The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 2 — Section 310

88 if their o~n bands hod slain the Prince of Life; many sou~ht mercy for their unjnRt Bncl fearful sm. They sa.w tho righteousness of the Redeemer in a new li"ht. The sick had e!nin th~ir Physician, the enslaved their Liberator.. Thus did the Spirit bring the onem1es of nghteoueness to seek for themselves the righteousness they had deApised when it hod come to them in the Person of the Son of God. And in this the action of these aroused, repentant Israelites was an earnest of the turning unto God which should follow upon the preaching of Christ to the Gentiles also. V, IT 18 THE OilACIOUS OFFICE OF THE SPIRIT OF CHP.IBT 'l'O 1,EAD THE WORLD TO BEEK AND TO APPilOPRIATE THE RIOHTEOUBNESB IT HAS SCORNED. It would not hav~ been in harmony with the character of our Redeemer to have laid stress upon rig;hteous- ness ns rejected, and to have lost eigM of righteousness as acquired 11nd appropriated. The Holy Spirit does indeed convince men that they have viol11ted righteousness in their denial llnd contempt of Christ. But in this is no gospel. And Christ died, and the, Holy Spirit was given, for the good of man, for the salvation and not for the condemnation of the sinner. Accordingly, it is by these heavenly influences exerted by the Spirit of God that men are led not only to lament their deficiency, but to seek that that deficiency may be supplied. Jesus becomes to us who believe "the Lord our Righteousness;" he is" made unto us of God Righteousness." And it is for the Spirit that we must give thanks for leading us into the possession 11nd enjoyment of "tho righteousness which is by faith."-T. Vers. 8, 11.-0onviction of judgrrvmt. It is usually said that the sin of which the Spirit convicts is the sin of the world; that the righteousness is that of Christ; aud that the judgment is the judgment of Satan. In this last reference our Lord's l11nguage must be regarded 11s 11nticipatory. Satan's power was never so awfully evinced as in the condemnation and crucifixion of the Son of God; yet the hour of his apparent tiiumpl1 was in reality the hour of his fall. 'l'ranslated into ordinary language, this grand say- ing of Jesus affirms that the Holy Spirit convinces those who ponder the facts upon which the Chtisti11n religion is based, th11t the world is indeed beneath a moral govern- ment, and that the righteous rule of the Eternal has been and will be vindicated. I. THE MORAL NECESSITY THERE WAS THAT THE PRINCE OB BULER OF THIS WOBLD SHOULD BE JUDGED.. 1. The power of evil bad already had a long and prosperous course. In the lapse of centuries and millenniums every possible form of sin had flourished in one community or another. Satan had had things almost his own way. 2. Yet the ruler of this world de facto was not its ruler de jure; he WllS a usurper meeting with too r~ady a submission on the part of men. 3. Neither the operation of natural laws nor the occ11sional judgments and interpositions of the Supreme had been sufficient to arrest the downward progress of humanity. The laws of society, the Law given by Moses, nay, the very law embodied in the constitution of hum11n affairs, had been effective chiefly as a protest agaiust disobedience and iniquity. II. THE FACT THAT THE PRINCE OF THIS WOBLD WAS JUDGED IN THE CRUCIFIXION AND RESURRECTION OF CIIRIST. It is a grand and solemn hour when an evil ruler or an unj1L5t, perfidious prince is brougM to trial and to the block. How great is the solemnity and awe attached to the scene, the time, when the power of evil was met on the field, discomfited, and crippled by the irresistible might of God's own Son I This was the issue of the combat, llS foreseen by Christ himself. As the struggle approached, the Lord Jesus re11lized its momentous character and its glorious results. He saw Satan as lightning fall from heaven. "Now," said he, "is the judgment of this world; now is the prince of this world cast out." The hour of Christ's death was the hour when he" destroyed him that had the power of death." In his resurrection Jesus led captivity captive, ao,d robbed death of its sting. The sinful, unbelieving world was judged in its prince. The sentence against the prince of darkness was pronounced; the execution of that sentence should follow. Ill. THE OFFICR OF THE SPIBIT WAS TO CONVINCE TUE WORLD TIIAT ITS ANCIENT usURPEB HAD BEEN DETHRONED BY CHRIST, The two kingdoms-that of sin and dark- ness, o.nd that of light o.nd holiness-could not exist side by side._ The stronger_ mu~t neods prevail over the weake1. Immediately upon the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, and upon the gift of the Holy Spirit, the king~om of Christ beg~ to prosper, o.n_d to prevail ngain~t that of the advel"Sl\ry. The demonmcs who were set free from Satamc  THE GOSPEL ACCORDING 'l'O BT. JOHN, [en. XVI, 1--83.