LESSON III.—SABBATH, JANUARY 20, 1900.
(John 13:33 to 14:31, R.V.)
33 "LITTLE children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek Me; and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye can 34 not come; so now I say unto you. A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; even as I have loved 35 you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.
36 "Simon Peter saith unto Him, Lord, whither goest Thou? Jesus answered, Whither I go, thou canst not follow Me now; 37 but thou shalt follow afterwards. Peter saith unto Him, Lord, why can not I follow Thee even now? I will lay down my life 38 for Thee. Jesus answereth, Wilt thou lay down thy life for Me? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied Me thrice.
1 "Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe 2 also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it 3 were not so, I would have told you: for I go to prepare a place 4 for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again, and will receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye 5 may be also. And whither I go, ye know the way. Thomas 6 saith unto Him, Lord, we know not whither Thou goest; how 7 know we the way? Jesus saith unto Him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one cometh unto the Father, but by 8 Me. If ye had known Me, ye would have known My Father 9 also; from henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him. Philip saith unto Him, Lord, show us the Father, and it 10 sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto Him, Have I been so long time with you, and dost thou not know Me, Philip? he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; how sayest thou, Show 11 us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? the words that I say unto you I speak 12 not from Myself; but the Father abiding in Me doeth His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me; or else believe Me for the very works' sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; 13 because I go unto the Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask 14 in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified 15 in the Son. If ye shall ask Me anything in My name, that will 16 I do. If ye love Me, ye will keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may be with you forever, even the Spirit of 17 truth; whom the world can not receive; for it beholdeth Him 18 not, neither knoweth Him; ye know Him; for He abideth with 19 you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you desolate; I come 20 unto you. Yet a little while, and the world beholdeth Me no 21 more; but ye behold Me; because I live, ye shall live also. In that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in 22 Me, and I in you. He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me; and he that loveth 23 Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will 24 manifest Myself unto him. Judas (not Iscariot) saith unto Him, Lord, what is come to pass that Thou wilt manifest 25 Myself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My word; 26 and My Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and 27 make our abode with him. He that loveth Me not keepeth not 28 My words; and the word which ye hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me.
29 "These things have I spoken unto you, while yet abiding 30 with you. But the Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom 31 the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you. Peace I leave with you; My peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful. Ye heard how I said to you, I go away, and I come unto you. If ye loved Me, ye would have rejoiced, because I go unto the Father; for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe. I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of the world cometh; and he hath nothing in Me; but that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence." NOTE.—The texts enclosed in marks of parentheses, while not essential to the lesson study, will be found to throw much light upon the lesson, and are suggested for those who wish to study further. 1. Having finished the Passover feast, what solemn words of admonition did Jesus give His disciples? John 13:33-35. (Lev. 19:18; 1 John 2:7-11.)
2. What questions did Peter ask, and what bold assertion did he make? Verses 36, 37. (John 21:18.)
3. What reply did Jesus make to Peter's assertion? Verse 38. (Luke 22:31-34.)
4. By what words did Jesus then seek to comfort the disciples concerning His anticipated departure? John 14:1-4. (John 17:24; Acts 1:11.)
5. What question did Thomas ask concerning these words? How was it answered? Verses 5-7. (Heb. 10:19, 20.)
6. What caused perplexity in Philip's mind? How was it met? Verses 8-14. (Heb. 1:1-3; John 1:18.)
7. What wonderful promise was then vouchsafed to all who really keep the Lord's commandments? Verses 15-18. (Acts 9:31.)
8. Altho the departure of Christ was to prevent the world from seeing Him, how were His believers to see Him? Verses 19-21. (John 10:38.)
9. What point seemed greatly to trouble Judas? Verse 22. How did the Saviour settle his question? Verses 23, 24. Note 1. (1 John 2:24.)
10. How did Jesus propose to settle all these difficulties of the mind during His personal absence from earth? Verses 25-27. (1 John 2:20, 27.)
11. What was true love for Jesus to do for His disciples? Verse 28. Note 2.
12. For what reason did the Saviour desire, at this point, to refuse long talks with His disciples? Verse 30. (John 12:31; 16:11.)
13. Having revealed to the disciples this fact concerning Satan, what did He say? Verse 31. (Matt. 26:30.) Side Light.—"Desire of Ages," chapter 73. 1. How is it?—At first thought it seemed strange that, with so long a tutelage under the Saviour Himself, so many should have quibbled about how His promises were to be fulfilled. Their difficulty arose from a gross misconception of the nature of Christ's rule, supposing it to be an earthly reign upon the Jewish throne, after the fashion of worldly kings, while many now, tho having discarded that view, mistake the nature of Christ's reign in the heart, and so doubt His ability or purpose to fulfil His promise of power, because the heart is not fully yielded to Him, thus barring out simple faith. 2. Ye would rejoice.—Used in connection with what goes before it, this text shows that as Jesus only acted and spoke as the Father in Him prompted, so in His going away and leaving His disciples with the same power dwelling in them that had moved Him in everything, they ought to rejoice in the thought of having the power direct from One who is above all. It is, therefore, the privilege of every believer to have the same power dwelling within him by which Jesus moved, spoke, and did the miracles that characterized Him as the Son of God. This is what the reception of the Holy Ghost in its fulness will do for every child of God.