REACTION TO THE INFLUENCE OF CHRIST
[p. 51] REACTION TO THE INFLUENCE OF CHRIST
John 4: 28 - 30; John 12: 1 - 3; Luke 24: 30 - 33; Mark 14: 26; Acts 1: 10 - 13
I hope to show that there is a link between all these scriptures. They show the effect of the teaching and influence of Christ upon those who, as the subjects of the work of God, receive that teaching and come under that influence; that there is a favourable or positive reaction to our listening to and coming under the influence of Christ. Such a meeting as this, in itself, may not result in anything that is intended in some of us; indeed, there may be a reaction in a negative sense. Persons listening to the truth and coming under the influence of such an occasion, in which Christ has His part, after returning to their several abodes, definitely allow personal feelings or prejudice, or worldly influences to cause reaction in a negative way. It often happens. It is the work of the devil, and as a rule the influence spreads. What I have in mind is reaction in a positive sense, that the truth and divine influence, if allowed, and they will be allowed in those in whom normally God acts, will act and react in keeping with the truth and influence brought to bear upon us.
It may be in an evangelical sense. The Spirit of God in such meetings as this often presents Christ according to what is needed in a general way, and in specific cases in a personal way with evangelical feeling, as it were, for God would have the gospel continued. He is governing the world with that in mind, holding His hand on everything. He has His creation, seen in the race of mankind in His mind, and the world being still in reconciliation, He is ordering things in it with a view to the gospel being continued, as the apostle Paul said, that the elect “may obtain [p. 52] the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory”, 2 Timothy 2: 10. That is a very fine thought, and God would have it nurtured, and not that only, but that the testimony of Christ and His work should continue to be proclaimed; as it is said, “For God is one, and the mediator of God and men one, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all, the testimony to be rendered in its own times” (1 Timothy 2: 5, 6), and that is the present time. That time has not disappeared or come to an end, it still exists; “the testimony to be rendered in its own times”.
Now I make a few remarks in regard to this woman in John 4. It is one of the chapters that perhaps yields the most, certainly evangelically, in John’s gospel. And coming to the reaction with her, a blessed reaction, what is to be pointed out is that the Lord dealt with her by herself. There were those who had the distinction of being His servants, namely the apostles. They are not mentioned as apostles here, but are called disciples. Sometimes the term is used as denoting disciples who were distinctive, as it is said in chapter 2: “His disciples believed on him”. They are distinctive as having part in the service, and what comes out is that they are said to be baptisers; they were baptising, a matter that does not require much spirituality. It is a necessary service, something that should be done by a brother in the locality, which is scriptural as I understand it. Others make much of a distinguished brother, that he should do it, but in either case it is not a matter requiring spiritual intelligence or spirituality. But they were accredited as doing it, and they are also said to be buying provisions at this particular juncture, another service that requires but little spirituality, so they are evidently out of this matter, one of the finest bits of spiritual work recorded in this gospel.
[p. 53] I speak, no doubt, to those who serve especially, for we do not want to be in any sense out of what is going on spiritually. Local matters, of course, in each gathering, include material affairs, necessary things, but let no one confine himself to those things. Even the deacons appointed to ordinary service of this kind soon graduated, and two of them, Stephen and Philip, “purchased to themselves a good degree”. Of course, there is the hewing of wood and drawing of water for the congregation of the Lord, but then there is promotion in the realm of God, and promotion implies what is spiritual. The disciples in this chapter seem to be missing; indeed they were missing; they were out of the current of the spiritual activities of Christ in their relation to the living water. Hewing of wood and drawing of water is hardly up to this. This woman had come to draw water, but she had connected it with an ordinary vessel, a water-pot, and rightly too, but the Lord’s instruction led on to living water.
I can only say very little on the subject, because of the other scriptures, but she listened. She was very natural in her thoughts at the beginning, extremely so, and pretentious too, but the skilled hand of the Master brought her on to the spiritual line. That is what everyone who serves Christ would seek to do, to bring the saints on to a spiritual line, and one of the surest evidences of this is that one says, as this woman did, “I see that thou art a prophet”. He did not say He was; He told her He was the Christ later on, which was a very remarkable thing, but she began to exercise spiritual faculties. The subjective work of God, of course, is required for this to come into action, and chapter 3 lays that basis. The basis may be laid, and yet worldliness coming in often hinders its normal operation, but in this case she reacted very quickly to what the Lord was saying to her, and she said, “I see that thou art a prophet”. Sometimes we remark that we marvel that the Lord should have spoken to her about worship; but the reason was that she began to see things, and she was being drawn out of her own life. She was seeing things, and the conversation proceeds until the disciples came on the scene again. Now, you say, there will be a good meeting, but where are those disciples? They are quite out of the current of things. As is often the case, those reputed to be such are doing something else, whether it be baptising or buying provisions, or something else of that kind; they are out of the current of the spiritual work of Christ, and they do not add at all to this position. What a fine opportunity it was for a good time. The Lord would not be averse to it; He is never averse to spiritual additions. But can John add anything to this matter, or Peter? There is no evidence that they did. The Lord and the woman were going on with something, and the disciples came on the scene but they did not link on with it. I do not want to be like that, I want to be able to link on at once with what God is doing, not seeming to be foreign to it. In fact, there were certain aspersions in their minds as to the thing; they wondered that He should speak with the woman; they were utterly out of it.
But then, what about her? Was she damaged by them? Thank God, no, but she rightly withdrew. We do well to withdraw from unspiritual conditions, for they will soon dampen the ardour that the blessed ministry of Christ has produced. We do well to take notice of these things, and of our companionships. Very often in meetings, unspiritual links with persons invited for fellowship become leaven. We are to withdraw from unspiritual conditions, especially if discipline is involved. The Lord would not bring in the natural state; He rebuked it. They said, “Master, eat”; they were occupied with the material, but He said, “I have food to eat which ye do not know”. How solemn that was, and how humbling! He knew all about their buying provisions, and no doubt if they were buying fish they would know how to buy it to the best advantage. But here was something they knew nothing about. We do not want to be outside of what is current in this way.
So she left her water-pot. We have often spoken of it, but I only mention it to show how the truth reacted upon her. She said, in effect, This water-pot is not the idea. The disciples in their state at that time were ready to speak about that sort of thing, but the Lord had been speaking to her in a spiritual sense and she appropriated the significance of His ministry, and she “left her water-pot and went away into the city, and says to the men, Come, see a man who told me all things I had ever done: is not he the Christ?” — and they came. It was not, Go, see a man; the Man is, as it were, in her heart; He was not at a distance from her; Jesus was in her heart, “If Christ be in you, the body is dead” (Romans 8: 10), and that was exactly the case with her. That vessel is left; what she is naturally is discarded for what she is spiritually. The Lord had introduced the thought of a spiritual containing vessel, and she says, I am going to be that. That is reaction, and how useful anyone is who reacts like that to the truth of the gospel. If I react in that sense, the Lord can take me on and use me in the gospel, as in her case. The point is that the reaction has constituted her a vessel for living water.
Now this gospel is full of this thought, really involving sons of light. She became a son of light. In chapter 12, the Lord said, “While ye have the light, believe in the light, that ye may become sons of light” (verse 36). That is what is presented: believe in the thing. This woman believed in what was presented to her, and it was developed in her soul,
[p. 56] and she became a son of light. It is not children of light, but sons, developed persons, and so, in the next scripture I read, we have a class of nobles, a veritable galaxy of nobles, sons of light. They have reacted to the light; they have believed in it. It is not simply something to be admired and spoken about, but believed in: “Believe in the light”, and then you become sons of light.
So that the reaction in chapter 12 is of a group of sons of light; the whole scene is radiant with light. Jesus came to the town; that was the reaction in Him, so to say, speaking reverently. He had ministered to them and raised Lazarus, and He had in mind to come back. That is a lovely thought in Jesus. If He causes something to take effect in my soul He will come back as regards it. It was a question of what was effected in Lazarus — “Where Lazarus was”, as it says, and the reaction with them was that “they made him a supper”. But it is not that He is going to have it alone. It is what He is looking for. The wonderful light had been shining; they had believed in it, and now they are sons of it. See how nobly they acted. They acted like grown persons; there is no longer any bitter complaint on the part of Martha, everything is in perfect order; they are governed by the light; they are sons of light, and they made Him a supper.
Now this matter becomes progressive if an event of this kind takes place as we are together. The table was laid, Martha was there serving, and Lazarus was sitting at table with Him. It is a glorious scene. The matter is His, but Lazarus is there. Lazarus never shone better than now; Martha never shone better than now, and Mary never shone better than now, and conversely Judas never shone worse. Evil is also exposed, but this beautiful scene brings out Mary. She is the one the Spirit of God has in mind, and the very scene produces reaction in her. She [p. 57] has got something, an accumulation of wealth, and she has it for the great occasion.
That is all I should say there, and I go on to Luke. John shows spiritual energy at work in Christ, outside of the official class, and that there is positive result, but Luke, being a priest, would show us how reaction takes place where restoration is necessary. It may be there are those in this audience who have wandered from Christ. They may be attending the meetings as yet, but in heart they have wandered. Luke, being priestly, would show the reactive effect of the kind of grace needed for restoration, the Lord intimating that when He said to Peter, “When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren”. I suppose Peter was more useful after his restoration than before. The divine intent with us, however serious the defection may be, is that the will of God may be accomplished through it, that we are to be made better through it, and Luke would depict the reaction of restorative grace.
So it is that the Lord had gone after these two and walked along with them without letting them know it was Himself. It is a wonderful priestly touch that we get in this chapter. And presently He expounds to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Think of the wonderful patience and tender care of the Lord, unfolding the scriptures about Himself, about Christ. If one is to be restored it must be a question of Christ, not to turn now to prophetic or other subjects. No, those are not the things for restoration. I believe John’s gospel is the great gospel for that. He begins with Christ and persons who were alienated, from religious influence and the like. If they are christians at all they will listen to a word about Christ. So the Lord, “beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself”. What glories He brought before them, one after another, “the things concerning himself”. Yet it only caused their hearts to burn. That is the progress of restoring grace. If I have not a heart to burn at the unfolding of Christ, at His own touch, His own service, well, there is no hope for me at all. How can I resist it? People get away, and come under ministry, and yet their hearts are like stones, and we begin to give up hope for them. Sometimes one is compelled to say, “If any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant”; it is the governmental judgment of God. But not so these two. There was hope for them, and the Lord knew it, and He went into the house, “He made as though he would go farther”. He is aiming at them, as at somebody here tonight, and they constrained Him, and He sits down and takes the place of the house-father.
Think of how far the Lord will go to restore. Mark tells us that “he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country”. Why should the Lord put Himself to the necessity of taking another form to restore two persons? They were going to the country, another thing to be noted, dear brethren. Beware of going into the country in the days of christianity. But they constrained Him, and He went in and sat down — what a lovely scene that was — and took the house-father’s place. He had that; not that He wanted to shine in any way, but to get at them, and He broke the bread and vanished.
Well, the reaction is that they returned the same hour to Jerusalem. There was immediate reaction, and what a blessed one it was; and the Lord knew it, as He anticipated the effect of restorative grace. If God is working in the recovery of souls in this hour, John would give the prophetic or spiritual side of the position, but Luke would show that the reaction to the ministry of Christ in restoring grace is that you come to the public position, that there is something [p. 59] public for God. Surely there is. Let us never give that up, however small and despicable it may appear to be. If God is working, it is that you might give lustre to the public position. You identify yourself with others who are gathered wherever the authority of Christ is owned. That is the point here; they came and found the eleven, those who maintained the authority of Christ. That is the action of restorative grace which is going on every day, that you come to the public position, wherever the authority of Christ is. You say, I never heard of those who have gone forth without the camp. Why did you not hear? The thing is of God. Let us not consider for ignorance. Ignorance is ignorance, and if you have not heard, let people know, for you should have heard. So they came back and found the eleven, and it is for you to find where the eleven are. You understand I am speaking of the authority of Christ, these men represent the authority of Christ, and as they came in amongst them they were talking about restoration; they said that the Lord Jesus was risen. If you go into any ordinary company of people in the world, you will never hear them say that; you will hear them talking about the politics of the day. But here they were talking about the resurrection of Christ, and saying He had appeared to Simon, a man who had sinned grievously. The Lord selected him to appear to. That is what Luke is setting before us, and if there is anyone here needing restoration, this is the truth for you, and the Lord is looking for reaction to this truth in a positive way, that you come in and recognise the authority of Christ. If you have sinned, acknowledge it. Peter did, and the Lord came in, and these two were able to add that He was known to them in the breaking of bread.
I just go on to the last two scriptures. I refer to Mark, and then later again to Luke, in regard of the assembly, where the authority of Christ is publicly [p. 60] owned. Now I want just to say a word about the effect of the Lord’s supper itself. What happened at Emmaus was not the Lord’s supper, but the Lord suggested it in the way He broke the bread and vanished; He did not stay there. He does not vanish out of the assembly after the breaking of bread; it brings Him in, and He loves to stay, as I hope to show. But Mark gives a peculiar touch in regard of the Lord’s supper; he makes much of the way to it. Being the levitical gospel, he makes much of how you reach the place, not on the principle of recovery but on the principle of ministry, a man with a pitcher of water. It is not that you have sinned or strayed, but you follow the ministry and you find the place. Other things happened during the passover, for the passover is not so much separated from the Lord’s supper here as in Luke. What I want to show is that the way to the assembly proper is by glory; it is “from glory to glory”. That is the principle. Believers today, who are assembly persons, who belong to the assembly characteristically, leave their dwelling places in glory. They have read the Scriptures and had prayer, and they move on to the room in glory, and sit down in glory. It must be glorious in some sense to answer to divine rights, for the assembly is divine property; it is the assembly of God. It is not a common thing. I am afraid many of us treat it as if it were common, but it is a glorious thing. So we sit down and proceed, and there is the incoming of Christ in the bread to shine in glory. That is what it is, “from glory to glory”. The cup comes too, and has its own glory, and the box is not without its glory, if you will understand. Its proper setting is there; it is public; it is glorious. The more I see that, the more I put into it, as much as I can afford, I do not want to detract from the idea. The Lord shows the glory of it when He says of a poor widow that she cast in more than they all.
[p. 61] It was glorious, and the Lord implied immediately that the temple was not great enough for that. Another temple must come in; of the old, not a stone should be left upon a stone.
So everything is glorious as we proceed; and not only glorious, but we begin to move in our affections. It says that they sung a hymn. Was that merely because it was customary at the passover? I do not think so at all. It was not customary to the Lord’s supper either, for there never had been a Lord’s supper before. They sung after the Lord had spoken about the cup. He had spoken about the bread too, but what I want to bring out is this, that assembly service is progressive, deeper and deeper into glory. Why did they not sing when they came in? It does not say they did, nor does it say they sung after the passover. Mark would show there was glory in what the Lord said and did. Their hearts were aglow; they were moved by the light that shone, and the reaction was that they sang a hymn; they did it. The Lord is content, if I may say so reverently, to drop out; He is not mentioned here. Mark would show us the effect of the light that shone in the institution of the Lord’s supper. It was progressive; it must have been so. It says that “they all drank out of it”, and then the Lord told them about it: “This is my blood, that of the new covenant, that shed for many”. He brought that in. It could not have been but increasing glory, and they are moved. That is really the order, dear brethren, of the reaction, as I may call it, in a positive sense, reaction in assembly to the light of the glory that shines, one glory after another. So they went to the mount of Olives. The sons of the prophets said to Elisha that the place was too narrow. That was right, and it was right to go to the Jordan. The place was too narrow in Jerusalem. When you come to the spiritual side, when the brethren are aglow and the glory is shining,
[p. 62] we need to move out spiritually. Jerusalem is the place for the Lord’s supper which is a public testimony, but the mount of Olives is another matter, and as we are drawn together in mutual affection and are touched by the glory shining in the Lord’s supper, we want more room, and we ought to give plenty of room to Christ and to His affections. Do not dismiss Him in His relation with the assembly. The assembly is His glory; it is His fulness. I do not say that we get that as we move out to the mount of Olives, but we are on the platform of it. It is all spiritual. It is reaction, as I have said before, and the Lord looks for continual enlargement as in assembly.
Well now to close, in the Acts the Spirit is concerned about the public position, and He records the ascension of Christ, not from Bethany, but from the mount of Olives. The link is with what I have been saying. I suppose that Luke touches Mark, for in Matthew and Mark it is a question of going out of Jerusalem, that is, of spiritual deliverance from Jerusalem. Jerusalem is reprobate in that sense, so that Matthew and Mark would take us out of it, whereas Luke would bring us into it again. What I mean to convey is this, that in the testimony Luke would show we do not need a back door, that is, taking up children and teaching them by themselves. The idea in the gospel is the front door; it is a question of humanity. The testimony is to humanity, not to the children first, but the men and women, the responsible element, and Luke would show that what is coming in by the presence of the Holy Spirit here in a public way is greater than the greatest religious centre in the world. That is the idea, but in order to make that clear, you remember that Luke, in the end of his gospel, says that the Lord led out the disciples as far as Bethany, and “They, having done him homage, returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
[p. 63] and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God”. But that does not give us moral elevation. In approaching the sphere from the standpoint that He now has in mind, which is the assembly. He brings in the upper room, and that is what many of us need as reaction to the heavenly testimony. If we understand Paul’s ministry that comes to us, we see that it is greater than any cathedral or any religious system in the world, and the point now is not to be afraid of it. Luke would show that the Holy Spirit having come down from heaven, what Christ left behind Him here is greater than the temple, greater than Jerusalem. If I go to Jerusalem it is not to abide there, but to be a testimony to it, and I cannot be that unless I am greater than Jerusalem. That is what a christian is. The reaction to the heavenly light is that, and the two men in white that Luke speaks of tell the story, “Why do ye stand looking into heaven? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, shall thus come in the manner in which ye have beheld him going into heaven”. It is not a period of sight any more; it is a period of faith; the dispensation of God is in faith. “This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, shall thus come in the manner in which ye have beheld him going into heaven”. That is the position. In the interim there is this principle of manner. What is christianity? It is according to that manner, the light of ascension and the heavenly position, as it were, shining upon us.
And so they go back to the city, but they go to the upper room. The spiritual reaction to the light presented leads them there. And who are there in the upper room? The representatives of Christ in the eleven, their very names are given. They are abiding there. What an influence! What authority vested in each one! Then there was Mary, “These gave themselves all with one accord to continual prayer,
with several women”, we are told, “and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren”. What a sphere that was! I only refer to it as showing how superiority to the greatest religious system is built up in our souls as we react to the heavenly light, and that is the need today. In Ephesians 1, in the first place, God has called us in this sense. It is the heavenly position that makes us superior, and it is as superior morally in the upper room that we can be a testimony to what is down here. The very religious system is not to be ignored, but we have to go into the very midst of it and be superior to it. May the Lord use these thoughts to us at this time.