our Lord had +entered Jerusalem amid the enthusiasm of the crowds, and the disciples +fondly thought the long-expected time had arrived when He would +manifest Himself to the world as the Messiah. "This is the beginning +of the Messianic reign," said each apostle in his secret heart, as the +great procession passed over the shoulder of Olivet; and each began to +wonder what special post would be allotted to him in the new empire +that seemed so close at hand. These nascent hopes, however, had been +rudely dissipated by our Lord's declaration that the world was to see +Him no more, accompanied by the promise, "But ye see Me." + +The apostles therefore were inclined to think that in some special form +the manifestations of His grace and glory would be confined to them. +Hence Jude's question, "What is come to pass, Master, that Thou wilt +manifest Thyself unto us, and not unto the world?" Jesus answered in +effect, "Think not that thou and thy fellows are to have the exclusive +right of beholding and communing with Me. What I offer to you is open +to all who believe, love, and obey. The gate which I throw open shall +stand wide for all who choose to enter. The veil shall be rent, that +any who fulfill the spiritual conditions may see the light, and hear +the voice, and stand in the inner court. If a _man_ love Me . . ." +Note those emphatic words, "a man,"--any man; thou and I. + + +I. THE DIVINE IMMANENCE.--"We will make our abode." The word "abode" +is here a translation of the Greek word which is rendered "mansions" in +a former part of this chapter. "We will make our _mansion_ with Him." +God is willing to become the mansion of the soul that believes in +Christ, but asks in return that such a one should prepare a +guest-chamber, and become a mansion in which He may dwell. As He +steals with noiseless tread into the loving, believing heart, I hear +Him say, "This is My rest forever; here will I dwell, for I have +desired it." + +(1) _It is the Immanence of the Father._--Consider who this is of whom +the Saviour speaks. The infinite God! Time with all its ages is but +the flash of a moment in His eternity! Space, "beyond the soar of +angel wings," is but a corner in His dwelling-place; matter, with its +ponderous mass, but the light dust that will not affect the level of +the scale! The mighty sun, which is the centre of all worlds, but a +mote floating in the beam of His being! All the gathered wisdom of +man, stored in the libraries of the world, but as a glow-worm's spark +compared with the meridian light of His wisdom! O souls of men, +consider how marvellous that such a One, whom the heavens cannot +contain, who overflows their limits, asking for room that He may dwell, +will yet become the resident of our nature! + +_Its motive is Love._--"The Father will love him." This is wonderful! +The more so as we are told that His love toward us is identical with +that which He has toward our Lord. Speaking of those who shall believe +through His apostles' words, Jesus said, "That the world may know that +Thou lovest them even as Thou lovest Me." That God should condescend +to think about our planet, which is as a leaf in the forest of being! +That He should deign to regard mankind, who, in size at least, are less +than a colony of ants that may have built their home at the foot of the +Himalaya! That He should pity our race! This were much. But that He +should _love_ the world, that He should _love_ individuals belonging to +our race, that He should love them with the love He has toward the +Only-begotten--we could not have believed this unless we had been +assured by the lips of infallible Truth. But the supreme revelation +which towers above the rest, like some great banyan tree amid the +slender growth of the Indian forest, is that the Creator should indwell +and find a mansion in the heart of His creatures. + +_It is dual, yet one._--"We will come." We! Then, is there more than +One? Who is this who dares class Himself with the supreme God within +the limits of a common pronoun, that challenges the love and trust and +obedience of man, that poses as King? The meekest and humblest of men. +The One who, above all others of the human family, seemed to have least +to disturb or darken the incidence of the rays of truth upon His soul; +who has cast a light on all the dark problems of human life, and could +not possibly have been deceived in respect to His own nature. His +conceptions of the holiness, greatness, and purity of God have stood +out in unrivalled magnificence from all others whatsoever; yet it is He +who couples in one small word His humanity with Deity, His meekness +with the Infinite Majesty, His personality with God's. Is not this +proof enough that He was conscious of His Divine nature? Is not the +fact of His not counting it robbery to be equal with God evidence that +He was God? What can they make of this _We_, who hold that He was only +a good man and a great teacher? Good men are humble men, great +teachers know best their own limitations! + +It is in, and with, and through the Son, and by the Spirit, that the +Father comes to indwell. + +(2) _It is the Immanence of the Son. To be loved by Him were +much!_--"I will love Him." His love is of the rarest quality. Most +free of the soil of selfishness, of any human love. True and tender, +strong and sweet, inexorable in its demands upon Himself, inexhaustible +in its outflow toward the objects of His affectionate regard. Such +love as He gave to John, who grew like Him beneath the magic power of +that environment; as He gave to Mary, who perhaps most deeply +understood Him; as He gave to Peter, winning him back from his +waywardness--brings with it a heaven of bliss, for which a man may well +be prepared to count all things but loss. But there is a bliss beyond +all this. The Lover of men would indwell them. + +_It were much that He should seek our love._--"He that loveth Me." We +might have supposed that He would have been satisfied with the vastness +of His dominion, and the myriad bright spirits that wait on His word! +But no, the thirst for love cannot be satisfied with gold, or bright +angelic servants. As Isaac could not find a companion among those who +tended the cattle that browsed over the wolds of Canaan, or the troops +of slaves that gathered round his father's tents, but Eliezer must +bring a bride from across the desert; so the Son of God must needs come +as a suitor to our world to find His Bride, who can share His inner +thoughts and purposes. Here is a marvel indeed. As the village +becomes famous which provides the emperor's bride, so earth, though it +be least among her sister-spheres, shall have the proud preëminence of +having furnished from her population the Spouse of the Lamb. But, +great as this marvel is, it is followed by the greater, that the +Immortal Lover is willing to tenant the poor hearts, whose love at the +best is so faint and cold. + +_It were much that He should give us manifestations of His love._--"I +will manifest Myself unto him." Have you not sometimes taken up a +daisy, and looked into its little upturned eye, and thought and thought +again, till through the gate of the flower you have passed into an +infinite world of life, beauty, and mystery? There are moments when +even a flower is transfigured before us, and manifests itself to us as +a thought of God, a ray of His glory, the frail product of His infinite +mind, the wick around which trembles the fire of the Shekinah! Have +you not sometimes stood alone amid mountains, glaciers, wooded valleys, +and rushing streamlets, till nature has dropped her veil, and revealed +herself in a phase of beauty and a depth of meaning which struck you as +altogether unique and singular? So there are moments in the life of +the believer, when Christ, who is ever with us, manifests Himself as He +does not to the world. There is borne in upon the spirit a +consciousness that He is near; there is a waft of His breath, a savor +of His fragrant dress, fresh from the ivory palaces. + +All this is much: but how much more to be told that this glorious +Christ, the Fellow of Jehovah, who with the Father and the Spirit is +God; the Organ of creation; the Mouthpiece of the Godhead; the Mediator +of Redemption; the Monarch of all worlds; the Supreme Teacher, Guide, +and Saviour of men--is prepared to repeat the experiences of Bethlehem, +and make His abode in man! "_We_ will come unto Him, and make our +abode with Him." + +(3) _Learn to revere the work of God in the souls of others._--"For thy +meat," said the apostle, "destroy not the soul for whom Christ died." +He might have added, "and in whom Christ lives." Weak and erring, +trying and vexatious, that fellow-believer may be, yet there is a +chamber in his nature in which God has already taken up His abode. The +conflict between the light and darkness, the Christ-spirit and the +self-spirit, may be long and arduous, but the issue is certain. Help, +but do not hinder the process. Be reverent, careful, mindful of the +presence of God. + +_Be hopeful for thyself._--When an art-student asked Mr. Ruskin whether +he would ever be able to paint like Turner, the great critic replied, +"It is more likely that you will become Emperor of all the Russias!" +But God never daunts a soul with such discouragement. He first sets +before it a great ideal--the faith of Abraham, the meekness of Moses, +the prayer of an Elijah, the love of a John--and then, as the source of +all perfection, enters the soul, to be in it all that He has taught it +to desire. + +_Count on the indwelling of His power._--The merchant of to-day has +facilities granted to no previous age. The cablegram, telegram, and +telephone put him in communication with the markets of the world: steam +and electricity are his willing slaves in manufacture: machinery with +its unwearying iron fingers toils for him. A single human brain, which +knows how to avail itself of these resources, can multiply its +conceptions indefinitely. How vast the space between the untutored +savage, doing everything with his hands, and the merchant prince, who +has but to press the ivory-plated pushes fixed upon the walls of his +room! But not less is the difference between the work we can +accomplish by our natural resources, and that which we achieve when we +recognize that what is impossible to us is possible to Him who has come +in to abide. I cannot; but God is within me, and He can. + + +II. THE CONDITIONS OF THE DIVINE IMMANENCE.--(1) Love to Christ.--"He +that loveth Me shall. . . ." We would love Him, but how? Do not think +of your love, but of His. "Love is of God." Open the shutters of your +being toward the love of God; we love because He first loves. Love is +the reflection from us of what we have first received from God. + +Love is shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Spirit. The fruit of the +Spirit is Love. Seek the in-filling and in-working of the Spirit; be +careful to obey His promptings to love; avoid grieving Him by +bitterness, wrath, or evil speaking; sit as His willing pupil in the +school of love; cast on Him the responsibility of securing in your +nature obedience to the primal law which is fulfilled in the one word, +"Thou shalt love." + +Beneath the nurturing grace of the Spirit, we shall be led to meditate +much on the love of Jesus to us, especially as manifested in the death +of the cross; and as we muse, the fire will burn, love will glow, and +afford the condition of soul which is infinitely attractive to the +Divine Lover, who requires our love, and produces the love which He +requires. + +(2) Obedience to Christ.--Where there is true love, there will be +obedience. This rather than emotion. Many a sincere soul who +questions its love, because its emotions are low or fluctuating, would +rather die than disobey the least jot or tittle of His commandments. +Such a one loves. "He that hath My commandments" (treasured in memory +and heart), "he it is that loveth Me." Why do ye call Him, Lord, Lord, +and do not the things that He says? There may be the luscious language +of the lip, but it does not deceive Him. He looks under the leaves for +fruit. + +Disobedience robs the soul of the sweet sense of Christ's indwelling. +Nothing can compensate for failure to obey. Whatever the +protestations, there is no real love to Christ where His commands are +knowingly disregarded and set at nought. But each time we dare to step +out in simple obedience to His will, it seems as though the inner light +shines deeper down into the hidden places of our being, and the +residence of Christ extends to new chambers of the heart. + + + + +XIII + +Christ's Legacy and Gift of Peace + +"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."--JOHN xiv. 27. + + +It seems a little anomalous to talk of peace at a time when the +war-clouds are being swiftly blown up from the horizon, the sea +roaring, and men's hearts failing them for fear: and yet, in the +deepest aspects, this is of all times the most suitable. It is when +the storm rattles on the window-panes that the family draws closer +round the fire, and the mother clasps her babe to her breast. + +The word Peace is the Eastern salutation and benediction. When one +stranger encounters another, as they meet and part, they wish each +other peace. It was befitting, therefore, that at Christ's entrance +into our world, the first salutation to men, as conveyed by the angels, +should be, "Peace on earth"; and that His parting words should be, +"Peace be unto you." But with what a wealth of meaning does the Lord +invest familiar words when they issue from His lips! Let us draw nigh, +and allow His sweet and soothing consolations to have their full effect. + + +I. LET US DISTINGUISH BETWEEN "PEACE" AND "MY PEACE."--"Peace I leave +with you, My peace I give unto you." There is a distinction between +these two. The former refers to the result of His work for us on the +cross: "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our +Lord Jesus Christ"; the latter refers to _His_ indwelling, who is our +Peace. The one He has bequeathed as a legacy to all men: the testator +died, and left in His will a perfect reconciliation between God and +man, which is for all who are willing to avail themselves of it; the +other is a _gift_, which must be appropriated and used, or it will be +ineffectual. + +_The order of these two varieties of peace is invariable._--We must +have peace _with_ God before we can enjoy the peace _of_ God. We must +receive the atonement, with all its blessed comfort, before we can +enter upon our heritage in Christ Jesus. A believer, whose feet were +dipping in the chill waters of the river, said to me recently, when +speaking of her enjoyment of some of the deeper aspects of Christian +experience, "I am afraid I have been building from the top. I see now, +as I come near eternity, that one's foundations must be strong and sure +before one can build on them. I need now more than ever the blood of +Christ." This, perhaps, is one of the perils of the present day. The +Church is arraying herself in her beautiful garments. The gold pieces +of Christian thought and life are becoming current coin, taken from the +coffers, where they have too long lain, and distributed broadcast. +Treatises and tractlets on the innermost aspects of the blessed life +are plentiful as flowers in May. There is a danger, therefore, of +young converts and others occupying themselves with such themes, and +not paying sufficient attention to the Divine order. + +Christ dying _for_ us on the cross must precede Christ living _in_ us +by His Spirit; justification with its evidences must be well +apprehended before sanctification with its fruits; the peace _with_ God +must shed its benediction over the soul before it can enter upon the +peace _of_ God. Ah soul! thou hast experienced the former; dost thou +know the latter? Dost thou know what it is for Christ to enter into +the closed doors of the inner chamber of the heart, and say, "Peace be +unto thee"? what it is to hear His voice speaking above the tumult of +the inland lake of thy soul, and making a great calm? what it is for +Him to deal with the springs of the inner life, which lie deeper than +emotion or fancy, and pour in His infinite serenity, so that the +outflow may be pellucid and tranquil? + +Christ lays stress on _His_ peace. He must mean the very peace that +filled His own heart; not something like it, but the same, always +keeping the heart with the affections, and the mind with its thoughts. +This being so, we infer-- + +_That His peace is consistent with a perfect knowledge of coming +sorrow._--He knew all things that awaited Him (John xviii. 4): the +treachery of Judas, the denial by Peter, the forsaking by all, the +shame and spitting, the cross and grave; and yet He spoke serenely of +His peace. It is therefore consistent with the certain outlook toward +darkness and the shadow of death. You may know from certain symptoms +that cancer has struck its fangs into your flesh, and that paralysis +has begun to creep along your spine, that your dearest is barked by the +Woodsman for felling, that your means of subsistence will inevitably +dry up; but, facing all these, as Jesus faced the cross, you may still +be conscious of a peace that passeth understanding. + +_That it is consistent with energetic action._--Men are disposed to +think that peace is one of the last fruits of the tree of life, which +drops into the hand of the aged. A man says to himself, I shall have +to relinquish this active life, to settle in some quiet country home in +the midst of nature, and then perhaps I shall know what peace means. A +snug home and a competence, the culture of flowers, the slow march of +the seasons, tender home-love, far away from the hustling throng of the +world--these are the conditions of peace. Not so, says Christ: "Arise, +let us go hence." Let us leave this quiet harbor, and launch out into +the stormy deep. Let us leave this still chamber, around the windows +of which the vines cling, and go forth into the garden where the cedars +fight with the tempest, and amidst it all we shall find it possible to +enjoy the peace that passeth knowledge. Let men and women immersed in +the throng of daily toil, young men, busy men, understand that Christ's +peace is for those who hear the bugle note of duty summoning them to +arise, and go hence. + +_That the chief evidence of this peace is in the leisureliness of the +heart._--Christ's possession of peace was very evident through all the +stormy scenes that followed. With perfect composure He could heal the +ear of Malchus, and stay the impetuosity of Peter; could reason quietly +with the slave that smote Him, and bid the daughters of Jerusalem not +to weep; could open paradise to the dying thief, and the door of John's +home to the reception of His mother. Few things betray the presence of +His peace more than the absence of irritability, fretfulness, and +feverish haste, which expend the tissues of life. + +Oh that you may now receive from Christ this blessed gift! Let the +peace of Christ rule in your heart; it is your high privilege, be not +backward in availing yourself of it. It will be as oil to the +machinery of life. + + +II. THE SOURCES OF CHRIST'S PEACE.--(1) _The vision of the +Father._--"If ye loved Me, ye would rejoice because I said, I go unto +the Father." + +Throughout these closing chapters He seems able to speak of nothing +else. His mind ranges from the disciples whom He was leaving to the +Father to whom He was going. Almost unconsciously He gives us a +glimpse of His self-repression in staying so long away from His +Father's manifested presence, when He says that if we loved Him we +would be glad to lose His bodily presence because He had gone to be +with the Father. He gives us to understand how real and near the +Father was to Him, and how He longed to be again in His bosom! He was +so occupied with this thought, that He reckoned little of what lay +between. Hail! ye stormy waters of death, stormy winds, and boisterous +waves, ye do but waft my soul nearer its haven in the Father's love! + +It is the thought of the Father that gives peace, because it robs life +of its terrors and death of its sting. Why fear what life may bring +when the Father has arranged each successive step of its pathway! Why +dread Judas or Caiaphas, Herod or Pilate since the Father lies between +the soul and them as a rampart of rock! Why lose heart amid the +perplexities and discouragements, whose dark shadows lie heavily on the +hills, when in the green pastures of the valley the Father's love tends +the sheep! Ask Christ to reveal the Father to you. Live in His +everlasting love, and learn what He can be amid the storm and tumult as +a very present help. + +(2) _Disentanglement from the world._--"The prince of this world +cometh, and hath nothing in Me." He came first at the beginning of the +Saviour's life, with temptations to his ambitions; he came again at its +close, with temptations to that natural shrinking from pain which is +characteristic of a highly organized nature. "Back, Son of Man! Thou +canst not bear the cross and spear, the nail and thorn! Thy tender +flesh will ill sustain Thee when the sorrows of death and the pains of +hell get hold upon Thee!" So Satan came; but there was no response in +the heart of Christ, no answering voice from the depths of His soul, no +traitor within to join hands with the tempter without. There was no +square inch of territory in all Christ's nature which the devil could +claim, or from which he could operate. + +This is a clue to Christ's peace, which we do well to follow till it +lead us out into the open. As long as we are entangled with this +world, peace evades us, just as sleep, which comes easily to the +laboring man who has nothing beyond his daily wage, vanishes from the +pillow of the merchant, who on stormy nights thinks uneasily of the +vessels which carry his wealth far out at sea. We must stand clear of +the ambitions of the world, of the fear or favor of man, of the +avaricious craving for wealth, or the fear of poverty. We must put the +cross of Christ between us and the world, which was judged at Calvary. +We must be able to say truly that our treasure is in heaven and our +heart also, and that we seek the things where Christ sitteth at the +right hand of God. Then the stock-market may fluctuate, riches go or +come, men praise or hate, nought will affect our peace, any more than +the tumults of a continental city, in which we are spending a night in +transit, can cause us serious disturbance. + +(3) _Supreme love._--"I love the Father." I have so often noticed how +a supreme love in a young girl's life seems to calm and quiet her, +because it draws the whole of her nature in one strong flow toward the +man of her choice. Before that, there was a waywardness, a +vacillation, a nervous excitement, which passed away as soon as love +dawned upon her soul. So long as the heart is subject to every +influence, it quivers and wavers as the magnet needle when swept by +streams of electricity. A strong uniting love does for us what the +strong attraction of the pole does for the needle. Christ loved the +Father. There was no difficulty in bearing what He sent, or doing what +He bade. There were no rival claimants, no questionings or debate +within the palace of His heart. Every passion and emotion of His human +nature was quieted and stilled in the set of His whole being toward the +Father. If you too would have peace, you must love; you must love +supremely Him who alone is worthy, who can never disappoint or fail. +And in proportion as you love God, you will find pleasure in all +beautiful things, in all lovely persons, in all the fair gifts of +nature and life. Oh, love the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within +me, love His holy name! + +(4) _A supreme source of authority._--"As the Father gave Me +commandment, even so I do." Every soul must have a supreme source of +authority in its life, if it is to have peace. Its own whim, the +suggestion of passion, the vagrant impulse of the moment, are +inconsistent with tranquillity. There must be for each of us one voice +which is imperative, one command which is indisputable, one authority +which admits of no gainsaying. If you will search your heart you will +see that this is so. Compare the restlessness of the Book of Judges +with the tranquillity of the reign of Solomon, and you will have an apt +illustration of your own experience before consecration put Christ on +His throne, and afterward. When the true Melchizedek established his +reign within you, at once your heart became Salem, the city of peace. +When you put the government upon His shoulder, He set up His reign +within you as the Prince of Peace. Happy for you, if to the increase +of His government there is no end; for of the increase of your peace +there will be no end either. + +Combine these four--the sense of God's presence and providence in the +details of life; detachment from the world; a supreme love to God; the +recognition in everything that you are His slave--and you will comply +with the conditions of participating in the peace of Christ which He +offers. Some persons have a marvellous faculty of imparting their own +tranquillity in an accident, a storm, an illness; their aspect, tones, +manner, are like the repose of a summer's evening after a sultry day: +so shall Christ be to you, and you to others. + + +III. CHRIST'S GIVING CONTRASTED WITH THE WORLD'S.--"Not as the world +giveth, give I unto you." + +The world wishes peace, but lightly speaks the word; frequently wishing +it when there is least warrant for it; wishing it without doing +anything to produce it; wishing it whilst glorying over a wrong, +healing slightly a wound, covering with the turf the crater of a +volcano. Christ, on the other hand, lays the foundations of peace in +suitable conditions of a holy and healthy life. + +With the world, peace is a passing emotion; with Christ, a settled +principle of action--the perfect balance and equilibrium of the soul, +out of which comes all that is fair, strong, wholesome. + +The world's peace consists in the absence of untoward circumstances; +Christ's is altogether independent of circumstances, and consists in +the state of the heart. It matters nothing to Him that in the world we +have tribulation. He bids us be of good cheer, because in Him we shall +have peace. The wildest conjunction of outward things cannot break the +perfect peace which nestles to His heart, as Noah's dove to the hand +which plucked it in from the weltering waters. + +"Let not your heart be troubled," the Master says again. You may be +troubled on every side, but be not troubled. Do not let the trouble +come inside. Watch carefully against its intrusion, as you would +against that of any other form of temptation. Let My peace, like a +sentinel, keep you; and as you look forward to the unknown future, out +of which spectral figures emerge, do not be afraid. There is a part +for you to do, as well as for Me. I can give you My peace, but you +must avoid any and everything that will militate against its possession +and growth. + + + + +XIV + +The Story of the Vine + +"I am the true Vine, and My Father is the Husbandman."--JOHN xv. I. + + +We have now a story to tell which, in the eye of heaven, will make our +world forever memorable and wonderful among her sister spheres. It is +the story of the Vine, and how it was the Divine purpose our earth +should be its fruitful soil, and our race intimately associated with +its growth and history. + +"I am the _true_ Vine," said our Lord. Not improbably, as He was +passing forth with His disciples into the moonlit air, He perceived a +vine clustering around the window or door; and with an eye ever awake +to each touch of natural beauty, and a heart always alert for spiritual +lessons, He turned to them and said, What that vine is in the world of +nature I am in relation to all true and faithful souls. I am the +_true_ Vine--true, not as opposed to false, but true in the sense of +real, substantial, and enduring. The essential, as distinguished from +the circumstantial; the eternal, as distinct from the temporary and +transient. + +Nature is a parable of God. In each of her forms we have a revelation +of God. Not so complete as that given through the mind of prophets, or +the life of Jesus Christ, but still a revelation of the Divine. Each +natural object, as it stood in Eden's untainted beauty, displayed some +aspect of Him, whom no man can see and live. The apple-tree among the +trees of the wood; the rose of Sharon: the lily of the vale; the cedar, +with its dark green foliage; the rock for strength; the sea for +multitudinousness; the heaven with its limpid blue, like the Divine +compassion, overarching all--these are some of the forthshadowings in +the natural world of spiritual qualities in the nature of God. The +vine was made the clinging, helpless plant it is, that it might forever +remind men of certain deep characteristics of the Divine nature. + + +I. THE VINE AND ITS BRANCHES.--_The unity of the vine_. The vine and +its branches constitute one plant. Some branches may be trailed along +the trellis-work outside the cottage door, others conducted through +hothouse after hothouse; yet one life, one stream of sap, one essential +quality and character pervades them all, from the dark root, buried in +the soil, to the furthest twig or leaf. Yonder branch, waving its +fronds high up against the hothouse glass, cannot say to that long +leafless branch hidden beneath the shelf, You do not belong to me, nor +I to you. No twig is independent of another twig. However different +the functions, root and branches, leaves and cluster, all together make +one composite but organic whole. So is it with Christ. All who are +one with Him are one with each other. The branches that were nearest +the root in the days of Pentecost are incomplete without the last +converts that shall be added in the old age of the world. Those +without these will not be made perfect. + +This is the underlying truth of the holy Catholic Church. Men have +tried to show that it must be an outward and visible organization, +consisting of those who had received, through a long line of +apostolical succession, some mystic power for administering rites and +conferring absolution, together with those who came beneath the touch +of their priestly hands. That theory has notoriously broken down. But +the truth of which it is a grotesque travesty is presented in our +Lord's conception of the vine, deeply planted in the dark grave of +Joseph's garden, which had reached down its branches through the ages, +and in which every believing soul has a part. Touch Christ, become one +with Him in living union, abide in Him, and you are one with the +glorious company of the apostles, the goodly fellowship of the +prophets, the noble army of martyrs and the Church of the First-born, +whose names are written in heaven. + +_The pliancy of the vine._--More than most plants it needs a +husbandman. It cannot stand upright like other fruit-trees, but +requires a skillful hand to guide its pliant branches along the +espaliers, or to entwine them in the trellis-work. It suggests a true +thought of the appearance presented to the world by Christ and His +Church. + +Mrs. Hamilton King, in her description of the sermon preached in the +hospital by Ugo Bassi, on the eve of the great movement which, by the +expulsion of the Austrians, gave Italy to the Italians, specially +dwells on this. Down five wards the prisoners are lying on the +hospital-beds from which they will never rise again. To them the deep +voice of the hero-preacher tells the story of the vine: how "it is tied +to a stake, and if its arms stretch out, it is but cross-wise; they are +also forced and bound." + +Thus it was with Christ. Never following His own way; always bound to +the imperative _must_ of the Father's will; yielded to the cross as a +willing Sufferer. And so it has been with His followers. Not strong +to stand alone, but always yielded to the Father's will, that He should +lead them whither He would--to a cross, if needs were; to persecution +and shame, if this would better serve His purpose; to a Gethsemane, if +that were the only gate to life. + +Yield thyself to those loving hands. They may lead thee afar from thy +original purpose--twisting thee in and out with many a contortion; +fixing thee with nail and fastening; trailing thee over the wall, to +droop thy clusters to the hands of strangers. Nevertheless, be sure to +let Him have His way with thee; this is necessary for the +accomplishment of His purpose. + +_The suffering of the vine._--When, in the spring, "the grace of the +green vine makes all the land lovely, and the shoots begin to wind and +wave in the blue air," the husbandman comes in with pruning-hook and +shears, and strips it bare of all its innocent pride. Nor is this all. +Even in the vintage it is not allowed to glory in the results of the +year, "the branches are torn down and trodden in the wine-press, while +the vine stands stripped and desolate." + +So it has always been. The well-being of the world has been greatly +promoted through the Church, but always at an infinite cost to herself. +Christ's people have always been a suffering people, and it is in exact +proportion to their anguish that they have enriched mankind. They have +saved others, but not themselves. The red stream of blood that has +vitalized the world, has flowed from broken hearts. + + "Measure thy life by loss instead of gain, + Not by the wine drunk, but by the wine poured forth; + For Love's strength standeth in Love's sacrifice, + And whoso suffers most hath most to give." + + +_The interdependence of vine and branches._--In God from eternity dwelt +a wealth of love, pity, and yearning over the souls of men, that could +not express themselves directly. There was no language for the +infinite passion of the Divine heart. Hence the gift of the Son, +through whom, when He had become flesh, the Infinite might express +Himself. But even this was not sufficient. The vine-root is not +enough in itself, it must have branches to carry its rich juices to the +clusters, so that these may hang free of each other in the sun and air. +Christ must have branches--long lines of saved souls extending down the +centuries--through which to communicate Himself to men. + +We have seen how necessary the root is to the branches. Only from it +can our fruit be found. But let us humbly, yet gladly, believe that we +are also necessary to Christ. He cannot do without us. The Son wants +sons; angels will not suffice. Through redeemed men alone can He +achieve His eternal purpose. I hear the Root pleading for more and yet +more branch-life, that it may cover the world with goodly shadow and +fruit. + + +II. FRUIT OR NO FRUIT.--From all that has been said, it is clear that +the one purpose in the vine is fruit-bearing. See, here, how the +Divine Teacher accentuates it. "Fruit," "much fruit," "more fruit." +Nothing less will content Him in any one of us. For this we were taken +out of the wild vine in which we were by nature, and grafted into Him; +for this the regeneration of the Holy Ghost, and the discipline of +life; for this the sunshine of His love, and the dew of the Holy Ghost. +It becomes each seriously to ask, "Am I bringing forth fruit unto God? +There may be orthodoxy of doctrine, correctness in life, and even +heartiness of service; but is there fruit, much fruit, more fruit?" + +_Fruit!_--This is the only condition of being retained in living union +with the Vine. + +_Much fruit!_--Only thus will the Father be glorified. + +_More fruit._--Otherwise there must be the repeated use of the knife. + +Nowhere does the Lord contemplate a _little fruit_. A berry here and +there! A thin bunch of sour, unripened grapes! Yet it is too true +that many believers yield no more than this. He comes to us hungry for +grapes, but behold a few mildewed bunches, not fit to eat! + +Where there is _no fruit_, there has been no real union with the Vine. +Probably you are a professor, but not a possessor; a nominal Christian, +an attendant at church or chapel, but not really one with Christ. True +union with Him produces a temper, a disposition, a ripe and mellow +experience which certainly indicates that Christ is within. You cannot +simulate the holy joy, the thoughtful love, the tranquil serenity, the +strong self-control, which mark the soul which is in real union with +Jesus; but where there is real abiding, these things will be in us and +abound, and we shall be neither barren, nor unfruitful in the knowledge +of our Lord Jesus Christ. + + +III. THE KNIFE AND THE FIRE.--"Every branch in Me that beareth fruit," +the Father who is the Husbandman "purgeth it that it may bring forth +more fruit." Too many children of God, when passing through great +physical and other suffering, account it punishment. Nay, it is not +punitive, but purgative. This is the pruning-knife, cutting away the +shoots of the self-life, that the whole energy of the soul may be +directed to the manifesting of the life of the Lord Jesus. It may seem +a grievous waste to see the floor of the hothouse or vineyard littered +with fronds and shoots and leaves, but there need be no lament: the +branches of the autumn will well repay each stroke of that keen edge +with fuller, richer fruit. So we gain by loss, we live as we die, the +inward man is renewed as the outer decays. + +The knife is in the Father's hand; let us never forget that. He will +not intrust this delicate and difficult work to man or angel. Shall we +not be in subjection to the Father of our spirits and live? Blessed be +the Father of our Lord Jesus, and our Father in Him. He that spared +not Christ may be trusted to do the best for us. + +Employing the same word, the Master said, "Now ye have been pruned +through the word that I have spoken to you." Perhaps if we were more +often to yield ourselves to the pruning of the Word, we should escape +the pruning of sore pain and trial. If the work were done by the +golden edge of Scripture, it might make the iron edge of chastisement +needless. Therefore, when we take the Word of God in hand, let us ask +the great Husbandman to use it for the pruning away of all that is +carnal or evil, so that His life may have unhindered sway. + +But if we will not bear fruit we must be taken away. We shall lose our +sphere of Christian service, and be exposed as hollow and lifeless +professors. The vine-branch that has no wealth of purple clusters is +good for nothing. Salt which is savorless is fit neither for the land +nor the dunghill. Vine-branches that bear no fruit are cast into the +fire. Professors that lack the grace of a holy temper, and the beauty +of a consistent life are taken away. "Men cast them into the fire and +they are burned." + +These three years the Divine Husbandman has come hungrily seeking fruit +of thee, yet in vain. Nevertheless, He will spare thee for this year +also, that thou mayest mend thy ways. This is the reason of thy +multiplied anxieties; He is pruning thee. If thou bearest fruit, it +will be well, eternally well; but if not, then it is inevitable that +thou shalt be cut away as dead and useless wood. + + + + +XV + +"Abide in Me, and I in you" + +"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."--JOHN xv. 4. + + +These words are so familiar by constant repetition, that their power to +awaken the soul is greatly lessened. They go and come through ear and +mind, as a lodger who has gone and come with exactly the same +appearance and at precisely the same hours for years, and no one +notices him now, because there is nothing novel about him to awake +notice or remark. How good would it be if we could hear this tender +injunction for the first time. Next to this, let us ask the Divine +Spirit to rid it of the familiarity of long use, to re-mint it, and to +make it fresh and vital, that it may seem to us that we have never +before realized how much Jesus meant, when He said, _Abide in Me_. + +Perhaps it may assist us, if we adopt another English word for _abide_, +and one which, in some respects even more neatly, and certainly in +sound, resembles the Greek. It is the word _remain_; so that we may +read the Master's bidding thus: _Remain in Me, and I in you_. + +This word is often employed in the New Testament in connection with +house and home. "Mary abode [or remained] with Elizabeth for three +months"; and "There abide [or remain]," said our Lord, when giving His +disciples direction for their preaching tour, and referring to some +hospitable house which has been opened to welcome them. It is used +three times in that memorable colloquy which introduced John and Andrew +to their future Teacher and Lord; "Master," they said, "where abidest +[or remainest] Thou; He saith unto them, 'Come and ye shall see.' They +came therefore, and saw where He is remaining, and they remained with +Him that day." And again: "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for +to-day I must remain in thy house." We are to remain in Christ as a +man stays in his home. + +_It is inferred, of course, that we are in Christ._--It would be absurd +to bid a man remain in a house unless he were already within its doors. +We must be sure that we are in Christ. Naturally we were +outside--"Remember," says the Apostle, "that aforetime ye were separate +from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from +the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the +world." We were shoots in the wild vine, partaking of its nature, +involved in its curse, threatened by the axe which lay at its root. +But all this is altered now. The Father, who is the Husbandman, of His +abundant grace and mercy, has taken us out of the wild vine and grafted +us into the true. "Of God are ye in Christ Jesus." + +It is quite true that we repented of our sins, and turned toward God; +that we have believed in Christ, and taken His yoke; that we have found +rest under the shelter of His cross, and joy in expecting His advent; +but we must never forget that behind all these movements of our will, +and choice, and faith, were the willing and doing of God Himself. It +is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. "Blessed be the +God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath begotten us again +unto a living hope." What confidence this gives us! We are in Christ +by the act of God's grace and power, and surely He who put us in, can +keep us there. Did He not shut Noah into the ark, and keep him there +amid all the crash of the pitiless deluge! We have only to consent to +remain, and allow God to perfect that which concerneth us. Be +confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you, +will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. + +_The stress which the Master lays on our abiding in Him._--He appears +to summon all His forces to accentuate His parting message. You always +reserve your most important injunctions to the last, that they may +remain fresh and impressive, as the train steams out of the station, as +the boat leaves the landing-stage; so Christ left this entreaty to the +last, that it might carry with it the emphasis of a parting message +forevermore. But note how He drives it home. Its keyword occurs +eleven times in eleven consecutive verses. He depicts the terrible +result if we do not abide: we shall wither, be taken away, and +consigned to the fire. He shows how utterly we shall miss the one end +of our existence, the glorification of the Father by fruit-bearing, +unless we strenuously and continuously abide. He allures by the +thought of the much fruit; by the assurance of success in prayer; by +the promise of fullness of joy, of love, and of blessedness. He +entreats, commands, exhorts, all in one breath. It is as though He +were to say, "Children, I am leaving you; there are many things I +desire for you, many commands to utter, many cautions, many lessons; +but I am content to leave all unsaid, if only you will remember this +one all-inclusive bidding, Abide in Me, remain in Me; stay where God +has put you; deepen, emphasize, intensify the union already existing +between you and Me. From Me is your fruit found. Without Me ye can do +nothing. Abide in Me, and I in you. Grow up into Me in all things, +which am the Head, rooted and built up in Me, and stablished by your +faith, even as ye were taught." + +_There are many analogies to this appeal._--The sun says to the little +earth-planet, _Abide in me_. Resist the temptation to fly into space, +remain in the solar sphere, and I will abide in the formation of thy +rocks, the verdure of thy vegetation, and all living things, baptizing +them in my fire. + +Abide in me, says the ocean to the alcove, that shows symptoms of +division from its waves. Keep thy channel unsilted and open, and I +will pour my fullness up to thy farthest shore, twice in every +twenty-four hours. + +_Abide in me_: the vine says it to the branch, that it may impart +supplies of life and fruit; the air says it to the lung, that it may +minister ozone and oxygen to its cells; the magnet says it to the +needle, that it may communicate its own specific quality, and fit it to +guide across the ocean the mighty steamer, laden with the freight of +human life. + +_Abide in me_: the artist says it to the novice; Edison would say it to +some young Faraday; the preacher to the student. Any man who is eager +to impart his ideas to coming time is glad when some young life, eager, +quick to receive formative impressions, presents itself. Here, says +he, is my opportunity of incarnating myself afresh, and still living, +speaking, painting, when my life is done. "Stay with me, young soul, +share my home, saturate yourself with my ideas and methods of +expression, go to no other fields to glean, and I will give my best +self in return." + +So, also, the mother speaks to the child. If she is wise she will be +chary of handing it over to the nurse, or sending it away to the care +of strangers, except for the hours necessary for education. Companions +and games, books and studies, shall be within the influences of her +mother's love; and she, in return, will gladly bestow herself to the +eager life that waits on her every movement, look, and word. + +In all these cases, it is always the stronger that pleads with the +weaker to abide, promising the communication to fuller life. Each, in +measure, says, in the words of the glorious Christ, "I am stronger, +wiser, fuller, better than you; all is mine that it may be yours, +therefore, abide in Me, and I will abide in you." + +_Notice Christ's consciousness of sufficiency for the needs of +men._--It were blasphemous audacity to speak thus, if He were not more +than man. He affirms that there can be no life apart from Him; that +souls not united with Him wither on the forest floor. He says, that +fruit-bearing is only possible to those who receive from His fullness +grace for grace. He says, that to be in union with Him will secure +union with all holy souls. He says, that if His words are carefully +pondered and obeyed, we shall make no petition which His Father will +not grant. He says, that His love, in quality and quantity, is like +the love that God has toward Himself; that His commands take rank with +those of Deity. He offers Himself to all mankind in coming ages, as +their contemporary, and as the one sufficient source of life and +godliness. All these assumptions are made in the range of these +verses; and as we ponder them, we feel that the Speaker must be +conscious of being other than human, and as possessing those infinite +attributes which are the sole property of the Eternal. + +Yet, who shall say that He has offered more than He can give? Have not +we tested Him in each of these particulars, and do not we, who have +come to Him by faith, know that in no one item has He been guilty of +exaggeration? We were dead, but behold, we live! We spent our +energies in profitless work; but now we bear fruit unto God. We were +lonely and isolated, but now have come to the heavenly Jerusalem, to +the innumerable company of angels, and to the Church of the Firstborn. +Our prayers were aimless and ineffective; but now we have the petitions +we desired. New hope and joy have filled our hearts, as the ruddy +clusters hang full and ripe in the autumn. Prove Him for yourself and +see if this shall not be so for you also. Only give yourself entirely +up to Christ. Abide in Him. Remain in Him. Let thought and speech +and life be bathed in the influences of His Holy Spirit; Let the sap of +His life flow where the sap of the self-life was wont to flow; and lo! +old things will pass away, and all things will become new. + +_The law and method of abiding._--There are two currents always flowing +within our reach: + +The Not I, and the I. + +The last Adam, and the first. + +The Spirit, and the flesh. + +God has put us by His grace into the first of these. The Master says, +"Stop there." Much as when a father puts his little boy in the railway +carriage, _en route_ for home, and says, "My boy, stop where you are. +Do not get out; no change is necessary." We are in Christ by +regeneration and faith. We may not always be thinking about Him; but +we remain in Him, unless by unfaithfulness or sin we consciously and +voluntarily leave Him. And if we have left Him for a single moment, it +is always possible by confession and renewal to regain our old position. + +This is confessedly an inadequate figure of speech. There is a sense +in which the member cannot be amputated from the body, and the soul +cannot be divorced from its union with Christ. But we are not dealing +now with our integral oneness with Christ for life, but with our +abiding union with Him for fruit-bearing and service. And again we +say, for those who are so immersed in daily business, as to be unable +for long together to keep their minds fixed on Christ, that their +abiding in Him does not depend on their perpetual realization and +consciousness of His presence, but on the faith that they have done and +said nothing inconsistent with the holy bond of fellowship. + +You are in a lift until you step out of it, though you may not be +thinking of the lift. You keep on a road until you take a turning +right or left, although, engrossed in converse with your friend, you do +not think of the road. You are in Christ amid the pressure of daily +care, and the haste of business, so long as your face is toward the +Lord, your attitude that of humble submission, and your conscience void +of offence. During the day it is therefore possible at any moment to +say, "I am in Thee, O blessed Christ. I have not all the rapture and +passion of more radiant hours, but I am in Thee, because I would not by +a single act, leave Thy secret place." If at such a moment you are +conscious that you are not able to say as much, instantly go back over +the past few hours, discover the place when you severed yourself from +your Lord, and return. + +Study Godet's beautiful definition of abiding: "It is the continuous +act by which the Christian lays aside all he might draw from his own +wisdom, strength and merit, to desire all from Christ by the inward +aspiration of faith." + +Whenever, therefore, temptation arises to leave the words of Christ +(ver. 7), for the maxims of the world, step back, remain in Him, deny +yourself. + +Whenever you are tempted to leave the narrow path of His commandments +(ver. 10), to follow the impulses of your own nature, reckon yourself +dead to these that you may _run_ in those. + +Whenever you are tempted to forsake the holy temper of Christ's love, +for jealousy, envy, hatred, step back and say, I will not go out of my +hiding-place, I elect to remain in the love of God. + +The one effort of life is therefore reduced to a persistent resistance +to all the suggestions of the world, the flesh and the devil; that we +should step out of that Blessed Man into whom the Father has grafted us. + +Then He abides in us. He is strong where we are weak, loving and +tender where we are thoughtless, holy where we fail. He is in us as +wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption; and as the hope +of glory. + + + + +XVI + +Prayer that Prevails + +"If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye +will, and it shall be done unto you."--JOHN xv. 7. + + +Christ expected answers to His prayers, and in all His teaching leads +us to feel that we shall be able to obtain, through prayer, what +otherwise would not come to our hand. He knew all that was to be known +of natural law and the Father's heart; but notwithstanding His perfect +acquaintance with the mysteries of the Father's government, He said, +"Ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." + +A careful comparison between the confident assurances of the Master, +and the experience of Christians, as detailed in their biographies or +personal confessions, discloses a wide difference between His words and +the findings of His disciples. Many have become accustomed to +disappointment in prayer. They have asked so many things which they +have never received; have sought so much without finding; have knocked +so repeatedly, but the door has remained closed. We are in the habit +of accounting for our failure by saying that probably our prayer was +not according to the will of God, or that God withheld the less that He +might give us something better. In some cases there may be even an +unspoken misgiving about the harmony of prayer with our Father's love +and wisdom, or with a perfect confidence in Him as doing the best for +us in the world. We forget that if we prayed as we should, we should +ask what was according to His will. We evade Christ's definite words, +"_Whatsoever_ ye shall ask in My Name, that will I do." + +When we consider the lives of some who have wrought mightily for God, +it is clear that they had learned a secret which eludes many of us. +Take this, for instance, from the biography of Dr. Burns Thomson. +"When much together as students," writes his friend, "we agreed on +special petitions, and the Lord encouraged us by giving answers, so +early and so definite, as could only have come from Himself, so that no +room was left for the shadow of a doubt that God was the Hearer and +Answerer of prayer. Once the answer came the same day, and at another +time, whilst we were yet speaking. My friend often spoke of our +agreement, to the glory of Him who fulfilled to us His promise, and I +refer to it, to encourage others." This is but one leaf out of the +great library of prayers, intercessions, and supplications for all +saints, which stand recorded before God. + +We naturally turn to our Lord's last utterances in which His +instructions about prevailing prayer are fuller than those of the +Sermon on the Mount; and than those given in the mid-passage of His +earthly life, which depict the importunity of the widow with the unjust +judge, and of the friend with his friend at midnight. The words spoken +in the chapter we are now considering are particularly pertinent to our +purpose, because they deal exclusively with the age to which our Lord +frequently referred as "that day," the day of Pentecost, the age of the +Holy Ghost, the day of this dispensation. + + +OUR LORD TEACHES THAT ANY PRAYER WHICH IS TO PREVAIL WITH GOD MUST PASS +FIVE TESTS, though these are but different phases of the same attitude. + +(1) _The glory of the Father._--"That the Father may be glorified in +the Son" (John xiv. 13). The one purpose of Christ on earth was to +glorify the Father; and at the close of His life here He was conscious +that He had not striven in vain. "Now," said He, "is the Son of Man +glorified, and God is glorified in Him." This was the purpose of His +earthly career, and it was perfectly consistent with that of His +eternal being; for each person of the Holy Trinity is ever intent on +unfolding and displaying the moral beauty of the other twain. Having +sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, Christ still pursues +His cherished purpose of making His Father known, loved, and adored. +No prayer, therefore, can hope to succeed with Him, or can claim His +concurrent intercession, which is out of harmony with this sublime +intent. + +Whatever petition we offer should be submitted to this standard. Can +we establish it in the presence of Christ, that our request will +promote the glory of the Father? Bring in your evidence--establish +your pleas--adduce your strong reasons. If you can make good your +claim, your prayer is already granted. But be sure that it is +impossible to seek the glory of God consistently with selfish aims. +These two can no more coexist than light and darkness in the same cubic +space. The glory of God will ever triumph at our cost. It is equally +certain that none of us can truly pray for the glory of God, unless we +are living for it. It is only out of the heart that has but one +purpose in life and death, that those prayers emanate which touch the +tenderest chord in the Saviour's nature, and awaken all His energies to +their highest activity, "That will I do." + +(2) _In Christ's Name._--"Whatsoever ye shall ask in My Name" (John +xiv. 13). Throughout the Holy Scriptures, _name stands for nature_. +The Master says, "You must ask My Nature." In other words, when we +pray, it must not be as the self-nature, but as the Christian-nature +dictates. We always know when that is paramount. It excludes +boasting; it is pure, peaceable and loving; it is far removed from the +glare and gaud of the world, it is full of Calvary, Olivet, and +Pentecost. There are days in our life when we feel borne along on its +tidal current; when Christ is in us, the hope of glory; when a power is +working within us beyond what we can ask or think; when we live, yet +not we, but Christ in us--these are the times most propitious for +prayer. Pour out your heart before God. Let Christ, who is in you by +the Holy Spirit, speak to the Christ who is above you on the throne. +Let the living water, which has descended from the eternal city, return +back to its source through the channel of your heart. This is praying +in His Name, and according to His Nature. + +Before we can expect our prayers to prosper, let us sit quietly down, +and, putting aside all other voices, permit the Christ-nature to speak. +It is only in proportion as it countersigns our petitions that they +will reach the audience-chamber of eternity. Surely, if this test were +properly applied, many of the petitions we now offer so glibly would +never leave our lips, and we should be satisfied about the fate of many +another prayer which, like some ill-fated barque, has left our shores, +and never been heard of again. But again let it be remembered that +none can pray in the name of Christ who do not live for that name, like +those early evangelists of whom John says that for the sake of the Name +they took nothing of the Gentiles. The name of Christ must be +predominant in life, if it is to be efficacious in prayer. + +(3) _Abide in Christ._--"If ye abide in Me, . . . ask what ye will" +(John xv. 7). We are in Christ, by the grafting of the great +Husbandman, who took us out of the wild vine of nature, and +incorporated us with Christ. That union is forever, but its conscious +enjoyment and helpfulness arise only in so far as we keep His +commandments. A limb may be in the body, and yet be dislocated and +useless. If you are in a train running through to your destination at +the terminus, all that is necessary is to resist the temptation to +alight at the stations _en route_, and to remain where you are. If, +then, God the Father has put you into Christ, and is seeking to +establish you in Him, be careful to resist every temptation or +suggestion to depart from living fellowship by any act of disobedience +or unbelief. + +If you abide in Christ in daily fellowship, it will not be difficult to +pray aright, for He has promised to abide in those who abide in Him; +and the sap of the Holy Ghost, securing for you fellowship with your +unseen Lord, will produce in you, as fruit, desires and petitions +similar to those which He unceasingly presents to His Father. +Throughout the ages Christ has been asking of God. This is the +perpetual attitude of the Son to the Father. He cannot ask what the +Father may not give. To get then into the current of His prayer is to +be sure of success. Abide in Him, that He may abide in you; not only +in the activities of holy service, but in the intercessions and +supplications of the hour of private prayer. + +(4) _Submit prayer to the correction of the Word._--"If My words abide +in you" . . . (John xv. 7). Christ's words have been compared to a +court of solemn and stately presences, sitting to try our prayers +before they pass on into the Master's presence. + +Here is a prayer which is selfish and earth-born, grasping at the +prizes of worldly ambition and greed. But as it enters it encounters +that solemn word, "_Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His +righteousness,_" and it turns back surprised and ashamed. + +Here is another prayer, full of imprecation and unkindness toward some +one who has maligned or injured the petitioner. But it is met by that +solemn word of the Master, "_Love your enemies, pray for them that +despitefully use you,_" and it hastens to retire. + +Here is another prayer full of murmuring regret because of the pressure +of the cross, the weight of the restraining yoke. But forthwith that +notable word of Christ forbids its further progress, saying, "_In the +world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome +the world._" In the presence of that reminder and rebuke, the prayer, +abashed, turns away its face and departs. Like the accusers of the +woman taken in the act of sin, prayers like these are inwardly +convicted of unfitness, and go forth. + +The words of Christ forbid unsuitable prayer, but they also stir the +heart with great desire for the realization of those good things which +Christ has promised to them that love Him. In this sense prayer +becomes a dialogue between the Master who says, "Seek ye My face," and +the disciple who responds, "Thy face, Lord, will I seek." + +(5) _Fruit-bearing._--"I appointed you that ye should bear fruit +that . . ." (John xv. 16). In other words, answers to prayers depend +very largely on our ministry to others. If we are prompted by desire +for our own comfort, peace, or enjoyment, we shall stand but a poor +chance of audience in the secret of His presence. If, on the other +hand, our prayers are connected with our fruit-bearing--that is, with +our ministry to others, with the coming of the kingdom, and the +accomplishment of God's purpose of salvation--the golden sceptre will +be extended to us, as when Ahasuerus said to Esther, "What is thy +request? Even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed." + +Is sun needed to ripen the fruit? Ask for it. The Father waits to +give it. Is dew or rain needed that the pitchers may be filled to the +brim with water which is to be made wine? Ask for it. God is not +unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love. Ask for all but +pruning; this the Father will administer, according to the good +pleasure of His goodness. The fruit-bearing branches have a right to +claim and appropriate all that is needed for the sweetening and +ripening of their precious burden. + +The temple of prayer is thus guarded from the intrusion of the +unprepared footstep by many tests. At the foot of the marble steps, we +are challenged for the watchword; and if we do not speak in harmony +with God's glory, our further passage is peremptorily stayed. The key, +engraven with the name of Jesus, will only obey the hand in which His +nature is throbbing. We must be in Him, if He is to plead in us. His +words must prune, direct, and control our aspirations; His service must +engage our energies. We must take part in the camp with His soldiers, +in the vineyard with His husbandmen, in the temple-building with His +artificers. It is as we serve our King, that we can reckon absolutely +on His answer to our prayers. + + +THREE CONCLUDING THOUGHTS REMAIN. + +_First_. It is clear that our prayers depend very largely on our inner +life. Where that is vigorous and healthy, they will be the same. But +let deterioration and failure set in there, and the effect will be +instantly apparent in our prayers. They act and react. Out of the +abundance of the heart the mouth speaks; and when the mouth is opened +in prayer and supplication, the heart speaks. + +_Second_. Bespeak the Spirit's indwelling. He is the bond of +communion and fellowship between the Father and the Son, and will lift +us into the holy circle of that eternal life, so that the current may +pass through us with uninterrupted velocity and force. He makes inward +intercession for the saints according to the will and mind of God. + +_Third_. Expect that prayer will become ever more engrossing, as the +Divine impulse is yielded to; so that what now occupies but a +comparatively small portion of time and energy will become with us, as +with the great Apostle, an exercise which we prosecute with unceasing +ardor, an ever-delightful method of promoting the Redeemer's Kingdom. + + + + +XVII + +The hatred of the World + +"They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that +whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these +things they will do unto you, because they have not known the Father, +nor Me."--JOHN xvi. 2, 3. + + +How near love and hate dwell in these words of Jesus! He had been +urging His disciples to cultivate perfect love, the love of God; He now +turns to describe the inevitable hatred with which they would be +assailed in the world that knew neither the Father nor Himself. And if +an additional motive were needed to induce that love, it would surely +be given by the consideration of that hate. + +This is no unimportant theme. It touches, very nearly, the lives of +thousands of believers amongst us. Though they have not to face the +thumbscrew and the stake, they discover painfully enough that the +offence of the Cross has not ceased. There are amongst us many who +daily quiver under the venomous gibe of neighbor and fellow-workman, +and find that their acceptance of Jesus Christ as Saviour and Master +has suddenly changed their family and working-life from a garden of +roses into a bed of thorns. Many a young man in the city +counting-house, many a mechanic at the bench, many a traveller in the +commercial-room, many a student on the college-benches, is doomed to +discover that the world does not love the Church better than in those +days when the fires gleamed in Smithfield, and men and women were +burned to death for loving God. But how sweet to know that all this +verifies the Master's words: Ye are not of the world, even as I am not +of the world. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; +but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the +world, therefore the world hateth you. + + +I. WHAT THEN IS THE WORLD?--It consists of those who are destitute of +the life and love of God, as contrasted with those who have received +and welcomed the unspeakable gift which is offered to all in Jesus +Christ. The great mass of the unregenerate and unbelieving, considered +as a unity, is the world, as interpreted by our Lord and His apostles. + +The world has its god and its religion, which was first instituted by +Cain at the gates of Eden; its prince, and court, and laws; its maxims +and principles; its literature and pleasures. It is dominated by a +peculiar spirit which the apostle calls a lust or fashion, and +resembles the German _Zeit-Geist_: an infection, an influence, a +pageantry, a witchery; reminding us of the fabled mountain of loadstone +which attracted vessels to itself for the iron that was in them, and +presently drew the nails from the timbers, so that the whole fabric +fell a helpless, shapeless mass into the waves. The votaries of the +world attach themselves to the objects of sense, to the things which +are seen and temporal. They have the utmost horror of poverty, +suffering, and humiliation; these they consider their chief evils to be +avoided at any cost; whilst they regard as the chief good, riches, +pleasure, and honor. + +The world is thus a great unity and entity; standing together as a +mighty kingdom; united and compacted together as Nebuchadnezzar's +image; environing the Church, as the great kingdoms of Assyria and +Egypt did the chosen people of God in the days of the kings. It +resembles a pack of wolves. "Behold," said Christ, "I send you forth +as sheep in the midst of wolves." Between such irreconcilable +opposites as the Church and the world, there cannot but be antagonism +and strife. Each treasures and seeks what the other rejects as +worthless. Each is devoted to ends that are inimical to the dearest +interests of the other. Each follows a prince, who met the prince of +the other, in mortal conflict. Let us thank Him, who out of this world +chose us for Himself. + + +II. LET US TRACE THE STORY OF THE WORLD'S HATRED.--_It was foretold in +Eden_. "I will put enmity," so God spoke to the serpent, "between thee +and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed." We are not disposed +to treat that ancient record with which our Bible opens as romance or +fairy story, but to regard it as containing a true and authentic record +of what actually transpired. That declaration is the key to the Bible. +On every page we meet the conflict, the bruising of the Church's heel +by the dark powers, and the increasing area of victory covered by our +Emmanuel, the Virgin's Child. This hatred is then in the very nature +of things, for this is but another name for God. It is, like others of +the deepest facts in the experience of man, fundamental and inevitable, +the outcome of mysteries which lie beyond the ken of man. + +_And it has characterized every age._--Abel is slain by Cain, who was +of the evil one, and slew his brother. Joseph is put into a pit by his +brethren, and into a prison by his master's wife; the Hebrew is smitten +by the Egyptian; David is hunted by Saul as a partridge on the +mountains; Micaiah is hated by Ahab because he always testifies against +him; Jeremiah lives a very suffering stricken life, until he is slain +in Egypt for remonstrating against a policy he could not alter; each of +the little company then listening to Christ is forecast for a martyr's +death, with, perhaps, the exception of John himself, whose life was +martyrdom enough; Stephen sheds the blood of his pure and noble nature, +and from that day to this the blood of the saints has poured in +streams, until the last harrowing records, which have come to light, +only of recent years, of the indescribable tortures and death of +Armenian martyrs. + +Each age has had its martyr-roll. They have been tortured, not +accepting deliverance, have had trial of mockings and scourgings, yea, +moreover of bonds and imprisonment; have been stoned, sawn asunder, +tempted, and slain with the sword; wandering in deserts and mountains +and caves, and the holes of the earth: of whom the world was not worthy. + +_The root or ground of hatred is not due to the evil discovered in the +persons, who are the objects of the world's hate._--"They hated Me +without a cause," our Saviour sorrowfully said. There might have been +some cloke for the shamelessness of the world's sin, if He had not +spoken words and done works among them such as none other ever said and +did; but in the face of the perfect beauty of His character, the grace +and truth of His words, and the loveliness of His deeds, it was by +their perfidy He was crucified and slain. In vain He challenged them +to convince Him of sin, and to bear witness to any evil which might +justify their malicious cruelty. They knew it was innocent blood; but +this knowledge, so far from mollifying them, only exasperated them the +more. + +The world hates the Church, not for the evil that is in it, but for the +good. It hates without cause. The holier and purer a life is, the +more certainly it will attract to itself malignity and dislike. The +more Christlike we are, the more we must suffer the relentless hate +that drove the nails into His hands, and the spear into His side. Do +not be surprised at this. Think it not strange concerning the fiery +trial which cometh to prove you, as though a strange thing happened +unto you; but doubt and question and be in fear, if you meet only +smiles and flattery and such honors as the world can give. You may +then ask yourselves whether you are not one of the world's own. + +_The real origin and fountain of the hatred of the world is due to +Satan's antagonism to God._--In his original creation, he was doubtless +as fair as any of the firstborn sons of light; but in his pride he +substituted himself for God, and love faded out of his being, making +way for the unutterable darkness of diabolic hate. Satan hates God +with a hatred for which there are no words; and therefore when the +Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world, Satan gathered up +every energy and resource of his nature to dog His steps, and make His +course through the world as painful as possible. Do you wonder that +the life of Jesus was so full of suffering? It could not have been +otherwise. Directly God, in the person of Jesus, stepped down into the +time-sphere, and assumed the conditions of earth and death, He came +within the range of the utmost that Satan could do to molest and injure +Him. Similarly, when the blessed Lord becomes the tenant of the heart, +and in proportion as He is so, that heart attracts to itself the hatred +with which the devil from the beginning has hated God. "If they have +persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they have kept My +saying, they will keep yours also. And these things will they do unto +you, because they have not known the Father nor Me." + +_It is natural for the evil to hate the good._--First, the sinner has +an uneasy conscience, and it hurts him to come in contact with those +whose character reminds him of what he ought to be, and might be, and +perhaps once was. The diseased eye dreads the light. The uncanny, +slimy things that lurk beneath stones, and in dark caves, squirm in +pain when you let in the day. The Turkish Sultan dislikes the presence +of British representatives, and correspondents of the Daily Press, amid +the dark deeds of blood and lust by which he is making Armenia a +desert. "Every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to +the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." + +In addition to an uneasy conscience, the sinner has an unbroken will. +He stoutly resists the impression of a superior and condemning +goodness. He hardens his heart, and strengthens its defences. "Who is +the Lord, that I should obey His voice? Double the tale of bricks: +summon the choice chariots and veteran soldiers of Egypt, that we may +pursue, overtake, and divide the spoil." Such are the successive boats +and challenges of the hardened heart. + +Is it to be wondered at, under such conditions, that the wicked +plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth, that +he draws his sword and bends his bow, to shoot privily at the upright +of heart? "The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him. +The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is +judged." + +_The great object of this hatred is to overcome the good._--In this +respect the hate of the world is like the love of the Church. The +child of God loves, that he may overcome the evil in the world, by +converting evil-doers from the error of their ways and assimilating +them to holiness; the child of the devil hates, that he may overcome +the good of the world, by arresting their goodness, and assimilating to +evil. Ah, how thankful we may be that we are not of the world, but +have been chosen out of it; for it lieth in the wicked one, and is +infected with the hatred of hell. + +It is not difficult, therefore, to go through the world, and escape its +hate. We have only to adopt its maxims, speak its language, and +conform to its ways. In the well-known picture of the Huguenots, the +young girl, with pleading, upturned face, seeks to tie the Royalist +scarf around her lover's arm. She will secure his safety if she +succeeds! Ah, how many pleading glances are cast at us to induce us to +spare ourselves and others, by toning down our speech, and covering our +regimentals by the disguising cloke of conformity to the world around! +"If you do not approve, at least you need not express your +disapproval." "If you cannot vote for, at least do not vote against." +If you dissent, put your sentiments in courtly phrase, and so pare them +down that they may not offend sensitive ears. Such is the advice, +which is freely proffered. But those who follow it quickly discover +that the compromise of principle involves certainly and awfully the +loss of influence for good. + + +III. OUR BEHAVIOR AMID THE WORLD'S HATRED.--We have fallen on evil +days. The world has been coated over with a Christian veneer, whilst +the Church has become leavened with the subtle spirit of the world. It +is hard to come out and be separate, because in the dim twilight one is +apt to mistake friend and foe. The bribes are so rich for those who +conform, the dissuasive so strong for those who refuse to bow to the +great golden image. But our duty is clear. We must be true to the +spirit of Christ. We must live a holy and unworldly life; we must +avoid all that might be construed as an unworthy compromise of the +interests of our Master's Kingdom. + +And through all the pitiless storm of hate that beats in our faces, we +must be glad. "Blessed are ye," said our Lord, "when men shall revile +you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you +falsely for My sake: rejoice and be exceeding glad." And why rejoice? +Because your reward is great in heaven; because you know that you are +not of the world; because you are shown to be on the path trodden by +the saints before you, every step of which has been trodden amid +similar manifestations of the devil's hate. + +Moreover, abound in love. Let there be no slackening of the patient, +tender, pitying love, which heaps coals of fire on the head of the +wrongdoer, and will never rest content until it has subdued the evil of +his heart, overcoming it with good. Love must ultimately conquer hate, +as surely as tomorrow's sun will conquer the darkness that now veils +the landscape. + + + + +XVIII + +The Work of the Holy Spirit on the World + +"He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of +judgment."--JOHN xvi. 8. + + +Three facts forced themselves home on the apostles during the Lord's +parting words. _First_, that they were to be bereaved of their +Master's presence (ver. 5). _Second_, that they were to be left alone, +amid the world's hatred--"Whosoever killeth you" (ver. 2). _Third_, +that their mission would be witness-bearing to the unseen Lord (xv. 27). + +And as they fully realized all that these facts involved, they became +too absorbed in their own sorrowful conclusions to inquire what bourn +the Master sought as He set sail from these earthly shores. "O +Master," they said in effect, "why canst Thou not stay? Our orphaned +hearts will never be able to endure the blank which Thy absence will +cause. Easier could a flock of sheep withstand the onset of a pack of +wolves than we the hatred of the world! And as for our +witness-bearing, it will be too feeble to avail aught." + +And the Master, in effect, answered thus: "I will not leave you without +aid. I shall still be with you, though unseen. My presence shall be +revealed to your spirits, and made livingly real through the blessed +Comforter. He will be with you, and in you. He will authenticate and +corroborate your witness. He shall testify of Me; and when He is come, +He will convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. +You see then that I shall be able to help you better by sending the +Holy Spirit than by staying with you Myself. It is expedient for _you_ +that I go away; for if I go not away the Comforter will not come to +you, but if I depart I will send Him unto you." + +We may not be able to fathom all the reasons for Christ's withdrawal +before the Spirit's advent was possible. But some of them are obvious +enough. The full union of the Son of God with our race must be secured +through death and resurrection, and His full union with the Father must +be indicated in His glorification with the glory He had or ever the +worlds were made, before He could be the perfect channel of +communicating the Divine fullness to our human nature. The Head must +be anointed before the Body. There must be no physical distraction +arising from the outward life of Jesus to compete with the spiritual +impression of His unseen presence. The text must be completed before +the sermon can be preached. Christ must die, or there can be no +witness to His atonement; must rise, or there can be no testimony to +His resurrection; must ascend, or there can be no declaration as to His +finished work and eternal intercession. Since the Spirit reveals +Christ, all that was appointed unto Christ to do must be completed ere +the Spirit can commence His ministry. + +The work of the Spirit on the world is through the Church, and is +described by our Lord as threefold. By His revelation of Christ He +creates three convictions. Each of these is necessary to the +regeneration of man. There must be the sense of sin, or he will not +seek the Saviour. There must be a belief that righteousness is +possible, or the convicted sinner will die of despair. There must be +the assurance that sin is doomed, and shall be finally vanquished, or +the baffled warrior will give up the long conflict as hopeless. + + +I. THE CONVICTION OF SIN.--We are constantly meeting people who are +perfectly indifferent to Christianity, because they say they do not +feel their need of it. Why should they trouble about it, when they +suppose themselves able to do perfectly well without it? + +In dealing with these, it is a great mistake to entice them toward the +gospel by describing the moral grandeur of Christ's character and +teaching. We should at once seek to arouse them to a sense of their +great sinfulness. When a man realizes that his life is being eaten out +by some insidious disease, he will need no further urging to go to a +physician. This is the weakness of modern preaching--that we expatiate +on the value of the remedy to men who have never realized their dire +necessity. + +But what is the truth most appropriate for producing the conviction of +sin in the human breast? "Preach the Ten Commandments in all their +stern and uncompromising 'shalts' and 'shalt-nots,'" cries one. "Read +out the descriptions given in Scripture of the evil things that lurk in +the heart of man as filthy things in darksome caves," says another. +"Show men the results of sin, take them to the edge of the bottomless +pit," insists a third. But not one of these is the chosen weapon of +the Holy Spirit. He convicts men of the sin of refusing to believe in +Jesus Christ. + +There stands the Cross, the evidence and symbol of God's love; and +there stands the risen Christ, offering Himself to men. There is +nothing which more certainly proves the innate evil of the human heart +than its refusal of that mystery of grace. Disbelief is the creature, +not of the intellect, but of the will. It is not the result of +inability to understand, but of stubborn obstinacy and stiffneckedness. +Here is the supreme manifestation of moral beauty, but man has no eyes +for it. Here is the highest revelation of God's desire for man to be +reconciled with Him, and be at one with Him, His happy child; but man +either despises or spurns His overtures. Here is the offer of pardon +for all the past, of heirship of all the promises, of blessedness in +all the future, but man owns that he is indifferent to the existence +and claims of God, and is quite willing to accept the sleeping +retribution of bygone years, and to risk a future irradiated by no star +of hope. Here is God in Christ beseeching him to be reconciled, +declaring how much the reconciliation has cost, but the frail child of +yesterday absolutely refuses to be at peace. No trace of tears in his +voice, no shame on his face, no response to God's love in his heart. + +This is sin at its worst. Not in a Nero drenched with the blood of +relatives and saints; nor in an Alva expert to invent new methods of +torture; nor in the brutalized expression of the felon; nor in the +degradation of the heathen: but in those beside you, who have heard of +the love of Jesus from their earliest childhood, and who know that He +died for them, and waits to bless them, but who deliberately and +persistently refuse Him, you will find the most terrible revelations of +what man is capable of. "This is the condemnation, that Light is come +into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their +deeds were evil." + +Conviction in itself is not enough. Many have been convicted who have +never gone on to conversion. They have dropped to the ground as +untimely fruit, blighted before its maturity. + +Conviction of sin does not come to all in the same manner or to the +same extent. Indeed, those who have come to Christ in early life are +in a degree exempt from drinking this bitter cup, though they have much +tenderness of conscience afterward. + +Do not wait for more conviction, but come to Jesus as you are, and tell +Him that the saddest symptom in your case is your inability to feel as +you know you should. Do not tarry to be convinced of sin. Do not stay +away till you feel more deeply. Do not suppose that strongly roused +emotions purchase His favor. His command is absolute--_Believe_. But +whenever that true repentance is wrought which needs not to be repented +of, or those tears of penitence fall from the eyes of the suppliant, +the means will always be the person and work and love of Jesus Christ. +This is the burning-glass through which the Spirit focuses the rays of +God's love on ice-bound hearts. + + +II. THE CONVICTION OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.--The aggravation of sin of which +the Spirit convicts the sinner seems to present a gloom too dark for +any ray to penetrate. He cannot forget. The dead past will not bury +its dead. The wind of eternity blows away the leaves with which he +tries to hide the corpses of murdered opportunities, broken hearts, and +dissipated years. He cannot forget. He may close his eyes, but still +the memories of the past will haunt him, the deeds he would undo, the +words he would recall, the dark ingratitude toward the love of Jesus. +Conscience is a flaming terror till a man finds Christ as his Saviour. +Her brow is girt with fire, her voice peals with doom. + +"Can I ever be cleansed?" cries the convicted soul. "Can these awful +gnawings be silenced, and these terrors laid? Can I rise from this +ruin and become a new, righteous, God-like man?" These questions are +answered by the Spirit who induced them. "There is righteousness," He +says, "because Christ is gone to the Father, and ye see Him no more." + +He is gone to the Father; and the seal of Divine authenticity has +therefore been placed on all He said and did in the Father's name. + +He is gone to the Father; and it is clear, therefore, that He has been +accepted as the Saviour and Redeemer of men. + +He is gone to the Father in the likeness and nature of men; evidently, +then, man is an object of God's love, is reconciled to God, and is +admitted to the rights and privileges of a son and heir. + +The work of Jesus on man's behalf finished at the Cross, accepted by +the Father--of which the resurrection is witness--presented by our +Great High Priest within the veil, is the momentous truth which the +Holy Spirit brings home to the convinced sinner. And inasmuch as we +are unable to see within the veil and discern the Divine marks of +approval and acceptance, the Holy Spirit descends, and in His advent +proves that Jesus has gone where He said, and done what He promised. + +How do we know that the work of Jesus Christ has been accepted in the +courts of eternity? On this wise. Before He died the Master said that +He went to the Father, and that when He was glorified He would ask and +receive the Spirit in His fullness. After days had elapsed and the +second week from His ascension was already passing, the Spirit in +pentecostal fullness fell upon the waiting Church, giving it an +altogether new power to combat with the world. What the wagons were to +Jacob, proving that Joseph lived and thought of him still, and was +indeed supreme in Egypt, that the day of Pentecost was in declaring +that Christ's personal righteousness had been vindicated, and that the +righteousness He had wrought out for man had received the hallmark of +the Divine assay. Therefore the apostle says, "The Holy Ghost also is +a witness to us that He hath perfected forever by one offering them +that are sanctified." And again, "Him hath God exalted with His right +hand to be a Prince and a Saviour; and the Holy Ghost, whom God hath +given to them that obey Him, is witness of these things." + + +III. THE CONVICTION OF JUDGMENT.--When we have been freed _from_ sin, +and made righteous in Christ, we are left face to face with a +tremendous struggle against sin. The sin of the past is indeed +forgiven, the voice of conscience has been hushed, the sinner rejoices +to know that he is accepted on the ground of righteousness; but the old +temptations still crop up. Passion prompts us to live for present +gratification; the flesh deadens the burning aspirations of the spirit. +We ask in sad earnestness, How shall we be able to survive the terrible +struggle and to come off victorious? It appears a vain hope that we +should ever rise to perfect and victorious purity. + +At such a time the Comforter convinces us of judgment. Not, as the +words are so often misquoted, of judgment to come, but in the sense in +which our Lord spoke of judgment to the inquiring Greeks: "Now is the +judgment of this world; now shall the Prince of this world be cast +out." Our Lord's references to the existence and power of Satan are +always distinct and unhesitating. It is impossible to accept Him as +our supreme Teacher without accepting His statements concerning His +great antagonist, to undo whose work brought the Son of God to earth. + +The whole Gospel is a story of the duel in which our Lord forever +worsted and mastered Satan. The conflict began with the lonely +struggle of the temptation in the wilderness; it pervaded Christ's +earthly career; it culminated in the Cross. Its first note was, "If +Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread"; its +last note was, "If Thou be the Son of God, come down from the Cross." +But when our Lord cried, "It is finished," with the shout of a +conqueror, He proclaimed to the universe that, though tempted to the +uttermost, He had not yielded in one particular, that evil was not an +eternal power, that wrong was not omnipotent. The Cross was the crisis +of this world's history: the prince of this world measured himself for +one final wrestle with the Son of God. Had he succeeded, evil would +have reigned; but since he failed he fell as lightning from heaven. + +On this fact the Holy Spirit loves to dwell. He unfolds its full +meaning. "See," He says, "Christ has conquered for you, and in your +nature. You meet a foe who is not invincible. Christ conquered, not +for Himself, but for all who believe. The prince of this world has +been judged and found wanting. He is condemned forevermore. Only +abide in the last Adam, the Lord from heaven, and let Him abide in you, +and He will repeat through you His olden victories." + +What a majestic thought is here! The world comes to us first with its +fascinations and delights. She comes to us next with her frowns and +tortures. Behind her is her prince. But since he has been cast out by +a stronger than himself, and exists only on sufferance, his most potent +bribes and lures, his most violent onsets, his most unscrupulous +suggestions, must collapse. Believer, meet him as a discredited and +fallen foe. He can have no power at all over thee. The Cross bruised +his head. Thou hast no need to fear judgment. It awaits those only +who are still in the devil's power. But thou mayest rejoice that for +thee a victory waits, the measure of which will only be explored when +thou seest the devil cast into the bottomless pit, and thence into the +lake of fire. + + + + +XIX + +Christ's Reticence Supplemented by the Spirit's Advent + +"I have yet many things to say unto you; but ye cannot bear them +now."--JOHN xvi. 12-15. + + +How confidently our Lord speaks of the Spirit's advent; not more so did +the prophets foretell His own. Repeatedly He returns to the phrase, +_When He is come_. The advent of the Spirit to the heart of the Church +on the Day of Pentecost, was as distinct and marked an event as the +advent of the Son of God Himself to the manger-bed of Bethlehem. Let +every reader of these words be sure of having taken the full advantage +of His Presence, just as we would wish to have availed ourselves to the +uttermost of the physical presence of Christ, had our lot so befallen. + + +I. THE THEME OF THIS PARAGRAPH IS THE INCOMPLETENESS OF OUR LORD'S +TEACHING.--For three and a half years He was perpetually pouring forth +His wonderful words; in many _different places_--the market-place, the +home at Bethany, the hillside, the Temple cloister; to many _different +audiences_--now in thronging crowds, and again to the secret disciple +whose footfall startled the night, or the lone woman drawing water from +the well; on many _different themes_--to mention all of which would be +impossible, though He never spoke on any subject, common as a wayside +flower, without associating with it thoughts that can never die. We +have but a small portion of His words recorded in the Gospels, it is +therefore the more remarkable that He left anything unsaid, and that at +the close of His ministry He should have to say, _I have yet many +things to say unto you_. Many parables, fair as His tenderest, woven +in the productive loom of His imagination, remained unuttered; many +discourses, inimitable as the Sermon on the Mount, or as this in the +upper room, unspoken; many revelations of heavenly mystery not made. + +A comparison between the Gospels and the Epistles will indicate how +much our Lord had left unsaid. The relation of the law of Moses to His +finished work was left to the Epistle to the Romans: the relation +between His Church and the usages of the heathen world, for the Epistle +to Corinth: the effect of His resurrection on the sleeping saints for +the Epistle to the Thessalonians. He said nothing about the union of +Jew and Gentile on terms of equality in His Church; this mystery, +hidden from ages and from generations, was only fully unveiled in the +Epistle to the Ephesians. It was left for the Epistle to the Hebrews +to disclose the superseding of the Temple and its ritual by the +realities of the Christian dispensation. The practical precepts for +the right ordering of the Churches were left for the pastoral Epistles; +and the course of the Church through the ages of the world's history, +for the Apocalypse of the beloved Apostle. When we perceive the many +things, taught in the Epistles, which were not unfolded by the Lord, we +discern a fresh meaning in His assurance that He left much unsaid. + +We are perpetually assailed by the cry, "Back to Christ," which is +significant of men's weariness of theological system, and organized +ecclesiasticism, and of a desire to get away from the accretions of the +Middle Ages and the dead hand of Church Tradition, into the pure, +serene, and holy presence of Jesus of Nazareth. It always seems to us +as if the cry should be _Up to_ Christ, rather than _Back_ to Him. To +put it as men generally do, suggests the inference that Christ lies far +in the wake of human progress, and behind the haze of eighteen +centuries; that He was, but is no longer, a potent factor in the +world's life; whereas He is here, now, with us, in us, leading us as of +old through rugged passes, and to mountains of transfiguration. + +If the endeavor to get back to Christ means the Synoptic Gospels to the +exclusion of the fourth, or the Epistles; or the Sermon on the Mount to +the exclusion of the Epistle to the Romans; or Jesus to the exclusion +of His Apostles, we feel it is but half the truth. Our Lord Himself +protested that His teachings were incomplete, that there was much left +unsaid which would be said by the Comforter, as even He could not, +because the Spirit of God speaks in the inner shrine of the soul, +uttering to the inner ear, truths which no voice could speak or ear +receive. Let us always remember therefore that the Gospels must be +completed by the Epistles, and that the Spirit who spake in the Son, +spake also in those whom the Son had prepared to be His mouthpieces to +men. + + +II. THE PARTIAL MEASURE OF HUMAN ABILITY TO KNOW.--"Ye cannot bear them +now." Our Lord's reticence did not arise from ignorance, He could have +said so much had He not been able to say more. All things were naked +and open to His eye, but He had a tender regard for these men whom He +loved. + +_Their bodies_ could not bear more. When the mind is strongly wrought +upon, the delicate organism of the body is deeply affected. On the +banks of the river Hiddekel, words of such wondrous importance were +uttered to the lonely exile, that Daniel fainted, and was sick many +days. "When I saw Him," says John, "I fell at His feet as dead." +Flavel, on more than one occasion, asked that the excessive revelation +might be stayed. Our Lord, therefore, feared that in their weakened +state, torn by anxiety and sorrow, His followers would collapse if +further strain were imposed upon their powers of spiritual apprehension. + +_Their minds_ could not bear more. The mind cannot receive more than a +certain amount. After a while its eye gets weary, it ceases to +receive, and even to remember. There are multitudes of cases in which, +when too great a weight has been crowded on the delicate organism +through which thoughts move, its balance has been upset, and it has +drivelled into idiocy. Against this danger, also, our Lord guarded, +for His disciples were already excited and over-strained. Their brains +were so exhausted that in a few moments they would be sleeping on the +cold ground of Gethsemane. Had He poured the light of the other world +in full measure upon them, the tide of glory had submerged them, like +spent swimmers. + +_Their affections_ could not bear more. Because He had spoken to them, +sorrow had filled their heart, and He forbore to describe the valley of +shadow through which they were still to pass, lest their hearts should +break. They had hardly commenced to drink its cup: what would its +dregs be? The footmen had wearied them: how would they contend with +horses? The brink had terrified them: how would they do in the +swellings of Jordan? + +It is thus that He deals with us still. He knows our frame, and +proportions our trials to our strength. He carefully feels our pulse +before commencing the operation through which He would lead us to +perfect health. He tempers His discipline to our spiritual capacity. +We desire to know many things: the reason why sin has been permitted, +the fate of the impenitent; the state of the great masses of men who +have passed into eternity without a true knowledge of God. Peter asks +for John, "What shall this man do?" Each wants to know the secret +plans, whether for himself, or his beloved, which are lying in the mind +and purpose of the Eternal. What will the end be? Where does that +path lead by which I am going, and which descends steeply into the +ravine? Will the fight between evil and good be much prolonged? What +are hell, and the bottomless pit, and the meaning of Christ's +references to the undying worm and unquenchable flame? And Christ +says, "My child, you cannot bear it; you could not sleep at night, you +could not play with the merry children by day, you could not perform +your slender tasks, if you knew all that I know, and see as I see. Be +at rest. Trust Me. I will tell you as soon as you are strong enough. +Nothing shall be kept back from you, all shall be revealed." And +surely the sufferings and limitations of this present time will not be +worthy to be compared with the exceeding weight of glory, when in the +presence of our Lord we shall see eye to eye, and know even as we are +known. + +In the light of these words we may get comfort. When some crushing +trouble befalls us, He who only spoke as they were able to bear, will +not permit the flame to be hotter, the tide stronger, or the task more +trying than we have strength for. We often do not know our strength +nor the power of His grace. Sorrow may be sent to reveal us to +ourselves, and show how much spiritual energy we have been silently +acquiring. Do not, therefore, run to and fro, and say, "It is too +much, I cannot bear it." But know and be sure that Christ has +ascertained your resources, and is sure of your ability, before He +permits the extreme ordeal to overtake you. Dare to say with the +apostle, "I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me." + + +III. THE TEACHING OF THE DIVINE SPIRIT.--His _personality_ is +unmistakable; though the Greek word for Spirit is neuter, a masculine +pronoun is used in conjunction with it when Jesus says, "He, the Spirit +of Truth." The personal Christ sent as a substitute for Himself no +mere breath or influence, but the personal Spirit. The Advocate before +the Throne is well represented by the Advocate in the heart of the +Church, and these two agree in one. Distinct as different Persons, but +one in the mystical unity of the Holy Trinity. + +Note the _method_ of the Holy Spirit. He teaches truth by taking of +the things of Christ and revealing them. There are two methods of +teaching children, by precept, and by example. I go into a schoolroom +one summer afternoon, and remark the hot cheeks and tired eyes of the +little ones. Outside the open window the bees are droning past, the +butterflies flit from flower to flower, and nature seems to cry to the +little hearts, "Come and play with me." Does a garden ever look so +beautiful as to children shut up to their studies? "What are you +learning, little ones?" I say. "Botany," is the sad answer "We've got +to learn all these hard names, and copy these diagrams." "Well," I +say, "shut up your books, and come with me." And presently I teach +them more botany by contact with the flowers themselves, than they +would have learned by hours of poring over lesson-books. It is so the +Spirit teaches. Is gentleness or purity, self-sacrifice or prayer, the +lesson that we are set to acquire? There is no need for Him to make a +new revelation to us. It is enough if He but bring us face to face +with Jesus, and show these qualities shining through His words and +deeds. The truth certainly, but the truth as it is in Jesus. + +The condition of proficiency in the Spirit's school is _obedience_. +"He will _guide_ you into all truth." This word is very significant. +Literally it means, _Show the way_. Ordinarily men ask to know the +truth before they obey. The Spirit demands that they should obey +before they know. Let me know the outcome of this act; its philosophy, +its reasonableness, its result, then I will obey. But the Spirit +answers, "It is enough for thee, O child of man, to know Me. Canst +thou not trust? Wilt thou not obey? And as thou obeyest thou shalt +know. Take this path, plod along its difficult way, climb where it +climbs, so shalt thou ascend the steep of obedience, and at each step a +further horizon of the truth will open outspread beneath thee." + +Let us be more sensitive to the guidance of the Spirit, following +whithersoever He clearly indicates, as when the Spirit said to Philip, +"Go, join thyself to this chariot." We shall know when we follow on to +know the Lord. His going forth is prepared for those who are prepared +to obey whatsoever He may appoint. + +The aim of the Spirit is to glorify our Lord. "He shall glorify Me, +for He shall receive of mine." The Spirit's presence, as such, should +not be a subject of our close scrutiny, lest we conflict with His holy +purpose of being hidden, that Jesus may be all in all before the gaze +of saint and sinner. He is so anxious that nothing should divert the +soul's gaze from the Lord whom He would reveal, that He carefully +withdraws Himself from view. "There must be nothing, not even God +Himself, to distract the heart from Jesus, through whom we come to God. +But remember that when you have the most precious views of your dear +Lord, it is because the Holy Spirit, all unseen, is witnessing and +working within you." + +The _authority_ of the Holy Spirit appears in the words, "He shall not +speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak." +Where does He hear the truths He utters? Where? There is only one +place. In the depths of the eternal throne, in the heart of Deity +itself, in the secret place of the Most High. Oh, marvel! surpassing +thought, yet true! that things which pass between the Father and the +Son, in the depths which no angel can penetrate, may be disclosed and +made known to those humble and contrite hearts who are willing to make +a space and pause for the Divine Spirit to speak the deep things of God. + +May it be ours to be patient and willing pupils in this heavenly school +in which the Holy Spirit is Teacher, and Jesus the Text-Book, and +character the essential condition of knowledge. + + + + +XX + +The Conqueror of the World + +"In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have +overcome the world."--JOHN xvi. 33. + + +It was the road between Jerusalem and the Gate of the Garden. Behind, +lay the city bathed in slumber; before, the Mount of Olives with its +terraced gardens; above, the Passover moon, pouring down floods of +silver light that dropped to the ground through the waving branches of +the trees. The Lord was on His way to betrayal and death, along that +path flecked by checkered moonlight. + +The farewell talk had been prolonged until the disciples had grasped +something of the Master's meaning. With many a comforting assurance it +had borne them forward to the magnificent but simple declaration, "_I +came forth from the Father, and am come into the world; again, I leave +the world, and go to the Father_" (ver. 28). At that announcement +light seems to have broken in upon their hearts, and they said unto +Him, "_Lo, now speakest Thou plainly, . . . by this we believe that +Thou camest forth from God._" Jesus replied, not as translators render +it, "_Do ye now believe_"; but as it should be rendered, "_At last ye +believe_"; and He proceeded to formulate three paradoxes: + +First, That within an hour or so He would be alone, yet not alone. + +Secondly, That they would have tribulation, and yet be in peace. + +Thirdly, That though He was going to His death, He was certainly a +conqueror, and had overcome the world, whose princes were about to +crucify Him. + +That word _overcome_ appears to have been used only this once by our +Lord; but it made a lasting impression on the Apostle John, who +constantly makes use of it in his Epistle. We meet with it _six_ times +in his brief first Epistle, and _sixteen_ times in the Book of +Revelation. Who can forget the sevenfold promise spoken by the risen +Lord to those who overcome; or the sublime affirmation concerning the +martyrs, that they overcame by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of +their testimony? + + +I. CHRIST AND HIS DISCIPLES HAVE A COMMON FOE--"The world."--And what +is the world? _It is well to take the inspired definition given in 1 +John ii. 16_. After enumerating her three daughters--the lust of the +flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--the apostle goes on +to say: "All that is in the world is not of the Father," _i.e._, does +not originate or proceed from Him, but has its source in the world +itself. We might reverse this proposition and say: "All that does not +emanate from the Father, which you cannot trace back to His purpose in +creation, is that mysterious indefinable influence or spirit which +makes the world." The world, in this sense, is not primarily a thing, +or a collection of people, but a spiritual influence poured out into +the very atmosphere of our lives. + +The spirit of the world insinuates itself everywhere. It is what we +call society; the consensus of fashionable opinion; the spirit which +finds its satisfaction in the seen and transient; the ambition that is +encircled by the rim of an earthly horizon; the aims, plans, and +activities which are comprehended, as the Preacher says, "under the +sun." You meet it in the school, where little children judge each +other by their dress and the number of horses their fathers keep; in +the country town, where strict lines are drawn between the professional +or wholesale man and the retailer; in gatherings of well-dressed +people, stiff with decorum and the punctilious observance of etiquette. + +The world has formulated its _Beatitudes_, thus: + +"Blessed are the rich, for they shall inherit the earth." + +"Blessed are the light-hearted, for they shall have many friends." + +"Blessed are the respectable, for they shall be respected." + +"Blessed are they who are not troubled by a sensitive conscience, for +they shall succeed in life." + +"Blessed are they who can indulge their appetites to the full, for they +shall be filled." + +"Blessed are they who have no need to conciliate their rivals, for they +will be saved from anxiety." + +"Blessed are they who have no poor relations, for they shall be +delivered from annoyance." + +"Blessed are they of whom all men speak well." + +The world's code says, "Do as others do; don't be singular; never +offend against good taste; have a tinge of religiousness, but remember +too much is impracticable for daily life; whatever you do, don't be +poor; never yield an inch, unless you are going to make something by +the concession; take every advantage of bettering your position, it +matters not at what cost to others--they must look after themselves, as +you to yourself." + +But it was reserved for John Bunyan to draw Madame Bubble's portrait: +"This woman is a witch. 'I am mistress of the world,' she says, 'and +men are made happy by me.' She wears a great purse at her side; and +her hand is often in her purse fingering her money. Yea, she has +bought off many a man from a pilgrim's life after he had fairly begun +it. She is a bold and impudent slut also, for she will talk to any +man. If there be one cunning to make money, she will speak well of him +from house to house. None can tell of the mischief she does. She +makes variance betwixt rulers and subjects, 'twixt parents and +children, 'twixt a man and his wife, 'twixt the flesh and the heart. +Had she stood by all this while,' said Standfast, whose eyes were still +full of her, 'you could not have set Madame Bubble more amply before +me, nor have better described her features.' 'He that drew her picture +was a good limner,' said Mr. Honest, 'and he that so wrote of her said +true.' 'Oh,' said Standfast, 'what a mercy it is that I did resist +her! for to what might she not have drawn me?'" + + +II. CHRIST AND HIS DISCIPLES HAVE A COMMON CONFLICT.--It is inevitable +that there should be collision, and therefore conflict, and as a result +tribulation. The world-spirit will not brook our disagreement with its +plans and aims, and therefore they who persist in living godly lives in +this present evil world must suffer persecution. + +_Conflict about the use of power and prerogative._--At His baptism our +Lord was proclaimed to be the Son of the Highest, and anointed with the +Holy Ghost and with power. Instantly the Prince of this world came to +Him with the suggestion that He should use it for the purposes of His +own comfort and display. "Make these stones bread for thine hunger; +cast Thyself down and attract the attention of the crowds." Here were +the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes. But our Lord refused +to use for Himself the power which was entrusted to Him for the +benediction and help of men. + +_Conflict as to the way of helping and saving men._--The world's way +was to leap into the seat of power at any cost, and from the height of +universal authority administer the affairs of the world. But Christ +knew better. He saw that He must take the form of a servant, and +humble Himself to the lowest. If He would save men, He cannot save +Himself: if He would bring forth much fruit, He must fall into the +ground to die: if He would ascend far above all heavens, bearing us +with Him to the realms of eternal day, He must descend first into the +lower parts of the earth. + +_Conflict in the estimate of poverty and suffering._--The world looked +on these as the most terrible disasters that could befall. Christ, on +the other hand, taught that blessedness lay most within reach of the +poor in spirit, the mourners, the merciful, the forgiving, and the +persecuted. But the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, when they +heard all these things, scoffed at Him. + +_Conflict in their diverse notions of royalty._--The Jews looked for a +Messiah who should revive the glories of the days of David and Solomon, +driving the Gentiles from the land, and receiving the homage of the +surrounding nations, whilst every son of Abraham enjoyed opulence and +ease. Referring to this expectation, the Master said, "My kingdom is +not of this world: if My kingdom were of this world, then would My +servants fight." His conception of royalty was founded on service, +which would wash the disciples' feet; on humility, which meekly bore +the heavy yoke, on patience, which would not quench the smoking flax, +on suffering, which flinched not from the cross; on the nobility and +dignity of the inner life, which shone through the most humble +circumstances, as the transfiguration glory through His robes. For +this He died. The chief priests and scribes hunted Him to death, +because He persisted in asserting that He was the true King of men. +"And Pilate wrote a title also, and put it on the Cross, _Jesus of +Nazareth, the King of the Jews_." + +_There was conflict in regard to religion._--The people of Christ's day +were very religious. The world likes a flavor of religion. It makes a +good background and screen, it serves to hide much that is unbecoming +and questionable; it is respectable, and satisfies an instinctive +longing of the soul. But the world manages its religion in such a way +as not to interfere with its self-aggrandizement; but, in fact, to +promote it. Christ, on the other hand, taught that religion was for +the Father in secret; and consisted, not in the rigorous observance of +outward rite, but in pity, mercy, forgiveness, solitary prayer, and +purity of heart. + +Thus the Lord's life was the reversal of everything that the world +prized. Wherever He touched it there was conflict and collision, +strong antagonism was evoked, and profound irritation on the part of +the poor hollow appearance-loving world. So it must be with His +followers. "These pilgrims must needs go through the fair. Well, so +they did; but behold, even as they entered into the fair, all the +people in the fair were moved, and the town itself, as it were, in a +hubbub about them. They were clothed with such kind of raiment as was +diverse from the raiment of any who traded in that fair; few could +understand what they said; and the pilgrims set very light by all their +wares. And they did not believe them to be any other than bedlams and +mad. Therefore they took them and beat them, and besmeared them with +dirt, and then put them in the cage, that they might be made a +spectacle to all the men at the fair." + +Child of God, your conflict may be altogether _hidden_ from the eyes of +those around you, _lonely_ with the awful loneliness of one in a crowd +of unsympathizing strangers, _painful_ with the tribulation that Christ +foretold. You have been ridiculed, sneered at, maligned; your tools +hidden, your goods injured, violence threatened or executed. You have +been as a speckled bird, pecked at by the birds around. But this is +the way the Master went. By these marks you may be sure that you are +in the way of His steps. + + +III. THE COMMON VICTORY.--"Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." + +In the midst of a battle, when the soldiers are weary with fatigue, +galled with fire, and grimed with smoke, if the general rides into the +midst to cheer them with a few hearty words, and tells them that the +key to the position is in their hands, they cheer him enthusiastically, +and take up new hope. So down the line our Leader and Commander sends +the encouragement of these inspiring words. Let us drink their comfort +and encouragement to the full, that, amid our tribulation, in Him we +may have peace. + +_He conquered for Himself._--The Lord has shown that a great and +blessed life is possible on conditions which the world pronounces +simply unendurable. He would not accept the world's maxims, would not +be ruled by the world's principles, did despite to the world's most +favorite plans. He even tasted the dregs of reprobation that the world +metes out to those who oppose her, enduring the cross, and despising +the shame. But His life was blessed while it lasted, His name is the +dearest and fairest treasure of our race, and He holds an empire such +as none of the world's most favored conquerors ever won. Does not this +show that the world is a lying temptress, that there is another and a +better policy of life than hers, that the real sweets and prizes of +this brief existence are, after all, not in her gift. Christ has +overcome the world. Her prince came to Him, but found no response to +any of His proposals. He disregarded her flatteries and threatenings; +He would not have her help and despised her hate; He prosecuted His +path in defiance of her, and has left an imperishable glory behind. +Thus He overcame the world. + +_And he conquered as our representative and head._--What He did for +Himself He is prepared to repeat in the life-story of His followers. +Ah! lonely soul, thou shalt not be left unaided to withstand the +seductions of the temptress world; Jesus is with thee, thy Great-heart +and Champion. As the Father was with Him, so He is with thee; so thus +thou mayest boldly say, "The Lord is my helper, I will not fear what +man can do unto me." + +He does more. Behind the light of this world's glory, Jesus reveals +another; and it is as when the sun rises, while the yellow moon still +lingers in the sky. The world has no glory by reason of that glory, +which excelleth. We are content with this world until He reveals the +glory of the unseen and eternal; then a holy discontent arises with us, +such as the patriarchs felt toward Canaan, when by faith they beheld +the city which hath foundations. I only say to you, get that vision, +and it becomes as easy for you to refuse the passing and worthless +attractions of the world as for an angel to ignore a wanton's beauty, +or a child to make light of diamonds in the rough. + +In Jesus you may have peace. It is not certainly ours, unless we +follow the two conditions He lays down. First, of abiding in Him; and, +secondly, of meditating on His words. But if these be observed we +shall have in the midst of strife, just as there is an oratory in the +heart of the castle keep; a hollow cone in the midst of the candle +flame; and a centre of safety in the midst of the sweeping whirlwind. +Oh, abide there, child of God! + +And, in addition to peace, there shall one day be victory. We also +shall overcome, and shall sit with Christ on His throne, as He +overcame, and sits with the Father upon His. Then the fruit of the +tree of life, immunity from the second death, the hidden manna, the +white stone, the morning star, the confession before the angels of God, +and the pillar in the temple of Eternity! + + + + +XXI + +Consecrated to Consecrate + +"For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be +sanctified in truth."--JOHN xvii. 19. + + +"The most precious fragment of the past," is the unstinted eulogium +which a thoughtful man has passed on this transcendent prayer; +transcending in its scope of view, its expressions, its tender pathos, +all other prayers of which we have record. + +Its primary characteristic is _timelessness_. Though uttered within a +few hours of Calvary, it contains thoughts and expressions which must +have been familiar to our Lord at any moment during the centuries which +have followed. As we study it, therefore, we are listening to words +which have been uttered many times on our behalf, and will be uttered +until we are with Him, where He is, beholding the glory of the Divine +Son, superadded to that of the Perfect Servant. + +The R. V. margin substitutes the word _consecrate_ for _sanctify_, and +it probably conveys a better meaning, because devotion to the will of +God is prominent, rather than the holiness of personal character. +Devotion to God's will is the primary thought suggested by the word; +but of course it involves a blameless and spotless character. Thus we +might read the words, "For their sakes I consecrate Myself, that they +also may be consecrated in truth." Through the dim twilight the Lord +clearly foresaw what was awaiting Him--the agony and bloody sweat, the +cross and passion, the foresakenness and travail of His soul. The +cross with out-stretched arms waited to receive Him; the midnight +darkness to engulf Him, the murderous band to wreak their hate on the +unresisting Lamb--and yet He flinched not, but went right forward, +consecrating Himself. + + "Twas thus He suffered, though a Son, + Foreknowing, choosing, tasting all, + Until the dreadful work was done + And drank the bitter cup of gall." + + +I. THE SUBJECTS OF CHRIST'S SOLICITUDE.--In the earlier verses the Lord +speaks of Himself, of His finished work, of the glory which He had +left, of that to which He went, asking only that He might be able to +glorify the Father in every movement of His coming sorrow (1-5). + +Then He launches Himself on the full current of intercession, and +pleads for those who had been given to Him, as distinguished from the +world of men out of which they had come. Evidently the same thought +was in His mind as inspired His words in John x., when He spoke of the +sheep whom the Father had given to Him, that He might give them eternal +life (27-29). And it may be that each of these two utterances was +inspired by older words yet, that Zechariah had addressed to the poor +of the flock when he cut asunder his two slaves, Beauty and Bands +(Zech. xi. 7-14). + +The underlying conception in all these passages seems to be that the +Father has entrusted to the special keeping of Jesus certain elect +spirits having an affinity to His nature, and who should stand in the +inner circle to Him because associated with Him from high redemptive +purpose. All souls are God's by right of creation, and all are +included in the redemption wrought on the cross; but not all had been +included in the Divine gift of which Jesus speaks, "Thine they were, +and Thou gavest them Me." We conclude that in the eternity of the +past, as the Father beheld all future things as though they were +present, and surveyed the vast multitudes of the human family, He +discerned those who would be attracted by indissoluble union with His +Son, manifest in the flesh; and whom He did foreknow, these also He did +predestinate to be His flock, His brethren and sisters, His chosen band +of associates in His redemptive purpose. These were the subjects of +His powerful solicitude, "I make request, not for the world, but for +those whom Thou hast given Me." + +What then? Did not God care for the world? Certainly. He so loved +the world that He gave His only begotten Son. + +How then can we reconcile the love of God to the world with the +selection of some as the flock of the Lamb, whilst the great world +seems expressly excluded from His prayer? That question is fitly put. +The emphasis is on the word seems. It is only to the superficial view +that the world is excluded. Are the planets excluded from the law of +gravitation because suns are filled with fire and light? Are the lower +orders of creation excluded from the circle of enjoyment because man +with his high organization is more richly endowed than they? Are +sufferers excluded from the healing virtues of nature because a +comparative few are specially qualified as surgeons and physicians? +Can a missionary be charged with neglecting a dark continent because he +concentrates thought and care on a few elect spirits gathered around +him? For instance, could Columba be held guilty of neglecting the +Picts and Scots when on Iona's lone isle he focused his care upon the +handful of followers who assembled around the ancient pile, whose ruins +are his lasting memorial? There is but one answer to these questions. +Election is not exclusive, but inclusive. Its purpose is not primarily +the salvation or delectation of the few, but their equipment to become +the apostles to the many. And if Jesus thought, cared, and prayed so +much for those whom the Father had given Him, His ulterior thought was +that the world might believe that the Father had sent Him (ver. 21). +If then it should be proved that you, my reader, are not included in +the band of the given ones, that would not necessarily involve you in +the eternal condemnation and loss of the future; though it would +exclude you from sharing with Christ in His lofty mission to the sons +of men. + +What are the marks then that we belong to the inner circle of the given +ones? They are these-- + +1. That we have come to Him (John vi. 37). + +2. That we hear His voice, listening for the slightest indication of +His will (John x. 27). + +3. That we follow His steps through the world. + +4. That we receive His words and believe that the Father sent the Son +to be our Saviour. + +5. That the world hates us (ver. 14). + +Wheresoever these marks are present, they indicate the hand of the +Great Shepherd and Bishop of Souls, and though we be amongst the most +timid and worthless of the flock, He is pledged to keep us, so that +none shall snatch us from His hand, and conduct us through the valley +of the shadow to those dewy upland lawns over which He will lead us +forevermore. + + +II. WHAT HE SOUGHT FOR THEM--"that they might be consecrated in truth." + +Christ does not ask that His own should be forgiven, comforted, +supplied with the good things of life--all thought for these pales in +the presence of His intense desire that they should be consecrated, +_i.e._, inspired by the same consuming passion as was burning in His +heart. He knew that He was no more in the world. High business +connected with its interests summoned Him to the far country, whither +He went to receive the kingdom and return. But He desired that the +passion which filled His soul, His tears, His prayers, and, to an +extent, His sufferings, might always be represented amongst the sons of +men, embodied in human lives, finding utterance through human lips. He +could not Himself perpetuate his corporeal visible ministry among men, +and therefore desired with a great desire that those whom the Father +had given Him should evermore show forth His death till He came. Not +simply by gathering at His table, but by going forth to live His life, +and fill up that which is behind of His sufferings. + +Is this your life? We have sometimes heard consecration stated as +though it were a matter of choice whether believers should bind +themselves by its obligations or not. When a student enters the +university there are certain subjects in which he must matriculate, but +there are special ones which he may graduate in or not, as he pleases. +Should he refuse them, he is not blamed. The matter was within his +option. Now, let it be clearly understood from these words of Christ +that consecration is not in the same sense optional, but obligatory. +For all those whom the Father had given Him He pleaded with His dying +breath that they should be consecrated; and if you are not consecrated, +if there are extensive reserves in your life, if you are holding back +part of the price, if you are saying of aught that you have, It is my +own, I shall do as I choose, then understand that you are in direct +conflict against Christ's purpose and prayer. He asked that you might +be consecrated; and you have chosen to regard consecration as the craze +of the fervid enthusiast. + + +III. CHRIST'S METHOD OF SECURING THE CONSECRATION OF HIS +SERVANTS.--"For their sakes I consecrate Myself." + +(1) _There is the potency of example._--"He hath left us an example to +follow in His steps." "He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself +also to walk even as He walked." Once when He was praying in a certain +place His disciples said, "Lord, teach us to pray." They had come +within the powerful attraction of His Spirit. Like a swift current it +had caught them, and they were eager to emulate Him. It is impossible +for the saint to gaze long on the stigmata without becoming branded +with the marks of Jesus; impossible to see Him hasting to the cross +without being stirred to follow Him; impossible to behold the intensity +of His purpose for a world's redemption without becoming imbued with +it; impossible to see Him in love with the cross without feeling a +similar infatuation; impossible to behold Him plunging into the dark +floods of death that He might emerge in the sunlit ocean, without the +consciousness of the uprising of an insatiable desire to be like Him, +to drink of His cup, and be baptized with His baptism, to fall into the +ground to die, that He may not abide alone, to know the fellowship of +His sufferings, and conformity to His death, that He may appoint unto +us a kingdom, as the Father hath appointed to Him. + +(2) _There is our implication in His mediatorial work._--"I have been +crucified with Christ," the apostle said. And, again, "Ye died with +Christ from the rudiments of the world." Of course, Christ died _for_ +us, presenting to the claims of a broken law a perfect satisfaction and +oblation. It is also true that we died _with_ Him, were _in_ Him as +our Representative, wrought _through_ Him as our Forerunner; the first +fruit-sheaf contained the promise of all its companions. + +Consider for a moment a remarkable expression that casts light on this +whole subject. In that memorable discussion with the Jews in Solomon's +porch, which practically closed our Lord's public ministry, He said +that the Father had sanctified and consecrated Him and sent Him into +the world (John x. 36). In these sublime words He undoubtedly refers +to a moment which preceded the Incarnation, when the Godhead designated +the Second Person to redeem men? Was it the same moment, think you, as +that in which Jesus said, "Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not, but +a body thou hast prepared for Me (or, Mine ears hast thou pierced). I +delight to do Thy will, O My God." If so, what an august scene that +must have been when, in the presence of the assembled hierarchies of +heaven, the Father solemnly set apart the Son for His redemption work, +consecrating Him to bring in everlasting salvation, to destroy the +works of the devil, and to bring together in one the children of God +that are scattered abroad! + +In that solemn consecration of the head all the members were included. +The King stood for His kingdom; the Shepherd for His flock. Any who +refuse to be consecrated contravene and contradict that momentous +decision. + +When Christ approached His death, in these words He renewed His act of +consecration, and again implicated those who belong to Him; bearing us +with Him, He went to the cross, involving us by His actions, He yielded +Himself up to death. In His holy purpose we were quickened together +with Him, and raised up together, and made to sit together in the +heavenly places; and by the same emphasis that we declare ourselves to +be His, we confess that we are amongst those who are bound to a life of +consecration. We are pledged to it by union with our Lord. We cannot +draw back from the doorpost to which He was nailed without proving that +we are deficient in appreciating the purpose which brought Him to our +world, the surrender that withheld not His face from spitting, His soul +from the shadow of death. + + +IV. OUR DUTY.--"Yield yourselves unto God." When Abraham Lincoln +dedicated, for the purposes of a graveyard, the field of Gettysburg, +where so many brave soldiers had lost their lives, he said: "We cannot +dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The +brave men who struggled here have consecrated it far beyond our power +to add or detract. It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated to +the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly +advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task +remaining before us, that from these honored dead we take increased +devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of +devotion; and that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not +have died in vain." + +These noble words, when we have made the needful alterations and +adaptations, are most applicable to our present point. Let us dedicate +ourselves to the great task before us, and to which Jesus has pledged +us. Let us devote ourselves to this great cause for which Jesus died. +Let us highly resolve that He shall not have died in vain. Let us +offer and present ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, +holy, and living sacrifice unto God, that His will might be done +through us, as it is done in heaven. + + "My Master, lead me to Thy door; + Pierce this now willing ear once more; + Thy bonds are freedom, let me stay + With Thee, to toil, endure, obey. + + "Yes; ear and hand, and thought and will! + Use all in Thy dear slavery still! + Self's weary liberties I cast + Beneath Thy feet; there keep them fast." + + + + +XXII + +The Lord's Prayer for His People's Oneness + +"That they may all be one. . . . One in us. . . . That they may be +one, even as we are one. . . . Perfect in one."--JOHN xvii. 21-23. + + +Thus our High Priest pleaded, and thus He pleads. In all the power of +His endless life, He ever liveth to bear this great petition on His +heart: and as the weight of the jewelled breast-plate lay heavy on the +heart of the high priests of old, so does it press on Him, as the ages +slowly pass by in their never-ceasing progress toward the consummation +of all things. Listen to that voice, sweet and full as the distant +rush of many waters, as it pleads in the midst of eternity that those +which believe in Him may be one. + +Nor is it true that this prayer awaits an answer indefinitely future. +There seems good reason to believe, as we shall see, that in these +words our Lord was making a request, which began to be fulfilled on the +Day of Pentecost: and is being fulfilled continually, although the +oneness which is being realized is still, like His kingdom, in mystery, +and is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. Then, as the +gauzy mists of time part before the breath of God, the accomplished +oneness of the Church shall stand revealed. + + +I. THE ONENESS OF BELIEVERS IS A SPIRITUAL ONENESS.--Can there be any +reasonable doubt of this when our Master asks so clearly that we may be +one, _as the Father and He are one_? The model for Christian unity is +evidently the unity between the Father and Son by the Holy Spirit; and +since that unity, the unity of the blessed God, is not corporeal, nor +physical, nor substantial to the eye of the flesh, may we not +infer--nay, are we not compelled to infer--that the oneness of +believers is to be after the same fashion, and to consist in so close +an identity of nature, so absolute an interfusion of spirit, as that +they shall be one in aim, and thought, and life, and spirit, +spiritually one with each other, because spiritually one with Him? + +The Church of Rome, which has ever travestied in gross material forms +the most spiritual conceptions of God, sought to prove herself the true +Church by achieving a oneness of her own. It was an outward and +visible oneness. In the apostate church every one must utter the same +formularies, worship in the same postures, and belong to the same +ecclesiastical system. And its leaders did their best to realize their +dream. They endeavored to exterminate heresy by fire, and sword, and +torture. They spread their network through the world. And just before +the dawn of the Reformation they seemed to have succeeded. At the +beginning of the sixteenth century, Europe reposed in the monotony of +almost universal uniformity, beneath the almost universal supremacy of +the Papacy. Rome might indeed have adopted the insolent language of +the Assyrian of prophecy: "As one gathereth eggs, so have I gathered +all the earth, and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the +mouth, or peeped." And what was the result? _What but the deep sleep +of spiritual death_? And herein lay the most crushing condemnation of +the Roman Catholic conception of the unity of the Church. + +Many modern notions of Christian unity seem to proceed on the same +line. The assent to a certain credal basis, the meeting in great +Catholic conventions, the exchange of pulpits--these seem to exhaust +the conceptions of large numbers, and to satisfy their ideal. But +surely there is a bond of union deeper, holier, more vital and more +blessed than any of these, which shyly reveals itself, now and again, +in one or more of them, but is independent of all, and when all of them +are wanting, still constitutes us _one_. And what is that bond of +union but the possession of a common spiritual life, like that which +unites the Father and the Son, and which pervades us also, making us +one with each other, because we are already one with God? + +You may not care to admit it; you may even be ignorant of the full +meaning of this marvellous fact; you may live an exclusive life, never +going beyond the walls of some small conventicle, or the barriers of +some strict ecclesiastical system; you may bear yourself impatiently +and brusquely toward those who differ from you; you may even brand them +with your anathema: but if they are one with God, by His gracious +indwelling Spirit of Life, and if you are also one with Him, you +positively cannot help being one with them. Your creed may differ, or +your mode of worship, or your views about the Church; but you cannot be +otherwise than one with those who are one with God, in a union which is +not material but spiritual. + + +II. THIS ONENESS ALSO ADMITS OF GREAT VARIETY.--"One, as Thou, Father, +art in Me, and I in Thee." Now, of course, we all admit the unity of +the Godhead. The first article of the Jew is also the first article of +the Christian, that the Lord our God is one God, one in essence, one in +purpose, one in action. The Son does nothing of Himself; the Father +does nothing apart from the Son; the Holy Ghost proceedeth from the +Father and the Son. We cannot, as yet, understand this mystery; but +with reverence we accept it as the primary basis of our faith. + +But though God is One, there is evidently a variety of function in the +ever-blessed Trinity. The Father decrees, the Son executes. The +Father sends, the Son is sent. The Father works in Creation, the Son +in Redemption and Judgment. And the functions of both Father and Son +differ from those of the Holy Spirit. + +If, then, the unity of the Church is to resemble the unity of the +Godhead, according to our Lord's request, we may expect that it will +not be physical, nor mechanical, nor a uniformity; but it will be a +variety in unity--a unity of Spirit and purpose, and yet a unity which +admits of very diverse functions and operations. Diversities of gifts, +but the same Spirit. Differences of administrations, but the same +Lord. Diversities of operations, but the same God which worketh all in +all. + +(1) _The very conception of unity involves variety._--You take me out +into a piece of waste land, and pointing to a heap of bricks say, +"There is a unity." I at once rebut your assertion; there is +uniformity undoubtedly, but not unity. Unity requires that a variety +of _different_ things should be combined to form one structure and +carry out one idea. A collection of bricks is not a unity, but a house +is. A pole is not a unity, but a hop-plant is. A snow atom is not a +unity, but a snow crystal is. And when our Lord spoke of His disciples +as one, He not only expected that there would be varieties amongst +them, in character, mind, and ecclesiastical preference; but by the +very choice of His words He meant us to infer that it would be so. The +unity on which He set His heart was not a uniformity. + +(2) _But with variety there may be the truest unity._--There is variety +in the human body--from eyelash to foot, from heart to blood-disc, from +brain to quivering nerve-fibre; yet, in all this variety, each one is +conscious of an indivisible unity. There is variety in the tree: the +giant arms that wrestle with the storm, the far-spreading roots that +moor it to the soil, the myriad leaves in which the wind makes music, +the cones or nuts which it flings upon the forest floor; yet for all +this it is one. There is a variety in the Bible: variety of +authorship--king, prophet, priest, herdsman, and fisherman, scholar, +sage, and saint; variety of style--prose, poetry, psalmody, argument, +appeal; variety of age--from the days of Moses to those of John, the +beloved apostle, writing amid the persecutions of the empire; yet for +all this there is a oneness in the Bible which no mere binding could +give. So with the Church of Christ: there may be, there must be +infinite varieties and shades of thought and work. Some will prefer +the methods of Wesley, others the freedom of Congregationalism. Some +will pray most naturally through the venerable words of a Liturgy, +others in the deep silence of a Friends' Meeting. Some will thrive +best beneath the crozier of the Bishop, others in the plain barracks of +the Salvation Army; but, notwithstanding all this variety, there may be +a deep spiritual unity. Many folds, but one flock; many regiments, but +one army; many stones, but one breast-plate. "There is one body, and +one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one +Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above +all, and through all, and in you all." + + +III. THE BASIS OF CHRISTIAN UNITY IS THE UNION OF EACH BELIEVER TO +CHRIST.--"I in them, that they may be made perfect in one." However +much true believers in Christ differ, there are two points in which +they agree. + +(1) _Each believer is in Christ_: in Christ's heart, loved with an +everlasting love, the beloved name engraven on its secret tables; in +Christ's book, enrolled on those pages which are sealed so fast that He +alone can break the seven-fold seal; in Christ's hand, which holds the +ocean as a drop upon its palm, and which was pierced on Calvary, from +which no power shall ever pluck the trembling soul; in Christ's grace, +rooted as a tree in luxuriant soil, or a house in a foundation of rock; +but above all in Christ's Person, for He is the Head, "from whom the +whole body is fitly framed and knit together by that which every joint +supplieth." There are innumerable texts which speak of the Church as +the Body of Christ (Eph. i. 23; Col. i. 24); and directly a man +believes in Christ, he becomes a member of that mystical body. "We are +members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones." You may be a +very obscure member, or even a paralyzed member; but be sure of this, +if you are a Christian you are in Christ, as the eye is in the +eye-socket, the arm in the shoulder-joint, and the finger in the hand. + +(2) _Christ is in each believer._--The texts that teach Christ's real +presence in the believer are as numerous as spring flowers. "Christ +liveth in me." "Know ye not that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be +reprobates?" "Ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and +I in you." The Lord Jesus is in the heart which makes Him welcome, as +the steam is in the piston, as the sap is in the branch, as the blood +is in the heart, as the life is in the body. It would be impossible +for words to describe a more intense spiritual Oneness than that which +is here presented to us. The Saviour is in each of us, as the Father +is in Him, and we are in Him, and He in God. "Our life is hid with +Christ in God." Therefore we are not only one with Jesus Christ, but +through Him we are one with God. "I in them, Thou in Me." The very +life of God is pouring its glorious tides through us, and would do so +more largely if only we were more receptive and obedient. He pours +water out of the mouth of the Congo at the rate of 1,000,000 tons per +second; and is willing to do marvels as mighty through each believer. +And as this life permeates us all alike, it makes us not only one with +the blessed God, but one with all who believe, as the blood makes all +the members of the body one, and the sap the branches of the tree. + + +IV. _THE MEANS OF THIS SPIRITUAL UNITY ARE THE INFLUENCES OF THE HOLY +SPIRIT._--Influence means _inflow_. It was by the Holy Spirit that our +Lord's human nature was made one with His Father's. And this same Holy +Spirit He has bequeathed to us, that He may be the same bond of +spiritual life between us and our Lord as He was between our Lord and +His Father. May not this be the meaning of His words: "The glory +which Thou gavest Me I have given them, that they may be one as we are +one"? May not that glory have consisted in the oneness of His human +nature with God the Father, by the Holy Spirit? And if so, it may be +shared by us. The more that believers receive the indwelling of the +Holy Spirit, the more clearly will they appreciate this great mystery, +and the more closely will they be drawn to all other believers, hushing +jealous thoughts and uncharitable words, and "endeavoring to keep the +unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." + +_It is abundantly clear, then, that this unity cannot be broken unless +we break away from Christ_. Men have used that word schism with +terrible effect. If a man has broken away from some visible church, +they have pointed to him as a schismatic. But what is schism? It is a +breaking away from the Body of Christ. But what is the Body of Christ? +The Roman Catholic will tell you that it is the Church of Rome; the +Anglican will tell you that it is the Church of England; the High +Churchman will tell you that it is the collection of churches which +hold the doctrine of Apostolic Succession. What vestige of Scriptural +proof is there for these assertions? What an absurdity it is to be +told that we must submit to an outward rite, or we cannot belong to the +Body of Christ! What then would become of all the saints and martyrs +who died without membership with one of these visible organizations? +No, the Body of Christ, as Scripture plainly teaches, is that great +multitude which no man can number, of all nations, and kindreds, and +peoples, and tongues, and sects, and eras, who are united by faith with +the Saviour. The Church of Christ is not conterminous with any earthly +or visible organization; it is long as the ages, wide as the poles, +broad as the charity of God; it includes all in heaven and on earth who +hold the Head. The only condition of membership in that Church is +simple faith in Christ. And the only method of severance from that +Church is through the severance of the soul's trust in Christ. He only +is a schismatic who ceases to be Christ's. + +The Papal Legate told Savonarola that he cut him off from the Church +Militant and from the Church Triumphant. "From the Church Militant you +may," was the martyr's reply; "but from the Church Triumphant, never." +It was well spoken; but Savonarola might have gone further, and defied +the scarlet-coated functionary even to cut him off from the Church +Militant--nothing could do that but apostasy. A man may be +excommunicated from our church systems, or he may never have belonged +to one of them; but so long as he believes in Christ, he is a member of +the Holy Catholic Church. And schism is more likely to be charged +against those who violate the spirit of Christian charity in making +harsh and false statements against their fellow-members in the Body of +Christ. Let us not retaliate, lest we also commit that sin. We can +afford to wait. _Five minutes in heaven, or less, will settle it all_. + +_The object for which Christ prayed_ is already being partially +accomplished. The world may not be as yet surrendering to the claims +of Jesus Christ, but it is becoming increasingly impressed with His +Divine mission: "that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me." +And in proportion as the Holy Spirit pervades and fills the hearts of +the children of God, the manifestation of the Life of God in them, and +through them, will have an ever-increasing effect, and will do what +church systems and even the preachings of her thousand pulpits cannot +effect in convincing and saving men. + +Let us remember that Christ's own conception of the unity of His Church +is that which is the result of the indwelling of the one Spirit. Such +unity is already a fact in the eye of God, though undiscerned as yet in +all its fullness by men. Let us thank God that this marvellous request +has been already so largely realized, and let us dare to hold +fellowship as Christians with all those who are indwelt by the Spirit +of the Life, which is also in Christ Jesus. + + + + +XXIII + +The Love that Bound Christ to the Cross + +"Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that should come upon Him, went +forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?"--JOHN xviii. 4. + + +The Cedron was never more than a mountain brook, and it is now dry. +Its stony bed alone shows where it used to flow through the valley that +separated Mount Zion from the Mount of Olives. The main road which led +from the city gate, over the Mount of Olives to Bethany and Jericho, +crossed it by an ancient bridge, from which, on this especial night, a +fair scene must have presented itself. + +Above, the Passover moon was shining in full-orbed splendor turning +night into day. Beneath, the little stream was brawling down the +valley, catching the moonlight on its wavelets. On the one slope dark, +thick woods, above which rose the ancient walls and gates of the city, +on the other, the swelling slopes of Olivet. Presently the Lord +emerged out of the shadow, engaged in earnest converse with the +apostles; crossed the bridge, but, instead of pursuing the path as it +wound upward toward Bethany and Bethphage, they all turned into a large +enclosure, well-known as the garden of the oil-press, and which we know +best as Gethsemane. Somewhere, no doubt, within its enclosure stood +the rock-hewn trough in which the rich juicy olives were trodden by +naked feet. "When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His +disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into which He +entered, and His disciples." + +The sequel was so fully narrated by the other evangelists that there +was no need for the writer of this narrative to tell of the awful +anguish, the broken cries, the bloody sweat, the running to and fro of +the disciples, the sleep of the chosen three, the strengthening angel. +He confines himself almost entirely to the circumstances of the Lord's +arrest. + +Two hours only had passed since Judas left the supper-table; but that +had given him all the time needed for the completion of his plan. +Hastening to the authorities, he had told them that the favorable +moment had arrived for his Master's arrest; that he knew the lonely +spot to which He was wont to resort for meditation and prayer; and that +he had need of an armed band to overpower all possible resistance on +the part of Himself or His followers. This they were able to supply +from the guards and custodians of the Temple. They were going against +One who was deserted and defenceless; yet the soldiers were armed with +sticks and staves. They were about to arrest One who would make no +attempt at flight or concealment, and the moon was full; yet, lest He +should make His escape to some limestone grotto, or amid the deep +shadows, they carried torches and lanterns. + +The Lord had just awoke His disciples for the third and last time, when +probably His ear detected the tread of hurrying feet, the muffled clank +of swords, the stifled murmur of an advancing crowd; perhaps He saw +also the glancing lights, as they advanced through the garden shrubs, +and began to encircle the place where He had prayed. By such signs, +and especially by the inner intimation of the Holy Spirit, He knew all +things that should come upon Him, and without waiting for His enemies +to reach Him, with calm and dignified composure He went forth to meet +the rabble band, stepping out into the moonlight and saluting them with +the inquiry, "Whom seek ye?" + +There are some deep and memorable suggestions here as to the + +VOLUNTARINESS OF CHRIST'S DEATH. + +In order to His death having any value it must be free. If it could be +shown that He had no choice than to die, because His own purpose was +overmastered by the irresistible force of circumstances, His death +could not have met the claims of a broken law, or inaugurated a new +code of morals to His Church. But there are several points in this +narrative which make it clear that He laid down His life of Himself, +that none took it from Him, that He had power to lay it down, and power +to take it again. + +(1) When Jesus asked them the question, "Whom seek ye?" there were, no +doubt, many in the band who knew Him well enough, and that He was the +object of their midnight raid; but not one of them had the courage to +answer, "Thee." A paralyzing awe had already commenced to cast its +spell over their spirits. Those who knew Him shrank from identifying +Him, and were content to answer generally, "Jesus of Nazareth." But +when He answered, "I am He," what was it that so suddenly affected +them? Did some stray beams of concealed glory burst forth from their +confinement to indicate His majesty? Did they dread the putting-forth +of that power which had been so often exerted to save and bless? Or, +was there a direct miracle of Divine power, which secured their +discomfiture? We cannot tell. But, whatever the cause, the crowd +suddenly fell back in confusion, and were flung to the ground. + +Here, for a moment, the would-be captors lay, as though pinioned to the +dust by some unseen hand. The spell was soon withdrawn, and they were +again on their feet, cursing themselves for their needless panic. +But--and this is the point--the power that sent that rough hireling +band reeling backward to the ground could easily have held them there, +or plunged them as Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, into living graves. "One +flash came forth to tell of the sleeping lightning which He would not +use"; and then, having revealed the might, which could have delivered +Him from their puny arms, He returned to His attitude of willing +self-surrender. Who, then, shall say that our Saviour's death was not +His own act and deed? + +(2) When that rabble crew were again on their feet, confronting Jesus, +He asked them a second time, _Whom seek ye_? Again they replied, +"Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus answered, "I have told you that I am He; +if, therefore, ye seek me, let these go their way." And, forthwith, He +put forth such a power over His own as secured their freedom from +arrest. + +It is evident that it was no part of His foes' purpose beforehand to +let them go; for, on their way back they arrested a young man, probably +Mark himself, whom curiosity had drawn from his bed, and whom they took +for one of His disciples. He escaped with great difficulty from their +hands. It is hardly doubtful that if some special power had not been +exerted over them, they would have treated the whole of the followers +of Jesus as they sought to treat Him. Is it not evident, then, that +the power which secured the safety of His disciples could have secured +that of the Master Himself; or that He might have passed away through +the midst of them, as He did through the infuriated crowd which +proposed to cast Him headlong over the precipice near Nazareth at the +commencement of His ministry? Every arm might have been struck +nerveless, every foot paralyzed with lameness. Who, then, shall deny +that Christ's death was His own act? + +(3) But again, when Jesus had spoken thus there seemed some wavering +among His captors, perhaps a hesitation as to who should first lay hand +on Him. At this juncture, when the whole enterprise threatened to +miscarry, Judas felt that he must, at all hazards, show how safe it was +to touch the person of his Master; so, though the bold challenge of +Jesus had made the preconcerted signal needless, he resolved still to +give it, that the spell of that presence might be broken. The traitor, +therefore, stepped up and kissed the Lord. + +Encouraged by this sacrilegious act, His myrmidons now laid hands on +Jesus, grasping His sacred person as they might have done Barabbas, or +some other member of his gang. They then proceeded to bind Him after +the merciless Roman fashion. Peter could not bear to see this. He +sprang forth from the covert of the shadow, drew his sword, and cut at +the nearest assailant's head. But the blade, glancing off the helmet, +cut off the ear. + +It was an unwelcome interference with the behavior of the meek and +gentle Lord, whose hand was already bound. It could not be permitted. +"Suffer ye thus far," He said to the rude soldier who was binding Him, +and with His own finger touched the ear, stanched the flowing blood, +and healed it. It has been remarked that this was the only act of +healing wrought on one for whom it was neither asked of Him, and who +had no faith in His beneficent power. But, surely, the hand that could +work that miracle could have broken from the bonds that held it as +easily as Samson from the two new cords which burned as flax in the +flame. The power with which Jesus saved others might have saved +Himself. Who, then, shall say that His death was not His own free act? +Listen, moreover, to His own words. 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?" "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to My +Father, and He shall presently give Me more than twelve legions of +angels; but how then shall the Scripture be fulfilled that thus it must +be?" + +As, then, we view the death of the Cross we must ever remember the +voluntariness of that supreme act, which is all the more conspicuous as +the agony of the Garden reminds us how greatly the Lord's spirit +dreaded the awful pressure of the world's sin, which made Him cry: "My +God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" How greatly He must have +loved us! It was love, and only love, that kept Him standing at the +bar of Pilate, bending beneath the scourge of the soldiers, hanging in +apparent helplessness on the cross. Not the iron hand of relentless +fate; not the overpowering numbers or closely-woven plots of His foes; +not the nails that pierced His quivering flesh. No, it was none of +these. It was not even the compulsion of the Divine purpose. It was +His own choice, because of a love that would bear all things if only it +might achieve redemption for those whom He loved more than Himself. +"He loved me, and gave Himself for me." + +Surely we may trust that love. If it moved Him to endure the Cross and +despise the shame, is there anything that it will withhold, anything +that it will not do? His love is stronger than death, and mightier +than the grave. Strong waters cannot quench it, floods cannot drown +it. It silences all praise, and beggars all recompense. To believe +and accept it is eternal life. To dwell within its embrace is the +foretaste of everlasting joy. To be filled by it is to be transfigured +into the image of God Himself. + + + + +XXIV + +Drinking the Cup + +"The cup which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?"--JOHN +xviii. 1-14. + + +In our Master's arrest the one feature which stands out in unique +splendor is its voluntariness. He went into the garden "knowing all +things that should come upon Him." Even at the last moment He might +have evaded the kiss of the traitor, and the binding thong with which +Malchus sought to manacle His gracious hands. The spell of His +intrinsic nobleness and glory, which had flung His captors to the +ground, might have held them there; the power that could heal the +wounded ear might have destroyed with equal ease the entire band. + +The reason for all this hardly needs explaining. His life and death +were not merely a sacrifice, but a self-sacrifice. He freely gave +Himself up for us all. Each believer may dare to appropriate the words +of the apostle: "He loved me, and gave Himself for me." It was through +the Eternal Spirit that He offered Himself without spot to God. It was +from His own invincible love that He gave Himself for the Church, His +Bride. "From beginning to end the moving spring of all His actions was +deliberate self-devotedness to the good of men, and the fulfillment of +God's will, for these are equivalents. And His death as the crowning +act of this career was to be conspicuously a death embodying and +exhibiting the spirit of self-sacrifice." Let us learn: + + +I. THE SUPREME NOBILITY OF SURRENDER TO THE EVITABLE.--It is, of +course, most noble, when the martyr goes to his death without a murmur +of complaint; allowing his enemies to wreak their vengeance without +recrimination or threatening; bowing the meek head to the block; +extending the hand to the hungry flame. He has no alternative but to +die; there are no legions waiting under arms to obey his summons; no +John of Gaunt to stand beside him, as beside Wycliffe, to see him +fairly tried and insist on his acquittal. Then, there is nothing for +it but to evince the patience and gentleness of Christ in being led as +a lamb to the slaughter. + +But though this spectacle stirs the hearts of men, there is one still +more illustrious--when the sufferer bends to a fate which he might +easily avoid, but confronts for the sake of others. The former is +submission to the inevitable, this to the evitable. That is bearing a +yoke which is imposed by superior authority; this taking a yoke which +might be evaded without blame, as judged by the tribunal of public +opinion. And this is the sublimest spectacle on which the eye of man +or angel can rest; for thus the sacrifice of Christ finds its noblest +counterpart and fulfillment. + +When a missionary, with ample means and loving friends, deliberately +spends among squalid and repulsive conditions, the precious years which +might have been passed among congenial society and luxurious comfort in +the homeland; chooses a lot from which nature inevitably shrinks +instead of that to which every conclusion but one points, and stays at +his post, though his return, so far from being resented, would actually +be favored by all whose opinion is of weight--this is a voluntary +submission to the evitable. + +When a home pastor stays by his poor flock because they need him so +sorely, and sets his face toward grinding poverty and irksome toil when +the city church invites him to a larger stipend and wealthier +surroundings--this again is a voluntary surrender to the evitable. + +When a wealthy bachelor is willing to forego the ease and quiet of his +beautiful home in order to welcome the orphans of his deceased brother, +who might have been sent to some charitable institution or cast on +strangers, that they may be beneath his personal supervision, and have +a better chance in life--this again is voluntary submission to the +evitable. + +In each such case, it is not inevitable that the cross should be borne, +and the hands yielded to the binding thong. The tongue of scandal +could hardly find cause for criticism if the easier path were chosen. +Perhaps the soul hardly realizes the kindredness of its resolve with +the loftiest that this world has seen. But it is superlatively +beautiful, nevertheless. And let it never be forgotten, that nothing +short of this will satisfy the standard of Christ. No Christian has a +right to use all his rights. None can claim immunity from the duty of +seeking the supreme good of others, though it involve the supreme cost +to himself. + + +II. THE RECOGNITION OF GOD'S WILL IN HIS PERMISSIONS.--In the bitter +anguish which had immediately preceded the arrest, our Lord had +repeatedly referred to His cup. "If this cup," He said, "may not pass +from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done." The cup evidently +referred to all the anguish caused to His holy nature in being numbered +among the transgressors, and having to bear the sin of the world. +Whether it was the anguish of the body, beneath which He feared He +would succumb, as some think; or the dread of being made a +sin-offering, a scape-goat laden with sin, as others, or the chill of +the approaching eclipse, which extorted the cry of forsakenness, as +seems to me the more likely--is not pertinent to our present +consideration. It is enough to know that, whilst there was much that +cried, "Back!" there was more that cried, "On!"--and that He chose from +the profoundest depths of His nature, to do the Father's will, to +execute His part in the compact into which they had entered before the +worlds were made, and to drink to the dregs the cup which His Father +had placed in His hands. + +But here we note that to all appearances the cup was mingled, prepared, +and presented by the malignity and hate of man. The High Priests had +long resolved to put Him to death, because His success with the people, +His fresh and living comments on the law, His opposition to their +hypocrisies and pretensions had exasperated them to madness. Judas +also seemed to have had a conspicuous share in his discovery and +arrest. Had we been left to our unaided reasonings we might have +supposed that the most bitter ingredients of His cup had been supplied +by the ingratitude of His own, the implacable rancor of the priests, +and the treachery of Judas; but, see, He recognizes none but the +Father--it is always _the Father_, always the cup which the Father had +given. + +There had been times in our lives when we may have been tempted to +distinguish between God's appointments and permissions, and to speak of +the former as being manifestly His will for us, whilst we suspended our +judgment about the latter, and questioned if we were authorized in +accounting them as being equally from Heaven. But such distinctions +are fatal to peace. Our souls were kept in constant perturbation, as +we accounted ourselves the shuttlecock of rival powers, now God's, now +man's. And we ended in ruling God out of more than half our life, and +regarding ourselves as the hapless prey of strong and malicious forces +to which we were sold, as Joseph to the Ishmaelites. + +A deeper reading of Scripture has led us to a truer conclusion. There +is no such distinction there. What God permits is as equally His will +as what He appoints. Joseph tells his brethren that it was not they +who sent him to Egypt, but God. David listens meekly to Shimei's +shameful words, because he felt that God allowed them to be spoken. +And here Jesus refuses to see the hand of His foes in His sufferings, +but passes beyond the hand which bore the cup to His lips to the Father +who was permitting it to be presented, and reposed absolutely in the +choice of Him of One who loved Him with a love that was before the +foundation of the world. + +Oh, sufferer! whether by those strokes, which, like sickness or +bereavement, seem to come direct from heaven, or by those which, like +malicious speeches or oppressive acts, seem to emanate from man, look +up into the face of God, and say, "My Father, this is Thy will for me; +Thine angels would have delivered me had it been best. But since they +have not interposed, I read Thy choice for Thy child, and I am +satisfied. It is sweet to drink the cup which Thy hands have prepared." + + +III. THE DEEP LAW OF SUBSTITUTION.--Some of the rabble crowd had +probably shown signs of a disposition to arrest some of Christ's +followers. He, therefore, interfered, and reminded them of their own +admission, that _He_ was the object to their midnight raid, and bade +them allow _these_ to go their way. Is it surprising that the +evangelist generalizes this act, finding in it an illustration of His +Master's ceaseless interposition on behalf of His own--that of those +whom the Father had given Him He should lose none. + +In brief, this scene affords a conspicuous and striking illustration of +the great doctrine of substitution. As the Good Shepherd steps to the +front and sheathes the swords of His foes in His own breast, while He +demands the release of the cowering flock, He is doing on a small scale +what He did once and forever on Calvary; when, exposing Himself to the +penalty due to sin, and braving the concentrated antagonism of a broken +law, the drawn sword of inviolable justice, the sharpness of death, the +shame of the cross, and the humiliation of the grave, He said, "If ye +seek Me, let these go their way." + +Christ sheltered us without reckoning the cost to Himself. He stood to +the front, and bore the extreme brunt of all that was to be borne. He +substituted His suffering for ours, His wounds for our pain, His death +for our sins. If you are fearing the just recompense of your sins, +like a band of arresting soldiers lurking in the dark shadows and +threatening to drag you forth to pay the uttermost farthing, take +heart; Jesus has met, and will meet, them for you. Listen to His +majestic voice, saying, "Take Me, but let this soul, who clings to the +skirts of My robe, go his way." He is arrested, and led away; thou art +free--that in thy freedom thou shouldest give thyself to be His very +slave. + + + + +XXV + +The Hall of Annas + +"They led Him away to Annas first, for he was father-in-law to +Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year."--JOHN xviii. 13. + + +The band that had arrested Jesus led Him back across the Kedron bridge, +up the steep ascent, and through the ancient gateway, which at this +season of the year stood always open, even at night. + +The passage of the armed men through the quiet streets must have +aroused from their slumbers many sleepers, who hurried to the windows +to see them pass below in the clear moonlight. But no one guessed who +was being taken into custody, and most of them probably thought that +the soldiers had captured some more of the Barabbas gang, who, at that +season of the year, would make a rare harvest by plundering pilgrims to +the feast. + +Their destination, in the first place, was the mansion of Annas, the +head of the reigning priestly family, who was father-in-law of the +actual high priest. He was now an old man; wealthy, aristocratic, and +laden with all the honors his nation could give. For many years he had +worn the high priest's robes, and though he had now nominally retired +from that exalted office, he still kept his hand upon the reins of +government. Caiaphas, at the time of which we speak, had held the +priesthood for seventeen years under his tutelage; and he retained it +for five years after. It is easy therefore to understand why Annas is +described as the high priest. He was still the most powerful living +bearer of that title. The whole family partook of his character, and +was notorious for unwearied plotting. The gliding, deadly, snake-like +smoothness with which Annas and his sons seized their prey is said to +have won them the name of hissing vipers. + +Annas and Caiaphas probably shared the same cluster of buildings, which +was presumably the official residence of the high priestly family. In +the East the houses of the great are frequently a group of buildings of +unequal height standing near each other and surrounded by the same +court, but with passages between, independent entrances, and separate +roofs. Sometimes they would form a square or quadrangle with porticos +and corridors around it, plants and fountains in the midst, and a +slight awning overhead to protect the open courtyard from the sun or +rain, the communication with the street being through a smaller +courtyard and archway, called in the Gospels "a porch." In some such +cluster of splendid buildings Annas and Caiaphas and others of their +family would live, and the whole would be called the high priest's +palace. + +In one of the large reception halls Annas waited, impatient and +feverish, to know the result of the midnight expedition. He had a +nervous dread of what Jesus might do when driven to bay; and dreaded +lest the secret should leak out, and the Galilean pilgrims rise in +defence of their favorite Prophet, whom four days before they had +escorted into the city with shouts. What if Judas should not prove +true? All these disquieting thoughts chased each other like pursuing +phantoms through his mind, and it was an immense relief when the clank +of weapons in the court assured him of the safe return of Malchus' +party, and answering voices told him that Jesus was at last safe within +his power. + +The prisoner was at once brought before the old man, who eagerly +scrutinized his features in the flickering light of lanterns and +flambeaux, casting shadows which a Rembrandt would have loved to paint. +One or two intimates may have stood around Him; but the main inquiry +was left to Himself, as He put the Master through a preliminary and +informal examination, in the hope of extracting from His replies +materials on which the court, which was hastily summoned for an early +hour in the morning, might proceed. + +On the surface the inquiry seemed fair and innocent enough. The high +priest, we learn from verse 19, asked Jesus of His disciples and His +doctrine. But the lamb-skin hid a wolf. For the questions were so +worded as to entangle, and to provide material on which to found the +subsequent charge, which was even then being framed, that Jesus was a +disturber of the public peace, and a teacher of revolutionary doctrine. + +_First, then, about His disciples._--Annas would like to be informed +what this association of men meant. Why were they formed into a +society? By what bond were they united? What secret instructions had +they received? What hidden objects had they in view? If Jesus refused +to answer these questions, might it not be made to appear that an +attempt was on foot to organize a confederation throughout the entire +country? If so, it would be easy to awaken the jealousy of the Roman +authorities, and lead them to feel that they must take immediate steps +to stamp out the plot by executing the ringleader. + +_And, next, as to His doctrine._--Had not Jesus repeatedly spoken about +the Kingdom of Heaven? What did this mean? Was He contemplating the +setting up of a kingdom? Did He intend it to be understood that He was +the expected Messiah, and that He meditated revolt against Rome? Was +the manifestation of force, which had accompanied His recent entrance +into the city, at His instigation? + +Our Lord at once penetrated the design of His crafty interrogator. And +in His answer He took care not to mention His disciples, speaking only +of Himself. He affirmed that He had nothing to say which He had not +already said a hundred times in the synagogues and the Temple, before +friends and foes. He had no secret doctrines for the initiated, but +had declared all that was in His heart. Between His disciples and +Himself there had been no connection other than was obvious on the +surface. No meetings under cover of night; no discussions of +revolutionary topics; nothing that could not bear the fullest scrutiny. +"I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue and in the +temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret [that is, in the +sense in which you use the word] I have said nothing. Why askest thou +Me? Ask them which heard Me what I have said unto them: behold, they +know what I have said." + +Our Lord's reference to those who had heard Him is probably an allusion +to the armies of spies whom Annas had set on His track, watching His +actions, reporting His words. Was not this examination of the prisoner +a confession that the close scrutiny to which He had been subjected for +so long had failed to elicit aught on which a criminal charge could be +based? Jesus knew that His most secret words had been tortured in vain +to yield an accusation against Him. How great then was the hypocrisy +which could feign ignorance! How evident it was that Annas was only +intent on inveigling his prisoner to say something on which to base his +after-accusation. + +All this was implied in our Lord's noble and transparent words. We +shall see that He adopted another tone when He was properly arraigned +before the assembled Sanhedrim; but in this more private, injudicial, +inquisitorial interview, with one scathing rebuke He tore away the +cloak of assumed ignorance with which this crafty man veiled his +sinister purpose, and laid His secret thoughts open to the gaze of all. + +For the time Annas was silenced. He had made small headway in the +informal examination of his prisoner, and he now gave it up. Whatever +resentment he may have felt at our Lord's answer he carefully +concealed, biding the hour when he might vent the vials of his hate +without stint. + +We must not suppose there was any anger in that long-suffering heart +toward this judge. He was even then about to die for _Him_, and to +bear the guilt of the very sin He so pitilessly exposed. But surely it +was the part of love to show Annas what he was, and to utter words of +rebuke in which, as in a mirror, his secret thoughts might be revealed. +But if, in the moment of His humiliation, Jesus could thus search and +reveal a man, what will He not do when He is no longer prisoner, but +Judge? Oh, those awful eyes, which are as a flame of fire! Oh, those +awful words, which pierce to the dividing asunder of the joints and +marrow, and discern the thoughts and intents of the heart! What wonder +that men shall at last call on the rocks to hide them from the wrath of +the Lamb! Kiss the Son, lest ye perish from His presence, when His +wrath is kindled but a little! Blessed are they who can stand before +Him without blame! + +Then followed one of the grossest indignities to which our Lord was at +this time subjected. On speaking thus, one of the officers, in the +spirit of that despicable flunkeyism which will sacrifice all nobility +and self-respect to curry the flavor of a superior, smote our Lord with +a rod, saying, "Answerest thou the high priest so?" + +When afterward they came around Him to mock and smite, He answered +nothing; but when this first stroke was inflicted the Master said +quietly, "If I have spoken what is false or unbecoming, prove that I +have done so; but if you cannot, why do you strike Me? No one has the +right to take the law into his own hands, much less a servant of the +court." + +It is impossible not to recall the mighty utterances against the +resistance of wrong, spoken from the Mount, in the Messiah's manifesto: +"I say unto you that ye resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee +on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." Clearly our Lord did +not literally do so in this instance, because He saw an opportunity of +revealing to this man His true condition, and of bringing him to a +better mind. Our bearing of wrong must always be determined by the +state of mind of those who ill-use us. In the case of some we may best +arrest them by the dignity of an unutterable patience, which will bear +to the utmost without retaliation--this is to turn the other cheek. In +the case of others we may best serve them by leading them calmly and +quietly to take the true measure of their crime. In all cases our +prime consideration should be, not what we may be suffering, nor the +utter injustice which is meted out to us; but how best to save the +evil-doer, who is injuring his own soul more fatally than he can +possibly injure us, and who is sowing seeds of harvest of incredible +torture to his own conscience, in the long future which lies behind the +veil of sense. + +If only we could drink in the pure love of Jesus, and view all wrong +and wrong-doers, not in the light of _our_ personal interest, but of +_their_ awful condition and certain penalty; if only we could grieve +over the infinite horror of a warped and devil-possessed soul, drifting +like a ship on fire before the breeze, straight to the rocks; if only +we could see the wrong done to our Father God and His sorrow, we should +understand Chrysostom's beautiful comment on this scene: "Think on Him +who said these words; on him to whom they were said; and on the reason +why they were said; and, with Divine power, they will cast down all +wrath that may arise within thy soul." + + + + +XXVI + +How it fared with Peter + +"Peter stood at the door without. Then went out that other disciple, +which was known unto the high priest, and spake unto her that kept the +door, and brought in Peter."--John xviii. 16. + + +Remember that this very circumstantial account was given by one who was +an eyewitness of the whole scene; and who, withal, was then and in +after years the warm friend and companion of Peter. But his love did +not lead him to conceal his brother's sins. Peter himself would not +have wished him to do so, because where sin had abounded, grace had had +the greater opportunity to super-abound. + +At the moment of the Lord's arrest, all the disciples forsook Him and +fled. "The Shepherd was smitten and the flock scattered." Two of +them, however, speedily recovered their self-possession, and followed +at a distance, eager to see what would befall. When the procession +reached the palace gate John seems to have entered with the rest of the +crowd, and the ponderous, massive doors closed behind him. On looking +round for Peter he missed him, and concluding that he had been shut out +and was still standing without, he went to the maid that kept the +wicket-gate, opening in the main entrance doors for the admission of +individuals, and asked her to admit his friend. She recognized him as +being well known to the high priest, and readily assented to his +request. + +A fire of wood had been hastily lighted in the open courtyard, and cast +its rays on the chilly April night; so that whilst Jesus was being +examined by Annas the men who had taken part in the night adventure +were grouped around the fire, discussing the exciting incident, with +its moment of panic, the case of the arrest, the hurt and healing of +the ear of Malchus, the seizure of the rich Eastern dress from the +young man whom they had encountered on their homeward march. Peter did +not wish to be recognized, and thought that the best way of preserving +his incognito was to put on a bold face and take his place among the +rest as though he, too, had been one of the capturing band, and had as +much right to be there as any other of that mixed company. So he stood +with them, and warmed himself. + +Meanwhile, the doorkeeper, leaving her post, came to the fire, and in +its kindling ray her eye fell upon Peter's face. She was surprised to +see him there, feigning to be one of themselves. If, like John, he had +gone quietly into some recess of the court, and waited unobtrusively in +the shadow, she could have said nothing. In her kind-heartedness she +would have respected them both; for she knew that they sympathized with +the arrested Nazarene. But to find him there talking and acting as +though he had no personal interest in the matter was so unseemly and +unfit that she was provoked to expose him. She looked at him +earnestly--as another evangelist tells us--to be quite sure that she +was not mistaken; and feeling quite certain in her identification, said +abruptly, "Art _thou_ not one of this man's disciples?" + +Peter was taken off his guard. If he had been arrested, and taken for +trial, he would no doubt have played the hero--he had braced himself up +for that; but he had not expected that the supreme trial of his life +could come in the question of a servant-maid. It is so often thus. We +lock and bolt the main door, and the thief breaks in at a tiny window +which we had not thought of. We would burn at the stake; but in an +hour of social intercourse with our friends, or a trivial business +transaction, we say the word which fills our life with regret. +Confused at the sudden pause in the conversation, and the turning of +all eyes toward himself, Peter's first impulse was to allay suspicion, +and he said bluntly, "I am not." Such was his _first_ denial. + +After this, as Matthew and Mark tell us, he went out into the outer +porch or gateway, perhaps to avoid the glare of the light and the +scrutiny of those prying eyes. He remembered afterward that, at the +same moment, a cock was heralding the dawn--the dawn of the blackest, +saddest day that ever broke upon Jerusalem, or the world. But its +warning notes were just then lost on him; for there another maid, +speaking to some male acquaintances, pointed him out as one of the +Nazarene's friends. "This man also was with Jesus the Nazarene." +Probably no harm was meant, but the words alarmed Peter greatly, and he +denied, as Matthew says, with an oath, "I know not the man." This was +the _second_ denial. + +An hour passed; Peter, as we learn from the twenty-fifth verse, was +again at the fire, and it was hardly possible for him to talk in a +large company without unconsciously, and by force of character, coming +to the front and taking the lead. His perturbed spirit was perhaps the +more vehement to drown conscience. But now he is challenged by many at +once. They say unto him, "Art not thou also one of His disciples?" +And another saith, "Of a truth, thou wast with Him"; and another, a +kinsman to Malchus, and therefore specially likely to remember his +relative's assailant, saith, "Did I not see thee in the garden with +Him?" Beset and badgered thus, Peter begins to curse and to swear, +saying, "I know not the man of whom ye speak." When men lose their +temper, they drop naturally into their native speech; and so, as +Peter's fear and passion vented themselves in the guttural _patois_ of +Galilee, he gave a final clue to his identification. "Thou art a +Galilean, thy speech betrayeth thee." And again he denied with an +oath, "I know not the man." This was his _third_ denial. And +immediately the cock crew. + +It may have happened that, at this moment, Jesus was passing from Annas +to Caiaphas, and cast on Peter that marvellous look of mingled sorrow +and pity, of suffering more for His sake than his own, and of tender +allusion to the scene and words of the previous evening, which broke +Peter's heart, and sent him forth to weep bitterly. + +The light was breaking over the hills of Moab, flushing with roseate +hues the marble pinnacles of the temple, whilst the city and +surrounding valleys were still shrouded in the grey gloom, as Peter +went forth alone from the high priest's palace. Only those whose last +words to the beloved dead were rude and thoughtless--not expecting that +there would be no opportunity to unsay them and ask forgiveness, but +that, ere they met again, death would have sealed in silence the only +lips that could speak words of relief and peace--can realize just what +Peter felt. Did he know Him? Of course he did, and ever since that +memorable hour, when Andrew first brought him into His presence, he had +been growing to a more perfect knowledge. Did he love Him? Of course +he did; and Jesus, who knew all things, knew it too. But why had he +acted thus? Ah, the reasons were not far to seek. He had boasted of +his superiority to all his brethren; had relied on his own braggart +resolutions; had counted himself strong because he could speak strongly +and loudly when danger was not near; had thought that he could cope +with Satan, though arrayed in no stronger armor than that which his +red-hot impulse forged. He thought his resolutions wheat and his +Master's cautions light as chaff; he had to learn his weakness and see +his confidence winnowed away as clouds of chaff while Satan sifted him. + +The resolutions of the evening are not strong enough to carry us +victoriously through the morning conflict. We must learn to watch and +pray, to lie low in humility and self-distrust, and to be strong in the +grace which awaits all tempted ones in God. + +And where could Peter go to weep his bitter tears but to Gethsemane! +He would surely seek out the spot where his Master's form was still +outlined in the crushed grass, and his tears would fall where the +bloody sweat had fallen but a few hours before. But how different the +cause of sorrow! The anguish of the blessed Lord had none of the +ingredients that filled the cup of Peter to the brim! And all the +while the memory of that sorrow, of those broken cries, of that coming +and going for sympathy, of those remonstrances against his senseless +sleep, and of that last tender, yearning, pitiful look of love, came +back on him to arouse successive surges of grief. Contrast Christ's +love with your ingratitude, Christ's constancy with your fickle +devotion, Christ's meekness to take the yoke of His Father's will, and +your unwillingness to bear His cross of shame, and ask if you, too, +have no cause for tears like those that Peter shed. + +It is remarkable that Peter should have fallen here. His open, +ingenuous nature was not given to lying, his impetuous character was +not prone to cowardice. Accustomed from boyhood to meet death in the +wrestle with nature for daily sustenance, he was not subject to the +apprehensions of a nervous dread. None of his fellow-disciples would +have expected the rock-man to show that he was clay or sand after all. +But this was permitted that we might learn that our noblest natural +qualities as much need to be dealt with by the grace of God as our +vices and defects. Many a fortress has been taken from a side which +was deemed impregnable. No one expected that Wolfe would assail Quebec +from the Heights of Abraham. + +How often we have fallen into the same trap! We have, perhaps, been +thrown into a company where it was fashionable to sneer at evangelical +religion, and we have held our peace; where the ready sneer was passed +on those who dared still to believe in miracle and inspiration, and we +have been silent, where condemnation has been freely passed on some man +of God whom we owned as friend, and knew to be innocent, and we have +not tried to vindicate him; where some great religious movement in +which we were interested was being discussed and condemned, whilst we +have coolly joined in the conversation as if we had not made up our +minds, or were totally indifferent. We have been unwilling to be +unpopular, to stand alone, to bear the brunt of opposition, to seem +eccentric and peculiar. Let those who are without sin cast their +stones at Peter; but the most of us will take our place beside him, and +realize that we, too, have given grief to Christ, and grave cause to +His enemies to blaspheme. + +But, be it remembered, the true quality of the soul is shown, not in +the way in which it yields to temptation in some moment of weakness and +unpreparedness, but in the way in which it repents afterward. Do we +weep, not for the penalty we dread, but because we have sinned against +Christ? Are we broken down before Him, waiting till He shall restore? +Do we dare still to believe in His forgiving and renewing grace? Then +this is a godly repentance, which needs not to be repented of. These +are tears which His love shall transform to pearls. How different this +to the attitude of a Judas! Each fell; but in their demeanor afterward +the one was shown to be gold, silver, precious stones; the other wood, +hay, and stubble. + +How may we be kept from falling again? + +(1) Let us not sleep through the precious moments which heaven affords +before each hour of trial; but use them for putting on the whole armor +of God, that we may be able to stand in the evil day. + +(2) Let us not cast ourselves needlessly into situations where our most +cherished convictions are likely to be assailed by wanton men; though +if God should lead us there we need not fear, for it will be given us +in the same hour what to answer. Take care of warming yourself at the +world's fire. + +(3) Let us keep within the environing presence of our Lord. It is +always right to do right; always safe; always blessed. Satan can only +hurt us when he allures us out of that safe hiding-place. Never +forsake the things which are pure, and lovely, and of good report. +You, in Jesus, shall yet overcome the world if you refuse to allow the +world to come between Him and you. + + + + +XXVII + +The Trial before Caiaphas + +"Annas had sent Him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest."--JOHN xviii. +24. + + +It was as yet but two or three o'clock in the morning. Jerusalem was +still asleep, and well it was for the foes of Jesus that no suspicion +of what was on foot had breathed into the minds of the crowds of +pilgrims; for, had the Galileans only known what was being done to +their favorite prophet, they would have risen, and the plot must have +miscarried before Jesus was handed over to the Romans. But, as the +Lord said, "It was their hour and the power of darkness." The darkest +hour before the dawn! + +When Annas had completed his preliminary inquiry he gave orders that He +should again be bound with the thongs of which He had been relieved, +and led to that part of the palace specially used by Caiaphas, who was +High Priest, but a mere puppet in the hands of the wily Annas. By this +time the leading Pharisees, Sadducees, and priests, had been got +together, summoned by special messengers; and though the formal meeting +of the Council was probably not held till a little later (compare Matt. +xxvi. 57 with xxvii. 1, 2), the trial was really conducted at that +untimely hour, and the evidence procured on which final action was +taken. + +They awaited the Prisoner in one of the larger halls of the palace, +sitting in Oriental fashion on cushions and pillows, in a half-circle, +with turbaned heads, crossed legs, and bare feet; the High Priest in +the centre, the others, on either side, according to age. + +All the rules of justice were violated. The judge was chief +inquisitor; witnesses against the prisoner were alone summoned; and the +Court set itself from the first to get evidence to put the accused to +death. + +Ever since Jesus had commenced His ministry it had been certain that He +would have to face some such tribunal as this. His soul was aflame for +Righteousness and Truth; it was inevitable that He should come into +conflict with these representatives of a traditional and external +religiousness, which consisted in a number of formal rules and rites +from which the life had long since fled. + +This Gospel specially narrates the progress of the quarrel in the holy +city. As far back as ch. ii. 18 we are told that there had been an +altercation on the Lord's right to cleanse the Temple. + +Ch. iv. 1-3.--He left Judaea because of the irritation of the Pharisees +at the numerous baptisms which were taking place under His ministry. + +Ch. v. 18.--He was only at the beginning of the second year of His +ministry, and had just healed the impotent man at the pool of Bethesda, +and we find the Jews consulting how they might kill Him, and He was +compelled again to retire from Judaea. + +Ch. vii. 19.--Such was the spirit of vindictiveness excited against our +Lord that when twelve months afterward He came to Jerusalem at the +Feast of Tabernacles, one of His first words was, "Why go ye about to +kill Me?" The people were well acquainted with the designs of the +rulers (vers. 25, 26); and ultimately officers were sent to arrest Him +(vers. 30, 32). + +Ch. viii. 59.--They were so exasperated with His words that they took +up stones to stone Him. + +Ch. ix. 34.--They excommunicated the blind man because their hated foe +had cured him, and he in his favor had dared to protest. + +Ch. x. 31.--The Jews (and the Apostle always uses that word of the +Sanhedrim and their allies) took up stones to cast at Him; and in verse +39 we read that they sought again to take Him; but He escaped out of +their land to Perea, where He remained until the message of the sisters +called Him from His retreat. + +Ch. xi. 47.--The raising of Lazarus produced such an effect that a +special council was called to consider what should be done, with the +result that from that day they took counsel to put Him to death. + +Ch. xii. 10.--Their malignity was so great that they consulted whether +they should not put Lazarus to death also; because by reason of him +many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. + +It was all this that made them fall in so eagerly with the proposal of +Judas that he should betray Him unto them. + +Now at last they had Him in their power, and their object was to +convict Him of some crime which would justify the infliction of the +severest sentence of the law. To preserve the appearance of justice, +witnesses were called to testify to some action or speech which would +involve blasphemy against their law, and, if possible, against the +Roman law as well; and it was necessary that two of them should agree +in some specific charge. The chief priests, and elders, and all the +council, Matthew tells us, sought for witness against Jesus to put Him +to death. They brought forward many, but either their charges did not +reach the required degree of criminality, or the clumsy witnesses, +brought hastily forward, undrilled beforehand, broke down so grossly in +their story that for shame's sake they had to be dismissed. + +At last two witnesses appeared who seemed likely to agree on a very +momentous charge. They said they had heard Him utter, more than two +years ago, words which seemed to threaten the very existence of the +temple. But, when more closely questioned, their witness also broke +down utterly. It seemed as though Jesus was not to die, except on His +own testimony to His own supreme claims. All lesser counts failed. + +All this time, as witness after witness was brought in, our Lord +maintained an unbroken silence. He seemed as though He heard not, but +was absorbed in some other scenes from those transpiring around. What +need was there for Him to interpose, when all the charges proved +abortive? He was, moreover, waiting till the Father gave Him the +signal to open His lips. + +At last Caiaphas could restrain his impatience no longer; he sprang to +his feet, and with unconcealed fury fixed his eyes on Jesus and said: +"Answerest Thou nothing? Hast Thou nothing to say, no question to put, +no explanation to offer as to what these witnesses say?" Jesus quietly +returned the look, but held His peace. There are times when it is +treason to hold our peace, when God demands of us to raise our voice +and cry like a trumpet. But when it is clear that high-handed wrong is +bent on securing the condemnation of the innocent, and that the case is +prejudged, it is the highest wisdom to be as a lamb dumb before its +shearers, and not open the mouth. + +There was a last alternative. Caiaphas might put Jesus on His oath, +and extort from His own lips the charge on which to condemn Him; but he +was evidently reluctant to do it, and only availed himself of this +process as a last resource. It was well known to this astute and +cunning priest that Jesus on more than one occasion had claimed, not +only to be the long-expected Messiah, but to stand to God in the unique +relationship of Son. Nearly two years before, He had called God His +own Father, making Himself equal with God (John v. 18); and again, +comparatively recently, at the Feast of Dedication, He had claimed that +He and the Father were one; in consequence of which the bystanders +threatened to take His life because that, being a man, He made Himself +God (x. 31-33). Gathering, therefore, the two claims in one, and in +the most solemn form, putting Jesus on His oath, the High Priest said +unto Him, "I adjure Thee by the Living God, that Thou tell us whether +Thou be the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" (Matt. xxvi. 63; Mark xiv. +61). There was no need for further hesitation. Charged in this way, +in the highest court of His nation, and by the representative of His +people, He could not hold His peace without inconsistency with the +whole tenor of His life and teaching. John, representing His disciples +and friends, must be assured that his Master did not vacillate by a +hair's-breadth at that supreme moment. Those high officials must +understand, beyond the smallest possibility of doubt, that if they put +Him to death He would die on the supreme count of His Messianic and +Divine claims; and, therefore, amid the breathless silence of the +court, without a falter in the calm, clear voice, Jesus said, "I AM." +The Father that sent Him was with Him; He had not left Him in that +awful moment _alone_, and it was a great pleasure to the Saviour to be +able publicly to avow the relationship, which was shedding its radiance +through His soul. Then, with evident allusion to the sublime vision of +Daniel, he added, "Ye shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right +hand of power, and coming with the clouds of Heaven." Though Son of +God, He was not less the Son of Man; and though one with the Father, +before the worlds were made, was yet prepared to exercise the functions +of the expected Prince of the House of Israel. This is the force of +_nevertheless_ in Matt. xxvi. 64--"I am Son of God: _nevertheless_, ye +shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power." + +The words were very grateful to the ears of Caiaphas and his +confederates, as they afforded ground for the double charge they +needed. For a man to claim to be Son of God would make him guilty of +blasphemy, and he must be put to death according to Jewish law; whilst +if there was a prospect of his setting up a kingdom, the Romans' +suspicions would be at once aroused. But in their glee at having +entrapped their victim they must not forget to show a decorous horror +of His crime. In well-assumed dismay the High Priest rent his clothes, +saying, "He hath spoken blasphemy: what further need have we of +witnesses? Behold, now ye have heard the blasphemy." And then came +the decisive question which the judge was wont to put to his +co-assessors, "What think ye? And they all condemned Him to be guilty +of death." + +Then ensued a brief interval, until the early formal session of the +Sanhedrim could be held: and during this recess the disgraceful scenes +were repeated which had already taken place in the hall of Annas. Luke +tells us that the men that held Jesus mocked Him, beat Him, and asked +Him to prophesy who it was that smote Him. Matthew adds that they spat +in His face. But Mark lets in still more light on the horror of the +scene, when he appears to distinguish between _some_ who began to spit +on Him, and to cover His face, and _the officers_ who received Him with +blows of their hands. And the expression some occurs so immediately +after the record of their condemning Him, that the suggestion seems +irresistible that several of these reverend dignitaries did not +hesitate to disgrace their grey hairs in personally insulting the meek +and holy sufferer, venting their spleen on one who gave no show of +retaliation, though one word from those pale compressed lips would have +laid them low in death, or withdrawn the veil of eternity, behind which +legions of angels were waiting impatient to burst upon the impious +scene. But do not condemn them as though they were sinners beyond all +others; remember that we have all the same evil human heart. + +At last the morning broke, and as soon as it was day the assembly of +the elders of the people was gathered together, both chief priest and +scribes; and they led Jesus away into their council (Luke xxii. 66). +This scene had already been so well rehearsed that it probably did not +take many minutes to run through the necessary stages, according to the +precise formulae of Jewish procedure. The method that had already +proved so valuable was quickly repeated. Questioning Him first as to +His Messiahship, Caiaphas, as spokesman to the rest, said formally, "If +Thou art Christ, tell us." + +It was a sorry figure that stood before them. Dishevelled and in +disarray, with disordered garments, the spittle still hanging about His +face, and the marks of the awful storm and mental anguish stamped on +every feature, the innate dignity and glory of Jesus shone out in His +every movement, and notably in His majestic answer, "What do you ask +Me? You have no real desire to know! If I tell you, ye are in no mood +to believe! And if I ask you your warrant for refusing to believe, if +I argue with you, if I adduce Scripture to support My claims, ye will +not answer; but though I read the motive of your inquiry, I will give +you all the evidence you desire. From henceforth shall the Son of Man +be seated at the right hand of God." + +As to the other charge, involving His Divine nature, the admission of +which involved the crime of blasphemy, they were too eager to wait for +Caiaphas; but with swollen faces, excited gestures, and loud cries, +rising from their seats, and gesticulating with the fury of religious +frenzy, they _all_ said, "Art Thou then the Son of God?" And He said +unto them, solemnly and emphatically, "Ye say that which I am." + +Then they turned to one another and said, "What further need have we of +witness? for we have heard from His own mouth." The inquiry was at an +end so far as Jesus was concerned. But they held a further council +against Him, how to construct the indictment which would compel Pilate +to inflict death; for the execution of the sentence of death was kept +resolutely by the Roman Procurator in his own hands. + +Finally, as soon as they dared disturb him, they led Jesus from +Caiaphas into the Praetorium, the palace of the Roman governor, who, in +accordance with his custom, had come up from his usual residence at +Caesarea to the Jewish capital, partly to keep order amid the vast +crowds that gathered there at the feast, seething with religious +fanaticism, and partly to try the cases which awaited his decision. +The Jewish authorities anticipated no great difficulty in securing from +him the necessary ratification of the death sentence. It surely would +not matter to him to add another to the long tale of robbers and +revolutionaries which are awaiting the cross, the more especially as +they were able to prefer a charge of treason against the Roman power +substantiated by the prisoner's own admissions made recently in their +presence. + +It is an awful spectacle, and one over which we would fain draw a veil; +but let us dare to stay to watch the evolution of the diabolical plot +to the end. This, at least, will become manifest--that Jesus died, +because He claimed to be the Son of God, in the unique sense of oneness +with the Father; that made Him equal with God, and constituted +blasphemy in the eye of the Jewish law. And He who has taught the +world Truth could neither have been a deceiver, nor deceived, in this +high claim. + + + + +XXVIII + +"Judas, which Betrayed Him" + +"Judas, which betrayed Him."--JOHN xviii. 2. + + +On the Wednesday evening before our Lord died, He supped with His +disciples in Bethany at the House of Simon. Lazarus was there, and his +sisters--Martha, who served, and Mary, who anointed Him beforehand for +His burying. The Master's reception of this act of love, and His +rebuke of the parsimony which sought to check all such manifestations +of devotion, exasperated Judas beyond all bounds; so, after supper, +when Jesus and the rest had retired to their humble lodgment, he +crossed the intervening valleys and returned by the moonlight to +Jerusalem. + +At that untimely hour the Sanhedrim may have been still in session, +plotting to destroy Jesus. At any rate, the chief priests and captains +were quickly summoned. Judas may have been in communication with some +of them before; but, in any case, he met with a glad welcome. They +were glad, and covenanted to give him money. + +In the word, _communed_ with them, used by the evangelist Luke, it is +suggested that there was a certain amount of bargaining and haggling +before the sum was fixed. Perhaps he wanted more, and they offered +less, and at last he was induced to take less than he had hoped, but +more than they had offered; and the price of betrayal was fixed at +thirty pieces of silver, about 8 pounds, the price of a slave. From +that moment he sought opportunity to betray Him unto them. + +At the Passover Supper provided on the next day by Peter and John in +the upper room, Judas must have reclined on the Lord's left, and John +upon His right, so that the beloved disciple could lean back his head +on the bosom of his Friend. When all were settled, Jesus exclaimed, +with a sigh of innermost satisfaction, "With desire I have desired to +eat this Passover with you before I suffer"; and as He uttered the +words, Judas must have felt a thrill passing through his nature, as he +realized more clearly than any around that table, what was approaching. +Evidently, then, the Master had guessed what was being prepared for +Him! Did He also know the share that he had had in preparing it? In +any case, it was clear that, so far from resisting, He was prepared to +suffer. Apparently, He would not take the opportunity of asserting His +claims; but would allow events to take their course, yielding Himself +to the will of His foes! + +When He had given thanks, the Lord passed round the first cup; then +followed the washing of the disciples' feet, in the midst of which He +looked sorrowfully toward Judas, exclaiming, "Ye are clean, but not +all"; for He knew from the first who would betray Him. It was with a +strange blending of awe and wonder that the little group saw the dark +cloud of anguish gather and rest on the beloved face when, on resuming +His place, He was troubled in the spirit, and testified, and said, +"Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray Me." The +disciples looked at one another, doubting of whom He spoke, and Peter +beckoned to John to ask. But Judas knew. And when He went on to say, +"The Son of Man goeth, even as it is written of Him; but woe unto that +man through whom the Son of Man is betrayed! good were it for that man +if he had not been born"--again Judas' heart smote him. It may be that +he asked himself whether he might not even now draw back. + +For three years he had played his part so well that, in spite of his +constant pilfering from the bag which held the slender resources of the +little band, no one suspected him. His fellow-disciples might contend +for the first places at the table, but all felt that Judas, at any +rate, had a prescriptive right to sit near Jesus. All round, in +sorrowful tones, the question passed, "Lord, is it I?" Each, conscious +of the unfathomed evil of his own nature, thought himself more likely +to be the traitor than that the admirable Judas should do the deed. It +was terrible to know that the Shepherd should be smitten, and the flock +scattered; but more, that the Master would be betrayed by the inner +circle of His friends! But there seemed no reason for challenging His +announcement, backed as it was by a quotation from a familiar Psalm, +"He that dippeth his hand with Me in the dish, the same shall betray +Me." From these words also it was evident that the traitor must be one +of two or three; for only these could reach the common dish in which +Jesus dipped His food. + +It became, therefore, more and more clear to Judas, that the Master +knew perfectly well all that had transpired, and he said to himself, +"If He knows so much, it is almost certain that He knows all." +Therefore, partly to disarm any suspicions that might be suggested to +the others if he did not take up their question, partly because he felt +that probably there was nothing to be gained by maintaining his +disguise before Jesus, and being withal feverishly anxious to know how +much of his plan was discovered, he asked, adopting the colder title +Rabbi, rather than that of Lord, as employed by the others, "Rabbi, is +it I?" Probably the question was asked under his breath, and that +Jesus replied in the same tone, "Thou hast said." + +Immediately the thoughts of Judas sprang back to the foot-washing, and +all the other marks of extraordinary tenderness with which Jesus had +treated him. At the time he had thought, "He would not act like this +if He knew all." Now, however, he realized that Jesus had acted in the +full knowledge of all that had passed, and was passing in his heart. +It must have struck him as extraordinary that the Master should +continue to treat him thus when He had read the whole dark secret. Why +did He not unmask and expose him? Why not banish him from His company? +Why count him still on speaking terms? Not till afterward was he aware +of Jesus' motive, nor did he detect the loving purpose which was laying +siege to his stony heart as though to turn him from his evil purpose +before it was too late. + +Once more the Lord made an effort to prove to him that though He knew +all He loved him still, even to the end. It was the Jewish custom for +one to dip a morsel in the common dish and pass it to another in token +of special affection, so when He had dipped the sop, Jesus took and +gave it to Judas, the son of Simon. He had previously answered John's +whispered question, "Lord, who is it?" which had been suggested by a +sign from Peter, by saying, "He it is to whom I shall give a sop when I +have dipped it." But He did not give the token of love merely as a +sign to John and Peter, but because He desired to assure Judas that, +notwithstanding His perfect knowledge, His heart was full of tender +affection. + +But when the sun strikes on a foetid pond, its rays, beneath which all +creation rejoices, bring out the repulsive odors that otherwise had +slept undiscovered; so the love of God is ever a savor of life unto +life or of death unto death, and the very fervor of Christ's love seems +to have driven Judas almost to madness. Shutting his heart against the +Saviour, he opened it to Satan, who was waiting his opportunity. +"After the sop, then Satan entered into him." Instantly the Master saw +the change, and knew that He could do nothing more to save His disciple +from the pit which he had digged for himself. Nothing could be gained +by further delay. Jesus therefore said unto him, "That thou doest, do +quickly." + +So carefully had the Lord concealed His knowledge of Judas' real +character that none of those who sat at table guessed the real +significance and purport of His words. For some thought, because Judas +had the bag, that Jesus said unto him, "Buy what things we have need of +for the feast"; or that he should give something to the poor. Only +John, and perhaps Peter, had the slightest suspicion of his possible +errand. The sacred narrative adds significantly, "He then having +received the sop, went out straightway, and it was night"; as though +the black pall of darkness were a befitting symbol of the blackness of +darkness that was enveloping his soul--a night broken only by one star, +when Jesus once more in the garden sought to arrest him with the words, +"Friend, to what a deed thou art come! Betrayest thou the Son of Man +with a kiss?" But that lone star was soon obscured. The cloud-wreath +hastened to conceal it. Head-long and precipitate over every obstacle, +he rushed to his doom, until his career was consummated in the +despairing act which the Evangelist so solemnly records. + +The specified fee was no doubt paid to Judas, on his delivery of Jesus +into the hands of the High Priest. As soon as the great doors closed +behind the arresting band, Judas went to some inner pay-office, claimed +his money, and then waited in the shadow to see what befell. Perhaps +he met John; and if so, avoided him. Perhaps he heard Peter deny the +Lord with oaths, and congratulated himself that there was not much to +choose between them. But for the most part his mind was absorbed in +what was transpiring. He beheld the shameful injustice and inhumanity +of the trial. Though he had kissed his Master's face, his soul winced +from the blows and spittle that befell it. Perhaps he had entertained +some lingering hope and expectation that when the worst came to the +worst the Master would use on His own behalf the power He had so often +used for others. But if that thought had lodged in his mind, the dream +was terribly dissipated. "He saw that He was condemned." + +Then the full significance of his sin burst upon him. The veil fell +from his eyes, and he stood face to face with his crime in all its +naked horror. His ingratitude, his treachery, his petty pilfering, his +resistence of a love which the strong waters of death could not +extinguish. And the money scorched his hand. A wild and haggard man, +he made his way into the presence of the chief priests and scribes, as +they were congratulating themselves on the success of their plot. +There was despair on his face, a piercing note in his voice, anguish in +his soul; the flames of hell were already consuming him, the thirst of +the bottomless pit already parching his lips; his hand convulsively +clutched the thirty pieces of silver. + +"I have sinned," he cried. "I have sinned. He whom you have condemned +is innocent; take back your money, only let Him go free; and oh, +relieve me, ye priests, accustomed to deal with burdened hearts, +relieve me of this intolerable pain." + +But they said, with a gleam as of cold steel, "What is that to us? +That is your business. You made your bargain, and you must stand to +it: see thou to it." + +He knew that it was useless to parley with them. That icy sarcasm, +that haughty indifference, told him how man must ever regard his +miserable act. He had already refused the love of God, and dared not +expect anything more from it. He foresaw how coming ages would spurn +and abhor him. There seemed, therefore, nothing better than to leap +into the awful abyss of suicide. It could bring nothing worse than he +was suffering. Oh, if he had only dared to believe in the love of God, +and had fallen even then at the feet of Jesus, he might have become a +pillar in His temple, and an apostle of the Church. But he dared not +think that there could be mercy for such as he was. He passes out into +the morning air, the most wretched of men, shrinks away into some +lonely spot, puts a rope around his neck, and dies. + +We have been accustomed to think of Judas as one whose crime has put +him far in front of all others in the enormity of his guilt. Dante +draws an awful picture of him as alone even in hell, shunned by all +other sinners, as Turkish prisoners will shun Christians, though +sharing the same cell. But let us remember that he did not come to +such a pitch of evil at a single bound. There was a time, no doubt, +when, amid the cornfields, vineyards, and pastoral villages of his +native Kerioth, he was regarded as a promising youth, quick at figures, +the comfort of his parents, the pride of his instructors, the leader of +his comrades. + +During the early years of His manhood, Jesus came through that court +country on a preaching tour, and there must have been a wonderful +fascination in Him for young men, so many of whom left their friends +and callings to join and follow Him. Judas felt the charm and joined +himself to the Lord; perhaps Jesus even called him. At that time his +life must have been fair, or the Master would never have committed +Himself to him. He was practical, prompt, and businesslike, the very +man to keep the bag. But the continual handling of the money at last +awoke within him an appetite of the presence of which he had not been +previously aware. He did not banish it, but dwelt on it, allowing it +to lodge and expand within him, till, like a fungus in congenial soil, +it ate out his heart and absorbed into itself all the qualities of his +nobler nature, transmuting them into rank and noisome products. All +love for Christ, all care for the poor, all thought of his +fellow-disciples, were quenched before that remorseless passion; and at +last he began to pilfer from those scant treasures, which were now and +again replenished by those that loved to minister to the Master's +comfort. At first, he must have been stung by keen remorse; but each +time he sinned his conscience became more seared, until he finally +reached the point when he could sell his Master for a bagatelle, and +betray Him with a kiss. + +Alas! Judas is not the only man of whom these particulars have been +true. Change the name and you have an exact description of too many. +Many a fair craft has come within the reach of the circling eddies of +the same boiling whirlpool, and, after a struggle, has succumbed. The +young man hails from his native village home, earnest and ingenuous. +At first he stands firm against the worldly influences around; but +gradually he becomes careless in his watch, and as money flows in he +realizes the fascination of the idea of being a wealthy man. He +becomes increasingly absorbed, until he begins to drift toward a goal +from which in other days he would have shrunk in horror. If any reader +of these words is conscious of such a passion beginning to lay hold of +him, let him beware, lest, like Judas, he be lost in the divers hurtful +lusts which drown men in perdition. + +And if already you have been betrayed into sins which would bear +comparison with that of Judas, do not despair--true, you have sinned +against light and love, the eager, tender pleadings of God's love; but +do not give up hope. Cast yourself on a love which wants to abound +over sin, and glories in being able to save to the uttermost. + + + + +XXIX + +The First Trial before Pilate + +"Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it +was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest +they should be denied; but that they might eat the Passover."--JOHN +xviii. 28. + + +There is no doubt that had Pilate been absent from Jerusalem at the +time of our Lord's trial before the Sanhedrim, they would have rushed +Him to death, as afterward Stephen, and have risked the anger of the +Governor. But they dared not attempt such a thing beneath the eyes of +the dreaded Roman eagles. They must needs obtain Pilate's countersign +to their death sentence, and, indeed, consign their victim to him for +execution. The Lord was to die, not the Jewish death by stoning, but +the terrible Roman death of crucifixion. + +The day then breaking was that before the Passover. If the order for +execution were not obtained that morning, the case could not come on +for seven days, and it would have been highly impolitic, from their +point of view, to keep Jesus so long in bonds. The national sentiment +might have awoke and refused to sanction their treachery. For the same +reason it was necessary to carry the sentence into effect with as +little delay as possible, or the whole plot might miscarry. Then led +they Jesus from Caiaphas to the official residence of Pilate, which had +been the palace of the magnificent Herod--_and it was early_. + +In the palace there was a hall where trials were usually conducted; but +the Jewish dignitaries who had not scrupled shamelessly to condemn +Jesus were too scrupulous to enter the house of a Gentile on the eve of +the feast, for fear there might be a single grain of leaven there, and +the mere suspicion of such a thing would have disqualified them from +participating in the feast. Remember that these men had just broken +every principle of justice in their treatment of Jesus, and now they +palter over minute points of Rabbinical casuistry. So Philip of Spain +abetted the massacres of Alva, but rigorously performed all the rites +of the Church; and the Italian bandit will carefully honor priest, and +host, and church. How well our Lord's sharp sword cut to the dividing +of soul and spirit, in such cases as these: "Ye pay tithe of mint, and +cummin, and anise, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law." +It is an evil day when religion and morality are divorced. + +Pilate knew too well the character of the men with whom he had to do, +to attempt to force their scruples, and went out to them; so that for +most of the time his intercourse with Jesus was apart from their +interference and scrutiny. Without much interchange of formalities, +the Governor asked, "What accusation bring ye against this man?" + +It was not a little disappointing to their pride to be obliged to +adduce and substantiate capital charges against Jesus, so they replied +in general terms, and with the air of injured innocence, "If He were +not a malefactor, we would not have delivered Him unto thee." It was +as though they said, "There is no need for thee to enter into the +details of this case; we have thoroughly investigated it, and are +satisfied with the conclusive evidence of our prisoner's guilt; you may +be sure that men like ourselves would never come to thee at such an +hour, on such an errand, unless there were ample grounds for it." + +But Pilate was in no mood to be talked with thus. He saw their +eagerness to ward off inquiry, and this was quite enough to arouse his +proud spirit to thwart and disappoint them. He knew well enough that +they wanted him to pronounce the death sentence; but he pretended not +to, and said, in effect, "If your judgment, and yours only, is to +settle the case, take ye Him and judge Him according to your law, +inflicting such penalty as it directs." + +The Jewish notables at once saw that they must adopt a more +conciliatory tone, or they would lose their case; they therefore +explained that they wanted a severer sentence than they had the right +to inflict. "It is not lawful," they said, "for us to put any man to +death." + +Pilate again asked for a statement of the crime of which Jesus was +accused. + +Now mark the baseness of their reply. The only crime on which they had +condemned Jesus to death was His claim to Deity; but it would never +have done to tell Pilate that. He would simply have laughed at them. +They must find some charge which would bring Him within the range of +the common law, and be of such a nature that Pilate must take +cognizance of it, and award death. It was not easy to find ground for +such a charge in the life of one who had so studiously threaded His way +through the snares they had often laid for Him; who had bade them +render Caesar's things to Caesar; and protested that He was neither a +ruler nor judge. Their only hope was to rest their charge on His claim +to be the Messiah, construing it as the Jews were wont to do, but as +Jesus never did, into a claim to an outward and visible royalty. They +said, therefore, as Luke informs us, "We found this man perverting the +nation and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that He Himself +is Christ a King." + +This was quite enough to compel Pilate to institute further inquiry. +There were thousands of Jews who questioned Caesar's right to tax them, +and were willing to revolt under the lead of any man who showed himself +capable. It was certainly suspicious that such a charge should be made +by men who themselves abhorred the yoke of Rome. However, Pilate saw +that he had no alternative but to investigate the case further. He +therefore went within the palace to the inner judgment hall, summoned +Jesus before him, and said, not without a touch of sarcasm in his +tones, "Art Thou the King of the Jews?" Thou poor, worn, tear-stained +outcast, forsaken by every friend in this Thy hour of need, so great a +contrast to him who built these halls and aspired to the same +title--art thou a king? + +He probably expected that Jesus would at once disclaim any such title. +But instead of doing so, instead of answering directly, our Lord +answered his question by propounding another--"Sayest thou this thing +of thyself, or did others tell it thee concerning Me?" The purport of +this question seems to have been to probe Pilate's conscience, and make +him aware of his own growing consciousness that this prisoner was too +royal in mien to be an ordinary Jewish visionary. It was as though He +said: "Dost thou use the term in the common sense, or as a soul +confronted by a greater than thyself? Do you speak by hearsay or by +conviction? Is it because the Jews have so taught thee, or because +thou recognizest Me as able to bring order and peace into troubled +hearts like thine?" + +Whatever thoughts had instinctively made themselves felt were instantly +beaten back by his strong Roman pride. Never before had he been +catechised thus. And he answered haughtily, "Am I a Jew? Thine own +nation and the chief priests have delivered Thee unto me: what hast +Thou done?" + +Our Lord did not answer that question by enumerating deeds which had +filled Palestine with wonder; but contented Himself by saying that He +had committed no political offence, and had no idea of setting Himself +up as king, in the sense in which Pilate and the Jews used the word: +"My kingdom is not of this world: if My kingdom were of this world, +then would My servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the +Jews: but now is My kingdom not from hence." + +Never in the history of this world did the lips of man speak or his +ears listen to a more pregnant or remarkable utterance. But it has +been shamefully misunderstood. Men have misread the words, and said, +See, the religion of Jesus is quite unworldly, has nothing to do with +the institutions and arrangements of human life. It deals with the +spiritual, and not with the secular. It treats of our spirits, not our +hands or pockets. So long as we recognize Christ's authority in the +Church, we may do as we like in the home, the counting-house, the +factory, and the shop. + +It was in no such sense that Jesus uttered these words, and the mistake +has largely arisen through the misunderstanding of the word _of_ as +used by our translators. It has not the force of belonging to, or +being the property of; but is the translation of a Greek preposition, +meaning out of, springing from, originating in. We might freely +translate the Master's words thus: "My kingdom does not originate from +this world; it has come down from another, to bring the principles, +methods, and inspirations of heaven to bear on all the provinces of +human thought and activity." The Son of Man claims the whole of man +and all that he does as a subject of His realm. He cannot spare one +relationship of human life, one art, one industry, one interest, one +joy, one hope from the domain of His empire. He has a word about the +weight in the pedlar's bag, the dealings of the merchant on 'Change, +the justice and injustice of wars that desolate continents. + +The one conspicuous proof of the absolutely foreign origin of this +heavenly kingdom is its refusal to employ force. Its servants do not +fight. In the garden the King had repudiated the use of force, bidding +His servant sheathe His sword. Whenever you encounter a system that +cannot stand without the use of force, that appeals to the law court or +bayonet, you are sure that, whatever else it is, it is not the Kingdom +of Christ. Christ's kingdom distinctly and forever refuses to allow +its subjects to fight. They who would surround Christianity with +prestige, endow it with wealth, and guard it with the sword, expel its +Divine Spirit, and leave only its semblance dead upon the field. But +if the aid which might be deemed essential is withheld, whether of +funds or force, it thrives and spreads until the hills are covered with +its goodly shadow, and its products fill the earth with harvests of +benediction. All the Gospel asks for is freedom--freedom to do what +Jesus did, in the way He did it; freedom because of its belief that the +power of truth is greater than all the power of the Adversary. Oh for +a second Pentecost! Oh for the holy days of Apostolic trust and +simplicity! Oh for one of the days of the Son of Man, who came to our +world armed with no authority save that of truth, clothed with no power +but that of love. + +In Pilate's next question there seems a touch of awe and respect: "Art +Thou a king then?" That moral nature which is in all men, however +debased, seemed for a moment to assert itself, and a strange spell lay +on his spirit. + +With wondrous dignity our Lord immediately answered, "Thou sayest that +I am--a king." But He hastens to show that it was a kingship not based +upon material force like that of the Caesars, nor confined to one race +of men: "To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the +world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Every one that is of +the truth heareth My voice." There is no soul of man, in any clime or +age, devoted to the truth, which does not recognize the royalty and +supremacy of Jesus Christ. There is an accent in His words which all +the children of the truth instantly recognize. The idea here given of +Jesus gazing ever into the depths of eternal truth, and bearing witness +of what He saw, not in His words alone, but in His life and death; and +of the assent given to His witness by all who have looked upon the +sublime outlines of truth, is one of those majestic conceptions which +cannot be accounted for on any hypothesis than that the speaker was +Divine. + +When Pilate heard these words, he probably thought of the Epicureans, +and Stoics, and other philosophers, who were perpetually wrangling +about the truth, and demanding men's allegiance. "Oh," said he to +himself, "here is another enthusiast, touched with the same madness, +though He does seem nobler than many of His craft. One thing is clear, +that my lord has nothing to fear from His pretensions. He may sit as +long as He likes on His ideal throne without detriment to the empire of +the Caesars." With mingled bitterness and cynicism, he answered, "What +is truth?" and, without waiting for an answer, went out to the group of +Jewish rabbis waiting in the opening daylight, and threw them into +convulsions of excitement by saying, "I find in Him no fault at all." + +They were the more urgent, saying, "He stirreth up the people, teaching +throughout all Judaea, and beginning from Galilee even unto this place." + +The mention of Galilee came as a gleam of light to Pilate. He was +sincerely desirous not to be an accomplice in the death of Jesus, by +falling into the plot which he had been astute enough to detect. But +not daring to take the only honorable and safe way of declaring His +innocence, and summoning a cohort of soldiers to clear the court, he +endeavored to exculpate himself by throwing the responsibility on +Herod. He congratulated himself on the ingenuity of a plan which +should relieve him of the necessity of grieving his conscience on the +one hand, or of irritating the Jews on the other, and which would +conciliate Herod, with whom he was at this time on unfriendly terms. +When he knew therefore that He was of Herod's jurisdiction he sent Him +unto Herod, who himself was at Jerusalem in those days. + +Herod was glad to see the wonderful miracle-worker of whom he had heard +so much, and hoped that He might do some wonder in his presence; and, +in the hope of extorting it, set Him at nought, and mocked Him, with +his mighty men. But the Lord remained absolutely silent in his +presence, as though the love of God could say nothing to the murderer +of the Baptist, who had not repented of his deed. Finally, therefore, +disappointed and chagrined, Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate, admitting +that he had found in Him no cause of death. + + + + +XXX + +The Second Trial before Pilate + +"Ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: +will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews?"--JOHN +xviii. 39. + + +Pilate must have felt mortified when he heard that Herod had sent Jesus +back to his tribunal. He had hoped that the Jewish monarch would so +settle the matter that there would be no need for him to choose between +his conscience and his fear of the Jewish leaders. But it was not to +be. It was decreed that he should pronounce the judicial sentence on +our Lord, and so on himself. + +Now was the time for him to act decisively, and to say clearly that he +would be no party to the unrighteous deed to which these priests were +urging him. To have done so firmly and decisively, and before they +could further inflame popular passion, the whole matter would have come +to an end. Alas! he let the golden moment slip past him unused, and +every succeeding moment made it more impossible for him to retrieve it. + +Pilate is one of the most notable instances in history of the fatal +error of preferring expediency to principle. He wished to do right, +but not to do it avowedly because it was right. He wished to do right +without seeming to do it, or making a positive stand for it. And in +consequence he was finally entrapped into doing the very deed which he +had taken the greatest trouble to avoid. Therefore, on the plains of +time he stands as a beacon and warning; and to all who do not dare to +oppose the stream of public passion and practice with the single +affirmation of inflexible adherence to righteousness, the voice of +inspiration cries aloud, "Remember Pilate!" However promising a +tortuous course may look, it will certainly end in disaster. However +discouraging a righteous one may appear, it will at last lead out into +the open. And in doing the right thing, be sure to speak out firmly at +once. It may be harder for the moment, but it will be always easier +afterward. One brave word will put you into a position of moral +advantage, from which no power shall avail to shake or dislodge you. + +Such a word, however, Pilate failed to speak; and when Jesus was again +brought before him, he began to think of some way by which he might do +as conscience prompted, without running counter to the Jewish leaders. +He, therefore, summoned around him the chief priests and rulers of the +people. The latter are particularly mentioned, as though Pilate +thought that his best method of saving Jesus would be by appealing over +the heads of the priests to the humanity of the common people. When +all were again assembled he made, as Luke tells us, a short speech to +them, reiterating his conviction of His innocence, corroborating his +own opinion by Herod's, and closing by a proposal which he hoped would +meet the whole case. "I will therefore chastise Him and release Him." +Was there ever such a compromise? A little before he had solemnly +affirmed that he could find in Him no fault at all, but if that were +the case, why chastise Him? And if He were guilty of the charges +brought against Him, as chastisement might seem to suggest, surely He +should not be released. Pilate meant to do the best. The chastisement +was intended as a sop to the priests, and to win their acquiescence to +their victim's release. But it was not straightforward, or strong, or +right. And, like all compromises, it miserably failed. + +Those keen Jewish eyes saw in a moment that Pilate had left the ground +of simple justice. He had shifted from the principle on which Roman +law was generally administered, and they saw that it was only a +question of bringing sufficient pressure to bear on him, and they could +make him a tool for the accomplishment of the fell purpose on which +their heart was set. The proposal, therefore, was swept ignominiously +away, and Pilate could never regain the position he had renounced. + +Pilate then resorted to another expedient for saving Jesus. It was the +custom to carry out capital sentences at feast times, which were the +occasions of great popular convocations; but it was also customary for +the governor to release any one prisoner, condemned to death, whom the +multitude, on the Passover week, might agree to name. Pilate +recollected this, and also that there was a notorious criminal awaiting +execution, who for sedition and murder had been arrested and condemned +to die. It occurred to him that, instead of asking the people +generally whom they wished him to release, he should narrow the choice +and present the alternative between Barabbas and Jesus. They would +hardly fail, he thought, to choose the release of this pale Prisoner, +who was innocent of crime, and, indeed, had lived a life notable for +its benevolence. + +Pilate took care to announce his proposal with the greatest effect. +The vast space before his palace was rapidly filling with excited +crowds, who guessed that something unusual was astir, and were pouring +in surging volumes into the piazza, although it was still early. That +he might be the better seen and heard he ascended a movable rostrum, or +judgment-seat, which was placed on the tessellated pavement that ran +from end to end of the palace. "Whom will ye," he asked, "that I +release unto you--Barabbas, or Jesus which is called the Christ?" And +then he suggested the answer: "Will ye that I release unto you the King +of Jews?" + +At this moment, and perhaps whilst waiting for their answer, a +messenger hurried to speak to him from his wife. It must have been +most unusual for her to interfere with his judicial acts; but she had +been so impressed by a dream about her husband's connection with Jesus, +the unwonted Prisoner who stood before him, that she was impelled to +urge him to have nothing to do with Him. It was a remarkable episode, +and must have made Pilate more than ever anxious to extricate himself +from his dilemma. + +It was still not absolutely too late to set himself free by the +resolute expression of his will. But his temporizing policy was making +it immensely difficult, and he was becoming every moment more entangled +in the meshes of the merciless priests. + +He had hoped much from his last proposal, but was destined to be +bitterly disappointed. The chief priests and elders had been busy +amongst the crowds, persuading and moving them. We do not know the +arguments they would employ; but we all know how inflammable a mob is, +and presently the name of Barabbas began to sound ominously from amid +the hubbub and murmur of that sea of human beings. Presently the +isolated cries spread into a tumultuous clamor, which rang out in the +morning air, "Not this man, but Barabbas!" + +Pilate seems to have been dumbfoundered at this unexpected demand; and +said, almost pitifully, "What then shall I do with Jesus, which is +called Christ?" As though he had said, "You surely cannot mean that He +should suffer the fate prepared for a murderer!" Then they cried out +for the first time, To the cross, to the cross! "Crucify Him! crucify +Him!" + +Pilate had failed twice; he felt that he was being swept away by a +current which already he could not stem, and which was becoming at +every moment deeper and swifter. But he was very anxious to release +Jesus; and so he tried to reason with them, and said, "Why, what evil +hath He done?" But he might as hopefully have tried to argue with an +angry sea, or with a pack of wolves. He felt this, and, mustering a +little show of authority, said: "I have found no cause of death in Him; +I will, therefore, chastise Him, and release Him." But this +announcement was met by an infuriated shout of disapproval. "They were +instant with loud voices, requiring that He might be crucified." "They +cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify Him." A little before this +Pilate had been besieged for six days in his palace at Caesarea by +similar crowds, whose persistent fury at last compelled him to give in +to them. He dared not provoke similar scenes, lest they should result +in a revolution. When he saw that he could prevail nothing, but that +rather a tumult was made, he called for water. He said to himself, "I +am very sorry, this Man is innocent, and I should like to save Him. +But I have done my best, and can do no more. I will, at least, relieve +myself of the responsibility of His blood. 'Slave, bring me water!'" + +As he washed his hands he said, "I am innocent of the blood of this +righteous Man; see ye to it." "Yes, yes," cried those bloodthirsty +voices, "His blood be on us, and on our children." See how God +sometimes takes men at their word. The blood of Jesus was required of +that generation at the sack of Jerusalem, forty years after; and it has +been required of their children through all the ages. Why that +wandering foot, found in every land, yet homeless in all? Why the +hideous tortures, plunderings, and massacres of the Middle Ages? Why +the modern Jew-hate, disguised under the more refined term +_anti-Semitism_? Why the banishment from their holy places for +eighteen centuries? All is attributable to that terrible imprecation +which attracted to the race the blood of an innocent Victim. It does +not exculpate them to say that they did not realize who Jesus was, and +that they would not have crucified Him if they had realized His Divine +dignity. They are being punished to-day, not because they crucified +the Son of God, knowing Him to be such, but because they crucified One +against whom they could allege no crime, and whose life had been full +of truth and grace. + +After he had washed his hands "Pilate gave sentence that it should be +as they required, and released unto them him that for sedition and +murder had been cast into prison, whom they desired; but he delivered +Jesus to their will." + +Those condemned to die by crucifixion first underwent the hideous +torture of the scourge. This, then, was inflicted on Jesus, and it was +carried out in the inner courtyard by the Roman soldiery, under +Pilate's direction. "Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged +Him." Stripped to the waist, and bound in a stooping posture to a low +pillar, He was beaten till the officer in charge gave the signal to +stop. The plaited leathern thongs, armed at the ends with lead and +sharp-pointed bone, cut the back open in all directions, and inflicted +such torture that the sufferers generally fainted, and often died. + +But the scourging in this case did not satisfy the soldiers, whom +scenes of this nature had brutalized. They had been told by their +comrades of the mockery of Herod's palace, and they would not lag +behind. Had He been robed in mockery as King of the Jews, then He +shall pose as mock emperor. They found a purple robe, wove some tough +thorns into a mimic crown, placed a long reed in His hand as sceptre, +then bowed the knee, as in the imperial court, and cried, "Hail, King +of the Jews!" Finally, tiring of their brutal jests, they tore the +reed from His hands, smote Him with it on His thorn-girt brow, and +struck Him with their fists. We cannot tell how long it lasted, but +Jesus bore it all--silent, uncomplaining, noble. There was a majesty +about Him which these indignities could not suppress or disturb. + +Pilate had never seen such elevation of demeanor, and was greatly +struck by it. He was more than ever desirous to save Him, and it +suddenly occurred to him that perhaps that spectacle of sorrow and +majesty might arrest the fury of the rabble. He therefore led Jesus +forth wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, and, stationing +Him where all could see, said, "Behold the Man! Behold Him and admire! +Behold Him and pity! Behold Him and be content!" But the priests were +obdurate. There is no hate so virulent as religious hate, and they +raised again the cry, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!" Pilate was not only +annoyed, but provoked. "Take ye Him," he said, in surly tones, +"crucify Him as best ye can, my soldiers and I will have nothing to do +with the foul deed." + +Then it was that the Jewish leaders, in their eagerness not to lose +their prey, brought forward a weapon which they had been reluctant to +use. "We have a law," they said, "and by our law He ought to die, +because He made Himself the Son of God." We hardly know how much those +words meant to Pilate, but they awakened a strange awe. "He was the +more afraid." He had some knowledge of the old stories of mythology, +in which the gods walked the world in the semblance of men. Could this +be the explanation of the strange majesty in the wonderful Sufferer, +whose presence raised such extraordinary passion and ferment? So he +took Jesus apart, and said to Him, "Whence art Thou?" "Art Thou of +human birth, or more?" But Jesus gave him no answer. This is the +fifth time that He had answered nothing; but we can detect the reason. +It would have been useless to explain all to Pilate then. It would not +have arrested his action, for he had lost control, but would have +increased His condemnation. Yet His silence was itself an answer; for +if He had been only of earth, He could never have allowed Pilate to +entertain the faintest suspicion that He might be of heaven. + +Pilate's pride was touched by that silence. It was at least possible +to assert a power over this defenceless Prisoner, which had been defied +by those vindictive Jews. "Speakest Thou not unto _me_? Knowest Thou +not that I have power to release or to crucify Thee?" And Jesus +answered, "Thou wouldst have no power against Me, except it were given +thee from above; therefore, he that delivered Me unto thee hath the +greater sin." In these words our Lord seems to refer to the mystery of +evil, and specially the power of the prince of this world, who was now +venting on Him all his malice. At this moment the serpent was bruising +the heel of the Son of Man, who shortly would bruise His head. It +would appear as though our Lord were addressing kind and compassionate +words to Pilate. "Great as your sin is, in abusing your prerogative, +given to you from above, it is less than the sin of that Evil Spirit +who has cast Me into your power, and is urging you to extreme measures +against Me. The devil sinneth from the beginning." Even in His sore +travail, the Lord was tender and pitiful to this weak and craven soul, +and spoke to it as though Pilate and not He were arraigned at the bar. + +Pilate was now more than ever set on His deliverance. "He sought to +release Him." And then the Jews brought out their last crushing and +conclusive argument, "If thou release this Man, thou art not Caesar's +friend; every one that maketh himself a king, speaketh against Caesar." +Pilate knew what that meant, and that if he did not let them have their +way, they would lodge an accusation against him for complicity with +treason before his imperial master. Already strong representations had +been made in the same quarter against his maladministration of his +province, and he positively dare not risk another. "When, therefore, +he heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down in the +judgment-seat at a place called the Pavement, and it was about the +sixth hour." + +With ill-concealed irritation, and adopting the recent phraseology of +the priests, he said, "Behold your King!" At which they cried, "We +have no king but Caesar. Away with Him; away with Him; crucify Him." +It gave Pilate savage pleasure to put the cup of humiliation to their +lips, and make them drain it to its dregs. "What!" said he; "shall I +crucify your King?" Then they touched the lowest depth of degradation, +as, abandoning all their Messianic hopes, and trampling under foot +their national pride, they answered, "We have no king but Caesar." + +At last, therefore, he delivered Jesus to them to be crucified, signed +the usual documents, gave the customary order, and retired into his +palace, as one who had heard his own sentence pronounced, and carried +in his soul the presage of his doom. + +Long years after, when, stripped of his Procuratorship, which he had +sacrificed Christ to save, worn out by his misfortunes, and universally +execrated, he was an exile in a foreign land, with his faithful wife, +how often must they have spoken together of the events of that morning, +which had so strangely affected their lives! + + + + +XXXI + +The Seven Sayings of the Cross + +"Then delivered he Him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they +took Jesus and led Him away."--JOHN xix. 16. + + +Driven from one position after another by the Jewish notables and +rabble, Pilate at last, much against his will, gave directions for the +Lord's crucifixion. The purple robe flung over His shoulders was +replaced by His own simple clothes, though the crown of thorns was not +improbably left upon His head. + +Two others were led out to suffer with Him--highwaymen lately captured +in some red-handed deed. Barabbas, their chief, for whom the central +cross had been designed, had escaped it by a miracle; but they were to +suffer the just reward of their deeds. A detachment of soldiers was +told off under a centurion, to see to the execution of the sentence, +and the heavy crosses were placed upon the shoulders of the sufferers, +that they might bear them to the place of execution. + +It was probably about ten A. M. when the sad procession started on its +way. Two incidents took place as it passed through the crowded +streets, which surely had never witnessed such a spectacle: no, not +even in the days when David traversed them in flight from Absalom. + +The beams laid on our Lord proved too heavy in the steeper ascents for +His exhausted strength, and His slow advance so delayed the procession +that the guard became impatient. Here comes a foreigner! A Jew of +Cyrene! Harmless and inoffensive, gladly would he make way for the +crowd. Why should he not bear this burden under which Jesus of +Nazareth is falling to the ground? The insolent soldiers, with oath +and jest, constrain him, and he dares not resist. Probably Simon had +no previous knowledge of Him for whom he bore this load, and loathed +the service he was compelled to render; but that compulsory +companionship with Jesus carried him to Calvary. He beheld the +wondrous tragedy, heard the words which we are to recite; from that day +became, with his family, a humble follower of Jesus. We at least infer +this from Mark's emphatic mention of the fact that he was father of +Alexander and Rufus; whilst the Apostle Paul, in the Epistle to the +Romans, tenderly refers to Rufus and his mother. This is not the only +instance in the history of Christianity, when the compulsion of an +apparent accident has led a man to Christ. Many a time has compulsory +cross-carrying led men to the Crucified. + +Of the vast multitude who followed Jesus, a large contingent consisted +of women. From the men, in that moving crowd, He does not appear to +have received one word of sympathy. Timidity, or questioning with +their own hearts, or inveterate hatred closed their lips. But the +women expressed their sorrow with all the outcry of Oriental grief, +rending the air with piercing cries. "Weep not for Me," the Saviour +said, ever more thoughtful for others than Himself; "but for yourselves +and your children." And He who had been mocked because of His claim to +be a King, and who would shortly from the cross begin to minister as a +Priest, then as Prophet foretold the approaching fate of that fair +city, asking significantly, since the Romans dealt thus with Himself an +innocent sufferer, what would they not do when exasperated by the +pertinacious resistance of the Jewish people in the protracted siege. + +Just outside the city gates, by the side of the main road, was a little +conical eminence which, from its likeness to the shape of a skull, was +called in the Aramaic _Golgotha_, in the Greek _Cranion_, in the Latin +_Calvary_. As we speak of the _brow_ of a hill, they called the bald +eminence a _skull_. There the procession stayed, and what transpired +may be best followed as we touch on the seven sentences our Lord +uttered on the Cross, as we collate them and set them in order from the +four Gospels. + +I. "_Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do._"--Arrived +at the place of execution, Jesus would be stripped once more, a linen +cloth at most being left about His loins. He would then be laid upon +the cross, as it rested on the ground, His arms stretched along the +crossbeams, His body resting on a projecting piece of rough wood, +misnamed a seat. Huge nails would then be driven through the tender +palm of each hand, and the shrinking centre of each foot. The cross +would then be lifted up and planted in a hole previously dug to receive +it, with a rude shock causing indescribable anguish. "So they +crucified Him, and two others with Him, on either side one, and Jesus +in the midst." + +Pilate had written a title to be nailed to the head-piece of the cross, +according to the usual custom, with the name and designation of the +crucified, "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews." It was written in +Greek, the language of science; Latin, the language of government; and +Hebrew, the language of religion. It is this fact that accounts for +the differences in the Gospels. One evangelist translates from one +language, another from another. The inscription was meant to insult +the Jews. It was equivalent to saying, "This nation cannot produce a +better monarch than this; and this is the fate which will be meted out +to all such pretenders." The authorities were indignant, and did their +utmost to induce Pilate to alter it. But in vain. He would be master +this time, and dismissed them with the curt reply, "What I have written +I have written." Each man is writing his conception of the nature and +claims of Christ by the way in which he treats Him, either +acknowledging His Divine glory as he enthrones Him, or repudiating His +claims as he tramples Him under foot, and turns away to his sin. + +The criminal's clothes fell as a perquisite to the soldiers specially +charged with the execution of the sentence. With our Lord's outer +clothes they had no difficulty; they were too poor to be worth keeping +entire, so they tore them up into equal pieces. But the inner tunic +was of unusual texture; perhaps it had been woven for Him by His +mother's hands, or by one of the women who so carefully administered to +Him. In any case it was too good to tear. The dice were ready in the +pocket, one of the helmets would serve as dice-box; and so "they parted +His raiment among them, and for His vesture they did cast lots. These +things therefore the soldiers did." + +It was probably during this byplay that our Lord uttered the first cry +of the cross, and entered on that work of intercession, which He ever +lives to perpetuate and crown. He thinks, not of Himself, but of +others; is occupied, not with His own pains, but with their sins. Not +a threat, nor a menace; but the purest, tenderest accents of pleading +intercession. + +When was that prayer answered? Seven weeks after this, on the day of +Pentecost, three thousand of these people, whom Peter described as the +murderers of Christ, repented and believed, and in the days that +followed thousands more, and a great company of the priests. That was +the answer to this intercession. When we see our brethren sinning a +sin not unto death, without realizing its full significance and +enormity, if we ask God, as Jesus did, He will give us life for those +that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death, and concerning +that we are not encouraged to pray. "I obtained mercy," said the great +apostle, "because I did it ignorantly in unbelief." + +II. "_Woman, behold thy Son; son behold thy mother._"--The second +saying was about His mother. His cross was the centre of bitter +mockery. The chief priests, and scribes, and elders challenged Him to +descend from the cross, pledging themselves to believe if He did. The +crowd caught their spirit with contemptible servility, and repeated +their words, "Son of God, come down from the cross, that we may +believe." A passer-by called out derisively, "Where is now the boast +that He could raise the temple in three days? Let Him do it if He +can." The soldiers even caught up the abuse, and vented their coarse +jokes on one whose innocence and gentleness appeared to exasperate +them. And the malefactors who were hanged cast the same in His teeth. + +Were there no sympathizers in all that crowd to exchange glances of +love and faith? Yes, there was one little group. When Peter left the +Hall of Caiaphas John probably lingered there still, followed to the +bar of Pilate, waited long enough to know how the matter would fall, +and then hastened to the humble lodgings where Mary and a few other +women, in awful suspense, were awaiting tidings. As soon as the mother +knew all, she resolved to see her beloved Son once more. "It is no +place for women," John would say. But she answered, "I must see Him +yet again." Then said John, "If you will indeed go, I will take you." +"I too will go," sadly said Mary, her sister, the wife of Cleophas; +"and I also," said Mary of Magdala. What a sight for those loving +hearts, when they saw the crosses in the distance, and knew that on one +of them was hanging the dearest to them of all on earth! But the love +that makes the timid deer turn to fight valiantly for its young made +them oblivious to everything except to get near Him. But how little +had the young mother realized that Simeon meant this, when he told her +that a sword would one day pierce her soul! + +Jesus knew how much she was suffering, and how lonely she would be when +He was gone. He had neither silver nor gold to leave, but would at +least provide a home and tender care as long as she required them. +Elevated but very little above the ground, He could easily speak to the +little group. "Woman," He said, not calling her "mother," lest +identification with Himself might expose her to insult, "behold thy +Son." Then, looking tenderly toward John, He consigned her to his care. + +Did He give a further look, which John interpreted to mean that he +should lead her away? It may have been so, for from that hour he took +her to his home; and so she passes from the page of Scripture, except +for the one glimpse we have of her, in the upper room, awaiting the +baptism of the Holy Spirit. + +III. "_To-day thou shalt be with Me in Paradise._"--We cannot explore +all the causes which brought about so great a change in this man, and +produced so lofty an ideal of his Fellow-sufferer. We have to deal +rather with the response of Jesus. Lost by the first Adam, Paradise +was being regained by the last; and it is now not far away. A dying +man may see the sun leave the zenith, but ere it set in the western +wave he may be in the land of Paradise. Absent from the body, present +with the Lord. There is no State of unconsciousness between the two. +We close our eyes on the dimming spectacles of this world at one +moment, to behold the King in His beauty the next. + +Men may strip Jesus of everything, but they cannot touch His power to +save. In a moment of His greatest weakness He was able to rescue a man +from the very brink of perdition, and take him as a trophy of His power +to Heaven. What will He not be able to do now that the mortal weakness +is passed, and that He is exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour! + +IV. "_My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?_"--It would be between +eleven o'clock and noon that these incidents took place; but from noon +till three in the afternoon a pall of darkness hung over the cross and +city. We know not how it came, but it appears to have silenced all the +uproar which had surged around the cross, and to have filled the minds +of all with awe. Men might have gazed rudely on His dying agony; +Nature refused to behold it. Men had stripped Him, but an unseen hand +drew drapery about Him. For three hours it lasted, and was a befitting +emblem of the darkness that enveloped His soul, when He who knew no sin +was made to be sin for us, "that we might be made the righteousness of +God in Him." + +Do you wonder that He felt thus, and question how such a forsaking had +been possible at such an hour? There is but one explanation. This was +not a normal human experience. Only once in the history of the race +has all iniquity been laid on one head; only once has the curse of the +sin of the world been borne by one heart; only once has it been +possible, in drinking the cup of death, to taste death for every man. +"He who knew no sin was made sin for us. He was wounded for our +transgressions, bruised for our iniquities." On no other hypothesis +than that Jesus was the Lamb of God, bearing away the sin of the world, +can you account for the darkness of that midday midnight which obscured +His soul. I cannot tell what transpired; I have no philosophy of the +Atonement to offer; I only believe that the whole nature of God was in +Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself; and that, in virtue of what +was done there, we may apply for forgiveness to the faithfulness and +justice of God. + +V. "_I thirst._"--During the hours of spiritual anguish, our Lord was +largely oblivious to His physical needs; now, as the long hours passed, +these latter began to assert themselves. Inflammation, spreading from +hands and feet, had resulted in a fever of thirst. He had refused the +medicated drink offered at the beginning of His sufferings, because He +had no desire to avoid one throb of anguish which lay in His path; but +there was no reason why He should not drink of the sour wine which +stood hard by the cross, now that He had drunk the cup which God had +placed to His lips. + +As He looked through the long line of predictions that bore on His +passion. He could see that they had all been fulfilled save one; and, +that this Scripture might be fulfilled, He said, "I thirst." Some, who +stood near the cross, and, in the growing light, began to regain their +confidence, tried to make ridicule of this plaintive ejaculation; but +one who noticed His pale and parched lips was touched with pity, and +took a stalk of hyssop, which was just long enough to reach the mouth +of the Sufferer, and elevating a sponge dipped in vinegar, fulfilled +thus unwittingly the ancient prediction, "They gave Me also gall for My +meat, and in My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink." + +VI. "_It is finished._"--As we compare the Gospels, we find that these +words were spoken with a loud voice. It was, in fact, the shout of a +conqueror. Finished the long list of prophecies, which closed, like +gates, behind Him. Finished the types and shadows of the Jewish +ritual. Finished the work which the Father had given Him to do. +Finished the matchless beauty of a perfect life. Finished the work of +man's redemption. Through the eternal Spirit, He had offered Himself +without spot to God; and by that one sacrifice for sin, once for all +and forever. He had perfected them that are being sanctified. He had +done all that was required to reconcile the world unto God, and to make +an end of sin. + +Finished! Let the words roll in volumes of melody through all the +spheres! There is nothing now left for man to do but enter on the +results of Christ's finished work. As the Creator finished on the +evening of the sixth day all the work which He had made, so did the +Redeemer cease on the sixth day from the work of Atonement, and, lo! it +was very good. + +VII. "_Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit._"--The words were +quoted from the Book of Psalms, which He so dearly loved. He only +prefixed the name of Father; for the cloud which had extorted the cry, +_My God, My God_, had broken, and under a blue heaven of conscious +fellowship He exchanged it for _Father_. + +If the words, "It is finished," be taken as our Lord's farewell to the +world He was leaving, these words are surely His greeting to that on +whose confines He was standing. It seems as though the spirit of +Christ were poising itself before it departed to the Father, and it saw +before no dismal abyss, no gulf of darkness, no footless chaos, but +hands, even the hands of the Father, and to these He committed Himself. + +The first martyr, who died after Christ, passed away with words of the +same import upon his lips, with a significant alteration, "_Lord +Jesus_, receive My spirit." We may use them as they have been used by +countless thousands in all ages; and we know Him whom we have believed, +and are persuaded that He is able to keep that which we have committed +unto Him. + +And when Jesus had said these words, He bowed His head upon His breast, +and breathed out His spirit. No one took His life from Him: He laid it +down of Himself: He had power to lay it down. + +So ended that marvellous scene. The expectation of all the ages was +more than realized. If it be true that on that day a tidal wave of +immense volume swept around the world, and rose high up in all rivers +and estuaries, this may be taken as an emblem of the much more +abounding grace, which on that day rose high above the mighty obstacles +of human sin, and is destined to lift the entire universe nearer God. +For by it God will reconcile all things to Himself, whether in heaven +or on earth. + +Three items remain to be noticed. + +At the moment that Jesus died there was a great earthquake, which made +the earth tremble and the rocks rend, so that the ancient graves were +opened, preparatory to the rising of the bodies of the saints on the +Resurrection morning, following the Lord from the power of Death. And +when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, +charged to see the sentence executed, saw the earthquake and the things +that were done, they feared exceedingly, saying, "Truly this was the +Son of God." + +The vail of the Temple, also, was rent in twain from the top to the +bottom, at the moment that the Great High Priest Jesus was entering the +Temple not made with hands, with the blood of His propitiation. Is it +to be wondered at that afterward many priests, who had been in close +contiguity to that marvellous type, became obedient to the faith? + +Finally, from the pierced side of Christ came out blood and water, as +John solemnly attests. "He knoweth that he saith true." This was a +symptom that there had been heart-rupture, and that the Lord had +literally died of a broken heart. But it was also a symbol of "the +double cure" which Jesus has effected. Blood to atone; water to +cleanse. "This is He that came by water and blood, not with the water +only." + + + + +XXXII + +Christ's Burial + +"Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with +the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury."--JOHN xix. 40. + + +"Against the day of My burying hath she kept this!" so had Jesus spoken +when Mary anointed His feet with the very precious spikenard. I do not +suppose that any in the room save herself and her Lord understood His +reference; not one of them believed that He would really die, and His +body be carried to the tomb; but Mary knew better. She had sat at His +feet, and drunk in His very spirit. In the glow of the evening +twilight, when Martha was busy in the house, and Lazarus was away in +the field, they two had sat together, and Jesus, in words similar to +those He had so often used to His apostles, had told her of what was +coming upon Him. Mary believed it all. She knew that she would not be +present at that scene. She did not think that any would be able to +perform the last loving rites for that beloved form. She feared that +it might be utterly dishonored; but she did what she could, she came +beforehand to anoint the Lord's body for His burying. + +It was a beautiful act of tender foresight. But in the sense of being +absolutely necessary, as the only act of care and love bestowed on the +Lord's dead body, it was not required; for He who at birth had prepared +the body for His Son, took care that in death it should receive due +honor. When Jesus expired, Luke tells us that many of His +acquaintances, and the women that had followed Him from Galilee were +standing afar off, beholding all that was done; John too was there, and +others who had loved Him and were the grateful monuments of His healing +power: they must have wondered greatly what would be done with that +loved form. Yet what could they do?--they were poor and unimportant; +they had no influence with the capricious and terrible Pilate; they +seemed helpless to do more than wait with choking sobs until some +possible chance should allow them to intervene. + +Meanwhile God was preparing a solution of the difficulty. Amongst the +crowd around the cross there stood a very wealthy man named Joseph. He +was a native of the little town of Arimathea, that lay among the +fruitful hills of Ephraim; but was resident in Jerusalem, where he had +considerable property. Some of this lay in the close neighborhood of +the highway by which the cross of our Lord had been erected. He was +also a member of the Jewish Sanhedrim, but it is expressly stated that +he had not consented to the counsel or deed of them; if indeed he was +summoned to that secret midnight meeting in the palace of Caiaphas, he +certainly did not go; he was therefore innocent of any complicity in +our Lord's condemnation and death. He was a good man and a just; and +like Nathanael, and Simeon, and many more, he waited for the kingdom of +God. More than this, he was a disciple of Jesus, though secretly. + +Whatever our judgment may be about his action during the lifetime of +our Lord, we have nothing but admiration for the way in which he acted +when He died. What he had seen had more than decided him. Christ's +meekness and majestic silence under all reproaches and indignities; the +veiled sky and trembling earth; the cry of the Forsaken which ended in +the trustful committal of the soul to the Father; the loud shriek and +the sudden death--all these had convinced him and awed his soul, and +lifted him far above the fear of man. He had been waiting for the +kingdom, he would now identify himself with the King. + +By his side there would seem to have stood an old friend of ours, +Nicodemus. Our evangelist identifies him as having at the first come +to Jesus by night. The very opening of the Lord's ministry in +Jerusalem seems to have made a deep impression on his mind; but he was +very timid. He was an old man, a very rich man, a member of the +Sanhedrim, and he did not like to risk his position or prestige. It +was much therefore for him to come to Jesus at all, and especially to +come to Him in the spirit of deep respect and inquiry. There must have +been something very engaging in him; for our Lord, who did not commit +Himself to men in general, made very clear unfoldings of His great work +to this inquiring Rabbi. From that night, even if not a real disciple, +Nicodemus was strongly prejudiced in favor of Jesus; and on one +occasion, at least, brought on himself reproach for attempting +indirectly to shield Him. He had not dared, however, to go beyond his +first nervous question. Then, like Joseph, he was decided by what he +had seen: come what may, he will now avow the thoughts which have long +been in his heart. + +The two men exchange a few hurried sentences. "What will be done with +His body?" + +"At least it must not suffer the fate of common malefactors. Yet how +shall it be prevented?" + +"Look you," says Joseph, "in my garden close at hand there is a new +tomb, hewn out in the rock, wherein was man never yet laid, I had +prepared it for myself; but I will gladly use it for Him, if I can but +get Pilate to yield me His body. I will go at once and ask for it." + +"Well," says Nicodemus, "if you can succeed in getting the body, I will +see to it that there are not wanting the garments and spices of death." + +Without a moment's delay, for the sun is fast sinking toward the west, +Joseph hastens to Pilate, and asks that he may take away the body of +Jesus; and not unlikely he quickens Pilate's response by an offer of a +liberal bribe if he will but accede to his request. Pilate, who had +just given orders to the soldiers to hasten the death of the crucified, +marvelled that Jesus was really dead; nor was he reassured until he had +asked the centurion; and when he knew it of him, he gave to Joseph the +necessary leave, with which he hastened back to the cross. + +The sun would be very low on the horizon, flinging its last beams upon +the scene, as he reached Calvary. The crowds would for the most part +have dispersed. The soldiers might be engaged in taking down the +bodies of the thieves. The body of Jesus was however still on the +cross; and not far off would be the little band of attached friends of +whom we have already spoken, and who would be the sole remnants of the +vast crowds who had now ebbed away to their homes. What wonder, what +joy, as they see Joseph reverently and lovingly begin to take Him down; +with evident authority from the Governor, with manifest preparations +for His careful burial; they had never before known him to be +interested in their Master. And who is this that waits beneath the +cross with the clean linen shroud, and the wealth of spices? Ah! that +is Nicodemus; but who would have thought that he would help to perform +these last offices! + +Oh to be a painter, and depict that scene! The discolored corpse +stained with blood, muscles flaccid, eyes closed, head helpless; +Joseph, and Nicodemus, and John, and other strong men busy. The women +weeping as if their hearts must break, but ready at any moment to give +the needed aid. Between them they carry the body into Joseph's garden, +and to the mouth of his new sepulchre. There on some grassy bank they +rest it for a moment, that it may be tenderly washed and wrapped in the +white linen cloth on which powdered myrrh and aloes had been thickly +strewn. A white cloth would then be wrapped about the head and face, +after long farewell looks, and reverent kisses. Then lifted once +again, the precious burden was born into the sepulchre, and laid in a +rocky niche. There was no door; but a great stone, probably circular, +prepared for the purpose, was rolled with united and strenuous efforts +against the aperture, to prevent the entrance of wild beasts and +unkindly foe. And then as the chill twilight was flinging its shadows +over the world, they reverently withdrew. + +Joseph and Nicodemus had done their work and had gone to their homes, +and yet there were some who lingered as if unable to leave the spot. +There were Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the +sepulchre, gazing through their tears at the place where Jesus was +laid. How keen was their mental anguish! There was bereaved love; +with all purity the strongest love had grown up around Christ; and now +that He was gone, it seemed as if there was nothing more to live for. +The prop had been rudely taken away, and the tendrils of their hearts' +affection were torn and wrenched. Then there would come a rush of hot +tears, indignant passion with those who had pursued Him, with such +unrelenting torture, to His bitter end. Then again, broken-hearted +grief at the remembrance of His anguish, and gentle patience, and +shame. And, mingling sadly with all these, were disappointed hopes. +Was this the end? He who died thus could not have been the Messiah! +He had taught them to believe He was! He must have been self-deceived! +For this life only they had hope in Christ, and they were of all most +miserable! That gravestone hid not only the body of Christ, but the +structure of the brightest, fairest hopes that had ever filled the +hearts of mortals! + +In spite of all, they love. This is the love of women: the object of +their fond attachment may be misrepresented and abused, the life may +seem to be an entire failure; they may themselves be suffering greatly +from the results of the beloved one's mistakes and follies--yet will +they love still! And so through the gathering gloom and evening +stillness they lingered on, until the increasing darkness told them +that the Sabbath had come. Then they returned and rested the Sabbath +day, according to the commandment; but neither they, nor Joseph, nor +Nicodemus, nor John, would be able to partake of the Paschal +festivities. To take part in a burial at any time would defile them +for seven days, and make everything which they touched unclean; to do +so at that time involved seclusion through the whole of the Passover +week, with all its holy observances and rejoicings. + +As we peruse this narrative, many thoughts are suggested. + +_We see the minute fulfillment of prophetic Scriptures._--It had been +written by Isaiah on the page of inspiration, that the Messiah would +make His grave with the rich. When Jesus died that prophecy seemed +most unlikely of accomplishment; but it was literally fulfilled. There +is not a prophecy, however minute, concerning our Lord's life and +death, which did not have an actual fulfillment; and does not this show +us how we are to treat the prophecies which foretell His future glory +and second advent? They too shall have a literal and exact fulfillment. + +_We learn, too, that there are more friends of Christ in the world than +we know._--They sit in our legislature, in our councils, in our pews; +we meet them day after day: they give little or no sign of their +discipleship: the most large-hearted friend would be surprised to hear +that they were Christians. But they are Christ's. Christ knows and +owns them. But if they are secret disciples now, they will not be +secret disciples always. A time will come when the fire of their love +will burn the bushel that hides it, and they will avow themselves on +the Lord's side. + +_We gather, too, that God can always find instruments to carry out His +purposes._--The immediate followers of Christ could not see how to +preserve the beloved corpse from defilement, but God had His place and +His servants ready; and at the very crisis of need He brought them to +the point. So has it been again and again: when influence and money +and men have been really required for the work of God, they have been +all at once forthcoming. He says to men like Joseph, Go, and he goeth; +and to men like Nicodemus, Come, and he cometh; and to His servants, Do +this, and it is done. Even the king's heart is in the hand of the +Lord; as the rivers of water, He turneth it wheresoever He will. + +_There is also a very significant meaning contained in verse 41_: "In +the place where He was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden +a new sepulchre." There is something startling in the association--the +cross, the garden. The one--the symbol of shame and suffering, the +most awful witness to the destructive power of that sin which has laid +waste our world; the other--where flowers, Eden's brightest relics, +were guarded for man's enjoyment. Flowers, blooming in all the +luxuriance of an Oriental spring, shed their fragrance around our +Saviour when He died; one loves to dwell upon the thought that Golgotha +was part of the garden--that earth's fairest, brightest, gentlest +nurslings were there, mingling their smiles and balm with the trampling +angry footsteps and the cursings of malignant foes. They had been very +dear to Him in His life-course; it was only meet that they should be +near Him when He died. Was it not symbolical? In a garden man fell; +in a garden he was redeemed! And that death of Christ has sown our +world with the flowers of peace and joy and blessedness, so that many a +wilderness has begun to rejoice and to blossom as the rose. + +Whilst the burial of Christ was proceeding, the chief priests and their +party were holding a meeting in all haste before the Sabbath began. +The success of their scheme was no doubt the theme of hearty +congratulation. But they dreaded Him still; they feared that all might +not be over; they could not forget that He had spoken of rising the +third day; and at the least, might not the disciples steal away the +body, and spread abroad the report that He had risen, and so the last +error would be worse than the first? A deputation was therefore +appointed to wait on Pilate representing their fears. Tired of them +and the whole case, he was in no humor to please them. "Ye have a +guard," said he, brusquely, "go, make it as sure as you can!" This +they did. They passed a strong cord across the stone, and sealed its +ends, and then placed soldiers to keep due watch and ward that none +should lay hands upon the body that lay within. + +So Christ lay entombed; but He was not there. He was in the world of +spirits. The place of disembodied spirits was called, by the Jews, +Sheol. It had two divisions, Paradise and Gehenna. Christ, we know +from His own words, went to the former; and from Peter we gather that +He also went through the realms of Gehenna, proclaiming His victory. + +The practical conclusion of the whole is, however, contained in Romans +vi. Just as the body of Christ after crucifixion was buried in the +grave, so our sinful, sensual, selfish selves must be done away in the +grave of forgetfulness and oblivion and disuse--buried with Christ, +"that like as Christ was raised from the dead, through the glory of the +Father, so we also should walk in newness of life." + + + + +XXXIII + +The Day of Resurrection + +"The first day of the week."--JOHN xx. 1. + + +It may be helpful if we tabulate in a brief and concise form the +various appearances of our Lord on the great day, when He was declared +to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead. + +Mary of Magdala--a squalid Arab village on the south of the plain of +Gennesaret still bears that name--with another Mary had remained beside +the tomb, till the trumpet of the Passover Sabbath and the gathering +darkness had warned them to retire. They rested the Sabbath day, +according to the commandment, in the saddest, darkest grief that ever +oppressed the human heart; for they had not only lost the dearest +object of their affection, under the most harrowing circumstances, but +their hopes that this was the Messiah seemed to have been rudely +shattered. But how tenacious is human love, especially the love of +women! How it will cling around the ruins of the temple, even when +some rude shock of earthquake has shattered it to the ground! So, when +the Sabbath was over (after sundown on Saturday), they stole out to +purchase additional sweet spices, which they prepared that night in +order to complete the embalming of the body, which had been left +incomplete on the day of crucifixion. They would probably sleep +outside the city gates, which only opened at daybreak, because they +were resolved to reach the sepulchre while it was yet dark. + +But before they could arrive the sublime event had occurred, which has +filled the world with light and joy in all succeeding years. For +behold, whilst the Roman sentries were pacing to and fro before the +sepulchre, there had been a great earthquake, and the angel of the Lord +had descended from heaven, rolled back the stone from the door, and sat +upon it. Then from that opened door the Lord had come forth +unperceived by the eye of man (for the watchers were dazed and dazzled +by the appearance of the angel and the terror of the earthquake), and +in sublime majesty had become the Firstborn from among the dead, and +the First-fruits of them that sleep. + +The women, meanwhile, were hurrying to the grave, debating as they did +so, how they would be able to roll away the stone from its mouth. +Probably they had heard nothing of the seals and sentries with which +the Sanhedrim had endeavored to guard against all eventualities; for, +had they known, they would hardly have ventured to come at all. They +were greatly startled, however, when, on approaching the grave, they +saw that the stone was rolled away. Mary of Magdala apparently +detected this first; and without staying to see further, and with the +conviction that it must have been rifled of its precious contents, +started off to apprise Simon Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved. +What a shock, as she broke in on their grief, with the tidings, "They +have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where +they have laid Him." + +What a series of mistakes was hers! She had gone to anoint the dead +while the morning light still lingered over the hills of Moab; she did +not realize that He could not be holden by the bands of death, and had +passed out into the richer, fuller life, of which death is the portal. + +She came with aromatic spices that her means had bought, and her hands +prepared; she did not know that all His garments were already smelling +of aloes and cassia, of the perfume of heaven with which His Father had +made Him glad. + +She came to a Victim, so she thought, who had fallen beneath the knife +of His foes as a Lamb led to slaughter, she was not aware that He was a +Priest on the point of entering the most Holy Place on her behalf. + +She came for the Vanquished; but failed to understand that He was a +Victor over the principalities and powers of hell; and that the keys of +Hades and the grave were hanging at His girdle, whilst the serpent was +bruised beneath His feet. + +She thought that she had come to put a final touch, such as only a +woman can, to a life of sad and irremediable failure; but had no +conception that on that morning a career had been inaugurated which was +not only endless and indissoluble in itself, but was destined to +vitalize uncounted myriads. + +She thought that the empty tomb could only be accounted for by the +rifling hands that had taken away the precious body, but could not +guess that the Rifler of the perquisites of death was none other than +the Lord Himself. + +We all make mistakes like this. Our treasures, whether of things or +people, which had been our pride and joy, pass from us; and we stand +beside the grave, gazing in on vacancy and emptiness; we think that we +can never be happy again: we suppose that God's mercies are clean gone +forever, and that His mercies have failed forevermore. But, all the +while, near at hand, the radiant vision of a transfigured blessing +waits to greet us, and to fill us with an ecstasy that shall never pall +upon us, but make our after-life one long summer day. + +In the meanwhile, the other women had pursued their way to the grave. +The guard had already fled in terror, so there was none to intercept or +frighten them; and entering the sepulchre they saw a young man, emblem +of the immortal youth of God's angels, sitting on the right side, +clothed in a long white garment, and they were affrighted. Presently, +as they were much perplexed, behold, two men stood by them in shining +garments; and as they were afraid and bowed down their faces to the +earth, they said unto them, "Be not affrighted, ye seek Jesus, which +was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Remember +how He said into you when He was yet in Galilee, that He would rise +again. Come, see the place where they laid Him. And go quickly, tell +His disciples, and Peter, that He goeth before you into Galilee; there +shall ye see Him, as He said unto you." And they departed quickly from +the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring His +disciples word. + +In the meanwhile, Peter and John were hurrying to the sepulchre by +another route, and probably reached it just after the women had left. +John, younger than Peter, had outrun him, but was withheld by +reverential awe from doing more than peering into the empty grave. The +linen clothes, lying orderly disposed, seem to have specially arrested +his notice, yet went he not in. Peter, however, went at once into the +sepulchre; he also saw the linen clothes, and especially that the cloth +which had covered the face of the dead was wrapped together in a place +by itself. Then John also went in; he saw and believed. It was +evident to them both that the tomb had not been rifled, nor the body +stolen by violent hands; for these garments and the spices would have +been of more value to thieves than a naked corpse. In any case, +thieves would not have been at the pains to fold the garments up so +carefully. Whilst the same indications proved that the body had not +been removed by friends; for they would not have left the grave-clothes +behind. + +When the disciples had gone back to their own home, Mary stood without +at the door of the sepulchre weeping; and as she wept she stooped down, +and looked into the sepulchre. What earnest heart is there, that has +not at some time stood there with her, looking down into the grave of +ordinances, of spent emotions, of old and sacred memories, seeking +everywhere for the Redeemer, who had been once the dearest reality, the +one object of love and life? The two sentry-angels, who sat, the one +at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had +lain, sought in vain to comfort her. "Woman," they said, in effect, +"there is no need for tears; didst thou but know, couldst thou but +understand, thy heart would overflow with supreme joy, and thy tears +become smiles." "They have taken away my Lord," she said, "and I know +not where they have laid Him." What could angel voices do for her, who +longed to hear one voice only? What were the griefs of others in +comparison with hers? In an especial sense Jesus was hers! _my_ Lord! +Had He not cast out from her seven devils? + +Some slight movement behind, or perhaps, as Chrysostom finely supposes, +because of an expression of love and awe which passed over the angel +faces, led her to turn herself back, and she saw Jesus standing, but +she knew not that it was Jesus. Supposing him, in her grief and +confusion, to be the gardener, she said that if he knew the whereabouts +of the body she sought, she would gladly have it removed at her +expense: nay, she even volunteered to bear it off herself. Then He +spoke the old familiar name with the old intonation and emphasis, and +she answered in the country tongue they both knew and loved so well, +"Rabboni!" In her rapture she sought to embrace Him, but this must not +be; and there was need for Christ to work in her love, with His high +art, as the artificer may carve the stone, or engrave some legend on +the intaglio. He therefore withdrew Himself, saying, "Touch Me not." +To Thomas afterward He said, "Behold My hands and My side; reach hither +thy finger": because there was no danger of his abusing the permission, +or leaning unduly on the sensuous and physical. But Mary must learn to +exchange the outward for the inward, the transient for the eternal, and +to pass from the old fellowship with Jesus as friend and companion into +a spiritual relationship which would subsist to all eternity. +Therefore Jesus spoke of His ascension, and bade her look upward, and +see, gleaming on high, diviner things. So she was prepared for the +time, when, in the upper room, she should continue steadfastly in +prayer, and come nearer to Him whom she loved than ever previously. + +Did you ever realize that the intonations of the voice of Jesus, which +had passed unimpaired through death, suggest that in that new life, +which lies on the other side of death, we shall hear the voices speak +again which have been familiar to us from childhood? As is the +heavenly, so are they who are heavenly; and as we have borne the image +of the earthy, we shall bear that of the heavenly, and shall speak +again with those whom we have lost awhile, and they with us. + +Mary Magdalene went and told them that had been with Him, as they +mourned and wept, that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken +these things unto her. But they, when they had heard that He was +alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. + +In close succession, the Lord appeared to others of the little group. +To the women, as they did run to bring His disciples word. To Peter, +whom He encountered on His way back, in lonely astonishment and awe, +and restored with gracious words of forgiveness. To the two that +walked to Emmaus, in the afternoon, and talked of all that had +happened. Finally He appeared to the whole company of the apostles, as +they sat at meat. They had carefully shut their doors, since there was +every reason to fear that the rumors of the events of the morning would +arouse against them the strong hate and fear of the Pharisees. It may +be that they were startled by every passing footfall, and every +movement on the stair, as when the two returned from Emmaus to tell how +Jesus had been made known unto them in the breaking of bread. Then, +suddenly, without announcement or preparation, the figure of their +beloved Master stood in the midst of them, with the familiar greeting +of peace! And, as the sacred historian naïvely puts it, they were +terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they were gazing on a +spirit. But the Lord allayed their fears, first by showing them His +hands and His feet; and next, by partaking of a piece of broiled fish +and of an honeycomb. + +Evidently He was clothed in the resurrection or spiritual body of which +the Apostle Paul speaks. He was not subject to all the laws that +govern our physical life. He could pass freely through unopened doors, +and at will He could manifest Himself, speak, stand, and walk, or +subject Himself to physical sense. + +His words were very significant. He began by upbraiding them for their +reluctance to believe that He had risen. Again He said, "Peace be unto +you"; and accompanied His words with the indication of His wounds--"He +showed them His hands and side." This was the peace of forgiveness, +which falls on our conscience-stricken hearts, as the dew distils on +the parched heritage. "Look at the wounds of Jesus," cried Staupitz to +Luther; and there is no other sign that will give rest to the penitent. + +After this He opened their understandings, that they might understand +the Scriptures, and showed them that a suffering Messiah was the +thought which pervaded the entire Hebrew Scriptures. "Thus it is +written, and thus it behoved the Messiah to suffer, and to rise from +the dead the third day." What would we not give to have some +transcript of that wonderful conversation! With what new eyes should +we read the Bible, if only we could know what Jesus said on that +occasion! + +Next He repeated the "Peace be unto you," and told them that He was +sending them forth as the Father had sent Him--"Go ye unto all the +world, and preach the Gospel to every creature." But He added, +"Behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you; but tarry ye in the +city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high." "And +these signs shall follow them that believe. In My name shall they cast +out demons; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up +serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; +they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." + +Then, to fit them for this time of waiting, and that the Holy Spirit +might prepare them to receive His fuller inflow, the Lord breathed on +them and said, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, +they are remitted unto them; whose soever sins ye retain, they are +retained." By which He surely meant that there was no other way by +which sins would be forgiven and put away than by the preaching of the +Gospel, which He now committed to their trust. They are therefore +parallel with Peter's statement in after days, "Neither is there +salvation in any other, for there is none other name given under +heaven, among men, by which we must be saved." The Church of God alone +can proclaim to men the conditions of evangelical repentance,--and +those who refuse her testimony, and disbelieve her Gospel, expose +themselves to unspeakable condemnation and loss. "There remaineth no +other sacrifice for sin; but a certain looking for of judgment, and +fiery indignation." Refuse Christ, and there is no alternative way of +salvation. Whatever else is contained in these words, it is quite +clear that there was nothing exclusively reserved to the apostles and +their successors, which is not equally the possession of all who +believe; for we know that the Lord's words were spoken not to the +apostles only, but to the two that had come from Emmaus with burning +hearts, and to those who were in the habit of commingling with the +immediate followers of Christ. "Them that were with them" (Luke xxiv. +33, 35, 36). All had been witnesses of these things, and all were now +to proclaim in His name repentance and remission of sins among all +nations, beginning at Jerusalem. + +Thomas was not there on that memorable occasion. He was always +accustomed to look on the dark side of things. When Jesus proposed to +go into Judaea to raise Lazarus, he made sure that there was no +alternative but to die with Him; and when the Master spoke of His +impending absence, he said gloomily, "Lord, we know not whither Thou +goest, and how can we know the way?" He was doubtless at this time +wandering alone over the scenes of that awful tragedy, which had so +deeply imprinted itself on his imagination that he could not forget the +print of the nails, and the wound in His side, and the unlikelihood of +any surviving such treatment as He had received. + +When he heard the story of the others, he seemed inclined to treat them +as too credulous; and with the air of superior caution said, that he +must not only see the wounds which death had made, but touch them with +his fingers and hand. Yet we may be grateful for this story. First, +because it wears the aspect of truth. What weaver of an imaginary +history would ever have dared to suggest that the resurrection was +impugned by some of Christ's close followers? And, next, because it +shows us that the resurrection was subjected to the severest tests, +just those which we would ourselves apply. + +Thomas was left for a whole week. Day after day he heard the repeated +story of Christ's appearances; and waited for Him to come again; and +became more and more confirmed in his sad presentment that the whole +story was a myth. How great must have been his anguish during those +days, as he tossed between hope and fear, saw on other faces the light +which he might not share, and thought that the Master, if really +living, was neglectful of His friend! + +At last Jesus came, not to anathematize or exclude him, not to break +the bruised reed or quench the smoking flax, but to restore him, and to +lift on him the light of His countenance. + +He suited himself to his needs. He stooped to comply with the +conditions that his poor faith had laid down. He was willing to give +proofs, over and above those which were absolutely necessary, to win +faith. So eager was He to win one poor soul to Himself and +blessedness, that He said unto Thomas, "Reach hither thy finger, and +behold My hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into My side; +and be not faithless but believing." + +I do not suppose that Thomas availed himself of the invitation. It was +sufficient to see. Such an act of cold scrutiny would hardly have been +compatible with his joyous shout, "My Lord and my God." Christ's voice +and form, omniscience and humility, in taking such trouble to win one +to Himself--these were sufficient to convince him, and dispel all doubt. + +Ah, Thomas, in that glad outburst of thine, thou reachedst a higher +level than all the rest; and thou art not the last man, who has seemed +a hopeless and helpless wreck, unable to exercise the faith that seemed +so natural to others; but who, after a time, under the teaching of +Jesus, has been enabled to assume a position to which none of his +associates could aspire! + +Because he saw, he believed. Too many wait for signs and +manifestations, for sensible emotion and conviction: but there is a +more excellent way--when we do not see, and yet believe. When there is +no star on the bosom of night, no chart on the unknown sea, no lover or +friend or interpreter of the ways of God; and when, in spite of all, +the soul knows Him whom it has believed, and clings to Him though +unseen, and reckons that neither life, nor death, nor principalities, +nor powers, can shut out the love of God in Christ. "Blessed are they +who have not seen, and yet have believed." + + + + +XXXIV + +The Lake of Galilee + +"Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of +Tiberias."--JOHN xxi. 1. + + +"All ye shall be offended because of Me this night; for it is written, +I will smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. But after +that I am risen, I will go before you into _Galilee_." So had the +Chief Shepherd spoken to His sad and anxious followers on the night of +His betrayal. They little understood His meaning, and would perhaps +have even forgotten the appointment of the rendezvous, unless it had +been recalled again and yet again to their minds. But they were not +allowed to forget. On the resurrection morn, the angel said to the +first visitants at the empty grave: "Go your way, tell His disciples, +and Peter, that He goeth before you into _Galilee_; there shall ye see +Him as He said unto you." And as they went to execute this bidding, +Jesus Himself met them and said: "Be not afraid; go tell My brethren, +that they go into _Galilee_; there shall they see Me." The customs of +the Passover Feast forbade their instant compliance with this command, +and the Master sanctioned their delay by appearing to them twice whilst +they yet lingered in the metropolis. But as soon as it was possible +they hastened back to the familiar scenes of their early life and of +the Master's ministry. + +We cannot fathom all the reasons that led our Lord to make such special +arrangements for meeting with them in Galilee; but it was natural that +He should wish to associate His risen life with scenes in which He had +spent so large a part of His earthly ministry; and there the greatest +proportion of His followers was gathered, and He would have the +quietest and securest opportunity of meeting with the five hundred +brethren at once. The disciples little thought that this was a +farewell visit to their homes, and that within a few weeks they must +return to Jerusalem, to stay there for a time, and then to wander forth +to all lands, from the ancient Indus on the east to the far-famed +shores of Tarshish on the west. + + +I. It was in the early part of May when they returned to Galilee. They +were in evident bewilderment as to their next step. What should they +do? Should they continue to lead the artificial life which they had +taken up during the Master's ministry? That seemed impossible and +needless. Should they do nothing but wait? That appeared unwise when +life was yet strong in them, and their means of livelihood were scant. +It was of course possible to go back to fishing-smacks and +fishing-tackle; but should they? And they hesitated. + +But one evening came; the fragrance of thyme and rosemary and of a +hundred flowers filled the air; the lake lay dimpled in the light of +the setting sun; the purple hills that stood sentinel around seemed by +their very peacefulness to promise that no storm should imperil the +lives of those that ventured on the blue depths. There stood the +boats, yonder lay the nets, in those waters were the finny tribes; the +old instinct of the fisherman arose in their hearts, and found +expression on the lips of the one from whom we should have expected it. +"_Peter_ said unto them, I go a-fishing." I see no harm in it. The +Master never forbade it. He cannot mean us to loiter our time away. +We cannot be preachers without Him. I shall go back to the life from +which He called me three years ago, and if it pleases Him to come +again, He can find us now, as He found us once, among the +fishing-tackle. + +The proposal met with an instant assent: "We also go with thee." And +in a few moments Peter with six others had leaped into a boat, and they +were preparing for the night's work with all the enthusiasm with which +men throw themselves into a craft which for some time they have +disused. But their ardor was soon checked. Hour after hour passed. +The lights went out in the hamlets and towns. The chill night damps +enwrapped them. The grey morning at last began to break, whilst again +and again the nets were hauled up and let down, but in vain; not a +single fish had entered them. "That night they caught nothing." Why +this non-success? The night was the most favorable time! These men +knew the lake well, and were experienced in their craft. They did +their best, but they caught nothing! Why was this? Was it a chance? +No, it was a providence; it was carefully arranged, disappointing and +vexing though it was, by One who was too wise to err, too good to be +unkind, and who was preparing to teach them a lesson which should +enrich them and the whole Church forever. + +The failure put an arrest on their temporal pursuits. Had they been +successful that night, it would have been very much harder for them to +renounce the craft forever; but their non-success made them more +willing to give it up, and to turn their thoughts to the evangelization +of the world. Then, too, our Lord surely meant to teach them that +whilst they were doing His work, whether that work was waiting or +active service, it was not necessary for them to be anxious about their +maintenance; He Himself would see to that, though He had, for each +meal, to light a fire and prepare it Himself. And, deeper than all +this, there were surely great spiritual lessons to be gained respecting +the conditions of success in catching men in the net of His Gospel. + +It is difficult to understand how a man can call himself a Christian, +and how he can face the awful possibilities of life, except he believes +that all is ruled by One who loves us with a love that is infinite, and +who wields all power on earth and in heaven. If, however, that be your +fixed belief, you may find it often severely tested. "I have waited +this livelong night; can this be Christ's will?" "I have done my best +in vain; can this be Christ's will?" "I have labored without a single +gleam of success; can this be Christ's will?" Yes, most certainly it +is. It is His love which is arranging all, in order to teach you some +of the sweetest, deepest lessons that ever entered your heart. There +is not a cross, a loss, a disappointment, a case of failure in your +life, which is not arranged and controlled by the loving Saviour, and +intended to teach some lesson which else could never be acquired. +Fitfully, curiously, without apparent art or fixed design, is the web +of our lives woven; thread seems thrown with thread at random, no +orderly pattern immediately appears, but yet of all that web there is +not a single thread whose place and color are not arranged with +consummate skill and love. + +But what good can failure do? It may shut up a path which you were +pursuing too eagerly. It may put you out of heart with things seen and +temporal, and give you an appetite for things unseen and eternal. It +may teach you your own helplessness, and turn you to trust more +implicitly in the provision of Christ. It is clear that Christians +have often to toil all night in vain, that Christ may have a background +black and sombre enough to set forth all the glories of His +interposition. + + +II. In the morning Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples knew not +that it was Jesus. It was customary for fish-dealers to go down to +greet fishers on their return from the night's toil, in order to buy up +fish. Such a one now seemed waiting on the sand in the grey light, and +His question was such as a fish-dealer might put: "Children, have you +any food?" It therefore never occurred to the disciples to think that +it was Jesus. And indeed, after the miracle was wrought, it was only +the keen eye of love that knew Him to be the Lord. How often is the +Lord near us, and we know Him not! He is standing there in the midst +of scenes of natural beauty though His foot leaves no impression on the +untrodden sand, and His form casts no shadow on the flowers or +greensward. He is standing there in that dingy counting-house, or amid +the whirr of the deafening machinery, though He fills no space, and +utters no word audible to human ears. He is standing there in that +home, watching the sick, noting unkindness and rudeness, smiling on the +little deeds done for His sake, though none ever heard the floors creak +beneath His weight, or saw the doors open to admit His person. How +much we miss because we fail to discern Him! + +By acting thus He not only taught His disciples the reality of His +presence, but He prepared them also for that new kind of life which +they were henceforth to lead--a life of faith rather than of sense; a +life of spiritual communion rather than of physical fellowship. He +kept showing them that, though out of sight, He was still in their +midst. By easy stepping-stones He joined Calvary and Olivet. By +gentle progressive lessons those who had believed because they had seen +were taught to walk by faith, not by sight, and to love One whom they +did not see. And thus it came about that they trod no shore however +desolate, went to no land however distant, dealt with no people however +boorish, without carrying ever with them the thought, The Master is +here! + +But let me say here that if you would see Christ everywhere, you must +be like John, the disciple of love. Love will trace Him everywhere, as +dear friends detect each other by little touches that are meaningless +to others. Love's quick eye penetrates disguises impenetrable to +colder scrutiny. Not for the wise, nor for the few, but for the least +that love, is the vision possible that can make a desert isle like +Patmos gleam with the light of Paradise itself. + + +III. How great a difference Christ's directions made! Before He spoke +they were disconsolately dragging an empty net to shore. The moment +after He had spoken, and they had done His bidding, that net was filled +with a shoal of fish so heavy that it was no easy matter to drag it +behind the ship. + +Great lessons await us here! We, like these, have embarked in a great +fishing enterprise--we are fishers of men! Our aim is to catch men +alive for Christ our Lord. For this we are ready to toil, to pray, to +wait. But our success depends wholly upon our Lord. He will not give +it us until we can bear it, and have learned the lesson of the night of +fruitless toil. And if we are to succeed it must be in His realized +companionship, and in obedience to His word. + +There is a right side of the ship, and a wrong one; there is a time to +plant, and a time to be still; to everything there is a season, and a +time to every purpose under heaven. We do not know these. If we are +left to ourselves, we may cast the net on the left side of the ship at +the time when we should be casting it on the right, and on the right +side of the ship when we should be casting it on the left. Christ +alone knows, and He will teach us exactly how and when to act with the +very best results. + + +IV. Christ's provision for the needs of His servants. I should imagine +that the disciples were somewhat anxious about their bodily needs and +their supply. They did not realize that if they were doing Christ's +work, Christ would look after their real needs. Christ let them meet +with non-success to show how fruitless their toil was. And in the +morning, when He stood on the shore, He filled their nets with fish, +and called them to fire and bread and fish, to show how easily He could +supply all their need. Of course this does not apply to all +promiscuously, but it does apply to those who give up time, and labor, +and earthly toil, for the cause of Christ. If they are really called +to the work, Christ seems to say to them: "Do the best you can for Me, +and do not try in addition to make up for your time and labor by night +work--you had better use the night for necessary rest; the longest +night spent in unbelieving labor will not profit; but I in a single +moment in the morning can more than make up to you for all you have +spent." Christ never lets us be in His debt. If we lend Him a boat +for pulpit, He weighs it down to the gunwale. If we give Him time, He +makes up what we have lost. If we seek first the kingdom of God and +His righteousness, He sees that all things else are added. It is vain +for you to rise up early and to sit up late, to eat the bread of +carefulness. He giveth His beloved when they sleep. + +What delicate attentions to these men! Christ knew that they were +drenched with spray, chilled with the keen air, and so He prepared a +fire--so thoughtful is He of the tiniest matters that will alleviate +discomfort and increase our pleasure. At the same time He is frugal of +the miraculous. He will deal lavishly in miracles so long as needed, +but not an inch beyond. He might have created fish enough on that fire +to supply them all, but that was needless so long as a hundred fifty +and three great fishes lay within easy reach; so Jesus said, "Bring of +the fish which ye have now caught." + +When Peter heard John say, "It is the Lord," true to his character he +sprang into the sea and swam to shore, leaving the rest to drag the +heavy net as best they could. Now he seems to remember his failure to +bear his share in the toil; so he goes to the margin of the lake, lands +the net, counts its contents, and examines the meshes, to find them +unbroken, and then returns with fish enough to make a breakfast for +them all. It was only when all this was done that Jesus said to them, +"Come and dine." Then He came forward and took the bread and fish, and +gave to them. All were convinced that it was Jesus, but they were dumb +with amazement and awe; they would have liked to ask questions, but +they felt that they need not; their senses were convinced almost in +spite of themselves. "None of the disciples durst ask Him, Who art +Thou? knowing that it was the Lord." + +This, says John, was the third time that Jesus had showed Himself; not +literally the third time that He had shown Himself to any one; but the +third time that He had shown Himself to the disciples assembled in any +considerable number. The first time was in the evening of the +resurrection day; the second, when Thomas was there; the third, in the +incident here recorded. + +We all need our rest times, our times of learning, our times of +fellowship with Jesus. Happy are we when Jesus says, "Come and dine," +and leads us off to sup with Him in desert places! It may be in the +loneliness of nature, or of the sick-bed, or of thwarted love; but, +wherever it is, it is well if only He is there to feed us with His own +dear hand. + +The time will come when the night of this sunless world shall be over, +and the morning of eternity shall break upon us; it may be that in the +hour of death we shall find that our work has not been so fruitless as +we feared: on the quiet beach we shall see Jesus standing and know that +it is He. Then one last plunge through the chill flood, and we shall +partake of the preparations which His love has made, and He will say, +"Come and dine." + + + + +XXXV + +Peter's Love and Work + +"Thou knowest that I love Thee. . . . Feed my lambs."--JOHN xxi. 15. + + +That miraculous catch of fish on which we have dwelt was a parable to +the disciples of the kind of work in which they were thenceforward to +be engaged. They were to catch men. But there was one amongst them +who must have wondered much how he would fare, and what part he would +take when that work was recommenced. Might he have a share in it? He +would seem to have forfeited all right. With oaths and curses he had +thrice denied that he belonged to Jesus. He had given grievous +occasion to the enemy to blaspheme. He had failed in a most important +part of an apostle's character. + +True, he had repented with bitter tears, and had received a message +from the empty tomb; on that Easter morn he had heard his forgiveness +spoken by the lips of his Lord, and he would not have exchanged that +forgiveness for an imperial crown; but he was not quite at ease. His +uneasiness betrayed itself in his plunge into the water to swim to +Christ's feet, and in his rush to drag the net to the shore. He wished +to be restored to the position in the Apostolate which his sin had +forfeited; not because of the honor which it would bring, but because +nothing less would assure him of the undiminished confidence and the +entire affection of Jesus. + +The Lord read his heart; and when the morning meal was done, He singled +him out from the rest of His disciples, and asked him three times if he +loved Him, and then thrice gave him the injunction to feed His flock. +In addressing him our Lord calls him by his old name, Simon Bar Jonas, +not by his new name, Peter; as if to remind him that he had been living +the life of nature rather than of grace. + +In considering this subject, it will be convenient to speak of the +question, the answer; the command. + + +I. OUR LORD'S SEARCHING QUESTION--"Lovest thou Me?" + +_It is a very remarkable question._--We should have expected the +inquiry, Dost thou believe Me? Wilt thou obey Me? Art thou prepared +to carry out My plans? But lo! the risen Lord seems not anxious about +aught of these, and only asks for love, and this from the rugged, +manly, headstrong Peter. Yet as we hear the question asked, we realize +it is the true one. He who has asked it has struck the right method of +dealing with men; and if He only get the love, He will get easily +enough the faith and the obedience as well. + +In this startling question you have unbared to you the distinctive +feature which makes Christianity what it is, and which makes it +different from all other religions which have flung their clouds or +their rainbows over human spirits. It is the religion of love: and a +man may speak with a seraph's burning tongue to defend Christianity; he +may give his goods to feed the poor in obedience to the precepts of +Christianity; he may even burn at the stake rather than renounce +Christianity as his intellectual creed; but if he does not love, he is +no Christian. If a man love not the Lord Jesus, he is anathema. + +But if only there be love--love to God, love to man--then though there +may be many deficiencies in head and heart, there is the one prime +evidence of Christianship. It was on such grounds that the Rev. Adam +Gibb of Edinburgh once acted. He had once or twice dissuaded a young +woman from joining the church, deeming her ill-informed, and unable to +answer elementary questions; and on his third refusal she answered, +"Weel, weel, sir, I may na', an' I dinna, ken sae muckle as mony; but +when ye preach a sermon aboot my Lord and Saviour, I fin' my heart +going out to Him, like lintseed out of a bag." Any one who has +observed the process will know how lifelike the illustration was, and +will not wonder that Mr. Gibb admitted her, and that she lived to be +one of the fairest members of his church. + +_It is a universal question._--Its universality suggests that in Christ +there is something universally lovable, and that every one has the +power of loving Him, if only the rubbish is removed which chokes the +springs of affection. There are different shades in love--the love of +gratitude, where the rescued spirit sings the praise of Him who took it +from the terrible pit and miry clay; the love of complacency, with +which the holy soul admires Him who is fairer than the sons of men, and +dwells with rapture on His majestic beauty and endearing goodness; the +love of friendship, in which by constant intercourse a deep attachment +arises between the confiding soul and the all-sufficient Saviour. And +there are as many methods of manifestation of love as there are +different temperaments. With some, it is silent; with others, it +speaks. With some, it sits listening at Christ's feet; with others, it +hurries too and fro to serve. With some, it is exuberant and +enthusiastic; with others, it is still and deep. But whatever be the +shade or the evidence, in each Christian heart there must be love to +Christ, and the heart must be willing to give up its throne to the +reign of Jesus as its Lord. + +_Often it carries a special emphasis._--Peter had grievously sinned. +Jesus could not pass it by in utter silence. For His disciples' sake +and His own, it was necessary to allude to, and to probe it. But each +was performed as gently as possible. Thrice he had been warned, thrice +he had denied, and now thrice shall he be asked if he really loves. +And in asking him if he loved Him more than the rest, our Lord surely +reminded him of his boast that if all the rest forsook Him, he never +would. Christ delicately reminded him that his actions had not been +consistent with his professions, at the same time giving him an +opportunity of wiping out the record of failure by a new avowal of +attachment. Thus He deals with us still. He does not drag our secret +sins to light before our brethren and friends, and parade them before +the sun; but He asks with deep meaning if we love Him, leaving +conscience to apply the question. And is there not good reason for Him +to ask it? How you have forgotten Him! You have been occupied with +the world, pleasure, or even sin. + +And there is nothing that breaks us down so quickly as this. Peter was +grieved. An old man, eighty years of age, reared in connection with a +church, once found his way to the penitent form, crying, "I've come +here to be broke." Ah, there is nothing that so breaks us down as this! + +_The question must be asked as a preliminary to service._--Thrice He +asked Peter, as if to be perfectly sure ere He sent him forth on a +shepherd's work. All the self-denial, patience, tenderness, and +delicacy of love are needed, as the Lord knew well, in dealing with +men, who are naturally uninteresting, or perhaps repulsive, and hence +our Lord saw the necessity that there should be love. But how could +there be love to _them_? It was impossible to expect it; and so Christ +introduced Himself, saying, in effect, "Dost thou love Me? Henceforth +there will be little opportunity of doing anything for Me, thou canst +not now shelter Me in thy home, or let Me use thy fishing boats, or +share My toils; but as thou lovest Me, and desirest to show it, expend +it on those whom I love, for whom I died, and whom I long to see +brought into My fold. If only thou lovest, thou art fit for this." + +You may not be naturally fitted to teach children, or shepherd adults; +but if you love Christ you will do better than those more cultured. It +is not science, nor intellect, nor eloquence, that wins souls; but love +to Christ pouring over in love to man. Love will give you a delicacy +of perception, an ingenuity, a persuasiveness, which no heart shall be +able to resist. Love will reconcile the accomplished scholar to a life +among savages, and will carry the refined and cultured lady up to the +sultry attic, or down to the damp and airless cellar. Love will bear +all, believe all, hope all, endure all, if only it may win wild +wandering sheep for Christ. + + +II. THE CONTRITE REPLY.--_It was very humble_. Peter did not now boast +that he excelled the rest, he did not even dare to stand sponsor for +his own affection; he threw the matter back on his Lord's omniscience, +and without mentioning the degree more or less, he said simply, "Thou +knowest all things, Thou knowest that I love Thee." There is a +delicate shade of meaning in the Greek. The words translated _love_ +are not the same. Jesus asks Peter if he cherishes toward Him +love--spiritual, holy, heavenly. Peter declines to use that term, and +contents himself with speaking of a simpler, more personal, more human +affection. If I do not give Thee that love which is Thy due as Son of +God, I at least give Thee that which befits Thee as Son of Man. + +There are many who could not go even as far as this. Yet here are +tests of love! Would you be able to enjoy Heaven if Christ were not +there? Would you be willing to go to hell itself if you might have +Him? Do you feel drawn out to Him in service? Do you do things which +you certainly would not do except for His sake? Are you glad to hear +of Him in sermon or talk, so that there is a warm feeling rising to Him +at the mention of His name? Does it cost you pain to hear Him evil +spoken of? Do you sorrow that you do not love Him more? Then you can +challenge Him, saying, "Despite my worldliness, my faithlessness, my +sins, Thou knowest all things, Thou knowest that I love Thee." + +_It was very confident._--"Thou knowest all things." Jesus is +omniscient. He can see with microscopic eye the lichen on the grey +stone, the enamel on the shell, the modest flower; and He can see the +love that is in the disciple's heart, though it be but a tiny seed. + +When we sin, we are tempted to believe that we have no love to Christ. +But let this incident encourage us. It is impossible for any true +lover of Christ to go on in a course of sin, but quite possible for him +to be betrayed into a single sin. And if that has been your case, do +not shun the Master; He still believes that it is possible for you to +love, and He is willing even to reinstate you in His blessed service. +Who is there, that does not long to speak more confidently of his love +to Christ? Cease then to think of your love to Christ, dwell much on +His love to you--"He loved me, He gave Himself for me." Think of its +unwearied patience, its delicacy, its tenderness. Consider the +character of Christ as unfolded in the New Testament. Commune with +Christ as friend with friend. Above all, put away from your heart all +that might grieve Him, and throw it open to the Holy Ghost, with prayer +that He would shed Christ's love abroad. Then, almost unconsciously, +it will arise, though it may not become palpable till some great crisis +calls you to the front, and demands some heroic sacrifice, which you +will give, not feeling it great. + + +III. THE DIVINE COMMAND.--In the miracle Peter had been commissioned to +do the work of a fisherman, that is, of an evangelist; here he is +commissioned to do the work of a shepherd, that is, of a pastor. +Feeding and tending lambs and sheep. It is not every one that is able +to care for the sheep; but there is hardly any one who loves, that +cannot feed or tend the lambs. And even if you shrink from the former, +what good reason have you to refuse to comply with the latter? + +There are in this land hundreds of young lives whom the morning light +awakes to hunger, filth, and wretchedness, and whom the evening shadows +limit to rooms in which you would not care to keep your dogs. They are +growing up without the least sense of decency, or the slightest +reverence for God. Their existence is one long struggle against the +constituted guardians of society; or if they do not resist, they are +always eluding. In addition to these are the children of our homes and +families and schools. "_Feed My lambs!_" + +It is worthy of note that two Greek words are used in these +injunctions. In the first and last, the Master says simply, Feed. In +the middle He adds, Do the work of a shepherd. So that the lover of +Christ has not fulfilled all his duty, when he has given his sacred +lesson or instruction: he must go further, and be prepared to act as +shepherd. + + + + +XXXVI + +The Life-Plan of Peter and John + +"What is that to thee? follow thou Me."--JOHN xxi. 22. + + +We are standing on the eastern shore of the Lake of Galilee. The +morning breeze blows fresh in our faces; the tiny wavelets run up with +a silvery ripple, and die on the white sand; across the expanse of +water the white buildings of Tiberias and Capernaum gleam forth. With +gunwale all wet and slippery a fishing smack is drawn up on the +deserted shore; near it the nets unbroken, although they had been heavy +with finny spoils; yonder the remnants of a fisherman's breakfast and +the dying embers of a fire. + +The Master has just reinstated His erring apostle and friend, and +proceeded to describe the death by which he was ultimately to glorify +God: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, when thou wast young, thou +girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest; but when thou +shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall +gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not." + +How different this forecast to what Peter would have chosen for +himself! What a contrast between that yielding to the will of another, +and that impetuous nature which so constantly betrayed itself! Take, +for instance, the occasions that are offered in this chapter. As soon +as he hears John's suggestion that the Lord is standing on the beach, +he lets go the fish that he had spent all night to catch, the nets +which it cost hours to make, the boat which was probably his own +property, binds his fisher's coat about him, plunges into the water, +and never rests till he has cast himself at his Master's feet. As soon +as the Lord expresses His desire to mingle some of the recent haul with +His own preparations for breakfast, he springs up, hastens to the +margin of the sea, drags the net to land, counts its contents, and +brings specimens to the little group gathered about the Master. Every +movement so quick and energetic! To wish, is to act! To desire a +thing, to do it! He makes us think of young manhood in all its +vigorous, nervous life. + +The Lord did not damp or repress His fervid disciple. He looked on +him, to borrow the thought of another, with tender pity; as a parent, +who has passed through many of the world's darkest places, beholds the +child who is speaking of what he expects life to bring. Fresh from His +own agony, the Lord knew how different a temper that would be which had +been induced by prolonged suffering and patience: and He knew how +necessary it was that that temper should be induced in His beloved +disciple, so that he might become a pillar in His Church, and the +tender sympathetic writer of that First Epistle, which is so saturated +with a spirit of tender patience and sympathy for all who suffer. + +Having uttered these cautionary words our Lord seems to have moved +away, bidding Peter follow--a mandate which was intended to carry a +deeper meaning. John followed them some few steps in the rear. +Hearing footsteps, Peter turned and saw him, and with a touch of +unworthy curiosity, hardly compatible with the seriousness of the +statement Jesus had just made, said, "Lord, and what shall this man do?" + +The question was objectionable. It savored too much of Peter's old, +hasty, forward self. The Lord would not become a mere fortune-teller +to gratify his inquisitiveness. He put a check, therefore, on the +unbefitting inquiry, and yet, in rebuking, answered it: "If I will +that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou Me." + +It is not easy to explain certainly the import of Christ's reply. Some +have interpreted it as meaning Christ's coming in death. But this can +hardly be, for He would as certainly come to Peter dying amid the agony +of martyrdom, as to John dying in a peaceful old age. Surely the +period referred to must have been the fall of Jerusalem, only forty +years distant, and to which our Lord so often referred as one phase at +least of His coming. Then the old economy would fall and pass away; +Christianity assume a world-wide importance, and the cross become one +of the mightiest factors of human history. + +When those words were repeated to them, some of the disciples +interpreted them as meaning that John should not die, but they did not +convey that meaning to John himself; he only saw in them a general +intimation that his lot was in his Master's hands, and in any case +would be a very different one from Peter's. + + +I. OUR LIFE-PLAN IS FASHIONED BY THE WILL OF CHRIST.--What royalty +there is in those words, _If I will_! If Jesus were less than Divine, +how blasphemous they would appear! What arrogance to suppose that He +could regulate the time and manner of life or death! Yet how natural +it is to hear Him speak thus. No one starts or is surprised, and in +that calm acquiescence there is a testimony to the homogeneousness of +Christ's character. It is of one piece throughout. There is a perfect +consistency between His acts and words. + +The ancients thought of their _lives_ as woven on the loom of spiteful +fates, whom they endeavored to humor by calling euphonious names. The +materialist supposes that his life is the creature of circumstances, a +rudderless ship in a current, mere flotsam and jetsam on the wave. The +Christian knows that the path of his life has been _prepared_ for him +to walk in; and that its sphere, circumstances, and character are due +to the thought and care of Him who has adapted it to our temperament +and capabilities, to repress the worst, and educate the best within us. + +We are ignorant of the place and mode of our _death_. Our grave may be +in ocean depths with storm-blasts as our dirge, or the desert-waste +with the sands as our winding-sheets. Like that of Moses in a foreign +land, unknown and untended; or within the reach of friendly hands, +which will keep it freshly decked with evergreens. But wherever it may +be, it must befall as Christ has willed. We may die by some lingering +agony, or the gentle slackening of life's silver cord. The temple may +be shattered by an earthquake, or taken down stone by stone. But +whether the one or the other, it will be determined by His will. He +who makes the hue of each fading leaf different from that of any other +in the forest has some new trait of godliness, some fresh feature of +grace to illustrate and enforce in the dying hour; it is therefore +written, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." + +There is no lasting happiness, no comfort, no peace, to be had in this +life, apart from the belief that the so-called trifles, as well as the +apparently greater incidents of existence, are included in the +circumference of Christ's will, either executive or permissive. But in +speaking thus, I discriminate between ourselves and our surroundings. +I am speaking more particularly of the latter, and urge that even where +they are apparently moulded by the carelessness or malignity of others, +yet these are, unconsciously indeed, but really, effecting what He +predetermined should be done. "If I will." + +Bind this to your heart. It may be appointed for you to die in early +prime, when the purpose of your life seems unfulfilled; or to live a +sequestered life, banished to the Patmos of exile and suffering, dying +after long years. But in any case, your Saviour has contrived and +adjusted all. And He will send the Angel of His Presence with you, to +help you, and to bring you to the place that He has prepared. + + +II. THE LIFE-COURSE OF ANY IS DETERMINED BY THE PECULIARITIES OF +CHARACTER AND SERVICE.--Christ tells us that we are destined to a long +future; and in doing so gives us the only satisfactory clue to the +mystery of existence. If there be no life beyond death, life is a maze +of endless wandering, to which there is no clue. But if there be--and +after all there is no _if_ in it--we can easily understand that the +present needs to be carefully adjusted to our nature and our future +niche in the great universe of God, that we may be able, to the +farthest limit, to realize our Master's anticipations. + +There is a conspicuous illustration of this before us. Peter was to be +the apostle of sufferers, and write a letter, which should help, as +perhaps no other writing has helped, all sufferers to the end of time; +but he could never have penned it apart from the fiery trials through +which his character was softened and sanctified. How could he have +spoken of the humility, meekness, and patience of the suffering +believer, had he not drunk deeply of the cup of suffering for himself +and lived in constant anticipation of the martyr-death of which the +Lord spoke? + +John's work, on the other hand, was to declare, as he does in the Book +of Revelation, that Jesus is the Living One, unchanged and unchanging, +the King of earth and heaven. And how could he have produced that +marvellous work, and received and reported those sublime visions, if he +had not lingered on, in loneliness and exile, till Jerusalem had fallen +before Titus and his legions, the Temple been destroyed, and the Jews +scattered to every nation under heaven? + +Neither of these men understood at the time what he was being prepared +for. But as each now from heaven reviews the work he did, and the way +in which he was prepared for doing it; as each compares the discipline +through which he passed with the peculiarities of the people he was to +address, and the testimony he was to deliver, he must be full of glad +acknowledgments of the perfect adaptation of means to ends, of +instrumentalities to results. + +And what is manifestly true of them is equally so of each of us. Not +always in this world, but in the next, we shall discern the admirable +fitness of the discipline through which we passed, to prepare us for +our position and ministry both here and hereafter. + + "Great and marvellous are Thy works, + O Lord God the Almighty; + Righteous and true are Thy ways, + Thou King of the ages." + + +III. WHILST GOD IS WORKING OUT OUR LIFE-PLAN, WE MUST GIVE OURSELVES +TO PRACTICAL OBEDIENCE.--"Follow thou Me." The Master reiterated this +command, both when He told Peter his destiny, and when His apostle was +prying into secrets with which he had no immediate concern. Whatever +threatens us, looming in the future, we must not be deterred from +following our Master; and we are not to waste our time in speculation +as to matters which lie beyond our ken, but apply ourselves to the +practical duties, which lie ready to our hand. + +But what is it to follow Christ? It is not to live an Oriental life +beneath these Northern skies, nor wear an Eastern garb, nor speak in +the Hebrew tongue. A man might do all these, and in addition wander +like Him, homeless and outcast, through the land, and yet not follow in +His steps. No! Following Jesus means our identification in the +principles that underlay His life, in His devotion and prayer, in His +absolute compliance with God's will, in His constant service of +mankind, in the sweetness and gentleness and strength of His personal +character. There is no path of legitimate duty into which we are +called to go, in which He does not precede; for when He putteth forth +His own sheep, He goeth before them, and His sheep follow. As of old, +His disciples saw Him going before them ascending up to Jerusalem, and +they followed Him; there is no path of arduous duty and suffering in +which He does not still precede. + +Following Christ involves almost certain suffering at first. When +Peter asked what they would have, who had left all to follow Jesus, the +Master did not hesitate to say that the bitter herb of suffering would +mingle with all the dishes with which their table might be spread: and +when James and John tried to bespeak the right and left seats of the +throne, He spoke of the cup and baptism of pain. But afterward, when +the cross and grave are passed, then the fullness of joy and the +pleasures, which are at God's right hand forever-more! + +We may follow Christ, and yet our paths diverge. Peter and John had +been close friends. In them, the binary stars of love and zeal, labor +and rest, action and contemplation, revolved in a common orbit. +Together at the grave, in the boat, in the temple, in prison; but their +outward fellowship was not permitted to continue; perhaps if it had, it +would have been too absorbing. It is in silence and solitude that +spirits attain their complete beauty, and so the Master is sometimes +obliged to say to us, "What is that to thee? follow thou Me." + +In following Jesus, with the shadow of the cross always on his spirit, +Peter learned to sympathize with his Master's anticipation of death, +which in earlier years had been incomprehensible to him, and had led +him to say, "That be far from Thee, Lord"; and it gave him finally the +opportunity of fulfilling his first resolve to go with Him to prison +and to death. We often think ourselves strong to do and suffer long +before patience had done her perfect work. We rush impetuously +forward, and are overwhelmed. Then our Master has to lead us about, to +take us round by another and longer route, to train us by toils and +tears and teachings, till, hopeless of our own strength and confident +in His, in our old age we cry, "I must put off this my tabernacle, even +as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me." + +If the old legend is true, Peter was crucified with his head downward, +because he felt unworthy to be so like his Lord--following Him with +humility and reverence. But whatever befalls us, whatever be the +nature of our experience in life or death, let it be our one aim to +glorify God. "And the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His +eternal glory in Christ, after that we have suffered a little while, +shall Himself perfect, stablish, strengthen us. To Him be the dominion +forever and ever. Amen." + + + + +XXXVII + +Back to the Father + +"And there are also many other things which Jesus did."--JOHN xxi. 25. + + +Once more, as we learn both from the Gospel according to Matthew and +the First Epistle to Corinthians, our Lord met the eleven Apostles, +together with some five hundred brethren beside, on a mountain in +Galilee, chosen partly for retirement and seclusion, and partly that +all might see Him. The majority of these were alive when Paul wrote. +"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto Me +in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, +baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the +Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have +commanded you; and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the +age." + +Only once or twice beside did the Lord appear. He was seen of James, +and this interview seems to have determined this saintly man, who was +his own brother either through a previous marriage of Joseph, or as +born after his own birth, of Mary, to become a humble follower of Him, +with whose existence His own was so mysteriously blended. Then He +appeared once more to all the Apostles, and being assembled with them +commanded them to wait in Jerusalem till the promise of the Father was +fulfilled, that He would send them another Comforter, the Holy Ghost. +"For John," He said, "truly baptized with water; but ye shall be +baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence." + +There seems to have been an interval at that point, during which the +disciples had time to think over what the Lord had said. It had +suggested to them the idea of the setting up of the Messianic kingdom, +which had always been viewed as coincident with the bestowal of the +Holy Ghost. "Lord," they said when they came together again, "wilt +Thou restore at this time the kingdom to Israel!" The Lord would not +gratify their curiosity, and at that moment it would have been useless +to combat and explain their erroneous views. This must be left to the +education of time, and circumstance, and that same Spirit. These +things were kept in the Father's secret councils. It was not for them +to know, but they should receive power. + +Then, with the tenacity of affection for the scenes of His former life, +He led them out as far as Bethany. And when they had reached the +beloved spot, associated with so many sacred and tender memories, He +lifted up His hands and blessed them; and while He blessed them, He was +parted from them, and a cloud became both vail and chariot, parting +them and receiving Him out of their sight. + +Thence He ascended far above all principality, power, might, and +dominion, through all heavens to the right hand of the Father, there to +pursue His life of ministry and prayer for men, and specially for those +He loved. And angels stood beside the little group of lovers, assuring +them of His return in the same manner as they had seen Him go. And +they worshipped Him, and went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord +working with them, and confirming their word with signs following. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Love to the Uttermost, by F. B. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Love to the Uttermost + Expositions of John XIII.-XXI. + +Author: F. B. Meyer + +Release Date: August 23, 2007 [EBook #22376] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LOVE TO THE UTTERMOST *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + +LOVE TO THE UTTERMOST + +EXPOSITIONS OF JOHN XIII--XXI. + + +BY + +F. B. MEYER, B. A. + + + +Author of + + "The life and Light of Men: Expositions of John I.--XII.;" + "Old Testament Heroes;" + "The Shepherd Psalm;" etc. + + + +NEW YORK ---- CHICAGO ---- TORONTO + +Fleming H. Revell Company + +Publishers of Evangelical Literature + + + + +Copyright, 1898-1899 + +by + +Fleming H. Revell Company + + + + +THIS BOOK ON + +THE UTTERMOST LOVE OF CHRIST + +IS DEDICATED + +TO MY DEAR WIFE, + +WHOSE PATIENT CARE OF OUR HOME + +HAS ENABLED ME + +TO WRITE SO MUCH AND TRAVEL SO FAR + +IN HIS SERVICE. + + + + +PREFACE + +The former book on the first twelve chapters of this sublime Gospel was +called, _The Life and Light of Men_. The title was naturally suggested +by the subject-matter of those chapters. We had little difficulty in +finding a title for the present book, which covers, however cursorily, +the remainder of the Gospel. It lay open before us in the opening +verses of the thirteenth chapter, as translated in the margin of the +Revised Version. "Having loved His own which were in the world, _He +loved them to the uttermost_." + +It has been impossible, in the limited space at my disposal, to deal +with these chapters as I would. Indeed, to do so, it would be +necessary to know the length, and breadth, and depth, and height of the +Love of God, which passeth knowledge. Time has been allowed to elapse, +in the hope that the view would be clearer, and the expression more +adequate, of the deep things to which the Lord gave expression. But it +is useless to wait till one is satisfied of the adequacy of one's work, +else life will have run its course before a beginning has been made. +At the end of ten more years, the task would seem still more +impracticable. + +In the closing chapters I have woven together the narratives of the +four evangelists, so as to give a succinct and connected account of the +last hours of our Lord's life, and especially of His death. It has +been a great delight thus to tread the _Via Crucis_, which is also the +_Via Lucis_--the Way of the Cross, which is the Way of Life, and Light, +and Love. + +F. B. MEYER. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + I THE LAVER IN THE LIFE OF JESUS + II THRICE BIDDEN TO LOVE + III HEAVEN DELAYED, BUT GUARANTEED + IV "MANY MANSIONS" + V THE REALITY OF WHICH JACOB'S DREAM WAS THE SHADOW + VI CHRIST REVEALING THE FATHER + VII THE GREAT DEEDS OF FAITH + VIII HOW TO SECURE MORE AND BETTER PRAYER + IX THE OTHER PARACLETE + X THE THREE DISPENSATIONS + XI THREE PARADOXES + XII MANY MANSIONS FOR GOD + XIII CHRIST'S LEGACY AND GIFT OF PEACE + XIV THE STORY OF THE VINE + XV "ABIDE IN ME, AND I IN YOU" + XVI PRAYER THAT PREVAILS + XVII THE HATRED OF THE WORLD + XVIII THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ON THE WORLD + XIX CHRIST'S RETICENCE SUPPLEMENTED BY THE SPIRIT'S ADVENT + XX THE CONQUEROR OF THE WORLD + XXI CONSECRATED TO CONSECRATE + XXII THE LORD'S PRAYER FOR HIS PEOPLE'S ONENESS + XXIII THE LOVE THAT BOUND CHRIST TO THE CROSS + XXIV DRINKING THE CUP + XXV THE HALL OF ANNAS + XXVI HOW IT FARED WITH PETER + XXVII THE TRIAL BFFORE CAIAPHAS + XXVIII "JUDAS, WHICH BETRAYED HIM" + XXIX THE FIRST TRIAL BEFORE PILATE + XXX THE SECOND TRIAL BEFORE PILATE + XXXI THE SEVEN SAYINGS OF THE CROSS + XXXII CHRIST'S BURIAL + XXXIII THE DAY OF RESURRECTION + XXXIV THE LAKE OF GALILEE + XXXV PETER'S LOVE AND WORK + XXXVI THE LIFE-PLAN OF PETER AND JOHN + XXXVII BACK TO THE FATHER + + + + +LOVE TO THE UTTERMOST + +Expositions of John xiii.-xxi. + + +I + +The Laver in the Life of Jesus + +"He poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, +and to wipe them with a towel wherewith He was girded."--JOHN xiii. 5. + + +In the court of the Temple there were two objects that arrested the eye +of the entering worshipper--the Brazen Altar, and the Laver. The +latter was kept always full of pure, fresh water, for the constant +washings enjoined by the Levitical code. Before the priests were +consecrated for their holy work, and attired in the robes of the sacred +office, they washed there (Ex. xxix. 4). Before they entered the Holy +Place in their ordinary ministry, and before Aaron, on the great Day of +Atonement, proceeded to the Most Holy Place, with blood, not his own, +it was needful to conform to the prescribed ablutions. "He shall bathe +his flesh in water" (Lev. xvi. 4). + +First, then, the Altar, and then the Laver; the order is irreversible, +and the teaching of the types is as exact as mathematics. Hence, when +the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews invites us to draw near, and +make our abode in the Most Holy Place, he carefully obeys the Divine +order, and bids us "draw near, with a true heart, in full assurance of +faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our +bodies washed with pure water." + +In this scene (John xiii. 1-14), on the eve of our Lord's betrayal, we +find the spiritual counterpart of the Laver, just as the Cross stands +for the Brazen Altar. + + +I. THE CIRCUMSTANCE THAT LED TO THIS ACT OF LOVE.--In order fully to +understand this touching incident, it is necessary to remember the +circumstances out of which it sprang. On the way from Bethany to the +upper room in which the Supper had been prepared, and on entering +therein, our Lord must have been deeply absorbed in the momentous +events in which He was to be the central figure; but He was not +unmindful of a contention which had engaged His disciples, for they had +been disputing one with another as to which of them should be the +greatest. The proud spirit of the flesh, which so often cursed the +little group, broke out in this awful hour with renewed energy, as +though the prince of this world would inflict a parting blow on his +great Antagonist, through those whom He loved best. It was as if he +said, "See the results of Thy tears and teachings, of Thy prayers and +pleadings; the love which Thou hast so often inculcated is but a +passing sentiment, that has never rooted itself in the soil of these +wayward hearts. It is a plant too rare and exotic for the climate of +earth. Take it back with Thee to Thine own home if Thou wilt, but seek +not to achieve the impossible." It was heartrending that this +exhibition of pride should take place just at this juncture. These +were the men who had been with Him in His temptations, who had had the +benefit of His most careful instructions, who had been exposed to the +full influence of His personal character; and yet, notwithstanding all, +the rock-bed of pride, that cast the angels down from heaven, that led +to the fall of man, obtruded itself. This occasion in which it +manifested itself was very inopportune; already the look of Calvary was +on the Saviour's face, and the sword entering His heart. Surely, they +must have been aware that the shadow of the great eclipse was already +passing over the face of their Sun. But even this did not avail to +restrain the manifestation of their pride. Heedless of three years of +example and teaching; unrestrained by the symptoms of our Lord's +sorrow; unchecked by the memory of happy and familiar intercourse, +which should have bound them forever in a united brotherhood, they +wrangled with high voices and hot faces, with the flashing eye and +clenched fist of the Oriental, as to who should be first. + +And if pride thus asserted itself after _such_ education, and under +_such_ circumstances, let us be sure that it is not far away from any +one of us. We do not now contend, in so many words, for the chief +places; courtesy, politeness, fear of losing the respect of our +fellows, restrain us. But our resentment to the fancied slight, or the +assumption by another of work which we thought our own; our sense of +hurtness when we are put aside; our jealousy and envy; our detracting +speeches, and subtle insinuations of low motive, all show how much of +this loveless spirit rankles in our hearts. We have been planted in +the soil of this world, and we betray its flavor; we have come of a +proud stock, we betray our heredity. + + +II. LOVE'S SENSITIVENESS TO SIN ON THE PART OF ITS BELOVED.--Consider +these epithets of the love of Christ: + +_It was unusually tender_.--When the hour of departure approaches, +though slight reference be made to it, love lives with the sound of the +departing wheels, or the scream of the engine, always in its ear; and +there are given a tenderness to the tone, a delicacy to the touch, a +thoughtfulness for the heartache of those from which it is to be +parted, which are of inexpressible beauty. All that was present with +Christ. He was taking that Supper with them before He suffered. He +knew that He would soon depart out of this world unto the Father; His +ear was specially on the alert; His nature keenly alive; His heart +thrilling with unusual tenderness, as the sands slowly ran out from the +hour-glass. + +_It was supreme love_.--"Having loved His own that were in the world, +He loved them unto the end." Those last words have been thought to +refer to the end of life, but it surely were superfluous to tell us +that the strong waters of death could not quench the love of the Son of +Man. When once He loves, He loves always. It is needless to tell us +that the Divine heart which has enshrined a soul will not forsake it; +that the name of the beloved is never erased from the palms of the +hands, that the covenant is not forgotten though eternity elapse. Of +course Christ loves to the end, even though that end reaches to +endlessness. We do not need to be assured that the Immortal Lover, who +has once taken us up to union with Himself, can never loose His hold. +Therefore it is better to adopt the alternative suggested by the margin +of the Revised Version, "He loved them to the uttermost." There was +nothing to be desired. Nothing was needed to fill out the ideal of +perfect love. Not a stitch was required for the needle-work of wrought +gold; not a touch demanded for the perfectly achieved picture; not a +throb additional to the strong pulse of affection with which He +regarded His own. + +It is very wonderful that He should have loved such men like this. As +we pass them under review at this time of their life, they seem a +collection of nobodies, with the exception perhaps of John and Peter. +But they were His own, there was a special relationship between Him and +them. They had belonged to the Father, and He had given them to the +Son as His special perquisite and belonging. "Thine they were, and +Thou gavest them Me." May we dare, in this meaning, to apply to Christ +that sense of proprietorship, which makes a bit of moorland waste, a +few yards of garden-ground, dear to the freeholder? + + "Breathes there the man with soul so dead, + Who never to himself hath said, + This is my own . . .?" + + +It was because these men were Christ's own, that the full passion of +His heart set in toward them, and He loved them to the utmost bound; +that is, the tides filled the capacity of the ocean-bed of possibility. + +_It was bathed in the sense of His Divine origin and mission_.--The +curtain was waxing very thin. It was a moment of vision. There had +swept across His soul a realization of the full meaning of His +approaching triumph. He looked back, and was hardly conscious of the +manger where the horned oxen fed, the lowly birth, the obscure years, +in the sublime conception that He had come forth from God. He looked +forward, and was hardly conscious of the cross, the nail, the +thorn-crown, and the spear, because of the sublime consciousness that +He was stepping back, to go to Him with whom He realized His identity. +He looked on through the coming weeks, and knew that the Father had +given all things into His hands. What the devil had offered as the +price of obeisance to himself, that the Father was about to give Him, +nay, had already given Him, as the price of His self-emptying. And if +for a moment He stooped, as we shall see He did, to the form of a +servant, it was not because of any failure to recognize His high +dignity and mission, but with the sense of Godhead quick on His soul. + +The love which went out toward this little group of men had Deity in +it. It was the love of the Throne, of the glory He had with the Father +before the worlds were, of that which now fills the bosom of His +ascended and glorified nature. + +_He was aware of the task to which He was abandoning these men_.--He +knew that as He was the High Priest over the house of God, they were +its priests. He knew that cleansing was necessary before they could +receive the anointing of the Holy Ghost. He knew that the great work +of carrying forward His Gospel was to be delegated to their hands. He +knew that they were to carry the sacred vessels of the Gospel, which +must not be blurred or fouled by contact with human pride or +uncleanness. He knew that the very mysteries of Gethsemane and Calvary +would be inexplicable, and that none might stand on that holy hill, +save those that had clean hands and a pure heart; and because of all +this, He turned to them, by symbol and metaphor, to impress upon their +heart and memory the necessity of participating in the cleansing of +which the Laver is the type. + +The highest love is ever quickest to detect the failures and +inconsistencies of the beloved. Just because of its intensity, it can +be content with nothing less than the best, because the best means the +blessedest; and it longs that the object of its thought should be most +blessed forever. It is a mistake to think that green-eyed jealousy is +quickest to detect the spots on the sun, the freckles on the face, and +the marring discords in the music of the life; love is quicker, more +microscopic, more exacting that the ideal should be achieved. Envy is +content to indicate the fault, and leave it; but love detects, and +waits and holds its peace until the fitting opportunity arrives, and +then sets itself to remove, with its own tenderest ministry, the defect +which had spoiled the completeness and beauty of its object. + +Perhaps there had never been a moment in the human consciousness of our +Lord, when, side by side with this intense love for His own, there had +been so vivid a sense of oneness with His Father, of His unity with the +source of Infinite Purity and Blessedness. We might have supposed that +this would have alienated Him from His poor friends, but in this our +thoughts are not as His. Just because of His awful holiness, He was +quick to perceive the unholiness of His friends, and could not endure +it, and essayed to rid them of it. Just because of His Divine goodness +He could detect the possibilities of goodness in them, and be patient +enough to give it culturing care. + +The most perfect musician may be most tortured by incompetence; but he +will be most likely to detect true merit, and give time to its +training. "The powerfullest magnet will pick out, in the powdered dust +of the ironstone, fine particles of metal that a second or third-rate +magnet would fail to draw to itself." Do not dread the awful holiness +of Jesus; it is your hope. He will never be content till He has made +you like Himself; and side by side with His holiness, never fail to +remember His gentle, tender love. + + +III. THE DIVINE HUMILITY, THAT COPES WITH HUMAN SIN.--"He riseth from +supper, and layeth aside His garments; and He took a towel and girded +Himself." This is what the apostle calls taking upon Himself the form +of a servant. The charm of the scene is its absolute simplicity. You +cannot imagine Christ posturing to the ages. There was no aiming at +effect, no thought of the beauty or humility of the act, as there is +when the Pope yearly washes the feet of twelve beggars, from a golden +basin, wiping them with a towel of rarest fabric! Christ did not act +thus for show or pretence, but with an absolutely single purpose of +fulfilling a needed office. And in this He set forth the spirit of our +redemption. + +_This is the key to the Incarnation_.--With slight alteration the words +will read truly of that supreme act. He rose from the throne, laid +aside the garments of light which He had worn as His vesture, took up +the poor towel of humanity, and wrapped it about His glorious Person; +poured His own blood into the basin of the Cross, and set Himself to +wash away the foul stains of human depravity and guilt. + +As pride was the source of human sin, Christ must needs provide an +antidote in His absolute humility--a humility which could not grow +beneath these skies, but must be brought from the world where the +lowliest are the greatest, and the most childlike reign as kings. + +_This is the key to every act of daily cleansing_.--We have been +washed. Once, definitely, and irrevocably, we have been bathed in the +crimson tide that flows from Calvary. But we need a daily cleansing. +Our feet become soiled with the dust of life's highways; our hands +grimy, as our linen beneath the rain of filth in a great city; our lips +are fouled, as the white doorstep of the house, by the incessant throng +of idle, unseemly and fretful words; our hearts cannot keep unsoiled +the stainless robes with which we pass from the closet at morning +prime. Constantly we need to repair to the Laver to be washed. But do +we always realize how much each act of confession, on our part, +involves from Christ, on His? Whatever important work He may at that +moment have on hand; whatever directions He may be giving to the +loftiest angels for the fulfillment of His purposes; however pressing +the concerns of the Church or the universe upon His broad shoulders, He +must needs turn from all these to do a work He will not delegate. +Again He stoops from the throne, and girds Himself with a towel, and, +in all lowliness, endeavors to remove from thee and me the strain which +His love dare not pass over. He never loses the print of the nail; He +never forgets Calvary and the blood; He never spends one hour without +stooping to do the most menial work of cleansing filthy souls. And it +is because of this humility He sits on the Throne and wields the +sceptre over hearts and worlds. + +_This is the key to our ministry to each other_.--I have often thought +that we do not often enough wash one another's feet. We are conscious +of the imperfections which mar the characters of those around us. We +are content to note, criticise, and learn them. We dare not attempt to +remove them. This failure arises partly because we do not love with a +love like Christ's--a love which will brave resentment, annoyance, +rebuke, in its quest,--and partly because we are not willing to stoop +low enough. + +None can remove the mote of another, so long as the beam is left in the +eye, and the sin unjudged in the life, None can cleanse the stain, who +is not willing to take the form of a servant, and go down with bare +knees upon the floor. None is able to restore those that are overtaken +in a fault, who do not count themselves the chief of sinners and the +least of saints. + +We need more of this lowly, loving spirit: not so sensitive to wrong +and evil as they affect us, as anxious for the stain they leave on the +offender. It is of comparatively small consequence how much we suffer; +it is of much importance that none of Christ's disciples should be +allowed to go on for a moment longer, with unconfessed and unjudged +wrongs clouding their peace, and hindering the testimony which they +might give. Let us therefore watch for each other's souls: let us +consider one another to provoke to love and good works; let us in all +sincerity do as Christ has done, washing each other's feet in all +humility and tender love. But this spirit is impossible save through +fellowship with the Lamb of God, and the reception of His holy, humble +nature into the inmost heart, by the Holy Ghost. + + + + +II + +Thrice Bidden to Love + +"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have +loved you, that ye also love one another."--JOHN xiii. 34. + + +Anacreon complains that when they asked him to sing of heroic deeds, he +could only sing of love. But the love with which he fills his sonnets +will bear as much comparison with that of which Jesus spoke in His last +discourse, as the flaring oil of a country fair with the burning of the +heavenly constellations. Even the love that binds young hearts is too +selfish and exclusive to set forth that pure ray which shone from the +heart of the Son of Man, and shines and will shine. What word shall we +use to describe it? + +_Charity?_--The disposition denoted by this great word does not fulfill +the measure of the love of Christ. It is cold and severe. It can be +organized. It casts its dole to the beggar and turns away, content to +have relieved the sentiment of pity. By being employed for one +manifestation of love, charity is too limited and restricted in its +significance to become an adequate expression of the Divine love which +Drought Jesus from the throne, and should inspire us to lay down our +lives for the brethren. + +_Philanthropy?_--This is a great word, "the love of man." And yet the +philanthropist is too often content with the general patronage of good +works, the elaboration of schemes, the management of committees, to do +much personal work for the amelioration of the world. The word is +altogether too distant, too deficient in the personal element, too +extensive in its significance. It will not serve to represent the +Divine compassion with which the heart of Christ was, at the moment of +speaking, in tumult. + +_Complacency?_--No; for this is the emotion excited by the +contemplation of merit and virtue, which turns away from sin and +deformity; and the sentiment denoted by our Master's words is one that +is not brought into existence by virtue, nor extinguished by demerit +and vice. + +Since all these words fail, we are driven to speak of love, as Christ +used the word, as being the essence of the Divine nature, for God is +love. It is the indwelling of God in the soul. It is the transmitting +through our lives of that which we have received in fellowship with the +uncreated glory of the Divine Being. That which was in the beginning +between the Father and the Son; that which constrained our Emmanuel to +sojourn in this world of sin; that which inspired His sacrifice; that +which dwells perennially in His heart, vanquishing time and distance; +which overflows all expressions, and defies definition--is the love of +which these words speak, and which we are commanded to entertain toward +each other. + +_It is a commandment_: "These things I command you." "This is His +commandment: that we should believe in the name of His Son Jesus +Christ, and love one another even as He gave us commandment." +Obviously, then, obedience must be possible. Christ had gauged our +nature not only as Creator, but by personal experience. He knew what +was in man. The possibilities of our nature were well within His +cognizance; therefore it must be possible for us to love one another +qualitatively, if not quantitatively, as He has loved us. Do not sit +down before this great command and say it is impossible; that were to +throw discredit on Him who spake it. Dare to believe that no word of +His is vain. He descries eminences of attainment which it is possible +for us all to reach: let us surrender ourselves to Him, that He should +fulfill in us His ideal, and make us experts in the science of love. + +_It is a new commandment_.--Archbishop Ussher on a memorable occasion +called it the eleventh. It is recorded that having heard of the +simplicity and beauty of the ordering of Rutherford's home, he resolved +to visit it for himself. One Saturday night he arrived alone at the +Manse, and asked for entertainment over the next day. A simple but +hearty welcome was accorded him; and after partaking of the frugal +fare, he was invited to join the household in religious exercises which +ushered in the Lord's day. + +"How many commandments are there?" the master asked his guest, wholly +unaware who he was. + +"Eleven," was the astonishing reply; at which the very servants were +scandalized, regarding the newcomer as a prodigy of ignorance. But the +man of God perceived the rare light of character and insight which +gleamed beneath the answer, and asked for a private interview. This +issued in the invitation to preach on the following day. To the +amazement of the household, so scandalized on the previous night, the +stranger appeared in the master's pulpit, and announced the words on +which we are meditating as his text, adding, "This may be described as +the eleventh commandment." + +_Obedience to this fulfills the rest_.--Love is the fulfilling of the +law. Do we need to be told to have no other gods but God, to forbear +taking His name in vain, and to devote one day in seven to the +cultivation of a closer relationship with Him, if we love Him with all +our soul and mind and strength? Do we need to be warned against +killing our neighbor, stealing his goods, or bearing false witness +against his character, if we love him as ourselves? Only let a man be +filled with this divine disposition which is the unique characteristic +of God; let him be filled with the spirit of love; let him be perfected +in love, and, almost unconsciously, he will not only be kept from +infringing the prohibitions of the law of Sinai, but will be inspired +to fulfill the requirements of the Mount of Beatitudes. Love, and do +as you like. You will like to do only what God would like you to do. + +_There is a very important purpose to be realized in obeying this +command_.--"By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye +have love one to another." Every Church claims to be the true +representative of Christ. The Eastern, because it occupies the lands +where Christianity was cradled. The Roman Catholic, because it +professes to be able to trace its orders to the apostles. But, amid +the hubbub of rival claims, the world, unconvinced, still awaits the +emergence of the true Bride of the Lamb. The one note of the true +Church is Love. When once men of different nationalities and countries +behold its manifestation, they do not hesitate to acknowledge the +presence of God, and to admit that those who are animated by perfect +love to Him and to one another constitute a unique organization, which +cannot have originated in the will or intellect of man, but, like the +New Jerusalem, must have come out of heaven from God. So sublime, so +transcendent, so unearthly is love, that its presence is significant of +the handiwork of God, as the fire that burned in the bush indicated +that the "I AM" was there. + +Love is a supreme test, not only of the Church, but of the individual. +It has been the mistake of every age to make faith rather than love the +test of Christianity. "Tell me how much a man believes, and I shall +know how good a Christian he is!" The whole endeavor of the mediaeval +Church was to reduce the followers of Christ to a uniformity of belief. +And in our own time, a man is permitted by consent to be grasping after +money, imperious in temper, uncharitable in speech, without losing +position in the Church, so long as he assents to all the clauses of an +orthodox creed. + +With Christ, however, love is all-important. A man may have faith +enough to remove mountains, but if he have not love, he is nothing, and +lighter than vanity in the estimation of heaven. Faith ranks with hope +and love, but it is destined to pass as the blossoms of spring before +the fruit of autumn, whilst love shall abide forevermore. A man may +have a very inadequate creed; like the woman of old, he may think there +is virtue in a garment, or a rite; like Thomas, he may find it +impossible to attain to the exuberant confidence of his brethren; but +if he loves Christ enough to be prepared to die for Him, if through the +narrow aperture of a very limited faith, love enough has entered his +soul from the source of love, Christ will entrust him with the tending +of His sheep and lambs, and call him into the secret place. Of course, +the more full-orbed and intelligent our faith, the quicker and intenser +will be our love. But faith, after all, is but the hand that takes, +whilst love is the fellowship of kindred hearts that flash each on the +other the enkindling gleam. + +If you do not love, though you count yourself illumined with the light +of perfect knowledge, you are in the dark. "He that hateth his brother +is in the darkness, even until now." + +If you do not love, you are dead. "He that loveth not, abideth in +death." The light sparkle of intellectual or emotional life may light +up your words, and fascinate your immediate circle of friends, but +there will be no life toward God. Love is the perfect tense of live. +Whoso does not love does not live, in the deepest sense. There are +capacities for richer existence that never unfold until love stands at +the portal and sounds his challenge, and summons the sleeper to awake +and arise. + +If you do not love, you are under the thrall of the devil, into whose +dark nature love never comes. "Herein the children of God are manifest +and the children of the devil. Cain was of the wicked one, and slew +his brother." + +"As I have loved you." Life is one long education to know the love of +God. "We have known and believed the love that God hath to us," is the +reflection of an old man reviewing the past. Each stage of life, each +phase of experience, is intended to give us a deeper insight into the +love wherewith we are loved; and as each discovery breaks upon our glad +vision, we are bidden to exemplify it to others. Does Jesus forgive to +the seventy-seventh time? We must forgive in the same measure. Does +Jesus forget as well as forgive? We, too, must forgive after the same +fashion. Does Jesus seek after the erring, and endeavor to induce the +temper of mind that will crave forgiveness? We also must seek the man +who has transgressed against us, endeavoring to lead him to a better +mind. The Christian knows no law or limit but that imposed by these +significant words, spoken on the eve of Christ's sacrifice, "As I have +loved you." + +Thus all life gives opportunities for the practice of this celestial +temper and disposition. It has been said that talent develops in +solitude, whilst character is made in the strain of life. Be it so. +Then the character of loving may be made stronger by every association +we have with our fellows. Each contact with men, women, and children, +may give us an opportunity of loving with a little more of the +strength, purity, and sweetness of the love of Christ. The busiest +life can find time for the cultivation of this spirit. That which is +spent in a crowd will even have greater opportunities than the one +which is limited to solitude. The distractions and engagements that +threaten to break our lives up to a number of inconsiderable fragments +may thus conduce to a higher unity than could be gained by following +one occupation, or concentrating ourselves on one object. + +Let us gird up the loins of our minds, and resolve to seek a baptism of +love from the Holy Ghost, that we may be perfected in love; that we may +love God first, and all else in Him, ascending from our failures to a +more complete conformity to the love wherewith He has loved us; +embracing the sinful and erring in the compass of our compassion, as we +embrace the Divine and Eternal in the compass of our adoration and +devotion. + + + + +III + +Heaven Delayed, but Guaranteed + +"Simon Peter said unto Him, Lord, whither goest Thou? Jesus answered +him. Whither I go, thou canst not follow Me now; but thou shalt follow +Me afterward."--JOHN xiii. 36. + + +These chapters are holy ground. The last words of our dearest, spoken +in the seclusion of the death-chamber to the tear-stained group +gathered around, are not for all the world, and are recorded only to +those whose love makes them able to appreciate. And what are these +words that now begin to flow from the Master's lips, but His last to +His own? They were held back so long as Judas was there. There was a +repression caused by his presence which hindered the interchange of +confidences; but, when he was gone, love hastened to her secret stores, +and drew forth her choicest, rarest viands to share them, that they +might be in after days a strength and solace. + +This marvellous discourse, which begins in chapter xiii. 31, continues +through chapters xiv., xv., xvi., and closes in the sublime prayer of +chapter xvii. Better that all the literature of the world should have +shared the fate of the Alexandrian library, than that these precious +words should have been lost amid the fret of the ages. + +The Lord commences His discourse by speaking of His speedy departure. +"Little children," He said, using a term which indicated that He felt +toward them a parental tenderness, and spoke as a dying father might +have done to the helpless babes that gathered around his bed, "I am to +be with you for a very little time longer; the sand has nearly run out +in the hour-glass. I know you will seek Me; your love will make you +yearn to be with Me where I am, to continue the blessed intimacy, the +ties which within the last few weeks have been drawn so much closer; +but it will not be possible. As I said to the Jews, so must I say to +you, Whither I go, ye cannot come." He then proceeds to give them a +new commandment of love, as though He said: "The _cannot_ which +prevents you following Me now is due to a lack of perfect love on your +part, as well as for other reasons; it is necessary, therefore, that +you wait to acquire it, ere you can be with Me where I am." + +Simon Peter hardly hears Him uttering these last words; he is pondering +too deeply what he has just heard, and calls the Master back to that +announcement, as though He had passed it with too light a tread: "Going +away! Lord, whither goest Thou?" To that question our Lord might have +given a direct answer: "Heaven! The Father's bosom! The New +Jerusalem! The City of God!" Any of these would have been sufficient; +but instead He says in effect: "It is a matter of comparative +indifference whither I go; I have no wish to feed curiosity with +descriptions of things in the heavens, which you could not understand." +The main point for you, in this brief life, is so to become assimilated +to Me in humility, devotion, likeness, and character, that you may be +able to be My companion and friend in those new paths on which I am +entering, as you have been in those which I am now leaving. "Whither I +go, thou canst not follow Me now; but thou shalt follow Me afterward." + +The words staggered Peter; he could not understand what Christ meant; +he could not see how much had to be done before he could share in +Christ's coming glory. He made the same mistake as James and John had +done before, and wanted the throne, without perceiving that it was +conditioned on fellowship in the cup and the baptism into death. With +deep emotion he persisted in his inquiries: "Why cannot I follow Thee +now? There is no place on earth to which I would not go with Thee. +Have I not already left all to follow Thee? Have I not been with Thee +on the Transfiguration Mount, as well as in Thy journeyings? There is +but one experience through which I have not passed with Thee, and that +is death; but if that stands next in Thy life-plan, I will lay down my +life for Thy sake. Anything to be with Thee." + +How little Peter knew himself! How much better did Christ know him. +"What! dost thou profess thyself willing to die with Me? Verily, +verily, I say unto thee, thou shalt deny Me thrice, between now and +cock-crow to-morrow morning." These words silenced Peter for all the +evening afterward. He does not appear to have made another remark, but +was absorbed in heart-breaking grief: though all the while there rang +in his heart those blessed words of hope: "Whither I go, thou canst not +follow Me now; but thou shalt follow Me afterward"--words which our +Lord caught up and expanded for the comfort of them all, who now with +Peter for the first time realized that they were about to be parted +from Jesus, and were almost beside themselves with grief: "Let not your +heart be troubled. . . ." + + +I. THE DESIRE TO BE WITH CHRIST.--This was paramount. These simple men +had little thought of heaven as such. If Christ had begun to speak of +golden pavement, gates of pearl, and walls of chrysolite, they would +have turned from His glowing words with the one inquiry, "Wilt Thou be +there?" If that question had been answered uncertainly, they would +have turned away heart-sick, saying: "If Thou art not there, we have no +desire for it; but if Thou wert in the darkest, dreariest spot in the +universe, it would be heaven to us." + +There were three desires, the strands of which were woven in this one +yearning desire and prayer to be with Christ. They wanted His love, +His teaching, His leading into full, richer life. And is not this our +position also? We want Christ, not hereafter only, but here and now, +for these three self-same reasons. + +_We want His love._--There is no love like His--so pure and constant +and satisfying. What the sun is to a star-light, and the ocean to a +pool left by the retiring tide, such is the love of Jesus compared with +all other love. To have it is superlative blessedness; to miss it is +to thirst forever. + +_We want His light._--He speaks words that cast light on the mysteries +of existence, on the dark problems of life, on the perplexing questions +which are perpetually knocking at our doors. + +_We want His life._--Fuller and more abundant life is what we crave. +It is of life that our veins are scant. We desire to have the mighty +tides of divine life always beating strongly within us, to know the +energy, vigor, vitality of God's life in the soul. And we are +conscious that this is to be found only in Him. + +Therefore we desire to be with Him, to drink deeper into His +fellowship, to know Him and the power of His resurrection, to be +brought into an abidingness from which we shall never recede. We have +known Christ after the flesh; we desire to know Him after the Spirit. +We have known Him in humiliation; we want to know Him in His glory. We +have known Him as the Lamb of the Cross; we want to know Him as the +Divine Man on the throne. + + +II. THE FATAL OBSTACLE TO THE IMMEDIATE GRANTING OF THESE +DESIRES.--"Thou canst not follow Me _now_." There is thus a difference +in His words to His disciples, and those to the Jews. These also were +told that they could not follow Him, but the word now was omitted. +There was no hope held out to them of the great gulf being bridged. +That was the _cannot_ of moral incompatibility; this, of temporary +unfitness, which by the grace of God would finally pass away, and the +whole of their aspirations be realized (John vii. 34; viii. 21). + +It is easy to see why Peter was unfit for the deeper realization of +Christ in His resurrection. Our Lord had just spoken of being +glorified through death. It was as Judas left the chamber, intent on +his betrayal, that Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified!" He +saw that the hidden properties of His being could only be unfolded and +uttered through death and resurrection. But Peter had little sympathy +with this; he might avow his determination to die, but he had never +really entered into the meaning of death, and all it might involve. + +He could not detect evil. The traitor was beside him; but he had to +ask the beloved disciple to elicit from Jesus who it might be by whom +the Master would be betrayed. + +He was out of sympathy with the Lord's humiliation, so that he chode +with Him for stooping to wash his feet; and if he could not understand +the significance and necessity of this lowly deed of love, how could he +enter into the spirit of that life which was planted in death, and +which bore even in resurrection the print of the nails? + +He strove with the rest for the primacy. Who should be the greatest? +was the question that agitated them, as the other evangelists tell us, +in that solemn hour. And none that was possessed with that spirit of +pride and emulation could be in harmony with that blessed world where +the greatest are the lowliest, the highest the least, and the King set +on the right hand of power, because more capable of humbling Himself +than any beside. + +But, besides all this, Peter was animated by the strong spirit of +self-assertion and determination. Always on the lake shore he had been +able to get to the front by his stronger voice, and broader shoulders, +and more vehement manner. Why should he not do the same now? Why +could he not keep pace with Christ even through the dark valley, and +accompany Him through unknown worlds? + +It cannot be, said Christ; you are too strong in your carnal strength, +too self-reliant, too confident. It is not possible for you to be with +Me, in the life that springs from death, and to which death is the +door, till you have deeply drunk into the spirit of My death. You are +too strong to follow Me when I descend to the lowest on My way to the +highest; I must take for My companion now a forgiven malefactor; but I +will some day come for you, and receive you to Myself. + +So Peter had to be broken on the wheel of a servant-girl's question, +and humbled to the dust. In those bitter hours he was thoroughly +emptied of his old proud, self-reliant, vain-glorious spirit, and +became as a little child. + +This must be our path also. We must descend with Christ, if we would +ascend to sit at His side. We must submit to the laying of our pride +in the very dust. We must accept humiliations and mortifications, the +humblings of perpetual failure and shortcoming, the friction and fret +of infirmity and pain; and when we have come to an end of ourselves, we +shall begin to know Christ in a new and deeper fashion. He will pass +by and say, "Live!" The spirit of His life will enter into us; the +valley of Achor will become a door of hope, and we shall sing God's +glad new song of Hope. The ideal which had long haunted us, in our +blood, but unable to express itself, will burst into a perfect flower +of exquisite scent and hue. + + +III. THE CERTAINTY OF THE ULTIMATE GRATIFICATION OF EVERY DESIRE GOD +HAS IMPLANTED.--This is an absolute certainty, that God inserts no +desire or craving in our nature, for which there is no appropriate +gratification. The birds do not seek for food which is not ready for +them. The young lions do not ask for prey that is not awaiting them +somewhere in the forest glade. Hence the absoluteness of that +_shall_--"Thou _shalt_ follow Me afterward." It is as if Jesus said, +"I have taught you to love Me, and long after Me; and I will certainly +gratify the appetite which I have created." + +Pentecost was the Divine fulfillment of all those conditions of which +we have been speaking. It was not enough that Peter should be an +emptied and broken man; he must become also a God-possessed, a +Spirit-filled man. Thus only could he be fitted to know Christ after a +spiritual sort, and to participate in His Resurrection Life. It was +surely to the Advent of the Holy Ghost that our Lord referred in that +significant _afterward_. + +We too must seek our share in Pentecost. Do not be content with "Not +I"; go on to say, "but Christ." Do not be satisfied with the emptying +of the proud self-life; seek the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Do not +stop at the cross, or the grave; hasten to the upper room, where the +disciples are baptized in fire and glory. The Holy Spirit will enable +you to abide in Christ, because He will bring Christ to abide in you; +and life, through His dear grace, shall be so utterly imbued with +fellowship with the blessed Lord, that, whether present or absent, you +will live together with Him. It is the man who is really filled with +the Spirit of God who can follow Jesus, as Peter afterward did, to +prison and to death, who can drink of the cup of which He drank, and be +baptized with the baptism with which He was baptized. + +"Why should I fear?" asked Basil, of the Roman prefect. "Nothing you +have spoken of has any effect upon me. He that hath nothing to lose is +not afraid of _confiscation_. You cannot banish me, for the earth is +the Lord's. As to _torture_, the first stroke would kill me, and _to +kill me is to send me to glory_." + + + + +IV + +"Many Mansions" + +"I go to prepare a place for you."--JOHN xiv. 2. + + +The cure for heart-trouble, when the future is full of dread, is +faith--faith directed to Jesus; and just such faith as we give God, for +He is God. He has shown Himself well worthy of that trust; all His +paths toward us have been mercy and truth; and we may therefore safely +rest upon His disclosures of that blessed life, of which the present is +the vestibule. "Let not your heart be troubled," He says, "ye believe +in God, believe also in Me." Or it might be rendered, "Believe in God, +believe also in Me." + +Let us listen to Him, as He discourses of the Father's house and its +many mansions. + +_Heaven is a home._--"My Father's house." What magic power lies in +that word! It will draw the wanderer from the ends of the earth; will +nerve the sailor, soldier, and explorer with indomitable endurance; +will bring a mist of tears to the eyes of the hardened criminal, and +soften the heart of stone. One night in the trenches of the Crimea the +bands played "Home, sweet Home," and a great sob went through the army. + +But what makes home home? Not the mere locality or building; but the +dear ones that lived there once, now scattered never to be reunited, +only one or two of whom are still spared. It was father's house, +though it was only a shepherd's shieling; he dwelt there, and mother, +and our brothers and sisters. And where they dwell, or where wife and +child dwell, there is home. + +Such is Heaven. Think of a large family of noble children, of all +ages, from the little child to the young man beginning his business +career, returning after long severance to spend a season together in +the old ancestral home, situated in its far-reaching grounds, and you +can form some idea of what it will be, when the whole Family of the +Redeemed gather in the Father's house. All reserve, all shyness, all +restraint gone forever. God has given us all the memory of what home +was, that we may guess at what awaits us, and be smitten with +homesickness. As the German proverb puts it: "Blessed are the +homesick, for they shall reach home." + +_Heaven is very spacious._--There are "_many_ mansions." There is no +stint in its accommodation. In the olden Temple there were spacious +courts, long corridors, and innumerable chambers, in which a vast +multitude could find a home day and night. The children trooped about +and sang around their favorite teacher. The blind and lame sheltered +themselves from heat or storm. The priests and Levites in great +numbers lived there. All of this probably suggested the Master's words. + +Heaven too will contain immense throngs, without being crowded. It +will teem with innumerable hosts of angels, and multitudes of the +redeemed which no man can number. Its children will be as the grains +of sand that bar the ocean's waves, or the stars that begem the vault +of night. But it can easily hold these, and myriads more. Yet there +is room! As age after age has poured in its crowds, still the cry has +gone forth, There is still room! The many mansions are not all +tenanted. The orchestra is not full. The complement of priests is not +complete. + +Do not believe those little souls, who would make you believe that +Heaven is a little place for a select few. If they come to you with +that story, tell them to begone! tell them that they do not know your +Father's heart; tell them that all He does must be worthy of Himself. +Jesus shall see of the travail of His soul, and be satisfied. + +_Heaven is full of variety._--It is not like one great hall; there are +myriads of adjacent rooms, "mansions," which will be fitted up, so to +speak, differently. One for the sweet singer, another for the little +ones and their teachers, another for the student of the deep mysteries +of the Kingdom, another for those who may need further instruction in +the mysteries of God. + +Heaven's life and scenery are as various as the aptitudes and +capacities of souls. Its music is not a monotone, but a chorale. It +is as a home, where the parents delight to develop the special tastes +of their children. This is surely what Jesus meant when He said, "I go +to prepare a place for you." He is ever studying our special +idiosyncrasies--what we need most, and can do best; and when He has +ascertained it, He suits our mansion accordingly. + +When a gardener is about to receive some rare exotic, he prepares a +place where it will flower and fruit to the best advantage. The +naturalist who is notified of the shipment of some new specimen, +prepares a habitat as suited as possible to its peculiarities. The +mother, whose son is returning from sea, prepares a room in which his +favorite books and pictures are carefully placed, and all else that her +pondering heart can devise to give him pleasure. So our Lord is +anxious to give what is best in us its most suitable nourishment and +training. And He will keep our place against our coming. It will not +suit another, and will not be given to another. + +That all this will be so, is witnessed by the instincts of our hearts, +and if it had not been so, He would have told us. That little clause +is inimitably beautiful; it seems to teach that where He permits His +children to cherish some natural presentiment of the blessed +future--its solemn troops and sweet societies; its friendships, +recognitions, and fellowships; its holy service, and special +opportunities--that He really assents to our deepest and most cherished +thoughts. If it had not been so, He would have told us. + +_The charm of Heaven will be the Lord's presence._--"Where I am, ye +shall be also." We shall see His face, and be forever with Him. What +would not men give, if some old manuscripts might turn up with new +stories of His wondrous life, new parables as charming as those of the +Good Shepherd and the Prodigal Son; new beatitudes; new discourses like +that on the Vine. God might have permitted this. But what would it be +in comparison with all that lies before! The past has lost much; but +the future holds infinitely more. We shall see new Gospels enacted +before our eyes, behold Christ as a real visible person in the glory of +Divine manhood, hear Him speak to us as His friends, and shall know +what He meant when He promised to gird Himself, and come forth to serve +His servants. + +If you are in doubt as to what Heaven is like, is it not enough to know +that it will be in accord with the nature and presence and choice of +Jesus Christ? + +After His resurrection, He spent forty days among His disciples, that +men might see what the risen life was like. As He was, and is, so +shall we be. His body is the pattern in accordance to which this shall +be fashioned. What He was to His friends after His resurrection, we +shall be to ours, and they to us. We shall hear the familiar voices +and the dear old names, shall resume the dear relationships which death +severed, and shall speak again of the holy secrets of our hearts with +those who were our twin-spirits. + +And He will come again, either in our death hour or in His Second +Advent, "to receive us" to Himself. If we only could believe this, and +trust Him who says it, our hearts could not be troubled, though death +itself menaced us; for we should realize, that to be received at the +moment of dissolution by the hands of Jesus, into the place on which He +has lavished time and thought and love, must be "far better" than the +best that earth could offer. + + + + +V + +The Reality of which Jacob's Dream was the Shadow + +"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man +cometh unto the Father, but by Me."--JOHN xiv. 6. + + +We all know more truth than we give ourselves credit for. A moment +before the Lord had said, "Whither I go ye know, and the way ye know." +Thomas, the pessimist--always inclined to look at the dark side of +things--directly contradicted Him, saying, "Master, we are absolutely +ignorant of the goal to which Thy steps are bending; it is impossible, +therefore, for us to know the path that lies through the gloom, and by +which Thou art to come to it." It was a strange collision, the +Master's "Ye know," and Thomas's "We know not." Which was right? + +There is no doubt that Jesus was right, and they did know. In many a +discourse He had given sufficient materials for them to construct a +true conception of the Father's house, and the way to it. These +materials were lying in some dusty corner of their memory, unused, and +Christ knew this. He said, therefore, in effect, "Go back to the +teachings I have given you; look carefully through the inventory of +your knowledge; let your instincts, illumined by My words, supply the +information you need: there are torches in your souls already lighted, +that will cast a radiant glow upon the mysteries to the brink of which +you have come." + +This is true of us all. Christ never conducts to experiences for which +He has not previously prepared us. As the great ocean-steamers take in +their stores of coal and provision, day and night, for weeks previous +to their sailing; so, by insensible influences, Christ is ever +anticipating the strain and stress of coming circumstance, passing in +words which are spirit and life, though they may stand in their heavy +packing-cases in the hold, until we are driven to unpack, examine, and +use their contents. Not unseldom sorrow is sent for no other purpose +than to compel us to take cognizance of our possessions. Many a fabric +of manufacture, many an article of diet, many an ingenious process has +been suggested in days of scarcity and famine. So, old words and +truths come back in our sore need. Christ often speaks to us, as a +teacher to a nervous child, saying, "You know quite well, if you would +only think a little." More truth is stored in memory than recollection +can readily lay hands upon. + +Thomas persisted in his protestations of ignorance, and so the Lord +uttered for his further information the royal sentence, which sums up +Christianity in the one simple pronoun "I." It was as if He said to +His disciples gathered there, and to His Church in all ages, "To have +Me, to know Me, to love and obey Me, this is religion; this is the +light for every dark hour, the solution for all the mysteries." +Christianity is more than a creed, a doctrinal system, a code of +rules--it is Christ. + + +I. CHRIST, AS THE WAY.--"I am the Way," said our Lord. The conception +of life as a pilgrimage is as old as human speech. On the third page +of our Bibles we are told that "Enoch walked with God." The path of +the Israelites through the desert was a pilgrim's progress, and the +enduring metaphor for our passage from the cross to the +Sabbath-keeping. Isaiah anticipated the rearing up of a highway which +should be called the way of holiness, which should not be trodden by +the unclean; no lion should be there, or ravenous beast go up thereon; +but the ransomed of the Lord should walk there, and go with singing to +Zion. But in the furthest flights of inspired imagination, the prophet +never dreamed that God Himself would stoop to become the trodden path +to Himself, and that the way of holiness was no other than that Divine +Servant who so often stood before Him for portrayal. "_I_ am the way," +said Christ. + +He fulfills all the conditions of Isaiah's prediction. + +He saw a highway. A highway is for all: for kings and commoners; for +the nobleman daintily picking his way, and the beggar painfully +plodding with bare feet. And Jesus is for every man. "Whosoever will, +let him come"; let him step out and walk; let him commit himself to Him +who comes to our doors that He may conduct us to the pearly gate. + +It was a way of holiness, where no unclean or leprous person was +permitted to travel. Neither can we avail ourselves of the gracious +help of Christ, so long as we are harboring what He disapproves, or +doing what He forbids. + +It was so plain and straight, that wayfaring men though fools could not +mistake it. And the Master said, that whilst the wise and prudent +might miss His salvation, babes would find it. "Hidden from the wise +and prudent, but revealed to babes." + +It afforded perfect immunity from harm. The wild beasts of the forest +might roar around it, but they were kept off that thoroughfare by an +invisible and impassable fence. Who is he that can harm us whilst we +follow that which is good? The special Divine permission was +necessary, before Satan could tempt Job, whose heart was perfect with +his God. + +It was trodden with song. And who can describe the waves of joy that +sometimes roll in on the believing, loving soul. There is always +peace, but sometimes there is joy unspeakable and full of glory. The +hands of Jesus shed the oil of gladness on our heads, whilst the +lamentation and regret that haunt the lives of others are abashed, as +the spectres of the night before the roseate touch of morn. + +What further thought did Christ mean to convey, when He said, "I am the +Way"? We cannot see the other side of the moon. The full import of +these words, as they touch His wonderful nature, as it lies between Him +and His Father, is beyond us; but we may at least study the face they +turn toward our lives. + +The true value of a way is never realized until we are following it +through an unknown country, or groping along it in almost absolute +darkness. I remember, during a tour in Switzerland, on starting for a +long day's march, the comfort of the assurance that I had only to keep +to one road which was clearly defined, and it would inevitably bring me +to my destination. How different this to another experience of making +my way, as I might, across the hillsides in the direction which I +fancied was the right one! All that had to be done in the first +instance was to follow the roadway, to obey its sinuous windings, to +climb the hills where it climbed, to descend the valleys where it +descended, to cross the rivers and torrents at the precise point with +it. It seemed responsible for me as long as I kept to it. Whenever I +thought to better myself by wandering right or left, I found myself +landed in some difficulty, and when I returned to it, it seemed to say, +"Why did you leave me? I know that sometimes I am rough and difficult; +but I can do better for you, than you can for yourself, and indeed I am +the only possible way. Obey me, and I will bring you home." It is so +that Christ speaks to us. + +Each day, as we leave our home, we know that the prepared path lies +before us, in the good works which God has prepared for us to walk in. +And when we are ignorant of their direction, and are at a loss as to +where to place our steps, we have only to concern ourselves with +Christ, and almost unconsciously we shall find ourselves making +progress on the destined way. Christ is the Way: love Christ, trust +Christ, obey Christ, be concerned with Christ, and all else will be +added. Christ is the Way. When the heart is wrapped up in Him, it is +on the way, and it is making progress, although it never counts the +rate or distance, so occupied is it with Him. + +"I fear I make no progress," sighs the timid soul. + +"But what is Christ to thee?" + +"Everything." + +"Then if He be all in all to thee, thou art most certainly on God's +way; and thou art making progress toward thy home, albeit that it is +unconsciously. Be of good cheer, Christ is the Way; remember the +ancient pilgrims, of whom it is written, that the way was in their +hearts." + +"But God the Father is so little to me!" + +"But to deal with Christ is to deal with God: to be wrapped up in the +love of Christ is to make ever deeper discoveries into the heart of +God. He is the Way to God: to know Him is to come to the Father." + + +II. CHRIST AS THE TRUTH.--The thought grows deeper as we advance. +Obedience to the Way conducts to the vision of the Truth; ethics to +spiritual optics. The truth-seeker must first submit himself in all +humility and obedience to Christ; and when he is willing to do His +will, he is permitted to know. + +(1) Christ is more than a teacher. "We know that Thou art a Teacher, +come from God," said Nicodemus. He is more, He is the Truth of God. +All truth is ensphered in Him. All the mysteries of wisdom and +knowledge are hidden in Him. We fully know truth only as it is in +Jesus. When the Spirit of Truth would lead us into all truth, He can +do nothing better than take of the things of Christ, and reveal them to +us, because to know Christ is to know the Truth in its most complete, +most convenient, and most accessible form. If you know nothing else, +and know Christ intimately and fully, you will know the Truth, and the +Truth will make you free. If you love truth, and are a child of the +truth, you will be inevitably attracted to Christ, and recognize the +truth that speaks through His glorious nature. "He that is of the +truth heareth My voice." + +(2) Distinguish between Christ the Truth, and truth about Him. Many +true things may be said about Him; but we are not saved by truths about +Him, but by Himself the Truth. + +Not the indubitable fact that Jesus died; but the Person of Him who +died and lives forevermore. + +Not the certain fact that Jesus lay in the grave; but the blessed Man +Himself, who lay there for me. + +Not the incontestable facts of His resurrection and ascension; but that +He has borne my nature to the midst of the throne, and has achieved a +victory which helps me in my daily struggle. + +This is the ground basis of all true saving faith. The soul may accept +truths about Christ, as it would any well-authenticated historical +fact; but it is not materially benefited or saved until it has come to +rest on the bosom of Him of whom these facts are recorded. + +(3) To know Christ as Truth demands truth in heart and life. The +insincere man; the trifler; the flippant jester who takes nothing +seriously; the superficial man who uses the deepest expressions, as +counters for society talk; the inconsistent man who is daily doing +violence to his convictions, by permitting things which his conscience +condemns--must stand forever on the outskirts of the Temple of Truth: +they have no right to stand before the King of Truth. If you have +never discerned the truth as it is in Jesus, it becomes a serious +question whether you are perfectly true, or whether you are not, like +Pilate, harboring insincerity in your heart, which blinds your eyes to +His ineffable attributes. + +(4) Concern yourself with Christ. Be content to let the world and its +wisdom alone. "The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God . . . +He taketh the wise in their own craftiness." Give yourself to know +Christ, who is made unto us wisdom, as well as sanctification and +redemption. To know Him is to be at the fountain-head of all truth; +and the soul which has dwelt with Him by day and night will find +itself, not only inspired by an undying love for the true, but will be +able to hold fellowship with truth-lovers and truth-seekers everywhere; +nay, will be able even to instruct those who have the reputation of +great learning and knowledge in the schools of human thought. "I have +more understanding than all my teachers; for Thy testimonies are my +meditation. I understand more than the aged, because I have kept Thy +precepts." To know and to possess Christ, is to have the Word, that is +the Wisdom of God, enshrined as a most sacred possession in the heart. + + +III. CHRIST AS THE LIFE.--It is not enough to know; we need life. Life +is, indeed, the gate to knowledge. "This is life eternal _that_ they +should know Thee." It was imperative, therefore, that Jesus should +become a source of life to men, that they might know the Truth, and be +able to walk in the Way, and more especially since death had infected +and exhausted all the springs of the world's vitality. + +It was into a world of death that the Son of God came. The spring of +life in our first parents had become tainted at its source. At the +best Adam was only a living soul. Dead--dead--dead in trespasses and +sins; such was the Divine verdict, such the course of this world. +Earth resembled the valley in the prophet's vision, full of bones, very +many and very dry. All the reservoirs of life were spent; its +fountains had died away in wastes of sand. + +Then the Son of God brought life from the eternal throne, from God +Himself; and became a Life-giving Spirit. His words were spirit and +life: He was Himself the Resurrection and the Life: those that believed +in Him became partakers of the Divine Nature. The tree of life was +again planted on the earth's soil, when Jesus became incarnate. "I +give eternal life unto My sheep," He said, "and they shall never +perish." "He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life." + +If, then, you are wanting life, and life more abundantly, you must have +Christ. Do not seek _it_, but _Him_: not the stream but the fountain; +not the word, but the speaker; not the fruit, but the tree. He is the +Life and Light of men. + +And if you have Christ you have life. You may not be competent to +define or analyze it; you may not be able to specify the place or time, +when it first broke into your soul; you may hardly be able to +distinguish it from the workings of your own life: but if you have +Christ, trust Christ, desire Christ above all, you have the Life. "He +that hath the Son hath the Life; he that hath not the Son of God hath +not the Life." "We know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is +true . . . this is eternal life." "I," said Jesus, "am the Way, the +Truth, and the Life." + + + + +VI + +Christ Revealing the Father + +"Philip saith unto Him, Lord, shew us the Father and it sufficeth us. +Jesus saith unto him, He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father."--JOHN +xiv. 8, 9. + + +The longing of the universal heart of man was voiced by Philip, when he +broke in, rather abruptly, on our Lord's discourse with the challenge +that He should answer all questions, dissipate all doubt, by showing +them the Father. Is there a God? how can I be sure that He is? what +does He feel toward us?--these are questions which men persistently +ask, and wait for the reply. And the Master gave the only satisfactory +answer that has ever been uttered in the hearing of mankind, when He +said in effect, "The knowledge of God must be conveyed, not in words or +books, in symbols or types, but in a life. To know Me, to believe in +Me, to come into contact with Me, is to know the deepest heart of God. +'He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; how sayest thou then, Show +us the Father?'" + + +I. PHILIP'S INQUIRY.--_It bore witness to the possible growth of the +human soul_. Only three short years before, as we are told in the +first chapter of this Gospel, Christ had found him. At that time he +was probably much as the young men of his age and standing. Not +specially remarkable save for an interest in, and an earnestness about, +the advent of the Messiah; his views, however, of his person and work +were limited and narrow: he looked for his advent as the time for the +reestablishment of the kingdom of David, and deliverance from the Roman +yoke. But three years of fellowship with Jesus had made a wonderful +difference in this young disciple. The deepest mysteries of life and +death and heaven seemed within his reach. He is not now content with +beholding the Messiah, he is eager to know the Father, and to stand +within the inner circle of His presence-chamber. + +The highest watermark ever touched by the great soul of Moses was when +he said, amid the sublimities of Sinai, "I beseech Thee, show me Thy +glory." But in this aspiration Philip stands beside him. There is a +close kinship between the mighty lawgiver and the fishermen of +Bethsaida. How little there is to choose between, "Show me Thy glory," +and "Show us the Father." Great and marvellous is the capacity of the +soul for growth! + +_It truly interpreted the need of man._--"It sufficeth us." From +nature, with all her voices that speak of God's power and Godhead; from +the page of history, indented with the print of God's footprints; from +type and ceremony and temple, though instituted by God Himself; even +from the unrivalled beauty of our Saviour's earthly life--these men +turned unsatisfied, unfilled, and said, "We are not yet content, but if +Thou wouldest show us the Father, we should be." + +And would it not suffice _us_?--Would it not be sufficient to give new +zest and reality to _prayer_, if we could realize that it might be as +familiar as the talk of home, or like the petitioning of a little +child? Would it not suffice to make the most irksome _work_ pleasant, +if we could look up and discern the Father's good pleasure and smile of +approval? Would it not suffice to rob _pain_ of its sting, if we could +detect the Father's hands adjusting the heat of the furnace? Would it +not suffice to shed a light across the dark mystery of _death_, if we +felt that the Father was waiting to lead us through the shadows to +Himself? How often the cry rises from sad and almost despairing +hearts, "Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us." + +_But surely this request was based on a mistake._--Philip wanted a +visible theophany, like that which Moses beheld, when the majestic +procession swept down the mountain pass; or as the elders saw, when +they beheld the paved sapphire work; or after the fashion of the +visions vouchsafed to Elijah, Isaiah, or Ezekiel. He wanted to see the +Father. But how can you make wisdom, or love, or purity visible, save +in a human life? + +Yet this is the mistake we are all liable to make. We feel that there +must be an experience, a vision, a burst of light, a sensible +manifestation, before we can know the Father. We strain after some +unique and extraordinary presentation of the Deity, especially in the +aspect of Fatherhood, before we can be completely satisfied, and thus +we miss the lesson of the present hour. Philip was so absorbed in his +quest for the transcendent and sublime, that he missed the revelations +of the Father which for three years had been passing under his eyes. +God had been manifesting His tenderest and most characteristic +attributes by the beauty of the Master's life, but Philip had failed to +discern them; till now the Master bids him go back on the photographs +of those years, as fixed in his memory, to see in a thousand tiny +illustrations how truly the Father dwelt in Him, and lived through His +every word and work. + +Are you straining after the vision of God, startled by every footstep, +intently listening till the very atmosphere shall become audible, +expecting an overwhelming spectacle? In all likelihood you will miss +all. The kingdom comes not with outward show. When men expected +Christ to come by the front door, He stole in at the back. Whilst +Philip was waiting for the Father to be shown in thunder and lightning, +in startling splendor, in the stately majesty that might become the +Highest, he missed the daily unfolding of the Divine Nature that was +being afforded in the Life with which he dwelt in daily contact. + +_Philip's request emphasized the urgent need of the ministry of the +Holy Spirit._--"If ye had known Me". . . the Saviour said. "Have I +been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me?" They +failed to know the Father, because they failed to know Christ, and they +failed in this because they knew Him only after the flesh. They were +so familiar with Him as their Friend, His love was so natural, tender, +and human, He had become so closely identified with all their daily +existence, that they did not recognize the fire that shone behind the +porcelain, the Deity that tabernacled beneath the frail curtains. + +Often those who dwell amid the loveliest or grandest scenery miss the +beauty which is unveiled to strangers from a distance. Certain lives +have to be withdrawn from us before we understand how fair they were, +and how much to us. And Jesus had to leave His disciples before they +could properly appreciate Him. The Holy Spirit must needs take of the +things of Christ, and reveal them, before they could realize their true +significance, symmetry, and beauty. + +Two things are needful, then: first, we must know Christ through the +teaching of the Holy Ghost; and next, we must receive Him into our +hearts, that we may know Him, as we know the workings of our own +hearts. Each knows himself, and could recognize the mint-mark of his +own individuality; so when Christ has become resident within us, and +has taken the place of our self-life, we know Him as we know ourselves. +"What man knoweth the things of man save the spirit of man which is in +him?--but we have the mind of Christ?" + + +II. THE LORD'S REPLY.--"He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father." + +He did not rebuke the request, as unfit to proffer, or impossible to +satisfy. He took it for granted that such a desire would exist in the +heart, and that His disciples would always want to be led by Him into +the Father's presence. In this His ministry resembled that of the +great forerunner, who led His disciples into the presence of the +Bridegroom, content to decrease if only He might increase. The +Master's answer was, however, widely different from John's. The +forerunner pointed to Jesus as He walked, and said, "Behold the Lamb of +God"; Jesus pointed to Himself, and said, "I and My Father are One; to +have seen Me is to have seen the Father; to have Me is to possess the +Father." + +It troubled the Lord greatly that He had been so long time with them, +and yet they had not known Him; that they had not realized the source +of His words and works; that they had concentrated their thought on +Him, instead of passing, as He meant them to do, from the stream to the +source, from the die to the seal, from the beam of the Divine Glory to +its Sun. He bade them, therefore, from that moment realize that they +knew and had seen the Father in knowing and seeing Himself. Not more +surely had the Shechinah dwelt in the tabernacle of old, than did it +indwell His nature, though too thickly shrouded to be seen by ordinary +and casual eyes. + +Let us get help from this. Many complain that they know Christ, pray +to Christ, are conscious of Christ, but that the Father is far away and +impalpable. They are therefore straining after some new vision or +experience of God, and undervaluing the religious life to which they +have already attained. It is a profound mistake. To have Jesus is to +have God; to know Jesus is to know God; to pray to Jesus is to pray to +God. Jesus is God manifest in the flesh. Look up to Him even now from +this printed page, and say, "My Lord and my God." + +Jesus is not simply an incarnation of God in the sense in which, after +the fashion of the Greek mythology, gods might come down in the +likeness of men, adopting a disguise which they would afterward cast +aside; Jesus is God. All the gentle attributes of His nature are +God's; and all the strong and awful attributes of power, justice, +purity, which we are wont to associate with God, are His also. + +Happy is the moment when we awake to realize that in Jesus we have God +manifest and present; to know this is the revelation of the Father by +the Son, of which our Saviour spoke in Matt. xi. 27. + + +III. A GLIMPSE INTO THE LORD'S INNER LIFE.--This Gospel is the most +lucid and profound treatise in existence on His inner life. It is the +revelation of the principles on which our Saviour lived. + +So absolutely had He emptied Himself that He never spake His own words: +"The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of Myself." He never did +His own works: "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. . . . The +Father abiding in Me doeth His works." This was the result of that +marvellous self-emptying of which the Apostle speaks. Our Lord speaks +as though, in His human nature, He had a choice and will of His own. +"Not My will, but Thine be done," was His prayer. Perhaps it was to +this holy and divine personality that Satan made appeal in the first +temptation, bidding Him use His powers for the satisfaction of His +hunger, and in independence of His Father's appointment. But however +much of this independence was within our Lord's reach, He deliberately +laid it aside. Before He spoke, His spirit opened itself to the +Father, that He might speak by His lips; before He acted. He stilled +the promptings of His own wisdom, and lifted Himself into the presence +of the Father, to ascertain what He was doing, and to receive the +inflow of His energy (John v. 19; xii. 44, 49). + +These are great mysteries, which will engage our further consideration. +In the meanwhile, let us reason that if our Lord was so careful to +subordinate Himself to the Father that He might be all in all, it well +becomes us to restrain ourselves, to abstain from speaking our own +words or doing our own works, that Jesus may pour His energies through +our being, and that those searching words may be fulfilled in us also, +"Striving according to His working, which worketh in Me mightily." + + + + +VII + +The Great Deeds of Prayer + +"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works +that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; +because I go unto My Father."--JOHN xiv. 12. + + +Whenever our Lord was about to say something usually important, He +introduced it by the significant expression, "_Verily, verily_"; or, as +it is in the original, "Amen, amen, I say unto you." The words well +become His lips, who in the Book of Revelation is called "the Amen, the +Faithful and True Witness." They are really our Lord's most solemn +affirmation of the truth of what He was about to utter, as well as an +indication that something of importance is about to be revealed. + +Indeed, it was necessary in the present case that the marvellous +announcement of the text should receive unusual confirmation, because +of its wide extent. If our Lord had ascribed this power of doing +greater works than Himself in His earthly life, to apostle, prophet, or +illustrious saint, we should have required no special assurance of its +deliberate truth; but to learn that powers so transcendent are within +the reach of any ordinary believer, to learn that any one who believes +may outdo the miracles on the outskirts of Nain, and at the tomb of +Bethany, is as startling as it is comforting. There is no reason why +the humblest soul that ponders this page should not become the medium +and vehicle through which the Christ of the glory shall not surpass the +Christ of Galilee, Jerusalem, and Judea. + +The best method of treating these words is to take them clause by +clause as they stand. + + +I. THE FIRST NOTE IS FAITH.--"He that believeth on Me." Three +varieties of faith are alluded to in the context. Faith in His works: +"Believe the works." Faith in His words: "Believe Me." Faith in +Himself, as here. In the Greek the preposition translated _in_, would +be better rendered _into_, as though the believer was ever approaching +the heart of Christ in deeper, warmer, closer fellowship; perpetual +motion _toward_, combined with unbroken rest _in_. Each of these three +forms of faith plays an important part in the Christian life. + +Arrested by the works of Christ--His irresistible power over nature, +His tender pity for those who sought His aid, the blessed and +far-reaching results of His miracles--we cry with Nicodemus, "Verily, +this is a Teacher come from God; for none can do such miracles, except +God be with him." The Master perpetually appealed to the witness borne +by His works to His Divine mission, as when He said, "If I had not done +among them the works which none other did, they had not had sin, but +now have they both seen and hated both Me and My Father." And again, +"The very works that I do bear witness of Me." But at the best the +works of Christ are only like the great bell ringing in the +church-tower calling attention to the life being unfolded within, and +are not calculated to induce the faith to which the greater works are +possible. + +Next we come to the words of Christ. They are spirit and life: they +greatly feed the soul. He speaks as none other has ever spoken of the +mysteries of life, death, God, and eternity. It is through the words +that we come to the Speaker. By feeding on them we are led into vital +union with Himself. But His words, as such, and apart from Him, will +not produce works that shall surpass those He wrought in His earthly +ministry. + +Therefore from works and words we come to the Lord Himself with a trust +which passes up beyond the lower ranges of faith; which does not simply +receive what He waits to give, or reckon upon His faithfulness, but +which unites us in indissoluble union with Himself. This is the +highest function of faith; it is _unitive_: it welds us in living union +with our Lord, so that we are one with Him, as He is one with God. + +We are in Him in the Divine purpose which chose us in Him before the +foundation of the world; grafted into Him in His cross; partaking of a +common life with Him through the regeneration of the Holy Ghost. But +all these become operative in the union wrought by a living faith; so +that the strongest assertions which Jesus made of the close +relationship between His Father and Himself become the current coin of +holy speech, as they precisely describe the union which subsists +between us and Jesus. The living Saviour has sent us, and we live by +the Saviour. The words we speak are not from ourselves, but the +Saviour within us, He doeth His works. We are in Him and He in us, all +ours are His, and His ours. + +Stay, reader, and ask thyself whether thou hast this faith which +incorporates thee with the Man who died for thee on the cross, and now +occupies the Throne, the last Adam who has become a life-giving Spirit. + + +II. A TRUE FAITH ALWAYS WORKS.--"He that believeth in Me, the works +that I do shall He do also." + +There are many counterfeits of faith in the world. Electroplate! +veneer! They will inevitably fail in the last supreme test, if not +before. James especially calls attention to the distinction between a +living and a dead faith. It becomes us to be on our guard. + +The test of genuine faith are twofold. In the _first_ place, a +genuine, living faith has Christ for its object. The hand may tremble, +but it touches His garment's hem; the eye may be dimmed by doubt, but +it is directed toward His face; the feet may stumble, but as the +fainting pilgrim staggers onward, this is his repeated cry, "Thou, O +Christ, art all I want." + +In the _second_ place, a true faith works. Its works approve its +nature, and show that it has reached the heart of Christ, and becomes +the channel through which His life-forces pour into the soul. Jacob +knew that Joseph was alive and that his sons had opened communications +with him, because of the wagons that he sent; and we may know that +Jesus lives beyond the mist of time, and that our faith has genuinely +connected us with Him, because we feel the pulse of His glorious nature +within our own. And when this is so, we cannot but work out what He is +working within. + +Ask me why a true faith must work! Ask why the branch can do no other +than bear clusters of ruddy grapes; its difficulty would be to abstain +from bearing; the vitality of the root accounts for its life and +productiveness. Blame the lark, whose nature vibrates in the sunshine, +for pouring from its small throat acres of sound; blame the child, full +of bounding health, for laughing, singing, and leaping; blame the +musician, whose soul has caught some fragments of the music of +eternity, for pouring it forth in song, before you wonder why it is +that the true faith which has opened the way from the believer to his +Lord produces those greater works. + + +III. THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF WORK INDICATED.--(1) "_The works that I do +shall he do also._"--What a blessing Christ's ministry must have been +to thousands of sufferers! He passed through Galilee as a river of +water of life. In front of Him were deserts of fever blasted by the +sirocco, and malarious swamps of ague and palsy, and the mirage of the +sufferer's deferred hope; but after He had passed, the parched ground +became a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water, the eyes of the +blind were opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped, the lame man +leaped as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sang. + +How glad the sick of any district must have been when it was rumored +that He was on His way to it! What eager consultations must have been +held as to the best means of conveying them into His presence! What +sleepless nights must have been spent of speculation as to whether, and +how, He would heal! + +Such results followed the labors of the apostles. The lame man at the +beautiful gate of the Temple; the palsied Aeneas; the dead Dorcas; the +crowds in the streets over-shadowed by Peter's passing figure; the +miracles wrought by Paul at Paphos, Lystra, Philippi, and Malta--all +attested the truth of the Master's words, "The works that I do shall ye +do also." There is no doubt that, if it were necessary, such miracles +might be repeated, if only the Church exercised the same faith as in +those early days of her ministry to the world. But there are greater +works than these. + +(2) "_Greater works than these shall ye do._"--The soul is greater than +the body, as the jewel than the casket. All work, therefore, which +produces as great an effect on the soul-life as miracles on the +physical life, must be proportionately greater, as the tenant is +greater than the house, as the immortal than the mortal. It is a +greater work to give sight to the blind soul than to the blind body; to +raise the soul from its grave than Lazarus from his four days' sleep. + +Again, eternity is also greater than time, as the ocean is greater than +a creek. The ills from which the miracles of Christ delivered the +suppliant crowds, were at the most limited by years. The flesh of the +leper became wrinkled with old age; Jairus' daughter fell again on +sleep; the generation which had been benefited by the mighty works, +passed away without handing on a legacy of health to succeeding time! +But if a sinner is turned from the error of his ways, if salvation +comes to a nature destined for immortality, and lifts it from the +slough of sin to the light of God, the results must be greater because +more permanent and far-reaching. + +Moreover, the pain from which the word of the Gospel may save, is +infinitely greater than that which disease could inflict. Men have +been known to brave any physical torture rather than endure the +insupportable anguish of a sin-laden conscience. The worm that never +dies is more intolerable than cancer; the fire that is never quenched +keener than that of fever. To save a soul from these is, therefore, a +greater work. + +Christ hinted at this distinction in one of His earliest miracles, when +He proposed to forgive the sick of the palsy his sins, before bidding +him walk; and bade the seventy rejoice more that their names were +written in heaven than that the devils were subject to them. The +apostles bear witness to a growing appreciation of this distinction, by +the small space given in the Acts of the Apostles to their miracles, +compared with the greater attention concentrated on their discourses; +and surely the history of Christendom bears witness to the great and +permanent character of spiritual work. The Church could not have +influenced the world as she has done, had she been nothing more than a +healer of diseases and an exorciser of demons. + + +IV. THE SOURCE OF THESE GREATER WORKS.--"Because I go to the Father." +Clearly the Church has had an argument to present to men which even her +Master could not use. He could not point, except indefinitely, to the +cross, its flowing blood, its testimony to a love which the cold waters +of death could not staunch. Through the ages this has been the +master-motive, the supreme argument. + +Then, again, the Master could not count upon the cooeperation of the +Spirit in His convicting power, as we can. "When He is come, He will +convict the world of sin"; but He did not come till after that brief +career of public ministry had closed. Speaking reverently, we may say +that the Church has an Ally that even her Master had not. + +But the main reason is yet to come. Perhaps an illustration will best +explain it. Supposing the great painter, Raphael, were to infuse his +transcendent power, as he possessed it during his mortal life, into +some young brain, there is no reason why the genius of the immortal +painter should not effect, through a mere tyro in art, results in form +and color as marvellous as those which he bequeathed to coming time. +But suppose, further, that after having been three hundred years amid +the tones, forms, and colors of the heavenly world, he could return, +and express his thoughts and conceptions through some human medium, +would not these later productions be greater works than those which men +cherish as a priceless legacy? So if the Lord were to work in us such +works only as He did before He ascended to His glory, they would be +inferior to those which He can produce now that He has entered into His +glorified state, and has reassumed the power of which He emptied +Himself when He stooped to become incarnate. This is what He meant +when He said, "Because I go unto the Father." + +Open your hearts to the living, risen, glorified Saviour. Let Him live +freely in your life, and work unhindered through your faith; expect Him +to pour through you as a channel some of those greater works which must +characterize the closing years of the present age. Remember how the +discourses and miracles of His earthly life even increased in +importance and meaning; for such must be the law of His ministry in the +heavenlies. According to our faith it will be unto us. The results +which we see around us are no measure of what Christ would or could do, +they indicate the straitening effect of our unbelief. Lift up your +heads, O ye gates, and be ye lifted up, ye low-browed doors of +unbelief; and the King of Glory shall come in with His bright and +mighty retinue, and shall go out through human lives to do greater +works by the instrumentality of His people than ever He wrought in the +course of His earthly ministry. + + + + +VIII + +How to Secure More and Better Prayer + +"And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, +that He may abide with you forever."--JOHN xiv. 16. + + +The great lack of our life is that we do not pray more. And there is +no failure so disastrous or criminal as this. It is very difficult to +account for it. If in all times of discouragement and vicissitude we +could have access to one of the wisest and noblest of our fellow +creatures, or to some venerated departed saint, or to the guardian +angel deputed to attend our steps, or to the archangel that presides as +vicegerent over this system of worlds, how strong and brave we should +become! Whatever our need, we would at once seek His august presence, +and obtain His counsel and assistance. How extraordinary is our +behavior then with respect to prayer, and that we make so little of our +opportunities of access into the presence of our Father, in whom +wisdom, power, and love blend perfectly, and who is always willing to +hear us--nay, is perpetually urging us to come! + +The reason may lie in the very commonness of our opportunities. The +swing-door of prayer stands always waiting for the least touch of faith +to press it back. If our Father's presence-chamber were opened to us +only once a year, with how much greater reverence would we enter it, +how much more store would we set on it! We should anticipate the honor +and privilege of that interview for the whole year, and eagerly avail +ourselves of it. Alas, that familiarity with prayer does not always +increase our appreciation of its magnificence! + +The cause of our apathy is probably also to be sought in the effort +which is required to bring our sensuous and earth-bound natures into +true union with the Spirit of God. True prayer is labor. Epaphras +labored in his intercessions. Our feet shrink from the steep pathway +that climbs those heights; our lungs do not readily accustom themselves +to the rare air that breathes around the summit of the Mount of +Communion. + +But there is a deeper reason yet: we have not fully learned or obeyed +the laws and conditions of prayer. Until they are apprehended and +complied with, it is not possible for us to pray as we might. They are +not, however, very recondite. The least advanced in the Divine school +may read them on this page, where Christ unbares the deepest philosophy +of devotion in the simplest phrases. + +It is evident that He expected that the age which Pentecost was to +inaugurate, and to which He so frequently refers as "in that day," +would in a special sense be the Age of Prayer. Mark how frequently in +this last discourse He refers to it--(xiv. 13, 14; xv. 7, 16; xvi. 24, +26). Clearly the infilling of the Holy Spirit has a special bearing on +the prayerfulness of the individual and the Church. But this will +unfold as we proceed. + + +I. THE PRAYING CHRIST.--"I will pray the Father." It is true that He +sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, because He had +completed the work for which He became man. That session indicated a +finished atonement. As the Father rested from the work of creation, so +the Son entered into His rest, having ceased from the work of +redemption, so far as it could be effected in His death, resurrection, +and ascension. But as in His rest the Father worked in Providence, +sustaining that which He had created, so did the Saviour continue to +work after He had entered into His Sabbath-keeping. + +We have already dealt with one branch of His twofold activity, in _His +work through those who believe_. The greater works which the risen +Saviour has been, and is, achieving through His people bear witness to +the perpetual energy streaming from His life in the azure depths. "The +apostles," Mark tells us, "went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord +working with them, and confirming their word with signs following." + +The other branch of His twofold ministry is _His intercession on our +behalf_. He says, "I will pray the Father" for you. + +(1) What a contrast to the assertions which we have already pondered of +His oneness with the Father, and to His assurance in almost the same +breath that He would Himself answer His people's prayers! It is +inexplicable, save on the hypothesis that He has a dual nature, by +virtue of which, on the one hand, He is God, who answers prayer, and on +the other the Son of Man, who pleads as the Head and Representative of +a redeemed race. + +(2) It is, however, in harmony with Old Testament symbolism. The High +Priest often entered the Presence of God with the names of the people +on his breast, the seat of love, and on his shoulder, the seat of +power; and once a year, with a bowl of blood and sprig of thyme in his +hands, pleaded for the entire nation. What more vivid portrayal could +there be of the ceaseless intercession of that High Priest who was once +manifested to bear the sin of many, and who now appears in the presence +of God for us. + +(3) In the days of His flesh, He pleaded for His _Church_, as in the +sublime intercessory prayer of chapter xvii.; for _individuals_, as +when He said, "Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired to have you that he may +sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee"; and for _the world_, as +when He first assumed His High-priestly functions, saying from His +cross, "Father, forgive them; they know not what they do." Thus He +pleads still. For Zion's sake He does not hold His peace, and for +Jerusalem's sake He does not rest. For His Church, for individual +believers, for thee and me, He says in heaven, as on earth, "Father, I +pray for them." Perennially from His lips pours out a stream of tender +supplication and entreaty. This is the river that makes glad the city +of God. Anticipating coming trial; interposing when the cobra-coil is +beginning to encircle us; pitying us when the sky is overcast and +lowering; not tiring or ceasing, though we are heedless and unthankful; +He pleads on the mountain brow through the dark hours, whilst we sleep. + +(4) These intercessions are further stimulated by our love and +obedience. "If ye love Me, keep My commandments, _and_ I will pray the +Father." He looks on us, and where love is yearning to love more +fully, and obedience falters in its high endeavors, He prays yet more +eagerly, that grace may be given us to be what we long to be. He prays +for those who do not pray for themselves; but He is even more intent on +the perfecting of those who are the objects of His special interest, +because of their loyalty and love--"I pray for them; I pray not for the +world." + +(5) His special petition is that we may receive the gift of Pentecost. +"I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter." It +would almost seem as though He spent the mysterious ten days between +His ascension and Pentecost in special intercession that His Church +might be endued with power from on high. The pleading Church on earth +and the pleading Saviour in heaven were at one. The two voices agreed +in perfect symphony, and Pentecost was the Father's answer. The +Saviour prayed to the Father, and He gave another Comforter. Nor has +He ceased in this sublime quest. It is not improbable that every +revival of religion, every fresh and deeper baptism of the Spirit, +every new infilling of individual souls, has been due to our Saviour's +strong cryings on our behalf. It may be that at this hour He is +engaged in asking the Father that He would dower the universal Church +with another Pentecost; and if so, let us join Him in the prayer. + + +II. THE PRAYING CHURCH.--"Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name." + +(1) Prayer must be addressed to the Father. As soon as we utter that +sacred name, the Divine nature responds; and, to put it vividly, is on +the alert to hear what we desire. A little child cannot utter a sigh +however slight, a sob however smothered, without awakening the quick +attention of its mother; and at the first whisper of our Father's name, +He is at hand to hear and bless. Alas! we have too often grieved His +Holy Spirit by a string of selfish petitions, or a number of formal +platitudes! To the wonderment of angels, we thus fritter away the most +precious and sacred opportunities. Be still, then, before you pray, to +consider what to ask; order your prayers for presentation: and be sure +to begin the blessed interview with words of sincere and loving +appreciation and devotion. + +(2) The conditions of successful prayer are clearly defined in these +words. There must be _love_ to Christ and to all men; _obedience_ to +His will, so far as it is revealed; _recognition_ of His mediation and +intercession, as alone giving us the right to draw nigh; +_identification_ with Him, so as to be able to use His name; +_passionate desires for the Father's glory_. Where these five +conditions exist, there can be no doubt as to our receiving the +petitions which we offer. Prayer that complies with them cannot fail, +since it is only the return tide of an impulse which has emanated from +the heart of God. + +(3) Note how the Saviour lives for the promotion of His Father's glory. +How often, during His earthly ministry, He declared that He was +desiring and seeking this beyond all else! Though His prayer could +only be granted by His falling into the ground to die, He never +flinched from saying, "Father, glorify Thy Name." But here He tells us +that through the ages as they pass He will still be set on the same +quest. By all means He must glorify His Father; and if, in any prayer +of ours, we can show that what we ask will augment the Father's glory, +we are certain to obtain His concurrence and glad acquiescence. +"That," He says, "will I do." + +(4) We must pray "in His Name." As the ambassador speaks in the name +of queen and country; as the tax-collector appeals in the name of the +authorities; both deriving from their identification with their +superiors an authority they could not otherwise exercise; so our words +become weighted with a great importance when we can say to our Father, +"We are so one with Jesus that He is asking in and through us; these +words are His; these desires His; these objects those on which His +heart is set. We have His sanction and authority to use His name." +When we ask a favor in the name of another, that other is the +petitioner, through us; so when we approach God in the Name of Jesus, +it is not enough to append His sacred name as a formula, but we must +see to it that Jesus is pleading in us, asking through our lips, as He +is asking through His own in the heart of the sapphire throne. + + +III. THE LINK BETWEEN THESE TWO.--"He will give you another Comforter." +The word Comforter might be rendered Advocate. We have two Advocates; +one with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous, and one with us. As +the one went up, the other came down. As the one sat down at the right +hand of God, the other rested on the heads and hearts of the company in +the upper room. As the one has compassion on our infirmities, so the +other helps our infirmities. As the one ever liveth to intercede for +us in heaven, so the other maketh intercession in us for the saints +with groanings that cannot be uttered. + +This is the clue to the mystery of prayer. It is all-important that +the Church on earth should be in accord with its Head in His petitions +before the Throne. Of what avail is it for a client and advocate to +enter an earthly court of justice unless they are in agreement? Of +what use is it to have two instruments in an orchestra which are not +perfectly in tune? And how can we expect that God will hear us unless +we ask what is according to His will, and, therefore, what is in the +heart and thought of Jesus? + +This, then, is the problem that confronts us. How can we ascertain +what Jesus is pleading for? We may guess it generally, but how be +assured of it particularly? Who will tell us the direction in which +the current of His mighty pleadings is setting, that we may take the +same direction? These inquiries are answered in the ministry of the +Holy Spirit. On the one hand, He fills and moves the Head, and on the +other, His members. There is one Spirit of life between Jesus in the +glory and His believing people everywhere. One ocean washes the shores +of all natures in which the life of God is found. + +Be still, therefore, and listen carefully to the voice of the Spirit of +God speaking in thine heart, as thou turnest from all other sounds +toward His still small whisper, and He will tell thee all. Coming, as +He does, from the heart of Jesus, He will tell thee His latest thought. +In Him we have the mind of Christ. Then, sure that we are one with +Him, and therefore with the Father, we shall ask what is according to +His will to give. Prayer goes in an eternal circle. It begins in the +heart of God, comes to us through the Saviour and by the Spirit, and +returns through us again to its source. It is the teaching of the +raindrops, of the tides, of the procession of the year; but wrought out +and exemplified in the practice of holy hearts. + + + + +IX + +The Other Paraclete + +"He shall give you another Comforter."--JOHN xiv. 16. + + +There was no doubt in our Lord's mind that His asking would be at once +followed by the Father's giving. Indeed, the two actions seemed, in +His judgment, indissolubly connected--"I will ask, and He shall give." +From which we learn that prayer is a necessary link in the order of the +Divine government. Though we are assured that what we ask is in God's +purpose to communicate--that it lies in the heart of a promise, or in +the line of the Divine procedure, yet we must nevertheless make +request. "Ye have not," said the Apostle James, "because ye ask not." +"Ask," said the Master, His eye being open to the laws of the spiritual +world, "and it shall be given you." + +The prayer of the Head of the Church was heard, and He received the +Holy Spirit to bestow Him again. "Having received of the Father the +promise of the Holy Spirit," said the Apostle Peter, "He hath shed +forth this, which ye now see and hear." Thus the Holy Spirit is the +gift of the Father, through the Son, though He is equal with each of +the blessed Persons in the Trinity, and is with them to be worshipped +and glorified. + + +I. THE PERSONALITY OF THE HOLY GHOST.--That word, "another"--"He shall +give you _another_ Comforter"--is in itself sufficient to prove the +Divinity and Personality of the Holy Ghost. If a man promises to send +another as his substitute, we naturally expect to see a man like +himself, occupying his place, and doing his work. And when Jesus +foreannounced another Comforter, He must have intended a Person as +distinct and helpful as He had been. A breath, an afflatus, an +impersonal influence could not have stood in the same category with +Himself. + +There are those who think that the Holy Spirit is to the Lord Jesus +what a man's spirit is to his body; and imagine that our Lord simply +intended that the spirit of His life-teaching and self-sacrifice would +brood over and inspire His followers; but this could not have fulfilled +the promise of "the other Comforter." It would simply have been +Himself over again, though no longer as a living Person; rather as the +momentum and energy of a receding force which gets weaker and ever +weaker as the ages pass. Thus the spirit of Napoleon or of Caesar is +becoming little more than a dim faint echo of footsteps that once shook +the world. + +Jesus knew how real and helpful He had been to His followers--the +centre around which they had rallied; their Teacher, Brother, Master; +and He would not have tantalized them by promising another Paraclete, +unless He had intended to announce the advent of One who would adjust +Himself to their needs with that quickness of perception, and +sufficiency of resource, which characterize a personal Leader and +Administrator. There were times approaching when the little band would +need counsel, direction, sympathy, the interposition of a strong wise +Hand--qualities which could not be furnished by the remembrance of the +past, fading like the colors on clouds when the sun has set; and which +could only be secured by the presence of a strong, wise, ever-present +Personality. "I have been one Paraclete," said the Lord in effect; +"but I am now going to plead your cause with the Father, that another +Paraclete may take My place, to be My other self, and to abide with you +forever." + +There is no adequate translation for that word _Paraclete_. It may be +rendered Comforter, Helper, Advocate, Interpreter; but no one word +suffices. The Greek simply means one whom you call to your side, in a +battle, or a law-court, to assist you by word or act. Such a One is +Christ; such a One is the Holy Spirit. He is a definite Person whom +you can call to, and lean on, and work with. If a man were drowning, +he would not call to the wandering breath of the wind; but to any +person who might be on the bank. The Spirit is One whom you can summon +to your side; and it is therefore quite in keeping with Scripture to +pray to the Holy Spirit. On the whole we are taught to direct prayer +to the Father, through the Son, and as prompted by the Holy Spirit; but +as a matter of practice and habit, it is indifferent which Person in +the Holy Trinity we address, for each is equally God. As the Father is +God, so also is the Son, and so the Holy Spirit. In her hymns and +liturgies the Church has never hesitated to summon the Holy Spirit to +her help. + +It is in recognition of the Personality of the Holy Spirit that the +historian of the Acts of the Apostles quotes His solemn words, +"Separate _Me_ Barnabas and Saul"; tells us that Ananias and Sapphira +lied to Him; and records that the Church at Jerusalem commenced its +encyclical letter with the words, "It seemed good to the Holy Ghost and +to us." Happy that body of Christians which has come to realize that +the Holy Ghost is as certainly, literally, and personally present in +its midst, as Jesus Christ was present when, in the days of His flesh, +He tarried among men! + + +II. A SEVENFOLD PARALLEL BETWEEN THE ADVENTS OF THE TWO +PARACLETES.--(1) _Each was in the world before His specific +advent._--Long before His incarnation the delights of the Son of God +were with men. In Angel-form, He visited their tents, spoke with them +face to face, calmed their fears, and fought on their behalf. He trod +the holy fields of Palestine with noiseless footfall that left no +impress on the lightest sands, long before He learned to walk with +baby-feet, or bore His cross up Calvary. + +So with the Holy Spirit. He brooded over chaos, strove with men before +the deluge, moved holy men to write the Scriptures, foreshadowed the +advent of the Messiah, equipped prophets and kings for their special +mission. In restraining evil, urging to good, preparing the way for +Christ, the Holy Spirit found abundant scope for His energies. But His +influence was rather external than internal; savored rather of gift +than grace; and dealt more often with the few than with the many--with +the great souls that reared themselves to heaven like Alpine summits +touched with the fires of dawn, rather than with the generality of men, +who dwelt in the valley of daily commonplace, enwrapped in the mists of +ignorance and unbelief. It was to be the special prerogative of this +age, that He should be poured out on all flesh, so that sons and +daughters should prophesy, whilst servants and handmaidens participated +in His gracious influences. + +(2) _The advent of each was previously announced._--From the Fall, the +coming of the great Deliverer was foretold in type and sign, in speech +and act, in history and prophecy. Indeed, as the time of the +Incarnation drew nigh, as Milton tells us in his sublime ode on the +Incarnation, surrounding nations had caught from the chosen people the +spirit of expectancy, and the world was in feverish anticipation of the +coming of its Redeemer. He was the Desire of all nations. All the +ages, and all the family of man, accompanied Mary to Bethlehem, and +worshipped with the Magi. + +So with the Holy Spirit. Joel distinctly foretold that in the last +days of that dispensation. God would pour out of His Spirit; and His +message is echoed by Isaiah, Zechariah, Ezekiel, and others; till Jesus +came, who more specifically and circumstantially led the thoughts of +His disciples forward to the new age then dawning, which should be +introduced and signalized by the coming and ministry of the Spirit. + +(3) _Each was manifested in a body._--The Lord Jesus in that which was +prepared for Him by the Father, and born of a pure Virgin. We are +told, that He took on Him the form of a servant, and was made in the +likeness of man. Similarly the Holy Spirit became, so to speak, +incorporate in that mystical Body, the Church, of which Jesus is the +Head. + +On the day of Pentecost, the hundred and twenty who were gathered in +the upper room, and who, up to that time, had had no corporate +existence, were suddenly constituted a Church, the habitation and home +of the Divine Spirit. What the human body of Jesus was to the second +Person of the Holy Trinity, that the infant Church was to the third; +though it did not represent the whole body, since we must add to those +gathered in the upper room many more in heaven and on earth, who by +virtue of their union with the risen Christ constituted with them the +Holy Catholic Church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who +filleth all in all. "This," said the Blessed Spirit, "is My rest +forever; here will I dwell, for I have desired it." + +(4) _Each was named before His advent._--"Thou shalt call His name +Emmanuel." "His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty +God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." Thus was the Lord +Jesus designated to loving hearts before His birth. + +So also with the Holy Spirit. The last discourses of Jesus are full of +appellatives, each setting forth some new phase of the Holy Spirit's +ministry; some freshly-cut facet of His character. The Spirit of +Truth; the Holy Spirit; the Paraclete; the Spirit of Conviction--such +are some of the names by which He was to be known. + +(5) _Each was dependent on another._--Our Lord said distinctly, "The +Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do"; and He +said of the Holy Spirit, using the same preposition, "He shall not +speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak." + +What a conception is here! It is as though the Holy Spirit were ever +listening to the Divine colloquy and communion between the Father and +the Son, and communicating to receptive hearts disclosures of the +secrets of the Deity. The things which eye hath not seen, nor ear +heard, God hath revealed unto us by His Spirit; "for the Spirit +searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." + +(6) _Each received witness._--The Father bore witness to His Son on +three separate occasions. On the first, at His baptism, He said, "This +is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased"; on the second, when the +three apostles were with Him on the holy mount, and He received from +the Father glory and honor; and on the third, when the inquiry of the +Greeks reminded Him of His approaching death, and the voice from heaven +assured Him that glory would accrue to the Father through His falling +into the ground to die. + +So in regard to the Holy Spirit. Seven times from the throne the +ascended Lord summons those that have ears, to hear what the Spirit +saith to the churches; as though to emphasize the urgent importance of +His message, and the necessity of giving it our most earnest heed, lest +we should drift past it. + +(7) _The presence of each is guaranteed during the present age._--"I am +with you," saith the Lord, and they were among the closing words of His +posthumous ministry, "all the days, even unto the end of the age"; and +here it is foretold that the Comforter would abide during the age, for +so the phrase might more accurately be rendered. + +This is specially the age of the Holy Spirit. He may be grieved, +ignored, and rejected; but He will not cease His blessed ministry to +the bride, till the Bridegroom comes to claim her for Himself. Oh, let +us avail ourselves of His gracious presence to the utmost of our +opportunity, that He may realize in us the full purpose of His +ministry. Let us not pray for Him, as if in any degree He had been +withdrawn, but as believing that He is as much with the Church of +to-day as on the day of Pentecost; as near us as when awe-struck eyes +beheld Him settling in flame on each meekly-bowed head. + +The Lord said, "He shall remain with you to the end of the age." The +age is not closed, therefore He must be with us here and now. There +can be no waning of His grace or power. The pot of oil is in the +Church, only she has ceased to bring her empty vessels. The mine is +beneath our feet, but we do not work it as of yore. The electric +current is vibrating around, but we have lost the art of switching +ourselves on to its flow. It is not necessary then for us to pray the +Father that He should give the Holy Paraclete in the sense in which He +bestowed Him on the Day of Pentecost in answer to the request of our +Lord. That prayer has been answered: the Paraclete is here; but we +need to have the eyes of our heart opened to perceive, and the hand of +our faith strengthened that we may receive, Him. + +The work of the Holy Spirit in and through us is conditioned by certain +great laws, which call for our definite and accurate obedience. Not on +emotion, nor on hysteric appeals, nor on excitement, but on obedience, +does the power of God's Spirit pass into human hearts and lives. +Therefore, let us walk in the Paracletism of the Paraclete, continually +in the current of His gracious influences, which will bear us on their +bosom ever nearer to our Lord. Oh to glorify Him; to know and love +Him; to become passionately eager that all hearts should enthrone Him +regardless of the personal cost it may involve! Glory be to the +Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the +beginning, is now, and shall be forevermore. Amen. + + + + +X + +The Three Dispensations + +"The Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth +Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with +you, and shall be in you."--JOHN xiv. 17. + + +They are lofty themes which we have been discussing in the foregoing +pages; and just because they touch the highest matters of the spiritual +life, they involve us in profound responsibility. It was because +Capernaum had been exalted to heaven in privilege, that she could be +cast down to hell. Of those to whom much is given, much is required. +Better not to have known these truths of the inner life, if we are +content to know them only by an intellectual apprehension, and make no +effort to incorporate them into the texture of our character. Few +things harden more certainly than to delight in the presentation of the +mysteries of the kingdom, without becoming the child of the kingdom. + +The object, therefore, which now engages us is less one of elucidation +than of self-examination. Let us discern ourselves. Let us see +whether we be in the faith. Let us expose soul and spirit to the +discrimination of the Word of God, which is a discerner of the thoughts +and intents of the heart. + + +I. THERE ARE TWO AVENUES OF KNOWLEDGE.--"Whom the world cannot receive, +because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him." Three things are +specified as beyond the range of the world's power: it does not +receive, it does not know, it does not see, the things of the unseen +and eternal world. It cannot see them, therefore it does not know +them, and therefore does not receive them, and this is especially true +of its attitude toward the Holy Ghost. + +When the world hears talk of the Holy Spirit it brings to bear upon Him +those organs of cognition which it has been accustomed to apply to the +objects of the natural world, and even to the human life of Christ. +But, as might have been expected, these are altogether useless. It is +as absurd to endeavor to detect the presence of the spiritual and +eternal by the faculties with which we discern what is seen and +temporal, as it would be to attempt to receive the impression of a +noble painting by the sense of taste, or to deal with the problems of +astronomy by the tests that are employed in chemical analysis. The +world, however, does not realize its mistake. It persists in applying +tests to the Spirit of God which may be well enough in other regions of +discovery, but which are worse than useless here. "The natural man +receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he know +them, because they are spiritually discerned." "Whom the world cannot +receive, for it beholdeth Him not, neither knoweth Him." + +There was a touch of this worldly spirit even in Thomas, when he said, +"Except I see in His hand the print of the nails, and thrust my hand +into His side, I will not believe"; and in so far as the world-spirit +is permitted to hold sway within us, our powers of spiritual perception +will be blunted, and become infected with the tendency to make our +intellect or imagination our sole means of apprehending Divine truth. + +There is a better way than this; and our Lord indicates it when He +says, "Ye know Him, for He abideth with you, and shall be in you." +Pascal said, "The world knows in order to love: the Christian loves, in +order to know." The same thought underlies these words of Christ. The +world attempts to see the Spirit, that it may know and receive Him; the +child of God receives Him by an act of faith that he may know Him. + +An illustration of this habit is given in the story of Naaman. The +spirit of the world whispered to him of the desirability of _knowing_ +that the waters of Israel possessed curative properties, before he +committed himself absolutely to the prophet's directions; and if he had +waited to know before bathing in them, he would have remained a +helpless leper to the end of his days. His servants, however, had a +clearer perception of the way of faith, and persuaded him to dip seven +times in the Jordan. He acted on the suggestion, dipped seven times, +and his flesh came as that of a little child. Similarly we are called +to act upon grounds which the world would hold to be inadequate. We +hear the testimony of another; we recognize a suitability in the +promise of the Scripture to meet the deep yearnings of our soul; we +feel that the words and works of Jesus Christ constitute a unique claim +for Him, and we open our hearts toward Him. In absolute humility and +perfect obedience we yield to Him our whole nature. Though the night +be yet dark, we fling wide our windows to the warm southwest wind +coming over the sea. The result is that we begin to know, with an +intuitive knowledge that cannot be shaken by the pronouncements of the +higher criticism. We have received the Spirit, and our after life is +too short to unfold all that is involved in that unspeakable gift. We +know Him because He abideth with us, and is in us. No man knoweth the +things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him; and we can +only know the Spirit of God when He has taken up His residence within +us, and witnesses with our spirit, as One who is interwoven with the +very texture of the inner life. + +Consecration is therefore the key to this higher knowledge, and if any +who read this page are yearning after a discernment of the things of +God on which they may build the house of their faith amid the swirl of +the storm and the beat of the wave of modern doubt, let them open their +entire nature, humbly to receive, diligently to obey that Spirit whom +Christ waits to give to all who seek. + + +II. THE CHARACTERISTIC OF THIS DISPENSATION.--"He shall be _in_ you." +It has been repeatedly said that creation is the work of the Father, +redemption of the Son, and regeneration of the Holy Spirit. It may +also be said, that there are three dispensations: that of the Father, +in the earlier history of mankind; that of the Son, culminating in our +Lord's ascension; and that of the Holy Spirit, in which we are now +living. In the history of the world these were successive. In the +history of souls they may be the contemporaneous. In the same house +one member may be in the dispensation of the Father, another in that of +the Son, and a third in that of the Holy Ghost. It is highly +necessary, says the saintly Fletcher, that every good steward of the +mysteries of God should be well acquainted with this fact, otherwise he +will not rightly divide the word of life. There is peril lest we +should give the truth of one order of dispensation to those who are +living on another level of experience. + +There is a remarkable illustration of this in the life of John the +Baptist, who clearly realized the distinction on which we are dwelling, +and used it with remarkable nicety, when approached by various classes +of character. When Gentile soldiers came to him, in Roman regimentals, +he merely bade them do violence to no man, and be content with their +wages. When Jews came he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!" To his eagle +eye a further dispensation was unveiled to which he alluded when he +said, "He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire." +Similarly they to whom inquirers address themselves should diagnose +their spiritual standing, that they may lovingly and wisely administer +the truth suitable to their condition. + +_The dispensation of the Father_ includes those who hope that He has +accepted and forgiven them, but have no clear perception of the atoning +work of Christ; are governed rather by fear than love; tremble beneath +the thunders of Sinai more often than they rejoice at the spectacle of +Calvary; are tossed to and fro between hope and despair; desire the +favor of God, but hesitate to speak confidently of having attained it. +Such are to be found in churches where the Gospel is veiled beneath +heavy curtains of misconception and formalism. In the same class we +might put men like Cornelius, who in every nation fear God and work +righteousness. + +_The dispensation of the Son_ includes those who clearly perceive His +Divine nature, and rejoice in His finished propitiation; they know that +they are accepted in the Beloved; they receive His teachings about the +Father; they submit to the rule of life which He has laid down; but +they know comparatively little of the inner life, or of their oneness +with Christ in resurrection and ascension; they understand little of +what the apostle meant by speaking of Christ being formed in the soul; +and like the disciples at Ephesus they know but little of the mission +and in-filling of the Holy Spirit. + +_The dispensation of the Holy Spirit_ includes those who have claimed +their share in Pentecost. In their hearts the Paraclete dwells in +sanctifying grace, on their heads He rests in mighty anointing. The +previous class resemble Ruth the gleaner; the latter, Ruth the bride. +The one dwells in Romans vii. and Hebrews iii.; the other in Romans +viii. and Hebrews iv. For those the water has to be drawn from the +well, in these it springs up to everlasting life. Oh to know the +"in-ness" of the Holy Ghost. Know ye not that Jesus Christ is in you +by the Spirit, unless ye be reprobate! + + +III. THE SYMPTOMS OF THE INDWELLING.--We must distinguish here, as Dr. +Steele suggests, between what is variable, and what is constant. + +_These vary_--(1) The joy of realization, which is sometimes +overpowering in its intensity, at other times like the ebbing tide. + +(2) Agony for souls, which would be insupportable if it were permanent. +Christ only asks us to watch in Gethsemane for one hour. + +(3) Access in prayer. Sometimes the vision is face to face; at others, +though we grasp as in Jacob's night-wrestle, we cannot behold. Like +Esther, we seem to wait in the ante-chamber. As the lark of which +Jeremy Taylor speaks, we rise against the east wind. + +(4) The openings of Scripture. The Bible does not seem to be always +equally interesting. At times it is like the scented letter paper, +smelling of aloes and cassia, bearing the handwriting we love; at +others it resembles the reading book of the blind man, the characters +in which, by constant use, have become almost obliterated, so as hardly +to awake answering thought. + +(5) The pressure of temptation. We sometimes think that we are getting +out of the zone of temptation. The pressure is so reduced that we +think we shall never suffer again as we have done. Then, all suddenly, +it bursts upon us, as the fury of the storm, when, after an hour's +cessation, it takes the mariner unawares. + +All these symptoms are too variable to be relied upon for a diagnosis +of our spiritual condition, or an evidence of the dispensation to which +we belong. + +_These are constant_--(1) The consciousness of being God's. This is to +be distinguished from the outgoing of our faith and love toward God. +At the beginning of our experience we hold Him, but as the Holy Spirit +dwells more fully we realize that we are held by Him. It is not our +love to God, but His love to us; not our faith, but His faithfulness; +not the sheep keeping near the Shepherd, but the Shepherd keeping the +sheep near to Himself. A happy sense steals over the heart, as over +the spouse, "I am my Beloved's, and His desire is toward me." + +(2) The supremacy of Jesus in the heart. There is no longer a double +empire of self and Christ, as in the poor Indian who said to the +missionary, "I am two Indians, good and bad"; but there is the +undivided reign of Christ, who has put down all rule and authority and +power--as in the case of Martin Luther, who said, "If any one should +ask of my heart, who dwells here, I should reply, not Martin Luther, +but Christ." + +(3) Peace, which looks out upon the future without alarm, because so +sure that Christ will do His very best in every day that lies hidden +beneath the haze of the future; which forbears to press its will too +vehemently, or proffer its request too eagerly, because so absolutely +certain that Jesus will secure the highest happiness possible, +consistently with His glory and our usefulness to men. + +(4) Love. When the Spirit of God really dwells within, there is a +baptism of love which evinces itself not only in the household, and to +those naturally lovable, but goes out to all the world, and embraces in +its tenderness such as have no natural traits of beauty. Thus the soft +waters of the Southern Ocean lap against unsightly rocks and stretches +of bare shingle. + +Where love reigns in the inner chamber of the soul, doors do not slam, +bells are not jerked violently, soft tones modulate the speech, gentle +steps tread the highways of the world, bent on the beautiful work of +the messengers of peace, and the very atmosphere of the life is warm +and sunny as an aureole. There is no doubt of the indwelling Spirit +where there is this outgoing love. + +(5) Deliverance from the love and power of sin, so that it becomes +growingly distasteful, and the soul turns with loathing from the +carrion on which it once fed contentedly. This begets a sense of +purity, robed in which the soul claims kinship to the white-robed +saints of the presence-chamber, and reaches out toward the blessedness +of the pure in heart who see God. There is still a positive rain of +smut and filth in the world around; there is a recognition of the evil +tendencies of the self-life, which will assert themselves unless +graciously restrained; but triumphing above all is the purity of the +indwelling Lord, who Himself becomes in us the quality for which holy +souls eagerly long. + + + + +XI + +Three Paradoxes + +"I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." + +"The world seeth Me no more; but ye see Me." + +"Because I live, ye shall live also."--JOHN xiv. 18, 19. + + +The Bible and Christian life are full of paradoxes. Paul loved to +enumerate them; they abound also in the discourses of our Lord. Here +are three. + +The Master had declared His purpose of leaving His apostles and friends +and returning to His Father: but in the same breath He says, "I will +not leave you desolate; I come to you." + +Again, He had forewarned them that He would be hidden from them; yet +now He tells them that they would still behold Him. + +Further, with growing emphasis and clearness, He had unfolded His +approaching death by the cruel Roman method of the cross; yet He claims +the timeless life of an ever-present tense and insists that their life +will depend on His. + +Absent, yet present; hidden, yet visible; dying, yet living and +life-giving--such are the paradoxes of this paragraph in His marvellous +farewell discourse; and they reveal three facts of which we may live in +perpetual cognizance. + + +I. WE MAY ENJOY THE PERPETUAL RECOGNITION OF THE ADVENT OF CHRIST.--"I +will not leave you orphans, or desolate, I come unto you" (R. V.). +Note the majesty of those last words; they are worthy of Deity; He +speaks as though He were always drawing nigh those He loves: "I come +unto you." + +_Christ is always present, yet He comes._--The Creator had been always +immanent in His universe, but He came in each creative act; the +Lawgiver had been ever-present in the Church in the wilderness, but He +came down on Sinai, and His glory lit up the peaks of sandstone rock; +the Deliverer was never for a moment absent from the side of the +Shepherd-King, but in answer to His cry for help He came down riding +upon a cherub, flying on the wings Of wind; the Holy Spirit had been in +the world from the earliest days of prayer and inspired speech, but He +came down from the throne to sit on each bowed head in lambent flame. +So Christ is with us all the days, yet He comes. He will come at last +to receive His own to Himself, and to judge the world; but He comes in +dark and lonely hours that we may not be desolate. + + "For warm, sweet, tender, even yet + A present help is He; + And faith has yet its Olivet + And love its Galilee. + The heeling of His seamless dress + Is by our beds of pain; + We touch Him in life's throng and press, + And we are whole again." + + +_He comes when we need Him most._--When the storm is high, and the +water is pouring into the boat; when the house is empty because the +life that made it home has fled; when Jericho has to be attacked on the +morrow, and the Jordan crossed; when lover and friend stand aloof; when +light is fading before dimming eyes, and names and faces elude the +grasp of the aged mind; when the last coal is turning to grey ash; when +the rush of the river is heard in the valley below--Jesus says, I come. +It is in the hour of desolation, when Lazarus has been in the grave +four days already, that the glad tidings are whispered in the ear of +the mourner, "The Master is come." "I will not leave you orphans," He +said, "I come unto you." Oh, blessed orphanhood, it were well to be +bereaved, to have such comforting! + +_He pays surprise visits._--He does not always wait to be invited; but +sometimes, when we lie sleeping with wakeful hearts, we hear His gentle +voice calling to us, "Arise, My love, and come away." Then as we lift +the door-latch, our hand drops with the sweet-smelling myrrh which +betrays His presence. How often when we have been losing ground, +getting lukewarm and worldly, we have suddenly been made aware of His +reviving presence, and He has said, I come. He comes, as the +wood-anemones and snowdrops (the most fragile and tender flowerets of +spring) penetrate the hard ground to announce that the winter is over +and gone, and that the time of the singing of birds is come. + +_It is well to put ourselves in His way._--There are certain beaten +tracks well-worn by His feet, and if we would meet Him we must frequent +their neighborhood. Olivet, where He used to pray; Calvary, where He +died; Joseph's garden, where He rose, are dear to Him yet. When we +pray or meditate; when we commemorate His dying love at the memorial +feast; when we realize our union with Him in death and resurrection; +when we open our hearts to the breathing of the Holy Spirit--we put +ourselves in His way, and are more likely to encounter Him when He +comes. "To them that look for Him shall He appear." "Behold the +Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet Him"--but take the path by which +He is sure to travel. Be in the upper room, with the rest of the +disciples, so that you may not, like Thomas, miss Him when He comes. + +_His footsteps are noiseless._--It is said of old, "Thy footsteps are +not known," therefore we need not be surprised if He steal in upon us +as a thief in the night, or as spring over the wolds. There is no +blare of trumpet or voice of herald; we cannot say, Lo here, or Lo +there; when the King comes there is no outward show; "He does not +strive, nor cry, nor lift up, nor cause His voice to be heard in the +street." + +"He entered not by the eyes," says St. Bernard, "for His presence was +not marked by color; nor by the ears, for there was no sound; nor by +the touch, for He was impalpable. How then did I know that He was +present? Because He was a quickening power. As soon as He entered He +awoke my slumbering soul. He moved and pierced my heart, which before +was stony, hard, and sick. He began also to pluck up and destroy, to +build and plant, to freshen the inner drought, to enlighten the +darkness, to open the prison-house, to make the crooked straight and +the rough smooth; so that my heart could bless the Lord with all that +was within me." + +Oh, lonely, desolate soul, open thy door to Him; wait not on the alert +to detect His entrance, only believe that He is there; and presently, +and before ever thou art aware, thou wilt find a new fragrance +distilling through the heart-chamber, a new power throbbing in thy +pulse. + + +II. WE MAY ENJOY THE PERPETUAL RECOGNITION OF THE PRESENCE OF +CHRIST.--"The world beholdeth Me no more, but ye behold Me." Nothing +makes men so humble and yet so strong as the vision of Christ. + +_It induces humility._--When Isaiah beheld His glory more resplendent +than the sheen of the sapphire throne, he cried that he was undone; +when Peter caught the first flash of His miraculous power gleaming +across the waves of Galilee, just when the fish were struggling in the +full net, he besought Him to depart, because he felt himself a sinful +man; and when John saw Him on the Isle of Patmos, he fell at His feet +as dead, though, surely, if any of the apostles could have faced Him +unabashed, it had been he. + +This is specially noticeable in the Book of Job. Few books are so +misunderstood. It is supposed to contain the description of the +victory of Job's patience; in reality it delineates its testing and +failure. It shows how he who was perfect, according to the measure of +his light, broke down in the fiery ordeal to which he was exposed; and +finally was forced to cry, "I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the +ear, but now mine eye seeth Thee; wherefore I abhor myself and repent, +in dust and ashes." + +Wouldst thou be humble, wouldst thou know thyself a worm and no man, +wouldst thou see that thou art verily undone, defiled, and helpless? +Then ask the blessed Spirit to reveal Jesus in all His matchless beauty +and holiness, eliciting the confession that thou are the least of +saints and the chief of sinners. This is no forced estimate, when we +take into account the opportunities we have missed, the gifts we have +misused, the time we have wasted, the light which we have resisted, the +love which we have requited with neglect. + +_It produces strength._--See that man of God prone on the floor of his +chamber, shedding bitter tears of godly sorrow, not forgiving himself, +albeit that he knows himself forgiven; bowing his head as a bulrush, +crying that he is helpless, broken, and at the end of himself--Will he +be able to stand as a rock against the beat of temptation, and the +assault of the foe? Yes, verily, for the same presence which is a +source of humility in private, will inspire to great deeds of faith and +heroism when he is called to stand in the breach or lead the assault. + +It is this vision of the present Lord that, in every age of the Church, +has made sufferers strong. "The Lord is on my right hand, I shall not +be moved," said one. "The Lord stood by me, and strengthened me," said +another. In many a dark day of suffering and persecution; in the +catacombs; in the dens and caves where Waldenses hid; on the hillsides +where the Covenanters met to pray; in the beleaguered cities of the +Netherlands; in prison and at the stake--God's saints have looked to +Him, and been lightened, and their faces have not been ashamed. +"Behold," said the first martyr, "I see the heavens opened, and the Son +of Man standing on the right hand of God." + +Oh for more of the open vision of Jesus, ministered to us by the +gracious Spirit! Would that His words were oftener verified in our +experience: "Ye behold Me!" He is always with us; and if only our +eyes were not holden, we should behold Him with the quick perception of +the heart. Indeed, the race can only be rightly run by those who have +learned the blessed secret of looking off unto Him. "We see Jesus." + +It is a most salutary habit to say often, when one is alone, "Thou art +near, O Lord." "Behold, the Lord is in this place." We may not at +first realize the truth of what we are saying. His presence may be +veiled, as the forms of mountains swathed in morning cloud. But as we +persist in our quest, putting away from us all that would grieve Him, +and cultivating the attitude of pure devotion, we shall become aware of +a Divine presence which shall be more to us than a voice speaking from +out the Infinite. + + +III. WE MAY ENJOY THE PERPETUAL RECOGNITION OF THE LIVING +CHRIST.--"Because I live, ye shall live also." There are many +life-verses in this Gospel which shine like stars in the firmament of +Scripture. Amongst them, in the first chapter, that, in the Word as +manifested to men, was _life_; and in the fifth chapter, that, "as the +Father had life in Himself He gave to the Son to have life also in +Himself." The Father is the fountain of life. Eternal life is ever +rising up in His infinite Being with perennial vigor; and all things +living, from the tiny humming-birds in the tropical forest to the +strongest archangel beside the sapphire throne, derive their being from +Him. Thus we have seen ferns around a fountain, nourishing their +fronds on its spray. All things owe their existence and continued +being to the unmeasured life, which has been from all eternity +treasured up in God, and is ever flowing out from God. + +This life was Christ's, in the mystery of the eternal Trinity, before +the worlds were made; but it was necessary that He should receive it +into His human nature, so as to become the reservoir and storehouse +from which all who were one with Him might receive grace on grace. "I +am come," He said, "that they might have life, and that they might have +it more abundantly." This life dwelt in Him during His earthly +ministry, though comparatively few availed themselves of it; His death +set it abroach for all the world; the smitten rock yielded streams of +living water; the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit; from His +throne He proclaimed Himself as He that liveth, though He became dead, +and is alive forevermore. + +_We live by His life._--Our life is as dependent upon Him as a babe's +on its mother. Could ought happen to Him, we should instantly feel the +effect. Long before He succumbed, we must. We have no independent, +self-derived, or self-sustained life. Apart from Him we wither. + +_We live in His life._--The tiny streamlet of our being has joined His, +is merged in it, and flows on together with it, to the great ocean of +eternity. To us to live is Christ, both here and hereafter. Our aims +and purposes are merged in His; we are enriched in all that enriches +Him; gladdened by all that promotes His happiness and glory; made more +than conquerors through our oneness with Him, in the victory that has +overcome the world. + +_We live because He lives in us._--At the moment of regeneration He +came to indwell. He that hath the Son hath life; he that hath life +hath the Son. It has pleased God to reveal His Son in us. We have +found Him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write, and we +have found Him in our hearts. Where dwellest Thou? we asked Him; and +He replied, Come and see; and He manifested Himself as having become to +us the inward principle of an endless life. Christ dwells deep in our +heart, and we are beginning to comprehend the immensity of the Divine +love of which He is the exponent. + +Let us draw on this life more confidently, availing ourselves of it +perpetually in all our time of need--in all time of our sickness and of +our wealth, in adversity and prosperity, in the hour of mortal anguish +and the day of judgment; and finding what we could not do or bear or +encounter, Jesus can do and bear and meet in and through us, to the +Father's eternal glory. + + "Lord Jesus Christ, grow Thou in me, + And all things else recede." + + + + +XII + +Many Mansions for God + +"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."--JOHN xiv. 23. + + +The Immanence of God! That God should be willing to make His home +_with_ man is much; but that He should be willing to come in--to +indwell, occupy, and possess our nature--this is incomprehensible to +the intellect, though it may be received and rejoiced in by the heart. +This is no subject for light and thoughtless speech. We touch on the +profoundest mysteries of the Being of the Infinite, and the capacity of +human nature. Be reverent, O my soul, in the consideration of such a +theme, and take the shoes from off thy feet, for the Bush burns with +fire! + +It was owing to the question of Jude, that the universal application of +our Master's words is so clear. A day or two before, our Lord had +entered Jerusalem amid the enthusiasm of the crowds, and the disciples +fondly thought the long-expected time had arrived when He would +manifest Himself to the world as the Messiah. "This is the beginning +of the Messianic reign," said each apostle in his secret heart, as the +great procession passed over the shoulder of Olivet; and each began to +wonder what special post would be allotted to him in the new empire +that seemed so close at hand. These nascent hopes, however, had been +rudely dissipated by our Lord's declaration that the world was to see +Him no more, accompanied by the promise, "But ye see Me." + +The apostles therefore were inclined to think that in some special form +the manifestations of His grace and glory would be confined to them. +Hence Jude's question, "What is come to pass, Master, that Thou wilt +manifest Thyself unto us, and not unto the world?" Jesus answered in +effect, "Think not that thou and thy fellows are to have the exclusive +right of beholding and communing with Me. What I offer to you is open +to all who believe, love, and obey. The gate which I throw open shall +stand wide for all who choose to enter. The veil shall be rent, that +any who fulfill the spiritual conditions may see the light, and hear +the voice, and stand in the inner court. If a _man_ love Me . . ." +Note those emphatic words, "a man,"--any man; thou and I. + + +I. THE DIVINE IMMANENCE.--"We will make our abode." The word "abode" +is here a translation of the Greek word which is rendered "mansions" in +a former part of this chapter. "We will make our _mansion_ with Him." +God is willing to become the mansion of the soul that believes in +Christ, but asks in return that such a one should prepare a +guest-chamber, and become a mansion in which He may dwell. As He +steals with noiseless tread into the loving, believing heart, I hear +Him say, "This is My rest forever; here will I dwell, for I have +desired it." + +(1) _It is the Immanence of the Father._--Consider who this is of whom +the Saviour speaks. The infinite God! Time with all its ages is but +the flash of a moment in His eternity! Space, "beyond the soar of +angel wings," is but a corner in His dwelling-place; matter, with its +ponderous mass, but the light dust that will not affect the level of +the scale! The mighty sun, which is the centre of all worlds, but a +mote floating in the beam of His being! All the gathered wisdom of +man, stored in the libraries of the world, but as a glow-worm's spark +compared with the meridian light of His wisdom! O souls of men, +consider how marvellous that such a One, whom the heavens cannot +contain, who overflows their limits, asking for room that He may dwell, +will yet become the resident of our nature! + +_Its motive is Love._--"The Father will love him." This is wonderful! +The more so as we are told that His love toward us is identical with +that which He has toward our Lord. Speaking of those who shall believe +through His apostles' words, Jesus said, "That the world may know that +Thou lovest them even as Thou lovest Me." That God should condescend +to think about our planet, which is as a leaf in the forest of being! +That He should deign to regard mankind, who, in size at least, are less +than a colony of ants that may have built their home at the foot of the +Himalaya! That He should pity our race! This were much. But that He +should _love_ the world, that He should _love_ individuals belonging to +our race, that He should love them with the love He has toward the +Only-begotten--we could not have believed this unless we had been +assured by the lips of infallible Truth. But the supreme revelation +which towers above the rest, like some great banyan tree amid the +slender growth of the Indian forest, is that the Creator should indwell +and find a mansion in the heart of His creatures. + +_It is dual, yet one._--"We will come." We! Then, is there more than +One? Who is this who dares class Himself with the supreme God within +the limits of a common pronoun, that challenges the love and trust and +obedience of man, that poses as King? The meekest and humblest of men. +The One who, above all others of the human family, seemed to have least +to disturb or darken the incidence of the rays of truth upon His soul; +who has cast a light on all the dark problems of human life, and could +not possibly have been deceived in respect to His own nature. His +conceptions of the holiness, greatness, and purity of God have stood +out in unrivalled magnificence from all others whatsoever; yet it is He +who couples in one small word His humanity with Deity, His meekness +with the Infinite Majesty, His personality with God's. Is not this +proof enough that He was conscious of His Divine nature? Is not the +fact of His not counting it robbery to be equal with God evidence that +He was God? What can they make of this _We_, who hold that He was only +a good man and a great teacher? Good men are humble men, great +teachers know best their own limitations! + +It is in, and with, and through the Son, and by the Spirit, that the +Father comes to indwell. + +(2) _It is the Immanence of the Son. To be loved by Him were +much!_--"I will love Him." His love is of the rarest quality. Most +free of the soil of selfishness, of any human love. True and tender, +strong and sweet, inexorable in its demands upon Himself, inexhaustible +in its outflow toward the objects of His affectionate regard. Such +love as He gave to John, who grew like Him beneath the magic power of +that environment; as He gave to Mary, who perhaps most deeply +understood Him; as He gave to Peter, winning him back from his +waywardness--brings with it a heaven of bliss, for which a man may well +be prepared to count all things but loss. But there is a bliss beyond +all this. The Lover of men would indwell them. + +_It were much that He should seek our love._--"He that loveth Me." We +might have supposed that He would have been satisfied with the vastness +of His dominion, and the myriad bright spirits that wait on His word! +But no, the thirst for love cannot be satisfied with gold, or bright +angelic servants. As Isaac could not find a companion among those who +tended the cattle that browsed over the wolds of Canaan, or the troops +of slaves that gathered round his father's tents, but Eliezer must +bring a bride from across the desert; so the Son of God must needs come +as a suitor to our world to find His Bride, who can share His inner +thoughts and purposes. Here is a marvel indeed. As the village +becomes famous which provides the emperor's bride, so earth, though it +be least among her sister-spheres, shall have the proud preeminence of +having furnished from her population the Spouse of the Lamb. But, +great as this marvel is, it is followed by the greater, that the +Immortal Lover is willing to tenant the poor hearts, whose love at the +best is so faint and cold. + +_It were much that He should give us manifestations of His love._--"I +will manifest Myself unto him." Have you not sometimes taken up a +daisy, and looked into its little upturned eye, and thought and thought +again, till through the gate of the flower you have passed into an +infinite world of life, beauty, and mystery? There are moments when +even a flower is transfigured before us, and manifests itself to us as +a thought of God, a ray of His glory, the frail product of His infinite +mind, the wick around which trembles the fire of the Shekinah! Have +you not sometimes stood alone amid mountains, glaciers, wooded valleys, +and rushing streamlets, till nature has dropped her veil, and revealed +herself in a phase of beauty and a depth of meaning which struck you as +altogether unique and singular? So there are moments in the life of +the believer, when Christ, who is ever with us, manifests Himself as He +does not to the world. There is borne in upon the spirit a +consciousness that He is near; there is a waft of His breath, a savor +of His fragrant dress, fresh from the ivory palaces. + +All this is much: but how much more to be told that this glorious +Christ, the Fellow of Jehovah, who with the Father and the Spirit is +God; the Organ of creation; the Mouthpiece of the Godhead; the Mediator +of Redemption; the Monarch of all worlds; the Supreme Teacher, Guide, +and Saviour of men--is prepared to repeat the experiences of Bethlehem, +and make His abode in man! "_We_ will come unto Him, and make our +abode with Him." + +(3) _Learn to revere the work of God in the souls of others._--"For thy +meat," said the apostle, "destroy not the soul for whom Christ died." +He might have added, "and in whom Christ lives." Weak and erring, +trying and vexatious, that fellow-believer may be, yet there is a +chamber in his nature in which God has already taken up His abode. The +conflict between the light and darkness, the Christ-spirit and the +self-spirit, may be long and arduous, but the issue is certain. Help, +but do not hinder the process. Be reverent, careful, mindful of the +presence of God. + +_Be hopeful for thyself._--When an art-student asked Mr. Ruskin whether +he would ever be able to paint like Turner, the great critic replied, +"It is more likely that you will become Emperor of all the Russias!" +But God never daunts a soul with such discouragement. He first sets +before it a great ideal--the faith of Abraham, the meekness of Moses, +the prayer of an Elijah, the love of a John--and then, as the source of +all perfection, enters the soul, to be in it all that He has taught it +to desire. + +_Count on the indwelling of His power._--The merchant of to-day has +facilities granted to no previous age. The cablegram, telegram, and +telephone put him in communication with the markets of the world: steam +and electricity are his willing slaves in manufacture: machinery with +its unwearying iron fingers toils for him. A single human brain, which +knows how to avail itself of these resources, can multiply its +conceptions indefinitely. How vast the space between the untutored +savage, doing everything with his hands, and the merchant prince, who +has but to press the ivory-plated pushes fixed upon the walls of his +room! But not less is the difference between the work we can +accomplish by our natural resources, and that which we achieve when we +recognize that what is impossible to us is possible to Him who has come +in to abide. I cannot; but God is within me, and He can. + + +II. THE CONDITIONS OF THE DIVINE IMMANENCE.--(1) Love to Christ.--"He +that loveth Me shall. . . ." We would love Him, but how? Do not think +of your love, but of His. "Love is of God." Open the shutters of your +being toward the love of God; we love because He first loves. Love is +the reflection from us of what we have first received from God. + +Love is shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Spirit. The fruit of the +Spirit is Love. Seek the in-filling and in-working of the Spirit; be +careful to obey His promptings to love; avoid grieving Him by +bitterness, wrath, or evil speaking; sit as His willing pupil in the +school of love; cast on Him the responsibility of securing in your +nature obedience to the primal law which is fulfilled in the one word, +"Thou shalt love." + +Beneath the nurturing grace of the Spirit, we shall be led to meditate +much on the love of Jesus to us, especially as manifested in the death +of the cross; and as we muse, the fire will burn, love will glow, and +afford the condition of soul which is infinitely attractive to the +Divine Lover, who requires our love, and produces the love which He +requires. + +(2) Obedience to Christ.--Where there is true love, there will be +obedience. This rather than emotion. Many a sincere soul who +questions its love, because its emotions are low or fluctuating, would +rather die than disobey the least jot or tittle of His commandments. +Such a one loves. "He that hath My commandments" (treasured in memory +and heart), "he it is that loveth Me." Why do ye call Him, Lord, Lord, +and do not the things that He says? There may be the luscious language +of the lip, but it does not deceive Him. He looks under the leaves for +fruit. + +Disobedience robs the soul of the sweet sense of Christ's indwelling. +Nothing can compensate for failure to obey. Whatever the +protestations, there is no real love to Christ where His commands are +knowingly disregarded and set at nought. But each time we dare to step +out in simple obedience to His will, it seems as though the inner light +shines deeper down into the hidden places of our being, and the +residence of Christ extends to new chambers of the heart. + + + + +XIII + +Christ's Legacy and Gift of Peace + +"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."--JOHN xiv. 27. + + +It seems a little anomalous to talk of peace at a time when the +war-clouds are being swiftly blown up from the horizon, the sea +roaring, and men's hearts failing them for fear: and yet, in the +deepest aspects, this is of all times the most suitable. It is when +the storm rattles on the window-panes that the family draws closer +round the fire, and the mother clasps her babe to her breast. + +The word Peace is the Eastern salutation and benediction. When one +stranger encounters another, as they meet and part, they wish each +other peace. It was befitting, therefore, that at Christ's entrance +into our world, the first salutation to men, as conveyed by the angels, +should be, "Peace on earth"; and that His parting words should be, +"Peace be unto you." But with what a wealth of meaning does the Lord +invest familiar words when they issue from His lips! Let us draw nigh, +and allow His sweet and soothing consolations to have their full effect. + + +I. LET US DISTINGUISH BETWEEN "PEACE" AND "MY PEACE."--"Peace I leave +with you, My peace I give unto you." There is a distinction between +these two. The former refers to the result of His work for us on the +cross: "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our +Lord Jesus Christ"; the latter refers to _His_ indwelling, who is our +Peace. The one He has bequeathed as a legacy to all men: the testator +died, and left in His will a perfect reconciliation between God and +man, which is for all who are willing to avail themselves of it; the +other is a _gift_, which must be appropriated and used, or it will be +ineffectual. + +_The order of these two varieties of peace is invariable._--We must +have peace _with_ God before we can enjoy the peace _of_ God. We must +receive the atonement, with all its blessed comfort, before we can +enter upon our heritage in Christ Jesus. A believer, whose feet were +dipping in the chill waters of the river, said to me recently, when +speaking of her enjoyment of some of the deeper aspects of Christian +experience, "I am afraid I have been building from the top. I see now, +as I come near eternity, that one's foundations must be strong and sure +before one can build on them. I need now more than ever the blood of +Christ." This, perhaps, is one of the perils of the present day. The +Church is arraying herself in her beautiful garments. The gold pieces +of Christian thought and life are becoming current coin, taken from the +coffers, where they have too long lain, and distributed broadcast. +Treatises and tractlets on the innermost aspects of the blessed life +are plentiful as flowers in May. There is a danger, therefore, of +young converts and others occupying themselves with such themes, and +not paying sufficient attention to the Divine order. + +Christ dying _for_ us on the cross must precede Christ living _in_ us +by His Spirit; justification with its evidences must be well +apprehended before sanctification with its fruits; the peace _with_ God +must shed its benediction over the soul before it can enter upon the +peace _of_ God. Ah soul! thou hast experienced the former; dost thou +know the latter? Dost thou know what it is for Christ to enter into +the closed doors of the inner chamber of the heart, and say, "Peace be +unto thee"? what it is to hear His voice speaking above the tumult of +the inland lake of thy soul, and making a great calm? what it is for +Him to deal with the springs of the inner life, which lie deeper than +emotion or fancy, and pour in His infinite serenity, so that the +outflow may be pellucid and tranquil? + +Christ lays stress on _His_ peace. He must mean the very peace that +filled His own heart; not something like it, but the same, always +keeping the heart with the affections, and the mind with its thoughts. +This being so, we infer-- + +_That His peace is consistent with a perfect knowledge of coming +sorrow._--He knew all things that awaited Him (John xviii. 4): the +treachery of Judas, the denial by Peter, the forsaking by all, the +shame and spitting, the cross and grave; and yet He spoke serenely of +His peace. It is therefore consistent with the certain outlook toward +darkness and the shadow of death. You may know from certain symptoms +that cancer has struck its fangs into your flesh, and that paralysis +has begun to creep along your spine, that your dearest is barked by the +Woodsman for felling, that your means of subsistence will inevitably +dry up; but, facing all these, as Jesus faced the cross, you may still +be conscious of a peace that passeth understanding. + +_That it is consistent with energetic action._--Men are disposed to +think that peace is one of the last fruits of the tree of life, which +drops into the hand of the aged. A man says to himself, I shall have +to relinquish this active life, to settle in some quiet country home in +the midst of nature, and then perhaps I shall know what peace means. A +snug home and a competence, the culture of flowers, the slow march of +the seasons, tender home-love, far away from the hustling throng of the +world--these are the conditions of peace. Not so, says Christ: "Arise, +let us go hence." Let us leave this quiet harbor, and launch out into +the stormy deep. Let us leave this still chamber, around the windows +of which the vines cling, and go forth into the garden where the cedars +fight with the tempest, and amidst it all we shall find it possible to +enjoy the peace that passeth knowledge. Let men and women immersed in +the throng of daily toil, young men, busy men, understand that Christ's +peace is for those who hear the bugle note of duty summoning them to +arise, and go hence. + +_That the chief evidence of this peace is in the leisureliness of the +heart._--Christ's possession of peace was very evident through all the +stormy scenes that followed. With perfect composure He could heal the +ear of Malchus, and stay the impetuosity of Peter; could reason quietly +with the slave that smote Him, and bid the daughters of Jerusalem not +to weep; could open paradise to the dying thief, and the door of John's +home to the reception of His mother. Few things betray the presence of +His peace more than the absence of irritability, fretfulness, and +feverish haste, which expend the tissues of life. + +Oh that you may now receive from Christ this blessed gift! Let the +peace of Christ rule in your heart; it is your high privilege, be not +backward in availing yourself of it. It will be as oil to the +machinery of life. + + +II. THE SOURCES OF CHRIST'S PEACE.--(1) _The vision of the +Father._--"If ye loved Me, ye would rejoice because I said, I go unto +the Father." + +Throughout these closing chapters He seems able to speak of nothing +else. His mind ranges from the disciples whom He was leaving to the +Father to whom He was going. Almost unconsciously He gives us a +glimpse of His self-repression in staying so long away from His +Father's manifested presence, when He says that if we loved Him we +would be glad to lose His bodily presence because He had gone to be +with the Father. He gives us to understand how real and near the +Father was to Him, and how He longed to be again in His bosom! He was +so occupied with this thought, that He reckoned little of what lay +between. Hail! ye stormy waters of death, stormy winds, and boisterous +waves, ye do but waft my soul nearer its haven in the Father's love! + +It is the thought of the Father that gives peace, because it robs life +of its terrors and death of its sting. Why fear what life may bring +when the Father has arranged each successive step of its pathway! Why +dread Judas or Caiaphas, Herod or Pilate since the Father lies between +the soul and them as a rampart of rock! Why lose heart amid the +perplexities and discouragements, whose dark shadows lie heavily on the +hills, when in the green pastures of the valley the Father's love tends +the sheep! Ask Christ to reveal the Father to you. Live in His +everlasting love, and learn what He can be amid the storm and tumult as +a very present help. + +(2) _Disentanglement from the world._--"The prince of this world +cometh, and hath nothing in Me." He came first at the beginning of the +Saviour's life, with temptations to his ambitions; he came again at its +close, with temptations to that natural shrinking from pain which is +characteristic of a highly organized nature. "Back, Son of Man! Thou +canst not bear the cross and spear, the nail and thorn! Thy tender +flesh will ill sustain Thee when the sorrows of death and the pains of +hell get hold upon Thee!" So Satan came; but there was no response in +the heart of Christ, no answering voice from the depths of His soul, no +traitor within to join hands with the tempter without. There was no +square inch of territory in all Christ's nature which the devil could +claim, or from which he could operate. + +This is a clue to Christ's peace, which we do well to follow till it +lead us out into the open. As long as we are entangled with this +world, peace evades us, just as sleep, which comes easily to the +laboring man who has nothing beyond his daily wage, vanishes from the +pillow of the merchant, who on stormy nights thinks uneasily of the +vessels which carry his wealth far out at sea. We must stand clear of +the ambitions of the world, of the fear or favor of man, of the +avaricious craving for wealth, or the fear of poverty. We must put the +cross of Christ between us and the world, which was judged at Calvary. +We must be able to say truly that our treasure is in heaven and our +heart also, and that we seek the things where Christ sitteth at the +right hand of God. Then the stock-market may fluctuate, riches go or +come, men praise or hate, nought will affect our peace, any more than +the tumults of a continental city, in which we are spending a night in +transit, can cause us serious disturbance. + +(3) _Supreme love._--"I love the Father." I have so often noticed how +a supreme love in a young girl's life seems to calm and quiet her, +because it draws the whole of her nature in one strong flow toward the +man of her choice. Before that, there was a waywardness, a +vacillation, a nervous excitement, which passed away as soon as love +dawned upon her soul. So long as the heart is subject to every +influence, it quivers and wavers as the magnet needle when swept by +streams of electricity. A strong uniting love does for us what the +strong attraction of the pole does for the needle. Christ loved the +Father. There was no difficulty in bearing what He sent, or doing what +He bade. There were no rival claimants, no questionings or debate +within the palace of His heart. Every passion and emotion of His human +nature was quieted and stilled in the set of His whole being toward the +Father. If you too would have peace, you must love; you must love +supremely Him who alone is worthy, who can never disappoint or fail. +And in proportion as you love God, you will find pleasure in all +beautiful things, in all lovely persons, in all the fair gifts of +nature and life. Oh, love the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within +me, love His holy name! + +(4) _A supreme source of authority._--"As the Father gave Me +commandment, even so I do." Every soul must have a supreme source of +authority in its life, if it is to have peace. Its own whim, the +suggestion of passion, the vagrant impulse of the moment, are +inconsistent with tranquillity. There must be for each of us one voice +which is imperative, one command which is indisputable, one authority +which admits of no gainsaying. If you will search your heart you will +see that this is so. Compare the restlessness of the Book of Judges +with the tranquillity of the reign of Solomon, and you will have an apt +illustration of your own experience before consecration put Christ on +His throne, and afterward. When the true Melchizedek established his +reign within you, at once your heart became Salem, the city of peace. +When you put the government upon His shoulder, He set up His reign +within you as the Prince of Peace. Happy for you, if to the increase +of His government there is no end; for of the increase of your peace +there will be no end either. + +Combine these four--the sense of God's presence and providence in the +details of life; detachment from the world; a supreme love to God; the +recognition in everything that you are His slave--and you will comply +with the conditions of participating in the peace of Christ which He +offers. Some persons have a marvellous faculty of imparting their own +tranquillity in an accident, a storm, an illness; their aspect, tones, +manner, are like the repose of a summer's evening after a sultry day: +so shall Christ be to you, and you to others. + + +III. CHRIST'S GIVING CONTRASTED WITH THE WORLD'S.--"Not as the world +giveth, give I unto you." + +The world wishes peace, but lightly speaks the word; frequently wishing +it when there is least warrant for it; wishing it without doing +anything to produce it; wishing it whilst glorying over a wrong, +healing slightly a wound, covering with the turf the crater of a +volcano. Christ, on the other hand, lays the foundations of peace in +suitable conditions of a holy and healthy life. + +With the world, peace is a passing emotion; with Christ, a settled +principle of action--the perfect balance and equilibrium of the soul, +out of which comes all that is fair, strong, wholesome. + +The world's peace consists in the absence of untoward circumstances; +Christ's is altogether independent of circumstances, and consists in +the state of the heart. It matters nothing to Him that in the world we +have tribulation. He bids us be of good cheer, because in Him we shall +have peace. The wildest conjunction of outward things cannot break the +perfect peace which nestles to His heart, as Noah's dove to the hand +which plucked it in from the weltering waters. + +"Let not your heart be troubled," the Master says again. You may be +troubled on every side, but be not troubled. Do not let the trouble +come inside. Watch carefully against its intrusion, as you would +against that of any other form of temptation. Let My peace, like a +sentinel, keep you; and as you look forward to the unknown future, out +of which spectral figures emerge, do not be afraid. There is a part +for you to do, as well as for Me. I can give you My peace, but you +must avoid any and everything that will militate against its possession +and growth. + + + + +XIV + +The Story of the Vine + +"I am the true Vine, and My Father is the Husbandman."--JOHN xv. I. + + +We have now a story to tell which, in the eye of heaven, will make our +world forever memorable and wonderful among her sister spheres. It is +the story of the Vine, and how it was the Divine purpose our earth +should be its fruitful soil, and our race intimately associated with +its growth and history. + +"I am the _true_ Vine," said our Lord. Not improbably, as He was +passing forth with His disciples into the moonlit air, He perceived a +vine clustering around the window or door; and with an eye ever awake +to each touch of natural beauty, and a heart always alert for spiritual +lessons, He turned to them and said, What that vine is in the world of +nature I am in relation to all true and faithful souls. I am the +_true_ Vine--true, not as opposed to false, but true in the sense of +real, substantial, and enduring. The essential, as distinguished from +the circumstantial; the eternal, as distinct from the temporary and +transient. + +Nature is a parable of God. In each of her forms we have a revelation +of God. Not so complete as that given through the mind of prophets, or +the life of Jesus Christ, but still a revelation of the Divine. Each +natural object, as it stood in Eden's untainted beauty, displayed some +aspect of Him, whom no man can see and live. The apple-tree among the +trees of the wood; the rose of Sharon: the lily of the vale; the cedar, +with its dark green foliage; the rock for strength; the sea for +multitudinousness; the heaven with its limpid blue, like the Divine +compassion, overarching all--these are some of the forthshadowings in +the natural world of spiritual qualities in the nature of God. The +vine was made the clinging, helpless plant it is, that it might forever +remind men of certain deep characteristics of the Divine nature. + + +I. THE VINE AND ITS BRANCHES.--_The unity of the vine_. The vine and +its branches constitute one plant. Some branches may be trailed along +the trellis-work outside the cottage door, others conducted through +hothouse after hothouse; yet one life, one stream of sap, one essential +quality and character pervades them all, from the dark root, buried in +the soil, to the furthest twig or leaf. Yonder branch, waving its +fronds high up against the hothouse glass, cannot say to that long +leafless branch hidden beneath the shelf, You do not belong to me, nor +I to you. No twig is independent of another twig. However different +the functions, root and branches, leaves and cluster, all together make +one composite but organic whole. So is it with Christ. All who are +one with Him are one with each other. The branches that were nearest +the root in the days of Pentecost are incomplete without the last +converts that shall be added in the old age of the world. Those +without these will not be made perfect. + +This is the underlying truth of the holy Catholic Church. Men have +tried to show that it must be an outward and visible organization, +consisting of those who had received, through a long line of +apostolical succession, some mystic power for administering rites and +conferring absolution, together with those who came beneath the touch +of their priestly hands. That theory has notoriously broken down. But +the truth of which it is a grotesque travesty is presented in our +Lord's conception of the vine, deeply planted in the dark grave of +Joseph's garden, which had reached down its branches through the ages, +and in which every believing soul has a part. Touch Christ, become one +with Him in living union, abide in Him, and you are one with the +glorious company of the apostles, the goodly fellowship of the +prophets, the noble army of martyrs and the Church of the First-born, +whose names are written in heaven. + +_The pliancy of the vine._--More than most plants it needs a +husbandman. It cannot stand upright like other fruit-trees, but +requires a skillful hand to guide its pliant branches along the +espaliers, or to entwine them in the trellis-work. It suggests a true +thought of the appearance presented to the world by Christ and His +Church. + +Mrs. Hamilton King, in her description of the sermon preached in the +hospital by Ugo Bassi, on the eve of the great movement which, by the +expulsion of the Austrians, gave Italy to the Italians, specially +dwells on this. Down five wards the prisoners are lying on the +hospital-beds from which they will never rise again. To them the deep +voice of the hero-preacher tells the story of the vine: how "it is tied +to a stake, and if its arms stretch out, it is but cross-wise; they are +also forced and bound." + +Thus it was with Christ. Never following His own way; always bound to +the imperative _must_ of the Father's will; yielded to the cross as a +willing Sufferer. And so it has been with His followers. Not strong +to stand alone, but always yielded to the Father's will, that He should +lead them whither He would--to a cross, if needs were; to persecution +and shame, if this would better serve His purpose; to a Gethsemane, if +that were the only gate to life. + +Yield thyself to those loving hands. They may lead thee afar from thy +original purpose--twisting thee in and out with many a contortion; +fixing thee with nail and fastening; trailing thee over the wall, to +droop thy clusters to the hands of strangers. Nevertheless, be sure to +let Him have His way with thee; this is necessary for the +accomplishment of His purpose. + +_The suffering of the vine._--When, in the spring, "the grace of the +green vine makes all the land lovely, and the shoots begin to wind and +wave in the blue air," the husbandman comes in with pruning-hook and +shears, and strips it bare of all its innocent pride. Nor is this all. +Even in the vintage it is not allowed to glory in the results of the +year, "the branches are torn down and trodden in the wine-press, while +the vine stands stripped and desolate." + +So it has always been. The well-being of the world has been greatly +promoted through the Church, but always at an infinite cost to herself. +Christ's people have always been a suffering people, and it is in exact +proportion to their anguish that they have enriched mankind. They have +saved others, but not themselves. The red stream of blood that has +vitalized the world, has flowed from broken hearts. + + "Measure thy life by loss instead of gain, + Not by the wine drunk, but by the wine poured forth; + For Love's strength standeth in Love's sacrifice, + And whoso suffers most hath most to give." + + +_The interdependence of vine and branches._--In God from eternity dwelt +a wealth of love, pity, and yearning over the souls of men, that could +not express themselves directly. There was no language for the +infinite passion of the Divine heart. Hence the gift of the Son, +through whom, when He had become flesh, the Infinite might express +Himself. But even this was not sufficient. The vine-root is not +enough in itself, it must have branches to carry its rich juices to the +clusters, so that these may hang free of each other in the sun and air. +Christ must have branches--long lines of saved souls extending down the +centuries--through which to communicate Himself to men. + +We have seen how necessary the root is to the branches. Only from it +can our fruit be found. But let us humbly, yet gladly, believe that we +are also necessary to Christ. He cannot do without us. The Son wants +sons; angels will not suffice. Through redeemed men alone can He +achieve His eternal purpose. I hear the Root pleading for more and yet +more branch-life, that it may cover the world with goodly shadow and +fruit. + + +II. FRUIT OR NO FRUIT.--From all that has been said, it is clear that +the one purpose in the vine is fruit-bearing. See, here, how the +Divine Teacher accentuates it. "Fruit," "much fruit," "more fruit." +Nothing less will content Him in any one of us. For this we were taken +out of the wild vine in which we were by nature, and grafted into Him; +for this the regeneration of the Holy Ghost, and the discipline of +life; for this the sunshine of His love, and the dew of the Holy Ghost. +It becomes each seriously to ask, "Am I bringing forth fruit unto God? +There may be orthodoxy of doctrine, correctness in life, and even +heartiness of service; but is there fruit, much fruit, more fruit?" + +_Fruit!_--This is the only condition of being retained in living union +with the Vine. + +_Much fruit!_--Only thus will the Father be glorified. + +_More fruit._--Otherwise there must be the repeated use of the knife. + +Nowhere does the Lord contemplate a _little fruit_. A berry here and +there! A thin bunch of sour, unripened grapes! Yet it is too true +that many believers yield no more than this. He comes to us hungry for +grapes, but behold a few mildewed bunches, not fit to eat! + +Where there is _no fruit_, there has been no real union with the Vine. +Probably you are a professor, but not a possessor; a nominal Christian, +an attendant at church or chapel, but not really one with Christ. True +union with Him produces a temper, a disposition, a ripe and mellow +experience which certainly indicates that Christ is within. You cannot +simulate the holy joy, the thoughtful love, the tranquil serenity, the +strong self-control, which mark the soul which is in real union with +Jesus; but where there is real abiding, these things will be in us and +abound, and we shall be neither barren, nor unfruitful in the knowledge +of our Lord Jesus Christ. + + +III. THE KNIFE AND THE FIRE.--"Every branch in Me that beareth fruit," +the Father who is the Husbandman "purgeth it that it may bring forth +more fruit." Too many children of God, when passing through great +physical and other suffering, account it punishment. Nay, it is not +punitive, but purgative. This is the pruning-knife, cutting away the +shoots of the self-life, that the whole energy of the soul may be +directed to the manifesting of the life of the Lord Jesus. It may seem +a grievous waste to see the floor of the hothouse or vineyard littered +with fronds and shoots and leaves, but there need be no lament: the +branches of the autumn will well repay each stroke of that keen edge +with fuller, richer fruit. So we gain by loss, we live as we die, the +inward man is renewed as the outer decays. + +The knife is in the Father's hand; let us never forget that. He will +not intrust this delicate and difficult work to man or angel. Shall we +not be in subjection to the Father of our spirits and live? Blessed be +the Father of our Lord Jesus, and our Father in Him. He that spared +not Christ may be trusted to do the best for us. + +Employing the same word, the Master said, "Now ye have been pruned +through the word that I have spoken to you." Perhaps if we were more +often to yield ourselves to the pruning of the Word, we should escape +the pruning of sore pain and trial. If the work were done by the +golden edge of Scripture, it might make the iron edge of chastisement +needless. Therefore, when we take the Word of God in hand, let us ask +the great Husbandman to use it for the pruning away of all that is +carnal or evil, so that His life may have unhindered sway. + +But if we will not bear fruit we must be taken away. We shall lose our +sphere of Christian service, and be exposed as hollow and lifeless +professors. The vine-branch that has no wealth of purple clusters is +good for nothing. Salt which is savorless is fit neither for the land +nor the dunghill. Vine-branches that bear no fruit are cast into the +fire. Professors that lack the grace of a holy temper, and the beauty +of a consistent life are taken away. "Men cast them into the fire and +they are burned." + +These three years the Divine Husbandman has come hungrily seeking fruit +of thee, yet in vain. Nevertheless, He will spare thee for this year +also, that thou mayest mend thy ways. This is the reason of thy +multiplied anxieties; He is pruning thee. If thou bearest fruit, it +will be well, eternally well; but if not, then it is inevitable that +thou shalt be cut away as dead and useless wood. + + + + +XV + +"Abide in Me, and I in you" + +"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."--JOHN xv. 4. + + +These words are so familiar by constant repetition, that their power to +awaken the soul is greatly lessened. They go and come through ear and +mind, as a lodger who has gone and come with exactly the same +appearance and at precisely the same hours for years, and no one +notices him now, because there is nothing novel about him to awake +notice or remark. How good would it be if we could hear this tender +injunction for the first time. Next to this, let us ask the Divine +Spirit to rid it of the familiarity of long use, to re-mint it, and to +make it fresh and vital, that it may seem to us that we have never +before realized how much Jesus meant, when He said, _Abide in Me_. + +Perhaps it may assist us, if we adopt another English word for _abide_, +and one which, in some respects even more neatly, and certainly in +sound, resembles the Greek. It is the word _remain_; so that we may +read the Master's bidding thus: _Remain in Me, and I in you_. + +This word is often employed in the New Testament in connection with +house and home. "Mary abode [or remained] with Elizabeth for three +months"; and "There abide [or remain]," said our Lord, when giving His +disciples direction for their preaching tour, and referring to some +hospitable house which has been opened to welcome them. It is used +three times in that memorable colloquy which introduced John and Andrew +to their future Teacher and Lord; "Master," they said, "where abidest +[or remainest] Thou; He saith unto them, 'Come and ye shall see.' They +came therefore, and saw where He is remaining, and they remained with +Him that day." And again: "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for +to-day I must remain in thy house." We are to remain in Christ as a +man stays in his home. + +_It is inferred, of course, that we are in Christ._--It would be absurd +to bid a man remain in a house unless he were already within its doors. +We must be sure that we are in Christ. Naturally we were +outside--"Remember," says the Apostle, "that aforetime ye were separate +from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from +the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the +world." We were shoots in the wild vine, partaking of its nature, +involved in its curse, threatened by the axe which lay at its root. +But all this is altered now. The Father, who is the Husbandman, of His +abundant grace and mercy, has taken us out of the wild vine and grafted +us into the true. "Of God are ye in Christ Jesus." + +It is quite true that we repented of our sins, and turned toward God; +that we have believed in Christ, and taken His yoke; that we have found +rest under the shelter of His cross, and joy in expecting His advent; +but we must never forget that behind all these movements of our will, +and choice, and faith, were the willing and doing of God Himself. It +is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. "Blessed be the +God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath begotten us again +unto a living hope." What confidence this gives us! We are in Christ +by the act of God's grace and power, and surely He who put us in, can +keep us there. Did He not shut Noah into the ark, and keep him there +amid all the crash of the pitiless deluge! We have only to consent to +remain, and allow God to perfect that which concerneth us. Be +confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you, +will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. + +_The stress which the Master lays on our abiding in Him._--He appears +to summon all His forces to accentuate His parting message. You always +reserve your most important injunctions to the last, that they may +remain fresh and impressive, as the train steams out of the station, as +the boat leaves the landing-stage; so Christ left this entreaty to the +last, that it might carry with it the emphasis of a parting message +forevermore. But note how He drives it home. Its keyword occurs +eleven times in eleven consecutive verses. He depicts the terrible +result if we do not abide: we shall wither, be taken away, and +consigned to the fire. He shows how utterly we shall miss the one end +of our existence, the glorification of the Father by fruit-bearing, +unless we strenuously and continuously abide. He allures by the +thought of the much fruit; by the assurance of success in prayer; by +the promise of fullness of joy, of love, and of blessedness. He +entreats, commands, exhorts, all in one breath. It is as though He +were to say, "Children, I am leaving you; there are many things I +desire for you, many commands to utter, many cautions, many lessons; +but I am content to leave all unsaid, if only you will remember this +one all-inclusive bidding, Abide in Me, remain in Me; stay where God +has put you; deepen, emphasize, intensify the union already existing +between you and Me. From Me is your fruit found. Without Me ye can do +nothing. Abide in Me, and I in you. Grow up into Me in all things, +which am the Head, rooted and built up in Me, and stablished by your +faith, even as ye were taught." + +_There are many analogies to this appeal._--The sun says to the little +earth-planet, _Abide in me_. Resist the temptation to fly into space, +remain in the solar sphere, and I will abide in the formation of thy +rocks, the verdure of thy vegetation, and all living things, baptizing +them in my fire. + +Abide in me, says the ocean to the alcove, that shows symptoms of +division from its waves. Keep thy channel unsilted and open, and I +will pour my fullness up to thy farthest shore, twice in every +twenty-four hours. + +_Abide in me_: the vine says it to the branch, that it may impart +supplies of life and fruit; the air says it to the lung, that it may +minister ozone and oxygen to its cells; the magnet says it to the +needle, that it may communicate its own specific quality, and fit it to +guide across the ocean the mighty steamer, laden with the freight of +human life. + +_Abide in me_: the artist says it to the novice; Edison would say it to +some young Faraday; the preacher to the student. Any man who is eager +to impart his ideas to coming time is glad when some young life, eager, +quick to receive formative impressions, presents itself. Here, says +he, is my opportunity of incarnating myself afresh, and still living, +speaking, painting, when my life is done. "Stay with me, young soul, +share my home, saturate yourself with my ideas and methods of +expression, go to no other fields to glean, and I will give my best +self in return." + +So, also, the mother speaks to the child. If she is wise she will be +chary of handing it over to the nurse, or sending it away to the care +of strangers, except for the hours necessary for education. Companions +and games, books and studies, shall be within the influences of her +mother's love; and she, in return, will gladly bestow herself to the +eager life that waits on her every movement, look, and word. + +In all these cases, it is always the stronger that pleads with the +weaker to abide, promising the communication to fuller life. Each, in +measure, says, in the words of the glorious Christ, "I am stronger, +wiser, fuller, better than you; all is mine that it may be yours, +therefore, abide in Me, and I will abide in you." + +_Notice Christ's consciousness of sufficiency for the needs of +men._--It were blasphemous audacity to speak thus, if He were not more +than man. He affirms that there can be no life apart from Him; that +souls not united with Him wither on the forest floor. He says, that +fruit-bearing is only possible to those who receive from His fullness +grace for grace. He says, that to be in union with Him will secure +union with all holy souls. He says, that if His words are carefully +pondered and obeyed, we shall make no petition which His Father will +not grant. He says, that His love, in quality and quantity, is like +the love that God has toward Himself; that His commands take rank with +those of Deity. He offers Himself to all mankind in coming ages, as +their contemporary, and as the one sufficient source of life and +godliness. All these assumptions are made in the range of these +verses; and as we ponder them, we feel that the Speaker must be +conscious of being other than human, and as possessing those infinite +attributes which are the sole property of the Eternal. + +Yet, who shall say that He has offered more than He can give? Have not +we tested Him in each of these particulars, and do not we, who have +come to Him by faith, know that in no one item has He been guilty of +exaggeration? We were dead, but behold, we live! We spent our +energies in profitless work; but now we bear fruit unto God. We were +lonely and isolated, but now have come to the heavenly Jerusalem, to +the innumerable company of angels, and to the Church of the Firstborn. +Our prayers were aimless and ineffective; but now we have the petitions +we desired. New hope and joy have filled our hearts, as the ruddy +clusters hang full and ripe in the autumn. Prove Him for yourself and +see if this shall not be so for you also. Only give yourself entirely +up to Christ. Abide in Him. Remain in Him. Let thought and speech +and life be bathed in the influences of His Holy Spirit; Let the sap of +His life flow where the sap of the self-life was wont to flow; and lo! +old things will pass away, and all things will become new. + +_The law and method of abiding._--There are two currents always flowing +within our reach: + +The Not I, and the I. + +The last Adam, and the first. + +The Spirit, and the flesh. + +God has put us by His grace into the first of these. The Master says, +"Stop there." Much as when a father puts his little boy in the railway +carriage, _en route_ for home, and says, "My boy, stop where you are. +Do not get out; no change is necessary." We are in Christ by +regeneration and faith. We may not always be thinking about Him; but +we remain in Him, unless by unfaithfulness or sin we consciously and +voluntarily leave Him. And if we have left Him for a single moment, it +is always possible by confession and renewal to regain our old position. + +This is confessedly an inadequate figure of speech. There is a sense +in which the member cannot be amputated from the body, and the soul +cannot be divorced from its union with Christ. But we are not dealing +now with our integral oneness with Christ for life, but with our +abiding union with Him for fruit-bearing and service. And again we +say, for those who are so immersed in daily business, as to be unable +for long together to keep their minds fixed on Christ, that their +abiding in Him does not depend on their perpetual realization and +consciousness of His presence, but on the faith that they have done and +said nothing inconsistent with the holy bond of fellowship. + +You are in a lift until you step out of it, though you may not be +thinking of the lift. You keep on a road until you take a turning +right or left, although, engrossed in converse with your friend, you do +not think of the road. You are in Christ amid the pressure of daily +care, and the haste of business, so long as your face is toward the +Lord, your attitude that of humble submission, and your conscience void +of offence. During the day it is therefore possible at any moment to +say, "I am in Thee, O blessed Christ. I have not all the rapture and +passion of more radiant hours, but I am in Thee, because I would not by +a single act, leave Thy secret place." If at such a moment you are +conscious that you are not able to say as much, instantly go back over +the past few hours, discover the place when you severed yourself from +your Lord, and return. + +Study Godet's beautiful definition of abiding: "It is the continuous +act by which the Christian lays aside all he might draw from his own +wisdom, strength and merit, to desire all from Christ by the inward +aspiration of faith." + +Whenever, therefore, temptation arises to leave the words of Christ +(ver. 7), for the maxims of the world, step back, remain in Him, deny +yourself. + +Whenever you are tempted to leave the narrow path of His commandments +(ver. 10), to follow the impulses of your own nature, reckon yourself +dead to these that you may _run_ in those. + +Whenever you are tempted to forsake the holy temper of Christ's love, +for jealousy, envy, hatred, step back and say, I will not go out of my +hiding-place, I elect to remain in the love of God. + +The one effort of life is therefore reduced to a persistent resistance +to all the suggestions of the world, the flesh and the devil; that we +should step out of that Blessed Man into whom the Father has grafted us. + +Then He abides in us. He is strong where we are weak, loving and +tender where we are thoughtless, holy where we fail. He is in us as +wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption; and as the hope +of glory. + + + + +XVI + +Prayer that Prevails + +"If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye +will, and it shall be done unto you."--JOHN xv. 7. + + +Christ expected answers to His prayers, and in all His teaching leads +us to feel that we shall be able to obtain, through prayer, what +otherwise would not come to our hand. He knew all that was to be known +of natural law and the Father's heart; but notwithstanding His perfect +acquaintance with the mysteries of the Father's government, He said, +"Ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." + +A careful comparison between the confident assurances of the Master, +and the experience of Christians, as detailed in their biographies or +personal confessions, discloses a wide difference between His words and +the findings of His disciples. Many have become accustomed to +disappointment in prayer. They have asked so many things which they +have never received; have sought so much without finding; have knocked +so repeatedly, but the door has remained closed. We are in the habit +of accounting for our failure by saying that probably our prayer was +not according to the will of God, or that God withheld the less that He +might give us something better. In some cases there may be even an +unspoken misgiving about the harmony of prayer with our Father's love +and wisdom, or with a perfect confidence in Him as doing the best for +us in the world. We forget that if we prayed as we should, we should +ask what was according to His will. We evade Christ's definite words, +"_Whatsoever_ ye shall ask in My Name, that will I do." + +When we consider the lives of some who have wrought mightily for God, +it is clear that they had learned a secret which eludes many of us. +Take this, for instance, from the biography of Dr. Burns Thomson. +"When much together as students," writes his friend, "we agreed on +special petitions, and the Lord encouraged us by giving answers, so +early and so definite, as could only have come from Himself, so that no +room was left for the shadow of a doubt that God was the Hearer and +Answerer of prayer. Once the answer came the same day, and at another +time, whilst we were yet speaking. My friend often spoke of our +agreement, to the glory of Him who fulfilled to us His promise, and I +refer to it, to encourage others." This is but one leaf out of the +great library of prayers, intercessions, and supplications for all +saints, which stand recorded before God. + +We naturally turn to our Lord's last utterances in which His +instructions about prevailing prayer are fuller than those of the +Sermon on the Mount; and than those given in the mid-passage of His +earthly life, which depict the importunity of the widow with the unjust +judge, and of the friend with his friend at midnight. The words spoken +in the chapter we are now considering are particularly pertinent to our +purpose, because they deal exclusively with the age to which our Lord +frequently referred as "that day," the day of Pentecost, the age of the +Holy Ghost, the day of this dispensation. + + +OUR LORD TEACHES THAT ANY PRAYER WHICH IS TO PREVAIL WITH GOD MUST PASS +FIVE TESTS, though these are but different phases of the same attitude. + +(1) _The glory of the Father._--"That the Father may be glorified in +the Son" (John xiv. 13). The one purpose of Christ on earth was to +glorify the Father; and at the close of His life here He was conscious +that He had not striven in vain. "Now," said He, "is the Son of Man +glorified, and God is glorified in Him." This was the purpose of His +earthly career, and it was perfectly consistent with that of His +eternal being; for each person of the Holy Trinity is ever intent on +unfolding and displaying the moral beauty of the other twain. Having +sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, Christ still pursues +His cherished purpose of making His Father known, loved, and adored. +No prayer, therefore, can hope to succeed with Him, or can claim His +concurrent intercession, which is out of harmony with this sublime +intent. + +Whatever petition we offer should be submitted to this standard. Can +we establish it in the presence of Christ, that our request will +promote the glory of the Father? Bring in your evidence--establish +your pleas--adduce your strong reasons. If you can make good your +claim, your prayer is already granted. But be sure that it is +impossible to seek the glory of God consistently with selfish aims. +These two can no more coexist than light and darkness in the same cubic +space. The glory of God will ever triumph at our cost. It is equally +certain that none of us can truly pray for the glory of God, unless we +are living for it. It is only out of the heart that has but one +purpose in life and death, that those prayers emanate which touch the +tenderest chord in the Saviour's nature, and awaken all His energies to +their highest activity, "That will I do." + +(2) _In Christ's Name._--"Whatsoever ye shall ask in My Name" (John +xiv. 13). Throughout the Holy Scriptures, _name stands for nature_. +The Master says, "You must ask My Nature." In other words, when we +pray, it must not be as the self-nature, but as the Christian-nature +dictates. We always know when that is paramount. It excludes +boasting; it is pure, peaceable and loving; it is far removed from the +glare and gaud of the world, it is full of Calvary, Olivet, and +Pentecost. There are days in our life when we feel borne along on its +tidal current; when Christ is in us, the hope of glory; when a power is +working within us beyond what we can ask or think; when we live, yet +not we, but Christ in us--these are the times most propitious for +prayer. Pour out your heart before God. Let Christ, who is in you by +the Holy Spirit, speak to the Christ who is above you on the throne. +Let the living water, which has descended from the eternal city, return +back to its source through the channel of your heart. This is praying +in His Name, and according to His Nature. + +Before we can expect our prayers to prosper, let us sit quietly down, +and, putting aside all other voices, permit the Christ-nature to speak. +It is only in proportion as it countersigns our petitions that they +will reach the audience-chamber of eternity. Surely, if this test were +properly applied, many of the petitions we now offer so glibly would +never leave our lips, and we should be satisfied about the fate of many +another prayer which, like some ill-fated barque, has left our shores, +and never been heard of again. But again let it be remembered that +none can pray in the name of Christ who do not live for that name, like +those early evangelists of whom John says that for the sake of the Name +they took nothing of the Gentiles. The name of Christ must be +predominant in life, if it is to be efficacious in prayer. + +(3) _Abide in Christ._--"If ye abide in Me, . . . ask what ye will" +(John xv. 7). We are in Christ, by the grafting of the great +Husbandman, who took us out of the wild vine of nature, and +incorporated us with Christ. That union is forever, but its conscious +enjoyment and helpfulness arise only in so far as we keep His +commandments. A limb may be in the body, and yet be dislocated and +useless. If you are in a train running through to your destination at +the terminus, all that is necessary is to resist the temptation to +alight at the stations _en route_, and to remain where you are. If, +then, God the Father has put you into Christ, and is seeking to +establish you in Him, be careful to resist every temptation or +suggestion to depart from living fellowship by any act of disobedience +or unbelief. + +If you abide in Christ in daily fellowship, it will not be difficult to +pray aright, for He has promised to abide in those who abide in Him; +and the sap of the Holy Ghost, securing for you fellowship with your +unseen Lord, will produce in you, as fruit, desires and petitions +similar to those which He unceasingly presents to His Father. +Throughout the ages Christ has been asking of God. This is the +perpetual attitude of the Son to the Father. He cannot ask what the +Father may not give. To get then into the current of His prayer is to +be sure of success. Abide in Him, that He may abide in you; not only +in the activities of holy service, but in the intercessions and +supplications of the hour of private prayer. + +(4) _Submit prayer to the correction of the Word._--"If My words abide +in you" . . . (John xv. 7). Christ's words have been compared to a +court of solemn and stately presences, sitting to try our prayers +before they pass on into the Master's presence. + +Here is a prayer which is selfish and earth-born, grasping at the +prizes of worldly ambition and greed. But as it enters it encounters +that solemn word, "_Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His +righteousness,_" and it turns back surprised and ashamed. + +Here is another prayer, full of imprecation and unkindness toward some +one who has maligned or injured the petitioner. But it is met by that +solemn word of the Master, "_Love your enemies, pray for them that +despitefully use you,_" and it hastens to retire. + +Here is another prayer full of murmuring regret because of the pressure +of the cross, the weight of the restraining yoke. But forthwith that +notable word of Christ forbids its further progress, saying, "_In the +world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome +the world._" In the presence of that reminder and rebuke, the prayer, +abashed, turns away its face and departs. Like the accusers of the +woman taken in the act of sin, prayers like these are inwardly +convicted of unfitness, and go forth. + +The words of Christ forbid unsuitable prayer, but they also stir the +heart with great desire for the realization of those good things which +Christ has promised to them that love Him. In this sense prayer +becomes a dialogue between the Master who says, "Seek ye My face," and +the disciple who responds, "Thy face, Lord, will I seek." + +(5) _Fruit-bearing._--"I appointed you that ye should bear fruit +that . . ." (John xv. 16). In other words, answers to prayers depend +very largely on our ministry to others. If we are prompted by desire +for our own comfort, peace, or enjoyment, we shall stand but a poor +chance of audience in the secret of His presence. If, on the other +hand, our prayers are connected with our fruit-bearing--that is, with +our ministry to others, with the coming of the kingdom, and the +accomplishment of God's purpose of salvation--the golden sceptre will +be extended to us, as when Ahasuerus said to Esther, "What is thy +request? Even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed." + +Is sun needed to ripen the fruit? Ask for it. The Father waits to +give it. Is dew or rain needed that the pitchers may be filled to the +brim with water which is to be made wine? Ask for it. God is not +unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love. Ask for all but +pruning; this the Father will administer, according to the good +pleasure of His goodness. The fruit-bearing branches have a right to +claim and appropriate all that is needed for the sweetening and +ripening of their precious burden. + +The temple of prayer is thus guarded from the intrusion of the +unprepared footstep by many tests. At the foot of the marble steps, we +are challenged for the watchword; and if we do not speak in harmony +with God's glory, our further passage is peremptorily stayed. The key, +engraven with the name of Jesus, will only obey the hand in which His +nature is throbbing. We must be in Him, if He is to plead in us. His +words must prune, direct, and control our aspirations; His service must +engage our energies. We must take part in the camp with His soldiers, +in the vineyard with His husbandmen, in the temple-building with His +artificers. It is as we serve our King, that we can reckon absolutely +on His answer to our prayers. + + +THREE CONCLUDING THOUGHTS REMAIN. + +_First_. It is clear that our prayers depend very largely on our inner +life. Where that is vigorous and healthy, they will be the same. But +let deterioration and failure set in there, and the effect will be +instantly apparent in our prayers. They act and react. Out of the +abundance of the heart the mouth speaks; and when the mouth is opened +in prayer and supplication, the heart speaks. + +_Second_. Bespeak the Spirit's indwelling. He is the bond of +communion and fellowship between the Father and the Son, and will lift +us into the holy circle of that eternal life, so that the current may +pass through us with uninterrupted velocity and force. He makes inward +intercession for the saints according to the will and mind of God. + +_Third_. Expect that prayer will become ever more engrossing, as the +Divine impulse is yielded to; so that what now occupies but a +comparatively small portion of time and energy will become with us, as +with the great Apostle, an exercise which we prosecute with unceasing +ardor, an ever-delightful method of promoting the Redeemer's Kingdom. + + + + +XVII + +The hatred of the World + +"They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that +whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these +things they will do unto you, because they have not known the Father, +nor Me."--JOHN xvi. 2, 3. + + +How near love and hate dwell in these words of Jesus! He had been +urging His disciples to cultivate perfect love, the love of God; He now +turns to describe the inevitable hatred with which they would be +assailed in the world that knew neither the Father nor Himself. And if +an additional motive were needed to induce that love, it would surely +be given by the consideration of that hate. + +This is no unimportant theme. It touches, very nearly, the lives of +thousands of believers amongst us. Though they have not to face the +thumbscrew and the stake, they discover painfully enough that the +offence of the Cross has not ceased. There are amongst us many who +daily quiver under the venomous gibe of neighbor and fellow-workman, +and find that their acceptance of Jesus Christ as Saviour and Master +has suddenly changed their family and working-life from a garden of +roses into a bed of thorns. Many a young man in the city +counting-house, many a mechanic at the bench, many a traveller in the +commercial-room, many a student on the college-benches, is doomed to +discover that the world does not love the Church better than in those +days when the fires gleamed in Smithfield, and men and women were +burned to death for loving God. But how sweet to know that all this +verifies the Master's words: Ye are not of the world, even as I am not +of the world. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; +but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the +world, therefore the world hateth you. + + +I. WHAT THEN IS THE WORLD?--It consists of those who are destitute of +the life and love of God, as contrasted with those who have received +and welcomed the unspeakable gift which is offered to all in Jesus +Christ. The great mass of the unregenerate and unbelieving, considered +as a unity, is the world, as interpreted by our Lord and His apostles. + +The world has its god and its religion, which was first instituted by +Cain at the gates of Eden; its prince, and court, and laws; its maxims +and principles; its literature and pleasures. It is dominated by a +peculiar spirit which the apostle calls a lust or fashion, and +resembles the German _Zeit-Geist_: an infection, an influence, a +pageantry, a witchery; reminding us of the fabled mountain of loadstone +which attracted vessels to itself for the iron that was in them, and +presently drew the nails from the timbers, so that the whole fabric +fell a helpless, shapeless mass into the waves. The votaries of the +world attach themselves to the objects of sense, to the things which +are seen and temporal. They have the utmost horror of poverty, +suffering, and humiliation; these they consider their chief evils to be +avoided at any cost; whilst they regard as the chief good, riches, +pleasure, and honor. + +The world is thus a great unity and entity; standing together as a +mighty kingdom; united and compacted together as Nebuchadnezzar's +image; environing the Church, as the great kingdoms of Assyria and +Egypt did the chosen people of God in the days of the kings. It +resembles a pack of wolves. "Behold," said Christ, "I send you forth +as sheep in the midst of wolves." Between such irreconcilable +opposites as the Church and the world, there cannot but be antagonism +and strife. Each treasures and seeks what the other rejects as +worthless. Each is devoted to ends that are inimical to the dearest +interests of the other. Each follows a prince, who met the prince of +the other, in mortal conflict. Let us thank Him, who out of this world +chose us for Himself. + + +II. LET US TRACE THE STORY OF THE WORLD'S HATRED.--_It was foretold in +Eden_. "I will put enmity," so God spoke to the serpent, "between thee +and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed." We are not disposed +to treat that ancient record with which our Bible opens as romance or +fairy story, but to regard it as containing a true and authentic record +of what actually transpired. That declaration is the key to the Bible. +On every page we meet the conflict, the bruising of the Church's heel +by the dark powers, and the increasing area of victory covered by our +Emmanuel, the Virgin's Child. This hatred is then in the very nature +of things, for this is but another name for God. It is, like others of +the deepest facts in the experience of man, fundamental and inevitable, +the outcome of mysteries which lie beyond the ken of man. + +_And it has characterized every age._--Abel is slain by Cain, who was +of the evil one, and slew his brother. Joseph is put into a pit by his +brethren, and into a prison by his master's wife; the Hebrew is smitten +by the Egyptian; David is hunted by Saul as a partridge on the +mountains; Micaiah is hated by Ahab because he always testifies against +him; Jeremiah lives a very suffering stricken life, until he is slain +in Egypt for remonstrating against a policy he could not alter; each of +the little company then listening to Christ is forecast for a martyr's +death, with, perhaps, the exception of John himself, whose life was +martyrdom enough; Stephen sheds the blood of his pure and noble nature, +and from that day to this the blood of the saints has poured in +streams, until the last harrowing records, which have come to light, +only of recent years, of the indescribable tortures and death of +Armenian martyrs. + +Each age has had its martyr-roll. They have been tortured, not +accepting deliverance, have had trial of mockings and scourgings, yea, +moreover of bonds and imprisonment; have been stoned, sawn asunder, +tempted, and slain with the sword; wandering in deserts and mountains +and caves, and the holes of the earth: of whom the world was not worthy. + +_The root or ground of hatred is not due to the evil discovered in the +persons, who are the objects of the world's hate._--"They hated Me +without a cause," our Saviour sorrowfully said. There might have been +some cloke for the shamelessness of the world's sin, if He had not +spoken words and done works among them such as none other ever said and +did; but in the face of the perfect beauty of His character, the grace +and truth of His words, and the loveliness of His deeds, it was by +their perfidy He was crucified and slain. In vain He challenged them +to convince Him of sin, and to bear witness to any evil which might +justify their malicious cruelty. They knew it was innocent blood; but +this knowledge, so far from mollifying them, only exasperated them the +more. + +The world hates the Church, not for the evil that is in it, but for the +good. It hates without cause. The holier and purer a life is, the +more certainly it will attract to itself malignity and dislike. The +more Christlike we are, the more we must suffer the relentless hate +that drove the nails into His hands, and the spear into His side. Do +not be surprised at this. Think it not strange concerning the fiery +trial which cometh to prove you, as though a strange thing happened +unto you; but doubt and question and be in fear, if you meet only +smiles and flattery and such honors as the world can give. You may +then ask yourselves whether you are not one of the world's own. + +_The real origin and fountain of the hatred of the world is due to +Satan's antagonism to God._--In his original creation, he was doubtless +as fair as any of the firstborn sons of light; but in his pride he +substituted himself for God, and love faded out of his being, making +way for the unutterable darkness of diabolic hate. Satan hates God +with a hatred for which there are no words; and therefore when the +Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world, Satan gathered up +every energy and resource of his nature to dog His steps, and make His +course through the world as painful as possible. Do you wonder that +the life of Jesus was so full of suffering? It could not have been +otherwise. Directly God, in the person of Jesus, stepped down into the +time-sphere, and assumed the conditions of earth and death, He came +within the range of the utmost that Satan could do to molest and injure +Him. Similarly, when the blessed Lord becomes the tenant of the heart, +and in proportion as He is so, that heart attracts to itself the hatred +with which the devil from the beginning has hated God. "If they have +persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they have kept My +saying, they will keep yours also. And these things will they do unto +you, because they have not known the Father nor Me." + +_It is natural for the evil to hate the good._--First, the sinner has +an uneasy conscience, and it hurts him to come in contact with those +whose character reminds him of what he ought to be, and might be, and +perhaps once was. The diseased eye dreads the light. The uncanny, +slimy things that lurk beneath stones, and in dark caves, squirm in +pain when you let in the day. The Turkish Sultan dislikes the presence +of British representatives, and correspondents of the Daily Press, amid +the dark deeds of blood and lust by which he is making Armenia a +desert. "Every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to +the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." + +In addition to an uneasy conscience, the sinner has an unbroken will. +He stoutly resists the impression of a superior and condemning +goodness. He hardens his heart, and strengthens its defences. "Who is +the Lord, that I should obey His voice? Double the tale of bricks: +summon the choice chariots and veteran soldiers of Egypt, that we may +pursue, overtake, and divide the spoil." Such are the successive boats +and challenges of the hardened heart. + +Is it to be wondered at, under such conditions, that the wicked +plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth, that +he draws his sword and bends his bow, to shoot privily at the upright +of heart? "The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him. +The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is +judged." + +_The great object of this hatred is to overcome the good._--In this +respect the hate of the world is like the love of the Church. The +child of God loves, that he may overcome the evil in the world, by +converting evil-doers from the error of their ways and assimilating +them to holiness; the child of the devil hates, that he may overcome +the good of the world, by arresting their goodness, and assimilating to +evil. Ah, how thankful we may be that we are not of the world, but +have been chosen out of it; for it lieth in the wicked one, and is +infected with the hatred of hell. + +It is not difficult, therefore, to go through the world, and escape its +hate. We have only to adopt its maxims, speak its language, and +conform to its ways. In the well-known picture of the Huguenots, the +young girl, with pleading, upturned face, seeks to tie the Royalist +scarf around her lover's arm. She will secure his safety if she +succeeds! Ah, how many pleading glances are cast at us to induce us to +spare ourselves and others, by toning down our speech, and covering our +regimentals by the disguising cloke of conformity to the world around! +"If you do not approve, at least you need not express your +disapproval." "If you cannot vote for, at least do not vote against." +If you dissent, put your sentiments in courtly phrase, and so pare them +down that they may not offend sensitive ears. Such is the advice, +which is freely proffered. But those who follow it quickly discover +that the compromise of principle involves certainly and awfully the +loss of influence for good. + + +III. OUR BEHAVIOR AMID THE WORLD'S HATRED.--We have fallen on evil +days. The world has been coated over with a Christian veneer, whilst +the Church has become leavened with the subtle spirit of the world. It +is hard to come out and be separate, because in the dim twilight one is +apt to mistake friend and foe. The bribes are so rich for those who +conform, the dissuasive so strong for those who refuse to bow to the +great golden image. But our duty is clear. We must be true to the +spirit of Christ. We must live a holy and unworldly life; we must +avoid all that might be construed as an unworthy compromise of the +interests of our Master's Kingdom. + +And through all the pitiless storm of hate that beats in our faces, we +must be glad. "Blessed are ye," said our Lord, "when men shall revile +you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you +falsely for My sake: rejoice and be exceeding glad." And why rejoice? +Because your reward is great in heaven; because you know that you are +not of the world; because you are shown to be on the path trodden by +the saints before you, every step of which has been trodden amid +similar manifestations of the devil's hate. + +Moreover, abound in love. Let there be no slackening of the patient, +tender, pitying love, which heaps coals of fire on the head of the +wrongdoer, and will never rest content until it has subdued the evil of +his heart, overcoming it with good. Love must ultimately conquer hate, +as surely as tomorrow's sun will conquer the darkness that now veils +the landscape. + + + + +XVIII + +The Work of the Holy Spirit on the World + +"He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of +judgment."--JOHN xvi. 8. + + +Three facts forced themselves home on the apostles during the Lord's +parting words. _First_, that they were to be bereaved of their +Master's presence (ver. 5). _Second_, that they were to be left alone, +amid the world's hatred--"Whosoever killeth you" (ver. 2). _Third_, +that their mission would be witness-bearing to the unseen Lord (xv. 27). + +And as they fully realized all that these facts involved, they became +too absorbed in their own sorrowful conclusions to inquire what bourn +the Master sought as He set sail from these earthly shores. "O +Master," they said in effect, "why canst Thou not stay? Our orphaned +hearts will never be able to endure the blank which Thy absence will +cause. Easier could a flock of sheep withstand the onset of a pack of +wolves than we the hatred of the world! And as for our +witness-bearing, it will be too feeble to avail aught." + +And the Master, in effect, answered thus: "I will not leave you without +aid. I shall still be with you, though unseen. My presence shall be +revealed to your spirits, and made livingly real through the blessed +Comforter. He will be with you, and in you. He will authenticate and +corroborate your witness. He shall testify of Me; and when He is come, +He will convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. +You see then that I shall be able to help you better by sending the +Holy Spirit than by staying with you Myself. It is expedient for _you_ +that I go away; for if I go not away the Comforter will not come to +you, but if I depart I will send Him unto you." + +We may not be able to fathom all the reasons for Christ's withdrawal +before the Spirit's advent was possible. But some of them are obvious +enough. The full union of the Son of God with our race must be secured +through death and resurrection, and His full union with the Father must +be indicated in His glorification with the glory He had or ever the +worlds were made, before He could be the perfect channel of +communicating the Divine fullness to our human nature. The Head must +be anointed before the Body. There must be no physical distraction +arising from the outward life of Jesus to compete with the spiritual +impression of His unseen presence. The text must be completed before +the sermon can be preached. Christ must die, or there can be no +witness to His atonement; must rise, or there can be no testimony to +His resurrection; must ascend, or there can be no declaration as to His +finished work and eternal intercession. Since the Spirit reveals +Christ, all that was appointed unto Christ to do must be completed ere +the Spirit can commence His ministry. + +The work of the Spirit on the world is through the Church, and is +described by our Lord as threefold. By His revelation of Christ He +creates three convictions. Each of these is necessary to the +regeneration of man. There must be the sense of sin, or he will not +seek the Saviour. There must be a belief that righteousness is +possible, or the convicted sinner will die of despair. There must be +the assurance that sin is doomed, and shall be finally vanquished, or +the baffled warrior will give up the long conflict as hopeless. + + +I. THE CONVICTION OF SIN.--We are constantly meeting people who are +perfectly indifferent to Christianity, because they say they do not +feel their need of it. Why should they trouble about it, when they +suppose themselves able to do perfectly well without it? + +In dealing with these, it is a great mistake to entice them toward the +gospel by describing the moral grandeur of Christ's character and +teaching. We should at once seek to arouse them to a sense of their +great sinfulness. When a man realizes that his life is being eaten out +by some insidious disease, he will need no further urging to go to a +physician. This is the weakness of modern preaching--that we expatiate +on the value of the remedy to men who have never realized their dire +necessity. + +But what is the truth most appropriate for producing the conviction of +sin in the human breast? "Preach the Ten Commandments in all their +stern and uncompromising 'shalts' and 'shalt-nots,'" cries one. "Read +out the descriptions given in Scripture of the evil things that lurk in +the heart of man as filthy things in darksome caves," says another. +"Show men the results of sin, take them to the edge of the bottomless +pit," insists a third. But not one of these is the chosen weapon of +the Holy Spirit. He convicts men of the sin of refusing to believe in +Jesus Christ. + +There stands the Cross, the evidence and symbol of God's love; and +there stands the risen Christ, offering Himself to men. There is +nothing which more certainly proves the innate evil of the human heart +than its refusal of that mystery of grace. Disbelief is the creature, +not of the intellect, but of the will. It is not the result of +inability to understand, but of stubborn obstinacy and stiffneckedness. +Here is the supreme manifestation of moral beauty, but man has no eyes +for it. Here is the highest revelation of God's desire for man to be +reconciled with Him, and be at one with Him, His happy child; but man +either despises or spurns His overtures. Here is the offer of pardon +for all the past, of heirship of all the promises, of blessedness in +all the future, but man owns that he is indifferent to the existence +and claims of God, and is quite willing to accept the sleeping +retribution of bygone years, and to risk a future irradiated by no star +of hope. Here is God in Christ beseeching him to be reconciled, +declaring how much the reconciliation has cost, but the frail child of +yesterday absolutely refuses to be at peace. No trace of tears in his +voice, no shame on his face, no response to God's love in his heart. + +This is sin at its worst. Not in a Nero drenched with the blood of +relatives and saints; nor in an Alva expert to invent new methods of +torture; nor in the brutalized expression of the felon; nor in the +degradation of the heathen: but in those beside you, who have heard of +the love of Jesus from their earliest childhood, and who know that He +died for them, and waits to bless them, but who deliberately and +persistently refuse Him, you will find the most terrible revelations of +what man is capable of. "This is the condemnation, that Light is come +into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their +deeds were evil." + +Conviction in itself is not enough. Many have been convicted who have +never gone on to conversion. They have dropped to the ground as +untimely fruit, blighted before its maturity. + +Conviction of sin does not come to all in the same manner or to the +same extent. Indeed, those who have come to Christ in early life are +in a degree exempt from drinking this bitter cup, though they have much +tenderness of conscience afterward. + +Do not wait for more conviction, but come to Jesus as you are, and tell +Him that the saddest symptom in your case is your inability to feel as +you know you should. Do not tarry to be convinced of sin. Do not stay +away till you feel more deeply. Do not suppose that strongly roused +emotions purchase His favor. His command is absolute--_Believe_. But +whenever that true repentance is wrought which needs not to be repented +of, or those tears of penitence fall from the eyes of the suppliant, +the means will always be the person and work and love of Jesus Christ. +This is the burning-glass through which the Spirit focuses the rays of +God's love on ice-bound hearts. + + +II. THE CONVICTION OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.--The aggravation of sin of which +the Spirit convicts the sinner seems to present a gloom too dark for +any ray to penetrate. He cannot forget. The dead past will not bury +its dead. The wind of eternity blows away the leaves with which he +tries to hide the corpses of murdered opportunities, broken hearts, and +dissipated years. He cannot forget. He may close his eyes, but still +the memories of the past will haunt him, the deeds he would undo, the +words he would recall, the dark ingratitude toward the love of Jesus. +Conscience is a flaming terror till a man finds Christ as his Saviour. +Her brow is girt with fire, her voice peals with doom. + +"Can I ever be cleansed?" cries the convicted soul. "Can these awful +gnawings be silenced, and these terrors laid? Can I rise from this +ruin and become a new, righteous, God-like man?" These questions are +answered by the Spirit who induced them. "There is righteousness," He +says, "because Christ is gone to the Father, and ye see Him no more." + +He is gone to the Father; and the seal of Divine authenticity has +therefore been placed on all He said and did in the Father's name. + +He is gone to the Father; and it is clear, therefore, that He has been +accepted as the Saviour and Redeemer of men. + +He is gone to the Father in the likeness and nature of men; evidently, +then, man is an object of God's love, is reconciled to God, and is +admitted to the rights and privileges of a son and heir. + +The work of Jesus on man's behalf finished at the Cross, accepted by +the Father--of which the resurrection is witness--presented by our +Great High Priest within the veil, is the momentous truth which the +Holy Spirit brings home to the convinced sinner. And inasmuch as we +are unable to see within the veil and discern the Divine marks of +approval and acceptance, the Holy Spirit descends, and in His advent +proves that Jesus has gone where He said, and done what He promised. + +How do we know that the work of Jesus Christ has been accepted in the +courts of eternity? On this wise. Before He died the Master said that +He went to the Father, and that when He was glorified He would ask and +receive the Spirit in His fullness. After days had elapsed and the +second week from His ascension was already passing, the Spirit in +pentecostal fullness fell upon the waiting Church, giving it an +altogether new power to combat with the world. What the wagons were to +Jacob, proving that Joseph lived and thought of him still, and was +indeed supreme in Egypt, that the day of Pentecost was in declaring +that Christ's personal righteousness had been vindicated, and that the +righteousness He had wrought out for man had received the hallmark of +the Divine assay. Therefore the apostle says, "The Holy Ghost also is +a witness to us that He hath perfected forever by one offering them +that are sanctified." And again, "Him hath God exalted with His right +hand to be a Prince and a Saviour; and the Holy Ghost, whom God hath +given to them that obey Him, is witness of these things." + + +III. THE CONVICTION OF JUDGMENT.--When we have been freed _from_ sin, +and made righteous in Christ, we are left face to face with a +tremendous struggle against sin. The sin of the past is indeed +forgiven, the voice of conscience has been hushed, the sinner rejoices +to know that he is accepted on the ground of righteousness; but the old +temptations still crop up. Passion prompts us to live for present +gratification; the flesh deadens the burning aspirations of the spirit. +We ask in sad earnestness, How shall we be able to survive the terrible +struggle and to come off victorious? It appears a vain hope that we +should ever rise to perfect and victorious purity. + +At such a time the Comforter convinces us of judgment. Not, as the +words are so often misquoted, of judgment to come, but in the sense in +which our Lord spoke of judgment to the inquiring Greeks: "Now is the +judgment of this world; now shall the Prince of this world be cast +out." Our Lord's references to the existence and power of Satan are +always distinct and unhesitating. It is impossible to accept Him as +our supreme Teacher without accepting His statements concerning His +great antagonist, to undo whose work brought the Son of God to earth. + +The whole Gospel is a story of the duel in which our Lord forever +worsted and mastered Satan. The conflict began with the lonely +struggle of the temptation in the wilderness; it pervaded Christ's +earthly career; it culminated in the Cross. Its first note was, "If +Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread"; its +last note was, "If Thou be the Son of God, come down from the Cross." +But when our Lord cried, "It is finished," with the shout of a +conqueror, He proclaimed to the universe that, though tempted to the +uttermost, He had not yielded in one particular, that evil was not an +eternal power, that wrong was not omnipotent. The Cross was the crisis +of this world's history: the prince of this world measured himself for +one final wrestle with the Son of God. Had he succeeded, evil would +have reigned; but since he failed he fell as lightning from heaven. + +On this fact the Holy Spirit loves to dwell. He unfolds its full +meaning. "See," He says, "Christ has conquered for you, and in your +nature. You meet a foe who is not invincible. Christ conquered, not +for Himself, but for all who believe. The prince of this world has +been judged and found wanting. He is condemned forevermore. Only +abide in the last Adam, the Lord from heaven, and let Him abide in you, +and He will repeat through you His olden victories." + +What a majestic thought is here! The world comes to us first with its +fascinations and delights. She comes to us next with her frowns and +tortures. Behind her is her prince. But since he has been cast out by +a stronger than himself, and exists only on sufferance, his most potent +bribes and lures, his most violent onsets, his most unscrupulous +suggestions, must collapse. Believer, meet him as a discredited and +fallen foe. He can have no power at all over thee. The Cross bruised +his head. Thou hast no need to fear judgment. It awaits those only +who are still in the devil's power. But thou mayest rejoice that for +thee a victory waits, the measure of which will only be explored when +thou seest the devil cast into the bottomless pit, and thence into the +lake of fire. + + + + +XIX + +Christ's Reticence Supplemented by the Spirit's Advent + +"I have yet many things to say unto you; but ye cannot bear them +now."--JOHN xvi. 12-15. + + +How confidently our Lord speaks of the Spirit's advent; not more so did +the prophets foretell His own. Repeatedly He returns to the phrase, +_When He is come_. The advent of the Spirit to the heart of the Church +on the Day of Pentecost, was as distinct and marked an event as the +advent of the Son of God Himself to the manger-bed of Bethlehem. Let +every reader of these words be sure of having taken the full advantage +of His Presence, just as we would wish to have availed ourselves to the +uttermost of the physical presence of Christ, had our lot so befallen. + + +I. THE THEME OF THIS PARAGRAPH IS THE INCOMPLETENESS OF OUR LORD'S +TEACHING.--For three and a half years He was perpetually pouring forth +His wonderful words; in many _different places_--the market-place, the +home at Bethany, the hillside, the Temple cloister; to many _different +audiences_--now in thronging crowds, and again to the secret disciple +whose footfall startled the night, or the lone woman drawing water from +the well; on many _different themes_--to mention all of which would be +impossible, though He never spoke on any subject, common as a wayside +flower, without associating with it thoughts that can never die. We +have but a small portion of His words recorded in the Gospels, it is +therefore the more remarkable that He left anything unsaid, and that at +the close of His ministry He should have to say, _I have yet many +things to say unto you_. Many parables, fair as His tenderest, woven +in the productive loom of His imagination, remained unuttered; many +discourses, inimitable as the Sermon on the Mount, or as this in the +upper room, unspoken; many revelations of heavenly mystery not made. + +A comparison between the Gospels and the Epistles will indicate how +much our Lord had left unsaid. The relation of the law of Moses to His +finished work was left to the Epistle to the Romans: the relation +between His Church and the usages of the heathen world, for the Epistle +to Corinth: the effect of His resurrection on the sleeping saints for +the Epistle to the Thessalonians. He said nothing about the union of +Jew and Gentile on terms of equality in His Church; this mystery, +hidden from ages and from generations, was only fully unveiled in the +Epistle to the Ephesians. It was left for the Epistle to the Hebrews +to disclose the superseding of the Temple and its ritual by the +realities of the Christian dispensation. The practical precepts for +the right ordering of the Churches were left for the pastoral Epistles; +and the course of the Church through the ages of the world's history, +for the Apocalypse of the beloved Apostle. When we perceive the many +things, taught in the Epistles, which were not unfolded by the Lord, we +discern a fresh meaning in His assurance that He left much unsaid. + +We are perpetually assailed by the cry, "Back to Christ," which is +significant of men's weariness of theological system, and organized +ecclesiasticism, and of a desire to get away from the accretions of the +Middle Ages and the dead hand of Church Tradition, into the pure, +serene, and holy presence of Jesus of Nazareth. It always seems to us +as if the cry should be _Up to_ Christ, rather than _Back_ to Him. To +put it as men generally do, suggests the inference that Christ lies far +in the wake of human progress, and behind the haze of eighteen +centuries; that He was, but is no longer, a potent factor in the +world's life; whereas He is here, now, with us, in us, leading us as of +old through rugged passes, and to mountains of transfiguration. + +If the endeavor to get back to Christ means the Synoptic Gospels to the +exclusion of the fourth, or the Epistles; or the Sermon on the Mount to +the exclusion of the Epistle to the Romans; or Jesus to the exclusion +of His Apostles, we feel it is but half the truth. Our Lord Himself +protested that His teachings were incomplete, that there was much left +unsaid which would be said by the Comforter, as even He could not, +because the Spirit of God speaks in the inner shrine of the soul, +uttering to the inner ear, truths which no voice could speak or ear +receive. Let us always remember therefore that the Gospels must be +completed by the Epistles, and that the Spirit who spake in the Son, +spake also in those whom the Son had prepared to be His mouthpieces to +men. + + +II. THE PARTIAL MEASURE OF HUMAN ABILITY TO KNOW.--"Ye cannot bear them +now." Our Lord's reticence did not arise from ignorance, He could have +said so much had He not been able to say more. All things were naked +and open to His eye, but He had a tender regard for these men whom He +loved. + +_Their bodies_ could not bear more. When the mind is strongly wrought +upon, the delicate organism of the body is deeply affected. On the +banks of the river Hiddekel, words of such wondrous importance were +uttered to the lonely exile, that Daniel fainted, and was sick many +days. "When I saw Him," says John, "I fell at His feet as dead." +Flavel, on more than one occasion, asked that the excessive revelation +might be stayed. Our Lord, therefore, feared that in their weakened +state, torn by anxiety and sorrow, His followers would collapse if +further strain were imposed upon their powers of spiritual apprehension. + +_Their minds_ could not bear more. The mind cannot receive more than a +certain amount. After a while its eye gets weary, it ceases to +receive, and even to remember. There are multitudes of cases in which, +when too great a weight has been crowded on the delicate organism +through which thoughts move, its balance has been upset, and it has +drivelled into idiocy. Against this danger, also, our Lord guarded, +for His disciples were already excited and over-strained. Their brains +were so exhausted that in a few moments they would be sleeping on the +cold ground of Gethsemane. Had He poured the light of the other world +in full measure upon them, the tide of glory had submerged them, like +spent swimmers. + +_Their affections_ could not bear more. Because He had spoken to them, +sorrow had filled their heart, and He forbore to describe the valley of +shadow through which they were still to pass, lest their hearts should +break. They had hardly commenced to drink its cup: what would its +dregs be? The footmen had wearied them: how would they contend with +horses? The brink had terrified them: how would they do in the +swellings of Jordan? + +It is thus that He deals with us still. He knows our frame, and +proportions our trials to our strength. He carefully feels our pulse +before commencing the operation through which He would lead us to +perfect health. He tempers His discipline to our spiritual capacity. +We desire to know many things: the reason why sin has been permitted, +the fate of the impenitent; the state of the great masses of men who +have passed into eternity without a true knowledge of God. Peter asks +for John, "What shall this man do?" Each wants to know the secret +plans, whether for himself, or his beloved, which are lying in the mind +and purpose of the Eternal. What will the end be? Where does that +path lead by which I am going, and which descends steeply into the +ravine? Will the fight between evil and good be much prolonged? What +are hell, and the bottomless pit, and the meaning of Christ's +references to the undying worm and unquenchable flame? And Christ +says, "My child, you cannot bear it; you could not sleep at night, you +could not play with the merry children by day, you could not perform +your slender tasks, if you knew all that I know, and see as I see. Be +at rest. Trust Me. I will tell you as soon as you are strong enough. +Nothing shall be kept back from you, all shall be revealed." And +surely the sufferings and limitations of this present time will not be +worthy to be compared with the exceeding weight of glory, when in the +presence of our Lord we shall see eye to eye, and know even as we are +known. + +In the light of these words we may get comfort. When some crushing +trouble befalls us, He who only spoke as they were able to bear, will +not permit the flame to be hotter, the tide stronger, or the task more +trying than we have strength for. We often do not know our strength +nor the power of His grace. Sorrow may be sent to reveal us to +ourselves, and show how much spiritual energy we have been silently +acquiring. Do not, therefore, run to and fro, and say, "It is too +much, I cannot bear it." But know and be sure that Christ has +ascertained your resources, and is sure of your ability, before He +permits the extreme ordeal to overtake you. Dare to say with the +apostle, "I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me." + + +III. THE TEACHING OF THE DIVINE SPIRIT.--His _personality_ is +unmistakable; though the Greek word for Spirit is neuter, a masculine +pronoun is used in conjunction with it when Jesus says, "He, the Spirit +of Truth." The personal Christ sent as a substitute for Himself no +mere breath or influence, but the personal Spirit. The Advocate before +the Throne is well represented by the Advocate in the heart of the +Church, and these two agree in one. Distinct as different Persons, but +one in the mystical unity of the Holy Trinity. + +Note the _method_ of the Holy Spirit. He teaches truth by taking of +the things of Christ and revealing them. There are two methods of +teaching children, by precept, and by example. I go into a schoolroom +one summer afternoon, and remark the hot cheeks and tired eyes of the +little ones. Outside the open window the bees are droning past, the +butterflies flit from flower to flower, and nature seems to cry to the +little hearts, "Come and play with me." Does a garden ever look so +beautiful as to children shut up to their studies? "What are you +learning, little ones?" I say. "Botany," is the sad answer "We've got +to learn all these hard names, and copy these diagrams." "Well," I +say, "shut up your books, and come with me." And presently I teach +them more botany by contact with the flowers themselves, than they +would have learned by hours of poring over lesson-books. It is so the +Spirit teaches. Is gentleness or purity, self-sacrifice or prayer, the +lesson that we are set to acquire? There is no need for Him to make a +new revelation to us. It is enough if He but bring us face to face +with Jesus, and show these qualities shining through His words and +deeds. The truth certainly, but the truth as it is in Jesus. + +The condition of proficiency in the Spirit's school is _obedience_. +"He will _guide_ you into all truth." This word is very significant. +Literally it means, _Show the way_. Ordinarily men ask to know the +truth before they obey. The Spirit demands that they should obey +before they know. Let me know the outcome of this act; its philosophy, +its reasonableness, its result, then I will obey. But the Spirit +answers, "It is enough for thee, O child of man, to know Me. Canst +thou not trust? Wilt thou not obey? And as thou obeyest thou shalt +know. Take this path, plod along its difficult way, climb where it +climbs, so shalt thou ascend the steep of obedience, and at each step a +further horizon of the truth will open outspread beneath thee." + +Let us be more sensitive to the guidance of the Spirit, following +whithersoever He clearly indicates, as when the Spirit said to Philip, +"Go, join thyself to this chariot." We shall know when we follow on to +know the Lord. His going forth is prepared for those who are prepared +to obey whatsoever He may appoint. + +The aim of the Spirit is to glorify our Lord. "He shall glorify Me, +for He shall receive of mine." The Spirit's presence, as such, should +not be a subject of our close scrutiny, lest we conflict with His holy +purpose of being hidden, that Jesus may be all in all before the gaze +of saint and sinner. He is so anxious that nothing should divert the +soul's gaze from the Lord whom He would reveal, that He carefully +withdraws Himself from view. "There must be nothing, not even God +Himself, to distract the heart from Jesus, through whom we come to God. +But remember that when you have the most precious views of your dear +Lord, it is because the Holy Spirit, all unseen, is witnessing and +working within you." + +The _authority_ of the Holy Spirit appears in the words, "He shall not +speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak." +Where does He hear the truths He utters? Where? There is only one +place. In the depths of the eternal throne, in the heart of Deity +itself, in the secret place of the Most High. Oh, marvel! surpassing +thought, yet true! that things which pass between the Father and the +Son, in the depths which no angel can penetrate, may be disclosed and +made known to those humble and contrite hearts who are willing to make +a space and pause for the Divine Spirit to speak the deep things of God. + +May it be ours to be patient and willing pupils in this heavenly school +in which the Holy Spirit is Teacher, and Jesus the Text-Book, and +character the essential condition of knowledge. + + + + +XX + +The Conqueror of the World + +"In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have +overcome the world."--JOHN xvi. 33. + + +It was the road between Jerusalem and the Gate of the Garden. Behind, +lay the city bathed in slumber; before, the Mount of Olives with its +terraced gardens; above, the Passover moon, pouring down floods of +silver light that dropped to the ground through the waving branches of +the trees. The Lord was on His way to betrayal and death, along that +path flecked by checkered moonlight. + +The farewell talk had been prolonged until the disciples had grasped +something of the Master's meaning. With many a comforting assurance it +had borne them forward to the magnificent but simple declaration, "_I +came forth from the Father, and am come into the world; again, I leave +the world, and go to the Father_" (ver. 28). At that announcement +light seems to have broken in upon their hearts, and they said unto +Him, "_Lo, now speakest Thou plainly, . . . by this we believe that +Thou camest forth from God._" Jesus replied, not as translators render +it, "_Do ye now believe_"; but as it should be rendered, "_At last ye +believe_"; and He proceeded to formulate three paradoxes: + +First, That within an hour or so He would be alone, yet not alone. + +Secondly, That they would have tribulation, and yet be in peace. + +Thirdly, That though He was going to His death, He was certainly a +conqueror, and had overcome the world, whose princes were about to +crucify Him. + +That word _overcome_ appears to have been used only this once by our +Lord; but it made a lasting impression on the Apostle John, who +constantly makes use of it in his Epistle. We meet with it _six_ times +in his brief first Epistle, and _sixteen_ times in the Book of +Revelation. Who can forget the sevenfold promise spoken by the risen +Lord to those who overcome; or the sublime affirmation concerning the +martyrs, that they overcame by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of +their testimony? + + +I. CHRIST AND HIS DISCIPLES HAVE A COMMON FOE--"The world."--And what +is the world? _It is well to take the inspired definition given in 1 +John ii. 16_. After enumerating her three daughters--the lust of the +flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--the apostle goes on +to say: "All that is in the world is not of the Father," _i.e._, does +not originate or proceed from Him, but has its source in the world +itself. We might reverse this proposition and say: "All that does not +emanate from the Father, which you cannot trace back to His purpose in +creation, is that mysterious indefinable influence or spirit which +makes the world." The world, in this sense, is not primarily a thing, +or a collection of people, but a spiritual influence poured out into +the very atmosphere of our lives. + +The spirit of the world insinuates itself everywhere. It is what we +call society; the consensus of fashionable opinion; the spirit which +finds its satisfaction in the seen and transient; the ambition that is +encircled by the rim of an earthly horizon; the aims, plans, and +activities which are comprehended, as the Preacher says, "under the +sun." You meet it in the school, where little children judge each +other by their dress and the number of horses their fathers keep; in +the country town, where strict lines are drawn between the professional +or wholesale man and the retailer; in gatherings of well-dressed +people, stiff with decorum and the punctilious observance of etiquette. + +The world has formulated its _Beatitudes_, thus: + +"Blessed are the rich, for they shall inherit the earth." + +"Blessed are the light-hearted, for they shall have many friends." + +"Blessed are the respectable, for they shall be respected." + +"Blessed are they who are not troubled by a sensitive conscience, for +they shall succeed in life." + +"Blessed are they who can indulge their appetites to the full, for they +shall be filled." + +"Blessed are they who have no need to conciliate their rivals, for they +will be saved from anxiety." + +"Blessed are they who have no poor relations, for they shall be +delivered from annoyance." + +"Blessed are they of whom all men speak well." + +The world's code says, "Do as others do; don't be singular; never +offend against good taste; have a tinge of religiousness, but remember +too much is impracticable for daily life; whatever you do, don't be +poor; never yield an inch, unless you are going to make something by +the concession; take every advantage of bettering your position, it +matters not at what cost to others--they must look after themselves, as +you to yourself." + +But it was reserved for John Bunyan to draw Madame Bubble's portrait: +"This woman is a witch. 'I am mistress of the world,' she says, 'and +men are made happy by me.' She wears a great purse at her side; and +her hand is often in her purse fingering her money. Yea, she has +bought off many a man from a pilgrim's life after he had fairly begun +it. She is a bold and impudent slut also, for she will talk to any +man. If there be one cunning to make money, she will speak well of him +from house to house. None can tell of the mischief she does. She +makes variance betwixt rulers and subjects, 'twixt parents and +children, 'twixt a man and his wife, 'twixt the flesh and the heart. +Had she stood by all this while,' said Standfast, whose eyes were still +full of her, 'you could not have set Madame Bubble more amply before +me, nor have better described her features.' 'He that drew her picture +was a good limner,' said Mr. Honest, 'and he that so wrote of her said +true.' 'Oh,' said Standfast, 'what a mercy it is that I did resist +her! for to what might she not have drawn me?'" + + +II. CHRIST AND HIS DISCIPLES HAVE A COMMON CONFLICT.--It is inevitable +that there should be collision, and therefore conflict, and as a result +tribulation. The world-spirit will not brook our disagreement with its +plans and aims, and therefore they who persist in living godly lives in +this present evil world must suffer persecution. + +_Conflict about the use of power and prerogative._--At His baptism our +Lord was proclaimed to be the Son of the Highest, and anointed with the +Holy Ghost and with power. Instantly the Prince of this world came to +Him with the suggestion that He should use it for the purposes of His +own comfort and display. "Make these stones bread for thine hunger; +cast Thyself down and attract the attention of the crowds." Here were +the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes. But our Lord refused +to use for Himself the power which was entrusted to Him for the +benediction and help of men. + +_Conflict as to the way of helping and saving men._--The world's way +was to leap into the seat of power at any cost, and from the height of +universal authority administer the affairs of the world. But Christ +knew better. He saw that He must take the form of a servant, and +humble Himself to the lowest. If He would save men, He cannot save +Himself: if He would bring forth much fruit, He must fall into the +ground to die: if He would ascend far above all heavens, bearing us +with Him to the realms of eternal day, He must descend first into the +lower parts of the earth. + +_Conflict in the estimate of poverty and suffering._--The world looked +on these as the most terrible disasters that could befall. Christ, on +the other hand, taught that blessedness lay most within reach of the +poor in spirit, the mourners, the merciful, the forgiving, and the +persecuted. But the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, when they +heard all these things, scoffed at Him. + +_Conflict in their diverse notions of royalty._--The Jews looked for a +Messiah who should revive the glories of the days of David and Solomon, +driving the Gentiles from the land, and receiving the homage of the +surrounding nations, whilst every son of Abraham enjoyed opulence and +ease. Referring to this expectation, the Master said, "My kingdom is +not of this world: if My kingdom were of this world, then would My +servants fight." His conception of royalty was founded on service, +which would wash the disciples' feet; on humility, which meekly bore +the heavy yoke, on patience, which would not quench the smoking flax, +on suffering, which flinched not from the cross; on the nobility and +dignity of the inner life, which shone through the most humble +circumstances, as the transfiguration glory through His robes. For +this He died. The chief priests and scribes hunted Him to death, +because He persisted in asserting that He was the true King of men. +"And Pilate wrote a title also, and put it on the Cross, _Jesus of +Nazareth, the King of the Jews_." + +_There was conflict in regard to religion._--The people of Christ's day +were very religious. The world likes a flavor of religion. It makes a +good background and screen, it serves to hide much that is unbecoming +and questionable; it is respectable, and satisfies an instinctive +longing of the soul. But the world manages its religion in such a way +as not to interfere with its self-aggrandizement; but, in fact, to +promote it. Christ, on the other hand, taught that religion was for +the Father in secret; and consisted, not in the rigorous observance of +outward rite, but in pity, mercy, forgiveness, solitary prayer, and +purity of heart. + +Thus the Lord's life was the reversal of everything that the world +prized. Wherever He touched it there was conflict and collision, +strong antagonism was evoked, and profound irritation on the part of +the poor hollow appearance-loving world. So it must be with His +followers. "These pilgrims must needs go through the fair. Well, so +they did; but behold, even as they entered into the fair, all the +people in the fair were moved, and the town itself, as it were, in a +hubbub about them. They were clothed with such kind of raiment as was +diverse from the raiment of any who traded in that fair; few could +understand what they said; and the pilgrims set very light by all their +wares. And they did not believe them to be any other than bedlams and +mad. Therefore they took them and beat them, and besmeared them with +dirt, and then put them in the cage, that they might be made a +spectacle to all the men at the fair." + +Child of God, your conflict may be altogether _hidden_ from the eyes of +those around you, _lonely_ with the awful loneliness of one in a crowd +of unsympathizing strangers, _painful_ with the tribulation that Christ +foretold. You have been ridiculed, sneered at, maligned; your tools +hidden, your goods injured, violence threatened or executed. You have +been as a speckled bird, pecked at by the birds around. But this is +the way the Master went. By these marks you may be sure that you are +in the way of His steps. + + +III. THE COMMON VICTORY.--"Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." + +In the midst of a battle, when the soldiers are weary with fatigue, +galled with fire, and grimed with smoke, if the general rides into the +midst to cheer them with a few hearty words, and tells them that the +key to the position is in their hands, they cheer him enthusiastically, +and take up new hope. So down the line our Leader and Commander sends +the encouragement of these inspiring words. Let us drink their comfort +and encouragement to the full, that, amid our tribulation, in Him we +may have peace. + +_He conquered for Himself._--The Lord has shown that a great and +blessed life is possible on conditions which the world pronounces +simply unendurable. He would not accept the world's maxims, would not +be ruled by the world's principles, did despite to the world's most +favorite plans. He even tasted the dregs of reprobation that the world +metes out to those who oppose her, enduring the cross, and despising +the shame. But His life was blessed while it lasted, His name is the +dearest and fairest treasure of our race, and He holds an empire such +as none of the world's most favored conquerors ever won. Does not this +show that the world is a lying temptress, that there is another and a +better policy of life than hers, that the real sweets and prizes of +this brief existence are, after all, not in her gift. Christ has +overcome the world. Her prince came to Him, but found no response to +any of His proposals. He disregarded her flatteries and threatenings; +He would not have her help and despised her hate; He prosecuted His +path in defiance of her, and has left an imperishable glory behind. +Thus He overcame the world. + +_And he conquered as our representative and head._--What He did for +Himself He is prepared to repeat in the life-story of His followers. +Ah! lonely soul, thou shalt not be left unaided to withstand the +seductions of the temptress world; Jesus is with thee, thy Great-heart +and Champion. As the Father was with Him, so He is with thee; so thus +thou mayest boldly say, "The Lord is my helper, I will not fear what +man can do unto me." + +He does more. Behind the light of this world's glory, Jesus reveals +another; and it is as when the sun rises, while the yellow moon still +lingers in the sky. The world has no glory by reason of that glory, +which excelleth. We are content with this world until He reveals the +glory of the unseen and eternal; then a holy discontent arises with us, +such as the patriarchs felt toward Canaan, when by faith they beheld +the city which hath foundations. I only say to you, get that vision, +and it becomes as easy for you to refuse the passing and worthless +attractions of the world as for an angel to ignore a wanton's beauty, +or a child to make light of diamonds in the rough. + +In Jesus you may have peace. It is not certainly ours, unless we +follow the two conditions He lays down. First, of abiding in Him; and, +secondly, of meditating on His words. But if these be observed we +shall have in the midst of strife, just as there is an oratory in the +heart of the castle keep; a hollow cone in the midst of the candle +flame; and a centre of safety in the midst of the sweeping whirlwind. +Oh, abide there, child of God! + +And, in addition to peace, there shall one day be victory. We also +shall overcome, and shall sit with Christ on His throne, as He +overcame, and sits with the Father upon His. Then the fruit of the +tree of life, immunity from the second death, the hidden manna, the +white stone, the morning star, the confession before the angels of God, +and the pillar in the temple of Eternity! + + + + +XXI + +Consecrated to Consecrate + +"For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be +sanctified in truth."--JOHN xvii. 19. + + +"The most precious fragment of the past," is the unstinted eulogium +which a thoughtful man has passed on this transcendent prayer; +transcending in its scope of view, its expressions, its tender pathos, +all other prayers of which we have record. + +Its primary characteristic is _timelessness_. Though uttered within a +few hours of Calvary, it contains thoughts and expressions which must +have been familiar to our Lord at any moment during the centuries which +have followed. As we study it, therefore, we are listening to words +which have been uttered many times on our behalf, and will be uttered +until we are with Him, where He is, beholding the glory of the Divine +Son, superadded to that of the Perfect Servant. + +The R. V. margin substitutes the word _consecrate_ for _sanctify_, and +it probably conveys a better meaning, because devotion to the will of +God is prominent, rather than the holiness of personal character. +Devotion to God's will is the primary thought suggested by the word; +but of course it involves a blameless and spotless character. Thus we +might read the words, "For their sakes I consecrate Myself, that they +also may be consecrated in truth." Through the dim twilight the Lord +clearly foresaw what was awaiting Him--the agony and bloody sweat, the +cross and passion, the foresakenness and travail of His soul. The +cross with out-stretched arms waited to receive Him; the midnight +darkness to engulf Him, the murderous band to wreak their hate on the +unresisting Lamb--and yet He flinched not, but went right forward, +consecrating Himself. + + "Twas thus He suffered, though a Son, + Foreknowing, choosing, tasting all, + Until the dreadful work was done + And drank the bitter cup of gall." + + +I. THE SUBJECTS OF CHRIST'S SOLICITUDE.--In the earlier verses the Lord +speaks of Himself, of His finished work, of the glory which He had +left, of that to which He went, asking only that He might be able to +glorify the Father in every movement of His coming sorrow (1-5). + +Then He launches Himself on the full current of intercession, and +pleads for those who had been given to Him, as distinguished from the +world of men out of which they had come. Evidently the same thought +was in His mind as inspired His words in John x., when He spoke of the +sheep whom the Father had given to Him, that He might give them eternal +life (27-29). And it may be that each of these two utterances was +inspired by older words yet, that Zechariah had addressed to the poor +of the flock when he cut asunder his two slaves, Beauty and Bands +(Zech. xi. 7-14). + +The underlying conception in all these passages seems to be that the +Father has entrusted to the special keeping of Jesus certain elect +spirits having an affinity to His nature, and who should stand in the +inner circle to Him because associated with Him from high redemptive +purpose. All souls are God's by right of creation, and all are +included in the redemption wrought on the cross; but not all had been +included in the Divine gift of which Jesus speaks, "Thine they were, +and Thou gavest them Me." We conclude that in the eternity of the +past, as the Father beheld all future things as though they were +present, and surveyed the vast multitudes of the human family, He +discerned those who would be attracted by indissoluble union with His +Son, manifest in the flesh; and whom He did foreknow, these also He did +predestinate to be His flock, His brethren and sisters, His chosen band +of associates in His redemptive purpose. These were the subjects of +His powerful solicitude, "I make request, not for the world, but for +those whom Thou hast given Me." + +What then? Did not God care for the world? Certainly. He so loved +the world that He gave His only begotten Son. + +How then can we reconcile the love of God to the world with the +selection of some as the flock of the Lamb, whilst the great world +seems expressly excluded from His prayer? That question is fitly put. +The emphasis is on the word seems. It is only to the superficial view +that the world is excluded. Are the planets excluded from the law of +gravitation because suns are filled with fire and light? Are the lower +orders of creation excluded from the circle of enjoyment because man +with his high organization is more richly endowed than they? Are +sufferers excluded from the healing virtues of nature because a +comparative few are specially qualified as surgeons and physicians? +Can a missionary be charged with neglecting a dark continent because he +concentrates thought and care on a few elect spirits gathered around +him? For instance, could Columba be held guilty of neglecting the +Picts and Scots when on Iona's lone isle he focused his care upon the +handful of followers who assembled around the ancient pile, whose ruins +are his lasting memorial? There is but one answer to these questions. +Election is not exclusive, but inclusive. Its purpose is not primarily +the salvation or delectation of the few, but their equipment to become +the apostles to the many. And if Jesus thought, cared, and prayed so +much for those whom the Father had given Him, His ulterior thought was +that the world might believe that the Father had sent Him (ver. 21). +If then it should be proved that you, my reader, are not included in +the band of the given ones, that would not necessarily involve you in +the eternal condemnation and loss of the future; though it would +exclude you from sharing with Christ in His lofty mission to the sons +of men. + +What are the marks then that we belong to the inner circle of the given +ones? They are these-- + +1. That we have come to Him (John vi. 37). + +2. That we hear His voice, listening for the slightest indication of +His will (John x. 27). + +3. That we follow His steps through the world. + +4. That we receive His words and believe that the Father sent the Son +to be our Saviour. + +5. That the world hates us (ver. 14). + +Wheresoever these marks are present, they indicate the hand of the +Great Shepherd and Bishop of Souls, and though we be amongst the most +timid and worthless of the flock, He is pledged to keep us, so that +none shall snatch us from His hand, and conduct us through the valley +of the shadow to those dewy upland lawns over which He will lead us +forevermore. + + +II. WHAT HE SOUGHT FOR THEM--"that they might be consecrated in truth." + +Christ does not ask that His own should be forgiven, comforted, +supplied with the good things of life--all thought for these pales in +the presence of His intense desire that they should be consecrated, +_i.e._, inspired by the same consuming passion as was burning in His +heart. He knew that He was no more in the world. High business +connected with its interests summoned Him to the far country, whither +He went to receive the kingdom and return. But He desired that the +passion which filled His soul, His tears, His prayers, and, to an +extent, His sufferings, might always be represented amongst the sons of +men, embodied in human lives, finding utterance through human lips. He +could not Himself perpetuate his corporeal visible ministry among men, +and therefore desired with a great desire that those whom the Father +had given Him should evermore show forth His death till He came. Not +simply by gathering at His table, but by going forth to live His life, +and fill up that which is behind of His sufferings. + +Is this your life? We have sometimes heard consecration stated as +though it were a matter of choice whether believers should bind +themselves by its obligations or not. When a student enters the +university there are certain subjects in which he must matriculate, but +there are special ones which he may graduate in or not, as he pleases. +Should he refuse them, he is not blamed. The matter was within his +option. Now, let it be clearly understood from these words of Christ +that consecration is not in the same sense optional, but obligatory. +For all those whom the Father had given Him He pleaded with His dying +breath that they should be consecrated; and if you are not consecrated, +if there are extensive reserves in your life, if you are holding back +part of the price, if you are saying of aught that you have, It is my +own, I shall do as I choose, then understand that you are in direct +conflict against Christ's purpose and prayer. He asked that you might +be consecrated; and you have chosen to regard consecration as the craze +of the fervid enthusiast. + + +III. CHRIST'S METHOD OF SECURING THE CONSECRATION OF HIS +SERVANTS.--"For their sakes I consecrate Myself." + +(1) _There is the potency of example._--"He hath left us an example to +follow in His steps." "He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself +also to walk even as He walked." Once when He was praying in a certain +place His disciples said, "Lord, teach us to pray." They had come +within the powerful attraction of His Spirit. Like a swift current it +had caught them, and they were eager to emulate Him. It is impossible +for the saint to gaze long on the stigmata without becoming branded +with the marks of Jesus; impossible to see Him hasting to the cross +without being stirred to follow Him; impossible to behold the intensity +of His purpose for a world's redemption without becoming imbued with +it; impossible to see Him in love with the cross without feeling a +similar infatuation; impossible to behold Him plunging into the dark +floods of death that He might emerge in the sunlit ocean, without the +consciousness of the uprising of an insatiable desire to be like Him, +to drink of His cup, and be baptized with His baptism, to fall into the +ground to die, that He may not abide alone, to know the fellowship of +His sufferings, and conformity to His death, that He may appoint unto +us a kingdom, as the Father hath appointed to Him. + +(2) _There is our implication in His mediatorial work._--"I have been +crucified with Christ," the apostle said. And, again, "Ye died with +Christ from the rudiments of the world." Of course, Christ died _for_ +us, presenting to the claims of a broken law a perfect satisfaction and +oblation. It is also true that we died _with_ Him, were _in_ Him as +our Representative, wrought _through_ Him as our Forerunner; the first +fruit-sheaf contained the promise of all its companions. + +Consider for a moment a remarkable expression that casts light on this +whole subject. In that memorable discussion with the Jews in Solomon's +porch, which practically closed our Lord's public ministry, He said +that the Father had sanctified and consecrated Him and sent Him into +the world (John x. 36). In these sublime words He undoubtedly refers +to a moment which preceded the Incarnation, when the Godhead designated +the Second Person to redeem men? Was it the same moment, think you, as +that in which Jesus said, "Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not, but +a body thou hast prepared for Me (or, Mine ears hast thou pierced). I +delight to do Thy will, O My God." If so, what an august scene that +must have been when, in the presence of the assembled hierarchies of +heaven, the Father solemnly set apart the Son for His redemption work, +consecrating Him to bring in everlasting salvation, to destroy the +works of the devil, and to bring together in one the children of God +that are scattered abroad! + +In that solemn consecration of the head all the members were included. +The King stood for His kingdom; the Shepherd for His flock. Any who +refuse to be consecrated contravene and contradict that momentous +decision. + +When Christ approached His death, in these words He renewed His act of +consecration, and again implicated those who belong to Him; bearing us +with Him, He went to the cross, involving us by His actions, He yielded +Himself up to death. In His holy purpose we were quickened together +with Him, and raised up together, and made to sit together in the +heavenly places; and by the same emphasis that we declare ourselves to +be His, we confess that we are amongst those who are bound to a life of +consecration. We are pledged to it by union with our Lord. We cannot +draw back from the doorpost to which He was nailed without proving that +we are deficient in appreciating the purpose which brought Him to our +world, the surrender that withheld not His face from spitting, His soul +from the shadow of death. + + +IV. OUR DUTY.--"Yield yourselves unto God." When Abraham Lincoln +dedicated, for the purposes of a graveyard, the field of Gettysburg, +where so many brave soldiers had lost their lives, he said: "We cannot +dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The +brave men who struggled here have consecrated it far beyond our power +to add or detract. It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated to +the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly +advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task +remaining before us, that from these honored dead we take increased +devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of +devotion; and that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not +have died in vain." + +These noble words, when we have made the needful alterations and +adaptations, are most applicable to our present point. Let us dedicate +ourselves to the great task before us, and to which Jesus has pledged +us. Let us devote ourselves to this great cause for which Jesus died. +Let us highly resolve that He shall not have died in vain. Let us +offer and present ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, +holy, and living sacrifice unto God, that His will might be done +through us, as it is done in heaven. + + "My Master, lead me to Thy door; + Pierce this now willing ear once more; + Thy bonds are freedom, let me stay + With Thee, to toil, endure, obey. + + "Yes; ear and hand, and thought and will! + Use all in Thy dear slavery still! + Self's weary liberties I cast + Beneath Thy feet; there keep them fast." + + + + +XXII + +The Lord's Prayer for His People's Oneness + +"That they may all be one. . . . One in us. . . . That they may be +one, even as we are one. . . . Perfect in one."--JOHN xvii. 21-23. + + +Thus our High Priest pleaded, and thus He pleads. In all the power of +His endless life, He ever liveth to bear this great petition on His +heart: and as the weight of the jewelled breast-plate lay heavy on the +heart of the high priests of old, so does it press on Him, as the ages +slowly pass by in their never-ceasing progress toward the consummation +of all things. Listen to that voice, sweet and full as the distant +rush of many waters, as it pleads in the midst of eternity that those +which believe in Him may be one. + +Nor is it true that this prayer awaits an answer indefinitely future. +There seems good reason to believe, as we shall see, that in these +words our Lord was making a request, which began to be fulfilled on the +Day of Pentecost: and is being fulfilled continually, although the +oneness which is being realized is still, like His kingdom, in mystery, +and is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. Then, as the +gauzy mists of time part before the breath of God, the accomplished +oneness of the Church shall stand revealed. + + +I. THE ONENESS OF BELIEVERS IS A SPIRITUAL ONENESS.--Can there be any +reasonable doubt of this when our Master asks so clearly that we may be +one, _as the Father and He are one_? The model for Christian unity is +evidently the unity between the Father and Son by the Holy Spirit; and +since that unity, the unity of the blessed God, is not corporeal, nor +physical, nor substantial to the eye of the flesh, may we not +infer--nay, are we not compelled to infer--that the oneness of +believers is to be after the same fashion, and to consist in so close +an identity of nature, so absolute an interfusion of spirit, as that +they shall be one in aim, and thought, and life, and spirit, +spiritually one with each other, because spiritually one with Him? + +The Church of Rome, which has ever travestied in gross material forms +the most spiritual conceptions of God, sought to prove herself the true +Church by achieving a oneness of her own. It was an outward and +visible oneness. In the apostate church every one must utter the same +formularies, worship in the same postures, and belong to the same +ecclesiastical system. And its leaders did their best to realize their +dream. They endeavored to exterminate heresy by fire, and sword, and +torture. They spread their network through the world. And just before +the dawn of the Reformation they seemed to have succeeded. At the +beginning of the sixteenth century, Europe reposed in the monotony of +almost universal uniformity, beneath the almost universal supremacy of +the Papacy. Rome might indeed have adopted the insolent language of +the Assyrian of prophecy: "As one gathereth eggs, so have I gathered +all the earth, and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the +mouth, or peeped." And what was the result? _What but the deep sleep +of spiritual death_? And herein lay the most crushing condemnation of +the Roman Catholic conception of the unity of the Church. + +Many modern notions of Christian unity seem to proceed on the same +line. The assent to a certain credal basis, the meeting in great +Catholic conventions, the exchange of pulpits--these seem to exhaust +the conceptions of large numbers, and to satisfy their ideal. But +surely there is a bond of union deeper, holier, more vital and more +blessed than any of these, which shyly reveals itself, now and again, +in one or more of them, but is independent of all, and when all of them +are wanting, still constitutes us _one_. And what is that bond of +union but the possession of a common spiritual life, like that which +unites the Father and the Son, and which pervades us also, making us +one with each other, because we are already one with God? + +You may not care to admit it; you may even be ignorant of the full +meaning of this marvellous fact; you may live an exclusive life, never +going beyond the walls of some small conventicle, or the barriers of +some strict ecclesiastical system; you may bear yourself impatiently +and brusquely toward those who differ from you; you may even brand them +with your anathema: but if they are one with God, by His gracious +indwelling Spirit of Life, and if you are also one with Him, you +positively cannot help being one with them. Your creed may differ, or +your mode of worship, or your views about the Church; but you cannot be +otherwise than one with those who are one with God, in a union which is +not material but spiritual. + + +II. THIS ONENESS ALSO ADMITS OF GREAT VARIETY.--"One, as Thou, Father, +art in Me, and I in Thee." Now, of course, we all admit the unity of +the Godhead. The first article of the Jew is also the first article of +the Christian, that the Lord our God is one God, one in essence, one in +purpose, one in action. The Son does nothing of Himself; the Father +does nothing apart from the Son; the Holy Ghost proceedeth from the +Father and the Son. We cannot, as yet, understand this mystery; but +with reverence we accept it as the primary basis of our faith. + +But though God is One, there is evidently a variety of function in the +ever-blessed Trinity. The Father decrees, the Son executes. The +Father sends, the Son is sent. The Father works in Creation, the Son +in Redemption and Judgment. And the functions of both Father and Son +differ from those of the Holy Spirit. + +If, then, the unity of the Church is to resemble the unity of the +Godhead, according to our Lord's request, we may expect that it will +not be physical, nor mechanical, nor a uniformity; but it will be a +variety in unity--a unity of Spirit and purpose, and yet a unity which +admits of very diverse functions and operations. Diversities of gifts, +but the same Spirit. Differences of administrations, but the same +Lord. Diversities of operations, but the same God which worketh all in +all. + +(1) _The very conception of unity involves variety._--You take me out +into a piece of waste land, and pointing to a heap of bricks say, +"There is a unity." I at once rebut your assertion; there is +uniformity undoubtedly, but not unity. Unity requires that a variety +of _different_ things should be combined to form one structure and +carry out one idea. A collection of bricks is not a unity, but a house +is. A pole is not a unity, but a hop-plant is. A snow atom is not a +unity, but a snow crystal is. And when our Lord spoke of His disciples +as one, He not only expected that there would be varieties amongst +them, in character, mind, and ecclesiastical preference; but by the +very choice of His words He meant us to infer that it would be so. The +unity on which He set His heart was not a uniformity. + +(2) _But with variety there may be the truest unity._--There is variety +in the human body--from eyelash to foot, from heart to blood-disc, from +brain to quivering nerve-fibre; yet, in all this variety, each one is +conscious of an indivisible unity. There is variety in the tree: the +giant arms that wrestle with the storm, the far-spreading roots that +moor it to the soil, the myriad leaves in which the wind makes music, +the cones or nuts which it flings upon the forest floor; yet for all +this it is one. There is a variety in the Bible: variety of +authorship--king, prophet, priest, herdsman, and fisherman, scholar, +sage, and saint; variety of style--prose, poetry, psalmody, argument, +appeal; variety of age--from the days of Moses to those of John, the +beloved apostle, writing amid the persecutions of the empire; yet for +all this there is a oneness in the Bible which no mere binding could +give. So with the Church of Christ: there may be, there must be +infinite varieties and shades of thought and work. Some will prefer +the methods of Wesley, others the freedom of Congregationalism. Some +will pray most naturally through the venerable words of a Liturgy, +others in the deep silence of a Friends' Meeting. Some will thrive +best beneath the crozier of the Bishop, others in the plain barracks of +the Salvation Army; but, notwithstanding all this variety, there may be +a deep spiritual unity. Many folds, but one flock; many regiments, but +one army; many stones, but one breast-plate. "There is one body, and +one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one +Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above +all, and through all, and in you all." + + +III. THE BASIS OF CHRISTIAN UNITY IS THE UNION OF EACH BELIEVER TO +CHRIST.--"I in them, that they may be made perfect in one." However +much true believers in Christ differ, there are two points in which +they agree. + +(1) _Each believer is in Christ_: in Christ's heart, loved with an +everlasting love, the beloved name engraven on its secret tables; in +Christ's book, enrolled on those pages which are sealed so fast that He +alone can break the seven-fold seal; in Christ's hand, which holds the +ocean as a drop upon its palm, and which was pierced on Calvary, from +which no power shall ever pluck the trembling soul; in Christ's grace, +rooted as a tree in luxuriant soil, or a house in a foundation of rock; +but above all in Christ's Person, for He is the Head, "from whom the +whole body is fitly framed and knit together by that which every joint +supplieth." There are innumerable texts which speak of the Church as +the Body of Christ (Eph. i. 23; Col. i. 24); and directly a man +believes in Christ, he becomes a member of that mystical body. "We are +members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones." You may be a +very obscure member, or even a paralyzed member; but be sure of this, +if you are a Christian you are in Christ, as the eye is in the +eye-socket, the arm in the shoulder-joint, and the finger in the hand. + +(2) _Christ is in each believer._--The texts that teach Christ's real +presence in the believer are as numerous as spring flowers. "Christ +liveth in me." "Know ye not that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be +reprobates?" "Ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and +I in you." The Lord Jesus is in the heart which makes Him welcome, as +the steam is in the piston, as the sap is in the branch, as the blood +is in the heart, as the life is in the body. It would be impossible +for words to describe a more intense spiritual Oneness than that which +is here presented to us. The Saviour is in each of us, as the Father +is in Him, and we are in Him, and He in God. "Our life is hid with +Christ in God." Therefore we are not only one with Jesus Christ, but +through Him we are one with God. "I in them, Thou in Me." The very +life of God is pouring its glorious tides through us, and would do so +more largely if only we were more receptive and obedient. He pours +water out of the mouth of the Congo at the rate of 1,000,000 tons per +second; and is willing to do marvels as mighty through each believer. +And as this life permeates us all alike, it makes us not only one with +the blessed God, but one with all who believe, as the blood makes all +the members of the body one, and the sap the branches of the tree. + + +IV. _THE MEANS OF THIS SPIRITUAL UNITY ARE THE INFLUENCES OF THE HOLY +SPIRIT._--Influence means _inflow_. It was by the Holy Spirit that our +Lord's human nature was made one with His Father's. And this same Holy +Spirit He has bequeathed to us, that He may be the same bond of +spiritual life between us and our Lord as He was between our Lord and +His Father. May not this be the meaning of His words: "The glory +which Thou gavest Me I have given them, that they may be one as we are +one"? May not that glory have consisted in the oneness of His human +nature with God the Father, by the Holy Spirit? And if so, it may be +shared by us. The more that believers receive the indwelling of the +Holy Spirit, the more clearly will they appreciate this great mystery, +and the more closely will they be drawn to all other believers, hushing +jealous thoughts and uncharitable words, and "endeavoring to keep the +unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." + +_It is abundantly clear, then, that this unity cannot be broken unless +we break away from Christ_. Men have used that word schism with +terrible effect. If a man has broken away from some visible church, +they have pointed to him as a schismatic. But what is schism? It is a +breaking away from the Body of Christ. But what is the Body of Christ? +The Roman Catholic will tell you that it is the Church of Rome; the +Anglican will tell you that it is the Church of England; the High +Churchman will tell you that it is the collection of churches which +hold the doctrine of Apostolic Succession. What vestige of Scriptural +proof is there for these assertions? What an absurdity it is to be +told that we must submit to an outward rite, or we cannot belong to the +Body of Christ! What then would become of all the saints and martyrs +who died without membership with one of these visible organizations? +No, the Body of Christ, as Scripture plainly teaches, is that great +multitude which no man can number, of all nations, and kindreds, and +peoples, and tongues, and sects, and eras, who are united by faith with +the Saviour. The Church of Christ is not conterminous with any earthly +or visible organization; it is long as the ages, wide as the poles, +broad as the charity of God; it includes all in heaven and on earth who +hold the Head. The only condition of membership in that Church is +simple faith in Christ. And the only method of severance from that +Church is through the severance of the soul's trust in Christ. He only +is a schismatic who ceases to be Christ's. + +The Papal Legate told Savonarola that he cut him off from the Church +Militant and from the Church Triumphant. "From the Church Militant you +may," was the martyr's reply; "but from the Church Triumphant, never." +It was well spoken; but Savonarola might have gone further, and defied +the scarlet-coated functionary even to cut him off from the Church +Militant--nothing could do that but apostasy. A man may be +excommunicated from our church systems, or he may never have belonged +to one of them; but so long as he believes in Christ, he is a member of +the Holy Catholic Church. And schism is more likely to be charged +against those who violate the spirit of Christian charity in making +harsh and false statements against their fellow-members in the Body of +Christ. Let us not retaliate, lest we also commit that sin. We can +afford to wait. _Five minutes in heaven, or less, will settle it all_. + +_The object for which Christ prayed_ is already being partially +accomplished. The world may not be as yet surrendering to the claims +of Jesus Christ, but it is becoming increasingly impressed with His +Divine mission: "that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me." +And in proportion as the Holy Spirit pervades and fills the hearts of +the children of God, the manifestation of the Life of God in them, and +through them, will have an ever-increasing effect, and will do what +church systems and even the preachings of her thousand pulpits cannot +effect in convincing and saving men. + +Let us remember that Christ's own conception of the unity of His Church +is that which is the result of the indwelling of the one Spirit. Such +unity is already a fact in the eye of God, though undiscerned as yet in +all its fullness by men. Let us thank God that this marvellous request +has been already so largely realized, and let us dare to hold +fellowship as Christians with all those who are indwelt by the Spirit +of the Life, which is also in Christ Jesus. + + + + +XXIII + +The Love that Bound Christ to the Cross + +"Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that should come upon Him, went +forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?"--JOHN xviii. 4. + + +The Cedron was never more than a mountain brook, and it is now dry. +Its stony bed alone shows where it used to flow through the valley that +separated Mount Zion from the Mount of Olives. The main road which led +from the city gate, over the Mount of Olives to Bethany and Jericho, +crossed it by an ancient bridge, from which, on this especial night, a +fair scene must have presented itself. + +Above, the Passover moon was shining in full-orbed splendor turning +night into day. Beneath, the little stream was brawling down the +valley, catching the moonlight on its wavelets. On the one slope dark, +thick woods, above which rose the ancient walls and gates of the city, +on the other, the swelling slopes of Olivet. Presently the Lord +emerged out of the shadow, engaged in earnest converse with the +apostles; crossed the bridge, but, instead of pursuing the path as it +wound upward toward Bethany and Bethphage, they all turned into a large +enclosure, well-known as the garden of the oil-press, and which we know +best as Gethsemane. Somewhere, no doubt, within its enclosure stood +the rock-hewn trough in which the rich juicy olives were trodden by +naked feet. "When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His +disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into which He +entered, and His disciples." + +The sequel was so fully narrated by the other evangelists that there +was no need for the writer of this narrative to tell of the awful +anguish, the broken cries, the bloody sweat, the running to and fro of +the disciples, the sleep of the chosen three, the strengthening angel. +He confines himself almost entirely to the circumstances of the Lord's +arrest. + +Two hours only had passed since Judas left the supper-table; but that +had given him all the time needed for the completion of his plan. +Hastening to the authorities, he had told them that the favorable +moment had arrived for his Master's arrest; that he knew the lonely +spot to which He was wont to resort for meditation and prayer; and that +he had need of an armed band to overpower all possible resistance on +the part of Himself or His followers. This they were able to supply +from the guards and custodians of the Temple. They were going against +One who was deserted and defenceless; yet the soldiers were armed with +sticks and staves. They were about to arrest One who would make no +attempt at flight or concealment, and the moon was full; yet, lest He +should make His escape to some limestone grotto, or amid the deep +shadows, they carried torches and lanterns. + +The Lord had just awoke His disciples for the third and last time, when +probably His ear detected the tread of hurrying feet, the muffled clank +of swords, the stifled murmur of an advancing crowd; perhaps He saw +also the glancing lights, as they advanced through the garden shrubs, +and began to encircle the place where He had prayed. By such signs, +and especially by the inner intimation of the Holy Spirit, He knew all +things that should come upon Him, and without waiting for His enemies +to reach Him, with calm and dignified composure He went forth to meet +the rabble band, stepping out into the moonlight and saluting them with +the inquiry, "Whom seek ye?" + +There are some deep and memorable suggestions here as to the + +VOLUNTARINESS OF CHRIST'S DEATH. + +In order to His death having any value it must be free. If it could be +shown that He had no choice than to die, because His own purpose was +overmastered by the irresistible force of circumstances, His death +could not have met the claims of a broken law, or inaugurated a new +code of morals to His Church. But there are several points in this +narrative which make it clear that He laid down His life of Himself, +that none took it from Him, that He had power to lay it down, and power +to take it again. + +(1) When Jesus asked them the question, "Whom seek ye?" there were, no +doubt, many in the band who knew Him well enough, and that He was the +object of their midnight raid; but not one of them had the courage to +answer, "Thee." A paralyzing awe had already commenced to cast its +spell over their spirits. Those who knew Him shrank from identifying +Him, and were content to answer generally, "Jesus of Nazareth." But +when He answered, "I am He," what was it that so suddenly affected +them? Did some stray beams of concealed glory burst forth from their +confinement to indicate His majesty? Did they dread the putting-forth +of that power which had been so often exerted to save and bless? Or, +was there a direct miracle of Divine power, which secured their +discomfiture? We cannot tell. But, whatever the cause, the crowd +suddenly fell back in confusion, and were flung to the ground. + +Here, for a moment, the would-be captors lay, as though pinioned to the +dust by some unseen hand. The spell was soon withdrawn, and they were +again on their feet, cursing themselves for their needless panic. +But--and this is the point--the power that sent that rough hireling +band reeling backward to the ground could easily have held them there, +or plunged them as Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, into living graves. "One +flash came forth to tell of the sleeping lightning which He would not +use"; and then, having revealed the might, which could have delivered +Him from their puny arms, He returned to His attitude of willing +self-surrender. Who, then, shall say that our Saviour's death was not +His own act and deed? + +(2) When that rabble crew were again on their feet, confronting Jesus, +He asked them a second time, _Whom seek ye_? Again they replied, +"Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus answered, "I have told you that I am He; +if, therefore, ye seek me, let these go their way." And, forthwith, He +put forth such a power over His own as secured their freedom from +arrest. + +It is evident that it was no part of His foes' purpose beforehand to +let them go; for, on their way back they arrested a young man, probably +Mark himself, whom curiosity had drawn from his bed, and whom they took +for one of His disciples. He escaped with great difficulty from their +hands. It is hardly doubtful that if some special power had not been +exerted over them, they would have treated the whole of the followers +of Jesus as they sought to treat Him. Is it not evident, then, that +the power which secured the safety of His disciples could have secured +that of the Master Himself; or that He might have passed away through +the midst of them, as He did through the infuriated crowd which +proposed to cast Him headlong over the precipice near Nazareth at the +commencement of His ministry? Every arm might have been struck +nerveless, every foot paralyzed with lameness. Who, then, shall deny +that Christ's death was His own act? + +(3) But again, when Jesus had spoken thus there seemed some wavering +among His captors, perhaps a hesitation as to who should first lay hand +on Him. At this juncture, when the whole enterprise threatened to +miscarry, Judas felt that he must, at all hazards, show how safe it was +to touch the person of his Master; so, though the bold challenge of +Jesus had made the preconcerted signal needless, he resolved still to +give it, that the spell of that presence might be broken. The traitor, +therefore, stepped up and kissed the Lord. + +Encouraged by this sacrilegious act, His myrmidons now laid hands on +Jesus, grasping His sacred person as they might have done Barabbas, or +some other member of his gang. They then proceeded to bind Him after +the merciless Roman fashion. Peter could not bear to see this. He +sprang forth from the covert of the shadow, drew his sword, and cut at +the nearest assailant's head. But the blade, glancing off the helmet, +cut off the ear. + +It was an unwelcome interference with the behavior of the meek and +gentle Lord, whose hand was already bound. It could not be permitted. +"Suffer ye thus far," He said to the rude soldier who was binding Him, +and with His own finger touched the ear, stanched the flowing blood, +and healed it. It has been remarked that this was the only act of +healing wrought on one for whom it was neither asked of Him, and who +had no faith in His beneficent power. But, surely, the hand that could +work that miracle could have broken from the bonds that held it as +easily as Samson from the two new cords which burned as flax in the +flame. The power with which Jesus saved others might have saved +Himself. Who, then, shall say that His death was not His own free act? +Listen, moreover, to His own words. 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?" "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to My +Father, and He shall presently give Me more than twelve legions of +angels; but how then shall the Scripture be fulfilled that thus it must +be?" + +As, then, we view the death of the Cross we must ever remember the +voluntariness of that supreme act, which is all the more conspicuous as +the agony of the Garden reminds us how greatly the Lord's spirit +dreaded the awful pressure of the world's sin, which made Him cry: "My +God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" How greatly He must have +loved us! It was love, and only love, that kept Him standing at the +bar of Pilate, bending beneath the scourge of the soldiers, hanging in +apparent helplessness on the cross. Not the iron hand of relentless +fate; not the overpowering numbers or closely-woven plots of His foes; +not the nails that pierced His quivering flesh. No, it was none of +these. It was not even the compulsion of the Divine purpose. It was +His own choice, because of a love that would bear all things if only it +might achieve redemption for those whom He loved more than Himself. +"He loved me, and gave Himself for me." + +Surely we may trust that love. If it moved Him to endure the Cross and +despise the shame, is there anything that it will withhold, anything +that it will not do? His love is stronger than death, and mightier +than the grave. Strong waters cannot quench it, floods cannot drown +it. It silences all praise, and beggars all recompense. To believe +and accept it is eternal life. To dwell within its embrace is the +foretaste of everlasting joy. To be filled by it is to be transfigured +into the image of God Himself. + + + + +XXIV + +Drinking the Cup + +"The cup which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?"--JOHN +xviii. 1-14. + + +In our Master's arrest the one feature which stands out in unique +splendor is its voluntariness. He went into the garden "knowing all +things that should come upon Him." Even at the last moment He might +have evaded the kiss of the traitor, and the binding thong with which +Malchus sought to manacle His gracious hands. The spell of His +intrinsic nobleness and glory, which had flung His captors to the +ground, might have held them there; the power that could heal the +wounded ear might have destroyed with equal ease the entire band. + +The reason for all this hardly needs explaining. His life and death +were not merely a sacrifice, but a self-sacrifice. He freely gave +Himself up for us all. Each believer may dare to appropriate the words +of the apostle: "He loved me, and gave Himself for me." It was through +the Eternal Spirit that He offered Himself without spot to God. It was +from His own invincible love that He gave Himself for the Church, His +Bride. "From beginning to end the moving spring of all His actions was +deliberate self-devotedness to the good of men, and the fulfillment of +God's will, for these are equivalents. And His death as the crowning +act of this career was to be conspicuously a death embodying and +exhibiting the spirit of self-sacrifice." Let us learn: + + +I. THE SUPREME NOBILITY OF SURRENDER TO THE EVITABLE.--It is, of +course, most noble, when the martyr goes to his death without a murmur +of complaint; allowing his enemies to wreak their vengeance without +recrimination or threatening; bowing the meek head to the block; +extending the hand to the hungry flame. He has no alternative but to +die; there are no legions waiting under arms to obey his summons; no +John of Gaunt to stand beside him, as beside Wycliffe, to see him +fairly tried and insist on his acquittal. Then, there is nothing for +it but to evince the patience and gentleness of Christ in being led as +a lamb to the slaughter. + +But though this spectacle stirs the hearts of men, there is one still +more illustrious--when the sufferer bends to a fate which he might +easily avoid, but confronts for the sake of others. The former is +submission to the inevitable, this to the evitable. That is bearing a +yoke which is imposed by superior authority; this taking a yoke which +might be evaded without blame, as judged by the tribunal of public +opinion. And this is the sublimest spectacle on which the eye of man +or angel can rest; for thus the sacrifice of Christ finds its noblest +counterpart and fulfillment. + +When a missionary, with ample means and loving friends, deliberately +spends among squalid and repulsive conditions, the precious years which +might have been passed among congenial society and luxurious comfort in +the homeland; chooses a lot from which nature inevitably shrinks +instead of that to which every conclusion but one points, and stays at +his post, though his return, so far from being resented, would actually +be favored by all whose opinion is of weight--this is a voluntary +submission to the evitable. + +When a home pastor stays by his poor flock because they need him so +sorely, and sets his face toward grinding poverty and irksome toil when +the city church invites him to a larger stipend and wealthier +surroundings--this again is a voluntary surrender to the evitable. + +When a wealthy bachelor is willing to forego the ease and quiet of his +beautiful home in order to welcome the orphans of his deceased brother, +who might have been sent to some charitable institution or cast on +strangers, that they may be beneath his personal supervision, and have +a better chance in life--this again is voluntary submission to the +evitable. + +In each such case, it is not inevitable that the cross should be borne, +and the hands yielded to the binding thong. The tongue of scandal +could hardly find cause for criticism if the easier path were chosen. +Perhaps the soul hardly realizes the kindredness of its resolve with +the loftiest that this world has seen. But it is superlatively +beautiful, nevertheless. And let it never be forgotten, that nothing +short of this will satisfy the standard of Christ. No Christian has a +right to use all his rights. None can claim immunity from the duty of +seeking the supreme good of others, though it involve the supreme cost +to himself. + + +II. THE RECOGNITION OF GOD'S WILL IN HIS PERMISSIONS.--In the bitter +anguish which had immediately preceded the arrest, our Lord had +repeatedly referred to His cup. "If this cup," He said, "may not pass +from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done." The cup evidently +referred to all the anguish caused to His holy nature in being numbered +among the transgressors, and having to bear the sin of the world. +Whether it was the anguish of the body, beneath which He feared He +would succumb, as some think; or the dread of being made a +sin-offering, a scape-goat laden with sin, as others, or the chill of +the approaching eclipse, which extorted the cry of forsakenness, as +seems to me the more likely--is not pertinent to our present +consideration. It is enough to know that, whilst there was much that +cried, "Back!" there was more that cried, "On!"--and that He chose from +the profoundest depths of His nature, to do the Father's will, to +execute His part in the compact into which they had entered before the +worlds were made, and to drink to the dregs the cup which His Father +had placed in His hands. + +But here we note that to all appearances the cup was mingled, prepared, +and presented by the malignity and hate of man. The High Priests had +long resolved to put Him to death, because His success with the people, +His fresh and living comments on the law, His opposition to their +hypocrisies and pretensions had exasperated them to madness. Judas +also seemed to have had a conspicuous share in his discovery and +arrest. Had we been left to our unaided reasonings we might have +supposed that the most bitter ingredients of His cup had been supplied +by the ingratitude of His own, the implacable rancor of the priests, +and the treachery of Judas; but, see, He recognizes none but the +Father--it is always _the Father_, always the cup which the Father had +given. + +There had been times in our lives when we may have been tempted to +distinguish between God's appointments and permissions, and to speak of +the former as being manifestly His will for us, whilst we suspended our +judgment about the latter, and questioned if we were authorized in +accounting them as being equally from Heaven. But such distinctions +are fatal to peace. Our souls were kept in constant perturbation, as +we accounted ourselves the shuttlecock of rival powers, now God's, now +man's. And we ended in ruling God out of more than half our life, and +regarding ourselves as the hapless prey of strong and malicious forces +to which we were sold, as Joseph to the Ishmaelites. + +A deeper reading of Scripture has led us to a truer conclusion. There +is no such distinction there. What God permits is as equally His will +as what He appoints. Joseph tells his brethren that it was not they +who sent him to Egypt, but God. David listens meekly to Shimei's +shameful words, because he felt that God allowed them to be spoken. +And here Jesus refuses to see the hand of His foes in His sufferings, +but passes beyond the hand which bore the cup to His lips to the Father +who was permitting it to be presented, and reposed absolutely in the +choice of Him of One who loved Him with a love that was before the +foundation of the world. + +Oh, sufferer! whether by those strokes, which, like sickness or +bereavement, seem to come direct from heaven, or by those which, like +malicious speeches or oppressive acts, seem to emanate from man, look +up into the face of God, and say, "My Father, this is Thy will for me; +Thine angels would have delivered me had it been best. But since they +have not interposed, I read Thy choice for Thy child, and I am +satisfied. It is sweet to drink the cup which Thy hands have prepared." + + +III. THE DEEP LAW OF SUBSTITUTION.--Some of the rabble crowd had +probably shown signs of a disposition to arrest some of Christ's +followers. He, therefore, interfered, and reminded them of their own +admission, that _He_ was the object to their midnight raid, and bade +them allow _these_ to go their way. Is it surprising that the +evangelist generalizes this act, finding in it an illustration of His +Master's ceaseless interposition on behalf of His own--that of those +whom the Father had given Him He should lose none. + +In brief, this scene affords a conspicuous and striking illustration of +the great doctrine of substitution. As the Good Shepherd steps to the +front and sheathes the swords of His foes in His own breast, while He +demands the release of the cowering flock, He is doing on a small scale +what He did once and forever on Calvary; when, exposing Himself to the +penalty due to sin, and braving the concentrated antagonism of a broken +law, the drawn sword of inviolable justice, the sharpness of death, the +shame of the cross, and the humiliation of the grave, He said, "If ye +seek Me, let these go their way." + +Christ sheltered us without reckoning the cost to Himself. He stood to +the front, and bore the extreme brunt of all that was to be borne. He +substituted His suffering for ours, His wounds for our pain, His death +for our sins. If you are fearing the just recompense of your sins, +like a band of arresting soldiers lurking in the dark shadows and +threatening to drag you forth to pay the uttermost farthing, take +heart; Jesus has met, and will meet, them for you. Listen to His +majestic voice, saying, "Take Me, but let this soul, who clings to the +skirts of My robe, go his way." He is arrested, and led away; thou art +free--that in thy freedom thou shouldest give thyself to be His very +slave. + + + + +XXV + +The Hall of Annas + +"They led Him away to Annas first, for he was father-in-law to +Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year."--JOHN xviii. 13. + + +The band that had arrested Jesus led Him back across the Kedron bridge, +up the steep ascent, and through the ancient gateway, which at this +season of the year stood always open, even at night. + +The passage of the armed men through the quiet streets must have +aroused from their slumbers many sleepers, who hurried to the windows +to see them pass below in the clear moonlight. But no one guessed who +was being taken into custody, and most of them probably thought that +the soldiers had captured some more of the Barabbas gang, who, at that +season of the year, would make a rare harvest by plundering pilgrims to +the feast. + +Their destination, in the first place, was the mansion of Annas, the +head of the reigning priestly family, who was father-in-law of the +actual high priest. He was now an old man; wealthy, aristocratic, and +laden with all the honors his nation could give. For many years he had +worn the high priest's robes, and though he had now nominally retired +from that exalted office, he still kept his hand upon the reins of +government. Caiaphas, at the time of which we speak, had held the +priesthood for seventeen years under his tutelage; and he retained it +for five years after. It is easy therefore to understand why Annas is +described as the high priest. He was still the most powerful living +bearer of that title. The whole family partook of his character, and +was notorious for unwearied plotting. The gliding, deadly, snake-like +smoothness with which Annas and his sons seized their prey is said to +have won them the name of hissing vipers. + +Annas and Caiaphas probably shared the same cluster of buildings, which +was presumably the official residence of the high priestly family. In +the East the houses of the great are frequently a group of buildings of +unequal height standing near each other and surrounded by the same +court, but with passages between, independent entrances, and separate +roofs. Sometimes they would form a square or quadrangle with porticos +and corridors around it, plants and fountains in the midst, and a +slight awning overhead to protect the open courtyard from the sun or +rain, the communication with the street being through a smaller +courtyard and archway, called in the Gospels "a porch." In some such +cluster of splendid buildings Annas and Caiaphas and others of their +family would live, and the whole would be called the high priest's +palace. + +In one of the large reception halls Annas waited, impatient and +feverish, to know the result of the midnight expedition. He had a +nervous dread of what Jesus might do when driven to bay; and dreaded +lest the secret should leak out, and the Galilean pilgrims rise in +defence of their favorite Prophet, whom four days before they had +escorted into the city with shouts. What if Judas should not prove +true? All these disquieting thoughts chased each other like pursuing +phantoms through his mind, and it was an immense relief when the clank +of weapons in the court assured him of the safe return of Malchus' +party, and answering voices told him that Jesus was at last safe within +his power. + +The prisoner was at once brought before the old man, who eagerly +scrutinized his features in the flickering light of lanterns and +flambeaux, casting shadows which a Rembrandt would have loved to paint. +One or two intimates may have stood around Him; but the main inquiry +was left to Himself, as He put the Master through a preliminary and +informal examination, in the hope of extracting from His replies +materials on which the court, which was hastily summoned for an early +hour in the morning, might proceed. + +On the surface the inquiry seemed fair and innocent enough. The high +priest, we learn from verse 19, asked Jesus of His disciples and His +doctrine. But the lamb-skin hid a wolf. For the questions were so +worded as to entangle, and to provide material on which to found the +subsequent charge, which was even then being framed, that Jesus was a +disturber of the public peace, and a teacher of revolutionary doctrine. + +_First, then, about His disciples._--Annas would like to be informed +what this association of men meant. Why were they formed into a +society? By what bond were they united? What secret instructions had +they received? What hidden objects had they in view? If Jesus refused +to answer these questions, might it not be made to appear that an +attempt was on foot to organize a confederation throughout the entire +country? If so, it would be easy to awaken the jealousy of the Roman +authorities, and lead them to feel that they must take immediate steps +to stamp out the plot by executing the ringleader. + +_And, next, as to His doctrine._--Had not Jesus repeatedly spoken about +the Kingdom of Heaven? What did this mean? Was He contemplating the +setting up of a kingdom? Did He intend it to be understood that He was +the expected Messiah, and that He meditated revolt against Rome? Was +the manifestation of force, which had accompanied His recent entrance +into the city, at His instigation? + +Our Lord at once penetrated the design of His crafty interrogator. And +in His answer He took care not to mention His disciples, speaking only +of Himself. He affirmed that He had nothing to say which He had not +already said a hundred times in the synagogues and the Temple, before +friends and foes. He had no secret doctrines for the initiated, but +had declared all that was in His heart. Between His disciples and +Himself there had been no connection other than was obvious on the +surface. No meetings under cover of night; no discussions of +revolutionary topics; nothing that could not bear the fullest scrutiny. +"I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue and in the +temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret [that is, in the +sense in which you use the word] I have said nothing. Why askest thou +Me? Ask them which heard Me what I have said unto them: behold, they +know what I have said." + +Our Lord's reference to those who had heard Him is probably an allusion +to the armies of spies whom Annas had set on His track, watching His +actions, reporting His words. Was not this examination of the prisoner +a confession that the close scrutiny to which He had been subjected for +so long had failed to elicit aught on which a criminal charge could be +based? Jesus knew that His most secret words had been tortured in vain +to yield an accusation against Him. How great then was the hypocrisy +which could feign ignorance! How evident it was that Annas was only +intent on inveigling his prisoner to say something on which to base his +after-accusation. + +All this was implied in our Lord's noble and transparent words. We +shall see that He adopted another tone when He was properly arraigned +before the assembled Sanhedrim; but in this more private, injudicial, +inquisitorial interview, with one scathing rebuke He tore away the +cloak of assumed ignorance with which this crafty man veiled his +sinister purpose, and laid His secret thoughts open to the gaze of all. + +For the time Annas was silenced. He had made small headway in the +informal examination of his prisoner, and he now gave it up. Whatever +resentment he may have felt at our Lord's answer he carefully +concealed, biding the hour when he might vent the vials of his hate +without stint. + +We must not suppose there was any anger in that long-suffering heart +toward this judge. He was even then about to die for _Him_, and to +bear the guilt of the very sin He so pitilessly exposed. But surely it +was the part of love to show Annas what he was, and to utter words of +rebuke in which, as in a mirror, his secret thoughts might be revealed. +But if, in the moment of His humiliation, Jesus could thus search and +reveal a man, what will He not do when He is no longer prisoner, but +Judge? Oh, those awful eyes, which are as a flame of fire! Oh, those +awful words, which pierce to the dividing asunder of the joints and +marrow, and discern the thoughts and intents of the heart! What wonder +that men shall at last call on the rocks to hide them from the wrath of +the Lamb! Kiss the Son, lest ye perish from His presence, when His +wrath is kindled but a little! Blessed are they who can stand before +Him without blame! + +Then followed one of the grossest indignities to which our Lord was at +this time subjected. On speaking thus, one of the officers, in the +spirit of that despicable flunkeyism which will sacrifice all nobility +and self-respect to curry the flavor of a superior, smote our Lord with +a rod, saying, "Answerest thou the high priest so?" + +When afterward they came around Him to mock and smite, He answered +nothing; but when this first stroke was inflicted the Master said +quietly, "If I have spoken what is false or unbecoming, prove that I +have done so; but if you cannot, why do you strike Me? No one has the +right to take the law into his own hands, much less a servant of the +court." + +It is impossible not to recall the mighty utterances against the +resistance of wrong, spoken from the Mount, in the Messiah's manifesto: +"I say unto you that ye resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee +on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." Clearly our Lord did +not literally do so in this instance, because He saw an opportunity of +revealing to this man His true condition, and of bringing him to a +better mind. Our bearing of wrong must always be determined by the +state of mind of those who ill-use us. In the case of some we may best +arrest them by the dignity of an unutterable patience, which will bear +to the utmost without retaliation--this is to turn the other cheek. In +the case of others we may best serve them by leading them calmly and +quietly to take the true measure of their crime. In all cases our +prime consideration should be, not what we may be suffering, nor the +utter injustice which is meted out to us; but how best to save the +evil-doer, who is injuring his own soul more fatally than he can +possibly injure us, and who is sowing seeds of harvest of incredible +torture to his own conscience, in the long future which lies behind the +veil of sense. + +If only we could drink in the pure love of Jesus, and view all wrong +and wrong-doers, not in the light of _our_ personal interest, but of +_their_ awful condition and certain penalty; if only we could grieve +over the infinite horror of a warped and devil-possessed soul, drifting +like a ship on fire before the breeze, straight to the rocks; if only +we could see the wrong done to our Father God and His sorrow, we should +understand Chrysostom's beautiful comment on this scene: "Think on Him +who said these words; on him to whom they were said; and on the reason +why they were said; and, with Divine power, they will cast down all +wrath that may arise within thy soul." + + + + +XXVI + +How it fared with Peter + +"Peter stood at the door without. Then went out that other disciple, +which was known unto the high priest, and spake unto her that kept the +door, and brought in Peter."--John xviii. 16. + + +Remember that this very circumstantial account was given by one who was +an eyewitness of the whole scene; and who, withal, was then and in +after years the warm friend and companion of Peter. But his love did +not lead him to conceal his brother's sins. Peter himself would not +have wished him to do so, because where sin had abounded, grace had had +the greater opportunity to super-abound. + +At the moment of the Lord's arrest, all the disciples forsook Him and +fled. "The Shepherd was smitten and the flock scattered." Two of +them, however, speedily recovered their self-possession, and followed +at a distance, eager to see what would befall. When the procession +reached the palace gate John seems to have entered with the rest of the +crowd, and the ponderous, massive doors closed behind him. On looking +round for Peter he missed him, and concluding that he had been shut out +and was still standing without, he went to the maid that kept the +wicket-gate, opening in the main entrance doors for the admission of +individuals, and asked her to admit his friend. She recognized him as +being well known to the high priest, and readily assented to his +request. + +A fire of wood had been hastily lighted in the open courtyard, and cast +its rays on the chilly April night; so that whilst Jesus was being +examined by Annas the men who had taken part in the night adventure +were grouped around the fire, discussing the exciting incident, with +its moment of panic, the case of the arrest, the hurt and healing of +the ear of Malchus, the seizure of the rich Eastern dress from the +young man whom they had encountered on their homeward march. Peter did +not wish to be recognized, and thought that the best way of preserving +his incognito was to put on a bold face and take his place among the +rest as though he, too, had been one of the capturing band, and had as +much right to be there as any other of that mixed company. So he stood +with them, and warmed himself. + +Meanwhile, the doorkeeper, leaving her post, came to the fire, and in +its kindling ray her eye fell upon Peter's face. She was surprised to +see him there, feigning to be one of themselves. If, like John, he had +gone quietly into some recess of the court, and waited unobtrusively in +the shadow, she could have said nothing. In her kind-heartedness she +would have respected them both; for she knew that they sympathized with +the arrested Nazarene. But to find him there talking and acting as +though he had no personal interest in the matter was so unseemly and +unfit that she was provoked to expose him. She looked at him +earnestly--as another evangelist tells us--to be quite sure that she +was not mistaken; and feeling quite certain in her identification, said +abruptly, "Art _thou_ not one of this man's disciples?" + +Peter was taken off his guard. If he had been arrested, and taken for +trial, he would no doubt have played the hero--he had braced himself up +for that; but he had not expected that the supreme trial of his life +could come in the question of a servant-maid. It is so often thus. We +lock and bolt the main door, and the thief breaks in at a tiny window +which we had not thought of. We would burn at the stake; but in an +hour of social intercourse with our friends, or a trivial business +transaction, we say the word which fills our life with regret. +Confused at the sudden pause in the conversation, and the turning of +all eyes toward himself, Peter's first impulse was to allay suspicion, +and he said bluntly, "I am not." Such was his _first_ denial. + +After this, as Matthew and Mark tell us, he went out into the outer +porch or gateway, perhaps to avoid the glare of the light and the +scrutiny of those prying eyes. He remembered afterward that, at the +same moment, a cock was heralding the dawn--the dawn of the blackest, +saddest day that ever broke upon Jerusalem, or the world. But its +warning notes were just then lost on him; for there another maid, +speaking to some male acquaintances, pointed him out as one of the +Nazarene's friends. "This man also was with Jesus the Nazarene." +Probably no harm was meant, but the words alarmed Peter greatly, and he +denied, as Matthew says, with an oath, "I know not the man." This was +the _second_ denial. + +An hour passed; Peter, as we learn from the twenty-fifth verse, was +again at the fire, and it was hardly possible for him to talk in a +large company without unconsciously, and by force of character, coming +to the front and taking the lead. His perturbed spirit was perhaps the +more vehement to drown conscience. But now he is challenged by many at +once. They say unto him, "Art not thou also one of His disciples?" +And another saith, "Of a truth, thou wast with Him"; and another, a +kinsman to Malchus, and therefore specially likely to remember his +relative's assailant, saith, "Did I not see thee in the garden with +Him?" Beset and badgered thus, Peter begins to curse and to swear, +saying, "I know not the man of whom ye speak." When men lose their +temper, they drop naturally into their native speech; and so, as +Peter's fear and passion vented themselves in the guttural _patois_ of +Galilee, he gave a final clue to his identification. "Thou art a +Galilean, thy speech betrayeth thee." And again he denied with an +oath, "I know not the man." This was his _third_ denial. And +immediately the cock crew. + +It may have happened that, at this moment, Jesus was passing from Annas +to Caiaphas, and cast on Peter that marvellous look of mingled sorrow +and pity, of suffering more for His sake than his own, and of tender +allusion to the scene and words of the previous evening, which broke +Peter's heart, and sent him forth to weep bitterly. + +The light was breaking over the hills of Moab, flushing with roseate +hues the marble pinnacles of the temple, whilst the city and +surrounding valleys were still shrouded in the grey gloom, as Peter +went forth alone from the high priest's palace. Only those whose last +words to the beloved dead were rude and thoughtless--not expecting that +there would be no opportunity to unsay them and ask forgiveness, but +that, ere they met again, death would have sealed in silence the only +lips that could speak words of relief and peace--can realize just what +Peter felt. Did he know Him? Of course he did, and ever since that +memorable hour, when Andrew first brought him into His presence, he had +been growing to a more perfect knowledge. Did he love Him? Of course +he did; and Jesus, who knew all things, knew it too. But why had he +acted thus? Ah, the reasons were not far to seek. He had boasted of +his superiority to all his brethren; had relied on his own braggart +resolutions; had counted himself strong because he could speak strongly +and loudly when danger was not near; had thought that he could cope +with Satan, though arrayed in no stronger armor than that which his +red-hot impulse forged. He thought his resolutions wheat and his +Master's cautions light as chaff; he had to learn his weakness and see +his confidence winnowed away as clouds of chaff while Satan sifted him. + +The resolutions of the evening are not strong enough to carry us +victoriously through the morning conflict. We must learn to watch and +pray, to lie low in humility and self-distrust, and to be strong in the +grace which awaits all tempted ones in God. + +And where could Peter go to weep his bitter tears but to Gethsemane! +He would surely seek out the spot where his Master's form was still +outlined in the crushed grass, and his tears would fall where the +bloody sweat had fallen but a few hours before. But how different the +cause of sorrow! The anguish of the blessed Lord had none of the +ingredients that filled the cup of Peter to the brim! And all the +while the memory of that sorrow, of those broken cries, of that coming +and going for sympathy, of those remonstrances against his senseless +sleep, and of that last tender, yearning, pitiful look of love, came +back on him to arouse successive surges of grief. Contrast Christ's +love with your ingratitude, Christ's constancy with your fickle +devotion, Christ's meekness to take the yoke of His Father's will, and +your unwillingness to bear His cross of shame, and ask if you, too, +have no cause for tears like those that Peter shed. + +It is remarkable that Peter should have fallen here. His open, +ingenuous nature was not given to lying, his impetuous character was +not prone to cowardice. Accustomed from boyhood to meet death in the +wrestle with nature for daily sustenance, he was not subject to the +apprehensions of a nervous dread. None of his fellow-disciples would +have expected the rock-man to show that he was clay or sand after all. +But this was permitted that we might learn that our noblest natural +qualities as much need to be dealt with by the grace of God as our +vices and defects. Many a fortress has been taken from a side which +was deemed impregnable. No one expected that Wolfe would assail Quebec +from the Heights of Abraham. + +How often we have fallen into the same trap! We have, perhaps, been +thrown into a company where it was fashionable to sneer at evangelical +religion, and we have held our peace; where the ready sneer was passed +on those who dared still to believe in miracle and inspiration, and we +have been silent, where condemnation has been freely passed on some man +of God whom we owned as friend, and knew to be innocent, and we have +not tried to vindicate him; where some great religious movement in +which we were interested was being discussed and condemned, whilst we +have coolly joined in the conversation as if we had not made up our +minds, or were totally indifferent. We have been unwilling to be +unpopular, to stand alone, to bear the brunt of opposition, to seem +eccentric and peculiar. Let those who are without sin cast their +stones at Peter; but the most of us will take our place beside him, and +realize that we, too, have given grief to Christ, and grave cause to +His enemies to blaspheme. + +But, be it remembered, the true quality of the soul is shown, not in +the way in which it yields to temptation in some moment of weakness and +unpreparedness, but in the way in which it repents afterward. Do we +weep, not for the penalty we dread, but because we have sinned against +Christ? Are we broken down before Him, waiting till He shall restore? +Do we dare still to believe in His forgiving and renewing grace? Then +this is a godly repentance, which needs not to be repented of. These +are tears which His love shall transform to pearls. How different this +to the attitude of a Judas! Each fell; but in their demeanor afterward +the one was shown to be gold, silver, precious stones; the other wood, +hay, and stubble. + +How may we be kept from falling again? + +(1) Let us not sleep through the precious moments which heaven affords +before each hour of trial; but use them for putting on the whole armor +of God, that we may be able to stand in the evil day. + +(2) Let us not cast ourselves needlessly into situations where our most +cherished convictions are likely to be assailed by wanton men; though +if God should lead us there we need not fear, for it will be given us +in the same hour what to answer. Take care of warming yourself at the +world's fire. + +(3) Let us keep within the environing presence of our Lord. It is +always right to do right; always safe; always blessed. Satan can only +hurt us when he allures us out of that safe hiding-place. Never +forsake the things which are pure, and lovely, and of good report. +You, in Jesus, shall yet overcome the world if you refuse to allow the +world to come between Him and you. + + + + +XXVII + +The Trial before Caiaphas + +"Annas had sent Him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest."--JOHN xviii. +24. + + +It was as yet but two or three o'clock in the morning. Jerusalem was +still asleep, and well it was for the foes of Jesus that no suspicion +of what was on foot had breathed into the minds of the crowds of +pilgrims; for, had the Galileans only known what was being done to +their favorite prophet, they would have risen, and the plot must have +miscarried before Jesus was handed over to the Romans. But, as the +Lord said, "It was their hour and the power of darkness." The darkest +hour before the dawn! + +When Annas had completed his preliminary inquiry he gave orders that He +should again be bound with the thongs of which He had been relieved, +and led to that part of the palace specially used by Caiaphas, who was +High Priest, but a mere puppet in the hands of the wily Annas. By this +time the leading Pharisees, Sadducees, and priests, had been got +together, summoned by special messengers; and though the formal meeting +of the Council was probably not held till a little later (compare Matt. +xxvi. 57 with xxvii. 1, 2), the trial was really conducted at that +untimely hour, and the evidence procured on which final action was +taken. + +They awaited the Prisoner in one of the larger halls of the palace, +sitting in Oriental fashion on cushions and pillows, in a half-circle, +with turbaned heads, crossed legs, and bare feet; the High Priest in +the centre, the others, on either side, according to age. + +All the rules of justice were violated. The judge was chief +inquisitor; witnesses against the prisoner were alone summoned; and the +Court set itself from the first to get evidence to put the accused to +death. + +Ever since Jesus had commenced His ministry it had been certain that He +would have to face some such tribunal as this. His soul was aflame for +Righteousness and Truth; it was inevitable that He should come into +conflict with these representatives of a traditional and external +religiousness, which consisted in a number of formal rules and rites +from which the life had long since fled. + +This Gospel specially narrates the progress of the quarrel in the holy +city. As far back as ch. ii. 18 we are told that there had been an +altercation on the Lord's right to cleanse the Temple. + +Ch. iv. 1-3.--He left Judaea because of the irritation of the Pharisees +at the numerous baptisms which were taking place under His ministry. + +Ch. v. 18.--He was only at the beginning of the second year of His +ministry, and had just healed the impotent man at the pool of Bethesda, +and we find the Jews consulting how they might kill Him, and He was +compelled again to retire from Judaea. + +Ch. vii. 19.--Such was the spirit of vindictiveness excited against our +Lord that when twelve months afterward He came to Jerusalem at the +Feast of Tabernacles, one of His first words was, "Why go ye about to +kill Me?" The people were well acquainted with the designs of the +rulers (vers. 25, 26); and ultimately officers were sent to arrest Him +(vers. 30, 32). + +Ch. viii. 59.--They were so exasperated with His words that they took +up stones to stone Him. + +Ch. ix. 34.--They excommunicated the blind man because their hated foe +had cured him, and he in his favor had dared to protest. + +Ch. x. 31.--The Jews (and the Apostle always uses that word of the +Sanhedrim and their allies) took up stones to cast at Him; and in verse +39 we read that they sought again to take Him; but He escaped out of +their land to Perea, where He remained until the message of the sisters +called Him from His retreat. + +Ch. xi. 47.--The raising of Lazarus produced such an effect that a +special council was called to consider what should be done, with the +result that from that day they took counsel to put Him to death. + +Ch. xii. 10.--Their malignity was so great that they consulted whether +they should not put Lazarus to death also; because by reason of him +many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. + +It was all this that made them fall in so eagerly with the proposal of +Judas that he should betray Him unto them. + +Now at last they had Him in their power, and their object was to +convict Him of some crime which would justify the infliction of the +severest sentence of the law. To preserve the appearance of justice, +witnesses were called to testify to some action or speech which would +involve blasphemy against their law, and, if possible, against the +Roman law as well; and it was necessary that two of them should agree +in some specific charge. The chief priests, and elders, and all the +council, Matthew tells us, sought for witness against Jesus to put Him +to death. They brought forward many, but either their charges did not +reach the required degree of criminality, or the clumsy witnesses, +brought hastily forward, undrilled beforehand, broke down so grossly in +their story that for shame's sake they had to be dismissed. + +At last two witnesses appeared who seemed likely to agree on a very +momentous charge. They said they had heard Him utter, more than two +years ago, words which seemed to threaten the very existence of the +temple. But, when more closely questioned, their witness also broke +down utterly. It seemed as though Jesus was not to die, except on His +own testimony to His own supreme claims. All lesser counts failed. + +All this time, as witness after witness was brought in, our Lord +maintained an unbroken silence. He seemed as though He heard not, but +was absorbed in some other scenes from those transpiring around. What +need was there for Him to interpose, when all the charges proved +abortive? He was, moreover, waiting till the Father gave Him the +signal to open His lips. + +At last Caiaphas could restrain his impatience no longer; he sprang to +his feet, and with unconcealed fury fixed his eyes on Jesus and said: +"Answerest Thou nothing? Hast Thou nothing to say, no question to put, +no explanation to offer as to what these witnesses say?" Jesus quietly +returned the look, but held His peace. There are times when it is +treason to hold our peace, when God demands of us to raise our voice +and cry like a trumpet. But when it is clear that high-handed wrong is +bent on securing the condemnation of the innocent, and that the case is +prejudged, it is the highest wisdom to be as a lamb dumb before its +shearers, and not open the mouth. + +There was a last alternative. Caiaphas might put Jesus on His oath, +and extort from His own lips the charge on which to condemn Him; but he +was evidently reluctant to do it, and only availed himself of this +process as a last resource. It was well known to this astute and +cunning priest that Jesus on more than one occasion had claimed, not +only to be the long-expected Messiah, but to stand to God in the unique +relationship of Son. Nearly two years before, He had called God His +own Father, making Himself equal with God (John v. 18); and again, +comparatively recently, at the Feast of Dedication, He had claimed that +He and the Father were one; in consequence of which the bystanders +threatened to take His life because that, being a man, He made Himself +God (x. 31-33). Gathering, therefore, the two claims in one, and in +the most solemn form, putting Jesus on His oath, the High Priest said +unto Him, "I adjure Thee by the Living God, that Thou tell us whether +Thou be the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" (Matt. xxvi. 63; Mark xiv. +61). There was no need for further hesitation. Charged in this way, +in the highest court of His nation, and by the representative of His +people, He could not hold His peace without inconsistency with the +whole tenor of His life and teaching. John, representing His disciples +and friends, must be assured that his Master did not vacillate by a +hair's-breadth at that supreme moment. Those high officials must +understand, beyond the smallest possibility of doubt, that if they put +Him to death He would die on the supreme count of His Messianic and +Divine claims; and, therefore, amid the breathless silence of the +court, without a falter in the calm, clear voice, Jesus said, "I AM." +The Father that sent Him was with Him; He had not left Him in that +awful moment _alone_, and it was a great pleasure to the Saviour to be +able publicly to avow the relationship, which was shedding its radiance +through His soul. Then, with evident allusion to the sublime vision of +Daniel, he added, "Ye shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right +hand of power, and coming with the clouds of Heaven." Though Son of +God, He was not less the Son of Man; and though one with the Father, +before the worlds were made, was yet prepared to exercise the functions +of the expected Prince of the House of Israel. This is the force of +_nevertheless_ in Matt. xxvi. 64--"I am Son of God: _nevertheless_, ye +shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power." + +The words were very grateful to the ears of Caiaphas and his +confederates, as they afforded ground for the double charge they +needed. For a man to claim to be Son of God would make him guilty of +blasphemy, and he must be put to death according to Jewish law; whilst +if there was a prospect of his setting up a kingdom, the Romans' +suspicions would be at once aroused. But in their glee at having +entrapped their victim they must not forget to show a decorous horror +of His crime. In well-assumed dismay the High Priest rent his clothes, +saying, "He hath spoken blasphemy: what further need have we of +witnesses? Behold, now ye have heard the blasphemy." And then came +the decisive question which the judge was wont to put to his +co-assessors, "What think ye? And they all condemned Him to be guilty +of death." + +Then ensued a brief interval, until the early formal session of the +Sanhedrim could be held: and during this recess the disgraceful scenes +were repeated which had already taken place in the hall of Annas. Luke +tells us that the men that held Jesus mocked Him, beat Him, and asked +Him to prophesy who it was that smote Him. Matthew adds that they spat +in His face. But Mark lets in still more light on the horror of the +scene, when he appears to distinguish between _some_ who began to spit +on Him, and to cover His face, and _the officers_ who received Him with +blows of their hands. And the expression some occurs so immediately +after the record of their condemning Him, that the suggestion seems +irresistible that several of these reverend dignitaries did not +hesitate to disgrace their grey hairs in personally insulting the meek +and holy sufferer, venting their spleen on one who gave no show of +retaliation, though one word from those pale compressed lips would have +laid them low in death, or withdrawn the veil of eternity, behind which +legions of angels were waiting impatient to burst upon the impious +scene. But do not condemn them as though they were sinners beyond all +others; remember that we have all the same evil human heart. + +At last the morning broke, and as soon as it was day the assembly of +the elders of the people was gathered together, both chief priest and +scribes; and they led Jesus away into their council (Luke xxii. 66). +This scene had already been so well rehearsed that it probably did not +take many minutes to run through the necessary stages, according to the +precise formulae of Jewish procedure. The method that had already +proved so valuable was quickly repeated. Questioning Him first as to +His Messiahship, Caiaphas, as spokesman to the rest, said formally, "If +Thou art Christ, tell us." + +It was a sorry figure that stood before them. Dishevelled and in +disarray, with disordered garments, the spittle still hanging about His +face, and the marks of the awful storm and mental anguish stamped on +every feature, the innate dignity and glory of Jesus shone out in His +every movement, and notably in His majestic answer, "What do you ask +Me? You have no real desire to know! If I tell you, ye are in no mood +to believe! And if I ask you your warrant for refusing to believe, if +I argue with you, if I adduce Scripture to support My claims, ye will +not answer; but though I read the motive of your inquiry, I will give +you all the evidence you desire. From henceforth shall the Son of Man +be seated at the right hand of God." + +As to the other charge, involving His Divine nature, the admission of +which involved the crime of blasphemy, they were too eager to wait for +Caiaphas; but with swollen faces, excited gestures, and loud cries, +rising from their seats, and gesticulating with the fury of religious +frenzy, they _all_ said, "Art Thou then the Son of God?" And He said +unto them, solemnly and emphatically, "Ye say that which I am." + +Then they turned to one another and said, "What further need have we of +witness? for we have heard from His own mouth." The inquiry was at an +end so far as Jesus was concerned. But they held a further council +against Him, how to construct the indictment which would compel Pilate +to inflict death; for the execution of the sentence of death was kept +resolutely by the Roman Procurator in his own hands. + +Finally, as soon as they dared disturb him, they led Jesus from +Caiaphas into the Praetorium, the palace of the Roman governor, who, in +accordance with his custom, had come up from his usual residence at +Caesarea to the Jewish capital, partly to keep order amid the vast +crowds that gathered there at the feast, seething with religious +fanaticism, and partly to try the cases which awaited his decision. +The Jewish authorities anticipated no great difficulty in securing from +him the necessary ratification of the death sentence. It surely would +not matter to him to add another to the long tale of robbers and +revolutionaries which are awaiting the cross, the more especially as +they were able to prefer a charge of treason against the Roman power +substantiated by the prisoner's own admissions made recently in their +presence. + +It is an awful spectacle, and one over which we would fain draw a veil; +but let us dare to stay to watch the evolution of the diabolical plot +to the end. This, at least, will become manifest--that Jesus died, +because He claimed to be the Son of God, in the unique sense of oneness +with the Father; that made Him equal with God, and constituted +blasphemy in the eye of the Jewish law. And He who has taught the +world Truth could neither have been a deceiver, nor deceived, in this +high claim. + + + + +XXVIII + +"Judas, which Betrayed Him" + +"Judas, which betrayed Him."--JOHN xviii. 2. + + +On the Wednesday evening before our Lord died, He supped with His +disciples in Bethany at the House of Simon. Lazarus was there, and his +sisters--Martha, who served, and Mary, who anointed Him beforehand for +His burying. The Master's reception of this act of love, and His +rebuke of the parsimony which sought to check all such manifestations +of devotion, exasperated Judas beyond all bounds; so, after supper, +when Jesus and the rest had retired to their humble lodgment, he +crossed the intervening valleys and returned by the moonlight to +Jerusalem. + +At that untimely hour the Sanhedrim may have been still in session, +plotting to destroy Jesus. At any rate, the chief priests and captains +were quickly summoned. Judas may have been in communication with some +of them before; but, in any case, he met with a glad welcome. They +were glad, and covenanted to give him money. + +In the word, _communed_ with them, used by the evangelist Luke, it is +suggested that there was a certain amount of bargaining and haggling +before the sum was fixed. Perhaps he wanted more, and they offered +less, and at last he was induced to take less than he had hoped, but +more than they had offered; and the price of betrayal was fixed at +thirty pieces of silver, about 8 pounds, the price of a slave. From +that moment he sought opportunity to betray Him unto them. + +At the Passover Supper provided on the next day by Peter and John in +the upper room, Judas must have reclined on the Lord's left, and John +upon His right, so that the beloved disciple could lean back his head +on the bosom of his Friend. When all were settled, Jesus exclaimed, +with a sigh of innermost satisfaction, "With desire I have desired to +eat this Passover with you before I suffer"; and as He uttered the +words, Judas must have felt a thrill passing through his nature, as he +realized more clearly than any around that table, what was approaching. +Evidently, then, the Master had guessed what was being prepared for +Him! Did He also know the share that he had had in preparing it? In +any case, it was clear that, so far from resisting, He was prepared to +suffer. Apparently, He would not take the opportunity of asserting His +claims; but would allow events to take their course, yielding Himself +to the will of His foes! + +When He had given thanks, the Lord passed round the first cup; then +followed the washing of the disciples' feet, in the midst of which He +looked sorrowfully toward Judas, exclaiming, "Ye are clean, but not +all"; for He knew from the first who would betray Him. It was with a +strange blending of awe and wonder that the little group saw the dark +cloud of anguish gather and rest on the beloved face when, on resuming +His place, He was troubled in the spirit, and testified, and said, +"Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray Me." The +disciples looked at one another, doubting of whom He spoke, and Peter +beckoned to John to ask. But Judas knew. And when He went on to say, +"The Son of Man goeth, even as it is written of Him; but woe unto that +man through whom the Son of Man is betrayed! good were it for that man +if he had not been born"--again Judas' heart smote him. It may be that +he asked himself whether he might not even now draw back. + +For three years he had played his part so well that, in spite of his +constant pilfering from the bag which held the slender resources of the +little band, no one suspected him. His fellow-disciples might contend +for the first places at the table, but all felt that Judas, at any +rate, had a prescriptive right to sit near Jesus. All round, in +sorrowful tones, the question passed, "Lord, is it I?" Each, conscious +of the unfathomed evil of his own nature, thought himself more likely +to be the traitor than that the admirable Judas should do the deed. It +was terrible to know that the Shepherd should be smitten, and the flock +scattered; but more, that the Master would be betrayed by the inner +circle of His friends! But there seemed no reason for challenging His +announcement, backed as it was by a quotation from a familiar Psalm, +"He that dippeth his hand with Me in the dish, the same shall betray +Me." From these words also it was evident that the traitor must be one +of two or three; for only these could reach the common dish in which +Jesus dipped His food. + +It became, therefore, more and more clear to Judas, that the Master +knew perfectly well all that had transpired, and he said to himself, +"If He knows so much, it is almost certain that He knows all." +Therefore, partly to disarm any suspicions that might be suggested to +the others if he did not take up their question, partly because he felt +that probably there was nothing to be gained by maintaining his +disguise before Jesus, and being withal feverishly anxious to know how +much of his plan was discovered, he asked, adopting the colder title +Rabbi, rather than that of Lord, as employed by the others, "Rabbi, is +it I?" Probably the question was asked under his breath, and that +Jesus replied in the same tone, "Thou hast said." + +Immediately the thoughts of Judas sprang back to the foot-washing, and +all the other marks of extraordinary tenderness with which Jesus had +treated him. At the time he had thought, "He would not act like this +if He knew all." Now, however, he realized that Jesus had acted in the +full knowledge of all that had passed, and was passing in his heart. +It must have struck him as extraordinary that the Master should +continue to treat him thus when He had read the whole dark secret. Why +did He not unmask and expose him? Why not banish him from His company? +Why count him still on speaking terms? Not till afterward was he aware +of Jesus' motive, nor did he detect the loving purpose which was laying +siege to his stony heart as though to turn him from his evil purpose +before it was too late. + +Once more the Lord made an effort to prove to him that though He knew +all He loved him still, even to the end. It was the Jewish custom for +one to dip a morsel in the common dish and pass it to another in token +of special affection, so when He had dipped the sop, Jesus took and +gave it to Judas, the son of Simon. He had previously answered John's +whispered question, "Lord, who is it?" which had been suggested by a +sign from Peter, by saying, "He it is to whom I shall give a sop when I +have dipped it." But He did not give the token of love merely as a +sign to John and Peter, but because He desired to assure Judas that, +notwithstanding His perfect knowledge, His heart was full of tender +affection. + +But when the sun strikes on a foetid pond, its rays, beneath which all +creation rejoices, bring out the repulsive odors that otherwise had +slept undiscovered; so the love of God is ever a savor of life unto +life or of death unto death, and the very fervor of Christ's love seems +to have driven Judas almost to madness. Shutting his heart against the +Saviour, he opened it to Satan, who was waiting his opportunity. +"After the sop, then Satan entered into him." Instantly the Master saw +the change, and knew that He could do nothing more to save His disciple +from the pit which he had digged for himself. Nothing could be gained +by further delay. Jesus therefore said unto him, "That thou doest, do +quickly." + +So carefully had the Lord concealed His knowledge of Judas' real +character that none of those who sat at table guessed the real +significance and purport of His words. For some thought, because Judas +had the bag, that Jesus said unto him, "Buy what things we have need of +for the feast"; or that he should give something to the poor. Only +John, and perhaps Peter, had the slightest suspicion of his possible +errand. The sacred narrative adds significantly, "He then having +received the sop, went out straightway, and it was night"; as though +the black pall of darkness were a befitting symbol of the blackness of +darkness that was enveloping his soul--a night broken only by one star, +when Jesus once more in the garden sought to arrest him with the words, +"Friend, to what a deed thou art come! Betrayest thou the Son of Man +with a kiss?" But that lone star was soon obscured. The cloud-wreath +hastened to conceal it. Head-long and precipitate over every obstacle, +he rushed to his doom, until his career was consummated in the +despairing act which the Evangelist so solemnly records. + +The specified fee was no doubt paid to Judas, on his delivery of Jesus +into the hands of the High Priest. As soon as the great doors closed +behind the arresting band, Judas went to some inner pay-office, claimed +his money, and then waited in the shadow to see what befell. Perhaps +he met John; and if so, avoided him. Perhaps he heard Peter deny the +Lord with oaths, and congratulated himself that there was not much to +choose between them. But for the most part his mind was absorbed in +what was transpiring. He beheld the shameful injustice and inhumanity +of the trial. Though he had kissed his Master's face, his soul winced +from the blows and spittle that befell it. Perhaps he had entertained +some lingering hope and expectation that when the worst came to the +worst the Master would use on His own behalf the power He had so often +used for others. But if that thought had lodged in his mind, the dream +was terribly dissipated. "He saw that He was condemned." + +Then the full significance of his sin burst upon him. The veil fell +from his eyes, and he stood face to face with his crime in all its +naked horror. His ingratitude, his treachery, his petty pilfering, his +resistence of a love which the strong waters of death could not +extinguish. And the money scorched his hand. A wild and haggard man, +he made his way into the presence of the chief priests and scribes, as +they were congratulating themselves on the success of their plot. +There was despair on his face, a piercing note in his voice, anguish in +his soul; the flames of hell were already consuming him, the thirst of +the bottomless pit already parching his lips; his hand convulsively +clutched the thirty pieces of silver. + +"I have sinned," he cried. "I have sinned. He whom you have condemned +is innocent; take back your money, only let Him go free; and oh, +relieve me, ye priests, accustomed to deal with burdened hearts, +relieve me of this intolerable pain." + +But they said, with a gleam as of cold steel, "What is that to us? +That is your business. You made your bargain, and you must stand to +it: see thou to it." + +He knew that it was useless to parley with them. That icy sarcasm, +that haughty indifference, told him how man must ever regard his +miserable act. He had already refused the love of God, and dared not +expect anything more from it. He foresaw how coming ages would spurn +and abhor him. There seemed, therefore, nothing better than to leap +into the awful abyss of suicide. It could bring nothing worse than he +was suffering. Oh, if he had only dared to believe in the love of God, +and had fallen even then at the feet of Jesus, he might have become a +pillar in His temple, and an apostle of the Church. But he dared not +think that there could be mercy for such as he was. He passes out into +the morning air, the most wretched of men, shrinks away into some +lonely spot, puts a rope around his neck, and dies. + +We have been accustomed to think of Judas as one whose crime has put +him far in front of all others in the enormity of his guilt. Dante +draws an awful picture of him as alone even in hell, shunned by all +other sinners, as Turkish prisoners will shun Christians, though +sharing the same cell. But let us remember that he did not come to +such a pitch of evil at a single bound. There was a time, no doubt, +when, amid the cornfields, vineyards, and pastoral villages of his +native Kerioth, he was regarded as a promising youth, quick at figures, +the comfort of his parents, the pride of his instructors, the leader of +his comrades. + +During the early years of His manhood, Jesus came through that court +country on a preaching tour, and there must have been a wonderful +fascination in Him for young men, so many of whom left their friends +and callings to join and follow Him. Judas felt the charm and joined +himself to the Lord; perhaps Jesus even called him. At that time his +life must have been fair, or the Master would never have committed +Himself to him. He was practical, prompt, and businesslike, the very +man to keep the bag. But the continual handling of the money at last +awoke within him an appetite of the presence of which he had not been +previously aware. He did not banish it, but dwelt on it, allowing it +to lodge and expand within him, till, like a fungus in congenial soil, +it ate out his heart and absorbed into itself all the qualities of his +nobler nature, transmuting them into rank and noisome products. All +love for Christ, all care for the poor, all thought of his +fellow-disciples, were quenched before that remorseless passion; and at +last he began to pilfer from those scant treasures, which were now and +again replenished by those that loved to minister to the Master's +comfort. At first, he must have been stung by keen remorse; but each +time he sinned his conscience became more seared, until he finally +reached the point when he could sell his Master for a bagatelle, and +betray Him with a kiss. + +Alas! Judas is not the only man of whom these particulars have been +true. Change the name and you have an exact description of too many. +Many a fair craft has come within the reach of the circling eddies of +the same boiling whirlpool, and, after a struggle, has succumbed. The +young man hails from his native village home, earnest and ingenuous. +At first he stands firm against the worldly influences around; but +gradually he becomes careless in his watch, and as money flows in he +realizes the fascination of the idea of being a wealthy man. He +becomes increasingly absorbed, until he begins to drift toward a goal +from which in other days he would have shrunk in horror. If any reader +of these words is conscious of such a passion beginning to lay hold of +him, let him beware, lest, like Judas, he be lost in the divers hurtful +lusts which drown men in perdition. + +And if already you have been betrayed into sins which would bear +comparison with that of Judas, do not despair--true, you have sinned +against light and love, the eager, tender pleadings of God's love; but +do not give up hope. Cast yourself on a love which wants to abound +over sin, and glories in being able to save to the uttermost. + + + + +XXIX + +The First Trial before Pilate + +"Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it +was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest +they should be denied; but that they might eat the Passover."--JOHN +xviii. 28. + + +There is no doubt that had Pilate been absent from Jerusalem at the +time of our Lord's trial before the Sanhedrim, they would have rushed +Him to death, as afterward Stephen, and have risked the anger of the +Governor. But they dared not attempt such a thing beneath the eyes of +the dreaded Roman eagles. They must needs obtain Pilate's countersign +to their death sentence, and, indeed, consign their victim to him for +execution. The Lord was to die, not the Jewish death by stoning, but +the terrible Roman death of crucifixion. + +The day then breaking was that before the Passover. If the order for +execution were not obtained that morning, the case could not come on +for seven days, and it would have been highly impolitic, from their +point of view, to keep Jesus so long in bonds. The national sentiment +might have awoke and refused to sanction their treachery. For the same +reason it was necessary to carry the sentence into effect with as +little delay as possible, or the whole plot might miscarry. Then led +they Jesus from Caiaphas to the official residence of Pilate, which had +been the palace of the magnificent Herod--_and it was early_. + +In the palace there was a hall where trials were usually conducted; but +the Jewish dignitaries who had not scrupled shamelessly to condemn +Jesus were too scrupulous to enter the house of a Gentile on the eve of +the feast, for fear there might be a single grain of leaven there, and +the mere suspicion of such a thing would have disqualified them from +participating in the feast. Remember that these men had just broken +every principle of justice in their treatment of Jesus, and now they +palter over minute points of Rabbinical casuistry. So Philip of Spain +abetted the massacres of Alva, but rigorously performed all the rites +of the Church; and the Italian bandit will carefully honor priest, and +host, and church. How well our Lord's sharp sword cut to the dividing +of soul and spirit, in such cases as these: "Ye pay tithe of mint, and +cummin, and anise, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law." +It is an evil day when religion and morality are divorced. + +Pilate knew too well the character of the men with whom he had to do, +to attempt to force their scruples, and went out to them; so that for +most of the time his intercourse with Jesus was apart from their +interference and scrutiny. Without much interchange of formalities, +the Governor asked, "What accusation bring ye against this man?" + +It was not a little disappointing to their pride to be obliged to +adduce and substantiate capital charges against Jesus, so they replied +in general terms, and with the air of injured innocence, "If He were +not a malefactor, we would not have delivered Him unto thee." It was +as though they said, "There is no need for thee to enter into the +details of this case; we have thoroughly investigated it, and are +satisfied with the conclusive evidence of our prisoner's guilt; you may +be sure that men like ourselves would never come to thee at such an +hour, on such an errand, unless there were ample grounds for it." + +But Pilate was in no mood to be talked with thus. He saw their +eagerness to ward off inquiry, and this was quite enough to arouse his +proud spirit to thwart and disappoint them. He knew well enough that +they wanted him to pronounce the death sentence; but he pretended not +to, and said, in effect, "If your judgment, and yours only, is to +settle the case, take ye Him and judge Him according to your law, +inflicting such penalty as it directs." + +The Jewish notables at once saw that they must adopt a more +conciliatory tone, or they would lose their case; they therefore +explained that they wanted a severer sentence than they had the right +to inflict. "It is not lawful," they said, "for us to put any man to +death." + +Pilate again asked for a statement of the crime of which Jesus was +accused. + +Now mark the baseness of their reply. The only crime on which they had +condemned Jesus to death was His claim to Deity; but it would never +have done to tell Pilate that. He would simply have laughed at them. +They must find some charge which would bring Him within the range of +the common law, and be of such a nature that Pilate must take +cognizance of it, and award death. It was not easy to find ground for +such a charge in the life of one who had so studiously threaded His way +through the snares they had often laid for Him; who had bade them +render Caesar's things to Caesar; and protested that He was neither a +ruler nor judge. Their only hope was to rest their charge on His claim +to be the Messiah, construing it as the Jews were wont to do, but as +Jesus never did, into a claim to an outward and visible royalty. They +said, therefore, as Luke informs us, "We found this man perverting the +nation and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that He Himself +is Christ a King." + +This was quite enough to compel Pilate to institute further inquiry. +There were thousands of Jews who questioned Caesar's right to tax them, +and were willing to revolt under the lead of any man who showed himself +capable. It was certainly suspicious that such a charge should be made +by men who themselves abhorred the yoke of Rome. However, Pilate saw +that he had no alternative but to investigate the case further. He +therefore went within the palace to the inner judgment hall, summoned +Jesus before him, and said, not without a touch of sarcasm in his +tones, "Art Thou the King of the Jews?" Thou poor, worn, tear-stained +outcast, forsaken by every friend in this Thy hour of need, so great a +contrast to him who built these halls and aspired to the same +title--art thou a king? + +He probably expected that Jesus would at once disclaim any such title. +But instead of doing so, instead of answering directly, our Lord +answered his question by propounding another--"Sayest thou this thing +of thyself, or did others tell it thee concerning Me?" The purport of +this question seems to have been to probe Pilate's conscience, and make +him aware of his own growing consciousness that this prisoner was too +royal in mien to be an ordinary Jewish visionary. It was as though He +said: "Dost thou use the term in the common sense, or as a soul +confronted by a greater than thyself? Do you speak by hearsay or by +conviction? Is it because the Jews have so taught thee, or because +thou recognizest Me as able to bring order and peace into troubled +hearts like thine?" + +Whatever thoughts had instinctively made themselves felt were instantly +beaten back by his strong Roman pride. Never before had he been +catechised thus. And he answered haughtily, "Am I a Jew? Thine own +nation and the chief priests have delivered Thee unto me: what hast +Thou done?" + +Our Lord did not answer that question by enumerating deeds which had +filled Palestine with wonder; but contented Himself by saying that He +had committed no political offence, and had no idea of setting Himself +up as king, in the sense in which Pilate and the Jews used the word: +"My kingdom is not of this world: if My kingdom were of this world, +then would My servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the +Jews: but now is My kingdom not from hence." + +Never in the history of this world did the lips of man speak or his +ears listen to a more pregnant or remarkable utterance. But it has +been shamefully misunderstood. Men have misread the words, and said, +See, the religion of Jesus is quite unworldly, has nothing to do with +the institutions and arrangements of human life. It deals with the +spiritual, and not with the secular. It treats of our spirits, not our +hands or pockets. So long as we recognize Christ's authority in the +Church, we may do as we like in the home, the counting-house, the +factory, and the shop. + +It was in no such sense that Jesus uttered these words, and the mistake +has largely arisen through the misunderstanding of the word _of_ as +used by our translators. It has not the force of belonging to, or +being the property of; but is the translation of a Greek preposition, +meaning out of, springing from, originating in. We might freely +translate the Master's words thus: "My kingdom does not originate from +this world; it has come down from another, to bring the principles, +methods, and inspirations of heaven to bear on all the provinces of +human thought and activity." The Son of Man claims the whole of man +and all that he does as a subject of His realm. He cannot spare one +relationship of human life, one art, one industry, one interest, one +joy, one hope from the domain of His empire. He has a word about the +weight in the pedlar's bag, the dealings of the merchant on 'Change, +the justice and injustice of wars that desolate continents. + +The one conspicuous proof of the absolutely foreign origin of this +heavenly kingdom is its refusal to employ force. Its servants do not +fight. In the garden the King had repudiated the use of force, bidding +His servant sheathe His sword. Whenever you encounter a system that +cannot stand without the use of force, that appeals to the law court or +bayonet, you are sure that, whatever else it is, it is not the Kingdom +of Christ. Christ's kingdom distinctly and forever refuses to allow +its subjects to fight. They who would surround Christianity with +prestige, endow it with wealth, and guard it with the sword, expel its +Divine Spirit, and leave only its semblance dead upon the field. But +if the aid which might be deemed essential is withheld, whether of +funds or force, it thrives and spreads until the hills are covered with +its goodly shadow, and its products fill the earth with harvests of +benediction. All the Gospel asks for is freedom--freedom to do what +Jesus did, in the way He did it; freedom because of its belief that the +power of truth is greater than all the power of the Adversary. Oh for +a second Pentecost! Oh for the holy days of Apostolic trust and +simplicity! Oh for one of the days of the Son of Man, who came to our +world armed with no authority save that of truth, clothed with no power +but that of love. + +In Pilate's next question there seems a touch of awe and respect: "Art +Thou a king then?" That moral nature which is in all men, however +debased, seemed for a moment to assert itself, and a strange spell lay +on his spirit. + +With wondrous dignity our Lord immediately answered, "Thou sayest that +I am--a king." But He hastens to show that it was a kingship not based +upon material force like that of the Caesars, nor confined to one race +of men: "To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the +world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Every one that is of +the truth heareth My voice." There is no soul of man, in any clime or +age, devoted to the truth, which does not recognize the royalty and +supremacy of Jesus Christ. There is an accent in His words which all +the children of the truth instantly recognize. The idea here given of +Jesus gazing ever into the depths of eternal truth, and bearing witness +of what He saw, not in His words alone, but in His life and death; and +of the assent given to His witness by all who have looked upon the +sublime outlines of truth, is one of those majestic conceptions which +cannot be accounted for on any hypothesis than that the speaker was +Divine. + +When Pilate heard these words, he probably thought of the Epicureans, +and Stoics, and other philosophers, who were perpetually wrangling +about the truth, and demanding men's allegiance. "Oh," said he to +himself, "here is another enthusiast, touched with the same madness, +though He does seem nobler than many of His craft. One thing is clear, +that my lord has nothing to fear from His pretensions. He may sit as +long as He likes on His ideal throne without detriment to the empire of +the Caesars." With mingled bitterness and cynicism, he answered, "What +is truth?" and, without waiting for an answer, went out to the group of +Jewish rabbis waiting in the opening daylight, and threw them into +convulsions of excitement by saying, "I find in Him no fault at all." + +They were the more urgent, saying, "He stirreth up the people, teaching +throughout all Judaea, and beginning from Galilee even unto this place." + +The mention of Galilee came as a gleam of light to Pilate. He was +sincerely desirous not to be an accomplice in the death of Jesus, by +falling into the plot which he had been astute enough to detect. But +not daring to take the only honorable and safe way of declaring His +innocence, and summoning a cohort of soldiers to clear the court, he +endeavored to exculpate himself by throwing the responsibility on +Herod. He congratulated himself on the ingenuity of a plan which +should relieve him of the necessity of grieving his conscience on the +one hand, or of irritating the Jews on the other, and which would +conciliate Herod, with whom he was at this time on unfriendly terms. +When he knew therefore that He was of Herod's jurisdiction he sent Him +unto Herod, who himself was at Jerusalem in those days. + +Herod was glad to see the wonderful miracle-worker of whom he had heard +so much, and hoped that He might do some wonder in his presence; and, +in the hope of extorting it, set Him at nought, and mocked Him, with +his mighty men. But the Lord remained absolutely silent in his +presence, as though the love of God could say nothing to the murderer +of the Baptist, who had not repented of his deed. Finally, therefore, +disappointed and chagrined, Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate, admitting +that he had found in Him no cause of death. + + + + +XXX + +The Second Trial before Pilate + +"Ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: +will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews?"--JOHN +xviii. 39. + + +Pilate must have felt mortified when he heard that Herod had sent Jesus +back to his tribunal. He had hoped that the Jewish monarch would so +settle the matter that there would be no need for him to choose between +his conscience and his fear of the Jewish leaders. But it was not to +be. It was decreed that he should pronounce the judicial sentence on +our Lord, and so on himself. + +Now was the time for him to act decisively, and to say clearly that he +would be no party to the unrighteous deed to which these priests were +urging him. To have done so firmly and decisively, and before they +could further inflame popular passion, the whole matter would have come +to an end. Alas! he let the golden moment slip past him unused, and +every succeeding moment made it more impossible for him to retrieve it. + +Pilate is one of the most notable instances in history of the fatal +error of preferring expediency to principle. He wished to do right, +but not to do it avowedly because it was right. He wished to do right +without seeming to do it, or making a positive stand for it. And in +consequence he was finally entrapped into doing the very deed which he +had taken the greatest trouble to avoid. Therefore, on the plains of +time he stands as a beacon and warning; and to all who do not dare to +oppose the stream of public passion and practice with the single +affirmation of inflexible adherence to righteousness, the voice of +inspiration cries aloud, "Remember Pilate!" However promising a +tortuous course may look, it will certainly end in disaster. However +discouraging a righteous one may appear, it will at last lead out into +the open. And in doing the right thing, be sure to speak out firmly at +once. It may be harder for the moment, but it will be always easier +afterward. One brave word will put you into a position of moral +advantage, from which no power shall avail to shake or dislodge you. + +Such a word, however, Pilate failed to speak; and when Jesus was again +brought before him, he began to think of some way by which he might do +as conscience prompted, without running counter to the Jewish leaders. +He, therefore, summoned around him the chief priests and rulers of the +people. The latter are particularly mentioned, as though Pilate +thought that his best method of saving Jesus would be by appealing over +the heads of the priests to the humanity of the common people. When +all were again assembled he made, as Luke tells us, a short speech to +them, reiterating his conviction of His innocence, corroborating his +own opinion by Herod's, and closing by a proposal which he hoped would +meet the whole case. "I will therefore chastise Him and release Him." +Was there ever such a compromise? A little before he had solemnly +affirmed that he could find in Him no fault at all, but if that were +the case, why chastise Him? And if He were guilty of the charges +brought against Him, as chastisement might seem to suggest, surely He +should not be released. Pilate meant to do the best. The chastisement +was intended as a sop to the priests, and to win their acquiescence to +their victim's release. But it was not straightforward, or strong, or +right. And, like all compromises, it miserably failed. + +Those keen Jewish eyes saw in a moment that Pilate had left the ground +of simple justice. He had shifted from the principle on which Roman +law was generally administered, and they saw that it was only a +question of bringing sufficient pressure to bear on him, and they could +make him a tool for the accomplishment of the fell purpose on which +their heart was set. The proposal, therefore, was swept ignominiously +away, and Pilate could never regain the position he had renounced. + +Pilate then resorted to another expedient for saving Jesus. It was the +custom to carry out capital sentences at feast times, which were the +occasions of great popular convocations; but it was also customary for +the governor to release any one prisoner, condemned to death, whom the +multitude, on the Passover week, might agree to name. Pilate +recollected this, and also that there was a notorious criminal awaiting +execution, who for sedition and murder had been arrested and condemned +to die. It occurred to him that, instead of asking the people +generally whom they wished him to release, he should narrow the choice +and present the alternative between Barabbas and Jesus. They would +hardly fail, he thought, to choose the release of this pale Prisoner, +who was innocent of crime, and, indeed, had lived a life notable for +its benevolence. + +Pilate took care to announce his proposal with the greatest effect. +The vast space before his palace was rapidly filling with excited +crowds, who guessed that something unusual was astir, and were pouring +in surging volumes into the piazza, although it was still early. That +he might be the better seen and heard he ascended a movable rostrum, or +judgment-seat, which was placed on the tessellated pavement that ran +from end to end of the palace. "Whom will ye," he asked, "that I +release unto you--Barabbas, or Jesus which is called the Christ?" And +then he suggested the answer: "Will ye that I release unto you the King +of Jews?" + +At this moment, and perhaps whilst waiting for their answer, a +messenger hurried to speak to him from his wife. It must have been +most unusual for her to interfere with his judicial acts; but she had +been so impressed by a dream about her husband's connection with Jesus, +the unwonted Prisoner who stood before him, that she was impelled to +urge him to have nothing to do with Him. It was a remarkable episode, +and must have made Pilate more than ever anxious to extricate himself +from his dilemma. + +It was still not absolutely too late to set himself free by the +resolute expression of his will. But his temporizing policy was making +it immensely difficult, and he was becoming every moment more entangled +in the meshes of the merciless priests. + +He had hoped much from his last proposal, but was destined to be +bitterly disappointed. The chief priests and elders had been busy +amongst the crowds, persuading and moving them. We do not know the +arguments they would employ; but we all know how inflammable a mob is, +and presently the name of Barabbas began to sound ominously from amid +the hubbub and murmur of that sea of human beings. Presently the +isolated cries spread into a tumultuous clamor, which rang out in the +morning air, "Not this man, but Barabbas!" + +Pilate seems to have been dumbfoundered at this unexpected demand; and +said, almost pitifully, "What then shall I do with Jesus, which is +called Christ?" As though he had said, "You surely cannot mean that He +should suffer the fate prepared for a murderer!" Then they cried out +for the first time, To the cross, to the cross! "Crucify Him! crucify +Him!" + +Pilate had failed twice; he felt that he was being swept away by a +current which already he could not stem, and which was becoming at +every moment deeper and swifter. But he was very anxious to release +Jesus; and so he tried to reason with them, and said, "Why, what evil +hath He done?" But he might as hopefully have tried to argue with an +angry sea, or with a pack of wolves. He felt this, and, mustering a +little show of authority, said: "I have found no cause of death in Him; +I will, therefore, chastise Him, and release Him." But this +announcement was met by an infuriated shout of disapproval. "They were +instant with loud voices, requiring that He might be crucified." "They +cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify Him." A little before this +Pilate had been besieged for six days in his palace at Caesarea by +similar crowds, whose persistent fury at last compelled him to give in +to them. He dared not provoke similar scenes, lest they should result +in a revolution. When he saw that he could prevail nothing, but that +rather a tumult was made, he called for water. He said to himself, "I +am very sorry, this Man is innocent, and I should like to save Him. +But I have done my best, and can do no more. I will, at least, relieve +myself of the responsibility of His blood. 'Slave, bring me water!'" + +As he washed his hands he said, "I am innocent of the blood of this +righteous Man; see ye to it." "Yes, yes," cried those bloodthirsty +voices, "His blood be on us, and on our children." See how God +sometimes takes men at their word. The blood of Jesus was required of +that generation at the sack of Jerusalem, forty years after; and it has +been required of their children through all the ages. Why that +wandering foot, found in every land, yet homeless in all? Why the +hideous tortures, plunderings, and massacres of the Middle Ages? Why +the modern Jew-hate, disguised under the more refined term +_anti-Semitism_? Why the banishment from their holy places for +eighteen centuries? All is attributable to that terrible imprecation +which attracted to the race the blood of an innocent Victim. It does +not exculpate them to say that they did not realize who Jesus was, and +that they would not have crucified Him if they had realized His Divine +dignity. They are being punished to-day, not because they crucified +the Son of God, knowing Him to be such, but because they crucified One +against whom they could allege no crime, and whose life had been full +of truth and grace. + +After he had washed his hands "Pilate gave sentence that it should be +as they required, and released unto them him that for sedition and +murder had been cast into prison, whom they desired; but he delivered +Jesus to their will." + +Those condemned to die by crucifixion first underwent the hideous +torture of the scourge. This, then, was inflicted on Jesus, and it was +carried out in the inner courtyard by the Roman soldiery, under +Pilate's direction. "Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged +Him." Stripped to the waist, and bound in a stooping posture to a low +pillar, He was beaten till the officer in charge gave the signal to +stop. The plaited leathern thongs, armed at the ends with lead and +sharp-pointed bone, cut the back open in all directions, and inflicted +such torture that the sufferers generally fainted, and often died. + +But the scourging in this case did not satisfy the soldiers, whom +scenes of this nature had brutalized. They had been told by their +comrades of the mockery of Herod's palace, and they would not lag +behind. Had He been robed in mockery as King of the Jews, then He +shall pose as mock emperor. They found a purple robe, wove some tough +thorns into a mimic crown, placed a long reed in His hand as sceptre, +then bowed the knee, as in the imperial court, and cried, "Hail, King +of the Jews!" Finally, tiring of their brutal jests, they tore the +reed from His hands, smote Him with it on His thorn-girt brow, and +struck Him with their fists. We cannot tell how long it lasted, but +Jesus bore it all--silent, uncomplaining, noble. There was a majesty +about Him which these indignities could not suppress or disturb. + +Pilate had never seen such elevation of demeanor, and was greatly +struck by it. He was more than ever desirous to save Him, and it +suddenly occurred to him that perhaps that spectacle of sorrow and +majesty might arrest the fury of the rabble. He therefore led Jesus +forth wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, and, stationing +Him where all could see, said, "Behold the Man! Behold Him and admire! +Behold Him and pity! Behold Him and be content!" But the priests were +obdurate. There is no hate so virulent as religious hate, and they +raised again the cry, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!" Pilate was not only +annoyed, but provoked. "Take ye Him," he said, in surly tones, +"crucify Him as best ye can, my soldiers and I will have nothing to do +with the foul deed." + +Then it was that the Jewish leaders, in their eagerness not to lose +their prey, brought forward a weapon which they had been reluctant to +use. "We have a law," they said, "and by our law He ought to die, +because He made Himself the Son of God." We hardly know how much those +words meant to Pilate, but they awakened a strange awe. "He was the +more afraid." He had some knowledge of the old stories of mythology, +in which the gods walked the world in the semblance of men. Could this +be the explanation of the strange majesty in the wonderful Sufferer, +whose presence raised such extraordinary passion and ferment? So he +took Jesus apart, and said to Him, "Whence art Thou?" "Art Thou of +human birth, or more?" But Jesus gave him no answer. This is the +fifth time that He had answered nothing; but we can detect the reason. +It would have been useless to explain all to Pilate then. It would not +have arrested his action, for he had lost control, but would have +increased His condemnation. Yet His silence was itself an answer; for +if He had been only of earth, He could never have allowed Pilate to +entertain the faintest suspicion that He might be of heaven. + +Pilate's pride was touched by that silence. It was at least possible +to assert a power over this defenceless Prisoner, which had been defied +by those vindictive Jews. "Speakest Thou not unto _me_? Knowest Thou +not that I have power to release or to crucify Thee?" And Jesus +answered, "Thou wouldst have no power against Me, except it were given +thee from above; therefore, he that delivered Me unto thee hath the +greater sin." In these words our Lord seems to refer to the mystery of +evil, and specially the power of the prince of this world, who was now +venting on Him all his malice. At this moment the serpent was bruising +the heel of the Son of Man, who shortly would bruise His head. It +would appear as though our Lord were addressing kind and compassionate +words to Pilate. "Great as your sin is, in abusing your prerogative, +given to you from above, it is less than the sin of that Evil Spirit +who has cast Me into your power, and is urging you to extreme measures +against Me. The devil sinneth from the beginning." Even in His sore +travail, the Lord was tender and pitiful to this weak and craven soul, +and spoke to it as though Pilate and not He were arraigned at the bar. + +Pilate was now more than ever set on His deliverance. "He sought to +release Him." And then the Jews brought out their last crushing and +conclusive argument, "If thou release this Man, thou art not Caesar's +friend; every one that maketh himself a king, speaketh against Caesar." +Pilate knew what that meant, and that if he did not let them have their +way, they would lodge an accusation against him for complicity with +treason before his imperial master. Already strong representations had +been made in the same quarter against his maladministration of his +province, and he positively dare not risk another. "When, therefore, +he heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down in the +judgment-seat at a place called the Pavement, and it was about the +sixth hour." + +With ill-concealed irritation, and adopting the recent phraseology of +the priests, he said, "Behold your King!" At which they cried, "We +have no king but Caesar. Away with Him; away with Him; crucify Him." +It gave Pilate savage pleasure to put the cup of humiliation to their +lips, and make them drain it to its dregs. "What!" said he; "shall I +crucify your King?" Then they touched the lowest depth of degradation, +as, abandoning all their Messianic hopes, and trampling under foot +their national pride, they answered, "We have no king but Caesar." + +At last, therefore, he delivered Jesus to them to be crucified, signed +the usual documents, gave the customary order, and retired into his +palace, as one who had heard his own sentence pronounced, and carried +in his soul the presage of his doom. + +Long years after, when, stripped of his Procuratorship, which he had +sacrificed Christ to save, worn out by his misfortunes, and universally +execrated, he was an exile in a foreign land, with his faithful wife, +how often must they have spoken together of the events of that morning, +which had so strangely affected their lives! + + + + +XXXI + +The Seven Sayings of the Cross + +"Then delivered he Him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they +took Jesus and led Him away."--JOHN xix. 16. + + +Driven from one position after another by the Jewish notables and +rabble, Pilate at last, much against his will, gave directions for the +Lord's crucifixion. The purple robe flung over His shoulders was +replaced by His own simple clothes, though the crown of thorns was not +improbably left upon His head. + +Two others were led out to suffer with Him--highwaymen lately captured +in some red-handed deed. Barabbas, their chief, for whom the central +cross had been designed, had escaped it by a miracle; but they were to +suffer the just reward of their deeds. A detachment of soldiers was +told off under a centurion, to see to the execution of the sentence, +and the heavy crosses were placed upon the shoulders of the sufferers, +that they might bear them to the place of execution. + +It was probably about ten A. M. when the sad procession started on its +way. Two incidents took place as it passed through the crowded +streets, which surely had never witnessed such a spectacle: no, not +even in the days when David traversed them in flight from Absalom. + +The beams laid on our Lord proved too heavy in the steeper ascents for +His exhausted strength, and His slow advance so delayed the procession +that the guard became impatient. Here comes a foreigner! A Jew of +Cyrene! Harmless and inoffensive, gladly would he make way for the +crowd. Why should he not bear this burden under which Jesus of +Nazareth is falling to the ground? The insolent soldiers, with oath +and jest, constrain him, and he dares not resist. Probably Simon had +no previous knowledge of Him for whom he bore this load, and loathed +the service he was compelled to render; but that compulsory +companionship with Jesus carried him to Calvary. He beheld the +wondrous tragedy, heard the words which we are to recite; from that day +became, with his family, a humble follower of Jesus. We at least infer +this from Mark's emphatic mention of the fact that he was father of +Alexander and Rufus; whilst the Apostle Paul, in the Epistle to the +Romans, tenderly refers to Rufus and his mother. This is not the only +instance in the history of Christianity, when the compulsion of an +apparent accident has led a man to Christ. Many a time has compulsory +cross-carrying led men to the Crucified. + +Of the vast multitude who followed Jesus, a large contingent consisted +of women. From the men, in that moving crowd, He does not appear to +have received one word of sympathy. Timidity, or questioning with +their own hearts, or inveterate hatred closed their lips. But the +women expressed their sorrow with all the outcry of Oriental grief, +rending the air with piercing cries. "Weep not for Me," the Saviour +said, ever more thoughtful for others than Himself; "but for yourselves +and your children." And He who had been mocked because of His claim to +be a King, and who would shortly from the cross begin to minister as a +Priest, then as Prophet foretold the approaching fate of that fair +city, asking significantly, since the Romans dealt thus with Himself an +innocent sufferer, what would they not do when exasperated by the +pertinacious resistance of the Jewish people in the protracted siege. + +Just outside the city gates, by the side of the main road, was a little +conical eminence which, from its likeness to the shape of a skull, was +called in the Aramaic _Golgotha_, in the Greek _Cranion_, in the Latin +_Calvary_. As we speak of the _brow_ of a hill, they called the bald +eminence a _skull_. There the procession stayed, and what transpired +may be best followed as we touch on the seven sentences our Lord +uttered on the Cross, as we collate them and set them in order from the +four Gospels. + +I. "_Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do._"--Arrived +at the place of execution, Jesus would be stripped once more, a linen +cloth at most being left about His loins. He would then be laid upon +the cross, as it rested on the ground, His arms stretched along the +crossbeams, His body resting on a projecting piece of rough wood, +misnamed a seat. Huge nails would then be driven through the tender +palm of each hand, and the shrinking centre of each foot. The cross +would then be lifted up and planted in a hole previously dug to receive +it, with a rude shock causing indescribable anguish. "So they +crucified Him, and two others with Him, on either side one, and Jesus +in the midst." + +Pilate had written a title to be nailed to the head-piece of the cross, +according to the usual custom, with the name and designation of the +crucified, "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews." It was written in +Greek, the language of science; Latin, the language of government; and +Hebrew, the language of religion. It is this fact that accounts for +the differences in the Gospels. One evangelist translates from one +language, another from another. The inscription was meant to insult +the Jews. It was equivalent to saying, "This nation cannot produce a +better monarch than this; and this is the fate which will be meted out +to all such pretenders." The authorities were indignant, and did their +utmost to induce Pilate to alter it. But in vain. He would be master +this time, and dismissed them with the curt reply, "What I have written +I have written." Each man is writing his conception of the nature and +claims of Christ by the way in which he treats Him, either +acknowledging His Divine glory as he enthrones Him, or repudiating His +claims as he tramples Him under foot, and turns away to his sin. + +The criminal's clothes fell as a perquisite to the soldiers specially +charged with the execution of the sentence. With our Lord's outer +clothes they had no difficulty; they were too poor to be worth keeping +entire, so they tore them up into equal pieces. But the inner tunic +was of unusual texture; perhaps it had been woven for Him by His +mother's hands, or by one of the women who so carefully administered to +Him. In any case it was too good to tear. The dice were ready in the +pocket, one of the helmets would serve as dice-box; and so "they parted +His raiment among them, and for His vesture they did cast lots. These +things therefore the soldiers did." + +It was probably during this byplay that our Lord uttered the first cry +of the cross, and entered on that work of intercession, which He ever +lives to perpetuate and crown. He thinks, not of Himself, but of +others; is occupied, not with His own pains, but with their sins. Not +a threat, nor a menace; but the purest, tenderest accents of pleading +intercession. + +When was that prayer answered? Seven weeks after this, on the day of +Pentecost, three thousand of these people, whom Peter described as the +murderers of Christ, repented and believed, and in the days that +followed thousands more, and a great company of the priests. That was +the answer to this intercession. When we see our brethren sinning a +sin not unto death, without realizing its full significance and +enormity, if we ask God, as Jesus did, He will give us life for those +that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death, and concerning +that we are not encouraged to pray. "I obtained mercy," said the great +apostle, "because I did it ignorantly in unbelief." + +II. "_Woman, behold thy Son; son behold thy mother._"--The second +saying was about His mother. His cross was the centre of bitter +mockery. The chief priests, and scribes, and elders challenged Him to +descend from the cross, pledging themselves to believe if He did. The +crowd caught their spirit with contemptible servility, and repeated +their words, "Son of God, come down from the cross, that we may +believe." A passer-by called out derisively, "Where is now the boast +that He could raise the temple in three days? Let Him do it if He +can." The soldiers even caught up the abuse, and vented their coarse +jokes on one whose innocence and gentleness appeared to exasperate +them. And the malefactors who were hanged cast the same in His teeth. + +Were there no sympathizers in all that crowd to exchange glances of +love and faith? Yes, there was one little group. When Peter left the +Hall of Caiaphas John probably lingered there still, followed to the +bar of Pilate, waited long enough to know how the matter would fall, +and then hastened to the humble lodgings where Mary and a few other +women, in awful suspense, were awaiting tidings. As soon as the mother +knew all, she resolved to see her beloved Son once more. "It is no +place for women," John would say. But she answered, "I must see Him +yet again." Then said John, "If you will indeed go, I will take you." +"I too will go," sadly said Mary, her sister, the wife of Cleophas; +"and I also," said Mary of Magdala. What a sight for those loving +hearts, when they saw the crosses in the distance, and knew that on one +of them was hanging the dearest to them of all on earth! But the love +that makes the timid deer turn to fight valiantly for its young made +them oblivious to everything except to get near Him. But how little +had the young mother realized that Simeon meant this, when he told her +that a sword would one day pierce her soul! + +Jesus knew how much she was suffering, and how lonely she would be when +He was gone. He had neither silver nor gold to leave, but would at +least provide a home and tender care as long as she required them. +Elevated but very little above the ground, He could easily speak to the +little group. "Woman," He said, not calling her "mother," lest +identification with Himself might expose her to insult, "behold thy +Son." Then, looking tenderly toward John, He consigned her to his care. + +Did He give a further look, which John interpreted to mean that he +should lead her away? It may have been so, for from that hour he took +her to his home; and so she passes from the page of Scripture, except +for the one glimpse we have of her, in the upper room, awaiting the +baptism of the Holy Spirit. + +III. "_To-day thou shalt be with Me in Paradise._"--We cannot explore +all the causes which brought about so great a change in this man, and +produced so lofty an ideal of his Fellow-sufferer. We have to deal +rather with the response of Jesus. Lost by the first Adam, Paradise +was being regained by the last; and it is now not far away. A dying +man may see the sun leave the zenith, but ere it set in the western +wave he may be in the land of Paradise. Absent from the body, present +with the Lord. There is no State of unconsciousness between the two. +We close our eyes on the dimming spectacles of this world at one +moment, to behold the King in His beauty the next. + +Men may strip Jesus of everything, but they cannot touch His power to +save. In a moment of His greatest weakness He was able to rescue a man +from the very brink of perdition, and take him as a trophy of His power +to Heaven. What will He not be able to do now that the mortal weakness +is passed, and that He is exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour! + +IV. "_My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?_"--It would be between +eleven o'clock and noon that these incidents took place; but from noon +till three in the afternoon a pall of darkness hung over the cross and +city. We know not how it came, but it appears to have silenced all the +uproar which had surged around the cross, and to have filled the minds +of all with awe. Men might have gazed rudely on His dying agony; +Nature refused to behold it. Men had stripped Him, but an unseen hand +drew drapery about Him. For three hours it lasted, and was a befitting +emblem of the darkness that enveloped His soul, when He who knew no sin +was made to be sin for us, "that we might be made the righteousness of +God in Him." + +Do you wonder that He felt thus, and question how such a forsaking had +been possible at such an hour? There is but one explanation. This was +not a normal human experience. Only once in the history of the race +has all iniquity been laid on one head; only once has the curse of the +sin of the world been borne by one heart; only once has it been +possible, in drinking the cup of death, to taste death for every man. +"He who knew no sin was made sin for us. He was wounded for our +transgressions, bruised for our iniquities." On no other hypothesis +than that Jesus was the Lamb of God, bearing away the sin of the world, +can you account for the darkness of that midday midnight which obscured +His soul. I cannot tell what transpired; I have no philosophy of the +Atonement to offer; I only believe that the whole nature of God was in +Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself; and that, in virtue of what +was done there, we may apply for forgiveness to the faithfulness and +justice of God. + +V. "_I thirst._"--During the hours of spiritual anguish, our Lord was +largely oblivious to His physical needs; now, as the long hours passed, +these latter began to assert themselves. Inflammation, spreading from +hands and feet, had resulted in a fever of thirst. He had refused the +medicated drink offered at the beginning of His sufferings, because He +had no desire to avoid one throb of anguish which lay in His path; but +there was no reason why He should not drink of the sour wine which +stood hard by the cross, now that He had drunk the cup which God had +placed to His lips. + +As He looked through the long line of predictions that bore on His +passion. He could see that they had all been fulfilled save one; and, +that this Scripture might be fulfilled, He said, "I thirst." Some, who +stood near the cross, and, in the growing light, began to regain their +confidence, tried to make ridicule of this plaintive ejaculation; but +one who noticed His pale and parched lips was touched with pity, and +took a stalk of hyssop, which was just long enough to reach the mouth +of the Sufferer, and elevating a sponge dipped in vinegar, fulfilled +thus unwittingly the ancient prediction, "They gave Me also gall for My +meat, and in My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink." + +VI. "_It is finished._"--As we compare the Gospels, we find that these +words were spoken with a loud voice. It was, in fact, the shout of a +conqueror. Finished the long list of prophecies, which closed, like +gates, behind Him. Finished the types and shadows of the Jewish +ritual. Finished the work which the Father had given Him to do. +Finished the matchless beauty of a perfect life. Finished the work of +man's redemption. Through the eternal Spirit, He had offered Himself +without spot to God; and by that one sacrifice for sin, once for all +and forever. He had perfected them that are being sanctified. He had +done all that was required to reconcile the world unto God, and to make +an end of sin. + +Finished! Let the words roll in volumes of melody through all the +spheres! There is nothing now left for man to do but enter on the +results of Christ's finished work. As the Creator finished on the +evening of the sixth day all the work which He had made, so did the +Redeemer cease on the sixth day from the work of Atonement, and, lo! it +was very good. + +VII. "_Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit._"--The words were +quoted from the Book of Psalms, which He so dearly loved. He only +prefixed the name of Father; for the cloud which had extorted the cry, +_My God, My God_, had broken, and under a blue heaven of conscious +fellowship He exchanged it for _Father_. + +If the words, "It is finished," be taken as our Lord's farewell to the +world He was leaving, these words are surely His greeting to that on +whose confines He was standing. It seems as though the spirit of +Christ were poising itself before it departed to the Father, and it saw +before no dismal abyss, no gulf of darkness, no footless chaos, but +hands, even the hands of the Father, and to these He committed Himself. + +The first martyr, who died after Christ, passed away with words of the +same import upon his lips, with a significant alteration, "_Lord +Jesus_, receive My spirit." We may use them as they have been used by +countless thousands in all ages; and we know Him whom we have believed, +and are persuaded that He is able to keep that which we have committed +unto Him. + +And when Jesus had said these words, He bowed His head upon His breast, +and breathed out His spirit. No one took His life from Him: He laid it +down of Himself: He had power to lay it down. + +So ended that marvellous scene. The expectation of all the ages was +more than realized. If it be true that on that day a tidal wave of +immense volume swept around the world, and rose high up in all rivers +and estuaries, this may be taken as an emblem of the much more +abounding grace, which on that day rose high above the mighty obstacles +of human sin, and is destined to lift the entire universe nearer God. +For by it God will reconcile all things to Himself, whether in heaven +or on earth. + +Three items remain to be noticed. + +At the moment that Jesus died there was a great earthquake, which made +the earth tremble and the rocks rend, so that the ancient graves were +opened, preparatory to the rising of the bodies of the saints on the +Resurrection morning, following the Lord from the power of Death. And +when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, +charged to see the sentence executed, saw the earthquake and the things +that were done, they feared exceedingly, saying, "Truly this was the +Son of God." + +The vail of the Temple, also, was rent in twain from the top to the +bottom, at the moment that the Great High Priest Jesus was entering the +Temple not made with hands, with the blood of His propitiation. Is it +to be wondered at that afterward many priests, who had been in close +contiguity to that marvellous type, became obedient to the faith? + +Finally, from the pierced side of Christ came out blood and water, as +John solemnly attests. "He knoweth that he saith true." This was a +symptom that there had been heart-rupture, and that the Lord had +literally died of a broken heart. But it was also a symbol of "the +double cure" which Jesus has effected. Blood to atone; water to +cleanse. "This is He that came by water and blood, not with the water +only." + + + + +XXXII + +Christ's Burial + +"Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with +the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury."--JOHN xix. 40. + + +"Against the day of My burying hath she kept this!" so had Jesus spoken +when Mary anointed His feet with the very precious spikenard. I do not +suppose that any in the room save herself and her Lord understood His +reference; not one of them believed that He would really die, and His +body be carried to the tomb; but Mary knew better. She had sat at His +feet, and drunk in His very spirit. In the glow of the evening +twilight, when Martha was busy in the house, and Lazarus was away in +the field, they two had sat together, and Jesus, in words similar to +those He had so often used to His apostles, had told her of what was +coming upon Him. Mary believed it all. She knew that she would not be +present at that scene. She did not think that any would be able to +perform the last loving rites for that beloved form. She feared that +it might be utterly dishonored; but she did what she could, she came +beforehand to anoint the Lord's body for His burying. + +It was a beautiful act of tender foresight. But in the sense of being +absolutely necessary, as the only act of care and love bestowed on the +Lord's dead body, it was not required; for He who at birth had prepared +the body for His Son, took care that in death it should receive due +honor. When Jesus expired, Luke tells us that many of His +acquaintances, and the women that had followed Him from Galilee were +standing afar off, beholding all that was done; John too was there, and +others who had loved Him and were the grateful monuments of His healing +power: they must have wondered greatly what would be done with that +loved form. Yet what could they do?--they were poor and unimportant; +they had no influence with the capricious and terrible Pilate; they +seemed helpless to do more than wait with choking sobs until some +possible chance should allow them to intervene. + +Meanwhile God was preparing a solution of the difficulty. Amongst the +crowd around the cross there stood a very wealthy man named Joseph. He +was a native of the little town of Arimathea, that lay among the +fruitful hills of Ephraim; but was resident in Jerusalem, where he had +considerable property. Some of this lay in the close neighborhood of +the highway by which the cross of our Lord had been erected. He was +also a member of the Jewish Sanhedrim, but it is expressly stated that +he had not consented to the counsel or deed of them; if indeed he was +summoned to that secret midnight meeting in the palace of Caiaphas, he +certainly did not go; he was therefore innocent of any complicity in +our Lord's condemnation and death. He was a good man and a just; and +like Nathanael, and Simeon, and many more, he waited for the kingdom of +God. More than this, he was a disciple of Jesus, though secretly. + +Whatever our judgment may be about his action during the lifetime of +our Lord, we have nothing but admiration for the way in which he acted +when He died. What he had seen had more than decided him. Christ's +meekness and majestic silence under all reproaches and indignities; the +veiled sky and trembling earth; the cry of the Forsaken which ended in +the trustful committal of the soul to the Father; the loud shriek and +the sudden death--all these had convinced him and awed his soul, and +lifted him far above the fear of man. He had been waiting for the +kingdom, he would now identify himself with the King. + +By his side there would seem to have stood an old friend of ours, +Nicodemus. Our evangelist identifies him as having at the first come +to Jesus by night. The very opening of the Lord's ministry in +Jerusalem seems to have made a deep impression on his mind; but he was +very timid. He was an old man, a very rich man, a member of the +Sanhedrim, and he did not like to risk his position or prestige. It +was much therefore for him to come to Jesus at all, and especially to +come to Him in the spirit of deep respect and inquiry. There must have +been something very engaging in him; for our Lord, who did not commit +Himself to men in general, made very clear unfoldings of His great work +to this inquiring Rabbi. From that night, even if not a real disciple, +Nicodemus was strongly prejudiced in favor of Jesus; and on one +occasion, at least, brought on himself reproach for attempting +indirectly to shield Him. He had not dared, however, to go beyond his +first nervous question. Then, like Joseph, he was decided by what he +had seen: come what may, he will now avow the thoughts which have long +been in his heart. + +The two men exchange a few hurried sentences. "What will be done with +His body?" + +"At least it must not suffer the fate of common malefactors. Yet how +shall it be prevented?" + +"Look you," says Joseph, "in my garden close at hand there is a new +tomb, hewn out in the rock, wherein was man never yet laid, I had +prepared it for myself; but I will gladly use it for Him, if I can but +get Pilate to yield me His body. I will go at once and ask for it." + +"Well," says Nicodemus, "if you can succeed in getting the body, I will +see to it that there are not wanting the garments and spices of death." + +Without a moment's delay, for the sun is fast sinking toward the west, +Joseph hastens to Pilate, and asks that he may take away the body of +Jesus; and not unlikely he quickens Pilate's response by an offer of a +liberal bribe if he will but accede to his request. Pilate, who had +just given orders to the soldiers to hasten the death of the crucified, +marvelled that Jesus was really dead; nor was he reassured until he had +asked the centurion; and when he knew it of him, he gave to Joseph the +necessary leave, with which he hastened back to the cross. + +The sun would be very low on the horizon, flinging its last beams upon +the scene, as he reached Calvary. The crowds would for the most part +have dispersed. The soldiers might be engaged in taking down the +bodies of the thieves. The body of Jesus was however still on the +cross; and not far off would be the little band of attached friends of +whom we have already spoken, and who would be the sole remnants of the +vast crowds who had now ebbed away to their homes. What wonder, what +joy, as they see Joseph reverently and lovingly begin to take Him down; +with evident authority from the Governor, with manifest preparations +for His careful burial; they had never before known him to be +interested in their Master. And who is this that waits beneath the +cross with the clean linen shroud, and the wealth of spices? Ah! that +is Nicodemus; but who would have thought that he would help to perform +these last offices! + +Oh to be a painter, and depict that scene! The discolored corpse +stained with blood, muscles flaccid, eyes closed, head helpless; +Joseph, and Nicodemus, and John, and other strong men busy. The women +weeping as if their hearts must break, but ready at any moment to give +the needed aid. Between them they carry the body into Joseph's garden, +and to the mouth of his new sepulchre. There on some grassy bank they +rest it for a moment, that it may be tenderly washed and wrapped in the +white linen cloth on which powdered myrrh and aloes had been thickly +strewn. A white cloth would then be wrapped about the head and face, +after long farewell looks, and reverent kisses. Then lifted once +again, the precious burden was born into the sepulchre, and laid in a +rocky niche. There was no door; but a great stone, probably circular, +prepared for the purpose, was rolled with united and strenuous efforts +against the aperture, to prevent the entrance of wild beasts and +unkindly foe. And then as the chill twilight was flinging its shadows +over the world, they reverently withdrew. + +Joseph and Nicodemus had done their work and had gone to their homes, +and yet there were some who lingered as if unable to leave the spot. +There were Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the +sepulchre, gazing through their tears at the place where Jesus was +laid. How keen was their mental anguish! There was bereaved love; +with all purity the strongest love had grown up around Christ; and now +that He was gone, it seemed as if there was nothing more to live for. +The prop had been rudely taken away, and the tendrils of their hearts' +affection were torn and wrenched. Then there would come a rush of hot +tears, indignant passion with those who had pursued Him, with such +unrelenting torture, to His bitter end. Then again, broken-hearted +grief at the remembrance of His anguish, and gentle patience, and +shame. And, mingling sadly with all these, were disappointed hopes. +Was this the end? He who died thus could not have been the Messiah! +He had taught them to believe He was! He must have been self-deceived! +For this life only they had hope in Christ, and they were of all most +miserable! That gravestone hid not only the body of Christ, but the +structure of the brightest, fairest hopes that had ever filled the +hearts of mortals! + +In spite of all, they love. This is the love of women: the object of +their fond attachment may be misrepresented and abused, the life may +seem to be an entire failure; they may themselves be suffering greatly +from the results of the beloved one's mistakes and follies--yet will +they love still! And so through the gathering gloom and evening +stillness they lingered on, until the increasing darkness told them +that the Sabbath had come. Then they returned and rested the Sabbath +day, according to the commandment; but neither they, nor Joseph, nor +Nicodemus, nor John, would be able to partake of the Paschal +festivities. To take part in a burial at any time would defile them +for seven days, and make everything which they touched unclean; to do +so at that time involved seclusion through the whole of the Passover +week, with all its holy observances and rejoicings. + +As we peruse this narrative, many thoughts are suggested. + +_We see the minute fulfillment of prophetic Scriptures._--It had been +written by Isaiah on the page of inspiration, that the Messiah would +make His grave with the rich. When Jesus died that prophecy seemed +most unlikely of accomplishment; but it was literally fulfilled. There +is not a prophecy, however minute, concerning our Lord's life and +death, which did not have an actual fulfillment; and does not this show +us how we are to treat the prophecies which foretell His future glory +and second advent? They too shall have a literal and exact fulfillment. + +_We learn, too, that there are more friends of Christ in the world than +we know._--They sit in our legislature, in our councils, in our pews; +we meet them day after day: they give little or no sign of their +discipleship: the most large-hearted friend would be surprised to hear +that they were Christians. But they are Christ's. Christ knows and +owns them. But if they are secret disciples now, they will not be +secret disciples always. A time will come when the fire of their love +will burn the bushel that hides it, and they will avow themselves on +the Lord's side. + +_We gather, too, that God can always find instruments to carry out His +purposes._--The immediate followers of Christ could not see how to +preserve the beloved corpse from defilement, but God had His place and +His servants ready; and at the very crisis of need He brought them to +the point. So has it been again and again: when influence and money +and men have been really required for the work of God, they have been +all at once forthcoming. He says to men like Joseph, Go, and he goeth; +and to men like Nicodemus, Come, and he cometh; and to His servants, Do +this, and it is done. Even the king's heart is in the hand of the +Lord; as the rivers of water, He turneth it wheresoever He will. + +_There is also a very significant meaning contained in verse 41_: "In +the place where He was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden +a new sepulchre." There is something startling in the association--the +cross, the garden. The one--the symbol of shame and suffering, the +most awful witness to the destructive power of that sin which has laid +waste our world; the other--where flowers, Eden's brightest relics, +were guarded for man's enjoyment. Flowers, blooming in all the +luxuriance of an Oriental spring, shed their fragrance around our +Saviour when He died; one loves to dwell upon the thought that Golgotha +was part of the garden--that earth's fairest, brightest, gentlest +nurslings were there, mingling their smiles and balm with the trampling +angry footsteps and the cursings of malignant foes. They had been very +dear to Him in His life-course; it was only meet that they should be +near Him when He died. Was it not symbolical? In a garden man fell; +in a garden he was redeemed! And that death of Christ has sown our +world with the flowers of peace and joy and blessedness, so that many a +wilderness has begun to rejoice and to blossom as the rose. + +Whilst the burial of Christ was proceeding, the chief priests and their +party were holding a meeting in all haste before the Sabbath began. +The success of their scheme was no doubt the theme of hearty +congratulation. But they dreaded Him still; they feared that all might +not be over; they could not forget that He had spoken of rising the +third day; and at the least, might not the disciples steal away the +body, and spread abroad the report that He had risen, and so the last +error would be worse than the first? A deputation was therefore +appointed to wait on Pilate representing their fears. Tired of them +and the whole case, he was in no humor to please them. "Ye have a +guard," said he, brusquely, "go, make it as sure as you can!" This +they did. They passed a strong cord across the stone, and sealed its +ends, and then placed soldiers to keep due watch and ward that none +should lay hands upon the body that lay within. + +So Christ lay entombed; but He was not there. He was in the world of +spirits. The place of disembodied spirits was called, by the Jews, +Sheol. It had two divisions, Paradise and Gehenna. Christ, we know +from His own words, went to the former; and from Peter we gather that +He also went through the realms of Gehenna, proclaiming His victory. + +The practical conclusion of the whole is, however, contained in Romans +vi. Just as the body of Christ after crucifixion was buried in the +grave, so our sinful, sensual, selfish selves must be done away in the +grave of forgetfulness and oblivion and disuse--buried with Christ, +"that like as Christ was raised from the dead, through the glory of the +Father, so we also should walk in newness of life." + + + + +XXXIII + +The Day of Resurrection + +"The first day of the week."--JOHN xx. 1. + + +It may be helpful if we tabulate in a brief and concise form the +various appearances of our Lord on the great day, when He was declared +to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead. + +Mary of Magdala--a squalid Arab village on the south of the plain of +Gennesaret still bears that name--with another Mary had remained beside +the tomb, till the trumpet of the Passover Sabbath and the gathering +darkness had warned them to retire. They rested the Sabbath day, +according to the commandment, in the saddest, darkest grief that ever +oppressed the human heart; for they had not only lost the dearest +object of their affection, under the most harrowing circumstances, but +their hopes that this was the Messiah seemed to have been rudely +shattered. But how tenacious is human love, especially the love of +women! How it will cling around the ruins of the temple, even when +some rude shock of earthquake has shattered it to the ground! So, when +the Sabbath was over (after sundown on Saturday), they stole out to +purchase additional sweet spices, which they prepared that night in +order to complete the embalming of the body, which had been left +incomplete on the day of crucifixion. They would probably sleep +outside the city gates, which only opened at daybreak, because they +were resolved to reach the sepulchre while it was yet dark. + +But before they could arrive the sublime event had occurred, which has +filled the world with light and joy in all succeeding years. For +behold, whilst the Roman sentries were pacing to and fro before the +sepulchre, there had been a great earthquake, and the angel of the Lord +had descended from heaven, rolled back the stone from the door, and sat +upon it. Then from that opened door the Lord had come forth +unperceived by the eye of man (for the watchers were dazed and dazzled +by the appearance of the angel and the terror of the earthquake), and +in sublime majesty had become the Firstborn from among the dead, and +the First-fruits of them that sleep. + +The women, meanwhile, were hurrying to the grave, debating as they did +so, how they would be able to roll away the stone from its mouth. +Probably they had heard nothing of the seals and sentries with which +the Sanhedrim had endeavored to guard against all eventualities; for, +had they known, they would hardly have ventured to come at all. They +were greatly startled, however, when, on approaching the grave, they +saw that the stone was rolled away. Mary of Magdala apparently +detected this first; and without staying to see further, and with the +conviction that it must have been rifled of its precious contents, +started off to apprise Simon Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved. +What a shock, as she broke in on their grief, with the tidings, "They +have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where +they have laid Him." + +What a series of mistakes was hers! She had gone to anoint the dead +while the morning light still lingered over the hills of Moab; she did +not realize that He could not be holden by the bands of death, and had +passed out into the richer, fuller life, of which death is the portal. + +She came with aromatic spices that her means had bought, and her hands +prepared; she did not know that all His garments were already smelling +of aloes and cassia, of the perfume of heaven with which His Father had +made Him glad. + +She came to a Victim, so she thought, who had fallen beneath the knife +of His foes as a Lamb led to slaughter, she was not aware that He was a +Priest on the point of entering the most Holy Place on her behalf. + +She came for the Vanquished; but failed to understand that He was a +Victor over the principalities and powers of hell; and that the keys of +Hades and the grave were hanging at His girdle, whilst the serpent was +bruised beneath His feet. + +She thought that she had come to put a final touch, such as only a +woman can, to a life of sad and irremediable failure; but had no +conception that on that morning a career had been inaugurated which was +not only endless and indissoluble in itself, but was destined to +vitalize uncounted myriads. + +She thought that the empty tomb could only be accounted for by the +rifling hands that had taken away the precious body, but could not +guess that the Rifler of the perquisites of death was none other than +the Lord Himself. + +We all make mistakes like this. Our treasures, whether of things or +people, which had been our pride and joy, pass from us; and we stand +beside the grave, gazing in on vacancy and emptiness; we think that we +can never be happy again: we suppose that God's mercies are clean gone +forever, and that His mercies have failed forevermore. But, all the +while, near at hand, the radiant vision of a transfigured blessing +waits to greet us, and to fill us with an ecstasy that shall never pall +upon us, but make our after-life one long summer day. + +In the meanwhile, the other women had pursued their way to the grave. +The guard had already fled in terror, so there was none to intercept or +frighten them; and entering the sepulchre they saw a young man, emblem +of the immortal youth of God's angels, sitting on the right side, +clothed in a long white garment, and they were affrighted. Presently, +as they were much perplexed, behold, two men stood by them in shining +garments; and as they were afraid and bowed down their faces to the +earth, they said unto them, "Be not affrighted, ye seek Jesus, which +was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Remember +how He said into you when He was yet in Galilee, that He would rise +again. Come, see the place where they laid Him. And go quickly, tell +His disciples, and Peter, that He goeth before you into Galilee; there +shall ye see Him, as He said unto you." And they departed quickly from +the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring His +disciples word. + +In the meanwhile, Peter and John were hurrying to the sepulchre by +another route, and probably reached it just after the women had left. +John, younger than Peter, had outrun him, but was withheld by +reverential awe from doing more than peering into the empty grave. The +linen clothes, lying orderly disposed, seem to have specially arrested +his notice, yet went he not in. Peter, however, went at once into the +sepulchre; he also saw the linen clothes, and especially that the cloth +which had covered the face of the dead was wrapped together in a place +by itself. Then John also went in; he saw and believed. It was +evident to them both that the tomb had not been rifled, nor the body +stolen by violent hands; for these garments and the spices would have +been of more value to thieves than a naked corpse. In any case, +thieves would not have been at the pains to fold the garments up so +carefully. Whilst the same indications proved that the body had not +been removed by friends; for they would not have left the grave-clothes +behind. + +When the disciples had gone back to their own home, Mary stood without +at the door of the sepulchre weeping; and as she wept she stooped down, +and looked into the sepulchre. What earnest heart is there, that has +not at some time stood there with her, looking down into the grave of +ordinances, of spent emotions, of old and sacred memories, seeking +everywhere for the Redeemer, who had been once the dearest reality, the +one object of love and life? The two sentry-angels, who sat, the one +at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had +lain, sought in vain to comfort her. "Woman," they said, in effect, +"there is no need for tears; didst thou but know, couldst thou but +understand, thy heart would overflow with supreme joy, and thy tears +become smiles." "They have taken away my Lord," she said, "and I know +not where they have laid Him." What could angel voices do for her, who +longed to hear one voice only? What were the griefs of others in +comparison with hers? In an especial sense Jesus was hers! _my_ Lord! +Had He not cast out from her seven devils? + +Some slight movement behind, or perhaps, as Chrysostom finely supposes, +because of an expression of love and awe which passed over the angel +faces, led her to turn herself back, and she saw Jesus standing, but +she knew not that it was Jesus. Supposing him, in her grief and +confusion, to be the gardener, she said that if he knew the whereabouts +of the body she sought, she would gladly have it removed at her +expense: nay, she even volunteered to bear it off herself. Then He +spoke the old familiar name with the old intonation and emphasis, and +she answered in the country tongue they both knew and loved so well, +"Rabboni!" In her rapture she sought to embrace Him, but this must not +be; and there was need for Christ to work in her love, with His high +art, as the artificer may carve the stone, or engrave some legend on +the intaglio. He therefore withdrew Himself, saying, "Touch Me not." +To Thomas afterward He said, "Behold My hands and My side; reach hither +thy finger": because there was no danger of his abusing the permission, +or leaning unduly on the sensuous and physical. But Mary must learn to +exchange the outward for the inward, the transient for the eternal, and +to pass from the old fellowship with Jesus as friend and companion into +a spiritual relationship which would subsist to all eternity. +Therefore Jesus spoke of His ascension, and bade her look upward, and +see, gleaming on high, diviner things. So she was prepared for the +time, when, in the upper room, she should continue steadfastly in +prayer, and come nearer to Him whom she loved than ever previously. + +Did you ever realize that the intonations of the voice of Jesus, which +had passed unimpaired through death, suggest that in that new life, +which lies on the other side of death, we shall hear the voices speak +again which have been familiar to us from childhood? As is the +heavenly, so are they who are heavenly; and as we have borne the image +of the earthy, we shall bear that of the heavenly, and shall speak +again with those whom we have lost awhile, and they with us. + +Mary Magdalene went and told them that had been with Him, as they +mourned and wept, that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken +these things unto her. But they, when they had heard that He was +alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. + +In close succession, the Lord appeared to others of the little group. +To the women, as they did run to bring His disciples word. To Peter, +whom He encountered on His way back, in lonely astonishment and awe, +and restored with gracious words of forgiveness. To the two that +walked to Emmaus, in the afternoon, and talked of all that had +happened. Finally He appeared to the whole company of the apostles, as +they sat at meat. They had carefully shut their doors, since there was +every reason to fear that the rumors of the events of the morning would +arouse against them the strong hate and fear of the Pharisees. It may +be that they were startled by every passing footfall, and every +movement on the stair, as when the two returned from Emmaus to tell how +Jesus had been made known unto them in the breaking of bread. Then, +suddenly, without announcement or preparation, the figure of their +beloved Master stood in the midst of them, with the familiar greeting +of peace! And, as the sacred historian naively puts it, they were +terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they were gazing on a +spirit. But the Lord allayed their fears, first by showing them His +hands and His feet; and next, by partaking of a piece of broiled fish +and of an honeycomb. + +Evidently He was clothed in the resurrection or spiritual body of which +the Apostle Paul speaks. He was not subject to all the laws that +govern our physical life. He could pass freely through unopened doors, +and at will He could manifest Himself, speak, stand, and walk, or +subject Himself to physical sense. + +His words were very significant. He began by upbraiding them for their +reluctance to believe that He had risen. Again He said, "Peace be unto +you"; and accompanied His words with the indication of His wounds--"He +showed them His hands and side." This was the peace of forgiveness, +which falls on our conscience-stricken hearts, as the dew distils on +the parched heritage. "Look at the wounds of Jesus," cried Staupitz to +Luther; and there is no other sign that will give rest to the penitent. + +After this He opened their understandings, that they might understand +the Scriptures, and showed them that a suffering Messiah was the +thought which pervaded the entire Hebrew Scriptures. "Thus it is +written, and thus it behoved the Messiah to suffer, and to rise from +the dead the third day." What would we not give to have some +transcript of that wonderful conversation! With what new eyes should +we read the Bible, if only we could know what Jesus said on that +occasion! + +Next He repeated the "Peace be unto you," and told them that He was +sending them forth as the Father had sent Him--"Go ye unto all the +world, and preach the Gospel to every creature." But He added, +"Behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you; but tarry ye in the +city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high." "And +these signs shall follow them that believe. In My name shall they cast +out demons; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up +serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; +they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." + +Then, to fit them for this time of waiting, and that the Holy Spirit +might prepare them to receive His fuller inflow, the Lord breathed on +them and said, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, +they are remitted unto them; whose soever sins ye retain, they are +retained." By which He surely meant that there was no other way by +which sins would be forgiven and put away than by the preaching of the +Gospel, which He now committed to their trust. They are therefore +parallel with Peter's statement in after days, "Neither is there +salvation in any other, for there is none other name given under +heaven, among men, by which we must be saved." The Church of God alone +can proclaim to men the conditions of evangelical repentance,--and +those who refuse her testimony, and disbelieve her Gospel, expose +themselves to unspeakable condemnation and loss. "There remaineth no +other sacrifice for sin; but a certain looking for of judgment, and +fiery indignation." Refuse Christ, and there is no alternative way of +salvation. Whatever else is contained in these words, it is quite +clear that there was nothing exclusively reserved to the apostles and +their successors, which is not equally the possession of all who +believe; for we know that the Lord's words were spoken not to the +apostles only, but to the two that had come from Emmaus with burning +hearts, and to those who were in the habit of commingling with the +immediate followers of Christ. "Them that were with them" (Luke xxiv. +33, 35, 36). All had been witnesses of these things, and all were now +to proclaim in His name repentance and remission of sins among all +nations, beginning at Jerusalem. + +Thomas was not there on that memorable occasion. He was always +accustomed to look on the dark side of things. When Jesus proposed to +go into Judaea to raise Lazarus, he made sure that there was no +alternative but to die with Him; and when the Master spoke of His +impending absence, he said gloomily, "Lord, we know not whither Thou +goest, and how can we know the way?" He was doubtless at this time +wandering alone over the scenes of that awful tragedy, which had so +deeply imprinted itself on his imagination that he could not forget the +print of the nails, and the wound in His side, and the unlikelihood of +any surviving such treatment as He had received. + +When he heard the story of the others, he seemed inclined to treat them +as too credulous; and with the air of superior caution said, that he +must not only see the wounds which death had made, but touch them with +his fingers and hand. Yet we may be grateful for this story. First, +because it wears the aspect of truth. What weaver of an imaginary +history would ever have dared to suggest that the resurrection was +impugned by some of Christ's close followers? And, next, because it +shows us that the resurrection was subjected to the severest tests, +just those which we would ourselves apply. + +Thomas was left for a whole week. Day after day he heard the repeated +story of Christ's appearances; and waited for Him to come again; and +became more and more confirmed in his sad presentment that the whole +story was a myth. How great must have been his anguish during those +days, as he tossed between hope and fear, saw on other faces the light +which he might not share, and thought that the Master, if really +living, was neglectful of His friend! + +At last Jesus came, not to anathematize or exclude him, not to break +the bruised reed or quench the smoking flax, but to restore him, and to +lift on him the light of His countenance. + +He suited himself to his needs. He stooped to comply with the +conditions that his poor faith had laid down. He was willing to give +proofs, over and above those which were absolutely necessary, to win +faith. So eager was He to win one poor soul to Himself and +blessedness, that He said unto Thomas, "Reach hither thy finger, and +behold My hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into My side; +and be not faithless but believing." + +I do not suppose that Thomas availed himself of the invitation. It was +sufficient to see. Such an act of cold scrutiny would hardly have been +compatible with his joyous shout, "My Lord and my God." Christ's voice +and form, omniscience and humility, in taking such trouble to win one +to Himself--these were sufficient to convince him, and dispel all doubt. + +Ah, Thomas, in that glad outburst of thine, thou reachedst a higher +level than all the rest; and thou art not the last man, who has seemed +a hopeless and helpless wreck, unable to exercise the faith that seemed +so natural to others; but who, after a time, under the teaching of +Jesus, has been enabled to assume a position to which none of his +associates could aspire! + +Because he saw, he believed. Too many wait for signs and +manifestations, for sensible emotion and conviction: but there is a +more excellent way--when we do not see, and yet believe. When there is +no star on the bosom of night, no chart on the unknown sea, no lover or +friend or interpreter of the ways of God; and when, in spite of all, +the soul knows Him whom it has believed, and clings to Him though +unseen, and reckons that neither life, nor death, nor principalities, +nor powers, can shut out the love of God in Christ. "Blessed are they +who have not seen, and yet have believed." + + + + +XXXIV + +The Lake of Galilee + +"Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of +Tiberias."--JOHN xxi. 1. + + +"All ye shall be offended because of Me this night; for it is written, +I will smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. But after +that I am risen, I will go before you into _Galilee_." So had the +Chief Shepherd spoken to His sad and anxious followers on the night of +His betrayal. They little understood His meaning, and would perhaps +have even forgotten the appointment of the rendezvous, unless it had +been recalled again and yet again to their minds. But they were not +allowed to forget. On the resurrection morn, the angel said to the +first visitants at the empty grave: "Go your way, tell His disciples, +and Peter, that He goeth before you into _Galilee_; there shall ye see +Him as He said unto you." And as they went to execute this bidding, +Jesus Himself met them and said: "Be not afraid; go tell My brethren, +that they go into _Galilee_; there shall they see Me." The customs of +the Passover Feast forbade their instant compliance with this command, +and the Master sanctioned their delay by appearing to them twice whilst +they yet lingered in the metropolis. But as soon as it was possible +they hastened back to the familiar scenes of their early life and of +the Master's ministry. + +We cannot fathom all the reasons that led our Lord to make such special +arrangements for meeting with them in Galilee; but it was natural that +He should wish to associate His risen life with scenes in which He had +spent so large a part of His earthly ministry; and there the greatest +proportion of His followers was gathered, and He would have the +quietest and securest opportunity of meeting with the five hundred +brethren at once. The disciples little thought that this was a +farewell visit to their homes, and that within a few weeks they must +return to Jerusalem, to stay there for a time, and then to wander forth +to all lands, from the ancient Indus on the east to the far-famed +shores of Tarshish on the west. + + +I. It was in the early part of May when they returned to Galilee. They +were in evident bewilderment as to their next step. What should they +do? Should they continue to lead the artificial life which they had +taken up during the Master's ministry? That seemed impossible and +needless. Should they do nothing but wait? That appeared unwise when +life was yet strong in them, and their means of livelihood were scant. +It was of course possible to go back to fishing-smacks and +fishing-tackle; but should they? And they hesitated. + +But one evening came; the fragrance of thyme and rosemary and of a +hundred flowers filled the air; the lake lay dimpled in the light of +the setting sun; the purple hills that stood sentinel around seemed by +their very peacefulness to promise that no storm should imperil the +lives of those that ventured on the blue depths. There stood the +boats, yonder lay the nets, in those waters were the finny tribes; the +old instinct of the fisherman arose in their hearts, and found +expression on the lips of the one from whom we should have expected it. +"_Peter_ said unto them, I go a-fishing." I see no harm in it. The +Master never forbade it. He cannot mean us to loiter our time away. +We cannot be preachers without Him. I shall go back to the life from +which He called me three years ago, and if it pleases Him to come +again, He can find us now, as He found us once, among the +fishing-tackle. + +The proposal met with an instant assent: "We also go with thee." And +in a few moments Peter with six others had leaped into a boat, and they +were preparing for the night's work with all the enthusiasm with which +men throw themselves into a craft which for some time they have +disused. But their ardor was soon checked. Hour after hour passed. +The lights went out in the hamlets and towns. The chill night damps +enwrapped them. The grey morning at last began to break, whilst again +and again the nets were hauled up and let down, but in vain; not a +single fish had entered them. "That night they caught nothing." Why +this non-success? The night was the most favorable time! These men +knew the lake well, and were experienced in their craft. They did +their best, but they caught nothing! Why was this? Was it a chance? +No, it was a providence; it was carefully arranged, disappointing and +vexing though it was, by One who was too wise to err, too good to be +unkind, and who was preparing to teach them a lesson which should +enrich them and the whole Church forever. + +The failure put an arrest on their temporal pursuits. Had they been +successful that night, it would have been very much harder for them to +renounce the craft forever; but their non-success made them more +willing to give it up, and to turn their thoughts to the evangelization +of the world. Then, too, our Lord surely meant to teach them that +whilst they were doing His work, whether that work was waiting or +active service, it was not necessary for them to be anxious about their +maintenance; He Himself would see to that, though He had, for each +meal, to light a fire and prepare it Himself. And, deeper than all +this, there were surely great spiritual lessons to be gained respecting +the conditions of success in catching men in the net of His Gospel. + +It is difficult to understand how a man can call himself a Christian, +and how he can face the awful possibilities of life, except he believes +that all is ruled by One who loves us with a love that is infinite, and +who wields all power on earth and in heaven. If, however, that be your +fixed belief, you may find it often severely tested. "I have waited +this livelong night; can this be Christ's will?" "I have done my best +in vain; can this be Christ's will?" "I have labored without a single +gleam of success; can this be Christ's will?" Yes, most certainly it +is. It is His love which is arranging all, in order to teach you some +of the sweetest, deepest lessons that ever entered your heart. There +is not a cross, a loss, a disappointment, a case of failure in your +life, which is not arranged and controlled by the loving Saviour, and +intended to teach some lesson which else could never be acquired. +Fitfully, curiously, without apparent art or fixed design, is the web +of our lives woven; thread seems thrown with thread at random, no +orderly pattern immediately appears, but yet of all that web there is +not a single thread whose place and color are not arranged with +consummate skill and love. + +But what good can failure do? It may shut up a path which you were +pursuing too eagerly. It may put you out of heart with things seen and +temporal, and give you an appetite for things unseen and eternal. It +may teach you your own helplessness, and turn you to trust more +implicitly in the provision of Christ. It is clear that Christians +have often to toil all night in vain, that Christ may have a background +black and sombre enough to set forth all the glories of His +interposition. + + +II. In the morning Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples knew not +that it was Jesus. It was customary for fish-dealers to go down to +greet fishers on their return from the night's toil, in order to buy up +fish. Such a one now seemed waiting on the sand in the grey light, and +His question was such as a fish-dealer might put: "Children, have you +any food?" It therefore never occurred to the disciples to think that +it was Jesus. And indeed, after the miracle was wrought, it was only +the keen eye of love that knew Him to be the Lord. How often is the +Lord near us, and we know Him not! He is standing there in the midst +of scenes of natural beauty though His foot leaves no impression on the +untrodden sand, and His form casts no shadow on the flowers or +greensward. He is standing there in that dingy counting-house, or amid +the whirr of the deafening machinery, though He fills no space, and +utters no word audible to human ears. He is standing there in that +home, watching the sick, noting unkindness and rudeness, smiling on the +little deeds done for His sake, though none ever heard the floors creak +beneath His weight, or saw the doors open to admit His person. How +much we miss because we fail to discern Him! + +By acting thus He not only taught His disciples the reality of His +presence, but He prepared them also for that new kind of life which +they were henceforth to lead--a life of faith rather than of sense; a +life of spiritual communion rather than of physical fellowship. He +kept showing them that, though out of sight, He was still in their +midst. By easy stepping-stones He joined Calvary and Olivet. By +gentle progressive lessons those who had believed because they had seen +were taught to walk by faith, not by sight, and to love One whom they +did not see. And thus it came about that they trod no shore however +desolate, went to no land however distant, dealt with no people however +boorish, without carrying ever with them the thought, The Master is +here! + +But let me say here that if you would see Christ everywhere, you must +be like John, the disciple of love. Love will trace Him everywhere, as +dear friends detect each other by little touches that are meaningless +to others. Love's quick eye penetrates disguises impenetrable to +colder scrutiny. Not for the wise, nor for the few, but for the least +that love, is the vision possible that can make a desert isle like +Patmos gleam with the light of Paradise itself. + + +III. How great a difference Christ's directions made! Before He spoke +they were disconsolately dragging an empty net to shore. The moment +after He had spoken, and they had done His bidding, that net was filled +with a shoal of fish so heavy that it was no easy matter to drag it +behind the ship. + +Great lessons await us here! We, like these, have embarked in a great +fishing enterprise--we are fishers of men! Our aim is to catch men +alive for Christ our Lord. For this we are ready to toil, to pray, to +wait. But our success depends wholly upon our Lord. He will not give +it us until we can bear it, and have learned the lesson of the night of +fruitless toil. And if we are to succeed it must be in His realized +companionship, and in obedience to His word. + +There is a right side of the ship, and a wrong one; there is a time to +plant, and a time to be still; to everything there is a season, and a +time to every purpose under heaven. We do not know these. If we are +left to ourselves, we may cast the net on the left side of the ship at +the time when we should be casting it on the right, and on the right +side of the ship when we should be casting it on the left. Christ +alone knows, and He will teach us exactly how and when to act with the +very best results. + + +IV. Christ's provision for the needs of His servants. I should imagine +that the disciples were somewhat anxious about their bodily needs and +their supply. They did not realize that if they were doing Christ's +work, Christ would look after their real needs. Christ let them meet +with non-success to show how fruitless their toil was. And in the +morning, when He stood on the shore, He filled their nets with fish, +and called them to fire and bread and fish, to show how easily He could +supply all their need. Of course this does not apply to all +promiscuously, but it does apply to those who give up time, and labor, +and earthly toil, for the cause of Christ. If they are really called +to the work, Christ seems to say to them: "Do the best you can for Me, +and do not try in addition to make up for your time and labor by night +work--you had better use the night for necessary rest; the longest +night spent in unbelieving labor will not profit; but I in a single +moment in the morning can more than make up to you for all you have +spent." Christ never lets us be in His debt. If we lend Him a boat +for pulpit, He weighs it down to the gunwale. If we give Him time, He +makes up what we have lost. If we seek first the kingdom of God and +His righteousness, He sees that all things else are added. It is vain +for you to rise up early and to sit up late, to eat the bread of +carefulness. He giveth His beloved when they sleep. + +What delicate attentions to these men! Christ knew that they were +drenched with spray, chilled with the keen air, and so He prepared a +fire--so thoughtful is He of the tiniest matters that will alleviate +discomfort and increase our pleasure. At the same time He is frugal of +the miraculous. He will deal lavishly in miracles so long as needed, +but not an inch beyond. He might have created fish enough on that fire +to supply them all, but that was needless so long as a hundred fifty +and three great fishes lay within easy reach; so Jesus said, "Bring of +the fish which ye have now caught." + +When Peter heard John say, "It is the Lord," true to his character he +sprang into the sea and swam to shore, leaving the rest to drag the +heavy net as best they could. Now he seems to remember his failure to +bear his share in the toil; so he goes to the margin of the lake, lands +the net, counts its contents, and examines the meshes, to find them +unbroken, and then returns with fish enough to make a breakfast for +them all. It was only when all this was done that Jesus said to them, +"Come and dine." Then He came forward and took the bread and fish, and +gave to them. All were convinced that it was Jesus, but they were dumb +with amazement and awe; they would have liked to ask questions, but +they felt that they need not; their senses were convinced almost in +spite of themselves. "None of the disciples durst ask Him, Who art +Thou? knowing that it was the Lord." + +This, says John, was the third time that Jesus had showed Himself; not +literally the third time that He had shown Himself to any one; but the +third time that He had shown Himself to the disciples assembled in any +considerable number. The first time was in the evening of the +resurrection day; the second, when Thomas was there; the third, in the +incident here recorded. + +We all need our rest times, our times of learning, our times of +fellowship with Jesus. Happy are we when Jesus says, "Come and dine," +and leads us off to sup with Him in desert places! It may be in the +loneliness of nature, or of the sick-bed, or of thwarted love; but, +wherever it is, it is well if only He is there to feed us with His own +dear hand. + +The time will come when the night of this sunless world shall be over, +and the morning of eternity shall break upon us; it may be that in the +hour of death we shall find that our work has not been so fruitless as +we feared: on the quiet beach we shall see Jesus standing and know that +it is He. Then one last plunge through the chill flood, and we shall +partake of the preparations which His love has made, and He will say, +"Come and dine." + + + + +XXXV + +Peter's Love and Work + +"Thou knowest that I love Thee. . . . Feed my lambs."--JOHN xxi. 15. + + +That miraculous catch of fish on which we have dwelt was a parable to +the disciples of the kind of work in which they were thenceforward to +be engaged. They were to catch men. But there was one amongst them +who must have wondered much how he would fare, and what part he would +take when that work was recommenced. Might he have a share in it? He +would seem to have forfeited all right. With oaths and curses he had +thrice denied that he belonged to Jesus. He had given grievous +occasion to the enemy to blaspheme. He had failed in a most important +part of an apostle's character. + +True, he had repented with bitter tears, and had received a message +from the empty tomb; on that Easter morn he had heard his forgiveness +spoken by the lips of his Lord, and he would not have exchanged that +forgiveness for an imperial crown; but he was not quite at ease. His +uneasiness betrayed itself in his plunge into the water to swim to +Christ's feet, and in his rush to drag the net to the shore. He wished +to be restored to the position in the Apostolate which his sin had +forfeited; not because of the honor which it would bring, but because +nothing less would assure him of the undiminished confidence and the +entire affection of Jesus. + +The Lord read his heart; and when the morning meal was done, He singled +him out from the rest of His disciples, and asked him three times if he +loved Him, and then thrice gave him the injunction to feed His flock. +In addressing him our Lord calls him by his old name, Simon Bar Jonas, +not by his new name, Peter; as if to remind him that he had been living +the life of nature rather than of grace. + +In considering this subject, it will be convenient to speak of the +question, the answer; the command. + + +I. OUR LORD'S SEARCHING QUESTION--"Lovest thou Me?" + +_It is a very remarkable question._--We should have expected the +inquiry, Dost thou believe Me? Wilt thou obey Me? Art thou prepared +to carry out My plans? But lo! the risen Lord seems not anxious about +aught of these, and only asks for love, and this from the rugged, +manly, headstrong Peter. Yet as we hear the question asked, we realize +it is the true one. He who has asked it has struck the right method of +dealing with men; and if He only get the love, He will get easily +enough the faith and the obedience as well. + +In this startling question you have unbared to you the distinctive +feature which makes Christianity what it is, and which makes it +different from all other religions which have flung their clouds or +their rainbows over human spirits. It is the religion of love: and a +man may speak with a seraph's burning tongue to defend Christianity; he +may give his goods to feed the poor in obedience to the precepts of +Christianity; he may even burn at the stake rather than renounce +Christianity as his intellectual creed; but if he does not love, he is +no Christian. If a man love not the Lord Jesus, he is anathema. + +But if only there be love--love to God, love to man--then though there +may be many deficiencies in head and heart, there is the one prime +evidence of Christianship. It was on such grounds that the Rev. Adam +Gibb of Edinburgh once acted. He had once or twice dissuaded a young +woman from joining the church, deeming her ill-informed, and unable to +answer elementary questions; and on his third refusal she answered, +"Weel, weel, sir, I may na', an' I dinna, ken sae muckle as mony; but +when ye preach a sermon aboot my Lord and Saviour, I fin' my heart +going out to Him, like lintseed out of a bag." Any one who has +observed the process will know how lifelike the illustration was, and +will not wonder that Mr. Gibb admitted her, and that she lived to be +one of the fairest members of his church. + +_It is a universal question._--Its universality suggests that in Christ +there is something universally lovable, and that every one has the +power of loving Him, if only the rubbish is removed which chokes the +springs of affection. There are different shades in love--the love of +gratitude, where the rescued spirit sings the praise of Him who took it +from the terrible pit and miry clay; the love of complacency, with +which the holy soul admires Him who is fairer than the sons of men, and +dwells with rapture on His majestic beauty and endearing goodness; the +love of friendship, in which by constant intercourse a deep attachment +arises between the confiding soul and the all-sufficient Saviour. And +there are as many methods of manifestation of love as there are +different temperaments. With some, it is silent; with others, it +speaks. With some, it sits listening at Christ's feet; with others, it +hurries too and fro to serve. With some, it is exuberant and +enthusiastic; with others, it is still and deep. But whatever be the +shade or the evidence, in each Christian heart there must be love to +Christ, and the heart must be willing to give up its throne to the +reign of Jesus as its Lord. + +_Often it carries a special emphasis._--Peter had grievously sinned. +Jesus could not pass it by in utter silence. For His disciples' sake +and His own, it was necessary to allude to, and to probe it. But each +was performed as gently as possible. Thrice he had been warned, thrice +he had denied, and now thrice shall he be asked if he really loves. +And in asking him if he loved Him more than the rest, our Lord surely +reminded him of his boast that if all the rest forsook Him, he never +would. Christ delicately reminded him that his actions had not been +consistent with his professions, at the same time giving him an +opportunity of wiping out the record of failure by a new avowal of +attachment. Thus He deals with us still. He does not drag our secret +sins to light before our brethren and friends, and parade them before +the sun; but He asks with deep meaning if we love Him, leaving +conscience to apply the question. And is there not good reason for Him +to ask it? How you have forgotten Him! You have been occupied with +the world, pleasure, or even sin. + +And there is nothing that breaks us down so quickly as this. Peter was +grieved. An old man, eighty years of age, reared in connection with a +church, once found his way to the penitent form, crying, "I've come +here to be broke." Ah, there is nothing that so breaks us down as this! + +_The question must be asked as a preliminary to service._--Thrice He +asked Peter, as if to be perfectly sure ere He sent him forth on a +shepherd's work. All the self-denial, patience, tenderness, and +delicacy of love are needed, as the Lord knew well, in dealing with +men, who are naturally uninteresting, or perhaps repulsive, and hence +our Lord saw the necessity that there should be love. But how could +there be love to _them_? It was impossible to expect it; and so Christ +introduced Himself, saying, in effect, "Dost thou love Me? Henceforth +there will be little opportunity of doing anything for Me, thou canst +not now shelter Me in thy home, or let Me use thy fishing boats, or +share My toils; but as thou lovest Me, and desirest to show it, expend +it on those whom I love, for whom I died, and whom I long to see +brought into My fold. If only thou lovest, thou art fit for this." + +You may not be naturally fitted to teach children, or shepherd adults; +but if you love Christ you will do better than those more cultured. It +is not science, nor intellect, nor eloquence, that wins souls; but love +to Christ pouring over in love to man. Love will give you a delicacy +of perception, an ingenuity, a persuasiveness, which no heart shall be +able to resist. Love will reconcile the accomplished scholar to a life +among savages, and will carry the refined and cultured lady up to the +sultry attic, or down to the damp and airless cellar. Love will bear +all, believe all, hope all, endure all, if only it may win wild +wandering sheep for Christ. + + +II. THE CONTRITE REPLY.--_It was very humble_. Peter did not now boast +that he excelled the rest, he did not even dare to stand sponsor for +his own affection; he threw the matter back on his Lord's omniscience, +and without mentioning the degree more or less, he said simply, "Thou +knowest all things, Thou knowest that I love Thee." There is a +delicate shade of meaning in the Greek. The words translated _love_ +are not the same. Jesus asks Peter if he cherishes toward Him +love--spiritual, holy, heavenly. Peter declines to use that term, and +contents himself with speaking of a simpler, more personal, more human +affection. If I do not give Thee that love which is Thy due as Son of +God, I at least give Thee that which befits Thee as Son of Man. + +There are many who could not go even as far as this. Yet here are +tests of love! Would you be able to enjoy Heaven if Christ were not +there? Would you be willing to go to hell itself if you might have +Him? Do you feel drawn out to Him in service? Do you do things which +you certainly would not do except for His sake? Are you glad to hear +of Him in sermon or talk, so that there is a warm feeling rising to Him +at the mention of His name? Does it cost you pain to hear Him evil +spoken of? Do you sorrow that you do not love Him more? Then you can +challenge Him, saying, "Despite my worldliness, my faithlessness, my +sins, Thou knowest all things, Thou knowest that I love Thee." + +_It was very confident._--"Thou knowest all things." Jesus is +omniscient. He can see with microscopic eye the lichen on the grey +stone, the enamel on the shell, the modest flower; and He can see the +love that is in the disciple's heart, though it be but a tiny seed. + +When we sin, we are tempted to believe that we have no love to Christ. +But let this incident encourage us. It is impossible for any true +lover of Christ to go on in a course of sin, but quite possible for him +to be betrayed into a single sin. And if that has been your case, do +not shun the Master; He still believes that it is possible for you to +love, and He is willing even to reinstate you in His blessed service. +Who is there, that does not long to speak more confidently of his love +to Christ? Cease then to think of your love to Christ, dwell much on +His love to you--"He loved me, He gave Himself for me." Think of its +unwearied patience, its delicacy, its tenderness. Consider the +character of Christ as unfolded in the New Testament. Commune with +Christ as friend with friend. Above all, put away from your heart all +that might grieve Him, and throw it open to the Holy Ghost, with prayer +that He would shed Christ's love abroad. Then, almost unconsciously, +it will arise, though it may not become palpable till some great crisis +calls you to the front, and demands some heroic sacrifice, which you +will give, not feeling it great. + + +III. THE DIVINE COMMAND.--In the miracle Peter had been commissioned to +do the work of a fisherman, that is, of an evangelist; here he is +commissioned to do the work of a shepherd, that is, of a pastor. +Feeding and tending lambs and sheep. It is not every one that is able +to care for the sheep; but there is hardly any one who loves, that +cannot feed or tend the lambs. And even if you shrink from the former, +what good reason have you to refuse to comply with the latter? + +There are in this land hundreds of young lives whom the morning light +awakes to hunger, filth, and wretchedness, and whom the evening shadows +limit to rooms in which you would not care to keep your dogs. They are +growing up without the least sense of decency, or the slightest +reverence for God. Their existence is one long struggle against the +constituted guardians of society; or if they do not resist, they are +always eluding. In addition to these are the children of our homes and +families and schools. "_Feed My lambs!_" + +It is worthy of note that two Greek words are used in these +injunctions. In the first and last, the Master says simply, Feed. In +the middle He adds, Do the work of a shepherd. So that the lover of +Christ has not fulfilled all his duty, when he has given his sacred +lesson or instruction: he must go further, and be prepared to act as +shepherd. + + + + +XXXVI + +The Life-Plan of Peter and John + +"What is that to thee? follow thou Me."--JOHN xxi. 22. + + +We are standing on the eastern shore of the Lake of Galilee. The +morning breeze blows fresh in our faces; the tiny wavelets run up with +a silvery ripple, and die on the white sand; across the expanse of +water the white buildings of Tiberias and Capernaum gleam forth. With +gunwale all wet and slippery a fishing smack is drawn up on the +deserted shore; near it the nets unbroken, although they had been heavy +with finny spoils; yonder the remnants of a fisherman's breakfast and +the dying embers of a fire. + +The Master has just reinstated His erring apostle and friend, and +proceeded to describe the death by which he was ultimately to glorify +God: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, when thou wast young, thou +girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest; but when thou +shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall +gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not." + +How different this forecast to what Peter would have chosen for +himself! What a contrast between that yielding to the will of another, +and that impetuous nature which so constantly betrayed itself! Take, +for instance, the occasions that are offered in this chapter. As soon +as he hears John's suggestion that the Lord is standing on the beach, +he lets go the fish that he had spent all night to catch, the nets +which it cost hours to make, the boat which was probably his own +property, binds his fisher's coat about him, plunges into the water, +and never rests till he has cast himself at his Master's feet. As soon +as the Lord expresses His desire to mingle some of the recent haul with +His own preparations for breakfast, he springs up, hastens to the +margin of the sea, drags the net to land, counts its contents, and +brings specimens to the little group gathered about the Master. Every +movement so quick and energetic! To wish, is to act! To desire a +thing, to do it! He makes us think of young manhood in all its +vigorous, nervous life. + +The Lord did not damp or repress His fervid disciple. He looked on +him, to borrow the thought of another, with tender pity; as a parent, +who has passed through many of the world's darkest places, beholds the +child who is speaking of what he expects life to bring. Fresh from His +own agony, the Lord knew how different a temper that would be which had +been induced by prolonged suffering and patience: and He knew how +necessary it was that that temper should be induced in His beloved +disciple, so that he might become a pillar in His Church, and the +tender sympathetic writer of that First Epistle, which is so saturated +with a spirit of tender patience and sympathy for all who suffer. + +Having uttered these cautionary words our Lord seems to have moved +away, bidding Peter follow--a mandate which was intended to carry a +deeper meaning. John followed them some few steps in the rear. +Hearing footsteps, Peter turned and saw him, and with a touch of +unworthy curiosity, hardly compatible with the seriousness of the +statement Jesus had just made, said, "Lord, and what shall this man do?" + +The question was objectionable. It savored too much of Peter's old, +hasty, forward self. The Lord would not become a mere fortune-teller +to gratify his inquisitiveness. He put a check, therefore, on the +unbefitting inquiry, and yet, in rebuking, answered it: "If I will +that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou Me." + +It is not easy to explain certainly the import of Christ's reply. Some +have interpreted it as meaning Christ's coming in death. But this can +hardly be, for He would as certainly come to Peter dying amid the agony +of martyrdom, as to John dying in a peaceful old age. Surely the +period referred to must have been the fall of Jerusalem, only forty +years distant, and to which our Lord so often referred as one phase at +least of His coming. Then the old economy would fall and pass away; +Christianity assume a world-wide importance, and the cross become one +of the mightiest factors of human history. + +When those words were repeated to them, some of the disciples +interpreted them as meaning that John should not die, but they did not +convey that meaning to John himself; he only saw in them a general +intimation that his lot was in his Master's hands, and in any case +would be a very different one from Peter's. + + +I. OUR LIFE-PLAN IS FASHIONED BY THE WILL OF CHRIST.--What royalty +there is in those words, _If I will_! If Jesus were less than Divine, +how blasphemous they would appear! What arrogance to suppose that He +could regulate the time and manner of life or death! Yet how natural +it is to hear Him speak thus. No one starts or is surprised, and in +that calm acquiescence there is a testimony to the homogeneousness of +Christ's character. It is of one piece throughout. There is a perfect +consistency between His acts and words. + +The ancients thought of their _lives_ as woven on the loom of spiteful +fates, whom they endeavored to humor by calling euphonious names. The +materialist supposes that his life is the creature of circumstances, a +rudderless ship in a current, mere flotsam and jetsam on the wave. The +Christian knows that the path of his life has been _prepared_ for him +to walk in; and that its sphere, circumstances, and character are due +to the thought and care of Him who has adapted it to our temperament +and capabilities, to repress the worst, and educate the best within us. + +We are ignorant of the place and mode of our _death_. Our grave may be +in ocean depths with storm-blasts as our dirge, or the desert-waste +with the sands as our winding-sheets. Like that of Moses in a foreign +land, unknown and untended; or within the reach of friendly hands, +which will keep it freshly decked with evergreens. But wherever it may +be, it must befall as Christ has willed. We may die by some lingering +agony, or the gentle slackening of life's silver cord. The temple may +be shattered by an earthquake, or taken down stone by stone. But +whether the one or the other, it will be determined by His will. He +who makes the hue of each fading leaf different from that of any other +in the forest has some new trait of godliness, some fresh feature of +grace to illustrate and enforce in the dying hour; it is therefore +written, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." + +There is no lasting happiness, no comfort, no peace, to be had in this +life, apart from the belief that the so-called trifles, as well as the +apparently greater incidents of existence, are included in the +circumference of Christ's will, either executive or permissive. But in +speaking thus, I discriminate between ourselves and our surroundings. +I am speaking more particularly of the latter, and urge that even where +they are apparently moulded by the carelessness or malignity of others, +yet these are, unconsciously indeed, but really, effecting what He +predetermined should be done. "If I will." + +Bind this to your heart. It may be appointed for you to die in early +prime, when the purpose of your life seems unfulfilled; or to live a +sequestered life, banished to the Patmos of exile and suffering, dying +after long years. But in any case, your Saviour has contrived and +adjusted all. And He will send the Angel of His Presence with you, to +help you, and to bring you to the place that He has prepared. + + +II. THE LIFE-COURSE OF ANY IS DETERMINED BY THE PECULIARITIES OF +CHARACTER AND SERVICE.--Christ tells us that we are destined to a long +future; and in doing so gives us the only satisfactory clue to the +mystery of existence. If there be no life beyond death, life is a maze +of endless wandering, to which there is no clue. But if there be--and +after all there is no _if_ in it--we can easily understand that the +present needs to be carefully adjusted to our nature and our future +niche in the great universe of God, that we may be able, to the +farthest limit, to realize our Master's anticipations. + +There is a conspicuous illustration of this before us. Peter was to be +the apostle of sufferers, and write a letter, which should help, as +perhaps no other writing has helped, all sufferers to the end of time; +but he could never have penned it apart from the fiery trials through +which his character was softened and sanctified. How could he have +spoken of the humility, meekness, and patience of the suffering +believer, had he not drunk deeply of the cup of suffering for himself +and lived in constant anticipation of the martyr-death of which the +Lord spoke? + +John's work, on the other hand, was to declare, as he does in the Book +of Revelation, that Jesus is the Living One, unchanged and unchanging, +the King of earth and heaven. And how could he have produced that +marvellous work, and received and reported those sublime visions, if he +had not lingered on, in loneliness and exile, till Jerusalem had fallen +before Titus and his legions, the Temple been destroyed, and the Jews +scattered to every nation under heaven? + +Neither of these men understood at the time what he was being prepared +for. But as each now from heaven reviews the work he did, and the way +in which he was prepared for doing it; as each compares the discipline +through which he passed with the peculiarities of the people he was to +address, and the testimony he was to deliver, he must be full of glad +acknowledgments of the perfect adaptation of means to ends, of +instrumentalities to results. + +And what is manifestly true of them is equally so of each of us. Not +always in this world, but in the next, we shall discern the admirable +fitness of the discipline through which we passed, to prepare us for +our position and ministry both here and hereafter. + + "Great and marvellous are Thy works, + O Lord God the Almighty; + Righteous and true are Thy ways, + Thou King of the ages." + + +III. WHILST GOD IS WORKING OUT OUR LIFE-PLAN, WE MUST GIVE OURSELVES +TO PRACTICAL OBEDIENCE.--"Follow thou Me." The Master reiterated this +command, both when He told Peter his destiny, and when His apostle was +prying into secrets with which he had no immediate concern. Whatever +threatens us, looming in the future, we must not be deterred from +following our Master; and we are not to waste our time in speculation +as to matters which lie beyond our ken, but apply ourselves to the +practical duties, which lie ready to our hand. + +But what is it to follow Christ? It is not to live an Oriental life +beneath these Northern skies, nor wear an Eastern garb, nor speak in +the Hebrew tongue. A man might do all these, and in addition wander +like Him, homeless and outcast, through the land, and yet not follow in +His steps. No! Following Jesus means our identification in the +principles that underlay His life, in His devotion and prayer, in His +absolute compliance with God's will, in His constant service of +mankind, in the sweetness and gentleness and strength of His personal +character. There is no path of legitimate duty into which we are +called to go, in which He does not precede; for when He putteth forth +His own sheep, He goeth before them, and His sheep follow. As of old, +His disciples saw Him going before them ascending up to Jerusalem, and +they followed Him; there is no path of arduous duty and suffering in +which He does not still precede. + +Following Christ involves almost certain suffering at first. When +Peter asked what they would have, who had left all to follow Jesus, the +Master did not hesitate to say that the bitter herb of suffering would +mingle with all the dishes with which their table might be spread: and +when James and John tried to bespeak the right and left seats of the +throne, He spoke of the cup and baptism of pain. But afterward, when +the cross and grave are passed, then the fullness of joy and the +pleasures, which are at God's right hand forever-more! + +We may follow Christ, and yet our paths diverge. Peter and John had +been close friends. In them, the binary stars of love and zeal, labor +and rest, action and contemplation, revolved in a common orbit. +Together at the grave, in the boat, in the temple, in prison; but their +outward fellowship was not permitted to continue; perhaps if it had, it +would have been too absorbing. It is in silence and solitude that +spirits attain their complete beauty, and so the Master is sometimes +obliged to say to us, "What is that to thee? follow thou Me." + +In following Jesus, with the shadow of the cross always on his spirit, +Peter learned to sympathize with his Master's anticipation of death, +which in earlier years had been incomprehensible to him, and had led +him to say, "That be far from Thee, Lord"; and it gave him finally the +opportunity of fulfilling his first resolve to go with Him to prison +and to death. We often think ourselves strong to do and suffer long +before patience had done her perfect work. We rush impetuously +forward, and are overwhelmed. Then our Master has to lead us about, to +take us round by another and longer route, to train us by toils and +tears and teachings, till, hopeless of our own strength and confident +in His, in our old age we cry, "I must put off this my tabernacle, even +as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me." + +If the old legend is true, Peter was crucified with his head downward, +because he felt unworthy to be so like his Lord--following Him with +humility and reverence. But whatever befalls us, whatever be the +nature of our experience in life or death, let it be our one aim to +glorify God. "And the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His +eternal glory in Christ, after that we have suffered a little while, +shall Himself perfect, stablish, strengthen us. To Him be the dominion +forever and ever. Amen." + + + + +XXXVII + +Back to the Father + +"And there are also many other things which Jesus did."--JOHN xxi. 25. + + +Once more, as we learn both from the Gospel according to Matthew and +the First Epistle to Corinthians, our Lord met the eleven Apostles, +together with some five hundred brethren beside, on a mountain in +Galilee, chosen partly for retirement and seclusion, and partly that +all might see Him. The majority of these were alive when Paul wrote. +"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto Me +in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, +baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the +Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have +commanded you; and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the +age." + +Only once or twice beside did the Lord appear. He was seen of James, +and this interview seems to have determined this saintly man, who was +his own brother either through a previous marriage of Joseph, or as +born after his own birth, of Mary, to become a humble follower of Him, +with whose existence His own was so mysteriously blended. Then He +appeared once more to all the Apostles, and being assembled with them +commanded them to wait in Jerusalem till the promise of the Father was +fulfilled, that He would send them another Comforter, the Holy Ghost. +"For John," He said, "truly baptized with water; but ye shall be +baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence." + +There seems to have been an interval at that point, during which the +disciples had time to think over what the Lord had said. It had +suggested to them the idea of the setting up of the Messianic kingdom, +which had always been viewed as coincident with the bestowal of the +Holy Ghost. "Lord," they said when they came together again, "wilt +Thou restore at this time the kingdom to Israel!" The Lord would not +gratify their curiosity, and at that moment it would have been useless +to combat and explain their erroneous views. This must be left to the +education of time, and circumstance, and that same Spirit. These +things were kept in the Father's secret councils. It was not for them +to know, but they should receive power. + +Then, with the tenacity of affection for the scenes of His former life, +He led them out as far as Bethany. And when they had reached the +beloved spot, associated with so many sacred and tender memories, He +lifted up His hands and blessed them; and while He blessed them, He was +parted from them, and a cloud became both vail and chariot, parting +them and receiving Him out of their sight. + +Thence He ascended far above all principality, power, might, and +dominion, through all heavens to the right hand of the Father, there to +pursue His life of ministry and prayer for men, and specially for those +He loved. And angels stood beside the little group of lovers, assuring +them of His return in the same manner as they had seen Him go. And +they worshipped Him, and went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord +working with them, and confirming their word with signs following. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Love to the Uttermost, by F. B. 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