"Yea, Father"

by S.J. Hill | Category: Yea, Father | Feb 1932

The wilderness of this world is the school in which we are educated in view of the world to come; the school in which our sinful tendencies are checked, our spiritual desires are encouraged and directed, and where we are, in the process, subjected to many, many experiences of trial. In Hebrews the matter is put very bluntly-"If ye are without chastening, whereof all have been made partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons"; but it must not be concluded that such chastisement is necessarily in reference to sin: subjection to various trying experiences has in view the strengthening of our faith, the purifying of our hope, and the deepening of our love.

It is said of Him, who afterwards was manifested as "the Word," in reference to Israel, " In all their afflictions He was afflicted," so that He might be able to appreciate the needs of His people and to succour them in their trouble.

The lesson God would teach us has been truly learnt when we can say without any reserve, "Thy will be done"; or, as given at the head of this paper, "Yea, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in Thy sight."

These words meet us towards the close of Matthew 11., and it will be profitable to consider the circumstances in which they were spoken by the Lord.

The Lord had come to fulfil the promises made to the fathers; to do as promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and in order that there should be no occasion for doubt He sent before His face one "in the spirit and power of Elijah," even John the Baptist. As that faithful and beloved servant fulfilled his ministry he found that while the common people submitted, yet the scribes and Pharisees held aloof; or if they came to his baptism, they did so in order not to lose their place of leadership of the people through what seemed to be for the time a popular movement. Eventually he was put in prison, for king Herod faithfully interpreted the mind of the rulers.

The Lord took up the work, even while John was yet at liberty, and continued it after he was put in prison. He preached the glad tidings of the kingdom and supported His claims by doing many mighty works; works which, to any who were willing to receive the truth, plainly declared Him to be the Christ, the Anointed of God. In Matthew chapters 5., 6., and 7., He gave to His disciples that wonderful teaching of what was proper to the sons of the kingdom; words which not only had a value in that day, but will have a large place in a coming day, and may also be considered with great profit in this day.

A consideration of those just mentioned chapters makes it abundantly clear that the Lord was feeling keenly the unbelief of the people, and especially of those in high place, but He still performed mighty works, partly as an expression of His own goodness, and partly in order to furnish signs as to who He was. But it is chapter 11. which at the moment appeals to us.

John had baptized the Lord; had witnessed to the fact that He was the Lamb of God, and also the Christ; that he himself was not worthy to unloose the latchet of His shoe, and when some of his disciples told him that the Lord was baptizing, and that all men were coming to Him; he was glad at the news and said that, as the friend of the bridegroom rejoices at the bridegroom's voice, so did he rejoice to hear of the Lord's success. But trials came upon John; he was cast into prison. Do we think that he chafed under his hardships, that he pined on his prison fare? Doubtless prison life was hard, but John was not a" soft," pampered man; it was not this that troubled him. From time to time he heard, possibly by the agency of his own disciples, of the works performed by the Lord, and John knew them to be the works of "the Christ." What a conflict of emotions arose in his breast! John had no doubt as to His identity-he knew He was the Christ, but did he not feel deeply wounded in his spirit at the Lord's apparent indifference to the sufferings of His faithful servant? He never sent him a word, and John was greatly perplexed at the issue of events. John was prepared to die for the Master, but he could not understand why the Lord did not assert His power, and, incidentally, deliver His servant. Truly John had said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world," but it seems probable he did not fully understand the significance of his words, that they pointed on to the death of that Lamb.

Job in an earlier day was greatly stumbled at the strangeness of God's dealings, in allowing him to be brought into circumstances of such dire distress; and there were not wanting those who by their words aggravated the trouble, and Job said, in his distress, many misguided and foolish things, until be was pulled up by God; then he, having repented, was restored.

Similarly, beloved John was pining in his dungeon, not at the hardness of his fate, but he was perplexed at the apparent indifference of the Lord to his sufferings, and it may be (though we know not) that some of his disciples had aggravated the trouble by their words. So, one day, he could stand the suspense no longer and sent certain of his disciples to the Master with the words: "Art thou He that cometh, or look we for another?" John had known He was the One promised; he had heard also of the works He did, which proved Him to be the Christ, but John was distressed at the Lord's apparent indifference.

Does this find any echo in our hearts? Are we always cordially subject to the Lord's dealings with us, or do we not, if not in word, vet in deed, evidence our too feeble appreciation of Him who has our lives in His hands?

Think how this message must have affected the Lord! He loved John dearly and valued his testimony, but to receive such a word was like a man being wounded in the house of his friend. Did He retort and severely reprove John for his words, or on the other hand, did He ignore the seriousness of his failure? No, He seems to say, "John needs no further proofs of Who I am, but he needs to be restored to his former faith and confidence." So He says, "Go your way and tell John the things which ye do hear and see: the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good tidings preached to them." Then as the messengers of John were about to go, the Lord added this significant message- "and blessed is he whosoever shall find none occasion of stumbling in Me."

Oh, what a Master! so faithful, yet so tender. Gladly will we be subject to His judgment: yea, we will condemn ourselves more than He will condemn us.

Can we return to the prison with those messengers? Can we imagine the scene? See the dear man, with distress well-marked upon his face, as he enquires-" Well, what did He say? What did He do?" "Master, He did nothing new, only such wonderful deeds as you heard of before." "Did He say He would come to me, or did He not send any message? "Yes, indeed, He said one word, the purport of which we have not fully comprehended; He said, 'Blessed is he, whosoever shall find none occasion of stumbling in Me.'" Observe the poor distressed saint! He pauses a moment, but as the meaning of the message is borne home to his heart, his doubts and fears are removed, "He restoreth my soul" is his experience, and all is put right. Thus sunshine broke through after the storm, and from that day right on to the end how gladly he would wait, assured that all was well, and that a day would quickly come when he would see his Master and both would rejoice together.

What did the Lord do after sending the messengers back to John? We know how some men have acted when a brother has failed in his faith and has failed them in his support; how they have blamed him and pointed out his weakness and unreliability, and that he could not stand the test: past successes and faithfulness are forgotten in present failure. Not so with the Lord; He began forthwith to eulogize John, and in particular, in some respects in which it might appear that he had failed.

The Lord did not judge him in the light of a moment of weakness, but in the light of the noble conduct which characterised his pathway in general. Was John a reed shaken by the wind-a man devoid of conviction and strength of character to maintain his position, and ready to yield to pressure? Nay, quite the reverse. Was he a man who pampered his flesh and felt very acutely any hardship? Far otherwise, for are we not told that his garments were of camel's hair and his meat locusts and wild honey, and the wilderness was his abode? Professing servants of God have often shown a love of ease and comfort, a love for soft raiment and king's courts, to the neglect of the service of the Master who Himself had not where to lay His head; but John was no lover of self. Well then, shall it be conceded that John was a prophet? "Yea, I say unto you," said the Lord, "and much more than a prophet." He was the Lord's messenger, and of such as are born of women a greater than John had not arisen.

(To be continued.)

S.J. Hill | Feb 1932
Yea, Father