The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 1 — Section 202

all the depths of this interview and conversation. Dut Jesus knew all, and Nnthan11ol felt. the omniscience of the Being he now began to understand. IV. BoLD A YOW AL OF DIBCIPLE~Rir. The process in the scholar's mind WM swift, but not rash or unwarrnnted. His confession was full and rich, but not extravagant. 'l'o Nathanael, over whose mind there flashed a flood of revelation, Jesus was (1) the Rabbi, (2) the Son of God, (3) the King of Israel. This witness seems incapable of expansion. All his after-life was to Nathanael an opportunity for filling up the outline which his faith thus sketched in a few bold strokes. He never \Vent beyond these first convictions. ".'· RECOMPENSE OF DISCIPLESHIP. Such spiritual sympathy, such courageous con. fessiou, was not unrewarded. In response, the Messiah: 1. Accepted the new and ardent pupil as one of his own attached and privileged companions. 2. Assured him of progressive illumination and experience. 3. Promised him participation in the glorious vision of the future, in the celestial exaltation of the Son of man.-T. Ver. 4.6.-" Come and see!" This wa.s the proper counsel for Philip to give to Nathanael, and for every true friend to give to the man whose mind is possessed with incredulity or with prejudice regarding Christ and his claims. Reasoning is very well; but an appeal to personal experience is in many cases far better. lllany a man will draw a just inference for himself, which he will not allow another man to draw for him. In giving this advice Philip showed his kno1Vledge of human nature. I. CoME AND SEE WHAT CHRIST IS. There are many persons who are indifferent to the Saviour only because they do not know him-because he is to them nothing but a name. 1. Study the record of his earthly ministry, and you will find that his cha- racter and life possess a peerless interest. Few have really read and studied the four Gospels without feeling themselves brought into contact with a Being altogether unrivalled in human history for qualities of the spiritual nature, for profundity of moral teaching, for self-sacrificing benevolence. And many have, by such study, been brought under a spell for which no ordinary principles could account, and have felt, not only that no personage in human history can rank with Christ, but that none can even be compared with him. 2. Ponder the character, the claims, the acknowl11dged work, of Christ, and you will be convinced of his Divine nature and authority. Men who judge of him by hearsay, or by their own preconceptions, may think of Jesus as of an ordi- nary man; but this is not the case with those who "come and see," who allow him to make his own impression upon their minds. Such are found exclaiming, with the officers, "Never man spake like this Man!" with the disciples," What manner of Man is this!" with Peter," Thou art the Christ!" with this very Nathanael, to whom the words of the text were addressed, "Thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel! " with the centurion at the Crucifixion, "Truly this was a righteous Man, this was the Son of God ! " IL CoME A1'"D SEE WHAT CmnsT HAS DONE. 1. This test-a very reasonable one -may be applied in individual cases. What did Christ effect for Saul of Tarsus? Did Le not change him from a zealous and narrow formaiist into a man whose name has become the synonym for spirituality of religion, for breadth and catholicity of doctrine, for grandeur of plan and of hope with regard to this ransomed humanity ? Did he not find Augustine a wilful and pleasurerseeking young man, who almost broke a pious mother's heart? and did he not transform him into a penitent, a saint, a mighty theo- logian, a holy power in the realm of human thought? What did Christ do for Luther? He visited him when he was depressed and hopeless because of the conscience of sin, spoke to him the word of peace, ea.lied and strengthened him to become the Reformer of half Christendom, the founder of an epoch of light and liberty for man- kind. Such instances, to be found in the annals of the illustrious and influential amon" men, might be multiplied. But it is not only over the great and famous that the Divine Jesus has exercised his power. Among the poorest, the meanest, the feebleBt, nay, the vilest, he has proved himself to be the Friend of sinners and the Brother of man. There is no circle of society in any Christian land where evidences of this kind do not abound. You need not go far to see what the Lord Christ can do; this you may learn at your own doors, a.nd every day. 2. But the educated ~nd well- informed bsve within their reach a. wider range of proof. The history of Chmtendom OH, I, 1-ul.] 'l'HE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN. 1,3