"When I Read Christ Prays"

: gt is a matter merely accidental to the Word of God to be written,’ says Richard Hooker in his famous First Book. ‘That is to say it is not at all essential or necessary to the Word of God that it be written out with pen and ink. And as a matter of fact our Lord who was Himself the living Word of God never wrote a line for us to read. And neither did any of His disciples for fifty or sixty years after He had finished all He had to say to them and to us through them. It was solely and entirely by the spoken Word that the Gospel was spread abroad in apostolic days. It was by the spoken word alone that the apostolic Churches of Rome and Corinth and Galatia and Ephesus and Colosse and Philippi and Smyrna and Pergamos and Sardis and Philadelphia and Laodicea were all first founded, and then built up. And it has always been by the spoken Word that the greatest victories of the Gospel have everywhere been won.

While it is quite true that there was nothin but a spoken Gospel for the first half-century the Christian Church yet as time went on and Christian communities were multiplied, it was found to be expedient, and indeed necessary, that the apostolic Gospel should be set down in a written form in the shape of Epistles and Gospels. And this went on till the New Testament was produced, exactly as we now possess it. And in possessing which we ourselves are taken up and are set abreast of the eleven disciples and 7 the twelve apostles themselves — if we believe and obey what we there read. In which case we have our Lord’s own word for it that He is as — much our Master and our great High Priest as if we had sat beside Him in the upper room when — He lifted up His eyes to Heaven and offered for Himself and for the eleven this High Priestly prayer. Such is the immense significance and — the supreme importance to us of this evening’s text : — ‘ Neither pray I for these eleven alone, — but for all them also who shall believe on me — through their word.’

Come then and let us look at some of their words in this light.;

And let us take John first. John who na on his Master’s bosom that night and who as we believe saw into his Master’s mind and heart deeper and truer than any other of the eleven. — And take John’s very first word to us about his — Divine Master. ‘In the beginning was the — Word, and the Word was with God, and the —

Word was God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made.’ These, my brethren, are the profoundest words that ever were written. ‘The angels, we may well say, desire to look into these wonderful words, but draw back baffled and abashed. Nor has the plummet of any exegete nor the pulpit of any preacher ever gone to the bottom of those wonderful words of John concerning his Master. And yet we, the sinful sons of men, are bold to receive and to believe these unfathomable words about our Redeemer. Indeed, once He has become to us our own Redeemer there is nothing too wonderful for our faith and our love to receive concerning Him. When once God the Father has revealed His Son in us there is no other revelation concerning Him that we are not fully prepared to believe and to embrace. Yes, we adoringly believe that He was with God and was God. And we adoringly believe, and every day more and more rejoice to believe, that ‘all things were made by Him, and that without Him was not anything made that was made.’ And we more and more look at all created things in that evangelical light. We subscribe with all our mind and heart to the Psalmist’s confession of the same faith: ‘By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. And we set our hand to the corresponding confession of the Apostle: ‘For by Him were all things created that are in heaven, and that are in earth; all things were created by Him, and for Him; and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.’ And where these and all such things are far too high for us to understand — at any rate in this life — we will still subscribe to them till we do better, even fall down and adore. Yes, before God and man, we wholly believe in the Divinity, and in the Eternity, and in the Creatorship of our Blessed Lord, and all that through John’s words and through the words of all the other apostolic men. And having begun to believe in that way we come down through the whole of John’s glorious prologue, believing at every verse of it, till we come to that amazing verse which might well stagger the strongest faith, that amazing verse which runs thus: ‘ And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.’ Yes we believe that also. We do indeed. We believe that had God seen good to cast our lot in the fulness of time and had we lived in Galilee or Jerusalem we would have beheld His glory with our own eyes till we men would have washed His blessed feet and our believing and godly and wealthy women would have been like Joanna and Susanna, who ministered to Him and to His disciples of their substance.

And then the Word being made flesh we bring up our children to be believers like ourselves by reading to them and reading with them what is written in Matthew and in Luke concerning the

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manger at Bethlehem, and then what is written in Luke concerning the Word when He was twelve years old in our earthly life. And then all our carpenters surely are adoring believers as they work with the axe and the hammer and think to themselves about Joseph’s workshop. And as they think and say to themselves that this is ‘the work of God, that they believe on Jesus Christ whom God hath sent.’ And then we go on to read about His baptism and we believe it as if we had seen it. And then about His temptations and we believe both the facts of them and the lessons that are drawn out for our comfort from them. And then all the words that His disciples report Him to have spoken till we are able to say to the four evangelists what the men of Samaria said to the woman who met our Lord at the well: ‘Now, we believe not only because of your words, for we have heard Him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world. We have heard such things as these, and we believe that He spake them; such things as these. ‘They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.... Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.. Behold my mother and my brethren! For Pi cehever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.... O woman! great is thy faith; be it unto thee even as thou wilt.... I say not unto thee until seven times, but until seventy times seven....”. And we read and believe the parable of the lost sheep, and the — parable of the prodigal son.... And, to come back to John, we read and believe all these things: ‘ Behold the Lamb of God which taketh — away the sin of the world.... For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should have everlasting life.... Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst: but it shall be within him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.... I am that bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.... In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come to me, and drink.... Iam the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.... Jesus said unto Martha, I am the resurrection and the life. Believeth thou this?... Iam the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman, and ye are the branches.... Those things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy — might be full.... Neither pray I for these — alone, but for them also which shall believe on — me through their word.. .. ’ And many other — words truly did Jesus speak in the presence of — His disciples, which are not written in this or in — any book. But these and such like are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that, believing, ye might have life through His Name. -

Now, my brethren, it was with us also in His mind and in His heart that night that He said concerning us these ever-blessed words which He has put into our mouths for our text this evening, — these ever-blessed words: ‘Father, for them also I pray who shall believe on me through their word.” That is to say, the Son of God makes prayer and intercession for us this day and at this hour as truly as He made prayer and intercession for the eleven in that upper room that passover night. That is to say, if not for all of us, at any rate for as many of us as believe on Him through such words of His disciples as our ears have now heard. Come then all you who do believe, come and listen to some of the petitions that your great High Priest is offering for you at this moment before the throne. For looking down on you He points to you as He says to His Father concerning you: ‘ And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. For I have given them the words which thou gavest me, and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.’ Now, would He be right if He said that to His Father about you? Have you known surely that He came out from the Father and came to you? And have you believed that the Father sent Him expressly and immediately to

Q you? If so, happy are you! ‘The holiest angel q around the throne envies you. And still He 1 proceeds concerning you. ‘And now I am no — more in the world, but these — you and I — are in the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. And, when your appointed time comes, and mine — Father, I will also, that they whom thou hast given me be with me where I am; that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.’ O my brethren, my believing brethren! heard you ever such things as these? Such surpassingly glorious things as these? No, never! For ‘ear hath not heard, nor eye seen, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.’

Let us take one or two reflections and lessons out of all that before we shut their word and go home.

1. And first, reflect much on the great blessedness of having the disciples’ words concerning their Master in your hands to read them when you please.

2. And then reflect much on the unspeakable blessedness here promised to all who believe. For such blessedness is there in believing that it makes you more blessed in this far-off house this evening than if you had been in the upper room that night with your names written among the eleven. Yes, I am not overstating your blessedness in saying that, for are not these your

Saviour’s own spoken words concerning His disciples of that day, and concerning you His disciples of this day? Are not these His very words spoken by Him and written down for your faith? ‘Thomas, He said, ‘ because thou hast seen me thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed.’ Better then to be reading the seventeenth of John in this house this evening than to have been in the upper room and heard it spoken that night, Better and more blessed to read this chapter in your chair at home this Sabbath night than to have leaned on His breast as He uttered it that passover night. Such is the supreme blessedness that is placed within the reach of all men who have the Four Gospels concerning Christ put into their hands.

3. And then this is surely by far the best reflection and lesson of all. There is the great joy you can give to Jesus Christ, even in glory, by your believing on Him through their word. For do you not hear the tone of true satisfaction, the tone of great gratification that sounds again and again through this whole High Priestly prayer of His? ‘’Thine they were,’ He says to His Father concerning you — ‘ Thine they were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy word.’ And again, ‘ For I have given unto them — pointing to you — the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.’ And again, ‘O Righteous Father, the world hath not thee; but I have known thee, and these known that thou hast sent me.’ Yes, as ma you as believe on Him through their word, sees in you of the travail of His soul, and is satisfied. Such true blessedness is there, both

Him and to you in your reading your New Te: ment and believing what you read. Let us more and more search both the Gospels and Kpistles of the New Testament for in them know that we have eternal life, and they are t that testify to us of our Great High Priest.