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“JESUS HIMSELF”

I trust that you find these scriptures as attractive as I do. They draw attention to the Lord Jesus Himself, and bring before us the cost involved for God to secure His ways, and the cost to secure your eternal salvation. It is a cost that we can never measure. These scriptures draw attention to the fact that the cost meant the giving of the Lord Jesus Himself.

What a matter it was. Think of that word, “Then said I, Behold, I come, in the volume of the book it is written of me – To do thy good pleasure, my God, is my delight”, Psalm 40:7,8. At an early age, the Lord could say, “did ye not know that I ought to be occupied in my Father’s business?”, Luke 2:49. The Lord Jesus was here under the eye of God in perfection. Never had there been a life lived in this scene like the life of Jesus. Every other man was and is a sinner, but here was One who came into the world to meet that whole question of sin.

I love the way that Peter writes; he speaks of the Lord Jesus as a model. Peter had seen how the Lord suffered at the hands of men; think of what the Lord Jesus endured from men. He was taken, as we read, from the garden of Gethsemane; how He was mistreated – the blows to His face, the crown of thorns, the purple robe. That is what man did to Jesus. He accepted these blows to His face, the stripes. He could say on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”, Luke 23:34. What a model!

I particularly want to draw attention to how Peter writes. He says of the Lord, the One that he personally had taken account of, that He “did no sin”. What perfect manhood it was. John also writes of Him, “and in him sin is not”, 1 John 3:5. Paul says, “Him who knew not sin”, 2 Cor.5:21. How precious are the words of these three different writers. Think of these three men and how they could take account of the Lord Jesus in perfection. And that is what Jesus was under the eye of God.

Peter goes on to say, “who, when reviled, reviled not again; when suffering, threatened not; but gave himself over into the hands of him who judges righteously”. What perfect manhood! Yet that perfection in His life was not enough to save you and me; it was not enough for God. Our salvation required His death. He offered Himself – how blessed. He “gave himself over into the hands of him who judges righteously”. The footnote says, ‘The Greek means to deliver up into the hands of another, not committing a wrong to another to vindicate. The sense must be ‘gave himself up to, suffered all, as accepting all from his hand:’ gave himself up to take whatever he sent, who would in the end righteously judge’. I trust it touches your affections, that the One who “gave himself over into the hands of him who judges righteously” knew in its entirety what that would involve. It was not a case of some transaction, but it was Himself. He gave Himself.

In Exodus 27, God gives the pattern of the brazen altar to Moses (vv.1-8). The brazen altar was the first thing that would be seen when someone came into the court of the tabernacle. The dimensions of the brazen altar are very interesting: it was five cubits square. The cubit is the length from a man’s elbow to his fingertips, so approximately eighteen inches. The five cubits speak of the Lord Jesus in manhood. He came into this scene in outward weakness. Mr. Darby writes in his hymn:

‘We gaze upon Thy weakness –

The manger and the cross’ (Hymn 188)

There He was again in outward weakness at the cross, the man Jesus who “gave himself over into the hands of him who judges righteously”. The altar was square, five cubits square, having four sides. It speaks of the universal character of what the Lord Jesus has accomplished. His work is for all: He “gave himself a ransom for all”, 1 Tim.2:6. Such is the work of Jesus. There were also four horns on the altar (Exod.27:2). They suggest the moral character and strength of the Lord Jesus, and it says that the horns were of itself. They were not an addition. What power the Lord Jesus had; it was His own, it was what He had in Himself. How precious that is! We also read that the altar was three cubits high. It would remind us of the Lord’s resurrection, and the power He had to lay down His life and to take it again (John 10:17,18). Yet He “gave himself over into the hands of him who judges righteously”. Not only was He the altar, but He was the offering too. The altar was made of acacia wood and overlaid with copper, suggesting what was able to endure intense heat, the judgment of God. The Lord Jesus gave Himself. What a matter! I trust it affects your heart.

Peter goes on to write, “who himself bore our sins in his body on the tree”. That is our side. Can you say these words? What precious words they are. You go through the scriptures: Paul could write, “who gave himself for our sins”, Gal. 1:4. He also wrote, as already noted, “who gave himself a ransom for all”. Think of the efficacy and power of the work of Jesus! What a price was paid by Him: “who himself bore our sins in his body on the tree”. He did it for you, beloved, if you believe on Him. Have you laid claim to that work of His? Titus writes, “our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us” (chap.2:13,14). Are you among the “us”? Can you say that He “gave himself for us”?

What an immense matter it was for Jesus, dear friend, dear brother, dear sister. I often think about the cost involved in that statement, that “himself bore our sins in his body on the tree”. My sins – Jesus bore them, and He did it Himself as a spotless Victim before God. He took all these sins upon Himself as if they were His own. How important to contemplate these things, that He bore our sins and that He did it Himself. I trust these scriptures attract your heart. It is Jesus Himself: we speak about the price paid, yet the cost was immeasurable because He gave Himself.

Where we read in Ephesians it says, “Husbands, love your own wives, even as the Christ also loved the assembly, and has delivered himself up for it”. It draws attention to the value of the assembly to the Lord Jesus, and thus to what the assembly means to Him: He was prepared to deliver Himself up to secure it. You will remember in Matthew 13 the Lord speaks of the pearl – “having found one pearl of great value” (v.46). It shows the distinctiveness of what the assembly is to the heart of Christ. Pearls are formed by suffering. That verse goes on to say, “he went and sold all whatever he had and bought it”. The preciousness of the assembly was in Christ’s heart. He sold all whatever He had, and that was Himself: He could have given no more; He gave His all. He delivered Himself up for the assembly. That is what the assembly means to the Lord Jesus. In being occupied with the Lord, we should be occupied too with what the assembly means to Him. It is His great occupation at the present time.

The Lord’s personal love that was displayed in delivering Himself up continues now. It says, “in order that he might sanctify it, purifying it by the washing of water by the word”. That service continues and it will continue until the Lord comes for His own. His service to the assembly has a collective bearing, and also an individual bearing. If there are features in me that are not pleasing to the Lord Jesus, He would touch me, He would bring in ministry, He would bring in His word and draw me closer to Himself, so that I judge these imperfections and am purified from them. That service of His will continue. We also prove it in our occasions of being together. How untiring the Lord Jesus is in relation to His assembly. Then it says, “that he might present the assembly to himself glorious”. What He is going to present to Himself will be entirely in keeping with Himself. We often say that the assembly is of Himself, as coming out of His death, seen in the type of the deep sleep that fell upon Adam (Gen.2:21-23). The assembly is of Himself and it is like Himself. The Lord is working continually in His saints so that in the end what He will present to Himself will be all glorious. It will be perfect and entirely suited to Himself. May these things attract us and may the assembly mean more to you and me. It means everything to Him. He delivered Himself up for it.

I love this scripture in Luke 24 about the two on the way to Emmaus. It says, “And it came to pass as they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus himself drawing nigh, went with them”. It suggests the Lord’s personal care. If you are a believer, the Lord’s personal care is towards you, and it always will be. These two were disheartened, and they were going in the wrong direction. Sometimes we have proved that in our own experience, but the Lord Himself has drawn nigh. Here in these two verses the Lord asks them what they are speaking about, and then He says, “What things?” Think of the Lord’s personal care. ‘What is it that is troubling you?’. It reminds us of His words, “Come to me, all ye who labour”, Matt.11:28. He is available. He drew nigh and He went with these two as they walked. That is like the Lord’s desire for you, beloved. The two go into all the detail with Him. Have you ever done that? If there are things that burden you, things that trouble you, go into the presence of the Lord and tell Him all about it: He is interested. “What things?”, He asks.

Then He would give you a touch from Himself. It says, “And having begun from Moses and from all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself”. When you go to the Scriptures, you can find Jesus in every page. The Lord Himself is available to us all. What an exposition of scripture this must have been, the greatest exposition of the scriptures that there ever has been; the Lord Himself “interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself”. These things are there for us, and the Lord desires that we come to Himself to receive them. Yet even as listening to this great exposition, the eyes of the two were still holden. They did not recognise Him.

You then come to the point when He was made known to them. It is not the breaking of bread as such, but it would remind us of that great matter. We need to value greatly the blessing of the breaking of bread. In that occasion, beloved, where the power of the Spirit is so available to us, we await Jesus Himself coming in. How blessed to have confirmation in our spirits of His presence. It says that they recognised Him: “having taken the bread, he blessed, and having broken it, gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognised him”. How blessed that is; these things are very real. The two change the direction that they are on and return to Jerusalem, to the company where they belonged, and where they were going to find Jesus Himself. The Lord in His faithfulness came to where they were. It says, “And as they were saying these things, he himself stood in their midst, and says to them, Peace be unto you”. What an experience we have available to us in the power of the Spirit, on a Lord’s day morning in the breaking of bread; what a privilege. If you have not taken up that privilege yet, it is available to you as committing yourself to the Lord.

The scripture in Thessalonians speaks about the Lord’s coming. How long will it be? How many breakings of bread will there be between now and the coming of the Lord? There may not be another one. He is coming, and He desires that in faithfulness to Him you should remember Him. He asks us to respond to the appeal of His love, and as we do so what an experience is available to us, to be entered into with Jesus Himself.

The section in Thessalonians is well known; what a cheer it is to the heart of the believer. It says, “For this we say to you in the word of the Lord, that we, the living, who remain to the coming of the Lord”, that is those that are alive when He comes; it may be us, “are in no way to anticipate those who have fallen asleep”. That is, believers who have gone before. The passage then goes on, “for 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; then we, the living who remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we shall be always with the Lord”. The Lord Himself is coming. Such is the greatness of this event, beloved, that the Lord is not delegating it to any other. He is coming Himself, coming to claim those that belong to Him, those that are His, and He is going to do it Himself. No angel is great enough for that; He is coming Himself.

I trust that your hope is in the coming of the Lord Himself. He will come “with an assembling shout … and trump of God”. We shall see Him in actuality for the first time, and we will be given bodies of glory like His body of glory (Phil.3:21). What a time it will be; what a hope it is! I trust it is your hope: the Lord Himself is coming again. As I have said, He is not going to delegate that to another. It is a matter of joy that the Lord is coming Himself.

I trust what I have said has appealed to you. I find these scriptures very special. They draw us in our affections towards the Lord Jesus Himself. May we be encouraged as we think on these scriptures, and may they appeal to us in a greater way.

May the Lord bless the word.

Address at Maidstone

15 March 2025

Trevor Campbell

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