fore it was the kindness of the works He
pointed to: "Many _good_ works have I showed you from My Father" (x.
32). He sought through these works to lead men to see how in His Person
the Father was applying Himself to the actual needs of mankind. To
accept God for one purpose is to accept Him for all. To believe in Him
as present to heal naturally leads to belief in Him as our Friend and
Father. Hence these signs, manifesting the presence and good-will of
God, were a call upon men to trust Him and accept His messenger. They
spoke of gifts still more akin to the Divine nature, of gifts not merely
physical, but spiritual and eternal. Possibly in allusion to these
intelligible and earthly signs our Lord said to Nicodemus, "If I have
told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I
tell you of heavenly things?" If ye are blind to these earthly signs,
what hope is there of your understanding things eternal in their own
impalpable essence?

III. What were the true reasons of our Lord's rejection?

1. The first reason no doubt was that He so thoroughly disappointed the
popular Messianic expectation. This comes out very conspicuously in His
rejection in Galilee, where the people were on the point of crowning
Him, but at once deserted Him as soon as it became clear that His idea
of the needs of men was quite different from their's. The same reason
lies at the root of His rejection by the authorities and people of
Jerusalem. This is brought out in this eighth chapter. "Many had
believed on Him" (ver. 30); that is to say, they believed on Him as
Nicodemus had believed; they believed He was the Christ. But as soon as
He explained to them (vers. 32, 34) that the freedom He brought was a
freedom attained through knowing the truth, a freedom from sin, they
either were unable to understand Him or were repelled, and from
believers became enemies and assailants.

It may have been with reluctance our Lord disclosed to those who had
some faith in Him, that in order to be His disciples (ver. 31) they must
accept His word, and find in it the freedom He proclaimed. He knew that
this was not the freedom they sought. But it was compulsory that He
should leave them in no dubiety regarding the blessings He promised. It
was impossible that they should accept the eternal life He brought to
them, unless there was quickened within them some genuine desire for it.
For what prevented them from receiving Him was not a mere easily