READINGS IN MATTHEW'S GOSPEL (6)
READINGS IN MATTHEW’S GOSPEL (6)
JT According to chapters 8 and 9, the Lord has been doing much. We have an earlier record at the end of chapter 4, but these two chapters bear on it peculiarly, so that there is abundant evidence in them of how the Lord did things, and of the results in certain persons. Now it is thought that chapter 10 affords us instruction as to the special character of divine work as seen in the service of the apostles. They were to do greater works than He, because He would go to the Father, but the chapter indicates how the work is to be done, what is needed in the sense of strength of fibre, and what were the vicissitudes that would have to be entered upon. The closing verses bring in the idea of the reception of the ministers: “He that receives you receives me, and he that receives me receives him that sent me. He that receives a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man, shall receive a righteous man’s reward. And whosoever shall give to drink to one of these little ones a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward”.
The idea of righteousness, which has been noted in chapter 1, is very special in this book and enters into this section. Joseph, the husband of Mary, is especially noted as a righteous man. It is thought that chapter 10 will help us, especially those who serve, in the idea of being received as sent. The word sent covers the whole dispensation, even to a disciple.
JS Is that in keeping with the closing verses of the previous chapter, that workmen should be sent forth into the harvest?
JT Yes; the Lord had that in His mind. He had been working Himself, but He would associate others [p. 111] with Him, and He begins with the apostles so that we might have a true thought of the character of the workmen in the dispensation. The apostles were the leaders, but the matter comes down to a righteous man, and then to giving a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple: “Verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward”. So that the thought of reward enters into the whole matter, as well as the idea of being sent.
AR Does this chapter show that the Lord has charge of the workmen? He tells them where to go.
JT The Lord has charge of the workmen; there must be that idea. It is manifest in the chapter: “And having called to him his twelve disciples, he gave them power” — or authority. The note on verse 1 says, ‘More than authority; it includes the right to exercise power. Hence’power’is nearer to it in English: dunamis (power) is the ability to do a thing’.
ANW As so imbued, do they become apostles in verse 2? They are disciples in verse 1, but apostles in verse 2.
JT I think it is all to work out the great thought of power in whatsoever way it may be shown. The apostles were pre-eminently examples of power in service, and hence the place they had at the beginning of the dispensation. It is said in Acts 2: 42: “And they persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles”. That is, it is a question of apostolic power and authority.
RWS Would this be the Lord’s answer to what the Pharisees said in chapter 9: 34? “He casts out the demons through the prince of the demons”. The Lord is not retiring; He is going forward in an extended, administrative way in calling the twelve.
JT It says, “And the demon having been cast out, the dumb spake. And the crowds were astonished, saying, It has never been seen thus in Israel. But the Pharisees said, He casts out the demons through the prince of the demons”. There was the testimony that such power had never been seen in Israel.
RWS The power is now not only to be in the Lord, but it is to be in the twelve also.
JT To show what the Lord had introduced, because they are to be the leaders, and the first of them mentioned is special: “first ... Peter”; so that we are to pay attention to these men and the order in which they come into the service. Each has his own place and the operations were to be in divine power, not only dynamic power, but power in the official sense; power in the sense of having authority officially. Hence, the position of the saints now is to be made clear, and I think Matthew is intended to make it clear, that it can be accredited. It can be authoritatively said that we are on the line of the Spirit of God. It might be said that we are boastful in saying that, but God intends that there are those who today have authority in a moral sense. It is not exactly in an official sense, but in a moral sense, which in a way is greater than what is merely official.
Ques Is the position in which they received the power important? “Having called to him his twelve disciples”, as though they were already available, but needing to come to Him in this distinctive way.
JT Quite so; and that they were His disciples. It is very precious that we belong to Him. But here they are sent out, as belonging to Him, in the capacity of apostleship.
Ques Is not the starting point of all effective service the presence of the Lord?
JT Yes; and hence in this gospel we have, “And behold, I am with you all the days”.
Rem ‘All the days’ in that passage would entail all the vicissitudes that you have mentioned.
FSC The sphere broadens out at the end of the gospel. Here it is to the lost sheep [p. 113] of Israel.
JT At the end of the gospel it says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations”, whereas in this chapter it is restricted to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. I suppose God, in His divine wisdom, selected them in order that He might have the very best quality, which is a feature of the gospel. These men were His, but they were also commissioned to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. They had the first place with Him.
ESW Does the thought of the Lord of the harvest dominate the service so that every service is under the Lord’s control and it is intended to secure results?
JT “Supplicate therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send forth workmen unto his harvest”, chapter 9: 38. That stresses the position as authoritative. The centurion in chapter 8 said to the Lord, “For I also am a man under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say to this one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my bondman, Do this, and he does it”, chapter 8: 9. He understood that the Lord was in that position, and therefore he says, “only speak a word, and my servant shall be healed”. It is remarkable that that should come out in a man like the centurion before we have the exercise of that authority in chapter 10.
FHL Would there be other disciples in view in Matthew 9: 37, or just the twelve? Many that went back in John 6 are called His disciples.
JT When we come to chapter 10 His disciples are specific. They are the twelve. I believe the Lord intends to bring out the idea of selection in service, the fibre the apostles had, and the power they had as given by Him. The whole chapter works out on those lines, but we can all come into it. It is just disciples at the end of the chapter. Giving a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple would show we can all come into the matter of service and giving.
[p. 114] Ques Would it be opportune to ask about the dual character of the ministry? “He gave them power over unclean spirits, so that they should cast them out, and heal every disease and every bodily weakness”. Are there two sides of ministry in that; authoritative ministry that has come down to the present time? Unclean spirits are cast out, but diseases and weaknesses are healed.
JT There is healing. I suppose the healing of disease and bodily weakness would mean that the persons are secured in their bodies. That idea is prominent throughout the gospels. Whatever is done is done completely. It is wholly done. When we come to the epistles we have the instruction, “If even a man be taken in some fault, ye who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of meekness”, Galatians 6: 1. The word restore is to set him up again so that he should function, and I think that is one of the most important things for us in regard of healings and recoveries; that the person is not only numbered amongst us as restored in body, but that he is functioning. The bodily weakness or the disease may be eliminated, but the body remains and is to function. Whether it be a brother, or a sister, each one is to function. The body involves the means whereby the work of God may work out in a functional way so that each one is doing his part.
JS As vessels for the testimony?
JT Exactly.
CN Would an example be seen in Peter’s mother-in-law? As soon as the fever was removed she served them.
JT We have often noticed that. She serves Him. It says that in this gospel. In Luke it is different; but she serves Him in Matthew. The Lord, in healing her, had gone into the house Himself. He was not asked in.
ESW Does the thought of the harvest mean that in the final result of every service there is to be [p. 115] something for God?
JT Yes.
ANW Does “every disease and every bodily weakness” imply that there is nothing incurable?
JT Evidently, even lunacy. It is the only gospel in which we find lunacy, and it is curable. It is a most encouraging thing, too.
ABP Do you think the idea of the Lord of the harvest is seen in Boaz in the book of Ruth? The harvest seems to be a means to an end in view of bringing in the woman, as though the end reached is Christ and the assembly.
JT We certainly have both men and women here, and it is surely to work out to one end — Christ and the assembly.
APT Peter, in referring to the Lord Jesus, says, “who went through all quarters doing good, and healing all that were under the power of the devil, because God was with him”, Acts 10: 38. Does that fit in with Matthew?
JT That is mentioned in the case of Cornelius, showing that this truth works out among the gentiles. “God was with him”. And another thing there is that the Spirit of God came in and operated Himself. It is not simply that He was sent to do it. As Peter preached, the Holy Spirit fell on those who heard. The idea of falling is the same as in Luke 15 where we read of the father falling on the prodigal in fatherly care; so in Acts 10, the Gentiles were secured by the Spirit Himself. I think that is to be noted, because whilst the Spirit is here as sent, He nevertheless operates of Himself and secures persons who are hearing the word.
CAM You have been stressing the matter of the body in this assembly gospel. It is to an assembly setting in Ephesians that the apostle says that He is “Saviour of the body”.
JT That helps, because the idea of Saviour there is of the believer’s body. We can count on the Lord to [p. 116] save our bodies; and surely it is in view of augmenting what there may be in that sense, so that the truth should proceed in fulness, that it should not be hindered. As we were saying as to Galatians 6: 1, each one is to be set up again if there be anything wrong; he is set up again so as to function in his body.
Rem The vicissitudes of the testimony require persons who are prepared to lose their lives, according to the end of the chapter. The comforting thought of the Lord being the Saviour of the body would sustain in all that line of exercise.
JT I was thinking of that. There may be some question in people’s minds as to what the body means in that passage, and I am sure what has been said is true. It is a question of the believer’s body as needed in the present provisional setting, that every one of our bodies is needed.
FNW Would you develop the distinction between the sending of the Lord Jesus and the sending of the Holy Spirit?
JT Well, the Lord is seen firstly as having come; “Lo, I come”. He is a divine Person. Of course, the Holy Spirit is, too, but at the same time the Holy Spirit is pleased to take a relatively lower and more subjective way; as Peter says, “The Holy Spirit, sent from heaven”, whereas, the Lord Jesus came of Himself, but as come as Man on earth, He is sent. And so He says, “As the Father sent me forth, I also send you”, John 20: 21.
FNW So that according to Acts 3: 20, as being Man, He might be sent from heaven. It says, “And he may send Jesus Christ”. Manhood remains.
JT Quite so; that is what is going to happen presently. The Lord is to come, and He comes as sent: “The Lord himself, with an assembling shout, with archangel’s voice and with trump of God, shall descend from heaven; and the dead in Christ shall rise first”, 1 Thessalonians 4: 16. As become Man, He is in a position [p. 117] of acting in service, and it is a matter to be understood and looked into by all of us, that He primarily comes as a divine Person in His own right. But as come. He is in manhood, because He came that way; He came into manhood; and as come, He is in the place of service. Therefore, when He is spoken of as sent, it is not primary; it refers to when He had taken up the attitude of service. He took it up as Man.
Ques There is no idea of the Lord’s being sent prior to incarnation?
JT That is what I thought.
ESW Is the thought of sending in relation to Christ a general thought or is it specific, in relation to particular service?
JT It is a question now of whether it is specific. We have already alluded to, “he may send Jesus Christ”. The Lord is in the attitude of being sent.
ESW If you transfer that to the sending of the disciples in this chapter, is that to be regarded as a general thought, or would that be specifically said on each particular mission.
JT I think the general thought must be there. “Now the names of the twelve apostles are these ... These twelve Jesus sent out when he had charged them, saying, Go not off into the way of the nations, and into a city of Samaritans enter ye not; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”. I think you can see that as sent they are peculiarly limited here because it is to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but then they could go to any Israelite. Any one of them could go to any Israelite and carry on; that is, there is a certain latitude. Then there is the idea of the Lord Himself sending them at a particular time, as in Acts 16, when the Spirit of God forbad them going to a certain place; and then the vision to Paul, the man of Macedonia saying, “Pass over ... and help us”. Paul assuredly gathered from that that the Lord had sent him. I am [p. 118] only saying all that because there is the idea of what is specific, and on the other hand there is the idea of what is levitical. What is levitical may be specific or it may not be. It may be the general idea of going, as Paul said, from Jerusalem round about to Illyricum. It is a wide area but he covered it himself: “I ... have fully preached the glad tidings of the Christ”. At the same time he would always remember the levitical principles entering into his services and the specific guides to do a certain thing.
ESW It is helpful to get these distinctions made clear. The Levites would always hold themselves available for service and yet wait on their service.
JT So that you get in Scripture, “Give ye them to eat”, meaning that they should do what is to be done. So the word, “Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might”, Ecclesiastes 9: 10. There is much of that kind of thing that we should understand.
DPC “He has led captivity captive, and has given gifts to men”, Ephesians 4: 8. Is that an extension of the general thought of service?
JT Well, it is. When it says He gave gifts to men, it means that He gave gifts as in Manhood. That is a very general thought, because it goes on to tell us what He gave: “some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists and some shepherds and teachers”. He gave four kinds of services. It is more general, I would say, but at the same time it is “with a view to the work of the ministry, with a view to the edifying of the body of Christ”.
ESW “Thou hast received gifts in Man”, Psalm 68: 18. I would like to understand that a little better.
JT It is just to bring out the position. He ascended far above all the heavens, which I apprehend is an uncreated condition of things which we never get into. We are always in creation, whatever it be, but He entered into an uncreated condition and received gifts [p. 119] as Man. He gave gifts unto men, but it is really that He received them, as Man, to give.
CHH The note to that verse in Psalm 68 shows that it is in connection with mankind.
Ques Is it imperative, for the powerful function of the gifts, for the servants to be in touch with the Lord, from whom they are received? The ability to express a matter is not sufficient. To effect something in the souls of the saints would arise from a powerful link with Christ as Man.
JT Quite so; and so the thought that the gifts come out from Christ as in an uncreated region is wonderful, I think.
Rem So that the power in them is irresistible.
JT Quite so; and really, in order to get at the truth of what we are now dealing with, we have to go back to the beginning and see how the thing worked out in the twelve. We can visualise it somewhat in looking back. These men stood up together. “Peter, standing up with the eleven”, shows that the levitical position was in mind. These are the ones that are spoken of in our chapter. There they were. Peter alone spoke. They were there and the persons who were converted through the preaching of Peter understood that these eleven men were similar to Peter, and that they could be addressed. They said to Peter and the others, “What shall we do, brethren?” We cannot conceive that these men would not know just what to do without asking the Lord. The Lord would say, You know what these men need. I mean to say, we have to make allowance for what the Lord has made us. He has given us a mind and that mind is the same as His. We ought to be able to tell what we should do in many cases. So He would say, “Give ye them to eat”. And so, when the time of appointing deacons came, they prayed about it, but they did the thing. They said to the people, “Look out ... men”, showing [p. 120] there is a great latitude given to us for carrying on the service of God, so that we should not be literal. He has given us a mind; He has given us power, as it says, He “has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power, and of love, and of wise discretion”, 2 Timothy 1: 7. Well, He has given us that and we must use it and learn how to use it as brethren and men.
CHH Would that be seen in Philip going to Samaria?
JT I think so. He was not sent; he went; and he preached and had great results, too. He was not taken on by the Spirit of God until he had secured certain results. That is another matter.
DP I would like to get clear as to what is said, that the Lord was not sent into service from heaven, but as Man here.
JT That is true. We cannot find that He was sent from heaven. If anyone says He was sent from heaven he would have to show it from Scripture. The Holy Spirit was sent from heaven, but the Lord was sent as down here. “As the Father sent me forth, I also send you”, John 20: 21.
GVD Does the scripture in Galatians 4: 4 support what you are saying? “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son”. The fulness of time does not refer to His coming from heaven, does it?
JT No; it was “come of woman, come under law, that he might redeem those under law, that we might receive sonship”.
APT In Acts 15, Paul says, “Let us return now and visit the brethren in every city ... and see how they are getting on”. He was in touch with the Lord, and he would go ahead and do the needed thing. He had the Lord’s mind about it. Is that the idea?
JT Just so, and God was with them in what they were doing, then the brethren committed them to the grace of God, we are told.
CN [p. 121] In verse 5 of our chapter the service is limited to the house of Israel, and then verse 23 says, “Ye shall not have completed the cities of Israel until the Son of man be come”. Would you say a word as to that?
JT I suppose it would bear on the last days. There are certain things like that in the chapter that have to be looked into at our leisure; for instance, verse 20, “For ye are not the speakers, but the Spirit of your Father which speaks in you”. That contemplates the Holy Spirit here. Well, that is not the general position of the chapter, but it shows that our chapter runs into christianity, and, indeed, it goes past it, because it says, as you say, “Ye shall not have completed the cities of Israel until the Son of man be come”. That refers to the coming of the Lord in a public way. That is the introduction of the millennium, of which this very book teaches. It calls it the regeneration; that looks forward to the coming of the millennial condition of things.
CHH Does Peter’s ministry carry the thought of the keys of the kingdom? Peter had them.
JT Just so. The keys of the kingdom were given to him.
JTJr This thought of a brother, as seen in the apostles, would not be held as a mere natural link and would not hinder Andrew, for instance, or John, in their service.
JT Quite so; that Simon or any of them should seek out his own brother that he might be blessed, is one thing, but to have part in the service on such a basis is another. Some of them here have part in the service, but still they are natural brothers. Of course we should have care for our natural brothers and get them where they can get blessing, but their natural links did not add to them in the service of God.
TEH In the epistles to the Corinthians, the apostle refers to “Sosthenes the brother” and “the brother Timotheus”.
JT They were christian brethren, real brethren, in the sense of being christians.
EAL Would you say something about the section from verse 35 on? Natural relations are mentioned, but brother is not included.
JT The natural family is in mind. We know from Malachi that when Elijah comes, he will take up this matter. He will “turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers”, chapter 4: 6. Verse 34 and what follows contemplates the conditions that the apostles had to meet in their own families; their own brothers and sisters, you might say: “Do not think that I have come to send peace upon the earth: I have not come to send peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man at variance with his father, and the daughter with her mother, and the daughter-in-law with her mother-in-law; and they of his household shall be a man’s enemies”. That would include his brother too: “Brother shall deliver up brother to death, and father child”, verse 21. They of a man’s household should be his enemies. The passage shows what we have to contend with in our natural relatives. However amiable they may be in our flesh, when it comes to the testimony they are utterly unreliable. If the Spirit of God is not working in them they are utterly unreliable in the test. That is one of the things that is outstanding in this chapter.
Ques Is that shown in what is said of Levi in the blessing of Moses in Deuteronomy 33? He was far above the natural link. “Who said to his father and to his mother, I see him not, and he acknowledged not his brethren, and knew not his own children”, verse 9. Does that show the levitical link is not to be interfered with at all by the natural link?
JT That is right. The allusion is, I suppose, to Moses calling for those who were on the Lord’s side. The house of Levi rallied to Moses.
RWS [p. 123] With John Mark and Barnabas it worked out in the reverse. It was a hindrance there, was it not?
JT John Mark went back because he was influenced by nature. He went back from the work. One of the things that is mentioned in this chapter is that we may have to suffer from natural relatives.
Ques Does not the first verse of the next chapter show that the whole of this chapter is of a piece? “And it came to pass when Jesus had finished commanding his twelve disciples ...” Does that not cover the whole chapter? It is an indication of the vicissitudes of the testimony.
JT Yes. We do well to face it. I doubt whether we will ever rightly go through Matthew unless we face this chapter. This is the great fibre chapter in the book; what we have to contend with if we are to be in the testimony.
CN Verse 26 says, “Fear them not therefore”. These terrible conditions are not to be feared.
JT “If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more those of his household? Fear them not therefore”. It is a word we have many a time had before us here; not to be in fear of the enemy’s efforts against the truth. Conditions in the world today portend a possible upheaval at any time and we are to be ready for the worst possible circumstances, and this chapter is to make us ready for them.
JAP That scripture which you quoted from Timothy, that we have not been given a spirit of cowardice but of power, love and wise discretion, seems to cover this whole chapter.
JT Quite so.
AR It is not all platform work.
JT Many of us know something of the danger of making too much of that.
WFK The disciples were restricted from going to [p. 124] Samaria and the nations. Are there places today where the servant should not go?
JT There is that idea, only this chapter would hardly fit that because the restriction is to the nations. There is what we have already remarked as to levitical principles entering into the service of God, as seen in Acts 16: 6, 7, where Paul is forbidden to go to certain places.
RWS How do you view the instruction in verse 23?
JT “But when they persecute you in this city, flee to the other; for verily I say to you, Ye shall not have completed the cities of Israel until the Son of man be come”. It must refer to the coming of the Lord, the pre-millennial coming of the Son of man.
RWS There must then be a lot to do and not much time to do it, and before it is done the Lord comes. I thought the word would reflect on us as to energy.
JT I am sure that is true.
ESW Would you say a little as to the inquiry as to who is worthy in the city or village or house? They are to make inquiry as to who is worthy, verses 11 to 13.
JT “But into whatsoever city or village ye enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and there remain till ye go forth. And as ye enter into a house salute it. And if the house indeed be worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you”. I suppose it would mean that the work of God is going on generally or the testimony from heaven would never be effective at all. I believe the idea of worthiness is some quality in the person which is due to the work of God. It is not natural.
ESW So that you would link yourself on with the work of God that is in the place as Paul did at Philippi?
JT Quite so. I believe we are safe in going to Paul to get all these things illustrated.
JS Verse 14 says, “Go forth out of that house or city”. In verse 1 of the next chapter, it says, “he departed thence to teach and preach in their cities”.
JT Yes; but He did not do that until He sent out these men. He had them by Him. There were none like them on earth. Under the Lord, the apostles were the great inaugurators of the dispensation as the Holy Spirit came down, and here they are made suitable in the fibre of their instruction and character generally for it. So that they were ready to go into death at any time, even wishing for martyrdom for the sake of the Lord. We need to look into our hearts and see if we have anything like that in us, ready to die for the Lord. Paul said that he was ready to die. He did not deprecate dying; he was ready for it.
Ques Would verse 25 be a comfort? “It is sufficient for the disciple that he should become as his teacher, and the bondman as his lord”. Is correspondence to Christ introduced in all these exercises?
JT Quite so; you have the standard in the Master, and it is sufficient for you to be like that.
Rem So that if any sorrows are experienced, the Lord endured them first-hand Himself.
JT You are content to be as He is. “Come to me, all ye who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me ... for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light”, Matthew 11: 28 - 30.
Rem So that Moses, set with such an arduous task, was told by the Lord, “My presence shall go and I will give thee rest”. Would that not occur to him as all the matters arose in his service?
JT Quite so. “My presence shall go”, what a comfort that is!
AR Taking up the cross in verse 38 is taking up your own cross?
JT Yes. “And he who does not take up his cross [p. 126] and follow after me is not worthy of me”, verse 38. It is something of your own.
JTJr That would not hinder one in his service; it rather would help him.
JT That is what the apostle says: “Most gladly therefore will I rather boast in my weaknesses, that the power of the Christ may dwell upon me;” 2 Corinthians 12: 9.
DPC Is that what he means when he says, “Take thy share in suffering as a good soldier of Jesus Christ”?
JT I would say that. There is plenty of suffering. It was a question for Timothy to take his share, and this comes home to each of us. Paul says, “I fill up that which is behind of the tribulations of Christ in my flesh, for his body, which is the assembly”, Colossians 1: 24.
AR It would be like the Lord Jesus Himself; He carried His own cross.
JT Yes; it is a question of what you have, or what I have, what the Lord sees fit to give as a matter of suffering. Take it up and do not avoid it. The Lord says as to Paul, “I will show to him how much he must suffer for my name”, Acts 9: 16.
ABP In that way, is pressure intended to afford opportunity for fresh assertion of purpose of heart?
JT Just so; especially when you think of what Christ has in the assembly; to “fill up that which is behind of the tribulations of Christ in my flesh, for his body, which is the assembly”.
APT The twelve are called the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
JT Just so; He was the Sufferer.
Ques Losing your life, according to verse 39, is not confined to actual martyrdom, would you say?
JT No; many a man might endure literal martyrdom, but he may not stand a life of suffering of another kind. The latter tests your patience. I am sure the most testing thing is extended suffering when you have to exercise patience in it.
[p. 127] Ques Is that what Paul meant when he said, “Bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus”?
JT No doubt; “that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh”.
CHH Would you say that not only is the Lord Jesus Christ represented in the service here, but the Father also; “the Spirit of your Father which speaks in you”.
JT I was thinking of that; it is one of the outstanding things in the chapter, and it must run into the period of the gift of the Spirit. Most of the chapter does not allude to the time of the Spirit, but this does.
ABP Is there any inference that those who serve after the assembly is taken will be indwelt?
JT I do not think so. The assembly has a place that no others have, and the Lord is particular about that. He is particular about the assembly; its dignity must be maintained, and it must not be brought down to the level of common things. “Let not the assembly be charged”. It is a question of dignity and the Lord would put it upon us to see to it that it is not degraded.
JS Would that dignity be maintained in verse 40? “He that receives you receives me”.
JT Yes.
ABP Verse 20, then, would show that during the present dispensation this same character of testimony is to be maintained.
JT Throughout, from the first minute of it to the last minute of it. It is the period of the Spirit. The Lord is concerned as to the dignity of this period, that it should not be allowed to drop down to the level of common things.
APT So the Lord says, “And whosoever shall give to drink to one of these little ones a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple”. That is dignity is it not?
JT Quite so; and it [p. 128] is in the name of a disciple.
FNW What is involved in the name of a disciple?
JT It shows what God has placed down here in the sense of dignity and representation.
ESW Does it mean that on our side we should recognise the dignity that God has placed upon the prophet and the disciple?
JT Quite so. And yet, he would be just a disciple, in the sense of being among the Lord’s followers, as a learner. Discipleship implies that you are learning from him, as Mary said, “Rabboni, which means Teacher”. He was her Teacher. She was truly a learner. That is the idea in John’s gospel, that you have no official titles; what is said in this sense is more what you are morally.
SW “He that receives you receives me”. Would that not only indicate the servant’s ministry, but the servant himself? I was thinking of Lydia having received Paul’s ministry, and then she could receive him into her house.
JT And when he was leaving he came to her. It is a great matter for a sister to acquire a place among the brethren herself. It is first her house: “Come into my house”; but when Paul was leaving, he came to her; Acts 16: 40.
JHE Speaking of dignity, the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch. What a testimony that must have been!
JT The point there is that Christianity was set out in Paul and Barnabas in their great labours there for a whole year. The Spirit of God takes account of a period of time in the ministry of two brothers, and the result of it is: “The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch”. That was the fruit of their work.
ESW I would like to get a little clearer understanding of receiving “a prophet in the name of a prophet”. Does it imply that there is great gain in recognising the prophet when he speaks, that he is a [p. 129] prophet?
JT Quite so, that is one of the important things that have been stressed in our times, the idea of prophetic meetings, prophetic ministry.
ESW We sometimes pass it by as a word of not very great importance, but the spiritual person would recognise that it was a prophetic utterance.
JT He gave some apostles and some prophets. These were gifts given.
ESW He has acquired that name, having been given it by God?
JT Yes. Much is made of the prophets in the Scriptures, particularly in the Old Testament, but also in the New Testament, and as referred to in this way, they would be known men of prophetic power. Women were known also as persons who prophesied.