GOD'S THOUGHT OF A CITY AS SEEN IN JERUSALEM (2)
GOD’S THOUGHT OF A CITY AS SEEN IN JERUSALEM (2)
JT The theme of Jerusalem is still in mind in this section of Luke. As we had it already today, we are not concerned so much about the general idea of a city or the general idea of Jerusalem, but the view of Jerusalem in the Scriptures which reaches its culmination in the book of Revelation; we are considering the thought of Jerusalem as it is carried through into eternal conditions. There it is called new Jerusalem. This chapter has all that in mind, and the breaking of bread enters into it; also the matter of some of them going away from the city and the Lord following them up and directing them back. They come back, showing that the city was in their minds. We can see in our hymns already sung today how it is in the mind of the Spirit of God in the service of God. No other city has had such a place as Jerusalem. We have already been speaking of “Jerusalem above”, and singing that ‘Jerusalem’s in view’; so that it is clearly a thought of the Spirit of God in relation to the service of God, and the brethren are using it to that end. The point now would be to confirm us more fully as to it; and then ultimately, if the Lord spare us, we shall have further thoughts as to it in the book of Revelation where it is viewed as a city coming down from God out of heaven. It is indigenous to heaven, it is not an earthly thought at all, it is a heavenly thought, which is remarkable. But the name is so frequently used in the world, very much especially in recent times, that among us it should be reserved for the greatest heavenly thoughts, and that we have to do with these heavenly thoughts, we belong to them. Indeed we belong to Jerusalem too in that [p. 133] sense. She will come down from God out of heaven. I think if we are able to fix our minds on this line of the truth it will greatly help us and tend to detach us from this world; because that is the end in the mind of the Lord at the present time, that the ministry should detach us from this world and attach us to heaven. One of the most difficult things to understand is the idea of heaven and where it is, and how it can be said by Paul that he ascended to the third heaven. These are mysterious things but they belong to christianity; and we ourselves are mysterious, or ought to be. The assembly is a mystery: the very word ‘mystery’ is used as covering the idea of the assembly.
SMcC There has been some allusion to the word, “Let every soul be subject to the authorities that are above him” (Romans 13:1). Is it in your mind that the assembly enters into that?
JT Will you read the section in question?
SMcC “Let every soul be subject to the authorities that are above him. For there is no authority except from God; and those that exist are set up by God. So that he that sets himself in opposition to the authority resists the ordinance of God; and they who thus resist shall bring sentence of guilt on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to a good work, but to an evil one. Dost thou desire then not to be afraid of the authority? practise what is good, and thou shalt have praise from it; for it is God’s minister to thee for good” (Romans 13:1 - 4).
JT The question in mind is as to the authorities, and Romans 13 deals with this subject. The authorities referred to are above us; whether they be in the assembly they are morally above us, or whether they be “the powers that be”, they are of God. Therefore an immense range of thought enters into the passage. The authorities are above us, but certainly the trade unions are not above us; they [p. 134] are beneath us and we had better make up our minds as to that, so that we quickly deliver ourselves from anything of the kind. They are not above us, they are beneath us; so that the word given that we are to be subject to the authorities does not mean trade unionism. It is well for the brethren to be clear as to this so that as we proceed the truth may be on our minds and that we may be free of everything that is evil. What is ordained above us is good, ordained of God; everything that is of God is good. But certainly this thing is not good, it is evil, one of the worst things that has come up in modern times, especially spiritually.
CAM In principle the thing is working to overthrow these very authorities that God has ordained. There is a disregard of authority and an effort to disrupt or do away with this authority that God has set up.
JT That is what will eventually happen, and so the apostle speaks about apostasy. At Thessalonica there was a question as to whether the day of the Lord had come, but it had not come. That day shall not come, says the apostle, unless there come a falling away first, and the word ‘falling away’ really means apostasy. Falling away is apostasy. So it is very clear that the apostasy is still ahead of us, a most terrible thought, but the Lord has encouraged us as to it in Revelation 3:10 in regard of Philadelphia; “I also will keep thee”, He says, “out of the hour of trial, which is about to come upon the whole habitable world, to try them that dwell upon the earth”. Undoubtedly the Lord means the apostasy by the “hour of trial” that is coming. Unconverted people, people that are not interested in the truth, have a certain dread in thinking about those things; but we can face them, and if we have to suffer, let us suffer. The Lord says He will keep us out of the great tribulation, and we [p. 135] are to be thankful in that hope. He will take us out of it.
SMcC So that if we are pursuing what is right and what is good we should not be afraid of any approach to the government in the light of Romans 13, should we?
JT I should think not; this country, the United States, is professedly on the side of right, of fairness, but the question is whether it really is so; whether the persons that we have to do with are really right about everything in their dealings. Persons who are living where the union is in power are apt to be affected by it, and then the saints have to suffer for that. The question is whether we are ready to suffer. Some of us are free from the union problem and not likely to come into it. At the same time suffering is coming and we might as well face it; old and young, we might as well face it; especially in the schools young people might as well face what is likely to come upon us.
JTJr The word ‘above’ would connect perhaps with our subject. We are speaking of the authorities that are above us, and the word ‘above’ would suggest something that is connected with Jerusalem.
JT “Jerusalem above”, just so; we had it this morning. It is Jerusalem above that we belong to. We belong to that wonderful city, the only city really that is of any importance in our minds. It goes on into eternity.
ASB It says in Galatians 4:26, “But the Jerusalem above is free, which is our mother”.
JT That is the very word scripturally spoken, for Sarah, Abraham’s wife, is alluded to as representing it. We already had Abraham this morning as the one with whom Jerusalem is first connected, we might say, but Sarah is actually a type of Jerusalem, she is the type of “Jerusalem above”, she is free. So we are not subject to such powers as these [p. 136] that are beneath, we are free; and if we suffer in our liberty, then let us suffer, it is well worth while suffering: “it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake” (Philippians 1:29).
CAM That is a very interesting remark in view of the question this morning as to the first mention of Jerusalem in the Scriptures; that would substantiate what was said, that the apostle could look back to Sarah in connection with it.
JT The idea of liberty too, that she is free; that is to say, the assembly must be in mind. The assembly is in liberty, is set free.
JTJr Do you think that if we have a right understanding of the assembly in this way, as ‘above’, we shall be able to view the authorities rightly, as God would have us view them?
JT Quite so; and that brings up the question of how Israel has been set aside for the moment according to Romans 11; Israel has been set aside just for the moment but she will be restored presently, for “all Israel shall be saved”. We have already some of Israel who are in salvation, but it is said that “all Israel shall be saved”.
CAM Is it right to feel that the authorities, at least looking at them abstractly, are representative of God?
JT Quite so, they are for the moment, just for the moment. God has taken them up for the moment, and why should He not? He has a right to do that. And He is not taking up the heathen; I mean He is not taking up men from China at the present time to do anything of this kind, not even from India; He is taking up the western powers, and that is what is in mind in the epistle to the Romans. Whatever power there is is of God. The western powers are taking the place of Israel, but all Israel is going to be saved all the same. They are not to [p. 137] be blown to the winds, as one might say, they are in the mind of God and He is holding them there, and they will all be saved in due time, “For the gifts and the calling of God are not subject to repentance” (Romans 11:29). His thoughts are going through, He has it in mind that Israel is going to be reinstated, and they will be reinstated.
JTJr So we would have a right to view Jerusalem as it is in a physical sense in view of what is to come in, that is, the restoration?
JT Quite so; “For the gifts and the calling of God are not subject to repentance”, and we might as well take comfort from that word. Although as to the Jews around us — there are about two million Jews in New York — we cannot say anything about them as such. If they go back to Palestine they will go back in unbelief, and there will be a terrible penalty attached to all that. The Lord speaks of it in Matthew, the terribleness of what is going to happen; because the time of vengeance is coming, the Lord says. But in the meantime it is not for us to enlarge on that, we are here today in the liberty of the Spirit, the liberty of christianity, and no one is forbidding us either, God has ordered that for us.
HB Would the frequent reference to “the Highest” in the first chapter of this gospel, and “the dayspring from on high” all help us in relation to what you have in mind? It says, “He shall be great, and shall be called Son of the Highest ... and power of the Highest overshadow thee” (Luke 1:32,35). And then as to John, he is called “the prophet of the Highest”; and then there is “the dayspring from on high” (Luke 1:76,78).
JT Those are good references.
Ques Do we understand that the assembly as such does not come under the civil authorities, but that [p. 138] as individuals we do?
JT As individuals we do, and we might be persecuted too. At the beginning the saints were greatly persecuted, and at the Reformation there was terrible persecution, and of course it may come on now too. We do not know but I do not expect it; I doubt if that will be, but we cannot be sure.
Rem Some of our brethren are suffering already from trade unions.
JT We know that, right here with us at the moment, and we are with them too; we are sympathetic with them.
Ques But if I may continue, the assembly as such is not subject to the authorities spoken of in Romans 13, is it?
JT Not as such, but those who compose it might be persecuted, but that is not the idea indicated. What is indicated in Romans 13 is that the powers that be are in favour of us, for they are of God, and therefore they are in our favour; that is what I would say.
Ques Would not the assembly be greater than the government?
JT Morally greater, certainly. It says that “Jerusalem above”, which represents the assembly, is free.
SMcC It is remarkable that in the passage we read in Luke 24, as they returned to Jerusalem “they found the eleven, and those with them, gathered together, saying, The Lord is indeed risen and has appeared to Simon”. The grace of the dispensation seems to be magnified as they come into the city.
JT There was no one to hinder them, they came together in the upper room. I do not think there was much persecution at that time, but it came in afterwards. But you have something more to say about that.
[p. 139] SMcC I was thinking of the subject of their speaking, saying, “The Lord is indeed risen and has appeared to Simon”. Whatever had taken place the element of victory is here now. The Lord is risen, and He has appeared to Simon.
JT And then all else that we have in chapter 24, I would enlarge on that, this remarkable speech of the Lord’s that He made to those two that were on the way to Emmaus, What a wonderful speech it was! They returned after that; they went back to Jerusalem. They were mistaken; they should not have gone to the country; it was not a time to go to the country; it was the time for Jerusalem; it was a day for Jerusalem, and for the truth in reference to it.
SMcC Do you think it should affect our hearts, the way the Lord is prepared to go out of His way to help us, to get us back into the idea of the city?
JT Quite so. There has been very little persecution amongst the saints so far as I know the last hundred and fifty years or so. There was a great deal of it in the Reformation, but not in the modern revival, thank God! There was some persecution but not much; we can thank God for that. There is no one forbidding us; not a dog lifts his tongue against us, thank God for it! Well, it is God’s work; God is doing it, and we keep on praying; on Monday nights and at other times too we keep on praying and God keeps on answering us. Therefore Tuesday morning ought to be a time of expectation from God, from heaven, because heaven is active; we may be sure of that; it is never inactive.
JW Would there be a parallel in Daniel’s history? It says, “When Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and, his windows being open in his upper chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled on his knees three times a day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God”,
([p. 140] Daniel 6:10). This matter of the city would be in his mind.
JMcK In speaking of David’s reign it says that he reigned forty years; in Hebron he reigned seven years and six months, but it says he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem. Does that bring forward the greatness of Jerusalem in God’s sight?
JT Just so; so that Jerusalem had a great place with David; it had a great place with Solomon too, Solomon was the man of peace.
JTJr Do you think it is therefore very instructive that the Lord intercepted these two on the way to Emmaus? Because something very important was going on.
JT I do. In fact chapter 24 really has a great deal to do with the Lord’s supper. We do not want to be diverted, only to refer to it in so far as it bears on our subject, for the Lord’s supper bears on the assembly and the assembly bears on the Lord’s supper. It says in verse 13, “Behold, two of them were going on the same day to a village distant sixty stadia from Jerusalem, called Emmaus”; notice that Jerusalem is at a distance, a distant point; “and they conversed with one another about all these things which had taken place. And it came to pass as they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus himself drawing nigh” — notice this, the Lord Jesus Himself — “drawing nigh, went with them”. Think of the grace that was involved in all that, and the love too, in the Lord’s heart for His people at that time! He “went with them; but their eyes were holden so as not to know him. And he said to them, What discourses are these which pass between you as ye walk, and are downcast?”. There were two of them, and the Lord enquires as to what their discourses are, what are they saying? We spoke about it this morning, as to what we are speaking about at [p. 141] any given time. Well, the Lord raises that same enquiry. He “went with them”, it says, “but their eyes were holden so as not to know him. And he said to them, What discourses are these which pass between you as ye walk, and are downcast?”. Notice that, downcast, why should there be any such thing as that amongst us? The Spirit of God is amongst us; the Spirit come down from heaven is amongst us, and He is here purposely to look after us, so that there should be no cause for being downcast. And then it says, “And one of them, named Cleopas, answering said to him, Thou sojournest alone in Jerusalem, and dost not know what has taken place in it in these days?”. That is, the Lord Jesus Christ has suffered death there. We have to admit that fact as to the history of Jerusalem; and it is there that the two witnesses will be persecuted, “where also their Lord was crucified” (Revelation 11:8). Where He was crucified — we have to admit all that about Jerusalem. But then we are leading on to something else, and that is Jerusalem above, so that we are coming into great and glorious things. But we might as well look at these facts that these two relate to the Lord Himself; and they culminate in the Lord’s supper itself coming into view. The two came back to Jerusalem and found the eleven; there was a broken number of them, meaning that something had happened, something distressing had happened. It very often happens that there are distressing things, and that was exactly what had happened here. And therefore it seems to me that we might as well be diverted a little bit and look at the matter.
JRH It is quite evident that these two were greatly liberated by the breaking of bread. I was wondering if this spiritual liberation that these two moved in was kindred to the thought of the free woman; that they had come under the influence of the free woman and the Lord Jesus [p. 142] Himself?
JT Quite so; so that we go back to Abraham and his wife; Abraham’s wife is the free woman, showing how the whole Bible has in mind what we are dealing with. We all need to get what suits us for the moment, because it is a question of the truth for the time, and the time is very short.
SMcC So that what we are having now, today, would help us to keep our faces in the direction of Jerusalem; not as these two who had their faces away from it.
JT It says elsewhere that they were going into the country. Well, that often happens; at this holiday time people are likely to go off into the country and neglect the meetings. These two were going into the country when they should have been going to Jerusalem.
SMcC Do you think the word that Paul gives in 1 Corinthians 11:22 should affect us in relation to that matter, “Do ye despise the assembly of God”?
JT That is very good.
ANW “Distant sixty stadia”, you emphasised that, whereas the mount of Olives in Acts 1 is “near Jerusalem, a sabbath-day’s journey off”. Is the sixty to emphasise the distance from the point? I thought we should heed the Spirit’s taking pains to measure the distance, sixty stadia distant, where distance is emphasised: but in connection with the mount of Olives it is “near ... a sabbath-day’s journey off”.
CAM Is it not a fact that this matter of the direction in which we are going, whether we are going towards Jerusalem, would be governed by our prayers? Daniel’s windows were opened toward Jerusalem. There was an allusion made to him and we see in him a man standing in the recognition of the authority coming from God, and yet with his heart filled really with this matter of Jerusalem.
ASB Would not the Lord be our pattern in regard to the direction in which our face is set?
[p. 143] In Luke 9 we have first the mount of transfiguration and His glory, and later in the chapter it says, “When the days of his receiving up were fulfilled, that he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem”.
JT That was because He had to die, He had to go there to die, which is a very distressing thought. But we are trying to keep on the positive side of Jerusalem, and we hope to get the value of it. We are coming tomorrow to the first day of the week, a day that should open this up to us, and I believe it will.
TLS Here in Luke 24 it seems to be a place where the Lord is free and the Spirit is free. The Lord Himself comes into their midst.
JT Yes; the passage really opens up things in regard of the Lord’s supper and the service of God, and we ought to be directed towards that. The Lord is set free to speak to them and He begins from Moses and from all the prophets, expounding to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. That is to say the Lord is not occupied with what He suffered, but it is “the things concerning himself”. I think we might just spend the remaining time on the chapter so as to make it all clear how the Lord’s supper comes into it, and how the service of God comes into it.
JTJr Do you think that these two would have to think of what was the trouble with their eyes, when they looked back on this matter? It says, “Their eyes were holden”. It would seem that something must have been wrong with their eyes, that they could not discern Him.
TC It says, “And they drew near to the village where they were going, and he made as though he would go farther”. The ‘He’ is emphasised. Would you say a little on [p. 144] that?
JT I suppose the best thing I could say is that it is a judicial matter; these two were going to suffer. They should not have been there at all, they should have been going to Jerusalem. It was a time for Jerusalem; that was the point. But they were not going to Jerusalem, they were going to the country, as we said; and that is what many people are doing in the holiday season, and they suffer, suffer from the government of God if they do not attend to Jerusalem.
LR Does Psalm 137:5,6 fit in? “If I forget thee, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill; if I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to my palate: if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy”.
JT Excellent. That is the positive side of Jerusalem and we are coming to that. The book of Revelation will open it up to us; there we get new Jerusalem, not old Jerusalem but new Jerusalem.
EB It is a matter of thinking of God in relation to it. Hebrews 12:22 says, “But ye have come to mount Zion; and to the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem”. So we would not forget our localities when we think of the place that God has in them.
JH We had this morning that Anna was keeping pace with what was happening; it says, “She coming up the same hour”; but the Lord charged these two with being slow. Is what He says after that to correct the slowness so that we might keep pace?
JT Quite so; “O senseless and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!” A terrible rebuke the Lord administered to them. And where are we in our souls if we are going off at a holiday time when the assembly is in question, the things of God are in question? The Lord will not forget what is going on.
JH Are we not to be on our guard as to things that might come in and turn our eyes away from [p. 145] Jerusalem?
JT We are indeed.
Rem . It says in Nehemiah 11:1 that “the princes of the people dwelt in Jerusalem; and the rest of the people cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem, the holy city”.
JT Remarkable! It was a penalty to go to Jerusalem; they had to pay a penalty if they lived there. The service of God was connected with it at the time, and just one of ten suffered to go to Jerusalem.
CAM Do you think the Supper has such a place here, suggestively, that we might realise that for us the city is the place where the Lord is? As Ezekiel 48:35 says, “Jehovah is there”. Is not that the great characteristic mark? There are those here in Detroit who value the divine service and the Lord’s supper in their affections.
JT Well, to be simple about the matter, suppose there was a brother or sister off in the country today and these meetings were going on here in this city, what would you think of that? What would the Lord think of that? And no doubt there are some like that who say, I am enjoying my holidays and that is everything. Is it nothing to you, the Lord would say, Is it nothing to you what is happening — that you should be going on holidays when there are meetings here today, and I am interested in them and you are not here? Do you not think these things should be in our minds?
CAM Yes, indeed I do; that is very appealing. And Luke makes so much of journeying, does he not, that really the direction of our journeys should be a very definite matter in our minds.
CCT I suppose that is the reason so many are downcast, because they are moving in the wrong direction.
Ques Do you think that Paul’s word to Timothy would help us, especially those of us who are young?
He says, “Give heed to thyself and to the teaching; continue in them; for, doing this, thou shalt save both thyself and those that hear thee” (1 Timothy 4:16).
JT Very good. There are certain things he said to Timotheus that I think we should call attention to, because they are Paul’s remarks to his child; his language was like that of a father to a child, how he would speak to his son. Why should you do that, Timothy? Why should you go there? That is the sort of thing that we should be able to say to our young people, and tell them the truth; admonish them if things are not right. Are we able to do that?
FKC The Lord mentions in verse 49 “the promise of my Father”, and says they were to remain in the city till they received “power from on high”. Does Jerusalem have a great place in the mind of God as being the place to which the power came first? They were endued with power from on high in that place; it was the leading interest that God had at the moment; and I was thinking that if we miss the leading interest that is in God’s mind, we really miss the whole dispensation in a sense.
JT That is the truth. But now we have read from the Lord’s remarks, and He says terrible words in verse 25 — “O senseless and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!”. But He goes on from that, “Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory? And having begun from Moses and from all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself”. What a wonderful exposition it was that was opened up by the Lord Himself at that time! And it is a question now of our being able to get the meaning of what is said and what the truth is for us in it. Then it says in verse 36, “And as they were saying these things, he himself stood in their midst, and says to them, Peace be unto you. But they, being confounded and being [p. 147] frightened, supposed they beheld a spirit. And he said to them, Why are ye troubled? and why are thoughts rising in your hearts? behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself”. That is to say, the Lord is amongst us Himself, because that is what happens; the Lord comes in amongst us on the first day of the week.
JW Does the Lord come particularly before us at the breaking of bread? And would being clothed with power from on high have in mind the continuance of the testimony down here in the power of the Spirit?
JT It would, and Luke has a great place in all that teaching; in fact the actual Supper of the Lord is mentioned earlier in the book. But now we have the resurrection, what is before us is the resurrection, another phase of the matter; not simply the Lord’s supper but the resurrection. So that I think we should read the whole latter part of the chapter again beginning at verse 32: — “And they said to one another, Was not our heart burning in us as he spoke to us on the way, and as he opened the scriptures to us? And rising up the same hour, they returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven, and those with them, gathered together, saying, The Lord is indeed risen and has appeared to Simon. And they related what had happened on the way, and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread. And as they were saying these things, he himself stood in their midst, and says to them, Peace be unto you. But they, being confounded and being frightened, supposed they beheld a spirit. And he said to them, Why are ye troubled? and why are thoughts rising in your hearts? behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Handle me and see, for a spirit has not flesh and bones as ye see me having. And having said this he shewed them his hands and his feet. But while [p. 148] they yet did not believe for joy, and were wondering, he said to them, Have ye anything here to eat? And they gave him part of a broiled fish and of a honeycomb; and he took it and ate before them. And he said to them, These are the words which I spoke to you while I was yet with you, that all that is written concerning me in the law of Moses and prophets and psalms must be fulfilled? Then he opened their understanding to understand the scriptures, and said to them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved the Christ to suffer, and to rise from among the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but do ye remain in the city till ye be clothed with power from on high. And he led them out as far as Bethany, and having lifted up his hands, he blessed them. And it came to pass as he was blessing them, he was separated from them and was carried up into heaven. And they, having done him homage, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God”.
Now I think we have come to the great point of the chapter, and we might say of the whole gospel of Luke. This 24th chapter is the one that leads up to the service of God; and the main thing that is in the mind of heaven at the moment is the service of God, what the Lord Jesus is carrying on. He is gone into heaven and He is carrying on the service; He is the great Priest over the house of God. He lifts up His hands and blesses them; and as He blesses them He is carried up into heaven. These are all mysterious things, but they have to be understood. And another mysterious thing is that a miracle happened here, that is to say He ate before them; He took a material thing, food, and [p. 149] ate it. We cannot understand that; it is a mystery, because the blood as well as flesh and bones is needed for all that, but the Lord did it nevertheless; and Peter relates later that He ate and drank before them. So it was a miracle that happened, and the first day of the week opens up mystery to us. That is the thing that I thought we should specially come to at this reading.
SMcC Is the Lord specially helping us at the present time to see the dignity of the first day of the week and what belongs to it?
JT Just so; so that Acts 20 directly refers to it, the first day of the week when the disciples came together to break bread; that was the day. Paul discoursed; it took a long time to discourse, but why was that? There was something wrong, just as there was something wrong when the Lord appeared to the two here. They were not right but they got right, because He opened up things to them and they returned to Jerusalem. And now the point is, what are we all getting from the scriptures that are before us at this time? We have come to the idea of the Lord’s supper, and the service of God beginning there, the opening up of the service of God the Father. All this comes into this chapter.
JTJr Should we be ready therefore for these mysterious things that the first day of the week would bring in?
JT I think we ought to be ready for mystery, something of mystery, that we are not ordinary christians, ordinary church-goers. The assembly involves mystery.
JTJr The apostle says, “Behold, I tell you a mystery”. That was one of them.
JT Just so, and I think we ought to read that; it is a very short word in 1 Corinthians 15:51 - 55: “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all fall asleep, but we shall all be changed, in an instant,
[p. 150] in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must needs put on incorruptibility, and this mortal put on immortality. But when this corruptible shall have put on incorruptibility, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall come to pass the word written: Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is thy sting? where, O death, thy victory?”
These are wonderful things; and as we already had it today, we are not waiting for death, we are waiting for all these wonderful things that are opened up to us in that chapter. It is a time of life and we ought to be ready for it too, ready for the Lord Jesus to come; and that we should love His appearing — not simply His coming for us but His appearing.
CM Would there be something of that in these closing verses of chapter 24? The Lord had led them to Bethany; they had seen Him lifting up His hands and blessing them and parting from them, and then they returned to Jerusalem with great joy. There had been something going on undoubtedly between Him and them during this little while in Bethany, but it turned their thoughts to Jerusalem, where, for the moment, they were to remain according to His word.
JT Just so. So the facts of the Lord’s supper and the service of God now open up — these two great features. The idea of the service of God covers the whole matter. These are two great features that should occupy the brethren for the little while that remains, if we are ready for it. We belong to the assembly and we shall be translated. The Spirit of God will quicken the saints, He will quicken our mortal bodies; not our dead bodies but our mortal [p. 151] bodies. And in quickening them He makes us ready for translation, to be caught up with Him. But in the meantime we have the service of God, the Lord comes to us. He will come for us presently, but He comes to us now according to John 14; He comes to us, and the thing is to be ready for that; and therefore there is a great need for feet washing and all that is necessary to make us pure and holy when the Lord comes as He does on the first day of the week. What does He see when He comes in? The Lord Himself comes in, He comes to us on the first day of the week.
ANW Does the introduction of the Psalms in verse 44 emphasise the service? The Lord introduces the Psalms in that connection, not on the way to Emmaus; and that amplifies the service of God, I suppose.
JT Just so.
FKC David had much to do with the service of God. Is that in mind in 1 Chronicles 16 where he delivers the psalm to Asaph and his brethren to give thanks to Jehovah? You have alluded to it as a composition of about six psalms. Are all these things to be in our minds as we come together, the great manoeuvrability that there is under the hand of the true David in the service of God?
JT He stands for it; he is said to be the sweet psalmist of Israel the sweet psalmist, and that sweetness is for the Lord. So that the Lord is in the midst of the assembly to sing praises to the Father. That is wonderful in the epistle to the Hebrews, the time of singing!
JTJr So that David had to say that they had not sought the Lord after the due order; they had to come to that, what was the due order.
JT Just so; what is corrective is enlarged on. The Lord loved David peculiarly, he was the sweet psalmist, but he made great errors too. Yet the [p. 152] Lord restored him, that is a great comfort, that there is such a thing as restoration amongst us; if things go wrong there is some means of restoration; that is to say there is a Priest of God, we have a Priest in heaven with God, and there is the Spirit of God down here in keeping with the position of Christ in heaven. So that things are perfectly taken care of, there is no need that anything should happen out of accord with the mind of God.
ASB Restoration enters into our chapter: it says in verse 33, “And rising up the same hour, they returned to Jerusalem”; it is the principle of returning. And later it says, “And they, having done him homage, returned to Jerusalem with great joy”. The service is in mind.
JW So that their departure to Emmaus was marked by weakness and lack of understanding, but their return to Jerusalem was marked by power.
JT Why did they return? The Lord did not tell them to return. Why did they do so? It was instinctive. And that is what happens; when things go wrong amongst us and then become right we develop instincts and are amenable to help; and we have a great Priest over the house of God, so that help is available to us.
ANW It says they did it “the same hour”. “Rising up the same hour, they returned”.
JT “The same hour”, there is no delay.