John 8:59

Then took they up stones to cast at Him.

Stones of the visible Temple cast at the cornerstone of the Temple of God. (W. H. Van Doren, D. D.)

The Jews and Jesus

Followeth now the issue of this long dispute, and particularly of this last contest. They look upon Him as so absurd in what He had just spoken that they will reason no more, but seek to cut Him off as a blasphemer; and He takes no more pains to convince them, but delivers Himself miraculously from their fury. Whence learn

1. Malicious persecutors will not hearken to truth, though never so clearly told them; but when all arguments fail them, they will betake themselves to violence; for “then they take up stones to cast at Him,” wherein they were injurious, in returning Him the reward of a blasphemer, who had told them the truth, and unjust, in their tumultuous procedure, and not taking a legal way. And this is it which may be expected of all contradictors of Christ’s doctrine, if they get power and be not bridled.

2. It is lawful for God’s servants to withdraw from the fury of bloody persecutors, when the persecution is personal, as Christ’s example doth teach.

3. Our blessed Lord did condescend to sanctify all the weak means prescribed to His people in hard times, in His own person; for, He who could have destroyed them, “hid Himself,” and made use of fleeing, “He went out,” etc.

4. Christ can disappoint persecutors, and deliver His people, even in greatest extremity; for, when they have Him among their hands in the Temple, He first “hid Himself,” and then “went out of the Temple, going through the midst of them,” etc. Either he dazzled their eyes, and made Himself invisible, both when He hid Himself, and went away; or having done so for a while, while he hid Himself, He did bind up their hands that they could not touch Him when He went openly through them out of the Temple. And so He evinced His great power even in His infirmity, and so also doth He make His people prove strong while they are weak, and perfects His strength in their weakness. (G. Hutcheson.)

Hatred of the truth

Truth is hated because

I. IT SEES TOO DEEPLY.

II. SPEAKS TOO PLAINLY.

III. JUDGES TOO SEVERELY. (Schnur.)

Jesus hid Himself and went out of the Temple

Christ and His Church in a bad world

The escape of our Lord was no doubt a great miracle. As an old Divine remarks on it, “Christ here hides Himself, not by shrinking behind partition walls, nor by interposing anything else between them and His own Body, but by the power of His Godhead making Himself invisible to those who sought Him.” Once before, as it seems, He had wrought the same wonder, but not in the same place, nor among the same people (Luke 4:29). Thus, as another old writer observes, “you may understand that our Lord’s passion was endured not of constraint, but willingly: that He was not so much taken by the Jews, as offered by Himself. For when He will, He is taken; when He will, He escapes; when He will, He is hanged on a tree; when He will, they can lay no hold on Him.” St. John says, He hid Himself; St. Luke does not say so--therefore it may be, that in the one case His enemies could not see Him, any more than Balaam could the angel; in the other ease, that though they saw Him, the hand of God was on them in some remarkable way, to keep them from laying hands on Him. Another circumstance much to be observed, in our Lord’s manner, in both these two several miracles, is His passing immediately from His danger and the midst of His enemies, to the performance of works of mercy among worthier and more thankful people. When He became visible again, it was to heal those who had need of healing. The particular way in which at present I wish to consider this great miracle is the following: How it throws light on the true condition of Christ and His servants here in this evil world. It shows us what the true Church of Christ and what true Christians must expect; and it shows us also how they may behave themselves, in such trials, worthy of Him whom they serve. The plain doctrine of Scripture is, that as affliction is the lot of all men--for man is born to trouble as surely as the sparks fly upward--so persecution is the lot of Christians. They declare themselves in baptism bound to be always at war with the world and the devil; and the world and the devil for their part will never leave them alone. But further: the attack on our Lord on this occasion seems to show what way of thinking it is, and what particular part of the Church’s doctrine, which is most apt to draw on itself the censure and enmity of the world. Why did the Jews try to stone our Lord? because He represented Himself as having been before Abraham. So a while after, when He plainly said to them, “I and My Father are one,” they presently took up stones to stone Him. And His final condemnation to death by the High Priest went on no other ground. Thus it has ever been between Christ and the wicked world. They would hear him teach many things--speak in praise of love and charity, or utter His great unspeakable promises. But when it comes to this, You are members of Christ, walk worthy, then, of the vocation wherewith ye are called; Christ, who accounts you part of Himself, is the Most High God; you, as united to Him, are partakers of the Divine Nature; therefore you must really keep the commandments, you must be inwardly and really holy as He is holy: when this kind of doctrine is put forth, and urged home to the hearts of men, they grow uneasy, and start objections, and make difficulties, and say it is requiring too much; they never can come up to so high a standard, and they take people to have become their enemies, who talk to them in such a tone. This of course makes our duty, in respect of God’s Truth and worship, harder to perform; but it does not in the least make it obscure or doubtful. We must not neglect, or forget, high and mysterious doctrines, or severe rules, because those with whom we are concerned are impatient of being put in mind of them; yet again, we must so teach them as they may be able to bear--tempting them as little as possible to irreverent hearing and careless forgetting. Jesus Christ, His hour being not yet come, retired out of the way of His enemies, and gave them time to consider and repent. So it becomes us, when we bear witness to the truth, to be full of that great charity, which will make us put ourselves in the gainsayers’ place, and always consider what is most likely to do them good, and bring them to a better mind. As for example: if a bad or profane word is spoken in our hearing, it can never of course be right to seem amused at it, or in any way to become partaker of the sin; but it may often be best not openly to rebuke it at the time, but rather to turn the discourse for the present, and await some opportunity, when we can speak with the offender alone, and he is otherwise more disposed to listen to us. This is withdrawing the name of our Lord out of the way of reproach, as He did His Person from the stones that were cast at Him. Only we must be very careful, that we do not so retire through cowardice or sloth, or out of care what men may say of us: and the proof of this will be, if we seek anxiously afterwards for opportunities of doing the good, which we thought we could not do at that time; and if we deny ourselves something for the sake of doing it. (Plain Sermons by Contributors to “Tracts for the Times. ”)

.