THE LORD'S COMING IN RELATION TO OUR PRIVILEGES
THE LORD’S COMING IN RELATION TO OUR PRIVILEGES
John 12: 1 - 3; John 20: 19; Acts 21: 3 - 11
Our subject is the Lord’s coming to His people, not in connection with our responsibility, but in relation to the Lord as Head of the assembly.
Earlier today we read Revelation 1 where the Lord is presented as Judge, walking in the midst of the seven assemblies, this scripture referring to the whole professing church in its responsibility. Every one calling on the name of the Lord is responsible before the Lord, and on this ground each one of us should have to do with Him. The Lord has power to exercise judgment over them. We see this, for example, in connection with those in Thyatira.
It says of Jezebel that she will not repent, therefore the Lord says that He would cast her into a bed, and those that commit adultery with her into great tribulation. The Lord has already done this, which is a serious warning to those who have part in such a system, but the Lord does not take up the same definite position of judgment towards the other assemblies. Laodicea, for instance, receives only a warning. The Lord says, “I am about to spue thee out of my mouth”, but at the same time He gives her counsel, as well as saying that He stands at the door and is knocking, and, if anyone opens, He will come in unto him and sup with him, and he with the Lord. Although the Lord thus pronounces judgment upon the church publicly, He nevertheless continues to give counsel so that everyone who is faithful might open unto Him.
But, as was said, our subject is the Lord’s coming to those who acknowledge His rights. In John 12: 1 we see the Lord coming to a certain place and to those who were there, but in chapter 20 He comes to certain persons, without the place being mentioned. “Jesus therefore, six days before the passover, came to Bethany, where was the dead man Lazarus”, that is to say, the Lord came there [p. 352] while Lazarus was there. In 1 Corinthians 15 where we read this morning, the place is not named where those who had seen the Lord were. He appeared to these persons; but in John 12 a particular place is named, and the Holy Spirit brings out what was found there. “There therefore they made him a supper”. It not only says that they made him a supper, but it says, “There therefore they made him a supper”, which means that the supper was just at that place. Therefore the thought rises in our mind, ‘What is there for the Lord in the place where I live?’ Please say something as to Lazarus being there, the one who had been dead.
It reads more correctly, “the dead man Lazarus”, which conveys the thought that he was dead to the world. In this way of looking at it, he is a type of the saints according to Colossians: “If therefore ye have been raised with the Christ, seek the things which are above ... for ye have died”, Colossians 3: 1 - 3. Lazarus is a type of such believers, who, in their minds, have left this world. Jerusalem, and all that stood in connection with it, had no attraction for him. You would not find him having anything to do with this world’s social activities. He gave character to the company found in Bethany, but something additional is said of what was found in that place, namely, Martha’s service. All this is a lovely picture of a company gathered in a certain place.
It is marked by life. All these three, Martha, Lazarus and Mary, represent the different features found in a company of the saints in a certain place.
Ques Was it wrong for Martha to serve? No; here her service was in its right place.
Ques Is the supper mentioned in John 12 a picture of the Lord’s supper?
It was they who made it. And it is in keeping with John’s viewpoint to call attention to their service and their appreciation of the Lord. If the Lord is appreciated by the saints in a place, then assuredly that which Mary did will find expression amongst them.
The teaching of John 12 is the Lord preparing us so that He might come to the place where we dwell, whereas in [p. 353] chapter 20 reference is more to the persons to whom He comes.
This is John’s way of supporting Paul’s ministry of administration in the assembly. It was Paul’s thought that the Lord should have small companies such as this everywhere in the world, and I therefore read Acts 21, a chapter which speaks more of the results of Paul’s labours than of Paul himself. His visiting the different places which are named here brought to light what existed there. When the Lord came to Bethany He knew whom He would find there. He knew those who dwelt there. “He shall drink of the brook in the way”, Psalm 110: 7. It is His desire to be able to do this in the different places which He comes to visit.
It is similar to what we find in 2 Kings 4 when the Shunammite woman thought to entertain Elisha the prophet. She said to her husband, “Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us continually. Let us make, I pray thee, a small upper chamber with walls ... and it shall be when he cometh to us, he shall turn in thither”. Thus the thought is that, when the Lord is pleased to come to a place, He is conferring a great honour on those who dwell there. They are dignified by it. If the king of Sweden should come to Gothenburg, it would be a question of where he would live. He would live with those who were dignified and worthy to entertain him. Before the Lord came to Bethany, He had made them dignified to be able to receive Him. Lazarus was dignified and represented, together with Martha and Mary, the spiritual distinction and sensitiveness which were suitable to the Lord’s presence. If the king came to my house, I would hardly know how to entertain him. It demands a certain upbringing.
Ques Do we get the distinctiveness or breeding in Colossians?
Yes. But it is possible to be together without the right thought of the Lord’s coming amongst us. He says in Malachi 1: 14, “I am a great King”. We need to be in exercise regarding this and see to it that we cultivate the dignity suited to the Lord’s presence. He is concerned that [p. 354] this dignity is maintained, and He honours us by giving us this, but it is not enough. That we possess certain resources does not mean we can do without spiritual exercise. We need to cultivate our spiritual taste and sensitiveness, so that we know how we ought to receive the Lord in a way that is becoming.
Abraham had his name changed and he became, so to speak, ennobled. His spiritual distinctiveness and sensitiveness showed itself at the tent door by the way he received the three visiting men and refreshed them. He had his name changed after he had been circumcised, which corresponds to Colossians, and then it is wonderful how Abraham could receive the divine visitation of the three men. He presented a proposal to the Lord and the two who were with Him, and they said, “So do as thou hast said”. It was God Himself who was there, and it was as if He said, ‘Your proposal is quite right; go and do so’, and Abraham was able to do so. It is one thing to tell the Lord what you wish to do, but it is another thing to be able to perform it.
This took place at a certain place, by the oaks of Mamre. I thought that something similar came to light at Bethany. Those that dwelt there were like these oaks of Mamre. There was spiritual stability and mutual fellowship in the little company in Bethany. Oaks give us the thought of stability and fellowship.
The Lord did not go to Lot, but sent the angels to him. There was distance between God and Lot. The visitation to him was more like what we read earlier in Revelation.
The Lord moves in grace to His people in the various sects in christendom, but maintains at the same time a certain distance, as he desires that they should come out of them.
He therefore knocks on the door. But it is quite another matter when the Lord comes to such a man as Abraham, as he sat by the tent door, a man who maintains the Lord’s interests and is a pilgrim here.
Ques In Matthew 18: 20 it mentions “two or three”.
Have these, through divine help, come to understand what it is to be gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus?
[p. 355] What we find in Matthew is, firstly, that the assembly is acknowledged as a kind of court of appeal; then it says, “Again I say unto you”, which means that other circumstances could arise wherein all the saints in the assembly are not available. Therefore it says, “If two of you shall agree on the earth concerning any matter, whatsoever it may be that they shall ask, it shall come to them from my Father who is in the heavens. For where two or three are gathered together unto my name, there am I in the midst of them”, Matthew 18: 19, 20. The assembly maintains discipline and exercises administration down here, and if the circumstances are such that the saints are not available, and there are not more than two who agree concerning a matter, they are heard, and what they ask they receive. Then when they are assembled, they will find that the Lord is with them, and not only that He comes personally, but He is with them to give them His support as those that act in the light of the assembly. Thus we can maintain discipline, even if out of necessity we are only two.
Ques Does Matthew 18: 20 involve the Lord coming personally?
We must read it in its context. It is a question of exercising government and discipline in the assembly. It is more a question of the support the Lord in His power gives us, than the blessing and favour which Abraham participated in when the Lord came to him at the tent door. We can therefore always count on the Lord’s support, even if we are only two gathered to the name of the Lord and we will find, especially when it concerns dealing with evil, that the Lord will give us His support and His help.
Let us now turn to Acts 21. It is interesting to notice the many different events which are in this chapter. Paul was on his way to Jerusalem, and in a certain sense he represents the Lord. Of course, he was a believer like ourselves, but he occupied a special position. He found fruit in Tyre. It says in verse 4, “And having found out the disciples, we remained there seven days; ... But when we had completed the days, we set out and took our journey, all of them accompanying us, with wives and children, till we [p. 356] were out of the city. And kneeling down upon the shore we prayed. And having embraced one another, we went on board ship, and they returned home”. This is an example of assembly conditions in a certain place. Men, wives and children were all in one and the same spirit. They had the mind of the Spirit, and they returned the love they had all been given to share in. In this company we find a wonderful picture of what God had intended that christianity should be. This company is like those in Bethany, and the apostle and his followers remained there seven days.
Where Christ has found a place in the heart, Paul will also be received there.