The Works of God
“I must work the works of Him that sent Me whHe it is day: the night Cometh, when no man can work.” — John ix. 4.
l^a/HE utter restfulness which filled the heart of the Lord ‘filUx’ Jesus is beautifully manifested in the introductory
fi verses of this chapter. At the close of the preceding f one He is seen amid the heated altercation of his foes, enduring the contradiction of sinners against Himself, and compelled to use some of the severest epithets that ever fell from his gracious lips. The climax of the argument was reached on his claiming to have existed before Abraham was. He appropriated the incommunicable name of Jehovah, and said, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” And in a frenzy of indignation the Jews caught up the stones lying about for the repair of the temple to inflict forthwith the doom of the blasphemer.
But there was a force at work which they little understood, rendering them powerless to harm Him. Was it the spell of his majestic presence? Was it the aureole of his spotless character? Was it the protecting power of his Father? Whatever it was. He passed unscathed through the midst of them; and so left the temple, and began to descend the great flight of steps, and to pass through the successive courts. On the way his attention was attracted by a blind beggar, who for years had been a familiar object as he sat and begged. And albeit that there was every need to put as far a distance as possible between Himself and the missiles of his foes. He stopped, made clay, and leisurely healed him. Is it not evident 186 ®lj£ ^orks 0f (Bob.
that He realized his absolute safety until his hour arrived; and that if there were an opportunity and a prompting to do God’s work, there was the strongest ground also to count upon perfect immunity till the work was done?
His enemies might chafe and storm around Him; but they could not hurt Him, or penetrate with word and stone the encasing envelope of the presence of God. Secure of that protection, He was able to go and come, fearless and unharmed, serene and quiet, restful and peaceful, blessing and blessed. Oh for the quiet heart which looks from itself to God, and considers neither difficulty nor peril, because it is so absorbed in doing his work! Here the blessed Spirit broods undisturbed, amid the wild fury of earth’s tumult, whispering intimations of God’s will, and nerving the soul with sufficient power to perform.
I. The Conditions in which God’s Works are done. — The phrase, “works of God,” is a familiar one throughout this Gospel. To do them was to feed the Redeemer’s soul (iv. 34); they were in an ever-ascending scale (v. 20); they were of a certain definite number, given Him to finish (v. 36); they were the signs and seals of his mission (x. 38); they were not his own, but wrought through Him by the Father (xiv. 10); they were unique in the history of the world (xv. 24); they were definitely finished ere He left it (xvii. 4). But it becomes us to learn the conditions under which they were wrought, that we may be able to do those greater works of which He spoke.
(i) I/ts heart was at rest in God. — When suddenly aroused amid the tumult of the storm, or pursued by infuriated crowds, or amid the anguish of the grave of Lazarus, or in the garden of his arrest, there was ever the same deep inner calm, which spread an awe on nature, and cast its spell on men. And it is impossible to expect any great thing to be done in the world through a man whose inner life is ever in a state of ferment.
Nature herself teaches the need of repose for the putting forth of her mightiest efforts. It is in the closet, the study, the cave, the woodland retreat, that problems have been solved, resolves formed, and scheijies matured. And the river of life “JFiUcft tattir tbc Ictln (Bijostr 187
itself will lose its most precious properties, if it flows through the muddy and perturbed waters of restless hearts.
It is not possible for us all to have a life of outward calm. In such a world as this, with the opposition of men and the intrusion of sorrow on our most sacred moments, there is perpetual interruption. But beneath all the heart may keep its Sabbath. Trusting in God, resting on Him, rolling off to his charge its anxieties and cares before they have time to soak down poison into its springs, the inner life may thus retain its tranquillity, reflecting God’s heaven above, and recipient of the least impulse of God’s will.
(2) He was specially endued with the Holy Spirit. — Our Lord had his Pentecost before Pentecost. In the same hour He was baptized as to his body with the waters of the Jordan, and as to his spirit with the Holy Ghost. In his address to Cornelius and his friends, the Apostle Peter lays distinct stress on this as the condition on which Jesus of Nazareth went about doing good: “He was anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power” (Acts x. 38).
It should be a serious question with each of us, Have I claimed my share in Pentecost? On his ascension, our Lord received from the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost in its fullest plenitude, that through Him the whole Church might get it. It is ours in Him; we have not to go up to Heaven or down to Hades to win it; we have not to endeavour to merit it, but only to claim it by faith. If on comparing ourselves with the symptoms of Spirit-filling given in the Acts of the Apostles, we are conscious of a grievous deficiency, let us by believing prayer dare to ask for all that is ours in the risen living Saviour.
(3) He was willing that the Father should work through Him. — On the day of Pentecost, the preacher clearly emphasized this: “Jesus of Nazareth was approved of God among you by miracles, and wonders, and signs, which God did by Him in the midst of you” (Acts ii. 22). And this statement bears out the affirmation of the Lord Himself, “the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works” (xiv. 10).
Blessed are we when we learn that secret, no longer to work 188 tljE moxkz of (Bab.
for God, but to let God work through us; to be brooks of Siloam, pent in given beds, instead of wandering at our own sweet will; to be clay kneaded into any shape; to be earthenware pipes, if needs be, hidden under ground, and trampled beneath the hurrying feet of men, with one end open to the reservoir, and the other to the empty cistern of human need, so that the torrent may come in with even flow on the one side, and pour out on the other with a regularity which escapes notice because it is so unbroken. It was thus that the great Apostle lived who said, “Christ hath wrought through me in word and deed to make the Gentiles obedient” (Rom. xv. 18, literal rendering). So are we bidden to yield ourselves to God, and our members as instruments of righteousness, that He may work in us that which is well pleasing in his sight (Rom. vi. 13; Heb. xiii. 21). “We must work,” the R.v. says.
II. The Need for these Works. — “A man blind from his birth.” We have observed before that the miracles of this Gospel were evidently selected in each case with a special purpose of becoming foils to bring into prominence some characteristic feature in the ministry or teaching of Jesus Christ. Nor is this one an exception to the rule. What emblem could better set forth the condition of mankind than a born-blind beggar? That men are blind, that they are born so, and that they are destitute and bankrupt, needing gold and white linen, and eyesalve, needs no proving. But amid all. He comes who is the Light of the world, and is able to give sight to the blind, and. to the poor a share in his measureless wealth.
The Jews had but two hypotheses on which to account for human suffering. “Either this man sinned” (in some previous state of existence), “or his parents, that he was born blind “; with them, special suffering was always the sign of special sin (Luke xiii. i 4).
There are many who argue thus in the present day. The occurrence of special disaster leads them to search for the sin which must have led to it; forgetting that it does not always follow, and that it has been the problem of the ages that so many of the worst of men have had comparative immunity from suffering — “there have been no bands in their death” — whilst for the godly the waters of a full cup are wrung out. It is true that sin brings suffering; but there is some suffering which is not the evidence of special wrong-doing.
This is therefore a third and broader hypothesis, which our Lord suggests here. “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents; but that the works of God may be made manifest in Him.” Suffering is permitted for wise and good reasons, which we shall one day comprehend, and amongst them is this: that it may provide a platform on which the grace and power of God may manifest themselves, each new phase of evil leading to some new forth-putting of the heart of God. To how many suffering ones may the Lord Jesus send the message: “This sickness is not unto death; but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified thereby “!
If only the sufferers who may read these words would bracket together these two texts, this spoken of the blind beggar, and that of the sickness of Lazarus, surely it would be easier to bear the long nights of weariness and the days of pain — not in punishment, not by neglect or mischance, not as the inevitable results of the mistakes or misdeeds of others, but — to give an opportunity for the works and glory of God. What works? What glory? Surely the works of humility, and patience, and gentleness, which his Spirit instils; and the glory of that lovely spirit which his Spirit begets.
But how necessary is it that, as there is the need, we who have the supply be not wanting. If there is need for the works of God to be manifested, we must be at hand, and willing at all costs to manifest them. If there is the opportunity for the glorifying of Christ, we must not be slow to seize it. Make haste ! — the night is coming, in which no man can work. Life at the longest is but a day; and before we are aware the shadows have stealthily crept far across the grass, the air has become chill, and the silver crescent of the moon is rocking in the dimming light. What works await us yonder we cannot tell. But the unique work of healing blindness and enriching beggary is confined to earth; and we must hasten to do all of this allotted to us before the nightfall. He lives iQo Wi)z tffllorks of (Bob.
intensely whose eye is fixed on the fingers of the dial; as the poor sempstress works swiftly whose last small wick of candle is rapidly burning down in its socket.
III. The Subject of these Works. — What a contrast between the opening and the close of the chapter! The blind sees, the beggar is rich. The abject is an apologist. The intruder on the temple steps is a worshipper within the true shrine. The soul ignorant of Christ owns Him as Son of God. And all this because of the individual interest our Lord took in him.
(i) He detected what was workhtg in his mind. — Beneath that unpromising exterior were the elements of a noble character. The power which might have run to waste, being dammed up, wrought deeper into his soul. He heard the converse of the crowds as they passed, caught the voices of the Levites chanting their majestic psalms, detected the benedictions of the priests; and awoke in him indefinable yearnings after God. Unknown to any besides, these arrested the attention of Jesus, who, unconscious of personal danger, bent over him with eager interest, as a child over the first primrose of spring.
(2) He developed the latent power of faith. — It was there, but it had nothing to evoke it; and yet it must be evoked ere Christ could give him sight. He could feel, though he could not see. So the Lord put clay on the eye-socket, awaking wonder, hope, expectation; and such was the ladder put down for his’ faith to climb up into the light. And then in the command to go and wash there was a still further test to his faith, to conform and strengthen it. Is it not thus that the blessed Lord still deals with us; watching the smallest spark of faith, and fanning it into a flame, giving it some very small and obvious thing to do, that it may from a thread become a cable?
(3) He found him when cast out by all besides. — His parents disowned him, and the Pharisees cast him out of their synagogue, depriving him of a highly-prized privilege; but Jesus found him. He had been cast out Himself, and knew the” iost ®ljoit felicbc? *’ 191
weariness and pain of excommunication; and thus acquired the desire and the clue to help another, suffering beneath the intolerance of the religious world. Does not Jesus always steal to our side when we are cast out, or deserted by our friends?
(4) He ansiuered his hunger for faith. — “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” The question startled him; and yet it explained one of the deepest instincts of his nature, though he may have been little conscious of it, and perhaps felt only an utter dissatisfaction with all else, and an insatiable yearning after God. If we live up to what we know, at all costs, we shall most certainly be led into further discoveries of truth. If we dare to go to the pool of Siloam and wash, we shall be gladdened by great revelations and unfoldings of God in Christ. We think we are going to plough a field; and we suddenly come on a box of treasure, struck by our plough, which makes us independent of work for the rest of our lives.
And so obedience passes into worship, and we see that He who has made our life his care, tending us when we knew Him not, is the Christ of God, in whom are hid all the riches of time, all the treasures of eternity: and we worship Him.