Bill Link - Class 6: Having Been with Jesus

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   This is day six of the 2017 Idlewild Bible School. Our third period teacher is Brother Bill Link. His general topic is portraits of the master. Today's topic is having been with Jesus. Brother Bill. Good morning, brothers and sisters.

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   Brother Jeff's going to give me a hard time if I get weepy. I'm liable to. It's been an awful good week being with y'all. Two thumbs up, Brad. It's been really good, and I'm so thankful for your fellowship and for your love in Christ. It's done me a lot of good.

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   You know, we've remarked on it a couple times this week. I have. I know Brother Phil has. This peculiar thing that the apostles seemed to be so blind to the things that Jesus was saying to them over and over again that were going to happen to him. That, you know, after his arrest and crucifixion and his death, they are, it's as though they are shattered.

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   They don't even believe it when word is brought back to them that Jesus is alive. And it's strange because the Pharisees and Sadducees themselves said, we know that this deceiver when he was still alive said he was going to be resurrected. I've puzzled about that a lot. Recently in our Sunday school, we've been going through the Gospels, and I noticed in reading the Gospel of Luke that there's a couple of indications that maybe the reason for their lack of understanding, maybe it's something like what happened with the men on the road to Emmaus, that their eyes were holding that they couldn't see.

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   You remember that, right? And it wasn't until they constrained him to stay with them, and he broke the bread, and their eyes were opened in the breaking of bread. The marvelous episode that was. I wonder if it wasn't something like that. And here's a couple of verses that you might want to consider.

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   One of them is Luke chapter 9, verse 43. This is when they've come down from the mount, when there's this epileptic child, not recorded in Luke's account, but I think it's in the Gospel of John, where Jesus says to the child's father, do you believe? All things are possible to him that believes.

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   And the man says, Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief. And the Lord does not say, we'll come back when you've got it 100%, and then I'll take care of your son. Right? And I find this so reassuring, because I know that in me, there's a mix of belief and unbelief.

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   Probably in many of us. But our Lord is compassionate, and he healed that child. And we take up in verse 43 of Luke 9, it says, Now notice this in verse 45. He says it three times. They understood not this saying. And it was hid from them, that they perceived it not. And they feared to ask him of that saying.

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   And again, when you come over to Luke chapter 18, and this one I'll read to you from the RSV, but I'm reading verses 31 to 34. Luke 18, 31. And note this, verse 34. You know, their lack of understanding, it's evident in all sorts of ways. It's evident in their debating over who's going to be the greatest.

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    Over and over and over, right to the Last Supper. It's evident in Peter taking out his sword and slicing away at the high priest's servant. And it's there when they disbelieved the reports of the resurrection in Luke 24, verse 11. And we sort of marvel at their lack of understanding. And then you stop and you think, I wonder what I'm missing.

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    You know, what is it that someday my eyes are going to be opened and I'm going to say, wow, how didn't I see that? How could I have been so blind?

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    So we really ought to ask ourselves, where are my blind spots? But on the other hand, we don't want to be discouraged by our lack of understanding. I find it remarkable that in John chapter 2, when Jesus, I probably for the first time, speaks of his murder. John 2, verse 19, Jesus answered them, destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.

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    The Jews then said, it's taken 46 years to build this temple and will you raise it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.

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    So maybe we don't have it all worked out. Maybe our eyes are holding in some sorts of ways. So long as we're gathering information, as long as we're keeping close to the word and trying to understand, maybe we're laying the groundwork for later on that our eyes will be opened. I find that reassuring.

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    Now the title of today's class is taken probably familiar words to you from Acts chapter 4. The context is this notable miracle that had happened in Acts chapter 3. Notable miracle. That's the phrase that the Sanhedrin folks used to describe it. And what it means is a miracle that you can't you can't help but notice it.

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    Everybody knew about it. It was a healing of a man who was over 40 years old and who daily was taken to the beautiful gate of the temple. to beg alms. All through Jesus' ministry that man had been there. In fact it's not altogether impossible that as a young tripled person he might have even been there when Jesus as a 12 year old went up to the temple.

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    Long, long time everybody knew about him. This pathetic person born without the capacity of walking. Acts 3 Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer being the ninth hour about 3 p.m. And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called beautiful to ask alms of them that entered into the temple.

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    Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked in alms. And Peter fastening his eyes upon him with John said look on us. And he gave heed unto them expecting to receive something of them. And boy did he get something from them. Peter said silver and gold have I none but such as I have I give thee.

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    In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood and walked and entered with them into the temple walking and leaping and praising God.

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    Fantastic miracle really. He didn't get up and sort of tentatively stagger around leaning on people for support and have intensive physical therapy for months after that and eventually he was able to run a mile. No he was walking and leaping and praising God. And the crowd saw it. It was inescapable this miracle.

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    Verse 9 all the people saw him walking and praising God and they knew it was he which sat for alms at the beautiful gate of the temple and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto them. And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John all the people ran together unto them in the porch that's called Solomon's greatly wondering.

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    And Peter this humble fisherman uses this opportunity to speak with great boldness. He says that the God of Abraham verse 13 of Isaac and of Jacob the God of our fathers hath glorified his son Jesus whom ye delivered up and denied him in the presence of Pilate. You were the ones saying away with him give us Barabbas what shall I do with him crucify him.

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    But ye denied the Holy One and the just and desired a murderer to be granted unto you and killed the prince of life whom God hath raised from the dead whereof we are witnesses and his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong whom ye see and know yea the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

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    And now brethren I believe that through ignorance he did it as did also your rulers but those things which God before had showed by the mouth of his prophets that Christ should suffer he hath so fulfilled repent ye therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out. He speaks with great boldness he goes on to speak about the promises to Abraham it was interesting this morning with the teens I just so gratifying I said okay what can you tell me about the promises to Abraham right down the list they've got him familiarity with all the things and one brother or young man I don't know if he's baptized or not towards the end he said he promised blessings and that's an interesting observation because here at the end of Peter's speech in chapter 3 Peter says ye are the children of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with our fathers saying unto Abraham and in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed and here's the blessing unto you first God having raised up his son Jesus sent him to bless you in turning away every one of you from his iniquities so part of the promises to Abraham the blessing of being turned aside from our iniquities we're buried with Christ the old man put to death freed from the bondage of sin sin doesn't own us we might sin we will sin but sin doesn't own us we've got a new identity it's a blessing this new identity is so it had started at about 3 p.m.

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    and the day had gone on and there was much preaching there had been 3,000 previously who had been added to the disciples now in chapter 4 verse 4 it says many of them which heard the word believed and the number of them of the men was about 5,000 quite a crowd had gathered to hear about this miracle this notable miracle to hear Peter's preaching and so what's the reaction what would you guess the reaction would be of the Sadducees and the priests the ones who'd been so eager to trip Jesus up and to get him out of the way chapter 4 verse 1 as they spake unto the people the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them being grieved that they taught the people and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead and they laid hands on them and put them in hold until the next day for it was now eventide so they spent the night in jail and the next morning they were taken to the Sanhedrin all the depictions of the Sanhedrin have them seated in a semicircle that's a tough word even for a mathematician to say semicircular arrangement in the place of honor here in the middle was the high priest probably Annas though he wasn't strictly speaking high priest that year Caiaphas his son was there son-in-law was there as well and all the great men it was the feast of Pentecost and people were coming up from all over all the family of Annas these influential wealthy people the leaders the spiritual and legal authority among the Jewish people apparently the closer

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    you got to sit to the high priest the more important you were and as the circles spanned out the less important and they would have brought Peter and John just like they had with Jesus and set them in the midst of this semicircle now you think of Peter and John and they were fishermen they were Galileans remember Peter your speech rewraith you you talk like a hayseed they were unlearned common people they weren't the highfalutin it says came to pass on the Mara verse 5 that their rulers and elders and scribes and Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest were gathered together at Jerusalem not much is known for sure about I don't think anything is known for sure about the John and the Alexander but the John is likely a man called Yohanan ben Zakkai he was a really fascinating character and a a very respected man of his age recognized to the present day for his influence on modern Judaism so there they are you know and Peter and John right there in the midst verse 7 when they had set them in the midst they asked by what power but what by what name have you done this then Peter filled with the Holy Spirit said unto them ye rulers of the people and elders of Israel if we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man by what means he's made whole be it known unto you all all 70 of you and to all the people of Israel that by the

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    name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom ye crucified whom God raised from the dead even by him that this man stand here before you whole apparently the man was there as well this is the stern which was set at naught of the builders which has become the head of the corner neither is there salvation in any other for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved now when you consider where the apostles were just weeks earlier how confused their thinking was how their eyes were blinded as it were how that they were at loose ends almost in despair what a remarkable change has come over them so verse 13 when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men they marveled and took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus that last phrase resonates with me they recognized that they had been with Jesus and it seems appropriate for us as we conclude this week of Bible school in particular considering portraits of the master they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus may it be that when we go from here that people will be able to take knowledge of us that we've been with Jesus I remember brother Eugene Turner does anybody here know brother Eugene he was from the east coast few of you know him lovely old brother and I can't remember what I did last Thursday yes I can it was only two days ago week before Thursday I can't remember but I can remember 35 years ago when brother Eugene

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    was an old brother him coming to the Springfield meeting and talking about what Thomas says it says show us the father and it suffices us that Thomas John 14 why am I having a blank moment here of course it was Thomas why do I doubt myself sorry Thomas says no it's Philip oh my thank you for your indulgence Philip says show us the father and it suffices us Jesus said unto him have I been so long with time with you and yet hast thou not known me Philip he that hath seen me hath seen the father how sayest thou then show us the father and old brother Eugene the exhortation he left us with and has been with me all these years is how about the people that are with us can our co-workers could we say to them have you been with me so long you haven't seen the Lord Jesus we want it to be we want to commit ourselves to being changed by the presence of our Lord we've been considering these portraits of the master we've been in the presence of the Lord in the sense that where two or three are gathered together in his name there he is among them which shows us the importance of fellowship and it shows us the importance of the word that we can be with Jesus and we will be changed will be changed noticeably so now we head back from this lovely sanctuary of peace and fellowship back to ordinary life but refreshed we go out desiring like Paul to know the Lord Jesus to see clearly and so I think it's really fitting

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    for us to take some exhortation from chapters 14 to 18 of the Gospel of John actually this episode starts at John 13 with the Last Supper and I don't know if there's any other part of Jesus life any set of a few hours that is covered in such detail as this is John chapter 13 we might take up at verse 30 Judas then having received the sop went immediately out and it was night therefore when he was gone out Jesus said now is the son of man glorified and God is glorified in him now it's all in motion there's no stopping it now verse 33 little children get a little while I am with you we're feeling a little bit like just a little while we're still together here at Bible school imagine how the Lord felt when he had carried these disciples with him for three and a half years he'd seen their growth he'd seen the ups and downs he'd seen them rejoicing when they came back from preaching and he'd seen their weaknesses and he'd cared for them he had just a little while I imagine he felt like he had so much that he wanted to say to them here's what he said first of all a new commandment I give unto you that ye love one another as I have loved you that ye also love one another this is crucial it ought to govern our actions and it ought to govern our whole behavior as a community people ought to be able to know I love telling the story about our neighbor John who one Sunday morning when we were

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    going to meeting we had folks arriving from Australia and we said John could you give this key to our house because they'll be arriving before we're back and John said sure what do they look like and we said we don't know and I think that was one thing among others the power of the word that eventually our neighbor John became our brother John but this men know that you're my disciples that you love one another there can be no compromise on that so John 14 15 and 16 are all words of exhortation that Jesus gives his disciples between the last supper and Gethsemane I can't quite work out how it all played out but at the end of chapter 14 Jesus says arise let us go hence so you might think they left the upper room then but then when you get to chapter 18 at verse 1 it says when Jesus had spoken these words he went forth with his disciples whether they'd gone part of the way and then stopped and carried on some more I guess it doesn't matter the point is that between the last supper and the arrival at Gethsemane in chapter 18 verse 1 we have these last powerful exhortations chapter 14 15 and 16 of John followed by the Lord's prayer in John 17 and that's a lot for me to cover in 20 minutes but there's one word that is that occurs over and over in these verses and it provides a consistent theme to them that I want to talk about but before I get to that look at John 14 verse 1 let not your heart

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    be troubled ye believe in God believe also in me it's perhaps easier for us to hear these words as relevant to the disciples despite their daily experience of him the words of grace he spoke the amazing miracles of which he could say the works bear witness of me that the father has sent me despite these we know how the disciples didn't understand the events that would take place over the next day and we can understand the words of 14 1 John 14 1 as having special relevance for the disciples but then I ask myself whether these words might be an exhortation for us Christadelphians or for me anyway ye believe in God believe believe also in me I suppose it's been easiest for me to believe about Jesus rather than in Jesus maybe it's been my experience more than that of others but maybe not I suppose that in our desire to avoid evangelical excesses it might be possible to worship around Jesus rather than through him we asked ourselves the hypothetical question earlier this week what difference does it make that Jesus was raised from the dead why couldn't he simply have slept like faithful Abraham and been raised at the last day and the immediate answer we always give is well this was the seal of God's approval and that is an excellent answer the witness of the disciples they could say he's alive we know he's alive it's the seal of God's approval but then you ask yourself couldn't some other endorsement have sufficed what difference would it make if he were asleep in the grave today and it would make all the

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    difference in the world because he ever lives to make intercession for us he's alive he's aware a few years ago I was giving some classes like these to young people and I was doing my usual morning thing before giving classes of sitting in my cabin and kind of panicking thinking am I going to mess up am I going to be able to reach their hearts and I had prayed and did what I could do to get ready and as I picked up my stuff and walked out of the room I spontaneously just said alright Lord Jesus I'm doing this one for you or something like that and I thought I just spoke to the Lord Jesus and it dawned on me I don't think I ever had and then I thought is that okay or am I doing something that's sort of contrary to what I ought to be doing it got me thinking and you know you get one of these things on your mind and you start reading the scriptures and things start jumping out at you you notice that Paul sure didn't have any embarrassment about speaking to the Lord Jesus in his writings nor did Stephen when they were pelting him with stones in that vicious murder and it's amazing to me maybe I've said this already but I'll say it again we always hear of Jesus seated at the right hand and this time he sees heaven opened and Jesus standing at the right hand of God and he says Lord Jesus receive my spirit then I came across an essay written by Brother Roberts in fact I have I have

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    handouts of this if if yeah if you could distribute these I've got some of it on the overhead projector and I will I'll read it along this was written by Brother Roberts as editor of the Christadelphian in 1873 if you've got access to any of those old facsimile versions of the Christadelphian they're really good reading particularly this sort of thing the questions and answers somebody wrote in and said is Jesus an object of worship so the quote I'm going to read is from the Christadelphian May 1st 1873 page 234 for that matter the blind man at the temple cured by Christ worshipped him it's not up there yet honey you know this I don't know if brothers in your meetings in the Baltimore meeting when you preside if you you've got 30 40 other presiders in the audience it's just great you leave out something and you get straight down I should let the handouts get distributed I hope we have enough to go around if we don't you don't get one I can I can certainly send you one all right let me read the first paragraph of this I don't have on the screen so this is his response to the question is Jesus an object of worship the blind man at the temple cured by Christ worshipped him John 9 38 and Jesus did not say as Peter said to Cornelius when Cornelius fell down at his feet and worshipped him stand up I myself also am a man his disciples worshipped him Matthew 28 so did the women who met him after his resurrection Matthew 27 9 so also a ruler

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    came and worshipped him I'll leave out the references a leper did the same they that were with him in the ship worshipped him the angels were commanded to worship him Hebrews 1 verse 6 the saints in glory are represented as worshipping him saying worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power and wisdom and riches and honor and glory and blessing now I've got it on the overhead should have it on the overhead oh my come on silly thing I'm gonna have to step down that boy this thing's not cooperating with me alright now though the father is the highest object of reverence is not Jesus an object of reverence also yes verily for God hath given him a name above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess to him will we sing the song of praise and make the completest obeisance in the day of his glory Jesus did not teach the disciples to make their supreme petitions to him but to the father through him ye shall pray the father in my name and so our practice brothers and sisters in our ecclesias of addressing our prayers to God through Christ is what Jesus taught us that's what we ought to do yet brother Robert says this need not exclude such prayer and thanks subordinately permissible to him as are illustrated in Lord Jesus come quickly Lord save me I thank Christ Jesus our Lord if Jesus were on earth and we were to meet him would we not do homage and make requests of his favor undoubtedly imagine if the Lord were

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    to walk in here right now well he lives and though we see him not he sees us and has all power for it is given to him and symbolized in the seven horns and seven eyes of the slain lamb he is able to succor those who are tempted and shall we not make request this does not conceal the fact that the head of Christ is God and that out of him are all things it's a matter of balance and I guess I wonder in my own self and I'll present it for your own thought is it possible that we've got the balance off a little bit there's a brother in our meeting back east who gives a wonderful prayer and when he gives a prayer for the emblems on a Sunday morning you can count on it that at some point in the prayer he'll pause and say we thank you Lord Jesus for what you went through on our behalf hear what brother Robert says there's a place for every element of truth the difficulty is sometimes to find it and the misfortune often finds illustration in one man with one element of truth fighting another man who holds another element both equally making havoc of that which properly blended is harmony itself I've seen that in controversy and I imagine you all have too if we could only acknowledge that our brother is standing up for a principle a different principle if we could only blend them together there's a place for every element of truth well I thought you might find that helpful I read that and I say wow I I

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    I say amen to it as well so let's strive to have it firmly in our minds that our Lord is alive that he's aware and he's active in our lives he bids us to the peace that comes from knowing him he says let not your heart be troubled you believe in God believe also in me well I said there was a one word theme that goes through these final exhortations of our Lord Jesus and the word is abide John 14 verse 2 the King James says in my father's house are many mansions and you know that's a favorite one for the heaven going folks Barnes notes on the New Testament says this it's commonly understood as affirming that in heaven there's ample room to receive all who will come that therefore the disciples might be sure that they would not be excluded and it's funny how a lot of the modern translations have retained the mansions thing for some reason here when in fact the word is abode it's the same word as in verse 23 of John chapter 14 Jesus answered and said unto him if a man love me he will keep my words and my father will love him and we will come unto him and make our abode with him I'm a statistician and I have scrupulously refrained from statistics this week but sometimes it sort of wells up in you abode is the noun form of the verb abide over half of the occurrences of the word abide in the New Testament are in John's gospel and his epistles in fact there's about eight of them in chapter 15 verses 1

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    to 9 I am the true vine my father is the husbandman every branch in me that beareth not fruit he takes away and every branch that beareth fruit he purgeth that it may bring forth more fruit now you are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you abide in me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine no more can ye except ye abide in me I am the vine ye are the branches he that abideth in me and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruit for without me ye can do nothing if a man abide not in me he's cast forth as a branch and is withered and men gather them and cast them into the fire and they are burnt if ye abide in me and my words abide in you ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you herein is my father glorified that ye bear much fruit so shall ye be my disciples as the father hath loved me so have I loved you abide ye in my love we shouldn't be embarrassed to think about and desire Christ in us indeed Paul says that we're to examine ourselves whether we are in the faith prove your own selves know ye not your own selves how that Jesus Christ is in you except you be reprobates that's 2nd Corinthians 13 verse 5 he speaks in Colossians about the wonderful mystery the secret that's been hidden for ages and generations but now is made manifest to the saints a glorious mystery which is

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    Christ in you the hope of glory and Paul prays in his famous prayer of Ephesians 3 14 to 19 with bended knee to the father of our Lord Jesus Christ that he would grant us according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened by might by with might by his spirit and the inner man that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith so I'd like to end our class and this session and deed our Bible school with the words that Jesus prays on his way to Gethsemane and it's so remarkable under the circumstances he found himself that all his prayer was for the well-being of his of the twelve of the eleven that were there and of those that would believe through their word he prays in John 17 verse 21 that they all may be one as thou father art in me and I in thee that they also may be one in us that the world may believe that thou hast sent me and the glory which thou gavest me I have given them that they may be one even as we are one I in them and thou in me that they may be made perfect in one and that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them as thou hast loved me father I desire that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world oh righteous father the world hath not known thee but I have known thee

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    and these have known that thou hast sent me and I have declared unto them thy name and will declare it that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them and I in them could we just conclude with a hymn two hymns maybe first one for this class then one to make me weep hymn 209 Lord Jesus I have promised to serve thee to the end be thou forever near me my master and my friend I shall not fear the battle thou art by my side nor wander from the pathway if thou will be my guide hymn 209

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    ! Jesus I have promised to serve thee to the end be thou forever near me my master and my friend I shall not fear the battle if thou art by my side no wander from the bad way if thou will be my guide for let me hear thee hearing the world is ever near I see the signs that dazzle the tempting sounds I hear my foes are ever near me around me and within watching but Jesus draw thou near earth and shield my soul from sin let me hear thee speaking in accents clear and still !

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    above the storms of passion ! above words of self will O speak to reassure thee to hasten control O speak make me listen thou God hear thou my soul soul my soul soul Jesus thou hast promised to all who follow thee ! that they share thy glory through all eternity ! And Jesus I have promised to serve thee to the end and thy grace follow my master and my friend you guys can all sit down I'd like to thank brother Bill and sister Carol for coming out and brother Bill for all your preparation and work in teaching us and the teens as well.

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    ! I'd like to thank brother Bill and sister Carol for coming out and brother Bill for all your preparation and work in teaching us and the teens as well.