“HAST THOU SEEN THIS?”

A. P. Devenish

Ezekiel 47: 6, 7; John 1: 1–3, 6; 3: 29, 30; 6: 67, 68; 12: 1–6; 20, 17

The brethren will notice the reference in Ezekiel 47 to being brought back. Verse 1, “And he ... brought me back”; verse 6, “And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? And he led me, and brought me back to the bank of the river”. John the evangelist brings forward, distinctive truths and outstanding incidents in our Lord’s life, death and resurrection not recorded in the synoptic gospels, wonderful as those gospels are. May we be brought back to see through John’s spiritual eyesight what is distinctive in his gospel. I suppose the woman in John 4 was there all the time; and the man in John 9. It is as if the Spirit of God through the evangelist would bring us back, and say, Have you seen this? “Son of man, hast thou seen this?” Each of the gospel writers speaks about beginnings. Matthew speaks of the great roots of promise, David and Abraham, and the distinctive genealogy that leads up to the incoming of Christ. Mark speaks of the beginning of the glad tidings of Jesus Christ, Son of God (Mark 1: 1). Luke also refers to beginnings, he says, “Forasmuch as many have undertaken to draw up a relation concerning the matters fully believed among us, as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses of and attendants on the Word” (Luke 1: 1, 2). His narrative introduces Christ as a newborn Babe in Bethlehem’s manger.

John the evangelist leads us back. You see in John’s gospel a beginning before all beginnings; it is to affect our hearts with the greatness of the Person of Christ—“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”, everything emanating from Him. In days of breakdown, ruin, weakness, such as we know, it is wonderful to have our hearts freshly affected by the greatness of the Person of Christ. Everything will be sustained by Him; everything has its beginning in Him; everything will be carried through by Him to the end. It is wonderful to be brought back to see something more. So he speaks affectingly about John the baptist. The synoptic writers rather leave John the baptist in the shade, the lack of faith, perhaps discouraged in prison. John does not record any failure with John the baptist; he rather sets him out as a model servant—he was “a man sent from God”, not ‘by God’, but “from God”, or ‘from with God’. And he brings him out of the shade, you might say, into the sunshine. It is wonderful to do that with the brethren! Maybe we could say much about failures, maybe we could say much about the negative side. It is wonderful to follow John’s ministry, John’s skill in bringing forward the baptist, and bringing him, as we have said, out of the shade into the sunshine. So that he starts with him as “a man sent from God”, and he finishes with him as a friend of the Bridegroom. John says, “this my joy then is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease”, John 3: 30.

We would be helped, beloved brethren, to think thus of one another, to seek to bring one another into the sunshine. Many failures we could speak about as to many of us. Are you going to leave a brother there, leave a sister there? How wonderful it is to be able to see what characterizes the work of God in one another and to seek to cause it again to shine. Oh, you say, the history has been such, we cannot get past that. So let us look again; look again! It is wonderful to look at a brother again; maybe you will see something else, see the work of God in all its distinctiveness. What a fine preaching this is looking at Jesus as He walked he says, “Behold the Lamb of God”.

Look again! You say, I see John in prison and he is saying, Art Thou the coming One, or are we to wait for another? John the evangelist says. Look again, look again, “Hast thou seen this?” Oh for the spiritual eyesight, you know, that we can see in one another the distinctive features of the work of God and seek to cause them to shine.

It says in relation to the passage through the waters, ‘and he measured a thousand cubits, and he caused me to pass through the waters’, (Ezekiel 47: 3). Causing would involve influence, the spiritual influence of one who is princely would draw out the best features and see that they shine in the local assembly. Oh, you say, I remember the history, remember that he did not do too well; and she did not do too well. May I suggest that we have another look?—“Hast thou seen this?” Perhaps we were having a fine conversation on the faults of that dear brother or sister, but maybe we could say to one another—“Hast thou seen this?” “And he led me, and brought me back to the bank of the river. When I returned, behold, on the bank of the river were very many trees”. Oh, you say, we are in days of breakdown, weakness, smallness, but we see in John the evangelist spiritual eyesight; he brings forward in John the baptist the finest features that shone in him, omitting certain historical references and bringing forward the lovely characteristics that shone in him. He was glad to draw attention to the Lamb of God, not sorry when his disciples followed Him, attracted as they were to the Lord Jesus.

Well, we might say the same about Peter. In chapter 6 John gives us a little insight into a, bit of history that is not recorded in the synoptic gospels, “We have believed and known”; that is

experience, that is not revelation, that is not something that just came into his soul, wonderful as that is, but John the evangelist brings forward this little bit of history in retrospect. “Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go?” Oh, you say, the Lord had to say to Peter, “Get away behind me, Satan … for thy mind is not on the things that are of God, but on the things that are of men” (see Matthew 16: 23; Mark 8: 33). He was asleep on the mount of transfiguration; he denied the Lord later on; we could have an address on the failures of Peter, but you see John brings in a little insight into some of Peter’s history that we have not before seen—“Hast thou seen this?” Peter says, “Lord, to whom shall we go?” What fine words; not,

‘to what shall we go?’ No evidence here of the weakness and the failings that marked him in other instances; there is no evidence of it here—“to whom shall we go?”, encouraging those with him as attracted to Christ; “thou hast words of life eternal; and we have believed and known that thou art the holy one of God”. Have you seen that about Peter? Have you seen that before?—“Hast thou seen this?”

At some time in Peter’s history he, and the disciples with him, in their experience realized that the Lord Jesus was the holy One of God, that He had words of eternal life. The spirituality of John’s ministry is wonderful. The Eleazar priesthood is in mind in this section, the spirituality of the priesthood, the Lord’s priesthood, the Prince of the princes of the Levites, the One who is the Minister of the sanctuary. John the evangelist says, Have you seen this before? Have you seen this before about Peter? So we should think of one another; seek to bring out these spiritual, sensitive feelings that were expressed in Peter here. When others had gone away, the Lord says, “Will ye also go away?” How these words must have affected his heart, and how they must have affected the hearts of the disciples.

Many things come up in John that are unique to this gospel, the last gospel written; I suppose, the last book of the Bible written, and how much we would have missed without it.

Wonderful the teaching of new birth in this gospel, “It is needful that ye should be born anew”. John takes us back to beginnings, the beginning of our spiritual history. New birth involves more than a sovereign operation, it involves a communication; that would be confirmed in Peter’s epistle (1 Peter 1: 23). John speaks of being born of water and of spirit—“except any one be born of water and of Spirit”—the water involves what is negative, but the Spirit is positive, it is the initial element of spirituality. In chapter 4 we have “God is a Spirit”, but the element of spirit is introduced in the sovereign operation of new birth. So it is a fine thing, I think, to go back, to relate things to the beginning of our spiritual history.

Beloved Mr. Taylor said a great many things need to be thrown overboard; they do not correspond with the initial work; he also said a fine thing; the wind blows where it will; but open the doors and open the windows and let the wind blow in. We say this is a question of divine sovereignty, but then always closely linked with it is the element of responsibility. He said also that while faith is not the portion of all, faith is gettable. If you have not got it you can get it, you can ask. Beloved brethren, may I suggest that we absorb our souls in Mr.

Taylor’s ministry, to get a distinctive impress of Christ, and the truth of the assembly and the service of God.

It is very interesting that the river in Ezekiel gets deeper as it goes out from the house, as it goes toward the area of need; someone said it was about a mile, and a half until there are waters to swim in. I have never seen a river like that in this world; as it flows out into the area of need it deepens. What does John say? “for of his fulness we all have received, and grace upon grace”, John 1: 10. It is wonderful to get into the waters, waters to swim in which cannot be passed over; “to know the love of the Christ which surpasses, knowledge”.

Well, I read a few references to illustrate what is in mind. The woman in John 4 is not alluded to before. I suppose Matthew would have known about her; I suppose Mark would have known about her; I suppose Luke would have known about her, but John brings her forward—“And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? And he led me”. Oh, what a story, you know, is in John 4! Jesus weary with the way that He had come “sat just as he was at the fountain”. If there was ever an example of unofficial service it is here. We tend to love what is official. Weary with the way He had come, but not too weary to bring this poor soul into the knowledge of God; not only to meet her need, not only as a prophet to bring to bear the word of God upon her, not only to expose her life, but quickly, in His own inimitable way, to bring her into the wealth of the knowledge of God “for also the Father seeks such as his worshippers. God is a spirit; and they who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth”. He says, “But the hour is coming and now is”. She becomes a vessel of the Spirit, and an evangelist—“Come, see a man who told me all things I had ever done”. The man says, “Hast thou seen this?” Would that I could leave an impression upon our hearts, an impression of Christ as John speaks about Him; the way that He serves; the way that He meets the need of man; the river, you might say, getting deeper as it flows out into the area of need. You say, Oh, we could not talk to this poor sinner about the service of God. It would not do, would it? John shows us how to serve, how to serve, unofficially—“If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that says to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water”. It would spring up in cleansing and refreshing power in her soul unto life eternal. We are not only to seek to meet the need in the preaching of the glad tidings, wonderful as that is, but seek the skill and the wisdom and the love to draw souls under the influence of Christ by the Spirit into the service of God.

The man in John 9 is unique; the wonderful incident in John 11 is unique—“Hast thou seen this?”—seen the tears of God, as one has said, in the eyes of a Man as He wept? “Jesus wept”. You say, I have read about the widow of Nain and Jesus being moved with compassion. John would say, Come back; “He led me, and brought me back”; he said, “Hast thou seen this?” Hast thou seen the tears of God in the eyes of a Man? I might also say, Have you seen the tears of Christ in the eyes of the saints? I have. You have had a burial meeting this week I understand. Did you see the tears of Christ in the eyes of the saints? Did you see the truth of the body working? Did you? When one member suffers, all suffer. Did you see that, the tears of Christ in the eyes of the saints? How superficial we may be. Oh for the spiritual eyesight to see beyond what is merely external.

In John 12 it says, “Jesus therefore, six days before the passover”. Jesus moves in His own initiative; He is not regulated by the Jewish feasts; He is not concerned with Christmas and Easter, nor should we be. Fasten your eyes on Jesus six days before the passover; He is not regulated by the religious ceremonies or what is merely sacramental. If we follow the Lord Jesus in this wonderful gospel we will not be regulated by any other. Wonderful is this chapter! It is like the straight lines of the inheritance in Ezekiel. Luke 10 is like the irregular lines of the inheritance in Joshua. You say, Martha is a difficult sister. Love is taxed; grace is taxed; the irregular lines may cause irritation. Ezekiel’s straight lines involve that each has his and her own place. Lazarus is one of those at table with Him, that was his place; Martha served. Luke leaves Martha unadjusted.

But the man standing by would say, Have you seen this? Oh, you say, I can only think of Martha complaining about all the housework she has to do—but, Have you seen this? Martha served! Oh, the grace of that, and the spirit with which she would serve; it is enough to say, “Martha served”. The history is gone, you know, the history is forgotten; the straight lines of the inheritance would cause no irritation, each one would have his or her own distinctive place. It says, “Mary therefore, having taken a pound of ointment of pure nard of great price”. Martha was not saying, What are you doing with this ointment? Why are you not helping me? No, Martha served, and Mary, “having taken a pound of ointment of pure nard of great price, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment”. No irritation in this picture. In our local assemblies, we need to take another look. Have you seen this? Have you? This dear brother can do something I cannot do; he has a distinctive impression of Christ that I do not have; I do not feel jealous because he shines in the ministry meeting, or he shines in other occasions. I have my place and he has his.

Just a word as to chapter 20. We get the thought of the brethren of Christ in the other gospels, the synoptic gospels. Matthew says, “for whosoever shall do the will of my Father … he is my brother, and sister, and mother “(Matthew 12: 50). Mark says, “for whosoever shall do the will of God, he is my brother, and sister, and mother “(Mark 3: 35). Luke speaks about hearing the word of God and doing it—but, Have you seen this?— this presentation of the brethren of Christ in John 20 is related to the purpose of God; this is not so much connected with what is testimonial; it is not linked with our responsibility, it is linked with the purpose of God—“go to my brethren”—“my brethren”, those that are His kindred, those that He can associate with Himself. Wonderful truth comes forward in, this chapter, “I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God”—“go to my brethren”, my brethren, we are of His stock. The greatest privilege is ours, beloved, we are united to the heavenly Man, but we are associated with the Son of God. We have this distinctive, wonderful place that I suppose is unequalled, the knowledge of Christ’s Father, the knowledge of Christ’s God “go to my brethren and say to them, I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God”.

I want to commend this simple suggestion to us, that we may go back with the prophet and have another look—“Hast thou seen this?” It is a wonderful encouragement, you know, with the conscious knowledge that so many of us have as to our failures in the area of responsibility. John the evangelist would say, Have you seen this?—“but go to my brethren”. It is wonderful that the Lord Jesus associates us with Himself in this wonderful relationship.

How elevated! How we would elevate the beloved saints in our minds and hearts as we view them from John’s spiritual view. May the Lord encourage us to go back, go back along with the prophet, and see things as the prophet sees them, as he had not seen them before.

I would like to encourage the young ones here. I suppose when Elisha restored the lad, brought life and warmth to the lad, his mouth upon his mouth, his eyes upon his eyes, his hands upon his hands (2 Kings 4: 34), I suppose it meant that he would see things as the prophet saw them. He would speak as the prophet spoke; he would do things as the prophet did them. I would say that that is a suggestion of how near Christ comes to us. So how different everything would be—His mouth upon your mouth; His eyes upon your eyes; His hands upon your hands. There was infinite compression as Christ came into manhood in order to touch us, in order to affect us and quicken us. So the young ones, and all of us, can be quickened, can be affected by the service of Jesus. He would serve you today, He would serve you now, the great Person that He is. And yet we read in John 4 that He was “wearied with the way he had come” and “sat just as he was at the fountain”. In John 13 He lays aside His official garments and takes a wash-hand basin. We went to see an old sister and she said, I would like to be a basin; I like to be a hand-basin. And she surely is; you get refreshed when you go and see her; you get a spiritual impression of one that is living in relation to Christ.

The Lord Jesus says in John 6, “As ... I live on account of the Father, he also who eats me shall live also on account of me” (verse 57). Beloved Mr. McCallum told us that that was life by contact, life by contact with the Son of God. Let us come into touch with Him. May these few fragmentary thoughts encourage our hearts, in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Address in Edinburgh
18 June 1988