THE FATHER'S HOUSE AND MANY MANSIONS

The Father's House and Many Mansions

John 14:2-6

This parabolic illustration our Lord employed while still in conversation with His own, in those final and intimate hours before He passed to His Cross. Immediately after the parabolic action of the washing of the disciples' feet Judas was excluded. He then referred to His going once more, and told them quite plainly, "Whither I go, ye cannot come." That statement of our Lord—led to discussion. Only four men spoke, and our Lord answered them; Peter, Thomas, Philip, and Jude. In the course of His replies occurs this symbolic illustration.

This is a very familiar passage. I have said these words are para­bolic, and they were intended to illustrate; "In My Father's house are many mansions." Following our custom in these studies we consider first the subject He was illustrating, which is of importance; then we look particularly at the figure He employed, in order that we may deduce the teaching from the utterance itself.

The background here is so necessary. We saw that when dealing with the washing of the disciples' feet. Again it is important here. We must bear in mind that strangely perplexing hour for the disciples. Evidence of it comes out in the things they said to Him when He told them He was going. They could not understand "Whither I go, ye cannot come." We are familiar with what happened. Peter said, Where art Thou going? Thomas said, We do not know where Thou art going, how can we know the way? Philip said, "Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us." Jude said, "What is come to pass that Thou wilt manifest Thyself unto us, and not unto the world?" Their perplexity is self-evident.

But observe that all these questions or words spoken by these four representative men, were concerned with spiritual matters and that concerning the Kingdom yet to be established. Peter knew that Jesus was going to death. He had been told that again and again for six months. Now they knew perfectly well His enemies were waiting for Him, and that He was going to death. When Peter said, Where are You going? "Whither goest Thou?" he was peering out into the unknown mysterious spaces. If the Kingdom is not here, then where is it? Jesus answered him, and in the course of that answer He employed the words we are looking at.

Go on to Thomas. If Peter was trying to visualize a destination, Thomas, not knowing the destination was perplexed about the way. How can we know the way, if we do not know where You are going? If it is not here, then how do we get to where it will be? Jesus replied to him.

Then Philip, that quiet, unobtrusive soul, who thought great and profound things, and did not talk much about them, blurted out the whole of the agony of humanity, "Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us." From all You have taught us about the Father, then just show Him to us?

Then Jude, facing the practical present, asked his question. He looked round about the world again, and faced the practical issue of it all. Let us recognize that their immediate earthly trouble was earthly. They were losing Him. After three and a half years in His close company, travelling here and there; watching Him, listening to Him; now He is going; they are going to be left. If this is a literal Kingdom, then where in the world is it? That was their trouble.

Yet it was quite evident from everything that He had been saying to them, He was going forward with majesty. There was no cringing. He told them He was going to suffer. He told them He was going to die. He told them He was going to resurrection. They never seem to have grasped the fact of the resurrection and the Second Coming taught in the OT passages and prophecies.

So we look at them, perplexed and fearful. The earth was so real, it was there; their feet were planted on it. They were living in it. They were breathing its surrounding atmosphere, and seeing its hills and its valleys, its lakes and its rivers. Rome had utter control of their world, no Kingdom although the King was present but He was about to leave. While He was there teaching them concerning the Kingdom many did not like what they heard and after all was said and done, the beyond was unknown and un­certain and their hopes were fading fast. I do not think any of them were Sadducees but Pharisees, prior to their capture by Jesus, and they believed in the Spirit, and the spirit world, and the life beyond. They were not satisfied with a merely moral and ethical code; but they were not clear about the beyond; what did lie beyond, "Whither goest Thou?" Where in this universe is our hope? How are men going to get there? We do not know the destination. We do not know the route. What is the way? said Thomas, and there seems to have been in the mind of Philip, perhaps in the sense of all of them, whatever the destination, whatever the route that led to this Kingdom, the ultimate was God. He said "Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.” Then Jude, a little more practical for the moment than the rest, asked how the Kingdom with Christ ruling they had seen should be manifested to the world.

It was in the midst of His reply to these words of Peter, He said, "Whither I go, thou canst not follow Me now, but thou shalt follow afterwards." (John 13:36) Peter then replied, "Lord, why cannot I follow Thee even now? I will lay down my life for Thee." He never said a finer thing, and he meant it. Our Lord replied, "Wilt thou lay down thy life for Me? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied Me thrice. Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions." That is where He was going. "If it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again, and will receive you unto Myself."

So we come to the figure itself. He was illuminating that whole thinking of theirs. They were in the presence of ineffable sorrow at His departure. They would be here in the world wondering. They would not be able to talk to Him, and to watch His deeds. He will be gone, where is the Kingdom You taught us was near? It was in answer to that wonder that He used this illustration.

The men knew from that great Davidic Psalm that the Lord was their Shepherd and that I shall not want and also Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I shall dwell in the house of Jehovah forever. And says He was going back to the Father’s house, where He will reside again. What was the figure He employed? "In My Father's house are many mansions." "House," the simple word for a dwelling-place, a place of abode. Do not dismiss it by the use of the word simple. It is far more than simple. It was the word oikos, house. They all lived in houses. The dwelling-place is the simple meaning of it. He said in the house of My Father there are many mansions. "Mansions." The word has unfortunate connotations. Some people think the house is a villa residence. Some people have sung about the mansions over yonder. What is this word "mansions"? It is the word mone, which means sim­ply an abode. The verb meno is a common word in the New Testa­ment; but the word mone is not, only occurring here and in one other place, in verse 23; both times from the lips of Jesus. "In My Father's house are many mansions"; "We will come . . . and make Our abode with him." I am going back to His house but we will come back so that you may make your abode with Us. So we have a double idea here, and we see at once that the term "house" is inclusive. I prefer to use for that the word "dwelling-place," and for the word "mansions," "abiding-places." That may not help us very much. Yet I would read it in that way. "In My Father's dwelling place there are many abiding places." The dwelling place is greater than the abiding places. All the abiding places are in the dwelling-place. The great word there is "My Father's house," and the secondary, the subsidiary, is the "abiding place."

What was He talking about? What was He intending to teach when He used this figure of speech? Let us begin on the level of the evident and commonplace. Twice in the course of the ministry of our Lord He made use of that phrase, "My Father's house." The first is in the second chapter of this Gospel. When He was cleansing the Temple, He said "My Father's house." There He was referring to the temple. He said it here, "In My Father's house are many mansions."

Let us endeavor to ascertain the scriptural meaning of "Father's house." The word "house," with Father, or God, or Lord, attached, in some places denotes the tabernacle; in other places the temple; and still in others the Church, because God is specially present, and these in a special manner belong unto Him. So Jerusalem, owing to its Theocratic relationship, containing the throne of David, being the capital of the Messianic King, being the place where God will dwell again, etc., is called "the house of the Lord," Ps. 122, Zech. 8, etc., just as Nebuchadnezzar designated the city Babylon (Dan. 4:30) "the house of the Kingdom." It is His "habitation" or "dwelling-place," because specially covenanted to Him, Ps. 132:13, 14 "For the Lord hath, chosen Zion; he hath, desired it for his habitation. This is my rest forever; here will I dwell for I have desired it," etc. Here it is that God will again through His Son—who is also the promised seed of David to occupy (according to oath) David's throne—manifest his rulership. In the prophetic delineations, this idea of "a house," "a dwelling place," etc., is inseparably connected with that of the Kingdom; that is, it is the house of the Kingdom in which the regal representations are exhibited, and to which all must look for the central place of dominion. It must not be separated from the Kingdom; it being the head of the King­dom and designed for its establishment and perpetuation. So closely are the two united, that the Kingdom itself — flowing out of this "house" — is called "the house" that was found and left desolate by Jesus (Matt. 23:38 etc.) "the tabernacle of David fallen" and in ruins, or the royal house of David (called "house" and "mine house" i.e. adopted as God's in 2 Sam. 7:1 seq. and 1 Chron. 17:11-27) in an abject condition. Or, to express ourselves more accur­ately, "the house" of David becoming God's "house" in virtue of His Son being incorporated to constitute the Theocratic King contemplated, it and the Kingdom are associated (comp. even Gen. 41:40) ideas, with which Jerusalem as the place of special royal manifestation and residence is annexed; the one virtually and necessarily recalling the other. This, therefore, explains why in the prophecies they are interchangeably used; the one suggesting and being contained in the other. The word "house" linked with God, naturally suggests a particular relationship; that He in some manner is identified with it; and this is fully sustained in the position that Jerusalem will occupy (as e.g. Zech. 8:3) in the restored Theocratic arrangement. 

      The first figure is that of the temple itself. He referred to the temple as "the house of God" on other occasions. He called it the house in God in Matthew 13:4. He spoke of it as His own house, assuming the place of God. At the terrible end He referred to the temple not as My Father's house, or My house, but "your house is left unto you desolate." That being Jerusalem as a whole and in 70 a.d. that happened to the city of the King. The King's residing place was where His Father resided and specifically according to OT truth was where the law was brought forth. Many descriptions to tell us that the Father resides in Jerusalem and He was going to prepare the NEW JERUSALEM and bring back with Him.

Let us be content to spend time with the simplicities of this. Go back and look at the temple. He was familiar with it, and often went into it. We have accounts of His having been in three parts of the temple. At the feast of tabernacles He was in the treasury. At the Feast of Dedication He was in Solomon's porch. In the case of the widow, He was over against the treasury, sitting there.

What was the temple like? It has often been described as it existed then. It was in process of building. It was not finished until ten years after the crucifixion of Jesus. There it was a wonderful building. A quotation from "Jerusalem" by George Adam Smith may help us to see it.

"Herod's temple consisted of a house divided like its predecessor into the Holy of Holies, and the Holy Place; a porch; an immediate forecourt with an altar of burnt offering; a Court of Israel; in front of this a Court of Women; and round the whole of the preceding a Court of the Gentiles." Again, "Chambers for officials, and a meeting-place for the Sanhedrim. Against the walls were built side-chambers, about 38 in all." The temple was a house. There were many abiding places in it. I believe that that temple, as a figure of speech and symbol was in the mind of our Lord when He said, "In My Father's house there are many abiding places."

Two of the disciples wanted positions of power in the Kingdom of God. The house of God (Jerusalem) is where the priests and the Kings do their work as well as reside. The promise was made that they would rule and reign with Him in this Kingdom. Even Luke as a Gentile, would be recognized as belonging to the elect nation, may inherit and become a king as well as a priest. His mansion would be located in Jerusalem along side many others. This promise is amplified by Peter (1 Peter 2:5, 9) and will be our privilege throughout eternity (Rev. 1:6). Israel was called by God to be a peculiarly holy nation, as a witness to all other nations that either had already departed from acknowledging the true God of creation, or were in the process. In the sense of mediating between other nations and God, all the Israelites were to serve as a royal priesthood, (Exod. 19:6) even though within their own nation the tribe of Levi would be designated as their priests. This wonderful offer was given to Israel even before they received the Ten Commandments. Even though they failed miserably, the promise is still there, probably to be accomplished in the millennial age (Isa. 61:6; Rev. 5:10).

Jesus saw the temple in its true sig­nificance, and understood its symbolism. Go back to the first words about the construction of that temple, in Exodus. "And let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them." He saw it as the house of God. Later, the writer of the letter to the Hebrews, referring to the tabernacle, which was the true pattern after all, said, "All things were made according to the pattern that was skewed thee in the mount." Again, all those things were "copies of the things in the heavens." Once more, "made with hands, like in pattern to the true."

So that temple was patterned after things in the heavens. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." When read next do not think merely of that wonderful stretch of sky some night when the moon is at the full, and the stars are out, a more wonderful sight than in the day; but all the ultimate beauty is seen in the havens. That temple that tabernacle, and all the account of it is there, is according to the copy of things in the heavens; and it was called the house of God. It had many parts, many sections, many places, all having their value, all having their place. I am not so much concerned with the temple as with the tabernacle of old. It was a copy. "In my Father's house are many mansions." In Jerusalem where the rulership shall reside and do their works shall be the mansion, revealing their royalty where they reside. There are many abiding places in the house, the city of God.

The King was going back to the Father’s house to prepare for His wedding.  And that only after a price was agreed upon to purchase the bride. That price was paid at Calvary. After the payment was made He would depart . He would make a little speech to his bride, saying, "I go to prepare a place for you," and he would return to his father's house. Back at his father's house, he would build her a bridal "house", containing many mansions, in which they would have their future honeymoon. Also called the New Jerusalem.

We should appreciate that this was a complex under­taking for the bridegroom. The bridal chamber had to be beautiful - one doesn't honeymoon just anywhere; and it had to be stocked with provisions since the bride and groom were going to remain inside for seven days.  This construc­tion project would take the better part of a year, ordinarily, and the father of the groom would be the judge of when it was finished. (We can see the logic there - obviously, if it were up to the young man, he would throw up some kind of modest structure and go get the girl!) But the father of the groom, who had been through this previously and was less excited, would be the final judge on when the chamber was ready and when the young man would go to claim his bride.

Meanwhile, the bridegroom would be building and decorating with all that he had.  His father would inspect the "house" from time to time to see if it were ready.  If we came along the road at this point and saw the young man working on his bridal "house", we might well ask, "When's the big day?" But the bridegroom would answer, "Only my father knows that." (Matt. 24:36) How smart is the Trinity. Smarter than men, smarter than angels, Jesus even knows what He doesn't know.

What a wonderful expression that is, "To prepare a place for you." He goes to the house of God, He is going there to get a place fully furnished for you. How does He do it? By being there. As though He said to them, You will come soon. The Comforter that My Father and I will send will cleanse you with My words being brought to your remembrance having a cleansing effect. And when the hour comes for your arrival I will come to you to wash your feet at the entrance of your new home. He that is bathed only needs a cleansing which you have practiced with each other in My absence. (John 13:15) Now they know (John 13:7).He was going to prepare a place for them, and He would come again and receive them.

Thomas said, we do not know where it is. How do we know the way? He said, "I am the way," as your Teacher and Lord leaving you the commandment He just told Me and giving you the example for your teaching to I return, "I am the truth" concerning it. All secrets have their final solution in Me. I am more, I am the life of the Father's house. I think Philip bad got nearer when he said, "Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us." Then mark the marvel of it, "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father." I have loved you with a perfect love until the end as well as My Father Who sent Me. And the Comforter that We will send will help you prepare for My return to perform the final washing (John 13:8, 10).

A GRAIN OF WHEAT

A Grain of Wheat

John 12:20-26

We find ourselves now in the last hours of our Lord's public ministry. As we follow the records, the incident recorded in this paragraph (John 12:20-26) is the last of which we have any record in the public work of Jesus. Preceding this incident there had been His entry to Jerusalem, and His conflict with the rulers. At the end of that conflict there had shone upon Him that gleam of light as the poor widow, passing the treasury, had shown her devotion to the God of her fathers as she cast in all her living. Then it was that the Greeks came. We should note that these were Greeks, not Greek Jews. There is a distinction clearly seen by the reader of the Greek New Testa­ment between Hellenes, and Hellenistes. These were Hellenes,—Greeks (i.e. Gentiles).

Immediately after this incident, we have the chs. 13-17, in which we see Jesus alone with His own, the world shut out. At the close of that period with His own, He crossed the brook Kidron, and the end came. This is but to remind us of the atmosphere that neces­sarily demands careful thought and attention. Death was certain but also resurrection to bring life to those who choose to love Him for the work on this earth He was sent to perform by the Father Who also loves Him and made that known. Love all around in the face of death. He came to His own (Jews) and they received Him not. One day soon they will. Fruit at last for the Servant’s work He had performed thousands of years earlier, and not only for the Jew but as Daniel prophesied, Gentiles also (Dan. 9:14). That is the patience of God the Father.

We are considering now this parabolic illustration that our Lord used in connection with the coming of the Greeks, taking our usual method, asking first, what the subject was He intended to illustrate; then looking carefully at the figure He employed to illustrate His sub­ject; in order that we may consider the teaching that is deduced.

What made Jesus use this illustration? John records that He began by that formula, which shows He intended to draw special attention to what He was going to say, "Verily, verily." When Andrew and Philip came and proffered the request to Him, telling Him what the Greeks were saying, He said, "The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it abideth by itself alone, but if it die it beareth much fruit." Obviously that was a parabolic illustration, but of what? We start with that question.

We cannot understand this except we notice why the Greeks came. That may be difficult to see, except by general deduction and considera­tion. I venture therefore to take that general consideration, and make a deduction. These were Greeks, Hellenes. The word marks them as to race and nationality. If they were Greeks, not Hellenistic Jews, they were Greek proselytes to the Jewish faith, because John distinctly tells us they had come up to worship at the feast. We know full well that there were at that time very many who from other nations and other peoples and races and religions, (Dan. 7:14) turned towards the Hebrew religion, and became proselytes of the gate, definitely accepting Jewish ritual and the Jewish law, and the Jewish view of God. There is no doubt these Greeks were of that number, and they had come up to worship at the feast.

What made them ask to see Jesus? The first self-evident answer is, He was being talked about. Men everywhere were talking about Him. The thronging crowds, gathering to the feast were all, sooner or later, talking about Him. His fame had gone out everywhere, and the things He had been saying were well-known. Many had received what He had said, and had been obedient, and were enrolled among the number of His disciples, who were more than twelve. After His resurrection, five hundred brethren went up to Galilee to meet Him; and there were multitudes who had been so influenced. Everyone knows something about Jesus; and these Greeks, coming up to the feast, would hear about Him.

Now we come to the point where we cannot be definitely dogmatic. It may be their coming was one of curiosity. They had heard about this wonderful Teacher, about the strange supernatural things He had done, of healing all manner of disease, and cleansing the lepers, and all the wonders of His work. They may have thought they would like to look at Him, and to have a conversation with Him. That may all be true; but the whole method of the answer of Jesus makes me believe there was something far more profound in it than that. I see men who had turned from paganism to God, in the Hebrew religion.

That is the first thing. There is no doubt about that. Tired of the hol­low, the base, the untrue in the religions in which they had been brought up, all the multiplied religions of the land to which they belonged. These Greeks, for very weariness of heart and soul had gone to the Hebrew religion with its one God, the living God. Here they were, at the feast, keeping the law and observing the ritual, they had come up with the multitudes to worship. I believe they had be­come not merely disappointed with their pagan religion, but disillusioned in the matter of Judaism. These men seeking after God, seeking after the truth, longing to find it, had turned from idols to the living God. Then they heard about a Teacher, and they felt there was some­thing in what they had heard, something different and something higher, something nobler. They were finding out Judaism was not satisfying the deepest hunger of their souls. So they found their way to the place where Jesus was that day with His disciples all round about Him; and got hold of that delightful man, Philip, who Elvet Lewis long ago said was a man always on the edge of the crowd, never obtrusive, but ready to lead others to his Master. It may be these Greeks were attracted to him because he bore a Greek name. But they proffered their request, and said, Sir, we want to see Jesus. What a world of meaning there was in that. I think they were honest and sincere.

So the human desire lay at the back of what Jesus said. The desire was shared by His disciples. They were a little hesitant about it. They held a splendid committee meeting, splendid because it only consisted of two, that is, Philip and Andrew. They got together. Mark the psychology of this. Philip knew that something was about to hap­pen. He had been with the disciples during these six months in which Jesus had been telling them distinctly that He was going to die. At any rate Philip knew that his Master was occupied with great think­ing and great sorrow; and therefore he wondered whether he ought to trouble Him. So he went to Andrew. We are not told of any discus­sion. It was a good committee meeting, in which they did not waste any time. They both went to Jesus and told Him of the request. I think they were anxious that these Greeks should see Him, men of another religion and nation to see their Lord and Master. They wanted them to hear Him because they were of a wider realm. There is human desire on the part of the enquiring Greeks, and on the part of the disciples. To that Jesus answered, and the figure of speech He used was intended to illuminate, and illustrate what He said in reply to that enquiry and request of the Greeks.

What then made Him say what He said? Notice the first thing He said, "The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified." (Dan. 9:13) There we have a full stop. I wish there was not, because we are inclined to stop there. Because of that it has been suggested by some brilliant expositors that Jesus knew the Hebrew people were rejecting Him, and now He saw the Gentile world opening before Him, and therefore He said, the hour is come that the Son of man should be glorified, because the Gentile world was now enquiring, and were coming to Him. I hold that is utterly wrong, and there is no warrant for it. Go back over the Gospel, and notice the repeated references to the "hour." The first reference is when He was talking to His mother Mary at Cana. She had come to Him, hoping that He would work a wonder by which His glory would be revealed, and He said, the hour had not come. What did He mean then? That He would not perform the miracle? No, for immediately He did what she had asked. He told her that His glory would not be seen through the wonder of the miracle He worked, for His hour was not yet come. That hour was referred to again and again, but always as postponed. When the Greeks came and said, we want to see Jesus; He said, "The hour is come that the Son of man should be glorified; verily, verily, I say unto you, except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it abideth by itself alone." That is the answer. He was explaining what Daniel meant in his prophecy. Do not stop with the full stop at the word "glorified" in your thinking. How is the Son of man glorified? How has the hour come? What is the hour? "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it abideth by itself alone." Our Lord was speaking out of His own consciousness. He knew that He was not seen, and could not be seen, as He then stood before His disciples and those Greeks. He meant that they would only see Him in one way. He might have said to Philip and Andrew, You have not seen Me. But they had! They had been with Him for three and a half years. No, He said, you have never seen Me.

Turn on to the 14th chapter. He is talking to the group, and Philip is there, and says, "Show us the Father"; and He said, "Have I been so long time with you, and dost thou not know Me, Philip?" He had not known Him, had not seen Him, and none of them had. When He heard the Greeks had asked to see Him, He declared that the hour was come in which the thing would be possible. The hour is come in which the Son of man should be glorified. What is the hour? "Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it abideth by itself alone." Daniel said that “And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” That is what He was illustrating. We find as we listen to Him, His clear understanding of the only way by which He could be revealed in all the fullness and meaning of Himself, and the only way in which men could ever see Him truly, and know Him. That is what He intended to illustrate.

This incident moves in exactly the same realm as His great soliloquy recorded by Luke alone. In the midst of all the difficulties of His ministry, one day He burst out in these words "I came to cast fire upon the earth; and what do I desire, would that it were already kindled? But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!" The same thing. Now let Me tell you what that hour will be, as though Jesus had said, and let Me show you what that hour will be. I will do it by taking a simple illustration; "Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it abideth by itself alone; but if it die, it beareth much fruit."

Pause now with the figure itself. What is this figure our Lord used? "A corn of wheat" said the Old Version. "A grain of wheat" says the Revised. Either will do to explain the word He made use of. What is a kernel of wheat? One single grain, a seed. Take a seed of wheat, a corn of wheat, a grain of wheat. Jesus said, there are conditions under which any grain of wheat abides alone. But if that grain of wheat is planted, and it dies, and we watch, we shall see first the blade, and then the ear, and then the full corn in the ear. The one lonely grain has been multiplied into full corn in the ear, to borrow His words on another occasion, some an hundred fold, some sixty, some thirty, because that grain of wheat has been dropped into the ground and died.

He is illustrating a tremendous truth concerning Himself. Take hold of the figure in simplicity. Imagine that you hold a grain of wheat in your hand, a little thing, and the husk is on it, but inside the husk is the grain, and the scientists can tell you all the things that are in it. But while you look at that grain, you cannot really see it. Oh yes, you say, there it is. Philip and Andrew could see Jesus. There He was. The enquiring Greeks could see Jesus. There He was. The grain of wheat, can I see it? Yes, but I cannot see its meaning. I cannot see its pos­sibilities. I cannot see what really lies potentially within the little grain.

Would I really see it? Very well then; put it in the ground. Then you will have to stand aside. All you can see of it is that it dies. We have to see that. Then presently the blade, the ear, the full corn, 30, 60, 100 fold in the ear. But they were all in the little grain you looked at, that was sown. It is not done. Husk it. Get those grains out, 30. 60. 100; and so the process is running on. Whether it is quite permissible or not, I cannot help remembering something in the Old Testament.

"There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains;

The fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon."

The harvest from a grain. We cannot see it, when we see the grain. "We would see Jesus"; and in great wisdom and perfect understanding He saw they could see Him, but they could not see Him. They could only really see Him as He fell and died; that out of that death of His there should spring life, the life that multiplied, life that grew until the harvests should be gathered in. He would be seen in that way, and that way alone.

So we may gather up the general teaching. The Lord applied the principle generally as a philosophy after He had given the illustration, when in the 25th verse He said, "He that loveth his life loseth it." If he love it, hold it and nurse it and care for it, he is losing it. "He that hateth his life in this world," lays it down in self-denial and abnegation, to death, he shall hold it "shall keep it unto the life eternal." That is the great principle contained in His illustration.

He went on and applied it immediately to His disciples. "If any man serve Me, let him follow Me." Where was He going? He was going to the Cross. Where was He going? He was going to resurrection and triumph. Where was He going? The grain of wheat was going to fall into the ground and die. Where was He going? Through that death life should spring, and harvests should result. "If any man serve Me, let him follow Me," and accept that principle. Whether by dying or living, "where I am, there shall also My servant be; if any man serve Me, him will the Father honor."

Then He applied it to Himself. "Now is My soul troubled." The hour is come, "and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour?" Shall I ask God to deliver Me from this hour of the death of the grain of wheat? He did not ask that. "Father, glorify Thy name." That was the highest passion of His heart. It is the true and high passion of all that follow Him. America doesn’t teach the follower that principle, America teaches its citizens to follow after lust, the attainment of things. Follow through the teach­ing, and He clearly shows how He was passing through trouble to tri­umph, through death to life, through suffering to glory. It is Christ seen in glory Who is speaking in life through death, in triumph through trouble that the Christ is seen at all. No, they cannot see Me yet, but they shall see Me; for as the corn of wheat, so I will pass into death, and out of that death will come new life.

So from infinite mystery so profound, all wrapped in the flesh Divine of the Son of man, (Israel’s King they did not want, but will soon) but Israel and others did not see the glory, but will, He came to manifestation through death and through life. They want an easier way. Through great tribulation they will walk to find Him, along with others and Daniel 7:14 will be realized fully.

DEATH AS SLEEP

Death as Sleep

John 11:11-15, 23-26a

Our subject here is death as sleep; and the account is that of the final sign in the realm of works, wrought by our Lord in His earthly ministry, as recorded by John; that of the raising of Lazarus. In this account we see Him in the presence of death on the physical level, that is, the separation of the spirit and body. Death in the spiritual level is the separation of the soul from God. In that sense, in the day that man ate of the forbidden fruit, he died, for in that day he was separated from God. Man's physical death did not come at once, though that came ultimately.

Twice before in the record of our Lord's ministry we see Him standing in the presence of death. Once it was the child of Jairus, and again it was the son of the widow of Nain. Here death is seen in the case of the brother of Martha and Mary, and on that physical level this is matchless. In the first case the child was dead in the house, and not many hours had passed. In the second case the boy was on his way from the city to burial, but not yet buried. Here we are in the presence of death, of a man who had been dead four days, and buried four days. Therefore this is an unmatched case.

So we proceed along the usual lines in these studies, considering first the subject illustrated the figure of sleep in the presence of death; then simply and quickly take the figure itself, in order that we may deduce the teaching.

What was the fact that our Lord was facing? Jesus said when the news was brought to Him over Jordan, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God." (vs. 4). Again at vs. 13, "Jesus had spoken of his death." In those verses there is the common word for death, thanatos, which means just what we mean by death. Again at vs. 39, "Martha, the sister of him that was dead." At vs. 44, "He that was dead came forth." Once more in the 44th vs., "Jesus therefore said unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead," or as it should be, "Lazarus died." The reference is to a fact, an accom­plished fact.

In those verses two words, "death," and "dead" occur. In vss. 4 and 13 we have the word thanatos, the simple word for death. In vss. 39 and 44 we have a word associated with the other, in a strengthened form of it, the word thnesko, dead. When our Lord used the phrase, "Lazarus is dead," He used yet another and intensive form of the same word, apothnesko. It might be rendered, though it is not beautiful, or euphemistic, He has died off; he is simply dead. So by this group of words we are in the presence of death, in the presence of the dead.

What was our Lord doing when He used this figure of speech? First of all we see that He had a clear view of the fact of death. He knew the fact as they saw it. He knew the fact as it was recurring around Him in all the time of His public ministry. He knew the fact as these men saw it, as Martha and Mary saw it in the case of Lazarus; but in His first reference to it He did not use either of these words for death. When the disciples misunderstood Him and thought He really was referring to natural sleep, then John says He said plainly—mark that word—He said distinctly, positively, Oh no, that is not the case of taking rest; he is dead, he has died; he has shared the experience that is covered by the word that men had con­stantly used; he is dead, he is to be numbered among those who are dead. He saw death as they saw it, and consequently when they did not understand Him, He said the plain thing, He is dead, emphasizing it in the word He used, completely dead, actually dead. The body that has been put in the sepulcher is lifeless; he is dead.

But before we can approach or understand His figure of speech, we have to take the whole account. If He saw the fact of death as they saw it, He knew the fact of death as they did not know it. Here we are in the presence of that outlook of Jesus which is so manifest in all the account of His life; that whereas He saw the near, that which was right under their eyes, He always saw more. He never looked upon life as complete, as it could be viewed at the moment under the circumstances. He saw more. He saw through; and therefore He said, Lazarus is sleeping. They said He will do well; he will recover. No, He said, he is dead, as you mean death; but I see more than you do. Those are the circumstances, and it was to illustrate that, that He used this figure of speech.

Now take the figure and look at it simply. What is sleep? It is not cessation of being even on the human level. When we go to sleep it does not mean our being has ceased in sleep. What is it therefore? Unconsciousness of all things around. I am not going into the subject of dreams, those strange experiences that we all have. I am dealing with normal and proper sleep, when we have eaten the sort of supper we ought to eat! We are unconscious of everything. We say sometimes of someone, he was sleeping like a baby. There it is, completely un­conscious of surrounding things. That is the figure our Lord used, and therefore we have come rightly and very beautifully to associate the idea of sleep with repose. The words are recurring "Nature's sweet restorer, gentle sleep." That is what those men with Jesus thought when they said, if Lazarus was asleep, he would recover. If a man has been ill, and has really gone to sleep, he will recover, he will be saved; literally that is what they said. The danger is past, for he is sleeping.

Let us notice another thing in passing. This figure that our Lord made use of was not a new one for death. Sleep as the image of death is common in literature from its dawn. Pagan writers used it as well as those of the Hebrew people. Westcott says the image of sleep for death is very common in all rabbinic writings. That is the image our Lord took up. Yes, Lazarus was dead. He spoke plainly. One is always thankful He did, for the sake of men who were not grasp­ing the significance of His reference to Lazarus being asleep. He said, he is dead. He died definitely, positively, died off; he is gone, he is lifeless. That is all true.

But Jesus was seeing more than they did. Martha and Mary saw a lifeless corpse, and Martha, dear heart, was blunt in her description of the condition of that corpse as she expected it was by this time. Those disciples who had travelled up, heroically going, as Thomas said, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him"; (John 11:16) if they had been able to look into the tomb when the stone was rolled away, they would have seen wrapped in the cerements of the tomb the dead body. That is what they saw, and that is all they saw. But Jesus said, that is not all. As a matter of fact it is not the absolute fact. He is dead, he has lost the consciousness of all the things that are around him, his sisters and friends, and everything else. He is dead; but he is not dead in the full and deep sense of the word. He saw the dead body, but He saw the man; and the man was not in the sepulcher as He saw him. So that He said, So far as this side is concerned, so far as you are con­cerned, he is dead; but so far as he is concerned, and the things of this side he is unconscious, he knows nothing about them.

We might indulge in many speculations, which are not profitable. I am often asked, Do the loved ones know what we are doing here? I do not think so. Bishop Birkersteth in that remarkable poem, "Yesterday, Today and For Ever," thought there might be circumstances under the government of God, when they are permitted to see and know, but as a rule, so far as we are concerned, they are asleep. They have no consciousness of what is going on here. And are we not really glad that is so, for their sakes? I often am. The account of the rich man and Lazarus gives us a picture of their state and they do not see what is going on up here. They might wish some things as the rich man did but all they do is remember (Luke 16:25).

What then is the teaching which we have here? First the clear evidence that Christ's outlook on personality was that of its continuity beyond death. Even when as to this world they were asleep, uncon­scious, and we cannot communicate with them in any way, they were not actually dead, and they had not ceased to be. Notice this simple thing. When at the point when He had told them to roll away the stone, and they had done it, what did He do? He spoke to the man. He spoke to him by the name they had known Him, "Lazarus, come forth." He spoke to the same man, the same personality. That man could not have heard Martha, if she had said, Lazarus, come back. Oh no. That man could not have heard Peter or John, standing there, if they had called into the void, after him. But he heard Jesus, and Jesus addressed him. He did the same with the little girl. He laid His hand on her, and said, "Talitha cumi," little lamb, arise. He spoke to one who could hear Him. Not the father and mother. They could not reach her. She was asleep, so far as they were concerned. She was not asleep so far as He was concerned. And when He approached the bier coming out of the city of Nain, we have exactly the same thing. "Young man, arise," as to one who could hear Him, and one who did hear Him. They all heard Him; and He brought them back from the sleep that was the unconsciousness of the things here and now into consciousness of them, and into the position in which they became conscious of them. Sleep!

But of course the whole thing hinges on that point. I say em­phatically, no other voice could have reached that maid, that young man, Lazarus; but His voice could. The fact that His voice could, demonstrates the fact that those addressed were able somewhere, somehow, to hear Him. Lazarus heard, and struggled into an up­right position in his grave-clothes, as would be quite possible if, as they certainly did, adopt the Egyptian method of winding him. He could, and did get up, and then Jesus said, "Loose him, and let him go." The little girl, not yet wrapped in her grave-clothes, but lying there, she heard His voice, and she sat up, and opened her eyes. The young man was able to struggle up on his bier, possibly helped from it, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

So that if we speak of death as sleep we must recognize that the only One Who can wake out of sleep is our Lord Himself, the only One Who can bring back into consciousness those fallen on sleep. No one else can. We remember that old trite quotation from Gray's Elegy,

"Can storied urn or animated bust

Back to its mansion call the fleeting breath?

Can honor’s voice provoke the silent dust,

Or flatteries soothe the dull cold ear of death?"

There is only one answer to Gray, when he thus sings. No, you cannot reach them, but Jesus could, and Jesus did.

Let us go back in this Gospel of John to some things He said on an earlier occasion in His ministry. "As the Father raiseth the dead and quickeneth them, even so the Son also quickeneth whom He will." (John 5:21) Again, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live." (John 5:25) And yet once more, "Marvel not at this; for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done ill, unto the resurrection of judg­ment." (John 5:28-29) Those are the great and astounding facts that He declared in the earlier part of His ministry as recorded in John's 5th chapter. But it is His voice that can call them. It is His voice which they can hear; no other voice.

Seeing that this is so, we realize that they that sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. Therefore we sorrow not as those that have no hope. For if Christ died and rose again even them that sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. Some may sing that hymn/ with new

meaning, the most comforting words at a funeral service:

"Sleep on, beloved, sleep, and take thy rest;

Lay down thy head upon thy Savior’s breast;

We love thee well; but Jesus loves thee best—

Goodnight! Goodnight! Goodnight!"

It is said that the early Christians were accustomed to bid their dying friends "Goodnight," so sure were they of their awakening on the resurrection morning. That does not mean that they have ceased to exist. They exist in a realm where He is in authority, and where His voice can be heard; and being heard they will obey.

Do not forget the solemn words. "The hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; . . . all that are in the tombs shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done ill, unto the resurrection of judgment." When He spoke to Martha He said, "I am the resurrection, and the life; he that believeth on Me, though he die, yet shall he live." He knew His death was coming but also His resurrection to bring life to that that choose to follow Him in faith. Lazarus is in the tomb, but "though he die, yet shall he live."

Here is another very familiar word of Scripture which we may often quote correctly but think inaccurately. Jesus did not say, "Yet shall he live again." No, not "again," but "yet shall he live." Jesus said plainly, Lazarus is dead, but he is not dead. He is where My voice can reach him. He is asleep, unconscious of all the things he has been conscious of; but I can find him, I can reach him; and there will come a day when My voice will reach all that are in the tombs. So we say to our loved ones,

"Sleep on, beloved, sleep and take thy rest."