ADJUSTMENT IN RELATION TO THE LORD AND EACH OTHER

^[p. 36] ADJUSTMENT IN RELATION TO THE LORD AND EACH OTHER

Luke 24: 33 - 40; John 20: 19 - 23

We learn from this incident in Luke’s gospel how the Lord adjusts us in relation to Himself and to each other. From the passage in John’s gospel we see how the Lord finds a state suitable to a manifestation. One is the outcome of the other. In John the disciples were not flustered and frightened but rejoiced at His presence. In Luke their faith is hindered through joy, they did not believe for joy; fear and joy alike hindered. Both narratives refer to the same time, but are presented from different standpoints. Luke presents things from the side of the priesthood, that is, he takes account of our need and meets it. His record is in order that we should be helped, and follows on the well-known incident of Emmaus; the two at Emmaus represent a state of soul in which Christ had not His place. The distance they had in their minds to go is measured; there are those who make up their minds as to the distance they are prepared to go and set out to cover the distance. The narrative of Emmaus shows how souls may take up a place of distance from Christ; they may attend the meetings, but there may be a feeling that the best times are gone. It is a doleful tale! Every one who goes to Emmaus is doleful! The best day is the present day; in fact there is no better from the divine side because it is the Spirit’s day. A good illustration of a people at a distance is found in the two and a half tribes; they knew the distance they would have to live from God’s habitation. Recovery is by a manifestation of Christ. The Lord knows the distance at which each one is from Him; He knows how far or how near one may be. He takes the place of Head in the house at Emmaus. This was to be the great feature of the new order of things, for if the headship of Christ is not recognised, one is ^[p. 37] out of the enjoyment of it altogether. Immediately after the manifestation He vanished, and they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. Christ’s headship is only rightly known in its own sphere, for He is Son over the house; He did not actually tell them to go to Jerusalem. There was a spiritual foundation in those two which is assumed by the Lord’s course towards them.

Whatever the distance at which we may be from Him, the Lord knows it. Peter is an example. Although there had been several manifestations to him he was not restored until the Lord had probed him three times, see John 21. Why do we choose to remain at a distance? Often it is because of our love for our homes and our families, which really is what marked the two and a half tribes. The Supper is intended to keep us near Him, and it has a voice to us if we are at a distance. These disciples returned to Jerusalem and found the eleven and those with them; Christ Himself had appointed the eleven, and so they represented His authority. No one is really recovered unless he is prepared to accept the authority of Christ. The Lord selects His own way of manifesting Himself; He manifests Himself three times (John 20 and 21), each different from the others; so it becomes a question how He may do it to you. After the manifestation at Emmaus He disappeared and left them now to act, and they returned that same hour of the night; they had seen the Lord risen and alive and that moves them. If you get light you convey what has impressed you. Verse 35 was what impressed them so they got what the Lord intended for them. It was not the unfolding of scripture, the point is to have a contribution, they could give an account of what impressed them.

At Emmaus it is a household scene, the Lord takes the house-father’s place; they were to get the good of this elsewhere — at Jerusalem. They became contributors ^[p. 38] at once — they related what occurred on the way. It suggests how things are to be, the breaking of bread was to have a great place. A contribution is not necessarily a knowledge of scripture. The assembly is marked by contributions from those who have had manifestations; Mary had a manifestation and a message. The two at Emmaus were not qualified to receive a message. Our homes damage most of us — that is, they occupy the first place. The word to Abraham was “Get thee out ... from thy father’s house”. Our ancestry and position come into our minds as we turn towards our houses. Our faces need to be towards the assembly; we should always have a sense of our relation towards Christ and the saints. “As they were saying these things, he himself stood in their midst”. They were suited to a visitation but they were not adjusted. We may be suited to a point, but we need to be wholly adjusted. It says “they were terrified”. We should seek to be in the condition for manifestation. This flows from a knowledge of the Lord. His hands and His feet are the evidence of His death. The feet show the journey He has taken in order to reach us, whereas in John it is a question of His love — His hands and His side. In Luke we see more the service side, it was a real Man who had taken this journey. He then proceeds to eat a piece of a broiled fish, etc. Here we see a real Man. In John He is the Last Adam: and His side has reference no doubt to the fact that Eve came out of Adam’s side.

In John’s gospel the Father is more in view. Luke begins with a priestly family. Most of us are defective as regards the priestly state. Luke shows how the Lord left a priestly family behind Him on earth, Luke 24: 53. In Matthew they were to meet at Galilee, that is in relation to the Gentiles; that gospel was written with a view to the setting aside of the Jewish system. In Mark we are shown how the apostles were to carry on the new service with guidance and support from heaven, not ^[p. 39] from Jerusalem. In Luke we have adjustment as to the discerning of the Lord when He manifests Himself.

On the mount of transfiguration Peter “wist not what to say”, Mark 9: 6. It is a reproach. Silence is painful when it is the result of slothfulness and spiritual dumbness. There is a silence of power and a silence of weakness. We need to be more evenly balanced. In spite of “such things have befallen me”, Leviticus 10: 19, it is the mark of the priest to be evenly balanced. The sympathy of Christ maintains you in mellowness. There is no excuse for fleshly activity in the sanctuary. The priests were not even to mourn for their relatives (Leviticus 10) — sanctuary requirements were so stringent. The chapter says they were not to drink strong drink and is intended to regulate the priests in their service. The claims of the flesh must not influence us. Priesthood belongs really to the mediatorial system. It is necessary now for the state, and the circumstances, in which we are. The priest is also a son, so that his service is founded on the love peculiar to that relationship. All service in the assembly must be of that character. No Levite knew what to do without the guidance of the priest.

In John 20 the assembly is presented as normal. It is what the Lord is to us and what we are, and so on a higher level. Mary’s message had produced a certain suitability. They were His brethren. His mind was the same for them in Luke but they were afraid; here it was the Jews they were afraid of — a very wholesome fear to have. Verse 19 emphasises the thought of disciples, not necessarily the eleven. Therefore it is not their official place. He came to where the disciples were. John puts it “having seen the Lord” — they saw Him. The peace He gives them is His own peace. A state of peace is so important. A troubled heart is detrimental to the enjoyment of the Lord’s presence. Thomas was absent; he is a type of the Jew, and also alas, many others at the present time! This made him more difficult of ^[p. 40] adjustment. Absentees are apt to be infidel. The Supper is the gathering centre. In John they were sent out in the spirit of the heavenly Man. He breathes into them, showing the character of the testimony: “as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you”. Here it is how they are sent out. What they do is final. It is for disciples simply, and shows the exalted position of the saints. It is the spirit and dignity in which they go out.