THE FEELINGS OF THE LORD JESUS FOR HIS OWN
J. Webster
John 11: 5, 11–14; Joshua 1: 1, 2
I feel impressed, beloved brethren, to say a few words of encouragement and comfort for all of us, but especially for our sister and the family who are bereaved. There is no one who feels things like the Lord Jesus. It says in John 11, “Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus”. He loved them individually. He knows His own, He knows every one of us by name. At one point in this chapter Martha says, “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died” (John 11: 21). But the Lord’s hand was in it, and death came into this family.
There was sorrow. We have been reminded that we do not sorrow as those who have no hope, but there is the sorrow, there is no doubt about that, and they felt the sorrow. Death had come into the family and they felt the loss. Now we feel the loss of our brother whom the Lord has taken.
There are those who have known our brother much longer than I have, but I have known him for a considerable length of time, and we knew him as a brother and we knew him as a friend.
It is a good thing to know something about friendship. It says, “there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother”, Proverbs 18: 24. I believe our brother knew the Lord Jesus in this way, and this is open to each of us. So the Lord says, “Lazarus, our friend, is fallen asleep”, but then He says plainly, “Lazarus has died”. In this chapter, of course, the Lord Jesus raised Lazarus. He raised him from the dead, and I have not the slightest doubt, beloved, that the Lord Jesus could raise our brother now if it so pleased Him. He has that power but He is taking the saints, one by one, in view of that moment when they are all going to be raised.
What a moment that will be, when the Lord Jesus comes to give that assembling shout. We speak of it as the first resurrection. It says, “the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we, the living who remain, shall be caught up”, 1 Thessalonians 4: 16. What a moment! What a triumph for God as every blood bought saint stands on this earth—a testimony to what God can do. I trust every one here is in the great company of the redeemed—but if not you can be amongst them. There is a time coming when that will not be possible. No amount of money will buy it then, but it is available free now. It is available now through believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. And so the Lord says here, “Lazarus has died”.
I refer to the scripture in Joshua because whilst there is the side that we feel the loss of our brother, the Lord has his feelings about the death of His saints. “Precious in the sight of Jehovah is the death of his saints”, Psalm 116: 15. I just have this impression from this scripture as to what he meant to God, what he meant to the Lord. The time comes when the Lord puts in His claim. It was so with Moses, this man of God. What a man Moses was. But you think of God and the feelings that entered into this verse. It says, “Moses my servant is dead”. Think of God’s feelings in relation to that! And our brother is dead. He has served. It speaks in Timothy of being “sanctified, serviceable to the Master”, 2 Timothy 2: 21. I think our brother was one like that. So, I just commend this scripture to us dear friends, and brethren.
Our brother has gone, he has died, but that is not the end. As soon as a believer dies, he is with Christ. Our brother is with Christ now. It is very clear that believers who have died are with Christ. There is a whole department there which is under the Lord. “To this end Christ has died and lived again, that he might rule over both dead and living”, Romans 14: 9. It is a whole area of things that is under the hand of this blessed Man, our Lord Jesus Christ. He died and lived again, “that he might rule over both dead and living”. You say, this man Moses died here and then you find him in Matthew 17, along with another man from another generation, Elias, and you say, ‘What is going on here’?
Well, friend, there is another world, there is an unseen world. We see the things around us, we can take account of certain things. Things that are seen are for a time. Certain things, as far as our brother is concerned, are finished, but the things that are not seen are eternal. And so there is another world. There is an unseen world. Mr. J. N. Darby said, ‘What powerful, mighty Voice, so near, Calls me from earth apart’, Spiritual Songs p.1. So I would encourage us all, especially our young people here. Just remember this, Do not put all your energies into what relates to this world. There is another world and Christ is the centre of that world. Our brother is in it now. Paul says, “departure and being with Christ, for it is very much better”, Philippians 1: 23. Well, I would seek to encourage all of us at this time, especially our sister and the family, but also the brethren locally here in Glasgow who will have a tremendous miss. May all our hearts be encouraged, for His name’s sake.