Let us turn to John 1.
There was the true light, which coming into the world enlightens every man.
—John 1:9
Let us turn to John 6:9.
There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are these for so many people?
—John 6:9
Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
—John 6:10
They gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.
—John 6:13
Jesus therefore said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven.”
—John 6:32
The five loaves and two fish were barley loaves. Here we see the true bread that comes from heaven. In the original Greek, this word for the true bread is connected with the barley loaf.
The Lord used five barley loaves and two fish to feed the multitude. Now He tells us that it is His Father who gives us the true bread out of heaven. Our Lord is the true light; He is the true loaf.
Let us turn to John 15:1.
I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
—John 15:1
The Lord said, “I am the true vine.” We have the true light, the true loaf, and the true vine.
Let us bow our heads for a further word of prayer.
Lord, we want to thank You. By Your grace, we come here tonight. We come here this evening for the words that You have spoken, and we want to thank You.
Thank You, Lord, that there is no lack of Your word in these past days. We are like the Queen of Sheba, coming before the presence of the One who is greater than Solomon. We want to hear the words of wisdom from You.
Lord, thank You for giving us these words. We are so blessed. We want to commit this evening into Your hands. We know that You want to continue to speak. You will speak to us tomorrow, and You will continue to speak to us through the bread and the cup.
We give You all the worship and praise. Lord, give us a hearing ear and a teachable heart, that we may be like Mary, seated before Your feet.
Listen to our prayer. You have given us the best, and there is nothing that can be taken from us. We give You all the glory and all the honor. In Jesus’ precious name, amen.
Brothers and sisters, the theme of this conference is Christ-centred service. My responsibility this evening is to speak on service based on Christ as the truth.
The Lord said, “I am the truth.” He also prayed to the Father, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” God has a word to speak. Two thousand years ago, He spoke through His Son, the Word who became flesh.
He has also written His will in the Bible. This is the written Word. God’s word enables us to be sanctified.
When we read the Bible, we see that it has many purposes. Yet, if we look from afar, it is as if the whole Bible is written in a bust—and that bust is our Lord Himself.
Many times we do not understand the word of God. But if we look at the shadow, and then behind all the words see the great Man, then we understand. Before, we did not understand the Scriptures, but the Spirit guides us into all truth.
What the Holy Spirit does is what the resurrected Lord did when He expounded the Word to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. The Bible needs to be opened and expounded.
Beginning from Moses and all the prophets, He expounded to them the things concerning Himself. Their hearts burned within them. They had been going toward Emmaus, going down the slope, but now they returned. They wanted to go back to Jerusalem.
When our resurrected Lord opens up the Word to us and opens up the truth to us, our hearts burn within us.
After the Lord resurrected and appeared to the disciples, He spoke from the Old Testament—from Moses, the Law, and the Prophets. He said that everything written concerning Him must be fulfilled. Then the Lord opened their understanding, and they understood the Word.
On one hand, we see that the Word is truth. But how do we explain, “I am the truth”? Christ is the key.
What truth is this? It is the true truth, the truth by which all other truths are understood. When we understand that true truth, then we know how to serve Him based on Christ as the truth.
When the Holy Spirit revealed the Gospel of John, He entrusted John with the truth. John could clearly speak of the truth.
In 2 John and 3 John, John speaks not only of truth, but of the truth abiding within us. John knew the truth, and John served the Lord according to this truth—not merely the truth written in the Bible or found in the Old Testament, but truth that had entered into him.
When John wrote the Gospel of John, he opened up this matter of truth. What does it mean when the Lord says, “I am the truth”? It means that He is the true light, the true bread, and the true vine.
Throughout the Gospel of John, especially in the first twelve chapters, we see that life was in Him, and that life was the light of men. That light was the true light.
If we follow this light, we become sons of light. The story begins with the true light enlightening all mankind.
John was among the first to receive the Lord Jesus. How did he receive Him? One day he saw the true light, met the true life, and heard, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”
The true light shows us that our Lord came to take away all our sins on the cross. Our Lord was our Mediator.
On one hand, He took hold of our hand; on the other hand, He took hold of the Father’s hand, so that we might be reconciled. Now, through our Lord, we may come boldly before His presence.
Before, our sins separated us from God by a great distance. Now we are near—so near.
Sin not only separated man from God; it also separated heaven and earth. Thus, our Lord was not only a Mediator on the cross; He was also the heavenly ladder. One hand held the earth, and the other held heaven. On the cross, heaven and earth were connected once again.
By grace, we are on earth as though in heaven. When we sing, “Hark! the angels sing,” we sing it on earth; but when we enter into the thought of the hymn, it is as if we are in heaven.
During the turbulent days in China, the wife of Hudson Taylor wrote in her diary. At any moment they might have been martyred, yet she wrote that those were four of the most glorious days of their lives.
She said, “We could not distinguish whether we were on earth or whether we were in heaven.” They were in China, on Chinese soil, but during those four days they could not distinguish whether they were in heaven or on earth.
That light is the true light. It shows us not only that our Lord is our Mediator, but also that He is the heavenly ladder.
The Lord not only brings us back to the Garden of Eden. In John 1, life was in Him. In John 4, the living water entered into the Samaritan woman.
Why is life now in us? Because on the cross, that Rock of Ages was cleft for us. From His side flowed blood and water.
Even though we are at the foot of Mount Hermon, we may drink the water from Mount Hermon. When you drink that water, you must say that the water is not only at the top of the mountain; the water is in us.
This life grows in us, and this life works in us. The cross works in us. It does not work by mere outward measurement. From our innermost being flow rivers of living water.
When our life matures, our light also grows. Then we confess our sins, and the blood of our Lord cleanses us from all sin. We are cleansed and sanctified.
The word of the Lord is a lamp to our feet. If we keep His word, we know the truth, and the truth sets us free.
Before, we were in bondage—the bondage of the flesh. We were like the adulterous woman. But when the light came, she was no longer condemned. Why? She followed the light within, and the truth set her free.
The Lord said, “I am the truth.” If the Son sets us free, we shall be free indeed. Then we are His true disciples.
The true light enables us to become true worshippers. The true light enables us to become true disciples.
At the very end, if we follow this light, we become sons of light. We not only receive the life; we are born in the life and grow in the life.
This is not merely abundant life; it is glorious life. When we are conformed to the image of His Son, life becomes abundant, and men see God’s glory in us.
The true light does not merely allow us to understand doctrine or theory. We may study Christology and understand a great deal about Christology, but this is not enough.
The true light will be painful. The true light will cause us to repent. The true light will make us true worshippers. We are no longer outside performing ritual. That is Judaism; that is not Christianity.
True Christianity is this: the true light makes us true worshippers. We can worship the Father anywhere. May the Lord open our eyes.
This is service based on Christ as the truth. If we are to serve God, we have to preach Christ and bring all men before Him.
What is the way? When Christ brings us to the Father, that is the way. Any way that does not lead to the Father is not the way.
The light is the true light, but He is not only the true light. He is also the true loaf.
We see the miracle of the five loaves and two fish. This is the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels.
It is also unique among the miracles. In many miracles, the disciples were merely observers. It was like watching a basketball game: the Lord was playing, and they were watching.
A miracle, according to the Bible, is the finger of God. Whenever God moves His finger, a miracle happens.
But in the miracle of the five loaves and two fish, the disciples were not simply observers. They were participants. This is the only miracle in which they participated.
What is service? Every true service is a miracle. Do not think that because you know how to preach, you can save people. There is no golden mouth on earth that can save a soul.
Every person who is saved is a miracle. You cannot do it, and I cannot do it. When the Holy Spirit moves His finger, that person is saved.
You cannot explain why many people are saved in one place. You may say, “We have many gifted preachers.” Certainly, Jonathan Edwards was a gifted preacher, and Billy Graham was a gifted speaker. But every person who is saved is a miracle.
All those who preach the gospel and serve the Lord must forever remember this: every person who is saved is a miracle. It is not because you know how to speak. The Holy Spirit moves His finger, and someone is saved.
Unless Christ does it, nobody will be saved. What is service? Service means that our Lord is doing His miracle, and He wants us to partake in it.
Our Lord blessed the five loaves and two fish. On one hand, He gave thanks; then He broke the bread.
All the bread that the Lord blesses is broken. Many times we want His blessing, but we do not want to be broken. Yet if we are not broken, the miracle will not happen.
When the Lord broke the bread, He passed it to the disciples. The disciples received it and gave it out. There were five loaves, yet five thousand were fed.
This miracle is the Lord’s miracle. What was the disciples’ contribution? They did nothing except receive what came from the Lord and give it out.
This is service. The Lord is gracious to us. He sees us, and He wants to do a miracle. I do not know where the Lord will do a miracle, nor do I know when He will save thousands. But the Lord invites us to partake in His miracle.
Five loaves and two fish were not enough even for one person, much less for twelve disciples. But once they were given to the Lord, He blessed them, and through a miracle five loaves and two fish fed five thousand.
This is why we are blessed today. This is why we have a harvest today. How can five loaves and two fish feed five thousand? You say that it is impossible. But do not forget: this is a miracle.
When we give out the bread, what we give out is what the Lord has already done.
Then the disciples gathered twelve baskets full of leftovers. This passage shows us that the Lord has prepared a feast in the wilderness—a great banquet.
How do you know that a banquet belongs to someone very wealthy? You ask how many leftovers are taken up. The abundance of the leftovers reveals the riches of the banquet.
Each disciple received a basket full of leftovers—twelve baskets full. These were not small market baskets. They were large travelling baskets.
When Jews travelled, they did not eat with the Gentiles or sleep where the Gentiles slept. They carried large travelling bags with food and straw, so that they could rest in the wilderness.
Thus, the twelve baskets speak of those travelling bags. Before the miracle, five loaves and two fish were not enough to feed one person. After the Lord’s blessing, every disciple carried away a basket full.
All those who serve the Lord have this experience: the more you serve, the more satisfied you are. You may stand up empty to speak for the Lord, yet after you have finished, inwardly you are full.
Many times we study a book of the Bible for twenty hours and wonder, “How can we speak for twenty hours?” Do not forget: the more you speak, the more satisfied you are. You wonder how the time passed so quickly.
In the wilderness, He prepares a banquet, and five loaves and two fish feed everybody.
Many modernists say that they do not believe this miracle. They say it is impossible, so they change God’s word. They suggest that every person in the multitude took out his own food and shared it.
May the Lord open our eyes. This is a miracle.
Does a miracle contradict the natural law? No. The natural law was created by God. God will not overturn the natural law, and none of the miracles in the Bible go against the natural law.
How then could the five thousand be fed? Do not forget that our Lord said He is the true bread. All barley is according to the true barley.
Our Lord said:
Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
—John 12:24
The loaf is a barley loaf, but our Lord is the true barley. All barley is according to the true barley. When you go through the fields, do you know how the Lord created barley? He knew that one day the true Bread would come down to earth.
Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit.
A few grains mature; then they are ground into flour, oil is added, and they are baked. Then you have a loaf.
All of this is a shadow. Only Christ is the reality. If this loaf satisfies you, gives you peace, and gives you enjoyment, it is because the true loaf has come down from heaven.
The multiplication of the five loaves and two fish was multiplication, not addition. Every biologist can tell you that a grain grows geometrically.
Life is a mystery. We began as one cell, then two cells. At forty years of age, a person has grown to full stature. This is the way life grows.
When you go through the fields and see a grain of wheat become a harvest, do you think that is not a miracle? There is a truth here.
In that miracle there were five loaves and two fish. Our Lord is the true loaf.
He hung on the cross for us, rose from the dead, and ascended to heaven. The Father anointed Him. In the Old Testament, you see the waving of the two loaves. He is the true loaf.
What do you use today to satisfy others? What do you use today to serve? Are you feeding others with a message from yourself, or are you feeding them with the true bread?
The true loaf is not yours. The true loaf is the Lord Himself. The miracle is the Lord’s. He went to the cross, rose from the dead, and ascended to heaven.
He is the bread that came down from heaven. When the Holy Spirit came, the bread came down to us as well. From now on, we need no longer hunger. As long as we have the Lord, we are satisfied.
When there is a great need, what do you do? Many people are very capable, but sooner or later they discover that God’s work can only be done by God. All of God’s works are miracles.
The Lord only has to move His little finger, and five thousand are satisfied. When you see the miracle, do not say, “I am a great servant,” or, “I am a great preacher.”
Forgive me for saying this: I dislike it when people say, “I am the preacher.” We are all preachers. We are all priests.
How is the work of God done today? Is it according to spiritual greatness? How did the gospel spread to so many places? Where is the contribution of the great people? We are all priests, and we are all called to serve.
We may teach, and we may have various occupations, but our vocation is to serve. What are you using to serve? Do not forget: use the true bread.
We may memorize passages, sermons, Spurgeon, or Jonathan Edwards’ messages. The Lord is gracious, and when the name of the Lord is exalted, men may be saved. But sooner or later, we must see that He is the true bread.
We mentioned yesterday that the first half of the Jewish calendar is represented by bread. At the Feast of Firstfruits, they waved the firstfruits before God.
How do you know that Canaan is a land flowing with milk and honey? Two things represent it: on one hand, wheat and barley; on the other hand, olives and grapes.
Canaan is but a shadow. Our Lord is the true loaf. The land represents the unsearchable riches of Christ. When Paul served, he gave out the unsearchable riches of Christ to people.
The Lord also said, “I am the true vine.” This does not mean that all other vines are false; it means that because the Lord is the true vine, water passes through Him and becomes wine.
When our Lord turned water into wine, did He go against natural law? No. The natural process already existed; something that normally takes time happened in a moment.
What did He say to Mary? “My hour has not yet come.” What does that mean? Our Lord is the true vine. He came to turn water into wine and to give us the true wine.
Why did He turn water into wine at the wedding? Because someone said, “They have no wine.” But this was not only the situation at that wedding. The Lord came to save the world. He wants to give wine to the world; He wants to give joy to the world.
Thus, it was not merely because there was no wine at the wedding that He turned water into wine. His hour had not yet come.
When you read John 7 and John 8, the Lord repeatedly says that His hour has not yet come. But in John 12, some Greeks came seeking Jesus.
These were disciples of Socrates and Aristotle. They had tried for more than five hundred years to use philosophy to create heaven on earth. They were not successful.
They said, “We wish to see Jesus.” Before this, they wanted to meet Socrates and Aristotle; now they wanted to meet Jesus. Why? Because the wine of the world was used up.
When Jesus heard these words, He said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”
When the world says that there is no wine, when the world has come to its end, the hour of the Son of Man to be glorified has come. The Lord can now go to the cross.
The cross is the great winepress. From the great winepress, the wine flows into the smaller winepress. The great winepress is the cross; the smaller winepress is resurrection.
When our Lord rose from the dead, the true wine flowed into you and me.
The Lord came down to earth not only as the Lamb of God, the heavenly ladder, and the One imparting life through the cleft Rock. He wants us to be even richer. He keeps the best wine until the end.
When we speak of wine, we are speaking of the latter half of the calendar, the Feast of Tabernacles.
Now the hour to turn water into wine has come. On one hand, the time to turn water into wine is now; but this is only the latter half of the calendar. What about the first half?
Only when you add both halves do you have the unsearchable riches of Christ.
Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
—John 12:24
He is the true bread, and He is the true vine. When you put the true vine and the true bread together, and when you add the first and second portions of the Jewish calendar, you see the produce of the land of Canaan.
This is what Paul used to serve the children of God. Not only do you see Him as the true bread; you also see Him as the true wine.
Through the winepress of the cross, we receive the cup of wine. Every time we break bread before the Lord’s table, on one hand we see the loaf; on the other hand we see the cup.
What is in the cup is wine. That wine is the true wine.
The cup speaks of the Lord’s suffering. Though our Lord was broken on the cross, the grape, when ripe, is at its most beautiful. It represents the fullness of life.
The workers in the vineyard gather the grapes, remove their shoes, and begin to tread on the grapes.
When the grape is most ripe, it is at the height of its fullness. When our life is mature, that is when we are blessed most, because we are most like the Lord.
On the Mount of Transfiguration, He was completely mature. His life shone forth from within like the sun. He could have ascended into heaven, but in order to impart life to us, He had to go through suffering.
He was the cluster of grapes for you and for me. When you see the winepress, you see the fullness of life. The grape is disfigured, though before it was full of life.
When the wine is pressed out of the grape, the Lord has poured out His soul. Isaiah 53 tells us this. How was the Lord crucified? His soul was poured out.
The wine flows from the great winepress into the smaller winepress and then flows out into the world.
In winter, no matter how poor a Jewish family may be, they always have a cup of wine. Yet while they drink the wine, where is the vine? The vine is in the snow, as though forgotten by people.
This is the story of the grape; it is the story of the true vine. It is the story of our Lord. How many people today forget what the Lord has done for us?
Yet when spring comes, the vine bears fruit again. Thank the Lord.
Not only is our Lord like the vine; all those who serve God are like the vine. Before Paul was martyred, he said that the time of his departure had come and that he was being poured out as a drink offering.
In the Old Testament, whatever sacrifice the priest offered, he took a cup of wine and poured it upon the offering. This was the drink offering.
Paul was like a vine throughout his life. “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” Our Lord is the true vine, and Paul was a branch.
At the end of his life, there was a cup of wine. Paul went through the winepress and through many experiences, becoming that drink offering. He could have drunk the wine, but that cup was to be poured out.
When that cup was poured out, Paul was martyred. What does that mean? The life of the vine is not only a life that is broken, torn apart, and stripped; there is also a cup that must be poured out.
This is service based on Christ. May the Lord open our eyes.
There was a woman poet named Harriet King. In 1948, she wrote a beautiful poem about the life of the vine. Her writing stands among the finest English devotional poetry.
Watchman Nee found one of her poems. Her collection was called Disciples. I found this book, and it was one for which I paid a very high price in dollars. But I thought it was worth it.
When Brother Nee saw this poem, he was in a time of rejection. He wanted to serve, but the Lord had not given him the opportunity. He had done nothing wrong.
In 1948, at a meeting in Shanghai, he took a pile of paper. On those papers he had translated the poem into Chinese. He gave it to everybody and said, “The papers I have in my hand are full of gold.”
If you read the whole poem, it describes the life that every follower of the Lord must pass through. We do not have time to read the entire poem, but I would like to read its final verse.
Measure thy life by loss instead of gain,
Not by the wine drunk, but the wine poured forth;
For love’s strength standeth in love’s sacrifice,
And whoso suffers most hath most to give.
Our Lord is not only the true life. Even more, He is the true vine.
When you put the true vine and the true loaf together, these are the unsearchable riches of Christ.
When our Lord spoke of the grain of wheat falling into the earth, He said, “If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there shall My servant be also.”
Here is the calling. Are we willing to answer His call? If anyone wants to serve Him, he must follow Him.
Where is the Lord? He went through the cross and resurrection. He brought to us the entire harvest.
Why is the land of Canaan called Beulah land, a land flowing with milk and honey? Milk is the essence of the animal kingdom, and honey is the essence of plant life. When you put these two together, you have a picture of the riches of Christ.
We must use this truth to serve. If we understand the truth, the Lord will call us. Wherever He is, we are.
He is the true vine, and we are the branches. He is the true bread. Though we are many members, we are one bread.
Every time we break bread, on one hand we remember Him. This is our worship. At the same time, it is our fellowship. We have fellowship with all the brothers and sisters.
Our Lord is the true vine, and we are the branches. If we are true branches, then we truly love one another.
Though we are many members, we are one bread. You may say, “This is too painful. We have to be with those who are unlovely. We have to break bread with those who do not see eye to eye with us.”
No matter what happens, the Lord is the One who makes us one. We are all merely grains of wheat.
You may say, “I have my dignity. I have my integrity.” But when you insist on keeping your own grain of wheat, you do not have unity. You remain an individual.
Perhaps you are a great person—perhaps you are John Nelson Darby—but the Lord calls us one bread. We are all one bread.
How can we become one bread? When the grain is truly ripe, it bows down.
Tares keep standing tall, but when wheat becomes mature, it bows down. Not only does it bow down; it is willing to be ground into flour. Then together we become bread.
We are baptized into one body and put into the oven. What is love? Love is longsuffering.
Sometimes when we eat too quickly, we bite our tongue because it is so close to us. Can we then say that we shall never again have anything to do with our tongue? How could we eat?
Why do you bite your tongue but not your toes? The brothers and sisters in distant places may seem very lovely because they are far away. The ones who cause you suffering are the ones beside you.
The Lord puts us into an oven. The Bible says that love is longsuffering. If you leave whenever you suffer, there is no bread.
We all share this same experience. Though we are many members, we are one bread. That loaf is the true loaf.
What is the church? The church is to show forth that He is the true bread. When we are one bread, the world knows that God sent His Son.
This is the true truth, and we use this truth to serve the children of God.
We all want to serve. But here is the question: do we all serve in this way? If we do not, can God still work? Of course God can work.
What is service? Service is not working for God; it is allowing God to work.
Do not work to the point that you forget whose workmanship you are. So many times, when we preach, we preach our own sermon and begin to manifest ourselves.
We may understand theory. We may speak well and memorize spiritual truths. But are we truly serving? Only the Lord knows our condition.
The Lord calls us to use us not because we are capable, but because we are available. What the Lord wants to cultivate is not our work, but the worker.
How do we allow Him to work in us? Let us read a Scripture.
Let us turn to Exodus 34. This is the account of Moses praying for glory.
Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth.”
—Exodus 34:6
Scholars who understand Hebrew and Greek tell us that if we carefully read this verse, “lovingkindness and truth” corresponds to what John says: “grace and truth.”
“Abounding in lovingkindness and truth” is equivalent to being full of grace and truth. Grace and truth came through Christ, and He declared the Father from the bosom of the Father.
Moses received a revelation. Moses had been discouraged; he said, “I am not going any further.” But God revealed Himself as the Lord.
In the Old Testament, Moses saw only His back. Only in the New Testament can we see Him face to face, when the Holy Spirit illuminates our hearts.
The Lord God is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth.
Moses looked forward to see God’s glory, just as Isaiah saw the glorious Lord and his problems were solved. Before, Moses served according to the law, but it was service in the shadow.
In the Old Testament, service was through the law. But for us, revelation is so important: God is abounding in lovingkindness and truth.
Let us turn to Jonah 4.
But it greatly displeased Jonah, and he became angry.
—Jonah 4:1
He prayed to the Lord and said, “Please, Lord, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that Thou art a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and One who relents concerning calamity.”
—Jonah 4:2
Is Jonah here not seeing what Moses saw? Moses saw that God was abounding in lovingkindness and truth. Jonah knew that God was gracious and compassionate.
But Jonah changed the word “truth” into his own understanding: “One who relents concerning calamity.” Jonah knew the truth, but he knew it according to his own interpretation.
The New Testament says that Christ is full of grace and truth. That is the God Jonah should have known.
Jonah knew God, and according to what he knew, he served. Did Jonah know the truth? Of course he did.
In today’s terms, Jonah could have attended a seminary. Seminary enables you to know God in many ways. Jonah knew that God was compassionate, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness.
But Jonah’s knowledge of truth became, “One who relents concerning calamity.” Here is something amazing: when Jonah said these words, he was greatly displeased and angry.
When we are angry, we often cannot pray. But Jonah was angry, and he still prayed—yet his prayer was a complaint.
When you read Jonah, you find many paradoxes. Jonah is one of the prophetic books, but it contains very little prophecy.
Do not think that Jonah is a minor prophet in the sense that he was insignificant. Major and minor prophets are called such because of the length of their books, not because one was spiritually greater than another.
Jeremiah is called a major prophet because his book is long. Yet Jonah must be counted as a great prophet, for our Lord said, “Behold, something greater than Jonah is here.”
Our Lord compared Himself with Jonah. Therefore, Jonah must have been a great prophet.
A prophet ought to be one who obeys. In today’s words, wherever the Lamb goes, we follow. Yet in this book, when the Lord told Jonah to go east, he went west.
If we do that, perhaps we do not think it is a great matter. My oldest son did that all the time. If I told him to go east, he went west; if I told him to go west, he went east. So when I really wanted him to go east, I told him to go west.
We may act like that, but can a major prophet do that? We often think that if a little brother does wrong, it is understandable; but if an elder brother does wrong, we are shocked.
The Book of Jonah is different from other prophetic books. It speaks not so much about prophecy as about the prophet himself.
Jonah’s prophecy was only five words in Hebrew:
Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
—Jonah 3:4
The remarkable thing is that this prophecy was never fulfilled. Would you not be angry? God received all the glory because Nineveh repented, but Jonah’s one prophecy was not fulfilled.
Nineveh was a great city. God wanted it to repent, and it did. Jonah was greatly displeased and angry.
God has many servants. He appointed a great fish, and that fish was a servant of God. Jonah was told to go east, but he went west.
Why was Jonah’s conscience not troubled? He knew the truth. God had said:
Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.
—Jonah 1:2
Jonah reasoned, “You are a compassionate God. You relent concerning calamity. Therefore, because I understand this truth, I fled to Tarshish.”
Why did Jonah flee? Because he knew God. He knew that if Nineveh repented, it would continue to exist.
Nineveh was the capital of Assyria. Jonah, as a prophet, could see what was coming. He knew that the ten tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel would one day be carried captive into Assyria.
Jonah loved his own people. He loved God’s testimony. If he went to Nineveh and the people repented, then according to the truth he knew, Assyria would remain and one day capture Israel.
Therefore, Jonah fled. He thought that going to Tarshish would delay everything. A journey there and back could take three years. He thought that Nineveh might fall before he returned.
He was willing to exile himself for the sake of his people. He considered himself a hero, a man of high moral principle, acting for God’s testimony and for God’s people.
But he was doing something against God’s will. He fled quickly, all the way to Joppa.
A ship to Tarshish came only once every three years. How could Jonah find a ship at just that time? He had enough money for the fare. He could easily conclude that this must be God’s will.
So he boarded the ship. The Bible says that he went down to Joppa, down into the ship, and then down into the hold, where he slept.
His conscience did not bother him. He had sweet dreams. A servant of God can go in the opposite direction and yet have a conscience that does not trouble him.
Jonah was hypnotizing himself with his own understanding of truth. His conscience was clear.
But God loved Jonah. God created an environment: He brought a storm, and the ship began to shake.
All the sailors prayed, though they prayed to idols. Yet the one who knew the true God, Jonah, was asleep.
The captain had to go down into the hold and say, “What are you doing, sleeping? Arise, call on your God!”
Do you remember that God had said, “Arise, go to Nineveh”? Jonah did not arise; he went down into the hold. Now a Gentile captain had to tell him, “Arise and pray to your God.” Is that not embarrassing?
Jonah could not flee from God. Everybody knew that he was fleeing from God.
When Jonah could hide no longer, he testified: “I am a Hebrew. I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
Even though he had failed, he was still God’s servant. He told them that he was fleeing from God, and because of his disobedience the ship was almost destroyed.
Many times, because we have not been faithful, the church suffers. Yet God has a way of dealing with the disobedient servant.
When Jonah’s shame was revealed, the sailors asked, “What should we do to you that the sea may become calm for us?”
Jonah said, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea.”
This expression, “pick me up,” is significant. Do you remember when the Lord said, “If I am lifted up, I will draw all men unto Myself”?
This disobedient Jonah, who thought that he knew the truth, had to go through death. He had to be picked up and thrown into the sea. Only then could he have the experience of death.
For this disobedient servant, the only way was to go through death.
The sailors tried to row back to land, but finally God’s will could not be changed. Jonah had to be thrown into the sea.
When they threw him into the sea, the sailors were saved. They had heard him testify concerning God. They greatly feared the Lord, offered a sacrifice to the Lord, and made vows.
In Jonah 2, Jonah prayed in the belly of the fish. The sailors were saved, and Jonah himself needed to be saved—from himself.
Jonah was thrown into the sea. Jonah 2 is the prayer of Jonah in the belly of the fish. This was the most difficult place in which to pray.
Some people have tried to explain how Jonah could survive in the belly of a fish. We do not know every detail, but we know that God created kinds of fish without teeth, into whose mouths ocean water can enter.
There have been accounts in history of animals and even men being found in the belly of large fish. But the important point is this: Jonah prayed in the belly of the fish.
This was the most difficult place to pray, yet it is one of the finest prayers in the Bible. The prayer is gathered from many psalms. When man’s words are useless, God’s word remains.
When Jonah was going through death, he was able to pray. He was there three days and three nights. Then the Lord commanded the fish, and the fish vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Though Jonah was a failure, when he was in the belly of the fish, he became a type of Christ.
Remember that our Lord was in the earth three days and three nights, and then He rose again. Jonah’s experience became a picture of Christ’s experience: death and resurrection.
When you read Matthew, the Lord says that there is no sign given but the sign of Jonah:
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
—Matthew 12:40
Jonah went down to Joppa, down into the ship’s hold, down to the roots of the mountains, and into Sheol. Yet God saved him from the pit and placed him in the belly of the fish.
From the belly of Sheol to the belly of the fish, he passed from one death to another death. But the death of a Christian is not the death of Sheol. It is a death prepared for resurrection.
What did Jonah say? “Salvation is from the Lord.”
This is the story of Jonah 1 and Jonah 2. In Jonah 3, Jonah learned obedience.
The second time the word of the Lord came to Jonah:
Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you.
—Jonah 3:2
So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh. He was a stranger in Nineveh, and he preached five words: “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.”
Today we may think that we need a golden mouth and an eloquent sermon. Jonah had only five words, in a foreign language and with a foreign accent. People could have laughed at him.
But Jonah was obedient. God gave him five words, and that was enough.
The entire city of Nineveh repented. There were one hundred and twenty thousand persons who did not know the difference between their right hand and their left, and the city itself may have had at least a million inhabitants.
Throughout history, no such great thing had happened. From top to bottom, everybody repented. They did not give food even to the animals, and the animals cried out as the people cried out in repentance.
God saw their repentance and did not bring calamity upon them.
Why were so many people saved? If someone is obedient to what God says, even five words can save an entire city.
The explanation is in Luke 11. Matthew says that Jonah was three days and three nights in the fish; Luke says that Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites.
Jonah himself became a miracle. The greatest miracle is resurrection from the dead.
The Ninevites worshipped the fish god. Then someone came out of the belly of a fish. To them, he had overcome their fish god.
When they saw Jonah, full of scars and wounds, coming from the belly of the fish, they knew that he should have been swallowed up. Yet he had overcome the fish.
In New Testament language, as Jonah walked through Nineveh bearing the marks of the prophet and speaking those five simple words, everyone repented.
We want revival. We want many people to be saved. We are amazed at what God has done in Korea and in other places. How do we explain such things?
The explanation is that, to this world, God’s servants become a miracle. They have passed through the belly of the fish. They are full of wounds, and they may not have many words.
From top to bottom, people accept the Lord.
To arrive at the fullness of the harvest, the grain of wheat must fall into the earth, and the grape must be crushed so that the wine can be poured out.
When you preach the gospel, if you bear the wounds of the cross, you may not even believe the result that follows.
Jonah should have been happy. “What did I do to have such a response?” May the Lord open our eyes.
A disobedient Jonah became one through whom God could work. Through death and resurrection, through bearing the cross, God brought forth a full harvest.
Do we not want revival, especially in Singapore and especially among the young people? When we see young people being lost and captivated, what is the reason?
If, at home, parents are like Jonah—if children see the scars and wounds upon us—then, even though the world is attractive, the Lord will become even more attractive to them.
Do not use the world’s methods. That is impossible. What is needed is for God’s children to be willing to obey before Him.
We do not merely work for God; we allow God to work in us.
Those of us who think we know the truth often try to teach others, while our conscience does not trouble us. God can deal with us. He can correct us, because He loves us and wants to use us.
When He uses us again, we may be full of scars and wounds. Paul said:
From henceforth let no man trouble me; for I bear branded on my body the marks of Jesus.
—Galatians 6:17
When death began to work in Paul, life began to work in others. Do you have scars?
Amy Carmichael was a missionary to India associated with the Keswick Convention. She wrote the hymn “Hast Thou No Scar?” It is a very precious hymn.
Brother Watchman Nee translated this hymn and later added a few verses. It became a hymn among us.
Let me read it.
Hast thou no scar?
No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand?
I hear thee sung throughout the land,
I hear them hail thy shining star.
Hast thou no scar? Hast thou no scar?
Hast thou no wound?
Yet I was wounded by the archers, spent,
Leaned Me against a tree to die; and rent
By ravening beasts that compassed Me, I swooned.
Hast thou no wound? Hast thou no wound?
No wound? No scar?
Yet as the Master shall the servant be,
And pierced are the feet that follow Me;
But thine are whole: can he have followed far
Who has no wound nor scar?
When we sing this hymn, it reminds us of the story of Jonah.
Our time is already gone, but tonight is the last evening. I would like to borrow a little time to sing this hymn.
If you know how to hum it, please hum it. If you know how to sing it, please sing it. Let us sing these three verses, and then let us have some prayer.
After we sing, let us have some very short prayers according to the Spirit.