THE K I NG ' S BUS I NES S
December, 1936
480
into the world,” but they thought He was a mere man who had come to supply their physical needs, not coming as God to be worshiped. He was to them a mere bene factor who would bear following because of His gifts. T o them He was not as the Lord to be obeyed because of His author ity. Their thoughts were centered on time and sense. They therefore desired that such a miracle worker should be their king. This attitude broke the intercourse between them and Jesus, and He withdrew. Points and Problems 1. There is an important textual problem in this week’s lesson. Many o f the best and oldest Greek manuscripts omit from John 5:3, 4 the following words: “’waiting for the moving of the ’water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had." Furthermore, those manuscripts which do include them show many varia tions. For these reasons many of the best textual authorities believe that they repre sent a later addition to the original text. Among these authorities are Alford, Mayer, Tholuck, Olshausen, and Godet. The Amer ican Revised Version omits the passage, but places it in the margin. According to Godet, the passage was probably written by some copyist as a mar ginal note explaining the presence of the multitude of sick people at the pool. Then later another copyist incorporated the mar ginal explanation into the text of the Gospel. 2. It is clear that there is nothing either in our Lord’s words or in His action which would endorse the view set forth in the passage under question, namely, the miracu lous qualities of the water when troubled. Undoubtedly the popular “belief was that the waters did possess such qualities, or the impotent man would not have been there. Notice his pathetic explanation in verse 7. But our Lord ignored the pool and its waters, healing the man by His miracle- working power wholly apart from any pos sible natural means. 3. The miracle is not only an exhibition of divine power, but also a display of divine grace. The man had not sought the Lord, but was sought out by the Lord. He was utterly unable even to take the first step, and he had no man to do for him what he could not do for himself. Divine grace spoke the word, and “ immediately the man was made whole.” All of us by nature are impotent men; without grace we are doomed. When Ulysses returned with fond antici pations to his home in Ithaca, his family did not recognize him. Even his wife de nied her husband, so changed was he after an absence of twenty years and the hard ships of a long protracted war. It was true of the vexed and astonished Greek, as of a nobler King, that he came to his own and his own received him not. In this painful position he called for his bow, which he had left at home, . . . a bow so stout and tough that none but himself could draw it, Golden Text Illustration J ohn 5:36
Jesus spoke the word of power, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk” (v. 8). What a singular command! Had the man been able to rise and walk, would he have lain so long waiting for the troubling of the water? It was a simple coipmand requir ing no ritual or ceremony, but it was neces sary to obey if healing was to be secured. With the will to obey there is always given the divine power to obey. The man’s heal ing came at once—'there was no waiting; it was complete—he took up his bed, and it was perfect—he walked. This incident beautifully illustrates the gospel method of salvation: first, an acknowledgement of personal need, and the utter helplessness of nature to meet that need; second, willing ness to listen to the Word of truth and power; third, evidencing simple faith by obedience to the Lord’s command; and fourth, receiving perfect, complete, and permanent salvation from the Lord. II. T he H ungry M ultitude (John 6:8 - l s S The seen resources at hand were wholly inadequate; five barley loaves and two small fishes were all that the disciples could assemble. And “What are these among so many?” (vs. 8, 9, R. V.) might well be asked in the face of five thousand hungry men. But the Lord does not need great supplies in order to do great things; He needs only that which we are willing to surrender into His hands. The unseen resources were abundantly sufficient (vs. 10-13). Our Lord can mend that which is broken, build that which is ruined, bring into being what is not, and out of nothing can feed the multitude. The supply began when the word was obeyed (v. 10). Over and over again, experience has shown that the pathway of blessing is seen in obedience. Obey the command to believe, and the regenerating power of the Lord is at once at work. The channels through which the miracle became a blessing to others were the hands of the disciples (v. 11). They took from the Lord’s hand and gave to others, and as they gave, the supply continued until all were fed. Had they kept to themselves what He had given them, neither they nor the crowd would have been properly fed. G iving as He gave, they found that all needs were supplied. W e have need to be reminded that frequently we thank the instrument rather than the Lord for our blessings. For our miracles we are tempted to thank the laws of nature rather than the Ruler of those laws. The multiplica tion of the loaves is perhaps not greater than the gathering in of wheat which, having been planted as a seed, has grown to plant and fruitage, God’s power enabling both miracles. There was no shortage in the Lord’s giv ing . (vs. 11-13). All of the people were filled, eating “ as much as they would.” But while the Lord is prolific in giving, He desires no waste. The disciples were to “ gather up the fragments . . . that nothing be lost.” A mistake concerning the nature of Jesus followed the miracle (vs. 14, IS). The people were correct in declaring that the Lord was the Prophet “ that should come
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