Hebrews 12: 2
Philippians 3: 16, 17
John 2: 1, 2, 11
The exhortation in Hebrews as to “looking stedfastly on Jesus” is a well-known scripture; one, like many, that I am learning to appreciate more in a living way. The brethren well know that the thought of “looking stedfastly” means that ‘we take our eyes away from looking at other things and fix the eye exclusively on One’. I wonder how many moments I can sustain with my eye exclusively upon Jesus. Of course, it is the eyes of our heart that we are speaking of; our literal eyes are very important (as are our literal ears) because they are the way into our minds, and the mind is the avenue to the heart; we have to keep our hearts, and so we have to keep our eyes and our ears too. This exhortation is that the eyes of our heart are to be “stedfastly on Jesus”. He is in glory. It has been drawn to our attention in recent ministry that one of the great and distinctive features of this dispensation is that there is a Man in heaven. He is the object of the believer’s faith. None of us have seen Him, and that is what Peter says, “whom, having not seen, ye love”, 1 Peter 1: 8. Our occupation is to be with Him. I think this is important because I see in myself, and I have observed in other dear brethren, the very great ease with which other persons, fill our minds, occupy us, and become dominant in our thinking. There is plenty that is negative that one might be occupied with. Our brother made reference in prayer last night to the desire that there might be with us, in what others with whom we come into contact might see, something consistent: consistent with what we hold and teach and believe and sometimes confess, that men might see a consistency there. I think I perceive the unfruitfulness of being occupied with others, even brethren. I do not know what scripture it would be based on (possibly Eph 6: 12) but I do recall it being taught (FER vol 14 p219), and I think it would be sound teaching, that the persons are never (let us say rarely) the issue amongst us. But how much time, how many hours and how many column inches of writing too, have been taken up with persons; and the profit would be questionable. The word is, “looking stedfastly on Jesus”. We have a race to run which is not easy; this is not a race where speed matters, but rather what is called for is endurance, “run with endurance the race that lies before us”, Heb 12: 1. It describes the time that is before us now until the Lord takes us or until the Lord comes. That is the race and what is needed is endurance. Now weariness is a very real thing, fatigue is a very real thing: physical fatigue, mental fatigue, one might say spiritual fatigue, and they are very real things which can afflict anyone of us. Endurance is needed and this depends upon “looking stedfastly on Jesus”. He is the object of God’s pleasure. I read in ministry of Mr Raven (vol 20 p22) this remark: ‘The moment Christ came to earth, there was that in man which was acceptable to the eye of God. In the cross, all that was offensive was removed, and in resurrection there remains nothing but what is grateful to God’ - what is entirely grateful to His heart. This is the One with whom we are to be occupied.
He is the “leader and completer of faith”, that word ‘leader’ is only used of Jesus. It is used here; and Peter uses it when he says “the originator of life ye slew”, Acts 3: 15. So it is a unique glory of His, the Leader, the One who sets something on and completes it; and the completion is equal to the setting on. Think of the Man: all His thoughts, all that relates to Him - perfect - no falling short, no decline. And of Him it was said, “the leader and completer of faith”. It was, “in view of the joy lying before him” - He has entered into that joy; that is something we can rejoice in, that the Lord Jesus today has joy. I do not doubt that He feels the sorrows of His own, but He has entered into that joy. Soon the saints will enter into the joy of their Lord; meanwhile we have Him as our object.
The second scripture might present a paradox - and I acknowledge that - because here Paul is saying, “Be imitators all together of me, brethren, and fix your eyes on those walking thus as you have us for a model”. I suggest that “as ye have us for a model”, and “those walking thus” would be persons who, like him, could truthfully say, “But surely I count also all things to be loss on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord”: that is an appreciation in the soul transcending any other knowledge or apprehension that we could have. “I have suffered the loss of all, and count them to be filth” - filth, that is quite a strong word - “that I may gain Christ”, Phil 3: 8. Then he says, ‘I am anxious to touch something that is on the other side of death’ - not in physical resurrection - for that is not in doubt, and does not depend on exercise of soul on the believer’s part - but, he writes, ‘I long to touch something of that now, to know Christ where He is, to know the power of His resurrection’, v 10. He says, “forgetting the things behind, and stretching out to the things before, I pursue, looking towards the goal, for the prize of the calling on high of God in Christ Jesus”, v 13, 14. There are such persons beloved, known to us, men and women, and their life is Christ. What the apostle is saying is that we can safely admire such features in them. He even says, “fix your eyes on those walking thus”: that is the consistency that our brother referred to in prayer. Not all walk like this, in fact he goes on to say, “for many walk of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ” (v 18); not that they are enemies of the Christ, but “enemies of the cross of Christ”, and in some way - be it witting or otherwise - they are maintaining what Christ’s cross ended for God. I would not wish to be that way. I am not saying that my brethren are like this, but he says that there are such; in fact he says, “for many walk” in that way. We are not to be occupied with them, but we do have models, and I commend this to the brethren.
I wondered whether John 2 brought these thoughts together. I know that what is said, and the order in which persons are indicated, is slightly alarming. We read that a marriage took place on the third day and the Lord Jesus, anointed with the Spirit, and so having begun His public service, was present. The evangelist describes days and they are hard to fit together, if we think of the distances involved. But here we are in Cana, and whenever the starting point was this was the third day; “a marriage took place in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. And Jesus also, and his disciples, were invited to the marriage”. I am not sure what others have said about this, and I know this is not the best situation which is described when it is “Jesus also”; but I would suggest that there is something positive here: that firstly the Lord Jesus was invited, He was wanted there. The couple and those who were associated with them did not want to go ahead without the Lord being there. What I want to draw from this is that little statement, “Jesus also, and his disciples, were invited to the marriage”, and I think it is a very, very fine thing when persons love the Lord and they love His people: because they are inseparable. I wonder if those two thoughts - that paradox may perhaps be brought together and explained here, “Jesus also, and his disciples”. The result was fine: “This beginning of signs did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed on him”.
May that be the outcome of our experience here, beloved.
For the Lord’s glory.
Malvern
5th April 2011