John 16:19

Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask Him

Christ’s knowledge of our thoughts

I. CHRIST PERFECTLY KNOWS OUR THOUGHTS. He knew, and knows, “what is in man.”

1. All the evil thoughts of His adversaries. When He forgave the man sick of the palsy He heard the whisper “within themselves, this man blasphemeth.” Beneath every specious pretext and subtle question He detected the hatred that was aiming at His destruction. Was He not the express image of the Father who is kind to the unthankful and the evil. Well may Paul ask, “Despisest thou the riches of His goodness,” &c.

2. He knew all the sorrowful thoughts of sinners about themselves. No one but Jesus knew that the paralytic was more troubled about sin than about sickness. So when the sinful woman fell at His feet, His eye scanned her past history. Hence we may encourage those who have much more consciousness of guilt than they can express, to believe that He knows the worst of them.

3. He knew the half-formed purposes of His disciples. He foresaw that Judas would betray Him, that Peter would deny Him, before either supposed that He would do so. He knew the secret strivings of the brethren as to which should be greatest. But He bore with their imperfections, talked with them as familiarly, and trusted them as completely, as if they could never be disloyal. If we knew all the secret thoughts of our professed friends, and foresaw how they would fail us, how far our feeling would be from Christ’s.

II. THAT CHRIST LOVINGLY SYMPATHIZES WITH OUR QUESTIONINGS. The disciples were entertaining a question they hesitated to ask; but He expressed it for them, and met it not with rebuke, but with teaching. They might have known that He would do this, for when they asked Him, “Why could we not cast him out?” or “Lord, declare unto us this parable,” He had always met their difficulties. Nor was it otherwise during His resurrection life. He “reasoned” with the two going to Emmaus, and gave evidence to Thomas. His own knowledge was absolute, but He recognized that finite minds could only “know in part,” and was satisfied if they were humble and loyal. How unjustifiable, then, for us, with our fallibility, to judge those who do not exactly see with us. This has had disastrous effects on thoughtful inquirers. There are still Thomas’s as well as John’s in the world--and how many of the former may be brought to say “My Lord and my God” by Christly treatment?

III. THAT CHRIST WISELY ORDAINS THE INCOMPLETENESS OF OUR PRESENT KNOWLEDGE. He did not answer the question of the disciples so completely as to clear up all their difficulties. They were left to the twilight till the dawn of the resurrection morning. On all sides now we hear cries for certainty which positivism has harmonized into a song. But these demands are the outcome of the impatience which will not wait, of the self-confidence which would make us gods. “We have but faith, we cannot know. For knowledge is of things we see,” &c. It is well for us this is so. We have a more heroic temper when we have “fought our doubts and gathered strength:” Scripture becomes dearer as we search it to discover the mysteries it alone reveals; and in the growing consciousness that spiritual things can only be spiritually discerned, we are brought to Jesus’ feet to listen to Him and leave much to Him, concerning which He says, “I have many things,” &c. When He refuses to reveal, He only acts as any wise father would do. If your child asks you a question which you cannot answer for his good, you say, “I will tell you some day--trust me to tell you at the right time.” (A. Rowland, LL. B.)