THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST
[p. 158] THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST
Matthew 28: 2 - 10; Mark 16: 2 - 8; Luke 24: 1 - 9: John 20: 1 - 17
JT The object in mind is to show that the facts relative to the resurrection of Christ, as mentioned in each gospel, indicate a certain feature in that gospel. Thus in Matthew the authority of Christ is stressed in the angel’s appearance and what he says. In Mark there is one person seen, a young man, with a white robe, indicating persons who minister and that they are to be marked by energy and purity. In Luke we have two men in shining garments, indicating the priesthood — two men. Our priesthood is a heavenly one, priesthood having in mind the service of God in the assembly, inclusive of prayer. In John the facts related plainly indicate spirituality. We shall perhaps see all these features as we proceed to look into these scriptures under the Lord’s good hand.
AJC Do you think there is a moral order in what you have outlined, commencing with authority?
JT Yes. Authority is stamped on the dispensation, especially in relation to the assembly, for Matthew contemplates the assembly. He is the only one who mentions it directly. In it the authority of Christ is essential. Then we have the ministry, that is, preaching and teaching, ministry generally; Mark presents this to us, involving service in the assembly. Luke gives us an example, in his last chapter, of the saints gathered together; and Jesus comes in — Jesus Himself standing in the midst of them. John is engaged with spirituality, heavenly things. It is only as spiritual that we lay hold of and value the heavenly calling. John speaks of Christ as ascending, and refers to our being His brethren. The Lord says, “I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God”.
[p. 159] EBMcC John would rightly come in last, but the others who come before are necessary.
JT Yes. Of course the order in which these gospels stand in the Bible is not inspired, but I think the order is right.
CFI Why is there an angel in Matthew and a young man in Mark? Why does the figure change?
JT Well, the angel, and the facts relative to him, plainly indicate authority. It is, I suppose, because an angel is a known instrument in which God sets out His authority. “His angels mighty in strength ... that do his will” (Psalm 103: 20, 21). Characteristically they do the will of God. Here the facts are that “an angel of the Lord, descending out of heaven, came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. And his look was as lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became as dead men”. It seems to me that those facts, mentioned as they are, unmistakably stress the idea of authority. Then the angel says, after speaking to the women (verse 7), “Behold, I have told you”. He speaks with authority.
SF It was a special moment, and heaven announces it by an angel, descending to communicate the great and glorious triumph that a Man had broken the power of death.
JT He rolled away the stone from the sepulchre — not to let the Lord out, but to show that He had gone out, that He was risen. The angel is seen descending from heaven; it does not say he was sent, but descended, clothed with heavenly authority and power, and that against evil. He rolled away the stone and sat on it. The stone was sealed, we are told; for Pilate said, “Ye have a watch: go, secure it as well as ye know how. And they went and secured the sepulchre, having sealed the stone, with the watch besides” (Matthew 27: 65, 66). The seal [p. 160] here would symbolise not only Jewish authority and power, but Roman. The whole power of the Roman empire was in that seal, but then, the angel rolls away the stone and sits on it. Can anyone remove him? Could all the armies of the Roman empire remove him from that position? No; so that it conveys not only formal authority, but active power.
EBMcC His sitting would challenge all opposition.
JT That is the thought; he can sit there; not simply stand, but sit, perfectly restful in the sense of the authority and power supporting him, and power in himself, indeed; so that the guards, we are told, trembled for fear of him. They became as dead men.
FW Did the angel descend because the Lord was risen? He did not remove the stone to let the Lord out of the grave, as you said, but because the triumph had already been reached.
JT It is important to keep that in mind. The stone did not need to be rolled away for Him to come out. The Lord could not be held by a stone or any physical limitation.
EB There seems to be similarity between the presentation of the Lord Jesus on the mount of transfiguration and the features emphasised in these closing chapters of Matthew, Mark and Luke. The Lord’s countenance became as the sun in Matthew, in Mark His garments on the mountain became shining, and in Luke two men appear with Him in glory. Would that be right?
JT Yes, there is correspondence. John does not give the transfiguration. Matthew is formal authority. This is essential now, because we have come to democratic times, and authority is vested in power in men as such. Some go so far as to say the voice of the people is the voice of God. The divine idea in authority is that it is vested in one Man. He delegates it to others, but all power is in Him. The Lord says, “All power has been given me in heaven and upon earth” (Matthew 28: 18). Of course, in this provisional time the powers that be, whether they be monarchical or purely democratic, are accepted by the believer as ordained of God (Romans 13).
AJC Is the evidence of this power seen in the angel sitting upon the stone intended to remain with us?
JT That is what it is written for. One would seek that it might come to us in that way this afternoon. Authority is vested in Christ, and, as delegated, is granted to us here; but all authority is in His hands. This operates in the assembly now in a spiritual way; in the future He will take His great power and reign openly over Israel and the nations.
EBMcC His look would strike terror into the heart of his enemies, but his clothing, being white, would define his moral qualities.
JT Yes, we note the absence of all darkness and corruption, such as is often found in those who rule among men. Whiteness would mean purity in the exercise of authority.
PB Sitting upon the stone he would reflect Him who sits in the heavens: “the Lord shall have them in derision” (Psalm 2: 4).
JT Yes, in that Psalm we have, “I have anointed my king upon Zion, the hill of my holiness”. It is God’s prerogative, God’s authority vested in Christ.
LB Would it be a joy to the heart of God that He could invest with all authority One in whom there could be no failure.
JT Yes. A Man after His own heart. David was Christ typically, so that God says, “I have anointed my king upon Zion”. It is a question of God’s sovereign selection and right seen in that King. He says to the Son, “Thou art my Son; I this day have begotten thee” and “I will give thee nations for an inheritance” and, “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry”. All that enters into the position, and attitude of the angel here.
CC This would be calculated to consolidate the work of God in our souls when we see there is no power on earth to interfere with what God is doing.
JT Yes, that is what is in mind, that we might understand that authority is vested in Christ and stands against all that is against the testimony, but is in favour of all that is for it. So the angel says to the women, “Fear not ye”. The “ye” is emphatic, as much as to say, I am not against you. Those who are doing the will of God have all this support. “Fear not ye, for I know that ye seek Jesus the crucified one”. He knows what is in our hearts here today; what our motives are. He says, “I know”, so the angel means divine representation as to knowledge. “Ye seek Jesus the crucified one”, not only Jesus, but the crucified One; you are accepting the reproach. Then he says, “He is not here, for he is risen, as he said”. So that they should not be looking for Him in the tomb; but he says, “Come, see the place where the Lord lay”. All this is for us; divine instruction and power are for us.
FW In spite of the crucifixion He is still the Lord. Would that be in keeping with the beginning of the gospel, “Emmanuel ... God with us”?
JT That enters into it. It is God’s power. It is not simply where His body was, but the Lord has been in death. “Come, see the place where the Lord lay”.
EBMcC At any moment this power can be manifested again. It should give us great encouragement at the present time that it will be manifested.
JT We are to be just waiting. Those of us “who love his appearing” are awaiting the expression of His power against evil, putting down all rule and all authority; and also it is the power by which [p. 163] we shall be raised if dead, and quickened if alive, when the Lord comes; and the power, as is said, by which He subdues all things to Himself. So it is for us.
EBMcC The Roman guards trembled and became as dead men, and I suppose rightly so, at the manifestation of such power.
JS Would you say the power is still available, that is indicated at the end of the chapter, “make disciples of all the nations, baptising them to the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”. The power is still in Christ’s hands, and no power of evil has ever caused it to cease.
JT So it is not against the nations yet. It is making disciples of all nations. It is a question of grace. All this power is now exercised in grace, “baptising them to the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”. It is God revealed in grace; so the dispensation is strikingly preserved in spite of the opposing elements represented in the Jews and Pilate. The angel says to the women, “Go quickly and say to his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and behold, he goes before you into Galilee, there shall ye see him. Behold, I have told you. And going out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, they ran to bring his disciples word. And as they went to bring his disciples word, behold also, Jesus met them, saying, Hail!” The word was, “Go quickly”, and they move under the direction of the angel. Here Jesus calls the disciples His “brethren”. “Fear not; go, bring word to my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there they shall see me”. The angel calls attention to the disciples, but Jesus calls us “brethren;” and He salutes, you might say, the women as moving under authority. That is the point in bringing this forward, to show that, as we move under authority the [p. 164] Lord honours us.
CFI They were to go without fear.
JT Yes; and He says, “Hail!”, as if to honour them, and to honour us too, as we move in subjection.
LB Would you say the Lord is showing us that no power can go against us?
JT Yes. He assures us that we shall be supported, and no power can stand against Him. But we have to go to Galilee and see Him there: we are His brethren.
AR Would there be a distinction between the Lord’s use of the word “brethren” here and in John’s gospel?
JT Well, there would be, I think, in the sense that we have different facts attached to the use of the word in each case. It is here, “bring word to my brethren”. It would have the same force as in John’s gospel, only there it is a message, not for them to do anything, but announcing His ascension and their relationship to Him. It is not a direction for them to do anything, but simply an announcement of the relation in which they stand to Him and to His Father. He is the ascending One and we are His brethren; and His Father is ours, and His God is ours. What is stressed in John is the family relationship. In Matthew He is owning the relationship to Him, but only in the sense of being His brethren. He does not say His Father is ours and His God ours, but simply that they should go to Galilee to meet Him there.
JS Would it be right to say that the brethren come in as in relation to the testimony established in resurrection?
JT I think so, and we have what Matthew learned as to brethren from the Lord’s lips at the end of chapter 12. The Lord points out His brethren as those who do the will of His Father who is in heaven. That is what marks brethren in [p. 165] Matthew. John does not say that, but it is involved in what John quotes from the Lord’s words.
SF Does Matthew present the power to be here with us to the end, and John the ascending line, so that we follow where He has gone?
JT That is the idea, I think; as was indicated at the beginning, John is the spiritual and heavenly side. Brethren in John is not a moral thought: it is the thought of divine counsel; but in Matthew, Mark and Luke it is the moral side. “Whosoever shall do the will of my Father who is in the heavens, he is my brother, and sister, and mother”. The brethren in Matthew are those who do the will of the Father, and in Mark who do the will of God, and in Luke those who hear the word of God and do it. We are marked off as brethren on these moral lines, but John presents us as brethren from the standpoint of counsel.
FW Would it be right to say that we need the Spirit to put it all together?
JT Quite so. The endings of the gospels were written to confirm the apostolic teaching. They, however, go beyond christianity, extending into the millennium.
FW One is thankful for that, because I think you have said before that we really reach the gospels through the epistles.
JT Quite so. If we did not have the epistles, we should be governed by such a prayer as we get in Matthew for instance. “Our Father who, art in the heavens”. We would not rise to our proper level.
CFI Why is Galilee stressed here as the meeting place?
JT Well the effect of it is to make little of Jerusalem in the minds of believers. Luke makes much of Jerusalem. The disciples were to stay there until the Holy Spirit came down, which is pure grace from the Lord’s point of view. He says, “beginning at Jerusalem”, but Matthew in this respect ignores Jerusalem. It is a judicial gospel, showing Judaism is set aside, and the testimony is carried on in the place of reproach, that is Galilee.
JM Why is “go quickly” stressed?
JT Well, it carries authority. We are often very dilatory. One says, I will go to the care-meeting tonight, or I will not go. We think it is optional; whereas the Lord would imply that if the thing is to be done it must be done. If I do not do it I am remiss. If I do not do it quickly I am remiss. “Cursed be he that doeth the work of Jehovah negligently”. It is imperative. If the Lord has something to do here it must be done and at once. That is the principle.
SHB Would the sense of our relationship to the Lord help us affectionately to submit?
JT It is those who know Him who readily submit. Galilee was the place they were to go to. The Lord in Mark went up to the mountain, and called whom He Himself would, and they came to Him on the mountain and He appointed twelve that they might be with Him, that He might send them forth to heal diseases. They were with Him and thus knew who He was. He was “full of grace and truth”, grace first. So Mark says that on the mount of transfiguration, after the glory was withdrawn, “they no longer saw any one, but Jesus alone with themselves” (Mark 9: 8). That is the Lord known personally, “Jesus alone with themselves”. It is that Person known.
SHB I was thinking of that expression, “he shall be as the light of the morning” (2 Samuel 23: 4).
JT Quite so. The king gives an account of what the king should be. Those are David’s last words. It hardly implies that he was that. It is what a king should be. Christ alone answers to it.
SF I suppose the light of the morning is here in [p. 167] the resurrection of Christ. Can you help us as to these women being first at the sepulchre and the first carriers of the message to the disciples, the brethren?
JT They represent the subjective side right through in the endings of the gospels, that is, the assembly viewed in subjection, and answering to the heading of Psalm 22, ‘The hind of the morning’. It is a feminine thought and indicates agility. Their love makes them active.
EB The sepulchre is seen in all these four scriptures. Does that mean that the Lord having gone into death, there is to be this kind of result?
JT That is the thought. The grave is not the end of these wonderful things. The Lord is seen standing right through, and active Himself. He sat at table at Emmaus, but generally in the position in the endings of the gospels the Lord is standing. He is waiting to serve. His love is as great as it was when He died. The love that led Him into death is now active, and He is ready to serve even wandering ones; to go after them, and bring them back too. He is active in love. It is really wonderful what He did on the first day of the week as told in these chapters, and the result is like Himself. ‘The hind of the morning’ implies that the assembly is to be active in love too, we are not to be slothful; so they went out quickly and “ran to bring his disciples word”. This is to bring out the agility of love.
LDB “Jesus met them, saying, Hail! And they coming up took him by the feet, and did him homage”. Does that suggest that while authority is there, it needs something more to bring forth homage from our hearts?
JT Just so. They held Him by the feet, which is hardly what they should be doing, as those feet [p. 168] were carrying the Lord to exercise love; but they did Him homage, showing they were worshipful.
LDB Would you say something about “Hail!”?
JT It carries the thought of a respectful salute, and that all is well. It conveys that, and here it is to persons already in movement under divine authority, showing how the Lord owns us as we serve Him.
EB Would you say that acting under authority comes first, and then the Lord takes us on and greets us?
JT The angel had told them what to do, to bring His disciples word, and to go to Galilee. Then, “as they went to bring his disciples word, behold also, Jesus met them, saying, Hail!” And He says further, “Fear not; go, bring word to my brethren that they go into Galilee”. He changes the word from “disciples” to “brethren”.
EBMcC Would this help us as to a ministry meeting, that having a word one should give it? Here “they ran” and the Lord meets them and speaks another word to them as to His brethren.
JT I think so. In the meeting you might change in thought and use the word ‘brethren’ instead of ‘disciples’. The former would convey family feelings. One often finds as you proceed that you get richer thoughts than you possessed at the outset.
EBMcC We should not be slow in giving a word if we have one.
JT Give it as soon as you have opportunity. The ministry meeting requires that if a brother sitting by gets something, the one speaking stops to make way for him. A revelation is the most important thing. What you bring is not so fresh as a revelation, and the revelation might include a change from ‘disciples’ to ‘brethren’, something richer.
CFI How would one be conscious that there was a revelation?
JT [p. 169] It is through the organism, what we are as one body. It is a great matter if there is a revelation, and if we are sensitive as in the organism, the one that is speaking will make way. The organism is implied here in 1 Corinthians 14.
SHB How do you distinguish between the revelation, and the word prior to it?
JT The word preceding might be something you had digested before and you bring it with you, and you are warranted in doing that according to verse 26.
SHB The revelation is more something that would come to a brother when he is there.
JT Yes, the Lord would see the need of it. Some state in the meeting might arise as the meeting is proceeding, and the Lord may cause by the Spirit that something else should come in, and so way should be made for it.
SHB We should be spiritually sensitive so that if one was speaking, and a revelation was given to another, the first would sit down.
JT That is the thought, and whether we are equal to it spiritually is the question.
AJC Should it be a development of the word already ministered?
JT Not necessarily. The Lord might have something else. Something might be needed instead of the word given, or the word given might be in order, but something more urgent arises. That is the idea.
AJC We are not bound in that way; a different thought might be brought in?
JT Quite so. It is a question of what the Spirit gives. Still, you do not ignore what has been said. Mark, we have already intimated, presents “a young man sitting on the right, clothed in a white robe;” and the women “were amazed and alarmed; but he says to them, Be not alarmed. Ye seek Jesus, the Nazarene, the crucified one”. His account is like that of Matthew, but the point is a young man clothed in a white robe, which I suppose would mean something that covered him right down. It is how a minister appears. He is sitting, we are told, on the right, that is, where the best should come from. We read of God’s right hand. Peter takes the lame man by his right hand. It is a question of the best in our service. Levitical service requires a certain age. In Numbers it is thirty years of age, that is, fulness of manhood, mature manhood. It contemplates the best, and the best given energetically, that is, in the energy of youth, but in purity. One has no impure motives in the service, as Paul says, not making “a trade of the word of God”. One is personally pure.
EB They see the young man sitting on the right of the sepulchre. Would it have any correspondence with what is said in Samson’s riddle, “Out of the eater came forth food”?
JT That is the principle, not like Matthew, where it is what is external; the angel rolls away the stone and sits on it. He does not enter the sepulchre there; it is not from that point of view. In Mark the idea of a grave is with the minister; he is crucified with Christ and baptised unto His death. It is His death as stressed in Romans 6.
LB Is that why he says, “Behold the place”?
JT Yes; he says, “Behold the place where they had put him”. It is abstract I suppose, although the actual hands that did the work were those of Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus; only Joseph is mentioned in this gospel. There is some distinction implied in the reference, because He was not placed where His murderers intended to put Him. “And men appointed his grave with the wicked, but he was with the rich in his death” (Isaiah 53: 9). It was a grave hewn out of the rock, as if God honoured [p. 171] Christ in that way. The point is to see that He was there — placed there by those who buried Him. The grave was there — a testimony, but He is no longer there. The young man was there and by the right side. It was a remarkable thing, the experience of being in the Lord’s tomb. You see in John 20 how Peter and John were concerned about going in. In Mark it is just that they went into the sepulchre, but the young man is sitting there.
EBMcC Instead of finding a dead body they found the energy of life in a young man.
FW In Matthew it is the Lord, suggesting authority, as you have been saying. Here in Mark it is Jesus, the Nazarene, the crucified One, and the place where they had put Him. Why are those thoughts put together? They do not stress the greatness of the Lord exactly, do they?
JT I think it is what belongs to the Servant. Who is He that is serving? Jesus the Nazarene. He announces Himself as that to Saul, and Peter announces Him in that character in Acts 2: 22. It is what is proper to the servant because it implies reproach.
AJC Is it necessary to look at this scene and see where Jesus has been, and become assured He is not now here? We should move on from that point.
JT These are thoughts proper to service, but then you are intelligent too, not only in the sense of reproach, but that He is risen: you know that. He is not here. We are no longer looking at the sepulchre — in fact we could not find it — God has seen to that; it has not been preserved. Men would have preserved it, but it was never intended by God to be a shrine. Christ is not here, but the word is “behold the place where they had put him”. It is a question of the Lord’s entire submission to the divine will. He has been placed there. That is where He was.
[p. 172] There is a moral thought in it. “Behold the place where they had put him”. That is, the Lord had gone that length, as He says to Peter, “When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst where thou desiredst” (John 21: 18). That is the will and natural energy of a young man, but He says, “when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and bring thee where thou dost not desire”. Peter was thoroughly resigned to martyrdom. Jesus said this, “signifying by what death he should glorify God”. What Peter says in his second epistle indicates how he understood that the Lord shewed him he would die a martyr. Peter wholly accepts this.
FW I wondered if this would deliver us from this world. “The Nazarene” is in keeping with the message. Men have their cathedrals, whereas the message here is in connection with the despised and crucified One.
JT That is the thought, and the Lord accepting it in the gospels is evidence of that.
CFI Why is Peter especially included in the message?
JT There is a beautiful thought in it. Luke says, “The Lord is indeed risen and has appeared to Simon”. But here it is, “Tell his disciples and Peter;” as much as to say, Peter, you are not left out because you sinned so grievously. It is grace, which is something every servant should have in his soul — “so also grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life” (Romans 5: 21).
SF You spoke of Mark giving us the minister, or servant. Mark has much to say in a very little time, and Paul says, “I desire to speak five words with my understanding, that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue” (1 Corinthians 14: 19). It is the condensing of mighty things into a small [p. 173] compass.
JT Yes, he is brief and pungent. His gospel is by far the shortest. That is a good thought for us who are ministers — to be brief, not too brief of course, but we should avoid being lengthy.
GC Is there a suggestion that those who take up service should go the whole way? They take the testimony upon their own spirits.
JT That is right. Paul says to Timothy, “Remember Jesus Christ raised from among the dead, of the seed of David, according to my glad tidings, in which I suffer even unto bonds as an evil-doer” (2 Timothy 2: 8, 9). A young man has to remember that.
Now as regards Luke, I believe his account would help us as to the great subject that is being so stressed amongst us, namely, the service of God in the assembly. In chapter 24: 3 we have, “And when they had entered they found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass as they were in perplexity about it, that behold, two men suddenly stood by them in shining raiment”. We are often in perplexity about things, and constantly, of course, questions are being asked which should be answered, but I believe this scripture would help us to find the truth, each finding it for himself. “As they were in perplexity about it, that behold, two men suddenly stood by them in shining raiment”. That is, the answer is not going to be deferred. The two men are there suddenly, but it is as we are in perplexity about things, as we are really concerned, because these women were persons of reality. Verse 1 says, “on the morrow of the sabbath, very early indeed in the morning”. This shows that they are people of sacrifice, sacrificing ease and comfort for the great things before them, and now being in perplexity, they have not to wait long before their perplexity is dispersed. Clarification is a feature in Luke. “Two men suddenly stood by them in shining raiment”. The same thing is seen in chapter 2: 9, which says, “an angel of the Lord was there by them”, referring to the shepherds abiding by their flocks by night. They also were sacrificing, and the angel stood by them — just there, without any show, and ready to serve them. So these two men are here, ready to serve them in removing their uncertainty, for we should not be in perplexity in the assembly. It is not a place for perplexity: it is a place of clarity, where we have clear understanding, and know what to do.
FW Do you mean the light of a matter is granted quickly when there is the state for it and the exercise as to it?
JT The explanation will come. The light necessary will come.
JS Would we learn this lesson from verse 13 of the chapter, in connection with the two on the way to Emmaus? The Lord draws near to them and meets them as they converse. They were downcast, and the Lord draws near and furnishes needed instructions; they became fitted to take up their position in the assembly.
JT Yes. In the first assembly meeting these two are ready. They related what had happened on the way, and how He was made known to them in the breaking of bread. They furnished light for the occasion.
JM Is it significant that the women sought the body of the Lord Jesus?
JT Well, it shows their affection, the interest they had. Those going to Emmaus spoke of it also. The Lord made everything clear to them. That is the thing at the Lord’s supper. In Romanism it is enshrouded in darkness, whereas these two men are in shining raiment: the very opposite to darkness. The position is made clear by them. Luke concisely records the facts relative to the Lord’s supper; the instruction the Lord gave to [p. 175] Paul is very concise. It is remarkable how, clear 1 Corinthians 11 is as to this great subject.
Our chapter says, “two men suddenly stood by them in shining raiment”. They said, “Why seek ye the living one among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spoke to you, being yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered up into the hands of sinners, and be crucified, and rise the third day. And they remembered his words”. They are receptive and teachable. Everything is made clear by these men. They only recalled what the Lord had said, and these women remembered. It was a matter of taxing their memories, and that is what the Lord’s supper implies. It is calling Him to mind.
LB These men have shining garments.
JT That is heavenly clarity. The Lord appeared to Saul, and “a light above the brightness of the sun” shone upon him. It was a light from heaven, the luminous character of it is emphasised. As the hymn says,
‘And heav’nly light makes all things bright,
Seen in that blissful gaze’. (12:3)
SF So there is a right move in turning from the sepulchre, though it is a most necessary point to reach at a given time. We are not, in assembly service, to remain there, but to rise.
JT Quite so. Heaven is the objective; that is, God as there. Christ is the Minister of the sanctuary: “minister of the holy places and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord has pitched, and not man” (Hebrews 8: 2). It is a wholly spiritual matter.
CFI Would we get this light by the Spirit?
JT Yes, but the Spirit teaches us in every respect: “he shall guide you into all the truth” (John 16: 13). There is something special here — shining garments; it is a heavenly touch that is imparted when you are dealing with heavenly things [p. 176] according to the divine purpose. Ephesians is the epistle that enlarges on this, that is, heavenly light, it is specially our epistle. “Arise, shine! for thy light is come, and the glory of Jehovah is risen upon thee” (Isaiah 60: 1). That passage is quoted in Ephesians, and made to fit there significantly. Isaiah 60 is Israel’s light, and it means that Ephesians is the assembly’s light, the light that governs us particularly as a heavenly people.
CFI one feels we have had much exercise as to the service of God, but if there was the longing desire seen here we would get more help.
JT Yes. Often lately there has been great perplexity as to the new covenant, where it should come in, and as to many other questions. There are still questions with many of us, and I believe this scripture indicates the divine readiness to furnish light as we seek it. The two men are by us.
AJC Would the shining garments be in contrast to legal thoughts?
JT Yes, to anything that would becloud or confuse. We are so apt to stress one thing too much, and one of the greatest dangers is pigeon-holing certain truths. The true way is to hold the truth as a whole in our souls in intelligent affection, and then there is room for enlargement all the time, for we can never limit the truth of God. It is always capable of enlargement. If any new feature is apprehended it is not simply taken by itself, but in relation to the whole scope of truth.
FW Is that why the women brought the word to the eleven and the rest? It was not a question of apostolic ministry, but spiritual apprehension.
JT Yes, and so later we have the eleven and those that were with them. Authority is there, but in a modified way. It is a broken state of things, but still authority is there and “all the rest” are affected by it, and stand related to it.
JM [p. 177] Would this light shine at the care meeting as well as at the Supper?
JT Well, I think heavenly light is always our light especially as we see it coming to Paul. “A light ... from heaven round about me”. It is the clarity of it, a light “above the brightness of the sun”.
JS Would we not come under the Lord’s leading if He comes in as He did here? “He himself stood in their midst” (verse 36). The Lord would come in and lead.
JT Yes, He does become our Leader, but there is the thought of order, and Paul says, “rejoicing and seeing your order”. How am I holding any given truth? Am I holding it as something I am in the good of? The truth is infinite in its bearing, and if I hold it in that way I will be always ready for expansion.
LDB What is the thought of suddenly (verse 4)?
JT I think you do not have to wait for light if you need and desire it. We do not have to wait for years to get a difficulty cleared. The Lord gives understanding in all things, and He is always ready to do it. “Run, speak to this young man”, we have in Zechariah; showing it is urgent. Heaven is ready to enlighten us.
SHB It encourages us, as we look back over the last few years, to see how we have proved this.
JT It does. The Lord is helping us, and if we take up this attitude we shall get help. Nothing will be dark to us although the Lord may see fit to leave things in abeyance for a time, and it is better not to force anything. “Think of what I say, for the Lord will give thee understanding” (2 Timothy 2: 7). Be careful in looking into Scripture, and indeed into anything from the Lord. Look into it and weigh it over. “Think of what I say, for the Lord will give thee understanding” — think of it.
[p. 178] We may now look at John. He implies spirituality. Mary is not ready for this at first. “She runs therefore and comes to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, to whom Jesus was attached, and says to them, They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and the other disciple, and came to the tomb. And the two ran together, and the other disciple ran forward faster than Peter, and came first to the tomb, and stooping down he sees the linen cloths lying; he did not however go in. Simon Peter therefore comes, following him, and entered into the tomb, and sees the linen cloths lying, and the handkerchief which was upon his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded up in a distinct place by itself. Then entered in therefore the other disciple also who came first to the tomb, and he saw and believed” (John 20: 2 - 8). These two brethren are seen here as spiritually intelligent. They are governed by what they saw in the sepulchre. There are no angels now, but they note the position of the linen cloths, and the handkerchief. That is what affects them, and they saw and believed; it is said that John saw and believed. That is, he was governed by the position of the cloths as he saw them in the tomb, and that caused faith and light in his soul. It is a spiritual matter.
EB Are you emphasising the handkerchief that was placed upon His head?
JT That is one feature. I am to understand its position and that of the cloths. The word is “cloths;” it is not one idea, but several. I understand the cloths are as they had been wrapped around the Lord when He was placed there. They are in order. It means that the Lord left without a struggle. He did not undo them. He just left. It is to bring out the spiritual nature of the resurrection. But somebody placed the napkin by itself,
[p. 179] as if to point to His personal dignity involving His headship.
SF That is very beautiful.
JT It raises the whole question of spirituality, and yet these men went to their own homes. We may be intelligent and yet not have the same affection as Mary. She did not go to her own home. She stays by the tomb weeping. She gets a word from the Lord.
AJC The Lord having passed into new circumstances, there is instruction in that for us that we might move on.
JT He has passed out of material things into a spiritual realm. He can come in, although doors are closed. It is a spiritual matter.
SF There is no thought here of holding Him by the feet.
JT Not a word about that. Mary, I think, represents the general state of the saints; the general subjective condition is dark and confused, but there is affection for Him and the Lord owns that. The angels are serving here too. Peter and John are satisfied simply because of what they saw in the sepulchre. They saw and believed.
EB How different from that which would require direct legal proof. If we were more spiritual we would pray for spiritual suggestions and get them.
FW Was it spirituality that lead them to go away? “The disciples therefore went away again to their own home”.
JT I would say it implies that there was no need of staying there any more. The Lord is not here, but “their own home” does not fit too well with spirituality, I think. You would be desirous of finding Him. That is the next thing. Mary wanted Him — but she was dark as to [p. 180] His resurrection.
EBMcC They are not shining garments here, but “white”. Why is that?
JT The whole aspect of the sepulchre now points to the Lord’s dignity; whiteness being, as usual, purity. His head and feet are stressed. The feet would refer to His walk here, but His head would refer to His dignity; headship is implied. Mary needed to be revolutionised. She spoke about carrying Him away. That is a poor thought.
GW We have spiritual intelligence in Peter and John on the one hand, but affection in Mary on the other. We need the two features.
JT It is to Mary’s credit that she wanted the Lord, but she needed to have her soul enlightened. The appearance of the angels would mean that she needed to be completely changed in her outlook. She must not think she could carry Him away. He is a divine Person and you cannot compass Him.
AJC So spiritual impressions as light from God are not sufficient in themselves. Mary waited for the Person.
JT Yes. If Peter and John had waited, they would have had more than the cloths pointed out. We need the Lord. He came in amongst them in due course.