John 5: A Man Healed at the Pool of Bethesda
1 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. 3 In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. 4 For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. 5 Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” 7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” 9 And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath. 10 The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.” 11 He answered them, “He who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’” 12 Then they asked him, “Who is the Man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” 13 But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.
After the second sign in Galilee, there was "a feast of the Jews" and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. This was also the second trip by Jesus to Jerusalem. It does not matter which feast this was for it was “a feast of the Jews”— not the feast of Yahweh (Lev 23:1-2).
They kept the feasts but often by the letter of the Law and not the Spirit of it. So, when Jesus came again to Jerusalem, it was not for the benefit of the Jews in general, but rather for a certain man who had been lame for thirty-eight years and longed for healing.
Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate…, which "signifies, the sheep gate, of which mention is made, in Nehemiah 3:1, through which the sheep were brought into the city, to the temple." (Gill) It had been built and consecrated by the priest led by Eliashib the high priest. (See Nehemiah 3:1-2) “a pool”-- This was ”the place where the priest washed the animals that were going to be sacrificed.” (Alcuin) Called “Bethesda.”- “The house of mercy." It was so called on account of the sacrifices, as well as the healing that took place.
So this was a holy place of the God of Israel, blessed by His presence resulting in various mercies. “Many kinds of impotent folk lay near the pool: the blind, i.e. those who are without the light of knowledge; the lame, i.e. those who have not strength to do what they are commanded; the withered, i.e. those who have not the marrow of heavenly love.” (Bede) But no one helped this man, nor likely the others. The priests in Jesus' day went through the motions but without compassion for the people. The psalmist cried to Yahweh, “We are Your people, and the sheep of Your pasture.” (Ps 79:13) Yet no one attended to their needs.
Christ is the Angel or Messenger of Yahweh who directs the Heavenly host. He was the One by whose command the waters were troubled in the pool of Bethesda. "The troubling of the water came on all at once, and it was not seen who troubled it…” (Augustine)
Likewise on this day, Jesus walked in unnoticed and unattended to heal this long-neglected man who knew not of His identity. “And hence we learn that the cure of this man cannot be ascribed to his faith, since, even after having been cured, he does not acknowledge his Physician; and… had no solid doctrine or clear light on which he could rely.” (Calvin)
“The miracle of this pool was granted to the Jews, partly to strengthen them in the true worship of God under the persecution of Antiochus, in the cessation of prophecy; partly to retain them in their religious course of sacrificing to the true God, against the scoffs of the Romans (that were now their lords). Such a virtue being given to that water, wherein their sacrifices were wont to be washed.
See a more sovereign bath than this, Zechariah 13:1; an ever-flowing and over-flowing fountain, not for one at once, as here, but for all that come, they may wash and be clean, wash and be whole.” (John Trapp)
“To go down into the troubled water, is to believe humbly on our Lord’s passion.” (Augustine) This man wanted to be healed. His willingness to submit was accredited to his account. And Jesus asked if he wanted to be made whole to convict the Jews of that day. "I have no man to put me into the pool..." The priest of that day were derelict in duty. Then comes the great High Priest of our faith, not helping him into the water but rather saying, "Rise, take up your bed and walk...", "raise yourself from your torpor and indolence, and study to advance in good works.” (Bede)
Do not rely on the Jewish leaders. Do not submit to them; submit yourself to Me. “Study to show yourself approved of God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Tim 2:15)
And he immediately got up and walked. “We might expect this to be an occasion of universal joy and thanksgiving; but some met the whole business with bleak and black looks. The man who had been healed was walking through the streets carrying his bed; the orthodox Jews stopped him and reminded him that he was breaking the law by carrying a burden on the Sabbath day. (Barclay)Yet he only broke their made-made regulations that defined Sabbath keeping. “To carry burdens on the Sabbath was forbidden in the OT, Jer 17:21; Neh 13:15; Exo 20:8-10.” (Barnes) But seems to have pertained to ceasing from regular business.
14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.” 15 The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
It was not until after Jesus found him in the temple that his sins were forgiven in a private session with Jesus… and that he was made whole spirirtually. "For if we would know our Maker’s grace, and attain to the sight of Him, we must avoid the crowd of evil thoughts and affections, convey ourselves out of the congregation of the wicked, and flee to the temple; in order that we may make ourselves the temple of God, souls whom God will visit, and in whom He will deign to dwell. And (He) said to him, ‘Behold, you are made whole; sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.’” (Alcuin)
Now that the man knew Jesus “to be the author of his recovers [physically and spiritually], he was not slow in preaching Him to others: The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus which had made him whole.” (Augustine) All we can preach is that which we know. And to him who is faithful, more will be given of the knowledge of His glorious Person.
John 5: Honor the Son
16 For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.
"‘The Jews’ were up in arms because Jesus had delivered a man from thirty-eight years of misery. They had no human sympathies for the sufferer, whom hope deferred had made sick and hopeless, but they shuddered at the breach of the Sabbath. [The ritual of] ‘Sacrifice’ was more important in their view than ‘mercy.’ [See Hosea 6:6 and Matthew 9:13] Moreover, they did not acknowledge that the miracle proved Christ’s Messiahship, but they were quite sure that doing it on the Sabbath proved His wickedness. How formalism twists men’s judgments of the relative magnitude of form and spirit!" (MacLaren's Expositions)
17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.”
“My Father has been working until now…, without labour or lassitude, in conserving the whole creation. This he doth every day, and yet breaketh not the sabbath." (Trapp) And I have been working. “"The work of God was never the breach of the sabbath, and the works of Christ are the works of the Father, both because they are one God, and also because the Father does not work except in the Son." (Geneva Study Bible)
“The rest [of God] on the seventh day was the completion of the works of creation (see this stated emphatically in Genesis 2:2-3). It was not, it could not be, a cessation in divine work, or in the flow of divine energy that knew no day nor night, nor summer nor winter, nor Sabbath nor Jubilee.
For man, and animal, and tree, and field, this alternation of a time of production and a time of reception was needed, but God was the ever-constant source of energy and life for all in heaven and earth and sea." (Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers)
18 Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. 19 Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. 20 For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. 21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. 22 For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, 23 that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him."
Now they had another charge punishable by death. He claimed that “God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.” And thus Jesus affirms what John had stated in chapter 1. “In reading His words, we must all feel that we are reading mysterious things, and treading on very holy ground. But we must feel a deep conviction, however little we may understand, that the things He says could never have been said by one who was only man. The Speaker is nothing less than ‘God manifest in the flesh.’ (1 Tim 3:16.)
He asserts His own unity with God the Father. No other reasonable meaning can be put on the expressions— ‘The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do--for what things soever He does, these also does the Son likewise. The Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that Himself does.’ (19) Such language, however deep and high, appears to mean that in operation, and knowledge, and heart, and will, the Father and the Son are One--two Persons, but one God. Truths such as these are of course beyond man's power to explain particularly. Enough for us to believe and rest upon them.
He asserts, in the next place, His own Divine power to give life. He tells us, ‘The Son gives life to whom he will.’ (21b) Life is the highest and greatest gift that can be bestowed. It is precisely that thing that man, with all his cleverness, can neither give to the work of his hands, nor restore when taken away. But life, we are told, is in the hands of the Lord Jesus, to bestow and give at His discretion. Dead bodies and dead souls are both alike under His dominion. He has the keys of death and hell. In Him is life. He is the life. (John 1:4. Rev 1:18.)
He asserts, in the last place, His own authority to judge the world. ‘The Father,’ we are told, ‘has committed all judgment unto the Son.’ (22b) All power and authority over the world is committed to Christ's hands. He is the King and the Judge of mankind. Before Him every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that he is Lord. He that was once despised and rejected of man, condemned and crucified as a malefactor, shall one day hold a great judgment, and judge all the world. ‘God shall judge the secrets of man by Jesus Christ.’ (Rom 2:16.) And now let us think whether it is possible to make too much of Christ in our religion. If we have ever thought so, let us cast aside the thought forever. Both in His Own nature as God, and in His office as commissioned Mediator, He is worthy of all honor. He that is one with the Father--the Giver of life--the King of kings--the coming Judge, can never be too much exalted. ‘The one who does not honor the Son, does not honor the Father who sent him.’ (23b)
If we desire salvation, let us lean our whole weight on this mighty Savior. So leaning, we never need be afraid. Christ is the Rock of Ages, and he that builds on Him shall never be confounded--neither in sickness, nor in death, nor in the judgment-day. The hand that was nailed to the cross is almighty! The Savior of sinners is ‘mighty to save.’ (Isa 63:1)” (J. C. Ryle)
Repost: John 5: Jesus Calls Forth the Dead
24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. 25 Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, 27 and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. 30 I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life. “He who credits my Divine mission, that I am come to give light and life to the world by my doctrine and death hath eternal life, the seed of this life is sown in his heart the moment he believes and [he] shall not come into condemnation, into judgment - that which will speedily come on this unbelieving race; and that which shall overwhelm the wicked in the great day.
But he has passed from death into life. He has changed his country, or place of abode… Death is the country where every Christless soul lives. The man who knows not God lives a dying life, or a living death; but he who believes in the Son of God passes over from the empire of death, to the empire of life." (Adam Clarke Commentary)
"The hour - the time- is coming under the preaching of the gospel, as well as in the resurrection of the dead.
And now is - It is now taking place. Sinners were converted under His ministry and brought to spiritual life.
When the dead 'will hear the voice of the Son of God... ' Either the dead in sins, or those that are in their graves. The words of the Saviour will apply to either. Language, in the Scriptures, is often so used as to describe two similar events. Thus the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world are described by Jesus in the same language, Isaiah 7:14. The renewal of the heart, and the raising of the dead at the judgment, are here also described in similar language, because they so far resemble each other that the same language will apply to both." (Albert Barnes' Notes)
Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth... Do not marvel that I can immediately impart spiritual life to the believer for I will do something even greater- the time is coming when I will bodily resurrect all in the grave for eternal judgement--
Those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation... "The passage is one of those that ought to sink down very deeply into our hearts, and never be forgotten. All is not over when men die. Whether they like it or not, they will have to come forth from their graves at the last day, and to stand at Christ's judgment bar. None can escape His summons. When His voice calls them before Him, all must obey. When men rise again, they will not all rise in the same condition. There will be two classes--two parties--two groups of people. Not all will go to heaven. Not all will be saved. Some will rise again to inherit eternal life, but some will rise again only to be condemned. These are alarming things! But the words of Christ are plain and unmistakable. Thus it is written, and thus it must be. Let us make sure that we hear Christ's quickening voice now, and are numbered among His true disciples. Let us know the privileges of true believers, while we have life and health. Then, when His voice shakes heaven and earth, and is calling the dead from their graves, we shall feel confidence, and not be ‘ashamed before Him at his coming.’ (1 John 2:28.)” (J. C. Ryle)
Jesus said: “I can of Myself do nothing.” “It is impossible I should do any thing separately from my Father. As I hear - of the Father, and see, so I judge and do; because I am essentially united to Him. See John 5:19’.” (Wesley) Because I am the Son of God, I see all and have access to the Book of Life and the record of the deeds of all mankind for every generation. “ None but God “can read the heart, and none but He possesses the necessary wisdom for such a stupendous task as determining the sentence due to each one of that vast assemblage which will stand before the great white throne. Thus we see that from start to finish this wonderful passage sets forth the Godhood of the Savior. Let us then honor Him even as we honor the Father, and prostrate ourselves before Him in adoring worship.” (A.W. Pink)
John 5: The Witnesses of Messiah
31 “If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. 32 There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true. 33 You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. 35 He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. 36 But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. 37 And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. 38 But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.
39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 40 But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.
“If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true." (31)
"This verse simply reiterates in another form what we find the Savior saying at the beginning of the previous verse, ‘can of mine own self do nothing’ means, I cannot act independently of the Father: I am so absolutely one with Him that His will is My will; mine, His…. Now, He declares, ‘If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.’ He speaks hypothetically—‘if.’ ‘I bear witness of myself’ means, If I bear witness independently of the Father. In such a case, ‘my witness is not true.’ And why? Because such would be insubordination. The Son can no more bear witness of Himself independently of the Father, than He can of Himself work independently of the Father.” (A. W. Pink)
There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true… (32)This Other is the Father.
Yet says the Son: “I am not without human testimony of the most respectable kind: - ‘Ye sent to John, and he bare witness [to the truth].’ (33) There are several circumstances in John's character which render his testimony unexceptionable. 1. He is consulted by the very enemies of Christ, as a very holy and extraordinary man. 2. He is perfectly free from all self-interest, having declined making the least advantage by his own reputation. 3. He is sincere, undaunted, and so averse from all kinds of flattery that he reproves Herod at the hazard of his liberty and life. 4. He was so far from being solicited by Christ to give his testimony that he had not even seen him when he gave it. See John 1:19-28.… I receive not testimony from man [only] - I have no need of John's testimony: the works that I do bear sufficient testimony to me, John 5:36.” (Adam Clarke)
By the Spirit, John testified "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29) "Yet," says the Lamb, "I do not receive testimony from man...” (34a) I will not receive the testimony of man in the flesh. It must be by My Spirit and Word. "But I say these things that you may be saved." (34b) Speaking of John: “He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.” (35) “John was a candle lighted by Christ, the Light, burning with faith and love, shining in word and deed. He was sent before, to confound the enemies of Christ, according to the Psalm, ‘I have ordained a lantern for Mine Anointed; as for His enemies, I shall clothe them with shame.’ (Psalm 132:17-18)” (Alcuin)
But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. (36) “So Jesus replied, ‘Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.’ (John 7:22)”, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah the prophet- Isaiah 61:1. And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. (37) “He hath testified of me - namely at my baptism. I speak not of my supposed father Joseph. Ye are utter strangers to him of whom I speak.” (Wesley) “And a voice came from the cloud, saying, ‘This is My Son, whom I have chosen; listen to Him!’ (Luke 9:35)
You do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. (38) They had seen His miracles and heard the testimony of the forerunner, as well as that of the Father Himself. But “it was unto them as a tale told; they received the sound of it, but it was not graven in their hearts. And this appeared, because as of themselves they had no intimacy of communion with God to know His mind; so, when the Son was sent out of the bosom of the Father to reveal God unto them, yet they would not receive Him, so as to give any steady, fixed assent to what He revealed, and to yield Him any just and true obedience.
‘Search the Scriptures’; the words may be read either imperatively (as our translation readeth them) or indicatively, ‘You do search the Scriptures’; that is, of the Old Testament, for the books of the New Testament were not at that time written; but as they had the books of the Old Testament, so they made use of them: Moses was read in the synagogues every sabbath day; and they (the Pharisees especially) were very well versed both in the law and the prophets.
‘For in them ye think ye have eternal life’; they did agree that the way of salvation and everlasting life was revealed unto them in the Holy Scriptures; nay, they did judge, that eternal life was to be obtained by their observation of the law.
‘They are they which testify of me’: they (saith our Saviour) are my principal testimony; he doth not only say, they testify, but they are they which testify. No writings but those testify of me; I principally appeal to them to give you an account of me.” (Matthew Poole)
But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. (40) “for when he says that they will not, he imputes the cause of their ignorance and blindness to wickedness and obstinacy.” (Calvin) “See their obstinace and malice. Amos, Amos 6:12, compareth such untamable, untractable, masterless monsters, to horses running upon a rock, where first they break their hoofs and then their necks.” (Trapp’s Commentary)
John 5: The Testimony and Condemnation of Moses
41 “I do not receive honor from men. 42 But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. 43 I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. 44 How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God? 45 Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
Remember these words came at "a feast of the Jews" (John 5:1); many believe that it was Pentecost. “At the feast of pentecost, kept in commemoration of the giving the law from Mount Sinai, their sermons used to be full of the praises of the law, and of the people to whom it was given. How mortifying then must the following words of our Lord be to them, while they were thus exulting in Moses and his law!” (Wesley Notes)
Jesus said: “I do not receive honor from men.” (41) “Here again the Lord maintains His dignity and insists upon His Divine self-sufficiency. I ‘receive not’ signifies, as in verses 34,44 , ‘I seek not’ honor from men” (Pink), “for I came not to receive carnal honor from men, but to give spiritual honor to men. I do not bring forward this testimony then, because I seek my own glory; but because I compassionate your wandering, and wish to bring you back to the way of truth. Hence what follows. ‘But I know you that you have not the love of God in you.’ (42)” (Alcuin) "You pretend a great deal of religion, and to do many things out of love to God, and a zeal for the glory of God; but though you can cheat others, yet you cannot deceive me: I, that search the heart, and try the reins, and am a witness to your actions, know that, whatsoever you pretend, the true love of God dwelleth not in you; and that is the reason why you do not receive me.” (Poole)
“I am come in my Father‘s name - by the authority of God; or giving proof (witnesses mentioned earlier) that I am sent by Him.
If another shall come in his own name - a false teacher setting up himself, and not even pretending to have a divine commission. The Jews were much accustomed to receive and follow particular teachers. In the time of Christ they were greatly divided between the schools of Hillel and Shammai, two famous teachers. Ye will receive him - You will follow, or obey him as a teacher.” (Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible)
“It is by the just judgment of God, that those who will not believe the truth of God shall be so given up as to believe the most absurd of lies.” (Clarke)
“How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?” (44)
"How faulty then is the boasting temper, and that eagerness for human praise, which likes to be thought to have what it has not, and would fain be thought to have all that it has, by its own strength. Men of such temper cannot believe; for in their hearts, they are bent solely on gaining praise, and setting themselves up above others.” (Alcuin)
“Faith”, on the other hand, “empties a man of himself, purgeth upon ambition, and is an act of the will; else the seeking of praise with men could be no impediment to the act of believing. Surely, as Pharaoh said of the Israelites, ‘they are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in;’ so may we say of many, they are entangled in the creature, the world hath shut them in, they cannot come to Christ. They are shut up in the cave of the world, as those five kings in a cave, Joshua 10:18; have hardness of heart, as a great stone rolled to the mouth, and honours, riches, and pleasures, are so many keepers, etc…” (Trapp)
“The best way of guarding against this sin, is to bring to our consciences the remembrance, that we are dust, and should ascribe all the good that we have not to ourselves, but to God. And we should endeavor always to be such, as we wish to appear to others.” (Bede)
Jesus said; “Do not think that I will accuse you- (45a) You have accused me with a breach of the Sabbath, which accusation I have demonstrated to be false: I could, in return, accuse you, and substantiate the accusation, with the breach of the whole law; but this I need not do, for Moses, in whom ye trust, accuses you. (45b) You read his law, acknowledge you should obey it, and yet break it both in the letter and in the spirit. This law, therefore, accuses and condemns you. It was a maxim among the Jews that none could accuse them but Moses: the spirit of which seems to be, that only so pure and enlightened a legislator could find fault with such a noble and excellent people! For, notwithstanding their abominations, they supposed themselves the most excellent of mankind!
He [Moses] wrote of me - (46b) For instance, in reciting the prophecy of Jacob, Genesis 49:10. The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. And in Deuteronomy 18:18; : I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren like unto thee; and I will put my words in his mouth, etc. Confer this with Acts 3:22, and Acts 7:37. Besides, Moses pointed out the Messiah in a multitude of symbols and figures, which are found in the history of the patriarchs, the ceremonial laws, and especially in the whole sacrificial system. All these were well-defined, though shadowy representations of the birth, life, sufferings, death, and resurrection of the Savior of the world…” (Adam Clarke)
Thus says “the Alpha and the Omega--... who is, who always was, and who is still to come--the Almighty..” (Rev. 1:8), “but if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” (47) “You know that Napoleon refused Christianity on the ground that it was not the oldest religion. He said that the religion of the East—Confucianism, for instance—was older than Christianity. He dated Christianity only from Pentecost, or from our Lord’s time. But for our religion we go back to the very beginning, we believe Moses, and turning over the Bible to the first chapter, we read, ‘In the beginning.’ We cannot date behind that. There is no date which lies behind the beginning; it is the very first. If you date Calvary, take care what date you give to it; it has no date. It was pre-ordained before the beginning of the world. Our religion lies back in the beginning with God, and the last word of the Bible is ‘Jesus.’—‘Come, Lord Jesus.’ And Jesus is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. The Lord Jesus belongs to the past, present, and the hereafter.” (Rev. A. H. Stanton)