LOVE DISPLAYED IN SELF-SURRENDER
J. R. Cumming
John 18: 5–8; Exodus 21: 1–6; Genesis 44: 18 (to “ears”), 31–34; 45: 1; 1 Samuel 25: 23, 24, 29 (to “God”); John 12: 1–3
I think it is right to say that the Lord’s public teaching was finished at the end of John 12. From chapter 13 on, not exclusively, but from then on it is one thing after another in teaching to His disciples. He gives them an insight as to the Father, and gives them an insight as to the Spirit; He speaks about the conditions that should be in local companies, love among yourselves; feet washing and other things all come in from chapter 13 on. Then in chapter 18, following the Lord’s prayer in chapter 17, “Jesus, having said these things, went out with his disciples beyond the torrent Cedron” (John 18: 1). It was the filling out of what related to the will of God, and everything was to be secured through His laying down His life. It says that this crowd came with lanterns and torches and weapons. Imagine looking for the light of the world with a lantern! What a disqualification in itself, is it not? This is when the Lord was taken. Then He asked, “Whom seek ye?” And they answered Him, “Jesus the Nazaraean”. He said to them, “I am he”. At that moment there was an exposition of the power that was there; the glory of that Person. On another occasion in John’s gospel it says that He hid Himself and went away; that is when the crowd there took up stones. But here we have come, you might say, to the filling out of what is related to divine purpose and divine ways, that Jesus was going forward to meet the enemy, could I use the word, head-on.
But just at this point, beloved brethren, is what I wanted to draw on for a little in these scriptures which we have read. He says, “I told you that I am he”, which was repeated. Now there is this phrase that follows immediately, “if therefore ye seek me, let these go away”. I think we could say in that the Lord Jesus showed a shepherdly touch, and not only a shepherdly touch but preparedness in Himself to meet the suffering that was involved in the ways that God had indicated. The word is used, I was impressed with it when I thought about it, self-surrender, that is what is said in one of the books, it is marvellous to think of the Lord Jesus submitting Himself to the cruelty and the dissoluteness of men, as He did from this chapter onwards, and it was all on the line of the suffering way. But, what He was concerned about, and brings out here, is what He says, “let these go away”. Self-surrender was a great matter; it was for the good of others. That is something to think about and that is why I read this scripture. What He was doing here is a pattern, something for us to lay hold of in our lives—self-surrender. In the book of Job Satan said, “all that a man hath will he give for his life” (Job 2: 4). The Lord says, “I told you that I am he—if therefore ye seek me, let these go away”. I think this is a demonstration of what was mentioned in the reading, that love is the essence of everything in Christianity.
That is why I read Exodus 21, “if the bondman shall say distinctly, I love my master, my wife, and my children, I will not go free”. That is self-surrender. Now I know we have to be careful about using that word surrender because it might be misunderstood. Self-surrender means you submit to God’s ways and to God’s work. Here you have this matter of the practice lying behind such a conclusion, that is that it is the calculation of what love can undergo. It was seen perfectly in Christ, the true Bondman; He took that position—“But if the bondman shall say distinctly, I love my master, my wife, and my children, I will not go free; then his master shall bring him before the judges, and shall bring him to the door, or to the door-post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall be his bondman for ever”. That is the suffering way. What a glory there is in the love demonstrated in the Lord personally! It is something that should always affect us, and does affect us. The resolution of difficulties in localities involves the surrender of my opinion, my thoughts, my ideas. We hold on to things very tightly and it is about the last thing that we will do to say, ‘I am sorry’. You see in Christ it is perfect—“let these go away”; in other words, what was before Him there was no deviation at all. The spirit of love is here in Exodus 21, true love, perfect love. Paul says in—1 Corinthians 13: 8, “Love never fails”.
That is what we have to find and work out, beloved brethren. It is a great thing to be amenable to what the brethren are saying, what the brethren are sensitive about, and to be submissive, because that brings in unity. I think we can see how far away we get from that at times.
Now I read about Judah because this man took his place among the blamed; he says, God has found out our iniquity. He meant that, and here was Benjamin held, he was to be a bondman to Joseph. Jacob had given Judah instructions that he must bring Benjamin home. So Judah’s heart is affected. There is a need to see that the Lord’s things involve, not only administrative prowess, but affection and love, and that is always a test for us. Do I love the unity of the brethren more than my opinion of things? That is not giving up the truth, that is working out the truth in love; love never fails. Judah was one of the ten who said they were honest men, that was twice quoted of them. Judah comes to it here, saying, “God has found out the iniquity of thy servants” (Genesis 44: 16). Then he was coming to a point in his life where he was prepared to suffer, so that Benjamin might go back with the other brethren. You might say, Well, that was the least he could do. If that is the way you look on it, I do not think you should, because there was a great sacrifice involved in this. He laid down his life in facing up to his responsibilities.
Abigail was not to blame but she took the blame. This is a thing which somehow makes things work, when brethren are motivated in their affection on this line. She saw that if David went on the line that he was doing, his actions might be considered a stumbling block or offence. She was concerned about the bundle of the living. I think that is a fine touch. That is what our localities should be; all our localities should be marked as a bundle of the living.
Young people can find their home there, find a safe place where they are loved, where there is a place for them, where they are cared for; not just tolerated, beloved brethren, there is a big difference. Abigail shows the way, she took the blame, and not only that, but everything that was needed she brings with her. She got all this ready, two hundred loaves, two skin-bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and so on, and brought it all to David for his men. You see there was love, there was guidance. So there is help for us to come in in our local settings if we have this kind of spirit. David says, “And blessed be thy discernment” (1 Samuel 25: 33). You see assembly features coming to light. The enemy will do anything he possibly can to bring in disruption in regard to the local position; that is quite apparent. You and I have a responsibility to see that that is withstood, not in the fighting character of things, but in the line of what our spirits are. It is a great thing to have such a spirit, where the Spirit of God can come in in power and thwart what is of the enemy. I may think how it should be done and usually that is the wrong way, but if we allow the Spirit to have His way with us, then things will be taken through in a right way.
I finish with just a word on John 12. I think it was an area where everything had been adjusted, it says the Lord came to Bethany. How He loved Bethany! Luke’s gospel tells us that He went up to heaven from Bethany. I think that shows the affections that were there in regard to Him. The persons who were in this locality all had a place in His affections; Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Think of what they went through! The experience of death and how the Lord stood by them, got them through. So that it is the suffering way that the Scripture speaks of here “where was the dead man Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from among the dead”. There will never be any trouble in your locality, beloved brother, if you are a dead man. That has been said often and maybe we will have to repeat it a few times; a dead man will make no difficulties. You may say that is not logical, if he is a dead man he cannot do anything, but that is not the point, you take the moral effect of it. When Lazarus was dead the world and all its principles had no place in his heart at all; when he was raised the one thing in life that he was committed to was the Lord Jesus. It says here, “There therefore they made him a supper, and Martha served”. I think these persons in their lives had come to it to surrender the kind of spirit that they had. There was something secured in Martha accordingly, she just served; as the Lord said of another, “What she could she has done”, Mark 14: 8. Beloved brethren, let us see that lying behind all service there is this great principle of loving the objective of our service, and that is Christ. Learn from Him how to serve. It speaks about Lazarus as one of those at table with Him; how he was enjoying things, not only in the position he had been brought into, but enjoying in life what the Lord had given. So there is something there that is attractive.
Then it says of Mary, “having taken a pound of ointment of pure nard of great price”, this is where there is surrender. She appreciated what the Lord Jesus was going ahead with “six days before the passover”. She was, therefore, sensitive as to what lay ahead for Him, and took the opportunity to do what she did. She anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped them with her hair and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. It comes into this category that we are speaking about, self-surrender for the good of others. How we should always be thinking about what we are doing, and what we may be treasuring up; it is all in view of release when we are among the brethren, because it is for Christ.
I just want to leave this word with us as to the way through with regard to difficulties, and sorrows too, that may come in. The young people are to be attracted into the area where you grow up and find yourself having to revise your thoughts about what is good. Our brother spoke earlier about Barnabas, “a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith” (Acts 11: 24); how he was appreciated in all that he was, and our hearts are to be held for Christ along this line. The last two lines of Hymn 171 show how everything is secured from the divine side on the principle of,
‘And love that, giving all, secures
The universe for God’.
May we all be encouraged for His name’s sake.
Address at Brechin
15 November 1997