THE PERFECT SERVANT
[p. 59] THE PERFECT SERVANT
What one specially sees about the evangelist Mark is a recovered servant — a servant who had turned aside from the path and who was restored; as restored he is enabled by the Spirit to portray for us the service, walk, and ways of the perfect Servant. If you think of it in the divine ways of grace that God should honour a servant who had failed by allotting him such important work you can only say the grace of it is wonderful. Further, what is characteristic of his gospel is increase; with most of us there is a tendency to decrease and to retrogression.
In Numbers 29 which sets forth in figure the best period in the ways of God as to the earth — the millennium — we see that even that is characterized by decrease. Its brightest period is the beginning. The feast of tabernacles, the last great, feast is typical of the millennium, and we find in verse 13 of that chapter that the offering begins on the first day with thirteen bullocks, the second day twelve, the third day eleven, the fourth day ten, the fifth day nine, the sixth day eight and the seventh day seven. That is decrease! But a perfect number remains — seven. The millennium is not typical of complete breakdown, but things are at their best in the beginning. This is a sad picture. The number, however, does not go below seven, and all the sacrifices that refer to the Lord Jesus remain. Mark is different from this.
Matthew begins, when giving us the parable of the sower, with the best soil producing a hundred fold, then it decreases to sixty, and finally to thirty; whereas Mark begins with thirty and advances to sixty, and finally reaches a hundred. Mark increases. That is very encouraging for us. You should never allow the number to go below thirteen, which the feast in Numbers 29 begins with.
The apostle Paul said he had shown the Thessalonians how to walk and to please God, and he wishes them to [p. 60] increase (1 Thessalonians 4: 1). Now this is what you get in Mark’s gospel in connection with service, and I need not say that Christ is the perfect Servant. It is a wonderful illustration Of grace that God should be pleased to take up a man like Mark who went away from Paul and Barnabas, and give him such a great work to accomplish — to write an account for us Of the perfect work Of the perfect Servant.
Another feature Of his narrative is the sympathy present where the Lord is operating. For example — a man “borne of four” (chapter 2). That man had sympathizers in his paralysis. There is plenty Of paralysis spiritually. I believe in gospel meetings and I love to have the Lord’s people at them; they support me and give me their sympathy. In this chapter you find sympathy with this man who is blind; Mark says they “besought him”, there was sympathy with the blind man. If you put a notice outside the door, that board has no sympathy, nor has the notice; but if you go and invite a man to hear the word he is impressed with your sympathy.
One great feature in Mark is that there is an air Of sympathy in the operating room (so to speak). It is one thing to carry on your labours surrounded by hostile critics and another thing to have sympathizers; the latter is what Mark gives us. Mark brings in houses. Households are places Of sympathy, places Of relationship marked by affections. In the house into which you are born there are relationships in which you are cared for. If you grow up in these you get the idea Of God’s house. Relationships carry affections. Had the paralytic been carried by two it would have been an evidence that there was sympathy, but when there are four it indicates that there is sympathy everywhere; four signifies universality.
If you do not want the Lord Jesus you are apt to turn your back on the Lord’s people. If you have to attend a meeting you look for the end more than for the beginning; but let me tell you those christians are your friends, they are your only true friends; your unconverted relatives are not nearly such good friends as they. A christian relationship is the best.
[p. 61] The four men who bore the paralytic could not get to the door Of the house where the Lord was, but they were allowed to break up the roof and let him down. Evidently the owner Of the house was sympathetic. Also they bring the blind man to the Lord and He takes him by the hand. Think Of the Lord Jesus whose hand upholds all things — think Of Him putting out His hand to a blind man. A blind man is not an asset but a liability. If you are governed by your own will you are a liability, not an asset! The Son of Man came not to be ministered to but to minister. Even at the right hand of God He is, according to this gospel, still working with His servants. The operations Of Christ from heaven are world wide. The Lord is working with the preaching not to honour the preacher but to help souls. He is with the preaching and extends His hand to help (chapter 16: 20).
A city is a place of concentrated evil. We read of the two witnesses in Revelation 11; they witnessed for 1260 days, but after their testimony is given the beast slays them, and the bodies of these two men lie for three and a half days; there is indignity heaped On their corpses. They “lie in the street Of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt”. Do not seek the cities except you go for testimony. Elders were appointed in every city in connection with the testimony (Titus 1: 5). If your eyes are to be opened God will not open them to be occupied with the city. The Lord led the blind man outside. God has his eye On the elect. Before you are converted you are kept out of the influence Of the cities. God keeps and orders things so that you may not see evil, as in Isaiah 33: 15. He “shutteth his eyes from seeing evil”.
How one loves to bring forward the grace Of Christ! He casts out the demon with a command, but He did not lay His hands On the demoniac. Look at the gentleness with which He leads the blind man out of the town, what confidence it inspires; encouraging away from evil. Then He spat upon his eyes and put His hands on him and asked him what he saw. (Spitting indicates the humanity of the Lord.) He saw something. You who say that you [p. 62] are converted — can you give an account of what you have seen since you were converted? I believe one way the Lord has with us is to ply us with questions. Do not let these questions pass. He asked the blind man if he saw anything. He replies that he saw men as trees walking; his view of men was out of all proportion.
This world is divided into governments — the newspapers take account of it in that way. We are told in Revelation 13 about the number 666. “Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast” — who can do it? Only the spiritual. The number is there and directly you have the spiritual eye you see the number. In the coming day the number will be as distinct as possible, so that no person with the eye of wisdom can fail to see, and that number is 666. And so with the word city — “which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt where also our Lord was crucified”. That is written across the face of this world. There was a writing in Daniel’s time in connection with the gentile world; the fingers of a man wrote upon the wall. There was a heart behind the hand that wrote on the wall. I say this so that you may have right eyesight — the humanity of Christ brought to the attention of the eye. Before the Lord could put his hands on the man the second time He had to die, for the second touch is the gift of the Spirit. “He that is spiritual judgeth all things”, 1 Corinthians 2: 15.
I would raise the question with the young people here — since you have been converted what have you seen? This man saw “men as trees walking”. This describes, I believe, a great many young christians, their vision is distorted. The apostle John says far more to the babes than to the young men. He says very little to the fathers and little to the young men. He speaks to the babes because of the dangers. Their chief danger was antichrist. Already (he says) there are many antichrists. The blind man saw men entirely above the ordinary level, but the Lord laid His hand upon him the second time. This is the second portion completing the matter. The first touch involved that He had to die. To see men as trees walking and to have been left there would have been dreadful; but the Lord works [p. 63] out the great work of atonement for us. He lays His hands upon this man, not one hand only! After that he puts His hands again on his eyes and made him look up. If you look up, you look past the trees. Stephen looked up. He looked steadfastly into heaven. He saw no men as trees there but he saw Jesus. After the Lord had put his two hands on the blind man the second time, he saw everything clearly. It is not that you see men as trees, but you take account of them clearly. Deception is brought about by man. The Lord sent the man home to his house. I wish to emphasize specially that the effect of the work of Christ in Mark’s gospel is to put one right in one’s own house. He does not say, go back to the village, but to the house. After you get a bit of light, what is the next step? That light is made good in you. The Lord takes good care that you are not left to yourself. He sends to his house this man who had hitherto been a liability, but who was now an asset. A wonderful advantage to the house! The Lord Jesus sends you to the house. This is the idea in Mark’s gospel: in John’s gospel we get another thought in connection with Lazarus. The Lord did not send him anywhere after He raised him, but says, “Loose him, and let him go”. It is as though He said let us see what he will do; and we see what he does in chapter 12; he is found there in company with the Lord Himself; “Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with Him”.
The trouble with many is that they are deceived by man — their vision is distorted — they “see men as trees walking”, but the Lord will give the second touch; and the second touch is the gift of the Spirit. Then you have got Christ before you — not man. If you have that one Man before you, you will not be deceived.