the Lord's
parting words. _First_, that they were to be bereaved of their
Master's presence (ver. 5). _Second_, that they were to be left alone,
amid the world's hatred--"Whosoever killeth you" (ver. 2). _Third_,
that their mission would be witness-bearing to the unseen Lord (xv. 27).

And as they fully realized all that these facts involved, they became
too absorbed in their own sorrowful conclusions to inquire what bourn
the Master sought as He set sail from these earthly shores. "O
Master," they said in effect, "why canst Thou not stay? Our orphaned
hearts will never be able to endure the blank which Thy absence will
cause. Easier could a flock of sheep withstand the onset of a pack of
wolves than we the hatred of the world! And as for our
witness-bearing, it will be too feeble to avail aught."

And the Master, in effect, answered thus: "I will not leave you without
aid. I shall still be with you, though unseen. My presence shall be
revealed to your spirits, and made livingly real through the blessed
Comforter. He will be with you, and in you. He will authenticate and
corroborate your witness. He shall testify of Me; and when He is come,
He will convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.
You see then that I shall be able to help you better by sending the
Holy Spirit than by staying with you Myself. It is expedient for _you_
that I go away; for if I go not away the Comforter will not come to
you, but if I depart I will send Him unto you."

We may not be able to fathom all the reasons for Christ's withdrawal
before the Spirit's advent was possible. But some of them are obvious
enough. The full union of the Son of God with our race must be secured
through death and resurrection, and His full union with the Father must
be indicated in His glorification with the glory He had or ever the
worlds were made, before He could be the perfect channel of
communicating the Divine fullness to our human nature. The Head must
be anointed before the Body. There must be no physical distraction
arising from the outward life of Jesus to compete with the spiritual
impression of His unseen presence. The text must be completed before
the sermon can be preached. Christ must die, or there can be no
witness to His atonement; must rise, or there can be no testimony to
His resurrection; must ascend, or there can be no declaration as to His
finished work and eternal intercession. Since the Spirit reveals
C