Studies in the Gospel According to John* Igl By R. A. TORREY [These Studies are for careful study, not rapid and heedless reading] II. The Public Ministry of Jesus Leading Those Who Were of the Truth to Believe in Him as the Christ, the Son of God. Ch. 1:19—12:50. (Continued.)
6. The Testimony of the Signs Wrought by Jesus in Jeru salem, Leading Nicodemus, “The Teacher of Israel,” to Believe in Him, 3:1-15 (continued). V. 11. “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that (add, which) we do (omit, do) know, and testify (rath er, bear witness of) that which we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.” Jesus here brings out in a very forcible way the striking contrast be tween the ignorance of Nicodemus, “the teacher of Israel,” and the abso lute knowledge which He possessed and which those who were identified with Him possessed. He and His ( “We”) spoke with the authority of absolute knowledge. Only what they knew absolutely and immediately did they speak and only of things which they had actually seen or of which they had had personal experience did they testify. His teaching, and that of those who were identified with him, thus differed widely from that of Nico demus and the Scribes (cf. Matt. 7: 29). This declaration of His abso lute knowledge is prefaced by the same solemn introduction as the words spoken in Vs. 3 and 7, the signifi cance of which has already been ex plained. It is to be carefully noted that Jesus passes from the “I say unto thee” to the plural “We speak.”' Not only did He Himself teach only what He absolutely knew, but this would »C opyright, 1913, by R. A. T orrey.
be true also of those who gathered around Him and identified themselves with Him and learned of Him and whom He sent out to be teachers. It is true that further down in the 13th verse He distinguishes Himself from all others, even those who had gath ered around Him, but none the less those who belonged to Him would speak what they did know and would testify what they had actually seen. The true Christian teacher must first have personal knowledge and experi ence; he has to give out to others not his speculations nor his guesses nor merely His opinions, he has to declare that which he knows to be true and testify of things which he has actually experienced. Quite likely John, who wrote this Gospel, was present at the interview and is the one that is im mediately associated with our Lord in the “we,” but it applies also to all who become our Lord’s true disciples and are taught of Him, and thus are enabled to tell others what they im mediately and experimentally and per sonally know. As Dr. McClymont puts it, “In Christ’s school the truth taught was not to rest on speculation or tradition, but on personal knowl edge and the testimony of an eye witness.” The great fundamental truths of Christianity are not specu lations, but certainties, facts of experi ence, things which those who teach them “know.” There may be an allu sion in our Lord’s “We know” to the superficial “we know” used by Nico demus when he began the conversa tion (see v. 2).
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