LIFE AND LIBERTY
[p. 477] LIFE AND LIBERTY
Ques The man who died in chapter 11 was a member of the family of God.
JT The Lord is said to have loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, linking them as a family. He speaks of Lazarus later in the chapter as “our friend”. The chapter suggests a family known intimately and loved of the Lord, and such a family affected by death. Death is viewed in John as to its effects on the people of God; in Luke it is more the Red Sea aspect. The Red Sea was an extended body of water, suggestive of the general power of death over man. Jordan was condensed in a river, and suggests a more limited thought: it was the barrier between the people of God and the promised land. It was that which stood in the way of the accomplishment of the counsels of God’s love.
ELM There is no thought of an association formed in Luke, whereas in John there are links formed. What are the links that would enable us to pass from one to the other?
JT The woman in Simon’s house in Luke 7 is a continuation of the subject. The Lord says to her, “thy faith hath saved thee: go in peace”. (verse 50). That would not be the end of her history: she would find the Lord in more congenial circumstances than Simon’s house. Compassion acted in Simon’s house, but it was not the place to form family association.
RD Having been touched by the Lord’s compassion, the women are found in the next chapter following the Lord and ministering to Him.
JT Quite so; that is very good. It is ministry, but not the formation of family affections.
Ques Is Luke on the line of extrication, and John, of introduction into [p. 478] the family?
JT Yes. In Luke, at the end of chapter 10, Mary is learning, listening to His word. The next chapter says the Lord was praying, and the disciples say, “Lord, teach us to pray”. (Luke 11:1). That leads on to the Holy Spirit. “How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” (verse 13). The Holy Spirit received would link us on with John. I think the link is in the Holy Spirit. So Romans develops the truth on the same line. You may go from Romans 8 into Ephesians. In that chapter the truth of the Holy Spirit is presented in many connections. Having received the Spirit of sonship, whereby we cry; “Abba, Father”, you are in the family.
RD It refers to His children, so that you can move into John’s ministry from that point?
JT Clearly. In John 11 there was a family without a head. That is how matters stood in the Old Testament: there was no head,
RD In the tenth chapter, the matter is settled for the sheep.
JT In the house at Bethany there were a brother and sisters, but the Lord was not yet known as Head. He was a Friend of the family only. I think chapter 12 shows the sequel to chapter 11. It is a result of the service rendered by the Lord. Lazarus is let go: he is a typical man. He is not given back to anyone, as the young man in Luke 7; who was delivered to his mother. Lazarus is let go.
RD You see affinity there: he moved into the family circle.
JT Chapter 12 gives us the circle in which Christ is supreme. Before, He was not supreme, although He was held in honour. Luke does not present the family circle. The beginning of chapter 8 is the outcome of the seventh; those who had grace ministered to them became ministers; they ministered unto Him. But here was a family without a [p. 479] head; there were no parents It is the same circle, but you have the element of resurrection introduced into it: “Where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead”.
ELM That circle is proof against death.
JT That which is presented in the beginning of the twelfth chapter is a living thing. In the eleventh the family is there, but the pressure of death is on it. The Lord enters into that, feeling it on their account. When He saw Mary weeping and the Jews weeping, He wept, and shuddered. He took account of the awfulness of death and its effect on the people of God, He was “deeply moved in himself”, we read. We can hardly take that in. He shuddered, but it shows how really He took account of death. The thing has become so common that the reality of it is hidden from view. In Jairus’s house the little girl was dead, but they had flute minstrels there, making a noise, taking the edge off the experience. The Lord put them all out. Here Jesus wept and not only so, but He groaned, and was troubled.
ELM Whilst He touched the bier in Luke we do not read of Him acting in that way here.
RD The Son of God is glorified in chapter 11.
JT Yes, His Person is brought into view.
RD That is the way the Lord becomes endeared to our hearts: He removes all the pressure. You do not think of the family of God as a circle where there is any pressure at all.
JT No, the pressure of death is not there. The Lord knew the cause of their sorrow, and He entered into it. The Son of God is dealing with death; we are on the brink of Jordan.
PJF God had visited His people: we have the compassion of God in that, but in John it is, “Behold, how he loved him”.
JT Yes. I was noticing that: the love of the Lord comes into evidence. The children are being set free: “Loose him and let him go”. Where will they go? Lazarus is let go: where does he go? Chapter 12 shows where he goes.
RD There seems to have been a goodly company there: the disciples were there too, but Lazarus is the leading figure. As “my brethren” is the leading thought in chapter 20, so Lazarus is the thought here. Christ’s companions are those that are risen.
ELM Everyone there has in principle been served by the Lord in the way that Lazarus has.
JT The Holy Spirit occupies your mind with Him because He wants to impress you with the sequel. There they made Him a supper, and Christ is supreme amongst them. The epistles free us from the grave clothes, then we come back to the gospels. If the Christian is released from all the grave clothes, where is he going? What does he read? Christ is before him now. If he reads Scripture it is Christ, and in the gospels the Old Testament scriptures are referred to as speaking of Christ — “they are they which testify of me”. (John 5:39). The epistles speak of the holy Scriptures as meeting our need. Every Scripture is inspired of God, and is profitable, “that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto every good work”. (2 Timothy 2:17). In the gospels the Scriptures are spoken of in reference to Christ. “He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself”. (Luke 24:27). You read the Old Testament with Christ before you, and that is how you feed. Otherwise you read the Scriptures to minister to yourself, or to preach from. The Scriptures testify of Him, and you ought to know what they speak of Him.
Thus there is a living man set forth, and he is at liberty. John takes account of what is effected in the man. In Luke he is given back to his mother, but here he is set at liberty, and he knows where to go. This man is known to the Lord; He calls him by name. His sheep are viewed in chapter 11 as [p. 481] under the pressure of death, and He calls them by name. The glory of God is seen in that a man came forth from the grave, but he came forth bound. The Lord does not take off the grave clothes. He does what we cannot do, but what we can do He allows us to do. “Loose him and let him go”. This brings in brotherly love and consideration, so that you have not only the Lord endeared to you, but the brother as well.
Ques Is that the way He wrought with Saul of Tarsus?
JT Yes; he was told to go into the city, and there it would be told him what he had to do. Ananias comes in in that connection. Saul opened his eyes on a brother; after that he preached Christ as the Son of God. In that family circle the affections of the Son of God are in activity. Paul spent certain days with the brethren, then he preached in the synagogues, wherever there was an opening.
Luke presents man in his need; but when you view a Christian as identified with the work of God, you can trust him; he can be let go; he is in the circle of life. One great mark of the persons the Lord delights in is life.
In Acts the apostles are not in evidence in the Lord’s operations from the sixth to the ninth chapters, with the exception of their connection with Samaria, which was dispensational. The work was carried on by the two deacons, but when the record of the apostolic service is resumed in chapter 9 we must have life. Things must not depend on those who have an official place. Every saint must be taught how to act for himself. So Peter says to Aeneas, “Jesus, the Christ heals thee; rise up, and make thy couch for thyself”. (Acts 9:34). He does not make it for him, though he raised him up through the power of God. Then in Dorcas you have one who had been active, but she died, in spite of her activity. When Peter came,
[p. 482] they showed him all the garments that she had made; but those who were concerned were only the widows. Peter goes to her chamber and puts them all out, raises her up, and then he calls the saints and the widows and presents her alive. That is all that is said about her. The point was not garment making, but life. John’s ministry develops that. There is life abundantly. That is what God looks for now. The hymn book, for instance, however excellent it may be, can never be a perfect vehicle for the out-goings of divine affections, because the New Testament does not contain a formal instrument for the outgoings of the affections of God’s people. The Old Testament had a book of Psalms; it was intended to be the means by which the people of. God could express their worship. In the New Testament it says, they sang a hymn; we are not told what the hymn was. It is for us to see that we approach God on the basis of life; that we are living. One evidence of life is that the odour of the ointment will fill the house. I would not disparage the hymn book for a moment, but it is often employed beyond the state of those who use it. The best hymns are given out most frequently, but when I give out a hymn the question should be: Is that hymn in keeping with my state of soul? Or am I giving it out because it is customary to give it out? You cannot limit the Holy Spirit. “We are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God”. (Philippians 3:3). There should be constant progress on that line. It is really in accord with Colossians — life, and a company in resurrection. The question is what you have. “I will speak of the things which I have made touching the King;” (Psalm 45:1). It is that which cost Mary something. Lazarus represents one side, Mary another: she had the ointment and that was the precious thing. We are risen by faith of the operation of God, but Mary is more that we are quickened with Him; that is the work in the soul. The movements [p. 483] in chapter 12 are all normal and right: all are in order. From this point the counsels of God are developed. Colossians lead on to Ephesians. The anointing of the feet would involve following Him in a reverent way. “She has this against the day of my burial”. She saw what was before Him; she was intelligent in what she was doing. One’s part now is governed by intelligence, but the spirit comes first: “I will sing with the spirit”. (1 Corinthians 14:15). What about that hymn? Does it express what is in your spirit? Then is it a hymn that suits the present circumstances? That is intelligence. What Mary did was intelligent. It must have been most pleasing to Christ, because she was in accord with His own mind. The widow in Luke 7 thought of what was past, and what He had brought in for her, but Mary thought of His departure by way of death; she entered into His mind. They made Him a supper; there is not a word about the benefits she had acquired.
Judas has his counterpart in Christendom. It suggests a warning as to making everything of the compassion side: he speaks of the poor; the Lord had said, the gospel is preached to the poor. You get people bringing in one side of the truth to nullify the other, and Judas shows that spirit, which the saints are also exposed to. This incident beautifully helps us to understand how one holds the Head in affection, and how as we are true to Christ He defends us.
Ques What place has Martha?
JT She serves: that is a very important feature in the house of God. She is not burdened with it here. When service burdens us we are hindered. “Let not thine hands be slack”. (Zephaniah 3:16). There is great need now, and the question is whether one is doing what one’s hand finds to do. There is much work for the sisters too: the book of Proverbs is largely made [p. 484] up of the activities of the woman. The virtuous woman knows how to serve in the absence of her husband. One is to be “fully fitted to every good work”. (2 Timothy 3:17) One has not necessarily to be an evangelist, but to do the work of an evangelist. It says Martha served. Peter’s wife’s mother arose and served them, meaning those that might have caused her annoyance when she was ill of a fever; the effect of the Lord’s work was she served them. In another gospel it says she served Him. Here the emphasis is on service. In the circle of the saints there is work for each one. Lazarus represents the position, the status; Mary the intelligence; Martha service, the practical side.
Ques. What is life?
JT It is power of action. “I am come that they might have life”. (John 10:10) “He that liveth and believeth in me shall never die”. The principle of life is worked out Godward. If God is to be approached, it must be in a living way. Dorcas is presented living, a living person. Christ was crucified in weakness, but He lives by the power of God. So Paul says, “we shall live with him ... towards you”. (2 Corinthians 13:4) They would find out that the power of life was in Paul. Christ is our life according to Colossians 3, but if that be so, Christ will come into evidence in a moral way. Lazarus describes the status of all who are there. I think that the power of life lies in the sense of being quickened together with Christ.
Our safety lies in not having a place. If you seek to be anything different from your brethren, you become a persecutor. It is greater to be a brother than a gift. “I look for him with the brethren”, (1 Corinthians 16:11) was said about Timothy. Timothy does not seek to be anything different from the brethren; he comes with them, instead of their going with him. It shows how Paul thought of the brethren. One would never like to be a prominent one in a company, but to be [p. 485] one of them. They made Him a supper: the Lord is in their hearts; it is the idea of the circle. “One is your Master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren”. (Matthew 23:8) Mary had said, “If thou hadst been here my brother had not died”, and now it is no longer Lazarus, but Christ. This is a picture of the circle on earth; it is Philadelphia in principle, brotherly love.