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 the gentleness of another. But if grace reigns within us, and we know what repentance and faith are by experience, we shall stand on the right hand in the great day. Happy is the man of whom, with all his defects, Christ says to saints and angels, " This is our friend."
Notes. John XI. 7—16.
7. — [Then after that saith... disciples.] The Greek words which be- gin this sentence mark an interval of time even more emphati- cally than our English version does. They would be literally rendered, " Afterwards, after this." The word translated " then " is the same that is translated " after that" in 1 Cor. xv. 6—7.
[Let lis go...Judcea again.'] This is the language of the kind and loving head of a family, and the chief in a party of friends. Our Lord does not say. " I shall go to," or, " Follow Me to Ju- daea, but, "Let us go." It is the voice of a kind Master and Shepherd proposing a thing to His pupils and followers, as though He would allow them to express their opinions about it. How much depends on the manner and language of a leader !
The familiar, easy manner in which our Lord is said here to tell His disciples what He proposes to do, gives a pleasant idea of the terms on which they lived with Him.
8. — [His disciples say... Master.] The answer of the disciples is an interesting illustration of the easy terms on which they were with their Master. They tell him frankly and unreservedly their feelings and fears.
Let it be noted that the word rendered " Master" here is the well-known word "Rabbi." The use of it shows that there is nothing necessarily insulting, sneering, or discourteous about the term. It was the title of honour and respect given by all Jews to their teachers. Thus John the Baptist's disciples said to him, when jealous for his honour, "llabbi, he that was with thee," etc. (John iii. 26.)
[The Jews of late sought to stone thee.] The "Jews" here mean especially the leaders or principal persons among the Scribes and Pharisees at Jerusalem, as it generally does in St. John's Gospel. The word rendered " of late " is generally trans-