'A little while, and ye shall not see Me: and again, a little while,
and ye shall see Me, because I go to the Father. Then said some of His
disciples among themselves, What is this that He saith unto us, A
little while, and ye shall not see Me: and again, a little while, and
ye shall see Me: and, Because I go to the Father? They said therefore,
What is this that He saith, A little while? we cannot tell what He
saith. Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask Him, and said unto
them, Do ye inquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while,
and ye shall not see Me: and again a little while, and ye shall see
Me?'--JOHN xvi. 16-19.
A superficial glance at the former part of these verses may fail to
detect their connection with the great preceding promise of the Spirit
who is to guide the disciples 'into all truth.' They appear to stand
quite isolated and apart from that. But a little thought will bring out
an obvious connection. The first words of our text are really the
climax and crown of the promise of the Spirit; for that Spirit is to
'guide into all the truth' by declaring to the disciples the things
that are Christ's, and in consequence of that ministration, they are to
be able to see their unseen Lord. So this is the loftiest thought of
what the divine Spirit does for the Christian heart, that it shows Him
a visible though absent Christ.
Then we have in the subsequent part of our text the blundering of the
bewildered disciples and the patient answer of the long-suffering
Teacher. So that there are these three points to take up: the times of
disappearance and of sight; the bewildered disciples; and the patient
Teacher.
I. First of all, then, note the deep teaching of our Lord here, about
the times of disappearance and of Sight.
The words are plain enough; the difficulty lies in the determination of
the periods to which they refer. He tells us that, after a brief
interval from the time at which He was speaking, there would come a
short parenthesis during which He was not to be seen; and that upon
that would follow a period of which no end is hinted at, during which
He is to be seen. The two words employed in the two consecutive
clauses, for 'sight,' are not the same, and so they naturally suggest
some difference in the manner of vision.
But the question arises, Where are the limits of these times of which
the Lord speaks? Now it is quite clear, I suppose, that the first of
the 'little whiles' is the few hours that intervened between His
speaking and the Cross. And it is equally clear that His death and
burial began, at all events, the period during which they were not to
see Him. But where does the second period begin, during which they are
to see Him? Is it at His resurrection or at His ascension, when the
process of 'going to the Father' was completed in all its stages; or at
Pentecost, when the Spirit, by whose ministration He was to be made
visible, was poured out? The answer is, perhaps, not to be restricted
to any one of these periods; but I think if we consider that all
disciples, in all ages, have a portion in all the rest of these great
discourses, and if we note the absence of any hint that the promised
seeing of Christ was ever to terminate, and if we mark the diversity of
words under which the two manners of vision are described, and, above
all, if we note the close connection of these words with those which
precede, we shall come to the conclusion that the full realisation of
this great promise of a visible Christ did not begin until that time
when the Spirit, poured out, opened the eyes of His servants, and 'they
saw His glory.' But however we settle the minor question of the
chronology of these periods, the great truth shines out here that,
through all the stretch of the ages, true hearts may truly see the true
Christ.
If we might venture to suppose that in our text the second of the
periods to which He refers, when they did not see Him, was not
coterminous with, but preceded, the second 'little while,' all would be
clear. Then the first 'little while' would be the few hours before the
Cross. 'Ye shall not see Me' would refer to the days in which He lay in
the tomb. 'Again, a little while' would point to that strange
transitional period between His death and His ascension, in which the
disciples had neither the close intercourse of earlier days nor the
spiritual communion of later ones. And the final period, 'Ye shall see
Me,' would cover the whole course of the centuries till He comes again.
However that may be, and I only offer it as a possible suggestion, the
thing that we want to fasten upon for ourselves is this--we all, if we
will, may have a vision of Christ as close, as real, as firmly
certifying us of His reality, and making as vivid an impression upon
us, as if He stood there, visible to our senses. And so, 'by this
vision splendid' we may 'be everywhere attended,' and whithersoever we
go, have burning before us the light of His countenance, in the
sunshine of which we shall walk.
Brother! that is personal Christianity--to see Jesus Christ, and to
live with the thrilling consciousness, printed deep and abiding upon
our spirits, that, in very deed, He is by our sides. O how that
conviction would make life strong and calm and noble and blessed! How
it would lift us up above temptation! 'He endured as seeing Him who is
Invisible.' What should terrify us if Christ stood before us? What
should charm us if we saw Him? Competing glories and attractions would
fade before His presence, as a dim candle dies at noon. It would make
all life full of a blessed companionship. Who could be solitary if he
saw Christ? or feel that life was dreary if that Friend was by his
side? It would fill our hearts with joy and strength, and make us
evermore blessed by the light of His countenance.
And how are we to get that vision? Remember the connection of my text.
It is because there is a divine Spirit to show men the things that are
Christ's that therefore, unseen, He is visible to the eye of faith. And
therefore the shortest and directest road to the vision of Jesus is the
submitting of heart and mind and spirit to the teaching of that divine
Spirit, who uses the record of the Scriptures as the means by which He
makes Jesus Christ known to us.
But besides this waiting upon that divine Teacher, let me remind you
that there are conditions of discipline which must be fulfilled upon
our parts, if any clear vision of Jesus Christ is to bless us pilgrims
in this lonely world. And the first of these conditions is--If you want
to see Jesus Christ, think about Him. Occupy your minds with Him. If
men in the city walk the pavements with their eyes fixed upon the
gutters, what does it matter though all the glories of a sunset are
dyeing the western sky? They will see none of them; and if Christ stood
beside you, closer to you than any other, if your eyes were fixed upon
the trivialities of this poor present, you would not see Him. If you
honestly want to see Christ, meditate upon Him.
And if you want to see Him, shut out competing objects, and the
dazzling cross-lights that come in and hide Him from us. There must be
a 'looking _off_ unto Jesus.' There must be a rigid limitation, if not
excision, of other objects, if we are to grasp Him. If we would see,
and have our hearts filled with, the calm sublimity of the solemn,
white wedge that lifts itself into the far-off blue, we must not let
our gaze stop on the busy life of the valleys or the green slopes of
the lower Alps, but must lift it and keep it fixed aloft. Meditate upon
Him, and shut out other things.
If you want to see Christ, do His will. One act of obedience has more
power to clear a man's eyes than hours of idle contemplation; and one
act of disobedience has more power to dim his eyes than anything
besides. It is in the dusty common road that He draws near to us, and
the experience of those disciples that journeyed to Emmaus may be ours.
He meets us in the way, and makes 'our hearts burn within us.' The
experience of the dying martyr outside the city gate may be ours.
Sorrows and trials will rend the heavens if they be rightly borne, and
so we shall see Christ 'standing at the right hand of God.' Rebellious
tears blind our eyes, as Mary's did, so that she did not know the
Master and took Him for 'the gardener.' Submissive tears purge the eyes
and wash them clean to see His face. To do His will is the sovereign
method for beholding His countenance.
Brethren, is this our experience? You professing Christians, do you see
Christ? Are your eyes fixed upon Him? Do you go through life with Him
consciously nearer to you than any beside? Is He closer than the
intrusive insignificances of this fleeting present? Have you Him as
your continual Companion? Oh! when we contrast the difference between
the largeness of this promise--a promise of a thrilling consciousness
of His presence, of a vivid perception of His character, of an
unwavering certitude of His reality--and the fly-away glimpses and
wandering sight, and faint, far-off views, as of a planet weltering
amid clouds, which the most of Christian men have of Christ, what shame
should cover our faces, and how we should feel that if we have not the
fulfilment, it is our own fault! Blessed they of whom it is true that
they see 'no man any more save Jesus only'! and to whom all sorrow,
joy, care, anxiety, work, and repose are but the means of revealing
that sweet and all-sufficient Presence! 'I have set the Lord always
before me, therefore I shall not be moved.'