A Call To Prayer 2-John Charles Ryle

A Call To Prayer 2 – John Charles Ryle “MEN OUGHT ALWAYS TO PRAY.” Luke 18:1 “I WILL THAT MEN PRAY EVERYWHERE.” 1 TIMOTHY 2:1 I have a question to offer you. It is contained in three words, DO YOU PRAY? The question is one that none but you can answer. Whether you attend public […]

Without Christ-John Charles Ryle

Without Christ – John Charles Ryle Without Christ “You were without Christ” (Eph. 2:12). The text which heads this message describes the state of the Ephesians before they became Christians. But that is not all. It describes the state of every man and woman in England who is not yet converted to God. A more […]

Where Are Your Sins?-John Charles Ryle

Where Are Your Sins? – John Charles Ryle Make me to know my transgression and my sin.Job 13:22 Cleanse me from my sin.Psalm 51:2 The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin.1 John 1:7 Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation, through faith in His blood.Romans 3:25 […]

What Think Ye of Christ?-John Charles Ryle

What Think Ye of Christ? – John Charles Ryle Christmas is a season which almost all Christians observe in one way or another. Some keep it as a religious season. Some keep it as a holiday. But all over the world, wherever there are Christians, in one way or another Christmas is kept. Perhaps there […]

What Can You Know?-John Charles Ryle

What Can You Know? – John Charles Ryle Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?– JOB xi. 7, 8. THESE striking words came from the lips of Zophar the Naamathite, […]

We Must Be Holy-John Charles Ryle

We Must Be Holy – John Charles Ryle We must he holy on earth before we die, if we desire to go to heaven after death. If we hope to dwell with God for ever in the life to come, we must endeavour to be like Him in the life that now is. We must […]

Warnings To the Churches – The True Church-John Charles Ryle

Warnings To the Churches – The True Church – John Charles Ryle The following Sermon was preached in England, in August, 1858. “On this rock I will build my church,  and the gates of hell will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:18) We live in a world in which all things are passing away. Kingdoms, empires, […]

Warnings To the Churches – The Fallibility of Ministers-John Charles Ryle

Warnings To the Churches – The Fallibility of Ministers – John Charles Ryle When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate […]

Warnings To the Churches – Preface-John Charles Ryle

Warnings To the Churches – Preface – John Charles Ryle For more than a century, J. C. Ryle was the leader of the evangelical party in the Church of England. His policy was to encourage the conservative men to remain in the church rather than to abandon ship and leave the liberals to pursue their […]

Warnings To the Churches – Pharisees and Sadducees-John Charles Ryle

Warnings To the Churches – Pharisees and Sadducees – John Charles Ryle “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (Matthew 16:6) Every word spoken by the Lord Jesus is full of deep instruction for Christians. It is the voice of the Chief Shepherd. It […]

Warnings To the Churches – Not Corrupting the Word-John Charles Ryle

Warnings To the Churches – Not Corrupting the Word – John Charles Ryle The following Sermon was preached in England, in August, 1858. “Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God” (2 Corinthians 2:17) […]

Warnings To the Churches – Idolatry-John Charles

Warnings To the Churches – Idolatry – John Charles “Flee from idolatry” (1 Corinthians 10:14) Our text for today may seem at first to be hardly needed in our country. In an age of education and intelligence, we might almost fancy it is waste of time to tell us to “flee from idolatry.” I am […]

Warnings To the Churches – Give Yourself Wholly to Them-John Charles Ryle

Warnings To the Churches – Give Yourself Wholly to Them – John Charles Ryle The following Sermon was preached in England, in August, 1859. “Give yourself wholly to them” (1 Timothy 4:15) I need hardly to remind you, that the Greek expression which we have translated, “give yourself wholly to them,” is somewhat remarkable. It […]

Warnings To the Churches – Apostolic Fears-John Charles Ryle

Warnings To the Churches – Apostolic Fears – John Charles Ryle I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. The text which heads this page, contains one part of the experience of a very famous […]

Warnings To the Churches – All Kinds of Strange Teachings-John Charles Ryle

Warnings To the Churches – All Kinds of Strange Teachings – John Charles Ryle “Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no value to those who eat them” (Hebrews 13:9) The text which […]

Visible Churches Warned-John Charles Ryle

Visible Churches Warned – John Charles Ryle Visible Churches Warned He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the Churches (Rev. 3:22). I suppose I may take it for granted that every reader of this message belongs to some visible church of Christ. I do not ask now whether you […]

Unsearchable Riches-John Charles Ryle

Unsearchable Riches – John Charles Ryle Unsearchable Riches “Unto me, who am less thaw the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.” (Eph. 3:8). If we heard that sentence read for the first time, I think we should all feel it was […]

Unbelief A Marvel-John Charles Ryle

Unbelief A Marvel – John Charles Ryle “He marveled because of their unbelief.”–Mark 6:6 The text which heads this page is a very remarkable one. Of all the expressions in the four Gospels which show that the Lord Jesus Christ was very Man, none perhaps is more startling than this. That He who was born […]

Tried by Its Fruits-John Charles Ryle

Tried by Its Fruits – John Charles Ryle Our lot is cast in times when there is a tendency to try all ancient institutions by their results. Schools, colleges, universities, corporations, old endowed charities, all are successively put into the crucible, and placed in the furnace. Will an institution stand the fire? Is the result […]

Three Pictures-John Charles Ryle

Three Pictures – John Charles Ryle “God forbid that I should glory, save the cross of our lord Jesus Christ.” (Gal. vi. 14.) And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad. But he said, I am not mad, most […]

Thoughts For Young Men-John Charles Ryle

Thoughts For Young Men – John Charles Ryle When the Apostle Paul wrote his Epistle to Titus about his responsibility as a minister, he mentioned young men as a group requiring particular attention. After speaking of older men and older women, and young women, he adds this advice, “Encourage the young men to be self-controlled” […]

Thirst Relieved-John Charles Ryle

Thirst Relieved – John Charles Ryle Thirst Relieved On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” John […]

The World-John Charles Ryle

The World – John Charles Ryle “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 6:17 The text which heads this page touches a subject of vast importance in Christianity. That subject is the great duty of separation from the world. This is the point which Paul had in view when he […]

The Widow’s Mite-John Charles Ryle

The Widow’s Mite – John Charles Ryle “And he looked up and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in there two mites. And he said, Of a truth I say unto you that this poor widow has cast in more than they […]

The Way of Salvation-John Charles Ryle

The Way of Salvation – John Charles Ryle Where must a man go for pardon? Where is forgiveness to be found? There is a way both sure and plain, and into that way I desire to guide every inquirers feet. That way is simply to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. It […]

The Ruler of the Waves 2- John Charles Ryle

The Ruler of the Waves 2- John Charles Ryle The Ruler of the Waves A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we […]

The Ruler of the Waves-John Charles Ryle

The Ruler of the Waves – John Charles Ryle “And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou […]

The Real Presence: What Is It?-John Charles Ryle

The Real Presence: What Is It? – John Charles Ryle If Thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. Exodus 33:15 There is a word in the text that heads this page which demands the attention of all English Christians in this day. That word is presence. There is a religious subject […]

The Power of the Holy Spirit-John Charles Ryle

The Power of the Holy Spirit – John Charles Ryle There is hope in the Gospel for any man, so long as he lives. There is infinite willingness in Christ to pardon sin. There is infinite power in the Holy Spirit to change hearts. There are many diseases of the body which are incurable. The […]

The Penitent Thief-John Charles Ryle

The Penitent Thief – John Charles Ryle “Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us. But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the […]

The Morning Without Clouds-John Charles Ryle

The Morning Without Clouds – John Charles Ryle “He shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain. Although my house be not so with God; yet He hath made with me an […]

The Inspiration of the Bible-John Charles Ryle

The Inspiration of the Bible – John Charles Ryle “Thy Word is Truth.” [John 17:17] What is truth about the Inspiration of the Bible? This is a question of supreme importance in the present day. Ignorance, or want of clear views about the subject, is a worm at the root of much religion in the […]

The Great Separation-John Charles Ryle

The Great Separation – John Charles Ryle “His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor, gathering His wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” (Matthew 3:12) The verse of Scripture, which is now before our eyes, contains words that were spoken by John the […]

The Great Gathering-John Charles Ryle

The Great Gathering – John Charles Ryle “Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him” [2 Thessalonians 2:1] The text which heads up this page contains an expression which deserves our most careful attention. That expression is–“Our being gathered.” “Our being gathered.” Those three words ought to find a […]

The Great Commission-John Charles Ryle

The Great Commission – John Charles Ryle “Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, Tell […]

The Great Battle-John Charles Ryle

The Great Battle – John Charles Ryle All men ought to love peace. War is an immense evil, though it is a necessary evil sometimes. Battles are bloody and distressing events, though sometimes nations cannot maintain their rights without them. But all men ought to love peace. All ought to pray for a quiet life. […]

The Fourfold Witness-John Charles Ryle

The Fourfold Witness – John Charles Ryle “There is another who bears witness of me, and I know that the witness which he witnesses of me is true. You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth . . . But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works […]

The Fight-John Charles Ryle

The Fight – John Charles Ryle THE FIGHT “Fight the good fight of faith.” (1 Tim. 6:12). It is a curious fact that there is no subject about which most people feel such deep interest as fighting. Young men and maidens, old men and little children, high and low, rich and poor, learned and unlearned, […]

The Family of God-John Charles Ryle

The Family of God – John Charles Ryle “His whole family in heaven and on earth.” [Ephesians 3:15] The words which form the title of this paper ought to always stir some feelings in our minds. There is not a man or woman on this earth who is not a member of some “family.” The […]

The Duties of Parents 2-John Charles Ryle

The Duties of Parents 2 – John Charles Ryle Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 23: 6. I suppose that most professing Christians are acquainted with the text at the head of this page. The sound of it is […]

The Duties of Parents-John Charles Ryle

The Duties of Parents – John Charles Ryle “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” [Proverbs 22:6] I believe that most professing Christians are acquainted with our sermon text. The sound of it is probably very familiar to your ears, like an […]

The Death of Christ-John Charles Ryle

The Death of Christ – John Charles Ryle “And when the sixth hour had come, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabacthani? which is translated, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And when […]

The Cross of Christ-John Charles Ryle

The Cross of Christ – John Charles Ryle What do you think about the cross of Christ? The question may be one that you consider of little importance: but it deeply concerns the everlasting welfare of your soul. Eighteen hundred years ago there was a man who said that he “gloried” in the cross of […]

The Cross-John Charles Ryle

The Cross – John Charles Ryle What do you think and feel about the cross of Christ? You live in a Christian land. You probably attend the worship of a Christian church. You have perhaps been baptised in the name of Christ. You profess and call yourself a Christian. All this is well: it is […]

The Cost-John Charles Ryle

The Cost – John Charles Ryle “Which of you, intending to build a tower, does not down first sit down and count the cost?” (Luke 14:28). The text which heads this page is one of great importance. Few are the people who are not often obliged to ask themselves, “What does it cost?” In buying […]

The City-John Charles Ryle

The City – John Charles Ryle THE CITY: OR, THE SIGHT WHICH STIRRED ST. PAUL. BY THE LATE J. C. RYLE (1816-1900) ACTS XVII. 16, 17. Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. Therefore disputed he in the synagogue […]

The Church Which Christ Builds-John Charles Ryle

The Church Which Christ Builds – John Charles Ryle The Church Which Christ Builds “Upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). Do we belong to the Church which is built upon a rock? Are we members of the only Church in which […]

The Bread of Life-John Charles Ryle

The Bread of Life – John Charles Ryle “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” (John 6:51) Truths of the weightiest importance […]

The Abiding Comforter-John Charles Ryle

The Abiding Comforter – John Charles Ryle Preached at North Street Chapel, Stamford, on November 14th, 1858, by J. C. Philpot “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it sees Him […]

Suppose An Unholy Man Went To Heaven-John Charles Ryle

Suppose An Unholy Man Went To Heaven – John Charles Ryle Suppose for a moment that you were allowed to enter heaven without holiness. What would you do? What possible enjoyment could you feel there? To which of all the saints would you join yourself and by whose side would you sit? Their pleasures are […]

Spiritual Knowledge-John Charles Ryle

Spiritual Knowledge – John Charles Ryle “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority . . . I did one work, and you all marvel. Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but […]

Special Rules for Young Men 3-John Charles Ryle

Special Rules for Young Men 3 – John Charles Ryle IV. SPECIAL RULES FOR YOUNG MEN In the last place, I will set down some particular rules of conduct which I strongly advise all young men to follow. (1) RESOLVE AT ONCE, BY GOD’S HELP, TO BREAK OFF EVERY KNOWN SIN, HOWEVER SMALL. Look within, […]

Special Rules for Young Men 2-John Charles Ryle

Special Rules for Young Men 2 – John Charles Ryle IV. SPECIAL RULES FOR YOUNG MEN In the last place, I will set down some particular rules of conduct which I strongly advise all young men to follow. (1) RESOLVE AT ONCE, BY GOD’S HELP, TO BREAK OFF EVERY KNOWN SIN, HOWEVER SMALL. Look within, […]

Special Rules for Young Men-John Charles Ryle

Special Rules for Young Men – John Charles Ryle 4. In the last place, I will set down some particular rules of conduct which I strongly advise all young men to follow. (1) For one thing, resolve at once, by God’s help, to break off every known sin, however small. Look within, each one of […]

Sin-John Charles Ryle

Sin – John Charles Ryle SIN “Sin is the transgression of the law.” (1 John 3:4). He who wishes to attain right views about Christian holiness must begin by examining the vast and solemn subject of sin. He must dig down very low if he would build high. A mistake here is most mischievous. Wrong […]

Sickness-John Charles Ryle

Sickness – John Charles Ryle “The one You love is sick.” [John 11:3] The chapter from which this text is taken from is well known to all Bible readers. In lifelike description, in touching interest, in sublime simplicity, there is no writing in existence that can compare with that chapter. A narrative like this is […]

Self-Inquiry-John Charles Ryle

Self-Inquiry – John Charles Ryle “Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do.” (Acts 15:36). The text which heads this page contains a proposal which the Apostle Paul made to Barnabas after their first missionary journey. He proposed […]

Self-Exertion-John Charles Ryle

Self-Exertion – John Charles Ryle Preface For more than a century, J. C. Ryle was best known for his clear and lively writings on practical and spiritual themes. His great aim in all his ministry was to encourage strong and serious Christian living. But Ryle was not naive in his understanding of how this should […]

Self-Examination-John Charles Ryle

Self-Examination – John Charles Ryle “Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing” (Acts 15:36). The text which heads this page contains a proposal which the Apostle Paul made to Barnabas after their first missionary journey. He […]

Self-Effort-John Charles Ryle

Self-Effort – John Charles Ryle “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to” (Luke 13:24). There once was a man who asked our Lord Jesus Christ a very serious question. He said to Him, “Lord, are only a few […]

Sanctification (Part 1)-John Charles Ryle

Sanctification (Part 1) – John Charles Ryle “Sanctify them through Thy truth.” John 17:17 “This is the will of God, even your sanctification.” I Thess. 4:3 Sanctification is a subject of the utmost importance to our souls. If the Bible be true, it is certain that unless we are “sanctified,” we shall not be saved. […]

Sanctification (Conclusion)-John Charles Ryle

Sanctification (Conclusion) – John Charles Ryle “Sanctify them through Thy truth.” John 17:17 “This is the will of God, even your sanctification.” I Thess. 4:3 I now proceed to consider the visible evidence of sanctification. In a word, what are the visible marks of a sanctified man? What may we expect to see in him? […]

Sanctification-John Charles Ryle

Sanctification – John Charles Ryle SANCTIFICATION “Sanctify them through Your truth.” (John 17:17). “This is the will of God, even your sanctification.” (1 Thess. 4:3). The subject of sanctification is one which many, I fear, dislike exceedingly. Some even turn from it with scorn and disdain. The very last thing they would like is to […]

Riches and Poverty-John Charles Ryle

Riches and Poverty – John Charles Ryle There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked […]

Remember Lot’s Wife-John Charles Ryle

Remember Lot’s Wife – John Charles Ryle There are few warnings in Scripture more solemn than this. The Lord Jesus Christ says to us, “Remember Lot’s wife.” Lot’s wife was a professor of religion: her husband was a “righteous man” (II Peter 2:8). She left Sodom with him on the day when Sodom was destroyed; […]

Remember Lot!-John Charles Ryle

Remember Lot! – John Charles Ryle Who is this man that lingered? Lot, the nephew of faithful Abraham. And when did he linger? The very morning Sodom was to be destroyed. And where did he linger? Within the walls of Sodom itself. And before whom did he linger? Under the eyes of the two angels, […]

Reasons for Exhorting Young Men-John Charles Ryle

Reasons for Exhorting Young Men – John Charles Ryle I. REASONS FOR EXHORTING YOUNG MEN When the Apostle Paul wrote his Epistle to Titus about his responsibility as a minister, he mentioned young men as a group requiring particular attention. After speaking of older men and older women, and young women, he adds this advice, […]

Prove All Things-John Charles Ryle

Prove All Things – John Charles Ryle You live in days when the text before your eyes is one of the first importance. The truths it contains are especially truths for the times. Give me your attention for a few minutes, and I will try to show you what I mean. There were three great […]

Prayer-John Charles Ryle

Prayer – John Charles Ryle “Disciples should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1). “I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer” (1 Timothy 2:8). Prayer is the most important subject in practical religion. All other subjects are second to it. Reading the Bible, listening to sermons, attending public worship, going […]

Practical Religion – Self-Inquiry (Part 7)-John Charles Ryle

Practical Religion – Self-Inquiry (Part 7) – John Charles Ryle Let me now conclude with a few words of practical application. (a) Is any reader of this paper asleep and utterly thoughtless about Christianity? Oh, awake and sleep no more! Look at the churchyards and cemeteries. One by one the people around you are dropping […]

J.C. Ryle : Practical Religion – Self-Inquiry (Part 6)-John Charles Ryle

J.C. Ryle : Practical Religion – Self-Inquiry (Part 6) – John Charles Ryle (9) Let me ask, in the ninth place, whether we know anything of living the life of habitual communion with Christ? By “communion,” I mean that habit of “abiding in Christ” which our Lord speaks of, in the fifteenth chapter of St. […]

Practical Religion – Self-Inquiry (Part 5)-John Charles Ryle

Practical Religion – Self-Inquiry (Part 5) – John Charles Ryle (7) Let me ask, in the seventh place, whether we know anything of enjoying the means of grace? When I speak of the means of grace, I have in my mind’s eye five principal things: the Reading of the Bible, private prayer, public worship, the […]

Practical Religion – Self-Inquiry (Part 4)-John Charles Ryle

Practical Religion – Self-Inquiry (Part 4) – John Charles Ryle (5) Let me ask, in the fifth place, whether we know anything by experience of conversion to God. Without conversion there is no salvation. “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall never enter the kingdom of heaven.”– “Except a man be […]

Practical Religion – Self-Inquiry (Part 3)-John Charles Ryle

Practical Religion – Self-Inquiry (Part 3) – John Charles Ryle (3) Let me ask, in the third place, whether we are trying to satisfy our consciences with a mere formal religion? There are myriads in England at this moment who are making shipwreck on this rock. Like the Pharisees of old, they make much ado […]

Practical Religion – Self-Inquiry (Part 2)-John Charles Ryle

Practical Religion – Self-Inquiry (Part 2) – John Charles Ryle (1) Let me ask, in the first place, Do we ever think about our souls at all?” Thousands of English people, I fear, cannot answer that question satisfactorily. They never give the subject of religion any place in their thoughts. From the beginning of the […]

Practical Religion – Self-Inquiry-John Charles Ryle

Practical Religion – Self-Inquiry – John Charles Ryle “Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do.” (Acts 15:36). The text which heads this page contains a proposal which the Apostle Paul made to Barnabas after their first missionary […]

Perishable Food-John Charles Ryle

Perishable Food – John Charles Ryle “Jesus answered them and said, Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the […]

Peace! Be Still!-John Charles Ryle

Peace! Be Still! – John Charles Ryle I wish professing Christians in this day studied the four Gospels more than they do. I know that all Scripture is profitable. I do not wish to exalt one part of the Bible at the expense of another. But I think it would be good for some, who […]

Parable of the Pounds (Part 2)-John Charles Ryle

Parable of the Pounds (Part 2) – John Charles Ryle “Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. Therefore He said: A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to […]

Parable of the Pounds (Part 1)-John Charles Ryle

Parable of the Pounds (Part 1) – John Charles Ryle “Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. Therefore He said: A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to […]

Parable of the Pounds (Conclusion)-John Charles Ryle

Parable of the Pounds (Conclusion) – John Charles Ryle “Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. Therefore He said: A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. […]

Our Home-John Charles Ryle

Our Home – John Charles Ryle “Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.” [Psalm 90:1] There are two reasons why the text which heads this paper should ring in our hearts with special power. It is the first verse of a deeply solemn Psalm—the first bar of a wondrous piece of spiritual […]

Only One Way–Christ!-John Charles Ryle

Only One Way–Christ! – John Charles Ryle Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.Acts 4:12 These words are striking in themselves. But they are much more striking if you consider when and by whom they were spoken. They […]

One in Christ-John Charles Ryle

One in Christ – John Charles Ryle “Sanctify them by your truth . . . for their sakes, I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word; that they all may be one, […]

One Blood-John Charles Ryle

One Blood – John Charles Ryle This is a very short and simple text, and even a child knows the meaning of its words. But simple as it is, it supplies food for much thought and it forms part of a speech delivered by a great man on a great occasion. The speaker is the […]

Occupy Till I Come-John Charles Ryle

Occupy Till I Come – John Charles Ryle The words before your eyes form an introduction to the parable, which is commonly called the “Parable of the Pounds.” They contain matter which deserves the prayerful consideration of every true Christian in the present day. There are some parables of which Matthew Henry says, with equal […]

Never Perish-John Charles Ryle

Never Perish – John Charles Ryle There are two points in religion on which the teaching of the Bible is very plain and distinct. One of these points is the fearful danger of the ungodly; the other is the perfect safety of the righteous. One is the happiness of those who are converted; the other […]

Needs of the Times-John Charles Ryle

Needs of the Times – John Charles Ryle Needs of the Times “Men that had understanding of the times” (1 Chron. 12:32). These words were written about the tribe of Issachar, in the days when David first began to reign over Israel. It seems that after Saul’s unhappy death, some of the tribes of Israel […]

Mosesean Example-John Charles Ryle

Mosesean Example – John Charles Ryle MOSESAN EXAMPLE “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the […]

Moses: An Example-John Charles Ryle

Moses: An Example – John Charles Ryle “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for […]

Matthew chapter 9-John Charles Ryle

Matthew chapter 9 – John Charles Ryle Matthew chapter 9 MATTHEW 9:1-13 He entered into a boat, and crossed over, and came into his own city. Behold, they brought to him a man who was paralyzed, lying on a bed. Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, “Son, cheer up! Your sins are forgiven […]

Matthew chapter 8-John Charles Ryle

Matthew chapter 8 – John Charles Ryle Matthew chapter 8 MATTHEW 8:1-15 When he came down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. Behold, a leper came to him and worshiped him, saying, “Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean.” Jesus stretched out his hand, and touched him, saying, “I want to. […]

Matthew chapter 7-John Charles Ryle

Matthew chapter 7 – John Charles Ryle Matthew chapter 7 MATTHEW 7:1-11 “Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged. For with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but […]

Matthew chapter 6-John Charles Ryle

Matthew chapter 6 – John Charles Ryle Matthew chapter 6 MATTHEW 6:1-8 “Be careful that you don’t do your charitable giving before men, to be seen by them, or else you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Therefore when you do merciful deeds, don’t sound a trumpet before yourself, as the […]

Matthew chapter 5-John Charles Ryle

Matthew chapter 5 – John Charles Ryle Matthew chapter 5 MATTHEW 5:1-12 Seeing the multitudes, he went up onto the mountain. When he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He opened his mouth and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are those […]

Matthew chapter 4-John Charles Ryle

Matthew chapter 4 – John Charles Ryle Matthew chapter 4 MATTHEW 4:1-11 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. When he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry afterward. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of […]

Matthew chapter 3-John Charles Ryle

Matthew chapter 3 – John Charles Ryle Matthew chapter 3 MATTHEW 3:1-12 In those days, John the Baptizer came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” For this is he who was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying, “The voice of one crying in the […]

Matthew chapter 28-John Charles Ryle

Matthew chapter 28 – John Charles Ryle Matthew chapter 28 MATTHEW 28:1-10 Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. Behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from the sky, […]

Matthew chapter 27-John Charles Ryle

Matthew chapter 27 – John Charles Ryle Matthew chapter 27 MATTHEW 27:1-10 Now when morning had come, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death–and they bound him, and led him away, and delivered him up to Pontius Pilate, the governor. Then Judas, who […]

Matthew chapter 26-John Charles Ryle

Matthew chapter 26 – John Charles Ryle Matthew chapter 26 MATTHEW 26:1-13 It happened, when Jesus had finished all these words, that he said to his disciples, “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.” Then the chief priests, the scribes, […]

Matthew chapter 25-John Charles Ryle

Matthew chapter 25 – John Charles Ryle Matthew chapter 25 MATTHEW 25:1-13 “Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. Those who were foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with […]

Matthew chapter 24-John Charles Ryle

Matthew chapter 24 – John Charles Ryle Matthew chapter 24 MATTHEW 24:1-14 Jesus went out from the temple, and was going on his way. His disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, “Don’t you see all of these things? Most certainly I tell you, there will […]

Matthew chapter 23-John Charles Ryle

Matthew chapter 23 – John Charles Ryle Matthew chapter 23 MATTHEW 23:1-12 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to his disciples, saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat. All things therefore they tell you to observe; observe and do, but don’t do their works; for they say, and don’t do. For […]

Matthew chapter 22-John Charles Ryle

Matthew chapter 22 – John Charles Ryle Matthew chapter 22 MATTHEW 22:1-14 Jesus answered and spoke again in parables to them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king, who made a marriage feast for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast, but […]

Matthew chapter 21-John Charles Ryle

Matthew chapter 21 – John Charles Ryle Matthew chapter 21 MATTHEW 21:1-11 When they drew near to Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village that is opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with […]

Matthew chapter 20-John Charles Ryle

Matthew chapter 20 – John Charles Ryle Matthew chapter 20 MATTHEW 20:1-16 “For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who was the master of a household, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent […]

Matthew chapter 2-John Charles Ryle

Matthew chapter 2 – John Charles Ryle Matthew chapter 2 MATTHEW 2:1-12 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the […]

Matthew chapter 19-John Charles Ryle

Matthew chapter 19 – John Charles Ryle Matthew chapter 19 MATTHEW 19:1-15 It happened when Jesus had finished these words, he departed from Galilee, and came into the borders of Judea beyond the Jordan. Great multitudes followed him, and he healed them there. Pharisees came to him, testing him, and saying, “Is it lawful for […]

Matthew chapter 18-John Charles Ryle

Matthew chapter 18 – John Charles Ryle Matthew chapter 18 MATTHEW 18:1-14 In that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” Jesus called a little child to himself, and set him in the midst of them, and said, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you turn, […]

Matthew chapter 17-John Charles Ryle

Matthew chapter 17 – John Charles Ryle Matthew chapter 17 MATTHEW 17:1-13 After six days, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up into a high mountain by themselves. He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as the light. […]

Matthew chapter 16-John Charles Ryle

Matthew chapter 16 – John Charles Ryle Matthew chapter 16 MATTHEW 16:1-12 The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing him, asked him to show them a sign from heaven. But he answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ In the morning, ‘It will be […]

Matthew chapter 15-John Charles Ryle

Matthew chapter 15 – John Charles Ryle Matthew chapter 15 MATTHEW 15:1-9 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying,”Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat bread.” He answered them, “Why do you also disobey the commandment of God because of […]

Matthew chapter 14-John Charles Ryle

Matthew chapter 14 – John Charles Ryle Matthew chapter 14 MATTHEW 14:13-21 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat, to a deserted place apart. When the multitudes heard it, they followed him on foot from the cities. Jesus went out, and he saw a great multitude. He had compassion on […]

Matthew chapter 13-John Charles Ryle

Matthew chapter 13 – John Charles Ryle Matthew chapter 13 MATTHEW 13:1-23 On that day Jesus went out of the house, and sat by the seaside. Great multitudes gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat, and sat, and all the multitude stood on the beach. He spoke to them many things in […]

Matthew chapter 12-John Charles Ryle

Matthew chapter 12 – John Charles Ryle Matthew chapter 12 MATTHEW 12:1-13 At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the grain fields. His disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said to him, “Behold, your disciples do what is […]

Matthew chapter 11-John Charles Ryle

Matthew chapter 11 – John Charles Ryle Matthew chapter 11 MATTHEW 11:1-15 It happened that when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he departed from there to teach and preach in their cities. Now when John heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to him, […]

Matthew chapter 10-John Charles Ryle

Matthew chapter 10 – John Charles Ryle Matthew chapter 10 MATTHEW 10:1-15 He called to himself his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these. The first, Simon, who is called Peter; Andrew, […]

Matthew chapter 1-John Charles Ryle

Matthew chapter 1 – John Charles Ryle Matthew chapter 1 MATTHEW 1:1-17 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham became the father of Isaac. Isaac became the father of Jacob. Jacob became the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah became the father of Perez […]

Many Shall Come-John Charles Ryle

Many Shall Come – John Charles Ryle Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 8:11 The words of Scripture which head this page were spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ. You may take them either as a prophecy or […]

Loving Your Enemies-John Charles Ryle

Loving Your Enemies – John Charles Ryle “But I say unto you that hear, love your enemies, do good to them who hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them who despitefully use you.” (Luke 6:27,28) The teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, in these verses, is confined to one great subject. […]

Love-John Charles Ryle

Loving Your Enemies – John Charles Ryle “Now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). LOVE is rightly called “the Queen of Christian graces.” “The goal of this command,” says Paul, “is love” (1 Timothy 1:5). It is a grace which all people profess to […]

Lot: A Beacon-John Charles Ryle

Lot: A Beacon – John Charles Ryle “He lingered.” Genesis 19:16 The Holy Scriptures, which were written for our learning, contain beacons as well as patterns. They show us examples of what we should avoid as well as examples of what we should follow. The man who heads this page is set for a beacon […]

Looking Unto Jesus-John Charles Ryle

Looking Unto Jesus – John Charles Ryle “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2 The text of Scripture which heads this page […]

Let me speak, lastly, TO THOSE WHO DO PRAY-John Charles Ryle

Let me speak, lastly, TO THOSE WHO DO PRAY – John Charles Ryle I trust that some who read this tract know well what prayer is, and have the Spirit of adoption. To all such, I offer a few words of brotherly counsel and exhortation. The incense offered in the tabernacle was ordered to be […]

Justified!-John Charles Ryle

Justified! – John Charles Ryle “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”–Romans 5:1 The word which forms the title of this paper is one of deep importance in religion. It has within it the foundation of sound soulR09;saving Christianity. It contains the true secret of inward and […]

John Wycliffe-John Charles Ryle

John Wycliffe – John Charles Ryle “But has in due time manifested His word through preaching.” Titus 1:3 It is an old and true saying that nations often know little about some of their greatest benefactors. If there ever was a man to whom this saying applies, it is John Wycliffe, the forerunner and first […]

John Wesley – Part 2-John Charles Ryle

John Wesley –Part 2 – John Charles Ryle ENGLAND a hundred years ago received such deep impressions from John Wesley, that I should not feel I did him justice if I did not give my readers a few select specimens of his writings. Before we turn away from the father of Methodism, let us try […]

John Wesley – Part 1-John Charles Ryle

John Wesley – Part 1 – John Charles Ryle The name of this great evangelist is perhaps better known than that of any of his fellow-labourers a hundred years ago. This, however, is easily accounted for. He lived to the ripe old age of eighty-eight. For sixty-five years he was continually before the eyes of […]

John 3:16-John Charles Ryle

John 3:16 – John Charles Ryle “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Our Lord, in this verse, shows Nicodemus another “heavenly thing.” Nicodemus probably thought, like many Jews, that God’s purposes of mercy were entirely confined […]

Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet-John Charles Ryle

Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet – John Charles Ryle “Then he came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to him, Lord, are you washing my feet? Jesus answered and said to him, What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this . . . So when he had washed […]

J.C. Ryle Quotes-John Charles Ryle

J.C. Ryle Quotes – John Charles Ryle “Beauty is only temporary.” “He that has Christ, has life.” “Finally, teach love to others.” If heaven is eternal, likewise so is hell. Prayer can lighten crosses for us however heavy. “Your trials, crosses, and conflicts are all temporary.” “There is a day coming when all men shall […]

J. C. Ryle’s Estimation of Whitefield’s Ministry-John Charles Ryle

J. C. Ryle’s Estimation of Whitefield’s Ministry – John Charles Ryle Estimate of good that Whitefield did – Testimonies to his direct Usefulness – Indirect good that he did – Peculiar character of his Preaching – Witnesses to his real power as a Preacher – Simplicity, Directness, Power of Description, Earnestness, Pathos, Action, Voice, and […]

J. C. Ryle The Man, The Minister and The Missionary-John Charles Ryle

J. C. Ryle The Man, The Minister and The Missionary – John Charles Ryle J. C. Ryle  The Man, The Minister and The Missionary by David Holloway Introduction “One of the most encouraging and hopeful signs I have observed for many a long day in evangelical circles has been a renewed and increasing interest in […]

Is Thy Heart Right?-John Charles Ryle

Is Thy Heart Right? – John Charles Ryle “Thy heart is not right in the sight of God” ACTS 8:21 “A good heart at the bottom!” Such is the sadly common expression used about many persons in this strange world. The persons about whom it is said often give no sign of religion. They are […]

Inspiration-John Charles Ryle

Inspiration – John Charles Ryle All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.  [2 Tim 3:16] How was the Bible written? Whence is it? From heaven, or of men? Had the writers of the Bible any special or peculiar help in doing their work?-Is there anything in the Bible which makes it unlike all other […]

In Bethany-John Charles Ryle

In Bethany – John Charles Ryle “Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. Then Mary took […]

If Any Man-John Charles Ryle

If Any Man – John Charles Ryle “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” [John 7:37-38]. […]

I ask, lastly, whether you pray because prayer is one of the best means of happiness and contentment-John Charles Ryle

I ask, lastly, whether you pray because prayer is one of the best means of happiness and contentment – John Charles Ryle We live in a world where sorrow abounds. This has always been the state since sin came in. There cannot be sin without sorrow. And until sin is driven out from the world, […]

I Ask whether you pray, because prayer is an act of religion to which there is great encouragement.-John Chares Ryle

I Ask whether you pray, because prayer is an act of religion to which there is great encouragement. – John Chares Ryle There is everything on God’s part to make prayer east if people will only attempt it. All things are ready on his side. Every objection is anticipated. Every difficulty is provided for. the […]

How England Was Revived in the 18th Century-John Charles Ryle

How England Was Revived in the 18th Century – John Charles Ryle That a great change for the better came over England during the 18th century is a fact that I suppose no well-informed person would ever attempt to deny. You might as well attempt to deny that there was a Protestant Reformation in the […]

Holiness 2-John Charles Ryle

Holiness 2 – John Charles Ryle HOLINESS “Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). The text which heads this page opens up a subject of deep importance. That subject is practical holiness. It suggests a question which demands the attention of all professing Christians: are we holy? Shall we see the […]

Holiness-John Charles Ryle

Holiness – John Charles Ryle Without holiness no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14 Our text for today opens up a subject of deep importance. That subject is practical holiness. It suggests a question that demands the attention of all professing Christians-Are we holy? Will we see the Lord? That question can never be […]

Hold Fast-John Charles Ryle

Hold Fast – John Charles Ryle Hold fast that which is good.” 1 Thessalonians 5:21 There are few things in religion which men are so ready to forget as the duty of “contending earnestly for the faith,” and holding fast the truth. Controversy is seldom popular. Most men like a quiet life in religion. They […]

Heaven 2 -John Charles Ryle

Heaven 2 – John Charles Ryle “But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.” 2 Samuel 12:23 I wish to confine myself to one single point of deep and momentous interest to us, and that is, […]

Heaven-John Charles Ryle

Heaven – John Charles Ryle There is a glorious dwelling place provided by Jesus Christ for all His believing people. The world that now is, is not their rest: they are pilgrims and strangers in it. Heaven is their home. There will be a place in heaven for all sinners who have fled to Christ […]

Happiness-John Charles Ryle

Happiness – John Charles Ryle “Blessed [Happy] are the people whose God is the LORD.” Psalm 144:15 An atheist was once addressing a crowd of people in the open air. He was trying to persuade them that there was no God and no devil, no heaven, and no hell, no resurrection, no judgment, and no […]

Growth-John Charles Ryle

Growth – John Charles Ryle “Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18). The subject of the text which heads this page is one that ought to be deeply interesting to every true Christian. It naturally raises the questions: “Do we grow in grace?” “Do we […]

Great Faith-John Charles Ryle

Great Faith – John Charles Ryle “And Jesus went away from there and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman came out from that region and began to cry out, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed. But he did not […]

Gospel Treasures-John Charles Ryle

Gospel Treasures – John Charles Ryle I dare be sure this paper will be read by some one who feels that his sins are not yet forgiven. Reader, are you that man? My hearts desire and prayer to God is that you may seek forgiveness without delay. There is forgiveness in Jesus Christ for every […]

George Whitefield & His Ministry-John Charles Ryle

George Whitefield & His Ministry – John Charles Ryle Whitefield’s Birth-place and Parentage – Educated at Gloucester Grammar School – Enters Pembroke College, Oxford – Season of Spiritual Conflict – Books which were made useful to him – Ordained by Bishop Benson – First Sermon – Preaches in London – Curate of Dummer, Hants – […]

General Counsels to Young Men 2-John Charles Ryle

General Counsels to Young Men 2 – John Charles Ryle III. GENERAL COUNSELS TO YOUNG MEN In the third place, I wish to give some general counsels to young men. (1) TRY TO GET A CLEAR VIEW OF THE EVIL OF SIN. Young men, if you did know what sin is, and what sin has […]

General Counsels to Young Men-John Charles Ryle

General Counsels to Young Men – John Charles Ryle 3. In the third place, I wish to give some general counsels to young men. (1) Try to get a clear view of the evil of sin. Young men, if you did know what sin is, and what sin has done, you would not think it […]

Freedom-John Charles Ryle

Freedom – John Charles Ryle So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36 The subject before us today deserves our attention. It should ring in the ears of every person like the voice of a trumpet. We live in a land which is the very cradle of freedom. But […]

Free Salvation-John Charles Ryle

Free Salvation – John Charles Ryle Of all the doctrines of the Bible there is none so important as that of free salvation by faith in Jesus Christ. “He that believeth on Jesus is not condemned.” “By Him all that believe are justified from all things.” This is the cornerstone of all Christianity. A mistake […]

Formalism-John Charles Ryle

Formalism – John Charles Ryle “Having a form of godliness but denying its power.”–2 Timothy 3:5 “A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.” “No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the […]

Fire! Fire!-John Charles Ryle

Fire! Fire! – John Charles Ryle When a house is on fire, what ought to be done first? We ought to give the alarm and wake the inhabitants. This is true love to our neighbor. this is true charity. Reader, I love your soul, and want it to be saved. I am therefore going to […]

Faith’s Choice-John Charles Ryle

Faith’s Choice – John Charles Ryle HEBREWS XI. 24-26. By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than […]

Faith and Assurance-John Charles Ryle

Faith and Assurance – John Charles Ryle If you are a thoughtless, careless man about your soul, you will take no interest in the subject of this tract. Faith and assurance are mere names and words to you: they are neither land, nor money, nor horses, nor dress, nor meat, nor drink: like Gallio, you […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Preface-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Preface – John Charles Ryle IN sending forth the first volume of a new Expository work upon the Gospels, I feel it necessary, in order to prevent misapprehension, to offer some explanation of the charactor and design of the work. The “EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS,” which are now before the reader, are […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 9:27-37-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 9:27-37 – John Charles Ryle There are four lessons in this passage which deserve close attention. Let us mark them each in succession. Let us mark in the first place, that strong faith in Christ may sometimes be found where it might least have been expected. Who would have […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 9:14-26-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 9:14-26 – John Charles Ryle Let us mark, in this passage, the gracious name by which the Lord Jesus speaks of himself. He calls himself “the bridegroom” What the bridegroom is to the bride, the Lord Jesus is to the souls of all who believe in him. He loves […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 9:1-13-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 9:1-13 – John Charles Ryle Let us notice, in the first part of this passage, our Lord’s knowledge of men’s thoughts. There were certain of the scribes who found fault with the words which Jesus spoke to a man sick of the palsy: they said secretly among themselves, “This […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 8:28-34-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 8:28-34 – John Charles Ryle The subject of these seven verses is deep and mysterious. The casting out of a devil is here described with special fulness. It is one of those passages which throw strong light on a dark and difficult point. Let us settle it firmly in […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 8:16-27-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 8:16-27 – John Charles Ryle In the first part of these verses we see a striking example of our Lord’s wisdom in dealing with those who professed a willingness to be his disciples. The passage throws so much light on a subject frequently misunderstood in these days, that it […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 8:1-15-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 8:1-15 – John Charles Ryle The eighth chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel is full of our Lord’s miracles: no less than five are specially recorded. There is beautiful fitness in this. It was fitting that the greatest sermon ever preached should be immediately followed by mighty proofs that the […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 7:21-29-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 7:21-29 – John Charles Ryle The Lord Jesus Christ winds up the Sermon on the Mount by a passage of heart-piercing application. He turns from false prophets to false professors, from unsound teachers to unsound hearers. Here is a word for all. May we have grace to apply it […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 7:12-20-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 7:12-20 – John Charles Ryle In this part of the Sermon on the Mount our Lord begins to draw His discourse to a conclusion. The lessons He here enforces on our notice, are broad, general, and full of the deepest wisdom. He lays down a general principle for our […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 7:1-11-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 7:1-11 – John Charles Ryle The first portion of these verses is one of those passages of Scripture which we must be careful not to strain beyond its proper meaning. It is frequently abused and misapplied by the enemies of true religion. It is possible to press the words […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 6:9-15-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 6:9-15 – John Charles Ryle THESE verses are few in number, and soon read, but they are of immense importance. They contain that pattern of prayer with which the Lord Jesus has supplied His people, commonly called “The Lord’s Prayer. Prehaps no part of Scripture is so well known […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 6:25-34-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 6:25-34 – John Charles Ryle These verses are a striking example of the combined wisdom and compassion of our Lord Jesus Christ’s teaching. He knows the heart of a man: He knows that we are always ready to turn off warnings against worldliness, by the argument that we cannot […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 6:16-24-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 6:16-24 – John Charles Ryle THERE are three subjects brought before us in this part of our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount. These three are fasting, worldliness, and singleness of purpose in religion. Fasting, or occasional abstinence from food, in order to bring the body into subjection to the […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 6:1-8-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 6:1-8 – John Charles Ryle IN this part of the Sermon on the Mount the Lord Jesus gives us instruction on two subjects: one is that of giving alms; the other is that of prayer. Both were subjects to which Jews attached great importance: both in themselves deserve the […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 5:38-48-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 5:38-48 – John Charles Ryle WE have here our Lord Jesus Christ’s rules for our conduct towards on another. He that would know how he ought to feel and act towards his fellow-man, should often study these verses. They deserve to be written in letters of gold: they have […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 5:21-37-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 5:21-37 – John Charles Ryle THESE verses deserve the closest attention of all readers of the Bible. A right understanding of the doctrines they contain lies at the very root of Christianity. The Lord Jesus here explains more fully the meaning of His words, “I came not to destroy […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 5:13-20-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 5:13-20 – John Charles Ryle THESE verses teach us, in the first place, the character which true Christians must support and maintain in the world. The Lord Jesus tells us that true Christians are to be in the world like “salt.” “Ye are the salt of the earth.” Now […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 5:1-12-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 5:1-12 – John Charles Ryle THE three chapters which begin with these verses deserve the special attention of all readers of the Bible. They contain what is commenly called the “Sermon on the Mount.” Every word of the Lord Jesus ought to be most precious to professing Christians. It […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 28:11-20-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 28:11-20 – John Charles Ryle These verses form the conclusion of the Gospel of St. Matthew. They begin by showing us what absurdities blind prejudice will believe, rather than believe the truth; they go on to show us what weakness there is in the hearts of some disciples, and […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 28:1-10-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 28:1-10 – John Charles Ryle The principal subject of these verses is the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. It is one of those truths which lie at the very foundation of Christianity, and has therefore received special attention in the four Gospels. All four Evangelists […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 27:57-66-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 27:57-66 – John Charles Ryle These verses contain the history of our Lord Jesus Christ’s burial. There was yet one thing needful in order to make it certain that our Redeemer accomplished that great work of redemption which he undertook. That holy body, in which he bore our sins […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 27:45-56-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 27:45-56 – John Charles Ryle In these verses we read the conclusion of our Lord Jesus Christ’s passion. After six hours of agonizing suffering, he became obedient even unto death, and “yielded up the ghost.” Three points in the narrative demand a special notice: to them let us confine […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 27:27-44-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 27:27-44 – John Charles Ryle These verses describe the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ after his condemnation by Pilate, his sufferings in the hands of the brutal Roman soldiers, and his final sufferings on the cross. They form a marvelous record. They are marvelous when we remember the […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 27:11-26-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 27:11-26 – John Charles Ryle These verses describe our Lord’s appearance before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. That sight must have been wonderful to the angels of God. He who will one day judge the world allowed himself to be judged and condemned, though “he had done no violence, […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 27:1-10-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 27:1-10 – John Charles Ryle The opening of this chapter describes the delivery of our Lord Jesus Christ into the hands of the Gentiles. The chief priests and elders of the Jews led him away to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. We may see in this incident the finger […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 26:69-75-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 26:69-75 – John Charles Ryle These verses relate a remarkable and deeply instructive event: the apostle Peter’s denial of Christ. It is one of those events which indirectly prove the truth of the Bible. If the Gospel had been a mere invention of man, we should never have been […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 26:57-68-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 26:57-68 – John Charles Ryle We read, in these verses, how our Lord Jesus Christ was brought before Caiaphas, the high priest, and solemnly pronounced guilty. It was fitting that it should be so. The great day of atonement was come: the wondrous type of the scapegoat was about […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 26:47-56-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 26:47-56 – John Charles Ryle We see in these verses the cup of our Lord Jesus Christ’s sufferings beginning to be filled. We see him betrayed by one of his disciples, forsaken by the rest, and taken prisoner by his deadly enemies. Never surely was there sorrow like his […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 26:36-46-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 26:36-46 – John Charles Ryle The verses we have now read describe what is commonly called Christ’s agony at Gethsemane. It is a passage which undoubtedly contains deep and mysterious things. We ought to read it with reverence and wonder, for there is much in it which we cannot […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 26:26-35-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 26:26-35 – John Charles Ryle These verses describe the appointment of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Our Lord knew well the things that were before him, and graciously chose the last quiet evening that he could have before his crucifixion as an occasion for bestowing a parting gift […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 26:14-25-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 26:14-25 – John Charles Ryle We read, in the beginning of this passage, how our Lord Jesus Christ was betrayed into the hands of his deadly enemies. The priests and scribes, anxious to put him to death, were at a loss how to effect their purpose, for fear of […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 26:1-13-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 26:1-13 – John Charles Ryle We now approach the closing scene of our Lord Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry. Hitherto we have read of his sayings and doings: we are now about to read of his sufferings and death. Hitherto we have seen him as the Great Prophet; we are […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 25:31-46-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 25:31 – 46-John Charles Ryle In these verses our Lord Jesus Christ describes the judgment day, and some of its leading circumstances. There are few passages in the whole Bible more solemn and heart-seaching than this. May we read it with the deep and serious attention which it deserves. […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 25:14-30-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 25:14-30 – John Charles Ryle The parable of the talents which we have now read is near akin to that of the ten virgins. Both direct our minds to the same important event: the second advent of Jesus Christ. Both bring before us the same persons: the members of […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 25:1-13-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 25:1-13 – John Charles Ryle The chapter we have now begun is a continuation of our Lord’s prophetic discourse on the Mount of Olives. The time to which it refers is plain and unmistakable: from first to last, there is a continual reference to the second advent of Christ […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 24:36-51-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 24:36-51 – John Charles Ryle There are verses in this passage which are often much misapplied. “The coming of the Son of Man” is frequently spoken of as being the same thing as death; the texts which describe the uncertainty of his coming are used in epitaphs, and thought […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 24:29-35-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 24:29-35 – John Charles Ryle In this part of our Lord’s prophecy he describes his own second coming to judge the world. This, at all events, seems the natural meaning of the passage: to take any lower view appears to be a violent straining of Scripture language. If the […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 24:15-28-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 24:15-28 – John Charles Ryle One main subject of this part of our Lord’s prophecy is the taking of Jerusalem by the Romans. That great event took place about forty years after the words we have now read were spoken. A full account of it is to be found […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 24:1-14-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 24:1-14 – John Charles Ryle These verses begin a chapter full of prophecy: prophecy of which a large portion is unfulfilled; prophecy which ought to be deeply interesting to all true Christians. It is a subject to which, the Holy Ghost says, we “do well to take heed.” ( […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 23:34-39-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 23:34-39 – John Charles Ryle These verses form the conclusion of our Lord Jesus Christ’s address on the subject of the scribes and Pharisees. They are the last words which he ever spoke as a public teacher in the hearing of the people. The characteristic tenderness and compassion of […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 23:13-33-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 23:13-33 – John Charles Ryle We have in these verses the charges of our Lord against the Jewish teachers, ranged under eight heads. Standing in the midst of the temple, with a listening crowd around him, he publicly denounces the main errors of the scribes and the Pharisees, in […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 23:1-12-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 23:1-12 – John Charles Ryle We are now beginning a chapter which in one respect is the most remarkable in the four Gospels: it contains the last words which the Lord Jesus ever spoke within the walls of the temple. Those last words consist of a withering exposure of […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 22:23-33-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 22:23-33 – John Charles Ryle This passage describes a conversation between our Lord Jesus Christ and the Sadducees. These unhappy men, who said that there was “no resurrection” attempted, like the Pharisees and Herodians, to perplex our Lord with hard questions. Like them, they hoped “to entangle him in […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 22:15-22-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 22:15-22 – John Charles Ryle We see in this passage the first of a series of subtle attacks which were made on our Lord during the last days of his earthly ministry. His deadly foes, the Pharisees, saw the influence which he was obtaining, both by his miracles and […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 22:1-14-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 22:1-14 – John Charles Ryle The parable related in these verses is one of very wide signification. In its first application it unquestionably points to the Jews. But we may not confine it to them. It contains heart-searching lessons for all among whom the Gospel is preached: it is […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 21:33-46-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 21:33-46 – John Charles Ryle The parable contained in these verses was spoken with special reference to the Jews. They are the husbandmen here described: their sins are set before us here as in a picture. Of this there can be no doubt: it is written that “he spake […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 21:23-32-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 21:23-32 – John Charles Ryle These verses contain a conversation between our Lord Jesus Christ and the chief priests and elders of the people. Those bitter enemies of all righteousness saw the sensation which the public entry into Jerusalem, and the cleansing of the temple, had produced. At once […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 21:12-22-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 21:12-22 – John Charles Ryle We have in these verses an account of two remarkable events in our Lord’s history. In both, there was something eminently figurative and typical. Each was an emblem of spiritual things. Beneath the surface of each, lie lessons of solemn instruction. The first event […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 21:1-11-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 21:1-11 – John Charles Ryle These verses contain a very remarkable passage in our Lord Jesus Christ’s life. They describe his public entry into Jerusalem when he came there for the last time, before he was crucified. There is something peculiarly striking in this incident in our Lord’s history. […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 20:29-34-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 20:29-34 – John Charles Ryle In these verses we have a touching picture of an event in our Lord’s history. He heals two blind men sitting by the wayside, near Jericho. The circumstances of the event contain several deeply interesting lessons, which all professing Christians would do well to […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 20:24-28-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 20:24-28 – John Charles Ryle These verses are few in number, but they contain lessons of great importance to all professing Christians. Let us see what they are. In the first place we learn that there may be pride, jealousy and love of preeminence even among true disciples of […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 20:17-23-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 20:17-23 – John Charles Ryle The first thing that we should notice in these verses is the clear announcement which the Lord Jesus Christ makes of his own approaching death. For the third time we find him telling his disciples the astounding truth that he, their wonder-working Master, must […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 20:1-16-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 20:1-16 – John Charles Ryle There are undeniable difficulties in the parable contained in these verses. The key to the right explanation of them must be sought in the passage which concludes the last chapter. There we find the apostle Peter asking our Lord a remarkable question: “We have […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 19:23-30-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 19:23-30 – John Charles Ryle The first thing that we learn in these verses is the immense danger which riches bring on the souls of those who possess them. The Lord Jesus declares that “a rich man shall hardly enter the kingdom of heaven.” He goes even further. He […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 19:16-22-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 19:16-22 – John Charles Ryle These verses detail a conversation between our Lord Jesus Christ and a young man who came to him to inquire about the way to eternal life. Like every conversation recorded in the Gospels between our Lord and an individual, it deserves special attention. Salvation […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 19:1-15-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 19:1-15 – John Charles Ryle In these verses we have the mind of Christ declared on two subjects of great moment. One is the relation of husband and wife; the other is the light in which we should regard little children in the matter of their souls. It is […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 18:21-35-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 18:21-35 – John Charles Ryle In these verses the Lord Jesus deals with a deeply important subject, the forgiveness of injuries. We live in a wicked world, and it is vain to expect that we can escape ill-treatment, however carefully we may behave. To know how to conduct ourselves […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 18:15-20-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 18:15-20 – John Charles Ryle These words of the Lord Jesus contain an expression which has often been misapplied. The command to “hear the church” has been so interpreted as to contradict other passages of God’s Word. It has been falsely applied to the authority of the whole visible […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 18:1-14-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 18:1-14 – John Charles Ryle The first thing that we are taught in these verses is the necessity of conversion, and of conversion manifested by childlike humility. The disciples came to our Lord with the question, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” They spoke as men […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 17:22-27-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 17:22-27 – John Charles Ryle These verses contain a circumstance in our Lord’s history which is not recorded by any of the evangelists excepting St. Matthew. A remarkable miracle is worked in order to provide payment of the tribute money required for the service of the temple. There are […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 17:14-21-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 17:14-21 – John Charles Ryle We read in this passage another of our Lord’s great miracles. He heals a young man lunatic and possessed with a devil. The first thing we see in these verses is a lively emblem of the awful influence sometimes exercised by Satan over the […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 17:1-13-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 17:1-13 – John Charles Ryle These verses contain one of the most remarkable events in our Lord’s earthly ministry, the event commonly called the transfiguration. The order in which it is recorded is beautiful and instructive. The latter part of the last chapter showed us the cross; here we […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 16:24-28-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 16:24-28 – John Charles Ryle In order to see the connection of these verses we must remember the mistaken impressions of our Lord’s disciples as to the purpose of his coming into the world. Like Peter they could not bear the idea of the crucifixion. They thought that Jesus […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 16:21-23-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 16:21-23 – John Charles Ryle In the beginning of these verses we find our Lord revealing to his disciples a great and startling truth. That truth was his approaching death upon the cross. For the first time he places before their minds the astounding announcement that “He must go […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 16:13-20-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 16:13-20 – John Charles Ryle There are words in this passage which have led to painful differences and divisions among Christians. Men have striven and contended about their meaning till they have lost sight of all charity, and yet have failed to carry conviction to one another’s minds. Let […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 16:1-12-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 16:1-12 – John Charles Ryle In these verses we find our Lord assailed by the untiring enmity of the Pharisees and Sadducees. As a general rule these two sects were at enmity between themselves; in persecuting Christ, however, they made common cause. Truly it was an unholy alliance! Yet […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 15:29-39-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 15:29-39 – John Charles Ryle The beginning of this passage contains three points which deserve our special attention. For the present let us dwell exclusively on them. In the first place, let us remark how much more pains people take about the relief of their bodily diseases than about […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 15:21-28-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 15:21-28 – John Charles Ryle Another of our Lord’s miracles is recorded in these verses:the circumstances which attend it are peculiarly full of interest; let us take them in order, and see what they are. Every word in these narratives is rich in instruction. We see in the first […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 15:10-20-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 15:10-20 – John Charles Ryle There are two striking sayings of the Lord Jesus in this passage. One respects false doctrine: the other respects the human heart. Both of them deserve the closest attention. Respecting false doctrine, our Lord declares that it is a duty to oppose it, that […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 15:1-9-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 15:1-9 – John Charles Ryle We have in these verses a conversation between our Lord Jesus Christ and certain scribes and Pharisees. The subject of it may seem, at first sight, of little interest in modern days; but it is not so in reality. The principles of the Pharisees […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 14:22-36-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 14:22-36 – John Charles Ryle The history contained in these verses is one of singular interest. The miracle here recorded brings out in strong light the character both of Christ and his people. The power and mercy of the Lord Jesus, and the mixture of faith and unbelief in […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 13:51-58-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 13:51-58 – John Charles Ryle The first thing which we ought to notice in these verses is the striking question with which our Lord winds up the seven wonderful parables of this chapter: he said, “Have you understood all these things?” Personal application has been called the “soul” of […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 13:44-50-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 13:44-50 – John Charles Ryle The parables of the “treasure hidden in a field” and the “merchant man seeking goodly pearls,” appear intended to convey one the same lesson. They vary, no doubt, in one striking particular: the “treasure” was found of one who does not seem to have […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 13:24-43-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 13:24-43 – John Charles Ryle The parable of the wheat and tares, which occupies the chief part of these verses, is one of peculiar importance in the present day. It is eminently calculated to correct the extravagant expectations in which many Christians indulge as to the effect of missions […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 13:1-23-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 13:1-23 – John Charles Ryle The chapter which these verses begin is remarkable for the number of parables which it contains. Seven striking illustrations of spiritual truth are here drawn by the great head of the church from the book of nature. By so doing he shows us that […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 12:38-50-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 12:38-50 – John Charles Ryle The beginning of this passage is one of those places which strikingly illustrate the truth of Old Testament history. Our Lord speaks of the Queen of the South as a real, true person, who had lived and died. He refers to the story of […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 12:22-37-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 12:22-37 – John Charles Ryle This passage of Scripture contains “things hard to be understood.” The sin against the Holy Ghost in particular has never been fully explained by the most learned divines. It is not difficult to show from Scripture what the sin is not, is difficult to […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 12:14-21-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 12:14-21 – John Charles Ryle The first thing which demands our notice in this passage is the desperate wickedness of the human heart, which it exemplifies. Silenced and defeated by our Lord’s arguments, the Pharisees plunged deeper and deeper into sin. They “went out and held a council against […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 12:1-13-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 12:1-13 – John Charles Ryle The one great subject which stands out prominently in this passage of Scripture is the Sabbath day. It is a subject on which strange opinions prevailed among the Jews in our Lord’s time. The Pharisees had added to the teaching of Scripture about it, […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 11:25-30-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 11:25-30 – John Charles Ryle There are few passages in the four Gospels more important than this. There are few which contain in so short a compass so many precious truths. May God give us an eye to see, and a heart to feel their value! Let us learn […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 11:16-24-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 11:16-24 – John Charles Ryle These sayings of the Lord Jesus were called forth by the state of the Jewish nation when he was upon earth. But they speak loudly to us also, as well as to the Jews. They throw great light on some parts of the natural […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 11:1-15-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 11:1-15 – John Charles Ryle The first thing that demands our attention in this passage is the message which John the Baptist sends to our Lord Jesus Christ. He “sent two of his disciples and said unto him, “Art thou he that should come or do we look for […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 10:34-42-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 10:34-42 – John Charles Ryle In these verses the great head of the church winds up his first charge to those whom he sends forth to make known his Gospel. He declares three great truths, which form a fitting conclusion to the whole discourse. In the first place, he […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 10:24-33-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 10:24-33 – John Charles Ryle To do good to souls in this world is very hard. All who try it find this out by experience: it needs a large stock of courage, faith, patience and perseverance. Satan will fight vigorously to maintain his kingdom; human nature is desperately wicked: […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 10:16-23-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 10:16-23 – John Charles Ryle The truths contained in these verses should be pondered by all who try to do good in the world. To the selfish man who cares for nothing but his own ease or comfort, there may seem to be little in them. To the minister […]

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 10:1-15-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Matthew – Matthew 10:1-15 – John Charles Ryle This chapter is one of peculiar solemnity. Here is the record of the first ordination which ever took place in the Church of Christ. The Lord Jesus chooses and sends forth the twelve apostles. Here is an account of the first charge ever delivered […]

Expository Thoughts on Mark – Preface-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts on Mark – Preface – John Charles Ryle THE volume now in the reader’s hands, is a continuation of a work already commenced by “Expository Thoughts on St. Matthew”. The nature of the work has been so fully explained in the preface to the volume on St. Matthew, that it seems unnecessary to […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 9:38-50-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 9:38-50 – John Charles Ryle We see in these verses, the mind of Christ on the great subject of TOLERATION in religion. The apostle John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw a man using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he isn’t […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 9:30-37-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 9:30-37 – John Charles Ryle Let us mark, in these verses, our Lord’s renewed announcement of His own coming, death, and resurrection. “He taught His disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill Him; and after He […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 9:14-29-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 9:14-29 – John Charles Ryle The contrast between these verses and those which precede them in the chapter is very striking. We pass from the mount of transfiguration to a melancholy history of the work of the devil. We come down from the vision of glory, to a conflict […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 9:1-13-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 9:1-13 – John Charles Ryle The connection of this passage with the end of the last chapter ought never to be overlooked. Our Lord had been speaking of His own coming death and passion–of the necessity of self-denial, if men would be His disciples–of the need of losing our […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 8:34-38-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 8:34-38 – John Charles Ryle The words of our Lord Jesus Christ in this passage are peculiarly weighty and solemn. They were spoken to correct the mistaken views of His disciples, as to the nature of His kingdom. But they contain truths of the deepest importance to Christians in […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 8:27-33-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 8:27-33 – John Charles Ryle The circumstances here recorded are of great importance. They took place during a journey, and arose out of a conversation “by the way.” Happy are those journeys, in which time is not wasted on trifles, but redeemed as far as possible for the consideration […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 8:22-26-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 8:22-26 – John Charles Ryle We do not know the reason of the peculiar means employed by our Lord Jesus Christ, in working the miracle recorded in these verses. We see a blind man miraculously healed. We know that a word from our Lord’s mouth, or a touch of […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 8:14-21-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 8:14-21 – John Charles Ryle Let us notice the solemn warning which our Lord gives to His disciples at the beginning of this passage. He says, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the leaven of Herod.” We are not left to conjecture the meaning […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 8:1-13-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 8:1-13 – John Charles Ryle Once more we see our Lord feeding a great multitude with a few loaves and fish. He knew the heart of man. He saw the rise of cavilers and skeptics, who would question the reality of the wonderful works He performed. By repeating the […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 7:31-37-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 7:31-37 – John Charles Ryle The first thing that demands our notice in these verses, is the mighty miracle that is here recorded. We read that they brought unto our Lord “one that was deaf and had an impediment in his speech,” and besought Him that He would “put […]

Expository Thoughts on Mark – Mark 7:24-30-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts on Mark – Mark 7:24-30 – John Charles Ryle WE know nothing of the woman, who is here mentioned, beyond the facts that we here read. Her name, her former history, the way in which she was led to seek our Lord, though a Gentile, and dwelling in the borders of Tyre and […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 7:14-23-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 7:14-23 – John Charles Ryle We see in the beginning of this passage, how slow of understanding men are in spiritual things. “Hearken,” says our Lord to the people, “hearken unto me every one of you, and understand.” “Are you so without understanding?” He says to His disciples–“Do you […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 7:1-13-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 7:1-13 – John Charles Ryle This passage contains a humbling picture of what human nature is capable of doing in religion. It is one of those Scriptures which ought to be frequently and diligently studied by all who desire the prosperity of the Church of Christ. The first thing […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 6:7-13-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 6:7-13 – John Charles Ryle These verses describe the first sending forth of the apostles to preach. The great Head of the church made proof of His ministers, before He left them alone in the world. He taught them to try their own powers of teaching, and to find […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 6:47-56-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 6:47-56 – John Charles Ryle The event first recorded in these verses, is a beautiful emblem of the position of all believers, between the first and second advents of Jesus Christ. Like the disciples, we are now tossed to and fro by storms, and do not enjoy the visible […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 6:35-46-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 6:35-46 – John Charles Ryle Of all our Lord Jesus Christ’s miracles, none is so frequently described in the Gospels, as that which we have now read. Each of the four Evangelists was inspired to record it. It is evident that it demands a more than ordinary attention from […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 6:30-34-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 6:30-34 – John Charles Ryle Let us mark in this passage, the conduct of the apostles when they returned from their first mission as preachers. We read that they “gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told Him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught.” […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 6:14-29-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 6:14-29 – John Charles Ryle These verses describe the death of one of the most eminent saints of God. They relate the murder of John the Baptist. Of all the evangelists none tells this melancholy story so fully as Mark. Let us see what practical lessons the passage contains […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 6:1-6-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 6:1-6 – John Charles Ryle This passage shows us our Lord Jesus Christ in “his hometown,” at Nazareth. It is a melancholy illustration of the wickedness of man’s heart, and deserves special attention. We see, in the first place, how apt men are to undervalue things with which they […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 5:35-43-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 5:35-43 – John Charles Ryle A great miracle is recorded in these verses. A dead girl is restored to life. Mighty as the “King of terrors” is, there is One mightier than he. The keys of death are in our Lord Jesus Christ’s hands. He will one day “swallow […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 5:21-34-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 5:21-34 – John Charles Ryle The main subject of these verses is the miraculous healing of a sick woman. Great is our Lord’s experience in cases of disease! Great is his sympathy with His sick and ailing members! The gods of the heathen are generally represented as terrible and […]

Expository Thoughts on Mark – Mark 5:18-20-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts on Mark – Mark 5:18-20 – John Charles Ryle The after-conduct of those whom our Lord Jesus Christ healed and cured when upon the earth, is a thing which is not often releated in the Gospels. The story often describes the miraculous cure, and then leaves the after history of the person cured […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 5:1-17-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 5:1-17 – John Charles Ryle These verses describe one of those mysterious miracles which the Gospels frequently record–the casting out of a devil. Of all the cases of this kind in the New Testament, none is so fully described as this one. Of all the three evangelists who relate […]

Expository Thoughts on Mark – Mark 4:35-41-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts on Mark – Mark 4:35-41 – John Charles Ryle THESE verses describe a storm on the sea of Galilee, when our Lord and His disciples were crossing it, and a miracle performed by our Lord in calming the storm in moment. Few miracles recorded in the Gospel were so likely to strike the […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 4:30-34-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 4:30-34 – John Charles Ryle The parable of the mustard seed is one of those parables which partake of the character both of history and prophecy. It seems intended to illustrate the history of Christ’s visible church on earth, from the time of the first advent down to the […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 4:26-29-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 4:26-29 – John Charles Ryle The parable contained in these verses is short, and only recorded in Mark’s Gospel. But it is one that ought to be deeply interesting to all who have reason to hope that they are true Christians. It sets before us the history of the […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 4:21-25-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 4:21-25 – John Charles Ryle These verses seem intended to enforce the parable of the sower on the attention of those who heard it. They are remarkable for the succession of short, pithy, proverbial sayings which they contain. Such sayings are eminently calculated to arrest an ignorant hearer. They […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 4:1-20-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 4:1-20 – John Charles Ryle These verses contain the parable of the sower. Of all the parables spoken by our Lord, none is probably so well-known as this. There is none which is so easily understood by all, from the gracious familiarity of the figures which it contains. There […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 3:31-35-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 3:31-35 – John Charles Ryle In the verses which immediately precede this passage, we see our blessed Lord accused by the Scribes of being in league with the devil. They said, “He has Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casts he out devils.” In the verses we […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 3:22-30-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 3:22-30 – John Charles Ryle We all know how painful it is to have our conduct misunderstood and misrepresented, when we are doing right. It is a trial which our Lord Jesus Christ had to endure continually, all through His earthly ministry. We have an instance in the passage […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 3:13-21-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 3:13-21 – John Charles Ryle The beginning of this passage describes the appointment of the twelve apostles. It is an event in our Lord’s earthly ministry, which should always be read with deep interest. What a vast amount of benefit these few men have conferred on the world! The […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 3:1-12-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 3:1-12 – John Charles Ryle These verses show us our Lord again working a miracle. He heals a man in the synagogue, “who had a withered hand.” Always about His Father’s business–always doing good–doing it in the sight of enemies as well as of friends–such was the daily tenor […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 2:23-28-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 2:23-28 – John Charles Ryle These verses set before us a remarkable scene in our Lord Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry. We see our blessed Master and His disciples going “through the grainfields on the Sabbath day.” We are told that His disciples, “as they went, began to pluck heads […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 2:13-22-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 2:13-22 – John Charles Ryle The person who is called Levi, at the beginning of this passage, is the same person who is called Matthew in the first of the four Gospels. Let us not forget this. It is no less than an apostle and an evangelist, whose early […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 2:1-12-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 2:1-12 – John Charles Ryle This passage shows our Lord once more at Capernaum. Once more we find Him doing His accustomed work, preaching the word, and healing those that were sick. We see, in these verses, what great spiritual privileges some people enjoy, and yet make no use […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 1:9-20-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 1:9-20 – John Charles Ryle This passage is singularly full of matter. It is a striking instance of that brevity of style, which is the peculiar characteristic of Mark’s Gospel. The baptism of our Lord, His temptation in the wilderness, the commencement of his preaching, and the calling of […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 1:40-45-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 1:40-45 – John Charles Ryle We read in these verses how our Lord Jesus Christ healed a leper. Of all our Lord’s miracles of healing none were probably more marvelous than those performed on leprous people. Two cases only have been fully described in the Gospel history. Of these […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 1:35-39-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 1:35-39 – John Charles Ryle Every fact in our Lord’s life on earth, and every word which fell from His lips, ought to be deeply interesting to a true Christian. We see a fact and a saying in the passage we have just read, which deserve close attention. We […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 1:21-34-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 1:21-34 – John Charles Ryle These verses begin the long list of miracles which Mark’s Gospel contains. They tell us how our Lord cast out devils in Capernaum, and healed Peter’s wife’s mother of a fever. We learn, in the first place, from these verses, the uselessness of a […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 1:1-8-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 1:1-8 – John Charles Ryle The Gospel of Mark, which we now begin, is in some respects unlike the other three Gospels. It tells us nothing about the birth and early life of our Lord Jesus Christ. It contains comparatively few of His sayings and discourses. Of all the […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 16:9-14-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 16:9-14 – John Charles Ryle Let us mark, in these verses, what abundant proof we have that our Lord Jesus Christ really rose again from the dead. In this one passage Mark records no less than three distinct occasions on which He was seen after His resurrection. First, he […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 16:19-20-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 16:19-20 – John Charles These words form the conclusion of Mark’s Gospel. Short as the passage is, it is a singularly suitable conclusion to the history of our Lord Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry. It tells us where our Lord went, when He left this world, and ascended up on […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 16:15-18-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 16:15-18 – John Charles Ryle We ought to notice, firstly, in these verses, the parting commission which our Lord gives to His apostles. He is addressing them for the last time. He marks out their work until He comes again, in words of wide and deep significance, “Go into […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 16:1-8-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 16:1-8 – John Charles Ryle Let us observe, in this passage, the power of strong love to Christ. We have a forcible illustration of this it the conduct of Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, which Mark here records. He tells us that they had “bought sweet spices” to […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 15:39-47-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 15:39-47 – John Charles Ryle The death of our Lord Jesus Christ is the most important fact in Christianity. On it depend the hopes of all saved sinners both for time and eternity. We need not therefore to be surprised to find the reality of His death carefully placed […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 15:33-38-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 15:33-38 – John Charles Ryle We have in these verses the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. All deaths are solemn events. Nothing in the whole history of a man is so important as his end. But never was there a death of such solemn import as that which […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 15:16-32-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 15:16-32 – John Charles Ryle The passage we have now read, is one of those which show us the infinite love of Christ toward sinners. The sufferings described in it would fill our minds with mingled horror and compassion, if they had been inflicted on one who was only […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 15:1-15-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 15:1-15 – John Charles Ryle These verses begin the chapter in which Mark describes the slaying of “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” It is a part of the Gospel history which should always be read with peculiar reverence. We should call to […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 14:66-72-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 14:66-72 – John Charles Ryle A shipwreck is a melancholy sight, even when no lives are lost. It is sad to think of the destruction of property, and disappointment of hopes which generally attend it. It is painful to see the suffering and hardship, which the ship’s crew often […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 14:53-65-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 14:53-65 – John Charles Ryle Solomon tells us in the book of Ecclesiastes, that one evil he has seen under the sun, is when “folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place.” (Eccles. 10:6.) We can imagine no more complete illustration of his words […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 14:43-52-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 14:43-52 – John Charles Ryle Let us notice in these verses, how little our Lord’s enemies understood the nature of His kingdom. We read that Judas came to take Him “with a great multitude, with swords and clubs.” It was evidently expected that our Lord would be vigorously defended […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 14:32-42-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 14:32-42 – John Charles Ryle The history of our Lord’s agony in the garden of Gethsemane is a deep and mysterious passage of Scripture. It contains things which the wisest divines cannot fully explain. Yet it has upon its surface plain truths of most momentous importance. Let us mark, […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 14:26-31-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 14:26-31 – John Charles Ryle We see in these verses, how well our Lord foreknew the weakness and infirmity of His disciples. He tells them plainly what they were going to do. “All of you shall desert me.” He tells Peter in particular of the astounding sin which he […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 14:17-25-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 14:17-25 – John Charles Ryle These verses contain Mark’s account of the institution of the Lord’s Supper. The simplicity of the description deserves special observation. Well would it have been for the Church, if men had not departed from the simple statements of Scripture about this blessed sacrament! It […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 14:10-16-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 14:10-16 – John Charles Ryle In these verses, Mark tells us how our Lord was delivered into the hands of His enemies. It came to pass through the treachery of one of His own twelve disciples. The false apostle, Judas Iscariot, betrayed Him. We ought to mark, firstly, in […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 14:1-9-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 14:1-9 – John Charles Ryle This chapter begins that part of Mark’s Gospel, which describes our Lord’s sufferings and death. Hitherto we have chiefly seen our Savior as our prophet and teacher. We have now to see Him as our High Priest. Hitherto we have had to consider His […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 13:9-13-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 13:9-13 – John Charles Ryle In reading the prophecies of the Bible concerning Christ’s Church, we shall generally find judgment and mercy blended together. They are seldom all bitter without any sweet–seldom all darkness without any light. The Lord knows our weakness, and readiness to faint, and has taken […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 13:32-37-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 13:32-37 – John Charles Ryle These verses conclude Mark’s report of our Lord’s prophecy on the Mount of Olives. They ought to form a personal application of the whole discourse to our consciences. We learn from these verses, that the exact time of our Lord Jesus Christ’s second advent […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 13:24-31-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 13:24-31 – John Charles Ryle This part of our Lord’s prophecy on the Mount of Olives is entirely unfulfilled. The events described in it are all yet to take place. They may possibly take place in our own day. The passage therefore is one which we ought always to […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 13:14-23-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 13:14-23 – John Charles Ryle We are taught in these verses the lawfulness of using means to provide for our own personal safety. The language of our Lord Jesus Christ on the subject is clear and unmistakable–“Let those who be in Judea FLEE to the mountains–let him that is […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 13:1-8-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 13:1-8 – John Charles Ryle The chapter we have now begun is full of prophecy–prophecy of which part has been fulfilled, and part remains to be accomplished. Two great events form the subject of this prophecy. One is the destruction of Jerusalem, and the consequent end of the Jewish […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 12:35-44-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 12:35-44 – John Charles Ryle We have seen in the former part of this chapter, how the enemies of our Lord endeavored to “catch Him in His words.” We have seen how the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Scribes successively propounded to Him hard questions–questions we can hardly fail […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 12:28-34-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 12:28-34 – John Charles Ryle These verses contain a conversation between our Lord Jesus Christ and “one of the Scribes.” For the third time in one day we see our Lord tried by a hard question. Having put to silence the Pharisees and Sadducees, He is asked to decide […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 12:18-27-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 12:18-27 – John Charles Ryle These verses relate a conversation between our Lord Jesus Christ and the Sadducees. The religion of these men, we know, was little better than infidelity. They said there was “no resurrection.” They too, like the Pharisees, thought to entangle and perplex our Lord with […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 12:13-17-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 12:13-17 – John Charles Ryle Let us observe in the beginning of this passage, how men of different religious opinions can unite in opposing Christ. We read of “Pharisees and Herodians” coming together to “catch our Lord in His words,” and perplex Him with a hard question. The Pharisee […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 12:1-12-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 12:1-12 – John Charles Ryle The verses before us contain a historical parable. The history of the Jewish nation, from the day that Israel left Egypt down to the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, is here set before us as in a mirror. Under the figure of the […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 11:27-33-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 11:27-33 – John Charles Ryle Let us observe in these verses how much spiritual blindness may be in the hearts of those who hold high ecclesiastical office. We see “the chief priests and scribes and elders” coming to our Lord Jesus, and raising difficulties and objections in the way […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 11:22-26-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 11:22-26 – John Charles Ryle Let us learn from these words of our Lord Jesus Christ, the immense importance of faith. This is a lesson which our Lord teaches first by a proverbial saying. Faith shall enable a man to accomplish works, and overcome difficulties, as great and formidable […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 11:12-21-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 11:12-21 – John Charles Ryle We see in the beginning of this passage, one of the many proofs that our Lord Jesus Christ was really man. We read that “He was hungry.” He had a nature and bodily constitution, like our own in all things, sin only excepted. He […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 11:1-11-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 11:1-11 – John Charles Ryle The event described in these verses, is a singular exception in the history of our Lord’s earthly ministry. Generally speaking, we see Jesus withdrawing Himself from public notice–often passing His time in the remote parts of Galilee–not infrequently abiding in the wilderness–and so fulfilling […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 10:46-52-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 10:46-52 – John Charles Ryle We read in these verses an account of one of our Lord’s miracles. Let us see in it, as we read, a vivid emblem of spiritual things. We are not studying a history which concerns us personally no more than the exploits of Caesar […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 10:35-45-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 10:35-45 – John Charles Ryle Let us mark in this passage, the ignorance of our Lord’s disciples. We find James and John petitioning for the first places in the kingdom of glory. We find them confidently declaring their ability to drink of their Master’s cup and be baptized with […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 10:28-34-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 10:28-34 – John Charles Ryle The first thing which demands our attention in these verses, is the glorious promise which they contain. The Lord Jesus said to His apostles, “I tell you the truth, no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 10:17-27-John CHarles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 10:17-27 – John CHarles Ryle The story we have now read is recorded no less than three times in the New Testament. Matthew, Mark, and Luke were all inspired by one Spirit to write it for our learning. There is no doubt a wise purpose in this three-fold repetition […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 10:13-16-John CHarles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 10:13-16 – John CHarles Ryle The scene brought before us in these four verses is deeply interesting. We see young children brought to Christ, “that He should touch them,” and the disciples rebuking those that brought them. We are told that when Jesus saw this He was “much displeased,” […]

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 10:1-12-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Mark – Mark 10:1-12 – John Charles Ryle The opening verse of this passage shows us the patient perseverance of our Lord Jesus Christ as a teacher. We are told that “Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 9:7-11-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 9:7-11 – John Charles Ryle THE APOSTLES RETURN Let us mark, in this passage, the power of a bad conscience. We are told that “when Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by our Lord, he was perplexed.” He said, “John have I beheaded, but who is […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 9:57-62-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 9:57-62 – John Charles Ryle THE COST OF FOLLOWING JESUS The passage of Scripture we have just read is a very remarkable one. It contains three short sayings of peculiar solemnity, addressed by our Lord Jesus Christ to three different people. We know nothing of the names of those […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 9:51-56-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 9:51-56 – John Charles Ryle SAMARITAN OPPOSITION Let us notice in these verses, the steady determination with which our Lord Jesus Christ regarded His own crucifixion and death. We read that “when the time was come that He should be received up, He steadfastly set His face to go […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 9:46-50-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 9:46-50 – John Charles Ryle WHO WILL BE THE GREATEST The verses we have now read contain two most important warnings. They are directed against two of the commonest evils which are to be found in the Church of Christ. He who gave them knew well what was in […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 9:37-45-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 9:37-45 – John Charles Ryle THE HEALING OF A BOY WITH AN EVIL SPIRIT The event described in these verses took place immediately after the transfiguration. The Lord Jesus, we should remark, did not tarry long on the Mount of Olives. His communion with Moses and Elijah was very […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 9:28-36-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 9:28-36 – John Charles Ryle THE TRANSFIGURATION The event described in these verses, commonly called “the transfiguration,” is one of the most remarkable in the history of our Lord’s earthly ministry. It is one of those passages which we should always read with peculiar thankfulness. It lifts a corner […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 9:23-27-John Charles Ryleryl

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 9:23-27 – John Charles Ryleryl THE TEST OF DISCIPLESHIP These words of our Lord Jesus Christ contain three great lessons for all Christians. They apply to all ranks and classes without exception. They are intended for every age and time, and for every branch of the visible church. We […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 9:18-22-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 9:18-22 – John Charles Ryle PETER’S CONFESSION OF CHRIST Let us notice in this passage, the variety of opinions about our Lord Jesus Christ, which prevailed during His earthly ministry. We are told that some said that He was John the Baptist–some that He was Elijah–and some that one […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 9:12-17-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 9:12-17 – John Charles Ryle JESUS FEEDS THE FIVE THOUSAND The miracle described in these verses is more frequently related in the Gospels than any that our Lord wrought. There is no doubt a meaning in this repetition. It is intended to draw our special attention to the things […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 9:1-6-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 9:1-6 – John Charles Ryle JESUS SENDS OUT THE 12 APOSTLES These verses contain our Lord’s instructions to His twelve apostles, when He sent them forth the first time to preach the Gospel. The passage is one which throws much light on the work of Christian ministers in every […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 8:49-56-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 8:49-56 – John Charles Ryle JAIRUS’ DAUGHTER RAISED FROM THE DEAD The verses we have now read, contain one of the three great instances which the Holy Spirit has thought fit to record of our Lord restoring a dead person to life. The other two instances are those of […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 8:41-48-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 8:41-48 – John Charles Ryle A SICK WOMAN HEALED How much misery and trouble sin has brought into the world! The passage we have just read affords a melancholy proof of this. First we see a distressed father in bitter anxiety about a dying daughter. Then we see a […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 8:4-15-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 8:4-15 – John Charles Ryle THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER The parable of the sower, contained in these verses, is reported more frequently than any parable in the Bible. It is a parable of universal application. The things it relates are continually going on in every congregation to which […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 8:37-40-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 8:37-40 – John Charles Ryle We see in this passage two requests made to our Lord Jesus Christ. They were widely different one from the other, and were offered by people of widely different character. We see, moreover, how these requests were received by our Lord Jesus Christ. In […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 8:26-36-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 8:26-36 – John Charles Ryle THE DEMON POSSESSED MAN The well-known narrative which we have now read, is carefully recorded by all of the first three Gospel-writers. It is a striking instance of our Lord’s complete dominion over the prince of this world. We see the great enemy of […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 8:22-25-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 8:22-25 – John Charles Ryle JESUS CALMS THE STORM The event in our Lord’s life described in these verses is related three times in the Gospels. Matthew, Mark, and Luke were all inspired to record it. This circumstance should teach us the importance of the event, and should make […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 8:16-21-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 8:16-21 – John Charles Ryle A LAMP ON A STAND These verses form a practical application of the famous parable of the sower. They are intended to nail and clench in our minds the mighty lesson which that parable contains. They deserve the especial attention of all true-hearted hearers […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 8:1-3-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 8:1-3 – John Charles Ryle Let us mark, in these verses, our Lord Jesus Christ’s unwearied diligence in doing good. We read that “He went throughout every city and village, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.” We know the reception that He met with […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 7:36-50-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 7:36-50 – John Charles Ryle JESUS ANOINTED BY A SINFUL WOMAN The deeply interesting narrative contained in these verses, is only found in the Gospel of Luke. In order to see the full beauty of the story, we should read, in connection with it, the eleventh chapter of Matthew. […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 7:31-35-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 7:31-35 – John Charles Ryle JESUS EXPOSES THE UNREASONABLENESS OF UNBELIEF We learn, in the first place, from these verses, that the hearts of unconverted men are often desperately perverse as well as wicked. Our Lord brings out this lesson in a remarkable comparison, describing the generation of men […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 7:24-30-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 7:24-30 – John Charles Ryle JESUS’ TESTIMONY TO JOHN THE BAPTIST The first point that demands our notice in this passage, is the tender care which Jesus takes of the characters of His faithful servants. He defends the reputation of John the Baptist, as soon as his messengers were […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 7:18-23-John CHarles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 7:18-23 – John CHarles Ryle JESUS AND JOHN THE BAPTIST The message which John the Baptist sent to our Lord, in these verses, is peculiarly instructing, when we consider the circumstances under which it was sent. John the Baptist was now a prisoner in the hands of Herod. “He […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 7:11-17-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 7:11-17 – John Charles Ryle JESUS RAISES A WIDOW’S SON The wondrous event described in these verses, is only recorded in Luke’s Gospel. It is one of the three great instances of our Lord restoring a dead person to life, and, like the raising of Lazarus and the ruler’s […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 7:1-10-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 7:1-10 – John Charles Ryle THE FAITH OF THE CENTURION These verses describe the miraculous cure of a sick man. A centurion, or officer in the Roman army, applies to our Lord on behalf of his servant, and obtains what he requests. A greater miracle of healing than this, […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 6:6-11-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 6:6-11 – John Charles Ryle THE WITHERED HAND HEALED These verses contain another example of our Lord Jesus Christ’s mode of dealing with the Sabbath question. Once more we find Him coming into collision with the vain traditions of the Pharisees, about the observance of the fourth commandment. Once […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 6:46-49-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 6:46-49 – John Charles Ryle THE WISE AND THE FOOLISH BUILDERS It has been said, with much truth, that no sermon should conclude without some personal application to the consciences of those who hear it. The passage before us is an example of this rule, and a confirmation of […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 6:39-45-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 6:39-45 – John Charles Ryle A TREE AND ITS FRUIT We learn, in the first place, from these verses, the great danger of listening to false religious teachers. Our Lord compares such teachers and their hearers to the blind leading the blind, and asks the reasonable question, “Shall they […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 6:27-38-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 6:27-38 – John Charles Ryle LOVE FOR ENEMIES The teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, in these verses, is confined to one great subject. That subject is Christian love and charity. Charity, which is the grand characteristic of the Gospel–charity, which is the bond of perfectness–charity, without which a […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 6:20-26-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 6:20-26 – John Charles Ryle BLESSINGS AND WOES The discourse of our Lord, which we have now begun, resembles, in many respects, His well-known Sermon on the Mount. The resemblance, in fact, is so striking that many have concluded that Luke and Matthew are reporting one and the same […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 6:12-19-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 6:12-19 – John Charles Ryle CHOOSING OF THE 12 APOSTLES These verses describe the appointment of our Lord Jesus Christ’s twelve apostles. That appointment was the beginning of the Christian ministry. It was the first ordination, and an ordination conducted by the Great Head of the Church Himself. Since […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 6:1-5-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 6:1-5 – John Charles Ryle JESUS AND THE SABBATH We should notice, in this passage, what excessive importance hypocrites attach to trifles. We are told that, “One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples broke off heads of wheat, rubbed off the husks in their […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 5:33-39-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 5:33-39 – John Charles Ryle FASTING We should observe in these verses, that men may disagree on the lesser points of religion, while they agree on its weightier matters. We have this brought out in the alleged difference between the disciples of John the Baptist, and the disciples of […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 5:27-32-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 5:27-32 – John Charles Ryle THE CALLING OF MATTHEW The verses we have now read, ought to be deeply interesting to every one who knows the value of an immortal soul, and desires salvation. They describe the conversion and experience of one of Christ’s earliest disciples. We also, are […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 5:17-26-John Charles

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 5:17-26 – John Charles JESUS HEALS A PARALYTIC A threefold miracle demands our attention in these verses. At one and the same time, we see our Lord forgiving sins, reading men’s thoughts, and healing a paralytic. He that could do such things, and do them with such perfect ease […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 5:12-16-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 5:12-16 – John Charles Ryle JESUS HEALS A LEPER We see in this passage, our Lord Jesus Christ’s POWER over incurable diseases. “A man full of leprosy” applies to Him for relief, and is at once healed. This was a mighty miracle. Of all ills which can afflict the […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 5:1-11-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 5:1-11 – John Charles Ryle THE MIRACULOUS CATCH OF FISH We have, in these verses, the history of what is commonly called the miraculous catch of fish. It is a remarkable miracle on two accounts. For one thing, it shows us our Lord’s complete dominion over the animal creation. […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 4:33-44-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 4:33-44 – John Charles Ryle JESUS DRIVES OUT AN EVIL SPIRIT, AND HEALS MANY We should notice, in this passage, the clear religious knowledge possessed by the devil and his agents. Twice in these verses we have proof of this. “I know you who you are, the holy one […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 4:22-32-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 4:22-32 – John Charles Ryle Three great lessons stand out on the face of this passage. Each deserves the close attention of all who desire spiritual wisdom. We learn for one thing, how apt men are to despise the highest privileges, when they are familiar with them. We see […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 4:14-22-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 4:14-22 – John Charles Ryle JESUS IN THE SYNAGOGUE AT NAZARETH These verses relate events which are only recorded in the Gospel of Luke. They describe the first visit which our Lord paid, after entering on His public ministry, to the city of Nazareth, where He had been brought […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 4:1-13-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 4:1-13 – John Charles Ryle THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS The first event recorded in our Lord’s history, after His baptism, is His temptation by the devil. From a season of honor and glory he passed immediately to a season of conflict and suffering. First came the testimony of God […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 3:7-14-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 3:7-14 – John Charles Ryle We have, in these verses, a specimen of John the Baptist’s ministry. It is a portion of Scripture which should always be specially interesting to a Christian mind. The immense effect which John produced on the Jews, however temporary, is evident, from many expressions […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 3:21-38-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 3:21-38 – John Charles Ryle THE BAPTISM AND GENEALOGY OF JESUS We see in the passage before us, the high honor the Lord Jesus has put on baptism. We find that among others who came to John the Baptist, the Savior of the world came, and was “baptized.” An […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 3:15-20-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 3:15-20 – John Charles Ryle We learn, firstly, from these verses, that one effect of a faithful ministry is to set men thinking. We read concerning John the Baptist’s hearers, that “the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 3:1-6-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 3:1-6 – John Charles Ryle THE MINISTRY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST These verses describe the beginning of the Gospel of Christ. It began with the preaching of John the Baptist. The Jews could never say, that when Messiah came, He came without notice or preparation. He graciously sent a […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 2:8-20-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 2:8-20 – John Charles Ryle THE SHEPHERDS AND THE ANGELS We read, in these verses, how the birth of the Lord Jesus was first announced to the children of men. The birth of a king’s son is generally made an occasion of public reveling and rejoicing. The announcement of […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 2:41-52-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 2:41-52 – John Charles Ryle JESUS AND HIS PARENTS AT THE PASSOVER These verses should always be deeply interesting to a reader of the Bible. They record the only facts which we know about our Lord Jesus Christ during the first thirty years of His life on earth, after […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 2:36-40-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 2:36-40 – John Charles Ryle THE ADORATION OF ANNA The verses we have now read introduce us to a servant of God whose name is nowhere else mentioned in the New Testament. The history of Anna, like that of Simeon, is related only by Luke. The wisdom of God […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 2:25-35-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 2:25-35 – John Charles Ryle THE PROPHECY OF SIMEON We have in these verses the history of one whose name is nowhere else mentioned in the New Testament, “a just and devout man” named Simeon. We know nothing of his life before or after the time when Christ was […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 2:21-24-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 2:21-24 – John Charles Ryle JESUS PRESENTED IN THE TEMPLE The first point which demands our attention in this passage, is the obedience which our Lord rendered, as an infant, to the Jewish law. We read of His being circumcised on the eighth day. It is the earliest fact […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 2:1-7-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 2:1-7 – John Charles Ryle THE BIRTH OF JESUS We have, in these verses, the story of a birth–the birth of the incarnate Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Every birth of a living child is a marvelous event. It brings into being a soul that will never […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 24:50-53-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 24:50-53 – John Charles Ryle These verses are the winding up of Luke’s history of our Lord’s ministry. They form a suitable conclusion to a Gospel, which in touching tenderness and full exhibition of Christ’s grace, stands first among the four records of the things which Jesus did and […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 24:44-49-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 24:44-49 – John Charles Ryle Let us observe, firstly, in these verses, the gift which our Lord bestowed on His disciples immediately before He left the world. We read that He “opened their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures.” We must not misapprehend these words. We are not […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 24:36-43-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 24:36-43 – John Charles Ryle JESUS APPEARS TO THE DISCIPLES We should observe in this passage the singularly gracious words with which our Lord introduced Himself to His disciples after His resurrection. We read that He suddenly stood in the midst of them and said, “Peace be unto you.” […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 24:13-35-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 24:13-35 – John Charles Ryle The history contained in these verses is not found in any other Gospel but that of Luke. Of all the eleven appearances of Christ after His resurrection, none perhaps is so interesting as the one described in this passage. Let us mark, in these […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 24:1-12-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 24:1-12 – John Charles Ryle THE RESURRECTION The resurrection of Christ is one of the great foundation-stones of the Christian religion. In practical importance it is second only to the crucifixion. The chapter we have now begun directs our mind to the evidence of the resurrection. It contains unanswerable […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 23:50-56-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 23:50-56 – John Charles Ryle JESUS’ BURIAL We see from these verses that Christ has some disciples of whom little is known. We are told of one Joseph, “a good man and a just”–a man who “had not consented to the counsel” of those who condemned our Lord–a man […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 23:44-49-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 23:44-49 – John Charles Ryle JESUS’ DEATH Let us observe in these verses, the miraculous SIGNS which accompanied our Lord’s death on the cross. We are told that there was “a darkness over all the earth” for three hours. The sun was darkened and the curtain of the temple […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 23:39-43-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 23:39-43 – John Charles Ryle THE DYING THIEF The verses we have now read deserve to be printed in letters of gold. They have probably been the salvation of myriads of souls. Multitudes will thank God to all eternity that the Bible contains this story of the penitent thief. […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 23:26-38-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 23:26-38 – John Charles Ryle THE CRUCIFIXION We ought to notice, in this passage, our Lord’s words of prophetical warning. We read that He said to the women who followed Him, as He was being led away to Calvary, “Daughters of Jerusalem, don’t weep for me, but weep for […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 23:13-25-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 23:13-25 – John Charles Ryle We should observe, for one thing, in this passage, what striking testimony was borne to our Lord Jesus Christ’s perfect innocence by His judges. We are told that Pilate said to the Jews, “You have brought this man unto me as one that subverts […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 23:1-12-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 23:1-12 – John Charles Ryle Let us observe, for one thing, in this passage, what false accusations were laid to our Lord Jesus Christ’s charge. We are told that the Jews accused Him of “subverting the nation, forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, and stirring up the people.” In […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 22:63-71-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 22:63-71 – John Charles Ryle We should notice, firstly, in these verses, the shameful treatment that our Lord Jesus Christ underwent at the hands of His enemies. We read that the men who held Him, “mocked” Him, “smote” Him, “blindfolded” Him, and “struck Him on the face.” It was […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 22:54-62-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 22:54-62 – John Charles Ryle PETER DISOWNS JESUS The verses we have now read describe the fall of the apostle Peter. It is a passage which is deeply humbling to the pride of man, but singularly instructive to true Christians. The fall of Peter has been a beacon to […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 22:47-53-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 22:47-53 – John Charles Ryle JESUS ARRESTED We should learn, for one thing, from these verses, that the worst and most wicked acts may be done under a show of love to Christ. We read that when the traitor Judas brought the enemies of Christ to take Him, he […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 22:39-46-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 22:39-46 – John Charles Ryle JESUS PRAYS ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES The verses before us contain Luke’s account of our Lord’s agony in the garden. It is a passage of Scripture which we should always approach with peculiar reverence. The history which it records is one of the […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 22:31-38-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 22:31-38 – John Charles Ryle SIMON PETER We learn, from these verses, what a fearful enemy the devil is to believers. We read that “the Lord said, Simon, Simon, Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.” He was near Christ’s flock, though they […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 22:24-30-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 22:24-30 – John Charles Ryle WHO IS THE GREATEST? Let us observe, in this passage, how firmly pride and love of preeminence can stick to the hearts of Christian men. We are told that “There was a dispute among the disciples, as to which of them should be considered […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 22:14-23-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 22:14-23 – John Charles Ryle THE LAST SUPPER These verses contain Luke’s account of the institution of the Lord’s supper. It is a passage which every true Christian will always read with deep interest. How astonishing it seems that an ordinance, so beautifully simple at its first appointment, should […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 22:1-13-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 22:1-13 – John Charles Ryle THE LAST SUPPER The chapter which opens with these verses, begins Luke’s account of our Lord’s sufferings and death. No part of the Gospels is so important as this. The death of Christ was the life of the world. No part of our Lord’s […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 21:5-9-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 21:5-9 – John Charles Ryle SIGNS OF THE END OF THE AGE Let us notice in this passage, our Lord Jesus Christ’s words about the temple at Jerusalem. We read that some spoke of it, “how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts.” They praised it for its […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 21:34-38-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 21:34-38 – John Charles Ryle WATCH AND PRAY These verses form the practical conclusion of our Lord Jesus Christ’s great prophetical discourse. They supply a striking answer to those who condemn the study of unfulfilled prophecy as speculative and unprofitable. It would be difficult to find a passage more […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 21:25-33-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 21:25-33 – John Charles Ryle THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST The subject of this portion of our Lord’s great prophecy is His own second coming to judge the world. The strong expressions of the passage appear inapplicable to any event less important than this. To confine the words before […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 21:20-24-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 21:20-24 – John Charles Ryle THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM The subject of the verses before us is the taking of Jerusalem by the Romans. It was fit and right that this great event, which wound up the Old Testament dispensation, should be specially described by our Lord’s mouth. It […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 21:10-19-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 21:10-19 – John Charles Ryle We should notice, for one thing, in this passage, Christ’s prediction concerning the nations of the world. He says, “Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom–and great earthquakes shall be in diverse places, and famines and pestilences–and fearful sights, and great signs […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 21:1-4-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 21:1-4 – John Charles Ryle THE WIDOW’S OFFERING We learn, for one thing, from these verses, how keenly our Lord Jesus Christ observes the things that are done upon earth. We read that “He looked up and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And He […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 20:9-19-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 20:9-19 – John Charles Ryle THE PARABLE OF THE TENANTS The parable we have now read, is one of the very few which are recorded more than once by the Gospel writers. Matthew, Mark, and Luke, all give it at full length. This three-fold repetition is alone sufficient to […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 20:41-47-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 20:41-47 – John Charles Ryle WHOSE SON IS CHRIST Let us observe in this passage, what striking testimony to Christ’s divinity the book of Psalms contains. We read that after patiently replying to the attacks of His enemies, our Lord in turn propounds a question to them. He asks […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 20:27-40-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 20:27-40 – John Charles Ryle RESURRECTION AND MARRIAGE We see in these verses what an old thing unbelief is. We are told that “there came to our Lord certain of the Sadducees, who deny that there is any resurrection.” Even in the Jewish Church, the Church of Abraham, and […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 20:20-26-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 20:20-26 – John Charles Ryle PAYING TAXES TO CAESAR Let us mark, for one thing, in this passage, the cloak of goodness under which some of our Lord’s enemies approached Him. We read that they “sent forth spies, who pretended to be honest men.” We read further that they […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 20:1-8-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 20:1-8 – John Charles Ryle THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS QUESTIONED Let us notice, firstly, in this passage, the demand which the chief Priests and scribes made upon our Lord. “Tell us,” they said, “by what authority you do these things? and who gave you this authority?” The spirit which […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 1:67-80-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 1:67-80 – John Charles Ryle ZACHARIAH’S SONG Another hymn of praise demands our attention in these verses. We have read the thanksgiving of Mary, the mother of our Lord. Let us now read the thanksgiving of Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist. We have heard what praises the […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 1:57-66-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 1:57-66 – John Charles Ryle THE BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST We have in this passage the history of a birth, the birth of a burning and shining light in the Church, the forerunner of Christ Himself–John the Baptist. The language in which the Holy Spirit describes the event […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 1:5-12-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 1:5-12 – John Charles Ryle THE BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST FORETOLD The first event recorded in Luke’s Gospel, is the sudden appearance of an angel to a Jewish priest, named Zachariah. The angel announces to him that a son is about to be born to him, by a […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 1:46-56-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 1:46-56 – John Charles Ryle MARY’S SONG These verses contain the Virgin Mary’s famous hymn of praise, in the prospect of becoming the “mother of our Lord.” Next to the Lord’s Prayer, perhaps, few passages of Scripture are better known than this. Wherever the Church of England Prayer-book is […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 1:39-45-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 1:39-45 – John Charles Ryle MARY VISITS ELIZABETH We should observe in this passage, the benefit of fellowship and communion between believers. We read of a visit paid by the Virgin Mary to her cousin Elizabeth. We are told in a striking manner how the hearts of both these […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 1:34-38-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 1:34-38 – John Charles Ryle Let us mark, in these verses, the reverent and discreet manner in which the angel Gabriel speaks of the great mystery of Christ’s incarnation. In reply to the question of the Virgin “How shall this be?” he uses these remarkable words–“The Holy Spirit shall […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 1:26-33-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 1:26-33 – John Charles Ryle THE BIRTH OF JESUS FORETOLD We have, in these verses, the announcement of the most marvelous event that ever happened in this world–the incarnation and birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a passage which we should always read with mingled wonder, love […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 1:18-25-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 1:18-25 – John Charles Ryle We see in this passage, the power of unbelief in a good man. Righteous and holy as Zachariah was, the announcement of the angel appears to him incredible. He cannot think it possible that an old man like himself should have a son. “How […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 1:13-17-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 1:13-17 – John Charles Ryle We have, in these verses, the words of the angel who appeared to Zachariah. They are words full of deep spiritual instruction. We learn here, for one thing, that prayers are not necessarily rejected because the answer is long delayed. Zachariah, no doubt, had […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 1:1-4-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 1:1-4 – John Charles Ryle The, Gospel of St. Luke, which we now begin, contains many precious things which are not recorded in the other three Gospels. Such, for instance, are the histories of Zacharias and Elizabeth,-the angel’s announcement to the Virgin Mary,-and, to speak generally, the whole contents […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 19:41-48-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 19:41-48 – John Charles Ryle JESUS WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM We learn, firstly, from these verses, how great is the tenderness and compassion of Christ towards sinners. We are told that when He came near Jerusalem for the last time, “He beheld the city and wept over it.” He knew […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 19:28-40-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 19:28-40 – John Charles Ryle Let us mark, for one thing, in these verses, the perfect knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. We see Him sending two of His disciples to a village, and telling them that they would find at the entrance of it, “a colt tied, whereon […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 19:11-27-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 19:11-27 – John Charles Ryle PARABLE OF THE TEN MINAS The occasion of our Lord speaking the parable before us, is clear and plain. It was intended to correct the false expectations of the disciples on the subject of Christ’s kingdom. It was a prophetical sketch of things present […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 19:1-10-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 19:1-10 – John Charles Ryle THE CONVERSION OF ZACCHAEUS These verses describe the conversion of a soul. Like the stories of Nicodemus, and the Samaritan woman, the story of Zacchaeus should be frequently studied by Christians. The Lord Jesus never changes. What He did for the man before us, […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 18:9-14-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 18:9-14 – John Charles Ryle PARABLE OF THE PHARISEE AND THE TAX COLLECTOR The parable we have now read is closely connected with the one which immediately precedes it. The parable of the persevering widow teaches the value of importunity in prayer. The parable of the Pharisee and tax-collector […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 18:35-43-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 18:35-43 – John Charles Ryle THE BLIND BEGGAR The miracle described in these verses is rich in instruction. It was one of the great works which witnessed that Christ was sent of the Father. (John 5:36.) But this is not all. It contains also some lively patterns of spiritual […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 18:28-34-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 18:28-34 – John Charles Ryle JESUS PREDICTS HIS DEATH Let us observe, firstly, in these verses, what a glorious and satisfying promise our Lord holds out to all believers who make sacrifices for His sake. He says, “There is no man that has left house, or parents, or brethren, […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 18:18-27-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 18:18-27 – John Charles Ryle THE RICH RULER The story we have now read is three times reported in the Gospels. Matthew, Mark and Luke were all moved by the Holy Spirit to record the history of the rich man who came to Christ. This fact should be noticed. […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 18:15-17-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 18:15-17 – John Charles Ryle JESUS AND LITTLE CHILDREN Let us observe, for one thing, in this passage, how ignorantly people are apt to treat children, in the matter of their souls. We read that there were some who “brought their little children to Jesus so he could touch […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 18:1-8-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 18:1-8 – John Charles Ryle THE PARABLE OF THE PERSISTENT WIDOW The object of the parable before us, is explained by Christ Himself. To use the words of an old divine, “The key hangs at the door.” “He spoke a parable to this end; that men ought always to […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 17:5-10-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 17:5-10 – John Charles Ryle UNWORTHY SERVANTS Let us notice, in these verses, the important request which the apostles made. They said unto the Lord, “Increase our faith.” We know not the secret feelings from which this request sprung. Perhaps the hearts of the apostles failed within them, as […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 17:26-37-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 17:26-37 – John Charles Ryle The subject of these verses is one of peculiar solemnity. It is the second advent of our Lord Jesus Christ. That great event, and the things immediately connected with it, are here described by our Lord’s own lips. We should observe, for one thing, […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 17:20-25-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 17:20-25 – John Charles Ryle THE KINGDOM OF GOD We are taught, firstly, in this passage that the kingdom of God is utterly unlike the kingdoms of this world. The Lord Jesus tells the Pharisees that “it comes not with observation.” He meant by this that its approach and […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 17:11-19-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 17:11-19 – John Charles Ryle TEN HEALED OF LEPROSY Let us mark, firstly, in this passage, how earnestly men can cry for help when they feel their need of it. We read that “as our Lord entered into a certain village there met him ten men that were lepers.” […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 17:1-4-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 17:1-4 – John Charles Ryle STUMBLING BLOCKS We are taught for one thing in these verses, the great sinfulness of putting stumbling-blocks in the way of other men’s souls. The Lord Jesus says, “Woe unto him through whom offences come! It were better for him that a mill-stone were […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 16:19-31-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 16:19-31 – John Charles Ryle THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS The parable we have now read, in one respect stands alone in the Bible. It is the only passage of Scripture which describes the feelings of the unconverted after death. For this reason, as well as for many others, […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 16:13-18-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 16:13-18 – John Charles Ryle SERVING TWO MASTERS These verses teach us, firstly, the uselessness of attempting to serve God with a divided heart. Our Lord Jesus Christ says, “No servant can serve two masters–for either he will hate the one and love the other–or else he will hold […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 16:1-12-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 16:1-12 – John Charles Ryle THE PARABLE OF THE SHREWD MANAGER The passage we have now read is a difficult one. There are knots in it which perhaps will never be untied, until the Lord comes again. We might reasonably expect that a book written by inspiration, as the […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 15:25-32-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 15:25-32 – John Charles Ryle These verses form the conclusion of the parable of the prodigal son. They are far less well known than the verses which go before them. But they were spoken by the same lips which described the younger son’s return to his father’s house. Like […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 15:11-24-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 15:11-24 – John Charles Ryle PARABLE OF THE LOST SON The parable before us is commonly known as the parable of “the prodigal son.” It may be truly called a mighty spiritual picture. Unlike some of our Lord’s parables, it does not convey to us one great lesson only, […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 15:1-10-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 15:1-10 – John Charles Ryle THE PARABLES OF THE LOST SHEEP, AND THE LOST COIN The chapter which begins with these verses is well known to Bible readers if any is in the Scriptures. Few chapters perhaps have done more good to the souls of men. Let us take […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 14:7-14-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 14:7-14 – John Charles Ryle PLACES OF HONOR Let us learn from these verses the value of humility. This is a lesson which our Lord teaches in two ways. Firstly, He advises those who are bidden to a wedding to “sit down in the lowest place.” Secondly, He backs […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 14:25-35-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 14:25-35 – John Charles Ryle THE COST OF BEING A DISCIPLE We learn, firstly, from this passage, that true Christians must be ready, if need be, to give up everything for Christ’s sake. This is a lesson which is taught in very remarkable language. Our Lord says, “If any […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 14:15-24-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 14:15-24 – John Charles Ryle PARABLE OF THE GREAT BANQUET The verses before us contain one of our Lord’s most instructive parables. It was spoken in consequence of a remark made by one who was sitting at table with Him in a Pharisee’s house. “Blessed,” said this man, “is […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 14:1-6-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 14:1-6 – John Charles Ryle JESUS AT A PHARISEE’S HOUSE Let us mark in this passage, how our Lord Jesus Christ accepted the hospitality of those who were not His disciples. We read that “He went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread.” We […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 13:6-9-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 13:6-9 – John Charles Ryle THE BARREN FIG TREE The parable we have now read is peculiarly humbling and heart-searching. The Christian who can hear it and not feel sorrow and shame as he looks at the state of Christendom, must be in a very unhealthy state of soul. […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 13:31-35-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 13:31-35 – John Charles Ryle JESUS’ SORROW OVER JERUSALEM Let us learn from these verses, how entirely our times are in God’s hands. Our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us this lesson by His reply to those who bade Him depart, because Herod would kill Him. He said, “I cast […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 13:22-30-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 13:22-30 – John Charles Ryle THE NARROW DOOR We see in these verses a remarkable question asked. We are told that a certain man said to our Lord, “Are there few that be saved?” We do not know who this enquirer was. He may have been a self-righteous Jew, […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 13:18-21-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 13:18-21 – John Charles Ryle PARABLES OF THE MUSTARD SEED, AND THE YEAST There is a peculiar interest belonging to the two parables contained in these verses. We find them twice delivered by our Lord, and at two distinct periods in His ministry. This fact alone should make us […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 13:10-17-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 13:10-17 – John Charles Ryle A CRIPPLED WOMAN HEALED We see in these verses a striking example of diligence in the use of means of grace. We are told of a “woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could not straiten up.” […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 13:1-5-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 13:1-5 – John Charles Ryle REPENT OR PERISH The murder of the Galileans, mentioned in the first verse of this passage, is an event of which we know nothing certain. The motives of those who told our Lord of the event, we are left to conjecture. At any rate, […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 12:8-12-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 12:8-12 – John Charles Ryle We are taught, firstly, in these verses, that we must confess Christ upon earth, if we expect Him to own us as His saved people at the last day. We must not be ashamed to let all men see that we believe in Christ, […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 12:54-59-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 12:54-59 – John Charles Ryle The first thing which this passage teaches us is the duty of noticing the signs of the times. The Jews in our Lord’s days neglected this duty. They shut their eyes against events occurring in their own day of the most significant character. They […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 12:49-53-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 12:49-53 – John Charles Ryle NOT PEACE BUT DIVISION The sayings of the Lord Jesus in these five verses are particularly weighty and suggestive. They unfold truths which every true Christian would do well to mark and digest. They explain things in the Church, and in the world, which […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 12:41-48-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 12:41-48 – John Charles Ryle We learn from these verses, the importance of doing, in our Christianity. Our Lord is speaking of His own second coming. He is comparing His disciples to servants waiting for their master’s return, who have each their own work to do during His absence. […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 12:32-40-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 12:32-40 – John Charles Ryle WATCHFULNESS Let us mark what a gracious word of consolation this passage contains for all true believers. The Lord Jesus knew well the hearts of His disciples. He knew how ready they were to be filled with fears of every description–fears because of the […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 12:22-31-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 12:22-31 – John Charles Ryle WARNINGS ABOUT WORRY We have in these verses a collection of striking arguments against over-anxiety about the things of this world. At first sight they may seem to some minds simple and common place. But the more they are pondered, the more weighty will […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 12:13-21-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 12:13-21 – John Charles Ryle PARABLE OF THE RICH FOOL The passage we have read now affords a singular instance of man’s readiness to bring the things of this world into the midst of his religion. We are told that a certain hearer of our Lord asked Him to […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 12:1-7-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 12:1-7 – John Charles Ryle WARNINGS AND ENCOURAGEMENTS The words which begin this chapter are very striking when we consider its contents. We are told that “a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another.” And what does our Lord do? In the […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 11:5-13-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 11:5-13 – John Charles Ryle PARABLE OF THE IMPORTUNATE FRIEND In these verses our Lord Jesus Christ instructs us about prayer. The subject is one which can never be too strongly pressed on our attention. Prayer lies at the very root of our practical Christianity. It is part of […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 11:45-54-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 11:45-54 – John Charles Ryle JESUS PRONOUNCES 3 WOES ON THE SCRIBES The passage before us is an example of our Lord Jesus Christ’s faithful dealing with the souls of men. We see Him without fear or favor rebuking the sins of the Jewish expounders of God’s law. That […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 11:37-44-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 11:37-44 – John Charles Ryle JESUS PRONOUNCES 3 WOES ON THE PHARISEES Let us notice in this passage, our Lord Jesus Christ’s readiness, when needful, to go into the company of the unconverted. We read that a certain Pharisee invited Jesus to eat with him. The man was evidently […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 11:33-36-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 11:33-36 – John Charles Ryle THE LAMP OF THE BODY We learn from these words of the Lord Jesus, the importance of making a good use of religious light and privileges. We are reminded of what men do when they light a candle. They do not “put it in […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 11:27-32-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 11:27-32 – John Charles Ryle THE SIGN OF JONAH A woman is brought before us in this passage of Scripture of whose name and history we know nothing. We read that, as our Lord spoke, “A certain woman of the company lifted up her voice and said unto him, […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 11:21-26-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 11:21-26 – John Charles Ryle The subject of these words of Christ is mysterious, but deeply important. They were spoken concerning Satan and his agency. They throw light on the power of Satan, and the nature of his operations. They deserve the close attention of all who would fight […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 11:14-20-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 11:14-20 – John Charles Ryle JESUS AND BEELZEBUB The connection between these verses and those which immediately precede them, is striking and instructive. In the preceding verses, our Lord Jesus Christ had been showing the power and importance of prayer. In the verses before us, he delivers a man […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 11:1-4-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 11:1-4 – John Charles Ryle JESUS’ TEACHING ON PRAYER These verses contain the prayer commonly called the Lord’s Prayer. Few passages of Scripture perhaps are so well known as this. The most benighted Roman Catholic can tell us that there is a prayer called “Pater Noster.” The most ignorant […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 10:8-16-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 10:8-16 – John Charles Ryle These verses comprise the second part of our Lord Jesus Christ’s charge to the seventy disciples. Its lessons, like those of the first part, have a special reference to ministers and teachers of the Gospel. But they contain truths which deserve the serious attention […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 10:38-42-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 10:38-42 – John Charles Ryle MARTHA AND MARY The little history which these verses contain, is only recorded in the Gospel of Luke. So long as the world stands, the story of Mary and Martha will furnish the Church with lessons of wisdom which ought never to be forgotten. […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 10:29-37-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 10:29-37 – John Charles Ryle These words contain the well-known parable of the good Samaritan. In order to understand the drift of this parable, we must carefully remember the occasion on which it was spoken. It was spoken in reply to the question of a certain lawyer, who asked, […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 10:25-28-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 10:25-28 – John Charles Ryle THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN We should notice in this passage, the solemn question which was addressed to our Lord Jesus Christ. We are told that a certain lawyer asked Him, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” The motive of this […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 10:21-24-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 10:21-24 – John Charles Ryle There are five remarkable points in these verses which deserve the attention of all who wish to be well-instructed Christians. Let us take each of the five in order. We should observe, in the first place, the one instance on record of our Lord […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 10:17-20-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 10:17-20 – John Charles Ryle We learn, from this passage, how ready Christians are to be puffed up with success. It is written, that the seventy returned from their first mission with joy, “saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through your name.” There was much false […]

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 10:1-7-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On Luke – Luke 10:1-7 – John Charles Ryle JESUS SENDS OUT THE SEVENTY-TWO The verses before us relate a circumstance which is not recorded by any Gospel writer except Luke. That circumstance is our Lord’s appointment of seventy disciples to go before Him, in addition to the twelve apostles. We do not […]

Expository Thoughts On John – Preface-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – Preface – John Charles Ryle I send forth the volume now in the reader’s hands, with much diffidence, and a very deep sense of responsibility. It is no light matter to publish an exposition of any book in the Bible. It is a peculiarly serious undertaking to attempt a Commentary […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 9:26-41-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 9:26-41 – John Charles Ryle Then they said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he cause you to see?” He answered, “I told you already and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You people don’t want to become his disciples […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 9:13-25-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 9:13-25 – John Charles Ryle The Pharisees’ Reaction to the Healing They brought the man who used to be blind to the Pharisees. (Now the day on which Jesus made the mud and caused him to see was a Sabbath.) So the Pharisees asked him again how he had […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 9:1-12-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 9:1-12 – John Charles Ryle Healing a Man Born Blind Now as Jesus was passing by, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who committed the sin that caused him to be born blind, this man or his parents?” Jesus answered, […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 8:48-59-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 8:48-59 – John Charles Ryle The Jewish people who had been listening to him replied, “Aren’t we correct in saying that you are a Samaritan and are possessed by a demon?” Jesus answered, “I am not possessed by a demon, but I honor my Father and yet you dishonor […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 8:37-47-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 8:37-47 – John Charles Ryle “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. But you want to kill me, because my teaching makes no progress among you. I am telling you the things I have seen while with my Father, but you are practicing the things you have heard from […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 8:31-36-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 8:31-36 – John Charles Ryle Abraham’s Children and the Devil’s Children Then Jesus said to those Jewish people who had believed him, “If you continue to follow my teaching, you are really my disciples and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” “We are […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 8:21-30-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 8:21-30 – John Charles Ryle Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and you will look for me but will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come.” So the Jewish leaders began to say, “Perhaps he is going to kill himself, because […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 8:12-20-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 8:12-20 – John Charles Ryle Jesus as the Light of the World Then Jesus spoke out again, “I am the light of the world. The one who follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” So the Pharisees objected, “You testify about yourself; […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 8:1-11-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 8:1-11 – John Charles Ryle A Woman Caught in Adultery But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came to the temple courts again. All the people came to him, and he sat down and began to teach them. The experts in the law […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 7:40-53-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 7:40-53 – John Charles Ryle Differing Opinions About Jesus When they heard these words, some of the crowd began to say, “This really is the Prophet!” Others said, “This is the Christ!” But still others said, “No, for the Christ doesn’t come from Galilee, does he? Don’t the scriptures […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 7:37-39-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 7:37-39 – John Charles Ryle Teaching about the Spirit On the last day of the feast, the greatest day, Jesus stood up and shouted out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. Just as the scripture says, ‘From […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 7:25-36-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 7:25-36 – John Charles Ryle Questions about Jesus’ Identity Then some of the residents of Jerusalem began to say, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? Yet here he is, speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to him. Do the rulers really know that this man […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 7:14-24-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 7:14-24 – John Charles Ryle Teaching in the Temple When the feast was half over, Jesus went up to the temple and began to teach. Then the Jewish authorities were astonished and said, “How does this man know so much when he has never had formal instruction?” So Jesus […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 7:1-13-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 7:1-13 – John Charles Ryle The Feast of Tabernacles After this Jesus traveled throughout Galilee. He stayed out of Judea because the Jewish authorities wanted to kill him. Now the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near. So Jesus’ brothers advised him, “Leave here and go to Judea so your […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 6:66-71-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 6:66-71 – John Charles Ryle Peter’s Confession After this many of his disciples quit following him and did not accompany him any longer. So Jesus said to the twelve, “You don’t want to go away too, do you?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom will we go? You […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 6:60-65-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 6:60-65 – John Charles Ryle Many Followers Depart Then many of his disciples, when they heard these things, said, “This is a difficult saying! Who can understand it?” When Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining about this, he said to them, “Does this cause you to be […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 6:52-59-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 6:52-59 – John Charles Ryle Then the Jews who were hostile to Jesus began to argue with one another, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 6:41-51-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 6:41-51 – John Charles Ryle Then the Jews who were hostile to Jesus began complaining about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven,” and they said, “Isn’t this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 6:35-40-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 6:35-40 – John Charles Ryle Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will never go hungry, and the one who believes in me will never be thirsty. But I told you that you have seen me and still do not […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 6:28-34-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 6:28-34 – John Charles Ryle So then they said to him, “What must we do to accomplish the deeds God requires?” Jesus replied, “This is the deed God requires–to believe in the one whom he sent.” So they said to him, “Then what miraculous sign will you perform, so […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 6:22-27-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 6:22-27 – John Charles Ryle Jesus’ Discourse About the Bread of Life The next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the lake realized that only one small boat had been there, and that Jesus had not boarded it with his disciples, but that his disciples […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 6:15-21-John Chales Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 6:15-21 – John Chales Ryle Walking on Water Then Jesus, because he knew they were going to come and seize him by force to make him king, withdrew again up the mountainside alone. Now when evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, got into a boat, and […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 6:1-14-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 6:1-14 – John Charles Ryle The Feeding of the Five Thousand After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (also called the Sea of Tiberias). A large crowd was following him because they were observing the miraculous signs he was performing on the […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 5:40-47-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 5:40-47 – John Charles Ryle “But you are not willing to come to me so that you may have life. I do not accept praise from people, but I know you, that you do not have the love of God within you. I have come in my Father’s name, […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 5:30-39-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 5:30-39 – John Charles Ryle I can do nothing on my own initiative. Just as I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will, but the will of the one who sent me. “If I testify about myself, my testimony is […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 5:24-29-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 5:24-29 – John Charles Ryle “I tell you the solemn truth, the one who hears my message and believes the one who sent me, has eternal life and will not be condemned, but has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the solemn truth, a time is […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 5:16-23-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 5:16-23 – John Charles Ryle Responding to Jewish Authorities Now because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish authorities began persecuting him. So Jesus told them, “My Father is working until now, and I too am working.” For this reason the Jewish authorities were trying even […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 5:1-15-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 5:1-15 – John Charles Ryle Healing a Paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda After this there was a Jewish feast, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool called Bethesda in Aramaic, which has five covered walkways. A great number […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 4:7-26-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 4:7-26 – John Charles Ryle Conversation With a Samaritan Woman But he had to pass through Samaria. Now he came to a Samaritan town called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, so Jesus, since he was tired […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 4:43-54-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 4:43-54 – John Charles Ryle Healing the Royal Official’s Son After the two days he departed from there to Galilee. (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him because they had seen […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 4:31-42-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 4:31-42 – John Charles Ryle Workers for the Harvest Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” So the disciples began to say to one another, “No one brought him anything to eat, […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 4:27-30-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 4:27-30 – John Charles Ryle The Disciples Return Now at that very moment his disciples came back. They were shocked because he was speaking with a woman; however, no one said, “What do you want?” or “Why are you speaking with her?” Then the woman left her water jar, […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 4:1-6-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 4:1-6 – John Charles Ryle Conversation With a Samaritan Woman Now when Jesus knew that the Pharisees had heard that he was winning and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself was not baptizing, but his disciples were), he left Judea and set out once more for Galilee. […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 3:9-21-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 3:9-21 – John Charles Ryle Nicodemus replied, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you don’t understand these things? I tell you the solemn truth, we speak about what we know and testify about what we have seen, but you people […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 3:22-36-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 3:22-36 – John Charles Ryle Further Testimony About Jesus by John the Baptist After this, Jesus and his disciples came into Judean territory, and there he spent time with them and was baptizing. John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 3:1-8-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 3:1-8 – John Charles Ryle Conversation with Nicodemus Now a certain man, a Pharisee named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council, came to Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 2:12-25-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 2:12-25 – John Charles Ryle Cleansing the Temple, Jesus at the Passover Feast After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there a few days. Now the Jewish feast of Passover was near, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem. […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 2:1-11-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 2:1-11 – John Charles Ryle Turning Water into Wine Now on the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and both Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 21:18-25-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 21:18-25 – John Charles Ryle “I tell you the solemn truth, when you were young, you tied your clothes around you and went wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will tie you up and bring you where you do […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 21:15-17-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 21:15-17 – John Charles Ryle Then when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these do?” He replied, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.” Jesus told him, “Feed my lambs.” Jesus said a second time, “Simon, […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 21:1-14-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 21:1-14 – John Charles Ryle After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias. Now this is how he did so. Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael (who was from Cana in Galilee), the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples of his were […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 20:24-31-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 20:24-31 – John Charles Ryle Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “Unless I see the wounds from the nails in his hands, and put my finger into […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 20:19-23-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 20:19-23 – John Charles Ryle On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the disciples had gathered together and locked the doors of the place for fear of the Jewish authorities. Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 20:11-18-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 20:11-18 – John Charles Ryle But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. As she wept, she bent down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting where Jesus’ body had been lying, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 20:1-10-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 20:1-10 – John Charles Ryle Now very early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been moved away from the entrance. So she went running to Simon Peter and the other disciple […]

Expository Thoughts On John – John 1:6-13-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – John 1:6-13 – John Charles Ryle St John, after beginning his Gospel with a statement of our Lord’s nature as God, proceeds to speak of his forerunner, John the Baptist. The contrast between the language used about the Saviour, and that used about His forerunner, ought not to be overlooked. […]

Expository Thoughts On John – John 1:19-28-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – John 1:19-28 – John Charles Ryle The verses we have now read begin the properly historical part of St John’s Gospel. Hitherto we have been reading deep and weighty statements about Christ’s divine nature, incarnation, and dignity. Now we come to the plain narrative of the days of Christ’s earthly […]

Expository Thoughts On John – John 1:15-18-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – John 1:15-18 – John Charles Ryle THE passage before us contains three great declarations about our Lord Jesus Christ. Each of the three is among the foundation principles of Christianity. We are taught, firstly, that it is Christ alone who supplies all the spiritual wants of all believers. It is […]

Expository Thoughts On John – John 1:14-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – John 1:14 – John Charles Ryle The passage of Scripture now before us is very short, if we measure it by words. But it is very long, if we measure it by the nature of its contents. The substance of it is so immensely important that we shall do well […]

Expository Thoughts On John – John 1:1-5-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – John 1:1-5 – John Charles Ryle The Gospel of St John, which begins with these verses, is in many respects very unlike the other three Gospels. It contains many things which they omit. It omits many things which they contain. Good reason might easily be shown for this unlikeness. But […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 19:38-42-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 19:38-42 – John Charles Ryle After this Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus (but secretly, because he feared the Jewish authorities), asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission, so he went and took the body away. Nicodemus, the man who had […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 19:28-37-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 19:28-37 – John Charles Ryle After this Jesus, realizing that by this time everything was completed, said (in order to fulfill the scripture), “I am thirsty!” A jar full of sour wine was there, so they put a sponge soaked in sour wine on a branch of hyssop and […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 19:17-27-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 19:17-27 – John Charles Ryle So they took Jesus, and carrying his own cross he went out to the place called “The Place of the Skull” (called in Aramaic Golgotha). There they crucified him along with two other men, one on each side, with Jesus in the middle. Pilate […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 19:1-16-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 19:1-16 – John Charles Ryle Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged severely. The soldiers braided a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they clothed him in a purple robe. They came up to him again and again and said, “Hail, king of the […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 18:28-40-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 18:28-40 – John Charles Ryle Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the Roman governor’s residence. (Now it was very early morning.) They did not go into the governor’s residence so they would not be ceremonially defiled, but could eat the Passover meal. So Pilate came outside to them […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 18:12-27-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 18:12-27 – John Charles Ryle Then the squad of soldiers with their commanding officer and the officers of the Jewish religious leaders arrested Jesus and tied him up. They brought him first to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. (Now it […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 18:1-11-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 18:1-11 – John Charles Ryle Betrayal and Arrest When he had said these things, Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley. There was an orchard there, and he and his disciples went into it. (Now Judas, the one who betrayed him, knew the place too, because […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 17:9-16

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 17:9-16 – John Charles Ryle “I am praying on behalf of them. I am not praying on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those you have given me, because they belong to you. Everything I have belongs to you, and everything you have belongs to me, and […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 17:17-26-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 17:17-26 – John Charles Ryle “Set them apart in the truth; your word is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I set myself apart on their behalf, so that they too may be truly set apart. “I am […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 17:1-8-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 17:1-8 – John Charles Ryle When Jesus had finished saying these things, he looked upward to heaven and said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, so that your Son may glorify you–just as you have given him authority over all humanity, so that he may give eternal […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 16:8-15-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 16:8-15 – John Charles Ryle “And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong concerning sin and righteousness and judgment–concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; and concerning judgment, because […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 16:25-33-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 16:25-33 – John Charles Ryle “I have told you these things in obscure figures of speech; a time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in obscure figures, but will tell you plainly about the Father. At that time you will ask in my name, and […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 16:16-24-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 16:16-24 – John Charles Ryle “In a little while you will see me no longer; again after a little while, you will see me.” Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What is the meaning of what he is saying, ‘In a little while you will not […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 16:1-7-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 16:1-7 – John Charles Ryle “I have told you all these things so that you will not fall away. They will put you out of the synagogue, yet a time is coming when the one who kills you will think he is offering service to God. They will do […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 15:7-11-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 15:7-11 – John Charles Ryle “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you. My Father is honored by this, that you bear much fruit and show that you are my disciples. “Just as the Father […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 15:22-27-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 15:22-27 – John Charles Ryle “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. But they no longer have any excuse for their sin. The one who hates me hates my Father too. If I had not performed among them the miraculous […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 15:17-21-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 15:17-21 – John Charles Ryle “This I command you–to love one another.” “If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you do not belong to the world, but I […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 15:12-16-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 15:12-16 – John Charles Ryle My commandment is this–to love one another just as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this–that one lays down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 15:1-6-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 15:1-6 – John Charles Ryle The Vine and the Branches “I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. He takes away every branch that does not bear fruit in me. He prunes every branch that bears fruit so that it will bear more fruit. You are […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 14:4-11-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 14:4-11 – John Charles Ryle “And you know the way where I am going.” Thomas said, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus replied, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 14:27-31-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 14:27-31 – John Charles Ryle “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; I do not give it to you as the world does. Do not let your hearts be distressed or lacking in courage. You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away and […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 14:21-26-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 14:21-26 – John Charles Ryle The person who has my commandments and obeys them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal myself to him.” “Lord,” Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “what […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 14:18-20-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 14:18-20 – John Charles Ryle “I will not abandon you as orphans, I will come to you. In a little while the world will not see me any longer, but you will see me; because I live, you will live too. You will know at that time that I […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 14:12-17-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 14:12-17 – John Charles Ryle I tell you the solemn truth, the person who believes in me will perform the miraculous deeds that I am doing, and will perform greater deeds than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 14:1-3-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 14:1-3 – John Charles Ryle Jesus’ Parting Words to His Disciples “Do not let your hearts be distressed. You believe in God; believe also in me. There are many dwelling places in my Father’s house. Otherwise, I would have told you. I am going away to make ready a […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 13:6-15-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 13:6-15 – John Charles Ryle Then he came to Simon Peter. Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “You do not understand what I am doing now, but you will understand after these things.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 13:31-38-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 13:31-38 – John Charles Ryle When Judas had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him right away. Children, I am still […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 13:21-30-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 13:21-30 – John Charles Ryle When he had said these things, Jesus was greatly distressed in spirit, and testified, “I tell you the solemn truth, one of you will betray me.” The disciples began to look at one another, worried and perplexed to know which of them he was […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 13:16-20-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 13:16-20 – John Charles Ryle “I tell you the solemn truth, the slave is not greater than his master, nor is the one who is sent as a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you understand these things, you will be blessed if you do them. […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 13:1-5-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 13:1-5 – John Charles Ryle Washing the Disciples’ Feet Just before the Passover feast, Jesus knew that his time had come to depart from this world to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now loved them to the very end. The evening meal […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 12:44-50-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 12:44-50 – John Charles Ryle But Jesus shouted out, “The one who believes in me does not believe in me, but in the one who sent me, and the one who sees me sees the one who sent me. I have come as a light into the world, so […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 12:34-43-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 12:34-43 – John Charles Ryle Then the crowd responded, “We have heard from the law that the Christ will remain forever. How can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?” Jesus replied, “The light is with you for a little […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 12:27-33-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 12:27-33 – John Charles Ryle “Now my soul is greatly distressed. And what should I say? ‘Father, deliver me from this hour’? No, but for this very reason I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 12:20-26-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 12:20-26 – John Charles Ryle Now some Greeks were among those who had gone up to worship at the feast. So these approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and requested, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew, and they both went and […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 12:12-19-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 12:12-19 – John Charles Ryle The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him. They began to shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 12:1-11-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 12:1-11 – John Charles Ryle Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom he had raised from the dead. So they prepared a dinner for Jesus there. Martha was serving, and Lazarus was among those present at the table with him. Then Mary […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 11:7-16-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 11:7-16 – John Charles Ryle Then after this, he said to his disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples replied, “Rabbi, the Jewish authorities were just now trying to stone you to death! Are you going there again?” Jesus replied, “Are there not twelve hours in a […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 11:47-57-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 11:47-57 – John Charles Ryle Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called the council together and said, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many miraculous signs. If we allow him to go on in this way, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 11:38-46-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 11:38-46 – John Charles Ryle Lazarus Raised from the Dead Jesus, intensely moved again, came to the tomb. (Now it was a cave, and a stone was placed across it.) Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, replied, “Lord, by this time the body […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 11:30-37-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 11:30-37 – John Charles Ryle Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still in the place where Martha had come out to meet him. Then the Jewish people from Jerusalem who were with Mary in the house consoling her saw her get up quickly and go […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 11:17-29-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 11:17-29 – John Charles Ryle When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had been in the tomb four days already. (Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, so many of the Jewish people who lived in Jerusalem had come to Martha and Mary to console them over […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 11:1-6-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 11:1-6 – John Charles Ryle The Death of Lazarus Now a certain man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived. (Now it was Mary who anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and wiped his feet dry with her hair, […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 10:31-42-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 10:31-42 – John Charles Ryle The Jewish authorities picked up rocks again to stone him to death. Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good deeds from the Father. For which one of them are you going to stone me?” The Jewish authorities replied, “We are not […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 10:19-30-John Chares Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 10:19-30 – John Chares Ryle Another sharp division took place among the Jewish authorities because of these words. Many of them were saying, “He is possessed by a demon and has lost his mind. Why do you listen to him?” Others said, “These are not the words of someone […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 10:10-18-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 10:10-18 – John Charles Ryle “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand who is […]

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 10:1-9-John Charles Ryle

Expository Thoughts On John – JOHN 10:1-9 – John Charles Ryle Jesus as the Good Shepherd “I tell you the solemn truth, the one who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the door is the shepherd […]

Eternity!-John Charles Ryle

Eternity! – John Charles Ryle “What is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18) A subject stands out on the face of this text which is one of the most solemn and heart searching in the Bible. That subject is eternity. The subject is one of which the wisest man […]

Do you love Me?-John Charles Ryle

Do you love Me? – John Charles Ryle Do you love Me? “Do you love Me?” (John 21:16) A disposition to love somebody is one of the commonest feelings which God has implanted in human nature. Too often, unhappily, people set their affection on unworthy objects. I want this day to claim a place for […]

Do You Confess?-John Charles Ryle

Do You Confess? – John Charles Ryle “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John i. 9). The question which forms the title of this tract is at all times deeply important. Among the foundation-stones of saving religion few […]

Do You Believe?-John Charles Ryle

Do You Believe? – John Charles Ryle “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”-JOHN III. 16. Look at the well-known text which heads this page. Its words are probably familiar to your ears. You have very likely heard […]

Daniel Rowlands – Part 2-John Charles Ryle

Daniel Rowlands – Part 2 – John Charles Ryle IN taking a general survey of the ministry of Daniel Rowlands of Liangeitho, the principal thing that strikes one is the extraordinary power of his preaching There was evidently something very uncommon about his sermons. On this point we have the clear and distinct testimony of […]

Daniel Rowlands – Part 1-John Charles Ryle

Daniel Rowlands – Part 1 – John Charles Ryle One of the greatest spiritual champions of the last century whom I wish to introduce to my readers in this chapter, is one who is very little known. The man I mean is the Rev. Daniel Rowlands of Llangeitho in Cardiganshire. Thousands of my countrymen, I […]

Dangers of Young Men 2-John Charles Ryle

Dangers of Young Men 2 – John Charles Ryle II. DANGERS OF YOUNG MEN There are some special dangers that young men need to be warned against. (1) One danger to young men is PRIDE. I know well that all souls are in fearful peril. Old or young, it doesn’t matter; all have a race […]

Dangers of Young Men-John Charles Ryle

Dangers of Young Men – John Charles Ryle 2. There are some special dangers that young men need to be warned against. (1) One danger to young men is pride. I know well that all souls are in fearful peril. Old or young, it doesn’t matter; all have a race to run, a battle to […]

Counting the Cost-John Charles Ryle

Counting the Cost – John Charles Ryle “Which of you, intending to build a house, does not sit down first and count the cost?” Luke 14:28 The text which heads this page is one of great importance. Few are the people who are not often obliged to ask themselves, “What does it cost?” There is […]

Come!-John Charles Ryle

Come! – John Charles Ryle “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew xi. 28. The name of the tract before you is short but the subject which that name unfolds is deeply important. It is the first word of a text of Scripture which […]

Christ’s Greatest Trophy-John Charles Ryle

Christ’s Greatest Trophy – John Charles Ryle Christ’s Greatest Trophy One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are […]

Christian Zeal-John Charles Ryle

Christian Zeal – John Charles Ryle “It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good.” (Galatians 4:18) Zeal is a subject, like many others in religion, which is sadly misunderstood. Many would be ashamed to be thought zealous Christians. Many are ready to say of zealous people what Festus said of Paul: “You […]

Christian Leaders of the 18th Century – Practical Lessons-John Charles Ryle

Christian Leaders of the 18th Century – Practical Lessons – John Charles Ryle It only remains for me now to point out a few practical lessons. FOOTNOTE: The rest of this section is taken from the concluding chapter of Christian Leaders. They are lessons which are strongly impressed on my own mind. Thankful should I […]

Christ’s Compassion-John Charles Ryle

Christ’s Compassion – John Charles Ryle “Now as he drew near, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies […]

Christ is All-John Charles Ryle

Christ is All – John Charles Ryle CHRIST IS ALL “Christ is all” (Col. 3:11). The words of the text which heads this page are few, short and soon spoken; but they contain great things. Like those golden sayings, “To me to live is Christ,” “I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me,” […]

Christ Eternal-John Charles Ryle

Christ Eternal – John Charles Ryle “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was […]

Christ Crucified-John Charles Ryle

Christ Crucified – John Charles Ryle There is no doctrine in Christianity so important as the doctrine of Christ crucified. There is none which the devil tries so hard to destroy. There is none which it is so needful for our own peace to understand. By Christ crucified, I mean the doctrine that Christ suffered […]

Christ and the Two Thieves-John Charles Ryle

Christ and the Two Thieves – John Charles Ryle And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive […]

Child of God-John Charles Ryle

Child of God – John Charles Ryle “Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” (Romans 8:14) “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15) “The Spirit […]

Calvary-John Charles Ryle

Calvary – John Charles Ryle You probably know that Calvary was a place close to Jerusalem, where the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was crucified. We know nothing else about Calvary beside this. I call this tract “Calvary,” because I am going to speak to you about the sufferings and crucifixion of Christ. […]

Bishop John Hooper’s Letter of January 21, 1555-John Charles Ryle

Bishop John Hooper’s Letter of January 21, 1555 – John Charles Ryle A letter which Master Hooper did write out of prison to certain of his friends, three weeks before his cruel burning at Gloucester. The grace of God be with you. Amen. I did write unto you of late, and told you what extremity […]

Bible Reading – Part 2-John Charles Ryle

Bible Reading – Part 2 – John Charles Ryle (a) The world is full of difficulties about points of doctrine. The house of error lies close alongside the house of truth. The door of one is so like the door of the other that there is continual risk of mistakes. Does a man read or […]

Bible Reading – Part 1-John Charles Ryle

Bible Reading – Part 1 – John Charles Ryle “Study the Scriptures” (John 5:39). “How do you read it?” (Luke 10:26). Next to praying there is nothing so important in practical religion as Bible-reading. God has mercifully given us a book which is “able to make [us] wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” […]

Authentic Religion-John Charles Ryle

Authentic Religion – John Charles Ryle “Rejected silver” (Jeremiah 6:30) “Nothing but leaves” (Mark 11:13) “Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth” (1 John 3:18). “You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead” (Revelation 3:1) If we profess to have any religion at all, let […]

Assurance-John Charles Ryle

Assurance – John Charles Ryle I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall […]

Are You Ready?-John Charles Ryle

Are You Ready? – John Charles Ryle I ASK you a plain question at the beginning of a new year: Are you ready? It is a solemn thing to part company with the old year. It is a still more solemn thing to begin a new one. It is like entering a dark passage: we […]

Are You Looking?-John Charles Ryle

Are You Looking? – John Charles Ryle The question which heads this page may seem an odd one at first sight. To whom or to what does it apply? The words of St. Paul, below it, supply the key to its meaning. It is an inquiry concerning your soul and the Lord Jesus Christ. It […]

Are You Fighting?-John Charles Ryle

Are You Fighting? – John Charles Ryle Fight the good fight of faith 1 Timothy 6:12 It is a curious fact that there is no subject about which most people feel such deep interest as fighting. Young men and maidens, old men and little children, high and low, rich and poor, learned and unlearned, all […]

Are You Born Again?-John Charles Ryle

Are You Born Again? – John Charles Ryle Are you born again? This is one of life’s most important questions. Jesus Christ said, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). It is not enough to reply, “I belong to the church; I suppose I’m a Christian.” Thousands […]

Are You Asleep?-John Charles Ryle

Are You Asleep? – John Charles Ryle “Awake thou that sleepest.”-Eph. 5:14 I put before you now a simple question. Look through the pages of this paper and you will soon see why I ask it. “Are you asleep about your soul?” There are many who have the name of Christians, but not the character […]

Are We Sanctified?-John Charles Ryle

Are We Sanctified? – John Charles Ryle Sanctify them through Thy truth.–John 13: 17. This is the will of God, even your sanctification.  1 Thessalonians 4: 3. The question which heads this page is one which many, I fear, will dislike exceedingly. Some perhaps may even turn from it with scorn and disdain. The very […]

An Account of the Conversion of J.C. Ryle-John Charles Ryle

An Account of the Conversion of J.C. Ryle – John Charles Ryle John Charles Ryle: Evangelical Bishop; Peter Toon & Michael Smout; Reiner Publications, Swengel, PA USA; (1976); page 26 But two years before his conversion in 1837, a minor incident brought momentum to an inexorable process. Ryle was out shooting with his old Eton […]

Able to Save-John Charles Ryle

Able to Save – John Charles Ryle There is one subject in religion, about which you can never know too much. That subject is Jesus Christ the Lord. This is the mighty subject which the text that heads this page unfolds,–Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ’s intercession. I have heard of a book entitled “The Story […]

A Woman to Be Remembered-John Charles Ryle

A Woman to Be Remembered – John Charles Ryle A Woman to Be Remembered “Remember Lot’s wife.” (Luke 17:32). There are few warnings in Scripture more solemn than that which heads this page. The Lord Jesus Christ says to us, “Remember Lot’s wife.” Lot’s wife was a professor of religion; her husband was a “righteous […]

A Praying Saviour-John Charles Ryle

A Praying Saviour – John Charles Ryle “Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, he went out and departed to a solitary place; and there he prayed. Simon and those who were with him searched for him. When they found him, they said, to him, ‘Everyone is looking for you.’ But […]

A look at Communion-John Charles Ryle

A look at Communion – John Charles Ryle “A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup” (1 Corinthians 11:28) The words which form the tittle of this paper refer to the subject of vast importance. That subject is the Lord’s Supper. Perhaps no part of the […]

A Difficult Passage-John Charles Ryle

A Difficult Passage – John Charles Ryle “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For […]

A Conversation with Nicodemus-John Charles Ryle

A Conversation with Nicodemus – John Charles Ryle “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to […]

A Call to Prayer-John Charles Ryle

A Call to Prayer – John Charles Ryle The question is one that none but you can answer. Whether you attend public worship or not, your minister knows. Whether you have family prayers in your house or not, your relations know. But whether you pray in private or not, is a matter between yourself and […]

A Blind Man Cured-R.C.Ryle

A Blind Man Cured – R.C.Ryle “And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought a blind man to him and entreated him to touch him. And taking the blind man by the hand, he brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying his hands upon him, he asked him, […]