THE ENVIRONMENTS OF JERUSALEM
THE ENVIRONMENTS OF JERUSALEM
JT What is in mind is that we should dwell a little on the environment contemplated in these verses, Jerusalem being in view finding a correspondence in the assembly. We assemble for the partaking of the Lord’s supper, and normally find certain surroundings exist which induce praise. This chapter begins with marked interest in the Lord in Zacchaeus, who, as it says, “sought to see Jesus who he was”, verse 3. Then in verse 11 we have, “As they were listening to these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem”: and in verse 28, “Having said these things, he went on before, going up to Jerusalem”; then verse 37, “as he drew near, already at the descent of the mount of Olives” — all showing that position is in view, and interest in Himself right through the chapter. They had passed through Jericho, according to verse 1. What a rich chapter it is in that way! Although the Lord’s death is before Him, for the moment it was Jerusalem’s day — “this thy day”. It was a day in which they had opportunity, and all that enhanced the day is in view in the surroundings such as the mount of Olives, Bethphage, Bethany, and particularly Jerusalem itself.
PL Is it like the cloud of glory lingering over the city?
JT Very like it. The Lord said, “This thy day”, verse 42. The surroundings, especially the city affected even Him; He wept over it knowing what was coming, but it was still its day. So that it is not Jerusalem in opposition that is in view, but rather Jerusalem in its spiritual significance for the moment, and its surroundings, as calculated to move any intelligent person with Him.
[p. 465] PL Would the word of the psalmist fit in here, “Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion”? Psalm 147: 12.
JT Just so. Psalm 48, which is said to be “a Song, a Psalm, of the sons of Korah”, is full of what belongs to Jerusalem. They walk about it: it corresponds with this setting, See verses 1 - 3 New Translation. So throughout the psalm, it is what is in Jerusalem, in Zion. I think if we get the thought it will help, that in the assembly all these things fit in in a spiritual way and are calculated to induce praise; the Lord alluded to that when He said, “If these shall be silent, the stones will cry out”.
TM Is the point at which the praise begins — the descent of the mount of Olives — significant?
JT I think it is. They had passed Bethany. The mount of Olives has its own meaning; I think it refers to the fruits of the Spirit.
Ques Do you think there is a moral process in the chapter? Seeing Jesus who He was — would that be an assembly feature?
JT That is a good beginning — who is He? Before the truth of the assembly is introduced in Matthew He raises this question as to who they said He was. Zacchaeus is on that line, he wants to see Him who He is.
Rem That goes a little further than the Greeks, for they desired to see Jesus — not who He was.
JT Yes. Zacchaeus represents the work of God in these circumstances, although needing adjustment.
HB Does the Lord give him his heart’s desire?
JT Yes. “[p. 468] Today salvation is come to this house”. But it would be a greater thing for Zacchaeus to see Him in the environment of Jerusalem; that is where Messiah will be seen in His glory by-and-by. His heart is full as He enters: here it is sorrow, but anticipatively it is joy [p. 466] too.
PL That would fit in to Psalm 48, the first expression, “Great is Jehovah” — is that who He is? The assembly takes her dignity from Christ, Jerusalem from her King — it is “the city of the great King”.
JT Yes, the psalm is full of superlatives, like Ephesians. The nearer you get to the divine centre the greater things are, you see true greatness. The Lord would no doubt recall the Songs of Degrees, how Israel went up, how their feet would stand within Jerusalem’s gates; so that He did not deny Himself the joy, in anticipation of the celebration of His praise, but immediately He turns to the real facts, He weeps. But the point we are at now, is what was there spiritually in Jerusalem’s day to be entered into, and there were some who entered into it; whatever depth there may have been in their celebrations. God ordered it that they should raise this note. It says, “All the multitude of the disciples began, rejoicing, to praise God with a loud voice for all the works of power which they had seen, saying, Blessed the King that comes in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest”. It is a very intelligent note. “Peace in heaven”, showing there had been advance from chapter 2 where there was peace on earth — there was understanding of the position.
PL Does the presenting of Jerusalem in such beauty in Psalm 48 stand in contrast to the greatest conceivable human assembly in verse 4 — “For behold, the kings assembled themselves, they passed by together. They saw — so they marvelled; they were troubled, they fled in consternation”? Is it the eclipsing glory of the Jerusalem of God? What assembly can stand against it if the assembly of kings is to flee before it? The gates of hades will not prevail.
[p. 467] JT All that is very stimulating. If we begin with Zacchaeus we shall perhaps be prepared for these verses; if we begin with that desire, to see Jesus who He is. The Lord, I believe, is calling attention to His person now: who He is. Have we ear to hear?
PL Have we to come down like Zacchaeus to learn who He is, because His glory and greatness so shine in His descent according to Philippians 2?
JT That is the order, to come down; but then He is ascending to Jerusalem; the One who ascends, descends first. So I think Zacchaeus is a kind of starting point of the instruction here; he had right thoughts but was needing adjustment, and the Lord, knowing this, would have him to get into the position where he could be adjusted, so He says, “Make haste and come down, for today I must remain in thy house”.
Ques Is “thy house” where the adjustment begins in relation to the assembly?
JT It would seem so. The Lord would give him every advantage. Zacchaeus would have rights and liberties in his own house, and he would see the Lord there where he would have a certain advantage, and in the house the Lord ennobles him — He makes it clear who Zacchaeus is. If Zacchaeus wants to know who He is, the Lord makes it clear who Zacchaeus is. It was not a question of his riches, but that he was a son of Abraham; it was a great spiritual dignity, which we all need. If we have the sense of what the Lord is in our hearts, the Lord would give us to know what we are; not according to flesh or according to the riches of this world, it is a question of being linked up with Abraham the father of believers.
PL So that, if Abraham waited for a city, would his son be secured praising in the city of our God?
JT I think that is the line. The Lord said,
“Today salvation is come to this house, inasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham”. The Lord would say, as it were, “You belong to the great family” — that is a feature of the adjustment.
Ques Would a son of Abraham involve the thought of inheritance as well as faith — “thy seed”?
JT Yes, being a son he would come in for all the promises.
OG Would it imply that, in order to apprehend the Person who He is, there must be faith?
JT Exactly, and the Lord alone can show us who He is. He puts Himself in the position where Zacchaeus can see Him near. The nearer you get to Him the greater He becomes to you. So things are all there now. Zacchaeus did not have to wait. “Today salvation is come to this house”. Adjustment is a present thing, it has not to be waited for. If there is one who desires to know who the Lord is, He is ready to adjust him: but it is not on the line of going up a tree, but of coming down.
TM Is it in the apprehension of who Jesus is that we are able to descend?
JT Just so. Although the Lord was ascending to Jerusalem in the sense of which we have spoken, from the mount of transfiguration to this point it was a continual descent in another sense, that is, that He was going to Jerusalem to die.
Ques Does the psalmist in Psalm 45 suggest who He is in the way he speaks of the King? verses 1, 2.
JT Hebrews tells us that is all said to the Son. “Unto the Son he saith, thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever”, chapter 1: 8. The Son is called God. The present is a time of adjustment, which is the great need. God is working to this end, but there are thousands and thousands of His people who need adjustment, and Zacchaeus represents these. He wanted to see Jesus who He was, but took his own [p. 469] way of finding out, and our own way is never right: we have to come under the Lord’s authority and word — “make haste”. The question of time and place enters into this chapter remarkably.
PL What a visitation, at the close of the dispensation, the glory of His person shed upon those who have no heart but to see Him!
JT Yes, you would love to have the ministry of the truth of His Person spread abroad; I think the Lord is doing it in a little way, but then the adjustment must come in. I may take my own way of seeing who He is, but that way is never right. I have to learn from Him, to get into the right position; position is important — where one is spiritually.
PL So that the understanding of His Person lies in affinity of mind to Himself — “Let this mind be in you”, Philippians 2: 5.
JT The descending mind — yes. One might seem to be zealous and running ahead in taking up a position of his own choosing that seemingly would give an advantage, but anyone could see it would not be an advantage to look down on the Lord as Zacchaeus did. If I am on the throne of an archbishop, I cannot see the Lord rightly, it is a question of getting down. The Lord says, “Make haste and come down”: then He gives him an inducement — “Today I must remain in thy house. And he made haste and came down, and received him with joy”. He was adjustable: many are not adjustable, and they do not learn: it is in moving at His word we get light: Thou “satisfiest the desire of every living thing”, Psalm 145: 16. The greatest desire one could have, in a way, is to see Jesus who He is. When He became man the angels saw Him: it was a great day in heaven when Christ was born; they came down in multitude to where He was, they were there praising and blessing [p. 470] God.
PL Is the distinction between Abraham, and his son here, evidenced in that the Lord visits the tent door of Abraham. He does not go in apparently; but here the word is, “I must abide at thy house”? Do you think there is a suggestion in a veiled way of what the incarnation is, that Person is dwelling with men, in contrast to the visitations in the old dispensation?
JT I am sure there is a beautiful link between the two occasions. It is the same Person who visited Abraham who is now in Abraham’s son’s house, and announces, “Today salvation is come to this house”. But this follows Zacchaeus’s speech, what he said showing that the question of righteousness greatly enters into the adjustment that is going on. “Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord. Behold. Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I return him fourfold. And Jesus said to him, Today salvation is come to this house, inasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham”. What a group of things you have there! Abraham’s character is in the man. The characteristics of Abraham are present in the righteousness, for righteousness must go with faith, righteousness and practical works must go with faith, and Zacchaeus alludes to that; he had been unrighteous, but he was making things right, fourfold. The principle of adding in Leviticus 5 enters into it. If one trespassed, the principle of adding the fifth part was there — it was righteous — so that he is a son of Abraham is evident, and the sons of Abraham are the ones who look for Zion. Abraham looked for a city, Hebrews 11: 10.
Rem Would you say they are in the secret too? “Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?” Genesis 18: 17. How much would be communicated to Zacchaeus as in [p. 471] the house!
JT Very good. That is another feature, you have the mind of God about what is happening internationally, you know the end. Abraham went to the place where he had stood before Jehovah and saw the destruction of Sodom; he had the mind of God as to Sodom.
The next thing you get is in verse 11 — “As they were listening to these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem and they thought that the kingdom of God was about to be immediately manifested”. That was another side to the adjustment. We are apt to have wrong thoughts, to miscalculate the circumstances: He was near to Jerusalem, and they thought He was about to set up a kingdom, but He was not. Many are darkened by miscalculations. He was near Jerusalem, and people say, ‘The end is nigh. Look what is happening in the East, and in different places’. But that is not the way you get the light; we never reach a right understanding by calculating on current events. The Lord gives the way the truth is arrived at in what He said: “A certain high-born man went to a distant country to receive for himself a kingdom and return. And having called his own ten bondmen, he gave to them ten minas, and said to them, Trade while I am coming. But his citizens hated him, and sent an embassy after him saying, We will not that this man should reign over us”. That is the position — an unexpected turn of affairs. Then, in verse 28: “Having said these things, he went on before, going up to Jerusalem”. If we transpose the thought from literal Jerusalem to the assembly, we can see what is in view; it is the spiritual thought He has in mind, and what follows brings out the spiritual environment. There is Bethany, Bethphage and the mount of Olives, and Jerusalem itself. Then you find there is a colt tied on which no child [p. 472] of man has ever sat: that is to say, those to be used in these new circumstances are not of human training, and the Lord is looking for such.
Ques Would the sycamore tree suggest the sphere of human training, involving climbing, whereas the Lord gives light as to His own Person as we give up this?
JT I think so. He is to come in as carried by what man has nothing to do with. The whole system of christendom is largely borrowed from Judaism and heathenism, but the Lord is not using that, the child of man has sat on that: He is taking up material that has been unused by the world.
PL Is that the force of the word in Hebrews, “Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty?” Have you what is living in contrast to Judaism, the atmosphere in which the glory and greatness of the Person shines throughout the epistle? There are many touches as to who He is in His divine personality, is this the atmosphere in which the colts are set free?
JT Yes. Timotheus is one who did not come under human culture; he was Paul’s child.
PL Even his father had never ridden him, so to speak, though he was a Greek.
JT The parental influence was evidently on the maternal side and it was in faith and so not of man. From his childhood Timotheus had been prepared for this — knowing the holy Scriptures. The material the Lord would use is not what is developed in religious circles in this world. No child of man ever sat on this colt: the Lord is the first to sit on him. It is of great importance that in this sense the Lord is the first to use you. It is a great disadvantage if one has to be converted very late in life after being used by the world. A young believer in the household of godly parents is the idea here, the [p. 473] world has never used him. It shows the importance of right training for the young.
PL Would Bethphage and Bethany suggest locality, so to speak? Are the slopes of Olivet, adjacent to Jerusalem, a kind of spiritual site.
JT These localities are adjacent to the great centre and have spiritual significance in that sense. I think the different epistles denote the varieties of localities: Corinth is different from Thessalonica, and Colosse is different from Ephesus; Bethany is something by itself. Olivet is something by itself, and Bethphage is something by itself: all leading to the great centre Jerusalem, representing the spiritual side, I think, in the assembly which is one whole. Ephesians is not the idea of a locality, though Ephesus is a locality, but the epistle presents the assembly in relation to the purposes of God; that is Jerusalem as we are speaking of it.
PL These localities (at least Bethany and Olivet) had contributed richly to the Lord; now what He claims in Bethphage is given to Him freely in the colt.
JT In none of these places is the Lord detained. He passes through Jericho. He is on the way up, and spiritually, that is how the truth stands. He is moving to Jerusalem. If any company is unduly local, they would be apt to detain the Lord there, they would not allow Him to pass on to the great central thought. The assembly seen in Ephesians is the great central thought, and the nearer you get to it the greater the praise. So that “if these shall be silent”, the stones would immediately cry out; the environment is so full of spiritual things that it induces praise.
PL So it says, “Whither the tribes go up”, Psalm 122 — it was “Israel’s custom”.
JT That is the idea — Israel’s custom. It was a spiritual touch; they might start from the north and [p. 474] come down; they might be refreshed on the way by a synagogue, but they are not detained; Jerusalem is the great objective, and that should always be in view in the assembly, the great central thought. Glory to God “in the assembly in Christ Jesus unto all generations of the age of ages”, Ephesians 3: 21.
PL Your allusion to not being detained in localities is suggested in the beginning of Acts 19. “Paul, having passed through the upper districts, came to Ephesus”. Would that be a little like these places on the slopes of Olivet?
JT Yes. In fact you can enlarge on that in that section of the Acts. He starts out from Corinth which, as we were saying, is one line, the order and authority of the Lord, and he takes with him Aquila and Priscilla and leaves them at Ephesus and goes on; he went up to Jerusalem and saluted the assembly. Then he comes back by the upper regions, and you find him at Ephesus again. He did not go to Ephesus by the Corinthian route, as it were, it is another route: he takes the upper route spiritually, it is a question of the heavenly side, I think, for that is the thought in Jerusalem.
JLH Is that why at the end of the gospel they return to Jerusalem with great joy?
JT Yes. Jerusalem has a remarkable place in this gospel: I suppose it is spiritually the great end to be reached.
AM In the Ephesians the apostle writes to the saints in Ephesus, as in Revelation 2 and 3. You were speaking of in Jerusalem.
JT “In Jerusalem” is a characteristic expression in Luke. Simeon is characteristic in this respect — “There was a man in Jerusalem”. The Holy Spirit has a great place with him. “It was divinely communicated to him by the Holy Spirit, that he should not see death before he should see the Lord’s Christ.
[p. 475] And he came in the Spirit into the temple”. “The Holy Spirit was upon him”. In Ephesians it is, “The assembly in Christ Jesus” — that is the position.
Ques To reach that thought do we need to know the surpassing greatness of His power towards us who believe?
JT Exactly, we need to be strengthened by the Father’s Spirit in the inner man — things are so great, Ephesians 3: 16. The environment in our chapter is so great, it induces praise. It is the continuance of Zacchaeus, who had the Lord in his house. It is a secret you can keep, like Paul, who could speak of what happened fourteen years ago. The next thing is, Are you listening? — “As they were listening ...” he added verse 11. The Lord is “ascending up to Jerusalem”, verse 28.
Ques What about brothers who do not give thanks? Would not that be in view in “the stones will cry out”?
JT I think that is the point. If I am not moved in this environment, I am harder than a stone! Some of us have been saying that in John’s record there is a good deal more said at the last supper than in any of the other evangelists, and mainly to draw the disciples away to the Father. So in the assembly: we begin with the Lord Jesus, which is right, but He would direct us to the Father. He says, “My Father is greater than I”, John 14: 28, and “the Father himself has affection for you, because ye have had affection for me”, John 16: 27, and “in that day ye shall demand nothing of me ... Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give you”. Then, at the end, in chapter 17, He speaks to the Father Himself in their hearing; they would thus understand how to speak to the Father.
Ques Is that indicated in the parable. “A certain high-born man went to a distant country to receive for himself a kingdom and return ...” Opening up what is presented in His Person and what He had received Himself from the Father?
JT Yes. He is high-born indeed, we cannot make too much of Christ, but then He would direct us to the Father — “My Father is greater than I”. Personally He is equal to the Father, but He took a lower place as Man and He would use this fact to direct our minds to the Father.
PL “Remember for David all his affliction” — the sufferings of Christ have this great divine objective in view that “Jehovah hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his dwelling. This is my rest for ever; here will I dwell, for I have desired it”, Psalm 132. Is that what is in your soul as you go up?
JT Quite. Going up is the thought. He was ascending to Jerusalem; and the nearer you get to it the greater the volume of praise. “Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Zion”; so that, if we do not praise in the assembly, we are harder than stone: In answer to the Pharisees, who would have Him rebuke the disciples, the Lord says, “If these shall be silent the stones will cry out”.
Ques Do you think if we were more intelligent on the line you have been speaking of there would be more praise?
JT I am sure of it. Suppose we were all put into heaven now: you say, ‘The Lord would command the heart’, but then the environment would affect you too. So, in the temple everyone says, Glory.
Rem It involves formation spiritually, does it not? Is not that brought about by seeing Jesus who He is?
JT Yes, and then the listening, that is, to the ministry the Lord continually gives. “As they were listening ... he added and spake a parable”.
[p. 477] We will get what is needed if we are listening. The parable shows how fair He is as the Master. “Having called his own ten bondmen, he gave to them ten minas, and said to them, Trade while I am coming”. On his arrival back again, having received the kingdom, “he desired these bondmen to whom he gave the money to be called to him, in order that he might know what every one had gained by trading”. We all know what happened. But it serves to show what the Lord is as a Master. He says, “Take from him” (that is the unfaithful servant) “the mina and give it to him who has the ten minas”. All that there is comes to those that are trading and gaining. I believe in these last days there is a gradual reduction when there is unfaithfulness: the religious denominations are losing what they had; it is gradually taken away and given to those who are faithful. That is how matters are now.
Ques What would be the difference between trading and putting it into the bank to receive interest?
JT The primary thought is, “Trade while I am coming”. Well, that is very simple to those who are in business. The bank will not give you very much; if you are a good trader you will make far more of the capital. Putting money in the bank is a lazy business: I am content with less rather than going to the trouble of trading. Trading is the thing — making as much as you can out of it. Still the bondman that laid up the money in the towel is rebuked, for had he put it in the bank there would be some gain. The parable shows that the Lord will accept any gain from what He commits to us.
Rem “Instant in season, out of season”, 2 Timothy 4: 2.
JT Yes. I was thinking of the bearing of this on the colt. There is no idea of reward given to the [p. 478] colt, it is a question of obedience, but what an honour he had of carrying the Lord into His capital! Those who love Him never think of any gain they get — it is the Lord, and how glorious He must have been as sitting on the colt, if even the stones would cry out, were the disciples silent. The position is according to the prophecy, Zechariah 9: 9; there is nothing in it at all to detract from His Person; so it is according to the mind of God, and you would love to have the sense that the Lord is using you according to the prophetic word. It is entirely according to the mind of God.
PL And it is a service offered to the youngest. It should greatly encourage us.
JT Well, it is in keeping with the beginning of the service of God in Exodus: the beginning of the service of God is marked by youths of Israel, they do the priestly work, so that the young are called into this, into the greatest service.