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Scripture Reading: Matt. 21:18-22; Mark 11:20-24; Matt. 24:15-22; 26:20-30, 36-46
II. The divine facts in the mystical human life of the first God-man in the record of the synoptic Gospels concerning the first God-man as the King-Savior in the kingdom of the heavens, the Slave-Savior in God’s gospel service, and the Man-Savior in God’s salvation:
J. In cursing the fig tree so that it instantly dried up, the first God-man taught His disciples how to pray by faith — Matt. 21:18-22; Mark 11:20-24:
1. The first God-man’s teaching here was according to God’s will for the accomplishment of His economy:
а. The fig tree is a symbol of the nation of Israel (Jer. 24:2, 5, 8).
b. The nation of Israel lost her capacity in fulfilling God’s economy because of her rottenness.
c. Because their condition of not bearing fruit but having only leaves still remained after the first God-man’s ministry among them, God intended to give them up — Matt. 21:33-43.
d. At this juncture the first God-man cursed her to dry up, according to God’s will in fulfilling His economy — v. 19.
2. Based upon this background, the first God-man taught His disciples to pray for executing God’s will according to His economy by faith — vv. 21-22.
3. Thus, the praying one could have faith in God without doubting, but believing that he had received what he asked for, and he would have it — Mark 11:24.
K. In prophesying that the returned Israel in the future will suffer the great tribulation, the first God-man taught them here how to flee by prayer — Matt. 24:15-22:
1. They should ask God that their flight may not be in winter nor on a Sabbath — v. 20.
2. They should believe that God is the One who controls the weather and the surrounding environment.
L. In His prayer in Gethsemane before He was arrested, judged, and sentenced to be crucified, He prayed and taught His disciples to learn from Him how to pray — 26:20-30, 36-46:
1. After the Feast of the Passover He taught His disciples how to remember Him by breaking the bread and drinking the cup — vv. 20, 26-29.
2. He was burdened to go to Gethsemane, a quiet place, deep in the night, with His disciples, to pray — vv. 30, 36.
3. He took Peter, John, and James aside and began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed, saying to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death,” and asking them to remain there and watch with Him — vv. 37-38:
а. He went forward a little, fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will” — v. 39.
b. He went away a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done” — v. 42.
c. He left them and went away again and prayed a third time, saying the same word again — v. 44.
4. The first God-man’s prayer here, like all His prayers in the synoptic Gospels, was prayed by Him in His humanity; this prayer here, made by Him when He was exceedingly sorrowful and deeply distressed, corresponds with the one in Paul’s writing in Hebrews 5:7, in which He offered up both petitions and supplications with strong crying and tears, asking God to save Him out of death.
5. This prayer was after Christ’s prayer in John 17 as the conclusion of His divine teaching in John 14—16 concerning the union, mingling, and incorporation of the processed and consummated Triune God with His chosen and redeemed people, which was prayed in Christ’s divinity. (This prayer is covered in the Crystallization-study of the Gospel of John.)
We have been fellowshipping concerning the prayers of the first God-man made by Him in His humanity as the King-Savior in the kingdom of the heavens. All the prayers offered by the Lord in Matthew, Mark, and Luke — the synoptic Gospels — were made by Christ in His humanity. These prayers are in a different category from His prayer in John 17. This prayer was offered by the Lord after His discourse in John 14 through 16 concerning the union, mingling, and incorporation of the processed and consummated Triune God with His chosen and redeemed people. It was offered by Christ to God not in His humanity but in His divinity.
In this chapter we want to see three more cases of Christ’s prayer in the Gospel of Matthew. We need to see that these prayers are related to God’s will for the accomplishment of God’s economy.
In cursing the fig tree so that it instantly dried up, the first God-man taught His disciples how to pray by faith (21:18-22; Mark 11:20-24).
The first God-man’s teaching here was according to God’s will for the accomplishment of His economy. Not many see that the Lord’s teaching on prayer is related to God’s economy, which is to be accomplished by His faithful people doing His will. The One who taught the disciples to pray by faith was the God-man, Christ. He is the only One who is absolutely right before God. To pray such a prayer we must be right persons doing God’s will. This is God’s will not in small matters, such as where we should move, but His great will for the accomplishment of God’s economy. Many Christians today use the term the will of God in a very shallow and light way. We should be those who are carrying out God’s will to accomplish God’s economy. God’s economy is to produce an organism for His good pleasure. Israel disappointed God in this matter, so God came to the church, hoping that the church would be His organism. Eventually, the church, generally speaking, has also failed God. What is the real will of God that we have to carry out? It is to take care of the producing and building up of God’s organism, which is the Body of Christ that will consummate the New Jerusalem.
The fig tree is a symbol of the nation of Israel (Jer. 24:2, 5, 8).
The nation of Israel lost her capacity in fulfilling God’s economy because of her rottenness. In Revelation 2 the Lord’s first epistle to the first church, at Ephesus, says that because the church there lost her capacity to shine forth the testimony of Jesus, the Lord would remove her lampstand (v. 5). The same thing occurred to Israel in the ancient time. Actually, Israel was a lampstand, established by God to stand on the whole earth to shine forth God’s testimony (Zech. 4:2), but she lost this capacity because of her rottenness.
Because the people of Israel’s condition of not bearing fruit but having only leaves still remained after the first God-man’s ministry among them, God intended to give them up (Matt. 21:33-43). The Lord ministered among them for three and a half years. No doubt, He was the top Minister and His ministry was the top ministry, but it had no effect on this nation chosen by God, so God intended to give them up. The Lord used a parable in Matthew 21:33-43 to tell them that the kingdom of God would be taken from them and given to a nation producing its fruit. This nation is the church.
The Lord Jesus, who is right in the eyes of God, knows God’s heart, so His cursing the fig tree was according to His knowledge of God’s will in the fulfillment of God’s economy to give up the rotten Israel (v. 19).
Based upon this background, the first God-man taught His disciples to pray for executing God’s will according to His economy by faith (vv. 21-22).
Thus, the praying one could have faith in God without doubting, but believing that he had received what he asked for, and he would have it (Mark 11:24). The praying one is now one with God, in union with God. He is mingled with God, so God becomes his faith. This is what it means to have faith in God, according to the Lord’s word in Mark 11:22. The praying one is absolutely one with God, and God becomes his faith.
In Mark 11:24 the Lord said, “All things that you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and you will have them.” I would like to present two testimonies concerning the experience of this verse. The first one is concerning the Lord’s move to Russia. Soon after the United States defeated Iraq in 1991, one day a thought came to me: “Why don’t you go to Russia? Now is the time.” When I fellowshipped with the leading co-workers about this, they all agreed with me, so we announced to the saints that we would follow the Lord’s leading to go to Russia. Right away there was a response from the Body for this move of the Lord. This is a testimony that I had the full faith that we received a success. By the time we decided to go to Russia, a number of the saints had been trained and prepared by finishing two terms of the full-time training in Anaheim. They responded that they would go, and in November 1991 over thirty went to Russia. Right away the financial support came from the churches. In Russia today there are two big churches in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Recently, thirty-five more churches have been established. Also, there are numerous locations with groups of seeking Christians who have left the denominations and are waiting for us to visit them to help establish them as local churches. The brothers have estimated that by the end of this year, there will be fifty well-established churches in Russia. Besides Russia, the Lord has been moving in other eastern European countries, such as Poland, Albania, Romania, and Armenia. This has been the Lord’s doing. We have just followed His leading. Our going to Russia has been of the Lord’s will for the accomplishment of His economy. This is the experience of having faith in God without doubting, and believing that we have received what we have asked for so that we receive it. We have to pray according to God’s will for the fulfillment of His economy. Then we are one with God and the right persons in God’s eyes. Then we have the assurance that we have received what we have prayed for.
The second testimony is concerning my experience of the Lord in 1943, which was a critical year of the war between China and Japan. I was very much oppressed by the military police of the Japanese invading army in my city. One night I had a dream in which the Lord assured me that I would not be harmed by them. In that dream I was walking, and I came to a slope with four steps. After I stepped down, a German shepherd jumped up and put its front paws upon me, but the dog did not hurt me. When it stopped bothering me, I saw the day dawn, like the dawning in the morning, with a broad highway, very bright and very straight. After waking up, I realized that this was not an ordinary dream.
As I considered this dream, I received its interpretation. The four steps were the last four years of the war, which were very difficult in China. There were eight years of fighting between Japan and China, and the last four years, after America joined the war, became very hard. The Japanese military police arrested me, but before they did, I had this dream. I realized that the German shepherd signified the Japanese who were troubling me but who eventually did not do any harm to me. After this troubling there was a broad highway shining under the dawning of the day. I then knew that after the Japanese trouble, the Lord would bring me onto such a highway.
I had this dream fifty-three years ago, when I was only thirty-nine years old, in 1943. After 1943, because of being imprisoned by the Japanese, I became sick with tuberculosis of the lungs. The doctor charged me to rest absolutely in bed for six months. In October 1944 I left Chefoo and rested in Tsingtao for another one and a half years until 1945, when the Japanese surrendered. After the war the brothers in Shanghai and Nanking asked me to visit the churches. In 1948 the political situation changed in China, and Brother Nee made the decision to send me out. I went to Taiwan in 1949 to minister Christ for the establishing and building up of the churches there. Eventually, I came to the United States and began to minister here for the Lord’s recovery in 1962. I never dreamed that I would be here. Today the whole earth is open to the recovery. During all my time in the church life, I have never seen such a harmony among the churches, among the elders, and among the co-workers as today. By His mercy and grace we can boast that today on this whole earth, all the churches, the co-workers, and the elders are in harmony. Every sign is an encouragement. Every report is beautiful. The Lord is working everywhere. The open door to the Lord’s recovery is His doing. For this move I have prayed at rest, believing that I have what I have asked for.
If we ask the Lord for things that satisfy our desire, we will not receive anything. This is because our prayer is not according to God’s will for the fulfillment of God’s economy, and we are not the right persons. First, we must be the right persons, absolutely one with God. One night, during my imprisonment by the Japanese for thirty days, I looked up and said, “Lord, You know why I am here.” At the time it seemed as if the Lord Jesus was right before me. I had the full assurance to say to the Lord, “Lord, I am imprisoned for Your sake.” We must first be the right persons before God, persons who are one with God. Then we can have God as our faith and pray according to our knowledge of God’s will for the fulfillment of His economy. If we pray for something according to our desire, not according to God’s will, to fulfill our purpose, not to fulfill God’s economy, we can never have the faith in God to believe that we have received what we asked for.
In prophesying that the returned Israel in the future will suffer the great tribulation, the first God-man taught them how to flee by prayer (Matt. 24:15-22). According to God’s economy, He gave up Israel, but He would not give them up for eternity. This is a temporary matter. The Lord Jesus told the leaders of Israel in Matthew 21 that God would give them up. Then in Matthew 24 the Lord prophesied that the dispersed Israel would eventually return to their Holy Land. But at the end of this age, because of Antichrist, a great tribulation (v. 21) will occur in the Holy Land, so Israel will suffer. The Lord told them to pray, asking God to save them.
The Lord told them to ask God that their flight would not be in winter nor on a Sabbath (v. 20). Winter is a time when escape is difficult. Also, on the Sabbath one was allowed to walk only a short distance (see Acts 1:12, footnote 2, Recovery Version), a distance not adequate for escaping.
They should believe that God is the One who controls the weather and the surrounding environment. To pray that they do not flee in winter is to ask God to control the weather. To pray that their flight is not on a Sabbath day is to ask God to manage their environment. When we ask God to do something, we must be the right persons, persons for God’s economy on this earth. We must also be one with God so that we can believe that the very God to whom we pray controls the weather and rules the world situation.
In His prayer in Gethsemane before He was arrested, judged, and sentenced to be crucified, the Lord prayed and taught His disciples to learn from Him how to pray (Matt. 26:20-30, 36-46).
After the Feast of the Passover He taught His disciples how to remember Him by breaking the bread and drinking the cup (vv. 20, 26-29). He was first eating the passover according to the Old Testament. Then at the end of that feast, He established the Lord’s table to remember Him by breaking the bread and drinking the cup.
He was burdened to go to Gethsemane, a quiet place, deep in the night, with His disciples, to pray (vv. 30, 36).
He took Peter, John, and James aside and began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed, saying to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death,” and asking them to remain there and watch with Him (vv. 37-38). He was sorrowful, even sweating with drops like blood (Luke 22:44), because He realized the full meaning of the great commission for Him to die for the accomplishment of God’s redemption for God’s fallen people. This burden was too great. We should not forget that He was a human. To be crucified on the cross was a real suffering. He also knew that Judas, the betrayer, would bring others to arrest Him. In His humanity He was exceedingly sorrowful, distressed even to death. He brought the disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. When they arrived, He took Peter, John, and James, these three intimate ones, aside. This shows that how far we can follow the Lord depends on our situation with Him. Then the Lord left these three to pray.
He went forward a little, fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will” (Matt. 26:39). This cup refers to His death on the cross. In His humanity He was submissive in His suffering. In His humanity such suffering was nearly unbearable, yet He prayed for the Father’s will, not His will, to be done. He went away a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done” (v. 42). He left them and went away again and prayed a third time, saying the same word again (v. 44). Philippians 2 says that He was obedient even unto death, and that the death of a cross (v. 8).
The first God-man’s prayer here, like all His prayers in the synoptic Gospels, was prayed by Him in His humanity; this prayer here, made by Him when He was exceedingly sorrowful and deeply distressed, corresponds with the one in Paul’s writing in Hebrews 5:7, in which He offered up both petitions and supplications with strong crying and tears, asking God to save Him out of death. He was praying under this kind of condition, but He was still submissive and obedient to the Father. We need to see that the Lord prayed this way in His humanity, in which He was troubled. In John 10 He is revealed as the good Shepherd who would lay down His life for His sheep. He was willing to do that in His divinity. But in His humanity He was sorrowful.
The Lord’s prayer in Gethsemane was after His prayer in John 17 as the conclusion of His divine teaching in John 14—16 concerning the union, mingling, and incorporation of the processed and consummated Triune God with His chosen and redeemed people, which was prayed in Christ’s divinity. We have to make a distinction between Christ’s prayer in His humanity and His prayer in His divinity. All the prayers in the first three Gospels were made by Christ in His humanity. Only the prayers in John were made by Christ in His divinity. This is because the first three Gospels are related to Christ’s humanity as the King, the Slave, and the man, but John is concerning Christ as God. Thus, whatever He did in John was done by Him in His divinity. In John the Lord said, “I and the Father are one” (10:30). Such a word was not recorded in the first three Gospels. Then He said that as the sent One, He was not alone, because the Sender, His Father, was with Him all the time in His divinity (16:32; 8:16, 29). The Lord’s prayer in John 17 is covered in Crystallization-study of the Gospel of John.
