Jesus suffered without the gate. This fact is the basis on which the Apostle bases his exhortation to the Hebrew believers to go forth without the camp. The cross of Christ closed his connection with the camp of Judaism, and all who desire to follow Him must go outside to where He is. The final breach with Israel is presented, morally, in the death of Christ; doctrinally, in the epistle to the Hebrews; historically, in the destruction of Jerusalem. In the judgment of faith, Jerusalem was as thoroughly rejected when the Messiah was nailed to the cross, as it was when the army of Titus left it a smoldering ruin. The instincts of the divine nature, and the inspired teachings of Scripture, go before the actual facts of history.
“Jesus . . . suffered without the gate.” For what end? “That He might sanctify [or set apart] the people with His own blood.” What follows? What is the necessary practical result? “Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach.”
But what is “the camp”? Primarily, Judaism, but, most unquestionably, it has a moral application to every organized system of religion under the sun. If that system of ordinances and ceremonies which God Himself had set up — if Judaism, with its imposing ritual, its splendid temple, its priesthood and its sacrifices, has been faulted, condemned and set aside, what shall be said of any or all of those organizations framed by a human hand? If our Lord Jesus Christ is outside of that, how much more is He outside of these!
Another has said: “The camp [is] a religious people connected with the world down here. A worldly religion, which forms a system in which the world can walk, and in which the religious element is adapted to man on the earth, is the denial of Christianity.”
Yes, we may rest assured that the outside place, the place of rejection and reproach, is that to which we are called, if indeed we would know true fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ. Mark the words! “Let us go forth.” Will any Christian say, “No; I cannot go forth. My place is inside the camp. I must work there”? If so, then your place is clearly not with Jesus, for He is as surely outside the camp as He is on the throne of God. If your sphere of work lies inside the camp, when your Master tells you to go forth, what shall we say for your work? Can it have your Lord’s approving smile? It may exhibit His overruling hand, and illustrate His sovereign goodness, but can it possibly have His unqualified approval while carried on in a sphere from which He peremptorily commands you to go forth?
The all-important thing for every true servant is to be found exactly where his Master would have him. The question is not, “Am I doing a great deal of work?” but, “Am I pleasing my Master?” I may seem to be doing wonders in the way of work; my name may be heralded to the ends of the earth as a most laborious, devoted and successful workman, and, all the while, I may be in an utterly false position, indulging my own unbroken will, pleasing myself, and seeking some personal end or object.
All this is very solemn indeed, and demands the consideration of all who really desire to be found in the current of God’s thoughts. We live in a day of much wilfulness. The commandments of Christ do not govern us. We think for ourselves, in place of submitting ourselves absolutely to the authority of the Word. When our Lord tells us to go forth without the camp, we, instead of yielding a ready obedience, begin to reason as to the results which we can reach by remaining within. Scripture seems to have little or no power over our souls. We do not aim at simply pleasing Christ. Provided we can make great show of work, we think all is right. We are more occupied with results which, after all, may only tend to magnify ourselves, than with the earnest purpose to do what is agreeable to the mind of Christ.