NEARNESS TO CHRIST AND PUBLIC SERVICE (6)
[p. 243] NEARNESS TO CHRIST AND PUBLIC SERVICE (6)
John 12:1 - 3; Matthew 26:6 - 13
JT These passages, set side by side, present, I think, on the one hand, the inner dignity of the saints in their local relations — what we are inwardly, as in John 12; then, the outward reproach involved in the term ‘leper’; we have in Matthew “the house of Simon the leper”.
WW In John 12 they make Him a supper, and it is in Bethany — the house of bread.
JT Bethany, I think, represents the place of the remnant. On the one hand you have the dignity of those who are there — you get the names in John 12. In Matthew you get Simon’s name, but he is called “the leper”.
Ques Would you say that in the former chapter it was the affections?
JT The inward dignity — what they are before the Lord’s mind. In John 12 He came to Bethany, the date of His coming is given — “six days before the passover”. He came “where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him”. You get their names, indicating known distinctions, whereas Matthew says, “Being in Bethany”; we are not told the reason, but He is there, and He accepts whatever there is. Whatever public character may mark the saints, He is there. It does not say He came, but being in the place, He takes up what is there, and accepts the reproach attached to it. We have to view a local company, I think, thus: what each one is in his dignity as risen with Christ, as in [p. 244] Colossians; then what he is locally, whatever his public history may be.
Rem “Which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead”, would draw attention to the process by which they had arrived at their ennoblement. Have we to arrive at that in our history?
JT Yes; chapter 11 is the basis of chapter 12. Much is said of Bethany, as if it were the point of view. It says, “There was a certain man sick, Lazarus of Bethany, of the village of Mary and Martha her sister”. The place is marked off, as in the mind of the Spirit, to bring in all these things — to bring out what the locality was because of the saints in it, from the standpoint of their ennoblement — what the Lord has made us, as before God; and then, what we are in spite of what our public history may be.
HD'AC He knows the various places according to what saints are there. He views a town like Bethany as the place where Mary and Martha are. He knows where the dear saints are, and that place is characterised by the presence of the saints. Is that your thought?
JT Quite so. On the other hand, He may be in a place without saying He has come because of them, for He has large affairs; but He is there, and He accepts what is there. In the house of Simon the leper there was no great distinction. It is really what attaches to each one of us, if we own it — we were lepers.
HB No doubt his leprosy had been healed, but I suppose this was the public character that attached to him.
JT The leprosy would not be active, or the Lord would not be there.
SL The first thing is to own what we were.
JT Yes; you do not deny what your public history has been. You have been saved notwithstanding, and God is glorified in this.
[p. 245] Ques Does the acceptance of the outside view depend on the appreciation of the ennoblement — the inside?
JT Yes, we accept it. Whatever your reputation may be, you are worse even than that.
Rem “Of whom I am chief”, (1 Timothy 1:15).
JT Nobody, perhaps, would have said that of Paul, save himself.
Ques Is that the Ephesian position? “Who were dead in trespasses and sins ... Wherefore remember”, (Ephesians 2:1,11). As we sing, ‘Once far from Thee and dead in sin.’.
JT There might be a disposition to hide that, to think it is swallowed up by later circumstances, but what we were under God’s eye, when met by grace, remains.
Rem The saints are the only ones who accept the truth as to their natural state.
JT They know what is inside. There are thirteen things (Mark 7) that proceed out of the heart of man; it is not simply that they are there, but they proceed out of it, showing that he does not control them. The gospel enables us to discern these things and to control them by the Spirit, but the natural man cannot control them.
SL Reference has been made to the continually repenting one.
JT Yes, the more these thirteen vicious inmates make themselves felt in your heart, the more you judge yourself.
SL The continuance of it is most important.
JT Yes, I think the more we are with God, the more we discern the vicious character of those things that proceed out of the heart of man.
Rem Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit.
JT It is. The believer has the means in him for controlling them, for putting them to death, indeed.
LDB How far does what Saul was told to do — “Arise, and be baptised, and wash away thy sins,
[p. 246] calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16) — go, in relation to this in Matthew?
JT I think we have to take up a public attitude as to our sins and associations. He fell to the ground and was led into the city, but he did not yet take up a public attitude in regard to his course, although he may have judged it inwardly. You are never clear of guilt before men till you take up a public attitude in regard to it, and that is in baptism. “He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved”.
LDB Still, do you not have to recognise that sin once marked you, as in Simon the leper here?
JT You never forget that while down here. Paul tells us what he was, but the Lord had mercy on him though he was “an insolent, overbearing man”, (1 Timothy 1:13). He never forgot that he was the chief of sinners, and it would bear upon him in his relations with the brethren. He was “not meet to be called an apostle”, he says (1 Corinthians 15:9).
HD'AC He does not say, ‘I was’, but “I am”, the chief of sinners;(1 Timothy 1:13 - 15).
Rem He spoke of himself as “less than the least of all saints”, (Ephesians 3:8).
JT The fact that you are a leper remains, but the Lord does not think less of you for that; as in the case of the woman in Luke 7, He knows that as forgiven much we love much, and so He is willing to be in our houses, in spite of our public history.
EP Would the consequence of all these disabilities you have been speaking of enhance in our eyes the blessedness of the One who loves us?
JT Yes; the more spiritual you are, the more sense you have of your sinful past and the dreadful things that are within, for “with me evil is there” (Romans 7:21); and all this remains whilst we are down here. It is only as we walk in the Spirit that we do not fulfil the lust of the flesh. “Walk in the [p. 247] Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16); it is always there.
WCG Paul also says, “In me ... good does not dwell” (Romans 7:18). Would the consciousness of that give us very great patience in our dealings with each other?
JT To judge yourself in that way is a great preservative; it tends to keep you lowly and on the alert. “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit”, (Galatians 5:25). It is in walking in the Spirit that you overcome.
JT You see now the situation at Bethany — according to John — is that they are not only ennobled in the Lord’s mind, but they are equal to the position, they make Him a supper. It does not specify who ‘they’ includes, for it refers to the conditions at Bethany, not simply to Lazarus or Mary. Earlier Martha received Him into her house, that was her opportunity; but when they made Him a supper — that characterises the place — it was made there.
SL So the consciousness of our disability should be always present, but there is a state that the Lord would lead us into, where we are at home with Himself, and conscious of our suitability to Him.
Ques These evil features are still in us, and liable to act if we yield to them, which we sometimes do; is that sin?
JT If we yield to them it is. “Sin that dwelleth in me”; as the thing works, it is sin for which you are responsible; but you can, by the Spirit, control “your members”. Hence the writer says, “So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God” (Romans 7:25) — he controls his mind; “I myself”. He did not identify himself with the sin that worked in him, but he controlled his mind to serve the law of God.
In John 12 the Lord’s death is in view: “Six days before the Passover” referred to a date of very great importance. Before it He “came to Bethany, where was the dead man Lazarus”.
HD'AC He who had died; that was what characterised him.
JT Yes; he was no longer living in Bethany, as a politician or a social man, he was no longer alive in relation to this world.
HD'AC He was raised from the dead.
JT Yes; as in Colossians 3:1 - 3, I suppose: “If then ye be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above ... for ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God”. Dead as regards this world, but alive to God.
WCG The Son of God is glorified in our eyes as we apprehend chapter 11.
JT Yes, that chapter is the basis of this, Bethany being in view at the outset — “Lazarus of Bethany”, he was of the place; so it is to bring out what was in that place. These people are in it in the light of the glory of God, and the glory of the Son of God. That is how we are to be in a locality, that is the setting; the Lord knew what was there and came in connection with it. Lazarus does not represent an unbeliever brought into life. The man in Luke 7 was raised, but he is not called by name; he was given back to his mother. It is not that he was raised up in a locality, that is not the point; the point is, he was given to his mother. As to Lazarus, the word is, “Loose him, and let him go” — he is dependable. Where was he going? Sometimes young souls go to places that would hurt them, Lazarus would not go to such places — he can be trusted, hence he is at Bethany when the Lord comes there.
Ques Would giving the young man back to his mother suggest the assembly?
JT It suggests that he needed care, but Lazarus is trustworthy.
WCG The apostle’s conflict was to bring saints to this maturity; it fits in with Colossians.
JT Yes; maturity is the thing. The Lord knew Lazarus was there — “Where Lazarus was” — He came there in that connection.
WCG So, “Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5:5) — would not that be parallel with this?
JT It would. Lazarus was like that. It is said of the Lord, in the previous chapter (chapter 11:54), that He went down to Ephraim, city near the desert. That is in keeping with the glory that shone; the Lord goes near the desert with His disciples, and sojourns with them, instead of moving openly amongst the Jews — to a city called Ephraim.
Ques Is it the normal end with all believers, to entertain the Lord? At the Lord’s supper, does He entertain us, or do we entertain Him?
JT The assembly is His place. He comes in, that is the idea. It is, “my assembly”; He does not ask for the loan of anything there, it is His own. But here they made Him a supper; it was what they were doing; but He came in relation to Lazarus; it says, “Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him”.
Rem Zacchaeus began to entertain the Lord, did he not?
HD'AC Yes. Lazarus was not at the table in his grave-clothes! Would you say that a sight of the glory would give us to understand what is suitable to the Lord?
JT Yes. The Lord comes in relation to saints in a place; but, on the other hand, if He is in a place He accepts what is there — being “in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper” — it is another side of the position. Lazarus, as you say, was not there in grave-clothes. They, including the napkin that was about his face, were taken off; the face of the risen [p. 250] man was unveiled by the saints, by those that were present.
HD'AC It is good to look at the saints in that light. It is just Christ that you find. The thought that covers the meeting is, a risen company. There is no death; death had been there, but it is there no longer.
Ques Is it necessary to know Him as the resurrection and the life in order to make Him a supper?
JT I think all the light of chapter 11 enters into this service, but Lazarus represents the dignity of the company. We are risen “through faith of the working of God who raised him from among the dead”, (Colossians 2:12).
Rem There is no entertaining in Matthew; only the anointing.
JT No, it is just what the woman did; and her name is not even given to us, that is to say, it is not a question of the inward dignity of the saints, but of the thing that happened there, what she did.
But in John 12 what is in view is the dignity of the persons, what they can do. So that, from one point of view, you look at the assembly in a certain place, and you think of this brother and that brother, this sister and that sister — that is quite right, their names involve what they are. But then, on the other hand, you lose sight of the persons, and think of the whole place and what is done in it. Matthew presents that side; not so much the persons — it is what is done in the place. We are all responsible, as placed locally, so whoever does it, you want the suitable thing to be done.
HD'AC What she did characterised the occasion.
JT That is what I thought. That is what He honoured, what was done in the place by some woman.
Rem The saints are interested in the gospel, they are interested in men.
JT That is right. Paul and Barnabas preached [p. 251] the gospel in certain places, and afterwards went back and ordained elders in every assembly. Doubtless they found happy Christians — but what were they doing? They needed to be instructed as to what should be done. Elders are persons who know what should be done. Therefore, wheresoever the gospel is preached, what “this woman hath done” should be told; in principle it should be done in every assembly. That is, the Lord’s dignity and rights should be recognised.
SL It was very exercising, what you said about the ‘fifty’ that we should have something in each of our localities to give.
JT The question is, how we treat the Lord in our localities. The woman here anointed His head; He said she anointed His body; she had a conception of the whole Christ, so to speak.
Rem She came to Him.
Rem So you see the inner condition of things in Lazarus and Martha and Mary, and the outward condition in Matthew.
JT Yes. The Lord links the woman’s act with the gospel. I think it is intended to condemn the spirit of the hierarchical system, in connection with the preaching of the gospel; what this woman did would stand over against that. She would not have any other person anointed but Christ.
HD'AC And we are told what was the effect of Mary’s anointing — “the house was filled with the odour of the ointment”. A little different from “the house of Simon the leper”.
Rem I suppose that being occupied with such a Person would tend to produce in you that characteristic. Is that your thought?
JT That is what is in my mind. The evangelist might be asked by his converts, What shall we do? Well, he would tell them what this woman did — that is what the Lord meant, I think. “Wheresoever this [p. 252] gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her”. It is not that she is preached; we do not preach any one but Christ, but we speak of her. If that was what she did, and the Lord thought so much about it, we must not have anything different from that.
HD'AC He would have every convert as devoted to Him as Mary was.
JT John 12 is hardly the assembly, but the principle of it is there. It is the remnant. The Lord had taken the disciples to a city near the desert, and He abode there. I suppose Ephraim may be taken to mean ‘fruitfulness’ — “From me is thy fruit found”, (Hosea 14:8). The Lord would begin again outside places of reputation; God will begin over again with the remnant of Israel, and fill the world with fruit.
EP I suppose, in regard to John 12, the thought would be to get all to honour the Son as they honour the Father. Is not that the point in the Supper?
JT It is the point in John. “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby”. “I am the resurrection, and the life ... And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” Martha said, “Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world”. That was something. Then she goes to her sister — she is set in movement in that light. But then at the grave the Lord speaks to His Father and says, “Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And _I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it” — showing that God was brought in by the Son. The Son honours the Father — He would bring in the work of God. It was the glory of the Son that [p. 253] what He was doing was in respect of God; the glory of the Son is in that relation, I think.
HD'AC It is beautiful how He calls attention to the One that sent Him continually!
JT Throughout John’s gospel that is very prominent.
Rem Is it not significant here that the house was not filled with the odour of the ointment until it was put on Christ? Many a thing is concealed in the heart of a brother, but it is not effective till he puts it on the Lord, then the house is filled with it.
JT Yes; it is a very fine suggestion — the filling of the house; showing what comes from one who has a true appreciation of Christ.
Rem And that one might be an obscure person.
JT Quite; but one obviously intelligent, because she kept the ointment, as if she had anticipated instinctively some opportunity like this. It was a measured thing, too; one of the most important things in the assembly of God is measurement. It is so in everything — in the whole universe measurement must apply; but when you come to that which is so intrinsically pleasurable to God, you can see how essential measurement is. It is a pound here.
HD'AC You are not to go beyond, or keep back what you have. She could not have known beforehand what the effect of that would be. She thought of Christ, and, to her astonishment no doubt, the whole house was filled with the odour of the ointment.
JT That is important, for young persons have little or no thought of what they say, as to what its effect may be in the assembly.
HD'AC The utterance of a young brother filled with Christ may flood the whole meeting.
Ques Is that the thought in the “unlearned” saying “Amen at thy giving of thanks”, (1 Corinthians 14:16)? He appreciates the import of what is said.
JT Quite so. When it is a question of participation [p. 254] in the assembly in 1 Corinthians 14 you have measure — “Let the prophets speak two or three”. Then, “If anything be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace”. The time has come for the first to sit down; he does not go beyond that, if something is revealed to another sitting by; for there is hidden principle at work which is to regulate all that happens, and you want to be very sensitive about that.
Ques Do you not think we suffer often by comparison? Because I cannot give out what another can, I am silent.
JT I am sure we should be simple; and we need a sense of the inner working that controls. If something is given to another sitting by, the first should be silent. There is in the assembly the spirit of revelation, and that is what we should be on the alert about.
HD'AC There might be a spirit of ‘manifestation’ that is by no means of God. There are from time to time movements which make much of spiritual manifestations, and later it is found that Satan is in them.
JT Quite so. You cannot think of unseemly occurrences where there is the Spirit of God. When the apostle refers to persons speaking with tongues, and no one understands, some thinking they are mad — that is not the idea of measurement. In 1 Corinthians 14:30, where a brother is contemplated as speaking and something is revealed to another sitting there, the first is to be silent.
FS Would that suggest that if you were speaking, and you had no more support, you would sit down?
JT You are sensitive enough to feel that another has something. It suggests how much consideration we should have for others when ministering; we make room for such as God may use if they are present.
HD'AC It cannot be the divine thought, in a [p. 255] meeting of brothers, that only one brother should speak and bless God. If we occupy all the time in a lengthy prayer or address, we hinder the simple outflow of the Spirit. Perhaps the beginning of the prayer was in great power, but was it continued in the same power? Very often a good prayer or giving of thanks is spoiled because of its extension.
Ques What do you think of Nicodemus and his “hundred pound weight” in John 19?
JT It was more a question there of the quantity than the quality, I think. That was a public thing, and valuable as needed for the Lord’s body.
Ques Would the pound weight of ointment represent the measure of appreciation of Christ which had been built up in the soul?
JT That is what I thought. It was a matured thing — she kept it, the Lord said.
Rem There are not ‘tears’ here, as in Luke 7.
JT No; it is a resurrection scene.
Ques As regards the revealing, should we come together expecting something to be revealed to us, or should we come together to give what we have?
JT Both are true. The apostle says, “When ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm”, (1 Corinthians 14:26) etc. That is what you have got, that is the ‘capital’, so to say; but then there may be additions to that, so it goes on to say, “Let the prophets speak two or three ... And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches [assemblies] of the saints”, (verses 29,32,33). I think that is to show that the assembly is an organised thing in which there is spiritual sensitiveness, and in which God is, and in which He operates by His Spirit.
Ques What meeting does that refer to?
JT A meeting for ministry. When the saints come together, they make room for the gifts; and then the gifts make room for one another, and are so [p. 256] sensitive as to recognise the leading of the Spirit.
Rem I suppose that in those days they had the ministry by revelation — they had not the New Testament.
JT Quite so, but I think the principle holds good.
Ques Would you say a little about there being a revelation to another sitting there, and the first being silent; would that mean that you would not be in a hurry to come forward? or how would it work out practically?
JT What is contemplated is that the saints are together in subjection, but there is the recognition of the gifts; it is assumed that each has something. And then the prophets are to be governed in their numbers — “two or three” — which I think is a merciful regulation, so that we should not be too long. Then something is revealed to another, and the one speaking is sensitive enough to discern that, and he holds his peace to make room for the fresh movement of the Spirit.
HD'AC The Spirit would not reveal anything to one sitting by, and at the same moment support the other in going on.
JT No; He would not. God is not the God of confusion. They would speak “one by one”.
SL The third should be very sure; for, as you say, the Lord has considered for us, and the perfection of Scripture is wonderful.
GRG Do you not think that we have largely overlooked such meetings as 1 Corinthians 14 contemplates?
JT I think so. Perhaps because of a fear of fleshly activity; but I am sure faith in the saints would overcome that, for it is a divinely-prescribed way of ministry.
Ques When we come together on Lord’s day morning, these restrictions are not upon us, are they?
The “pound of ointment” here might be the silent act of a sister.
JT Yes; of course at the meeting for the breaking of bread you are at liberty — the rule of two or three is not imposed there, any number may give thanks to God briefly; but the rule applies if there be the ministry of the word.
HD'AC There is so much in that expression, ‘bless with the spirit’. The more there is of blessing God when we come together to break bread, I think, the more the edification. There is rather too much sometimes of speaking a word, but what we say to God in the way of blessing Him is, I believe, what He looks for.
GRG Is not that contemplated too in the open meeting — singing with the spirit, praying with the spirit, blessing with the spirit — as well as ministry?
HD'AC It might be more preferable than listening to a good many addresses. When the district comes together, it is wonderful to hear the brethren blessing God. We have not the opportunity, it may be, of going to their meetings — they come to us — and one after another in a few words blesses God. I believe, if we had more of that, it would be exceedingly edifying.
GRG Singing, praising, and blessing, are for God; ministry is for us. There is ministry for God, and ministry for men.
SL “Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God” (Ecclesiastes 5:1) — that is a very sobering passage.
Ques Why is the ointment said to be “very costly” here?
JT It alludes, spiritually, I suppose, to what it costs you to reach this.
Ques Then in Matthew, it is said to be “very precious”; what is the difference?
JT In the one case, what it cost you is emphasized.
[p. 258] In the other case, whatever it may have cost you, it is precious. In Matthew the ointment was in an “alabaster flask”; we are assured that it was kept free from taint. This assurance may be assumed in Mary’s case; what is noted in her is measurement — intelligence as to how much was suitable — and that it was costly.