Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of John: A Commentary

Expository Thoughts on The Gospel of John

J. C. Ryle

Contents

Preface

Introduction

John 1:1-5

John 1:6-13

John 1:14

John 1:15-18

John 1:19-28

John 1:29-34

John 1:35-42

John 1:43-51

John 2:1-11

John 2:12-25

John 3:1-8

John 3:9-21

John 3:22-36

John 4:1-6

John 4:7-26

John 4:27-30

John 4:31-42

John 4:43-54

John 5:1-15

John 5:16-23

John 5:24-29

John 5:30-39

John 5:40-47

John 6:1-14

John 6:15-21

John 6:22-27

John 6:28-34

John 6:35-40

John 6:41-51

John 6:52-59

John 6:60-65

John 6:66-71

John 7:1-13

John 7:14-24

John 7:25-36

John 7:37-39

John 7:40-53

John 8:1-11

John 8:12-20

John 8:21-30

John 8:31-36

John 8:37-47

John 8:48-59

John 9:1-12

John 9:13-25

John 9:26-41

John 10:1-9

John 10:10-18

John 10:19-30

John 10:31-42

John 11:1-6

John 11:7-16

John 11:17-29

John 11:30-37

John 11:38-46

John 11:47-57

John 12:1-11

John 12:12-19

John 12:20-26

John 12:27-33

John 12:34-43

John 12:44-50

John 13:1-5

John 13:6-15

John 13:16-20

John 13:21-30

John 13:31-38

John 14:1-3

John 14:4-11

John 14:12-17

John 14:18-20

John 14:21-26

John 14:27-31

John 15:1-6

John 15:7-11

John 15:12-16

John 15:17-21

John 15:22-27

John 16:1-7

John 16:8-15

John 16:16-24

John 16:25-33

John 17:1-8

John 17:9-16

John 17:17-26

John 18:1-11

John 18:12-27

John 18:28-40

John 19:1-16

John 19:17-27

John 19:28-37

John 19:38-42

John 20:1-10

John 20:11-18

John 20:19-23

John 20:24-31

John 21:1-14

John 21:15-17

John 21:18-25

J. C. Ryle – A Brief Biography

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Preface

I send forth the volume now in the reader’s hands with much reserve and a very deep sense of responsibility. It is no light matter to publish an exposition of any book in the Bible. It is a peculiarly serious undertaking to attempt a Commentary on the Gospel of John.

I do not forget that we are all apt to exaggerate the difficulties of our own particular department of literary labor. But I think every intelligent student of Scripture will bear me out when I say that John’s Gospel is pre-eminently full of things hard to be understood (2 Peter 3:16). It contains a large portion of our Lord Jesus Christ’s doctrinal teaching. It abounds in deep things of God, and sayings of the King, which we instinctively feel we have no line to fully fathom, no mind to fully comprehend, no words to fully explain. It must needs be that such a book of Scripture should be difficult. I can truly say that I have commented on many a verse in this Gospel with fear and trembling. I have often said to myself, Who is sufficient for these things? (2 Corinthians 2:16) – The place whereon thou standest is holy ground (Exodus 3:5).

The nature of the work now published requires a few words of explanation. It is a continuation of the Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, of which the first three Gospels have been already sent forth. Like the previous volumes, the composition of this book is a continuous series of short expositions, intended for family or private reading or for the use of those who visit the sick and the poor.

We live in a day of abounding vagueness and indistinctness on doctrinal subjects in religion. Now, if ever, it is the duty of all advocates of clear, well-defined, sharply cut theology to supply proof that their views are thoroughly borne out by Scripture. I have endeavored to do so in this Commentary. I hold that the Gospel of John, rightly interpreted, is the best and simplest answer to those who profess to admire a vague and indistinct Christianity.

The theological standpoint which the writer of this Commentary occupies will be obvious to any intelligent reader. Such a one will see at a glance that I belong to that school in the Church of England which, rightly or wrongly, is called Evangelical. He will see that I have no sympathy whatever with either Romish or Neologian tendencies. He will see that I hold firmly the distinctive theological views of the Reformers and doctrinal Puritans, and that I totally disapprove the loose and broad theology of some modern schools of divines. But while I say all this, I must be allowed to add that in interpreting Scripture, I call no man master or father. I abhor the idea of twisting and warping God’s Word in order to make it support party views. Throughout this Commentary I have endeavored honestly and conscientiously to find out the real meaning of every sentence on which I have commented. I have evaded no difficulty and shrunk from no inference. I have simply followed Scripture wherever its words seemed to point and accepted whatever they seemed to mean. I have never hesitated to express my disagreement from the views of other commentators if occasion required, but when I have done so, I have tried to do it with courtesy and respect.

On one point of vast importance in the present day, the reader will see that I hold very decided opinions. That point is inspiration. I feel no hesitation in avowing that I believe in the plenary inspiration of every word of the original text of Holy Scripture. I hold not only that the Bible contains the Word of God, but that every jot of it was written or brought together by Divine inspiration and is the Word of God. I entirely disagree with those who maintain that the writers of the Bible were partially inspired or inspired to such a limited extent that discrepancies, inaccuracies, and contradictions to the facts of science and history must be expected and do exist in their writings. I utterly repudiate such a theory. I consider that it practically destroys the whole value of God’s Word, puts a sword in the hand of infidels and sceptics, and raises far more serious difficulties than it pretends to solve. . . .

For my own part, I believe that the whole Bible, as it came originally from the hands of the inspired writers, was verbally perfect and without flaw. I believe that the inspired writers were infallibly guided by the Holy Spirit, both in their selection of matter and their choice of words. I believe that even now, when we cannot explain alleged difficulties in Holy Scripture, the wisest course is to blame the interpreter and not the text, to suspect our own ignorance to be in fault, and not any defect in God’s Word. The theological system of modern days, which delights in magnifying the so-called mistakes of the Bible, in explaining away its miraculous narratives and in making as little as possible of its Divine character and supernatural element, is a system that I cannot away with. It seems to me to take a rock from beneath our feet and plant us on a quicksand. It robs us of bread and does not give us in its place so much as a stone. . . .

I now conclude this preface with an earnest prayer that it may please God to pardon the many deficiencies of this volume and to use it for His own glory and the good of souls. It has cost me a large amount of time and thought and labor. But if the Holy Spirit shall make it useful to the Church of Christ, I shall feel abundantly repaid.

Ignorance of Scripture is the root of every error in religion and the source of every heresy. To be allowed to remove a few grains of ignorance and to throw a few rays of light on God’s precious word is, in my opinion, the greatest honor that can be put on a Christian.

Introduction

The following prefatory remarks on John’s Gospel may prove useful to some readers:

Firstly, there is no doubt that this Gospel was written by John, the Apostle, the son of Zebedee, and brother of James, once a fisherman on the sea of Galilee, and afterwards called to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus, an eyewitness of all Christ’s ministry, and a pillar of the church. John, be it remembered, is specially called the disciple whom Jesus loved. He was one of the chosen three who alone saw the daughter of Jairus raised – were eyewitnesses of the transfiguration – and were bystanders during our Lord’s agony in the garden. He was the one who leaned on Christ’s breast at the last supper, and to whom our Lord committed the care of the Virgin Mary, when He was dying on the cross. It is an interesting fact, that he was the disciple who was specially inspired to write the deepest things concerning Christ.

Secondly, there is little doubt that this Gospel was written at a much later date than the other three Gospels. How much later and at what precise time, we do not know. It is commonly supposed that it was written after the rise of heresies about the Person and natures of Christ. It is not likely that it was written at so late a period as the destruction of Jerusalem. If this had been the case, John would hardly have spoken of the sheep-market at Jerusalem as still standing (John 5:2).

Thirdly, the substance of this Gospel is, for the most part, peculiar to itself. With the exception of the crucifixion and a few other matters, the things which John was inspired to record concerning our Lord are only found in his gospel. He says nothing about our Lord’s birth and infancy, His temptation, the Sermon on the Mount, the transfiguration, the prophecy about Jerusalem, and the appointment of the Lord’s Supper. He gives us very few miracles, and even fewer parables. But the things which John does relate are among the most precious treasures which Christians possess. The chapters about Nicodemus – the woman of Samaria – the raising of Lazarus – and our Lord’s appearance to Peter after His resurrection at the sea of Galilee – the public discourses of the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and tenth chapters – the private discourses of the thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth chapters – and, above all, the prayer of the seventeenth chapter are some of the most valuable portions of the Bible. All these chapters, be it remembered, we owe to John.

Fourthly, the style of this Gospel is no less peculiar than its substance. There appears extraordinary simplicity in many of its statements, and yet there is a depth about them, which no man can entirely fathom. It contains many expressions which are used in a profound and spiritual sense, such as light, darkness, world, life, truth, to abide, to know. It contains two names of the second and third Persons of the Trinity, not found in the other Gospels. These are the Word, as a name of our Lord, and the Comforter, as a name of the Holy Spirit. It contains, from time to time, explanatory comments and remarks on our Lord’s words. Moreover, it contains frequent short explanations of Jewish customs and terms, which serve to show that it was not written so much for Jewish readers as for the whole church throughout the world.

Lastly, the preface of this Gospel is one of the most striking peculiarities about the whole book. Under the term preface, I include the first eighteen verses of the first chapter. This preface forms the quintessence of the whole book and is composed of simple, short, condensed propositions. Nowhere in the Bible shall we find such clear and distinct statements about our Lord Jesus Christ’s divine nature. Nowhere shall we find so many expressions, which for want of mental power, no mortal man can fully grasp or explain. In no portion of Scripture is it so deeply important to notice each word and even each tense employed in each sentence. In no portion of Scripture do the perfect grammatical accuracy and verbal precision of an inspired composition shine out so brightly. It is not, perhaps, too much to say that not a single word could be altered in the first five verses of John’s Gospel without opening the door to some heresy.

John Chapter 1

John 1:1-5

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with the God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with the God. All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness apprehended it not.

The Gospel of John, which begins with these verses, is in many respects very unlike the other three Gospels. It contains many things, which they omit. It omits many things, which they contain. Good reason might easily be shown for this unlikeness. But it is enough to remember that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John wrote under the direct inspiration of God. In the general plan of their respective Gospels and in the particular details – in everything that they record and in everything that they do not record – they were all four equally and entirely guided by the Holy Spirit.

About the matters, which John was specially inspired to relate in his Gospel, one general remark will suffice. The things which are peculiar to his Gospel are among the most precious possessions of the Church of Christ. No one of the four Gospel writers has given us such full statements about the divinity of Christ, about justification by faith, about the offices of Christ, about the work of the Holy Spirit, and about the privileges of believers as we read in the pages of John. On none of these great subjects, undoubtedly, have Matthew, Mark, and Luke been silent. But in John’s Gospel, they stand out prominently on the surface, unmistakable in meaning.

The five verses now before us contain a statement of matchless sublimity concerning the divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ. He it is, beyond all question, whom John means when he speaks of the Word. No doubt there are heights and depths in that statement which are far beyond man’s understanding. And yet there are plain lessons in it, which every Christian would do well to treasure up in his mind.

We learn, firstly, that our Lord Jesus Christ is eternal. John tells us that "in the beginning was the Word. He did not begin to exist when the heavens and the earth were made. Much less did He begin to exist when the Gospel was brought into the world. He had glory with the Father before the world was (John 17:5). He was existing when matter was first created and before time began. He was before all things" (Colossians 1:17). He was from all eternity.

We learn, secondly, that our Lord Jesus Christ is a Person distinct from God the Father, and yet one with Him. John tells us that the Word was with God.¹ The Father and the Word, though two persons, are joined by an ineffable union. Where God the Father was from all eternity, there also was the Word, even God the Son – their glory equal, their majesty co-eternal, and yet their Godhead one. This is a great mystery! Happy is he who can receive it as a little child without attempting to explain it.

We learn, thirdly, that the Lord Jesus Christ is very God. John tells us that the Word was God. He is not merely a created angel, or a being inferior to God the Father, and invested by Him with power to redeem sinners. He is nothing less than perfect God – equal to the Father as touching His Godhead – God of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds.

We learn, fourthly, that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Creator of all things. John tells us that by Him were all things made, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. So far from being a creature of God, as some heretics have falsely asserted, He is the Being who made the worlds and all that they contain. He commanded and they were created (Psalm 148:5).

We learn, lastly, that the Lord Jesus Christ is the source of all spiritual life and light. John tells us that in Him was life, and the life was the light of men. He is the eternal fountain from which alone the sons of men have ever derived life. Whatever spiritual life and light Adam and Eve possessed before the fall was from Christ. Whatever deliverance from sin and spiritual death any child of Adam has ever enjoyed since the fall, whatever light of conscience or understanding any one has obtained – all has flowed from Christ. The vast majority of mankind in every age have refused to know Him, have forgotten the fall and their own need of a Savior. The light has been constantly shining in darkness. Most have not comprehended the light. But if any men and women out of the countless millions of mankind have ever had spiritual life and light, they have owed all to Christ.

Such is a brief summary of the leading lessons, which these wonderful verses appear to contain. There is much in them without controversy, which is above our reason, but there is nothing contrary to it. There is much that we cannot explain and must be content humbly to believe. Let us however never forget that there are plain practical consequences flowing from the passage, which we can never grasp too firmly or know too well.

Would we know, for one thing, the exceeding sinfulness of sin? Let us often read these first five verses of John’s Gospel. Let us mark what kind of Being the Redeemer of mankind must needs be, in order to provide eternal redemption for sinners. If no one less than the Eternal God, the Creator and Preserver of all things, could take away the sin of the world, sin must be a far more abominable thing in the sight of God than most men suppose. The right measure of sin’s sinfulness is the dignity of Him who came into the world to save sinners. If Christ is so great, then sin must indeed be sinful!

Would we know, for another thing, the strength of a true Christian’s foundation for hope? Let us often read these first five verses of John’s Gospel. Let us mark that the Savior in whom the believer is bid to trust is nothing less than the Eternal God, One able to save to the uttermost all that come to the Father by Him. He that was with God and was God is also Emmanuel, God with us. Let us thank God that our help is laid on One that is mighty (Psalm 89:19). In ourselves we are great sinners. But in Jesus Christ we have a great Savior. He is a strong foundation stone, able to bear the weight of a world’s sin. He that believes on Him shall not be confounded (1 Peter 2:6).

John 1:6-13

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not the Light, but was sent to bear witness of the Light. That Word was the true Light, which lightens every man that comes into this world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, who are not born of blood, nor of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

John, after beginning his gospel with a statement of our Lord’s nature as God, proceeds to speak of His forerunner, John the Baptist.² The contrast between the language used about the Savior and that used about His forerunner ought not to be overlooked. Of Christ we are told that He was the eternal God – the Creator of all things – the source of life and light. Of John the Baptist we are told simply that there was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

We see, firstly, in these verses, the true nature of a Christian minister’s office. We have it in the description of John the Baptist – He came for a witness to bear witness of the light that all men through him might believe.

Christian ministers are not priests, nor mediators between God and man. They are not agents into whose hands men may commit their souls and carry on their religion by deputy. They are witnesses. They are intended to bear testimony to God’s truth and especially to the great truth that Christ is the only Savior and light of the world. This was Peter’s ministry on the day of Pentecost. "With many other words did he testify (Acts 2:40). This was the whole tenor of Paul’s ministry. He testified both to the Jews and Greeks repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21). Unless a Christian minister bears a full testimony to Christ, he is not faithful to his office. So long as he does testify of Christ, he has done his part and will receive his reward, although his hearers may not believe his testimony. Until a minister’s hearers believe on that Christ, of whom they are told, they receive no benefit from the ministry. They may be pleased and interested; but they are not profited until they believe. The great end of a minister’s testimony is that through him, men may believe."

We see, secondly, in these verses, one principal position, which our Lord Jesus Christ occupies towards mankind. We have it in the words, He was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

Christ is to the souls of men what the sun is to the world. He is the center and source of all spiritual light, warmth, life, health, growth, beauty, and fertility. Like the sun, He shines for the common benefit of all mankind – for high and for low, for rich and for poor, for Jew and for Greek. Like the sun, He is free to all. All may look at Him and drink health out of His light. If millions of mankind were mad enough to dwell in caves underground or to bandage their eyes, their darkness would be their own fault and not the fault of the sun. So, likewise, if millions of men and women love spiritual darkness rather than light, the blame must be laid on their blind hearts and not on Christ (John 3:19). Their foolish hearts are darkened (Romans 1:21). But whether men will see or not, Christ is the true sun and the light of the world. There is no light for sinners except in the Lord Jesus.

We see, thirdly, in these verses, the desperate wickedness of man’s natural heart. We have it in the words – Christ was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.

Christ was in the world invisibly, long before He was born of the Virgin Mary. He was there from the very beginning – ruling, ordering, and governing the whole creation. By Him all things are held together (Colossians 1:17). He gave to all life and breath, rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons. By Him kings reigned, and nations were increased or diminished. Yet men knew Him not and honored Him not. They worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator (Romans 1:25). Well may the natural heart be called wicked!

But Christ came visibly into the world when He was born at Bethlehem and fared no better. He came to the very people whom He had brought out from Egypt and purchased for His own. He came to the Jews, whom He had separated from other nations and to whom He had revealed Himself by the prophets. He came to those very Jews who had read of Him in the Old Testament Scriptures – seen Him under types and figures in their temple services – and professed to be waiting for His coming. And yet, when He came, those very Jews received Him not. They even rejected Him, despised Him, and slew Him. Well may the natural heart be called desperately wicked!

We see, lastly, in these verses, the vast privileges of all who receive Christ and believe on Him. We are told that as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to those who believe on His name.

Christ will never be without some servants. If the vast majority of the Jews did not receive Him as the Messiah, there were, at any rate, a few who did. To them He gave the privilege of being God’s children. He reckoned them His own brethren and sisters, bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh. He conferred on them a dignity, which was ample recompense for the cross which they had to carry for His sake. He made them sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty.

Privileges like these, be it remembered, are the possession of all, in every age, who receive Christ by faith and follow Him as their Savior. They are children of God by faith in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26). They are born again by a new and heavenly birth and adopted into the family of the King of kings. Few in number and despised by the world as they are, they are cared for with infinite love by a Father in heaven who, for His Son’s sake, is well pleased with them. In time He provides them with everything that is for their good. In eternity He will give them a crown of glory that fades not away. These are great things! But faith in Christ gives men an ample title to them. Good masters care for their servants, and Christ cares for His.

Are we ourselves sons of God? Have we been born again? Have we the marks, which always accompany the new birth – sense of sin, faith in Jesus, love of others, righteous living, separation from the world? Let us never be content until we can give a satisfactory answer to these questions.

Do we desire to be sons of God? Then let us receive Christ as our Savior and believe on Him with the heart. To every one that so receives Him, He will give the privilege of becoming a son of God.

John 1:14

And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.

The passage of Scripture now before us is very short, if we measure it by words. But it is very long, if we measure it by the nature of its contents. The substance of it is so immensely important that we shall do well to give it separate and distinct consideration. This single verse contains more than enough matter for a whole exposition.

The main truth, which this verse teaches is the reality of our Lord Jesus Christ’s incarnation, or being made man. John tells us that the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.³

The plain meaning of these words is that our divine Savior really took human nature upon Him in order to save sinners. He really became a man like ourselves in all things, sin only excepted. Like ourselves, he was born of a woman, though born in a miraculous manner. Like ourselves, He grew from infancy to boyhood and from boyhood to man’s estate, both in wisdom and in stature (Luke 2:52). Like ourselves, he hungered, thirsted, ate, drank, slept, was wearied, felt pain, wept, rejoiced, marveled, and was moved to anger and compassion. Having become flesh and taken a body, He prayed, read the Scriptures, suffered being tempted, and submitted His human will to the will of God the Father. And finally, in the same body, He really suffered and shed His blood, really died, was really buried, really rose again, and really ascended up into heaven. And yet all this time He was God as well as man!

This union of two natures in Christ’s one Person is doubtless one of the greatest mysteries of the Christian religion. It needs to be carefully stated. It is just one of those great truths, which are not meant to be curiously pried into but to be reverently believed. Nowhere, perhaps, shall we find a more wise and judicious statement than in the second article of the Church of England. The Son, which is the Word of the Father, begotten from everlasting of the Father, the very and eternal God, and of one substance with the Father, took man’s nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin of her substance – so that two whole and perfect natures, that is to say, the Godhead and the manhood, were joined together in one Person, never to be divided, whereof is one Christ, truly God and truly man. This is a most valuable declaration. This is sound speech, which cannot be condemned.

But while we do not pretend to explain the union of two natures in our Lord Jesus Christ’s Person, we must not hesitate to fence the subject with well-defined cautions. While we state most carefully what we do believe, we must not shrink from declaring boldly what we do not believe. We must never forget that though our Lord was God and man at the same time, the divine and human natures in Him were never confounded. One nature did not swallow up the other. The two natures remained perfect and distinct. The divinity of Christ was never for a moment laid aside, although veiled. The manhood of Christ, during His lifetime, was never for a moment unlike our own, though by union with the Godhead, greatly dignified. Though perfect God, Christ has always been perfect man from the first moment of His incarnation. He who is gone into heaven and is sitting at the Father’s right hand to intercede for sinners is man as well as God. Though perfect man, Christ never ceased to be perfect God. He that suffered for sin on the cross, and was made sin for us, was God manifest in the flesh. The blood with which the Church was purchased is called the blood of God (Acts 20:28). Though He became flesh in the fullest sense, when He was born of the Virgin Mary, He never at any period ceased to be the Eternal Word. To say that He constantly manifested His divine nature during His earthly ministry would, of course, be contrary to plain facts. To attempt to explain why His Godhead was sometimes veiled and at other times unveiled, while He was on earth, would be venturing on ground, which we had better leave alone. But to say that at any instant of His earthly ministry He was not fully and entirely God is nothing less than heresy.

The cautions just given may seem at first sight needless, wearisome, and hair-splitting. It is precisely the neglect of such cautions which ruins many souls. This constant undivided union of two perfect natures in Christ’s Person is exactly that which gives infinite value to His mediation, and qualifies Him to be the very Mediator that sinners need. Our Mediator is One who can sympathize with us, because He is very man. And yet, at the same time, He is One who can deal with the Father for us on equal terms, because He is very God. It is the same union which gives infinite value to His righteousness when imputed to believers. It is the righteousness of One who was God as well as man. It is the same union which gives infinite value to the atoning blood which He shed for sinners on the cross. It is the blood of One who was God as well as man. It is the same union which gives infinite value to His resurrection. When He rose again, as the Head of the body of believers, He rose not as a mere man, but as God. Let these things sink deeply into our hearts. The second Adam is far greater than the first Adam was. The first Adam was only man, and so he fell. The second Adam was God as well as man, and so He completely conquered.

Let us leave the subject with feelings of deep gratitude and thankfulness. It is full of abounding consolation for all who know Christ by faith and believe on Him.

Did the Word become flesh? Then He is One who can be touched with the feeling of His people’s infirmities, because He has suffered Himself, being tempted. He is almighty because He is God, and yet He can sympathize with us, because He is man.

Did the Word become flesh? Then He can supply us with a perfect pattern and example for our daily life. Had he walked among us as an angel or a spirit, we could never have copied Him. But having dwelt among us as a man, we know that the true standard of holiness is to walk even as He walked (1 John 2:6). He is a perfect pattern, because He is God. But He is also a pattern exactly suited to our needs, because He is man.

Finally, did the Word become flesh? Then let us see in our mortal bodies a real, true dignity and not defile them by sin. Vile and weak as our body may seem, it is a body which the Eternal Son of God was not ashamed to take upon Himself, and to take up to heaven. That simple fact is a pledge that He will raise our bodies at the last day and glorify them together with His own.

John 1:15-18

John bore witness of him and cried, saying, This is he of whom I spoke, He that comes after me is preferred before me, for he was before me. And of his fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but the grace and the truth of God came through Jesus, the Christ. No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him.

The passage before us contains three great declarations about our Lord Jesus Christ. Each of the three is among the foundation principles of Christianity.

We are taught, firstly, that it is Christ alone who supplies all the spiritual needs of all believers. It is written that of his fullness have we all received, and grace for grace.

There is an infinite fullness in Jesus Christ. As Paul says, It pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell (Colossians 1:19). In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3). There is laid up in Him, as in a treasury, a boundless supply of all that any sinner can need, either in time or eternity. The Spirit of Life is His special gift to the Church, and conveys from Him, as from a great root, sap and vigor to all the believing branches. He is rich in mercy, grace, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Out of Christ’s fullness, all believers in every age of the world have been supplied. They did not clearly understand the fountain from which their supplies flowed in Old Testament times. The Old Testament saints only saw Christ afar off and not face to face. But from Abel downwards, all saved souls have received all they have had from Jesus Christ alone. Every saint in glory will at last acknowledge that he is Christ’s debtor for all he is. Jesus will prove to have been all in all.

We are taught, secondly, the vast superiority of Christ to Moses, and of the Gospel to the Law. It is written that the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

Moses was employed by God as a servant to convey to Israel the moral and ceremonial law (Hebrews 3:5). As a servant, he was faithful to Him who appointed him, but he was only a servant. The moral law, which he brought down from Mount Sinai, was holy and just and good. But it could not justify. It had no healing power. It could wound, but it could not bind up. It worked wrath (Romans 4:15). It pronounced a curse against any imperfect obedience. The ceremonial law, which he was commanded to impose on Israel, was full of deep meaning and typical instruction. Its ordinances and ceremonies made it an excellent schoolmaster to guide men toward Christ (Galatians 3:24). But the ceremonial law was only a schoolmaster. It could not make him that kept it perfect, as pertaining to the conscience (Hebrews 9:9). It laid a grievous yoke on men’s hearts, which they were not able to bear. It was a ministration of death and condemnation (2 Corinthians 3:7-9). The light which men got from Moses and the law was at best only starlight compared to noonday.

Christ, on the other hand, came into the world as a Son with the keys of God’s treasury of grace and truth entirely in His hands (Hebrews 3:6). Grace came by Him when He made fully known God’s gracious plan of salvation by faith in His own blood and opened the fountain of mercy to all the world. Truth came by Him, when He fulfilled in His own Person the types of the Old Testament and revealed Himself as the true Sacrifice, the true mercy seat, and the true Priest. No doubt there was much of grace and truth under the law of Moses. But the whole of God’s grace and the whole truth about redemption were never known until Jesus came into the world and died for sinners.

We are taught, thirdly, that it is Christ alone who has revealed God the Father to man. It is written that no man has seen God at any time – the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him.

The eye of mortal man has never beheld God the Father. No man could bear the sight. Even to Moses it was said, Thou canst not see my face: for no man shall see me and live (Exodus 33:20). Yet all that mortal man is capable of knowing about God the Father is fully revealed to us by God the Son. He, who was in the bosom of the Father from all eternity, has been pleased to take our nature upon Him and to exhibit to us in the form of man all that our minds can comprehend of the Father’s perfections. In Christ’s words, and deeds, and life, and death, we learn as much concerning God the Father as our feeble minds can at present bear. His perfect wisdom – His almighty power – His unspeakable love to sinners – His incomparable holiness – His hatred of sin, could never be represented to our eyes more clearly than we see them in Christ’s life and death. In truth, God was manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16) when the Word took on Him a body. He was the brightness of the Father’s glory, and the express image of His person (Hebrews 1:3). He says Himself, I and my Father are one (John 10:30). He that has seen me has seen the Father (John 14:9). In Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9). These are deep and mysterious things. But they are true.

And now, after reading this passage, can we ever give too much honor to Christ? Can we ever think too highly of Him? Let us banish the unworthy thought from our minds forever. Let us learn to exalt Him more in our hearts, and to rest more confidingly the whole weight of our souls in His hands. Men may easily fall into error about the three Persons in the holy Trinity if they do not carefully adhere to the teaching of Scripture. But no man ever errs on the side of giving too much honor to the Son. Christ is the meeting point between the Trinity and the sinner’s soul. He that does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who has sent him (John 5:23).

John 1:19-28

And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed and denied not, but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elijah? And he said, I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to those that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah. And those who were sent were of the Pharisees. And they asked him and said unto him, Why dost thou baptize then if thou art not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet? John answered them, saying, I baptize with water, but there stands one among you, whom ye know not; he it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

The verses we have now read begin the properly historical part of John’s Gospel. Hitherto we have been reading deep and weighty statements about Christ’s divine nature, incarnation, and dignity. Now we come to the plain narrative of the days of Christ’s earthly ministry and the plain story of Christ’s doings and sayings among men. And here, like the other Gospel writers, John begins at once with the record or testimony of John the Baptist (Matthew 3:1; Mark 1:2; Luke 3:2).

We have, for one thing, in these verses, an instructive example of true humility. That example is supplied by John the Baptist himself.

John the Baptist was an eminent saint of God. There are few names which stand higher than his in the Bible calendar of great and good men. The Lord Jesus Himself declared that Among those that are born of women there has not risen a greater than John the Baptist (Matthew 11:11). The Lord Jesus Himself declared that he was a burning and a shining light (John 5:35). Yet here in this passage we see this eminent saint lowly, self-abased, and full of humility. He puts away from himself the honor, which the Jews from Jerusalem were ready to pay him. He declines all flattering titles. He speaks of himself as nothing more than the voice of one crying in the wilderness and as one who baptized with water. He proclaims loudly that there is One standing among the Jews far greater than himself, One whose shoe latchet he is not worthy to unloose. He claims honor not for himself but for Christ. To exalt Christ was his mission, and to that mission he steadfastly adheres.

The greatest saints of God in every age of the Church have always been men of John the Baptist’s spirit. In gifts, and knowledge, and general character, they have often differed widely. But in one respect, they have always been alike – they have been clothed with humility (1 Peter 5:5). They have not sought their own honor. They have thought little of themselves. They have been ever willing to decrease if Christ might only increase, to be nothing if Christ might be all. And here has been the secret of the honor God has put upon them. He that humbles himself shall be exalted (Luke 14:11).

If we profess to have any real Christianity, let us strive to be of John the Baptist’s spirit. Let us study humility. This is the grace with which all must begin, who would be saved. We have no true religion about us, until we cast away our high thoughts, and feel ourselves sinners. This is the grace which all saints may follow after, and which none have any excuse for neglecting. All God’s children have not gifts, or money, or time to work, or a wide sphere of usefulness; but all may be humble. This is the grace, above all, which will appear most beautiful in our latter end. Never shall we feel the need of humility so deeply, as