CHAPTER XIV.
THE HOUSE OF MANY MANSIONS.
"No sooner had Judas left the room than, as though
it had been relieved of some ghastly incubus, the spirits of the little
company revived. The presence of that haunted soul lay with a weight
of horror on the heart of the Master, and no sooner had he departed
than the sadness of the feast seems to have been sensibly relieved.
The solemn exultation that dilated the soul of their Lord--that joy
like the sense of a boundless sunlight beyond the earthborn mists--communicated
itself to the spirits of his followers. In sweet, tender communion,
perhaps two hours glided away at that quiet banquet."-Farrar.
1. Let not your heart be troubled. The
darkness of night had settled down on Jerusalem and Christ well knew
that before the morning dawned he would be in the hands of his enemies.
Just before him was Gethsemane, the betrayal, the denial, the mock trial,
the scourging and the cross, but with these in full view, such are the
wonders of his love that he does not think of himself. He does not ask
comfort but he gives it. His heart is full of the sorrow of his disciples
over his departure. It is a disappointment of all their hopes, for they
cannot yet understand it, and the last moments of this sacred hour are
devoted to cheering and instructing them. Believe also in me.
They had believed in him, but they [216] were
so confused over the prospect of his death and departure, that they
stumbled. He bids them to believe in him as they believed in God; to
trust him even if they did not comprehend; to walk by faith rather than
by sight through the darkness of that hour. To understand these words
the confusion, sorrow and despair of his disciples over his death must
not be forgotten.
2. In my Father's house are many mansions.
By the "Father's house" is meant the heavenly abode. He is about to
return there, from whence he had come. It was not a small, narrow place,
where few could be admitted, but it had many "abiding places," room
enough for all, room enough for them to follow him in due time and be
with him, so that the separation about to take place would not be an
eternal separation. Had it been otherwise he would have told. I go
to prepare a place for you. If the separation was to be an eternal
one he would have forewarned them. Rather, he goes before to prepare
a home for them where they can all be together. The departure of Jesus
was needful to open an entrance to them and us. From the cross he went
to rend the vail of the temple "thus signifying that the way into heaven
was now open." On the cross he shed the blood that cleanses us from
sin, defiled with which we could never enter. He not only prepares a
place for us, but prepares the way. It is a blessed thought that in
heaven his thoughts are upon us and that he is preparing a congenial
home for us. Just how he makes that preparation we may not understand
but the fact is sure.
3. I will come again, and receive you unto
myself. The reference is not to Christ's return from the grave,
but to a return from heaven, the second coming of the Lord, which is
a part of the Christian faith. There is a presence of the Lord with
his people, there is a call of the Lord to those who die in him to "depart
and be with Christ," but there is also a personal coming of the Lord
to summon all men to his presence and then, at the final judgment, every
saint shall be "received to himself," when the Lord shall say, "Come
ye blessed of my Father." Then shall they be "forever with the Lord"
(1 Thess. 4:17). Death is simply a going home to be with Christ (Phil.
1:23).
4. Whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
The Lord probably made this statement to provoke questions, such as
followed. He had stated so clearly before that it seems strange to us
that the apostles did not understand, but they were wedded to the idea
that Christ was to be an earthly king, like all the rest of the Jews.
The place to which he was going was the presence of the Father from
whom he came and the way by which he would go was the cross, the tomb,
the resurrection and the exaltation. He had often spoken of these things.
See Matt. 16:21, also 17:22 and 20:17. [217]
5. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not,
etc. Thomas, a plain, honest apostle, lost all hope when the Lord
died; nor could he believe in the resurrection until he saw with his
own eyes. Now he declares, "we do not know whither thou goest." We have
heard thee talking of going away and dying when we expected thee to
stay here and reign as the Christ. We cannot understand thy departure
nor whither thou goest. Then, How can we know the way?
6. I am the way, the truth, and the life.
The Lord only answers his difficulty in part. He points him to the way
in which he must walk if he would follow him. He must follow Christ
in his life if he would follow him to the Father's house. He is the
Way. The words of Christ here are words that could have only been spoken
by a divine being. "I am the way," the exemplar, the living embodiment
of what is needful to impart immortality. He who follows in his footsteps
will tread the sure path. He is the Truth; not merely truth,
but the Truth, truth embodied and speaking to men; the key of all truth,
and in himself a revelation of all truth needful to lift men to God.
And the Life. He is life itself , the living waters, the bread
of life, the source from whence the germ of immortal being is imparted
to the human soul. Without him there would be no Way revealed; no divine
and saving truth, no immortal life. No man cometh to the Father,
but by me. Not only can no one enter the Father's house without
him, but no man can come to the Father on earth so as to enjoy his favor.
"There is no other name given under heaven among men whereby we must
be saved." Hence all must cling to him as the way. "By me" is equivalent
to "follow in the way that I point out."
7. If ye had known me, ye should have known
my Father also. After over three years under the ministry of Christ
they did not yet know him, except in part. The great truth declared
is that the way to study God and know him is to know Christ. The universe
may reveal his matchless grandeur, the Old Testament may reveal his
moral government, but it is only in Christ that he reveals his surpassing
love, tenderness and mercy, his solicitude for the salvation of the
race. It is in the Son that he reveals himself as a Father. Until Christ
came men did not dare to bow upon their knees and pour out such a prayer
as "Our Father who art in heaven," etc. From henceforth ye know him
and have seen him. From the cross. On the next morning they would
see Christ dying. From the sepulcher would burst forth upon their minds
a new revelation of the character and mission of the Son whom they had
up to this time supposed to be only an earthly, temporal king. Then,
comprehending Christ, understanding that he would ascend a heavenly
throne, that "all power" would be given into his hands, they would also
know that "he was the brightness of the Father's glory and the [218]
express image of his person." They would know
that in Christ they had beheld the revelation of the Father.
8. Shew us the Father and it sufficeth us.
Philip fails to comprehend that the Father was to be seen in Christ
and when the Lord declares that henceforth they have seen the Father;
he at once requests such a revelation. He perhaps expected such a manifestation
as Moses saw on the holy mount and from whence he came with a face shining
like the sun (Ex. 33:18). The disciples were not only confused but filled
with wonder; almost stupefied with the immediate prospect of the death
of the Lord, but still had some expectation of the manifestation, in
some way, of the kingdom. Philip's request is for a vision of God, of
which he may have thought that Christ spoke. He wanted to walk by sight,
instead of by faith.
9. He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.
Philip, one of the chosen apostles, over three years an attendant on
the ministry of Christ, seeing and hearing him daily, after such opportunities
and "so long time, had not known" the Lord in his real character. He
did not yet comprehend that the Son came to reveal the Father. He wanted
a literal sight of God with the natural eyes, when God incarnate had
been present with him for three years, manifesting the mind, the purity,
the saving power, the fatherly tenderness, the unutterable love of the
Father. Natural eyes cannot behold him who is "Spirit" no more than
they can see the human soul; hence man "cannot see God and live," but
we can see and understand "God manifest in the flesh." Let it be noted
that Christ was not an ambassador from God, but "Immanuel, God with
us," the "Godhead in bodily form." No man, nor any angel, nor any created
being could say, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father." Even the
best, most Christlike Christian, would not dare to say, "He that hath
seen me hath seen Christ."
10. Believest thou not that I am in the Father,
and the Father in me? There was the completest union of the personalities
of the Son and the Father. We may never on earth comprehend fully its
nature, but we can understand it to be so complete that he was the manifestation
of God in the flesh. In him was no sin and in him was the fulness of
the Godhead bodily (Col. 2:9). Hence his words were not his own but
the words of God, and "the Father that dwelt in him did the works" that
he wrought. The source of Christ's authority, wisdom and power, was
in the Father. [219]
11. Believe me that I am in the Father.
The Lord did not wish only that they would accept his statement but
that they would rise to such spiritual discernment as to behold in him
the revelation of the Father's will and character. If needful to their
faith they should believe for his works' sake. These, such as
man had never wrought, ought to convince them that the Father worked
through him.
12. Greater works than these shall he do, because
I go to my Father. Those who believe shall have power given to do
works, in some respects greater; not greater miracles, but to effect
greater moral and spiritual revolutions. At the time of his death, as
far as we know, he had only about five hundred disciples, but he "went
to his Father" and "shed forth the things seen and heard" on Pentecost,
and the eleven apostles converted 3,000 in a single day. Paul made far
more converts than the Master. It was needful that he go to the Father
in order to enable his disciples to accomplish these "greater works."
13, 14. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name,
that will I do. What man would dare to make such a promise? It will
be noted that in order to enjoy the fulness of these glorious promises
we must, 1. Believe. It is limited thus in verse 12. Without faith it
is impossible to please God. 2. We must ask in his name, or,
in dependence upon the merit and intercession of Christ. 3. As shown
elsewhere, we must come with a spirit of complete submission to the
Father's will, feeling that his will is best, and saying in our hearts,
Thy will be done. Every prayer "in the name," must be in the spirit
of Christ, and that always says, "Not my will but thine be done."
PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS.
1. Never has earth seen a greater triumph of love
than the Savior, about to be crucified, comforting his disciples. As
he loved them then so he loves them still.
2. As he loves us so doth the Father, for the
Father is in him as he is in the Father. The Father and the Son are
one, and both love us with a love that passeth all comprehension.
3. Christ came down to earth on a mission of mercy,
ministered mercy here, died in mercy, and ascended to heaven impelled
by mercy and love. He has gone to prepare a place for us in the Father's
house; a Home.
4. Christ is the Way there. There is no other
way. He that would seek to [220] enter in some
other way is a thief and a robber. To reject him is to reject the Truth
and the Life; to turn from heaven and immortality.
5. There was but one place of safety when the
flood came--the ark. There was but one man to whom the Egyptians could
go for corn during the famine--Joseph. There was but one way to keep
off the angel of death on the Passover night--the way of the sprinkled
blood. There was but one word that could save the Ephraimites at Jordan's
ford (Judges 11)--the word Shibboleth. So there is but one name that
hath power to save men now--the name of Jesus.--J. C. Ryle.
6. If men need not to go to heaven by the Cross,
but by some other way, then the Cross may become an old, worn, unused
way; no footfall of a traveler may cheer it, heaven may be filled through
other avenues, and other songs than those of Praise to the Lamb may
echo through the arches of the Upper Temple. If Christ is not the exclusive
Savior, then other Saviors could be made without the Cross, and the
Cross is all an idle waste. We are lost men outside of God's kingdom.
There is a way into it--Jesus Christ. There is a name, one name, given
whereby we can be saved--that name is Jesus. There has come from the
sweet heavens over us no other. It is enough. We need no other.--J.
Drummond.
THE ADVOCATE PROMISED.
15. If ye love me keep my commandments.
This is not a command, but a declaration that if his disciples love
him they will obey him. See Revised Version. Obedience is the fruit
of love. Disobedience is the proof that love is not in the heart. "This
is the love of God," or proof of the love of God, "that you keep his
commandments." 1 John 5:3. The faithful outward observance of the will
of Christ is a proof of a heart filled with his love, and therefore
fitted to enjoy the promise contained in the next verse that depends
on the condition of faithful obedience.
16. And I will pray the Father. Rather
"request" the Father. There are three Greek verbs used in the New Testament
which mean respectively, "request," "ask," and "entreat." Christ never
uses the last in his petitions to the Father. It belongs to the petitions
of the creature to the Creator. And he shall give you another Comforter.
The word rendered Comforter is not exactly translated by any word in
our language. It comes from two Greek words that mean "to call to one's
side." It occurs four times in John's Gospel and is rendered each time
as here. It is used by no New Testament writer but John, who employs
it also in 1 John 2:1 where it is translated Advocate, a term preferred
by many scholars. Wickliffe first rendered it Comforter and has been
followed by Tyndale, and all the authorized British versions down to
the Revision. Some translators have preferred to transfer the Greek
word Paraklete, rather than to adopt any English term that does
[221] not fully express its meaning. The Spirit
promised is more than a Comforter. He is our Strength, our Peace-giver,
a present help in time of need, a source of knowledge to the church,
a witness, God and Christ with us. Probably no single term would more
nearly express the meaning than the word Helper, which was probably
nearly the meaning of Comforter in Wickliffe's time. That word is derived
from con and fortis, and means, etymologically, to encourage
or strengthen. That he may abide with you forever. The Lord had
been with them for about three years, but was on the eve of departure.
He has been a Helper to his disciples, and in his absence will send
another Helper, who shall always remain with his people.
17. The Spirit of truth. So called because
he speaks the truth. The Comforter strengthens, guides, liberates, sanctifies
by the truth. See chapter 17:19; 1 Cor. 2:4; 1 Thess. 1:5. He also bears
witness of the truth. See Acts 2:4; Acts 5:32; Heb. 2:4. Whom the
world cannot receive. The reason why the world cannot receive the
Comforter is indicated in verses 15 and 23. There must be a preparation
of the soul for his indwelling. The heart must be purified by faith,
the soul must be filled with love of Christ, this condition must be
demonstrated by obedience to his commandments. This is in harmony with
the entire teaching of the New Testament. "Except a man be born again
he cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3:3. The necessity of
a loving obedience in order to the reception of the Holy Spirit is taught
emphatically. Peter said to the Jews (Acts 5:32), "We are witnesses
of these things, and so is also the Holy Spirit which God gives to
them who obey him." In John 7:39 it is declared that the Savior
"spake of the Spirit which they that believe on him should receive."
In Acts 2:38 Peter, in reply to the anxious inquiry of convicted sinners,
answers: "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus
Christ, for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of
the Holy Spirit;" the gift being made dependent upon repentance and
obedience. The temple of the human heart has to be prepared by obedience
for the indwelling of the Father and Son, and hence the world cannot
receive the Comforter through whom they are manifested. The Spirit can
convict the world of sin (chapter 16:8), the world can receive his testimony
when he bears witness; hence the apostles were directed to "go into
all the world and preach the gospel to every creature," "baptizing them
into the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit," and
God "gives the Holy Spirit to those who obey him," but in its unconverted
condition the world cannot "see" or "know" the Comforter. The world
can only see with the carnal eyes and recognize material manifestations.
The saints prepared for his presence by faith, love and obedience, have
a spiritual perception of his presence. [222]
18. I will not leave you comfortless. The
word in the Greek is orphaned. It is applied to childless parents,
or fatherless children, or any one bereaved. The term "desolate" used
in the Revision probably expresses the idea. The disciples were bewildered
and stupefied with grief at the thought of the Master's departure, but
he assures them that they will not be left desolate. He will come
again; not only as the risen Lord who shall visit them for a little
while on the earth, but he will come to be "with them always," as manifest
in their hearts by the Holy Spirit after it is given. He does not refer
to his second coming "without a sin offering unto salvation," for then
"every eye shall see him," while now he speaks of a coming in which
"the world shall see him no more," but in which his disciples shall
see, or recognize him.
19. Yet a little while and the world seeth
me no more. After the next evening the world would see him no more.
When it took him and buried him out of sight it looked upon him for
the last time. But ye see me. They would see him with the natural
eyes after he had veiled himself to the world. This, however, does not
exhaust the sense. There is a sight that is not of the natural eyes,
such a sight as those old worthies had who walked "as seeing him who
is invisible," and the living Christ would so dower with heavenly life
his disciples that, because "he lived, they should live also," and should
have a constant recognition of his presence. There is a promise of an
unbroken communion with the Lord. The manner in which they should have
his abiding presence is pointed out in verse 21, and more fully in verse
23.
20. At that day ye shall know that I am in
my Father. "That day" began on the day of Pentecost. The apostles
and brethren "waited the promise of the Father" until "the day of Pentecost
was fully come," and then the risen and exalted Savior "shed forth"
the Holy Spirit which he had promised should abide with his people forever.
"That day" still comes to each soul which believes upon the Lord, repents
of sin, and giving up all worldly lusts, surrenders himself unreservedly
to the will of Christ and does his commandments.
21. He that hath my commandments. The conditions
upon which Christ may be present in each soul, seen and enjoyed, are
next shown. As before seen, obedience and love are essential. "Hath"
the commandments implies more than a mere possession of them. It implies
that they are clearly apprehended. This must be the case before one
can be said to "keep" them. This verse gives the same idea as verse
15, but in a converse form. There active obedience is seen to follow
as the result of love. Love is the cause, and obedience the [223]
effect. Here the effect is placed first and traced back to its
cause. The active obedience is a proof of love. He that loveth me.
Having pointed out the test by which our love for Christ is determined,
he shows the blessed consequences that flow from this love. The heart
that loves the loving Savior is a heart that is pleasing in the sight
of the Son and the Father. It is in sympathy with the great loving heart
of the universe and fit for abiding communion with the Son. Hence he
declares: I will manifest myself to him. He will come, as the
Comforter, to make his abiding place in such a heart. There will be
such a manifestation that his presence will be revealed. In other words,
the loving and beloved disciple will have an abiding sense of a living
Christ who will "never leave nor forsake him."
22. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot.
John is careful to state that this apostle was not the traitor who had
gone out a little while before. What hath come to pass? etc.
This question indicates the bewilderment of all the apostles. They had,
in spite of his teachings, adhered to the Jewish ideas that had been
educated into them from childhood, and assumed that as the Messiah he
would manifest himself publicly to the world. The question implies that
Christ had departed from his former purposes, in that he should determine
to manifest himself to his disciples, but not unto the world. It indicates
that, up to this time, Judas entirely failed to comprehend either the
mission or the words of the Redeemer. This dullness on the part of all
the apostles continued until after the resurrection, and was only finally
dissipated by the "manifestation of Christ" in their hearts after the
descent of the Holy Spirit.
23. If a man love me, he will keep my words.
The Lord again compassionately states the conditions needful for his
manifestation, as already pointed out, but adding another and a sweeter
idea; that is, that the loving soul shall be a temple of God, and that
as of old the Shekinah came and dwelt between the cherubim, so the Father
and the Son will come and make their abode in the heart that is prepared
for the divine fellowship by love. Observe the steps that lead to the
glorious consummation: 1. Love of Christ; 2. Keeping his words; 3. The
Father's love bestowed; 4. The coming of the Father and the Son; 5.
Their indwelling in the loving heart. Christ stands at the door and
knocks for entrance (Rev. 3:20); he that hath his commandments hears
the voice; he that keeps them opens the door; he enters in and sups
and abides.
24. He that loveth me not keepeth not, etc.
Disobedience springs from the [224] absence
of the love of Christ in the heart, and Christ only manifests himself
in the heart that loves him. But he who refuses to obey Christ is disobedient
to the Father also, because Christ's word is the Father's.
25. These things have I spoken, being present.
"These things" is put in contrast with "all things" in the next verse.
They were yet so dull that they could not fully comprehend even what
he said, but the time would come when they would understand better.
The next verse points out that time.
26. The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost.
The Revision gives, instead of "Ghost," which is not correct, "Spirit,"
as the word Pneuma should always be translated. The Savior now
identifies the Comforter with the Holy Spirit, soon to be sent. Whom
the Father will send in my name. What is done in the name of Christ
is, not independent of him, but in recognition of his mission and authority.
The Holy Spirit will be sent because the Son requests it (verse 16),
will be sent to carry on his work, bear witness of him, and to bring
the world to recognition of his name. It is in Christ's name that the
Spirit was first shed forth; it is in his name that he acts, and it
is to those believing upon his name that he is imparted. Shall teach
you all things. He shall not only enable you to "understand the
Scriptures" and my words that you do not now comprehend, but will reveal
to you new truths by inspiration, and bring to remembrance all things
that I have said to you. It is due to this gift of the Spirit that we
have the privilege of reading and studying these memorable discourses
of the Master. The Gospel historians had "all things brought to their
remembrance." As Alford remarks: "It is in the fulfillment of this promise
to the apostles that their sufficiency as witnesses of all that the
Lord did and taught, and consequently the authenticity of the Gospel
narrative, is grounded. While most of the promises in this grand discourse
are of general application, there are some that the Savior himself limits
and here declares that the Comforter shall teach "all things," and "bring
all things to remembrance." Whatsoever I have said unto you.
This limits the promise so that it contains no warrant for the doctrine
of a progressive revelation through the ages, as advocated by Abbott
in his Commentary on John (see this passage) and held by H. W. Beecher
and others. Its only application to the saints in general is that the
Spirit will aid their remembrance and understanding of the recorded
word contained in the completed revelation of the Holy Scriptures.
27. Peace I leave with you. This is a solemn
and affectionate farewell, in view of the cross, a parting benediction.
As Isaac, about to depart, bestowed [225] his
blessing; as Jacob, "leaning on the top of his staff," blessed the twelve
patriarchs, so the departing Lord will leave his peace to his disciples.
My peace I give. Not such peace as the world gives; not an idle
and empty form as were the wishes of peace in the salutations of the
world, but his own peace, the peace he enjoyed; the peace that caused
him to sleep sweetly while tossed on the billows of Galilee, to be calm
and unruffled before the Sanhedrim and Pilate; the peace that is a deep
and placid sea that the storm cannot disturb, such peace he will bestow.
Such peace be did and does bestow. Such peace had Stephen when the stones
crushed him down, Peter when in Herod's dungeon, and Paul and Silas
when they sang in the night at Philippi. Such peace may all have who
love, obey and receive into their hearts the manifested Lord.
28. Ye have heard, etc. . . . If ye loved me
ye would rejoice. This is a gentle rebuke. It declares that the
desire of his disciples to prevent him from going away springs from
selfish motives. They ought to rejoice because his own glory would be
secured by his departure. He would return to his Father, whence he came,
to be exalted to the right hand of God and to have "all power in heaven
and earth." My Father is greater than I. Therefore, when I return
to the Father, and my union with him is complete, all the earthly hindrances
to the establishment of my kingdom and my exaltation to the throne of
glory will be removed, and my work will be accomplished on the earth.
There has been a vast amount of needless discussion concerning the words,
"My Father is greater than I." It is not a statement that the Father
is of a different nature, or that Christ is a dependent creature, but
is in entire harmony with all the teaching of the Son during his earthly
ministry. He teaches that he does the will of the Father, not his own
will; that he speaks the Father's words and does his works, not his
own; that the Father sent him into the world, not that he came of his
own will except in the sense that he always does the Father's will;
the Son proceeds from the Father, not the Father from the Son; there
is a subordination of the Son to the Father, not of the Father to the
Son. All his words on his relation to the Father declare the superior
greatness of the Father; not that the Father is of different essence
or nature in any respect, but possessing the natural precedence of Father
over Son. Yet, as I write these words, I feel that the subject of this
relation is too high for the human understanding, and that it is almost
trenching "where angels would not dare to tread" to discuss it. It is
one of the mysteries whose solution men have vainly sought for eighteen
centuries and which eternity alone will fully reveal.
29. I have told you before it come to pass.
Told you of my going away that [226] "when it
is come you may believe," by knowing that I foresaw it all the time
and that it was a part of my plan that I should go away.
30. The Prince of this world cometh. Satan,
who is regarded as the embodiment and contriver of the sins and iniquities
of the earth. At the temptation of Christ he had offered the kingdoms
of the world as if they were his own, and at the time the Savior came
it must be admitted that these kingdoms were thoroughly loyal to the
prince of evil. Who hath nothing in me. There was nothing in
common whatever between the prince and spirit of the world and Christ,
and hence no sympathy whatever. Nor does Satan ever make a capture unless
he can find something in a man in common with himself. If he can find
a sinful ambition or lust he will seize upon it and make it the means
of ruining a soul. Satan, finding in all but Christ, something in common
with himself, enforces death as his due, but as Christ was sinless he
died voluntarily, and could not be holden by death, hence did not see
corruption. Hence, the coming of the prince of this world did not force
him to death, but he died.
31. That the world may know that I love the
Father. His, death was a sublime act of self-sacrifice. In the prayer
of Gethsemane the burden was, "Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou
wilt." Hence, because in the mysteries of the divine government it was
the Father's will, he died in demonstration of his love of the Father,
and "even as the Father gave commandment so" he obeyed. Arise, let
us go hence. Immediately following these words the Lord continues
his discourse as recorded in chapters XV and XVI, and then closes with
the touching prayer of chapter XVII. As soon as this prayer is closed
it is stated that "When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth
with his disciples, over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, etc."
Some judicious authorities hold that at the utterance of the words closing
verse 31, the Savior and his disciples left the upper room, that the
rest of the discourse was delivered on the way, and that when it is
said he "went forth" it is meant that he went out of Jerusalem. I cannot,
however, think that the character of the next three chapters is consistent
with the view that they were spoken on the way, when the narrow streets
of Jerusalem were crowded by the presence of at least a million strangers
in attendance at the great festival. Such a prayer as the Lord's prayer
in chapter XVII could not have been offered upon the street, amid the
confusion of a noisy city. I cannot doubt that when the Lord "lifted
up his eyes," he was in the quiet of a room and surrounded only by his
disciples. It is far more probable, therefore, that the words, "Arise,
let us go hence," were a signal to make ready for departure; that when
all had arisen, he continued his discourse as he stood with the little
group around him, with their sandals and outer robes girded upon them,
and that, when he had closed with the prayer so graven on the heart
of all [227] who love him in every age, then
"he went forth with his disciples," as is stated in 18:1.
PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS.
1. "Love is the fulfilling of the law." He that
"loves God with his whole heart, mind, soul and strength, and his neighbor
as himself shall live." Such a soul has passed from death unto life,
is a partaker of the divine nature, and a fit abode for the indwelling
of the living Christ.
2. The test of our love for Christ is "keeping
his words," not some of them, but a complete surrender of our will to
his. As he loved the Father and "pleased him in all things," so if we
love Christ we must make his will supreme in all things. When there
is no discord between our will and that of the Master, then our hearts
shall be fitted for a temple of the Lord and the Son will make his abode
in the heart.
3. The soul that is completely resigned to the
will of Christ, can always pray "thy will be done," will enjoy the presence
of Christ always and, with his presence and his peace such will ever
feel, whatever may betide, that Christ is with them, that they are held
in his hand, and that "all things shall work together for good to them
that love God."
[NTC3 216-228]
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