RELIGIOUS WORLD.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 2, 3 January 1931, Page 2 (Supplement)

RELIGIOUS WORLD.

PRESENT-DAY OUTLOOK.

THE BELOVED DISCIPLE.

WHY IS HIS NAME HIDDEN'?

Tlie following is p&rf of a sermon recently delivered in the Presbyterian church, Onehunga, by the Rev. P. D. Scott, on "The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved":— "Some persons of importance in the Fourth Gospel are anonymous. Had we no other sources of information we should never have known that the mother of Jesus was named Mary. The woman with whom Jesus . conversed at Jacob's well is unnamed. Three disciples are mentioned together in other gospels, and are seen to have beeen intimately associated with Jesus. Only one of ■these is definitely named in the Fourth Gospel, and he is spoken of as Simon Peter, Simon the son of John, Peter and Cephas. James and John are not once referred to by their own names. Over against this reticence about some, stands the distinctive citation of others by name. We can easily think of Thomas, Philip, Nathaniel, Nicodemus, Judas, Judas Iscariot, Mary Magdalene, Mary, and Martha. Each one of these is brought so prominently tinder our notice that we feel ourselves made acquainted with individual features in a peculiarly arresting manner. Sometimes the writer of the gospel names people in a specific way by attaching to them a second name, as in the case of Thomas, or as in the case of Nicodemus, •the description occurs that he is the one who came to Jesus by night, while Judas Iscariot is referred to as the son of Simon. A Certain Shyness. "We see that some persons are amply described, as if the writer desired to leave men in no doubt concerning their identity, and that in other instances he appears to avoid mentioning, names at all. Why should he be so explicit with regard to the former, and so reserved with regard to the latter? His hesitation in the one set of instances might lead us to suspect a shyness concerning the use of personal names, but his free use of such on numerous occasions elsewhere disposes of the suggestion. If the Gospel has been written directly by the Apostle John, then he has tried to veil his name for some reason unknown to us. If he is, as many now believe, the indirect-author, it may still be that he shrinks from a personal allusion to himself, or else the writer of the Gospel has practised restraint with reference to certain names. Be this as it may, a certain man is spoken of as the disciple whom Jesus loved. Why is he thus described? Why is his name deliberately hidden when another is mentioned, as happens in the report when the two men run to the sepulchre? "In describing him as the disciple whom Jesus loved we might discern two practical difficulties raised by the Fourth Gospel. Did Jesus have a preference for one above the others? Were the others content with this apparent elevation? James and John earned some unpopularity when they asked for chief places in the kingdom. It may be suggested that the youthfulness of the beloved disciple marked him off from the others, and, in that case, less feeling would be aroused if Jesus took special notice of him. This disciple may have possessed qualitiees that made him one in whom the others were much interested. He attached himself as a follower with such thoroughness that Jesus took particular notice of his affection. He leaned upon Jesus at the Last Supper. To his care Jesus commended His mother. He stood by the cross, and ran towards the sepulchre. He quickly recognised Jesus on the beach. An intensity of devotion is noticeable. No Narrow Favouritism. "That which is most prominently remarked in the gospel is the love of Jesus for the disciple. Any narrow favouritism is excluded when we consider the wide range of our Lord's affection. At the home in Bethany the Jews said of Him with regard to Lazarus: 'Behold, how He loTed him!' The message from the sisters was: 'Lord, behold he whom Thou lovest is sick.' The evangelist remarks on the love of Jesus for those who were in the Bethany home. In Mark Jesus is reported to have loved the rich young ruler the moment He saw him. Speaking at a later day Paul used unforgettable words about the Son of God who loved me, and gave Himself for me. He was confident, too, that no power and no disaster could separate him from the love of God which is in Christ. The beloved disciple only illustrates what any man may become to Jesus as a personal friend. God's love shines upon ns all in the life of Jesus."