THE COMPLETE SERVICE OF CHRIST - AS NEIGHBOUR, REVEALER, AND TEACHER
[p. 8] THE COMPLETE SERVICE OF CHRIST — AS NEIGHBOUR, REVEALER, AND TEACHER
Address by F.E.R.
Luke 10: 21 - 42; Luke 11: 1 - 13 I have read this passage because it is a turning point in the truth of this particular gospel. The passage indicates what was at that moment extremely important; viz., the transition from law to grace. The change which was coming in was from Judaism to christianity. It is in that sense that the name of the Father is brought in. The Lord speaks of all things being delivered to Him of His Father and that no man knoweth who the Son is but the Father, and who the Father is but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal Him, and that is an indication of the great change which was coming in.
The law was inefficacious to help man and it did not content God because it was inefficient. The priest and the Levite passed by on the other side. Though the law might be perfect in itself, it did not suit God because it did not benefit man. The law had to give way for the kingdom. The kingdom was coming in in connection with the Lord Jesus, who was the expression of the grace of God. We read elsewhere the law was given by Moses; grace and truth are come to pass by Jesus Christ. He was the blessed expression of the grace of God. The rule of grace was on the point of coming in; it is that transition to which I refer; and I desire to take up two or three points in connection with the parable of the good Samaritan, and then to pass on to the incidents by which it is followed. If you take the whole passage, it shows how Christ has been pleased to become the servant of man. He is the neighbour, and afterwards the revealer; and [p. 9] then in the beginning of chapter 11 He is the teacher. I think all that comes out in a striking way.
Now I call your attention to a verse or two that precede the parable — chapter 10, verses 22 and 24. It is certain that the moment was remarkable, and this is indicated by the Lord in saying, “many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see and have not seen them, and to hear those things which ye hear and have not heard them”. I think He refers to the kingdom. Prophets and kings had looked forward to the kingdom; they were taught to; it was the burden of the Old Testament. What I understand by the kingdom is a power here for man, that can subjugate all the power of evil. That is what came to light in the Person of the Lord Jesus. There was a power acting in grace in man’s favour that was superior to all the evil that was here. There was no expression of evil upon earth that could stand before the presence of Christ. He began by binding the strong man, and set to work to spoil his goods. That is what Christ was doing here on earth.
This is beautifully put by the apostle Peter in the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles: “who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with him”. There was a power here superior to the power of evil, and acting in grace for man. That was the beginning of the kingdom. It has come out now in a much greater way by the Lord Jesus having gone to the right hand of God, and the Holy Spirit being here; but there was the beginning of the kingdom. The Pharisees came to the Lord and asked Him when the kingdom of God should come; and He replied the kingdom of God does not come with observation, but is among you. It was there in their midst. He was the expression of it in power and grace. The Lord referred to that in what He spoke here to the disciples. I do not suppose that the eyes of many were opened to understand [p. 10] the character of the moment, and yet He said to them, “Blessed are your eyes”.
Then there follows the parable of the good Samaritan. I will say one word about parables which it is important to remember. A parable serves often to hide the truth from the uninstructed. I think you have to bear that in mind, and you could not understand a parable if you have not someone to explain it. The Lord says, “Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand”. He did not speak parables to make the truth plain, but in a sense to hide it. But then He explains the parables to His disciples. If there were any who had ears to hear, or eyes to see, the Lord became the expounder. Now we have the Holy Spirit to expound to us the parables of the Lord. I ask you, do you think you would be able to understand the parable of the good Samaritan without an expositor?
I will bring before you one point in the parable which illustrates the service of the Lord Jesus. The parable is spoken in answer to a question as to man’s neighbour. The questioner was a lawyer who stood up to tempt Christ. It was not the case of a person genuinely inquiring after the truth, and the Lord answered him in a parable. The truth was there, but the truth was veiled. If the Lord was questioned as to who was man’s neighbour, there was but one answer for Christ to give, for He Himself was man’s neighbour. He might hide this truth in a parable, but there was no other answer possible when He was present here on earth. The priests and Levites were not men’s neighbour. They could not benefit man. Priest and Levite passed by on the other side. They could not act the neighbour in relieving the man that needed. That is what made me say at the beginning that the passage teaches the transition from law to grace. Man here on earth cannot be helped but by the ministry [p. 11] of grace. The ministry of law is no power to raise up man. The priests and Levites were ineffective, and God was not content with them because they were ineffective. What marks this moment is “the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men”. The truth comes out here in connection with man’s neighbour. I have no doubt that in the parable of the good Samaritan we have the presentation of the grace of God in Christ. He was the expression and exponent of the grace of God, and hence is man’s true neighbour. He is exactly what man needs; He came close to man, not in the way of judgment, but for man’s deliverance, in order that he might be set free from that which oppressed him. Man was oppressed by the power of evil, the world and the devil, and grace has come to him to deliver him from the oppression.
I take up two or three points in connection with the neighbour. There were three things which he did for the man that fell among thieves; first he relieved him, he came to him pouring in oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast, he provided support for him; and finally brought him to an inn and took care of him. He cared for him all the time the man needed care. The thought of an inn is connected with journeying; an inn is not a place where people live, where a man is at home, but where he sojourns on a journey.
I dwell on these things because we have in them a beautiful expression of the grace of God. It is wonderful to see how complete the grace of God is in regard to man; God relieves, and carries and cares for those who are relieved. The great relief that God gives to man is salvation; not only is man relieved from the fear of judgment, but God delivers him from the bondage in which he is held. If I were to picture the condition of man, he has certainly fallen among thieves, he is stripped of his innocence, of that which [p. 12] he had at the hand of God, and left half dead, at all events in regard of God. On the other hand, God has come in to emancipate man from the power of evil. The grace of God takes account of man as in bondage, and has come in to give deliverance to the soul of man, that he may be like a bird delivered out of the snare of the fowler. It is the grace of God that brings salvation to men that has appeared. Go wherever you will on the face of the earth, you will find men’s souls in bondage; they are in bondage to lust and Satan, and are kept away by them from God. It was true of the Jew and of the heathen. When the Lord came into the world the Jew was in bondage; they were the servants of sin; the poor heathen were in idolatry; and the grace of God came in to deliver them. If I look at professing christians today, they are in bondage to formality and sacramentalism, to the prince of this world; and the grace of God has come in to give them salvation, that they may have to say to God; that there may be in them the well of water springing up to everlasting life. Would to God that everybody here was set free.
But supposing a person is set free; grace does another thing; it carries him; provides support. The believer is not under law, but under grace. Support is found. I have no doubt the power is the Holy Spirit. The soul is emancipated, and the Holy Spirit is given that the one who has been relieved may be carried by the power of God.
Then he is taken care of; Christ has provided for that; there is care for the saints down here; fellowship and support and encouragement. The soul is taken care of all the time it is here.
A great many christians may not get the benefit of these things, because they are entangled in what is not according to God. If you go God’s way you will get the benefit of what is provided. What I maintain is that the care of Christ is complete; not only has He [p. 13] provided salvation, but saints are carried and cared for that they may lack nothing, but that they may be perfectly furnished and provided for all the time they are down here.
The fact is that most of us are unwilling to have our own props knocked away. Many lean on society and formalism and other things, and God comes in in His blessed grace to knock away these props. It is a great moment when you come to this — I have Christ to care for me, and I want no other care. “He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them”. It is a joy to be cared for by Christ; He is not too great to care for me. Christ has put Himself, as it were, at the service of man, come where he was to furnish him with everything so long as he needs care. The apostle Paul proved the care of Christ; there were many critical moments in his path, and at every critical moment the Lord appeared to him; and at the end of his career, he can say, “the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the gentiles might hear, and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion”, He had to say all forsook him, but the Lord stood by him. In what I have said so far, we have only had the beginning of christianity; the service of the high priest is the beginning of christianity, not the end. “We have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need”, That is the beginning of our christianity. If you study the epistle to the Hebrews, you will find that the point is, so far, that you may hold fast the profession.
Now if you accept that, there is something more which Christ has to teach you: He becomes the [p. 14] revealer, and I think He stood in that position to Mary. Martha did not get the benefit, because she was too much taken up with herself and her service. Many are like that, and miss the revelation of Christ. When a soul is established in a sense of His care, then He becomes the revealer. Mary was conscious of this, that He had something to reveal. His word is what He reveals. I have no doubt what He reveals is the Father. It is one thing to have a sense of the care of Christ; it is another to listen to His word, as to what He has to reveal. A great many christians are content to have the knowledge of salvation, to have received the gift of the Holy Spirit, and to realise the care of Christ, like the man who fell among thieves; but there is something more, He will reveal to you the Father. He would make you conscious of the Father’s love and counsels. I am sure His word was very beautiful, and Mary got the good of it. Mary of Bethany was not at the tomb when Christ rose; Mary of Magdala was. Mary of Bethany had confidence in His resurrection, and did not stay to watch for Him. The point where many christians stop short is that they do not get the declaration of Christ. The Lord Jesus says in John 17, “I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them”. No one can make the Father’s love and counsel effectively known to you except Christ Himself. The soul is first made conscious that it has come into contact with Christ Himself. That is how it gets the benefit of what He reveals. I can understand someone saying, is it not revealed in Scripture? I quite admit it, but I am sure if you are to get the benefit of what is revealed, the soul must be in contact with Christ Himself. If He carries me and cares for me, my part is henceforth to live to Him who died for me and rose again, and if I live to Him, I am attentive to what He has declared, and that is the Father’s love [p. 15] and counsel. You learn thus what your place is with the Father. It has been the Father’s pleasure to bring you into the place of sons; that is the fruit of Christ having revealed the Father’s name.
Now there is one point more, which comes out in the beginning of the next chapter: Christ is not revealing here; He is teaching, “Lord, teach us to pray”. You could not be taught how to pray unless He had revealed the Father. It is because the Father has been made known to you that you pray to the Father. He teaches you to pray to the Father. How do you cry Abba Father but by the Spirit of God’s Son? It is the same One who has made known the Father’s love and counsel that teaches you to pray “Abba, Father”. Christ leads us by the Spirit to address ourselves to the Father, in all confidence that the Father is good, and that we will be heard, and that we will have the petitions that we desire. “How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him”. Of course the Spirit has been given now, but my point is that in regard to prayer Christ is the teacher; “because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying Abba, Father”. The Lord Jesus taught the disciples that the Father Himself loved them because they had loved Him and had believed that He came out from God. The great point of the Lord in John 16 was to encourage the disciples to address themselves in His name to the Father, and they would surely be heard.
The impression I want to leave upon you is of the complete service of Christ. Christ has touched us and He does not cease to touch us. It is that He may gain our attention, and having done that, He teaches us how to demean ourselves in regard to the Father. May God grant we may know Him a little better as neighbour, revealer, and teacher.