PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels — St. John — Volume 2
Ryle, J. C. (John Charles), 1816–1900 · 168,104 words · 353 reading sections
210 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS.
word " sheep," and that " as I said unto yon," should be taken with the following verse ; but I see no necessity for this. [As 1 said unto you.'] I think these words refer to two sayings of our Lord, which He had used in speaking to the Jews, one in chap. viii. 47: "He that is of God heareth God's words : ye therefore…
490 wordsSECTION 182JOHLT, CHAP. X. 211
It is almost needless to remark that this description belongs to none but true Christians. It did not belong to the Pharisees to whom our Lord spoke. It does not belong to multitudes of baptized people in our own day. Luther says : " The sheep, though the most simple creature, is superior to all animals in this, that …
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So, again, Whitby's interpretation, " They shall never perish through any defect on ray part," though they may fall away by their own fault, is a sad instance of unfair handling of Scrip- ture. Let it only be remembered that the character of those who shall never perish is most distinctly and carefully laid down in th…
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the mighty promise just made, by declaring that His sheep are not His only, but His Father's : His Father gave them to Him. " My Father, He declares, is ' almighty,' or greater than all ; the Possessor of all power. No one is able to pluck anything out of my Father's hand, so that my sheep's safety is donbly secured." …
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■words of the Athanasian Creed should be often remembered : "Neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the substance. — There is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost; but the Godhead of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Ghost is all one, the glory equal, the majesty coete…
476 wordsSECTION 186JOHN X. 31-42.
31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone hiin. 32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Fa- ther; for which of those works do ye stone me ? 33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy ; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. 3…
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holy and spiritual his life, the more probable is it that he will have to endure hatred and persecution. Let him not suppose that any degree of consistency will deliver him from this cross. It is not his faults, but his graces, which call forth the enmity of men. The world hates to see any- thing of God's image. The ch…
353 wordsSECTION 188JOHN, CHAP. X. 217
The principle here laid down by our Lord is one of vast importance. Let us grasp it firmly, and never let it go. Let us maintain boldly the complete inspiration of every word of the original Hebrew and Greek Scriptures. Let us believe that not only every book of the Bible, but every chapter, — aud not only every chapte…
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me not. But if I do, though ye believe not Me, believe the works." The mighty miracles which our Lord performed during the three years of His earthly ministry are probably not considered as much as they ought to be in the present day. These miracles were not few in number. Forty times and more we read in the Gospels o…
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that He whose mission was confirmed by such evidence must have been the Son of God. Let us thank God, as we turn from this passage, that Christianity has such abundant evidence that it is a religion from God. Whether we appeal to the internal evidence of the Bible, or to the lives of the first Christians, or to prophe…
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for signs and proofs of His being the Messiah. Well, He had wrought many such signs. Did they really mean to kill Him for His works? He had gone about only doing good. Did they intend to stone him for this? The expression, " I have shewed," is curious, and we should have expected rather, "I have worked." It probably m…
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therefore reply that they do not propose to stone Him for His works, but for having spoken blasphemous icords. The precise nature of the blasphemy they say is, that " being nothing but a mere man, He made Himself God, or spoke of Himself in such a way as showed that He claimed to be God." This is a very remarkable ver…
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tament, and calls it "the law." By saying "your law," ouf Lord reminds His hearers that He appeals to their own honoured sacred writings. The expression, " I said ye are gods," is drawn from the 82d Psalm, in which Asaph is speaking of princes and rulers, and their position and duties. Their elevation above other men …
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Heinsius suggests that the sentence means t( against whom the word of God was " spoken in the 82d Psalm : that Psalm containing a rebuke of princes. But this seems doubtful. Pearce thinks that it means "with whom was the word of judgment," and refers to the Septuagint version of 2 Chron. xix. 6. It deserves notice th…
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be fulfilled— or by those who deny the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch." 86.— [Say ye of him, etc.'] Our Lord in this verse presses home on the Jews the force of the expression in the 82d Psalm. "If princes are called gods, do ye mean to call Me whom the Father sanctified from eternity to be Messiah, and sent into…
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Musculus also remarks that the Pope's high claims and great sounding titles are useless, so long as his works contradict his words. 38.— [But if I do though, etc.'] Our Lord here concludes His reply to the Jews : " If I do the works of my Father, then, though ye may not be convinced by what I say, be convinced by what…
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ministry. There is something touching and instructive in the choice of this place. Where our Lord began His ministry, there He resolved to enter it. It would remind His Jewish hearers that John the Baptist had repeatedly proclaimed Him as " the Lamb of God," and they could not deny John's Divine mis- sion. It would rem…
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last longer than three years, is sealed ts the tifie witness of Christ, through the experience of those who believe and are saved, then we shall have done miracles enough." 42. — [And many believed... there.'] Whether this was; head belief, the faith of intellectual conviction,— or heart belief, the faith of reception…
347 wordsSECTION 199JOHN XI. 1—6.
1 Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Ma- ry and her sister Martha. 2 (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Laza- rus was sick.) 3 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, 6aying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. …
120 wordsSECTION 200228 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS.
The chapter we have now begun is one of the most re- markable in the New Testament. For grandeur and sim- plicity, for pathos and solemnity, nothing was ever written like it. It describes a miracle which is not recorded in the other Gospels, — the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Nowhere shall we find such convincing …
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real value of our hope in Christ. It reminds us betimes that we are not to live always, and tunes and trains our hearts for our great change. Then let us be patient and cheerful when we are laid aside by illness. Let us believe that the Lord Jesus loves us when we are sick no less than when we are well. These verses t…
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three good people seem to have been somewhat difFerent. Of Martha, we are told in a certain place, that she was " careful and troubled about many things/' while Mary " sat at Jesus' feet, and heard His word." Of Lazarus we are told nothing distinctive at all. Yet all these were loved by the Lord Jesus. They all belonge…
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the sake of the Church and the world, for the good of friends and enemies, He kept away. The chilrden of God must constantly school their minds to learn the great lesson now before us. Nothing so helps us to bear patiently the trials of life as an abiding convic- tion of the perfect wisdom by which everything around u…
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same time, man in sympathy, and God in power. Like each of the few incidents in our Lord's ministry related by St. John, it is placed before us with peculiar minuteness and particu- larity. The story is singularly rich in delicate, tender, and beautiful expressions. Before entering upon it, I venture to offer the follo…
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liever of this miracle, who seems to me the credulous man. The difficulties of disbelieving it are far greater than those of believing it. (d) The raising of Lazarus is not mentioned by Matthew, Mark, and Luke. This has stumbled many persons. Yet the omission of the story is not hard to explain. Some have said that Ma…
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is not unlikely it was a fever, such as is common even now in Palestine. This is the first time that Lazarus is mentioned in the New Testament, and we know nothing certain of his history. Some have conjectured that he was the young ruler who came to our Lord, asking what he must do to obtain eternal life, — and went a…
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clear from Acts xvii. 13 ; Heb. xiii. 24. But why " out of the village, or town of Mary," is said, is not quite so clear. It is open to the conjecture that it means " Lazarus was now a man of Bethany, but "was originally out of the town of Mary and Martha ;" viz., some other place. But this seems unlikely. — Web- ster …
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very ingenious!}7, and boldly suggests that Simon the Pharisee was also called Simon the leper, was the husband of Martha, and not friendly to Clirist : — that this accounts for Martha being more " careful and troubled," in Luke x. 41, than Mary, and for unfriendly Pharisees being present at the raising of Lazarus; — t…
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The use of the past participle in the verse before us seems to me no difficulty at all. It is of course true that at this time Mary had not anointed our Lord. But it is no less true that John evi- dently mentions it by anticipation, as an historical fact long past and well known in the Church when he wrote his Gospel, …
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The idea of some, that sending a message to Christ was a mark of weak faith in the two sisters, as if it showed doubt of Christ's omniscience, is absurd. At this rate we might never pray, and might say there is no need, because God knows all ! The word " behold " seems either to indicate something " sud- den " in the …
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It is undeniable that there was something dark and mysterious about our Lord's message. He might of course have said plainly, "Lazarus will die, and then I will raise him again." Yet there is a wonderful likeness between the style of his message and many an unfulfilled prophecy. He said enough to excite hope, and encou…
507 wordsSECTION 212JOHN, CHAP. XI. 241
Let it be noted that the Greek word here rendered " loved,'* is not the same that is rendered " lovest," in the 3d verse. The word describing the love of Jesus to the three in this verse is a word expressing a high, deep, excellent, and noble affec- tion. It is the same as Mark x. 21, and John iii. 16. — The word used …
554 wordsSECTION 213EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS.
wisely ordered, and are working for good. Like children, we are poor judges of half-fiuished work. Chrysostom says: "Christ tarried that none might be able to assert that He restored Lazarus when not yet dead, saying it was a lethargy, a fainting, a fit, but not death. He therefore tarried so long that corruption bega…
171 wordsSECTION 214JOHN XI. 7—16.
7 Then after that saith he to his dis- ciples, Let us go into Judaea again. 8 His disciples say unto him, Mas- ter, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again ? 9 Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day ? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, be- cause he seeth the light…
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fact of Lazarus being dead in language of singular beauty and gentleness : " Our friend Lazarus sleepeth." Every true Christian has a Friend in heaven, of almighty power and boundless love. He is thought of, cared for, provided for, defended by God's eternal Son. He has an unfailing Protector, who never slumbers or sl…
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His people. To a mere worldly man death must needs be a terrible thing ; but he that has Christian faith may boldly say, as he lays down life, " I will lay me down in peace, and take my rest : for it is Thou, Lord, that makest me dwell in safety." We should notice, lastly, in this passage, lioiv much of natural temper…
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they bad all one point in common : they loved Christ, and were His friends. Let ns take heed that we really belong to Christ. This is the one thing needful. If this is made sure, we shall be led by the right wa}T, and end well at last. We may not have the cheerfulness of one brother, or the fiery zeal of another, or t…
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latecl " now," or " at this time." There is not another instance of its being translated " of late " in the New Testament. Hence the sentence would be more literally rendered, " The Jews even now were seeking to stone Thee." They allude to the attempt made at the feast of dedication a few weeks before. The at- tempt wa…
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and that the Jews, perhaps, no longer wished to kill Him, is very improbable and unsatisfactory. I grant that the conclusion of the tenth verse, "there is no light in him," presents some difficulty. The simplest explana- tion is, that it only means, " because he has no light." Pearce conjectures that the clause shoul…
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is your hour, and the power of darkness," to His enemies. Then He was taken, and His disciples fled. 11.— [These things... our friend Lazarus. ..sleepeth.~\ In this verse our Lord breaks the fact, that Lazarus is dead, to His disciples. He does it in words of matchless beauty and tenderness. After saying "these things…
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sleep," He proclaims His deliberate intention and purpose to raise Lazarus from the dead. He boldly challenges the attention of the disciples, and declares that He is going to Bethany, to restore a dead man to life. Never was bolder declaration made. None surely would make it but One who knew that He was very God. " I…
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use the same expression after the death of the ruler's daughter: " The maid sleepeth." (Matt. ix. 24.) Two probable reasons may be assigned : one is that they had heard from the messen- ger that Lazarus' recovery turned on his getting sleep, and that if he only got some sleep he might do well ; the other is that they w…
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Let us note that our Lord does not say, "lam glad Lazarus is dead, but I am glad I was not there." Had He been there, He seems to say, He could not have refused the prayer of Martha aud Mary to heal His friend. We are not intended to be so unfeeling as to rejoice in the death of Christian friends ; but we may rejoice i…
987 wordsSECTION 224EXPOSITORY THOLGHTS.
very doubtful. In the first three Gospels, in the catalogue of the twelve, he is always named together with Matthew the publican. But why we do not know. The Greek word for "fellow-disciple" is never used in the New Testament excepting here.…
42 wordsSECTION 225JOHN XI. 17-29.
17 Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already. 18 Now Bethany was nigh unto Je- rusalem, about fifteen furlongs off: 19 And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them con- cerning their brother. 20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and me…
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membered that the death of Lazarus did not depend on Christ's absence, and that our Lord, had He thought fit, could have prevented his death with a word, without com- ing to Bethan}r. — Martha had knowledge enough to say, " I know, that even now, whatsoever Thou wilt ask of God, God wilt give it Thee, — I know that my …
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is a point which is forcibly brought out in the well-known sentence which our Lord addressed to Martha. In reply to her vague and faltering expression of belief in the resurrection at the last day, He proclaims the glorious truth, " I am the resurrection and the life ; " — " I, even T, thy Master, am He that has the ke…
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us more diligent in trying to " know Him and the power of His resurrection." (Philip, iii. 10.) If true Christians would only strivTe, as St. Paul says, to J* comprehend what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge," they would be amazed at the discover…
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was just dead ; the son of the widow of Nain was being carried to the grave ; Lazarus, the most extraordinary case of all, had been four days in the tomb. The expression, " He found," in this . verse, must not be thought to imply any surprise. We know that our Lord begun His journey from Bethabara with a full knowledg…
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whose house Lazarus died, may have been a man of considera* tion, and that the Jews may have come out of respect to him. At any rate it is clear that those who saw the stupendous mira- cle of this chapter were Jerusalem Jews, and were " many," and not few. — The expression, " Those around Martha and Mary," is a form of…
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20. — [Then Martha. ..heard.. .Jesus.. .coming. ..met him.'] The Greek word for " was coming," would have been more literally trans- lated, " is coming," or, "comes," in the present tense. It then gives the idea that Martha received from some friend, servant, or watchman, who was on the lookout on the road from Jor- da…
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It will be our wisdom to watch against the temptations, and improve the advantages of our natural temper." 21. — [Then said Martha... if thou... not died.] This is the first ac- count of Martha's feelings. It was the uppermost thought in her mind, and with honest impulsiveness she brings it out at once. It is easy to …
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power of His own, as God, to work a miracle, and as if lie could not command a cure, but must ask God for it, as Elisha did. She must have strangely forgotten the manner in which our Lord had often worked His miracles. Chrysostom remarks, that she speaks as if Christ was only " some virtuous and approved mor- tal." Le…
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formed part of the creed of the Jewish Church, and of the faith of our Lord's disciples. Martha's " i" know" sounds as if she re- membered the words of Job, " I know that my Redeemer liveth." What she did not understand, or had failed to remember, was our Lord's peculiar office as Lord of the resurrection. We cannot no…
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pression is a verb, — " though he has died," and not an adjec- tive,— " is a dead person." The sense I believe to be this : " He that believes in Me, even if he has died, and been laid in the grave, like thy brother, shall yet live, and be raised again through my power. Faith in Me unites such an one to the Fountain of…
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home with the mighty question of the last verse, seems hardly- able to give any but a vague answer. In truth, we cannot ex- pect that she would speak distinctly about that which she only understood imperfectly. She therefore falls back on a general answer, in which she states simply, yet decidedly, what was the extent …
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Chrysostom says: "Martha seems to me not to understand Christ's saying. She was conscious it was some great thing, but did not perceive the whole meaning, so that when asked one thing she answered another." Toletus remarks: "Martha thought she believed everything Christ said, while she believed Him to be the true prom…
556 wordsSECTION 238JOHN XI. 30—37.
30 Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him. 31 The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, say- ing, She goeth unto the grave to weep there. 32 Then when Mary was come where Jes…
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life of these holy women. Their faith, their hope, their love to Christ, their discipleship, were things of which they were wholly ignorant. But they felt for them in their heavy bereavement, and kindly came to offer what comfort they could. B}r so doing they reaped a rich and unexpected reward. They beheld the greates…
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age of peculiar selfishness and self-inclulgence, it would be well if they had more imitators. We learn, for another thing, what a depth of tender sym- pathy there is in Christ's heart towards His people. We read that when our Lord saw Mary weeping, and the Jews also weeping with her, " He groaned in the spirit and wa…
357 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.