_In the beginning was the Word_ I. THE APOSTLE ASSERTS THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 1. His name: the Word. (1) He is the chief subject of Revelation--the Word of promise--the substance of all shadows, types, and prophecies. (2) The medium of God’s communications with the world. To Him the Father com... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_The same was in the beginning with God._ This repetition teaches I. HOW LITTLE ABLE WE ARE TO COMPREHEND THIS GREAT MYSTERY, which we can but take in by little and little, and must put that together, as children do letters, syllables, and words, till we attain a more full understanding thereof, f... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_All things were made by Him_ THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF CREATION I. THE PURIFICATION OF THE HEATHEN DOCTRINE: obviating the eternity of matter. II. THE DEEPENING OF THE JEWISH DOCTRINE of the Shekinah: clearly pronouncing the personal life of love in God as it enters into the world. III. THE GLO... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_In Him was life, and the life was the light of men._ The life which Christ lived was so radiant that it fills our lives with light. It was God-life, without pause or interruption. I. CHRIST THE TRUE LIFE. 1. A life of the highest knowledge. “No man knoweth the Father but the Son.” “By His knowled... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not_ HOW DIFFERENT MEN RECEIVE THE LIGHT 1. Some merely receive it to evidence their own darkness. 2. Some by outward profession merely. 3. Others receive and impart it as lights which are lighted by the true light. (_W. Denton._... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_There was a man sent from God whose name was John_ THE FORERUNNER I. THE MISSION OF THE BAPTIST. 1. It was immediately connected with the appearance of the Word in the flesh. 2. It was of God. And as His mission so his name. 3. It had as its special end to testify of Christ. 4. Its aim was to... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_The same came for a witness._ A witness is wanted in the period of ignorance and darkness. Such a witness is the moon, which reflects a borrowed portion of light from the sun, and so assures us of him; but when the sun itself arises, himself becomes invisible, and as not existing. His borrowed ligh... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_He was not that Light_ THE PERSONALITY OF THE BAPTIST I. John the Baptist was WELL BORN. The best Jewish blood flowed in his veins. Hereditary forces are the conservative forces of society. Voice, stature, longevity, mental and moral qualities descend from one generation to another. It is not tru... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_That was the true Light_ THE TRUE LIGHT WHICH LIGHTETH EVERY MAN I. CHRIST IS THE TRUE LIGHT. This is seen when we reflect that 1. He is the source of all the knowledge we have of the Divine Being--His relation to us, His infinite love, and the wonderful plan of salvation He has devised. 2. He... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_He was in the world_ THE TREATMENT OF CHRIST BY MEN I. By the WORLD. 1. They were in a condition in which they might have known much of Him. He made the world and preserved it and was in it. Yet there was no proper recognition of Him. 2. This ignorance of Christ was the sin of the world, and it... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God_ ST. John’s first view of Christ the key to his Gospel I. These verses DESCRIBE THE SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE OF ST. JOHN. In this point of view the order of time is different from the order of the statements. The several steps... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us_ THE GOD-MAN SATISFYING THE DESIRE OF HUMANITY I. THE DESIRE. The desire of a Saviour had attained its maturity in the period of universal decline which preceded the Advent. This desire was a prophecy of its own satisfaction because inspired, nourished a... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_John bare witness of Him_ THE PRE-EMINENCE OF CHRIST I. CHRIST’S SUPERIORITY TO JOHN THE BAPTIST. 1. John refers to and repeats previous testimonies, applying them to Him whom the congregation had just seen depart. The testimony was pointed, warm, confident, bold. 2. The substance and form of t... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_Of His fulness have all we received_ THE FULNESS OF CHRIST The word “fulness” is given to vessels that are brimful of liquor, and so is metaphorically applied to Christ, who is brimful of grace. I. Take grace for LOVE, so there is a fulness of love in Christ. 1. Of pardoning love (Luc 23:24). W... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_The Law was given by Moses_ POINTS, OF CONTRAST BETWEEN JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY I. IN THE PERSONS REPRESENTING JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY. 1. Moses was the servant, Christ the master. 2. Moses was a subject, dependent, Christ was King of kings. 3. Moses was only a man, but Christ was the God-ma... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_No man hath seen God _ THE LIMITATIONS OF HUMAN VISION Some men have seen much, for all have not the same power of vision. Some have seen much more than others with I. THE NATURAL EYE. They have travelled far and near; seen wonders upon the deep and on the mountains, and the marvels of creation... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_The record of John_ _ I._ AN INSTRUCTIVE EXAMPLE OF TRUE HUMILITY. 1. John was an eminent saint of God (Matthieu 11:11; Jean 5:35),yet we see him lowly and self-abased. (1) He refuses the honour which the Jews were ready to pay him; (2) He declines all flattering titles; (3) He asserts that h... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_He confessed and denied not_ JOHN AND JESUS I. THE DIGNITY OF TRUTH. 1. It seems easy for John to have confessed and denied not. But here is a people ripe for Christ. They had been expecting Him for four hundred years. Moreover, no sooner did John appear than there was a tendency in the whole na... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_What sayest thou of thyself?_ I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH MADE THE MAN. John was the transition point between the old and the new. The old religion was breaking up as was evident in the multiplication of sects, like the multiplication of the sects before the Reformation showed that it was near. Fou... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_They which were sent were of the Pharisees_ THE QUESTION OF THE PHARISEES 1. It is an evidence of a sick and corrupt Church when corrupt men are entrusted with most grave and weighty employments in it; for so was it with the Church of the Jews when “they which were sent were of the Pharisees.”... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_I baptize with water_ THE BAPTISM OF JOHN If the rite, which the Forerunner of our Lord administered, is not to be considered as a Christian institute, to what dispensation are we to assign it, since it is manifestly no part of the economy of Moses? The reply is that it was the symbol of a pecul... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_Behold the Lamb of God! _ THE WORK OF CHRIST, AND OF HIS DISCIPLES I.THE SAVIOUR’S WORK IN THE SALVATION OF MEN. 1. He taketh away the sin of the world. The father says, “Save the family”; the citizen, “Save the town”; the patriot, “Save the country”; Christ, “Save the world “--and not merely sa... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_This is He._ THE REDEEMER’S IDENTIFICATION I. IN HIS WORK as the Lamb of God. 1. ‘The object offered in sacrifice. The Lamb of God applies to Christ (1) in His personal character. (2) In His sacrificial character. 2. The object or effect of the sacrifice “taketh away,” etc.! 3. The burden re... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_The next day_ THE FIRST UTTERANCES OF THE WORD 1. A searching question. 2. A gracious invitation. 3. An encouraging promise. 4. A Divine command. 5. A heart revelation. 6. An assurance of a present and an everlasting heaven. (_J. W. Burn._) THREE WAYS TO THE LORD There is only one way to... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_Behold the Lamb of God!--This is the main business of the preacher._ Had John been an eloquent declaimer of repentance merely, he would have missed his life-work. As the stars called “the Pointers” always point to the Pole Star, so must ministers point to the Redeemer. The Baptist’s eye was fasten... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_And the two disciples heard Him speak_ THE FIRST TWO DISCIPLES I. THE FRUIT OF GRACE IN THESE TWO DISCIPLES. 1. They followed Jesus. When a man has become a doer of the Word, he ever seeks increased knowledge. 2. They acknowledged His high character as a Master on whose instruction they desired... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_One of the two which heard John speak_ ANDREW I. THE EARNEST SEEKER AFTER SALVATION. 1. His mind had been prepared (1) By the preaching of the Baptist (2) By independent reflection and Bible study. 2. He came to Jesus with an openheartedness worthy of imitation. He had his own notions, doubtl... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_And he brought him to Jesus _ EVERYDAY USEFULNESS We are intensely desirous of a revival of religion, and we look for it through some extraordinary agency. God works in this way sometimes; but while waiting for it we miss actual opportunities, Our proper course is to do what we can and God will... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_Jesus … findeth Phillip_ _ I._ THE SEEKING CHRIST. This is a chapter of seeking and finding. Christ asks Andrew and John, “Whom seek ye?” Andrew “findeth his own brother and saith unto him, We have found.” Then, again, Jesus finds Philip, and Philip Nathaniel, and both the Messias. There are two k... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_Philip findeth Nathanael._ The equivalent of Theodore. He is probably to be identified with Bartholomew, for 1. The mention of him here and in Jean 21:2, shows that he occupied a prominent position among the disciples. Those with whom he is classed in each case are apostles. 2. No mention is mad... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile._ This is a chapter of “beholds.” We are first to “Behold the Lamb of God,” and then to behold a man of God. Nathanael was simple, straightforward, honest, “an Israelite indeed.” In this he was not like his great progenitor, Jacob, who was a supplant... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_When thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee._ What was he doing there? Something good evidently. The following suggestions have been made: I. THAT HE WAS THERE FOR GRATEFUL CONTEMPLATION. A tradition says that at the massacre of the innocents he was hidden by his mother beneath the fig-tree in... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God; Thou art the King of Israel_ THE EARLIEST CREED Remarkable as not being formulated by an ecumenical council, a]earned rabbi, a matured and educated Christian, but by a simple guileless Jew who had only his Old Testament to learn from, and at his first interview wit... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_Greater things than these_ I. THIS FAVOURED MAN. 1. He was a man who honestly made inquiries which fairly suggested themselves. He did not invent doubts and raise questions. When Philip said Nazareth his mind went to the prophecy about Bethlehem; hence his question. When Christ read him he natur... [ Continuer la lecture ]
_Hereafter ye shall see the heaven open_ THE VERILIES OF CHRIST 1_._ Nothing is more characteristic of our age than its questioning and doubt. (1) Science has opened many fields in all of which much is yet unsolved. (2) Philosophy has unsettled much that was once believed. (3) The growing comp... [ Continuer la lecture ]