Abraham, My Friend (Number 3)

Abraham, My Friend (Number 3)

Ron Bailey

3. Known unto God

In British War Cemeteries throughout the world you often come across the words ‘Known unto God’ engraved on tombstones. It signifies that the person whose remains lie in this spot cannot be identified. At one and the same time, it is a bleak comment on the lonely anonymous sacrifice of so many and a reminder that, in truth, we are never alone. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. [Matthew 10:29] Modern translators feel an urge to complete this sentence and add words like ‘without your Father’s will’ or ‘without your Father’s knowledge’ or ‘without your Father’s permission’. It is better to leave it just as it is ‘nothing happens without your Father’ and then think about the implications; He cannot be excluded.

An old story is told about an atheist shoemaker. He was visited by his grand-daughter and he decided to make use of the time by sowing his atheism while she was young. He wrote out the sentence ‘God is nowhere’ and got her to copy it onto her slate while he went back to his shoemaking. He returned expecting to find the sentence copied out several times and engraved on her mind. However the slate was too narrow for a child’s large letters so she had found it necessary to break up the largest word to make it fit. The shoemaker looked down on the slate and found a sentence repeated several times; it read ‘God is now here’.

There are no ‘God-forsaken’ places and God is at work in them all. Christ’s own testimony was And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. [John 12:32]. He was lifted up and He is drawing all men to Himself. Contrary to the impression given by some modern Christian choruses this statement has nothing to do with our praise but is a simple statement of fact. as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: This is not to say that all will cooperate with His ‘drawings’, but in every place and every soul the ‘drawing’ is at work. (God) now commandeth all men everywhere to repent: [Acts 17:30]

Abraham’s home-town of Ur of the Chaldees (10 miles west of modern Nasiriyeh, Iraq) could never have been called ‘God-forsaken’. If anything, it was god-infested. It is impossible to be completely accurate with dates but the Bible record and the lifestyle details of Abraham indicate that his story begins approximately 2000 BC. (as a ‘rule of thumb’ we can work on Abraham c2000 BC, Moses c1500 BC, David c1000BC, the rebuilding of Jerusalem c500 BC) Room 56 in the British Museum is full of fascinating artefacts from the Royal Tombs of Ur (c2600) right through to the time of Abraham.

Ur was a capital city for much of this time. The delicate skills of its craftsman were amazing. Working in gold, silver, lapis lazuli, ivory, and bronze they have left us an eloquent description of life between the rivers (Mesopotamia). They had four-ass-powered, four-wheel chariots with replaceable wheels where the warrior had an armoury of throwing spears and his own driver. They had a written language and law-codes and highly regulated patterns of life. Ur’s position on the Euphrates gave it ready access to exotic imports through Basra, where the Euphrates meets the Tigris, and the Persian Gulf. Its merchants traded in precious stones and metals and its agriculturists worked complicated irrigation systems which guaranteed them rich harvests. And they built enormous temple mounds, including the famous Great Ziggurat of Ur (a kind of step-pyramid which stood over 60' tall and more than 200' wide) which would have dominated the skyline for all of Abraham’s growing years. They worshipped and propitiated a pantheon of gods, both heavenly and from the underworld, and developed an elaborate priestcraft. There are many fascinating legal seals which show aspects of Ur religion. One shows a supreme god seated and approached by two goddesses with right hands raised; the symbol of allegiance and supplication. The goddesses are leading a man into the presence of the greater god. Archaeologists sometimes call these minor goddesses ‘intercessors’; by their actions they bring men into the presence of god. It is an interesting insight into a role that one day Abraham would fulfil, not by pagan ritual but because he became ‘Abraham, My Friend’.

Around the time that Abraham was born Ur of the Chaldees fell under violent incursions from nomadic Amorites. The empire of Ur-Nammu collapsed and for the next 200 years Ur was the centre of turbulent times as other cities vied for supremacy. Terah raised his family in Ur at this time and at the ripe age of 130 he fathered Abraham, his youngest son. Terah was an Ur-ite through and through. He had seen Ur-Nammu (2112-2095 BC) arrive, had watched the development of his dynasty, empire and religion and had outlasted him, but now the city was in turmoil (2004 BC). At some point during his time in Ur his eldest son, Haran (Lot’s father), had died in his father’s presence. What tragedy lies behind this simple statement? Was this one of the factors which ‘unsettled’ Terah? Did he leave Ur for the safety of his remaining family? We have no answers to these questions other than to say all the answers were ‘Known unto God’. God was not excluded from the ebbing and flowing of empires, nor was He missing when Haran died in his father’s presence in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.

We often hear of Abraham’s faith, and we will come to that soon, but the first account of Abraham’s departure from Ur is contained in the words And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. [Gen 11:31] Terah took them; this makes Terah the prime mover in these events. Now this raises a further question; can God be at work in the decision of an idol-worshipping head of a family whose decisions are based on fear and who has no knowledge of the true God?

My old preacher friend once said “When you are newly Christian you will marvel at the way that God intervenes in answer to your prayers; when you get older you will see that God’s grace is even more evident in His providence.” Have you been nicely settled in ‘Ur’ enjoying its sophistication and predictability? It may be that God will have to loosen your ropes with events that disturb and bring pain. It may be that He will unfold His will through the actions of someone who doesn’t even know Him. Sometimes He speaks through your enemies. As Josiah discovered to his loss, sometimes your worst enemy’s words are from the mouth of God. [2 Chron 20-23]

Don’t be too quick to shake off the dictates of secular or family authority. God knew what He was doing when He placed you there. Even though you are ‘born-again’ and have insights that your parents lack this may be a time when you are to be subject to them; though they understood not the saying which He spake unto them. And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them; for another 18 years! The circumstance that chafes so persistently may yet be God’s unique provision for you. In terms of providence we learn very little in prospect, a little more in context, but most of all in retrospect. And best of all we discover that while we were fretting and wondering what we should do next it was already ‘Known unto God’. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.

Don’t fret little bird, trapped in your narrow cage, He knows what He will do. Empires will rise and fall but in the midst of all the fog of war He is silently planning for you, in love. And He will use their rise and fall to do things in you that will last forever. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. [1 John 2:17]

Abraham, My Friend (Number 2)

Abraham, My Friend (Number 2)

Ron Bailey

2. In the beginning God…

Every Christian biography should begin with the words “In the beginning God..” Our Bible begins with these words and, on reflection, it could begin with no others. How else would anything ‘begin’? The gospel according to John mirrors Genesis and expands it; In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. [John 1:1-3] …” It is the only explanation for everything; without Him there is nothing. It is the only explanation for anything; without him was not anything. That’s a question that atheistic cosmologists refuse to ask; ‘why is there anything?’ It was said of such cosmologists, by a fellow cosmologist, that they are “often in error but never in doubt”. Ask them ‘how?’ and you will hear the most extraordinary explanations of quantum theory and oscillating super-strings expressed with absolute certainty. Ask them ‘why?’ and there is no answer. Their calculations take us to the first micro-seconds of the cosmos but only revelation can take us back to the beginning where God already was.

For the child of God this truth is both humbling and exhilarating. In comparison to the vastnesses of the cosmos the human race is totally insignificant; if those cosmologists are right, just star-litter. Sometimes our confident knowledge blinds us to more profound realities. 3000 years ago a shepherd boy lay on his back and looked up; When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. [Ps 8:3-5]

The Bible’s timeline too is overwhelming. God’s ‘mindfulness’ of man is not some sudden thought pressed upon Him by the pains of the human race. Before anything was we were in His thoughts. The Bible captures this sense sometimes in plain words and sometimes in amazing imagery. The book of Proverbs takes us back to the beginnings and we hear the ‘testimony of Jesus which is the spirit of prophecy’. He is conscious that He belongs to His Father, before any creative acts have occurred; the LORD possessed me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. [Prov 8:22] The extraordinary testimony continues as the creation is about to be brought into being; then I was beside him, like a master workman; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, [Prov 8:30] What a wonderful picture this is of Father and Son ‘daily, delighting in each other’s company’ and ‘eternity ringing with joy’; Father and Son in perfect fellowship. God, the only self-sufficient Being, needing nothing outside Himself; needing no heaven, no creation. Perfectly at home and fulfilled in Himself.

Consider then the wonder of this continuing testimony; and my delights were with the sons of men. [Prov 8:31] That is to say that Before ever the earth was, when there were no depths, no fountains abounding with water, no mountains… while as yet he had not made the earth… his delights were with the sons of men. He loved us long before He made us. He delighted over us; can you hear the excited anticipation? Oh, what a heart-break we have been to Him. What glorious plans He had for us; what a bitter disappointment we have been. This is no isolated text, John captures another for us in his record of Christ’s prayer; (thou) hast loved them, as thou hast loved me… thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. [John 17:23,24]. As they say, “do the math(s)”. If ‘He has loved us as He loved Him’, and ‘He has loved Him from before the foundation of the world’, how long has He loved us?

Our failures have not taken Him by surprise nor changed His love for us. The Old Testament comes to the end of its record of failure after failure with a simple word of testimony from God to His own people; I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet you say… [Mal 1:2] His world has conspired together against Him and against His Christ. [Ps 2:2] and yet His testimony is unchanged; I have loved you.

It is from this unchanged and unchanging love that all those ‘agains’ come. To a prodigal world God has reached out again and again. The book is full of them. The word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time… [Jonah 3:1] So He made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. [Jer 18:4] And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward [2 Kings 19:30] And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God. [2 Chronicles 33:13] and we hear it again in the words of those who have His love shed abroad in their hearts; My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you. [Gal 4:19] While there is God there is hope, because where there is God there exists the possibility of a new beginning.

So we will discover it with Abraham. And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt of old time beyond the River, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor: and they served other gods. And I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him…[Joshua 24:2,3] Not a very promising background is it? Far off in a pagan land, serving other gods; many of us had our beginnings in such places, and God took us and led us… Perhaps, as you read, you feel yourself to be in such a place now, with nothing to offer and under the rule of alien powers. You feel that God may do something with others but not with you. The English have a pessimistic old saying “you can’t make a silk purse out of a pig’s ear”. Don’t be discouraged; God can! From your impossible situation, God can take you and lead you. Your future is not determined by your past experiences but by today’s response to God. Where God is, there is always scope for a new beginning.

They say that every journey must begin with a first step, but the pilgrim does not mark the beginning of his journey with his own first step. In one way or another he senses a divine imperative. He may not use the exact words but, if you look under the skin, his testimony will always start at the same point.. “In the beginning God..”

Abraham, My Friend (Number 1)

Abraham, My Friend
The Making of a Praying Man

By Ron Bailey

1. Preface:

Every story has a purpose and my re-telling of this story has its purpose revealed in our sub-title. Abraham’s life is rich in illustration of the purposes of God and the daily incidents of a pilgrim but our ultimate goal will be to identify elements in the life of Abraham which made possible this amazing testimony from God Himself; Abraham, My Friend. (Isaiah 41:8)

There are many wonderful ways in which God describes His relationship with men and woman but this must be one of the most extraordinary; Abraham, My Friend. If Abraham had referred to God as ‘my friend’ we might have thought that he was guilty of ‘name-dropping’; the way in which some folk try to derive significance by association. If I were to refer to ‘Abraham, my friend’ I might lay myself open to that same accusation, but why should God refer to this man as ‘My Friend’?

Perhaps there is an indication in the New Testament. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. (John 15:15) Friends become the carriers of unique, intimate, knowledge because they can be trusted. It almost takes the breath away to say it but it is a regular testimony of scripture that God trusted Abraham. Abraham himself is the archetype of the man who trusts God but Abraham, My Friend, is an indication of God’s reliance upon Abraham. It brings to mind many another scripture; I sought for a man… …to stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. (Ezekiel 22:30) Oh, what would He do if He could only find the right man? EM Bounds famous book, Power through Prayer, begins with the statement that the “Men are God’s method. The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men.” In turn, that brings to mind the comment of Paul Billheimer “Who knows what God would do for His servants if He dared?”

In Abraham, God found the kind of man He had looked for, a man who would become My Friend. He became God’s trusted agent, ‘our man on earth’ through whom God would further His purpose. Not in ignorance, as some kind of automaton blindly following an instruction, but as My Friend. What God accomplishes on earth He will accomplish through His Friends. Christians love to say that God accomplishes wonderful things ‘in spite of’ His servants. There is a truth in this statement but it ought not to blind us to the opposite and equally true statement that He accomplishes even more ‘because of His servants’. He will accomplish more through one trusted Friend than through a billion super-efficient tools. “Men are God’s method.”

Prayer, of course, functions at many levels; it usually begins with a sense of dependence and need. The man or woman who does not pray is an ‘atheist’ no matter what theology he subscribes to. He is also a ‘fool’; a word reserved, biblically, for those who leave God out of their reckoning. But prayer that remains at the level of personal need is still-born. The unique glory of the pray-er is that he has more than one friend; he has two. And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? (Luke 11:5,6) That’s not one friend, but two. The pray-er is the living link between the Resource and the Need. If this chain is broken at either end the Resource and the Need remain separated; he must maintain living contact with both. There is valuable insight here. The pray-er is conscious of his own lack and inadequacy. He has nothing to set before him but the wonder is that he has access to another friend who has all necessary resources. Only by maintaining our links with both friends can be the channel of the blessing.

It took the Quakers to remind us that ‘Friends’ is a New Testament description of believers gathered in a local church. But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name. [3 John 1:14] As we regard the settings where God has placed us, how well are we functioning as Friends? The Church comes under a lot a legitimate criticism but we would be using our unique role to better purpose if we prayed for our Friends. If we know that they lack resources, we know where we can go to find an answer. It would doubtless have many spin-off blessings; double portions even. It is recorded that the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. (Job 42:10) Perhaps if we are seeking release and blessing our best route is to pray for our friends.

The Greek word for ‘friend’ (gk: philos) is a word of tenderness and companionship. It is a word which speaks of fellowship. The original Hebrew word for ‘friend’ has another mood, (hb: ahab) it is the word for ‘Lover’. The Septuagint translators translated it not by ‘philos’ but ‘agapE’ giving something like ‘Abraham, My Lover’. It shocks us to read it. God’s love is not marked by faithful duty and companionship only, but by passion and exclusive personal commitment.

We begin to sense the personal relationship that blossomed between God and man. If Abraham is a man characterised by his faith, his faith is characterised by his love; this is authentic faith, faith that worketh by love (Galatians 5:6). It was not from isolated experiences that Abraham was designated as Abraham, My Friend but from a continuing relationship that grew throughout a lifetime. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. It came not primarily from enormous crisis experiences characterised by giant leaps into the dark, but through the single ‘steps of that faith of our father Abraham’. (Romans 4:12)

So it is with Abraham’s children, we grow not by big bangs and heroic set-piece triumphs, but by daily obediences of love. Not by stage-managed performances in the public arena but in the secret places where only God is witness. For those who measure success by visible effects it is often a weary plodding existence, but for those who genuinely seek only to be approved unto God it holds the prospect that in some secret place, one day, God will say this is ‘Abraham, My Friend’

Next Door To Heaven (Chapter 11)

Next Door To Heaven (Chapter 11)

Ron Bailey

The Throne

The original governor of Pennsylvania wrote a book called ‘No Cross, No Crown’. It is a fascinating glimpse into the deep spiritual experience of the early Quakers. William Penn’s intention was primarily to expound this truth in the experience of the believer, but in the earthly history of Son of God the title is even more true; His voluntary humanity was not a temporary experiment, but a permanent fact. The incarnation made God, man. Paul, the apostle, later opened out this truth. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (1)

Crucifixion was not only the death penalty but the ultimate humiliation and judgment of the worth of an individual; it was the final rejection of a member of society who died in disgrace. When the Romans adopted crucifixion they reserved it for criminals convicted of murder, rebellion or armed robbery, provided that they were also slaves, foreigners, or other non-persons (2). The coming of Jesus as the Son of God in flesh was a condescension beyond our imagination, but to die even the death on a cross was a scandal. The distance from the Throne of heaven to the Cross at Calvary is the longest journey in all history. But there could be no shortcuts; this is why He came.

The normal and logical destination for the bodies of the crucified was the city dump just outside Jerusalem. There in the continual burning of the valley of Hinnom the rejects were finally erased from history. One of his more influential disciples made a special formal request to be allowed to take away the corpse for ‘burial’. His bruised and battered body was laid in the quietness of a rock tomb, and his followers wandered off nursing their broken hearts and shattered dreams. The pain is witnessed later in the gospel according to Luke; …Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him. "But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel…" (3) Is anything more poignant than the phrase ‘but we were hoping…’? The enthusiasm of the earlier years was gone now; their world is in ruins.

To understand the special ignominy of these events we should dip into the gospel according to Matthew. Matthew introduces the subject of his account using two key phrases; The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (4) These are two glorious titles; Son of David, Son of Abraham. They tell us the whole purpose of Matthew’s gospel. This is the gospel of the King, the gospel of the Promised Seed. Matthew’s gospel is conspicuous for its use of phrases like; ...that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying…(5) It is the gospel, which more than any other, reveals Christ as the fulfilment of ancient prophecy and promise; prophecies which have their clearest expression in promises given to Abraham, and prophecies which promised a ‘new’ David. I can’t think of better words to excite the imagination and hope of the ancient Israelite. We hear them again in the words of Philip spoken to Nathaniel at the very beginning of John’s gospel; Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. (6) After 2000 years we can still hear the excitement; we have found him!And we see Nathaniel’s understanding of such words; ‘Rabbi, Thou are the Son of God; thou are the king of Israel.’ (7)

But if it not been Joseph of Arimathaea’s successful request the body of their promised Messiah and King would have been smouldering to oblivion in the valley of Hinnom. If the journey from Heaven’s Throne to Calvary’s Hill was beyond our understanding, what shall we say of the return journey? Sometimes we need to set history’s events into a wider context to see their real significance. How about this for a summary of Christ’s Mission? And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. (8) In that single sentence the scripture captures the whole picture. It covers the ‘round trip’; incarnation and enthronement. In between the two mountain peaks of this revelation there lies a hidden valley; Calvary and a rock tomb.

For the vast majority of the human race Calvary was the last sight they had of Jesus. His followers interned His body; the guard sealed the stone against interference. It was all over. It would never have touched even the footnotes of history but for one thing. "Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know-- this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. "But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. (9) The testimony of the witnesses of course is vital and God took care to ensure that their number was large (10) , although Peter explained to Cornelius that is was a select group (11) . There was an event, however, which was much more public which occurred some 50 days after the crucifixion and interment.

For forty days Christ appeared and disappeared. The appearances are recorded in the gospel and this time was a vital part of the preparation for the future. During this time the disciples hopeless disappointment was transformed into glorious hope. During this time Christ ‘breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit’ (12) . Again, this was to all the people but seems to have been a unique authorising of those who would continue His work. Back in Old Testament times God had taken the ‘spirit’ that marked Moses unique authority and ‘put’ it upon 70 elders of Israel (13) . The focus in Numbers is not so much of the personality of the Spirit but of His unique equipping ministry. Jesus breathed ‘Holy Spirit’ on them. Luke records this same resurrection appearance but does not mention this specific detail. Luke concentrates on other aspects of that same visit to the upper room; Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. (14) I would have loved to have been at that Bible study! He interpreted the Old Testament (15) in the dawning light of the New, and one of His key themes was the Kingdom of God (16) .

He also instructed them to ‘remain in Jerusalem until a further event took place’. (17)  They were not to begin their ‘witness’ until this event. The King James version has the phrase ‘tarry ye in Jerusalem’; the word is ‘sit down’. They were not to enter into their labours prior to this event; they must ‘sit and wait’. Let’s not be coy any longer, He called the coming event ‘the sending of My Father’s promise’. They had needed and received a work of the Holy Spirit which ‘opened their understanding’ but they were still commanded to wait until He had fulfilled His promise to them. Everything would be coming together in their understanding now. When they had protested at the thought of His absence He had encouraged them with this promise; "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you." (18) More profitable to have the Spirit than to have the Son? So He said! The word behind ‘Helper’ is a multi-faceted word which means supporter, advocate, encourager, strengthener; one called alongside to help another, and a legal representative. The ‘coming One’ would be all that they could possibly need.

He also tied in His leaving with the Spirit’s coming; this was cause and effect. Without the ‘leaving’ there could be no ‘coming’. No doubt they was much he taught them during those 40 days; The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. (19) It was through the enabling and empowering of the Holy Spirit that those 40 days were filled with increasing revelation and expectation, but they were still to await His personal arrival.

Calvary + 40 and Christ’s work on earth was done. He assembled the believers together on the Mount of Olives (20) and as He was blessing them He parted from them and was carried up beyond their mortal vision. What a thrilling picture it is? Christ with hands uplifted in blessing leaving the scene of His passion and triumph. He is the conquering hero, going home to receive the honour due to Him. No Roman ‘triumph’ was ever like this one; when He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive. (21) The believers lingered to catch their last glimpse and two angels appeared to assure them that He would return. (22)

The believers returned to Jerusalem… to wait. Their days were spent either in the upper room in prayer or in the Temple courts. What a transformation of despair to hope; And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen. (23) They spent their days in growing excitement and anticipation. Did they know how long they must wait? Almost certainly; the is the feeling of a countdown in the opening verse of Acts 2; when the Day of Pentecost was fully come… (24) Why wait until the Day of Pentecost? We must leave that until the next chapter.

He had gone; but where had He gone? They had known that His atoning work was complete by the fact that He was raised from the dead, but now He had gone from their sight; how could they know what was happening? That little verse in Revelation with its great sweep of history will put it all into context for us; And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. (25) He had come from the Throne over 30 years earlier; now He was returning. The culmination of the account of Christ’s manhood is not reached until He who left the Throne as God, had returned to it as both God and Man. Of course, eternity is a mystery and we can never really get our heads around it, but in straight-line time something happened in heaven that had never happened in the whole of eternity past; something happened at the level of the Throne. There is something that we can now say about the Throne that we could not say before His ascension; it has a new name, the Throne of God and of the Lamb. The old psalmist had written; Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting. (26) The ancient Israelites had been schooled with the truth that God was Eternal and Immutable; never beginning, never ending and never changing. But something happened in the Throne which has changed things. It is captured in a little phrase scattered through the writings of Paul; ‘but now’.

Let’s see how John expresses this truth. The Throne is the central reference point of the book of the Revelation. The list of prepositions used in connection with the Throne is almost endless; things are ‘in’ or ‘around’ or ‘above’ or ‘before’ or ‘on’ or ‘out of’ the Throne. For John, in his vision, it was the ultimate fact of life. It is not hard to see the significance for the man who recorded the vision. His world was in ruins. The religious system in which he had grown up had been swept away by the Roman legions and the symbols of that religion were all gone; the city, the temple, the priesthood… all gone. He had witnessed the new beginnings of the Church but by the time of his writing of the Revelation he is an old man, and the churches are under various attacks from within and without. It seemed as though they were in danger of being swept away too. Now, to make matters worse, he had been exiled to a penal colony on Patmos. Everything was running out of control… or was it? In the midst of John’s personal experience of traumatic change and decay he is given a vision of the Throne. The overriding message of the book of the Revelation is that history is not in the hands of the conquerors, but in the hands of God. His vision begins with the Throne; his message proper begins John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven spirits which are before his throne; (27)

After this starting point to the vision the Throne is not mentioned until John relays the message to the church in Laodicea; Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. (28) The first verse of this couplet is well known but the second is very significant. It tells us that Christ was able to take up His place again in the Throne because He had overcome or prevailed. He had accomplished His mission and had ascended the Throne. You can read the ‘Coronation’ hymn in Psalm 24. He is the victorious, warrior, Son who has accomplished His Father’s will and returned to the place of His inherent glory.

This truth of Christ’s accession to the throne is now relived in John’s vision. He is lifted up in the Spirit and sees a Throne. (29) He sees the Throne before he sees the One who sits upon it; the title of this part of the vision should be The Throne; there are 17 references to the Throne in these next two chapters. He sees that the Throne is occupied. That must have been a great comfort to John’s own circumstances; however things seemed from the earthly elevation, the heavenly vision showed that God was still on the Throne. It seems that John is watching a heavenly tableau. It culminates in the song of creation; and the four living creatures, having each one of them six wings, are full of eyes round about and within: and they have no rest day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come. And when the living creatures shall give glory and honor and thanks to him that sitteth on the throne, to him that liveth for ever and ever, the four and twenty elders shall fall down before him that sitteth on the throne, and shall worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and shall cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Worthy art thou, our Lord and our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power: for thou didst create all things, and because of thy will they were, and were created. (30)

But in the midst of all this celebration John sees an unopened scroll in the right hand of the One who sits on the throne. It is protected with seven unbroken seals. John hears an angel asking ‘Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals? (31) It seems that a ‘man’ must open this scroll, and there is no-one who qualifies to do so. Heaven, earth and the regions beneath the earth are quickly scanned but the search is fruitless; no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon, (32) and John is heartbroken. It seems that ‘history’ is locked and God’s purposes blocked too. (33)

One of the heavenly elders comforts John; there is a qualifier! Weep not; behold, the Lion that is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath overcome to open the book and the seven seals thereof. (34) The elder uses the word ‘overcome’ or ‘prevail’ that was used in the original promise of Christ to the church at Laodicea; I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne. John will now see this truth in his vision. And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, having seven horns, and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth. (35) It is not incidental that we have a reference here which identifies someone as being from the tribe of Judah and as a ‘root of David; this is great David’s greater son; this is the promised king.

The usual word for ‘lamb’ is ‘arēn’ but this word is ‘arnion’; the diminutive form. In many languages affection is expressed by using a diminutive form of the name. The same is true here; this is a ‘dear Lamb’. But this dear Lamb has been ‘butchered’; that is not said for dramatic effect but is the real meaning of the Greek word used here. But then again this ‘butchered’ Lamb is standing; it has passed through bloody brutal death into triumphant life, and look where it is standing… in the midst of the Throne. Calvary’s despised victim has become king over all. The book of the Revelation is full of symbols, and this ‘dear Lamb’ has seven horns and seven eyes. What can this symbolise? In the Bible’s symbolic language the horn is a symbol of strength, and the eyes are the symbol of knowledge. This ‘dear Lamb’ has seven of each. We are not intended to paint the portrait of this vision; such a Lamb would be grotesque. Seven is symbolic of completion and fullness. The symbols of John’s ‘heavenly Lamb’ signify that this Lamb has all power and all knowledge. That is a powerful combination. If he had all power but was without all knowledge, He would be able to do all things, but some things always remain beyond his knowledge, and consequently would go untouched. If he had all knowledge, He would be able to know all things, but unable to affect all things. In order to rule in completeness the Lamb must have seven horns and seven eyes, or as the theologians might say He must have omnipotence and omniscience.

We must leave the consequences of this to the next chapter. The Throne of God has become the Throne of God and of the Lamb, and that has changed the basis for all of God’s dealings in the entire cosmos. Towards the end of the Revelation we have a clear statement; And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. (36) It is only ‘the one who sits upon the Throne’ that can say ‘Behold, I make all things new’. The limitations of His earthly experience are ended. He has passed through the heavens to the Throne of God. From this place He can begin His new creation, and from this place, the Throne of God and of the Lamb, will pour ‘a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal’ (37).


Notes:
1. Phi 2:5-8 NASB
2. John Stott “The Cross of Christ”
3. Luk 24:19-21 NASB
4. Mat 1:1 KJV
5. Matt 1:22
6. Joh 1:45 KJV
7. John 1:49
8. Rev 12:5 KJV
9. Act 2:22-24 NASB
10. 1 Cor 15:4-8
11. Act 10:40-42
12. John 20:22
13. Numbers 11
14. Luk 24:45-48 KJV
15. the phrase ‘the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms’ is a way of referring to the whole of the Old Testament by referring to its three main ‘sections’.
16. Acts 1:3
17. Luke 24:49
18. Joh 16:7 NASB
19. Act 1:1-2 NASB
20. Acts 1:12
21. Ephesians 4:8
22. Acts 1:11
23. Luk 24:52-53 KJV
24. Acts 2:1
25. Rev 12:5 KJV
26. Psa 93:2 KJV
27. Rev 1:4 KJV
28. Rev 3:20-21 KJV
29. Rev 4:2
30. Rev 4:8-11 ASV
31. Rev 5:3
32. Rev 5:4
33. cf Luke 12:50
34. Rev 5:5
35. Rev 5:6 ASV
36. Rev 21:5-6 KJV
37. Rev 22:1

Next Door to Heaven (Chapter 10)

Next Door To Heaven (Chapter 10)

Ron Bailey

The Baptism

The death of Christ is spoken of in the Scriptures in many different pictures; each one bringing a new facet of the event into clearer view. Passages sometimes arrest our attention simply because they use symbols which come ‘out of the blue’; without warning or expectation. One of these must surely be the idea of Christ’s death as a baptism.

Chronologically, the first time He did this is recorded in Luke’s gospel; "I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!” (1) It comes in the context of a passage where He has spoken of the need to be vigilant and prepared for His return, and His thoughts have turned to future judgments. It seems that His thoughts connected this picture of a fiery judgment with a future experience of His own. I often thought it a great pity that the translators did not use slightly different language here. The last phrase might well have been translated ‘it is finished’ and would have given us an immediate link with the moment of this ‘baptism’; So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. (2) This eliminates all possible of confusion; this baptism is the moment of His death. It is ‘the hour’ and the moment of ‘propitiation’.

He describes the experience as ‘a baptism to be baptized with’; which seems tautological to Western ears. The Hebrew language has a particular way of emphasizing something; it repeats the idea. This is the background of phrases like ‘The Holy of Holies’, ‘The King of Kings’, ‘The Song of Songs’, and many more. When James, in his letter, wanted to speak of intense prayer our English translations speak of ‘fervent prayer’, but James’ own language speaks of ‘praying with prayer’; Elijah was a man like affected as we, and with prayer he did pray--not to rain, and it did not rain upon the land three years and six months; (3) The phrase then, as used by Christ, is not a pointless repetition but a way of indicating the intensity of the event. This, we might say, is the ‘baptism of all baptisms’.

As we read the words of Christ it is clear that this ‘baptism of all baptisms’ is a event which must be achieved before other events can transpire. The New King James version says He was ‘distressed’, but the word really means ‘held fast’. He was unable to unlock the future until this work was finished. All that He has come to do lies on the other side of this ‘baptism’; there is no access to it without this ‘baptism’. It is the focus of all history.

The same picture is captured in the book of Revelation. Mankind’s history lies closed and sealed and John is overwhelmed with the distress of such an impasse. "So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. But one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals." And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne." (4) Not until the Lamb had taken His place in the Throne could the future be released, and the Lamb is a lamb that has passed through death; as though it had been slain. The ‘baptism’ has unlocked the future.

The second incident in which Christ referred to His death as a ‘baptism’ in recorded in both Matthew and Mark. (5) This time the context is dispute among the disciples as to who would get the highest status places in the coming Kingdom. Christ’s response is powerful rebuke but in surprising language. But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"(6) Again we see this intense expression; a baptism to be baptised with. This time however it is associated with another symbol; the Cup. It was His destiny to ‘take the cup’; to consciously embrace all that His Father’s will included. The Cup is uppermost in His mind in the sufferings of Gethsemane; And He said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will." (7) The imagery is very powerful. In our mind’s eye we see the Father offering the cup, and Christ’s phrase ‘this cup’; it is no longer distant but at hand.

We see too His instinctive expression of Sonship in the word ‘Abba’, used only here in the gospels. His mission was not forced upon Him, but offered by the Father’s outstretched hand. The word ‘Abba’ is an expression of nearest intimacy. Mark’s gospel records that en route to the journey to the Mount of Olives and Gethsemane Christ had quoted a piece of scripture from the prophet Zechariah; Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered.’…”(8) It is an amazing piece pf scripture and one which explains the horror of Gethsemane. Its impact will be seen if we identify just who is speaking in the quotation; who is the ‘I’ of ‘I will strike the Shepherd?

The prophet Zechariah lived over 500 years before Christ. How could he have said something which struck such horror in the heart of Christ? It is a passage of scripture which sends a shiver down the spine. Without trying to explain the context let us just quote the words as we find them in Zechariah’s prophecy; And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones. (9) The words appear suddenly in Zechariah’s prophecy without explanation; what are these wounds in thine hands? These words point to the nature of what awaits Him in the next few hours, but it is not the nature of the wounds that breaks His heart, but their source. The one who speaks is God Himself; Jehovah of Hosts. Their horror is to be seen in the words awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow… smite the shepherd.

For centuries God had instructed the people of the Old Covenant that He was ‘One God’. That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting That there is none besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other. (10) But in other parts of the scripture we have strange hints that the full story is more complex than this simple statement. It is not that the statement is not true, but that there is more truth to be added to it. In the book of the Proverbs, for example, the writer personifies Wisdom, and suddenly finds that Wisdom (11) speaks back to him. The word ‘Wisdom’ is very close to what John meant by ‘the Word’ in the first chapter of his gospel. Wisdom testifies to an existence that pre-dates the whole of creation, and to a wonderful intimacy with God; I was by Him. (12) It continues in a wonderful picture of an eternal fellowship of delight and laughter in ‘heaven’ before anything was made. This ‘perfect fellowship of eternal co-equals’ theologians have called Trinity. No shadow ever dimmed this fellowship; all was in perfect harmony… until the day God said ‘awake, o sword, against the man that is my fellow’.

There is a little Bible cameo of Father and Son in perfect accord in the story of Abraham and Isaac. On two occasions in that account there is a simple phrase ‘and they went both of them together’ (13) ; Father and Son journeying ‘together’ to the place of sacrifice. Abraham and Isaac went beyond the sight of those who travelled with them, and at Calvary Father and Son went beyond all human observation. Where no one could witness Abraham took the knife in his hand and began the downward strike, when an angel intervened and stopped him mid-strike. At Calvary there was no angel. It was not the wounded hands that broke Christ’s heart, but the knowledge that His Father held the sword. Another prophet had seen it even before Zechariah; He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. (14)

Gethsemane was Calvary seen in prospect. A great Victorian preacher once said “The debt is discharged to the utmost farthing; the account is cleared; the balance is struck; the scales of justice turn in our favor; God's sword is sheathed for ever, and the blood of Christ has sealed it in its scabbard." (15) It was as though the Father had unsheathed the sword of His righteous indignation against all sin, and sheathed it once and forever in the body of His Son. But the pain of separation in that ‘eternal moment’ is conveyed in just a few words when Christ cried ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me’. The eternal consciousness of ‘Abba, Father’ was gone, and in its place there remained the determination to drain the cup to its bitterest drops. When the Greeks described the utter overwhelming of stricken ship they would use the word ‘baptism’. This was His cup and His baptism.

There is an interesting question that Paul asked the disciples in Ephesus; And he said, "Into what then were you baptized?" And they said, "Into John's baptism." (16) I wonder how we would answer the question if we asked it of Christ’s Baptism; ‘into what was He baptised?’ John Baptist baptised his converts in water, and later Christ would baptise His sons in Spirit and Fire, but what was the element into which He Himself was ‘baptized’? The term ‘baptize’ was used in many ways, including Greek cookery recipes. It had the idea of a thorough soaking through which the flavours of the marinade passed into the vegetables or meat. In that sense something which is baptised shares the nature of the element that it is baptised into. We can see this in the letter to the Romans where Paul speaks of a union which is produced by baptism; Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, (17) It was used to describe how a piece of white cloth ‘baptised’ into a purple die would become united with the dye to produce purple cloth.

So we repeat our question; into what was Christ baptised? There is another clue half-hidden in a language. In Hebrew one word for sin is ‘chataah’, however, the word for ‘sin-offering’ is also ‘chataah’. There is such an identity of the ‘sin’ with its ‘sin-offering’ that one word covers both. The consequence of this is that Bible translators have to look at the context to decide whether to translate the word as ‘sin’ or ‘sin offering’. In one sense, just making the decision, interrupts the identity. For the Hebrew mind-set it would have been impossible to consider the one without the other. The simple answer to our question is that He was thoroughly united with humanity, not just its outward appearance, but with all that it had become. He was born as man in order to be completely identified with man; one with him. But the identification was made complete in the overwhelming tide of Calvary when He became baptised into all that mankind had become. Is this an extreme statement? For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (18) Some Bible students have said ‘but this really means a sin-offering rather than sin’; in the heart of God and in the mind-set of the Hebrew there was complete identity between both. The judgment of the ‘sin offering’ was the judgment of the ‘sin’. This is representation, identification and substitution; He was made sin. When the priest placed his hands upon the goat he said ‘this for us, this is us, this is instead of us’.

There is a story which often comes to my mind when I think these thoughts. It is the story of the final conflict between an Otter, Tarka; and an Otterhound, Deadlock; in Devonshire. The Otterhound had been the curse of Tarka’s family for generations; father, mother, mate and children had all fallen victim to Deadlock cruel jaws. Finally Deadlock chases Tarka into the coastal waters…

Deadlock saw the small brown head, and bayed in triumph as he jumped down the bank. He bit into the head, lifted the otter high, flung him about and fell into the water with him. They saw the broken head look up beside Deadlock, heard the cry of "Ic-yang" as Tarka bit into his throat, and the hound was sinking; with the otter into the deep water.

Oak-leaves black and rotting in the mud of the unseen bed, arose and swirled and sank again. And the tide slowed still. and began to move back, and they waited and watched, until the body of Deadlock arose, drowned and heavy, and floated away amidst the froth on the waters.

They pulled the body out of the river and carried it to the bank, laying it on the grass, and looking down at the dead hound is sad wonder. And while they stood there silently, a great bubble rose out of the depths. and broke, and as they watched, another bubble shook to the surface, and broke; and there was a third bubble in the sea going waters, and nothing more. (19)

Tarka had taken his ancient enemy down into death with himself. So our wonderful Saviour took down into death, with Himself, all that mankind had become. Our old man was co-crucified with Him. (20) By death He rendered powerless him that had the power of death. (21) His great, bloody, baptism had brought all the consequences of Sin and Death in the human race to an end, in Himself. It was… all …finished.

Notes:
1. Luke 12:49, 50 NKJV
2. John 19:30 NKJV
3. Jam 5:17 Young’s Literal Translation
4. Revelation 5:4-7 NKJV
5. Matt 20:2-28; Mark 10:35-40
6. Matt 20:22; Mark 10:38
7. Mark 14:36 NKJV
8. Zechariah 13:7
9. Zechariah 13:6,7 KJV
10. Isaiah 45:6 NKJV
11. Proverbs 8
12. Proverbs 8:30
13 Genesis 22:6, 8.
14. Isaiah 53:3,4
15. Charles Spurgeon: “Death and Life in Christ” preached on Sunday Morning, April 5th, 1863
16 Act 19:3 NASB
17. Romans 6:4,5.
18. 2 Corinthians 5:21
19. Tarka the Otter: Henry Williamson
20. Romans 6:6
21. Hebrews 2:14

Next Door To Heaven (Chapter 9)

Next Door To Heaven (Chapter 9) Ron Bailey The Sin-Bearer What really happened on the cross? The Bible is a book of many parts, and all the parts do not have the same purpose; although together they comprise the Holy Scriptures and are completely trustworthy. To put it very simply, the Old Testament prepares us for the New, but we shall not understand the Old Testament without the New. In many ways the New Testament is the fulfillment of the Old. The Lord saw Himself as the great theme of the Old Testament; "You search the Scriptures,” He said on one occasion, “for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.” (1) The Scripture bore witness to Him; His person, His character, His work. Peter summed up the Holy writings in a different way in his letter; “Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven — things which angels desire to look into.” (2) In many ways the Scriptures were ‘time-locked’ and their full meaning was not understood. When we move from the Old Testament to the New Testament we begin to read the unfolding of God’s purposes in the four accounts of the Life and Ministry of Christ. The first three accounts, Matthew, Mark and Luke, have many similarities and were probably written within 20 years of the events they record. They have something of the mood of a journalists ‘eye-witness’ account. John’s account is different; it was probably written almost 60 years afterwards and has a commentary added to the events it records. As events unfolded the disciples were often quite unaware of their significance and frequently quite misunderstood what was really happening. John, writing many years later, has thought through many of these implications and he sees significance in every detail. At the time, the disciples were often much less wise than even a casual reader would be now. Just as we have an added insight into the Old Testament by looking backwards from the Gospels, so quite often we have an added insight into the Gospels by looking backwards from John’s account and from the New Testament letters. During the actual time there was much that they could not digest. Although there was much important teaching that they did receive, some teaching was beyond them; “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.” (3) Although He spoke often of the fact of His coming death, He did not explain its significance to them at that time other than in fairly simple terms. It seems that they struggled even with the ‘fact’ of His death, and frequently missed the point. John’s account includes this explanation; you cannot bear them now. The implication, of course, is that a time was coming when they would be able to ‘bear them’. It is important to remember this when we read the gospel and when we see the behaviour of the disciples; they just could not ‘carry’ this real significance of this information and the Lord did not overburden them. The day came when the promise was fulfilled and by a unique gift of the Spirit He opened their minds… Then He said to them, These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me. And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then He said to them, Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (4) At this point the purpose of His death began to come more clearly into focus. John writing and commenting of the gospel events often gives us glimpses that were not enjoyed by the disciples of the day. So many things must have been quite beyond them. John the gospel recorder was almost certainly a disciple of John the Baptist, and it does not take much skill to see glimpses of him the gospel that bears his name. John Baptist’s work had been to prepare the way for the coming Lord. His preparatory work included a ‘call to repentance’ and a ‘baptism of repentance’; it not very appropriate that the first word we hear from his lips is ‘repent’ (5) . John Baptist also had words of counsel and direction, but his supreme task was to pave the way for a clear view of the coming Messiah (6) . All the gospel recorders tell us that John Baptist referred to Christ as a ‘Spirit and Fire Baptizer’ but only John tells us of another description that John Baptist used. When Jesus came to the Jordan and was baptized John Baptist had protested; I need your baptism and you come to me? (7)  John gave way and Jesus was baptized. John had another description for Jesus; not only was He to be a ‘Spirit and Fire Baptist’, but He was to have another unique role. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (8) The Old Testament people of God had a very complicated priestly system with elaborate sacrifices which had to be performed in precise ways. The heart of this system was an annual event called The Day of Atonement (9) . On this day in symbolic action the sins of the nation of Israel were dealt with in a remarkable way. Two important truths were captured in the event by the use of two goats. The first goat suffered a death penalty for the nation’s sin; this underlined the truth that ‘the soul that sins must die’(10) . The second goat did not die but ‘escaped’ into the wilderness. Before it did so an important ceremony had taken place; Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness. (11) In the pictorial truth of this ceremony the role of the goat was played by two separate animals but in the spiritual reality behind it, the two represented a double aspect, and the two goats are a complex picture of a single truth. As a result of the death penalty being enacted God’s righteous punishment was received by a substitute; the goat. But as a result of the sentence having been enacted God was now able to ‘remit’ or ‘send away’ the sins of His people on the back of the second goat. The goats were both sin-offering and sin-bearer. Not only was the penalty suffered by a substitute but a substitute carried away the defilement from God’s people. The people of John Baptist’s day were familiar with the ritual of the Day of Atonement and its two goats. The consequence for Israel was …on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. (12) They were familiar with the concept of a goat acting as a sin-bearer for Israel, but what can they have made of John Baptist’s amazing statement? A lamb would now be a sin-bearer, and not for Israel’s sins only but for the sin of the world. Behold said John. This is not Israel’s goat, but God’s lamb, and He is the World’s Sin Bearer. We are familiar with the ideas now but for those of John Baptist’s day it must have been ‘mind blowing’. Christ’s death then was not as a martyr or as an example but as a Sin-Bearer. As a result of Israel’s Day of Atonement God was able to remain among His people. Paul, the apostle, later wrote; Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (13). He is taking up all the symbolism of the Day of Atonement. Christ became the world’s substitute, the Sin-bearer. Peter too, having had his understanding opened, saw the amazing implications of what occurred on the cross; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness——by whose stripes you were healed. (14) This truth is revealed again and again in the New Testament in similar pictures which illustrate different aspects of the same truth. One such picture is the symbolism of propitiation. There is beautiful little picture of propitiation which lies almost forgotten in the story of Esau and Jacob. Jacob’s cunning had opened up a gulf between him and his brother. Esau was so angry that he pronounced a death sentence upon his brother; So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, "The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob." (15)  Jacob fled and the separation lasted probably for twenty years, but finally the time came for Jacob to return to his own land. His quick thinking had not deserted him and Jacob decided he must takes steps to pacify Esau. Jacob split up his family to ensure the survival of at least part of his family, and then set to work to get back into Esau’s favour. To begin he sends a conciliatory message but is horrified to hear that Esau is on his way with what sounds like a small army. (16) His solution was an costly present sent in installments with the intention of softening up his brother. The account is fascinating, as is Jacob’s self-honesty. His thinking is recorded plainly for all to see; "and also say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us.’" For he said, "I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me."(17) Although the circumstances are not very noble this is a perfect example of ‘propitiation’. ‘Propitiation’ is the price paid in order to remove enmity. It is an instinct deep in the human psyche. If I offend someone I may be able to ‘put things right’ by providing the right price. This was the instinct which caused the child to try to buy his way back into his mother’s favour with a bunch of flowers, or even the husband who forgot the anniversary! Sometimes we even use the language; ‘please accept this peace-offering’. That, in essence, is what a propitiation is; a peace offering. I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me. It is the instinct behind all heathen sacrifice given to propitiate an angry local god. How are we to understand Christ’s death in these terms? Our sin is an offence to God and has opened up an enormous gulf between us. When we begin to understand this rightly our response is one of fear and a frantic search for the right ‘peace-offering’. We can hear it in the voices of the people in Jerusalem on the day that Peter told them that they had executed God’s King but that God had raised Him to heaven’s throne.  "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" (18) That is the plaintive cry for a solution; ‘what shall we do?’. What can we do to remedy the offence? How can we get back into God’s favour. Without the Bible’s revelation men would attempt to find the price. Some still do. Some give costly gifts to church. Some give costly promises of lives to be lived ‘better’ than before. Without the Bible’s revelation we can never calculate the cost of such reconciliation. The offence is far too great; the gap is far to wide for it to be spanned from our side. This is the background behind part of Romans when Paul, speaking of the redemption that is in Christ, writes; being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (19) Paul says God has ‘set out’ the ‘peace-offering’; the propitiation. We sometime say that Christ paid the price for our sins; the truth is even more wonderful… God paid the price, and the price He paid was the death, the blood, of His Son. Christ is the ‘propitiation’; the price paid in order to remove the enmity.  Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself... Even in those dimmer days of the Old Testament the truth had been declared, but it was to be hundreds of years before its full interpretation; Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked—But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. (20) Notes: 1. John 5:39 NKJ 2. 1 Peter 1:10-12 3. John 16:12-14 4. Luke 24:45-47 5. Matt 3:2 6. John 1:31 7. Matt 3:14 8. John 1:29 9. Leviticus 16 10. Ezekiel 18:20 11. Leviticus 16:21,22 12. Leviticus 16:30. 13. 2 Cor 5:18-21 14. 1 Peter 2:24 15. Genesis 27:41 16. Genesis 33:6.7 17. Genesis 33:20 18. Acts 2:36,37 19. Romans 3:24-26 20. Isaiah 53:4-10ff

Next Door To Heaven (Chapter 8)

Next Door To Heaven (Chapter 8)
Ron Bailey

The Hour

The life story of Jesus of Nazareth is a thrilling demonstration of One who came, not to please Himself, but His Father. John’s account, in particular, is full of expressions which show Him to be ‘on course’ and in ‘perfect synchronisation’ with His Father’s will. He lived in the conscious approval of His Father and all His teachings and signs demonstrated it. We cannot linger on this wonderful story however; we have an appointment with a unique moment in history. John’s account of Jesus’ life has another feature; Jesus was conscious that His life was leading inevitably to His death. This death would not just be a natural consequence of ageing, or of circumstances which overwhelmed Him. His death would be the culmination of His life. Uniquely, this man was born to die.

Military campaigns often demand pin-point timing. “Synchronise your watches” is a key scene from many a war film. In general terms the stage was now set, but there would need to be perfect synchronisation of events. Christ’s appointment with His destiny was no approximation but timed to the very second.

John records a series of progress points, and reveals the element of truth. At the very beginning of His public ministry a domestic emergency arose. His attention was drawn to the fact by His mother who clearly intends His intervention. It was at a wedding celebration and there would have been considerable disgrace for the family if the situation had become more widely known. Mary addresses her observation and request to Him personally. They have no wine. (1) At this point there had been no public display of special powers, and it is interesting to wonder what Mary had in mind when she raised the issue.

Christ’s response is surprising in its apparent abruptness, although it is not as stark as it appears in our English translations. Woman, what does your concern have to do with me? My hour has not yet come. We sometimes say of an individual that ‘he marches to the sound of a different drum; Christ was such an individual. He said so Himself using somewhat different words; I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. (2) Before His public acknowledge as the Father’s Son, Jesus was content to submit Himself to the authority of His mother and adopted father but from the time of His baptism in the Jordan, He never again submitted to Mary. He could do only what His Father authorized.

His hour had not yet arrived. What hour? Here was an opportunity for Him to display His Messianic authority. Moses had provided food in the wilderness why not Jesus at a wedding? However, when He provided for this needy family He did so in a way so discrete that only the servants and His immediate followers knew what had happened. (3) There were many aspects to Christ’s vocation, but the full scope of His Messianic role would be seen later. Above all others there was one supreme task to accomplish. One time which above all others would be His hour.

John’s account of things keeps this truth at the forefront of things. Neither Satan nor men could hurry that hour, although they certainly tried on more than one occasion. (4) His teaching continued, as did the miracles accomplished under His Father’s instruction, but it seems as though He always had His eye on another hour.

One of His acts of power is a special point of time reference in this gospel. The feeding of the 5000 is the only one of His miracles recorded in all four accounts. (5) Many Bible students feel that part of the reason for this is what is known as the Caesarea Philippi Confession of Faith. This was the time when Peter (and perhaps the others too) received a heavenly revelation of who Jesus of Nazareth really was. It was a true watershed. From this point the disciples knew clearly who He was, but they were not nearly so clear about what He had come to do.

The feeding of the 5000 was, without doubt, a spectacularly public display of power. John records the immediate response of some who experienced the miracle personally. Their response was to try to start a revolution. Our mental pictures of The Holy Land are usually of quiet country scenes with gently grazing sheep and the steady rhythms of an agricultural society. These were not the mental pictures of the Roman Legionaries who found themselves stationed in this seething hotbed of passionate nationalism.

The earthly lifespan of Jesus Christ was lived out in a country under enemy occupation with numerous terrorist groups committed to national liberation. The most violent group were referred to by the Romans occupation forces as the Sicarri; they carried hidden daggers and used to assassinate Jewish collaborators, especially in the crowds at festival times. This was merely, however, the ultra-violent terrorist fringe of a movement who called themselves Zealots. (6) One of Christ’s own disciples had been a Zealot, and it is possible that the term Iscariot is derived from Sicarri. Perhaps this is why Matthew (an ex tax-gatherer and hence collaborator) groups them together as Simon the Zealot and Judas the Assassin. (7)

Imagine the scene; a popular orator who could now become the front-man for a national uprising. Thousands of potential revolutionaries on a hillside ‘eating out of his hand’. Too good an opportunity to miss. Some activists refusing to take ‘no’ for an answer determined to take Him by force to make Him king. (8) But this was not His way, and this was not His hour. This was not His vocation. He acted promptly, removing his disciples from the danger zone and climbing the hill alone to receive fresh orders. (9)

It was in the shadow of these events that Jesus asked “who do the crowds say that I am?” Peter’s answer is unequivocal, Thou are the Christ, the Son of the living God. (10) No sooner is this revelation established in Peter’s understanding than Christ’s thoughts turn to the significance of the role. His thoughts turn immediately to His hour; He must go to Jerusalem, He must suffer, He must be killed, He must rise again. (11) Peter protested and received the strongest possible rebuke. There could be no compromise on this issue. He was heading towards His hour and Peter’s misplaced compassion could not be allowed to hinder Him.

As events unfold the consciousness is of His appointment with the hour. The arrival and request of the non-Jews or Helenists provokes an awareness that the time has arrived. His soul is troubled but He knows that the whole purpose of His incarnation was to keep this appointment. It was in the consciousness of this imminent hour’s ultimate stripping of all His rights, that He stripped to the waist and acted out the role of the servant. It was with a supreme consciousness of the hour having arrived that He prayed the great prayer of personal consecration; which could only ever be accomplished by the works of the hour. (12) The repetition of the phrase is like the tolling of a great bell; the hour is coming. Mark records some of the words spoken in Gethsemene on the night of the betrayal. To the sleepy disciples He says Are you still sleeping and resting. It is enough! The hour has come! (13)

But other events were reaching their climax too, in an amazing synchronisation. Luke’s gospel adds another dimension to these momentous events. Those who arrived to arrest Him heard these extraordinary words; when I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness. The New International Version senses the mood in its freer translation; Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on Me. But this is your hour – when darkness reigns. (14)

Satan’s and mankind’s wickedness has always had a restraint upon it. Although almost unbelievable evil had been seen in our world, the full force of a murderous malice aimed at God Himself had hardly been seen. For generations mankind had been able to hide behind the protest of an independent spirit; we will not have this man to reign over us. (15) The prophet Isaiah caught this refusal to submit to God’s reign when He records mysterious details of the original rebellion;                              

I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthert sides of the north;l
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High. (16) In this form of expression the rebellion is a bid for equality; I will be like the Most High, but as all restraint is removed in this cosmic conflict the expression takes on an unmistakable form; Crucify Him! (17) There is no hiding behind some kind of mutual co-existence now. The treacherous secret is out in the open. There never could have been two supreme beings in the universe; the nature of the usurper is clearly revealed; he intends to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. (18)

Calvary then was a battlefield where two mighty combatants were to meet. This was both My hour and your hour. A terrifying synchronisation of love and hate in all their full measure. The hour in which Evil and Good met is at the centre of the universe. A meeting in which one pretended to equality with God and who in this moment reaches out to take his prize, and One who existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, yea, the death of the cross. (19)

The cross was a demonstration. On the one hand it was an hour in which God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (20) On the other hand is wa an hour which demonstrated the workings of the darkest powers in the universe, in the attempted murder of God. It is a synchronisation beyond human comprehension of God’s carefully planned intention and foreknowledge, and the creature’s red-handed guilt. An old Charles Wesley hymn expressed a grateful wonder; Died He for me, who caused His pain? For me, who Him to death pursued? (21)

These are mysteries too profound for ordinary human words. God, however, has had a means of expressing something of the depths of these sufferings. The Bible itself tells us that Christ’s own Spirit has testified to His own sufferings. This testimony was ‘heard’ in the heart of prophets and is the source of much of their revelation. (22) King David was such a prophet, and Psalm 22 is that kind of prophecy. It is an amazing song written a thousand years before the hour, but recounts in powerful imagery the events of the hour. This psalm was not directly David’s testimony. David’s hands and feet were never pierced, not did men cast lots for his clothing. This is the testimony of Jesus which is the spirit of prophecy. (23) It first words reveal its real author; My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (24)

If it is at all possible, read it now, down to verse 21. Its subtitle is ‘the hind of the dawn’ and the imagery is of a young deer hunted to exhaustion. Its atmosphere is heavy and brooding. It is Calvary’s cry of dereliction. It is prayer of One who in His identification with the human race in all its ruin is now a worm, and no man. He is quite alone; there is none to help. Alone, that is, except for His prowling enemies. He is impaled upon the horns of the wild oxen; this animal is almost certainly the now extinct great auroch. These were animals of prodigious and awesome strength and probably the most powerful animal known to those regions. In Bible idiom ‘horn’ is very often the symbol of power. The symbolism of Psalm 22 has its victim finally impaled on the horns of this terrible power.

There is a mystery within a mystery here. Ancient Israel’s laws were very explicit. If an ox gored to death a common slave compensation had to be paid to the slave’s owner. The price was fixed for all generations; thirty pieces of silver. (25) This fixed price may well have been in Matthew’s thoughts as he recorded Judas’ betrayal. Quoting from the prophecies of Jeremiah and Zechariah; They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel. (26) ‘Thirty pieces of silver’; the compensation price for a slave who had been gored to death by an ox.

Let’s return to our reading of Psalm 22. There is a point in the psalm where the whole atmosphere changes. It is half way through a verse in most modern translations, but Bible chapters and verse breaks are very arbitrary things. The New King James version format of the verses will help to make the point; Deliver me from the sword, My precious (life) from the power of the dog. Save me from the lion’s mouth and from the horn’s of the wild oxen.
You have answered me.

I will declare your name to my brethren;
In the midst of the congregation I will praise you. (27)
The translators have done us a real service here. Psalm 22 has two quite separate sections with two entirely different atmospheres, and the change comes with the conviction that the prayers of the first section have been heard and answered; You have answered me. (28) Later in the psalm the writer records, when he cried unto him, he heard. My praise shall be of you in the great congregation. (29) 

In the second half of the psalm He is no longer alone. He knows that His prayer is heard and He looks forward with absolute certainty to the joys set before Him in the fellowship of His church (the great congregation). It is the familiar pattern of so much Old Testament prophecy; the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. (30)

Understood in this way the psalm becomes a commentary on a passage in the letter to the Hebrews. Who in the days of his flesh, having offered up both supplications and entreaties to him who was able to save him out of death, with strong crying and tears; (and having been heard because of his piety). (31)

In the gospel account all these invisible mysteries are hidden from the natural eyes, but the moment of conviction that the work was accomplished rings through ‘loud and clear’; it is finished. (32) He had spoken of His death as a baptism which must be ‘accomplished’; using the same word. (33) Now emerging from His baptism, while still on the horns of the wild oxen, we hear the victor’s triumphal shout; ‘it is finished, it is accomplished, it is done! In one place, at one time, in the history of all creation evil in all its power and love in all its power kept their divine appointment, and the battle won. The appointment with the hour has been kept, and the Mission Accomplished.

Notes:
1. John 2:1-11
2. John 5:19 New International Version
3. John 2:9,11
4. John 7:38; 8:20.
5. Matt 14:13-21; Mark 6:33-44; Luke 9:11-17; John 6:2-14
6. A History of the Jews; Paul Johnson
7. Matt 10:4. This is a possible paraphrase. In Acts 21:38 the word translated ‘assassins’ is ‘sicarion.
8. John 6:15
9. Matt 14:23
10. Matt 16:16 King James. The ‘thou’ is emphasised in the original text.
11. Matt 16:21-28
12. John 12:23,27; 13:1; 17:1
13. Mark 14:41
14. Luke 22:53
15. Luke 19:14
16. Isaiah 14
17. Mark 15:13
18. John 10:10
19. Philippians 2:6 1901 American Standard Version
20. Romans 5:8
21. ‘And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Saviour’s blood?’ Charles Wesley
22. 1 Pet 1:10,11
23. Revelation 19:10
24. Psalm 22:1
25. Exodus 21:32
26. Matthew 27:9; Jeremiah 32:6-9; Zechariah 11:13
27. Psalm 22:2-22 KJV. Notice how the last section of verse 21 has been separated from the main body of the verse.
28. Psam 22:21b
29. Psalm 22:24,25
30. 1 Peter 1:11
31. Hebrews 5:7 J N Darby translation.
32. John 19:30
33. Luke 12:50