THE LORD’S RESORT
I would just like to say a few words about the Lord's movements in this gospel. They are very interesting movements. He was found mostly in Judaea in the gospel of John. In the other gospels He was largely found in Galilee, His teaching takes place in Galilee; but Judæa is the place where the Lord spent most of His time according to this gospel. In fact it may be that when chapter 4: 44 says, “for Jesus himself bore witness that a prophet has no honour in his own country”; that may refer to Judæa as far as I can see. He goes up to Judæa (chap 3: 22) and back to Galilee in chapter 4; and so on, but it is these movements in these two chapters that I have been interested in. He finds Himself in opposition. In fact, in most of the chapters in John, the Lord's teaching is an area of intense opposition. He speaks about the Father, He speaks about gems that we appreciate to an audience that did not appreciate them. They oppose Him. They say He had a devil, and so on, and yet He continues to teach and to speak to them with patience. But here it says in chapter 10, “and he went away from out of their hand and departed again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptising at the first”. Now that refers to chapter 1 of this gospel, where John was baptising in Bethany across the Jordan, and in that setting the Lord is pre-eminent, there is no rival. We have John the baptist's testimony regarding Him: he says, “I am not the Christ”. He denies any prominence, any importance. He calls attention to the Lord Jesus, that is where John was baptising at the first.
In chapter 3 John is found again baptising but not in the same place; and there is a reasoning there. There is reasoning and there is not the same prominence given to the Lord Jesus. John the baptist has to oppose suggestions that are made in chapter 3; but it is in chapter 1 where there is no rival to the Lord Jesus. His pre-eminence is in John the baptist’s mind. He gives testimony. He negates himself entirely and calls attention to Christ. That is what John was looking at “at the first”, and that is where the Lord resorts to in this chapter 10. That is where we will find the Lord today. We will find Him in a place where He is referred to, where there is no rival to Him, where He is pre-eminent; and we would desire to provide an atmosphere like that for the Lord to come to. Think of the opposition at the present time and all the imitation publicly, all that kind of thing. This thought therefore applies, that He “went away from out of their hand and departed again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptising at the first”; that is, where the Lord had His place of supremacy, where there was no rival to Him. It says, “he abode there”; “And many came to him”. They came to Him where He was in this place. “And many came to him, and said, John did no sign; but all things which John said of this man were true.” Well that all refers to chapter 1: all that John had said about Him was true, all the testimony he bore was true. He did no sign – he had left the Lord to do signs. And it says here: “And many believed on him there.”
So in chapter 11 there is again opposition. In chapter 8 they took up stones to cast at Him, and also in chapter 10 they took up stones to cast at Him; and now in chapter 11 “they took counsel that they might kill him. Jesus therefore walked no longer openly among the Jews, but went away thence into the country near the desert. to a city called Ephraim”. You might say He went outside the camp, He went into this place of seclusion. He walked no more openly among the Jews but went thence into the country, near the desert, away from the crowd, away from the public eye altogether. He had testified faithfully to the Pharisees, but now He retires; and He “went away thence into the country near the desert to a city called Ephraim”. It is not a place that is easily found. You would have to be exercised to find Him in this place. It says, “and there he sojourned with the disciples”. They were with Him, but He was found in this country near the desert. It suggests seclusion, away from the public eye. We desire to know something of where the Lord can be apart from what is public and all the opposition, where He can be restful. It says, “and there he sojourned with his disciples”. And you see there are questions raised as to where He is, would He come to the feast, and so on. It is His disciples, those who are committed to Him, those who have Him in their hearts in a pre-eminent way, who know where He is. It says in the next chapter that He came to Bethany. He comes from this place of seclusion to Bethany, to a locality, but it is the place of seclusion, away from the public eye, as I have said, away from the opposition; and all the irritation, all that kind of thing, and we would desire to be where He is where He sojourned with His disciples.
I do not have much more to say, but it was just to refer to these two places where the Lord resorted, where He was with His disciples, where He could be found, apart from what is public but where He was at home, shall we say? Of course, in chapter 1 He had a home and two of the disciples saw where He abode. In chapter 8, when others went to their own homes, He went to the Mount of Olives. He had His own place of seclusion with the Father, but here in chapter 11 He sojourned with His disciples, in the secret of the Lord's own relations with His Father, you may say a heavenly level of things, and there He abode with His disciples.
Well, may the Lord encourage us! For His Name's sake.
EDINBURGH
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