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Scripture Reading: John 2:3-5; 4:15-21, 23-24; 6:26-27; 11:3, 5-6, 17, 21-28, 32-33, 35-40; 13:6-10; 21:2-6, 9-13, 15, 19
Bible scholars know that the Gospel of John has a special style of writing. This book is very simple yet quite detailed. John wrote in this way in order to show how God contacts man. At the end of the Gospel, John says, “There are also many other things which Jesus did, which, if they were written one by one, I suppose that not even the world itself could contain the books written” (21:25). John did not record everything that the Lord Jesus did; rather, he chose certain things to show to those who are far away from God how God came to contact man. In order to contact man, God became man’s life. God entered into man to be man’s life and to live in man. Furthermore, God wants man to contact Him. This contact is what we call fellowship. The Gospel of John does not contain expressions such as contact or fellowship, but it shows that God desires to contact man and fellowship with man. In the Gospel of John we see not only how God causes man to have life but also how God wants man to contact Him.
The Gospel of John focuses on these two points: God entering into us to be our life, and His desire for us to contact Him. The former concerns having life, and the latter concerns contacting God. Everyone who has believed into the Lord has settled the matter of life. In this chapter we will consider our contacting of God.
After we are saved, the most important thing is for us to contact God. Those who have learned some spiritual lessons know that the Christian life depends on the condition of our contact with God. If our contact and fellowship with God are proper, we will be proper Christians. If we do not know how to contact God and lack fellowship with Him, we cannot be proper Christians, no matter how much we try.
The matter of contacting the Lord involves specific principles. It is possible to have morning revival every day and to pray every day without contacting the Lord. Many of our prayers do not result in our contacting the Lord, and thus, they are not beneficial. Hence, we must learn the principles involved in contacting the Lord.
There are many cases in the Gospel of John that show how we should contact the Lord. We do not have the time to go over all the cases, but we will select some crucial cases and consider the main points related to them. If we truly want to contact the Lord, we need to see some principles in contacting Him in these cases.
In the first case the Lord changed water into wine in chapter 2. Verse 11 says, “This beginning of signs Jesus performed.” The Greek word for signs is translated “miracles” in the Chinese Union Version. A sign is a symbol with spiritual significance. Hence, the miracles performed by the Lord Jesus in the Gospel of John are, on the one hand, miracles and, on the other hand, signs. The Lord used specific, visible miracles to indicate invisible, spiritual matters. Therefore, the cases that we will enumerate indicate spiritual principles. If we can identify the key points and principles in these cases, we will see the secret to contacting the Lord.
The major principle in the first case is that we must not direct the Lord when we contact Him. All authority must be in His hands. Hence, both the timing and the way we do things must be determined and directed by Him, not by us. We cannot say, “Lord, do this,” or “Lord, do that.” If we say this, the Lord might say, “What do I have in this that concerns you?” (v. 4). If we contact Him in this way, we may be rejected and rebuffed by Him. This does not mean that the Lord does not want any contact with us or that He is not bearing responsibility for our matters. The Lord entered into us in order to contact us and to be responsible for our affairs, just as He was at the wedding in Cana.
Marriage is the center of human life, and a wedding feast represents the pleasure of human life. The Lord came to the earth and entered into us in order to become the center of our human life and the pleasure of our human life. He did not come to ignore us or to be unconcerned with our affairs. He came to bear responsibility for our affairs. However, as a prerequisite, we must hand all authority over to Him and give Him full liberty.
When the wine ran out at the wedding feast in Cana, Mary, the mother of Jesus, said to the Lord, “They have no wine” (v. 3). She said this in order to prompt the Lord to do something. Although she charged the Lord to do something, she was rebuffed. The Lord said, “Woman, what do I have in this that concerns you? My hour has not yet come” (v. 4). Having learned some lessons before God, Mary, after she was rebuffed, said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do” (v. 5). She realized that it was the Lord who should decide, not she; that it was the Lord who should give counsel, not she; and that it was the Lord who had the final word, not she.
The fact that the wine ran out means that something central and crucial was missing at the wedding feast. Since the Lord was there, He was surely interested in the feast. He would not stand by without doing something. Nevertheless, Mary, the Lord’s mother in the flesh, a person who represents us in our way of contacting the Lord, went to the Lord to propose that He do something. She did this with good intentions. In contacting the Lord, we must beware that our intentions should not go before His intentions.
Sometimes we feel that we have a need when we draw near to the Lord in the morning. If we have learned the lesson, we will know that we must not be too quick to bring this need to the Lord. If we know that we have a need, the Lord also must know; hence, instead of making a proposal, we should wait for Him in His presence. If we are too quick with our proposal, we may be rebuffed and feel that the Lord is not listening to our prayer. He may seem to reject us and say, “What do I have in this that concerns you?” But He is not rejecting us; He is only rejecting our proposal, our counsel. He knows our need better than we do, and He wants to take care of it more than we do. There is no need for us to make a proposal or to counsel the Lord. Those who can pray in the Lord’s presence without making a proposal know how to pray. This is not an easy matter.
The feast must have been out of wine for a while, but the Lord did not seem to be doing anything. This was a test to Mary, and she said, “They have no wine,” meaning that the Lord should do something. The Lord rebuffed her, saying, “Woman, what do I have in this that concerns you? My hour has not yet come” (v. 4). The Lord seemed to be saying, “You cannot direct Me, counsel Me, or make proposals concerning My affairs. My hour has not yet come. I have My timing. I am not under your direction.”
This is a very good lesson to learn. When we go to the Lord, we seldom give Him the chance to speak. We normally say, “Lord, do this; Lord, do that. Look at the condition of the church. Revive the brothers and sisters.” The more we pray in this way, the drier we are within, and the less we touch the Lord’s presence. The feeling of dryness and a lack of His presence are the Lord’s way of saying, “What do I have in this that concerns you? My hour has not yet come. I will take interest in, be responsible for, and solve these matters, but I will decide when and how. I have My timing; I am not under your direction.”
Chapter 11 provides another example of this principle. Martha in chapter 11 is similar to Mary in chapter 2. In chapter 2 the wine ran out, and in chapter 11 a person’s life came to an end. The Lord did not do anything immediately when the wine ran out; instead, He waited before He changed the water into wine. Similarly, in chapter 11 the Lord did not do anything when Lazarus was about to die; instead, He waited a few days after he had died before going to raise him. The Lord did not listen to the words of Martha or Mary, both of whom wanted to direct the Lord with their opinions.
We must always remember that the first principle to learn in contacting the Lord is to stop our counsel and to let the Lord speak. On the one hand, we must learn to draw near to the Lord; on the other hand, when we draw near to Him, we must learn to not speak, that is, to not make proposals. It was necessary for water to be changed into wine, but the Lord knew about this need better than Mary. The church needs to be revived and the believers need to be transformed, but the Lord knows about these needs better than we. The lesson we must learn is to worship and honor Him as the Lord. We must listen to what He says and do what He wants. We must not make many proposals in our prayers. This is the first principle that we must learn in contacting the Lord in prayer.
The Samaritan woman’s contact with the Lord in chapter 4 illustrates a second principle. Here the Samaritan woman realized that she was thirsty and that the Lord had living water. Hence, she asked the Lord for living water. However, the Lord did not give her this living water immediately; instead, He asked her a question. She asked the Lord for living water, and the Lord asked about her husband (vv. 15-16). By asking about her husband, the Lord touched her sinful life; her sins were related to her husband. Hence, by asking about her husband, the Lord asked her about her sins, pointing out her sins. The Lord seemed to say, “Do you want living water? You should hand your sins over. Do you want to be satisfied? You should give heed to your sins.”
Here we see another principle. Knowing that the Lord can supply our need, we often go to the Lord and discover a need. When we see a need, we ask the Lord to meet that need. However, while we are asking, the Lord shows us our stains, faults, and failures; that is, He shows us matters that need to be dealt with. Many of us have had such an experience.
If a child asks me for something, I may ask him to hold out his hands to see whether they are clean. After he washes his hands, I may ask about his face. Sometimes he may need to wash several times before he is clean. This is often our situation when we go to the Lord in prayer. When we tell the Lord what we need, He tells us to go and call our “husband.” We tell Him of our need, but He points out our problems. This is another principle in drawing near to the Lord.
We often experience this principle after being rebuffed by Him for trying to give Him counsel or to direct Him. The Lord does not want us to pray for many things or for other people; He wants to reveal our own condition to us. However, when we ask Him to supply our needs, He points out our problems one after another. We often experience these two things when we draw near to the Lord and contact Him. On the one hand, He causes us to see our needs; on the other hand, once we become thirsty and cry out to Him, He points out our problems, faults, stains, and sins. We need to confess the things that He points out, the “husband” He asks us to bring, so that we can receive His supply.
A third principle is seen in the case of the feeding of the five thousand in chapter 6. A great crowd contacted the Lord, and He performed a miracle in order to feed them. When the crowd returned the next day to be filled, the Lord said, “Work not for the food which perishes, but for the food which abides unto eternal life” (v. 27). The Lord was teaching the crowd to seek the food that abides unto eternal life instead of physical food. This is another principle: the Lord does not want us to seek or to put our hope in physical things when we contact Him in prayer.
Some brothers spend half an hour in the morning praying for physical things. Likewise, some sisters pray for the physical affairs of their spouse and children. The Lord may initially feed and care for those who draw near to Him in prayer in this way, but the Lord will eventually regard such a person as one who comes only to eat and be filled. The Lord will say, “Do not pray for physical things; instead, learn to pray for the things of eternal life, for spiritual things.” The Lord does not want us to always mention physical things when we contact Him; He already knows about these things. When we contact Him, we should focus on spiritual things, the things of life. This is to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. If we would focus on these things, the Lord will add the physical things to us (Matt. 6:31-33).
If we focus exclusively on physical things with the Lord, it will be difficult for us to touch His presence, and we will be rebuffed by Him in spirit. For example, it is very good that the saints spend time to draw near to the Lord in the morning, but whether they can touch the Lord during this time depends upon their focus. If we neglect spiritual matters and instead focus on physical things, it will be difficult to touch the Lord. Some believers who are students are anxious about their studies, and they pray concerning these in the morning. If they are encumbered by such matters when they draw near to the Lord, it will be difficult for them to touch His presence. Such seeking is not for eternal life or for spiritual things but for physical things. This is a matter of seeking to eat bread and to be filled.
Other saints focus on their sickness when they draw near to the Lord. They cannot get away from their sickness in either their thoughts or their prayers. They pray, “Lord, thank You for causing me to benefit from my sickness. When will You heal me? How much longer must I wait?” Such prayers are related to seeking to eat bread and to be filled. The Lord will answer such saints, saying, “Work not for healing; do not pray that much concerning your sickness. Instead, pray for spiritual things, for things related to the eternal life. Forget about your sickness! Forget about eating bread!” This is not easy to do.
Many saints pray only for physical things. Some young medical students, who are interns in a hospital, pray to the Lord in fear and trembling every morning, saying, “Lord, do not let me do anything wrong today. Keep me from making a wrong diagnosis or from prescribing the wrong medicine. Do not send me any difficult patients or give me any heavy burdens.” These prayers may seem good, but they are still related to eating bread and being filled. In response, the Lord will say, “Work not for being a good physician but for eternal life. When you draw near to Me, do not focus on these matters but seek spiritual matters.”
Some sisters cannot forget their household matters. They pray, “Lord, make the servants obedient and the children study diligently, and keep my family safe from accidents.” How many sisters do not pray concerning their family? These prayers are related to eating bread and being filled. The Lord would tell these sisters not to work for their household but to pray for spiritual things related to eternal life.
Some saints may say that this word is hard and wonder what they should pray for. If the sisters who are housewives do not pray for their family, what should they pray for? If physicians do not pray for their medical affairs, what should they pray for? We think that the brothers with businesses should pray for their business, that students should pray for their studies, and that the saints who are sick should pray for their sicknesses. But if we do not pray for such matters, what should we pray for?
If we want to draw near to the Lord and contact Him every day, we must learn the lesson of not focusing on physical matters. We must set them aside in order to seek the Lord Himself, spiritual things, things of life, and eternal things. The Lord knows about our business, family, studies, and health better than we. Our heavenly Father knows everything we need. These are the things that the Gentiles, who do not know God, seek. However, we should seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness and work for things that abide unto eternal life, not for things that perish (vv. 31-33; cf. John 6:27). This is a major principle in contacting the Lord.
Another case reveals at least two major principles: human opinions frustrate the Lord’s power, and the Lord can only begin when man comes to an end. Chapter 11 shows how human opinions frustrate the Lord’s power. Martha and Mary sent word to the Lord, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick” (v. 3). This was an expression of their opinion in order to get the Lord to come heal their brother Lazarus. But the Lord did not respond. He heard their cry, but He did not do anything. The Lord loved these three siblings, and He heard Martha and Mary’s cry, but He remained in the place where He was for two days. He did not do anything until Lazarus died and was buried (vv. 5-6, 17). The first thing that Martha did when she saw the Lord was to complain that He was late. She said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died” (v. 21). Although she complained because of the Lord’s delay, the Lord taught her to not depend on her timing but on Himself. The Lord said, “I am the resurrection and the life” (v. 25). He meant that Lazarus’s condition was not dependent upon whether He came early or late. Thus, even if Lazarus was dead, he could be resurrected because the Lord had come. The Lord Jesus is the resurrection. When we have Him, we have everything. The Lord’s work is not dependent upon our timing.
This is a very good lesson, but Martha did not understand the Lord’s words. The Lord said, “He who believes into Me, even if he should die, shall live; and everyone who lives and believes into Me shall by no means die forever. Do you believe this?” (vv. 25-26). Martha immediately said, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God” (v. 27). Martha did not believe the Lord’s word; she believed something else. The Lord spoke a revelation, but Martha focused on her understanding. She did not hear the Lord’s revelation because of her opinions. Martha was a person full of opinions.
Later, Martha went and called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher is here and is calling you” (v. 28). Again, this was according to Martha’s opinion and not the Lord’s request. The phrase the Teacher is here was correct, but the phrase is calling you was not. When Mary saw the Lord Jesus, she also said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died” (v. 32). The Lord Jesus was moved with indignation in His spirit and was troubled when He saw Mary weeping and the Jews who had come with her also weeping (vv. 33, 35). The Lord did not weep because Lazarus was dead. The Lord wept because Martha and Mary did not know Him and because their spiritual condition was pitiful. The Lord wept because they were foolish spiritually.
A person who suffers pain under the discipline of the Lord yet remains foolish knows neither the Lord nor what the Lord wants. Such a person is filled with his own opinions and has much to say. His condition will grieve the Lord. The Jews saw the Lord weep and expressed different opinions. This moved the Lord with indignation again (v. 38). When the Lord went to the tomb and asked them to take away the stone that was laid against the cave, Martha still had more opinions. She said, “Lord, by now he smells, for it is the fourth day that he is there” (v. 39). She was an opinionated person.
Chapter 11 shows how human opinions frustrate the Lord’s power. The Lord was not merely frustrated by the opinions of Martha, Mary, and the Jews; He was frustrated by the opinions of His disciples. Martha and Mary wanted the Lord to come when He was not ready. Later, when the Lord wanted to go, His disciples did not want Him to go (vv. 3-16). Human opinions frustrate the manifestation of the Lord’s resurrection power. On the one hand, the Lord wanted to do something; He wanted to perform a miracle, to manifest His power in raising the dead. On the other hand, human opinions hindered every step that He took and caused problems. It seemed as though the Lord needed to overthrow every opinion before He could manifest His resurrection power. These human opinions were thorns and thistles on the Lord’s way into resurrection. Martha, Mary, the Jews, and the disciples were full of opinions. The Lord had to remove the human opinions before He could enter into resurrection. Human opinions hinder our contact with the Lord.
When we draw near to the Lord in prayer, we must learn the lesson of stopping our opinions. Whether the wine has run out or a person has been dead for four days, we do not need to counsel the Lord. We should simply give it to the Lord and hear what He has to say. The Lord is everything. He gives life to the dead and calls the things not being as being (Rom. 4:17). He is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25). We do not need to say this or that; we should simply listen to Him. An opinion is a problem. Many who draw near to the Lord have a difficult time learning this lesson.
John 11 presents another principle: the Lord does not heal man; He resurrects man. Healing involves helping man’s weaknesses, but the Lord will not do this. Instead of immediately healing Lazarus, the Lord waited for Lazarus to die in order to raise him, because the Lord only wants to raise man. Resurrection involves waiting until man comes to an end in order to give him a new beginning. For example, it is easy for a weak brother, who often fails, to pray, “Lord, I am weak in this matter. I cannot overcome. I am a failure.” Such prayers seem very good, but they hinder the Lord. We may be weak, but we are not weak to the point of being hopeless. We may be a failure, but we have not failed to the uttermost. The Lord must wait until we are hopelessly weak, until we are an utter failure, and until we are completely dead before He can manifest His resurrection power in us.
Thus, we should let go of our weaknesses and failures when we draw near to the Lord. The Lord already knows our weaknesses and failures. There is nothing we can do if He wants to delay and to wait until we no longer have any hope because we are dead, buried, and stink. If He wants to wait, we cannot make Him hurry up. If He allows us to be defeated, even our imploring Him will not make us strong. Hence, we need to learn the lesson of dropping our problems when we pray. When we are truly hopeless and at an end, the Lord will come. This is resurrection, and this is salvation.
In chapter 13 the Lord washed His disciples’ feet. The principle involved in this case is that we need to let Him do what He wills in us when we draw near to Him. We should not be like Peter, who humbly said, “You shall by no means wash my feet forever.” Then, when the Lord said, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me,” Peter said, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head” (vv. 8-9). This is our condition. The Lord wants to work in us, but we initially will not let Him. Later, when we are willing, we want Him to do more than He intends. These are our human opinions.
When we draw near to the Lord, He wants to work in us, and He wants to remove certain things. Foot-washing is a sign of removing improper things in our being. We must learn to be obedient. If the Lord wants to wash our feet, we should let Him. If He does not wash our hands, we should submit. We should let the Lord wash whatever He wants to wash. We should not make any proposals or counsel Him. This is the fifth principle concerning our contacting the Lord. We must learn this lesson.
In chapter 21 the Lord manifested Himself to His disciples. This case shows that the Lord will draw near to us even when we fall into the world, that is, when we are at our weakest point and forget to draw near to Him. The disciples returned to fishing in order to make a living, but they caught nothing. The Lord knew their need and asked, “You do not have any fish to eat, do you?” (v. 5). The Lord knew that the disciples went fishing in order to have food. They answered, “No” (v. 5). Then the Lord said, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some” (v. 6). They cast their net and caught a hundred and fifty-three large fish (v. 11). When they reached the land, they saw a fire of coals, and fish were lying on it and bread (v. 9).
After seeing the fish they caught that day and eating the fish that the Lord had prepared, the disciples must have considered how they had returned to their old occupation in the world in order to get food. The Lord performed a miracle by letting them catch a hundred and fifty-three large fish and by preparing fish for them to eat. After eating, the disciples must have had all kinds of feelings. It must have been most difficult for Peter, because he had not only gone back to the world but also had taken other disciples with him. After he had said, “I am going fishing,” some of the disciples said, “We also are coming with you” (v. 3). This can be compared to a brother saying, “I am going to love the world,” and other brothers saying, “We also are coming with you.” The disciples went as a group to love the world; they fell into the world together. The Lord, however, did not abandon them. He continued to look after them. He let them catch fish, and He also fed them with fish and bread that He had prepared. After they ate, the Lord asked Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” (v. 15). With these words the Lord let His disciples know that He was not disappointed in them; He wanted them to continue to follow Him and to serve Him.
This is another major principle in our contact with the Lord. We should never think that we cannot draw near to the Lord when we are weak, love the world, and do not pray. We may not be able to draw near to the Lord, but the Lord can draw near to us. We may not be able to contact Him, but He will contact us. Concerning contacting the Lord, we are all failures. Peter went fishing, and we also “go fishing” like him. We fail, but the Lord never fails. When we draw near to Him, He contacts us, and even when we do not draw near to Him, He still comes to contact us. We are unreliable. We may contact the Lord today but not tomorrow, or we may contact Him this month but not next month. No matter what our condition is, the Lord remains the same. No matter how we change, the Lord never changes. Hence, in our contacting the Lord, we must realize that the Lord never changes, no matter how much we may change. This is a principle.
We need to look to the speaking of the Holy Spirit and learn how to draw near to the Lord and contact Him. I would encourage the saints to spend time to consider the principles presented in these cases and to learn these lessons. The sweetest principle is that drawing near to the Lord is not in our hands; it is in the Lord’s hands. We may not draw near to Him, but He will draw near to us. We may be far away from Him, but He will find us. Even when we are at our weakest point, He will draw near to us. When we are far away from Him, He will come to contact us. Even when we are cold and indifferent toward Him or have fallen into the world, He will still say, “Do you love Me? Follow Me!”
