Leaning back against Jesus, he asked, "Lord, who is it?" Sermons I. THIS FRIENDSHIP WAS THE MEANS BY WHICH THERE HAS BEEN PROVIDED FOR US A MEMOIR CF CHRIST DISTINGUISHED BY A REMARKABLE CONGENIALITY BETWEEN THE BIOGRAPHER AND HIS DIVINE SUBJECT. If the first three Gospels contain the popular tradition concerning Jesus, the Fourth Gospel records the impressions received during an association of the closest character, lasting throughout our Lord's public ministry. It is to this fact that we owe the record of conversations and discourses not preserved by the other evangelists, and more particularly of our Lord's wonderful revelations, promises, and prayers preceding his betrayal and crucifixion. The difference, which cannot but be noticed by every reader as distinguishing John's Gospel from the others, must be mainly attributable to John's peculiar opportunities of knowing Christ, and to that congeniality of spirit which enabled him to limn a portrait of his Friend in outlines so clear, in colors so true. II. TO THIS FRIENDSHIP WE OWE DOCUMENTS PECULIARLY STEEPED IN THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST'S CHARACTER AND EXAMPLE. No one can study John's three Epistles and the Book of Revelation without recognizing, in the compositions of their author, the influence of the Redeemer's companionship and teaching. Not only did John (the eagle of the Christian symbolists) soar into the heavenly, the spiritual world, and discern the Deity and the eternal glory of his Master; he also, by association with him in his humanity and his humiliation, so shared his spirit, that we seem, in reading some of John's words, almost to be reading the words of Jesus himself. Especially is this apparent in the constant inculcation in the First Epistle of the incomparable virtue of Christian love. III. THE FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN THE MASTER AND HIS DISCIPLE AFFORDS US AN INSIGHT INTO THE VERY HEART OF CHRIST. Our Lord's perfect humanity is here brought very strikingly before us. There are several intimations of Christ's capacity for human love. He loved the young ruler who appealed to him for spiritual direction; he loved the family at Bethany; and he loved the disciple who was wont to recline upon his breast at their social meals. John's was not only the place of distinction and honor; it was the place of affection. We delight to remark our Lord's perfect participation in our human nature, with its sympathies, its tenderness, its personal affections. Jesus appreciated the noble, ardent, affectionate nature of the son of Zebedee; and he appreciated still more the growth and completeness of his own Divine image in the character of John. All this makes our Savior more real and more dear to his admiring people. IV. THE FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN OUR LORD AND HIS BELOVED DISCIPLE IS AN ENCOURAGEMENT TO SEEK A CLOSE AND AFFECTIONATE INTIMACY WITH THE REDEEMER. There is nothing on Christ's side to preclude the possibility at present of such a friendship as that recorded to have existed during his earthly ministry. The conditions of hallowed fellowship with Jesus are such as all Christians should aspire to fulfill. "Ye are my friends," said our Lord, "if ye do whatsoever things I command you." There is no caprice, no favoritism, in our Lord's intimacies. The reverent, the lowly, the obedient, are encouraged to aspire to his precious friendship. His love of compassion is towards us all; that love may become towards any disciple who does his will and seeks his Spirit - a love of complacency, sympathy, and delight. - T.
I speak not of you all. I. A SOLEMN ANNOUNCEMENT.1. The reason of it.(1) To indicate Christ's knowledge of the human heart, and to show that He had not been mistaken in Judas (ver. 18). Had it not been made it would have appeared as though Christ were not omniscient.(2) To direct the disciples' minds to an impressive fulfilment of Scripture (ver. 18).(3) To confirm the faith of the disciples in Himself (ver. 19).(4) To arrest, and if yet possible rescue, the soul of Judas. 2. The certainty of it (ver. 21). "Amen, amen." Had any other made the announcement it would have been rejected with scorn. 3. The effect of it.(1) It filled the Saviour with horror (ver. 21), just as He had been perturbed at Lazarus's grave (John 11:33).(2) It plunged the disciples into consternation and dismay (ver. 22). II. AN ANXIOUS QUESTION (ver. 25). 1. Moved by Peter, with characteristic impetuosity, who thought perhaps that John was in the secret, but he was equally ignorant. 2. Proposed by John —(1) With affection — leaning back till his head rested on Jesus's breast.(2) With reverence — "Lord."(3) With pity for Christ, who should suffer, and the disciple who should inflict so sad a fate.(4) With humility and self-examination — as if he dreaded it should be himself; and yet surely —(5) With conscious innocence — though Judas had the effrontery to ask, "Is it I?" III. AN EXPLICIT ANSWER (ver. 26). 1. Clearly given. 2. Defiantly accepted. 3. Strangely misunderstood (ver. 28).Lessons — 1. Christ in His Church a searcher of hearts. 2. The possibility of sitting at Christ's table without being a true disciple, of enjoying religious ordinances without possessing grace, of falling from Christ so far as to lift the heel against Him. 3. Apostasies, though they do not affect Christ's position in the Church, are occasions of pain. 4. John-like spirits are most likely to obtain from Christ revelations of His grace and truth. 5. Christ loves those who hate Him; but he who will not be won by that love must eventually fall into the devil's grasp. (T. Whitelaw, D. D.) I. A SOLEMN TRUTH (ver. 18) — "I know whom I have chosen." Christ knows His disciples — the true and false — their works and their hearts — all they have been, are, and shall be. "He knew what was in man." Then —1. He does not require of us what will out measure our faculties. He loves us too much, and is too just for this. 2. The services that are not rendered Him from the heart are of no value in His sight. Formality and insincerity are worse than worthless. 3. Every one that names His name should depart from evil. II. A LAMENTABLE FACT. "He that eateth bread," etc. Judas was guilty of — 1. The basest ingratitude. 2. The grossest avarice. 3. The most daring impiety. Such a fact as this shows —(1) Possibility that should lead us all to the most rigorous heart scrutiny. Here we see that a man may be in close contact with Christ and yet have no spiritual connection with Him.(2) That Christ coerces no man into His service. He leaves each to act for himself. III. A BENEFICENT WARNING (ver. 19). 1. Against a probable danger to the other disciples. Had the conduct of Judas broken suddenly on them, they might have received a moral shock which would have imperilled their faith. 2. For the purpose of fortifying their faith in the Messiah by the very means of the betrayal as foreannounced. IV. A GLORIOUS ASSURANCE (ver. 20). This shows that His faithful disciples were — 1. Identified with Him. The treatment they receive is regarded as being rendered to Him. 2. As He was identified with the Father — (1) (2) (D. Thomas, D. D.) I. MEN MAY FRUSTRATE CHRIST'S PURPOSES CONCERNING THEM. Christ gave Judas responsible work and a noble calling, and educated him for it all. But the training was worse than useless, the privileges were abused, and the sacred trust betrayed. Yet Christ would have had delight in Judas's wellbeing and success. But all was frustrated, and the bitter lament over Jerusalem had its reference to Judas. We all share this terrible power, and could we see how we have used it we should live much nearer to Him for the rest of our lives. II. THE MERCY OR GOD WHICH WOULD SAVE US MAY RUIN US. Judas had gifts: Christ employed them. His very position brought its dangers: Christ trusted him. Not indeed without warning him (John 6:70, 71). And as the besetting sin was yielded to, and the downward course became more and more marked, where was Judas so likely to be kept from evil as in Christ's company. Accordingly he was retained at his post and was still trusted. Yet the mercy which would have saved ruined him. For, turning from the source of Goodness, he said, "Evil, be thou my good." Each of us may apply this principle. III. MAN'S SIN IS OVERRULED TO DISPLAY THE DIVINE GOODNESS. Thomas doubted: We obtain an additional proof of Christ's resurrection. Judas betrayed: Jesus died. It did not require a Judas to save the world, or the hatred of the Sanhedrim to fulfil God's promises. Yet the sin of the world runs up into typical acts, and in a profoundly representative sense the sin of Judas was ours. This sin was overruled for God's glory and man's good. And through it all Judas was free, as is every sinner, as proved from common consent, conscience, and such words as "can," "ought," etc. Christ too is free and maketh the wrath of man to praise Him. IV. THE BEARING OF ALL THIS ON THE PRESENCE OF JUDAS IN THE CHURCH. Men may know not that they are there: but Christ knows them. Each service in the upper room repeated. John is there, and it may be Judas, so is Christ. If so the love that spares is the love that would save. How must Christ have looked on Judas, yet he went out madly from that saving Presence. "And I saw there was a way to hell from the gate of heaven." Two apostles sinned grossly. Judas went out from the presence of Christ to meet the night; Peter, broken-hearted, to meet the dawn. Which will you follow? (G. T. Keeble.) (C. Stanford, D. D.) (W. J. Dawson.) I. IN WHOM IT MAY BE SAID TO BE FULFILLED. 1. The Atheist. 2. The infidel. 3. The hypocrite. 4. The apostate. II. WHAT WE MAY LEARN FROM ITS ACCOMPLISHMENT. 1. That Christianity must be true. 2. That the falls of its professors afford no just argument against it. 3. That no man can tell what evil he may perpetrate, if Satan be permitted to assault him. 4. That God's conduct towards us is the very reverse of ours towards Him. (C. Simeon, M. A.) (C. Ross.) 2. Further, do we not see here that sin — that hardness of heart is a gradual, a progressive thing? Judas did not reach the climax of his guilt by a single leap, but step by step. 3. But still further, may we not learn from this narrative, that though the hypocrite and the hardened sinner may for a long time escape detection, yet at last he shall be disclosed. The Lord may indeed, in His long suffering, allow him to pass unknown, just to give him space and opportunity for repentance. 4. Finally, let the Lord's true-hearted ones seek John's place — leaning on the Master's bosom. What a contrast between John and Judas — John leaning on Jesus' breast, Judas proposing in his heart to betray Him! (C. Ross.) Jesus...was troubled in spirit and testified. — I. CHRIST IN SADNESS (ver. 21). This was the distress — 1. Of intense holiness in the presence of sin. The more holiness, the more sensitiveness to sin. Sometimes the optic nerve becomes so sensitive that a sunbeam will produce the greatest pain; and the auricular nerve so tender that the softest sound yields agony. And in some diseases a breath of air will throw the whole writhing frame into anguish. And so Judas sent a quiver through all the nerves of Christ's pure soul. 2. Of the highest benevolence in the presence of a lost soul. The more love a being has, the more he feels the sufferings of others. Christ's love was immeasurable, and He knew what a lost soul meant. We wonder not then that He was troubled as a lost soul stood before Him. II. THE DISCIPLES IN ANXIETY (ver. 22). Matthew and Mark tell us that they were exceeding sorrowful, and asked each, "Is it I?" The question implies two things. 1. Self-suspicion. Had they been certain of their incapability they would not have made such an appeal. None of them was confident of His impeccability. This self-suspicion is well founded in all souls, and is a help to our spiritual progress and safety. "Let him that thinketh he standeth." 2. A desire to know the worst. Cowards close their, eyes on the worst, and delude themselves with the idea that all is right. It is to the spiritual interest of every man to know the worst here and now, for here and now it can be rectified. "Search me, O God! and know my heart," etc. III. THE TRAITOR UNMASKED. 1. The means of his detection (ver. 26). 2. His domination by Satan (ver. 27). Before we read that Satan had put the wicked deed into his heart; now he took possession of his soul. 3. His defiance by Christ, "What thou doest," etc. "I defy thee to do thy worst. Do it and have done with it." 4. His lamentable doom (ver. 20). (D. Thomas, D. D.) I. WHAT TROUBLE OUR LORD WENT THROUGH FOR THE SAKE OF OUR SOULS. 1. Our Master's troubles are far beyond the conception of most people. The cross was only the completion of His sorrows (Isaiah 53:3). 2. But this trouble was an exceptional one — that of seeing an apostle becoming an apostate. Nothing is so hard to bear as ingratitude." Sharper than a serpent's tooth is a thankless child. Absalom's rebellion was David's heaviest trouble, and Judas's Christ's. 3. Passages like these should make us see —(1) The amazing love of Christ to sinners. How many cups of sorrow He drained to the dregs in working out our salvation, beside the mighty cup of bearing our sins!(2) How little reason we have for complaining when friends fail us and men disappoint us.(3) The perfect suitableness of Christ to be our Saviour. He can sympathize with us. He has suffered Himself, and can feel for those who are ill-used and forsaken. II. THE POWER AND MALIGNITY OF OUR GREAT ENEMY, THE DEVIL. First he suggests: then he commands. First he knocks at the door and asks permission to come in: then, once admitted, he takes complete possession, and rules the whole inward man like a tyrant. Let us take heed that we are not "ignorant of his devices" (2 Corinthians 2:11). He is still going to and fro in the earth, seeking whom he may devour. Our only safety lies in resisting him at the first. Strong as he is, he has no power to do us harm, if we cry to the stronger One and use the means which He has appointed (James 4:7). Once let a man begin tampering with the devil, and he never knows how far he may fall. III. THE EXTREME HARDNESS WHICH COMES OVER THE HEART OF A BACKSLIDING PROFESSOR OF RELIGION. One might have thought that the sight of our Lord's trouble, and the solemn warning, "One of you shall betray Me," would have stirred the conscience of this unhappy man, or the words, "That thou doest, do quickly." But like one whose conscience was dead and buried, goes out to do his wicked work, and parts with his Lord forever. The extent to which we may harden ourselves by resisting light and knowledge is one of the most fearful facts in our nature. We may become past feeling, like those whose limbs are mortified before they die. We may lose entirely all sense of fear, or shame, or remorse. (Bp. Ryle.) 1. Sin had defiled our souls as well as our bodies: nay, the soul had been the first source of disobedience; in it the throne of sin and Satan was erected, while the body was used only as its instrument. When Jesus, therefore, appeared as surety to expiate for our offences, it was needful that the agonies of His soul should unite with the pains of His body, in order to pay down a full ransom for us. 2. Besides, one great end of His incarnation and death was, that He might set before us a perfect pattern of holy conduct, a complete example of every virtue; so that in every circumstance we might cast our eyes upon Him, and learn our duty. But this great end could never have been accomplished, had our Redeemer experienced no sorrows of the soul, had He been a stranger to inward troubles. 3. And, finally, had only the body of Jesus suffered, we should have been deprived of a large portion of that consolation and support which is now afforded us by remembering the events of His life. Every afflicted Christian has been comforted by recollecting, that "we have not a High Priest who cannot be touched with a feeling of our infirmities," but one who "was in all points tempted as we are," and who will therefore sympathize with us in all our sorrows. The inward sorrows of men are, it is true, often criminal. Christ's sorrows were ever holy: for in their source they were pure; in their degree, they did not transcend the measure which reason and religion required; and their effect never was to suspend His communion with His Father, to make Him pause in His laborious beneficence, or recoil from those sufferings which He was to undergo for our salvation. Under this trouble of spirit, Jesus has recourse to prayer. And how exalted is this testimony to the sublimity of the Redeemer's character, and the benefits of His mediatorial work: "I have glorified My name." In the incarnation of Immanuel, the wisdom and the faithfulness, and the love of God, had already been illustriously displayed. Yes, in these and in other modes the honour of the Divine name had been promoted by the Redeemer. But the voice from heaven added, "I will glorify it again," more remarkably by Thy death and the great effects of Thy sacrifice. And has not this been fully verified? Had we time to display the Divine glory, as manifested in the Cross, the Resurrection, the Ascension of Jesus; in the gift of the Holy Spirit; in the conversion of the Gentiles; you would instantly acknowledge that this declaration has been accomplished.Look upwards, and see how there especially in the Cross the name of God is glorified. 1. The Divine perfections are there displayed in a degree infinitely greater than they are elsewhere manifested. You admire the goodness which shines in nature and providence; but what is this to that love which induced the Father to give the Son of His bosom to undergo such agonies for your salvation? You shudder at that justice and holiness which are announced in the Scriptures, which are heard in the thunders and glitter in the lightnings on Sinai; but they are more manifested in the tremendous sacrifice of Immanuel. 2. It is there that those perfections, which appeared irreconcilable, beautifully and completely harmonize. Holiness is exalted, while grace triumphs.The rights of the Divine government are unimpaired, while the sinner is saved. 1. Careless and impenitent man, this subject should alarm thee! The woes which Jesus endured were suffered for the guilty. Refuse the gospel method of salvation, and thou sacrilegiously attemptest to rob God of His glory manifested in it. But wilt thou succeed? 2. Believer, in the anguish of Jesus, see the foundation of thy joy! He suffered that thou mightest triumph. 3. Communicants, approach the holy table. Contemplate the glories of God in the crucified Saviour. Retrace the mercy of your Redeemer. (H. Kollock, D. D.) (Bp. Wordsworth.) 1. This treachery occasioned our Lord poignant sorrow. 2. Our Lord in love and mercy interposed between the traitor and his doom. 3. The interposition being ineffectual the traitor leaves Christ, Satan captures him, and he disappears in darkness. II. THE BLESSEDNESS OF JOHN; OR, KEPT IN THE LOVE OF CHRIST. It cannot be an accident that these accounts of John and Judas are left here side by side. We are to "look here upon this picture, and on that." The treachery of Judas going out into the night to serve his master is best understood when set over against the blessedness of John leaning on the breast and hearing the wisdom of his Master. Extremes meet. But John has no monopoly of his Master's love. It was offered to Judas and rejected. If the presence of a traitor into the glorious company of the apostles troubled the spirit of Christ, why should not his going forth be a relief? It was like the vanishing of a cloud. It was also prophetic, for at last the spirit of selfishness and evil and darkness shall be utterly and forever cast forth from the Church of God. When Judas is gone John may enter fully into the Divine joy and life. III. THE DENIAL OF PETER: OR, TRUSTING TO OUR LOVE FOR CHRIST. The fall of such a man is inevitable. He has miscalculated his strength, and mistaken the true and only source from which comes the abiding love that makes one willing to leave all things. He thinks love a possession of his own, something that originates with and in himself. This delusion is so fatal, so sure to bring failure and disappointment, that, at all costs it must be dispelled. Peter was really believing in himself, in his own constancy and determination. The worthlessness of such a faith was very soon to be demonstrated. For that faith in himself he was to substitute a faith in One who was able to keep him. (Monday Club.) I. JUDAS HAD BEEN ACQUAINTED WITH ALL THE REMARKABLE MIRACLES THAT JESUS CHRIST HAD WROUGHT TO MANIFEST THE TRUTH OF HIS MISSION. II. WHAT INSTRUCTION HAD JUDAS RECEIVED FROM HIS MASTER? III. THIS INSTRUCTION WAS SUSTAINED BY AN EXAMPLE OF UNPARALLELED LOVELINESS. IV. HE WAS FAVOURED WITH CONSTANT TOKENS OF KINDNESS. V. Being brought in connection with Jesus Christ must necessarily have induced him to EMPLOY HIMSELF FREQUENTLY IN THE VARIOUS RELIGIOUS EXERCISES THAT WOULD PROMOTE HIS CHRISTIAN TEMPER AND CHARACTER. VI. HE WAS CONTINUALLY ASSOCIATING WITH THE BEST PEOPLE UPON EARTH. VII. HE SAW THE REMARKABLE CHANGE PERFECTED BY THE MEANS OF GRACE AND RENDERED EFFECTUAL BY GRACE ITSELF — the joy and gratitude of the Syro-Phoenician woman whose strength of faith brought her great blessings, the change in the heart of the publican, the penitence of Mary Magdalene. VIII. HE WAS THE SUBJECT OF THE FEET WASHING. IX. As the context tells us (cf. Luke 22), HE WAS CALLED TO THE TABLE OF THE LORD AT THE FIRST INSTITUTION OF THE SUPPER. Thus all the most powerful means that imagination could devise failed in repressing the sin of Judas when once it had obtained the mastery. Conclusion: Perhaps when we are noticing the strength of sin in him, which overcame all the most powerful means of grace, there may be some who are ready to suppose that Judas was one selected above all others to manifest the power of depravity. Who is it that is thus prompt to condemn Judas? Who is the person that is not as singular an instance of depravity? Are not you now under the power of a reigning sin, you that thus condemn this wretched man? "Therefore thou art inexcusable," etc. Who are you that can say truly that you have never manifested such obduracy? I ask you to determine the question as before God whether you have not resisted and triumphed over means of grace as mighty as he overcame. Consider, then — 1. That you are an inexcusable sinner. 2. That you need a Saviour and One has been provided. 3. Do not neglect to avail yourself of this provision by repentance and faith. (Baptist Noel.) I. AS PREDICTING THE SIN OF JUDAS, which shows — 1. That Christ suffered as no other human being ever suffered. Great as are the sorrows of men, they are generally unforeseen; more than half their weight therefore is removed. We are supported by hope even on the brink of misery: Jesus foresaw all His woes, and He knew them to be unavoidable. 2. That all hearts are open to the Son of God. It was not long since Judas had agreed with the chief priests. He was sure not to have betrayed himself; and the same secrecy was equally needful to his accomplices. Yet how vain all their precautions! The traitor hears his own purpose first exposed by the very Being whom he would betray! How then can you hope to impose on Christ and shun the eye of God? "Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him?" 3. That the most wicked actions of men unintentionally promote God's secret purposes of grace. He who foretold this crime could have prevented it. But the act foreseen was permitted and overruled for good. Shall we murmur, then, even at the most mysterious dispensation (Romans 8:28)? II. AS DESCRIBING THE AGGRAVATIONS OF THAT SIN. 1. It was the sin of treachery — a sin of that kind which is held in abhorrence even by fallen man. Nor is the case at all mended by urging that Judas was moved by self-interest and not by malice. The plea only adds detestable meanness to his character, where passion and revenge might have furnished (what men would call) a prouder excuse. And who is the traitor? Has he no name but Judas? Alas! his "name is Legion, for he is many." 2. It was treachery against the best of friends — "Me!" Is not the same Christ our Friend? Yet multitudes still prefer the silver to Christ. 3. It was the treachery of a highly privileged and confidential servant. "One of you!" For three years had the Pharisees been seeking for such an accomplice: but the multitude would not, the officers could not. These persecutors never dreamed of asking one of the apostles — who would? when, to their great astonishment, he offers of his own accord! "Take heed lest there be in any of you such an evil heart of unbelief." III. AS EXEMPLIFYING THE FEELINGS OF A HOLY MIND IN THE CONTEMPLATION OF SIN. Jesus "was troubled in spirit." Not because mortified by an unexpected discovery. He had known that these things would take place at least as long ago as when David penned the fifty-fifth Psalm (vers. 12-14). Nor because this treachery made His own fate certain; it could not be more so than His eternal purpose had already made it. No; He was troubled — 1. At the present dishonour done to God and the gospel. It was a triumph to Satan, who thus "bruised His heel"; to all the ungodly — "Ah, so would we have it!" It is not passion or jealousy which calls forth from true Christians the reproof of sin. It is trouble of heart because God is dishonoured. Encourage this feeling. 2. At the approaching ruin of a sinner. He saw before him a soul which (before even His own death should be accomplished) would be "gone to its place." He still feels the same trouble for thee, O sinner! whosoever thou art. His holy children also feel the same cause for mourning — none but devils and sinners rejoice. (J. Jowett, M. A.) (C. J. Brown, M. A.) One of you shall betray Me. — I. "YOU" WHOM I HAVE LOVED SO TENDERLY. II. "YOU" WHOM I HAVE TAUGHT SO PATIENTLY. III. "YOU" WHOM I HAVE SERVED SO FAITHFULLY. (S. S. Tinges.) (C. H. Spurgeon.) (John Milne.) (C. H. Spurgeon.) 1. In the first place, by coming to Him. We are, naturally, at a distance from Him. 2. This nearness implies real sympathy of mind. What a sacred bond is sympathy! what a fountain of delight, of comfort, and of strength! In order that there may be sympathy, there must be three things — mutual knowledge one of another — harmony of moral taste — and aiming at the same end. The refined cannot sympathize with the polluted, the gentle cannot sympathize with the cruel hearted. He that delights in sin, on the other hand, cannot sympathize with him who seeks to advance in holiness, and to bring all around him to enjoy communion with God and Jesus. 3. Nearness to Jesus implies that we persevere in following Him. Nearness to Him does not depend upon one act. 4. The next idea is, that nearness to Jesus implies felt fellowship — real communion. Oh! it is not a dream. We have, I trust, very many of us, experienced it as a distinct and separate thing from the work of imagination. Felt fellowship — he who has experienced that is near to Jesus. 5. Pass on to notice the next thing implied in nearness to Jesus — love to Him. Love is the power that annihilates the distance between us. 6. Then it implies, also, that we have intercourse with His people — communion with His disciples. II. THE BLESSEDNESS OF THIS CONDITION. 1. In the first place, it is an honour — the highest honour — to come near to the Lord Jesus Christ, to be acquainted with Him, to walk with Him, to have fellowship with Him. That is the highest distinction that can be conferred upon man, for it implies that a man is raised to a kind of equality with the Supreme Being, that has condescended to become brother and saviour. The honour of being introduced to Jesus will last, and fill the mind with rest and tranquility. 2. We say, in the second place, it is a blessed privilege to be near to Jesus, because it assures us of His eternal love to us. The text says, "there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of the disciples whom Jesus loved." It was John himself that wrote it, and he knew the fact that Jesus loved him. The way then to be assured of the love of Jesus is to live near to Him. 3. Nearness to Jesus, in the third place, secures glorious shelter and protection from the evils which are in the world. Keep near to thy Saviour, nestle, as it were, in the bosom of His promises; let His feathers cover thee, and His wings be over thee; go to Him in times of danger and trial. 4. Then there is another glorious privilege — the power that is transferred from Jesus to those who are near to Him. When we are near to Jesus, there is a current of sanctified influence passing, until those hearts of yours, once the abode of pollution, become as spotless temples. The soul that was in the thraldom of sin is released, and becomes cleansed and sanctified, and shall stand clean in the presence of the eternal God. This is not done at once, but by a continued influence which assimilates the soul to Jesus in purity, holiness, love, and heavenly mindedness, and makes it a type of Jesus. 5. Then there is another privilege — that there is a constant manifestation of fresh glory made to the mind in the Lord Jesus Christ. What an unworthy idea some people have of Jesus. It is only that of a beautiful image, as it were, drawn on canvas. But, to the believer, Jesus always manifests some new beauty in His face — some new glory in His nature. 6. You have another striking advantage of being near to Jesus — that of growing and increasing in your usefulness in the service of Jesus. There is a moral element of fitness required for the service of Jesus. 7. Then there is another great privilege and blessing — the mind and heart are weaned from earth in proportion as we live near to Jesus. We become conscious of being only strangers on the earth, of be. longing to another world, as citizens of a more enduring city. (T. Thomas.) I. And, first, of THE BOSOM IN WHICH HE HIMSELF LAY FROM ALL ETERNITY, "before the mountains were brought forth, or ever the earth and the world were made." "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him" (John 1:18). The earthly image chosen to convey the heavenly truth is drawn from the parental relationship upon earth, and from the loving services which human parents do for their children in the earliest and most dependent stage of existence. They fold them in their bosom; they carry them in their arms; according to that word of Moses (Numbers 11:12). This doctrine lights up Christian theology with bright and consolatory lights. First, the God of Christian men, as distinct from the God of the Deist and Unitarian, is not to be thought of as ever having dwelt apart or in solitude. And then, secondly, this doctrine of our Lord's eternal generation gives us such an assurance as we could not otherwise have of the tenderness and strength of God's love to ourselves. He who gave up for us, and who giveth to us, the Son of His love, to be "unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30), what may we not expect Him to do for us, to give to us; how can we suppose that He will withhold from us any good thing? O Lord and Heavenly Father, may we open our hearts to this fatherly love of Thine, in faith, in confidence, in filial love reciprocating it! II. THE MORAL ATTITUDE OF THOSE FAITHFUL AND BELOVED ONES WHO LEAN ON HIS BOSOM OR LIE ON HIS BREAST. It is said especially of St. John the Evangelist, "the disciple whom Jesus loved" (John 20:2; John 21:7, 20). The expression has reference, as is well known, to the arrangement of the guests at an ancient supper. They did not sit round the table in our modern fashion, but reclined on broad couches, leaning on the left elbow, and helping themselves with the right hand. Each couch usually accommodated three guests, and the central place on it was the most distinguished. It was a privileged position, you will say, not granted even to all the Apostles; and there. fore, in applying the passage, nothing can be founded upon it as to the spiritual privileges of ordinary Christians. But I find a Messianic prophecy of Isaiah, which surely enlarges the purview of this privilege, showing it to be a privilege designed for all, sad more especially for the weaker members of Christ's flock. "He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young" (Isaiah 40:11). Yes; "He shall carry them in His bosom." He Himself, we have seen, was carried from all eternity in the bosom of the Father. And our attitude and relation towards Him is to be that which He Himself bears to the Father. But now let us develop in particulars the moral attitude which it behoves us to have towards the Saviour, as pictorially represented in those words, "leaning on Jesus' bosom," "lying on Jesus' breast."(1) And first, he who leans on Jesus' bosom in a spiritual sense has a trustful repose in Him. Activity indeed must characterize the Christian life; and there is a blessedness and a healthfulness in work for God; but it must be a calm activity, without solicitude, without wearing anxiety, an activity which, while it works, knows also how to lean, and lie still, and to say, "the Lord will provide." "Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God," etc. (Philippians 4:6, 7). To taste this peace, at least in a measure, is to lean on Jesus' bosom, to lie on His breast.(2) Secondly; he who leans on Jesus' bosom in a spiritual sense has an assurance of the Saviour's nearness to him and love for him — a love which will cling to him to the end. Oh for an assurance, independent of the senses — the assurance of faith — that Christ is near to us at all times, more especially in public prayer, where two or three are gathered together in His name, and in the Sacred Supper, in which He makes every faithful recipient a partaker of His body and blood!(3) Thirdly; he who leans on Jesus' bosom in a spiritual sense cultivates St. John's type of character, a quiet contemplativeness, in which he may hear the whispers made by the Divine Master to the soul. The present is an age of activity, of material progress, of rapid movement. Under these circumstances it becomes more than ever necessary, as an antidote to the spirit of the times, that devotional retirement should be insisted upon as a condition of all healthy spiritual life. Let things drop ever and anon, even when the strain of work and worry is most severe, and lean back as it were on the bosom of thy Lord, and look up into His face, and seek from Him the guidance or the help or the comfort which thou needest, and, if thou doest this faithfully, thou shalt not fail to hear the whispers of His voice within. But how can those whispers be heard in the rapid whirl of business, in the tumult of affairs, without an inward silence and a hush in the soul? III. We are to speak, lastly, of THE GLORIFIED BREAST OF THE RISEN AND EXALTED SAVIOUR. In that magnificent vision of the glorified Son of Man at the opening of the Revelation. "Being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about at the breasts" (so it is in the Revised Version) "with a golden girdle." Three points are observable in this part of the grand vision, which throughout is full of deep and edifying significance.(1) He appears "girded;" and to the angel of the Church of Ephesus He describes Himself as "walking in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks" (Revelation 2:1). The girding and the walking are both expressive of the ceaseless activity of the exalted Saviour, an activity which shows itself not only in His intercession, but in His close inspections of the Churches as to their spiritual condition and progress.(2) He appears girded at the breasts, not at the loins; the golden cincture is swathed around Him high up the person, below the armpits. This is explained by what Josephus tells us about the girdle of the high priest, and the part of the person on which it was fastened. This girding at the breast, then, being the sacerdotal way of wearing the girdle, and obviously a more dignified, reposeful, and majestic way than merely tying it tight round the loins, as was done when men addressed themselves to secular and common work, indicates that He who wears the girdle thus is the "great high priest, that is passed into the heavens," there "to appear in the presence of God for us," and to give effect to His sacrifice by pleading it on our behalf in the heavenly sanctuary. But if by the position of the girdle the high priestly character of the wearer is indicated, why is it not also indicated by the materials, which here are all gold, whereas the curious or (embroidered) girdle of the ephod, though it had gold in it, yet was made also of "blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen?" This is to indicate the kingly character of Christ united with the priestly, He being not only a priest, but "a priest upon His throne," a priest exalted to universal government.(3) But what shall we say of this remarkable feature of the vision, that the Saviour appears in it with the breast of a woman, not of a man? That there is a profound and beautiful significance in this trait, whatever be its significance, I make no manner of question. He was the Seed of the woman, not of the man, and, as being descended only from a mother, might be expected to show all that tender side of human character which woman more especially exemplifies. He has the breast of a woman, that is, the heart of a woman, in susceptibility to the sufferings of His people, and in sympathy with them, when they are called upon to suffer. (E. M. Golburn, D. D.) 1. Reconciliation to Christ. We are by nature estranged from God and Christ. Hence we stand guilty and condemned. But, impelled by wondrous love, Jesus has taken our place and borne our penalty. Now God can be just and the justifier of all who believe in Him. Those who have been thus reconciled lean on Jesus' bosom, and those only. Suppose a child to have disobeyed its mother's commands and cherished a rebellious spirit. Will that child with conscious guilt and angry feelings nestle on the mother's breast? But let temper subside and penitence arise, then it will hasten to the mother's knee, let the mother's forgiveness kiss away tears, and throw its arms round the mother's neck and lean on her bosom. 2. Confidence in Him. He is worthy of this, for He is infinitely wise, strong, good, and ought to be thoroughly trusted. But He is not. But those who lean on His bosom have no fear, and find everything they need. 3. Love for Him. He is worthy of our best affection. Do we not naturally admire beauty? "He is altogether lovely." Are we not always affected by loving kindness? He has loved as with a love surpassing every other. Hatred separates, love unites. Those who love Christ are ever near His side. 4. Communion with Him — not merely saying prayers — but heart intercourse with Him everywhere. Silence leads to estrangement, exchange of confidences to love. So when there is little communion with Christ there is little love; but the soul whose fellowship with Him is constant will lay his head where John lay his. II. THE BLESSEDNESS OF THIS POSITION. Here is — 1. Perfect safety. We are all exposed to danger as regards both body and soul. Most men are concerned about the safety of their bodies and money — then surely they should be about that of their souls. But where shall —(1) The unpardoned sinner, or(2) the backsliding saint find safety save here? "There is therefore now no condemnation," etc. "If God be for us, who can be against us." 2. Spiritual instruction. We are enfeebled by ignorance. Some of us think we know much about business, science, art, etc.; but we know little about God and Divine things. Where shall we look? The learned of our day only bewilder us, but we shall get all we want from the best Teacher, who is Himself the embodiment of truth; and those who trust Him most will be the best instructed, even as John learnt most of the betrayal. 3. Moral improvement. We are greatly influenced by our associates. Those who dwell in courts acquire a peculiar dignity, and those who live near Christ become Christ-like. 4. Rest and peace. There is a fearful amount of unrest in the world arising from a guilty conscience, loss of friends, wealth, etc.; but "in Christ Jesus the peace of God will keep our hearts and minds." (J. Morgan.) 1. On the side of the disciple, it told —(1) Of a holy, unsuspecting, childlike trust, reliance on the Lord. Doubtless John was tried with many a painful foreboding for the future. Had anyone asked, "Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy Master from thy head?" methinks he had been ready to answer, "Yea, I know it; hold thou thy peace." Too well he knows it. But just the more he will lean his head tonight on that Master's bosom and cast his care on this mighty, gracious One.(2) Of intense affection. It is heart drawing to heart in the hour of deep grief!(3) The two feelings, the reliance and the love were inseparably connected. It was a loving reliance; and it was a confiding affection. The "faith wrought by love;" and the love, "casting out fear," emboldened the faith. 2. It told of corresponding feelings on the side of the Master.(1) Confidence, trust, reposed by Christ in the disciple? Jesus suffers him to lean his head upon His bosom. Ah! this is not to be the traitor. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him, and He will show them His covenant."(2) Intense affection. Not that Christ loved John with any higher love of benevolence than He did the other disciples. Plainly it is satisfaction, delight, complacency, in John that is spoken of in the appellation, and which came out divinely in the permission to lean his head upon His bosom. II. OUR TEXT ADMITS OF BEING TURNED TO EXTENSIVE USE, far beyond the ease of John. One disciple only could lean as did John, but we may now find that this is a privilege, accessible in the essence of it, even to as many as shall truly aspire after it. 1. The soul of this attitude, as on the disciple's side lay in trust in Jesus. Then have we the attitude still. "The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God." Many years ago I was visiting a dying boy. He lay weary on his pillow, near his end. I scarce hoped to make him understand me — he was not six years of age. But thinking I might make an attempt, after short prayer, I said to him, "Charlie, you are resting your head on the pillow; try and rest on Jesus, as you are resting on the pillow." Next day his father told me that, on going up to the little crib several hours after my visit, and without making any reference to it, he said to him, "Are you resting on Jesus, dear?" He immediately answered, "Soft pillow." It was his only reply. Ah, that is it, unsuspecting reliance, "soft pillow" — He lying on Jesus' breast!(2) And have we not the love also, still. "My beloved is mine, and I am his" — faith and love hand in hand. "I will seek Him whom my soul loveth." 2. The leaning of disciples still is by His welcoming also, just as of old — reciprocating their feelings towards Him in a blessed corresponding confidence, and complacency in them. "He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them," etc. Perhaps, in a more special manner at the Lord's Supper, may the lying on the breast be known and realized. Yet this is not a privilege confined to any one ordinance or season. Assuredly the bosom, the heart, of Jesus is large enough to receive every weary head that is but truly offered to lean on it. "I heard the voice of Jesus say," etc. (G. J. Brown, D. D.) I. TO BRING OUR HEARTS INTO LIVING FEELING, CONTACT WITH THE HEART OF CHRIST. We speak of the breast of man, as being filled with noble or revengeful feelings; of a generous or an unfeeling bosom, because the heart has its seat in the breast; and as that, in the physical system, is the centre of animal life, the ever-welling up and distributing fountain of the vital currents, so when we would speak of the moral centre, the well spring of moral emotions, we use the term heart, and say, his heart is right or wrong, generous or closed, renewed or unsanctified; hence, to lean upon the breast, the outer casement of the heart, is equivalent to saying, that the person leans upon the love and sympathy of that individual. Christ's love emanates from His heart, and hence he who rests upon His love rests upon His breast. The feeling of confidence in human affection is one of the most delicious emotions of which we are capable. In leaning upon the heart of Jesus, the Christian can have this confidence, to a degree impossible among men. His heart is an organ of infinite love. II. TO LEAN UPON THE PLACE WHENCE HIS SYMPATHIES FLOW. There are daily trials, in which we seek not only succour but sympathy. None ever felt so deeply for the sorrows and sufferings of the world as Jesus, and now that He has ascended into heaven, He is still "touched with the feeling of our infirmities." And if we lean on Jesus' bosom, we shall always have His sympathies. III. TO GET AN INTELLIGENT UNDERSTANDING OF THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST. "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." A man may be a learned theologian without leaning upon Jesus' bosom; but no one can savingly understand Divine truth who does not bring his head in contact with Jesus' heart. There is a great difference between an intellectual, and an experimental, knowledge of Bible doctrines. The poor widow, the bed-ridden patient, often has a richer knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus; than the learned minister or the boasting professor. All real knowledge of Jesus must come from Christ's heart, and through our heart. IV. TO LEAN UPON THE PLACE WHENCE FLOWED HIS PRECIOUS BLOOD. It was from the spear-riven heart of Christ, that there gushed out blood and water; and in leaning upon Jesus' breast, therefore, we get close to the fountain opened for sin and all uncleanness. If we would feel the preciousness of that blood, we must lean upon the heart whence it flowed, and there learn the vastness of the love which gave it, the greatness of the sacrifice it involved, and the unspeakable richness of the grace it purchased. Conclusion: The bosom of Christ is a privileged place in times of — 1. Adversity. The world may treat us coldly, friends may withdraw from us, riches may depart, but, if we can lean on Jesus' bosom, we care not. 2. Sickness. 3. Sorrow. 4. Death. (Bp. Stevens.) 1. Early piety. 2. The most remarkable trait, love, which was constantly evinced in his attendance on our Lord. He leaned on his Master's bosom in their hours of social enjoyment — "And in death they were not divided." He remained with Him till he saw Him expire. We must follow him to the cross. II. HOW DID HE ARRIVE AT THIS? He explains this, "We love Him." Yes; there he learned the lessons of love on Jesus' bosom. III. HOW DID HE EXEMPLIFY AFTER HIS MASTER'S DECEASE? Read his Epistles. He led others to it (chap 1). Zeal for God and love for man; a burning fervour for God's cause and man's happiness — "What we have seen and heard we testify unto you." Love. IV. THE PARTICULAR DISTINCTIONS AND FAVOURS CONFERRED ON HIM BY CHRIST. Leans on His breast; Mount of Transfiguration; garden; and He consigns His holy virgin mother to his care; lived long; closed the canon of Scripture; was raised to glory. (T. Summerfield, M. A.) I. NEAR TO JESUS. II. INTIMATE WITH JESUS. III. HONOURED BY MEN. IV. HELPFUL TO MEN. (S. S. Times.) (F. W. Robertson, M. A.) I. THE MOIST AMAZING CONDESCENSION. Little magnates of earth deem it a great condescension to allow the humble and lowly to speak to them even at a distance. But here is the Author and Proprietor of the universe, the infinitely holy as well as the transcendently great, permitting this poor, frail, sinful man to lean on His bosom. Let this condescension — 1. Inspire us with adoring gratitude. 2. Consume that pride which prompts man to keep the poor at a distance. II. THE SUBLIMEST PRIVILEGE. To be so closely allied to Christ as this is to be in the safest and most honourable position. What an honour to recline on the bosom of the King of kings. III. THE PROFOUNDEST REVERENCE. John addresses Christ as Lord. Familiarity with men, the proverb says, breeds contempt. We know it often breeds discontent. So imperfect are the best of men, that, as a rule, the more we know of them the less reverence we have. Not so with Christ. (D. Thomas, D. D.) He it is to whom I shall give a sop. — Literally, "the morsel." No incident of Oriental meals is more celebrated in Western narrative than the giving of the morsel, or sop, to a table neighbour, as a mark of favour. It is said that the Shah of Persia, when in London some years ago, could not break himself entirely of the habit, but insisted on passing some morsels to the fine ladies near him, to the danger of their fine dresses; giving rise to the witticism which described the saving for the cat of the morsels left after the meal, by the French sentence, Nous allons les garder pour le chat — "We are going to save them for the Shah (cat). But scarcely a traveller, and certainly no resident, in the East can escape this Oriental courtesy at meals. Since the dishes are generally either stews or cooked almost to pieces, the fingers can easily tear off a morsel. This is dipped in the sauce, thus becoming the sop, and is thrust directly, into the favoured one's mouth. If the mouthful is large, the sauce or gravy is apt to run down the receiver's beard. The present writer has often received the sop at an Oriental meal, and cannot say that, considering the other customs, there is anything uncleanly or repulsive in it. A common mode, however, both of helping one's self and giving the sop to one's neighbour, is to take two pieces of bread, and take up the morsel between them, the pieces of bread serving as spoon, or knife and fork. The sop must, according to all Oriental rules, be considered as a mark of favour; and in Jesus' giving it to Judas, we must, unless we look farther below the surface than we have any light, see only love and goodwill. The giving of the sop, or morsel, seems to be an old Greek custom, as well as an Oriental one; but the citations to sustain that position may be seen collected in Webster's Greek Testament. They are too numerous and voluminous to repeat here. The custom goes back to the time of Socrates, if not to that of Homer. (S. S. Times.) He gave it to Judas. — Christ was now standing at the door of the heart of His apostle. He was holding out to him the opportunity of repentance. Judas, however, was unwilling to open that door at the call of Christ, though he opened it to Satan, and so Satan entered into him. The devil had stood knocking at his heart by the his yielding temptation of money; and to the temptation unbarred the door of the sinner's heart, and made him an easy prey to the great tempter. (W. Denton, M. A.) (Monday Club.) (J. A. Froude.) (H. C. Trumbull, D. D.) (J. N. Norton, D. D.) For some of them thought — I. The statement that he "had the bag" shows THE POSITION JUDAS OCCUPIED AMONG THE APOSTLES. He was no mean and inferior person. He was so far from being suspected, that he had the charge of the common store of money. Bullinger even thinks that he must have been a man remarkable for wisdom, prudence, economy, and faithfulness. II. The supposition of some that Jesus told Judas to "buy the things needed against the feast" shows clearly that OUR LORD DID NOT WORK MIRACLES IN ORDER TO PROCURE THE NECESSARIES required by Himself and His disciples. Christians must buy and sell like other people, and must manage their money affairs with prudence and economy. It also shows how little the disciples realized that their Master's death was close at hand. III. The supposition of others that Jesus told Judas to "give something to the poor" shows plainly what WAS OUR LORD'S CUSTOM IN THE MATTER OF ALMSGIVING. He sanctified and adorned the practice of caring for the poor by His own example. This passage and Galatians 2:10 deserve careful consideration. It may be doubted whether the English Poor Law has not tended to shut up English almsgiving far more than is right before God. Conclusion: 1. Let us mark the snares which attend the possession and fingering of money. The man who has care of the money in our Lord's little company of followers is the very man who makes shipwreck of his soul forever through the love of money. "Give me neither poverty nor riches" should be a Christian's frequent prayer. 2. The possession of money is evidently not in itself sinful and wicked. The Romish mendicant friars, and others who make a self-imposed poverty, are under a complete delusion. It is not the having, but the misusing, money which is sinful. (Bp. Ryle.) 5798 betrayal May 16 Morning July 10 Morning July 4 Morning July 28 Morning September 4 Evening October 21 Evening August 30. "Happy are Ye if Ye do Them" (John xiii. 17). The Love of the Departing Christ 'Is it I?' The Dismissal of Judas Cannot and Can Seeking Jesus A Rash Vow The Servant-Master The Glory of the Cross 'As I have Loved' Quo Vadis? October the Twentieth the Lord as the Servant 25TH DAY. Heavenly Illumination. Love is the Touchstone by which the Reality of Truth is Perceived... The Paschal Meal. Jesus Washes the Disciples' Feet. |