PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels — St. John — Volume 3
Ryle, J. C. (John Charles), 1816–1900 · 220,804 words · 484 reading sections
JOHN, CHAP. XX. 375
tainly was. But the condition of our Lord's risen bodj was altogether different from that of His body before crucifixion. We cannot pretend to explain in the least where He was, and what He was doing in the intervals between His various ap- pearances, during the forty days before His ascension. We need not therefore he…
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how mucli of Christ's teaching was apparently thrown away on His disciples, and clean forgotten ! Ministers who complain of the ignorance of their hearers, should learn patience, when they mark the imperfect knowledge of Christ's own followers. The Greek word rendered " Sir," in this verse, might have been equally cor…
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whole world seemed turned upside down to the astonished wo- man ; and that under the influence of such an amazing revul- sion of feeling as that much-loved voice must have caused, her mind could only find expression in one passionate word — " Kab- boni," or Master. The expression, " turned herself," in this verse, is …
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of it is a point wliich lias greatly perplexed commentators. I Buspect it is one of tliose things which will never be fully settled until the Lord comes. In the meantime we must be content to make humble conjectures. It will clear our way to remember that our Lord could not possibly mean by saying, " Touch Me not," tha…
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and Scott's Lexicon, frequently means "fasten oneself to, cling to, hang on by, lay hold of, or grasp." Homer constantly uses the word in this sense. This deserves special notice. Schleusner and Parkhurst agree with Liddell and Scott. The words, " for I am not yet ascended to my Father," are even more difficult than "…
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65 ; and Winer's Grammar, p. 288. Clark's edition.) But it is rather awkward that " I ascend " comes immediately after in the present tense. The reader must decide for himself which view he prefers. Chrysostom says, " Methinks Mary wished still to converse with Jesus as before, and in her joy perceived nothing great i…
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Poole says, " The best opinion seems to be the opinion of those who think oar Saviour saw Mary too fond, as if she thought He had been raised up to such a converse with them as He liad before His death. This error is all He tasks her of, not forbidding any kind of touching, so as to satisfy herself He was truly risen, …
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been some better term, expressing more reverence." — "The touch was not the riglit touch, and all for want of expressing more regard ; not for want of reverence at all, but of reverence enough." — " It is no excuse to say it was all out of love. Nev- er lay it upon that. Love, Christ loves well. But love, if it be righ…
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Hengstenberg says, " The reason of the prohibition must be Bought iu the personal character of Mary, and in the passion- ate nature of the touch which sprang from that character. ISlie tliought that the limits which had formerly existed between herself and the Lord {the old style of confidence is a very incor- ?'ec^ic?…
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identity of nature, and identity of love and affection after tlie resurrection, and no change. Let us mark wliat a strong proof we have here of the duty of telling others the good news of the Gospel. The very first work that a risen Christ proposes to the first disciple to whom He revealed Himself is the work of telli…
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but " my Father and your Father." He thus shows that there is a certain distinction between His relation to the Father and ours. Believers are not naturally sons of God : they only be- come so by grace, by adoption, and by virtue of union with Christ. Christ, on the contrary, is in His nature the Son of God by an etern…
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the mother of our Lord. A few minutes after she departed on her joyful errand — running, we need not doubt, as she had run before, — our Lord appeared to the other women, as is recorded by St. Matthew. (Matt, xxviii. 9.) Brentius remarks what honor this passage puts on women. Sin came into the world by Eve, a woman. Y…
153 wordsSECTION 373JOHN XX. 19—23.
21 Then said Jesus to them again. Peace be unto you : as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on ihem^ and saith unto them, Eeceive ye the Holy Ghost: 23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. 19 Th…
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He first met them after His resurrection. Twice over he addressed them with the kindly words, " Peace be unto you." We may dismiss as untenable, in all proba- bility, the cold and cautious suggestion, that this was nothing better than an unmeaning phrase of courtesy. He who " spake as never man spake," said nothing wit…
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converts with tlie sword, is not from above but from beneath. Any form of Christianity which burns men at the stake, in order to promote its own success, carries about with it the stamp of an apostasy. That is the truest and best religion which does most to spread real, true peace. We should observe, for another thing…
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Christ never made. Let us not try to be wiser than our Lord. We should observe, lastly, in these verses, the re- markahle commission which our Lord conferred upon His eleven Apostles. We are told that He said, " As my Father hath sent Me, even so send I you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and saith un…
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Whatever some may please to say, there is not a single instance to be found in the Acts of any Apostle using such absolution after confession. Above all, there is not a trace in the two pastoral Epistles to Timothy and Titus, of such confession and absolution being recom- mended, or thought desirable. In short, whateve…
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*' When it was evening on that day, tlie first day of the week." The precise houi' is not specified ; but, considering all things, it seems probable that it was after sunset, and when it was dark, in order to avoid observation. — The cause of the disciples as- sembling, we may reasonably suppose, was the tidings receiv…
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doors of Peter's prison), and to walk into the room, like another man. To my own mind there is no proof positive either way, and I must leave it to my readers to choose for themselves. One thing alone we must not forget. Even if our Lord did ap- pear in the room, without unfastening the doors, it is no proof that He ca…
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view, expressly records that our Lord said, " Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself : handle me, and see ; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have." (Luke xxiv. 39.) The mention of the " hands and side " points clearly to the wounda made by the nails on the one, and by the spear in the othe…
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literally rendered " rejoiced seeing," and " having seen." I cannot myself think tliat these words fulfilled our Lord's say- ing, " 1 will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice." (John xvi. 22.) That joy, I believe, is the joy of the whole Church at the Lord's second advent, and is yet to come. It is a joy of whi…
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doubtless were to see the Lord, we may easily believe that they were frightened, and overcome by a mixture of feelings ; and the more so when they remembered how they had behaved when they had last seen their Lord, Jesus read the condition of- their hearts, and mercifully makes assurance doubly sure by repeating the gr…
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ration of tlieir privileges as trusted and commissioned messen- gers, notwithstanding their grievous fall ? — I cannot help sus- pecting that this lesson was contained in the action of breathing. It not only symbolized the infusion for the first time of special ministerial gifts and graces. It also symbolized the resto…
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the necessity of His death and resurrection. — " Now," says our Lord, " I bestow on you the Spirit of knowledge. Let the time past suffice to have seen through a glass darkly. Receive the Holy Ghost, open your eyes and see all things clearly." — In fact I believe the words point to the very thing which, St. Luke says, …
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shrink from expressing my regret that the words, " receive the Holy Ghost," were adopted by the compilers of our Prayer-book. They do not trouble my conscience, but I consider them likely to offend the consciences of many, and I think it would have been wiser to throw them distinctly and unmistakably into the form of a…
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lieve they interpreted our Lord's words in tkis place accord- ingly. (c) There is not a single instance in the Acts or Epistles, of an Apostle taking on himself to absolve, pardon, or forgive any one. The Apostles and preachers of the New Testament de- clare in the plainest language whose sin is pardoned and ab- solve…
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were quite peculiar to tliem, and which they could not transmit, and did not transmit to others. (1) They had the gift of de- claring the Gospel without error, and with infallible accuracy, to an extent that no one after them did. (2) They confirmed their teaching by miracles. (3) They were, some of them, plenarily ins…
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believers and obstinate persons, and denouncetli to them the vengeance of God and eternal punishment ; or excludeth out of the bosom of the Church, those that are publicly excommuni- cated ; and that God Himself doth so far approve whatever sen- tence His ministers shall so give, that whatsoever is either loosed or bou…
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Musculus says tliat this promise does not belong " to every and any minister, but to the real minister of the G^ospel, who teaches nothing, promises nothing else but this, — that those who repent and believe on Christ have remission of sin and eternal life, and that those who are impenitent and unbeliev- ing remain in …
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403 I leave the whole passage with one general word of caution. Whatever sense we place on the words, let us beware that we do not give to ministers, of any name or denomination, a place, power, authority, position, or privilege, which Christ never gave them. Putting ministers out of their proper place has been the ro…
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The story of the unbelief of Thomas, related in these verses, is a narrative peculiar to the Gospel of St. John. For wise and good reasons it is passed over in silence by Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and was probably not given to the world till Thomas was dead. It is pre- cisely one of those passages of Scripture which sup…
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let our place be empty when means of grace are going on, this is one way to be a growing and prosperous Christian. The very sermon that we needlessly miss, may contain a precious word in season for our souls. The very assembly for prayer and praise from which we stay away, may be the very gathering that would have chee…
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He does not reject him, or dismiss him, or excommuni- cate him. He comes again at the end of a week, and apparently for the special benefit of Thomas. He deals with him according to his weakness, like a gentle nurse dealing with a froward child: — "Reach hither thy fin- ger, and behold my hands ; reach hither thy hand,…
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which burst from the lips of Thomas, when convinced that his Lord had risen indeed, — the noble exclamation, "My Lord and my God," — admits of only one meaning. It was a distinct testimony to our blessed Lord's divin- ity. It was a clear, unmistakable declaration that Thomas believed Him, whom he saw and touched that d…
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way to heaven with real faith and true grace, but are so full of doubts and fears that they are unable to enjoy religion, and are a trouble to themselves and all around them. This I be- lieve to be the true account of his character. The modern the- ory that he was a man of free thought and wide range of in- tellect, wh…
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plies, *' Surely not : it was a privilege common to tlie whole Ape <tolate, and peculiar to them as Apostles. St. Paul was distant, while these things happened, both from apostleship and religion. Yet, when made an Apostle, he was at once adorned with this privilege." Some think that his case is like Eldad and Medad, w…
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After all, the case of Thomas is not an uncommon one. Some people are so strangely constituted that they distrust, every- body, regard all men as liars, and will believe nothing except they can see it all, and work it all out for themselves. They have a rooted dislike to receive anything on trust, or from the testimony…
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entertaining and expressing sentiments altogether judicious. But unbelief, while it attributes defects in judgment to otliers, often itself discovers and betrays hardness of heart, and in that hardness slowness of belief." 26. — [And after eight days again, etc.] This verse describes how Jesus was graciously pleased t…
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We should note carefully the amazing kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ to a weak disciple, and the trouble He was pleased to take, if I may use such a phrase with due reverence, about one single soul. The unbelief of Thomas was most provoking and inexcusable, and if he had been cast out of the company of disciples we c…
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body, to come to a doubting, sceptical disciple, and bid him touch. Him, put his finger into the nail-prints on His hands, and put his hand into the great wound in His side, — all this was a condescension which we can never sufficiently admire and adore. The last sentence of the verse is a rebuke and an exhorta- tion …
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The text before us is one of those which are justly quoted, as an unanswerable proof of the divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is called " God " in the presence of ten witnesses, and He accepts the language, and does not say one word to re- prove the person who uses it. Unless a person is prepared to deny the inspir…
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translated more literally, " Because tliou hast seen Me, Tliom- as, thou hast believed." The whole sentence may be thus par- aphrased and expounded. " Thomas, thou hast at last believed my resurrection, because thou hast seen Me with thine own eyes, and touclied Me with thine own hands. It is well. But it would have be…
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Bhall not believe anything which I do not see clearly demon etrated from the very lirst," will make very little progress. In the daily business of life, what sensible man does not know that we take many important steps on no other ground than the testimony of others V Parents send sons to Australia, New Zealand, China…
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alism, so called 1 No wonder that our Lord laid down, for the benefit of Thomas and the whole Church, that mighty principle, •* Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed," The remarks of Richard Cecil, on the subject before us, are so apposite, that I make no apology for quoting them. They will be foun…
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heavy obj ection to this interpretation, that the two verses, on this view, appear to come in rather abruptly, and without much connection with what goes either before or after. In short, it is not very easy to explain why they come in here at all. — More- over, it is not very easy to see the drift of the expression, "…
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which strictly confines the application of the two concluding yerses of the twentieth chapter to the matter contained in that chapter, viz., the signs which our Lord gave of His resurrec- tion, is entirely in keeping with St. John's style of writing liis Gospel. He simply remarks parenthetically that there are other pr…
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Baid to be still known by bis name. Unbappily, tbe truth of all this is very doubtful, and rests on a very sandy foundation.…
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1 After these things Jesus she-wed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself. 2 There were together Simon Pe- ter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. 3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a…
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great, simple lessons, which the passage undoubtedly contains. We should observe, for one thing, in these verses, the poverty of the first disciples of Christ. We find them working with their own hands, in order to supply their temporal wants, and working at one of the hum- blest of callings, — the calling of a fisher…
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Bion in the matter. Nothing can account for the rise and progress of Christianity but the direct interposition of God. We should observe, for another thing, in these verses, tlie different characters of different disciples of Christ, Once more, on this deeply interesting occasion, we see Peter and John side by side in…
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and troubled about much serving," when Mary " sat at the feet of Jesus and heard His word." Yet there came a day at Bethany, when Mary was crushed and pros- trated by overmuch sorrow, and Martha's faith shone more brightly than her sister's. (Luke x. 39, 40; John xi. 20 — 28.) Nevertheless both were loved by our Lord. …
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know. He says himself to Cornelius, We did " eat and drink with Him after He rose from the dead." (Acts x. 41.) Those who in modern times say they are not con- vinced, may as well say that they are determined not to believe any evidence at all. Let us all thank God that we have such a cloud of witnesses to prove that …
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that chapter were evidently intended to finish and wind up John's narrative, and that the twenty-first chapter comes in awkwardly and abruptly. From all these theories I entirely dissent, and repudiate them altogether. I see no proof whatever that the two last verses of the twentieth chapter were intended to be a wind…
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1,— [After these things.] This expression is indefinite. It only means that the appearance of our Lord, about to be described in this chapter, took place " after" His appearance on the eighth day following His resurrection. The time therefore, in the verse before us, is some day between the eighth and the fortieth day,…
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Here our Lord walked on tlie waters, and came to the disciples toiling in rowing. Here He stilled tlie wind and waves with a word. Here He granted to four of His Apostles a miraculous draught of fishes. Here He provided payment of the tribate- money, out of the mouth of a fish which He commanded Peter to catch. On the …
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be idle. Neither in Peter's proposal, nor in tlie simple frank consent of his companions, can I detect a jot of proof that any- thing wrong was done. Idleness does Christians far more in- jury than work. Among tbe Jews every man, whatever his rank or position might be, was required to learn a worldly call- ing. Chryso…
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sent forth the Apostles on this lowly errand of fishing. And yet these were they on whom the Church was to be built 1 These seven were among the names written on the twelve foundations of the heavenly Jerusalem." Burgon also thinks that the words " went forth," point to the Apostles sitting together indoors, in the ev…
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woman of Samaria, and broke the ice, as it were, between Him and her ? ** Give Me to drink," He said. (John iv. 7.) Noth- ing sets people so much at ease, when they meet as strangers, as courteous inquiries about the simple matters of daily life. The word " meat " is a striking example of the change which comes over t…
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{They cast, therefore, and now. ..fishes^ In the fact that the disciples found a multitude of fishes in their net the momenc they acted on our Lord's advice, there is, in one point of view, nothing extraordinary. Many fish swim in shoals, and it is quite a matter of common experience among fishermen, that one boat may …
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We should note how Peter rushed into action, the very mo- ment that he " heard " the words, " It is the Lord," He did not wait to see, like Thomas on another occasion, hut was satisfied with a word from his brother Jolin, A single spark is enough to kindle tinder, and a single word is enough to stir a heart, when its a…
516 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.