When the Pharisees saw that the Sadducees were put to silence by Jesus, a learned one among them came and tried to tempt Him with another question. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” (Matt. 22:36).
Jesus answered the lawyer, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matt. 22:37-40).
When the Lord replied in such a way, none of those questioning Him had anything more to say. Eventually, all their mouths were shut. No matter what question they asked the Lord, He was too wise for them.
Following these four questions, the Lord asked them a question. “While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus questioned them, saying, What do you think concerning the Christ? Whose Son is He? They say to Him, David’s. He says to them, How then does David in spirit call Him Lord, saying, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit on My right hand until I put Your enemies underneath Your feet? If then David calls Him Lord, how is He his Son? And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone from that day dare to question Him any more” (Matt. 22:41-46).
Those trying to entangle the Lord had asked questions concerning religion, politics, faith, and the interpretation of the Scriptures. The first question was a question of religion: What is your authority? What is your religion? The second question was a question of politics, of whether or not they should pay taxes to the Roman Empire. The third question was a question of faith or belief. What is your belief regarding the resurrection? And the last question was a question of scriptural interpretation. How do you interpret the Bible?
Today there are many who spend nearly all their time on these four things. They are working for religion, politics, belief or faith, and the interpretation of the Scriptures. Nevertheless, very few are concerned for the living Christ Himself. Many are concerned about all the different problems, but they do not care for Christ. The situation is very much the same as it was when the Lord Jesus was on the earth.
The Lord Jesus asked those who were questioning Him, “What do you think concerning the Christ? Whose Son is He?” They had the accurate scriptural knowledge; they answered that He was the Son of David. They had the Scriptures; yet Christ Himself was in their presence, and they were fighting against Him. They held the Bible in their hands, but at the same time they tried to entangle Christ with their questions.
How careful we need to be lest we repeat the same story. It is possible for us to fall into the same trap of holding the Bible and yet missing the presence of Christ. Today there are many who care for the Bible and yet miss Christ Himself. In a sense, they are also fighting against Christ.
I have no intention of criticizing anyone or damaging anyone; my burden is simply for Christ Himself, and I must stand up and speak for Him. I would ask you whether you are merely for the Bible, or you are for Christ Himself. For us, it should be “Jesus only!” The opposers of the Lord Jesus had the Bible and the accurate knowledge; yet they were opposing Christ. “Who is Christ? Whose Son is He?” They answered that He was the Son of David. They were correct concerning the knowledge in their mind, but there was nothing of the heavenly vision in their spirit.
Then the Lord asked them, if Christ is the Son of David, “How then does David in spirit call Him Lord?” How can David as the great-great-grandfather call Christ, his great-great-grandson, Lord? They had the knowledge, but they did not have the revelation. They could answer in the way of knowledge, but they could not discern in the spirit. They knew doctrinally that Christ was the Son of David, but they did not have the revelation in the spirit that this Christ who is, on one hand, the Son of David, is also the Lord of all. They were completely in the realm of their mind and not in the realm of the spirit. They had the Bible, but they missed Christ Himself.
How can we serve today in the New Testament service? To serve is to care for Jesus only. How much the Bible in letters has become an enemy to Christ Himself! How many dear ones have been distracted, frustrated, and kept away from Christ by the mere knowledge of the Bible! Certainly this does not mean that we do not need the Bible. We need it, but we need it in the spirit in a living way. We should be careful not to let the knowledge of the Bible frustrate us, distract us, or keep us away from Christ.
For the past seven or eight years, by the Lord’s mercy, I have been telling the saints that the crucial thing is not a matter of knowledge, not a matter of teaching, but absolutely a matter of the living Christ. It is a matter of His living presence, His living Spirit. Christ today is the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). The letter kills, the knowledge deadens, and the Bible merely in the letter veils, frustrates, and distracts (2 Cor. 3:6). We need the living Bible, the living Word, and the living teaching. We need to turn ourselves from the realm of our mind to our spirit and learn as David did to call Him Lord. We would say, “O Lord! O Lord! O Lord! I do not care for any knowledge or teaching. I only care for You in my spirit.”
By all these questions, we see that the leaders of human society in that day were paying their attention only to the matters of religion, politics, faith, and the interpretation of the Bible. Today the situation is much the same. Both in the secular world and in the religious world, many are still paying attention to these things. Very few pay attention to Christ Himself.
The Lord is still asking today, “What do you think of Christ?” It is not a question of religion, politics, faith, or a fundamental interpretation of the Bible. What do you think about Christ? This is the question of questions. All the other questions are of little importance. Only Christ counts. Regardless of how many questions you may solve, if you do not have Christ, you still do not have the answer. What do you think about Christ, and whose Son is He? To know Christ is not merely to know what He did; it is to know mainly who He is. It is to know His person, His nature, His being.
There are many today who, although they believe in Christ, know nothing of the mysterious person of Christ. On the one hand, He is the Son of Man, and on the other hand, He is the Son of God. This is a mystery. There are Christian leaders and teachers who cannot speak clearly concerning the person and being of Christ. Most of them know simply what He did; very few know who He is.
The Lord Jesus did not ask the Pharisees concerning the birth of Christ or concerning the work of Christ. No, He asked them what they thought of Christ, and whose Son He is. Because they knew the Bible so well, they answered that Christ is the Son of David. If we see the person and being of Christ, however, we will see that the fact that Christ is the Son of David means that He is the Son of Man; yet He is nevertheless the Lord of David because He is the very God, the Lord of all. His being is of two natures. According to His human nature, He is the Son of David. According to His divine nature, however, He is God, the Lord of all. He is a wonderful person and a wonderful being of two natures, human and divine.
We all should realize that the problem we have is nothing but a question of Christ. Let us forget about religion. Let us forget about politics, beliefs, and the interpretation of the Bible, but let us not at all forget about Christ Himself. If you ask me anything concerning religion or politics, I will say that by the Lord’s mercy I do not like to talk about these things. I do not care for all these things. I only care for Christ. Christ is my goal; Christ is my mark.
Again I say, there are many today who pay their full attention to the Bible in the way of letters, yet they care little for the person of Christ. This is the situation today, and how pitiful that situation is. May the Lord be merciful to us that we may be so clear. I love the Bible, but I would only touch it in the presence of the Lord. This is what the Lord is going to recover. In no sense do we despise this holy Word. Speaking in faithfulness, we respect it even more than many others, but we do so in the presence of the Lord and under His anointing. We cannot separate the holy Word from the holy Person. This is the way of the New Testament service.