INSTRUCTION IN JOHN'S GOSPEL, AND THE DESIRE FOR ENQUIRY
INSTRUCTION IN JOHN’S GOSPEL, AND THE DESIRE FOR ENQUIRY
John 1:35-39; John 1:46-51; John 6: 66 - 71; John 20: 16 - 21
JT What has been suggested is a feature of the whole gospel; that is, the desire for learning and for instruction, the end being reached when Mary says to the Lord “Rabboni”, that is to say her Teacher, to remind us that we are to restrict ourselves as to learning; it is to be confined to the Lord. Nathanael was a quick learner; so was the Magdalene; the Lord calls her ‘Mary’, showing His personal interest and knowledge of her, “Jesus says to her, Mary. She, turning round, says to Him in Hebrew, Rabboni, which means Teacher”. In chapter 6 Peter says, “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast words of life eternal; and we have believed and known that thou art the holy one of God”. That is to say, in his answer he recognised the Lord’s priesthood, “words of life eternal”, and that He was “the holy one of God”, so that in his mind holiness was connected with priesthood. In Malachi 2: 7 we have “For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge”.
Ques Is it interesting that in this gospel it says, “And they shall be all taught of God”, John 6: 45?
JT Quite so; a very important verse, a key word as to what we are speaking of. There is so much teaching and so many teachers, that the thought comes to us of the need for right teachers and teaching, and how it bears on the present moment, and helps to deliver us from the present system of things in the world. There is not only the teaching, but the Teacher; the Person of the Lord is in mind in all matters.
Ques Is the need for teaching emphasised by the interpretation, “Rabboni which, being interpreted, signifies Teacher”
JT It is to make plain the key-line in the gospel. The leaders who would be prophets to the Gentiles would need to know what the word ‘Rabbi’ meant.
Ques Paul uses the word ‘apprehend’; does John open that up? It is an Ephesian word.
JT I think that.
Rem Apprehension is our side; teaching is His side.
JT Yes, of course. If we keep in mind that Mary Magdalene is the Lord’s ideal, having the assembly in view, it helps to clarify the matter. Her name, and her great desire for teaching, and her saying “Rabboni, which means Teacher”, all direct our minds to the assembly. She becomes a sister like Phoebe, and like Lydia, suggestive of the assembly, as also the Old Testament furnishes types in Eve, Rebecca, Asenath, Zipporah, Achsah and Abigail; these are outstanding women to direct our way to the assembly.
Ques Would you include Leah?
JT Yes; and Rachel, too, in a certain way. Leah is characteristically the Gentile; the last loved, but the first to be obtained.
Rem The “teaching of the Lord” is referred to in Acts 13: 12 after Paul had spoken to the proconsul and had dealt with Elymas. There was the desire to learn.
JT No doubt. But John’s general position in the testimony is calculated to make his teaching attractive.
Ques Are we to desire to know where He abides?
JT Yes, and the readiness to stay with Him; and then the witness of Nathanael in learning, makes him of special interest to the Lord Himself. The Lord enlarges on the thought of teaching in his case, “Philip finds Nathanael, and says to him, We have [p. 165] found him of whom Moses wrote in the law, and the prophets, Jesus, the son of Joseph, who is from Nazareth. And Nathanael said to him, Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip says to him, Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and says of him, Behold, one truly an Israelite, in whom there is no guile”; so that we can see how readily and loftily his mind moved in learning; “Nathanael says to him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said to him, Before that Philip called thee, when [p. 170] thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee. Nathanael answered and said to him, Rabbi, thou are the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel. Jesus answered and said to him, Because I said to thee, I saw thee under the fig-tree, believest thou? Thou shalt see greater things than these. And he says to him, Verily, verily, I say to you, Henceforth ye shall see the heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of man”. It is as if the Lord discerned that others would join with Nathanael. The plural is used in verse 51, ‘ye’, but in verse 50 it is ‘thou’. The Lord discerns that the interest will widen.
Ques Does learning depend on the place the Lord Himself has in our affections we are subdued in the sense of the greatness of His Person?
JT Just so. Enlargement in chapter 1 is suggested as to John the baptist; then there is “The true light was that which, coming into the world, lightens every man”, notice the note, ‘sheds its light upon’ every man; and another thing strikes us in John 1, it is “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we have contemplated his glory)”, that is the disciples contemplated, not only heard another great point in understanding the Lord.
Rem Nothing is said as to what was taught in verse 38; was it on the line of contemplation?
JT The Lord would have in mind that if [p. 166] you come, you see the environment in which He is set, His surroundings, like it is now; that we should be intent on learning; it is what is in His mind.
Ques Is it what He is like? He says to them, What seek ye?
JT Yes; someone said ‘class-learning is best; you learn with others’. It is better to learn thus. The Lord discerns this in the enquiry. So that in John 13 He lays aside His garments, and takes a linen towel, and so on, and then calls attention to what He had done and who He was. That section is full of instruction as to the points before us, as to doing what He did.
Ques Would class-learning be like the school of Tyrannus (Acts 19: 9)?
JT It would be like these readings we are having now; they have a great importance; we learn together; there is the thought of teaching; the Lord went up on high and gave gifts to men, as it says in Ephesians 4: 10 - 12,”He that descended is the same who has also ascended up above all the heavens, that he might fill all things; and he has given some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some shepherds and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints”; so that there is the idea of teaching; it is ability and gift; the shepherd and teacher is one gift. As in Hebrews 10: 25 we are not to forsake “the assembling of ourselves together, as the custom is with some; but encouraging one another, and by so much the more as ye see the day drawing near”. Let the young people get to the meetings; the shepherds and teachers would have them in mind, both brothers and sisters.
Rem In Acts 1: 6 it says, “They therefore, being come together”.
JT It was the fulfilment of His word, “If then ye see the Son of man ascending up where he was before?” (John 6: 62); He went up while they were together; “having said these things he was taken up, they beholding him”; they were instructed further by the angels, or the two men in white clothing; it means that the angels added ministry, and shows how the Lord moved between the interim of going into heaven and coming back; it is what He is doing now, going and coming. Another thing that follows is what Peter says in Acts 1: 21, “that of the men who have assembled with us all the time in which the Lord Jesus came in and went out among us”, that one of these should be a witness of His resurrection; one who had been there to see His movements, coming in and going out. We learn by the way He goes up how He will come back.
Ques To reign or at the rapture?
JT The rapture is not formally taught; we are to love His appearing.
Ques Do we see in 1 John 1: 1 the result of the teaching, “that which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes; that which we contemplated, and our hands handled, concerning the word of life”?
JT Just so; it is to bring out the reality, and the Person in whom the life is seen; the familiarity, too, the touching and handling. It is what Christianity implies; there is the thought of the Lord coming to us.
Ques To “learn from me” (Matthew 11: 29); is that as a model?
JT That is the idea; to learn from Him.
Ques Are we to make it a more deep habit to enquire?
JT Yes; the more spiritual those you get amongst are, the more you learn. If you stay in the infants’ class — well! The need is to be with the elder brethren, to see how they do and say things.
Rem We are to move away from the Sunday schools.
JT They are indeed “like whited sepulchres,
[p. 168] which appear beautiful outwardly, but within are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness”, Matthew 23: 27.
Ques Is it not a question of our willingness? Nathanael comes to Him, and in chapter 6: 67 the Lord says, “Will ye also go away?” He refers to the will; is not that essential?
JT Yes; it is like “My soul set me upon the chariots of my willing people” (Song of Songs 6: 12); and what is said as to the elder brethren and the younger is important, that the younger accustom themselves to be with them and learn from them, and what they are, too. Those two disciples had a great advantage to go to where He abode. As to Aquila and Priscilla in Acts 18: 26; whether they took Apollos to their rooms or home, or whether it was in the meeting-room, they followed the Lord’s example and took him to them.
Ques Would this “Come and see” be similar to the word to Mary, “Go to my brethren” (John 20: 17)? Would both draw them together?
JT Yes.
Rem The apostles were handicapped; as the writer brings the truth to bear upon the Hebrews, he has to say, “ye are become dull in hearing”, Hebrews 5: 11.
JT Yes; and in keeping with that, “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together”, Hebrews 10: 25. Thin meetings show that declension has set in. Nathanael was a brother ready to take in great facts, so he says, “Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel”. His personal features show a respect for the “greater things”; he was not keeping the brethren on the lower grades, but on the higher levels, as in Ephesians; as in the school of Tyrannus, where we are to learn.
Rem The distinguished company with Paul in Acts 20 would augment the truth.
JT Certain ones who accompanied him, you [p. 169] mean; it is a very great point, as if Paul would show the servants as examples of what he was bringing out. There was a Berean, it says, and “there were many lights in the upper room” where they were assembled. What intelligence there is amongst the brethren, and the zeal amongst some, like the dear brethren here from Australia, who feel the desire to see what there is here.
Rem You are referring to the work of God here. Yes, indeed!
JT Many are sacrificing much for it.
Rem They desire to get more into the current.
JT One greatly values what the brethren desire, and on the part of some especially, to get the best, and the Lord does not fail them.
Rem He operates this way, if we can bear it.
JT Yes.
Ques Where did Nathanael learn this?
JT In the right atmosphere, he was near the Lord.
Ques What was the secret of his quick learning?
JT The Lord really began the matter, for it says, And “Philip finds Nathanael, and says to him, We have found him of whom Moses wrote in the law, and the prophets, Jesus, the son of Joseph, who is from Nazareth. And Nathanael said to him, Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” He was rightly handled. How do we handle the brethren that come amongst us? It is a characteristic phrase to “Come and see”; he was coming to Him as “an Israelite, in whom there is no guile”. Do not say evil things as to those who are enquiring to drive them away. We may gain a brother if we accredit him. So “Philip says to him, Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and says of him, Behold one truly an Israelite, in whom there is no guile. Nathanael says to him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said to him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee”. We are coming into the presence of spiritual power. We had it this morning, as to Abigail, “blessed be thy discernment” (1 Samuel 25: 33); that is it! The Lord discerned what was there. We are not asking people to an ordinary man, but to an extraordinary One, a divine Person really; God is amongst us.
Ques Is it like John 4: 29, “Is not he the Christ”?
JT Yes; she knew how to handle people; she had herself been properly handled.
Ques In this matter of discernment, are we to be more discerning?
JT Yes; “the spiritual discerns all things” (1 Corinthians 2: 15), and it adds, “he is discerned of no one”. Christians are beyond the range of ordinary intelligence.
Rem We learn more from atmosphere than textbooks.
JT Yes; we are dealing with divine Persons, and spiritual persons, who are discerned of no one, and then it says, “But we have the mind of Christ”. The spiritual man is the model; he discerns all things; the Spirit he has is beyond the ordinary person.
Rem In John 9 the blind man was led out.
JT I was thinking of him. What a remarkable learner he was! They thought he had sinned, but the Lord says, No; he gives an account of himself, that God was working; he told the neighbours, “having gone and washed, I saw”; it was historical; but to the Pharisees he says, “I washed, and I see”; that is moral.
Rem He went on learning.
Ques How do we become spiritual? Is it the ascending line?
JT Bring before people that there is such a thing as a spiritual man; the person is before you, and you are concerned as to it. “What seek ye” is before you;
“more than Jonas is here”, “more than Solomon is here”, Matthew 12: 41, 42. No one is more interesting than Mary of Magdala; she has attention from the angels and from the Lord; she designated Him, “Rabboni, which means Teacher”.
Rem Peculiar attention is given to this; it says “which means Teacher”; there is to be no mistake about it.
JT That is what is said, and it is in their own language.
Ques Why is it that Bartimaeus is the only other one who uses that expression; Mark 10: 51?
JT He must have been a quick learner; he had knowledge in his soul, though blind; he was a suitable person; so it says, he “followed him in the way”.
Ques Do we need to have our treasuries?
JT Undoubtedly; they are intended by the Holy Spirit to be there; it is what I have gathered up in my own soul. How Mary Magdalene was ready to be used. We have not had a finished product yet; Nathanael was not, but here we are very near to the finishing point; so the Lord says to her, “I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God”. The Lord regards her as near the finishing point. So we are not to be journeymen or apprentices as if we are always learning and never coming to a knowledge of the truth.
Ques Does she represent the feature of dignity?
JT A good suggestion. When Paul’s name was changed (Acts 13: 9), he was a learner till then, but after that he was a finished product, and I think Mary comes into that line. One thing to add, “Jesus says to her, Touch me not, for I have not yet ascended to my Father”; what comes out of heaven, is what in principle has gone into heaven, like the heavenly city; Revelation 21.
Rem She is taking in the heavenly.
JT Yes; finality. Somebody has learnt. Paul says, “my intelligence in the mystery of the Christ”, Ephesians 3: 4.
Rem Hence this is essential to the thought of instruction and of the mystery.
JT Well; it is especially in mind in John. Hence the Baptist says, “He that has the bride is the bridegroom”; and he has already said, “A man can receive nothing unless it be given him out of heaven” (John 3: 27, 29), for there is no other way; it is like the sheet, held by the four corners (Acts 10: 11), the innate strength that was there.
Rem The heavens are opened in Acts 10 and in John 1: 51.
JT So Stephen tells us later. Christianity is like the book of Hebrews, ‘the book of the opened heavens’.
Ques What did you mean by ‘innate power’?
JT What was in it like the net not broken in John 21: 11; it is resurrection, but more heavenly; a square, a universal thought; and it appeared three times to bring out the strength of it.
Ques Is there a link with the Lord saying, “I have not yet ascended to my Father”, and “he that descended is the same who has also ascended up above all the heavens”in Ephesians 4; is it the objective?
JT I suppose so. He goes beyond; a great spiritual thought, involving Deity. No creature can go there; the gifts have come from there, and hence the strength of them.
Ques Why does He say, “my Father”?
JT It is in keeping with what we have; it involves the economy.
Ques Why does He say, “Touch me not”?
JT In the next meeting He was touchable; “Bring thy finger here”, the Lord says. The idea is that the assembly is the place where things are adjusted; we get the touch there, as Mary did; there was no discrepancy, no weakness in the circle;
[p. 173] not like Luke 24, where they were frightened, whereas here in John 20 it is not so, “When therefore it was evening on that day, which was the first day of the week, and the doors shut where the disciples were, through fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and says to them, Peace be to you. And having said this, he shewed to them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced therefore, having seen the Lord”. They rejoiced; they were not abashed, but in liberty. We have the divine thoughts, “Jesus said therefore again to them, Peace be to you: as the Father sent me forth, I also send you”. This second time there is no description; the position is final; the thing is settled.
Rem You have brought it out elsewhere that He comes and stands “in the midst”.
JT It was the centre, not like Luke 24, which is a local thought.
Rem The disciples were the great persons.
JT Yes; He goes there.
Ques Is assembling on this high spiritual level a result of the teaching?
JT Yes.
Rem He came to them.
JT Yes; there were none like them; “Jesus said therefore again to them, Peace be to you: as the Father sent me forth, I also send you”; they were fit to be sent forth; “And having said this, he breathed into them, and says to them, Receive the Holy Spirit: whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted to them; whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained”. Things are put into our hands; this remitting of sins is a great matter; if sins are committed there is a means of dealing with them and restoring people. It is to bring out the character of the moment.
Rem “The heart of her husband confideth in her”, Proverbs 31: [p. 174] 11.
JT Yes. The remission is first; the spiritual of the company are in mind. “Brethren, if even a man be taken in some fault, ye who are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself lest thou also be tempted”, Galatians 6: 1.
Ques How far does His action go, “he breathed into them, and says to them, Receive the Holy Spirit”?
JT It is not the great matter of Pentecost power; there was no fire, but a gracious breathing.
Ques Are these normal conditions?
JT Yes; it is the character of the dispensation; the brethren imbued with the spirit of the dispensation.
Rem The Holy Spirit would be sensitive as to sin.
JT Yes, indeed. The Lord trusting us is a great matter; He signs a blank cheque; He is ready to forgive; so it comes first in this chapter, to bring out the dispensation on the highest level.
Ques Is it incorporated in Paul’s ministry?
JT By the sense of grace and forgiveness.
Rem Discipline is fully committed to the assembly as representing the Lord.
JT He was ascended to the highest level.
Rem “As he is, we also are in this world”, 1 John 4: 17.
JT Yes.