PRIESTHOOD AND SERVICE (6)
[p. 46] PRIESTHOOD AND SERVICE (6)
JT At St. Etienne and at Tence we have read in Luke’s gospel, considering priesthood in chapter 1, and noting the soul’s history in Mary, the Lord’s mother, in chapter 2. We dwelt on the fact that she kept all that was said of the Lord Jesus and pondered it in her heart. Then yesterday we meditated on the secret history of a soul.
There is practically nothing said of the life of our Lord Jesus until the age of thirty; two or three incidents only are related. Mary had heard sufficient about Him to be occupied with Him; she had more opportunity than any other person to see the graces which marked Him in His private life. It is in our private relations with Him and with God that our soul history commences. As identified with the remnant of Israel, His characteristic trait was prayer: “all the people having been baptised, and Jesus having been baptised and praying, that the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form as a dove upon him; and a voice came out of heaven, Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I have found my delight”. Heaven announces its good pleasure in Him in this way. In chapters 4 and 5 we considered the Lord in connection with service. We took note particularly of the spirit of service in Simon’s wife’s mother, after she was healed of a bad fever. In chapter 5, it is a matter of Simon who was to be the chief servant. It must be noted in chapter 5:11 that “leaving all they followed him”. They brought the ships to land; others would have used them, but they, “having run the ships on shore, leaving all they followed him”.
Ques Could you say that they left the natural side, when all seemed to be prospering?
JT That shows us that we ought not to devote ourselves to the Lord’s service only when our business does not prosper. We ought not to be engaged in the Lord’s service as in an occupation when every other occupation goes badly. The Lord had attracted Peter to such a point that others were affected by it and had left all in a moment of great prosperity; they had left all and followed Him. Then what is brought before us makes us see the character of the Lord’s work; all that was to serve as education to those who followed Him. The case of a leper is the first presented; the Lord has to do with sin in its most hideous form, for it says that the man “was full of leprosy”. Simon spoke a little in this way, “I am a sinful man”; that is, full of sins. Sin appears here in its most hideous form, its most detestable. Leprosy shut out its victims from society. This sinner recognised his state, as “full of leprosy”. We shall never be able to serve men effectively, unless we understand how we must have to do with sin in its worst form. Having judged it completely in ourselves, we shall not be surprised to see it in others.
Ques Could you say that Peter and the leprous man have an impression of the perfection and holiness of the Lord? They do not flee from it, but draw near to Him.
JT Peter felt his need; he felt, so to say, instinctively, that the Lord could deal with his evident needs. The significance of the knees of Jesus is seen especially in Luke’s gospel; the Lord was going to take upon Himself all man’s responsibility. So, “stretching forth his hand, he touched him, saying, I will; be thou cleansed: and immediately the leprosy departed from him”. That means He was going to die in order to remove it.
Rem In Leviticus 13:46, it says of the leper, “He shall dwell apart; outside the camp shall his dwelling be”.
JT That passage gives us a true idea of the terrible [p. 48] character of sin. The leper had to cry, “Unclean, unclean”. In Luke 5:16, it says that the Lord “withdrew himself, and was about in the desert places and praying”.
ThD Here He is in the deserts and is praying; in chapter 9, He is on the mountain and is praying.
JT In this passage, the idea is rather that He is found alone. When He goes up the mountain, He withdraws from the influences of the plain; clearly, He was free from the influences of this world, but we have to learn from Him. In the desert, one must be apart from what contributes to fleshly influences, and on the mountain, from what contributes to the influences of this world. Jesus was surrounded by crowds, but He shows us how the influence of the crowds is avoided. If the servant lives too much in the atmosphere of those whom he serves, he comes under their influence; so he must know how to withdraw to be alone with God.
Ques Would you say that one is in the desert for individual growth, but goes up the mountain for the good of others?
JT In verse 17 the learned classes come into view. “There were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, who were come out of every village of Galilee and Judaea and out of Jerusalem; and the Lord’s power was there to heal them”. In verse 15 there are “great crowds”, that is, the mass of the people; then in verse 17, the educated people, and it says that “the power of the Lord was there to heal them”.
ThD To heal the Pharisees and the doctors of the law?
JT It is said of the crowds that they had come “to be healed from their infirmities”, but it does not say why the doctors and Pharisees had come. A certain critical element was there, though not openly expressed; the presence in us of such an element will always deprive us of power, but the power of the Lord was there to heal them.
EP If the lepers were physically “full of leprosy”, the doctors of the law were so too, morally. Could one say that much of the ministry of the saints is in view of healing?
JT When the twelve were sent out, in chapter 9, it was with “power to heal diseases”, and He “sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick”. A disease can be epidemic, a whole assembly, for instance, can be afflicted with it; on the other hand, it may be that only some persons are ill. We see the way in which the apostles are sent out by the Lord, not only to be occupied with the diseases, but with the sick ones.
Rem The case of one sick person in an assembly is not so serious as an epidemic.
EP Is mutual encouragement the means of avoiding epidemics?
JT What is in verses 18 and 19 should be noticed. It is interesting to notice that an evangelical movement starts; men were carrying on a bed a man who was a paralytic. In Mark, there were four of them, the man had, so to speak, a universal sympathy. Luke says simply, ‘men’, as though to remind us what men are as affected by the grace of God. If of ourselves we cannot heal a sick man, we can always bring him to the Lord.
EP If we recognise our own helplessness, that is a good feeling.
JP How can we bring one to the Lord?
JT We bring souls to the Lord by prayer. Sometimes too, a soul can be brought to hear the ministry. “Going up on the house top they let him down through the tiles, with his little couch, into the midst before Jesus”. Then we read that “seeing their faith — it was their faith that Jesus recognized — he said, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee”. Each has to be saved by his own faith, but this faith is often preceded by faith in others.
Ques Can it be said that at that moment, the [p. 50] paralysed man was associated with the others in his faith? He was willing to be carried to the Lord.
EP It was not by his own means that Saul of Tarsus came to the Lord, but by means of those who had prayed for him.
Rem By means of Stephen, in particular.
ThD To pray for others is the privilege of every christian. James 5:15 and 16 speaks of the prayer of faith saving the sick, for “the fervent supplication of the righteous man has much power”.
JT When it speaks of men, it is a question of the human race. I suppose that women have more sympathy than men. I am not speaking of women in contrast with men, but of the capabilities which the former have.
Rem There is often a sick person in the meeting, but it is good to see an evangelical spirit, the spirit which we see here in these men bearing the paralytic.
JT The allusions made to women, in Luke, show the capacity in the human race for sympathy. Mary says, “My soul magnifies the Lord”, (chapter 1:46). Then Simeon says to her, “A sword shall go through thine own soul” (Luke 2:35); that gives an idea of the compassion in the human race. Compassions are called out in connection with our needs, and if we cannot answer to them, the Son of God can do so. In another passage it says, “Child, thy sins are forgiven thee” (Mark 2:5), but here, “Man, thy sins are forgiven thee”.
HB What is the thought in connection with paralysis?
JT It is a state of impotence, what we are without the Spirit of God, as in Paul’s case, who thought “that he ought to do much against the name of Jesus the Nazaraean” (Acts 26:9), while thinking he was serving God. So that he should be able to do something for God, Paul had to be led into the city, where it was told him what he should do. He had to feel his own powerlessness to do anything until the moment when he received the [p. 51] Spirit of God. In the first place, the man receives forgiveness (”Man, thy sins are forgiven thee”), then the Lord says to him, “Arise, and take up thy little couch and go to thine house”. As he had a little couch, it seems that he was a man of limited circumstances; he was not one of the class in verse 17.
EP In considering the general attitude of God, we should be much encouraged to pray for those who are in our town, whether they belong to the Lord or not. This would bring us nearer to the Lord, who would certainly act if we persevered.
JT There is no doubt that the prayer meeting at Philippi was the secret work of God in Europe. While the women were praying to God, the man of Macedonia was there, saying, “Pass over into Macedonia and help us”, (Acts 16:9). All was working to this end, although Paul may have had the idea of going elsewhere, “but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them”, (verse 7). It was difficult to go into Macedonia, as it was here to bring the man to Jesus.
EP Would you say that the woman having a spirit of Python and who followed the servants going to prayer, in Acts 16, pursues her course in order to hinder prayer.
JT “As we were going to prayer”, (verse 16). It is when they were going to prayer that the woman having a spirit of Python tried to turn them from the path of dependence.
EP The enemy does not exactly act against what we are doing, but he does not allow that we should act together in prayer.
DF Is there a proof of the lack of interest in those who neglect prayer?
EP It says that the man departed immediately to his house.
JT It says firstly that the man immediately stood up before them, that is, that others were witnesses of the work. He could stand upright on his feet “before them”, as we see later on that the woman declared “before all the people”, chapter 8:47. The principle of being able to stand upright is spoken in the book of the Acts: in chapter 3:7 - 8 it says of the man at the gate of the temple that “his feet and ankle bones were made strong. And leaping up he stood and walked”. Then in chapter 14:10 Paul says to the man impotent in his feet, “Rise up straight upon thy feet”. He will no longer have to lean on others, and will be useful in the assembly; the boards of the tabernacle had to be set upright. Next there are movements; the movements of this man were remarkable, for he carried the couch on which he had lain so long. It may be that I am very small, in humble circumstances, but yet my circumstances are too strong for me, whether they are large or small; it is a matter of the power of God which allows me to be superior to them. The man is said to have “departed to his house, glorifying God”; his house is now spoken of, and we see a man completely changed, he is no longer as he was before.
EP This man had spent much time in his house; now he has made great progress, the Lord allows him to go back there.
JT Such a house will contribute to the house of God. The principle of the house comes out in the case of Levi; he was not a man in small circumstances, he was probably a rich man. The Lord said to him, “Follow me” (Luke 5:27): the great teaching which comes out in this section of the gospel of Luke is that one must leave everything.
Rem He was sitting, enjoying human prosperity, but as soon as he hears the Lord’s call he gets up.
JT Then Levi made “a great entertainment ... in his house” (verse 29); he was so much in sympathy with the Lord’s spirit that he invites persons whom the Lord would love to bless. In the measure that we understand that the Lord wants to bless publicans and sinners, we receive them into our houses.
Rem Others can say wrong things about our [p. 53] way of going on, but the Lord justifies Levi’s service.
DF In what sense today must one leave everything — morally?
JT Instead of living in natural things, one looks to the Lord, and holds all that one possesses for His service. Levi, it says, “rose up, and followed him”, and too “he made a great entertainment for him”.
Rem Instead of receiving, he is giving.
JT Not only does he bring one person to the Lord, but he does much more than that; a great crowd is in his home, within reach of the Lord. If a man holds his house at the Lord’s disposition, others will come in and there find themselves within the Lord’s reach. In this house there is the power which was given to the paralysed man, power in which he departed to his house.
Rem The power which he had in him now showed itself towards others.
JT There was a great crowd in this house. It is important that, in a locality where there is a meeting, there should be a brother or a sister whose house is open to the Lord’s disposition. The scribes and Pharisees murmured: “Why do ye eat and drink with tax-gatherers and sinners?” But the Lord defends Levi in his house, because he was in accord with the Lord’s spirit.
ThD For whom is the testimony of the healed leper?
Rem He was previously “full of leprosy”, but now he can present himself as a vessel of testimony: “Shew thyself to the priest”.
JT The testimony is for the priests. Even the smallest thing can contribute to the testimony.
ThD We noticed, in Simon’s case, that James and John were partners with him; they left everything to follow Jesus. Here we have Levi, sitting at the receipt of taxes. Do the different occupations give character to the service which one will have to [p. 54] undertake?
JT Our occupation can absorb us, if we do not leave it first in our spirit. All these men were going to be distinguished servants. Levi, Matthew and indeed every christian, must not live in the circumstances which connect with his occupation. He must come into a new order of things. What he possesses, in the way of material goods, he subordinates henceforth to the service of God. The more I have of goods, the more responsible I am to look after them rightly.
EP Many occasions are given to us for service.
JT Yes, there are other features to notice, which we shall see later.
Rem In Luke, we see that it was Matthew himself who made the entertainment, but he does not say of himself that he made a great entertainment. That encourages us in the path of humility; we do not speak of our service, we leave to others the matter of doing that.