MAN (21)
MAN (21)
JT This chapter was read at our last meeting but it has been thought well to read it again. We noticed last time that Matthew shows the great volume of work that is done. And there is still much to be done. You have had much to do since you came here. Do you feel encouraged?
Rem Yes, indeed; we were saying recently that the christian has no time to relax. Would that fit in with what you have in mind?
JT Exactly. I suppose we might compare the Lord’s own life in that respect, His work, and what He did.
Ques And Paul, and J.N.D., and others?
JT Indeed; very good.
ANW The question has been asked, What is the difference between relaxing and what the Lord had in mind when He said, “Come ye yourselves apart ... and rest a little”, Mark 6:31. We need balance between not relaxing and coming apart and resting awhile; whatever the Lord had in mind as to it.
AR You mentioned recently that there is a difference between a holiday and a holy day. We may be inclined to move about on holiday.
JT What do you say about that?
AR Well, it seems to be important that we should make a difference. I suppose we should be on holy days all the time.
ABP Should the believer accustom himself to relax by casting all his cares upon Him who careth for us?
JT Very good, the scripture referred to would show that the Lord was caring for the disciples: “Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place and rest a little”.
That would show that He cared for them.
EAL At the end of Matthew 11 we have the Lord saying, “Come to me, all ye who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest to your souls; for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light”, Matthew 11:29,30 There are many who are burdened on account of moral circumstances, not simply physical, but moral.
VCL Does christian manhood, which is before us, involve being relieved of the burden of sin and being “strong in the Lord, and in the might of his strength”? Ephesians 6:10. Are we not to be vigilant in the service of God as well as being vigilant lest we be carried away by the wiles of the flesh? I am thinking of standing for the service of God, and that is to go on all the time, in some measure.
JT I think that the profession, generally, is inclined to think of the physical side; not so much the moral side as the physical side and the distinction that religious activity gives to man.
AR That verse just quoted from Matthew 11 would have moral rest in mind: “Ye shall find rest to your souls”, Matthew 11:29.
JT That is right; the moral side is in mind; “Ye shall find rest to your souls”.
RWS What was in mind in reading chapter 9 again?
JT Just to have it before us more fully. We did not get the full thought before us at the previous reading of the abundance of the work that the Lord carried on and that the disciples were to carry on after Him.
DMacd John also stresses the amount of work done by the Lord in the end of his gospel: “There are also many other things which Jesus did, the which if they were written one by one, I suppose that not even the world itself would contain the books written”, John 21:[p. 355] 25.
Would that support what you have been saying?
JT That is one of the most remarkable passages that we have; indicating the amount of work the Lord did. He speaks of writing them “one by one”. It is wonderful to think of it!
GH What did the Lord Jesus mean when He said, “My Father worketh hitherto and I work”, John 5:17.
JT He referred to what God had done. He worked from the outset. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”, Genesis 1:1. That was an immense thing! God took that on in its immensity. The whole Pentateuch has in mind the work which God did.
Rem The idea of rest does not properly come in until the work is finished.
JT Very good, that is the way the matter stands.
AP Isaiah 40:29 says, “He giveth power to the faint; and to him that hath no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and shall tire, and the young men shall stumble and fall; but they that wait upon Jehovah shall renew their strength: they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not tire; they shall walk, and not faint”. Isaiah 40:29 - 31.
JT That has often been quoted.
SW In John 4:6 it speaks of the Lord, being weary “with the way he had come, sat just as he was at the fountain”, John 4:6. Does that show that even when we are weary there is still an amount of work to be done?.
JT And the woman herself said, “Come, see a man who told me all things I had ever done”, John 4:29. Remarkable thing! The Lord did that for her, and she knew it. You wonder how she knew it but she did: “Who told me all things that I had ever done”. And then, “Is not he the Christ?” John 4:29.
FHL That chapter seems to suggest that the Lord was ever on the move and ever available in the service.
JT That is just what we have been saying. It is remarkable the immensity of the work done; and, of course, we have to learn to do things in that way.
FNW Does the way the Lord Jesus speaks of Himself in our chapter also give an idea of the variety of the work in which He was engaged? He speaks of Himself as the Son of man in verse 6, as a physician in verse 12, as a bridegroom in verse 15 and then speaks of Lord of the harvest in verse 38.
JT Very good.
RWS In view of the volume of work to be done, the weariness which attends upon it and the frailty of our bodies, would you call upon the Lord Jesus for certain help, and would you also call upon the Holy Spirit for help? The Lord is said to be Saviour of the body; is there not a certain phase of the service in which, peculiarly, we should call upon the Spirit for help?
JT The three divine Persons are spoken of as engaged in the work. The Lord said the Father worked hitherto, and He worked, and the saints work, and the Spirit is here to empower us so that we should not be slack in it. He also has had His part in the work.
RWS But with us, what is physical comes into the matter, and would we not call upon the Lord for help?
JT Certainly. One said, “Lord, help me”, Matthew 15:25.
JHE It says in Romans 8:26, “In like manner the Spirit joins also its help to our weakness”. He does that freely; seeing our need, He supplies [p. 357] it.
JT Very good; the Spirit is here to do it, adding His help to our weakness.
Ques Isaiah 50:4 reads, “The Lord Jehovah hath given me the tongue of the instructed, that I should know how to succour by a word him that is weary”, Isaiah 50:4. Does that suggest that we can be helpful in this way to those who serve?
JT Very good.
Rem And the word was to come in morning by morning, implying that each day would have its own quota of work.
JT Very good: “He wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the instructed”, Isaiah 50:4. It is very beautiful.
AR It further states in Romans 8, that “the Spirit itself makes intercession with groanings which cannot be uttered”, Romans 8:26. That seems to bear upon the creation and ourselves as in it. It is wonderful to think of it: “groanings which cannot be uttered”!
AAT In John 9:4 the Lord said, “I must work the works of him that has sent me while it is day. The night is coming, when no man can work”. John 9:4. Is that the same kind of work of which we are speaking?
JT Yes; the Lord knew how to distinguish the time to work: “I must work ... while it is day”. Day-time is the time for work.
ABP Would the fifth verse of our chapter suggest that there was no such thought as taking the easy way to do a thing? The Lord said, “For which is easier: to say, Thy sins are forgiven; or to say, Rise up and walk?”. He was not taking the easiest way out.
JT Just so.
Ques Why is it that some, perhaps many of the brethren, do not find work to do in relation to the testimony? We easily can get almost wholly occupied with our households and our business [p. 358] matters. Does the question of outlook and availability enter into this matter, and are we to make ourselves available?
JT Quite so: “Here am I; send me”, Isaiah 6:8.
Ques I allude to that as a definite exercise that we might put ourselves in the way of current divine activities; the Lord would use us, would He not?
JT Quite so, put yourself in the way if you are ready for it, but you may suffer, too; it is a suffering matter.
Ques Does the passage in Colossians 3:23 help? “Whatsoever ye do, labour at it heartily, as doing it to the Lord”. Colossians 3:23. The footnote to ‘heartily’, says, ‘from the soul’.
RWS I want to introduce Matthew 20, where it says, in verse 6, “But about the eleventh hour, having gone out, he found others standing, and says to them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say to him, Because no man has hired us. He says to them, Go ...” Matthew 20:6,7. They did not bargain, they just went. They were available and ready to enter into the service.
JHE Then, in chapter 21, His disciples went into the village and found an ass tied, and a colt with it. They were also available and usable.
JT Very good.
GH The scripture says, “The night is coming, when no one can work”, John 9:4.
JT The Lord was speaking of the order of creation, how the Creator arranged things. God did not arrange night for work, He gave the day, and the sun, which is the larger light bearer, rules the day; it is provided for light. The night comes, and darkness. That was the Creator’s thought in the creation. God arranged all these things, not leaving man to arrange anything; God made the heavens and the earth.
Rem Psalm 134 says, “Behold, bless Jehovah, all ye servants of Jehovah, who by night stand in the house of Jehovah”, Psalm 134:1. It is right to serve God at night, is it not?
JT What we have been speaking about is the ordering of the Creator.
LAC In the first section of our chapter the idea of walking is stressed but in the next it is following. Are these two outstanding features of dependent manhood?
JT Very good; I would say that.
AR Matthew seems to be one who got into the work quickly. It says, in verse 9, “And Jesus, passing on thence, saw a man sitting at the tax- office, called Matthew, and says to him, Follow me. And he rose up and followed him. And it came to pass, as he lay at table in the house, that behold, many tax-gatherers and sinners came and lay at table with Jesus and his disciples”. Apparently he got all these people into his house immediately.
JT Yes; his house was made available.
ANW When the Lord says, in the parable in Mark 13:34, that the man gave to each bondman his work, does it literally mean that each one has his work to do?
JT Yes, if he is appointed as a workman, quite so. And each should know what his work is and do it.
ABP In the book of Numbers it is recorded that each male of twenty years old and upward was numbered for war and the Levites were numbered from one month and upward.
JHE The household of Stephanas, in Corinth, is referred to as having devoted themselves to the saints for service, and in this connection Paul beseeches “that ye should also be subject to such, and to everyone joined in the work and labouring”, 1 Corinthians 16:[p. 360] 16.
JT Very good.
Rem The reference to Numbers is interesting because of Mr. Darby’s footnote to chapter 4:3, which reads, ‘Service to which one is subjected: elsewhere “labour”, “suffering”, “military service”’.
JT God, in making the earth, provided that there should be a place for man, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion”, Genesis 1:26. There was to be a place for man in the garden and he was “to till it and to guard it”, Genesis 2:15.
Ques Might we not notice that this section of Matthew’s gospel not only would stimulate us to work but it would show us how to do things. Are there not certain great principles brought out here; not to put new wine into old skins; and to put the flute players out of the house, and all that sort of thing? Would it instruct us how to work?
JT Quite so; the earth is the Lord’s and it is intended for man. The Lord Jesus became a Man and worked as a Man, which I think is marvellous. And there are things to be done still, and they involve the provision of food and the like, and then work is needed to prepare food for us. So that there is plenty to do. But then it is a question of how to do things and I believe that enters into the whole chapter. In a general way, it is a question of the work and how to do it. The volume is very large, there is plenty to do.
FHL Is this chapter preparatory to the appointing of the twelve in chapter 10 to carry on this work?
JT That is right; He was about to appoint the twelve.
FHL Is there any moral sequence in the incidents recorded in the chapter?
JT I think there is; we can hardly go over the chapter now but the work is all there and the workmen that He put into it, and they are to know what to do and how to do [p. 361] it.
CFE The Lord sets an example in Luke 9:58: “The foxes have holes and the birds of the heaven roosting places, but the Son of man has not where he may lay his head”. Is that not an example of what the workman may expect?
JT He had not a place to lay His head; therefore He would be hindered from doing anything; He was not wanted. It is a very feeling thing not to be wanted when you want to serve.
OH There is a man in Matthew 25 who hid his talent, which was a wrong thing to do. Does that not fit into what we are saying? We all have work to do, and it is not a good thing to hide our talent.
JT Just so; let it be available.
VCL Paul writes to Timothy, saying, “Strive diligently to present thyself approved to God, a workman that has not to be ashamed, cutting in a straight line the word of truth”, 2 Timothy 2:15. “Cutting in a straight line” would be a severe test to those who serve in the word of God.
JT Think of Mr. Darby and his labour in the translation of the Bible. What an immense matter it was! But it was done well. Skill and substance were there to do it and it was done well. It is the best translation available. There are many other translations of the Bible in the world but this is the best there is. I believe that the passage quoted from Timothy applies peculiarly to this wonderful work that we have in our hands tonight.
GP In John 10, the Lord says, “The works which I do in my Father’s name, these bear witness concerning me”, John 10:25. Is that the way work should be done, so that it bears witness?
JT Just so; what the Lord did was a testimony to Him: “If ye believe not me, believe the works”, John 10:38.
DP There is a certain soundness in Matthew. He was not a paralytic; he seems to represent responsible [p. 362] intelligent manhood.
RWS You have mentioned this excellent translation of the Bible in relation to cutting in a straight line the word of truth. Does not that apply to the written ministry, also, and the hymn-book which we are about to receive? A brother goes to the Lord in exercise for a word; it is ministered, recorded, revised and printed. Considerable time and effort is put into the printed ministry. But then there is our responsibility to read it; it is made available and it should be read and followed up.
JT Just so; the books are printed so that they may be read, not simply put on the bookshelves.
RWS There is considerable labour attached to it and it is so often just dismissed and not read. We should addict ourselves to reading it even though it may be a tax upon us.
JT Just so; this Bible we have is a marvellous thing! It is the most accurate translation available and the footnotes at the bottom of the pages are a great help in making everything clear to us. It is a wonderful testimony to divine love operating through Mr. Darby who was raised up for that purpose.
Rem It is the most wonderful thing in the world!
JT I am glad you say that. You marvel at the care expended on this book, and it is a great matter that we should have it in our hands at our readings; at this particular kind of meeting which we call the reading meeting. The brethren have been taught how to read the Scriptures.
Rem The latest book of ministry that has been published is on Thessalonians and is especially helpful for the younger brethren.
JT As has been remarked, much care is expended to put these books into our hands.
AR We expect to have a very good hymn-book soon, too, which should help us in the truth.
JT Yes; our brother Mr. M. is here on [p. 363] that account.
SW If we each would discover the work that is given to us and do it with our might we would lessen the labours of others. Moses’ father-in-law advised Moses to choose men to help him with the work.
JT Yes, he gave wise counsel to Moses.
AAT Is the printed ministry referred to in 2 Timothy where Paul says, “The cloak which I left behind me in Troas at Carpus’s, bring when thou comest, and the books, especially the parchments”? 2 Timothy 4:13.
JT Yes; the books.
AAT Is there a distinction between the books and the parchments?
JT Well, quite so; the parchments would be the material on which to write.
VCL Should we have a greater appreciation of what is to be done? The Lord has said, “He that believes on me, the works which I do shall he do also, and he shall do greater than these, because I go to the Father”, John 14:12. Does that not refer to the presence of the Spirit of God here acting in the saints?
JT Quite so; going to the Father He would send down the Spirit.
VCL So that the matter of the revision of the Bible and the printed ministry and the like would be embraced in the “greater”?
JT Well, they have their place, relatively, of course. It is a question of heaven’s valuation.
Rem The book of Acts in which we have the record of so much work that was done, opens with reference to what the Lord began to do and to teach.
JT Yes, what He began to do and to teach.
Ques Should the doing be in conformity with the teaching, so that there would be balance?
JT Yes; a brother might be a teacher but he can do other things as well; that is what the Lord is setting out. We are to do the thing as well as teach; carry out the teaching [p. 364] in doing.
JHE When Paul went to Corinth he worked with Priscilla and Aquila because they were of the same trade.
JT He was ready to do anything in following out the work.
JHE In speaking to the elders of Ephesus, he says, “Yourselves know that these hands have ministered to my wants, and to those who were with me”, Acts 20:34 and he also reminded them that he “ceased not admonishing each one ... with tears”, Acts 20:31 ending with what the Lord Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive”, Acts 20:35.
GH That wonderful 16th chapter of Romans seems to include many good workers. The apostle specifically mentions Priscilla and Aquila, his fellow-workmen.
JT Wonderful! Paul joined himself with them.
WTP In Ephesians 6 the apostle Paul speaks of doing our work in simplicity of heart as to the Christ; not with eye-service as men-pleasers; but as bondmen of Christ, doing the will of God from the soul, serving with good will as to the Lord. Would you help us as to the expression, “from the soul”? Ephesians 6:6.
JT The soul involves the feelings. It is not a physical matter in that you cannot locate it, but it is where you feel things.
Rem Epaphroditus drew near to death for the sake of the work, and he was distressed lest the saints should learn of it. He must have been a very feeling brother in his labours.
RWS Does the last section of our chapter sum up what we have been having tonight? Verse 35 reads, “And Jesus went round all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the glad tidings of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every bodily weakness. But when he saw the crowds he was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed, and cast away as sheep not having a shepherd. Then said he to his disciples, The harvest is great and the workmen are few; supplicate therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send forth workmen unto his harvest”.
JT Very good. And I should say, according to what was said at the outset, Matthew deals with the great quantity of work that was done.