Ver. 2il.-7'1u cry of faith and joy. If St. John begins his Gospel with a clear and full declaration of our Lord's Deity, he here towards its close gives his readers to under- stand that his con,iction was shared by others who, like himself, had the advantage of prolonged and continuous fellowship with Jesus. l. THE WIT!.""EBS OF TBIB CBY TO TEE NATURE il.'D AUTHORITY OF CHRIST. l, This witness is all tLe more imrortant, bernuee (1) given after our Lord's resurrection from the dead, when his miuistry was compltted, and when its iD1pression was single and perfect; and (2) f,ivcn by an incredulons apostle, ·whose unbelief was overcome by the force of evidence, and whose conviction was accordingly the more valuable. 2. This witness was full and explicit. When Thomas cried, "My Lord and my God I II the two appellations were unquestionably addreEsed to one and the same Person, who stood before him. The language constitutes a confession of our Lord's Divinity. 'l'his mUBt be acl nowledged, even by those who regard the nature of the union of the human and Di'l"inc in Christ as matter of speculation, because unrevea)ed. 3. This witness wu accepted by the s~viour, who would certainly have rejected it had it been the utterance of mist.~ken enthusiasm. Jesus, however, in reply to Thomas, said, "Thou hast believed," meaning by this language, "believed the truth concerning me." II. THE WJTKE:ES OF TBI8 CBY TO THE .APPROPRIATING POWER OJI' F.AITH. 1. When we cry, "My Lord and my God!" we imply tr,at, to our apprehension, Christ has not 11nly given himself/or us, but has gi\"en himself to us. He could not otherwise be ours. TJ.c only claiw we can have upon him is founded upon his own generosity and sacrifice. 2. If we have property in Christ, it follows that we feel towards him a spiritual and aITcctiuwi.l.e atta.chmeut. "Jesus, thou art my Lord and God, I joy to call thee rui11e; For on thy l:ead, though pierced with thorn-.; I oce a cro1'"n Dfriue ! " ou. xx. 1-31.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO S'f. JOHN. 489
3. The appropriation by t,he son! or Christ himself is the appropriation of him in nil bis offices. In approaching the Saviour, the soul addressee him thus : "My Prophet! my Priest I my King I" 4. When this exclamation is sincere, it is a confession that Christ is an all-sufficient o.nd an everlasting Portion. "Whom have I in heaven but thee? 11nd there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee 1"-T.
Ver. 29,--:1?1e blessedness o/ faith. Thie saying of Christ wn.s not so much a reproach directed agnrnst Thomas, as it was a comfort e.nd benediction for the Church of the future. The apostles ho.d their advantages, in that they had personal intercourse with Jesus. Yet we are not without our counterbalancing advantages, in that we can believe in him whom we have not seen. Let Christ's faithful disciples and friends take to themselves this consolation, and let them be assured that wise and benevolent pnr- poses are secured by the provi~ion that they must walk, not by sight, but by faith. J. IT 18 IMPOSSIBLE FOR ALL TO SEE j IT 1B POSSIBLE FOR ALL TO BELIEVE. It seems as if our Lord's ministry were itself an evidence of the difficulty of establishing a universal religion by a living Lord in the body and accessible to all men's sight and knowledge. It would have been, as far as we can see, physically impossible for men of all lands and through all ages to have seen Jesus. His ministry was confined to the lost sheep of the honse of Israel; and even in Palestine there must have been multi- tudes who were never brought into contact with him, who never knew him. Whereas the spiritual dispensation permits of disciples being gathered to Christ from every country, and through all the centuries, all of whom can fulfil the required conditions of faith. II. IT IS UNNEOESBARY FOB ALL TO SEE j IT 18 NECESSARY FOB ALL TO BELIEVE. It was indeed needful that some should see. Our Lord's personal friends and attendants saw and heard him, and bad the opportunity of knowing him as he was in his humilia,- tion and ministry. But when their ears had beard, their eyes seen, their hands handled, the Word of life, they were competent to testify of him whom they had come to know so well. Then the testimony of the few was sufficient to convince many. The sight of some was the means, the preparation, for an end, and that end was the faith of all. In order that men may enjoy the favour of God and may participate in the Divine nature and life, it is indispensably necessary that they believe the gospel, and exercise faith in Christ. Sight may be dispensed with, but not faith. IIL IT 18 INEXPEDIENT AND UNDESIRABLE FOB ALL TO BEE j IT 18 EXPEDIENT AND DESIRABLE FOB ALL TO BELIEVE. We know that it is possible for men to see Jesus, and not to believe. The Jews saw our Lord and his miracles, yet many of them were none the better for the sight. There is danger lest sight should end in itself, lest men shoul~ be satisfied when their curiosity is gratified. But the ends of the Christian religion are secured through faith. The higher life of the spirit is by this means secured. IV. IT IS WELL TO BEE AND TO BELIEVE; IT IS BETTER TO BELIEVE WITHOUT SEEING. Those who see and believe mny indeed be happy; but they are happier still who accept testimony, who exercise spiritual intuition, who gain experience which itself confirms their faith. This happiness is not-as is sometimes supposed-the happiness of ignor- ance. It consists in submission to the Divine plan and appointment, in the pure spirituality of the process of religious experience, in the harmony which exists between the foundation aud the euperstruc.ture of the new life, and in the prospect which animates the heart of those who look forward to that bright vision of the future-the seeing the Saviour as he is.-'l'. Ver. 31.-Scripture,faith, and life. To judge aright of any book, it is necessary 50 take into consideration the purpose of the writer. "In every work regard tho author's end, For none can compass more than they intend." If we wish to understand this treatise, the so-called Gospel of John, we shall act wisely to consult the treatise itself and learn what its author had in view as his purpose in preparing and publishina it: It has often been treated as if it were something very different from what it a~tually professes to be. Hn.ppily, in this verse we have clear information ns to the design which the writer set bofore him in cornpo~ing his n:mative and record. 4uo TilE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN. [en, xx. 1-31,