also when " they disputed amongst themselves which of them should be the greatest.'1 Their views, also, of the Messiah's kingdom were extremely erroneous ; insomuch that, when our blessed Lord told them what was coming upon him, " Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, That be far from thee, Lorda." In like manner, they could not conceive aright of his divine character. Sometimes, indeed, they spake well respecting it : " Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living Godb :" but, at other times, they shewed that their judgment respecting it was very wavering and ill-informed. When our Lord spake of his equality with the Father, they knew not how to understand him : and though he told them, that, in having " seen and known him, they had seen and known the Father0," Philip, in the name of all the rest, con- tradicted him, and said, " Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us." And this brought from our blessed Lord an answer, which is of the greatest im- portance to the Church in all ages, inasmuch as it establishes the doctrine of the divinity of Christ beyond all contradiction.
In opening to you this passage, we will consider,
I. The desire expressed —
This, in part, was good —
[To desire a manifestation of the Father's glory could not but be pleasing to God himself. After the giving of the law, such a revelation had been vouchsafed to Moses, and Aaron, and "the nobles" of Israel*1; as, at a subsequent period, it had been in a more especial manner to Moses alone, in answer to that request of his, " Lord, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory." Of this request God had expressed his ap- probation, by " proclaiming to him his name," and causing " all his goodness to pass before him6." Now, therefore, at the first introduction of the Gospel, the Apostles conceived it possible that their Divine Master might favour them with somewhat of a similar manifestation ; more especially because he had, without any solicitation on their part, spoken to them on the subject of " seeing the Father1."
a Matt. xvi. 22. i> Matt. xvi. 1G. John vi. (59.
c ver. 7. (1 Exod. xxiv. 9—11.
e Exod. xxxiii. 18, 19. and xxxiv. G. '" ver. 7.