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REVELATION 5

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NOTES ON REVELATION 5

Survey of the chapter
Whilst chapter 5 continues to describe the throne room of heaven and events that will take place there, the theme is different. It is the Lamb of God that is prominent, telling us the subject is redemption. But not only does redemption apply to those who believe, but also is relevant to this world, and one day the “redemption of the purchased possession” will take place, Ephesians 1:14, and Christ will come to claim what He purchased at Calvary. In the language of the parable, He bought the field for the treasure that was in it, Matthew 13:44, and “the field is the world”, Matthew 13:38. He is able to deliver creation from its bondage, and proves this ability by delivering from the greater bondage of sin. Redemption is also relevant to Israel, and the nation will be delivered from the dispersion, and brought back to the Land of Promise to enjoy the glorious conditions of the millenial reign of Christ.

THE WORDS OF THE BIBLE, THE CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES, AS FOUND IN THE BOOK OF THE REVELATION CHAPTER 5, VERSES 1 TO 7:

5:1 And I saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.

5:2 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?

5:3 And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.

5:4 And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.

5:5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

5:7 And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne.

5:1 And I saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.

And I saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne a book- this chapter centres upon the taking of a book from the hand of God. As becomes evident when the book is opened, this is a book of judgement. In fact the words that Ezekiel used of another book might well be applied to it, “lamentations and mourning and woe”, Ezekiel 2:10. It rests on the hand of God, freely available to any who are competent to reach out and take it. Of course, those who guard the throne of God, the elders surrounding it, (the “gate-keepers”, see comments on 4:4), will not allow any to take it whom they know, in their wisdom, are not qualified to do so.
Written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals- this book of judgement is a scroll, a rolled-up length of writing material; of which sort we are not told. The emphasis is on what it says, and the seals that keep it from being unrolled. The book is completely filled with writing, so there is no room left for any more judgements to be included. When this scroll has been unsealed and unrolled, and its contents made known, God will say “It is done”, 16:17, for His wrath will have been satisfied. The other noticeable feature of this scroll is that it is sealed with, not one, but no less than seven seals. The contents of this scroll are so important, that it must not be read until in the hands of the right person. This is because the reading out of what is written is the signal for the carrying out of the contents.

5:2 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?

And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice- note that the angel is strong, and his voice is loud, for he has the authority of heaven behind him. His voice can reach into all parts of the universe, as the next verse will show, and his strength is enough to repel any who dare to advance upon the book without being qualified to do so. He reaches all potential candidates, and he repels all unqualified candidates. There are those who always seem to want to make angels represent the Lord Jesus in the Book of Revelation, (chapter 10 being a case in point); this is clearly not the case here, for the angel is not the one who advances to the throne to take the book.
Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?- it is interesting to notice that opening the book is mentioned before loosing the seals, whereas of course the seals must be loosed before the book can be opened. The great question is who is competent to open the book, for only one capable of judging the world in righteousness can do this. Yet God has already stated that He has appointed the one who will judge the world, and He marked Him out by raising Him from among the dead. Here, however, the question is asked so that all who resent Christ’s position may be silenced. It is the same at the Great White Throne judgement. All who stand as sinners before God that fearful day are clearly not registered in the Book of Life, for it is the dead that stand before God then. But nonetheless the Book of Life is opened that no complaint can be entertained, and justice can be seen to be done.

5:3 And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.

And no man in heaven- no saint in heaven, (remembering that by the time these events take place the church saints will be in heaven), is competent to judge men.
Nor in earth, neither under the earth- no living men on earth, or dead Old Testament saints in sheol, were able to open the book. All are excluded by these words.
Was able to open the book, neither to look thereon- no-one was competent to judge, and no-one could stand the sight of such fearful judgements as were written in the book. The judgements are so fearful that there is only one great enough to read them.

5:4 And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.

And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon– we might think that John would be pleased that such a terrible book, full of judgement as it was, would remain unopened. He had the interests of God too much to heart to think that, however. He knew that only by judgement could God deal adequately with the sins of men. His grace through Christ had been spurned too long for Him to ignore the rebellion of earth any longer. Men could have escaped the wrath to come if they had been minded to, but now God’s patience is exhausted. John is only in heaven in spirit, so his weeping does not spoil the joy of heaven, although it is noticed by the occupants of heaven.

5:5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not- the fact that one of the elders can speak to John on his own shows that the 24 elders do not represent a group. They are individual beings. Ones, moreover, who are able to disclose their insight to John.
Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David- it is interesting that the one who takes the book is described in terms relevant to Israel, thus confirming that the elders have a special relationship with that nation. Long before, Jacob had prophesied that Judah would be like a lion, not only stooping, but going up from the prey, and couching as a lion, with none able to rouse him from his triumphant position, Genesis 49:9. From him the sceptre would not depart. Yet the Judah who heard these words had not prevailed when the test came; neither did he retain the sceptre, for he gave his staff to Tamar, Genesis 38:12-26. There must be another who will fulfil these words. The clue is found in the mention of the Root of David, the one through whom David derives his throne. The Lord Jesus confounded the experts of His day when He asked them how it is that the Messiah can be David’s Son, but also David’s Lord, Matthew 22:41-46. The answer is only known when we take account of His Deity.
Hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof- the one who has prevailed over sin and Satan in His life when tempted, and at the cross when crucified, has the authority to take the book. David prevailed over Goliath the Philistine, 1 Samuel 17:50,51; the Root of David has prevailed over a greater foe, the Devil himself.
Clearly there was no dispute over the fact that Christ was of Judah in the days of the apostles, for the writer to the Hebrews can say “For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah”, Hebrews 7:14. He is, more specifically, of David’s line, (as demonstrated by Matthew in the first chapter of his gospel), and therefore is of David. Yet as the Root of David, David is of Him.
Again the loosing of the seals is mentioned after the opening of the book, although in practical terms the order would have to be the reverse. Notice that He is worthy to loose the seven seals, for He will complete that task once it is begun, such is His competence.

5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

And I beheld, and, lo- John not only saw for himself, “behold”, but draws our attention to the sight as well, “lo”.
In the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders- it is no coincidence that this one is central to the throne, and is in the midst of the creatures that surround the throne also. He is central to God’s purpose, just as He was central upon the cross. There He was numbered with the transgressors, now He is numbered with the heavenly worshippers. The four living creatures are also said to be in the midst of the throne, but they cannot stand with Christ, so they must be behind the throne centrally.
Stood a Lamb as it had been slain- no longer hanging upon the cross, as if laid on an altar, but standing in resurrection life and power. God has said to Him, “Sit on My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool”, Hebrews 1:13. This position is reserved for Him until a certain time. The particular word for “until” used in Hebrews 1:13 means “up to the time when”. This verse does not imply that He cannot come for the church before the defeat of His enemies at His coming to earth, because even 1000 years after that event He will still have enemies that need to be subdued, see Revelation 20:7-9. The fact that He is seen standing indicates that the time approaches for Him to assert Himself, for God is about to make His foes His footstool. The footstool, that is, of His own throne as He reigns on earth, Matthew 25:31; Revelation 3:21.
No doubt John expected to see a lion, but in fact saw a lamb. This illustrates the point that Christ did not triumph over evil by mere force, but dealt with it in a morally satisfactory way. That way was the way of sacrifice, as is indicated by the concept of the lamb, the weak and defenceless one that triumphs through death and resurrection. We see the principle illustrated in the sons of Jacob. Reuben, the first son, forfeited his right to be the firstborn in Jacob’s household through sin, Genesis 49:4. Judah was given the right to rule, but because he fell in a similar way to Reuben, Genesis 38, the firstborn’s right was given to Joseph, who triumphed where the other two succumbed, see Genesis 39, 1 Chronicles 5:1,2. So it is that the two characteristics are combined in Christ- the lion, as Judah, and the lamb, as Joseph. He combines official and moral right in His person. David lamented the fact that his house was not competent to rule because they had sinned, and “he that ruleth over men must be just”, 2 Samuel 23:3,5. In a day to come, when Messiah arrives, the family of the House of David will mourn, no doubt for this very reason, Zechariah 12:12.
Matthew had begun his gospel with the idea of Christ being son of Abraham, (the True Isaac), and son of David, (the True Solomon). Isaac was the youth on the altar like a young lamb, whereas Solomon was the king on the throne, but also as a young man, for David said of him, “Solomon my son is yet young and tender”, 1 Chronicles 22:5.
Having seven horns- this shows that He has sufficient power to execute the judgements that are about to be inflicted on the earth, for a horn in Scripture speaks of effective power.
And seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth- He has seven eyes, for He will judge with perfect discernment, by the power of the Spirit of God. As the psalmist said, “He ruleth by His power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah”, Psalm 66:7. But He also has perfect regard for His earthly people, and will redeem them from the hand of the enemy in His good time. “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him”, 2 Chronicles 13:9. “The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry”, Psalm 34:15.

5:7 And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne.

And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne- just as He had sat Himself down on the throne of God after He had ascended, Hebrews 1:3, so now, with perfect confidence, and without any possibility of challenge, He advances to the throne and takes the book. He thus establishes His intention to take control of the judgements of the earth written in the book. God’s right hand is the hand that elevated Him to the place of highest honour, Acts 2:33, and now the same hand lets go of the book and allows Him to take it.

The Lord Jesus has authority to judge for the following reasons:
1. He is sinless, and therefore is the only one who can judge the sins of others. As He Himself said, “He that is without sin among you, let him cast first a stone at her”, John 8:7.
2. He is Only begotten Son of God, and as such has the same right as the Father to judge, being equal with Him, and due equal honour, John 5:22,23.
3. He is Firstborn Son of God, and as such has had allotted to Him all administration, John 3:3, and judgement is part of that administration.
4. He is Son of Man, and as such has had given to Him the task of judging men, John 5:27. He stands in relation to all men, and has been here as a man amongst them so that they could have opportunity to come into relationship with Him.
5. He was slain, and thus showed His utter determination to deal with the root cause of what invites God’s judgement. Only one who has the complete answer to sin has the right to judge that sin. The heavenly host recognise this, so they say “Thou art worthy to take the book for Thou wast slain”, verse 9.
6. As a result of Calvary, the “prince of this world shall be cast out”, John 12:31, and the judgements initiated by Christ will ensure this.
7. He is risen from the dead, and “God hath appointed the day in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead”, Acts 17:31.

THE WORDS OF THE BIBLE, THE CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES, AS FOUND IN THE BOOK OF THE REVELATION CHAPTER 5, VERSES 8 TO 14:

5:8 And when He had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

5:11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;

5:12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

5:13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

5:14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped Him that liveth for ever and ever.

And when He had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb- these who have a deep interest in the affairs of earth, who know the ravages sin has wrought since the day that Adam fell, greatly rejoice when at last one steps forward to remedy the situation. The heavenly host had rejoiced at His first coming, and now they rejoice again, for “He cometh to judge the earth”, Psalm 98:9. All the angels of God shall worship Him when He comes, and these angelic representatives anticipate that glorious time. Note that they do not hesitate to fall down before the Lamb, even though they are in the presence of the one who sits upon the throne. The Father has decreed that all should honour the Son as they honour him, the Father, John 5:23.
Having every one of them harps- as the heavenly counterparts of the temple choir and musicians in Solomon’s temple they are ready to praise God at this intervention by the Lamb. There were those in the temple who “prophesied with a harp”, 1 Chronicles 25:3, by their singing unfolding the mind of God and thus prophesying, and these do the same.
It is worth noting that those who sing should say something by their singing. The words of the song should have meaningful content, so that the truth of God is made known in some way. The emphasis should always be on the words, and not the tune, although the tune can enhance the words, if carefully chosen.
And golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints- no doubt these prayers are for God’s intervention in the earth, uttered perhaps centuries ago, but yet to be answered in God’s good time.

5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

And they sung a new song- it may be objected at this point that the twenty four elders cannot be angelic beings because it is said that the latter never sing. That may or may not be so in the past, but this is a new song because of a new situation. Is it not feasible that when the work of Christ is in view, praise is elevated to a higher level, so instead of simply saying, they sing? There is a reference to singing at the founding of the earth in Job 38:7, “Or who laid the corner stone thereof; when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy”. It could well be that the morning stars are angels, for Lucifer was a “son of the morning” before his fall, Isaiah 14:12.
Saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation- these are representative beings, and they sing on behalf of Israel, just as the choir in the temple sang on behalf of the nation. These sing in anticipation of Israel singing for itself. It is true they sing of being redeemed, and reigning on the earth, but they do so representatively, and anticipatively.

In the New Testament the Lord Jesus and the apostles spoke of redemption as deliverance from sin. Illustrations of this are as follows:
“For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many”, Mark 10:45.
“Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity”, Titus 2:14.
“In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace”, Ephesians 1:7.
“There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time”, 1 Timothy 2:5,6.

The Scriptures quoted above show how the idea of redemption, the setting free of the slave on payment of a price, was applied in the New Testament to sinners enslaved by sin, but released through the price Christ paid in blood. In the Old Testament, however, the main idea is of deliverance from a place, whether geographical, as Egypt, or financial, as bankruptcy, as in the case of Naomi and Ruth. Hence we read as follows: “Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burden of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgements:” Exodus 6:7. And the prophets linked this event with a future return of the nation, “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away”, Isaiah 35:10. And, “Art Thou not It which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away”, Isaiah 51:10,11.

The word redeemed is used twice more in the book of Revelation. In chapter 14:3 we read of 144,000 who have been “redeemed from the earth”, and in verse 4 we learn they have been “redeemed from among men”. Now these are men sealed in chapter 7 from each of the tribes of Israel, yet they are said to be redeemed from among men. So this latter phrase has to do with where they were rescued from, not of which nation they were of. They were sent forth as sheep amongst wolves to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom among all nations, Matthew 24:14, but they were safely brought back by God, and are found before Him in chapter 15. Now the full complement of them is in heaven, redeemed from their place of danger. So it is that the twenty four elders anticipate a time when all Israel shall be redeemed from all the places they have been scattered, and brought to Zion.
This scattering is not just that which pertains now, but that which shall be in the future, for they shall be taken into captivity among all nations when Jerusalem is destroyed at the start of the Great Tribulation. Daniel was told that “the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary”, Daniel 9:26. Zechariah prophesied that God would “gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken…and half of the city shall go forth into captivity”, Zechariah 14:2. The Lord Jesus spoke of this when He prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem, “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation is nigh…for these be the days of vengeance that all things that are written may be fulfilled…there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled”, Luke 21:20-24. The time-scale of this treading down of Jerusalem is given in Revelation 11:2 as 42 months, the three and a half years of the Great Tribulation.

It is from this captivity that Israel shall be redeemed by the Lord Jesus, for “the Redeemer shall come to Zion”, Isaiah 59:20. From captivity in “all nations”, they are rescued by the power of God. And this the twenty four elders celebrate in advance.

5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth- not only will Israel be redeemed from things, but to things as well. The original intention of the covenant of the law was that they should be “a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation”, Exodus 19:6. They forfeited this privilege, however, by making and worshipping the golden calf. They degenerated further into idolatry until they had to be sent into captivity to judge them. Under the terms of the new covenant, however, they shall all be equal in their knowledge of God, Jeremiah 31:34. Isaiah 61:6 reads, “But ye shall be named the priests of the Lord: men shall call you the ministers of our God”. We know from Ezekiel’s prophecy that priests of the Levitical order shall function in the temple of the kingdom age, offering commemorative sacrifices. But Christ shall be priest upon His throne, Zechariah 6:13, a King-Priest after the order of Melchizedek. The writer to the Hebrews makes an interesting addition to the words of Psalm 110 about this. Instead of quoting “priest after the order of Melchizedek, he writes, “High priest after the order of Melchizedek”, Hebrews 6:20. By this he leaves open the possibility that others would share in that priesthood, for “high priest” supposes people for Him to be high over. Now the priesthood of Christ is founded upon the fact that His life is endless, Hebrews 7:16. Those who have eternal life are therefore qualified to function as priests with Him. This privilege will be known by Israel, for they shall be under the terms of the New Covenant, which involves knowing the Lord, a sign of the possession of eternal life, Jeremiah 31:34; John 17:3. As such they shall reign on the earth with Christ, but they will reign as priests, as Revelation 20:6. Those of Israel who have part in the first resurrection will reign on earth, whereas the church will reign with Him, but not necessarily on earth.
In Daniel 7:18 we read of the saints of the Most High who take and possess the kingdom. The saints in Daniel’s prophecy refers to angels, who have a special ministry to perform as those sent forth to minister for those who shall be heirs of salvation, Hebrews 1:14. The salvation in question being entrance into the kingdom of Christ upon earth. Then in verse 27 we read of the people (in the singular) of the saints of the Most High, who are given the kingdom. This would refer to the nation of Israel as a nation when it is gathered under their Messiah, (for the word “people” emphasises a congregated company).
This is the same scene as Daniel saw in his dream. The Ancient of Days was sitting upon His throne, and “thousands thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgement was set, and the books were opened”, Daniel 7:10. Then one like unto the Son of Man was brought before Him, “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, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed”, Daniel 7:14.

5:11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;

And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders- John’s attention is now directed to the massed ranks of the angels. There are one hundred million of them, and more, yet they speak with one voice. There is not a dissenter amongst them as they ascribe honour to the Lamb. This is a reminder of the words of the writer to the Hebrews that “unto the angels hath He not put into subjection the world to come whereof we speak”, Hebrews 2:5. The world to come is the habitable earth which is the subject of chapter 1:6-14, and it is a man who shall administer that. The only one capable of ruling for God is currently at the right hand of God’s throne in heaven, but soon He shall be installed on His own throne of glory upon the earth.
And the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands- when the law was given we learn from Moses himself that “He came with ten thousands of His saints: from His right hand went a fiery law for them”, Deuteronomy 33:2. But as Hebrews 12:26 says, “Whose voice then shook the earth: but now He hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven”. The angels stand ready to come with Him again, this time to judge the earth, for “the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him”, Matthew 25:31. Enoch foresaw this and declared, “Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgement upon all…” Jude 14,15.

5:12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

Saying with a loud voice- not only are they united, they are also enthusiastic as they speak with loud voice. The fact that there are myriads of them does not prevent them from heartily expressing their individual appreciation of the Lamb.
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain- they, like the twenty four elders, see the worthiness of the Lamb as being because He was slain. The horror of what earth had done to Him centuries before had not left them. “This is the heir; come let us kill Him!” was the attitude of men, Matthew 21:38, and the angels who looked on, and whose help was not requested, even though it was available, Matthew 26:53,54, have not forgotten.
To receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing- they ascribe seven things to Him. When they say He is worthy to receive, they mean “worthy to receive the credit for”. First, power; this is the dynamite needed to shake the earth to its foundations, in order that a kingdom that cannot be shaken may be established, Hebrews 12:26-29.
Second, riches: the angels know that the Divine resources needed to judge the earth are resident in the Lamb, for to Him all administrative rights are given.
Third, wisdom: the earth’s rulers have been marked by folly. The ultimate expression of this being the crucifixion of the Lord of glory because they were ignorant of Him, 1 Corinthians 2:8. The greater than Solomon in all His wisdom stands ready to rule the world.
Fourth, strength: the glory of this might, this ability to prevail, will be manifested when Christ comes to earth, 2 Thessalonians 1:9.
Fifth, honour: the value placed upon one by those competent to judge. When He came to Israel, they “esteemed Him not”, Isaiah 53:3, or, in other words, valued Him at nothing. They certainly did not think Him to be worthy of the throne of David. God’s verdict is otherwise, and the angels agree.
Sixth, glory: the outshining of inner excellence is pre-eminently His, and the angels are not afraid to express this in the presence of God. Those who glorify Christ in no wise detract from the glory of the Father. He said in the Old Testament, “I am the Lord: that is My name: and My glory I will not give to another, neither My praise to graven images”, Isaiah 42:8. In John 17:5 however, the Lord Jesus prayed thus, “And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was”. That prayer has been answered, and that place of acknowledged glory has been given back to the Son of God. When down here this glory was withheld from Him, as men largely refused His claims, but in heaven He is glorified as He should be. The angels are happy to recognise this.
Seventh, blessing: on earth Christ was cursed and blasphemed by men, but the psalmist had predicted that He would “receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of His salvation”, Psalm 24:5. And so it has come to pass in heaven, and soon on earth as well. Injustice and cursing has been exchanged for righteousness and blessing.

5:13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying- the praise of the Lamb now extends universally, as John hears every creature recognising God and the Lamb. This is not to say that all are believers, but all are constrained to admit that God and the Lamb are worthy of recognition. Psalm 148 calls upon all to acknowledge the Lord, and this is the response to that call. All the angel hosts, of whatever rank; all men on earth; all the dead in the grave; all that are sailing on the sea, (for when men are on board ship they often feel as if they are released from the constraints of morality), are united in recognising God and the Lamb.
“All that is in them” is literally “And all the things in them”, so it is not a question of wholehearted response, but universal response without exception.
All recognise that blessing comes from the throne of God. After long centuries of blaming God for evil, they at last realise it was not true. When God was manifest in flesh, He came to bless, not curse. They are forced to admit that the ones who seemed to be so important, as the Antichrist and his false prophet dominated the earth, are but tools of the Devil, and have received their due recompense. At last glory will be given to the God of heaven and His Son. Glory which they refused Christ when He was here, and refused God when He was judging the earth in the tribulation, Revelation 16:9, “they repented not to give Him glory”.
There will be universal admission in that day that God is the God of power, for His judgements will have demonstrated that convincingly.

5:14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped Him that liveth for ever and ever.

And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped Him that liveth for ever and ever- the representatives of the earth say Amen to these words, for they have an interest in the name of God and the Lamb being celebrated by all creatures. The worship of the hosts of heaven now gives way to the woes on earth.

Wise and willing workers

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Several words are used in Hebrews 8 and 9 to describe the relationship between the earthly sanctuary and the heavenly, and they are as follows:

The example of heavenly things.
Hebrews 8:5 “The example…of heavenly things”.
Hebrews 9:23 “The patterns of things in the heavens”.
Example and pattern translate the same word. The priests served in an earthly sanctuary, but they did so in relation to the sanctuary in heaven. The earthly tabernacle was a sample of what was in heaven, but the heavenly things were the reality behind them, “the heavenly things themselves”, Hebrews 9:23.

The evidence of heavenly things.
Hebrews 8:5 “The shadow of heavenly things”.
The heavenly things were the substance, something that can cast a shadow, whereas the tabernacle was the shadow. They provided evidence that there was a heavenly reality.

The expression of heavenly things.
Hebrews 8:5 “The pattern showed to thee in the mount”.
The heavenly sanctuary was the pattern, (tupos), see 9:24 below. “Tupos” is a metal-worker’s word, coming from the word to strike, and means the original pattern, which when impressed onto softer metal leaves its corresponding mark, the anti-type.
Hebrews 9:24 “The holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true”.
The word figure, (anti-tupos) is the reverse of the word used in Hebrews 8:5. The heavenly sanctuary is the type, whereas the tabernacle on earth is the antitype, contrary to what is usually thought.

The explanation of heavenly things.
Hebrews 9:8 “The Holy Spirit this signifying”.
The tabernacle set-up was a sign the Holy Spirit used in Old Testament times to point the way to spiritual truths.
Hebrews 9:9 “Which was a figure for the time then present”.
Just as the Lord Jesus in His parables used objects to represent truths, and just as He performed miracles that were called signs, so it is with the figure, (parabole) and sign of the tabernacle. The Holy Spirit used the tabernacle and its arrangement to convey spiritual truth in Old Testament times.

It is interesting to note that the materials for the making of the tabernacle are called a heave offering in Exodus 25:2, for they represented a recognition of the God of heaven, the words heave and heaven being connected.

This was a part-fulfilment of God’s promise that in Abraham all the nations of the earth would be blessed. It was a great blessing to have the worship of the one true God in evidence in the earth.

The Lord Jesus said to Nicodemus, “If I have told you earthly things, and ye believer not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you heavenly things”, John 3:12
It is especially in John’s gospel that these heavenly things are made known. It is no surprise then to find that John uses tabernacle imagery throughout his gospel. His first reference is in 1:18- “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth”. The word dwelt can very well be translated “tabernacled”, and the mention of glory reminds us that the word for dwell in Exodus 25:8 is “shaken”, which the Jews used for the Shekinah glory above the mercy-seat in the Holiest of All. There are two things combined together here in Christ; the tabernacle and the glory. He is the brightness of the glory of God, Hebrews 1:3, and He tabernacled amongst men not so that the glory might be hidden away as in the tabernacle in the wilderness, but rather might be manifest in a way that those who desired to, might see. That way is described for us by John. “We beheld His glory…full of grace and truth”. The apostles were privileged to see the outworking of a perfect Father/Son relationship; they saw the grace of it and the truth of it.

Moses gave the law to Israel, but he did not see the glory of God when the tables were intact. It was only when the law had been broken that he appealed for a sight of the glory on the basis of the grace of God- it was not found in the law. Note the references to grace in Exodus 33:12,13, 16, 17, 34:9. Whereas the Law was given through Moses on cold, unyielding tables of stone that were external to the mediator, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, expressed in a living person, the Word become flesh. Instead of grace and truth being abstract ideas, they are now fully expressed in a person. This had not happened before, and the law certainly could not have brought it about. Since grace and truth are expressed in Jesus Christ, they remain in all their glory.

With this we may compare the experience of Moses when he requested a sight of the glory of God- he was put in the cleft of the rock, covered with God’s hand, and only saw the back parts or afterglow of God’s glory. There were no views of Christ’s glory barred to the apostles, however, for the knowledge of the glory of God is in the face of Jesus Christ, 2 Corinthians 4:6, and that face is not veiled.

It is important to remember that, strictly speaking, the tabernacle was the ten curtains that were joined together to make “one tabernacle”, Exodus 25:6, and supported by the boards, and protected by the other coverings put on top.

The goats’ hair curtains were a “covering upon the tabernacle”, Exodus 26:7. These goats hair curtains are the covering, or tent. Where we read of the “tabernacle of the congregation” it means this tent of goats’ hair. There was a “covering for the tent” of rams’ skins, Exodus 26:14, and then in the same verse a covering of badgers skins was put above the whole thing to completely protect it.

That the tabernacle is the first set of curtains is clearly seen in Numbers 3:25, where the tabernacle and the tent are distinguished, and also in verse 36, where the boards are carried by a different family of Levites. The boards are the boards of (belonging to) the tabernacle, not the boards that make the tabernacle. Their function was to support and give structure and form to the tabernacle, meaning the innermost set of curtains.

Exodus 25:1, 2 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take My offering.

We might ask how a company of former slaves is going to produce the gold, silver, brass, etc. that God asks from them here. God promised to Abraham that even though his seed would be strangers in a strange land and be afflicted, nonetheless they would be brought out from that situation “with great substance”, Genesis 15:14. And so it came to pass, “And the children of Israel…borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment…and they spoiled the Egyptians”, Exodus 12:35,36. And all this on the anniversary of the day God promised to Abraham that it would happen, verse 40, 41, “even the selfsame day it came to pass”.

God saw to it that their decades of hard slavery were paid for. But in the previous chapter the covenant of the law had been ratified, and the people had said “All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient”, Exodus 24:7. Here is the first test of that obedience. The people had also sung on the banks of the Red Sea, “The Lord is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation. He is my God, and I will prepare Him a habitation”, Exodus 15:2. They are now being tested in this. Believers sing many wonderful things in hymns of consecration, but the real question is whether they carry them out.

Exodus 25:8 And let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.

We have already noticed that the word for dwell is “shaken”, which gives the word Shekinah. If God is going to dwell amongst men it must be on His terms, and in the environment of His choosing.

Exodus 35:4-10 And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the Lord commanded, saying, Take ye from among you an offering unto the Lord: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the Lord; gold, and silver, and brass, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, and rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood, and oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil, and for the sweet incense, and onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breastplate. And every wise hearted among you shall come, and make all that the Lord hath commanded;

The word used for offering here is “heave-offering”, and is the first occurrence of this expression. The heaving or lifting up of the gifts in the presence of God is in view. The word heave and heaven are connected, so their gifts, even though made on earth, are taken note of in heaven.

35:20 And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses.

So the instruction to give came to all the congregation, and it remains to be seen how they will respond.

35:21 And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the Lord’s offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments.

The congregation is now divided into two companies. Those willing, and those not willing to offer. The latter might argue that they were entitled to keep what the Egyptians had loaded upon them, since it was they who had done the slave-work. In any case, it was God who had seen to it that the riches were theirs. Did He not mean them to keep them, to supply their needs in the desert? Some went so far as to devote their gold earrings to the making a golden calf, but they had been cut off from Israel for doing this.

The great redemption that God has wrought for us ought to make us more than willing to sacrifice to Him in any way He requires. In Bible times women were very vulnerable, so when Mary gave her alabaster box of ointment she was risking her very survival in old age.
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35:22 And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offering of gold unto the Lord.

We now come those who were willing-hearted. Both men and women now give that which they might have used to draw attention to themselves, jewels for the face and earrings to make themselves more attractive. They turn from that idea, and give to make something that will be attractive to the Lord. The tabernacle is called a worldly sanctuary in Hebrews 9:1, where the word is “cosmikos”, that which is orderly and beautiful. These willing offerers are contributing to that which God finds attractive.

Significantly this part of the heave offering is called a wave offering. Whereas the heave offering was lifted vertically before the Lord, the wave offering was waved before men. Instead of advertising themselves, they now advertise before others what will glorify their God.

35:23 And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers’ skins, brought them.

These materials would be used to make the tabernacle itself, the coverings for it, the cords to strengthen it, and also the garments of the high priest and his sons. Again, they are sacrificing what would have made them presentable before men, the dyes and the fine linen, and also that which would have protected them and kept them warm during the cold desert nights. They give up their own interests and comforts for the sake of God’s sanctuary. To them, it is more important for Him to have a shelter than for them. This is great devotion to God.

35:24 Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the Lord’s offering: and every man, with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought it.

The silver and brass are linked together here, for both these metals formed the foundation of different parts of the building. The silver for the sockets of the boards and the pillars of the vail, the brass for the sockets of the pillars of the court and also the door of the tabernacle.

If they had kept this silver and brass, it would have made the foundation for a successful business once they reached Canaan. They forfeited this in faith, however, and gave for the foundation of God’s house, not their own. No doubt the words of the Lord Jesus apply here, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you”.
Likewise, shittim wood would have made them a comfortable house in Canaan- they gave this up in favour of God’s house.

35:25 And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen.
35:26 And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats’ hair.

We now have a further company; women whose men-folk had brought the fine linen and goats’ hair, verse 23, but now, (no doubt after having it approved by Moses), have taken some of it away to spin it into yarn at home. These are said to be wise-hearted, for they are working on their own, using their personal and special skills. They were guided no doubt by Aholiab, who would later weave what they spun, but nonetheless served God at home in this way.
Perhaps it is more tedious or unpleasant to spin goats hair, for those who spun fine linen are simply said to be wise-hearted, whereas those who spun goats’ hair had their hearts stirred up, as if it took more effort to work in this way.

35:27 And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate;
35:28 And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.
35:29 The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the Lord, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the Lord had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses.

These men, as might be expected, brought a more sophisticated offering, that which had to do with the functioning of the priesthood. The jewels on Aaron’s breastplate and shoulders; the spices and oil which made up the holy anointing oil at his inauguration; the spices which made the sweet incense he offered on the altar of incense, and oil for the light, so that he could see to function in the Holy Place. These all came from the hand of the princes. They had an intelligent grasp of what the worship of God involved in practice. They realised that the tabernacle was not just an object, but the sphere where the God was going to be worshipped.

35:30 And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the Lord hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;
35:31 And He hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship;
35:32 And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,
35:33 And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work.
35:34 And He hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.
35:35 Them hath He filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.

These two men we entrusted with the overseeing of the manufacture of the entire project. They worked themselves, yet taught others in wisdom also. As such they needed the Spirit of God, so that the result would be to God’s glory. The Spirit always seeks that; He does not glorify Himself, but Christ, as He takes of Christ’s things and reveals them, John 16;13-15.

Suggested application of the above:
Every part of the tabernacle structure has something to tell us about Christ. It is the great privilege of God’s people to contribute, every time they come together, to the promotion of Christ. The truths brought before us by the gold, His Deity; the silver, the price He paid to redeem us; the brass, His ability to stand the test of the fire of Divine holiness; the fine linen, His holy humanity; the coloured dyes, His varied offices of prophet, priest, and king as set out in Matthew Mark and Luke; the spices and oil for anointing, His features as the Christ or Messiah; the spices for incense, the dependant and prayerful nature of His life; the jewels, the varied and glorious features He displayed as He passed through trying circumstances, (just a jewels are produced under stress in different environments, the suffering leading to glory). All these may be brought by brother and sister alike. This will be costly, for they involve time and effort in preparation at home. When brought, however, they cheer the heart of God as His Son is set forth.

Bezaleel and Aholiab represent those who not only work themselves, but teach others also. They set out the truth of Christ before the saints, so that wise and willing effort may be engaged in. So it is that the Father is reminded of the way His Son pleased Him when He tabernacled among men.

“But Thou art holy, O Thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel”, Psalm 22:3.

An introduction to the Levitical offerings

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Those believers who wish to gain an appreciation of the sacrifice of Christ at Calvary, would do well to begin their study in the tenth chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews.

Hebrews 10:1-25 brings to a close the main body of teaching in the epistle concerning the sacrifice of Christ. The passage may be divided into seven sections as follows:

Section one, verses 1-4, the situation under law as regards the worshippers, and sins are remembered.

Section two, verses 5-10, Christ as the offering, and a quotation from the Psalms, giving Christ’s words.

Section three, verse 11, the situation under law as regards the priests, and sins are not removed.

Section four, verses 12-14, Christ as the offerer.

Section five, verses 15-18, the situation under grace as regards Christ, and sins are removed and not remembered, and a quotation from the prophets giving the Spirit’s witness.

Section six, verses 19-22, the situation under grace as regards the worshippers and their approach to God.

Section seven, verses 24-25, the situation under grace as regards the worshippers and their attitude to their profession and their fellow-believers.

Since the passage begins with the word “for”, it presents to us the answer to an unspoken question which may have been something like the following: “Given that the work of Christ at Calvary is once for all in character, and that when He comes the second time it will be “without sin”, 9:28, or in other words, apart from any thought of having to deal with sin, what if believers sin in between their initial faith and His return?”

The answer is found in these verses, as it sets out for us the fact that God’s will now is to bless men on the established basis of the sacrifice of Christ. That sacrifice has sanctified believers once and for all, verse 10. And those thus sanctified are perfected for ever, verse 14. Moreover, the Spirit of God testifies that this is so in the words, “their sins and iniquities will I remember no more”, verse 17. It was one of the characteristics of the Levitical sacrifices that they caused a remembrance of sins, verse 3. Now all is different, for God pledges, not to forget sins, (for things forgotten may be recalled later), but to deliberately and positively remember our sins no more. He remembered them once against Christ at Calvary, and His sacrifice dealt so effectively with them that the matter of sins does not have to be brought up again, as far as believers are concerned.

Given that we owe our all to His sacrifice, we do well to have an intelligent appreciation of it in its varied aspects.

In verses 5-10 of Hebrews 10,the Lord Jesus is represented as speaking in the language of Psalm 40:6-8. Now that psalm is initially about David, for two reasons. First, because the title of the psalm is “To the chief musician, a psalm of David”. “Of David” can signify either one or both of two things. Those two things are that the psalm is written by David, and that it is about David, in the first instance. The second reason is that in verse 12 David admits to having iniquities, so the first reference is clearly to the psalmist. Only in a limited way, and within Divinely indicated boundaries, can the psalm be applied to Christ. To see how that application is made we must first of all see how it relates to David personally.

Clearly, according to verses 1-5, David had experienced a great deliverance, and he is deeply thankful to God. He realises that bringing an offering as thanksgiving is one option open to him under the law. But he is a prophet, with insight into the mind of God, and he knows that to bring an animal sacrifice is not the best way of showing his gratitude; rather, he should surrender himself to God’s will. This will be in line with the teaching of the other prophets. For instance, Samuel asked Saul, “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams”, 1 Samuel 15:22. Micah spoke to the same effect, “Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Micah 6:6-8. During the ministry of the Lord Jesus, a scribe said, “there is one God; and there is none other but He: and to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices”. The verdict of the Lord Jesus on this remark was that the man had answered discreetly, that is, sensibly and prudently, and that he was not far from the kingdom of God, Mark 12:32,33.

David has grasped this principle, and therefore resolves to present himself as a living sacrifice, vowing to do God’s will, and to delight in the doing of it, Psalm 40:6-8. This will be much better than mere religious observance, which may be carried out by unbelievers. Accordingly, like the Hebrew servant of old, who pledged to do his master’s will for ever, Exodus 21:1-6, David will allow his ear to be digged, or opened, so that it is ready to hear the commands of His God.

So delightful to the heart of God are David’s words, that He uses them to tell us of His Son in Hebrews 10. The Spirit takes up David’s expressions, and gives them a fresh dimension, so that they may more fully express Christ’s resolve. We see this in the following ways:

First, David had come to do God’s will as one whose name was in the book that God keeps of those who live upon the earth, see Exodus 32:32; Psalm 139:16. Christ, too, is real man, but unlike David, He had come into the world from His Father, being “that eternal life, which was with the Father, and as manifested unto us”, 1 John 1:2. When David signified his willingness to do God’s will, he did so as a mature man, whereas Christ came to do God’s will from the very outset.

Second, the stipulation with regard to the Hebrew servant was “if he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself”, Exodus 21:3. But those words may be rendered as the Newberry margin, which reads, “if he come in with his body, he shall go out with his body”. David had expressed his readiness to respond to God’s commands by having his ear opened, but Christ’s words were, “a body hast Thou prepared Me”. It is true that by having his ear opened David was ready to serve with his body, but with Christ there is the more precise and inclusive statement. The use of the word body in Hebrews 10 is all the more pertinent, because we are sanctified by the offering consisting of the body of Jesus Christ once for all, verse 10. (the word ‘offering’ in that verse is a noun, not a form of verb). And His suffering is compared with what happened to the bodies of beasts in Hebrews 13:11,12.

Third, the word David used for “opened” is translated in Psalm 22:16 as “pierced”, in the expression, “they pierced my hands and my feet”. This shows how far the Lord Jesus was prepared to go in service to God, for He was “obedient unto death, even the death of the cross”, Philippians 2:8. Sincere as David was, no doubt, he could never match the service of Christ.

Fourth, the word David used for “opened” can not only mean pierced, but also prepared. This meaning the writer to the Hebrews takes up, and applies to Christ. His body was prepared in a way David’s never was, for He was born of a virgin, and consequently, tendency or ability to sin was absent from Him. Such a preparation was vitally important, for He could not be a suitable sacrifice without it.

Fifth, as one born into the world, David’s name was in the book of the living. Christ, however, was not only mentioned in another book, but was the subject of it, for as Peter said, “to Him give all the prophets witness”, Acts 10:43. More particularly, the book of the law, which contains the details of the sacrifices, when read in the light of New Testament revelation, is seen to be written about Him.

Sixth, the only option open to David after he had realised that the better way of showing gratitude was to surrender himself to the will of God, was to offer his body in service. This service, however, despite David’s good intentions, would be marred by sin to some degree or other. With Christ’s service, however, there was perfection, for He loved His God with all His heart, understanding, soul and strength, and He could be typified by sacrifices that were “without blemish”.

Seventh, David knew that God was not deriving pleasure from the sacrifices, and knew they were not what God’s final will was, but he could do nothing about rendering them obsolete and taking them out of the way, and establishing that which did please God fully. That was beyond him. It was not beyond Christ, however, for He had complete insight into His Father’s will, and set about the task of establishing that which would satisfy Him eternally. He does this in such a thorough way that the old sacrifices are rendered obsolete.

We might ask why God was not pleased with the sacrifices, since He instituted them. The answer is found in the comment the writer to the Hebrews makes at the end of verse 8, “which are offered by the law”. Mechanical observance can never please God. He looks for a heartfelt, energetic, purposeful carrying out of His will. And this was what marked Christ- “I come to do Thy will. O God”, are His words. And the force of the expression “to do” is that He will do willingly, intelligently, and from the heart. It is the same expression as is found in Galatians 3:10, “all things that are written in the book of the law to do them”. Not outward observance, such as can be noticed and approved of by one’s fellowmen, (see Matthew 6:2,5,16; Philippians 3:6), but inward resolve, which only God can see. Such is the attitude of Christ as He takes upon Him the form of a servant, Philippians 2:7, putting His body at the disposal of the one to whom He was subject.

The sacrifices of old time were of four sorts, as verses 5 and 6 list them. There were sacrifices proper, a reference to the peace offering. Then offerings, meaning the meal offering. Then the burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin. Each of these foreshadows a particular aspect of Christ, as He was in the world for God, and as He went to Calvary in submission to His will. The peace offering tells of one who is in perfect harmony with His God and Father. The meal offering prefigures God’s Ideal Man, whose life was so pleasing to His Father, and presented such a contrast to the lives of those around Him. The burnt offering told of Christ’s utmost devotion, whose commitment to His Father’s interests was total. The sin offering tells of one who, although He knew no sin, nevertheless was made sin, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him, 2 Corinthians 5:21.

It is important and instructive to notice the order in which the offerings are detailed for us in the early chapters of Leviticus. There is first the offering that was wholly burnt upon the altar, (except the skin of the animal). The burnt offering was reserved by God for Himself. Even the giving of the skin to the priest who officiated supports this, for as he offered up the carcase he was acting as a holy priest, offering up to God, but if he wore the skin when he was not officiating at the altar, then he was acting as if a royal priest, showing forth to men the excellencies of what had been offered in sacrifice, see 1 Peter 2:5,9.

Only when the heart of God has been satisfied by the burnt offering can the sin offering be introduced. This is worthy of notice, for as we come together to remember the Lord, and as we engage privately in worship, we should be careful to observe this Divine order. It is possible for us to be very self-centred in our worship, concentrating on those things which bring benefit to us, and neglecting the way in which the sacrifice of Christ was an act of devotion to His Father, totally apart from the benefits it brings to us.

Of course it is true that the Lord spoke of the cup as being the New Covenant in His blood, which was shed for many for the remission of sins, Matthew 26:28, but that does not mean that this should be our only thought as we come together. After all, His command was to remember Him, calling Him to mind in all the acceptableness of His person, concentrating on Him. If the Spirit should prompt us to combine that with some aspect of His sacrifice for sins, then none dare gainsay that. But to come together with the intention of focussing only on our blessings, is to betray ignorance of the true nature of the gathering, and is to deprive our God of what it is He looks for from us.

It goes without saying that this will demand that our hearts and minds be full of Christ as we come together. We cannot fill those hearts and minds with the things of self and the world during the hours of the week, and then come together and expect to have something to offer. The psalmist spoke of the things which he had made, Psalm 45:1.

This is not to say that we should come together with prepared prayers, nor that we should be content with reciting the same things week after week, but it does mean that we shall have at our disposal thoughts of Christ which, if appropriate to the way the meeting is proceeding, may be suitably offered to God, and to which a hearty “Amen” can be added by all in the company. This will result in a freshness that is the very essence of Spirit-led worship.

We deceive ourselves if, with barren hearts, we come together and fill the time with hymn-singing, and go away thinking we have worshipped at a high level. After all, the hymns we sing are the spiritual exercises of others, which we may adopt in moderation, just as the ministry in the upper room closed with a psalm. We should not rely on them to mask our own lack of exercise.

May the Lord exercise our hearts in this matter, that week by week as we come together, and at our private devotions, we may have that to offer which gratifies His heart, as we remind the Father of the excellencies of His Son. The words of Joseph to his brethren are appropriate in this connection, “Go tell my father of all my glory”, Genesis 35:13.

It might be helpful if we note a series of contrasts between the burnt offering and the sin offering. Both speak of Christ, but we ought to be alert to the different emphasis of each, so that as we engage in worship, whether individually, or collectively in the assembly, we may do so with intelligence. The Lord Jesus made clear that true worshippers not only worship in spirit, but also in truth, John 4:23,24. His statement is full of meaning, and part of that meaning is that true worship is not now concerned with physical sacrifices, (although we should remember that part of Christian worship has to do with the giving of material assistance, Hebrews 13:16), but rather with the spiritual truths they set forth.

ACCEPTANCE OR FORGIVENESS

In the burnt offering there is a question of acceptance, for the acceptableness of the offering was transferred to the offerer when he laid his hands upon it. How gratifying it must have been to read the words “it shall be accepted for him”, Leviticus 1:4. How much more gratifying for us to know that because of Calvary God has caused believers to be accepted in the Beloved, Ephesians 1:6. All that the Father finds delightful about His Son is attributed to His people; we are graced in Him.

The sin offering was different, however, for now the unacceptableness of the offerer is dealt with by being transferred to the offering, so that atonement for sin can be made. The apostle Paul had this side of things in mind when he wrote “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him”, 2 Corinthians 5:21. These words are an echo of what is stated in Leviticus 16:9, where the words “offer him for a sin offering” can be literally rendered “make it sin”. Who can tell what it meant to Christ to be made sin; to be reckoned by God as if He were sin itself, and to be treated accordingly?

THE FIRE MAKING OR DESTROYING

In the burnt offering the fire is said to make the offering, for it is “an offering made by fire”, Leviticus 1:9. As the flame fed upon the carcase, there was caused to ascend heavenwards that which spoke to God of Christ. As the flame progressed from one part to the other, (for the parts of the animal were laid in order, not at haphazard), the varied excellencies of Christ came before the Father in all their acceptablenes. The head would tell of His intelligent devotion; the legs His patient progress; the inwards His heart-affection, and the fat His energetic determination to please His Father in all things. At Calvary these things that had been so delightful to His Father during His life, were now surrendered in holy sacrifice.

With the sin offering, however, the flame consumed the carcase, destroying it so that it was utterly done away. This is what Christ has done by His sacrifice, for “once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, Hebrews 9:26. The expression “put away” meaning to abolish or destroy. Hebrews 13:11,12 interprets the fire for us. It was nothing less than suffering. The bodies of beasts burnt outside the camp find their counterpart in Jesus suffering without the gate. With this difference, however, that the animal was dead when it was burnt, but Christ suffered before He died, and in those hours of darkness upon the cross endured what no tongue can tell. Every faculty was alert and alive to the pain. His senses not at all dulled by sin as with us. He endured unimaginable horrors at the hand of His God because of our sins. The penalty was not one whit lessened because it was The Son who was paying the price. The wrath was not less fierce because of who it was that suffered under it. God said He would spare Israel “as a man spareth his own son that serveth him”, Malachi 3:17. Yet here is the Son beyond all sons, who had served beyond all others, and He is not spared! As the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:32, “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”

VOLUNTARY OR COMPULSORY

The burnt offering was a voluntary offering, for “of his own voluntary will” is the language of Leviticus 1:3. Christ came willingly to Bethlehem, stooping to take the servant’s form and to be made in the likeness of men. His willingness took Him further still, for He humbled Himself even unto death, and that the death of the cross, Philippians 2:8. His devotion was unmistakeable, for coming into the world He said, “Lo, I come, (in the volume of the book it is written of Me,) to do thy will, O God”, Hebrews 10:7. Christ went willingly to Calvary, for although men “led Him away”, it is also true that He “went forth” to that place to do the Father’s will, John 19:16,17.

The sin offering was compulsory, however, for “let him bring”, is the decisive and immediate requirement of God, Leviticus 4:3. Sin made its demands on Christ, and He would not rest until the obligation laid upon Him to settle the matter to His Father’s glory was accomplished. He could say “But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave Me commandment, even so I do”, John 14:31. That He has satisfied every Divine requirement regarding sin is seen in the fact that He has sat down on the right hand of the One whose will He had promised to do, Hebrews 10:12. He who is the brightness of Divine glory, and the exact expression of the essence of God, had purged sins in such a glorious way that He could sit Himself down on the right hand of God in all His majesty with the utmost confidence, Hebrews 1:3.

SWEET SAVOUR OR INTENSE DISPLEASURE

The burnt offering was a sweet savour offering, God’s nostrils being delighted by that which spoke to Him of Christ. When Noah offered his burnt offerings after the flood, it is said that the Lord smelled a sweet savour, Genesis 8:20,21. Literally these words could be rendered, “a savour of rest”, or “a soothing fragrance”. After looking upon all the turmoil and unrest of the pre-flood world, God could at last rest in what spoke to Him of Calvary. After all the distress to His heart, when men’s imagination was only evil continually, how soothing for Him to enjoy the fragrance of Noah’s sacrifice, anticipating as it did the effects of the work of Christ.

The sin offering was not like this, however, for there is no mention of a sweet savour with it. Sin is hateful to God, and gives Him no pleasure. Surely it gave God no pleasure to judge His Son. It is true that Isaiah said “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him”, Isaiah 53:10, but this means that it was God’s good pleasure, His determining will, to do this thing. Much as a convicted criminal may be “detained at Her Majesty’s pleasure”. We may be certain that Queen Elizabeth derives no enjoyment from that situation, but it is her sovereign pleasure nonetheless. Because Christ was made sin, He must needs be treated by God as if He is that detestable thing. From that standpoint there was no pleasure for God in the matter.

NEARNESS OR DISTANCE

The burnt offering was burnt on the altar, which became known because of this as the altar of burnt offering, Exodus 40:29. This was the place where God promised He would meet with His people, Exodus 29:43. The altar becomes the point at which God, sacrifice, and people meet. Such is Calvary, for did not the Lord Jesus say, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me”, John 12:32?

The major part of the sin offering, however, was burnt outside the camp, the place of rejection. So the burnt offering emphasised the nearness of Christ to the Father as He undertook the work of sacrifice, whereas the sin offering highlighted the distance at which Christ was put because of our sin. As the prophet said about Israel, “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear”, Isaiah 59:2.

HEAVENWARD OR DOWNWARD

The burnt offering was lifted up onto the altar, the blood was sprinkled round about upon the altar, and a sweet savour ascended up from the altar, so everything was elevated heavenwards. Now the “burnt offering gospel”, is the gospel of John. It is that gospel which emphasises the relationship between the Son and the Father typified so wonderfully by the burnt offering. The gospel, too, which tells of the upward journey of Christ via the place of sacrifice.

He speaks to Nicodemus of ascending to heaven, John 3:13, then speaks of being lifted up on the cross, as the brazen serpent had been lifted up, verse 14. He speaks of giving His flesh for the life of the world, then asks, “What and if ye shall see the Son of Man ascend up where He was before?” John 6:51,62. He refuses to allow Mary to touch Him, because He was not yet ascended to the Father, John 20:17. (Her contact with Him must be a spiritual one, forged once He had returned to His Father and sent down the Spirit from thence). Yet His conversation with Mary took place in the garden of the place where He was crucified, John 19:41, thus linking the sacrifice and the ascending together. He speaks of His ascent in the place of His sacrifice. Just as the angel who appeared to Manoah and his wife ascended up in the flame of the burnt offering, Judges 13:20, may we not say that in a grander way, Christ has ascended in the flame of His sacrifice? Yet John does not record the ascension, as if to indicate that the return of Christ to heaven was to him a foregone conclusion.

With the sin offering, however, all was downward. The animal was burnt on the ground, (except the fat which was burnt on the altar), the blood was poured out at the base of the altar, (except what was sprinkled before the vail, or on the altars), and the fire consumed the carcase until all that was left was a heap of ashes on the ground. How low Christ was prepared to go for us! Not content with descending to earth, He humbled Himself still further to the depths of suffering at Calvary. But He who went so low, has been taken up so high, for the same God and Father who required His obedience, has “also”, as well as doing that, highly exalted Him, Philippians 2:9.

Whilst all these things are true, it is also instructive to notice that God was careful to preserve the integrity of the person of Christ even in these Old Testament illustrations. God is a jealous God, jealous of His own glory and that of His Son.

So we find that the sin offering is killed in the same place as the burnt offering, on the north side of the altar, and before the Lord, Leviticus 4:24. The same place witnessed the death of two very different sorts of sacrifice. Calvary, too, witnessed the death of one who combined in His person the burnt offering aspect of things and also the sin offering side.

Again, we find that although the major part of the sin offering was to be burnt up outside the camp in the place of rejection and loneliness, the fat was to be burnt as a sweet savour on the altar of burnt offering, Leviticus 4:8-10.

Yet again, we read that the sin offering was to be burnt where the ashes of the burnt offering were poured out, in a clean place, Leviticus 4:12. The ashes of the burnt offering had been collected with due ceremony and deposited in a clean place outside the camp, Leviticus 6:11, and it is in this selfsame place that the sin offering was burnt, so that when the fire had done its work, a pile of ashes remained that was a mixture of burnt offering ashes and sin offering ashes. Could anything more graphically preserve the integrity of Christ, in that even when dealing with sins in the place of abandonment, He was associated by God with that which spoke of full acceptance? God spared not, but it was His own Son that He spared not. God gave to the horrors of Calvary, but it was His only begotten Son that He gave, John 3:16.

May the Lord help us to have an enhanced appreciation of these things, so that we may offer to our God the intelligent and adoring worship He so much desires from our hearts. “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ”, 1 Peter 2:5.

There is also a contrast between the sin and trespass offerings. The latter dealt with that which had offended God’s nature, whereas in the trespass offering it was God’s government of the nation which had been contravened.

In the sin offering the value of the offering demanded depended on the degree of responsibility of the sinner. With the trespass offering proper, however, (as opposed to the special case of the trespass offering for a sin offering in 5:1-13), the offering required was the same for all, with the degree of trespass against God or man being reflected in the amount of monetary compensation that had to be paid.

HEBREWS 1

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HEBREWS 1

Purpose of the epistle
The epistle to the Hebrews was written for a threefold purpose. First, to encourage those from the nation of Israel who had truly believed to not lose heart because of the sufferings they were enduring, but rather to go on with Christ.

Second, to convince those still unbelieving in Israel that the One they crucified was in fact their true Messiah, and to continue to ignore Him was to invite Divine judgement. He Himself had warned of the consequences of not believing Him with the words, “If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins”, John 8:24.

Third, to warn those in danger of turning back from the profession they had made in Christ, and to assure them that He was their only hope, and their best policy was to place genuine faith in Him to the salvation of their souls.

The writer describes his epistle as a “word of exhortation”, 13:22, the only other use of this expression being in Acts 13:15, where it refers to an address given in a synagogue. This may account for the difference in style from the rest of the epistles. It also accounts for the fact that the word God opens the letter, and not the name of the writer. See Acts 7:7; 13:17.

It may be that this closing chapter of the epistle up to verse 22 is the end of the word of exhortation, with verses 23 to 25 being the “letter…in few words” referred to in verse 22.

This phrase “word of exhortation” is only used elsewhere in the New Testament when Paul was invited to address the synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia, Acts 13:15. But the style of this epistle is said to be not that of Paul. For instance, in the first few verses of the epistle there are nine forms of expression that are said to not fit with Paul’s way of writing, even allowing for the special character of the epistle.
We know from 2 Thessalonians 2:2 that there were those who were sending out letters as if they were from the apostle paul. Because of this he wrote the salutation at the end of his epistles with his own hand, which was his token in every epistle, 2 Thessalonians 3:17. If Paul was indeed the writer of the epistle there would therefore be no doubt about it, since it would be finished off with his own handwriting. There are those who counter this by saying that by “my token in every epistle” he means the expression “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all”, for similar words to this are found at the end of all his epistles, and also at the end of the epistle to the Hebrews. But making this statement at the end of an epistle would be easy for a forger, whereas to write in the handwriting of the apostle would be much more difficult.

It is possible that the epistle is the record of addresses Apollos gave in some synagogue as he “mightily convinced the Jews, and that publicly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ”, Acts 18:28. If this is the case, then there is a sense in which we owe the Epistle to the Hebrews to Aquila and Priscilla, who had expounded unto Apollos the way of God more perfectly, verse 26. These two, in their turn, would have learned much from the apostle Paul as he lodged with them, and also as he preached in the synagogue in Corinth every sabbath day, Acts 18:1-5. Interestingly, the same phrase is used of Paul’s preaching as is used of Apollos’, with Paul “testifying to the Jews that Jesus was Christ”, verse 5, and Apollos “shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ”, verse 28. Perhaps there is a sense in which the apostle Paul is the author of Hebrews after all!

We may even go further, and say that since Paul heard the seed-thoughts of the Epistle to the Hebrews from Stephen in his last address, the epistle is Stephen’s, and he, being dead, yet speaketh. The Lord Jesus told in parable form of those who would reject Him even after He had “gone into a far country to receive a kingdom and return”, Luke 19:12. After His departure His people would send a message after Him, saying, “we will not have this man to reign over us”. This message Israel sent when they stoned Stephen, who testified of Jesus that He was at the right hand of God, His journey from earth to heaven complete. But He was standing there, as if ready to return, if the nation would repent. Every stone hurled at Stephen was a sentence in the message. Yet it is very possible that, by God’s grace, through Stephen’s address there was planted in the mind of Paul, and through him into the mind of Aquila and Priscilla, and through them into the mind of Apollos, the truth of the Epistle to the Hebrews, which became, so to speak, God’s response to the stoning of Stephen.

There is a sense in which the epistle to the Hebrews is the New Testament equivalent to the Old Testament book of Leviticus. That book began with the words, “And the Lord spake”, and now this epistle begins with God speaking. Leviticus was the priest’s handbook, detailing how he was to conduct the affairs of the tabernacle, whereas Hebrews is the Christian priest’s handbook, showing how Christ conducts affairs in the heavenly tabernacle, 8:1,2. In chapters 1 to 7 He helps His people as they move across the desert sands, whereas in chapters 8 to 10 He helps them move into the Divine sanctuary.

Survey of the first section
The first section runs from 1:1 to 2:5, and here the writer declares four things:
That the Lord Jesus is superior to the prophets, whom the Hebrews revered.
That He is superior to angels whom the Hebrews respected.
That He is seated in heaven having purged sins, a thing which Old Testament sacrifices the Hebrews relied on could not effect.
That His place in heaven is the guarantee that He will reign on the earth, which no-one else is qualified to do.

This first section has two themes, and then a warning. The themes are designed to convince the Hebrews that Christ is supreme:
In verses 1-3, Christ ascends the throne of God in heaven, (where He is still present,) proof positive that His work on earth meets God’s approval.
He is seated on the throne of God by inherent right, hence He sits Himself down there. In verses 4-2:4, Christ is seen in the future on the throne of David, which becomes at last in the truest sense, the throne of Jehovah, 1 Chronicles 29:23.
In 2:1-4 the warning is against neglecting the salvation that Christ came to bring to the nation.

The references to the reign of Christ on earth, (the world or habitable earth to come, 2:5), are made to assure the Hebrews of the following things:
1. God has not cast them off as a people.
2. He has confidence in “the carpenter of Nazareth”, for He is His Son.
3. His character as King-Priest is displayed already in the heavenly sanctuary. This is the sign that He will indeed be a priest upon His throne in a coming day, see Zechariah 6:13.
There is a vital connection between His purging of sins, and the reconciling of all things, Colossians 1:20.
4. It is worthwhile being in relationship with Christ, for He is the coming King, and His enemies will be made His footstool. To know Him is to be His associate, not His enemy.
5. That those who were prepared to accept a dual-Messiah idea, with Jesus of Nazareth as the suffering Messiah, but another, yet to come, as the sovereign Messiah, are shown to be wrong. Jesus Christ combines both in His person.

The present exalted position of the Lord Jesus at the right hand of the throne of God would be a great encouragement to the believers amongst the Hebrews. Isaiah was no doubt disappointed by the death of King Uzziah, but he was shown Christ in glory, Isaiah 6, John 12:37-41. Ezekiel must have been depressed as he sat with the captives by the river, but he was shown the throne of God, and the likeness of the appearance of a man above upon it, Ezekiel 1:26. Daniel must have been dismayed by the thought of great Gentile powers dominating the earth, when he knew that was rightly Messiah’s role, but he saw in vision the Son of Man approach the throne of God to be given a kingdom that will never be destroyed, Daniel 7:13,14. Stephen was disowned by his own nation, as his Saviour had been, but what caused his face to glow was the sight of Jesus in heaven, Acts 7:55,56. John, on the isle of Patmos was deprived of fellowship and comfort, but he was given a vision of coming things, when the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdom of our God, and of His Christ, Revelation 5:5-7. So when the word came to the Hebrew believers, “when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high”, they must have been greatly heartened.

The words “Son”, (who He is in eternity), “purged”, (what He did at Calvary), and “sat down”, (where He is in glory), sum up the epistle. His person, His purging and His place are the key elements that show Him to be better than anything the Hebrews had known in Old Testament times.

THE WORDS OF THE BIBLE, THE CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES, AS FOUND IN THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS CHAPTER 1, VERSES 1-3:

1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:

1:1
God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

God, who…spake- this epistle begins with an emphasis on the way God had spoken to the nation of Israel. This theme continues throughout, for in chapter 2 the word spoken through angels, (the Law at Sinai), is contrasted with the word spoken by the Lord, 2:3, a reference to His speaking when upon the earth. In 3:7 they are exhorted to hear the voice of Christ as Son. In 4:12 the (spoken) word of God is in view, referring to the word of Christ to them, (and hence an incidental proof of the Deity of Christ); whilst in 12:25-29 the warning is against rejecting the word of the one who spoke at Sinai, who speaks now in grace and salvation, and who will speak again in judgement to those who reject Him. Once again the Deity of Christ is affirmed, for the one who shall speak when He comes in glory is the same one who spoke at Sinai. So the latter passage gathers up the three aspects of the speaking, in law, in grace, in judgement. Men either prefer law to grace, clinging to their works, or ignore grace and receive judgement.

Given the emphasis on speaking, it is fitting that the epistle should be described as a word of exhortation, 13:22. There are also expressions throughout the epistle which refer to the author speaking. Chapter 2:5, “whereof we speak”, 5:11; “of whom we have many things to say”; 6:9, “though we thus speak”; 7:9, “and as I may so say”; 8:1, “now of the things which we have spoken”‘ 9:5, “of which we cannot now speak particularly”; 11:32, “and what shall I more say?” After having spoken of his word of exhortation, there seems to be a contrast made with the “letter in few words, 13:22.

It is important for the writer to prove the superiority of Christ not only to the angels through whom the Law was given, 2:2; Acts 7:53; Galatians 3:19, but also to the prophets, who brought the word of God to the people subsequently. On the Mount of Transfiguration Moses represented the Law, and Elijah the prophets, yet the word from heaven was “hear Him”, for He who had spoken indirectly by the prophets, was now speaking directly, in the Person of Christ. Moses himself had received the assurance from God that a prophet like unto him would be raised up, Deuteronomy 18; Acts 3. The writer is insisting that Jesus Christ was that prophet. See also John 1:21; Acts 3:22. It is important for him to show Christ as superior to prophets, before he turns to the subject of His King-Priesthood, since the prophets as a class were faithful to God, whereas many kings and priests in Israel were not.

Later on the writer will emphasise the fact that Christ is King-priest, so He supersedes the three offices that were prominent in Israel. The Lord Jesus was rejected by elders who governed, (instead of a king), chief priests who officiated as priests, and scribes who taught, (instead of prophets). These were all appointed by men, and as such were false shepherds, who had “climbed up some other way”, John 10:1. These princes of this world were ignorant as to who the Lord of Glory was, 1 Corinthians 2:8, and hence they crucified Him.

At sundry times- literally “in many portions”, meaning that no individual prophet could embrace all the truth of God. Nor could a prophet be present at all times during Israel’s history. He who is the “I am”, unaffected by time and change, is relevant at all times. He could say, “Before Abraham was, I am”, John 8:8.

And in diverse manners- divers is the old word for diverse. The prophets spoke in different ways as fitted the circumstance. Sometimes judging, at other times consoling and exhorting. They spoke of coming judgement and coming glory. Some, like Ezekiel, acted out their prophecies. Now, however, everything is concentrated in the Son, who has the capacity to speak in whatever way is relevant. He who is “the truth”, can embrace it all.
When Christ asked His disciples who the people said He was, they answered with various suggestions, Matthew 16:13,14. Some of the people saw in Christ likeness to Isaiah, (delighting in salvation), others, to Jeremiah, (weeping, and rejected of his own people), still others, to Elijah, (courageous, reforming, and a miracle worker). Others said He was John the Baptist risen from the dead, showing they thought that He deserved to rise from the dead. We should not be surprised at the names the people mentioned, for since He is the Son of the Living God, and the features seen in the prophets were the expression of the life of God, then they are to be expected in the Son. It is interesting to notice that they did not say He was like Moses, the law-giver, for they appreciated that grace marked Him. By the variety of persons they mentioned, the disciples were demonstrating that all the good points seen in the individual prophets were found in Christ.

Spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets- note the contrast between time past and last days. The word for past here means old, in the sense of worn-out. See verses 11 and 12, where Divinely established things are said to be wearing out and needing to be replaced, and link with 8:13, where the law-system was waxing old and was ready to vanish away. The Hebrews are being prepared for the truth that even Divinely-established things can become old and in need of replacing. There needed to be a fresh beginning, and this comes in with Christ.
Fathers is a term of respect for ancestors, but also a reminder that it was the fathers who ill-treated the prophets, Matthew 23:29-33, and the children of the prophets who were guilty of rejecting “the prophet”, Acts 3:22-26; John 1:21; Deuteronomy 18:15,18,19.

1:2
Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

Hath in these last days- this is a Hebrew expression for the end of the age of the Law, prior to the age of the Messiah, the two divisions of time as far as Israel knew. The church age was unknown in the Old Testament. Note that the speaking is still in the last days of the law, for the latter did not come to an end until Christ died, 7:18,28. This is a reminder that a critical point had been reached, and if they miss out on Christ, they will miss out entirely.

Spoken unto us by his Son- The contrast is with the character of the speakers, not between “by” and “in”. The prophets were agents outside of the Godhead, whereas now the speaking is directly by God, in the person of His Son, and this gives the speaking a different character, for it is no longer at different times and in different ways, but all centred in the Son. The difference is between the prophets as a class, taken from among men, and Christ in His character as Son, taken from among the persons of the Godhead.
So the speaking is now concentrated, in relation to time and content, as with prophets it could not be, and also consummated, for it is now last days, and the Son has come. The parable of the vineyard spoke of servants, more servants, (corresponding to the early and the latter prophets), then last of all, his son, corresponding to Christ as Son of God, Matthew 21:33-46.

The prophets said “Thus saith the Lord”, but Christ said “Verily, verily, I say unto you”. How foolish to ignore such a Speaker! “To whom shall we go, for thou hast the words of eternal life,” was the confession of Peter, and also of all who truly believe, John 6:68.

The Sonship of Christ indicates Deity, for to be the son of a father means to share his nature. There are expressions in Scripture like “sons of Belial”, (worthlessness), “sons of thunder”, “son of consolation”, “sons of disobedience”. The idea is not that a person is descended from the thunder, for example, but rather that he has a stormy nature.

Christ is presented in Hebrews as God’s Firstborn Son, the administrator of the Father’s affairs. As such, He, like firstborn sons generally, fulfils a prophet/priest/king rôle, speaking to the family for the father, (prophet-like), introducing the family into the father’s presence, (priest-like), and administering the father’s affairs, (king-like). This is all worked out in the epistle as a whole. Hence He fulfils His prophetic role by speaking to Israel, just as He had spoken the worlds into being as firstborn, Colossians 1:15,16, and upholds them by the word of His power. He speaks as priest too, for He ever lives to make intercession, 7:25. He will speak as king, for His voice will soon shake earth and heaven, 12:25-27.

The titles Only begotten and Firstborn may be compared and contrasted as follows:
Only begotten eternally- “The only begotten Son, which is (permanently) in the bosom of the Father”, John 1:18. “That eternal life, which was with the Father”, 1 John 1:2.
First born eternally. For He was appointed heir before He made the worlds. Creation is by Him and for Him as firstborn, Colossians 1:16. There is no point of time in eternity, so He was ever the appointed one in the eternal counsels.

Only- begotten is in relation to the Father, John 1:18.
Firstborn is in relation to creation and believers, Colossians 1:15,18.
As Only begotten He is alone.
As firstborn He has many brethren, Romans 8:29.

His only begotten relationship is not shared.
His firstborn rights are shared- for Hebrews 12:23 speaks of “the church of firstborn ones written in heaven”.

As only begotten, He is in the Father’s bosom, John 1:18.
As firstborn, He is about His Father’s business, Luke 2:49; John 3:35.

Whom he hath appointed heir of all things- the idea of firstborn rights must come from “the Father, from whom every family in heaven and earth is named”, Ephesians 3:15. This is seen in the fact that there is no regulation about firstborn rights in the early chapters of Genesis, yet the idea was practised, and given Divine approval. It is therefore a reflection of eternal counsels. No doubt God spoke to Adam about many things as He walked and talked with him in the garden of Eden.
“Appointed heir” does not imply a specific moment, since we are thinking of Divine and eternal things, and moments of time have no relevance there.
Joseph was Jacob’s firstborn son, replacing Reuben, but he was not in control of everything, for the right to rule was given to Judah, 1 Chronicles 5:1,2. so the firstborn’s double portion was divided between two sons. Christ, however, has all things under His control, both heavenly and earthly, (compare the stars and sheaves of Joseph’s dream, Genesis 37:6-11). If He has control of all things, (just as Joseph had everything under his hand, Genesis 39:4-6) then we must be linked to Him if we are to have blessing from God. “The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him”, John 3:35,36.

The fact that He is heir highlights the sin of crucifying Him. The language of the parable was, “Come, this is the heir, let us kill Him”; Matthew 22:38. And chapter 6:6 speaks of crucifying to themselves the Son of God afresh. To crucify the Son again is crime indeed!

By whom also he made the worlds- note the “whom” and “to whom”, with Christ the passive one, whereas in verse 3 it is “who”, Christ’s active work as one charged with representing the Father’s interests, and those of the family of God too. As the Creator, Christ has authority over creation, yet He was in the world, the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not, John 1:10. Angels, demons, animals, birds, fishes, all responded to Him in His lifetime, and recognised Him in some way, but the majority of men did not, and crucified Him.

The making of the worlds is one way in which Christ displays what God is, as Romans 1:18-20 indicates. As the Creator, He could bypass what rain did to the vine when it fell, and the best wine was ready in an instant, John 2:1-11. He could also do to a fig tree what happens when rain does not fall, even dry it up by the roots, Matthew 21:19.

“By whom” does not imply He was merely a creature-agent, given power from God to do things. Romans 11:36 says all things are “through Him”, meaning God, but none can give God the power to act. John 1:3 is clear that not one thing that has come into being has done so without Christ, so He did not come into being, or else He made Himself! This subject is returned to in verses 10-12, contrasting the angels with the Creator.

There are three words for world in the New Testament. There is “kosmos”, (which gives us “cosmetic”, and “cosmos”), which, in an ideal sense, is the world of symmetry, beauty, and harmony, (the opposite being chaos), but which has now been corrupted by Satan into the world of hostility to God; “aionas”, (which gives us “aeon”), the world of history; and “oikeumene”, (which gives us “ecumenical”), the world of humanity.
The word used here is “aionas”, the world as an age, the world of history, although it is used in 11:3 in connection with things. “The aggregate of things contained in time”, Grimm. The world of matter and time, (which came into being at the same moment, the “beginning” of Genesis 1:1), is the stage for the unfolding of the truth of God. This is now finalised in Christ, for “once in the end of the world (or the consummation of the ages) hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself”, 9:26.

1:3
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:

Who being the brightness of his glory- He does not merely reflect, but rather radiates the glory of God, as the sunlight has the same character as the sun. He is the Shekinah of Psalm 80, shining forth from between the cherubims above the ark, so that Israel may be saved. Aaron had to make a cloud of incense to shield him from that glory, that he die not, for to see God was to die. But that glory was Christ! Aaron entered the presence of God without his garments of glory and beauty, lest anything detract from the glory of God.

And the express image of his person- Christ is the exact expression of the essence of God. Christ expresses in Himself all that the Godhead is in Itself. To see Him is to see the Father, to know His comfort is to know the comfort of the Holy Spirit, for He is another comforter of the same sort, John 14:16; Luke 2:25, where “consolation” is the same word as “comforter”.
The word person translates hupostasis, which was used in ordinary speech of a foundation. The idea is of an underlying and steadfast thing. Christ is the unique, full, and exact expression of all that God is in the essence of His Being. The Son is personally distinct from, and yet literally equal to, the One of whom He is the full expression. Note later quotations that call the Son “God”, and “Jehovah”, in verses 8 and 10. Note that He is the express image of the person of God in His totality, not just the Father. “In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily”, Colossians 2:9.

And upholding all things by the word of his power- the Targums, (Jewish commentaries), and Rabbis often spoke of God in this way. This is part of His first-born work, of maintaining and bearing responsibility for everything for the Godhead. He has power sufficient for any task, and can maintain everything intact for God, and also cause it to pass and replace it, as verse 12 says. The idea behind upholding is not simply supporting, or even maintaining, but “carrying toward a final goal”. He so manages the universe that it moves inevitably to the goal set for it in the Divine Purpose.

When he had by himself purged our sins- so whatever is involved in purging sins, it is given character by who He is that does it, for He did it “by Himself”, in all the glory of His person. It is not just that he did the work alone, but left the stamp of His own person upon the work. The expression also indicates that the credit for doing the work is given to Him.

Notice how the glories of Christ relate to the work of purging sins:
As Son He purged sins, so He did the work with Divine insight.
As firstborn and heir He purged sins, for He cannot inherit a defiled inheritance, whether it be His people, or His land, or His world.
As the maker of all things, He knows perfectly the difference between what things are now, and what they were when He made them very good, including man.
As the brightness of the glory, He brings things back by his purging, so that they glorify God.
As the exact expression of the essence of God, He purges in conformity with the Divine character.
As the upholder of all things, He maintains what He establishes in the material world, and in the spiritual. Note the contrasts, however, for sins are not things, but are moral offences, yet He can deal with these too. He upholds by His word, but can only purge sins through His death.

Note the following facts about the words “by Himself”:
The purging of sins cannot be done by merely speaking, even though He upholds all things by the word of His power.
It cannot be done with the help of another, for all others, (Aaron included, see 7:27), need a sin-offering themselves, so He did it by the sacrifice of Himself, not needing a personal sin-offering.
He needs no special vestments to make Him suitable for God’s presence, as Aaron did; what He is in Himself is enough.
He needs no sacrifice or officiating priest, but did the work alone.

Three things were purged in Leviticus 16:16-19 as a result of propitiation- the sanctuary, reminding us that Christ has purified the heavenly sanctuary, of which the tabernacle was a representation, Hebrews 9:23; the altar of incense, reminding us that the Lord Jesus ever liveth to make intercession for us, Hebrews 7:25; the people, Leviticus 16:30, reminding us that believers have been purged in conscience from dead works, to serve the living God, Hebrews 9:14. The phrase is literally “made purgation for sins”, so it is the work itself that is in view here, not the result of the work in persons being individually purged from sins; that comes later, in 9:14.

There are three main results from propitiation. In relation to God, the demands of God regarding sins are met fully. In relation to man, there can be reconciliation to God, 2 Corinthians 5:14-21; Romans 5:11. In relation to heaven and earth, the defilement of sin can be removed, so that God can righteously bring in a new heavens and a new earth which shall never be spoiled by sin, John 1:29, Daniel 9:24.

Sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high- literally, “He set Himself down”, confident of His place with the Father, and of the sufficiency of His work. In verse 13 we learn that He was invited to sit down. As His work of purging sins is complete, He can sit down, as no Aaronic priest was able to do, see Hebrews 10:11-14. As Son, He ever had the right to be on the throne, but now as firstborn Son, and moreover as a man, He is given the place at the right hand of the Father. See the incident in Genesis 48:12-14 which shows the importance of the right hand of a father.
As one who is the brightness of the glory, He had dealt with sins in conformity with the majesty of God, and God can now be appropriately designated “The Majesty”, with every question as to whether He was able to deal with sins finally removed. “Majesty” means greatness, and Christ ensures that nothing can reduce God’s standing and dignity. In chapter 1, Christ is seated as firstborn. In 8:1 He is seated as one firmly established; in chapter 10:12 as finaliser, and in chapter 12:2 as the faithful one.

As the heir He is responsible for Administering.
As the one who made the worlds, for Creating.
As the one who is the brightness, for Radiating.
As the one who is the image, for Expressing.
As the one upholding all things, for Preserving.
As the one who purged sins, for Propitiating.
As the one who is sat down on the throne, for Completing.

THE WORDS OF THE BIBLE, THE CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES, AS FOUND IN THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS CHAPTER 1, VERSES 4 TO 14:

1:4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

1:5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?

1:6 And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.

1:7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

1:8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

1:9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

1:10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:

1:11 They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;

1:12 And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.

1:13 But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?

1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

There is a correspondence between the seven-fold glories of Christ in verses 1-3, and the seven quotations from the Old Testament in verses 4-14, as follows:

DESCRIPTIONS	QUOTATIONS
His Son.	Thou art my Son.
Appointed heir	By inheritance…he shall be to me a Son.
Made the worlds	Of old thou hast laid the foundation of earth.
Brightness of glory	Psalm 104- “Clothed with honour and majesty”.
Express image	Thou Lord (Jehovah)…
Upholding all things	As a vesture thou shalt fold them up.
Sat…on the right hand	Sit on my right hand.

A summary of the seven quotations is as follows:

First	God to the Son.	The decree establishing His rule.
Second	God speaking about the Son.	The devotedness which marks His rule.
Third	God speaking to the angels.	The deference to be given when He rules.
Fourth	God speaking about the angels.	The demands He makes when He rules.
Fifth	God to the Son, and about Him as God.	The Deity of the one who rules.
Sixth	God to the Son, and about Him as Jehovah.	The duration of the One who rules.
Seventh	God to the Son, but never to the angels in the same terms.	The dominion of the One who rules.

1:4
Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

Being made so much better than the angels- the idea behind “being made…better” is “having become better”, or “proving Himself to be better”. He becomes, by purging, superior to the angels who administered the first covenant, with its purging only of the flesh, Hebrews 9:13. The word for made here is “ginomai” which is used “in passages where it is specified who or what a person of thing is or has been rendered, as respects quality, condition, place, rank or character”- Grimme. So the Son has proved Himself to be superior to angels by all the things He is said to do in verses 1-3.
As he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they- the more excellent name is Firstborn Son, ( a name which the rest of the chapter shows cannot be applied to angels), and because the idea of inheritance is bound up with the word firstborn, (for the size of a son’s share of the inheritance depended on whether he was firstborn or not), as soon as this Firstborn Son begins to enter into His inheritance, then He can begin to be called by His proper title of firstborn. It is part of the inheritance, and so He can be said to inherit it. He is “Firstborn from among the dead”, Colossians 1:18; Revelation 1:5.
The words “so much”, and “as”, taken together, give to us the idea of the measurement of the glory of His name, bearing in mind that the name is more than a title, and involves reputation. The measure of how much better He has become, is the greatness of the name He is given, and the greatness of this name is understood from the next verses, hence the “for” at the beginning of verse 5. God Himself leads the way in these quotations by introducing His Son into the world under the title Firstbegotten.

1:5
For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?

For unto which of the angels said he at any time- the angels rejoiced when the earth was established, and they will no doubt rejoice again when it is delivered from the bondage of corruption, but they have not been given the task of doing that. See 2:5. The angels could never be only begotten sons, but Lucifer was called the son of the morning, Isaiah 14:12. He may have been the first one created, and might aspire to the title firstborn. This may explain his hatred of, and opposition to, the Son of God.

Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee?- angels are called sons of God in the Old Testament, Job 1:6, but to none of them were these words spoken, for the word son is being used in a distinctive sense here in relation to Christ. In Luke 3:38 Adam is called son of God, but when in Luke 4:3 the Devil tempted Christ he said, “If Thou be the Son of God command this stone that it be made bread”. Clearly, the Devil distinguishes the sonship of Adam from that of Christ, for there would have been no point in tempting Adam to turn a stone into bread.

These words were originally spoken to David when he ascended the throne of Israel, Psalm 2:7, which is dated BC 1047, the year after David began to reign. As king in Israel, David was to administer for God, the primary task of the firstborn. David had been harassed and hunted for many years by Saul and his supporters, but at last he was brought into prominence in Israel, and the anointing which had taken place when he was but a lad, now authorised him to reign. So it is that David writes of God saying, “Yet have I set, (or anointed) my king upon my holy hill of Zion”, Psalm 2:6. So despite the raging of his enemies, verses 1,2, David was at last established on the throne of Israel. But now these words find their fulfilment in Christ, and all that was foreshadowed by the reign of David shall come to pass through David’s son, who is also David’s Lord, Matthew 22:41-46.

The fact that these words can be spoken in a limited sense to David, yet not in any sense to the angels, shows that it is to a man that these words come. The believers in Acts 4:25,26 applied the words of Psalm 2 to the Lord Jesus as He was raged at by the kings of the earth. Now the writer to the Hebrews is quoting later verses from the psalm, to show that the one Israel rejected and crucified is indeed to be established by God as His firstborn, “higher than the kings of the earth”, Psalm 89:27.
Psalm 2:7 is quoted again in 5:5 to show that Christ in resurrection and ascension has the title of firstborn, now that He has displaced Aaron as high priest.
In Acts 13:33 the words are used in connection with Him being raised up in Israel at His baptism. The baptism of Christ marked the beginning of His prophetic ministry.

The Hebrew word “yalad” meaning begotten, used in Psalm 2:7, is also translated “declare their pedigree” in Numbers 1:18. It was unheard of for one who was Son of God to be crucified on a cross, and be cursed of God, but God has declared His pedigree by raising Him from the dead, as Romans 1:4 also indicates with the words , “declared to be the Son of God by the resurrection of the dead”.

It is important that the Hebrews be reassured that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the Messiah, and that His present place in heaven is not a signal that the kingdom they expected will not be established. If He disappoints them in that, then He might disappoint them in other ways. So the seven quotations which are made here serve to show His competence to reign. Chapter 2:5 assures us that what is being spoken of in these verses is the time when the habitable earth in the future, (“the world to come”), will be under the sway of God’s king. The seven quotations (which have to with His manifestation on earth the second time), enforce the truth set out in the opening verses, with their seven-fold description of Christ’s glories, (which glories were manifest when He came the first time).

Peter made it clear on the Day of Pentecost that David was still in the grave, and had not ascended into heaven. But Christ is risen, and ascended, thus showing that the way is open for the throne of David to be occupied by a man who is clear of death, and can reign for ever. So not only by His birth is He uniquely qualified to sit on David’s throne, (for all others of David’s line through Solomon are unable to overcome the obstacle represented by God’s curse on Jechoniah’s descendants, Jeremiah 22:29,30), but by His resurrection also. He is able to reign without interruption for ever, with none raising an objection.

And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?– This is a statement that was made in the first instance to David about Solomon, his immediate successor. God said, “I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: but my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever”, 2 Samuel 7:12-16. Solomon did indeed proceed out of David’s bowels, verse 12, and have an established kingdom. He did indeed build a house for Jehovah, verse 13, even the temple. But it is also true that he committed iniquity, verse 14, yet the kingdom was not taken away from him, verse 15. Now clearly the house and royal line of David has been interrupted, so how can the promise that they will be established for ever be fulfilled? Only by Christ coming of the seed of David, and rising from the dead to be alive for evermore. The writer to the Hebrews, inspired by the same Spirit that inspired Nathan to prophesy to David, understands this, hence he shows that the vitally important part of the prophecy, upon which all the rest depends, was perfectly fulfilled in Christ. Because this is so, there is no question of Him being disciplined for iniquity, or having the throne removed from Him.
It is noticeable that the writer of the Book of Chronicles does not mention anything about iniquity, and also tells us additional things that God must have said through Nathan to David, but which are not found in 2 Samuel 7. He was concerned to encourage those who had returned from exile in Babylon, and one way he did it was to record the history of the kings of Judah in such a way that features which will be seen to perfection in the Messiah are highlighted. We see this from the following comparison:

2 Samuel 7:12-15	1 Chronicles 17:11-14
I will set up thy seed after thee…	I will raise up thy seed after thee…
I will establish his kingdom…	I will establish his kingdom…
He shall build a house for my name…	He shall build me a house…
I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever…	I will stablish his throne for ever…
I will be his father…	I will be his father
He shall be my son…	He shall be my son
If he commit iniquity…	(omitted)
Thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever…	Settle him in mine house and in my kingdom.
Thy throne shall be established for ever.	His throne shall be established for evermore.

“I will be to Him a Father” signifies that God will guarantee to Christ all the resources He needs, in terms of affection and direction, to enable Him to reign on the earth. Just as He was dependant on the Father when here the first time, it will be the same when He reigns, He will not be independent then either. This is indicated by the fact that on the Mount of Transfiguration, when a preview of the coming kingdom was given to the disciples, He is said to have been praying, the sure sign of a dependant man, Luke 9:29.

“He shall be to me a Son” indicates that all that a father expects from a son will be forthcoming from Christ, in terms of loyalty and diligence. This too will be manifest when He reigns, for His reign will be mediatorial, on behalf of the Father, to whom He will then give it up at the end of one thousand years, 1 Corinthians 15:24. Jesus the Messiah can be relied on by God, so He should be relied on by the Hebrews. Being more honoured than any angel, and more than two of the most illustrious kings Israel have ever had, David and Solomon, He is surely worthy of their trust.

1:6
And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.

And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world he saith- the word for world here is “habitable earth”, just as it is in 2:5.

The following things are brought out in this chapter with regard to the world to come, the inhabited earth where Christ reigns:

1.	Verse 5	Christ is heir of it.
2.	Verse 7	Angels serve it.
3.	Verse 8	Messiah’s throne governs it.
4.	Verse 10	Earth was made for it.
5.	Verse 12	Earth is folded up at the end of it.
6.	Verse 12	Christ reigns continuously throughout it.
7.	Verse 13	Enemies are expelled from it
8.	Verse 14	Saints inherit it.
9.	Chapter 2:4	Miracles foreshadow it, for they are the powers of the age to come, 6:5.

God has decreed that in all things Christ should have the pre-eminence, as is seen in the following scriptures:

In Hebrews 2:8	All things are to be put under Christ as man.
In Ephesians 1:10	All things will be gathered together into one in Christ.
In Luke 24:44	All things must be fulfilled.
In Colossians 1:20	All things must be reconciled.
In 2 Peter 3:11	All things shall be dissolved, to make way for a new heaven and earth.

The scene, then, is millenial, and God is going to introduce His Son into this world again. At His first coming, He was sent by God, but when He comes to earth again, so pleased is His Father because of all He was the first time, He is going to personally introduce Him. Perhaps this is what the Lord Jesus meant at the time of the Mount of Transfiguration experience, (when the power and coming of Christ were manifested to the apostles, 2 Peter 1:16), when He spoke of coming “in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels”, Luke 9:26. The Father’s glory will shine when Christ comes to earth.

And let all the angels of God worship him- this is a quotation from Psalm 97:7. In that psalm the kingdom of Christ is anticipated, and especially the beginning of it when He comes in flaming fire taking vengeance on His enemies. Compare 2 Thessalonians 1:7,8, with Psalm 97:3. It is Jehovah who is said to come in Psalm 97, but Jesus is Jehovah, equally with the Father and the Spirit. At that time all the angels (the meaning of “gods”) will worship Him, in effect acknowledging that to none of them has the honour of reigning been given.

1:7
And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire- having told us things about Christ to show why He is superior to angels, we now learn what makes the angels inferior to Him. This is a quotation from Psalm 104:4, which speaks of God as the creator and sustainer of all things. Indeed, the psalm is a commentary on the six days of creation, and then finishes with what may be thought of as a Sabbath hymn of praise to God. Since the Son is the exact expression of the essence of God, the writer is free to attribute what is said of Jehovah in Psalm 104 to Christ. And the matter he emphasises is that He made the angels! Here is further proof of the inferiority of angels to Christ, for they, for all their glory and might, are simply the product of His hand.

Consider the following facts about angels in comparison with Christ:
 “For by him (Christ) were all things created…whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers”, Colossians 1:16.
 The angels are said to be made as spirits, so they have not the ability to die, as Christ had because He took flesh and blood. They will never attain to the glories He has won by His death.
 Notice, too, that they are His angels, they belong to Him by creatorial right, and therefore in gratitude to Him for ever making them, they ought to worship Him.
 They are said to be His ministers, for while Christ has taken the form of a servant, and serves man, He is not said to serve angels; rather, they serve Him.
 They are a flame of fire, sent out on missions of burning judgement, whereas Christ came in grace, and rebuked disciples who wanted to call fire down on men, Luke 9:54-56.
 Given the supreme worthiness of Christ, it is only right for them to worship Him.

1:8
But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever- this is the second thing that God says directly to His Son. The words are a quotation from Psalm 45, which is a marriage song for a king, a song of loves. The psalm speaks of God anointing this one, yet He is called God! The throne of Solomon is called “the throne of the Lord” in 1 Chronicles 29:23. Here is the full expression of that. When Solomon sat there it was only the throne of God in a faint sense, but when God manifest in flesh sits on it, then it will indeed be the throne of Jehovah.
The promise to David was that his seed would reign for ever, and here is the fulfilment of the promise, for Christ is risen from the dead to die no more, and He is coming to establish a kingdom which shall last for ever, Daniel 7:14. “Of His kingdom there shall be no end”, Luke 1:33.
How Satan must shudder at these words, for they indicate that what he sought from the beginning shall never be his. They explain his hostility to Christ when the wise men sought one who was born king, and when he motivated Herod to slay the infants, Matthew 2:2,16.

A sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom- verse 4 of Psalm 45 exhorts Christ to ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness, and this He will do. He shall come from heaven riding on a white horse, Revelation 19:11-16, and shall judge all the injustice of the earth. At last He will be vindicated for His stand for the truth when He came the first time, and shall “bring forth judgement unto truth”, Isaiah 42:3. All the meekness He displayed before the kings of earth at His first coming will be recompensed, too, for “the servant of rulers”, shall be worshipped by kings and princes, Isaiah 49:7.
The emphasis, however, is on His righteousness, for “He that ruleth over men must be just”, 2 Samuel 23:3, and David had to admit that his “house was not so with God”, verse 5, yet he remembered that God had made with him an “everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure”. When David’s son and David’s Lord reigns, righteousness will be established for ever. The word for righteousness in this verse means straightness, and is connected with the word used in Matthew 3:3, “make his paths straight”. Men gave Him a reed, the symbol of weakness, as if He had no power to rule, and as if He could be shaken in the wind, but He was, and will be, steadfast, upright and true in His judgement in the future, as He was in His dealings in the past.

There is a connection between the word for sceptre and the word for tribe. Jacob had used this word for sceptre when he prophesied that the sceptre would not depart from Judah, nor the law-giver from between his feet, until the coming of Shiloh, Genesis 49:10, Shiloh being one of the names of the Messiah. Judah, however, had given up his staff to Tamar, Genesis 38:18,26, and subsequently had to admit that she was more righteous than he was, for she knew that it was her duty to have children, in case she was destined to be the mother of the Messiah. While this was happening, Joseph was being tempted by Potiphar’s wife, and overcoming. Hence while the right to rule was taken from Reuben and given to Judah, the moral character demanded of a ruler was only found in Joseph, hence the rôles are divided in Israel’s family, but are united in Christ. He has the right to rule as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, but has the moral character to do so, for He is the Lamb slain, Revelation 5:5,6.

1:9
Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity- looking back on the life of Christ at His first coming, it is clear He was righteous, so He is called Jesus Christ the righteous, 1 John 2:1. His love of the one, and hatred of the other, was complete. He did not even stand in the way of sinners, much less walk in it, Psalm 1:1. The word to David’s house was “if he commit iniquity” As we saw in verse 5, Solomon did commit iniquity, but “a greater than Solomon is here”, Matthew 12:42, and He is totally free from all wrong.
Here is one of David’s line, yet who is not descended through Joseph the son of David, Matthew 1:20. The marriage of Joseph to Mary before Christ was born ensures, however, that He has the legal right to the throne. According to Jewish law, any child born to a man’s fiancé was legally his child, even if he was not the physical father. Therefore the legal claim was stronger than the physical claim, so Christ’s claim to the throne through Joseph is sound. His birth of the tribe of Judah is evident, Hebrews 7:14. It is said that the temple genealogical records were destroyed in AD 70. Whether that is true or not in unclear, but God saw to it that the genealogy of Christ was preserved in another place before that happened.

Therefore, God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows- the true God is Messiah’s God, for He is a dependant man upon the earth. A specially scented oil was reserved for the favoured guest at a feast, so that he was honoured above his fellow-guests. Since Psalm 45, from which this is quoted, is a song of loves, probably composed to be sung at the marriage of a king, the feast is a marriage feast, that of the King’s Son, Matthew 22:1-7.
Christ was anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power; in other words, by the one the oil symbolised, not the symbol. David was anointed twice, first in obscurity, as “the least”, 1 Samuel 16:11 margin, keeping the flocks, whom they did not bother to call, who was, so to speak, “despised and rejected of men”. Then he was anointed again, once he had gained the throne. This anointing was “according to the word of the Lord by Samuel”, 1 Chronicles 11:3. In other words, it was a reaffirmation of his original anointing, but this time surrounded by the nation, who described themselves as bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh. He was anointed above his fellows, the nation, just as he had been anointed above his fellows, the other sons of Jesse.
Note the first and last words of the quotation, “Thy throne, O God…thy fellows”. In Zechariah 13:7 the word used for fellow means an equal, a direct testimony to the equality of the Shepherd with God. This is plain testimony to the truth of the Deity of Christ in the Old Testament, justifying His claim that the Old Testament testified of Him, John 5:39. Here, however, the word means one who has been joined in fellowship with another, and this time we have an direct testimony to the true manhood of Christ, for He has men as fellows, yet He is addressed as God. The word “fellows” in Hebrews 1:9 is the same as partakers, or companions, the words used in 2:14 and 3:1.

1:10
And, thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:

And, thou, Lord- a further quotation, this time from Psalm 102:25-27. The psalmist had lamented his position, and this is often taken as previewing Christ’s sufferings during His life, especially as depicting His experience in Gethsemane. In which case the psalmist contrasts the brevity of his life, with the fact that Jehovah’s years would not fail.
It is possible, however, to read it as if there is a change of speaker, so that the words, “Thou Lord” are spoken by Jehovah to the Messiah. Certainly all that is said in this quotation is true of Christ. Each of the persons of the Godhead may rightly be called “Jehovah”, just as they all may rightly be called God. Each one may fully represent the whole Godhead in its power and authority. In Romans 10 the apostle Paul does not hesitate to quote “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”, (bearing in mind that the words as originally penned by the prophet Joel referred to Jehovah), for he insists that to be saved we must confess Jesus to be Lord, i.e. to ascribe Deity to Him. So it is here. The psalmist ranges over the whole of time, from the beginning to the end of things. And before, and during, and after these things Christ remains in His timeless, unchangeable grandeur.

In the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands- God asked Job the question, “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?”, Job 38:4. Then it is said in verse 7, “When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy”. It seems that the heavens (with all their hosts, stellar and angelic) were made before the earth; hence the angels could rejoice at the founding of the earth. This effectively disposes of both the Old Earth theory and the Gap-Theory. Both these ideas suppose that what God pronounced as very good was built on the ruins of former rebellion. Those angels who fell must have done so after the creation week, for all was very good on the seventh day. The millenial reign of Christ was prepared for from the foundation of the earth, Matthew 25:34; Hebrews 4:4,5.

1:11
They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;

They shall perish, but thou remainest- even Divinely established things perish, and are replaced, and this is relevant in another direction, for the law system was decaying, waxing old, and was ready to vanish away, 8:13. The Hebrews are being prepared for the idea that Divinely established things are to be done away- they do not have to continue for ever just because God sets them up. So with the system of sacrifices. Remain means “to continue without interruption” for there is no principle of change with God, whereas creation will perish or be destroyed through the active intervention of God.
Peter speaks of the Day of God, the eternal day when He is supreme, “by reason of which” (margin) the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up”, 2 Peter 3:10. The earth is not only made to continue for ever, Psalm 104:5, (it has no built-in obsolescence), but also to be dissolved at the moment of God’s choosing. The entrance of sin and corruption into the world has not disrupted the Divine Programme. After all, Christ is the Architect of the Ages, for He made the worlds of time and space.

And they all shall wax old as doth a garment- Isaiah 40:22 speaks of God stretching out the heavens as a curtain, and here they and the earth are likened to an old, worn-out garment. In this verse the universe is destroyed by Divine design, whereas in the next verse it is folded up because of decay. They wax old, like Aaron who died outside of Canaan, but His years do not fail, and He has entered in.

1:12
And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.

And as a vesture thou shalt fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail- so the heavens and the earth perish, but He remains; they are to be folded up, and changed, but He is the same, never putting off His garments of glory and beauty. “Thou art the Same” indicates the unchangebleness of His Deity, whereas “Thy years shall not fail” speaks of His resurrection manhood. The psalmist wrote, “He asked life of thee, and thou gavest Him it, even length of days for ever and ever”, Psalm 21:4. He is Jesus Christ the Same yesterday, (on earth), today, (in heaven), and for ever. The Same is a Divine title, used in the Old Testament to emphasise the unchangebleness of God. This is revealed in Christ, who was always consistent and unvarying in His character. When asked “Who art Thou? He could reply, “Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning”, John 8:25.

Notice the ways in which these verses prepare us for the later teaching of the epistle:
“Thou art my Son” not only guarantees His reign in a day to come, but since the same scripture is quoted in Hebrews 5:5, His priesthood is guaranteed and given Divine sanction also.
He is priest upon His throne, whether in the future on earth, Zechariah 6:12,13, or at present in heaven, Hebrews 8:1.
He is high priest in virtue of His Deity and manhood, (Jesus the Son of God, Hebrews 4:14), so we may count on His ministry at all times. He combines Divine authority with sympathy as a man.
He loved righteousness, and hated iniquity, reminding us that His priesthood is not to sympathise with our sins, (for He is unable to do that), but rather to succour us so that we do not sin, Hebrews 2:18; 4:14-16.
He remains, and ever liveth to intercede for us, 7:25. Zacharias remained (same word) speechless, Luke 1:22.
He is the same, and has an unchangeable priesthood; 7:24.
He does not fail, for He saves to the uttermost, right on to the end, 7:25. The Greek word gives us “eclipse”, telling of one who is never overshadowed or overcome by another.
He will never change His “priestly garments”, nor will they ever wax old and wear out.

1:13
But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?

But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? This is a rhetorical question, demanding a negative answer. The psalm said, “The Lord said unto my Lord” so clearly angels are not being addressed. Only one who is Lord can respond to this invitation. Yet He does so as man! It is one of the most amazing things possible, that there is a man on the throne of God. This fact alone should have settled the matter of Christ’s superiority over everyone else. Note that whereas in verse 3 Christ sat Himself down, confident that He had the right to do so, here, He sits down by invitation. This assures us that He was justified in His confidence in verse 3.
Lucifer sought to exalt his throne above the stars of God, and be like the Most High in His exaltation and majesty, Isaiah 14:12-15. Here is one who humbled Himself, and has been exalted, whereas Lucifer sought to exalt himself and has been abased, Luke 14:11.

The right hand was the place for the firstborn. Joseph had been displeased with his father because he had crossed his hands when blessing Ephraim and Manasseh. He had presented Manasseh, who was born first, to Jacob’s right hand, but Jacob, by crossing his hands, gave Ephraim the firstborn’s place, Genesis 48:11-19. So Christ is not only firstborn Son and heir by appointment in eternity, verse 2, but also by position at God’s right hand. God does not have to reverse the normal order for Christ, as Jacob did with Ephraim, for there was never any question of anyone else being given the position.
This position is reserved for Him until a certain time. The particular word for “until” used here means “up to the time when”. His position is a moral one, just as Queen Elizabeth is said to be on the throne of England, although she in fact rarely sits upon it physically. This verse does not imply that He cannot come for the church before the defeat of His enemies at His coming to earth, because even one thousand years after that event He will still have enemies that need to be subdued, for the last enemy is not destroyed until the very end of time, see Revelation 20:7-9.

Note the recurring theme of enemies throughout the epistle, 10:13; 10:27; 12:25-29; 13:13, (camp is a military word, suggesting Israel were encamped against Christ, and were in military array against Him, see Psalm 2:2; Acts 4:25-28). Joshua had made his captains put their feet on the necks of the defeated kings of Canaan, to show their utter subjection, Joshua 10:24.

Benjamin, Jacob’s twelth son, and Joseph’s true brother, was “son of my right hand”, according to his father, but Benoni, “son of my sorrow”, according to his mother, Genesis 35:16-20. He was born near Bethlehem, and amid sufferings and death, for his mother died giving birth to him. Jeremiah recalls this in connection with the sufferings of the people of Israel, Jeremiah 31:15, and Matthew quotes his words in connection with the slaughter of the infants at the birth of Christ, Matthew 2:18. This shows that He is able to relate to the sufferings the people of Israel go through, even the sufferings of the Great Tribulation, the “time of Jacob’s trouble”, Jeremiah 30:7.
So the first quotation in this chapter reminds us of what Leah said when she bare Jacob his first son, Reuben, “Behold, a son”. And now the seventh quotation has reminded us of Jacob’s youngest son, Benjamin, the son of his father’s right hand.

1:14
Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

Are they not all ministering spirits- far from having a right to the throne, every one of the angels is a minister, serving the interests of the throne of God. And they are spirits, whereas Christ has acquired for Himself the right to sit on the throne of God by what He did in manhood.

Sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? Far from being seated, the angels speed forth to minister for the heirs of salvation. Note it is “for” and not “to”. Their service is indirect, and has to do with the physical preservation of those who will enter the kingdom. All spiritual preservation is in the hands of Christ, for He is the author of eternal salvation, but He delegates lesser and temporal things to the angels. See, for instance, Genesis 19:15; Acts 12:7-11,15.

Heirs of salvation are those who, literally rendered, “are about to inherit salvation”. This is the Greek way of saying it will be sure to happen. As the Captain of salvation, 2:10, Christ leads His people into ultimate and eternal salvation, whether saints of this age brought to glory in heaven, or tribulation saints who enter the kingdom on earth. A description of the latter aspect of salvation is found in the words of Zacharias in Luke 1:69-79: “That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life”. Luke 1:74,75.

JOHN 4

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JOHN 4

Structure of the chapter

Section 1	Verses 1-19	The gift of the Holy Spirit
Section 2	Verses 20-26	Truth about worship
Section 3	Verses 27-42	Truth about service
Section 4	Verses 43-54	The miracle at a distance

Section 1 Verses 1-19
The gift of the Holy Spirit

Survey of section 1
In these verses the Lord Jesus unfolds to the woman of Samaria important truths about worship. The Samaritan nation originated from those people that the King of Assyria had transported into the land of Israel after he had taken the ten tribes of Israel into captivity, 2 Kings 17:24-34. When Ezra refused their offer of help in building the temple at Jerusalem, Ezra 4:1-5, they built a rival temple on the top of Mount Gerizim where they carried on a form of worship. The Lord Jesus deliberately positions Himself within sight of this mountain in order to highlight important truths about Samaritan worship, Jewish worship, and the Christian worship which would replace them both.

He also positions Himself at a well, for He uses the water of the well as a figure for the Holy Spirit, and it is by His power alone that true worship can be sustained.

One other thing should be noted. Before true worship can be offered, those who worship must have come to an end of themselves. So it is that the secrets of this woman’s life must be exposed, so that, having repented of her sin, she may receive the great gift of the Holy Spirit to enable her to worship.

The apostle Paul summarises these things for us in Philippians 3:3, where he speaks of worshipping God in the Spirit, boasting in Christ Jesus, and having no confidence in the flesh. The woman of Samaria was enabled to do these things after the Lord had dealt with her in grace. She was given the Holy Spirit to enable her to worship in spirit and in truth, she was introduced to the Lord Jesus, so that she might glory in Him, and she learnt to have no confidence in herself as she confessed her sin. So she came into the good of those things that Paul mentions, in reverse order, as we all must do. Self must recede, Christ must be to the fore, and then true worship may be offered to God.

Structure of section 1

(a)	Verses 1-6	The well reached
(b)	Verses 7-15	The water offered
(c)	Verses 16-19	The waywardness confessed

(a) Verses 1-6
The well reached

4:1
When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,

When therefore- this follows on from 3:26, where the Jews tell John the Baptist that Jesus baptised also, and “all men come to him”. The Jews are clearly concerned about the popularity of the Lord Jesus. John adds to their concern by pointing out that He is indeed the Christ, the Messiah of Old Testament prophecy, and in that case He must increase until He occupies the throne of Israel, and John must decrease until he is merely the one who bends down to undo the latchet of the shoes of the King.

The Lord knew- the apostle John has only used the word “Lord” once before, and this in a quotation from the Old Testament in 1:23. Clearly the Lord in that verse means Jehovah, the God of Israel, but now John is using this word of the Lord Jesus without qualification or apology. Everything he has written so far is calculated to teach us that Jesus of Nazareth is equal with God. See, for example, John 1:1-4, 14-18.

This is very significant in this context, for only the persons of the Godhead can give the Holy Spirit, who is Himself a Person of the Godhead. Only God can give God! And this is what the Lord Jesus claims to be able to do, for the living water He gives is nothing less than the Spirit of God. See John 7:38,39; 1:32-34.

How the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John- the Jews had clearly reported back to the Pharisees after speaking with John, 3:26. Note that the report used the word Jesus in a purely natural sense, for it was the name by which He was commonly known. John the apostle uses this name in an historical sense, for he is writing of real events which took place when the Lord Jesus was on earth. The New Testament epistles, however, use the single name Jesus in a very specialised way, (see, for instance, the seven-fold mention of Jesus in the Epistle to the Hebrews), and not as the normal mode of address. Even when He was here on earth, we never read of the disciples addressing Him as Jesus. How much more should believers now address Him with His full titles, for “God hath made that same Jesus…both Lord and Christ”, Acts 2:36. And He said to His disciples, “Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.” John 13:13. So we have it from His own lips that to call Him Lord is to speak well.

4:2
(Though Jesus himself baptised not, but his disciples,)

(Though Jesus himself baptised not, but his disciples)- this is one of those expressions referred to as “John’s asides”, being words of explanation which the apostle is guided to include in the narrative. It would not have been appropriate for the Lord Jesus to personally baptise those who repented in preparation for His coming, since this would have detracted from the unique ministry of John the Baptist. It was important that there be no confusion introduced at this critical time. Note the way John the Baptist deals with the question of an apparent rivalry between himself and Christ, in John 3:25-36. There was the additional fact that no believer could claim an advantage because he had been baptised by Christ personally.

4:3
He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.

He left Judea- the word for leave indicates a leaving with no intention of returning in the near future. The promoters of Judaism are rejecting Him, for they feared that His popularity would mean their downfall. They need not have worried, for He “made himself of no reputation”, and deliberately withdrew. How solemn to be left by the Lord; just as solemn as when the glory departed in Ezekiel’s day.

And departed again into Galilee- note the “again”, for John has already recorded His first journey into Galilee, 1:43. It is important to remember that the events of John 1:19-4:54, (a period of several months), took place between verses 11 and 12 of Matthew 4, and between verses 13 and 14 of Luke 4. John makes it clear in 3:24 that the first visit to Galilee, the visit to Jerusalem for the Passover, and the period of baptising in Judea, all took place before John was put into prison, whereas Matthew makes it clear that the Lord only departed into Galilee for His main preaching ministry after John was put in prison, Matthew 4:12.

4:4
And he must needs go through Samaria

And he must needs go through Samaria- it is true that the road from Judea to Galilee does indeed go through Samaria, but there are other reasons that make this route a necessity for Him, as follows:

(i) He must show Himself to be different to the Pharisees, who made a lengthy detour, crossing the Jordan and travelling up the further side in order to avoid “contamination” from the Samaritans. The Lord is teaching us that sanctification and isolation are not the same.

(ii) He is preparing the way for the spread of the gospel into Samaria after His ascension, Acts 8:4-25. The hostility of the Jews towards the Samaritans must not be shared by believers.

(iii) He must address the matter of the Samaritan worship. There was no better place to do this than within sight of Mount Gerizim, at the top of which was their temple, where they worshipped.

(iv) He must establish His rights even in the territory that was occupied by the rebellious ten tribes of Israel when they divided from Judah and Benjamin in King Rehoboam’s time. When He reigns it will be over a united kingdom, Ezekiel 37:15-22.

(v) He must take His place near the parcel of ground Jacob gave to His firstborn son Joseph, to remind us of the fact that He is the Firstborn Son of the Father, and as such has the right to administer for Him. This He does in the chapter.

4:5
Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph- this spot is important because of its symbolic meaning. It is near Mount Gerizim indeed, but it also near the parcel of ground which Jacob gave to Joseph to signify that he was his firstborn, and therefore had the right to a double portion. His words were, “Moreover I have given thee one portion above thy brethren”, Genesis 48:22. Now the word “portion” used there is the word Shechem, and this was the name of a place near Sychar. It was here that Joseph was eventually buried, after Israel had conquered the land, Joshua 24:32. But significantly it is not as Joseph’s burying place that John notices this parcel of ground, but as the sign that Joseph was the firstborn of Jacob, with the right to administer everything for the father. This is exactly how the Lord Jesus is described in John 3:35, “The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.” As God’s Firstborn Son, (as well as His Only-begotten), the Lord Jesus administers everything for His Father. And this is what He is doing in the passage before us, for He is ensuring that the Father’s desire for worshippers is satisfied.

4:6
Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.

Now Jacob’s well was there- John uses the word fountain for this well, and the Lord Jesus uses the same word for the fountain of spiritual water which He gives. The woman in the story, however, uses a word that simply means a pit, or cistern. Clearly, Jacob had discovered that there was an underground spring in this place, and had dug a shaft down to it. The woman, however, only looked upon it as a pit of water. She was not interested in the source of the water, nor the energy which caused it to spring forth from the rock.

Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey- He was Lord, and as such was the creator of the ends of the earth, who fainteth not, neither is weary, Isaiah 40:28. But He had come into real manhood, and as such had accepted the limitations that having a body involves. He now has two natures, but is still one Person. This is a great mystery, but the believing heart accepts what Scripture says even though it cannot explain it.

How relevant are these things to the subject of this chapter, for it is precisely because God has been manifest in the person of His Son, that we are able to intelligently worship Him. Christ has given to us the fullest expression of who and what God is, that we might have the material to be able to worship Him acceptably.

Sat thus on the well- He sat on the well just as He was, wearied, yet Lord of all. He neither desired, nor needed, to pretend to be anything other than what He was. It was in a state of readiness to work for His Father, even though He was weary in body, that the woman discovered Him. Notice His word to the disciples in verse 28, “Other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours”.

And it was about the sixth hour- according to Jewish reckoning, this means it was about noon, for the Jewish day began at sunrise. So it was daylight, and a public place. The Lord Jesus was prepared to meet with a man like Nicodemus at night, but, being supremely circumspect, would not do the same with a woman. He abstained from all appearance of evil, as believers should do, 1 Thessalonians 5:22. The title Pharoah gave to Joseph had a triple meaning. Zaphnath-paaneah means “Revealer of secrets”, for Joseph had unfolded the meaning of Pharoah’s dreams. It also means “Saviour of the world”, for by his wise dealings the earth was saved from famine. But when the name is read in hieroglyphics, it means “A wise man fleeing from corruption”. We see the truth of these three names in this “Joseph chapter”. The Lord sits on a well in broad daylight to speak to a woman, knowing that at any moment others may come along the road, so He wisely flees from corruption in that sense. (Bearing in mind that He has no corruption within Him from which He must flee). He is the revealer of the secrets of the woman’s heart and life, so that she says to the men of her city, “Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?” As a result the Samaritans came out to Him and declared “this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world”. There are other comparisons with Joseph that we shall notice as we proceed.

(b) Verses 7-15
The water offered

4:7
There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.

There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water- whereas Nicodemus, a religious Jew, had come to Him, He had come to this Gentile woman. The fact that she came to the well was secondary to His coming to meet her. He “must needs” come to this place to do so. She came to get physical water, He came to give spiritual water. The purpose for which the woman came provides the Lord with the opportunity to speak of the water He alone is able to give.

Jacob said of Joseph, “Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall”, Genesis 49:22. The Lord Jesus is here by a well, and He is fruitful in testimony to a Gentile woman, for He is making Himself available to those who are the other side of the middle wall of partition between the Jews and the Gentiles, Ephesians 2:14. His fruitful branches are hanging within reach even of these, with whom the Jews would have no dealings.

Jesus saith unto her Give me to drink- this initial request introduces the three themes that immediately follow. “Give” allows Him the opportunity to give the woman a gift, verse 10, and also reminds us that the Father has given all things into His hand, 4:35. “Me” reminds us who He is, for truths as to His person are brought out in the chapter, verse 12. “To drink” reminds us that the gift He gives quenches spiritual thirst, verses 13-16.

4:8
(For His disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)

(For His disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat)- another of John’s “asides”, or words of explanation. He is explaining why the disciples are not at hand to minister to their Master’s needs. No doubt if they had been there the woman would have been disconcerted to find several men at the well-side. She would have felt intimidated, especially as she would discern they were Jews. Not only is the Lord’s journey through Samaria ordered of the Father so that He can meet this woman, but the journey of the disciples into the city is ordered as well, so they do not meet the woman, at least initially.

The fact that the disciples are gone to buy meat, (meaning food), shows that the Lord is making sure they know that it is in order to have dealings with the Samaritans, even though the Jews in general would not. He could have arranged to buy food before they crossed into Samaria, but did not.

4:9
Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.

Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him- we learn from this expression that this woman was not only a woman “out of” Samaria, verse 7, who might merely be a Jewess visiting the place, but that she belonged to Samaria, and therefore is a Samaritan, as she herself implies at the end of the verse. As such she was a Gentile.

How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? Because of their origins, and the fact that the Samaritans had built a rival temple on Mount Gerizim, the Jews detested the Samaritans, and the feeling was mutual. To her credit, the woman does not seem to harbour this prejudice. Her heart is good ground into which the Word of God will soon fall and spring up. The Lord Jesus had come into the world to save sinners of whatever nationality, creed, or persuasion.

She would know He was a Jew either by His dress, (with its border of blue, in accordance with Numbers 15:37-41), or by His features, or by His speech. The word drink in Hebrew is shethah. A Jew would pronounce the “s” as “sch”, whereas a Samaritan would simply pronounce it as an “s”. (Compare what happened in the court of the high priest’s palace, when the men said to Peter, “thou art a Galilean, and thy speech agreeth thereto” Mark 14:70). She will soon also learn that He is a Jew by His defence of the Jewish worship.

For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans- whilst it is true that the Lord was not sent but to the lost sheep of the House of Israel, nevertheless He is described in this very chapter as the Saviour of the world. He not only saves men, Jew or Gentile, from their sins, He also saves them from false worship, for “salvation is of the Jews”, verse 22. He makes clear, however, (as He would do later with the woman of Canaan, Matthew 15:21-28), that there was at that point a distinction between Israel and the rest of the world, for that was ordered of God for man’s blessing. He likewise ordered things so that there was no distinction between Jew and Gentile after Pentecost, again for man’s blessing. In this chapter a Jew has dealings with a Samaritan, and in the parable of the Good Samaritan the Lord depicts Himself as a Samaritan who has dealings with a Jew.

4:10
Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith unto thee, Give me to drink- notice two things she did not know. First, what the gift of God was, and second, who was offering her that gift. It is true that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, and in that sense He is the gift of God, yet we should note that the Lord distinguishes between this gift and Himself. The nearer context suggests that the gift is the giving of all things into the hands of the Lord Jesus, as stated in 3:35. And one of the things He gives is the Holy Spirit. Second, she did not know that He was God’s Son, the Lord of all, the One given the task of administering everything for His Father.

Thou wouldest have asked of him- if she had known He alone was able to give the most desirable things, she would have made her request before He made His.

And he would have given thee living water- thus the water of the well becomes a parable, leading this woman on to higher things. We should notice that the Lord uses the word which can be translated fountain, whilst the woman uses the word for well which could be translated cistern. She thinks only in terms of a shaft in the ground in which is stored water. The Lord speaks of a fountain, but even then she only thinks He means a spring at the bottom of the cistern.

4:11
The woman saith unto Him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?

The woman saith to Him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep- the woman for the moment is only thinking on a natural level. She has noticed He has no leather bucket like the pilgrims in the travelling caravans carried with them with which to draw water. The well was deep, so the water was out of reach without a bucket. And she assumes that He, a Jew, would not be prepared to use the same bucket as her, a Samaritan.

From whence hast thou that living water? She perhaps thinks He knows where the spring is that feeds the well, for this would be all that “living water” meant to her as yet.

4:12
Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?

Art thou greater than our father Jacob which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? She is saying in effect, “have you greater knowledge about wells than even Jacob had, who secured for himself a water supply independent of the wells of the strangers around him at that time?” A supply, moreover, which was abundant, for it satisfied him and his family, and was enough for all his herds as well. This makes it very clear that she is still only thinking in terms of ordinary water, the sort that cattle drink. Notice she claims Jacob as her father, since the Samaritans had interbred with those Israelites from the ten tribes who had not gone into captivity, but had remained in the land. It is ironic to think that she claimed the well for her nation, (for she believes Jacob gave it to them), when Jacob’s sons had drunk of it, and she was talking to a son of Jacob! But it is not for this reason that Jew and Samaritan can be joined together.

4:13
Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:

Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again- since she insists on limiting her thoughts to the well they were both beside, the Lord compares its water to the water He is able to give. All natural things fail to satisfy permanently. No matter how abundant the supply, the waters of earth can never give enduring pleasure and refreshment. Nor can the things of earth enable us to worship. The Lord Himself lamented after Israel went into captivity, with the words, “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” Jeremiah 2:13. In the previous two verses He had said, “Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord.” So Israel hewing out broken cisterns was Israel adopting strange gods, and turning from the worship of the True God.

4:14
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst- the expression “never thirst” is very strong, and may be translated “in no wise thirst for ever”. For no reason will one who drinks of this water ever at any time need to drink again. The “whosoever” of verse 13 means “everyone that”, meaning the whole multitude of those who, like Jacob, his sons and his cattle, all drink from this well. They shall thirst again, and need to come again to fetch water. However, the “whosoever” of verse 14 is individual, and emphasises that the drinking of the water Christ speaks of is an act of personal faith.

But the water that I shall give him- the water He gives is contrasted with the natural water, hence the “but”. Note that even though He is speaking to a woman, the Lord says “he”, for in that sort of context it means any person, without regard to gender. The woman clearly thinks of this as a perfectly normal way of speaking, and does not take offence. The modern obsession with gender is an attempt by Satan to erode the distinction between male and female that God our Creator put in place at the beginning. Modern translations that aim to be gender-neutral merely further the Devil’s agenda.

Shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life- instead of coming to an external source of natural water, the believer in Christ has the source of springing water within himself. Note the energy and force of this water as it gushes forth in the believer’s heart; and this promise is from a physically weary Saviour! Jacob’s fountain was deep down the shaft, and had to be brought up. The fountain within a believer springs up with Divine energy.

In John 7:39 the apostle makes it clear that when the Lord Jesus spoke of rivers of living water He was speaking of the Spirit of God. Isaiah 44:3,4 also uses water as a figure of the Holy Spirit of God, for we read, “For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: and they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.” The Jewish rabbis taught that this was a Messianic passage, and that the water was the Holy Spirit.

Some have difficulty with the idea of asking for the Spirit, seeing that the Holy Spirit is definitely given immediately a person believes and is saved. That this is so is seen from Galatians 3:2, where the apostle asks, “This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” If the Spirit was not given when a person heard with the hearing of faith, then the argument of the apostle totally falls down. There is no difficulty, however, for when a soul gets saved it is not a question of asking for each blessing individually. Every blessing is granted immediately, so the cry for salvation on the part of a repentant, believing sinner, includes them all. The apostle goes on to say, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law…that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith”, Galatians 3:13,14. So the blessing of having the Spirit of God within is through Jesus Christ because of His work on the cross, and it comes through faith. The asking is only specific in John 4 because of the way the Lord Jesus started the conversation, even by asking for a drink. It is not that there is a time lapse between conversion and receiving the Spirit, as if the Spirit is only received after a while, and when specifically asked for.

The water, then, is the Holy Spirit, and He introduces the believer to the whole range of things that everlasting life, (the life of God), involves. The foremost of these is the knowledge of God. The Lord Jesus, in His prayer to His Father said this, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” John 17:3.

The following things should be noted about that verse:

First, life eternal is put in contrast to the natural life which unsaved persons have, those who are only “flesh”, verse 2, and who are therefore weak and mortal. Eternal life, on the other hand, is the life of the Eternal God, and as such is strong and everlasting. When a person is born again, John 3:3, he is born of God, John 1:13, and from that point on has the life of his Father within, being one of His children.

Second, the life a natural man in the flesh possesses enables him to appreciate the natural world around him. Eternal life, however, enables a person to know the things of God.

Third, the word “that” used by the Lord Jesus in John 17:3 means “in order that”. Once a person has eternal life they know God in principle. But God gives eternal life so that the recipient may get to know Him increasingly well, a process that stretches into eternity. We see now the significance of the words “springing up into everlasting life”, in John 4:14. It is like the river that shall flow out of the temple in a day to come, that increased in depth as it went, Ezekiel 47:1-5. The Spirit of God enables us to appreciate God in ever greater measure, and thus we are equipped to worship God intelligently. So this statement is a preparation for the truth about worship that will be given later on in the conversation.

4:15
The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

The woman saith unto Him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw- if she had simply said, “Sir, give me this water”, we would have thought she had grasped the meaning of the Saviour’s words, and was asking for spiritual water. But when she said, “neither come hither to draw”, she makes clear that she thought He was speaking of a fountain somewhere else in the district, and she would not need to laboriously draw water from the usual well if she could go to the other one, where perhaps the water sprang out of the surface of the ground and was easier to collect.

As it is, the Lord Jesus has to uncover the secrets of her heart, so that the repentance which always accompanies true faith in Him may be produced. It is because she has not realised that she is a sinner that she does not understand.

4:16
Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.

Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither- it is said of the Lord Jesus in John 2:24,25 that He “knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man”, and the woman now discovers this to be true, for He knew her circumstances, and acts to get her to confess them. One of the basic things that God requires from those who worship Him is that they have come to end of themselves, or as we have already noticed from Philippians 3:3, “have no confidence in the flesh”. This only happens when a person repents of his sin, confessing it to God. This the Samaritan woman is about to do.

Note that the Lord does not wish to cause a divide between her and her husband if she has one, (hence He tells her to go to call him and come back with him), but He will, by His exposure of her sinful life-style, need to cause a division between her and one with whom she is living in sin. Her repentance and faith will not make her position any less immoral.

4:17
The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:

The woman answered and said, I have no husband- a statement which, if spoken to anyone else, would have led them to believe she was single. On the other hand, Christ, with His full insight into her heart, knew otherwise. Given that she was living with a man, it is to her credit that she does not call him her husband.

Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband- the tense of the verb “said”, (the pluperfect, which puts the action further back into the past than the perfect tense), implies that there had been a pause in the conversation after the woman had stated that she had no husband. The fact that the Lord Jesus commends her for saying that, (even though her status, as He now reveals, is not that of a single person), would indicate that the pause was on account of her obvious signs of repentance. He would not have commended her for trying to deceive Him.

4:18
For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.

For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly– Romans 7:2,3 states “For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.” There are no exceptions to this doctrine, or else the point of the argument is lost.

We are not told whether each of the husbands mentioned here in John 4:18 had died, thus enabling her to marry another man legitimately. The fact that the Lord calls them husbands, whereas He labels her current man “not thy husband”, would suggest that they were lawful husbands. If that is the case, what is highlighted is her failure to find true satisfaction, whereas the fact she was presently living immorally shows she needs the power to live according to the Spirit.

So we are not able to derive any lessons from the fact that she had had five husbands, for we do not know if her relationship with them had been appropriate or not. But we know certainly that her current state was unlawful, since the emphasis is on the word “thy”, implying that the man she was living with was someone else’s husband. She, then, has honestly stated the situation when she said she had no husband. Hence the Lord is able to say to her that when she said she had no husband she was speaking truly, and was not trying to deceive Him. The truly repentant soul will not try to hide his sins. David, in one of his repentance psalms wrote, “mine iniquity have I not hid”, Psalm 32:5.

4:19
The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.

The woman saith unto Him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet- she has claimed a connection with Jacob in verse 12, and he, of all the patriarchs, did the most prophesying. See Genesis 49, for instance, where he foretells what will happen to the tribes of Israel in the last days. She realises that this man has the ability to speak for God. He has already done it in regard to her own sin, and now there is growing in her heart a desire to know the God He represents. As yet, she does not know the relationship between this stranger and God, but she acts on the light she has. She thinks Him to be a prophet because He has shown insight into the secrets of her heart and life. There are those who derive the Hebrew word for prophet from a verb which means “to bubble up like water from a fountain”.

Section 2 Verses 20-26
Truth about worship

4:20
Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

Our fathers worshipped in this mountain- note she is appealing to the force of tradition. She feels that what has been going on for a long time is correct. There are many still who make this mistake. Yet she realises there are differences of opinion on the subject, as she goes on to imply. That she begins a conversation about worship would indicate that deep down she has a longing after the knowledge of the true God. All men have that inbuilt into them because they were made in the image of God, and if they are to represent Him, (which is what being in His image involves), they must have a spirit-component to their person, for this very chapter will tell us that “God is a spirit”, verse 24. It is this aspect of man that enables him to worship. Sadly, this faculty has been abused, and man has worshipped false gods. It remains true, however, that man’s spirit is only truly satisfied when he recognises the glory of God and worships Him because of it. This woman is showing signs of desiring to do that, and she reasons that if the man who is speaking with her is a prophet and knows her heart, then perhaps He knows the heart of God also. She reasons correctly.

The desire to worship God is one of the signs of genuine conversion. We see this indicated by the conversion of Naaman. After having washed in the Jordan and been cleansed of his leprosy, he returns to Elisha the man of God, (itself a sign of a spiritual change, for he seeks the company of those who are in fellowship with God), and declares, “Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel”, 2 Kings 5:15. Elisha refuses his gifts, (for God’s grace is free), and then we read, “And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules’ burden of earth? For they servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the Lord”, verse 17. He is going to construct an altar, not an elaborate altar such as Ahaz the king of Judah would see in Damascus a few years later, and have a copy made, 2 Kings 16:10-16. He will construct an altar of earth, as was allowed by God, Exodus 20:24, and what better earth than the soil of the land of Israel? He is now a worshipper of the True God. So also the woman of Samaria, for as soon as she has repented and believed, she begins to think of worship, and the right way to do it.

And ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship- she believes that He is a Jew, and therefore puts the emphasis on the word “ye”, meaning, “ye Jews”. She is about to discover that whilst He will defend the Old Testament worship of Israel, for it was ordained of God, He will introduce her to something far better. There is no reason to suggest that she was using the question of where to worship as a means of evading the question of sin, for she has repented by this time. She shows signs of seeking after further truth, an indication that she has truly believed.

4:21
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.

Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me- having disclosed the secrets of the woman’s heart, He does indeed proceed to unfold the secrets of His Father’s heart in regard to worship. As we have already noted, in the Old Testament Joseph was given the title “Revealer of secrets”, because he could interpret dreams, Genesis 41:39,40,45. The incident we are looking at took place near Joseph’s inheritance, and a greater than Joseph is now revealing secrets. With these words the Lord Jesus emphasises two things. First, that worship will be open to women on the same basis as it will be to men. The Lord does not point her to the fact that only males were priests in the tabernacle days. Things are going to be different. Second, those who worship God in the future will not rely on natural and seen things to help them, they will worship because they believe Christ, and because they move in faith.

Those who subsequently believed in Israel were greatly concerned by the fact that they had no visible temple and altar. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews encourages them with the truth that entrance into the presence of God is in the full assurance of faith, so they need have no misgivings about leaving the visible, earthly temple behind, see Hebrews 10:22. Hence the Lord says “Believe me”, for true worship is by faith.

The hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father- first of all, there is information for her as a Samaritan worshipper. He announces with authority that there is a time coming when she will not worship on the top of Mount Gerizim. But that does not mean she will transfer to Jerusalem. Something far more radical than that awaits. The hour referred to is this present age, whose beginning was marked by two things. First, the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, by which He set aside the things of the first covenant, Hebrews 10:1-14. Second, the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, that He might indwell God’s people.

Note the way in which God is described here. When Abraham was at Sichem, (which became known as Shechem later), he built an altar to the Lord, or Jehovah, who had appeared to him, Genesis 12:6,7. When Jacob was there, he built an altar to El-Elohe-Israel, or God, the God of Israel, Genesis 33:18-20. Now the Lord Jesus is near Shechem, and speaks of the worship of the Father. It is the same God who is spoken of in each instance, but revealed in a different way. The highest revelation of God that there ever could be is through His own Son, for He has declared Him, John 1:18. Hence He is to be worshipped in His character as Father. How profound are the truths being revealed here, not to a Pharisee, but a Samaritan. The name Joseph means “He will add”, and here the True Joseph is adding truth to that which was known in the Old Testament.

If in this verse we learn where to worship. In verse 22 we learn who to worship. In verse 23 where learn when, and how, to worship, and the reason why.

4:22
Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.

Ye worship ye know not what- what was lacking in the Samaritan worship was a personal knowledge of God. And this stemmed from its beginnings. When the Assyrian king transported people from Assyria to the land of Israel, they brought their gods with them. In superstitious fear of the God of Israel, however, they worshipped Him too! See 2 Kings 17:24-33. So it was that they were confused and in ignorance as to the nature of the True God; for He cannot be worshipped as if He is one of many gods. The Samaritans did not realise that to worship an idol, as their ancestors did, was to worship devils, for they lurk behind the heathen idols. The apostle Paul wrote, alluding to the words of Moses, “the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God”, 1 Corinthians 10:20, and see also Deuteronomy 32:17. So when the ancient Samaritans worshipped idols, they did not know they were worshipping Satan’s hosts, hence the Lord’s words, “ye worship ye know not what”.

We know what we worship- the Lord Jesus defends the Old Testament system of worship as being one where God revealed Himself to His worshippers, and clearly set out His requirements if they were going to know Him and honour Him. This the Samaritans had rejected by building a rival temple, even though they accepted the books of Moses as Scripture.

For salvation is of the Jews- the Jews had been protected from idolatry by God, and as such, ideally, were an example of that salvation from false worship from which the other nations of the earth should have learnt. And inasmuch as He was a Jew, and was enlightening her as to the future mode of worship, salvation from future errors in relation to worship was of the Jews also. This is one way in which God’s promise to Abraham was fulfilled, for He had said “in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed”, Genesis 22:18, and it was a great blessing for the nations to have a people in their midst who worshipped the true God. It is surely not without significance that those words were spoken to Abraham when he was standing beside an altar on Moriah, having said to his young men that he was going there to worship.

4:23
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

But the hour cometh- the “but” prepares for the change that is to be brought in at a season soon to begin.

And now is- now we know what the Lord Jesus was doing as He “sat thus on the well” before the woman arrived. Without adopting any special posture, or putting on special clothes, and with no temple or altar, He, wearied by His journey, worshipped His God in the energy of the Spirit of God. As such, He becomes the example of a present-day true worshipper, who needs no earthly means to enable him to worship.

When the true worshippers- so this new mode of worship will render all others outmoded. Only Christian worship is “true”, that is, corresponds to reality. Hebrews 8:2 says that the Lord Jesus is now the minister of the true tabernacle, and in spirit those who worship God are able to come into that sanctuary.

Shall worship the Father in spirit- they will be enabled to enter into the very presence of God in heaven, by the power of the Spirit of God acting upon their spirits. They will not need the things of time and sense to help them, (things which the natural man appreciates, such as splendid buildings, ornate rituals, costly vestments, fragrant incense, moving music, and beautiful choir-singing), but their faith will lay hold on spiritual realities.

And in truth- the idea of the word is that of full development, and full conformity to things as they really are. Now that the Lord Jesus has made God manifest, the ideal situation has arrived. The Lord Jesus accused those of His day of drawing near to God with their lips, but their hearts were far from Him, Matthew 15:8, but the true worshippers will come to God in sincerity and reality. They will also come near to God in submission to the truth which He has revealed about Himself, and not be influenced by error. When Joshua was at Shechem, he appealed to the people to worship God “in sincerity and in truth”, and this they resolved to do, Joshua 24:1,14,21.

For the Father seeketh such to worship him- how affecting to the hearts of God’s people that they are in a position to satisfy this strong desire on the part of their Father. He had made man so that he might glorify Him, but Adam and his race seek their own glory. There has been a blessed Man down here, however, who could honestly say that He sought the glory of Him who had sent Him, John 7:18; 8:49,50. Those who believe in Him are enabled to do this, too, in their measure.
The book of Leviticus, which was God’s instruction book for the priests, begins with Him calling from within the sanctuary to Israel, that they might come and worship Him, Leviticus 1:1,2. Sadly, those under the law in large part failed to satisfy the desire of His heart. Those under grace are in a better position.

4:24
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

God is a Spirit- This expression should not be read “God is Spirit”, as if He is abstract and undefined. God is the Supreme Spirit Being, those who worship Him must be enabled by the Spirit so to do, for they cannot worship God by natural means. Although the Scriptures speak of God as if He has arms, eyes, and suchlike, this is simply to enable us to appreciate His spiritual features using earthly language. It is called the language of accommodation.

And they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth- not only does the Father seek this sort of worshipper, as verse 23 indicates, but now we learn that these are the only ones that can worship Him aright; they must worship like this if they are to worship at all. It follows that those who do claim to worship God, but who cling to the mixture of Old Testament and pagan rituals that makes up the worship of Christendom, are mistaken if they think they glorify God by such means.

We could say the following things about worship in spirit:

It is not a occupation for natural men, for they have no capacity to worship God as they do not possess the Spirit.

It is not the exercise of a natural gift, such as the ability to sing, or play a musical instrument. Choirs and singers belong to a former age, and they worshipped God on behalf of others. Believers of this age do not need that sort of help. In fact, it is a hindrance. An awareness of this would do away with a very large part of what Christendom calls worship.

Not a sensual thing, where the senses are appealed to. Those who have an appreciation of Christ will not need incense to enable them to worship. Those who enter in spirit into the holiest of all in heaven can completely disregard their earthly surroundings.

Not an earthly occupation, for the believer’s place of worship is in heaven. There are no places of worship on earth at the present time, despite what men say. The believer may worship God at any time and in any place, although that does not mean he may ignore the gatherings of believers and be an isolated unit.

Not ritualistic, with settled words to say, set hymns to sing, particular positions to adopt. A meeting for true worship will not be prearranged, but governed by the Spirit of God. True worship is the outcome when we are constrained to worship God because truth governs our spirits .

We could say the following things about worship in truth:

It is not according to Old Testament rituals, for they have been done away by Christ, who “taketh away the first, that he may establish the second”, Hebrews 10:9. Christendom, being a mixture of Levitical ceremonies and pagan rituals, has no right to say that it worships in truth.

It is not according to the false religion of the Samaritans, or any other cult.

It is not carried out in hypocrisy, with lips claiming to praise God, but hearts far from Him, Matthew 15:8.

It is not carried out in accordance with the doctrines of men, but by the truth of God. The ideas of men have no place in the worship of God, for as the Lord said to the scribes and Pharisees, “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Matthew 15:9.

4:25
The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.

The woman saith to him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things- this statement shows that she was intelligent as to the hopes of Israel, even though the Samaritans only accepted the first five books of the Bible, and the first mention of Messiah is in 1 Samuel 2:10, outside those books. In some way or other the truth about a coming Messiah had filtered through to her and her people, despite not having any dealings with the Jews formally. She is clearly interested in spiritual things, despite the fact that her life-style might suggest otherwise. (This shows it is not wise to dismiss those who live immoral lives, as if they could never obey the truth of the gospel). She believes that if He can tell what is in her heart, He can tell what is in the heart of God, and she was right in her thinking. Does she half-wonder whether He is the Christ?

4:26
Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he- at last the one has arrived who, being God’s Only Begotten, is able to fully tell out God so that we may intelligently worship Him. One, moreover, who is God’s Firstborn Son also. Firstborn sons had a threefold task in the eastern family. They were like a king, ensuring the father’s will was carried out; like a prophet, unfolding the father’s mind to the family; like a priest, introducing the family into the father’s presence. The Lord is acting in these three ways in this chapter. He acts as a king, not only by “claiming” Samaria as part of His realm, but also by decreeing what shall happen in Gerizim and Jerusalem. He acts as a prophet by not only telling the woman of her sinful lifestyle, but also giving her insight into the mind of the Father about worship. He acts as a priest to enable His people to enter into the heavenly sanctuary, so that they may enjoy the privilege of worshipping Him in spirit and in truth.

Special note on worship
Definition of worship. In the Old Testament the word used for worship means to bow down, suggesting self-effacement and holy fear, whilst the word used in the New Testament is “to kiss towards”, suggesting love, (kiss), acknowledgement, (towards), and reverence.

Display of worship. Worship is closely connected with sacrifice. In Hebrews 10:1,2 those who come to the altar with their sacrifices are called worshippers. The Christian worshipper comes, not with an animal, but with the sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips which confess the name of Christ, Hebrews 13:15.

They may also come with other sacrifices that please God, even acts of kindness, and material help, for the next verse says, “But to do good and communicate, forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” Hebrews 13:16. A miserly spirit is not a worshipping spirit, however grand the words uttered in the hearing of men may be.

Furthermore, there is required of the Christian the sacrifice of his body, for it is to be a living sacrifice, Romans 12:1. Formerly that body was the headquarters of the sin-principle, Romans 6:6, and self’s desires and ambitions were advanced through it. Now the body has been set free from the tyranny of sin through association with the crucifixion of Christ, and can be used in the service, not of self and sin, but of God.

Service also is worship. Sometimes a distinction is made between these two things, but the fact is that service is a priestly activity, and should be conducted with dignity and reverence. The apostle Paul refers to the service of the Philippian believers as “the sacrifice and service of your faith”, Philippians 2:17. Paul spoke of preaching the gospel as a worshipful service, for such is the precise meaning of the word for serve that he used in Romans 1:9.

We see then that worship is not to be confined to an hour or two on Sunday, but is to be the constant attitude and activity of the believer. Even the necessary duties of daily life should be sanctified to God as rendered unto Him. The apostle Paul reminds the believing slaves at Colosse that they served the Lord Christ as they toiled for their earthly masters, Colossians 3:24.

Preparation for worship. As we have noticed, (but we repeat it here for the sake of completeness), John chapter 4 indicates to us four necessities before genuine worship can be engaged in.

First, the worshipper must have the indwelling Spirit of God. It is only those who have the Spirit of God within them who can truly worship God. To be a true worshipper means to worship in a manner that corresponds to the reality of the demands that God makes on us. The Holy Spirit is said in John 4:14 to spring up into everlasting life, or, in other words, energetically lead the believer’s heart into the things connected with everlasting life, which are the things of God. True worship is not sensual and self-satisfying, but gratifies the heart of God.

Such worship is boring and tedious to the unbeliever, so the religions of men have to accommodate the desires of the natural man in some way. To some, contemporary music is the answer, and noises indistinguishable from a modern rock concert are passed off as being the worship of God. Of course, nothing can be further from the truth. To others, chanting and dreary droning fulfils their need, as if worship is a miserable occupation. This too is false. Only occupation with the glories of God and His Son, as prompted by the Spirit of God, can be called true worship. The Spirit of God energises the believer to approach God the Father and give to Him His due. This alone may be described as the worship of God in the Spirit, Philippians 3:3. All other is worship in accordance with the doctrines and thoughts of men, and as such is vain and pointless, Matthew 15:9.

Second, the true worshipper has known inward cleansing. This principle is set out in the dealings of the Lord Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well. The Holy Spirit is not given to those who have not repented of their sins. Nor can He do His work of prompting and energising worship if the believer harbours unconfessed sin in his heart. The psalmist said, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Psalm 66:18.

Third, the true worshipper has insight into the person of Christ. This was indicated when the Lord said to the woman, “If thou knewest…who it is that saith to thee give me to drink”, John 4:10. The Spirit of God delights to take of the things of Christ and reveal them unto the believer, that he may have material with which to express the glories of the Son of God in His Father’s presence. The Father is the seeker of worship, the Son is the subject of worship, and the Spirit is the sustainer of that worship.

Fourth, the true worshipper has intelligence as to the way worship is to be offered. This is seen in the two-fold description of worship as being in spirit and in truth.

True worship is in spirit because God is a Spirit, and we must worship Him in a way that is compatible with His nature and character. Worship is not sensual, but spiritual, being the moving of the believer’s spirit towards God is acknowledgement and reverence for Him, and in adoration for the manifestation of Himself that He has given in His Son.

Section 3 Verses 27-42
Truths about service

4:27
And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?

And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her? Their first reaction was to wonder what the woman was doing speaking to the Lord. Then they wondered why He was speaking to her. The Jews were prejudiced against the Samaritans; it was no doubt clear in some way that she was one. The disciples must learn not to be biased.

Something held them back from voicing their questions, either to the woman or to the Lord. Hopefully this was out of politeness, and an unwillingness to embarrass the woman by discussing her when she was present.

4:28
The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,

The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men- the disciples are clearly not able to deal with this situation, and have nothing to contribute to the conversation. Sensing this, perhaps, and filled with her new-found joy, the woman returns to the city. She left her waterpot, for she now had water that was not to be found in any well, but was within her, a fountain of water springing up. As a result, she was eager to communicate this source of true joy to others. In a later passage, the Lord spoke of the water of the Spirit flowing out from the believer, John 7:38, and this is what in principle is happening here, although the Spirit would not be given in this way until Jesus was glorified, as that passage also tells us, verse 39.

She fully intended to come back, so left her pot behind. But it was also a symbolic action, for she was leaving her old life behind also. She had renounced it with repentance as she spoke to Christ. Significantly, we are not told whether the man she was living with came back with her to the well. She would need to separate from him anyway now that she had repented, for she could not continue to live in sin, but must bring forth fruits meet for repentance, Matthew 3:8.

4:29
Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?

Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? The Samaritans only accepted the five books of Moses, and therefore when she referred to a prophet in verse 19 she most likely meant the one promised in Deuteronomy 18:17-19. But Peter in Acts 3:22,23 and Stephen in Acts 7:37 make it clear that that prophet is Christ. So she has now come to the conclusion that He is the Messiah, the prophet. That is why in her testimony to the men of the city she does not say “Is not this the prophet”, but, “Is not this the Christ”. The Jews had begun to distinguish between the two titles, as we see from the fact that after John the Baptist had said he was not the Christ, they went on to ask if he was the prophet, treating them as separate persons, John 1:20,21.

4:30
Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.

Then they went out of the city, and came unto him- the men begin to come out of the city, for they wish to hear Him themselves, and not indirectly. They would find, however, that the woman’s testimony was true. All who know the Lord and therefore speak of Him should be faithful in their witness. They come to Him even though the woman has described Him as one who told her all things she ever did. They are not hiding from the light, but seeking the truth, which is a very commendable attitude. She must also have assured them that He did not share the Jewish prejudice against Samaritans, but was prepared to have dealings with her and them.

4:31
In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.

In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat- the conversation of verses 31-38 takes place whilst the Samaritan woman is going back into the city to tell what has happened, and whilst the Samaritans were travelling from Sychar to the well. The disciples had gone to the city for food; the woman came from the city for water, and the Lord uses both things to bring out spiritual truth. Having used the water of the well to impart important doctrine about worship, the Lord is about to use the subject of food to tell important things to His disciples about service. Note the moral order here, truth about worship first, then truth about service, an order which should be preserved in practice. It is important that those who seek to serve God by speaking to others, should do so only after having spoken to God. We must bless God before blessing men.

4:32
But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.

But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of- just as He spoke of living water to the woman, so He speaks of spiritual food to the disciples. Up to that point they had not learnt about these things, and would not fully do so until chapter six. The prophet had said that “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles”, Isaiah 40:31, and as He waited on God at the well, and as He soared into the heavens in spirit as He worshipped, He who had rested on the well-side because He was weary found that His strength was spiritually renewed.

4:33
Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?

Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? Like the woman beforehand, they persist in thinking on natural lines, not realising that the Lord is teaching them an important lesson about spiritual food. If they are to serve Him, they must have food for their souls to energize them. To the disciples, the idea that the woman had brought Him food was unthinkable.

4:34
Jesus saith unto them, my meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

Jesus saith unto them, my meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work- meat was the old word for food, and included flour, Leviticus 2, and fish, John 21:5,6. The fact that the conversation went on to the subject of harvests suggests they had bought bread. In His temptation experience, the Lord showed that He was sustained to do God’s will, even though He did not have physical food. His explanation was, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God”, Matthew 4:4. All will be explained in chapter six, and especially when He says, “As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father, so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.” John 6:57.

It is not so much that the meat itself is the doing of the will of God, but that it is given in order that the will of God might be done. Literally rendered, the words are, “My meat is (in order) that I should do the will of him who sent me”. So He was nourished in soul by the word of God, so that He might do His Father’s will in life, and also finish the work at Calvary. In this He is the example to His people as they seek to worship and serve God.

4:35
Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? A farmer might in everyday conversation quote proverbs about the natural harvest, and if harvest-time was four months away he might think he could relax a little. The disciples might have talked like this if they walked through the cornfields on their way back to the well from the city. Especially so if they were carrying loaves of bread in their hands. They are about to learn that there is work to be done, for the harvest is at hand in a spiritual sense, not four months away.

Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest- the Lord speaks on a higher level, and about spiritual harvests, just as He spoke about spiritual food. That harvest, not being natural, could occur at any time, with no need to wait for four months.

No doubt the Samaritans as they approached them, (perhaps in white robes), were the harvest in view to the Lord at that moment, but they were an earnest also of the Gentiles who would be saved in the age of grace that would follow the finishing of His work. The fact that He would finish the work of the cross would be an incentive to the disciples to finish the work of harvesting the grain.

4:36
And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.

And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together- those who reap the corn, and those who sowed the seed in the first place, may both rejoice together at threshing time in the fruits of their combined labours. Christ and the Samaritan woman had been workers together in sowing seed, and they are now rejoicing together at the harvest of souls that will result from the whole city coming out to hear Him. Part of the reward for those who worked to produce that harvest was to eat of the produce of the threshing-floor. Even oxen that trod out the corn were provided for by God, Deuteronomy 25:4, and see 1 Corinthians 9:9.

There are those who patiently sow the seed of the word of God in the hearts of men, and there are also those who come along after that has taken place and finalise the process, and by the grace of God and the working of the Holy Spirit souls are saved, and receive the great gift of eternal life.

The mention of life eternal indicates that the subject of the teaching is spiritual in character. The Lord is preparing His disciples for the time when they will go forth amongst the Gentiles preaching the gospel of God. They must not expect always to be reaping, but may have to persevere in the sowing. They should not be disappointed if they do not see any results from their labours in the short-term, but God’s word shall always accomplish God’s will, as Isaiah 55:10,11 declares, and this will be evident eventually, either in time or in eternity. In that scripture God said, “For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it”.

4:37
And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.

And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth- lack of immediate results should not deter the believer from earnest sowing of the seed. As Paul exhorted Timothy in the light of coming judgement, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season”, 2 Timothy 4:2. It may be that the harvest will be a long time coming, and another reaps where he has bestowed no labour, but the sower should not despair. The Lord is probably rephrasing His own statement in the previous verse that he that sows and he that reaps rejoice together at the end of the season. That there is “one” and “another” is implied in the idea of rejoicing together.

4:38
I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.

I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours- if they had purchased loaves in the city, they had reaped the benefit of other men labouring to produce a harvest. This becomes a parable for their future activity, for when He would formally call these twelve disciples, He would name them apostles, Luke 6:13. This word means “a sent one”. So by choosing them it is implied He sent them.

He had been labouring at the well-side, and so had the woman laboured as she went back to the city to testify personally. So just as they had loaves in their hands for which they had not laboured, so they would enter into the spiritual labours of others. We see an example of this when Philip went into Samaria, (in obedience to the Lord’s command in Acts 1:8), for many responded to the message he brought them. No doubt the Lord’s labour, and that of the woman, had prepared the way for Philip to harvest souls.

4:39
And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.

And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did- His insight into the heart of the woman at the well would tell them that He knew their hearts too, and thus their faith was accompanied by repentance, as must always be the case in true conversion. They did not shrink from the exposure of their sins in the light of His presence, unlike those who love darkness and hate the light, John 3:19,20.

4:40
So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.

So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days- we cannot but notice the difference between this incident and the one recorded in Luke 9:51-56. The reason the Samaritans were hostile then was because Christ was going up to Jerusalem, and this brought to the fore their religious prejudice. Here, however, they have learnt from the woman that worship in Jerusalem is to be rendered obsolete. The stay of only two days was surely because He was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel, Matthew 15:24, but where there was an earnest seeking after Him, He would not turn away.

4:41
And many more believed because of his own word;

And many more believed because of his own word- how blessed is the age in which we live, for Christ promised to be present with those whom He would send out into the world, Matthew 28:20. So it is that Mark 16:20 records that when the apostles went forth, the Lord was working with them. In line with this, He said to the apostles, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me”, John 13:20.

4:42
And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.

And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying- the woman had faithfully testified to the men of the city concerning Christ’s dealings with her, and the way in which He had brought her to repentance and faith.

For we have heard him ourselves- it is a good thing to recognise that when the gospel is preached accurately, then that is the voice of Christ to the sinner. The Lord Jesus stated clearly that those who pass from death unto life are those who hear His word, (with the hearing of faith), and believe on the one who sent Him, John 5:24.

And know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world- perhaps the Samaritans did not understand the full meaning of the title they gave to the Lord, and simply meant that He was sometimes prepared to bless Gentiles like themselves. John takes it up in his epistle, however, and describes the Lord as the one the Father sent to be the Saviour of the world, 1 John 4:14, so it was not a secondary matter, but part of the eternal purpose of God to bless Gentiles, Ephesians 3:6,11. Passages like Ephesians 2:11-22 and Colossians 1:21-23 show how wide the scope of the gospel is. So He is not just Israel’s Messiah, or Christ, but for the world also. ,

It was said of Joseph that his branches ran over the wall, Genesis 49:22, no doubt in reference to the way he had been used of God to bless the Egyptians as their governor, for we read, “And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn, because that the famine was so sore in all lands.” Genesis 41:57. But Christ has gone further, and broken down the middle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile, Ephesians 2:14.

Section 4 Verses 43-52
The miracle at a distance

4:43
Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee.

Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee- the words are literally, “after the two days”, that is, those mentioned in verse 40. The journey mentioned here is a continuation of the one referred to in verse 3. It is apparent from Mark 1:14 that the ministry of the Lord Jesus which he, Matthew and Luke record at the beginning of their account only began after John was cast into prison. Therefore their record is not the same as the Galilean journey recorded in John 1:43 to 3:21. John makes this clear in 3:24 when he states that John the Baptist had not been cast into prison, yet Christ had ministered in Galilee already, according to his gospel. John thereby deals with any misapprehension that might have grown up on this point.

A critical time has been reached both in the ministry of John the Baptist, and that of the Lord Jesus. John is soon to be imprisoned, and the enemies of Christ would be encouraged by that to turn their attention to Christ Himself. It is important that the situation be kept calm, for the time for His death is not yet. Accordingly, the Lord withdraws from Judea, 3:22, 4:1-3, where the influence of the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem was felt the most.

4:44
For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country.

For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country- we could look on this verse as one of John’s explanatory remarks, written decades after the event to make things clear. When the Lord went back to His home-town of Nazareth, He stated that the reason He did miracles in Capernaum but no miracles in Nazareth was because “no prophet is accepted in his own country”, Luke 4:24. In other words, He only did miracles when it was likely that there would be a meaningful response; He did not work miracles for show or to gain popularity, but to illustrate the truth He brought as a prophet. So this testimony was given after the events of John 4, but nonetheless John, writing many years later, sees in the saying an explanation for Christ’s journey to Galilee.

We should remember that one of the main purposes of the miracles was to bring to faith in His person. As He Himself said later on to Philip, “Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake, John 14:11. So there are two avenues to faith. The first is the ideal way, to accept His word as being true and therefore believe on Him. The second way is to believe on Him because of the testimony of His miracles.

The woman of Samaria and the men of the city believed on Him without seeing any miracles done, but the men of Jerusalem had only believed on Him as a miracle worker, John 2:23-25. This was not enough. He who knows the hearts of men was aware that their faith was not in His person as the Son of God.

So we now have another reason that the Lord “must needs go through Samaria”, for it will demonstrate that there are those who are prepared to believe on Him without miracles. We might ask why the Samaritans were prepared to believe like this. The answer must be that they believed He was a prophet, and as such was able to tell them the mind of God without the aid of a miracle.

Having established this principle, the Lord is prepared, in grace and longsuffering, to return to Galilee. But He does so as one who has no honour in their minds as a prophet. It could not be said that “a miracle-worker has no honour in his own country”, for we shall learn in verse 45 that they welcomed Him in that capacity. He will return to test them. Sadly, He will have to rebuke their refusal to believe unless they see signs and wonders, verse 48.

John is also using the Lord’s words here, (which have not yet been spoken, for Luke 4 comes after John 4), to point out another principle behind what is happening. It is another way of saying that He was going away from Samaria in order to moderate the level of popularity that surrounded Him. It is true that the Galileans would receive Him, verse 45, but only because of the miracles they had seen Him do at Jerusalem. They would not welcome Him as a prophet able to unfold the mind of God to them. But the Galileans of Nazareth would go further, and try to murder Him, Luke 4:29.

It is noticeable throughout the gospel records that the Lord always withdrew from situations where He was becoming popular. He ever made Himself of no reputation. We see this in the following examples:

“And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan. And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him”, Matthew 4:25; 5:1.

“Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side.” Matthew 8:18.

“But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities. And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.” Luke 5:15,16.

4:45
Then when he was come into Galilee, the Galileans received him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast: for they also went to the feast.

Then when he was come into Galilee, the Galileans received him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast- once again there is that attitude of heart which the Lord Jesus rebuked in John 2:23-25 by not committing Himself to them. The miracles were a means to an end, not the end in themselves. The persistence of this attitude explains why the Lord Jesus will be so severe in His rebuke in verse 48.

For they also went to the feast- this explains why the disciples and His brethren left Cana with Him and stayed at Capernaum for a few days after the wedding, John 2:12,13. They would be waiting to join the caravan of pilgrims that would start from Galilee to go up to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover. The Lord’s brothers were accustomed to go up to the feasts, as we see from John 7:2-10.

The Galileans, having seen miracles done in Jerusalem at the feast, are clearly expecting the same thing to happen now. They are disappointed, however, for the next verse begins with “so”. The reason that the Lord went to Cana was to avoid the clamour for miracles that He found was still prevalent in Galilee generally. John makes it clear in verse 54 that the miracle performed when the Lord was in Cana was done straight after He had come from Judaea.

4:46
So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum.

So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum- note the special mention of Cana. Only two miracles are recorded at this place, which was the town of Nathanael, John 20:2. The first miracle had to do with the instantaneous production of wine from water, without the long process by which a vine turns rainwater into wine. The Lord shows Himself to be the master of time, and the master of matter too, being able to change one substance into another. In this second miracle, He shows that the space between Himself and the sick child is no problem to Him.

Now in Genesis 1:1 we are presented with the three things which go to make up the universe, namely, time, (“in the beginning”), and space and matter, (“the heaven and the earth). He who was there in the beginning creating all things, is now showing Himself to be in control of them still, even though He has become man.

The man of Cana is a nobleman or courtier, quite possibly of Herod’s court, for Cana of Galilee was part of Herod’s jurisdiction, Luke 23:6,7. (It may even be that as a result of this miracle the child’s mother was converted, for Luke mentions Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward amongst those who ministered to the Lord of their substance, Luke 8:3). Herod, even if he has not already imprisoned John the Baptist, will soon do so. The Lord sends a signal to him, that even though he has control over His herald, he has not ultimate control, for that lies in the hands of Christ, who can deliver the son of one of his very own courtiers from death.

4:47
When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death.

When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death- notice the words and phrases indicating movement, confirming Christ’s mastery of space- “went unto Him…come down…go thy way…went his way…now going down…met him” The courtier needs to come from Cana to Capernaum to ask for blessing, but does not yet realise that Christ does not need to go from Capernaum to Cana to give the blessing. Indeed, He refuses to go so that the miracle may be performed without publicity. If He had set out for Capernaum, an excited crowd would have gathered around Him, and this He wished to avoid.

4:48
Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.

Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe- the apostle Paul wrote, “the Jews require a sign”, 1 Corinthians 1:22, for they saw in it God at work, and could subject it to their critical examination. Yet the Lord said, “blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed”, John 20:29. We see certain matters relating to faith in these verses, as follows:

Verse 48	Faith tested
Verse 50	Faith rewarded
Verse 50	Faith displayed
Verse 53	Faith confirmed
Verse 53	Faith continuing
Verse 53	Faith influencing

Note the Lord adds the word “wonders” here, the only occurrence in John’s gospel, emphasising that with the majority there was a superficial view of things, for they only looked for stimulation of the natural senses.

The apparently severe response to this distraught man’s request was designed, no doubt, to test him, and to bring out the genuine faith the Lord is looking for, and not mere wonderment. It is important to note that “ye” is plural, so the Lord is addressing the man as if he represents Galilee as a whole. Moses wrote a song for the children of Israel, and he records God as saying, “I wound, and I heal”, Deuteronomy 32:39, and so it is here, for the man might have thought the Lord’s words to be wounding, but they were designed for his blessing and the blessing of others. He wounded the man and healed his son. That the words were not malicious is seen not only in the fact that the Lord did indeed heal the man’s son, but also in that the man was not offended, but persisted with his request, and eventually believed on Him.

This shows that the Lord had indeed come to a place where He would have no proper honour, for He had to rebuke the people severely, an act which would certainly not gain Him popularity. The rebuke also indicates that He expects men to believe on Him through His word alone, and not to need miracles.

4:49
The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die.

The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die- the man is honest enough to not pretend that he did believe, so that he could get his son healed. The man is convinced that if the child dies all is over, whereas other miracles show that this is not the case, for Christ could raise the dead. Writing dispassionately about the event, John calls the child the man’s son, verse 46. When appealing to the Lord to help him, the man speaks of him as his “(little) child”. Once the Lord has dealt with the spurious attitude of the Galileans that this man represents, He is able to manifest His grace by healing the son.

4:50
Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.

Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way- the Lord knows the man’s heart, that he will in fact believe without seeing a miracle, even though he has expressed no faith of that sort as yet. The Lord now gives the child the dignified title of son, which accords with the dignified utterance, “Go thy way; thy son liveth”, words of power and sympathy. The word is not a curt dismissal, but an assertion that He does not need to travel to the scene of the sickness; the man must travel, but He need not.

There was something about the way the Lord spoke these words that convinced the nobleman that He is worthy of faith. As men would say later on, “Never man spake like this man”, John 7:46. The words of Christ not only showed His trustworthiness, but also His confidence. He did not say, “Thy son shall get better”, but His word of power completed the healing, even though the son was at the point of death. Note the change from “ye” in verse 48, to the man as representative of Galilee, to a personal “thy” to the man as an individual.

Many of Christ’s miracles were more dramatic than this one, but this one is recorded here because it represents the climax of an examination John is making of different types of faith. See the summary after the notes on verse 54. Here, a Galilean is prepared to accept the Lord’s word, and believes without actually seeing the result of the miracle for himself. To believe the word of Christ is asserted to be the means of gaining eternal life in the next chapter, 5:24.

Does “thy son liveth” imply that the Lord believed he would have died otherwise? The man clearly almost despaired of the Lord arriving in time before the child died, for he was at the point of death, verse 47. It was not the Lord’s purpose to allow the child to die, as He would allow Lazarus to die in John 11, for it was evidently not yet the time to reveal the truth as to His power to raise the dead. (This would certainly gain Him honour, and He was not seeking this; see John 12:17-19). There is a certain progression however, for here is a child at the point of death; Jairus’s daughter was the same, but died before the Lord arrived at her bedside, Luke 8:42,49; the widow of Nain’s son was being carried out to be buried, Luke 7:12, and Lazarus had been in the grave four days, John 11:39. In each case the power of Christ over the seemingly unstoppable march of death was evident.

It is noticeable in these accounts that Christ is perfectly unhurried in the face of death. The Lord stops to talk to the widow before raising her son, Luke 7:13, in Luke 8:43-48 He heals a woman on the way to seeing Jairus’s daughter, and He waited two days before setting out to raise Lazarus from the dead, John 11:6. It cannot be that the Lord of Life and Glory should be defeated by death and corruption, for He came to bring life and immortality to light, 2 Timothy 1:10.

4:51
And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth.

And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth- the servants use yet another word, not the one of tender affection, nor the title of dignity, but simply the word which means a member of the family. Note that they use exactly the same expression as the Lord, “Thy son liveth”, except they use a different word for son as suited their position in the household, as already noted.

It is clear that a far as the servants were concerned, the lad who was at the point of death when the nobleman started out to find Christ, became as good as dead in their eyes, for they do not say “Thy son has been healed”, but “Thy son liveth”, so close was he to death. They may even have thought he had died. This must have greatly encouraged the man in his faith. Their testimony is completely unsolicited, for they make their announcement before the man asks, such is their excitement.

4:52
Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.

Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him- the father only dares to ask if his son is getting better and is convalescing, (“amend”). The servants are able to tell him that the fever has left him, and the child is now doing well, with all danger of death passed. The servants use the same word as is used in verse 1 of the Lord leaving Judaea, and the woman leaving her waterpot, verse 28. It is an intensive word, showing that there was no doubt that the fever had definitely left the boy.

By the correspondence between the hour the Lord spoke the words, and the time the servants realised he was better, the man knew that the recovery had taken place in response to the Lord’s words, and was not a coincidence.

The man does not say to them, “The Lord said at the seventh hour the child would get better”, nor did they say “That is when it happened”.The servants do not know as yet that there has been a miracle, so their testimony as to the hour the child became well is valuable, being independent and unsolicited testimony to the reality of the miracle.

4:53
So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.

So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth- he had believed before, but now his faith was confirmed, and he was now a steadfast believer. John wrote his gospel so that we might believe, 20:31, but he wrote his first epistle to those “that believe on the name of the Son of God” that they might, as he put it, “know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God, 1 John 5:13. So his gospel brings to faith, and the epistle confirms that faith. This is how it is with the nobleman.

And himself believed, and his whole house- this steadfast faith was shared by his household, for the action of the Lord at a distance had penetrated right into the man’s house. Needless to say the members of the household must have been old enough to believe, for the idea of some that a man’s household is automatically reckoned to be believing is contrary to the scripture which says that “the just shall live by his faith”, Habakkuk 2:4. No-one can believe for another, for faith is an intensely personal thing.

4:54
This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee.

This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee- the Lord had done many miracles between the first one at Cana, and this one, as we learn from John 2:23. So it is not the second one literally, but the second one to be done after coming into Galilee from Judaea, the first one being in John 2:1-11. The two miracles resulted in real faith, for after the first, “his disciples believed on him”, John 2:11, and as we have just seen, the nobleman and his household believed too. In between, the miracles in Jerusalem only resulted in incomplete faith. This suggests a reason why John links the two miracles together, even though they were several months apart. They serve to form chapters two, three and four into a distinct unit in which various aspects of faith are explored. We could summarise the matter as follows:

2:1-12	Faith and seeing Christ’s glory
2:13-25	Faith only because of miracles
3:1-17	Faith in the crucified Son of God
3:18-21	Faith in relation to condemnation
3:22-36	Faith setting its seal that God is true
4:1-19	Faith accompanied by repentance
4:20-26	Faith and worship
4:27-42	Faith without a miracle
4:43-48	Faith withheld if no miracle
4:49-54	Faith without seeing a miracle

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REVELATION 5

Wise and willing workers

An introduction to the Levitical offerings

HEBREWS 1

JOHN 4