Ver. 28.-The Teacher wanting his disciple. I. TIIE PROPRIETY OF THE DESCRIPTION. What a flood of light this one word "Teacher" (818cl0'1CC1Aos) casts on the relations of Jesus to the family at Bethany I How it corresponds with what we are told elsewhere of the docile attitude of Mary, sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to his Word! Martha, lacking as she seems to have been in spiritual insight and sympathy, could not have known the significance and propriety of her description ; but we speak ofttimes better than we know, and the description was very significant and appropriate. The time had come when Jesus had a very practical lesson for both Martha and Mary, but Mary would learn the most. The service of Jesus to mankind, always essentially the same, has many aspects, many ways of beginning. Jesus began his work in some by bodily healing, but in very many-more, probably, than we imagine-by dropping into their ears marvellous utterances which attracted and charmed them. And of this number Mary seems to have been one. Jesus was a. Friend of the household, and Martha might have said, "Our .li'riena is come, and calleth for thee;" but some happy providence ruled her tongue, and she spoke just the word that set prominently forward the teaching miesion of Jesus. II. THE LESSONS THE TEACHER HAD COME TO TEACH. Jesus, indeed, was always teach- ing, always shedding fresh light on dark places. Not one of his wonderful deeds but was full of instruction, His miracles were instructive, and his teaching was miraculous. Bis miracles were Hreat object-lessons, and here surely is one of the richest. How it 128 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN. [cB, :u. 1-67,
Ptops the mc-n v..:ho we.nt to map out the l&ws of life e.nd death with eclentifio precision I :Ko wonrler they dl'ny the validity of such a record. Jesus r,omes in here, e.e elsewhere, with a truth greater th1rn any our senses ce.n tell ue. Mere hume.u experience points out the sequence thue: life, death, corruption, e.nd so union with mother ea.rth. Josue cornl'fl with his power, and makes the sequence thus: life, death, incipient corruption, life again. Our experience tells us the actual, not the necesse.ry. 'l'heu another great lesson MRry he.d to learn WIIS thet of e.bsolute trust in Jesus. Jesus Was using the dcnd decompo8illf1; body of Lazarus for nobler purposes than one would have thought possiblo to rc-,ide in a corpse. Jesus can make use of the dead not less than of the living. lll. WE SHOULD FEEL THAT THE TEACHER 18 CALLING FOR UB 0ONBTANTLY. Not a dRy but what we cnn apply the great leading principles of the truth e.s it is in Jesus. Not a day but 'l"<"hat we can find illustrations of his laws kept and his laws broken, 'l'he very daily newspaper should be read with Jesus to explain its benring on his groot purpose. He can ~how us whe.t is really great and what is really little. Without him to guide, we are very likely to overlook things of the ~test moment, and dwell admiringly on things of little worth; and especially, amid the frequent inronds of death, we mod to be thoroughly taught the lesson that there is One greater than death. Jesus never points to more glorious and inspiring truth than when he points to himsolf.-Y. Ver. 35.- Why these tears, This is the only occasion on which Jesus is recorded as havini. shed tears; for although the Passion in Gethsemane is alluded to in the Epistle to the Hebrews as having been a scene of strong crying nnd tears, yet this is too general and rhetorical an expression to be taken literally. (In Luke xix. 41, t1<A.<&111Te is used, not i341<putr•1 as here.) But Jesus, going to the grave of Lazarus, did mani• festly shed tears, and this intensity of emotion was noticed. Why, then, was he moved to this extent? L A TESTlllONY TO THE FULNESS OF ms HUMANITY. These were the tears of friend• ship. Many a time Jesus must he.ve been filled with profound pity for human suffering and bereavement, but that by itself would not cause him to shed tears. Jesus was on terms of loving intimacy with the family at Bethany. Every bit of evidence should be welcomed that deepens the impression of this; for to be sure that Jesus had special friends is to make us feel that he was a true, full Man. Every true man must have some who are dearer to him than others. A Jesus without intimate friends would have been a contradiction to all that is best in humanity. II. A TESTIMONY TO FULL OOllDWNION oF FEELING. In one sense there was no neeo for these tears. In a few minutes many tears might be shed, but they would be tea~ of joy over the restored relative. Jesus knew what was going to happen; why, then, did be seem as if plunged in the very depths of sorrow? The answer is that he really was in the very depths of sorrow, in full communion of grief with the two sisters who were hie friends. Jesus behaved in all respects naturally and tenderly. III. We must not, however, forget that these were '.l'llE TEARS OF JEsus. They are part of the proof of his humanity, but they must be looked at in the light of the whole of that humanity. They were the tears of a sinless Jesus. Tears must be looked at according to their ea.use. Oftentimes they express the most utter selfishness. Tho pBBSion of grief, natural and inevitable as it is, brings out the whole man by the very violence of its expreBBion. and so enables ue to see how much evil there is in the heart. People can hear with equanimity of deaths all round them; it never strikes them there is anythiDg wrong-anything that wants explaining. , The problems and the mysteries of life are as if they were not. But let the blow break their own circle, and utterances the most reckless and purely self•regarding come from their lips.-Y. Vere. 46--53.-Mistaken patriotism. L THE FUNDAMENTAL 11:IBAPPREHENSION. We wust understand clearly the great and fundamental error that underlay all the ani• mosity of the Pharisees and priests towards Jesus. To understand that error makes their relentless pursuit of Jesus more explicable. Jesus talked much of a kingdom, and whet ahould the Pharisees take that to mean unless a visible kingdom...-a kingdom the establishment of which must be contested and prevented by the Roman empire, tolare.nt of no authority that rivalled its own? If these Jews had only comprehended what the kingdom of heaven r~Uy was, they would have spar«ld themselves much on, xn. 1-60.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN'. 120