05. St. John The Apostle.

ST. JOHN THE APOSTLE.

XIV.

There were three stages in St. John’s connection with Christ. The first was when he was introduced to Him by the Baptist and, in a private interview on the bank of the Jordan, became convinced that He was the Messiah. This may be called the stage of the Believer. Thereafter John returned to his ordinary calling as a fisherman, till, on the strand of the Sea of Galilee, he was sought out by Jesus and summoned to become his constant follower; and he left all, rose up, and followed him. This may be called the stage of the Disciple. How long this stage lasted we cannot tell with precision, but there was still an attainment to be reached. Jesus was in the height of his popularity, and great numbers of disciples were attaching themselves to him, and following him wherever he went. When from among these he selected twelve, that their connection with him might be more special, the third stage of St. John’s progress was reached—the stage of the Apostle. With these stages of St. John’s experience may be compared the history of anyone who is called to the public ministry of the gospel. First, his experience is an entirely private one—a meeting with Jesus for his own salvation—and at this stage he may have no thought of devoting his life exclusively to the service of the gospel; he is merely a believer. By-and-by, however, the impulse to be a preacher overpowers him, and he may have to give up some other calling in order to devote himself to the work of preparation. This may last for years, during which he is a learner or disciple. At last, when his course of preparation is completed, he is solemnly set apart to the work of the ministry in a definite sphere, where he speaks and acts in the name of Christ, and his service should be apostolic. In the experience of private Christians the analogy may not be so perfect. Yet the broad principle applies to all, that, if we are connected with Christ, our connection with him should constantly be growing closer, and the line of progress is indicated by these three words—Believer, Disciple, Apostle, or their equivalents—Faith, Knowledge, Service.

How important this third stage was in the progress of St. John and the rest who were elevated to the honor of apostleship is shown by the way in which Jesus prepared them, and still more by the way in which he prepared himself for the occasion.

One of the Evangelists introduces his account of the election of the Twelve with these words: “It came to pass in those days that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God; and, when it was day, he called unto him his disciples, and of them he chose twelve, whom he also named apostles.” Thus we learn that he prepared himself for this act by a night of prayer. His habit of retiring to solitude for prayer is well known; he would go away for an hour or two after the labor of the day was over, or rise up for this purpose a great while before day; but this is perhaps the only occasion when we read that he spent a whole night in prayer. It shows his sense of the gravity of the step which he was about to take; and what a lesson it is to us as to the manner in which we should approach important decisions in our own lives!

Another of the Evangelists introduces the scene differently. He tells how in those days the crowds attending upon the ministry of Christ as preacher and healer had multiplied till “they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.” Evidently the numbers had outgrown the physical capability of one to reach them all. Jesus directed the attention of his disciples to the situation and said to them, “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest that he will send forth laborers into his harvest.” There is no reason to doubt that at least the more earnest of Christ’s followers obeyed this injunction. They took the situation into their minds till, like their Master, they were filled with compassion for the needs of the multitude; then they earnestly prayed to God to furnish laborers for his own work. Perhaps during some at least of the hours of the night, while Jesus was praying on this subject on the mountain-top, St. John was awake praying about it at the foot of the mountain. In the morning the answer came; but in what form?

St. John was told to answer his own prayer; for he was called to be one of the laborers whom he had asked God to send. It was as if, in a period of destitution, a rich man, overcome with compassion for his poor and suffering fellow-creatures, should pray to God to succor them, and it should thereupon be flashed into his mind that he could himself relieve them by giving away a portion of his wealth. Thus are prayer and effort joined. If people have compassion on the multitude because they are scattered abroad, in our slums at home or in heathen lands, like sheep without a shepherd, and if they are earnestly praying the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers, there will be no lack of either men or means for the Lord’s service.

XV. The dignity of this new position to which St. John was raised is clearly defined by St. Mark: “He ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out devils.”

Here are three things which the apostles were to do: first, to be with him; secondly, to preach; and thirdly, to heal sicknesses and cast out devils. The first, “that they should be with him,” is the privilege for which all generations since have envied the Twelve. They went about with him continually; they saw all his miracles; they heard all his discourses; they daily listened to his table-talk, and could consult him about anything in his public utterances which they had not understood, or about which they wished to make further inquiry; they saw his life at close quarters, and felt the influence of his character. The followers of a Socrates, the catechumens of an Ambrose, the students of a Tholuck, the pupils of an Arnold, have informed the world of the magnetism with which their teachers held them; but no man ever spake and no teacher ever charmed like this One. This privilege was not, indeed, new to St. John when he became an apostle; he had enjoyed it on the lower stage of discipleship. But it is emphasized at this stage to remind us that, in advancing to be an apostle, he did not leave behind the experiences peculiar to the two previous stages. He was first believer, then disciple, then apostle; but when he became an apostle he required to be far more than ever both believer and disciple. To be a public representative of Christianity is a mockery and hypocrisy unless it is accompanied with growing faith in Jesus and fellowship with him. Those who teach must not only have learned, but they must go on learning. The power of public testimony depends on intimacy with Jesus in secret.

Then, secondly, St. John and his fellow-apostles were to preach. This was rendered necessary by the extent of the interest in Jesus: his voice could not reach all who thronged around him, nor could he visit all the places which desired his presence; he had, therefore, to multiply himself by sending forth those who could speak in his stead; and the name he gave them showed that this was the chief object for which they were ordained; for the word “apostles” means “ambassadors.” In one respect it might have been thought that they were unfit for this part of their vocation, because they were “unlearned and ignorant men;” they had not attended the colleges where the arts of the speaker are taught. For the present, however, their teaching was to be very simple. They were not to be settled for a length of time anywhere, but to itinerate swiftly from place to place. What they required, therefore, was not a system of doctrine, but a brief, fervent message; and this they had acquired from their contact with Jesus: their souls were on fire with a joyful discovery, and it was a pleasure to make it known. At a later stage much more difficult work lay before the apostles, requiring resources of many kinds; but Jesus could trust to the educative power of their intercourse with himself. Nor was his confidence misplaced; for, when the time came, they were fit to be the teachers of the world.

Whether or not Jesus would have chosen learned men, if they had been available, we cannot say; the case of St. Paul, who had sat at the feet of Gamaliel, seems to suggest that he would. But such men were not forthcoming: men like Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea hesitated; and the scribes opposed and despised him. So he had to make use of such instruments as were procurable. But he was satisfied with them. These honest and good hearts, these unwarped and unbiassed minds, transmitted the message without coloring it with additions of their own; and it is easier for the world in their case to see that the excellency of the power was not theirs but his. The third design of the apostolate was that its members should heal sicknesses and cast out devils. In some respects this was the most peculiar work of the apostles, though it was subordinate to their preaching; and it revealed in the most remarkable way the glory of their Master. In the gospels, Christ’s powers of healing are attributed to the Spirit of God dwelling in him; but the Spirit dwelt in him so abundantly that the influence overflowed upon those who were in sympathetic contact with him; and, thus qualified, they were able, too, to cure both the body and the mind. A great modern teacher, the devoted but romantic Edward Irving, cherished and propagated the notion that these powers would still be at the disposal of the Church if her members lived close enough to Christ. It was a mistake, though perhaps better than the orthodoxy of little minds. Experience has not justified his belief; and the reason, no doubt, is that such miraculous powers are no longer necessary. The spirit, however, of this direction of Jesus to his apostles is applicable to all times, and it is that the healing of the body is to accompany the saving of the soul. Not only may benefits conferred in the name of Christ in the sphere of the natural life open the door for spiritual work, but the interest in humanity taught by Christ extends to man’s whole being and cannot help seeking to bless him at every point. When we send out medical along with preaching missionaries, when nurses are trained to be servants of the Church, when hospitals are opened by Christian liberality, when alms are given to the poor, when in connection with churches and missions wholesome recreation is provided for mind and body, we are following this indication of the mind of Christ; and in our day the Church is awaking to a more large-hearted conception of her duty in this respect. In choosing the Twelve Jesus was determining not only their life but also his own. If they were to be with him, he was to be with them. He was not to have his time to himself, or even for the public; at least a large share of it was covenanted to the apostles. Nothing in his entire history is more wonderful than the way in which, while overwhelmed with external work, he reserved himself for the instruction of the Twelve. The results have abundantly justified his wisdom; and they supply an example, though one which has been rarely followed. Few even of the most earnest workers for the many have at the same time been able to think of the few. It requires rare gifts; yet a few followers highly trained, and acquainted with the deep things of God, may be a far more valuable legacy to the Church and the world than multitudes converted to a superficial or ordinary Christianity.

XVI. The supreme privilege of the apostleship was to be with Jesus; but this involved another: it was also a privilege for each apostle to be associated with the other members of the apostolic circle.

Anyone who has been at college and entered thoroughly into the spirit of it must always look back to his student days as a golden period of his life; and the chief reason is that there he has associated with picked men. By a process of natural selection a large proportion of the most gifted and aspiring youth of the country gather in college; it is easy among them to find friends; and never again, perhaps, in life may a man be close to so many choice spirits. Much more true is it that the college of the apostles consisted of picked men. They had been selected by the insight of Christ himself, after a night of prayer and, no doubt, days of reflection. They were chosen from among his numerous followers as the most devoted to his person and the most suitable for his work. Their hearts were aglow with the joy of spiritual discovery and the enthusiasm of a noble cause. Could there be more favorable conditions for the formation and the ripening of friendship?

United, however, as the members of the apostolic circle were in their fundamental experiences and aspirations, they were nevertheless widely diverse in other respects. It would be difficult to conceive two characters by nature more unlike than St. Peter and St. John; St. Matthew, before his call, had been a publican—that is, a tax-gatherer for the Roman rulers—while one of the Simons had been a Zealot—that is, a radical opponent of the government, and especially the taxation, of the Romans; in the company of Jesus St. James the martyr and St. Thomas the doubter met together; and the less-known apostles in all probability represented similar diversities. It seems to have been the design of Jesus to unite in his service the most diverse talents and dispositions, and in this there was a special blessing for each of the Twelve; because those acquaintanceships and friendships are the best which, along with unity in essentials, combine the utmost variety in details.

One great intention of Christianity is to be a centre of union. Multitudes would be utterly lonely in the world were it not for their connection with the church; and many more, though enjoying other opportunities of union with their fellow-creatures, have found in the church their best friends and formed their most cherished ties. Christian work especially affords such opportunities: and nowhere else are the acquaintanceships formed likely to be so valuable, for attraction to the work of Christ is a selective process which winnows out the best.

XVII. On this occasion St. John received from the Lord a special mark of recognition: he and his brother were called by a new name—Boanerges, the sons of thunder. This is mentioned only by St. Mark and only in this place, and unfortunately the name is to us an enigma.

Some have explained it as an allusion to the origin of their spiritual life. They were disciples of the Baptist before becoming disciples of Christ; the Baptist’s teaching was the seed from which their new destiny developed. Now his preaching might, for obvious reasons, be compared to thunder: it consisted chiefly of denunciations of sin and calls to repentance. It has further been suggested that St. John and St. James may have been in the company of the Baptist on the occasion when he received the sign by which he was assured that Jesus was the Christ; and one element of this was a voice from heaven, uttered, no doubt, in thunder. As this could not but affect the minds of the brothers they might be said to be born of the thunder. The more common notion, however, has been that the name referred to some personal peculiarity. In common parlance the name Boanerges is applied to a speaker with a very loud voice; and this has actually been supposed to have been the reason why the name was given originally. A conspicuously loud voice is, however, about the last attribute which should be associated with St. John, and we cannot suppose Jesus to have, laid any emphasis on such a trifling circumstance.

There has been much stronger support given to the notion that a mental peculiarity of the brothers was touched upon. There are several instances in their subsequent history—notably the occasion when they wished to call down fire from heaven on a town which refused to receive their Master—which indicate that in the earlier stages of development they were specially characterized by a fiery and excessive zeal. It is, indeed, difficult to reconcile with this image of St. John the charity and lovableness of his later years; but the fact seems to be undeniable. The Book of Revelation is the transfigured form of this disposition; and it is a book full of thunders, lightnings and voices from heaven. The character which is gentlest and most tolerant in maturity may have, hidden at its core, a temper once hot but long subdued by grace. The idea, then, is that Jesus was alluding to this imperfection of the two brothers, marking it with a name, that they might watch against temptation and overcome their failing. They did overcome it, and this accounts for the fact that the name occurs nowhere else; the peculiarity at which it pointed having disappeared it ceased to be applicable, and was forgotten. The objection to this view is that, were it true, the name must have been a reproof, almost a nickname, but the names bestowed at similar crises throughout the Bible were all intended as marks of honor. So it was when Abram was changed to Abraham, Jacob to Israel, Simon to Peter, and so on. It is not agreeable to own that we are baffled, but the circle of conjecture in this case yields nothing decisive; and the best we can say is that the name probably conveyed to St. John and St. James some secret of the divine favor or some hint for their subsequent progress which we are not now in a position to define.