Acts 1:21-22 Why of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,… There are many ways of regarding the life of Christ: e.g., the philosophical or ideal, as in John's Gospel; the historical, in its larger world relation, as in Luke and St. Paul's Epistles; or, as here, the familiar. A proverbial touch may be detected in the phraseology of the text recalling Psalm 121:8. Such an expression indicates "the daily round" as distinguished from the special occasions of life. Note two or three reflections upon the great fact of the dwelling amongst us of God's Son. I. THIS CONTACT MUST BE A GROUND FOR THE MOST COMPLETE SYMPATHY BETWEEN HIM AND US. 1. How thoroughly He shared the occupation, interest, and outlook of man. He entered into human thought, and looked upon the universe as it appears to the human eye and mind. Nothing human was indifferent to Him. All questions of labour, of the family, of social or political affairs, were and are of concern to Him. He is one with us. 2. He was a partaker in the suffering and shame of men. Pain, sorrow, disappointment, formed the alphabet of His experience as of ours. These were for Him a discipline as well as for us, and He regarded them and the problems they present as one of ourselves. II. HOW INDEPENDENT CHRIST WAS OF EXTERNAL CIRCUMSTANCES AND ASSOCIATES. It has been said that "no man is a hero to his valet." Familiarity breeds, if not contempt, at any rate, loss of reverence. Can we conceive of Jesus losing in moral dignity or the esteem of men by daily intercourse? Here He receives the title "Lord," and His going in and put is "over" His people, i.e., authoritatively, as shepherd over his sheep. He chose a life least calculated to produce social or political effects, yet His influence was enhanced by that fact. His work so absolutely depended on Himself that political influence or high social position mould have injured it. But was He Himself affected by His station in life? Carlyle's vices, we are told by Froude, were to be looked for, considering his nature and upbringing as a Scottish peasant, and even his virtues were those of people of humble circumstances. Were the virtues of the Peasant of Galilee subject to this drawback? Nay; for we see how He towers above His contemporaries and followers. To such an age He could owe nothing, and the best of all ages have done Him homage and tried to imitate Him. III. IT IS JUST THIS "DAILY ROUND" OF LIFE THAT NEEDS SAVING. Five-sixths of life consists of routine, and what would be the use of a religion that could not affect this? There is a constant tendency to detach the common things of life from moral considerations. Christ's parables discovered the mystery of the kingdom of heaven that was latent in men's daily lives. Who shall tell how much the childhood of Jesus has done to purify home life, or His work as a carpenter to ennoble labour? (A. F. Muir, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, |
    |