WATER OF PURIFICATION (3)
WATER OF PURIFICATION (3)
JT We were noticing yesterday that in chapter 9 of this gospel, the man was not blind as a result of his own sin, nor of his parents’ sin, but in order that the works of God should be manifested in him. The thought in this incident therefore does not refer to what has been brought into the world through sin, but rather the fact that the man provided an opportunity to manifest the works of God. The Lord spat on the ground, and made mud of the spittle, and put the mud, as ointment, on his eyes; the man was then told to go to the pool of Siloam and wash. What was removed by washing was not unclean in itself, on the contrary it was what the Lord Himself had made with His spittle and earth. It is a type of the humanity of Christ and its effect on men. Apart from the death of Christ men would be in a worse condition than before, for His presence here rendered them more blind than ever, so that were it not for His death there would be only darkness. The washing in Siloam and the opening of the eyes of this man imply that he sees into another world. His eyes being opened, he can speak of what the Lord has done to him; at the time it happened he was unable to see what the Lord was doing, but now his eyes have been opened, he can speak about what has been effected and can say how he was cured. That is to say, he represents a believer who has been enlightened and who recognises that the Lord became a man in order to die; that the world itself, Christ having come into it, would come to an end, and that the condition of flesh and blood that the Lord had taken would not continue. John says in his epistle that Jesus “came by water and blood”; that is to say, that in becoming a man, He had His death in view. He did not come in order to continue the order of man who was on earth, but to [p. 21] end that order judicially in His death in view of taking up an entirely new condition in which He is “marked out Son of God”.
The testimony that this man renders to the world results in his being cast out; it is then that the Lord finds him, and makes Himself known to him, so that he did Him homage as the Son of God; his eyes having been opened in order that he might see Christ in relation to another world. The Son of God is inaugurating another world which He calls, “that world, and the resurrection”, Luke 20:35. “They who are counted worthy to have part in that world, and the resurrection from among the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage”; they are “sons of the resurrection”. In this remarkable passage the Lord indicates the character of the world He is inaugurating. The man whose eyes had been opened is viewed in chapter 10 as included in the assembly which is alluded to as the flock. The world that the Son of God is inaugurating is taking shape now in the assembly. In chapter 10:14 He says, “I am the good shepherd; and I know those that are mine, and am known of those that are mine, as the Father knows me and I know the Father”. What a blessed thing that is; the knowledge we have in the assembly is as the Father knows the Son, and as the Son knows the Father.
Ques Is it the knowledge of the Son of God which introduces us into the assembly?
JT Yes. He knows us and we know Him, as the Father knows Him and He knows the Father.
Rem According to Romans 1:4, He is “marked out Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by resurrection of the dead”.
JT These are two thoughts connected with sonship. Firstly, He makes Himself known to us; He asks the man if he believes on the Son of God, saying to him, “Thou hast both seen him, and he that speaks with thee is he”. The man has already seen Him without knowing Him, so now the Lord tells him openly that [p. 22] He is the Son of God. Secondly, we learn in Romans that He is marked out Son of God.
Rem Matthew’s gospel tells us that no one knows the Son but the Father.
JT That refers to what He is in His inscrutable being, in deity, but according to Romans, He is “marked out Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by resurrection of the dead”. It is thus He is referred to in the gospel testimony in the epistle to the Romans, being presented to a believer in soul need, as convicted of sin, as the One “whom God has set forth a mercy-seat, through faith in his blood”, Romans 3:25. Then being justified, having peace with God and having received the Holy Spirit, the believer is led on to the knowledge of the Son of God. He learns that the One who has saved him is none other than the Son of God.
Ques Is this point reached in Philippians 3:10, “To know him, and the power of his resurrection”?
JT That is the normal desire of a believer. We ought to understand clearly that this One who has died for us and saved us is the One we are to know as Son of God. This is expressed in John 9, where the Lord says, “Thou hast both seen him, and he that speaks with thee is he”; he had seen Him without knowing who He was, so the Lord made Himself known to him. It may be that the Lord is asking us this question, “Who do ye say that I am?” and is awaiting our reply. Peter could say, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God”, and each one of us should be able to say it too, not just because others have said it, but because the Lord has made Himself known to us in this character. It is as we apprehend things spiritually that we are constituted assembly material; so the Lord immediately says to Peter, “Thou art Peter [a stone], and on this rock I will build my assembly”. This disclosure of the Lord’s fits in with what we were speaking of, the Son of God in John 9, and the assembly in John 10. The Son is the [p. 23] Good Shepherd, this thought suggesting the tender care He takes of us, leading us into the marvellous sphere where He knows us and we know Him, as the Father knows Him and He knows the Father. We see in this the marvellous knowledge which is the portion of the assembly. In chapter 10 it can thus be clearly seen how the thought of the flock unfolds another world, and more — we are in liberty; the saints “go in and out, and find pasture”; He gives us life eternal, and there is one flock and one Shepherd. That is the marvellous knowledge we have.
Ques Would you say that the Lord was sharing sonship with this man when He spoke with him?
JT In a certain way that might be said, but what is more in mind here is rather the truth in relation to the Person of the Lord; He said, “He that speaks with thee”; a precious thought, if we think of the passage in Luke 9:30. It says, “Two men talked with him”, suggesting there the liberty we have in participating in sonship with Christ. In Matthew 17, where the transfiguration is recorded, the Lord sends Peter to catch a fish saying, “When thou hast opened its mouth thou wilt find a stater; take that and give it to them for me and thee”. He thus links Peter with Himself.
Rem He retains His pre-eminent place, however, for the man in John 9 did Him homage.
JT The Lord must always have the pre-eminence; it is said of Him that He has been anointed with the oil of gladness above his companions. However, it is beautiful to see in Matthew 17, how the Lord says, alluding to Himself and His disciples, “Then are the sons free”; a statement of great importance in view of the assembly. In Matthew the scene on the mount of transfiguration comes between the revelation made to Peter, in chapter 16, when the Lord announced that He would build His assembly, and the assembly itself as recognised in Matthew 18. It is a question of those who constitute the assembly, of the greatness of the [p. 24] persons who compose it. All this is in line with John 9 and 10, and is in view in this section of chapter 13 where the point is having “part with me”. Although we may be in the assembly, and have part in sonship, we have need of this service. It was a humble service, but morally so great, the Lord Himself being the servant. He poured the water into the washhand basin, and having Himself washed the feet of the disciples He said to Peter, “Unless I wash thee, thou hast not part with me”.
Rem In chapter 2 it was the servants who poured out the water, but here it is the Lord Himself who does it.
JT It confirms that it is a service morally elevated. The Lord Himself is the Servant, He has the water, the basin, the towel and girds Himself with it. It is a beautiful climax to this subject, and is calculated to make the Lord attractive to us.
Ques What do you understand by the Lord’s words, “Unless I wash thee, thou hast not part with me”?
JT As we were noticing in chapter 9, the Son of God spoke with the man, this with indicating that they had something in common, the Lord speaking in a mutual way with him. In chapter 10 the Lord has inaugurated, in principle, a new world in the assembly, and His desire is that we should have a living part with Him in it, but to do so we need this service. It is an individual service, carried out by means of a portable vessel, a basin, which makes it all the more an expression of love; a personal matter, an act of love. When Solomon had built the temple and had established the system of glory described in 1 Kings, it is noticeable that there was, at the entrance of the temple, or of this system, what is called a molten sea, which held two thousand baths, a large quantity of water. We understand by this that the system required plenty of water, indicating the greatness and fulness of the witness to the purifying power of the death of Christ; so it says in Ephesians 5:25 - 27, “Christ also loved the assembly, and has delivered himself up for it, in order that he might sanctify it, purifying it by the washing of water by the word, that he might present the assembly to himself glorious, having no spot, or wrinkle, or any of such things”; a wonderful thought in view of our part in what is heavenly. Then in Solomon’s temple there were ten lavers of brass, each holding forty baths; these lavers were on wheels, thus corresponding to what the Lord used here, as they could be carried and moved. On the one hand there was plenty of water for the needs of those who were exercised to be there according to God’s thoughts (I am referring to the molten sea), and on the other hand there was water in the brass lavers for the service of the saints.
Ques Does this correspond to the gifts referred to in Ephesians 4?
JT It is a clear witness to the death of Christ, so that no one need be unclean or defiled. The molten sea remained permanently in its place; but the lavers of brass could be moved in love towards the one needing help or purification; they indicate the opportunity which is given to us to serve one another in love. They were magnificently ornamented, showing how one moving in this way in love is beautified.
Ques It seems important to notice that in John 13 it is not the disciples who come to the Lord, but the Lord who comes to the disciples.
JT Quite so; the Lord says, “I have given you an example that, as I have done to you, ye should do also”; that is to say, we should wash one another’s feet. These lavers which could be moved are linked with love; a brother or sister can be visited in love with the water of purification. These vessels in the temple were made of brass, which implies the presence of a judicial element; not that we would wish to accuse a brother of sin when washing his feet, yet at the same time we should maintain the element of judgment.
[p. 26] Rem You would say that love is not to be exercised at the expense of the holiness of God.
Ques Is there a difference between defilement and sin? Is it not defilement that is contemplated in feet washing?
JT They were then externally already clean. The washing corresponds more with John 3: “Except any one be born of water and of Spirit”, in the sense that one may be clean for the world into which Christ came, yet have need of being washed by the tender service which the death of Christ implies. It has in view that we should be maintained in relation to Christ in the scene to which He has gone, and that we should have part with Him there. There is a danger that we may carry on the service of God in our meeting rooms when together, just as they do today in the systems around us, though perhaps in a more correct way. The thought suggested by this service of the Lord is that we should have part with Him right outside of the world; and what follows in chapters 14 to 17 is calculated to separate us from it by the gracious presentation of the truth, in order that we should enter His world.
Ques The water in the portable lavers was for the burnt offering; does that suggest that what results from the washing is for the pleasure of God?
JT There is important instruction in that for us. The meaning of the lavers implies that they were to contribute to the pleasure of God in us, in the offerings; what was being prepared for the burnt offering was washed in them. The molten sea was for the priests to wash themselves in (2 Chronicles 4:6); they had to know where it was, in order to make use of it.
Rem If I understand aright, the object of feet washing is to set us free in our spirits from all that might hinder us having part with Him.
JT Quite so, so that we are free in the new order of things, in order to have part with Christ. It is a [p. 27] new order, because they were already clean to take the passover, which belonged to the old.
Ques What does the water refer to which is spoken of in chapter 4?
JT That is quite different; in that instance it is a matter of drinking the water, and the water is connected with the Spirit there.
Ques Is there instruction for us in the fact that the Lord lays aside His garments?
JT He laid aside His dignity for the moment in order to be a servant; we ought not to visit our brethren as though we are wearing a clerical robe. A clergyman would say, ‘My flock’, but a true servant says, “Ourselves your bondmen for Jesus’ sake”, 2 Corinthians 4:5. Rather than the gathering belonging to the pastor, it is he who belongs to them; as Paul remarked, “All things are yours. Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas ... all are yours”, 1 Corinthians 3:21,22. It is right that servants should be honoured for their service, but in his attitude the servant serves all and serves in love.
Rem That is why the Lord’s example preceded His commandment.
JT The Lord states that He is their Master and Lord, yet He says, “I ... have washed your feet”; in laying aside His garments and in girding Himself with a towel, He is showing that He is washing their feet as a servant. How wonderful that the Saviour, the Son of God should take so humble a position; it accords with His love which led Him to death for us.
Rem Such a service can only do good to our brethren.
JT The Lord’s example has in view that we should be like Him in this service. He says elsewhere, “I am in the midst of you as the one that serves”, (Luke 22:27) as though He were amongst His own in order to do all that needed doing; this would help all who serve to do so in love, and those who are served should honour them. So it seems to me that a state of mutuality is [p. 28] maintained, and the distinction that God has given to some is preserved.
Ques Has feet washing a place at the Supper, or is it service that precedes it?
JT The one partaking of the Supper should examine himself, and prove himself in order that there may be nothing in him which is not in accord with what he is doing. Also what is presented in the Supper has the effect of detaching us from this world. Whilst there may be nothing which would keep me out of the new order of things, my spirit may need to be attracted there, and what the Supper presents is certainly calculated to have this effect upon me. No one can say he does not need it, for the Lord’s remark to Peter implies that whatever I may think of myself, I need this service. If I am to have part in the assembly, in the new order of things, I need this service.
Ques Is that the meaning of your previous remark regarding the preparing of the burnt offering?
JT The word ‘preparation’ is very appropriate here, for if I am to be in the assembly for the pleasure of God, I need this washing.
Ques Does the Lord use His people for this service, or does He do it Himself?
JT I believe it is brought about as we serve one another, but it is the Lord doing it by means of the saints.