Life-Study of Johnpor Witness Lee
ISBN: 0-7363-0957-8
Copia impresa: Living Stream Ministry disponible en línea
ISBN: 0-7363-0957-8
Copia impresa: Living Stream Ministry disponible en línea
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The Gospel of John is a book of pictures. It speaks of the divine life and of the functions of this divine life. Both the divine life and its functions are spiritual things. Since it is very difficult to describe them in human language, the Apostle John received the wisdom from the Lord to write his gospel, not only with plain words, but also with figures. Because plain words are inadequate, John also used figures and pictures. In a sense, every case is a picture. In chapter five we saw a vivid picture of the enlivening of the impotent man. In chapter six we have another picture showing us the need of the hungry and life’s feeding.
Verses 1 through 15 of John 6 reveal to us the hungry world and the feeding Christ.
The case in chapter six portrays a scene which reveals where we are in our condition. There is a contrast between the scene of chapter five with the one in chapter six. The scene in chapter five is in the holy city, but the scene in chapter six is in the wilderness. A pool is in the scene of the previous case, and a sea is in this case. The people in the former case are associated with the pool, and the people in the latter case are involved with the sea. The pool is related to religion’s healing, while the sea is related to the people’s living. The person in the fourth case was very weak, needing healing and enlivening, but the people in the fifth case are hungry, needing food and satisfaction. The pool is sacred, being of the Jewish religion; the sea is secular, being of the human society. The person by the pool was impotent, needed life’s enlivening, and was waiting for healing. The people in this case are hungry, need life’s feeding, and are seeking for nourishment.
In typology, the land signifies the earth created by God for man to live upon, and the sea signifies the world corrupted by Satan in which fallen mankind lives. The sea represents Satan’s organized and systematized world where humanity is occupied and enveloped. In this world mankind is hungry and has no satisfaction. In this world mankind is troubled and has no peace. The scene in this chapter portrays all of humanity living in the world corrupted by Satan. They are not living on the land created by God. In the world corrupted by Satan there is no real satisfaction; there is always hunger. Neither is there any peace, for the wind and the waves are always on the sea making trouble for man.
In typology, a mountain signifies a transcendent position. Moses was brought to a mountain in order to receive God’s revelation (Exo. 24:12). The Lord Jesus went to the top of a mountain when He was transfigured (Matt. 17:1-2). The Apostle John was also brought to the transcendent position of a mountain when he saw the eternal vision concerning the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:10). So, in this picture the sea is on a low level, and the mountain is in a transcendent position. The sea signifies the world corrupted by Satan, and the mountain signifies the high, transcendent position where Christ is and where we must be with Him. The Lord did not feed the people by the sea. He led the multitude to the top of a mountain. If you wish to be fed by Christ and to be satisfied with Christ, you must go with Him to a high place. Satisfaction with Christ depends upon our being led to and fed with Christ on the mountain. The mountain is above both the Satan-corrupted world and the God-created earth. Neither the sea nor the earth is a suitable place for us to feed on Christ. If we are going to feed on Him, we must be transcendent above the Satan-corrupted world and above the God-created earth. If we are to enjoy His feeding, we must be on the mountain with Him.
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