READINGS IN MATTHEW'S GOSPEL (9)
READINGS IN MATTHEW’S GOSPEL (9)
Matthew 17: 1 - 13; Matthew 18: 15 - 20; Matthew 19: 13 - 15
JTJr We reached the assembly at the last reading in chapter 16, which is the centre of the subject before us; that is, the assembly, not as in heaven, but down here. So that the chapters following take on a special character as in relation to the assembly. The Lord had said that the gates of hades should not prevail against the assembly. That needs to be in our minds at the present time, that nothing can overthrow the assembly. It is what the Lord has set up down here. Then we should consider how the chapters that follow have the instruction of the disciples in view so that they might function in the assembly.
EAL Would you say that the Father’s voice in chapter 17 is confirmatory of Peter’s confession, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God”? Is it that the Father would confirm the disciples in the light that had come through Peter as to who the Lord was?
JTJr Yes; the Lord’s sonship being the foundation of things and the Father’s delight now coming out in that regard. So it says, “This is my beloved Son”; that is, God is calling attention to Christ on the mountain. If we have the Lord with us in our meetings we are on sure ground.
ABP Does Peter later show how this experience fortified the disciples in relation to what is down here, when he spoke of it as the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in his second epistle? It gave power to the ministry here.
JTJr That is the only reference to it in the apostolic ministry. Peter is the one that makes it, showing how we may come into line with the truth, even though we may have been a little off at one time, as he was here.
AR Peter says that they were “eyewitnesses of his
majesty”. It says here that the Lord’s face shone as the sun. Does that give character to Matthew’s ministry?
JTJr I think that is right. The Lord’s majesty is what gives character to the assembly in Matthew’s presentation.
JS What would you say of the cloud of glory coming into view? It came into view at the Red Sea and Moses was told to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. It would lead the people, and protect them, too.
JTJr Now it is the cloud in relation to the Lord Jesus.
CN Do you think that the instruction in chapter 17, which we have read, serves as education to the three apostles in view of assembly administration?
JTJr I thought that. The Lord takes up Peter, James and John his brother into a high mountain apart. That is, they needed to be brought apart from things here and brought up into a high mountain. It is a question of what we see. Those in the service, I think, would be especially in mind in these three; that they are to see things, and they do see things.
WFK Beholding His glory would help us all in the assembly, would it not?
JTJr I think that what we need in these meetings is to be sensible of the Lord’s presence with us. If we know He is with us then we are on sure ground in the way He will lead us in what may come before us.
ANW The two added words, ‘Hear him’ are important in connection with what you are saying. On Jordan’s banks the divine pleasure was announced, heaven having its own delight in Him, but here, while He is the beloved Son “in whom I have found my delight”, these further words are added, “... hear him”.
JTJr So that the Son is viewed here as the [p. 181] Operator and we are to hear Him. He is carrying on and He has His own way of carrying things through. We therefore should look to Him.
JS Divine speaking is in the Son.
JTJr Those active in the ministry will hear Him, and the assembly will hear Him, because it is the assembly that is in mind and all that is connected with it in its various functions.
AR Why is He seen with Moses and Elias?
JTJr They were talking with Him. It is, I suppose, their intelligence in the position. They come forward here, I think, to bring out the dignity of the Person of the Son of God.
WWM “This is my beloved Son”.
JTJr We are in touch, therefore, with the Person of Christ.
ANW While Moses has his peculiar place and Elijah has his, the Father would emphasise that it is His beloved Son that has to be heard.
JTJr Yes; we have before us the personal dignity of Christ; His majesty; His power and coming. Power is always there in Him; there is no change in Him. When we come to the next paragraph there is weakness with the disciples in meeting a certain case, but the Lord’s power is there and He is able to deal with it.
FHL Peter, James and John would be representative of the circle of administration in the twelve?
JTJr I think so. They represent, therefore, the ministers in a general way, those who are active in the service. They require to see things. Their weakness comes out in this position and this illustrates our own shortcomings. The instruction they received here and the experience also would help them to arrive at a proper state in themselves to meet anything that might come up. They were not up to dealing with the lunatic.
AR It was a very hard case, a lunatic, and they [p. 182] were unable to heal him. The Lord says, “Bring him here to me”.
JTJr That follows the instruction on the mountain where the Father says, “Hear him”. The Lord says, “Bring him here to me”. If we ask the Lord to do something and we agree on it, according to chapter 18: 19, the Lord answers us. He will do it in time.
CAM Before the lunatic is healed we have the Lord’s face shining as the sun. I suppose the word ‘lunatic’ has to do with the moon, but it is remarkable that lunacy only is dealt with in this gospel that has to do with the ordinances of the heavens. Lunacy is not referred to as such in the other gospels.
JTJr I think the sun alludes to the character of the government that is coming in publicly; that it is the Lord’s government, and it will be of majestic character. There will be no darkness nor breakdown in it. Now, in the assembly, these features of the coming kingdom are to be seen. What will be seen publicly in the world to come shines out morally now in the Lord’s direct government in the assembly, so that no case is too hard to be dealt with.
CAM Psalm 19 speaks of the glory of God declared by the heavens, and then the sun is referred to as the bridegroom. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the expanse sheweth the work of his hands. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech and there are no words, yet their voice is heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their language to the extremity of the world. In them hath he set a tent for the sun. And he is as a bridegroom going forth from his chamber; he rejoiceth as a strong man to run the race. His going forth is from the end of the heavens, and his circuit unto the ends of it; and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof”, Psalm 19: 1 - 6.
JTJr Yes; the kingdom of the heavens is emphasised [p. 183] in Matthew, and the Psalm you quote would fit in with the Lord’s face shining as the sun. It is a question of majestic and glorious government which we know now in the assembly, but which will soon be public in the world.
RWS Peter speaks of being “eyewitnesses of his majesty”, and the note to the word eyewitnesses indicates that it is a word used for ‘full initiation into the mysteries’. It would seem as if nothing less than full initiation is required if we are to stand in relation to the assembly and all its exercises in the rigorous conditions contemplated in Matthew’s gospel.
JTJr I think so; and these three, Peter, James and John, would be examples of what is in mind in those who minister; that they see the same things and they say the same things. If there is disunity in what is ministered, there will be disunity amongst the brethren.
EAL We are to be unified in right judgment; not a certain number being unified to overthrow a right judgment.
JTJr Quite so. This is “a high mountain apart”. There is no idea of what is on a low level; that is, evil working underneath, or party lines working, which are always darkening. Here it is what is above. It is a high mountain and they are brought apart, as if the Lord would give them a clear view of things. We need to get clear in our minds and be free from all partisan thoughts and feelings.
EAL The father of this child says plainly that he is a lunatic. He is very emphatic as to his condition.
JTJr He states the actual conditions that existed. As we come down from the mountain, it is a question of what faces us in our localities or our homes, and how things are met. Being on the mountain with the Lord should qualify us for meeting conditions like that of the lunatic.
CN Would you say the power and coming of our [p. 184] Lord Jesus Christ is not only a future thought, but it would be a practical thing that characterises assembly administration?
JTJr Yes; I thought that we should understand that the assembly is connected with such a powerful order of things. The Lord says to the disciples, that they were not to say anything about it until after He arose; meaning, I suppose, until the present period; that this position on the mountain should give character to the whole assembly position down here where the evil is.
ABP Is that further confirmed by the description of the Lord in Revelation 1 of whom John says, “His countenance as the sun shines in its power”, Revelation 1: 16. That bears directly upon the assembly, does it not?
JTJr Quite so. Majesty is there in the allusion to His countenance shining as the sun and the description denotes that things are not right. His affections are bound up, but the judicial features are emphasised, meaning that the Lord is able and has the means of dealing with everything adverse.
GVD There is the idea of regulation, in Psalm 19, in the law of Jehovah and the testimony of Jehovah and His precepts, which follow the reference to the sun and heavens in the first paragraph of the Psalm.
JTJr The precepts come before us in this gospel. We have had the mount of legislation in chapter 5, and we get further regulation in these chapters. It is a question of how things are to be met.
ANW The close of the previous chapter might be taken as merely historical: “... until they shall have seen the Son of man coming in his kingdom”, verse 28. But chapter 17 should certainly make it plain that it is not merely historical. It is a moral and spiritual setting which should have its counterpart today.
JTJr This position of the Lord in His majesty on the mountain should affect us. It is to give character to everything in regard to the testimony here [p. 185] below.
AMacD Do you think that the Lord coming to the disciples and touching them is important? It was the Lord’s own movement here on the mount.
JTJr I think that is very suggestive. The Lord touches these three disciples. I think He had something special in them because He selected them for this occasion. Those who are specially selected in this way become known and the Lord would touch them and give them a sense of His own interest in everything that they are doing.
AR The case of the lunatic brings out the state of the disciples. The Lord says that because of their unbelief they could not deal with this condition.
JTJr Yes; it is a matter of faith again. It required faith for Peter to walk on the water, but here it is the need of faith in dealing with this kind of condition, and I think it shows how the answers come at the present time. The Lord says, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say to this mountain, Be transported hence there, and it shall transport itself; and nothing shall be impossible to you”, chapter 17: 20. That alludes to a very difficult set of opposing circumstances.
JHH “They saw no one but Jesus alone”, chapter 17: 8. Is that responding to the touch?
JTJr I think so. Moses and Elias withdrew. While we have great respect for those whom the Lord uses especially, yet the Lord Himself is to have the supreme place in our souls. He is in charge of the whole period of the testimony.
AI Why did the Lord refer to this extraordinary event as a vision? He said, “Tell the vision to no one”.
JTJr I think it is because of what was seen. Peter says, “We were eyewitnesses of his majesty”. It is a question, therefore, of what the ministers see. You can tell what they see by what they minister.
WAT The disciples are referred to by the Lord [p. 186] as standing in Matthew 16: 28. If we are standing we are available for an impression like this.
JTJr Standing would allude to their availability.
WFK Why do you think the vision was to be kept until after the resurrection? Would the Lord have some reason for bringing in resurrection after this wonderful scene?
JTJr I suppose it is because the Lord’s death and resurrection are the basis for everything, and this vision really bore on the present period, the period of faith. His resurrection would mean the establishment of the faith period.
ANW Peter would certainly not have given such a good account of the matter before the incoming of the Spirit as he did in his letter. It is an excellent account which he could not have given before the Lord arose.
JTJr Showing how we can come round to the truth even though our state may not have been right at the time the truth was ministered. The Lord would bring about a state of intelligence in us as well as a state of holiness, that we might be able to speak of these wonderful things. Peter says, “... being with him on the holy mountain”, 2 Peter 1: 18.
AI Why did Peter say that the prophetic word is made surer?
JTJr I suppose it is because the prophets all pointed to Christ and faith is answered in Him. There is an answer to faith. Things are made sure, so we have no doubts. The more we come together the greater sense we have of the surety of everything that we hold in our minds and hearts as to Christ.
AR “Nothing shall be impossible to you”, chapter 17: 20. Everything can be carried through in the assembly.
JTJr I think that is the point we should see today, that the assembly down here is able to meet whatever the enemy brings against it.
[p. 187] RWS You touched on an important point when you said that you can tell what the minister sees by what he ministers. There is the case of the man who required a second touch, but there is no second touch here. Would you enlarge a little on the matter of ministers saying the same thing? We are told that there are distinctions of services, but the same Lord.
JTJr I think the three distinguished apostles here were selected by the Lord for this special purpose, so that the testimony might be properly set forward and that unity would mark them. It came out specially in Peter and John in their service in the Acts, and what is needed today is that those who minister are of one mind; that they should get the truth into their minds and present it according to what they see. This involves going up and being apart. We have to leave everything here. Can we do that? Can we leave everything and go up and be apart and really see things. Then it also requires a right state in us.
FHL In relation to what we see and hear, is it important to be at home with what is spiritual? In chapter 14 the disciples were filled with fear when they saw the Lord walking on the water, and here they are terrified at the voice.
JTJr I think the Lord has in mind to bring about in His disciples a spiritual state involving faith being active, because in the next position we see a lack of faith. They were not able to heal the lunatic. That is, the Lord has to show where the defect is. It is a question of state. Prayer and fasting alludes to what the persons themselves do.
CN So in verse 7 it says, “Jesus coming to them touched them, and said, Rise up, and be not terrified”. All that would be for the development of a spiritual state in them and the activity of faith.
JTJr There is so much that comes up that requires clarity of mind to judge what is right, and also restfulness [p. 188] of spirit to deal with matters. The Lord would set us up in the power of this in the experience on this mountain.
FSC Is it to be noted that the Lord’s departure is not discussed here, whereas it is spoken of in Luke’s gospel?
JTJr Well, I suppose what is in mind is really the bearing of the testimony here; the public side of things; so that Peter’s remark as to the tabernacles would show where his mind was. It was running in certain channels to which he was accustomed. And we get accustomed to certain viewpoints with which we grow up, and in which we are rigid. These things come out and expose us. The Lord would expose us in them in order to get us to have a clear view, because what is needed more than anything else now is a clear view of things as to the assembly.
CAM I suppose a clear view involves that we get into the unclouded light of heaven. All the confusion and lack of adjustment here on earth is because Christ and the assembly have not their proper place in the thoughts and hearts of the saints. Without that, everything is out of bearing.
JTJr The assembly is brought forward in chapter 16. It is only the assembly that can properly represent Christ. The assembly is a spiritual order of things that is based on what is inward and is able to appreciate what is of God; and we get our view of things clarified as thus we approach any subject.
AI Would the Lord Jesus coming to the disciples and touching them be an encouragement to them?
JTJr The Lord had in mind that they should not be terrified. How quickly we are terrified. We get upset so easily; things upset us, but what the Lord is bringing out is that the assembly is foundational. Nothing can upset the assembly; it is going through.
EAL Paul addresses his first letter to the Corinthians to the assembly of God in Corinth. Then in chapter 9 he says, “Are not ye my work in the Lord?” verse 1. He would look on the saints in that place in no other light.
JTJr He looked on them in that abstract sense as the assembly of God, which was true of them; yet in the actual working of the assembly in Corinth, there were divided conditions, and the Lord is getting at that kind of thing here in this section. It is really to bring us into clarity. The bright cloud and the voice bring in the clarity of view; because everything depends on what the Son of God is and says.
Well now, chapter 18 comes in to meet the conditions that arise between brethren; and we have to acknowledge that they do arise, as they did in Corinth; but if they do, there is provision made in this chapter to go into matters and, if possible, to save the brother. But I think that if we hear the Son of God, and if we are on the mountain there will not be much that will need to be taken up with one another.
AR It says in chapter 18, “If also he will not listen to the assembly ...”
JTJr Yes, it goes on to that, the assembly being authoritative as having the final word. The Lord has the assembly here, and the assembly gives the final word as to everything.
AR We might say that we would like to hear the Lord speak. In chapter 17 it is, “Hear him”, but we should realise that the assembly speaks also. We sometimes forget that side.
JTJr Quite so. It involves the whole company, and in speaking it would express the Lord’s mind.
GAL Is Abigail a type of the assembly as seen in Matthew? Is she the wife in the wilderness setting, whilst Rebecca is the wife in the heavenly sense? We are considering the assembly as down here. Abigail makes much of David in what she says to him, bringing out who he [p. 190] really was.
JTJr I think that is right. Abigail has been referred to as typical of the church militant. It is a question of military operations in dealing with what opposes. God came in and dealt with Nabal and cleared the whole position of opposition to David.
DAP Would not these three tabernacles which Peter suggested, if permitted, bring in confusion?
JTJr That is what would happen, but it is remarkable that the glory remains; that is, the bright cloud remains in spite of what Peter says. We may introduce something that is foreign and yet the cloud remains, but what may be brought in, in an extraneous way, is overcome. How much of what is extraneous is brought in at times, into this position of privilege. Christ’s glory shines through it all in spite of what Peter had said.
WAT God is quick to bring it in. “While he was still speaking”.
CN Does the Father’s voice clarify the whole position? “This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight: hear him”.
JTJr Yes; Peter, in a general way, represents our own condition and state. In the previous chapter the Lord had to say that Peter’s mind was on the things of men. In this chapter his mind is taken up with Jewish thoughts; that is, he has the idea of Judaism before him. And what confused suggestions would arise out of all that! So that Peter represents our own condition which needs to be adjusted continually, everyone of us needs this.
FNW Is it in your mind that one undertaking to serve should see to it that he is in accord with the present mind of God?
JTJr Yes, that the bright cloud has its effect, and that the Father’s voice and the Lord’s own personal glory have their effect. That all tends to bring the saints together, especially those who minister. They [p. 191] gravitate together because they are of one mind as to these things.
DP Should we be on the alert against two or three different elements operating in a meeting?
JTJr Three tabernacles were in Peter’s mind, which would bring up a great deal as to what a minister might bring forward, how he may be out of line in what he may say in a meeting. So that in a meeting like this it is a question of the Spirit of God leading us in whatever direction we need, through whomsoever He may give the needed word. What has been recovered to us is the presence of the Spirit and the Spirit’s leading in the temple. So that direction is given to the saints in such meetings.
WFK The Father’s voice would have us delight in the Son of God.
JTJr Quite so. So that the Father should have His part in our meeting tonight. He is saying, in principle, “This is my beloved Son ... hear him”. He is not without those whom He can use in the assembly to bring out the line we need at any particular moment.
JS He would have us move into love’s circle.
JTJr I think that the position on the mountain gives character to the following chapters.
AI Peter said that this voice was from the excellent glory. As taught by the Spirit of God he is able to describe the glory as excellent.
JTJr Yes; and he undoubtedly had often thought over the matter. As we ponder over things we are able to name them. It is the holy mountain and then the voice from the excellent glory. They are his own words, but nevertheless inspired.
FSC What ground do we have for saying that the Lord could have gone back from this point to glory?
JTJr In His own personal right the Lord could do that. We cannot put any limitations upon Him. The Father’s voice to Him here is sufficient: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight”. Everything up to this point was perfect, and so to the end.
CN I suppose the bright cloud and the shining of His own face would be of the same character.
JTJr The Lord could have gone back to glory, but He goes on to the cross. The Father’s voice says, Hear Him. It is a question now of the character of the dispensation coming out, and Matthew bears on that in regard to public government and church government. What we need so much in our localities is assembly administration, and this chapter is to bring us up to the proper level from which everything should proceed in matters here below.
RWS So He says, “I am with you ...” in Matthew. He is here to see that matters work out in that way.
JTJr So that this mountain, in that way, remains; it is the mount of glory that is to give character to everything in the assembly.
AR The assembly has the power to bind and the power to loose, according to chapter 18.
WAT This mountain of glory remains in its application to the present time. The mountain of verse 20 transports itself.
JTJr The mountain of difficulty and opposition is removed. We should experience something of that in our assembly exercises and also in our personal affairs. We should have the faith to say, “Be transported”.
FHL The same One who was on the mount in this glorious condition is in the midst in chapter 18. This should greatly solemnise the two or three, and fortify them also for testimony.
JTJr That is helpful. He says, “There am I in the midst of them”. And reference is made to two who [p. 193] agree. This idea of unity, therefore, should be before us. We agree. It is a matter of unity in what we ask.
WFK No local assembly would be weak if we were conscious of Him being in the midst. We would have all the power and wisdom needed.
JTJr Quite so. We would not have to send away for help. We would not have to wait for others to come in order to meet things. The Lord’s presence is sufficient to meet matters which arise. “There am I in the midst of them”.
SW Is the end reached in being on the mount, seeing the cloud and hearing the voice? When we see Him alone having the supreme place in the assembly, are we able to take care of matters?
JTJr The position on the mount is just one side of it. They saw things there but when they came down from the mountain they were not able to deal with the lunatic. We may see things, but when the actual conditions arise, how are we meeting them? So the Lord points out that this kind cannot go out but by prayer and fasting. That is not merely seeing things. Prayer and fasting allude to what is going on in our lives. It is piety; in other words, are we godly persons; do we bring God into our circumstances.
ANW It is very humbling that this answer to their question, even though they were disciples, is, “Because of your unbelief”.
WWM In Peter’s second epistle, where he refers to this matter, he speaks of the state of the saints, saying that they should use diligence to have in their faith virtue, in virtue knowledge, etc., and if these things are not so, we are blind and short-sighted. So that if we have the right vision, then we must act on it, and come into conformity to that vision.
JTJr Peter had gained in his soul when he wrote that, but at the end of this chapter he says the wrong thing about the taxes. He did not realise that he was a son. The Lord says, “Then are the sons free”. The basis in the soul should be sonship. If we are conscious of being sons, we will be set at liberty, because we will hold in our souls that everything belongs to Christ.
ANW “Give it to them for me and thee”, the Lord says.
JTJr When we go out amongst men we are apt to be afraid to say what is right. We may say the wrong thing. If we do, we are untrue to our position in sonship. We may be in the presence of men who are ungodly though they may be nice people, but if we say the wrong thing in their presence we surrender our dignity in sonship.
CAM Sonship is very prominent in this chapter. There is this wonderful voice from heaven: “This is my beloved Son”, and then there is the man that says, “Have mercy on my son, for he is lunatic”. Then the Lord says, “Then are the sons free”. Meeting the lunatic condition required prayer and fasting but the thought of association with Christ in sonship is in mind at the end of the chapter.
JTJr The Lord saying, “for me and thee”, puts us along with Himself and applies to all of the circumstances we may have to go through as meeting righteous obligations. We should not lower the standard of what the Lord means here. We should not surrender sonship.
AI Do you think the father of the child had faith? It says, “A man came to him, falling on his knees before him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is lunatic, and suffers sorely ... And I brought him to thy disciples and they were not able to heal him”, verses 14 - 16.
JTJr How far on he was, we do not know. He was criticising the disciples. He said to the Lord, “Have mercy”. The Lord brought out that what was lacking was faith. What was lacking was a state in the disciples consistent with what was disclosed on the mountain.
[p. 195] Glory revealed on the mountain in itself was not sufficient; it required a pious life as well, the ability to bring God in. It requires bringing God in and having faith. Nothing is impossible to faith.
AI The man had some desire in relation to his son that the disciples did not have.
JTJr I am sure he had regard for his son, but whether there was faith operating in him is another matter. It did not seem to be operating at all.
RWS Our apprehension of what was shown on the mountain seems to require time. Before Peter finished his service, he appears to have come to the full meaning of what he saw on the mountain. His second epistle, in which he refers to this, was evidently written when he was about to put off his tabernacle. Is God bringing us to it now? Do you think that the saints will come to this great standard that you are suggesting before the end?
JTJr I think so. We should work it out practically in our circumstances, because all of us are tested as to whether we are true to our citizenship and whether we are going to say the right thing when the crisis comes. The Lord anticipated Peter. He does not leave us alone; He will follow us up to get us right. That is what He did with Peter here.
CN In verse 13 it is said: “Then the disciples understood that he spoke to them of John the baptist”. They arrived at a certain understanding of things that they had not before.
RWS The Lord says, “All power has been given me”, chapter 28: 18. He is exerting that power now, not only in heaven, but on earth in relation to the assembly.
JTJr The operation of faith in the saints would link us on with that. Faith is a real thing, and no matter what the mountain or the obstacle may be that is in the way, faith is able for it. And [p. 196] these things underlie the administration of things amongst us.
FHL A real test comes in at the foot of the mountain. Perhaps many of us do not realise the very exalted character of the ministry that we have been in the presence of, or the truth of sonship that applies to us. The test at the foot of the mountain comes in as soon as we leave this particular environment, and it is a question of whether faith is operating in us in relation to what has been ministered.
JTJr You feel that is so. What is at the bottom of the mountain alludes to what we have to go through individually and collectively. It may be in our families, something that is like a great mountain; or it may be other matters that are before us that are stumbling us, but faith is required, and the Lord is calling attention to it, and to the need for prayer and fasting, the pious conditions that are required amongst us if healing is to come in.
Chapter 18 brings out the true character of those who form the assembly. The greatest in the assembly is to be as a little child. If we receive Christ in our hearts we really become great. The assembly is composed of persons into whose hearts Christ has come. There is no other greatness; it is the greatness of Christ that gives character to the assembly.
RHS Can the liberty of sonship be enjoyed without the Holy Spirit?
JTJr I do not think so. I think the liberty of sonship involves the Spirit being in us.
Ques When did Peter acquire his power? He was very weak at one time. Was it when the Spirit came upon him?
JTJr He had real power among the brethren in the early chapters of the Acts. In chapter 1 he knew what was needful and led the brethren in it. In chapter 2 he lifted up his voice, we are told. He was certainly in power then.
[p. 197] Rem He made many mistakes all through the gospels.
JTJr Well, he was a figure of ourselves. We make mistakes, and we fail; but then the point is, how is it with us now? In Acts 2 he stood up with the eleven. That is where we should be, standing up with the eleven. I allude to the present position where the Spirit is.
RWS You alluded to the family; does that bear upon our households?
JTJr Chapter 19 deals with family relationships. We did not say much about chapter 18, but the passage is well known to us. What gives character to the assembly in chapter 18 is the little child. It is that character of things, where Christ has been accepted. In chapter 19 it is a question of the family circle. The question of marriage comes up first; then little children; then young men. So that the relationships in which we all move are brought in in chapter 19. The Lord deals with the matter of marriage as it was in God’s mind in the beginning. He says, “From the beginning it was not thus”. He brings out the dignified setting of marriage as it was at the beginning.
CAM As the light of heaven shines on these relationships, everything becomes clear. The troubles which hang over the world today are because heaven has been divorced from earth. As we think of the glory of the Lord shining upon everything from chapter 17 on, we know that everything is going to be set right according to that glorious light.
JTJr The Lord deals with the marriage question. We have the weakness of the public setting in the chapter, but the Lord, going back to the beginning, would give His disciples a clue as to how it should be held amongst the saints — how the dignity of marriage should be maintained. Then, in verse 13 the children are brought to Him and He would have to say to them. We have many young ones and many babes, but are [p. 198] we really viewing them in the sense that the Lord has a great interest in them and wants to take them on in view of the assembly?
AR It says He laid His hands on them.
JTJr They were the same hands that touched the disciples on the mountain. He is thinking of the little ones and taking them on. But then the next section shows that one young man went away sorrowful. The babe has grown up and has gone off. The young man was not ready for the severity of the way. The Lord pointed to the cross. The severity of the way is the test when the young men become of age. The concern is that they might select the right way.
WFK The disciples rebuked the children. We might hinder young ones.
JTJr It is an exercise that we should not hinder the young ones. We should be models for them.
FNW Should both parents have before them what was in the beginning as to marriage? The Lord goes back to the beginning in regard to the matter.
JTJr Yes, if we took up the marriage bond according to what it was at the beginning, children should not be lost. The babes are taken care of by the mothers as to their material needs but when they become of age are they lost? The young man went away sorrowful. There evidently was a defect in the home. There is no joy in turning away from the pathway of christianity.
AR He had large possessions, and evidently was earthly-minded.
JTJr How are the children to develop? I think the Lord, in putting His hands on the children, indicated how He valued them. Parents should value them in view of their place in the testimony and train them rightly. This young man could not have had a right household training or he would have stayed with the Lord.
RWS The Lord, as laying His hands on the babes,
[p. 199] would say, in effect, I have done My part, now you do yours.
JTJr Just so, it is our part to bring the children up so that they will remain in the way with Christ.
SW The disciples rebuked the children, but when the young man went away sorrowful, the disciples were astonished at the Lord’s words and said, Who then can be saved? Does that show how slow we are to learn? Peter stirs up the saints as to their minds, 2 Peter 3: 2, 3.
JTJr His epistles greatly help, because he speaks of the marital side, bringing in Abraham and Sarah. The dignity of the marriage relationship is in Peter’s mind. He brings it up in relation to Abraham and Sarah. They are brought forward to represent a proper household, and children brought up in it would remain with Christ in the way.
FHL This is a very searching section, because this young man appears to be the very best that Judaism could produce. He desired the blessing but he was not prepared for the path of suffering with the Lord.
JTJr That is the serious issue today. Young people are growing up, but are they being properly trained for the assembly, or are they being allowed to go away? How will their training affect them when they come to a turning point?
JS It is a question of where their hearts are.
AMacD Much is said as to the word, and what Jesus said. Would that link on with the word on the mount to hear Him? And is it a question of what our children hear in our households?
JTJr That is the idea. What do they hear in our households. It is the parents’ responsibility that the children abide in the pathway; that they do not go away sorrowful, but that they come into the pathway and identify themselves with the truth.
ABP The Father’s voice on the mount brought in adjustment before the matter Peter introduced could [p. 200] spread. Would that be an example to us? Often, as children grow up, they more or less dominate the conversation in the household, but is there not an obligation on the part of the parents to break in with a word and hold the truth as it really stands?
JTJr I am sure that is a very needed word for all of us, that the speaking should flow out in that sense through headship in the house, and as under the Lord’s control, so that conversations are controlled.
Rem Would you say that the prodigal son answered to the training in a good household? Although in the far country, he remembered what was in the father’s house, and came back.
JTJr Yes, that is another point that brings out the character of the flesh, which is in every one of us. In spite of parental care we may turn to the world.
ANW The young men may think it is hard to stay, but they will prove it to be harder if they go. This young man went away grieved. How could it be otherwise?
JTJr He had large possessions. Every young man has large possessions of one kind or another.
KWR To follow the Lord’s word would be like dealing with one of the mountains that had to be removed. Faith is required.
JTJr Yes; that is what it was; the young man could not remove it. It was too much for him, and it will be so unless there is faith.
AR Peter says, “We have left all”. We should be able to say this, also.
You can never understand sonship until you see it in Christ. Becoming Man, He takes the place of Son, but the Lord did not begin His service until He was publicly acknowledged as Son.
Chicago, 1905.