Poul Madsen
"Again, on the morrow John was standing, and two of his disciples;
and he looked upon Jesus as he walked, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God!
And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus." John 1:35-37
THIS passage of Scripture starts with the little word "again". The word speaks of repetition, and life consists of repetitions. We can make them dull and dead, a mere routine, or we can make them wonderful new character builders, because living repetition is what produces perseverance and steadfastness. The manna was repeated day by day throughout almost forty years. The Israelites gathered it again and again, getting up in the morning, going out into the fields, stooping down to the ground and picking it up. Was it just a dull monotony, or was it a daily miracle?
It is true that the Israelites often found it irksome, but that was their own fault. They said, "Is there nothing else than this manna? Must we have it again and again?" Quite often I hear people talking like that. Are we going to a meeting again? Are we going to pray again? Are we going to have another convention? They complain about what is to be "again". It is up to us, however, to make the repetitions of life a means of building up a character of perseverance and strength. Nowadays repetitions are not appreciated, for superficial people cry out for novelty. They do not like the word "again", but always want something different. So it is that believers run here and there, living a shallow life instead of having their characters built up by the daily repetition of the essential things of life. Novelties quite often provide escape from the path of duty. It takes real determination to do the same thing in a new way day after day.
Here was John the Baptist again. He did not seem to be interested in variety, as such. He was centred in God, and therefore he had no need for novelties. He concentrated on the will of God day by day, remaining in the spot where God wanted him to be, content to be in the place which God had appointed for him. John was ready to do things again and again, and yet again. You could always find him in the place of duty, and that is just the place where you can always find God. If you want to meet with God, then remain at the place of your duty. Learn to persevere; learn to do the same thing again and again in a living way. Do not seek after novelties, but live day by day with God and for God in the place of duty.
So it was that John stood "again", presenting us with a picture of a man as God wants man to be; a man of strength, of steady character and [64/65] reliability. In our hearts we know that a person should be like that. Those who are always running after the latest thing can seldom be relied upon. They will often be where they ought not to be; they cannot be found where they are needed in the will of God. They themselves imagine that they are seeking God, but if they seek Him in the wrong place, they should not be surprised if they do not find Him. So often God is to be found in the place of the everyday duties of life.
We may ask what John was doing on that most important day. We know that two days before he had had a wonderful experience, and that was a great day for him when he baptised his Lord and saw the Spirit of God come upon Him. "On the morrow he seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world" (v.29). That for him was a great day of testimony. Now what would happen on this next day? Would it not be an anticlimax? The days before had been full of the wonderful glory of the Lord, and now, what could he expect today? He could not count on the same experience and yet, in spite of that, he came to the same place again. Why had he done this? Because in true life every day is unique in its own right. Every day links us to the past, and yet every new day offers us something hitherto unknown. Every day we can rightly say, "This is the day of the Lord", and if we face it in that spirit we shall be grateful for the repetitions. This is the day of the Lord, therefore I read my Bible. I have done it a thousand times before, but this day it will be unique. This is the day of the Lord and therefore we meet together. We have done it hundreds of times before and may imagine that we know all about fellowship; nevertheless this time will be unique. This is life for today. So John was on the same spot, not to repeat his yesterday but to live the new day fully for the Lord. John shows us how to redeem time. If we do this, then time gives us something, but if we allow time to pass by in dull repetition, then we not only lose the day but lose something in our own character.
WE do not know what John had done that day until the tenth hour but one thing is certain, he did not just speak of his experiences of yesterday. He had faith enough to keep quiet and to concentrate on the Lord, waiting for what was new and then for what he should speak. John is a wonderful example of little activity but tremendous power; he was never found on the periphery of things but always in their very centre; living hour by hour with God and only speaking and acting out of a new living experience of Christ. So we are told that he looked upon Jesus and then spoke.
Jesus had not repeated His approach of the previous day. Then he had actually come to him, which was wonderful, whereas this day it says that John looked on Him "as he walked". This was a new way, yet John was not disappointed with the Lord for passing by, but only took a fresh look at Him as He did so and then drew attention to Him. He made no demands on the Lord; he did not try to tell Him how to walk; he just took a fresh look at Him and then was able to speak of Him with effective power. What is preaching but this, looking afresh on the Lord and then speaking fresh, warm words about Him? We may even say the same words about Him. It may appear to be only a repetition. We may have spoken about the Lord so often but, if before speaking we have been allowed to see Him in a new way, then there will be power in our words. This is the secret of preaching, to live every day so that the repetitions are ever new, to look afresh on the Lord Jesus, and then to speak. We need no more than that; but we cannot do with less.
