the fundamentals: volume 10, chapter 2: the internal evidence of the fourth gospel

8/20/2019 The Fundamentals: Volume 10, Chapter 2: The Internal Evidence of the Fourth Gospel

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CHAPTE ,R II

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THE INTERNAL EVI .DENCE

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OF THE FOURT ·H GOSPEL

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BY CAN0

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N G.

OSBORNE

TROOP, M.

A.,

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MONTREAL,

CANADA

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. .The

whole

Bible

is

stamped

with the Divine

''Hall-Mark'';

but the Gospel according to St. John is

primits inter pares

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Th~ot1gh it, as

1

through a transparency, we gaze entrance

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d

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into the very h-oly of holies, where shines in unearthly glory

'_the great visio,n of

the

face

of

Christ''. Yet

man's per":"

ve,rsity

has ·

made it the '''sto

1

rm

center'' of

New Testament

criticism, doub ,tless for

the

very reason that

it

bears such

unwavering testimony ·

both

to

the deit,y

of

our

Lord and

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Saviour, Jesus Christ, and to His perfect .humanity. The

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Christ of th.e Fourth Gospel i,s no unhistoric, ideali ,zed vision

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of the later,

dreaming

cl1urch,

but

is, as

it

practically claims

to be, the Picture drawn

by ·

''the

disciple wh6m

Jesus

loved'',

an eye:-witness of 'the blood

and

water that

flowed

from His

· pierced .

side. These may

appear

to be

mere unsupported

sta tement s, and as such will at once be dismissed by a seien-

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tific rec\der. Nevertl1eless th ,e appeal of this article is to the

instinct of ·

the ''one flock''

of

the

''one

Shepherd''. ''They

l,now His ,voic

1

e'' , . . . ''a stranger wi1l they not follow.'' '

. l . . There , is one passage in this

Gospel that flashes

like

1ightning

-t ·

dazzles our ·

eyes

by

its

very

glo~y.

J

To the

bro~eii-h'earted ·Martha the Lord Jesus says with

startling

suddenness, ''/

1

am th·e

resurrecti ,on, and th ,e Jife; he that

b,elieveth on

M

1

e, though

he

die,

yet

shall he

live; , and

who-

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so

1

eve:, l'iv.eth and belie,ve,th in, Me, shall .never die;'' ..

l 't

is ho,mbly

but

confidently subn1itted that

these words

are utterly beyond the

reach

of human invent ion. It ~ould

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The Internal Ev ·idence of . th.e .Fourth Gospel 19

never have entered the heart of man to

say,

I 1ani

tl1e

resur

rection and the life. • '·There is a resurrection and · a

li.fe,

. '

wou ld have been a gre .at and notable

saying> but

tliis Speaker

identifies Himself with tl1e resurrection and with life eternal.

The words can only

be

born from

above, alld

He who

t1tters

them is worthy of the utmost

adoration of

,the surrendered

soul. ,

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In · an

earlier chapter

John .

records

a· certain question

addres .sed to and

answered by

our Lord i·n a manner wl1ich

has no counterpart in the world's lit~rature. ''\IVhat shall

we ,do, th

1

e eager people

cry;

''What s.hall we ·do tl1at

we

might work the w,orks of God .?'' ''This is the work of .

Go

d'',

our ~Lor ,d repli

1

es, ''th at ye h

1

elieve on Him ,¥hom He hath

sent'' (.John 6: 28,

29).

I ventur ·e

to

say that .

S

Uc,l1 an

·answer to , ,such a question has no p,a,rallel. This ·is,

the

work

of

God that

ye

accept ME.

I am

the

Root of the tree which

'be,a·rs the ,

o·nily

fruit

pleasing

to God. Ou .r L.ord state :s

the

conv

1

erse of this , in ch.apter 16, when He says tha ·t the Hol:y

.Sp

irit

will

1

''

1

conv ·ict tI1e

world

of

sin . '

because tl1

ey

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b

1

elieve no,t on ME.'' T11e root ,of all evil .·i.s

unbe'lief

in

Ch1~ist. Tl1e

condemnin,g

sin of

the

rorl

1

d ]_e,s i·n

th ·e r·ej

1

ection

of the Redeemer. Ber

1

e we have th

1

e· root of righteousness

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~nd

t11e

root of sin in

the

acceptan ,ce

or

rejection

0

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£

His

w·ondro11s

personality. This - is unique, and

.pr ,oclaims,

tl1e

Speal


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The Intertial Evidence of

the

F

01trth

Gospel 21

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f

ectly natural that St. John should

record

it. It must have

fallen upon

the ears

of himself

and

his fellow-disciples amidst

an

awe- ,stricken

silence

in which they could hear the

ve,ry

throbbing of their listening hearts. For their very hearts

were listening through their

ears

as the Son

poured

out His

sott.l unto

the

Father. It is a rare

p,rivilege, and o,ne

from

which most men

woul

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d

se:nsitively s,hrin,k,

to listen ev·en t:o a

f

ellow- ·man

alo,ne with

God. Yet

the Lor ·d

Jesus in

the

midst of ·His disciples laid bare

His

very soul before His

Father, as really as

if

He had been alone

with

Him. He

prayed

with

the

cross and its

awful

death

full

in view, but

in

the

prayer

there is no slightest hint of failure

or regret,

and , there is

no trace

of confession

of

sin or need of

forgive

ness,.

Thiese

;;tre

a]J indelible

marks of

genuineness.

It would

have been impossible for a sinful man to conceive such a

prayer.

But all is consistent with the character

of

Him who

spake as never man spake , and. could challenge the world

to convict

Him

of

sin. ·

With such thoughts in mind let us now look more

closely

into the

words

of

the pray ,er,

itself.

Father,

the

hour is

come; glorify Thy

Son,

that Thy

Son also may glorify Thee:

As

Thou hast given Him power

over

all

fle,sh,

th.at

He should g,ive eternal

l.ife

to as many

as

Thou

hast ·given

Him.

And

this

is

life eternal, that

they

might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom

Thou

hast

sen,t.,

Here

we

have

again

the calm ,placing

1

of Himself

on

a

level with the Father in conne

1

ction with etern .al ]jf e. And

it

is n

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ot

out

of

place

to

recall

the

co

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ns,i,ste,n

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cy of this

utterance

with

that of

ten-called

1

J h,annine , sa.yin,g

recorded

in

St.

Matthew and St. Luk

1

e:

1

Atl things ar ,e d,elivered unto Me

of

My

Father: ·

and no man

knOweth the

Son,.

but

the Father ;

neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he

to whomsoever

the Son

will .eth to reveal

Him.

We rea

1

d al,so in St. J,ohn 14: 6:

1

No man cometh unto

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The' Fu1idame1itals

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the Father but

by

Me,'

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An~ as we

reverentI ,y

proceed further

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in tl1e prayer We find Hirn saying: ''And now, 0 Father,

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glorify Thou Me with Thine own &elf, with ·the glory which

I h~d with Thee

before the world

was;'' . . .

These ·word$ are natural to the Father's

Son

as we

know

and worshiP, Hjm,

but

they are

beyond

the reach of

an

uni.n

spired man, and Who can imagine

a

forger

inspired

of the

Holy Ghost? Such words would, however, be graven upon

th~

very heart of an

ear-witneSs

such as · the disciple whom

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J

eSU ,S

love,d. \ :

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r J

We hav

1

e' jn this prayer also the fuller

r,evelatio·n

of 'the

''011e flock''

and ''one

Shepherd''

pictured

in

chaP,ter ten:

''Nei ther pray .I . for these a'lone, but for them also which

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shall believe on Me through their word; .that they . all

may

be

Qne; as-Thou, Fath.er, art iti

Me,

and I ·in Thee_. that they

also

ma y

be 01w in u,s: That ,the wor,ld ma,y ,believe

that

Thou

hast sent Me. And the glory which Thou

gavest Me

I

have

give,n th ,em; that they may be 0

1

ne,

even

as we ar ,e one ,: I in

them, and Thou in Me,, that they may be per£e,c,ted into one;

and thit the world may know that Thou hast s~t Me, and

hast loved the,n, as Thou , hast iloved Me ,,

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, In these

holy words

there breathes a cry for such

a;,

unity

as neve1·,enter

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ed i'nt

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0 the heart ,of mortal man to dream

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It is no, cold and formal ecclesiastical unity, such as that

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suggested

by

the

curious

and

unhap

1

py 1nistranslation

of' ''one ·

fold'' for ''one flock'' ' in St

John

10: 16. It is the living

unity of th~ living flock with the li.ving Shepherd o~ the

living God. . t is actually the same aS.he unity subsisting

between

th,e

Fathe ·r

and the

,Son.

And

ac,co

rding

to

St. Pau]

in

Rom. 8: 19',, the ,

creation

is

waiting for ,

its

revelati

1

on. The

1

one Sl1epher,d

.has

from the

beginning had His one

flock

in

ans~er to His

prayer, ,~ut 'the

worl,d

has[

no

1

t yet

s~en it, and

is therefore &till

unconvinced

that

o,ur

Jesus is. indeed the

Sent of God. The world has seen

th,e

Catholic Church and

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the Roman Cath,olic Chur,ch, but

the

H

1

0,ly Catholic

C,hurch

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The Internal vidence of the ·Fourth Gospel

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no eye as yet . has seen but God's. FOr the H.oly CathOliC

Church aD.d the · Shepherd's one flock are one and ' the same,

&nd

the

world

wi.11not

se

1

e

eithe·r

''till He come4'' · The

H oily

Catholic Church is ari. object of faith and not _of sight, and

so is the one flock.

I.n spite

of

all attempts at elimination

and organization wheat .and

tares

together grow, and sheep

and wolves-in-sheep's-clothing are found together in the

·e arthly · pasture grounds. . But when the Good Shepherd

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retu rns He will bring His beautiful flock

with

Him,

and

even tUa:lly

the

world will see and belie ve. ''O ·

the

Qepth

of the riches bot h of the · wisdom and knowledge of God I

How · u·11ea1-chable

.a1~e

Hi .s judgments, land ,His ways] pa.st

finding out 1 · _. · ·

Tl1e

rhystery

of tl1is spiritual unity lies hidden

in

the high

ptie stly prayer, but we may feel sure that no forg'er could

ever discover it, for many of those who profess and call

them s,·elves Christia ·ns a1.

bli.11d

to.

it

even yet. · ·

4. The ''Christ be£ore Pilate'' o~

'St.

Jo,hn is

also

stamped

with every ma:rk of sincerity and truth. What n1ere human

imagination could evolve the noble words :

''My

kingdom

is not of· tl1is w1orl

1

d ;,·· f My ·-kingd o1n \tVere of

t.his world,

th,en

.

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would

My

servants fight,

that

I· shotil d

n,.ot

be delivered

to

the

Jews:

b,ut now is

My

kingdom not ·from hence • • · .

. To this end was

I born,

and fo r this catlse

came

·I into the .

world, that I Should bear wit:tless· unto the truth. . Every . one

that is 01 the truth heare~h

My

voice'' .? -- · ·

T'l1e

who

1

le wondrous

story

of

th,e bet ,rayal,

the ·_denial,

the

trial , the Condemnati on and crucifixion 9f the Lord Jesus, as

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given - through St. J oh n, b re.ithes with the . living sympathy

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of an ·eye-witness. The account, · moreover, is as wonder£ ul

in the delicacy of ·its reserve as .,iri the Simplicity of its

recital.

It is ·entirely .free from sensationalism and every forn1 o,f

exaggeration. ·1t is calm ·and j11dicial

in

the highest degree.

If

it is, written by the inspired disciple whom Jesus

loved,

all

is natural

and

easily

''understanded of the

people'';

while

on

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124

The Fundamentals

any

other ] suppos iition,I

i·t

is fraught w

1

·ith

difficu]t,ies that

can

not be explained away. ''I am

not

credulous enough to

be

an

unbeliever, .'

is

a wise saying

in

this

as in

many similar

.

c

1

onnectlo

1

ns.

5. The

Gospel opens

and

closes with surpassing grandeur.

With Divine dignit

1

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it

li,nks itself with

the

opening words

·Of

Ge.nesis .: In the beginnin ,g was the Word, and the, Word

was wi·th God, and the Word was God. • • • And

the

Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we

bel1e1d

His

glory,

the

glory as of

the OnJy

Begotten

of

the

Father,

full

of grace a.nd truth .. What a Jifelike contra .st with thjs sublime

descriptio ,n is found in the introduction

of

John

the

Baptist :

''There came

a m n

sent

from

God

whose

name was John''.

In the incarnation Christ did not

b~come

a man but man.

Moreover in this St. Paul and St. John are in entire agree

ment.

''There

is one

God'',

says St. Paul to Timothy;

''one

Mediator

also

between God and

man Himself Man

Christ

Jesus.'' The reality

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f the

Divine Red

1

eemer's human natur ·e

is beautifully manifested in the to,uching interview between

the weary

Saviour

and the

guilt .Y

Samaritan

woman at

the

wel] ; as also in His perfect

human

friendship with

Mary and

Martha and their

brother

Lazarus. culminating in the

price

less words,

1

''Jesus

wept''.

. And so

by

the

bitter way of the Cross

the

grandeur of

the

incarn ,ation pas .ses into the

glory

of the t 'esurrecti

1

on.. The

last two

chapters are

alive with thrilling

incident.

If any one

wi shes to form a

true

conception of what

those brief

chapters

contain,

Jet

him

read

''Jesus

and the Resurrection,''

by

the

saintly

Bishop of Durham

(Dr. Handley

Moule) and his

cup

of holy joy will fill

to overflowing.

At

the

empty

tomb

we

breathe

the

air of

the

unseen kingdom, and

presently

we

gaze

enraptured on the f

1

ace. of ·the Cru

1

cified

bu·t

r.isen and ever ..

living King.

Mary

Magdalene, standing

in her

broken-hearted

despair, is all unconscious of the ·wondrous fact that holy

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The HteNlal vidence of the Fourth Gospel 25

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anteJs are right jn

f

root of her and

standing

behind . her is her

l:ivin,g Lord an

1

d Master. Slowly but surely

th ,e

glad

s,tory

spreads

from

lip to lip

and

h.eart

to

heart,

until

even

the

ho,nes't

bu.t

stu.b

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born Tho,m.as

is

brou.ght to his

k,nees,, crying in

a burst of remorseful~ adoring joy, My Lord and my God I''

Then comes

the

lovely story of the f

ruitiess

all -night toil

1

of the

seven

fishermen,,

the ap,pearance

at dawn 0

1

f

the

Stranger on

the beach,

the

miraculous

draught

of

fishes, the

glad

cry .

of recognition, ''It is the

Lord ''

the never-to-be

forgotten

break:£ast with the risen

Saviour,

and Hi.s searching

interview with Peter, passing

into

the mystery of

St.

John's

ol,da~. · ·

In

all these

sw,i.ftly-drawn, outlines w

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e: fe,el

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urselves

inStinctively in the , presence of the truth .. We are crowned

with . the

Saviour ·s

beatitu ,de:

''Blessed ar ,e they

tl1at

h,ave

not

seen, and

yet have

believed,'' and

we

are

ready to

yield

a ,glad ass,ent to the statement which

1

closes ch,apter tw

1

enty:

'' Many other signs truly did Jesus

in

the presence of His

,d·iscip

1

les,. which

are no

1

t

written

in

this1

book ;

b,ut th,ese are

written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, , the

Son of God; an,d th.at 'believing ,ye might hav·e li·fe in, :Hi.s

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the fundamentals: volume 10, chapter 2: the internal evidence of the fourth gospel

Documents