BEING SET FREE
John 8:30-36; 9:1-7,11,17,33-38;
11:1-5,25,26,38-44,57; 12:3
J.S.S. The exercise is to enquire together into these two thoughts of “the truth shall set you free” and “the Son shall set you free”. It is a prime thought of God that His creature should be free, not under bondage. He wants men, women and children to be free in His presence and enjoying His presence. We know that because of sin, bondage has come in. The Lord Jesus says that: “Every one that practises sin is the bondman of sin”. I would seek help from the brethren, and we are cast on the Holy Spirit to enquire into what the difference may be between these verses. There may not be a large difference, but we might consider the truth setting us free, and the Son setting us free.
We can see that the truth sets us free from things. As we apply the truth to ourselves, it disentangles us from things. We get the truth in the epistles and if we apply this to ourselves, it has the effect of setting us free from what may entangle us. The Son setting us free is, I think, something further, something richer and relating to the area of Christian privilege. The Son sets us free so that we might be occupied with Him. I wondered if it brings before us not so much what He has done for us, but who He is; what He is to God, as Son. The very title suggests that He is at liberty in the house. He is not a bondman there; He is the Son. What a person He is!
I wondered if we could look at these two persons, who are well known – the blind man in John 9 and Lazarus in chapters 11 and 12. They are examples of persons who are set free. We can see what held them, but the desire of the Lord Jesus was that they should be free. We may think of the blind man in his pitiful condition, but we also think of how the Lord took account of our condition, in our sins and far from God. Christ comes in, and He speaks of Himself as the light of the world. What a light! It is the light of God’s grace flooding in upon poor sinners such as you and me. The man in chapter 9 is an example of one who was marked by the obedience of faith, and he sees. The verses I read might suggest a progression in his understanding of the truth as to Christ: first as “A man called Jesus”, then he says, “He is a prophet”; then he says He is of God. He speaks of himself too as His disciple, and ultimately his confession of these truths that he had learned resulted in him being cast out. Those in the religious company were really the blind ones, and they cast him out. As an outcast Jesus found him. What a precious matter, and how the Son then sets him free. He asks, “And who is he, Lord, that I may believe on him?”. The answer is, “he that speaks with thee is he”. Then it is recorded, “and he did him homage”. What a setting free the Son brings about for this man. The Lord does not reveal this truth regarding Himself in the midst of the Pharisees. That would not have been suitable. He sets free the man that had been born blind in the preciousness of His presence.
Similarly with Lazarus: the Lord Jesus alone was able to raise him from the dead; He is “the resurrection and the life”. It is not the ‘life and the resurrection’. The resurrection is first. It shows that the life that the Lord is speaking of is the life on the other side of death; it is not natural life. He brings about this wonderful raising of the dead. He is able to do that; but it was also necessary for Lazarus to go through this experience. He had yet to understand the truth of what resurrection really meant.
Then besides what Jesus does, there is what He tells others to do: “Take away the stone”; “Loose him and let him go”. The Lord could have done these things, of course He could; but perhaps the Lord would look to us to serve one another in relation to setting someone free. “Loose him and let him go”: where does he go? He goes to make a supper for Jesus. The Lord returns to Bethany, and a company is there ready to welcome Him. Against the background of the murderous spirit that was against Christ, there is a place where Jesus is welcomed and honoured. And the Christian company, beloved, is to be marked by these features. The Son set Lazarus free here. “Mary therefore, having taken a pound of ointment of pure nard”: it has been commented that this is essentially an act of worship on Mary’s part and when Mary had “taken a pound of ointment of pure nard” it suggests that the Son set them free there.
A.J.McK. Can you say something as to “abide in my word” in relation to the truth setting us free? You are making a distinction as to how the truth sets us free – you said that it ‘disentangles’ us. There is a challenge here in the exhortation to “abide in my word”.
J.S.S. In one sense we cannot separate the truth from Him. He says of Himself “I am the way, and the truth, and the life”, John 14:6. But I think His word applies to us. He makes the mind of God known to us in His word. We have His word written for us in these precious Scriptures. I wondered if the epistles especially convey the truth which applies to us as individuals and as companies, while also carrying the authority of His word. The truth in the epistles is not detached from Him in any way.
A.J.McK. It is a remarkable thing that we can live our lives in this scene, where there is everything around us to entangle us, but as free. We would find help in living our lives in relation to His word. As you say, there is what is written down for us and the truth set out by the apostles in the epistles is very helpful. The epistles help us, but I was also thinking of His present word, the word for the day, which would set us forward in our pathway, and also set us free for Him, as we go through our lives here. Is that part of the victory of the truth as it is in Jesus, that it is seen in those that belong to Him?
J.S.S. It is very helpful to draw attention to this thought of “abide in my word”. It suggests where our life is to be characteristically. It is not something that we take up and lay down, but rather it seems to be a characteristic thing. It reminds me of the passage as to the true vine: “Abide in me”, John 15:4. It suggests drawing our life from Him, hearing His living word.
A.E.M. That ‘abiding’ starts to form something in us – “ye shall know the truth”. The man that you read of in John 9 says, “And who is he?”. There is a desire for understanding, and a formation coming to light that contributes to freedom, is there?
J.S.S. I think it is very important to understand that the truth ought to have an effect upon me, and I ought to have a desire to know the truth – not only mentally, but through it having a deep inward effect upon me and in my life. That is what is in mind. The truth is to change us, and to change our view of things, and our view of the world, and the things in the world. Really it is to give us a view of Christ in His world.
A.E.M. When formation in the truth begins, it is to remain substantially in my soul. I will not be very free if I keep going back to the starting point. But as the truth is built up in us and forms us, do you think that provides the basis for real liberty in divine things?
J.S.S. Yes, and I feel tested and small in relation to it, because I feel how little progress I have made. But the Lord’s intention is that, as we are privileged to come under the sound of the word of truth (and these occasions of speaking over the truth are so precious) we might gain from it and make progress. That is not only for our blessing, but for His glory.
R.D.P. Do you think Romans 7 really gives a deep insight into the exercises of the believer? At the beginning of Romans 7 there are important verses that speak about “to be to another” (v.4). We might have expected Romans 7 to be written with that at the end, as a conclusion, but “to be to another” is at the beginning.
J.S.S. Yes, very good. The whole book of Romans is wonderful. That verse you quote – “to be to another” – reminds us that we are not set free to have ourselves as our object. We are set free to have Christ as our Object. Is that the thought? It is really set free to be ‘to Christ’, and to be subject to Him.
R.D.P. What Romans 7 describes is exercise: not the exercise of an unbeliever, but the exercise of one who has faith but finds something contrary working in him. And he finds himself going to and fro, to and fro. But to be to another provides the believer with an object outside of himself, does it not? The result is “I thank God”, Rom.7:25.
J.S.S. Yes, we thank God that we do not need to look for an answer in ourselves, because we will never find it. But God presents an answer in another Man – “I thank God”. What a thing to come to!
A.E.M. Would you say something more as to your reference to the Lord Himself being the truth? The truth is setting us free here. I enjoyed the distinction you are making between the truth and the Son setting us free, but you also referred to the Lord being the truth. Do you have more to say?
J.S.S. Well, I would like the brethren to help. The Lord, as we said, refers to Himself in chapter 14, and it was read this morning in the house, which was confirming: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life”. The truth is everything that we are able to know of God. Think of the range of what God would have us to know, and it has all been made known to us in Christ. I do not think we can consider the truth to be something separate from Christ personally. But there is a view – for example as was referred to in Romans – where we see truth as very much applying to us in relation to what Christ has done for us, and in response to that, what we must do: what we should reckon and so on (see Rom.6:11). These things are essential to liberate us and disentangle us from what may have held us before in bondage. They are negative; they relate to getting rid of things. But the Son setting us free is a very positive thing, do you think?
A.E.M. God has shone forth His truth from the most attractive place in the universe, in Christ. It warms our hearts to think of that. We might think of the truth as conveying rules and restrictions, but it is liberating because it is in the Lord Jesus.
J.S.S. Very good: it has been made attractive. We get the reference to “according as the truth is in Jesus”, Eph.4:21.
P.M. The psalmist says, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet”, Ps.119:105. Does the truth guide the believer in every detail of his life? It is that by which we can take our bearings. But it is the Person, the One who attracts us from one world into another.
J.S.S. Yes, that is good, and attractive. I think the word ‘detail’ is important. The epistles especially are a wonderful provision for us concerning the details of our lives. The Lord knows what we might face in our lives, and He has made provision for that in these wonderful writings of His apostles. The epistles give us direction, as you say, and help us to find our way through – He is the way, the truth and the life. This world is so confused, and it is dark, but there is a light for the believer, and it shows the way. It leads to Him. I think that is most attractive.
D.J.W. Do you think that the truth setting us free is an individual exercise? In verse 35 the Lord refers to the house before He refers to the Son setting you free, as if that might connect us to the environment where the truth is enjoyed.
J.S.S. As was referred to in speaking about Romans 7, it is very much an individual exercise, and sometimes a painful exercise, but a necessary one. I must apply the truth as God presents it to me in Christ to myself, and I am responsible for it having its personal effect on me. But God’s desire is that we may know something of the house where the Son is, where we can be free. Why does God want us to be set free? We get it in the Old Testament: “Let my son go, that he may serve me”, Exod.4:23. How could we serve God if we were in bondage? But the Son sets us free in the house.
A.J.McK. Please say more about why we need to be free.
J.S.S. God’s desire is that we should be free, that we should not be burdened by sin, or the guilt of our sins, or be burdened or entangled because of the sin which surrounds us in the world. God does not want that for us. He wants us to be at liberty, but not liberty as man thinks of it, so he can do as he wishes. That is not the thought, but it is being under the influence of the Son so that we can return glory to God, and become worshippers. Free persons are free to worship God. That is what God is looking for.
A.J.McK. We have it beautifully in relation to the blind man: “I believe, Lord: and he did him homage”. It is like, “Let my son go, that he may serve me”. This is God’s mind for His creature, is it not, that He might be served and have an answer? Principles have been set out and we see them set out in a Man. They are in view of setting free the subjects of the kingdom. There is then an area, as has just been referred to in relation to the house, where there is active response towards God. That is what God has in mind.
J.S.S. Yes, very good. And in God’s grace not only does it result in something for His glory, but it is for our blessing as well. It is for our eternal and also our present blessing.
R.D.P. The children of Israel in Egypt came under the shelter of the blood. Someone said they were never safer than they were as a result of that. But I was thinking of this expression “really free”. In Egypt, they were free of the judgements that came upon the Egyptians, all these plagues; but the Lord says, “really free”. The history of their wilderness journey testifies to the fact that they struggled on the way, like we do at times, but the answer for us is in a Person. It is important to see that the truth sets you free: it is a very wonderful thing in itself. It involves faith marking individuals – in the case of the children of Israel, faith in the blood and its power and efficacy to shelter them. That power brought them out and set them free from their enemies. But they were not “really free”.
J.S.S. I suggest that the thought of “really free”, in its fulness, does not come into the Old Testament; it awaits the incoming of the Son. But the people were attracted into the land by following the ark, and that is where God really wanted them to be. He did not want them to remain in Egypt, He did not want them to remain in the wilderness, although they had to pass through that to learn things, but He wanted them in the land.
A.M. What God had in mind for the children of Israel was that they should enjoy a relationship with Him, do you think? Faith may set me apart, but the affections bring me into the enjoyment of the relationship.
J.S.S. That is very attractive. The title is “the Son”: “If ... the Son shall set you free”. That involves a relationship, does it not? If there is the Son, there is the Father. There is that relationship of love, and that is what God desires us to come into too. It is not ‘the Lord’ or ‘the Christ’ that is said to set you free (of course it is the same Person), but it is this thought of the Son, in contrast to the bondman. Can you help us more?
A.M. What came to mind is that in the angels, God has those who serve Him. That is simple obedience. But what was in His heart was that there should be those who serve Him as knowing Him and as brought into a relationship of affection.
J.S.S. I think that is most attractive and helpful.
D.J.W. Would Revelation 21 confirm this? It says: “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall tabernacle with them … And he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall not exist any more, nor grief, nor cry, nor distress shall exist any more, for the former things have passed away” (vv.3,4). It is an environment where there is nothing to hinder the tabernacle of God.
J.S.S. That really refers to eternity, and God in nearness to His creature, tabernacling with them. How near He comes.
We might get some help in chapter nine. The Lord Jesus speaks of Himself as the “light of the world”, as has been referred to. This man was blind. He would not have been able to appreciate the light, but God in His grace, in the Person of Jesus, comes near to this man – the very light of the world was there. Jesus puts mud on his eyes, “and having gone and washed, I saw”. You might say that is the beginning for this man. He learns of Jesus.
A.J.McK. What would you say as to obedience here?
J.S.S. The brethren have been speaking about it. There are certain things which are essential if the truth is to set us free. For example, we have to act in faith. God gives us faith, and there is no other way than “repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ”, Acts 20:21. Obedience of faith is an essential beginning, vitally important. We would also remember that the Lord Jesus Himself was the sent One, and the One who was doing the Father’s will – that He should come to this man. What would you say?
A.J.McK. I was thinking that. Does it help us to appreciate that the blind man was obedient to the One who Himself learned obedience by the things which He suffered (see Heb. 5:8)? As we have room in our hearts and affection for Christ, obedience to Him becomes easy. We might think, naturally speaking, that obedience is restrictive, and perhaps places limitations on us and not freedom. That is not the way in God’s things. Obedience sets us free, does it not, and it brought this man into contact with the One who was the light of the world. What could be more free than that?
J.S.S. Very good. So, having had his eyes opened he saw light which shows things for what they really are.
R.McK. What we are speaking of is a simple example of abiding in His word, is it not? Is that obedience? On the part of this man, faith was needed, and also simple obedience. He was doing what the Lord had asked him to do. The consequence of that was that he was set free from his blindness.
J.S.S. It is essentially simple. We have His word, recorded in Scripture and – through grace – I believe He also speaks to us as we gather together. He can speak to us as individuals too, as we are on our knees. As we seek to have communion with Him, pray to Him, the Lord’s word comes to us. If His word comes to me, what am I going to do about it?
S.T.E. Do you think that we need to understand that the Lord wants what is best for us? And that being the case, we need to have faith and trust Him. Does that help us as to obedience?
J.S.S. I think that is a helpful point, because we may struggle with this, especially when we are younger – although not only when we are younger. We tend to think that we know best ourselves, but Proverbs refers to “a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof is the ways of death” (chap.14:12). Christ’s way leads to life and peace and blessing and joy. It might be a difficult lesson to accept, but when you obey Him and prove Him, the Lord Jesus gives you His own reward. You realise that it is true that His way is best.
S.T.E. That would give us peace. Part of being free is being at peace. We are settled in knowing that blessing is towards us. The Lord does not want to hold blessing back from us: He wants us to enter into the fulness of it.
J.S.S. Yes, I think that is excellent. He knows what is best for us and He wants us to enjoy it. It is in subjection and obedience to Him that we enter into the blessing.
T.J.H. There was a reference made earlier to John 14, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (v.6). I wondered if you had anything in mind as to the order of that? The disciples were first seen following the Lord Jesus in the way, and then we get the truth, and then the light being made manifest as in this passage in chapter nine.
J.S.S. Yes, that is helpful. What you quote is in response to a question from Thomas. He says, “we know not where thou goest, and how can we know the way?”. The Lord in His grace makes it simple and attractive because it is all in Himself – “I am the way, and the truth, and the life”. We may not understand very much about the truth but even a very young person can see how attractive Jesus is. If we go to Him and follow Him and abide with Him, we will know these things – we will be in the right way. We will learn the truth from Him, and we will see the results in spiritual life.
T.J.H. In the Acts, there is opposition to those “who were of the way”, Acts 9:2. Persevering in the way, and obedience to the One who leads in the way, would help us in the maintenance of the truth and of the light, do you think?
J.S.S. Yes, I think that is right.
A.J.McK. You spoke earlier of how this man progresses in the truth. Could you say more as to that? The point is that he becomes a worshipper.
J.S.S. He begins with “A man called Jesus made mud”. It is the man Christ Jesus. We get that in the epistles: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”, 1 Tim.1:15. “A man called Jesus made mud”: He became a real Man, although always remaining God in His Person. Then he says, “and anointed mine eyes … and having gone and washed, I saw”. He has an appreciation that this is a real Man; he knows His name. Children learn that, do they not? They learn His name when very young; sometimes they sing of Him; how precious then to know Him. How precious too to know what He has done for us: that is essential. Only He can save us from our sins, and we know that He has done that.
What a beginning! That is a wonderful beginning, then He would lead us and teach us more of Himself. The man who had been blind goes on to say that He is a prophet. That is, that the Lord makes known the present mind of God, and speaks God’s word. He speaks in heaven and by the Holy Spirit brings His word to bear on my life now, every day. How important it is to realise that. This man realised that what Jesus had done for him was only a beginning – he knew that there was more that he could gain from knowing this Person, Jesus.
P.M. He speaks of what Jesus had done for him and to him, how He had set him free from his blindness, but he did not know Him personally. He refers to Him as “A man called Jesus”. But everything changes when he himself came to know Jesus. Is that not so for us, that we find satisfaction and joy in the true knowledge of the Person and who He is?
J.S.S. Very good. It is remarkable that the Lord Jesus brings in this title, “the Son of God”. “Thou, dost thou believe …” and He does not say ‘on the Son of man’, He does not say ‘on the Christ’; but “Thou, dost thou believe on the Son of God?”. This was after they had cast the man out. It was when the man really came to know who He is. We would not say, “And who is he…?” now.
P.M. Is that not wonderful? He begins with “A man called Jesus” but he comes to see that that Man was none less than God Himself here in the figure of a man.
J.S.S. Yes, what boundless grace! And He has done the same for us: He wants nothing less than that we should know the Son of God. What a matter!
A.E.M. This was the reason he was born blind. The Lord says at the beginning that he was born blind “that the works of God should be manifested in him”. Everything that the Lord takes him through graciously, step by step, was that the works of God should be manifested. Is that not wonderful?
J.S.S. It is a sign, I think. What the Lord does has the character of signs in John’s gospel. It is similar with Lazarus: it is for the glory of God: “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it”. It is a sign: the man does not ask to be cured, but the Lord comes in His grace and presented the sign. Truly John’s gospel presents the greatness and the glory of the Person of the Son of God.
A.E.M. Yes. When He heard that they had cast him out, Jesus went and found him. But at that point the works of God had not been fully manifested. The relationship that was in mind for the man had not yet been fully entered into.
J.S.S. That is helpful. It seems that the more this man spoke the truth concerning Jesus in the presence of the Pharisees, the closer he got to being cast out. The Pharisees say things which are clearly lies, untruths. For example, “we know that this man is sinful” (v.24): think of the Pharisees, religious men, saying that! What a thing to say of the Son of God. But the man in his simplicity holds on to the truth, and the point comes where they will have no more. The place of lies has no place for the truth – and they cast him out. He is not alone for long. The Son of God finds him.
R.D.P. The Lord could have opened his eyes in a moment, but He had this process in mind. It involves a journey, with steps, and it involves obedience. He recounts that Jesus had said, “Go to Siloam and wash: and having gone and washed, I saw”. That is the way of obedience, which is on the way to the full revelation. Why did the Lord not open his eyes immediately? He could have done; He did do it in other places; but it seems to suggest the need for a process, steps, patience, and obedience. We have referred to obedience being vital to this.
J.S.S. As we seek to apply the truth to ourselves there are necessary steps that we have to take. We cannot by-pass things, or take short cuts. We must repent, we must believe, we must come to a realisation of what we are as sinners away from God. We must realise all these things and it can be painful, but it is necessary for our blessing.
D.McK. You have referred to the Son, where He is, setting us free. In our practical experience is it Himself, in His Person, who does that? It is not exactly what He does for us.
J.S.S. You can see that, as has been said, there is some progress with this man. He is able to confess things about Jesus to such an extent that the religious persons, these Pharisees, will not have him in their presence, and they cast him out. That really gives opportunity to the Lord Jesus to make Himself known. It was a wholly unsympathetic atmosphere amongst the Pharisees, and they would give no place to Christ. If they cast this man out, they certainly would have cast Christ out. Soon they are plotting together to try and murder the Lord Jesus. That is the atmosphere of the world, including the religious world. But there is something special in the presence of the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, where the knowledge of His presence, His nearness, His love – the love of the Son of God – sets us free.
A.M. That love is greater than grace. It involves having a sense of where we are brought to. I was thinking of John’s little children: they knew the Father in grace; and then the young men, they overcome and it involves judgement of the world’s system. Then John says, “I write to you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning”, 1 John 2:13. Is that parallel to this experience?
J.S.S. Yes. We all begin as little children, do we not? That might correspond with “A man called Jesus”. We know that as an essential beginning. Then the young men were able to see things for what they are: they saw the world system for what it is, and we could say they would see Christ for what He is. For the man in John 9, the result was that he was cast out, but seeing the world for what it is would cause believers to move out of the world, where Jesus finds him. The Son of God would link with “him that is from the beginning”.
A.M. The man in John 9 expressed the judgement of the world before he was cast out: “Now in this is a wonderful thing, that ye do not know whence he is” (v.30).
J.S.S. Yes, that is right. You might say he is given holy boldness. He is not self-confident, but he is simply stating the truth, and they cannot stand it. I feel tested by that, because opportunities arise in my life when I ought to speak the truth. The Spirit would give us power to do so. You find that it has this effect of making a division between what is of the world and what is of the Father, what relates to the Father’s world.
P.M. This man would never want to go back to that which he had left; he found what was infinitely greater in the person of the Son of God. Do you think that if Christ wins my ‘heart’s affections unreservèd as His own’ (see hymn 111), it is the One who claims my heart that will make everything else pale into insignificance?
J.S.S. That is very helpful. It has been said that John’s believers are trustworthy1. The Lord Jesus did not retrieve him from the presence of the Pharisees. He let the truth work out in that man, but as soon as he is cast out from a sphere of hatred and lies, the Lord Jesus finds him. What a reward, to be in the company of the Son of God. You might say, without being disrespectful, it was ‘one-to-one’, a private matter between this man and the Son of God. That is available to each of us, to believers; young people can enjoy the company of the Son of God. He wants you to have that.
D.J.W. The woman in chapter four of John says, “Sir, I see that thou art a prophet” (v.19). She made rapid progress, and so did this man in chapter nine. I feel how slow I am.
J.S.S. There certainly is no limit from the divine side. The Holy Spirit is able for these things, but I feel that I often make slow progress. The Lord would have us to make this progress in order that we enjoy His company.
A.J.McK. Why is the question asked by the Lord, “Thou, dost thou believe on the Son of God?” He does not ask if he knows Him, but if he believes on Him.
J.S.S. What would you say yourself? I have not thought too much about that.
A.J.McK. I had not noticed it before. Believing on Him means that He becomes everything to me. This is not academic knowledge, either of the truth – which is always a danger – or of the Person. We may know a lot about Jesus, but believing on the Son of God means that He is everything to me. He is the One who occupies the supreme place, having been granted that place as exalted and glorified at the right hand of the Father. The question is, is He everything to me? The way that He brought this man to see means that the Lord would become his guide and direction for every day, and if I know that it really sets me free. I feel very weak in it.
J.S.S. I think that is helpful to emphasise believing on Him. Of course, the matter of faith comes into believing, and believing on Him would suggest that too. He becomes our Object. If we are to gain the victory over the world, we have to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. John writes, “Who is he that gets the victory over the world, but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”, 1 John 5:5. Here is a man victorious over the world; he believes that Jesus is the Son of God. As has been said, he would never go back into the world, even the religious world; you might say, especially the religious world.
T.J.H. Is believing ‘on’ Him greater than believing ‘in’ Him? The man responds with “that I may believe on him?”.
J.S.S. It is not only acceptance of the fact that Jesus is the Son of God, but He becomes his Object. I think that is good.
We should touch on Lazarus. The blind man as an individual had the experience of the Son of God, and what a blessing that is. I would encourage all of us to seek that out, to seek the presence of the Son of God, in your room on your own when you can. It will change your life, and will help you to see what the world really is. You do not find out about the world and its character by living in the world and being occupied with it. You find its character by being occupied with the Son of God, and you see that it is the world that has cast out such a One; it wants to have nothing more to do with Him. It is a test for us. In the case of Lazarus, we have a company in Bethany. Lazarus was there, and Mary and Martha were sisters. They have been described as a household, and the Lord Jesus has been described as a Friend of this family2. You see what He becomes later. As has been said already, this is not an example of an unbeliever, these are people who already knew Jesus. Lazarus knew Him and he knew that Jesus loved him. That would be like everyone here that is a believer on Him. But there is something that must take place so that the Son of God may be glorified. It involves Lazarus’s death and resurrection.
A.E.M. Being set free in relation to death is a true test of our liberty, is it not? We have spoken of being set free largely in relation to our current testimony. But being set free in relation to death is “for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it”. Could you open that up?
J.S.S. It is another necessary experience, is it not, to realise that if Christ has died then we also must die. If we have died with Him, we are raised with Him (see Col.2:12). It is a necessary experience. I feel so limited about what I can say as to it, but it is necessary that we accept what death means and apply it to ourselves. There is a whole order of things which is gone in death, and a whole new scene of things comes into view in resurrection life, and Christ wants us to be in that and to enjoy it.
A.E.M. Do we see in this scripture something that releases a household in a company?
J.S.S. I think that a different character of things is seen when you come to chapter 12. It has been said that the Lord is Friend of the family in chapter 11, but He is really the Head of the household in John 123. That influence of the Son of God as Head, as you mentioned earlier, is the fulfilment of the word “that the Son of God may be glorified by it”. He had been glorified publicly in raising the dead, but now they are really glorifying Him in their company. Bethany could be viewed as typical of a local meeting. Are we persons who, in our local meeting, have had this experience of knowing morally what death really means, and then what it means to live with Christ on the other side of death? What a difference it would make in a company of such persons.
A.J.McK. Is it part of the glory of God, to see a company such as this established on the other side of death?
J.S.S. I am sure of that. The Lord was their Object, and they made a supper for Him; they were considering for Him. Then Mary takes this pound of ointment of pure nard and anoints Him. They are really honouring the Son of God, in an atmosphere which is sympathetic to Him, and where there is love for Him. There could not be a greater contrast between what was outside that household, and what was inside it. The last verse of John 11 says, “Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given commandment that if any one knew where he was, he should make it known, that they might take him”. They wanted to take Him so that they could kill Him. What a contrast!
A.J.McK. Yes, the contrast is with the house that is “filled with the odour of the ointment”. I was thinking about that in relation to the glory of God. What prevailed here was the atmosphere of a different world. It is not now a matter of being disentangled exactly, but being set in relation to a new scene. It is a scene that is filled, filled with the glory of God.
J.S.S. Yes, very good.
S.T.E. It was not only that Lazarus was to live a few more years on the earth, it was in view of eternity. That is the character of life in view.
J.S.S. That certainly is so for us. The life that we are able to enjoy in the power of the Holy Spirit is of the same character as the life we will enjoy eternally. It is not something different; what wonderful power in the Spirit that we can experience such life now.
P.M. Is it possible that the Son of God could be glorified in local companies today, and in our households? In this chapter in the household, the Son of God is glorified. In chapter 13 where evil goes out from the company, the Son of God is glorified (v.31). I wondered if, where He is loved and is in the centre, and where evil cannot remain, a basis is provided for Him to be everything to the company and glorified in the company?
J.S.S. Yes; and you might say that should be the desire and objective for every one of our households, and every one of our local meetings. Every one can be a contributor to that glory. Mary took the pound of ointment of pure nard. She was an individual, but she did this in an atmosphere where the Lord Jesus was honoured, and all there must have experienced that because the odour filled the house. What an opportunity we have in our local meetings. Let us never look at them as ordinary gatherings of men: they are opportunities to glorify the Son of God.
R.McK. And that is liberty and freedom, is it not? The Lord’s words were, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it”. That glory is seen in persons. The liberty that they had could be seen.
J.S.S. I am sure that is right. We would think especially of the service of God, the worship that would follow on from the Lord’s supper. But the Lord Jesus can be glorified, the Son of God can be glorified in our households simply by giving place to Him.
A.M. Is it part of the glorification of the Son of God that there were those available to release Lazarus? How does that work today?
J.S.S. I am glad you have referred to that because I was hoping we could get help on it. Jesus, of course, was the only One who could have raised the dead; that is unquestionable – no one else can do that; only God can raise the dead. He could have taken away the stone too. But the passage suggests that the Lord entrusts some of His own with acting on His behalf, to gently carry out this service of loosing someone. We have proved it in our own experiences, I think; I have anyway. Someone more spiritual than me, a father or a mother in a locality, can bring in a gentle word of the truth concerning Jesus and it has loosed me. We can be loosed by seeing the faces of our brethren, to see them happy to be present; happy, by the Spirit, to see the Son of God. Brethren have acted in grace towards me to have this loosing effect.
A.M. It is certainly an exercise, to be available for this service. What you say as to those who are more spiritual, and the fatherly care they exercise, is helpful. There is care needed. There had to be care for Lazarus among those who felt the matter.
J.S.S. There are those who are sympathetic with the Lord Jesus, and with Him in what He is doing.
A.M. And they are prepared to act under the Lord’s direction.
J.S.S. That is most important. We are not to act independently; it is all under the Lord’s commandment. It is interesting that that is so in John 9 also: it is a similar thought. We are told that “Jesus heard”; how did the Lord Jesus hear that the man had been cast out? Who told Him? Someone who was in sympathy with Him, and who was also interested in this man, must have told Jesus about him. Can we help one another in that way? It would include praying for one another.
A.J.McK. Jesus says to them, “Loose him and let him go”. This is not something that is only for one person in the company. I feel very tested in relation to what we are saying. All of us, in all of our companies, must take this on. When Eutychus fell, Paul took him up in his arms and says, “his life is in him”, Acts 20:10. What a thing that was, and that youth was restored. What it would be if that could be the result here.
J.S.S. Yes, that is our prayer and our desire. What you say as to this not only being an individual matter is right. Can we promote this atmosphere in our local meetings, an atmosphere where there is care, and where we look out for any one like this?
G.J.R. Paul writing to the Corinthians says, “Now if Timotheus come, see that he may be with you without fear; for he works the work of the Lord, even as I”, 1 Cor.16:10.
J.S.S. That is an excellent example. Timothy was one whom Paul could have confidence in, and indeed one in whom the Lord Jesus could have confidence to carry on the apostle’s work. He was helping the saints where he was visiting. That is most important.
D.J.W. This made way for a new relationship for Lazarus. It is like, “such as the heavenly one, such also the heavenly ones”, 1 Cor.15:48.
J.S.S. That is very helpful. Jesus “lifted up His eyes on high”. He was drawing our attention to heaven. This life is resurrection life, and of course in resurrection we are still on the earth, but the Lord Jesus has what is heavenly in mind. That can be enjoyed in the company at present.
B.H.C. In Luke 15 the friends and the neighbours rejoiced that the shepherd had found the lost sheep. Would that be something that would be enjoyed in our localities, as recovery takes place? The setting there is of united joy as to what has been done.
J.S.S. It is a good example – a sympathetic company; they were all looking for the same thing, for everyone there to be free. That is the Lord’s desire.
Reading at Witney
1 February 2025
John Speirs
List of Initials:
B.H.C. Brian Clark Maidstone
S.T.E. Steve Eagle Dorking
T.J.H. Trevor Harvey East Finchley
A.M. Andrew Martin Buckhurst Hill
P.M. Paul Martin Colchester
A.J.McK. Alastair McKay Witney
D.McK. Duncan McKay Witney
R.McK. Rob McKay Witney
A.E.M. Andrew Mutton Witney
R.D.P. Ron Plant Birmingham
G.J.R. John Richards Malvern
J.S.S. John Speirs Grangemouth
D.J.W. David Willetts Birmingham