John 16:31 Jesus answered them, Do you now believe? I. THE REBUKE. The words, "Do ye now believe?" seem to charge the faith, that the disciples had now professed, with a threefold defect — 1. That it was late. Why did ye not believe sooner? Have you not had sufficient means of conviction till now? 2. That it was cheap. What does it cost you to believe? What temptation have you to the contrary? Your faith now only lays hold of My promises, and is not at all discouraged by any of your own fears. 3. That it was mistaken. Are you sure that you do believe? Do you not think too indulgently of yourselves? Have you examined your own hearts, and secured the ground of your confidence? A true faith will never be a deserter; but you will by and by desert Me. Perhaps all these three defects were to be found in the present faith of the disciples, at least in some measure: I am sure they are actually and ordinarily found in the faith of common professors. II. THE WARNING. In the remainder of the text, "Behold, the hour cometh," &c., we observe, that, as the disciples' crime was the leaving of their Master, so the occasion of that crime was their scattering; and the reason of their scattering was the concern that each of them had for "his own." From these two propositions I shall infer — 1. That when Christians divide, they leave their Master; and — 2. That it is our own things, and not the things of Christ, that make us divide (Romans 16:17, 18; Philippians 2:20, 21). (Dean Young.) Parallel Verses KJV: Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe? |
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