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The Office of the Comforter.

CHAP. xvi. 1–11.

"These things have I spoken unto you, that ye 2 should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. 8 And these things will they do unto you, because they 4 have not known the Father, nor Me. But these

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things have I told you, that, when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.

"But now I go my way to Him that sent Me; and none of you asketh Me, Whither goest Thou? 6 But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.

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"Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, 8 I will send Him unto you. And when He is come,

He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, 9 and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on 10 Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father, 11 and ye see Me no more; of judgment, because the Prince of this world is judged."

F the hatred of the world should come on the disciples

I unawares, they might be perplexed and discouraged.

Therefore our Lord warned them beforehand.

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their own countrymen would be against them, the Jews would put them out of the synagogues, and have no fellowship with them; yea, in their blind zeal, they would think they were serving God in thus persecuting His servants. Paul thought so: what he did, he did sincerely, though in ignorance and unbelief.

When these things came, then let them remember that their Lord had told them of them beforehand; and let them then bethink themselves of what He had said about them. Never let them have any misgiving as to the goodness of their cause, because so many were against them: the world would treat them so, because the world knew not God; such treatment therefore would show, not that they were wrong, but that they were right, for they would be on God's side.

It was only lately that He had begun to speak to them thus. It was not necessary before: for, as long as He was with them, He Himself bore the brunt of the world's hatred. But now He was going, and they were to stay behind, and the world would now turn its ill-will on them. Now therefore He told them.

In our Lord's dealings with us, all things have their proper time. He does not let the shadow of coming trial fall on our path too soon. He does not add sorrow to sorrow by letting us see all at once, in one view. Gracious and timely warning He does usually give, so as to spare us the shock of a sudden stroke; but it is not given before it is needed.

Peter had asked this very question: how then are we to understand the words, "None of you asketh Me, Whither goest Thou?" Probably in this way. Peter had asked in the warmth of his feelings, without much thought: but the Lord had checked him, and given him a most

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solemn and humbling warning, and afterwards He had spoken in such a way as deeply to impress him and the rest. Now therefore none ventured to ask Him; now all heard in silence—so sad at the thought of His going, and of the trials that were to come on them, that all other thoughts were swallowed up in this.

But their gracious Lord, full of love, comforted them thus it was better for them, He said, that He should go. "It is expedient for you that I go away," it is for your good. How could this be? How could such a loss be a gain? In this way: the Comforter, of whom He had spoken, would not come unless He went; but if He went, He would send Him. In that way it was good for them that He should go.

How great a blessing must this be, that is even better than the presence of the Lord Jesus! But it was His bodily presence only that they were to lose. Spiritually He would be with them still; in having the Comforter, they would have their Lord Himself; not indeed any longer to see and hear Him, but to have Him abiding in their hearts. Let them not be sad then. They would be gainers, not losers. This was better. And this better blessing is ours as well as theirs. We never had the bodily presence of the Lord: but the gift of the Comforter, and the presence of the Father and of the Son in our hearts by Him, is promised to all who seek. And this is the better blessing.

The four last of these verses are difficult. The word "reprove" is not so much like the original word as the word "convince," which is in the margin; and even that word does not express the full meaning. The Holy Spirit convinces some, but convicts others; and of these two classes the world consists: so that, when we hear

our Saviour say, "He will reprove the world," we are to understand His meaning somewhat thus, "He will convince those in the world who repent; and He will convict the rest;" that is, prove them guilty.

The Holy Spirit does this with regard to three distinct things: sin, righteousness, and judgment.

The sin of which He would convince, or convict, the world, was not so much sin in general, as the sin of not believing on the Son of God. The Jews who were converted under Peter's preaching were convinced of their sin in rejecting Christ; but unbelieving Jews, though not convinced, would be convicted, proved guilty, of the same sin, through the coming of the Spirit.

The "righteousness" spoken of is the righteousness of Christ. His righteousness and truth were made plain by His going back to the Father, having finished His work. The Holy Spirit would convince some of this, and thus they would believe; and believe, not only that He was righteous, but also that He was their righteousness, and that they were justified in Him. The impenitent, on the other hand, would be convicted with regard to His righteousness: the perfectly righteous and holy Son of God had come, and lived, and died, and been received back into heaven, and they had not believed.

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The "judgment" is explained thus-that "the prince of this world is judged," or, has been judged. This agrees with our Lord's words before, "Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out" (xii. 31). Those of the world who should repent and believe would be convinced by the Spirit of this. They would not be terrified by the power of Satan ("the prince of this world"), put forth against them in persecution and otherwise; they would be con

vinced that already, by the redeeming work of Christ, Satan's work was undone, and that He would triumph over the powers of darkness. Unbelievers also would at last know, through the coming of the Spirit, the downfall of Satan; they would know it, and even have a share in it; for they would be convicted with regard to the judgment of the evil one.

These verses are difficult; but they are solemn and awful. Sin, righteousness, and judgment; these are matters of life and death: and it is a question of life and death to each person, whether, with regard to them, he be convinced, as a penitent believer, or convicted, as an impenitent sinner.