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Quiet Talks on John's Gospel
By
S. D. Gordon
1915
Preface
Everything depends on getting Jesus placed. That lies at the root ofall—living, serving, preaching, teaching. John had Jesus placed. He hadHim up in His own place. This settles everything else. Then one getshimself placed, too, up on a level where the air is clear and bracing,the sun warm, and the outlook both steadying and stimulating. Get thecentre fixed and things quickly adjust themselves about it to your eyes.
It will be seen very quickly that this little book makes no pretensionto being a commentary on, or an exposition of, John's Gospel. That isleft to the scholarly folk who eat their meals in the sacred classicallanguages of the past. It is simply a homely attempt to let out a littleof what has been sifting in these years past of this wondrous miniatureBible from John's pen.
The proportions of this homely little messenger of paper and type mayseem a little odd at first. The longest chapter is devoted to only theopening eighteen verses of John, the prologue. While the whole of thefirst twelve chapters of John, excepting that prologue, is brought intoone smaller chapter. It wasn't planned so, though I felt it coming asthe wondrous mood of this book came down over me. I think it mast bethe effect of the atmosphere of John's book.
Sometimes John packs so much in so little space, and again he goes soparticularly into the details of some one incident. The prologue is aminiature Bible. The whole Bible story is there in its cream. And on theother hand John spends five chapters (xiii.-xvii.), almost a fifth ofthe whole, on a single evening. He devotes seven chapters (xiii.-xix.),almost a third of all, on the events of twenty-four hours. John iscontrolled not by mere proportion of space or quantity, but by the finerproportions of thought and quality.
It has been difficult to hold these homely talks down to the limit ofspace they take here. So many veins of gold in this mine, showingclearly large nuggets of pure ore, lie just at hand untouched in thislittle mining venture. But it seemed clearly best to get the one cleargrasp of the whole. That helps so much. But there'll be strongtemptation to get one's pick and spade and go at this gold mine again.
But now these things are written that we common folk may understand abit better, and in a warm way, that Jesus was God on a wooing errand tothe earth; and that we may join the blest company of the won ones, andbecome co-wooers with God of the others.
Contents
I. John's Story
II. The Wooing Lover
Who it was that came.
III. The Lover Wooing
A group of pictures illustrating how the wooing was done and how the Lover was received.
IV. Closer Wooing
An evening with opening hearts: the story of a supper and a walk in the moonlight and the shadows.
V. The Greatest Wooing
A night and a day with hardening hearts: the story of tender passion and of a terrible tragedy.
VI. An Appointed Tryst Unexpectedly Kept
A day of startling joyous surprises.
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