Quiet Talks on John's Gospel Part 22

And He is just the same Jesus in His warm love and resistless power. The _words_ are rather familiar. The _fact_--no one of us seems to have gotten hold of it yet. This is the thing that makes John eagerly reach for his pen again before his little book-messenger goes out on its errand.

The thing isn't new in _information_, but in actual living _experience_ it seems to be so new as to be an unknown thing to some of us. The Master had spoken of this that betrayal-night around the supper board.

It was really a continuation of that trysting appointment He had made with them that evening, a wonderful continuation.

Clearly they didn't understand Him that night. But during those after-Pentecost days they were given a continuous graphic unforgetable ill.u.s.tration of its meaning. We to-day seem able to explain the part they didn't understand, the teaching that betrayal-night. We don't seem to get hold of the part they did understand and experience, the real presence of the risen Jesus in the midst actively at work.

That night Jesus said: "I will make request of the Father, and He will send you another unfailing powerful Friend to be always at your side."

Then He added: "He abides _with_ you now (in My presence) and shall be _in_ you (after I send Him)." Then He said, "_I_ come unto you. Yet a little while and the world _seeth_ Me no more but ye _see_ Me."

And again, "He that hath My commandments and keepeth them he it is that (in that sheweth that he) loveth Me and ... I will _manifest_ or _shew_ Myself unto him." Here is the simple teaching: He would send the Holy Spirit; in the Holy Spirit's coming Jesus Himself, the new risen exalted empowered enthroned Jesus, He came; _and_ He would let them see Himself with them.

Now this added chapter of John's is _the ill.u.s.tration in advance_ to these men of what these words mean. _The great standing ill.u.s.tration_ is that Book of Acts which, will you notice, doesn't end. It only breaks off, abruptly, without even a punctuation point. It wasn't meant to end.

We are supposed to be living in it yet. But these men haven't come to the experience of the Pentecostal Acts yet. This is an ill.u.s.tration in advance to them. And it remains an ill.u.s.tration to us of what we seem a bit slow in taking in.

But let us get at the simple bit of story itself. There's a little group of the inner circle, seven including the leaders. These men haven't found their feet yet. The stupendous events of those days, coming in such startling succession, have left them dazed. The crucifixion left them stupidly dazed; the resurrection left them joyous, but still dazed. They don't know just where they are, nor what to do.

So Peter proposes fishing; an ideal proposition, when you want to get off and think things through and out. Any fisherman knows that. And the others readily join in. They see the good sense of it. But the fish don't catch. And the morning finds them tired in body and more tired in the spiritless uncertainty that hangs over them like a clinging damp fog.

Yonder is some One standing on the beach. But that's nothing unusual.

They barely notice Him. And now this Stranger calls out to them a cheery common question, "Caught anything?" And now He gives a--no, it can hardly be called a _command_, so quietly is it said. Yet they are subtly conscious of a something in the word that makes them obey, though it's the last sort of thing to do.

And now at once the net-ropes pull _so hard;_ astonishing this! Then John's keen spirit detects _Who_ it is. Is he thinking of the other big unexpected haul in those same waters![136] And Peter's over the side of the boat sh.o.r.eward. Fishing has lost all attraction for him.

And when they all got ash.o.r.e with their haul, tired, wet, chilled to the marrow, hungry, what's this? A blazing fire of coals burning cheerfully on the sands. And some fish dexterously poised, doing to a brown turn, and some bread. And the Stranger, no, _Jesus_, He's no longer a stranger, Jesus says quietly, "Boys, better bring the haul up on the beach."

And the old fishing habit still strong on them counts the fish. It's such an unusual haul, they must know how many. John must be thinking again about that earlier haul. The net couldn't stand the strain then.

But now it's different. Ah! _every_thing's blessedly different now. "The net was not rent."

Then the gracious call to breakfast by their Host. Was ever fish done to such a fine turn? Did ever any fish have such an exquisite flavour? or taste so good? Did ever men eat so gladly and yet quietly with a distinct touch of awe in their spirits? For they _know_ it is the Master, though no word of that has been spoken. Words were needless.

Now they're walking along the beach, Jesus and Peter in the lead but the others quite near. And there's the bit of talk between the two. Very gently Jesus says, "Do you love Me, Peter?" And Peter feels he hardly dare use the sacred word for "love" that the Master has used. He had made such an awful break at just that point. And with breaking voice he says, "Yea, Lord, Thou knowest I have the highest regard for Thee."

And again the question, and the answer, with Peter still humbly clinging to his more modest word. And now Jesus says, "Do you really love Me even as you yourself say?" And Peter with his heart in his face says pa.s.sionately, "Lord, Thou knowest better than I can tell Thee."

And because he loves, Peter is given the full privilege of shepherding the whole flock, from feeding little lambkins on to feeding all, and guiding, through the hard places, even the wayward ones. And more yet and higher, because Peter loves, he will be privileged to suffer, even as his Master had suffered. The fellowship would extend even to that.

And Peter's eye falls on John. And apparently he is thinking of the contrast between John's faithfulness and his own break that betrayal-night. If poor faulty Peter may be so privileged how John would be rewarded. But Jesus quietly turns Peter, and all Peter's numerous kinsfolk of this sort, away from human comparisons. And instead He seeks to turn their hearts to this: He is coming back in person some day for an advance step in the kingdom program. And there they are, walking and talking, along the beach by the blue Galilean waters.

The Same Jesus Here Now.

An unrecognized Stranger who turns out to be Jesus; an unusual haul of fish gotten in a very unusual way; a warm fire and tasty breakfast for cold hungry men; a tender talk about love and service and sacrifice, and about Jesus' return;--all this is a moving-picture ill.u.s.tration of the meaning of a word, one word.

It is a word Jesus used in that last long quiet talk. It's the key-word to this added chapter, occurring three times. In the old version it is the word "_shew_"; in the revision "manifest." "After these things Jesus _manifested_ Himself again ... and He _manifested_ Himself on this wise." "This is now the third time that Jesus was _manifested_ to the disciples after that He was risen from the dead."[137]

The word used underneath literally means "to make manifest or _visible_ or know, what has been hidden or unknown."[138] Then each time it is used it gets its local colouring from its connection. The simple tremendous meaning here clearly is this: Jesus let Himself _be seen_ and known. _He did not come_. He was there.

But their eyes couldn't see Him. In effect He was hidden, not seeable.

Now the change that comes is this: _He is seen_. And He is seen in His true native character; so certain results follow. He had said, "I will _manifest_ Myself."[139] And this was now the third time that He did it, to the disciples, after that He was risen.

This is _the advance ill.u.s.tration of the Book of Acts_. This is the tremendous thing He is burning into their hearts through eyes and ears:--_He is always present_. He, whose power they had felt so stupendously, and whose warm sympathy so tenderly, _He is always with them_. The coming of the Holy Spirit meant just this. The Spirit would be as Jesus' other self, as Jesus Himself. The one thing the Spirit would do would be to manifest, to _shew openly_, the power of Jesus.

Then four pictures pa.s.s before their eyes to ill.u.s.trate the meaning, a fishing picture and a breakfast picture _in action_; then _in words_, a love-service-suffering picture, and a picture of Jesus returning in person seen by all to take an advance-step.

The fishing picture clearly meant this: great numbers of people, surprisingly great numbers, coming, drawn not by any human skill, but by the supernatural power of Jesus manifesting Himself in that way. The breakfast picture meant this: that this wondrous Jesus would take tender personal care of those in this blessed gathering ministry, even to their bodily needs and strength.

And the love-service-suffering word-picture said so plainly this: true service grows out of love. The chief thing is the loyal tender attachment to the person of Jesus. Then out of this will naturally come service, and willingness to suffer. The touchstone won't be service but personal love. The service will simply be an expression of the love.

And the Jesus-return word-picture fills their vision with this same Jesus coming in open glory before all eyes to carry out the kingdom plan. As these men learned to live always in the presence of a Jesus whom their outer eyes saw not, these pictures would become living pictures seen in open daily life.

So this is a further bit of the tryst appointment. This is the fuller tryst, the greater, the yet more wondrous tryst. Not only would He rise up out of death, and appear to them in person seen by the outer eyes, but He would be with them continually manifesting Himself in rarest power of action, in tenderest personal care, in talking and walking with them.

They would see the power plainly at work; then they would say with a soft hush, "_He_ is here." They would find new bodily strength, new guidance in perplexity, new peace in the midst of confusion, and they would say to each other in awed tones, "_He is here: it's the Master's touch_."

And so it would come to be a habit to _antic.i.p.ate_ His presence. They would figure Him in, and figure Him in big, as big as He is, in all sorts of circ.u.mstances and planning and meeting of difficulties.

It is most striking that John closes his Gospel so differently from the others. They close with the Master rising up and disappearing on a cloud into the upper blue. John closes with Jesus walking along the beach, talking with the little group of trusted ones. Jesus did ascend up into the blue whence He shall some day descend. But the Holy Spirit sends John back to his pen to give us this as the last picture, impressed on the sensitive plate of the eyes of our heart. _This_: Jesus present with us all the while walking along the sh.o.r.e of our common round of life, clothed with matchless power, and devoting Himself to us as we to Him.

Along about the middle of the eighteenth century there came to England a young French-Swiss, named De la Flechere, hungry hearted for the truth.

He was so helped by John Wesley that he cast in his lot with the new Methodist movement and John Williams Fletcher became one of Wesley's most faithful co-labourers. Late in life he married a woman of unusual mental and spiritual attainment.

I ran across a simple story over there of this Mrs. John Fletcher which interested and helped me much. This saintly gifted woman told of a dream which came to her with such vividness as to seem to her mature mind more than a common pa.s.sing vagary of sleep. In her dream she was engaged in an intense struggle with an evil spirit. She was having a most difficult fight.

She noticed some one standing a little bit to one side watching the fight but taking no active part in it. The fighting became so intense and her strength so sorely strained that she was on the point of giving up. Then this one came over near and touched her gently and said, "Be strong." Instantly a wondrous strength came to her and she held on.

Again the evil one attacked her viciously. She wondered why this helping friend did not come to her a.s.sistance in the fight. Then she was moved to say to her enemy, "Depart, _in Jesus' Name_." And instantly he fled.

And she was free and victorious. That was her dream. As she awoke there came to her the most real sense of the presence of her Lord.

This is only one simple ill.u.s.tration from life. I have run across many of the same, wholly different each from the other, but each emphasizing the one simple tremendous fact of _the constant presence with us of this same mighty Jesus_.

It is of keenest help to mark that humanly the _initiative of action_ is in _our_ hands. The fight is _ours_. We decide our stand. We choose, and we bear the brunt or result of our choice. We step out as the need comes. Prayer and a spirit of humblest dependence on Another guides our decision and action. But _we_ take the action. The initiative is ours.

And _always alongside is One standing close up_, putting all His limitless power _at our disposal_, in our action. All He did in living and dying and rising up out of death was done _on our behalf_. And now all the tremendous result of His victory is at our command. All the power native in Him is for our use.

This is the other tryst our Lover-Lord makes with us. "_Lo! I_ am _with you_ all the days, sunny days and shadowy, bright days and dark, all the days clear to the end." This is the sacred tryst He has made with us.

And He _keeps_ the tryst. We may count on Him, And as we do we shall cast nets into hopeless waters and get a great haul. We shall find His presence antic.i.p.ating all our personal needs. We shall rejoice to serve and--if so it prove to be--to suffer for the One we love with tenderest devotion.

And we shall look eagerly forward to seeing Him who is always in touch with us, here and now, to seeing Him with these outer eyes of ours, _coming in glory_ with His resistless power, _to make some blessed changes_.