IT is the blessed work of the Holy Ghost to bring Jesus before us―to make Him everything. “He shall glorify Me, for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you.” “All things that the Father hath are Mine; therefore, said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall show it unto you.” To this end, it was expedient that Jesus should go away.
The spiritual condition of our souls depends upon the views we have of Christ. Our communion with the Father and the Son, our joy and peace, the firmness and boldness of our faith, our strength for service, and willingness to suffer and endure for His name sake, depend entirely upon the character of experience we have in relation to Him.
It has ever been the work of Satan to lower the Person, Work, and Character of the Lord Jesus, that he might damage our souls, and make way against us. In Jesus we see the Father―His words, and works, are in Him revealed. To understand the one clearly, is to know the other also. (See John 14) It is very striking in this chapter, indeed throughout John’s gospel, how closely Jesus connects Himself with the Father; whilst He draws us to Himself, He draws us to the Father also.
We must, however, keep distinct in our minds, the Son in relation to His union with the Father as the sharer of all Divine fullness in His essential Godhead, and His rights as the anointed and risen Man. Ere Jesus commanded His Apostles to disciple all nations, He told them that all power in heaven and in earth was given unto Him. In the assurance of this, they were to make their way into all parts of the earth, to preach His name and gospel. The blessedness and fullness of this truth was to sustain their hearts in the midst of all the difficulties of the way. In time of danger and opposition they were to fall back upon it. The power thus delegated to Christ is a given power; He gets all in resurrection as the risen Man. Ere this He had a glory with the Father before the world was. (John 17) The glories of eternity, and of time, find in Him their common center.
There is a most striking and deeply interesting connection between these verses in Matthew 11, which I thus divide: ―
“All things are delivered unto Me of My Father.”
“Neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and He to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him.”
“Come unto Me, all ye that labor.”
“Take My yoke upon you.”
Jesus invites us to come to Him, and to take His yoke, on the ground that all things were delivered unto Him of His Father. In the blessed assurance of this, all who labor and are heavy laden are invited to come, with this gracious promise, that He will give rest. What meaning, therefore, there is in the invitation to come―come unto One who possesses everything, and that, too, by the gift of the Father. The source of all fullness and blessing is now in Him. Paradise is lost. The land of Canaan is dissolved; the world under the curse is bringing forth its daily share of thorns and thistles; ruin and devastation everywhere abound. In the world we shall have sorrow and tribulation; but, blessed exception! in Jesus we have peace. “All things are delivered unto Me of My Father.” Wondrous words! Well may we say with the disciples, “Lord, to whom should we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.” All that the soul needs for refreshment and security are now to be found in Jesus, and only there. Floods of human anger may now prevail, and Satan roar on his prey like a lion; darkness may cover all the earth, and desolation spread everywhere; yet these words of Jesus, “In Me ye might have peace,” make the storm a calm; and so it shall be, till we reach the haven where we would be. No man knows the Father, and no man knows the Son, yet the believer knows both the Father and the Son. For the Father reveals the Son (Matt. 16:1717And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 16:17)), and the Son reveals the Father. (Matt. 11:2727All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. (Matthew 11:27).) In the secret and power of this blessed mystery of the Father and the Bon, the believer comes to Jesus, and is at peace, is safe, and is at home.
To come to Jesus is not to indulge in lawlessness, nor indifference, in relation to the things that concern His interests. We are called to bear His yoke, to serve Him daily, and the believer finds His service to be perfect freedom. He who puts the yoke upon us is meek and lowly in heart, therefore His yoke is easy, and His burden light, whilst all other yokes are oppressive and burdensome. He asks us to do nothing against our heat interests, and He sustains us in any service He is pleased to honor us with. Many seem to make their religion serve only their own ends; to escape hell, and to find a place hereafter in heaven, is all that Jesus and His cross are to them. Such seek to hold as much of the world as they can stretch their consciences to admit. They forget that if they are saved by Christ’s Cross, they have a daily one to take up, or else they cannot be His disciples. To follow Jesus fully, all for Him must be forsaken. The hatred of the world must be borne; it is enough for the servant to be as his Master. Christianity is the opposite of selfishness, “For (says the apostle) none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.” (Rev. 14:7, 87Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. 8And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. (Revelation 14:7‑8).) Jesus is the perfect sample of this as He is of every grace. “He came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.” The Holy Ghost’s record of the glorified family is, “His servants shall serve Him” (Rev. 22:33And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: (Revelation 22:3)); but of many it might now be fairly said, His servants do not serve Him. As in the days of Paul, so, alas! it is now, men are looking on their own things, and not on the things of others. I doubt whether peace of soul can be long maintained where service to Jesus is not the reigning motive of one’s life. It is said of those who put on His yoke, “ye shall find rest unto your souls.” I believe it will be found a matter of general experience, that those who refuse Christ’s yoke sin against their own souls. Not unfrequently when this first step in declension is taken, open sin follows. Happiness is not within the compass of human will and ability; it must come in God’s way and time. It is in the hands of Jesus, and He is pleased to bless His yoke-bearers with rest of soul. Nothing can make up for the loss of this. Jesus was a Son, yet He was a Servant also. His delight was to do His Father’s will; He went about doing good, and God was with Him.
Thus we have linked together, all things being delivered to Jesus of the Father, and the statement that the Father is revealed to the believer by the Son. Then the invitation, based upon these truths, to come to Him, being weary and heavy laden (as all believers are), and that He will give rest. All is wound up with the Lord’s loving command, to take His yoke and learn of Him, “and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Those who know the fullness that dwells in Him, will come to Him in every time of need, knowing that they shall not be disappointed. Those in whose hearts His love has engendered obedience take His yoke. Such only know what true rest of soul means. They find it in times of need and sorrow, and in the path of service, whilst all others hew out cisterns that can hold no water.