The Feeding of the Four Thousand

“And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; . . .Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female. . .Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth” Gen. 7:1-3. “And thou shalt take unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be food for thee, and for them” Gen. 6:21.

This is surely not the account of the feeding of the four thousand, you say? In a very real way, it is! Please read on!

In Mark chapter eight, following the feeding of the four thousand plus: “And straightway he [Jesus] entered into a ship with his disciples” vs. 10. “Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf” vs.14. Jesus. . .saith unto them, “When I brake the five loaves among the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto them, Twelve. And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, seven. And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?” Mark 8:19-21.

The disciples had witnessed twice the loaves and fishes being more than sufficient to feed the multitudes, with baskets full to spare, but were unable to discern that one loaf broken unto them at the hands of the Master could feed a mere twelve. . .?

Noah, his family, and all the animals and fowls of the air entered into the ship (ark) where the Lord awaited them (He called: Come in!) Dare we say that Noah took with him into the ark his “five loaves and two fishes?” Five loaves and two fishes were supplied the multitude on the hillside for one meal; but unbeknown to Noah, his crew and the multitude of beasts were to remain in the ark for a year! Noah, where can you buy enough food to feed this assembly; how can you obtain it, and where can you get it, seeing you are shut up in the ark and the outside world is in the midst of a great flood?

We know the answer: “And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God” II Cor. 3:4,5. Shall man presume to store “his sufficiency” in his barns when God shall “give us this day our daily bread?”

How many lamps would it have taken to sufficiently light the three stories within the ark? Did Noah see to its lighting? Even as the Shekinah Glory of God was the Light within the Most Holy Place where dwelt the Ark of the Covenant in the wilderness, so also the Light of the ark bearing Noah’s brood. Was it not literally an “Ark of the Covenant?” “But with thee will I establish my Covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark.” Gen. 6:18. If Christ is “The Light of the world” could He not sufficiently light the interior of one ark? “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” II Cor. 4:6.

And how much water would it have taken to quench the thirst of such a multitude? Could the ark itself have held enough, were it emptied of all else and filled to the brim? If a thirsty Israel might drink of the water from the Rock of Ages; if Christ be in you a Well of Living Water springing up into everlasting life, then why attempt to have a cistern of water in store? Is He not the Source, the Reservoir from which we may draw?

What of the supply of fresh air? With no windows to open, and no ventilation system, being closed in with a multitude of animals; how did they breath? “And the Lord God formed man. . .breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” Gen. 2:7. “Thus saith God the Lord, He that created the heavens, and stretched them out; He that spread forth the earth, and that cometh out of it; He giveth breath unto the people upon it and spirit to them that walk therein” Isa. 42:5. “Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord” Psalms 150:6.

Could the ark have been found a place of rest during the tempest? What of comfort, during this, the ultimate “storm of life?” The name Noah means quiet resting place. “Lamech. . .beget a son: and he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands” Gen. 5:28,29. “I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee” Isa. 42:6. “For he hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee” Heb. 13:5.

Shut up in the ark for an entire year! Did it not become a place of fearfulness? Did the wolf pursue the lamb to devour him? Would the animals not have fought among themselves: for that matter, what of the humans? “But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another” Gal. 5:15. “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth. . .The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock” Isa. 65:17,25. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. . .Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” John 14:27.

Was the ark equipped with showers? Did not Noah and his family, after a few days begin to resemble Lazarus? “by this time he stinketh.” How much the more “stank” the multitude of creatures? To His disciples Jesus had said: “He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but he is clean every whit: and ye are clean” John 13:10. “Abide in me. . .Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you” John 15:3,4. Ye are clean; whether abiding in the Vine - or abiding in the Ark!

What of bodily excretions? Was the ark equipped with “bathrooms?” How could Noah have handled such an obvious problem? “ I AM the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” John 6:51. May we say that Christ is 100 per cent pure nutrients! All is appropriated; all is assimilated, digested, absorbed. God forbid the thought of any “waste” in this regard. Again, “Ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.”

What of the crowded conditions? Noah and his family and a multitude of animals and birds seemingly caged up together in the ark. . . “Let not your heart be troubled. . .In my Father’s house are many mansions. . .I go to prepare a place for you” John 14:1-3. The ark must have been a roomy place! Can you imagine: “There’s no room at the cross for you?” There’s no room at the Throne of Grace? No room - in the Presence of the Lord of all creation? Unthinkable.

Did Noah and his family have beds on which to rest? Did the fowls and the animal have nesting places? The Lord is our ‘nesting place’; He is our Comfort amidst the storm that rages without. His Presence will bring a calming within.

The ark must have been a place of extreme boredom, for man and creature; cooped up together in closed quarters as they were. Or it would have been, were it not that the Lord was on board! Boredom? In His Presence? Well might one visit Niagara Falls and find it dried up as to think that one might some day reach the outer limits of the universe - that he is now full of the knowledge of the Lord and has beheld all of His Glory!

This we know: the ark was pitched within and without - Noah was sealed in; the waters sealed out! The ark had no oars, nor sail, nor rudder; neither any windows from which to see. It’s Power source was from within; its course, its direction was determined “according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself” Eph. 1:9. Noah, in light of the circumstances, might just as well have walked (rode the seas) by faith!

Mere words cannot convey this thought: The Lord God is the God of ALL PROVISION. “For in him were all things created, that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him and for him: And he is before all things and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in ALL things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should ALL fulness dwell” Col. 1:16-19.

Did not our Lord feed five thousand men, plus women and children - with five barley loaves and two fishes? And again the four thousand? Christ is the embodiment of the Eternal Covenant. He is the Ark. I am persuaded that Noah had with him in the Ark his “five loaves and two fishes,” and had Noah, his family and all the creatures been shut within the Ark for one hundred years; none would have died; none would have fallen sick: God would have continued to “supply all their need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus!” What need has the Eternal God to build for Himself great storehouses in which to contain His bounty? Can He not speak; can He not open His hand, and behold, all the riches of glory are immediately at His disposal? He is the Storehouse! Are not the birds fed from His hand? He will “give us this day our daily bread!” Open our eyes, O God, that we may behold Thy Glory!

According to His Riches in Glory

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:19

A farmer was leaving his house to go into the field. His wife mentioned to him that she was baking his favorite pie for the evening meal. He was delayed in coming in for supper and his children had already eaten. “Is there any of that pie left?” he inquired of his wife. “Why the whole pie is here, waiting for you” she exclaimed! Puzzled, he asked, “Did the kids not eat any pie?” “Yes, they ate all they wanted,” she said. “They were full when they left the table!” “How can that be?” said the farmer.

Jesus went up into a desert place with his disciples. Many people “came together unto him.” When He saw them He was “moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.”

“This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed. Send them away” said the disciples. [But they were not come unto Christ that they might be sent away.] “They have nothing to eat.” “Give them to eat.” “Whence shall we buy bread. . . two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one may take a little.” [Little is much when God is in it: He Himself would be their sufficiency.] “they were filled.”

Five barley loaves and two small fishes: “what are they among so many.” “And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples. . .When they were filled, he said to his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.” [Recall the words of the Prodigal: “How many hired servants of my father have bread enough and to spare.”] They filled twelve baskets with the fragments.” Where did they find twelve baskets out in the wilderness? [If our Lord could multiply the bread, then why not also baskets?]

Who is your God? Is he one who might have said, “My hands are now empty; I have no more to give unto these who shall yet be in need: my resources are depleted.” Or is He One to whom the disciples might have gone after everyone had eaten and were filled: “Lord what is that which is in your hands?” “Why, it is five barley loaves and two small fishes!”

By Christ Jesus, and according to His riches in glory, God had [and shall yet] supply their [our] need!”

The farmer’s wife had prepared the pie: it might have had a ‘fruit filling,’ having a crust which was a ‘firm foundation.’ Why will one cut the pie into slices? Because he or she wants to remove them one by one until there remains no pie at all. “Lord. wouldst Thou grant me a piece of Your Pie?” The reply might be, “Why will you have Me cut the Pie in order to give you a slice when I have prepared the Pie in its entirety for you?” Are we heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ hoping to receive a fragment or crumb from His table - or has He prepared the Whole Pie in our behalf, that we may feast together eternally with Him?

The farmer’s wife baked a pie; after all had eaten and were filled, there remained the whole pie! We may freely partake of the bounty of our Lord, knowing that the ‘Pie’ will always remain Whole! He is our portion - our portion is not a slice, a fragment or a crumb! It is Christ in His eternal fullness and glory!

The Halfhearted Christian

In the book of the Revelation, chapter three, we find a somewhat disturbing passage written initially to the church at Laodicea: “And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God: I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. [the reason given:] Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” Rev. 3;14-17. The Lord has tasted, and as such says, I will not drink of the fruit of your vine. You would attempt to deceive me [and yourselves] into believing that it is the best wine; but the fruit from which it was pressed is corrupt and bitter. It came not from my Vineyard. You say you are rich? I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire. You say you are increased with goods? Buy of me white raiment that thou mayest be clothed. You are blind. I will anoint your eyes with eyesalve, that you may see.

The fruit of their works is spued out. Are they to be cast out also? The Lord has rebuked and chastened. But He concludes: As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent” Rev. 3:18. Be no longer halfhearted and lukewarm! Come boldly [fervently] to the Throne of Grace! “we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God” II Cor. 5:20b. Abide in Me! I AM the True Vine and you are the branches. Bear unto the Husbandman the fruit which I alone am the producer! Then shall He drink and be refreshed and not spue it forth from His mouth!

To the current existing offspring of the Laodicean church we might offer a word study: Half-hearted, Lukewarm, impassive, irresolute. Irresolute, wavering, faltering, uncertain, doubting, fearful, unstable, halfhearted. (Webster’s Thesaurus)

On wavering: “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:” Hebrews 10:24. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” James 1:5-8.

If any man lacks wisdom? From the Old Testament book of Exodus: “And I shall speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him” Exodus 28:3. “And in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee” Exodus 31:6. Also read Exodus 35:10,25 and Exodus 36:1,2. In every wise hearted man the Lord put wisdom and understanding “even everyone whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it.” So we see that every man whom the Lord filled with understanding and the spirit of wisdom also had his heart stirred within him to do the work of the Lord. He was not lukewarm; he did not work halfheartedly; he did not waver, doubt, fear; he was not double minded, unstable, faltering. He worked in faith, his heart stirred up within him.

Again to the halfhearted and the lukewarm: “And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” Mark 12;28-31. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God halfheartedly? Lukewarmly? with half your soul, mind and strength? That is not full filling the commandment. The wine cup is half full? And it is half empty. It is to our shame if it be so in our hearts!

The works of our hands can be no greater than the work of our heart. Of what value, our works, if they stem from lukewarm, halfhearted Christians? Of what benefit, our works, our love, if they are not founded, coupled with faith? We ought to strive to do the will of God? Yes! But in order to accomplish this, we must willingly submit ourselves unto His will. There must be love united in faith; we must trust Him. Would we put ourselves into the hands of a surgeon if we doubted his abilities and skills to perform surgery? How shall the halfhearted and lukewarm, the fearful and doubting, the unstable and wavering - find peace and security in the Redeemer? How shall he believe himself to be truly saved and his sins bought with Precious Blood? Shall he believe the written words spoken by the Living Word to be eternally true and faithful?

Do we perform our ‘works’ with the ‘hope’ of somehow pleasing God? “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” Heb. 11:6. “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts:” Heb. 11:4. By faith Enoch was translated. . .God translated him. . .he had this testimony, that he pleased God” Heb. 11:5. What great works did Enoch with his hands that he so greatly pleased God? “And Enoch walked with God” Gen. 5:22. Again, “And Enoch walked with God” Gen 5:24. Question. How is it that one will say he is walking with God and yet be lukewarm in heart; how can he halfheartedly be walking with God? Oh, the abundance of activities and programs in the local church! And it is church related, isn’t it? But is it walking with God? I remember fifty years ago, sitting in the ‘Amen corner’ of the church: men cried and prayed while sinners walked the aisle! Fervent prayer availed much! It was no place for the lukewarm or halfhearted Christian!

My dear friend, where would we be today if Jesus had been lukewarm; if He had halfheartedly obeyed the Father; if, in facing the cross, He had been fearful, uncertain, double minded, unstable?

“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.”

Quick Reference Guide

Apostacy

• Discovering the Truth About Apostacy
• Satan and the Origin of Sin
• 2nd Thessalonians - A Falling Away

Bible Studies

• 21 Simple Guidelines
• Thy Word
• Thy Word Is
• Cometh a Woman of Samaria
• Dear Brother Philemon
• Dry Bones and Red Seas Gleanings from Elijah
• Gleanings from Job
• Gleanings from the Cross
• Gleanings - the Kingdom of God
• Is Jesus Very God?
• Jesus Heals a Man of the Dropsy
• On Finding the Will of God
• On Footwashing
• On the Unity of Law and Grace
• Peter and John: Chronicles of Grace
• Salvation and the Gospel: What’s Essential?
• Salvation and the Merits of Repentance and Faith
• Saul, King of Israel
• Solomon and the Sword of the Lord
• Sowing and Reaping
• The Beatitudes
• The Cup Which My Father Hath Given Me, Shall I Not Drink It?
• The Darkness of Darkness
• The Fear of the Lord
• The Feeding of the Four Thousand
• The Goodness of God
• The Gospel According to Abel
• The Gospel and Man’s Depravity
• The Silence of God
• The Sin of Ignorance
• The Tabernacle in the Wilderness
• The Ten Lepers
• The Test of Love
• The Unjust Steward
• Touching Jesus
• Why Revival Has Not Come

Children (and adults, too!)

• All About Your House
• Grandmother, Your Childbearing Years Are Not Over!

Christ

• A Labor of Love
• And the Redeemer Shall Come to Zion
• Christ the Light
• Christ Our Passover
• Christ Our Refuge
• Christ Our Sinbearer
• Complete In Him
• Going to the Source
• Gold, Silver and Precious Stones
• I AM the Light of the World
• I AM the Resurrection
• Standing Against the Law(Giver)
• The Cross and the 23rd Psalm

Christmas

• Angels from the Realms of Glory
• Behold! The Light!
• Christmas Studies
• Reflections of Christmas
• Santa Claus - the ‘harmless’ deception

Comfort/Encouragement

• A Sweet-smelling Savour
• Another Comforter
• Another Comforter - Family Ties
• Christ Our Refuge
• Come Thou, Tune My Heart
• Forsaken? Never!
• Heavenly Places
• Isaiah 40
• Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled
• Living Through the Storms of Life
• My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?
• No One Ever Cared for Me Like Jesus
• Rambling Through the Scriptures
• Romans 8:28
• Shadow of His Wings
• The Alabaster Box
• The Ninety and Nine

Confessing Sin

• 1st John 1:9
• Confessing Sin
• Is There a Doctor in the House?
• On Repentance and Faith
• Ye Cannot Serve the Lord
• Covenant Theology
• A Woman of Samaria
• An Egyptian and a Samaritan
• Imputed Righteousness
• In Our Stead
• Looking Again at Canaan
• On Justification
• The Tables of the Covenant
• Ye Are Not Under the Law

Creation

• In the Beginning God Created
• Psalm 119:126

Crucifixion Through the Resurrection

• In Our Stead.
• A Tale of Two Swords.
• The Test of Love.
• Standing Against the Law(Giver)
• Gleanings from the Cross.
• My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?
• The Lamb of God - Forsaken
• Looking Again At Calvary.
• Christ Our Sinbearer.
• Christ Our Passover.
• Why the Blood?
• Christ Our Refuge.
• Christ the Light.
• From the Cross to the Resurrection.
• The Resurrection - Looking Inside the Tomb.
• The Angel of the Lord.
• Gleanings Beyond the Resurrection.
• Struggled

Faith

• John 3:16
• Lord, I Believe
• On Faith
• On Repentance and Faith
• The Fire Within

Forgiveness

• When Forgiveness is Not Enough
• The Spirit of Forgiveness

Meditations

• An Emmaus Disciple
• Apples
• Come Thou, Tune My Heart
• Dealing With Pain
• Easter Sonrise
• Expression of Love
• Fishers of Men
• From the Heart
• His Hand
• In Christ, All Things New
• In the Beginning God Created
• In Your Afflictions
• My Scrapbook
• Of Prince and King
• On Dreaming
• On Suffering
• Rambling Through the Scriptures
• Shadow of His Wings
• Sing to the Lord
• The Harbor of My Heart
• The Lily of the Valley - the Rose of Sharon
• The Window
• Touching the Heart of God
• When Forgiveness is Not Enough
• Without Sword
• Worry

New Birth

• Hope for the Homeless
• John 3:16
• Life! By Grace Through Faith
• Of Sin and Salvation
• On Repentance and Faith
• To: Whosoever Will
• Ye MUST Be Born Again

Parables/Pictures/Types

• Bosom of Abraham
• David, a Portrayal of Christ
• Going to the Source
• How Could He Love Me So?
• Looking Across the Pool of Bethesda
• Looking Again at the Prodigal Son
• Not in Vain
• O For a Drop of Water to Cool My Tongue
• Samson, a Figure of Christ
• The Chronicles of Two Rich Men
• The Lost Silver
• The Lost Son
• The Ninety and Nine
• The Prayer of Jabez - a Type of Christ
• The Rich Man and Lazarus
• Weighed and Wanting

Practical Christianity

• Building Walls
• Holy, Acceptable
• I Surrender All
• Living Through the Storms of Life
• Not I, But Christ
• Peter and John: Chronicles of Grace
• Romans 8:28
• Sowing and Reaping
• What’s On Your Menu?

Prayer

• Give Us This Day
• On Prayer
• On Prayer and Praise
• On the Throne of Grace
• Sharing Our Burdens With Jesus
• Taken for Granted
• The Lord’s Prayer - Fulfilled in Christ

Prophesy

• Dry Bones and Red Seas
• Of Jesus and Jacob

Provision, Heavenly

• But My God. . .
• Hope for the Homeless

Resurrection/Easter

• Beyond the Resurrection
• Easter Sonrise
• From the Cross to the Resurrection
• Gleaning Beyond the Resurrection
• I AM the Resurrection
• Resurrection Ground
• The Resurrection - Looking Inside the Tomb

Shepherd and His Sheep

• Looking Again at Calvary
• Looking Again at the 23rd Psalm
• The Ninety and Nine

Sin

• Adam’s Day in Court
• Confessing Sin
• Self Inflicted Pain
• Sin’s Binding
• The Anatomy of Ananias and Sapphira
• The Doctrine of Self-righteousness
• The Gospel and Man’s Depravity

Soldiers

• A Soldier of the Cross
• Facing the Lions
• Soldiers of the Cross
• Strongholds

Stewardship

• Stewardship
• The Unjust Steward

Suffering

• On Suffering

Tracts

• Heavenly Places
• Hitting Rock Bottom and Finding a Firm Foundation
• Hope for the Homeless and Hungry
• Santa Claus - the “harmless deception.”
• Starting Over

Will of God

• Not My Will But Thine Be Done
• On Finding the Will of God
• The Cup Which My Father Hath Given Me, Shall I Not Drink It?

Witnesses

• Phillip and the Ethiopian Eunuch
• So Great a Cloud of Witnesses

Worship

• A Labor of Love
• Lord of Me and God of Me
• On Worship
• The Price of Worship

The Cup Which My Father Hath Given Me, Shall I Not Drink It?

“Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” John 18:11.

Never was there a more sobering question put forth to any man. The question was asked of Simon but it was not his to answer. It was as though Jesus’ question might have gone forth into all the earth; into heaven; into all of His universe. The question was unfathomable. It was a matter of life and death. If we would live, Christ must drink of the Cup, thus dying in our stead. If He did not, the promise of Eternal Life for Adam and his seed would be made void; terminated. Up to this time Jesus had been in total obedience to His Father. I shutter to think of the repercussions had He declined to drink the Cup which the Father had given Him. But it did not happen; it could not happen!

“Then came Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto his disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. . .And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. . .He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words” Matt. 26:36,39,42,44. Often Jesus had said, Mine hour is not yet come; but now - “behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners” vs. 45.

“Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth. . .Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. . .Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” John 18:3,4,10,11. This said Jesus, knowing all things that should come upon him. He knew full well all that was in the cup. Knowing of the suffering that awaited Him; knowing of His crucifixion; knowing of His death - He could say as Job said almost two millenniums before: “Though He slay me, yet will I trust him” Job 13:15.

Jesus knew and had already experienced being “despised and rejected of men,” He knew what is was to be “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” He was well aware that He would momentarily be “wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities;” He would “bare our grief, carry our sorrows.” He knew that the hour was at hand for Him to drink the Cup; that the Lord was laying upon Him the iniquity of us all; that God would bruise Him, putting Him to grief; making His soul an offering for sin. He would in the Day that He drank the Cup, be cut off out of the land of the living; making His grave with the wicked. He knew that He was to be stricken for our transgressions; His soul made an offering for sin. He would knowingly, willingly pour out His soul unto death, to bear the sin of many; to make intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53)

The Cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? In drinking of the cup, Jesus, in our stead, took upon Himself the condemnation and penalty of the Law of Sin and Death. To Adam was given this charge: In the day that thou eatest, thou shalt surely die. Though the law was issued to Adam in Eden’s garden, did God not intercede in providing Himself a Lamb: did He not shed the first blood, clothing Adam and Eve, picturing the Lamb who would give His life in their stead? Understand that Christ fulfilled the Law of Sin and Death: in the Day that He partook of the fruit of the first Adam, He, the Second Adam, drank the cup of Adam’s [and our] iniquities: “He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” II Cor. 5:21. Symbolically, though in a very literal sense, Jesus must have been the ultimate object when God said, In the Day that thou eatest, thou shalt surely die! In the Day that He partook of the cup which the Father gave Him - He died.

In laying the foundation for what has just been said, let us continue following the scriptures: what did God do after Adam and Eve yielding to the beguiling serpent? “And the Lord said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” Gen. 3:14-15. Was this not fulfilled at the cross?

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life” John 3:14-15. Christ made of himself no reputation; he humbled himself; he became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross - “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name” Phil. 2:9. The serpent as the servant of Satan, being ‘lifted up’ in himself, was brought low to the ground. Though a subtle and beautiful creature, he was cursed and brought lower than all other creatures. ( We might picture Judas Iscariot also as Satan’s ‘serpent’: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him. That thou doest, do quickly” John 13:27.) Satan had been highly exalted, given a name, Lucifer, son of the morning. But he betrayed the Lord. “Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell. . . .Thou art cast out” Isa. 14:15,19a.

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” This picture or symbol ultimately speaks of the cross. Satan would go down in defeat; Christ would be victorious! It is prophesy. But what of a previous prophesy? “But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” Gen. 2:17. It is true, Adam became “dead in trespasses and sins.” To Adam God said, cursed is the ground. . .thou shalt eat of it. . .thou shalt eat of the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread. “And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died” Gen. 5:4. One may say, Well, a day with the Lord is as a thousand years! Therefore Adam died within the Lord’s “Day!”

“Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them” Genesis 3:21. God provided for Himself a Lamb. He shed the first blood; the life of that (His) Lamb was in the blood. Without the shedding of blood is no remission [of sin.] God shed the Last Blood, that of His own Son, His own Lamb. Adam was clothed with the innocence of God’s sacrificial offering. We are likewise clothed in the Righteousness of the Lord Jesus, God’s only begotten Son; the Lamb of God. These things we hold as true. Christ is seen in every instance. The cross is portrayed; and the blood of Christ shed by the instrumentation of man and by God Himself: it was [is] freely offered upon the Mercy Seat which is upon the Ark of the Covenant by Christ, our High Priest. “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died fore our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” I Cor. 15:3,4.

What do the Old Testament scriptures reveal concerning the Cup?

In Jeremiah chapter sixteen and verse seven we see “the cup of consolation.” Again, “For this saith the Lord God of Israel unto me, Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it” Jer. 25:15. In Ezekiel chapter fifteen: “I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast gone a whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their idols. Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into thine hand. Thus saith the Lord God; Thou shalt drink of thy sister’s cup deep and large: thou shalt be laughed to scorn and had in much derision; it containeth much. Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation” vs. 30-33.

The Cup of wrath and of judgment.: “For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out and drink them” Psalm 75:8. “Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hath drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out. Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine: Thus saith thy Lord the Lord, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again” Isa. 51:17,21-22.

The cup of the Lord’s fury? The dregs of the cup of trembling? He has taken it out of the hands of His people and given it into the hands of the Son. Has not the Lord God put the Cup to the lips of His only begotten Son? He, Christ Jesus our Lord, has drunk it in their [our] stead.

“For the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places, he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of God” Isa. 51:3.

“And I have put my words in thy mouth, and have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand. . .Thou art my people” Isa. 51:16.

One other thing regarding the Cup. Jesus knew all things that should come upon Him. He knew that for Him to drink the Cup meant His being forsaken by the Father. For a further study on this topic, please read Gleanings From the Cross, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” It can be found at http://www.scripturetruths.net/

Not My Will But Thine Be Done

For many years I have watched, I have heard, ‘certain’ TV preachers and evangelists preach their sermons and then close with ‘their invitation’: “I’M going to ask you to make a decision.” “Receive Jesus as your personal Saviour.” I’M going to ask you to make a commitment.” “I’M asking you to give your heart to Jesus” “The choice is yours.” “Will you choose to accept Jesus as your Savior?” The influence of a few becomes law for the multitude. Now it is religiously correct to follow their leadership. I saw the son of one of these men giving an interview a short time ago and heard him speak of ‘My father’s invitation.’ When I AM calls, respond to the ‘invitation!’ That of which we speak is more than an ‘invitation;’ it is a command! “But now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained [Christ Jesus]” Acts 17:30b, 31a. “Ye must be born again” is not given as an option: Come, but only if you desire to! No, to refuse the command when the Creator and King of kings, and Lord of lords calls you, is in direct disobedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and warrants His judgment against you.

“Is man’s will really the focus of salvation? Is he in the driver’s seat? Is he in control of the situation? “God voted for me to be saved. Satan voted for me to be lost - and it was the casting of my vote that broke the tie!” (The doctrine of election. How is it that God has become the One who is elected?) It would appear (at least in the minds of many) that God stands helplessly by, waiting to see what man will do. Jesus sits mournfully at the right hand of the Father wringing His hands: “Well, I’ve done all I know to do! I died on the cross for them; now it’s in their hands!”

“Salvation involves a choice!” Yes it does! It was the choice of the Father to give His Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. It was the choice of the Son to die in my stead. Oh Lamb of God, I come! I come! In faith and in an act of obedience to the will of God who has drawn me, I come! I resist His call no longer. I cease my struggle against Him. I yield myself unto God: It is, Not my will, but Thine be done!

“Not my will.” Does my having a ‘will’ make me a god? Am I enthroned on a pedestal? Am I given authority over my life; am I the supreme ruler? I have a will; therefore I am responsible to neither God nor man! This mentality is wrong, dead wrong. Having a will makes me responsible. Adam had a will. He was responsible to God for his choices, for his actions. Adam made ‘decisions,’ he became lord over his life: I WILL do that which I determine is right for me! What does having a will do for the natural man? It renders him a creature who by his own volition becomes self-righteous. What was the will of God for Adam? It was that he be obedient to the purpose and will of his Lord. When God instructed Adam that he not eat of the forbidden fruit, Adam should first have acknowledged that he HAD a will, then willfully set aside that will: Lord God, NOT MY WILL! Adam, by the mercies of God, present your body a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. . .be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, WILL OF GOD! Adam should have responded to God; NOT MY WILL, but THINE be done!

All should be familiar with the passage concerning Joshua and Israel. In chapter 24 and verses one through thirteen, God rehearses His deliverance of the Israelites, then presents a challenge: “Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve the Lord. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” Joshua 24;14-15. Israel could choose between the various gods; who to elect to office. But Joshua will not ‘choose’ to elect his God. He will rather obey the God who chose him! Not my will but Thine be done!

“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I WILL in no wise cast out.” What does the very next verse say? “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” “Not my will, but thine be done!

Is Jesus the Christ; is He Lord; is He the very Son of God? Jesus walked the earth for more than thirty-three years; yet, without sin. A primary reason He was able to do this was His consistent, constant and faithful attitude. One might ask, “Jesus, what is your will?” He might have responded, I relinquish my will; I will acknowledge only my Father’s will for my life. I will not make any decision apart from my Father; I determine to do nothing independently of my Father’s will! Praying in Gethsemane’s garden just before giving Himself into the brutal hands of men and the crucifixion of the cross, Jesus cry remained the same: “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine be done” Luke 22:42.

Mankind loves to make images, statues, busts, large portraits of themselves. It is the notion that we are little sovereigns (ye shall be as gods, as Satan told Adam and Eve.) To have to admit that God is sovereign - well, men would attempt to diminish His power (if only they could!) The fool hath said in his heart [ and many with their lips] NO GOD! The voices persist. “Make a decision! Receive Jesus as your personal Saviour! Give your heart to Jesus! Give Him your life!” Oh God! How may I give my heart and life to Jesus? I am a totally depraved sinner. I am dead in trespasses and sins. I have no heart for God. It is not in my nature to desire Him.

What then are the requirements for one to be saved and justified before God? “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” Acts 20:21. Faith always finds Christ as the object of its attention. Repentance finds God as its object. Man’s will is not the object here. If men would only regard themselves as the sinners that they really are: impure, unholy, void of truth and understanding, having wicked hearts; wills distorted, lacking right discernment. My will and my rights are always subjects of lofty discussion. Repentance and faith will never come until our focus is taken off self and directed to God. Only then will the cry be, NOT MY WILL, but THINE be done. What is the will of God? “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and come unto the knowledge of the truth” I Tim. 2:3-4. Oh Lord God! My will do I wholly submit and yield into your hands! Not my will, but Thine be done! My will be done? Then I would likely be in the realm of the fires of hell, even at this moment! But “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” Let it be known, I’m depending on Jesus!

Let the sinner approach the cross with this plea - Not my will, but thine be done!

Hitting Rock Bottom and finding a Firm Foundation

It’s true. Many are the times that one must “hit rock bottom” before finding a “Firm Foundation!” It is when we come to the end of ourselves that we find the Solid Rock, Christ Jesus! It is when we seemingly have lost all hope that we find the “Blessed Hope!” It is when we find ourselves undeserving of any merit, that we discover the unmerited favor of the God of abundant mercy and grace.

“He [the Lord] brought me up out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock and established my goings. And hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God” (Psalm 40:2,3).

Do you feel yourself in a pit, a pit so deep that you can’t see the light of day? A Christless life is one sinking in miry clay; quicksand. The more you struggle, the deeper you sink. We’ve all been there. We need deliverance; someone to lift us up out of the quicksand; someone to set our feet upon a Firm Foundation, a Solid Rock: that Rock is Jesus. The scripture continues: “and established my goings.” Have you lost your sense of direction; you don’t know where to turn? Jesus said, I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

David, the Psalmist, continues: “And hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God.” Have you lost the joy of living? The Lord can put a new song in your mouth and joy in your heart; praise unto our God.

You cannot save yourself. “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. But God commendeth [exhibited, made known] his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6,8.).

“Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. . .All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53:4,6)

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16) Are these meaningless words: or are you willing to believe them? Is God the True God? Are His Words true? Are you willing to trust Him to do what He says He will do? “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (I Tim. 1:15).

None are Exempt. “There is none righteous, no, not one.” There is none that under-standeth, there is none that seeketh after God. There is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Romans 3:9-12.)

Jesus Saves. You‘ve seen signs with this testimony. Believe it! It‘s true! “He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).

“But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thine heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God that raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:8,9). Christ died for you; He lives for you! Will you not trust Him?

What does it mean to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? its reply is: it means knowing oneself to be a sinner, and Christ to have died for sinners, abandoning all self-righteousness and self-confidence, and casting oneself wholly upon Him for pardon and peace; and exchanging one’s natural enmity and rebellion against God for a spirit of grateful submission to the will of Christ through the renewing of one’s heart by the Holy Ghost. And to the further question still: how am I to go about believing on Christ and repenting, if I have no natural ability to do these things? it answers: look to Christ, speak to Christ, cry to Christ, just as you are; confess your sin, your impenitence, your unbelief, and cast yourself on His mercy; ask Him to give you a new heart, working in you true repentance and firm faith; ask Him to take away your evil heart of unbelief and to write His law within you, that you may never henceforth stray from Him. Turn to Him and trust Him as best you can, and pray for grace to turn and trust more thoroughly; use the means of grace expectantly, looking to Christ to draw near to you as you seek to draw near to Him; watch, pray, read and hear God’s Word, worship and commune with God’s people, and so continue till you know in yourself beyond doubt that you are indeed a changed being, a penitent believer, and the new heart which you desired has been put within you. . .

“Let not conscience make you linger,

Nor of fitness fondly dream;

All the fitness He requireth

Is to feel your need of Him” -

so do not postpone action till you think you are better, but honestly confess and give yourself up here and now to the Christ who alone can make you better; and wait on Him till His Light rises in your soul, as the Scripture promises that it shall do. Anything less than this direct dealing with Christ is disobedience to the gospel.

J. I. Packer