(Chaps. 1-2:22.)
IN this gospel, divine life and relationship are revealed in the Eternal Word, who is Himself God; then His connection is declared with the creature which received its being through Him, and with men especially, the life in Him being their light — that which gave them moral state according to God.
Man’s condition had, however, become chaos and darkness. The cause of this is not stated here, but the fact only, the history of which will be found in Genesis 2. But as the physical world in Genesis 1:2, so here the moral scene is one of darkness. In it the light appears but ineffectually. The fiat of God sufficed to call forth light amid material darkness, but man was darkness spiritually, having gone away from God, who is Light and the alone Giver of it. To have light he must return to God, but to return he must have light. His case was therefore irremediable by power. The light was indeed there, but the darkness apprehended it not.
But when all else failed, there was yet a resource in God. In grace and wisdom He brings in another principle, namely, a testimony and faith in it, which, though neither light nor power, forms a living link between the poor dark creature and Him who is Light. There was a man sent from God, his name John. He came for witness that he might witness concerning the Light, that all might believe through him. The light was to be received in an Object of faith presented to man whatever his darkness and distance from God. Thus the true Light comes to man, and man comes to God by Him to whom a divine witness is rendered, and who coming into the world shines upon every man.
The world into which He came had received its being through Him, but, apart from faith, the world knew Him not. Man was ignorant of his Creator. By His own (the Jewish people) with whom He was in special relationship in the flesh, He was not received. Except for faith the true Light had shone in vain; but the effectual blessing of God rests on those who believe on His name — that is, who believe on Him through a testimony. To such He gives the right to be children of God. They have been born of God.
Viewed as the true Light, He enters the world and shines upon man. And in order to be for blessing to man instead of condemnation, He is presented by a testimony to faith. Now His earthly history in manhood begins: “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.” Becoming man, He is the display of the purpose of the Father’s heart to gather a family for Himself according to the perfect pattern of the Son.
The witness therefore is no longer limited to that of John the Baptist, but includes primarily that of the apostles. “We have contemplated His glory, a glory as of an only-begotten with a father.” It was His glory to be in manhood ever the blessed Recipient of the love of such a Father to such a Son, and thus to be the divine and glorious pattern of this new family. He was full of grace and truth, and of His Fullness we all have received and grace upon grace. We are not merely born of God, but, however small our measure, we participate in all His moral perfections in manhood, grace being constantly renewed. There is also the special personal grace which brought Him into the line of testimony after John, though preferred before him because the ever-existing Object of divine delight.
Hitherto we have had His relations with God and with the creature, especially with man, then the need of witness to Him for faith and blessing, and also, where there was faith, a new relationship formed, Himself the pattern of it. This is now contrasted with the character of the former dispensation. That was Law given by Moses; this introduces grace and truth in the person of Jesus Christ. That veiled the glory of God and forbade approach; this declared Him not merely essential Deity, but the Father according to the Fullness and intimacy of the divine affections shown to the only-begotten Son, whose glory in manhood was the expression of it (ver. 14). To Him in this supremely excellent service John also, who was but a voice, bears witness (vers. 19-28).
John’s ministry was confined to Israel in its national position, not calling souls out of it; and his baptism with water was for the purpose of manifesting to Israel One whose work nevertheless went wide as the world, and whose existence knew no beginning. It was a new dawn of service for John when he beheld the Spirit descending as a dove from heaven, and it abode upon Him. And he bore witness that this was the Son of God — the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, and He who baptizes with the Holy Ghost. The change from addressing a national company to witnessing of a universal work and eternal person was blessed for John.
But there is still more, for testimony to such an Object is closely linked with communion; and looking at Jesus as He walked, he again says “Behold the Lamb of God!” What attraction divine glory has when expressed in grace and truth — moral perfectness in manhood! Andrew one of two attracted by John’s adoring exclamation, who followed Jesus and abode with Him that day, first finds his own brother Simon and leads him to Jesus.
The effect of John’s witness is to attach these two brothers to the Lord. Different in character the individuality of Simon, whom Jesus calls Cephas or Peter, is strongly marked. He does not appear to have been, like Andrew, one of John’s disciples. A bold, impetuous man of strong feelings and will, he was probably more inclined to the active business of life here than attracted by John’s ascetic path. This, on the contrary, Andrew was — a religious and seeking soul. Both, for opposite reasons, were looking for Messias — Andrew, as desiring the realization of his hopes; Peter, as conscious afterward of his own sinful condition. The former displays an earnest, inquiring spirit; the latter is a type of the self-confident, independent man.
These are the fruits of John’s ministry: Jesus Himself now seeks two others of a different stamp. The first was Philip, whom the words “Follow Me” suffice to call. Conversant with Scripture (a fact distinguishing those whom Jesus personally finds), and the sick and dying state of Israel revealed in “the law and the prophets,” his faith quickly cleaves to Jesus the Son of Joseph, and finds in Him the Great Mediator whose word should heal and save (Deut. 18:15-19). Philip finds Nathanael, a man more instructed and precise in his thoughts of Scripture, drawn particularly from the Psalms, not merely from Moses and the prophets, but therefore looking for higher glories and nobler names than Nazareth could boast. Of unblemished life and upright prayerful spirit, it seemed to him impossible that the Son of God, the King of Israel, nay, even anything good, could come out of Nazareth. A place of bad repute, where a spirit of evil brooded ready to burst forth in pride, hatred of grace, and murderous violence, the divine Saviour surely could not come from thence! The power of evil in the scene, and indeed Nathanael’s godliness and knowledge of the Scriptures — all were hindrances to Jewish faith in a humbled Christ. But the word of Jesus quells the storm of doubt and discovers to him One who knew him thoroughly, but was not to be known even from the Scriptures except as He chose to reveal Himself. But in grace He does reveal Himself, and calms the laboring heart, tossed to and fro with conflicting thoughts, and gives instead the heavenly vision of the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of man.
In fact, these four men are four representative states of soul under the eye of God — the inquiring, the independent, the legal, and, lastly, the man of doubt and difficulty. These four states will be found to underlie much of the teaching in John’s gospel.
But a third day dawns, not one of testimony and faith, but a day of signs and manifested glory, in which nature and its relationships have their place. The time, indeed, had not yet come for Jesus to celebrate the marriage-day of Israel’s joy; this must be deferred until He establishes His kingdom in righteousness which cheereth God and man. But at least the power to do so was His even then, yet a power to be used in a way worthy of Him who alone can wield it — a power that cannot be allied with vain forms and empty ordinances. Purification must precede the kingdom of joy. The vessels must be filled with water to the brim in order to have the good wine.
This miracle was done in Cana of Galilee, a district where first the kingdom shall arise (cf. Isa. 9:1-7; Matt. 4:12-17). From thence Jesus goes to Jerusalem; for another matter must also occupy His attention — the cleansing of His Father’s house, intimately linked as it is with setting up the kingdom (cf. Ps. 83-84). His Father’s house was not to be a house of merchandise; and though it is certain that the true temple of God was His body, which if destroyed by their wicked act He would raise up in three days, yet while the temple made with hands could legitimately claim to be God’s house, He owned it and was jealous for the honor of Him whose great and holy name it bore. For this end did He assert His own divine dignity and power. It was zeal for that house which devoured Him. In this zeal the godly remnant among the Jews shall participate in the coming day (Ps. 69:9); but to Him alone belongs the power of resurrection. Nor was it till He had exercised that power in His own case, that His disciples remembered His words, and believed that the true Christ is the humbled Christ of Psalm 69, and the risen Christ of John 2:19.
These two scenes of the marriage in Cana, and the cleansing of the temple at Jerusalem, present the great forms which the earthly blessing will take in the day of Christ’s manifestation, namely, the Kingdom and the Sanctuary; while the four called disciples are patterns of those who shall share in it with Him (cf. Ps. 131-134).