called them gods, unto whom the word of God came-the prophets and judges as the representatives of the Deity—and the Scripture cannot be broken-in its development; must rather therein be fulfilled, that the development may proceed to its completion, that the true manifestation of God may follow the typical representatives of God, and the Son of God, the theocratic-symbolical gods-say ye of Him whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest, because I said, I am the Son of God?' By doing so, they themselves blaspheme the developing force, the vital germ and kernel, of the Old Testament, which they profess to hold so sacred. 'If I do not the works of My Father-undeniable divine works-believe Me not. But if I do, though ye believe not Me, believe the works, that ye may (gradually come to) know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.' As they have not sufficient vital power in them to exercise faith immediately in His person, and thence to pass over to a belief in His miracles, He points out to them that they should at least attempt the reverse method of a lower-toned, embarrassed orthodoxy, and from an acknowledgment of the divinity of His works proceed forward to a belief in His person. This contrast of a twofold manner in which faith unfolds itself, a more noble and a more ordinary, appears on various occasions in John, particularly chap. v. 36, 37, xiv. 11. Yet both ways conduct to the goal, if one honestly pursue them. Even by the last, one may come to the apprehension that the Father is in Christ-that the life of Christ thus is the representation of a pure divine activity in Him, the prophetic function in its absolute form—and that He is in the Father-that His life is pure resignation to God, and self-apprehension in God—absolute high-priesthood; and thus has one arrived at the conclusion, that He and the Father are one-that He is the eternal King, the Son of God, who, in the absolute appointment of God, and acquiescence in His determination, finds His own eternal, free self-determination.

Then they sought again to lay hold of Him-to take proceedings against Him in a less violent form;-but He escaped out of their hands. Once more He passed in invulnerable majesty through the company, who would gladly have apprehended Him. This time, however, their rage was already so excited,

that they were on the point of pursuing Him, in order to take Him prisoner.

The withdrawal of Christ had on this occasion a more serious import than formerly. The mortal enmity of the Pharisees had now ripened to the full. Their resolution was taken.

This occasioned Jesus to turn His face towards the mountains of Perea, where a more susceptible people waited for Him. He went therefore again beyond Jordan, into the region where John at first baptized; and there He abode. It now showed itself here, with what blessed effect John had prepared the way for Him.— Many resorted to Him, and said, John indeed did no miracle; but all things that John spake of this man were true. And many believed on Him there-in that region.

The friends of the light in Perea form a strong contrast to the votaries of darkness in Judea. This is the first form of the separation.

However, not all inhabitants of Judea had forsaken Him, although here the party of His enemies was predominant. This was soon to become manifest.

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary who-as is already known to Gospel recollection, and as is afterwards narrated chap. xii.-anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore his sisters sent unto Him, saying, 'Lord, behold, he whom Thou lovest is sick.' It was the announcement of a strong trust in a delicate request. When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified thereby'-which is at all times one with the glorifying of the Father. Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.—With all the three He was united by an intimate friendship, and they were specially dear to Him.— When He now heard that he was sick, He remained still two days in the same place where He was. Certainly He did not continue there under any mere pretext, but was detained by the holiest and most pressing labours; yet with the consciousness that thus also it was best for the anxiously longing sisters in Bethany. Nevertheless it was a mystery to those about Him, that He remained under these circumstances, which His disciples sought to explain by the necessity of avoiding the country of Judea on

account of His persecutors. This opinion seems to have established itself among them. Then, after the expiry of this time, He said unto His disciples, 'Let us go into Judea again!' His disciples said unto Him, 'Master, the Jews of late sought to stone Thee, and Thou wilt go thither again?' Jesus answered, 'Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not; for he seeth the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth; for he seeth not the light of this world.' We have already met with this parable in another form, when Jesus lingered with the blind man on the temple mount. On that occasion the disciples seemed disposed to exhort the Lord to haste; on this, they exhort Him to delay. Then, He probably connected the parable with the setting of the sun; here, with the early morning, the time of departure. The day with its twelve hours lies before Him; a figure of man's lifetime. He means to say, the duration of his life is measured out with certainty to man. He must not spend his life-time in anxious fear of death, which hinders him in the work of his calling, but in life's full certainty. The true day of his life is, however, one with the day of his duty, which is the day of his day. If he walks and labours in the light of his daily duty, his life also is abundantly secured to him for this purpose. If, however, he seeks wilfully to lengthen the day of his life, at the expense of the day's work of duty appointed him, he then walks in the night, he stumbles and falls. As now, on the one hand, the day of one's life and the day of one's calling are one, so that one is certain of the first along with the second; so also, on the other hand, the night of death is one with the night of the cessation of the earthly calling. When thus a man has reached the termination of his calling, he infallibly finds the pebble in the way, and experiences the dimness in the eye, by which his death is brought about. Is he however inclined, as in this case the disciples were, to prolong his life at the cost of his calling, he will then discover, that with the walking in the night of unfaithfulness to duty, the day of life itself will also become to him a night, in which he, in a spiritual sense, stumbles and falls. The last thought predominates here. Indeed, the parable is rather spoken with reference to the disciples than to the Lord; hence the significant expression: If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not; for he seeth the light of this world. The light of the world shone in

the most proper sense on the day of their life, and they should be assured, that they would not stumble and fall, so long as they walked in the brightness of this light. Had they turned their backs on Him, they would have fallen into the darkness of night, which would have been their ruin. When He had thus encouraged them,1 He said further, 'Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go that I may awake him out of sleep.' Then said His disciples, 'Lord, if he sleep, he shall recover.' The words of Jesus intimated that the journey was necessary: Lazarus sleeps, I must awake him out of sleep. They were disposed to draw the opposite conclusion: If he sleep, it is a sign that he already begins to do well, without its being needful for Thee to hasten to him. They have thus an interest, on this occasion, not to take His words, he sleepeth, in their deeper meaning. The Evangelist remarks: Jesus, however, spake of his death; but they thought that He spoke of the slumbering of sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, 'Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that ye may believe—learn to believe better.-Nevertheless, let us go to him.' Then said Thomas, who is called The twin,' unto his fellow-disciples, 'Let us also go, that we may die with him—with whom we go, and whom we will not forsake even in death.' It is a gloomy, melancholy word, and therefore also obscure. The gloomiest thought in it is this: We shall probably rather sink with Lazarus into the tomb, than draw him out of it. Yet the bright star of fidelity shines on the dark ground of despondency: rather die with Jesus through faithfulness, than live separated from Him by unfaithfulness. This is the character of Thomas.2

Then, when Jesus came, He found that he had lain in the grave four days already.-Lazarus had thus died on the day of the departure of the messenger, and been immediately buried: the two days of the journey hither and thither, and the two days of the delay of Jesus in Perea, make four days. Bethany lay not far from Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia (13 miles). And many Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. When now Martha-as superintendent of the household, always active, and the first to receive the messengers-heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet Him—at 1 Beautiful : Ταῦτα εἶπε καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο, κ.τ.λ. 2 See above, vol. iii. p. 50; and comp. p. 466.

once, according to her usual assiduous manner, without first acquainting Mary with it.-But Mary sat-meanwhile-in the house. Then said Martha unto Jesus, 'Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died! But I know, even now, that whatsoever Thou wilt ask of God, God will give it Thee.' Martha speaks in words of strong confidence. The first expression of it is: Jesus would certainly have restored the sick brother, if He had been there. The second is still stronger: if it now pleased Him, He might still obtain even the highest request from God. She does not venture to name this highest thing which she has in her mind. Manifestly Martha must already know of previous cases in which Jesus had raised men from the dead. Jesus responded to her thought with the word of promise: "Thy brother shall rise again.' Martha saith unto Him—perhaps in part to learn in what sense He meant this, but also, no doubt, in the fear, that He possibly speaks only of the future resurrection of the dead-'I know indeed that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.' Jesus said unto her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth, and believeth in Me, shall never die. Believest thou this?' From the one fundamental truth, that Jesus is the resurrection and the life, there follows, in its two aspects, the rising again of believers through Him: The dying believer shall live again, because with Christ he carries down a quickening life with him into the grave: the living believer shall never die. So far as death in its outward appearance is superinduced on the life of the Christian, his life is a future resuscitation of life in visible manifestation. So far, however, as faith is the governing principle of his life, he shall never taste death in the centre and kernel of his life. Martha saith unto Him, 'Yea, Lord, I have believed that Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, who cometh into the world.' And when she had thus spoken, she went away, and called her sister Mary secretly, saying, 'The Master is come, and calleth thee.' As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came unto Him. For Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was still in the place where Martha met Him. The Jews then, who were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, 'She goeth unto the grave, to weep there.' Then when Mary was come where