Intellectual men are apt to set too high a value upon the exercise of the intellect. And in this error they are often confirmed by the notions of the ignorant and uninstructed, who look up with wonder to the learned and the mentally acute, and are willing to think such prodigies of knowledge must be assured possessors of all good things. But the fact is, that the highest of all possessions is to be attained, not by the scholarship or the ability which men often overestimate, but by the trusting heart and the obedient and submissive will. Nowhere is this great spiritual lesson more plainly and effectively inculcated than in this passage.

I. THE SOURCE OF CHRIST'S DOCTRINE. This was a mystery to many of the Jews, who knew that Jesus was born in a lowly station, and that he had not been trained in the schools of rabbinical learning, and who could not understand how he could teach with such justice, profundity, and beauty. With this difficulty Jesus here deals.

1. The doctrine of Jesus is asserted by himself to be derived. He repudiated the notion that he spake from himself, i.e. from the experience or originality of a merely human mind.

2. The doctrine of Jesus is asserted by himself to be Divine. It was neither his own, nor that of a school of learning, nor was it a mere amplification of the sayings of the ancient legislator and the ancient prophets. Jesus ever claimed to have come from God, and to have acted and spoken with the authority of God. This, however, was his assertion; how were his hearers to verify it?

II. THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST'S DOCTRINE. There were many who listened to the discourses and conversations of the great Teacher, who were familiar with his language, but who were unacquainted with, and indifferent to, the spiritual meaning and power of which that language was, to sympathetic souls, the vehicle. How can this meaning and power be known?

1. There must be a will in harmony with God's will. Man is not merely an intellectual being; he is emotional and practical. And the will is the man. It is the habitual purposes which determine the man's character. Many persona have insight into truth, and even admiration of truth, whose moral life is nevertheless evil, because they abandon themselves to be the sport of every fleeting passion. The habitual indulgence of passion, pride, and worldliness blinds the spiritual vision, so that the highest good becomes indiscernible. And thus three who are not without natural gifts of intelligence become incapable of judging the highest type of character or of doctrine. On the other hand, the cultivation of a will in harmony with the Divine will is the means of purifying the spiritual vision. When the good is habitually chosen, the true comes to be habitually sought and prized.

2. The will thus in harmony with God's will recognizes the Divine origin of Christ's teaching. Both by reason of his acquaintance with the mind of God, and by his sympathy with the Law and the truth of God, the devout and obedient man is fitted to pronounce upon the origin of the Lord's teaching. "He that is spiritual judgeth all things;" he has "the mind of Christ." Thus it is, as our Lord acknowledged with gratitude, that things hidden from the wise and prudent are often revealed unto babes. His own apostles were a living illustration of this law. And every age furnishes examples of clever men, and even learned men, who have misunderstood and misrepresented Christ's teaching, because they have not been in sympathy with the righteous and holy will of the Eternal; whilst every age furnishes also examples of simple and unlettered men who, because lovers of goodness, have displayed a special discernment of mind in apprehending, and even in teaching, Christian doctrine. In this, as in other respects, it is the childlike nature that enters the kingdom of heaven. - T.

I. THOSE WHO WERE FAVOURABLY DISPOSED (ver. 31). The commonalty, who were more or less unsophisticated and free from religious prejudices. These "heard Christ gladly." This favourable disposition —

1. Was founded on facts. There does not seem to be any question, even among His opponents, as to the reality of His miracles.

2. Intensified the opposition of His enemies (ver. 32). They felt that if the people believed in Him their influence, honour, etc., would vanish; and so they were inflamed. Through all Christendom there has always been a large class favourably disposed towards Christ; and this upon a basis of facts. This class still intensifies the opposition of enemies when the atheist, the worldling, etc., mark this disposition they, too, become the more anxious to banish Him from the world. But popular sentiment is our bulwark against infidelity.

II. THOSE WHO WERE MALIGNANTLY OPPOSED. Pharisees and chief priests.

1. They were to be deprived of the fellowship of Christ (ver. 83). But six months after this Christ returned to the bosom of the Father. It was only "a little while" He was in their midst, it would have been well had they availed themselves of it. The period of redemptive mercy with all men is but "a little while."

2. They would vainly seek the help of Christ (ver. 34). The hour was approaching for the fall of Jerusalem, and when the Romans were at the gates they would look for deliverance and not find it. There is a time to seek " the Lord, while He may be found"; and there is a time when He will be sought and not found. "Many shall say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord!" etc.

3. They misunderstood the meaning of Christ (vers. 35-36).(1) They started from His words an ungenerous conjecture, "Will He go" etc., i.e., amongst the Jews scattered among the Gentiles, or to the Gentiles. In either case He will go to a contemptible class, and leave our glorious country.(2) They failed to attach to His words the true idea, "What manner of saying is this." They were carnal and judged after the flesh. Thus is it ever with this class. They are deprived of His fellowship. By their corrupt natures they are excluded from the sublime region of purity and benevolence in which He lives. They must all seek His help when too late. They all misunderstand Him. "They have ears but hear not."Conclusion: To which class do you belong?

1. Probably to the former. But to be favourably disposed is not enough; there must be decision, consecration, vital affinity.

2. If to the latter, ponder your condition ere it be too late.

(D. Thomas, D. D.)

I. A HOSTILE EMBASSY.

1. Its occasion — the favourable impression made on the multitude.

2. Its promoters. The chief priests and the Pharisees, who resolved to take a forward step by dispatching their constables to the Temple (ver. 82).

3. Its object. To mingle with the crowd, show as much favour as possible, so as to throw them and Christ off their guard, and then embrace the first opportunity of detaching them from Him, or Him from them, and took Him prisoner to the council chamber.

II. AN UNEXPECTED GREETING. Having observed the officers and their intention, our Lord replied to this forward movement by announcing His departure.

1. It,would be soon, "a little while." "The increasing hostility of the rulers, and the fickle character of the populace, made it apparent that the final collision could not be long delayed.

2. It would be voluntary. The designs of the rulers would in the providence of God lead to His departure but would not be its cause (John 10:18). "I go."

3. It would be a homegoing (ver. 33; John 6:62), like an ambassador to report about His mission, or like a Son to the presence of His Father (John 14:2).

4. It would terminate their day of grace. His appearance had been a day of salvation (Luke 19:42), which at His departure would be over (ver. 34; Luke 17:22).

5. It would place an impassable gulf between Him and them (ver. 34). Without foreclosing heaven's gate upon the crowd, many of whom were probably afterwards converted (Acts 2:41), or upon individual members of the Sanhedrim (John 19:38, 39; Acts 6:7), the words announced that when Christ departed their day of grace as a nation would be over for impenitent individuals.

III. A MELANCHOLY RESULT.

1. Perplexity. They failed to understand the Saviour's meaning, or pretended to do so (ver. 36); as the apostles did an analogous expression (John 16:17). Yet Christ's language was plain. But they did not wish Christ's words to have the sense they conveyed, and so pronounced them nonsensical.

2. Ridicule. They endeavoured to sport with Him and His words. Tomorrow they will ask Him if He purposes to commit suicide (chap. John 8:12), to-day they inquire if He contemplates playing at Messiah among the Greeks (ver. 35).

3. Rejection. The true reason why they could not understand Him was, that already in their hearts they had rejected Him and them.Lessons:

1. The day of grace to all is of limited duration.

2. Those who improve that day so as to find Christ will ultimately be with Him.

3. To such as find Christ, death will be going home.

4. Those who reject Christ here will not be able to accept Him hereafter.

5. Christ's sayings are enigmas to those who do not wish to understand Him.

6. Scoffing at good men marks the last stage of depravity.

(T. Whitelaw, D. D.)

The officers were after our Lord, and He knew it. He could spy them out in the crowd, but He was not therefore in the least afraid or disconcerted. He reminds me of that minister who, when he was about to preach, was stopped by a soldier, who held a pistol at his head, and threatened that if he spake he would kill him. " Soldier," said he, "do your duty; I shall do mine"; and he went on with his preaching.

(C. H. Spurgeon.)

(text and John 13:33): —

1. No greater contrast can be conceived than between these two groups. The one consists of the officers sent to seize Christ, but were restrained by an awe inexplicable even to themselves. The other consists of the little company of His faithful, though slow scholars. Hatred animated the one, love the other.

2. Christ speaks to them both nearly the same words, but with what a different tone, meaning, and application. To the officers they exhibit the triumphant confidence that their Maker is omnipotent. When He wills He will go, not be dragged, to a safe asylum, where foes cannot follow Him. The officers do not understand. They think, that bad Jew as they have always believed Him to be, He may consummate His apostasy by going over to the Gentiles altogether; but at any rate they feel that He is going to escape their hands. The disciples understand little more, and though the upper side of the saying seems to be full of separation, there is an underside that suggests reunion.

3. The words are nearly the same, but they are not quite identical.

I. THE TWO SEEKINGS.

1. The enemies are told they will never find Him.(1) No man with hostile intent seeking for Christ can ever find Him. All the antagonism that has stormed against Him and His cause has been impotent and vain. The pursuers are like dogs chasing a bird which all the while carols in the sky. As in the days of His flesh His foes could not touch His person till He chose, so ever since no weapon that is formed against His cause or His friends shall prosper. All Christian service is a prolongation of Christ's, and both are immortal and safe.(2) But it is not only hostile seeking that is vain. When the dark days came over Israel, and amidst the agonies of that last seige, do you not think that many of these people said, "Ah! if we had only Jesus back for a day or two." They sought Him not in anger any more, nor in penitence, or they would have found Him, but simply in distress, and wishing that they could have back again what they had cared so little for when they had it. And are there none to whom the words apply, "He that will not when he may, when he will it shall be nay."(3) There is another kind of vain seeking — intellectual, without the preparation of the heart. Many a man goes in quest for religious certainty and looks at, if not for Jesus, and is not capable of discerning Him when He sees Him because His eye is not single, or his heart is full of worldliness and indifference, or he begins with a foregone conclusion. He will never find Him.

2. The seeking that is not vain. "Ye shall seek Me," to any heart that loves Christ is not a sentence of separation, but the blessed law of Christian life.(1) That life is one great seeking after Christ. Love seeks the absent. If we care anything for Him at all our hearts will turn to Him as naturally as when the winter begins to pinch, the birds seek the sunny south. The same law which sends loving thoughts across the globe to seek husband, child, or friend, sets the Christian heart seeking for Christ.(2) And if you do not seek Him you will lose Him, for there is no way of keeping a person who is not before our eyes near us except by diligent effort — thought meditating, love going out towards Him, will submitting. Unless there be this effort you will lose your Master like the child in a crowd loses his nurse if his hand slips from the protecting hand.(3) And that seeking in this threefold form is neither a seeking which starts from a sense of non-possession, nor one which ends in disappointment. We seek Him because we possess Him, and that we may have Him more abundantly, and it is as impossible that such a search shall be vain as that lungs dilated shall not fill with air. A mother will sometimes hide that the child's delight may be the greater in searching and finding; and so Christ has gone away for one thing that He may stimulate our desires after Him.

II. THE TWO CANNOTS. "Whither I go ye cannot come," says He to His enemies, with no limitation or condition. To His friends He only says, "now," and "thou shalt follow Me afterwards." So then Christ is somewhere, He has gone into a place as well as a state, and there friend and enemy alike cannot enter while compassed with "the earthly house." But the incapacity goes deeper, no sinful man can pass within. Heaven is a prepared place for prepared people. Our power to enter there depends on our union with Christ by faith, and that will effect the preparation.

(A. Maclaren, D. D.)

Three Greek words are thus translated in St. John, and two of them in similar connections. Each expresses a distinct aspect of departure, and its special force must be taken into account in the interpretation of the passage in which it is found.

1. ὑπάγω, which is used here, emphasizes the personal act of going in itself, as a withdrawal (John 8:14, 21; John 13:3, 33, 36; John 14:4, 28; John 16:5, 10, 16).

2. πορεῢομαι marks the going as connected with a purpose, a mission, an end to be gained (ver. 35; 14:3, 12, 28; 16:7, 28).

3. ἀπεοχομαι expresses simple separation, the point left (John 6:68; John 16:7, ("go away"). The differences are very clearly seen in a comparison of chap. John 16:10 (ὑπάγω) with John 14:28 (πορεύομαι) and the succession of words in John 16:7-10.

(Bp. Westcott.)

A few years ago, when Pennsylvania had a Christian governor, there was a young man down in one of the counties who was arrested for murder. He was brought before the Court, tried, found guilty, and sentenced to death. His friends thought there would be no trouble in getting a reprieve or pardon. Because the governor was a Christian man they thought he would not sign the death warrant. But he signed it. They called on the governor and begged of him to pardon the young man. But the governor said "No; the law must take its course, and the man must die." I think the mother of the young man called on the governor and pleaded with him; but the governor stood firm and said, "No; the man must die." A few days before the man was executed, the governor took the train to the county where the man was imprisoned. He went to the sheriff of the county and said to him, "I wish you to take me to that man's cell, and leave me alone with him for a little while; and do not tell him who I am until I am gone." The governor went to the prison and talked to the young man about his soul, and told him that, although he was condemned by man to be executed, God would have mercy upon him and save him, if he would accept pardon from God. He preached Christ, and told him how Christ came to seek and to save sinners; and, having explained as he best knew how the plan of salvation, he got down and prayed, and after praying he shook hands with him and bade him farewell. Some time after the sheriff passed by the condemned man's cell, and he called him to the door of the cell and said, "Who was that man who talked and prayed with me so kindly?" The sheriff said, "That was Governor Pollock." The man turned deathly pale, and he threw up both his hands and said, "Was that Governor Pollock? was that kind-hearted man the governor? Oh, sheriff, why did not you tell me? If I had known that was the governor I would have fell at his feet and asked for pardon; I would have pleaded for pardon and for my life. Oh, sir, the governor has been here, and I did not know it." Sinner, I have got good news to tell you. There is one greater than the governor here to-night, and He wants to pardon every one.

(Moody.)

A young policeman was in the Edinburgh infirmary with an injured leg. There was a man lying on the next bed to him exceedingly ill, and his life despaired of by the physicians, but who would not allow any one to speak to him on religious subjects, or pray either for his recovery, or for the salvation of his soul. At first he himself had no idea that death was so near him; but when its ghastly presence could no longer be denied, then this bold impenitent sinner became a victim of despair. Again and again did he cry out for the chaplain to pray for his soul. Of course there were many prayers offered for him, but his day of grace was over, and he continued to shriek aloud for mercy, until finally his voice became too weak for utterance, and full of dreadful apprehensions of "the wrath to come," he expired.

(T. Mahon.)

It is related of Jeine, the chief of one of the South Sea Islands, who had offered no small amount of opposition to the introduction of Christianity, that, during a sickness which terminated in his death, he manifested more mental distress than is usually seen in a heathen. He often expressed a wish that "he had died ten years before." And why? The light of life and love had been shining around him, but he had opposed its entrance into his heart, and its power over his people. And now, having loved darkness, in darkness of soul, stung by an upbraiding of conscience, he must die.

(Biblical Museum.)

I was once called upon to visit a dying man in Bristol, under the following circumstances: He had not entered the church for many years. At last he made up his mind to go, and on the morning of the Sabbath he and his wife went. But the door was closed, the church being under repair. They returned home disappointed. In the evening they went to another church. But it was so crowded that they could get no farther than the doorway, and were unable to hear a word. On the following Sunday he resolved to make another effort; but while he was dressing he fell down in an apoplectic fit, and never spoke again I He knew me when I entered his chamber. I preached the gospel in his dying ear, but he was speechless, and I could not learn the state of his mind. This case illustrates some paris of the first chapter of Proverbs: "Then shall they call upon Me, but I will not answer; they shall seek Me early, but they shall not find Me." The procrastinating sinner may say, "I will serve God by and by. He shall have the services of my age:" and God may say, "No; thou shalt not have old age to offer Me."

(J. East.)

Two friends were in the Highlands recently, shooting, and one of them observed an animal on a jutting rock. He inquired, "Is that a sheep?" and looking through his field-glass he saw that it was. In search of herbage the sheep had descended from one grass-covered ledge to another, and found it impossible to return. No shepherd in Scotland dare risk his life by going down the declivity. The sheep must remain there till an eagle observed it, when in eddying circles it would hover over the poor animal, drawing nearer and nearer, until at last the affrighted sheep would take a dreadful leap into space, to be dashed to pieces on the rocks below, and then become the eagle's prey.

(W. Hay Aitken.)The dispersed among the Gentiles, or simply the Dispersion was the general title applied to those Jews who remained settled in foreign countries after the return from Babylon, and during the period of the second Temple. The Hebrew word applied to these foreign settlers (see Jeremiah 24:5; Jeremiah 28:4; Ezra 6:16) conveys the notion of spoliation and bereavement, as of men removed from the Temple and home of their fathers; but in the LXX. the ideas of "sojourning," and of a "colony," were combined with that of a "captivity," while the term "dispersion" (Deuteronomy 28:25; cf. Jeremiah 34:17), which finally prevailed, seemed to imply that the people thus scattered (Deuteronomy 30:4) in bondage (2 Macc. 1:27), and shut out from the privileges of the human race (text), should yet be as a seed sown for a future harvest (cf. Isaiah 49:6, Hebrews) in the strange lands where they found a temporary resting-place (1 Peter 1:1). The schism which had divided the first kingdom was forgotten in the results of the general calamity. The Dispersion was not limited to the exiles of Judah, but included "the twelve tribes" (James 1:1), which expressed the completeness of the whole Jewish nation (Acts 26:7). The Dispersion really dates from the Babylonish exile. Uncertain legends point to earlier settlements in Arabia, Ethiopia, and Abyssinia, but these must have been isolated and casual, while the Dispersion was the outward proof that a faith had succeeded to a kingdom. Apart from the necessary influence which Jewish communities, bound by common laws, ennobled by the possession of the same truths, and animated by kindred hopes must have exercised on the nations among whom they were scattered, the difficulties which set aside the literal observance of the Mosaic ritual led to a wider view of the scope of the law, and a stronger sense of its spiritual significance. Outwardly and inwardly, by its effects, both on the Gentiles and on Israel, the Dispersion was the clearest providential preparation for Christianity. But while the fact of a recognized Dispersion must have weakened the local and ceremonial influences which were essential to the first training of the people of God, the Dispersion was still bound together in itself and to its mother country by religious ties. The Temple was the acknowledged centre of Judaism, and the faithful Jew everywhere contributed the half-shekel towards its maintenance (Matthew 17:24; Jos. Ant. 16:06). The tribute was indeed the simplest and most striking outward proof of the religious unity of the nation. Treasuries were established to receive the payments of different districts, and the collected sums were forwarded to Jerusalem, as in later times the Mohammedan offerings were sent to Mecca. At the beginning of the Christian era the Dispersion was divided into three great sections, the Babylonian, the Syrian, and the Egyptian. Precedence was yielded to the first. The jealousy which had originally existed between the poor who remained in Jerusalem and their wealthier countrymen at Babylon had passed away. From Babylon the Jews spread throughout Persia, Media, and Parthia; but the settlements in China belong to a modern date. The Greek conquests in Asia extended the limits of the Dispersion. Selencus Nicator transplanted large bodies of Jewish colonists from Baby. lonia to the capitals of his western provinces. His policy was followed by his successor, Antiochus the Great, and the persecutions of Antiochus Epiphanes only served to push forward the Jewish emigration to the remoter districts of the empire. In Armenia the Jews arrived at the greatest dignities, and Nisibis became a new centre of colonization. The Jews of Cappadocia (1 Peter 1:1) are mentioned in the Mishna; and a prince and princess of Adiabene adopted the Jewish faith only thirty years before the destruction of the Temple. Large settlements were established in Cyprus, in the islands of the AEgean, and on the western coast of Asia Minor. The Romans confirmed to them the privileges obtained from the Syrian kings; and though they were exposed to sudden outbursts of popular violence, the Jews of the Syrian provinces gradually formed a closer connection with their new homes, and, together with the Greek language, adopted in many respects Greek ideas. This Hellenizing tendency, however, found its most free development at Alexandria. The Jewish settlements established there by Alexander and Ptolemy I. became the source of the African Dispersion, which spread over the north coast of Africa, and perhaps inland to Abyssinia. At Cyrene and Berenice (Tripoli) the Jewish inhabitants formed a considerable portion of the population. But the distinction in language led to wider differences, which were averted in Babylon by the currency of an Aramaic dialect. The Scriptures were no longer read on the Sabbath, and no fire signals conveyed the dates of the new moons to Egypt. Still, the spirit of the African Jews was not destroyed. After the destruction of the Temple the zealots found a reception in Cyrene, and in A.D. 115 the Jewish population in Africa rose with terrible ferocity, and were put down by a war of extermination, and the remnant who escaped established themselves on the opposite coast of Europe, as the beginning of a new Dispersion. The Jewish settlements in Rome were consequent on the occupation of Jerusalem by Pompey B.C. 63. The captives and emigrants whom he brought with him were located in the Trans-Tiberine quarter, and by degrees rose in station and importance. They were favoured by Augustus and Tiberius after the fall of Sejanus, and a Jewish school was founded at Rome. In the reign of Claudius the Jews became objects of suspicion from their immense numbers; and the internal disputes, consequent, perhaps, upon the preaching of Christianity, led to their banishment from the city (Acts 18:2). But this was only temporary, for in a few years the Jews at Rome were numerous (Acts 28:17), and continued to be sufficiently conspicuous to attract the attention of the satirists. The influence of the Dispersion on the rapid growth of Christianity can scarcely be overrated. The course of apostolic preaching followed in a regular progress the line of Jewish settlements. The mixed assembly from which the first converts were gathered on the day of Pentecost represented each division of the Dispersion, and these converts naturally prepared the way for the apostles. The names of the seven deacons are all Greek, and one was a proselyte. The Church at Antioch, by which St. Paul was entrusted with his great work among the heathen (Acts 13:1), included Barnabus of Cyprus, Lucius of Cyrene, and Simeon, surnamed Niger; and among his fellow labourers at a later time are found Apollos of Alexandria, Urbanus, and Clement, whose names, at least, are Roman. Antioch itself became a centre of the Christian Church, as it had been of the Jewish Dispersion; and throughout the apostolic journeys the Jews were the class to whom "it was necessary that the Word of God should be first spoken" (Acts 13:46), and they in turn were united with the mass of the population by the intermediate body of "the devout " who had recognized in various degrees "the faith of the God of Israel."

(Bp. Westcott.)

David, Jerusalemites, Jesus, NicodemusGalilee, Jerusalem, JudeaAppears, Belief, Believe, Believed, Christ, Crowd, Faith, Large, Miracles, Miraculous, Multitude, Numbers, Perform, Performed, Saying, Signs, Teacher, Won't, Yet1. Jesus reproves the ambition and boldness of his kinsmen;
10. goes up from Galilee to the feast of tabernacles;
14. teaches in the temple.
40. Various opinions of him among the people.
45. The Pharisees are angry that their officers took him not,
50. and chide with Nicodemus for taking his side.

John 7:31

     1418   miracles, responses
     2206   Jesus, the Christ
     2215   Christ, Son of David
     5279   crowds
     8427   evangelism, kinds of

John 7:25-43

     7712   convincing

September 13 Morning
If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.--JOHN 7:37. My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.--O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land where no water is; to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

June 9 Morning
Never man spake like this man.--JOHN 7:46. Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever.--The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary.--His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend. All bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth.--He taught them as one having …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

July 30 Evening
Nicodemus . . . he that came to Jesus by night.--JOHN 7:50. Peter followed him afar off.--Among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.--The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe. Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.--A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

One Saying with Two Meanings
'Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto Him that sent Me. 34. Ye shall seek Me, and shall not find Me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come.'--JOHN vii. 33, 34. 'Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek Me; and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.'--JOHN xiii. 33. No greater contrast can be conceived than that between these two groups to whom such singularly similar words were addressed. The …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Rock and the Water
'In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. 38. He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.'--JOHN vii. 37,38. The occasion and date of this great saying are carefully given by the Evangelist, because they throw much light on its significance and importance. It was 'on the last day, that great day of the Feast,' that 'Jesus stood and cried.' The Feast …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Fifteenth Day. The Holy Spirit.
But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believed on Him were to receive: for the Holy Spirit was not yet: because Jesus was not yet glorified.'--John vii. 39. 'The Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things.'--John xiv. 26. 'God chose you to salvation in sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth.'--2 Thess. ii. 13. (See 1 Pet. i. 2.) It has sometimes been said, that while the Holiness of God stands out more prominently …
Andrew Murray—Holy in Christ

The Transfiguration: an Emergency Measure. Matthew 16:28-17:1-8. Mark 9:1-8. Luke 9:27-36.
God in Sore Straits: the darkest hour save one, fugitive, John 7:1. ban, John 9:22, 34. pushing, Matthew 15:1. Mark 7:1.--the danger zone, "withdrew," Matthew 4:12. 12:15. 14:13. 15:21. Tabernacles, John 7:32. 8:59.--Galileans desert, John 6:60-66.--the inner circle infected, John 6:67-71.--God needs men. Fire and anvil for Leaders: mental strength--seasoned leadership--Simon and Peter. An Irresistible Plan: alone with the twelve--the changed plan, Matthew 16:18-21.--Peter's stupid boldness, …
S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks about Jesus

On the Words of the Gospel of John vii. 6, Etc. , Where Jesus Said that He was not Going up unto the Feast, and Notwithstanding Went
1. I Purpose by the Lord's assistance to treat of this section [3961] of the Gospel which has just been read; nor is there a little difficulty here, lest the truth be endangered, and falsehood glory. Not that either the truth can perish, nor falsehood triumph. Now hearken for a while what difficulty this lesson has; and being made attentive by the propounding of the difficulty, pray that I may be sufficient for its solution. "The Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand;" [3962] these it seems are …
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

Upon Our Lord's SermonOn the Mount
Discourse 10 "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then thou shalt see clearly to …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

"Let any Man Come. "
[7] "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water."--John 7:37-38. THE text which heads this paper contains one of those mighty sayings of Christ which deserve to be printed in letters of gold. All the stars in heaven are bright and beautiful; yet even a child can see that "one star differeth from another in glory" …
John Charles Ryle—The Upper Room: Being a Few Truths for the Times

Author's Preface.
I did not write this little work with the thought of its being given to the public. It was prepared for the help of a few Christians who were desirous of loving God with the whole heart. But so many have requested copies of it, because of the benefit they have derived from its perusal, that I have been asked to publish it. I have left it in its natural simplicity. I do not condemn the opinions of any: on the contrary, I esteem those which are held by others, and submit all that I have written to …
Jeanne Marie Bouvières—A Short Method Of Prayer And Spiritual Torrents

Answer to Mr. W's Sixth Objection.
6. and lastly, Let us consider the intrinsick absurdities, and incredibilities of the several stories of these three miracles, p. 36.--As to Jairus's daughter, and her resurrection from the dead, St. Hilary [13] hints, that there was no such person as Jairus;--and he gives this reason, and a good reason it is, why he thought so, because it is elsewhere intimated in the gospel that none of the rulers of the synagogues confessedly believ'd on Jesus, John vii. 48. and xii. 42. St. John's words in the …
Nathaniel Lardner—A Vindication of Three of Our Blessed Saviour's Miracles

Want of Universality in the Knowledge and Reception of Christianity, and of Greater Clearness in the Evidence.
Or, a Revelation which really came from God, the proof, it has been said, would in all ages be so public and manifest, that no part of the human species would remain ignorant of it, no understanding could fail of being convinced by it. The advocates of Christianity do not pretend that the evidence of their religion possesses these qualities. They do not deny that we can conceive it to be within the compass of divine power to have communicated to the World a higher degree of assurance, and to have …
William Paley—Evidences of Christianity

Our Historical Scriptures were Attacked by the Early Adversaries of Christianity...
Our historical Scriptures were attacked by the early adversaries of Christianity, as containing the accounts upon which the Religion was founded. Near the middle of the second century, Celsus, a heathen philosopher, wrote a professed treatise against Christianity. To this treatise Origen, who came about fifty years after him, published an answer, in which he frequently recites his adversary's words and arguments. The work of Celsus is lost; but that of Origen remains. Origen appears to have given …
William Paley—Evidences of Christianity

Rejection of Christianity.
We acknowledge that the Christian religion, although it converted great numbers, did not produce an universal, or even a general conviction in the minds of men of the age and countries in which it appeared. And this want of a more complete and extensive success is called the rejection of the Christian history and miracles; and has been thought by some to form a strong objection to the reality of the facts which the history contains. The matter of the objection divides itself into two parts; as it …
William Paley—Evidences of Christianity

In the Temple at the Feast of Tabernacles.
(October, a.d. 29.) ^D John VII. 11-52. ^d 11 The Jews therefore sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he? [It was now eighteen months since Jesus had visited Jerusalem, at which time he had healed the impotent man at Bethesda. His fame and prolonged obscurity made his enemies anxious for him to again expose himself in their midst. John here used the word "Jews" as a designation for the Jerusalemites, who, as enemies of Christ, were to be distinguished from the multitudes who were in doubt …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Jesus' Brothers Advise Him to Go to Jerusalem.
(Galilee, Probably Capernaum.) ^D John VII. 2-9. ^d 2 Now the feast of the Jews, the feast of tabernacles, was at hand. [The first verse of this chapter tells us that Jesus kept away from Judæa because the Jews sought for his life. See page 393. This keeping away or seclusion began at the Passover season, and led Jesus not only to keep away from Judæa, but even to hover upon the outskirts of Galilee itself. This seclusion is described in Sections LXV.-LXXI. We now turn back to take up …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Story of the Adulteress.
(Jerusalem.) ^D John VII. 53-VIII. 11. [This section is wanting in nearly all older manuscripts, but Jerome (a.d. 346-420) says that in his time it was contained in "many Greek and Latin manuscripts," and these must have been as good or better than the best manuscripts we now possess. But whether we regard it as part of John's narrative or not, scholars very generally accept it as a genuine piece of history.] ^d 53 And they went every man unto his own house [confused by the question of Nicodemus, …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

How to Know the Will of God
"If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God."--JOHN vii. 17. THERE is an experience which becomes more and more familiar to every one who is trying to follow Christ--a feeling of the growing loneliness of his Christian life. It comes from a sense of the peculiarly personal interest which Christ takes in him, which sometimes seems so strong as almost to make him feel that his life is being detached from all the other lives around him, that it is being drawn out …
Henry Drummond—The Ideal Life

In the Last, the Great Day of the Feast'
IT was the last, the great day of the Feast,' and Jesus was once more in the Temple. We can scarcely doubt that it was the concluding day of the Feast, and not, as most modern writers suppose, its Octave, which, in Rabbinic language, was regarded as a festival by itself.' [3987] [3988] But such solemn interest attaches to the Feast, and this occurrence on its last day, that we must try to realise the scene. We have here the only Old Testament type yet unfilfilled; the only Jewish festival which has …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Journey to Jerusalem - Chronological Arrangement of the Last Part of the Gospel-Narratives - First Incidents by the Way.
THE part in the Evangelic History which we have now reached has this peculiarity and difficulty, that the events are now recorded by only one of the Evangelists. The section in St. Luke's Gospel from chapter ix. 51 to chapter xviii. 14 stands absolutely alone. From the circumstance that St. Luke omits throughout his narrative all notation of time or place, the difficulty of arranging here the chronological succession of events is so great, that we can only suggest what seems most probable, without …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

At the Feast of Tabernacles - First Discourse in the Temple
IT was Chol ha Moed - as the non-sacred part of the festive week, the half-holy days were called. [3949] Jerusalem, the City of Solemnities, the City of Palaces, the City of beauty and glory, wore quite another than its usual aspect; other, even, than when its streets were thronged by festive pilgrims during the Passover-week, or at Pentecost. For this was pre-eminently the Feast for foreign pilgrims, coming from the farthest distance, whose Temple-contributions were then received and counted. [3950] …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

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