Seeing Christ's Day
(No. 2652)
A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, DECEMBER 10, 1899.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING, JULY
23, 1882.
"Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day: and he saw it, and was
glad." John 8:56.
THESE Jews had claimed to be of the seed of Abraham and the Lord Jesus
Christ admitted their claim as far as it was a valid one. It is always
best, in argument, to concede as much as you can fairly grant to your
opponent. Sometimes we take a few steps backward in order to get a
firmer footing, that we may leap forward with greater sureness. In the
case of these Jews, since they said Abraham was their father, the Lord
Jesus admitted that they were his seed according to the flesh and
therefore He said, "Your father Abraham."
Very much might be spoken in honor and commendation of Abraham. He was
a princely man, well worthy to be called "the father of the faithful,"
for, though all Believers have a certain beauty about them because of
their faith, yet Abraham stands head and shoulders above the rest of
them–at least, above those who lived before the Incarnation of Christ.
Much, therefore, might be said in his favor, but there is no word of
commendation which could possibly exceed this utterance of Jesus, our
Lord, to the quibbling Jews in Jerusalem, "Your father Abraham rejoiced
to see My day: and he saw it, and was glad." Let this stand as the very
crown jewel among all the gems that make up Abraham's crown, that he
saw the day of Christ through the mist of2,000 years or thereabouts,
and so saw it that his heart was gladdened at the sight! There may be
many good things that might be truly said of you, dear Friends, but the
best thing that ever can be said of you is, "They saw Christ's day, and
were glad." Whatever else you do not see, if you see this, all is well
with you! Blessed, indeed, are your eyes if you can, by faith, behold
the Lamb slain for sinners and so behold Him as to be saved by His
death. I do not think that anything better than this could be said of
Abraham and nothing better will be said of any of you than this
testimony from the lips of Christ, Himself, "He saw My day, and was
glad."
Yet we must learn, from our text, a sad lesson before we go fully into
its teaching concerning Abraham. It reminds us that however good a man
may be, personally, he cannot possibly ensure that his descendants will
be like he was. It was to the carping, unbelieving Jews that our Lord
said, "Your father Abraham." What a contrast there was between the
princely father and those who boasted that they were his children!
There they stood, howling like so many wolves around the Lamb of God,
all eager to devour Him! Their fingers were itching to pick up stones
with which they might put to death the Lord of Life and Glory, yet they
were the descendants of Abraham! The children of "the friend of God"
were seeking to slay God's only-begotten and well-beloved Son! And, a
little later, those who were descended lineally from the loins of the
great Patriarch gathered in the street about Pilate's palace and cried,
"Crucify Him! Crucify Him!"–that, "Him," being the Son of the Highest
who was One with the ever-blessed Father and Spirit, and who had come
to earth upon an errand of mercy and love. Yet the men who were the
first and loudest to clamor for His death were those who said, "Abraham
is our father."
It is almost enough to make some good men come out of their graves to
see what their children or their grandchildren are doing. It is a sad
thing that Divine Grace seems to quit some families. It never does run
in the blood–that cannot be, for all God's children are born, "not of
blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
God." And of God alone. Yet is it a very blessed fact that, often, if
Grace does not run in the blood, it runs side by side with it, and
godly fathers joyfully live to see their children treading in their
footsteps. In some families, they have this highest of all honors–that
they are a household of saints. Generation after generation, this is
the testimony concerning them, that they are a company of people whom
God has blessed. But, alas, it is not always so and as it was not so
with Abraham's seed in Christ's day, as the Jews had, to a very large
extent, apostatized so far that they even sought to slay the Christ of
God!
You and I must not be staggered when we see the same thing occurring in
other families, the heads of which were renowned for Grace. With holy
diligence we should seek to bring up our children in the fear of the
Lord so that if they do wander, it may not be through our fault, for if
we have to blame our guilty neglect, or our evil example for their
going astray, it will, indeed, be sad for us. But if we are satisfied,
in the sight of God, that we have done all that we could to bring them
to Jesus, then, if they should dishonor our name, yet at least there
will not be this wormwood mingled with the gall that we helped them to
tread the downward road. O Brothers and Sisters, with all your hearts
cry mightily unto God that your household, to as many generations as
yet shall come, shall never lack a man to stand before the Lord God of
Israel, and to be a faithful witness for Him and for His Truth in the
midst of the wicked and perverse people by whom they may be surrounded!
This Truth of God is manifest on the very surface of our text–Abraham
was a great saint, a mighty saint, a clear-eyed saint whose gaze
pierced through those 20 centuries and beheld his Lord! Yet, after the
flesh, he was the father of a bleary-eyed generation that could not see
the Eternal Light, even when it flashed directly upon their eyes! I
think there is nothing that is more full of warning than this to those
of you who are descended from godly parents. I charge you, before the
living God, put no confidence in your descent. "You must be born
again." Even if you are the best of all who have ever been born of
woman, "you must be born again." Wisely did Job speak when he said,
"who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one." No mother can
bring into this world a perfect being, for the whole human race is
fallen– we are the degenerate children of a father who, himself, was
unfaithful to the allegiance which he owed to his God. The stain from
that first sin of Adam is upon us all, so let us not say, "We are
Abraham's seed." Let us not talk about being descended from a line of
saints, but rather, let us take to ourselves what Christ said to the
Jews on another occasion, "Except you repent, you shall all likewise
perish." However gracious our genealogy may be, unless our family tree
begins in Christ and we, ourselves, are personally grafted into Him, we
shall die in our sins and perish forever. God help us, who have been so
highly privileged as to be born of godly parents, to lay that Truth of
God to heart and to seek the Lord now, that we, also, may be numbered
among those who are saved!
With these observations by way of preface, let us now come directly to
the text. And we shall notice, first, in what respects Abraham saw
Christ's day. Secondly, the effect it had upon him. That will lead us,
in the third place, to think of the respects in which we, also, may see
Christ's day, and to notice, in closing, the effect which such a sight
will have upon us. If we see His day, we shall also rejoice and be
glad.
I. First, then, let us enquire, IN WHAT RESPECTS DID ABRAHAM SEE
CHRIST'S DAY?
I understand the term, "Christ's day," to mean, first, His day of
humiliation here upon earth. Christ had a certain "day" when He lived
here in this world. What if I were to call His whole natural life on
earth one long Lord's-Day? Had the Jews known the things which would
have made for their peace, our Lord's sojourn here would have been to
that nation one long Sabbath! Had they understood the rest which Christ
brings to believing, obedient souls, it would have been the true
Jubilee to them! But there is another "day" yet to come, which, in the
highest sense, our Lord will call, "My day." Know you not that He is to
come a second time, without a sin-offering unto salvation? This was
foretold by the angels who said to His disciples, after His Ascension,
"This same Jesus, who is taken up from you into Heaven, shall so come
in like manner as you have seen Him go into Heaven." Arrayed in the
vesture of His Humanity–for He still wears it at the right hand of the
Father–He will come again, but not as He came the first time–
"The Lord shall come! A dreadful form With rainbow wreath and robes of
storm! On cherub wings and wings of wind, Appointed Judge of all
mankind!"
He shall come to gloriously reign on earth among His ancients! He shall
come to gather to Himself His own, those that have made a covenant with
Him by sacrifice. He shall come to set the sheep on His right hand and
the goats on the left–and to make a severance between them that fear
the Lord and them that fear Him not. This will be His Second Day, the
great day of His appearing, the day for which all other days were made,
after which there shall be no day that can be ended with a night, but
the Ancient of Days shall reign forever and ever, King of Kings, and
Lord of Lords! This is also His day and, without drawing fine
distinctions, I have no doubt that Abraham saw Christ's day in this
double sense– and that he knew Him both as the Lamb slain, and as the
King who is to reign forever and ever!
How did he see Christ's day? I answer, first, by a far-seeing,
clear-sighted faith. I do not know what Revelation, which is not
recorded, God may have made to Abraham–whether he had, in night
visions, as Daniel did, beheld the King sitting upon His Throne. But,
whatever he did know, he turned to practical use by believingit. He
believed that the Lord would come in the fullness of time. He believed
that there would be a Seed of the woman that would bruise the serpent's
head according to the promise at the gates of Paradise. He believed,
most assuredly, that a Man would come who would give rest unto His
flock, that Man being his own Seed, in connection with whom God had
expressly said that He would bless Abraham, and make him a blessing.
"Your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies and in your seed shall
all the nations of the earth be blessed; because you have obeyed My
voice." So Abraham's faith often realized what it saw. We have no
record of the subject of his morning meditations when he rose early
that he might spend some time alone with the Lord before the world
became dim with smoke, or the business or ordinary occupation of the
day had commenced. At such seasons I have no doubt that Abraham was in
his chosen place of prayer, waiting and watching–looking into the
far-distant future and seeing with gladdened heart that day of the Lord
which now has come–and that other day of the Lord which is yet to
arrive. He believed it and therefore he saw it!
Brothers and Sisters, there is no seeing unless there is believing! I
have heard that seeing is believing, but it is not–it is the very
opposite! Seeing and believing do not run this way–to see first and
then to believe. They run the other way–believe and then see! And that
is just what Abraham did. He believed God and then he saw Christ's day
afar off and was glad. See as much as you like after you have believed,
but remember our Lord's words to Thomas, "Blessed are they that have
not seen, and yet have believed"–that is, those who did not need to
see first, but believed first, and then their eyes were so opened that
they saw the salvation of God.
When once you get faith, there are many windows through which that
faith can look. And no doubt Abraham saw Christ's day through the
windows of special promises. There were not so many made to him as we
have now with our larger Revelation in the entire Bible, but, still,
there were sufficient promises to be used by his faith and especially
that one which I quoted to you just now, "In your seed shall all the
nations of the earth be blessed." That promise, alone, was enough to
make him know that God would, in due time, give him a Seed through whom
all the nations of the earth would be blessed. If you want to see
Christ, dear Friends, borrow the telescope of promise. Faith is very
fond of that optic glass and it is amazing what she can see when she
puts it to her eye. Ten thousand blessings, not seen by our natural
vision, become visible to the eye of faith when we look at them through
the medium of the promises of God.
Next, Abraham saw Christ with the eye of faith in the types that came
before him. There were at least two very remarkable ones, or I might
call them three. The first was Melchizedek. I cannot help believing
that when Abraham met Melchizedek, the Priest of the most high God,
first King of Righteousness and then King of Peace–and when he gave
Him tithes of all and received His blessing–he recognized in
Melchizedek One who was greater than himself. Neither can I help
believing that after he had partaken of the bread and wine which
Melchizedek brought to him, and had gone back to his own quiet oratory
once more, he must–or at least he may have had some clear intimation,
to his own mind, that this was one of the grandest types of that Seed
which was to bless all nations of the earth! And, Beloved, have not we
seen Jesus as our Melchizedek? When we have been battling with the
kings. When we have come back weary from the conflict, has not Jesus
met us and refreshed us with His bread and wine? Has He not blessed us
and have we not then adored Him and felt that we must say to Him,
concerning all that we have, "Take not merely a tithe, but take it
all"? Blessed are the men and women who, with eyes of Abraham, have
spied out Christ beneath the robes of Melchizedek! And I cannot help
thinking that if we, the children, can do so, he, the father of the
faithful, must have also done it! Paul could clearly see Christ in
Melchizedek–and surely Abraham, also, must have seen Christ in Him!
But especially did Abraham see Christ's day in the type that was given
him in Isaac–I cannot help thinking that when Isaac was born, not
after the flesh, but according to the promise–for the seed according
to the flesh was sent about his business, and his mother with him. And
when Abraham made a great feast at the weaning of that child whose very
name was laughter–and the promise of whose birth had made the
venerable Patriarch, close upon his 100th year, fall down upon his face
and laugh at the very thought. And whenever, afterwards, he looked upon
that son of joy, given to him, not by the strength of nature, but by
the visitation of God–I say he saw, there, a picture of Him who is not
born to us after the energy of manhood, but by the power of the Holy
Spirit, and who has come among us to bless and cheer us till our very
heart laughs again as we think of Jesus, the Son of the promise. He is
our true Isaac! Now is our mouth filled with laughter and our tongue is
full of praises as we think of Him.
But chiefly, Abraham saw Christ in type and figure on that memorable
day when he took Isaac up to the top of Mount Moriah and, at the
command of God, unsheathed his knife to slay his son! Abraham must then
have seen the Everlasting Father about to act in the same fashion
towards His only-begotten Son. He saw, in Isaac, the victim bound and
laid upon the altar and then, in the ram caught in the thicket, he saw
the very symbol of the Lamb of God, who, in the fullness of time, would
be offered upon the altar of Calvary for our sakes, that He might die
as our Substitute and Representative. There could never have been, I
think, a more plain parallel than in this case–and in all these types
Abraham saw Jesus Christ's day, and was glad.
Once more, Abraham did actually see Christ's day, not by faith only,
but in the disembodied state, after he was dead and buried. There he
slept, with Sarah, in the cave of Machpelah, but his spirit was neither
dead nor buried–it was in the place of souls separated from their
bodies and it is remarkable that, in the account of the death of
Lazarus, our Lord says that he was taken to Abraham's bosom, as if the
Patriarch had given a name to that very world in which the gracious
dwell when they quit this house of clay. From that place of bliss, he
looked down upon all the wondrous Life that began at Bethlehem and
closed at Calvary. He was seeing Christ's day even while Jesus was
speaking to these Jews, and from the celestial seats he must have gazed
with wonder that God should thus assume the nature of man!
II. That is enough concerning Abraham, except that we have to dwell, in
the second place, for just a minute or two, upon THE EFFECT OF THIS
VISION UPON ABRAHAM.
It made him glad. He rejoiced at the very thought of seeing Christ's
day. It is a very strong word which is used here for rejoicing–"he
leaped forward"–that would be the correct expression. At the thought
of seeing Christ's day and when he did see it, he was glad. It is a
curious thing that the second word should be a softer one than the
other. There is no idea of leaping or jumping about the second, but in
the first, there is. Master Trapp renders it, "His good old heart
danced levaltoswithin him, as children use to dance about a
bonfire–with an exuberance of joy"–at the very thought that Jesus
Christ would come in the flesh and that he would see Him. But when he
did see Him, that kind of rejoicing seemed to subside and he appeared
to rise into a calm state of intense gladness.
You know that when Christ first makes us glad in Him, we do not know
how to contain ourselves. But afterwards our capacity increases and we
are able to hold more. There may be far less excitement, but there is
more real joy after all. You remember how it is put in Isaiah
40:31–"They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they
shall mount up with wings as eagles." That is, when they are young and
light. "They shall run, and not be weary"–that is, when they are
getting a little stronger they do not take to flying. They know better,
so they are content to run. But what comes next? "They shall walk, and
not faint." The pace gradually gets less–from flying to running and
from running to walking. Is that a growth? Certainly! It is always
better to walk than to run.
Some young folk, when they are first converted, are very eager to fly.
Fly away, Brothers, while you can, and you who can run, run as fast as
you are able! But, mark you, it is the steady pace that does not kill,
which enables us to live down death itself! I do not read that Enoch
flew with God, or ran with God, but he, "walked with God." And he kept
that pace up for 300 years! And he could have kept it up even longer.
Let a man fly while he may. Let him run when he can, but walking is the
best pace, after all. So, from our text we learn that Abraham rejoiced
and leaped forward to see Christ's day. And when he saw it, he sobered
down, and was glad. And that is the best condition in which the spirit
can remain. I cannot help thinking that it was this inward joy–this
intense but calm gladness–that made Abraham such a noble man
throughout all his life.
Isaac is a very little man compared with his father Abraham. Where
there is a high mountain, there generally is a low valley, so it was
with Abraham and Isaac, and, as to Jacob, though he was a great man in
some respects and especially great at driving bargains, yet, someway,
he had nothing of the nobility of Abraham who walked along in the
dignity of a true prince among men. What a grand reply Abraham gave to
the king of Sodom who had said to him, "Give me the persons, and take
the goods to yourself." Though all the spoil was his by the laws of
war, yet he answered, "I have lifted up my hands unto the Lord, the
most high God, the possessor of Heaven and earth, that I will not take
from a thread even to a shoe-latchet, and that I will not take anything
that is yours, lest you should say, I have made Abram rich."
No, no, Abraham was too great a man to stoop at the foot of the king of
Sodom, even to take what was his by right. He had fought for him and
brought him back the spoil–and he handed it over to him without any
exception but that which had been eaten by the young men, or taken by
the others who had gone with him–his neighbors and friends who had a
right to their share, although Abraham refused to take his portion of
the plunder.
The Patriarch had many troubles but before his history is closed, it
was recorded that "the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things." He had
believed God in all things and God had blessed him in all things! His
was a happy, calm, noble, dignified life almost throughout the whole of
it. Oh, that you and I might drink in deep draughts of Abraham's faith
and that our eyes might see Christ's day even more clearly than Abraham
saw it–that we might have rejoicing and gladness like his! Nothing can
so surely bring this joy to our souls as faith like that which he
possessed.
III. So much for Abraham. Now we come to ourselves and enquire, IN WHAT
RESPECTS DO WE SEE CHRIST'S
DAY?
We stand, as it were, on a narrow neck of land between two seas of
glory. Look back–there is Christ's day of mercy–salvation,
reconciliation, death, conflict, victory. Now look forward and see, by
faith, that sight which the Apostle describes, "For the Lord Himself
shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trump of God"–in splendor such as never was
seen before and which shall make the sun, itself, to be ashamed because
of the greater glory of Christ–the Sun of Righteousness!
Now let us ask ourselves, have we really seen Christ in His first day?
Search your hearts, dear Friends, and see. Have you looked to Christ as
living and working out a robe of spotless righteousness? And then, as
dying, that He might dye that robe crimson and make it fit for His
chosen princes to wear? Have you seen Jesus on the Cross bearing your
sins? This is a sight that is indeed worth living for! Heaven itself
cannot match that sight and there is nothing that can excel it! When we
are in sin's densest darkness, that sight brings more light than the
rising sun. And when we are cast out, like the dry bones of the Valley
of Vision, it is this sight that makes us live again and stand upon our
feet, a part of the exceeding great army of God! Say, dear Friend, have
you looked to Christ by faith? Are you looking to Him? Are you seeing
His first day every day?
And then, have you learned to look forward to His second coming? It is
not a subject for curiosity, as some make it. It is not a subject for
speculation, as others make it. But it isa subject for reverent
expectation! I know not when He will come, but I know that He will
come. He may come at any moment and the sooner the better for me, for
let Him come when He may, He will be welcome. And if I am dead before
He comes, I shall see His day all the same, "for I know that my
Redeemer lives and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the
earth: and though after my skin, worms destroy this body, yet in my
flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall
behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me." Fix
your eyes upon the coming King, for it will make you strong! You are
not fighting for a vanquished leader! He has won the victory and He
will come back to wear the crown before long. There is no question
about who is to win the great fight–Christ has already won it and He
shall come back to divide the spoil with the strong. God has given it
to Him and He shall have it!
Listen to the trumpets that proclaim His appearing! Your faith may
almost hear them sound, "Lo, He comes! Lo, He comes!" It is getting
towards midnight in the history of the world. Both the wise and the
foolish virgins are all too apt to go to sleep, but the cry may be
heard even now by the ears of faith–and it will awaken us into supreme
energy of action for our Lord, "Behold the Bridegroom comes; go you out
to meet Him!" How little there is of that going out to meet Him! Let us
have something of it tonight as we go out, in imagination and in faith,
to meet Him who comes quickly. What countless trumpets shall then sound
to wake the sleeping dead! Glory, glory, glory, to Him that once was
despised and rejected of men! Welcome, welcome, Son of God! All Your
saints delight in You! Came quickly, come quickly! Make no tarrying, O
our God!
IV. Now, lastly, we are to consider THE EFFECT OF THESE SIGHTS UPON US.
If we really see them, they will do for us what they did for
Abraham–they will make us glad–
"Are you weary? Are you languid? Are you sorely distressed?"
Come, then, get a sight of the weary and languid One who died for you
upon the Cross! There is no gladness so easy to obtain as this. Is it
not strange that when the mourner's heart is heavy, we never hear that
he looks to the place where the star of Bethlehem burns, though there
is joy there. But he looks where human woe culminated in the death of
the Well-Beloved. To the Cross the mourner turns his eyes, for there is
no light that can come into the darkened heart except from the pierced
side and broken heart of Him whom we call Master and Lord. Do you want
true joy? Then learn that joy was born where Christ died and that joy
lives because Jesus lives–it flourishes because He is risen! Keep your
eyes on Him and they shall know no tears save those which shall bless
both eyes and hearts.
Then, when you have found joy through looking on Christ's first coming,
look forward to His second coming and get joy out of it, also. I cannot
speak fully of that glorious event tonight, but, certainly, it is a
well of joy. If you have seen Christ in His shame, it is a fountain of
delight to expect to see Him in His honor and glory. You are nobody
now– the world knows you not, for it knew Him not–but when He shall
appear, then will be the time of yourmanifestation also. "Then shall
the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father."
Now it is often heartache and headache, weariness and toilsome
pilgrimage, but when He comes, it will be the marriage feast and all
the merriment of which human hearts are capable! Oh, what a thrill of
joy will go through this poor groaning world when He comes! Creation is
in bondage and continually groans and, "we groan within ourselves,
waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." But when
He comes, creation itself shall shake off its heavy weights and shall
get rid of its night dreams. Swathed in mist today, our poor planet
scarcely gives forth a ray of light, but then, with all mists removed,
when Jesus comes, surely she shall shine more brightly than the morning
star!
And if every Believer is to be as the sun, what will this world be,
filled with Believers, each one shining like the sun in its strength?
Oh, clap your hands, Beloved, clap your hands, for He comes who is your
Lord and Savior! "Let the heavens rejoice and let the earth be glad!
Let the sea roar and the fullness thereof. Let the fields be joyful and
all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the forests rejoice
before the Lord: for He comes, for He comes to judge the earth: He
shall judge the world with righteousness and the people with His
Truth."
Children of the morning, the morning comes! What a day yours shall be,
then, when your sun shall go down no more forever, for your Lord's
coming shall be as a morning without clouds! Blessed and happy are they
who, by faith, can see it! They can say good-bye to sin and good-bye to
sorrow! They can say to all discouragements, to all baffling, to all
defeats, "Farewell, for He comes, our Champion who will lead us forward
to the everlasting victory, in whose name we set up our banners and in
whose name, even now, our spirit rejoices with exceeding gladness that
shall never end!"
God give to each of you a portion in these glorious things, by a simple
faith in Jesus, for His name's sake! Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: JOHN8:31-59.
Verse 31. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If you
continue in My word, you are My disciples indeed. For there were many,
in Christ's day, coming to Him for a while and then going away from
Him–professing to believe and then stumbling when Christ proclaimed
some Doctrine of God which struck them as being strange and hard to
receive. Our Lord Jesus tells them that constancy is necessary to true
discipleship. It is of no use to start running in the race unless we
continue in the course till the prize is won. We are not true pilgrims
to Heaven merely because we cross the threshold of our door–we must
keep on, and on, and on till we reach the golden streets of the New
Jerusalem!
32. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
That is the result of being a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. With
Christ, who is the Truth of God, to be our Teacher, and the Holy Spirit
to bless His Words, we come to know the Truth–and the operation of the
Truth upon the heart is to deliver us from the bondage of sin and of
error.
33. They answered Him, We are Abraham's seed and were never in bondage
to any man: how can You say, You shall be made free? What a lie this
was! They were at that very time in bondage to the Romans! They had
been subdued and conquered and, a little while after, they, themselves,
confessed that they had no king but Caesar. Men are not very selective
about telling lies when they wish to resist Christ–they will do
anything rather than believe on Him.
34. Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whoever
commits sin is the servant of sin. The man who habitually lives in sin
is not a free man, for he is still a slave to sin. If he finds pleasure
and delight in disobeying God, he has no right to talk about being a
free man. His chains are rattling on his wrists–what can he know about
freedom?
35. And the servant abides not in the house forever; but the son abides
always. A servant may be dismissed from the household, but a son may
not. If we were only servants of God, we might fall from Grace and
perish. But if we are the sons of God, we never shall. If we ever did,
in truth, call God, "Father," we shall always be able to use that
blessed title, for the relationship of fatherhood is not a temporary
one and cannot come to an end.
36. If the Son, therefore, shall make you free, you shall be free,
indeed. If you have the freedom of sonship, you are free, indeed. There
are none so free in our Father's house as His children!
37-39. I know that you are Abraham's seed, but you seek to kill Me
because My word has no place in you. I speak that which I have seen
with My Father: and you do that which you have seen with your father
They answered and said unto Him, Abraham is our father Jesus said unto
them, If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of
Abraham. The real descendants of "the father of the faithful" are,
themselves, faithful–that is, Believers. The father of Believers has
Believers for his children. "If you were Abraham's children, you would
do the works of Abraham." Our Lord had admitted that these Jews were
Abraham's seed according to the flesh, but He proved that they were not
Abraham's Seed in the high and spiritual sense, since they were not
like he whom they claimed for a father.
40, 41. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man that has told you the truth,
which I have heard of God. Abraham did not do this. You do the deeds of
your father. He had not told them who that father was, but as it is a
standing rule that men do the deeds of their father, the genuineness of
the descent which they claimed could be tested by their likeness to
their father.
41, 42. Then said they to Him, We are not born of fornication; we have
one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father,
you would love Me. Any man who is born of God must love Jesus Christ.
The purity of His motives, the loveliness of His Character, the charms
of His Person would all be sure to win the heart of a man who was truly
born of God.
42, 43. For I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I
ofMyself but He sent Me. Why do you not understand My speech? Even
because you cannot hear My word. "You are dull of comprehension. You
are hardened in heart. You are proud in spirit. You are just the
opposite of everything that is good and, therefore, you cannot hear My
word," said Christ. "And this is proof positive that you do not love
God and that you are not the children of God."
44. You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you
will do. Remember from whose lips these words fell, even from the lips
of the gentle Jesus! Honest speech is the surest token of a loving
heart, but, nowadays, if a man preaches the Truth of God plainly and
faithfully, men say that he is hard and unkind. But if a man glosses
over the Truth of God and alters it according to his own idea of what
will please men, then they say, "He is a kindly-disposed and
large-hearted man." I would be disposed to doubt whether he has any
heart at all, if he will sooner see sinners damned than offend them by
proclaiming the Truth! I thank God that some of us care little about
offending those who offend God! If men will not yield themselves to the
Lord, we want not their friendship, but we will strive to make them
uneasy in their rebellion–and if they resolve to be lost, we will at
least be clear of their blood.
44. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth
because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of
his own, for he is a liar, and the father of it. Falsehood is his
natural element. When Satan deceives, he only acts according to his
nature which is blackened through and through with lies.
45, 46. And because I tell you the truth, you believe Me not. Which of
you convicts Me of sin? What a grand challenge! None of us can speak
like that except in a very modified sense–but Christ, standing before
His enemies, who gnashed their teeth at Him and would have given their
eyes to be able to fix some fault upon Him–boldly says to them, "Which
of you convicts Me of sin?"
46-51. And if I say the truth, why do you not believe Me? He that is of
God hears God's words: you, therefore, hear them not, because you are
not of God. Then answered the Jews, and said unto Him, Say we not well
that you are a Samaritan, and have a devil? Jesus answered, I have not
a devil; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. And I seek not My
own glory: there is One who seeks and judges. Verily, verily, I say
unto you, If anyone keeps My sayings, he shall never see death. This
statement quite staggered them! Yet it is true. To Believers–
"It is not death to die,"
they simply pass out of this world into a larger and yet more glorious
life! They descend not to death, but they rise to immortality!
52, 53. Then said the Jews to Him, Now we know that You have a devil.
Abraham is dead and the Prophets; and You say, If anyone keeps My
sayings, he shall never taste of death. Are You greater than our father
Abraham, who is dead?And the Prophets are dead. Who do You make
Yourself out to be?' 'Who do You make Yourself out to be? Someone
greater than Abraham and the Prophets?"
54-56. Jesus answered, If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing: it is My
Father that honors Me; of whom you say, that He is our God: yet you
have not known Him; but Iknow Him: and if I should say, I know Him not,
I shall be a liar like you: but I know Him and keep His saying. Your
father Abraham–"As you call him."
56, 57. Rejoiced to see My day: and he saw it and was glad. Then said
the Jews unto Him, you are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen
Abraham?They allowed a wide margin in speaking of our Savior's age, for
He was only 33 years old. It may be true that the sorrows of His life
had so marred His Countenance that He looked more like a man of 50 than
one of thirty-three. I cannot tell, nor do I know whether that is what
they meant. But it is amazing that they should have said to Him, "You
are not yet 50 years old."
58. Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before
Abraham was, I AM. They had asked Him, "Who do You make Yourself out to
be?" And now they have His answer! "Before Abraham was, I AM," said
Christ. It is the very name by which God revealed Himself to Moses at
the burning bush, "I AM." Yet Jesus takes this title to Himself!
"Before Abraham was"–not, "I was." Notice that. But, "I AM," as if His
life was one continued present existence, as indeed it is, for with God
there is no past or future, but all things are ever-present to His
infinite mind! When Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I AM," He claimed
the Godhead–He declared that He was certainly God, self-existent from
all eternity!
59. Then took they up stones to cast at Him. They counted Him a
blasphemer and so He was if He was not all He claimed to be. I have
heard of some who reverence Christ, but do not believe Him to be
God–but how can that be? He evidently made Himself out to be God and
this was the great charge the Jews brought against Him. For this,
indeed, they put Him to death, because He made Himself equal with God.
If He were not equal with God–if He were not really God–He led men to
thinkthat He was. And if this were false, it was a great sin not
consistent with the holy Character of Christ. If He was not God, He was
the grossest impostor who ever visited this world! But He isGod and
nothing less! Yet because He claimed this, the Jews took up stones to
cast at Him.
59. But Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the Temple, going through
the midst of them, andso passed by. Glory be to His holy name forever
and ever!