Gospel of John 365 Timeless Devotions from Classic Writers

DAY BY DAY THROUGH THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 365 TIMELESS DEVOTIONS FROM CLASSIC WRITERS

EDITOR AND COMPILER LANCE WUBBELS

_Wubbels_DayByDayGospelOfJohn_NR_djm.indd 3 4/10/18 12:35 PM © 2018 by Lance Wubbels Published by Bethany House Publishers 11400 Hampshire Avenue South Bloomington, Minnesota 55438 www.bethanyhouse.com Bethany House Publishers is a division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan Printed in the United States of America All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews. ISBN 978-0-7642-3073-8 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018935315 Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Interna- tional Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com Scripture quotations labeled amp are from the Amplified® Bible, copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org) Scripture quotations labeled amp-ce are from the Amplified® Bible, copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org) Scripture quotations labeled kjv are from the King James Version of the Bible. Scripture quotations labeled nkjv are from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations labeled nlt are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Cover design by LOOK Design Studio 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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uring the second half of the nineteenth century, Great Britain was home to some of the greatest expository preachers, biblical scholars, Dand Christian leaders and writers in all of church history. Legend- ary names such as Charles Spurgeon, Alexander Maclaren, Joseph Parker, Hudson Taylor, Catherine Booth, George MacDonald, Alexander Whyte, Frances Ridley Havergal, and others stand out as giants of the church. Their predecessors, including John Wesley, Matthew Henry, and Adam Clarke, left them a rich tradition of biblical and evangelical excellence to follow, and follow they did. On the American side, R. A. Torrey, S. D. Gordon, and Charles Finney were cut from the same cloth, as well as South African Andrew Murray. Over my thirty-five years of working in Christian publishing, I have been delighted to discover a wealth of rich expositions from the classic writings of these revered saints. However, much of what they wrote is not easily accessible, hidden away in out-of-print books or in large, expensive pastoral volumes (some of these writings are now available online). It has remained my passion for years to make these writings available in a popular format and provide readers with the wisdom that lies buried in the old volumes. In this book, I have compiled and edited “the very best of the best” of their inspirational insights on the Gospel of John. Verse by verse, follow- ing the biblical text consecutively through the life of Jesus Christ, here are 365 devotional readings packed with profound biblical commentary, sound wisdom, and practical application for a Christian’s daily walk. Readers will

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reap an unforgettable understanding into the life, words, and ministry of our Lord and Savior. It is my hope and prayer that these readings will help bring alive for you the Word of God. May they be a source of biblical inspiration that leads to thoughtful meditation, reflection, and abundant worship. Lance Wubbels

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HARLES SPURGEON (1834–1892) was the remarkable British “Boy Preacher of the Fens” who became one of the greatest preachers of Call time. Coming from a flourishing country pastorate in 1854, he accepted a call to pastor London’s New Park Street Chapel. This building soon proved too small and so work on Spurgeon’s Metropolitan Tabernacle was begun in 1859. Through Spurgeon’s ministry, the Metropolitan Tabernacle grew into a congregation of more than six thousand, and added well over fourteen thousand members during his thirty-eight-year London ministry. The combination of his clear voice, his mastery of the language, his sure grasp of Scripture, and a deep love for Christ produced some of the noblest preaching of any age. An astounding number of sermons (3,561) have been preserved, from which the readings in this book have been selected and edited. During his lifetime, Spurgeon is estimated to have preached to 10 million people. He remains history’s most widely read preacher. There is more ma- terial written by Spurgeon than any other Christian author, living or dead. His sixty-three volumes of sermons stand as the largest set of books by a single author in the history of Christianity, comprising the equivalent to the twenty-seven volumes of the ninth edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

ALEXANDER MACLAREN (1826–1910) was a Scottish Baptist minister who pastored the Portland Chapel, Southampton (1846–1858) and Union Chapel, Manchester (1858–1903), where he acquired the reputation of “the prince of expository preachers.” Next to Charles Spurgeon, Maclaren’s sermons have been the most widely read sermons of their time. His preaching drew vast

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congregations and his sermon methods of subdivision and analogies drawn from nature and life have been widely imitated ever since. The eleven volumes of Maclaren’s Expositions of Holy Scripture, from which the devotional readings in this book are derived, are still available today. Of these expositions, W. Robertson Nicoll, a noted New Testament Greek scholar, said, “Will there ever be such a combination of spiritual insight, of scholarship, of passion, of style, of keen intellectual power? He was clearly a man of genius. So long as preachers care to teach from the Scriptures, they will find him their best guide and help.”

JOSEPH PARKER (1830–1902) was an English Congregational preacher who was ordained in 1853 to the ministry in Banbury Congregational Church, though his formal education had ceased when he was sixteen. In 1869 he moved to Poultry Chapel in London, which congregation built the City Temple, opening in 1874. There Parker ministered until his death, preaching twice each Sunday and every Thursday morning, earning a reputation as one of the city’s greatest pulpit masters, alongside Spurgeon and Liddon. With an impressive appearance, regal personality, commanding voice, and impeccable diction, he preached authoritatively and appealingly. Only Spurgeon exceeded him in attracting crowds. During 1885–1892, he preached through the Bible. Those sermons were published in the twenty-five volumes ofThe People’s Bible, from which these devotional readings were selected and edited.

S. D. GORDON (1859–1936) was a prolific author and evangelical lay minister active in the latter part of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He served as assistant secretary of the Philadelphia YMCA from 1884 to 1886 and then became state secretary for the YMCA in Ohio, serving from 1886 to 1895. An incessant and tireless itinerant speaker, his quiet style of devotional speaking and writing, always illustrated with parabolic stories, had gripping power to hold the attention and stir the heart. He is perhaps best known for his series of books “Quiet Talks about . . . ,” which have their own unique style, very different from that of other writers of his day and from which these devotional readings were selected and edited.

ANDREW MURRAY (1828–1917) was born in South Africa. After receiv- ing his education in Scotland and Holland, he returned to South Africa and spent his life there as a pastor, missionary, and author of many devotional books. He was a champion of the South African Revival of 1860 and one of the founders of the South African General Mission.

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ALEXANDER WHYTE (1836–1921) was a Scottish minister often described as “the last of the Puritans.” Educated at King’s College, Aberdeen, and at the Free Church of Scotland’s New College, Edinburgh, he was called to Edinburgh as successor to R. S. Candlish at St. George’s Free Church. During nearly forty years there, he established a reputation as a graphic and compelling preacher to an extent probably unparalleled even in a nation of preachers, and was the author of numerous devotional books.

GEORGE MACDONALD (1824–1905), Scottish novelist, poet, and pastor, was one of the most original and influential writers of Victorian Britain. His more than fifty books—including fantasy, fairy tales, short stories, sermons, essays, poems, and some thirty novels—sold in the millions and made him one of the most popular authors of the day. His writing profoundly influenced the lives of many well-known Christians, including C. S. Lewis, G. K. Chesterton, and Oswald Chambers.

JOHN WESLEY (1703–1791) was the founder of Methodism. Educated at Charterhouse and Christ Church, Oxford, he was elected in 1726 to a fellowship at Lincoln College at the same university. He embarked upon his life work with a clear object: “to reform the nation, particularly the church, and to spread Scripture holiness over the land.” To conserve the gains of his prolific evange- lism outreach, he formed societies that became the organization of Methodism.

R. A. TORREY (1856–1928) was both an evangelist and Bible scholar. Long associated with D. L. Moody, he became most prominent during world preaching tours in 1902 and 1921. His preaching in Wales in 1902 has been noted as one of the causes of the Welsh revivals of the early 1900s. He was the first superintendent of the Moody Bible Institute and the author of numerous devotional and theological books.

HUDSON TAYLOR (1832–1905) was a pioneer missionary to the almost closed empire of China, founding the China Inland Mission in 1865. Amaz- ingly, by 1895, Taylor led 641 missionaries, about half of the entire Protestant force in China. Few men have been so powerful an instrument in God’s hands, proclaiming the gospel to such a vast population and bringing so many Chris- tian churches into being.

CHARLES FINNEY (1792–1875), lawyer, college professor, pastor, and evangelist, left behind a record of a half-century of revival that is unparalleled in

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America and gave birth to a new evangelistic movement that is still employed today. He spearheaded the Second Great Awakening in America, influenced the course of history, and is often directly or indirectly credited with the conversions of around five hundred thousand people.

MATTHEW HENRY (1662–1714) studied at a Nonconformist academy in London and was privately ordained a Presbyterian minister. His first pastorate was in Chester (1867–1712), followed by Hackney (1712–1714). Greatly influenced by the Puritans, he made the exposition of Scripture the central concern of his ministry. In 1704 he began the seven-volume Commentary on the Bible for which he is remembered.

FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL (1836–1879) was an English religious poet and hymn writer. “Take My Life and Let It Be” and “Like a River Glorious” are two of her best-known hymns. She wrote a set of five “Royal” books from which these devotional readings were selected and edited.

CATHERINE BOOTH (1829–1890) was cofounder of The Salvation Army, along with her husband, William Booth. She was a successful preacher at a time when women preachers were a rare phenomenon and women had few civil rights. She is also highly celebrated for her commitment to social reform.

ADAM CLARKE (1760–1832) was a British Methodist theologian, preacher, and biblical scholar. He is chiefly remembered for writing his Commentary on the Bible that took forty years to complete, and was a primary Methodist theological resource for two hundred years.

_Wubbels_DayByDayGospelOfJohn_NR_djm.indd 10 4/10/18 12:35 PM January In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 1 John 1:1

ohn, fisherman’s son and all, was born with one of the finest minds that have ever been bestowed by God’s goodness upon any of the sons Jof men. He had a profoundly intuitive mind—an inward, meditating, contemplative, imaginative, spiritual mind. His mind was by nature extraordi- narily rich and deep and lofty. John has the immortal honor of having conceived and meditated and inscribed the most magnificent passage ever written with pen and ink. The first fourteen verses of his Gospel stand alone and supreme over all other literature. “The Word was with God, and the Word was God.” These two phrases contain far more philosophy, far more grace and truth and beauty and love, than all the rest that has ever been written by pen of man or spoken by tongue of man or angel. The Word, spoken of John, is a divine person in human nature—a revelation, an experience, and a possession—of which John himself is the living witness and the infallible proof. How did John sink so deep into the unsearchable things of his Master? What was it in John that lifted him so high, making him an apostle of wisdom and love? For one thing it was his gift of meditation. John listened as none of the other disciples listened to all that Jesus said, and then he thought on it continually. Meditation with imagination combined in John to stir up the most profound insights into the person of Jesus Christ that were ever written. I encourage you to meditate on these divine things that John wrote. Medita- tion is the true root and sap of all faith and prayer and spiritual obedience. Why are our minds so impaired and barren in the things of God? Why do we have so little faith? Why have we so little hold of the reality, and nobility, of divine things? The reason is plain. Occasionally, we read our New Testament, but we do not take time to meditate. We seldom consider who we are and what we are, who and what Jesus is to us, and what we are to say, do, ask, and receive. If we allow the thought of Jesus Christ to delight and overawe our hearts, He will become more to us than our nearest friend, more real to us than our morning papers and all our business dealings. Meditate on John’s Gospel. Alexander Whyte

_Wubbels_DayByDayGospelOfJohn_NR_djm.indd 11 4/10/18 12:35 PM January In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), 2 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. John 1:1 amp

he other Gospels begin with Bethlehem; John begins with eternity. Luke dates his narrative by Roman emperors and Jewish high priests; TJohn dates his “in the beginning.” To attempt an exposition of these verses in our narrow limits is absurd. We can only note the salient points of this, the profoundest page in the New Testament. The threefold utterance in this verse carries us into the depths of eternity, before time or creatures were. Genesis and John both start from “the beginning,” but, while Genesis works downward from that point and tells what followed, John works upward and tells what preceded—if we may use that term in speaking of what lies beyond time. Time and space and creatures came into being, and, when they began, “the Word was.” Surely no form of speech could more emphatically declare absolute, uncreated being, outside the limits of time. Clearly, too, no interpretation of the words fathoms their depth, or makes worthy sense, that does not recognize that the Word is a person. “The Word was with God” asserts the eternal communion of the Word with God. The preposition used here means, more accurately, “toward” and expresses the thought that in the Word there was motion and tendency toward, and not merely association with, God. It points to mutual, conscious communion, and the active going out of love in the direction of God. “And the Word was God” asserts the community of essence, which is not inconsistent with distinction of persons, and makes the communion of active Love possible; for none could, in the depths of eternity, dwell with and perfectly love and be loved by God, except One who himself was God. This verse stands apart as revealing the essential nature of the Word before the beginning of time. In it the deep ocean of the divine nature is partially disclosed, though no created eye can either plunge to discern its depths or travel beyond our horizon to its boundless, shoreless extent. But we can bow in worship before the One who was with God and who was God. Alexander Maclaren

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n the beginning there was a wondrous One. He was the mind of God think- ing out to man. He was the heart of God throbbing love out to man’s heart. IHe was the face of God looking into man’s face. He was the voice of God, soft and low, clear and distinct, speaking into man’s ears. He was the hand of God, strong and tender, reaching down to take man by the hand and lead him back to the old tree of life, down by the river of water of life. He was the person of God wearing a human coat and human shoes, walking in freely among us that we might get our tangled-up ideas about God and ourselves and about life untangled, straightened out. He was God wrapped up in human form, coming close so that we get acquainted with Him all over again. John could have written the common name of Jesus here. If he had, people would immediately have said, “Yes, we know Him.” But they didn’t know Him. So John uses a new word and so floods in new light. And then we come to see whom he was talking about. It’s a bit of diplomacy of God so as to get in through dulled ears and truth-hardened minds down into the heart. Jesus was God coming in such a way that we could know Him by the feel of Him. We had gone blind to His face. We couldn’t read His signature plainly autographed by His own hand on all of nature around us. But when Jesus came, men knew God by the feel of Him. They didn’t understand Jesus. But the wounded, hungry crowds reached out groping, trembling fingers, and they knew Him. They began to get acquainted with their gracious King. All this gives the simple clue to this Word that John uses as a new name for Jesus. Man had grown deaf to the music of God’s voice, blind to the beauty of His face, slow-hearted to the pleading of His presence. His hand was touching us, but we didn’t feel it. So He came in a new way and walked down our street, into our own doors, that we might be captivated by the beauty of His face, thrilled by the music of His voice, and enthralled by the beauty of His presence. S. D. Gordon

_Wubbels_DayByDayGospelOfJohn_NR_djm.indd 13 4/10/18 12:35 PM January In him was life, and that life was the light of all 4 mankind. John 1:4

he life of which John spoke became light to men in the appearing of Him in whom it came into being. The life became light that men might Tsee it and themselves live by choosing that life also, by choosing so to live, such to be. There is always something deeper than anything said—a something of which all human, all divine words, figures, and pictures are but the outer lay- ers through which the central reality shines more or less plainly. Light itself is but the poor outside form of a deeper, better thing, namely, life. The life is Christ. The light, too, is Christ, but only the body of Christ. The life is Christ himself. The light is what we see and shall see in Him; the life is what we may be in Him. The life is the unspeakable unknown; it must become light such as men can see before men can know it. Therefore, the Word appeared as the obedient divine man, doing the works of His Father—the things, that is, which His Father did—doing them humbly before unfriendly brethren. The Son of the Father must take His own form in the substance of flesh, that He may be seen of men, and so become the light of men—not that men may have light, but that men may have life—that, seeing what they could not originate, they may, through the life that is in them, begin to hunger after the life of which they are capable, and which is essential to their being; that the life in them may long for Him who is their life, and thirst for its own perfection, even as root and stem may thirst for the flower for whose sake, and through whose presence in them, they exist. That the child of God may become the son of God by beholding the Son, the life revealed in light; that the radiant heart of the Son of God may be the sunlight to His people; that the idea may be drawn out by the presence and drawing of the perfect Son of the Father sent to His children. The whole being and doing of Jesus on earth is the shining out of divine life that men might see it. It is an unveiling of the Father in the Son, that men may know Him. It is the prayer of the Son to the rest of the sons to come back to the Father, to be reconciled to the Father, to receive His life as their own. George MacDonald

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ut of the Word came life. Out of Him comes life. There was no life, there is none, except that which was in this One, and what Ocame and comes out from Him all the time. How patient God is! There walks a man who has left God out of his life. Beside him walks a woman whose whole life is spent walking in the dark shadow of the streets of life. They have life—of the body, mind, and spirit. Listen softly, for all the life is there, coming out all the time from this One of whom John writes. It is not given once, as a thing to be taken and stored. It is being given, coming constantly with each breath, from this wondrous One. “In Him was life.” Out of His hand and heart come to us all the time all we are and all we have. We may leave God practically out, but He never leaves us out. The sustaining touch of His hand is ever upon us, upon the entire world. Yet this is the smaller part. John would have us know the fuller part. Out of Jesus, and into us, will come the abundant quality of life, if He may have His way with us. “And the life was the light of men.” He was what we have. He gives himself; not things, but a person. With God everything is personal. We go for the impersonal so much, or we try to. We have a genius for organizations and technologies. Yet deep down in our hearts we hunger for the human touch, the warm, personal touch. We all feel that. Yet the whole action of life is to crowd it out. With God everything is personal. The life is the light of men. What He is in himself is what He gives. And this is all the light and life we ever have. Men make botany and astronomy. Man makes theology, and theology has its place, when it is kept in its place. God gives us Jesus. I don’t know much about botany or astronomy, and the more I read of theology the more I stand perplexed. But I confess to a great fondness for flowers, for stars, and a love for Jesus that deepens ever more into reverential awe and in tenderness and grateful devotion. The life was the light of men. He himself is all that we have. We go to things. We count worth and wealth by things. He gives himself. And He asks of us not things, but ourselves. S. D. Gordon

_Wubbels_DayByDayGospelOfJohn_NR_djm.indd 15 4/10/18 12:35 PM January The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has 6 not overcome it. John 1:5

his is God’s way of treating darkness: let the Light shine. The darkness can’t stand the light. In a pitch-black room, strike a match and instantly Tthe little flame drives away some of the darkness. The darkness flees like a frightened dog before the real thing of light. Let me ask you a question. Come close and listen quietly, for this is tre- mendously serious. Is it a bit dark down where you live? Is it morally dark? Spiritually dark? Is it even a bit dark? Because if it is, does it not suggest that the light has not been shining as it was meant to? For where the light shines the darkness departs. For, you see, this is still God’s plan for treating darkness. It is meant to be true today of each of us—“the light shines in the darkness.” Of course, we are not the light. He is the Light. But we are the light holders. I carry the Light of the world around inside of me. And so do you, if you know Him. It is not because of me, of course, but because of the great patience and faithfulness of Him who is the Light. A lantern may carry a clear light that brightens the world, and so may our lives with the true Light. You and I are meant to be the human lanterns carrying the Light, and let- ting it shine clearly, fully. The lantern must be kept clean and clear so the light within can be seen freely. The great thing is that when we live clean, transpar- ent lives, the Light within may shine out clearly. We may live unselfish, clean, Christlike lives by His grace. Our Lord’s great plan, bearing the stamp of its divinity in its sheer human simplicity, is this: we who know Jesus are to live out His life through Him. We’re to let the whole of a Jesus—crucified, risen, living—shine out of the whole of our lives. Is it a bit dark down where you are? Let the Light shine. Let the clear, sweet, steady Jesus-light shine out through your true, clean, quiet, Jesus-controlled life. Then the darkness must go. It can’t withstand the purity of the Light’s clear and steady shining. This is our Lord’s wondrous plan through His own people. S. D. Gordon

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