THE LORD JESUS SPEAKING
A. P. Grant
Matthew 27: 46; Acts 9: 4, 5; Matthew 11: 28–30; Luke 5: 27–29; 1 Corinthians 11: 23–25
You will notice these verses that we have read all refer to the Lord Jesus speaking, referring to Himself. When we preach the glad tidings we are really raising the question with men as to where they are in relation to the Lord Jesus. He is the great subject of the glad tidings; He is the One who is glorified. He has been made both Lord and Christ. You cannot say that it does not affect you, because this affects every man, woman and child as to where they are in relation to the Lord Jesus. He has been here and He has fulfilled God’s will perfectly; all that God sought from man He found in Christ personally. What a testimony that is, for all men have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The Lord Jesus has come short in no way, He pleased God completely; He walked here for the pleasure of God. Now God is speaking in the gospel and drawing attention to that Man; He is glorified. These scriptures all draw attention to Him.
In the first one I read it is the Lord Jesus speaking on the cross. What a time that was! What a time for the whole of mankind when the matter of sin was dealt with fully to God’s satisfaction. What words these are—“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” What a question that was, there was no answer immediately. Think of the Lord Jesus, that perfect One bearing the judgment of God, and He was forsaken. Does that move you, dear friend, to think of His deep feelings, as He “again cried with a loud voice” (Matthew 27: 50). The scripture records the actual words that He used. Think of that given in scripture! It is to convey the deep feelings of the Lord Jesus, this perfect One bearing your sins and mine, dear friend. What words these are! He was
forsaken, there was no answer for Christ upon the cross, dear friend; He has gone this way that you might find an answer. If you cry to God in your need, God will answer you. The Lord Jesus has gone this way that you might not come under the judgment of God, but that you might come into blessing. Think of His perfection! He was the only One who could undertake this work. What compression there was in these hours of darkness. There is not much we can say about it, but His feelings are expressed when He says, “My God, my God”.
Christ was a divine Person but here as Man, saying, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Why? What a question that is. As you think of His perfection, it is for you, dear friend, to answer that. Do you know He went this way that you might come into blessing? Think of the sufferings He knew from men’s hands. The gospels speak of them.
What food there is for our souls in reading of those sufferings. But in the three hours He was suffering from God, suffering the wrath of God, so that all the sin that was displeasing to God might be removed from before Him judicially. The Lord Jesus has accomplished that work perfectly for God’s glory.
The glad tidings bring out God’s feelings and compassion. May your heart be moved by this that He has gone this way of suffering; no other words have so much meaning, the whole of God’s will being secured eternally depended upon this work being undertaken by Christ.
Think of His perfection; He knew not sin but was made sin. In Him was no guile, no guile was found in His mouth, everything He did was perfect. What glory is His, and He was the Victim who bore the judgment of God; so that the glad tidings can come out freely and God can administer blessing and dispense righteousness to the needy sinner. May you, dear friend, come to the Lord Jesus and find this blessing for yourself through the finished work of Christ.
There is nothing left for you to do, but to accept it in faith and come in repentance to the Lord Jesus.
Next in Acts chapter 9, there is a question raised by the Lord Jesus, in speaking to Saul of Tarsus, “Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute me?” Think of the appeal in that! Saul was on a pathway of his own will, he was engaged in persecuting the saints. What came to him here was from heaven. The Lord Jesus is speaking today, dear friend. If you are going on your own way, He would seek to appeal to you. Think of the shining here, the light out of heaven, what grace there was in that, so that Saul’s course was changed from this point. He came to know the Lord Jesus, and may you come to know Him. He would appeal to you, He would call your name. As we have been often reminded, his name, Saul, is given twice, the name is repeated, showing God has a special interest in this person. The Lord has an interest in you, dear friend. He would call your name and appeal to you to come to Him; not to continue in the pathway of your own will. It says, “Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest”. The scripture shows how fully the Lord Jesus was identified with His saints. Saul was persecuting the saints, the Lord felt that but what grace there was in this. Paul speaks of it to the Galatians that he was persecuting the saints, but he was converted and preached the glad tidings.
What an example he is of one who is secured by divine grace. Saul was so occupied, so full of his own righteousness, but the Lord brought him into the shining from heaven and to own Jesus as Lord. May you, dear friend, own Christ as Lord. God has made Him Lord. Is He your own Lord? Paul said, “Who art thou, Lord?”, and Jesus says, “I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. But rise up and enter into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do”.
Now owning Christ as Lord he was directed into the city where the saints were. Think of what these saints meant to the Lord Jesus. This scripture would bring that out, how precious the saints are to Himself. He raises this question with Saul as to his actions, and He would appeal to you, dear friend, that
you may have to do with Him. He would lead you to the saints, as He did with Saul when He said, “rise up and enter into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do”.
In Matthew’s gospel we have another verse which conveys the appeal in the words of the Lord Jesus. He says, “Come to me”. What a point of attraction He is, dear friend. The Lord Jesus says, “Come to me, all ye who labour and are burdened. Saul would represent one who was on a course of his own will, but here the appeal is to persons who labour and are burdened. You may be burdened with your life, or you may be burdened trying to please God in your own strength. What blessing He will dispense to you as you come to Him. Coming involves movement, the movement of faith towards Himself. How attractive He is. The glad tidings are preached that souls might be attracted to that Person “Come to me, all ye who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest to your souls; for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light”. Every one who has come to Christ has proved this for themselves.
He is not only giving rest, but He says you will find rest to your souls. How precious that is, and it is only in that blessed One that rest and peace can be found. So the appeal here is for movements towards Him. Do not stay away. May our hearts be attracted to the Lord Jesus and may we take steps towards Him. Many other things might attract us, many things in the world, but there is nothing to compare with the Lord Jesus; it is only in Him we find true satisfaction, and He says, “I am meek and lowly in heart”. There is nothing in Him that would hinder persons coming to Him; lowliness marked Him—“I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest to your souls”. Persons try to find rest in so many things, but in spite of the many things provided for the satisfaction of men, you only find true rest as coming to the Lord Jesus. May we answer to this appeal in these words of Christ, “Come to me”.
In Luke’s gospel there is a further appeal to one soul, to whom it is said, “Follow me”. As coming to Christ we are to have Him as our continued Object. It says He saw “a tax-gatherer, Levi by name, sitting at the receipt of taxes, and said to him, Follow me”. That word is that you might have Christ as your Object. The gospel is to secure those who follow the Lord. How worthy He is that we should follow Him. So it is a matter of keeping your eye on Christ.
How easily we can be turned aside if our eye is not kept on the Lord Jesus. If you have an eye on any other one you are bound to turn aside. Peter began to sink when he took his eye off the Lord Jesus, but the Lord reached out and saved him. What need there is of salvation, initial salvation, but salvation every day, practical salvation as we continue in the pathway. There is salvation in keeping our eye on the Lord Jesus and following Him. What ready response there was to the Lord in this man, Levi. It says, “And having left all, rising up, he followed him”.
Every other thing has to be laid aside. Christ must become our sole Object; it is the only way of prosperity. It says, “And Levi made a great entertainment for him”. He is not thinking of what is for his own pleasure, but thinking of what is for the pleasure of Christ. What a favour it is to have a part in that, as being one of His followers. Christ is our Object and everything that is of interest to Him is to be our interest. His chief interest upon the earth is His assembly.
Levi made a great entertainment for Christ in his house. How much has been done for men and think of what has been done for you, dear friend; Christ has done everything for your blessing. There was suitable response in this man’s heart, he made a great entertainment for Christ. Like those at Bethany who made a supper for Him; He had become pre-eminent in their affections. How important it is that Christ gets a greater place in our hearts. How many things Satan
brings before us to take up our time, but Levi readily obeyed this word. What an important matter it is in the glad tidings, as the word comes to us, we should readily accept the word in faith. The epistle to the Romans speaks of it, it is for the obedience of faith. As the Lord speaks to us are we ready to accept the word and to attend to what is said? I think we see that in Levi here, how readily he follows the Lord. May Christ continue to be our only Object. He became Paul’s object from the moment he was converted; he refers to Him as the Son of God, who has loved me and given himself for me”, Galatians 2: 20. Paul had his eyes on that One.
Anything we do for Him is to be done as our eye is upon Christ. The Lord had to remind Peter that he had to follow Him and not be taken up with other persons.
Lastly, in Paul’s word in 1 Corinthians 11, he refers to what the Lord Jesus had said speaking from glory. It is what Paul received from Christ in glory; he is alluding to the Lord’s supper, “this do in remembrance of me”. It is an occasion provided for the Lord, for those who love Him to remember Him. Again it is an appeal directly from the Lord Jesus Himself. Paul says,
“I received from the Lord”. He received this directly from the Lord in relation to the Lord’s supper—“this do in remembrance of me”. Think of what an appeal that is to the affections of those who have come to know Him! It says of the Lord Jesus that “in the night in which he was delivered up”. That name, the Lord Jesus, speaks of affection, and He has that title in these verses that persons might respond to this appeal—“this do in remembrance of me”.
May each one of us come to Him, and be found among His followers, and be found responding to His appeal. How much He has done for the salvation of men. Where men were without strength and unable to help themselves, He has come in and brought in salvation and blessing. He would appeal to souls that they might have to do with Himself, and before God, and assess where they are in relation to Himself. He is the test. There is no other Man whom God is presenting. He is the only One who is presented as a Saviour; if you do not have Christ there is no other.
What a Man He is! May we be attracted to Him, for His name’s sake.
Preaching at Peterhead
23 November 1997