John 4:43-45 Now after two days he departed there, and went into Galilee.… I. MAN MAY DO MUCH GOOD WITHIN A SHORT PERIOD. TWO days Jesus spent in Samaria, and what did He accomplish? 1. He broke up religious monotony. 2. Set minds thinking. 3. Won many to His cause. 4. Sowed truth that has yielded glorious harvests in all subsequent ages. Every man can and ought to accomplish great spiritual good in two days — not only by preaching and writing for the press, but by indoctrinating his family with Christly sentiments, and distributing through the neighbourhood the "Bread of Life." No man will be able to plead the brevity of life for moral uselessness. II. MAN'S EFFORTS TO DO GOOD ARE OFTEN OBSTRUCTED BY A STUPID PREJUDICE. 1. Christ here states a fact. Of course there are exceptions. Home teachers are not so valued as foreign. 2. There is no good reason for it. The doctrines of a teacher should be independent of his country. 3. There are bad reasons for it. The prejudice springs from jealousy, envy, pride. 4. The prejudice Christ felt was against His usefulness. Prejudices are fetters that enslave the intellect, clouds that obscure the vision, bolts that shut out the truth. III. MAN'S DESIRE FOR DOING GOOD SHOULD BE THE INSPIRATION OF HIS LIFE. Christ leaves Samaria, confronts a powerful prejudice, and enters Galilee. "What for?" To do good. Such should be the great aim of all men, for two reasons 1. It is the greatest work, enlightening the intellect, liberating the will, purifying the heart, transforming the man into the image of God's son. 2. It is a most soul recompensing work. It covers a multitude of sins, wins the sympathies of immortal spirits, and secures the approbation of conscience and God. The fruits of all other fields we leave behind at death, but from this field we shall gather sheaves to all eternity. IV. MAN'S POWER TO DO GOOD INCREASES AS HIS PAST USEFULNESS GETS RECOGNIZED (ver. 45, see chap. John 2:23). The Galileans had witnessed His wonders in Jerusalem. What they knew of Him disposed them to accept Him. Man's power of usefulness is cumulative; the more good he does the more his capacity for usefulness increases. (D. Thomas, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee.WEB: After the two days he went out from there and went into Galilee. |
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