Expository Thoughts on the Gospels

48 Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan and hast a devil?

49 Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my father, and ye do dishonour me.

50 And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.

51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.

52 Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.

53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?

self, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:

55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.

56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.

57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?

59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

We should observe, first, in this passage, what blasphemous and slanderous language was addressed to our Lord by His enemies. We read that the Jews " said unto Him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? " Silenced in argument, these wicked men resorted to personal abuse. To lose temper, and call names, is a common sign of a defeated cause.

Nicknames, insulting epithets, and violent language, are favourite weapons with the devil. When other means of carrying on his warfare fail, he stirs up his servants to smite with the tongue. Grievous indeed are the sufferings which the saints of God have had to endure from the tongue in every age. Their characters have been slandered. Evil reports have been circulated about them. Lying stories have been diligently invented, and greedily swallowed, about their conduct. No wonder that David said, "Deliver nry soul, O Lord, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue." (Psalm cxx. 2.)

The true Christian in the present day must never be surprised to find that he has constant trials to endure from this quarter. Human nature never changes. So long as he serves the world, and walks in the broad way, little perhaps will be said against him. Once let him take up the cross and follow Christ, and there is no lie too monstrous, and no story too absurd, for some to tell against him, and for others to believe. But let him take comfort in the thought that he is only drinking the cup which his blessed Master drank before him. The lies of his enemies do him no injury in heaven, whatever they may on earth. Let him bear them patiently, and not fret, or lose his temper. When Christ was reviled, " He reviled not again." (1 Peter ii. 23.) Let the Christian do likewise.

We should observe, secondly, what glorious encourage" ment our Lord holds out to His believing people. We read that He said, " Verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man keep My saying, he shall never see death."

Of course these words do not mean that true Christians shall never die. On the contrary, we all know that they must go down to the grave, and cross the river just like others. But the words do mean, that they shall not be hurt by the second death, — that final ruin of the whole man in hell, of which the first death is only a faint type or figure. (Rev. xxi. 8.) And they do mean that the sting of the first death shall be removed from the true Christian. His flesh may fail, and his bones maybe racked with strong pain; but the bitter sense of unpardoned sins shall not crush him down. This is the worst part of death, — and in this he shall have the " victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Cor. xv. 57.)

This blessed promise, we must not forget to notice, is the peculiar property of the man who " keeps Christ's sa}Tings." That expression, it is clear, can never be applicable to the mere outward professing Christian, who neither knows nor cares anything about the Gospel. It belongs to him who receives into his heart, and obej^s in his life, the message which the Lord Jesus brought from heaven. It belongs, in short, to those who are Christians, not in name and form only, biit in deed and in truth. It is written, — " He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death." (Rev. ii. 11.)

We should observe, thirdly, in this passage, what clear knowledge of Christ Abraham possessed. We read that our Lord said to the Jews, " Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day: and he saw it and was glad."

When our Lord used these remarkable words, Abraham had been dead and buried at least 1850 years! And yet he is said to have seen our Lord's day! How wonderful that sounds! Yet it was quite true. Not only did Abraham " see " our Lord and talk to Him when He " appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre," the night before Sodom was destroyed, (Gen. xviii. 1,) but by faith he looked forward to the day of our Lord's incarnation yet to come, and as he looked he " was glad." That he saw many things, through a glass darkly, we need not doubt. That he could have explained fully the whole manner and circumstances of our Lord's sacrifice on Calvary, we are not obliged to suppose. But we need not shrink from believing that he saw in the far distance a Redeemer, whose advent would finally make all the earth rejoice. And as he saw it, he " was glad."

The plain truth is, that we are too apt to forget that there never was but one way of salvation, one Saviour, and one hope for sinners, and that Abraham and all the Old Testaments saints looked to the same Christ that we look to ourselves. We shall do well to call to mind the Seventh Article of the Church of England: " The Old Testament is not contrary to the New: for both in the Old and New Testament everlasting life is offered through Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and man, being both God and man. Wherefore they are not to be heard, which feign that the old Fathers did look only for transitory promises." This is truth that we must never forget in reading the Old Testament. This is sound speech that cannot be condemned.

We should observe, lastly, in this prophecy, Jiow distinctly our Lord declares His own pre-existence. We read that He said to the Jews, " Before Abraham was, I am."

Without a controversjr, these remarkable words are a great deep. They contain things which we have no eyes to see through, or mind to fathom. But if language means anything, they teach us that our Lord Jesus Christ existed long before He came into the world. Before the days of Abraham He was. Before man was created He was. In short, they teach us that the Lord Jesus was no mere man like Moses or David. He was One whose goings forth were from everlasting, — the same yesterday, to-day, and forever, — very and eternal God.

Deep as these words are, they are full of practical comfort. They show us the length, and breadth, and depth, and height of that great foundation, on which sinners are invited to rest their souls. He to whom the Gospel bids us come with our sins, and believe for pardon and peace, is no mere man. He is nothing less than very God, and therefore " able to save to the uttermost" all who come to Him. Then let us begin coming to Him with confidence. Let us continue leaning on Him without fear. The Lord Jesus Christ is the true God, and our eternal life is secure.

48. — \Then answered the Jeivs... Samaritan...devil.'] This verse seems to contain nothing but personal abuse and blasphemous slander. Unable to answer our Lord's arguments, the unbelieving Jews lost their temper, and resorted to the last weapon of a disputant, — senseless invective and calling of names. The extent to which calling names is carried by Oriental people, even in the present day, is something far greater than in this country we can imagine.

"When the Jews called our Lord " a Samaritan," they meant much the same as saying that He was no true Jew, and little better than a heathen. "The Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans." (John iv. 9.) When they said, "Thou hast a devil," I think it meant rather more than "thou art mad," as in John vii. 20, if we observe the following verse. It probably implied, " Thou actest and speakest under the influence of the devil. The power Thou hast is from Satan, and not from God."

Let us learn here how little cause Christians have to be surprised, if hard names and insulting epithets are applied to them. It is only what was done to their Master, and is no ground for discouragement in doing God's work.

49. — [Jesus answered, I have not a devil, etc."] Our Lord's answer to the coarse invective of His enemies amounts to this: " In saying that I have a devil you say that which is not true. I am simply honouring My Father in heaven by delivering His message to man, and you by your violent language are dishonouring Me, and in effect dishonouring and insulting my Father. Your insults do not strike Me only, but my Father also."

Let us note our Lord's calmness and equanimity under insult. A solemn denial of the blasphemous charge laid against Him, and an equally solemn reminder that He was honouring the God whom they themselves professed to worship, are the only reply He condescends to make. £0. — [And I seek not mine own glory.'] This sentence seems to arise out of the last verse.—" Ye dishonour Me; but you do not move or hurt Me, for I did not come to seek my own glory, but the glory of Him that sent Me. I receive not honour from men." (See John vii. 18 and v. 41.) Here, as elsewhere, our Lord points to the great principle, " that a true messenger from heaven will never seek his own glory, but his Master's."

[ There is one that seeketh and judgeth.] There is a very solemn warning in these words. They mean, "There is One, however, even my Father in heaven, who does seek and desire my glory; and not only seeks, but judges the conduct of all who dishonour Me, with deep displeasure, and will punish it at the last day."

There is comfort here for all Christ's members as wrell as for their Head. Though they may not think of it, there is One in heaven who cares deeply for them, sees all they go through, and will one day plead their cause. The latent thought seems the same as in Eccles. v. 8 — "He that is higher than the highest regardeth." A believer may cheer himself with the thought, " There is One that judgeth. There is One that sees all, that cares for me, and will set all right at the last day."

Euthymius remarks on this verse that we should not heed things said against ourselves, but should vindicate the honour of God if things are said against God.

61. — [Verily...if a man keep my saying... never see death.] The mighty promise contained in this verse seems intended to wind up the whole conversation. All that our Lord had said had produced no effect. He therefore closes His teaching for the present by one of those mighty sayings which tower above everything near them, and of which St. John's Gospel coutains so many. — " Whether you will hear or not, whether you choose to know Me or not, I solemnly tell you that if any man receives, believes, and keeps My doctrine, he shall never see death. Despised and rejected as I am by you, life or death, heaven or hell, blessing or cursing, depend and hinge on accepting the message I proclaim to you. I am the way, the truth, and the life." — It is like Moses taking leave of Israel and saying, " I call heaven and earth to record against you, that I have set before you life and death." (Deut. xxx. 15, 19.) Just so our Lord seems to say, " I tell you once more, for the last time, that to keep My saying is the way to escape death."

The expression is parallel to the one our Lord uses in the synagogue of Capernaum. There He says, " He that believeth in Me, hath everlasting life." Here it is " shall never see death." (John vi. 47.)

The expression " keep my saying," means " receive into his heart, believe, embrace, obey, and hold fast the doctrine or message which I am commissioned to teach." — The phrase " my saying," means much more than the " words I am speaking at this moment." It is rather the whole doctrine of My Gospel.

The expression " never see death " cannot be taken literally. Our Lord did not mean that His disciples would not die and be buried like other children of Adam. We know that they did die. The meaning is probably threefold: (1) "He shall be completely delivered from that spiritual death Of condemnation under which all mankind are born; his soul is alive and can die no more: (2) He shall be delivered from the sting of bodily death; his flesh and bones may sink under disease and be laid in the grave, but the worst part of death shall not be able to touch him, and the grave itself shaL give him up one day: (3) He shall be delivered entirely from the second death, even eternal punishment in hell; over him the second death ehall have no power."

The width and greatness of this promise are very remarkable. Ever since the day of Adam's fall death has been man's peculiar enemy. Man has found the truth of the sentence, " In the day thou eatest thou shalt surely die." (Gen. ii. 27.) But our Lord boldly and opeuly proclaims that in keeping His saying there is complete deliverance from death. In fact, He proclaims Himself the One greater than death. None could say this but a Redeemer who was very God.

Augustine says: " The death from which our Lord came to deliver us was the second death, eternal death, the death of hell, the death of damnation with the devil and his angels. That is indeed death; for this death of ours is only a migration. What is it but a putting off a heavy load, provided there be not another load carried, by which the man shall be cast headlong into hell. This is the death of which the Lord says, * He shall not see death.' "

Let us note the breadth and fulness of this promise. It is for any one who keeps Christ's sayings. " If a man," or rather it should be rendered, " If any man," etc.

Let us beware of putting a meaning on this promise which it was not intended to convey. The idea of some that it means " believers shall be so completely delivered from death that they shall neither feel bodily pain nor mental conflict," is one that cannot be supported. It is not borne out by other passages of Scripture, and, as a matter of fact, it is contradicted by experience. The Gospel delivers believers from that " fear of death " which unbelievers feel, no doubt. (Heb. ii. 15.) But we have no right to expect believers to have no bodily conflict, no convulsion, no struggle, and no suffering. Flesh and blood must and will feel. " I groan," said holy Baxter on his deathbed, "but I do not grumble." Death is a serious thing, even though the sting is taken away.

Parkhurst thinks the expression here is like Luke ii. 26, where it was said of Simeon that he should not " see death." But the Greek for "see" is there a different word, and the phrase there seems to mean nothing more than " die," which does not come up to the full promise here. He also quotes Psalms xlix. 9; lxxxix. 49. But neither of these places seem parallel.

The Greek word rendered "see" is so peculiar that one might almost think the phrase meant, " he shall not gaze upon and behold death forever to all eternity, as the wicked shall." But I prefer the threefold sense already given.

52.— [The?i said the Jews, etc.] The argument of the Jews in this verse seems to be as follows: " We know now by Thy own words that Thou art mad and hast a devil. Our great father Abraham and the prophets, holy and good as they all were, are all dead, and yet Thou presumest to say that if a man keep Thy saying he will never die. In short, Thou makest Thyself greater than Abraham, for Abraham could not escape death, while keeping Thy saying enables a man to escape death. To talk in this way is a plain" proof that thou art mad."

The phrase " to have a devil," in this place can hardly mean anything but "to be mad or crazy."

The Jews, it will be observed, do not quote our Lord's words correctly. He had said, " shall never see death." They report Him as saying, " shall never taste of death.*' Whether this was a wilful perversion of His words is rather difficult to decide. Some think that the Jews intentionally exaggerated the promise, and put "taste" for " see," in order to magnify the offence our Lord had committed. Others think that the difference means nothing, and that it only shows how thoroughly the Jews misunderstood our Lord, and thought that He referred to nothing but bodily death.

Here, as elsewhere, we may remark how ready the Jews were to pervert and warp our Lord's meaning, and to put a carnal and gross sense on spiritual language.

53.— [Art thou greater, etc.?~\ The question in this verse shows that our Lord had again succeeded in arousing the curiosity of the Jews, and stirring them to inquire about His nature and person. — "Who art Thou that talkest in this way? Whom dost Thou make Thyself? To say that those who keep Thy saying shall never die is to make Thyself superior to Abraham and the prophets, who are all dead. Who and what art Thou? Art thou really some one greater than Abraham? "

Chrysostom observes that the question of the Jews reminds us of the Samaritan woman's question: "Art thou greater than our father Jacob? " (John iv. 12.)

64.— [If I honour my self... nothing, etc.'] Our Lord's meaning in this verse seems to be as follows: " If at auy time I take to myself and claim honour, such honour would be worthless. He who puts honour on Me, and commissions Me to say that keeping My saying shall deliver a man from death, is My Father in heaven, — that very Being whom you profess to call your God. It is your own God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who has put such honour on Me, that life or death turn on keeping My sayings, and believing on Me."

Here, as elsewhere, we should mark the carefulness with which our Lord disclaims all self-exaltation, and desire for glory and honour from man. If, in claiming for Himself to hold the keys of life and death, He seemed to claim honour, He carefully reminds the Jews that it is an honour put on Him by the Father in heaven, even by their own God. He desired no honour independent of Him, or in rivalry to Him.

presslon must include all the works, and signs, and miracles, which the Father gave Him to do; as well as the words which He gave Him to speak. (John v. 26; xiv. 10, 11.)

55. — [Yet ye have not known him, etc.~ The meaning of this verse seems to be as follows: " Although you say of My Father in heaven that He is your God, you do not really know Him, and are plainly ignorant of His character, His will, and His purposes. Professing to know Him, in works you deny Him. But I, on the contrary, know Him perfectly: for I am indeed one with Him from all eternity, and cariTe forth from Him. So perfectly do I know Him, that I should be a liar, and a child of the devil, like yourselves, if I said I did not know Him. Bm I repeat that I know Him perfectly, and in all My words anc works here on earth I carefully keep His sayings, and observe the commission he gave me."

There is undeniably a great peculiarity in the language of this verse. But- it is probably a Hebrew mode of putting in strong contrast the Jews' thorough ignorance of God, notwithstanding their high profession of being His chosen people, — and our Lord's perfect knowledge of God, notwithstanding the repeated assertions that He had a devil, was a Samaritan, and was consequently an enemy to the God of Israel. — The phrase, " I should be a liar, like yourselves, if I said I did not know the Father," was just the phrase to convey the strongest idea to the Jews' minds of our Lord's knowledge. — In arguing with some men, nothing but the strongest language, and the most paradoxical expressions, have any effect.— Even God himself thinks it good to make such an asseveration as "I swear by myself," and " as I live," in order to command attention. (Jer. xxii. 5; Heb. vi. 13; Ezek. xxxiii. 11.) Those who blame ministers and preachers for using strong language, and say that they should never use any but gentle, tame, and mild phrases, can hardly have studied human nature or the style of Scripture with thorough attention.

56.— [Your father Abraham, etc.'] Our Lord, in this verse, takes up the question of the Jews, as to His being greater than Abraham, and boldly gives an answer. " You ask Me whether I am greater than Abraham. I tell you in reply that I am He whose coming and whose day of glory Abraham rejoiced to think he should see. Moreover by faith he even saw it, and when he saw it he was glad."

The precise meaning of the words of this verse is rather difficult to discover, though the general idea of it is plain and unmistakable. It is clear that our Lord implies that He is the promised Messiah, the Seed of Abraham, in whom all the generations of the earth should be blessed, — and of whom when Abraham first heard, " he laughed " for joy. (Gen. xvii. 17.)

(a) Some think, as most of the Fathers and Reformers, that it means, " Abraham rejoiced in the prospect of seeing, at some future time, My day, the clay of Messiah; and by faith he did see it afar off."

(b) Some think, as Maldonatus, Lampe, Stier, and Bloomfield, that it means, " Abraham rejoiced when he was told that he should see My clay; and he actually has seen it in Paradise, and has been gladdened there in the separate state by the sight."

(c) Some think, as Brown, Olshausen, Alford, Webster, and Hengstenberg, that it means, " Abraham's great desire and joyful expectation was to see My clay, and he actually saw Me when I appeared to him and talked with him on earth."

Of these three views the first appears to me the most probable, and most in keeping with the history of Abraham, in Genesis. It should be carefully observed that our Lord does not say that "Abraham saw Me," but that "he saw My day." The cause of Abraham's joy seems to have been, that there was to be of his seed a Messiah, a Saviour; and that he should see His clay, — the day of the Lord, the triumphant day of Messiah's complete victory and restitution of all things. This day he even saw by faith afar off, and was glad at the sight.— Our Lord's object does not seem to be to tell the Jews that Abraham had seen Him, but that He was " the Seed," the Messiah, who was promised to their father Abraham. The Jews had asked whether he was greater than Abraham? "Yes," he replies, " I am. I am that very Messiah whose day Abraham rejoiced to hear of, and saw afar off by faith. If you were like Abraham you would rejoice to see Me."

Chrysostom and Euthymius think that " My day," in this verse, means "the day of the crucifixion, which Abraham foreshowed typically by offering the ram in Isaac's place." This however seems a very cramped and limited view.

Rupertus thinks that Abraham " saw the day of Christ " when he entertained the three angels who came to him.

Augustine thinks it may refer to both the advents of Christ: first in humiliation, and second in glory.

67. — [Then said the Jews, etc.'] It is plain that the Jews here put a wrong meaning on our Lord's words, and suppose Him to say that Abraham had seen Him, and He had seen Abraham. Yet our Lord had only said, " Abraham saw My day." It is another instance of their readiness to pervert His words.

When the Jews said, " Thou art not yet fifty years old," I believe they only meant, " Thou art not yet a middle-aged man." Fifty years old was the turning point in life, at which the Levites and priests were excused from further active service in the tabernacle. (Numbers iv. 3.) I fancy the reference is to this.— Our Lord was at this time about thirty- three years old, or at most thirty -four. The notion of Irenaeus and Papias that He really was fifty before He was crucified, is utterly without warrant, and absurd.

Some think that our Lord's countenance was so marred and aged by sorrow and care, that He looked much older than lie really was, and that hence the Jews supposed Him to be nearly fifty. But I prefer the former view.

Euthymius thinks that the Jews thought our Lord was fifty years old, on account of His great wisdom and experience. This, however, seems a weak and untenable view.

68.— [Jesus said...before Abraham was, lam.'} This famous verse, I believe, can only receive one honest interpretation. It is a distinct assertion of our Lord's eternity, — His existence before all creation. '• I solemnly declare unto you that before Abraham was and existed I was, the great I AM, the same yesterday, to-clay, and forever, — the eternal God." All attempts to evade this explanation appear to me so preposterous that it is waste of time to notico them. The man who can think the words only mean, " I am He who was promised to Adam before Abraham was born," seems past the reach of reasoning. — The name " I AM," we must remember, is the very name by which God revealed Himself to the Jews, when He sent Moses to them: " Say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me." (Exod. iii. 14.)

Let us carefully note what a strong proof we have here of the pre-existence and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. He applies to Himself the very name by which God made Himself known when He undertook to redeem Israel. It was " I AM " who brought them out of the land of Egypt. It was "I AM" who died for us upon the cross. The amazing strength of the foundation of a sinner's hope appears here. Believing on Jesus we rest on divinity, on One who is God as well as man.

There is a difference in the Greek verbs here employed, which we should carefully notice. The Greek for "was" is quite different from the Greek for " am." It is as if our Lord said, " before Abraham was bom, I have an existence individual and eternal."

Chrysostom observes: "He said not before Abraham was, I was, but, I AM. As the Father useth this expression I AM, so also doth Christ, for it signifieth continuous being, irrespective of all time. On which account the expression seemed to the Jews blasphemous."

Augustine says: "In these words acknowledge the Creator and discern the creature. He that spake was made the Seed of Abraham; and that Abraham might be, He was before Abraham."

Gregory remarks: " Divinity has no past or future, but always the present; and therefore Jesus does not say before Abraham was I was, but I am."

59.— [Then took they up stones to cast at him.~\ It is clear that the Jews at any rate had no doubt what our Lord meant in the preceding verse, whatever modern Socinians may think. They saw and knew at once that He who spake to them boldly claimed to be Jehovah, and One far greater than Abraham, being very God. This they did not believe, and therefore regarded Him as a blasphemer who ought at once to be stoned. In their rage and fury they immediately took up stones, which were probably lying about on account of repairs of the temple, in order to stone Him. The whole proceeding appears to have been a tumultuous and disorderly one, not regularly conducted, but sudden and unauthorized, like the stoning of Stephen afterwards. (Acts vii. 58.)

[But Jesus hid himself, etc.'] I think this withdrawal can only be regarded as miraculous. The Greek word rendered "hid Himself" is literally "was hid." It seems most improbable that our Lord could " pass by " and " go through the midst " of an angry crowd, whose eyes had for a long time been fixed and concentrated on Him, without being seen and stopped, unless there was a miraculous interposition. I believe that the eyes of His enemies were holden, and that they did not know Him for a season, or that by His own almighty power He rendered Himself temporarily invisible. It is only what He did at Nazareth on a similar occasion; (Luke iv. 30;) and if we once concede that our Lord could work miracles at His will, there seems no reason to suppose that He would not work one on this occasion.

Let us note that our Lord's enemies could do nothing to Him until His hour was come for suffering. When He was at last taken prisoner, brought before Pilate, and crucified, it was not because He could not escape, but because He would not. What He did here He might have done there.

Let us note that it is not always the path of duty and of real obedience to God's will to sit still and submit to sufferings and death. It may be the will of God that we should " flee to some other city " and avoid death. (Matthew x. 23.) To court martyrdom and throw away life, when it might be saved, is not always the duty of a servant of Christ. Some of the martyrs of the primitive Church appear to have forgotten this.

Augustine says: "Jesus did not hide Himself in a corner of the temple as if He were afraid, or take refuge in a house, or run behind a wall or a pillar; but by His heavenly power He made Himself invisible to His enemies, and went through the midst of them."

The argument of Maldonatus, that this verse proves the possibility of Christ being corporally present in the Lord's Supper in the bread, is so preposterous that it requires no refutation. There is no positive proof that our Lord was actually invisible here. It is quite possible that the eyes of His enemies were " holden that they could not know Him." (Luke xxiv. 16.) Jf He was invisible, Maldonatus proves too much. The bread in the Lord's Supper is seen, and after consecration the Roman Catholic says its substance is changed. But it is not invisible.

In leaving this remarkable chapter, we should not fail to notice the difficulties under which our Lord's public ministry was carried on. Ten times, between the 12th verse and the 59th, we find His enemies interrupting, contradicting, or reviling Him. Our Master's calm diguity and perfect meekness under all this " contradiction of sinners " ought to be a never forgotten example to His disciples.

It is a wise remark of Pascal, that our Lord's enemies, by their incessant cavilling and interruption, both here and elsewhere, have supplied us unintentionally with a strong proof of the truth of His teaching. If our Lord's doctrines had only been delivered privately to a prejudiced audience of kind and loving disciples, they would not come down to us with the same weight that they do now. But they were often proclaimed in the midst of bitter enemies, learned Scribes and Pharisees, who were ready to detect any flaw or defect in His reasoning. That the enemies of Christ could never answer or silence Him is a strong evidence that His doctrine was God's own truth. It was from heaven and not from men.

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

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

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

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

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

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

7 And said unto him, Go wash in the pool of SUoam, (which is by inter-

pretation, Sent.) He wont his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.

8 The neighbours, therefore, and they which before had seen him that bo was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged?

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

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

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

12 Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not.

The chapter we now begin records one of the few great works of Christ which St. John has reported. It tell us how our

Lord gave sight to a man who had been " blind from his birth." Here, as elsewhere in this Gospel, we find the circumstances of the miracle narrated with peculiar fulness, minuteness, and particularity. Here too, as elsewhere, we find the narrative rich in spiritual lessons.

We should observe, first, in this passage, how much sorrow sin has brought into the world. A sorrowful case is brought before us. We are told of a man " who was blind from his birth." A more serious affliction can hardly be conceived. Of all the bodily crosses that can be laid on man, without taking away life, none perhaps is greater than the loss of sight. It cuts us off from some of the greatest enjoyments of life. It shuts us up within a narrow world of our own. It makes us painfully helpless and dependent on others. In fact, until men lose their eyesight, they never fully realize its value.

Now blindness, like every other bodily infirmity, is one of the fruits of sin. If Adam had never fallen, we cannot doubt that people would never have been blind, or deaf, or dumb. The many ills that flesh is heir to, the countless pains, and diseases, and physical defects to which we are all liable, came in when the curse came upon the earth. " By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin." (Rom. v. 12.)

Let us learn to hate sin with a godly hatred, as the root of more than half of our cares and sorrows. Let us fight against it, mortify it, crucify it, and abhor it both in ourselves and others. There cannot be a clearer proof that man is a fallen creature than the fact that he can love sin and take pleasure in it.

We should observe, secondly, in this passage, what a solemn lesson Christ gives us about the use of opportunities. He says to the disciples who asked Him about the blind man, " I must work while it is called to-day: the night cometh, when no man can work."

That saying was eminently true when applied to our Lord Himself. He knew well that his own earthly ministry would only last three years altogether, and knowing this He diligently redeemed the time. He let slip no opportunity of doing works of mercy, and attending to His Father's business. Morning, noon, and night He was always carrying on the work which the Father gave Him to do. It was His meat and drink to do His Father's will, and to finish His work. His whole life breathed one sentiment, — "I must work: the night cometh, when no man can work."

The saying is one which should be remembered by all professing Christians. The life that we now live in the flesh is our day. Let us take care that we use it well, for the glory of God and the good of our souls. Let us work out our salvation with fear and trembling, while it is called to-day. There is no work nor labour in the grave, toward which we are all fast hastening. Let us pray, and read, and keep our Sabbaths holy, and hear God's Word, and do good in our generation, like men who never forget that " the night is at hand." Our time is very short. Our daylight will soon be gone. Opportunities once lost can never be retrieved. A second lease of life is granted to no man. Then let us resist procrastination as we would resist the devil. Whatever our hand findeth to do, let us do it with our might. "The night cometh, when no man can work."

We should observe, thirdly, in this passage, what different means Christ used in working miracles on different occasions. In healing the blind man He might, if He had thought fit, have merely touched Him with his finger, or given command with His tongue. But He did not rest content with doing so. We are told that " He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the claj^." In all these means of course there was no inherent healing virtue. But for wise reasons the Lord was pleased to use them.

We need not doubt that in this, as in every other action of our Lord, there is an instructive lesson. It teaches us, we may well believe, that the Lord of heaven and earth will not be tied down to the use of any one means or instrumentality. In conferring blessings on man, He will work in His own way, and will allow no one to prescribe to Him. Above all, it should teach those who have received anything at Christ's hands, to be careful how they measure other men's experience by their own. Have we been healed by Christ, and made to see and live? Let us thank God for it, and be humbled. But let us beware of saying that no other man has been healed, except he has been brought to spiritual life in precisely the same manner. The great question is, — "Are the eyes of our understanding opened? Do we see? Have we spiritual life? " — Enough for us if the cure is effected and health restored. If it is, we must leave it to the great Physician to choose the instrument, the means, and the manner, — the clay, the touch, or the command.

We should observe, lastly, in this passage, the almighty power that Christ holds in His hands. We see Him doing that which in itself was impossible. Without medicines He cures an incurable case. He actually gives eyesight to one that was born blind.

Such a miracle as this is meant to teach an old truth, which we can never know too well. It shows us that Jesus the Saviour of sinners " has all power in heaven and earth." Such mighty works could never have been done by one that was merely man. In the cure of this blind man we see nothing less than the finger of God.

Such a miracle, above all, is meant to make us hopeful about our own souls and the souls of others. Why should we despair of salvation while we have such a Saviour?

Where is the spiritual disease that He cannot take away? He can open the eyes of the most sinful and ignorant, and make them see things they never saw before. He can send light into the darkest heart, and cause blindness and prejudice to pass away.

Surely, if we are not saved, the fault will be all our own. There lives at God's right hand One who can heal us if we apply to Him. Let us take heed lest those solemn words are found true of us, — " Light is come into the world: but men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." " Ye will not come to Me that ye might have life." (John iii. 19; v. 40.)