COMMITTAL

W. Lamont

Exodus 21: 1–6; Luke 22: 39–46; Acts 22: 1–16

I would like to say a simple word as to committal. I believe, beloved brethren and friends, that the measure of one’s committal is directly related to the measure of one’s affection for Christ. So we can measure ourselves. The degree in which any one of us is committed to the Lord Jesus and to His interests in this scene most definitely reflects the measure of our affection for Him. Hence we can measure ourselves and discover where we are in relation to His interests here below. But firstly we must see committal set forth in Himself, the true Hebrew Bondman. One who came here in perfect obedience and devotion to God’s will, never a moment apart from it, never a thought, never a deed that did not conform to the will of God and to the pleasure of God. He could say Himself, “I do always the things that are pleasing to him”, John 8: 29. What consistency there was in the life of Jesus. So it is a tremendous thing to arrive at consistency in one’s life.

Most of us are up and down, sometimes one way sometimes another, but the One that is presented to us in His perfection was a blessed Man who in every step and every deed was pleasing to God. We can feed on that, the greatness of the manhood of Jesus, the One who was for the delight of God “Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I have found my delight”, Mark 1: 11. What a scene! one blessed Man totally for the delight of the Father in His life of absolute perfection, everything that God had looked for.

It says, “If he came in alone”, that is, ‘with his body’. That would remind us of Psalm 40: 6, “Ears hast thou prepared (or ‘digged’) me” (see footnote), or, as it is quoted in Hebrews 10: 5, “thou hast prepared me a body”. Think of the greatness of that! It has been referred to as a holy conversation between divine Persons. What a privilege for such as we to have recorded for us a conversation between divine Persons, one divine Person speaking to Another and saying, “Thou hast prepared me a body … Lo, I come (in the roll of the book it is written of me) to do, O God, thy will” (Hebrews 10: 7), having in mind these relationships into which God has come as made known to us in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. That one divine Person should become Man is a wonder; well may we sing, ‘Wonder of the incarnation!’ (Hymn 38). The One who is God as to His Person was found in lowly manhood, and not only that, but here as a Bondman. As to the man in the type, this Hebrew bondman, “If he came in alone, he shall go out alone”. It has been said, and said rightly, that He could have gone straight from the mount of transfiguration to glory. He could have done that. The Father’s delight came into expression there again, for the second time, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight” (Matthew 17: 5), referring, as we know, to those years of public service; in every deed God’s pleasure was found in Him, the Father watching Him with supreme interest. He saw Him healing the sick, the blind, the deaf, the dumb, and raising the dead, going about doing good and healing all that were under the power of the devil.

What a Man!—and the Father’s delight expressed in Him. Had He gone from that point to glory He would have gone out alone, but, as John tells us in the Lord’s own words, “Except the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, it abides alone; but if it die, it bears much fruit”, John 12: 24. Well brethren, we are here tonight, those of us who believe, those of us who know Him, we are here as the fruit of the death of Christ. It is a wonderful thing to contemplate, that the basis of our blessing is that that blessed Man has died in order that there should be fruit, that there should be blessing for us and response to Himself, and persons secured now and eternally for the praise of the blessed God. It says, “But if the bondman say distinctly ...”; there was no doubt about the Lord Jesus meaning what He said. He spoke distinctly, He spoke definitely, “I love my master, my wife, and my children, I will not go free”.

That was the language of love, beloved, the language of love in Jesus, “I will not go free”. Oh what perfect devotion, love in expression in its fulness in one blessed Man. He said, “I love my master”—the love of the Lord Jesus for His God, expressed fully in His life. Then love for His wife; what would that be? It would be the church, the assembly. Then love for His children; total

devotion expressed so fully and so blessedly in Jesus. He became “obedient even unto death, and that the death of the cross”, Philippians 2: 8. The devotion of Jesus in the fulness of His love led Him that way, the way of suffering, the way of death. Does it not call forth from every heart response to Him? How could it be otherwise? How could any human heart have reserves in the light of love so fully expressed in one blessed Man? It leads to committal.

That is one’s exercise; not only did He commit Himself unreservedly in love for His God, but, that should stimulate us as seeing Him in all His perfection, so that we should commit ourselves to Him. It says, “If the bondman shall say distinctly, I love my master, my wife, and my children, I will not go free; then his master shall bring him before the judges”. That such language should be used in a type of the Lord Jesus but brings into perfect relief the glory of His humanity. ‘Shall bring him’; Oh the subjection of Jesus! “Then his master shall bring him before the judges, and shall bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall be his bondman for ever”.

I think all our hearts should go out to Him, that not only has He become Man, but He remains a Man in service in love for ever. It is a wonderful thing that the blessed lowly One who was here in holy humanity, coming in as Man, though God as to His Person, has been raised from the dead, has ascended to the presence of God and remains Man eternally. He will hold the universe for the praise of God throughout eternity, and He will serve us in His love eternally. It is wonderful, and is calculated to draw out our affections to Him and cause us to devote our lives to Him.

I go on to Luke 22. The Lord Jesus was approaching the time of His death. “Going forth he went according to his custom to the mount of Olives, and the disciples also followed him”. Matthew and Mark give us the forsaking, which Luke does not exactly do. Luke speaks of “the mount of Olives”. The One who lived His life in perfect communion with His Father resorted to that special area, and it is Luke who gives us the intensity of the Lord’s sufferings at the mount of Olives. The language is sublime—“Father, if thou wilt remove this cup from me ...”. The Lord in His holy soul felt the horror of what He was facing. He was going forward to death, going forward to those sufferings on the cross. His holy soul shrank from it, It is something to contemplate—“Father, if thou wilt remove this cup from me ...”. “He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw”. Jesus went forward alone to deal with the matter of sin and sins. We sing, ‘None could follow there, blest Saviour’ (No. 298). No other could enter into that transaction, that tremendous transaction between a holy God and Jesus on the cross when He became the Sin-bearer. What a time that was! The whole sin question in all its awfulness was taken into account and the whole matter judged unsparingly in the holy Person of Jesus. Your blessing and mine hinges entirely upon it.

The Lord in anticipation of the cross feels it to the depths of His Being, and He says, “But then, not my will, but thine be done”. What a picture of absolute and perfect submission in one holy Man to the will of God; “Not my will, but thine be done”. Then—it says, “An angel appeared to him from heaven strengthening him”. What holy awe that angel must have felt as he appeared to Him from heaven strengthening Him. How he did it is not recorded for us, but think of an, angel ministering to the One who was the Creator, but here in manhood. What a scene that was! He had all power. “He spoke, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast”, Psalm 33: 9. The One who was Creator of the universe, yet found here in suffering manhood and an angel—one of His creatures—appeared to Him from heaven and strengthened Him. It is food for the soul; it brings out the glory of the way He has come, the way He has gone. Then it says, “And being in conflict he prayed more intently”.

Who can understand that? Who can fathom it? Luke accurately, by the Spirit of God, adds

“he prayed more intently”. We need to enquire of the Spirit of God, enquire in exercise before God, what these things mean, and be reverent in the presence of them.

“And his sweat became as great drops of blood, falling down upon the earth”. Oh, what a picture! Beloved brethren, it is calculated to draw forth from the depths of our hearts unreserved affection for Himself. One reason why these things are recorded for us is that they should have an effect upon us and bring about in our lives a response to Himself and full affection. Then it says, “Rising up from his prayer, coming to the disciples, he found them sleeping from grief”. At that stage they were unable to enter into the matter. They were

“sleeping from grief” at the very time when He was passing through this agony in His soul.

“And he said to them, Why sleep ye? rise up and pray that ye enter not into temptation”.

I read in Acts as to Paul as an example of a man upon whom the Lord Jesus and His love had a profound effect. And the effect was that a man such as ourselves devoted his life totally to the Lord Jesus. And that is a challenge. Who here could say that their life was totally devoted to the Lord Jesus? That is the desire of God, that our lives should be totally committed to this blessed One. I believe the Spirit of God would challenge us as to the measure of our committal to

the Lord Jesus, which would be directly related to the measure of our affection for Him. In Acts 22 we get Paul reiterating his conversion as first recorded, in a Jewish setting, in Acts 9.

In Acts 26 it is in a Gentile setting. But I read in chapter 22 to bring out certain features.

In verse 10 Paul says, “And I said, What shall I do, Lord?” That is the language of love, the immediate response of Saul of Tarsus, as affected deeply by the Lord Jesus appearing to him from the glory, was, “What shall I do, Lord?” He became obedient. The instruction to him was, “Go to Damascus, and there it shall be told thee of all things which it is appointed thee to do”. One great need today, beloved brethren and dear friends, is for obedience, to be ready to be subject to the word of the Lord, and that word tonight, specifically for this occasion, would call for total committal in love to Jesus. It is a challenge as to our affection for Christ.

Who has a heart for Jesus? If you have, it will be evident in your committal to Him. It is not just what you might profess or seek to say, it will be seen in your life if you love the Lord Jesus. Anyone who really loves Him will be devoted to Him. Well, Saul of Tarsus learned that lesson quickly. “Who art thou, Lord?” He had authority from the high priest to persecute the saints. What a ruthless man Saul of Tarsus was! As someone has said, he would go in to a local assembly after his conversion and would see widows there, would see orphans, and he would say in self-judgment, ‘I was responsible for that’. He takes the blame upon himself for the murder of Stephen.

All these terrible things happened in the life of Saul of Tarsus, but he became different when he came into touch with the heavenly Jesus. “Who art thou, Lord?” He recognised that the One who

appeared to him had authority such as he had never known before, and that is what the word of God would bring to you, it would bring you into touch with the blessed Man, crowned with glory and honour, who has authority such as you can never know anywhere else, the One who is made “both Lord and Christ”, Acts 2: 36. The result is that Paul says, “What shall I do, Lord?” He was prepared to submit himself to the lordship of Christ. There is great need today for persons who are prepared to forego their own wills, their own selfish desires, and submit themselves to the authority of Jesus. And I can tell you it is an authority that He exercises in love. It is not arbitrary, it is out of His love for you. The Lord exercises His prerogative in lordship out of deep affection for you. Well, He says, “Rise up, and go to Damascus, and there it shall be told thee of all things which it is appointed thee to do”. That was in a local assembly. The Christian economy has been arranged so that there are not only individual believers but there is such a thing as the assembly, the church.

That is what the Lord meant when He said, “Why persecutest thou me?” Saul of Tarsus could not persecute the Lord personally where He was, beyond the reach of the power of the enemy, the devil, beyond the reach of the power of sin and of death, having met these things and met them fully. But in saying, “Why persecutest thou me?”, the Lord was referring to His saints here on earth. The great light of our day is Christ on high and His body here on earth, and the function of that body is in places like Melbourne, Cumnock and elsewhere. God has His people in these places and He is indicating clearly to Saul of Tarsus that He had such in Damascus, a local assembly, and Saul of Tarsus was prepared to be subject to the saints.

Then there was the establishment of brotherly links. Paul says of Ananias, “Coming to me and standing by me,

(he) said to me. Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And I, in the same hour, received my sight and saw him”. The first thing that Saul of Tarsus saw as receiving his sight was a brother. Oh the need for these brotherly links in local assemblies, and universally, where brotherly love is known, and the Spirit of God has His true place—“By this shall all know that ye are disciples of mine, if ye have love amongst yourselves”, John 13: 35. And it is there; you can find it; it is an area on earth where the love of Christ is known and is expressed in love for one another, where love functions, and is practical.

Then just this point, “And he said, The God of our fathers has chosen thee beforehand to know his will”. That is the will of God, the very same will that the Lord Jesus could speak about. He filled it out, of course, in absolute perfection. But the will that is referred to here,

“To know his will”, is the very same will. Most of us are very prone to exert our own will. I would just like to convey the blessedness that any one of us can experience in submitting to the lordship of Christ and submitting to the will of God. It can be done, it is a day for it, when man’s will is being exerted on every hand and is causing confusion. When men exert their wills in this world, in government, in religious institutions, no matter where it be, you have confusion; that is obvious. But where you have persons who are prepared to do the will of God you have blessedness, you have happy conditions. True happiness prevails where persons are prepared to submit to, and to do the will of God. Then it says, “And to see the just one”. By following this path you will find that you will come into touch with the Just One—

One who is not affected by bias, by prejudice, or any of these things, He sees every situation just exactly as it is. Then it says, “And to hear a voice out of his mouth”.

I believe that the Lord Jesus would appeal to us all tonight in His word. He speaks to His saints in ways like this and appeals in His word. Then, “For thou shalt be a witness for him to all men of what thou hast seen and heard”. You see, witness is a tremendous thing but, like committal, it is related to affection for Christ. I believe the measure of our witness and its effectiveness relates to the measure in which we give our hearts to Christ and make room for the Holy Spirit. May we be fully in it, all of us, for His name’s sake.

Address at Melbourne
8 April 1988