7

7

Think of John in the bosom of Jesus. It says, “Now there was

at table one of the disciples in the bosom of Jesus, whom

Jesus loved”. What a place of privilege, and not only privilege,

but in the place of knowing what is in the Lord’s mind. The

Lord is troubled here regarding Judas; it says, “Jesus was

troubled in spirit”; some things were concerning the Lord here.

One who is in the bosom of Jesus would not only know the

privilege of being there, but be acquainted with how the Lord

felt about things. Would it be fair to say that maybe there are

some things among us at the moment that the Lord is

concerned about? I think there may be some things the Lord is

concerned about. I wonder if we are near enough to Him to

know what concerns Him, what He is thinking about things. He

longs to see unity. Does He not go over that in John 17 where

testimony and unity are the subject? No doubt that prayer was

answered at Pentecost, but the Lord would still long to see

unity, especially among those who are available at the

moment, the few who are available. They are a very, very

small percentage of all the Lord has on the earth, for He has

many. He would expect that the few who are available would

be in unity; I am sure He would, and He would feel it if it is not

so.

John was near enough, as in His bosom, to know what was in

the Lord’s mind according to the opening verses, and then to

know what troubled Him, what He was concerned about. He

was in the bosom of Jesus, that is a resting place; and then it

says too that he was “leaning on the breast of Jesus”—“But

he, leaning on the breast

of Jesus, says to him, Lord, who is it? He was the one who got

the answer. This was privilege, to be in the bosom of Jesus, to

be near enough to be on the breast of Jesus, and to know

what the Lord’s thoughts were about matters current at that

moment. We can be near enough to the Lord to know what His

thoughts are about matters current at the moment in which we

are.