Difference between revisions of "The Introduction John 16"

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Next Part The Necessity of Christ's Departure. John 16:5-7

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THE WITNESS.

"If ye abide in Me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples" — John 15:7, 8.

Would'st thou a witness for thy Saviour be,

In word and life, to men on every hand,

While passing through a dark and dreary land;

Then hear the Master's word, 'Abide in Me,

And ever let My words abide in thee.'

Thus walking in the sunshine of His face,

Show forth the beauty of His lowly grace;

That others, in the daily round may see,

In one who treads in peace the pilgrim way,

Some heavenly fruit brought forth from day to day:

That from the fulness of thy life may flow

Love, kindness, humbleness of mind,

That thou, in passing through this world may show

The loveliness of Christ before mankind.

In meditating upon the last words of the Lord Jesus, recorded in John 13 to 16, we must ever remember that the Lord has in view the preparation of His own to bear witness to Himself in the place of His rejection, during the time of His absence. For the accomplishment of this great end we have seen, in the former discourses, the necessity for having our feet washed (John 13), our hearts comforted and linked with divine Persons (John 14), and our lives setting forth the character of Christ while our lips are opened to witness for Christ (John 15). Finally, in this last discourse, our minds are instructed so that we may render intelligent service, and not be stumbled by the treatment we may receive at the hands of a religious, but Christ-rejecting, world.

Instruction in the mind of Christ is the great underlying object of this last discourse. In the service of the Lord there may be much zeal yet not according to knowledge, and hence little result and much disappointment. How important then to have the mind of the Lord.

The instruction of the discourse is presented in the following order: — Firstly, we are forewarned as to the treatment that will be meted out by the religious world to those who bear witness to Christ (John 16:1-4).

Secondly, we learn that in order to be intelligent in the mind of Christ, it is necessary that Christ should go to the Father and that the Comforter should come (John 16:5-7).

Thirdly, when the Spirit comes, believers will be instructed in the true character of this present evil world (John 16:8-11). Fourthly, by the Holy Spirit believers are led into the knowledge of another world — the world to come (John 15:12-15). Lastly, believers are instructed as to the true character of the new day about to dawn (John 16:16-33).

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 Thirdly, when the Spirit comes, believers will be instructed in the true character of this present evil world (John 16:8-11).
 Fourthly, by the Holy Spirit believers are led into the knowledge of another world — the world to come (John 15:12-15).
 Lastly, believers are instructed as to the true character of the new day about to dawn (John 16:16-33).
-Persecution from the Religious World. John 16:1-4
-In the previous discourse the Lord had set before His disciples the marks of the new Christian company, whose privilege it would be to bear fruit for the Father, and bear witness to Christ in a world from which Christ is absent.
-(John 16:1). Those, however, who, in any measure, wear the character of Christ, and bear witness to Christ in a Christ-hating world. will assuredly have to face something of the suffering, and persecution, that is brought before us in the opening verses of this chapter. The thoughtful and tender love of the Lord, anticipating the suffering of His own, gives them this loving warning lest, when persecution arose, they might be offended. If unwarned their natural prejudices, formed by their links with the dispensation that was closing, together with their ignorance of the new Christian era about to dawn, might become a cause of stumbling when faced with persecution. How needed the warning, the after-history of the disciples will prove.
-John the Baptist, in his day, came nigh to being offended. His faith received a severe shock by treatment that was so foreign to his thoughts. As the result of his faithful witness he finds himself in prison, and, being ignorant of the mind of the Lord, he sends a message to the Lord, "Art Thou He that should come," to receive the answer, "Blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me." With this danger the disciples were faced. Filled with the false hope of the immediate redemption of Israel, they would hardly be prepared for persecution from Israel. Their false expectations exposed them to the danger of being offended.
-(John 16:2, 3). The Lord's warning prepares them not only for persecution, but for religious persecution. The disciples of Christ would be put out of the synagogue, involving the loss of all fellowship whether in the family, social or political circle (John 9: 22). This religious persecution would proceed from religious motives. "Whosoever killeth you will think that He doeth God service." Hence the greater the sincerity, the more ruthless the persecution.
-But this persecution would proceed from ignorance of the Father and the Son. And thus it has been with every form of religious persecution. It has been truly said, "As it was with the Jews who persecuted Christians, so with the Christians who have persecuted Christians. Things have been done 'to the glory of God,' and 'in the name of Christ,' of which He who looks down from heaven would only say, 'They have not known the Father nor Me.'"
-(John 16:4). In the days to come the persecution would become an occasion of recalling the Lord's words and comforting the disciples' hearts with a fresh sense of the omniscience that foreknew, and the love that forewarned. Hitherto the necessity to speak of these things had not arisen, for the Lord was present to shelter and guard them. These things belonged to the time of His absence, not the time of His presence.
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