DISCOURSES. AND SAYINGS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. EXPOSITION XXV. THE VALEDICTORY DISCOURSE. JOHN XIV., XV., XVI. INTRODUCTION. "HE shall be great,"1 said the angel Gabriel, to that "highly favoured" and most blessed of women, Mary, the espoused wife of Joseph the Nazarene carpenter, when unfolding to her the character and destinies of that wonderful child of whom, through the miraculous operation of the Holy Ghost, she was soon to become the virgin mother. The angelic prediction has been amply verified; and the evangelical histories furnish us with most satisfactory evidence of its fulfilment. In reference to his original nature, the Son of the virgin was possessed of infinite grandeur. He was "God's own VOL. III. I Luke i. 32. He was "God mani Son." In reference to his official character and work, he possessed a kind and a degree of greatness, which exalts him far above all men, far above all angels. What character so exalted as the Mediator between God and man,-the Revealer of God,—the Saviour of the world,—the Prophet like unto, but far superior to, Moses, the Priest for ever "after the order of Melchizedek,”—the “King who sits at Jehovah's right hand?"? What work can compare in greatness, with the expiation of guilt,—the finishing of transgression, -the making an end of sin,—the judgment of the world,— the abolition of death, the destruction of him who has the power of death? How great must he be, in whom it pleases the Father that all fulness should dwell,-to whom he has given to hold all life in himself, that he may quicken whom he wills, to whom he has "given power over all flesh," into whose hands he has delivered "all things in heaven and earth,"-" under whose feet he has so put all things, as that nothing is excepted, but Him who did put them under him,"-and to whom he has said, "Sit at my right hand," "reign along with me," "till all thine enemies are made thy footstool." 4 3 In reference, too, to his assumed nature, he had all the greatness, intellectual and moral, of which that nature was capable. With the intellectual endowments of an understanding wide in its range, and clear in its perceptions,-distinctly apprehending every being and event as they really are,—a judgment which nothing could bias,-a determination which nothing could shake, -a caution which nothing could surprise,-conjoined to the moral qualities, of supreme love and veneration of the divine Father, manifesting itself 1 Matth. i. 23. 21 Tim. ii. 5. 3 Dan. ix. 24. Col. i. 19. 1 Tim. iii. 16. Tit. ii. 13. John i. 18; iv. 42. Acts iii. 22. Psal. cx. 1, 4. John xii. 31. 2 Tim. i. 10. Heb. ii. 14. John v. 26; xvii, 2. Matth xi. 27; xxviii. 18. 1 Cor. xv. 7. in entire resignation to his will, and devotion to his glory, and a most disinterested and self-sacrificing regard for the true happiness of mankind,—he was always equal to, generally far above, the requisitions of his circumstances, strange and trying as they often were. No event ever found him unprepared for it, or unprovided for doing, or saying, or suffering, whatever the exigency might demand; and all this without any approach to ostentatious display. His movements were calmly majestic, like those of the celestial bodies, however troubled may be the state of the lower heavens. There are few more touching displays of the moral grandeur of the man Christ Jesus, than that which is exhibited in these valedictory instructions and consolations, on the consideration of which we are about to enter. These addresses to his disciples, in the immediate view of his last passion, afford a manifestation of him, which has been beautifully compared to the "glorious radiance of the setting sun, surrounded with dark clouds, and about to plunge into darker, which, fraught with lightning, thunder, and tempest, wait on the horizon to receive him." A man of even superior strength of mind and kindliness of heart, placed, so far as he could be placed in our Lord's circumstances, would have had his mind thrown into a state of uncontrollable agitation, and most certainly would have been too entirely occupied with his own sufferings and anxieties, to have any power or disposition to enter into, and to soothe, the sorrows of others. But though perfectly aware of, perfectly awake to, all the tremendous responsibilities of his situation,—though feeling the weight of the load laid on him-the bitterness of the cup he was called to drink,and though anticipating as certain and just at hand, a heavier pressure and a bitterer draught, he retains self-possession; and though words failed him to express the intensity of his anguish, and he did not know what to say,-he shows no hesitation as what he was to do. The path, with 1 Brown Patterson. all its obstructions and difficulties, lay plain before him; and with a movement steady as the sun in its orbit, he pressed onwards. And he took as deep an interest in the anxieties and perplexities, in the fears and sorrows, of the disciples, as if he himself had not been a sufferer. And then, how deeply wise, how tenderly compassionate, how divinely calm, are these wonderful discourses! In attempting to explain them, it is of importance that we keep constantly in view, the peculiar circumstances of those to whom they were originally addressed, and for whose guidance and comfort they were primarily designed. In no other way can we arrive at a satisfactory conclusion as to their meaning. But we are never to forget that they involve great principles, everlastingly true, and extensively applicable; and that in speaking to the chosen eleven-for the traitor had now left them-he, in effect, speaks "to all who have obtained like precious faith" with them, and furnishes his disciples in all ages with instruction and consolation during their absence from him, while the heavens which have received, must retain him. Whatsoever he says, he says not only for their sakes, but for ours also, who have believed on him, through their word; and we, as well as they, through the faith they are fitted to strengthen, and the comfort they are calculated to impart, may have hope. "There are statements contained in them, which refer to what was peculiar to their character and circumstances as apostles, but by far the greater part of them refer to them, not in their official, but in their personal, character-not as apostles, but as Christians -and therefore are equally applicable to all, in every country and age, who believe in and love the unseen Saviour, who feel his absence, and long for his appearing." At the same time, our only safe course in seeking the instruction and comfort they are intended and calculated to afford us, is to ask in succession, What were these things to them? 1 1 Brown Patterson. What were these things to us? A satisfactory resolution of the first question, can alone lay a sure foundation for a satisfactory answer to the second. Anything like formal method is not to be sought in such a discourse as that now before us. Yet there is a natural order. The thoughts rise out of the circumstances, and form a connected train. To afford convenient pauses in considering so long a composition, as well as to assist in understanding it, I shall mark by divisions and subdivisions the different topics of instruction and consolation, which the Saviour brings in succession before the minds of his disciples. 1.-FAITH IN GOD AND IN CHRIST, THE ANTIDOTE TO HEART-TROUBLE. JOHN XIV. 1.—" Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me." Observing, not unlikely, from the gloomy looks, troubled gestures, and sad eyes of the disciples, how deeply and how painfully the disclosures he had made to them had affected them, our Lord, having instituted the Lord's Supper, addressed them in these words, so full of holy wisdom and kindness, "Let not your hearts be troubled: ye believe in God; believe also in me." 1 § 1. The causes of the disciples' trouble of heart. 2 Their hearts were troubled. The language is figurative. The word rendered "troubled," literally means, agitated as the water in a pool is by a tempest.' Strong, especially painful feeling, such as anxiety, fear, sorrow, produces preternatural movement of the heart, and thus the agitation 1 "Summa homiliæ hujus, 'credite' et 'hoc credite;' donec indicativus efficitur (John xvi. 31); quo effecto, Salvator orat et abit."--BENGEL. 2 παρασπέσθου. |