THE SPEAKING OF JESUS

Anders Lidbeck

John 4: 25,26; 9: 35-37; Acts 9: 3-5

Dear friends, I just had a simple impression of One who is speaking. It is a very current thing to be able to follow one who is speaking, because it relates to what is going to be announced, and when someone comes up, great men in this world, they try to announce their own doctrine. But here is One who is speaking in a different way, and He would speak to each one individually. We hear of persons addressing thousands over the radio to announce their ideas, their politics, finance or even religious thoughts. But here is One who is speaking in a different way. Scripture speaks about One who has a desire to speak to every man.

So I read about these three different persons - we know the name of only one of them - a sister, a brother and Paul. We do not know the name of the one in John 4 nor in John 9, but the speaking of Jesus is so important, and He presents Himself in such a glorious way. The whole section which refers to these persons is well known. But I just had a touch of how Jesus has a delight to reach each one of us tonight: "I who speak to thee am he". Dear friend, have we heard the speaking of Jesus? He is able to touch our hearts, come into our circumstances, to fill our hearts, to fill our minds, in order that our ways might be changed. That is why the Son of man came to save that which was lost. We had really one end in life without Jesus, and that was death. Man deserves nothing else but death as away from God but He has come into this sphere in order to take up our case before God. He is the One, dear friend, who can deal with our sins; no one else can deal with our sins. This dear woman came out to draw water, and she realized she did not want to continue to do this. "Sir, give me this water", she says, ''that I may not thirst nor come here to draw". Men in the world draw water from different kinds of sources, and it does not give any joy; it never brings out the greatness of the One who is speaking. He is speaking today; that is a tremendous thing, having died He yet speaks. Divine speaking is different, and Jesus says in a simple way, "I who speak to thee am he" - "I who speak" the greatness of the speaking of the Man of God, the Word become flesh, the Son of God here, the Son of man, all the glorious titles Jesus has, and He spends time with this woman. Think of twelve going away to get provisions for thirteen, leaving Jesus alone; that was in the ways of God. They left Jesus to get provisions for what they were going to do, and He finds one single soul. O, dear friend, the gospel is preached tonight in order that Jesus may speak to you - "I who speak to thee am he". Think of the strength, the power, the joy in these simple words, as if to say, I would just like to have a few minutes with you; I have just one or two questions to raise with you in all affection. She refers to having drawn from things that did not satisfy her heart, and Jesus says to her, "Go, call thy husband, and come here" (v 16). There was just one simple thing. Think of the gracious way Jesus is touching her: "I who speak". Dear friend, have we heard that speaking? Have we heard that appeal of Jesus Himself touching us, drawing near? He can walk along with us for a certain distance. It is touching to read Luke 24 - we often draw upon it - Jesus made as though He would go farther (see v 28), as if to say, I would like to have another word with you, I am not giving you up even if you have become weary, so downcast because of what has taken place, all that you had thought of has not been brought about. They say, We had thought He would restore the kingdom, and He would tell us all things. The woman says here, "I know that Messias is coming" - she was quite confident - ''who is called Christ; when he comes he will tell us all things". Dear friend, she was on the way, there was something there, divine grace had opened her heart, she was prepared to listen. What a blessing to listen when Jesus speaks. I am touched by this - "I who speak to thee"; it is a bit different from the man in John 9; it is "to thee", He had a straight word for her. There was something Jesus wanted to clear with her. Dear friend, Jesus wants to clear everything with us; He wants to attend to every broken heart, every broken spirit and every breakdown on our side; Jesus would like to have a word with us. God has a right to speak; man thinks he can ignore it when God is speaking, but sooner or later he will realize that he must listen. Paul says, "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, ... and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to God the Father's glory", Phil 2: 11. "I who speak": who can interfere with the affection of divine speaking from Jesus Himself?

I go on to John 9, a very instructive passage for us to draw upon; it is about a man who had to suffer. It is most remarkable what the Spirit of God brings out about the man; what a testimony he was! It is not now I who speak to thee, but it is rather, I who speak with thee. That is nearness. The Lord Jesus knew that there was something moving in his heart, there was something there that welcomed the speaking of Jesus. I have often thought about when Jesus heard that they had cast him out; that would have affected Jesus. The man had stood up in the religious world against the leaders, the teachers, the Pharisees, the scribes, and he was defending Jesus, he was standing in reproach on the side of Jesus. "Jesus heard that they had cast him out". It is touching when it refers to this, Jesus being who He was, Son of God, come down from heaven. He was here the Son of God, as if the greatness of God was shining, and yet it says "Jesus heard". Someone might have told him, or there was a report in the crowds, but "Jesus heard that they had cast him out". The world did not want this man. Why did they not want him? He was reflecting something of Jesus, the One who was speaking, and Jesus says, "he that speaks with thee is he”. O, dear friend, have you been speaking with Jesus in this way? Have you been able to confide in Him in every aspect, been able to draw from Him in view of worship and response? The gospel has that in mind; the blessedness of sonship, we are sons by faith. Think of the wealth of the glad tidings. Jesus is able to touch this man. His parents failed, it was too much for them to stand up against the crowds, they wanted to have the status, the condition that they were used to amongst the Jews, and they say, Go and ask him. There was something there, they wondered over their son, and yet this man in such a wonderful way is able to bring out the touches of Jesus. "He that speaks with thee is he". O, dear friend, how near Jesus as a Man is able to touch our hearts! He is a glorified Man, He is in heaven, He will always remain a Man, but all His glories as the Son of God will still remain. He is the One who will for ever remain the Same - "Yesterday, and today, and to the ages to come", Heb 13: 8. Think of how a Man like that, dear friend, will fill eternity! We shall be with Christ, we shall be at home with the Lord. That will not be a dull time, He will, we might say, lead things on, He will be the great Musician. Think of all the saints singing together, hearts that have been redeemed by Jesus. He that once has spoken, everything will be gathered round Him; all attention will be brought to Jesus, He that speaks. O, dear friend, that speaking is still going on. He is touching our hearts. He has a desire to sit down and to draw out, so He just says, "Thou, dost thou believe...?". How simple! Jesus would not say that to just anyone; He knew, being who He was, that the man was ready for it; he had gone through a lot of suffering, and Jesus felt for him, and having found him - "Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him". You can just see how Jesus would be going round the crowd looking for one particular man who had gone through difficulties, who had been ill-treated. "Jesus ... having found him": that is another wonderful contemplation in the Scriptures, Jesus finding persons. Heaven finds certain persons, they found one man who was equal to carrying the cross of Jesus, not in this gospel but they found Simon a Cyrenian to carry the cross of Jesus (see Luke 23: 26). Think how careful, how anxious, heaven would be for any service like that. Dear friend, has He found you and me? Are we able to respond to this finding, able to have, we might say, private conversation with Jesus - "he that speaks"? O, dear friend, may we take heed to this, and answer to this, that it might give joy to His heart.

I finally thought of Paul, you might say, the great one who was able to carry forward the truth and ministry, but even him Jesus had to touch. There again it is a bit different from the man in John 9. Paul here says "Who art thou, Lord?". The man in John 9 just says, "And who is he, Lord". He was at a distance; here the sovereign grace of God was working: Who art thou? I think it indicates that Paul knew straight away that he had to stop; he realised the seriousness of the occasion, he realised that God was coming in to stop the course he was on. "Who art thou, Lord?" he says. He gives up all his own ideas. I remember my father often saying that when we take the name, Lord, as to Christ, do we really understand what it means, that our own will must go? There is only one Lord, He is the One who has been made both Lord and Christ, every other will has to give way. Paul realised that here - "Who art thou, Lord?". He admits and accepts the lordship of Christ straight away. He had a pathway to go yet, but with an opening in his heart on account of Jesus speaking to him. The voice said simply, "Saul, Saul": he is named twice; it is grace upon grace out of heaven. It is important to see that both here and later on, when he records it, it is a light out of heaven; the light that met Paul had its origin in heaven. Dear friend, the gospel that comes out now is light out of heaven; it comes from a glorified Man. The Saviour who is above is light out of heaven. How different when you look around in this world, evil increasing, darkness increasing, man beside himself when realising the evil, and able to do nothing about it. In the part from which I come we are in a great danger from the east, the borders have opened, and people generally in Scandinavia speak about what comes from Russia; it has been a nation that has been within limits, but now it is flooding into the west; the darkness was compact. But here how different, a light out of heaven! That is the only thing that can absorb the darkness down here, and that is what struck Paul - "Who art thou, Lord?". O, dear friend, he gave way straight away, he realised his time was up. We know from later on, when he records this occasion, there is expansion. The impressions that were by the light from heaven filled his soul and by the Spirit of God it expands. He is true to the light he was given so he is given more; he is able to widen his experience. Jesus just says, "I am Jesus". O, dear friend, how personal! How beautiful! How touching! Even the greatness of Paul in all his independence, in all his evil activity, could not stand against "I am Jesus". The Holy Scriptures refer to that in the end: I Jesus, I Jesus. Have you thought of that, the nearness of the Saviour Himself? It is not only the fact that He will see that everything will end in glory to God, for everything is in His hand, but He wants us to realize that already now, and to get the joy of this - "I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest". O, dear friend, may we just have a simple impression of this speaking from heaven, light out of heaven and of "I who speak to thee am he", and "he that speaks with thee is he". May it be so for His Name's sake.

LONDON

19 December 1993