The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 2 — Section 355

Ver. 25.-God unknown and known. These, the last words uttered by our Lord before be proceeded to hie betrayal and passion, aro words worthy of the occasion and of the Speaker. '!'hey are a prayer, or rather an address, to the Father. Yet they con- stitute a review of the past, a declaration of the present, a prediction of the future, They explain the reason and the purpose of his mediation and of his ministry to man. I. Tim WORLD'S IGNORANCE OF GOD WAS THE OCCASION OF CHRIST'S Ml!HSTBY. 'l'his i~nomnce is implicitly brought before us in the very language which the High Priest here employs: "0 righteous Father, the world knew thee not." 1. The world had uo conviction of God's ,·ight=ness. No one who is acquainted with heathen religions can question this. Not that there were no upright natures that traced th_cir own love of justice ancl equity to the eternal Power that rules the universe; but that the gods many and lords many who were honoured, feared, or propitiated among the heathen we.re, for the most part, lacking in the highest moral qualities. A gleam of righteous- ness or of generosity did now and again break through, to reveal, as it were,. the .dark- n<>ss of the .firmament. Still, broadly speaking, gross darkness covered the people. The unenlightened heathen attribut.ed to their deities partiality, factiousness, hatred, cruelty-any quality but justice. In all this the lack of righteousness in men them- selves was reflected upon their gods. The world by wisdom knew not God. • ~- The world had no conviction of God's Fatherhood. If there were those who worshipped a supposed deity whom they called "the father of gods and men," we JJ1USt not be _mis\ed by such languaii;e into supposing that the scriptural idea. of fatherhood was involved in their religioil. This idea is distinctively that of revelation, of Christianity. The moral attributes which we attach to tbe conception of the Divine Fatherhood have not come to our apprehension through the ministrations of pagan priests or. pagan philosophers. Apart from Christ, the race of mankind is conscious only of fatherlessness and fear, II. CHRIST'S KNOWLEDGE OF 'l'.llE F A'l'BER, Goo, w AS INTIMATE. AND PERFECT•. ' 'cl'he expression Jesus here employs, "I knew thee," evidently suggests the natural .anci immediate knowledge which he had of the Father. He did not come to know God by A. process of inquiry or reflection, or by the reception of lessons and revelations. His knowledge was direct. This we gather from his own assertions, &I!d also DOil'.l many iut1Jllil.t.ions to be discerned in his words and in his conduct. There is no sign of uncer- tainty in any of Christ's declarations with respe.ct to the Supreme.. On the cop.trary, he speaks simply, directly, .and decisively in all he says.. He claims the closest inti- macy, w; when he says .that he is "in the bosom" of the Father, i.e. in possession. of the coan.."Cls and secret8 of the eternal mind. He even goes further than this, claim- ing unity with the Father, as when he &ays, "I and my F;i.ther are one." Our Saviour'& knowledi?e of God was not inferential, but intuitive; not acquired, but natural ; not imperfect, but complete. III. CHRIST REVEALS GoD, AND THUS ENLIGJ;ITENS llilllN's IGNOBANCE•. L Tpe ~rst step in this revelation is the conviction. which Christ awakelll! in his disciples' minds, that hiB mission is from God himself. The character of Christ, bis discourses and conver- sations, his mighty works, all witnessed to his special authority aud commission. They were con.strained to ask, " Who is this?" "What manner of Man is this?" " Wh~nce is he?" and when these questions were suggested, they could.lead to only c;>ne answer which could .satisfy toe inquirers' minds. The conviction was produced1 in some C!:LBes by a gradual proceas, in al.her cases as by a sudden flash of revelation, tbat this 13eing was from above, that he was the Son of God. 2. The second step in this revelation is the declaration of the Divine "Na.me," by which we are to uodjll'Sl!!rnd the character OH, xvu. 1-26.J 'l'HE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN. 3'37