That young Indian aristocrat we spoke of elsewhere got a sight of Jesus. That settled things for him, including even such sacred things as human loves. This young Jewish aristocrat couldn't get his eyes off of the things. So many "thing"-slaves there are, so much "thing"-slavery. If only there were the sight of His face! His face; torn? yes; scarred? yes again, but oh, the strength and light and love in it!
Do you remember that other young Jewish, university-trained aristocrat? He got a look, one good long look-in-the-face look of that face, one day, on the road up to the northern Syrian capital. The light of it flooded his face, and strangely affected him. He said "when I could not see for the glory of that light."[50] He couldn't see things for Him. The sight of Him blurred out the things. The great need to-day is for a sight of Him. Lord Jesus, if Thou wouldst show us Thy "hands and feet" again, and torn face, even as in the upper room that resurrection evening,[51] for that's what we are needing. And yet, Thou art doing just that, but the things so hold our vision! And the Master's answer is the same as to the young Jew. We need the decisive "go"; the incisive, inclusive "sell"; the privileged "give"; the new-meaninged "come" into His presence. And then we may get "in behind" Him, and follow close up in the "same road," with eyes for naught but Himself.
Outstanding Experiences.
I want to follow the Master's plan, and ask you to take a good look at His "Follow Me" road. You remember that we have had one talk together about the characteristics of our Lord Jesus' life. Now we want to talk a little about the experiences of His life. And I do not mean that we are to try to imitate these experiences, or any of them. The meaning goes much deeper than this, and yet it marks out a simpler road for our feet. I mean that as we actually go along with this Master of ours, these experiences will work out in our lives.
As we let Him in as actual Lord, and get our ears trained for His quiet voice, there will come to us some of the same things that come to Him.
The same Spirit at work within us, and the same sort of a world at work without, will so work against each other as to produce certain other results, now as then. It is not to be an attempt at imitation; it's far more. It is to be obedience on our part, a real Presence within on His part, and a bitter antagonism without on the world's part; rhythmic full glad obedience, a sympathetic powerful real Presence, a tense and intensifying subtle, relentless, but continually-being-thwarted opposition. The key-note for us is simple, full obedience.
There were certain great outstanding experiences in our Lord Jesus' life. Let us briefly notice what these were and group them together. There was the Bethlehem Birth. That was a thing altogether distinctive in itself. It was a supernatural birth, the Spirit of God working along purely human lines, in a new special way, for a special purpose. It was a rare blending of God and man in the action of life. It was followed by the Nazareth Life; that was a commonplace life, lived in a commonplace village, but hallowed by the presence of the Father, and sweetened by the salt of everything being done under that Father's loving eye. The Father's presence accepted as a real thing became the fragrance of that commonplace daily life. And this life covered most of those human years.
Then our Lord turned from the hidden life of Nazareth to the public ministry. At its beginning stands the Jordan Baptism of Power. In the path of simple obedience He had gone to the Jordan, taken a place among the crowds, and accepted John's baptism. And in this act of obedience, there comes the gracious act of His Father's approval, the Holy Spirit came down upon Him in gracious, almighty power. And from this moment He was under the sway of the Spirit of Power. This was the special preparation and fitting for all that was to follow.
At once the Spirit driveth Him into the Wilderness. And for forty days He goes through the great experience of the Wilderness Temptation. In intensity and in prolonged action, it was the greatest experience thus far in His life. He suffered, being tempted. It was a concentration of the continuous temptation of the following years of action. But the Wilderness spelled out two words, temptation and victory; temptation such as had never yet been brought, and met, and fought; victory beyond what the race had known. Temptation came to have a new spelling for man, v-i-c-t-o-r-y. It came to have a new spelling for the tempter, d-e-f-e-a-t.
After His virtual rejection by the nation as its Messiah,[52] and the imprisonment of him who stood nearest Him as Messiah,—John the Herald, there followed the Galilean Ministry. For those brief years He was utterly absorbed in personally meeting and ministering to the crying needs of the crowds. Compassion for needy men became the ruling under-passion. He was spent out in responding to the needs of men. It was not restricted to Galilee, but that stands out as the chief scene of this tireless unceasing service. The Galilean ministry meant a life spent in meeting personally the needs of men.