BETHANY
L. McFarlane
This scripture came to me, brethren, as we sang together. I was thinking of this little company at Bethany, a little company of brethren with love among themselves. Each one had his or her own experience with the Lord and we would speak of these dear brethren as over death, gone through the Jordan, their link was with Christ as risen and now to be glorified. The Lord had gone through death. He had had to say to death and the grave, and He is now victorious. He says in another place, “All power has been given me in heaven and upon earth”, Matthew 28: 18. It is thrilling to speak of the Saviour in this way in His majesty and glory about to go in, the everlasting doors about to be lifted up for Him to enter in. And yet I thought this company at Bethany had a real place in the Lord’s affections. We would like to apply it to ourselves in this city, that we each one have come this way, through the light of His death and resurrection, and have had to do with the Lord as the glorified Man. The bent of the Lord’s mind here is to bless, to bless these men, these disciples, as He is separated from them.
I think that the Lord would impress us at this time with His love. It was the stamp of His love that He left at Bethany; you will remember that it says that He loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus (John 11: 5). Oh, that love remains unchanged! We sing sometimes—
‘Lord, on the throne Thy love’s the same
As once upon Thy cross of shame’ (Hymn 15).
His circumstances have changed, but the love remains. Oh that we might be freshly impressed, dear brethren, with the divine favour that is ours to have a link with the Man out of death, the ascended Man, the Man who has gone on high. Think of the distinction relating to the saints of God, the people of God, that we are in a world where Christ is not; we are not of the world as He is not of the world, but, thank God, we have a living link with the Man in the glory.
I think there is something in this matter of “as far as”, “he led them out as far as Bethany”. How deliberate the Lord was in all His movements; how He was leading. Think of all that was in the Lord’s heart as He came to this locality; “and having lifted up his hands, he blessed them”. That was Aaron’s attitude, blessing. The Lord here is entering in as the true Aaron, the High Priest according to the order of Melchisedec. He is going in and He is leaving this indelible impression. Would these men forget this? No, they would never forget this; those hands which were pierced and nailed to the cross, those very hands He lifted up in blessing. We should be affected, brethren, by the Lord’s attitude at this very moment. There is absolutely nothing else in His heart for His people than to bless; despite what we are, despite our weaknesses, our failings, there is nothing else in the Saviour’s heart but to bless.
We desire tonight that each might leave this occasion with a sense of the blessing. It is a great thing to go through this world as being blessed.
“And it came to pass as he was blessing them”—as He was in this attitude of blessing—“he was separated from them and was carried up into heaven”. What a sight!—the beginning of the faith period. That is what is involved here, that they would no longer see Jesus as they had known Him; the faith period had begun; He was separated from them. But, Ah! the affections remain; Jesus on high, His own on the earth. Those affections are real, they are abiding, dear brethren. Would that we knew more of that! There is a good deal in that word, “He was separated from them”. It says, “Whom heaven indeed must receive till the times of the restoring of all things”, Acts 3: 21. He could say, “Yet a little while I am with you”, and “A little while and ye do not behold me ... because I go away to the Father”, John 7: 33; 16: 16.
The Lord has gone to the Father, but He is coming, dear brethren, He is coming. As another has said recently, we are in the last hour of the testimony. Jesus is coming, and He is coming as He went up. He is coming to bless, coming to take His own to receive them to Himself, as He said. “And they, having done him homage, returned to Jerusalem with great joy”. They go back into the city, as they had been told, “and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God”. Now here it is not just the High Priest, we speak reverently, but a company of priests continually in the temple praising and blessing God. May the Lord bless His word.
Word in meeting for ministry, Brooklyn, N.Y.
12 August 1980