If someone asked me what type of person I am, I would answer that I am like them all. Practically speaking, these nine types represent nine aspects of man’s inward condition. The only difference between these types in our experience is the degree to which these aspects are manifested. The manifestation of a certain aspect may be more obvious than the manifestation of another aspect, but regardless of whether we are male or female, young or old, we all have the same inward condition. Some may manifest morality more than immorality, and others may manifest immorality more than weakness. For example, we know that we should obey our parents, but we do not have the strength to obey them. We also know that we need to help and love others, but we are weak and impotent in doing this. Hunger and thirst are a very common condition, because people are constantly seeking satisfaction. Being condemned because of sin is also a common human condition. Husbands condemn their wives, wives condemn their husbands, parents condemn their children, and children often condemn their parents in their hearts. This condemnation is related to sins. Furthermore, we have all been born blind because we are unable to see the truth before we are saved. Furthermore, every person who is not saved is far from God and dead in offenses and sins (Eph. 2:1).
These nine types of people represent nine conditions of the human race, and all nine types need Jesus. The moral Nicodemus needed the Lord’s regeneration. Even a moral and honorable person needs the Lord in order to be regenerated so that he can enter into the kingdom of God. In order to enter into the kingdom of God one must have the divine life. Therefore, moral people need Jesus. The immoral Samaritan woman also needed the Lord Jesus to quench her thirst. Base and low people need Jesus because immorality is a sign that one does not have God. When people are without God, they become immoral because they seek for happiness in sin. In order to be delivered from sin and to have real happiness, a person must have God.
Those who are dying need the Lord, and those who are impotent and do not have the strength to be freed from sin need the Lord Jesus. Everyone who is impotent in regard to a particular weakness is like a person who is lying on a mat and unable to rise up. To some their “mat” is smoking, and to others their “mat” is mah-jongg. Those who are impotent do not have the strength to rise up from their “mat”; they even rely upon their “mats” as a means of support. However, if you have the Lord Jesus, you do not need to remain on your mat, because the Lord said, “Rise, take up your mat and walk” (John 5:8). Once you have the Lord Jesus, you will not need to rely on your mat; you will be able to take up your mat and walk. Although you were once enslaved to your mat, you can become the master of your mat by receiving the Lord. Without the Lord, a person is impotent and stuck to his mat, whether it is smoking, mah-jongg, or something else. However, when you receive the Lord Jesus, you can rise up, be delivered from your mat, and be strong rather than impotent, no longer being enslaved to sin (Rom. 6:6). Those who are impotent have a great need of the Lord Jesus.
Those who are hungry need the Lord Jesus as their food. The Lord said, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall by no means hunger, and he who believes into Me shall by no means ever thirst” (John 6:35). The Lord is not only the bread of life but also the fountain of living water. According to His promise, those who drink of Him will never thirst again. Likewise, those who are born blind need the Lord because they cannot see where man came from or where man is going. Truthfully speaking, many intelligent people in this world are blind inwardly. One day we were preaching the gospel in Shanghai, and a brother drew a cartoon of a blind person who had a Ph.D. This cartoon was an accurate representation of many educated people. Although their minds may be filled with knowledge and they may understand many matters related to science and philosophy, they cannot provide an answer to the question of where man came from and where man is going. They do not know the meaning of human life because they are blind. Although they are filled with knowledge, they are actually groping in darkness, without any trace of light.
This is the situation of those who are highly educated, those who are in high positions, and those who are in the business world. They are always busy, seeking promotions and wealth, but they do not know anything of their future destiny. How blind they are! These people need Jesus. Finally, if man does not have God, he does not have life. Those who are without God are just like dead people living in tombs. Whenever such a one receives the Lord Jesus, he is resurrected and released from his “tomb.” Therefore, as those who are dead, people particularly need Jesus.
All the people in chapters 3 through 11 of the Gospel of John need Jesus. A high-class, moral person needs Jesus. An unsatisfied sinner needs Jesus. A weak and impotent person needs Jesus. Those who are hungry and thirsty need Jesus. A person enslaved to sin needs Jesus. A blind person groping in darkness needs Jesus, and a person in death needs Jesus. No matter what type of person you are or what condition you are in, you need Jesus.
When we meet the Lord Jesus, our needs are satisfied. When people believe into Him, they do not perish but have eternal life. Whenever people have God, they do not need to seek for happiness in sin because they have real happiness. When the impotent have Him, they are strengthened. When the hungry have Him, they are fed. When the thirsty have Him, their thirst is quenched with living water. When the despised have Him, they are not condemned. When those walking in darkness have Him, they have the way and are in the light. When the dead have Him, they have resurrection and life. Man’s only need is the Lord Jesus Himself. We need the Lord Jesus all the time.
After showing that the Lord Jesus meets the need of every man, John spoke of the vine in chapter 15. Verses 4 and 5 say, “Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.” Verses 7 and 8 say, “If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. In this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and so you will become My disciples.” We need to abide in the Lord because He is the vine and we are the branches. If we are apart from Him, we cannot do anything, and we will be useless. We need to contact the Lord and fellowship with Him so that He can meet our every need. This is what the Gospel of John reveals. The Lord Jesus is the Word who became flesh to be among men to satisfy man’s needs. However, in order for Him to meet our needs we need to receive Him.
Neither the Gospel of John nor the Gospel of Matthew speaks of the Lord Jesus’ ascension. After His resurrection the Lord charged the disciples to go and preach the gospel, to disciple the nations, and to baptize them into the name of the Triune God (Matt. 28:19). However, there is no mention of His ascension in the Gospel of Matthew. John 20 records the Lord Jesus’ resurrection, but there also is no mention of His ascension in the Gospel of John. In chapter 21 He is with the disciples in His resurrection life to live in them and to walk in them. This shows that the Gospel of John stresses the Lord’s being in us. We need to fellowship with the Lord all the time; He is in us waiting for us to contact Him and expecting to fellowship with us. God came from the heavens to the earth to become a man. He passed through human living, crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and became a life-giving Spirit to enter into us and be with us. In our fellowship with Him, He can take care of all our needs. This is His way of salvation; He is our unique need.