THE GOSPELS AS OUR EDUCATION
[p. 476] THE GOSPELS AS OUR EDUCATION
Matthew 17:1 - 8; Mark 9:3 - 8; Luke 9:28
In reading the gospels the word to Timothy by Paul has a special significance, namely, that we should rightly divide the word of truth. The gospels afford a wide range of truth: they are on a much wider platform than the epistles. The bearing of the gospels goes beyond the assembly, into the millennium, so that we require to bear that injunction in mind in reading them, namely, to rightly divide the word of truth.
Now I want to speak a word as to the educational teaching of the gospels. I select this as one incident of note, and one which presents to us what is highly educational. The disciples were immediately in view, but the disciples had learnt their lesson when this account was written; and so it was written for those who follow after them, for us; so that we should profit by their education. We are to be educated divinely if we are educated at all. The gospels do not educate us for our place in this world, save as to bearing witness for Jesus in it. The education of the gospels is to qualify us for the world to come, for ourselves immediately as being the heavenly part of it. How blessed to know that we are to fill part of that wonderful world that the Gospel has before it!
Now these three men were taken up by the Lord to receive this special educational experience, for such it was. The record is left for us as followers in the path of faith. I wish first to dwell on the account in Matthew, then in Mark, and then in Luke more fully.
Matthew tells us that the Lord’s face shone like the sun, and His raiment was white as light. The Spirit of God records that through Matthew for us.
[p. 477] Neither Mark nor Luke mention the sun for the reason that Matthew is the educational gospel for administration. We are to be administrators; we are to have part in the world to come. What I say, I say from the conviction of my own soul, however insignificant one may regard oneself. The Lord’s mind about you is, that you should have part in that wonderful system of things. Hence the importance of looking at the sun. The sun is the greatest of all benefactors in the material system, especially in the wonderful regularity in which it revolves in our system. It is a wonderful piece of education to look at Christ in that light. What a countenance was His! John sees Him later in a vision at Patmos. His countenance was as the sun shines in its power. We have come to see with Paul, that we are not connected with this world; but our citizenship is in heaven.
In connection with Christ there is a system of citizenship in which we, as believers, have part. The Lord would have us there, hence He will come to receive us to Himself, “If I go and shall prepare you a place, I am coming again, and shall receive you to myself, that where I am ye also may be”, John 14:3. This is a precious truth for all who love the Lord; that is to be in the Father’s house; but there is another idea, the city of the living God out of which shall issue all government. Government is on the shoulder of Christ. Every nation cries out for a governor. The government is upon His shoulder. Think of the parental care of Christ: He is the everlasting Father; the government of the universe is sustained on His shoulder; and then He is also Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. All those great ideas shall enter into the city of the living God, whence issue all dominion, all rule for the whole creation.
What a blessed thing to think we have our part [p. 478] in that wonderful scheme. How necessary it is for us to study Matthew. In order to have administration we must first have legislation; in Matthew 5 we get legislation, but in Matthew 17 we have administration or government; “his face shone as the sun”, Matthew 17:2. Think of the counsels of the nations; who knows anything about them? Things are done in the dark, whereas here Christ’s face is as the sun and all His circumstances are white as light. Not a spot or shade on His Person or in His circumstances. Who is qualified to rule in the house of God save One who is without spot? I Timothy makes that plain, so in Matthew’s account we have instruction in regard to rule.
In Mark’s account the word themselves appears as distinct; a high mountain “by themselves apart” that is Mark. Mark is ever presenting Christ as the Servant of God. We have in it no reference to His birth or boyhood; it is the beginning of the glad tidings of Jesus Christ, Son of God. That is how Mark introduces his subject, very abruptly. There is no reference to His parentage or locality, it is the beginning of His service. The Lord is selective and exclusive. We must not be afraid of the word exclusive, provided it is preceded by selection, divine selection. Now according to Mark these three were taken aside by themselves. How lovely that is! It is as if to say, Peter, James, and John, only you three. It was a very small company, but a very select company. It is not a question of number, not that we shall not have numbers, but I prefer selection first, the selection of the Lord Jesus. If left to ourselves, not one would have chosen Him. He says, “Ye have not chosen me”, John 15:16. If they had been left to themselves they would have been with the multitude. “There is no beauty that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2) but “I have chosen you, and ordained you” (John 15:16) He says. The Lord selects and ordains.
Now it says, He took them “by themselves apart”: all that happens for them in consideration of divine education. It is not simply the fact that He is transfigured, but that it happens before them. How things happen before us! The world does not know what we enjoy; did they know it their attitude would be different. Paul says, “which none of the princes of this age knew, (for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;)”, 1 Corinthians 2:8. He was the hidden wisdom. The wisdom of the Greeks was public; you can obtain it by buying their books. It says, “none of the princes of this world knew, (for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;)” The world does not know; no city provides for the saints of God. Take what we find usually; in these despised places we find things that the world knows nothing about. The Lord excluded the world, “I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me”. That is our position. He prays for us, so He manifests Himself to us. Judas said unto Him, “Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself to us and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said to him, If anyone love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our abode with him”, John 14:22 - 23. If you love Christ you are one of the exclusive ones: is not that enough for you? What kind of countenance have they?
Gideon said, “What sort of men were they that ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the sons of a king”, Judges 8:18. There is no difficulty in getting numbers, if that is what you want; some skill, a bit of Herod, a little leaven, and a crowd is easily secured; but it is a question of the quality: what kind of a company it is, what kind of a spirit and countenance. We want men calling on the Lord [p. 480] out of a pure heart. Mark calls attention to their selection. You say, You are shut up to yourselves, you are too narrow. It is not the exclusive narrowness of the flesh, corruptly so, but the exclusiveness based on the selection of the Lord Jesus Christ, His selection.
That is what we are shut up to. What do you know about what we enjoy? Look at the countenance of God’s people. Are they not happier than you are? The secret of it is, beloved friends, we are shut up to Christ. We are shut up to all there is in heaven and eternity. Think of its vastness! Christianity has no time limit. It is not regulated by the laws of nature; it has a vastness that is of God in Christ. Our outward man perishes, but the inner man is renewed day by day; but you do not see the inner. We should look “not at the things that are seen, but at the things that are not seen”, 2 Corinthians 4:18. Paul says, “Our momentary [and] light affliction, works for us in surpassing measure an eternal weight of glory”, 2 Corinthians 4:17. Mark is on that line. The Lord takes them up to a high mountain and is transfigured before them; afterward they looked round and saw no man, save Jesus only with themselves. Do not say, I am nothing; place the saints with Jesus; they are jewels. That is the essence of the epistle to the Colossians. The Father speaks out of a cloud, “This is my beloved Son: hear him. And suddenly having looked around, they no longer saw anyone, but Jesus alone with themselves”. That is, I apprehend, how Mark presents the thing. He would occupy our minds with Him, with Jesus announced from heaven as Son, He alone is to be Head, and He is with three men, and they see no man, save Jesus only with themselves.
Now in Luke, what I want to enlarge on is the Man. The transfiguration occurs while He is praying. It is as if the Father would say, in a way, It is not [p. 481] all for you now, that lovely view of a Man praying is for God. “As he prayed the fashion of his countenance became different, and his raiment white [and] effulgent. And lo, two men talked with him, which were Moses and Elias”. What were they talking about? All these things are educational. They were talking about His decease. If we were to meet Moses with our natural sentiments, we should ask him questions as to which Pharaoh was ruling in his time, and about the Red Sea and Mount Sinai; but there is nothing said about these things. He is in the presence of the Lord of glory. We might ask Elijah about his exploits, or about Ahab or Jezebel, but there is not a word about these things. They were speaking to the Lord about His decease, which He should accomplish at Jerusalem. Peter was afraid, James was afraid, and John was afraid; and they were not only afraid, but they fell asleep. It says, “Peter and those with him were oppressed with sleep”, Luke 9:32. Poor Peter was the leader in sleeping. There is usually leadership in these things. We have to be on our guard if we influence anybody: if you want to go to sleep, go to sleep by yourself. “They that were with him”. It is a terrible thing to be in a party or have a party spirit. We should be with Jesus, not with any man or company, but with Jesus. It is well to ask in the secret of your soul as to whether you are with Peter or with somebody else. They were asleep!
Further, when they were fully woke up, they saw His glory. That is what we all wake up to; that is what is available in the light of Christ glorified. Peter is the spokesman again. “It is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles”, Luke 9:33. Luke says he did not know what he said. How like conditions around us: men waking up and making their proposals; “let us make three tabernacles” How many tabernacles there are in what we call Christendom. Even at Corinth Paul writes, “Each of you says, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ”, 1 Corinthians 1:12. All were guilty, not one was exempt; that is how it is in Christendom. The apostle says, Away with all sects and leaders; return to Christianity. Peter did not know what he was saying. A division brought about in saying I am of Christ, is an attack on the Lord Jesus Christ. It is Satan’s way of nullifying the truth. The Father’s voice is heard, and a cloud overshadowed them. Hear His voice! Amid the din of different voices of leaders God speaks. It is a question of righteousness. There is only one tabernacle; to make three would be a denial of the truth of the Deity, for God is one. In Exodus there is only one tabernacle, and Christ is that, and He stands for it here. They feared as they entered into the cloud, so God put an end to his speech. Hush! A suggestion to put My Son on the level of Elias and Moses, I will not allow. God is tolerating things today, but He has His mind about things, and is going to deal with things. He has His own mind about everything.
What does heaven think about Peter’s speech? It is an attack on the Son of God; so while He speaks a cloud overshadowed them and they were afraid. God was educating, and they were disposed to learn. The voice is past, now we are to be tested by it. When it is past Jesus was found alone. Now are you prepared for that? to be with that blessed Man who was received up into heaven; there, as Stephen saw Him at the right hand of God, standing ready to serve and to teach. Are we prepared to listen to Jesus? They kept it close and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen. Think of the wonderful truth treasured in their hearts. Peter does tell us about it, beginning with the expression, “Being with him on the holy mountain”, 2 Peter 1:18. To whom does he tell this? To the [p. 483] Jews of the dispersion. He wants to stir up their pure minds by words of remembrance; he does not tell it to impure minds. These are priestly and pure minds. It was remarked today when Jehu met Jehonadab, and said, “Is thy heart right, as my heart is with thy heart?” Jehonadab answered, “It is”, 2 Kings 10:15. I believe your hearts are right; fellowship is not agreeing with doctrines, but it is a question of the heart. Is your heart with mine, and each with God? Are we together with pure hearts and hearts true to each other and to Christ? Peter wrote to stir up the pure minds; an impure mind had better be left dormant. To stir up an impure mind read a novel; they are intended to stir up the filth in the human hearts. Peter, as a true priest, desired to stir up purity in their hearts. He says, We have not followed cunningly devised fables for we were eye-witnesses, when we were with Him in the holy mount. He is stirring up the minds of the brethren, and he says, we were “with him”, and “were eye-witnesses of his majesty”, 2 Peter 1:16. So he leaves that in the pure minds of the people of God.
So would I seek to stir up your pure minds. Jesus alone! Wonderful Man! He is the One to fill our vision and keep us from the Antichrist; as we have Him in our hearts, we are invulnerable.