THE LONGINGS OF JESUS
David A Smith
Genesis 3: 8,9
Luke 23: 29-36
Matthew 23: 37
John 17: 24
We had a distinct impression this morning (I have to speak for myself, but I think for others also), as to what the Lord’s supper meant as responding to the longings of the Lord Jesus. That is, as we know, what He has asked us to do. We were all assembled at that occasion this morning and we gathered, I believe, because all of us had affection in our hearts for Christ and a desire to answer to His longings. But the simple impression I was led to in my thoughts was the longings and feelings of the heart of God. I suppose they are no better expressed, or so attractively and beautifully presented, as they are in the gospel. I think we would perhaps see that in a section of the hymn that we read -
Hark! hark! the voice of Christ,
the sinner’s Saviour,
In glory seated on His Father’s throne,
Telling of love and everlasting favour
For sinners far from God, by sin undone
(Hymn 202).
‘Telling of love ...’: whose love? God’s love. I was encouraged to read these scriptures so that God might impress upon us, in a particular way, His feelings, divine feelings, in relation to the blessing of precious souls. God’s love lies behind it. The fulness and wonder, and glory of divine love lies behind the gospel. The gospel is preached to persons such as ourselves, men, women, boys and girls, that He might make known that love and that it might be shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
I read the scripture in Genesis. We often refer to this scripture in relation to Adam’s fall, the incoming of sin into this world, and all the consequences of it which we know, both in ourselves, and around us. I wanted to speak from this scripture a little that we might get some apprehension of what it meant to the blessed God Himself. The consequences for Adam we well know - he was banished from the garden and he was told, “For dust thou art; and unto dust shalt thou return”, Gen 3: 19. That is not what God had in mind, I do not think, when He created him. God created man for His pleasure. Of course, what God has primarily in mind is not just man, but man in Christ: that was God’s thought in His purpose. But, nevertheless, in making man, if you go back to chapter 1, God says, “Let us make man in our image”, v 26. That is quite an extraordinary statement. In whose image? The image of God - “after our likeness”. There is something distinctive about the human being, about you, that is above all other creation; man is God’s top stone. He is quite distinct from the animals, great and powerful as some of them may be. God did not make them as He has made man, men and women, boys and girls, created in the image of God, and “after our likeness”. That is a wonderful thing to apprehend. What God had in mind was to secure a creature that could answer to Himself - in some measure of intelligence, to answer to God Himself; and in some measure of affection to answer to God Himself. What God is seeking to recover man to in the preaching of the gospel is that relationship. Think what it must have meant to God, when He came down in the cool of the day to commune with His creature. It was the voice that was heard; God wanted to speak with him, to commune with him. What God might have said the scripture does not indicate, but Adam was a man created in intelligence, and no doubt in affection. That must be true because God says later, “It is not good that Man should be alone. I will make him a helpmate, his like” (chap 2: 18), a counterpart. All these thoughts are full of meaning but show that man was capable of affection, of love; and God desires an answer from His creature, an answer in intelligence, and an answer in affection. How wonderful that is. So God addresses His creature in the gospel. He does not preach to animals, the gospel is preached to men, women, boys and girls, because God desires that He might find an entrance into your heart and that He might win your affections for Himself.
I read the scripture in Luke’s gospel, not wanting to dwell on Adam’s failure; we know that story so well and all the sad consequences of it, but God had in mind that He should recover man to Himself. In Luke 23:39 we get a picture, so affectingly, of the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. There was a man in all his sin, lost and far from God. How God must have felt that; how He must have felt the distance and the break in communion that He so desired from His creature man. I wonder if we think about that, how God felt it? A response in intelligent affection He desired from His creature and He came down, and finds him in a state of alienation, far from God, undone by sin. What it must have meant for the heart of God Himself. He had provided for Adam and his wife, the animals were slain to provide coats of skin, and God clothed them. He had done everything for man initially, set him in the garden, everything provided, because He cared for him; he was precious to God, the top stone of His creation, the centre of His thought that he would be for His pleasure. God created man for His pleasure - created all things for His pleasure. I wonder if that could give you an impression of God’s longings after you, what it means to God that anybody here should be at a distance from Him. Let me assure you that God feels it, and His love is towards you. He desires that you might be restored into blessed communion with Himself and that the guilty past of each one of us should be atoned for so that we should be amongst those redeemed through the precious blood of Jesus “who himself bore our sins in his body on the tree”, 1 Pet 2: 24.
Luke 23 is an awful chapter in one way, the mockery of those around Him, those He had come to save, their violence, the bitterness, and the cursing: “He has saved others; let him save himself if this is the Christ”. The hymn reminds us of that:
Himself He could not save,
Love’s stream too deeply flowed
(Hymn 240).
The feelings of God had not changed; Adam had changed, but God has not changed. His desires had not changed and His purpose in blessing had not changed, and the only way, beloved friend, that the situation could be remedied was that there needed to be a Mediator. What hope have we as lost and far from God? God in His mercy has provided a Saviour, as He provided clothing for Adam, typically speaking of the fact that death had to come in, and how blessed that this scripture speaks of the way that God has effected that salvation. There were two malefactors here; one continues the rebuke and the opposition, “save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost thou too not fear God, thou that art under the same judgment?”. This man was coming to himself; he was coming to repentance. He does not say that his judgment was not just; I think he recognised that it was. They were malefactors, they had done something that was wrong, and this man recognised that the judgment was due, but he said of Christ, “this man has done nothing amiss”. What words, what meaning those words must have had to Christ as He hung suffering upon the cross, the Sin-bearer, “the just for the unjust”, 1 Pet 3: 18. Why did He do it? He did it to bring us to God, to recover man to God, and here was this man, as he hung there upon a cross, saying, “this man has done nothing amiss. And he said to Jesus, “Remember me, Lord, when thou comest in the kingdom”. What blessed words they were. That man was saved; the other was not.
What about you? I wonder whether everyone here has come to Christ, put their faith in Him, and put their faith in His precious blood that has secured our redemption. There is peace that way. This man died, but he died in peace. What words the Lord Jesus spoke to him, “To-day shalt thou be with me”. Was joy just for that man? I think it was for the Lord too. “Shalt thou be” not just ‘in paradise’, but “with me in paradise”. He had secured a soul who was alienated from Himself, no doubt a wicked, lawless man, but his conscience was reached and there was the Saviour right by his side, just like He is today.
The Lord Jesus comes to every preaching; I believe He does. We seek His help as we speak about Him, but then His eye is on all of us as to what the answer is going to be. This man was brought to repentance, and he died a man in peace.
But what was entailed in those three hours of darkness? Words alone would not have saved him; the Saviour had to go this way, He had to endure those three hours of darkness, and He had to bear the judgment of a holy God against sin. What can we say? I feel tested about it, except that intense divine feelings entered into these things. If you read the Psalms you get some impressions of them. Read Jonah and some of things he said prophetically, “The weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms the mountains; The bars of the earth closed upon me forever”, chap 2: 5,6. What those feelings of Jesus were. We can never comprehend them; we can perhaps have some apprehension of what the sufferings of Jesus meant to Him. He went that way for this man, and also for you, and His longings are towards you that you might come to know Him and to trust Him and to put your faith in Him.
I read the scripture in Matthew, and these again are the words of the Lord Jesus. He is referring to Jerusalem, and I suppose His longings were in relation to His earthly people and His testimony to them in those three and a half years of His pathway here upon earth. He was conscious that He was rejected, and He says, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those that are sent unto her”. In times past, they had had plenty of prophets sent to them. They say earlier, “If we had been in the days of our fathers we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets”, v 30. Yet, they were rejecting the One of whom the prophets spoke. Perhaps we might say that if we had been there – ‘We would not have treated Jesus like that’. They did not know their evil, wicked, wayward heart! But the longings of Jesus in relation to His people are plain, “how often would I have gathered the children as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!”. I hope there is nobody here would use those words as the Lord Jesus appeals in love and grace, that someone should ever say, ‘I will not’. What about the feelings of Jesus? We have spoken of His sufferings, the movements of His precious love in relation to your salvation and blessing - and someone could say, ‘I will not’.
His feelings have not changed, beloved friend; His love is still the same and the preaching goes on and appeal after appeal goes on too as some of us have well known in our histories - we put it off and put it off until we yielded to that precious love of Jesus and let it flood into our hearts. Know Him as a blessed Saviour; come to know Him as Lord. It is the way of blessing, the way of happiness, the way of peace, and it gives joy in heaven over repenting sinners. That is where He is now, at God’s right hand in glory, precious Saviour. Will someone here give their heart to him? Commit themselves to Him? Answer to that love of Jesus? Many of us did this morning; answered to the love of Jesus. Maybe He is appealing to someone here to answer simply to that love. His love it towards you; how deeply it flows. He is looking for a response; far be it that anyone would say, ‘No’. How better to yield our hearts in full submission and allegiance to that One who has done so much for us.
I close briefly with the scripture in John’s gospel. I suppose this is one of the most precious scriptures because it is the prayer of the Lord Jesus to His Father, and it is expressing His deepest longings; and I think it would be right to say His deepest feelings. One of them is this, “Father, as to those whom thou hast given me, I desire that where I am they also may be with me, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me”. He is glorified: not only has He died, but He is risen and glorified and the Holy Spirit has come to magnify the Lord Jesus to our hearts - blessed service of the Holy Spirit that He would give to those who obey the glad tidings and then to know something of the depth and fulness of divine love. But here is the Lord’s desire to have those that belong to Him with Him where He is. He is coming soon. In the previous scripture there where those persons who said they “would not” and the Lord had to say to them, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate”, Matt 23: 38. There is no hope without Christ. There is no real hope for you if you will not answer to divine entreaty in the glad tidings. The Lord Jesus does not want anybody’s house left to them desolate. He wants you to come and enter into the enjoyment of the Father’s house with all its richness, joy and blessing, which is available to the repenting sinner. Here it is Christ’s longings to have His own; He will have His own. Everyone who puts their faith and trust in Christ will be with Him in eternal glory. His love will secure it, His love has desired it, and His love will have it. Will you be among them? How could anyone elect themselves out of this? How could anyone refuse the entreaties of the love of the Lord Jesus, who has done so much for us? He says, “I desire that where I am they also may be with me” - where He is at the moment is in heavenly glory, but I think there is also a testimonial side to it. The Lord Jesus said, “I am with you all the days, until the completion of the age”, Matt 28: 20.
Would you like to be where Jesus is now? That is a very precious privilege. You will certainly be with Him where He is when He comes for us, but it is a great privilege to commit yourself to being with Jesus where He is and where He is known at the present time. I believe He is known in the company of His saints. It means that we commit ourselves to Him and we commit ourselves to those that love Him. The Lord desires that we should. May the simple appeal of His love be answered in each one of our hearts afresh.
May it be so for His Name’s sake.
Sidcup
1st November 2020