THE GREATNESS OF JESUS
C.R.Byng
God is operating with a view to each of us having an impression of the greatness of Jesus. This was a remarkable impression that John had. He tells us that he was in the island called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus. He was apparently alone as far as believers were concerned. Everything was adverse in outward circumstances. He had been taken away from active service for Christ and banished to Patmos, but he has this wonderful experience: "Behold, he comes with the clouds". Who was John speaking about? Who could it be except Jesus? He does not say that He is going to come in 1900 years; he says "Behold he comes". John was brought into the understanding that it was just about to happen. How much more we can be rightly expectant of it. Jesus was last seen by the world as a dead Man; many saw Him last as hanging on the cross at Golgotha, but some perhaps saw Him taken down as a dead Man from the cross. That is the Man who is going to come and be seen by all; even those who pierced Him are going to see Jesus. Are you looking forward to seeing Jesus coming with the clouds, beloved?
We sang earlier in the day of the mighty transformation of this hour. What a mighty transformation there is going to be when Jesus comes in the glory that is uniquely His to resolve all the problems that are baffling the statesmen in the world at this time.
As believers in God we pray for them in the light of the little time that remains until Jesus comes with the clouds and He personally takes control throughout the world. When Jesus reigns, peace will be brought in that is to remain for 1000 unbroken years. It will be a glorious public testimony to this very world which once saw Jesus a prisoner derided and mocked. The Lord Jesus when He was here warned some that this was going to be so. He was brought before the parliament of that time, the Sanhedrim, the highest court of appeal in the land and He told them that they were going to see the Son of man "coming with the clouds of heaven" (Mark 14: 62) and they said He was worthy of death. That was their answer to the declaration of Jesus.
John does not bring out this truth as something which we just note and pass on but as something that affected him, and it is intended to affect us; he says "Behold". It is very instructive to go through the Scriptures and see when the Spirit of God says 'Behold' or 'Lo'. It is as though there are certain things that the Spirit brings forward to which He would cause us to be alerted. This far exceeds all the news that men have today. Paul was moved in his spirit when he went to Athens and found people there who had nothing to do except to tell and to hear the news. The sad thing was that they neglected the news that was vital. It was spoken of by Paul in his preaching of Jesus in Athens which was to bring real good tidings not just news. Tidings of outstanding importance were preached to men in Athens regarding Jesus and the resurrection. It is still the greatest news that man could ever hear. It is a complete reversal of all that man thinks, for man plans to go up and up in the world to secure a greater position. How many alas plan for the future with no thought of Jesus and the resurrection. We could sum up sorrowfully the lives of so many in this world: they rise and fall. The history of a certain period was known as the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. Death comes in and that seems to be the end, but it is not the end as far as God is concerned.
God says "Behold, he comes with the clouds". He comes in mighty power, the very same Jesus that was once here in such weakness and sorrow. As He stood before the Sanhedrim and warned them of His coming in power, He was spit upon and buffeted. He was derided when He was nailed to a cross of shame at Golgotha. Men passed by and mocked at the very foot of the cross. They still had no room for Jesus. There was no room for Jesus when He came in, just a place in the manger; there was no room for Jesus in the world as He was on the cross. Oh! what a time that was when the world should have turned but Jesus remained on that cross rejected by man in the very midst of people who had been witnesses of the saving power of the Man who in Himself was the Almighty. How men should have marvelled as He moved amongst them in this world! There was no person who was beyond the reach of Jesus as far as need was concerned. What mighty works of power shone out in Jesus. When we think of the creation in all its glory let us remember that it was by Jesus that the worlds were created. How many worlds there are we know not, but the one who is the Saviour was the Creator of them all. The Creator of the worlds was here as a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. How accessible He was. His mighty love was here to help and bless men, women and children. What a marvellous path of blessing was seen in Jesus here. He was not here moving as the Creator, although everything in creation was upheld by the word of His power. He was here as a Man who came to make God known in His love. His power lay behind it and was seen on many occasions but the movements of Jesus here were that the light of the love of God might be made known in a Man. What a way God chose. He sent His only Son. The Lord Jesus speaks in one of His parables of how the lord of the vineyard sent one bondman, then another, then another, and last of all he sent his beloved son. Do we think of God in all His greatness? The very creation that surrounds us has its myriad witnesses of the greatness of God. Let us think of God for a moment - the Creator of the heavens and the earth. He is the God by whom we draw breath for every moment of our lives. God was so concerned that men might be blessed that He sent His own Son as Saviour of the world. Jesus was here so that men might begin to know God as revealed. What instances there were in the life of Jesus, little as we know of the life of Jesus. All four gospels put together tell us about only a very few days of the life of Jesus. The world would not contain the books that would have been needed if everything had been recorded one by one. But thank God we have a sufficient record to know the kind of thing the Lord Jesus did when He was here and who else except Jesus could have done them? He went to the opening of a tomb and said in mighty dignity, "Lazarus, come forth". When Jesus said that, the dead man came forth. He went into a house where there was a young girl of twelve lying dead, and took her hand and spoke to her so that she rose up. He walked on the sea with the wind contrary. The disciples were rowing away in the ship, with the right aim and yet not attaining it. They were making a little progress and yet not reaching the land, and then they see a Man superior to the difficulties. If Jesus could walk on the sea, what could He not do? Is there a difficulty in this world that is great enough to surmount our Saviour? Far be the thought. What an impression those fearful disciples must have had at that time, when they saw a Man walking to them on the sea, superior in Himself to the elements that He created. Of course He was superior to them, and yet there was the power of the devil itself behind the turbulent waves, as though the enemy would overthrow Jesus if he could, but Jesus walks in triumphant superiority. Are you ever in circumstances where you wonder how help can possibly come in? Well, remember that the Saviour who walked in triumphant dignity on the waters of the sea is still the same. With His mighty power He is able to strengthen us to be here for His glory. What impressions the disciples must have had of the glory of Jesus! Are we receiving impressions of His glory? Are we using each day in the power of the Spirit to gather impressions of Jesus - the Man who suffered for us? What feeling there was as John recorded here, "To him who loves us, and has washed us from our sins in his blood". John was chosen of God to stand by the cross and witness that out of the side of a dead Saviour there came blood and water. No wonder he says in a spirit of worship, "To him who loves us". It does not say 'who loved us'. We need to be accurate when we speak of the greatness of Jesus. But it says, "has washed us". Can every one of us here say today, "To him who loves us, and has washed us from our sins in his blood”? There is no one except Jesus whose precious blood is available to wash us from our sins. Let us remember that Jesus hung on the cross at Golgotha for three hours as the witness to the universe that there was one Man who was absolutely righteous and absolutely holy. God saw to it that for three full hours man could see that there was one Man that had lived entirely for the pleasure of God. The sinless, spotless Lamb of God hung there from the third hour until the sixth hour. But then darkness came over the whole land, for the eye of man was not allowed to penetrate when God took account of Jesus as identified with sin and sins. Can every one of us say, as we think of Jesus hanging on the cross, that He was hanging there for me? There were two men who had been doing wrong and Jesus in the ordering of God was put in the middle of them. The one Man who had never done wrong was put in the midst of two that even their fellows. classified as those who were wrong doers. Jesus in the middle was equally available to them both as Saviour. The light of God shone into the heart of one of them. As you think of Jesus hanging on the cross, do you believe that He was there for you? "He is the propitiation for our sins; but not for ours alone, but also for the whole world", 1 John 2: 2. He is available for all. But if we are to come into the gain of that, it means that we have each to come to it that we deserve the judgment that Jesus bore. The precious blood of Jesus is the eternal, unchanging witness that the life of my Saviour was actually given up. It as not from a living man's side the blood came, but from the side of a dead Man there came blood and water. The Spirit of God is always faithful to the blood of Jesus and to the present place of Jesus in glory. What a moment that was, when lovers of Jesus placed the body of our Saviour in the tomb. Then He came out, and was here for forty days moving amongst the disciples - a Man in another kind of Iife and yet a real man. If you ever have any doubts as to the reality of the salvation of God, remember that the Man who loves us and has washed us from our sins in His blood was raised from the grave and He was actually moving here amongst men. Peter speaks of those who were chosen before of God "who have eaten and drunk with him after he arose from among the dead", Acts 10: 41. Now He is in the glory. We can draw near to Him where He is in the glory as the almighty Saviour. He is no longer a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief but One who is going to come with the clouds very soon. This is not the next thing that is going to happen. Let us understand that the next thing that really matters that is going to happen is that Jesus is going to come in the air. The Lord Jesus is going to descend Himself from heaven. All those fallen asleep in Jesus will be raised. What an assembling shout it will be from the One whose voice was once hushed in death. That shout of course is already in one sense going out. How many alas neglect the assembling call of Jesus at the present time. His request was "this do in remembrance of me". The Lord felt that there were some believers that did not remember Him in the breaking of bread today. What a privilege we have, when our Saviour is still rejected by the world, of remembering Him in the breaking of bread. Perhaps some will express the desire to break bread in remembrance of the Lord Jesus next Lord's day. There may be a next Lord's day but I cannot promise you that, for the coming of Jesus is very, very near. Think of the gathering there will be from every part of the world. The graves will yield all those who have died in faith. There will not be one forgotten. The Lord Jesus knows where every one of the dead in Christ has been buried, and every one is going to answer to His assembling shout. He is not going to send an archangel but He is going to come with archangel's voice and trump of God. What a wonderful moment that will be when we shall see our Master for the first time face to face. We expect it today and we are going to be with Him for ever.
Then the Lord Jesus is going to come out and the saints are going to come with Him. "He comes with the clouds". As we see clouds come over the earth at the present time, do we think of the mighty power of God? God speaks of the time when He is going to bring clouds over the earth, but when the clouds come let us remember that there is always a rainbow to be seen as a wonderful reminder of the unchanging faithfulness of God. To see the rainbow we have to be in the sunshine. Let us always remember that when things seem a bit obscure, the thing to do is to go back to the sunny side of the road. When you are in joy of eternal life you will always find the rainbow. Of course you will not see it fully as long as we are on earth. It is part of God's wonderful ordering that He allows us to see enough evidence of His abiding faithfulness, so that we have absolute confidence that He will carry us through. We shall not see the complete circle of the rainbow until we see it round the throne in heaven. Until we are off the earth we shall always understand there are hidden resources of God which He does fully disclose, but they are available for those who believe in the Lord Jesus. We shall see Him coming with the clouds for we shall be with Him. What a moment that will be! There will be a complete transformation of the whole world system when God says the moment has come and Jesus comes with the clouds. At the present time the world is not being transformed. What is happening is that people are being transformed by becoming lovers of the Lord Jesus, so that the Spirit of God can dwell in them and occupy them with Christ. On the principle of obedience persons are given the Spirit and they are there as those who are witnesses for the Lord Jesus until the time comes when He is to be owned by all.
May we be numbered amongst those at the present time who are known by all as witnesses of the Lord Jesus. Whether it is in the schools or offices or factories, or at the street corner or in the shop or household, what opportunities there are for those who confess the name of Jesus as Lord. What power comes in as the Lord's precious name is confessed, but that power is going to be seen publicly when Jesus comes with the clouds. The power that is going to be in display then is experienced now, as a believer confesses Jesus as Lord. May we be brought into this more and more, for His Name's sake.
DORKING
21 September 1975