IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 170

YES, HE is Talking to YOU! (continued)

Love is the Fulfilling of the Law

Having come upon some of the words of the Master concerning the Baptist and recognizing that in both the Gospels of Luke and Matthew our saying, which we called the parable of the Baptist, came after a rather lengthy exchange between the Master and the people regarding John which followed after some questions by John’s followers regarding the nature of the Master’s presence, it seems right to stay with this as our new topic. It is here then that we will begin and, although we have not yet discovered the parable enclosed within these words, we can be sure that there is much more that just the surface meaning of His words.

We should remember that it is extremely difficult to pinpoint the real chronology of the sayings and the works of the Master because within all the gospels there exist differences in approach and, while all differ in the timing of most of Jesus’ being at this place or that and saying and doing this thing or that, all are written as though they were historically correct. We should remember also that the chronology does not really matter at all to us except in our use of it to help us in discussing the similar and the same verses in each. Such is the case now; where we have the same sayings in Luke’s and Matthew’s versions but which occur at apparently different times. We use, for our chronology a book called ‘A Chronological Harmony of the Gospels’ which was compiled by a Roman Catholic priest, Stephen J. Hartedegen, O.F.M., S. Scr. L. and originally published in 1942; it is a helpful reference work. In Luke’s Gospel, he begins with the Master’s healing of the centurion’s servant which we discussed from Matthew’s point of view in a series of essays on Faith and again in In the Words of Jesus part 141. We will not cover this here again but move on to the next part of Chapter 7 and a part that only appears in Luke; this is Jesus’ raising of the Widow’s son.

We begin here as it sets for us, in the Gospel of Luke, the stage for the questions of John’s followers and the Master’s answers. This is called in the chronology book referenced above The Widow’s son at Nain and it goes thus:

“And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people. And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region round about. And the disciples of John shewed him of all these things” (Luke 7:11-18).

In our chronology book, there is a handwritten note by someone who owned it before, which says ‘no request‘ and that is a truth of this episode. While it is not unusual to read in the gospels that the Master “healed them all” (Luke 6:19), this is generally done for those people who were following after Him and seeking healing. In the case of this widow there is no sign of this; this appears to be a funeral procession carrying the body of the young man to his final resting place. The Master intercedes because of His compassion for the weeping mother and He raises the young man and heals whatever it was that resulted in his demise. There is no exchange of words except the  “Weep not” uttered to the mother and the “Young man, I say unto thee, Arise” which Jesus says to the man that was dead. This is one of three times when the Master raised one who had been deceased back to continued Life in their body on this Earth and heals them; this is also by far the most public and the only time that was unsolicited. We do not know if there are other times where Jesus raises a person because there is no full record of the Master’s works, but we do know of these three. There were present for this healing miracle “many of his disciples……and much people” which is unlike several other instances where we are told that the Master instructed witnesses of His works to not spread the word or those times when He brought only His closest disciples into a place with Him. This is public and the text tells us that “And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region round about” which is much publicity. This however is not our discussion for today but this whole story of this miracle brings us to these words from which we begin our thoughts on John the Baptist: “And the disciples of John shewed him of all these things“

Now it is apparent here that the Baptist is made aware of this miracle and likely of the other miracles of the Master. From Matthew we learn that John is in Herod’s prison when he hears of these works by the Master and our dialogue goes on as this from both gospels.

• From Luke, our main text: “And the disciples of John shewed him of all these things. And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying , Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight. Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me” (Luke 7:18-23).
• From Matthew’s Gospel: “And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities. Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me” (Matthew 11:1-6).

Before we begin our thoughts on these verses, let us look briefly at some of the commentary that is written on them. In regard to John’s sending his disciples to inquire, John Gill in his Exposition of the Bible⁸ tells us in Matthew that: he sent two of his disciples, who might be the most prejudiced against Christ, because of the increase of his followers, and the decrease of their master’s; and because he did not live such an austere life as John did; and who, notwithstanding all that they had heard, and their master had told them of Jesus, were not easily persuaded that he was the true Messiah. Moreover, two of them were sent, both because it was more honourable to Christ, and that they might be proper witnesses of what they saw and heard; and since it was not so much for himself, as for the sake of his disciples, that these messengers were sent. Mr. Gill says this of the same theme when speaking on Luke’s version: And John calling unto him two of his disciples; Which were a sufficient number to be sent on an errand, to ask a question, and report the answer, or bear witness to any fact they should see, or hear done. Sent them unto Jesus, saying, art thou he that should come, or look we for another? not that he doubted that Jesus was the Messiah; nor was it for his own satisfaction so much that he sent these disciples of his with this question, but for theirs; and to remove all doubt and hesitation from them about Christ.

Now in our own reading we can see no reason for these assumptions by Mr. Gill, the text is plain and clear that John the Baptist sent these men after hearing of the miracles and wonders that Jesus wrought and we can only assume that for John to doubt does not fit into the established doctrines of the church. Of our other standard commentaries; The Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible⁸  skips these verses in both Luke and Matthew and The John Darby Synopsis of the New Testament⁸  tells us this which is quite contrary to Mr. Gill: The change of which we speak, and which these two examples so strikingly illustrate, is brought out in treating of the connection between Christ and John the Baptist, who sends to learn from the Lord’s own mouth who He is. John had heard of His miracles, and sends his disciples to learn who it was that wrought them. Naturally the Messiah, in the exercise of His power, would have delivered him from prison. Was He the Messiah? or was John to wait for another? He had faith enough to depend on the answer of One who wrought these miracles; but, shut up in prison, his mind desired something more positive. This circumstance, brought about by God, gives rise to an explanation respecting the relative position of John and Jesus. The Lord does not here receive testimony from John. John was to receive Christ upon the testimony He gave of Himself……

Now for us this sequence of verses in both gospels shows us that the Baptist is human; he is fulfilling his destiny; As we saw some of in the last post, the angel of the Lord told Zacharias, John’s father: “And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:14-17).  We should assume here that John is aware of these things as he is growing up? The story continues with much more praise and prophesy by Zacharias, telling all at John’s circumcision “And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the day spring from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace (Luke 1:76-79).

As is customary, we have no references to the period of years in which the child John grew; it is all covered for us by the simple statement: “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel” (Luke 1:80). Our next account in the Life of John is the gospel’s mention of his baptising and seeing the Lord Jesus coming to him. John was prophesied to come, praised and acknowledged from his birth and we are told that he was strong in spirit; in this all we should assume that he is very aware of his role and his mission. Then one day the Master appears and this is recorded by Matthew as: “Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:13-17). Here we have the Baptist acknowledging his role and the Presence of the Master and what a time it must have been and what a sight to see and to hear the confirmation from above that the Christ is here.

We also have John, in his outspoken manner, proclaiming his own mission and the arrival of the Master in these verses from the Gospel of John which, although being out of sync with the synoptic gospels, tell John’s story from a truly spiritual perspective.

• First the questioning by the priests and Levites: “And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed , I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; He it is , who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose” (John 1:19-27).
• Then John’s version of Jesus’ baptism: “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God” (John 1:29-34)
• Finally there is John’s testimony to his own disciples regarding the Master and his relationship to Him: “Then there arose a question between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purifying. And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.  He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:25-30).

Now this is a lot of scripture about John the Baptist; it is intended to clearly show the facts of John’s understanding of his mission and his role and his relationship to the Master. John was a man that was truly in touch with his Soul, a man through which much Soul Light and revelation flowed. He had, as far as we can see here, no doubt about himself nor about the Master. And this is the totality of what we wanted to see today, that he had no doubt at this time and that he was a spiritual man and likely the most spiritual, aside from the Mater, in his time. Yet, he came to a point in his life, alone and in prison and perhaps knowing his fate, when doubt creeps into his consciousness and he sends his disciples to inquire if this is truly the Christ.

We will continue with this thought tomorrow and into Jesus’ affirmations about John.

Note on the Quote of the Day