“WHAT SHE COULD SHE HAS DONE”
Paul Johnson
The expression I want to bring before us is “What she could she has done”. I was thinking of two thoughts as to this statement. “What she could” is one aspect; and the other “she has done”. It may be that circumstances are such that we cannot do certain things, but I think we will always find that we can do something. That was my exercise in reading this and other verses we might touch on. We may be limited and there may be things we cannot do, but there will be something we can do. It may not be something that catches the eye of persons. It may be something some would consider very insignificant, as was the case with this woman. This was something that was not looked upon as something great, but it was what she could do and she did it. That is the thing!
I was thinking of the life of the Lord Jesus that it is remarkable that in the first thirty years of His life – there is only one time that there is any mention of what He did. When He was twelve years old, He was there in the temple “hearing … and asking” (Luke 2: 46), in the spirit of an enquirer. He was about His Father’s business. At His baptism the heavens were rendered asunder as we read in Luke 3, “And it came to pass, all the people having been baptised and Jesus having been baptised and praying, that the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form as a dove upon him; and a voice came out of heaven” (vv 21,22) – and this is what I had in mind – “Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I have found my delight”. It is remarkable that God found His delight in Him and yet we do not read of any public service. We know that after this He entered into public service. But think of those thirty years so delightful to the Father as He says, “in thee I have found my delight”. This is what should precede any service; that God gets His portion first; what is delightful to Him.
Sometimes people say, What are you doing? How many souls get saved in your gospel meetings? How many persons are reached and so forth? For thirty years of the Lord’s life there is nothing recorded as to deeds that He did and service that He rendered and yet God says, “I have found my delight” in One like that because He was here for God. That was what brought delight to Him: He was here for God.
So God can find delight in that which is for Himself as the Lord Jesus said when here – “Did ye not know that I ought to be occupied in my Father’s business?” His great exercise as a boy, His great exercise as a young man, was His Father’s business. There came a time when He went out into public service, but here is was what He was to the Father and how delightful He was to the Father! The primary thing is to bring delight and pleasure for God and this is what He finds delight in. So I think that going back to that thought of “What she could she has done” is the great thing.
I would like to touch upon two persons, John and Paul. What they could do, they did, but there were things they could not do. In Revelation 1 “I John, your brother and fellow-partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and patience, in Jesus, was in the island called Patmos …” (v 9). He was not there on a visit. He was on the island called Patmos because he had been banished. He was restricted. There was not much he could do on that island. There was not much available. But he was there “for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus”. Notice he says, “I became in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet saying, What thou seest write in a book, and send to the seven assemblies …” (vv 10,11). And that is what I had in mind. Here was one who could not do a lot of things because he was banished to the island of called Patmos, so he was restricted, but he could communicate to the assemblies. He could maintain his link with the assemblies here.
I think it is significant that the assembly universally is not in view, although in a day of brokenness we never want to lose sight that the assembly is here: what it comes down to is that there are assemblies that walk in the light of the assembly. There are those who are in the light of the assembly in each locality. So in a day of restriction it is really like John on the island of Patmos: with restrictions. There were things he could not do, but what he could, that he did. He could communicate with his brethren in the assemblies. He could write to them. He could have to do with them; though he might not be able to visit them; he would maintain his link with them; and would have an exercise in regard to them. I have often thought that, through circumstances, it may be that we are not able to be with our brethren elsewhere, but we should have them upon our hearts: we should have an interest in these localities. We should have some communication; some touch. We should feel our links with our brethren. There may be things we cannot do, just as John could not because he was restricted on the isle of Patmos, but what he could do, he did. What he could, that he did, and he could communicate and he could maintain a touch and he could maintain an interest and a care for the assemblies, how they got on and what their condition was and what he could say to them that might be of help.
That is another thing. We want to be exercised to do what we can though few in number and even though at great distances. These are all restrictions like the isle of Patmos. They may not be the best of circumstances but nonetheless we should have a touch and a communication and an interest and a care for the gatherings, the assemblies of the Lord’s people, those with whom we can walk in this day of ruin and scattering and restriction, as walking in the light of the assembly.
Well, here is one who, what he could do, he did. He was not fretting. I think that one of the difficulties that some have – and I have run into this over the years with different ones – is that they fret over things that they cannot control or they cannot change. We cannot change circumstances. John accepted the fact that he was on the isle of Patmos. He could not change that but he did what he could. My exercise in regard to this is that we do not fret over what we cannot do, but what we can do, that we want to do. Even though it may be somewhat restricted and may not be with the great breadth that some might desire to have.
So I was thinking of the apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 2: “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: but the word of God is not bound” (vv 8,9). The apostle said he was in bonds, but he says, “the word of God is not bound”. I think of the circumstance: Paul being in prison and bound would bring before us the circumstances in which we find ourselves today, but it is wonderful that we can say “the word of God is not bound”. Everything that is of God that forms a believer morally and spiritually is just as much with us today as it was two hundred years ago or five hundred years ago. It is all there. We have One on high, “Jesus Christ raised from among the dead”, as our Object. We look up to Him as He is our Object. It is the same Object today as it was in the days of the apostles: that has not changed. “The word of God is not bound”. We might say, that which is really essential to spirituality and to moral power and strength is just as much present today as it ever was. “The word of God is not bound” - it has not been affected by the ruin, the scattering and the weakness. Circumstances do not affect the word of God. The Lord Jesus is the Object as the Man in the glory and He is there making intercession and we have the word of God just as much as ever. The word of God is here and the Holy Spirit is here. Think of that! Divine Persons interceding for us; One on high and One who is supreme, whose word we have in which is found His mind and His will, and food for our souls; and we have the Holy Spirit to make it all good.
It may be we are like Paul: we are bound. There are certain restrictions, certain limitations, “but the word of God is not bound”. I was thinking that there is no reason that we cannot be, as it were, Ephesian believers today as it ever was. All of the things that are necessary are still there, large numbers and great evangelical work and great gift of teachers are not necessary for spiritual growth and moral power and courage. It is the help of divine Persons: Christ as the Object and as the intercessor; God in His precious word and all that He has brought before us, and the Holy Spirit’s power. I am not saying that we are necessarily in the same power, but I think it is available. The circumstances in which we are found do not limit the power of the Spirit and the effect of the word of God and the help of Christ. All of these things are there: “the word of God is not bound”. So it is remarkable that even being in such a day in which Paul is bound, “the word of God is not bound”.
Turn back to Luke, I should like just to make one reference there in Luke 19. I was thinking of this in connection with “What she could she has done”. We read in verse 17, of one who had the talents and used them, “And he said to him, Well done”. What I had in mind is: “Well done”. “What she could she has done”, and so the commendation is, “Well done”. I felt, beloved, that we may not be able to do much but if we do what we can do as we have seen, not only in this woman, but we have seen of John and Paul, I think we will have the commendation of the Lord, “Well done”. It is not so much the amount or what is done but if it is what we can do and we do it – my exercise is that we need to have more exercised energy. There may be things we can do but we do not do. But “What she could she has done” and, we have seen these who were able to do it, even in adverse circumstances, one on the island of Patmos and another in prison. Doing what we can brings the commendation, “Well done” and that is what we would desire for the Lord’s sake!
DENTON
20 April 1999