PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels — St. John — Volume 1
Ryle, J. C. (John Charles), 1816–1900 · 191,919 words · 370 reading sections
266 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS.
the world God did not create man to be full of aches, and pains, and infirmities. These things are the fruits of the Fall. There would have been no sickness, if there had heen no sin. No greater proof can be shown of man's inbred un- belief, than his carelessness about sin. " Fools," says the wise man, "make a mock at…
332 wordsSECTION 242JOHN, CHAP. V. 267
This is just one among many examples of our Lord Jesus Christ's kindness and compassion. He is full of undeserved, unexpected, abounding love towards man. "He delighteth in mercy." (Micah vii. 18.) He is far more ready to save than man is to be saved, far more willing to do good than man is to receive it. No one ever …
343 wordsSECTION 243268 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS.
remember that Christ sees, and knows, and can heal J He thinks fit. — Are we ever in trouble? Let us heai in our trouble the voice of God, and learn to hate sin more. Notes. John Y. 1—15. 1. — [AJier this.] Literally translated, this would be, "aftei these things." Some think that when St. John is telling some event …
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[Moving of the luater.] This " moving " must have been some- thing that could be seen and observed by persons standing by or looking on. There was no virtue or healing element in the water, until the movement took place. 4. — [For an angel went down, &c.] The thing we are here told is very curious. There is nothing li…
520 wordsSECTION 245JOHN, CHAP. V. 271
were " tro ibled," or for St. John's mention of tlie " angel trou- bling " the waters. Here, as in many other instances, the sim- plest view, and the one which involves the fewest difficulties, is to take the passage as we find it, and to interpret it as narrating an actual fact, — viz. : a standing miracle which actua…
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verse shows that the miracle had ceased when John wrote. He "used to go down,"— ''used to trouble the waters," &c. Ter- tullian declares expressly that the miracle ceased from the timo that the Jews rejected Christ. 5. — [^Infirmity thirty and eight years.'] This means the length of time during which the sick man had …
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9. — [Immediately.... made whole,.. ..ivalked.] Here we see the reality of the miracle wrought. Nothing but Divine power could enable one who had been a cripple for so many years to move his limbs znd carry a burden all at once. But it was as easy to our Lord to give immediate strength as it was to create muscles, nerv…
518 wordsSECTION 248JOHN, CHAP. V. 275
thee to carry thy bed ?" They cared not for knowing what they might admire as a work of mercy, but what they might make ihe ground of an accusation. How many arc hke them ! They are always looking out for something to find fault with. 13. — [Wist not who it was.] It is most probable that the cripple really knew not wh…
512 wordsSECTION 249EXPOSIVORY THOUGHTS.
If sin was the cause of this man's disease, and he had been ill from the effects of it thirty and eight years, it is plain that it must have been committed before our Lord was born ! It is an instance, in that case, of our Lord's perfect and Divine knowledge of all things, past as well as future. 15. — [Departed and to…
118 wordsSECTION 250JOHN Y. 16—23.
16 And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done those things on the sabbath day. 17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. 18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his …
325 wordsSECTION 251JOHN, CHAP. V. 277
Trinity. Yet here we have our Lord handling the subject of His own Person, and, behold ! we cannot follow Him. We seem only to touch His meaning with the tip of our fingers. We learn, for one thing, from the verses before us, that there are some works which it is lawful to do on the Sabbath day. The Jews, as on many …
335 wordsSECTION 252278 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS.
After all, the errors of Christians on this subject, in these latter days, are of a very different kind from those of the Jews. There is little danger of men keeping the Sabbath too strictly. The thing to be feared is the dispo- sition to keep it loosely and partially, or not to keep it at all. The tendency of the age …
357 wordsSECTION 253JOHN, CHAP V. 279
gi» e life. He tells us, "The Son qiiickeneth whom he will." Lir^ is tlie highest and greatest gift that can be bestowed. It is precisely that thing that man, with all his cleverness, can neither give to the work of his hands, nor restore when taken away. But life, we are told, is in the hands of the Lord Jesus, to bes…
359 wordsSECTION 254280 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS.
Notes. John V. 16—23. \Q,—-{^Thi>ref ore... Jews persecute^ etc.] The verbs in this verse are all in the imperfect tense. It may be doubted whether the mean- ing is not, strictly speaking, something of this kind : — " The Jewa from this time began to persecute Jesus, and vi^ere always seek- ing to Siay Him, because He…
486 wordsSECTION 255JOHN, CHAP. V. 281
necessity to man's life and animal existence on the Sabbath day, were never intended to be forbidden. — The other thing to be observed is our Lord's assertion of His own Divinity and equality with God the Father. When He said, " My Father worketh, and I also work/' He evidently meant much more than bringing forward His…
515 wordsSECTION 256282 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS.
[Said God...his Father. ..equal with God.^ It is clear that our Lord's words about His Son ship struck the Jew5 in a far more for- cible way than ihey seem to strike us. In a certain sense all believers are " sons of God." (Rom, viii. 14.) Bat it is evident that they are not so in the sense that our Lord meant when He …
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cover so completely the insufficiency of all human language to express ^' the deep things of God." Men are often saying they wnnt explanations of the mysteries of the Christian faith, the Trinity, the Incarnation, the person of Christ, and the like. Let them just observe, when we do find a passage full of expla- natory…
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*' seeth" tLs Father doing. For the Father and the Son are so united, — one God though two Persons, — that whatsoever the Father does the Son does also. The acts of the Son therefore are not His own independent acts, but the acts of His Father also. The Greek word which we render "likewise" must not be supposed to mea…
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thought begun in the preceding verse, — tne unity of the Father and the Son. When we read the words, " The father loveth " and the "Father showeth," we must not for a moment suppose them to imply any superiority in the Father, or any inferiority in the Son, as to their Divine nature and essence. — The " love " is not t…
489 wordsSECTION 260286 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS.
Auofustine and Bernard both remark, that it is far " greater work" to repair ruined human nature, than to make it at first, and to re-create it, than to create it. 21, 22. — [As the Father raiseth up the dead, &c.'\ Our Lord here proceeds to tell the Jews one of His mighty works which He had come to do, in proof of Hi…
1,007 wordsSECTION 261288 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS.
Lord declares that such a man is entirely mistaken. On the con- tary, " He that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father t'lat se!!t him." It was the mind and intenlion of the Father that the Son, as the Mediator between God and man, should receive honour from all men. The glory of His beloved Son is part of the…
464 wordsSECTION 262JOHX, CHAP. V.
289 or worshippers of three distinct Gods, witliout knowing it. They talk as if God the Father's mind towards sinners was one thing-, and God the Son's another, — as if the Father haied man, and the Son loved him and protected him. Such persons would do well to study this part of Scripture, and to mark the unity of th…
213 wordsSECTION 263JOHN V. 24—29.
27 And hath given him author- ity to execute judgment also, be- cause he is the Son of man. 28 Marvel not at this : for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth ; they that have done good, unto the re- surrection of life; and they that have done evil, u…
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We see in these verses that the salvation of our souls db- fends on hearing Christ. It is the man, we are told, who " hears Christ's word," and believes that God the Father sent Him to save sinners, who " has everlasting life." Such " hearing " of course is something more than mere listening. It is hearing as a humble …
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The words were fulfilled in not a few cases, durino: our Lord's own niinistiy. They were fulfilled far more com- pletely after the day of Pentecost, through the ministry of the Apostles. The myriads of converts at Jerusalem, at Antioch, at Ephesus, at Corinth, and elsewhere, wore all examples of their fulfilment. In al…
817 wordsSECTION 266294 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS.
and reef mmended Himself to our faith and love, by manifesting His glory in the face of Jesus Christ." Lightfoot remarks, "■ He doth most properly centre the ultimate fixing and resting of belief in God the Father. For as from Him, as from a fountain, do flow all those things that are the object of faith, — namely fre…
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that these words apply to the hteral raising again of dead persons, such as Lazarus at Bethany. I cannot think it I beheve that the " dead " liere spoken of are the spiritually dead. I believe that the " hearing the voice of the Son of God," means the hearing of faith. I believe that the "living" spoken of means the ri…
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posing that the Father and the Son are one and the same Person. — Such expressions are an unanswerable proof that the Fathef and the Son are two distinct Persons, though one God. We must never forget the words of the Athanasian creed,— " Neiuier confounding the Persons nor dividing the substance." 28, 29. — [Afarvel n…
956 wordsSECTION 269EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS.
"voice" or sound is mentioned as accompanying the resurrec- tion. In Corinthians we read of the " last trumpet." (L Cor. xv. 52.) In Thessalonians we are told of " a shout," of the '" voice of the archangel," and the " trump of God." (I Thess. iv. 16.) Nothing, however, but conjecture can be brought forward about the s…
127 wordsSECTION 270JOHN Y. 30—39.
30 I can of mine own self do notliing : as T hear, I judge : and my judgment is just ; because I seek not mine own will, but the wOl of the Father which hath sent me. 31 If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. 32 There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth…
307 wordsSECTION 271JOHN, CHAP. V. 301
those hearts have been which could hear such testimony^ and yet remain unmoved ! Bat it only proves the truth of the old saying, — that unbelief does not arise so much from want of evidence, as from want of will to believe. Let us observe for one thing in this passage, the lionout Christ puts on His faithful servants.…
339 wordsSECTION 272302 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS.
The miracles of the Lord receive far less attention, in the present day, as proofs of His Divine mission, than they ought to do. Too many regard them with a silent incre- dulity, as things which, not having seen, they cannot be expected to care for. Not a few openly avow that they do not believe in the possibility of s…
670 wordsSECTION 273304 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS.
" In consequence of the close relation between Me and the Father, I cannot do anything independently and separately from Him. 'I judge,' and decide, and speak on all points, in entire harmony with the Father, as though I heard Him continually at My side ; and so judging and speaking My judgment on all points is always …
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as Q-od, one will with the Father, it was not possible for Him to seek His own will independently of the Father. Hence the judg- ment was not His only, but His Father's also. — As Son of man He had a human will disiinct from His Divine will, aa when He said, " Let this cup pass from me : neveriheiess not as I will, but…
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I feel no doubt in my own mind that this last is the coi- rect view. The use of the present tense, — " witnesseth,*' — is a strong proof of it. John the Baptist's testimony was a thing past and gone. — Our Lord declares that His Father had borne distinct testimony to Him, and supphed abundant evidence, if they, the Jew…
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peculiar power and brilliancy, a *' burning " and a " shining" light like a flaming beacon or light-house seen from afar. I think the expression '' he was " shows that at the time when our Lord spoke, John the Baptist was either in prison or dead. At any rate his public ministry was ended. " He used to be a light. He …
439 wordsSECTION 277808 . EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS.
Flacius suggests that our Lord here and in the preceding verse reminds the Jews how willing they were at first to receive John's ministry, and almost seemed to think he was the Messiah. Yet all this time "John did no miracle." — But when the true Messiah appeared, doing mighty " works," the Jews did not show him even a…
502 wordsSECTION 278JOHN, CHAP. V. 809
counsels the Son should work, when He became man and dwelt upon earth. Precisely the same expression is used elsewhere about " the words " our Lord spake, as here about " the works:" "I have given unto them the words which tliou gavest me." (John xvii. 8.) 37. — [And the Father himself. ...witness of me^ There is unde…
441 wordsSECTION 279310 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS.
of His Father •' bearing witness," He could not have meant the audible witness of His voice at the baptism or transfiguration. In fact the sentence seems purposely to preclude the notion. It is as though our Lord said, " Do not suppose that I mean any audible testimony of voice, or apparition, or vision, when I speak o…
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ctir Lord reminds them of this. God had fulfilled His promise, and sent them a prophet like unto Moses, and now they would not believe on Him ! 69. — [Search the Scriptures.'] This famous sentence is interpreted two different ways. (a.) Some, as Cyril, Erasmus, Ecolampadins, Beza, Brentius, Piscator, Camero, Poole, T…
423 wordsSECTION 281812 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS.
further." I can see little ground for this view. The Tvord " search" is never used in a bad sense in Scripture (1 Pet. i. 11.) The chief argument in favour of the " indicative" side of the ques- tion is the notorious Rabbinical custom of minutely scrutinizing and reverencing every syllable of Scripture. To this custom …
460 wordsSECTION 282JOHN, CHAP. V.
813 Let us note in this verse the high honour which our Lord puts on the Old Testament Scriptures. He distinctly endorses the Jewish Canon of in^^pired writings. Those modern wrirers who kbour to depreciate them, and bring them Into disrepute, show very lit lie of Christ's mujd. Much infidelity begins with an ignorant…
194 wordsSECTION 283JOHN Y. 40— 47.
■tO And ye will not come to me, that je might have Ufe. 41 I receive not hoiKxir from men. 42 But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. 43 I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if an- other shall come in his own name, hhn ye will receive. 44 How can ye believe, which receive honour on…
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These words are a golden sentence, which ought to be engraven in our memories, and treasured up in our minds. It is want of will to come to Christ for salvation that will be found, at last, to have shut the many out of heaven, — It is not men's sins. All manner of sin may be forgiven. — It is not any decree of God. We …
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another, and seek not the honour that cometh of God only?" He meant by that saying, that they were not honest in their reh'gion. With all their apparent desire to hear and learn, they cared more in reality for pleasing man than God. In this state of mind they were never likely to believe. A deep principle is contained…
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modating Himself to the prejudices and traditions of Hia hearers, and that He spoke of Moses as a writer, though He knew in His heart that Moses never wrote at all? Such an idea is profane. It would make out our Lord to have been dishonest. — Can we suppose for a moment that our Lord was ignorant about Moses, and did n…
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John's writings. I conjecture tlie link must be soraeth.^og of this kind : " Tlie Scriptures testify plainly of Me. A7-cd yet in the face of this testimony ye have no will or inchnatioa to come to Ma by faith, that ye may have eternal hfe through Me." This verse evidently begins the third part of our Lord's address to…
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want of real w:Il to come to Him, (2.) want of real love to God, (3.) undue desire of man's praise, (4.) want of real faith in Moses' writings. 4.1. — [/ receive not honour from men.] The connection between these words and the preceding verse is again not very clear. I conjecture that it must be as follows : — " I do …
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for pleasing Him as for pleasing man. In this state of mind they were never Hkely to have faith, or to come to the know- ledge of the truth. " How can ye believe, receiving and seek- ing honour from one another as ye do now?" It is not possible that you can believe, until you cease from your pre- sent earthly-mindednes…
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dating Himself to the conventional language of the times, and that He did not really mean to assert His own belief either in the existence of Moses, or the autiiority of his writings, is to charge Him with downright dishonesty. It represents Him as One aiding and countenancing the dissemination of a he 1 To say, as so…
489 wordsSECTION 291JOHN, CHAP. VI.
823 like to know how this marvellous address was received by those who heard it. But here we meet with one of the peculiar " silences " of Scripture. Not one word is written to tell us what the Jews of Jerusalem thought of our Lord's argument, or what effect it had upon them. Our own duty is clear. Let us take heed th…
182 wordsSECTION 292JOHN VL 1—14.
1 After these things Jesus went ovei' the sea of G-alilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. 2 And a great multitude fol- lowed him because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. 3 And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. 4 And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was…
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These verses describe one of our Lord's most remarkabia miracles. Of all the great works that He did, none was done so publicly as this, and before so many witnesses. Of all the miracles related in the Gospels, this is the only one which all the four Gospel-writers alike record. This fact alone (like the four times rep…
335 wordsSECTION 294JOHN, CHAP. VI. 325
We have, for another thing, in this miracle, a lesson about the office of ■mi?iisters. We see the apostles receiving the bread from our Lord's hands, after He had blessed it, and distributing it to the multitude. It was not their hands that made it increase and multiply, but their Mas- ter's. It was His almighty power …
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that death, is able to meet the hearts and satisfy the con- sciences of all nations, and peoples, and kindreds, and tongues. Carried by faithful messengers, it feeds and sup- plies all ranks and classes. " The preaching of tlie cross is to them that perish foolishness, but to us who are saved it is the power of God." (…
850 wordsSECTION 296328 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS.
and love of excitement, which are the principles that gather nearly every crowd in the world. St. Mark says that " the people saw them departing, and many knew him : and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him." (Mark vi. 33.) This they might easily do by going round the head …
960 wordsSECTION 297830 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS.
cifles, He says, "Will ye also go away?" (John vi. 67.) Our Lord kuows the sluggishness and coldness of our hearts, and He sees it good to stir our spiritual senses, and draw forth our spiritual desires by such a mode of dealing with us. Explanatory observations like this, made by the Gospel-writer himself, are more f…
425 wordsSECTION 298JOHN, CHAP. VI. 831
is purposely reported, no doubt, in. order to show how strong was the conviction of our Lord's disciples that they had not suf- ficient provision to feed the multitude, and then to bring out into clearer light the greatness of the miracie which our Lord wrought. It also helps to prove that the wonderful feehng of the m…
478 wordsSECTION 299832 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS.
St. Mark say that our Lord " gave thanks " when He took " the cup." St. Luke and St. Paul say that He also did it when He took "the bread." So here we can hardly doubt that blessing and giving thanks went together. The Greek word is the ono which we have borrowed and transferred to our own language in the expression " …
662 wordsSECTION 300St. Mark mentions that there were fragments of "nshes " put into the baskets as well as loaves, so that the fishes also were miraculously multiplied as well as the bread.
Some early writers, not without justice, call this the greatest miracle that our Lord ever wrought. Perhaps we are poor judges of such points, and little able to make comparisons. But it is certain that on no other occasion did our Lord manifest so clearly His creative power. No doubt it was as easy to Him to cause bre…
262 wordsSource & rights
Public-domain historical edition (1857). Text from OCR of an original Internet Archive scan; OCR may contain recognition errors.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.