The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 2 — Section 74

ch11mc,tpr-nrYcr met wit,h I\ refu~111 whon he snirl authoritatively to one 11ncl nnother1 "Follow me!" ,Yhen ho Raw NRthnn:\cl coming to him he said, "llehold I\U faraclite in<lced, in whom is no guile." When he beheld Simon the ROil of Jonas, he g:we him 11 new naruo, which Pctor in the long run justified. Anrl when he founrl Matthew sitting nt the roccipt of custom he counted on that publimn'e obedience, nud rondo him a rlisciple with e. word, And so ho gathered about him a flock-it was in thoso days but a lit.tie flock-which continued faithful to him to the end; and though there wne I\ wolf among them in sheep's clothing, it was Judas himself, and not his Mo.ster, who was dooci'l"ed. And he adds, "My own know me, even as I know the l~ather." Not indeed, with an absolutely pure and unclouded knowledge euch as his wae, unimpaired by occasional error or mistake, but with a knowledge which was real and true and spiritual. According to the measure ef their faith Christ's own disciples;knew him, even as he knew tbe Father. As they hoard his words and saw his mighty works and marked his Rt.ops, there flashed on their minds, shining through the veil of his flesh, a. light th&t carried its own evidence along with •it, at once a.we-inspiring and attractive. Jn the l&nguRge of John," They beheld his glory" (eh. i. 14). Hence they regarded him as One immeasurably above themseh·es, never questioning his o.uthority, or doubt- ing his faithfulness, or presuming to weigh in their petty balances his mighty claims. And when he said to them on one occasion, "Will ye also go away?" Peter, making himself the spokesman of the rest, replied, "Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life." Thus the flock knew its Shepherd. JI. 'J.'HESE WORDS DAVE A PERMANEIIT .APPLICATION, FOR IN THEm FULNEBB OF MEANING THEY BELONG TO OUR LoaD IN IIIS GLORIFIED STATE. It was as the great Shepherd of the sheep that he was brought again from the dead, o.nd when he ascended into heaven he only left behind him the limitations of his earthly life. Already he had promised to be with his disciples &l.way, even to the end of the world. He was to be their Shepherd still. Hence in the subsequent Scriptures we never read of any of his flock deploring his departure as a loss, or saying, like the sisters of Beth&ny, "Lord, if thou hadst been here," etc.; on the contrary, we find Ihem rejoicing more in his spiritual proseuce than they had ever done in his bodily presence. 1. In how many senses may it be said that he knows his own I Their number is within the ken of his omniscience, and there are hidden ones among them unperceived by man, but precious in his sight, because he sees the mark of God in their foreheads. He has a smile of recognition for their" works, and charity, and service, and faith, and patience," well pl~e.sed that they have not received the grace of God in vain. And when their spirit is overwhelmed within them, and their path is lonely and their burden such as friends cannot lift, perhaps ca.nnot understand-for who can sound all the depths of a brother's heart?- then he knoweth their way, and his perfect knowledge takes the form of tender sympathy e.nd help !rom above. Verily the Lord k.noweth them that are his I 2. On the other hand, it is still a faithful saying that his own know him. Not indeed after the flesh, ILS wa.s the privilege, if we should not rather say the perplexing ordeal, of his first disciples, but in spirit and in truth. They have had experience of his guidance, sometimes very wonderful, always very real; how he has done for them what no manor angel can do, and more than they can well describe, "leading them by the right way," giving them his Spirit-" the mind of Christ." They know his many-toned voice in the Scriptures, sometimes " still and small," as Elijah heard it at Horeb, at other times "like the sound of many waters," as John heard it at Patmos; so that they have no need to say, "Who shall ascend into heaven, to bring Christ clown from above?" etc. (Rom. x. 6, 7); no need to croSB land and sea. to explore the places where he dwelt, or to travel b&ck in thought these eighteen hundred years to realize the days of his flesh. " When his Word is nigh them, in their mouth and in their heart," then is their Saviour nigh to them alao. .And besides all this, they can in some measure trace his footsteps through- out the ages; for what is the history of the Church-I mean her sacred and internal history-but a long s.eries of testimonies to our Shepherd's power and grace, to his patience and long-suJferiDg? So that these words are as true now as they were on the day they were uttered. Christ has a widespread flock here below. It is for him, not for us, to define its limits. No lines that man can draw will ever avail to do this, Haa he not said that " many that are first shall be last, and the last first " ? Dut he knows hia own, and hiB own know him. 'fhe fruits of their fellowRbip arc indeed OH. x. l-42.] TIIE G0'3PEL AOCORDING TO ST. JOHN. 77