THE SAVIOUR AVAILABLE TO ALL
Luke 22:19,20; John 21:15 (“Feed my lambs”), 16 (“Shepherd my sheep”), 17 (“Feed my sheep”), 22
We sang in our hymn (Hymn 166) that the Lord’s interests would be before us, and I want everyone here to know that the Lord Jesus is interested in this occasion; that He is interested in you as an individual; and He is available as your Saviour.
The verses we have read in John’s gospel record the Lord’s words about services to be rendered by the apostle Peter – “Feed my lambs”, “Shepherd my sheep”, “Feed my sheep”, “Follow thou me”. Our brother took a part in such service. The connection between the verses I read in John 21 and in Luke’s gospel is this. When we were reading about this on Lord’s day – a few of us were gathered to read the Scriptures and enquire into them, and this passage in Luke 22 was before us – one of the things that came to my mind was that our brother would have wanted to make sure that the youngest person in the room would understand what we were reading. He always wanted the lambs to be fed. And I would like you to consider this passage in Luke’s gospel, because it is important to understand that the Lord Jesus has died for you and for me. He says here: “This is my body” – he speaks of the loaf – “which is given for you”. The Lord Jesus came here as a Man, a Babe in Bethlehem’s manger, and He lived a life of perfection and at the end of that life of perfection He died. He died for you, and He died for me.
It is because He died, and not only died but has risen again, that we are here - yes, with sorrow, but we are also here with confidence, because that same Saviour is coming back, and He has asked us to do something for Him now. That is to put our faith and trust in Him, and to remember Him. His body was given for you. Why was that necessary? The Bible tells us why: “who himself bore our sins in his body on the tree”, 1 Pet.2:24. His body had to be given so that the sins of those who put their faith in Him should be borne. And then: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you”. The Lord Jesus did not hold anything back, He gave all that He had, and He gave it willingly.
The blood of the Lord Jesus was poured out for you. He had you in mind. Why was that necessary? Again, the Bible tells us that “without blood-shedding there is no remission” of sins, Heb.9:22. I hope you understand this, and I hope also that you understand that when the Bible says, “for you”, it means for you personally. Believing in the Lord Jesus is a very personal thing. No one can do it for you, and it is essential that you believe in Him for yourself.
In John’s gospel it says, “Feed my Lambs” and then “Shepherd my sheep”. There is what is done in public, which people can see, and then there is what is done in private, which people cannot see. Our brother did both; he was interested in people. He cared for the sheep, and he would do what was needed to find them and to bring them back. And then the scripture says: “Feed my sheep”. Our brother served in this way also. He served locally, and then generally; also in the preparation of ministry - there was a booklet to be prepared monthly and he served in that when it was needed.
The scripture goes on to say that Jesus said to Peter: “If I will that he abide until I come”. It was not the Lord’s will that our brother should remain until the Lord comes. That was not His will, and we accept it. But He is coming, the Lord Jesus is coming. Is He coming for you? He is coming for me. He is coming for our brother. He is coming for most of the people here today. Is He coming for you? He has been into death and has conquered its power, and He is out of death now. He is not only out of death as a Man that has risen, but He has ascended and is glorified, and it is from that place of glory that He is coming for you, if you will have Him. All you need to do is to trust in Him. It is not a complicated thing. What does the Bible say? “Believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved”, Acts 16:31. It is as simple as that.
The Lord Jesus is coming again. He has broken the power of death. He has broken the power of Satan. “The Lord himself, with an assembling shout, with archangel's voice and with trump of God, shall descend from heaven; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we, the living who remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we shall be always with the Lord”, 1 Thess.4:16,17. Is that your prospect? Our brother is with the Lord now. He knows the Lord’s presence and communications. I cannot say in detail what that involves, because Scripture says little about it, but one thing it does say is that with Christ is very much better (Phil.1:23). Our brother is not suffering now, he is not weak now; he is with his Lord and Saviour.
May the Lord encourage us, for His name’s sake.
Paul A Gray
THINGS THAT ARE ETERNAL
2 Corinthians 4:16-18; Isaiah 12:2,3; 38:19
I read this passage in 2 Corinthians because I want to speak of what is eternal. Verse 17 refers to “momentary and light affliction”. We know that our brother whom the Lord has taken suffered a great deal in his body. We are very thankful for the medical care that he received, and also for the period he was able to be among us, despite weakness, under the Lord’s hand and in His timing. Our brother has referred to the prayers of many, and they were valued. I do not think verse 17 is to minimise the affliction that any of us may go through in health or other circumstances. The Lord Jesus is very near: He is sympathetic and He is able. If you do not know Him as your Saviour and your Friend, it is imperative that you do so - not tomorrow or next week but now. The scripture says, “now is the well-accepted time”, 2 Cor.6:2. Today is the day of salvation, friend. If you are not a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, if you have not had your sins forgiven, if you are not clear of the penalty of your sins, which is death, now is the time to put that right. Death is not a penalty for anyone who believes in Jesus. The sting of death has been removed (1 Cor.15:55,56). The Lord Jesus has taken that sting away for our brother and for all those who trust in Him. But what we read in verse 17 is not to minimise what anyone may suffer, but rather to bring to light and throw into relief the greatness of what is eternal.
How can we look at things that are not seen? Believers in Christ are able to live in the gain of that unseen world where the Lord Jesus is, by the power of the Holy Spirit. There are many wonderful gifts that have come from God. God has given the Lord Jesus. Another gift is the Holy Spirit, a divine Person. He is God Himself. Our brother knew the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Do you? Do we make way for Him? It is the Holy Spirit that opens our eyes to the unseen things.
Where are we looking? There is much that we can look at in this world. There is sorrow – we feel it greatly at the present time. But our brother would no doubt have encouraged us to look at the things that are not seen. They soon will be seen in actuality: the hope of the believer is to see Christ. That is why, although we have sorrow in our hearts, it is not sorrow without hope (1 Thess.4:13). Our brother’s living, vital hope, now realised, was to be with his Saviour. What about you? What is your hope? Perhaps you are hoping that things may work out. The believer’s hope is an assured hope. Soon the things that are not seen will be actual for us. We will actually see the face of the Lord Jesus Christ and I believe we will do so very soon. Our brother knew what it was for the outward man, his physical body, to be consumed. If you read on into 2 Cor.5 it speaks about the “earthly tabernacle house” (v.1). That is a reference to our bodies. Scripture speaks about “our body of humiliation”, Phil.3:21. Our brother experienced that, and we felt for him. He went through suffering in a patient way that was an example to us. But then think about what is inward. That is the man that is according to God, it is the work of God. In Ephesians it speaks about the inner man (Eph.3:16), but here it is the inward, which would be in contrast to what is outward. What is of the work of God in a believer is not and will never be consumed. It will be seen in a wonderful day of display soon coming. We are to nourish our inward man, and God would help us as we grow up to the Lord Jesus.
Our brother displayed many features of Christ, and was an example amongst us. The Lord Jesus is the great Model. We are very thankful that features of Christ are worked out in believers, and we can take account of them. Each of us can be an example to others in looking at the things that are not seen. They are much more real than the things in this world. Everything physical is going to come to an end - Scripture speaks about a new heaven and a new earth (2 Pet.3:13; Rev.21:1). These things are realities. If your hopes are bound up in this world, they will only end in disappointment and death; but for the believer, hope is bound up in the Lord Jesus Christ, a risen and glorified Man. The end will be glory and eternal happiness.
We read in Isaiah about the wells of salvation. In verse 2, it says: “God is my salvation, I will trust”. He is a Saviour God. Our brother whose body we are burying today knew Him in that way. Do you know Him, friend, as a Saviour God? God is not an austere God, He is not a God at a distance. He desires to come into your circumstances, and as has already been said, He is interested in you. He is also the Creator God, and scripture speaks of Him as being “from eternity and to eternity”, Ps.106:48. He is interested in you, but are you interested in God? Are you interested in the Lord Jesus Christ? It has been said often that most of the references to Jehovah in the Old Testament are really to the One who is the Lord Jesus in the New. The Lord Jesus – is He your strength and song? Has He become your salvation? Do not look anywhere else for salvation, dear friend. It is in none other. There is only one name under heaven by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). I emphasise that here, in the presence of death. Things are fixed now for our dear brother, fixed in a glorious and happy way. Nothing can shake his salvation. But if there is anyone in the valley of decision as to their eternal destiny, I would plead with you to be like the one who writes here: “God is my salvation: I will trust, and not be afraid; for Jah, Jehovah, is my strength and song”. He is not only the One who comes in to save you once, He will remain your strength and song for as long as you trust in Him here.
Verse 3 speaks about “wells of salvation”. It was brought to our attention recently that we can find joy and encouragement in each other - in fellow believers. Our dear brother was a well of salvation. I have proved it, I could go to him for advice and guidance. He was a father amongst us, as was our brother in Linlithgow who was taken home last year. A gap is left, these men were wells of salvation. What does that mean? It means we were benefiting from the work of God in these brothers, and many other brothers and sisters, young and old. It is a fine thing when someone speaks to us about the Lord Jesus, draws our attention to Him and to His interests. And it is “with joy” that we draw water out of the wells of salvation. This is not a reference to eternal salvation - that is only to be found in the Lord Jesus. But as coming into contact with believers we can know what it is to draw water – it conveys refreshment, joy and life.
Christianity is a joyful matter. There is nothing better than being a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our brother was an exponent of that. Sometimes I would rather have been somewhere else, but our brother’s steady example helped me to be at the meeting amongst believers in the Lord Jesus. We have heard already of the many services that were rendered. What comes from our Head in heaven is drawn from the great well of salvation. May we draw upon one another because in doing so we are drawing on the work of God that is there.
Hezekiah the king in Isaiah 38 had gone through much suffering. Extra years were given to him (v.5). Hezekiah spread matters out before God (chap.37:14). He was dependent. Where we read in verse 19 it speaks about “the living”: “The living, the living, he shall praise thee”. Just four weeks ago our brother was present on Lord’s day morning and in the service of God he was on his feet in praise to the Lord Jesus and to God Himself, and he left an impression on our spirits. He was responding to divine Persons because he knew Them. He appreciated Them. He loved Them and They knew him. What a wonderful thing to be known of God in a real and living way.
Our brother is now with the Lord Jesus. His spirit is with Him. He is receiving communications, as has been said, and although Scripture does not say much as to this we know he is with Christ, which is very much better (Phil.1:23). In the meantime his living part here in the service of God is over, and there is a gap. There is also a gap in the family, and we feel that. May they prove divine comfort! I would encourage all of us to be characteristically those who praise God. A dear brother also now with the Lord Jesus often used to tell us that deliverance comes in worship. That is, you are wholly taken up with a blessed Object outside of yourself. How God values the response of those who love Him – much more than we realise.
I would ask you, do you know what it is to praise God in singing, or in words, or in your spirit? It is greatly appreciated by God. Hezekiah knew what it was. It is a living matter. May we be encouraged in it. There are ranks to be filled up in many services, so let us be before the Lord as to what He would have us to do. The scripture also says: “the father to the children shall make known thy truth”, Isaiah 38:19. Our brother was one who was exercised in passing on what he knew of the Lord Jesus to the young people for their encouragement. These services are open to us all.
May we be encouraged in it and may we be encouraged in the service of God to fill up our part in our measure. Let us be encouraged to be a well of salvation to one another. Let us fill up the part of being fatherly. And I would again emphasise the absolute necessity of knowing that our eternal destiny is secure, that death is not a penalty for the believer but rather a gateway into the presence of the Lord Jesus. He is the One with whom every believer will spend eternity.
May we be encouraged and comforted and I trust set forward, so that there might be more in response to God in whatever time we have left to us here, for the Lord’s name’s sake.
A Barrie Brown
LABOURING HEARTILY
Colossians 3:23,24; 1 Thessalonians 3:2 from “our brother” to “of Christ”; Ecclesiastes 5:12 to “labourer is sweet”; Matthew 9:37,38
Our brother laboured heartily in the work of God. “Whatsoever ye do, labour at it heartily”. He was marked by that in what he did for the Lord. Why might someone devote his life in such a way in service to the Lord? I believe it was because of an appreciation of the work that the Lord had done for him. It was a service of love and sacrifice that our brother committed himself to, but it was in response to the supreme sacrifice of Jesus. His love is incomparable. Jesus laid down His life for our brother. He laid down His life for me. Everyone in this room who is a believer can say that Jesus laid down His life for them. What a Saviour! As has already been said, surely our brother would have wanted Jesus to be spoken of as Saviour at an occasion like this.
If you had a conversation with our brother, I would be surprised if he did not mention Jesus to you. How important it is that you know Jesus for yourself! Our brother loved the Lord Jesus, the One who had given Himself for him, and he laboured to the Lord and not to men. It has already been said that his service was not done for any recognition or place or reward in this world. He received his reward, perhaps secretly and privately, from the Lord Jesus.
I read in Thessalonians about “our brother and fellow-workman under God”. What an expression that is! Such a person does not do things he would choose to do himself, he is someone who is under the direction and authority of Another - in subjection to God Himself. We are to be guided by the truth as it is contained in Scripture. We are not to rely on the imagination of man or the philosophy of the world, but are to be under God. What authority there is in Scripture, friend. The Scriptures contain what is true: the truth relating to our Lord Jesus and the glad tidings of Christ. What are the glad tidings of Christ? It is the good news concerning Jesus. God has made Him both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36). There is very little good news in this world. This good news comes from another world, the world where Jesus is; it comes from heaven itself! They are glad tidings: think of that; at the incoming of Jesus the angels spoke of “glad tidings of great joy”, Luke 2:10.
The glad tidings are going out now and they are for you; do not think they are for the person next to you; do not think that you are too young or too old. The glad tidings are that Jesus is available as your Saviour now. He wants to be your Saviour, let Him into your heart. He has done everything needed to save you, He has laid down His life, He has shed His precious blood, He has been into the grave, He has broken the power of the grave. He lives now as a Saviour and He wants to be your Saviour. Put your trust in Him, you will never regret it. You must do it! For as long as I can remember, our brother was active and urgent in preaching the glad tidings of Christ, whether in a care home in Bo’ness, on the street in Linlithgow, or writing to persons all across the world. He has his recompense now - with Jesus, which is very much better (Phil.1:23). But, beloved, I commend the glad tidings of Christ to you. And I commend the Saviour to you, He is the only Saviour, there is no one else.
I read in Ecclesiastes because it says, “The sleep of the labourer is sweet”. Our brother is asleep through Jesus. The Lord Jesus was there, personally, to cause our brother to fall asleep. What a comfort and reassurance to know that the Lord Jesus, as always, was in perfect control. How gentle a touch the Lord Jesus has and how gentle His touch of compassion and care is now for those bereaved. We recently heard ministry about the Lord’s hand: He would lay His hand on us and say, “Fear not”. What a reassurance! He is an all the way home Saviour. But “The sleep of the labourer is sweet”. That is our brother’s portion, a time of rest, a time of being with the Lord, in paradise, a place which is very much better.
I read in Matthew’s gospel as an appeal to those of us who remain. The work must go on. There is one less workman, our brother’s time of labour is over, but “The harvest is great and the workmen are few”. Have you had your part in speaking to someone else about Jesus? Maybe you did before, and it has lapsed. The Lord Jesus would have you engaged, as our brother was, in His work - the work of the glad tidings, the work of appealing to souls, the work of gathering in souls for God’s precious harvest.
We are thankful for every preaching of the glad tidings of Christ. I trust that you have received them. I trust that you know Jesus for yourself. What a hope it gives us when we do. How permanent death seems for man, and yet the believer knows that it is not the end. The Lord Jesus has the power and the authority to raise the dead; He will do so, and our brother will be raised to glory and endless bliss. Beloved, the opportunity is available here and now for you to lay hold of that same hope for yourself through believing in Jesus. May you do so.
May the Lord bless the word.
John S Speirs
Words at a burial meeting, Linlithgow
25 May, 2023
JOSEPH OF ARIMATHAEA
John 19:38-42; Luke 23:50-53; Mark 15:42-46; Matthew 27:57-60
That is all that scripture tells us about this man, Joseph of Arimathaea. There was a very distinctive service that was required at this time; there has never been anything like it. And God had a man there, who was ready and available to do what was needed. You and I are not going to have any service of such greatness. But you will be called upon to serve, to serve the people of God, to serve in your own place, in your own generation. Whether sisters, brothers, young, old, there is something for each one of us to do, and the question is whether, like this man Joseph, you are ready and available to take up whatever service is before you.
Now, the first thing that is important about this man is that he was a disciple. That is the first question to ask everyone here: are you a disciple? You might say that you are a believer – I trust you are a believer in the Lord Jesus. If you are not, now is the opportunity to trust in Him. We have spoken already today of the blood and how precious it is, and if you have not trusted in that blood, if you do not yet have faith in that blood, now is the time to put your faith and trust in that precious blood, and in the Saviour whose precious blood was shed. But if you are a believer, are you a disciple of Jesus? Are you someone who has taken up that pathway? Are you walking as someone who is following Jesus, whose life is disciplined by Jesus, someone who is prepared, whatever may come before you, to take up whatever you can do for Him? That is an exercise for us all. You may enjoy the meetings; you may enjoy what you hear and receive, but have you set yourself to be a disciple of Jesus? Not just one of a company, not simply following a company or attached to a company, but attached to a Man.
Not only does it say, as we have read in John 19, that Joseph “was a disciple of Jesus”, but we also read in Matthew something slightly different: he “was a disciple to Jesus”. I remember a dear brother, now with the Lord, pointing out that distinction to me. How fine it is to go through the gospels and to see what distinctions there are in the Scriptures. The Spirit of God has not simply used a different word, but there is something communicated that is of value. The brother who pointed this out to me was certainly a disciple to Jesus. He studied these gospels and he saw the distinctions; it was not a casual interest for him, but something that he contemplated.
Are you someone who is a disciple to Jesus? That is, someone of whom it can be said that the whole bent of their mind is to Jesus. You can also put it the other way round and say, ‘to Jesus, he was a disciple’. Think of that, someone whom the Lord Jesus could look at and say, ‘There is someone who is following Me, who is coming after Me, who has committed himself or herself to that way’ - a disciple to Jesus. In John 6 there was a time when persons who are referred to as disciples came to the point where they found things “hard” (v.60). The ministry that the Lord was giving them was hard and some “went away back” (v.66). I do not think that someone who was a disciple to Jesus, who is really committed to Him, is going to go back. I do not think that they are going to return from the way. Have you committed yourself like that, to that extent and that quality?
But then, we cannot entirely commend Joseph, because it says he was a disciple “secretly through fear of the Jews”, John 19:38. Well, you are here today; you have come here, you are associated with the company of believers, and we know you and can point that out. But then you go into other circumstances. You go to work or you go to school. Maybe you have committed yourself to Jesus; maybe you are remembering Him in the breaking of bread, but are you still a disciple just secretly? Are there persons around who do not know what is different about you?
It brings in the question, the big question, of confessing the name of Jesus. Now, I cannot in any way present myself as an example in that, because I know how testing it is, and how easy it is to be “a disciple … but secretly”. I remember my colleagues at work having a discussion. I was not in the discussion, and I do not remember the detail of it, but something to do with Jesus was said, and, as I said, I was not in the discussion, so I just kept my head down and got on with my work; and one of my other colleagues spoke up for Jesus. That was a reproach to me, that here was someone who was not, in that circumstance, being a secret disciple; he was speaking up. But in Joseph of Arimathaea you have someone who had been a secret disciple, and then he came to a point when he had to say: ‘I cannot be secret any longer’. And what it says about him was that he “emboldened himself”.
How interesting, that someone should embolden himself. Not naturally; this was not natural boldness, and we shall see why not in due course: there was power given to him. In our case, we have the great benefit of the Holy Spirit so that we can speak up in boldness with the help of the Spirit, but you need courage. You need courage, and you need to take things up in courage and embolden yourself, so that you should no longer be a secret disciple. Well, what made the difference to Joseph? The One whom he had trusted, the One whom he had followed, the One whom he had admired perhaps at a distance, was dead. He had died. What did that mean? What difference did that make? It meant that for this man, his life was no longer in this scene. The life of the Lord Jesus was not in this scene, and the life of Joseph of Arimathaea was not in this scene. Things had changed, and that gave him boldness in taking things up.
Then we think of the excellence of what was taken up by Joseph. We should pause worshipfully as we think of this scene. The Lord Jesus, the Lord of glory, was dead. His body was there and was to be cared for. Men had done the worst they possibly could to this blessed One, the Lord Jesus. His own people had cried out, “Crucify him”, Mark 15:13. The Romans, in their brutality, had inflicted everything they could upon Him and had crucified Him. Even when He was dead, the soldier dealt in a malicious way with His body, piercing His side. But Joseph was a man who valued the body of Jesus. He appreciated what was there. His was not a full appreciation: not as great as God’s appreciation! God appreciated the body of Jesus, and God was going to intervene here.
Joseph was able to take up a service that was according to prophecy from hundreds of years before. Here he was, he was available, because he was a disciple and because he had the grace to be emboldened at the time, to care for that body. Isaiah 53 says, “men appointed his grave with the wicked” (v.9). They would have put Him into whatever grave they could; they would have disposed of that body, as they disposed of the other two who were on one side and the other of Him. What a thought - that criminals’ grave to this day contains a body that is going to rise at the rapture. As far as we would understand, it also contains a body that is not going to rise until the final judgment; how sobering. But God protected the body of Jesus which was precious to Him. He had a man available to protect it, so that it says further of the Lord Jesus in Isaiah 53:9: “he was with the rich in his death”. God felt it deeply when men did all they could against the body of the Lord Jesus, but when everything was accomplished, including the shedding of His blood, God intervened and said: ‘No further: they are not going to dispose of that precious body as they wish. I have a man, I have somebody, who is able to look after it’. And here was Joseph.
You are not called upon to do anything as great as that. But are you available for what you are asked to do? Are you ready for what is in the Lord’s mind for the moment? What does the Lord need from you now? As the scripture goes on, you see the way in which the Lord’s body was looked after. There are different features: you see how the linen was taken by Joseph; that is part of the care. One gospel speaks about “clean linen”; another speaks about “fine linen” (Mark 15:46); another just “linen”. There was what was excellent and fine that could be used by Joseph, so that the Lord’s body should be suitably cared for. That is a wonderful thing, that there should be such care.
I think it is affecting when you think about the Lord Jesus coming into circumstances of death where, speaking from one viewpoint, He could not care for Himself. Now, of course, we do not detract from the glory of His Person, that He could always care for Himself. You have the type of the ark going into the land of the Philistines where the ark is caring for itself (1 Samuel 5 and 6). The Philistines could not withstand that. But there were circumstances in the Lord’s life here when He was cared for. At His birth, He came and took a place as a Babe here, and He needed someone to wrap Him in swaddling-clothes (Luke 2:7). He came with such meekness and humility that He could not care for Himself in that way. He was a real Babe.
The Lord Jesus lived His life here and then that life was taken from the earth (Acts 8:33). Here you have a man who has the care and the interest to see that this precious body should be suitably swathed in linen. How wonderful! The linen cloths were going to be seen lying where Joseph had placed them round the Lord’s body (John 20:6). The Lord Jesus rose; He left those linen cloths behind; He is risen and glorified, but the disciples saw the linen cloths. They also saw the handkerchief, in a distinct place (v.7). Somebody had taken care to put that handkerchief in a distinct place. I would suggest that Joseph took the care to provide a handkerchief, and it was placed distinctly. Think of God’s appreciation of this.
Another thing is that Joseph was a rich man. I think only one of the gospels says he “bought” the linen (Mark 15:46), that he went and bought it. That would raise an exercise as to how we use our resources. I do not want to labour that particular point, but I want to mention it because it is an exercise: how do we use our resources? Here was a man who used his resources for the care of the body of the Lord Jesus.
Then he laid Him in a suitable place. It says, “he was with the rich in his death” (Isa.53:9), a suitable place. The gospel presents these blessed matters in different ways. John tells us about this “garden”, a garden close by the cross, suggesting a protective, distinguished area. It was not far from the cross, and there was a tomb there and they used that: “and in the garden a new tomb”. That is vitally important, that there is something distinct here; there is “a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid”. There had never been a grave like that. There has never been such a place, because it held the Lord of glory. No one else could have that place, and God ensured that there was something fresh there, a new tomb; everything ready there in the suitability that divine love would provide by way of this man Joseph.
Other gospels speak about it as “in the rock”, Matt.27:60; Luke 23:53. It is interesting that it is in the rock. There is what is secure there, something that is for your security in the tomb, although perhaps not evident at this point. Hymn 216 puts it well:
‘We love to look within the tomb,
Robbed by Thy death of all its gloom’.
But Joseph did not know that. There is no suggestion that he knew that the Lord would shortly be raised. He put Him in a secure place, in safety. I suppose his expectation was that the Lord would rise in the last day. Most Jews expected that there would be a resurrection in the last day, and of course, as we lay any of our beloved brethren to rest we always do that with a view to the resurrection. That is wonderful, that we never have a burial that does not have in mind the resurrection. The Lord Jesus was going to rise from the dead, but for the moment there is the security of that rock, “hewn in the rock”.
It is also remarkable what Matthew says about it: “Joseph having got the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn in the rock”. There is no suggestion in the scriptures of others helping, for instance taking the body of Jesus down from the cross. Joseph seems to have been a man in his vigour, who could naturally perhaps expect a long life, but he had already hewn his tomb. Have you done that? There is something that has ended for you, something has ended for you in the death and grave of Christ. His life was taken from the earth (Acts 9:33): is yours? It is part of the exercise of baptism, that you have a grave, and, in what you are after the flesh, you are finished. What there is, is new, something that has life on the other side of death. It is wonderful to think that you, as living to God, have life on the other side of death. That is true of all believers, that they have died with Christ, but many do not appreciate it. You can have a true believer who also seeks high office in this world, not having realised that they have died with Christ. Christ’s death is the end of what there is in relation to this scene. That is you; that is me. I think there is the suggestion that in hewing out his own tomb, Joseph had appreciated, at least in figure, that his life was finished. Did he go back to the council? I am sure he did not. Did he continue to take the place that he had previously had among the Jews? No; he found that there was an end to his life, and then, of course, in resurrection, a beginning to another life, so that he would be one living in newness of life (Rom.6:4).
It is also said about this man that he was waiting. Are you waiting? God is very interested in people who are waiting. Joseph was waiting; he was expecting the kingdom of God to come. I think he was expecting what the two saints in Luke 24 had hoped, that Jesus would set up a formal kingdom in the world, that everything was going to be set right. How fine that would be, they would have thought, and the Jews would have had their right place, but Joseph did not realise what it meant. It meant the death of Christ, His burial, the finish of what there was here, and all things had to become new (2 Cor.5:17). But Joseph was waiting.
God loves a waiting people. I think you can see that by how much He has given them to wait for. Sin came into Eden and immediately God brought in a promise; something was going to happen: the woman’s seed would crush the serpent’s head (Gen.3:15). And Eve, I think, immediately took up that place as a waiting person, waiting for what was going to come in. She made a mistake when Cain was born, and she thought this was the man that God had in mind (Gen.4:1), and it was not. But still, her attitude was one of waiting, and you can see that promises were given. Why did God give promises? He gave a promise to Abraham that was not going to come about for another four hundred years, and it required a waiting people. Through the Old Testament they were waiting, waiting for what God was going to bring in. Think of what came into the history of Israel that had to be met with the words of the prophets; yet there was a waiting people. In Malachi, having finished all that length of prophecy, there was a people waiting. How God loved that.
You also find Zacharias and Elizabeth, Joseph and Mary, Simeon and Anna as waiting: waiting for God to come in. How God enjoyed that; how He appreciated that there were persons waiting. The Lord gave His promise, that He was coming again, “I am coming again” (John 14:3); that was to a waiting people, still waiting. God appreciates that. If you are waiting for Him, God enjoys that; He is glad to have persons here who are waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus. He is going to answer that. You are not waiting in vain. Simeon and Anna did not wait in vain; no one else has waited in vain when God has made a promise; He appreciates His people waiting. Waiting would make you suitable, ready to have your part and place in whatever it is that is needed for the testimony now. We often think of Noah and Enoch; it says “Enoch walked with God”, Gen.5:24. It also says “Noah walked with God”, Gen.6:9. What happened to Noah? He was left, he was left to go through great testing. What happened to Enoch? He walked with God and he was translated (Heb.11:5). But whether we are to remain, whether we are to be caught up, the responsibility is to walk with God. I think that is part of what you see in this man Joseph of Arimathaea.
I trust that we are encouraged by such an example, encouraged as a waiting people, encouraged that there is One who is coming for us soon, but in the present time encouraged to take faithfully the place that we can. We cannot care for that actual, physical body, but we can care for the body of Christ, as it is here now. And it is here in a way in which you have responsibility towards it, to care for it, for His own. He is the Head in heaven and there is a body here and you can help to care for that. I trust we would all be helped in taking up these responsibilities, for the Lord’s name’s sake.
Bo’ness
18 March 2023
David C Brown
EXTRACT FROM A LETTER BY J N DARBY
Written from Nelson, New Zealand, October 1875
I said fifty years ago, when I thought more and believed perhaps less, that awakenings in Christendom were like water poured out upon the ground, fresh and clear, but after a while it made mud. I think those not exclusive were in a state prepared for this, this mixture. There is, I think, a difference as to brethren in this, that what really characterized that work, besides the stirring up devotedness, was the bringing in a mass of biblical truth long hidden, some I believe never current in the historical church. This, since I reflected on the movement, I have always felt, and as to the substance of it said so: that as the cross and justification by faith were brought out at the Reformation, so the coming of the Holy Ghost uniting us to Christ in heaven, and His coming again, were brought out now: the three positions of Christ as Saviour – Christ on the cross, Christ at the right hand of the Father sending the Holy Ghost, Christ coming again to complete the result – and so the mystery, throwing back immense light upon the value of the cross. But this blessed unfolding of light spreads, and if there be not devotedness in brethren they become mud like others, and that is the great question now. “To him that hath shall more be given,” otherwise it is just current truth and no more; and indeed that is what Satan is at now, to deaden devotedness among brethren while he spreads truth known at any rate among others. It produces exclusivism so-called, but exclusivism will not do the work. Christ who is all – this must be all. Activity is all right but activity instead of Christ… is a most deadening and worldly-making principle. The stir gone, the worldliness remains, and the world despises it.
JND Letters Vol.2 p.356
“THERE IS A PLACE BY ME”
God said to Moses, “There is a place by me”. Did you ever think of that – a place by God for you? It is a question of position – you are to stand on the Rock. May I encourage you to think of this. God said, “there shalt thou stand”. I especially urge the idea of place – a place by God. The position is in Christ, we have a place outside the world altogether; we have a new status, and God has put us there. He has put us “in Christ”.
JT NS Vol.78 p.115
Edited and published monthly by Alistair Brown and Paul Martin
Additional copies are available, free of charge, by emailing
notesofministry@virginmedia.com or paul@nofm.co.uk
27 Grange View Linlithgow EH49 7HY
Printed by Crystal Print, 22 Western Road, Billericay, Essex CM12 9DZ