him." It is probable also, that he was one of the disciples, who were present at the wedding in Cana of Galilee, where the water was turned into wine. If so, this was one particular opportunity, of which doubtless from his situation others also had occurred, of his having seen and heard the Lord Jesus previously to his call, and of his having been witness of some of his miracles. Nor can there be a reasonable question, but that he and his brother and the other two great Apostles, called together with them, although designated in the fourth chapter of the Acts as "unlearned and ignorant men,' that is, men not versed in the depths and subtleties of Rabbinical learning, were, like the children of pious Jews in general at that time, well acquainted with the Scriptures of the Old Testament, and expected the appearance of the Messiah, foretold by the law and the prophets, though undoubtedly with those prepossessions as to the worldly character of his kingdom, which the Jews in general entertained".

St. John, having been called to attend upon our Saviour, was soon after appointed an Apostle, being, as is universally supposed, the youngest of those who were admitted to that honour. Upon this occasion he, together with

* Dr. Lardner.

his brother, received the name of Boanerges, or sons of thunderb; a name, probably denoting the force with which they should preach, and the effect which should be produced on the minds of others by their preaching, that divine word, which is frequently compared to thunder, being like that of the voice of God, speaking from heaven, mighty in its operation. Agreeably to this interpretation we find St. John recorded in the Acts as one of the chief speakers and actors in the propagation and defence of the Gospel, whilst the zeal of St. James appears to have been the cause why he was slain at an early period by the sword of Herod. Probably also the appellation denoted further their energy in propounding the great doctrines and mysteries of the Gospel in a profounder strain than the rest of the Apostles; which was certainly verified in the Saint of this day, whose Gospel is so full of the more sublime notions and mysteries of religion concerning the deity, eternal preexistence, and incarnation of Christ, that he is generally affirmed by the ancients not so much to speak as to thunder".

St. John, together with St. James and St. Peter, was admitted by our Lord to witness the more intimate transactions of his ministry and

life, from which the other Apostles were excluded. These were the three, who attended their Master, when he raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead. These were the three, to whom, together with Andrew, he foretold the destruction of Jerusalem 5. These were the three, whom he chose to be eye-witnesses of his majesty, when he was transfigured on the mount, and to be hearers of the voice from heaven, which declared him to be the beloved Son of God". And these again were the three, whom he chose to be spectators of those bitter agonies, which he sustained in the garden of Gethsemane, when his soul was exceeding sorrowful even unto death, and he prayed that, if it were possible, the cup might pass from him. "Thus whatever was most remarkable in their blessed Master's actions or teaching, which he saw convenient to conceal for a season; the most convincing evidences of his godhead and his manhood, the brightest lustre of the one, and the lowest humiliation of the other; all indeed that could bespeak a particular confidence and kindness, was reserved for a retreat with those select friends, of whom, though so few, St. John had constantly the privilege to be onei."

'Mark v. 37.
'Dean Stanhope.

* Mark xiii. 3.

h Matt. xvii. 1.

Upon St. John himself some marks of favour appear to have been bestowed, of which the others were not partakers. To him belonged the privilege of occupying the place nearest to Jesus at the time of meals, or, as it is expressed with reference to the posture of lying or reclining on couches usual in the latter days of the Jews, of "leaning on Jesus' breast at supper.” He, in the silence of Peter and of the other Apostles, questioned our Lord concerning the one who should be the traitor; and to him our Lord vouchsafed to communicate the intelligence which he sought. To him our Lord, when expiring on the cross, consigned the care of his widowed and sorrowful mother'. To him belongs the ofttimes repeated title of" the disciple whom Jesus loved "."

There are indeed three occasions mentioned in the Gospels, whereon St. John was so unhappy as to experience our Lord's reproof. Once, when, aspiring to a state of pre-eminence above his fellows, he together with his brother petitioned to be allowed "to sit, one on the right hand of Christ, the other on his left, in his kingdom"." Again, when he forbade one to

John xiii. 23, 25.

m

John xiii. 23. xix. 26. xx. 2. xxi 20.

26, 27.

" Matt. xx. 21.

proceed in casting out devils, though he did it in Christ's name, because he followed not in the train of Christ. A third time, when he joined with James in demanding whether it was his Lord's will to call down fire from heaven, and consume the inhabitants of a Samaritan village, because they refused to receive Jesus on his passage to Jerusalem. These were instances respectively of an overweening ambition; of jealousy, leading to a want of just discrimination; of indignation, not properly attempered by forbearance and mercy. Yet perhaps in extenuation of these it may be said, that they betrayed an earnest attachment and devotion to his Lord: that it was an ambition to be placed as near as possible to his person; that it was a jealousy arising out of anxiety for his honour; that it was an indignation suggested by high respect for his authority. In the two last cases particularly the warmth manifested by the Apostle seems to have proceeded from an honest and well-intentioned, though an ill-informed and ill-regulated zeal. It subsided, in consequence of our Lord's reproofs, into a spirit of meekness and charity, which afterwards shewed itself most conspicuously in St. John, by declarations of the most fervid