OR 30
October 30
John 16:28 to end. Christ foretells that all his disciples will forsake him.
What caused the disciples to exclaim, "Lo, now you speak plainly, and speak no proverb?" They had been greatly perplexed by hearing their Master say, "A little while, and you shall not see me;" nor were they relieved from their perplexity until they heard him declare, "I leave the world, and go unto the Father." They had heard him say before, "I go unto the Father," but they could not understand the declaration until he said also, "I leave the world." Perhaps they now imagined he would leave the world in a fiery chariot, as Elijah did, and that they, like Elisha, should behold his glorious ascension. And so he did at length, but first he had to pass through the darkest valley of the shadow of death ever trod by man. The disciples were especially struck by their Lord knowing their difficulties, when they had never expressed them to him.
They had only inquired among themselves, "What is this that he says unto us?" Yet Jesus knew their perplexity and relieved it. Astonished at this display of his wisdom, they exclaimed, "Now we are sure that you know all things, and need not that any man should ask you; by this we believe that you came forth from God." They believed in him before, but they thought they believed more now. In this they were mistaken; their faith, though real, was as weak as ever. Warmth of feeling does not prove strength of faith. What does prove it? As fire tries gold, so temptations try faith. Abraham's faith was tried by the command to offer Isaac as a sacrifice to God, and it was found strong. Afterwards the Lord said to this eminent believer, "Now I know that you fear me, because you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." Jonah's faith was tried by the command to preach to the men of Nineveh, and it was found weak —for he fled from the presence of the Lord.
We cannot tell what is the strength of our faith until it is tried. We may imagine that we would give up brilliant prospects or encounter great dangers for the sake of Christ, and yet when the temptation comes we may be allured by some glittering toy, or terrified by the shaking of a leaf. "Let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." A trial was coming on the disciples that showed they did not believe in their Lord so firmly as they supposed. In the hour of danger they left him alone. How must they have been grieved when they heard Jesus say, "You shall be scattered every man to his own, and shall leave me alone." Surely it would cause a child of God far more sorrow to know the sins he would commit than the sufferings he would endure.
But the Lord would not end this discourse with sorrowful words. The beginning of it was, "Let not your heart be troubled." The end was, "Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." Jesus does not promise his people a prosperous life, but he does promise them a peaceful one. He says, "In the world you shall have tribulation but in me you shall have peace." This is a mystery to the world, because they imagine that happiness arises from prosperous circumstances. It is true their happiness proceeds from nothing else; but the happiness of the people of God flows from a sense of forgiving love and a hope of eternal glory. This happiness is often greatest when earthly circumstances are the least prosperous. Therefore it is that in prison they have been heard to sing, and, even in the flames, seen to smile.
In the days of the Reformers, a husband and wife of the town of Perth, in Scotland, were condemned to die, but NOT together—that was esteemed too great a privilege. The woman took leave of her beloved partner in these words, "Husband, rejoice, for we have lived together many joyful days, but this day in which we must die ought to be most joyful unto us both, because we have joy forever. Therefore I will not bid you good-night; for we shall suddenly meet with joy in the kingdom of heaven." She was then led forth to be drowned, holding a little babe in her arms. After giving the infant into the nurse's care she sank beneath the suffocating waters. (English Martyrology, vol. 1. p. 151.)