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THE K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
the beloved apostle. It was because he so lovecl the tru th th a t he so hated all lukewarmness, unreality, insincerity and falsehood and was so stern toward “whosoever loveth and m aketh a lie.” It is because he so loved his Lord th a t he shows -such uncomprom ising abhor rence of the national blindness th a t re jected Kim and the bigotry th a t hounds ed Him to death. W ith his eagle gaze more and more fixed on th e Sun of R ighteousness, he became more and more keenly alive to th e awful case of those who “ loved darkness ra th e r than light because th e ir works were evil.” ’ — Dr. Plummer, in Cambridge Bible. MS’ John, the apostle of love, was th e only one of the twelve who lived till the close of th e first century. His sp iritu al history-dates from th e m inistry of John th e Baptist, through DEVOTIONAL whom he became a dis- COMMENT ciple of Christ and F . W. F a r r la ter his bosom friend. He survived the de struction of Jerusalem and the a t tempts of th e Roman Emperor to ex term inate the church. No one was bet ter qualified to set fo rth the hum an ity and Deity of Jesus. John and Jesus were relatives,, the children of the godly and gifted women who w e re ' cousins. Jo h n ’s heredity and environment gave him special insight into the m ental and sp iritual characteristics of Jesus. He had a great and tender heart; His emotions became so vehement a t times th a t Jesus called him a “son of thun d er.” At th e same time he was so tru e and- tru stw o rthy th a t Jesus, when dying upon th e cross, committed his mother to Jo h n ’s loving care. I t is especially profitable to look at Christ through the eyes of John by an intensive study of his Gospel. He makes the crucified and risen Saviour as real and n atu ra l as the living and preaching Jesus. Com petent literary critics have declared the Gospel of John to be th e highest pro duction of human literatu re. It has been well called th e “ Gospel of sp irit ual insight.” In th e first ten chapters
we see th e glory coming down from Heaven. In the last eleven chapters we see the glory going back to heaven. The key word is “ believe,” occurring aboui one hundred times. The word “ rep en t” is no t found. Comparing the Gospel w ith the Tabernacle we may call th e first twelve chapters th e outer court, chapter twelve th e brazen altar, chapter th irte en the brazen laver, four teen, fifteen and sixteen, the holy place, inside the vail, and chapter seventeen, th* holiest of all where none b u t the high p riest could enter. John and P ete r were close friends. They were citizens of the same town and p artn ers in th e same business. Their friendship was based on th e a t traction of opposites. John adm ires Peter, who can do. P eter adm ires John, who can think. Their friendship was a potent factor in the development of th e ir Christian characters. Christ does not crucify th a t which is n atu ra l and innocent. He prefers to sanctify and utilize it. The Master places practical reliance upon P eter bu t finds personal congeniality in John. He appoints du ties to the active efficiency of th e one. He develops lofty tru th to th e fine re sponsiveness of th e other. P eter was always a t the front, rig h t or wrong. Jo h n ’s self-restrain t is seen in the deli cate reticence of his n arrative. He never names himself. He does 'n o t say afte r chapter 1:41, th a t th e other disciple also found his own bro th er James. He never names his brother, fath er or mother, nor his other blessed mother comm itted to him from the cross. In his epistles he is simply “ the elder,” a beautiful example of self-effacement. His distinctive mes sage relates to faith, hope and love. His Gospel was w ritten to arouse and confirm faith, chapter 20:31. The three epistles b reathe th e counsel of love. The Apocalypse was given to the oppressed and persecuted church
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