Good Cheer From Christ's Victory Over the World
(No. 3285)
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 1912.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"These things Ihave spoken unto you, that in Me you night have peace.
In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have
overcome the world." John 16:33
[Other Sermons by Mr. Spurgeon upon the same text are #1327, Volume
22–CHRIST THE OVERCOMER OF THE WORLD and #1994, Volume 33– SWEET
PEACE FOR TRIED BELIEVERS.]
The Believer is in two places, and he lives two lives. In the text
there are two places spoken of–"in Me" and, "in the world."
The saint's noblest life is "hid with Christ in God." This is his new
life, his spiritual life, his incorruptible life, his everlasting life.
Rejoice, Beloved, if you are in Christ, and enjoy the privilege which
belongs to that condition–"that in Me you might have peace." Do not be
satisfied without it! It is your right through your relationship to the
Prince of Peace. Because you are in Christ, your life of lives is
always safe and should be always restful. Your greatest interests are
all secure, for they are guaranteed by the Covenant of which Jesus is
the Surety. Your treasure, your eternal portion, is laid up with Him in
Heaven where neither rust nor robber can enter. Therefore, be of good
cheer! Be restful and happy, for you are in Christ and He has said,
"These things have I spoken unto you, that in Me you might have peace."
You are sorrowfully conscience that you also live another life, for you
dwell in the midst of evil men, or, as the text puts it, you are "in
the world." I need not enlarge upon that fact, for probably, dear
Friend, every time you go out to business or to daily labor, you find
by the ungodly speeches of graceless men, that you are in the world
which lies in the Wicked One. Even while you dwell in the sweet
seclusion of domestic life, though your family has been graciously
visited, and your dear ones are all Believers, yet even there matters
occur which make you feel that you are "in the world–a world of sin
and sorrow. You are not yet in Heaven–do not dream that you are. It
would be a pity for a sailor to expect the sea to be as stable as the
land, for the sea will be the sea to the end and the world will be the
world to you as long you are in it.
The Savior warns His people, "In the world you shall have tribulation."
That is to say, your condition will at times be as unpleasant as that
of wheat under the flail, for the Latin word, "tribulation," signifies
threshing. Many blows of the flail are needed to separate your chaff
from your wheat and, therefore, while you are in this world, you are on
the threshing-floor. The Greek word which Jesus used is not quite of
the same import as our English-Latin word, but it means pressing grief
and searching trial. You must at times experience trial while you are
in the world, though not always to the same degree, for God gives some
of His people much rest even while here below–but this does not arise
out of the world–it is His own special gift. "In the world you shall
have tribulation" is as sure a fact as that in Christ you shall have
peace!
Now, because of this tribulation and the sorrow which is likely to come
of it, our Savior gives us the words of good cheer to which our
attention is directed in the text. We have first to show what sorrow
the comfort is aimed at and, secondly, what is the actual comfort here
bestowed.
I. WHAT IS THIS TRIBULATION IN THE WORLD AT WHICH THE SAVIOR'S WORDS OF
COMFORT ARE AIMED?
It includes the afflictions which come upon us because we are men
living among men and not yet at Home among angels and glorified saints.
We dwell among beings who are born to trouble as the sparks fly upward.
Between other men and us there are many points of difference, but we
share with them in the common infirmities, labors, sicknesses,
bereavements and necessities of our fallen race. We are outside of
Eden's gate with the rest of Adam's family. We may be
greatly beloved of God and yet be poor. God's love to Lazarus did not
prevent his lying at the rich man's gate, nor hinder the dogs from
licking his sores. Saints may be sick as well as other men–Job and
David and Hezekiah felt sore diseases. Saints go into the hospital as
well as sinners, for their bodies are liable to the same accidents and
ailments. Such diseases as men bring upon themselves by vice, the godly
escape and, therefore, as a rule, God's people have a great advantage
over the reckless and reprobate in point of health. But, still, in this
respect the best of men are only men and it will often be said, "Lord,
he whom You love is sick." Upon the bodies of the godly the elements
have the same power as upon others–upon them the hot desert wind
blows, or through their garments the cold penetrates–the sun scorches
them in the fierceness of its summer heat, or chilling dampness
threaten the flame of life. In this respect, one event happens unto
all, though not without mysterious and blessed differences. No screen
is set around the godly to protect them from physical suffering–they
are not living in the land of Goshen so that light cheers their
dwelling while the dense fog hangs over the rest of the land! Scant is
the need to dwell up this theme, for it is well known that "many are
the afflictions of the righteous," because they are in a world which,
for a while, is made subject to vanity.
Nor may we forget that we endure a second set of tribulation because we
are Christians. Ishmael was not mocked, but Isaac was, for he was born
after the promise. Esau's posterity never suffered bondage in Egypt,
but Israel must be trained by hard service. Persecution is for the
righteous, wicked men are in honor among their ungodly associates.
Slander shoots her poisoned arrows, not at the vicious, but at the
virtuous. Birds do not peck at sour fruit, but they wage war upon the
sweet and ripe. Holy men must expect to be misrepresented,
misinterpreted and often willfully maligned–while hypocrites have
their reward in undeserved homage. Carry what load you choose upon your
shoulders and no one will notice it unless, indeed, they obey the good
old rule and "respect the burden." But if you take up Christ's Cross
and bravely bear it, few will respect the burden, or praise the bearer!
Graceless men will add weight to your load, for the offense of the
Cross has not ceased. The seed of the serpent still has enmity against
the Seed of the woman, and one and another will commence biting at the
heel which treads the sacred way of Christ. It is the nature of the
wicked to hate the righteous, even as the wolf rages against the sheep.
This world cannot be the friend of the friend of God unless, indeed,
Belial can have concord with Christ–and this we know is impossible! In
one form or another, the Egyptian will oppress the Israelite till the
day of the bringing out with a high hand and an outstretched arm. If
today the enmity is restrained in its manifestation, it is because the
law of the land, by the good Providence of God, does not now allow the
rack, the stake, or the dungeon. Our Lord said to His first disciples,
"In the world you shall have tribulation," and He explained it to mean
that men would put them out of the synagogues. Yes, that the time would
come when those that killed them would think that they did God service!
Tribulation of that sort remains up to the measure in which it is not
hindered by Divine Power. The spirit out of which it sprang cannot die
till men are renewed. A man's foes are still they of his own household.
"All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."
Nor is the opposition of the world confined to persecution. It
sometimes takes the far more dangerous form of flattery–pleasing baits
are held out and allurements are used to decoy the Believer from his
Lord. Many have been grievously wounded by the world when it has met
them with the kiss of Judas on its lips and a dagger in its right hand
wherewith to slay the soul! Woe unto those who are ignorant of its
devices! This is a sore trouble under the sun, that men are
false–their words are softer than butter, but inwardly they are drawn
swords! This has often surprised young Christians. They imagined that
since the godly were charmed at the sight of their early graces, all
others would be equally pleased. They are dumbfounded when they find
that their good is evilly spoken of. Is any hearer of mine one of these
raw recruits? Let him learn that to be a soldier of the Cross means
real war–not a sham fight! He is in an enemy's country and the time
will yet come when, as a veteran warrior, he will be surprised if he
lives a day without a conflict, or is able for an hour to sheathe his
sword–
"Must I be carried to the skies,
On flowery beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize
And sailed through bloody seas?
Are there no foes for me to face?
Must I not stem the flood
To help me on to God?
Surely I must fight if I would reign–
Increase my courage, Lord!
I'll bear the toil, endure the pains, Supported by Your Word'
Certain tender hearts are not only surprised, but they are daunted and
grieved by the world's opposition. Gentle, loving spirits who would not
oppose anybody if they could help it, keenly feel the wanton assaults
of those whom they would rather please than provoke. The sensitiveness
of love renders the choicest characters the most susceptible of pain
under cruel opposition–especially when it comes from beloved kinsfolk.
To those who love God and man, it is at times an agony to be compelled
to appear as the cause of strife, even for Christ's sake. We would
gladly follow peace with all men, yet are we often forced to cry–
"My soul with him that hates peace
Has long a dweller been!
I am for peace, but when I speak,
For battle they are keen.
My soul distracted mourns and pines
To reach that peaceful shore
Where all the weary are at rest,
And troubles vex no more."
We are sent forth as sheep among wolves–and this jars upon our
gentleness which loves far better to lie down in the green pastures
near the Shepherd and in the midst of flock.
We are most of all grieved to think that men should not love Christ. It
makes us deeply sorrowful that they should not see the beauties of the
Man of Sorrows. In our inmost hearts we are wounded when they wound our
Well-Beloved. That they oppose us is little–but that they stumble at
the great Foundation Stone upon which they will surely be broken, is
terrible to perceive! They sin against light and love. They sin against
their own souls–and this is a tribulation which bruises every holy
heart and causes every loving spirit to bleed.
This calls for constant watchfulness, since our very love to men might
become, unless salted by the Grace of God, a cause of decay to our
purity. Some spirits love fighting and are never more happy than when
they can denounce, resist, secede and contend. These are members of the
Church Militant in another than the best sense. When the Grace of God
enters their hearts and consecrates their obstinacy into firmness, they
make fine men in a way, but if we measure them by the scale of love,
and that, I take it, is the standard of the sanctuary–for he is most
like God who loves most and he has come nearest to the image of Christ
whose heart is fullest of tenderness–these rougher spirits turn out to
be rather dwarfs than giants in the Kingdom of God. We must have
backbone and must be prepared to contend earnestly for the faith, but
yet the more love we exhibit, the better! And, therefore, the more pain
it will cost us to be continually at war with unloving spirits. This is
a part of the tribulation which we must endure–and the more bravely we
face it, the more thoroughly shall we win the battles of peace and
purity!
Is not this enough upon the darker side of the picture?
II. Let us now consider WHAT THE COMFORT IS WHICH JESUS GRACIOUSLY
OFFERS US. "Be of good
cheer," He says, "I have overcome the world." This is a glorious
sentence spoken by the greatest Conqueror that ever lived–in whom all
His people shall yet be "more than conquerors."
Here let us view our Lord in His blessed Person, for there is much of
good cheer in the contemplation. Remember, first, that our blessed Lord
was a Man. Believe all that this means, for many are apt to think that
because He was God as well as Man, therefore He was not so fully a Man.
The tendency is to separate Him from the race and so from ourselves,
but I pray you, Friend, to respect that Jesus was in some respects more
a Man than any of us!
There are some points in which no one man is all that manhood is–but
Jesus was the summary of all manhood. I might almost venture to say
that He had about Him the whole Nature of mankind as it respects to the
mental conformation of both man and woman, for He was as tender as
woman though as strong as man. Holy women, as much as godly men, find
in Jesus all that is in their own souls. There is nothing effeminate in
Him and yet all the loveliness which is feminine–read His life story
and see. He was Man in the broadest sense of the term, taking up in one
the whole genus. Men are of certain ranks and grades, but Christ is
without limit, save only that in Him was no sin. Though a Jew, He bore
no special national peculiarity, for Gentiles find in Him their next of
kin. You apply no descriptive word to the Son of Man, except that you
call Him "the Man of Sorrows." He was a Man who greatly suffered in
body and in mind, and
displayed His Manhood by the bravery of His endurance–a Man rejoicing
in man's joy, depressed in man's grief–a Man who ran up the entire
scale of humanity, from its deepest to its highest tone. Now, if a
typical man has overcome the world, then man has done it and man can be
enabled to do it again! This inspires courage and vanishes despair. It
was the mighty power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in Him by which Jesus
overcame the world–and that same quiet power, if it dwells in us, will
make us win the same victory by faith. The arch enemy has been
conquered by Man and our hearts may be comforted by the conviction that
by God working in us, we, too, shall bruise Satan under our feet
shortly!
It is cheering to remember that wherein our Lord's was a special case,
it is to our comfort, for He, as Man, entered into the conflict under
serious disadvantages which we cannot labor under. He was weighted with
a care unique and unexampled. Be our charge what it may, it cannot be
comparable to His heavy burden as the Shepherd of Souls. We think
ourselves overburdened and speak of life as though it were rendered too
stern a conflict by the load of our cares and responsibilities. But
what comparison is there between our load and that of Jesus? A pastor
with a great flock is not without his hourly anxieties, but what are
those to the cares of the Chief Shepherd? He watched over the great
multitude which no man can number–who were committed to Him by the
Father–and for these He carried all their grief! Here was a burden
such as you and I, dear Friend, cannot even imagine! And yet, without
laying aside the weight, He fought the world and overcame it! Let His
name be praised and let His victory be the comfort of all that labor
and are heavy la-dened–
"His is the victor's name, Who fought our fight alone! Triumphant
saints no honor claim– His conquest was His own."
Remember, next, that He was loaded with substitutionary sorrows which
He bore for us. These are not ours. He came into the world to suffer
griefs that were not His own. He had human guilt laid upon Him to bear
and, because of that, He was bowed down till He was exceedingly
sorrowful even unto death. Some seem to think we are to imitate Christ
in being men of sorrows as He was. No, no! The argument is the other
way! Because Jesus took our sorrows, we may leave them all with Him,
rolling our burden upon the Lord. Because He was grieved for me and in
my place, it is my privilege to rejoice with unspeakable joy in full
redemption! No weight of sin remains to press us to the dust! Christ
has carried it all away–and in His sepulcher He has buried it forever!
Yet never let us forget what an inconceivable pressure our sin put upon
Him, for remembering this, it becomes the more a comfort to us that,
notwithstanding all, He could say, "I have overcome the world."
Remember, again, that our Lord in the battle with the world, was the
center of the attack. When the whole host marches to the fight, we,
each one, take our place in the ranks and the war goes on against us
all. But where, do you think, the arrows fly most thickly? Where were
the javelins hurled one after the other, thick as hail? "The
Standard-Bearer among ten thousand" was the chief target! It seems to
me as if the Prince of Darkness had said to his armies, "Fight neither
with small nor great, save only with the King of Israel," for He was
tempted in all points like as we are. You and I encounter some
temptations, but He endured them all! I have mine and you have yours,
but He had mine and yours, and such as are common to all His
saints–and yet, standing in the thick of the fray, He remained
unwounded and cried aloud–"I have overcome the world." Divine Grace,
then, can also clothe us with triumph, for against us no such supreme
charges of hosts upon hosts will ever be led. The whole band has
gathered together against Him–but never against any one of His feeble
followers!
Remember, also, that the Redeemer was, in many respects, a lonely Man.
If we need spiritual succor, we know someone to whom we can go. If we
need converse with a superior mind, we can find such an one among our
Brothers and Sisters. But our blessed Master could scarcely find a
kindred spirit, and never an adviser. Like some lone mountaintop which
towers above all surrounding heights, He stood alone where winter's
snowstorms beat full upon Him, spending all their fury on His
unshielded height! We are but valley dwellers and rise not to His
loftiness. To whom could He tell His secret grief? To Peter, James or
John? As well might a mother whisper to her babe the throes that rend
her heart! He did once, in deep distress, resort to the three noblest
spirits among the 12 Apostles, but they slept for sorrow and could not
watch with Him one hour! O lonely Christ, if You did overcome this
world alone, how surely shall Your warrior Brothers and Sisters
overcome it when they stand shoulder to shoulder, cheering each man his
fellow and, above all, when You are in the field communicating Your
victorious valor to the whole host!
I have not finished this setting forth of the disadvantage under which
the Savior lay, for I beg you to notice that there were possibilities
about our Lord that were never ours. A man who does not know his
letters is little tempted to be proud of his learning. And the man who
lives from hand to mouth and never has a penny to lay by can hardly be
tempted to be purse proud! We poor creatures could not be tempted to
the same degree as our great Lord. The multitude would have taken Him
by force and made Him a king–no, more–all the kingdoms of the earth
were proffered Him and instead of suffering poverty and yielding
Himself up to death, He might have pushed Caesar from his throne! The
world with all its honors, the cattle on a thousand hills and secret
mines, and rocks of gold and silver were all His–and He might have
left His life-work to be the greatest, richest, mightiest monarch that
ever reigned–had He not been Jesus, to whom such things are the dirt
beneath His feet! But none of us have such great offers and brilliant
opportunities and, therefore, we have not such a battle to fight as He
had. Shall we not, by His help, overcome the lesser temptations, since
He went on to victory over the greatest that can be imagined?
Remember, too, that the intense zeal that burned in His spirit, had He
been capable of ever yielding to a temptation, might have suggested to
Him in a hundred ways, a turning aside from His own line of action by
which He had resolved to conquer the world. He came to vanquish evil by
the force of love and truth through His Spirit. If some of His
followers had been girt with His power, they would not have kept to His
order of battle! I stood in Rome, one day, at the bottom of the Santa
Scala, and watched the poor votaries of superstition creeping up those
so-called sacred steps upon their knees, imagining them to be the very
stairs which our Lord descended when Pilate said, "Behold the Man." As
I saw certain priests watching their dupes, I longed for a thunder bolt
or two with which to make a clearance of Pope, cardinals, and priests!
But the spirit our Lord Jesus was not so hot–for when James and John
asked, "Lord, will You that we command fire to come down from Heaven
and consume them?" their Lord replied, "You know not what manner of
spirit you are of." We may never have been tempted to ask fire from
Heaven because we knew that we could not get it–but our Lord had only
to ask His Father and He would presently have sent Him legions of
angels! See with grief what a part of the Church has done–certain
professors easily fell into the snare which their Lord avoided!
Suppose the Lord Jesus had been made a king and had marshaled an army?
He might have set up an established Church and have maintained it by
the power and wealth of the State. A temple might have been built in
every parish in the Roman empire and the heathen might have been
compelled to pay tithes for the support of the ministry and
Apostle-ship. By the help of imperial prestige and patronage, nominal
professors of the faith would have been multiplied by millions and,
outwardly, religion would have prevailed! Would it not have been as
great a blessing as our Established Church is to us? But the Lord Jesus
Christ did not choose this method, for His Kingdom is not to be set up
by any force than by that of truth and love! It was His purpose to die
for men, but not to lift the mailed hand of power, or even the jeweled
finger of rank to bring them into subjection. Jesus loves men to
Himself–Love and Truth are His battle-ax and weapons of war. Thus He
overcame the world which was in that most insidious form of
worldliness–the suggestion to make alliance with it and set up a
mongrel society, a kingdom at once earthly and heavenly, a State
Church, a society loyal both to God and Mammon, fearing the Lord and
serving the High Court of Parliament! It might have appeared to us to
be the readiest means to bless the world–but it was not His Father's
way, nor the way of holiness–and, therefore, He would not follow it,
but overcame it! No force may be put on conscience. The altar of God
must not be polluted by forced offerings. Caesar must not step beyond
his province. However great the proffered benefit, the Lord never did
evil that good might come!
Let us now observe that the main point of the comfort lies in the fact
that not only did our Lord overcome the world as an individual, but He
vanquished it as the Representative Man. Clear a space! Clear a space!
A deadly fight is to be fought! Here comes into the battle, stalking
along, a monster man towering high above his fellows. He is for
Philistia! Here comes the champion of Israel, a ruddy youth. These two
are to decide the day. Anxious eyes are turned towards the field of
duel. Philistia, look to your champion! Israel, watch your stripling
with beating heart! O maids of Judah, lift up your prayers for the son
of Jesse, that he may play the man this day! As we watch that fight and
see the stone sink into the champion's brow, and behold the youth
taking off the giant's head and bringing it to the camp, we are ready
to join in the dances of the jubilant women, for David has won the
victory! See the result of his deed–the victory of David is the
triumph of every man in Israel's land! It was a representative
conflict–Israel against Philistia–and when Philistia's hero fell,
Israel was the conqueror. Up to the spoil, O sons of Jacob! The
uncircumcised are utterly routed! They fly! Pursue them and scatter
them as dust before the whirlwind! Even so, when Christ overcame the
world, the victory was won on the behalf of all His people and today we
face a vanquished foe. Up and spoil the enemy! Let your infirmities
become the subject of your glorying! Let your tribulations become the
themes of your thanksgivings! And if you are persecuted for
righteousness' sake, do not whine and whimper as though some dread
calamity had come upon you, but rejoice that you are made participators
of the honors of Prophets and saints–and of your great Leader who won
the battle as your Champion!
In closing, let us remember that here we have not merely
representation, but also union. "I have overcome the world," means more
than, "I overcame in your name." All Believers have virtually overcome
the world, for they are one with Christ! Did my hands win the victory?
Then my feet triumph! Did my head achieve the conquest? Then my heart
shares the honor! The soles of my feet are victorious when my head is
crowned. When Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church, was victorious over
the foe, every member of His Mystical Body, even the most uncomely,
was, virtually, a conqueror in the conquering Head! So let us shout the
victory and wave the palm branch, for we are more than conquerors
through Him that has loved us! Said He not well when He bade us be of
good cheer, for He had overcome the world? Therefore, struggling
Brothers and Sisters, obey His word, and–
BE OF GOOD CHEER!
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: JOHN12:20-50.
Our Lord had gained a sudden popularity through raising Lazarus from
the dead. And the people had attended Him with great enthusiasm as He
rode through the streets of Jerusalem. For the time, things looked very
bright with Him, but He knew that He was soon to suffer and to die. And
the overshadowing of that great eclipse was already upon His heart.
Note how He looked forward to it and how He spoke concerning it.
Verses 20-22 And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to
worship at the feast the same came therefore to Philip, which was of
Bethsaida of Galilee, and entreated him, saying, Sir, we would see
Jesus. Philip came and told Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip told
Jesus. Probably these persons were proselytes to the Jewish faith. They
had renounced their idols and they had come to worship the only true
God. And now they had a wish to see Jesus–not out of idle curiosity,
but because they felt a certain degree of respect for Him. They wanted
to know more of His teaching and to learn whether He was, indeed, the
promised Messiah. The disciples encouraged these seekers–they would
not have brought mere curiosity-mongers to their Master, but they saw
that there was something better in these Greeks–so they consulted
together and their opinion was that they must tell Jesus about them.
23. And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour has come that the Son of
Man should be glorified.He was about to die, yet He speaks of His death
as being glorified. For the joy that was set before Him, He seems to
overlook the intervening humiliation in the prospect of the Glory that
would come of it through the salvation of multitudes of strangers from
the very ends of the earth! He looks on these Greeks as the vanguard of
a great army of Gentiles who would continue to come to Him and pay Him
homage. Hear what He says next–
24. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat falls into
the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies,
it brings forth much fruit. [See Sermon #3024 Volume 53–CHRIST'S DEATH
AND OURS.] He knew that He must die, for His living, preaching and
miracle-working would never produce such results as His death would
accomplish! He must go down into the ground, out of sight, and there
must lie like a buried grain of wheat, that out of Him there might
spring a great harvest to the Glory of God! And these Greeks were like
a first handful, a wave-sheaf unto God, a promise of the great harvest
that would be the result of His death–"If it dies, it brings forth
much fruit."
25. 26. He that loves his life shall lose it and he that hates his life
in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serves Me,
let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be: if
any man serves Me, him will My Father honor [See Sermons #463, Volume
8–CHRIST'S SERVANT–HIS DUTY AND REWARD; #2449, Volume 42–THE RULE
AND REWARD OF SERVING CHRIST; #2651, Volume 45–THE CHRISTIAN'S SERVICE
AND HONOR and #2874, Volume 50–PRECEPTS AND PROMISES.] It is an honor
to be allowed to serve Christ, but God will bestow still further honor
upon those who faithfully serve Him!
27-29. Now is My soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save Me
from this hour? But for this cause came I unto this hour. Father,
glorify Your name. Then came there a Voice from Heaven, saying, Ihave
both glorified it and will
glorify it again. The people, therefore, that stood by and heard it,
said that it thundered: others said, An angel spoke to Him. How ready
they were to find an explanation for that "Voice from Heaven" which
they could not comprehend! Some "said that it thundered: others said,
An angel spoke to Him." But here is Christ's own interpretation of the
mystery–
30, 31. Jesus answered and said, This Voice came not because ofMe, but
for your sakes. Nowis thejudgment ofthis world: now shall the Prince
ofthis world be cast out. Satan may have thought that he had triumphed
when Christ was crucified, but that death upon the Cross was the
deathblow to the devil's usurpation!
32, 33. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto
Me. This He said, signifying what death He
should die. [See Sermons #139, Volume 3–CHRIST LIFTED UP; #775, Volume
13–THE GREAT ATTRACTION and #1717, Volume 29–THE MARVELOUS MAGNET.]
There is no magnet like the death of Christ! He is still able
to draw men unto Him because of the attractive force of His atoning
Sacrifice.
34-36. The people answered Him, We have heard from the Law that Christ
abides forever: and how say You, the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who
is this Son of Man? Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is
the light with you.
Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that
walks in darkness knows not where he goes.
While you have light, believe in the light, that you may be the
children of light. These things spoke Jesus, and departed, and did hide
Himself from them. At first sight, this may not seem to have been an
answer to their question, "Who is this Son of Man?" Yet it was a very
direct answer, for He was "the Light of the world" and, as the Light
was soon to be withdrawn from them, there was all the greater need of
Christ's injunctions, "Walk while you have the light, lest darkness
come upon you. While you have light, believe in the light, that you may
be the children of light."
37-41. But though He had done so many miracles before them, yet they
believed not on Him: that the sayings of Isaiah the Prophet might be
fulfilled, which he spoke, Lord, who has believed our report? And to
whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not
believe, because that Isaiah said again, He has blinded their eyes, and
hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor
understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.
These things said Isaiah, when He saw His Glory, and spoke of Him. [See
Sermon #1844, Volume 31–israel and
BRITAIN–A NOTE OF WARNING.] Isaiah was sent upon a painful errand to
tell the people that they would hear, but they would not
understand–that they would see, but they would not perceive. And so it
happened to Israel as a nation, and to this day Israel rejects the true
Messiah. Oh, that none of us may imitate their evil example by
negligence and contempt of the Revelation of God, lest after playing
with Scripture and trifling with the Christ of God, the Lord should at
last in anger declare that we should see, but should not perceive, that
we should hear, but should not understand!
42, 43. Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on Him;
but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should
be put out of the synagogue: for they loved the praise of men more than
the praise of God. Are there any here who believe in Christ, but who
have never confessed Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue
and lose the praise of men? Are you afraid of your family, your father,
or your husband? Or is there some friend who would be angry with you if
you confessed Christ? If so, be no longer such a coward, I pray you,
but come out boldly and confess Him who will not be ashamed to confess
you before His Father and the holy angels!
44-50. Jesus cried and said, He that believes on Me, believes not on
Me, but on Him that sent Me. And he that sees Me sees Him that sent Me.
Iam come as a light into the world, that whoever believes on Me
shouldnot abide in darkness. And if any man hears My word and believes
not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save
the world. He that rejects Me, and receives not My words, has one that
judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in
the last day. For Ihave not spoken of Myself but the Father which sent
Me, He gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should
speak. And I know that His commandment is life everlasting: whatever I
speak therefore, even as the Father said unto Me, so I speak.