John 1:1 Why is it that, as you turn the page from St. Luke to St. John you seem to pass into another climate nay, I might almost say, into another atmosphere? The answer is at least twofold. It is, first, that there was so much to tell, facts and teachings of so much deeper meaning than those whic... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:3 Christ the Creator. I. The Church in her creeds has borne unequivocal testimony to Christ as the Creator. When we say that the Son of God made the worlds, we do not speak as of an act of His, independent of and disconnected from the Father: for this, from the nature of the Son of God, is... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:4 God's Self-revelation through Life. I. This Scripture opens to us God's living way of making Himself known on earth. The Bible is the record and interpretation of a way of creation and of life which leads from the promise of the beginning on and on, with a purpose never given up, and a goa... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:4 I. In Christ was life, and that life was the _light_of men. We consider these words as marking such a derivation to ourselves of that life, that immortality which was in the Word, as can never be affirmed of the inferior tribes of this creation. Undoubtedly these tribes draw their life from... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:5 In these few and simple words the great Evangelist describes the agency of Christ in the world. In Him, he tells us, was life; vital power for time and for eternity, able to quicken and invigorate man, and to set aside death. And that life was the light of men. Accordingly, when He appeare... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:11 Jewish Interpretation of Prophecy. I. To the Jew, the argument from Messianic prophecy should be irresistible for these two reasons: (i.) That, book by book, prophecy by prophecy, verse by verse, his greatest and oldest rabbis, his Targums, his Talmud, his Midrashim, his mediæval comment... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:14 _(with Revelation 7:15and Revelation 21:3)_ The word rendered "dwelt" in these three passages is a peculiar one. It is only found in the New Testament in this Gospel, and in the Book of the Revelation. The word literally means "to dwell in a tent" or, if we may use such a word, "to taber... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:16 From this passage some lessons of great importance come to us. As I. That we should not try to live in the past, or by means of the past. As distinct from the present, we should not try to get a living, present nourishment out of states and frames and feelings, all dead and gone. You woul... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:17 I. We have here the special glory of the contents of the Gospel, heightened by the contrast with law. Law has no tenderness, no pity, no feeling. Tables of stone and a pen of iron are its fitting vehicles. Flashing lightnings and rolling thunders symbolise the fierce light which it casts... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:18 What the God-Man reveals of God and man. I. The Man Christ Jesus came expressly to show us the Father. That is, He came to teach us that God is our Father, that whatever we see or can imagine of pure parental love holds good of Him. Now we have known parents who would suffer anything, mak... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:19 The Ministry of John the Baptist. From the ministry of John the Baptist we may learn I. That when Jesus is about to visit a community in His saving power, His coming is generally preceded by loud calls to repentance. It was the special mission of the Baptist to unfold the majesty of the... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:23 I. I do not think we often question respecting the course and testimony of Christ's forerunner _whereunto served it?_We know that by it the Jewish people as a whole _were not_prepared to receive Jesus as their Saviour, for they rejected and crucified Him. And if it be alleged that they who... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:29 _(with John 20:31)_ What is the most characteristic account of Christianity, by which its supporters may demand that its pretensions shall be tried? The Evangelist supplies us with a sufficient answer in the passages which I have joined together as the text. It is a system which aims at... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:35 The First Disciples. I. We see here the very first beginnings of the Christian Church. With what reverent interest may we meetly regard this simple record of the beginning of that great kingdom which has made every other feel its sway. It has affected the stability of empires, overthrown... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:37 The First Disciples John and Andrew. I. Look at the question of Christ to the whole world: What seek ye? As it stands, on the surface and in its primary application, it is the most natural of questions. Venturing to take the words in a somewhat wider application, let me suggest two or th... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:40 The World's Benefactors. I. Little as Scripture tells us of St. Andrew, it affords us enough for a lesson, and that an important one. These are the facts before us. St. Andrew was the first convert among the Apostles; he was especially in our Lord's confidence; thrice is he described as i... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:40 The First Disciples Simon Peter. In this incident we have two things mainly to consider (1) the witness of the disciple; (2) the self-revelation of the Master. I. The witness of the disciple. (1) Notice first the illustratration that we get here of how instinctive and natural the impulse... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:41 The First Home Mission. I. We have here the spring of all true home mission work. Andrew had himself made acquaintance with the Lord Jesus Christ. II. Note the object of the mission, "And he brought him to Jesus." In any mission work we undertake we should be satisfied with nothing less... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:42 Those words, strange perhaps as they might have sounded for the text of a sermon, must have sounded still stranger when Christ first spoke them to this man. It was a strange thing, indeed, to a man of the East, to whom a name always conveys significant associations, to a member of that He... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:43 The First Disciples Philip. Note: I. The revelation which is here given us of the seeking Christ. Everyone who reads this chapter with even the slightest attention must observe how seeking and finding are repeated over and over again. Christ will welcome and over-answer Andrew and John... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:45 In the closing verses of this chapter we have a narrative of the calling of some four or five of our Lord's earliest disciples. It is interesting on many accounts, more particularly perhaps on this that it distinctly points out the _reason why_these men attached themselves to the ministry... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:45 The First Disciples Nathanael. I. Look first at the preparation a soul brought to Christ by a brother. "Philip findeth Nathanael." Nathanael's prejudice was but the giving voice to a fault that is as wide as humanity, and which we have every day of our lives to fight with, not only in re... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:46 The Duties of Heavenly Citizenship towards Infidelity. I. The heavenly citizen must first be deeply convinced of the truth of the proposition, _Magna est veritas et prævalebit._In "contending earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints," his contention will be rather to persuade... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:47 Guilelessness. An even unvaried life is the lot of most men, in spite of occasional troubles or other accidents; and we are apt to despise it and get tired of it, and to long to see the world or, at all events, we think such a life affords no great opportunity for religious obedience. He... [ Continue Reading ]
John 1:50 We have here I. The dawn of faith. "Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou?" II. The fact of experience from which faith begins is the dawning of a faith that must continually grow. Two things are necessary to the strengthening of belief. (1) Its evidenc... [ Continue Reading ]