John 12:19 The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive you how you prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him. It is a confession of defeat, "There has been a long struggle and it has gone against us." The triumphal entry had shown the hold which Christ had on the people. I. WHAT WAS IT IN CHRIST WHICH SO DEEPLY STIRRED THE ENMITY OF THE PHARISEES? 1. We are in some respects hard on the Pharisees. When Christ called them hypocrites, He meant that sort of doubleness which may be but half conscious, or which may be quite unconscious to the man himself. They were moral men, and it is not hard to reconcile this with their conduct towards Christ. Who are they now, who are most sensitive to the appearance of what they regard as irregular teachers of religion? And who can wonder if the last to give their sympathy to the new doctrine are the established exponents of the old? 2. Doubtless it was the sin of the Pharisees to be prejudiced against Christ, but we lose the lesson if we regard them as monsters of the past, which is the danger of prejudice in things of the soul. We ought not to be so wedded to one form or formula as to be incapable of profiting by any new light. II. WHAT WAS IT THAT MADE THE WORLD GO AFTER HIM. 1. Reality. We may trifle with Christ; but He never trifles with us. The Pharisees were triflers, as are their modern representatives, whether of wealth, literature, or the Church. Men then, as now, were weary with childish discussions, and were then, as now, ready to follow a real man who meant and lived what he said. 2. Unworldliness. It is a mistake for a religious teacher to court popularity by compromise with the world, "All things to all men." The people see through it all and despise the man who flatters himself that he has won them. The secret of John the Baptist's power was his unworldliness, and it was the incomparable unworldliness of Christ that attracted the world after Him. 3. Wonderful love. It was new to publicans and sinners to be treated with love, and still more strange that with the love of Christ there should be blended such an inflexible righteousness. But the people followed Him because of the love which won them from the sin which purity condemned. (Dean Vaughan.) Parallel Verses KJV: The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him. |
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