THE DYING OF JESUS
[p. 280] THE DYING OF JESUS
I had in mind to speak tonight about suffering, taking up my thought from the types referred to in the book of Exodus, in which we are told that as the tabernacle was reared up it was to be anointed, in all its details, with the holy oil. The prominent component part of this oil is stated to be myrrh — the first ingredient, indeed — which, throughout Scripture, represents suffering love. The way of that suffering love, of which the type speaks, has to be learnt through Christ. He leads the way in sufferings, as in all else, for us. So, as this book of the Acts records the anti-typical setting up of the tabernacle, it abounds with references to sufferings. Indeed, in recording the activities of our Lord Jesus during the forty days of His sojourn on earth after He rose, it says that He appeared unto His disciples after He suffered. The Spirit of God begins the great theme of the book by introducing this feature, viz., that in charging His apostles by the Spirit, and in His other ministry during the forty days, it was after He had suffered. That is to say, they were familiarised with Christ as risen during those forty days as the One who had suffered.
Peter, the leading apostle in the opening chapters, tells us that he was the witness of the sufferings of Christ. He very modestly and wisely refrains from saying that he was a partaker of those sufferings, for the obvious reason that, at the very height of them, he was out of communion with the Lord. Although he had undertaken to follow Him into those sufferings, he had, as we all know, failed, and, instead of sharing in those sufferings at their very height, he had denied his Lord. And so the Lord speaks to him during the [p. 281] forty days to which I have referred, and He says, “When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest”. John 21:18. That is a word that comes very closely to the young ones here, as it does, indeed, to every one of us. In our youthful days, the tendency is to gird ourselves and to go where we wish; but, under the discipline of the Lord and the wisdom which comes of advancing years under the government of God, we learn to submit ourselves. So the Lord says to Peter, “When thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not”, John 21:18. We may be assured, dear brethren, that that “other” will not be wanting as we are true followers and witnesses of Christ — that “other”, namely, the agent of the enemy, will not be wanting as we prove true to Christ. Peter, therefore, was to be honoured, according to his wish, as he grew old. To “another” he resigned — he stretched forth his hands; instead of cowering in the presence of opposition and persecution, he stretched forth his hands and another girded him and carried him to his martyrdom. It was the intent of the Lord that all those who should be partakers in the tabernacle should have also a part in the oil. Hence, at the very outset of this book, you have the Lord Jesus presented as the One who suffered. Indeed, He it is who affords, thus, the anointing oil of the tabernacle.
And so I would refer for a moment, dear brethren, to the synoptic gospels, to call attention to the Lord as He is about to face the suffering into which His love was bringing Him. Let us look at Matthew and Mark. We find Him, in the one instance, on His face. Think of the Lord of glory — He from whose face now radiates the glory of God — think of Him, I say, on His face! It was in the presence of suffering. And, again, in Mark, He falls to the ground. The sufferings [p. 282] that were before Him were infinitely real. He was facing them, according to His divine knowledge of their extent and bearing; He was amazed and distressed, we are told. How real was the humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and how blessedly He affords to us the ingredients of this wonderful compound by which the tabernacle — or by which the saints — are to be and were anointed!
But, when we come to Luke, we find that He knelt down. He is seen in Luke’s gospel, as many of us know, in the attitude of prayer in many connections; but in the last and final instance, we find Him at Olivet — we find the Lord of glory, whose right it was to command, and who did command — we find Him, of whom it is written, “Without him was not anything made that was made” John 1:3 — in the presence of those awful sufferings into which His love was leading Him, deliberately kneeling down before God and praying. Luke, being ever concerned about what is comely as before God and before men, presents to us a model in the Lord as He faced those sufferings, telling us that He knelt down. The heart is drawn to Him as one observes, in His blessed posture before God, what is comely at that moment. Then, again, we are told by Luke, “Being in conflict, he prayed more intently”. Luke 22:44.
I mention all these things, beloved, because they indicate the holy ingredients of this compound by which the tabernacle was anointed; that is to say, we gather up from these facts the spirit of a suffering Christ. I commend to you the suffering Christ. We are too prone to forget that the things which we enjoy, the wonderful things that are being administered to us by an exalted Christ, are entirely due to a suffering Christ. Therefore, in Luke, we get that Christ, “being in conflict, he prayed more intently”. Luke 22:44.
But there was entire submission to the will of God.
[p. 283] That is the secret of coming into the sufferings of Christ. We may evade them, as Peter did. The secret of coming under the sufferings of Christ lies in unqualified submission to the will of God. The will of God in this world involves a path of suffering, and suffering experienced in the path of the will of God lends lustre and character to our testimony, marking it off as of a piece with the testimony of Him who, before Pontius Pilate, “witnessed a good confession”. 1 Timothy 6:13. Timothy is enjoined to take his share in it, and I would say to everyone here, old and young, that your share is there, whether you take it or not. It is your privilege to take it. There is a share for every one of us of that holy compound; composed of the ingredients that appear in the path of Jesus’ suffering. So Timothy is enjoined to take his share. In these days of commercial prosperity — when there is no opposition outwardly; when, under the government of God, we can meet, as we are met here tonight, no man forbidding us, when we can pursue our way without fear of molestation from the authorities or the powers that be — we are in great danger of overlooking the fact that there is a share of suffering for every one of us, and we are enjoined to take it. To miss it is an irrevocable loss — it can never be made up. Every part of the tabernacle was to be anointed with it, particularly the brazen altar. You may remember that Moses, in Leviticus 8, was enjoined to anoint the tabernacle, and that he sprinkled the oil on the brazen altar seven times.
Now, I wish to show that Luke, in his gospel, as well as introducing to us a suffering Christ, also in this book of the Acts opens with the same thought — that the One who was appearing during forty days amongst His people was the One who had suffered. And so, as He sits at the right hand of God, it is as the One who has suffered. Let us never forget that the hands that have poured forth the Spirit are the [p. 284] same hands which were pierced with the nails at the Cross. It was after He suffered. Thank God for that!
I would like to dwell on the passages read, because they present to us the great vessel of the sufferings of Christ. Paul tells us later that he filled up that which was behind of the tribulations of Christ in his flesh, for His body’s sake. It is not that there were any left; it is not that the Lord Jesus left any tribulations that He did not go through, for in all the afflictions of His people He was afflicted. The apostle Paul is speaking, as I apprehend, of the holy anointing oil; he is contemplating the body of Christ, that it should be characterised by those same sufferings, and if some members were behind he would make up the lack. Wonderful man! He would not have the body of Christ come short in any sense — he was the minister of it. The Lord tells Ananias about him. He says, “I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake”. Acts 9:16. It was one of the first features of this great vessel that he should be a sufferer. He is our apostle, and he has carried the light of the gospel to us Gentiles — he has brought near to us thus the holy compound of which I have spoken. A man of like passions as ourselves exhibits before our eyes the manner of that holy oil as it shone in Christ. “I fill up”, he says, “that which is behind of the tribulations of Christ in my flesh for his body, which is the assembly”. Colossians 1:24 you see, he is pretty close to our eyes. “Before your very eyes”, he says to the Galatians, “Jesus Christ has been portrayed, crucified among you”. Galatians 3:1. How vividly He was brought to them! The Lord had this design in taking up this great vessel; He foresaw that there would be a falling short of that which would suggest the ointment. And we may well inquire, beloved brethren, as to what share of it we are taking, whether we are honoured externally by [p. 285] the marks of the sufferings of Christ. “For the rest” says Paul, “let no one trouble me; for I bear in my body the brands of the Lord Jesus”. Galatians 6:17. I do not know what his physical appearance may have been, but I am perfectly certain that were you and I to examine the body of that dear man, we would find throughout it the marks of those sufferings. “Of the Jews”, he says, “five times received I forty stripes save one”. 2 Corinthians 11:24. Think of the lacerations of a human body after all those stripes! Again he says, “In prisons more frequent, in deaths oft”. 2 Corinthians 11:23. And yet again he says, “Once was I stoned”. 2 Corinthians 11:25. One would refer to these things with the greatest diffidence, as knowing them but little, but there they are, beloved, brought close to us in a man of like passions with ourselves. The Lord takes him up, foreknowing what he was capable of, so that He might set out in such a man this wonderful oil of suffering, and that He might set out in him His own tribulations, in order to show how they can be borne, and yet how a man in bearing them might maintain the spirit of heavenly administration.
Now I want to work that out a little in chapter 16, to show you the wonderful combination in that chapter of the brazen altar, the altar of incense, and the table of shewbread. All these features of the tabernacle were to be anointed with the oil, but particularly the altar of burnt offering, the brazen altar. Now the Lord, as I said, announces to Ananias that this great vessel had been chosen deliberately, one of the purposes and objects being that the Lord might show him what he should suffer for His name. So I selected the passage in chapter 16, because it links up vividly the prayerful attitude of the apostle in those sufferings with the altar of incense, which was also anointed, and, finally, with the table of shewbread.
You will recall that, in speaking to Ananias, the Lord said, speaking of Paul, “Behold, he prayeth”. Acts 9:11. And I would urge, beloved brethren, the great importance of prayer in view of suffering. There is no possibility of our going through as Paul did, aside from prayer; and so in this chapter we are told, “as we went to prayer”. It is one of the most interesting chapters in the book of the Acts, particularly to us Gentiles of Western Europe, because it is the chapter that records the entrance of the gospel into that continent. The apostle, in arriving at Philippi, allied himself with some women who were wont to meet in a certain place for prayer. In other words, the gospel was to be inaugurated in Europe through prayer. This, the enemy quickly discerned, and so it says in this chapter, verse 16, “as we went to prayer”. I do not suppose there is anything that arouses the antagonism of the adversary more than that attitude of prayer. Prayer is the admission, on the one hand, of our utter impotency in the testimony as left to ourselves; and, on the other hand, it is the recognition of the power of God as available through Christ for the testimony. So it says, “As we were going to prayer, a certain female slave, having a spirit of python, met us”, Acts 16:16. The enemy is determined to challenge every inch of the way of those men as they go to prayer. Instead of meeting for prayer with those devoted women, in the place where prayer was wont to be made, they united, in the prison of Philippi, in that holy, priestly service. It is interesting to note how the Spirit of God stresses the peculiar character of the sufferings in this instance — the stripes, the inner prison, and the feet fast in the stocks. The Spirit of God, through Luke, draws a picture for us of the intensity of the sufferings of those two devoted servants of Christ. The Lord is now showing Paul what he must suffer for His name, and Paul, through grace, is equal to it — he is, as it were, anointed with the oil, for he expresses, in a [p. 287] most beautiful manner, the spirit of his Master in His sufferings. He, himself, indeed, had had the opportunity, earlier, of witnessing the spirit of that Master in another, namely, Stephen. He says to the Lord in Jerusalem, as he was praying in the temple in an ecstasy — after the Lord had told him to depart from Jerusalem, as they would not receive his testimony — he says, “They know that I imprisoned ... . and when the blood of thy martyr, Stephen, was shed, I also was standing by”. Acts 22:20. One of the most wonderful spectacles that ever was witnessed, was witnessed by Saul of Tarsus, and he says it was “martyrdom”. Martyrdom is witness — it is a witness for Christ. That means suffering. If our testimony, beloved, does not bring us into suffering, it is wanting — it is not in consonance with the tabernacle. And so Saul says to the Lord, “I ... kept the raiment of them that slew him”. Acts 22:20. And, oh! what a spirit he saw in that martyr as the stones fell upon him, and he knelt down, like his Master! Luke delights in recording these comely actions. You see the perfect suitability of Stephen’s request, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge”. Acts 7:60. His Master had said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”. Luke 23:24. The Lord Jesus did not limit forgiveness in His request, but Stephen did. Stephen could not ask for forgiveness generally; he could ask, and did ask, for the forgiveness of the sin against himself, which was right — he remitted, as far as his attitude was concerned, the sin of his murderers, and he asked the Lord to do the same. He was a priest unto God in that. “Lord”, he says, “lay not this sin to their charge”. Acts 7:60. That is one sin. And so he delivered up his spirit, saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit”. Acts 7:59. One lingers over that spectacle of the first martyr for Jesus; one loves to see how the holy oil, the anointing, shone out there! How the glory shone! The Spirit of the suffering Christ shone resplendently in that hour.
[p. 288] And Saul was a Witness — he saw it, and now his turn has come. It had, indeed, come already, but it has come now in peculiar force as he is in the inner prison, and you see how he prayed With Silas. Instead of joining with the dear women by the river side, he is in company with his brother, Silas, in the prison, and he prays. We are not told what he asked for. Can we hide from ourselves that he prayed for the gaoler? You see horns on the brazen altar, symbols of moral power, and that moral power shone in all its perfectness in Gethsemane. It shone before the high priests, and before Pilate. It shone on the cross. It is wholesome, beloved, to have our minds directed to a suffering Christ. The heart lingers on that scene, because every word and look and action are perfect — all is divinely perfect. The horns of the altar, so to speak, are seen in moral power. He rises above all persecution. And, in the height of His sufferings, He prays for His murderers: the glory shone in the darkness. And by His side He has a trophy, as if God were to recompense Him as He stood the test so perfectly. So infinitely perfect was He there, that God gave Him, in the thief, a recompense — a companion, and in His blessed exit into paradise He had a companion. And so, in Paul, and in Silas, too, we see the reflex of the sufferings of Jesus, in so far as it can be seen in men of like passions as ourselves. We see the horns, as it were, of the altar, the moral power that appeared in those holy men.
But there was not only the brazen altar, there was the altar of incense. That also is anointed, and it had horns. Both altars were for God — they refer to God. The holy incense arose in that prison at midnight into heaven, as those holy priests prayed and sang praises to God. Wonderful reflex of the scene at Calvary! “Father, forgive them”, Luke 23:24 was the incense that arose from the golden altar at Calvary.
[p. 289] And in the prison at Philippi you have the prayers and the praises ascending. The gaol, dark and dismal as it doubtless was, becomes a temple to God! Such is the power, beloved, of the Spirit of God, as having free course in a believer, such is the corresponding effect of sufferings, that the holy incense ascends from the golden altar before God. No doubt, in principle, we all benefit from the prayers of those holy men on that night. Europe lay to the west — what light has shone there, yea, what suffering! What sufferings have marked that continent — what sufferings for Christ! The Book of Martyrs recounts those holy men and those sufferings. Brethren, are we to be behind them? It is not the divine way that the dispensation should end up differently from its beginning; and so it is for us to take our share in suffering.
As the earthquake occurs, and the prison doors are opened, we have, as I may say, the table of shewbread. These things are all linked together, all anointed with the holy oil, for now, when the gaoler is suing for peace and mercy, the apostle is ready to minister to him. The features of the brazen altar have shone there, and those of the golden altar now both lead up to the features of the table of shewbread; that is to say, the apostle is now in a position to administer the bounty of God. Such, beloved, is the way in which the Spirit of God links up those features in this great vessel of suffering. So he says to the gaoler, “Do thyself no harm, for we are all here”. Acts 16:28. What a voice that must have been to the gaoler! Really, it was a voice from heaven. You say, “No, it was from the prison”. It was from the prison, but it was a voice from heaven. It sounded out in clear and distinct accents the attitude of heaven towards that poor penitent. The gaoler says, “What must I do to be saved?” Acts 16:30 Again, heaven announces itself in this wonderful vessel. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, and thy house”. Acts 16:31.
[p. 290] Salvation is being administered, the suffering vessel is equal to its administration. He rises to it. “Believe”, he says, “on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, and thy house”. Acts 16:31.
How full is the answer! How comprehensive! For God would not only have that gaoler, but also his house — not only should the gaoler have salvation, but his house should have it, too. Such is the liberality of heaven.
The apostle is equal to it; he is now an administrator. I refer to the table of shewbread, because it represents administration. It had a crown, you remember, round about it, meaning, I suppose, that it was dignified. How dignified these men were. The gaoler observed their dignity. He says, “Sirs”. Can you imagine him, as he thrust them into that inner prison, saying, “Sirs”? Never. They were scoundrels when he put them in there, in his mind. Now, they are gentlemen! I use that word to make it simple. He discerns, as I understand, the crown that was round about the table of administration, for God would have His bounty administered here in suitable dignity. And these holy men, as they prayed and sang praises to God in the prison, were now morally equal to represent such holy administrations. The crown was there — moral dignity shone in those men. And so the gaoler says, “Sirs”. There were no more noble men in Philippi that night than those two persons. The Emperor, himself, were he there, would not be as noble in the eyes of the repentant Philippian gaoler as were these holy men. Think of the dignity that God has put upon us as identified with His administration. We are outside of the world and all its dignities — we are in the light of our heavenly calling — we are in the enjoyment of the bounty of heaven itself. The dignity of what we have got is worth something to us. It cost Jesus everything — [p. 291] it cost God the life of Christ — it cost God His beloved Son. The Holy Spirit is here to minister to us all these wonderful things. I think the gaoler recognised, however dimly, the border or the crown of the holy table of administration when he said, “Sirs”. It had come right down to him — it was there, and he was realising it with penitence. You will recall that the table of shewbread was a cubit and a half high. The altar of incense was two cubits high. It was Godward. A cubit and a half, as I apprehend it, brings it within man’s range. A half is always, I apprehend, in the measurements, a hiding of glory. It shone throughout the Lord’s pathway on earth. It is seen three times in the ark of the covenant. There was concealed in that lowly Man of Nazareth the glory of the Godhead — nothing less. All the fulness, we are told, dwelt there. Nevertheless, He sat on the well of Sychar, a weary Man. And so, beloved, if we are to be of service to men in administration, we must learn that in our dignity we are to be within their reach. We are not clothed in “cloth”, we are not clothed in official dignity, we are not above the people — we are by them, we are available to them. These holy men in the prison were available to the gaoler, and they announce to him that he should be saved, and his house. They spoke unto him “the word of the Lord”. Acts 16:32. They brought to him, by the Spirit, the mind of God for him. What an opening up for that man that night from these blessed men, as they spoke unto him “the word of the Lord”! Acts 16:32. It is interesting to see how the gaoler is learning to administer what he had. It says, “He took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes”. And it says, “And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them”. Acts 16:33,34.
He was the administrator in his house, and he is now acting like those holy men in expending all upon them. Well, I [p. 292] have no more to add, dear brethren. I am dealing tonight with a holy subject, a subject which one would recoil from, because one feels one knows so little of the sufferings of Christ. But there they are — they are not only in the gospels, they are in the book of the Acts in men of like passions as ourselves, and they are in the epistles, and we are enjoined to take our share in them. May God bless the word to us!