Conversations of Jesus Christ with representative men

Front matter

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CONVERSATIONS

OF

Contents

» i

II. The Woman of Samaria : The Obtuse Sensualist 35

III. The Young Euler : The Moralist 63

I. The Rationalist

This conversation of Christ with Nicodemus presents the whole of revelation in miniature; and if we believe and conduct according to the words which are here uttered by our Lord, we shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

Christ came to Jerusalem to observe the Passover, the first after his public entrance upon his ministry. This was the time at which this conversation was held. "Now when he was in Jerusalem, at the Passover, on the feast-day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did." What miracles these were, we are not informed. They must have been of a notable character, for they made a great impression ; nevertheless, the account of them has not been transmitted. Yet one thing quite remarka-

1* ble is recorded of those who at this time were greatly affected by the miracles of Christ — "Many believed in his name 77 because of them ; but ' ' Jesus did not commit himself unto them,' 7 because he knew them all, and all that was in them. This describes them as believers of a certain kind. They were not true, cordial, and earnest believers, for it is expressly said that Jesus did not treat them as such. Our Lord never held himself at a distance from a sincere believer ; but here were some who believed only to a certain degree, and who, therefore, did not reach at once the recognition of full discipleship.

Imagine, now, one of this general class going to his home after he had himself seen some of these miracles of Christ. He is a Pharisee — a ruler of the Jews. He is in the highest official position, a "teacher of the law, 77 and as we may suppose, quite advanced in years. He is no trifler, and no mocker. Others of his order may have curled the lip or shot out the tongue in disbelief and derision of the whole affair ; but what he had seen had taken too strong a hold upon him to be disposed of in this manner. The wonderful works of Christ certainly transcend nature and man. Moreover, the person who had performed them had assumed a most authoritative mien, actually driving out from the temple, which he called "his Father's house,'' the buyers and sellers and money-changers, which no other authority had ever interfered with ; and strange sayings had he nttered before the people, of a most incomprehensible meaning.

' Who is this person ? To what order of beings does he belong? He discourses of religion. His words and his works all appear to be related in some way to the coming kingdom of God. Who can he be ?' So is it that Nicodemus ponders the matter as he walks thoughtfully to his house ; and when the shadows of night had fallen, he makes a resolve to seek out Jesus, and inquire what all these things import. He is not decided enough to go by day, encountering the " world's dread laugh f yet timidity in him differs every way from timidity on our part, after accumulated evidence ; for he was curious to ascertain the

12 CONVEBSATIONS OF CHKIST.

truth, not wishing to involve himself in a mis- • take. This mental condition of Nicodemus is of more importance to "be borne in mind than his outward description ; because the words of Christ, as of one who "knew what was in man," were addressed directly to his interior consciousness ; and if we clo not understand this aright, we fail to catch the pertinency of what was said to him, and in Christ's conversation there will be many an ellipsis which we cannot supply.

Behold, then, this man coining to Christ by night! Thoughtful, but cautious, revolving how much he should admit, and how much hold in reserve ; yet a teacher himself, and bent on searching the matter from his rationalistic position. This quality of rationalism — this desire and purpose to know and judge of every thing according to his own understanding — is the characteristic of Nicodemus, and so the key to the entire conversation. He believes more than he is willing to avow. He begins his salutation with an admission, and closes it with a most "cautious inconsistency." He is very far from being the miserable "timeserver ;; which some have supposed ; yet before the conversation closes, he is reproached by our Lord for not giving more of expression to his honest convictions. He is quite in earnest, and honest in his way ; but it is just such a combination of rationalism and materialism as we might suppose would characterize a thoughtful Pharisee, which describes the man who, in the darkness of night, now seeks out our Lord. He was already a believer, but not a believer of the right sort. The miracles of Christ had carried the outposts of the citadel, but the whole man had not assented. Every thing which is said by our Lord throughout the whole interview is adapted to meet this semi-persuaded rationalistic condition of mind, by the presentation of truths which were designed to test the counter-quality of faith. u How?" "how?" is the interrogatory of the ruler. "Believe" "believe" is the response of Christ. By his own admission of being convinced by miracles, Nicodemus puts himself in a position where it was right and wise that he should be pressed with this duty of faith as a logical necessity. If he confessed, as he did, that the person with whom he talked acted with Divine sanction and power in his indisputable miracles, then nothing could be more consistent or appropriate to this confession than that he should believe the testimony of the Being whose words were corroborated by such preternatural wonders. This is the point, as we shall see, to which he is pressed by every word which was uttered by Christ : belief in Christ himself, as the most rational deduction from belief in his miracles. There is no talking at random. There is nothing here which is loose and disjointed. From the beginning to the end of the conversation, the design of. our Lord is to develop a simple faith in his own person, on the part of a man who admits that his convictions were carried by the miracles he had seen. If so much, why not more ? Miracles admitted, faith is the most rational sequence that can be conceived. Therefore is it that our Lord at every utterance holds up those great objects of faith which together form the Christian creed and the Christian life.

Let us suppose that Nicodemus, as he drew near to the place where Christ was — we know not where it was, whether in doors or without — is seriously revolving what he shall say, what apology he shall make for seeking the interview, how much he shall admit concerning the claims of the Man he is about to visit, and how much he shall hold in reserve, through fear of committing himself too far.

At length he stands in the presence of Christ. His salutation is respectful, courteous: "Rabbi, we know" — we know ; would he conceal his personal convictions and intentions behind a general admission, as though he represented - his ecclesiastical order ? — " that thou art a Teacher come from God."

Every word is guarded and well weighed. " Come from God ;" the expression in the original is very significant ; it is used only, in regard to the Messiah. That He is the Messiah, he does not assert; yet the thing which he intends to ascertain is, what are the relations of this Man to the Messiah ship and to the Kingdom of God. John the Baptist had announced him to be the Sent of God. He touches the outer border of the subject ; he cannot bring himself to admit more — than " Teacher" — -''for no man can do these miracles which thou doest, except — except — God be with him." Every thing is shaded off and toned down to the extreme of caution. Nothing here like the round and hearty admission of Nathanael: "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God." There is inconsistency ; there is reservation; there is. mental timidity. "Rabbi, we know that thou art a Teacher ;" is this all which he can admit of one who asserts himself to be the Messiah? "a Teacher come from God ; for no man can do the miracles which thou doest, except God be with him.' 7

This salutation accomplished, this cautious admission made, the doctor of the law stands not altogether at his ease under the calm and solemn eye of the young Rabbi. Let us remember what we are advised of in the preface of the narrative, that " He knew what was in man," and we shall perceive that there was nothing abrupt or inappropriate in the words which first were uttered by our Lord. "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, lie cannot see the kingdom of God." We wonder at first why Christ should have said this rather than any thing besides. But nothing could have been more pertinent to the state of mind of the man by whom he .was accosted. Half-convinced that Jesus was the Messiah, yet not brave enough to admit it, his secret intention was, to ascertain His relations to the coming kingdom of which he himself, as a Pharisee, was in some sort an official representative and agent. Nothing that ever fell from the lips of man could have been more pertinent than this reply of Christ: "You have addressed me as a Teacher related to the divine kingdom ; then verily, verily, I say unto you: You have said that no man can do these miracles, except God be with him ; let me say that no man can see the kingdom of God, except he be born again.' 7 How many of the very words which Nicodemus used are turned upon him with a point and emphasis which went to the very heart of things. Nicodemus begins with a complimentary acknowledgment concerning Christ. Christ replies in words which send the thoughts of the

Pharisee to himself, into his very heart. 'If you would know who I am, and what I am to teach, and what I am to do, the first essential thing is within thyself. We must not invert the alphabet, and begin at omega — at results and conclusions ; the kingdom of God which I came to establish is not external, but interior and spiritual, consisting of gracious dispositions, of love, and joy in the Holy Ghost ; and if one is to share in it at all, he must be brought into affinity with it by a change in himself.' Nothing is wanting here to make the connection and complete the sense. The divine Teacher — - recognized as such, addressed as such — asserts a lesson which is at once the simplest and the sublimest. Nicodemus is acquainted only with an external kingdom of God ; so that the first words of Christ reverse all his old habits of thought. ' My teaching and my testimony are not about visible wonders,* but interior affections ; not so much about what I can do and have done, as what you are, and you, in your own soul, must become.' "Yerily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

It is in the use of figurative language that our Lord begins, and out of it he emerges gradually into a simpler teaching. ' ' Born " — "born again/ 7 or "born from above' 7 — it matters not which idea we adopt in the use of the word awQev — " born afresh/ 7 says Nicodemus, What can this import? " Row can a man be born when he is old? Can he be born a second time as he was born at the first? 77 Whatever may have been the real thought and feeling of Nicodemus on the subject, his words imply that he understood this language of Christ in its literal sense, as descriptive of some physical birth. It is the rationalistic, materialistic spirit which moves his lips. " Verily, verily/ 7 is the rejoinder of Christ, "except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 77 'Except he have that interior birth, which is symbolized by baptism and realized by the Divine Spirit, he has no part in the kingdom of God. 7 Here is an advance in the words of the great Teacher. He defines the sense of the figurative expression of birth before used, so that it may not be left to inference. "That which is born of the flesh, is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit." ' That which is begotten and born carries within itself the nature of that from which its being was derived. Flesh is born of flesh ; spirit is born of spirit. I speak not of being born again of the flesh. The body is born but once ; but my words intend another birth, which is produced by the Divine Spirit/ So far our Lord goes in the way of explanation. " How can a man be born?" asked the rationalist. How wisely our divine Master leads him on to that boundary of knowledge, where faith will be absolutely requisite. He explains the meaning of his figurative terms, "born again." He intends a moral and spiritual regeneration which corresponds to the spiritual forces by which it is engendered. Spirit is born of spirit ; and so Christ teaches a birth which is by and of the Spirit; and then, as if the very word suggests an illustration which prescribes the limit to all marvelling and cavilling — the same word in the Greek meaning spirit and wind — he refers the listener to a most admirable analogy. ; Hark !

the night- wind is sighing around us ; the leaves of the trees and the tendrils of the vine are tremulous before its breath ; yet these effects of the wind are all that you can see ; the wind itself is invisible, but its work is evident.' ' ' The wind bloweth where it listeth ; and thou nearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh nor whither it goeth ; so is every one that is born of the Spirit." Our Lord would help the faith of the ruler by a very simple analogy. Having defined his ownwords, just what he meant by the new birth, a regeneration of the human soul by the Divine Spirit, he teaches him that concerning this invisible Power, its rise and its method, we know nothing, judging of it only by its visible effects.

Here was the place for Nicodemus to give his assent ; but his rationalism takes on a shade of arrogance which draws from Christ a gentle reprimand. "Nicodemus answered and said unto him, l How can these things be V 11 This was but the repetition of the question which had been already answered, and which therefore should not have been asked again. Having answered it before as it could only be answered, our Lord does not pursue the topic farther, having informed the ruler, in answer to his "How" that the mode was mysterious and incomprehensible. But "how" is the question of Nicodemus again. "Jesus answered and said unto him, ' Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? 7 " This is not a taunt ; but it is just such a reproof, just such a turn of words as prepares for the heartthrust which follows: "You are a master, a teacher in Israel, the representative of that order which presides over the national religion ; and you have come to me as a Teacher, and you acknowledge me as such ; ' ' Yerily, verily, I say unto thee, we speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen, and ye receive not our witness.*' Recall the admission which was made by Nicodemus in the very first words which he uttered in this interview : •Rabbi, we know that thou art a Teacher come from God ; for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except Grocl be with him." This admission is now turned upon him with the greatest force : ' If you acknowledge me as a teacher having a Divine commission, then you should accept my testimony, instead of pressing your inquiries into the domain of mystery which by a familiar analogy I have shown you to be withdrawn from your understanding ; you ought rather to give it your assent on the simple ground of my affirmation and my testimony, as an accredited witness come from Gocl. Men are believed when they are acknowledged as competent witnesses ; give me your faith in regard to that which I have affirmed, though you do not yet understand the mode of its working.' Faith is demanded of the Pharisee as a logical result of his own premises. What is incomprehensible and unseen by him, is known and seen by Christ ; and it is right that he should trust in His testimony as the only one competent to testify concerning these spiritual mysteries.

A new subject is now introduced, and pressed most earnestly and cogently to the close of the interview. Nothing more is said about the new birth ; enough has been said upon that subject — all that could be said. It has been affirmed to be necessary ; it is explained to be of a spiritual nature, wrought by the Spirit in a manner which to us is invisible. This, is enough. ' This is the point where, so far as regards what is beyond our own senses and understanding, faith in a divinely-commissioned teacher is both necessary and reasonable. When, therefore, a rationalistic mind urges its "how," " Jwiv can it be," giving rein to its own marvellings and unbelief, it is right that it should be met with the charge of unbelief together with its own guilty tendency. Just this is what such a mind should understand. There is a point where it should believe. There is a boundary to the understanding, and when it is reached, faith is the continuation of reason. This is the subject which, coining in so naturally, so necessarily, is now held up to the end of the conversation. This, nothing but this : simple faith in the personal testimony of Jesus Christ as the only one who has come down from heaven to inform the world of those things which are beyond all earthly knowledge. And this language of Christ is so forcible, so earnest, so reasonable, that there is no reply from Nicodeinus ; so that some critics hare been in doubt where the conversation with the man ends, whether with the 13th or the 21st verse. Eather would we understand that Mcodemus was so impressed with these words that he could do nothing but listen, and so these several utterances of Christ are continuous and uninterrupted to the 21st verse, all in one strain, converging to one point, with a stress and an emphasis which increase to a most tremendous application. The beginning is a reproof of unbelief; and it is concerning believing and disbelieving the testimony of Jesus Christ concerning himself, that the whole of the remaining words find their true explication.

' It is not your knowing, your understanding, but your receiving in true faith what is affirmed by myself, the Christ of God, commissioned and accredited to teach and redeem the world.' With this key in hand, nothing is* necessary but to read the words which follow, since they interpret themselves : "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, I speak that which I

26 CONYEESATIONS OF CHKIST.

do know, and testify that I have seen, and ye receive not my witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things ?" Sometimes we are disposed to render this expression, " earthly things" as referring to these analogies of birth and the viind ; common occurrences, which nevertheless imply so much which is mysterious and invisible and incomprehensible as to rebuke rationalistic incredulity ; but whether we refer the words to these natural objects, or to that side and aspect of regeneration which comes into view and has it occurrence here upon the earth, the force is the same — since the contrast is between things which occur on earth and things which belong exclusively to heaven, of which no knowledge could be derived by any process save the testimony of the living Person who, as a witness, is now discredited by the skeptical Nicodemus. • No man hath ascended up to heaven with power to see and testify of its arcana but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man, which is in heaven. 7 From this point all centres in this personality

NLCODEMUS. 27

of the witness. " And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up ; that whosoever helieveth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever helieveth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He that helieveth on him " — mark how this act of faith is magnified as the great necessity of our condition and being — " is not condemned : but he that belie veth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." No positive act of retributive penalty is necessary to curse a soul that is without faith ; it is cursed already, by its own suicidal exclusion from blessings which are as free and ample as the light of heaven. "This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world." Think not that these words are disconnected. "Rabbi, we know that thou art a Teacher come from God," so the interview began ; and thus it closes: "This is the condemnation'' — 'At the beginning I said that a man's love — his heart mnst be changed to have affinity with the kingdom of God ' — "that light is come into the world; and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." A psychological explanation of which is subjoined : " For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." Was it so, as our Lord gave this last and inimitable description of the nature, causes, and doom of unbelief, that the two walked together, out into the darkness of the night, and so, as from the wind, the simplest and most natural illustration was furnished ? Nothing to heighten the dramatic effect of the scene is appended ; but, as we have seen, the train of conversation is continuous, closing with an application which must have grappled the soul of Nicodemus with a power which he could not resist.

The workings of his mind as he returned to his home are not described. The effect of the conversation, for the best of reasons, is not recorded. We incline to the hopeful opinion ; and the deep, perhaps saving impression made by this conversation with Christ is proved by the two occasions, the only two mentioned, when Mcodemus made a sort of confession in honor of Christ ; the one before his own class, the Pharisees, when he took the part of Christ then absent: "Doth our law judge any man before it hear him, and know what he doeth?" subjecting himself to the taunting retort that he too must be a contemptible Galilean ; and the other when, as the companion of Joseph of Arimathea- — again was it secretly with both of them — he brought his hundred weight of myrrh and aloes, to embalm the crucified body of Jesus. May we not hope that tender tears fell upon that sacred body as he was engaged in the gentle and pious act.

Is not our assertion verified, that this conversation contains a miniature representation of the whole Christian revelation — all that we must do, and all that we must believe? First of all is it required that there should be

30 CONVERSATIONS OF CHBIST.

a thorough change of affection in every one who would be personally related to the kingdom of God ; that no external observance or privilege can be substituted for this ; for if our Lord had intended by the new birth only a reformation of the outward life, he asserted nothing which was not already known to Nicodemus, and even to the wiser heathen ; nothing, surely, which could have caused surprise or excited incredulity. There is nothing obscure, nothing which calls for the special exercise of faith in a requirement so obvious and so reasonable. But there is a point where that which is obvious shades off into that which is obscure ; where the understanding reaches its own horizon, and faith must come into vigorous exercise. But faith is not an unreasoning credulity. It has for its basis the evidence of the advent of one who came from heaven for the very purpose of testifying, informing, revealing, redeeming, and saving ; and trust in him is the perfection of reason.

This controversy between faith and philosophy, as conducted in scholastic debate, has been long and able and spirited. The great metaphysician of Scotland, Sir Wm. Hamilton, whose consummate learning and unrivalled acuteness will be disputed by no man, whether his opinions are embraced or rejected, denying our ability to acquire any positive knowledge of the infinite and the absolute, has made faith the basis of philosophy as well as religion. He and his disciples have asserted the necessary limitations of human thought. We do not enter here upon that scholastic discussion ; but plain enough, faith is the very life of our religion. This religion concerns itself with objects which are above and beyond our knowledge. It discloses the very heart of God. It reveals those heavenly mysteries which no wit o f man ever could reach. Heights inaccessible, depths unfathomable, distances immeasurable, extending into infinity and eternity, are all revealed to us by Him wno came down from heaven to be the light and the life of man. Not without credentials did he come. Never did he demand the faith of men without giving them proof of his Divine authority. This given, weighed, and accepted, faith, simple, childlike faith in his every word, becomes our wisdom and our necessity. Thus is it that in our religion every thing arranges itself about the living form of the Son of God. Having disclosed to us why He came, what He has done, and what He will yet do, faith in Him is the dictate of reason, the one necessity of our being, our only wisdom and safety. We cannot work our way through this life, in contact with the commonest objects and the most familiar occurrences, births and deaths, winds and tides, light and darkness, without encountering mysteries which demand our faith. That faith is the first lesson which childhood learns, and it is the last and highest which age and experience ever acquire. Plain enough, our destiny for eternity depends upon a simple belief in Him who came clown from heights which we cannot scale, and across ocean-depths which we cannot traverse. ' Say not, who shall go up into heaven, or who shall go over the sea to find out knowledge V for the Revealer has come; "the word is nigh thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart, that if thou wilt believe in Jesus Christ, thou shalt be saved," So simple, so necessary, so rational is this faith, that where it is wanting, there must be some moral obliquity which causes the defect. Come not under the condemnation of loving darkness rather than light. The only qualification for knowing divine things is to love them. For knowing the sciences and arts of men, many other things are requisite ; but to know Christ, and to see the light of his revelation, we have only to aspire after a filial temper. What a condemnation this for an immortal man, not to believe in Him who is the incarnation of truth and love, and who came for the sole purpose of conferring upon us infinite favors !

Surely we cannot be skeptical as to the fact that such a Saviour was born into the world, and that he gave such proofs of his Divine commission ; for the world is full of the monuments and evidences of his advent. Then let us give him our faith, fuller and heartier than we ever gave to any friend on earth. Take his outstretched hand, and trust him ; believe his words ; believe his doctrines ; obey his directions ; follow where he leads ; commit vcur soul to him* while you live, for that * 2* soul's peace, even as you must commit it to him wheu it is, going out from the body into an unseen and unknown futurity; for in that mystery of eternity there is no light save that which shines from the face of Christ, and no object about which your thoughts can gather, on which your heart can rest, save the Son of G-od, before whom you stand to-day, whose words you now hear, urging you to give him your confidence, that you may be saved.