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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE ONE
THE KING'S ANTECEDENTS AND STATUS
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A WORD OF INTRODUCTION
The Bible is God's speaking. It has two sections. In the
first section, the Old Testament, God spoke by the
prophets, and in the second section, the New Testament,
He spoke in the Son (in the Person of the Son, Heb. 1:1-2).
This section is composed of the four Gospels, the book of
Acts, the Epistles, and the book of Revelation. While He
was in the flesh, the Son began to speak in the four
Gospels. After His resurrection, He continued to speak as
the Spirit through the Apostles (see John 16:12-14). Thus,
the New Testament is just the Son's speaking to us, His
ministering Himself as life and everything that we may
become His Body, His expression, the church.
The Bible is a book of life. This life is nothing less than
the living Person of Christ. In the Old Testament Christ is
portrayed as the coming One. In the New Testament, the
One whose coming was predicted has come. Thus, the New
Testament is the fulfillment of the Old. St. Augustine once
said that the New Testament is contained in the Old, and
the Old Testament is expressed in the New. These two
testaments are actually one, revealing one Person who is
our life.
THE OPENING WORD OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
Nearly all Christians are bothered by the first page of
the New Testament. It has many names that are difficult
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to pronounce. But this page is the first part of the New
Testament. In any kind of writing, both the opening word
and the closing word are important. When many
Christians come to the New Testament, they skip over the
first part of chapter one of Matthew and start reading at
verse 18. It seems that in their New Testament there is no
such paragraph as Matthew 1:1-17. But thank God for this
rich portion of the Word! This genealogy of Christ is an
abstract of the whole Old Testament. It includes
everything except the first ten and a half chapters of
Genesis. If we would know the meaning of this genealogy,
we need to know the entire Old Testament.
A LIVING PICTURE OF CHRIST
We need to say a word concerning the New Testament.
The New Testament is simply a living picture of a Person.
This Person is too wonderful. He is both God and man. He
is the mingling of God with man, for in Him the divine
nature and the human nature are mingled together. He is
the King, and He is a bondslave. He is wonderful!
No human being has ever spoken words like He spoke,
words so profound, yet so clear. For example, Jesus said, "I
am the bread of life" (John 6:35), and, "I am the light of
the world" (John 8:12). Plato and Confucius were two great
philosophers, and people appreciated the things they said,
but neither of them could say, "I am the light of the world."
No one else could say, "I am the life," or, "I am the way,"
or, "I am the reality" (John 14:6). These are simple words
and short sentences--"I am," "I am what I am," and "I am
that I am"--but they are great and profound. Can any of us
say that we are the light of the world or that we are the
life? If we did, we would surely be sent to a mental
hospital. But Jesus could say these things. How great He
is!
FOUR BIOGRAPHIES OF ONE PERSON
Jesus is all-inclusive. With Him there are many
aspects. No one can exhaust in language who and what He
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is. Who else in history has four unique biographies written
of him? Although the New Testament is a short book, it
begins with four biographies of one Person, four books
telling us of the life of Christ.
Each of us has four sides: the front and the back, the
right and the left. If you look at me from the front, you can
see seven holes on my face. But if I turn my back to you,
all the holes disappear. On my right side you can see a
little hole, and on my left side, another little hole. If you
would make an accurate copy of my image, you need to
take a picture of every side. This is exactly what has been
done in the New Testament.
Why do we have four Gospels? Because Christ has at
least four main aspects. Christ is great! Because He is all-
inclusive and unsearchably rich, He needs several
biographies. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John present
different aspects of Christ because each writer was a
different kind of person. Matthew, for instance, was a tax
collector. Among the Jewish people in ancient times, a tax
collector was a despised person. Nevertheless, Matthew
wrote the first biography of Christ. Mark was an ordinary
man, and Luke was a physician and a Gentile. At first,
John was a common fisherman, but eventually he became
the very aged, experienced apostle. Each wrote a different
biography about the same Christ. This living Person needs
many biographies.
THE EXPANSION OF CHRIST
The book of Acts is the expansion of this wonderful
Person. It is the branching out of the all-inclusive Christ.
This Christ has expanded from one Person to thousands
and thousands of persons. He was once the individual
Christ, but in Acts He has become a corporate Christ.
Following the Acts, we have all the Epistles, which give a
full definition of this wonderful, universal, great Man.
Christ is the Head, and the church is the Body: this is the
universal Man, Christ and the church. Finally, we have
the book of Revelation as the consummation of the New
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Testament. this book gives us a full picture of the Body-
Christ, the individual Christ incorporated with all His
members to become the New Jerusalem.
THE ORDER OF THE FOUR GOSPELS
Let us return to the four Gospels. If I were to arrange
the four Gospels, I would put the Gospel of John first.
When reading the Bible, many Christians start with John
and then proceed to read Luke, Mark, and Matthew. The
human concept is the exact opposite of the divine. The
divine concept starts with Matthew and proceeds through
John; the human thought starts with John and goes back
to Matthew. Many of us would begin reading the New
Testament with John because John is so wonderful. It is a
book of life. After John, we would read Luke because Luke
is a book of the Savior, telling us of many cases of
salvation. Then, of course, we would come to Mark because
Mark is short and simple. People read Matthew last
because Matthew is too difficult, too mysterious. Not only
is chapter one difficult to understand; the parables in
chapter thirteen and the prophecies in chapters twenty-
four and twenty-five are also difficult. Chapters five, six,
and seven, the Sermon on the Mount, are especially
difficult. No one can practice it! You strike me on the right
cheek, and I turn to you the left. You force me to walk one
mile, and I walk two miles. You take my outer garment,
and I give you my inner garment. This is too much! Only
Jesus can do it! Thus, many place Matthew last. John is
dear and precious. In John, Jesus is everything, and we do
not need to do anything. Hence, we like John, but not
Matthew. We may not say this in plain words, but we have
such a feeling in our heart. Nevertheless, the divine order
is best. God put Matthew first.
THE GENERAL SKETCH
With every book of the Bible we need a general sketch.
The general sketch of Matthew is:
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Christ is Jehovah God incarnated to be the King-Savior
who came to establish the kingdom of the heavens (the
heavenly rule) by saving His people from sin (of
rebellion) through His death and resurrection.
THE CENTRAL THOUGHT
With every book of the Bible we also need to find the
central thought. The central thought of Matthew is:
Christ, as Jesus (Jehovah the Savior) and Emmanuel
(God with us), is the King, the Baptizer, the light, the
Teacher, the Healer, the Forgiver, the Bridegroom, the
Shepherd, the Friend, the wisdom, the rest, the greater
temple, the real David, the Lord of the Sabbath, the
greater Jonah, the greater Solomon, the Sower, the
seed, the Feeder, the bread, the crumbs under the table,
the Christ, the Son of the living God, the rock for the
church, the Builder of the church, the Founder of the
kingdom, the present Moses, the present Elijah, the
Head of the corner, the Lord, the resurrected One, the
One with authority, and the One ever-present to His
people in resurrection.
How rich Christ is in the book of Matthew, even richer
than in John. As Jesus and Emmanuel He is another
thirty-three items to us. We must enjoy Him and partake
of Him. We need to experience Him in all these aspects in
resurrection, not in the natural state. He is the ever-
present One. Matthew begins with "God with us" and ends
with "Lo, I am with you all the days, even unto the
completion of the age." How wonderful this is!
THE KING'S ANTECEDENTS AND STATUS
I. HIS GENEALOGY
Among the four Gospels only two, Matthew and Luke,
have genealogies. Matthew tells us that Jesus is the
proper descendant of the royal family, that He is the legal
heir of the royal throne. Such a person surely needs a
genealogy telling of His origin and descent. Luke presents
Jesus as a proper, normal man. To show Jesus as a proper
man also requires a genealogy. In Mark, Jesus is pictured
as a bondslave, as one sold into slavery. A bondslave has
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no need of a genealogy; hence, Mark does not include one.
John tells us that Jesus is God. "In the beginning was the
Word...and the Word was God." With Him there was no
beginning, no descent. He is eternal, with no beginning of
life nor end of life (Heb. 7:3). In the beginning was God!
For John to talk about His genealogy would be ridiculous.
With anybody else, no matter who he is or how many
biographies people write about him, the genealogy will be
exactly the same. But Jesus has two genealogies. Later on
we shall see how these genealogies eventually become one.
Once again we see that He is wonderful. In every aspect,
He is too wonderful.
A. The Generation of Christ
Now we come to the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of
Matthew. We need to realize who Jesus is. Who is Jesus?
We may answer by saying that He is the Son of God, but
this genealogy does not have such a term. Rather, it calls
Him the son of David and the son of Abraham. Because
Jesus is so wonderful, it is difficult to say who He is.
Jesus is the mingling of God with man, the mingling of
divinity with humanity. This is the generation of Jesus.
The generation of Jesus means that He is the mingling,
the wonderful mingling. In this generation we have the
mingling of the divine Being with so many human beings,
with all kinds of people. We should no longer think that
Matthew 1:1-17 is just a list of names.
The generation of Christ is composed of:
1. The Fathers
These are the forefathers, the great persons. All
together they make up fourteen generations (1:2-6a).
2. The Kings
These are the kings, the royalty, who also make up
fourteen generations (1:6b-10).
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3. The Civilians (the Captured Ones and the
Recovered Ones)
The generation of Christ not only includes the high-
ranking people, but also the civilians, the insignificant
ones, like Mary and Joseph. The poor people, the little
people, are also included in the generation of Christ.
Christ was ranked not only with the patriarchs and with
the kings, but also with a group of civilians. He was not
only of the great ones, of the royal ones, but also of the
little ones. From this picture of the generation of Christ,
we can see that it includes all kinds of people.
This generation includes both the called ones, like
Abraham, and the ones carried away to captivity. In this
brief record we have the words "carrying away" (v. 17).
Abraham was called out of Babel, the origin of Babylon.
The generation of Christ includes not only the called ones,
but also the backsliders. Perhaps five years ago you were a
called one, but today you are a backslider. Do not be
disappointed. The generation of Christ includes you. This
generation includes Jeconiah, a king who was dethroned
and carried away to Babylon as a captive. Have you ever
been dethroned? Do not think you have not. In your
Christian life you sometimes have been dethroned. Once
you were a king, but you lost your kingship and became a
backslider. Our forefather Abraham came from Babylon;
yet you went back, not willingly, but were carried back.
Praise the Lord that the generation of Christ includes even
the fallen ones!
After captivity there was the recovery. Hence, we have
another name, Zerubbabel, the name of recovery. Many
captives returned with Zerubbabel. The generation of
Christ includes all kinds of people: good ones, bad ones,
called ones, fallen ones, and recovered ones. If I were to
ask you which kind you are, you may say that firstly you
were a called one, then a fallen one, and finally a
recovered one. You were an Abraham, you became a
Jeconiah, but today you are a Zerubbabel. We are all
Zerubbabels. We are the called ones, the fallen ones, and
the recovered ones.
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4. The Four Remarried Women
According to Jewish custom, a writer of a genealogy
would never include a female name; he would include only
the names of males. But in this brief genealogy five women
are mentioned. These five women are like the fingers of
my hand: four form one group and the other one stands
alone. Four of these five women were remarried, and one
of the four was a harlot. It seems that the divine record
here would not mention the good ones, such as Sarah or
Rebekah, but the bad ones. Listen to the divine record:
"David begot Solomon of the wife of Uriah" (1:6). The
record does not even give her name; it gives only her
history in order to remind us of what kind of person she
was.
Do you know the history of Tamar? She was the
daughter-in-law of Judah. Judah begot twins of his
daughter-in-law (Gen. 38:24-30). How terrible! The second
woman named is Rahab, the harlot of Jericho, and the
third, Ruth, a Moabitess. The Moabites were not allowed
to enter the congregation of the Lord even to their tenth
generation (Deut. 23:3). The Moabites are descendants of
Moab, who was born of Lot with his daughter. The fourth
woman was Bathsheba, the wife of a Canaanite named
Uriah whom David murdered. David took her to be his
wife, and with her he begot Solomon.
Why does this brief record mention all these women? It
is because they are our representatives. Do not think you
are so pure, that you are more pure than these women.
Trace your own origin. If you do, you will find out by what
way and of whom your grandfather was born, by what way
and of whom your father was born, and by what way and
of whom you were born. We are worse. But the worst ones
are included in the generation of Christ! Praise the Lord!
He is truly the Savior of sinners.
The number four signifies all the creatures, including
the entire human race. Humanity is dirty; no one is clean.
But, thank the Lord, we are all associated with Christ. We
are part of the generation of Christ.
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If we were to write a biography of Christ and there
were no biographies of Him in the Bible, we would not
dare to write it this way. We would hide all these impure
grandmothers and give the names of the good
grandmothers, such as Sarah and Rebekah. But the Holy
Spirit did not mention Sarah, Rebekah, and all the good
ones; however, He purposely included these impure ones.
If this divine record had listed the names of the good
women without the names of the impure ones, I would be
in doubt about the present situation of the church. I would
say, "Look at today's situation in the church. Not many are
very pure." Do not think that you are so pure, so clean. We
are not pure. Nevertheless, the generation of Christ
includes both good ones and bad ones. In fact, it includes
more bad ones than good ones.
5. The One Virgin
Besides the four remarried women, a virgin stands out:
Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary was good, pure, and
clean. This indicates that everyone mentioned in this book
of generation is a sinner except Jesus. With the exception
of Jesus, all are unclean.
B. The Son of David
Christ is the son of David (Matt. 22:42, 45; Rev. 22:16).
Solomon, the son of David, was a type of Christ in three
main aspects. First, he was a type of Christ inheriting the
kingdom (2 Sam. 7:12b, 13; Jer. 23:5; Luke 1:32-33).
Second, Solomon had wisdom and spoke the word of
wisdom. In Matthew 12 we see that Christ also had
wisdom and spoke the word of wisdom. In this chapter
Christ referred to Himself as the greater Solomon (v. 42).
A greater than Solomon was there, and He spoke words of
wisdom. No human words are as wise as the words of
Christ. Third, Solomon built the temple of God (2 Sam.
7:13). As the son of David, Christ builds up God's temple,
the church.
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C. The Son of Abraham
Christ is also the son of Abraham. This book of
generation says only that Christ is the son of David and
the son of Abraham, not the son of any one else. In the Old
Testament there was a clear prophecy that Christ would
be the son of Abraham. Isaac was a type of Christ. With
Isaac as a type of Christ there were also three main
aspects. First, Isaac brought the blessing to all nations,
both Jews and Gentiles (Gen. 22:18a; Gal. 3:16, 14).
Second, he was offered to God unto death and was
resurrected (Gen.22:1-12; Heb. 11:17, 19). Third, he
received the bride (Gen. 24:67). This is a type of Christ as
the promised One who brought the blessing to all nations,
who was also offered to death, who was resurrected, and
who, after His resurrection, will receive His Bride (John
3:29; Rev. 19:7). One day the Holy Spirit, typified by
Abraham's servant, will bring the spiritual, divine,
heavenly Rebekah to her heavenly Isaac.
The son of Abraham received the bride, and the son of
David built up the temple. With Christ, the Bride is the
temple, and the temple is the Bride. This is why says that
Christ is the son of Abraham and the son of David. He
offered Himself unto death and was resurrected, now He is
building God's tempel, and in the future He will receive
the Bride. Christ also spoke wisdom and brought God's
blessing to all nations. He is the One to fulfill all of these
things. In the four Gospels we can find each of these six
things. The Gospels reveal that Christ came to inherit the
kingdom, that He offered Himself unto death and He was
resurrected, that He spoke the word of wisdom, that He
brought blessing to all people, that He is building up God's
house, and that He will come to receive the Bride. Christ is
surely the real Isaac and the real Solomon.
As the son of David, Jesus was a great blessing to the
Jews. But as the son of Abraham, He brings blessing to all
the Gentiles. As the son of David, He is for the Jews; as
the son of Abraham, He is for us all. If Jesus were only the
son of David, He would have nothing to do with me. Praise
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the Lord that He is also the son of Abraham! All nations
are blessed in Abraham's seed, which is Christ. This
blessing is the participation in the Triune God. The
blessing which God promised to Abraham was the Spirit
(Gal. 3:14), and the Spirit is the ultimate realization of the
Triune God. By Christ as the son of Abraham, we have the
Spirit, and we share in the Triune God. Hallelujah!
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE TWO
THE KING'S ANTECEDENTS AND STATUS
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D. Abraham
The genealogy in Matthew begins with Abraham, but
the genealogy in Luke goes back to Adam. Matthew does
not cover Adam and his descendants, but Luke does. What
is the meaning of this difference? Luke is a book of God's
salvation, whereas Matthew is a book of the kingdom.
God's salvation is for the created and fallen race
represented by Adam, but the kingdom of the heavens is
only for God's chosen people, the called race represented
by Abraham. therefore, Matthew starts from Abraham,
but Luke traces the genealogy back to Adam.
1. Called
In the first ten and a half chapters of genesis God tried
to work with the created race, but He did not get through.
The created race failed Him. Man fell to such an extent
that all mankind rebelled against God to the uttermost,
and built the tower and city of Babel to express their
rebellion (Gen. 11:1-9). So God gave up the created and
fallen race, and He called one, Abraham, out of the race to
be the father of another race. Out of a place filled with
rebellion and idolatry, a place where everyone was one
with Satan, God called a man named Abraham (Gen. 12:1-
2; Heb. 11:8). From the time God called him out of Babel
(later Babylon) into Canaan, God gave up the Adamic race
and invested all His interest in this new race, with
Abraham as its head. This is the called race, the
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transformed race. It is not a race according to nature, but
a race according to faith.
God's kingdom is for this race. It could never be with
the fallen race. Thus, Matthew, dealing with the kingdom
of the heavens, begins with Abraham. Because the book of
Luke concerns God's salvation (and surely salvation must
be for the fallen race), his genealogy goes back to Adam.
After being saved in Luke, we are spontaneously
transferred from the fallen race to the called race. we used
to be descendants of Adam; now we are descendants of
Abraham. Galatians 3:7 and 29 tell us that whoever
believes in Jesus Christ is a son of Abraham. Whose son
are you? Are you the son of Adam or the son of Abraham?
We are the real Jews (Rom. 2:29). Our grandfather is
Abraham. We are in the same category he is. If we were
not descendants of Abraham, then we would have no share
in the book of Matthew. We would not even have a share
in the short book of Galatians, because Galatians was
written to the descendants of Abraham. Only if we are
descendants of Abraham do we have a share in Galatians.
Praise the Lord that we are the sons of Abraham! "If you
are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, heirs according
to promise?" (Gal. 3:29).
Abraham was called out by God. The Greek word for
church, ecclesia, means "the called out ones." Thus, we in
the church are also the called out ones. Abraham was
called out of Babel, the place of rebellion and idolatry, into
the good land, which typifies Christ. We also were in
Babel. We were fallen, we were rebellious, and we
worshipped idols. Today the whole human race is in Babel.
We used to be there, but one day God called us out and put
us into Christ, the high land. We were called by God into
"the fellowship [the participation] of His Son, Jesus Christ
our Lord" (1 Cor. 1:9). "To those who are called, Christ, [is]
God's power and God's wisdom" (1 Cor. 1:24).
2. Justified by Faith
Abraham, as a called one, was justified by faith (Gen.
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15:6; Rom. 4:2-3). The fallen ones depend on their work,
but the called ones believe in God's work, not in their own
work. No fallen person can be justified by works in the
sight of God (Rom. 3:20). Therefore, the called ones, having
been called by God out of the fallen race, put no trust in
their own effort; they trust in God's work of grace.
Abraham and all other believers are like this. "They who
are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham" (Gal. 3:9).
The blessing of God's promise, "the promise of the Spirit"
(Gal. 3:14), is for the believing ones. By faith we received
the Spirit, which is the reality and realization of Christ
(Gal. 3:2). Thus, both Abraham and we are associated with
Christ and joined to Him by faith. It is by faith in God's
work of grace that God's called people are justified by Him
and participate in Christ, their eternal portion.
3. Living by Faith
Hebrews 11:8 says that Abraham was called, and that
he answered this call by faith. Then, verse 9 says that he
also lived in the good land by faith. As the called one of
God, not only was Abraham justified by faith, but he also
lived by faith. As one called by God, he should no longer
live and walk by himself, but live and walk by faith. For
Abraham to live and walk by faith meant that he had to
reject himself, to forget himself, to set himself aside, and
to live by Someone else. Whatever he had by nature had to
be set aside.
If we compare Genesis 11:31 and 12:1 with Acts 7:2-3,
we see that when God called Abraham in Ur of the
Chaldees, he was very weak. Abraham did not take the
initiative to leave Babel; his father, Terah, did. This forced
God to take away Abraham's father. In Genesis 12:1 God
called him again, telling him to leave not only his country
and his kindred, but also his father's house, which meant
not to bring anyone with him. But once again Abraham,
like us, was weak and he took Lot, his nephew (Gen. 12:5).
What is an Abraham? An Abraham is a person who
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has been called out, who no longer lives and walks by
himself, and who forsakes and forgets everything he has
by nature. This is exactly the message of the book of
Galatians. Galatians 3 says that we are the sons of
Abraham and that we should live by faith, not by our
works. Galatians 2:20 says that to live by faith means "no
longer I who live, but Christ." I, the natural I who came
out of the fallen race, have been crucified and buried.
Thus, it is no longer I, but Christ who lives in me. This is
Abraham. If we are true Jews, the real descendants of
Abraham, we must leave everything and live by faith. We
must forget about all that we can do and repudiate all that
we are and have by nature. This is not easy.
Christians appreciate Abraham very much. However,
we should not esteem Abraham too highly. He was not
that outstanding. He was called, but he did not dare to
leave Babel; his father took him out. This forced God to
remove his father. Then Abraham relied on his nephew,
Lot. After this, he put his trust in his servant, Eliezer
(Gen. 15:2-4). It seemed that God was saying, "Abraham, I
don't like to see your father with you, I don't like to see
your nephew with you, and I don't like to see Eliezer with
you. I want you to have no one to rely upon. You must rely
on Me. Don't depend upon anything else or anything you
have by nature." This is believing in God, walking in Him,
and living by Him. It is no longer I, but Christ who lives in
me.
If we are real Jews, then we are real Abrahams. In
order to be an Abraham, we must believe in the Lord. To
believe in the Lord is to become associated with Him.
Abraham was called out of the fallen race, and he became
associated with the Lord. All the sons of Abraham must
likewise be associated with Christ. "If ye be Christ's, then
are ye Abraham's seed." In other words, if we are the seed
of Abraham, we belong to Christ and we are associated
with Christ. If we would be associated with Christ, we
must repudiate ourselves and take Christ as everything.
This is believing in Christ, and this believing is
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righteousness in the eyes of God. Do not try to do
anything. Simply believe in Christ.
The fallen race always likes to do something, to work
and to exert some effort. But God says, "Come out of that.
You are the called race. Don't try, don't do, and don't work
any more! Forget your past. Forget what you are, what you
can do, and what you have. Forget everything, and put
your full trust in Me. I am your good land. Live in Me, and
live by Me." these are the real Abrahams, the real
Galatians. As the sons of God, they trust in God and forget
about themselves. These are the ones who make up the
generation of Christ. We all must be Abrahams, those who
forget their past, give up what they are and have, and put
their trust in Christ, their good land. Today our walk and
our living must be by faith in Christ. If so, then, as heirs of
God's promise, as those who inherit the promise of the
Spirit, we shall participate in Christ as God's blessing.
At a certain time the Lord asked Abraham to offer
Isaac, the one God had given according to His promise, for
a burnt offering (Gen. 22:1-2). The Lord had given Isaac to
Abraham; now Abraham had to give Isaac back to the
Lord. The Lord had already charged him to cast out
Ishmael (Gen. 21:10, 12); now He charged him to kill his
son Isaac.
Are you able to do this? What a difficult lesson this is!
Nevertheless, this is the way to experience Christ. Last
month or last week you may have experienced Christ in a
certain way, but today the Lord says, "Consecrate that
experience. That was a real experience of Christ, but don't
keep it." Again, the lesson is to never trust in what we
have, not even in what God has given us. If God has given
you something, it must be given back to Him. This is the
daily walk by faith. To walk in the presence of the Lord by
faith means that we do not hold on to anything, not even
to the things given by God. The best gifts, given by the
Lord Himself, must be given back to Him. Do not keep
anything as something to rely on; rely only and always on
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the Lord. Abraham did this. Eventually he lived and
walked in the presence of God purely by faith.
E. Isaac
Matthew 1:2 says, "Abraham begot Isaac." What is the
outstanding point here concerning Isaac? It is that Isaac
was born by promise (Gal. 4:22-26, 28-31; Rom. 9:7-9). He
was the only heir (Gen. 21:10, 12; 22:2a, 12b, 16-18), and
he inherited the promise of Christ (Gen. 26:3-4).
God had promised Abraham a son. Sarah, wanting to
help God fulfill his promise, made a proposal to Abraham.
Sarah seemed to say, "Look, Abraham, God promised to
give you a seed, an heir to inherit this good land. But look
at yourself--you are nearly ninety years of age! And look at
me--I'm too old! It is impossible for me to bring forth a
child. We must do something to help God fulfill His
purpose. I have a maid named Hagar. She is quite good.
Surely you could have a son by her" (Gen. 16:1-2). This is
the natural concept, and it is quite tempting. Many times
our natural concept has some proposal to get us out of the
spirit. Often our natural concept says, "Here is a good
source. Do it this way." But such a proposal will surely
keep us from God's promise!
Abraham took Sarah's proposal (Gen. 16:2-4), and the
result was Ishmael (Gen. 16:15). This terrible Ishmael is
still here today! Acting on Sarah's proposal did not help
God; rather, it frustrated Abraham from fulfilling God's
purpose. This is not a small matter.
The lesson we derive from this is that, as the called
race, whatever we do on our own results in an Ishmael.
Whatever we do on our own in the church life, even in the
preaching of the gospel, will only produce an Ishmael. Do
not produce Ishmaels! Terminate yourself! Did you not
cross over that great river, the Euphrates? When you were
called out of Babel, you crossed that great river and you
were buried there. You were terminated there. Do not live
by yourself or do anything by yourself. Instead, you should
say, "Lord, I am nothing. Without You, I can do nothing.
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Lord, if You don't do anything, then I won't do anything. If
You rest, I rest. Lord, I put my trust in You." This is easy
to say, but difficult to practice in our daily life.
Remember what an Abraham is: an Abraham is a
called one who does nothing by himself. God had to wait
until Abraham and Sarah were through (Gen. 17:17; see
Rom. 4:19). He waited until their natural energy had died
out, until they had come to realize it was impossible for
them to bring forth a child.
Abraham wanted to keep Ishmael and rely on him but
God rejected Ishmael (Gen. 17:18-19). We also like to keep
our own work and rely on it, but God does not accept it.
Eventually, God asked Abraham to cast out Ishmael and
his mother (Gen. 21:10-12). This was difficult for Abraham
to do. But he had to learn the lesson of not living by
himself, the lesson of giving up his own effort and not
doing anything by himself. He had a son, but he had to
give him up. This is the lesson of Abraham and the lesson
in the book of Galatians.
Participating in Christ requires that we never rely on
our own effort nor on anything we are able to do. Just as
Ishmael was a frustration to Isaac's inheriting of God's
promise, so our own effort or work will always frustrate
our participation in Christ. We must forsake all that we
are and all that we have in order to trust God's promise.
We must renounce everything of our natural life;
otherwise we cannot enjoy Christ. After our natural
strength has been exhausted, the promise of God comes.
After Ishmael was cast out, Isaac had the full position to
participate in the blessing of God's promise. The
termination of our natural effort, the forsaking of what we
can do or have done, "is Isaac," the inheriting of God's
promised blessing, which is Christ. We have been baptized
into Christ (Gal. 3:27, Gk.). Having been terminated in
Christ, we are now His, and we have Him as our portion.
Thus, we are Abraham's seed, God's called race, and heirs
according to God's promise (Gal. 3:29).
What is Isaac? Isaac is the issue of the life and walk by
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faith. This is Christ. Isaac was a full type of Christ
inheriting all the riches of the Father. we all must
experience Christ in such a way; not by our doing, striving,
or endeavoring, but simply by trusting in Him. Our trust
in Him will issue in Isaac. Only Isaac is the real element of
the generation of Christ. Not all the children of Abraham
of the flesh are the children of God; only in Isaac will God
have His children (Rom. 9:7-8). Therefore, God considered
Isaac as Abraham's only son (Gen. 21:10, 12; 22:2a, 12b,
16-18), the only one to inherit the promise concerning
Christ (Gen. 26:3-4).
Although we are the race of Abraham today, are we
walking in the way of Ishmael, or are we living in the way
of Isaac? The way of ishmael is to fulfill God's purpose by
our own energy and work. The way of Isaac is to put
ourselves into God, trusting Him to do everything to fulfill
His purpose for us. What a great difference between these
two ways! Ishmael had nothing to do with Christ.
Whatever we do, whatever we try to accomplish, has
nothing to do with Christ. We must have Isaac. If we
would have Isaac, we must cast out Ishmael, stop our
work, and place ourselves into the very working of God. If
we let Him fulfill His promise for us, then we shall have
Isaac.
F. Jacob
Verse 2 also says, "Isaac begot Jacob." Isaac and
Ishmael were brothers by the same father, but by different
mothers. Jacob and Esau were more intimate; they were
twins. Jacob means a superseder. He supersedes others,
puts them under him, and climbs above them. When he
and his older brother Esau were coming out of the womb,
Jacob held Esau's heel. Jacob seemed to be saying, "Esau,
don't go yet! Wait for me. Let me go first!" Jacob was a real
heel-holder. The meaning of the name Jacob is the heel-
holder, the supplanter. Beat others down. Put them under
your feet by any deceitful means. That is Jacob.
Because God had already chosen Jacob, all endeavors
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were in vain. Jacob needed a vision. He did not need to
supplant others, because God had chosen him to be
number one. Even before the twins were born, God had
told the mother that the younger would be the first, and
the elder would be second. It is written, "Jacob I loved, but
Esau I hated" (Mal. 1:2-3; Rom. 9:13).
Unfortunately, Jacob did not realize this. If he had, he
never would have tried to do anything. Rather, he would
have said to Esau, "If you want to go out first, just go out.
No matter how much you try to be first, I will still be first.
You can never beat me because God elected me." Jacob,
however, did not know this. Even when he had grown up,
he still did not realize it. Therefore, he was constantly
supplanting. Wherever he went, he supplanted. He
supplanted his brother (Gen. 25:29-33; 27:18-38), and he
supplanted his uncle (Gen. 30:37--31:1). He schemed and
he stole from his uncle, Laban. Yet, all his labor was in
vain. God could say, "Stupid Jacob. You don't need to do
that. I will give you more than what you have gained." But
Jacob kept striving. Although he was a descendant of
Abraham, according to his striving and his nature, he was
altogether a descendant of the Devil. Do you see this?
Positionally speaking, Jacob was a descendant of
Abraham, but dispositionally speaking, he was a child of
the Devil.
What did Jacob need? He needed God's dealing. Hence,
God raised up his brother, Esau, and then his uncle,
Laban, to deal with him. God even raised up four wives
plus twelve male helpers and a female helper. There was a
great deal of suffering in the life of Jacob, but this
suffering came from his striving, not from God's election.
The more Jacob strove, the more he suffered. We may
laugh at Jacob, but we are exactly the same as he. The
more we try to do something, the more problems we have.
In Christ, we need, firstly, the life of Abraham. We
need to forget what we are, live by Christ, and trust in
Him. Secondly, in Christ we have no need of Ishmael, our
doing; we need Isaac, His doing. Thirdly, we do not need
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Jacob, but Israel. We do not need the natural Jacob, but
the transformed Israel, the prince of God.
Do you realize that it is absolutely not up to you? When
you hear this, you may say, "If it is not up to me, but
completely up to God, then I'll stop my seeking." Good. If
you can stop your seeking, I encourage you to do it. Tell
the whole universe that you have heard that it is up to
Him, and that you have stopped your seeking. If you can
stop it, it should be stopped. But, I assure you, the more
you stop, the better. The more you stop, the more He will
stand up. Try it. Tell the Lord, "Lord, I stop my seeking!"
The Lord would say, "That's wonderful! Your stopping
opens the door for Me to do something. I will burn you.
You may stop your seeking, but I will burn you!"
We all have been elected. In a sense, we are caught.
What can we do? We can never get away. This is
absolutely due to the Lord's mercy. We did not choose this
way, I certainly did not choose it, but here I am. What can
I do? What can I say? Because God has chosen us, we can
never get away.
If we read Romans 9, we shall discover that it is up to
Him, not us. He was and still is the source. Praise Him
that His mercy has come to us! No one can reject His
mercy. We may reject His doing, but we can never reject
His mercy (Exo. 33:19; Rom. 9:15). What a mercy that we
have been selected to be associated with Christ and to
participate in Him as God's eternal blessing! in one sense
we are Abraham, in another sense we are Isaac, and in
still another sense, we are Jacob. Later, in a fourth sense,
we shall be Israel. Thus, we have Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob.
The genealogy of Christ is a matter of the birthright,
and the birthright is mainly the association with Christ
and the participation in Christ. Jacob's supplanting was
not justified, but his seeking after the birthright surely
was honored by God. Esau despised the birthright and sold
it cheaply (Gen. 25:29-34). Thus, he lost it and was not
able to get it back, even when he regretted and wept for it
(Gen. 27:34-38; Heb. 12:16-17). He had lost the
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blessing of participating in Christ. This should be a
warning to us. Jacob respected and sought the birthright,
and he obtained it. He inherited God's promised blessing,
the blessing of Christ (Gen. 28:4, 14).
G. Judah
Verse 2 also says, "Jacob begot Judah and his
brothers." Jacob's first son was Reuben. Reuben should
have had the first son's portion, which was the birthright.
The birthright included three elements: the double portion
of the land, the priesthood, and the kingship. Although
Reuben was the first son, he lost his birthright because of
his defilement (Gen. 49:3-4; 1 Chron. 5:1-2). Then the
double portion of the land went to Joseph. This must have
been due to his purity (Gen. 39:7-20). He was the son
closest to his father and the one most after his father's
heart (Gen. 37:2-3, 12-17). Each of Joseph's two sons,
Manasseh and Ephraim, received a portion of the land
(Joshua 16 and 17). Thus through his two sons he
inherited two portions of the good land.
The priesthood portion of the birthright went to Levi
(Deut. 33:8-10). Levi was very much after God's heart. In
order to fulfill God's desire, Levi forgot his parents, his
brothers, and his children and only took care of God's
desire. Thus, he received the priesthood portion of the
birthright.
The kingship, another portion of the birthright, was
given to Judah (Gen. 49:10; 1 Chron. 5:2). If we read
Genesis, we find the reason for this. When Joseph was
suffering under the conspiracy of his brothers, Judah took
care of him (Gen. 37:26). He also took care of Benjamin in
time of suffering (Gen. 43:8-9; 44:14-34). Because of this, I
believe, the kingship went to Judah.
Today we are the "church of the firstborn" (Heb. 12:23).
Our birthright is also composed of these three elements:
the double portion of Christ, the priesthood, and the
kingship. We are in Christ, and we can enjoy Him in
double portion. We are also priests and kings of God.
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However, many Christians have lost their birthright. They
have been saved and can never be lost, but they have lost
their extra portion of Christ. If we would enjoy the extra
portion of Christ, we must keep our birthright.
All Christians have been reborn as priests (Rev. 1:6).
But today many have lost their priesthood. Because they
have lost their praying position, it is hard for them to pray.
If we would keep our priesthood, we must be like the
Levites, and forget our father, our brothers, and our
children and take care of God's interest. God's desire, not
our families, must be first. If God's desire has first pace in
our hearts, then we shall be close to Him and keep the
priesthood.
All Christians are also reborn as kings (Rev. 5:10), but
many have lost their kingship. When the Lord Jesus
returns, the overcoming saints will be with Him to be
priests of God and co-kings of Christ (Rev. 20:4-6). At the
same time, they will enjoy the inheritance of this earth
(Rev. 2:26).
Hebrews 12:16-17 warns us not to lose our birthright
as Esau did. "For one meal" Esau "gave up his birthright."
Later, he regretted that he had sold it so cheaply, but he
was not able to get it back. We all need to be on the alert.
We have the position to possess the birthright and we have
it already, but maintaining it depends on whether or not
we keep ourselves from being profane or becoming defiled.
We have seen that Esau lost his birthright because he was
profane and that Reuben lost his birthright because of his
defilement. But Joseph inherited the double portion of
land because of his purity; Levi obtained the priesthood
because of his absolute separation unto the Lord; and
Judah received the kingship because of his care for his
suffering brothers. We need to keep ourselves pure for the
extra portion of the enjoyment of Christ; we need to
separate ourselves absolutely to the Lord with a heart
caring for the Lord's desire above all things; we need to
care lovingly for our suffering brothers. If we are like this,
we shall surely keep our birthright. The extra portion of
the enjoyment of
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Christ, the priesthood, and the kingship will be ours. Even
today we can enjoy Christ in a double measure. We can
pray, we can rule, and we can reign. Then, when the Lord
Jesus returns, we shall be with Him enjoying the
inheritance of this earth. We shall be priests contacting
God continually and kings reigning over the people.
Because Judah gained the kingship portion of the
birthright, he brought forth the kingly Christ (Gen. 49:10),
Christ the Victor (Rev. 5:5; Gen. 49:8-9). "It is clearly
evident that our Lord has risen out of Judah" (Heb. 7:14).
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah are all associates of
Christ. If we have the life of these four generations--
Abraham's faith, Isaac's inheritance, Jacob's dealings, and
Judah's care of love--then we are the associates of Christ
in His generation.
H. His Brethren
When this genealogy mentions Isaac and Jacob, it does
not say "and his brother"; only when it mentions Judah
does it say "and his brothers." Both Isaac's brother
Ishmael and Jacob's brother Esau were rejected by God.
But all eleven brothers of Judah were chosen; not one of
them was rejected by God. Judah and his eleven brothers
became the fathers of the twelve tribes which formed the
nation of Israel as God's chosen people for Christ. Hence,
all Judah's brothers were related to Christ. For this
reason, the genealogy of Christ also includes them.
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27
LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE THREE
THE KING'S ANTECEDENTS AND STATUS
(3)
Whatever is recorded in the Old Testament is related
to Christ. The whole Old Testament is a record of Christ,
either directly or indirectly. If we want to understand the
genealogy of Christ, we must go back to the Old Testament
and read it carefully. If we do this, we shall realize that
the Old Testament is a record of Christ. This proves that
the entire Bible is a revelation of Christ.
We have seen from the genealogy of Christ that His
generation includes all kinds of people: low, high, good,
bad, fathers, kings, civilians, captives, recovered ones, and
even women with a poor reputation. Nevertheless, we
must realize that there are some governing principles
here. From the lives of all these persons, we can discover
certain principles which govern our association with
Christ. The generation of Christ includes all kinds of
persons, but not in a loose way. No matter what we are of
where we came from, we can be included in the generation
of Christ if we fulfill the principles. Although we have seen
this already, we have not seen it adequately, for there are
many more persons to cover.
I. Tamar
The first one we shall consider is Tamar. Tamar
conceived through committing incest with her father-in-
law (Gen. 38:6-27). Morally speaking, this was deplorable
and ethically speaking, it was awful. Nobody would justify
this. Although I have been studying Genesis for many
years, my heart still aches whenever I read chapter thirty-
eight. In a sense, what Tamar did was not good at all.
Nevertheless, she was righteous. The fault was not on her
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side, but on the side of her father-in-law, Judah, who
admitted that she was more righteous than he (Gen.
38:26). You may say that there was no excuse for Tamar's
deed and that incest always involves both sides. Although
Tamar may be held responsible to a certain extent, she
was righteous, and she had a heart for the birthright.
Because we come from a different background and have
little understanding of the birthright and of its meaning to
the people in those days, I need to say a word about it. In
Tamar's time, the birthright meant a great deal (Gen.
38:6-8). As I pointed out in the last message, the birthright
included a double portion of the land, the priesthood, and
the kingship. The double portion of the land refers to the
double enjoyment of Christ. The land is Christ, and the
double portion of the land is not the ordinary, common
enjoyment of Christ, but something special, something
extraordinary in the enjoyment of Christ. Both the
priesthood and the kingship are also related to Christ. For
the generation after Abraham, the birthright was
altogether a matter of inheriting Christ. In Ephesians
2:12, we are told that when we were unbelievers, we were
without Christ. But by believing in the Lord Jesus, we
have been brought into the birthright. We have been put
into Christ, Christ has become our portion, and He will
even be our double portion. Through Him, in Him, and
with Him we have the priesthood and the kingship. Christ
Himself is our good land, our priesthood, and our kingship.
Now we can understand why Tamar was anxious to
have the birthright. She knew that if she were cut off, she
would be through with God's promise. And God's promise
was simply the promise of Himself to be the portion of His
chosen people in Christ. Tamar was not willing to miss
this blessing.
Tamar was the wife of the first son of Judah. This son
should have inherited the birthright. But Tamar's
husband was wicked in the eyes of the Lord, and the Lord
took his life (Gen. 38:7). The Lord also slew Judah's second
son (Gen. 38:8-10). According to the ancient regulations,
Judah should have arranged for his next son to marry
Tamar in order that a son might be brought forth to inherit
29
the birthright. Judah, however, did not fulfill his
responsibility. In a sense, Judah cheated Tamar (Gen.
38:11-14). But Tamar did not give up; rather, she even used
an unseemly means to obtain the birthright. Whether the
means was unseemly or not, Tamar did her best to get that
birthright.
To have the birthright is simply to gain Christ. In order
to gain Christ, we must be ready to take a way that does not
seem to be the best way. Let me tell you a story that
illustrates this, but try to understand me; do not
misunderstand me. In the past, some young people in China
were inspired by my preaching, believed in the Lord Jesus,
and desired to be baptized. However, their parents, who
were Buddhists, were very much opposed to this. When they
learned that their children were planning to be baptized,
they gave them no opportunity to leave home. The young
people prayed about this. Eventually, they told their parents
that they had to be in school for a certain half-day period.
That was surely a lie, for the did not go to school; they went
to the church to be baptized. Although they told a lie, it was
a pure lie. Their intention in telling that lie was very
pleasing to God. If you want to gain Christ, you should not
care for the way. Do not be religious; do not keep the rules
and regulations. Gain Christ! You need to gain Christ. By
any means, get the birthright.
It was through an unseemly means that Tamar
acquired the birthright. But in the divine record in the
Bible, the name of Tamar is not a bad name. Ruth 4:12
indicates that this name is sacred. In this verse the elders
said, "And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom
Tamar bare unto Judah." The name of Tamar is sacred
because she did not care for anything sinful; she cared only
for the birthright. The significance of this for us today is
that if we care for Christ and are seeking Him, any way we
can truly gain Him is the right way.
J. Pharez and Zarah
From Tamar we go on to her son, Pharez (v. 3). Tamar
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conceived twins (Gen. 38:27-30). At the time of delivery,
one boy, Zarah, tried to come out first, but he did not
succeed. He put out his hand, and the midwife marked it
with a scarlet thread, indicating that he would be the
firstborn. However, Pharez preceded him to be the
firstborn. Thus, the first became the last, and the last
became the first. The midwife was surprised. This is a
good illustration of how to gain the birthright. Pharez
inherited the birthright. Man did not choose him, but God
sent him. This proves that it is not up to man's
endeavoring; it is up to God's choice. The mother's story
tells us one side: that we should be anxious for the
birthright, trying our best to obtain it; the son's story tells
us the other side: that although we may strive to obtain
the birthright, it is actually a matter of God's choice, not
our efforts (see Rom. 9:11).
I remember a story concerning D. L. Moody. One day a
student at his Bible institute said to him. "Mr. Moody, by
reading the New Testament I have learned that all the
saved ones are the chosen ones, predestinated by God
before the foundation of the world. Now I have a problem.
If I preach the gospel and convince people to believe, I may
do something wrong and persuade someone whom God has
not chosen. What shall I do?" Moody replied, "My son, just
go ahead to do your best. As people enter the door, they
will see written on the outside, `Whosoever will may come.'
But once they have entered the door, they will look back
and see written on the inside, `Chosen before the
foundation of the world.'" Tamar's story means,
"Whosoever will may come." Tamar willed and Tamar
came. But her son's story means, "Chosen before the
foundation of the world." Perhaps you are today's Tamar,
striving and laboring to obtain the birthright. But once you
gain it, you will look back and see that you were chosen
before the foundation of the world. The birthright does not
depend on us; it depends on His choice.
K. Rahab
We proceed to Rahab (v. 5). Rahab was a harlot in
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Jericho (Josh. 2:1), a place cursed by God for eternity.
Although she was a harlot in such a place, she became a
grandmother of Christ. How could a harlot become a
grandmother of Christ? In order to answer this question,
we need to find the principles. The entire population of
Jericho was destroyed except Rahab, her family, and her
possessions. She was saved because she turned to God and
God's people (Josh. 6:22-23, 25; Heb. 11:31). After she
turned to God and His people, she married Salmon, a
leader in the army of the leading tribe of Judah and one of
the men sent by Joshua to spy out Jericho. At that time,
Salmon became acquainted with Rahab and, in a sense,
saved her. Eventually, Rahab married him, and they
brought forth a godly man named Boaz.
Now we must pay our full attention to the principles
governing our association with Christ. The first principle
is that, no matter what our background is, we must turn to
God and to God's people. Second, we must marry the
proper person, not in a physical sense, but in a spiritual
sense. After we have turned to God and to God's people, we
must be joined, built up, and involved with the proper
person. Third, we must bring forth the proper fruit,. Then
we will be fully in the portion of the birthright of Christ.
It seems that many Christians today have lost their
birthright. They do not have Salmon and Boaz. If you
would have a Salmon and a Boaz, you must become
involved with the proper believers, with the proper leading
ones in the leading tribes. Then you need to bring forth the
proper fruit, Boaz, who will be a forefather of David. We
must turn to the Lord, and we must turn to the Lord`s
people; we must also take care of how we become involved
with others. If we become involved with the proper
persons, surely we shall bring forth the proper fruit. This
will keep us in the full enjoyment of the birthright of
Christ.
L. Boaz
If we are to know the story of Boaz, we must read the
book of Ruth. It is a good story. Boaz is a type of Christ,
and Ruth is a type of the church. The book of Ruth tells us
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that Boaz redeemed Ruth; he also redeemed the birthright
for her. This means that Christ, as our real Boaz, has
redeemed both us and the birthright.
Boaz redeemed his kinsman's inheritance and married
the man's widow (Ruth 4:1-17); hence, he became a notable
forefather of Christ, a great associate of Christ. As a
brother and a Boaz, you should take care of others'
birthright of Christ, not only your own birthright. In other
words, you should not only take care of your own
enjoyment of Christ, but also others' enjoyment of Christ.
Ruth was the daughter-in-law of Naomi. As we read
this story, we see that Ruth and Naomi had lost the
enjoyment, the birthright, but according to God's
regulation there was a way to restore the birthright, to
redeem it. But it had to be redeemed by someone else. The
principle is the same in the church life today. If I lose the
birthright, the brothers have a way to redeem it for me.
Quite often, some dear ones lose their enjoyment of Christ.
In a sense, they become Naomi or Ruth. If so, you need to
be a Boaz, able to redeem the lost birthright and marry
the redeemed one.
Suppose I am a real Ruth who has lost her husband. To
lose the husband means to lose the enjoyment of the
birthright. I have the birthright, but I have lost the
enjoyment of the birthright. Thus, I need you, as my
brother, to redeem my birthright. But you meed to be
somewhat richer in Christ. You need to have some riches
with which to redeem my birthright. Then you pay the price
to regain my birthright, and you also marry me. This means
that you become involved with me. This kind of spiritual
involvement will produce Obed, the grandfather of David.
Boaz became one of the great forefathers of Christ. In a
spiritual sense, he was the one who enjoyed the largest and
richest portion of Christ. If a brother becomes a Boaz to me,
he will be the one with the greatest enjoyment of Christ.
Because he redeemed my birthright and became so involved
with me, our involvement in the Lord will eventually bring
forth the full enjoyment of Christ.
In the church life today we need to have a number of
Boazes. The book of Ruth tells us that there was another
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kinsman who was even closer to Ruth than Boaz was. But
that man was selfish; he only took care of his own
birthright. He was afraid that taking care of another's might
mar his own. This is exactly today's situation. Some
brothers should take care of me, the poor Ruth, but they are
selfish in the spiritual enjoyment of Christ. Even in the
spiritual enjoyment of Christ it is quite possible to be selfish.
However, a Boaz will be generous and pay the price to
redeem my birthright. All this indicates that we should take
care of not only our own birthright, but also others'
birthright. Day by day we should take care of others';
birthright. Day by day we should take care of other's
enjoyment of Christ. The more we do this, the better.
M. Ruth
We come now to Ruth (1:5). We may say that Ruth was
certainly a good woman, but she had a great shortage.
Although she herself was not involved in incest, her origin
was a matter of incest. Ruth belonged to the tribe of Moab
(Ruth 1:4). Moab was the son of Lot, the fruit of Lot's
incestuous union with his daughter (Gen. 19:30-38).
According to Deuteronomy 23:3, the Moabites were
forbidden to enter the congregation of the Lord, even to the
tenth generation. Thus, Ruth was an excluded one.
However, not only was she accepted by the Lord, but she
became a wonderful person who partook of the enjoyment
of Christ.
Although, as a Moabitess, Ruth was not allowed to
enter the congregation of the Lord, she was seeking God
and God's people (Ruth 1:15-17; 2:11-12). This reveals a
most prevailing principle: no matter who we are or what
our background is, as long as we have a heart which seeks
after God and God's people, we are in a position to be
accepted into the birthright of Christ. Ruth married Boaz,
a godly man among God's people, and brought forth Obed,
the grandfather of David the king.
Boaz's mother was Rahab, a Canaanitess, and his wife
Ruth was a Moabitess. Both were Gentiles. Nevertheless,
they were associated with Christ. This is a strong proof
that Christ is joined not only to the Jews, but also to the
Gentiles, even the Gentiles of a low and mean class.
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You may have been born of a poor origin and have a
pitiful background, but do not be bothered or frustrated by
that. Forget it! Nothing can be worse than a person born of
Moab. But as long as you have a heart to seek after God
and God's people and as long as you become involved with
the proper person, such as Boaz, you will enter into the
double portion of the enjoyment of Christ.
N. Jesse
We continue with Jesse (vv. 5-6). Although the Bible
does not have much to say about Jesse, what it does say
about him is important. Isaiah chapter eleven speaks
twice regarding Jesse. Isaiah 11:1 says that Christ will be
the shoot ("rod" should be "shoot," Heb.) out of the stem of
Jesse and a branch out of the root of Jesse. Christ came
out of him. Isaiah 11:10 says that Christ is the root of
Jesse, indicating that Jesse came out of Christ. Jesse is a
man altogether out of Christ; he is also a person who
brings forth Christ. Christ comes out of him, and he comes
out of Christ. Christ was his branch, and Christ was also
his root. We need light from the Lord to understand these
things.
What is a Jesse? A Jesse is a person who brings forth
Christ, who branches out Christ by being rooted in Christ.
When you branch out Christ, do not forget that Christ is
not only your branch, but also your root. Christ branches
out of you, and you come out of Christ. Christ is our source
and Christ is also our issue. This means that we are one
with Christ and very closely associated with Him. We are
in Him, and He is in us. He issues out of us, and we are
rooted in Him. This is the kind of person who enjoys the
birthright of Christ.
We all must be a Boaz, a Ruth, a Jesse, and a Tamar.
We need to be this person and then that person.
Eventually we shall say, "Praise the Lord for everybody!
Everybody's condition is the same as mine. Tamar's
condition is also my condition. The good conditions and the
bad conditions are all the same as mine. I am Tamar, I am
Pharez, I am Rahab, I am Boaz, I am Ruth, and I am
Jesse. Hallelujah!" After Jesse, eventually we are David.
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O. David
David was the eighth son of his father, the youngest
one. This is meaningful. In the Bible the number eight
signifies resurrection, a new start. The eighth day is the
first day of the second week; hence, it signifies something
new, something of resurrection. When Samuel came to
anoint the king of God's people, Jesse presented his seven
sons to him. Samuel looked at them and said, "The Lord
hath not chosen these." When Samuel learned that there
was an eighth one, David, he sent for him and anointed
him (1 Sam. 16:10-13). This means that we who are chosen
and saved are not people of the first week; we are those of
the first day of the second week. We are the eighth child.
David was the last of the generations of the fathers,
which were fourteen generations. David was the conclusion
of the fathers' section in the genealogy of Christ.
David was also the first of the generations of the kings.
In this genealogy, only of David does it say "the king,"
because it was through him that the kingdom with the
kingship was brought in. He was the conclusion of one
section and the beginning of the next section. He was the
landmark of two ages. He was the ending of one and the
beginning of the other because he was very much in the
enjoyment of Christ. If we would have the rich enjoyment
of Christ, we shall often need to be the end of one situation
and the beginning of another situation. However, many of
the dear ones can neither be the ending nor the beginning.
Eventually, they are just nothing. In the church life, we
need some Davids, some stronger ones to conclude certain
situations and open up other situations. We need someone
to close the fathers' generation and to open up the kings'
generation. We must be strong; we must be the eighth son;
we must be David.
David was a man after the heart of God (1 Sam. 13:14).
God Himself told Saul that He would replace him, for He
had found a man after His heart. In his whole life, David
did nothing wrong, except one great thing: he murdered a
man and took his wife. In one act David committed two
great sins, murder and adultery. God Himself condemned
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this. The Bible says that David did right in the eyes of the
Lord all the days of his life, except for this one thing (1
Kings 15:5).
P. The Wife of Uriah (Bathsheba)
David murdered Uriah and took his wife, Bathsheba.
She was the wife of a Hittite, a heathen (2 Sam. 11:3). She
was remarried as a result of adultery (2 Sam. 11:26-27).
Q. Solomon
After David committed murder and adultery, he was
rebuked by the prophet Nathan, whom God sent purposely
to condemn him (2 Sam. 12:1-12). After he was
condemned, David repented. Psalm 51 is David's psalm of
repentance. David repented and God forgave (2 Sam.
12:13). There was repentance and there was forgiveness.
Altogether we have three items here: transgression,
repentance, and forgiveness. If we put all three together,
the result is Solomon. First there were transgression and
repentance plus forgiveness. After that, there was Solomon
(2 Sam. 12:24), the one who built God's temple. Solomon is
the result not only of transgression and repentance, but of
transgression, repentance, and God's forgiveness. Here we
see two marriages. The first was a marriage between
David and Bathsheba. The second was a spiritual
marriage, the marriage of David's transgression and
repentance with God's forgiveness. God's forgiveness
married David's transgression and repentance. This
marriage brought forth the man named Solomon who built
the temple of God. The church is always built up by this
kind of person, Solomon, the issue of man's transgression
and repentance plus God's forgiveness.
After David received God's forgiveness and the joy of
his salvation was restored, he prayed for Zion, for the
building of the walls of Jerusalem, for the strengthening of
his kingdom (Psa. 51:18). Eventually, as the result of God's
forgiveness of his sin, God gave him a son to build the
temple of God for God's presence as the center of the city of
Jerusalem.
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I hope the Lord will show you what human words
cannot say. If you have been and still are a typically good
person who has never murdered others, who has never
transgressed, and who has never needed to repent, then
God does not need to forgive you. If this is the case, then
there will never be a Solomon and the temple of God will
never be built up. As we have seen, the building up of
God's temple comes from man's transgression and
repentance plus God's forgiveness.
One day I said to the Lord, "Lord, my transgression
and repentance need Your forgiveness. But, Lord, You
know better than I that Your forgiveness also needs my
transgression. My transgression needs Your forgiveness,
and Your forgiveness needs my transgression. If I have no
transgressions, then You don't have a place to spend Your
forgiveness." When I said this to the Lord, it seemed that
He said, "Yes. Because of your transgression and
repentance, I do have an opportunity to spend My
forgiveness. I am happy about this." But you should never
say, "Let us do evil that good may come." You must do your
best. But no matter how hard you may try to do everything
right in the eyes of the Lord, sooner or later something will
happen. Suddenly, you will murder, take over others,
transgress. However, after you transgress, there will be a
way for you to repent. If you repent, God will be ready to
forgive you. Then you will beget a son and name him
Solomon. The name Solomon means "peaceful" (2 Sam.
12:24; 1 Chron. 22:9). But Solomon also has another name,
"Jedidiah" (2 Sam. 12:25), which means "beloved of the
Lord." To you. Solomon means "peaceful," but to the Lord,
he means "beloved of the Lord." This son will be the one
who will build up the house of God, today's church.
You need to be right in the eyes of God all the time. But
be assured that your being right is not good for building up
the church. However, you should not say, "Let me do
wrong!" I tell you, even if you try to be wrong, you will
discover that you are not able to do wrong. I do not know
what kind of sovereignty this is. But one day you will do
something awful. All the brothers will shake their heads,
unable to believe that you could have done such a thing.
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Nevertheless, you have done it! Then you need to read
Psalm 51, make it your psalm, and go to the Lord, saying
"Lord, I repent. Against Thee and only Thee have I done
this evil thing. Forgive me." After this repentance, you will
have another marriage, the marriage of your transgression
and repentance with God's forgiveness. This will bring
forth a Solomon, one who is peaceful to you and beloved of
the Lord. This person will build up the church, God's
temple. At that time you will be very useful in the building
up of the church.
You may say, "What about today? What shall we do--
wait for that kind of person to come?" No, do not wait.
Your waiting does not avail. We should just walk in the
presence of the Lord and let the Lord do it. As Charles
Wesley said in one of his hymns, "`Tis mercy all!" Yes, it is
altogether a matter of God's mercy. Forget about your
background, your situation, or what may happen in the
future. You simply need to trust in the Lord's sovereign
mercy. If you have a heart for Him and for His people, He
will work everything out. He will give you the full
enjoyment of the birthright of Christ.
These verses in the genealogy of Christ are very
difficult. They are not milk or meat; they are bones. If we
spend an hour or two praying over these verse and over
the points covered in this message, we shall see something
more. We shall see that we need to be a person with a real
seeking heart, a heart seeking God and God's people. Then
we shall be today's Boaz, Ruth, Obed, Jesse, David, and
eventually today's Solomon, building up the house of God.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE FOUR
THE KING'S ANTECEDENTS AND STATUS
(4)
We come now to the last part of the genealogy of Christ
according to Matthew. In the previous message I said that
this part of the Word is not milk or meat, but bones. All
the points in this message will help us penetrate the bone
and see what is inside it.
R. David the King Begetting Solomon
Matthew 1:6 says, "David begot Solomon." Compare
this statement with the record that says, "Nathan, the son
on David" (Luke 3:31). Nathan also was the son of David.
The genealogy in Matthew says that the son of David was
Solomon, and the genealogy in Luke says that the son of
David was Nathan. If we read 1 Chronicles 3:1 and 5, we
see that these are two different persons. Luke's record is
the genealogy of David's son Nathan, who was Mary's
forefather, whereas Matthew's record is the genealogy of
David's son Solomon, who was Joseph's forefather. One
genealogy is the line of Mary, the wife's line; and the other
genealogy is the line of Joseph, the husband's line. Both
Mary and Joseph were descendants of David, but they
were from two families descended from the same
grandfather. One family is the family of Solomon; the
other is the family of Nathan. Under God's sovereignty
Mary and Joseph, descendants of these two families, were
betrothed and brought forth Christ. Christ may be counted
as the descendant of David through both Solomon and
Nathan. This is the reason He has two genealogies.
Solomon's relationship with Christ was not direct.
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Strictly speaking, Solomon was not a direct forefather of
Christ. His relationship with Christ was indirect through
his descendant Joseph's marriage to Mary, of whom Christ
was born (Matt. 1:16).
The Old Testament did not say that Christ would be
Solomon's descendant, but it prophesied repeatedly that
Christ would be the descendant of David (2 Sam. 7:13-14,
16; Jer. 23:5). Although Christ was not a direct descendant
of Solomon, the Old Testament prophecies concerning
Christ were nevertheless fulfilled.
S. Rehoboam
We proceed to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon (v. 7).
With Rehoboam, the kingdom of David was divided (1
Kings 11:9-12; 12:1-17). Of the twelve tribes, one tribe was
kept for David's sake (1 Kings 11:13), that is, for Christ.
Christ needed the kingdom that belonged to the house of
David because Christ had to be born as the heir of David's
throne. If the whole kingdom had been dissolved, nothing
would have remained to allow Christ to be born as David's
royal heir. Thus, God preserved one of the tribes for David.
Apparently it was preserved for David; actually it was
preserved for Christ.
After this division, the kingdom of David was in two
parts: the northern part, called the kingdom of Israel, and
the southern part, called the kingdom of Judah. The
northern part was called the kingdom of Israel, a universal
name, because it was made up of the ten tribes of Israel;
the southern part was called the kingdom of Judah a local
name, because it was composed of the two tribes of Judah
and Benjamin. As far as you are concerned, which title has
the better meaning--the kingdom of Israel or the kingdom
of Judah? I would surely favor the kingdom of Israel, for
that is something universal, something for the majority. I
would never favor Judah, because Judah is too local, too
narrow. However, although the kingdom of Israel was
more universal than that of Judah, in the genealogy of
Christ, not one name of the kings of Israel is included.
They were universal, but
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they were excluded from the generation of Christ. They
were excluded because they were not associated with
Christ.
This picture, like all other items in the Old Testament,
was written for our learning, and it is a type of the
occurrences in the New Testament age. We see the same
thing today. In principle, at the beginning the church was
one. But after a certain time, the church was divided, not
into two parts, but perhaps into more than two thousand
parts. Some may say, "Were not those in the kingdom of
Israel still the people of God?" Certainly they were. They
were the people of God, but they were outside of the line of
Christ. What does this mean? To be outside of the line of
Christ means that, although you are God's people, you are
not for Christ. You are for something other than Christ.
Consider the situation today. We are all real Christians,
and we are all God's people. But are we solely, purely,
fully, and ultimately for Christ or are we for something
else? If you are for something other than Christ, then you
are outside of the line of Christ. For this reason, none of
the kings of the northern kingdom, the larger and more
universal kingdom, is included in the genealogy of Christ.
T. Joram Begetting Uzziah
Verse 8 says, "Joram begot Uzziah." Compare this
record with 1 Chronicles 3:11 and 12, which say, "Joram
his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son, Amaziah his son,
Azariah" (who is Ozias or Uzziah--2 Kings 15:1, 13).
Matthew omitted three generations which are found in 1
Chronicles--Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah.
This must have been due to the evil marriage of Joram
to the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, which corrupted his
descendants (2 Chron. 21:5-6; 22:1-4). Ahab was the king
of the northern kingdom, and his wife Jezebel was a
wicked woman who was fully related to idols. Because she
was one with the Devil, she corrupted her husband. They
brought forth a daughter, and Joram, one of the kings of
Judah, married her. This woman taught Joram to worship
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idols, to be one with the idols. Thus their family was
corrupted. According to Exodus 20:5, three generations of
Joram's descendants were cut off from the generation of
Christ. Exodus 20:5 says that anyone who forsakes God
and worships idols corrupts himself and will suffer God's
curse for three or four generations. Therefore, three
generation of King Joram were cut off from the genealogy
of Christ. Here we must learn a lesson. If we would be
associated with Christ, we should never be involved with
anything related to idols. God is a jealous God and He will
never tolerate idolatry.
U. Josiah Begetting Jeconiah
Verse 11 says, "Josiah begot Jeconiah." Compare this
record with "the sons of Josiah...the second
Jehoiakim...and the sons of Jehoiakim; Jeconiah his son"
(1 Chron. 3:15-16). One generation--Jehoiakim--was
omitted from the genealogy of Christ. This must have been
because he was made king by Pharaoh of Egypt and
collected tax for Pharaoh (2 Kings 23:34-35). Because he
was so closely related to Egypt, he was excluded from the
genealogy of Christ. Egypt represents the world. From
these two records we see that anyone who is related to
idols or associated with the world will be excluded from
the generation of Christ.
V. The Captives to Babylon
Those who were carried away to Babylon as captives
(vv. 11-12) were indirectly related to Christ through their
descendant Joseph's marriage with Mary. Even these
captives are included in this sacred record of Christ's
genealogy because they had an indirect relationship
through Mary, the mother of Jesus.
W. Jeconiah
Jeconiah was not reckoned as a king in this genealogy
because he was born during the captivity and was carried
away as a captive (2 Chron. 36:9-10, Jehoiachin is
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Jeconiah). According to the prophecy of Jeremiah 22:28-30,
none of Jeconiah's descendants would inherit the throne of
David. All of his descendants were cut off from David's
throne. If Christ had been a direct descendant of Jeconiah,
He would not have been entitled to the throne of David.
Although Jeremiah 22:28-30 says that all the descendants
of Jeconiah are excluded from the throne of David, the
next chapter, verse 5, says that God will raise up a branch
to David, a King who will reign and prosper. This Branch
is Christ. This prophecy confirms that Christ will be the
descendant of David, although not a direct descendant of
Jeconiah, and will inherit the throne of David.
X. Jeconiah Begetting Salathiel, and Salathiel
Begetting Zerubbabel
Verse 12 says, "Jeconiah begot Salathiel; and Salathiel
begot Zerubbabel." Compare this record with that in 1
Chronicles 3:17-19, "the sons of Jeconiah...Salathiel...and
Pedaiah...and the sons of Pedaiah were Zerubabel...,
"showing that Zerubbabel was the son of Pedaiah,
Salathiel's brother. Zerubbabel was not Salathiel's son, but
his nephew, who became his heir. Perhaps this was a case
in accordance with Deuteronomy 25:5 and 6, which say
that if a man dies without a son as his heir, his brother
must marry his wife in order to produce a son to be his
heir. Without this case, we cannot understand why there is
such a regulation in Deuteronomy 25. Even that word in
Deuteronomy is related to the genealogy of Christ.
Y. Zerubbabel
Ezra 5:1 and 2 say that Zerubbabel was one of the
leaders who returned to Jerusalem from the captivity at
Babylon. This means that he was a leader in the Lord's
recovery. This is a great thing. He was also a leader in the
rebuilding of God's temple (Zech. 4:7-10).
Without this return from captivity, it would have been
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impossible for Christ to be born at Bethlehem. The Old
Testament definitely predicted that Christ, as the
descendant of David, would be born in Bethlehem (Matt.
2:4-6; Micah 5:2). Suppose none of the people of Israel had
returned to Judah, and the time came for Christ to be born
at Bethlehem. No one would have been there. Now we can
understand why God commanded the captives to return.
God's commandment that the captives return was not only
for the rebuilding of the temple but also the preparation
for Christ to be born in Bethlehem.
It is exactly the same today. Some may ask, "What is
the difference between remaining at Babylon and
returning to Jerusalem? Isn't it the same, as long as we
worship God and walk in the spirit?" It may be all right
with you, but it is not all right with Christ. Christ needs
some people to bring Him to Bethlehem. You may worship
God and you may walk in the spirit in Babylon, but be
assured that Christ could never be born into humanity
through you. This requires a specific place. You must
return from Babylon to Judah. When the time came for the
Lord Jesus to be born, some Israelites, descendants of the
returned captives, were waiting in Judah. At that time,
Joseph and Mary were not in Babylon; they were in Judah.
For Christ to come to earth, some of His captured people
had to return. For His second coming, Christ also needs
some of His captured people to return from their captivity
to the proper church life.
Z. Jacob Begetting Joseph
The genealogy here says, "Jacob begot Joseph" (v. 16),
but Luke 3:23 says, "Joseph, the son of Heli." Whose son
was Joseph? Luke's record says "as was supposed." A
literal translation would be "as to the law." This indicates
that Joseph was not actually the son of Heli, but was
reckoned as his son according to the law. Joseph was the
son-in-law of Heli, Mary's father. This might have been a
case according to Numbers 27:1-8 and 36:1-12, in which a
regulation was made by God that if any parents had only
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daughters as heirs, their inheritance should go to the
daughters; the daughters then must marry a man of their
own tribe in order to keep their inheritance within that
tribe. If we did not have Matthew chapter one we may
wonder why such a record exists. Now we see that this is
not merely the record of a certain regulation; it is a matter
related to Christ, because the virgin daughter who brought
forth Christ was such a case. We believe that Mary's
parents had no sons and that she inherited her parent's
heritage and married Joseph, a man of the same tribe, the
tribe of Judah. Even the regulation in Numbers 27 and 36
is related to the genealogy of Christ. Either directly or
indirectly the whole Bible is a record of Christ.
AA. Joseph the Husband of Mary, of Whom Jesus
Was Born
At this point, the record of this genealogy does not say
"Joseph begot Jesus," as mentioned of all the foregoing
persons; it says, "Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom
was born Jesus" (V. 16). Jesus was born of Mary, not of
Joseph, since it was prophesied that Christ would be the
seed of a woman and born of a virgin (Gen. 3:15; Isa. 7:14).
Christ could not have been born of Joseph, because Joseph
was a man and a descendant of Jeconiah, of whose
descendants none could inherit the throne of David (Jer.
22:28-30). If Christ had been born of Joseph, He would
have been excluded from the throne of David. However,
Mary was a virgin (Luke 1:27) and a descendant of David
(Luke 1:31-32), the right person of whom Christ should be
born. The marriage of Joseph with Mary brought him into
relationship with Christ and united into one the two lines
of Christ's genealogy for the bringing forth of Christ.
Now we need to examine the chart (p. 52) which shows
that the generation of Christ begins from God and
continues until it reaches Jesus. The first name is God,
and the last name is Jesus. It proceeds from God to Adam,
from Adam to Abraham, form Abraham through Isaac and
Jacob and on to David. After David, it is divided into two
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lines, the first running from Nathan to Mary and the
second from Solomon to Joseph. Eventually, in God's
sovereignty, these two lines are brought together by the
marriage of Mary to Joseph to bring forth Christ. If we
spend time to consider this chart, we shall realize how
wonderful is God's sovereignty.
All marriages are under God's sovereignty, especially
marriages related to Christ. From God to David the
genealogy was one line, and from David to Jesus it was
two lines; yet these two lines were united through the
marriage of Joseph and Mary. The Jesus who was brought
forth by Mary fulfills the prophecies: the prophecy
concerning the seed of woman (Gen. 3:15); the prophecy of
a virgin bringing forth a son (Isa. 7:14); the prophecy of
Abraham having a seed who would bring blessing to all
the nations (Gen. 22:18); the prophecy to Isaac and Jacob,
which was the same as the prophecy made to Abraham
(Gen. 26:4; 28:14); the prophecy made to Judah that Judah
would be the royal tribe (Gen. 49:10); and the prophecy
made to David (2 Sam. 7:12-13). Although the birth of
Jesus fulfilled many prophecies in the Old Testament, He
was not the descendant of Jeconiah. Seemingly, the
descendants of Jeconiah were still in the royal line. But
according to God's sovereignty, Mary, the mother of Jesus,
married Joseph, a descendant of Jeconiah, who seemed to
be in the line of the royal family. Apparently, Jesus was
the descendant of Jeconiah; actually, He was not. He was
the descendant of David. Only God can arrange such a
thing. Praise Him!
If you consider your history, the history of your
salvation, you will see that the principle is the same. Do
not think that the marriage of Joseph and Mary was an
accident. It was no accident; rather it was planned by the
sovereign hand of God. Likewise, your association with
Christ--your salvation--was not an accident; it also was
planned by the divine hand. Sometimes I have thanked
the Lord and said to Him, "I am so happy that You did not
put me on earth in 20 B.C., but in the twentieth century.
You put me on this earth in a place where the missionaries
came with the Bible. One day I was born of a Christian
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mother. Later, I was given the opportunity to hear the
gospel, and I was saved. Hallelujah!" This was no accident.
Neither was your association with Christ an accident. God
carefully planned it all. God has arranged all this for little
people like us. This is not an insignificant matter. When
we enter eternity, we may be very surprised. We may
shout, "Praise the Lord!"
BB. Mary
We come now to Mary, the virgin (1:16). Being a virgin,
she was different from the other four women mentioned in
this genealogy. Mary was pure and unique. She conceived
of the Holy Spirit, not of man, to bring forth Christ (Luke
1:34-35; Matt. 1:18b, 20b). This account of the four
remarried women and the one virgin proves that all the
persons recorded in this genealogy were born of sin, except
Christ, who was born in holiness.
CC. The One Who Is Called Christ
Matthew uses the phrase, "Who is called Christ" (v.
16). In Luke's genealogy, the title Christ is not mentioned.
Luke mentions the name Jesus because Luke proves that
the Lord came to be a man, not to be the Anointed One,
the King, the Messiah. Matthew, on the contrary, proves
that Jesus is the King, the Messiah prophesied in the Old
Testament. Hence, he added the word, "Who is called
Christ."
DD. Abraham, David, and Mary
Abraham, David, and Mary are three pleasant names
in the Bible, names sweet to the ears of God (vv. 2, 6, 16).
Abraham represents a life by faith, David represents a life
under the dealing of the cross, and Mary represents a life
of absolute surrender to the Lord. It was through these
three kinds of lives that Christ was brought forth into
humanity.
The principle is the same today. Consider the matter
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of preaching the gospel. The purpose of preaching the
gospel is to bring Christ into humanity. This requires a
great deal of faith, a life under the dealing of the cross,
and a life of absolute surrender to the Lord. If we have
these kinds of lives, we shall surely bring Christ into
humanity.
EE. To David and from David
David is the end of the generations of the fathers and
the beginning of the generations of the kings (v. 17). He
was the one person used by God as a landmark both to
conclude the section of the fathers and to begin the section
of the kings.
FF. Until the Carrying Away and from the Carrying
Away
At the time of degradation, there was no person as a
landmark to divide the generations as did Abraham and
David. So, the carrying away itself became a landmark, a
landmark of shame. At that time, the landmark was not a
person; it was the carrying away to Babylon. The Bible is
careful to show us that no person prevailed as the
landmark for that generation. This was a shame.
GG. Three Groups of Fourteen Generations
Verse 17 mentions three groups of fourteen
generations. The number fourteen is composed of ten plus
four. Four signifies the creatures. In Revelation 4:6 we
have the four living creatures, and in Revelation 7:1 we
have "the four corners of the earth" and "the four winds."
The number ten signifies fullness. We often speak of one
tenth, meaning the tenth part of fullness (see Gen. 14:20).
Therefore, in Matthew 25:1 we have ten virgins. Look at
your two hands and your feet; you have ten fingers and ten
toes. Thus, the number ten denotes fullness, and the
number fourteen signifies the creatures in full.
Three times of fourteen generations indicates that the
Triune God mingles Himself with the creatures in full.
This is very meaningful. The Persons of the Triune God
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are the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. This genealogy is
of three sections: the section of the fathers, the section of
the kings, and the section of the civilians, including the
captured ones and the recovered ones. God the Father fits
into the section of the fathers, God the Son fits into the
section of the kings, and God the Spirit fits into the section
of the civilians. This is wonderful! Therefore, three times
fourteen means the mingling of the Triune God with His
creatures. This record of the generation of Christ indicates
the mingling of the Triune God with these human
creatures.
The Triune God has been traveling through Abraham
and Isaac, Jacob and Judah, Boaz and Obed, Jesse and
David, and then through many other generations to Mary
and Joseph. Finally, Jesus came. Who is Jesus? Jesus is
the Triune God traveling through all the generations and
coming forth as the mingling of divinity with humanity.
Three times fourteen is forty-two. Forty is the number
of trials, temptations, and sufferings (Heb. 3:9; Matt. 4:2; 1
Kings 19:8). Christ is the forty-second generation. Forty-
two signifies rest and satisfaction after trials. Numbers
33:5-48 shows us that the children of Israel traveled
through forty-two stations before they came into Canaan.
According to the record of the Old Testament, the
Israelites suffered all the way through these forty-two
stations. They were tried, they were tempted, and they
were tested. They had no rest. However, after passing
through these forty-two stations, they entered into rest.
This not only happened in the past, but will happen again
in the future. In Revelation 13, we see that there will be
forty-two months, three and one-half years. These forty-
two months will be the concluding part of the final seven
years, the last week mentioned in Daniel 9:24-27. There
are seventy weeks: the first seven weeks, then sixty-two
weeks, and then the last week, each week representing
seven years. The second half of these last seven years, a
period of forty-two months, will be the great tribulation,
and it will be awful. There will be many trials, testings,
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temptations, and sufferings. But, when these forty-two
months have been completed, the kingdom will come and
there will be rest. From Abraham through Mary was a
time of sufferings, tests, and temptations. After all the
generations of trials, temptations, and sufferings, Christ
came as the forty-second generation to be our rest and
satisfaction. With Him we have complete rest and full
satisfaction.
If we read the history in Chronicles, we shall discover
that the generations from Abraham to Christ were
actually forty-five generations. Why then does Matthew
have only forty-two? By deducting from the forty-five
generations the three cursed generations and the one
improper generation, and by making David two
generations (one of the fathers and one of the kings), the
generations become forty-two, which are divided into three
ages of fourteen generations each.
Remember: this is not only a life-study, but also a Bible
study. Hence, we need some knowledge. We need to see
that the record of Matthew is not a record according to
history, but a record according to doctrine. The record of
John, on the contrary, is according to history, for John
wrote his Gospel according to the events of history.
According to history, it was forty-five generations, but
according to Matthew's doctrinal purpose, it was forty-two
generations. Matthew must have had a doctrinal purpose
in saying that from Abraham to David was fourteen
generations, from David to the carrying away was another
fourteen generations, and from the carrying away to
Christ was still another fourteen generations. It was not
inaccurate for Matthew to say this. Three generations
were omitted because they were not qualified, and a fourth
generation was disqualified and cut off. But there was a
wonderful person. David, the king, who was doubly
qualified. He became two generations, closing one section
and opening another. he brought in the kingship, for
through him the kingdom was established. therefore,
David's being counted as two generations, this genealogy
of Christ can consist of forty-two generations in three
sections, each with fourteen generations.
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HH. "To the Christ"
Let us now consider the words "to the Christ" (v. 17).
Luke's record begins with Jesus and traces back to God, a
total of seventy-seven generations. Matthew's record
proceeds from Abraham to Christ. Luke goes back and up
to God; Matthew comes forward and down to Christ. All
the generations were directed toward Christ and brought
forth Christ. Without Christ, there are just forty-one
generations; there is no goal, no consummation, and no
conclusion. Forty-one is not a good number; we must have
the number forty-two. Christ is the goal, the
consummation, the conclusion, the completion, and the
perfection of all the generations, fulfilling their prophecies,
solving their problems, and meeting their needs. Christ
came to fulfill all the prophecies, the prophecies of
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and David. Without the
coming of Christ, all these prophecies would have been in
vain. When Christ comes, light, life, salvation, satisfaction,
healing, freedom, rest, comfort, peace, and joy all come
with Him. From, this point on, the whole New Testament
is the full expounding of this wonderful Christ. The
twenty-seven books of the New Testament--the Gospels,
the Acts, the Epistles, and Revelation--tell us how this
Christ fulfills all the prophecies, solves all our problems,
and meets all our needs and how He is everything to us.
Hallelujah, Christ has come!
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53
LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE FIVE
THE KING'S ANTECEDENTS AND STATUS
(5)
II. HIS BIRTH
In this message we come to the birth of Christ. Because
the birth of Christ is altogether a mystery, it is difficult to
talk about it. First, we need to consider some matters
related to the preparation for Christ's birth.
A. By God's Sovereignty
The birth of Christ was prepared and carried out by
God's sovereignty (1:8; Luke 1:26-27). By His sovereignty,
God brought Joseph and Mary together in marriage to
bring forth Christ to be the legal heir to the throne of
David. Marriage is a mystery. It is not easy to bring two
persons together, especially when it concerns the birth of
Christ. It was not a simple matter to bring Joseph and
Mary together. Look into the history here. According to the
genealogy of Christ in Matthew, Joseph was a descendant
of Zerubbabel, a returned captive. Zerubbabel, a leader of
the tribe of Judah and a descendant of the royal family,
led the captives from Babylon to Jerusalem (Ezra 2:2).
Eventually, he also took the lead in rebuilding the temple
(Ezra 3:8; 5:2). Joseph was his descendant. If there had
been no return of the captives, where would Joseph have
been born? He would have been born in Babylon. The same
would have been true for Mary, also a descendant of the
returned captives. If the forefathers of Joseph and Mary
had remained in Babylon and if both Mary and Joseph
themselves had been born there, how could Jesus have
sovereignty in bringing back the forefathers of Joseph and
Mary.
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By His sovereignty, God placed both Joseph and Mary
in the same city, Nazareth (Luke 1:26; 2:4). If they had
lived far away from each other, it would have been difficult
for them to come together in marriage. Joseph and Mary
not only were descendants of the returned captives, but
also lived in the same little town. This allowed them to
come together in marriage.
Furthermore, when we examine the genealogies in
Matthew and Luke, we discover that Joseph was a
descendant of the royal line, the line of Solomon (v. 6-7),
and Mary was a descendant of the common line, the line of
Nathan (Luke 3:31). Although Joseph and Mary came
together in marriage, Jesus was born of Mary, not of
Joseph. Apparently, He was born of Joseph; actually, He
was born of Mary (1:16). This was absolutely a matter of
God's sovereignty.
As we have seen in a previous message, the curse
recorded in Jeremiah disqualified any descendant of
Jeconiah from inheriting the throne of David (Jer. 22:28-
30). If, in actuality, Jesus had been born of Joseph, He
would have been disqualified from the throne of David.
Because Joseph was still in the royal line, he was a royal
descendant according to man's eyes. By the marriage of
Mary, Jesus' mother, with Joseph, Jesus was apparently
associated with this royal line. Again, we see God's
sovereignty. God found a young woman, also the
descendant of David, to bring forth Christ. Jesus was born
of her and was actually the seed of David qualified to
inherit the throne of David.
By this sovereign arrangement, Jesus was both an
ordinary person and the heir of the royal throne. This is
the reason He has two genealogies, one in Luke, telling us
of His common status, and another in Matthew, telling us
of His royal status. His common status came from Mary,
and His royal status came from Joseph. Thus Jesus was
born by God's sovereignty. None of us was born under this
kind of God's sovereignty. None of us was born under this
kind of sovereignty. Only Jesus was qualified to enjoy such
a sovereign arrangement.
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B. Through Mary's Surrender
According to Luke 1:26-38, the birth of Christ was
carried out through Mary's surrender. Here I would say a
word to the young people. It was not easy for a young
virgin like Mary to accept the commission to conceive a
child. If I had been she, I would have said, "Lord, if You
would ask me to do anything other than this, I would do it.
But You ask me to conceive a child! This is not humanly
possible; it is neither moral nor ethical. I can't do it!" For
us to read this record is easy. However, suppose a young
sister among us were to receive such a commission tonight.
Could she accept it? This is not an insignificant matter.
Mary might have said, "Gabriel, don't you know that I am
espoused to a man already? How can I conceive a child?"
Who among us would accept such a commission? If an
angel spoke such a word to you, could you accept it?
After listening to the angel, Mary said, "Behold the
slave of the Lord; may it be to me according to your word"
(Luke 1:38). This may appear simple, but the price was
extremely high. To bring forth Christ Mary paid a very
high price--the cost of her whole being. It is not easy to
bring forth Christ; it is not cheap. If we would bring forth
Christ, we must pay a price. Mary did.
Joseph reacted immediately, planning that he would
put Mary away secretly (v. 19). Thus, Mary was in trouble.
I assure you, whenever you accept the commission to bring
forth Christ, you will find yourself in trouble. All the
angels will understand you, but not one human being will
understand. Do not expect anyone to be like the angel
Gabriel. Everyone will misunderstand you. In fact, the
person closest to you may misunderstand you the most.
Nevertheless, in large measure, the birth of Christ was
accomplished through Mary's surrender.
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C. Of the Holy Spirit's Power
However, Mary's surrender was not directly related to
the conceiving of Jesus. The conceiving of Jesus was
directly related to the Holy Spirit (vv. 18, 20; Luke 1:35).
Without the Holy Spirit, Mary surrender would have
meant nothing. No matter how much we may surrender,
without the power of the Holy Spirit our surrender means
nothing. Do not estimate your surrender too highly. Our
surrender means little; it simply affords the opportunity
for the Holy Spirit's power to come into us and accomplish
something.
D. With Joseph's Obedience and Coordination
Although there was the sovereignty of God, the
surrender of Mary, and the power of the Holy Spirit, there
was the need of Joseph's obedience and coordination (vv.
19-21, 24-25). What would have happened if Joseph had
insisted on a divorce? He was planning this. However, he
was the person selected by God for the birth of Christ.
Therefore, he was not so rough and quick; rather, he was
considerate and thoughtful. Because at that time Joseph
was a young man, I would take this opportunity to say a
word to the young people: Do not make decisions too fast
or act too quickly. Be a little slow and give the Lord a
chance to come in. At least, give the matter another night.
During that night, the angel may come and speak to you.
This happened to Joseph. While he thought on these
things, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream
(v. 20). Joseph obeyed the word of the angel.
Suppose you were engaged to a young girl and
discovered that she was with child. Would you still take
her? To take such a woman would surely be a shame.
Therefore, not only Mary paid a price, but Joseph also paid
a price. The bringing forth of Christ cost him a great deal,
for it caused him to suffer shame.
The points we have covered thus far in this message
are merely some minor points. We come now to the major
points.
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E. Fulfilling the Prophecies
The birth of Christ was a great fulfillment of
prophecies in the Old Testament. The first prophecy in the
Old Testament is Genesis 3:15. There are no prophecies in
chapters one and two of Genesis, but in chapter three,
after the fall of man, after the serpent had worked himself
into man through the woman, God gave a promise. In
giving this promise, God seemed to say, "Serpent, you
came in through the woman. Now I shall deal with you by
the seed of this woman." Thus, the promise concerning the
seed of the woman was the first prophecy in the Bible.
In 1:22 and 23 this promise is fulfilled by a virgin
conceiving a child. This child came to be the seed of the
woman. In Galatians 4:4 Paul says that Christ was born
under the law and also was born of the woman. Christ
came not only to fulfill the law, but also to fulfill the
promise that the seed of the woman would bruise the head
of the serpent.
From Genesis we proceed to Isaiah 7:14, where there is
another prophecy concerning Christ. "Behold, a virgin
shall conceive, and bear a son." The fulfillment of this
promise brought God into man. Hallelujah, God became
man!
F. God Becoming Flesh
However, it is difficulty to find a verse which says that
God became man. What the Bible says is this: "The Word
was God...and the Word became flesh" (John 1:1, 14). Man
is a good term, but flesh is not. If I tell you that you are a
man, you will be happy. But if I say that you are flesh, you
will not be happy because the word flesh is not a positive
term. In 1 Timothy 3:16 Paul says, "Great is the
mystery...Who was manifested in the flesh." Although
flesh is not a good term, the Bible says that God was
manifest in the flesh.
It is not easy to understand what the Bible means by
the flesh. In the Bible the flesh has at least three
meanings. First, in a good sense, it means the meat of our
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body (John 6:55). Our body has meat and bone, blood and
skin. This is physical. Second, flesh means our fallen body.
God did not create fallen flesh; He created a body. When
man fell, the poison of Satan was injected into his body,
and the body was corrupted and became the flesh.
Therefore, Romans 7:18 says, "For I know that in me, that
is, in my flesh, nothing good dwells." This indicates that
the fallen body, the body of sin (Rom. 6:6), is called the
flesh. All human lusts come from this flesh. Hence, the
New Testament has the term "the lusts of our flesh" (Eph.
2:3). Third, the flesh, especially in the New Testament,
means the fallen man. Romans 3:20 says, "By the works of
the law no flesh shall be justified before Him." In this
verse flesh is the fallen man.
Nevertheless John 1:14 says, "The Word [which was
God] became flesh." As we have seen, flesh means the
fallen man. How, then, shall we interpret John 1:14? The
Word was God, and the Word became flesh. Great is the
mystery that God was manifest in the flesh. The Bible says
that God became flesh and that flesh is not the created
man, but the fallen man. Can we say the God became a
fallen man? This surely is a difficult matter.
However, there are two verses that can help us. The
first verse is Romans 8:3, which says that God sent "His
own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin." This verse does
not say "the flesh of sin"; it says "the likeness of the flesh
of sin." The other verse is John [Link] "As Moses lifted up
the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of
Man be lifted up." The serpent lifted up on a pole in the
wilderness was not actually a serpent with poison; it was a
brass serpent made in the likeness of a real serpent (Num.
21:9). John 3:14 is the word of the Lord Jesus to
Nicodemus. The Lord told him that as Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness, even so must He Himself be
lifted up on the cross. When Jesus was on the cross, in the
eyes of God He was in the form, the likeness, of a serpent.
But as was the case with the brass serpent in the
wilderness, there was no poison in Him because He was
not born of a fallen man. He was born of a virgin.
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Now we must clearly differentiate two points: Christ
was conceived of the Holy Spirit and He was born of a
virgin. His source was the Holy Spirit, and His element
was divine. Through the virgin Mary as a means, He put
on flesh and blood, the human nature, taking "the likeness
of the flesh," "the likeness of men" (Phil. 2:7). However, He
did not have the sinful nature of the fallen flesh. He knew
no sin (2 Cor. 5:21), and He had no sin (Heb. 4:15). He had
flesh, but it was the "likeness of the flesh of sin." In
appearance He was made in the form of a fallen man, but
in actuality there was no fallen nature within Him. His
birth was exactly the same in principle. Apparently, He
was the son of Joseph; actually, He was the son of Mary.
Why was the Lord Jesus viewed by God as being in the
form of a serpent when He was on the cross? Because,
since the day man fell (Gen. 3:1), the serpent had been in
man, and he made every man a serpent. According to
Matthew 3:7 and 23:33, both John the Baptist and the
Lord Jesus called people the "generation of vipers," that is,
serpents, indicating that all fallen ones are descendants of
the serpent. We all are little serpents. Do not think that
you are good. Before you were saved, you were a serpent.
This is the reason the Lord Jesus died on the cross to
suffer God's judgment. When Jesus was on the cross, He
was not only a man, but was also in the form of a serpent.
In the eyes of God, for all of us serpentine people, He took
on the form of a serpent and died on the cross. Perhaps
you have never heard that Jesus took the form of a
serpent, the likeness of the flesh of sin. You have heard
that Jesus is God and that He took the form of a man, but
not that He also took the form of a serpent. How wonderful
He is!
We are fallen flesh, and Jesus came into this flesh that
He might bring God into humanity. In Him, the divine
Person of God was mingled with humanity. The birth of
Christ was not simply to produce a Savior, but also to
bring God into man. Although humanity was fallen, God
did not take on any part of this fallen nature. God took
only the likeness of the fallen flesh, and through this He
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mingled Himself with humanity. We should not think of
Jesus in the way many others think of Him. We must
realize that Jesus is nothing less than God Himself
mingled with fallen humanity, taking the form of
humanity, but without man's sinful nature. This was the
birth of Christ.
G. Jehovah to Be Jesus
The wonderful One who was born in this wonderful
way is Jehovah. And He is not only Jehovah--He is
Jehovah with something else. The name Jesus means
"Jehovah the Savior" or "the salvation of Jehovah" (Matt.
1:21). This wonderful Person is the very salvation which
Jehovah renders people. He Himself is salvation. Because
Jehovah Himself becomes salvation, He is the Savior.
Do not think that when we call Jesus we are just
calling the name of a man. Jesus is not simply a man; He
is Jehovah our salvation, Jehovah our Savior. This is
simple, yet profound. When you call on Jesus, the whole
universe realizes that you are calling on Jehovah as your
Savior, Jehovah as your salvation.
The Jews believe in Jehovah, but not in Jesus. In a
sense, they have Jehovah, but they do not have salvation
or the Savior. We have more than the Jews have, for we
have Jehovah the Savior, Jehovah our salvation. This is
why we have such a wonderful feeling when we call on
Jesus. Even if you were to say that you hate Jesus, there
would still be a feeling within you. If you were to say, "I
hate Abraham Lincoln," there would be no feeling. If you
say, "I hate Jesus," some feeling is there. Abraham Lincoln
has nothing to do with you, but Jesus does. Many have
said, "I hate Jesus," and later were caught by Jesus.
Whoever calls on the name of Jesus will be saved. If you
touch the name of Jesus, you will be touched by Him.
When we preach the gospel, it is good to help people call on
Jesus. As long as they call on Jesus, something will
happen.
Jesus is a wonderful name because Jesus is Jehovah.
In Genesis 1 we do not find the name Jehovah. We find
only the name God: "In the beginning God created...."
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Elohim--God--is the term for the God of creation. The
name Jehovah, which is not used until Genesis 2, is used
especially when God relates to man. The name Jesus is
something added to Jehovah--that is, Jehovah our
salvation, Jehovah our Savior.
Jesus is the real Joshua (Num. 13:16; Heb. 4:8). Joshua
is the Hebrew equivalent of Jesus, and Jesus is the Greek
translation of Joshua. Moses brought God's people out of
Egypt, but Joshua brought them into rest. As our real
Joshua, Jesus brings us into rest. Matthew 11:28 and 29
tell us that Jesus is the rest and that He brings us into
Himself as rest. Hebrews 4:8, 9 and 11 also speak of Jesus
as our real Joshua. The Joshua in the Old Testament text
becomes Jesus in the Greek text of Hebrews. The Jesus
mentioned in Hebrews 4 is our Joshua.
It is difficult to separate Jesus from Joshua because
Jesus is Joshua, and Joshua is Jesus. Today, Jesus is our
real Joshua who brings us into rest, the rest of the good
land. He is not only our Savior saving us from sin, but also
our Joshua bringing us into rest, the good land. whenever
we call on His name, He saves us from sin and brings us
into rest, into the enjoyment of Himself. A line in a hymn
speaks about saying the name Jesus a thousand times a
day. The more you say, "Jesus, the better. We must learn
to speak the name of Jesus all the time. Jesus is our
salvation. Jesus is also our rest. Whoever calls on the
name of the Lord Jesus shall be saved and enter into the
rest.
H. God to Be Emmanuel
In 1:23 we have another wonderful name--Emmanuel.
Jesus was the name given by God, and Emmanuel was the
name called by man. Emmanuel means "God with us."
Jesus the Savior is God with us. Without Him we cannot
meet God, for God is He, and He is God. Without Him we
cannot find God, for He is God Himself incarnated to dwell
among us (John 1:14).
Jesus is not only God; He is God with us. The "us"
refers to the saved people. We are the "us." Day by day, we
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have Emmanuel. In Matthew 18:20 Jesus said that
whenever two or three are gathered together in His name,
He will be with them. this is Emmanuel. Whenever we
Christians gather together, He is in our midst. In Matthew
28:20, the last verse of this Gospel, Jesus told His
disciples, "Lo, I am with you all the days, even until the
completion of the age." Jesus as Emmanuel is here today.
According to Matthew, Jesus came, but He never went
away. He was buried in the tomb for three days, but He
came in resurrection and never left. He is with us as
Emmanuel.
When we call on Jesus, we have the sense that God is
with us. we call on Jesus, but we have God. Sometimes, we
Christians are rather stupid. We call on Jesus and we find
God; yet we wonder whether or not Jesus is God. Jesus is
God! He is not only God--He is God with us. When we call
on Jesus, we have Jehovah, we have the Savior, we have
salvation, and we have God with us. We have God in the
very place where we are.
I. Jehovah God Born in the Flesh to Be the King
This Jesus, who is Jehovah God, was born in the flesh
to be the King to inherit the throne of David (1:20; Luke
1:27, 32-33). Matthew is a book on the kingdom with
Christ as the King, the Messiah. When you call on Jesus,
you have Jehovah, the Savior, salvation, God, and
eventually, the King. The King rules. When we call on
Jesus, immediately we have One ruling over us. If you
have some unseemly pictures or photos on your walls and
you call on Jesus, He will be your King and say, "Get rid of
that!"
Jesus, the king, intends to establish His kingdom
within you and to set up the throne of David in your heart.
The more you call on Jesus, the more the ruling power will
be there. If you do not believe me, I ask you to try it. Call
on the name of Jesus for ten minutes and see what
happens. The King will rule over you and bother you. The
first night He may say that your attitude toward others
has never been very good, especially toward your husband
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or your wife and that you must be ruled. Call on His name
and you will be ruled by Him.
Jesus is a wonderful Person. He is Jehovah, God, the
Savior, and the King. The King has been born and is here
today. Every day, morning and evening, we appreciate
Christ as our Savior, as our King, and as the King of kings.
When no one can rule over you, this King of kings will
be able to rule you. When no one else can control you--
neither your parents, your husband, your wife, or your
children--the King of kings will do something. Simply call
on the name of Jesus. If you do, you will enjoy Jehovah,
the Savior, salvation, the presence of God, and also the
kingship of Jesus. Jesus the King will be born in you, and
He will establish His kingdom within you. This is the very
Jesus Christ we find in Matthew.
The Christ in Matthew is the Savior-King and the
King-Savior who sets up the kingdom of the heavens
within us and over us. Matthew 1 not only gives us the
origin of this King; it also gives us the presence of this
King. This King's name is Jesus. Whenever we call on His
name, we have the sense that He is ruling within us by
saving us. He is setting up the kingdom of the heavens
within us. Hallelujah, this is our Christ!
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE SIX
THE KING'S ANTECEDENTS AND STATUS
(6)
Matthew 1 is a chapter of names. We have spent
considerable time on the names of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
and even on the names of Tamar and Rahab. The last two
names, however, Jesus and Emmanuel, are more than
wonderful. Although the last part of Matthew 1 seems to
deal with the birth of Christ, it actually deals with the
names of Jesus and Emmanuel. In this message I am
burdened to give you a hint concerning how to dwell on
these names.
J. Jesus, the Name Given by God
Jesus was the name given by God, whereas Emmanuel
was the name called by man. The angel Gabriel told Mary
that the child she would conceive was to be called Jesus
(Luke 1:31). Later, the angel of the Lord appeared to
Joseph and also told him to call the child Jesus (Matt.
1:21, 25). Hence, Jesus was a God-given name.
1. Three Elements in the Name of Jesus
a. Jehovah--"I Am That I Am"
The name Jesus includes the name Jehovah. In
Hebrew, the name God means the mighty One, God the
Almighty; and the name Jehovah means I Am--I Am That
I Am (Exo. 3:14). The verb "to be" in Hebrew not only
refers to the present, but also includes both the past and
the future. Hence, the correct meaning of Jehovah is I Am
That I Am, the One who is now in the present, who was in
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the past, and who will be in the future and in eternity
forever. This is the name of Jehovah. Only God is the
eternal One. From eternity past to eternity future, He is
the I Am. Therefore, the Lord Jesus could say of Himself,
"Before Abraham came into being, I am" (John 8:58). He
also said to the Jews, "Unless you believe that I am, you
shall die in your sins," and, "When you lift up the Son of
Man, then you will know that I am" (John 8:24, 28). We
must realize that Jesus is the great I Am and believe in
Him as the great I Am.
Because the name of the Lord is the I Am, we may say,
"Lord, You told me that Your name is I Am. Then, what
are You?" His answer will be, "I am whatever you need."
The Lord is whatever we need. If we need salvation, He
Himself will be salvation to us. We have a signed check
with the space for the amount left blank, and we may fill
in whatever we need. If we need one dollar, we may insert
one dollar. But if we need one million dollars, we may
insert one million dollars. If we feel that we need one
billion, we simply fill in this amount. The check covers
whatever we need. Whatever you need, Jesus is. Do you
need light, life, power, wisdom, holiness, or righteousness'?
Jesus Himself is light, life, power, wisdom, holiness, and
righteousness. Everything we need is found in the name of
Jesus. How high and how rich is this wonderful name!
b. Savior
The first element included in the name of Jesus is
Jehovah. The second is the Savior. Jesus is Jehovah-
Savior, the One who saves us from all negative things:
from our sins, from hell, from God's judgment, and from
eternal condemnation. He is the Savior. He saves us from
everything God condemns and from everything we hate. If
we hate our temper, He will save us from it. He saves us
from the evil power of Satan, from all our besetting sins in
our daily life, and from every bondage and addiction.
Hallelujah, He is the Savior!
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c. Salvation
Jesus is not only the Savior, He Himself is also our
salvation. Do not ask Him to give you salvation. Instead,
you should say, "Lord Jesus, come to me and be my
salvation." Jesus will never give you salvation. He will
come to you as salvation. We believers do not realize how
much we need to be saved. Every day, every hour and even
every moment we have something from which we need to
be saved.
In the messages on Genesis 1 we spoke about the need
to grow in life. But what does it mean to grow in life? On
the positive side, to grow in life is to enter into the riches
of what Christ is. On the negative side, it is to be delivered
from certain things, or to forsake certain things. Although
we are small men, we have accumulated many negative
things. Probably you do not realize how many negative
things you have accumulated. Wherever we go, we collect
things. We pick up a great many negative things, and we
acquire a number of habits from which we need to be
saved. As you are reading this, you may not sense that you
need salvation from anything. Suppose, however, you were
suddenly raptured to the heavens. If you were taken to the
heavens right now, you would immediately sense that you
need a great deal of saving. To grow in life is simply to be
saved from all unnecessary things, from all that is not
needed for our living. If you have the light, the exposure of
the fourth-day lights, you will say, "Lord, save me!" At
such times we realize that Jesus is truly Jehovah as our
Savior and our salvation.
2. The Name of Jesus Being above Every Name
The name of Jesus is above every name (Phil. 2:9-10).
No name is as high and as exalted as the name of Jesus.
Whether you hate Jesus or love Him, whether you are for
Him or against Him, you realize that the name of Jesus is
a special name. History tells us that during the past two
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thousand years, everyone has recognized that His name is
the highest name, that it is an extraordinary name. My
burden in this message is to point out to you that this
exalted name of Jesus is for us to do many things.
a. To Believe In
Firstly, the name of Jesus is for us to believe in (John
1:12). We all must believe in the name of Jesus. This is not
an insignificant matter. We should not only say that we
believe in the Lord Jesus, but also declare that we believe
in the name of Jesus. When we preach the gospel, we
should help people not only to pray, but also to make a
declaration to the whole universe that they believe in the
name of Jesus. Whenever a sinner comes to believe in the
Lord Jesus, he should declare, "Today I believe in the
name of Jesus!" This makes a great difference.
b. To Be Baptized Into
The name of Jesus is for us to be baptized into (Acts
8:16; 19:5). Among some Christians there is a controversy
regarding the name in which they baptize people. Some
argue strongly that we must baptize people only in the
name of Jesus. Others insist on the name of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These two groups argue,
debate, and fight. Actually, it is not a matter of in the
name, but of into the name. We baptize people into the
name of Jesus. The name needs the person, and the name
is the person. Without the person, the name means
nothing. To be baptized into the name of Jesus means to
be baptized into His Person. Suppose a certain young man
has just believed in the name of Jesus. What should we
do? We should baptize him into the name of Jesus, that is,
put him into Jesus. This is not a ritual nor a ceremony of
accepting a religious member. It is an act of faith in which
we take one who believes in the name of Jesus and put
him into this name, baptizing him into the Person of
Jesus. Romans 6:3 says that many of us have been
baptized into Christ Jesus,
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and Galatians 3:27 says, "As many as were baptized into
Christ." This is the reality of being baptized into the name
of Jesus.
c. To Be Saved
The name of Jesus is also for us to be saved. Acts 4:12
says, "Neither is there another name under heaven given
among men in which we must be saved." The name of
Jesus has been given to us purposely that we may be
saved. The name of Jesus is a saving name.
d. To Be Healed
To the lame man whom he met at the gate of the
temple Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not possess, but
what I have, this I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ
the Nazarene--walk! (Acts 3:6). Immediately the man was
healed. Then Peter said to the people, "In the name of
Jesus Christ the Nazarene...this man stands before you
well" (Acts 4:10). This testifies that the name of Jesus is
also a healing name. We may call on the name of Jesus for
healing from any kind of sickness.
e. To Be Washed, Sanctified, and Justified
The name of Jesus has been given to us so that we may
be washed, sanctified, and justified (1 Cor. 6:11). As
defiled persons, we were washed, sanctified, and justified
in the name of Jesus and by the Spirit of God. I read 1
Corinthians 6:11 for years without seeing a crucial point:
in the name and by the Spirit. The name is closely related
to the Person and to the Spirit. If the name of Jesus were
an empty name, how could it wash us? How could it
sanctify and justify us? This would be impossible.
However, this name is linked to the Spirit. The Spirit is
the Person of the name and the reality of the name.
Therefore the name can wash us, sanctify us, and justify
us. The Spirit is one with the name. Jesus is the name of
the Lord, and the Spirit is the Person of the Lord. When
we call on the name of a real
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person, that person comes. The name of Jesus is linked
with the Person who washes us, sanctifies us, and justifies
us. This is not merely doctrine or theory--it is reality.
When we believe in the name of Jesus and are put into the
name of Jesus, we are placed into a living Person, that is,
in the Holy Spirit. This Holy Spirit washes us, sanctifies
us, and justifies us.
f. To Call Upon.
The name of Jesus is for us to call upon (Rom. 10:13; 1
Cor. 1:2). I was a Christian for at least thirty-five years
before I found the secret of calling on the name of Jesus. I
thought that calling on the name of Jesus was the same as
praying. Eventually, from the record of the Bible, I
discovered that praying is one thing and calling is another.
Fifteen years ago, I did a great deal of praying, mostly on
my knees. I did not know the secret of calling upon the
name of Jesus, nor did I know that calling is different from
praying.
Many of us have experienced praying, but with little
inspiration. However, when we call on Jesus for five
minutes, we are inspired. Try it! Many of us can testify
that when we prayed in the old way, we sometimes prayed
ourselves to sleep. But calling on the Lord never puts us to
sleep. On the contrary, it stirs us up.
Acts 9:14 says that Paul, when he was Saul of Tarsus,
tried to damage all the saints. He intended to go from
Jerusalem to Damascus to bind all those who called on the
name of Jesus. This verse does not say that he was about
to bind all those who prayed to Jesus, but all those who
called on Jesus. By this one verse we can see that the early
Christians were those who called on Jesus. Whenever they
prayed, they called. They called upon the name of Jesus,
and that became a mark of recognition.
The Bible does not say that whoever prays shall be
saved. It says that whosoever calls upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved (Rom. 10:13). Suppose that I am a
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sinner and I believe in the Lord Jesus. You help me to
pray, and I say, "Lord Jesus, I am a sinner. You are my
Savior. You love me. You died on the cross for me. Thank
you." Although it is good to pray this way, praying like this
makes it very difficult for the Spirit to get into us.
However, if you would help me to call, "O Lord Jesus,"
louder and louder, it would make a big difference. When
you preach the gospel, do not try so hard to change
people's thinking. Instead, help them to open up their
being, their heart and their spirit, from deep within and to
use their mouths to call upon the name of Jesus. If you
help new believers to call on the name of Jesus in this way,
the door will be open wide for the Spirit to enter in. There
is no need to pray with vain words. After calling on the
name of Jesus ten times, you will be in the heavens. Your
sins will be forgiven, your burden will be lifted, and you
will have life eternal. You will have everything.
Even for a believer of many years, the best way to
touch the Lord Jesus, to enjoy the Lord Jesus, to share
something of the Lord Jesus, is not to say very much, but
to go to the Lord and call, "Jesus! Jesus! Lord Jesus!" Call
on the name of Jesus and you will taste something. "The
same Lord of all is rich to all who call upon Him" (Rom.
10:12). Many times, our words are too vain. It is better just
to call, "Jesus." If you call on His name, you will taste Him
and enjoy Him. The name of Jesus is a wonderful name.
We all need to call on Him.
g. To Pray
We may also pray in the name of Jesus (John 14:13-14;
15:16; 16:24). This does not mean that we pray a long
prayer and conclude it with the words "in the name of
Jesus." That is too formal. However, I do not oppose this,
for I have done this many times. Rather, I would say that
in our prayer it is good to call on the name of Jesus and
say, "O Jesus! Jesus! I come to pray!" In the name of
Jesus, you will have a real burden to pray, and it will be
very easy to have the assurance that your prayer has been
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heard and answered. If we call on the name of Jesus, we
shall have the assurance that we shall receive what we
have asked.
After the Lord Jesus told us to pray in His name, He
proceeded to say that the Spirit will come to dwell in us
(John 14:13-17). This indicates that the indwelling Spirit
has very much to do with our prayer in the name of the
Lord Jesus. In order to pray in the name of Jesus, we need
the Spirit. When we are in the Spirit, we are in the reality
of the name of Jesus in which we are praying.
h. To Be Gathered Into
The name of Jesus is also for us to be gathered into
(18:20, Greek, into). Whenever we come together to meet,
we should be gathered together into the name of Jesus.
Although we may meet for the purpose of having the life-
study, we do not gather into the life-study, but into the
name of Jesus. Whenever you come to a Christian meeting,
you must realize that you are being gathered once again
into the name. We have been put into the name of Jesus,
but we are not yet very deep into Him. Hence, we need to
come back again and again to be gathered into His name.
We can all testify that after every meeting we have had
the sense deep within that we have entered further into
the Lord. The Christian gatherings will bring us more
deeply into the appreciation of the name of Jesus.
i. To Cast Out Demons
The name of Jesus is also good for casting out demons
(Acts 16:18). To know the power of the name of Jesus, use
it to cast out demons. Demons know the power of the name
of Jesus better than we do. Demons are subtle. From our
experience in China, where there were many cases of
demon possession, we have learned that when we cast out
demons, we must tell them that this Jesus is not the
ordinary, common Jesus, but that He is the designated
Jesus. We must say, "Demon, I come in the very name of
Jesus, the Son of God, who was incarnated to be a man,
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who was born of a virgin in Bethlehem, who was raised in
Nazareth. who died on the cross for my sins and for the
sins of this person that is possessed, who was resurrected
from the dead, and who has ascended to the heavens. I
come in the name of this Jesus, and I command you to
leave!" Immediately, the demon will depart. However, if
you say, "I cast you out in the name of Jesus," the demon
will not listen. Demons know the power of the name of
Jesus. When you cast out a demon, there is no need to
pray that much. Simply say, "I come in the name of the
designated Jesus, and you must go!" When Jesus comes,
demons must flee.
j. To Preach
The name of Jesus is for us to preach (Acts 9:27). When
we preach, we must preach in the name of Jesus.
Preaching in the Lord's name must be done in the Spirit,
for the Spirit is the Person of the Lord and the reality of
His name. When we preach in His name, we need the
Spirit to make it real.
Through all the things that can he done in the name of
Jesus, we see that whatever we do and whatever we are
must be in the name of Jesus. Never forget the name of
Jesus. His name is a sweet name, a rich name, a powerful
name, a saving name, a healing name, a comforting name,
and an available name. This is the name that is exalted
honored, and respected. And it is the name feared by the
enemy.
3. Satan's Hatred of the Name of Jesus
a. Attacking This Name
Satan hates the name of Jesus. In 1935 the church in
my home town was revived, and we were all burdened to
preach the gospel. Every night we went to the streets to
preach. One night, as we were preaching on a street
corner, a man about thirty years of age was very bold to
scoff at the name of Jesus. A brother went up to him in a
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very nice way and asked if they could have a little talk.
When he agreed, the brother asked, "Have you ever met
Jesus?" He said, "No." Then the brother asked, "Have you
ever heard of Jesus?" Again, he said, "No." After that, the
brother said, "Has Jesus done something bad to you?" He
said, "Never." Then the brother inquired, "You have never
met Jesus, and He has never done anything bad to you.
Why then do you hate Him?" He replied, "Although I've
never met Him and although I've never been damaged by
Him, I still hate Him." Then the brother asked, "Why don't
you hate me?" The man answered, "I don't hate you; I hate
Jesus." "Why?" inquired the brother. "I don't know," said
the man. Then the brother asked, "Sir, may I relate a fact
to you?" The man consented and the brother said, "Let me
tell you, you do not hate Jesus. It is someone else who
hates Jesus. Why? Because you have never met Jesus. It is
not you!" When the man asked the brother who it was who
hated Jesus, the brother answered, "It is the Devil within
you who hates Jesus." By all this we see that Satan
utilizes people to attack the name of Jesus (Acts 26:9).
As a believer, you probably have had the following
experience. When you are about to talk to others about
Plato or Abraham Lincoln, you do not feel ashamed; but
whenever you talk to people about Jesus, a strange feeling
comes over you. When the Chinese speak about Confucius,
they feel glorious. We should also feel glorious whenever
we speak to others about Jesus, but often we do not have a
glorious feeling. Instead, we have a rather strange feeling.
This is devilish! In this universe and on this earth there is
a devilish element that is against Jesus. You have no
problem as long as you are talking about the world
situation, the economy, science, and so many things; but
whenever you talk about the name of Jesus, you have a
strange sense. This comes from the Devil. Because Satan
and all his demons hate the name of Jesus, we must
proclaim it all the more. We must be bold with this name
and say, "Satan, Jesus is my Lord! Satan, stay away!" We
need to shout the name of Jesus.
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b. Preventing Speaking in This Name
If you read the book of Acts, you will see that in the
early days the religionists attacked the name of Jesus,
forbidding the believers to preach or teach in that name
(Acts 4:17-18; 5:40). The Pharisees warned Peter and John
not to preach in the name of Jesus, not to do anything or
say anything in His name. It was all right to preach the
Bible, but not to preach in the name of Jesus. Satan hates
the name of Jesus because he knows that God's salvation
is in this name. The more we preach in the name of Jesus
and the more we pray to Jesus, the more people will get
saved. This is the reason Satan hates this name.
c. Having to Suffer for This Name
When the Apostles were persecuted, they rejoiced that
they were worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus (Acts
5:41). Is this not wonderful? They even hazarded their
lives for this name (Acts 15:26). Because Satan attacks the
name of Jesus with all his evil power, we must learn to
suffer for this name.
d. Not Denying This Name
In Revelation 3:8 the Lord Jesus praised the church in
Philadelphia because they did not deny His name. We
should never deny the name of Jesus. We should deny
every other name, but keep the name of Jesus. We must
testify that we do not belong to any person or to any sect,
but that we simply belong to Jesus. The name of Jesus is
the only name we own.
K. Emmanuel, the Name Called by People
1. Jesus as Emmanuel Experienced by Us
Now we come to the second name, Emmanuel (1:23).
The angels did not speak to Joseph or Mary of this name.
Rather, Emmanuel is the name called by people who have
had a certain amount of experience. Whenever you have
some experience of Jesus, you will be able to say that He
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is God with you. Jesus is nothing less than God with us.
This is our experience. God told us that His name is Jesus.
But as we receive Him and experience Him, we say that
Jesus is God with us. This is wonderful.
Often we turn to our mind and ask the question, "Is
this Jesus the very God?" We may be confident that He is
the Son of God, but we may not yet be assured that He is
actually God Himself. When I was young, I was taught by
some fundamental Christian teachers to be careful of
saying directly that Jesus was God. I was taught that the
Son of God was different from God Himself. Therefore, I
was told not to say directly that Jesus was God. I was told
that I must pray through Jesus to God. I received a
teaching that suited the human concept. However, after
much practice, the more I prayed, the more I realized that
this Jesus was simply God with me. To argue by theory is
one thing; to experience the fact is another thing. Quite
often. Christians do not agree with their experience;
instead, they agree with their concepts.
I believe that all Christians have this experience. Deep
within, do you not have the sense that, according to your
experience, Jesus is God? You do, but you dare not say this
in doctrine. However, you should not consider Jesus as
someone other than God. Jesus is nothing less than God
Himself. He is not only the Son of God, but also God
Himself. Some good writers have said that apart from
Jesus we can never find God. God is with Jesus, and God
is Jesus. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was not only with God, but the Word was God (John 1:1).
This Word became flesh and was called Jesus.
When we experience Jesus, He is Emmanuel, God with
us. We have heard that Jesus is our comfort, our rest, our
peace, and our life. Jesus is so much to us. If we would
experience Him, we would immediately say, "This is God!
This is not God far away from me, or God in the heavens,
but God with me." Whenever we experience Jesus in a
certain way, we realize that Jesus is God with us. Jesus is
our salvation. After we experience this salvation, we say,
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"This is God with us to be our salvation." Jesus is our
patience. But when we experience Him as our patience, we
say, "This patience is God with me." Jesus is the way and
the truth, but when we experience Him as the way and the
truth we say, "This way and this truth are just God with
me." Hallelujah, Jesus is God with us! In our experience,
He is Emmanuel.
2. With Us in Our Gatherings
Whenever we are gathered together into the name of
Jesus, He is with us (18:20). Once again, this is
Emmanuel, God with us. The presence of Jesus in our
meetings is actually God with us.
3. With Us All the Days
Jesus is with us all the days, even until the completion
of the age (28:20, Gk.). "All the days" includes today. Do
not forget about today. Many Christians think that Jesus
is present all the days, except today. But Jesus is with us
now, today!
4. With Us in Our Spirit
Jesus is not only among us; He is in our spirit. Second
Timothy 4:22 says, "The Lord be with your spirit." This
Jesus who is with our spirit is Emmanuel, God with us.
5. His Presence Being the Spirit
We can never separate the Spirit from the presence of
Jesus. The Spirit is simply the reality of Jesus' presence
(John 14:16-20). This presence is Emmanuel, God with us.
6. Receiving the Spirit by Calling on the Name of
Jesus
When we call on the name of Jesus, we receive the
Spirit, who is the Person, the reality, and the realization of
Jesus. First Corinthians 12:3 says, "No one can say, Lord
Jesus, except in the Holy Spirit." Whenever we say
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"Lord Jesus," we are in the Spirit and we receive the
Spirit. We have all been under the influence of tradition,
thinking that we must fast and pray before we can receive
the Spirit. However, it is simple to receive the Spirit--just
call on the name of Jesus.
7. The Enemy Trying to Take Over the Land of
Emmanuel
According to Isaiah 8:7-8, the enemy may try to take
over the land of Emmanuel. Do not think this word is only
for the children of Israel. Today our spirit is the land of
Emmanuel. Thus, we ourselves are the land of Emmanuel.
The enemy, Satan, with all his army will do everything He
can to take over this land of Emmanuel, that is, to take
over our spirit and our being.
8. The Enemy Unable to Take Us Over
Isaiah 8:10 tells us that because God is with us, the
enemy can never take over the land of Emmanuel.
Although Satan has tried his best to take you over, you are
still here. Perhaps during the past week Satan tried
twenty-one times to take you over, but he failed every
time. You are still here because of Emmanuel, because of
God with us. This Emmanuel is Jesus. Today we may
enjoy Jesus and experience Him in such a real way as our
Emmanuel.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE SEVEN
THE KING'S ANTECEDENTS AND STATUS
(7)
We come now to chapter two of Matthew. In the
previous messages we have covered the genealogy of
Christ and the birth of Christ. In this message we shall
consider the youth of Christ.
III. HIS YOUTH
A. The Record of Christ's Youth in Matthew and Luke
If we pay attention to the four Gospels, we shall see
that John and Mark contain no record of Christ's youth.
John tells us that Christ is God. With God there is neither
youth nor old age. God is ancient, yet unchanging. Thus,
there is no problem of youth with God. In Mark, Christ is
revealed as a slave. No one cares about the youth of a
slave. On the contrary, both Luke and Matthew record the
youth of Christ. However, as was the case with the
genealogies, there is a difference between these two
records of Christ's youth.
1. Luke's Record Proving the Humanity of Christ
The Gospel of Luke proves that Christ was a perfect
man. Hence, Luke's record testifies and demonstrates the
humanity of Jesus (Luke 2:21-52). The items of Christ's
youth recorded by Luke show that Jesus was a proper,
normal man. Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day
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according to Jewish law (Luke 2:21). Also, according to
Jewish custom, He was named Jesus on the eighth day,
not on the first day. He was offered to God with the
sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons
(Luke 2:22-24). The fact that Mary and Joseph could only
afford a small sacrifice shows that they were poor. They
nevertheless fulfilled the requirement of the law.
Furthermore, Jesus was brought to Jerusalem every year
at the time of the feast of the Passover (Luke 2:41). This
was also according to the law requiring that all Israelite
males attend the feasts three times a year. Luke
specifically notes that Jesus was brought to the feast when
He was twelve years old (Luke 2:42). Luke also records
that Jesus grew physically, that He became strong in His
spirit, and that He found favor with God and man (Luke
2:40, 52). All these items recorded by Luke demonstrate
that Jesus was a typical man.
2. Matthew's Record Proving the Kingship of Christ
Matthew's record demonstrates that the young Jesus
was the King of God's people (2:1-23). Luke did not include
this point, but Matthew, ignoring all the points covered by
Luke, dwells on it. By this we see that the Bible has an
intention: in Luke it is to prove that Jesus was a man; in
Matthew it is to show that Jesus was a kingly child. We
shall now consider Matthew's record to see how Jesus was
such a kingly child.
We should not try to understand the Bible by the black
and white letters alone. We must enter into it and find
something of life in it. Matthew 1 tells us that the Old
Testament contained prophecies concerning Christ and
that the people of God were waiting for His coming. In
Matthew 1 Jesus came. Christ has been brought into
humanity; He has appeared on the earth. Chapter two
continues by showing the way to find Christ. His coming
was prophesied, He has come, and He is here. However,
there is the problem of how to find Him.
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a. Found in Bethlehem by Pagan Men
Matthew 1 reveals that Jesus, the Messiah, has come.
If you had been an Israelite at that time, you would have
said, "You tell me Jesus has come, but how can I find
Him?" Thank the Lord that the matter of finding Jesus
was not initiated by us: it was initiated by God.
Consider the background. At the time of Jesus' birth,
there was a religion called Judaism. It was a fundamental,
sound, scriptural religion that was formed, organized, and
constituted according to the thirty-nine books of the Old
Testament. Through the record of Matthew 2, we see that
Judaism was very much for the Bible. However, hardly
anyone in that religion knew that Christ had come. We
find no record in the New Testament that some of those
religious people went to find Christ. On the contrary, there
is a record that some pagan men, magi, came to find Him
(2:1-12). Of course, this was initiated by God, not by them.
(1) LED BY THE STAR, THE HEAVENLY VISION
God gave the magi a shining star to guide them (2:2).
This star did not appear in the Holy Land. It appeared to
men far away--far away from the Holy Land; far away
from the holy city; far away from the holy temple and the
holy religion; far away from the holy Bible, the holy
people, and the holy priests. Far away from all these holy
things, the shining star appeared to some pagan men in a
pagan land. The shining of that star stirred up these
pagan wise men regarding the King of the Jews. I do not
know how these wise men were stirred up regarding the
King of the Jews, and I do not want to guess. There have
already been too many imaginations concerning these wise
men. At any rate, they came from the East, the Orient,
and realized that the star indicated the King of the Jews.
The wise men had the living vision, the heavenly star,
and the Jewish religionists had the Bible. Which do you
prefer to have--the Bible or the star? It is best to have
both. I like to have the Bible in my hand, and I like to see
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the star in the heavens. It is best to be both a pagan and a
Jew as well. As to the Bible, I am a Jew; as to the star, I
am a pagan wise man.
(2) DISTRACTED BY THEIR HUMAN CONCEPT
After the wise men experienced the vision of the
heavenly star, they got into trouble. This trouble came
from their natural concept. Although we may have the
Bible and the star, we must recognize that trouble may
come from our natural concept. The wise men saw the
vision and, realizing that it indicated the King of the Jews,
they assumed that they should go to Jerusalem, the
capital of the Jewish nation, where the King of the Jews
was presumed to be (vv. 1-2). Their decision to go to
Jerusalem did not come from the light of the star. They
went to Jerusalem because they were distracted from the
right track by their natural concept. Jerusalem was the
wrong place. It was the capital and the city where the
temple was located, but it was not the place where Jesus
was born. Because the wise men were misled, they caused
a serious problem and nearly caused the young child Jesus
to be killed. If it had not been for the sovereignty of God,
the young Jesus would have been killed as a result of their
mistake. Their error cost the lives of many young ones (vv.
16-18). Be careful: you may have the Bible and the star,
but do not follow your natural concept.
(3) CORRECTED BY THE SCRIPTURES
Many times you have the vision, but when you consider
the matter in your mind, you are distracted and misled by
your natural concept. Your human concept distracts you
from the right track. Whenever you are distracted like
this, you need the Bible. After you have arrived at the
wrong place, you need the right book. After the magi had
gone to Jerusalem, the wrong place, they were corrected
through the Scriptures. From the Scriptures they learned
that the right place was Bethlehem, not Jerusalem (vv. 4-
6). If they had not been misled by their natural concept,
the star certainly would have led them directly to the place
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where Jesus was in Bethlehem. But they were distracted
and went astray. Thus, they needed to be corrected by the
knowledge of the Bible. When the magi had been corrected
by the Scriptures, had departed from Jerusalem, and had
been restored to the right track, the star appeared again
(v. 9). Living vision always goes along with the Scriptures.
However, none of the religious people in Jerusalem
went with the magi to Bethlehem. This is quite strange. If
you had been a priest among those priests, would you not
have gone with the wise men to see if Jesus had actually
been born in Bethlehem? If I had been there, I certainly
would have gone to find out for myself whether or not
Christ had actually been born. But none of them went.
They had knowledge and they could tell people that the
Messiah would be born in Bethlehem; yet, none of them
went for themselves. Although they were for the
knowledge of the Bible, they were not for the living Person
of the Messiah.
How about today's situation? Many are very scriptural,
but they care only for the Scriptures, not for the living
Christ. If the Jewish religionists had cared for Christ, they
would have gone to Bethlehem, which was not far from
Jerusalem even by the ancient method of travel. Although
Bethlehem was not far, none of the scribes, elders, or
priests bothered to go. This proves that you can have the
knowledge of the Bible without having a heart for the
living Christ. To have the vision is one thing, to have the
knowledge of the Bible is another thing, and to have a
heart for the living Christ is still another thing. We all
need to pray, "Lord, give me a heart for You. I want to see
the vision and I want to know the Bible. But even more, I
want to have a heart that seeks You."
(4) LED AGAIN BY THE STAR TO FIND AND WORSHIP CHRIST
After the magi saw the star again, the star led them to
the place where Christ was (vv. 9-10). The star led them
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not only to the city of Bethlehem, but to the exact spot
where Jesus was.
Christians often say that to know the Lord it is
sufficient to have only the Bible. In a sense, I agree with
this. However, in another sense--I say this carefully--I do
not agree fully. Although we have the Bible, we still need a
living vision. The Bible does say that Christ will be born in
Bethlehem, but it does not say where, on what street, or in
which house. The living star led the wise men to the city of
Bethlehem and also to the exact street and the house
where the child was. At that place, the star stopped (v. 9).
The magi did not need to knock on any doors; they knew
where Jesus was. This proves that we all need a clear, up-
to-date vision that leads us directly to the place where
Jesus is.
The magi not only found Christ; they also worshipped
Him (v. 11). Among the Israelites, no one was allowed to
receive worship from others. That was considered an insult
to God, a blasphemy against Him. According to them, only
God was worthy of people's worship. But the wise men
worshipped a child, and that child was God. Isaiah 9:6
says, "Unto us a child is born...and his name shall be
called...The mighty God." The child found by the magi was
called the mighty God. The wise men worshipped Him and
they offered to Him gold, frankincense, and myrrh (v. 11).
We need to know the meaning of the gold, the
frankincense, and the myrrh. In the typology of the Bible,
gold signifies the divine nature. This indicates that the
child Jesus had the divine nature. He was divine.
Frankincense signifies the fragrance of resurrection.
According to our naturally religious mentality, the
resurrection of Jesus came only after His death. However,
before He died, Jesus told Mary and Martha that He was
the resurrection and the life (John 11:25). Thus, even
before He died, He was the resurrection. The life Christ
lived on this earth was a life of resurrection. Luke 2:52
tells us that even in His childhood He found favor with
God and man. That was not something natural; it was the
life of resurrection. The record in Luke 2 reveals that the
child was an extraordinary child. He was a unique child
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because He was a child in resurrection. In His entire
human life and living there was the fragrance, the
sweetness of resurrection. Death could not hold Him or
even touch Him. Not only was He the life--He was
resurrection.
Myrrh signifies death and also the fragrance of death.
Among the human race, death has no fragrance; however,
with Jesus there was the fragrance of death.
When the wise men presented the gold, the
frankincense, and the myrrh, I do not believe they knew
the meaning of the gifts they offered. They surely offered
their gifts under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They
presented gold, frankincense, and myrrh, signifying that
the child Jesus had the divine nature; that His life would
be a life of resurrection, full of the fragrance of
frankincense; and that His life would be full of the
fragrance of death.
When Jesus was twelve years old, He went to
Jerusalem with His parents (Luke 2:42). Because He was
burdened to see what people were doing in His Father's
house, the temple, He stayed in Jerusalem after the feast
(Luke 2:43). Mary and Joseph did not understand Him.
They looked for Him and eventually found Him in the
temple (vv. 44-48). In a sense, Mary rebuked Him. If I had
been Jesus, I would have rebuked her. I would have fought
back and said, "Don't you know what I'm doing here? Why
do you come to bother Me?" If we read Luke's account, we
shall see that Jesus did say something to them. He said,
"Did you not know that I must be in the things of My
Father?" (v. 49). After He said this, He went along with
them and returned with them to Nazareth. That was a
real killing to Him. His intention was killed, and in that
killing we can smell myrrh. That was not the fragrance of
frankincense; it was the sweet aroma of myrrh.
If we read the four Gospels, the biographies of Jesus,
we shall see that in the life of Jesus the gold, the
frankincense, and the myrrh were very prevalent. He was
always living the resurrection life, and He was constantly
under the killing of the cross. He did not wait until thirty-
three and a half years had passed before He went to the
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cross to be crucified. Throughout His whole life He was
continually being crucified on the cross. Thus, He had not
only the fragrance of resurrection, but also the sweet
myrrh of the cross.
The wise men found the kingly child Jesus in
Bethlehem, which Micah 5:2 tells us is "little among the
thousands of Judah." He was born in such a humble town
in such lowly circumstances. However, due to the vision
that came through the star, the wise men paid their full
respect to the kingly child, not caring about the place.
Therefore, they offered to Him the three precious items.
Each of these items signifies some precious element of the
Lord Jesus' nature and life. In nearly every page of the
four Gospels, we see the preciousness of the Lord's
humanity, the fragrance of His resurrection life, and the
sweet aroma of His sacrificial death. Even in the early
days, soon after the Lord's birth, the wise men did such an
appropriate thing. It exactly suited the Lord's nature and
life. Their offering was certainly presented under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
It may be that these precious treasures offered by the
magi provided for the Lord's trip from Judea to Egypt and
from Egypt to Nazareth. The worship and offering of the
wise men truly accomplished something.
(5) WARNED BY GOD TO RETURN ANOTHER WAY
After the wise men had found Christ, had worshipped
Him, and had offered Him these precious treasures, they
were warned by God to return another way (v. 12). This
other way, not the original way, was the right way.
Whenever we find Christ and meet Him, we are always
told not to return to the original way. Finding Christ and
meeting Him always turns us to another way.
The situation today is exactly the same. We have the
Bible, and Christ is coming, but how shall we find Him?
The basic principle is not with the Bible. Although the
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Bible helps, the basic principle is with the living star, the
heavenly vision.
Now we must see how we can have this star, how we
can have this heavenly vision. The Bible tells us that the
living star is Christ. It was prophesied that Christ would
be the star (Num. 24:17), He came as the star (Matt. 2),
and He remains as the star (Rev. 22:16). He is shining.
How can we have Christ as the star? According to 2 Peter
1:19, the star is associated with the Bible. Peter tells us to
take heed to the "prophetic word made more firm." If we
take heed to this sure word, something within us will
dawn, and the daystar will arise in our hearts. To take
heed to the sure word is to pay attention to the living
Word. It is not just to read the Word; it is to enter into the
Word until something arises within us. We may call this
the dawn or the daystar. In 2 Peter 1:19 the daystar is
actually the morning star. The word in Greek is
phosphoros, a light-bearing substance. A piece of
phosphorus can shine in darkness. Christ is the real
phosphorus shining in today's darkness. However, the
Word cannot shine over you unless you take heed to it. You
must take heed until something begins to shine within
you. That shining will become the phosphorus in your
heart. Then you will have the daystar. You will be like the
wise men, and something from the heavens will shine over
you.
Christ is the star. The Bible says that the followers of
Christ are stars also. Revelation 1:20 tells us that all the
leading ones in the proper church life are stars. They are
stars because they are the shining ones. Daniel 12:3 says
that the righteous will shine like stars. Those who turn
others to righteousness, who turn them from the wrong
way to the right way, will shine like stars.
Today there are only two ways to have the star shining
over you. According to the first way, you must come to the
sure Word and open up your whole being to the Word--
your mouth, your eyes, your mind, your spirit, and your
heart--until something rises up in you and shines over you.
That is Christ. The second way is to come to the shining
saints, the followers of Christ. If you come to them, you
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will receive light. You also will receive some leading, for
they will lead you to the place where Christ is.
Both ways of having the star are linked to the Spirit
and the church. Immediately after Revelation 22:16, which
says that the Lord Jesus is the morning star, the following
verse says, "And the Spirit and the bride say...." This
proves that, as the morning star, the Lord Jesus is linked
to the Spirit and to the church, which is the Bride.
Revelation 3:1 says that the Lord Jesus has the seven
Spirits and the seven stars, and Revelation 1:20 says that
the seven stars are the angels of the churches. These
verses show that the stars are linked not only to the Spirit,
but also to the churches. If we would have the living star
or the living stars, we need the Spirit and the church. By
the Spirit and through the church, it will be easy to have
the heavenly vision so that we may find Christ and render
our appreciation to Him.
b. Fleeing to Egypt
Christ was found in Bethlehem. This discovery of
Christ created trouble. God used this trouble to bring the
young child out of Bethlehem to Egypt (Matt. 2:13-18).
Hosea 11:1 prophesied that Jesus would be called out of
Egypt. Without the trouble that occurred after Jesus was
found in Bethlehem, there would have been no occasion for
Him to flee to Egypt.
This is very meaningful. The wise men made a great
mistake, but their mistake offered God the opportunity to
fulfill His prophecy. But do not make mistakes purposely.
That will not work. Try your best to do things right.
Nevertheless, no matter how hard you try to be right,
eventually you will make as big a mistake as the wise men
did. Never say, "Let us do evil, that good may come." If you
do evil, good will not come. However, if you try to be right
but still make a mistake, that mistake will offer God a
chance to fulfill His purpose.
Because Joseph fled with Mary and Jesus into Egypt,
the young child Jesus escaped the first martyrdom, the
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martyrdom caused by the mistake of the wise men. Satan
is always busy, waiting for an opportunity to cause
martyrdom. However, God is sovereign over all, even over
Satan, to preserve His dear ones from the enemy's wiles.
By God's sovereignty the young Jesus was preserved.
c. Raised in Nazareth
At this point I need to present a little history. Although
you know the story, you may still need more light. Mary
conceived a child in Nazareth (Luke 1:26-27, 31).
According to the prophecy in Micah 5:2, however, Christ
had to be born in Bethlehem. Under God's sovereign
arrangement, Caesar Augustus ordered the first census of
the Roman Empire (Luke 2:1-7). This forced all the people
to return to their native places. Mary and Joseph were
forced to return to Bethlehem, their home town.
Immediately after they arrived in Bethlehem, the child
Jesus was born. The mistake of the magi aroused the
hatred and jealousy of King Herod, who was angered that
a kingly child had been born. Then Joseph received
guidance in a dream to take the child to Egypt (Matt. 2:13-
15). This enabled God to fulfill the prophecy of Hosea 11:1.
After Herod had died, Joseph received word in another
dream to return to the Holy Land (vv. 19-20). When
Joseph had returned and had learned that Archelaus, the
son of Herod, was in power, he was afraid to remain in the
territory around Bethlehem. Therefore, he went to
Nazareth, where Jesus was raised (vv. 21-23). For this
reason Jesus was called Jesus of Nazareth.
What does all this mean? It means that when Jesus
was born into the human race, He appeared in a way that
was somewhat hidden, in a way that was not open or
evident. Sometimes I have even used the word "sneaky" to
describe it. Everyone called Him Jesus of Nazareth, for He
was a Nazarene. But the Bible said that Christ would be
born in Bethlehem. The hidden way of Christ's birth
bothered all the religious people. When Philip met Jesus,
he realized that Jesus was the Messiah. Then Philip went
to Nathanael and told him that he had met the Messiah
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and that He was the son of Joseph, a man of Nazareth.
Immediately Nathanael said, "Can anything good come out
of Nazareth?" (John 1:45-46). Did Philip give Nathanael
the wrong information? It is difficult to say. Philip only
knew that Jesus was the son of Joseph and that He was a
Nazarene. Although Jesus was from Nazareth and was a
Nazarene, He had not been born in Nazareth, but in
Bethlehem. Nathanael was troubled. However, Philip did
not argue with him; he simply said, "Come and see" (John
1:46).
On another occasion, Nicodemus, who had come to
know Jesus, tried to argue with the Pharisees concerning
Him. The Pharisees asked him, "Are you also from
Galilee?" (John 7:52). Galilee was a Gentile region, and the
Bible says "Galilee of the nations" (Matt. 4:15). The
Pharisees seemed to say to Nicodemus, "Are you from
Galilee? We know that Jesus came out of Galilee. But out
of Galilee there comes no prophet." Apparently, Jesus was
from Galilee, from Nazareth; actually, He was born in
Bethlehem. That was His somewhat hidden and secret
way of appearing to people.
The principle is the same today. I refer you to the type
of the tabernacle. The tabernacle was covered with rough,
tough badgers' skin; outside, it did not appear to be very
attractive. Inside, however, was fine linen, gold, and
precious stones. The spiritual principle of the church is the
same. Do not look at the church from the outside. You
need to come inside the church. I am sure that if the
Apostle Paul would come to visit you, you would be
surprised. You would ask, "Are you Brother Paul? I
thought that the Apostle Paul would be like a shining
angel. But what are you? You are just a small man without
a comely appearance."
We should never make a display of ourselves; neither
should we ever know others according to the outward
appearance. We must know them according to the inward
spirit. In appearance, Jesus was a Nazarene, but within
Him there was gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Within
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Him there was the glory of God. Second Corinthians 5:16
says that we should not know Christ or any man after the
outward appearance. Rather, we must discern the inward
reality of Christ.
We must keep this principle today. In order to find
Christ, we must have the shining star. We must not go
according to the outward appearance, but according to
what is within. If you would know the church or the saints,
do not be bothered by the outward appearance. Do not give
any value to outward things, such as huge cathedrals,
large church buildings, or pipe organs. Forget all that.
Jesus had nothing outstanding outwardly. He was a little
Nazarene, One who grew up in a province that was called
"Galilee of the nations" and who was raised in a city
despised by people--"Can anything good come out of
Nazareth?" But if you "come and see" and get into Him,
you will appreciate Him and be caught by Him. Likewise,
you need to come into the church and stay with the church
for some time. If you do, you will find something precious.
The same is true with the seeking saints. The more they
seek the Lord, the more they hide their experiences of
spiritual things. You need to go to them and stay with
them. Then you will get into them and find the riches that
are within them. You will see the frankincense, the myrrh,
and many other precious treasures. Then you will be
attracted and caught. This is the way to find Christ and to
appreciate all He is and all His precious items, the gold,
the frankincense, and the myrrh.
Matthew 2:23 says, "He shall be called a Nazarene."
Some have guessed this word Nazarene refers to
"Nazarite" in Numbers 6:2. Others have guessed that it
refers to the Hebrew word for branch, netzer, in Isaiah
11:1. But I do not think that we have to guess that much.
We know that in appearance Jesus was a Nazarene. This
was spoken by the prophets.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE EIGHT
THE KING'S ANOINTING
(1)
Matthew 3:1--4:11 is concerned with the King's
anointing. This section of the Gospel of Matthew is in
three parts: the King recommended (3:1-12), the King
anointed (3:13-17), and the King tested (4:1-11). In this
message and in the message following we shall deal with
the recommendation of the King.
I. RECOMMENDED
A. The Recommender
Matthew chapter three covers the recommendation and
the anointing of the King. In this chapter firstly the
recommender of the King, John the Baptist, is himself
recommended. Matthew 3:1 says, "Now in those days John
the Baptist came."
1. Born a Priest
John the Baptist was born a priest (Luke 1:5, 13). In
the life-study of Genesis we saw that the birthright
included three items: the double portion of the land, the
priesthood, and the kingship. Reuben, Jacob's firstborn,
should have received all three items of the birthright.
However, due to his defilement, he lost the birthright. As a
result, the double portion of the land went to Joseph, the
priesthood, to Levi, and the kingship, to Judah. The main
function of the priesthood is to bring the people to God,
and the main function of the kingship is to bring God to
the people. According to the Bible, the priests brought
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others to God so that they might obtain God's blessing.
This is the priestly service. The kings were those who
represented God and brought God to others. Thus, the
kingship is the ministry that brings God to others so that
they may gain Him. Through this traffic of coming and
going, man and God, God and man, have real fellowship,
true communication. Eventually, man and God become
one. This is the ministry of the priesthood and the
kingship.
The first ministry in the Old Testament was the
priesthood. Following the priesthood there was the
kingship. All the books prior to 1 Samuel were on the
priesthood. But beginning with 1 Samuel the second
section of the Old Testament is on the kingship. In the
book of 1 Samuel, Samuel represents the priesthood and
David represents the kingship. Samuel, the priest,
introduced David, the king. The priesthood introduces the
kingship. It is the same in the church life today. If we are
genuine priests, then we shall also become kings. for the
priesthood always introduces the kingship. First we are
priests bringing others into the presence of God. Then we
become kings bringing God to them.
Every true evangelist is a king. If you are not a king,
you are not qualified to preach the gospel. In 28:18 and 19
the Lord Jesus, the King of the kingdom, said, "All
authority has been given unto me in heaven and on earth.
Go therefore and disciple all the nations." Here the Lord
told the disciples to go with His authority. Those who go
with this authority are kings in the kingdom of heaven.
Without doubt He shares this authority with us.
Therefore, we must go and disciple the nations, that is,
preach the gospel to subdue the rebellious ones. As we go
to preach the gospel, we must be kings.
Many Christians do not know God's secret in His
economy. When you are burdened to preach the gospel, you
must first carry out the function of the priesthood. In order
to preach the gospel you must first go to God as a priest
and bring others to Him. Through the priesthood you will
be authorized and anointed, and then you will
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come out of God's presence to be a king. The proper
preaching of the gospel is the issuing of a kingly edict. It is
the utterance of a kingly command. Consider Peter's
preaching on the day of Pentecost. Although he was a
young Galilean fisherman, he nonetheless was a king.
Every proper evangelist must be a king.
We have seen that the priest introduces the king. The
first occurrence of this was Samuel's introduction of King
David. In Matthew chapter three we see another Samuel,
John the Baptist, who was born a priest of the tribe of
Levi. Matthew 3 testifies to the consistency of the Bible,
for here we see one from the priestly tribe, the tribe of
Levi, recommending One from the kingly tribe, the tribe of
Judah. In Matthew 3 John appeared as Samuel and Jesus
appeared as David. There in the wilderness John was
bringing people to God. Hence, he was a genuine priest. As
he was bringing others to God, the King came, and John
introduced Him. This King brought God to man. John
brought others to God, and Jesus brought God to them.
As sinners we came to God through John's ministry. By
repentance we came into God's presence. That was the
ministry of the priesthood, the ministry of John the
Baptist. We all have come into the presence of God
through John. It was John who brought us back to God.
Then the new King David, Jesus Christ, brought God to
us. Through John's ministry of repentance and Jesus'
ministry of imparting life, we have all been made priests
and kings. Today we are the continuation both of the
priest, John the Baptist, and of the King, Jesus Christ. If
you are a proper Christian, then you are firstly today's
John and secondly today's Jesus. Young people, as you go
to the campuses, you must be real priests. You need to say,
"Lord, have mercy on these people. O Lord, remember all
these young people. I bring them to You." This is the
priesthood, the ministry of John the Baptist. After you
bring others to God, immediately, in a sense, you will
become Christ bringing God to them so that they may gain
God. This is today's priesthood and kingship.
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2. Forsaking the Outward Position of the Priest
Although John the Baptist was born a priest, he
forsook the outward position of the priest. By the outward
position of his birth he was not a real priest, but a priest in
figure, a priest in shadow. In 3:1 John came preaching in
the wilderness as the true priest. John the Baptist's
preaching was the initiation of God's New Testament
economy. He did his preaching not in the holy temple
within the holy city, where the religious and cultured
people worshipped God according to their scriptural
ordinances, but in the wilderness, in a "wild" way, not
keeping any old regulations. This indicates that the old
way of the worship of God according to the Old Testament
was repudiated and that a new way was about to be
brought in. The wilderness here indicates that the new
way of God's New Testament economy is contrary to
religion and culture. It also indicates that nothing old was
left and that something new was about to be built up.
The dispensation of law was terminated by the coming
of John the Baptist (11:13; Luke 16:16). Following the
baptism of John, the preaching of the gospel of peace
began (Acts 10:36-37). The preaching of John was the
beginning of the gospel (Mark 1:1-5). Hence, the
dispensation of grace began with John.
Neither John, the new priest, nor Jesus, the new King,
was in the old way. According to the old way, the priests
stayed in the holy temple in the holy city, wore the priestly
garments, ate the priestly food, and observed the priestly
rituals. But with the coming of John the Baptist, all that
was terminated. That was not the reality; it was a shadow.
Now with John the Baptist, the genuine priest, reality
came. As the real priest, John came to bring the people
back to God. That was his ministry.
3. Living in a Way Contrary to Religion and Culture
John fulfilled has ministry by living in a way that was
absolutely contrary to religion and culture and outside
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both of them. Verse 4 says, "Now John himself had his
garment of camel's hair and a leather girdle about his
loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey." According
to the regulations of the law, John, who was born a priest,
should have worn the priestly garment, which was made
mainly of fine linen (Exo. 28:4, 40-41; Lev. 6:10; Ezek.
44:17-18); and he should have eaten the priestly food,
which was composed mainly of fine flour and the meat of
the sacrifices offered to God by His people (Lev. 2:1-3; 6:6-
18, 25-26; 7:31-34). However, John did altogether
otherwise. He wore a garment of camel's hair and a
leather girdle, and he ate locusts and wild honey. All these
things are uncivilized, uncultured, and not according to
the religious regulations. For a priestly person to wear
camel's hair was an especially drastic blow to the religious
mind, for the camel was considered unclean under the
Levitical regulations (Lev. 11:4). In addition, John did not
live in a civilized place, but in the wilderness (Luke 3:2).
All this indicates that he had altogether abandoned the
Old Testament dispensation, which had fallen into a kind
of religion mixed with human culture. His intention was to
introduce God's New Testament economy, which is
constituted solely of Christ and the Spirit of Life.
We have seen that during John's time being a priest
was a matter of religion, of wearing priestly robes, eating
priestly food, and dwelling in a priestly building. When
anyone conducted himself as a priest, everyone thought of
him as a religious person, a person in religion. But here in
Matthew 3 we see a real priest. Instead of staying in the
priestly building, he went out to the wilderness, to a wild
place where there was neither religion nor culture. There
in the wilderness he lived in a "wild" way, eating locusts
and wild honey. His honey was not the cultured honey
processed and sold in stores today. It was wild honey. John
was a real priest living in such a "wild" way. However, if
you try to copy him, you will be false.
John was truly outside religion and culture. He not
only ate wild things, but he also wore camel's hair. Notice
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that the Bible does not say that he wore camel's fur, which
would have been somewhat orderly, but camel's hair,
which certainly must have been messy. Furthermore his
leather girdle was probably not very refined. John was
truly "wild." Nevertheless this real priest was the
recommender of the King.
From the time of John the Baptist until today, a great
many people have been brought back to God through the
ministry of John. Whenever we tell others to repent, we
should remember John the Baptist.
The ministry of John the Baptist was outside both
religion and culture. When John was born, in Jerusalem
there were two main things--Hebrew religion and Greco-
Roman culture. John, however, did not stay in Jerusalem
where his parents undoubtedly lived. He left Jerusalem
and went out to the wilderness where there was neither
religion nor culture, but where everything was natural.
John ministered there in the wilderness bringing others to
God and introducing the King, the One who represents
God, to them. This was a strong indication that, during
John's time, the age was changed from the old
dispensation to the new dispensation, from the
dispensation of shadows and figures to the dispensation of
reality. Those priests who wore the priestly robes, ate the
priestly food, and stayed in the priestly building burning
the incense and carrying out the priestly functions never
brought anyone to God. But this "wild," unreligious,
uncultured John brought hundreds to Him. And he also
introduced the King to them. This King was the One who
brought God to repentant people.
When this King was introduced to people and they
were truly brought back to God, the kingdom was present
immediately. The King with the people is the kingdom.
The kingdom was there because both the King and the
people were there. The New Testament begins with the
genuine priesthood introducing the genuine kingship. The
real priest introduced the real King. This introduction
ushers in the kingdom.
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John's message was, "Repent, for the kingdom of the
heavens has drawn near" (v. 2). People had to repent
because the kingdom was coming and because the King
was there. We also need to repent that the King may gain
us and that we may be His people. After we repent, the
King gains us, and we gain Him. Through the King's
gaining us and our gaining Him, we and the King become
the kingdom. The kingdom immediately follows the King.
If you receive the King and if He takes you as His people,
the kingdom is immediately present. Why has the
kingdom not yet come? Because you have not received the
King, and the King has not yet gained you. Because you
are still far away from Him, the King has not been able to
gain you. Thus, the kingdom is not yet here. Rather, it is
off somewhere waiting for your repentance. If you repent,
the King will gain you, you will gain the King, and the
kingdom will be here.
Many Christians who are preaching the gospel today do
not know the divine principles in God's economy. If we
would be real evangelists, real preachers of the gospel, we
must firstly be John the Baptist. This means that we must
be priests, not formal priests, priests in shadow, but
genuine priests, priests in reality. After we become such
priests, we must also be Jesus Christ. This means that we
must be the King who brings God to others. When we go to
God praying for others, we are priests bringing them to
God. But when we come out of God's presence and go to
the people, we are kings bringing God to them. If we do
this, they will repent to the King, the King will gain them,
and the kingdom will be present.
The proper church life today is the kingdom. We all
have repented, the King has gained us, and we have
received Him. Now we are one with the King, and the
kingdom is here with us. Hallelujah, the kingdom is here
right now! All this depends upon the recommender.
My burden in this message is to emphasize the matter
of the recommender. Are you today's recommender of
Christ? If you are, then you must be clear whether or not
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you are still in religion and culture. We must all be in the
wilderness, in an environment that is "wild," not in an
environment that is religious or cultured. The proper
environment is outside religion and culture, but it is full of
the presence of God.
When John was there in the wilderness, he was a great
magnet drawing large numbers to himself. For this reason,
verse 5 says, "Then Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the
district of the Jordan went out to him." Because of his
drawing power, many came to John the Baptist. I hope the
young people who go to the campuses will stand there as
magnets. If you are such a magnet, others will flock to you.
First you will be the priests appointed by God to bring
others into His presence. Then you will be able to
introduce the heavenly King to them. At that time, you
will not only introduce the King to others; you will actually
be the King. Thus, you will give a command to others, and
many will turn to Christ. In this way Christ will gain the
people, and they will gain Him. Then, immediately, the
kingdom will appear on the campuses. This is the proper
way to carry out the preaching of the gospel.
B. The Place of Recommendation
We have seen that the place of recommendation was
neither in the holy city nor in the holy temple, but in the
wilderness. Verse 1 says that John the Baptist came
preaching in the wilderness, and verse 3 says, "For this is
he who was spoken of through Isaiah the prophet, saying,
A voice of one crying in the wilderness." It was according
to prophecy that John the Baptist began his ministry in
the wilderness. This indicates that the introduction of
God's New Testament economy by John was not
accidental, but planned and foretold by God through
Isaiah the prophet. This implies that God intended His
New Testament economy to begin in an absolutely new
way.
If you trace the history of the past few centuries, you
will see that every prevailing revival took place in some
kind of "wilderness." When John Wesley and George
Whitefield were raised up as evangelists two centuries
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ago, they mainly did their preaching on the street corners.
According to his biography, George Whitefield often
preached on the foothills in the wilderness. However, at
that time, the Church of England had regulations
forbidding the expounding of the Holy Word outside the
"sanctuary." According to these regulations, anyone who
preached or taught from the Bible had to do so in the
"sanctuary." Nevertheless, God raised up George
Whitefield and John Wesley to conduct their preaching
outside the "sanctuary." The principle must be the same
today. But this does not mean that we should copy John
the Baptist in an outward way. It means that we should
not take either the religious way or the cultural way.
Rather, we must take the way that is full of the presence
of God. We should not be in the holy city or in the holy
temple, but in a place outside religion and culture, yet in a
place full of the presence of God. I hope the young people
will bring this matter to the Lord and pray, "Lord, make
us today's John the Baptist. Lord, take us into the
wilderness and show us how to be genuine priests to bring
others to You and how to introduce You to them as their
King."
The Gospel of Matthew is absolutely different from the
Gospel of John. The Gospel of John is a book of life,
whereas the Gospel of Matthew is a book of the kingdom.
In John Jesus is life, but in Matthew He is the King.
According to the book of Matthew, the Jesus we are to
receive is the King. As we consider the Gospel of Matthew,
we must be thoroughly and deeply impressed that we are
now in the kingdom. Everything written in this book is
related to the kingdom. Therefore, we must look into this
book from the angle of the kingdom, viewing every chapter
and even every verse from the perspective of the kingdom.
The repentance called for in chapter three is for the
kingdom. You must repent because you are not in the
kingdom, because you are not under God's authority. You
must repent because you have not yet submitted to the
authority of Christ or come under His kingship. Although
you may not feel that you are sinful, as long as you are not
in the kingdom, you are a rebellious one. As long as you
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have nothing to do with the kingship of Christ, you are in
rebellion and must repent. Repent of not being in the
kingdom! The genuine Christians of today are saved, yet
many of them still are not in the kingdom. Thus, even
these Christians must repent. As long as you are not
under the kingship of Christ, you must repent. If you are
not actually in the kingdom of the heavens, not under the
heavenly ruling, you must repent. It does not matter how
spiritual, holy, or good you are. The only thing that
matters is whether or not you are under the heavenly
ruling. If you are not, it means that you are not in the
kingdom and that you must repent. If you are not in the
kingdom, you are in rebellion. You consider yourself
scriptural, fundamental, and holy, but in actuality you are
rebellious. Even your spirituality is a form of rebellion
against the kingship of Christ. You care for your
spirituality, not for the kingship of Christ. This indicates
that you are in rebellion, that you are not in the kingdom.
Repent of your rebellion! Repent of not being in the
kingdom and of not being under the kingship and
authority of Christ! This is the basic thought of the Gospel
of Matthew.
Do not think that Matthew is only for unbelievers,
outsiders, or Gentiles. Many of us have never heard the
Gospel of Matthew. I do not know what kind of gospel you
have heard, but I do know that you need to hear the
Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of the kingdom that
requires you to repent of not being under the kingship of
Christ. We all must repent to the Lord and say, "Lord,
forgive me. Even today I am still in rebellion. I am not
under Your Lordship, Your authority, Your heavenly
ruling. Lord, I confess that I have been ruled only by
myself. Lord, grant me a true repentance for my rebellion,
for my not being under Your authority." We all need to
repent. Praise the Lord that John the Baptist and this
ministry of the priesthood are still with us! On the one
hand, this priesthood brings us to God; on the other hand,
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it recommends the heavenly King who brings God to us.
When we receive this King, He gains us, and the kingdom
is here. This is the Gospel of Matthew.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE NINE
THE KING'S ANOINTING
(2)
In both the Old Testament and the New Testament
there are two basic ministries that constitute the kingdom
of God: the priesthood and the kingship. In the Bible there
is also a third type of ministry, the ministry of the prophet.
However, the prophetic ministry is not a basic ministry;
rather, it is a supplement to the priesthood and the
kingship. When either the priesthood or the kingship is
weak, the prophets come in to strengthen it. According to
the Old Testament, the priesthood was with the tribe of
Levi. Eventually, the Old Testament priesthood
consummated in John the Baptist, a descendant of this
tribe. In like manner, Jesus was the consummation of the
Old Testament kingship, which was with the tribe of
Judah. Jesus came as a descendant of Judah to be the
consummation of the kingship. On the one hand, John the
Baptist and Jesus Christ terminated the Old Testament
priesthood and kingship; on the other hand, they
germinated the New Testament priesthood and kingship.
In other words, they terminated the Old Testament
dispensation and began the New Testament dispensation.
When the priesthood brings people to God and the
kingship brings God to the people, there is the heavenly
reign, the heavenly rule. This heavenly reign is the
kingdom, which today is the proper church life. Today's
church life is the kingdom with the priesthood and the
kingship. This church life will continue until the
millennium. In the millennial kingdom there will still be
the priesthood and the kingship. On the one hand, we, the
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overcomers, shall be priests and, on the other hand, we
shall be kings. Thus, in the millennial kingdom, the
priesthood and the kingship will be even stronger than
they are today. They will maintain God's kingdom on earth
so that the King may gain the people and that the people
may gain the King. After the millennium there will be no
further need of the priesthood. In eternity there will be
only the kingship because in the new heaven and new
earth with the New Jerusalem everyone will be in the
presence of God. At that time God will be with man. Thus,
there will no longer be the need for the priesthood to bring
the people to God. In eternity God's presence will
eliminate the priesthood. Nevertheless, the kingship will
remain so that those in the New Jerusalem may reign over
the nations surrounding the city. This is a summary of the
Bible in the light of the priesthood and the kingship.
In the previous message we considered the
recommender, John the Baptist. In this message we shall
consider John's message of recommendation.
C. The Message of Recommendation
1. Repentance for the Kingdom of the Heavens
John's message of recommendation is short, but it is
crucial and all-inclusive. Matthew 3:2 says, "Repent, for
the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near." The first
significant word in this verse is the word "repent." John
began his ministry with this word. To repent is to have a
change of mind issuing in regret, to have a turn in
purpose. In Greek the word translated repent means to
have a change of mind. To repent is to have a change in
our thinking, our philosophy, our logic. The life of fallen
man is absolutely according to his thinking. Everything he
is and does is according to his mind. When you were a
fallen one, you were directed by your mind. Your
mentality, logic, and philosophy governed your way of life.
Before we were saved, we all were under the direction of
our fallen mentality. We were far away from God, and our
life was in direct opposition to His will. Under the
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influence of our fallen mentality, we went farther and
farther astray from God. But one day we heard the
preaching of the gospel telling us to repent, to have a turn
in our thinking, philosophy, and logic.
This was just my experience when I was saved. I was
like a young horse running in my own direction. Actually I
was not taking my direction, but the Devil's direction, for
the Devil was directing me through my fallen mentality,
driving me far away from God. But one day I heard the
call to repent--to have a change in my philosophy, to have
a change in my logic and thought. Praise the Lord, I
underwent a great change! I was moving in one direction,
but when I heard the call to repent, I made an about-face.
I believe we all have made this kind of turn, which is
called conversion. When we were converted, we turned our
back upon our past and turned our face to God. This is
what it means to repent, to experience a change of our
mind.
Every ism is a philosophy that directs one's life. Nearly
every political party has an ism, and that ism is virtually a
god. But we do not have an ism--we have the Lord. We
have God. Formerly, we were under the direction of a
certain ism, but now we are under the direction of God.
Our mind has been radically changed. We used to be
heading in a certain direction, but now we are heading in
the opposite direction. We have had a turn in our thought,
in our concept.
The second crucial word in verse 2 is kingdom. In the
preaching of John the Baptist, repentance, as the opening
of God's New Testament economy, was to have a turn for
the kingdom of the heavens. This indicates that God's New
Testament economy is focused on His kingdom. For this
we should repent, change our mind, have a turn in our
pursuit of life. The goal of our pursuit has been toward
other things; now our pursuit must turn toward God and
His kingdom, which is specifically and purposely called in
Matthew the kingdom of the heavens (cf. Mark 1:15). The
kingdom of the heavens, according to the context of the
entire Gospel of Matthew, is different from the Messianic
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kingdom. The Messianic kingdom will be the restored
kingdom of David (the rebuilt tabernacle of David--Acts
15:16), made up of the children of Israel, earthly and
physical in nature; whereas the kingdom of the heavens is
constituted of regenerated believers and is heavenly and
spiritual.
In his message, John the Baptist told people to repent
for the kingdom. He did not say to repent that we might go
to heaven or even to obtain salvation. He said that we
must repent for the kingdom. The kingdom denotes a kind
of reign, rule. Before we were saved, we were not under
any rule. If there had been no police force, government, or
law courts to tell us what to do, we would have done
whatever we liked. However, when we heard the preaching
of the gospel, we turned from a condition of no rule to a
condition full of rule. Thus, we are now in the kingdom.
Before we were saved, we did not have a king. But after we
turned to the Lord, He became our King. Now we are all
under the rule of this King. With the King there is the
kingship, and this kingship is the kingdom. Today we are
in the kingdom of this King.
The third crucial word in verse 2 is heavens. John said
to repent for the kingdom of the heavens. The term "the
heavens," a Hebrew idiom, does not refer to anything
plural in nature; rather, it refers to the highest heaven,
which according to the Bible is the third heaven, the
heaven above the heaven. This third heaven is called the
heavens. The kingdom of the heavens does not denote a
kingdom in the air, but a kingdom above the air, a
kingdom in the heaven above the heaven, where God's
throne is. In this kingdom there is the ruling, the reigning,
of God Himself. Therefore, the kingdom of the heavens is
the kingdom of God in the third heaven where He
exercises His authority over everything created by Him.
This kingdom of the heavens must come down to earth.
This heavenly reign must descend to earth to be the
authority over the earth.
According to John's word in verse 2, "The kingdom of
the heavens has drawn near." This clearly indicates that
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before the coming of John the Baptist, the kingdom of the
heavens was not there. Even after his appearance, during
his preaching, the kingdom of the heavens was still not
there; it had only drawn near. At the time the Lord started
His ministry and even at the time He sent His disciples to
preach, the kingdom of the heavens had still not come
(4:17; 10:7). Hence, in the first parable in chapter thirteen
(vv. 3-9), the parable of the seed, which indicates the
Lord's preaching, the Lord did not say, "The kingdom of
the heavens is like.... " Not until the second parable, the
parable of the tares (v. 24), which indicates the
establishment of the church at the day of Pentecost, did
the Lord say this. The fact that Matthew 16:18 and 19 use
the terms the "church" and the "kingdom of the heavens"
interchangeably proves that the kingdom of the heavens
came when the church was established.
When John the Baptist came, the kingdom of the
heavens had only drawn near. It was approaching,
arriving, but it had not yet come. This proves that in the
Old Testament there was no kingdom of the heavens. Even
at the time of Moses and David the kingdom of the
heavens was not there. John said that the kingdom of the
heavens was on its way; he did not say that it had arrived.
When the Lord Jesus began His ministry, He also said,
"Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near"
(4:17). This indicates that even when the Lord Jesus began
His ministry, the kingdom of the heavens had still not
arrived. In his message, John the Baptist told the people
to repent for the kingdom of the heavens, which, at that
time, was on the way. The kingdom of the heavens arrived
in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. This means that it
arrived at the very time the church came into existence.
Today anyone who has a change in his philosophy and
comes back to God will immediately be in the kingdom of
the heavens. Hallelujah, we are in the kingdom of the
heavens! We have a King and we are under His rule.
Many times the ruling of the King within us makes it
unnecessary for us to be ruled by the policemen or by the
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law court. This inward King can put the attorneys out of a
job. However, those who have not repented and come back
to God are not under the King. Instead, they constantly
violate the law. For this reason, a great many are
summoned to the law court. But we, the kingdom people,
are under the King of the kingdom of the heavens. This
King has come into our being. At this very moment He is
dwelling in our spirit. When He speaks to us, He mainly
says one word--"no." According to my experience, His
favorite word is "no." We have a ruling "no" within us.
Thank the Lord for this little word, for it saves us from a
great deal of trouble. The speaking of the inward "no" is
the ruling of the King within. Perhaps today you have
heard the King's "no" a number of times. If the kingdom
people do not care for this "no," they will become
backsliders. Because we are in the kingdom of the
heavens, the King rules us mostly by speaking the word
"no."
Now let us consider how John the Baptist was able to
bring others into the kingdom. John's ministry was to
bring others to God (Luke 1:16-17). John the Baptist, a
genuine priest, was "filled with the Holy Spirit, even from
his mother's womb" (Luke 1:15). There is no doubt that as
he grew from infancy to adulthood, to the age of thirty, he
was continually immersed in the Holy Spirit. Because he
was flooded and saturated with the Holy Spirit, he could
be bold. It is a serious matter to stand against the current
of the age. To do this requires a great deal of boldness.
How could John the Baptist be so bold as to stand against
the Judaistic religion and the Greco-Roman culture? He
was bold because for thirty years he was being immersed
in the Holy Spirit. He was a person thoroughly soaked
with the Spirit. Therefore, when he came out to minister,
he came out in the Spirit and with power. Yes, he wore
camel's hair as a sign of his repudiation of the old
dispensation. But that was merely an outward sign. There
was also reality within him, and that reality was the Spirit
and the power. The reality in John was not just the
presence of God, but also the Spirit of God.
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John was immersed, saturated, and soaked with the
Holy Spirit. Spontaneously this caused him to be a great
magnet. He could be a magnet because he himself had
been fully charged. Year after year and day after day, he
was charged with the Spirit. Therefore, in his ministry, he
was a powerful magnet. With John there was the Spirit
and the attracting power. Therefore, as Luke 1:16 says, he
turned many of the children of Israel to the Lord their
God. (The Lord here is the equivalent of Jehovah.) The fact
that John turned many of the Israelites to the Lord
indicates that the nation of Israel had turned away from
God. If they had not turned away from Him, they would
not have needed John the Baptist to turn them back. Even
those priests who served God in the temple by lighting the
lamps and burning the incense had turned from God and
were far away from Him. Elsewhere in the New Testament
we are told that many priests turned to God (Acts 6:7).
Thus, even the priests, the ones who served God, needed a
turn to God. Therefore, John the Baptist was used to turn
many to the Lord.
2. The Need for the Nature to Be Changed
John's word to the Pharisees and Sadducees who came
to him reveals our need to have our nature changed. Verse
7 says, "But seeing many of the Pharisees and Sadducees
coming to his baptism, he said to them, Brood of vipers,
who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?" The
Pharisees were the strictest religious sect of the Jews (Acts
26:5), formed about 200 B.C. They were proud of their
superior sanctity of life, devotion to God, and knowledge of
the Scriptures. Actually, they were degraded into
pretentious conduct and hypocrisy (Matt. 23:2-33). The
Sadducees were another sect in Judaism (Acts 5:17). They
did not believe in the resurrection, nor in angels, nor in
spirits (Matt. 22:23; Acts 23:8). Both the Pharisees and the
Sadducees were denounced by John the Baptist and the
Lord Jesus as a brood of vipers (3:7; 12:34; 23:33). The
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Pharisees were supposed to be the orthodox ones, and the
Sadducees were the ancient modernists.
In verses 8 and 9 John said, "Produce then fruit worthy
of repentance. And do not presume to say within
yourselves, We have Abraham for our father; for I say to
you that God is able out of these stones to raise up
children to Abraham." Due to the impenitence of the Jews,
both this word and the word in verse 10 have been
fulfilled. God has cut them off and raised up the believing
Gentiles to be children unto Abraham in faith (Rom. 11:15,
19-20, 22; Gal. 3:7, 28-29). John's word in this verse clearly
indicates that the kingdom of the heavens preached by
him is not constituted of the children of Abraham by birth,
but of the children of Abraham by faith. Thus, it is a
heavenly kingdom, not the earthly kingdom of the
Messiah.
The Pharisees and Sadducees were the leaders of the
children of Israel. When they came to John the Baptist,
with a rebuking tone he called them a brood of vipers.
Vipers are poisonous snakes. John spoke this word to the
Jews, to the chosen race. The children of Israel were not
heathen swine. They considered the Gentiles as swine and
themselves as the holy people. But when the leaders of
this holy people came to John, he did not say, "Welcome.
How good it is of you to come to my ministry. What an
honor it is to me for you, the leaders of the children of
Israel, to pay me a visit." John did not speak like the
pastors in today's Christianity. He neither thanked the
Pharisees and Sadducees for their visitation, nor did he
address them as leaders; instead, he called them a brood of
vipers. Can you believe that the children of Israel, the
descendants of Abraham, the called one, could have
become so evil?
John also told them not to presume to say that they
had Abraham for their father, for God was able of the
stones to raise up children to Abraham. John seemed to be
saying, "Don't presume anything. Don't presume that you
are the children of Israel with Abraham as your father.
God is able to raise up children out of these stones." John's
word was a strong indication and actually a prophecy of
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the fact that the age had changed. Because the age had
changed, it was no longer a matter of the natural birth,
but of the second birth, the spiritual birth. Although you
might have been born a lifeless stone, God is able to make
you His living child. Hallelujah, this is just what He has
done to us! We need to recall our condition before we were
saved. As far as life was concerned, we were lifeless stones.
But as far as sin was concerned, we were filled with sin
and active in sin. Praise the Lord that on the day of our
repentance we believed in the Lord Jesus, and God made
us His living children.
Through John's word here we see that God was
prepared to forsake this brood of vipers, His chosen people
of old, and to pursue another people. He was ready to
forsake the children of Israel and to turn to the stones,
which mainly were the Gentiles. Although the Gentiles
were lifeless stones, they were destined to become the
living children of God. This proves that God is truly able to
make every lifeless stone a child of God.
In verse 10 John said to the Pharisees and Sadducees,
"And already the axe is laid at the root of the trees; every
tree therefore that does not produce good fruit is cut down
and cast into the fire." John seemed to be saying, "Brood of
vipers, the cutting axe is now at the root of the tree. If you
are a good tree producing good fruit, you will be all right.
If not, you will be cut down and cast into the fire." As we
shall see, the fire spoken of in this verse is the fire in the
lake of fire.
3. Christ the Baptizer
Verse 11 says, "I indeed baptize you in water unto
repentance; but He Who is coming after me is mightier
than I, Whose sandals I am not worthy to bear; He shall
baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire." In this verse John
seemed to be saying, "I have come to baptize you with
water, to terminate you, to bury you. But the One who
comes after me is mightier than I. He will baptize you with
the Spirit and fire. Whether He will baptize you with
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the Spirit or with fire depends on whether or not you
repent. If you repent, He will put you into the Spirit. But if
you continue to be a brood of vipers, He will certainly
baptize you in the lake of fire. This means that He will put
you into the fire of hell."
According to the context, fire here is not the fire in Acts
2:3, which is related to the Holy Spirit, but the same fire
as in verses 10 and 12, the fire in the lake of fire (Rev.
20:15), where the unbelievers will suffer eternal perdition.
The word of John spoken here to the Pharisees and
Sadducees means that if the Pharisees and Sadducees
would truly repent and believe in the Lord, the Lord would
baptize them in the Holy Spirit that they might have
eternal life; otherwise, the Lord will baptize them in fire,
putting them into the lake of fire for eternal punishment.
John's baptism was only for repentance, to usher people to
faith in the Lord. The Lord's baptism is either for eternal
life in the Holy Spirit or for eternal perdition in fire. The
Lord's baptism in the Holy Spirit began the kingdom of the
heavens, bringing His believers into the kingdom of the
heavens, whereas His baptism in fire will terminate the
kingdom of the heavens, putting the unbelievers into the
lake of fire. Hence, the Lord's baptism in the Holy Spirit,
based upon His redemption, is the beginning of the
kingdom of the heavens, whereas His baptism in fire,
based upon His judgment, is its ending. Thus, in this verse
there are three kinds of baptisms: the baptism in water,
the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and the baptism in fire.
The baptism in water by John introduced people to the
kingdom of the heavens. The baptism in the Holy Spirit by
the Lord Jesus began and established the kingdom of the
heavens on the day of Pentecost and will carry it on to its
consummation at the end of this age. The baptism in fire
by the Lord, according to the judgment at the great white
throne (Rev. 20:11-15), will conclude the kingdom of the
heavens.
Some Christians, thinking that the fire in verse 11
refers to the tongues of fire on the day of Pentecost, say
that the Lord will baptize believers with both the Holy
Spirit and with fire. But we must take care of the context
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of verse 11. Notice that the word fire is found in verses 10,
11, and 12. In verse 10 the trees that do not produce good
fruit are cut down and cast into the fire. Certainly this fire
is the lake of fire. The fire in verse 11 must also denote the
lake of fire, for it is a further explanation of the fire spoken
of in the preceding verse. According to verse 12, the Lord
will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire. The wheat that
is gathered into the Lord's barn is those who are put into
the Spirit. However, the chaff is burned with fire.
Certainly this fire is also the lake of fire. Therefore, the
fire that is spoken of in verses 10 through 12 refers in
every case to the same fire, the fire of the lake of fire. John
seemed to be saying to the Jewish leaders, "You Pharisees
and Sadducees may be able to deceive me, but you cannot
deceive Him. If you are truly repentant, He will put you
into the Spirit. But if you remain in your evil, He will put
you into fire." This is the correct understanding of these
verses.
Verse 12 says, "Whose winnowing fork is in His hand,
and He will thoroughly cleanse His threshing floor and
will gather His wheat into His barn, but He will burn the
chaff with unquenchable fire." Those typified by the wheat
have life within. The Lord will baptize them in the Holy
Spirit and gather them into His barn in heaven by
rapture. Those typified by the chaff, like the tares in
13:24-30, are without life. The Lord will baptize them in
fire, putting them into the lake of fire. Chaff here refers to
the unrepentant Jews, whereas the tares in chapter
thirteen refer to the nominal Christians. The eternal
destiny of both will be the same--perdition in the lake of
fire (13:40-42).
Jesus the King exercises two kinds of baptism: the
baptism in the Spirit and the baptism in fire. The baptism
in the Spirit began the kingdom of the heavens, and the
baptism in fire will end it. The beginning of the kingdom of
the heavens was on the day of Pentecost. On that day
Jesus the King baptized the believers into the Holy Spirit.
By that baptism in the Spirit, the kingdom of the heavens
began. The kingdom of the heavens will end with the
judgment at the great white throne. At that time the
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unbelievers will be judged and cast into the lake of fire.
That will be the baptism in fire. This fire baptism will
terminate the kingdom of the heavens.
The baptism in water practiced by John was
preliminary to the kingdom of the heavens. It was a
preparation for the coming of the kingdom of the heavens.
Many nominal Christians have been baptized in water.
But whether they participate in the baptism in the Spirit
or suffer the baptism in fire depends on whether or not
they repent. If they truly repent, the Lord Jesus will put
them into the Spirit. If not, the Lord Jesus as the Judge on
the great white throne will cast them into the lake of fire.
Therefore, in the Bible there are three kinds of baptisms:
the water baptism, the Spirit baptism, and the fire
baptism. The water baptism of John was a preparation for
the kingdom to come, the Spirit baptism was the beginning
of the kingdom, and the fire baptism will be the
termination of the kingdom. We should not continue to be
a brood of vipers. Neither should we be the chaff in
chapter three nor the tares in chapter thirteen. Rather, we
must become wheat, the living children of God. In order to
become the children of God, you must be baptized through
water into the Spirit. John 3:5 says that you must be born
of water and of the Spirit. Firstly, we are baptized through
water; then we are baptized in the Spirit. In this way we
are regenerated. Therefore, we have the two kinds of
positive baptism, the baptism in water and the baptism in
the Spirit. But we want nothing to do with the baptism in
fire.
D. The Way of Recommendation
We have covered the recommender and the message of
recommendation. Now we must consider the way of
recommendation.
1. To Baptize People in Water
The first aspect of John's way of recommendation was
to baptize people in water. Verses 5 and 6 reveal that
many were baptized by him in the Jordan River,
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confessing their sins. To baptize people is to immerse
them, to bury them in water, signifying death. John the
Baptist did this to indicate that anyone who repents is
good for nothing but burial. This also signifies the
termination of the old person, that a new beginning may
be realized in resurrection, to be brought in by Christ as
the life-giver. Hence, following John's ministry, Christ
came. John's baptism not only terminated those who
repented, but also ushered them to Christ for life. Baptism
in the Bible implies death and resurrection. To be baptized
into the water is to be put into death and buried. To be
raised up from the water means to be resurrected from
death.
It was in the Jordan River that twelve stones
representing the twelve tribes of Israel were buried and
from it that another twelve stones representing the twelve
tribes of Israel were resurrected and brought up (Josh. 4:1-
18). Hence, to baptize people in the Jordan River implied
the burial of their old being and the resurrection of the
new. Just as crossing the Jordan River ushered the
children of Israel into the good land, so to be baptized
brings people into Christ, the reality of the good land.
Whenever anyone repented in the presence of John the
Baptist, John put him into the water. According to the
New Testament, to immerse someone in water firstly
meant to bury him, and secondly it meant to raise him up.
Thus, on the negative side, baptism signifies death and
burial; on the positive side it signifies resurrection. In his
message of recommendation, John indicated that God
would raise up living children out of dead stones. By
baptizing the repentant ones, John indicated that they and
all their past had to be terminated, and buried. Burial,
however, was not the end, because burial always brings in
resurrection. Thus, on the one hand, burial is termination,
but on the other hand, it is also germination. Those whom
John terminated in baptism were to be resurrected, not in
him, but in the One who was to come after him. John's
baptism was an indicator that One was coming to raise up
the dead.
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Baptism means that our natural being and all of our
past must be terminated. Our being and our past are only
good for burial. Therefore, as John, the genuine priest, was
bringing others to God and introducing the King to them,
he terminated and buried everyone who came to him in
repentance, indicating thereby that those who were buried
by him would be raised up by the resurrected One. This is
the way of recommendation, the true way to bring the
repentant ones to the King who would raise them up.
In the New Testament there are two ministries: the
ministry of John and the ministry of the Lord Jesus.
John's ministry is to bring others to God by terminating
and burying them. These terminated and buried ones need
the resurrection that only Christ can afford. Hence, Christ
came after John to minister life to the dead and buried
ones. This is the reason we need to be reborn, to be
baptized in water and in the Spirit. To be baptized in
water is to have our natural life and our past terminated.
To be baptized in the Spirit is to have a new start by being
germinated with the divine life. This germination is only
possible through Christ as the life-giving Spirit.
Anyone who is brought to God must be terminated in
the presence of God. In a sense, it is wonderful to be
brought into the presence of God. But in another sense it
means that you must be terminated. If you are not
terminated, you will be killed. Hence, to be brought into
the presence of God is both wonderful and serious, for it
means that we shall either be terminated or killed. The
two sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, came into the
presence of God, but they were killed by fire (Lev. 10:1-2).
If we are willing to be terminated in the presence of God, it
means that we are ready to be germinated, to be
resurrected, to have a new beginning. This termination is
the genuine way of recommendation. It is the way of
preparation to bring us into the presence of the King so
that the King may be brought to us to give us a new start
in resurrection. In Matthew chapter three we have both a
strong termination and a prevailing germination. Through
this termination and germination, the King gains a
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people, and the people receive the King.
2. To Prepare People to Receive Christ
Verse 3 says, "For this is he who was spoken of through
Isaiah the prophet, saying, A voice of one crying in the
wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths
straight." This verse reveals that John the Baptist was one
who prepared the way of the Lord and made His paths
straight. To prepare the way of the Lord and to make His
paths straight is to change people's minds, to turn their
minds toward the Lord and make their hearts right, to
cause every part and avenue of their heart to be
straightened by the Lord through repentance for the
kingdom of the heavens (Luke 1:16-17). John the Baptist
prepared the way and straightened the paths. This
indicates that the way was rough, full of hills and valleys.
In some places it was very low, and in others it was very
high. But John came and paved the way, leveling the hills,
filling the gaps, and making the way smooth and flat. John
also straightened the paths, which were full of curves. The
fact that John paved the way and straightened the paths
means that His ministry dealt with the mind and the
heart.
Consider your past before you were saved. Did you not
have a rough way within you? Certainly the way in your
mind was filled with many hills and valleys. Before I was
saved, my mind was filled with ups and downs. Nothing
was flat. Moreover, in the lanes of your thought, emotion,
will, and desire, there were many curves. One day you said
your wife was an angel; the next day you said she was a
devil. This indicates that your emotion was full of curves.
Before you repented, all the paths within you were curved;
nothing was straight.
When John the Baptist came, he commanded the
people to repent. Genuine repentance prepares the way
and straightens the paths. Before I repented, my mentality
was rough. But, through the Lord's mercy, on the day of
my repentance, my whole inward being became
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smooth. From the time of my repentance, every avenue,
lane, and path in my being has been made straight. This is
to prepare us to receive the Lord, to prepare the way for
the Lord, and to make His paths straight. The way to
prepare others to receive the Lord is to help them to
repent. John the Baptist seemed to be saying, "You
children of Israel are far away from the Lord. Your mind is
a rough way, and your emotion, will, desire, and intention
are curved paths. You need to repent and straighten out
every avenue within your being so that the Lord may come
in." When many heard John's word, they repented, and
their way was paved and their paths were straightened.
Therefore, the King was able to come in. This is true
repentance. Genuine repentance prepares the way for the
Lord as the King to enter in. I can testify that along this
paved way and in these straightened paths, I continually
enjoy the Lord. My way is paved, the Lord Jesus is
walking within me, and along my straightened paths I
always have the Lord Jesus with me. This is the way to
prepare ourselves to receive Christ the King.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE TEN
THE KING'S ANOINTING
(3)
In this message we come to the actual anointing of the
King (3:13-17).
II. ANOINTED
A. Through Baptism
Verse 13 says, "Then came Jesus from Galilee to the
Jordan unto John to be baptized by him." Two of the
crucial words in this verse are Galilee and Jordan. This
verse does not say that Jesus came from Bethlehem to
Jerusalem to be sanctified. It says He came from Galilee to
the Jordan to be baptized. We need to consider the
significance of the phrase "from Galilee to the Jordan." It
is not easy to see why Jesus came not from Bethlehem but
from Galilee and not to Jerusalem but to the Jordan. We
also need to see why He came to John, who was a "wild"
person, not to the high priest, who would have been a
cultured and religious person. Moreover, we need to know
why He came to be baptized, not to be sanctified.
1. Coming from Galilee
In the New Testament, Galilee, a despised region,
signifies rejection. Jesus did not come from Bethlehem
because at that time Bethlehem was a place of honor and
welcome. If you came out of Bethlehem, everyone would
honor you and give you a warm welcome. But if you came
from Galilee, everyone would despise you and reject you.
Jesus came from such a despised and rejected place. This
place was not rejected by God, but it was rejected by
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religion and culture. All those who come to the Lord's
recovery do not come from Bethlehem; rather, they come
from Galilee. Do not try to come from a place of honor and
warm welcome, but come from a place that is despised and
rejected by religion and culture. Even if the president of a
nation took the way of the church, he would also have to be
one coming from Galilee to the Jordan. Throughout my
years of watching and observing, I have seen that those of
a high rank who turned to the way of the church were
despised and rejected by today's religion and culture. I am
quite certain that if you are still honored and welcomed by
today's religion and culture, you are not on the way from
Galilee to the Jordan. The way from Galilee to the Jordan
is the correct way for the church. The way of today's
church life is not from Bethlehem to Jerusalem; it is from
Galilee to the Jordan.
The way of the church is a narrow way. Even if there
were no opposition to the Lord's recovery but rather a high
appraisal from every Christian organization, the number
of those who would turn to the way of the church would
still be about the same as it is today, simply because the
way of the church is a narrow way. When some consider
the church, they may say, "This is the kingdom of the
heavens. Certainly this way must be very high." Although
this way is high, it is not high according to your concept.
Instead, it is a highway from Galilee to the Jordan.
2. Coming to Jordan
As we have pointed out, Jordan was a place of burial
and resurrection. Thus, Jordan signifies termination and
germination. The children of Israel traveled through the
wilderness for about forty years, and eventually they were
all buried in the Jordan River. Hence, the Jordan
terminated them, ended their history of wandering in the
wilderness, and terminated the age of wandering. But the
Jordan also gave them a new beginning, for it germinated
them and ushered them into a new age. It was the Jordan
that brought the children of Israel out of the wilderness
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and into the good land, which is Christ. This is the
significance of the Jordan.
In the church life our way today is the way from Galilee
to the Jordan, the way from rejection to termination and
resurrection. We all need to say to those who despise and
reject us, "Farewell. I shall not seek to be welcomed by
you. I am going to the place where I can be terminated and
germinated." In the church life there is no honor; instead,
there is termination. Day by day we are terminated. In the
church we have a mutual termination. We terminate one
another every day, even every hour. But it is a good thing
to be terminated. Termination is not the end; it is the
beginning, because termination always leads to
germination. Therefore, we can testify that every
termination becomes a germination.
Sometimes the sisters say, "Brother Lee, the church life
is wonderful, but it is often difficult for us sisters. We
know that the brothers are the head and that we sisters
must submit to them. The brothers are good, but they are
too strong. We just cannot take it. Many times they have
nearly killed us." Whenever I hear this, I say, "Isn't that
good? How good it is to be terminated. Isn't it good for the
sisters to be killed by the brothers?"
A few years ago I was invited to a certain church. The
brothers there told me that the sisters were so emotional
and opinionated that they found it very difficult to have
fellowship with them. They simply did not know how to
handle the situation. Several days later some of the very
sisters in question invited me to lunch. Their purpose in
doing so was to have an opportunity to express their
opinion. They told me their patience was exhausted
because the brothers were so strong. They wanted me to
give them the way to go on. Several days earlier I had been
pressed by the brothers, but now I was being pressed by
the sisters. I saw what a serious and terrible termination
that was for both the brothers and the sisters. Both the
brothers and the sisters were being terminated. But that
mutual termination is very positive.
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Do you not love to be terminated? If you have never been
terminated in the church life, get yourself prepared. I can
assure you that in the church life we all shall be
terminated, because we are on the way from Galilee to the
Jordan.
When new ones come into the church life, they may
say, "Hallelujah! I have seen the church life! How
wonderful!" Whenever I hear this, I say within, "Yes, it is
wonderful, but wait awhile. Sooner or later, this wonderful
church life will terminate you." In the church life I have
been terminated dozens of times. I have experienced at
least ten major terminations. I was terminated in Chefoo,
Shanghai, Taipei, Manila, Los Angeles, and Anaheim. The
marvelous church life is surely a terminating life. The
wonderful church life terminates us all. Be prepared to be
terminated. Those who have been in the church life for just
a short time are probably still on their church honeymoon.
The honeymoon is fine. But as every married couple
knows, the honeymoon eventually turns into termination.
Nearly every husband has terminated his wife, and every
wife has terminated her husband. But this termination is
very positive because it brings in germination. Hallelujah,
termination issues in resurrection!
The church life truly is wonderful, but not wonderful
according to our concept. The wonderful church life sooner
or later will terminate us all. It will both terminate you
and germinate you. I assure you that whatever you are,
whatever you have, and whatever you can do will all be
terminated. It may take a history of ten years in the
church to accomplish this. Those who have been in the
church for ten years can testify that every part of their
being has been terminated. The longer we stay in the
church, the more we are terminated. At first, the
experience of termination is bitter. But later it becomes
sweet. For me today it is sweet to be terminated. After a
number of years of being terminated in the church life, you
will be happy to be terminated. At first when you are
terminated in the church life, you feel ashamed.
Gradually, however, it becomes a sweet experience for you.
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We are on the way from Galilee to the Jordan, from the
place of rejection to the place of termination.
It is in this place of termination that we meet the King.
Here, in the church life, is where we meet Him. From the
time I came into the church life, I have been brought to the
Lord again and again. Day after day, the church life brings
me to Christ, and it brings Christ the King to me.
Eventually, the kingdom is here. This is the reason the
church life is the kingdom.
I was taught by the Brethren that the kingdom had
been suspended until a future time. I was also taught that
the church today was not the kingdom. But in my
experience I gradually realized that every time I was
terminated I was brought to the King and the King was
brought to me. In my experience this was the reality of the
kingdom. It was through experience that I first came to
know that the church life is the kingdom. My experience
told me that the teaching I received from the Brethren
regarding the kingdom was not accurate. According to my
experience, I knew I was in the kingdom. Every time I was
terminated, I met my King, and the kingdom was present.
This is not a matter of doctrine; it is a matter of
experience. Later, through further study of the New
Testament, I received light on the matter of the kingdom,
and my experience was confirmed. Now I can boldly say
that according to the New Testament the kingdom is here
today. Because they have not been terminated, some
Christian teachers say that the kingdom has been
suspended until some future time. They have not been
brought to the King, and the King has not been brought to
them. Thus, in their daily experience they do not have the
kingdom. However, after you have been terminated on the
way from Galilee to the Jordan, both the King and the
kingdom will be present.
3. Baptized by John
The Lord Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be
baptized by John. As a man, the Lord Jesus came to be
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baptized by John the Baptist according to God's New
Testament way. Of the four Gospels only John's does not
give a record of the Lord being baptized, because he
testifies that the Lord is God. Verse 13 does not say that
Jesus came to John to be sanctified; it says that He came
to be baptized. Although every Christian likes to be
sanctified, no one likes to be baptized in the sense of being
terminated and buried. To be baptized is to be terminated.
If I told you that the church will not sanctify you, but
rather terminate you, you would turn away from the
church and say, "I don't want to stay here. I want to be
sanctified. I want the church to make me more holy." But
the church will not firstly make you more holy; it will
terminate you again and again. The church is not firstly a
sanctifying church, but a baptizing church. Consider the
case of the Lord Jesus. He was the true Shepherd. A
shepherd always takes the lead. As the Shepherd-King,
the Lord Jesus took the lead to walk from Galilee to the
Jordan to be baptized. He did not come to the Jordan to be
enthroned, but to be put to death, to be buried.
4. To Fulfill All Righteousness
Verses 14 and 15 say, "But John would have prevented
Him, saying, I have need to be baptized by You, and You
are coming to me? But Jesus answering said to him,
Permit it now, for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all
righteousness. Then he permitted Him." John did not
understand very well, He wondered how Jesus could be
baptized by him, and he thought that he should have been
baptized by Jesus. This indicates that John was still
somewhat in his natural life. Although he had been soaked
in the Holy Spirit for more than thirty years, some natural
element still remained. His word in verse 14 was uttered
according to his natural concept. Thus, in answering him
the Lord seemed to say, "You must permit Me to be
baptized. Don't frustrate Me by your natural concept. Do
not think that because I am mightier than you I don't need
to be baptized by you. Permit Me to be baptized so that we
may fulfill all righteousness."
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Righteousness is to be right by living, walking, and
doing things in the way God has ordained. In the Old
Testament, to keep the law that God had given was
righteousness. Now God had sent John the Baptist to
ordain baptism. To be baptized is also to fulfill
righteousness before God, that is, to fulfill the requirement
of God. The Lord Jesus came to John, not as God, but as a
typical man, a real Israelite. Hence, He must be baptized
to keep this dispensational practice of God; otherwise, He
would not be right with God.
Righteousness is a matter of being right with God.
Suppose God opens a door in the ceiling of a room and says
that this is the proper way to enter the room. Anyone who
does not enter the room through that door is not right with
God. Perhaps you would say, "I don't agree with entering
the room through that door. According to my concept, this
door is not right. The front door or the side door is the
right door." Your way may be right in your eyes, but not in
God's eyes. Righteousness is not a matter of your opinion;
it is a matter of God's ordination.
At the time of John the Baptist, God ordained baptism
as the way. Anyone who wanted to enter the kingdom of
the heavens had to pass through the gateway of John's
baptism. Not even Jesus Christ could be an exception.
Even He had to pass through this gateway. Otherwise, He
would have lacked the righteousness of passing through
this doorway. After the Lord answered him in such a way,
John understood and baptized Him.
To be baptized is to be righteous in the eyes of God. The
termination and germination of our being is righteousness
before God. One who has been baptized, who has been
terminated and germinated, is right with God. God's
economy is to terminate our natural man and germinate
us with a new life. If we would be right with God, we must
be terminated in our natural life and germinated with His
divine life. Termination and germination is the highest
righteousness. The Lord Jesus, as the King of the heavenly
kingdom, took the lead to be terminated. In this way He
fulfilled righteousness in the eyes of God. Thus, He was
the right person to establish the kingdom of the heavens.
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The Lord was baptized not only to fulfill righteousness
according to God's ordination, but also to allow Himself to
be put into death and resurrection that He might minister,
not in a natural way, but in the way of resurrection. By
being baptized He lived and ministered in resurrection
even before His actual death and resurrection three and a
half years later. According to our understanding, the Lord
Jesus was put to death on the cross and resurrected on the
third day. But in the eyes of God and according to the
Lord's realization, He was put to death three and a half
years before His crucifixion. Before He began His ministry,
He was already put to death and resurrected. Thus, He did
not minister in a natural way. His ministry was absolutely
in His resurrection life. Thus, He entered into the gateway
of righteousness and walked along the pathway of
righteousness. Whatever He did on this pathway was
righteous.
When the Lord Jesus comes back, many will say to
Him, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and
in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name do many
works of power?" (7:22). The Lord will say to them, "I
never knew you; depart from Me, workers of lawlessness"
(7:23). The Lord will seem to say, "You are a lawless
person. I never approved of you nor agreed with what you
did, because you did not do things in resurrection. All the
good things you did were done in your natural way and in
your natural life. You are not righteous; you are lawless."
Through baptism the Lord Jesus entered into the gateway
of righteousness, and then He walked continually along
the pathway of righteousness. Therefore, He was the just
One, the righteous One (Acts 3:14; 7:52; 22:14).
B. With the Holy Spirit
Verse 16 says, "And having been baptized, Jesus went
up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens
were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God
descending as a dove and coming upon Him." Not only was
Jesus anointed through baptism, but He was also anointed
with the Holy Spirit.
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1. Rising Up from the Water
In His baptism the Lord rose up from the water. This
signifies that after His death and burial, He was raised
from the dead.
2. The Heavens Being Opened to Him
The Lord's baptism to fulfill God's righteousness and to
be put into death and resurrection brought Him three
things: the open heaven, the descending of the Spirit of
God, and the speaking of the Father. It should be the same
today with us.
Because the Lord Jesus was baptized, fulfilling God's
righteousness, the heavens were opened to Him, the Holy
Spirit descended upon Him, and the Father spoke
concerning Him. His being baptized to fulfill God's
righteousness pleased God. Thus, His baptism opened the
heavens, brought down the Holy Spirit, and opened the
mouth of the Father. The way we can have an open
heaven, the descending Spirit, and the speaking of the
Father is to be terminated. Many of us can testify that
whenever we have been terminated, the heavens have
been opened. On the contrary, whenever we were
welcomed and honored, the heavens were closed.
Whenever we are terminated in the church life, the
heavens are opened. Moreover, every termination brings
down the Holy Spirit and opens the mouth of our heavenly
Father. At that time the Father will say, "My beloved." I
can testify that my sweetest times of hearing God's
speaking have been times of termination. Perhaps I was
terminated to the point of tears, but my termination
opened the mouth of the Father, who spoke a sweet word
to me. He only said, "My beloved child." This simple word
is sufficient. It is full of mercy and grace. What a comfort
and a strength it is for Him to say, "My beloved child"! In
the church life we have many experiences like this.
However, seldom are such things experienced outside the
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church. In the church life, when we are terminated, the
heavens are opened, the Spirit comes, and the Father
speaks. We have an open heaven, the anointing Spirit, and
the speaking Father.
3. The Spirit of God Descending upon Him
Verse 16 says, "He saw the Spirit of God descending as
a dove and coming upon Him." Before the Spirit of God
descended and came upon Him, the Lord Jesus was born of
the Spirit (Luke 1:35), which proved that He already had
the Spirit of God within Him. That was for His birth. Now,
for His ministry, the Spirit of God descended upon Him.
This was for the fulfillment of Isaiah 61:1; 42:1; and Psalm
45:7 to anoint the new King and introduce Him to His
people.
A dove is gentle, and its eyes can see only one thing at
a time. Hence, it signifies gentleness and singleness in
sight and purpose. By the Spirit of God descending upon
Him as the dove, the Lord Jesus ministered in gentleness
and singleness, focusing solely on the will of God.
The Lord Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit (1:18,
20). He was born of the Holy Spirit and constituted with
the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was His constituent.
Nevertheless, He still needed the baptism of the Holy
Spirit, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. When He was in
the womb of the virgin Mary, He was constituted with the
Holy Spirit. This means that He was a constitution of the
Holy Spirit. That was something inward. Outwardly, He
still needed the Holy Spirit to come down upon Him.
Since the Spirit was in Jesus before He was baptized,
why did the Spirit come down upon Him? Are these two
Spirits? Was not the Spirit of God in Jesus? Certainly He
was. Then why did the Spirit still descend upon Him? Was
the Spirit within Him different from the Spirit who came
down upon Him? Is the Spirit who descended upon Him
another Spirit in addition to the Spirit who was already
within Him? If you say that these two were one Spirit, I
would ask how these two Spirits could be one. The same
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Spirit who already indwelt the Lord Jesus came down
upon Him. Did Jesus have the Spirit or not? Yes, He did.
Why then did the Spirit still descend upon Him? I am here
with you. Since I am here, how could I still come to you?
Although it is not possible for me to be here and yet still be
coming, it is not impossible with the divine Person. The
Lord is wonderful. At the same time, He can be both here
and also coming. Is Christ in you or is He in the heavens?
He is both in us and in the heavens. Thus, the Lord is both
here and coming.
4. The Father Speaking to Him
Verse 17 says, "And behold, a voice out of the heavens,
saying, This is My beloved Son, in Whom I delight." While
the descending of the Spirit was the anointing of Christ,
the speaking of the Father was a testimony to Him as the
beloved Son. Here is a picture of the divine Trinity: the
Son went up from the water, the Spirit descended upon the
Son, and the Father spoke concerning the Son. This proves
that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit exist
simultaneously. This is for the accomplishment of God's
economy.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE ELEVEN
THE KING'S ANOINTING
(4)
III. TESTED
In this message we come to the testing of the newly
appointed King (4:1-11). After His anointing, the Lord was
tested. In God's administration the sequence is always
selection, anointing, and testing. There is an illustration of
this in married life. Prior to getting married, you certainly
made a selection. Among the many you could have
married, you selected a certain one. After the selection
came the appointment, and after the appointment came
the test. Nearly every married couple has failed the
marriage test. Although we were successful in the
appointment, we were not successful in the test.
After the heavenly King was anointed and appointed,
He was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be
tested. He did not go to the wilderness on His own; He was
led there by the very Holy Spirit who had descended upon
Him. In married life God will also lead us into the test. A
number of young brothers and sisters have complained to
God, saying, "Lord, before I was married, I prayed a great
deal. Eventually You told me that it was Your will that I
marry this one, that this was the one whom You had
prepared for me. Lord, You know I was not interested at
first, but in Your sovereignty You arranged for us to come
together. But look at the situation today. Look at the one
You have given me. Is this Your mistake or mine?" Neither
the Lord nor you made a mistake. This is the Lord's test.
I believe that all marriages are sovereign, even those
that seem to be the most mistaken. Nothing happens to
God's children without His sovereign permission. We know
that all things work together for our good (Rom. 8:28),
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including even a seemingly mistaken marriage. Who
knows what is the right marriage? I have many years'
experience in married life. Forty-five years ago, I could tell
others definitely, clearly, and emphatically what was the
right marriage. But if you ask this question today, I would
say, "I cannot know this until we enter eternity. After so
many years' experience in married life, I truly don't know
what is the right marriage." But I have learned that every
marriage under God's sovereignty is right. Therefore, you
all have the right marriage. Brothers, your wife is the
right one for you. Sisters, your husband is the right one for
you. Whether you believe this or not, you cannot escape
from your situation. After the young people and the
middle-aged ones have been married for a number of
years, they may conclude that they have made a mistake
and that if they could do it again they would do it
differently. I can assure you that even if you could do it
over many times, you would still come to feel that you had
made a mistake. Almost all those who are about to be
married think they have made the right choice, but after
some years there may be times that they feel that they
were mistaken. The reason for this is that God puts us to
the test in married life.
The Lord tests us not only in married life, but also in
the church life. When we first came into the church life, we
experienced a church life honeymoon. We were enjoying
the glorious church life, and everything was wonderful.
However, sooner or later we shall be put to the test. Every
brother who is put into the eldership is tested, and the test
usually comes from the other elders. Perhaps at the
beginning in your locality you were the only elder. You
were looking for some others to help you, and later two
were added. After several months, all three of you were
tested by one another. The Lord allows this. In God's
economy, after we have been appointed to something, we
shall always be tested. If the Lord Jesus needed a test,
then how about us?
For many years I was not able to thoroughly
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understand this portion of the Word. Although I heard a
number of messages on this portion, none of them truly
touched the heart of it. For a thorough understanding we
need to see that in God's economy we shall always be
tested after we have been anointed and appointed to
something. Not even the Lord Jesus was an exception. As
we shall see, in principle all the tests are the same.
A. Being Led by the Spirit
Verse 1 says, "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into
the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil." After being
baptized in water and anointed with the Spirit of God,
Jesus, as a man, moved according to the leading of the
Spirit. This indicates that His kingly ministry in His
humanity was according to the Spirit.
First of all, the Spirit led the anointed King to be
tempted by the Devil. This temptation was a test to prove
that He was qualified to be the King for the kingdom of the
heavens. The Greek word translated Devil is diabolos,
meaning accuser, slanderer (Rev. 12:9-10). The Devil, who
is Satan, accuses us before God and slanders us before
man.
B. Having Fasted Forty Days and Forty Nights
Verse 2 says the Lord fasted forty days and forty
nights. These forty days and forty nights were a time of
testing and suffering (Deut. 9:9, 18; 1 Kings 19:8). The
newly anointed King was led by the Spirit to fast such a
period of time that He might enter into His kingly
ministry.
C. The Tempter's Temptations
1. To Change Stones into Loaves of Bread
The first test was in the matter of human living, in the
matter of making a living. Our relatives and in-laws,
especially those of the older generation, are always
concerned about how we shall make our living. They may
say, "It is all right to love the Lord, but do not love Him in
a foolish way. You must consider your need to make a good
living." When in 1933 I was burdened by the Lord and led
of Him to leave my job, my in-laws said, "You have a good
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job. You are making excellent money to take care of your
family and to help others. You can speak on Sunday and
hold meetings at night during the week. Why must you
quit your job? Many are looking eagerly for such a job, but
have no opportunity to get it. But you are leaving. We
wonder how you will be able to make a living. We don't
know how you will take care of your wife and children." I
did not listen to their advice, and they could not
discourage me from leaving my job to serve the Lord full
time. A number of times my in-laws even sent their little
daughter to sneak into our kitchen to see if we had food to
eat. They were worried that we might be starving. The
matter of our living touches us deeply, and even the Lord
Jesus was tested regarding it.
The Lord was led to fast for forty days and forty nights.
After these forty days and forty nights, He was physically
hungry, and the tempter came to Him and said, "If You are
the Son of God, speak, that these stones may become
loaves of bread" (v. 3). To this proposal the Lord replied,
"Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that
proceeds out through the mouth of God" (v. 4). Many
Christians think that because the Lord was fasting during
this time He did not eat anything. However, this word
reveals that while the Lord Jesus was fasting, He was
eating. Physically He was fasting, but spiritually He was
eating.
Here we see an important principle. In the Lord's
ministry and economy, if we do not know how to lower our
physical demands and take care of the spiritual demand,
we are not qualified for His ministry. In order to be
qualified in the Lord's ministry, we must be tested. We
must lay down our physical requirements. A good living,
good food, good clothing, and proper housing are all
secondary. Eating spiritual food is primary. Immediately
after His baptism, the Lord Jesus was led into a situation
where He could declare to the whole universe that He was
not for the physical need, but that He would take care of
the spiritual need only. For forty days and forty nights, He
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forsook all physical food, forgetting the physical
requirements. However, He took care of the spiritual need.
Although He did not eat to nourish His physical body, He
ate a great deal for the nourishment of His spirit. Satan
was absolutely wrong in thinking that the Lord Jesus was
not eating during those days in the wilderness. While He
was fasting from physical food, He was partaking of
spiritual food. This is the test in the matter of our living.
Many wives have not been able to withstand this test.
Every wife is very concerned about her security. The wives
desire to have good food, clothing, and housing. In other
words, they desire a good living. This has posed a problem
to many brothers. Although these brothers had a heart to
take the way of the church, their wives were not willing to
follow them because there was no guarantee of a good
living. Many of us can testify that, when we first began to
take the way of the church, our wives said, "What about
our future? What about our living? What about our food,
clothing, and housing?" This is a test we must face if we
would take the way of the church and go the way of God's
economy.
The first test we must pass is the test regarding our
living. We must care for the spiritual food more than for
the physical food. Whether we live or die is secondary. We
only care that our spirit is fed, that our spirit feasts on the
Word of God, on God Himself.
Some pastors, missionaries, and Bible teachers saw the
way of the church and had a thorough talk with me about
it. However, realizing that this way is narrow, they were
concerned about what would happen to their living if they
went this way. The wives of many of these dear ones
simply did not agree that their husbands should take this
narrow way. They knew their standard of living would be
lowered if their husbands went the way of the church.
Forty-five years ago in China, this way was truly
narrow, and we were daily on the test concerning our
living. Time after time just one dollar kept some of us from
having nothing to eat. In order to take this narrow way,
we had to live by faith in God. Although it was very
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difficult, we lived by faith for many years. I can testify that
we feasted on God and His Word during those testing days
when our standard of living was greatly lowered. Our
experience was the same as that of the Lord Jesus in the
wilderness. He neither chose to go to the wilderness nor
did He go there by His own preference. He was led there
by the Holy Spirit. Likewise, we were led by God into the
wilderness of the church life. Fifty years ago, the church
was truly in the wilderness. Nearly every day we were
tested concerning what we would eat that night. But that
was the time we enjoyed feasting on the Word of God. On
the one hand, we did not have very much physical food to
eat, but on the other hand, we did feast on the rich Word.
The principle is the same today in the church life. In
taking the way of the church, the first test we shall
encounter is that of lowering our standard of living. This is
the test in the realm of our physical living. Everyone who
takes the way of the church will be tested in this matter of
his daily living. We shall be tested to show to the whole
universe that our concern is not for physical food, but for
spiritual food. During those days in the wilderness, Jesus
was not concerned for His physical food, but for His
spiritual food. He was fasting physically, yet He was
eating the Word of God. In the wilderness He did not live
by bread alone; He lived on the Word of God.
a. Tempted to Give Up the Standing of Man by Assuming to be the
Son of God
Now we come to the main point of the first test. At the
time of Christ's baptism, the Father opened the heavens
and declared, "This is My beloved Son" (3:17). A voice from
heaven declared that a little man from Nazareth was God
the Father's beloved Son. Immediately after this
declaration was made, the Holy Spirit led this man into
the wilderness to be tested to see whether He would care
for His physical life or for His spiritual life. Then, based
upon the declaration of God the Father, the tempter came
to tempt this man by saying, "If You are the Son of God,
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speak, that these stones may become loaves of bread" (v.
3). Satan seemed to be saying, "We heard the declaration
made forty days ago by God the Father that You are the
beloved Son. Now if You are truly the Son of God, do
something to prove it. Simply say, 'Stones, I want you to
become loaves of bread. If You are the Son of God, You
must prove it to Yourself and to me and to everyone in the
whole universe by doing something which no one else can
do."
The newly anointed King fasted in His humanity,
standing on the ground of a man. However, He was also
the Son of God, as God the Father had declared at His
baptism. For Him to accomplish His ministry for the
kingdom of the heavens, He had to defeat God's enemy,
the Devil, Satan. This He must do as a man. Hence, He
stood as a man to confront the enemy of God. The Devil,
knowing this, tempted Him to leave the standing of man
and assume His position as the Son of God. Forty days
before, God the Father declared from the heavens that He
was the beloved Son of the Father. The subtle tempter
took that declaration of God the Father as the ground to
tempt Him. If He assumed His position as the Son of God
before the enemy, He would have lost the standing to
defeat him.
To make the stones become loaves of bread would
certainly be a miracle. This was proposed by the Devil as a
temptation. Many times the thought of having a miracle
performed in certain situations is a temptation from the
Devil. The Devil's temptation of the first man, Adam,
concerned the matter of eating (Gen. 3:1-6). Now his
temptation of the second man, Christ, also concerned the
matter of eating. Eating is always a trap used by the Devil
to snare man.
b. Defeating the Tempter by Standing in the Position of a Man
Verse 4 says, "But He answered and said, It is written,
Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that
proceeds out through the mouth of God." The tempter
tempted the new King to take His position as the Son of
God. But He answered with the Word of the Scriptures,
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"Man," indicating that He stood in the position of man to
deal with the enemy. The demons addressed Jesus as the
Son of God (8:29), but the evil spirits did not confess that
Jesus came in the flesh (1 John 4:3), because by confessing
Jesus as a man, they would be defeated. Although the
demons confess Jesus as the Son of God, the Devil does not
want people to believe that He is the Son of God, because
in so doing they will be saved (John 20:31).
The word "man" spoken by the Lord Jesus to the
tempter was a killing word. The Lord seemed to be saying,
"Satan, don't tempt me to assume My position as the Son
of God. I am here as a man. If I were only the Son of God, I
could never be here, and I could never be tempted by you.
But because I am a man, I am being tempted. Satan, I
know that you are not afraid of the Son of God, but you are
afraid of man. The first man, the man whom God created
to defeat you and to fulfill His purpose, was defeated by
you. Thus, God sent Me as the second man to defeat you.
Now you are tempting Me to leave My position as a man to
assume My position as the Son of God. But I tell you,
Satan, I am standing here as a man."
Although the demons shouted, "Son of God," the evil
spirits do not confess that Jesus came as a man. They will
admit that He is the Son of God, but they will not
recognize that He is a man. The reason the evil spirits do
not want anyone to believe that Christ is the Son of God is
that anyone who does so will be saved. But they do not
dare recognize Jesus as a man; for if they did, they would
be defeated. In dealing with the demons, Jesus is the Son
of man. In saving us sinners, He is the Son of God. When
we believe in Him as the Son of God, we are saved. But if
the demons recognize Him as the Son of man, they will be
defeated. Therefore, the Lord Jesus took a strong standing
as a man to defeat Satan. In this first test Satan was
defeated because Jesus took the position of a man.
The newly anointed King confronted the enemy's
temptation not by His own word, but by the word of the
Scriptures, quoting Deuteronomy 8:3. This word indicates
that the Lord Jesus took the word of God in the Scriptures
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as His bread and lived on it. The Greek word translated
"word" in verse 4 is rhema. Rhema, the instant word,
differs from logos, the constant word. In this temptation,
all the words quoted from Deuteronomy by the Lord were
logos, the constant word in the Scriptures. But when He
quoted them, they became rhema, the instant word applied
to His situation.
All Scripture is God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16). Hence, the
words in the Scriptures are the words that proceed out of
the mouth of God.
2. To Cast Himself Down from the Wing of the Temple
a. Tempted to Make a Show That God Would Protect Him
Verse 5 says, "Then the Devil took Him into the holy
city and set Him on the wing of the temple." The Devil's
first temptation of the new King was in the matter of
human living. Defeated in this, he turned his second
temptation to religion, tempting the new King to
demonstrate that He is the Son of God from the wing of
the temple. In verse 6 the Devil said to Him, "If You are
the Son of God, cast Yourself down; for it is written, He
shall give charge to His angels concerning You, and on
their hands they shall bear You up, lest You strike Your
foot against a stone." There was no need for the Lord Jesus
to do this. It was simply a temptation to show that as the
Son of God He was able to do things in a miraculous way.
Any thought of doing things miraculously in religion is a
temptation of the Devil.
The second test is a matter of religion. The most
exciting thing in religion is miracles. According to the
human concept, any religion that does not have miracles is
powerless; the most powerful religion is a religion of
miracles. Therefore, Satan brought the new King to the
wing of the temple and tempted Him to leap down from it
by saying that the angels would protect Him. Do not think
that you have never had the thought of doing this kind of
thing. In my early days I often thought of doing things to
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show people that I was a supernatural person and that I
had supernatural powers. Have you not had this kind of
concept in your Christian life? Sometimes we are tested
when there is a need to do something, and at other times
we are tested when there is no need. In this instance,
there was no need for Jesus to leap down from the wing of
the temple.
Sometimes there does seem to be a need for a miracle.
Once my youngest brother-in-law became seriously ill. At
that time I was tempted to make a show of myself by
praying for his healing. I thought, "Now is the time for me
to prove to my in-laws and relatives that I am a wonderful
person. I shall pray just one prayer, and my brother-in-law
will be healed. Doesn't the Bible say that Jesus heals, that
He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that we
must pray for others? If I do this miracle for my brother-
in-law, my mother-in-law will be convinced that I am a
supernatural person. In her eyes I am too religious, daily
talking about God, Christ, and faith. Imagine what would
happen if I went to my brother-in-law and said, 'Lord
Jesus, heal him,' and he immediately rose up! Not only
would he be healed, but I would be manifested. What a
wonderful person I would be in the eyes of my mother-in-
law!" Was that the Lord's anointing, the Lord's leading
and guidance, or was it a temptation? Surely it was a
temptation. Have you not had such a temptation in the
past?
Many young Christians have peculiar concepts
regarding the performing of miracles. Some may say,
"Since I am one following the Lord and I am in the Lord's
presence as my Emmanuel, I must do something to show
others that God is with me." I know of one dear brother
who had such a thought. Convinced that the Lord was
with him, he asked the Lord to give him two hundred
thousand dollars within a certain number of days. He said,
"Lord, You must show the people that You are one with
me. You must show them that whatever I ask in Your
name, You give me. Lord, I am asking You for two
hundred thousand dollars. Within a certain number of
days, You must give it to me." This brother stopped eating
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and sleeping and began to pray for this amount of money.
What kind of prayer was that? It was leaping from the
wing of the temple to make a show of himself. In principle
we have all done this many times. Every Christian has
been tempted in this way.
If the Devil does not tempt us in the matter of our
living, he will tempt us in the matter of religion. You may
desire to be a great one in religion, to be recognized as a
powerful person. Everyone else must walk down from the
wing of the temple, but you, a supernatural person, one
who is more powerful than others, can leap down. By doing
this you become great in Christianity. All the religious "big
shots" are those who have yielded to this temptation. If
you have become famous in Christianity, if you have
succeeded in becoming recognized as a supernatural
person, then you have already yielded to this temptation.
You have already been defeated by the enemy. However, if
you desire to defeat the enemy in this test, you must not
leap from the temple. Rather, you must walk down from it
as slowly as possible. Let others think that you are weak
and incompetent. But you must tell yourself, "I am not
walking in power. I am walking in life. I do not care for
power--I care for life." It is easy to say this, but it is
difficult to do it. When the opportunity presents itself,
although you may not leap from the wing of the temple,
you will run down, at least showing that you are a good
runner, able to run faster than others. Nevertheless, if we
would defeat the enemy, we must be a nobody. Never do
anything to prove that you are somebody or something. Let
others think that you are nothing. Actually, I am nothing,
and my Christ is everything. If you take the standing of
being a nobody, you will kill the enemy. You will slay the
tempter.
b. Defeating the Tempter by Not Tempting God
When the Devil tempted Jesus to cast Himself down
from the wing of the temple, Jesus said to him, "Again it is
written, You shall not tempt the Lord your God" (v. 7).
Because the Lord Jesus defeated him the first time by
quoting the Scriptures, the tempter imitated His way and
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in his second temptation tempted Him by also quoting the
Scriptures, however in a subtle way. To quote the
Scriptures concerning something in one aspect requires us
to take care of the other aspect as well, in order to be
safeguarded from the deception of the tempter. This was
what the new King did here to counter the tempter's
second temptation. Many times we need to tell the
tempter, "Again it is written."
The Lord Jesus defeated Satan in the first temptation
by quoting the Scriptures. Thus, in the second temptation,
the tempter himself quoted them. He seemed to be saying,
"Jesus, You quoted the Bible. I know the Bible also. Let me
quote a verse to You." But the Lord Jesus said, "Again it is
written." The word "again" is very strong. Do not think
that you can quote the Bible and that the enemy cannot.
Satan knows more of the Bible than you do. Therefore, the
best safeguard is to have a word again as either a balance
or a confirmation. Then, in the second temptation, the
enemy will also be defeated.
The Lord Jesus said to Satan, "You shall not tempt the
Lord your God" (v. 7). Do not tempt God. Do not go to the
wing of the temple and cast yourself down. If you find
yourself there by accident, you must find a way to come
down. But you must never go there purposely. If you are
there by mistake, ask the Lord to forgive you and to help
you walk down step by step. But do not cast yourself down
to make a show. You are nobody. The Lord Jesus overcame
the tempter by not taking his proposal to tempt God.
3. To Worship the Devil
a. Tempted to Gain the Kingdoms of the World and Their Glory
Verses 8 and 9 say, "Again, the Devil took Him to a
very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of
the world and their glory; and he said to Him, All these
will I give You if You will fall down and worship me. "
Defeated in his temptation in the religious sphere, the
Devil presented his third temptation to the new King, this
time in the realm of the glory of this world. He showed
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Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. The
temptations of the subtle one always come in this way:
firstly, in human living; secondly, in religion; and thirdly,
in worldly glory. In any temptation, all three of these
items will be present. The third temptation is a matter of
worldly glory, promotion, ambition, position, and a
promising future. All this is the glory of the world.
Luke 4:6 says that the kingdoms of the world and their
glory were delivered unto the Devil; hence, to whomever
he wills he gives them. Before his fall, Satan as the
archangel was appointed by God to be the ruler of the
world (Ezek. 28:13-14). Thus, he is called the ruler of this
world (John 12:31), holding all the kingdoms of this world
and their glory in his hand. He presented all these to the
newly anointed King as a temptation in order to secure
worship. The heavenly King overcame this temptation, but
the coming Antichrist will not (Rev. 13:2, 4).
This temptation involves the matter of ambition and
promotion. Even among the saints, there is the desire to be
a leader. This is the desire for worldly glory. Your
eagerness to be a leader is your ambition. This is the glory
of the world. Whenever you are tempted in this manner,
you must realize that behind this temptation is the
tempter seeking to gain your worship. Satan told the Lord
Jesus that if He would worship him, he would give Him all
the kingdoms of the world and their glory. Behind every
ambition there is a hidden idol. If you are ambitious to
have a position, a promotion, or a name, there is an idol
behind that ambition. If you do not worship any idol, you
will never fulfill your ambition. In order to have any part
of the glory of the world, you must worship some idol.
Without worshipping idols it is impossible to have a
position. Whenever you are seeking a certain position,
deep within you know that you are worshipping an idol.
For this reason, the Apostle said that covetousness is
idolatry (Col. 3:5).
Suppose some brothers who came into the church life
four years later than you become leaders and you feel that
you have been passed by. If you complain about this,
asking why they have been made leaders and you have
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not, this is a proof that you are seeking worldly glory.
Perhaps among a group of ten sisters three are appointed
to take the lead in a particular service. If the other seven
have no feeling about this, they have gained the victory.
But if they question why those three were appointed, this
indicates that they are seeking vain glory, the glory of this
age. In this matter, we all are weak. If this desire for
ambition and position can wedge even into the church life,
then how much we need to be on guard in other things!
b. Defeating the Tempter by Worshipping God and Serving Him Only
In verse 10 the Lord Jesus said, "Go, Satan! For it is
written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him
only shall you serve." Satan in Greek means adversary. He
is not only God's enemy outside God's kingdom, but also
the adversary within God's kingdom, rebelling against
God. The new King rebuked the Devil's presentation and
defeated him by standing on the ground of man to worship
and serve God only. To worship or to serve anything other
than God for gain is always the Devil's temptation to
secure worship. The Lord seemed to be saying to Satan,
"Satan, as a man, I, Jesus, worship God and serve Him
only. You are God's enemy, and I will never worship you. I
don't care for the glory of the world or for the kingdoms of
the world. Satan, get away from Me!"
If we consider our experience, we shall see that all
temptations are included in these three aspects: the
temptation in the matter of our living, the temptation of
religious miracles, and the temptation in the realm of
worldly glory. All day long we are tempted in the aspects
of our living, religion, and worldly position. But the Lord
Jesus overcame every aspect of the enemy's temptation.
He could say, "My living is secondary. I don't care for
religious power. And worldly glory has nothing to do with
Me. I know only God's word and God Himself. I care only
to serve God." Therefore, as the One who passed the test,
the Lord Jesus was qualified to be the King of the kingdom
of the heavens.
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D. The Result
Verse 11 says, "Then the Devil leaves Him; and behold,
angels came and ministered to Him." The Devil's
temptation of the first man, Adam, was a success; his
temptation of the second man, Christ, was an absolute
failure. This indicates that he will have no place in the
new King's kingdom of the heavens. After the Lord Jesus
defeated Satan, angels came and ministered to the
tempted King as a suffering man (cf. Luke 22:43).
Not only the King but also all the kingdom people must
overcome the matters of their daily living, religious power,
and worldly glory. If we cannot overcome these three
temptations, we are outside the kingdom. If we would be
the kingdom people, these three things must be under our
feet. If we kill these three temptations, saying, "I don't
care for my living, for religious power, or for worldly
position," Satan will not be able to do anything to us.
We should not be concerned about our daily living.
Consider the example of the Apostle Paul. Paul said, "I
know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in
everything and in all things I have learned the secret both
to be filled and to hunger, both to abound and to be in
want" (Phil. 4:12). Paul seemed to be saying, "It does not
matter to me whether I have poverty or abundance. I can
live in either scarcity or plenty. The matter of my daily
living does not worry me."
Furthermore, instead of caring for religious power, we
should be weak, just as Jesus Christ was weak when He
was arrested and crucified. If He had not been weak, who
could have arrested Him and put Him on the cross? When
He was arrested, tried, and crucified, He made no display
of His power. He refused to exhibit any religious power.
Instead, He was weak to the uttermost. Paul said that
Christ "was crucified out of weakness"; he also said, "We
are weak in Him" (2 Cor. 13:4). Many devilish people
challenged Paul, saying, "If you are the true apostle of
Christ, you must do something to prove it." But when Paul
was in prison, the Lord did not do anything miraculous for
him.
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Paul's situation was the same as that of John the
Baptist, who also had been imprisoned. After a certain
period of imprisonment, John sent his disciples to
challenge the Lord, saying, "Are You the coming One, or
should we expect someone else?" (11:3). John seemed to be
saying, "If You are the coming One, why don't You do
something for me? Don't You know that I, Your forerunner
and recommender, am in prison? Are you not powerful?
Are You not Christ the almighty? If so, do something for
me." In His answer, the Lord said, "Blessed is he who shall
not be stumbled in Me" (11:6). The Lord seemed to be
saying, "Yes, I can do anything, but I don't want to do
anything for you. Although you are My recommender, My
forerunner, I don't care to do anything for you. I would
rather that you would be beheaded. John, will you be
stumbled by Me?" Brother Nee's experience is an up-to-
date illustration of this. He was in prison from 1952 until
he died in 1972. During those twenty years, the Lord did
not do anything for him in a miraculous way.
How we need to overcome these three kinds of
temptation: the temptation of our living, the temptation of
so-called religious power, and the temptation of vain glory.
If we conquer these things, we are truly the kingdom
people following our heavenly King. Hallelujah, our
heavenly King overcame the tempter and defeated him in
these three temptations!
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE TWELVE
THE BEGINNING OF THE KING'S MINISTRY
We come now to a very important section of the Gospel
of Matthew, the section of the King's ministry (4:12--
11:30). In this message we shall consider the beginning of
the ministry (4:12-25). After the Lord was anointed, He
was tested to prove that He was qualified, and then He
began to minister.
I. BEGINNING OF THE MINISTRY
A. After John the Baptist Was Imprisoned
Verse 12 says, "Now having heard that John was
delivered up, He withdrew into Galilee." Although John
the Baptist ministered in the wilderness, not in the holy
temple in the holy city, he was still in Judea, not far from
the so-called "holy" things. Due to the people's rejection of
John, the Lord Jesus withdrew into Galilee to begin His
ministry, far away from the holy temple and holy city. This
occurred sovereignly to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 9:1
and 2.
According to the human concept, Jesus should have
begun to minister from the holy temple in the holy city,
Jerusalem. But the report came to Him that His
forerunner, John the Baptist, had been imprisoned. This
was an indication to this new King that Jerusalem had
become a place of rejection; therefore, He should not begin
His kingly ministry there.
In His economy God intended to have a thorough
change, a change from the old economy to the new. The old
economy had resulted in an outward religion, an outward
temple, an outward city, and an outward system of
worship. Everything in the old economy was systematized
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in an outward way. In God's new economy, He gave all
that up and had a new beginning. The environment under
God's sovereignty matched this change in God's economy.
Because Jerusalem had rejected the recommender of the
new King, the Lord Jesus knew that He should not begin
His ministry there. There was no welcome for Him in
Jerusalem.
Although the new King was the Son of God, and
although He had been anointed with the Spirit of God, we
are not told here that He prayed concerning where He
should go to minister. We are not told that He had the
deep sense that He was being led to the north, away from
Jerusalem. Rather, the Lord considered the environment
and received from it the clear indication where He should
go. Do not think that we can be so spiritual that we need
no indications from our environment. Even the King of the
heavenly kingdom, the Son of God anointed with the Holy
Spirit, moved according to the environmental indicators.
The Lord's concept was neither natural nor religious.
Furthermore, it was not according to past history.
According to history, as the anointed King, He should have
gone to the capital, Jerusalem, for Jerusalem is the proper
place for the King. However, because His forerunner, His
recommender, had been cast into prison, He went to
Galilee. According to the human expectation, it was
ridiculous for the newly anointed King to leave the capital
and go to a despised region to begin His kingly ministry.
He did not even go south to Hebron, the place where David
was enthroned, nor to Beersheba, the place where
Abraham lived. He went to Galilee.
By considering the Lord's move after the imprisonment
of John the Baptist, we must learn not to try to be
supernaturally spiritual. Jesus was not spiritual in that
way. We must also learn not to go according to past history
or to human understanding. According to history and the
human concept, the King of the Jews should be in
Jerusalem sitting on the throne. However, Jesus did not
move purely according to the spiritual leading, nor did He
move according to past history or the natural concept.
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Rather, He moved according to the environment which
corresponded to God's economy. By so doing, He
spontaneously fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 9:1 and 2.
Although the Lord moved apparently according to the
environment instead of following the Spirit, His move was
a fulfillment of the prophecy in the Scriptures.
In moving with the Lord we must avoid two extremes.
The first extreme is the supernatural extreme. Some claim
that there is no need to consider their environment
because they have the Spirit. The other extreme is to pay
too much attention to history and to the natural
inclination and natural understanding. But in Matthew 4
the new King did not move merely according to the so-
called spiritual leading nor according to history or the
natural inclination. Rather, He moved along with God's
economy according to the indicators in the environment.
He went to Galilee, to the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
to shine as a great light upon those sitting in darkness and
in the region and shadow of death (4.15-16).
Nothing that happened either to John the Baptist or to
the Lord Jesus was accidental. When John came out to
minister at the age of thirty, he was very bold. It was not
very long before he was imprisoned. You may find it
difficult to believe that John the Baptist could be
imprisoned. There seemed to be no reason for this. Once
again, his imprisonment was due to the environment. John
was imprisoned by Herod the king, not by the Jewish
leaders. However, both the religious power and the
political power, the Jewish religion and the Roman
government, collaborated for the accomplishment of God's
purpose. It was sovereign according to God's economy that
John the Baptist was imprisoned at that time. The reason
for this is that there comes a time when every
recommending ministry must cease. If John the Baptist
had not been imprisoned, it would have been difficult for
him to stop his ministry. Because John was the
recommender, his ministry should not have continued. In
John chapter three we see that the disciples of John the
Baptist were in competition with the ministry of the new
King (v. 26). The ministry of the recommender was
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competing with that of the King. Therefore, the ministry of
the recommender had to be stopped, and the best way to
stop it was to put John himself into prison and even to let
him be beheaded.
You may say that God could not be so cruel as to allow
this. But God sometimes allows things like this. No doubt,
God brought you forth, prepared you, constituted you,
qualified you, and then used you very much. But after He
has used you, He may say, "Go to prison and wait there to
be executed." Are you able to take this? You may say, "This
is altogether unfair. God shouldn't allow this." But in the
past God has allowed this very thing many times, and I
believe He will allow it again. If He allows this to happen
to you, you should simply say, "Amen." Do not send some
of your disciples to challenge Christ, saying, "Are You the
Christ, the almighty Lord whom I serve? If You are, why
don't You do something to rescue me from prison?" The
King would say, "I shall not save you from this. You must
die. You must be terminated. Let the new King be on the
throne." John the Baptist and his ministry were
terminated because the new King was there. When the
new King is here, there should not be any competition.
B. Starting from Galilee
The new King began His ministry in Galilee, even at
the Sea of Galilee, not in the holy city or in the holy
temple. His forerunner ministered by the riverside, in the
wilderness, but He began His ministry by the Sea of
Galilee. Galilee was a place of mixed population with both
Jews and Gentiles. Hence, it was called "Galilee of the
nations" (Gentiles) and was despised by orthodox Jews
(John 7:41, 52). The newly appointed King began His
kingly ministry for the kingdom of the heavens in such a
despised place, far from the capital of the country,
dignified Jerusalem, with its sacred temple, the center of
the orthodox religion. This implied that the ministry of the
newly anointed King was for a heavenly kingdom,
different from the earthly kingdom of David (the Messianic
kingdom). John the Baptist ministered by the
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riverside because he was prepared to bury everyone who
came to him in repentance. The new King ministered
around the Sea of Galilee. In the Bible the Jordan River
signifies burial and resurrection, termination and
germination. But the Sea of Galilee signifies the world
corrupted by Satan. Thus, Jordan was a place of burial,
and the Sea of Galilee was the corrupted world.
In this portion of the Word there are four disciples who
were called by Jesus: Peter, Andrew, James, and John. Do
you know where and when these four were saved? The
answer to this question is in John chapter one. As John
the Baptist was ministering, Andrew was brought to the
Lord Jesus (John 1:35-37, 40). Andrew then found Peter,
his brother, and led him to the Lord (John 1:40-42). When
the Lord met Peter, He changed his name from Simon to
Cephas, which means a stone (John 1:42). Therefore, in
John chapter one both Peter and Andrew met the Lord
Jesus. I believe they were saved at that time at the
riverside of Jordan. The same thing happened to James
and John. Of the two disciples of John the Baptist
mentioned in John 1:35, one was the Apostle John. This
John also brought his brother James to the Lord.
Therefore, the four disciples mentioned in Matthew 4 had
been terminated, germinated, and saved by the riverside
of Jordan in John chapter one. However, they probably did
not clearly understand what had happened to them.
I believe all this took place before the Lord's
temptation, while John was still ministering by the
Jordan. After that, they returned to Galilee to continue
their work of fishing. Probably they forgot what had
happened to them by the riverside. They simply returned
to their old occupation around the sea. But the Lord Jesus
did not forget them. After His temptation, He began His
ministry and came after them. It was the same with many
of us. The first time we came to the Lord, He did many
things to us, but we had no realization of their
significance. Perhaps your riverside was in Canada or
China. After meeting the Lord by the riverside, you came
to a Sea of Galilee to make a living, to do your job of
fishing, forgetting what the Lord had done to you by the
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riverside. Many of us simply forgot what the Lord had
done to us in the past by the riverside of Jordan and did
our best to make money working around our Sea of
Galilee, in the evil, devilish, Satan-corrupted world. But
one day, much to our surprise, the One who had saved us
by the riverside came to our Sea of Galilee as the newly
appointed King purposely to find us.
C. As a Great Light Shining in Darkness
When the Lord came to us by our Sea of Galilee, there
was something different about Him. In John chapter one,
Christ's recommender declared, "Behold, the Lamb of
God!" When John declared that Christ was the Lamb of
God, two of his disciples, Andrew and the Apostle John,
followed the Lord Jesus. Eventually, as we have seen, both
Andrew's brother, Peter, and John's brother, James, were
also brought to the Lord and saved. Although it was
wonderful to be saved, they later forgot their experience.
Many of us did the same thing. Perhaps you said, "What
happened there by the riverside of the Jordan? That was
silly! We were put into the water and we met a Nazarene
who was called the Lamb of God. But now we need to
make a living. Let's go back to our job. We have plenty of
fishing and mending of nets to do." Nevertheless, the King
has His goal, and He needs you, just as He needed Peter,
Andrew, James, and John. Thus, suddenly, the Lamb of
God appeared at the very place where these four men were
working to make a living. But this time He did not come as
the Lamb--He came as a great light.
Verse 16 says, "The people sitting in darkness saw a
great light, and to those sitting in a region and shadow of
death, to them light sprang up." John the Baptist was a
burning and shining lamp (John 6:35). But this new King
was the light. In fact, He was not only the light, but a
great light. Peter, Andrew, James, and John did not
realize that they were in darkness as they were working
there by the Sea of Galilee to make a living. They were in
the shadow of death. This is a picture of today's situation.
Many Christians met the Lord Jesus at some riverside
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and were saved. But later they did not care for that
experience; rather, they cared for making a living.
Therefore, they went to the Sea of Galilee to earn a living.
Without knowing it, by going to the Sea of Galilee to earn
a living, they entered into darkness and into the shadow of
death. All those striving to earn a living in the large cities
like Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago are in darkness
and in the region and shadow of death. Praise the Lord,
the new King did not remain in Jerusalem! He came to the
Sea of Galilee, and He is still coming to the Sea of Galilee
today, walking about the seashore seeking to catch us.
This time He comes not as a little Lamb, but as a great
light. As Peter and Andrew were casting their nets into
the sea, this great light shined upon them. As He stood
there shining upon them, He might have said, "Peter and
Andrew, what are you doing here? Don't you remember
that I met you by the riverside of Jordan? Peter, don't you
recall how I changed your name?" That day by the Sea of
Galilee a great light was shining upon them.
Our experience was the same as theirs. We were saved
at the riverside of Jordan. But we later forgot what had
happened to us and went to the Sea of Galilee to make a
living. As we were working there for our living, the One
whom we had met as the Lamb of God by the riverside of
Jordan came as a great light to shine upon us. As He was
shining upon us, He inquired, "What are you doing there?"
I can testify that this happened to me one day. As I was
working by the Sea of Galilee earning a good living,
suddenly a light shined upon me, and the Lord said, "What
are you doing here? Don't you remember what happened to
you by the riverside? You may not remember it, but I do."
Then the call came, "Follow Me," and I followed Him. I
believe that, in principle, a great many of us have had this
kind of experience. You were saved at the riverside by the
Lamb of God, but you were called by the Sea of Galilee by
the shining of a great light. Although it may be easy to
forget about what happened by the riverside, you cannot
forget the time the great light shined upon you by the Sea
of Galilee.
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Although the record is very simple, the actual history is
not that simple. It was not a simple matter for the Lord to
call you. Firstly, He had to meet you by some riverside.
Later, He had to come to you by some seashore. One day
as you were working, the room where you were sitting was
enlightened, a great light shined upon you, and the Lord
asked you, "What are you doing here day after day?" When
this happened to certain brothers, they threw down their
pen and said, "What am I doing here?" Then the Lord
asked, "Don't you remember what I did to you by the
riverside? Now you must follow Me." Do not read the
record of Matthew 4 merely in an objective way. We must
read this chapter and even the whole Bible in a subjective
way, applying it to ourselves. Praise the Lord that so many
of us have had the experiences at two places--by the
riverside and by the seashore!
The new King's ministry for the kingdom of the
heavens began not with earthly power, but with heavenly
light, which was the King Himself as the light of life,
shining in the shadow of death. When the Lord began His
ministry as light, He made no display of power and
authority. He walked upon the seashore as a common
person. But as He came to those four disciples by the Sea
of Galilee, He shined upon them like a great light, shining
in the darkness and in the region of the shadow of death.
At that juncture, Peter, Andrew, James, and John were
enlightened and attracted. We have pointed out that John
the Baptist was a great magnet. But the Lord Jesus is the
greatest magnet of all. As He shined upon those four
disciples, they were attracted and captured. They
immediately forsook their jobs and followed this little
Nazarene.
In Matthew 4 there is no record, as in Luke 5, of any
miracle being done by the Lord when Peter was called.
However, in Matthew 4, there was the great light that
attracted the first four disciples. This attraction came not
from what the Lord Jesus did; it came from what He was.
He was a great light, a great magnet, with the power to
attract people and to capture them. In this way He
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attracted and captured the first four disciples. No one who
follows the Lord because of what He does can be
trustworthy or faithful. The trustworthy ones are those
who are caught by what the Lord is. Peter, Andrew,
James, and John were attracted and captured at the
seashore, not by seeing what the Lord did, but by realizing
what the Lord was. Because they had been attracted and
captured, they became faithful followers of the Lord Jesus
unto the end. Eventually, they were all martyred because
they followed the King of the heavenly kingdom.
Moreover, when the Lord Jesus called these four
disciples, He did not start a movement or a revolution.
Rather, He attracted the disciples to Himself for the
establishment of the kingdom of the heavens.
D. Preaching Repentance for the Kingdom of the
Heavens
Verse 17 says, "From that time Jesus began to preach
and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has
drawn near." The new King continued the preaching of His
forerunner, John the Baptist, that is, the preaching of
repentance for the kingdom of the heavens as the
preliminary to the gospel of the kingdom.
E. Calling Four Disciples
1. Peter and Andrew
Verse 18 says, "And walking beside the sea of Galilee,
He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter and
Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they
were fishermen." The new King's ministry was not in the
capital, but beside the sea. His forerunner's ministry
began by the riverside and consisted of burying the
religious ones and terminating their religion. The new
King's ministry began by the seashore and consisted of
catching men who were not so religious, who lived around
the sea instead of in the holy place, and making them
fishers of men for the establishment of the kingdom of the
heavens.
Verses 19 and 20 say, "And He said to them, Come,
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follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. And
immediately, leaving the nets, they followed Him." When I
read this portion of the Word as a young man, I could not
understand why these fishermen suddenly followed a
Nazarene who said, "Follow Me." I thought that they must
have been beside themselves. However, after a number of
years of reading the Word and considering my experience,
I began to understand. Andrew, one of the two disciples of
John the Baptist, had brought Peter to the Lord, in the
place where John preached, prior to this (John 1:35-36, 40-
42). That was the first time they met the Lord. Here the
Lord met them the second time, this time at the Sea of
Galilee. They were attracted by the Lord as the great light
in the darkness of death and followed Him for the
establishment of the kingdom of the heavens in the light of
life.
When Peter and Andrew were called by the Lord, they
were casting a net into the sea. The Lord called them to
follow Him and promised to make them fishers of men.
They left the net and followed the King of the kingdom of
the heavens to be the fishers of men. Eventually, Peter
became the first great fisher for the establishment of the
kingdom of the heavens on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:37-
-42; 4:4).
2. James and John
The same thing happened to James and John (Matt.
4:21-22). When they were called by the Lord, they were
mending their nets in the boat. When the Lord called
them, they left the boat and their father and followed Him.
John and his brother, like Peter and Andrew, were
attracted by the Lord and followed Him. Eventually, John
became a real mender, mending the breakages in the
church by his ministry of life. (See his three Epistles and
Revelation chapters two and three.)
The calling of the four disciples was the beginning of
the kingly ministry of the newly anointed King. It was the
very foundation for the establishment of the kingdom of
the heavens. These four disciples became the first four of
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the twelve Apostles. Peter and Andrew were the first pair,
and James and John were the second. Thus, the first four
disciples caught by the Lord Jesus became the first four
foundation stones of the kingdom of God, which are four of
the twelve foundations of the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:14).
F. Attracting Great Crowds
1. By Traveling through the Whole of Galilee
Verse 23 says, "And Jesus went around the whole of
Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the
gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and
every sickness among the people." Jesus spread His
ministry by traveling throughout the whole of Galilee.
2. By Teaching in the Synagogues
Verse 23 says that Jesus taught in the synagogues of
Galilee. A synagogue is a place for the Jews to read and
learn the Scriptures (Luke 4:16-17; Acts 13:14-15). The
heavenly King took the opportunity to teach there.
3. By Preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom
From the beginning of His ministry, the heavenly King
preached the gospel of the kingdom. The gospel in this
book is called the gospel of the kingdom. It includes not
only forgiveness of sins (cf. Luke 24:47) and the imparting
of life (cf. John 20:31), but also the kingdom of the heavens
(Matt. 24:14) with the power of the coming age (Heb. 6:5)
to cast out demons and heal diseases (Isa. 35:5-6; Matt.
10:1). Both forgiveness of sins and imparting of life are for
the kingdom.
4. By Healing Every Disease and Those Possessed by
Demons
As the Lord traveled throughout Galilee, He healed
every disease and sickness among the people. The Lord
Jesus spread His ministry by doing four things: traveling,
teaching, preaching, and healing. In the work of the gospel
today, we also must travel, teach, preach, and heal. We
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need all four items; we should neither ignore the matter of
healing nor look down upon it. We should not follow the
practice of either fundamental Christianity, which has
very little healing, or Pentecostal Christianity, which
places too much emphasis upon it, even having false
healings that are mere performances. Instead of following
these two extremes, we should walk in the footsteps of the
Lord Jesus who traveled, taught, preached, and healed. Do
not think that we do not believe in miracles. We definitely
believe in them. We follow the Lord's leading to travel,
preach, and heal.
Through shining as a great light, the Lord captured
four young fishermen to be His disciples. These four
disciples traveled with the King throughout Galilee as He
taught, preached, and healed. The result was that "great
crowds followed Him" (v. 25) for the kingdom of the
heavens. This was the beginning of the founding of the
kingdom of the heavens. It was absolutely different from
the way of the world. The Lord did not start a political
movement or form a political party. He did not carry on
any kind of movement. In evangelism we must not follow
the way of politics or the way of religion. We must follow
the way of the Lord Jesus to shine upon others and to
attract them by what we are. Then we must travel, teach,
preach, and heal. This will attract a crowd.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE THIRTEEN
THE DECREE OF THE KINGDOM'S
CONSTITUTION
(1)
In this message we come to the decree of the kingdom's
constitution recorded in chapters five, six, and seven.
Throughout the years, these three chapters have been
either misunderstood or misused by many Christians. In
the messages on these chapters we hope that we shall all
see the real meaning of this section of the Word.
One of the most difficult things for believers to
understand is the kingdom of the heavens. The kingdom of
the heavens does not correspond to any natural or
religious concept. As we shall see, it refers to something
very specific. To understand the kingdom of the heavens,
we all must be unloaded of the traditional concepts we
received from our background in Christianity. None of the
teachings regarding the kingdom of the heavens received
in our background was according to the pure Word. We
have studied this matter of the kingdom of the heavens
again and again for more than fifty years. The first book I
published on this subject was put out in 1936. In all the
years since then, we have been on this subject. Thus, we
have the full assurance that what we have seen in the
Bible concerning the kingdom of the heavens is accurate.
Nevertheless, it is somewhat different from the traditional
concepts concerning the kingdom. Therefore, we must
spend considerable time on these chapters to see this
matter very clearly.
Matthew 5, 6, and 7 may be called the constitution of
the kingdom of the heavens. Every nation has a
constitution. Certainly the Gospel of Matthew, the book on
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the kingdom of the heavens, also must have a constitution.
In these three chapters, the words spoken by the new King
as the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens, we see a
revelation of the spiritual living and heavenly principles of
the kingdom of the heavens. The nature is singular, but
the principles are plural. The constitution of the kingdom
of the heavens is composed of seven sections: the nature of
the kingdom people (5:1-12); the influence of the kingdom
people upon the world (5:13-16); the law of the kingdom
people (5:17-48); the righteous deeds of the kingdom
people (6:1-18); the dealing of the kingdom people with
riches (6:19-34), the principles of the kingdom people in
dealing with others (7:1-12); and the ground of the
kingdom people's living and work (7:13-29). The first
section, 5:3-12, depicts the nature of the kingdom of the
heavens under nine blessings. It unfolds the kind of people
who live in the kingdom of the heavens. The kingdom
people must also exert an influence upon the world. The
nature of the kingdom people, the very nature of the
kingdom, exercises an influence upon the world. The
kingdom people also have a law. This law is not the old
law, the law of Moses, the ten commandments; it is the
new law of the kingdom of the heavens. The kingdom
people are those who perform righteous deeds and who
have the proper attitude concerning material riches.
Because the kingdom people are still on earth in human
society, the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens
reveals principles by which they deal with others. Finally,
in the last section of this constitution we see the ground,
the base, of the daily life and work of the kingdom people.
All these aspects of the kingdom people are covered in the
seven sections of the constitution of the kingdom of the
heavens.
I. THE PLACE AND THE AUDIENCE
A. On the Mountain
Matthew 5:1 says, "And seeing the crowds, He went up
into the mountain; and when He sat down His disciples
came to Him." The new King called His followers by the
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seashore, but He went up into the mountain to give them
the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens. This
indicates that we need to go higher with Him for the
realization of the kingdom of the heavens.
It is very meaningful that the constitution of the
kingdom of the heavens was decreed upon a mountain.
The sea signifies the Satan-corrupted world. When we
were caught by the Lord, we were in the Satan-corrupted
world endeavoring to make a living. But after the Lord
caught us, He led us up to a high mountain signifying the
kingdom of the heavens. This indicates that the kingdom
of the heavens was not established on the seashore, but on
the mountain. In the Bible a mountain sometimes signifies
the kingdom. For example, according to Daniel 2:34-35,
the stone cut without hands broke the image into pieces
and became a great mountain that filled the whole earth.
This mountain signifies the millennial kingdom. Hence, in
the Bible a mountain signifies the kingdom, especially the
kingdom of the heavens.
Furthermore, being brought up to the mountain
signifies that if we would listen to the decree of the
constitution of the kingdom of the heavens, we must not
stay on a low plain, but climb up a high mountain. We
must be on a high level to hear this constitution. On the
seashore, the Lord simply said, "Follow me." But for the
decree of the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens,
He brought them to the top of a mountain. Following the
Lord may be rather easy, but listening to the constitution
for the establishment of the kingdom of the heavens
requires that we climb up to the top of a high mountain.
B. To His Disciples
Verse 1 says, "And when He sat down His disciples
came to Him." When the new King sat down on the
mountain, His disciples, not the crowds, came to Him to be
His audience. Eventually, not only the believing Jews
became His disciples, but also the discipled nations
(Gentiles, 28:19). Later the disciples were called
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Christians (Acts 11:26). Hence, the word the new King
spoke on the mountain in chapters five, six, and seven
concerning the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens
was spoken to the believers of the New Testament, not to
the Jews of the Old Testament.
In verses 1 and 2 we see that the Lord taught the
disciples, not the crowds. The crowds that gathered around
Him were the outer circle, but His disciples were the inner
circle. Although you may be on the mountain, you must
also be in the inner circle, for the constitution is not for
those in the outer circle; it is for those in the inner circle.
Throughout history, there has been a great debate
concerning to whom this decree was given, to the Jews, the
Gentiles, or the believers. According to our study, we have
come to see that it was given neither to the Jews nor to the
Gentiles but to the New Testament believers. There is no
doubt that the disciples were the Jewish believers at the
time the decree of the constitution was given. However,
when they were there on the mountain listening to the
decree of the kingdom's constitution, they were the
representatives not of the Jewish people, but of the New
Testament believers. In 28:19 the Lord told His disciples
to go and disciple the nations, that is, the Gentiles. This
means that the nations would be converted into disciples.
Therefore, both the Jewish and Gentile believers were
disciples. The audience on the mountain, composed mainly
of Jews, represented all the disciples.
II. CONCERNING THE NATURE OF THE KINGDOM
PEOPLE
Now we come to the first section of the constitution, the
section concerning the nature of the kingdom people.
Probably not many Christians have seen that 5:1-12
reveals the nature of the kingdom people. All Christians
should be kingdom people. However, the situation today is
not normal. Many believers are not on the high level of the
kingdom people. The kingdom people are the overcomers.
In God's economy, every believer should be an overcomer.
To be an overcomer is not to be something special; it is to
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be normal. Thus, every believer should be a part of the
kingdom people.
These verses describe nine aspects of the nature of the
kingdom people. They are poor in spirit, mourning for the
present situation, meek in suffering opposition, hungry
and thirsty for righteousness, merciful toward others, pure
in heart, making peace with all men, suffering persecution
for righteousness, and suffering being reproached and evil
spoken of. Every aspect begins with the word, "Blessed."
For instance, verse 3 says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens." The English
word "blessed" does not adequately translate the Greek
word here, for the Greek word conveys the meanings of
both blessed and happy. A number of versions use the
word happy instead of blessed. However, we should not
use the word happy in a loose way. The blessedness and
the happiness here is not a light thing; it is something that
is rather weighty. When you hear the words, "Happy are
the poor in spirit," you should not shout or jump up and
down. To be happy in these verses is something deep.
A. Poor in Spirit to Receive the Kingdom of the
Heavens
In verse 3 the new King said, "Blessed are the poor in
spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens." Although
many have spoken about the blessings in these verses, I
have not heard anyone speak about the spirit in verse 3.
The translation of verse 3 in the Chinese version is very
poor. It says, "Blessed are the humble in heart." Although
the scholars who worked on the Chinese version generally
did a very good job, they did not see the difference between
the heart and the spirit. Another verse in this chapter,
verse 8, speaks about being pure in heart. Hence, the
Chinese translation speaks of the humble in heart and the
pure in heart. Before we came into the church, many of us
did not see the difference between the heart and the
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spirit. The kingdom of the heavens is firstly related to our
spirit.
The spirit in verse 3 refers not to the Spirit of God, but
to our human spirit, the deepest part of our being, the
organ for us to contact God and realize spiritual things. To
be poor in spirit does not mean to have a poor spirit. Our
spirit should never be poor. To have a poor spirit would be
pitiful. But if we are poor in our spirit, we are blessed. To
be poor in spirit is not only to be humble, but also to be
emptied in our spirit, in the depth of our being, not holding
on to the old things of the old dispensation, but unloaded
to receive the new things, the things of the kingdom of the
heavens. We need to be poor, emptied, unloaded, in this
part of our being so that we may realize and possess the
kingdom of the heavens. This implies that the kingdom of
the heavens is a spiritual matter, not a material one.
We need to empty our spirit of all the old things that
have filled it. Those who are the most filled in their spirit
are the Moslems. There is absolutely no empty space in
their spirit. For this reason, it is very difficult to talk with
them about the gospel. The Devil has utterly filled their
spirit. Because their spirit is so filled, it is difficult for any
Moslem to believe in the Lord Jesus. The Jews also are
filled in their spirit. Their spirit is fully loaded with the
things of their religion. The Greeks are filled in their spirit
with their philosophy. I once worked with a Greek who
boasted about the Greek language and philosophy.
Although the mind and spirit of the Greeks are loaded,
according to my experience with them, it is rather easy for
the Greeks to be unloaded. They are not nearly as
stubborn as the Moslems. Today a great many Christians
are also loaded in their spirit. If you talk to those in the
denominations, you will find that their spirit is loaded.
Nearly every kind of Christian today is filled in his spirit
with something other than God.
When the Lord Jesus came preaching, "Repent, for the
kingdom of the heavens has drawn near" (4:17), not many
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could receive His word because their spirit was filled with
other things. The best drink was being offered, but their
vessel was already filled. Thus, they were not thirsty.
When our spirit is filled, we have no capacity in our vessel
for even the best drink. Therefore, when the Lord spoke to
the disciples on the mountain, the opening word of His
decree was that we must be poor in spirit, that our spirit
must be emptied of everything.
Many years ago I visited some Brethren assemblies in
this country. As I looked at the people, my heart was
aching and my spirit was broken. What deadness there
was! Everyone was dry. In the first place I was invited, I
gave a word telling them that they did not need the
teachings. I told them that they had enough teachings and
that what they needed was life and the spirit. My word
offended them. They did not hear my word about life and
the spirit; they only heard what I had said about doctrine.
Immediately after the message, the leader came to me
and, rebuking me to my face, said, "Brother Lee, your
teaching is certainly wrong. You have just told us that we
don't need doctrine. Certainly we need doctrine! Isn't the
Bible a book of doctrine?" I did not say a word, but I
thought? "Poor people, if you like doctrine, go to doctrine
and die there." Later I was invited to speak to another
Brethren assembly. Both the situation and the reaction
were the same. There was such a reaction because those in
these Brethren assemblies were not poor in spirit. Rather,
their spirit was filled with all their so-called Brethren
doctrines. All these doctrines were like dead wood that was
only good for deadening them.
We all need to heed the Lord's word about being poor in
our spirit and say, "Lord, unload me. Empty my spirit. I
don't want to store anything in my spirit. Lord, I want the
full capacity in my spirit to be available to You."
Verse 3 says that those who are poor in spirit are
blessed because theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.
Many Christians are anxious to go to heaven, but hardly
any desire to be in the kingdom of the heavens. It is a
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mistake to be anxious about heaven. God's heart is not on
the heavens; it is on the kingdom of the heavens. Those
who are poor in spirit are blessed because the kingdom of
the heavens is theirs.
The kingdom of the heavens is a specific term used by
Matthew, indicating that the kingdom of the heavens
differs from the kingdom of God, the term used in the
other three Gospels. The kingdom of God refers to God's
reign in a general way, from eternity past to eternity
future. It comprises eternity without beginning before the
foundation of the world, the paradise of Adam, the chosen
patriarchs, the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, the
church in the New Testament, the coming millennial
kingdom with its heavenly rule (the manifestation of the
kingdom of the heavens), and the new heaven and the new
earth with the New Jerusalem without end for eternity.
The kingdom of the heavens is a special section within the
kingdom of God, composed only of the church today and
the heavenly part of the coming millennial kingdom.
Hence, the kingdom of the heavens, a section of the
kingdom of God, is also called the kingdom of God in the
New Testament, especially in the other three Gospels.
While the kingdom of God already existed with the nation
of Israel in a general way in the Old Testament (21:43),
the kingdom of the heavens had still not come in a specific
way, but only drew near when John the Baptist came (3:1-
2; 11:11-12).
According to Matthew, there are three aspects
concerning the kingdom of the heavens: the reality, the
appearance, and the manifestation. The reality of the
kingdom of the heavens is the inward contents of the
kingdom of the heavens in its heavenly and spiritual
nature, as revealed by the new King on the mountain in
chapters five, six, and seven. The appearance of the
kingdom of the heavens is the outward state of the
kingdom of the heavens in name, as revealed by the King
on the seashore in chapter thirteen. The manifestation of
the kingdom of the heavens is the practical coming of the
kingdom of the heavens in power, as unveiled by the King
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on the Mount of Olives in chapters twenty-four and
twenty-five. Both the reality and the appearance of the
kingdom of the heavens are with the church today. The
reality of the kingdom of the heavens is the proper church
life (Rom. 14:17), which is within the appearance of the
kingdom of the heavens, known as Christendom. The
manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens will be the
heavenly part of the coming millennial kingdom, which is
called the kingdom of the Father in 13:43. The earthly part
of the millennial kingdom will be the Messianic kingdom,
which is called the kingdom of the Son of Man in 13:41 and
which will be the restored tabernacle of David, the
kingdom of David (Acts 15:16). In the heavenly part of the
millennial kingdom, which will be the kingdom of the
heavens manifested in power, the overcoming believers
will reign with Christ a thousand years (Rev. 20:4, 6). In
the earthly part of the millennial kingdom, which will be
the kingdom of the Messiah on earth, the saved remnant
of Israel will be the priests, teaching the nations to
worship God (Zech. 8:20--23).
If we are poor in spirit, the kingdom of the heavens is
ours: we are in its reality now in the church age, and we
shall share in its manifestation in the kingdom age.
According to the teaching of the four Gospels, there is a
crucial difference between the kingdom of the heavens and
the kingdom of God. If you would understand Matthew,
you must differentiate the kingdom of the heavens from
the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is simply the
divine ruling. It is God's ruling from eternity past to
eternity future. Thus, the kingdom of God refers to the
divine government, the rule of God. Between eternity past
and eternity future we have the paradise of Adam, the
patriarchs, the nation of Israel, the church, and the
millennium. The millennium is divided into the upper part
and the lower part. The upper part is called the kingdom
of the Father, and the lower part is called the kingdom of
the Son of Man and the kingdom of the Messiah, which is
the restored kingdom of David. Everything from the
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paradise of Adam to the New Jerusalem is included in the
kingdom of God which extends from eternity to eternity.
The kingdom of the heavens is a part of the kingdom of
God, just as California is a part of the United States.
Because the kingdom of the heavens is part of the kingdom
of God, it is sometimes called the kingdom of God. For
example, California, part of the United States, is
sometimes called the United States. When someone from
abroad comes to California, he may say that he has come
to the United States. Although California may be called
the United States, the United States cannot be called
California. Likewise, although the kingdom of the heavens
may be called the kingdom of God, the kingdom of God
cannot be called the kingdom of the heavens.
Matthew 21:43 indicates that the kingdom of God
would be taken away from Israel. For the kingdom of God
to be taken away from Israel indicates that it already was
with Israel. If it had not been with Israel, how could it
have been taken away? Although the kingdom of God was
there already, John the Baptist said, "Repent, for the
kingdom of the heavens has drawn near" (3:2). On the one
hand, the kingdom of God was there; on the other hand,
the kingdom of the heavens was not yet there. Even when
the Lord spoke to the Jews in chapter twenty-one
regarding the kingdom of God being taken away from
Israel, the kingdom of the heavens had still only drawn
near. It was not until the day of Pentecost that the
kingdom of the heavens came. Therefore, in the first
parable in chapter thirteen, the parable of the sower, the
Lord Jesus did not say, "The kingdom of the heavens is
likened to a sower," because He was already the sower
before the day of Pentecost. Pentecost was the fulfillment
of the second parable, the parable of the tares. Thus, in
introducing that parable the Lord Jesus said, "The
kingdom of the heavens was likened to...." By all this we
see that the kingdom of God was already present before
the kingdom of the heavens came.
The kingdom of the heavens is composed of two
sections. The first section is the church, and the second
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section is the upper part of the millennium. All genuine
Christians are in the church today. But only the
overcoming Christians will be in the upper part, the
heavenly part, of the millennium. What we have in the
church today is the reality of the kingdom of the heavens,
not the manifestation. The manifestation of the kingdom
will not take place until the millennium. The
manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens will be seen
in the upper part of the millennium.
Those who are poor in spirit are blessed, for theirs is
the kingdom of the heavens. (Notice that the Lord did not
say, "For theirs is the kingdom of God.") When we become
poor in our spirit, we are ready to receive the heavenly
King. When He comes in, He brings the kingdom of the
heavens with Him. Immediately after receiving the
heavenly King, we are in the church, where the reality of
the kingdom of the heavens is. If we are overcomers, at His
coming back the Lord will bring us into the manifestation
of the kingdom of the heavens. To have the kingdom of the
heavens is firstly to participate in the proper, normal
church life and secondly to inherit the manifestation of the
kingdom of the heavens in the upper part of the
millennium. This is the meaning of the words, "For theirs
is the kingdom of the heavens." Those Christians who
backslide will lose the reality of the kingdom of the
heavens in this age and will miss the manifestation of the
kingdom of the heavens in the coming age. What a
blessing it is to be poor in spirit! If we are poor in spirit,
ours is the kingdom of the heavens. Hallelujah for the first
blessing and for the kingdom of the heavens! How good it
is to be poor in our spirit!
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE FOURTEEN
THE DECREE OF THE KINGDOM'S
CONSTITUTION
(2)
The kingdom of the heavens is absolutely related to our
spirit. The first blessing in chapter five is a blessing in our
spirit: "Blessed are the poor in spirit" (5:3). Thus, the first
aspect of the kingdom of the heavens covered in this
chapter is related to our human spirit.
There are some very poor translations of verse 3, such
as, "Happy are the humble minded," and "Blessed are the
humble in heart." Most Christians do not understand what
the Lord Jesus was talking about when He spoke of being
poor in spirit. Furthermore, they do not know that the
kingdom of the heavens is altogether a matter in our
spirit. If we do not know our spirit, we are through with
the kingdom of the heavens because the kingdom of the
heavens is related to our spirit.
As the Lord Jesus was speaking there on the mountain,
He knew the actual situation of His audience, an audience
composed of Galileans. Those Galileans were filled with
the traditional concepts of religion. Even the immoral
Samaritan woman in John chapter four had a number of
religious concepts. Her conversation with the Lord Jesus
exposed this fact. If even such a woman of low class was
filled with religious concepts, certainly the Galilean
fishermen were filled also. Three times a year they went
up to Jerusalem for the feasts and stayed each time for at
least a week. This one fact shows you that the Galilean
fishermen were not empty vessels. During the time the
Lord Jesus was on earth, all the people, whether
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they were Jews or Romans or Greeks, were filled up. The
Jews were filled with their traditional religious concepts,
with their scriptural knowledge, and with the teachings of
the law. They knew all about the holy city, the holy
temple, and the sacred system of priestly service. They
knew about the altar, the sacrifices, the festivals, the
ordinances, and the regulations, all of which they
considered outward blessings. There is no need to mention
the Greeks and the Romans, for even the Jews that stood
in front of the Lord Jesus were filled with their traditional
concepts.
The Lord Jesus came as the new King to start a new
dispensation. With the coming of the new King, God began
a new economy. God's new dispensation is involved with a
wonderful Person. Speaking figuratively, this new
economy is simply this Person. Do not consider the
kingdom of the heavens as something apart from Christ.
No, it is Christ Himself. Without the King, we could not
have the kingdom. We cannot have the kingdom of the
heavens without Christ. When the Pharisees asked the
Lord Jesus when the kingdom of God would come, He
replied, "Behold, the kingdom of God is among you" (Luke
17:21). The Lord's word to the Pharisees indicated that He
Himself was the kingdom. Where Jesus is, there the
kingdom is also. The kingdom is simply the Person of the
King. Therefore, when we have the King, we also have the
kingdom.
When Peter, Andrew, James, and John went up to
Jerusalem to attend the feasts, John the Baptist was
ministering in the wilderness outside Jerusalem. No doubt
these four were attracted to him. Eventually, they met the
Lord Jesus and were saved there by the riverside of the
Jordan. The Lord Jesus was baptized in the Jordan, as
were these four disciples, and He was anointed there.
Following the anointing of the Lord Jesus, there was a
period of forty days when He was tested. Those forty days
were also a test to these four newly saved disciples. The
Lord Jesus passed the test, but the disciples failed it,
forgetting their experience of salvation by the riverside of
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Jordan and returning to the Sea of Galilee to make a
living. Two carried on the work of fishing, and two the
work of mending the nets. The fact that they returned to
the Sea of Galilee to fish and to mend the nets proves that
they had been defeated. Although they had been saved,
they returned to their old situation. Hence, they were
failures.
The new King was led into the wilderness where He
gained the victory over the enemy. After winning the
battle against Satan, the new King came to the Sea of
Galilee, much to the surprise of Peter, Andrew, James, and
John. There by the Sea of Galilee the Lord Jesus contacted
them the second time. As we saw in message twelve, the
first time these four disciples were brought to the Lord,
they saw Him as the Lamb of God. But the second time,
the Lord paid them a gracious visitation as the great light.
The Bible is very economical in its description of the
calling of these four disciples. Peter and Andrew were
fishing, and James and John were mending their nets.
Suddenly, the One whom they had met more than forty
days before appeared as a great light shining upon them.
They realized that this was the Lamb of God, and they
were attracted to Him. However, this time the Lamb of
God was the great light shining upon them. After shining
upon them, the new King said, "Follow Me," and these four
disciples followed Him. Eventually, these four influenced
others to follow the Lord Jesus, and crowds were drawn to
Him.
When the Lord Jesus went up to the top of the
mountain, His disciples came to Him to be the inner circle,
the direct audience, for the decree of the new King. The
first thing He said was, "Blessed are the poor in spirit."
This word was the continuation of the Lord's preaching in
4:17, where He had said, "Repent, for the kingdom of the
heavens has drawn near." In His preaching the Lord dealt
with the mind, the thoughts. He seemed to be saying, "You
must repent. You must have a change in your thinking, in
your mentality. Your mind needs to be turned."
Undoubtedly Peter, Andrew, James, and John all had a
genuine turn in their understanding. By the time they
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were in the inner circle to be the direct audience for the
decree of the new King, there was no problem concerning
their mind. Their thinking had already undergone a
change.
Turning our mind provides a gateway for us to enter
into the kingdom and for the kingdom to enter into us. The
mind is neither the receiver nor the inner chamber; it is
the gateway. The receiver, the inner chamber, is our spirit.
Thus, our mind is the gateway, and our spirit is the inner
chamber. We must put the Lord's word in 4:17, "Repent,
for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near," with His
word in 5:3, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the
kingdom of the heavens." The mind that has turned is the
gateway through which the kingdom of the heavens comes
into us. When the kingdom comes in, it is implanted in our
spirit. It enters through the gateway of our mind and it
arrives at our spirit. It is our spirit, not our mind, that
receives the kingdom and retains it. Therefore, our spirit is
the receiver and container of the kingdom of the heavens.
In their preaching, those evangelists who know the
secret of the gospel firstly deal with people's mind. Then
they proceed to deal with their spirit. The preaching of the
gospel must deal with people's mind, with their way of
thinking. This is to cause them to repent, to have a turn in
their thinking and way of life. As soon as someone has
repented, the proper preacher of the gospel will ask him to
pray and to call on the name of the Lord. This is not the
dealing with the mind, but the dealing with the spirit.
After a person exercises his spirit to pray and to call on the
name of the Lord, the Lord will immediately come into his
spirit, passing through the gateway of the mind and
arriving at his spirit.
The very Lord Jesus, who has entered our spirit
through our mind, is the king. The kingdom is with Him.
When the King enters someone's spirit, this means that
the kingdom also enters into his spirit. From that time
onward, both the King and the kingdom remain in his
spirit. In the teaching of today's degraded Christianity,
very few point out that the Christ who enters into our
spirit is the very King with the kingdom. When He comes
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into your spirit, the kingdom arrives with Him. Now in our
spirit not only do we have the Savior; we also have the
King with the kingdom.
Throughout the years, we have emphasized the
importance of 2 Timothy [Link] "The Lord be with your
spirit." We have always applied this to the matter of life.
However, now we must also see that whenever we say that
the Lord Jesus is with our spirit, it means that the
kingdom is with our spirit. This Lord Jesus is not only the
Savior and the life, but also the King with the kingdom.
Today we may declare, "In my spirit I have the Savior, the
life, the King, and the kingdom!" When we repented and
believed in the Lord Jesus as the Savior, the life, and the
King with the kingdom, He entered our spirit and was
implanted there. Therefore, in our spirit we now have the
Savior, the life, and the King with the kingdom. We
received such a One into us by being repentant in our
mind and poor in spirit.
When I was walking in my fallen condition far away
from God, I was filled with philosophy and religion. Not
only was I walking in the wrong direction, but I was also
filled with worthless concepts and thoughts. When I heard
the preaching of the gospel, I had a turn in my mind; my
mind was changed. Nevertheless, I was still full of many
philosophical and religious concepts. Thus, I not only
needed to have a turn in my mind, but also to become poor
in spirit. To be poor in our spirit is to empty our spirit. It is
to open up from the depths of our being and to be unloaded
of all other things so that the Lord Jesus may be able to
enter our spirit. When He came into me, He came as the
King with the kingdom. Therefore, if you are poor in spirit,
yours is the kingdom of the heavens. Although you may
have made an about-face in your life and you may now be
standing face to face with the Lord, what about your
spirit? Is your spirit open to Him, or is it filled with other
things? Are you still filled with philosophical and religious
concepts? The Greeks may be filled with the
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philosophy of Plato, the Chinese with the teachings of
Confucius, and the Jews with the teachings of Moses. For
the King with the kingdom to come into you, you must be
poor in your spirit. This means that you must open up
from the depths of your being and cast out all the concepts,
opinions, and thoughts that have been filling you. When
you have emptied your spirit, the King with the kingdom
will come into you. Then yours is the kingdom of the
heavens.
Please pay careful attention to the tense of the
predicate in verse 3. It is not future tense, but present
tense. This verse does not say, "Theirs will be the kingdom
of the heavens"; it says, "Theirs is the kingdom of the
heavens." When you open from the depths of your being,
that is, from your spirit, and unload yourself and empty
your spirit, the King as the life-giving Spirit will enter in
through the gateway of your repentant mind and come
into your spirit to be your King with the kingdom. From
then on, the kingdom is within you, and the kingdom of
the heavens is yours. This is salvation according to the
New Testament.
However, today's degraded Christianity has missed
this. When you received the Lord Jesus, did you realize
that a kind of ruling had come into you? This ruling is the
reigning of the kingdom. We have not only the Savior and
the life, but also the King. This King exercises His
authority from within our spirit. Even if you were just
saved today, you already have this kingdom within you.
Although I was saved more than fifty years ago, I do not
have anything more than someone who has just been
saved. The One within us is our Savior, our life, and our
King with the kingdom. How rich and how high He is!
Because we have received Him into our spirit, ours is the
kingdom of the heavens. The kingdom is ours, and the
kingdom is in our spirit.
Now we should understand the meaning of verse 3:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
the heavens." We need to change the pronoun and say,
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for ours is the kingdom of
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the heavens." Once we understand the meaning of this
verse, we see what a mistake it is to teach that the
kingdom has been suspended until the millennium. The
word, "is" in this verse proves that the kingdom of the
heavens is ours right now. How blessed we are! How
blessed it is to be poor in spirit! If we are poor in spirit,
ours is the kingdom of the heavens. If you take this word
into you, you will never be the same. This one verse is
better than a hundred messages. Hallelujah, ours is the
kingdom of the heavens! We are truly blessed and happy.
Blessed and happy are the poor in spirit, for ours is the
kingdom of the heavens.
B. Those Mourning to Be Comforted
Although we should be very happy to hear that we are
in the kingdom of the heavens today, in the very next
verse the Lord Jesus told us to mourn. Verse 4 says,
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be
comforted." It does not seem logical to say that those who
mourn are blessed and happy. However, if we pray for a
certain period of time, with a spirit filled with the King
and the kingdom, we shall begin to mourn over the
negative situation of today. The entire situation of the
world is negative in relation to God's economy. Satan, sin,
self, darkness, and worldliness predominate among all
people on earth. God's glory is insulted, Christ is rejected,
the Holy Spirit is frustrated, the church is desolated, self
is corrupted, and the whole world is evil. Hence, God
wants us to mourn over such a situation. Because the
kingdom is in us, we are subdued, controlled, and ruled by
the indwelling King. If, while we are under this rule, we
look at the environment and the situation of today's world,
we shall sigh and mourn.
This mourning, however, is a blessing, for the Lord said
that those who mourn "shall be comforted." If we mourn
according to God and His economy, we shall be comforted
by being rewarded with the kingdom of the heavens. We
shall see God's heavenly ruling over all the negative
situation. Many times I have had the experience
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of mourning and being comforted. Do not be disappointed.
We must mourn, yet we are filled with hope. The King is
coming, the enemy will be defeated, and the earth will be
regained by Christ. Sooner or later, we shall be comforted.
Is it not a comfort to see so many in the Lord's recovery
seeking the Lord and His kingdom? What a comfort this is
to me! If you have never experienced mourning in your
spirit, then you cannot realize how sweet and comforting it
is to see so many who care only for the Lord's kingdom.
For this reason, we love all the dear saints in the Lord's
recovery. All the churches with all the seeking saints are a
real comfort to every mourning spirit.
C. The Meek to Inherit the Earth
The sequence in these verses is very significant. Firstly
we are poor in spirit to receive the King with the kingdom
and to contain Him. Then we mourn over the pitiful
situation and are comforted. Following this, we have a
word about the meek. Verse 5 says, "Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth." Some translators have
said that the Greek word rendered "earth" should be
"land." But whether we translate this as earth or land, it
refers to the coming subdued world. Today the earth is a
worldly kingdom under the rule of Satan. But the day is
coming when the Lord, the King, will regain this world.
Revelation 11:15 says, "The kingdom of the world has
become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He
shall reign forever and ever." The world spoken of in
Revelation 11:15 is the earth in verse 5.
In Matthew 5:5 the Lord says that the meek will
inherit the earth. Those who are poor in spirit in verse 3
and who mourn in verse 4 are now the meek in verse 5.
Many Christians do not understand what it means to be
meek. It does not mean simply to be gentle, humble, and
submissive. To be meek means not to resist the world's
opposition, but to suffer it willingly. To be meek means not
to fight or to resist. If we are meek, willing to suffer
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the world's opposition in this age, we shall inherit the
earth in the coming age, as revealed in Hebrews 2:5-8 and
Luke 19:17, 19.
Today, those who fight are those who gain the land. If
you do not fight, you will not receive any territory. This is
the reason there are so many wars. Nations wage war with
one another to gain more territory for themselves. The
human way is to obtain the land by fighting for it, but the
way of the kingdom of the heavens is to gain it by being
meek. There is no need to fight, but there is the need to be
meek. Some of the young people have been shouting
slogans about taking the earth. The way to take the earth
is not by slogans, shouting, or fighting. The way is through
meekness. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the
earth. Are you a fighting one or a meek one? If you would
inherit the earth, you must be meek. When the Lord Jesus
comes back, He will regain the earth. However, when He
was arrested, tried, and crucified at Golgotha, He was
meek. As He was nailed to the cross, He did not resist. In
every way He was meek, meek to the very end. Eventually,
the earth will be gained not by the fighting ones, but by
the meek ones. Several weeks ago an opposer told one of
our brothers, "We are going to stop you!" Time will tell who
will be stopped. The fighting ones will be stopped, but the
meek ones will not be stopped. Rather, they will inherit
the earth. Satan is always fighting, but the Lord Jesus
never fights. Instead, He is meek. In this we see that the
economy of God is opposite to the economy of man. If you
want to gain the earth, you should be meek. If you have
not received any territory, this may indicate that you are
not yet meek enough. Young people, you must be meek on
the campuses. I realize that this is a heavenly language.
But the Lord Jesus did not say, "Blessed are those who
fight, for they shall gain the earth. The fighters shall take
the earth!" Do not say, "Let's take the earth by fighting for
it." No, you must say instead, "Let's take the earth by
being meek." You may think that meekness is related to
material things. However, if you consider the matter
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carefully, you will see that meekness is not related to
outward material things. Rather, it is related to something
inward, to what we are in our very being.
D. Those Hungry and Thirsty for Righteousness to
Be Satisfied
In verse 6 the Lord said, "Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."
Righteousness here is to be right in our behavior. This
righteousness is related to what we are inwardly. This is
indicated by the fact that we are told to hunger and thirst
for righteousness so that we might be satisfied.
In order to understand verse 6 we must also consider
verse 20. Verse 20 says, "For I say to you, that unless your
righteousness surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees,
you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of the
heavens." In verses 3 and 20 we see two aspects of the
kingdom of the heavens. In verse 3 the verb is present
tense, and in verse 20 it is future tense. On the one hand,
the kingdom of the heavens is ours; on the other hand, we
shall enter into the kingdom of the heavens. If we are poor
in our spirit, the reality of the kingdom of the heavens is
ours today. But we still need to enter into the
manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens. Remember
the two aspects of the kingdom of the heavens: the reality
in the church today and the manifestation in the upper
part of the millennium in the future. If we are truly poor
in our spirit, seeking after Christ, the reality of the
kingdom of the heavens is ours. Then at the time of the
millennium we shall enter into the manifestation of the
kingdom of the heavens. However, in order to enter into
the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens we need
the surpassing righteousness, the righteousness that
surpasses that of the scribes and the Pharisees. We need
to hunger and thirst for this righteousness, to seek after
such righteousness, that we may enter into the kingdom of
the heavens (vv. 6, 10, 20). If we hunger and thirst for
righteousness, God will
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grant us to be satisfied with the very righteousness we
seek. If we seek this surpassing righteousness, it will be
given to us.
Righteousness is to be right not only with God, but also
with man. The righteousness of the scribes and the
Pharisees was rather low because it was the righteousness
according to the law. Our righteousness must not be
according to the old law, hut according to the new law. As
we shall see, the new law is much higher than the old. The
old law says, "You shall not murder." But the new law
says, "Everyone who is angry with his brother shall be
liable to the judgment" (v. 22). By this one example we see
that our righteousness must be on a higher level than the
righteousness of the Pharisees. We must take care not only
of not murdering, but even of not being angry with our
brother. This righteousness is on the highest plane.
Our natural life is not able to attain this righteousness.
This inward subjective righteousness must be Christ. Only
Christ can fulfill the requirements of the new law. When I
read Matthew 5 as a young man, I was disappointed and
said, "I simply can't make it. I'll just have to quit." But the
more I have grown, the more I have come to realize that I
can make it because I have a life within me that can do it.
The King with His kingdom within me can make it.
However, this King needs our cooperation. We cooperate
by being hungry and thirsty. We cooperate by saying, "O
Lord Jesus, I hunger and thirst after You. Lord, I want to
be filled with You." If you hunger and thirst in this way,
you will be satisfied.
The righteousness in verse 6 is simply Christ. It is the
surpassing righteousness, the righteousness on the highest
plane, that can only be attained by Christ. Because He is
the One who produces this highest righteousness, we must
seek after Him. We need to pray, "Lord, make me hungry.
Grant me an appetite for Yourself. Grant me the appetite
to seek the surpassing righteousness." If you seek
righteousness in this way, you will be satisfied. You will
receive what you have been seeking.
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E. The Merciful to Receive Mercy
Verse 7 says, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall
receive mercy." To be righteous is to give one what he
deserves, whereas to be merciful is to give someone better
than he deserves. For the kingdom of the heavens, we need
to be not only righteous, but also merciful. To receive
mercy is to get better than we deserve. If we are merciful
to others, the Lord will grant us mercy (2 Tim. 1:16, 18),
especially at His judgment seat (James 2:12-13).
To be righteous is to deal with yourself in a strict way.
We must be righteous in dealing with ourselves. We
should not give ourselves any excuse. Toward others,
however, we must be merciful. If we are diligent to seek
the surpassing righteousness, we shall eventually become
merciful toward others. In our seeking we shall find that
our natural man is weak and that we are prone to failure.
If you do not realize the pitiful condition of your natural
man, you will never have mercy on others. Instead of
showing mercy to them, you will condemn them when they
fail or fall. The reason you condemn them is that you do
not know yourself. If you know yourself, whenever
someone fails, you will say, "Lord, have mercy on me and
on my brother. We all are weak vessels and cannot fulfill
Your requirements. Lord, even though my brother has
offended me, I would still be merciful toward him." If you
have never failed, you will never be merciful. If you are
always successful in your pursuit of holiness and
perfection, you will have no sympathy toward others when
they fail. You will always condemn them. But if you know
how weak you are and how many mistakes you have made,
you will be merciful to others.
There is a promise for us in verse 7. The promise is
that those who are merciful will receive mercy. If you
judge your brother without mercy today, you will not
receive any mercy at the judgment seat of Christ. Because
you judge others unmercifully, Christ will judge you
unmercifully. But if you have mercy on your brother, the
Lord will have mercy on you at His judgment seat. Thus,
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the kingdom people are strict in dealing with themselves,
but very merciful in dealing with others. Once again, this
is not an outward matter, but a matter related to our
inward being.
F. The Pure in Heart to See God
Verse 8 says, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they
shall see God." To be righteous is to deal with ourselves, to
be merciful is to deal with others, and to be pure in heart
is to deal with God. Toward ourselves, we must be strict
and allow no excuses. Toward others, we should be
merciful, giving them more than they deserve. But toward
God we must be pure in heart, seeking nothing besides
Him. The reward for being pure in heart is to see God. God
is our reward. No reward is greater than God Himself. We
gain this reward by being strict, righteous, with ourselves,
by being merciful toward others, and by being pure in
heart toward God.
To be pure in heart is to be single in purpose, to have
the single goal of accomplishing God's will for God's glory
(1 Cor. 10:31). This is for the kingdom of the heavens. Our
spirit is the organ to receive Christ (John 1:12; 3:6),
whereas our heart is the ground where Christ as the seed
of life grows (13:19). For the kingdom of the heavens we
need to be poor in spirit, empty in our spirit, that we may
receive Christ. We also need to be pure in heart, single in
our heart, that Christ may grow in us without frustration.
If we are pure in heart in seeking God, we shall see God.
Seeing God is a reward to the pure in heart. This blessing
is both for today and for the coming age.
G. Those Making Peace to Be Called the Sons of God
Verse 9 says, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they
shall be called sons of God." Satan, the rebellious one, is
the instigator of all rebellion. For the kingdom of the
heavens, under its heavenly ruling, we must be
peacemakers with all men (Heb. 12:14).
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In all of the first seven blessings we see that we should
not be fighters or troublemakers; rather, we must be
peacemakers, always making peace with others. If we are
peacemakers, we shall be called the sons of God. The sons
of the Devil make trouble, but the sons of God make peace.
As the Son of God, the Lord Jesus made peace with God
and man. Now, as the sons of God, we must follow Him to
make peace. Then we shall be called the sons of God.
Our Father is the God of peace (Rom. 15:33; 16:20),
who has a peaceful life with a peaceful nature. As those
born of Him, if we would be the peacemakers, we must
behave in His divine life, according to His divine nature.
Thus, we shall express His life and nature, and we shall be
called sons of God.
H. Those Persecuted for Righteousness to
Participate in the Kingdom of the Heavens
Verse 10 says, "Blessed are those who have been
persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the
kingdom of the heavens." The whole world lies in the evil
one (1 John 5:19) and is filled with unrighteousness. Every
aspect of the world is unrighteous. If we hunger and thirst
for righteousness, we shall be persecuted for the sake of
righteousness. We need to pay a price for the
righteousness we seek for the kingdom of the heavens. If
we are righteous, we shall be condemned, opposed, and
persecuted. Hence, we shall suffer persecution. Many
saints who have done their best to be righteous have
suffered persecution as a result. In their environment,
business, or employment there were many unrighteous
things. Because they desired to be righteous in that
situation, they suffered persecution from others.
This verse says that those who are persecuted for
righteousness are blessed, "for theirs is the kingdom of the
heavens." If we seek righteousness at a cost, the kingdom
of the heavens becomes ours: we are in its reality now, and
we shall be rewarded with its manifestation in the coming
age. We have pointed out that, according to verse 20, in
order to be in the kingdom of the heavens, we need the
surpassing righteousness, the righteousness on the highest
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plane. To enter the manifestation of the kingdom of the
heavens we need this kind of righteousness. Therefore, we
need to hunger and thirst after it and to suffer persecution
for it.
I. Those Reproached, Persecuted, and Evil Spoken
Of for His Sake to Receive Great Reward in the
Heavens
In verse 11 the new King said, "Blessed are you when
they reproach and persecute you, and say every evil thing
against you, lying, for My sake." The persecution in verse
10 is for the sake of righteousness, because of our seeking
for righteousness; whereas the persecution in verse 11 is
directly for the sake of Christ, the new King, because of
our following Him.
When we live a life for the kingdom of the heavens in
its spiritual nature and according to its heavenly
principles, we are reproached, persecuted, and evil spoken
of, mostly by the religious people who hold onto their
traditional religious concepts. The Jewish religionists did
all these things to the Apostles in the early days of the
kingdom of the heavens (Acts 5:41; 13:45, 50; 2 Cor. 6:8;
Romans 3:8). This is also true today. If you are truly
seeking Christ, many in the denominations will rise up
against you. This is what we are suffering now. We are
suffering reproach, persecution, and evil rumors circulated
about us. Recently a reputable publishing firm published a
book associating us with Hinduism. What an evil rumor!
This reproach and persecution comes to us because we do
not care for tradition, but for Christ and the pure word of
the Bible.
In verse 12 the Lord Jesus speaks an encouraging word
to those who are persecuted for His sake: "Rejoice and be
glad, for your reward is great in the heavens; for thus they
persecuted the prophets before you." This reward of the
ninth blessing indicates that all the results of the
foregoing eight blessings are also rewards. This reward is
great and is in the heavens, a heavenly reward, not an
earthly one.
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LIFE STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE FIFTEEN
THE DECREE OF THE KINGDOM'S
CONSTITUTION
(3)
In order to have a good nation or kingdom, there must
be good people. A proper country needs proper people.
Thus, in the constitution of the heavenly kingdom, the
Lord Jesus firstly reveals the kind of people who live in the
kingdom of the heavens.
THE INWARD BEING OF THE KINGDOM PEOPLE
The nine blessings in 5:3-12 are all related to the
nature of the kingdom people. The kind of people we are
depends upon our nature. Every aspect of these nine
blessings deals mainly with our inward being, not with
outward material things. Along with our inward being,
these verses also deal somewhat with the outward
expression. Take the example of righteousness. If you read
these verses carefully, you will see that righteousness here
is not merely a matter of outward behavior. Rather, it is
the outflow of our inner being, the expression of what we
are within. Thus, the first section of the constitution (5:1-
12) deals with the inward being of the kingdom people.
NINE CRUCIAL WORDS
In considering the nature of the kingdom people as
revealed in these verses, we need to remember nine crucial
words, one for each of the nine blessings: poor in spirit,
mourning, meek, hungry and thirsty for righteousness,
merciful, pure, peaceful, persecuted, and reproached.
These words reveal what kind of people the kingdom
people should be. They should always be poor in spirit,
mournful over the present situation, meek in facing
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opposition, righteous toward themselves, merciful toward
others, pure toward God, peaceful toward all men,
persecuted for righteousness, and reproached for the sake
of Christ. The totality of these nine words is the nature of
the kingdom people.
POOR IN SPIRIT AND MOURNING
The sequence of these verses is very significant. Firstly
we must be poor in spirit, and then we can mourn. If we
are not poor in our spirit, we do not have the capacity for
the King to come in to establish His kingdom within our
being. If we do not have the heavenly kingdom established
within us, we cannot realize how negative and pitiful the
whole world is. However, when the Lord Jesus is able to
set up His kingdom within us and when the full capacity of
our whole being, even the depths of our being, our spirit, is
available to Him, we shall realize that the earth is dark,
corrupt, and filled with sin. Spontaneously we shall mourn
for this sad situation. For this reason, the Lord Jesus did
not speak first of mourning and then of being poor in
spirit. He put the matter of being poor in our spirit first.
Only when we are poor in spirit can we mourn.
MOURNING AND MEEKNESS
If we are poor in spirit and mourn for the pitiful
situation of others, spontaneously we shall be meek. Even
if your mother-in-law is in a pitiful condition, do not tell
her so. Even the condition of your dear wife may not be
very positive in the eyes of the Lord. If her heart and her
interests are not for the Lord, and she does not care for the
Lord's kingdom, her situation is pitiful. You have the Lord
Jesus with the heavenly kingdom in your spirit, but what
about your wife? You may be in the highest heaven, but
she may be in the lowest hell. Furthermore, consider your
children. You may love the Lord to the uttermost, but they
may not love Him at all. Therefore, you must
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mourn for your mother-in-law, your wife, and your
children. You must also mourn for your relatives, your
colleagues, and your neighbors. Where is one who is truly
for the Lord? Look at the deplorable condition of the world
today, including that of Christianity. The merchants care
only for money, the students care only for their education,
and the working people care only for promotions and
positions. When we are poor in spirit, we shall surely
mourn for the whole situation. We shall mourn for our
environment and for the people around us.
Because we mourn for others, we would never fight
against them. Instead of fighting them, spontaneously we
shall be meek toward them. If you are not yet meek with
your wife, it reveals that you have not been possessed by
the kingdom of the heavens. This indicates that other
things are still occupying you. If you have been fully
occupied within by the heavenly kingdom, you will mourn
for your wife and be meek with her. You will be meek
toward every pitiful person. If you are a student, you will
be meek toward your teachers and classmates. You will be
meek toward others because you have a deep feeling
within about their pitiful situation. Because you have been
praying for them in the way of mourning, whenever you
contact them, you will be meek.
A WORD ABOUT MEEKNESS
Let me say a further word about meekness. The New
Testament tells us that we do not fight against flesh and
blood, but against the Devil, against the enemy of God. We
must fight against the Devil, God's enemy, day and night.
However, we are not to fight against people, not even
against those who oppose us. Toward all men, including
the adversaries and opposers, we must be meek. Although
we fight Satan and the principalities in the air, we do not
fight people. Instead, we love them all. Young people, do
not go to the campuses to fight with the students. Never
say, "We shall defeat the students and take the earth!" Do
not go to the campuses to fight--go there to be meek. We
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need to be so meek that, even if a persecutor hits us on the
right cheek, we would turn to him the left cheek. To be
meek means not to resist or to fight back. However, as we
turn our left cheek to the persecutor, we should pray,
"Lord, bind the powers of darkness!" While we are being
meek toward other people, we must fight against the
powers of darkness. The enemy is not the people; it is
Satan and his angels, the evil powers in the air.
HUNGERING AND THIRSTING FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS
As we are being meek toward others, we must hunger
and thirst for righteousness. We ourselves must be right
with everyone. We must be right with our parents, our
husband or wife, our children, our in-laws, our relatives,
and our neighbors. The people of the heavenly kingdom
are righteous in this way. Do not think that, if we are
mournful and meek, we can afford to be loose. No, we must
hunger and thirst for the highest righteousness.
RIGHTEOUS WITH OURSELVES, MERCIFUL TOWARD
OTHERS
Although we must be strict with ourselves in
righteousness, we must learn to be merciful to others and
not to place demands on them. It is wrong for any
Christian to place demands on others. If you are truly
strict with yourself, then you will know how to be merciful
to others. But do not try to be merciful to others without
first being righteous with yourself. Every sloppy person is
merciful to others because he has already been merciful to
himself. If he sleeps late every morning, he will be very
merciful to others who sleep late. This kind of mercy is not
mercy at all; it is absolutely wrong. No one who is sloppy
knows how to be merciful to others. Only a strict person, a
righteous person, knows how to be merciful. If you would
be merciful to others according to the fifth blessing, you
must first be righteous toward yourself according to the
fourth blessing.
We must be righteous and strict with ourselves, never
making excuses for ourselves. But when others offend us,
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thereby exposing their shortage, we must be merciful
toward them. All those who are self-righteous condemn
others and never let them go. The word spoken by the Lord
on the mount is completely different from this. To
ourselves, we must be righteous and strict, serious and
sober. But toward others we must be merciful. In Himself
God is righteous. However, if He were righteous to the
uttermost in dealing with us, we would all be killed.
Although God is righteous in relation to Himself, He is full
of mercy in dealing with us. As fallen sinners, we surely
need God's mercy. We also must learn to be righteous with
ourselves, and merciful toward others. This matter of
being righteous toward ourselves and merciful toward
others is not firstly a matter of outward behavior; it is
firstly a matter of our inward attitude, of our inward
being.
As a brother taking the lead, either as an elder in the
church or as a brother in the brothers' house, you may find
it difficult to be strict with yourself and yet be merciful
toward others. Suppose everyone is supposed to be home
by a certain time. To come home later than that time is not
righteous. Likewise, it is not right to inconvenience others.
However, when some young people come home, they like to
throw their shoes anywhere they please. I knew of one co-
worker, a preacher and teacher of the Bible, who used to
throw his socks without any concern for where they landed
around the room. One time this brother and I were guests
in a certain home. The hostess, quite concerned, spoke to
me about this brother's sloppiness. What a shame that was
to me! Some of the brothers living in the brothers' houses
may act the same way.
Other brothers may be unhappy about being required
to wash dishes; therefore, they may not clean them
thoroughly. This is not righteous. It is never righteous to
take advantage of others, to invade their rights. Not doing
an adequate job in washing dishes is taking advantage of
others. If you are such a one, you are not a righteous
person. If you are a leader in the brothers' house, you must
be strict with yourself about the time, about excessive
talking, about noise, about washing dishes, and about
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many other things. Do not say this is too much. It may
seem too much to you, but it is not too much to Christ who
lives within you. In everything you do, you must be strict
with yourself.
However, as one taking the lead in the brothers' house
or in any aspect of the church life, you must also be
merciful. Sometimes a leader may warn a sloppy one about
his dishwashing, saying, "This is your first warning about
the way you wash the dishes. After two more warnings,
you will have to move out." Remember the word of the
Lord Jesus about how many times you must forgive your
brother (18:21-22). Even if a certain brother does not clean
the dishes thoroughly after you have spoken to him a
number of times, you must still be merciful to him. Do not
drive away even such a sloppy and pitiful brother. Instead,
be merciful to him. This does not mean that you go to the
opposite extreme and say, "I have learned that I must be
merciful toward this brother. Therefore, from now on, I
will never talk to him about the way he does the dishes.
Let him do the dishes any way he wants. We'll just have to
tolerate it in order to keep him." This attitude is not right
either. You need to take care of such a sloppy brother day
after day. Let him have a turn at washing the dishes. But
each time he does so, you must be patient and merciful
toward him.
It is easy for us to be either strict or sloppy. But we
must learn to be strict on the one hand and merciful on the
other. If we give others a strict dealing, we must
immediately be merciful toward them. This is an
important lesson for elders to learn. The kingdom people
are both righteous and merciful. When you are righteous,
you must be absolutely righteous; and when you are
merciful, you must be very merciful. Although
righteousness and mercy are two opposite poles, they must
meet in your experience. Your righteousness must come
together with your mercy.
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PURE IN HEART AND SEEING GOD
According to the sequence of the blessings in Matthew
5, being pure in heart comes after the showing of mercy to
others. This also corresponds to our experience. If you are
not righteous with yourself and merciful to others, you will
find it difficult to be pure in heart toward God. In order to
be pure in heart toward God, you must be strict in dealing
with yourself and merciful in dealing with others. As far as
logic is concerned, there seems to be no reason for this. But
our practical experience proves that it is so. If you are not
right with yourself and merciful with others, you will
never be pure with God. I believe that at least some of
those among us in the churches have the experience of
what I am speaking about here. Throughout the years, we
have learned the lesson of being strict with ourselves and
of not making excuses for ourselves. But we have also
learned to be merciful to others, especially to those who
are weaker. As a result, our heart is pure in seeking God.
When we are righteous with ourselves and merciful with
others, we see God. But when we are loose with ourselves
and condemn others, our eyes are absolutely blind, and we
cannot see God. If you excuse yourself, yet make demands
of others, your heart is not pure. A pure heart toward God
comes only from strict dealings with yourself and merciful
dealings with others.
Even in the churches, a number of saints always excuse
themselves and place demands on others. For example,
they may excuse their sleeping late in the morning by
saying that last night they received a long distance call.
But if they hear that a certain brother did not come to
morning watch, they would say, "Why didn't he come? As a
leader in the brothers' house, he should rise up early in the
morning." The eyes of such a person are blind, indicating
that his heart is not pure. We must be strict toward
ourselves and merciful toward others. If others are loose,
idle, or sloppy, we may have to warn them in a proper way.
Nevertheless, we must still be merciful toward them. No
matter how strict we may need
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to be at times in dealing with others, mercy must still be
shown to them. If we are strict with ourselves and merciful
to others, we shall have a pure heart, a heart single
toward God. The reward of having a pure heart is seeing
God. I can assure you that if you will practice being strict
with yourself and merciful with others, you will see God.
PEACEMAKERS
You will also be a peaceful person. Those who are strict
with themselves, merciful to others, and pure toward God
are peacemakers. They do not like to offend, hurt, or
damage anyone. Rather, they like to make peace with
everyone. To be a peacemaker does not mean to be
political. To he political is falsehood and hypocrisy. We
must be righteously square, not politically round.
Remember, the New Jerusalem is square, not round. We
Christians must be like this. Although we are righteously
square, we are still merciful toward others. This enables
us to be pure toward God and to see Him. If we are such a
person, spontaneously we shall be peacemakers. Instead of
fighting with others and hurting them, we shall always
maintain peace with those with whom we are involved.
This is what it means to be a peacemaker.
SONS OF GOD
Those who are peacemakers will be called sons of God.
This means that those around us will say, "These people
are not only the sons of men, but the sons of God. All the
sons of men fight against one another, but the sons of God,
like their heavenly Father, are peaceful and always make
peace with others." Romans 12:18 says, "If possible, as far
as it depends on you, living in peace with all men."
However, this keeping of peace should not be merely an
outward behavior. That is politics. Our peace must issue
out of our nature. We have a nature that makes us strict
with ourselves, merciful with others, and pure with God.
Because we have this nature, we spontaneously keep the
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peace with others. This is not political peacemaking; it is
the spontaneous issue of our nature. This will cause others
to say, "These are truly the sons of God."
SUFFERING PERSECUTION FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS
If we have a nature corresponding to what is revealed
in these verses, some in society will persecute us. This
persecution will be for two reasons: for righteousness and
for the sake of Christ. The eighth blessing concerns the
persecution for righteousness (v. 10), and the ninth, the
persecution for Christ (vv. 11-12). Why would others
persecute us for righteousness and for Christ? Simply
because we are poor in spirit, concerned for the negative
situation of today's world and mourning about it, meek
toward attackers and opposers, righteous with ourselves,
merciful toward others, pure with God, and making peace
with all. Therefore, the evil society will not agree with us.
Because we desire to be righteous, they will persecute us
for the sake of righteousness. Because we want to be
truthfully and honestly right, they will persecute us.
If we suffer persecution for the sake of righteousness,
ours is the kingdom of the heavens. Suffering for the sake
of righteousness is a condition for participation in the
kingdom of the heavens. If we do not remain in
righteousness, we are outside the kingdom. But if we stay
in righteousness, we are in the kingdom because the
kingdom is absolutely a matter of righteousness. In the
kingdom there is nothing wrong, unjust, or dark;
everything is righteous and light. This is the nature of the
kingdom. When we are poor in spirit, the kingdom of the
heavens comes into us. But when we stay in righteousness,
the kingdom of the heavens remains in us. In both cases,
ours is the kingdom of the heavens. If we would receive the
kingdom of the heavens, we must be poor in our spirit, and
if we would have the kingdom of the heavens remain in us,
we must stay in righteousness. But if you would stay in
righteousness, be prepared to confront persecution. You
will be persecuted for the sake of righteousness.
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REPROACHED FOR THE SAKE OF CHRIST
The entire world, whether it is the political, religious,
educational, commercial, or industrial world, is against
Christ. Therefore, if you live by Christ, for Christ, and
with Christ, you will surely be reproached and evil spoken
of. People will circulate many rumors about you. You may
work in the educational sphere, but sometimes you may
refuse to cooperate with certain things that take place
there, preferring to follow the way of Christ. Some may be
in the economic field or in the commercial realm. But while
they work in these realms, they live by Christ and for
Christ and move with Christ. The others in your field will
rise up and persecute you, speaking lies and falsehoods
concerning you. Nevertheless, you must suffer this for the
sake of Christ.
CHRIST WITH THE KINGDOM
Each of the nine blessings has a reward. The reward of
the first is the kingdom of the heavens; of the second,
comfort; of the third, the earth; of the fourth, satisfaction;
of the fifth, mercy; of the sixth, seeing God; of the seventh,
being called the sons of God; of the eighth, the kingdom of
the heavens; and of the ninth, Christ. If we have Christ,
we have the kingdom of the heavens. But if we do not have
Him, we do not have the kingdom of the heavens. Thus,
the real blessing is Christ with His kingdom. In order to
share this blessing, we need to be poor in spirit, mournful
over the negative situation, meek in facing opposition,
righteous with ourselves, merciful to others, pure in heart
toward God, making peace with all, suffering persecution
for righteousness, and suffering reproach for Christ. This
is the nature of the kingdom people. Eventually, the
kingdom people are the very reality of the kingdom. This is
the kingdom, which is the church life today. The church
today is the reality of the kingdom.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE SIXTEEN
THE DECREE OF THE KINGDOM'S
CONSTITUTION
(4)
In this message we come to the second section of the
decree of the kingdom's constitution (5:13-16), which
concerns the influence of the people of the kingdom of the
heavens upon the world. The kingdom people are salt to
the corrupted earth and light to the darkened world.
III. CONCERNING THE INFLUENCE OF THE KINGDOM
PEOPLE UPON THE WORLD
After revealing the nature of the kingdom people, this
decree goes on to cover their influence. The sequence here
is significant. If the kingdom people did not have the
nature described in 5:3-12, they could not have any
influence on the world. The influence of the kingdom
people comes out of their nature, out of what they are. If
we, the kingdom people, the church people, are poor in our
spirit, the kingdom of the heavens will have room within
the depths of our being. Then we shall mourn, be meek,
hunger and thirst for righteousness, be merciful, be pure
in heart, be peacemakers, suffer persecution, and be
reproached for Christ. If we are such people, we shall
certainly exercise a great influence upon the worldly
people around us. We shall spontaneously influence the
corrupted earth and the darkened world.
Because the influence of the proper church life is
lacking, the whole world is corrupt and in darkness. If you
travel throughout the world, studying and observing the
situation in various countries, you will see that two of the
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worst places are France and Sweden, countries without
the influence of the proper church life. Moreover, due to
the predominance of Catholicism, in Central America and
South America there is nothing but darkness. Wherever
Catholicism prevails, there is darkness and corruption.
Today, as a preparation for the Lord's coming back, there
is the urgent need for all these dark and corrupted
countries to be brought under the influence of the proper
church life.
In verse 13 the Lord said, "You are the salt of the
earth," and in verse 14 He said, "You are the light of the
world." According to the Greek text, the pronoun here is
plural. The "you" in these two verses does not refer to an
individual, but to a corporate people. Most readers apply
these verses to individuals. Those who have the nine
blessings spoken of in verses 3 through 12 are a corporate
people, not individuals. Therefore, the Lord's word about
salt and light does not concern individuals. Individually,
none of us can be proper salt or proper light. In verse 14
the Lord likens us to a city, not to individual stones. This
clearly reveals that the Lord's word here is not intended
for individuals, but for a corporate people built together on
a high level. The Lord did not say, "You are the lights of
the world." He said, "You are the light of the world." The
plural "you" is just one light.
Do not consider the influence of the kingdom people
upon the world an individual matter. If you try to be
individually spiritual, you will not succeed. Even if you
attain some individual spirituality, it will be a cancer. All
individualistic spirituality is a cancer that absorbs into
itself the nourishment intended for the whole Body.
Cancer is not caused by germs; it is caused by cells in the
body that separate from the body and care only for
themselves. If you attempt to be individualistically
spiritual, you will become a cancer. We all need to hear
this word of warning.
During the past twenty-five years, I have come to see
that spirituality is not an individualistic matter; it is
absolutely a corporate matter. Take the example of
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physical health. The health of our body is not a matter of
the individual members; it is a corporate matter. We do
not say that our ears are healthy, but that our body is
healthy. If your ears are not healthy, then your body must
not be healthy either. Thus, health is a matter of the whole
body.
When I was young, I took the Lord's word in these
verses about salt and light in an individualistic way,
thinking that I personally was to be the salt and the light.
But now I see that being salt is a corporate matter. We
need to be impressed with the fact it is as a corporate
entity that the kingdom people are salt and light. If we
separate ourselves from the church life, we can no longer
be salt or light.
Both the salt and the light refer to the corporate people
of the kingdom. Today the church people are the kingdom
people. Concerning discipline and exercise, we are the
kingdom people. But concerning life and grace, we are the
church people. In these verses it is a matter of exercise
and discipline; hence it concerns the kingdom people. The
kingdom people as a whole, as a corporate body, are salt
and light.
In verse 13 the Lord speaks of the earth, and in verse
14 He speaks of the world. There is a difference between
the earth and the world; the terms are not synonymous.
What was created by God is the earth, and what came in
through the corruption of Satan is the world. To the God-
created earth, the kingdom people are salt. But to the
Satan--corrupted world, they are light. We are the salt of
the earth and the light of the world.
A. Being the Salt of the Earth
1. To Kill and Eliminate the Germs of Corruption from the
Earth
When we say that we are salt, it means that we
exercise our influence over the earth created by God to
keep it in its original condition. The earth, which was
created by God, has become fallen. In a sense, it has
become rotten and corrupted. Salt kills the germs and
eliminates this rottenness. Any medical doctor can tell you
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that salt kills germs, eliminates rottenness, and preserves
things in their original condition. By nature, salt is an
element that kills the germs of corruption and eliminates
them. Thus, through its killing and preserving function,
salt brings the earth back to its original condition or keeps
it in its original condition. Hence, the function of salt is to
preserve what God has created. The entire earth is
becoming more and more rotten. Therefore, we must
exercise our influence over this corrupted earth. To the
corrupted earth, the people of the kingdom of the heavens
are the element that keeps the earth from being fully
corrupted.
2. The Possibility of Becoming Tasteless
In verse 13 the Lord said, "But if the salt has become
tasteless, with what shall it be salted? It is no longer good
for anything but to be cast out and trampled under foot by
men." For the kingdom people to become tasteless means
that they have lost their salting function. They have
become the same as the earthly people, with nothing to
distinguish them from unbelievers. To become tasteless is
to lose the distinction between us and the worldly people.
It is to become the same as the worldly ones. Being the
same as the worldly people is the opposite of the nature
revealed in verses 3 through 12. It means that we are no
longer poor in spirit, mourning for the negative situation,
meek, hungry and thirsty for righteousness, merciful, pure
in seeking God, making peace, willing to be persecuted for
the sake of righteousness, and willing to be reproached for
Christ. It means that we live, walk, and behave like the
worldly people. If such is our case, we become tasteless,
and the salt has lost its function.
Lot's wife is an illustration of this (Gen. 19:26). She
became a pillar of salt, which indicates salt that has lost
its function. When salt becomes a pillar, it cannot function,
mainly because it has lost its taste. The fact that Lot's wife
became a pillar of salt is a strong warning to us not to lose
the distinction between us and the world. We should never
lose our taste, but maintain the salting
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function of killing germs, of eliminating rottenness, and of
keeping things in their original condition or of bringing
them back to their God-created condition.
Wherever the kingdom people are, they should exercise
a salting influence over those around them. In our
neighborhoods we must exercise our function of killing
germs. But if we become the same as the worldly people,
we lose our function and our taste. Because we have lost
our taste, we no longer have the salting ability and we
cannot fulfill our salting function. If we have the nature of
the kingdom people revealed in the nine blessings. we
shall be truly salty. We shall be salt to our relatives and
in-laws. If we are poor in spirit, mourning, meek,
righteous, merciful, and pure in seeking God, we shall
have a salting function. There will be no need to rebuke
others or to point out their mistakes and wrongdoings.
They will be salted simply by our presence. Sometimes
certain evil ones will stay away from us because we are so
salty. This is what it means to kill the germs of this rotten
earth.
The Lord's intention is to bring this earth back to its
original condition. Although we cannot see this in the
present age, we shall see it in the next age. When the
millennial kingdom comes, the whole earth will be salted.
All the germs on this earth will be utterly killed, and the
whole earth will be not only regained by Christ, but also
brought back to its God-created condition. This work will
be done by the kingdom people.
In verse 13 the King said that salt which has lost its
taste will be cast out and trampled under foot by men. To
be cast out is to be put away from the kingdom of the
heavens (Luke 14:35). To be trampled under foot by men is
to be treated as useless dust.
B. Being the Light of the World
1. As a City upon a Mountain
Verse 14 says, "You are the light of the world." Light is
the shining of the lamp to enlighten those in darkness. To
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the darkened world, the people of the kingdom of the
heavens are such a light effacing its darkness. In nature
they are the healing salt, and in behavior they are the
shining light.
As the shining light, the kingdom people are like a city
situated upon a mountain. Such a city cannot be hidden.
This is ultimately consummated in the holy city of the
New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:10-11, 23-24). For many years I
was troubled by the Lord's illustration of a city situated
upon a mountain. Until I came into the church life, I could
not understand how light could be illustrated by a builded
city. After I was in the practical building of the church, I
saw that only by being built together can the kingdom
people be a city situated on a mountain. This city becomes
a shining light. In Anaheim the saints are grouping
together in their neighborhoods. If this practice becomes
prevailing and the saints in these groups are built
together, every group will he part of the shining city
situated on a mountaintop.
In these three chapters the Lord Jesus did not use the
term "church." However, the term "kingdom," used many
times in these chapters, actually refers to the church. The
kingdom mentioned in Matthew 5, 6, and 7 is that aspect
of the church concerned with discipline and exercise. The
church is the aspect of grace and life for the kingdom, and
the kingdom is the aspect of discipline and exercise for the
church. Therefore, the Lord's word in these chapters
regarding the kingdom actually refers to the exercise and
discipline in the church.
As we have seen, many Christians understand these
chapters in an individualistic way. Most have not seen
that this constitution is not for individuals, but for a
corporate people. We know that this decree is for a
corporate people, because the light is not an individual
person, but a builded city. This indicates that the kingdom
people need the building. If the saints in the church in
your locality are not built up, but are scattered, divided,
and separated, there is no city there. And as long as there
is no city, there is no light, because the light is
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the city; the light is not an individual believer. The light is
a corporate city built up as one entity to shine over the
people surrounding it. It is impossible to find such a thing
in today's Christianity. But every local church in the
Lord's recovery must be a builded city.
In the book of Revelation the churches are golden
lampstands (Rev. 1:20). The principle of the city and the
lampstand is the same: neither is individual. Both are
corporate. The lampstand, like the city, is not an
individual believer, but the church. If you are outside the
church, you are not a part of the lampstand. In order to be
part of the lampstand, you must be built into the local
church. The local church, which is the lampstand, is
likened by the Lord to a builded city set on the top of a
mountain. If we are built up in our locality, we shall be on
the mountaintop. But if we are scattered, separated, and
divided, we shall be in a low valley. In every locality there
must be just one lampstand, one city situated on a
mountain. For this, we must keep the unity and remain
one entity, a corporate Body. Then we shall be able to
shine. But if we are divided, we are finished with the
shining. There is no shining in Christianity today because
it is so divided. There are many divisions in Christianity.
In the Lord's recovery, however, we must come back to the
unique unity, which is the corporate Body. When we have
truly been built together, we shall be the city on a
mountaintop shining upon those around us.
2. As a Lamp on the Lampstand
Verse 15 says, "Neither do men light a lamp and place
it under the bushel, but on the lampstand, and it shines to
all who are in the house." The shining of the light has two
aspects. In the first aspect, the light is likened to a city
shining upon the outsiders. In the second aspect, the light
is likened to a lamp on a lampstand shining to those who
are in the house. We have seen that the city is the builded
church, but what is the house? You may think that the
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house here also refers to the church. However, there is no
need to interpret the house in this manner. According to
the context, the main point is that the shining of the light
has two aspects: the outward aspect and the inward
aspect. The light as a city on a mountain shines over the
outsiders, whereas the lighted lamp on the lampstand
shines over those who are in the house. As the city, the
light shines upon people, but as the lamp in the house, the
light shines into people. This indicates that our influence
over others should not be just outward, but also inward.
In order to shine upon others outwardly, we need to be
built up. But to shine upon others inwardly, we need to be
without any covering. As the light on the mountain, the
light cannot be hidden; and as the lamp on the lampstand,
the light should not be hidden.
In verse 15 the Lord speaks about placing the lamp
under the bushel. A lighted lamp placed under the bushel
cannot shine out its light. The kingdom people as the
lighted lamp should not be covered by the bushel, an item
pertaining to eating, a matter which causes anxiety (6:25).
We should never be covered by the bushel; rather, we must
be on the lampstand.
The Lord wisely spoke about not being covered by a
bushel. In ancient times a bushel, as a measure for grain,
was something related to eating and therefore related to
the matter of making a living. Thus, hiding the lamp
under the bushel indicates anxiety concerning our living. If
we Christians are anxious about our living and concerned
about how much money we are making, this anxiety will
become a bushel covering our light.
The kingdom people firstly exercise an influence upon
people outwardly, from the outside. However, we still need
to influence them from within. When the church as a
whole lives together as a city on the mountaintop, those
surrounding it will be under the shining of such a builded
church. But this is merely the shining from the outside.
The church also needs to exert another kind of influence,
the influence of the inner shining that gets into people.
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Thus, the city on the mount signifies the shining from
outside, and the lamp in the house signifies the shining
from inside. Our shining must not be only outside the
people, but also inside them. In order to shine upon others
outwardly, we must be builded as a city on the
mountaintop. But in order to shine upon them inwardly,
we need to come out from under our covering. This
indicates that the kingdom people live without anxiety and
the care for their existence. They care only for Christ and
the church. Day after day they are the happy people, the
praising people, the hallelujah people. When our
neighbors, relatives, and classmates contact us, they can
sense that we have no anxiety. We are not worried about
our living, about what we shall eat or what we shall put
on. Day after day, morning and night, the kingdom people
care only for Christ and the church.
We know from experience that our lack of anxiety
touches others. If every time someone contacts you, you
are happy and enjoying the Lord, he will be deeply
touched. Filled with anxiety and occupied with all kinds of
worries, the worldly people talk about the fear of losing
their job or the difficulties they are having with their boss.
But the kingdom people, the hallelujah people, those not
covered by the bushel, care only to talk about Christ and
the church. By being such a people, we touch the hearts of
others and shine upon them from within. This shining
penetrates them.
The outward shining of the kingdom people is general,
and all of society can see it. Society can see a group of
people who are built up, situated upon the top of a
mountain, and shining. The inward shining, on the
contrary, is particular. One of your cousins may be touched
by your lack of anxiety and your shining face. Whenever
he contacts you, he never hears you talking about how to
make a living. Instead, he always hears you praising the
Lord and telling how wonderful the church life is. This will
be a light penetrating into his being and shining within
him. Through the shining of this light, he will be
convinced. This is not the general shining from outside; it
is the particular shining from within. If we are the proper
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kingdom people, we shall have this twofold shining. We
shall be a city on a mountaintop shining out upon all those
surrounding us, and among them we shall be the
hallelujah people, those with no anxiety or care about this
life, shining into them. This inward shining penetrates the
inward being of others and convinces them.
3. Glorifying the Father in the Heavens
Eventually, both aspects of our shining will give glory
to the Father. Verse 16 says, "Thus let your light shine
before men, so that they may see your good works, and
glorify your Father Who is in the heavens." The title
Father proves that the disciples, who were the new King's
audience, were regenerated children of God (John 1:12;
Gal. 4:6). The good works here are the behavior of the
kingdom people through which men may see God and be
brought to Him. Our shining will glorify the Father
because it expresses what God is. To glorify God the
Father is to give Him the glory. Glory is God expressed.
When the kingdom people express God in their behavior
and good works, men see God and give the glory to God.
God hidden is God Himself. But when God is expressed,
that is the glory of God. If as the kingdom people we have
such a shining light, God will be expressed in this shining,
and all those around us will see the glory, God expressed.
When others see God in our shining, that is a glory to God.
We, the kingdom people, are the light of the world. As
light we are like a city on a mountaintop and like a lamp
shining in a house. From without and within, we shine to
express God, to let God have the glory in the eyes of
others. May we exercise such an influence upon those
around us.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE SEVENTEEN
THE DECREE OF THE KINGDOM'S
CONSTITUTION
(5)
The teaching and preaching concerning the kingdom of
the heavens began with repentance (3:2; 4:17). Repentance
means a change of mind. Hence, the kingdom begins with
our mind. From our mind, it proceeds to our spirit (5:3).
We need to repent in our mind and to be poor in our spirit.
Following this, we must be pure in heart in order to see
God (5:8). The mind, the spirit, and the heart are the three
major aspects of our inner being. If we put 4:17 together
with 5:3-12, we see a number of items related to the
kingdom of the heavens. The first three, as we have seen,
are the mind, the spirit, and the heart. Next we need to
have a normal, proper, uplifted emotion. This is seen in
the matter of mourning (5:4), which comes from our
adjusted emotion. We also need to be meek, which requires
a strong, normal, proper will. The hunger and thirst for
righteousness spoken of in 5:6 is a matter of a pure and
proper desire. We must desire this righteousness for the
kingdom. Being merciful to others involves our attitude
(5:7). Our attitude toward others must be one of mercy. If
we have a proper emotion, will, desire, and attitude, we
shall be able to make peace with others. Thus, our whole
being--our mind, spirit, heart, emotion, will, desire, and
attitude--needs to be exercised for the kingdom life. When
we have all these virtues, we are qualified to be
persecuted. If you do not have these, you will not be able to
withstand persecution. Eventually, those who are qualified
by having all these virtues will be not only persecuted for
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righteousness, but reproached for Christ. This is the
nature of the kingdom people.
Each of the nine blessings in 5:3-12 has a reward. For
example, if you are poor in spirit, the kingdom of the
heavens is yours. This is a reward. If you mourn, you will
be comforted, and if you are meek, you will inherit the
earth. Thus, comfort and the earth are also rewards.
According to verse 12, the reward is great for those who
are persecuted and reproached for the sake of Christ. It is
difficult to give a name to this reward. If we are
reproached, persecuted, evil-spoken of, for the sake of
Christ, our reward in the heavens is great, so great that it
is beyond our understanding. Hebrews 13:13 and 1 Peter
4:14 both speak of being reproached for the sake of Christ.
Hebrews 13:13 says, "Let us therefore go forth unto Him
outside the camp, bearing His reproach." First Peter 4:14
says, "If you are reproached in the name of Christ, you are
blessed." This matter of reproach is also spoken of in
Romans 15:3. There is a great reward awaiting those who
are reproached for the sake of Christ. We need to be the
kingdom people with the nature revealed in these verses.
Then we shall be able to bear the reproach for Christ.
IV. CONCERNING THE LAW OF THE KINGDOM PEOPLE
In this message we come to the third section of the
King's word on the mountain, 5:17-48, which concerns the
law of the people of the kingdom of the heavens. The
constitution of the heavenly kingdom must certainly cover
the matter of law. Prior to the time of the Lord Jesus, the
children of Israel had the law of Moses. They also had the
prophets. Prophecy is always a help to the law. When the
people are weak in fulfilling the law, there is the need for
the prophets to come in to strengthen them to keep the
law. Thus, the fulfillment of the law needs the
strengthening through the prophets. Therefore, in the Old
Testament there were the law and the prophets. This is
the reason the Lord spoke of the law and the prophets in
verse 17.
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A. Not to Abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to
Fulfill Them
Verse 17 says. "Do not think that I came to abolish the
law or the prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to
fulfill." To fulfill the law here means three things: that
Christ has kept the law on the positive side; that through
His substitutionary death on the cross Christ has fulfilled
the requirement of the law on the negative side; and that
Christ complements the old law by His new law in this
section, as continually expressed by the word, "But I say to
you" (vv. 22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44).
Concerning the law, there are two aspects: the
commandments of the law and the principle of the law.
The commandments of the law are fulfilled and
complemented by the Lord's coming, whereas the principle
of the law is replaced by the principle of faith according to
God's New Testament economy.
Before Christ came, there was the law with the
strengthening through the prophets. Why then was there
still the need for the law of the kingdom of the heavens?
The reason is that the demands of the old law were not
high enough. The requirements of the old law were not
complete. Take the example of murder. The old law
commanded us not to murder (Exo. 20:13), but it did not
say a word about anger. If you killed someone, you would
be condemned by the law of Moses. But no matter how
angry you were with someone, as long as you did not
murder, you would not be condemned by Moses' law. Here
we see the shortage, the incompleteness, of the old law.
However the requirement of the law of the kingdom of the
heavens is much higher than that of the law of Moses.
According to the law of the kingdom of the heavens, we are
forbidden to be angry with our brothers. In verses 21 and
22 the Lord said, "You have heard that it was said to the
ancients, You shall not murder, and whoever murders
shall be liable to the judgment. But I say to you that
everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to
the judgment." Hence, the law of the kingdom of the
heavens is higher than the law of the old dispensation.
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Another illustration of this is the law concerning
adultery. The old law forbade the committing of adultery,
but the new law forbids looking at a woman to lust after
her (vv. 27-28). Thus, the basic principle of the law of the
kingdom of the heavens is that it is higher than the old
law. We do not annul the old law; we complement it to
make it higher. For this reason, the Lord Jesus said that
He did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it.
Many Christians do not adequately understand the
meaning of the word "fulfill" in verse 17. Through many
years of study, observation, and experience, we have come
to see that the word "fulfill" in this verse means three
things.
1. Keeping the Law on the Positive Side
Firstly, it means that Christ came to keep the law on
the positive side. When He lived on earth, He kept every
aspect of the old law. No one else has ever kept the ten
commandments; the Lord Jesus kept them completely. He
kept the law of the old dispensation in a very positive way.
2. Fulfilling the Requirement of the Law on the
Negative Side through the Substitutionary Death on
the Cross
Because Christ kept the law, He became the perfect
One. His perfection qualified Him to die on the cross for
us. This is the keeping of the law in a negative sense. This
is the second way Christ has fulfilled the law. All of us
have broken, transgressed, the law. But our transgressions
have been dealt with through the Lord's substitutionary
death. On the cross He was our substitute, dying for us to
fulfill the law's requirement on the negative side.
3. Complementing the Old Law with the New
To fulfill the law also means that Christ complements
the old law by His new law. This is expressed by the word,
"But I say to you" (vv. 22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44). Christ's
keeping of the law qualified Him to fulfill the requirement
of the law through His substitutionary death on the cross.
Christ's fulfilling the requirement of the law through His
substitutionary death on the cross brought in the
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resurrection life to complement the law, to fill the law to
the full. The old law, the lower law, with its keeping-
demand and punishing-requirement, is over. The kingdom
people, as the children of the Father, only need now to
fulfill the new law, the higher law, by the resurrection life,
which is the eternal life of the Father.
Christ's substitutionary death brought in the
resurrection life. When this resurrection life comes into us,
it is able to do the wonderful job of completing the law. It
enables us to fulfill the higher law. By the resurrection life
within us, we are able to be kept not only from murdering
others, but even from being angry with them or hating
them. This resurrection life is much higher than the
natural life, for it is actually the divine life, the eternal
life, the life on the highest plane. This highest life within
us can fulfill the requirements of the highest law.
In the New Testament, Matthew, the book of the
kingdom, comes first with the requirements. Then John,
the book of life, comes with the life to fulfill these
requirements. By our natural life, we are not able to fulfill
the requirements given in Matthew 5. But in the Gospel of
John we have the highest life that enables us to meet the
highest requirements. All Christians love John, but not
many love Matthew. I doubt if I have ever heard a
Christian say that he loves Matthew. Some of you may say
that the Gospel of Matthew is too troublesome and that
John is very simple. It says that in the beginning was the
Word and the Word was God, and that the Word became
flesh, full of grace and reality (John 1:1, 14). The Gospel of
John has many golden verses, such as John 3:16. In this
Gospel there are very few requirements and demands, but
there is the rich life supply. However, in the New
Testament, Matthew comes first, not John. We cannot
afford to bypass Matthew. Nevertheless, many Christians
have been instructed to do this. Thirty-five years ago I was
taught that new believers should not read Matthew. I
myself charged new believers not to read Matthew first. I
said that if they read Matthew chapter one first, they
would be frustrated in their reading of the Bible and think
that it was too difficult to read. Hence, I told the new
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believers to begin their reading with the fourth book, the
Gospel of John. Then I would tell them to read Romans or
some other book, but not Matthew. But we need to come
back to Matthew. Matthew needs John, and John is for
Matthew. Matthew gives us the highest requirements of
the kingdom, requirements that can be fulfilled only by the
divine life revealed in John. In order to fulfill the
requirements of the kingdom of the heavens unfolded in
Matthew, we must receive the supply of life found in the
Gospel of John.
Jesus, the new King, did not come to abolish the law of
Moses. Rather, He came to uplift the standard of the old
law. Now that the requirement has been so greatly
uplifted, it is no longer the old law, but the new law of the
kingdom of the heavens. Christ uplifted the standard of
the old law in two ways: by complementing the old law and
by changing it. In verses 17 through 30 we see the
complementing of the old law. The change of the law
begins with verse 31. In this message we can cover only
the complementing of the old law.
Verse 18 says, "For truly I say to you, Until the heaven
and the earth pass away, one iota or one tittle shall by no
means pass away from the law until all come to pass."
After the millennial kingdom, the old heaven and old earth
will pass away and the new heaven and new earth come in
(Rev. 21:1; Heb. 1:11-12; 2 Pet. 3:10-13). What the law
covers extends only to the end of the millennial kingdom,
whereas what the prophets cover extends to the new
heaven and new earth (Isa. 65:17; 66:22). This is why both
the law and the prophets are referred to in verse 17, but
only the law, not the prophets, is mentioned in verse 18.
The fulfillment of the law will last until the end of the
millennium, at which time the heavens and the earth will
pass away. Before that takes place, not one iota or tittle of
the old law will be annulled. However, what is covered by
the prophets goes farther than the millennium, reaching
into the new heaven and the new earth.
Christ fulfilled the law in three ways. He Himself kept
the law. However, because we did not keep it, He died on
the cross for our transgressions of the law. His
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substitutionary death brought in the resurrection life,
which has been imparted into our being. By His
resurrection life we are able to fulfill the requirements of
the new, higher law. By these three steps Christ has more
than fulfilled the old law. He kept it, He died for us, and
His death brought into us the resurrection life to
strengthen us for fulfilling the requirements of the new
law. Today we are not trying to keep the lower law; rather,
we are keeping the uplifted, higher law through the
highest life that is in us. Now we are able to keep the
highest law.
B. Keeping Even the Least of the Commandments of
the Law Being the Condition to Be Great in the
Kingdom
Verse 19 says, "Whoever therefore shall annul one of
the least of these commandments, and shall teach men so,
shall be called least in the kingdom of the heavens; but
whoever practices and teaches them, he shall be called
great in the kingdom of the heavens." The commandments
here refer to the law in verse 18. The kingdom people not
only fulfill the law, but complement the law. Actually, they
do not annul any commandments of the law, not even one
of the least. Whether we shall be great or small in the
kingdom of the heavens depends upon whether or not we
keep even the least of the commandments of the law. In
this verse Christ stressed the fact that if we do not keep
all of the least of the commandments of the law, but annul
them and teach others to annul them, we shall become the
least in the kingdom of the heavens. In other words, Christ
seemed to be saying, "If you would be great in the kingdom
of the heavens, you must have the highest standard of
morality. If your standard of morality does not reach the
standard of the new law, you will be the least in the
kingdom of the heavens." The morality of no other people
is as high as that of the kingdom people. Never think that
we care only for life and not for morality. Life must have
its expression, and the highest life has the highest
expression. Morality is simply the expression of life. Thus,
if you have the highest life, you will certainly have the
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highest morality as the expression of this life. We need to
pray, "Lord, grant me the highest expression of life. Grant
me to have the highest level of morality. Lord, we are not
only moral people, but kingdom people."
Because the standard of the kingdom is higher than the
standard of morality, we must do more than keep the
standard of the old law. According to the standard of
morality, we should not commit murder or adultery. If we
abstain from murder and adultery, we are moral people.
But such a standard is much lower than that of the
kingdom. According to the standard of the kingdom of the
heavens, we should not be angry with our brother or look
at a woman to lust after her. This is not the standard of
morality; it is the standard of the kingdom, which is much
higher than that of morality. The standard of morality
says, "Eye for eye, tooth for a tooth" (Exo. 21:24; Lev.
24:20; Deut. 19:21). But the standard of the kingdom tells
us to love our enemies, to pray for those who persecute us,
and not to resist one who is evil (vv. 44, 39). If someone
strikes us on our right cheek, we should turn to him the
other also (v. 39). How much higher is this standard than
the standard of morality!
The crucial point that Christ is stressing in these
verses is that the kingdom people must have the highest
standard of morality. If we see this matter, then we are
able to understand 5:17-48. We have the highest law, the
highest life, the highest standard. By the highest life we
fulfill the highest law and have the highest standard.
C. The Surpassing Righteousness Being the
Condition to Enter into the Kingdom
In verse 20 the King said, "For I say to you, that unless
your righteousness surpass that of the scribes and
Pharisees, you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of
the heavens." The surpassing righteousness is the
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condition of entering into the manifestation of the kingdom
of the heavens in the millennium. By keeping the highest
law to the highest standard we fulfill the condition for
entering into the coming manifestation of the kingdom of
the heavens.
Righteousness in verse 20 does not refer to the
objective righteousness, which is the Christ we receive
when we believe in Him that we may be justified before
God (Phil. 3:9; 1 Cor. 1:30; Rom. 3:26). It refers to the
subjective righteousness, which is the indwelling Christ
lived out of us as our righteousness that we may live in the
reality of the kingdom today and enter into its
manifestation in the future. This subjective righteousness
is not obtained merely by fulfilling the old law, but by
completing the old law through the fulfillment of the new
law of the kingdom of the heavens, the law given by the
new King here in this section of the Word. This
righteousness of the kingdom people, according to the new
law of the kingdom, surpasses that of the scribes and
Pharisees according to the old law. It is impossible for our
natural life to gain this surpassing righteousness; it can be
produced only by a higher life, the resurrection life of
Christ. This righteousness, which is likened to the
wedding garment (22:11-12), qualifies us to participate in
the wedding of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7-8) and inherit the
kingdom of the heavens in its manifestation, that is, to
enter into the kingdom of the heavens in the future.
To enter into the kingdom of God requires regeneration
as a new beginning of our life (John 3:3, 5), but to enter
into the kingdom of the heavens demands surpassing
righteousness in our living after regeneration. To enter
into the kingdom of the heavens means to live in its reality
today and to participate in its manifestation in the future.
D. Regarding Murder
1. The Old Law--Not to Murder
Verse 21 says, "You have heard that it was said to the
ancients. You shall not murder, and whoever murders
shall be liable to the judgment." The old law was the
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command not to murder. What "you have heard" in verses
21, 27, 33, 38, and 43 is the law of the old dispensation;
whereas what "I say to you" in verses 22, 28, 32, 34, 39,
and 44 is the new law of the kingdom, complementing the
law of the old dispensation.
2. The New Complementing Law-- Not to Be Angry
with the Brother, Not to Contemn the Brother, and
Not to Condemn the Brother
In verse 22 the King said, "But I say to you that
everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to
the judgment; and whoever shall say to his brother, Raca,
shall be liable to the Sanhedrin; and whoever shall say,
Moreh, shall be liable to the Gehenna of fire." The law of
the old dispensation deals with the act of murder, but the
new law of the kingdom deals with anger, the motive of
murder. Hence, the demand of the new law of the kingdom
is deeper than the requirement of the law of the old
dispensation. The word "brother" in verse 22 proves that
the King's word here is spoken to believers.
The most difficult thing for us to do is to control our
anger. Some were supposed to be very gentle, but their
anger was like a wild horse when they lost their temper.
When our anger is released, no one can bridle us or control
us. For a number of years I could not get through this
chapter because of the problem of my anger.
It is also very difficult for us not to contemn or
condemn others. In verse 22 the Lord speaks about saying
to our brother, "Raca," or "Moreh." The word Raca is an
expression of contempt meaning stupid, good-for-nothing.
Moreh, that is, fool, is a Hebrew expression of
condemnation indicating a rebel (Num. 20:10). This
expression is more serious than the expression of
contempt, Raca. How difficult it is neither to condemn a
brother nor to hold him in contempt! Perhaps you cannot
go for even a week without condemning or contemning
someone. It seems that nearly every day we either
contemn or condemn. Husbands and wives contemn and
condemn one another. I do not believe there is one
exception. Every wife has contemned and condemned her
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husband, and every husband has done the same to his
wife. This is a real problem. When you read this, can you
still say that you are the overcomers, the kingdom people?
Do not be disappointed. Rather, be encouraged.
Remember, we have an overcoming life. Do you not have
the King within you? We are the kingdom people, and we
have the King within us. This King is the kingly,
overcoming life. Do not look at yourself. If you do, you will
be fully discouraged. Forget yourself and look at the kingly
life within you. It is this life that makes us the kingdom
people. Forget your natural life and follow this kingly life.
In verse 22 there are three kinds of judgment. The first
is the judgment at the gate of the city, which is the district
judgment. The second is the judgment by the Sanhedrin,
which is the higher judgment. The Sanhedrin is a council
composed of the chief priests, the elders, the lawyers, and
the scribes. It is the highest court of the Jews (Luke 22:66;
Acts 4:5-6, 15; 6:27, 34, 41). The third is the judgment by
God through the Gehenna of fire, which is the highest
judgment. These three kinds of judgment were mentioned
by the new King, using figures of the Jewish background,
because all His audience was Jewish. However, concerning
the kingdom people, the believers of the New Testament,
all these judgments refer to the judgment of the Lord at
the judgment seat of Christ, as revealed in 2 Corinthians
5:10; Romans 14:10, 12; 1 Corinthians 4:4-5; 3:13-15;
Matthew 16:27; Revelation 22:12; and Hebrews 10:27, 30.
This clearly reveals that the New Testament believers,
although forgiven by God forever, are still liable to the
Lord's judgment, not for perdition, but for discipline, if
they sin against the law of the kingdom as given here.
However, when we sin against the new law of the
kingdom, if we repent and confess our sins, we shall be
forgiven and cleansed by the blood of the Lord Jesus (1
John 1:7, 9).
In verse 22 the new King speaks of the Gehenna of fire.
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The word Gehenna is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew
Ge Hinnom, valley of Hinnom. It was a deep and narrow
valley near Jerusalem, the refuse-place of the city, where
the bodies of criminals and all kinds of filth were cast. It
was also called Tophet, or Topheth (2 Kings 23:10; Isa.
30:33; Jer. 19:13). Because of its continual fire, it became
the symbol of the place of eternal punishment, the lake of
fire (Rev. 20:15). This word is also used in Matthew 5:29,
30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 33; Mark 9:43, 45, 47; Luke 12:5;
and James 3:6.
a. Before Offering a Gift to God, Yourself to Your Brother
Verses 23 and 24 say, "Therefore, if you are offering
your gift at the altar and there remember that your
brother has anything against you, leave your gift there
before the altar and go away; first be reconciled to your
brother, and then come and offer your gift." Sacrifice, as
the sacrifice for sin, is for dealing with sin; whereas a gift
is for fellowship with God. The altar spoken of in verse 23
was a piece of furniture (Exo. 27:1-8) in the outer court of
the temple (1 Kings 8:64), on which all sacrifices and gifts
were offered (Lev. 1:9, 12, 17). The King, in decreeing the
new law of the kingdom, referred here to the gift and the
altar of the old dispensation because, during the transitory
period of His ministry on earth, the ritual law of the old
dispensation had not yet ceased. In the four Gospels,
before His death and resurrection, in things regarding
circumstances, the Lord treated His disciples as Jews
according to the old law; whereas in things concerning
spirit and life, He considered them as believers who
constitute the church according to the New Testament
economy.
The words "anything against you" in verse 23 must
refer to the anger or scolding in verse 22. According to
verse 24, we must first be reconciled to our brother that
our remembrance of offense may be removed and that our
conscience may be void of offense. Then we may come and
offer our gift to the Lord to fellowship with Him with a
pure conscience. The King of the kingdom will never
tolerate two brothers not reconciled one to another either
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sharing the kingdom in its reality or reigning in its
manifestation. If, as you come to contact the Lord, you
have the sense that a brother or sister has a complaint
against you, you must stop your fellowship with the Lord
and go to this one and be reconciled. Then you may come
back to continue your fellowship with the Lord. Although
this is a small thing, it is not easy to do. Nevertheless, we
must do it.
b. Before You Die, Your Opponent Dies, or the Lord Comes Back
Verses 25 and 26 say, "Be well disposed quickly with
your opponent, while you are with him in the way, lest the
opponent deliver you to the judge, and the judge to the
officer, and you be thrown into prison. Truly I say to you,
You shall by no means come out from there until you have
paid the last quadrans." We need to be disposed quickly
with our opponent lest we die, our opponent dies, or the
Lord comes back, and thus there be no opportunity for us
to be reconciled to our opponent. The words "in the way"
signify that we are still living in this life. The matter of
being delivered to the judge, to the officer, and thrown into
prison will transpire at the judgment seat of Christ when
He comes back (2 Cor. 5:10; Rom. 14:10). The judge will be
the Lord, the officer will be the angel, and the prison will
be the place of discipline. To come out from there, that is,
to come out from prison, is to be forgiven in the coming
age, the millennium.
The Roman quadrans spoken of in verse 26 is a small
brass coin equal to a quarter of an assarion, which is equal
to one cent. The meaning here is that even with the
smallest thing we need to make a thorough clearance. This
shows the strictness of the new law.
We need to be reconciled to our opponent before we die,
before he dies, or before the Lord comes back. If we do not
take care of any matter now, we shall have to deal with it
in the coming age. Do not wait for the next age, for the
dealing then will be more troublesome. Take care of every
problem now, before you die or before your opponent dies.
While both of you are still living, you still have the
opportunity to be reconciled to him. Furthermore, if you
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wait, the Lord may come back before you are reconciled.
On the one hand, the Lord's coming back will be
marvelous. On the other hand, it will be rather serious, for
it will close the opportunity to deal with the problems in
this age and compel us to deal with them in the next age.
Therefore, it is much better to solve every problem before
the coming age. This means that we must take care of
every problem before we die, before the other party dies, or
before the Lord comes back.
E. Regarding Adultery
1. The Old Law--Not to Commit Adultery
Verse 27 says, "You have heard that it was said, You
shall not commit adultery." This is the old law, the
commandment not to commit adultery (Exo. 20:14; Deut.
5:18).
2. The New Complementing Law-- Not to Look at for
Lusting
The new complementing law regarding adultery is
found in verse 28: "But I say to you, that every one who
looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed
adultery with her in his heart." The law of the old
dispensation deals with the outward act of adultery,
whereas the new law of the kingdom deals with the inward
motive of the heart.
a. Considering the Seriousness of Such a Sin in Relation to the
Kingdom
We must consider the seriousness of such a sin in
relation to the kingdom. The seriousness of this sin is
indicated by the Lord's word in verses 29 and 30 about
plucking out our eye and casting it from us and cutting off
our hand and casting it from us. In both of these verses the
Lord said, "It is better for you that one of your members
perish and not your whole body be cast into Gehenna."
This, however, should not be observed literally; it can only
be carried out spiritually, as revealed in Romans 8:13 and
Colossians 3:5. I know the cases of some who applied this
word in a literal way. One of these cases was a gambler
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who literally cut off his hand after reading this portion of
the Word. Eventually he discovered that, although his
hand had been cut off, there was still within him an inner
hand desiring to gamble. He learned that cutting off his
physical hand did not work, for the problem was with the
inner hand. Although this word is not to be taken literally,
it reveals the seriousness of such a sin.
According to the Lord's word in verses 29 and 30, it is
possible for saved persons to be cast into Gehenna. This
means that even the saved ones may be hurt by the second
death. In Revelation 2:11 the Lord Jesus said, "He who
overcomes shall by no means be hurt of the second death."
As we have pointed out, Gehenna is a symbol of the lake of
fire, which is the second death (Rev. 20:15). The Lord's
word in Revelation 2:11 indicates that it is possible for
believers to be hurt by the second death. The Lord's word
in Revelation 2:11 corresponds to His word in Matthew
5:29 and 30. As a saved one, if you are not serious in
dealing with this kind of sin, you will some day be hurt by
the second death. As the Lord Jesus says here, you will be
cast into Gehenna. This does not mean that you will
perish; it means that you will be disciplined. Furthermore,
the Gehenna of fire does not refer to the purgatory of
Catholicism. But this word on Gehenna warns you that if
you are not serious in dealing with this sin today, when
the Lord Jesus comes back, He will exercise His judgment
over you. (For a further word on the matter of being hurt
by the second death, see Life-Study of Revelation, message
eleven, pp. 136-138).
As we have seen, the three kinds of judgment spoken of
in verse 22 all refer to the judgment of Christ at His
judgment seat. This judgment has nothing to do with the
unsaved, who will be judged at the great white throne
after the millennium (Rev. 20:12, 15). No unsaved person
will be qualified to stand before the judgment seat of
Christ at His coming back. All those who appear before
this judgment seat will be saved ones. The believers will be
judged there, not for the matter of salvation or perdition,
but for reward or punishment.
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The word spoken by the Lord concerning judgment and
being cast into the Gehenna of fire is a serious word. Such
a word should make us sober and cause us not to be loose
in dealing with this kind of sin. Never consider this sin as
an insignificant matter. The situation today regarding
fornication is deplorable. We must never be loose about
this. The Lord's own word shows us how serious it is. We
must be sober and deal with this in a very serious manner.
However, we do not deal with our members in a literal
way. Rather, we must mortify our sinful members by the
cross of Christ. As Romans 8:13 reveals, by the Spirit we
must "put to death the practices of the body," and, as
Colossians 3:5 says, we must mortify our "members which
are on the earth." This is the proper way to deal with our
sinful members.
b. Putting Away the Motive of Such a Sin at Any Cost
Verses 29 and 30 also indicate that we must put away
the motive of such a sin at any cost. The Lord's intention
here is to make us sober so that we would put away not
only the action, but also the motive of this kind of sin. If
we fail to do this, He will put us into the Gehenna of fire
when He comes. This is a very sobering word.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE EIGHTEEN
THE DECREE OF THE KINGDOM'S
CONSTITUTION
(6)
In this message I am burdened to give a further word
on the law. There has been much debate among Christian
teachers over this matter of the law. These debates have
been mainly due to the shortage of light from the Bible
regarding the law. According to the Old Testament
economy, God's dealings with His people were based upon
the law. This was the principle of the law. But in the New
Testament economy, God deals with His people today, not
according to the law, but according to faith. Thus, the law
was the principle of God's dealing with His people in the
Old Testament, but faith is the principle of His dealing
with us in the New Testament. According to the Old
Testament economy, it was necessary to keep the law in
order to be acceptable to God. But today being acceptable
to God is a matter of faith.
The principle of the law has been abolished, but the
commandments of the law have not been abolished. Just
because the principle of the law has been abolished, never
think that the commandments of the law have also been
abolished and that there is no need to honor our parents or
to refrain from stealing. No, instead of being abolished, the
commandments of the law have been uplifted. Although
our contact with God is not based upon the principle of the
law, we must still observe the uplifted commandments of
the law.
NO NEED TO KEEP THE SABBATH
At this point the Seventh Day Adventists might say,
"Yes, we must keep all the commandments of the law. One
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of these commandments is to keep the Sabbath. Based
upon what you have said about not abolishing the
commandments of the law, we tell you that you must keep
the Sabbath." Although the commandments of God have
not been abolished, one of these commandments, the law
about keeping the Sabbath, is not related to morality.
Rather, it is a ritual law. A ritual is a form, a shadow, that
we need no longer observe today. For example, we do not
need to offer animal sacrifices, do we? Likewise, we no
longer need to keep the Sabbath. In the Old Testament,
the age of shadows, there was the need for the sacrifices,
the feasts, and the keeping of the Sabbath. But today is an
age of reality. Our sacrifice is not a lamb or a goat; it is
Christ, the reality of all the Old Testament sacrifices. In
like manner, our rest is not a particular day; it also is
Christ. Because Christ, the reality, is here, all the shadows
are over. Because the commandment to keep the Sabbath
is a ritual commandment, not a moral commandment, we
are not obligated to keep it today. This commandment is
not related to morality, but to the shadow, the form, which
is now over.
THE PRINCIPLE OF THE LAW
We need to be impressed concerning the principle of the
law. God's dealing with His people always depends upon a
principle. For example, God's dealings with Abraham were
based upon God's promise. God did not give Abraham the
commandments of the law; He gave him only the promise.
Thus, God dealt with him according to His promise. The
promise given by God to Abraham became the principle
according to which God dealt with him. Later, God gave
the law to the children of Israel through Moses. The law
given on Mount Sinai thus became the principle according
to which God dealt with the children of Israel. In this way
the law became the principle for God's dealings with His
people in the Old Testament. Now in the New Testament
God deals with the believers according to faith, no longer
according to the law. This is fully developed in the books of
Romans and Galatians. If you read these books, you will
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see that God deals with the believers in Christ not
according to the law, but according to faith. In Old
Testament times God accepted people according to the law.
If anyone wanted to be accepted by God, he had to meet
the standard of the law. But today God accepts us, not
according to the law, but according to whether or not we
believe in Christ. Thus, God's acceptance of us today is
based on faith.
THE COMMANDMENTS OF THE LAW NOT ABOLISHED,
BUT UPLIFTED
The fact that God no longer deals with us, the
believers, according to the principle of the law does not
mean that the commandments of the old law have been
abolished. For instance, the first two commandments of
the old law were concerned with not having other gods and
with not making images. To say that the principle of the
law has been abolished does not mean that these
commandments have been abolished. Rather, according to
the New Testament, these commandments are
emphasized, strengthened, and uplifted. In the Old
Testament we were told not to make a physical image, but
in the New Testament we are told that even our
covetousness is a form of idolatry (Col. 3:5). Greediness is
an idol. By this we see the uplifting of the commandment
regarding idolatry. Yes, the principle of the law has been
abolished, but not the commandments of the law. The
commandment about honoring our parents has never been
abolished. In the New Testament this commandment is
also repeated, strengthened, and uplifted. We must honor
our parents much more today than the children of Israel
did in the past.
We have seen that the Lord Jesus also uplifted the
commandments regarding murder and adultery. Because
the Old Testament commandments regarding murder and
adultery were not adequate, the Lord complemented them.
The old commandment concerning murder did not cover
the matters of hatred or anger. Thus, the Lord
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complemented the old law concerning murder by saying
that anyone who was angry with his brother would be
liable to judgment. He also complemented the
commandment concerning adultery by saying that anyone
who looks at a woman to lust for her has committed
adultery with her in his heart. By these examples we see
that the moral laws have never been abolished; rather,
they have been uplifted. All of the ten commandments
have been repeated and uplifted in the New Testament
except the fourth commandment, the commandment to
keep the Sabbath. This commandment is over because it is
not related to morality. Instead, it is a ritual
commandment.
A HIGHER STANDARD OF MORALITY
Now we come to my real burden in this message. Yes,
in the New Testament salvation is based upon the
principle of faith; it has nothing to do with the law. We all
have been saved through faith, not through the keeping of
the law. But after we are saved, we must live a life that
has a standard of morality higher than that of the old law.
Never think that we are free to be loose, sloppy, or even
immoral just because we are not saved through the
keeping of the law. Do not think that, just because God
does not deal with us according to the principle of the law,
but according to the principle of faith, we should not care
for the commandments of the law. Anyone who thinks this
has been drugged by the teachings found in part of today's
Christianity. We must be sober. Again I say, after we have
been saved, we need to live a life with a standard far
higher than that of the old law. Our standard must be
higher than that of the requirements of the law. The law
requires that we should not murder anyone. But we should
not even be angry with others. Even if we say to our
brother, "Raca," an expression of contempt, or, "Moreh," a
word of condemnation indicating a rebel, we shall be in
danger of the judgment. Although we may not kill our
brother, if we even call him a fool or a rebel, we shall find
ourselves in serious trouble.
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THE PROBLEMS OF TEMPER AND LUST
In Matthew 5 the Lord Jesus spoke about murder and
adultery. Murder refers to our temper, and adultery, to our
lust. Our temper and our lust constantly damage and
trouble us. If we were stone, we would not be bothered by
these two things. No matter how much you irritate, insult,
or offend a stone, it will never react, because it does not
have any temper. Furthermore, a stone has no lust. Thus,
it can never be tempted by lust. But daily we are either
troubled by our temper or tempted by our lust. How easy it
is for us to be irritated and offended! Some of us may be
offended at least ten times a day. You may be offended by
your husband or wife, by your children, by your neighbors,
or by your in-laws. You may even be offended by your
shoes, the stove, or the tea kettle. I know some sisters who
have been offended by their kitchens. It seems that their
anger could never be exhausted. Others are troubled with
lust. For this reason, I pointed out in one of the life-study
messages on Genesis that you should never be alone with
a member of the opposite sex for any length of time. If you
are, you will be tempted by your ferocious lusts.
In order to live up to a moral standard higher than that
of the old law, you must overcome your temper and your
lusts. You may say that this is not easy to do. Right, it is
not easy. This is why you need Christ. This is why you
need another life. How we need to stay with Christ! We
must contact Him not only day by day, but even hour by
hour. Because of the temper and lust within us, we need to
remain in constant fellowship with Him. You must
recognize that you are neither wood nor stone. If you were
wood or stone, you would not be concerned about the
matter of anger and lust. But because you are a living
being, you have these two things within you. Do you not
have both temper and lust within? At any time we may be
stumbled by our temper or tempted by our lust. Be on the
alert! Be watchful and pray regarding these two "demons,"
our temper and our lust. After we have been saved
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according to the principle of faith, we need to live a higher
life, a life with the highest standard. This life with the
highest standard is a life that overcomes our temper and
our lust.
A WARNING REGARDING THE JUDGMENT OF THE
BELIEVERS
Week after week many are drugged by the teachings of
Christianity. These teachings neither warn the Christians
nor tell them the truth. So many are not warned that they
will be caused much trouble by being angry and
contemning or condemning others or by giving in to their
lusts. By showing even a little contempt for our brother we
shall be liable to the judgment (5:22). This does not mean
that we shall perish. No, a saved person will never perish,
and no one who is lost will be qualified to appear before
the judgment seat of Christ. Only those who have been
saved according to the principle of faith will be qualified to
be there. But do not think that it is impossible for you to
have a problem at the judgment seat of Christ. You may
tell the Lord, "I never robbed a bank or murdered anyone.
The only thing I did was to lose my temper." But the mere
act of losing your temper may bring you into judgment.
In 5:22 the judgment of the believers at the judgment
seat of Christ is described by three kinds of judgment
according to the background of the Jewish people: the
judgment at the gate of the city, the judgment before the
Sanhedrin, and the judgment of the Gehenna of fire. These
three levels of judgment all refer to the one judgment at
the judgment seat of Christ. We Christians, saved
according to the principle of faith, will not be judged at the
white throne spoken of in Revelation 20. Rather, we shall
be judged at the judgment seat of Christ a thousand years
before the judgment at the white throne. The judgment at
the great white throne will be for unbelievers concerning
their eternal perdition. But the judgment at the judgment
seat of Christ will be for believers concerning whether they
will be rewarded or punished.
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Although many of you were in Christianity for years.
you probably never heard such a sobering message. Did
you ever hear a sermon telling you that, although you are
saved by faith through grace, you must still live a life that
is of a higher moral standard than that required by the old
law? Were you ever told that you must live a life that
never loses its temper or that does not look at a woman to
lust? The higher law, the law of the kingdom of the
heavens, not only touches the outward acts, but also the
inward motives. How high is the standard of this law! The
Lord's warning concerning the standard of this law is
serious. It even speaks of being put into the Gehenna of
fire. I say again, this does not mean that the believers will
perish. Pitiful Christianity merely tells people that they
will go to either heaven or hell. But the Bible says clearly
that after we have been saved according to the principle of
faith, we must fulfill all the requirements of the new law.
The law is no longer the principle according to which we
are saved, but it is a standard of morality that we are
required to keep. The principle of the law has been
abolished, but the morality required by the
commandments of the law remains and has been uplifted.
Do not think that there is no need to take care of morality
because we are not under the law for salvation. This is
absolutely a wrong concept. The crucial point of the Lord's
decree concerning the law is that we do not need to keep
the law in order to be saved, but that we must have a
standard of morality much higher than the standard of the
old law after we have been saved by faith.
FORCED TO STAY WITH CHRIST
After hearing this, you may say that you cannot fulfill
it. It is good to say that we cannot make it, because then it
is necessary for Christ to come into us. The very One who
fully kept the law and who died in our stead has come into
us in resurrection to be our life. The Lord's warning in
Matthew 5 must force us to stay with Christ. We must
have a daily life full of fear and trembling. We need to say,
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"I must stay close to the resurrected Christ. I must be one
with Him. I must trust Him and rely on Him. Because the
standard of morality of the kingdom of the heavens is too
high for me to fulfill, I must remain with the Lord. If I
even lose my temper with my brother, I may be burned in
the fire. How serious this is!"
When some Christian teachers hear this, they may say,
"It is heresy to teach that saved ones will be burned in the
fire." Read Matthew 5 again. This chapter is not a word
spoken to unbelievers; it is a word given to the disciples,
the saved ones, the sons of God. If they do not bridle their
anger, they will be cast into the Gehenna of fire. Some
may say, "This is the Gehenna of fire, not the lake of fire."
Do not argue about what fire it is, for even a small fire can
cause us much suffering. Sunday after Sunday, so many
Christians are being filled with sugar-coated teachings.
They have never heard a sobering word from Matthew 5.
We thank the Lord for His mercy and grace and for the
faith He has given us through which we have been saved.
How wonderful it is to be saved by faith! But as those who
are saved, we must listen to a serious word of warning!
Even losing our temper with our brother may cause us to
be burned in the Gehenna of fire.
This thought of being burned by fire is found in both 1
Corinthians 3 and Hebrews 6. First Corinthians 3:15 says,
"If anyone's work shall be consumed, he shall suffer loss;
but he shall be saved, yet so as through fire." Although
such a one will be saved, he will be saved through fire.
Hebrews 6:7 and 8 say, "For the earth which drinks the
rain which often comes upon it and brings forth vegetation
suitable to those for whose sake also it is tilled, partakes of
blessing from God; But bringing forth thorns and thistles,
it is disapproved and near a curse, whose end is to be
burned." Here the believers are likened to earth which
may grow vegetation approved by God or produce thorns
and thistles that will be burned. How awful it would be to
pass through such a burning! Moreover, in Revelation 2:11
the Lord said, "He who overcomes shall by
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no means be hurt of the second death." This word implies
that the defeated Christians will be hurt by the second
death, the lake of fire (Rev. 20:15). To be hurt by the
second death is to be touched by the lake of fire. Certainly
none of us wants to be touched by this fire.
DISPENSATIONAL PUNISHMENT
This matter of the judgment of the believers and of
their being hurt by the fire is neither Calvinism nor
Arminianism. According to Calvinism, once we are saved,
we are saved forever, and there can be no further problem.
In a sense, Calvinism is correct, for once we are saved, we
are saved for eternity. However, we should not say that
there can be no problems. There is the possibility of being
burned in the fire. According to Arminianism, some may
be saved in the morning and lose their salvation that
night. Their salvation goes up and down like an elevator.
Neither Calvinism nor Arminianism is according to the
pure word of the Bible. The Bible reveals that we are
saved for eternity, but that after we are saved, we need to
overcome every sinful thing. If not, we shall be disciplined,
punished. If you do not repent and confess your sin, but
stay in adultery, in the next age you will be put into the
fire and burned, not for eternal perdition, but as a
dispensational punishment.
FLEEING OUR TEMPER AND LUST
Our age is an age of fornication and adultery. Every
country is filled with immorality. Concerning this matter,
so many have been drugged by "garlic" and have lost their
sense concerning this sin. May this word sober us! We
must stay away from today's trend. Nothing insults God
more than fornication, which damages the man created by
God in His image. We all must flee our temper and our
lust. Flee your temper! Flee your lust! It is not an
insignificant thing to lose our temper or to give in to our
lust. Indulging in these things may cause us to be burned.
Thus, we need to heed this sober word, a word that will
force us to stay close to Christ. We need to pray, "Lord, I
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have temper and lust within me. But, Lord, I thank You
that I have You in my spirit. Lord, I don't want to stay
with my physical lust or my psychological temper. I want
to stay in my spirit with You, dear Lord Jesus." Here is
our salvation, our rescue, our holiness. Day and night we
must stay with the Lord Jesus in our spirit, looking to
Him, contacting Him, and trusting in Him.
Temper, a problem to every Christian, is like a gopher:
it is hidden, subtle, and prevailing. We all must be on
guard concerning it. Lust is also a great problem. I am
sorry to say that even among saints there have been a
number of cases of fornication. What a shame! Nothing is
more shameful than fornication or adultery among the
saints. This damages the people created by God, the
church life, and the testimony of the church. Again and
again the Apostle Paul warned us that no fornicator would
share in God's kingdom (1 Cor. 6:9-10; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph.
5:5). Those believers who commit adultery or fornication
are through with the kingdom of the heavens. The
kingdom people must have the highest standard of
righteousness. Do not lose your temper or look at a woman
to lust after her. Be careful! You need to consider these
matters seriously and deal with the motive at the very
root. This word is not a threat; it is a warning that forces
us to stay close to Christ.
Thank the Lord that we have both the Gospel of
Matthew and the Gospel of John. We need to trust in the
life revealed in the Gospel of John. Hallelujah, we have
such a life! This life is the resurrection life, the overcoming
life. Christ has already overcome and now in resurrection
He is living in us. This is the life by which we fulfill the
highest requirements of the kingdom of the heavens.
WALKING ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT
We must be very clear about the fact that actually we
are not keeping the law. Rather, we are walking according
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to the spirit. Romans 8:4 says that when we walk
according to the spirit, we spontaneously fulfill all the
righteous requirements of the law. We are not trying to
keep the law, for the more we try to keep it, the more we
break it. This is fully revealed and recorded in Romans 7.
Today we are neither under the law nor obliged to keep
the law. We are free from the law, and now we are walking
according to the spirit. Within the spirit, there is the King,
Christ, who is our resurrection life. As we walk according
to the spirit, we fulfill even the requirements of the
highest law.
I believe that now we are clear about the law. We can
tell others that the principle of the law is over, but that the
commandments of the law remain and have been uplifted.
Although we are not able to meet the standard of these
higher requirements, we have the resurrection life in our
spirit. Therefore, we need not keep the law in the sense of
striving in ourselves, but we must walk according to the
spirit. When we walk according to the spirit, we
spontaneously fulfill all the requirements of the law and
have the highest standard of morality. This is the
testimony of Jesus. the testimony of the church. This is the
proper church life, the reality of the kingdom of the
heavens.
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LIFE STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE NINETEEN
THE DECREE OF THE KINGDOM'S
CONSTITUTION
7)
In this message we come to 5:31-48, which covers four
laws. In verses 21 through 30 the Lord covered two laws
that were complemented, the law regarding murder and
the law regarding adultery. But the four laws in this
section, the laws regarding divorce, swearing, resisting
evil, and loving our enemies, have all been changed. What
the King decreed in verses 21 through 30 as the new law of
the kingdom complements the law of the old dispensation,
whereas what the King proclaimed in verses 31 through 48
as the new law of the kingdom changes the law of the old
dispensation.
F. Regarding Divorce
1. The Old Law--to Divorce with a Writing
Let us firstly consider the changing of the law
regarding divorce. Verse 31 says, "And it was said:
Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a
divorce." According to the old law, a man could divorce his
wife simply by giving her a writing of divorcement. The
law of the old dispensation concerning divorce was
ordained because of the people's hardness of heart; it was
not according to God's design in the beginning (19:7-8).
The King's new decree recovers marriage back to the
beginning designed by God (19:4-6).
2. The New Law--Not to Divorce except in a Case of
Fornication
Verse 32 says, "But I say to you that every one who
puts away his wife, except in a case of fornication, makes
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her commit adultery, and whoever marries one that has
been put away commits adultery." The marriage tie can be
broken only by death (Rom. 7:3) or fornication. Hence, to
have a divorce for any other reason is to commit adultery.
According to the word of the Lord Jesus, the only cause
for divorce is fornication. Only two things can break the
marriage tie: either the death of one of the parties or
fornication, adultery. If either party commits adultery, the
marriage tie is broken. This is the principle. Therefore, the
Lord Jesus said that there must be no divorce except in
the case of fornication. But you should not take advantage
of this as an excuse to remarry simply because an act of
fornication has been committed. This is also a matter of
motive. If possible, the offending one should be forgiven.
However, it is different if the guilty party refuses to repent
and lives in that kind of sin or marries someone else. In
such a case as this, the marriage tie is broken, and the
other party is free.
In His original design for marriage, God ordained one
wife for one husband. But due to the weakness and
hardness of heart of the children of Israel, when the law
was given, Moses gave a man permission to divorce his
wife with a writing of divorce. But now, with the coming of
the kingdom of the heavens, this law regarding divorce is
changed, and the matter of marriage is recovered to God's
intention at the beginning. At the beginning God did not
create two or three Eves for Adam so he could have one or
more divorces. No, there was only one husband and one
wife. Hence, the Lord Jesus as the King of the heavenly
kingdom brings the matter of marriage back to the
beginning.
I would say a word to the young people. In this country
there are a great number of divorces every year. Some
have even been married several times. How deplorable! No
child of God should ever have a divorce. This is serious. To
divorce and remarry means to commit adultery. In the
previous message we saw how serious adultery is. For this
reason, I would speak a warning word to the young people
who are not yet married: do not leap into marriage in a
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light way. You must pray to the Lord and wait on Him for
His clear leading. Never be directed by your lusts or
desires. If you do this, you will regret it later, for the lusts
and desires will not last. Before you are married, both your
eyes should be open to consider the matter carefully. But
after you are married, your eyes must be closed. There is a
proverb which says that love blinds you, but that marriage
opens your eyes. We, however, need to change this
proverb. Our eyes should be opened before marriage and
closed after marriage. Young people, before you get
married, ask the Lord to give you eyes to see every aspect
of the situation. But after you are married, you must close
your eyes and be blind. Be a blind wife or a blind husband,
always considering your husband or wife so dear. If you do
this, there will be no divorce.
I am surprised whenever I hear of a brother and sister
who get married after knowing each other for just a short
time. Do not get married in a hasty way or in a quick way.
No hasty marriage is of the Lord's leading. If there is any
matter that requires prayer, it is marriage. And if there is
anything for which you need to present yourself to the
Lord, it is your marriage. Present yourself and the other
party to the Lord, offering yourself on the altar as a burnt
offering to the Lord for your coming marriage. After you
present yourself to the Lord, seek His leading and wait on
Him for a period of time. I would encourage you to wait for
at least another month. Do not be in a hurry. As an old
man with much experience, I advise you to take your time
in this matter. Even if you get married a year later, it will
not make much difference. If marrying a certain one is of
the Lord, the Lord will keep that one for you. You do not
need to be in a rush. Furthermore, do not make your own
choice, your own selection. Be content with the Lord's will
and with the Lord's timing. This will save you from the
possibility of divorce.
Again, I say, once you are married, you must be blind.
Blessed are the blind husbands and wives. The wife who
tries to be clear-sighted concerning her husband will
suffer, but the one who does not try to be clear-sighted will
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enjoy life. To her, the sky is blue, the sun is shining and
the air is fresh. She does not seek to find all her husband's
faults. She can simply praise the Lord for her husband.
G. Regarding Swearing
1. The Old Law--Not to Perjure Yourself But to Keep Your
Oath to the Lord
Verse 33 says, "Again, you have heard that it was said
to the ancients: You shall not perjure yourself, but you
shall render to the Lord what you have sworn." This is the
old law regarding swearing.
2. The New Law--Not to Swear at All
In verses 34 through 36 we see the Lord's new law
regarding swearing: it is not to swear at all. The new law
of the kingdom forbids the kingdom people to swear in any
manner, by the heaven, by the earth, by Jerusalem, or by
their head, because the heaven, the earth, Jerusalem, and
their head are not under their control, but under God's.
We should not swear by either the heaven or the earth, for
they are not ours. Likewise, we should not swear by
Jerusalem because, as the city of the great King, it is not
our territory. We should not even swear by our head
because we "cannot make one hair white or black." All
these things--heaven, earth, Jerusalem, and even the hairs
of our head--are not under our control. We are nobody and
we control nothing.
In verse 37 the Lord says, "But let your word be, Yes,
yes; No, no; for whatever is more than this is of the evil
one." The kingdom people's word needs to be simple and
true: "Yes, yes; No, no," not convincing others with many
words. Our words should be brief and clear. Those who are
honest do not talk very much. But beware of talkative
people: they may be liars. Liars are very talkative, always
giving many reasons and excuses for things. But an honest
person is usually brief. Furthermore, we must realize that
much talk in the presence of God does not make the Lord
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happy. When we go to the Lord, we must go to Him in
honesty, saying things to Him in a brief way.
In verse 37 the Lord says that whatever is more than a
straight yes or no is of the evil one. Here we come to a
crucial point: in our talking the evil one may be present.
When we speak more words than are necessary, those
words are not of us, but of the Devil, the evil one. This
indicates that in our talking the evil one is with us. This is
especially true in married life. Although we may not talk
that much with others, it is easy for there to be excess talk
between a husband and wife. If you want to avoid a poor
marriage, let there be no loose talk between you and your
husband or wife. Be on the alert! While you are talking,
the evil one may be with you. This is not my word; it is the
word of the Lord. The Lord's word in this verse is a strong
indication the evil one is seeking the opportunity to
express himself through our excessive talking. Do not say
too much. Simply say as much as is needed. Do not go any
further. If you go further than is necessary, the evil one
will be expressed. If you follow this advice, you will be a
very happy husband or wife. However, if you talk too
much, you will have difficulty. This will open the shaft of
the bottomless pit and allow the demons to come out. We
should learn to speak only what is necessary. Never try to
convince others by many words. Such convincing words are
not reliable; rather, they are falsehoods that come from the
evil one.
H. Regarding the Resistance of Evil
1. The Old Law--Eye for Eye, Tooth for Tooth
Now we come to the third law changed by the Lord, the
law regarding the resistance of evil. Verse 38 says, "You
have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth
for a tooth." This is the old law.
2. The New Law--Do Not Resist
In verse 39 the Lord says, "But I say to you, Do not
resist one who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your
right cheek, turn to him the other also." The new law is
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not to resist one who is evil. In this verse the Lord said
that when someone strikes our right cheek. we should turn
to him the other also. To do this indicates that there is no
resistance. Verse 40 says, "And to him who would sue you
and take your tunic, let him have your cloak also." If
someone claims your tunic, a shirt-like undergarment, give
him your cloak also. This will prove that you have no
resistance. In verse 41 the Lord says, "And whoever shall
compel you to go one mile, go with him two." To turn the
other cheek to the striker, to let the one who sues have the
cloak, and to go with the compeller the second mile prove
that the kingdom people have the power to suffer and to be
meek instead of resisting and to walk not in the flesh, nor
in the soul for their own interest, but in the spirit for the
kingdom.
Suppose someone comes to you and wants your shirt,
and you give him your jacket also. Perhaps you can afford
to give him ten jackets. The issue here is not whether your
financial status allows you to give him your jacket; it is
whether your temper allows you to do it. If someone
demands your shirt, your anger may be aroused. Thus, it
is not a matter of a shirt or a jacket, but of your temper. It
is the same in principle with being struck on the right
cheek or compelled to walk a mile.
To resist by claiming an eye for an eye means that you
are releasing your temper. Here the Lord is saying that we
cannot satisfy our temper. Instead of releasing the
"gopher" of our temper, we must kill it. Do not deal with
the one making a claim upon you; deal with your temper.
The problem is not your opponent; it is your temper. The
Lord allows someone to claim your tunic as a test to expose
where you are, to prove that the "gopher' of your temper is
still lurking within you. We are a spiritual people, even
the kingdom people, but our temper is still hidden within
us and needs to be exposed. Those who make claims of you
expose this little "gopher." If someone demands your tunic,
you may say, "I don't owe you anything! Why do you come
to me?" Do not blame the one making a claim--the Lord
has sent him--but kill the "gopher" of your temper. Instead
of displaying anger, say to him, "Since you want my
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undershirt. I will give you my jacket also." This proves
that your temper has been killed. All the kingdom people
should be able to say, "No matter how many unjust claims
you place On me my anger is not stirred up. I still love you
and I am willing to share with you all I have. If you want
my shirt, I shall gladly give you my jacket also." The
attitude of the kingdom people should always be like this.
I say again, the issue here is not one of money, but of
our temper. All the matters mentioned in verses 39
through 41 touch our temper. Millionaires can afford to
give thousands of dollars away. But they often display
their temper with a taxi driver over a mere twenty-five
cents. The money does not mean anything; it is a matter of
the temper. We, the kingdom people, must be above our
temper.
In verse 42 the Lord says, "To him who asks of you,
give; and from him who wants to borrow from you, do not
turn away." To give and not turn away from the borrower
proves that the kingdom people do not care for material
riches and are not possessed by them. However, the real
issue is not material wealth. Giving to those who ask or
who want to borrow touches our being. The Lord is not
saying that we should lack discernment and behave in a
foolish way regarding material possessions. He is telling
us that we must be above both material things and our
temper. We should never be stirred in our temper by this
kind of thing nor touched by the material things. This is
the overcoming attitude of the kingdom people. This does
not mean that we are overly generous or careless in
managing money. Although you may be very careful in the
way you spend money, you will be above material
possessions and above your temper when such a time
comes as described in verse 42. No claim will stir up your
anger. The old law did not touch people's anger or their
heart. But the new law, the changed law, touches both our
temper and our heart.
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I. Regarding Enemies
1. The Old Law--Love Your Neighbor and Hate Your Enemy
Now we come to the last law changed by the Lord, the
law regarding the enemy. Verse 43 says, "You have heard
that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate
your enemy." Legally speaking, the old law is fair and
righteous; for a good neighbor deserves our love and an
enemy deserves our hatred. Thus, to love a neighbor and
to hate an enemy is right and fair.
2. The New Law--Love Your Enemies and Pray for
Your Persecutors
Verse 44 says, "But I say to you, Love your enemies,
and pray for those who persecute you." Once again, this is
a matter that touches our being. The reason you love your
neighbors is that they are good according to your feeling.
Although your neighbors correspond to your feeling, an
enemy does not. Instead, he stirs up your temper. Hence,
the matter of loving our enemies is a test. If you read
chapters five, six, and seven of Matthew, you will see that
this heavenly constitution does not allow even an inch to
our natural being. Rather, it kills every germ in us. You
hate your enemy because he does not agree with your
natural choice, and you love your good neighbor because
he does suit your natural choice. If the Lord arranged for
you to have only good neighbors, you would behave like an
angel and say, "Lord, thank You forgiving me such lovely
neighbors." But the Lord would never arrange for you to
have only nice neighbors. At least some of them will be
troublesome, and the Lord will use them to expose what is
within you. He may ask you if you love these difficult
neighbors. Perhaps you would say that you find it very
difficult. The reason it is difficult is that they are against
your being and your natural feeling. This is a test to prove
whether you live by yourself or by Christ. Sometimes
Christ may love your enemies more than your neighbors,
and you must follow Him. However, this is not merely an
outward act.
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All these laws touch our being and put us on the cross.
The one commandment regarding divorce is enough to
crucify all the husbands and wives. Furthermore, the word
about saying yes and no also nails us to the cross. The
same is true about not resisting the one who is evil and
especially about not hating our enemies. All these laws kill
our natural man, our natural taste, and our temper.
a. To Behave as the Sons of the Heavenly Father
Verse 45 says, "That you may become sons of your
Father Who is in the heavens." The title "sons of your
Father" is a strong proof that the kingdom people, who are
the audience here for the new King's decree on the
mountain, are the regenerated believers of the New
Testament. As sons of our Father, we should deal with the
evil and the unjust as with the good and the just (v. 45),
love not only those who love us but those who do not love
us (v. 46), and greet not only brothers but also others (v.
47).
Verse 45 also says of the Father, "He makes His sun to
rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just
and the unjust." Sending rain on the just and the unjust is
in the age of grace, but in the coming age, the age of the
kingdom, no rain will come upon the unjust (Zech. 14:17-
18).
In verse 46 the Lord asks a question: "For if you love
those who love you, what reward have you? Do not also the
tax-collectors do the same?" The kingdom people who
observe the new law of the kingdom in its reality will be
given a reward in the manifestation of the kingdom. The
reward differs from salvation. Some may be saved, but
may not be qualified to receive a reward.
b. To Be Perfect as the Heavenly Father
Verse 48 says, "You, therefore, shall be perfect as your
heavenly Father is perfect." For the kingdom people to be
perfect as their heavenly Father is perfect is to be perfect
in His love. They are the Father's children, having the
Father's divine life and divine nature. Hence, they can be
perfect as the Father. The demand of the new law of the
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kingdom is much higher than the requirement of the law
of the old dispensation. This higher demand can be met
only by the Father's divine life. not by their natural life.
The kingdom of the heavens is the highest demand, and
the divine life of the Father is the highest supply to meet
that demand. The Gospels firstly present the highest
demand of the kingdom of the heavens in the Gospel of
Matthew and lastly afford us the highest supply of the
divine life of the heavenly Father in the Gospel of John so
that we may live the life of the kingdom of the heavens.
The demand of the new law of the kingdom in Matthew 5
through 7 is actually the regenerated kingdom people's
expression from within their new life--the divine life. This
demand, by opening up the inner being of the regenerated
people, is to show them that they are able to attain to such
a high degree.
All the requirements of these changed laws reveal how
much the divine life within us can do for us. These laws
are not merely a requirement; they are a revelation,
showing us that the divine life can even make us perfect as
our heavenly Father is perfect. We have this perfecting life
within us. We have a life with such a divine nature that it
can make us as perfect as our heavenly Father.
We have seen that according to verse 45 the Father
makes His sun to rise on the evil and the good and that He
sends rain on the just and the unjust. First the Father
makes His sun to rise on the evil, then on the good. If you
were the Father, would you make your sun to rise first on
the evil or on the good? Certainly you would first make it
rise on the good. This verse also says that the Father
sends His rain on the just and on the unjust. Notice that
the order in this part of the verse is changed. This
indicates that in the eyes of the heavenly Father there is
no difference in sending the sunshine first on the evil and
then on the good and sending the rain first on the just and
then on the unjust.
Let us apply this to the matter of dealing with our
children. Even in dealing with your own children, you have
your choice. This indicates how natural you are. Suppose
you have three children. One of your three children may be
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lovable, one may be naughty, and one may be neutral. Day
after day these three children expose you, revealing how
much you dislike the naughty one and blame him.
Although you do not like him, the heavenly Father loves
him more than the lovable one. He has sent him to expose
your natural taste.
We also have our natural taste in the church life. We
like the brothers who are gentle and the sisters who are
nice. We want all the brothers and sisters to be like this.
But this is just a dream, for there will always be some who
bother us. Consider the problem of the shortage among the
elders. Many brothers are nice and gentle, but they are not
capable of being elders. However, the capable ones may be
rather sharp. God uses this to expose your natural choice.
Now we understand the implication and significance of
the Lord's word in verses 31 through 48. It is not simply a
matter of outwardly loving our enemy. No, it is a matter of
having our natural being exposed. After we have been
exposed, we shall say, "Lord, have mercy on me. How I
need Your deliverance! I want to stay near to You and
trust in You. Then I will be perfect as my Father."
Do not take the Lord's word as a teaching concerning
how you should behave. This way will not work. The Lord's
word was intended to touch our being, our natural choice,
and to expose what we are and where we are. When we
have been exposed and subdued, we shall give the full
opportunity to the divine life to live in us. This will make
us perfect even as our heavenly Father is perfect. We
cannot imitate the Father. When I was young, I was
taught by those in Christianity that our heavenly Father
loves those who are bad and that we should love our
enemies just as our Father does. Although this sounds
good, it actually is like trying to teach a monkey to behave
like a person. You may teach a monkey to behave like a
kind gentleman. The monkeys, however, will fail to do this
because they are not the sons of that man. We are the sons
of our heavenly Father. Thus, the Father's life and nature
are within us. All the outward enemies, compellers, and
opponents expose what we are. Because they expose our
natural being, we learn not to trust ourselves any longer,
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but to look to our Father and to realize that we have His
life and nature within us. Through this exposure we come
to see that we must stay close to Him and live by His life
and nature. In this way we shall be perfect as our
heavenly Father. This is the kingdom life, the kingdom
living.
Misunderstanding these verses, many Christians have
taken them as instructions concerning their outward
behavior. This is the reason so many have been
disappointed and have said, "This is too much for us. We
are far away from it, and we are unable to fulfill it." This is
not a common word given by the Lord Jesus; it is the
constitution of the heavenly kingdom. Because we are His
kingdom people, we can certainly fulfill these
requirements. We have the kingdom life within us, and we
can fulfill these laws, not in ourselves, but by the Father's
life and nature. Therefore, we must thank Him for sending
so many contrary things into our environment in order to
touch our being and to expose what we are so that we may
be fully subdued, turn to Him, stay near to Him, trust in
Him, and live by Him. Then we shall be the genuine
kingdom people with the kingdom life for a proper
kingdom living. This is God's kingdom on earth today, and
this is the proper church life
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE TWENTY
THE DECREE OF THE KINGDOM'S
CONSTITUTION
(8)
For centuries, Christians have not had a clear
understanding of the law. On the one hand, in Romans
and Galatians we are told that the law is over. For
example, Romans 10:4 says, "Christ is the end of the law
unto righteousness to every one who believes." Based upon
this, many Christians think that they can forget the law.
On the other hand, in Matthew 5:17 the Lord Jesus said,
"Do not think that I came to abolish the law or the
prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill." This
word has troubled a great many Christians. We praise the
Lord that He has given us the clear light on this matter.
THREE ASPECTS OF THE LAW
In order to understand this matter of the law, we must
know the three aspects of the law: the principle of the law,
the commandments of the law, and the rituals of the law.
If you do not differentiate between these three things, you
will never have a proper understanding of the law. As we
have seen, the principle of the law is over. Today, in the
dispensation of grace, God does not deal with us according
to the principle of the law; rather, He deals with us
according to the principle of faith. Whether or not we shall
be justified, saved, and accepted by God depends on the
principle of faith, not the principle of the law. As long as
we have faith in Christ, we are justified by God, accepted
by Him, and saved. This is what it means for the principle
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of the law to be abolished in Christ under the dispensation
of grace.
Although the principle of the law has been abolished,
the commandments of the law have not been annulled.
Instead, the standard of these commandments has been
uplifted. Thus, the commandments, related to the moral
standards, have not been abolished; they will remain for
eternity. Even for eternity we should not worship an idol,
murder, steal, or lie. In His heavenly kingdom the King
has uplifted the standard of the law in two ways: by
complementing the lower laws and by changing the lower
laws into higher laws. In this way the morality in the
commandments of the law has been uplifted to a higher
standard.
The kingly Savior Himself kept all the commandments
of the law when He was on earth. Then He went to the
cross to die for us. Through His substitutionary death, He
fulfilled the law on the negative side. Furthermore,
through His substitutionary death, He released His
resurrection life into us, and we now have this
resurrection life in our spirit. Because we are able to live
by this resurrection life, we have the strength, ability, and
capacity to have the highest standard of morality. As we
walk according to the spirit (Rom. 8:4), we fulfill the
righteous requirements of the law, fulfilling even more
than the law requires. Therefore, we do not abolish the
law; rather, we fulfill it in the highest way.
The third aspect of the law is the rituals of the law. For
example, offering sacrifices and keeping the Sabbath are
outward rituals of the law. These rituals were also
terminated because they were part of the old dispensation
of shadows, figures, and types, all of which have been
fulfilled by Christ as the reality. We are no longer
obligated to observe the rituals of the law. Therefore, the
principle of the law and the rituals of the law have been
terminated, but the commandments of the law, which
require a high moral standard, have not been terminated.
Rather, these commandments have been uplifted. By
means of Christ as the resurrection life in our spirit, we
can fulfill the standard of morality required by the higher
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law of the kingdom of the heavens. This word should make
us clear concerning the law according to its three aspects:
the principle of the law, the commandments of the law,
and the rituals of the law.
LIVING BY THE FATHER'S LIFE AND NATURE
At the end of Matthew 5 the Lord Jesus said, "You,
therefore, shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is
perfect" (v. 48). This word concludes this section of the
constitution, a section which is exceedingly high. After
reading all these requirements, we all would say that we
cannot possibly fulfill them. Then we come to verse 48
which tells us that we must be perfect as our heavenly
Father is perfect. This verse is an indicator that we have
the Father's life and nature within us. We have been born
of Him and we are His children. Because we are His
children possessing His life and nature, there is no need
for us to imitate Him or copy Him. As long as we grow in
His life, we shall be the same as He is. Thus, all the
requirements of the law of the kingdom of the heavens
reveal how much this divine life and nature can do for us.
Our only need is to be exposed so that we may give up all
hope in ourselves. When we are exposed, we shall realize
that our natural life is hopeless. Then we shall renounce
our natural life, turn to the life of our Father, and stay
with the divine nature. Spontaneously, this life will grow
in us and fulfill the requirements of this highest law. Our
need today is to turn to our spirit and walk in our spirit.
Whenever we do this, we live by our Father's life and
nature; then spontaneously we fulfill the righteous
requirements of the law. It is crucial that we understand
this matter, for it is altogether different from our natural
concept.
From my experience I can testify that today I am not
under the principle of the law. Hallelujah, I am under the
principle of faith, and I have the life of my heavenly
Father within me! This life is nothing other than the
Father's dear Son. I am now living by this life in my spirit
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and walking according to the spirit. By this life in my
spirit I spontaneously fulfill the highest requirements of
the law of the kingdom of the heavens. This is not my
boast: it is my humble testimony to give glory to the Lord.
This does not mean that I am able to do anything. It
means that He is able, for He is in me as my life. He is
able to do the same in you and for you. In order for this to
be your experience, you need to have a vision of the
hopelessness of your natural life. After your natural life
has been thoroughly dug out and exposed, you will realize
that it is a hopeless case, that you should have no trust in
it, and that you must turn to the Father's divine life and
nature within you. Turn to the Father's life, stay with the
Father's life, and live by the Father's life. You can easily
turn to the Father's life because at this very moment it is
in your spirit. Simply walk according to your spirit, and all
the righteous requirements of the law will be fulfilled in
you.
FULFILLING THE RIGHTEOUS REQUIREMENT OF THE
LAW BY WALKING ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT
At this point we need to consider some verses in
Romans 8. Romans 8:3 says. "For what is impossible to the
law, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending
His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin and
concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh." Due to the
weakness of our flesh, it is impossible for us to fulfill the
law. We can do nothing. As far as the law is concerned, our
case is impossible. Therefore, God, sending His own Son in
the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin,
condemned sin in the flesh, so that "the righteous
requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not
walk according to flesh, but according to spirit" (v. 4).
Because it was impossible, due to the weakness of our
flesh, for the law to be fulfilled, God sent His Son to keep
the law on the positive side, and to die for our weakness on
the negative side. His purpose in doing so was that the
righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us.
The "us" in verse 4 refers to those who do not walk
according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. God sent
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His Son to keep the law and to die for us that we may walk
in the spirit to fulfill the righteous requirement of the law.
HOW OUR SPIRIT IS FORMED
Romans 8:16 reveals how our spirit is formed: "The
Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are the
children of God." This verse reveals that our spirit in
which we walk to fulfill the righteous requirement of the
law is formed through the witnessing of the Holy Spirit
with our spirit. This indicates that the Holy Spirit of God
has come into our spirit. This took place at the time of our
regeneration. The Spirit of God came into our spirit to
regenerate us. From that time onward, the Holy Spirit has
been witnessing with our spirit that we are the children of
God. Thus, verse 14 says, "For as many as are led by the
Spirit of God, these are sons of God."
NOT ONLY GOD'S CREATURES, BUT ALSO HIS
REGENERATED CHILDREN
With these verses before us, we can understand why
the Lord concluded His word in Matthew 5 by saying,
"You, therefore, shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is
perfect." We are not only God's creatures; we are also His
regenerated children, possessing His life and nature. Thus,
we are not God's creatures trying to copy and imitate Him;
we are the Father's children living the Father's life. How
did we become the children of God? It was by the coming of
the Spirit of God into our spirit to regenerate us and to
make our spirit the very habitation of God Himself (Eph.
2:22, Gk.). Here, in our spirit, we have become God's
children having God's life and nature. If we walk according
to this regenerated spirit, we are the children of God living
by God's life. When we live and walk in the spirit,
spontaneously we shall be perfect as our heavenly Father
is perfect.
Consider a brother who has four children. The more
these little ones grow, the more they live like their father.
These children are not four monkeys trying to imitate a
human being. No, they are children of their father who are
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growing into the image of their father. The more they
grow, the more they live their father's life. Likewise, we
are not monkeys--we are children of God. Although some of
us may be rather babyish or childish, we are growing
nonetheless. These young ones may be naughty, but they
are growing. Wait for a certain number of years, and you
will see that all these naughty little ones will be perfect as
their heavenly Father is perfect. I am so happy that all the
saints in the churches are not monkeys, but dear children.
Let these children be naughty for a while. Eventually they
will grow. We are not trying to imitate God. Rather we are
the Father's children growing in the Father's life. This is
the reason the Lord Jesus said that we should be perfect
as our heavenly Father is perfect.
Now we can understand why in Matthew chapter five
the Lord refers to us as the children of God or the sons of
God. He was not giving a word to unbelievers, to those who
were merely God's creatures; He was giving a word to the
sons of God. God is no longer merely our Creator; He is
also our heavenly Father. Because He is our Father, we
have His life and nature. Eventually, through our growth
in life, we shall be the same as He is. Wait for another
period of time, and you will see that many of us will have
become perfect as the Father is perfect.
NO TIME ELEMENT WITH GOD
Some may wonder how the disciples on the mountain
could have been regenerated. Since the life-giving Spirit
had not yet entered into them, how can we say that those
disciples were regenerated? Remember, there is no time
element with God. Instead, there is the principle. When
the Lord Jesus was speaking with the disciples on the
mountain, giving them the decree of the constitution of the
kingdom, He spoke according to the principle, not
according to the time element. God has no time element;
He does things once for all. In our mind there is such a
thing as before and after, but not in God's mind. Yes, one
day Christ accomplished the work of redemption on the
cross, and one day the life-giving Spirit was formed. But in
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God's eyes it is difficult to determine when these things
took place, for in God's economy they are eternal. Both the
cross and life-giving Spirit are eternal. Because those
disciples on the mountain had believed in the Lord Jesus
and had decided to follow Him, in principle they had been
regenerated, and the Lord regarded them as regenerated
people.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE TWENTY-ONE
THE DECREE OF THE KINGDOM'S
CONSTITUTION
(9)
In this message we come to the fourth section of the
King's decree on the mountain, 6:1-18, concerning the
righteous deeds of the kingdom people.
CONCERNING THE RIGHTEOUS NEEDS OF THE
KINGDOM PEOPLE
A. The Principle-- Not to Do Your Righteousness before Men
In 5:17-48 we saw the complementing and the changing
of the law. In these verses, all the new laws of the kingdom
of the heavens dig out and expose our temper, lust, and
natural being. Thus, in these verses it is not a matter of
dealing with our outward behavior, but with our anger,
our lust, and our natural being all hidden deeply within
us.
Matthew 6:1 says, "But take heed not to do your
righteousness before men to be gazed at by them;
otherwise, you surely have no reward with your Father
Who is in the heavens." Righteousness here denotes
righteous deeds, such as giving alms, mentioned in verses
2 through 4; praying, in verses 5 through 15; and fasting,
in verses 16 through 18. No doubt these verses speak
about the righteous deeds of the kingdom people. Actually,
however, they expose the self and the flesh. We have
something within us that is worse than anger and lust.
Everybody knows how ugly lust is, but even many
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Christians do not know how ugly the self and the flesh are.
Of course, the words "self" and "flesh" are not used in
these verses. Nevertheless, both the self and the flesh are
exposed here. In these eighteen verses the Lord uses three
illustrations--the giving of alms, praying, and fasting--to
reveal how we are filled with the self and the flesh.
Man's flesh, seeking to glorify itself, always wants to do
good deeds before men to be praised by them. But the
kingdom people, who live in an emptied and humbled
spirit and walk in a pure and single heart under the
heavenly ruling of the kingdom, are not allowed to do
anything in the flesh for the praise of men, but must do all
things in the spirit for the pleasing of their heavenly
Father.
To the kingdom people, God is not only their God, but
also their Father. They are not only created by God, but
also regenerated by the Father. They have not only the
created natural human life, but also the uncreated
spiritual divine life. Hence, the new law of the kingdom,
decreed by the King on the mountain, is given to them
with the intention that they should keep it not by their
fallen human life, but by the Father's eternal divine life,
not to gain man's glory, but to receive the Father's reward.
Regarding each of the three illustrations, the Lord uses
the word "secret" (vv. 4, 6, 18). We must do our righteous
deeds in secret, for our Father is in secret. In verse 4 the
Lord says that our Father sees in secret. The kingdom
people as children of the heavenly Father must live in the
presence of the Father and care for the Father's presence.
Whatever they do in secret for the Father's kingdom, the
Father sees in secret. The heavenly Father's seeing in
secret must be an incentive to doing their righteous deeds
in secret. In this verse the Lord also said that the Father
will repay us. This may transpire in this age (2 Cor. 9:10-
11) or in the coming age as a reward (Luke 14:14). The
effect of doing our righteous deeds in secret is that the self
and the flesh are killed. If people in society today are not
allowed to make a show of their good deeds, they will not
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do them. As long as people have an opportunity to make a
public display of their righteous deeds, they are glad to
perform them. This is the deplorable practice of today's
degraded Christianity, especially in the matter of fund
raising, which provides an excellent opportunity for the
donors to make a display. The greater the public show, the
more money people are willing to give. Certainly such
making of a show is of the flesh. Giving alms to the poor in
order to show how generous you are is not a matter of
anger, lust, or the natural being; it is a matter of the self,
the flesh. Making a show in such a way is simply boasting
for yourself. Thus, for us as kingdom people, a basic
principle concerning righteous deeds is never to make a
show of ourselves. As much as possible, hide yourself, keep
yourself covered, and do things in secret. We should be so
hidden that, as the Lord Jesus says, our left hand does not
know what our right hand is doing (v. 3). This means that
we should not let others know what we are doing. For
example, if you fast for three days, do not disfigure your
face or show a sad countenance. Rather, give the
impression to others that you are not fasting so that your
fasting may be in secret. Do not fast in the presence of
men, but in the secret presence of your heavenly Father.
To do this is to slay the self and the flesh.
We encourage the saints to function in the church
meetings. However, there is the danger of functioning in
order to make a show of ourselves. There is the danger of
doing things in the presence of man. If you consider your
own experience, you will realize that perhaps nine times
out of ten your functioning has been before men. This is to
glorify the self and the flesh. But the constitution of the
heavenly kingdom does not yield an inch to our anger, lust,
or natural being; neither does it yield any ground to our
self and flesh. By the Lord's mercy and grace, we must do
as much as possible in a hidden way. Always try to do
those things that are pleasing to God and righteous with
man in a secret way. Try not to let others know of them.
Simply do your righteous deeds in the presence of God.
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Our Father sees in secret. As you are praying alone in
your room, no one else can see you, but your heavenly
Father sees. Do not pray on the street corner or in the
synagogues to be seen by men. Pray in secret to be seen by
your Father who sees in secret. Then you will also receive
an answer from Him in secret. I am concerned that many
of us have experiences only in the open and that we do not
have any experiences in secret. Not only does the Father
see our experiences; everyone else sees them as well. This
indicates that we are not rejecting the self or repudiating
the flesh. We must always do things in such a way as to
constantly reject the self and repudiate the flesh. If
possible, do everything in secret, not giving any
opportunity to your self or yielding any ground to your
flesh.
Although the Lord speaks about the matter of reward
(vv. 1, 5), the important thing here is not the reward, but
the growth in life. The saints who grow openly do not grow
in a healthy way. We all need some secret growth in life,
some secret experiences of Christ. We need to pray to the
Lord, worship the Lord, contact the Lord, and fellowship
with the Lord in a secret way. Perhaps not even the one
closest to us will know or understand what we are doing.
We need these secret experiences of the Lord because such
experiences kill our self and our flesh. Although anger and
lust are ugly, the thing that most frustrates us from
growing in life is the self. The self is most visible in the
fact that it enjoys doing things in a public way, in the
presence of man. The self likes to do righteous deeds
before man. We all must admit that, without exception, we
have such a self. Those who always want to do things in
such a way as to make a public show are full of self, full of
the flesh. The self loves to be glorified, and the flesh loves
to be gazed upon. Probably you have never heard a
message on these verses that dealt with the self and the
flesh. Whenever we come to this portion of the Word, we
must realize that it exposes our self and our flesh.
To repeat, the crucial matter here is not the reward,
but the growth in life. Those saints who know only to
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make a show of the self and a display of the flesh will not
grow in life. The genuine growth in life is to cut off the self.
Those whose self has been cut off and whose flesh has been
dealt with may sometimes speak concerning their deeds.
However, I am quite cautious in saying even this. It is not
healthy to expose our righteous deeds. Rather, we should
pray much, yet not let others know how much we pray.
This is healthy. If you pray every day without telling
others or letting them know about it, it means that you are
healthy and that you are growing. However, suppose you
always tell others how much you pray. If you do this, you
will not only lose your reward, but you will not grow in life
or be healthy. We all must admit that we have the subtle
self, the subtle flesh, within us. We all have such a weak
point. When we pray alone in our room, we often wish that
others could hear us. Likewise, we do our righteous deeds
with the intention that others could see them. Such desires
and intentions are not healthy; they indicate that we are
not growing in life. Making a public display before men
will never help us grow in life. If you want to grow and be
healthy in the spiritual life, you must slay the self in the
doing of righteous deeds. No matter what kind of righteous
deeds we do--giving material things to the saints, praying,
fasting, doing something to please God--we must try our
best to do them in secret. If your righteous deeds are in
secret, you may be assured that you are growing in life and
are healthy. But any time you exhibit yourself in your
righteous deeds, you are not healthy. Such an exhibition
greatly frustrates your growth in life.
The universe indicates that God is hidden, that God is
secret. Although He has done a great many things, people
are not aware that He has done them. We may have seen
the things done by God, but none of us has ever seen Him,
for He is always hidden, always secret. God's life is of such
a secret and hidden nature. If we love others by our own
life, this life will seek to make a display of itself before
men. But if we love others by the love of God, this love will
always remain hidden. Our human life loves to make a
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display, a public show, but God's life is always hidden. A
hypocrite is one who has an outward manifestation
without having anything within. Everything he has is
merely an outward show; there is no reality inwardly. This
is absolutely contrary to God's nature and to His hidden
life. Although God has so much within Him, only a little is
manifested. If we live by this divine life, we may pray
much, but others will not know how much we have prayed.
We may give a great deal to help others, but no one will
know how much we give. We may fast often, but this also
will not be known by others. We may have a great deal
within us, but very little will be manifested. This is the
nature of the kingdom people in the doing of their
righteous deeds.
This is vastly different from the nature of the worldly
people. When the worldly ones donate a hundred dollars,
they advertise it, making it appear that they have given a
much greater amount. But when we Christians give a
hundred dollars, it is better that we only let others know
that we have given a dime. We do more than what is
visible to others. We can never practice this kind of giving
in our natural life. It is possible only in the divine life, the
life that does not enjoy making a show. This is the crucial
point in this portion of the Word.
If we are serious about being the kingdom people, we
must learn to live by the hidden life of our Father. We
must not live by our natural life, which is always making a
display of itself. If we live by our Father's hidden life, we
shall do many things without making any public show of
them. Rather, all that we do will be in secret, hidden from
the eyes of others. The biographies of many saints reveal
that they did certain things in secret, things that often
were not made known until after they had died. This is the
right way. I have known a number of dear saints who have
done things for the Lord, for the church, and for the saints
in secret. They never desired to make a display or to let
others know that those things were done by them.
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These deeds are done according to our Father's nature and
according to His secret and hidden life.
B. Regarding Alms
1. Not Sounding a Trumpet
Verse 2 says, "When therefore you give alms, do not
sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the
synagogues and in the streets that they may be glorified
by men. Truly I say to you, They have their reward."
Surely the heaven-ruled spirit of the kingdom people
restricts them from such fleshly boasting.
When I was in a certain denomination, the offering
plate was passed during every Sunday morning service. At
that time, copper coins or silver dollars were used instead
of paper currency. Some people used to place their
donations in the offering plate in such a way as to draw
attention to themselves. That was a display of the self. Of
course, they did not say anything. Rather, they dropped
the coins in the plate in a noisy way. By doing this, they
were sounding a trumpet before them. When the time
came for public notice regarding contributions to be posted
in the lobby, the one who gave the most was listed first,
and the one who gave the least was listed last. If the one
who had given the most had been listed last, he probably
would not have given as much in the future.
For this reason, we in the churches do not keep records
of the giving of the saints. The cash is put in the offering
box, and there is no opportunity for the self or the flesh to
be glorified. The use of checks, however, poses somewhat
of a problem. In our practice of the church life in China
many years ago, we did not use checks very often. But the
use of checks is not a legal matter. Everything depends on
our motive and our attitude. I am not saying that the
saints should not use checks. The principle is that we do
not give with the intention of making a show or receiving
glory from man. Instead, we do everything in secret in the
presence of our heavenly Father. In this matter, you know
what your motive and attitude are.
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2. Not Letting the Left Hand Know the Doing of the
Right
Verse 3 says, "But you, when you give alms, let not
your left hand know what your right hand is doing." This
word indicates that the kingdom people's righteous deeds
should be kept secret as much as possible. What they do in
their spirit under the heavenly rule to please their Father
alone must not be interfered with by their flesh lusting for
man's glory.
3. Giving Alms in Secret
In verse 4 the King said, "So that your alms may be in
secret; and your Father Who sees in secret shall repay
you." The kingdom people's living is by the Father's divine
life according to their spirit. Thus they are required to do
good things in secret, not in public. Any public exhibition
does not correspond to the mysterious hidden nature of the
divine life.
C. Regarding Prayer
1. Not to Make a Public Show
In praying, as in giving alms, the kingdom people are
not to make a public show. Verse 5 says, "And when you
pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites; for they love to
pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners
that they may appear to men. Truly I say to you, They
have their reward." Prayer to seek man's praise may gain
a reward from men, but it does not receive an answer from
the Father. Thus, it is vain prayer.
2. To Pray in Secret
Our prayer should be in secret. In verse 6 the King
decreed, "But you, when you pray, enter into your private
room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father Who
is in secret, and your Father Who sees in secret shall
repay you." The kingdom people must have some
experience of prayer in their private room, contacting their
heavenly Father in secret, experiencing some secret
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enjoyment of the Father, and receiving some secret answer
from Him.
3. Not to Repeat Empty Words
As we pray, we are not to repeat empty words. Verse 7
says, "And in praying do not repeat empty words as the
nations do; for they suppose that they will be heard
through their much speaking." This does not mean,
however, that we should not repeat our prayer. The Lord
repeated His prayer in Gethsemane (26:44), the Apostle
Paul prayed the same prayer three times (2 Cor. 12:8), and
the great multitude in heaven praised God with
hallelujahs repeatedly (Rev. 19:1-6). It means that we
should not repeat with empty words, words in vain.
Verse 8 says, "Therefore do not be like them, for God
your Father knows what things you have need of before
you ask Him." Although God our Father knows our need,
we still need to ask Him, because he who asks receives
(7:8).
4. The Pattern of Prayer
In verses 9 through 13 we find the pattern of prayer.
However, it is not the pattern for all prayers. The prayer
presented here in Matthew 6 is absolutely different from
the prayer taught in John. In Matthew 6 we are not told to
pray in the Lord's name, but in John chapters fourteen
through seventeen the Lord Jesus tells us repeatedly to
pray in His name. The reason for this difference is that the
prayer here in Matthew is not related to life; it is related
to the kingdom. In this short pattern of prayer the
kingdom is mentioned at least twice. Verse 10 says, "Let
Your kingdom come," and verse 13 says, "For Yours is the
kingdom." The prayer in John, on the contrary, is related
to life. Praying in the Lord's name is not a matter of the
kingdom, but a matter of life. To pray in the Lord's name
means that we are one with the Lord. In praying to the
Father, we are one with the Lord. Hence, we are praying
in His name. To pray in the Lord's name is actually to pray
in the Person of the Lord. We are praying with Him in one
name and in one life. Therefore, we are one with Him in
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life, praying to God the Father. But as we have seen, the
prayer in Matthew 6 is absolutely different, for it is a
prayer of the kingdom.
If you would have some prayer in life, you must go to
John. You must abide in the Lord and be one with Him.
You must remain in your spirit and pray in oneness with
Him. This is what it means to pray in His name. But the
prayer in Matthew 6 concerns the kingdom. In other
words, it is a fighting prayer, a prayer of warfare against
God's enemy for God's kingdom.
Verse 9 begins with the words, "Pray, then, like this."
The words "like this" do not mean to recite. In the Acts and
the Epistles there is no example of such reciting. However,
in certain Christian denominations today this prayer is
recited during every Sunday morning service. I recited this
prayer very often as a youth in a denomination. This is not
to say that those who recite this prayer are not sincere in
doing so. No doubt there have been a good number who
were very sincere in their repeating of this prayer.
a. Praying that God's Name May Be Sanctified
In the example of prayer patterned by the Lord, the
first three petitions imply the Trinity of the Godhead. "Let
Your name be sanctified" is mainly related to the Father,
"let Your kingdom come" to the Son, and "let Your will be
done" to the Spirit. This is being fulfilled in this age, and it
will be fulfilled in the coming kingdom age, when the name
of God will be excellent in all the earth (Psa. 8:1), the
kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of Christ
(Rev. 11:15), and the will of God will be accomplished.
Verse 9 says, "Our Father Who is in the heavens, let
Your name be sanctified." Today God's name is not
sanctified; rather, it is profaned and made common.
Unbelievers may ask, "What is God? Who is God?" People
speak about Jesus Christ in the same way that they speak
about Plato or Hitler. They make the name of the Lord
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Jesus common. But we know that the day will come, in the
millennium, when the name of God will be sanctified. But,
prior to that time, our Father's name is wholly sanctified
in the church life today. We do not call upon the Father or
speak the name of the Lord in a common way. Rather,
when we say "Father" or "Lord," we sanctify these holy
names. Thus, we need to pray, "O Father, let Your name
be sanctified."
b. Praying that God's Kingdom May Come
Verse 10 says, "Let Your kingdom come." Although the
kingdom is here in the church life today, the manifestation
of the kingdom is yet to come. Thus, we must pray for the
coming of the kingdom. This matter of the kingdom is
clearly related to God the Son.
c. Praying that God's Will May Be Done on Earth
Verse 10 also says, "Let Your will be done, as in heaven
so on earth." Following the rebellion of Satan (Ezek. 28:17;
Isa. 14:13-15), the earth fell into the usurping hand of
Satan. Thus, the will of God could not be done on earth as
in heaven. Hence, God created man with the intention of
recovering the earth for Himself (Gen. 1:26-28). After the
fall of man, Christ came to bring the heavenly rule to
earth so that the earth might be recovered for God's right,
that the will of God might be done on earth as in heaven.
This is the purpose of the new King establishing the
kingdom of the heavens with His followers. The kingdom
people must pray for this until the earth is fully recovered
for God's will in the coming kingdom age.
When the Father's name is sanctified, the Son's
kingdom has come, and the Spirit's will is done on earth as
in heaven, that will be the time of the manifestation of the
kingdom. But we who are in the reality of the kingdom
today must pray for these things.
d. Praying that God May Give Us Our Daily Food
Verse 11 says, "Give us today our daily bread." This
prayer is all-inclusive. The patterned prayer firstly cares
for God's name, God's kingdom, and God's will; then
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secondly, for our need. This reveals that in this fighting
prayer the Lord will still take care of our needs. According
to verse 11 we are to ask "today" for our "daily bread." The
King does not want His people to worry about tomorrow (v.
34); He only wants them to pray for their needs today. The
term "daily bread" indicates living by faith. The kingdom
people should not live on what they have stored; rather, by
faith they should live on the Father's daily supply.
e. Praying that God May Forgive Us Our Sins
Verse 12 says, "And forgive us our debts, as we also
forgive our debtors." Thirdly, the patterned prayer cares
for the kingdom people's failures before God and their
relationship with others. They should ask the Father to
forgive their debts, their failures, and their trespasses, as
they forgive their debtors to maintain peace. Verse 12
indicates that in this fighting prayer we must admit and
confess that we have shortcomings, mistakes, and
wrongdoings. We are in debt to others. Hence, we must
ask the Father to forgive us as we forgive others for the
Father's sake.
f. Praying that God May Keep Us from Trial and Deliver Us from the
Evil One
Verse 13 says, "And do not bring us into trial, but
deliver us from the evil one." Fourthly, the patterned
prayer cares for the kingdom people in dealing with the
evil one. They should ask the Father not to bring them
into trial, but to deliver them from the evil one, Satan, the
Devil. Remember, the King was led into temptation. The
word "trial" in verse 13 actually means temptation.
Sometimes the Father brings us into a situation where we
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are tried and tempted. Thus, as we pray to the Father, we
must recognize our weakness and say, "Father, I am very
weak. Do not bring me into trial." This implies that you
admit that you are weak. If you do not recognize your
weakness, you will probably not pray in this manner.
Rather, you may feel that you are strong. That will be the
very time the Father will bring you into trial to show you
that you are not strong at all. Thus, it is better for our
prayer to indicate to the Father that we know our
weakness. We should say, "Father, I fully realize that I am
weak. Please do not bring me into trial. There is no need
for You to do that, Father, for I recognize my weakness."
Never say to yourself, "Whatever happens, I am confident
I can stand." If that is your attitude, be prepared to be led
into the wilderness to confront temptation. Instead of
having such an attitude, pray that the Father would not
bring you into trial, but that He would deliver you from
the evil one.
g. Recognizing God's Kingdom, Power, and Glory
According to this pattern of prayer, the kingdom people
must recognize God's kingdom, power, and glory. Verse 13
also says, "For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and
the glory forever. Amen." The kingdom is the realm for
God to exercise His power that He may express His glory.
5. The Condition of Prayer-- to Forgive Others Their
Offenses
Verses 14 and 15 reveal that the condition of prayer is
to forgive others their offenses. These verses say, "For if
you forgive men their offenses, your heavenly Father will
also forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their
offenses, neither will your Father forgive your offenses."
"For" indicates that the word in verses 14 and 15 is an
explanation of why the kingdom people must forgive their
debtors (v. 12). If they do not forgive man's offenses,
neither will their heavenly Father forgive their offenses;
hence, their prayer will be frustrated.
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D. Regarding Fasting
In verses 16 through 18 the King speaks regarding
fasting. Instead of appearing to men to fast, we should fast
in secret. Verse 16 says, "And whenever you fast, do not be
as the hypocrites of a sad countenance; for they disguise
their faces so that they may appear to men to be fasting.
Truly I say to you, They have their reward." To fast is not
to refrain from eating; it is being unable to eat because of
being desperately burdened to pray for certain things. It is
also an expression of self-humbling in seeking mercy of
God. To give alms is to give what we have the right to
possess, whereas to fast is to give up what we have the
right to enjoy.
Verses 17 and 18 say, "But you, when you fast, anoint
your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear
to men to be fasting, but to your Father Who is in secret;
and your Father Who sees in secret shall repay you." This
indicates that our fasting, like our giving of alms and
praying, must be done in secret, not before men. The
Father sees In secret, and He will repay us.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE TWENTY-TWO
THE DECREE OF THE KINGDOM'S
CONSTITUTION
(10)
In this message we come to the fifth section of the
King's decree, 6:19-34, which concerns the dealing of the
kingdom people with riches.
VI. CONCERNING THE DEALING OF THE KINGDOM
PEOPLE WITH RICHES
A. Laying Up Treasures Not on Earth but in Heaven
In verses 19 and 20 the King decrees that the kingdom
people should not lay up for themselves treasures on
earth, but treasures in heaven. To lay up treasures in
heaven is to give material things to the poor (19:21) and to
care for the needy saints (Acts 2:45;4:34-35;11:29; Rom.
15:26) and for the Lord's servants (Phil. 4:16-17).
1. The Heart Being Where the Treasure Is
Verse 21 says, "For where your treasure is, there will
your heart be also." The kingdom people must send their
treasure to heaven so that their heart can also be in
heaven. Before they go there, their treasure and their
heart must go there first.
2. The Eye Being Single and the Whole Body Being
Illuminated
Verse 22 says, "The lamp of the body is the eye. If
therefore your eye is single, your whole body will be
illuminated." Our eyes can focus on only one thing at a
time. If we endeavor to see two things at once, our sight
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will be blurred. If we focus our eyes on one thing, our sight
will be single. and our whole body will be illuminated. If
we lay up our treasure both in heaven and on earth, our
sight will be blurred. If we would have single sight, we
must lay up our treasure in one place.
3. The Eye Being Evil and the Whole Body Being
Dark
Verse 23 says, "But if your eye is evil, your whole body
will be dark. If then the light that is in you is darkness,
how great the darkness!" To see two objects at one time is
to make our eye evil. Thus, our whole body will be dark. If
our heart is fixed on treasure laid up on earth, the light
that is in us will become darkness, and great will be the
darkness.
B. Being Unable to Serve Two Masters
Verse 24 says, "No one can serve two masters, for
either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will
hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God
and mammon." The word mammon is an Aramaic word
signifying wealth, riches. Here mammon, standing in
opposition to God, indicates that wealth or riches is the
opponent of God, robbing God's people of their service to
Him.
C. Not Being Anxious about Our Living
1. The Life Being More than Food and the Body More than
Clothing
Verse 25 says, "Therefore I say to you, Do not be
anxious about your life, what you should eat and what you
should drink; nor for your body, what you should put on. Is
not the life more than food, and the body than clothing?"
In this verse the Lord tells us not to be anxious about our
life. The Greek word translated "life" here is soul, in which
is the desire, the appetite, for food and clothing (Isa. 29:8).
Our life is more than food, and our body is more than
clothing. Both our life and our body came into existence by
God, not by our anxiety. Since God has created us with a
life and a body, surely He will care for their needs. The
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kingdom people do not need to be anxious about these
things.
2. Not Being Anxious about Eating, Drinking, and
Clothing
Verse 31 says, "Therefore do not be anxious, saying,
What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, With what
shall we be clothed?" Here we come to the crucial matter in
verses 19 through 34. Apparently, in this section of the
constitution, the Lord is speaking about the dealing of the
kingdom people with material riches. Actually, He is
dealing with the matter of anxiety. The Lord is wise. After
touching our temper, lust, natural being, self, and flesh,
He goes on to touch our anxiety. In these verses the word
"anxious" is used six times (vv. 25, 27, 28, 31, 34). It may
also seem that the Lord is touching our heart, for where
our treasure is, there our heart is also. However, our heart
is related not only to riches, but to many other things.
The constitution of the kingdom of the heavens is
composed with the Father's life and nature. Although
these chapters do not actually use the words "life" and
"nature," from the context we can see that apart from the
Father's divine life and nature, these chapters are in vain.
No one would be able to fulfill the requirements of the
kingdom of the heavens without having the Father's life
and nature. Every constitution is based upon a certain
kind of life. Suppose you intend to make a constitution for
dogs. Undoubtedly such a constitution would be based
upon the dog life. It would be unreasonable for this
constitution to decree that, every morning, dogs should
observe morning watch by flying in the air. Because dogs
cannot fly, they could not fulfill such a requirement. But if
the constitution told the dogs to keep morning watch by
barking, there would be no problem. In like manner, the
constitution given by the Lord Jesus on the mount was for
the sons of God, and it was based upon the life and nature
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of the Father. Two verses in chapter five indicate this fact.
Verse 9 says, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall
be called sons of God," and verse 48 says, "You, therefore,
shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Many Christians do not understand this section of the
Word because they have not seen that it is based upon the
divine life and divine nature. Even many unbelievers have
quoted verses from these chapters in their writings,
thinking that these chapters are words spoken to all
human beings. No, just as the dog life cannot fly, so the
human life cannot fulfill the requirements of the
constitution of the kingdom of the heavens. This is a
constitution based upon the divine life and the divine
nature.
There is no anxiety in the divine life and the divine
nature. Anxiety is not of the divine life, but of the human
life, just as barking is of the dog life, not of the bird life.
Our human life is a life of anxiety. whereas God's life is a
life of enjoyment, rest, comfort, and satisfaction. To God,
anxiety is a strange term. With Him, there is no such
thing as anxiety. Do you think that God has ever been
anxious? Has He ever been afflicted with anxiety?
Although God has many desires, He has no anxiety. Our
human life, on the contrary, is virtually composed of
anxiety: it is constituted with it. Take anxiety away from a
human being and the result will be death. A dead man has
no anxiety. A figure in a wax museum or a statue in front
of a Catholic cathedral has no anxiety, but as long as you
are a living person, you cannot escape from anxiety.
If we consider the style of the Lord's speaking in the
New Testament, we shall see that it is absolutely different
from the speaking of the Apostles. The Apostles, especially
Paul, wrote many spiritual books. Although Paul spoke of
many divine, spiritual, and heavenly things, his style is
nonetheless human. It is the same with the writings of
Peter and John. No matter how much the New Testament
writers spoke of spiritual and divine things, their style
remained human. But the style of the Lord's speaking in
the New Testament is unique. It is utterly impossible to
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describe it. If you read Matthew 5, 6, 7, 13, 24, and 25 and
John 14 through 17, you will see that the style of the
Lord's speaking is extraordinary. It is not human or
common; it is profound, yet brief, simple, and to the point.
This is the divine speaking with the divine style. When I
was young, I read a statement written by a certain great
French philosopher who said that if the four Gospels were
falsehoods, then the person who wrote them was qualified
to be Christ. I agree with this word.
In His speaking in chapter six of Matthew, the Lord
apparently is dealing with the matter of riches. In reality,
however, He is touching the matter of anxiety, the basic
problem of our human living. As we have seen, in 6:1-18
He apparently dealt with the righteous deeds of the
kingdom people, but actually He was touching the self and
the flesh. I came to know this not by reading books, but
from my experience in the church life. Through my
experience I have learned that making a display of
righteous deeds is certainly of the self and of the flesh. If
we remain on the cross, we would never make such a
display. In the same principle, 6:19-34 seemingly touches
our wealth, our riches; actually, the Lord's intention here
is to touch anxiety, the source of the problem of our daily
living. The whole world is involved with anxiety. Anxiety
is the gear that makes the world move. It is the incentive
for all human culture. If there were no anxiety regarding
our living, no one would do anything. Rather, everyone
would be idle. Thus, by touching our anxiety, the Lord
touches the gear of human life.
When the young people hear this word, they may say,
"Hallelujah! Because the Lord Jesus has touched anxiety,
the gear of human life, we don't need to study or work
hard. If we are hungry, we can simply eat some leftovers."
This concept is wrong. In 6:26 the Lord Jesus says, "Look
at the birds of the heaven, that they do not sow, nor reap,
nor gather into barns, and your heavenly Father nourishes
them." If the Lord Jesus were here, I would ask Him,
"Lord, You liken us to birds. The birds neither sow nor
harvest; they just fly in the air and do nothing. Lord, does
this mean that we should not do anything? The birds feed
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on human labor. Lord Jesus, do You mean that we should
take advantage of others? Should we forget about working
and simply be birds in the air, enjoying life and taking
advantage of the labor of others?" I would also ask the
Lord, "Lord, You also liken us to lilies. Lilies don't do
anything, but are clothed in more glory than Solomon (vv.
28-30). Are You saying that we should not do anything,
that we should simply enjoy the air, the sunshine, the soil,
and the water?" This is the concept held by many young
people who quote these words of the Lord Jesus. They say,
"Let's be birds in the air and lilies in the valley." There is a
difficulty in understanding the Lord's word here. Again I
say, if the Lord were here, I would ask Him, "Do You mean
that we should just be like birds soaring in the air, taking
advantage of the labor of others? They sow and grow the
crops, and we simply come to enjoy them. Is this legal? Is
it fair? It seems that all birds are thieves. I have only a
small yard, but the birds come and take advantage of what
I am growing in my yard. Are You saying that we should
do the same thing?" I ask these questions because I know
the psychology of the young people. After spending so
many years in school, they may be tired of studying. As
they go from junior high to high school, from high school to
college, and from undergraduate school to graduate school,
the work becomes more difficult. Instead of studying so
hard, many of the young people would rather be like birds
flying in the air. If the young people are honest, they will
admit that they have such a concept.
Let us now consider the Lord's intention in verses 19
through 34. Does the Lord intend that the young people
finish school, or drop out and be like birds in the air? It is
wrong to have anxiety, for anxiety does not belong to the
divine life. There is no anxiety in the life of God. However,
the Lord does not mean that we should not do our duty.
When the Lord brought the children of Israel into the good
land, they all had to work on the land. That was their
duty. Whether or not the good land produced a rich
harvest depended on a number of things: the weather, the
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sunshine, the proper amount of rain, and the right
temperature. None of these things was under the control of
the children of Israel. Their responsibility was just to labor
on the land. They labored not only for themselves, but also
for the birds. If they did not do the work of farming, it
would have been difficult for the birds to live. To do their
duty was right and necessary, but to have anxiety was
wrong. Likewise, we must do our duty today, but do it
without being anxious about our living. The reason you are
so reluctant to give to others is your anxiety. Because of
anxiety, you love the material things. If you had no
anxiety, you would not care for the material things.
Rather, you would let others have them. It is anxiety that
causes us trouble.
In God's economy we all must labor. We are not like the
children of Israel, for we cannot literally work on the good
land. Instead, the young people today must study and
acquire a good education. Studying is equal to tilling the
ground, and graduating from college is equal to reaping a
harvest. Young people, studying is your duty, and you
must do it. In ancient times, the children of Israel had to
labor by tilling the ground, sowing the seed, watering, and
harvesting. This was their duty. But whether or not they
received the harvest depended upon God. Their
responsibility was to labor without having any anxiety. If
they were anxious, that would have been an offense to
God. There was no need for them to be anxious. They
simply had to do whatever God asked them to do. For
example, according to Deuteronomy, God required them to
set aside one tenth for Himself, another tenth for the
Levites, and still another tenth for a different purpose.
They were not permitted to keep all the produce for their
enjoyment. They were not to have any anxiety. If they had
no anxiety, they could be generous, willing to give to
others and put their material things into the hand of the
Lord.
We need to read 6:19-34 in such a light. Under God's
sovereignty, the children of Israel had to labor on the land.
Under God's sovereignty, the young people today
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must study and finish school. If we are to have the proper
church life, all our young people must finish college.
Failing to finish college is like sowing without having a
harvest. The requirement for making a living today is
much different from what it was hundreds of years ago.
Today the young people must till the ground, sow the seed,
and water the crop by studying diligently and graduating
from high school and college. But they must not do this
because of anxiety. We must differentiate anxiety from
duty. Your duty is to finish your work of farming, that is,
to graduate from high school and college. Otherwise, it will
be difficult to live. To live on this earth for God, you must
finish your education. But as you are studying and
completing your education, you must be different from the
worldly people. The worldly ones study for the sake of
their anxiety; you should not study for anxiety, but to
fulfill your duty. If you do not see this point, this portion of
the Word will simply be a legal matter to you.
Boaz, a forefather of David, is an example of one who
did his duty without anxiety. Boaz was a rich farmer; he
was very productive. However, this man was not
productive for the sake of anxiety, but for the sake of
fulfilling his duty. When the time came, the Lord told him
to give a certain amount away. and he did it. Certainly
Boaz treasured the things in heaven. Through the
overcoming of anxiety, he laid up treasures in heaven.
After a number of years, many of our young people will
have college degrees. I believe that under the Lord's
sovereign blessing, many riches will come in. At that time
you will need to remember that you have gone to school
not for anxiety, but to do your duty. Therefore, the riches
that you bring in should not be used for your anxiety, but
for your duty. Your duty is to give, to lay up treasures in
heaven. Do not aspire to be a millionaire. Do not endeavor
to have a savings account of a million dollars. Rather,
learn to give and lay up treasures in heaven. Transfer your
treasures from the earth to the heavens. In this way you
will not be a millionaire on earth, but a millionaire in the
heavens. Your duty is to earn your degree and then to
make riches. But do not seek to become a millionaire.
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Instead, be a good giver according to the life and nature of
your heavenly Father. This is the meaning of this portion
of the Word.
My burden in this message is to dig out this basic
point. We all have our duty to do. As we are fulfilling our
duty, we should not do anything for the sake of our
anxiety, because we have a divine life that knows no
anxiety. And we have an almighty and all-inclusive
heavenly Father who takes care of us in every way.
Today's world is filled with anxiety, but the kingdom
people should not be anxious about anything. We are not
able to add one cubit to our stature by our anxiety (v. 27).
Concerning morality, we have the life and nature of our
Father within us to enable us to fulfill the highest moral
requirements. Concerning our living we have the heavenly
Father Himself to take care of us. However, this does not
mean that there is no need for us to do our duty. Although
we must fulfill our duty, we should have no anxiety. Like
the children of Israel who had enough to live on and who
gave certain portions away for various purposes, we also
should have a harvest and be willing to give a certain
amount away for various purposes. Eventually, all we give
will be laid up in the heavenly bank, and all our riches will
be there.
This also is related to our daily growth in life. Both
sloppiness and anxiety will delay your growth in life. No
one who is idle, who does not fulfill his duty, will ever grow
in life. Everyone who grows in life is diligent and
industrious. Of course, this diligence and industriousness
will yield a reward, and some material riches will come to
you. All these riches must be used, not for your anxiety,
but for your giving. Anxiety must go. Do not allow anxiety
to occupy your daily living. Because the life of the Father
within you knows no anxiety, you should not have any
anxiety. Any surplus you have should not be used for the
sake of your anxiety. Use it to build up savings in the
heavenly bank. I assure you that if you do this, you will
grow in life. The only kind of person who grows in life is
one who is diligent, yet who does not use his surplus for
his anxiety. You need to study diligently, make good
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grades, and acquire the highest degree. However, the
riches that come to you should not be used for your
anxiety. We labor and fulfill our duty, but we have no
anxiety. This is the proper way to grow in the Father's life.
3. The Heavenly Father Knowing All These Needs
In verse 32 the Lord says, "For all these things the
nations are seeking; for your heavenly Father knows that
you need all these things." The kingdom people have the
divine life of their heavenly Father as their strength to
keep the new law of the kingdom. They also have their
heavenly Father to care for their material needs, so that
they need not be anxious about them. Their heavenly
Father is the source of their strength and supply. Hence,
they need not be weak or lacking in anything.
4. Seeking First the Father's Kingdom and His
Righteousness
Verse 33 says, "But seek first His kingdom and His
righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."
The Father's kingdom is the reality of the kingdom of the
heavens today and the manifestation of the kingdom of the
heavens in the coming age. The Father's righteousness is
the righteousness by keeping the new law of the kingdom,
as mentioned in 5:20 and 6:1. Since the kingdom people
seek first the kingdom and righteousness of their heavenly
Father, not only will His kingdom and His righteousness
be given to them, but also all their necessities will be
added.
5. Not Being Anxious for Tomorrow
Finally, verse 34 says, "Therefore do not be anxious for
tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.
Sufficient for the day is its own evil." The kingdom people
should never live in tomorrow, but always in today. The
word "evil" here denotes trouble and affliction. This
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indicates that the King of the kingdom has made it clear to
the kingdom people that their days on earth for the
kingdom will be days of trouble and affliction, not of ease
and comfort.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE TWENTY-THREE
THE DECREE OF THE KINGDOM'S
CONSTITUTION
(11)
We come now to the sixth section of the new King's
decree on the mountain, 7:1-12.
VII. CONCERNING THE PRINCIPLES OF THE KINGDOM
PEOPLE IN DEALING WITH OTHERS
Apparently, the Lord's intention in 7:1-12 is to cover
the principles according to which the kingdom people deal
with others. Actually, His intention here is to encourage us
to forget ourselves and to take care of others. In the two
previous chapters, the Lord has dug out our temper, our
lusts, our inner being, the self, the flesh, and our anxiety.
Now He brings us to the point where we must learn to
take care of others. When you judge others, you must
judge them according to how you want them to judge you.
To consider the matter in this way is to take care of others.
The heavenly ruling over the kingdom people requires
that they take care of others. Although a number of
negative points were touched in chapters five and six, the
matter of taking care of others is not covered until chapter
seven. In whatever we do, we must think about others. We
have a real lack in this area, because in our natural life we
do not consider others. From beginning to end, we only
consider ourselves. Our thinking and our consideration are
wrapped up with ourselves. Therefore, we are always
centered around ourselves and never consider others. I
would ask you to recall the way you lived in the past. Was
it your practice to consider others? If we consider others
when we are about to criticize or judge them, we shall
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neither criticize nor judge. The reason we judge others and
criticize them is that we do not care for them. If we cared
for others, we would sympathize with them.
A. Not Judging Lest You Be Judged with What You
Judge
In 7:1 the Lord said, "Do not judge, lest you be judged."
The kingdom people, living in a humble spirit under the
heavenly ruling of the kingdom, always judge themselves,
not others. The Lord's word about not judging lest we be
judged does not seem to be a word about taking care of
others. However, when we probe into this word, we see
that it actually means to take care of others. When you are
about to judge others, instead you must take care of them.
Let us seek to find out the secret of this word about not
judging. How can we tell that the real meaning here is to
take care of others? Are you afraid of being judged? If you
are, then you should realize that others are also afraid of
being judged. Do you feel bad about being judged by
others? If you do, then you should know that others also
feel bad about being judged by you. No one likes to be
judged. If you do not like to be judged, then what about
others? You need to take care of them. If you do not like to
be judged by others, why do you judge other people? If you
are afraid of being judged, then you must consider others,
who also are afraid of being judged. Always take care of
others.
Verse 2 says, "For with what judgment you judge, you
shall be judged; and with what measure you mete, it shall
be measured to you." Under the heavenly ruling of the
kingdom, the kingdom people will be judged with what
they judge. If they judge others with righteousness, they
will be judged by the Lord with righteousness. If they
judge others with mercy, they will be judged by the Lord
with mercy. Mercy boasts against judgment (James 2:13,
Gk.). Do not judge others so much, for you will be judged in
the same degree that you judge others. If you take care of
others, you will not he judged by them.
Verse 2 says that with what measure we mete, it shall
be measured to us. The principle here is the same as with
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judgment. Apparently, in these verses the Lord does not
charge us to take care of others; actually, however, these
verses mean that we must take care of others. Are you
afraid of being measured by others? If so, then you must
take care of others, for they also are afraid of being
measured by you. If you take care of others, you will not
judge them, criticize them, or measure them.
In the past I knew a certain group of Christians who
talked a great deal about spirituality. In a sense, their talk
was genuine. However, this group had one weak point: it
was the practice of measuring others. It seemed that
everyone in this group had a little scale in his pocket.
Whenever they invited you to tea, they measured you with
their invisible scale. Later they would come together to
talk about you. Some would ask, "Have you found out
where he is?" This means, "Have you measured him?" I
also learned that this group did not care at all for the
feelings of others; they cared only for their practice of
measuring others. Their measuring was actually their
criticizing and their judging. I would take this opportunity
to encourage you not to measure others. Do not try to
determine how spiritual others are, how much growth they
have, or what is their condition in life. If you refrain from
measuring others, you will be kept from criticizing them
and judging them. This is based on the principle of taking
care of others.
Those in the group to which I just referred had a
difficult time helping others. The reason they could not
help others was that the others were under their
measurement, judgment, and criticism. In helping others,
we must be blind. If you want to help others in the church
life, you need to be blind. If you would be a good husband
or wife, be blind in taking care of your spouse. Do not
measure, judge, or criticize. Do not have any measurement
of others. This is a way of showing mercy toward them. If
you show mercy toward others, you will receive mercy. But
if you measure others without mercy, then you will also be
measured without mercy. With what measurement you
mete, it will be measured to you.
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Mercy does not do any measuring. This means that
mercy imposes no requirements. Anything that requires a
measurement is not mercy. Mercy does not know
mathematics; it does not know how to add or subtract.
Mercy is absolutely blind. Why do you treat me so well
when I am so pitiful? It is because you are merciful toward
me.
Sometimes, by the Lord's mercy, I have been merciful
toward others. Afterwards some of my children, whose
eyes were so clear about the situation, said to me! "Daddy,
don't you know how poor this person is? Why were you so
good to him?" I was good to him because I was blind. My
children, however, were very clear-sighted. But those who
are so clear-sighted cannot be merciful. If you would be
merciful, you must be like Isaac, who blessed Jacob in a
blind way. Likewise, we, the kingdom people, must be
blind in dealing with others. If so, we shall be merciful to
them and always take care of them. Whenever my children
asked me why I was kind to those who did not deserve
kindness, I answered, "You don't know what I am doing.
Your eyes are too big and clear. Why did I treat him that
way? It was because I was considerate of him." This is the
principle of the kingdom people in dealing with others. For
us to deal with others, we must consider them, sympathize
with them, and be merciful toward them. The kingdom
people must take care of others in their dealings with
them.
If you read these verses again and again, you will see
that the basic principle hidden here is that we must forget
ourselves and take care of others. Do you know why you
criticize others and judge them? It is because you think of
yourself too much. You neglect the feelings of others and
do not care for them. You care only for your feeling. Hence,
you judge and criticize others. Therefore, if we would be
kept from judging others, we must take care of them. This
requires that we forget ourselves and consider
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others. If we center around ourselves and ignore the
feelings of others, we shall criticize them. But if we take
care of others, we shall not judge them.
1. Considering the Log in Your Own Eye When You
Look at the Splinter in Your Brother's Eye
In verse 3 the Lord says, "And why do you look at the
splinter in your brother's eye, but do not consider the log
in your own eye?" As the kingdom people, living in a
humble spirit under the heavenly ruling of the kingdom,
we must consider the log in our own eye whenever we look
at the splinter in our brother's eye. The splinter in our
brother's eye must remind us that we have a log in our
own eye.
2. Removing the Log from Your Eye First
Verse 4 continues, "Or how can you say to your brother,
Let me remove the splinter from your eye, and behold, the
log is in your eye?" The Lord's word in verses 3 and 4 is
very deep. His intention here is not to charge us to take
care of ourselves; it is to charge us to take care of others.
Verse 5 says, "Hypocrite, first remove the log from your
eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the splinter
from your brother's eye." As long as the log remains in our
eye, our sight is blurred, and we cannot see clearly. In
pointing out a brother's fault, we must realize that we
have a greater fault. Our brother's fault is likened to a
splinter, and ours is likened to a log. Thus, once again, the
Lord's intention is that we take care of others. Whenever
you try to point out someone else's fault, you may care for
the fault, but not for the person. When you make someone
else's fault to be as large as a log, it shows you care only
for his fault, not for him. If you care for the brother, you
will not care only for his fault. Rather, you would say, "His
fault is merely a splinter when compared to mine, which is
a huge log. Therefore, I am happy to overlook his fault."
The Lord's intention in 7:1-12 is that we take care of
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others. The principle for the kingdom people in dealing
with others is that we must take care of others. We should
observe this principle in all our dealings with people. Do
not simply act according to your feeling, but take care of
the other person. This is the basic principle.
B. Not Giving the Holy Things to the Dogs nor
Casting Pearls before the Hogs
Verse 6 says, "Do not give that which is holy to the
dogs, neither cast your pearls before the hogs, lest they
trample them with their feet, and turn and tear you."
"That which is holy" must refer to the objective truth that
belongs to God, and "your pearls" must refer to the
subjective experiences which are ours. Dogs do not have
hoofs nor do they chew the cud, and hogs divide the hoofs,
but do not chew the cud. Thus, both are unclean (Lev. 11:4,
7). According to what is revealed in 2 Peter 2:12, 19-22,
and Philippians 3:2, the dogs and the hogs here refer to
people who are religious, but not clean.
Matthew 7:6 is also related to the matter of taking care
of others. Many times when you have seen a certain truth,
doctrine, or light, you tell others about it with no regard to
whether they are "dogs," "lambs," or "wolves." You care
only for your feeling of excitement. You may say, "Oh, I
have seen the light concerning the church life! The church
is glorious and wonderful!" In your excitement, you may
share this with the wrong person. This is giving what is
holy to the dogs. When you are about to give something
holy to others, you must consider those you are speaking
to. You should not give the holy things to dogs, nor cast
your pearls before hogs. When you talk to others about the
holy things, or the truths, and the pearls, or the
experiences, you must observe the basic principle of taking
care of others. You must determine whether or not people
can receive what you intend to share. You must also
perceive how much they can receive. In other words, when
you talk to others about spiritual things, do not speak
according to your feelings or desires; rather, speak to
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them according to their capacity to receive what you have
to say.
Many times the young people have gone out to tell
others about the church or about certain spiritual things
they have experienced. They cared only for their feeling,
not for the feelings of the others. Unfortunately, a number
of times the others were dogs or hogs, unable to receive
anything that was said. Instead, they turned upon the
ones sharing, trampled upon the pearls, and tried to bite
the brothers. Thus, when we have seen the light
concerning certain truths or have experienced certain
precious things of the Lord and desire to share them with
others, we must take care of those with whom we are
sharing. We must ask ourselves, "Can these people receive
my testimony? Can they take what I intend to share with
them?" If you take care of others, you will not share
everything with everybody, and there are some to whom
you will not give your testimony. This is the principle of
the kingdom people in dealing with others.
Often, we talk to others according to our feelings
without taking care of their feelings. Perhaps on a certain
day you may be very zealous regarding the church life and
the Lord's recovery. But in your zeal you may offend some
"dogs." At other times, because of some fresh experience of
Christ, you may say, "Oh, Christ is wonderful! Christ is
the brass, the iron, and the weapons to defeat the enemy."
You are so excited about your experience that you tell
everyone about it. But some may turn to attack you,
saying, "What! We never heard that Christ is weapons.
Where did you learn this? And how can you say that
Christ is brass and iron? This is blasphemy!" However, if
you take care of others, you may not say a word about your
fresh experience of Christ. Rather, you will be wise in
dealing with them, considering what the "dogs" can take or
what the "hogs" can understand. But if you are excited and
care only for yourself and not for others, you will get into
trouble or even cause trouble. In the past some of our
young people have gone to other meetings, and, caring
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only for their zeal, they spoke out unwisely. They were on
fire, but because they did not care for others, they only
caused trouble.
The kingdom people must be the wisest of people.
Whenever we contact others, we should know what their
temperature is, and we should care for their situation. We
should do things in a proper way and not provoke the dogs
to bite us or the hogs to attack us. They may turn and tear
us.
C. Asking, Seeking, and Knocking
Verses 7 through 11 present a difficulty because it
seems that these verses should not be here. For some
years, I skipped over these verses, going from verse 6 to
verse 12, because verse 12 matches verses 1 through 6.
Verse 12 says, "All things therefore whatever you wish
that men would do to you, so also you do to them; for this
is the law and the prophets." This verse is the continuation
and conclusion of the first six verses. However, between
verse 6 and 12, we have verses 7 through 11 as an
apparent insertion. What is the significance of this? As we
have pointed out, 7:1-12 is concerned with the principles of
the kingdom people in dealing with others. We have seen
that the kingdom people must mainly observe the principle
of taking care of others. In judging others or in speaking
about holy things, we must take care of others. Let us now
consider how verses 7 through 11 fit in with this matter.
Verses 7 and 8 say, "Ask and it shall be given to you;
seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to
you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks
finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened." It takes
experience to understand these verses. By reading these
verses again and again in the light of our experience, we
can realize that they mean that we must look to the
heavenly Father as we are dealing with others. We must
ask Him, seek Him, and knock for Him. Many times we
have failed to do this. But these verses indicate that at the
very time we are contacting people and dealing with them,
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we must look to the Lord and say, "Lord, tell me how to
contact these people. Lord, show me how to deal with
them." Sometimes simply asking will not be adequate. We
must seek and even knock. This indicates that contacting
people is a serious matter. Never think that it is an
insignificant thing. We, the kingdom people, must
approach it seriously, never doing it in a light or loose way
or merely according to our feeling. Rather, we must do so
by taking care of others. We must ask for a way, seek after
a way, and even knock at the heavenly door for a way.
Thus, we must ask, seek, and knock; then we shall have
the proper way to contact people.
In Matthew, the proper way to contact people is
according to the principle of the kingdom. In verse 11,
after using the examples of a son asking for a loaf and a
fish in verses 9 and 10, the Lord says, "If you then being
evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how
much more shall your Father Who is in the heavens give
good things to those who ask Him?" Because Matthew is a
book on the kingdom, no doubt the "good things" in verse
11 are the things of the kingdom. However, Luke 11:13,
the sister verse of Matthew 7:11 says, "If you then, being
evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how
much more shall the Father who is from heaven give the
Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?" In Luke 11:13 the
"good things" are changed to "the Holy Spirit." If we put
these two verses together, we see that the best way for the
kingdom people to contact others is according to the
kingdom and according to the Holy Spirit. Both the
kingdom and the Holy Spirit are the way to contact others.
The wisdom we need in properly contacting others is of the
kingdom and of the Spirit. As we deal with others, we
must ask, seek, and knock. Eventually, we shall receive
the guidance to deal with people according to the kingdom
and according to the Spirit. Thus, the controlling principle
for our contact with others is the kingdom and the Spirit.
If our contact with others is based upon this principle, we
shall not make mistakes.
If we consider the past, we shall have to admit that we
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have made mistakes in contacting people. Some of those
contacts were not profitable to anyone. But now we are
being trained by the kingdom. We are not loose believers,
but serious and strict kingdom people. Our contact with
others is according to the principle of the kingdom and the
principle of the Holy Spirit. We receive the guidance we
need in contacting others by asking, seeking, and
knocking. If we ask, we shall receive; if we seek, we shall
find; and if we knock, the door will be opened.
According to our human thought, we first take the way
and then arrive at the door. But the divine concept in the
Bible is exactly the opposite. First we pass through the
door, and then we walk along the way. The Lord said,
"Knock and it shall be opened to you." This means that the
door will be opened to us and then we shall be on the way.
If we ask, seek, and knock, the door will be opened to us,
and the way will be set before us. Then we shall know how
to contact others. In order to contact people, we need an
open door and a straight way as our guidance. We can
have this open door and straight way only by asking,
seeking, and knocking. How much we all need to find a
proper and profitable way to contact others, whether
unbelievers, saints, or the churches.
We all must learn to take care of others and to pray,
"Lord, show me the way." First you need to ask. If the way
does not open up, then you must seek. If the way still does
not open up, then you must knock. To knock means to
come close to the One whom you are seeking. When you
ask, there may still be a distance, but when you knock,
there is no distance. Rather, you are directly in front of the
One you are seeking. Thus, you need to spend time to seek
the Lord. In contacting others, we need the asking, the
seeking, and the knocking. Then the door will be opened, a
straight way will be given to contact people, our contact
will be profitable, and we shall be saved from making
mistakes. We shall also know to beware of the dogs and
the hogs. This is the significance of the insertion of verses
7 through 11 between verses 6 and 12.
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Before we consider verse 12, we need to add a further
word about asking. seeking, and knocking. To ask is to
pray in a common way, to seek is to supplicate in a specific
way, and to knock is to reach the door in the closest way.
The matter of asking and receiving in verse 8 is good for
the kingdom people's prayer concerning their keeping of
the new law of the kingdom. They ask for it and they will
receive it. The matter of seeking and finding is good for
6:33. The kingdom people seek the Father's kingdom and
His righteousness and will find them. The matter of
knocking and having the door opened is good for 7:14. The
narrow gate will open to the kingdom people by their
knocking.
Verse 11 contains a great promise. This promise
affirms that the kingdom people are under the care and
supply of the Father who is in the heavens. Thus, they are
well able to fulfill the new law of the kingdom and live in
its reality that they may enter into its manifestation.
In verses 9 and 10, the loaf and fish which are
requested indicate the need of the one asking. When we
ask, seek, and knock, we always have a need. Our
heavenly Father knows our need and will give us what we
need. No human father would give his children a stone for
a loaf or a serpent for a fish, but would always give them
good gifts. How much more will our heavenly Father give
us things which He considers good. Even in our seeking for
a way to contact others, He will give us the best way, the
way that we need.
D. Doing to People What You Wish Them to Do to
You
Now we come to verse 12, the conclusion to the section
on the principles of the kingdom people in dealing with
others. This verse says, "All things therefore whatever you
wish that men would do to you, so also you do to them; for
this is the law and the prophets." The new law of the
kingdom does not contradict the law and the prophets;
rather, it fulfills them and even complements them.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE TWENTY-FOUR
THE DECREE OF THE KINGDOM'S
CONSTITUTION
(12)
In this message we come to the last section of the
King's decree, 7:13-29.
VIII. CONCERNING THE GROUND OF THE KINGDOM
PEOPLE'S LIVING AND WORK
Before we consider 7:13-29, let us review what has
already been covered in this constitution. We must be
deeply impressed with the fact that the constitution of the
kingdom of the heavens is based upon the divine life and
nature of the kingdom people. We need to keep in mind
that the constitution of any people is always according to
the life and nature of that people. No one can fulfill the
requirements of this constitution unless he has been
regenerated and possesses the life and nature of the
heavenly Father. Those unbelieving philosophers and
teachers who have quoted certain verses from Matthew 5
through 7 have not understood the words they were
quoting. This constitution is not given to unbelievers.
Because it is based upon the spiritual, heavenly, and
divine life and nature of the kingdom people, only the
kingdom people can live according to it. Moreover, not
even the kingdom people can fulfill the requirements of
this constitution if they do not live according to the divine
nature and the divine life within them. This constitution is
not given according to the natural life or to the human
nature of the kingdom people. To repeat, it is formed
according to the divine life and divine nature.
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This constitution firstly reveals the nature of the
kingdom people, as unfolded in the nine blessings in 5:3-
12. Those items of the constitution that describe what the
kingdom people should do and how they should act all
correspond to the nature of the kingdom people. Whatever
the kingdom people do is an expression of their nature.
Their actions, behavior, speech, and outward deeds are the
expression of their divine life and nature. What is within
them is manifested in their outward behavior. The first
section of the constitution, the section concerning the
nature of the kingdom people, is therefore very basic. The
second section covers the influence of the kingdom people
upon the world, and the third deals with the law of the
kingdom of the heavens. As we have seen, all the
complemented and changed laws expose our anger and
lust. Beginning in chapter six, the constitution of the
heavenly kingdom proceeds to deal with the way the
kingdom people perform their righteous deeds. This
portion of the constitution digs out the self and the flesh.
Following this, the next section tells us that the kingdom
people should live on earth without any anxiety. We are
not here for anxiety, but for the fulfillment of our duty
under the care of our heavenly Father. He will feed us,
clothe us, and supply all our needs. Nevertheless, we must
fulfill our responsibility for the accomplishment of God's
purpose, yet without anxiety. In 7:1-12 the constitution
reveals the attitude we should have toward others, how we
should deal with them, and how we should take care of
them. By the time we reach 7:12, nearly every aspect of
our living and behavior has been covered. It seems that
the constitution is now complete, perfect, and all-inclusive.
However, one thing remains to be covered: the fact that
the kingdom people are on earth doing the will of God our
Father. Hence, in the last section there is no dealing with
anger, lust, the natural being, the self, the flesh, anxiety,
or our attitude toward others. Instead, in this section we
read of entering the narrow gate and walking the
constricted way (7:13-14). We also see that we must build
a house and do the will of the heavenly Father (vv.
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24-27, 21). Therefore, the conclusion of the constitution of
the heavenly kingdom ushers us through the narrow gate
and to the constricted way; thus we may do the will of the
heavenly Father and we may build a house.
As we consider the constitution of the kingdom of the
heavens as a whole, we see that it fully reveals what the
kingdom people are, what they should be, and what they
should do. It also reveals where they are and where they
are going. It reveals that on the constricted way, we must
do the will of the heavenly Father and we must build a
house according to the word of the heavenly King. In the
last section of the constitution there is no anger, lust, self,
flesh, anxiety, nor any word about our attitude toward
others. Instead, there are four crucial words: gate, way,
will, and house. Here we have the narrow gate, the
constricted way, the will of the heavenly Father, and the
house built upon the rock, which is the wise word of the
heavenly King. If we are not the people described in the
nine blessings and if we are not those fulfilling the
complemented and changed laws, we cannot enter through
the narrow gate, walk on the constricted way, do the will
of the heavenly Father, or build a house on the rock. Thus,
this last section is the consummation of the constitution.
A. Entering the Narrow Gate and Taking the
Constricted Way
Verses 13 and 14 say, "Enter in through the narrow
gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads
to destruction, and many are those who enter through it.
For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted which
leads to life, and few are those who find it." Who can enter
through the narrow gate spoken of in verse 13? Only the
kingdom people with the nature described in the nine
blessings in chapter five. Those who enter the narrow gate
must be poor in spirit, mourning, meek, hungry and
thirsty for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, making
peace with all men, willing to be persecuted for the sake of
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righteousness, and willing to be reproached for Christ.
Only those with such a nature can enter through the
narrow gate. Furthermore, those who enter through this
narrow gate must be under the higher laws of the
kingdom, the complemented and changed laws, and they
should not have any anxiety concerning their living.
Rather, they must have the confidence that their heavenly
Father is taking care of them. Moreover, they should not
be lazy or idle, but diligent and industrious. These are the
people who enter through the narrow gate and walk on the
constricted way.
This way is constricted, limited, on every side. The gate
is narrow and the way is constricted because the new law
of the kingdom is stricter and the demand of the kingdom
is higher than that of the old covenant. It deals not only
with outward conduct, but also with inward motive. The
old man, the self, the flesh, the human concept, and the
world with its glory are all excluded. Only that which
corresponds to God's will can enter in. The kingdom people
need firstly to enter such a narrow gate and then to walk
on such a constricted way. It is not walking the way first
and then entering the gate. To enter the gate is simply to
begin walking on the way, a way which is lifelong.
We all are happy to be in the Lord's recovery and
appreciate the recovery very much. But let me ask you this
question: As one in the Lord's recovery, are you walking on
the constricted way? We all must be able to say that we
are not taking the way of Christianity, but the way of
constriction. We are constricted on every side. Those in
Christianity can use rock music or other worldly methods
in their services, but we cannot, because our way is
constricted. All young people desire to be free, that is, to
put off all restriction. When the young people graduate
from high school, they are like caged birds wanting to be
free. However, many are so free that they have no
constriction, no restriction. We in the Lord's recovery, on
the contrary, are taking a constricted way. We must even
have some restriction in the practice of pray-reading. In
our pray-reading we should not be like worldly people at a
ball game who have no restrictions. We in the Lord's
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recovery must walk in our spirit. Living in spirit and
walking in spirit restrict us. Even when we are loving,
rejoicing, and happy, we must be under restriction. We
must not be like those who throw off all restraint in their
excitement. Rather, we must be excited within the limit of
the spirit. This must even be true in the meetings.
Although we may fully release our spirit, we should be
restricted as far as physical activity is concerned. In
everything, we need to take the constricted way, not the
broad way.
We must take the constricted way in our fellowship
with the brothers. Do you intend to praise a brother? You
must praise him in a constricted way. Are you about to
rebuke a brother? You must rebuke him in a constricted
way. Are you having fellowship with some brothers? This
is excellent, but you must fellowship with them in a
constricted way. Sometimes when you are having
fellowship, you forget all limitation. You go on hour after
hour without taking care of the need for food or rest.
Furthermore, in your fellowship you talk about everything
from the arch-angel Michael, to Martin Luther, to all the
brothers and sisters in the church. You fellowship about
everyone without any restriction. Praise the Lord that we
are truly free. Nevertheless, we still have the limitations,
restrictions, and constrictions.
Consider the example of the Lord Jesus in John
chapter seven. When His brothers proposed that He go
into Judea and make Himself known to the public, the
Lord said, "My time has not yet come, but your time is
always ready" (John 7:6). The Lord's word indicates that
He was limited, that He was walking a constricted way. As
the kingdom people, we also must walk on a constricted
way. Our way is full of limitations, restrictions, and
constrictions. But do not consider any limitation a
frustration. Rather, the limitations will speed us on our
way. If we refuse to be constricted, our progress will be
slowed down. However, if we are willing to be limited and
constricted, our speed will increase. After having passed
through all the preceding six sections of the constitution,
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in the last section we are ushered through the narrow
gate, and we are on the constricted way.
1. The Wide Gate and the Broad Way Leading to
Destruction and Many Entering It
In verse 13 the Lord said, "For the gate is wide and the
way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those
who enter through it." Destruction here does not refer to
the perdition of the person, but to the destruction of his
deeds and works (1 Cor. 3:15). There is no doubt that
today's Christianity leads people to destruction. Time will
prove that this is true. By the Lord's mercy, I will never
take the way of Christianity, because deep in me I have
the conviction that it is a broad way leading to destruction.
But the narrow gate and the constricted way lead to life. If
you take the way of Christianity, the broad way, your
spirit will become deadened immediately. Eventually,
everything you do will be destroyed, for that broad way
leads to destruction. This is not my opinion; it is the word
of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 3.
In 1 Corinthians 3:10 Paul says that he has laid the
foundation, which is Christ, and that others are building
upon it. Paul then says, "Let each one take heed how he
builds upon it," for we may build upon this foundation
with gold, silver, precious stones, or with wood, hay, and
stubble. In verses 13 through 15 Paul says, "The fire itself
will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If anyone's
work which he has built upon it shall remain, he shall
receive a reward. If anyone's work shall be consumed, he
shall suffer loss, but he shall be saved, yet so as through
fire." In these verses Paul seems to be saying, "Take heed
how you are building. If you build with gold, silver, and
precious stones, you will be rewarded." This is the work on
the constricted way which leads to a living reward in life.
However, Paul also seems to be saying, "If your work is of
wood, hay, and stubble, it will be burned by fire, and you
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will not receive a reward." In other words, such a work will
result in destruction. You may claim to be a Christian
worker, but what kind of material are you building with?
From these verses in 1 Corinthians 3 we see that not only
those who build theaters and gambling casinos will be led
to destruction, but also those who build Christian
cathedrals and chapels. The fire will try the nature of your
work. If your work is of wood, hay, and stubble, it is
certainly on the broad way leading to destruction.
Because we are not on the broad way, but on the
constricted way, there are many things that we cannot do.
I would rather have an ounce of gold than many pounds of
wood. I do not want to have a huge pile of wood, hay, and
stubble, for that will only result in a larger fire. I would
rather have a small amount of gold, silver, and precious
stones. Although we want to see the increase in all the
churches, we do not want the increase on the broad way.
Rather, we want the increase on the constricted way, the
increase of gold, silver, and precious stones. If we have this
kind of increase, the Lord will have a testimony on the
constricted way.
2. The Narrow Gate and the Constricted Way
Leading to Life and Few Finding It
Verse 14 says, "For the gate is narrow and the way is
constricted which leads to life, and few are those who find
it." Life here refers to the ever blessed condition of the
kingdom, which is filled with the eternal life of God. This
life is in the reality of the kingdom today and will be in the
manifestation of the kingdom in the coming age (19:29;
Luke 18:30). In the Lord's recovery today we are taking
the constricted way which leads to life.
B. Discerning the False Prophets by Their Fruit
Verse 15 says, "Beware of false prophets, who come to
you in sheep's clothing, but within are ravenous wolves."
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As we are taking the constricted way, we must discern who
the false prophets are. This means that on the constricted
way we must be alert for any kind of falsehood. The Lord
said regarding the false prophets, "By their fruits you shall
know them" (v. 16). We know a prophet not by his talk,
preaching, or work, but by his fruit. All Christians today
are accustomed to being influenced by people's talk. An
eloquent speaker with enticing words is able to seduce
many. Do not listen to eloquent speech or to enticing
words. Rather, wait and see what kind of fruit is produced.
This is the way to discern whether a prophet is true or
false.
The church is going on, and the Lord's testimony is
spreading throughout the world. Because the doors are
wide open, some self-appointed prophets may try to come
in, claiming that they know certain things and can do
certain works. Let them say whatever they will, for we
shall look to the Lord to prove them by their fruit. We need
to apply this principle to every such case. Do not listen to
eloquent speech, but consider the fruit. Every good tree
produces goodly fruit, but the corrupt tree produces evil
fruit. Every tree that does not produce goodly fruit will be
cut down and cast into the fire (7:17-19).
C. The Condition of Entering into the Kingdom of
the Heavens
1. Not Merely Calling on the Lord, but Doing the Will of the
Heavenly Father
Verse 21 says, "Not every one who says to Me, Lord,
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but he
who does the will of My Father Who is in the heavens."
This does not refer to the reality of the kingdom of the
heavens today, but to the coming manifestation of the
kingdom in the future. To enter into the kingdom of the
heavens we need to do two things: call on the Lord and do
the will of the heavenly Father. To call on the Lord
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suffices for us to be saved (Rom. 10:13), but to enter into
the kingdom of the heavens we also need to do the will of
the heavenly Father. Hence, "Not everyone who
says...Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of the
heavens," but those who call on the Lord and do the will of
the heavenly Father.
Since entering into the kingdom of the heavens also
requires doing the will of the heavenly Father, it is clearly
different from entering into the kingdom of God by being
regenerated (John 3:3, 5). This latter is by the birth of the
divine life; the former is by the living of that life.
In verse 21 the Lord does not say "your Father," but
"My Father." Here the Lord seems to be saying, "I, the Son
of Man and the Son of God, have been doing the will of My
Father. You also are sons of God and My brothers.
Therefore, you must be My companions and take the same
way that I take. Now you are not to do the will of your
Father, but the will of My Father. You are My brothers,
My companions, and My partners. You and I are walking
the same way and doing the same will. You are living with
Me according to the will of My Father." In this last section
of the constitution, it is no longer a negative matter of
dealing with our temper, lust, self, flesh, and anxiety. It is
absolutely a positive matter of doing the will of the Father
who is in heaven. The kingdom people are not for anything
other than doing the will of the Father. We are not here
merely to overcome our temper, our lusts, our self, and our
flesh, and to be kind and sympathetic to others. We are
here for the accomplishment of the will of the heavenly
Father. In order to do the will of the Father, we need to
walk in the constricted way. In the teachings of the
worldly philosophers, there is neither the divine life and
divine nature nor the divine way. But here the ultimate
issue of the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens is
the will of the heavenly Father. This means that we have a
heavenly Father and that we are the Father's sons.
However, in the last section of the constitution it is not
only a matter of life, but also a matter of the will of the
Father. Our Father has a will to accomplish, but we can
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accomplish it only by His life. We need to live in the life of
the heavenly Father and also by that life. This kind of
living is for the doing of the Father's will.
In the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens we
cannot see what the will of the Father actually is.
However, it is clearly revealed in chapter sixteen. The
Father's will is to build the church upon the Son as the
rock. This is fully developed in the Acts, the Epistles, and
the book of Revelation. The New Testament reveals that
God's divine, eternal will is to build up the church.
2. Many Prophesying, Casting Out Demons, and
Doing Many Works of Power in the Lord 's Name, but
Not According to the Heavenly Father's Will
Verse 22 says, "Many will say to Me in that day, Lord,
Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your
name cast out demons, and in Your name do many works
of power?" The words "that day" refer to the day of the
judgment seat of Christ (1 Cor. 3:13, 4:5; 2 Cor. 5:10). On
the day of judgment, when all the believers will stand
before the judgment seat of Christ, many will say to the
Lord that they prophesied, cast out demons, and did works
of power in His name, but they will be rejected by the
Lord.
3. The Lord Not Approving Them, but Considering
Them as Workers of Lawlessness
Verse 23 says, "And then I will declare to them, I never
knew you; depart from Me, workers of lawlessness." Here
the word "knew" means "approved." The same Greek word
in Romans 7:15 is translated "allowed" by the King James
Version. In this verse Paul says, "For that which I do, I
allow not." The Lord never approved those who
prophesied, cast out demons, and did many works of power
in His name, but not according to the will of the heavenly
Father (v. 21). The Lord did not deny that they did those
things, but He considered those things as
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lawlessness because they were not done according to the
will of the heavenly Father. They were not done in the line
of the divine will. The Lord seemed to be saying, "You
prophesied in My name, you cast out demons in My name,
and you did many works of power in My name, but I never
allowed you to do them. I never approved you because you
did all those things in a lawless way. You did them in
yourself, in your own desire, and according to your own
intention, not according to the will of My Father." Thus,
those who do such things, even in the Lord's name, will not
enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but will depart
from the Lord; that is, they will be rejected from the
manifestation of the kingdom in the coming age.
We see from the Lord's word here that certain works
may be done in the Lord's name, and yet not be done
according to the will of God. Are you doing this kind of
work, or are you doing God's will? We have talked a great
deal about going to the campuses, but are we going there
to do a certain work, or to do the will of our heavenly
Father? Young brothers and sisters, how would you
answer this question? Are you going to the campuses to do
the will of the heavenly Father? We must have the
assurance in whatever we do, that we are doing the will of
the heavenly Father. Otherwise, the Lord Jesus will say to
us, "Workers of lawlessness." Even prophesying in the
Lord's name, but not according to the will of the Father, is
a type of lawlessness. Moreover, casting out demons in the
Lord's name and doing works of power in the name of the
Lord, but not according to the will of God, are also
considered in the eyes of the heavenly King as lawlessness.
The runners in any race must run in the proper lanes.
Although you may run faster than others, your running
will not be recognized if you run outside the lines of your
lane. Rather, that type of running will be considered
lawlessness. You must run the race between the lines, that
is, you must run in a constricted way. Today the work of
many Christian workers is not restricted by the heavenly
lines. In their own eyes, they have done a great
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deal in the Lord's name and for the Lord. In the eyes of the
Lord, however, their work is a kind of transgression, a
violation of the heavenly lines. Hence, their work is
lawlessness. The Lord's word in 7:21-23 is a strong word of
warning to us all that we should not care only for
prophesying, for casting out demons, or for works of power.
We must take care of the heavenly lines. If you transgress
the lines as a runner in the heavenly race, you will be
disqualified. There are constricting lines in the Lord's
recovery, and we must be constricted in our running. If we
run between the lines, not outside of them, we shall be
approved by the Lord.
Again I say that the consummation of the constitution
of the kingdom of the heavens is to usher us through the
narrow gate and into the constricted way. Now we are
running on this constricted way. We should not care for
prophesying, for casting out demons, or for works of power.
Instead, we should care only for doing the will of our
heavenly Father. You may wonder how we can know the
Father's will. We can know it by the Father's life and
nature within us. The Father's nature will always tell us
"yes" or "no." If you are running according to the divine
nature and within the constricted lines, the divine nature
will indicate, "Yes, you are right; go on." But if you are not
running according to the divine nature or if you step
outside the lines, the divine nature will say, "Don't go this
way." There is no need for anyone to tell you what to do,
for the regulating, constricting, divine nature is within
you. This nature tells you where you are. Because a runner
in a race can see the lines, he needs no one to tell him
whether or not he is inside the boundaries. Likewise, we
have the constricting lines within us, the lines of the
divine life and the divine nature, and we can tell where we
are. According to the divine nature within us, we cannot
use rock music in our meetings. Although you may try
various worldly methods, the divine nature would disagree
with them all and indicate that you are transgressing the
lines. All those who are the kingdom people, all those who
have been regenerated by the Father, have His life and
nature within them. The Father's life and nature indicate
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whether or not we are in the constricted way. Let us all
run the race according to the Father's nature.
D. Two Kinds of Building upon Two Kinds of
Foundation
1. The Building on the Rock According to the Lord's Words
In verse 24 the King said, "Every one therefore who
hears these words of Mine and does them shall be likened
to a prudent man, who built his house on the rock." The
rock here does not refer to Christ, but to His wise word,
the word that reveals the will of His Father who is in the
heavens. The kingdom people's living and work must be
founded on the word of the new King for the
accomplishment of the will of the heavenly Father. This is
to enter the narrow gate and walk the constricted way
which leads to life.
Verse 25 says, "And the rain descended, and the rivers
came, and the winds blew and fell on that house; and it did
not fall, for it had been founded on the rock." The rain is of
God, descending from the heavens; the rivers are of man,
coming from the earth; and the winds are of Satan,
blowing from the air. All these will test the living and
work of the kingdom people. Although the rain may
descend, the rivers may come, and the winds may blow,
the house built upon the rock will not fall because it is
built according to the constricted way, the way of doing the
will of the Father. The house built on the rock which does
not fall is like the building work of gold, silver, and
precious stones, which can stand the testing fire (1 Cor.
3:12-13).
2. The Building on the Sand Not According to the
Lord 's Words
Verse 26 says, "And every one who hears these words of
Mine and does not do them shall be likened to a foolish
man, who built his house on the sand." Sand here refers to
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human concepts and natural ways. If we live and work
according to our human concepts and natural ways, our
living and work will be founded on sinking sand. This is to
enter the wide gate and walk on the broad way that leads
to destruction. Verse 27 says, "And the rain descended,
and the rivers came, and the winds blew and beat against
that house; and it fell, and the fall of it was great." The
house built on the sand which falls is like the building
work of wood, hay, and stubble, which will be burned by
the testing fire. However, the builder himself will be saved
(1 Cor. 3:12-15). To build our house upon our opinion and
concept is to build the house upon sinking sand. When the
rain, the rivers, and the winds test the house built upon
the sand, the house, not having a solid foundation, will
fall. This is the Lord's conclusion of the constitution of the
kingdom of the heavens.
The basic concept of the constitution of the kingdom of
the heavens is that the kingdom people should be
righteously strict with themselves, mercifully kind toward
others, and secretly pure toward God.
I cannot tell you how much this constitution has
controlled me throughout the years. I can testify that my
living, my walk, and my work are under this constitution.
I hope that all of us will be ushered into this constricted
way to build a house upon the solid rock according to the
will of our heavenly Father.
IX. AUTHORITY IN SPEAKING
Verses 28 and 29 say, "And it came to pass, when Jesus
finished these words, the crowds were astounded at His
teaching, for He was teaching them as One having
authority, and not as their scribes." Christ, as the new
King of the kingdom of the heavens, spoke with authority
in decreeing the new law of the kingdom.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE TWENTY-FIVE
THE CONTINUATION OF THE KING'S MINISTRY
(1)
In the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens there
are four verses that tell us how we can enter into the
kingdom of the heavens. The first is Matthew 5:3, which
says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the
kingdom of the heavens." The second says, "Blessed are
those who have been persecuted for the sake of
righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens"
(5:10). Both of these verses refer to the present. If we
would be in the reality of the kingdom today, we need to be
poor in our spirit and to be persecuted for the sake of
righteousness. The reality of the kingdom today depends
mainly upon righteousness. We are ushered into the
reality of the kingdom by being poor in spirit. After we
have had a change in our mind, we turn to the Lord and
become empty in our spirit. In this way the Lord enters
our spirit with His heavenly kingdom. From that moment,
we begin to live in the reality of the kingdom. By being
righteous, we are kept in this reality However, if we are
unrighteous, we are outside the reality of the kingdom. As
long as we maintain righteousness, we are preserved in
the reality of the kingdom. Examine your daily life. If you
are loose, too free, and careless about righteousness, you
are immediately separated from the reality of the
kingdom. If we would be in the reality of the kingdom
today, we must be poor in our spirit, and we must keep
ourselves in righteousness, willing even to suffer for the
sake of righteousness.
The other two verses that tell us how to enter the
kingdom both refer to entering into the manifestation of
the kingdom of the heavens in the future. Matthew 5:20
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says, "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness
surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall by no
means enter into the kingdom of the heavens." This refers
to participating in the manifestation of the kingdom. If we
would enter into the manifestation of the kingdom of the
heavens, we need the surpassing righteousness. Hence,
righteousness not only keeps us in the reality of the
kingdom, but also brings us into the manifestation of the
kingdom.
The last verse is 7:21, which says, "Not every one who
says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of the
heavens, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in
the heavens." This verse reveals that in order to enter into
the kingdom of the heavens, we must do the will of the
Father. Therefore, it is righteousness and the doing of the
Father's will that will usher us into the manifestation of
the kingdom. Righteousness refers mainly to our living,
and doing the will of the Father refers mainly to our work.
Both our living and our work must be according to the
constitution of the kingdom of the heavens. If our living is
according to this constitution, it will be righteous. And if
our work is according to the constitution, it will be the
doing of the will of God. This kind of living and work
qualifies us to enter into the manifestation of the kingdom.
Therefore, by being poor in our spirit, we are ushered into
the reality of the kingdom, and through righteousness we
are kept in this reality. By the surpassing righteousness
and the doing the will of the Father, we shall enter into
the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens.
After delivering the constitution of the kingdom of the
heavens on the mountain, the Lord Jesus came down from
the mountain to continue His ministry. In this message we
shall consider the continuation of the King's ministry (8:1--
9:34).
I. SIGNS WITH DISPENSATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE
After the new King came down from the mountain to
carry on His kingly ministry, the first thing He did was to
cleanse the unclean, heal the sick, and cast the demons out
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of the possessed that they might all become people of the
kingdom of the heavens (8:2-17).
The miracles, or signs, recorded in verses 2 through 17
have a dispensational significance. The order of the four
instances recorded in Matthew 8:2-16 differs from that in
Mark 1:29--2:1 and Luke 4:38-41; 5:12-14; and 7:1-10. The
order of Mark's record, showing that Jesus is the Servant of
God, is according to history. The order of Matthew's record,
proving that Christ is the King of the kingdom of the
heavens, is according to doctrine. In his Gospel, Matthew
put certain instances together to present a doctrine. The
order of Luke's record, revealing that Jesus is the proper
man to be man's Savior, is according to morality. The order
of John's record, testifying that Christ is the Son of God and
even God Himself, is also somewhat according to history.
Therefore, in the four Gospels there are three kinds of
sequences: historical, doctrinal, and moral. In Matthew 8:1-
17 three miracles--the cleansing of the leper, the healing of
the paralyzed Gentile servant boy, and the healing of Peter's
mother-in-law--and the healing of many are grouped
together to present a meaningful doctrine, that is, they have
a dispensational significance.
Let us first consider the healing of the leper (vv. 1-4).
A. Healing of the Leper
1. The King Coming Down from the Mountain
Verse 1 says, "Now when He had come down from the
mountain, great crowds followed Him." The coming down of
the King from the mountain signifies that the heavenly King
has come down from the heavens to the earth. He comes
firstly to reach the Jews, for undoubtedly the leper here
represents the Jewish people. The heavenly King came
down from the heavens to bring salvation firstly to the
leprous Jews. According to Romans chapter one, salvation is
for the Jews first and then for the Gentiles (v. 16).
2. A Leper Approaching Him for Cleansing and
Worshipping Him
Verse 2 says, "And behold, a leper approached and
worshipped Him, saying, Lord, if You are willing, You can
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cleanse me." The leper worshipped the new King and
called Him Lord, recognizing that He is the Lord God. In
reality the new King is Jehovah God (1:21, 23).
The diseases healed in the cases recorded in Matthew 8
are significant, for every disease signifies a specific
spiritual sickness. The first class of people saved by the
kingly Savior to be the people of the kingdom is
represented by a leper. According to the scriptural
examples, leprosy comes from rebellion and disobedience.
Miriam became leprous because of her rebellion against
Moses, God's deputy authority (Num. 12:1-10). Naaman's
leprosy was cleansed because of his obedience (2 Kings 5:1,
9-14). All fallen human beings became leprous in the eyes
of God because of their rebellion. Leprosy is the expression
of rebellion. Rebellion is inward, and leprosy is the
outward manifestation. Now the kingly Savior comes to
save men from their rebellion and cleanse them from their
leprosy that they may become His kingdom people.
Leprosy is a filthy disease. In the Old Testament a
leper had to be excluded from the camp of the children of
Israel until he was cleansed. This indicates that anyone
among the people of God who is rebellious and thereby
becomes leprous will be cut off from the fellowship of God's
people until he is healed. The leper here represents the
Jews. The Jews have become rebellious against God. Thus,
in God's eyes they are lepers. Nevertheless, the heavenly
King came first to them, not to judge them, but to heal
them. As the Lord indicated in 9:12, He came as a
Physician to heal the sick. He came first to reach the Jews
to heal them and to bring them salvation.
3. The King Stretching Out His Hand and Touching
Him to Cleanse Him
Verse 3 says, "And stretching out His hand, He touched
him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed. And immediately
his leprosy was cleansed." According to the law, a leper
should be excluded from the people because of his
uncleanness. No one could touch him (Lev. 13:45-46). But
the new King, as a man and as the kingly Savior, touched
him. What mercy and sympathy! By His one touch,
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immediately his leprosy was cleansed. What wonderful
cleansing!
4. The Cleansed Leper Being Charged by the King to
Offer the Gift for a Testimony
Verse 4 says, "And Jesus says to him, See that you tell
no one, but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the
gift which Moses prescribed for a testimony to them." The
new King told the cleansed leper still to do things
according to the regulations of the old law for his
cleansing, because the transitory period still remained,
when the old law was not yet fulfilled by His redeeming
death.
B. Healing of the Centurion's Servant Boy
1. A Centurion Approaching and Beseeching Him for the
Healing of His Servant Boy
After the Lord had entered into Capernaum, "A
centurion approached Him, beseeching Him and saying,
Lord, My servant boy is lying in the house paralyzed,
terribly tormented" (vv. 5-6). A centurion was an officer
over one hundred soldiers in the Roman army. The leper in
verses 2 through 4 represents the Jews, whereas the
centurion in verses 5 through 13 represents the Gentiles.
Before God, the Jews became leprous, unclean, because of
their rebellion and disobedience; whereas the Gentiles
became paralyzed, dead in function, because of their
sinfulness. The kingly Savior came firstly to the Jews and
then to the Gentiles (Acts 3:26; 13:46; Rom. 1:16; 11:11).
The believing Jews are saved by His direct touch (v. 3),
whereas the believing Gentiles are saved through faith in
His word (vv. 8, 10, 13).
2. The Centurion, Knowing Authority, Asking Only
for a Word
When the Lord told the centurion that He would come
and heal his servant, "The centurion answered and said,
Lord, I am not fit that You should enter under my roof; but
only speak a word, and my servant boy shall be healed."
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The Gentile centurion recognized the authority of the
kingly Savior and realized healing authority was in His
word. Thus he believed not only in the kingly Savior, but
also in His word, asking Him not to go personally but only
to send His word. This is stronger faith, and it was
marveled at by the Savior (v. 10).
3. The King Marveling at the Gentile Centurion's
Faith and Indicating that Many Gentiles Will
Participate in the Enjoyment of the Kingdom
Verse 10 reveals that the Lord Jesus marveled at the
centurion's faith and said, "Truly I say to you, With no one
in Israel have I found so much faith." Therefore, in verses
11 and 12 the Lord said that many would come from the
east and west to recline with Abraham and Isaac and
Jacob in the kingdom of the heavens, but that the sons of
the kingdom would be cast into outer darkness. This
indicates that the Gentiles will participate in the gospel of
the kingdom (Eph. 3:6, 8; Gal. 2:8-9; Rom. 1:13-16). The
reference to the kingdom of the heavens in verse 11 refers
to the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens. It will
be in the manifestation of the kingdom that the
overcoming Gentile believers will feast with Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob.
The sons of the kingdom in verse 12 refer to the saved
Jews who are the good seed (13:38), but who do not have
strong faith enabling them to enter the narrow gate and
walk the constricted way (7:13-14). They will miss the
feast in the manifestation of the kingdom (Luke 13:24-30).
The outer darkness will be the darkness outside the bright
glory in the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens
(25:30; 16:28). To be cast out into the outer darkness in the
coming kingdom age differs from being cast into the lake of
fire after the millennium and for eternity (Rev. 20:15).
4. The Centurion's Servant Boy Being Healed
According to the Centurion's Faith
Verse 13 says, "And Jesus said to the centurion, Go; as
you have believed let it be done to you. And the servant
boy was healed in that hour." The Jewish leper was healed
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by the King's direct touch. The King stretched out His
hand and touched him, and the leper was healed. But the
centurion's servant was not healed by the King's direct
touch. Rather, he was healed by the King's word. The
Gentile centurion believed in this word, and his servant
was healed. The Jews are always saved through the King's
direct touch, but we Gentiles are saved, not by His direct
touch, but by the sending out of His saving word. We
believe in this word and we are healed. None of us
Gentiles has had a direct touch from the Lord. We have
been saved through believing the enlivening, regenerating
word of the gospel. Hence, the centurion's servant
represents all the Gentile believers. The Lord did not
commend the faith of the leper, because faith was not the
outstanding characteristic there. The significant thing was
the King's touch. But with the healing of the centurion's
servant, faith is very outstanding. Hence, the Lord praised
the centurion's faith. Consequently, the servant boy was
healed.
The boy had been paralyzed. To be paralyzed means
that the body is out of function. Before we Gentiles were
saved, we were totally out of function. The Jews were
leprous, but we were paralyzed, out of function, because of
our sinfulness. We need the heavenly King's healing
salvation. He has sent us a word, and we have believed it.
Therefore, we have been healed, our function has been
recovered, and now we may begin to serve our Master. We
are just like the servant boy who was healed and was able
to serve again.
C. Healing of Peter's Mother-in-law
Verses 14 and 15 say, "And when Jesus had come into
Peter's house, He saw his mother-in-law laid aside and in a
fever; and He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and
she arose and ministered to Him." Peter's mother-in-law
represents the Jews at the end of this age who will be saved
by receiving the kingly Savior. At that time, during the
great tribulation, in the eyes of God the Jews will be in a
fever (v. 14), hot in things other than God. The kingly
Savior, after the fullness of the salvation of the Gentiles, will
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come back to this remnant of Jews that they might be saved
(Rom. 11:25-26; Zech. 12:10). Peter's mother-in-law was
healed in Peter's house, which represents the house of
Israel. At the end of this age all the remnant of the Jews will
be saved in the house of Israel. They will also be saved by
the kingly Savior's direct touch (v. 15), as the Jewish leper
was (v. 3).
At the end of this age salvation will come back from the
Gentiles to the Jews. However, it will not come back to the
scattered Jews, but to the Jews in the house of Israel. At
that time the Jews will be sick of a fever. This is even true of
the Jews today. So many of them are fervent in science, in
finance, in education, and in all manner of worldly pursuits.
But in the eyes of God all this is a fever. The temperature of
the Jews today is very high in their fervency for politics,
industry, agriculture, and warfare. They are represented by
the feverish mother-in-law of Peter. But in their heat and
fervency they neither trust in God nor care for morality.
Just as the Lord healed Peter's mother-in-law, so will He
come back again at the end of this age to heal the Jews who
will be fervent, burning, and sick of a fever. He will not heal
them through their faith, but through His direct touch. At
the Lord's second coming, the Jews will be directly touched
by His arrival and be saved.
Immediately after Peter's mother-in-law was healed, she
arose and ministered to the Lord (v. 15). This signifies that
at the Lord's coming back, the remnant of the Jews, after
being saved, will arise and minister to Him in the
millennium.
D. Healing of Many--Restoration to All on Earth in
the Millennium
1. Evening Having Come
Verse 16 says, "And when evening had come, they
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brought to Him many who were demon-possessed, and He
cast out the spirits with a word and healed all those who
were ill." The words "many" and "all those" represent all
the people on earth in the millennium. The millennium
will be the last dispensation of the old heaven and old
earth; thus it is considered the evening of the old heaven
and old earth. After this "evening," there will be a new
day, that is, the new heaven and new earth with the New
Jerusalem.
2. Many Demon-Possessed and All the Sick Being
Healed--a Foretaste of the Power of the Coming Age
In the millennium, there will be to the uttermost the
power to cast out demons and heal illnesses. Hence, all the
demon-possessed and all the sick will be healed. The
prophecies of Isaiah testify of this (Isa. 35:5-6). That will
be a real restoration. The casting out of demons and the
healing of the sick in this age are just a foretaste of the
extensive power of the coming age. In verse 16, after the
Lord had healed Peter's mother-in-law, when evening had
come, He healed many who were demon-possessed and all
who were ill. This indicates that after Christ comes back
and the Jews are saved, the millennium will begin. During
that period of time, all sicknesses will be healed. Hence,
the signs recorded in verses 2 through 17 have a
dispensational significance.
3. The Fulfillment of the Word of the Prophet
Verse 17 says, "In order that what was spoken through
Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, He Himself
took our infirmities and bore our diseases." All healings
accomplished on fallen people are due to the Lord's
redemption. He took our infirmities and bore our diseases
on His cross and accomplished full healing for us there.
However, the application of healing by divine power can
only be a foretaste in this age; the full taste will be
accomplished in the coming age.
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II. THE WAY TO FOLLOW THE KING
A. The King Giving Orders to Depart from the Great Crowds
Verse 18 says, "Now when Jesus saw great crowds
around Him, He gave orders to depart to the other side."
In His ministry, as recorded in the four Gospels, the Lord
always withdrew from the crowds. He did not want the
curious ones to be with Him. He did not care for great
crowds, but only for the sincere seekers after Himself.
B. A Scribe Coming to Follow the King
In verses 18 through 22 we see the way to follow the
heavenly King. The way is revealed through the cases of
two who came to the King. The first, a scribe, said to Him,
"Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go." In saying
this, he did not consider the cost. Hence, the King
answered in verse 20 in a way to cause him to consider the
cost.
C. The King Unveiling to the Scribe that He Has
Nowhere to Rest
In verse 20 the Lord said to the scribe who wanted to
follow Him, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the
heaven have roosts, but the Son of Man has nowhere that
He may lay His head." Here the Lord referred to Himself
as the Son of Man. The new King in His kingly ministry
continually took the standing of the Son of Man until
16:13-17. The King of the kingdom did not even have a
resting place, as the foxes and birds do. This proves that
the kingdom which He was establishing was not material
in the earthly nature, but spiritual in the heavenly nature.
The Lord seemed to be saying to the scribe, "Do you intend
to follow Me? You have underestimated the price. You, a
scribe, a learned one with a high rank in society, must
realize that I am nothing and that I have nothing. I have
even less than the birds and the foxes, for I have nowhere
to lay My head." I believe that the scribe was disappointed
and that he did not follow Him. The principle of following
the Lord is the same today. We must consider the price. In
following this King, there is no material enjoyment.
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D. Another Disciple Asking Permission to Bury His
Father First
Verse 21 says, "And another of the disciples said to
Him, Lord, permit me first to go away and bury my
father." In saying this, this disciple, who was not a scribe,
overly considered the cost of following the King of the
heavenly kingdom. This disciple, apparently warned by
the first case, overestimated the cost. He seemed to be
saying to the Lord, "I will follow You, but I have a dead
father. Let me first go back to bury him, and then I will
come back to follow You."
E. The King Telling the Disciple to Follow Him and
Leave the Dead to the Dead
Because this disciple overestimated the cost of
following the King, He answered him in the way of
encouraging him to follow Him and drop his consideration
of the cost, leaving the burial of his father to others. The
Lord said, "Follow Me and leave the dead to bury their
own dead." How wonderful the Lord Jesus is! He purposely
disappointed the first and deliberately encouraged the
second. The Lord was very wise in dealing with people. If I
had been the Lord Jesus, I would have been excited to
hear that a scribe wanted to follow me, and I would have
encouraged him to do so. The Lord, however, was cool
toward him and did not encourage him at all. Rather, He
seemed to say, "Will you follow Me? You have a nice bed, a
comfortable place to lay your head. But if you come to
follow Me, you will not have a place to lay your head. I
have even less than the birds and the foxes do." Thus, He
discouraged this person of high rank. But to the disciple
who had been warned by this case not to follow the Lord in
a light or loose way, the Lord gave a word of
encouragement. The Lord's word encouraged him to forget
about all the preparations he was making, to leave the
dead to bury the dead, and to follow Him.
By these two cases we see that it is not easy to contact
people. How would you deal with these two if they came to
you today? Probably you would accept both of them.
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However, the Lord differentiated between them,
discouraging the one and encouraging the other.
In these two cases we see the way to follow the
heavenly King. First, as we follow Him, we should not
expect to have any material enjoyment. Second, in order to
follow Him, we must ignore the requirements of the dead.
The Lord told the disciple to "leave the dead to bury their
own dead." The first dead refers to the people who are
spiritually dead, as mentioned in Ephesians 2:1, 5; the
second refers to the physically dead father of the disciple.
Eventually, the spiritually dead will fulfill the duty of
burying the physically dead. Through experience we have
learned that we should not go back to fulfill the duty for
the dead. Let the dead perform these duties on behalf of
the dead. We are the living ones and we must go on to
follow the King. But do not expect any material enjoyment,
for you may have no nest, no roost, no place to lay your
head. If you do not expect any material enjoyment and if
you will leave the dead duties to the dead, you can go on to
follow Him.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE TWENTY-SIX
THE CONTINUATION OF THE KING'S MINISTRY
(2)
III. THE AUTHORITY OF THE KING
In 8:23--9:8 we see the authority of the King. The
sequence of Matthew is wonderful. After the King spoke in
a way to indicate that He had nothing, not even a home or
a place to rest, and after not allowing His followers to
perform the dead duties, the record of Matthew reveals the
authority of this King. Although He had nothing, He had
authority. In 8:23--9:8 this authority is of three aspects:
the authority over the winds and the sea (8:23-27); the
authority over the demons (8:28-34); and the authority to
forgive sins (9:1-8).
A. Over the Winds and the Sea
The Lord's authority was manifested over the winds
and the sea. This is not an ordinary authority; rather, it
must be counted as an extraordinary authority. The Lord
and His disciples were in a boat, and "a great tempest
arose in the sea, so that the boat was covered by the
waves" (v. 24). When the disciples, fearing that they would
perish, roused the Lord from sleep (v. 25), He said, "Why
are you fearful, you of little faith?" (v. 26). Faith comes
from the word of the Lord and depends upon that word
(Rom. 10:17). The Lord gave them the word in verse 18 "to
depart to the other side." If they had believed that word,
they would not have needed to pray as they did in verse
25. Their realization of the Lord's word was not a full
realization; thus, they were those of little faith.
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Verse 26 says, "Then He arose and rebuked the winds
and the sea, and there was a great calm." As the Lord and
the disciples were sailing across the sea, on their way to
cast out the demons, something in the air and under the
sea began to cause them difficulty. In the air there were
the fallen angels, and in the water there were the demons.
Thus the Lord's command was not actually spoken to the
winds or to the sea, but to the fallen angels in the air and
to the demons underneath the water. A rebuke is not given
to things without life, but to things with personality. The
King rebuked the winds and the sea because in the wind
are the fallen angels of Satan (Eph. 6:12), and in the sea
are the demons (Matt. 8:32). The fallen angels in the air
and the demons in the water collaborated to frustrate the
King from going to the other side of the sea, because they
knew He would cast out the demons there (vv. 28-32). As
soon as the King commanded the fallen angels and evil
demons to stop, they immediately obeyed, and there was a
great calm. The calm being great was in contrast to the
measure of their faith, which was little (v. 26).
Verse 27 says, "And the men marveled, saying, What
kind of man is this that even the winds and the sea obey
Him?" Actually, it was not the winds and the sea, but the
fallen angels above the winds and the demons under the
sea that obey the King's authority. Hence, in verses 23
through 27 we see a manifestation of the King's
supernatural authority. He had no hole, no roost, no place
to lay His head; however, He had supernatural authority
over the natural environment. He is fully qualified to be
the heavenly King of the heavenly Kingdom. Apart from
Him, there has never been on earth a King with such
extraordinary authority.
B. Over the Demons
When the Lord Jesus had come to the country of the
Gadarenes, He was met by two who were possessed by
demons. When the two possessed by demons met the Lord
Jesus, the demons cried out, saying, "What have we to do
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with You, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us
before the time?" (v. 29). The King called Himself the Son
of Man (v. 20), but the demons called Him the Son of God,
tempting Him to deviate from His standing as the Son of
Man. The demons asked Him if He had come to torment
them before the time. The words "before the time" imply
that God has appointed a time for the demons to be
tormented and that the demons knew that time. It will be
after the millennium and for eternity. (See note on
Revelation 20:13 in Recovery Version of Revelation.)
The demons, not wanting to be tormented before the
time, entreated the Lord Jesus, saying, "If You cast us out,
send us into the herd of hogs" (v. 31). The fact that the
demons entreated Him indicates that they were under the
power and authority of the King. Verse 32 says, "And He
said to them, Go! And they came out and went into the
hogs; and behold, the whole herd rushed down the
precipice into the sea and died in the waters." The word
"Go!" was the King's authoritative order, and the demons
obeyed it. The King answered the demons' entreaty to
enter into the hogs because hogs are unclean in the eyes of
God (Lev. 11:7). Unable to tolerate being possessed by the
demons, the hogs rushed into the sea. The demons agreed
to this, because the water is their lodging place (12:43-44).
The Lord's intention in permitting the demons to go
into the hogs was not to damage the occupation of those
who fed them. Because hogs are dirty in the eyes of God,
the Lord Jesus destroyed their unclean occupation with
the expectation that those employed in it might be saved
and turn to Him. The hogs, unclean and condemned by
God, should not have been present.
When the report concerning the hogs came to those
who owned them, the owners were offended. Verse 34 says,
"And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus, and
when they saw Him, they entreated Him that He might
depart from their districts." They begged the Lord Jesus to
leave, and He did depart (9:1). The city people, having lost
their hogs, rejected the King. They wanted
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their unclean hogs, but not the King of the heavenly
kingdom. They were probably Gentiles. (Gadara was on
the shore of the Sea of Galilee, opposite to Galilee of the
Gentiles--4:15.) They rejected the heavenly King because
of their unclean way of making a living.
The King's coming to this district set everything in
order. Not only were the demons cast out of the two men,
but the hogs were drowned. Hence, the whole region was
cleared, and the demons returned to their dwelling place.
This was an exhibition of the Lord's authority.
C. To Forgive Sins
In 9:1-8 we see the King's authority to forgive sins.
After the Lord had come to His own city, Capernaum,
where He now dwelt (4:13), a paralytic was brought to
Him. Verse 2 says, "And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to
the paralytic, Have courage, child, your sins are forgiven."
The men who had brought the paralytic to the Lord Jesus
had uncovered the roof where the Lord was and had
broken it up (Mark 2:4). By this the Lord saw their faith.
The mention of sins in verse 2 indicates that the paralytic
was sick because of his sins.
Verse 3 says. "And behold, some of the scribes said
within themselves, This man blasphemes." The scribes,
assuming that they knew the Scriptures, thought that only
God had authority to forgive sins, and that Jesus, who in
their eyes was only a man, blasphemed God when He said,
"Your sins are forgiven." This indicates that they did not
realize that the Lord was God. By uttering such a word,
they rejected the King of the heavenly kingdom. This was
the first rejection by the leaders of the Jewish religion.
According to the scribes, the Lord Jesus was assuming to
be God and was blaspheming Him. But the Lord Jesus, of
course, did not blaspheme at all, for He is God. As God, He
not only has authority over the natural environment and
over demons; He also has the full authority to forgive
people of their sins.
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The Lord perceived in His spirit (Mark 2:8) the
reasoning of the scribes. Verses 4 and 5 say, "And Jesus,
knowing their inward reasonings, said, Why are you
thinking evil things in your hearts? For which is easier, to
say, Your sins are forgiven; or to say, Rise and walk?" The
Greek word rendered "inward reasonings" also means
cogitations, thoughts, evil surmisings with strong feeling
or passion. The scribes did not have to give utterance to
their reasonings because the Lord Jesus through the
perception of His spirit was able to discern the reasonings
within their hearts, and He asked them concerning them.
The Lord's perceiving of the reasonings of the scribes
indicates that He is truly God. If He were not God, how
could He have known these things? Notice that the Lord
did not say, "Which is more difficult?" because to Him
nothing is difficult. For Him to say, "Your sins are
forgiven," was easier than to say, "Rise and walk," because
no one knows whether or not one's sins are forgiven.
Hence, it is easy to say this. But everyone can tell if a
person rises and walks.
The Lord's salvation not only forgives our sins, but also
causes us to rise and walk. It is not to rise and walk first
and then be forgiven of our sins; that would be by works.
Rather, it is to be forgiven of our sins first and then to rise
and walk; this is by grace.
Verse 6 says, "But that you may know that the Son of
Man has authority on earth to forgive sins--then He says
to the paralytic, Rise, pick up your bed and go to your
house." To forgive sins is a matter of authority on earth.
Only this kingly Savior, who had been authorized by God
and who would die to redeem sinners, had such authority
(Acts 5:31; 10:43; 13:38). This authority was for the
establishment of the kingdom of the heavens (Matt. 16:19).
The Lord enabled the paralytic not only to walk, but
also to pick up his bed and walk. Formerly the bed bore
him; now he bears it. This is the power of the Lord's
salvation. This paralytic was brought to the Lord by
others, but he went home by himself. This indicates that it
is not that the sinner can go to the Lord, but that the
sinner can go from the Lord by the Lord's salvation.
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Verse 7 says, "And he rose and went away to his
house." The paralytic's rising and going proved that he
was healed, and his being healed proved that his sins were
forgiven. This was a strong proof that the Lord Jesus had
the authority to forgive people's sins.
What these cases reveal to us is not the power of
Christ, but the authority of the heavenly King. The
authority, of course, is backed by the power. However,
authority is higher than power. Some may have power, but
without authority. For Jesus, the Lord, to be vindicated as
the heavenly King, there is the need for Him to show His
followers His authority. This authority is to deal with the
negative things, the opposing environment instigated by
the evil spirits, the demons and the corrupting sins. Christ
as the heavenly King has the full authority to deal with all
of these, and all of these are subdued under His authority.
This brings in the establishment of His heavenly kingdom
on earth.
If we put together all the cases recorded in 8:1--9:8, we
see a clear picture of who this heavenly King is. He is the
Savior of the Jews and also of the Gentiles. He will be the
Savior of the repentant Jews, and He will also be the One
who will restore the entire earth in the millennium. He
has authority over the wind, the sea, and the demons. He
also has authority to forgive people of their sins, and to
cause these people to rise and walk. If we would follow this
heavenly King, we must not expect any material
enjoyment, and we also need to ignore the dead obligations
and duties. This bird's-eye view of this portion of the Word
affords us a vivid portrait of who the heavenly King is.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE TWENTY-SEVEN
THE CONTINUATION OF THE KING'S MINISTRY
(3)
IV. FEASTING WITH THE SINNERS
In 9:9-17 we come to a very fine, sweet, and intimate
portion of the Gospel of Matthew. After the King decreed
the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens and after
He manifested His authority as the King in many
situations, in 9:9-13 we see Him feasting with sinners.
A. The Calling of Matthew
In 9:9 we have the calling of Matthew. This verse says,
"And as Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man called
Matthew, sitting in the customs office, and says to him
Follow Me. And he rose and followed Him." Matthew was
also called Levi (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27). He was a tax
collector who became an apostle by God's grace (Matt.
10:2-3; Acts 1:13, 26). He was the writer of this Gospel.
The calling of Matthew is somewhat different from the
calling of Peter, Andrew, James, and John. When Peter
and Andrew were called, they were casting a net into the
sea; and when James and John were called, they were
mending their nets. The Lord called them, they left their
work, and they followed the Lord Jesus. As the Lord Jesus
was passing by the customs office, where the tax collectors
were, He saw Matthew and called him, and Matthew
followed Him. According to the record in 9:9 it seems that
this was the first time the Lord met Matthew. There must
have been some attracting power with the Lord, either in
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His word or appearance, that caused Matthew to follow
Him.
To follow the Lord includes believing in Him. No one
follows Him unless he believes in Him. To believe in the
Lord is to be saved (Acts 16:31), and to follow Him is to
enter the narrow gate and walk the constricted way to
participate in the kingdom of the heavens (Matt. 7:13-14).
B. A Feast Prepared for the King
Verse 10 says, "And it came to pass as He was reclining
at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors
and sinners came and reclined at the table together with
Jesus and His disciples." The house spoken of in this verse
was Matthew's house (Luke 5:29; Mark 2:15). As the
writer of this Gospel, Matthew purposely did not say that
it was his house and that it was he who had made a great
feast for the Lord. This was his humility. But Luke 5:29
says clearly that Levi, that is, Matthew, "made a great
reception for Him in his house." Thus, Matthew opened his
house and prepared a great feast for the Lord and His
disciples.
C. Many Tax Collectors and Sinners Participating in
the Feast with the King and His Disciples
Verse 10 says that "many tax collectors and sinners
came and reclined at the table together with Jesus and His
disciples." This reveals the kind of person Matthew was.
He was a sinful, despised tax collector who had many
sinners as his friends. If he had not been such a low
person, why were only tax collectors and sinners and not
those of a higher rank feasting in Matthew's house with
the Lord Jesus? Although Matthew was such a low person,
he was made not only a disciple, but one of the twelve
apostles.
A tax collector was a despised person. Nearly all tax
collectors abused their office by demanding more than they
should by false accusation (Luke 3:12-13; 19:2, 8). To pay
taxes to the Romans was very bitter to the Jews.
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Those engaged in collecting them were despised by the
people and counted unworthy of any respect (Luke 18:9-
10). Hence, they were classed with sinners (Matt. 9:10-11).
How we must worship the Lord that even a person of such
a low rank as Matthew, under God's mercy and by His
grace, could become an apostle! After being saved,
Matthew was so grateful to the Lord that he opened his
house and prepared a feast for Him and His disciples.
Thus, this section of the Word opens in such a sweet,
intimate way.
D. The Pharisees Condemning the King for Eating
with Tax Collectors and Sinners
Verse 11 says, "And when the Pharisees saw it, they
said to His disciples, Why does your teacher eat with the
tax collectors and sinners?" The Pharisees, the strictest
religious sect of the Jews, were proud of their superior
sanctity of life, devotion to God, and knowledge of the
Scriptures. While the Lord Jesus was enjoying the feast
with all the tax collectors and sinners, the Pharisees
criticized and condemned Him, and they asked the
disciples why their teacher ate with such people. This
question indicates that the self-righteous Pharisees did not
know the grace of God. They assumed that God deals with
man only according to righteousness. By asking this, they
were exposed as dissenters to the heavenly King, thus
rejecting Him. This is a continuation of the rejection of the
heavenly King begun in verse 3 by the leaders of the
Jewish religion.
E. The Lord Revealed as the Physician and as the
One Who Came to Call Sinners
The Lord took the opportunity given Him by the
Pharisees' question to give a very sweet revelation of
Himself as the Physician. In verse 12 we see the Lord's
reply to the Pharisees' question: "Those who are strong
have no need of a physician, but those who are ill." The
Lord was telling the Pharisees that these tax collectors
and sinners were patients, sick ones, and that to them the
Lord was not a judge, but a physician, a healer. In calling
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people to follow Him for the kingdom, the King of the
heavenly kingdom ministered as a physician, not as a
judge. The judgment of the judge is according to
righteousness, whereas the healing of the physician is
according to mercy and grace. Those whom He made
people of His heavenly kingdom were lepers (8:2-4),
paralytics (8:5-13; 9:2-8), the fever-ridden (8:14-15), the
demon-possessed (8:16, 28-32), those sick of all kinds of
illnesses (8:16), the despised tax collectors, and sinners
(9:9-11). Had He visited these pitiful people as a judge, all
would have been condemned and rejected, and none would
have been qualified, selected, and called to be the people of
His heavenly kingdom. Rather, He came to minister as a
physician, to heal, recover, enliven, and save them, so that
they might be reconstituted to be His new and heavenly
citizens, with whom He could establish His heavenly
kingdom on this corrupted earth. The Lord's word here
implies that the self-righteous Pharisees did not recognize
their need of Him as a physician. They considered
themselves strong; hence, blinded by their own self-
righteousness, they did not know that they were ill.
The self-righteous Pharisees criticized the Lord Jesus
and condemned all those unclean people. But the Lord
seemed to say, "These people are not unclean; they are
sick. I have not come as a judge to condemn them, but as a
physician, as their dear, lovely, intimate healer." As the
Lord Jesus was speaking these words, He was surely
indicating that the Pharisees, who thought they were
righteous, were actually just as sick as the others were.
The Lord Jesus gave the Pharisees a further word in
verse 13: "Now go and learn what this means, I desire
mercy and not sacrifice, for I did not come to call the
righteous, but sinners." The self-righteous Pharisees
assumed they knew all things concerning God. In order to
humble them, the Lord told them to learn more.
Mercy is a part of grace for man to receive from God.
But self-righteous men do not like to receive mercy or
grace from God; they prefer to offer sacrifice to God, to
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give something to God. This contradicts God's way in His
economy. Just as God desires to show mercy to pitiful
sinners, so He wants us also to show mercy to others in
love (Micah 6:6-8; Mark 12:33).
The Lord says here that He did not come to call the
righteous, but sinners. Actually, there is none righteous,
not even one (Rom. 3:10). All the righteous are self-
righteous like the Pharisees (Luke 18:9). The kingly Savior
did not come to call them, but to call sinners. The
Pharisees were proud of their knowledge of the Scriptures,
and they thought that they knew the Bible very well. But
here the Lord Jesus told them to go and learn something,
to learn the meaning of the word, "I desire mercy and not
sacrifice." The Lord seemed to be telling the Pharisees,
"You Pharisees are self-righteous, and you condemn these
people without mercy. But God desires mercy. Now is the
time for Me to exercise God's mercy upon these pitiful
people by being a physician to them. I am not here as a
judge. I am here as a lovely physician taking care of their
problems, and now I am healing them."
Are you righteous? If you say, "No, I am not righteous,"
you are blessed. Blessed are those who do not think that
they are righteous, but who recognize that they are sinful.
The reason for this is that the Lord did not come to call the
righteous; He came to call the sinners. The Lord could say
to the self-righteous ones, "If you consider yourselves
righteous, you are not suitable for My coming, because My
coming is for the sinners. Do not consider yourselves to be
righteous. Rather, you must realize how sinful you are. If
you consider yourselves as sinners, then you are ready for
My coming."
Without the environment portrayed in these verses, the
Lord Jesus would not have had the opportunity to reveal
Himself as the Physician. The Lord did not simply tell His
disciples, "You must know that I have not come as a judge,
but as a physician." This would have been merely a
doctrine. As the Lord was feasting with all those sick ones,
He revealed Himself as the Physician. Those tax collectors
and sinners were not physically sick; they were
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spiritually sick. While the Lord Jesus was feasting with
them, He was healing them. The Lord was telling the
Pharisees, "Pharisees, you are the judges, but I am the
Physician. As a Physician, I can heal only the sick ones. If
you feel that you are not ill, then I have nothing to do with
you, and I cannot heal you. I have come here to call the
sinners, the sick ones, not the righteous, the whole ones.
On which side do you stand--the side of the righteous or
the side of the sinners? If you take the side of the sinners,
then I am here to be your Physician."
Matthew reveals more than thirty-three aspects of
Christ, one of which is Christ as the Physician. He is not
only our King, our Savior, and our life; He is also our
Physician. If we have this vision, we shall have faith in
Him and trust Him whenever we are sick physically,
spiritually, or mentally. We need to trust Him as our
Physician.
The Gospel of Matthew is a book of the kingdom, yet it
is also a book full of the riches of the heavenly King. This
heavenly King is our Physician with healing authority. His
healing is not simply a matter of power; it is a matter of
authority. To heal us there is no need for Him to touch us
directly. He needs only to speak a word, and His authority
will come with His word. Remember the case of the
healing of the centurion's servant. The centurion said to
the Lord, "Only speak a word, and my servant boy shall be
healed" (8:8). Furthermore, the centurion could say, "I am
also a man under authority, and many others are under
me. I simply speak a word, and they obey it, because with
my word there is authority. Lord, You don't need to come
to my home. Simply give a word, and Your authority will
go with Your word." The Lord's word heals us not with
power, but with authority. Often Christians think that the
Lord heals because He is able to heal. This is a natural
concept. The Lord's healing is not a matter of His ability to
heal; His healing is a matter of authority. He simply needs
to say, "Illness, go away." This is authority. With this same
authority He is also fully able to
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command mental illnesses to flee. Thus, He heals us with
authority.
Because the Pharisees were religious and self-
righteous, the Lord dealt with them. The Pharisees
thought that the tax collectors and sinners were rejected.
This was their religious concept. The Lord took advantage
of the Pharisees' expression of their religious concept to
reveal Himself as the Physician. He seemed to say, "You
Pharisees, you religious people, are wrong. I am not here
as a judge condemning the people. I am here as a
Physician healing them. And I would heal you also, if you
were willing to be healed." How sweet and intimate is this
portion of the Word!
V. FASTING WITHOUT THE BRIDEGROOM
A. The Disciples of John and the Pharisees
As a book of doctrine, Matthew presents us another
case in 9:14-17: the case of fasting without the
Bridegroom. Verse 14 says, "Then the disciples of John
came to Him, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast
much, but Your disciples do not fast?" Verses 10 through
13 record the Lord's dealing with the question of the
Pharisees, who were in the old religion. Now in verses 14
through 17 the Lord deals with the problem of John's
disciples who were in the new religion. John the Baptist
dropped the old religion and began his ministry in the
wilderness outside of religion. However, after a short time,
his disciples formed a new religion to frustrate men from
enjoying Christ, just as the Pharisees in the old religion
did. John the Baptist's ministry was to introduce men to
Christ that Christ might become their Redeemer, their
life, and their all. However, some of his disciples drifted
away from his goal, Christ, to some of John's practices and
turned those practices into a religion. To be religious
means to do something for God without Christ. To do
anything without the presence of Christ, even though it is
scriptural and fundamental, is
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religious. Both the disciples of John, the new-timers of
religion, and the Pharisees, the old-timers of religion,
fasted much, yet without Christ. They did not own Christ
as the Bridegroom, but made fasting a matter of religion.
Meanwhile, they condemned the disciples of Christ who
did not fast, but had Christ with them and lived in His
presence.
John the Baptist was born a priest, but later he fully
abandoned everything religious. Nevertheless, less than
three years after he had been put into prison, his disciples
formed a new religion. To have a religion is to worship
God, to serve God, and to do certain things to please God,
yet without Christ. A religion is anything you do for God
without the Spirit, without Christ. The Pharisees did a
great many things for God, but Christ was not in them.
They did many things to serve God, but they did them
without the Spirit. Now the disciples of John the Baptist
were fasting without Christ, without the Spirit.
Nevertheless, this fasting was for God. Hence, they formed
another religion. Therefore, in verse 14 we have the old
religion, the religion of the Pharisees, and the new
religion, the religion of the disciples of John.
How easy it is to have a religion! Do not think that you
can be free from religion by simply dropping an old way
and picking up another way. No matter whether the way is
old or new, it is a religion as long as it does not have
Christ and the Spirit in it. Your new way may simply be
your new religion. Remember what religion is: it is doing
things to please God apart from Christ and the Spirit.
The self-righteous Pharisees, the old-timers of religion,
were bothered by the fact that Christ made Himself a
companion of tax collectors and sinners, who were
condemned by them (v. 11). They condemned Him for
feasting with the sinners. The fasting disciples of John, the
new-timers of religion, were troubled by the feasting of
Christ and His disciples (v. 10) and condemned them for
not fasting. The situation is similar today. On every hand
the religionists condemn us. What then should we do? We
should stay with the Physician.
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B. Not Fasting with the Bridegroom
In the case of the new religion, the Lord is not only the
Physician, but also the Bridegroom. In verse 15 the Lord
Jesus said to them, "Can the sons of the bridechamber
mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the
days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from
them, and then they will fast." Both the Physician and the
Bridegroom are pleasant. I appreciate the Lord's wisdom.
In the case concerning the Pharisees, He likened Himself
to a Physician. Now in the case with the disciples of John,
He likens Himself to a bridegroom at a wedding. The Lord
asked if the sons of the bridechamber can mourn as long as
the bridegroom is with them. It is a joyful time with the
Bridegroom. But when the Bridegroom is taken away, they
may fast.
The phrase "sons of the bridechamber" refers to the
disciples of the Lord. In the transitory period of the Lord's
ministry on earth, His disciples were sons of the
bridechamber. Later they will become the Bride (John
3:29; Rev. 19:7). The Bridegroom was taken away from the
sons of the bridechamber when the kingly Savior was
taken up from the disciples into heaven (Acts 1:11). After
that, they fasted (Acts 13:2-3; 14:23).
In dealing with the self-righteous and dissenting
Pharisees of the old religion, the kingly Savior indicated
that He was a Physician to heal the sick (v. 12). In dealing
with the fasting and dissenting disciples of John who had
formed the new religion, He revealed Himself as a
Bridegroom to take the Bride. John the Baptist told his
disciples that Christ was the Bridegroom to take the Bride
(John 3:25-29). Now Christ, the kingly Savior, reminded
some of them of this. The kingly Savior firstly healed His
followers, then made them the sons of the bridechamber.
Eventually He will make them His Bride. They should
appropriate Him not only as their Physician for the
recovery of their life, but also as their Bridegroom for a
living of enjoyment in His presence. They were at a joyful
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wedding with Him, not at a sorrowful funeral without
Him. How then could they fast and not feast before Him?
This dissenting question indicates that some of John's
disciples had fallen into a new religion and also had
rejected the kingly Savior.
The question of John's disciples seemed to be one of
doctrine. But the Lord did not answer with a doctrine, but
with a Person, the most pleasant Person, the Bridegroom.
The religious people always care for their doctrine with
their doctrinal reasonings. But Christ cares only for
Himself. The living and walk of His followers should be
regulated and directed only by His Person and His
presence, not by any doctrine.
It would be ridiculous for someone to fast at a wedding.
Moreover, to fast while others are enjoying the wedding
feast would be an insult to the bridegroom. Here we see
the Lord's wisdom. He did not argue with them, but He
certainly condemned the religious ones. The Lord seemed
to be saying, "You religious people have missed the mark.
Don't you realize that I am the Bridegroom and that all
My disciples around Me are the sons of the bridechamber?
They shouldn't be fasting. They must feast with Me."
Without these two cases, the Lord Jesus could never have
been revealed as the Physician and as the Bridegroom. We
should thank the Lord for the Pharisees and for the
disciples of John. We should even thank the Lord for all
the religions, for without the occasions afforded by religion
the Lord could not be revealed in so many different
aspects. It is the same today.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE TWENTY-EIGHT
THE CONTINUATION OF THE KING'S MINISTRY
(4)
This message is the continuation of the previous
message on 9:9-17.
C. Not Putting a Patch of Unshrunk Cloth on an Old
Garment
In 9:16 the Lord continues with something even finer,
sweeter, and more intimate. He says, "Now no one puts a
patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for that which
fills it up pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear is
made." The Greek word translated "unshrunk" is
agnaphos, formed with a, which means not, and gnapto,
which means to card or comb wool; hence, to dress or full
the cloth. Thus, the word means uncarded, unfulled,
unfinished, unshrunk, untreated. The unshrunk cloth
signifies Christ from His incarnation to His crucifixion as
a piece of new cloth, untreated, unfinished; whereas the
new garment in Luke 5:36 signifies Christ, after being
treated in His crucifixion, as a new robe. (The Greek word
for "new" in Luke 5:36 is kainos, the same as the word for
"fresh" in Matthew 9:17.) Christ was firstly the unshrunk
cloth for making a new garment, and then through His
death and resurrection He was made a new garment to
cover us as our righteousness before God that we might be
justified by God and acceptable to Him (Luke 15:22; Gal.
3:27; 1 Cor. 1:30; Phil. 3:9). A patch of unshrunk cloth put
on an old garment pulls away from the garment by its
shrinking strength, thus making the tear worse. To do this
means to imitate what Christ did in His human life on
earth. This is what today's modernists are attempting.
They only imitate Jesus' human deeds to improve their
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behavior; they do not believe in the crucified Jesus as their
Redeemer or the resurrected Christ as their new garment
to cover them as their righteousness before God.
The old garment in verse 16 signifies man's good
behavior, good deeds, and religious practices by his old
natural life. The Lord Jesus was very wise. In verse 16 He
did not say, "You disciples of John must realize that your
garments are torn and full of holes. By fasting you are
actually cutting a piece of unshrunk cloth and using it to
patch the holes in your garments." instead of saying this
directly, the Lord Jesus indicated to the disciples of John
that they did not have a perfect garment. He indicated
that their garments had holes and that by fasting they
were trying to patch the holes. No human being could
utter such a word as that spoken by the Lord Jesus in
verse 16. His wise word is full of meaning, rebuke,
revelation, and instruction. The Lord was saying to the
disciples of John, "Why do you ask Me about fasting? Your
fasting is a way of patching your torn garment. By your
fasting, you show that you realize that you have holes in
your garments that need to be mended. Your teacher,
John, introduced you all to Me. Now you are utilizing Me
to patch your holes. This means that you are cutting a
piece from My unshrunk cloth to mend the holes in your
garments. But My cloth is full of shrinking power. Don't
put any part of it on your old torn garments. If you do, the
hole will become larger."
The account in Luke 5:36 is somewhat different from
that in Matthew 9:16. Luke 5:36 says, "No man tears a
patch from a new garment and puts it on an old." Notice
that Matthew says "cloth" and that Luke says "garment."
The Lord Jesus likened Himself to a piece of unshrunk
cloth. This points to what He was between His incarnation
and His crucifixion. During this period of time He was
unshrunk cloth, new cloth that had never been fulled or
dealt with. Through His death and resurrection this new
cloth was dealt with and was made a new garment. The
Lord's intention was to give Himself to us not as a piece of
unshrunk cloth, but as a complete, finished garment that
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we might put on as our righteousness to be justified before
God. After His death and resurrection, He was made the
finished garment for us to put on so that we may attend
His wedding. Thus, He is not only the Bridegroom, but
also our wedding garment that qualifies us to attend His
wedding feast.
Why did the Lord Jesus, after telling us that He is the
Bridegroom, go on to speak of the new cloth, the new
garment? We must look deeper to discern His meaning.
The Lord tells us that the Bridegroom is with us. But look
at yourself--do you deserve His presence? Do you think
that your real condition in the eyes of God is worthy of the
presence of the Bridegroom? We must all answer, "No." All
we have and all we are does not deserve the Lord's
presence. To enjoy the Lord's presence we need certain
qualifications; we need to be in a certain condition, in a
certain situation. What we are by birth, what we are
naturally, whatever we can do, and whatever we have, do
not qualify us to be in the presence of the Bridegroom. The
Bridegroom is Christ, and Christ is God Himself. Suppose
God appeared to you today. Could you just sit there? He is
the holy God, the righteous God, and such a One is the
Bridegroom. Recall the story of the prodigal son in Luke
15. The prodigal son came home. The father undoubtedly
loved him deeply, but the son's condition was utterly unfit
for the presence of the father. Therefore, the father
immediately told his servant to take the best robe and to
put it on him, thus making him fit for his presence. Our
Bridegroom is God Himself. How may we, poor sinners,
enjoy the presence of the heavenly King? We must
remember the context of these verses in Matthew 9: the
Lord Jesus was eating with tax collectors and sinners. We
are "tax collectors" and sinners. We are not qualified; we
need something to cover us that we may sit in the presence
of the Lord. This is why, after the Lord spoke of Himself as
the Bridegroom, He told us that we need to be clothed in a
new garment. When we put on the new garment, we are
worthy of His presence. When the prodigal son was clothed
with the best robe, he could immediately stand in the
presence of his honored father. The best robe qualified him
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to enjoy the father's presence. We as sinners and "tax
collectors" need to be clothed in a new garment that we
may be worthy of the Bridegroom's presence.
I do not like to present mere teachings and doctrines--I
prefer the practice, the experience. Let me check with you:
Since Christ became the new garment after His
resurrection, how then may we put Him on? Galatians
3:27 says, "As many as were baptized into Christ have put
on Christ." We must put on Christ, and the way to put
Him on is to be baptized into Him. Now we must see how
we may be baptized into Christ. We have seen that after
His resurrection Christ became a new garment, but the
Bible also tells us that after His resurrection He was made
a life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). If Christ were not the
Spirit, how could we be baptized into Him? By being
crucified, buried, and resurrected, Christ was made a life-
giving pneuma, a life-giving breath, the living air. As the
breath, it is so easy for Him to get into us, and as the air,
it is so easy for us to get into Him. Christ in resurrection
was made a Spirit. This life-giving Spirit is the all-
inclusive One. In this Spirit is all that Christ is and all He
has accomplished. This all-inclusive Spirit is the all-
inclusive Christ Himself, and this Christ as the Spirit is
the new garment for us to wear. Hence, even the garment
is the Spirit. We were baptized into Christ as the Spirit--it
is thus that we put on Christ. Christ is the pneuma, the
all-inclusive Spirit. When we are baptized into Him, we
put Him on. Immediately He as the Spirit becomes our
clothing, our covering, and we are qualified. Therefore, the
new garment which we must put on is Christ Himself as
the all-inclusive Spirit.
This is the meaning of the Lord's word in 28:19, "Go
therefore, and disciple all nations, baptizing them into the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit." The reality of the name is in the Spirit. To baptize
people into the name means to baptize them into the
Spirit, who is Christ as the all-inclusive pneuma. Christ
became incarnated, He lived on earth, He was crucified
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and accomplished redemption, and He was resurrected.
After everything was finished, He became the all-inclusive
pneuma in His resurrection. Incarnation is included in this
pneuma; crucifixion and redemption are included in this
pneuma; resurrection, the power of His resurrection, and
the life of the resurrection are all included in this pneuma.
When we were baptized into Him, we were baptized into
this pneuma. When we were baptized into Him, we put
Him on. We must put on Christ as the new garment, and
this new garment is the all-inclusive Spirit. Christ is no
longer the untreated cloth; He is now the finished
garment. In this finished garment we have redemption,
resurrection power, and all the elements of the divine
Person. This new garment is not just a piece of clothing,
but the divine pneuma, the all-inclusive Spirit, including
Christ's incarnation, His crucifixion, His redemptive work,
His resurrection, and His resurrection power. Now He is
the finished garment for us to put on. Hallelujah, we can
put on such a Christ!
D. Not Putting New Wine into Old Wineskins
Verse 17 says, "Neither do they put new wine into old
wineskins; otherwise, the wineskins burst, and the wine
pours out, and the wineskins are destroyed; but they put
new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved."
The Greek word translated "new" in this verse is neos,
which means new in time, recent, young. The new wine
here signifies Christ as the new life, full of vigor, stirring
people to excitement. The new wine is Christ's cheering
life. The divine life is likened to wine that has cheering
strength. When we receive His life, it works within us all
day long to stir us up and to excite us. This new wine
strengthens us, energizes us, and makes us very happy.
The kingly Savior is not only the Bridegroom to the
kingdom people for their enjoyment, but also their new
garment to equip and qualify them outwardly for
attending the wedding. Furthermore, He is also their new
life to excite them inwardly for the enjoyment of Him as
their Bridegroom. He, as their heavenly King, is the
Bridegroom for the kingdom people's enjoyment, and His
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heavenly kingdom is the wedding feast (22:2) that they
may enjoy Him. To enjoy Him as the Bridegroom in the
kingdom feast, they need Him as their new garment
outwardly and their new wine inwardly.
Consider again the example of the prodigal son. After
putting on the best robe the prodigal son could still say, "O
father, the best robe satisfies you, but it doesn't satisfy me.
I am still hungry and need to be satisfied." Immediately
the father told the servant to kill the fatted calf and said,
"Let us eat, and be merry." Thus, the father's provision is
not just for something outward, but also for something
within. Therefore, after the Lord spoke about the new
garment, He directly proceeded to speak of the new wine.
The new wine is not a provision for the outward need, but
for the inward need. We need something to cover us, and
we also need something to fill us. We are so poor
outwardly, and we are so empty inwardly. We need the
robe upon us for the Father's sake, and we need the new
wine within us for our own sakes. We need both the new
garment and the new wine. The Lord is the new garment
to us, and He is also the new wine. He is our covering and
also our content. He not only qualifies us, but He satisfies
us as well. Hence, He is our qualification and our
satisfaction, the provision for our outward need and the
provision for all our inward hunger and thirst.
In verse 17 the Lord said that we should not put new
wine into old wineskins. Old wineskins signify religious
practices, such as the fasting held by the Pharisees in the
old religion and the disciples of John in the new religion.
All religions are old wineskins. New wine put into old
wineskins bursts the wineskins by its fermenting power.
To put new wine into old wineskins is to put Christ as the
exciting life into any kind of religion. This is what the so-
called fundamentalists and Pentecostals are practicing
today. They attempt to squeeze Christ into their different
modes of religious ritual and formality. The kingdom
people should never do this. They must put the new wine
into fresh wineskins.
The new wine needs a wineskin, a container. Because
the new wine is filled with fermenting power if you put it
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into an old wineskin, the fermenting power of the new
wine will burst the old wineskin. Any religious practice is
an old wineskin. In this verse Christ seemed to be saying
to the Pharisees and the disciples of John, "Fasting is an
old wineskin. Do not try to put the new wine of My life into
the wineskin of your old religious practices. The wine will
burst your religious practices. The new wine of My life
requires a new wineskin."
Some indeed have received the new wine, but they
have attempted to take the new wine back and pour it into
an old wineskin. I have been observing this kind of folly for
more than forty years. Many people have come to the local
church and tasted the new wine. They have said, "This is
really wonderful. This is just what 'my church' needs."
Then they tried to bring this new wine back to that old
wineskin. Do you know what happened? The old wineskins
burst, and the new wine was spilled. However, if you put
the new wine into a new wineskin, both will be preserved.
We have seen that the new wine belongs in the new
wineskins. But today the so-called charismatic movement
has been brought into the old Catholic wineskin. Even
some Catholic churches have charismatic masses. The
charismatic things are being mixed with the mass and
with the worship of Mary. What confusion! This is the
leaven mixed with the fine flour (13:33). In other words, it
is the new wine put into the old wineskin. I am concerned
that this wine is no longer the new wine, for it seems to
have no fermenting power. If it did, the old wineskin
would burst. If the charismatic movement were the
genuine new wine filled with the fermenting power, it
would burst that old Catholic wineskin.
E. Putting New Wine into Fresh Wineskins
In verse 17 the Lord also said, "They put new wine into
fresh wineskins, and both are preserved." The Greek word
for "fresh" is kainos, which means new in nature, quality,
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or form; unaccustomed, unused; hence, fresh. The fresh
wineskins signify the church life in the local churches as
the container of the new wine, which is Christ Himself as
the exciting life. The kingdom people are built into the
church (16:18), and the church is expressed through the
local churches in which they live (18:15-20). They are
regenerated persons constituting the Body of Christ to be
the church (Rom. 12:5; Eph. 1:22-23). This Body of Christ
as His fullness is also called "the Christ" (1 Cor. 12:12,
Gk.), the corporate Christ. The individual Christ is the
new wine, the exciting life inwardly, and the corporate
Christ is the fresh wineskin, the container to hold the new
wine outwardly. With the kingdom people, it is not a
matter of fasting or of any other religious practice, but a
matter of the church life with Christ as their content.
Christ came not to establish an earthly religion of rituals,
but a heavenly kingdom of life, not with any dead religious
practices, but with Himself, the living Person, as the
Physician, the Bridegroom, the unshrunk cloth, and the
new wine to His followers as their full enjoyment that they
might be the fresh wineskin to contain Him and become
the constituents of His kingdom.
We see then that the new wineskin is the church life.
The church is actually the enlargement of Christ. The
individual Christ is our wine within us. When this
individual Christ is enlarged into a corporate Christ, that
is the church. This corporate Christ is the wineskin, the
container, to contain the individual Christ as our wine.
Never consider the church a religion; the church is a
corporate entity full of Christ, because the church is Christ
enlarged.
Christ is not only our new garment and new wine, but,
being increased, He is also our new wineskin to contain
the wine. He is our outward qualification, He is our inward
satisfaction, and He is in a corporate way the church, the
Body (1 Cor. 12:12), capable of holding the wine. Christ is
everything. He is the Bridegroom, the new garment, the
new wine, and also the corporate vessel to contain what we
enjoy of Him. The meaning here is very profound.
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We need to see something more concerning Christ as
the new wineskin. First Corinthians 12:12 says, "For even
as the body is one and has many members, but all the
members of the body being many are one body, so also is
Christ." We read in this verse not only that the members
composed together are the one Body, but that this Body is
Christ. We have always considered Christ as the Head; we
have considered little, if at all, that Christ is also the
Body. How, speaking in a practical way, is Christ the
Body? He is the Body because the Body is composed of so
many members who are filled with Christ. Christ is in you,
Christ is in me, and Christ is in every one of us. We all
have Christ within. In 1 Corinthians 1 Paul said that
Christ is not divided. The Christ in you is one with the
Christ in me, and the Christ in us is one with the Christ in
all other Christians. Therefore, Christ is the Body
composed of so many members who are filled with Him.
This is the new wineskin, which is the church life to
contain Christ as the new wine.
Without the wineskin, how could we keep the wine? Do
not consider that you yourself as an individual are the
vessel. No, you are just a part of the vessel. How can a
glass contain water if it is cut into pieces? How can the
pieces contain the water? It is impossible. Do not consider
that you are somebody. You are nobody. You are just a
member of the Body, a minute part of the Body. It is true
that some amount of blood is in my little finger, but this
little finger is just a part of my body. If you sever it from
the body, the flow of blood in the finger immediately
ceases. Instead of containing the blood, the finger will lose
the blood. From the day you leave the church life, you
begin to lose Christ; the new wine starts to run out.
Nothing but the church life can contain the very Christ we
enjoy. Never consider the church as an insignificant
matter.
We must also realize that the wineskin is not only the
container of the wine, but also the means for us to drink
the wine. Many of us can testify that whenever we come
into a church meeting, we discover that it is truly the place
where we can drink Christ. It is here that we drink the
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Lord as never before. The church life is not merely a
container, but a vessel from which we may drink. We need
Christ as the new garment, we need Christ as the new
wine, and we also need Christ in a corporate way as the
new wineskin. We need the church life. We do not care for
religion, forms, or rituals. We care only for Christ in you
and Christ in me. This is the new wineskin.
At this point, I would like to say a word to the young
people. The young people may say, "As long as we stay
with the older ones, we will be in religion. But if we get
away from them, we will not be religious." This concept is
wrong. Everything depends on whether or not the church
is the enlargement of Christ. It is not a matter of age.
Even if all the babes came together, they could still be in
religion because they do not have Christ as their content.
If the older ones are filled with Christ and saturated with
Him, they are the church, no matter how old they may be.
Remember that religion is something for God without
Christ. But the church is Christ enlarged; it is the
enlargement of Christ. And the new wineskin is Christ
enlarged into a corporate expression. This is the church.
The church is not something for God without Christ and
without the Spirit. The church is an entity which is the
enlargement of Christ and which is full of Christ. The
church is filled with Christ and constituted with Christ.
No matter what our age may be, we must be filled with
Christ. Then when we come together, we shall be the local
expression of the church. This is the wineskin. No matter
how much fermenting power there is in the divine life of
Christ, it can never burst the church.
Today there are four kinds of Christians. The first are
called Christians, but they are not truly Christians. They
are the modernists, the so-called modernistic Christians.
They only take Christ as the new cloth. They say, "Look
how Jesus lived: He was so full of love and self-sacrifice.
We must imitate Him and follow Him." But to do this is
just to cut out a piece of new cloth with which to patch an
old garment. The modernists are trying to take the
unshrunk cloth of the Lord's human living and use it to
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patch the holes in their behavior. But this unshrunk cloth
pulls back and makes their holes larger. The modernists
do not believe that Christ died for their sins on the cross,
they do not believe that Christ is God, and they do not
believe in His resurrection. They simply believe that they
should imitate the human living of Jesus.
The fundamentalists are the second kind of Christians.
They believe that Christ is God, that Christ is their
Redeemer, that Christ died on the cross for their sins, and
that He was resurrected. The fundamentalists receive and
accept the resurrected Christ as their righteousness. They
take Christ, not as a piece of new cloth, but as the new,
finished garment. However, they know little of the inner
life, of the inner wine. They put on Christ as the outer
garment, but they do not drink Him as the wine within.
The third kind of Christian may be called the inner life
Christians. They not only put on Christ as their new
garment, but they also know Him as their inner life. In
fact, they place great emphasis on the inner life. The inner
life Christians are an improvement over the previous two
groups. However, as good as they are, they lack one thing:
they lack the wineskin, the church life.
The fourth are the church people. The church people
are not modernists. Moreover, they are neither merely
fundamentals nor only the inner life people. They are
churching, because they have the new wineskin.
In the last days the Lord is recovering not only the new
garment--this He recovered through Martin Luther in the
matter of justification by faith. Neither is the Lord only
recovering the inner life--this He recovered through ones
such as Madame Guyon, William Law, Andrew Murray,
and Jessie Penn-Lewis. We thank the Lord for all these
items that have been recovered. However, at the end of
this age the Lord is recovering the last and ultimate item,
the church life. Those who enjoy the church life are the
church people. Among the church people the new garment,
the new wine, and the new wineskin have all been
recovered. We have Christ in a corporate way as our
church life. The Lord did not stop with either the new
garment or the new wine. He went on from the
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Bridegroom to the new cloth, from the new cloth to the
new garment, from the new garment to the new wine, and
from the new wine to the new wineskin. After the
wineskin, the church, there is nothing more. The church is
God's ultimate goal. When we arrive at the church, we are
in the ultimate consummation of God's purpose. Thus,
after the wineskin, the Lord mentioned nothing else.
Praise the Lord that He is our Physician! After He
heals us, He becomes our Bridegroom. He is also our
garment to qualify us and our new wine to stir us up. As I
see the faces of the brothers and sisters in the meetings, I
can tell that they have been stirred up by the new wine.
How we praise the Lord that this new wine is in His
enlargement, the new wineskin. Christ is everything to us!
We need to know our Lord to such an extent. He is not
only our King, our Savior, and our life. He is also our
Physician, and this dear Physician is our lovely
Bridegroom. And this Bridegroom becomes our garment,
our new wine, and eventually the wineskin. We are now in
the wineskin, in the church life, enjoying Him to such a
high degree. Hallelujah for Christ and the church!
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE TWENTY-NINE
THE CONTINUATION OF THE KING'S MINISTRY
(5)
AND THE ENLARGEMENT OF THE KING'S
MINISTRY
(1)
THE CONTINUATlON OF THE KING'S MINISTRY
(5)
In Matthew 9 Christ is revealed as the Physician, the
Bridegroom, and even as the unshrunk cloth, the new
wine, and the new wineskin. Following this, a further
revelation of Christ is needed. This revelation requires a
certain environment that will enable Christ to be revealed
in another aspect. Having Christ revealed to us is not a
matter of doctrine. In order for Christ to be revealed, there
is always the need of a particular environment. In chapter
nine Christ is revealed in so many sweet, lovely, pleasant
aspects. The environment required for the revelation of
Christ in chapter nine was produced by His ministry. In
order for Christ to be revealed to us, there must be a
certain environment, and that environment always comes
out of Christ's ministry. Christ began to minister in
chapter four. After calling the first four disciples and
attracting great crowds, He went up to the mountain
where He issued the decree of the constitution of the
kingdom of the heavens. After He descended from the
mountain, He continued His ministry. His ministry before
giving the constitution on the mountain was good for the
constitution, but it was not sufficient for the further
revelation of who He is and of what He is. In order for Him
to be revealed as the lovely items found in chapter nine,
there was the need for the continuation of His ministry.
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This further ministry created the environment for Him to
be revealed not only as the King, but also as the Physician,
the Bridegroom, the new cloth, the new wine, and the new
wineskin. If you do not see this ministry in such a way, if
you cannot see the environment created by this ministry
for the revelation of Christ, and if you cannot see all the
items of what Christ is, you may read the Gospel of
Matthew a hundred times without receiving anything from
it. It may seem to you to be either a book of stories or
doctrines. But you will never receive any life from this
book. If you would see light in the Gospel of Matthew, you
must first see the heavenly King. After He was anointed
and tested, He began His ministry. His ministry is crucial,
for it is absolutely necessary for His revelation. Christ
would not just tell us that He is the Physician, the
Bridegroom, the new cloth, the new wine, and the new
wineskin. That would be like the teaching given in a
seminary. How poor it would be simply to gather a group
of people together and merely tell them what Christ is. To
repeat, in order to receive the revelation of Christ, there is
the need of the environment created by His ministry.
In the continuation of His ministry the King did many
signs. He healed the leper, He healed the servant boy of a
Roman centurion, and He healed the mother-in-law of
Peter. Following this, He healed a great many other
people. This was His ministry. The continuation of the
King's ministry was different from the beginning of His
ministry, for in the beginning there were no dispensational
signs. Rather, He contacted people, attracted them, and
captured them. Because a great crowd followed Him, He
was able to deliver the decree of the constitution of the
kingdom of the heavens.
Although Matthew is a book on the kingdom, it is also
a revelation of Christ. One day Christ led His disciples to
Caesarea Philippi and asked them, "Who do men say that
the Son of Man is?" (16:13). After they gave some answers,
He asked them, "But you, who do you say that I am?" (v.
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15). This indicates that the book of the kingdom reveals
who Christ is. What a blessing it is to see the revelations
of Christ in this book! The genealogy of Christ in chapter
one is a revelation of Christ. It reveals that Christ is the
Son of David, the Son of Abraham, and the issue of a
marriage that unites the two lines of David's descendants.
According to Matthew chapter one, Jesus is not that
simple. He is Jehovah the Savior and Emmanuel, God
with us. Christ is the Son of David, the Son of Abraham,
the seed of the woman, Jehovah the Savior, and
Emmanuel, God with us. In chapter two He is visited as a
king. Thus, chapter two reveals that He is the King. In
chapter three this King is recommended and anointed, and
in chapter four He is tested, qualified, and approved.
Then, after His testing, this King came into His ministry.
By means of His ministry, He attracted crowds. After
giving the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens, He
continued His ministry, doing some signs with a
dispensational significance. These miracles signify that He
came with salvation firstly to the Jews and then turned
from the Jews to the Gentiles. These signs also signify that
after the fullness of the salvation of the Gentiles, Christ
will bring His salvation back to the Jews. Then will take
place the restoration of the whole earth during the time of
the millennium. At that time all diseases will be healed.
Through this continuation of the King's ministry, an
environment--a feast--was prepared. This feast came out of
Christ's ministry. Through His ministry, the Lord gained a
sinner, a tax collector named Matthew, who prepared a
great feast for the Lord and His disciples. To this feast
Matthew also invited a great many of his friends, who also
were sinners and tax collectors. There is a proverb which
says that we know what kind of person you are by looking
at your friends. Matthew, a tax collector, had friends who
were tax collectors and sinners. The feast prepared by
Matthew was the right environment for the Lord to reveal
Himself as the Physician, the Bridegroom, the new cloth to
cover us, the new wine to fill us, and the new wineskin to
preserve the wine we have received. Christ in all these
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aspects was revealed through the environment brought
forth by His ministry.
The situation is the same today. Without the ministry,
nothing of Christ and nothing concerning the church could
be revealed. I cannot simply gather some people together
and deliver them a lecture. In that kind of environment I
simply have nothing to say. But in the proper environment
I can tell you about one item of Christ after another. What
a Christ we have! We need to thank the Lord for His
ministry and for the environment He creates through His
ministry. Even the Pharisees of the old religion and the
disciples of John of the new religion were used by the Lord.
The old religion gave the Lord Jesus the opportunity to
reveal Himself as the Physician, and the new religion gave
Him the opportunity to reveal Himself as the Bridegroom,
the new cloth, the new wine, and the new wineskin. We
need to say, "Thank you, Pharisees, and thank you,
disciples of John. Without you, we could not have such a
vision of Christ. We would never know that our heavenly
King is the Physician, the Bridegroom, the new cloth, the
new wine, and the new wineskin." When I was young, I
read through Matthew chapters eight and nine without
seeing anything. I read about the new cloth, the new wine,
and the new wineskin, but none of these things made any
impression on me. Later, in the proper environment, my
eyes were opened to see how sweet and pleasant the Lord
Jesus is. Oh, He is our Bridegroom! How pleasant! He is
the new cloth, our covering, and the new wine to fill us up.
And He is also the new wineskin, the container. I also
came to see the four kinds of Christians indicated by these
items: the modernists, the fundamentalists, the inner life
people, and the church people. I am glad to be among the
church people. I enjoy being in the new wineskin. I am
covered by the new garment, I am drinking the new wine,
and I am in the new wineskin enjoying the presence of the
Bridegroom. How wonderful this is! This is our Christ!
Today, we do know what the church is. We are churching
Christ! In the Lord's
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recovery Christ is our Bridegroom, our new garment, our
new wine, and our new wineskin. Therefore we may coin a
new phrase: we are "churching Christ."
VI. SIGNS WITH DISPENSATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE
REPEATED
In 9:18-34 we have the repetition of signs with
dispensational significance. These verses give a brief
picture of this age and the coming age. Hence, this record
is also with dispensational significance, as that in 8:1-17.
The daughter of the ruler of the synagogue represents the
Jews, and the woman with the hemorrhage represents the
Gentiles. When the daughter died, the woman was healed.
After the woman was healed, the daughter was revived.
Following this, two blind men and one dumb man were
healed. This is a type, showing that when the Jews are cut
off, the Gentiles are saved and that after the fullness of
the salvation of the Gentiles, the Jews will be saved (Rom.
11:15, 17, 19, 23-26). Following this, the millennium will
begin, and at that time all the blind and the dumb will be
healed (Isa. 35:5-6).
A. The Daughter of the Ruler of the Synagogue
Having Died
Verse 18 says, "As He was speaking these things to
them, behold, a ruler came and worshipped Him saying,
My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on
her, and she will live." The ruler here was a ruler of the
synagogue (Mark 5:22; Luke 8:41) named Jairus, which
means "he will enlighten," or "enlightened," signifying that
the Lord will enlighten the Gentiles, and they will be
enlightened (Acts 13:46-48). According to the record in
Mark and Luke, this ruler's daughter was twelve years of
age. This ruler was interested in the heavenly King, but he
did not have as much faith as the centurion. The centurion
had told the Lord Jesus that He did not need to come to
his home. It was sufficient for Him to speak a word. If this
ruler of the synagogue had had this kind of faith, his
daughter would have been healed. However, he asked the
Lord to come to his home and to lay His hand upon his
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daughter. His faith could reach this far, no farther.
Sympathizing with him, the Lord Jesus arose and followed
him.
B. The Healing of a Woman with a Hemorrhage
As the Lord was on the way to the ruler's house, a
woman who had been sick of a hemorrhage for twelve
years "approached from behind and touched the fringe of
His garment." This woman suffered from a bloody flux, a
flow or issue of blood (Lev. 15:25). The life of the flesh is in
the blood (Lev. 17:11). Hence, this disease signifies the life
that cannot be retained. The woman was sick for twelve
years, the age of the daughter of the ruler (Luke 8:42).
This woman approached the Lord from behind and
touched the fringe of His garment, saying within herself,
"If only I may touch His garment, I shall be healed." The
woman here and the centurion in 8:5-10, both representing
the Gentiles, came to contact the Lord in the same way,
with faith. She was healed while the Lord was on the way
to the ruler's house. This signifies that the Gentiles are
saved while Christ is on the way to the house of Israel.
The Lord's garment signifies Christ's righteous deeds,
and the fringe signifies the heavenly ruling. According to
Numbers 15:38-40, Israelite males had to wear a blue
fringe on their garments, a ribbon in the color of blue. This
meant that their lives, their walk, were restricted by a
heavenly limitation. When the Lord Jesus was on earth,
He probably dressed in this way. Garments signify virtue
in human behavior. In the human virtue of the Lord Jesus
there was healing power. Therefore, when the sick woman
touched the fringe of His garment, the power of His virtue
went to her, and she was healed. Out of Christ's heavenly-
ruled deeds comes the virtue that becomes the healing
power (Matt. 14:36).
The healing of the woman with the hemorrhage
indicates that the Lord was met and caught by the
Gentiles as He was journeying to the Jews. According to
history, the Gentiles are sick, and the Jews are growing in
order to die. In other words, the Gentiles are sick, and the
Jews are dying. The Jewish girl was twelve years of age,
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and the woman had been sick for twelve years. For twelve
years the woman suffered from the issue of blood, and for
twelve years the girl was growing in order to die. This
signifies that while the Gentiles are sick of sinful things,
the Jews are growing in order to die. After the woman was
healed, the Lord Jesus arrived at the home of the Jewish
ruler, signifying that when the salvation of the Gentiles is
in full, Christ will reach the house of Israel.
C. The Healing of the Daughter of the Ruler of the
Synagogue
In verses 23 through 26 we have the healing of the
synagogue ruler's daughter. The daughter here and Peter's
mother-in-law in 8:14-15, both representing the Jews at
the end of this age, were healed in a house by the Lord's
coming and direct touch. This indicates that at the end of
this age all the remnant of the Jews will be saved in the
house of Israel by the Lord's coming and His direct touch
(Rom. 11:25-26; Zech. 12:10).
When Jesus came into the ruler's house and saw the
flute players and the crowd making a tumult, He said,
"Depart, for the girl has not died, but sleeps. And they
ridiculed Him" (vv. 23-24). In His ministry, the Lord never
cared for any crowd. Verse 25 says, "But when the crowd
was put out, He entered and took hold of her hand, and
the girl was raised up." By this we see that the Lord Jesus
intended to raise the Jews, but that they did not have the
faith. This gave an excellent chance to the Gentiles to
contact the Lord to receive salvation. After the fullness of
the salvation of the Gentiles, the Lord Jesus will reach the
house of Israel, and all the dead Jews will be healed.
D. The Healing of the Blind and Dumb
Immediately after the raising of the ruler's daughter,
two blind men and a dumb man are brought to the Lord
(vv. 27-33).
1. Healing of the Two Blind Men
In verses 27 through 31 we have the healing of the two
blind men. As the Lord Jesus passed by, "Two blind men
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followed Him, crying out and saying, Have mercy on us,
Son of David." Blindness signifies lack of sight in seeing
God and the things related to Him (2 Cor. 4:4; Rev. 3:18).
These two blind men called the Lord the Son of David. In
the millennial kingdom, which will be the restored
tabernacle of David (Acts 15:16), the Messianic kingdom,
the Jews will recognize Christ as the Son of David, and
their blindness will be healed. This is typified by the two
blind men recognizing Christ in this way. The two blind
men were healed in the house by the Lord's direct touch (v.
29), as were both the daughter of the ruler (v. 25) and
Peter's mother-in-law (8:14-15). The opening of the blind
men's eyes signifies the recovery of inward sight to see
God and spiritual things (Acts 9:17-18; 26:18; Eph. 1:18;
Rev. 3:18).
2. The Healing of a Demon-Possessed Dumb Man
In verses 32 and 33 we see the healing of the demon
possessed dumb man. Dumbness by demon possession
signifies the inability to speak for God (Isa. 56:10) and
praise God (Isa. 35:6) due to the worship of dumb idols (1
Cor. 12:2). The speaking of a dumb man signifies the
recovery of the speaking and praising ability by being
filled with the Lord in the spirit (Eph. 5:18-19).
3. A Shadow of the Millennium
The healing of the blind and the dumb signifies the
restoration to the people on earth during the millennium.
Thus, these healings are a shadow of the millennium. In
the millennium all the blind will see, and the mouths of
the dumb will be opened. Isaiah 35:5 and 6 say, "Then the
eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf
shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a
hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing." The blind will see
God's glory, and the dumb will speak of God's glory. They
will praise Him continually. The millennium therefore will
be a time of restoration, a time of revival. Whenever there
is a revival among Christians today, the blind eyes are
opened, and the dumb mouths are opened. Before such a
revival, so many Christians are blind, unable to see God or
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the things of God, and dumb, unable to speak a word for
God. If those in the denominations today are asked to give
a prayer, many are unable to do so and they will reply,
"This is not my job, my profession. Ask the pastor to pray."
This indicates that they are possessed by a dumb demon.
First Corinthians 12 reveals that we are not serving dumb
idols. Thus, we must be speaking, bubbling. Our eyes are
opened to see the things of God, and our mouths are
opened to praise Him and to testify of Him. We all must be
this kind of person. This healing is a shadow, a miniature,
of the coming millennium.
4. The Pharisees' Rejection of the King
Verse 34 says, "But the Pharisees said, He casts out
the demons by the ruler of the demons." The ruler of the
demons is the Devil, who is called Beelzebub (12:24). This
blaspheming word by the Pharisees is a stronger
continuation of the rejection of the heavenly King by the
leaders of Judaism.
THE ENLARGEMENT OF THE KING'S MINISTRY
(1)
Now we come to the enlargement of the King's ministry
(9:35--10:15).
I. THE NEED FOR SHEPHERDING AND REAPING
The continuation of the King's ministry in chapter nine
brought forth another situation that enabled Him to reveal
Himself. After the healing of the woman with the flow of
blood, the raising of the young girl, and the healing of the
two blind men and the dumb man, the Lord is revealed as
the Shepherd and as the Lord of the harvest.
A. The King Traveling through All the Cities and
Villages, Teaching, Preaching, and Healing
Verse 35 says, "And Jesus went about all the cities and
the villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching
the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and
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every sickness." Every disease and every sickness in this
verse signify spiritual illness.
B. The King Being Moved with Compassion
Concerning the People as Sheep without a Shepherd
Verse 36 says, "And seeing the crowds, He was moved
with compassion concerning them, because they were
harassed and cast away as sheep not having a shepherd."
This indicates that the heavenly King considered the
Israelites as sheep and Himself as the Shepherd. When
Christ came to the Jews the first time, they were like
lepers, paralytics, demon-possessed, and all manner of
pitiful persons, because they had no shepherd to care for
them. Now in His kingly ministry for the establishing of
His heavenly kingdom, He ministered to them not only as
a Physician, but also as a Shepherd, as prophesied in
Isaiah 53:6 and 40:11.
In the midst of the situation portrayed in verse 36 the
Lord revealed Himself as the Shepherd. This is a further
revelation. He is not only the Physician and the
Bridegroom, but also the Shepherd. Without the further
continuation of His ministry, this environment would not
have been produced. Therefore, we see once again that in
order to have Christ revealed to us, we must have the
ministry to bring forth a certain environment. The great
feast attended by tax collectors and sinners was an
excellent opportunity for the Lord to reveal Himself as the
Physician. Furthermore, the environment when so many
were rejoicing and feasting together gave the Lord the
opportunity to reveal Himself as the Bridegroom, the new
cloth, the new wine, and the new wineskin. Then in verse
36 when the Lord was moved with compassion because of
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having seen the people harassed and cast away as sheep
not having a shepherd, He could reveal Himself as the
Shepherd.
C. The Harvest Being Vast But the Workers Being
Few
In verse 37 the Lord said to His disciples, "The harvest
indeed is vast, but the workers are few." The heavenly
King considered the people not only as sheep, but also as
the harvest. The sheep needed shepherding, and the
harvest needed reaping. Although the leaders of the nation
of Israel rejected the heavenly King, there was still a good
number among the people that needed reaping.
D. Beseeching the Lord of the Harvest to Thrust Out
Workers into His Harvest
The King of the heavenly kingdom considered Himself
not only the Shepherd of the sheep, but also the Lord of
the harvest. His kingdom is established with things of life
that can grow and multiply. He is the Lord who owns this
crop. We are both the flock and the crop. The flock is made
up of living animals and the crop of living vegetation.
Under the hand of the Lord Jesus, nothing is lifeless. He
does not care for lifeless things, but for things that are
living. Everything under the care of this heavenly King is
living.
We all need to see a vision of the Lord Jesus as the
Lord of the harvest. In verse 38 the Lord told us to beseech
the Lord of the harvest that He may thrust out workers
into His harvest. Firstly, in His economy, God has a plan
to accomplish. Then His economy requires His people to
beseech, to pray, for it. In answering their prayer, He will
accomplish what they have prayed concerning His plan.
Many times when we sense the need for workers, we sound
out the call for help. But from now on, whenever you sense
the need for workers, you must firstly pray to the Lord of
the harvest, saying, "Lord, here is Your harvest. You are
the Lord of the harvest. We call on You to thrust out some
reapers. Lord, send more reapers into Your harvest."
Praying like this will make a difference. To pray like this
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means that we have seen a vision that our Christ, the
kingly One, the Shepherd, is the Lord of the harvest.
Whenever you pray that the Lord would send reapers into
His harvest, you honor Him very much. How different this
is from inviting people to help you in your work! When you
do that, you do not honor Christ as the Lord of the harvest.
Rather, it is a matter of your work, not of His harvest. You
become the master of that work, and He is not considered
as the Lord of the harvest. Therefore, we need to call on
Him and say, "Lord, You are the Lord of the harvest. The
work in this field is Yours, and this harvest is Your crop.
We call on You for Your crop. Lord, send Your reapers."
Recently, a brother told me that the church life in his
locality was wonderful and that I should come there for a
visit. Although this brother's talk was nice, it was rather
natural. It had no vision whatever. Instead of inviting me,
this brother should have prayed, "Lord, the church in my
locality is the harvest of the heavenly King. Lord of the
harvest, I call on You to send reapers." Is the church in
your locality your harvest or His harvest? Since it is the
Lord's harvest, you have no right to invite others to go
there to labor. To do this is to infringe upon the Lord's
honor. In doing this you fail to recognize that you are not
the Lord. He is the Lord of the harvest. The only thing you
can do is to ask Him to thrust out reapers. We need
further revelation regarding this aspect of the Lord.
I believe that the twelve disciples prayed according to
the Lord's word. Although the Bible does not tell us this, I
believe that they did pray. It is a principle in the Bible
that, whenever you pray to the Lord for something, the
Lord will send you to accomplish that for which you have
prayed. The twelve disciples prayed for the Lord of the
harvest to send out reapers, and the Lord answered their
prayer by sending them out. Whoever prays will be the one
sent. For example, you may pray to the Lord regarding the
shortage of elders. (However, do not pray according to your
ambition, lest the Lord not answer your prayer.) You may
simply pray, "Lord, there is the need of elders." After a
certain period of time, the Lord may say, "How about you?"
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This is the principle. The twelve prayed, and eventually
the twelve were sent out.
II. THE APPOINTMENT OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES
In 10:1-4 we have the appointment of the twelve
apostles. Prior to chapter ten the Lord carried out His
kingly ministry alone. But beginning in this chapter the
twelve apostles were added for the enlarging, the spread,
of the ministry.
A. Giving Them Authority to Cast Out Demons and
to Heal Diseases
Verse 1 says, "And calling His twelve disciples to Him,
He gave them authority over unclean spirits, so that they
should cast them out and heal every disease and every
sickness." The authority here to cast out unclean spirits
and heal diseases is a foretaste of the power of the coming
age (Heb. 6:5), that is, of the millennium, in which all
demons will be cast out and all diseases healed (Isa. 35:5-
6).
B. Pairing Them Two by Two
In verses 2 through 4 the names of the twelve apostles
are given. An apostle is a sent one. Now the twelve
disciples (v. 1) were to be sent, thus becoming the twelve
apostles. In sending out the twelve apostles, the Lord
arranged them in pairs: Simon Peter and Andrew, James
and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew,
James the son of Alphaeus and Thaddaeus, and Simon the
Cananaean and Judas Iscariot. We need to be impressed
with this principle. We all must be paired. None of us,
especially the young people, should go anywhere by
ourselves. We need another one to match us. Look at your
eyes, ears, nostrils, lips, shoulders, arms, hands, legs, and
feet: your body is arranged in pairs. Whenever you are
burdened by the Lord to go to a certain place, do not go by
yourself. Rather, go in pairs. If you do not have another
one to match you, you will miss the blessing. In order to
receive the blessing, you must be paired. This is not my
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opinion; it is the Lord's economy. Hence, we all must learn
the lesson to be paired, to be matched with others.
Mark and Luke list Matthew before Thomas (Mark
3:18; Luke 6:15), but Matthew, the writer of this book, lists
himself after Thomas. This shows his humility. In verse 3
Matthew specifically designates himself as the tax
collector, remembering his salvation, perhaps with
gratitude. Even a despised and sinful tax collector could
become an apostle of the King of the heavenly kingdom.
What a salvation!
Simon the Cananaean was paired with Judas Iscariot,
the one who betrayed the Lord. "Cananaean" comes from
the Hebrew kanna, zealous, referring to a Galilean sect
known as the Zealots, not to the land of Canaan (see Luke
6:15; Acts 1:13). Iscariot is a Greek word, probably from
the Hebrew, which means a man of Kerioth. Kerioth is in
Judah (Josh 15:25). Thus, Judas was the only apostle from
Judea; all the rest were Galileans.
III. THE WAY TO SPREAD THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM
TO THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL
A. The King Sending the Twelve Apostles Only to the House
of Israel
In 10:5-15 we have the way to spread the gospel of the
kingdom to the house of Israel. In verses 5 and 6 we see
that the Lord Jesus charged the twelve apostles not to go
into the way of the nations or into a city of the
Samaritans, but only to "the lost sheep of the house of
Israel." The nations were the Gentiles, and the Samaritans
were a mixture of Gentiles with Jews (2 Kings 17:24; Ezra
4:10; John 4:9).
The twelve apostles were sent to the house of Israel
and were charged not to go to the nations nor to the
Samaritans. Those who are sent by the Lord have the
authority of the Lord. When the Lord sent out the twelve,
He gave them authority. Whenever we are sent, we must
believe that the Lord's authority is with us.
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B. Preaching that the Kingdom of the Heavens Has
Drawn Near
Verse 7 says, "And as you go, preach, saying, The
kingdom of the heavens has drawn near." Even by this
time the kingdom of the heavens had not come, but had
only drawn near.
C. Exercising the Authority of the Kingdom
As they were sent out to preach the kingdom of the
heavens, the apostles were authorized to heal the sick,
raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons (v.
8). They should exercise such an authority in their
commission.
D. The Worker Being Worthy of His Food
In verses 9 and 10 the Lord said, "Do not acquire gold,
nor even silver, nor even copper in your belts, nor a bag for
the way, nor even two tunics, nor even sandals, nor even a
staff; for the worker is worthy of his food." The twelve
apostles (sent to the house of Israel, not to the Gentiles),
as workers worthy of their food, did not need to bring their
living necessities with them. (However, the Lord's workers
sent to the Gentiles should take nothing from the Gentiles-
-3 John 7.) This principle was changed when the Lord was
fully rejected by the house of Israel (Luke 22:35-38).
E. Bringing Peace to the House Where They Stay
Verses 12 and 13 say, "And as you enter into the house,
greet it; and if the house indeed be worthy, let your peace
come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return
to you." When the Lord sends us, we have the presence,
the peace. Wherever we are sent, the authority, the
presence of the Lord, and the peace follow us. This is the
reason the Lord told the apostles to look for one worthy of
their peace. He seemed to be saying, "Look to see who is
worthy of your peace. If they don't receive you, your peace
will go with you when you go." This means a great deal. To
receive the Lord's sent ones, the apostles, means to receive
the presence of the Lord and the peace. To reject them
means to reject the presence of the Lord and the peace. It
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is not an insignificant matter to be sent by the Lord, for as
sent ones, we become the Lord's representatives. We have
His authority, His presence, and His peace. Wherever we
go, we bring these things with us. Whoever receives us will
have the Lord's presence and the Lord's blessing. It is in
this way that the ministry of the King is spread.
F. The Judgment upon the Rejecting People
In verses 14 and 15 the Lord said, "And whoever does
not receive you nor hear your words, as you go out of that
house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Truly I say to
you, It will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and
Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city." This
indicates that the punishment of God's judgment is in
varying degrees. To reject the Lord's apostles and their
words will cause more punishment than the sin of Sodom
and Gomorrah.
This is the way the ministry of the King is enlarged. It
has spread from the traveling of One to the traveling of the
twelve. This spread of the ministry will produce another
environment for a further revelation of the heavenly King.
We shall see this environment and this revelation in
chapters ten and twelve. We thank the Lord for His
ministry, for the continuation of His ministry, and
especially for the spread of His ministry. It is through the
ministry that the environment is brought forth for the
revelation of the kingly Christ.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE THIRTY
THE ENLARGEMENT OF THE KING'S MINISTRY
(2)
The Lord's word in Matthew 10 is a word spoken to the
sent ones. In 10:16--11:1 many things are brought to the
surface. By seeing these things, we shall be able to
understand the situation in which we find ourselves today.
IV. PERSECUTION AND THE WAY TO MEET IT
In verses 16 and 17 the Lord predicted the persecution
that would come from Judaism upon His apostles. The
heavenly King's prediction here concerning the persecution
of His apostles by Judaism indicated that the kingdom He
was establishing through His apostles' preaching would be
rejected by Judaism. This also proves that His kingdom is
not earthly but heavenly.
A. The Apostles Sent as Sheep into the Midst of
Wolves
Verse 16 says, "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the
midst of wolves; become therefore prudent as serpents and
guileless as doves." The Lord's apostles, as sheep, not as
serpents, in the midst of wolves, need to be prudent as
serpents to escape the hurt of the wolves, but guileless as
doves not to hurt others.
B. Delivered to the Sanhedrin and Scourged in the
Synagogues
The Lord's word reveals that the whole world is under
the usurping hand of the enemy and thus opposes God's
economy. The entire world, whether the Jewish world or
the Gentile world, opposes God's kingdom. Verse 17 says,
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"But beware of men; for they will deliver you up to
Sanhedrins, and in their synagogues they will scourge
you." This verse indicates that even the Jewish nation had
been fully taken over by God's enemy. When the Lord
Jesus was on earth, this nation belonged to God in name,
but not in actuality. Therefore, in verse 17 the Lord spoke
of persecution coming from the Sanhedrin and the
synagogues. The Sanhedrin was the highest council among
the children of Israel. The Sanhedrin's function was to see
that the Jews followed the law of the Old Testament. The
synagogue was a place where the Word of God was taught
to the children of Israel. It is very significant that the Lord
exposed the Sanhedrin and the synagogues as being
opposed to God's economy. He said that His apostles, His
sent ones, would be delivered up to Sanhedrins and
scourged in the synagogues. A synagogue is obviously not
a theater, a casino, or an idol temple. In a sense, it was a
holy place, a place where the holy Word of God was taught
to God's people. Nevertheless, the Lord said that the
apostles of the King of the heavens would be scourged even
in the synagogues. By this we see what an evil thing the
synagogue had become. Although the Jews went there to
learn the Word of God, those in the synagogues persecuted
the apostles of the heavenly King. Furthermore, the
Sanhedrin, organized with the intention of overseeing the
children of Israel in the matter of keeping the Scriptures,
was a place that would also oppose the apostles of the
heavenly King.
The situation is the same today. If the ancient
Sanhedrin and synagogues opposed the King's sent ones,
then how about the system of today's religion? If we are
truly the ones sent by the heavenly King, we shall be
opposed by today's religious organizations just as the
apostles were opposed by Judaism. In ancient times the
apostles were persecuted not primarily by the Gentiles,
but by the so-called holy people in the Sanhedrin and in
the synagogues. In our experience throughout the years,
nearly all the persecution, rumors, opposition, and attack
have come from the religious organizations, not from the
Gentiles.
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According to verse 16, the Lord Jesus likened those in
the Sanhedrin and in the synagogues to wolves, saying
that He was sending out His apostles "as sheep in the
midst of wolves." Can you believe that those in the
Sanhedrin and in the synagogues, the ones who expounded
and taught the holy Word of God and exhorted others to
obey it, were wolves? If the Lord Jesus had not said this
Himself, I certainly would not believe it. Rather, I would
say, "Those in the Sanhedrin and in the synagogues may
have made some mistakes, but they are certainly God's
people, for daily they talk about the Scriptures and teach
people to fear God, to worship God, to honor God, and to
glorify God. They're not that bad. How can you say that
they are wolves?" But the Lord Jesus called them wolves.
At that time, the wolves spoken of in verse 16 were those
in the Sanhedrins and in the synagogues mentioned in
verse 17.
Saul of Tarsus studied at the feet of Gamaliel, a great
Bible teacher, "a teacher of the law, honored by all the
people" (Acts 22:3; 5:34). Gamaliel was one of the leaders
in the Sanhedrin. Was Gamaliel for God? Yes, he was. He
feared God and he was for God, but he was in an
environment that was absolutely against God's economy.
He was part of a system, the Sanhedrin, that opposed God.
It has been the same down through the centuries until
today. No matter how much certain ones are for God, they
are in a system, an organization, which is against God's
economy. In Revelation 2:9 and 3:9 the Lord Jesus spoke of
"the synagogue of Satan." In Matthew 10 the Lord
indicated that there were wolves in the synagogues, and in
Revelation He spoke of the synagogue of Satan. This
indicated that the synagogues had become satanic.
The Lord Jesus did not come firstly to the Gentile
world. He came to a nation that was supposed to be the
holy people of God. This nation had the holy Scriptures,
the holy city, the holy temple, the holy priesthood, and the
holy sacrifices. He came to this nation with the purpose of
establishing the kingdom of the heavens. It seems that
there should have been no difficulty whatever. But when
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this heavenly King was sending out His apostles for the
spread of His ministry, He warned them that He was
sending them out as sheep in the midst of wolves. The
Lord seemed to be saying, "Those in the Sanhedrin, the
ones who care for the holy Scriptures, will persecute you,
and those in the synagogue, the ones who teach the Word
of God, will scourge you. Be careful! They are not the holy
people of God--they are wolves. They are not for God; they
are against Him." Suppose you were among those Jews
sent out by the heavenly King and you heard that those in
the Sanhedrin and in the synagogues were wolves. Would
you not be shocked? Nevertheless, this is exactly what the
Lord was saying here. The Lord did not say that the
soldiers in the Roman army were wolves, but that those in
the Sanhedrin and in the synagogues, those handling the
Word of God and teaching it to God's people, were wolves.
Throughout the centuries, the situation has been the same
in principle.
In 9:36 the Lord likened the people to sheep. Among
the children of Israel, there were both sheep and wolves.
These wolves were in the Sanhedrin and in the
synagogues. They were cultured wolves, civilized wolves,
religious wolves. Those wolves knew the Bible rather well.
Although they could quote verses and worship God
according to the Scriptures, the Lord Jesus did not
consider them as sheep, but as wolves. Therefore, at the
time of Matthew 10, there was a complicated situation
among the children of Israel, for the sheep and the wolves
were mixed together. There was no problem as long as the
sheep went along with the wolves. However, the Shepherd
came and sent out the undershepherds to collect the sheep.
If we read these chapters carefully, we shall see that the
gathering of the sheep is the reaping of the harvest. All the
sheep, the harvest, were scattered among the wolves and
mixed in with the wolves. When the sheep desired to go
with the undershepherds sent by the Shepherd, the wolves
would rise up and say, "What! You are proselytizing. You
are stirring up the sheep!" In this way the wolf nature is
exposed, and the wolves attack the undershepherds.
Hence, the Lord said that, as sheep in the midst of wolves,
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His sent ones must be prudent as serpents and guileless as
doves. When the wolves attack, the sent ones must be
prudent as serpents to escape. At the same time, they
should also be as harmless as doves.
C. Brought before Governors and Kings as a
Testimony for the Heavenly King's Sake
Verse 18 says, "And you shall be brought before
governors and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them
and to the nations." No doubt this refers to the Gentiles.
Thus, the Lord indicated that God's kingdom would be
opposed not only by the Jewish religious world but also by
the Gentile secular world. Eventually, the apostles were
brought before the Roman governors and kings. They were
persecuted, and they became a testimony. This reveals
that both the religious world and the political world are
the same in opposing the kingdom of the heavens, for both
are under the usurping hand of God's enemy. The
intention of the heavenly King is to establish His kingdom
on earth within the territory of religion and politics. This
will certainly arouse opposition and persecution.
In verses 19 and 20 the Lord said, "But when they
deliver you up, do not be anxious about how or what you
shall speak; for it shall be given to you in that hour what
you shall speak; for you are not the ones speaking, but the
Spirit of your Father is the One speaking in you." The
apostles have not only the authority of the heavenly King
(v. 1), but also the Spirit of their heavenly Father. The
King's authority deals with the unclean spirits and
diseases; the Father's Spirit deals with the opposers'
persecution. The Lord was charging His sent ones not to
speak from themselves whenever they met persecution. He
seemed to be saying, "Don't be anxious, and don't talk from
yourselves. The Spirit of your Father is with you." As long
as we have the Spirit of the Lord, we have the presence of
the Lord. The presence of the Lord here is the Spirit for
speaking. We should learn to face persecution not in
ourselves, but learn to turn to our spirit and trust
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the indwelling Spirit. We must believe that the Father's
Spirit is with us and that He will deal with the opposers
and persecutors. This is not an easy thing to learn. We
must face opposition and confront attack, not in ourselves,
but by turning to our spirit where the Spirit of God dwells.
We must trust in Him, let Him lead us, and let Him do the
speaking.
D. Hated by the Relatives
The Lord also told His sent ones that they would be
hated by their relatives. Verse 21 says, "And brother will
deliver up brother to death, and father his child, and
children will rise up against parents and put them to
death." To be the heavenly King's apostles for the
preaching of the gospel of the kingdom, the sent ones must
suffer the breaking of the closest human ties.
In verse 22 the Lord continued, "And you will be hated
by all because of My name; but he who endures to the end,
he shall be saved." To be saved here does not mean to be
saved from hell. It may include being saved from those
who hate, but eventually it means to be saved into the
manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens, a reward to
the overcoming believers. It is to be saved from
dispensational punishment during the millennium. This
differs from eternal salvation as revealed in Ephesians 2:8.
E. Fleeing from City to City
Verse 23 says, "And when they persecute you in this
city, flee into another; for truly I say to you, you shall by
no means complete the cities of Israel until the Son of Man
comes." This word was not fulfilled by the twelve apostles'
preaching before Christ's crucifixion. It will not be fulfilled
until the great tribulation (24:21). What is predicted in
verses 17 through 23 is very similar to 24:9-13. Here the
heavenly King sent the apostles to preach the gospel of the
kingdom to the Jews. After His resurrection, He sent His
apostles to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. After the
fullness of the salvation of the Gentiles, He will send His
apostles to preach the gospel of the kingdom to the Jews
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again. At that time this word will be fulfilled, and He will
come.
F. Not Above Their Teacher
In verse 24 the King said to His sent ones, "A disciple is
not above his teacher, nor a slave above his lord."
According to the context, the word here means that in
suffering persecution His apostles cannot be above Him,
because His persecution was to the uttermost.
Verse 25 says, "It is sufficient that he become as his
teacher, and the slave as his lord. If they have called the
master of the house Beelzebub, how much more those of
his household!" Beelzebub means "the lord of the flies," the
name of the god of the Ekronites (2 Kings 1:2). It was
changed in contempt by the Jews to Baalzebel, which
means lord of the dunghill, and used for the ruler of the
demons (12:24, 27; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15, 18-19). The
Pharisees, the leading ones of the Jewish religion, reviled
the heavenly King by saying that He cast out demons by
the ruler of demons (9:34). This most blasphemous name
expressed their strongest contempt and rejection.
G. Not Fearing the Persecutors but Preaching the
Heavenly King's Message on the Housetop
In verses 26 and 27 the King told His sent ones not to
fear the persecutors, but rather to speak in the light and to
preach on the housetops. In verse 28 He said, "And do not
fear those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the
soul; but fear rather Him Who is able to destroy both soul
and body in Gehenna." God is the only One who is able to
destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. This word implies
that if the apostles sent by the Lord fail in the suffering of
persecution, they will be disciplined by God. This will
transpire in the coming age, after the judgment at the
judgment seat of Christ, when believers will receive
reward or punishment (2 Cor. 5:10; Rev. 22:12).
In verses 32 and 33 the Lord said, "Everyone therefore
who shall confess Me before men, I also will confess him
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before My Father Who is in the heavens; but whoever shall
deny Me before men, I also will deny him before My Father
Who is in the heavens." This word was spoken by the
heavenly King to His apostles who were sent by Him to
preach the gospel of the kingdom. He foretold that they
would be persecuted (vv. 17, 21-23). If anyone under
persecution denies Him, He will deny him. This will
transpire at His coming back (16:27). To be denied or
confessed by Him at that time determines whether or not
His apostles are worthy to enter the kingdom of the
heavens in the coming age as a reward. Here the King
seemed to be saying, "If you are afraid of this persecution
and do not confess My name before the persecutors, I will
not confess your name before the Father when I come back
and the millennium begins." This means that such a
person will be put into the outer darkness (25:30) and will
not participate in the manifestation of the kingdom.
V. THE KING'S DISTURBANCE AND THE WAY OF THE
CROSS TO FOLLOW HIM
A. The Heavenly King Coming Not to Bring Peace, but a
Sword on the Earth
In verse 34 the Lord Jesus said, "Do not suppose that I
came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring
peace, but a sword." The whole earth is under Satan's
usurpation (1 John 5:19). The heavenly King came to call
some out from his usurpation. This certainly aroused
Satan's opposition. Satan instigated the people under his
usurpation to fight against the heavenly King's called
ones. Thus, the King's coming did not bring peace, but a
sword. In order for the kingdom of the heavens to be
established, there must be a confrontation between the
kingdom of the heavens and the kingdom of the world.
These two kingdoms cannot co-exist. Because the heavenly
King is establishing His kingdom on earth, warfare
between these two kingdoms is inevitable.
In verses 35 and 36 the Lord said, "For I came to set a
man against his father and a daughter against her mother
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a
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man's enemies shall be those of his household." The
fighting instigated by the usurping Satan against the
heavenly King's called ones is waged even in their
household. The heavenly called ones are attacked in their
homes by their kindred who remain under the evil one's
usurping hand. When some are attracted and caught by
the heavenly King and decide to follow Him, some in their
family may be instigated by Satan to fight against them,
even to kill them.
Let me tell you about a brother who was persecuted by
his unbelieving wife. This man had an excellent job with the
customs office of the government, and he was quite wealthy.
After he was brought to the Lord, his wife began to
persecute him. One night, this brother invited several of us
to his home for dinner. Whenever her husband invited his
colleagues from work to dinner, the wife was very happy and
prepared the best food. But now as a believer her husband
had invited some of the church people to their home. On the
night he invited us, she purposely did not cook. Rather, she
set cold leftovers on the table. The brother looked at us with
tears in his eyes. We looked at him and said, "Praise the
Lord! This dinner is delicious. Let us all eat." Then we
proceeded to eat all those leftovers. This was an example of
his wife's persecution.
Those sent by the Lord must realize that persecution
awaits them. The Lord Jesus does not leave us in
darkness. Rather, he makes the whole situation very clear.
The Jewish nation is full of opposers, and even the
relatives of the sent ones will rise up in opposition; they
will even kill the followers of the heavenly King.
B. The Way to Follow the Heavenly King
1. Not Loving Relatives above Him
In verses 37 through 39 we have the way to follow the
heavenly King. In verse 37 the Lord said, "He who loves
father or mother above Me is not worthy of Me; and he
who loves son or daughter above Me is not worthy of Me."
Our love must be absolute for the Lord. In our love nothing
should be above Him. He is the One absolutely worthy of
our love, and we must be worthy of Him.
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2. Taking the Cross and Following after Him
Verse 38 continues, "And he who does not take his
cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me." Christ was
crucified by taking the Father's will (26:39, 42). When He
was baptized, He was counted as crucified, and from that
time He bore His cross to do the will of God. His called
ones were identified with Him. He asked them to take
their cross and follow after Him, that is, to take the will of
God by putting themselves aside. This demanded that
they, at any cost, give their love first to Him that they
might be worthy of Him.
3. Losing the Soul-life for His Sake
Verse 39 says, "He who finds his soul-life shall lose it,
and he who loses his soul-life for My sake shall find it." To
find the soul-life is to allow the soul to have its enjoyment
and not to suffer. To lose the soul-life is to cause the soul
to suffer the loss of its enjoyment. If the heavenly King's
followers allow their soul to have its enjoyment in this age,
they will cause their soul to suffer the loss of its enjoyment
in the coming kingdom age. If they allow their soul to
suffer the loss of its enjoyment in this age for the King's
sake, they will cause their soul to have its enjoyment in
the coming kingdom age, that is, to share the King's joy in
ruling over the earth (25:21, 23).
VI. IDENTIFICATION WITH THE KING
A. Receiving the Heavenly King's Apostles Being the
Receiving of Him
In 10:40--11:1 we have the matter of identification with
the heavenly King. Verse 40 says, "He who receives you
receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him Who
sent Me." The apostles sent by the heavenly King, having
been entrusted with His authority (v. 1) and peace (v. 13)
and having been indwelt by the Spirit of the Father (v. 20)
and identified with the King in His suffering (vv. 22, 24-
26) and death (vv. 21, 34-39), were one with Him. Thus, he
who receives them receives Him. To participate in such an
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identification with the heavenly King requires us to love
Him above all, at any cost, and to follow Him by taking the
narrow way of the cross, as revealed in verses 37 through
39. Not only do the sent ones have the King's authority
and peace and the Spirit of the Father, but they are also
one with the King and are identified with Him. To receive
the King's sent ones means to receive the King Himself,
because the sent ones are identified with the King. This is
an encouragement to those who are sent. In the Lord's
recovery we have the authority, the peace, the Spirit, and
the identification with our King. We are one with Him.
Whoever receives us receives the King, and whoever
rejects us rejects the King. This is not an insignificant
matter. It is very serious. We all need to have the
assurance that we have the authority, the peace, the
Spirit, and the identification. All this is for the spreading
of the King's ministry. The King is still spreading His
ministry today, and we are His sent ones with the
authority, the peace, the Spirit, and the identification.
B. The Reward of Receiving a Prophet or a
Righteous Man
Verse 41 says, "He who receives a prophet in the name
of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward, and he who
receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man
shall receive a righteous man's reward." A prophet is one
who speaks for God and speaks forth God. A righteous
man is one who seeks after righteousness, who does
righteousness, and who is persecuted for righteousness for
the kingdom (5:6, 10, 20; 6:1). The heavenly King was such
a Prophet sent by God (Deut. 18:15) and such a righteous
man (Acts 3:14). His apostles sent by Him, having been
identified with Him, were also such prophets and
righteous men. Hence, whoever receives them shall receive
a reward. One who receives a prophet is joined to the
prophet's word, and one who receives a righteous man is
joined to the righteousness of the righteous man. Thus,
such a one shall receive a reward as the prophet and as
the righteous man.
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The King's sent ones go out as prophets and as
righteous men. The prophet always comes with the word of
God, and the righteous man always comes with
righteousness. If you receive the prophet, you will receive
the word of God; and if you receive the righteous man, you
will receive his righteousness. How good it is to have the
word of God and righteousness! This will help us to be
ushered into both the reality of the kingdom today and
also the manifestation of the kingdom in the future.
C. The Reward for Giving a Cup of Cold Water to a
Little Disciple
Verse 42 says, "And whoever gives to one of these little
ones only a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a
disciple, truly I say to you, he shall by no means lose his
reward." This reward will be given in the coming age
(Luke 14:14).
VII. THE HEAVENLY KING GOING TO TEACH AND
PREACH IN THE CITIES
Matthew 11:1 says, "And it came to pass when Jesus
had finished instructing His twelve disciples, He departed
from there to teach and to preach in their cities." After the
Lord appointed the twelve and sent them to spread the
preaching of the kingdom, He Himself went on in His
ministry to teach and preach in the cities.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE THIRTY-ONE
THE RESULT OF THE KING'S MINISTRY
In Matthew 11 we see the result of the King's ministry.
The record of chapter ten indicates that both the King's
ministry and the enlargement of His ministry by the
twelve apostles were rejected. In chapter ten the Lord told
the apostles that they would be persecuted and hated,
even by the so-called holy people in the Sanhedrin and in
the synagogues. He warned them that they would be
persecuted even by their relatives. In chapter eleven we
see that three ministries are rejected: the ministry of John
the Baptist, the ministry of the King, and the ministry of
the King's sent ones, the twelve apostles. John was
rejected, the Lord Jesus was rejected, and according to His
charge to the twelve apostles, their ministry also was to be
rejected. In chapter eleven we see how the King deals with
this rejection. The main point in this chapter is how we
should face rejection.
I. STRENGTHENING HIS IMPRISONED FORERUNNER
A. The Imprisoned Forerunner Sending His Disciples to
Provoke the King
In verses 2 and 3 we see that the patience of John the
Baptist, the King's rejected forerunner, was exhausted.
Thus, John "sent by his disciples and said to Him, Are You
the coming One, or should we expect someone else?" John
the Baptist's word here does not mean that he was in
doubt concerning Christ. He questioned Christ in this way
in order to provoke Him to deliver him. He knew that
Christ was the coming One, and he had strongly
recommended Him to the people (John 1:26-36). After
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that, he was put into prison (Matt. 4:12) and waited,
expecting that Christ would do something to deliver him.
However, although Christ did much to help others, He did
nothing for him. For this reason, John was in danger of
being stumbled (v. 6). Hence, he sent his disciples to
Christ with such a stirring question. There was no doubt
in John's mind that Christ was the Messiah. He did not
send his disciples to ask the Lord whether or not He was
the Messiah. He was trying to provoke Christ to rescue
him from prison. But it is very difficult to stir up the Lord
Jesus. The more you try to provoke Him, the colder He
becomes to you. You can never stir Him up by provoking
Him. If you try to do this, He will become less willing to do
something for you.
B. The Heavenly King's Answer
In verses 4 through 6 we have the Lord's answer to
John. Verses 4 and 5 say, "Go, report to John what you
hear and see: the blind receive sight, and the lame walk,
the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead
are raised, and the poor have the gospel preached to
them." The Lord mentioned the blind receiving sight first
because there was no such miracle in the Old Testament.
By this, He gave clear evidence to John that no other could
have done such a miracle but the Messiah (Isa. 35:5). In
spiritual significance, the blind receiving sight is also first.
In the Lord's salvation, He firstly opens our eyes (Acts
26:18); then we can receive Him and walk to follow Him.
The lame signify those who cannot walk in God's way.
After being saved, they can walk by new life (9:5-6; John
5:8-9). The cleansed lepers signify those who have been
saved from their rebellion (leprosy) to become the kingdom
people. The deaf signify those who cannot hear God. After
being saved, they can hear the Lord's voice (John 10:27).
The dead signify those who are dead in sins (Eph. 2:1, 5),
unable to contact God. After being regenerated, with their
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regenerated spirit they can fellowship with God. The poor
signify all the ones without Christ, without God, who have
no hope in the world (Eph. 2:12). Upon receiving the
gospel, they are made rich in Christ (2 Cor. 8:9; Eph. 3:8).
Verse 6 says, "And blessed is he who shall not be stumbled
in Me." This word implies that John the Baptist was in
danger of being stumbled in the Lord, because the Lord did
not act on his behalf according to his way. Here the Lord
encouraged him to take the way the Lord had ordained for
him that he might be blessed. This blessing has much to
do with the participation in the kingdom of the heavens.
In these verses the Lord seemed to be saying to John,
"There is no doubt that I am the Messiah. My being the
Messiah does not depend on whether or not I do something
for you. I have healed the blind, the deaf, and the sick. I
have even raised the dead. But I don't choose to do
anything for you. Do not expect anything from Me. I will
leave you in prison until you are beheaded. Blessed is the
one who is not stumbled in Me." In the Lord's recovery we
need to learn this lesson. Whenever the Lord does
something positive for us, we are excited. But many times
the Lord will not do anything for us. The reason He did
nothing to rescue John from prison was that if John had
been released from prison his ministry would have been in
competition with the Lord's ministry. John's imprisonment
was arranged sovereignly of the Lord to terminate his
ministry, which was the ministry of recommendation.
After the recommending work had been done, his ministry
should be terminated. Therefore, God sovereignly
terminated John's ministry by imprisoning him.
II. APPRAISING HIS FORERUNNER
The questions John's disciples asked the Lord might
have given the Lord's apostles a negative impression of
John. Thus, in verses 7 through 15 the Lord publicly
appraised His forerunner. Concealed within the Lord's
reply to John was an indication of John's weakness.
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However, His words to the crowds concerning John
testified publicly for John. Remember that the first four
disciples were brought in through John's ministry of
recommendation. John had declared, "Behold the Lamb of
God," and John and Andrew followed the Lord Jesus.
Eventually they brought James and Peter to the Lord as
well. Thus, the first four disciples were brought to Christ
through the ministry of John the Baptist.
A. Not a Reed in the Wilderness Shaken by the Wind
or a Man Dressed in Soft Clothing
In His public appraisal of John the Baptist, the Lord
Jesus vindicated him. In verse 7 the Lord said, "What did
you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the
wind?" A reed signifies a weak and fragile person (12:20; 1
Kings 14:15). When John the Baptist was testifying for
Christ in the wilderness, he was not like a reed, a weak
person. However, now in prison he was somewhat like a
reed shaken by the wind. The Lord Jesus is wise, kind,
and merciful. If we had been the Lord, we would have been
offended by John. Because the Lord knew that John was
somewhat weakened, He encouraged him. He seemed to be
saying, "John, be careful. It seems that you are at least
somewhat weakened concerning Me." This was the
meaning of the Lord's word to John. But when He spoke to
the crowds and to the other disciples, He vindicated John,
indicating that he was not a weak, timid person, but a
strong witness. In verse 8 the Lord asked, "But what did
you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold,
those who wear soft clothing are in the houses of kings."
After testifying boldly for Christ in the wilderness, John
the Baptist became weak when he had been imprisoned for
a time. Some might think that he would desire to wear soft
clothing in the houses of kings. But the Lord testified that
he was neither a reed shaken by the wind nor a man
dressed in soft clothing.
B. Much More Than a Prophet
Verse 9 says, "But why did you go out? To see a
prophet? Yes, I say to you, and much more than a
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prophet." The Lord testified that John was much more
than a prophet. He was a great prophet, greater than all
the prophets who had gone before him.
C. Being a Messenger before the Heavenly King's
Face, Preparing the Way for Him
John was sent by God as a messenger before Christ to
prepare the way for Him (11:10) that the people might be
turned to God and receive the heavenly King and the
heavenly kingdom. His ministry was to pave the way for
the kingdom.
D. Greater Than All Who Were Born before the
Kingdom of the Heavens, but Smaller Than He Who
Is in the Kingdom of the Heavens
In verse 11 the Lord says, "Truly I say to you, Among
those born of women, there has not arisen a greater than
John the Baptist; yet he who is smaller in the kingdom of
the heavens is greater than he." Although John was
greater than all the prophets, he was not in the kingdom of
the heavens. Compared to the Old Testament prophets
John was greater; but compared to the New Testament
people, he was smaller. John was in a transitory period,
greater than those who preceded him, but smaller than
those who were to come after him. All the prophets prior to
John prophesied only that Christ was coming, but John
testified that Christ had come. The prophets were looking
forward to Christ, but John saw Christ. Hence, John was
greater than all the prophets. Although John saw the
incarnated Christ and introduced Him to people, he did
not have the resurrected Christ indwelling him. But the
kingdom people do. John could only say, "Here is Christ,"
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but the kingdom people can say, "For to me to live is
Christ" (Phil. 1:21). Hence, the least in the kingdom of the
heavens is greater than he. Whether anyone is greater or
lesser depends upon his relationship to Christ. Christ is
the deciding factor. The closer anyone is to Christ, the
greater he is.
The prophets prophesied concerning the coming of
Christ, and John recommended the Christ who had come.
The prophets said that Christ was coming, and John said
that Christ was there. Although John the Baptist was
close to Christ, he was not as close to Him as we are, for
we have Christ within us. Christ is in us, and we are in
Him. Because Christ is mingled with us, our relationship
with Christ is most intimate. We are in Christ, Christ is in
us, and we are mingled with Him, even joined to Him.
First Corinthians 6:17 says, "He who is joined to the Lord
is one spirit." What could be closer than this? This close
relationship to Christ makes us greater than all those who
preceded us. What a great blessing this is!
We need to realize in what age we are living. Peter,
John, and even Paul were in the beginning of the kingdom
age, but we are in the closing of this age. Where would you
rather be--in the beginning, in the middle, or in the
conclusion? Martin Luther was in the middle, but we are
neither in the beginning nor in the middle, but at the end.
Great men like Martin Luther stood on the shoulders of
the early apostles, but now we are on the shoulders of
Martin Luther and other great ones. Hence, we are higher
than all of them. Even the smallest among us is able to
give a strong testimony on being justified by faith both
objectively and subjectively. Do not regard this day as an
insignificant day.
When I was seeking the Lord fifty years ago, the
situation was quite poor. We spent much money on books,
and we traveled to see certain people. There is no
comparison with the situation of today. Today you are all
buried with riches. My only concern is that you do not
have the adequate appetite. We are feasting every day.
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We are not in the transitory period, neither are we in the
beginning nor in the middle of the New Testament age; we
are in the conclusion of this age. At the conclusion
everything is better, higher, and richer. Praise the Lord
that we are so close to Christ! Many of the messages you
have heard concerning Christ have not been heard by
others in the past. Many of you were in Christianity for
years. Were you ever told about the all-inclusive Christ?
Did you ever hear about eating Jesus? But now we are
eating Him and enjoying Him. Thus, we are greater. Do
you dare to say that you are greater? According to the
principle in the Bible, the later is always the greater. The
last will be the first. Because we are the last, we are the
greatest.
E. Being Elijah
Verse 14 says, "And if you are willing to receive it, he is
Elijah, who is about to come." Malachi 4:5 prophesied that
Elijah would come. When John the Baptist was conceived,
it was said that he would go before the Lord in the spirit
and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17). Hence, in a sense, John
may be considered Elijah who was about to come (Matt.
17:10-13). However, the prophecy of Malachi 4:5 will
actually be fully fulfilled in the great tribulation, when the
real Elijah, one of the two witnesses, will come to
strengthen God's people (Rev. 11:3-12).
F. The Prophets and the Law Having Prophesied
until John
Verse 13 says, "For all the prophets and the law
prophesied until John." This proves that the Old
Testament dispensation was terminated by the coming of
John.
G. From John until Now, the Kingdom of the
Heavens Being Taken by Violence
Verse 12 says, "And from the days of John the Baptist
until now, the kingdom of the heavens is taken by
violence, and violent men seize it." From the days of John
the Baptist until now, the Pharisees had been violently
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frustrating people from entering the kingdom of the
heavens. Hence, those who desired to enter must do so by
violence.
H. Ears Needed to Hear This
The word of Christ concerning His forerunner John the
Baptist was deeply related to Himself and the heavenly
kingdom. It was different from any of the old, traditional
teachings. Hence, there was the need for ears to hear it
(11:15).
III. REPROACHING THE STUBBORN GENERATION
After the Lord appraised John, He turned to the
rejecting generation and reproached them. His appraisal
reminded them that John had been rejected. No matter
how great John was, he was nonetheless in prison due to
the rejection of that generation.
A. The Generation Not Having Responded to the
Preaching of the Forerunner or of the Heavenly
King
In verses 16 and 17 the Lord said, "But to what shall I
liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the
market places, who call to the others and say, We have
played the flute to you, and you did not dance; we have
sung a dirge, and you did not beat the breast." Christ and
John the Baptist "played the flute" to preach the gospel of
the kingdom, but the Judaizers "did not dance" for the joy
of salvation. John and Christ sang "a dirge" to preach
repentance, but the Judaizers "did not beat the breast" for
the grief of sin. The righteousness of God required them to
repent, but they would not obey. The grace of God afforded
them salvation, but they would not receive it.
Verses 18 and 19 say, "For John came neither eating
nor drinking, and they say, He has a demon. The Son of
Man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold, a
gluttonous man and a wine drinker, a friend of tax
collectors and sinners. And wisdom was justified by her
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works." John, coming to bring men to repentance (Mark
1:4) and to cause them to grieve for sin, had no taste for
eating and drinking (Luke 1:15-17); whereas Christ,
coming to bring salvation to sinners and to cause them to
rejoice in it, had the joy of eating and drinking with them
(Matt. 9:10-11). The kingdom people, under no regulation,
follow the divine wisdom, concentrating their attention
upon the indwelling Christ who is their wisdom (1 (Cor.
1:30), not upon their outward manner of life.
Because John the Baptist lived in a strange and
peculiar way, not eating and drinking in the regular way,
the opposers said, "He has a demon"--he is demon-
possessed. But they called Christ a gluttonous man and a
wine drinker, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. Christ
is not only the Savior, but also the friend of sinners,
sympathizing with their problems and sensing their griefs.
In verse 19 the Lord said, "And wisdom was justified by
her works." Wisdom is Christ (1 Cor. 1:24, 30). Whatever
Christ did was done by the wisdom of God, which is
Himself. This wisdom was justified, vindicated, by His
wise works, His wise deeds. In this verse some authorities
read "children" instead of "works." The kingdom people are
the children of wisdom, who justify Christ and His deeds
and follow Him as their wisdom. Christ is justified by the
kingdom people, who know when to eat and when not to
eat and who recognize the playing of the flute and the
singing of the dirge, knowing when to rejoice and when to
repent. We, the kingdom people, the children of wisdom,
have the wisdom to discern when to repent and when to
rejoice. But the rejecting generation is absolutely foolish. If
you play them a song, they do not respond. If you sing
them a dirge for repentance, they do not respond to that
either. They are stubborn and foolish, and they lack
wisdom.
B. The Cities Not Having Repented
Verse 20 says, "Then He began to reproach the cities in
which most of His works of power took place, because they
did not repent." The Lord proceeded, Woe to you,
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Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, because, in a
general way, they had all rejected Him. Of Capernaum He
said, "You shall be brought down to Hades." Hades, like
Sheol in the Old Testament (Gen. 37:35; Psa. 6:5), is the
place where the souls and spirits of the dead are kept
(Luke 16:22-23; Acts 2:27). He also said of Capernaum, "It
shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of
judgment than for you" (v. 24). This indicates that
Capernaum was worse than Sodom.
IV. ACKNOWLEDGING THE FATHER'S WILL WITH PRAISE
A. Answering the Father in His Fellowship with Him at the
Time He Was Reproaching the Stubborn Generation
Verse 25 opens with the words, "At that time." This
refers to the time the Lord was rebuking the cities. Verse
25 says, "At that time Jesus answered and said! I praise
You, Father, Lord of the heaven and of the earth." When
the Lord was rebuking those leading cities, He answered
and said, "I praise You, Father." The word "answered" is
very meaningful. Whom did the Lord answer? He
answered the Father. While the Lord was rebuking the
cities, He fellowshipped with the Father. At that time,
answering the Father, He spoke praise to Him.
As the Lord was rebuking the cities, a third party was
present. The Lord was the first party, the cities were the
second party, and the Father, who was with Him, was the
third party. As the Lord was rebuking Chorazin,
Bethsaida, and Capernaum, the Father might have asked
Him, "Are you happy about this?" Then the Lord answered
and said, "I praise You, Father." The Father might have
said to the Son, "You are rebuking these cities because
they have rejected You. Do You feel good about this?" The
Lord immediately answered and praised the Father, the
Lord of heaven and earth.
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Sometimes a third party is present when you are
talking to your wife. You are the first party, your wife is
the second party, and the Lord is the third party. Perhaps
you say to your wife, "Yesterday, you did not treat me very
well; your behavior was poor." As you are saying these
words, the third party standing by may ask, "How about
it? Do you like it? Yes, your wife was not so good
yesterday." At such a time could you say, "I praise You,
Father"? This is not an easy thing for us to do. But the
Lord Jesus could do it, saying, "I praise You, Father, Lord
of heaven and earth. I recognize Your authority. If this
were not of You, none of these cities would reject Me. Even
their rejection is of You. Father, I take sides with You.
This situation is quite good. I tell You that I feel good
about it, and I can praise You for it."
B. Acknowledging the Father's Will with Praise
The Greek word rendered "praise" in verse 25 means to
make acknowledgment with praise. The Lord
acknowledged the Father's way in carrying out His
economy with praise Although people, instead of
responding to His ministry, slandered Him (vv. 16-19), and
the leading cities rejected Him (vv. 20-24), He praised the
Father, acknowledging the Father's will. He did not seek
prosperity in His work, but He sought the Father's will. He
would be satisfied and rest, not in man's understanding
and welcome, but in the Father's knowing (vv. 26-27).
Christ believed that the cities' rejection of Him was of the
Father. What about our situation today? When we are
rejected, opposed, criticized, attacked, and condemned,
could we praise the Father? Have you ever said, "Father, I
praise You for the rejection and opposition of my parents
and friends"? We need to recognize that such rejection is
sovereignly of the Lord and praise Him for it.
In the Lord's address of praise, Father refers to the
Father's relationship with Him, the Son; whereas the Lord
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of the heaven and of the earth refers to God's relationship
with the universe. When God's people were defeated by
His enemy, He was called the God of heaven (Ezra 5:11-12;
Dan. 2:18, 37). But when there was a man standing for
God on the earth, He was called the Possessor of heaven
and earth (Gen. 14:19, 22). Now, the Lord, as the Son of
Man, also called the Father the "Lord of the heaven and of
the earth," indicating that He was standing on the earth
for God's interest.
1. The Father Having Hidden the Knowledge of the
Son and of the Father from the Wise and the
Intelligent
Verse 25 also says that the Father has "hidden these
things from the wise and intelligent." "These things" refer
to the things regarding the knowledge of the Son and of
the Father (v. 27). The "wise and intelligent" refer to the
people of the three cities condemned in verses 20 through
24, who were wise and intelligent in their own eyes. The
Father's will was to hide the knowledge of the Son and the
Father from such people.
2. The Father Having Revealed These Things to
Babes
The Lord praised the Father for having revealed these
things to babes. The word "babes" refers to the disciples,
who were the children of wisdom. The Father was pleased
to reveal both the Son and the Father to them. To know
the Son and the Father is altogether a matter of the
Father's sovereignty. In 16:17, after Peter had received the
revelation that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living
God, Jesus said to him, "You are blessed, Simon Barjona,
because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My
Father Who is in the heavens." Thus, knowing the Son is a
matter of the Father's revelation.
3. Well Pleasing in the Father's Sight
Verse 26 says, "Yes, Father, for thus it was well
pleasing in Your sight." It was well pleasing in the
Father's sight that the Son was rejected. The Father was
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glad to see the Son's rejection. It is very difficult for us to
believe this. If your parents and relatives would be one
with you regarding the Lord's recovery, you would be
excited and praise the Lord. But you must praise the Lord
as you are experiencing rejection, saying, "I praise You,
Father, because You are the Lord of the heavens and of
the earth. All things are of You, and I praise You for this
situation."
4. All the Remnant Having Been Delivered to the Son
by the Father
Verse 27 says, "All was delivered to Me by My Father."
"All" refers to all the remnant whom the Father has given
the Son (John 3:27; 6:37, 44, 65; 18:9). This word implies
that the wise and intelligent rejected the Son because the
Father was not pleased to give them to the Son. However,
all the remnant has been delivered to the Son by the
Father. Peter, John, James, and Andrew were some of
those given to the Son by the Father. The Lord Jesus said,
"All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and him
that comes to Me I will by no means cast out" (John 6:37).
It is absolutely of the Father's sovereign mercy that we are
in the Lord's recovery today. We need to worship the
Father for this. Among the many Christians in the world,
we are in the recovery. I have the deep sense within that
through the years the Lord's recovery has been in this
country, He has been reaping a harvest. He has been
gathering a remnant among the Christians. During the
years we were in Elden hall in Los Angeles, the Lord was
gathering His remnant. Month after month, the Lord
brought His remnant from various cities, states, and
countries. That was a real gathering of the remnant. All
those who were gathered together can testify that we were
delivered by the Father. The Lord's recovery is not a
common Christian work; it is the gathering of the Lord's
remnant to recover God's kingdom in the church life. The
Lord is still doing the work of gathering His remnant
today.
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5. No One Knowing the Son except the Father, and
No One Knowing the Father except the Son and He
Who Receives the Son's Revelation
In verse 27 the Lord says, "No one knows the Son
except the Father, neither does anyone know the Father
except the Son and he to whom the Son wills to reveal
Him." The Greek word translated "knows" in this verse
means full knowledge, not mere objective acquaintance.
Concerning the Son, only the Father has such knowledge;
and concerning the Father, only the Son has such
knowledge. Hence, to know the Son requires the Father's
revelation (16:17), and to know the Father requires the
Son's revelation (John 17:6, 26). The Greek word
translated "wills" means to deliberately exercise the will
through counsel. "These things" mentioned in verse 25 are
difficult for the natural man to understand. The Lord's
recovery is absolutely against the enemy's kingdom of
darkness. No doubt the evil one is not willing to let people
know the things of the Father, the Son, and the Lord's
recovery. Thus, there is the need of the Father's sovereign
mercy. It is sovereign of the Lord that we have seen
certain things and have been brought into them. Although
others condemn them, we rejoice over them because we
have seen them. Our seeing is not due to our intelligence;
it is due to the mercy of the Father. The Father has shown
us all these things.
V. CALLING THE BURDENED TO REST AND THE WAY TO
REST
A. The Call
In verse 28 the Lord sounded out a call: "Come to Me,
all who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest."
The Lord seemed to be saying, "All you who labor and are
burdened, come to Me and rest. All you religious people
and all you worldly people who are laboring and are
burdened, come to Me and I will give you rest." What a
gracious word! The labor mentioned in verse 28 refers not
only to the labor of striving to keep the commandments of
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the law and religious regulations, but also to the labor of
struggling to be successful in any work. Whoever labors
thus is always heavily burdened. After the Lord had
praised the Father, acknowledging the Father's way and
declaring the divine economy, He called this kind of people
to come to Him for rest. Rest refers not only to being set
free from labor and burden under the law and religion or
under any work and responsibility, but also to perfect
peace and full satisfaction.
B. The Way
1. Taking the Heavenly King's Yoke
In verses 29 and 30 we have the way to rest: "Take My
yoke on you and learn from Me; for I am meek and lowly in
heart, and you shall find rest to your souls; for My yoke is
pleasant and My burden is light." The Lord's yoke is to
take the will of the Father. It is not to be regulated or
controlled by any obligations of the law or religion, nor to
be enslaved by any work, but to be constrained by the will
of the Father. The Lord lived such a life, caring for nothing
but the will of His Father (John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38). He
submitted Himself fully to the Father's will (26:39, 42).
Hence, He asks us to learn from Him. God's will is our
yoke. Thus, we are not free to do as we please; rather, we
are yoked. Young people, do not think that you are so free
or liberated. In the Lord's recovery we all have been yoked.
How good it is to be yoked! The Lord's yoke is pleasant and
His burden is light. The Lord's yoke is the Father's will,
and His burden is the work to carry out the Father's will.
Such a yoke is pleasant, not bitter, and such a burden is
light, not heavy. The Greek word rendered "pleasant"
signifies fit for use; hence, good, kindly, mild, gentle, easy,
pleasant, in contrast to what is hard, harsh, sharp, and
bitter.
2. Learning from Him
In verse 29 the Lord tells us to learn from Him. He is
meek and lowly in heart. To be meek means not to resist
any opposition, and to be lowly means not to esteem
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oneself highly. In all the opposition the Lord was meek,
and in all the rejection He was lowly in heart. He
submitted Himself fully to the will of His Father, not
wanting to do anything for Himself nor expecting to gain
something for Himself. Hence, regardless of the situation,
He had rest in His heart. He was fully satisfied with His
Father's will.
The Lord said that if we take His yoke upon us and
learn from Him, we shall find rest to our souls. The rest
we find by taking the Lord's yoke and learning from Him
is for our souls. It is an inward rest; it is not anything
merely outward in nature.
If we are opposed as we minister, and we resist, we
shall not have peace. But if instead of resisting we submit
to the will of the Father, testifying that the opposition is of
the Father, we shall have rest in our souls. John the
Baptist did not regard his imprisonment as of the Father;
therefore, he was not at rest. If he had realized that his
imprisonment was due to the Father's will, he would have
been at rest, even in prison. Christ, the heavenly King,
always submitted to the Father's will, taking God's will as
His portion and not resisting anything. Hence, He was
always at rest. We must learn of Him and also take this
view. If we do, we shall have rest in our souls.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE THIRTY-TWO
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE KING'S
REJECTION
(1)
In this message we come to the establishment of the
King's rejection (12:1-50).
I. THE REASON FOR REJECTION--THE BREAKING OF THE
SABBATH
The reason for the rejection of the Lord was the
breaking of the Sabbath (12:1-14).
A. Picking and Eating the Ears in the Grain Fields
on the Sabbath
1. The Heavenly King and His Disciples Going through the
Grain Fields on the Sabbath and the Disciples Picking the
Ears to Eat
Matthew 12:1 says, "At that time Jesus went on the
Sabbath through the grain fields; and His disciples were
hungry and began to pick the ears and to eat." "At that
time" joins chapter twelve to chapter eleven. At the time
the Lord called people to rest from striving to keep the law
and religious regulations, He went on the Sabbath through
the grain fields, and His disciples began to pick the ears
and to eat, seemingly breaking the Sabbath. Remember, in
his record Matthew puts certain facts together to present a
doctrine. The record in the other gospels is not exactly the
same as the record here. The phrase "at that time" is very
important. It refers to the time of calling people into His
rest. At that time, all His disciples were hungry. Whenever
we are hungry, we do not have rest. Rest includes
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satisfaction. When you are satisfied, you are at rest. But if
you do not have satisfaction, you do not have rest.
When the Lord called people into rest, His disciples
were hungry. For this reason, He brought them to the
grain fields, fields growing wheat. No doubt He knew that
these fields were rather ripe, full of ears good for eating.
The Lord Jesus purposely did this. Realizing that His
disciples were hungry, He took them to the grain fields for
rest. This is a sign. The call to come to Him for rest given
in chapter eleven was sounded on the Sabbath day. This is
proved by the words "at that time" which begin chapter
twelve. The Sabbath was a day of rest. On the day of rest
the Lord called people into rest. He seemed to be saying,
"You people are keeping the Sabbath, yet you are still
laboring and striving to keep the law. You are heavily
burdened with all the laws, rituals, forms, and regulations.
Although you are keeping the Sabbath outwardly, actually
you do not have any rest. You need to come to Me. You
labor and are burdened with the matter of law keeping.
Come to Me, and you will find rest." Peter and John might
have said, "We are hungry and cannot rest. We need
something to eat." But that day was the Sabbath, and
virtually all activity had ceased. Hence, it was difficult for
the disciples to find anything to eat. Knowing this, the
Lord Jesus took them into the grain fields.
Years ago I could not understand why the Lord Jesus
did this. Now I understand that He did it because He had
called people into His rest on the Sabbath. He knew that
His disciples were hungry and that, because it was the
Sabbath, it was difficult to find something to eat. They
could not buy anything, do anything, or go anywhere. The
disciples could have said, "Lord Jesus, what shall we do?
You have called us to come to You for rest; but we are
hungry, and there seems to be no way for us to get
anything to eat. How can we rest when we have such
hunger?" The disciples were under the burden of keeping
the Sabbath regulations. These regulations had become a
heavy burden to the hungry disciples. Thus, the Lord
Jesus took the lead not to keep these regulations by
bringing His disciples out of a regulation-keeping situation
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into the grain fields. The Lord's intention in doing this was
to free the disciples from the Sabbath-keeping regulations.
When they came into the grain fields, everyone was freed
from this burden and was satisfied. Everyone entered into
rest. This is the background of the Lord's rejection in
chapter twelve. Should the disciples suffer hunger and
keep the Sabbath, or should they forget the Sabbath and
find something to eat to satisfy their hunger? The Lord
took the lead to bring His hungry disciples into the grain
fields where they all found something to eat.
2. The Pharisees Seeing and Condemning
Verse 2 says, "But the Pharisees seeing it said to Him,
Behold, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on
the Sabbath." The Pharisees, the "Sabbath Patrol," caught
the Lord Jesus and His disciples. They must have been
watching the Lord. Otherwise, why would they have been
in the grain fields on the Sabbath day? The Pharisees
must have been deliberately following Him and spying on
Him.
The Pharisees condemned what the Lord's disciples
were doing, saying it was not lawful on the Sabbath. The
Sabbath was for the Jews to remember the completion of
God's creation (Gen. 2:2), to keep the sign of God's
covenant with them (Ezek. 20:12), and to remember God's
redemption for them (Deut. 5:15). Hence, to profane the
Sabbath was a serious matter in the eyes of the religious
Pharisees. To them it was not lawful, not scriptural. But
they did not have adequate knowledge of the Scripture.
According to their meager knowledge, they cared for the
ritual of keeping the Sabbath, not for the hunger of the
people. What folly to observe a vain ritual!
3. The King's Defense
This environment afforded the Lord Jesus the
opportunity to reveal more of Himself. To the Pharisees,
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Jesus had been caught. But to the Lord Jesus this was an
opportunity to reveal both to them and to His disciples
who He was. Thus far, He had been revealed as the
Physician, the Bridegroom, the Shepherd, and the Lord of
the harvest. After being caught by the Pharisees, the Lord
revealed Himself in at least five other major aspects.
a. David and His Men Having Entered into the House of God and
Having Eaten the Showbread
According to verses 3 and 4, the Lord asked the
Pharisees, "Have you not read what David did when he
was hungry and those who were with him; how he entered
into the house of God, and they ate the showbread, which
was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with
him, but for the priests only?" The Pharisees said that it
was not lawful for the Lord's disciples to pick the ears in
the grain fields and to eat, condemning them for acting
contrary to the Scriptures. But the Lord answered, "Have
you not read," pointing out to them another aspect in the
Scriptures that justified Him and His disciples. This
condemned the Pharisees for lacking adequate knowledge
of the Scriptures. The Lord Jesus seemed to be saying,
"You come here to catch Me according to the Scriptures.
Do not think that you know the Bible so well. You only
know it in part, in a very superficial way. You have never
touched the depths of the Scriptures. You might have read
it, but you do not understand it. Read about what David
did when he and those with him were hungry. They ate
something, the showbread in the temple, which according
to the Levitical regulations they should not have eaten.
You Pharisees think that I have done something illegal.
But have you not read that David and his followers did the
same thing?" We must admire the Lord's knowledge of the
Bible.
The Lord's word here implies that He was the real
David. In ancient times, David and his followers, when
rejected, entered into the house of God and ate the
showbread, seemingly breaking the Levitical law. Now the
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real David and His followers were also rejected and took
action to eat, seemingly against the sabbatical regulation.
Just as David and his followers were not held guilty,
neither should Christ and His disciples be condemned.
Both cases were related to eating. King David was a
prefigure of Christ, the real David. David had followers,
and Christ, the real David, also had disciples as His
followers. King David and his followers were rejected by
the people, and the real David and His followers were
rejected also. Just as David and his followers were hungry,
so Christ and His disciples were also hungry.
Furthermore, neither David and his followers nor Christ
and His followers had anything to eat, but there was the
place where there was something to eat. For David it was
the house of God, and for Christ it was the grain fields. All
this implies that David and his followers were a type, a
shadow, of Christ and His disciples.
Furthermore, the Lord's word here also implies the
dispensational change from the priesthood to the kingship.
In ancient times, the coming of David changed the
dispensation from the age of the priests to the age of the
kings, in which the kings were above the priests. In the
age of the priests, the leader of the people should listen to
the priest (Num. 27:21-22). But in the age of the kings, the
priest should submit to the king (1 Sam. 2:35-36). Hence,
what King David did with his followers was not illegal.
Now by the coming of Christ, the dispensation was also
changed, this time from the age of the law to the age of
grace, in which Christ was above all. Whatever He did was
right. The matter of keeping the Sabbath belonged to the
old dispensation of the law. But in the age of grace Christ
has the final word. It is not a matter of the law, but of
Christ. Therefore, the Lord seemed to be saying to the
Pharisees, "You shouldn't condemn Me or My disciples. It
is no longer the law that gives the final word, but I, the
Christ, I give you the final word. I am the real King, the
real David. I am also the Christ who has brought in the
dispensation of grace. Thus, whatever I say or do is the
final decision." Supposedly the Pharisees knew the Bible,
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but here they clearly lost the case. How strong was the
Lord's defense!
b. The Priests Profaning the Sabbath on the Sabbath in the Temple
In verse 5 the Lord asked the Pharisees, "Or have you
not read in the law that on the Sabbaths the priests in the
temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless?" The Lord
brought to the attention of the Pharisees another case in
the Scriptures to prove to them how little they really knew
the Bible. He pointed out that whatever the priests did in
the temple on the Sabbath, they were guiltless.
c. The Heavenly King Being Greater than the Temple
Then in verse 6 the Lord declared, "Now I say to you
that a greater than the temple is here." What boldness the
Lord had He was a Nazarene, but as He stood before the
Pharisees He seemed to be saying, "Look at Me. I am
greater than the temple." The Pharisees must have been
shocked to such an extent that they could not say
anything.
The Lord's revealing to the Pharisees that He was
greater than the temple was another change, a type-
fulfilling change from the temple to a Person. In the case
of David, it was a change from one age to another. In this
case, a case concerning the priests, it was a change from
the temple to a Person who is greater than the temple.
Since the priests were guiltless in doing things on the
Sabbath in the temple, how could the Lord's disciples be
guilty in doing things on the Sabbath in Him who is
greater than the temple? In the first case, it was the king
breaking the Levitical regulation; in the second case, it
was the priests breaking the sabbatical regulation. In the
Scripture, neither was guilty. Hence, what the Lord did
here was scripturally right.
Apparently the priests were profaning the Sabbath, but
actually they were not profaning the Sabbath, because
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they were in the temple. In that sphere every day and
everything were holy. Outside the temple everything was
common. But once something was brought into the temple,
it was sanctified by the temple. Likewise, every day was
sanctified by the temple. Outside the temple, there were
common days and holy days, but within the temple there
was no such distinction. Everything, every day, every
matter, and everyone in the temple were holy. The temple,
however, was a shadow, not the reality. The reality is
Christ, the greater temple. The Lord seemed to be saying,
"I am the greater temple, the real temple. In Me, Peter,
John, and all the Galilean fishermen are sanctified, holy.
In Me every day is a holy day. If the priests were free to
move and engage in various activities on the Sabbath in
the temple, then how much more can these dear ones
freely do things within Me? The temple protected the
priests, and I, the greater temple, protect all My disciples.
Pharisees, don't bother Me. Let My disciples be free, for
they are all in the greater temple." This was a change from
the type to the reality. The Lord's defense was too deep for
the Pharisees to argue with. They had nothing with which
to counter the Lord's defense. Thus, they were silent.
d. God Desiring to Have Mercy Rather than Sacrifice
Following this, the Lord said, "But if you had known
what this is: I will have mercy and not sacrifice, you would
not have condemned the guiltless" (v. 7). By this, the Lord
pointed out that what the Pharisees did was not according
to God's heart. They were strict in the regulations, but
neglected God's mercy. But God desires to have mercy
rather than sacrifice.
e. The Son of Man Being the Lord of the Sabbath
Finally, in verse 8 the Lord said, "For the Son of Man is
Lord of the Sabbath." How bold the Lord Jesus was! He
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won the case, and the Pharisees, who were shocked and
frightened, were silenced. They had nothing to say. The
Lord's telling the Pharisees that He was Lord of the
Sabbath was like someone today telling a highway
patrolman that he is lord of the highway. Suppose you are
stopped by a highway patrolman. Then you tell him, "Don't
bother me. I am the lord of the highway, and the highway
belongs to me. You are simply a highway patrolman hired
by me. As the lord of the highway, I can change all the
regulations. Yes, I gave you some instructions concerning
the highway, but now I am changing them. Because I am
the lord of the highway, I don't need to notify you about it."
In verse 8 the Lord indicated a third change, a right
asserting change from the Sabbath to the Lord of the
Sabbath. As the Lord of the Sabbath, He had the right to
change the regulations concerning the Sabbath. Thus, the
Lord gave the condemning Pharisees a threefold verdict.
He was the real David, the greater temple, and the Lord of
the Sabbath. Therefore, He could do whatever He liked on
the Sabbath, and whatever He did was justified by
Himself. He was above all rituals and regulations. Because
He was there, no attention should be paid to any rituals
and regulations.
B. Healing a Withered Hand in the Synagogue on the
Sabbath
1. The Heavenly King Coming into a Synagogue
Verse 9 says, "And departing from there, He came into
their synagogue." After winning the case with the
Pharisees, the Lord Jesus came into their synagogue. This
took place on another Sabbath day (Luke 6:6). The Lord
Jesus certainly was a troublemaker. After causing trouble
in the grain fields, defeating the "Sabbath Patrol,"
according to Matthew's record He went with His disciples
to the synagogue to cause even more trouble.
2. A Man Having a Withered Hand
In the synagogue was a man with a withered hand.
When the Pharisees inquired of the Lord whether it was
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lawful to heal on the Sabbath, He said to them, "What
man shall there be of you who shall have one sheep, and if
it fall into a pit on the Sabbaths, will he not lay hold of it
and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man
than a sheep! Wherefore it is lawful to do good on the
Sabbaths" (vv. 11-12). Here we see the Lord's wisdom. This
time He did not quote a verse, but He referred to their
practice. In other words, in the first case the Lord quoted
from the Bible, and in the second He appealed to history.
Once again their mouths were shut.
3. The Withered Hand Being Restored
Verse 13 says, "Then He says to the man, Stretch out
your hand. And he stretched it out, and it was restored
sound as the other." The Lord gave the man the word,
"Stretch out your hand." In the Lord's word was the
enlivening life. By stretching out his hand, the man took
the Lord's life-giving word, and his withered hand was
restored by the life in this word.
Leading the disciples into the grain fields indicates
that the Lord cares for Himself as the Head of the Body.
As the Head, He is everything--the real David, the greater
temple, and the Lord of the Sabbath. Restoring the
withered hand signifies that He cares for His members. He
healed a man's withered hand, likening this man to a
sheep. The hand is a member of the body, and the sheep is
a member of the flock. The Lord would do anything for the
healing of His members, for the rescue of His fallen sheep.
Sabbath or no Sabbath, the Lord is interested in healing
the dead members of His Body. Regulations do not matter,
but the rescue of His fallen sheep means everything to
Him.
Instead of reading Matthew as a book of stories or
merely as a book of doctrine, we must get into the depths
of this book. By putting these two cases together, we see
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that in the first case Christ took care of Himself as the
Head and in the second He took care of the members of
His Body. The hand is a member of the body, and the
sheep is part of a flock, which also refers to the Body. In
the first case the Lord Jesus took care of His lordship, of
His headship. In the second case He took care of one of His
weak, sickly members. He does not care for the Sabbath.
He cares only for His headship and for the members of His
Body. Therefore, we must conclude that the Lord cares
only for Christ and the church. The Lord could say, "The
Sabbath means nothing. I don't care for that. I care for My
headship and for the members of My Body. Because I am
the Head, the Lord, whatever I say is right. I care for My
headship. And I also care for My members. I want to make
My members living. I want to rescue them, uplift them,
and heal them. I don't care for all these doctrinal, religious
practices. I care only that My members are strong and
living." On the heart of this heavenly King was not the
Sabbath, not any kind of doctrine, and not any regulation.
Rather, on His heart was His lordship. We must see that
He is Lord and that He is above the Sabbath. The Sabbath
is merely an instrument used by Him, but He Himself is
the Lord of the Sabbath. The Lord also cares for His
members, including any member of His Body who is sick,
weak, or in a difficult situation. He will do something for
that member to rescue him, to heal him, and to make him
living. I look to the Lord that we all would see this.
The principle is the same today. As long as we are for
Christ and for the church with all the members,
everything is all right. There is no burden or regulation.
On the Sabbath the twelve apostles were satisfied and at
rest, and on the Sabbath the man with the withered hand
was also at rest. Thus, these were genuine Sabbaths to the
disciples and to the man with the withered hand because
they received either the nourishment from Christ or the
healing from Christ. Whatever they needed they received
from Him. It is the same today.
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4. The Pharisees Taking Counsel to Destroy the
Heavenly King
Verse 14 says, "And going out, the Pharisees took
counsel against Him, how they might destroy Him." In the
eyes of the religious Pharisees, for the Lord to break the
Sabbath was to destroy the covenant of God with the
nation of Israel, that is, to destroy the relationship
between God and Israel. Hence, they took counsel against
Him, how they might destroy Him. The breaking of the
Sabbath caused the Jewish religionists to reject the
heavenly King. The Pharisees, the scriptural ones, plotted
to kill Jesus for God! This is difficult to believe. But they
were blinded by their religion. They could see neither
Christ nor the church, neither the Head nor the members.
They were absolutely blinded, veiled, covered, by their
religion. According to their understanding, the Lord Jesus
had to be destroyed, and they took counsel together for
this very purpose. Eventually, they did put Christ on the
cross; however, they did it according to the sovereignty of
God.
At this point, 12:14, the rejection of Christ by religion
reaches its peak. Religion has fully rejected the heavenly
King and has plotted to destroy Him.
II. REJECTION CAUSING THE TURN TO THE GENTILES
A. The King Departing From the Rejecting Ones
This rejection caused the King with His kingly
salvation to turn from the Jews to the Gentiles (12:15-21).
Verse 15 says, "But Jesus, knowing it, departed from
there."
B. The King Healing All the Sick
Verse 15 also says that many followed Him and that
He healed them all. According to verse 16, He "warned
them that they should not make Him known." He warned
them regarding this because the Pharisees were plotting to
destroy Him. Therefore, from that time onward, the Lord
Jesus did His best to conceal Himself.
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C. The Prophecy of Isaiah Regarding the King's
Turn to the Nations
Verses 17 and 18 say, "That what was spoken through
Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, Behold, My
Servant Whom I have chosen, My Beloved in Whom My
soul delights; I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He shall
announce judgment to the nations." This indicates clearly
that due to the Jews' rejection, the heavenly King with His
heavenly kingdom will turn to the nations, the Gentiles,
and that the Gentiles will receive Him and trust in Him (v.
21).
1. Not Striving nor Crying Out
Verse 19, also a quotation from Isaiah, says, "He shall
not strive nor cry out, nor shall anyone hear His voice in
the streets." This indicates that He was no longer free to
minister openly. Instead, He had to hide Himself. The
reason for the rejection and the cause for the Lord's
needing to hide was the breaking of the religious
regulations. This was due to caring for His headship and
for the members of His Body. Because of this, the rejection
reached the ultimate. It is the same in principle today. The
less we care for religious regulations and the more we care
for Christ and His Body, the more intense the opposition
will be.
2. Not Breaking a Bruised Reed and Not Quenching
a Smoking Flax
Verse 20, a further quotation from Isaiah, says, "A
bruised reed He shall not break, and smoking flax He shall
not quench, until He brings forth judgment unto victory."
As the One anointed with the Spirit, Christ not only will
make no noise in the streets, but He will not break a
bruised reed or quench smoking flax. This indicates that
while He was being rejected and opposed, He was still full
of mercy. The Jews who were opposing Him were like
bruised reeds and smoking flax. The Jews
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used to make flutes or reeds. When a reed was bruised,
they broke it. They also made torches with flax to burn oil.
When the oil ran out, the flax smoked, and they quenched
it. Some of the Lord's people are like the bruised reed that
cannot give a musical sound; others are like the smoking
flax that cannot give a shining light. Yet the Lord will not
break the bruised ones or quench the smoking ones.
Although the Lord was rejected, He was still merciful.
Even those who had become bruised reeds He would not
break, and those who had become smoking flax He would
not quench. Rather, He would still keep open the door of
mercy and grace to them all. Among His followers and
believers today, many have become bruised reeds that can
no longer give a musical song. As a rule, these bruised
reeds should be broken and thrown away. But Christ will
not do this. Moreover, many of His believers no longer
burn as a bright light. As a rule, He should quench them
all and cast them away. But He will not do this either.
Instead, He is merciful. No matter how much opposition,
persecution, and attack, this heavenly King is always
merciful. He is a merciful, kingly Savior. You may reject
Him today, but He will still be merciful to you. Tomorrow
if you say, "Lord Jesus, I repent," He will deal with you
lovingly. What a merciful Savior He is! He will never
break a bruised reed or quench smoking flax. Rather, He
would wait for you to receive His mercy and grace.
D. The Nations (the Gentiles) Hoping in His Name
Verse 21 says, "And in His name the nations shall
hope." Due to the rejection by the Jewish religionists, the
heavenly King with His salvation turned to the nations.
Now the nations put their hope in His name, believing in
Him and receiving Him as their kingly Savior.
This portion of the Word reveals that, on the one hand,
the Lord is bold and that, on the other hand, He is
merciful. On the one hand, He is strong; on the other
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hand, He is merciful and meek. This is the King who
established the kingdom of the heavens, and this is the
way for Him to establish His kingdom. Do not think that
in chapter twelve the Lord was defeated. That is a
mistaken concept. He was not defeated; He was
establishing His kingdom. It is the same with us today. Do
not say, "There is so much attack and opposition. Many
rumors are being spread against us. How difficult it is for
the Lord's recovery. The recovery will be defeated." This is
wrong. Although we are so small in number, it seems that
all of Christianity is rising up against us. But actually we
are not wrong. Who loves the Bible and knows it more
than we do? Do we not live in the presence of God and love
the Lord Jesus? Do we not take Him as our life day by
day? Then why do so many dear Christians oppose us and
not others? It is the same today with us as it was with the
Lord Jesus when He was on earth. Although He was a
little man, the enemy of God knew that He was the One
who would defeat him and establish the kingdom of the
heavens. The principle is the same today. The enemy
knows that this is the Lord's recovery and that the
recovery will defeat him and establish the kingdom of the
heavens. Never consider the Lord's recovery as an
ordinary Christian work. The more opposition,
persecution, criticism, and attacks there are, the more we
are confirmed. Do not expect the opposition to decline. If
no one opposed us, that would be a sign that we are wrong,
that we have lost the testimony. But as long as we are
being opposed and attacked, this is an indication that we
are right. Instead of losing by being attacked, we are
gaining. This is the way the kingdom of the heavens is
built. It is built through being attacked, persecuted, and
criticized. In Matthew chapter twelve the Lord Jesus was
not losing the battle--He was gaining. It is the same today.
Praise the Lord that we do not fight the battle in a human
way, but in the way of the Lord Jesus. While He was being
attacked, He was gaining the victory. Likewise, the more
the recovery is attacked, the more the kingdom of the
heavens will be established. Without doubt, it is being
established among us in the Lord's recovery. Praise Him!
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE THIRTY-THREE
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE KING'S
REJECTION
(2)
We have seen that Matthew is a book concerned with
the doctrine of the kingdom. In his Gospel Matthew does
not give us a record of history; he takes the facts of history
and puts them together to reveal the doctrine of the
kingdom. Thus far, we have seen that Christ was born,
was anointed, was tested, began His ministry, drew a
crowd, decreed the heavenly constitution, and continued
His ministry. His ministry produced the environment that
enabled Him to reveal Himself in many aspects.
Furthermore, His ministry caused Him to be fully rejected
by that evil generation. We have also seen that the Lord
called the laboring and burdened ones to come to Him for
rest. He showed them that the way to rest is to break the
regulations of religion and to care for the Head and for the
members of the Body. It is through all this that the
kingdom of the heavens is established on earth among
men. We all need to be impressed with such a clear view.
Now we must see that in order for the kingdom of the
heavens to be established, there is the need of a spiritual
battle, of spiritual fighting. This fighting is implied in
12:22-37. In the establishment of the kingdom a fight is
raging on. Although we have covered many things, we
have not yet seen that the establishment of the kingdom
requires spiritual fighting. As Christ, the heavenly King,
was establishing the heavenly kingdom among men on
earth, He was fighting. People, however, did not see this
warfare. They saw what He did outwardly, but they did
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not realize what was taking place inwardly. Thus,
Matthew selected another historical fact to point out the
fighting that was going on as the King was establishing
the heavenly kingdom.
III. CLIMAX OF REJECTION
At the time of 12:22-37 the Lord's ministry was no
longer so public. Instead of carrying out His ministry
publicly, He did so in a rather cautious, calm way.
Nevertheless, what the Lord did in verse 22 in healing a
man possessed by a demon was a fact of history and could
not be concealed.
A. A Person Possessed by a Demon Brought to the
Heavenly King and the King Healing Him
Verse 22 says, "Then there was brought to Him one
possessed by a demon, blind and dumb; and He healed
him, so that the dumb man spoke and saw." A blind and
dumb man signifies one who has no sight to see God and
spiritual things; thus he is unable to praise God and speak
for God. This is the real condition of all fallen people. Such
a man was brought to the King, the King cast out the
demon, and the man was able to see and to speak. He
uttered what he saw. This undoubtedly was a miracle and
a sign. In the Old Testament there is no record of a blind
man miraculously receiving his sight. For a blind man to
receive his sight is a great sign.
B. All the Crowds Being Amazed and Wondering
that the King is the Son of David
Verse 23 says, "And all the crowds were amazed and
said, Is this not the Son of David?" The miracle performed
in healing the blind and dumb person amazed the crowds,
and they said, "Is this not the Son of David?" This was the
recognizing of Christ as their Messiah, their King.
C. The Pharisees Saying that the King Casts Out the
Demons by Beelzebub, the Ruler of the Demons
Although the crowds were amazed, the Pharisees were
offended, unable to tolerate the fact that through an
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extraordinary miracle the Lord Jesus had gained all the
crowds. Hence, these Pharisees had to say something to
deal with the situation. According to verse 24, they said,
"This man does not cast out the demons except by
Beelzebub, ruler of the demons." This was the greatest
blasphemy heaped upon the heavenly King by the
opposing Pharisees. Beelzebub means the lord of the flies.
It was changed in contempt by the Jews to Baalzebel,
which means the lord of the dunghill, and was used for the
ruler of the demons (Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15, 18-19). The
king of the dunghill, the most dirty place, full of flies, was
Satan. Therefore, in the eyes of the ancient Jews,
Beelzebub referred to Satan as the king of the demons and
as the king of the dirty flies on the dunghill. To say that
Christ cast out demons by Beelzebub meant that He cast
them out by Satan. What blasphemy to accuse the
heavenly King of this!
D. The Heavenly King's Answer
The Pharisees' accusation afforded Christ an
opportunity to reveal something further. Once again His
ministry produced a situation that enabled Him to reveal
something that we would otherwise be unable to see.
Apparently the Lord had cast out a demon. Actually, that
was not only the casting out of a demon; it was a fighting.
1. Satan's Kingdom Unable to Stand if Satan Casts
Out Satan
Verses 25 and 26 say, "But knowing their thoughts, He
said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself is
brought to desolation, and every city or house divided
against itself shall not stand. And if Satan casts out
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Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his
kingdom stand?" The Lord seemed to be saying to the
Pharisees, "How could I cast out a demon by Satan? If I
did this, then Satan would be fighting against Satan, and
his kingdom could not stand." Verse 26 is unique in the
whole Bible in that no other verse opens the secret that
Satan has his kingdom. Satan is the ruler of this world
(John 12:31) and the ruler of the power of the air (Eph.
2:2). He has his authority (Acts 26:18) and his angels
(Matt. 25:41), who are his subordinates as principalities,
powers, and rulers of the darkness of this world (Eph.
6:12). Hence, he has his kingdom, the authority of
darkness (Col. 1:13, Gk.). Satan's kingdom is built on
earth and among men. But the heavenly King has come to
establish a heavenly kingdom also among men on earth.
Therefore, these two kingdoms are in conflict. Satan's
kingdom is the old kingdom, but the heavenly King is
about to establish a new kingdom, the kingdom of the
heavens. By this we see that a battle is raging.
2. The Sons of the Pharisees Casting Out Demons by
Beelzebub
In verse 27 the Lord told the Pharisees, "And if I by
Beelzebub cast out the demons, by whom do your sons cast
them out? Therefore they shall be your judges." Actually, it
was not the Lord Jesus but the sons of the Pharisees who
cast out demons by Beelzebub. This word of the Lord
indicates that the Pharisees were one with Satan, the
ruler of the demons.
3. The King Casting Out Demons by the Spirit of God
that the Kingdom of God May Come
Verse 28 says, "But if I by the Spirit of God cast out
demons, then the kingdom of God is come upon you." The
Spirit of God is the power of the kingdom of God. Where
the Spirit of God is in power, there the kingdom of God is,
and there the demons have no ground. By the Lord's word
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here we see that the battle fought for the kingdom is not
fought by just a man himself, but by a man with the Spirit
of God. In verse 28 the Lord said that He cast out demons
by the Spirit of God and that this is the coming of the
kingdom of God. Wherever the Spirit of God exercises His
authority over the opposing situation, that is the kingdom
of God.
The Lord is always careful with His words. In verse 28
He speaks of the kingdom of God, not of the kingdom of
the heavens. Even at that time, the kingdom of the
heavens had still not come. The kingdom of God, however,
was there already.
4. Binding the Strong Man, Entering into His House,
and Plundering His Vessels
Verse 29 reveals that before the Lord cast out the
demon, He firstly fought against Satan. This verse says,
"Or how can anyone enter into the house of the strong man
and plunder his vessels unless he first bind the strong
man? And then he will plunder his house." The "house"
here signifies the kingdom of Satan, and "the strong man"
is Satan, the evil one. The Greek word translated "vessels"
also means instruments, apparatus; hence, goods, stuff.
The fallen people under Satan are his vessels, his
instruments for his use. They are his goods kept in his
house, his kingdom. The word about binding the strong
man indicates that when the Lord cast out demons, He
first bound Satan. The people saw only the casting out of
the demon. They did not see the binding of Satan, the
strong man. Thus, the Lord used the opportunity afforded
Him by the accusation of the Pharisees to reveal the secret
of spiritual fighting. Apparently, the Lord was only casting
out the demon; actually, He was fighting, binding the
strong man. This shows us that if we would build the
kingdom today, we must first bind the strong man.
The way to bind the strong man is to pray. When we
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come to chapter seventeen, we shall see that the disciples
came to the Lord and asked Him why He could cast out the
demon and they could not. In 17:21 the Lord told His
disciples, "This kind does not go out except by prayer and
fasting." If you do not pray and fast, you simply cannot
cast out this kind of demon. The Lord's word to His
disciples indicates that before He cast out a demon, He
surely fasted and prayed. In order to bind the strong man,
we must fast and pray. The Lord fasted and prayed
secretly. The disciples did not see this. We must learn of
the Lord to fast in secret and to pray in secret. I believe
that when the Lord Jesus was on earth, He often fasted
and prayed to fight the battle and to bind the strong man.
We all must be in the same spirit today. Every day our
spirit must be a fasting spirit and a praying spirit so that
we may daily bind the strong man, who is Satan, the king
of the kingdom of darkness.
Satan has a kingdom of darkness on earth, and the
whole earth is under his usurpation. It is difficult to take
one out of Satan's hand. Every fallen person is a vessel in
Satan's house. Satan's house is his kingdom, and in his
house are many vessels, the many fallen persons. In order
to take a fallen person out of Satan's house, we must bind
the strong man by prayer and fasting. This is the fighting
of the spiritual battle for the establishment of the kingdom
of the heavens.
Chapter twelve of Matthew occupies a special place in
the New Testament because it reveals that Satan has a
kingdom, that Satan is the strong man usurping all the
God-created people, and that in order to take people out of
his usurping hand, there is the need to bind him. The way
to bind the strong man is by fasting and praying. The
battle unveiled in chapter twelve is not seen in the
foregoing eleven chapters. In those chapters we see the
rest and the breaking of the regulations for the Head and
for the members of the Body. But we do not see the
kingdom of darkness. There are two kingdoms on earth:
one is the kingdom of darkness, and the other is the
kingdom of the heavens in the light. These two kingdoms
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are now confronting each other on earth. Therefore, there
is the need to fight the battle. We all must fast and pray to
bind the strong man. Then we shall be able to plunder his
house.
This is a real revelation. Not many Christians have
read Matthew twelve in this way because they do not see
the kingdom. To them, the kingdom is either simply a
doctrinal term or something suspended for a future time.
But we realize that all that the Lord is doing with us today
is for the establishment of the heavenly kingdom. We are
the kingdom people. Today a battle is raging between two
kingdoms. The continuation of the Lord's ministry
produced the opportunity for this further revelation.
5. The One Not with the King Being against the King
and the One Not Gathering with the King Scattering
In verse 30 the Lord says, "He who is not with Me is
against Me, and he who is not gathering with Me is
scattering." At that time the Pharisees were not one with
the heavenly King, so they were against Him. They were
not gathering with Him, but were scattering away from
Him. Hence, they were absolutely separated from Him and
joined to His enemy, Satan.
6. The Blasphemy of the Spirit Not Being Forgiven
In verse 31 the Lord said to the Pharisees, "Every sin
and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but the blasphemy
of the Spirit shall not be forgiven." The blasphemy of the
Spirit differs from insulting the Spirit (Heb. 10:29). To
insult the Spirit is to disobey Him willfully. Many
believers do this. If they confess this sin, they will be
forgiven and cleansed by the Lord's blood (1 John 1:7, 9).
But to blaspheme the Spirit is to slander Him, as the
Pharisees did in verse 24. It was by the Spirit that the
Lord cast out a demon. But the Pharisees, seeing it, said
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that the Lord cast out demons by Beelzebub, ruler of the
demons. This was blasphemy against the Spirit. By such
blasphemy, the Pharisees' rejection of the heavenly King
reached its climax.
The Lord seemed to be saying to the Pharisees, "Your
blasphemy is not forgivable. I cast out the demon by the
Spirit of God, but you say that I cast it out by Satan, the
king of the demons. You go too far in saying this. You have
uttered a blasphemy that is unforgivable. You have not
merely insulted the Spirit or disobeyed the Spirit, but you
have blasphemed the Spirit. He is the Spirit of God, even
God Himself. I cast out the demon by God Himself as the
Spirit; yet you say that this God is Satan, the king of the
demons and the king of the dirty flies of the dunghill. In
saying this you have committed an unforgivable sin."
7. Speaking against the Holy Spirit Not Forgiven in
This Age or in the Coming Age
In verse 32 the Lord continued, "And whoever speaks a
word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but
whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be
forgiven him, neither in this age nor in the coming one." In
the economy of the Triune God, the Father conceived the
plan of redemption (Eph. 1:5, 9), the Son accomplished
redemption according to the Father's plan (1 Pet. 2:24;
Gal. 1:4), and the Spirit reaches sinners to apply the
redemption accomplished by the Son (1 Cor. 6:11; 1 Pet.
1:2). If the sinner blasphemes the Son as Saul of Tarsus
did, the Spirit still has the ground to work upon him and
cause him to repent and believe in the Son that he may be
forgiven (see 1 Tim. 1:13-16). But if the sinner blasphemes
the Spirit, the Spirit will have no ground to work upon
him, and there will be none left to cause him to repent and
believe. Hence, it is impossible for such a person to be
forgiven. This is not only logical, according to reason, but
governmental according to God's administrative principle,
as revealed here by the Lord's word.
In God's governmental administration, His forgiveness
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is dispensational. For His administration, He has planned
different ages. The period from the first coming of Christ
to eternity is divided dispensationally into three ages: this
age, the present one, from Christ's first coming to His
second coming; the coming age, the millennium, the one
thousand years for restoration and heavenly reigning,
from Christ's second coming to the end of the old heaven
and old earth; and eternity, the eternal age of the new
heaven and new earth. God's forgiveness in this age is for
sinners' eternal salvation. This forgiveness is given both to
sinners and believers. God's forgiveness in the coming age
is related to the believers' dispensational reward. If a
believer, after being saved, commits any sin, but will not
make a clearance through confession and the cleansing of
the Lord's blood (1 John 1:7, 9) before he dies or the Lord
comes back, this sin will not be forgiven in this age, but
will remain to be judged at the judgment seat of Christ 12
Cor. 5:10). He will not be rewarded with the kingdom to
participate in the glory and joy with Christ in the
manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens, but will be
disciplined to make a clearance of this sin and will be
forgiven in the coming age (Matt. 18:23-35). This kind of
forgiveness will maintain his eternal salvation, but it will
not qualify him to participate in the glory and joy of the
coming kingdom.
8. The Tree Known by the Fruit
In verse 33 the Lord said, "Either make the tree good
and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt and its fruit
corrupt; for by the fruit the tree is known." A tree is known
by its fruit. That the Pharisees were evil was exposed by
their evil deeds.
9. The Mouth Speaking Evil out of the Abundance of
the Heart
Verses 34 and 35 say, "Brood of vipers, how can you,
being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of
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the heart the mouth speaks. The good man out of the good
treasure brings forth good things, and the evil man out of
the evil treasure brings forth evil things." The Pharisees
were filled in their hearts with the abundance of evil.
Hence, their mouth uttered the evil out of their heart.
10. Every Idle Word to Be Accounted For in the Day of
Judgment
Verse 36 says, "And I say to you that every idle word
which men shall speak, they shall render account
concerning it in the day of judgment." The Greek word
rendered "idle" is argos, composed of two words: a meaning
not, and ergon meaning work. An idle word is a non-
working word, an inoperative word, having no positive
function, useless, unprofitable, unfruitful, and barren. In
the day of judgment, those who speak such words will
render account concerning every one of them. Since this is
the case, how much more must man account for every
wicked word!
The Lord seemed to be telling the opposers, "Be careful
with your speaking. Every idle word, every unimportant
word, will be judged. There will be a day of judgment, and
whatever you say will be judged at that time." This is a
very serious matter.
11. By Words People Being either Justified or
Convicted
In verse 37 the Lord concludes, "For by your words you
shall be justified, and by your words you shall be
convicted." What a warning this is! We must learn to
control and restrict our speaking.
The opposing Pharisees were not only defeated, but
also subdued. They did not have a case. Whenever the
Lord Jesus gives an answer, there is no more argument.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE THIRTY-FOUR
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE KING'S
REJECTION
(3)
In this message we shall consider 12:38-50.
IV. THE SIGN TO THE REJECTING GENERATION
A. The Rejecting Generation Wanting to See a Sign
Because the Pharisees could not argue with the Lord
Jesus, they changed the subject seemingly from the
negative side to the positive side. Verse 38 says, "Then
some of the scribes and Pharisees answered Him, saying,
Teacher, we want to see a sign from you." Because they
could not defeat the Lord Jesus by arguing, to save face
they changed the subject from one thing to another; they
asked the Lord for a sign. This was a subtle proposal. A
sign is a miracle with some spiritual significance. The
Jews always seek for signs (1 Cor. 1:22). Once again this
gave the Lord the opportunity to reveal to the whole
universe something further concerning Himself.
B. No Sign Given to Them except the Sign of the
King's Death
Verse 39 says, "But He answered and said to them, An
evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign, and no sign
shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet." If
you had been one of those Pharisees, would you not have
been bothered by the Lord's reply? The Pharisees seemed
to be saying, "We want you to show us a sign, and you call
us an evil and adulterous generation. Before this,
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you called us a brood of vipers. We recognize that you are a
good teacher. Teacher, show us a sign. Show us a miracle
with some significance." The Lord Jesus seemed to say,
"Yes, you will see a sign. Although you are not an honest
generation nor a pure generation, but an evil and
adulterous generation, there is a sign for you--the sign of
Jonah."
The Lord Jesus proceeded to tell them the significance
of the sign of Jonah. In verse 40 He said, "For as Jonah
was in the belly of the sea monster three days and three
nights, so shall the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth
three days and three nights." This was to be a very
meaningful sign to them. "The heart of the earth" is called
the lower parts of the earth (Eph. 4:9) and Hades (Acts
2:27), where the Lord went after His death. Hades, equal
to Sheol in the Old Testament, has two sections: the
section of torment and the section of comfort (Luke 16:23-
26). The section of comfort is paradise, where the Lord
went with the saved thief after they died (Luke 23:43).
Hence, the heart of the earth, the lower parts of the earth,
Hades, and paradise are synonymous terms, referring to
the one place where the Lord stayed for three days and
three nights after His death and before His resurrection.
In verse 41 the Lord continued, "Men, Ninevites, will
stand up in the judgment with this generation and will
condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of
Jonah, and behold, a greater than Jonah is here." The
Greek word rendered "greater" in verses 41 and 42 is
pleion, meaning more in quantity and quality; hence,
greater. It differs from meizon, the word for greater in
verse 6, which means greater in external size or measure.
Christ, as the Prophet sent by God to His people (Deut.
18:15, 18), is greater than Jonah the prophet. Jonah was
the prophet who turned from Israel to the Gentiles and
was put into the belly of the great fish. After He had
remained there for three days, he came out to become a
sign to that generation for repentance (Jonah 1:2, 17; 3:2-
10). This was a type of Christ, who would turn from Israel
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to the Gentiles, and who would be buried in the heart of
the earth for three days and then be resurrected, becoming
a sign to this generation for salvation.
In verse 41 the Lord seemed to be saying, "The
Ninevites repented because of the sign of Jonah. Yet you,
an evil and adulterous generation, which will see such a
sign as that of the Son of Man buried in the heart of the
earth for three days and three nights, will not repent." The
Lord's word in verses 40 and 41 was not an ordinary word;
it was a prediction. Before the Lord was buried in the
heart of the earth, He prophesied in this way, telling the
Pharisees that He would be three days and three nights in
the heart of the earth. I believe that the Lord Jesus told
them this in His mercy. He seemed to say, "I give you a
prediction of My death and burial. This shall be a sign to
you, just as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites that caused
them all to repent. I predict this now so that when you see
it, you may repent." However, they did not repent. By this
we see how stubborn the Pharisees were.
C. The King as the Greater Solomon in Resurrection
In the Lord's conversation with the Pharisees, suddenly
another sign appeared: the sign of Solomon. Verse 42 says,
"The queen of the south shall be raised in the judgment
with this generation and shall condemn it, because she
came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of
Solomon, and behold, a greater than Solomon is here."
Christ, as the Son of David to be the King, is greater than
Solomon the king. Solomon built the temple of God and
spoke the word of wisdom, and to him the Gentile queen
came (1 Kings 6:2; 10:1-8). This also is a type of Christ,
who is building the church to be the temple of God and
speaking the word of wisdom, and to Him the Gentile
seekers turn.
Both of these types indicate that Christ, whether as the
Prophet sent by God or the King anointed by God,
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would turn from Israel to the Gentiles, as prophesied in
verses 18 and 21.
According to history, King Solomon preceded Jonah the
prophet. But according to spiritual significance, Jonah
came first, as recorded in Matthew. This also proves that
Matthew's record is not according to the sequence of
history, but according to the sequence of doctrine.
According to doctrine, Christ must first die and be
resurrected; then He builds the church and speaks the
word of wisdom. This is the real sign to this generation,
both to the Jews and to the Gentiles (1 Cor. 1:22, 24).
By His word in verses 40 through 42 the Lord
prophesied fully concerning His death, burial, and
resurrection. Jonah was a type of Christ in His death and
burial, and Solomon was a type of Christ in His
resurrection. If the Pharisees had not been stubborn, they
would have realized that such words were not spoken
lightly. Rather, the Lord's word was very serious,
significant, and meaningful. The Pharisees should not
have considered them as unimportant. If we had been
there and had heard these words, we certainly would have
considered them serious, weighty, and filled with
significance. If the Pharisees had taken in the Lord's word,
they would have repented and believed after the Lord was
crucified, buried, and resurrected. In His answer to the
Pharisees the Lord was merciful. Although it appears that
He was rebuking them, He was more merciful than He
was rebuking. He gave them the signs of Jonah and of
Solomon, indicating that He was about to die, to be buried,
and to be resurrected. His death and resurrection were to
be the unique sign to this age and to that generation. This
is also true today in the twentieth century. Christ's death
and resurrection are still the unique signs to this age. His
death is truly meaningful, and His resurrection is full of
significance. Nevertheless, the stubborn Pharisees,
representing that evil and adulterous generation, did not
care.
The Lord's word concerning Jonah and Solomon also
indicated that from that time onward He would not do any
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miracles for the Jewish people. Until He died and was
resurrected, He would not give them any signs. His death
and resurrection became the real sign to all the stubborn
Jews. They were the unique signs to that generation.
V. THE REJECTING GENERATION BECOMING WORSE
Verses 43 through 45 indicate that the rejecting
generation will become worse. Verse 43 says, "Now when
the unclean spirit goes out from a man, it passes through
waterless places, seeking rest, and does not find it." The
unclean spirit, a demon (v. 22), seeks for rest but cannot
find it in waterless places, because the lodging place of
demons, after God's judgment by water in Genesis 1:2, is
the sea. Since the demon cannot find rest in dry places, it
returns into the man's body it originally possessed and
makes its home there (vv. 44-45).
Verses 44 and 45 continue, "Then it says, I will return
into my house from which I came out; and having come, it
finds it unoccupied, swept, and decorated. Then it goes and
takes with itself seven other spirits more evil than itself,
and they enter in and make their home there; and the last
state of that man becomes worse than the first. Thus shall
it also be to this evil generation." Doctrinally, verse 43
continues verse 22. In between is a record of the Jews'
rejection of Christ and Christ's forsaking of them. Here the
Lord likened the evil generation of the rejecting Jews to
the demon-possessed man. In the eyes of the Lord, the
rejecting Jews were like demon-possessed people. The two
signs of Jonah and Solomon indicated that the Gentiles
would repent, but the case of the demon-possessed man
indicated that the rejecting Jews would not repent. They
will only sweep away the dirt and add good things to
beautify themselves, but will not receive Christ to fill
them. Rather, they will remain empty and unoccupied.
This is the condition of today's Jews. Near the end of this
age, they will be seven times more possessed by demons,
and their state will become worse than ever.
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The Lord Jesus likened that evil generation to a demon
possessed person out from whom a demon has gone.
Because that person would not repent and accept Christ,
he remained empty. Although the demon was cast out,
Christ could not come in. Therefore that person was like a
vacant house. The Lord Jesus said that this generation
was like such a person. The Lord describes this house with
three words: unoccupied, swept, and decorated. This word
was also a prophecy, a prophecy that has been fulfilled and
yet is still to be fulfilled. The Jews who have returned to
form the nation of Israel are swept, decorated, and
unoccupied. The entire nation of Israel today has been
cleansed, and so many things have been cast out.
Furthermore, they have been decorated with various good
things; the Jewish people excel in science and other areas.
However, the nation of Israel remains unoccupied. The
Lord's word in these verses is a prediction of the stubborn
generation of Jews today.
I love Israel, but I must speak according to God's
revelation. In a recent visit to Israel, we saw that the Jews
are swept, cleansed, and decorated, but they are
unoccupied. I agree with the Lord's word. When the demon
realized that the person was unoccupied, it took seven
other spirits more evil than itself, and they all came to
occupy the vacancy. This indicates that year by year the
nation of Israel will become more and more devilish. More
and more demonic things will be found there. The Jews are
like a clean house, but they will not accept Christ and
receive Him into them. Rather, they remain unoccupied.
Consider the nation of Israel today. What is the Jews'
goal? Many would say that they have no goal other than
maintaining the existence of their nation. But that should
not be their goal. Whether or not the nation of Israel exists
does not depend upon the endeavor of the Jews; it depends
upon God's mercy. I am not concerned for the existence of
the nation of Israel. God has restored it, and no one can
abolish it. All that the Arabs are doing is in vain because
the restoration of the nation of Israel is the
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work of God. Nevertheless, the nation of Israel today has
no goal; hence, it is unoccupied.
I became clear regarding this portion about Israel more
than forty-five years ago. At that time, of course, I could
not see the restoration of Israel or the return of Jerusalem.
I will never forget the day in Shanghai when I read in the
newspaper about the restoration of Israel; neither will I
forget the day in 1967 when I heard that Jerusalem was
returned to Israel. No doubt Israel will exist as a nation
until the Lord comes back. My concern is that Israel
remains empty. Why will the Jews not accept their
Messiah? Why will they not allow Christ to occupy them?
Today they remain unoccupied, and their situation will
become worse and worse.
VI. REJECTION RESULTING IN THE KING'S FORSAKING
After this, as the Lord Jesus was speaking to the
crowds, His mother and His brothers stood outside,
seeking to speak to Him, and someone said to Him,
"Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing
outside seeking to speak to You" (vv. 46-47). This also was
an environment giving the Lord the opportunity to reveal
something. The Lord said, "Who is My mother, and who
are My brothers? And stretching out His hand over His
disciples, He said, Behold, My mother and My brothers!
For whoever does the will of My Father Who is in the
heavens, he is My brother and sister and mother" (vv. 48-
50). This indicates that the heavenly King forsook His
relationship with the Jews in the flesh. In this chapter, the
Jews' rejection of Christ, having reached its climax,
resulted in Christ's full forsaking of them. At this point,
the break between them and Christ began, and they were
severed from Christ (Rom. 11:17, 19-20). After the break
with the Jews, Christ turned to the Gentiles. Then His
relationship with His followers was no more in the flesh,
but in the spirit. Whoever does the will of His Father is
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His brother for helping, His sister for sympathizing, and
His mother for tenderly loving.
In verses 46 through 50 we see a great turn, even a
dispensational turn. From this point onward, Jesus'
relationship with people is not based upon the natural
birth, but upon the spiritual birth. Whoever does the will
of the Father who is in heaven is a relative of Jesus. In
other words, at the end of chapter twelve, the Lord
indicated strongly that He had given up the entire race of
Israel. After that, His relationship with people was to be
based upon something spiritual. All those who do the will
of the Father are His relatives. Hallelujah, we are not only
Christ's relatives, but His members! We are His members
not by our natural blood or natural birth, but by our
spiritual birth in our spirit. He who is joined to the Lord is
one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). Now we are not only His brothers
and sisters; we are one spirit with Him, one body in Him,
and one new man in Him.
At the end of chapter twelve the Lord Jesus made a
clear declaration to the whole universe that He was
through with Israel according to the natural blood. Thus,
Romans 11 says that Israel was cut off. This cutting off
took place at the end of Matthew 12. Romans 11 also says
that the Gentiles have been grafted in. This also took place
at the end of Matthew 12. In the next message we shall
see the mysteries of the kingdom. In that chapter we shall
no longer see Israel, but the Gentiles who have been
grafted in as the church.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE THIRTY-FIVE
THE UNVEILING OF THE KINGDOM'S MYSTERIES
(1)
In this message we come to chapter thirteen of
Matthew. In order to understand this chapter, we must
keep in mind that Matthew is concerned with the doctrine
of the kingdom. Whatever is recorded in the Gospel of
Matthew is according to the kingdom and according to the
history of the kingdom. The sequence of doctrine in this
book is according to the history of the kingdom.
We need to remember the main points covered in the
first twelve chapters of Matthew. Chapter one covers
Christ's genealogy and birth, and chapter two, the Gentile
wise men seeking Christ and worshipping Him, the flight
of Christ to Egypt and His return to Israel to be raised in
Nazareth. In chapter three we see the recommendation
and the anointing; in chapter four, the temptation and the
beginning of the King's ministry to gain the crowds; and in
chapters five, six, and seven, the decree of the constitution
of the kingdom of the heavens. Chapter eight includes the
continuation of the King's ministry in healing the leper,
the centurion's servant boy, and Peter's mother-in-law,
and the Lord's authority exercised over the wind, the sea,
and the demons. Chapter nine covers the King's authority
exercised in the forgiveness of sin; the calling of Matthew;
the feast where the Lord is revealed as the Physician, the
Bridegroom, the new cloth, the new wine, and the new
wineskin; signs with dispensational significance; and the
prayer to send reapers into the harvest. In chapter ten we
have the appointment and sending out of the twelve
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apostles, and in chapter eleven, John's attempt to stir up
the King, the King's answer and His appraisal of John, His
rebuke of the stubborn generation, and the calling of
people to come to His rest. Finally, chapter twelve covers
the breaking of the Sabbath regulations to show that the
Lord is the Head and that He cares for the members of His
body, the battle for the kingdom, the climax of the King's
rejection, the prophecy of the generation becoming worse,
and the forsaking of the Jewish generation and the
turning to the believers.
As the Lord continued His ministry, the establishing of
the kingdom was accomplished to a certain degree.
However, because the Jewish generation utterly rejected
the Lord, He was forced to turn from them to His
believers. This was a serious move, the turn from Israel to
the Gentiles, the turn from the relationship according to
natural birth to the relationship in the Spirit. Therefore,
the end of chapter twelve marks a division in the Gospel of
Matthew.
As we have seen, chapters five, six, and seven reveal
the inward reality of the kingdom. We have pointed out
that this constitution is divided into seven sections: the
nature of the kingdom people (5:1-12); the influence of the
kingdom people upon the world (5:13-16); the law of the
kingdom people (5:17-48); the righteous deeds of the
kingdom people (6:1-18); the dealing of the kingdom people
with riches (6:19-34); the principle of the kingdom people
in dealing with others (7:1-12); and the ground of the
kingdom people's living and work (7:13-29). In these seven
sections we see the heavenly and spiritual reality of the
kingdom. This is not behavior or mere outward living; it is
the kingdom of the heavens in reality. What is mainly
revealed in chapter thirteen is the outward appearance of
the kingdom of the heavens. The inward reality is one
thing, and the outward appearance is another.
Throughout history, only a handful of Christians has
seen this matter of the difference between the inward
reality and the outward appearance of the kingdom. It was
seen by Robert Govett and his student, D. M. Panton,
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G. H. Lang, a teacher among the Brethren, also saw this
matter to some degree, but he did not see it as accurately
and clearly as Govett and Panton. We have received
considerable help from the writings of Govett and Panton.
But we thank the Lord that He has led us on in this
matter. We have seen the kingdom of the heavens in more
detail and in greater depth. I can testify that especially
during the past fifteen years this matter has become very
clear to me. In 1936 I put out my first writing on this
subject. During the more than forty years since the
publication of that little book, I have become more and
more clear regarding the kingdom of the heavens.
The basic point concerning the kingdom is the need to
differentiate between the inward reality of the kingdom
and the outward appearance of the kingdom. If you do not
differentiate between these two things, you will not be able
to understand this book concerning the kingdom of the
heavens.
In addition to the section on the reality of the kingdom,
chapters five through seven, and the section on the
outward appearance of the kingdom, chapter thirteen,
there is a third section equally crucial in understanding
the kingdom of the heavens: the Lord's prophecy given on
the Mount of Olives recorded in chapter twenty-four. The
reality of the kingdom was revealed on a mountain, the
appearance of the kingdom was revealed by the seashore,
and the manifestation of the kingdom was spoken of in
prophecy also from a mountain. The mountain on which
the reality of the kingdom was revealed was not in the
region of the administrative center of the government, but
in the region related to earning a living, because the
reality is intimately related to our daily life. It is not a
matter of administration or government.
The geographic features of the land in Israel are
significant. The governmental center is in the hill country
in the middle of the holy land. At the top of the hill
country and in its center is Jerusalem, the capital. In this
region the king exercises his administration. To both the
north and the south are two regions for farming, for
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earning a living. The last time we went there I saw this
matter clearly. Beersheba, which is in the south, is full of
wheat and barley, indicating that is a rich land for
farming. The land north of Jerusalem, rather close to
Samaria, is a rich, green plain. This also is farming
country where people may make a living. In the middle of
these two regions is the governmental administration. We
have pointed out that the reality of the kingdom was
revealed not in the administrative region, but in the region
of living. However, it was revealed on a mountain. The
manifestation of the kingdom was prophesied on a
mountain in the administrative region near the capital.
This is meaningful, for the manifestation is related to
administration, to government. Do not consider this
matter as having no significance. The Lord Jesus
deliberately went to these places to speak of the reality,
the appearance. and the manifestation of the kingdom. If
you are impressed with these three aspects of the
kingdom, you will understand the Gospel of Matthew.
Thank the Lord that we have seen the reality of the
kingdom. Now we must see the appearance of the
kingdom. In chapters five, six, and seven there is no
falsehood; everything is pure, genuine, heavenly, spiritual,
and, to a certain extent, divine. In these chapters we see
the nature of the kingdom people and the influence they
exert upon the world. They are the salt of the earth and
the light of the world. We also see the uplifted law of the
kingdom people and the righteous deeds of the kingdom
people. These deeds are pure, genuine, and real, performed
in secret without any outward show. Furthermore, we see
the attitude of the kingdom people toward material wealth
and the fact that they have no anxiety regarding riches.
Finally, we see the principle of the kingdom people in
dealing with others and the ground of their living and
work. In this section regarding the reality of the kingdom
everything is real, pure, spiritual, and heavenly.
The situation in chapter thirteen, the chapter
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concerned with the appearance of the kingdom, is
altogether different. In this chapter we have the tares (vv.
25-30) and a great tree which is no longer according to its
kind (vv. 31-32). In Genesis 1 God created everything,
especially the plants and vegetables, according to its
nature. For example, a peach is according to the peach
nature, and a banana is according to the banana nature.
But in Matthew 13 a mustard seed becomes a great tree.
This indicates that it changes its nature, that it is no
longer according to its nature. Therefore, in this chapter
we see something of a facade, an appearance without
reality. Along with the tares and the facade, there is also
leaven (v. 33). All these things, found in the appearance of
the kingdom, cause the appearance of the kingdom to be a
mixture.
It is easy to see this mixture in today's Christendom.
Today's Christendom exactly matches the portrait in
Matthew 13 of the outward appearance of the kingdom of
the heavens. In Christendom there are millions of tares, a
great facade, and corrupting leaven. However, none of
these things is found in chapters five, six, and seven,
where everything is real, pure, spiritual, and heavenly.
But what a mixture we see in chapter thirteen!
When we come to chapter twenty-four concerning the
manifestation of the kingdom, we shall see that the
manifestation is even more strict than the reality, just as
the period of examination is a stricter time than that
during the regular course of study. The students work
diligently during the week in the reality of their schooling,
but they may play, go dancing, or attend the movies
during the weekend. That is like the appearance of the
kingdom. The students should not be so happy and joyful,
for they must consider the coming examinations.
Furthermore, they must think of graduation, which will be
the time of manifestation. By these three things--reality,
appearance, and manifestation--we are able to understand
the book of Matthew.
At the end of chapter twelve Israel was cut off and the
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Gentiles were grafted in. At this point certain teachers,
including Dr. Scofield, have made a great mistake. They
say that after chapter twelve, due to the unbelief of Israel,
the kingdom had been suspended. They do not see that,
instead of being suspended, the kingdom was given over to
another people. The Lord did not say, "From now on, I
have no brothers, sisters, or mother." If He had said this,
then the kingdom would have been suspended. What the
Lord did was turn from one people to another. The Lord
seemed to be saying, "The ones who do the will of My
Father, who are born of My Father and live by His life,
they are my brother, and sister, and mother." Hence, the
kingdom has not been suspended. Rather, it has been
shifted from one people to another.
1. THE PRELIMINARY WORK of THE KINGDOM
A. The Heavenly King Going out of the House to Sit beside
the Sea
Matthew 13:1 says, "On that day Jesus, going out of
the house, sat beside the sea." To most Christian teachers,
this verse is insignificant. When I read this verse as a
young man, it meant nothing to me. But now I realize that
this verse is very meaningful. At the end of chapter twelve,
the heavenly King, having been fully rejected by the
Jewish leaders, made a break with them. On that day He
went out of the house to sit beside the sea. This is very
significant. The house signifies the house of Israel (10:6),
and the sea signifies the Gentile world (Dan. 7:3, 17; Rev.
17:15). The King's going out of the house to sit beside the
sea signifies that after His break with the Jews, He
forsook the house of Israel and turned to the Gentiles. It
was after this that, on the seashore, He gave the parables
concerning the mysteries of the kingdom. This signifies
that the mysteries of the kingdom were revealed in the
church. Hence, all the parables in this chapter were
spoken to His disciples, not to the Jews.
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The first three words of chapter thirteen, "On that
day," join this chapter to chapter twelve, just as the words,
"At that time," connect chapter twelve to chapter eleven.
The words, "On that day," refer to the day that the Lord
declared that He had forsaken Israel, the day He cut off
Israel and grafted in the Gentile believers. On that day He
went out of the house, signifying the house of Israel, to the
sea, signifying the Gentile world. This move from the
house to the sea corresponded to His declaration. He had
declared that He no longer had anything to do with His
natural relatives but that He had turned to the believing
Gentiles. Now He was walking according to His
declaration. Therefore, we see that this verse is very
meaningful.
B. Great Crowds Gather to the King on the Seashore
Verse 2 says that great crowds were gathered to Him.
But this does not mean that all those in these great crowds
became His relatives.
C. The King Stepping into a Boat--the Church
Verse 2 also says, "He stepped into a boat to sit and all
the crowd stood on the shore." The boat, which was in the
sea but not of the sea, signifies the church, which is in the
world but not of the world. The sea is the Gentile world,
and the boat is the church in the Gentile world. It was in
the boat, in the church, that the King of the heavenly
kingdom, after forsaking the Jews and turning to the
Gentiles, revealed the mysteries of the kingdom in
parables. Hallelujah, today we are neither the house nor
the sea--we are the boat! We are the boat with the King.
One day the King stepped into our boat. Now we have the
King in our boat, the church. But the crowd stood on the
shore. Are you standing on the shore, or are you in the
boat with the King? I can testify that I am not standing on
the seashore--I am in the boat.
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D. The King Speaking to the Crowds in Parables
Verse 3 says, "And He spoke to them many things in
parables." He spoke these parables in the boat on the sea.
Do you want to know the mysteries of the kingdom? If you
do, then you must leave the house and not stand on the
seashore, but get into the boat close to the Lord. This is
the only place where we can understand the mysteries of
the kingdom. Oh, we are in the church, in the boat! The
church is neither the house of Israel nor the sea of the
Gentiles; rather, it is the boat of the believers. In the
church all the mysteries of the kingdom are revealed to us.
In order to know the mysteries of the kingdom, we
must learn the skill of interpreting the parables. If you do
not know how to allegorize the Bible, you will not be able
to interpret the parables. For example, the boat is a
parable. How can you interpret the boat if you do not know
how to allegorize it? All the opposers need to follow this
way. Then they will know the Bible. However, because
they do not have the way to allegorize the Bible, they do
not know it. Because we have the way to allegorize the
Scriptures, we know the significance of the house, the sea,
and the boat. Furthermore, we know all the parables. How
happy I am to know the parables!
When I read Matthew 13 fifty years ago, I was
bothered by so many things. I had many unanswered
questions about what is found in this chapter. I bought
some books on Matthew 13, but they were all worthless.
These books even said that leaven refers to the power of
today's Christianity and that the tree is the wonderful and
magnificent organization of Christianity. But as I read
those books, I did not have a good feeling within me; I did
not believe what they said. However, I did not have a way
to understand this chapter. Therefore I wrote to Brother
Nee, telling him of my desire to know the Bible word by
word and asking him to recommend the best book to help
me in this matter. In his reply he told me that the best set
of books was the Synopsis of the Bible by John Nelson
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Darby. However, he pointed out that Darby's Synopsis was
extremely difficult to understand. When I read Darby's
Synopsis several years later, I discovered Brother Nee was
right. I simply could not understand Darby's writing. To
speak the truth, I did not receive any help from Darby's
Synopsis as far as understanding Matthew was concerned.
But through Brother Nee himself I received great help in
knowing the parables. Now I can say with full assurance
that we know the parables in Matthew 13. Nothing is
hidden from us. To us, the mysteries of the kingdom are no
longer mysteries, for these mysteries have all been opened
to us.
1. The Mysteries of the Kingdom of the Heavens
Hidden to the Crowds but Explained to the Disciples
Before we consider the parables in Matthew 13, I would
like to impress you with some of the warnings found in
this chapter. Verses 10 and 11 say, "And the disciples
came and said to Him, Why are You speaking in parables
to them? And He answered and said to them, Because to
you it has been given to know the mysteries of the
kingdom of the heavens, but to them it has not been
given." The King of the heavenly kingdom revealed the
things of the kingdom in parables (v. 34) in order to make
them mysteries to the opposing and rejecting Jews, that
they might not understand them. From the time the King
came to sow the seed until He comes back to reap the
harvest, everything concerning the kingdom is a mystery
to the natural mind. Only the enlightened mind of a
submissive heart can understand these mysteries.
When the disciples asked the Lord why He spoke of the
kingdom in parables, the Lord seemed to say, "In order to
keep it from them and to let you know. Everything
depends on you and on them, not on Me. Whether or not
you can understand what I speak in parables depends on
you." In verse 12 the Lord continued, "For whoever has, it
shall be given to him, and he shall be in abundance; but
whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken
away from him." The words "whoever has" refer to the
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receiver and follower of the heavenly King, to whom the
revelation concerning the kingdom will be given in
abundance. But the one who does not have is the opposing
and rejecting Jew, from whom what the heavenly King has
spoken and done will be taken away. This is the real
condition of the Jews today. They have no knowledge
whatever concerning the kingdom of the heavens. It is
altogether a mystery unknown to them.
Verses 13 and 14 say, "Therefore I speak to them in
parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they
do not hear, neither do they understand. And in them is
being fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which says, Hearing
you shall hear and by no means understand, and seeing
you shall see and by no means perceive."
Verse 15 says, "For the heart of this people has grown
fat, and with their ears they have heard heavily, and their
eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should
perceive with their eyes and hear with their ears and
understand with the heart and turn around, and I will
heal them." The reason those in that stubborn generation
could not understand lay in their heart, which had grown
fat. Fat signifies the pride of having something. The heart
of those in that stubborn generation was proud. That was
the actual situation of the Pharisees. Because their heart
had grown fat, their eyes and ears were affected. They
could see, but not perceive; they could hear, but not
understand. As a result, the mysteries of the kingdom
meant nothing to them. All the parables were mysteries
simply because of their pride.
This is exactly the situation today. If certain Christian
teachers and leaders were to hear a message like this, they
would condemn it, criticize it, and reject it. They would
listen, but they would not understand. They would see, but
they would not perceive. The reason they could not
understand or perceive is the pride in their heart of having
something. If the Brethren teachers heard this message,
they would say, "No, the kingdom has been suspended.
This is not the dispensation of the kingdom; it
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is the dispensation of the church. The dispensation of the
kingdom will be in the millennium, in the coming age of a
thousand years." This indicates the fatness of their heart,
their pride in having something. This pride keeps people
from understanding and perceiving. We must learn the
first lesson given in the constitution of the kingdom of the
heavens: "Blessed are the poor in spirit" (5:3). When we
are poor in spirit, we have no pride in our heart. We are
not proud of anything. Rather, we are unloaded, empty,
and ready to receive something new from the Lord. We all
need to prepare ourselves for what is revealed in this
chapter.
I believe that the Lord has shown us the true
interpretation of all these parables. Throughout these
many years, I have not doubted anything regarding our
understanding of them. In fact, in these days of working
on the Gospel of Matthew I have been all the more
confirmed that we have the correct interpretation, for our
interpretation matches the history of the church and our
experience. Because of the situation of today's
Christianity, we all need to know this crucial chapter, a
chapter that is even more crucial than chapters five, six,
and seven. We need the enlightenment concerning this
chapter in order not to be leavened, mislead, or corrupted.
2. The Disciples Being Blessed
The Lord also said that His disciples were blessed.
According to verse 9, they were blessed to have a hearing
ear. Moreover, verses 16 and 17 say, "But blessed are your
eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.
For truly I say to you, that many prophets and righteous
men have desired to perceive what you are seeing and did
not perceive, and to hear what you are hearing and did not
hear." What a blessing it is to see and hear the mysteries
of the heavenly kingdom!
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE THIRTY-SIX
THE UNVEILING OF THE KINGDOM'S MYSTERIES
(2)
We come in this message to the first mystery of the
kingdom, covered in 13:3 through 8 and 18 through 23.
At the beginning of the first of the seven parables
concerning the mysteries of the kingdom, the Lord did not
say, "The kingdom of the heavens was likened unto," as He
did in the other six parables (vv. 24, 31, 33, 44, 45, 47),
because the kingdom of the heavens began with the second
parable. In the first parable, the Lord was going out only
to sow the seed for the kingdom. The seed had not yet
grown to be the crop for the formation of the kingdom.
Hence, the kingdom had not yet come, but had only drawn
near in the Lord's preaching (4:17).
E. The Parable of the Sower-- the Preliminary Work
of the King for the Kingdom
When the Lord Jesus came, He came to do the
preliminary work for the establishment of the kingdom.
Throughout His human life, from His birth to His
resurrection, the kingdom of the heavens still had not
come. What He did in His life was a preparation for the
establishment of the kingdom of the heavens.
1. The Sower Having Sown the Seeds
Verses 3 and 4 say that a sower went out to sow some
seeds. In His preliminary work for the establishment of
the kingdom of the heavens, the Lord Jesus came as a
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sower. Several times the Lord was called a teacher. But
here He likens himself not to a teacher, but to a sower.
The sower in verse 3 is the Lord Himself (v. 37). Actually,
the Lord did not come to teach, but to sow the seed. What
is this seed? It is the word of the kingdom with the King in
it as life (v. 19). The seed is also the sons, the people, of the
kingdom (v. 38). If we check with our experience, we shall
realize that the seed sown by the Lord Jesus into our
humanity is just Himself as life to make us the seed of the
kingdom. Here three things are interrelated: the word of
the kingdom, the sons of the kingdom, and Christ Himself
as the life within the seed. These three cannot be
separated. The word of the kingdom actually is Christ
Himself as the word of life. This seed eventually produces
the sons of the kingdom, who are the believers. Therefore,
the seed refers to the word of the kingdom, to Christ
Himself as life, and to us, the sons of the kingdom. By
Christ's being the living word of life sown into our being,
we are made the sons of the kingdom.
In this parable we see that Christ establishes the
kingdom of the heavens not by fighting or teaching, but by
sowing Himself as the seed of life into believing people so
that the kingdom of the heavens may grow up. The
establishment of the kingdom of the heavens is absolutely
a matter of growth in life. To establish the kingdom is to
grow the kingdom. The kingdom is not established by
outward working, but by inward growing. We need to
emphasize this matter again and again. Because many
Christian workers have not seen this, they still think that
the church is built up by work and labor. But the church
can be produced only by sowing Christ as the seed into
humanity. This seed will grow within people and produce
the church. The seed of life, Christ Himself in the word,
sown into humanity will grow the church. The church is
not produced by work; it is altogether produced by the
growth in life. Therefore, the kingdom of the heavens is
brought into being not by teaching or by working, but by
sowing Christ as the living word of life into humanity.
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This seed will grow, and the life in it will produce the
kingdom. The kingdom is absolutely a matter of life which
has grown. The source of the kingdom is Christ as the seed
of life. May we all be deeply impressed with the fact that
the kingdom is a matter of life.
In this parable, which gives us a clear picture of the
preliminary work of the kingdom, Christ came as a sower.
Everyone who has sown seed knows that if there is no life
in the seed, nothing will happen. Without life, it is
impossible to have growth. In this parable Christ came
neither as a great prophet to prophesy nor as a mighty
king to rule. Yes, He was a prophet and a king, but in this
parable He appears as a sower, not as a prophet or a king.
In His hand there is not a scepter for ruling or for
exercising authority, but seed for producing life. He came
as a sower to sow Himself as the seed. Oh, may we all see
this! This vision will revolutionize our concept and our
Christian work. If we see this vision, we would no longer
trust in what we do because we would know that the
kingdom is a matter of life, that the church is a matter of
growth in the life seed sown into our humanity. Therefore,
we would trust completely in the growth of life. Those who
have been with us for a number of years can testify that I
do not teach others what they should do. I do not give
them instructions regarding their behavior. But in
meeting after meeting, conference after conference, and
training after training, I have ministered Christ as the all-
inclusive, life-giving Spirit. It has always been a matter of
Christ, life, the Spirit, and the church.
We all need to see this basic vision that the kingdom is
a matter of life growing in us. The young people who are
burdened for the campuses must see this vision. Young
people, if you go to the campuses to do a work, that will
mean nothing. You should not go there to work, but to sow
the seed, to be a sower. During the years I was with
Brother Nee in China, I saw that he was not working; he
was sowing Christ as a seed. He told me that Miss M. E.
Barber did not come to China to work. She was in China
sowing Christ, even sowing herself in Christ. She was a
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seed sown into that district in China. Eventually,
something grew out of that seed. The Lord's recovery today
is the produce of the seed sown by Sister Barber and
Brother Nee. Do not think that our working means very
much. No, our working does not mean anything. If you
study the Gospels again, you will see that the first
Christian worker was Christ Himself. However, He did not
work very much. Instead, He was sowing.
In the parable of the sower the Lord gives us a picture
of what He came to do. He came as a sower to sow the
seed. To those who are proud this parable is a mystery.
The Pharisees would probably say, "We know all about
this and don't want to hear of it. We know what a sower is.
We know that a sower simply sows seed and that this seed
falls on various types of soil. This is elementary. We want
to hear something deep, something philosophical. Speak to
us about the laws of Moses. Jesus, have you never read
Moses and the Psalms? We would like to hear about this,
not about some seed falling on the wayside, rocky places,
thorns, and good soil. You are just a kindergarten
teacher." But to those who are poor in spirit and pure in
heart this parable is much more profound than the
teaching of Moses and all the Psalms. Hallelujah for the
sower, the seed, and the good earth! This is altogether a
matter of life. We need more hymns on the sower, the
sowing, the seed, and the growth. Again I say, the
kingdom grows; it is not built by our labor. Do not try to
build the church, for what the church needs is growth. Day
after day we need to sow Christ.
Recently an opposer told a brother, "We are going to
stop you." He said that they were planning to stop the
Lord's recovery. If the opposers try to do this, they will
find themselves in trouble. Do not touch anything of life,
for the more you touch it, the more it multiplies. If you
leave it alone, it may remain dormant. But if you touch it,
it will grow. Suppose you say to some seed, "Seed, I shall
stop you. I shall bury you in the earth." How good that
would be for the seed! But if you leave the seeds on a
pedestal, appreciating them, looking at them, and
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treasuring them, that will be the most effective way to
stop them. But if you try to terminate the seed by burying
it in the earth, the seed will grow. The opposers simply do
not know what the Lord's recovery is. The Lord's recovery
is not work, teaching, or theology. It is a seed; it is the
living Christ as a seed. I have the assurance to declare to
the whole universe that the all-inclusive Christ as the life-
giving Spirit has been sown into thousands of Americans.
Do not touch them. If you try to persecute them or bury
them, the one grain will be multiplied into many more
grains. Who can stop the Lord's recovery? The seed has
already been sown. The Lord came to the earth as a sower
to sow Himself. Hallelujah, Jesus has been sown into
humanity! The principle is the same in the Lord's recovery
today. The recovery as the seed of life has been sown in
America, Europe, Brazil, and many other places. No one
and nothing can stop it. The Lord's recovery is not a
movement. It is Christ Himself as the seed of life sown
into our being. The sower is Christ, and the seed is also
Christ, Christ in the word sown into us to make us the
sons of the kingdom.
According to this parable and the Lord's own
interpretation of it, this seed is sown into our heart (v. 19).
In the past we have pointed out that our heart is not the
receiving organ, but the loving organ, and that our
receiving organ is our spirit. We say this based upon
Ezekiel 36, where God promises to give us a new spirit and
a new heart, a new spirit to receive God and a new heart
to love Him. Here the Lord Jesus does not mention
anything about the spirit; but He does say that the heart
is the place where the seed is sown. Nothing can enter our
spirit without first passing through our heart. In 1 Peter
3:4 our spirit is called the inner man of our heart. This
indicates that our spirit is surrounded by our heart. The
three main sections of the heart are the mind, the emotion,
and the will. When we believed in the Lord Jesus, we had
no awareness that we were exercising our spirit. But we
did realize that we believed in Him with our heart. In
other words, when we believed in Him, we
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opened our heart. The result, however, was that He came
into our spirit. When we opened our heart to believe in
Him, He came into our spirit. But our spirit is not the soil
for growing Christ. The soil is our heart. This parable
makes it perfectly clear that our heart is the soil, the
earth, the very place where the seed is sown and where it
grows. Therefore, in this parable the Lord does not deal
with our spirit; He mainly touches our heart.
2. Some Seeds Falling Beside the Way
Verse 4 says, "And as He sowed, some seeds indeed fell
beside the way, and the birds came and devoured them."
Beside the way is the place close to the way. Because it is
hardened by the traffic of the way, it is difficult for the
seeds to penetrate it. This kind of wayside signifies the
heart that is hardened by the worldly traffic and does not
open to understand, to comprehend, the word of the
kingdom (v. 19). The birds signify the evil one, Satan, who
came and snatched away the word of the kingdom sown in
the hardened heart.
If you compare the constitution of the kingdom of the
heavens with the parable of the sower, you will see that
this parable is based upon the concept of the constitution.
The constitution covers the matters of being poor in our
spirit and pure in our heart. Those who are the wayside
cannot receive the seed because they are neither poor in
spirit nor pure in heart. Because the wayside, part of the
soil for farming, was so close to the traffic, it became
hardened by the traffic. This made it impossible for the
seed to penetrate it. Thus, the seed remained on the
surface of the wayside. This signifies those who are not
poor in spirit or pure in heart because they have so much
worldly traffic. Education, commerce, politics, science,
business, and other kinds of worldly traffic go back and
forth within their mind, emotion, and will. They are
occupied with promotion, position, and ambition. For this
reason, it is very difficult to preach the gospel to those in
politics. The politicians have too much worldly traffic in
their being. Those seeking advancement in politics are
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ambitious to gain a position or to surpass others. Likewise,
it is difficult to preach the gospel to those on Wall Street.
Unless the Lord knocks them down, they are too hard to
receive the word into them. Day and night they are
preoccupied with figures, money, and business. They
cannot be poor in spirit or pure in heart. The Wall Street
traffic makes them hard in their heart. When you attempt
to sow the seed into them, the seed cannot penetrate them.
There is no room in them for the seed. This is also true
among so many in education, especially those pursuing a
doctoral degree. There has been so much traffic in their
heart that their heart has been hardened, just like the
wayside in the Lord's parable. Although they may hear the
gospel of Christ, not a word can penetrate their heart.
We thank the Lord that, in His mercy, when the gospel
was preached to us, we were poor in spirit and pure in
heart. On the day I was saved by the Lord, I said to Him,
"If the whole world could be mine, I would not take it. I
don't want it and I don't like it. Lord, I want to keep my
heart for You. I don't like to have any worldly traffic in my
heart." It is never good to have traffic through farmland.
No farmer would allow this. Are you part of the wayside?
Do not stay close to the way. Stay in the center of the
farm. Then the worldly traffic will not touch you.
3. Some Falling on Rocky Places
Verses 5 and 6 say, "And others fell on the rocky places,
where they did not have much earth, and immediately
they sprang up because they did not have depth of earth;
but when the sun rose, they were scorched; and because
they had no root, they were dried up." The rocky places
that do not have much earth signify the heart that is
shallow in receiving the word of the kingdom, because
deep within are rocks--hidden sins, personal desires, self-
seeking, and self-pity--which frustrate the seed from
gaining root in the depth of the heart. The sun with its
scorching heat signifies
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affliction or persecution (v. 21), which dries up the seed
that is not rooted. The heat of the sun is for the growth
and ripening of the crop once the seed is deeply rooted. But
due to the seed's lack of root, the sun's growing and
ripening heat becomes a death blow to the seed.
The things signified by the rocks correspond to what is
covered by the complemented laws in the constitution of
the kingdom of the heavens (5:17-48). The second type of
earth corresponds to the temper, lust, self, and flesh--the
things hidden in our heart. Perhaps not many among us
are part of the wayside, but I am very concerned that a
good number may be rocky places. In appearance they are
the same as others, for the soil is on the surface. But they
have no depth. Rather, they have lust, temper, self, and
flesh. All these are rocks hidden beneath the soil.
Therefore, the first type of soil corresponds to those who
are not poor in spirit and pure in heart, and the second
corresponds to those who still have their temper, lust, sin,
self, and flesh beneath the surface. Some of you may still
be hiding your lust, your selfishness, and your flesh. You
may shout hallelujahs in the meetings, but you do not
have much depth. Instead of depth, there are rocks. Sooner
or later, all these rocks will be exposed because the word
that has been sown into you will not be able to be rooted in
you. You may be happy and joyful, shouting praises to the
Lord, but there is no root in you. Hence, when the
affliction and persecutions come, you will be dried up like
a plant without root that withers under the scorching heat
of the sun. May the Lord have mercy upon us and dig out
all the hidden rocks. May He dig out our temper, lust, self,
flesh, and any other negative thing so that there may be
room in our heart for the seed to be rooted deeply within
us.
4. Some Falling on the Thorns
Verse 7 says, "And others fell on the thorns, and the
thorns came up and choked them." The thorns here signify
the anxiety of the age and the deceitfulness of riches,
which choke the word from growing in the heart and cause
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it to become unfruitful. The thorns, the anxiety of this age
and the deceitfulness of riches, match the section in the
constitution covering the attitude of the kingdom people
toward riches (6:19-34). Several times in that section of
the constitution the words "anxious" or "anxiety" are used.
The Lord tells us not to be anxious about our living, about
what we shall eat, drink, or wear. The third type of soil is
not as bad as the second, but it is still difficult for the seed
to grow in it because of anxiety and the deceitfulness of
riches. All these thorns must be uprooted. If the anxiety of
this age and the deceitfulness of riches are rooted out of
our heart, the seed will grow.
The parable of the sower seems very simple, but it is
actually deep and profound. It exposes the real condition of
our heart in the presence of the heavenly King. Whatever
is in us is exposed. This parable covers the hardness by the
worldly traffic; the hidden lust, self, and flesh; and the
anxiety of the age and deceitfulness of money. These are
the wayside, the rocks, and the thorns. As long as you are
either the wayside, the soil with hidden rocks, or the soil
with thorns, the kingdom cannot grow in you. In other
words, the church cannot grow in those types of soil. In
order for the church to grow, the seed must fall on good
earth.
5. Others Falling on Good Earth
Verse 8 says, "And others fell on the good earth and
gave fruit, some indeed a hundredfold, and some sixty, and
some thirty." The good earth signifies the good heart that
is not hardened by worldly traffic, that is without hidden
sins, and that is without the anxiety of the age and the
deceitfulness of riches. Such a heart gives every inch of its
ground to receive the word that the word may grow, bear
fruit, and produce even a hundredfold (v. 23). The good
heart is a heart which has no worldly traffic, no rocks, and
no thorns. It has no hidden sins, selfishness, lust, or flesh
and no anxiety of the age or deceitfulness of money. This
kind of heart is truly pure to match the spirit.
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Such a heart is the good soil that grows Christ. Christ as
the seed of life can grow only in this kind of heart, this
kind of soil. This is the soil that can grow the kingdom.
In the United States of America there are millions of
Christians. Recently a magazine said that there are fifty
million regenerated Christians in this country. Only the
Lord knows how many among this number are genuine
Christians. Although there are so many Christians, I
wonder how many are the good earth. How many have no
worldly traffic, no hidden sins, flesh, lusts, or self, and no
anxiety or deceitfulness of money? How many are poor in
spirit and pure in heart? It is very difficult to find such
Christians. Although we may be surrounded with
Christians, we rarely find one who is truly poor in spirit
and pure in heart. How about you? Do you still have
worldly traffic in your heart? Are you truly poor in spirit
and pure in heart? Are there any hidden rocks deep
within? What about the anxiety of this age and the
deceitfulness of money? Although we must consider these
questions, we should not be discouraged. Rather, we
should be encouraged. Nothing can stop God's economy.
There will be at least some who are the good earth.
According to the percentage indicated by the Lord's
parable, this is twenty-five percent of the believers. I
would be happy with even five percent. How good it would
be if among all the real Christians five percent were poor
in spirit and pure in heart, had no hidden self, flesh, or
sin, and had no anxiety or deceitfulness of money! How
wonderful it would be if five percent were pure for Christ
to grow in them! Here and there, in so many major cities,
the Lord will find the good earth. The Lord is merciful. We
might have had too much traffic, but the Lord saved us
from the wayside and placed us in the center of the
farmland. I know of many brothers and sisters in whom
the Lord has dug out all the hidden things and uprooted
all the thorns to make their heart the good earth. Praise
the Lord for this! There is no doubt that among us a good
many are the good earth, the good soil. The kingdom and
the church are growing here. Here in the
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church life we are growing Christ, and we are growing the
kingdom. The kingdom does not come by our working. It
comes only by the growth of Christ within us. May we all
be impressed that today in the Lord's recovery the Lord is
doing the work of sowing Himself into people so that He
may have the good earth to grow Himself into the
kingdom. This is the first parable, and this is the
preliminary work for the establishment of the kingdom of
the heavens.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE THIRTY-SEVEN
THE UNVEILING OF THE KINGDOM'S MYSTERIES
(3)
In the last message we saw that the good earth is the
people according to the constitution of the kingdom of the
heavens. The constitution is a complete description of the
good earth, of one who is poor in spirit and pure in heart,
who has no worldly traffic within him, whose being is not
hardened, who has no hidden rocks of temper, lust, self,
and flesh concealed within him. All this corresponds to the
requirements given in the constitution. Those who are the
good earth have no thorns, no anxiety of life, and no
deceitfulness of riches. Therefore, they become the good
earth in which the seed can grow. This good earth is the
people who live according to the constitution of the
kingdom of the heavens. In other words, their living
exactly matches the constitution.
The kingdom of the heavens is built by the
multiplication of the seed. The sower sows the seed, the
seed grows and multiplies, and eventually the
multiplication of the seed becomes the constituent of the
kingdom. This reveals that the kingdom is not built by any
kind of work, but that it is built by the multiplication of
the seed sown by the sower. Christ came as the sower
sowing Himself as the seed of life. This seed of life enters
humanity to bring forth fruit, the sons of the kingdom.
This is the multiplication of the seed. The kingdom is built
by this multiplication. Therefore, the kingdom is the
multiplication of the seed sown by the sower. The sower
Himself is the seed, and the multiplication of the seed is
the multiplication of the sower. Hence, the kingdom is
built with the multiplication of Christ. The kingdom is the
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enlargement of Christ, the multiplication of Christ as the
seed sown into us. If we see this, we shall know what kind
of living we should have and in what kind of situation we
should be so that we may participate in the kingdom.
Having seen this matter, let us now proceed to consider
the second parable (13:24-30, 36-43).
II. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE KINGDOM AND ITS
FALSE CONSTITUENTS
A. The Kingdom of the Heavens Likened to a Man Sowing
Good Seed
Verse 24 says, "The kingdom of the heavens was
likened to a man sowing good seed in his field." With the
second parable the Lord began to say, "The kingdom of the
heavens was likened to," because the kingdom of the
heavens began to be established when the church was
built (16:18-19) on the day of Pentecost, the time when the
second parable began to be fulfilled. It was from that time.
after the church was founded, that the tares, the false
believers, were sown amidst the true believers, the wheat.
The kingdom of the heavens began with the second
parable. This is the reason the Lord used the words "The
kingdom of the heavens was likened to." These words were
not spoken by the Lord in the first parable because at that
time the kingdom of the heavens had not yet come. Rather,
that parable was concerned with the preliminary work for
the kingdom of the heavens. But at the time of the second
parable, the kingdom of the heavens had come; thus, the
Lord said that the kingdom of the heavens was likened to
a man sowing good seed in his field.
B. The Heavenly King Having Sown Good Seed in
His Field
The parable of the tares is easy to understand. In the
first parable the seed sown by the sower was the word of
the kingdom. Verse 19 says this clearly. But in the second
parable we see that the seed has developed into the sons of
the kingdom (v. 38). Firstly, this means that the seed was
the word sown into humanity and, secondly, that it has
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grown into the sons of the kingdom. In the foregoing
message I pointed out that the seed is the word with
Christ in it as life. According to the second parable, this
seed grows into us, the kingdom people, the sons of the
kingdom. Therefore, the wheat is the sons of the kingdom,
the real believers, those regenerated with the divine life.
C. The Enemy Having Come and Sown Tares amidst
the Wheat
Verse 25 says, "But while the men slept, his enemy
came and sowed tares amidst the wheat and went away."
The men were the slaves (v. 27), referring to the Lord's
slaves, mainly the apostles. It was when the Lord's slaves
were sleeping, not watching, that the Lord's enemy, the
Devil, came and sowed false believers amidst the true
ones.
Verse 25 says that the enemy sowed tares amidst the
wheat. A tare is a kind of darnel, a weed resembling
wheat. Its seeds are poisonous, producing sleepiness,
nausea, convulsions, and even death. The sprout and
leaves of the tares look the same as those of the wheat. It
is impossible to discern one from the other until the fruit is
produced. The fruit of the wheat is golden yellow, but that
of the tares is black.
In the Old Testament, the children of Israel in the
kingdom of God were likened to grapes growing in the
vineyard (21:33-34), whereas in the New Testament, the
kingdom people in the kingdom of the heavens are likened
to wheat growing in the field. The vineyard was fenced,
limited only to the Jews; whereas the field is worldwide.
unlimited, open to all peoples.
This parable discloses that not long after the
establishment of the kingdom by the building of the
church, the situation of the kingdom of the heavens
changed. It was established with the sons of the kingdom,
the wheat. But the sons of the evil one, the tares, grew up
to alter the situation. Hence, a difference has arisen
between the kingdom of the heavens and its outward
appearance. Whereas the sons of the kingdom, the wheat,
constitute the kingdom. the sons of the evil one, the tares,
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have formed the outward appearance of the kingdom,
which today is called Christendom.
The wheat is the sons of the kingdom, the real
believers regenerated with the divine life. The tares are
the sons of the evil one, the Devil. In the early stages of
their growth, the tares appear exactly the same as wheat
in color and in shape. Even experts cannot discern the
difference until the fruit appears. There is a great
difference in the fruit of the tares and the fruit of the
wheat, for the fruit of the tares is black and the fruit of the
wheat is greenish yellow. The sons of the kingdom are the
sons of God who have the divine life within them. The sons
of the evil one are the false believers. believers only in
name, who do not have the divine life in them.
D. The King's Slaves Wanting to Gather Up the
Tares, but the King Allowing the Tares to Grow with
the Wheat until the Harvest
When the King's slaves wanted to gather up the tares
(v. 28). He said, "No, lest while gathering the tares you
may root up the wheat at the same time with them." Both
the tares and the wheat grow in the field, and the field is
the world (v. 38). The false believers and the true ones live
in the world. To gather up the tares from the field means
to take away the false believers from the world. The Lord
did not want His slaves to do this, lest while taking away
the false believers from the world, the true ones may be
taken away from the world. The Catholic Church did much
of this and by so doing killed many true believers.
Many Christian teachers have wrongly interpreted the
field, saying that it is the church. According to this
interpretation, in the church there are both false ones and
real ones. But the Lord says clearly in verse 38 that the
field is the world. The wheat and the tares are allowed to
grow together in the world, not in the church. According to
the Epistles, not even sinful ones are allowed to remain in
the church. In 1 Corinthians chapter five the Apostle Paul
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charged the church at Corinth to excommunicate the sinful
one. If even the real but sinful ones must be cast out, then
how much more the false ones? The church is not to
tolerate the false believers, but both the false and the true
are allowed to grow together in the world. Please be clear
that the field refers to the world. In the world there are
both true and false believers, but this must not be so in the
church.
The Lord told His slaves not to separate the wheat
from the tares, but to allow them both to grow together
until the harvest. Otherwise, the wheat may be rooted up
with the tares. This means that the false believers must be
allowed to exist in the world with the true believers. In the
past centuries the Catholic Church has made the serious
mistake of trying to uproot those who were considered
tares. But most of those taken away by the Catholic
Church were the real ones, even the best ones. This is the
reason the Lord Jesus did not allow His slaves to do such a
thing.
E. The Time of Harvest-- the Consummation of the
Age
Verse 30 says, "Allow both to grow together until the
harvest, and in the time of the harvest I will say to the
reapers, Gather first the tares and bind them into bundles
to burn them up, but the wheat bring together into My
barn." The harvest is the consummation of the age, and
the reapers are angels (v. 39). At the consummation of this
age, the Lord will send the angels firstly to gather all the
tares, all stumbling blocks, and those who do lawlessness,
bind them into bundles, and burn them with the fire of the
lake of fire (vv. 30, 40-42). Then the wheat, the righteous,
will be brought together into the King's barn, the kingdom
of their Father, to shine forth as the sun (vv. 30, 43).
In Galatians 2:4 and 2 Corinthians 11:26 Paul
mentioned false brethren, saying that he was damaged by
the false brethren. This indicates that in Paul's time the
tares were present. Of course, a great many more tares
have come in since Constantine made Christianity the
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state [Link] this parable the Lord points out the serious
matter of the judgment upon the tares. This will be a special
judgment, for the tares will be bound into bundles and cast
into the furnace of fire, which is the lake of fire. The first
two to be cast into the lake of fire will be Antichrist and the
false prophet. Following them, the tares will be cast into the
lake of fire at the time of the Lord's coming back. The
judgment upon the tares will be so serious because they
have been confusing, frustrating, and damaging God's
economy. In the eyes of God, the tares are exceedingly evil.
The modernists of today are evil. They blaspheme the
Lord by saying that He was an illegitimate child. They
also say that the Lord Jesus was not the Redeemer, that
His death was that of a martyr, and that His death was
not for redemption. They also deny that Christ was
resurrected. Furthermore, some modernists are very vague
about God. It is difficult to determine what they believe
concerning God. If you ask them about God, Christ, or the
Spirit, they will respond that it is all a matter of
definition. This answer is subtle and more than evil.
Therefore, at the consummation of this age, the angels will
bind the tares into bundles and cast them into the lake of
fire. There will be no need for them to pass through the
judgment at the white throne. By this judgment we can
see how evil the tares are in the eyes of the Lord.
Although the tares have caused confusion, frustration,
and damage, some so-called Christian groups actually
boast of having tares among them, and they condemn us
for not having any tares.
When the Lord Jesus came, He did not sow tares; He
sowed only wheat. In His preliminary work for the
establishment of the kingdom, He sowed only Himself, and
He was very careful in so doing, sowing only one kind of
seed. While the Lord's slaves were sleeping, the enemy,
the evil one, Satan, came in to sow another seed, the seed
of the tares. This took place not too long after the church
was established on the day of Pentecost. The book of Acts
indicates that certain false ones who had not received
Christ into them as their life came in apparently as real
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ones. But they were tares, not wheat. In the early part of the
fourth century Constantine the Great made Christianity the
state religion of the Roman Empire. At that time tens of
thousands of false believers came into Christianity. In order
to Christianize the people, Constantine encouraged them to
be baptized. Many who were baptized into Christianity were
given a material reward of silver or clothing. This was the
greatest opportunity for the evil one to sow his tares. At that
time there were perhaps ten tares for every stalk of wheat.
This has continued until the present. In Christendom there
are millions of so-called Christians but so many of them are
not real believers.
Let me illustrate this from my own experience. I was
born of a Southern Baptist mother. She taught us the
stories of the Bible; however, at that time, although she was
for Christianity, she herself definitely had not been saved.
There were so many tares there it was difficult to find the
wheat. The professor of world history in the American
Presbyterian college where I studied came from a Jewish
background. He was a false believer, believing neither in
the Bible nor in the resurrection of Christ. Nevertheless,
the Presbyterian mission sent him as a mission teacher to
be a professor in their college. Some of the missionaries in
China were modernists. Among both the Methodists and
the Presbyterians, modernistic missionaries taught the
people that the Bible was a book of fairy tales. They said
that the Red Sea was not actually opened by God, but that
the Israelites passed through a portion of the sea made
shallow by the blowing of the wind. By now modernism
might have penetrated the seminaries of even the Southern
Baptists. Union Theological Seminary in New York treated
John Sung like a mental case. After John Sung was saved,
he was beside himself in the Lord, but those in that
seminary, considering him a mental case, sent him to a
mental hospital. Later John Sung returned to China,
preached the gospel, and became probably the greatest
evangelist in China. In today's Christendom there are
thousands and thousands of tares.
In Matthew 13 we see a picture of the outward
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appearance of the kingdom of the heavens. Please refer to
the chart on pages 454 and 455.) The kingdom of God
covers everything from eternity past to eternity future.
Between the two eternities there is time divided into
various ages or dispensations. The first is the dispensation
before law. After Adam was created, he was placed in the
garden where there was no sin or darkness. From him, is
the period of the Patriarchs, the fathers, extending to
Moses. This period of the Patriarchs is known as the
dispensation before law. Then comes the dispensation of
law. Following this are two crucial dispensations, the first
of which is the dispensation of grace, the church age, and
the other, the dispensation of the kingdom, the
millennium. As we have pointed out already, the kingdom
of the heavens covers only these two dispensations. In the
dispensation of grace there are a number of complications,
for the kingdom of the heavens has three aspects: the
aspect of reality, the aspect of appearance, and the aspect
of manifestation. As long as the church is normal, it is the
reality of the kingdom. In a normal situation the church
equals the reality of the kingdom. The third aspect of the
kingdom, the manifestation, is in the heavenly part, the
upper part, of the millennium. The lower part, the earthly
part, is the Messianic kingdom, the kingdom of the
Messiah, but the heavenly part is the manifestation of the
kingdom of the heavens. This heavenly part in 13:43 is
also called the kingdom of the Father, whereas the earthly
part is called in Matthew 13:41 the kingdom of the Son of
Man. Therefore, the kingdom of the Son is the kingdom of
the Messiah, and the kingdom of the Father is the
manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens.
In this message we are concerned with the appearance
of the kingdom. On the chart we have noted the
appearance of the kingdom with a dotted line. It seems
that Christendom is different from the world, but actually
there is no difference at all. The appearance of the
kingdom of the heavens is today's Christendom. It is dark,
devilish, and even hellish, and we all must condemn it.
Where are you? Are you in the appearance of the kingdom
or in the reality of the kingdom? You used to be in the
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world, but now you are in the church. But the church is no
longer normal; rather, it has become abnormal. Therefore.
there is the need of the dotted line within the church. The
normal church is the reality, but the area in the dotted
line indicates the abnormal church. All real Christians are
in the church, but some of these Christians have become
abnormal and defeated. You may say that you are neither
in the world nor in Christendom, the appearance of the
kingdom. You are in the church. But are you in the church
in a normal situation or in an abnormal situation? The
believers who are the thorny soil are abnormal. They are
real Christians, but the growth of the seed is choked by the
thorns so that it does not bring forth fruit. Fruit denotes
both multiplication and expression. But those believers
who are on the level of the constitution of the kingdom of
the heavens are normal. They are poor in spirit, pure in
heart; have all their temper. lust. self, and flesh dealt
with; have no anxiety; and are not deceived by money.
They are the good earth growing Christ into the kingdom.
Therefore, they are in the normal church, which is the
reality of the kingdom of the heavens.
When the Lord Jesus comes back. where will you be? If
we have endured unto the end, that is, have kept ourselves
in the spirit until the end, we shall be saved and shall be
in the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens the
heavenly part of the millennium. Those who are there will
rule with Christ. According to 13:43, they will "shine forth
as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." This is the real
barn where all the wheat will shine over the nations. That
shining will be the ruling, the reigning as kings.
We need to see that today's Christianity is in darkness.
So many do not know where they are, where they should
be, or where they will go. But in the Bible there is light,
and the view is very clear. What we have seen is
absolutely not according to human thought; it is a word
according to the divine revelation. Everything in this chart
is confirmed in the Bible. Everyone in the Lord's recovery
must be deeply impressed with this chart. We are in an
age of complications. Christ has come and has sown the
seed, but the enemy has also come in and has done things
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to cause complications. Therefore, in this age we have the
worldly people; the wheat, the sons of the kingdom, the
children of God; and the tares, the false believers, the
nominal Christians, the sons of the Devil, who are among
the children of God. Many of the sons of the kingdom have
become degraded and have fallen below the standard.
Hence, they are abnormal.
Thus, there are four classes of people: the normal
believers, the abnormal believers, the false believers, and
the worldly people. Day after day, we are involved with all
four categories. In the very place where you work all four
types may be represented. We need to face this situation
with a clear view of today's age. We would not stand with
the world nor be a part of Christendom. Furthermore, we
would not be real yet abnormal believers. Rather, we want
to be real and normal believers, real sons of the kingdom
who live according to the constitution of the kingdom of
the heavens. We would grow Christ by living a life
according to the constitution. Whatever we grow will be
the multiplication which is the constituent of the kingdom
of the heavens. Therefore, today we are not only in the
reality--we are the reality. Then when the Lord Jesus, the
King, comes again, we shall be in the manifestation of the
kingdom of the heavens, shining over the world to reign as
Christ's co-kings and enjoying the heavenly part of the
millennium.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE THIRTY-EIGHT
THE UNVEILING OF THE KINGDOM'S MYSTERIES
(4)
In this message we shall continue to see the outward
appearance of the kingdom of the heavens. As the parable
of the tares reveals, the constituents of the kingdom are
the sons of the kingdom, who have the divine life within
them. However, the tares, the sons of the Devil, have come
in. Because of these false ones among the constituents, the
kingdom in its outward appearance has become
Christendom. Formerly it was purely the kingdom of God,
but now it has become Christendom with both real
believers and false ones. When many people talk about
Christianity, they are actually talking about Christendom.
The kingdom of the heavens is not as large as
Christendom, for the kingdom is smaller than
Christendom and seems to be within it. The kingdom is
real, composed of the genuine constituents who are the
sons of the kingdom, the sons of God. But the tares sown
by Satan have caused a mixture among the so-called
Christians in the outward appearance of the kingdom of
the heavens, which is Christendom.
III. THE ABNORMAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE OUTWARD
APPEARANCE OF THE KINGDOM
The Lord arranged the parables in Matthew 13 in a
very good sequence. First we have the parable of the
sower, who sows the seed to bring forth the constituents of
the kingdom of the heavens. Then we have the parable of
the tares sown by the enemy, the false ones among the
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constituents that cause the kingdom of the heavens to
become Christendom. Following the parable of the tares,
we have the parable of the mustard seed (13:31-32).
A. The Kingdom of the Heavens Being like a Grain of
Mustard Seed
Verse 31 says, "The kingdom of the heavens is like a
grain of mustard seed." The fruit, both of the wheat in the
first two parables and the mustard here in the third
parable, is for food. This indicates that the kingdom
people, the constituents of the kingdom and the church,
should be like a crop to produce food that satisfies God and
man. Both wheat and mustard are good for food. In fact, it
is very healthy and nourishing to eat wheat bread with
mustard on it. However, in both the second and third
parables we see the thought of the evil one, the subtlety of
Satan. The evil one came in to sow tares among the wheat.
As any farmer can tell you, tares greatly frustrate the
growth of the wheat because they exhaust the fertility of
the soil which is meant to nourish the growing wheat.
Because the soil has been exhausted, wasted, by the tares,
the wheat cannot grow properly. We may apply this to our
present situation. Many false Christians have frustrated
the growth of the genuine Christians. Wherever there are
many false believers, it is difficult for the real believers to
grow in life. This is the subtlety of the enemy. As we shall
see, the subtlety of the enemy with respect to the mustard
seed is to cause it to grow into a huge tree that is no longer
good for food.
B. The Heavenly King Having Sown a Mustard Seed
in His Field
On the one hand, what the Lord has sown is the grain
of wheat. But on the other hand, it is a grain of mustard
seed. Both the grain of wheat and the grain of mustard
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seed signify Christ as food to us in different aspects. He is
both the wheat and the mustard for our nourishment.
C. The Mustard Seed Growing Greater than the
Herbs and Becoming a Tree
Verse 32 says that after the mustard seed has grown,
"It is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree." The
church, which is the embodiment of the kingdom, should
be like an herb to produce food, but it became a tree, a
lodging place for birds, having its nature and function
changed. (This is against the law of God's creation, that
every plant must be after its kind--Gen. 1:11-12.) This
happened when Constantine the Great mixed the church
with the world in the first part of the fourth century. He
brought thousands of false believers into Christianity,
making it Christendom no longer the church. Hence, this
third parable corresponds to the third of the seven
churches in Revelation 2 and 3, the church in Pergamos
(2:12-17). The mustard is an annual herb, whereas the
tree is a perennial plant. The church, according to its
heavenly and spiritual nature, should be like the mustard,
sojourning on the earth. But with its nature changed, the
church became deeply rooted and settled in the earth as a
tree, flourishing with its enterprises as the branches to
lodge many evil persons and things. This has formed the
outward organization of the outward appearance of the
kingdom of the heavens.
For a mustard seed to become a tree is a violation of
the principle ordained by God in His creation for living
matter--that every plant must be according to its kind.
This is what is referred to in Genesis 1, where we are told
that every life grows according to its kind. A peach grows
after the peach kind and an apple after the apple kind.
This principle applies not only to plant life, but also to
animal life and even to human life. Every type of life must
develop according to its kind. A cow must be a cow, a
donkey must be a donkey, and a horse must be a horse. A
mule is an example of an animal not according to its kind.
A mule is neither a horse nor a donkey; it is a hybrid
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between a horse and donkey. If a certain form of vegetable
or plant life is not according to its kind, it will be abnormal
and against the principle ordained by God in His creation.
In keeping with this principle, a mustard must be
according to a mustard, and a tree must be according to a
tree. It is abnormal for a mustard to break God's principle
and become a tree. But by growing into a tree, the mustard
herb breaks this principle. This kind of growth is
abnormal, a violation of God's regulation. Suppose human
life developed without any regulation, and some Chinese
grew into oxen, some Japanese grew into horses, and some
Americans grew into elephants. How grotesque this would
be! Thank God that in His creation He has put a governing
principle into every type of life! However, when the Lord
sowed the seed of a mustard herb, this herb grew into a
tree. How abnormal is such a development!
When I was young, I read some books which said that
this big tree was something positive. But this tree,
although very large, is not positive at all. Suppose a man
grew into an elephant. Would this be positive or negative?
We all would be terrified of such an abnormal
development. Today's Christendom is huge and devilishly
abnormal. It is not only a tree, but a great tree. By this we
see that not only the nature of the constituent of the
kingdom has been changed, but that the size of the
kingdom has become abnormal. If an herb is to be good for
food, it should not grow too large. When an herb grows
abnormally large, it is no longer tender, delicious, or good
for food. In His economy God intends that His children be
like wheat or mustard, the smaller and the more tender,
the better. Furthermore, we should be annuals like wheat
and mustard, neither of which remains more than a year.
The church people must be annuals, not perennials. We
should not be rooted deeply into the earth for a long period
of time, for the Lord's intention is that we be sojourners on
earth. As long as we are annuals like wheat and herbs, we
shall produce the best foodstuff, grain to make loaves of
bread and mustard to match the bread. This will afford
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others excellent food for their nourishment and
satisfaction. However, the enemy has made the mustard a
perennial tree that does not produce any foodstuff.
D. The Birds of Heaven Coming and Roosting in the
Branches of the Tree
Verse 32 also says that the birds of heaven come and
roost in the branches of this tree. Instead of producing
foodstuff, this tree is a roost for birds. Because the birds in
the first parable signify the evil one, Satan (vv. 4, 19), the
birds of heaven in verse 32 must refer to Satan's evil
spirits with the evil persons and things motivated by
them. They lodge in the branches of the great tree, that is,
in the enterprises of Christendom. The birds refer to the
evil one and to evil persons, evil matters, and evil things--
in short to all evil pertaining to the evil one. In today's
Christendom, there are many evil persons, evil things, and
evil matters. Christendom has become a big tree producing
no fruit, but having become a lodging place for so many
evil things.
When this parable was spoken by the Lord, it was
prophecy; but today it has become history. In the Vatican
we see the fulfillment of this parable. The Vatican is even
an independent country, formed by an agreement between
Mussolini and the pope. From that time onward, the
Vatican and various nations of the world have exchanged
ambassadors. This is a further indication that the
Christian religion has become a big tree. Today there are
approximately eight hundred million Catholics in the
world, perhaps one fourth of the world's population, under
the authority of the pope. Such a large number of people is
under the papal system. Although Christianity has become
a big tree, in Luke 12 the Lord Jesus called His church the
"little flock." We should not be in the big tree, but remain
in the little flock.
If you visit the Vatican, you will see that it is a huge
tree, a lodging place filled with so many birds. The same
thing is found in the Catholic churches in the United
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States and in the large denominations. In the Catholic
Church and in the denominations it is difficult to find a
grain of wheat or a mustard seed. Instead of food, there is
lodging for the birds. This is today's situation, the
appearance of the kingdom of the heavens.
IV. THE INWARD CORRUPTION OF THE OUTWARD
APPEARANCE OF THE KINGDOM
A. The Parable of Leaven
With the appearance of the kingdom, there are three
items: the changed nature, the tares; the changed outward
appearance, the facade, the fig tree; and the inward
rottenness and corruption, the leaven. This brings us to
the parable of the leaven.
1. The Kingdom of the Heavens Being like Leaven
Verse 33 says, "Another parable He spoke to them: The
kingdom of the heavens is like leaven, which a woman
took and hid in three measures of meal until the whole
was leavened." Leaven in the Scriptures signifies evil
things (1 Cor. 5:6, 8) and evil doctrines (Matt. 16:6, 11-12).
2. A Woman (the Apostate Catholic Church) Having
Taken the Leaven and Hidden It in Three Measures
of Meal
Verse 33 says that a woman took leaven and hid it in
three measures of meal. The church, as the practical
kingdom of the heavens, with Christ--the unleavened fine
flour--as its content, must be the unleavened bread (1 Cor.
5:7-8). However, the Catholic Church, which was fully and
officially formed in the sixth century and which is signified
by the woman here, took many pagan practices, heretical
doctrines, and evil matters and mixed them with the
teachings concerning Christ to leaven the whole content of
Christianity. This fourth parable corresponds to the fourth
of the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3, the
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church in Thyatira (2:18-29). This became the inward
content of the outward appearance of the kingdom of the
heavens.
Meal, for making the meal offering (Lev. 2:1), signifies
Christ as food to both God and man. Three measures is the
quantity needed to make a full meal (Gen. 18:6). Hence, to
hide the leaven in three measures of meal signifies that
the Catholic Church has fully leavened in a hidden way all
the teachings concerning Christ. This is the actual
situation in the Roman Catholic Church. This is absolutely
against the Scripture. which strongly forbids putting any
leaven into the meal offering (Lev. 2:4-5, 11).
The parable of the leaven reveals the matter of
mixture. The three measures of meal refer to fine flour
made of wheat grain. This fine flour was always used in
the meal offering, the food for God's priests. Those who
served God as priests fed on the fine flour of the meal
offering. The meal offering was not only for the
satisfaction of God's priests, but also for the satisfaction of
God Himself. Thus, the meal offering was food both for the
priests and for God. The meal offering is a full type of
Christ in His humanity, with the fine flour signifying
Christ. When the Lord appeared to Abraham, Abraham
told Sarah, his wife, to prepare a full meal with three
measures of fine flour. Hence, in the Bible, three measures
denotes a full meal. The fact that three measures of meal
have been leavened by the woman indicates that
everything related to Christ has been leavened by this evil
woman.
The woman of Matthew 13 is the Jezebel of Revelation
2. According to history, Thyatira signifies the apostate
Roman Church. The apostate Roman Church is the woman
of Matthew 13 and the Jezebel of Revelation 2. Eventually
this evil woman will become the great prostitute, called
Babylon the Great, seen in Revelation 17. Thus, the
woman in Matthew 13, Revelation 2, and Revelation 17 is
the apostate Catholic Church. After the papal system had
been established, the many pagan practices which had
been brought in were confirmed by that system. This is
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documented in Alexander Hislop's book, The Two
Babylons.
3. The Whole Lump (Christianity) Having Been
Leavened
According to 13:33, "the whole was leavened." The
whole lump, indicating Christianity, has been leavened
and corrupted. The author of The Two Babylons, a book
written to expose the leaven of Roman Catholicism,
himself used the term reverend, indicating that he himself
was not completely purged of the leaven. If you read the
history of Christianity, you will see that everything in it
has been leavened. For example, in the Vatican there is a
painting supposedly of the Trinity. Between the picture of
an old man, who represents the Father, and a young man,
who represents the Son, there is a young lady, called the
mother of God. Above these three there is a dove, denoting
the Holy Spirit. According to this picture, Mary is ranked
in the deity, and the Trinity has become a quaternity.
What leaven is this!
The Roman Catholic Church has leavened everything
related to Christ. They do have Christ, the meal, but they
have put leaven into the meal. They also have the golden
cup, but it is filled with abominations (Rev. 17:4). There is
no doubt that the Catholic Church has some amount of the
divine things, signified by the golden cup, but they are
mixed with abominations and all manner of devilish
matters. This is today's Christendom. Without exception,
everything in Christendom is a mixture. Consider the
charismatic movement which has been brought into
Catholicism and even mixed with the worship of Mary.
Many Catholic charismatics think they are spiritual, yet
they still worship Mary. The Roman Catholic Church also
has what is called charismatic masses.
Whatever is not of the Spirit or of Christ is leaven.
Leaven is something added to make things easy to eat.
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Without leaven, bread would be hard, and it would be
difficult to eat and digest. The Catholic Church uses this
as an excuse for the use of leaven. They say they must
make it easy for people to receive Christ. The Catholic
Church says that Christ is mysterious, spiritual, and
abstract and that people need pictures of Him in order to
apprehend Him. Our natural being likes to use certain
methods to make spiritual things easier to assimilate. This
is what the Bible calls leaven, and we must be careful of it.
We must be purged of all leaven.
Not only the Catholic Church has taken in leaven, but
the Protestant denominations and groups have also. Rock
music and drama are types of leaven used to make
spiritual things easier for people to accept. When I was in
China, I knew of some young men in a certain organization
who mixed basketball with the preaching of the gospel.
Using basketball for gospel preaching is also leaven. I
doubt that very many were saved through this. The whole
principle of the Y.M.C.A. is leaven, for the goal of the
Y.M.C.A. is to bring the heavenly standard down to the
earthly level, to bring the gospel to secular society in a
worldly way. So many things in Christianity are leaven.
These include Christmas, Easter, idols, pictures, images,
rock music, drama, and the entire Y.M.C.A. system. We
must be careful not to take anything other than Christ for
God's purpose, because anything other than He is leaven.
Oh, the subtle one is crouching nearby waiting for his
prey! We can easily become his prey because in our human
nature is the desire to make it easy for people to
experience spiritual things. But whatever you use to help
people to touch spiritual things is a type of leaven. The
pure and sanctified way to preach the gospel and to bring
people to Christ is prayer and the ministry of the Word. Do
not take any other way. If after praying and ministering
the Word, people will still not receive the gospel, that is up
to the Lord. Whether or not people receive our word is a
matter of the Father's will. We do not want to use any
gimmicks to
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help in our preaching. Every gimmick is leaven. We are
not for a work or for a movement--we are for the testimony
of Jesus.
With the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens
there are three matters: the tares, the changed nature of
the constituents of the kingdom; the big tree, the false
facade; and the leaven, the inward corruption and
rottenness. We can apply this picture to today's
Christianity. Throughout Christianity we can see tares,
abnormal growth, and the corruption caused by leaven. In
nearly every part of today's Christianity there is
corruption. Although there is a certain amount of truth, it
is mixed with leaven. Instead of purity, there is mixture.
Those who oppose and criticize us, claiming to defend the
truth, must deal with all these things. Praise the Lord that
we have been called out of the facade and kept from the
leaven Nevertheless, we must be on the alert not to allow
another kind of leaven to come in. Be careful not to take
anything other than Christ. In building up the church and
spreading the Lord's testimony, the only way is to pray
and to minister the pure Word. In the eyes of God, any
gimmick--anything other than Christ, the Word, prayer,
and the Spirit--is leaven. We must pray until our
preaching is in the power of the Spirit, and we must pray
until our testimony is filled with the riches of Christ. This
is the pure meal as food for God and man. This is what the
Lord wants today.
I believe the reason the Lord gave all these parables
showing the mysteries of the kingdom was to help the
apostles and the early disciples to realize that this is the
kingdom of the heavens. We must see the difference
between the reality of the kingdom and the appearance of
the kingdom. The reality is precious to God, but the
appearance is abominable to Him. Therefore, we must
treasure the reality and reject the appearance. We do not
like the tares, the big tree, or the rottenness. We care for
the pure wheat flour and the little mustard herb which are
good for food. This is the church's testimony, which is food
to God and man. Not until the hungry and seeking
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ones come into the Lord's recovery can they find the pure
food for their spiritual satisfaction. Many of us can testify
that we were hungry for years, but that once we came into
the church, we were satisfied. Our spirit told us that here
in the church there is food. Here there are no gimmicks or
leaven, but fine flour with the mustard herb. This is the
Lord's recovery, and this is the dining table. This is the
Lord's testimony without the tares, the big tree, or the
leaven
B. The Heavenly King Having Spoken Nothing to the
Crowds but in Parables
Verse 34 says, "All these things Jesus spoke in
parables to the crowds, and apart from a parable He spoke
nothing to them." Because of the people's rejection, the
heavenly King spoke to them not in clear words, but in
parables, in order to keep the kingdom secret from them.
The unveiling of the kingdom became a mystery to them.
What the heavenly King did was a fulfillment of the
prophecy which said, "I will open my mouth in a parable"
(Psa. 78:2). By doing so, He uttered things hidden from the
foundation of the world. The kingdom people were chosen
by God before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4) but
the mysteries of the kingdom were hidden from the
foundation of the world. The hidden things are the things
concerning the kingdom. They are uttered by the heavenly
King, but uttered in a mysterious way in order to make
them still a secret from the people.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE THIRTY-NINE
THE UNVEILING OF THE KINGDOM'S MYSTERIES
(5)
In the Bible the number seven is composed of six plus
one, three plus four, or four plus three. The seven churches
in Revelation 2 and 3 are made up of three plus four. But
the seven parables in Matthew 13 are made up of four plus
three. The first four parables were given in the boat in the
open air. These are the parables of the sower, the tares,
the mustard seed, and the leaven. The last three were
given privately to the disciples in the house. The previous
three parables concerning the outward appearance of the
kingdom were spoken publicly by the heavenly King in the
boat to the crowds (vv. 2, 34), whereas the three parables
following these were given privately in the house to the
disciples (v. 36). This indicates that the things covered by
these three parables are more hidden.
In each of the first four parables there was something
related to eating. By this we see that the first four
parables cover the matter of food. God's intention is to
have a people on earth to be the constituents of His
kingdom, and these people must be like food that is good to
satisfy both God and man. But the enemy came in to plant
tares among the wheat to frustrate the growth of the
wheat and to damage it. Nevertheless some wheat has
grown up and multiplied. Thus, in the fourth parable we
have the meal. The fine flour composing the meal comes
from wheat. The reason the Lord Jesus sowed wheat seeds
was that God desires to have fine flour. Although Satan,
God's enemy, sowed tares among the wheat to frustrate its
growth, God cannot be defeated. Some wheat grew to
produce grain, and the grain was ground into fine flour to
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make a loaf. While this was taking place, Satan caused the
mustard herb, intended to be a source of food, to grow
abnormally into a big tree and thereby to lose its function
of producing food. Instead, it became an evil lodging place.
This is a picture of Christendom today. In the various
Christian organizations we see big buildings, offices, and
complex hierarchies. We see the branches of the big tree,
but nothing of the fine flour or the mustard herb.
According to the fourth parable, Satan then took the
further step of adding leaven to the fine flour. Here we see
Satan's subtlety. Firstly, he sowed tares among the wheat
to frustrate the growth of the wheat; secondly, he caused
the mustard herb to grow abnormally and to lose its
function; thirdly, seeing that some wheat was produced to
make fine flour for a loaf to satisfy God and man, Satan
added leaven to the meal.
The first four parables are all related to the farm. In 1
Corinthians 3:9 Paul says, "Ye are God's farm, ye are
God's building" (Gk.). In this chapter we see that God's
farm eventually produces gold, silver, and precious stones.
How mysterious it is that the produce of God's farm
becomes gold, silver, and precious stones, the materials for
God's building. God's farm produces the things of life, and
these things of life become the materials for God's
building. Thus, God's farm is for God's building.
In the first four parables in Matthew we have the life
growing, and in the next parable we have the treasure
hidden in the field. The treasure must be made up of gold,
silver, and precious stones, probably mainly precious
stones. In the following parable we find the pearl. The
New Jerusalem is built with gold, precious stones, and
pearl. Gold is the material of the city proper, and precious
stones and pearl are the two other building materials for
the city of God. In the first four parables the Lord revealed
the life that grows Christ into the kingdom. In the next
two parables He revealed the matter of transformation for
building. This brings us back to the basic thought of the
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Bible--life and building. The parables in Matthew 13
reveal the matters of life and building. Life is Christ
Himself as the seed sown into our humanity. This life
grows within us, growing Christ into the kingdom. The
growing of this life eventually produces precious stones
and pearls.
After spending much time on Matthew 13, I found that
its basic thought is the same as that of 1 Corinthians 3. In
both chapters we have God's farm and God's building. The
first four parables are related to God's farm for growing
Christ into the kingdom, and the following two parables
are related to transformation for producing precious
materials for God's building. If we are not impressed with
this matter, we shall not be able to understand the fifth
and sixth parables.
We have consulted a number of books on Matthew 13,
but none of them touch the depth of this chapter. None of
the interpretations given in those books satisfied us. Even
D. M. Panton says that the treasure hidden in the field is
the kingdom and that the pearl is righteousness, for in
6:33 we are told to seek first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness. The teaching prevalent among the Brethren
did not get into the depth of this chapter. Although D. M.
Panton saw that the treasure hid in the field referred to
the kingdom, he was not clear about the pearl. In this
message we need to consider these two parables in a
definite way.
V. THE KINGDOM HIDDEN IN THE GOD-CREATED WORLD
Verse 44 says, "The kingdom of the heavens is like a
treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid,
and in his joy goes and sells all, whatever he has, and buys
that field." The treasure hidden in the field must consist of
gold or precious stones, the materials for the building of the
church and the New Jerusalem (1 Cor. 3:12; Rev. 21:18-20).
Because the church is the practical kingdom today, and the
New Jerusalem will be the kingdom in manifestation in the
coming age, therefore the treasure hidden in the field
signifies the kingdom hidden in God's created world.
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A. The Kingdom of the Heavens Being like a
Treasure Hidden in the Field
The field in verse 44 is the earth, which signifies the
world created by God for His kingdom (Gen. 1:26-28). In
the Bible the earth signifies the world created by God, and
the sea signifies the world corrupted by Satan. The earth
also signifies Israel, the Jewish nation, because Israel was
chosen by God, separated by God, and placed by God in a
specific situation. Hence, the Jewish people stand before
God as the earth created by Him. Based upon the same
principle, the sea also signifies the Gentile world, for the
Gentiles are the people corrupted by Satan. Therefore, in
the Bible the earth and the sea stand for two things each.
The first four parables in Matthew 13 provide a clear
picture of so-called Christianity. After giving forth these
parables, the Lord privately spoke to His disciples the
parables of the treasure hidden in the field and the pearl
from the sea. If we understand the significance of the
earth in the Bible, we shall know that the treasure hidden
in the field must be the kingdom, and that the pearl
produced out of the sea must be the church. The kingdom
is truly a treasure to the Lord. How precious it is in His
sight! The church is also a valuable pearl to Him. The Lord
is continually seeking two things--the kingdom as the
treasure and the church as the pearl. Ephesians 5:27 says
that Christ will present to Himself a glorious church
without spot, wrinkle, or any such thing. This is the
church as a beautiful pearl produced out of the Gentile
world.
Chapter one of Genesis says that God created the earth
and that He created man in His own image with the
intention that man would exercise His dominion over the
animals, the fowl, and the fish. This is the kingdom on
earth. However, man failed. But Psalm 8 follows with a
prophecy. Verse 1 of this Psalm says, "O Lord our Lord,
how excellent is thy name in all the earth." When the
earth is God's dominion, His name will be sanctified and
made excellent on the earth. Speaking of man, Psalm 8:6
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says, "Thou madest him to have dominion over the works
of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet." The
following verses reveal that man has dominion over the
beasts of the field, the fowl of the air, and the fish of the
sea. Hebrews 2 reveals that the man described in Psalm 8
firstly is Christ. Christ is the man who brings in God's
dominion to earth and makes God's name excellent on
earth. Then this man is Christ's Body. This is the treasure
on earth, the kingdom.
Daniel 2 indicates that the earth will be under various
forms of worldly power, but that Christ will be the stone
coming from heaven to smash these worldly powers (Dan.
2:34-35, 44-45). This stone will eventually become a great
mountain filling the entire earth. The stone is Christ, and
the great mountain is Christ enlarged to be the universal
kingdom on earth. All this is related to the treasure in the
earth. Revelation 11:15 says, "The kingdom of the world
has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and
He shall reign forever and ever." This will take place at
the time of the millennium, when the whole earth will be
Christ's kingdom. This surely is the treasure hidden in the
field.
Verse 44 says that the kingdom of the heavens is like a
treasure hidden in the field "which a man found and hid,
and in his joy goes and sells all, whatever he has, and buys
that field." The man here is Christ, who found the
kingdom of the heavens in 4:12 to 12:23, hid it in 12:24 to
13:43, and in His joy went to the cross in 16:21; 17:22-23;
20:18-19; and 26:1 to 27:52 to sell all He had and buy that
field--to redeem the created and lost earth--for the
kingdom. Christ first found the treasure when He came
out to minister, declaring, "Repent, for the kingdom of the
heavens has drawn near." When the Jews' rejection of the
Lord reached its peak, He forsook them. From that time
onward, He hid the treasure. Then He went to the cross to
buy not only the treasure, but also the field, and He
thereby redeemed the earth created by God.
Christ went to the cross to redeem the God-created
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earth because within the earth there was the kingdom, the
treasure. For the kingdom, for this treasure, Christ
redeemed the earth created by God. In order for Him to
have the kingdom on earth, He must redeem the earth
because it had been polluted and damaged by Satan's fall
and by man's sin. The Lord sold all that He had and
bought the earth; that is, He sacrificed all He had on the
cross to redeem the earth for the treasure of the kingdom.
No doubt this kingdom is realized in the church life. But
its manifestation is related to the redeemed nation of
Israel. During the millennium, the earth will become the
kingdom of Christ. At that time, the nation of Israel will
be the center of Christ's kingdom. Hence, the kingdom is
mainly related to the nation of Israel and involved with
Israel.
VI. THE CHURCH PRODUCED OUT OF THE SATAN-
CORRUPTED WORLD
A. The Kingdom of the Heavens Being like a Merchant
Seeking Fine Pearls
Verses 45 and 46 say, "Again, the kingdom of the
heavens is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and finding
one pearl of great value, he went and sold all, whatever he
had, and bought it." The merchant in verse 45 is also
Christ, who was seeking the church for His kingdom. After
finding it in 16:18 and 18:17, He went to the cross and sold
all He had and bought it for the kingdom.
B. The Heavenly King's Work
In verse 46 we see the heavenly King's work in gaining
the one pearl of great value. At the cross He sold all,
whatever He had, and bought that pearl. The pearl,
produced in the death waters (the world filled with death)
by the living oyster (the living Christ), wounded by a little
rock (the sinner) and secreting its life-juice around the
wounding rock (the believer), is also the material for the
building of the New Jerusalem. Since the pearl comes out
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of the sea, which signifies the world corrupted by Satan
(Isa. 57:20; Rev. 17:15), it must refer to the church, which
is mainly constituted with regenerated believers from the
Gentile world, and which is of great value.
The Lord is not only seeking the kingdom; He also
desires a beautiful church, the pearl. We have pointed out
that, according to Revelation 21, the New Jerusalem is
built with precious stones and pearls. In other words, the
New Jerusalem is a combination of the treasure and the
pearl. In Matthew 13 these are two, the treasure in the
field and the pearl out of the sea. But in Revelation 21
they are combined in one entity. The New Jerusalem is
both the kingdom and the church. In Matthew 16 the
terms church and kingdom are used interchangeably.
Firstly the Lord said, "I will build My church"; then He
said, "I give to you the keys of the kingdom of the
heavens." The fact that these terms are used
interchangeably means that the church is equal to the
kingdom and the kingdom to the church. Ultimately, in the
New Jerusalem the kingdom and the church become one
entity.
At this point some may be asking the following
question: Since the kingdom is the church and the church
is the kingdom, what is the difference between them? This
brings us to a matter difficult to understand. Let me
approach it by asking whether we in the Lord's recovery
are in the church or the kingdom. It is correct to say that
we are in both the church and the kingdom, but we must
know in what sense we are the church and in what sense
we are the kingdom. In other words, we must know in
what sense we are the treasure and in what sense we are
the pearl. As the kingdom, we are something of the earth
created by God and redeemed by Christ; and as the
church, we are something out of the world corrupted by
Satan and condemned by God. The treasure, the symbol of
the kingdom, is concealed within the earth. Hence, it is
altogether related to the earth. But the pearl, the symbol
of the church, has nothing whatever to do with the earth.
It is something produced out of the sea. Out of the Satan-
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corrupted and God-condemned sea such a beautiful thing
as a fine pearl has been produced. As the church, we have
been produced out of the world, but we no longer have
anything to do with the world. Although we are the pearl
out of the sea, we are no longer in the sea. We have been
regenerated to become a beautiful pearl. Being in another
category, we have nothing to do with this rotten world. As
the kingdom we have nothing to do with the Satan-
corrupted world, but we are related to the God-created
earth and Christ-redeemed earth. On the one hand, we are
through with the world; on the other hand, we are building
up something on earth. We are not building a tower of
Babel; we are building the kingdom of the heavens. As
Matthew 6:10 says, "Let Your kingdom come; let Your will
be done, as in heaven, so on earth." God's kingdom cannot
be established in the sea, and God's will cannot be done in
the Satan-corrupted world. God's will must be done on the
God-created earth, and God's kingdom must be established
on the Christ-redeemed earth. At the same time we are
both in the church and in the kingdom, in the pearl and in
the treasure.
When the New Jerusalem comes, there will be no more
sea, and the earth will be renewed (Rev. 21:1). On that
new earth there will be a combination of the treasure and
the pearl, of the kingdom and the church. In the New
Jerusalem the treasure will no longer be hidden in the
field, but built upon the surface of the field. In that
combination of the treasure and the pearl, the treasure
will be built up with the pearl. If you have this vision, you
will see that even among us today the kingdom and the
church are built up together. We do not have two entities,
but just one entity. On the one hand, this entity is the
treasure, the kingdom; on the other hand, it is the pearl,
the church.
Among us in the Lord's recovery there should be no sea.
Instead of the sea, we should have the renewed earth. But
suppose you visit the church in Anaheim, and in many of
the homes you hear nothing but gossiping. This would be a
sign that the sea is still present with those brothers
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and sisters. Although a church filled with gossip is still a
church, it is a church in the water of the ocean. Such a
church cannot be the kingdom. It is the pearl, but not the
treasure. But suppose in all the homes of the church in
Anaheim there is no gossip, criticism, or idle words.
Rather, there is nothing but the experience of Christ and
the church. In such a case, there will be no sea. Instead,
there will be life, light, and transformation. Such a church
is the renewed land for the kingdom. In every home you
see the proper humanity, and immediately you sense that
there is no more sea, only the renewed earth. On this
renewed earth there is the New Jerusalem composed of
the pearl and the treasure. This is not only the church, but
also the kingdom. In such a church you have the treasure
in the field and the pearl out of the sea.
By this illustration we see that the church can be both
the pearl and the treasure. When we are the pearl, we are
out of the sea, out of the world. When we are the kingdom,
we are on the earth. However, we are not on the earth in a
subdued way, but in a reigning way, for we are on the
earth as the heavenly kingdom. This should not be mere
doctrine to us. It must be our genuine daily practice. If our
conversation is filled with talk about worldly things, about
money or the movies, it is a sign that we are filled with the
things of the Satan-corrupted world. This is the sea. But if
among us there is no gossip or criticism, but Christ, the
church, and transformation, this is a sign that we are the
new earth. Among us here in Anaheim we have the new
earth. On this new earth we have the treasure, the
kingdom, and the proper human life. Even today, this
treasure is no longer hidden; it is on the surface of the
earth. To the worldly people and to the unbelieving Jews,
this treasure is hidden within the earth. Praise the Lord
that we have such a treasure in the renewed earth! None
of the outsiders or unbelievers understands this.
Sometimes they say, "We don't understand those people.
We don't know what they are doing. However, we realize
that they are good people." This is the treasure, the
evidence that we are living a proper human life on the
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God-created and Christ-redeemed earth. At the time of the
millennium, in the eyes of God the entire earth will be a
treasure.
In the first four parables in Matthew 13 we see only
the growing of life: we see nothing of transformation. In
these parables we have the wheat, the grain, the mustard,
and the fine flour. Praise the Lord for the two following
parables! We have not only four parables on the growing
life, but also two parables on transformation.
Transformation makes us pearls and precious stone,
pearls for the church and precious stones for the kingdom.
On the one hand, we are out of the world, having nothing
to do with the corrupted world. On the other hand, we are
living on earth as the proper humanity. For us, there is no
more the sea, but the dry land created by God and
redeemed by Christ. Now we are living and walking on
this land. This is not only the church as the pearl, but also
the kingdom as the treasure. I praise the Lord that I am
part of the pearl and of the treasure. As part of the pearl, I
have nothing to do with this rotten world. But as part of
the treasure, I am very interested in this earth. I do not
desire to go to heaven. I prefer to be here on this good
earth where there is no more sea. We are the pearl and we
are the treasure. We are out of the world, but we are still
on the earth. This is the correct interpretation of these two
parables.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE FORTY
THE UNVEILING OF THE KINGDOM'S MYSTERIES
(6)
Before we consider the parable of the net, I would like
to say a further word regarding the treasure and the pearl.
In the Bible the number seven is composed of four plus
three, three plus four, or six plus one. The first time the
number seven is mentioned in the Bible, it is composed of
the six days of creation plus one day, the Sabbath, for rest.
In Revelation the seven churches are composed of three
plus four. The seven seals are firstly composed of four plus
three, then of six plus one. The principle is the same with
the seven trumpets and the seven bowls. In Matthew 13
the number seven is composed firstly of four plus three,
then of six plus one. The first four parables are all related
to foodstuff, but the fifth and sixth parables are related to
transformation for building. Although even the hardest
bread can be leavened, pearl and precious stones cannot be
leavened. Furthermore, although a wafer or even hard
bread may be ruined by water poured upon it, this is not
true of either precious stones or pearls.
The Lord's word in Matthew 13 is not merely a
prophecy or a doctrine. It is also a vision of the practical
situation of today's Christianity with respect to the church
and the kingdom. The Lord's word about the mysteries of
the kingdom is not idealistic or ethereal. It is practical.
Thus, if we would understand these parables, we must
look to the Lord for some practical application of them.
Our understanding of the parables must match the
practical situation.
If you look at today's Christendom, you will see that
the real Christians are the wheat and that the false
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Christians have been mixed with the real ones to frustrate
their growth. Everywhere on earth, especially in Europe,
we see more false Christians than real ones. In Catholic
countries like Italy and Brazil it is difficult to find one
genuine Christian among many so-called Christians.
Therefore, the interpretation of the tares as being false
Christians is not only doctrinal, but also practical
according to history and the present situation.
Furthermore, the big tree stands before us. Every day we
behold the huge facade of Christendom. This is neither
doctrine nor mere prophecy. In front of our eyes we have
the practical fulfillment of prophecy. We also see leaven
everywhere. In Christendom there is leaven in everything.
Every aspect and every corner of Christendom has been
leavened. If there is a little truth, there is a great deal of
leaven added to it. This is the actual situation today.
We can interpret the first four parables in a practical
way and apply them in a practical way. Now we must do
the same with the fifth and sixth parables. Recently the
Lord has shown us the practical way to understand them.
In order to understand any prophecy in a practical way we
need the facts. Only when we see the facts can we
understand the prophecy of these parables in a practical
way. In the Lord's recovery we have the treasure and the
pearl. In the first four parables we have the wheat, the
tares, the mustard, and the leaven. We are not the tares;
we are the wheat and the fine flour. However, in the Lord's
recovery it is not adequate simply to be wheat or fine flour.
If we are just wheat or fine flour, we shall not be satisfied.
In the Lord's recovery there is also a pearl and the
treasure, the precious stones. In His recovery the Lord
must have a church that is pure, solid, and genuine like a
pearl. In such a pearl there is no mixture or opaqueness.
Rather, it is absolutely pure and bright. If you would know
what the church in the Lord's recovery is, look at a pearl.
By looking at a pearl, you will know what
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the church should be. Although we are not yet completely
satisfied, we can say that the churches in the Lord's
recovery are like pearls. No matter how solid bread may
be, it is still possible for it to be leavened. But when the
church has become a pearl, it can no longer be leavened.
Who could put leaven into pearl or precious stone?
In the Lord's recovery we on the one hand must be like
a pearl and on the other hand like precious stone.
Concerning life, we are the pearl; concerning our living, we
are the treasure, the precious stone. Look at the New
Jerusalem: all the gates are pearls, but the walls are built
with precious stones. The pearl gates are for entrance, for
the beginning; and the walls are for expression. The
church is our life, and the kingdom is our living. As the
church, we have been regenerated out of the Satan-
corrupted world. But we are not only the pearl for the
beginning, the entrance; we are also the precious stone for
the expression. This signifies our living under the
heavenly ruling. This is the kingdom. As the church, we
are the pearl having life, a new start, and an entrance. As
the kingdom, we are the treasure, the precious stone,
standing there as something that has been built up to
express Christ under the heavenly constitution. This is our
living and our expression.
Some teachers say that the kingdom is related to
Israel, but maybe no one says that the pearl is related to
the church. Those who relate the kingdom to Israel are too
doctrinal and dispensational, not at all practical. We need
to apply the parables of the treasure and the pearl not only
in a doctrinal way or a dispensational way, but also in a
practical way. In order to apply them in a practical way,
we must see that during the period of the existence of
Christendom, the Lord is working to gain the treasure and
the pearl. Christendom continues with the wheat, the
tares, the big tree, and the leaven in the meal. But the
Lord spoke not only the four parables for Christendom, but
two parables for the genuine and proper church life. The
churches in the Lord's recovery are in the fifth and sixth
parables. The churches in the recovery today are the
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treasure and the pearl. As far as life is concerned, we are
the pearl; and as far as our living is concerned, we are the
treasure. For life. we are the pearl gates; for our living, we
are the walls made of precious stones. This latter is the
kingdom life, the living of the church under God's
dominion.
This enables us to have a fuller understanding of the
New Jerusalem. The twelve pearl gates signify the church
as the entrance, and the walls built with precious stones
signify the kingdom, the expression of living under the
heavenly rule. When you say, "Lord Jesus, how I thank
You that I have the divine life," that is the pearl. But when
you say, "O Lord, grant me more grace that I may be poor
in spirit and pure in heart, that I may be under Your
ruling. that I may be dealt with by You so that I will not
have any rocks or thorns within me, and that I may live
under the heavenly constitution," you immediately become
the treasure. On the one hand, we are the pearl; on the
other hand, we are the treasure.
The fifth parable speaks of a man finding a treasure
and the sixth, of the merchant seeking a pearl. For the
kingdom, Christ is the man, and for the church, He is the
merchant. This fits in with the concept of the entire Bible
The kingdom requires a man. In order to have God's
kingdom on earth, there is the need of a man. Christ came
as this man, not as the first man, but as the second man.
Firstly this man found the kingdom. Then, because of the
rejection of Israel, He hid the kingdom from the Jewish
people. For the church, Christ is the merchant, one who is
always seeking to gain something of high value. Regarding
the kingdom, the man bought the field, the earth. The
reason he bought the earth is that the kingdom is in the
earth. However, in order to gain the pearl, the merchant
did not purchase the sea; rather, he bought only the pearl.
Christ is the One who bought the pearl directly, but He did
not buy the treasure directly. Instead, He bought the field
directly. Although Christ redeemed the church and the
earth, He did not redeem the kingdom. The kingdom does
not require a redeemer or a buyer. However, the lost
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earth the earth created by God and then lost, requires a
redeemer. Furthermore, the church as God's chosen and
predestinated people also requires a buyer because those
people became lost. Therefore, the kingdom needs only a
man, but the church needs a merchant and a redeemer.
VII. THE ETERNAL GOSPEL AND ITS RESULT
Verse 47 says, "Again, the kingdom of the heavens is
like a net cast into the sea and gathering of every kind."
This parable corresponds to 25:32-46. The net here does
not signify the gospel of grace, which is preached in the
church age, but the eternal gospel, which will be preached
to the Gentile world in the great tribulation (Rev. 14:6-7).
The sea into which this net is cast signifies the Gentile
world, and "every kind" signifies all the nations, all the
Gentiles (25:32).
Throughout the centuries, the parable of the net has
been misunderstood and applied incorrectly. Many have
said that the net signifies the gospel of grace. They have
also likened this parable to the parable of the tares, saying
that in the parable of the tares we have the real ones and
the false ones, and that in the parable of the net we have
the good ones and the bad ones. They claim that the good
ones are the wheat and the bad ones are the tares. If this
is true, then the Lord Jesus would have not been so wise,
for He would have used two parables for the same thing.
Once again we need to consider the way the number
seven is constituted. Firstly, it is composed of six plus one.
The first six parables in Matthew 13 are related to the
church. In the church there are the abnormal ones, and
around the church there are the false ones. Thus, directly
or indirectly, the first six parables are related to the
church. But what happens to the people outside of the
church, those in the world? Surely there is the need of a
parable to cover them. If the seven parables in Matthew 13
covered only the church, then there would be no parable to
cover the nations. In such a case, chapter
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thirteen would not be perfect. The seventh parable, the
parable of the net, is related not to the church. but to the
world, to the nations.
Those related to the church are classified into three
groups: the real and normal Christians, the overcomers;
the real, yet abnormal Christians, the defeated ones; and
the false Christians. At the time of the Lord's coming back,
the false Christians, the tares, will be bound into bundles
and cast into the furnace of fire, that is, into the lake of
fire. That will be the destiny of the tares. The normal, real
Christians, the overcomers, will be transferred into the
manifestation of the kingdom to be co-kings with Christ.
The abnormal ones will be put in a certain place to be
chastened, disciplined, and punished. These six parables,
give us a clear view regarding the real Christians and the
false Christians. The seventh parable, the parable of the
net, covers the destiny of the worldly people.
The net here is not the gospel of grace. Instead, it is the
eternal gospel declared in Revelation 14:6 and 7. (See Life
study of Revelation, Message Forty-seven, pp. 541-547.)
Most Christian teachers have neglected this gospel.
During the tribulation, Antichrist, who will oppose all
religion, will persecute both Christians and Jews. Christ
will consider these persecuted Christians His brothers.
Because Antichrist will persecute the Jews and the
Christians, an angel will be sent forth to proclaim the
eternal gospel. The eternal gospel is absolutely different in
content from the gospel of grace. The gospel of grace is
preached for repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus. The
eternal gospel, however, will say that men should fear God
and worship Him. It will not touch the matter of
repentance nor will it require faith. Rather, because
Antichrist will set himself up as God, erecting an image of
himself and compelling people to worship it, the eternal
gospel will tell people to worship God, the One who created
the heavens, the earth, and the sea, not to worship the idol
of Antichrist. Furthermore, the eternal gospel will
command the people to fear God because Antichrist will be
leading them to persecute and to kill God's people. Those
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who kill God's people must hear that God will come in to
avenge them. Hence, they all must fear God.
The Bible says that Christ as a man has been
appointed by God to judge the living and the dead (Acts
17:31; 2 Tim. 4:1). Christ will judge the living at the time
of His coming back. This will take place before the
millennium. In addition to the Jews and the Christians,
there have been throughout the centuries a great many
unbelievers, most of whom will have died before the Lord
comes back. But a number will still be living at the time
He comes again. These living ones will be the nations.
When Christ comes back, He will exercise His judgment
upon them. He will judge them not according to the law of
Moses nor according to the gospel of grace, but according
to the eternal gospel declared in the three and a half years
immediately prior to Christ's coming back. In the Bible
both the law of Moses and the gospel of grace are a basis
for God's judgment. The eternal gospel declared in
Revelation 14 will be the basis for Christ's judgment upon
the living nations.
Matthew 25 says that when Christ comes back He will
gather the nations together. This portion of the Word does
not speak of either the Jews or the believers, but of the
nations. Some have argued saying that the nations could
not be the Lord's sheep. But Psalm 100 reveals that all the
people on earth are the sheep of the Lord. Hence, in the
Lord's eyes all the peoples on this earth are His sheep.
When He comes back, He will gather them all before the
throne of His glory, and there He will exercise His
judgment upon them, based upon the eternal gospel.
According to Matthew 25, the King will judge the nations
according to the way they have treated His little brothers.
During the tribulation, the Jews and the Christians will
suffer a great deal. They will lack food and clothing, they
will be sick, and they will be imprisoned. The ones who
hear the eternal gospel and who fear God and worship
Him will secretly help the believers, rendering them some
financial or material assistance. Those who treat the
believers favorably will be regarded by the King as sheep.
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But those who do not treat them well will be regarded as
goats. The goats will be cast into eternal fire, but the
sheep will be transferred to the millennium to be the
citizens on the earth.
The first six parables cover various aspects related to
the church. The worldly people are covered in the parable
of the net. The church is a pearl out of the sea. After the
church has been called out of the sea, what remains in the
sea is the nations who will be living in the Gentile world.
At the Lord's coming back, He will send out His angels to
collect all the things in the sea. After they have been
collected before the throne of His glory, they will be
divided according to the way they have treated the
believers during the tribulation. Those who have treated
them well will be considered the sheep, the good ones, and
those who have treated them poorly will be considered the
goats, the evil ones. The good ones will be transferred to
the millennial kingdom, which has been prepared for them
from the foundation of the world (not before the foundation
of the world). There these good ones will be the citizens of
the coming kingdom. But the evil ones will be cast into the
lake of eternal fire. This will close the age.
Matthew l3 presents us a (clear vision In this chapter
we see that all seven parables close this age. The Lord will
end this age by dealing with the church according to the
first six parables and by dealing with the world, the
nations, according to the last parable. In these parables we
see all the aspects of the mysteries of the kingdom of the
heavens. With this clear picture before us, we know where
we are and where we are going. We also know where the
unbelievers are, where they are going, and what their
destiny will be.
VIII. THE TREASURE OF THINGS NEW AND OLD
At the end of this chapter the Lord spoke an additional
parable. Verse 52 says, "And He said to them, Therefore,
every scribe discipled to the kingdom of the heavens is like
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a man that is a householder, who brings forth out of his
treasure things new and old." After giving the seven
parables concerning the mysteries of the kingdom. the
Lord likened the discipled scribe to a householder who has
a treasure, a rich store, of things new and old, signifying
not only the new and old knowledge of the Scriptures, but
also the new and old experiences of life in the kingdom.
This added parable concerns a scribe who has been
discipled into the kingdom of the heavens. A scribe was a
scholar in the Old Testament, one who knew the books of
Moses and the prophets. In this parable the Lord does not
use the word "believed," but the word "discipled." Such a
learned one has been discipled into the kingdom of the
heavens. Formerly he was a scholar of the Old Testament
dispensation, but now he has been discipled into the
kingdom of the heavens. This means that he has been
discipled into God's new economy. He knew God's old
economy, but now he has been discipled into God's new
economy. For this reason he is likened to a householder
who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old.
When the new things are put with the old things, we have
the precious things. The Apostle Paul was such a person.
He was an Old Testament scribe who one day was
discipled into God's New Testament economy. Hence Paul
could bring forth the old things and the new things. This
qualified him to write the book of Hebrews. In this book
Paul brings forth many of the old things, with the new
things as the interpretation.
In giving this parable the Lord was expecting that
some of His listeners would be scribes, not all fishermen
like Peter, John, James, and Andrew. The Lord Jesus is
wise. At the turn of the new economy, He had to go to
Galilee to find the unlearned fishermen. But after the turn
had taken place, there would be the need of some learned
ones to carry out all the mysteries. Although those
Galileans heard the Lord speak all the mysteries, they
were not scribes. In his writing, Peter did not refer to
many things from the Old Testament; neither did John.
But Paul was not a Galilean fisherman. He was a scribe
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who had been discipled into the kingdom. Therefore. he
had a rich store, a rich treasure.
The Lord's recovery needs not only the unlearned
Galileans, but also the scribes. After the Lord spoke the
parables of the kingdom to the Galilean fishermen, He
spoke another parable regarding the scribe discipled into
the kingdom of the heavens. The Lord seemed to be
saying, "You Galilean fishermen must listen to this. You
are not adequate to carry out God's New Testament
economy. I can use you to make the turn, but after the
turn has been made, you will not be adequate. I need some
scribes. I need one like Saul of Tarsus who studied at the
feet of Gamaliel." In this matter we see the Lord's wisdom.
Young people, you need to go to the best colleges and earn
a degree. Then you will be scribes. Today the Lord needs
not only the Galilean fishermen to make the turn, He also
needs the scribes.
When the disciples heard the parables concerning the
mysteries of the kingdom, they might have been very
happy and said, "Hallelujah, we, the Galilean fishermen,
know all the mysteries of the kingdom!" But the Lord
might have said. "You are happy, but I still need some
scribes. Sorry, none of you is a scribe. Peter. you will be
good for the day of Pentecost, good for throwing the net
and catching a large number of people. But after so many
have been brought into the church, how will you deal with
them? You Galilean fishermen do not have the ability for
this. I need some scribes full of knowledge, some scribes
discipled into My economy. These scribes will pull out the
things new and old both from their knowledge and from
their experience." Because Paul had advanced in religion,
he could write the book of Galatians. Peter, however, could
not write such a book. This is proved by Peter's word in his
second book (2 Pet. 3:15-16). Perhaps he was the leading
fisherman in casting the net, but he was not advanced in
the Jewish religion. He did not know the books of Leviticus
and Psalms as well as Saul of Tarsus did. Thus, all the
Galilean fishermen were subdued by the
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parable of the scribe. If we apply this parable to Paul, we
see what a rich treasure he had. Out of his treasure he
could bring forth new doctrines and old doctrines, new
experiences and old experiences. I hope that some of the
young people will become scribes. For the Lord's recovery
today we need both the fishermen and the scribes.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE FORTY-ONE
THE TREASURE AND THE PEARL
In this message I have the burden to give an additional
word concerning the treasure and the pearl (13:44-46).
Throughout the centuries, these two parables have not
been properly and thoroughly understood, nor have they
been correctly applied. I want to approach these parables
not in a doctrinal way, but in the way of application.
THE FACTS OF HISTORY
Firstly, we need to be reminded that Matthew 13 is a
chapter on the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens.
The mysteries unveiled in these parables cover the entire
span of Christian history. In other words, the mysteries of
the kingdom of the heavens encompass the main points of
Christian history between the Lord's first coming and His
second coming. To interpret these parables properly, we
need to take care of the facts of history. Otherwise, what
we say about them will be imaginary and not practical. For
example, in order to interpret Nebuchadnezzar's dream
recorded in Daniel 2, we cannot afford to neglect the facts
of history. We need to know what historical facts
correspond to the golden head, the silver chest and arms,
and the other parts of the great image Nebuchadnezzar
saw in his dream. Revelation 6 also illustrates the need to
know the facts of history in order to interpret the
Scripture. In this chapter we have the four horses: the
white horse, the red horse, the pale horse, and the black
horse. Many interpretations of the four horses have been
offered. However, none of them has satisfied us because
those interpretations did not correspond to the facts of
history. According to the historical facts, from the time of
the ascension of Christ there has been the preaching of the
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gospel, the spreading of the glad tidings, represented by
the white horse. Following that, there has been war
signified by the red horse, famine signified by the black
horse, and death signified by the pale horse.
A COMPLETE PICTURE OF CHRISTENDOM
With this principle in mind, we come to Matthew 13. As
we have pointed out, the first four parables reveal the
general situation of Christianity. The wheat signifies the
real believers; the tares symbolize the false believers; the
big tree represents Christendom with its huge
organization; and the leaven added to the meal by the
woman stands for the evil doctrines and heathen practices
of the apostate church. We have seen that in the Bible the
fine flour signifies Christ as the food to both God and His
people. When all these items are put together we have a
complete picture of Christendom.
THE OVERCOMERS
The parables of the treasure hidden in the field and the
pearl out of the sea are puzzling. What facts of history fit
in with these parables? The true believers are the
fulfillment of the wheat; the false believers, of the tares;
Christendom, of the big tree; the apostate church, of the
woman; the evil things of heathenism and various
heretical teachings, of the leaven; and Christ as food for
God and man, of the meal. But what is there in history
that can be regarded as the fulfillment of the treasure and
the pearl? As I was considering this matter before the
Lord, He showed me that in history besides the real
believers, the false believers, Christendom, the apostate
church, the heresies and heathen practices, and Christ as
food, there have been the overcomers, who are more solid,
genuine, precious, and valuable in the eyes of God than
the wheat. In God's eyes these overcomers are likened to
the treasure hidden in the field and to the pearl out of the
sea. From the first century until the present, among the
many real Christians represented by the wheat, there
have been a small number of more solid ones like the
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transformed precious stones hidden in the field. This is
especially true today. In the Lord's recovery there are a
good number of saints who love the Lord, who have given
up the world, and who do not live by their natural life.
Although they have had some failures, they still like to
live in the spirit, spend time in the presence of the Lord,
stay in the Lord's will, and be one with Him in a practical
way. Those who are like this are not just the wheat, bulky
in size and abundant in quantity; they are the transformed
precious stones, smaller in quantity and hidden under the
earth. Not many people can see them, but the Lord sees
them.
REDUCED AND MADE SOLID
Many saints in the Lord's recovery can testify that they
are not merely wheat, but something more solid, valuable,
and precious. Before certain brothers and sisters came to
the Lord's recovery, they were wheat. Outwardly, they
were rather bulky and showy. But during the years they
have been in the recovery, they have been constricted and
reduced. They have become smaller year by year. When
you were bulky, you were soft and light like cotton easily
ruined by a little water. But after you are reduced,
constricted, and transformed, you have the assurance that
you are more precious to the Lord. Many of us can testify
of this. We in the Lord's recovery are not as bulky as we
used to be. Instead, we are constantly being reduced,
transformed, and made more solid. After you have become
as solid as a precious stone, not even a flood can damage
you. Instead of damaging a precious stone, water only
makes it more clean and valuable.
If we examine Christian history, we shall find those
who belong in the categories of the treasure and the pearl.
The parables of the treasure and the pearl refer to the
overcomers throughout the centuries. As an illustration of
the genuine believers, the Lord uses the example of wheat
grown from seed sown in the field. This, however, is a
general illustration of the genuine believers. The Lord uses
other illustrations to describe the overcoming members of
the church. They used to be lifeless grains of sand. But
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they wounded Christ, the oyster living in the death water,
and stayed at Christ's wound, where they participated in
the secretion of Christ's life. This not only enabled them to
be regenerated, but also caused them to become pearls.
This is more than a seed sown in a field to produce wheat;
it is something that has become precious through the
secretion of the life of Christ.
THE CHURCH AND THE KINGDOM
We have pointed out that the treasure no doubt refers
to precious stones. The New Jerusalem is the ultimate
consummation of the church life and the kingdom life, for
in this city the church life is combined with the kingdom.
The building of New Jerusalem is mainly of the pearl gates
and the precious stones which form the wall and its
foundations. All this is set upon a golden base that
upholds the entire building. In this message we are
focusing on the pearl gate and the treasure wall. The pearl
refers to the church, and the treasure, to the kingdom.
The church and the kingdom are spoken of in Matthew
13 in a mysterious way in parables. But in chapter sixteen
the Lord speaks a clear word to His disciples regarding the
church and the kingdom. In 16:18 He says, "On this rock I
will build My church." and in the following verse, "I will
give to you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens." In
these verses we see the church and the kingdom. In order
to understand the treasure and the pearl in Matthew 13,
we must consider the church and the kingdom in Matthew
16. If you pray over these two chapters, you will
spontaneously see that the treasure is the kingdom and
that the pearl is the church. Both the treasure and the
pearl are in the New Jerusalem.
According to Matthew 13, the Lord Jesus sold whatever
He had and bought the pearl. Acts 20:28 says that the
Lord purchased the church with His blood. This means
that on the cross He sold all He had and bought the
church. This verse is a strong proof that the pearl in
Matthew 13 is the church, for the pearl was purchased by
the merchant. No doubt the merchant is the Lord.
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THE KINGDOM LIFE
We enter the realm of the kingdom by being
regenerated, by being born again (John 3:5). Regeneration
is related to the pearl, for the pearl is produced by the
principle of regeneration. By being reborn we enter into
the sphere of God, into the realm of the kingdom. After we
were regenerated, we began to live by Him. Because we
loved Him, we wanted to stay under His control and be
restricted by Him. Many of us have experienced being
restricted on every side. We are not limited by man, but by
something inward that is invisible--by the life under the
heavenly ruling. We may try to do certain things, but we
are restricted from doing them by a mysterious, invisible,
inward control. Our relatives or schoolmates are free to do
those things, but we cannot do them. Something invisible
exercises an inward control over us. and we live under this
control. This is the treasure, the kingdom life.
Before we became Christians, we were sand. But we
have been regenerated. This means that something living
has entered into us. As more life juice is secreted over us,
we become precious and begin to live under a mysterious
control. This is the experience of the pearl and the
treasure.
The local church in the Lord's recovery is a pearl. But
in the eyes of the Lord, this church must also be a treasure
hidden from the world. Neither the worldly people nor
those in Christianity know what we are doing. But deep
within we know that we are living a pearl life and a life
under an invisible control. We are the pearl and the
treasure.
The first four parables of chapter thirteen do not fully
cover us. We are not just the wheat or the fine flour. We
are more precious, solid, and genuine than this. We are the
pearl and the treasure. This is the church life with the
kingdom life in the Lord's recovery. If we did not have the
second group of parables, we would not know where we
should be. I am happy to say that I am no longer in the
first group--I am in the second. Can you say this? Are you
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simply a believer who has a little of Christ? If this is your
situation, then you must be a genuine Christian in
Christendom. We thank the Lord that we are not in
Christendom. Praise Him that many of us are the pearl
and the treasure in the Lord's recovery!
TAKING HEED HOW WE BUILD
The parables of the pearl and the treasure match the
verses which say, "Enter in through the narrow gate...for
the gate is narrow and the way is constricted which leads
to life, and few are those who find it" (7:13-14). The wide
gate and broad way lead to destruction. At this point we
need to refer to 1 Corinthians 3, where Paul admonishes
us to take heed how we build upon the foundation of
Christ. Are we building with gold, silver, and precious
stones. or with wood, hay, and stubble? Gold, silver, and
precious stones are materials that can withstand the test
of tire. But the wood, hay, and stubble will be consumed.
In today's Christianity there is a great deal of wood and
dry grass, but there is very little gold. Among today's
Christians it is difficult to find the gold, pearl, and
precious stones. These materials are not bulky, but small.
Look at Christianity: wood, hay. and stubble are
everywhere; but where is the gold. and where is the
precious stone? The way of Christianity is the broad way,
but the way of the Lord's recovery is the constricted way.
At times the enemy will attempt to lure us away from this
constricted way into something that is outwardly big and
bulky, something made of wood, hay, and stubble.
However, in the New Jerusalem there will be nothing
wooden, nothing that can be burned or consumed.
Everything in the New Jerusalem will remain for eternity.
Nothing can damage the gold, pearl, and precious stone.
Our work and testimony must be like this.
I am burdened that we would all see that we are
neither in Christendom nor on the broad way. We are in
the Lord's recovery. We are not in the first four parables,
but in the fifth and sixth parables. In the Lord's recovery
the quantity is small, but the quality is higher and more
solid, because here we have the treasure and the pearl.
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STAYING IN THE CONSTRICTED WAY
Although a great many works have been performed in
Christianity, will all this work be approved by the Lord?
Toward the end of the constitution of the kingdom of the
heavens, the Lord said, "Many will say to Me in that day,
Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in
Your name cast out demons, and in Your name do many
works of power?" (7:22). But the Lord Jesus will say, "I
never knew you; depart from Me, workers of lawlessness"
(7:23). The Lord may say, "I never approved you; I never
allowed you to do these things. In My eyes everything you
did was lawless." I do not believe that the works of
Christianity will meet with the Lord's approval. But what
about us? We need to be strengthened to remain in the
constricted way. None of us should want to stay in the first
group of parables. but we should go on to be in the second
group. Let others gain a huge number and carry out a
great work. We prefer to stay in the pearl and in the
treasure where we are constricted.
Because many Christians have been leavened, they
have become large and bulky. But from the day we turned
to the Lord's recovery, we began to be constricted. We all
can testify of this, especially those who were somewhat
well-known in Christianity. Nothing in the Lord's recovery
has made us greater. Instead, many things have taken
place to reduce us. Christ will constrict us to the point that
we shall be small enough to be put in a little bottle. But in
this bottle there will be a treasure. Because our way is the
constricted way, the Lord's recovery is His testimony. In
today's Christendom the Lord can find a great deal of
wheat and a small amount of meal, even in the Catholic
Church. But He cannot find much of the pearl and the
treasure in Christendom.
Although we are not proud, we realize that we in the
Lord's recovery are different. I am a sinful human being,
worse in my nature than you are. But I can testify, and the
Lord can also testify for me, that there are many things
that I simply cannot do because I have a constricting life
within me. Day by day this life says "no" to certain things I
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want to do. This is the kingdom life mentioned in Romans
14:17. Because we are in the kingdom and under the
reigning, we cannot do many of the things that other
Christians are free to do. This is the treasure which is
precious, valuable, and lovely in the eyes of the Lord. On
the cross He sacrificed everything to buy both the pearl
and the field in which the treasure is hidden. His buying
the field and the pearl reveals that He is for the kingdom
and the church. That we are in the Lord's recovery is not
the result of our doing. We are here because the Lord has
brought us together to be His living testimony. I have no
doubt that, in the eyes of the Lord, the treasure and the
pearl are here in the recovery.
In the first four parables the Lord covers Christendom
in a general way, and in the next two parables He covers
His overcomers in a particular way. The seventh parable,
the parable of the net, covers the nations. At the time of
the Lord's coming back there will be three peoples on
earth: those in Christendom, those in the Lord's recovery,
and those among the nations. In the parable of the net the
nations are likened to fish in the sea. These "fish" are
brought to the presence of the Lord, and the Lord exercises
His judgment upon them. This will mark the completion of
the age at the Lord's coming back. All this is covered by
the seven parables concerning the mysteries of the
kingdom of the heavens. We are neither in the first four
parables nor in the seventh, but in the fifth and sixth. We
are the treasure and the pearl. These parables of the
treasure and the pearl are most precious. What a privilege
it is to be the fulfillment of these parables!
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE FORTY-TWO
THE PATHWAY TO GLORY
(1)
Because Matthew is a book on the kingdom of the
heavens, Christ is here revealed as the heavenly King. In
the other Gospels He is revealed as a man (Luke) as a
slave (Mark), and as the Son of God (John).
The first thirteen chapters of Matthew cover many
crucial items related to Christ. In chapter one we have the
genealogy of Christ and the birth of Christ. In chapter two
there is an account of the youth of Christ. In chapter three
Christ is recommended by John the Baptist through
baptism in water and anointed with the Spirit, and in
chapter four He is tested and begins His ministry. After
Christ was recommended anointed, and tested. He came
into His ministry. At the beginning of His ministry, He
decreed, in chapters five, six, and seven, the constitution of
the kingdom of the heavens. After issuing this decree, He
came down from the mountain to continue His ministry.
His ministry afforded Him excellent opportunities to
reveal Himself to the people in many aspects. In chapter
nine Christ revealed Himself as the Physician. As fallen
people, we all are sick and have need of a physician.
Because we stand in need of the Lord's healing, He firstly
unveiled Himself as our Physician, our Healer. After this,
He unveiled Himself as the Bridegroom, the most pleasant
person; as our Shepherd, the One who takes care of us;
and as the Lord of God's harvest. In chapter twelve Christ
unveiled Himself as the real David, the greater temple, the
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Lord of the Sabbath, the greater Jonah, and the greater
Solomon. If we put all these titles together--the Physician,
the Bridegroom, the Shepherd, the Lord of the harvest, the
real David, the greater temple, the Lord of the Sabbath,
the greater Jonah and the greater Solomon--we shall
realize that Christ as the King of the heavens is so much
to us.
In addition to all these revelations of Christ, in chapter
nine Christ unveiled that He is the new untreated cloth for
the new garment, which is also Himself. Furthermore He
is the new wine and even the new wineskin. Do you not
desire to enjoy Christ as the new cloth and as the new
garment? Do you not want to drink Him as the new wine
and preserve your enjoyment in Him as the new wineskin?
I certainly desire this.
We have pointed out that Christ as the Savior and
King is our Physician. Are you sick or even dying? I am
concerned that some of those reading this message may be
dying. But Christ is our Physician, our Healer. Any who
are sick or dying can say, "Lord Jesus, thank You. You are
my Physician, my Healer. I believe that You will grant me
a complete healing." I have the assurance that we are all
under His, healing. Therefore, we are healthy and sound.
How wonderful that Christ is our Physician!
Christ is so much to us. He is our Bridegroom. The
most pleasant person is a bridegroom. We have the
privilege of enjoying the best married life with Christ, our
Bridegroom. As our Shepherd, Christ knows our needs and
cares for them. Hence, we may forget our needs because
He is our Shepherd. Christ is the Lord of God's harvest. He
is also the real David and we are His followers. In
addition, He is the greater temple, and we are the priests
serving, worshipping, and ministering within Him. We are
not ministering in a religion; we are ministering in a
Person who is the greater temple. Christ is also the Lord of
the Sabbath, the Lord of rest. Thus, we have not only rest,
but the Lord of rest. We do not need to seek for rest, for we
have the Lord. Eventually, Christ is our greater Jonah and
our greater Solomon. He is the Prophet, telling us what to
do, guiding us. and leading us, and also the wonderful
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King, our beloved Solomon, within us. Oh, this is our
Christ!
Although as a result of His ministry Christ was unveiled
in such a way, His ministry resulted in complete rejection.
At the end of chapter twelve, this rejection reached its
climax. Christ was utterly rejected by that incurable
generation of Jewish religionists. The rejection in chapter
twelve exposed the fact that the rejecting nature of that
generation was incurable and, in a sense, unforgivable both
in this age and in the age to come. Because the Jews
rejected the heavenly King to such an extent, He forsook
them. He forsook the natural, fleshly relationship with the
Jews and denied His natural relationships with His
kindred. At the end of chapter twelve we see that the Jews
firstly rejected the Lord and then that their rejection
resulted in the King's forsaking them.
In chapter thirteen the King went into a boat on the
sea. This signifies that He went into the church. In the
church He unveiled the mystery of God's kingdom. In other
words, He revealed the mystery of the church, which is the
life-pulse, the reality, of the kingdom. Because the mystery
of the kingdom was delivered in parables, only those who
loved Him, followed Him, and were one with Him could
understand it. We have seen that the Lord decreed the
constitution of the kingdom to the crowd on the mountain.
But in chapter thirteen He unveiled the mystery of the
kingdom to His followers.
After we have seen the unveiling of the Lord Himself
and the unveiling of the mystery of the kingdom of God,
we as His followers need to know the way to follow Him.
Peter, Andrew, James, and John, and all of the other
disciples knew that the Lord was the Physician, the
Bridegroom, and the Shepherd. They realized so many
aspects of what He was. Furthermore, they heard the
mystery of the kingdom. Now they needed to know the way
to follow Him. Therefore, what is revealed beginning at the
end of chapter thirteen is the pathway to follow this
rejected King.
How can His followers follow Him after His rejection?
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Remember that Matthew is not a book of history, but a
book of doctrine. The record of Matthew is not according to
historical facts; it is according to the sequence of doctrine.
In his Gospel, Matthew presents the doctrine concerning
the heavenly King and His genealogy, birth, youth,
recommendation, anointing, testing, ministry, unveiling of
Himself, and His unveiling of the mystery of the kingdom.
After seeing all this, we may say, "How wonderful and
marvelous! We know so many things about the King and
the kingdom. What else do we need?" What we need is the
way to follow Him. He is wonderful, and the kingdom is
marvelous; but we need to know how we can get into this
kingdom and follow Him. Therefore, the section from the
end of chapter thirteen to the middle of chapter seventeen
a large section in this doctrinal book, gives us a clear map
of the pathway to follow the rejected King.
If we are honest and faithful to Him, we must be on
this way following the Christ who has been rejected by this
age. Where are you today? You may say that you are in the
Lord's recovery. But the Lord's recovery is a pathway on
which we follow the rejected heavenly King. This King has
been rejected by this generation and is still being rejected
by it. Nevertheless, we would follow Him as those
preferring to participate in His rejection. Hallelujah, we
are the partakers of the enjoyment of Him and partakers
of His rejection! He is the rejected King, and we are His
rejected followers. He took the lead to be rejected and He
is still taking it. and we are following Him on the pathway
to glory. At the beginning of this pathway, there is nothing
but rejection; however, at the end of it there is glory, the
manifestation of the kingdom.
In this message and in the messages following I have
the burden to show you how to walk on this pathway to
glory. Although you are following Christ, you may not
know how to walk on this pathway. In order to walk on it,
you need a map. In these messages we shall learn how to
read this map. We are following the rejected King, and our
destination is glory How we thank Matthew for including
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in his doctrinal book not only a diagram of the kingdom,
but also a map of the pathway so that we may enter into
the kingdom. From the end of chapter thirteen to the
middle of chapter seventeen we have a clear map showing
us how to walk on the pathway as we follow our beloved
King into glory.
I. INCREASE OP REJECTION
The first thing we face on this pathway is rejection.
Because Christ is the rejected One, we must be rejected
also. We have no choice. Do not expect to be welcomed, for
no one will welcome you until the glory comes. Instead,
you must be willing to be rejected. In 13:53--14:13 we see
the increase of rejection. Many of us have experienced
some measure of rejection by those who opposed our
coming into the church. But I need to tell you that this
rejection will not decrease; rather, it will increase. There
will be rejection upon rejection. Be prepared for this.
A. Rejection by the Galileans
1. Knowing Him according to the Flesh and Blinded by Their
Natural Knowledge
The heavenly King was rejected firstly by the Jewish
religionists. The religious leaders rejected Christ to the
uttermost because they were fully occupied, possessed, and
veiled by their religion. Because religion was everything to
them, they could not recognize this heavenly King. Blinded
by the religious veils, they rejected Him. After the Lord
had been rejected in Jerusalem, the religious center, He
turned to a geographical area that was not so religious--
Galilee, the place where He was born and raised. Galilee
was rather close to Gentile territory. However, He was not
even welcomed in Galilee. Although the Galileans did not
oppose Him, they rejected Him because of their natural
knowledge. When they saw Him and heard Him speak,
they said, "Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his
mother called Mary, and his
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brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And his
sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man
get all these things? (13:55-56). Here we see that the
Galileans knew Him according to the flesh not according to
the spirit (2 Cor. 5:16). Thinking that they knew
everything about Him, they were blinded by their natural
knowledge. They saw the wonders, the miracles, He did,
but they were preoccupied by their natural concepts. The
religious people were preoccupied by their religion and by
their religious concepts, and the Galileans were
preoccupied by their natural knowledge
If we would know Christ and follow Him, we need to
realize that religion and natural knowledge are both veils.
Some of our opposers belittle us by saying that we do not
have theological training. But the Lord Jesus, a
carpenter's son, had no theological training Himself.
Brother Nee, the one who helped me so much, much more
than anyone else, had no theological training either.
Religion and natural knowledge are two great obstacles
frustrating people from recognizing who Christ is. If you
follow religion, you will remain in Jerusalem, and if you
follow your natural knowledge, you will be in Galilee. But
Christ neither stays in Jerusalem nor remains in Galilee.
As we shall see, He departs to the desert. Because
Jerusalem was filled with religious concepts and Galilee
was filled with natural knowledge, the Lord went to the
desert. Are you in Jerusalem or Galilee, or are you in the
desert? In the desert there is no religion, culture, or
theological training. In Jerusalem there is religion and in
Galilee there is natural knowledge, but in the desert there
is the presence of Christ. Oh, in the desert we have Christ!
This is our boast and enjoyment. We do not have religion
or knowledge--we have Christ. Because we belittle
knowledge, we have been condemned and accused of being
mind benders. But our minds are not being bent--they are
being renewed from natural and religious knowledge. We
must be bold to declare that we are no longer religious or
natural. Instead of natural and religious knowledge, we
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have Christ as our wisdom. a wisdom that surpasses
knowledge.
Any attempt to know Christ by natural knowledge will
result in rejection. According to natural knowledge Christ
was the son of a carpenter and his mother was an ordinary
woman. His countrymen knew all of His outward features
but they did not see that God was in Him. In 2 Corinthians
5:16 Paul says that, along with others, he knew Christ
according to the flesh. When Paul was Saul of Tarsus he
knew Christ according to the flesh, he thought that Jesus
was merely a little Nazarene. He did not realize that
within Jesus was God. But one day on the road to
Damascus the Lord Jesus said to him. Saul, Saul, why
persecutest thou me?" When Saul asked the Lord who He
was, He responded, "I am Jesus." On the road to
Damascus Saul realized that Jesus of Nazareth was now
in the heavens. Jesus seemed to be saying, "I was not only
the flesh--I was God, for the very God was in Me. Saul, you
knew Me according to the flesh, not according to the spirit
within."
It is the same today. We need to know other Christians
not according to outward things, not according to their
country, language, parentage, education, or outward
appearance or qualification. If we know Christians
according to these things, we know them according to the
flesh. But we should know Christians according to the
spirit, because Christ is in them. Several months ago, one
of the opposers was invited to my home for lunch. We
spent more than three hours together. At one point he
said. "You don't have scholars among you, do you? We have
more than a hundred scholars with us." However,
eventually we, who are not supposed to have scholars
among us, printed articles in the newspaper that the
opposers are not able to answer. They have been troubled
by so many carpenter's sons.
As we follow the Lord in His recovery, we should not
know people according to the flesh or estimate them
according to the flesh. We should know them according to
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one thing--according to the measure of Christ. Knowledge,
intelligence, and outward appearance mean nothing.
Perhaps a certain brother cannot speak well and uses poor
grammar. Yet whenever he opens his mouth, Christ comes
out. Even when you are sitting in his presence, you realize
that some amount of Christ is with him. In the church life
in the Lord's recovery we do not care for the outward
appearance; we care only for the spirit within, where
Christ is. This is the way to know Christ, the way to know
other Christians, and the way to follow the Lord.
2. Causing the Heavenly King Not to Do Many Works
of Power among Them
Verse 58 says, "And He did not do many works of power
there because of their unbelief." The rejection of the
Pharisees caused the heavenly King to forsake them. The
unbelief of the Galileans caused the Lord not to do many
works of power among them. Because of the Galileans
natural knowledge, the Lord Christ could not do anything
with them. The Galileans did not say, "Jesus, we don't
want You! Get away from here!" They simply asked, "Is
this not the carpenter's son? Where did this man get this
wisdom and these works of power?" These questions were
sufficient. The heavenly King could no longer remain
there, and His gracious works of power could no longer be
enjoyed by them. Therefore, He departed from them to the
desert where there was no culture, no religion, and, as we
shall now see, no politics.
B. Rejection by the Heathen Tetrarch
In 14:1-13 we see the rejection by the heathen tetrarch.
Politics is always alongside religion and culture. According
to Matthew's presentation, after the rejection by religion
and natural knowledge, there is the rejection by politics.
Herod the tetrarch represents the rejection by politics.
This is the basic principle of 14:1-13.
Herod had John the Baptist beheaded in prison. In
12:21 the Jewish religious leaders, representing the entire
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nation of the Jews, rejected the heavenly King to the
uttermost. This forced Him to forsake His natural
relationship with them (12:46-50). Then in 13:53-58 He
was also rejected by the Galileans. Now in chapter
fourteen, Matthew in his doctrinal arrangement unveils to
us how Gentile politics treated the King's forerunner.
Gentile politics were evil and full of corruption and
darkness. Up to this point Matthew has given a full
picture of how the Jews, Galileans, and Gentiles rejected
the ministry of the kingdom of the heavens.
1. Heathen Politics Coinciding with Jewish Religion
Firstly, the rejection by religion reached its climax.
Following this came the rejection due to natural
knowledge. The rejection by politics coincided with the
rejection by religion and natural knowledge. The
religionists those with natural knowledge, and the
politicians did not hold a conference for the purpose of
rejecting the Lord Jesus. Nevertheless, their rejection of
Him coincided. Religion, natural knowledge, and politics
all came together in the rejection of Christ.
2. The Darkness of Politics Exposed
In chapter fourteen we see the darkness rottenness,
and injustice in politics. Our eyes need to be opened to see
that in religion there is no welcome to our heavenly King.
Neither is there a place for Him in natural knowledge nor
in today's rotten, dark politics. In this generation there is
no place for the heavenly King. Religion, culture, and
politics are all one in rejecting the heavenly King. How I
thank the Lord for the record in the Gospel of Matthew. If
you read the chapters prior to fourteen, you will see the
deceitfulness in the Jewish religion. You will also see that
natural knowledge has caused great damage to people.
Furthermore, you will see the rottenness and darkness in
Roman politics, which was the leading political system on
earth at the time. But even in the best political system
there is nothing but rottenness and darkness.
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3. Causing the Heavenly King to Retreat to the Desert
Thus far, we have seen the first two, stations on the
pathway to glory. The first station is the rejection by
natural knowledge, and the second is the rejection by
politics. The rejection both by culture and by politics
compelled the heavenly King to retreat. When He heard of
the execution of John the Baptist, "He departed from there
in a boat to a desert place privately" (14:13). Due to the
rejection by all the religious, cultured, political peoples,
the heavenly King left them for a desert place. This
indicates that henceforth He would hide Himself privately
in a desert, in a place without culture, away from the
religious, political, and cultured people. He did this in a
boat, implying He would do this through the church. Due
to the rejection of the civilized world, the Lord, through
the church, has always been hiding Himself privately from
the religious and political circles in a realm without much
culture.
The remainder of 14:13 says, "And when the crowds
heard of it, they followed Him on foot from the cities." In
spite of the rejection of all peoples, there was still a good
number who followed the heavenly King. They did this by
leaving their cities. It was not that the King came to their
cities to visit them, but that they left their cultured cities
to follow Him in the desert. Through all the centuries, the
true followers of Christ have left cultured spheres to follow
their heavenly King outside the cultured world. We are
among those who have followed Him. Where He is, we go.
We follow Him through all manner of rejection to the
desert.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE FORTY-THREE
THE PATHWAY TO GLORY
(2)
In this message we come to 14:14-21, the record of the
Lord's miraculous feeding of the crowd in the wilderness.
II. LACKING IN NECESSITIES
A. At Evening Time in a Barren Desert
Many times after we have experienced rejection and
have passed through it, we have been happy and released.
But after we experience this release, we realize that we
are in want and do not have anything to live on. We are
lacking in necessities. This was the situation of the crowd
that followed the Lord into the desert.
I believe that those who followed the heavenly King to
the desert were enjoying a happy, pleasant time. They
might have been so happy that they even forgot about
eating. Verse 15 says, "Now when evening was come, the
disciples came to Him, saying, This place is a desert, and
the hour has already passed: therefore send the crowds
away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for
themselves." Peter might have taken the lead to remind
Jesus that they were in the desert, that the hour was late,
and that the crowds needed something to eat. He might
have been the one to suggest that the Lord send the
crowds away into the villages to buy food for themselves.
The disciples seemed to be saying, "Lord, You see now that
it is evening. Don't keep the crowd here. Send them away."
Was not this a good idea that proceeded out of a good
heart? Today's Peters all have good hearts. In the church
life the good-hearted ones often make proposals. Do not be
such a Peter.
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B. Learning to Take Care of the Need of Others
In reading the book of Matthew we need to take care of
the doctrinal arrangement of the book. Many readers
consider Matthew either a storybook or a history book. But
it is not a history book; it is a book of doctrine. The Lord's
word in verse 16, therefore, is significant: "They do not
need to go away; you give them something to eat." The
disciples asked the Lord to send the crowds away that they
might go and buy food for themselves. But the Lord told
the disciples to give the crowds something to eat. Their
concept was to ask people to do something; this was the
principle of the law. But the Lord's concept is to give
people something to enjoy; this is the principle of grace.
What the disciples proposed was wholly based upon the
principle of the law.
In verse 16 the Lord Jesus stopped the disciples. The
Gospels record a number of times that Peter was stopped.
He was very experienced in this matter of being stopped in
speaking. On the mountain, when he proposed building
three tabernacles, he was stopped by God. When he told
the man who collected the half-shekel tax for the temple
that his Master paid the tax, he was stopped by the Lord.
The Lord Jesus always stopped the good-hearted one. If
you do not have such a good heart, the Lord will not stop
you. But if you have a good heart, be prepared to be
stopped by Him. Your good heart needs to be stopped
because it is natural. The Lord Jesus stopped the disciples
by saying, "You give them something to eat." The Lord
seemed to be saying, "Do not ask the crowd to do
something in order to get something. That is law. You
should give them something to eat. This is grace. I'm not
here as Moses telling people to do something in order to
get something. I am Jesus Christ. I came with grace. I
always give people something. The law came through
Moses, but grace came with Me. Therefore, you must give
the crowd something to eat. You disciples are completely
wrong, for you are still under the law, telling people to do
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certain things. Are the people hungry? Certainly they are. I
know this. I haven't done anything up to this point in order
to expose you. I waited for evening to come just so that you
might be exposed. If I had done something about their need,
you would never have been exposed." Often in the Lord's
recovery such instances occur. The Lord has deliberately
done certain things to exhaust the patience of the natural
ones. However, the good-hearted ones cannot bear this.
Often, minutes before the end, they make a proposal. If they
had waited for another few minutes, their folly would not
have been exposed. Nevertheless, we must learn to get away
from the regulations and commandments of the law.
Instead, we must learn to know grace, to exercise grace, and
to give to others according to the principle of grace
When the Lord Jesus told them to give the crowd
something to eat, the disciples said, "We have nothing here
except five loaves and two fishes (v. 17). When you are about
to exercise grace, you will see that you have nothing. If you
simply issue commandments to others, you will not realize
how poor you are. You may think that you are very smart
and say to yourself, "How smart I am! No one else has
noticed that evening has come. But I know everything. I can
even instruct Jesus. In the Lord's recovery I am the most
intelligent one. I can tell others to do this and that. I know
the time, I know the situation, I know what to say. I know
what to do, I know everything. I even know how to command
the Lord Jesus." However, when we are told by the Lord to
exercise grace, we shall say, "When I am under the law, I
am blind and don't know myself. Under the law, my poverty
is not exposed. But now the Lord Jesus. speaking a word of
grace, has told me to give them something to eat. This
gracious word exposes my poverty. Immediately, I see that I
have nothing. I have only a commanding mouth. I can give
commands, I can instruct, and I can teach, but I have
nothing to give." The law does not expose us that much. But
whenever we are about to exercise grace, our poverty is
exposed. We see that we have nothing to give to others, even
nothing to feed ourselves.
May the Lord be merciful to us! Do not think that this
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is merely a story about the Lord Jesus feeding five
thousand men plus women and children with five loaves
and two fishes. You may he familiar with the story of this
miracle, but you may still lack the revelation or the light it
contains. But today we are under the Lord's
enlightenment. All of us are Peters. When we think that
we know what to do and can tell others what to do, we are
a Peter under the law. We are not one under grace. One
who is under grace will always say, "Lord, I have nothing
to give. There is a great need, but I cannot meet it. I
realize that today is the day of grace, not the day of the
law. nevertheless, I have nothing to give. Grace exposes
me." Are you under the law or under grace? If you are
under the law you will still feel that you have something to
boast of--your smart mind, your foresight, your knowledge,
your ability to instruct others. But when the Lord puts you
under grace, your poverty and nothingness will be
exposed. and you will have to admit that you have nothing
to give, even nothing with which to feed yourself. Here we
see clearly the principle of the law and the principle of
grace.
C. Offering All to the Heavenly King
Speaking of the loaves and fishes mentioned in verse
17, the Lord said in verse 18, "Bring them to Me."
Whatever we have of the Lord we need to bring to the Lord
that it might become a great blessing to many others. The
Lord often uses what we offer to Him to provide for the
need of others. It is also in this way that He provides for
the need of His followers today.
Although you may say that you do not have anything to
offer to the Lord, you at least have yourself. Praise the
Lord that we all can give ourselves to Him! We may have
nothing but a poor, ugly self, but we can give our self to
Him. Even a sick person can give himself to the Lord. Let
us give whatever we are to Him. The Lord needs our
consecration. If what we have is kept in our possession, it
will be nothing. But if it passes out of our hands into the
Lord's hands, it will become a great blessing. Consecrate
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yourself to the Lord. Offer what you have to Him. Then the
Lord will have a way to bless many people, and you will be
included in that blessing.
We all must see the doctrine in this portion of the
Word. The doctrine is that we must not be under the law,
but under grace. Grace exposes our poverty and our
nothingness. Yet we have something--ourselves--to give to
the Lord. No matter how little we have, we need to offer it
to Him. If we put what we have into His hands, it will
become a great blessing.
D. The Heavenly King Taking Care of All the Need
by a Miraculous Blessing
1. Feeding the People
Verse 19 says, "And commanding the crowds to recline
on the grass. He took the five loaves and two fishes, and
looking up to heaven, He blessed, and break and gave the
loaves to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowds."
The Lord fed the people; He ministered the life supply to
them. By having the crowds recline on the grass, He put
the people into good order. This shows the Lord's wisdom
and orderliness. By looking up to heaven the heavenly
King indicated that His source was His Father in the
heavens. Then He blessed the loaves and fishes and broke
them. This indicates that whatever we bring to the Lord
must be broken for it to become a blessing to others.
The Lord will break whatever is consecrated to Him.
This means that after we consecrate ourselves to the Lord,
we shall be broken by Him. However, many of us have
prayed, "Lord, have mercy on me and do not break me.
Lord, you know my wife is breaking me into pieces. Keep
me whole, and save me from my wife's breaking hand." A
number of sisters have also prayed to be saved from the
breaking hand of their husbands. But the more you pray in
this way, the more breaking there will be. We, however,
are more like rubber than bread. It is easy to break bread,
but difficult to break rubber. Therefore, with us, breaking
is not enough. Sometimes the Lord also has to cut us. I am
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not joking, for I know my own case. Nevertheless,
whatever you are and whatever you have must be offered
to the Lord. If you do this, in His hand nothing will remain
whole. Rather, everything will be broken. The Lord will
break whatever is placed into His hands. If we are not
broken, our consecration does not mean anything, and it is
not effectual. Our consecration only works by our being
broken by the Lord.
After the Lord broke the loaves, He gave them to the
disciples. The loaves were from the disciples, and they
brought them to the Lord. After being blessed and broken
by the Lord, they were given back to the disciples for
distribution to the crowds, to whom the loaves became a
great satisfaction. This indicates that the disciples were
not the source of blessing; they were only the channels
used by the Lord, who was the source of the people's
satisfaction. The broken bread was passed on to the
disciples, and the disciples distributed it to the crowds.
This broken bread became the satisfaction to all the
hungry people, and there was great blessing. The principle
is the same today. No doubt there has been great blessing
in the Lord's recovery in this country. Nevertheless, we
must realize that some dear ones have offered themselves
to the Lord. In the Lord's hand, they all have been broken,
and those broken pieces have brought in the blessing.
2. In Resurrection
John 6:9 tells us that the five loaves are barley loaves.
In figure barley typifies the resurrected Christ (Lev.
23:10). Thus, the barley loaves signify Christ in
resurrection as food to us. While the loaves are of the
vegetable life, signifying the generating aspect of Christ's
life, the fishes are of the animal life, signifying the
redeeming aspect of Christ's life. To satisfy our spiritual
hunger, we need Christ's generating life as well as His
redeeming life. Both of these aspects are symbolized by
small items--loaves and fishes. This indicates that the
heavenly King did not come to His followers in this age to
reign over them as a great King, but as small pieces of food
to feed them.
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3. With an Overflow
Verse 20 says, "And they all ate and were satisfied; and
they took up what was over and above of the fragments,
twelve baskets full." Twelve baskets full of fragments
indicate not only that the resurrected Christ is unlimited
and inexhaustible, but also that the Lord's provision for us
is abundant, more than sufficient to meet all our need. The
five loaves and two fishes satisfied about five thousand
men, apart from women and children (v. 21). What we
offer to the Lord may be very little; but the blessing will be
great, and the overflow, the surplus, will be greater than
what we offered. What we offer to the Lord cannot be
exhausted. Rather it will be used by the Lord to bless
others abundantly, even with a surplus, to testify, that
this is the Lord's marvelous doing. In this record of the
miracle, the Holy Spirit's intention in His inspiration is to
show that the real need of the followers of the heavenly
King is the proper food to satisfy their hunger. The
disciples of Christ did not know this, nor did the crowds
who followed. The heavenly King knew this and would do
something miraculously to impress them with their real
need and His provision for that need. All they needed was
His resurrection life to satisfy their spiritual hunger, as
signified in this miracle.
What the heavenly King did also clearly indicates that
He provides for the necessities of His followers while they
follow Him in this rejecting world. This corresponds with
His word in the heavenly constitution that the kingdom
people need not be anxious concerning what they shall eat
(6:31-33).
In following the rejected King, we must pass through
many kinds of rejections. After these rejections, we shall
be in want and have certain needs. But do not worry about
your needs or be anxious concerning them, for the Lord
takes care of them, even at the end of the day in a desert
place. The Lord has a way to meet your need. Simply offer
what you are and what you have into His hand, let Him
break the offering, and let the broken offering feed the
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hungry ones. If you do this, you will enjoy satisfaction, and
there will be a surplus remaining.
What the rejected King did in 14:14-21 was not merely
a miracle to feed people. The miracle here indicates that as
the rejected King, Christ has the adequate, sufficient, rich
life supply for His followers. He not only takes care of our
physical and material needs; He also affords the life
supply to satisfy our hunger. Many of us can testify that
after passing through rejection, we came into a situation
where we had a shortage. Nevertheless, the Lord took care
of us, and we did not lack anything. Eventually, we did not
care about the material supply, but about the life supply to
satisfy our spiritual hunger. As we follow the rejected King
on the pathway to glory, we can testify that we are
enjoying the life supply. Moreover, we are feeding others.
And after such an enjoyment, there are still twelve baskets
full of life supply.
Now we can say that this pathway is very good.
Although here we have rejection and want, He is our life
supply. He takes care of our physical needs and renders
the rich life supply, even with an overflow, to meet our
spiritual need. Therefore, we can say, "The Lord is my
Shepherd; I shall not want." "Not only are we without
want--we are rich, we are satisfied, and we have twelve
baskets full. With Him we have the material supply and
the life supply. As we follow Him, even in the desert, we
enjoy Him as our source of supply. Thus, we are not afraid
of anything. Because He is with us, we shall not want. As
long as we have His presence, everything is all right. We
welcome the rejection and, in a sense, we even welcome
the situation of being in want, for we have Him. Our need
affords Him an excellent opportunity to do something for
us.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE FORTY-FOUR
THE PATHWAY TO GLORY
(3)
III. THE STORM ON THE WAY
As we follow the Lord on the pathway to glory, we first
experience rejection, and then we suffer the lack of our
daily necessities. After this, we experience the storm on
the way (14:22-33). The storm in chapter fourteen
indicates that on the pathway where we follow the rejected
King there will always be troubles. From the end of
chapter thirteen to the end of chapter sixteen, there are
many negative things. Humanly speaking, as we follow the
rejected King on the pathway to glory, there is nothing
good. It seems that everything is a problem. Do you like
rejection? Do you enjoy lacking the things you need for
your daily living? Do you appreciate the storm on the sea?
If on our pathway there is no rejection, shortage of daily
necessities, or storm, it is an indication that we are not
actually on the pathway. If we are truly on the pathway to
glory, we shall have problems and hardships.
A. The Disciples Sailing in the Boat--the Church
Verse 22 says, "And immediately He compelled the
disciples to step into the boat and to go before Him to the
other side, until He send the crowds away." Suddenly, the
Lord compelled the disciples to leave Him. However, He
did not go with them. He compelled them to leave by boat
in order that He might have more time to pray to the
Father privately. As verse 23 indicates, He went up into
the mountain to pray. Before the Lord sent them away, the
disciples participated in the enjoyment of the Lord's
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supply. The lack of necessities had issued in a very
pleasant experience. The disciples were enjoying the
Lord's supply, and they were happy. If we had been there,
we would certainly have been joyful. I believe that Peter
talked a great deal about what the Lord had done. He
might have said, "John, isn't this wonderful? Look what
the Lord did with five loaves and two little fishes!" Then
the Lord seemed to say, "Don't talk. Step into a boat and
go before Me to the other side. I realize you have been
having an enjoyable time, but now you must go." The
disciples might have said, "Lord, will You go with us?"
Then the Lord might have answered, "No, you go by
yourselves. I am going to the mountain to pray." Many
times, immediately after a pleasant enjoyment of the Lord,
He suddenly tells us to go to the sea. Then He leaves us.
This is a portrait of today's situation. The Lord has gone to
the mountain, to the heavens. However, He has charged
His church to go ahead on the sea, where there often are
contrary winds and storms.
B. The Heavenly King Praying on the Mountain
Verse 23 says, "And having sent the crowds away, He
went up into the mountain privately to pray. And when
evening came, He was there alone." The heavenly King, as
the beloved Son of the Father (3:17), standing in the
position of man (4:4), needed to pray privately to His
Father who is in heaven, that He might be one with the
Father and have the Father with Him in whatever He did
on earth for the establishment of the kingdom of the
heavens. He did this not in the desert, but on the
mountain, leaving all the people, even His disciples, that
He might contact the Father alone.
C. The Boat with the Disciples Distressed by the
Waves under the Contrary Wind
Verse 24 says, "Now the boat was already many stadia
away from the land, in the midst of the sea, distressed by
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the waves, for the wind was contrary." Surely the Lord
took notice of the fact that the boat was distressed by a
storm. When He compelled the disciples to step into the
boat and to go before Him, He foresaw that a storm was
coming. Nevertheless, He did not go with them. Rather, He
went away to the mountain to pray. Today the Lord Jesus
is on a mountain, that is, in the heavens (Rom. 8:34; Heb.
7:25), and the church is on the sea. Day by day we face the
contrary winds. From the day we first came to Anaheim,
the contrary winds have been blowing. We have not had
one calm day. The church boat has constantly been
distressed. However, this is our destiny. The fact that the
Lord is in the heavens praying for us is a source of comfort
and encouragement to us. We do not care how strong the
contrary winds are. for we know that the Lord is on the
mountain praying for us. The storm is not under the
control of the opposition; it is under the Lord's feet.
Do not be afraid of the contrary winds. There is no need
to be disturbed by them. Others can testify for me that, no
matter what happens, I am not afraid of anything. My wife
can testify that every night I sleep soundly and that every
afternoon I have a good nap, free from worry. Sometimes
my wife is surprised that I am not troubled by the
problems. I have many things to do, and it is my duty to
take a good rest. Because our destiny is in the Lord's hand,
there is no reason for us to be afraid of anything. The
contrary winds and the opposition are under His feet. The
Lord is on a high mountain praying for us and interceding
for us. He knows how strong the wind is. But He laughs at
the wind and seems to say, "Little wind, you mean nothing
to Me. What are you trying to do? You can't do anything
with My church. Those in the boat are My followers. In
fact, they are just Me. Although I am here in the heavens,
I am also with them." What a marvelous picture this is of
the high mountain, the troubling waves and contrary
winds, and the little boat on the sea! The winds and the
waves all work together for our good. Do you not believe
that the opposition is working for our good? It certainly is.
In Anaheim we have seen how much good the opposition
has accomplished for us.
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Some have condemned me by saying that I do not
believe that Jesus Christ is in the heavens. They accuse
me of being too inward, of always telling you not to look to
the heavens, but to look to Christ within you. The truth is
we need to look in two directions. First, we must look to
the Lord within us and say, "O Lord Jesus, are You happy
with Your abode in me? Do You enjoy this place?" We all
need to see that Christ is in us. In order to enjoy Him, we
must know that He dwells within us. If He were far away,
we could not enjoy Him. Second, in order to trust in the
Lord, we must look to Him in the heavens where He sits
with authority and intercedes for us. Soon He may be on
His way to come to us. Hallelujah, He is both within us
and in the heavens interceding for us! If we see this, we
shall not be distressed, troubled, or bothered by any storm,
for we shall have the assurance that the boat is His boat,
that the church is His church. The sea cannot damage the
boat. On the contrary, the sea serves the boat. As we shall
see, the wind and the waves taught Peter a great deal.
D. The Heavenly King Walking on the Sea Coming to
the Disciples
"And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them,
walking on the sea" (v. 25). According to the Roman
guards, there were four night watches, each of three hours,
from sunset to sunrise. The first watch was the evening
watch; the second, the midnight watch; the third, the cock-
crowing watch; and the fourth, the morning watch (Mark
13:35) The fourth watch was probably from three to six
o'clock in the morning.
Verse 25 says that the Lord came to His disciples,
walking on the sea. While His disciples were distressed by
the waves, the Lord walked on them. This testifies that He
is the Creator and the Ruler of the universe (Job 9:8).
E. The Heavenly King Bringing Courage to the
Disciples by His Presence
Thinking that the Lord was a phantom, the disciples
cried out for fear (v. 26). "But immediately Jesus spoke to
them, saying, Have courage; It is I; do not fear" (v. 27). The
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heavenly King brought courage to the disciples by His
presence. When they mistook Him for a phantom, a ghost,
He encouraged them by saying, "It is I."
F. The Disciples Learning to Walk in the Storm by
Faith and Not by Sight
Verse 28 says, "And Peter answered Him and said,
Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the
waters." When the Lord said, "Come," Peter stepped out of
the boat, "walked on the waters and came toward Jesus"
(v. 29}. Only Peter was bold enough to do this. I doubt that
any of us would have been as bold as Peter. It was a
miracle that Peter could walk on the waters. He walked on
the waves by faith. Faith is our action upon the word of
the Lord. To have faith does not mean that we are able to
do things; neither does it mean that we make up our mind
to go in a certain direction. Faith simply means that,
although we may be very weak, we dare to act upon the
Lord's word. The Lord said to Peter, "Come," and Peter
took that word, acted upon it, and walked on the waves.
Do not examine whether or not you have faith. If you
examine yourself, your faith will disappear immediately.
Do not ask yourself, "Am I strong in faith? Is my faith
adequate?" If you question yourself like this, you will
immediately sink beneath the waves.
Verse 30 says of Peter: "But seeing the strong wind, he
was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying,
Lord, save me!" Peter came down from the boat and
walked on the waves by faith in the Lord's word (v. 29);
however, when he saw the strong wind, his faith vanished.
He should have walked only by faith in the Lord's word,
not by the sight of the circumstances (2 Cor. 5:7). When
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Peter cried out for help, "Jesus stretched out His hand and
took hold of him and said to him. You of little faith, why
did you doubt?" (v. 31). Since the Lord said to Peter, Come"
(v. 29), Peter should have stood on that word and not
doubted. Hence, the Lord rebuked him. Faith comes from
the Lord's word and stands on the Lord's word. As long as
we have the Lord's word, we should simply believe in His
word and not doubt.
Do not be troubled by any storms, for we are in the
boat, the Lord's church. Even if we cannot see the Lord or
feel that He is with us, we may be assured that He is on
the mountain interceding for us. Perhaps He is even on the
way to the boat. Whether He is on the mountain
interceding or on the waves walking toward us, we should
not be disturbed. At times we may not only have peace
inwardly, but even receive a word from Him to walk on the
waves. When we receive such a word, we should simply
walk on the stormy sea. Do not be bothered by the
opposition and persecution. With the Lord's word we may
walk to meet Him, even walking through all the opposition
and upon it. This is faith.
We should not blame Peter for having little faith.
Among all the disciples in the boat, Peter was the first to
enjoy the Lord's presence. Some of us are too slow and too
timid. Do not criticize others for being too quick. You need
to be quick yourself sometimes. Which do you prefer--to be
like Peter or to be like Thomas? Peter was bold, but
Thomas was timid and cautious. In the churches there are
many careful, cautious ones. But Peter was not cautious.
As soon as he heard a word from the Lord, he stepped out
of the boat and onto the water. However, the cautious ones
may say, "But Peter had to cry out to the Lord to save him.
There is no need for us to cry for help. We are safe here in
the boat." Yes, you are safe in the boat, but you are not in
the Lord's presence. You are not like Peter who was the
first to get back into the presence of the Lord.
Peter caused a great deal of trouble. The quick ones
always make trouble, whereas the timid ones never cause
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problems. The timid ones do not cause trouble, but neither
do they bring in the presence of the Lord. With the
cautious ones, nothing seems to happen. Year after year
goes by, and everything remains calm. But those who are
like Peter are always stirring things up. They may cause
trouble, but they are rescued by the Lord and thereby are
brought into His presence. Some of you cautious ones need
to stir up a little trouble, then cry out to the Lord to be
saved, and get into His presence. Who do you think enjoys
the Lord more--the cautious ones or the quick ones? The
answer certainly is the quick ones. Nevertheless, the timid
ones may say, "Let us sleep. Sooner or later, the Lord
Jesus will come. We don't need to jump in the water, cause
trouble, and then cry out for rescue. We don't need to be so
quick to get into the presence of the Lord. If we take it
easy and be calm, the Lord will come." In one sense, the
cautious ones are right and those like Peter are wrong.
But the bold ones have more enjoyment of the Lord than
the timid ones. Eventually, however, the Lord's presence is
not just with Peter, but with all the disciples in the boat.
G. The Storm Ceasing because of the Heavenly
King's Presence
Verse 32 says, "And when they went up into the boat,
the wind ceased." This was a miracle. This miracle not
only testifies that the Lord is the Ruler of the heavens and
the earth, but also that He cares for the hardships of His
followers as they follow Him on the pathway to glory.
When we have the Lord in our boat, the wind ceases. The
record of the two miracles in this chapter implies that
while Christ was rejected by the religious and political
peoples, He and His followers were in the barren desert
and on the stormy sea. Nonetheless, He is able to provide
for their need and to carry them through hardships.
The Lord's presence caused the storm to cease. I have
experienced this many times. I cannot tell you how many
storms I have passed through during the past fifty years.
But eventually every storm ceased. Not one storm lasted
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more than three to five years. Three to five years actually
is not a long time. To the Lord, it is just a few minutes, for
with Him a thousand years are as one day. Do not be
alarmed--every storm will cease.
H. Worshipping the Heavenly King and Recognizing
Him as the Son of God
After the Lord had caused the wind to cease, "those
who were in the boat worshipped Him, saying, Truly You
are the Son of God" (v. 33). To recognize that the Lord is
the Son of God is to realize that He is equal to God (John
5:18). Hence, this indicates that the disciples
acknowledged the Lord's divinity (Matt. 1:23; 3:17).
In 14:22-33 we see a portrait of ourselves. Some of us
are like Peter and others are like Thomas. Some are quick
and bold, always causing trouble and making mistakes;
others are timid, cautious, and sleepy. The timid ones may
murmur against the bold ones, "Brother So-and-So is too
quick. I don't agree with that. He is utterly wrong. But I
am slow and cautious." I am very clear about the situation
in the churches regarding the quick ones and the cautious
ones. I know those who are bold and who cause trouble
and those who are cautious and never cause problems. I
appreciate all the cautious ones; however, I do not agree
with them. Because they are so cautious, they never stir
up anyone or anything. People need to be stirred up to
walk on the waves so that they may get into the presence
of the Lord. Those who do this will bring the Lord to the
boat. No cautious one, timid one, slow one, or careful one
has ever brought the Lord Jesus to the boat. In the case of
the cautious ones, the Lord must come to the boat on His
own. If He does this, He will find the cautious ones
sleeping. No one will be waiting for Him. After waking
from their slumber, the cautious ones will say, "Lord, You
are here. This is rather good. Praise the Lord for this! Now
it is time to go back to sleep." Those who are slow and
careful never cause any trouble or problems. We need to be
quick and bold. However, in being quick and bold to
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step out of the boat and walk on the sea, we must take
care of four things: first, that we act upon the word of the
Lord, not without hearing a word from Him; second, that
our direction is toward the Lord Himself; third, that we get
into the Lord's presence; and fourth, that we come back to
the boat. If we take care of these four things, we shall be
right, even if we appear to be wrong.
IV. THE POWER OF HEALING
After Jesus and the disciples came to Gennesaret, the
people of that place brought to the Lord all who were ill.
Verse 36 says, "And they besought Him that they might
only touch the fringe of His garment; and as many as
touched were made thoroughly well" (v. 36). The healing
power went out, not from the inner being of Christ, but
from the fringe of His garment. The Lord's garment
signifies Christ's righteous deeds, and the fringe signifies
the heavenly ruling (Num. 15:38-39). Out of Christ's
heavenly-ruled deeds is the virtue that becomes the
healing power. According to Numbers 15, the fringe of the
garment signifies the virtue of God's people who walk
according to His regulations. The fringe was made with a
blue ribbon. This revealed that their daily walk was
regulated by God's heavenly rule as indicated by the color
blue, a heavenly color. When Jesus was on earth as a man,
He walked in this way. His daily walk was regulated by
God's heavenly commandments. Therefore, there was with
Him a virtue that could flow out to heal others.
The healing that takes place in the church life does not
mainly issue from the inner being of the Lord Jesus.
Rather, it primarily issues from the virtue of the Lord's
human life. In the church life we experience the Lord's
presence with us on the sea in the midst of the contrary
winds. His presence prepares the way for His virtue to
flow out to reach the sick people and to heal them. This
type of healing is different from the miraculous healing by
divine power. The garment of Jesus does not signify His
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divinity. Rather, it signifies the righteous deeds of His
humanity. His humanity bore the mark of the blue ribbon,
of being regulated by the heavenly ruling. This produced a
virtue that was capable of healing the sick. This kind of
virtue can be expressed only through the proper church
life where Jesus is present.
Revelation 22:2 says that the leaves of the tree of life
are for the healing of the nations. In typology, the fruit of
the tree of life represents the Lord's divine life, and the
leaves represent the Lord's human deeds. The fruit, the
Lord's divine life, is for nourishing us, and the leaves the
Lord's human deeds, are for the healing of others. In the
new heaven and the new earth the leaves of the tree of life
will be for the healing of the nations, that is, the virtue of
Christ's humanity will heal the people. In Matthew, after
the boat reached its destination, the virtue of the Lord's
human deeds became so prevailing that every manner of
sickness was healed. Likewise when we have the proper
church life with the Lord's presence today, there is among
us the uplifted humanity of Jesus. This uplifted humanity
has the virtue signified by the fringe of Christ's garment.
If we, the church people, have the proper church life and
live by Christ, we shall live out His uplifted humanity. In
this kind of living there will be a virtue with the power to
heal those around us.
In typology, the land visited by the Lord after the boat
came to shore was a figure of the millennium. In the
millennium there will be a great deal of healing.
Nevertheless, the healing to be found in the millennium
should be experienced today. The church people should
have a foretaste of the millennium. We must live out the
uplifted humanity of Jesus to have the virtue that can heal
those surrounding us. For others to be healed means that
their corrupted character is changed. Those around the
church life are all in darkness and corruption. But if the
church people live out the uplifted humanity of Christ, this
will cause a healing power to flow into them. Even other
Christians will be healed.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE FORTY-FIVE
THE PATHWAY TO GLORY
(4)
As we follow the Lord on the pathway to glory, we
experience rejection, the lack of necessities, and the storm
on the sea. After this, we face the accusations from
religion. In this message we shall see how the Lord dealt
with the accusations of the traditional religionists (15:1-
20).
V. KEPT AWAY FROM RELIGIOUS TRADITION
A. Accused by the Religionists of Not Washing Hands When
Eating
Matthew 15:1 and 2 say, "Then there came to Jesus
from Jerusalem Pharisees and scribes, saying, Why do
your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders" For
they do not wash their hands when they eat bread."
Although the Lord had forsaken the rejecting religionists,
they still would not cease to trouble Him. They came to
Him from their religious center, Jerusalem, in order to
discover His faults. However, their troubling afforded Him
another opportunity to reveal the truth about how to be
really clean (vv. 10-11, 15-20). The Pharisees and scribes
asked the Lord Jesus why His disciples transgressed the
tradition of the elders. This reveals that the disciples did
not keep the old traditions in following the Lord. They
cared only for the heavenly King's presence, not for
anything else.
The elders spoken of in verse 2 were not the elders of
the people, but the people of ancient times, those of bygone
generations. In the past, some of those who claimed to be
for God had certain practices, and their practices
eventually became the traditions that were observed by
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the Jews when the Lord Jesus was on earth. For example,
certain of the ancients adopted the regulation of washing
their hands whenever they ate. At the time of the Lord
Jesus, this was a tradition. However, it was not a
commandment in the Bible. Nothing commanded by God
could ever become a tradition, for God's word is always
fresh. A tradition, on the contrary, is something invented
or initiated by man.
Some of the opposers have said that we should return
to the so-called historic church and follow the traditional
practices. Recently, a group of so-called fundamental
Christians even published an article appealing to
Christians to return to the historic church. But the historic
church has adopted many regulations that arc absolutely
unscriptural, and it has made many decisions regarding
things not found in the Bible. Consider, for example, the
worship of Mary, which was sanctioned by the Council of
Ephesus. There are more traditions in Christendom today
than in Judaism when the Lord Jesus was on earth.
Traditions are very prevailing in Christendom today. The
traditional celebration of Christmas is an example. One of
our critics has said that the origin of Christmas is not
pagan He even denied the fact that the Christmas tree is
pagan. The Christmas tree is pagan. evil and idolatrous.
There can be no reconciliation between the Lord's living
testimony and the traditional church. We are opposed
because we, as the disciples following the Lord today,
would not keep such traditions.
B. The Hypocrisy of the Religionists
1. Transgressing the Commandment of God because of
Tradition
Verse 3 says, "And He answered and said to them, Why
do you also transgress the commandment of God because
of your tradition?" The Jewish religionists accused the
Lord's disciples of transgressing their tradition, but the
Lord condemned them for transgressing the
commandment of God because of their tradition. They
ignored God's commandment by caring for their tradition.
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In principle, the religious people today do the same. In
many ways both the Roman Catholic Church and the
Protestant denominations make void the word of God
because of their traditions.
In verse 4 the Lord continued, "For God said, Honor
your father and mother; and, he who speaks evil of father
or mother, let him die the death." The Lord's dealing with
the Pharisees and scribes here not only condemned them
for making void the word of God because of their tradition,
but also implied that man should honor his parents. God
in His government among men has ordained that man
should honor his parents. Among the ten commandments
(Exo. 20:12). He has made this the first commandment
concerning human relationships. Fallen human nature,
however, always attempts to ignore the parents, that is, to
rebel against God's government. The Lord as the heavenly
King, in order to bring man back to God's government,
emphasized that man should honor his parents. This
corresponds to His word in the constitution of the kingdom
of the heavens concerning the fulfillment of the law (5:17-
19). Hence, the Apostle also emphasized this matter
strongly (Eph. 6:1-3; Col. 3:20). We the kingdom people
must honor our parents and not excuse ourselves as the
Jewish religionists did. Any excuse indicates that we are
not under the heavenly ruling, but that we are following
our fallen human nature and the rebellious trend of
today's generation.
In the Lord Jesus' encounter with the Pharisees, the
Lord did not care for the traditions. On the contrary, He
referred them to the word of God. In principle, we are
doing the same today. Men are still making void God's
word by means of their tradition, and we are being accused
today of not keeping the traditions. Recently, one of our
opposers twisted 1 Thessalonians 5:23, a verse that speaks
of the three parts of man--the spirit and soul and body. He
said that in this verse the Greek word translated
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"and" could also be rendered "even." But if we use "even"
for the Greek conjunction in this verse, the spirit, soul, and
body would equal one another. This is like a doctor saying
that a person's legs are the same as his stomach and the
stomach as the heart. What medical quackery that would
be! In Christendom many still insist on the traditions, and
in the so-called churches these traditions are very
prevailing. But the Lord has raised us up to come back to
the pure Word. We do not care for man's tradition,
teaching, or practice. This has offended some, and we have
been accused of damaging the "church." But the "church"
we are accused of damaging is not actually the church;
rather, it is the traditional church, the denominations, the
sects.
Praise the Lord for the record in Matthew 15! All the
aspects of this record coincide with our situation today.
The Lord Jesus and His followers were accused by the
traditionalists, and today we are accused by the
religionists. In answering those who accused His disciples,
the Lord seemed to say, "You Pharisees accuse My
disciples of breaking your traditions. You need to see that
you have broken God's commandment by holding to your
tradition, and you continue to break it." In this way the
Lord brought them back to the pure Word, telling them
what was the commandment of God and what was man's
tradition. It is the same today. We are accused of not
following the historic church, that is, of not following the
traditions. We answer that we must come back to the pure
Word and not care for the traditions of the historic church.
In the various councils and creeds of the historic church,
there is no mention of the seven Spirits. This means that if
we follow the traditional concept of the Trinity, we shall
neglect the seven Spirits. Our critics say, "You don't honor
the ancient councils which formulated the creeds
regarding the Trinity." We respond, "We don't follow the
creeds. They are man's teaching and tradition. Instead, we
come back to the pure Word. In the Bible we find
something more than what is included in the creeds, for
the Bible speaks of the seven Spirits. Can you find a word
about the seven Spirits in your creed?" This is merely one
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illustration of the gap between the Lord's recovery and
traditional Christianity. This gap exists because the
recovery is based wholly upon the pure Word, whereas
Christianity is filled with traditions.
2. Honoring God with the Lips, but the Heart Being
Away from Him
In verses 7 and 8 the Lord Jesus said, "Hypocrites!
Isaiah has well prophesied concerning you, saying, This
people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far
away from Me." The heavenly ruling of the kingdom
requires inward reality, not mere outward practice, in that
it deals with the real condition of the heart, not the
expression of the lips. The tradition of the Pharisees was
outward, but the Lord's concern was for something inward.
Some in today's religion oppose us because they are for the
outward things. They do not know the inner life or the
subjective truths. Some claim that because Christ is in the
heavens, He cannot actually dwell in us but He is merely
represented in us by the Holy Spirit. This indicates that
they do not have the subjective Christ; they have only the
objective Christ. But we in the Lord's recovery have both
the objective Christ and the subjective Christ. Those who
teach that Christ is merely represented in us do so because
they believe that in the Godhead the Father, Son, and
Spirit are three separate individuals. Because the Son is in
the heavens, they insist that it is impossible for Him to be
in us. Those who argue this way are in practice tritheists.
They believe in the one-in-three, but not in the three-in-
one. However, in the Bible there is not a hint to indicate
that the three in the Godhead are separate. On the
contrary, the Lord Jesus said to Philip, "Do you not believe
that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me?" (John
14:10). In the same verse the Lord continued by saying,
"The words which I speak to you, I do not speak from
Myself; but the Father Who abides in Me, He does His
works." This verse reveals that when the Son speaks, the
Father works.
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John 7:29 says, "I know Him, because I am from Him,
and He sent Me," and John 15:26 says, "But when the
Comforter comes. Whom I will send to you from the
Father, the Spirit of reality Who proceeds from the Father,
He will testify concerning Me." The Greek preposition
rendered "from" in these verses and in John 6:46 has the
meaning of "from with." The Son is sent not only from the
Father, but also from with the Father. In John 15:26 the
Lord says that He will send the Spirit from with the
Father. According to the human concept, the Spirit is sent
from the Father, and the Father remains in the heavens.
However, the Spirit of reality is sent by the Son, not only
from the Father, but also with the Father. The Comforter
comes from the Father and with the Father The Father is
the source. When the Spirit comes from the source, it does
not mean He leaves the source, but that the source comes
with Him. This Spirit, sent by the Son and coming with
the Father, will testify concerning the Son. The three of
the Godhead are three-in-one. The Father, the Son, and
the Spirit are not three separate Gods, but the one unique
God. This is the correct understanding of the Triune God
according to the pure Word of God. However. those who
hold the traditional concept of the Trinity in actuality have
three Gods.
Those who say that Christ is not in us cannot have
subjective experiences of Christ. How can they experience
Him subjectively if they do not believe that Christ today is
the life-giving Spirit indwelling our spirit? Because they
lack the subjective experience of Christ, they accuse us of
being heretical. Furthermore. they deny the fact, revealed
in 2 Peter 1:4, that the believers are partakers of the
divine nature. They teach that in this verse the phrase
"divine nature" does not mean divine nature, but divine
virtue. They also claim that to have the divine nature is to
become God Himself. Furthermore, they accuse us of
teaching evolution into God. Yes, we do say that we have
the divine nature, because we have been born of our God.
How ridiculous to say that a son does not have the nature
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of his father! Because we have been born of the divine
Father, we certainly have His life with His nature. But
this does not mean that we become or are becoming God
Himself. According to the pure Word, we also say that the
church today is the manifestation of God in the flesh (1
Tim. 3:15-16). Because we say this according to the Bible,
we are again accused of making ourselves God and of
teaching evolution into God. We are actually accused of
making the church the fourth member of the Godhead!
How evil is this charge!
In October, 1977, an international conference was held
in Taipei. From January of that year I began to seek the
Lord concerning the subject on which I should speak
during that conference. By the first of October. I still had
no idea what the subject would be. When asked about it, I
could only say, "I don't know." But on October 2, 1911 a
speech against us was delivered before a large
congregation. Many of our brothers and sisters attended
that meeting and gave us a report concerning it. Upon
hearing their report, I immediately realized that I should
speak on the subjective experiences of Christ. I realized
that those opposing us do not know anything about the
subjective experience of Christ. They care only for
objective knowledge and doctrine of the Bible, of Christ,
and of the church. Thus, I was burdened to tell all the
churches represented in the conference that we need to
experience Christ in a subjective way.
The problem between the Pharisees and the Lord Jesus
and His followers was that the Pharisees cared only for
outward tradition, ritual, and practice, for example, the
washing of hands. They cared nothing whatever for inward
reality. Therefore, the Lord Jesus pointed them to the
inward matter of the heart. The Lord seemed to say,
"Don't care for this outward practice of washing of hands.
The dirt that needs to be cleansed away is within you." In
the Lord's recovery today we likewise do not care for
outward things; rather, we care for inward reality.
In 1968 many saints in Los Angeles were stirred up to
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be buried in the water. As a result, a number of opposers
condemned me for teaching re-baptism. However, I did not
teach this. But I was happy to see the saints who felt they
were old bury themselves in the water. Certainly this is
much better than attending a casino. Certain Christians in
Hong Kong played Mah-Jongg, and the pastors did not
condemn it. However, when some leaped into the water to
bury themselves, the pastors said that this was heretical.
Today many of those who were buried in the water are
very much with the Lord. The Lord cares for inward
reality, not for the outward practice. To those who
criticized the ones who were baptized again. I said. "The
children of Israel crossed the Red Sea, which is clearly a
type of baptism (1 Cor. 10:1, 2). But later they crossed the
Jordan River. Was that not a burial? The children of Israel
had to pass the River Jordan because they had become old.
If, after they passed through the Red Sea. they had been
faithful to the Lord and had entered into the good land,
there would have been no need to cross the Jordan. But
because of their unbelief and their years of wandering in
the wilderness, they became old. Hence, they needed to
bury the oldness and to be renewed by passing through the
River Jordan. Twelve stones were buried in the river to
represent the old Israel and twelve stones were brought
out of the river and set on the land to represent the
renewed Israel. Yes, you were baptized years ago, but
since that time you have been wandering in the
wilderness. You need to be buried and renewed." The Lord
does not care for outward rituals or regulations; He cares
only for inward reality.
Because the Lord cares for inward reality, we are not
concerned about the outward way of having our meetings.
It means very little whether the meeting is loud or quiet.
We care only for the inward experience of Christ, for
inward reality. It is an insignificant matter whether our
hands are dirty; it is the condition of our inward parts that
is important.
Verse 8 says, "This people honors Me with their lips,
but their heart is far away from Me." Those who follow the
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traditions may honor the Lord outwardly with their lips,
but their heart is far away from God. The outward practice
of the traditions seemingly is for God. Actually, however,
the inward being of so many who follow the traditions is
not for God. Do you believe the majority of Christians
observe Christmas for God? Apparently they may be;
actually, in the practice of Christmas, the heart of many is
not for the Lord. They have the appearance, but not the
reality. They have an outward professing lip, but their
heart is away from the Lord. In the Lord's recovery we are
not talking without inward reality. If we speak without
reality, we are more than pitiful. Tradition is a matter of
utterance from the lips without reality in the heart.
3. Worshipping God in Vain, Teaching the
Commandments (Traditions) of Men
Verse 9 says, "But in vain do they worship Me,
teaching as teachings the commandments of men." This
reveals that some worship to God may be in vain. The
main cause of this is the teaching of the commandments of
men. We must worship God according to His word, which
is the truth. Many of those who condemn our meetings for
being too noisy have no heart for God. Again I say, in the
eyes of God it is not a matter of the outward appearance,
but a matter of the inward reality, not a matter of what we
say, but a matter of what we are. Consider the so-called
Christian services in which solos are sung by beautiful
young ladies in short skirts. Where is the heart of many
who are listening to them? It may be in fornication. Why
are not these solos sung by old ladies instead of by
attractive young women? Is this the worship of God? No, it
is an abomination to our holy God! But our noise is not an
abomination to Him. Let us make a joyful noise to the
Lord (Psa. 100:1) from the spirit. We like to shout, "Praise
the Lord! Amen! Jesus is Lord!" We do not care for the
outward appearance; we care for the inward reality.
C. The Real Defiling Things
In verse 11 the Lord said that it is not "that which
enters into the mouth" that "defiles the man, but that
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which goes out of the mouth, this defiles the man." In the
kingdom of the heavens defilement is not of material
things but of moral matters. Material things have nothing
to do with the heavenly ruling, but moral matters do. All
the evils that issue from the heart prove that we are not
under the heavenly ruling.
D. The Hypocritical Religionists
1. Not Planted by the Heavenly Father
In verse 13 the Lord said. "And He answered and said,
Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted
shall be rooted up." This word of the heavenly King
indicates that the hypocritical Pharisees were not planted
by the heavenly Father. By their rejection of the heavenly
King, they were uprooted from the kingdom of the
heavens.
2. Blind Leaders of the Blind
Verse 14 says, "Leave them alone; they are blind
leaders of the blind; and if a blind man leads a blind man,
both will fall into a pit." The self-righteous and arrogant
religionists thought they were clear concerning the way to
serve God, not realizing that they were blind leaders of the
blind. Their eyes were veiled by their religious traditions;
hence, they could not see Christ and the reality of God's
economy that they might enter into the kingdom of the
heavens. Their blindness led them to fall into a pit.
Those who follow the traditions are blind leaders of the
blind. This is true today. Many opposers are also blind
leaders of the blind. They may claim to know the Bible, but
actually they are completely blind and have no light at all.
Hence, they lead others into blindness. I feel very sad
about all those who are being misled. I appeal to your
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conscience and ask this question: Can you deny that there
is some amount of reality in the Lord's recovery? In the
recovery genuine help has been rendered to assist you to
experience Christ in a subjective way and to enjoy Him. I
think that you all can say from your conscience that never
before and in no other place were you helped so much to
enjoy Christ. Nevertheless, a number are opposing us. But
they have missed the blessing and enjoyment. As the Lord
Jesus said, these blind leaders have not been planted by
the Father. Rather, they are self-assuming ones, not God-
planted ones. Their blindness will cause them to he
uprooted. Their follies, quackery, and errors will uproot
them.
Again we see that we are following the same way taken
by the Lord Jesus and His disciples. They suffered
rejection, experienced the lack of necessities, faced the
stormy sea, and were accused by the traditionalists and
religionists. It is the same with us today. This is the
pathway to glory.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE FORTY-SIX
THE PATHWAY TO GLORY
(5)
As we have pointed out many times, the Gospel of
Matthew is not a book of history, but a book of doctrine.
Matthew puts together certain historical facts for the
purpose of revealing a doctrine. If you compare the four
Gospels. you will see that Matthew presents the facts of
history in an order different from that found in Mark or
John. Mark and John were written according to the
sequence of history. The arrangement of the facts in
Matthew's record, however, is not according to history, but
according to doctrine, because Matthew presents to us the
doctrine concerning the kingdom. Thus, Matthew does not
care for historical sequence; he cares for doctrinal
sequence.
In chapter fifteen, immediately after the dispute
regarding the washing of hands, there is a record of
feeding on Jesus (15:21-28). Perhaps in your reading of
chapter fifteen you have not found the way to connect
verses 1 through 20 with verses 21 through 28. But these
two sections go together. In the original text of the Bible,
there were no paragraphs or verses. Thus, the second
section was the immediate continuation of the first section.
Matthew had a definite reason for putting these two
sections together. His purpose was to show that what the
Lord wants is not the washing of hands, but the eating of
Him, the taking in of Him as food. He does not want us to
wash outwardly; He wants us to eat, to take Him in. No
matter how many times we may wash our hands, we shall
still be hungry. In 15:21-28 we do not have washing; we
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see a dirty dog eating. The Lord does not care about the
washing of hands. Whether you are outwardly dirty or not
does not mean anything to Him. What truly matters to the
Lord is that your hunger is satisfied. The Lord Jesus did
not say to the Canaanite woman, "Yes, you have the right
to eat of Me, but you are dirty. Wash yourself first and
then come back to eat." No, the outward washing is in the
foregoing section, not in this section. Here we see the
matter of eating. In this chapter we see that what matters
to the Lord is not outward practices, but the inward
condition. We should not outwardly wash away the dirt;
rather, we need to be cleansed from within.
The question is how we can be inwardly cleansed. In
order to be cleansed from within, something must get into
us, and the only way this can take place is by eating. As
the nourishing food, the Lord Jesus is the best cleansing
element. When He comes into us as food, He not only
nourishes us, but also inwardly cleanses us. He does not
wash our hands; He washes our system, our very being.
This matter of inward cleansing through the eating of
Jesus is the link that joins the first two sections of chapter
fifteen.
In today's religion what is taught is mostly like the
washing of hands. On Sunday after Sunday, sermons are
given mainly on the outward washing. However, what
people need is not the outward washing, but the inward
cleansing, the cleansing in life and nature. They need a
cleansing element that can get into their system, even into
their vessels. They do not need the outward washing of
hands, but the inward washing that comes from the proper
eating. Jesus is not only the nourishing food; He is also the
cleansing element. I can testify that day by day the Lord
Jesus is getting into me to cleanse me from within. He is
washing my inner being. In the church life we are not
being washed outwardly; on the contrary, we are being
cleansed and purified inwardly.
Many of the saints are willing to be purified from
within. Often they pray, "Lord Jesus, come into me. I want
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to be purified more and more. Lord, I hate not only sin and
the world, but also myself, my natural life, and my natural
disposition. O Lord, I am so contaminated by my
disposition. How I long to be cleansed from this
defilement!" As we pray in this way, we spontaneously eat
the Lord Jesus, and He comes into us both as the
nourishing food and as the cleansing element. Deep within
our conscience we can testify that, as we enjoy the Lord in
the church life, we are purified, even when we do not have
the intention of being purified. As long as we are enjoying
the Lord, we are being purified from within. Therefore,
what we have is not the washing of hands, but the
cleansing of our being. In these days we have been falsely
accused of brainwashing. However, we do not practice
brainwashing, but we do experience the washing of our
disposition. Not only our mind, but our entire being, needs
to be cleansed. The Lord can testify for me that very often
I pray, "Lord, I am still dirty. Lord, I sense that I am still
so natural and so much in my disposition. Lord, I love You
and I want to live by You. But even today, Lord, I have
been in my natural disposition. O Lord, because I am
dispositionally dirty, I need Your cleansing." This is the
kind of cleansing we need. This is not a matter of outward
washing of hands to make a display of how clean we are. It
is a matter of the inward cleansing that comes from eating
Jesus. We all need such an inward cleansing from the
Lord.
VI. FEEDING ON CHRIST BY FAITH
A. Outside the Sphere of Religion
Verse 21 says, "And Jesus went from there and
departed into the districts of Tyre and Sidon." The unbelief
of the Galileans caused the Lord Jesus not to do many
works of power among them (13:58), and the rejection of
Herod caused Him to depart to the desert (14:13). In 15:1
the religionists came down from Jerusalem to spy on the
Lord Jesus and to find fault with Him. The further
opposition of the rejecting religionists caused the
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heavenly King to depart farther from them, even into the
districts of Tyre and Sidon, Gentile country. The Galilean
rejection caused the Lord not to do many works of power
among them. Herod's rejection caused Him to depart from
the civilized cities to the desert. Now the opposition by the
religionists caused the Lord to go even farther away, to the
Gentile world.
B. Knowing Christ in a Proper Way
1. Incorrectly Calling Him Son of David
Verse 22 says, "And behold, a Canaanite woman came
out from those regions and cried out, saying, Have mercy
on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is badly demon-
possessed!" Due to the rejection of the religious Jews, the
opportunity to contact the heavenly King came to the
Gentiles, even to a weak Gentile woman. The Canaanite
woman addressed the Lord Jesus as the Lord, the Son of
David. The title Lord implies Christ's divinity, and the
title, Son of David, His humanity. As a Gentile woman, it
was proper for her to address Christ as the Lord. However,
she had no right to call Him Son of David; only the
children of Israel were privileged to do so.
The disciples were troubled by the crying out of the
Canaanite woman, and they asked the Lord to send her
away. This indicates that once again they were instructing
the Lord, telling Him to do something. This also was the
principle of the law. The disciples seemed to be saying,
"Lord, she is crying out and troubling us. Can't you do
something, Lord? Please send her away." At this point the
Lord said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the
house of Israel" (v. 24). If you read the Gospels carefully,
you will see that the Lord Jesus never took a word from
His disciples. When they made a proposal, the Lord always
refused to consider it. But whenever the disciples did not
want to do a particular thing, the Lord would tell them to
do it. Likewise, when we want to do something, the Lord
says no. But when we do not want to do anything, the Lord
says go. The purpose of this is to train
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us not to live and act according to the self or our natural
concept. Peter could have said to the Lord, "Lord, if You
have come to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, what are
You doing here in Tyre and Sidon? Why have You come
here?" But if Peter had said this to the Lord, the Lord still
would have had a way to subdue him. No one can defeat
the Lord Jesus. The disciples lost the case, and their
mouths were shut.
Although the Lord was sent to the lost sheep of the
house of Israel, at the time of 15:21-28 He was in a Gentile
region. This afforded the Gentiles an opportunity to
participate in His grace. This bears dispensational
significance. showing that Christ came to the Jews first,
but due to their unbelief. His salvation turned to the
Gentiles (Acts 13:46; Rom. 11:11).
2. Rightly Calling Him Lord and Worshipping Him
In verse 25 the Gentile woman rightly called Jesus the
Lord and worshipped Him, saying, "Lord, help me!" This
second time she called Christ only Lord, not the Son of
David, because she realized that she was not a child of
Israel, but a heathen.
C. Feeding on the Lord
In verse 26 the Lord answered the Canaanite woman:
"It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to
the dogs." The heavenly King's ministry in all His visits
created opportunities for Him to reveal Himself further. In
the situations created in chapters nine and twelve, He had
opportunities to reveal Himself as the Physician, the
Bridegroom, the new cloth, the new wine, the Shepherd,
the real David, the greater temple, the Lord of the harvest,
the greater Jonah, and the greater Solomon. Here another
opportunity was created for Him to reveal Himself as the
children's bread. The Canaanite woman considered Him
the Lord, a divine Person, and the Son of David, a royal
descendant, great and high to reign. But He unveiled
Himself to her as small pieces of bread, good for
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food. This implies that, as the heavenly King, He rules
over His people by feeding them with Himself as bread.
We can be the proper people in His kingdom only by being
nourished with Him as our food. To eat Christ as our
supply is the way to be the kingdom people in the reality of
the kingdom.
The Lord said that the children's bread should not be
thrown to the dogs. This indicates that in the eyes of the
Lord all the heathen are dogs, which are unclean in the
eyes of God (Lev. 11:26).
Do you not believe that when the Lord Jesus was
speaking to His disciples regarding this Canaanite woman
He already had the intention to feed her? Certainly the
Lord foreknew that He had to feed this woman. Why then
did He not do it immediately? Although the woman came
and cried to Him, He remained silent at first, saying
nothing. It almost appeared as if He were dumb. His
dumbness caused the disciples to implore Him to do
something for her and to send her away. The reason the
Lord Jesus did not do something right away was that He
wanted to take this opportunity to teach His disciples.
When the disciples came to Him, He said that He had
come only for the lost sheep of the house of Israel. When
the woman came to Him, He indicated to her that He had
come as bread for the children and that it was not lawful
to cast the children's bread to the dogs.
1. Standing in the Proper Position-- as a Heathen
Dog under the Table of the Master
When the Lord Jesus referred to the Canaanite woman
as a dog, she said, "Yes, Lord; for even the dogs eat of the
crumbs which fall from their masters' table" (v. 27). The
Canaanite woman, not offended by the Lord's word, but
rather admitting that she was a heathen dog, considered
that at that time Christ, after being rejected by the
children, the Jews, became crumbs under the table as a
portion to the Gentiles. The holy land of Israel was the
table on which Christ, the heavenly bread, came as a
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portion to the children of Israel. But they threw Him off
the table to the ground, the Gentile country, so that He
became broken crumbs as a portion to the Gentiles. What
a realization this Gentile woman had at that time! No
wonder the heavenly King admired her faith (v. 28).
The Gentile woman seemed to be saying, "Yes, Lord, I
am a dirty, pagan dog. But don't forget, Lord, that even
dogs have their portion. The dog's portion is not on the
table like the children's portion. The children's portion is
on the table, but the dog's portion is under the table. Now,
Lord, You are not on the table, in the land of Israel. You
are under the table, in the Gentile world. You are in the
very place where I am. You are not on the table where the
children are. You are now under the table where the dogs
are. Lord, the dogs may eat the crumbs that are under the
table." The Canaanite woman was keen, and the Lord
Jesus was caught by her.
2. By Faith
Verse 28 says, "Then Jesus answered and said to her, O
woman, your faith is great; let it be done to you as you
desire. And her daughter was healed from that hour." This
word indicates that the Canaanite woman's dealings with
the Lord were by faith, and her faith was great,
overcoming the apparent situation.
Because I am very careful in doctrinal matters, I have
wondered why the Lord Jesus did not tell the Canaanite
woman to wash herself and then come back and eat. If I
had been the Lord, I would have said, "Yes, as a dog, you
have your portion. But don't you realize how dirty you are?
If you would eat Me as the crumbs, you need to wash
yourself." According to doctrine, this woman definitely
needed to be washed. But why did the Lord Jesus not ask
her to wash herself before eating of Him? If the Lord had
done this, He would have been acting contrary to what He
had said in the foregoing verses when He belittled the
matter of outward washing. Here the Lord is emphasizing
the matter of eating. But this does not mean that we do
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not need to be washed. The blood is available. We may
strike the blood and eat the Lamb. But in order not to
confuse matters, in this section on eating, the Lord Jesus
said nothing about washing. I believe that the Lord Jesus
did this purposely to show His disciples that they needed
only one thing--the eating. Even if we are as dirty as
pagan dogs, we still have the right and the position to eat
Jesus. Oh, we need to be uninhibited eaters! Do not wait
until you have washed. Come to the Lord just as you are
and eat of Him. As the words of a hymn say, "Just as I am,
I come." We need to say, "Lord, I come just as I am. I don't
need to change or to be cleansed. Lord, I need You, and I
come to You to eat. Even if I am a dirty dog, I come to You
just as I am." Eating is primary, and eating is everything.
The Canaanite woman did not come to the Lord
because she was hungry; she came because her daughter
was sick. But the Lord turned the situation to the matter
of eating. The Lord did not say, "I came as a Physician to
the children of Israel, and I cannot heal any heathen. I
cannot cure dogs." Rather, the Lord seemed to be saying, "I
came as bread to the children. It is not right to throw the
children's bread to the dogs. Although the woman's
request had nothing to do with eating, the Lord purposely
related her case to the matter of eating to show us that
what we need is not outward washing, but eating for the
inward nourishing. In his doctrinal arrangement Matthew
put these matters together that we might understand that
for the kingdom of the heavens we do not need outward
cleansing, but what we need is for Christ to get into us.
Are you sick or weak? Do you have certain problems? Do
not try to deal with these things in an outward way.
Instead, deal with them in an inward way by eating Jesus.
In fact, you should forget about all those things. What you
need is not outward washing, but Christ coming into you.
The Lord seemed to be saying to the Canaanite woman,
"You don't need healing. You need Me! And you do not
need Me outwardly; you need Me inwardly. You need to
eat Me. I came as bread for people to eat, to digest, and to
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assimilate. I would like to get into your being, into your
system, vessels, and fibers. I would like to get into your
very constituent and become you. Thus, you need to eat
Me. Don't deal with things in an outward way. Rather,
deal with everything in an inward way by taking Me into
you. As long as I can get into you to nourish you, every
problem will be solved."
We do not need outward rituals or practices. In today's
religion people are following outward practices. But God's
economy is not a matter of outward things; it is a matter of
Christ coming into us inwardly. For this, we need to take
Christ in by eating Him.
When I came to this country, I came with a commission
and a burden, with something that I had received from the
heavens. Before you came into the church, you never heard
a word about eating Jesus, for all the teachings in religion
are concerned with the outward washing of hands, not
with presenting the edible Jesus to people. But this
ministry has come here with the commission to minister
the edible Jesus to His believers. I do not care for the
opposition and the attack. I know what I am doing.
Thinking that I am too bold, some may say, "Why is this
man so bold? Don't we have many scholars in this country,
men with doctoral degrees from the best seminaries?" I do
not care about those degrees. I care only for my burden. I
have the strong assurance that I have something of the
Lord from the heavens that is not found in today's religion.
I am not here teaching or preaching--I am ministering the
edible Christ. This is what the Lord's people need today.
You do not need religious washings. Forget about such
things! As dirty dogs, we need the eating of Jesus. We
need to take Jesus in. Hallelujah, today Jesus is not on the
table! He is under the table. He has been cast off the table
by the Israelites, and now He is in the Gentile world. All of
us, including me, are dirty, pagan dogs. Nevertheless, we
can praise the Lord that we are dogs, because the very
bread of life from the heavens is now where the dogs are. If
the bread were on the table, it would not be available to
us. But today the bread is under the table where the dogs
are. We need the edible Christ who is now so near to us.
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How I appreciate this section of the book of Matthew!
This section reveals that we must forget about outward
washing and eat the Lord Jesus. Do not try to change
yourself, to correct yourself, or to improve yourself. What
we need is the eating of Jesus.
VII. HEALING FOR THE GLORIFICATION OF GOD
In 15:29-31 we have a record of healing for the
glorification of God. Due to the rejection of the Jewish
religion, the Lord remained in Galilee of the nations as the
healing light. He would not go to Jerusalem, the religious
center of the Jews, for them to be healed (13:15). According
to the doctrinal arrangement of the record of chapter
fifteen, healing comes after eating. In other words the
proper healing comes from inward eating. Dieticians say
that if one eats properly, he will not have illness. Illness
comes from improper eating, but healing comes from
adequate, proper eating. This is the doctrinal point
regarding healing in this portion of the Word.
VIII. FURTHER PROVISION FOR NECESSITIES
A. By the Compassion of the Heavenly King
In 15:32-39 we have the miracle of the feeding of the
four thousand. Because the Lord had compassion on the
multitude in the wilderness, He would not send them
away fasting (v. 32). Christ will not allow His followers to
hunger and faint in the way while following Him.
B. Because the Lesson of Faith Was Needed
When the disciples learned that the Lord intended to
provide food for the people, they said to Him, "Where in a
desert are there so many loaves for us as to satisfy so great
a crowd?" (v. 33). Even in the barren desert the Lord was
able to feed His followers and satisfy them, no matter how
many there were. The disciples experienced this
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before, in 14:15-21; however, it seems that they had not
learned the lesson of faith. They set their eyes on the
environment instead of on the Lord. Yet the Lord's
presence was better than a rich store.
C. The Offering of What the Disciples Had Bringing
in the Blessing with an Overflow
The Lord asked the disciples. "How many loaves do you
have?" This indicates that the Lord always wants to use
what we have to bless others. Verse 36 says, "He took the
seven loaves and the fishes, and giving thanks, He broke
them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples to
the crowds." If we offer all we have to the Lord, He will
take it, break it, and give it back to us for distribution to
others, to whom it will become the satisfying and
overflowing blessing (v. 37). Whatever we offer to the Lord,
however little it is, will be multiplied by His blessing hand
to meet the need of a great multitude (v. 38).
In 15:32-39 we see the corporate eating. When I was
young, I was bothered by the fact that Matthew gives us
two accounts that are almost the same (14:14-21; 15:32-
39). However, if you read these two sections carefully, you
will see that the purpose of each is different. The purpose
of the section about the feeding of the five thousand is to
show us that as we are following our rejected King on the
pathway to glory, He is able to take care of us. But the
purpose of the record of the feeding of the four thousand is
to show that we should not simply eat Jesus as crumbs
individually as dirty dogs. We also need to eat Him in a
corporate way together with many others. Let us all eat
Him together. In this corporate eating we do not eat the
crumbs, but the whole bread, and a surplus remains.
Today in the church life we are no longer dirty dogs eating.
Rather, we are proper men eating Him in a corporate way.
Every church meeting is a time of corporate eating. When
we first came into the church life, we came as dirty dogs,
and we ate under the table. But now we are no longer
under the table; we are sitting at the table. Although we
are in the desert, we are nevertheless at the table. This is
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the corporate eating, an eating that is complete. The full
bread is on the table of the saved ones.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE FORTY-SEVEN
THE PATHWAY TO GLORY
(6)
The book of Matthew often joins things together which
apparently have no connection. We see this at the end of
chapter fifteen and the beginning of chapter sixteen. Why
does 16:1 say that the Lord Jesus was tempted? What is
the connection between this and the end of chapter fifteen?
The last thing covered in chapter fifteen is the corporate
eating. Four thousand men, apart from women and
children, were fed by seven loaves and a few small fishes.
It seems that 16:1-12 has nothing to do with chapter
fifteen. However, when we probe into the depth of the
doctrine revealed in Matthew, we see that there is a
connection.
IX. BEING WARY OF THE LEAVEN OF THE PHARISEES
AND SADDUCEES
When it comes to the matter of eating, we must be
careful not to eat any leaven. In 16:1-12 what is crucial is
not the temptation presented by the Pharisees and
Sadducees, but the leaven. Hidden within this temptation
of the Lord Jesus, there was leaven. Yeast is a leavening
agent, used in making bread. What we see, however, is not
the leaven, but the bread. When we eat bread, we may not
realize that we are also eating leaven, for leaven is hidden
in the bread and thus is invisible. Although no one could
see the leaven hidden in the temptation presented by the
Pharisees and Sadducees, it was nonetheless concealed
within it.
As we have seen, chapter fifteen deals with the matter
of eating. From 15:1 through 16:12, Matthew's record is
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very much concerned with eating. Eating unclean things
may defile us (15:1-20). What we need is not the outward
washing, but the inward eating. Eating is the way to
partake of Christ (15:21-28), and eating causes Gentile
dogs to become children of God, even proper men. By
eating we feed on the unlimited and inexhaustibly rich
supply of Christ (15:32-39). Matthew 15 concludes with the
record of corporate eating. However, we must beware of
eating leaven (16:5-12), especially the religious leaven
hidden within religious people, such as the Pharisees and
the Sadducees. The Pharisees were the ancient
fundamentalists, and the Sadducees were the ancient
modernists. I am thankful that the Bible mentions them
both. In today's religion there are also fundamentalists
and modernists. The first group, the fundamentalists,
have sound, scriptural beliefs. The second group, the
Sadducees, deny what the Bible says.
In Matthew 16 Christ was present as bread, but the
religious ones had hidden, damaging leaven. To repeat,
Christ was the bread, and with the religious people, both
the ancient fundamentalists and modernists, there was
leaven. In the subtlety of religion, leaven tries to creep into
the bread. Remember the parable of the leaven (13:33).
Christ is the line flour to feed God's people for God's
satisfaction. But the woman, the apostate Roman Catholic
Church, took leaven and hid it in the fine flour. Apparently
leaven makes fine flour easier to take in; actually, it
produces corruption. In chapter fifteen we see the bread
available not only for Gentile dogs, but also for the men in
the wilderness. In chapter sixteen the Lord warned His
disciples and seemed to be saying to them, "Take care
regarding your eating. It is right to eat Me, but you must
beware of religious leaven." At the Lord's time there were
the Pharisees and Sadducees, and today there still are
Pharisees and Sadducees. These religious people, whether
they are fundamentalists or modernists, have some secret,
hidden leaven.
Now we can see the connection between chapters
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fifteen and sixteen. We can see the reason Matthew speaks
of leaven immediately after the record of corporate eating.
Be careful. As you are enjoying the corporate eating, it is
easy for leaven to secretly creep in. Eventually, leaven did
creep into the church. The church was not very careful
about this, and not too long after the day of Pentecost
leaven came in. The bread on which the church had been
feeding became completely leavened. Thus, the Lord's
word in 16:6 and 11 was not only a warning, but also a
prophecy.
By the end of chapter fifteen, the disciples were helped
to realize that the Lord Jesus had come to be bread to the
children of God. Firstly, the heathen were dirty dogs, but
after eating Christ they had been regenerated and caused
to become children of God, proper men to enjoy Christ in a
corporate way. When all this was made clear to the
disciples, they must have been happy. However, then the
Lord seemed to say, "It is good to eat Me and to enjoy the
corporate eating. But there are religious people who in the
name of God, under the cloak of worshipping God, and
presumably for the purpose of glorifying God, will bring in
leaven. They will be utilized by the enemy to secretly bring
in some damaging and corrupting thing. You must beware
of this."
The Lord Jesus came as bread to be taken in by sinners
so that they may be regenerated to be the children of God
and transformed into the proper men to feed on Christ
corporately. Although this is wonderful, there is the
danger of religious leaven that comes from religious
people. In Christianity religious people are highly
respected. But I speak of them in a negative way because I
realize that the religious ones always have some leaven.
Under the cloak of religion, they bring in certain matters
that corrupt and damage the things of God. Therefore, we
must learn to beware of leaven as we are enjoying Christ
as our heavenly bread.
This leaven always comes from religion, from the
Pharisees and Sadducess. Mark 8:15 speaks also of the
leaven of Herod. Matthew does not mention this type of
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leaven because his purpose is to show that in feeding on
Christ there is the danger of taking in something religious.
Anything religious may have leaven in it. The leaven of
the Pharisees and Sadducees was their teaching (16:12).
None of the Pharisees taught in a way that would
obviously damage people. If they did this, no one would
listen to them. The same was true of the Sadducees. If
they did not give people the impression that their teaching
would help them, no one would listen to them. The
principle is the same today. In today's Christendom there
is teaching upon teaching. Every teaching appears to help
people. No one will ever tell you that the teaching he is
about to give you may damage you or lead you astray. On
the contrary, everyone with a certain teaching pretends
that his teaching is good and helpful. This is the reason
people like teaching. But we need to realize that leaven
may often be concealed under the cloak of religious
teachings.
Christ is the bread of heaven sent by God and from
God. Leaven, however, is something sent by Satan and
from Satan. Thus, God sent bread. and God's enemy sent
leaven. God is endeavoring to put Christ into His people,
and the enemy is working to put in leaven as God's
children are taking in Christ. This principle is evident in
today's Catholicism. Take the example of Christmas. The
birth of Christ and the incarnation of Christ are the fine
flour as food to us. But Christmas is leaven. The birth of
Christ is pure. How pure it is that God has been
incarnated! But consider how defiled and corrupt is the
practice of Christmas today. There are even such things as
Christmas dancing parties. What leaven there is in this
matter of Christmas! Christmas is so full of leaven that it
is difficult to find any fine flour at all.
We may apply this principle to nearly everything in
today's Christendom. For example, there is nothing wrong
with being a servant of God. But why should people use
the title Reverend? To call yourself Reverend is to bring in
leaven. It is also leaven to use denominational names,
such as Lutheran and Baptist All these titles are leaven.
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Furthermore, it is pure to sing praise to the Lord, but to
have a soloist is to add leaven. Although we enjoy the
corporate eating of Jesus, we need to beware of hidden,
religious leaven. Even some of the dear saints in the Lord's
recovery may wonder what is wrong with having a soloist
in the meeting. Oh, how we must beware of every kind of
leaven! It is not easy to discern that leaven is hidden in
the bread.
A. Temptation of the Pharisees and the Sadducees
1. Asking for a Sign
Matthew 16:1 says, "And the Pharisees and Sadducees
came, and tempting Him asked Him to show them a sign
out of heaven." Those who bring in leaven desire to see
signs, miracles. Nothing is more deceitful than miracles.
Suppose Antichrist appeared and set up his image in front
of you, and the false prophet was able to make this image
speak to you. You could easily be deceived by this and say,
"This is marvelous. If this were not a miracle, how could
he make the image speak?" Leaven always creeps in
through the subtlety of miracles. In 16:1-12 the two key
words are sign and leaven. The religionists, the Pharisees
and Sadducees, came to the Lord Jesus and asked Him to
show them a sign from heaven. However, the Lord Jesus
refused to show them such a sign. The pure bread, the
pure Christ, does not perform signs. As we shall see, He
Himself is the unique sign.
2. Not Being Able to Discern the Signs of the Times
In verses 2 and 3 the Lord indicated to the Pharisees
and Sadducees that although they knew how to discern the
face of heaven, they could not discern the signs of the
times. The signs of the times were on the one hand that
the generation was evil and adulterous and on the other
hand that Christ was to die and be resurrected for that
evil generation. The Pharisees and Sadducees could not
discern these things.
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3. Only the Sign of Jonah Being Available to the Evil
and Adulterous Generation
Verse 4 says, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks
a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it, except the sign of
Jonah. And He left them and went away." Jonah was the
prophet who turned from Israel to the Gentiles and was
put into the belly of the great fish. After remaining there
for three days, he emerged to become a sign to that
generation for repentance (Jonah 1:2, 17; 2:2-10). This was
a type of Christ, the prophet sent by God to His people
(Deut. 18:15, 18). who would turn from Israel to the
Gentiles, and who would be buried in the heart of the
earth for three days and then be resurrected, becoming a
sign to this generation for salvation. The Lord's word here
implies that to that evil and adulterous, Jewish and
religious generation, the Lord would do nothing but die
and be resurrected as a sign, the greatest sign to them,
that they might be saved if they would believe. In speaking
of the sign of Jonah, the Lord seemed to be saying, "You
Pharisees and Sadducees do not need miracles. You need
to discern that this generation is evil and to believe in Me
and take Me into you as the crucified and resurrected One.
You need to repent as the people of Nineveh did, and you
need to believe that I will die for your sins and be
resurrected to impart Myself into you as life. This is the
sign for this generation. No other sign will be given. I am
the sign to you, the sign of the crucified and resurrected
Christ. You need to repent and to receive Me into you as
your bread."
B. The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees
At this juncture the Lord brought in the matter of
leaven, saying, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the
Pharisees and Sadducees" (v. 6). As we have pointed out,
this leaven is the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees
(v. 12). The teaching of the Pharisees was hypocritical
(23:13, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29), and the teaching of the
Sadducees was like today's modernism, denying the
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resurrection, angels, and spirits (Acts 23:8). Hence, the
teachings of both the Pharisees and Sadducees were
impure and evil, and were likened to leaven, which was
forbidden to be seen with God's people (Exo. 13:7).
Again I say that the words sign and leaven are the two
crucial words in this section. We should not believe in any
miracle that does not have in it the essence of Christ's
crucifixion and resurrection. I have seen the so-called
healing services in the Pentecostal movement. However, to
speak truly there was a great deal of leaven there. The
essence of the crucifixion of Christ and of the resurrected
life of Christ was lacking. Every miracle, every sign, must
be based upon the principle of the crucifixion and the
resurrection. The sign of Jonah, the sign of the crucified
and resurrected Christ, must accompany every genuine
miracle. Otherwise, the miracles will simply be a type of
leaven. A great many Christians have been leavened by
miracles. Today the so-called speaking in tongues has
become a type of leaven, and so many of those who speak
in tongues have been leavened by this practice. When
some come to a meeting, they care only for speaking in
tongues, no matter whether or not the tongues are real
and genuine. As long as there is the manifestation of
"tongues," they are happy. This shows how leavened they
are. They have no heart for the pure bread, for the pure
sign with the essence of Christ's crucifixion and
resurrection. On the contrary, they are leavened. Again I
say, beware of every kind of leaven.
X. RECEIVING THE REVELATION CONCERNING CHRIST
AND THE CHURCH
In 16:13-20 we come to a section of the Gospel of
Matthew concerned with the revelation of Christ and the
church. Before we consider the details of this section, we
need to consider the connection between it and the
foregoing section, verses 1-12.
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A. In the District of Caesarea Philippi
Verse 13 says that the Lord Jesus came into the district
of Caesarea Philippi with His disciples and there asked
them, "Who do men say that the Son of Man is?" It seems
that this is not related to the matter of leaven. Caesarea
Philippi is in the northern part of the Holy Land, close to the
border, at the foot of Mount Hermon, on which the Lord was
transfigured (17:1-2). It was far from the holy city with the
holy temple, where the atmosphere of the old Jewish
religion filled every man's thought, leaving no room for
Christ, the new King. The Lord brought His disciples
purposely to such a place with a clear atmosphere that their
thought might be released from the effects of the religious
surroundings in the holy city and holy temple, and that He
might reveal to them something new concerning Himself
and the church, which is the pulse of His heavenly kingdom.
It was here that the vision concerning Him as the Christ
and the Son of the living God came to Peter (vv. 16-17). It
was also here that the church was revealed and mentioned
for the first time as the means of bringing in the kingdom of
the heavens (vv. 18-19).
Several months ago. some other brothers and I visited
both Jerusalem and Caesarea Philippi. The religious
atmosphere of Jerusalem was foul and terrible. Physically,
mentally, and spiritually, the atmosphere was stuffy. We
were disgusted with what we saw there. One day we drove
to the north, to Caesarea Philippi. How fresh the air was
there! We saw a fountain which was one of the three
sources of the Jordan River. We lingered there for a while,
enjoying our lunch and having a pleasant time. The reason
the Lord Jesus brought His disciples to Caesarea Philippi
was to clear them of the foggy religious atmosphere of
Jerusalem and the Jewish religion. Only after the Lord
had brought the disciples to Caesarea Philippi did He
begin to ask them questions regarding who He was.
Caesarea Philippi was the right place for the Lord Jesus to
be revealed to His disciples. It was also the right place for
the revelation to be given regarding the church.
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However, we still have not seen the connection between
these two portions of the Word. The connection is that if
we are still under the influence of religious leaven, we
shall never be clear about Christ or the church. In order to
be clear about Christ and the church, you need to
eliminate all leaven. You not only need to get away from
the religious center, from the holy city with the holy
temple, with the stuffy, foul, atmosphere filled with
religious concepts, but you also need to be purged of the
religious leaven. If there is still leaven within you, you will
be under a veil, and your eyes will not be able to see Christ
and the church. To see Christ and the church you need to
get away from the religious center and all the so-called
holy things, places, and persons, and you need to eliminate
every kind of leaven.
Although certain Christians have a heart for God, they
still cannot see the church. Neither can they see Christ in
a pure and genuine way because they are saturated with
religious leaven. Now we can see the reason Matthew
placed the first part of chapter sixteen immediately after
his account of the corporate eating. In our eating we need
to beware of leaven. Moreover, if we would see Christ and
the church, we should not have any religious leaven. We
need a clear sky and a clear atmosphere; we also need a
clear mind and a clear understanding, an understanding
not under the influence of religious leaven. If we still hold
the concept that there is nothing wrong with Christmas or
with the denominations, it is an indication that our
understanding is saturated with hidden religious leaven.
This leaven creates not an outward fog, but an inward
mist. If there is such a mist within us, our vision will be
blurred. The inward condition of some saints is like this.
They are filled with mist. But every once in a while a little
hole appears, and a portion of clear sky can be seen.
However, immediately afterward the mist covers the clear
spot. Some of these saints may say, "What's wrong with
the title Southern Baptist? A denomination is not a
gambling casino, is it?" If you think like this, your vision
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will be blurred. Questions like these indicate that you still
hold on to leavened, religious concepts.
Many of us have been leavened from the time we were
born. Throughout our childhood we were constantly under
the influence of leaven. Although you knew nothing of
Christ, you were familiar with Santa Claus, Christmas
stockings, and trees decorated with colored lights. Your
thought and feeling were completely leavened. To you, the
church was a bungalow with a high tower and bell. This
shows that unconsciously and subconsciously you were
leavened. Moreover, the more you were educated and
trained in school, the more the leaven saturated your
being. Therefore, we need to leave the religious center and
go far to the north, to the region of Caesarea Philippi,
where the sky is clear. Also. we need to say to the Lord
inwardly, "Lord Jesus, purify me of every kind of leaven. I
don't want there to be fog without or mist within. I want to
be a clear person under a clear sky."
Again I say that the bread in Christendom is impure; it
is leavened. The very Christ preached and taught by
today's religion has been leavened. Consider how much
leaven there is in the preaching of Christ and in the
teaching regarding the church. The "bread" of the church.
that is, the truth concerning the church, has been
especially leavened. Recently I was grieved to hear that
some Christian preachers have issued a call for Christians
to come back to the so-called historic church. Do they not
know that the councils of the historic church made many
evil decisions, one of which made at the Council of
Ephesus (A.D. 431) was to sanction the worship of Mary?
As you know, the charismatic movement has penetrated
the Catholic Church and has even been mixed with the
worship of Mary. How can those who have had the
charismatic experience tolerate such idolatry? But today
some are saying, even over the radio, that there is no
idolatry in Catholicism. A certain group in Berkeley is
striving to investigate us. I wonder why they do not
investigate the Catholic Church. Why do they not go to the
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Vatican and see the paganism, idolatry, and heresy there?
The fact that they investigate us but not the Catholic
Church exposes their evil intention, which is to suppress
us and to terminate us. In every corner of today's
Christendom there is hidden leaven. Nothing there is
pure. The whole of Christendom has been leavened. This is
not my word; it is the prophetic word of the Lord Jesus in
13:33, where the Lord said that "the whole was leavened."
We, however, stand against the leaven and we are
testifying the pure Jesus. Although this is offensive to
many, there is nothing we can do about it. We must testify
the pure Christ and stand against all leaven.
B. Receiving the Revelation concerning Christ
In verse 13 the Lord asked His disciples a question:
"Who do men say that the Son of Man is?" As a man,
Christ was a mystery, not only to that generation, but also
to people today.
1. Christ Not Being John the Baptist, Elijah,
Jeremiah, or One of the Prophets
Verse 14 says, "And they said, Some, John the Baptist;
and others, Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah, or one of the
prophets." At most, people can only recognize that Christ
is the greatest among the prophets. Without heavenly
revelation, no one can know that He is the Christ and the
Son of the living God (v. 16).
2. Christ, the Son of the Living God
After the Lord asked His disciples to say who they
thought He was, Simon Peter answered and said, "You are
the Christ, the Son of the living God" (v. 16). The Christ,
as the anointed One of God, refers to the Lord's
commission; whereas the Son of the living God, as the
second of the Triune God, refers to His person. His
commission is to accomplish God's eternal purpose through
His crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and second
advent, whereas His
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person embodies the Father and issues in the Spirit for a
full expression of the Triune God.
The living God is in contrast to dead religion. The Lord
is the embodiment of the living God, having nothing to do
with dead religion.
3. Revealed by the Heavenly Father under His
Blessing, Not by Flesh and Blood
Verse 17 says, "And Jesus answered and said to him,
You are blessed, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood
did not reveal this to you, but My Father Who is in the
heavens." Flesh and blood refer to man, who is composed
of flesh and blood. Only the Father knows the Son (11:27);
hence, only He can reveal the Son to us.
C. Receiving the Revelation concerning the Church
In verse 18 the Lord said. "And I also say to you that
you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and
the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." The
Father's revelation concerning Christ is just the first half
of the great mystery, which is Christ and the church (Eph.
5:32). Hence, the Lord needed also to reveal to Peter the
second half, which is concerning the church.
1. The Building of the Church
a. By Christ
In verse 18 the Lord said, "I will build My church." The
Lord's building of His church began at the day of Pentecost
(Acts 2:1-4, 41-42). Yet the Lord's prophecy here has still
not been fulfilled, even by the twentieth century.
Christendom, composed of the apostate Roman Catholic
Church and the Protestant denominations, is not the
Lord's building of His church. This prophecy is fulfilled
through the Lord's recovery, in which the building of the
genuine church is accomplished.
The words "My church" indicate that the church is of
the Lord, not of any person or thing; it is not like the
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denominations, which are denominated after some
person's name or according to some thing.
b. Upon the Rock
The Lord told Peter that He would build His church
upon "this rock." The words "this rock" refer not only to
Christ, but also to this revelation of Christ, which Peter
received from the Father. The church is built on this
revelation concerning Christ.
Roman Catholicism claims that the rock in verse 18
refers to Peter, whereas most fundamental Christians say
that it refers to Christ. Although it is correct to say that
the rock denotes Christ, not even this understanding is
adequate. The rock here refers not only to Christ, but even
the more to the revelation concerning Christ. In this
chapter the Father reveals something from the heavens to
Peter. This heavenly revelation from the Father is the
rock. It is not an insignificant matter that the church is
built both upon Christ and upon the revelation concerning
Christ. The denominations are not built upon this rock.
For example, the Southern Baptist denomination is built
upon the revelation of baptism by immersion, not upon the
revelation of Christ. In the same principle, the
Presbyterian denomination is built upon the doctrine of
presbytery. Likewise, the charismatic churches or groups
are not built upon this revelation concerning Christ; they
are built upon their knowledge of the charismatic things
and on their experience of them. Thus, the Foursquare
denomination is built upon the revelation of the
foursquare gospel, not on the revelation of Christ.
The church that is built upon the revelation concerning
Christ is the genuine church, and it is not sectarian. The
problem today is that Christians like to form groups or so-
called churches according to their concept and viewpoint.
But their concept is not the revelation concerning Christ.
The church must be built upon "this rock," that is, upon
the revelation of Christ. If we see this, we shall be saved
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from division. Only one thing is built upon the revelation
of Christ, and that is the church. Any group that is built
upon doctrines, views, practices, or concepts is not the
church built upon the revelation concerning Christ. The
revelation concerning Christ is the rock upon which the
Lord Jesus is building His church.
c. With the Stone
The Greek word rendered "Peter" in verse 18 may also
be rendered "a stone," which is the material for God's
building. Like Peter, all the believers need to be
transformed into stones for the building of the church (1
Pet. 2:5).
d. The Gates of Hades Not Prevailing against It
In verse 18 the Lord also said that the gates of Hades
would not prevail against His church. The "gates of Hades"
refers to Satan's authority or power of darkness (Col. 1:13;
Acts 26:18), which cannot prevail against the genuine
church built by Christ upon this revelation concerning
Him as the rock, with stones such as Peter, a transformed
human being. This work of the Lord also indicates that
Satan's power of darkness will attack the church; hence,
there is spiritual warfare between Satan's power, which is
his kingdom, and the church, which is God's kingdom.
When we were in Rome several months ago, we visited
Saint Peter's Cathedral. On the dome there were written
some words from Matthew [Link] "I will build my church
upon this rock." However, the last part of this verse--"And
the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it"--was not
written there. Perhaps this indicates that the gates of
Hades have totally defeated the Catholic Church. The
church in the Lord's recovery, however, is truly built upon
the revelation concerning Christ, and against this church
the gates of Hades cannot prevail.
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2. The Church Being the Kingdom of the Heavens
Verse 19 speaks of the kingdom of the heavens. The
words "the kingdom of the heavens" here are
interchangeably used for the word "church" in the previous
verse. This is a strong proof that the genuine church is the
kingdom of the heavens in this age. This is confirmed by
Romans 14:17, which refers to the proper church life.
a. The Keys Given to Peter
In verse 19 the Lord said to Peter, "I will give to you
the keys of the kingdom of the heavens." According to
history, the keys have been two: Peter used one to open
the gate for the Jewish believers to enter the kingdom of
the heavens on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38-42); and he
used the other to open the gate for the Gentile believers to
enter the kingdom of the heavens in the house of Cornelius
(Acts 10:34-48).
b. Binding and Loosing on Earth What Has Been Bound and Loosed
in the Heavens
In verse 19 the Lord also said to Peter, "Whatever you
bind on the earth shall be what has been bound in the
heavens, and whatever you loose on the earth shall be
what has been loosed in the heavens." The Gospel of
Matthew is concerned with the kingdom of the heavens,
which is a matter of authority. The church revealed in this
book represents the kingdom to reign. Hence, the
authority to bind and to loose is given not only to Peter,
the apostle for the church here, but also to the church
itself (18:17-18). Whatever the church people bind or loose
on earth must be what has been bound or loosed in the
heavens already. We can only bind or loose what has
already been bound or loosed in the heavens.
D. The Revelation concerning Christ and the
Church Kept Secret
Verse 20 says, "Then He charged the disciples that
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they should tell no one that He is the Christ." The
revelation concerning Christ with His church is always
hidden from religious people.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE FORTY-EIGHT
THE PATHWAY TO GLORY
(7)
On the pathway to glory we have rejection, the lack of
necessities, the storm on the sea, and the accusation from
religion, and then we learn how to eat Christ. As the result
of eating Christ, there is the healing for the glorification of
God. Following this, there is the corporate eating, the
warning regarding leaven, and the clear revelation
concerning Christ and the church. In this message we
come to the last station of the pathway to glory: the way of
the cross. Only when people have learned how to eat
Christ and to beware of religious leaven and are under a
clear sky, can the revelation of Christ and the church be
given. Many of us can testify that before we came to such a
place, the revelation of Christ and the church did not
come. It comes only in Caesarea Philippi. We feed on
Christ not only as the crumbs, but also in a corporate way
as the rich, unlimited, inexhaustible supply of life. Only
then can we see the revelation of Christ and the church.
Thus, three things are vital: that we know how to feed on
Christ and to enjoy the inexhaustibly rich supply of Christ;
that we are purged of all religious leaven; and that we are
in Caesarea Philippi under a clear sky. Here the fog is
driven away. We cannot afford to stay in a situation where
there is religious fog. If we remain in that kind of place, we
shall not see the revelation given in Caesarea Philippi.
Hallelujah, we have the rich supply, we have a clear sky,
and we have no fog! Therefore, we see the vision of Christ
and the church.
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XI. TAKING THE WAY OF THE CROSS
A good number of Christian teachers have seen the
connection between Matthew 16:13-20 and 16:21-28, the
connection between the portion of the Word concerning
Christ and the church and that concerning the way of the
cross. In order to experience Christ and to have the church
built upon Christ, we need to take the way of the cross.
Christ was the Pioneer, the Forerunner, in taking the way
of the cross. This is the unique way for Christ to be
released, and it is also the unique way for the church to be
built with Christ and upon Christ.
A. Christ Going to Jerusalem to Suffer Crucifixion
and to Be Resurrected
Verse 21 says, "From that time Jesus began to show to
His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer
many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes,
and be killed, and be raised on the third day." After the
revelation of the great mystery concerning Christ and the
church, the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ are
unveiled. For Christ to build His church, He must go to the
religious center, pass through crucifixion, and enter into
resurrection. In verse 21 the Lord first revealed to His
disciples His crucifixion and resurrection. Before this time,
He had not mentioned anything about these things.
Following the revelation of Christ and the church, the
Lord Jesus revealed to His enlightened disciples His
crucifixion and resurrection. This is very meaningful. After
we see Christ and the church, we must be prepared to take
the way of the cross. You may be wondering what the way
of the cross is. To take the way of the cross is not to
reserve anything of the self. No matter how good, right, or
profitable you may be, you need to be crucified. For the
enjoyment of Christ and for the building of the church, we
must be crucified. Nothing of our being should be reserved.
In verse 21 the Lord Jesus spoke both of His crucifixion
and His resurrection. The disciples, however, picked up
the matter of crucifixion, but neglected the matter of
resurrection. The disciples heard that the Lord was to be
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killed, but it seems that they did not hear that He would
be resurrected. Nevertheless, the Lord did say that He
would be raised on the third day. They did not grasp this
part of the Lord's word because they had no concept of
resurrection. Within them was the fear that the Lord
Jesus would be killed. Thus, when the Lord spoke about
His resurrection, the disciples did not apprehend it. It is
the same with us today. We immediately take in whatever
corresponds to our concept. But if a certain thing does not
correspond to what is already within us, we do not take it
in. Some people wonder why in my speaking I repeat
things again and again. Although I may repeat certain
things, some people still do not get them. Again I say that
although the Lord Jesus spoke of two matters, crucifixion
and resurrection, the disciples grasped the first, but not
the second.
B. Satan's Frustration of Christ through Peter's
Natural Concept
Verse 22 says, "And Peter, taking Him to him, began to
rebuke Him, saying, God be merciful to You, Lord; this
shall by no means happen to You!" Peter's word reveals
that the natural man is never willing to take the cross.
Peter was bold and had a good heart toward the Lord.
Without Peter, we would not have so many revelations, for
through his boldness in making mistakes a number of
revelations were given. Here Peter was bold enough to
rebuke the Lord. As Peter was rebuking the Lord, his
expression might have been that of Satan. Peter's words--
"God be merciful to You, Lord"--sound very nice, but they
were actually a rebuke. Peter had been offended by the
Lord's word about being killed. Because he was fully in
himself, he actually rebuked the Lord Jesus.
In verse 23 we see the Lord's response: "But He turned
and said to Peter, Get behind Me, Satan! You are a
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stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind
on the things of God, but on the things of men." Christ
perceived that it was not Peter but Satan who was
frustrating Him from taking the cross. This reveals that
our natural man, which is not willing to take the cross, is
one with Satan. When we are setting our mind, not on the
things of God, but on the things of men, we become Satan,
a stumbling block to the Lord in the fulfillment of God's
purpose.
C. Following Christ by Denying the Self and Taking
Up the Cross
Verse 24 says, "Then Jesus said to His disciples, If
anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and
take up his cross, and follow Me." Here the Lord speaks
about denying the self. To deny our self is to forfeit our
soul-life, the natural life (v. 26; Luke 9:25).
In verse 25 the Lord continues: "For whoever desires to
save his soul-life shall lose it; but whoever loses his soul-
life for My sake shall find it." In verses 23 through 25,
three things are related to one another: mind, himself, and
soul-life. Our mind is the expression of our self, and our
self is the embodiment of our soul-life. Our soul-life is
embodied in and lived out by our self, and our self is
expressed through our mind, our thought, our concept, our
opinion. When we set our mind, not on the things of God,
but on the things of men, our mind grasps the opportunity
to act and express itself. This was what happened to Peter.
Hence, the Lord's following word indicated that he had to
deny himself and not save his soul-life, but rather lose it.
To lose the soul-life is the reality of denying the self. This
is to take up the cross.
Actually, in these verses four things are related: Satan,
mind, self, and soul-life. This message is concerned mainly
with these four things, which begin with the mind and
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ultimately consummate with Satan. The mind is the
expression of the self, and the self is the embodiment of
the soul-life. The soul-life is lived out by the self, and the
self is expressed through the mind. What the mind thinks
or considers is an opinion, idea, or concept. The mind's
opinion, concept, or idea is the expression of the self, the
embodiment of the soul-life. The soul-life is embodied in
the self, just as the Father is embodied in the Son. The
soul-life is like the Father, the self is like the Son, and the
mind is like the Spirit. Thus, we have here a trinity of
mind, self, and soul-life.
The soul-life, the source, is embodied in the self, which
is expressed in the mind. Perhaps you have never before
considered your mind the expression of the self. If you saw
this, you would probably not use your mind so much. Your
opinion is the expression of your self. Beware of your
opinion, for it is not a positive thing. Natural opinions,
concepts, ideas, and thoughts are negative things, for they
are the expression of the self. The soul is embodied in the
self and lived out through the self, and the self is
expressed in opinions. When the self is expressed through
the mind as opinion, that is Satan.
I have learned to be afraid of my opinions. During the
years, I have been enlightened to see that the natural
opinion or concept is the incarnation of Satan. If this were
not so, how could the Lord Jesus have rebuked Peter and
called him Satan? The first time I read this in the Bible, I
was shocked. In verse 23 Peter and Satan had become one
in Peter's selfish opinion. Peter's opinion was Satan. To
repeat, the soul-life is embodied in the self, and the self is
expressed through the mind. When the mind expresses an
opinion, that is the incarnation of Satan.
Have you ever realized that often your opinion has
been the expression of Satan? I doubt that you have ever
understood the matter in this way. It is crucial that we see
that our natural opinion is the incarnation of Satan.
Nothing damages your Christian life more than your
opinions. The expression of the natural opinion is the
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product of satanic inspiration. Because your natural
opinion comes from Satan's inspiration, you need to
beware of it. If you use your mind excessively, the Lord
Jesus will call you Satan. If you exercise your mind too
much, you will be the expression of Satan, and the Lord
Jesus will say to you, "Get behind Me, Satan."
To take the way of the cross to enter into glory requires
that we not use our mind in a natural way. We must deny
the self, bear the cross, and follow Christ. I do not believe
that anyone who exercises his mind in a natural way can
be a good follower of Christ. When we exercise our mind
too much, we do not follow Christ. Christ is not in our
mind, but in our spirit. If you examine these verses in
their context, you will see that the mind is the expression
of the self, that the self is the embodiment of the soul-life,
and that all this must be put on the cross.
In verse 24 the Lord said, "If anyone desires to come
after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and
follow Me." The cross is not merely a suffering; it is
primarily a killing. It kills and terminates the criminal.
Christ first bore the cross and then was crucified. We, His
believers, have first been crucified with Him and then bear
the cross today. To us, bearing the cross is to remain under
the killing of the death of Christ for the terminating of our
self, our natural life, and our old man. In so doing we deny
our self that we may follow the Lord.
Many Christians have a mistaken concept of the cross.
They think that the cross is just for suffering. In this
section of the Word, however, the cross does not denote
suffering, but killing. The ultimate purpose of the cross is
not to cause you to suffer; it is to terminate you, to kill
you. The Lord's word here does not have the concept of
suffering; His concept concerning the cross is that of
killing.
The Lord Jesus firstly bore the cross and then He was
crucified on the cross and terminated. As the Lord Jesus
was bearing the cross, He was constantly under the
killing, not under suffering. It is a wrong concept to
associate the cross merely with suffering. The Lord Jesus
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began to bear the cross immediately after His baptism.
Baptism means that a person is put into death,
terminated, and buried. From the moment of His baptism,
the Lord Jesus was constantly putting Himself under the
cross and keeping Himself there. He was a person who was
constantly being put to death. With Him, the bearing came
first and the killing followed. With us it is just the
opposite, for we are first crucified with Him and then we
bear the cross.
As a youth, I was taught that to bear the cross is to
suffer. This erroneous concept comes from Catholicism. I
repeat, the concept of bearing the cross in Matthew 16 is
not that of suffering, but of being put to death. In order to
bear the cross, we must realize that we have already been
crucified. We have been killed on the cross with Christ,
and now we must remain under this killing. I am a person
who has been killed. My self-life, my mind, my natural life,
and my whole being have been killed. Now I need to
remain under this killing. This is what it means to bear
the cross.
When I was a young person, I heard certain
exhortations given to others related to bearing the cross. A
wife who was suffering the unkindness of her husband was
told to bear the cross. In other words, she was told that to
suffer the unkindness of her husband was to bear the
cross. But suffering cannot build up the church. However.
the genuine bearing of the cross builds up the church,
because it puts to death the self, the soul-life, and the
natural life. We all have been buried, baptized, and
terminated. Now we need to stay in this termination. This
is to take the way of the cross.
A dead man has no opinion. It is impossible to bend his
mind because his mind no longer functions. If your mind
can be bent, it means that it is still alive, active, and
aggressive. If you tried to bend the minds of those buried
in a cemetery and they could speak, they would say, "You
have come to the wrong place. We all are dead, and our
minds have stopped functioning. There is no need for you
to come to bend our minds." If we bear the cross, we shall
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be like those buried in the cemetery. We shall remain in a
state of termination and lie there under death. This is the
correct meaning of bearing the cross.
In Matthew 16 Peter was very active and aggressive.
On the one hand, it is good to stir up things by being
aggressive. However, all the quick brothers need to be
killed. I love the quick ones, the bold ones, the troublesome
ones, because they stir up things. If there were no brothers
like this in the Lord's recovery, no one would cause
trouble. Because of brothers like this, there are always
troubles in the recovery. Without these troubles, the Lord
Jesus could not be revealed to such a great degree.
Eventually, however, the Lord called Peter, the quick one,
Satan. All the quick Peters must be terminated. They need
to be killed and stay under the killing of the cross.
Otherwise, there will be no way for the church to be built.
To take the pathway to glory ultimately means to put
ourselves to death. This pathway is not only a matter of
rejection, of experiencing the lack of necessities, of facing
the storm on the sea, of encountering the accusations of
religion, of learning to eat the Lord Jesus as the
inexhaustible life supply, of being warned to beware of the
leaven, and of seeing the vision of Christ and the church.
In addition to all this, we need to be terminated. The last
station of the pathway to glory is the station of self-
termination. The view presented in the Gospel of Matthew
is marvelous. Matthew's view covers rejection, necessity,
the storm, the accusation from religion, the leaven, Satan,
the self, the mind, and the soul-life. If you do not know
how to face these things, it will be difficult for you to enter
into glory. The last step before entering into glory is the
termination of the self. It is not sufficient merely to pass
through rejection or to experience the Lord's supplying our
material necessities. Also, it is not adequate to endure the
stormy sea, to deal with the religious accusation regarding
outward things, to feed on Christ, and to beware of leaven.
Ultimately, the pathway to glory is a matter of being
terminated.
You may think that Satan is in the rejection, the storm,
or the accusation. Actually, Satan is not in these things;
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instead, only demons are there. The demons are behind
the rejection, the storm, and the religious accusations. But
Satan, the king of the demons, is in your mind, your self,
and your soul-life. Therefore, you must hate your self more
than you hate rejection. Martin Luther once said that he
was more afraid of himself than he was of the pope, for he
knew that he had the strongest pope, the self, within him.
The subtle, concealed enemy, even the adversary, is our
self. Thus, the last dealing along the pathway to glory is to
deal with this self.
As we have seen, the self is active in the opinions,
concepts, and ideas expressed by our mind. Christians
today fight and are divided because of differing opinions.
For this reason, the Apostle Paul said that we all need to
be attuned to the same opinion (1 Cor. 1:10). Hence, to
take the pathway to glory is ultimately to deal with our
self.
I believe that we have seen a clear vision that bearing
the cross is not a matter of suffering, but of keeping the
self under the termination of death. The cross of Christ is
the terminating death, and we must stay in the place of
this termination. To remain there is to bear the cross. I am
bearing the cross, for I keep myself under Christ's
termination. Therefore, because I have been terminated, I
have no idea, no concept, no opinion. By the Lord's grace, I
wish to remain in the place of termination for my whole
life.
Resurrection follows termination. When we keep
ourselves under Christ's termination, spontaneously there
will be a reaction in our spirit. This reaction is
resurrection. Resurrection is what is needed for the
building up of the church. To experience termination and
resurrection is the way to enjoy Christ and to build up the
church. In verse 24 the Lord tells us to follow Him. Before
the Lord's crucifixion, the disciples followed Him in an
outward way. But since His resurrection, we follow Him in
an inward way. Because in resurrection He has become the
life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45) dwelling in our spirit (2
Tim. 4:22), we follow Him in our spirit (Gal. 5:16-25).
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1. Saving the Soul-life Being to Lose It, But Losing
the Soul-life for Christ's Sake Being to Find It
In verse 25 the Lord says, "For whoever desires to save
his soul-life shall lose it; but whoever loses his soul-life for
My sake shall find it." In following the Lord we should not
save our soul-life, that is, we should not let the soul have
its enjoyment. If we save it in this age, we shall lose it in
the coming age. But if we lose it for Christ's sake, we shall
find it in the enjoyment of the kingdom in the coming age.
2. Gaining the Whole World by Forfeiting the Soul-
life Profiting Nothing
In verse 26 the Lord asked, "For what shall a man be
profited if he should gain the whole world, but forfeit his
soul-life? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his
soul-life?" The enjoyment of the soul-life today is wrapped
up with the world. To gain the world for the enjoyment of
the soul is to forfeit the life in the enjoyment of the
kingdom in the coming age. Even if we gained the whole
world for the enjoyment of the soul-life in this age by
forfeiting the enjoyment of the soul-life in the coming age,
it would profit nothing. Nothing is worthy to be given in
exchange for the enjoyment of the soul-life in the kingdom.
D. The Reward of the Kingdom
Verse 27 says, "For the Son of Man is about to come in
the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will
reward each man according to his doings." The word "For"
at the beginning of this verse indicates that the Lord's
rewarding of His followers at His coming back in verse 27
will be according to whether they lose or save their soul, as
mentioned in verses 25 and 26. The reward will be given
according to how we have borne the cross. It depends on
whether or not we keep ourselves under the
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killing of the cross, on whether we save our soul-life in this
age or lose it.
1. At the Coming of Christ in the Glory of the Father
This will be judged by the Lord at His coming in the
glory of His father. If we do bear the cross to follow Him by
losing the enjoyment of our soul in this age, He will reward
us with the enjoyment of the soul in the kingdom.
2. According to the Believers' Doings
In verse 27 the Lord says that "He will reward each
man according to his doings," that is, according to whether
or not we lose our soul-life's enjoyment in this age. This
will have nothing to do with our eternal salvation;
however, it has very much to do with the Lord's
dispensational reward to us.
3. At the Judgment Seat of Christ
The reward will be given to every man at the judgment
seat of Christ when Christ comes back (2 Cor. 5:10; Rev.
22:12). This indicates that this will transpire in the air
after all the believers have been raptured into the
presence of the Lord there.
4. To Be Enjoyed at the Manifestation of the Kingdom
The Lord's reward will be the entering into the
kingdom, which will be at the manifestation of the
kingdom. The Lord refers to the manifestation of the
kingdom in verse 28: "Truly I say to you, There are some of
those standing here who shall by no means taste death
until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."
This was fulfilled by the Lord's transfiguration on the
mountain (17:1-2). His transfiguration was His coming in
His kingdom, which was seen by His three disciples, Peter,
James, and John. In the next message we shall point out
that the transfiguration of Christ was a miniature of the
manifestation of the kingdom. The manifestation of the
kingdom in the millennium will be the reward to the
followers of Christ who remain under the killing of the
cross on the pathway to glory. All the dear ones who follow
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Christ in this way will be rewarded with the manifestation
of the kingdom.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE FORTY-NINE
THE MINIATURE OF THE MANIFESTATION OF
THE KINGDOM
From 13:53 to 14:8 the record of the Gospel of Matthew
portrays the way to follow the heavenly King, from His
rejection to the entering in of the manifestation of the
kingdom. His followers not only shared His rejection by
the Jews (13:53-58), but were also persecuted and even
martyred by Gentile politics (14:1-12). Therefore, they
were in the desert with Him in a situation of poverty, yet
they were richly cared for by Him (14:13-21). When they
were on the stormy sea under the contrary wind, He
walked on the sea, calmed the storm, and brought them
through (14:22-34). At that point, many sick ones were
healed by touching Him (14:35-36), but the hypocritical
worshippers of God came to accuse Him because His
followers transgressed their tradition (15:1-20). Then His
disciples followed Him through Gentile country, where a
demon-possessed Gentile was healed (15:21-28). After this,
they followed Him along the sea of Galilee and up the
mountain, where those with all kinds of sicknesses were
healed and the need of His followers in the crowd was
again richly provided for in a barren desert (15:29-39).
Following this, both the fundamentalists and modernists
of that day came to tempt Him, and He indicated that He
would die to be a unique sign to them (16:1-4). Then He
charged His followers to beware of the leaven of both the
fundamentalists and modernists (16:5-12). After all this,
He brought His followers to the border of the holy land,
close to Gentile country, that they might have a revelation
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of Him, of the church, and of the cross as the way for them
to enter into the kingdom (16:13-28). Finally, He brought
them into glory in the manifestation of the kingdom (17:1-
8). In this message we shall see that the Lord's
transfiguration was a miniature of the kingdom (16:28-
17:13).
If we compare all the things mentioned above with our
experience, we shall see that our way today is exactly the
same as that revealed in 13:53--17:8. On the pathway to
glory we face rejection, the storm, and the accusations. We
experience the eating, we beware of leaven, and we have a
revelation of Christ and the church. Furthermore, we take
the way of the cross and deny the self and the soul-life.
These are the steps along the pathway to glory.
Matthew 13:53--17:8 is a marvelous doctrinal section.
Thirty-four years ago. I gave a message on this portion of
the Word in Shanghai. I had just arrived there as a
newcomer in the work with Brother Nee. I was asked to
give the message one Sunday morning. Then I received the
burden to minister on the subject of the pathway to glory. I
asked the congregation to read more than three chapters
of Matthew, from the end of chapter thirteen to the first
part of chapter seventeen. Then I gave a long message on
these chapters. Nearly all the points in that message were
the same as those covered in these messages on the
pathway to glory. Although I had not yet seen the matter
of eating, the structure of the message was the same as
that of these messages. How wonderful it is to be on the
pathway to glory! I can testify that during the past forty-
four years I have taken every step of this pathway. I have
experienced rejection, the lack of material necessities, the
storms, and the accusations. Moreover, I have seen the
revelation concerning Christ and the church. Because I
have been walking this pathway for such a long time, in a
sense I have already entered into glory. Others of us are
either in the glory or are very close to it. Although some of
us may be in the glory, we are still on the pathway to a
greater degree of glory. We all need to keep walking on
this pathway until the Lord comes back.
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I. THE KINGDOM HAVING COME
Matthew 16:28 says, "Truly I say to you, There are
some of those standing here who shall by no means taste
death until they see the Son of Man coming in His
kingdom." This was fulfilled by the Lord's transfiguration
on the mountain (17:1-2). His transfiguration was His
coming in His kingdom, which was seen by three of His
disciples, Peter, James. and John.
II. CHRIST TRANSFIGURED ON A HIGH MOUNTAIN
Matthew 17:1 says, "And after six days Jesus takes
with Him Peter and James and John his brother and
brings them up into a high mountain apart. Since the
Lord's transfiguration transpired six days alter the
revelations concerning Christ and the church in chapter
sixteen (given at the very foot of Mount Hermon), the high
mountain here must be Mount Hermon. To receive the
revelation concerning Christ and the church we must be
far away from the religious environment; but to see the
vision of the transfigured Christ we need to be on a high
mountain, far above the earthly level.
Verse 2 says, "And He was transfigured before them,
and His face shone as the sun, and His garments became
white as the light." Not many Christians realize that
Christ's transfiguration was His coming in His kingdom.
In the past we pointed out that the Lord's coming will not
take place suddenly; rather, it will come gradually. In a
sense, the Lord will come back from heaven; but in
another sense, He will come out of us. When He fully lives
Himself out of us, that will be the time of His coming.
According to Matthew 17:1 with 16:28, His coming was His
transfiguration, and His transfiguration was His
glorification. When He was transfigured, He was glorified.
Now we must see what it means to be glorified. When
Christ, who is God, became a man, His divinity was
incarnated in His humanity. He was a unique person, one
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possessing both divinity and humanity. His divinity was
concealed within His humanity. Outwardly, He was a
man, but inwardly He was the very God. God was hidden,
contained, concealed, within this man. Glory is God
manifested, God expressed. It is nothing other than God
Himself manifested and seen by man. The God hidden
within the humanity of Jesus was the very glory Thus, the
glorious divine element was concealed within the human
element of Jesus. As He walked on earth, no one could see
His glorious divinity. Many saw the miracles and realized
that He was someone extraordinary, but prior to His
transfiguration no one had ever seen the glory concealed
within Him. Then one day He brought three of His most
intimate disciples to a high mountain, and was there
transfigured before them. For the Lord Jesus to be
transfigured meant that His humanity was saturated and
permeated with His divinity. We may say that His
humanity was soaked with divinity. This transfiguration,
which was His glorification, was equal to His coming in
His kingdom. This indicates that Christ's coming in His
kingdom is linked with His transfiguration. Where His
transfiguration is, there the coming of the kingdom is also.
The coming of the kingdom is the Lord's glorification, His
transfiguration; and His glorification is the saturation of
His humanity by His divinity. This is the meaning of
transfiguration. Because the Lord has been transfigured,
He is now in glory.
In Christ's transfiguration, His humanity was glorified;
it was brought into God's glory. Before that time, God was
in Him, but His humanity was not in God's glory. In His
transfiguration His humanity was thoroughly saturated
with His glorious divinity. In the coming manifestation of
the kingdom, Christ will be like this. He will be the very
Christ with both divinity and humanity, but His humanity
will be soaked with His divinity.
The day is coming when we shall not only see this, but
also experience it ourselves. We now have the divine life
with the divine nature within us. However, we still have
our natural humanity. No matter how spiritual and holy
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we may be, our humanity is still natural. It has not yet
been saturated with the divine glory. But at the time of
the manifestation of the kingdom, our humanity will be
glorified by the glorious divinity within us.
Perhaps the opposers will label this evolution into God.
But this is not evolution into God--it is glorification. The
opposers need to read Romans [Link] "And whom He
predestinated, these He also called; and whom He called,
these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He
also glorified." I would like to ask the opposers what they
think it means to be glorified. Do they think that to be
glorified is merely to enter the realm of glory? This is a
very superficial understanding of glorification. To be
glorified is to be saturated with God's glory. It is to be
transfigured, not from without, but from within. One day
we shall be a great surprise to the unbelievers. Second
Thessalonians 1.10 says, "When he shall come to be
glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that
believe." The unbelievers will be shocked by our
glorification. Because in our humanity we are the same as
the unbelievers, they can see no difference between us and
them. But the day is coming when they will see a glorious
difference. for our humanity will be saturated with
divinity, and we shall become a glorious people. We shall
not just be spiritual, holy, pure, and clean. We shall be
glorious. This is the coming of the kingdom. We are
waiting for this to take place.
III. MOSES AND ELIJAH, REPRESENTING THE OLD
TESTAMENT OVERCOMERS, TO BE IN THE
MANIFESTATION OF THE KINGDOM
Verse 3 says, "And behold, Moses and Elijah were seen
by them, conversing with Him." Moses and Elijah
represent the Old Testament overcomers who will be in
the manifestation of the kingdom. They both appeared in
the coming of the kingdom, that is, they were present in
the manifestation of the kingdom.
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IV. PETER, JAMES, AND JOHN, REPRESENTING THE NEW
TESTAMENT OVERCOMERS, TO BE IN THE
MANIFESTATION OF THE KINGDOM
In this miniature of the manifestation of the kingdom
we have not only the Old Testament overcomers, but also
New Testament overcomers, represented by Peter, James,
and John. In this manifestation we have a glimpse of the
full manifestation of the kingdom in the future.
V. MOSES AND ELIJAH, REPRESENTING THE LAW AND
THE PROPHETS, BEING WRONGLY RANKED WITH
CHRIST
Moses died, and God hid his body (Deut. 34:5-6); and
Elijah was taken by God into heaven (2 Kings 2:11). God
purposely did these two things so that Moses and Elijah
might appear with Christ on the mount of His
transfiguration. They were also preserved by God to be the
two witnesses in the great tribulation (Rev. 11:3-4). Moses
represents the law, and Elijah, the prophets. The law and
the prophets were the constituents of the Old Testament
as a full testimony of Christ (John 5:39). Now Moses and
Elijah appeared to converse with Christ concerning His
death (Luke 9:31) according to the Old Testament (Luke
24:25-27, 44; 1 Cor. 15:3).
We have pointed out that God hid Moses' body and that
Elijah was taken to heaven. However, Elijah was not
taken to the third heaven. Acts 2:34 indicates that apart
from Christ no one has ascended into heaven. Thus, Elijah
was not in the third heaven. God hid Moses' body and He
kept Elijah until the day of Christ's transfiguration. When
Christ was transfigured, these two appeared with Him.
In verse 4 Peter said, "Lord, it is good for us to be here;
if You are willing, I will make three tabernacles here, one
for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah." This
indicates that Peter recognized Moses and Elijah. Perhaps
you are wondering how Peter was able to recognize them.
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In the Lord's conversation with Moses and Elijah there
must have been some indication of their identity that
made it possible for Peter to recognize them. Peter might
have said, "This is Moses and this is Elijah! How happy I
am to see you! Oh, it is wonderful to be here'"
A. Peter's Natural Concept
In his excitement Peter made the absurd proposal that
he make three tabernacles, one for the Lord, one for
Moses, and one for Elijah. The effect of Peter's absurd
proposal was to put Moses and Elijah on the same level
with Christ, which means to make the law and the
prophets, represented by Moses and Elijah, equal to
Christ. This was absolutely against God's economy. In
God's economy the law and the prophets were only a
testimony to Christ; they should not be put on the same
level with Him.
B. The Father's Revelation
Verse 5 says, "While he was still speaking. behold, a
bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of
the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son, in Whom I
delight; hear Him!" This declaration of the Father to
vindicate the Son was given firstly after Christ's rising
from baptism, which signified His resurrection from the
dead. This is the second time the Father declared the same
thing, this time to vindicate the Son in His
transfiguration, which prefigures the coming kingdom. In
God's economy, after Christ came, we should hear Him, no
longer the law or the prophets, since the law and the
prophets were all fulfilled in Christ and by Christ.
C. No One except Christ Alone
When the disciples heard the voice out of the cloud,
"they fell on their face and feared exceedingly" (v. 6). After
the Lord Jesus came to them, touched them, and told them
to arise and not to fear, they lifted up their eyes and
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"saw no one except Jesus Himself alone" (v. 8). Peter
proposed to rank Moses and Elijah, that is, the law and
the prophets, with Christ, but God took Moses and Elijah
away, leaving no one except Jesus Himself alone. The law
and the prophets were shadows and prophecies, not the
reality, which is Christ. Now that Christ is here, the
shadows and prophecies are no longer needed. No one
except Jesus Himself alone should remain in the New
Testament. Jesus is today's Moses, imparting the law of
life into His believers. He is also today's Elijah, speaking
for God and speaking forth God within His believers. This
is God's New Testament economy.
God took Moses and Elijah away because He would not
tolerate seeing His children rank anyone on the same level
as His Son Jesus Christ. Therefore, when the disciples saw
the Lord Jesus, they saw no one except Him alone. This
was a lesson to them. In the kingdom God will not allow
the law or the prophets to be held equal to Christ. Since
the kingdom has come, there should be nothing but Christ.
In God's economy today Christ is the living lawgiver,
the One who has imparted Himself into our being as the
Giver of the law of life. Thus, Christ is our real Moses, who
was a type, a shadow of Christ. The law Moses gave was
not the real law; rather, it was the law of dead letters. The
real law is the law of life, which only Christ can give us.
Because He has given us the law of life, He is the real law-
giver. Furthermore, in God's economy Christ is the real
prophet. Elijah also was a type, a shadow, of Christ, who is
the true prophet (Acts 3:22). Christ is within us not only to
impart the law of life into our being, but also to speak for
God. Christ speaks forth God. Because we have Christ as
the real Moses and the real Elijah, we do not need any
other Moses or Elijah in God's New Testament economy.
As we await the coming of the kingdom, we must learn
not to rank Moses, Elijah, or anyone else on the same level
as Christ. Instead, we need to learn to experience Christ
as our Moses and Elijah. He is the One imparting the law
of life into us. In other words, as our present, real,
subjective Moses He is regulating us from within.
Moreover, He is also our present and subjective Elijah,
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constantly speaking for God and speaking forth God
within us. We must listen to Him.
After the Lord had been transfigured before the
disciples, Peter might have felt both happy and sorrowful.
He might have felt sad about being rebuked. It was a
serious matter to be rebuked in such a glorious situation.
While everyone was having an enjoyable time, Peter spoke
nonsense, and he was rebuked for it. Perhaps James and
John said to him, "Peter, you are always doing things like
this. Perhaps by now you have learned your lesson. When
we were having a good time with the Lord Jesus on the
mountain, you spoke nonsense, and you were rebuked.
But, Peter, we shared the shock of this with you. We would
not have been shocked, if you had not been shocked first.
But please don't do that again."
VI. THE MANIFESTATION OF THE KINGDOM KEPT
SECRET
Verse 9 says, "And as they were coming down from the
mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, Tell the vision
to no one, until the Son of Man is raised from among the
dead." The vision of the transfigured, glorified Jesus
cannot be realized by anyone except in the resurrection of
Christ. Here we see the principle that the manifestation of
the kingdom can be revealed only in resurrection. Anyone
who is not in resurrection is not qualified to see it. If we
believe in resurrection and live in resurrection, we shall be
in glory, even though the manifestation of the kingdom
has not yet come. When we live and walk in resurrection,
we have the sense that we are in glory and that we can see
the glorious manifestation of the kingdom. Thus, the
manifestation of the kingdom can be revealed only to those
in resurrection. For this reason, the Lord Jesus charged
the disciples not to talk about His coming in His kingdom.
VII. JOHN THE BAPTIST BEING ELIJAH COMING BEFORE
THE KINGDOM
In verse 10 the Lord's disciples asked Him, Why then
do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" The matter
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of Elijah coming first is according to Malachi 4:5-6. In
verse 11 the Lord replied, "Elijah indeed is coming and will
restore all things." This will be fulfilled at the time of the
great tribulation, when Elijah will be one of the two
witnesses (Rev. 11:3-4), as prophesied in Malachi 4:5-6. In
verse 12 the Lord continued, "But I say to you that Elijah
already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to
him whatever they wished; thus also the Son of Man is
about to suffer by them." This refers to John the Baptist
(v. 13), who came in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke
1:13-17) and was rejected (11:18) and beheaded (14:3-12).
The disciples had a theological problem. They seemed
to be saying to the Lord, "Lord Jesus, Your kingdom has
come, and we have seen it. But the scribes told us that
Elijah would appear before the coming of the kingdom. We
saw You coming in Your kingdom, but Elijah has not
appeared. How can this be?" The disciples were bothered
because they had some knowledge of scriptural doctrines.
If I had been one of them, I would have asked the same
thing. In contrast to Peter's nonsensical proposal on the
mountain, the disciples' question was logical. Often when
we are in a glorious situation, we do nonsensical things.
But after we become clear and sober, we are very logical.
The Lord Jesus told the disciples that Elijah would
come and restore all things (v. 11). This word indicates
that the coming of the kingdom was not yet in full. In the
future there will be a full manifestation of the kingdom.
Before this, Elijah will come. On the one hand, Elijah has
come; but on the other hand, he has not yet come in full.
John the Baptist was Elijah, but he was not Elijah in full.
The full coming of Elijah will take place in the future. The
Elijah who had already come was rejected and killed. The
disciples understood that the Lord was speaking of John
the Baptist. Just as the transfiguration of Christ was the
coming of the kingdom, but not in full, so the coming of
John the Baptist was the coming of Elijah but not his
coming in full. Before the full coming of the kingdom,
Elijah will come in full.
In the Bible the fulfillment of prophecy is often like
this. First there is a partial fulfillment, then the complete
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fulfillment. The same is true in principle with our
experience of being in glory. During the past years, I have
experienced being in glory, but this experience was not in
full. At the time of the full manifestation of the kingdom of
Christ, we shall all enter fully into glory. But today we see
in Christ's transfiguration a miniature of the coming
manifestation of the kingdom. The miniature assures us
that the full manifestation will come.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE FIFTY
APPLICATION OF THE REVELATION AND VISION
CONCERNING CHRIST
Immediately after the record of the Lord's
transfiguration on the mountain, we have the record of the
healing of a demon-possessed person (17:14-21). Following
this, the Lord spoke to His disciples the second time about
His crucifixion and resurrection (17:22-23). Then we have
the incident regarding paying the half-shekel (17:24-27).
As we read chapter seventeen, it may be difficult to
understand the connection between all these things. If we
would understand the Gospel of Matthew, we need to
remember that Matthew puts different facts together to
reveal a doctrine. Although the three disciples, who
represented the other disciples, had been in the miniature
of the manifestation of the kingdom, there was still the
need for three things: the dealing with the demon-
possessed person, the revealing of the Lord's crucifixion
and resurrection, and the paying of the half-shekel to the
tax gatherers.
I. THE POWER OF DARKNESS OUTSIDE THE KINGDOM
We have pointed out that the coming of the kingdom in
16:28--17:2 was not the coming of the kingdom in full; it
was simply a miniature and a foretaste. The prophecies
concerning the manifestation of the kingdom have not yet
been completely fulfilled. When we get out of the sphere of
the transfiguration, out of the atmosphere of the
manifestation of the kingdom, we face the power of
darkness outside the kingdom. Demon possession signifies
the power of darkness. In the realm of the Lord's
transfiguration there is glory, but outside this realm there
is the power of darkness. While we are enjoying the
transfiguration on the mountaintop, others are in the
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valley suffering from demon possession. During an
inspiring conference or training, we may have the sense
that we are on the mount of transfiguration. However,
when we return home. we realize that the power of
darkness is still all around us. To deal with the power of
darkness there is the need of the exercise of the authority
of the heavenly King (17:18). We can exercise this
authority only through prayer and fasting. As the
heavenly King, the Lord has such authority, but we need
to pray, even with fasting, to execute the Lord's authority.
II. CHRIST'S CRUCIFIXION AND RESURRECTION
In 17:22 and 23 the Lord said to His disciples. "The Son
of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and
they shall kill Him, and on the third day He shall be raised
up." When the disciples heard this, they were exceedingly
grieved." The transfiguration on the mountaintop was not
the full transfiguration Christ still had to pass through
crucifixion and enter into resurrection. Matthew specifically
says that the disciples "were exceedingly grieved." According
to the concept of Peter, James, and John, the Christ who
had been transfigured on the mountaintop did not need to
be crucified. Thus, they might have said, "Christ has already
been transfigured. Why does He still need to pass through
crucifixion and resurrection?" Because the disciples had a
mistaken concept, they were grieved at the Lord's word.
We also may have times when we have a foretaste of
the transfiguration. Afterward, however, we still need to
descend from the mountain and bear the cross in the
presence of our husband or wife. No matter how excellent
the experience of transfiguration might be, we still need to
stay under the killing of the cross. By bearing the cross we
pass through crucifixion into resurrection. This is the
connection between these three sections of Matthew.
III. APPLICATION OF THE REVELATION AND VISION
CONCERNING CHRIST
Unless we receive light from the Lord, it is difficult to
see the connection between verses 1 through 23 and verses
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24 through 27. In 17:24-27 we have the matter of paying the
half-shekel to the poll-tax gatherers. This is a test to
determine whether or not we know how to apply the
revelation and vision concerning Christ. In chapter sixteen
Peter received a clear revelation from the heavenly Father
regarding Christ as the Son of the living God. From that
time onward, Peter was certain that Christ was the Son of
the living God. Following this, on the mountaintop he saw a
vision of Christ manifested as the Son of the living God.
Therefore, he both received the revelation and saw the
vision. It is possible to have a revelation without having a
vision. What Peter received from the heavenly Father in
chapter sixteen was merely the revelation. In chapter
seventeen he saw the Son of God manifested and expressed
through the man Jesus of Nazareth. Nothing could have
been more clear than this revelation and vision.
Peter, however, had to be tested regarding the
application of the revelation and the vision. To receive the
revelation and to see the vision is one thing, but to apply
them in a practical way is another. For example, we
probably all have received the revelation from Galatians
2:20 that we have been crucified with Christ and that Christ
lives in us. Perhaps even the weakest one among us has
received this revelation. However, when your wife or
husband gives you a difficult time, can you still say, "It is
not I, but Christ"? When you are with your wife or husband,
the revelation of having been crucified with Christ and of
Christ living in you may vanish. Very few who have received
this revelation apply it to the practical matters in their daily
living. Peter might have been like this. He might have said,
"I have received the revelation that Jesus is the Son of the
living God, and I saw Him transfigured on the mountain.
This is very clear to me. Perhaps you have not seen this
vision, but I have." For Peter to receive the revelation and
see the vision was wonderful. But now he had to be tested
by those who collected the poll tax.
A. Peter's Natural Concept
Verse 24 says, "And when they came to Capernaum,
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those who received the half-shekel came to Peter and said,
Does not your teacher pay the half-shekel?" The half
shekel was a Jewish poll tax for the temple (Exo. 30:12-16;
38:26). When Peter was asked this question, he
immediately said, "Yes." Peter did not know how to apply
the revelation and the vision, and he was exposed. On the
mount of transfiguration, Peter heard the voice from
heaven charging him to hear Christ (17:5). If he had still
remembered what had taken place on the mountain, he
would have referred the question to Christ to hear what
He would say. But instead of listening to Christ, he gave
his own answer. On the mountain Peter heard the Father
say, "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I delight; hear
Him!" At that time, Peter talked too much, and he was
rebuked for it. Now when the poll-tax gatherers asked him
whether or not the Lord paid the half-shekel, he still had
too much to say and did not hesitate to answer. If he had
learned the lesson, he would have said, "Gentlemen, let me
go to Him and hear Him. I need to ask Him whether or not
He pays the half-shekel. I don't have the right to say
anything." Peter, however, did not respond this way; and
he was exposed by this test. It is the same with us today.
After a conference or training, we may proclaim that we
shall never be the same. But I assure you that after you
return home, you will be exactly the same. However, do
not let this disappoint you.
B. Christ's Correction
Verses 25 and 26 say, "And when he came into the
house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, What do you think,
Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth receive
custom or poll tax, from their sons or from strangers? And
when he said, From strangers, Jesus said to him, Then the
sons are free." The poll-tax gatherers came to Peter
because he was so prominent, like the nose on our face.
The quick ones, the bold ones, are the "nose" in the church
life. Whenever the church undergoes a test, the "nose" is
the part that gets hurt because it is the first to bump into
things. Because he stood out so much, Peter got into
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trouble. After telling the tax gatherers that the Lord Jesus
paid the half-shekel, Peter came into the house. But as
verse 25 says, Jesus "anticipated him." Peter was quick,
but the Lord was sovereign and did not give him a chance
to say anything. On the mountaintop Peter was
interrupted by a voice from heaven, and in the house he
was stopped by the Lord. Peter had spoken
presumptuously. Hence, the Lord stopped him and
corrected him before he could speak to Him.
The Lord asked Peter whether the kings of the earth
receive custom or poll tax from their sons or from
strangers. The sons of kings are always free from paying
custom or poll tax. The half-shekel was paid by God's
people for His temple. Since Christ is the Son of God, He
was free from paying it. This was contrary to what Peter
had just answered.
Peter had received the revelation concerning Christ
being the Son of God (16:16-17) and he had seen the vision
of the Son of God (17:5). Now, in application, he was put to
the test by the poll-tax gatherers' question. He failed in his
answer by forgetting the revelation he had received and
the vision he had seen. He forgot that the Lord was the
Son of God who did not need to pay the poll tax for His
Father's house.
When the Lord asked Peter whether the kings of the
earth received tax from their sons or from strangers, Peter
answered, "From strangers." Doctrinally and theologically
Peter answered correctly. When the Lord said to him,
"Then the sons are free," Peter must have been stunned. It
seems that the Lord was saying, "Peter, have you forgotten
the revelation that I am the Son? On the mountaintop you
saw Me as the Son." The half-shekel was not a tax paid to
the secular government. It was collected for the purpose of
meeting the expenses of the temple of God, God's house on
earth. According to Exodus 30 and 38, every Israelite had
to pay a half-shekel to care for the Lord's house. Because
Jesus is the Son of God, there is no need for Him to pay
this tax. When the Lord said that the sons are free, He
was indicating that He, as the Son of
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God, was free from paying the poll tax. After hearing this,
Peter did not know what to say. He might have just agreed
and said, "Yes, the sons are free. Since You are the Son of
God, You are free. Lord, I am sorry for answering the way
I did. I forgot the revelation and the vision. I received the
revelation that You are the Son of God, and I saw the
vision of You as the Son of God. But when the test came, I
forgot all about it. Lord, please forgive me."
C. Flexibility by Christ as the Living Law-giver
Replacing Moses
Verse 27 says, "But that we may not stumble them, go
to the sea and cast a hook, and take the first fish that
comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a
shekel; take that and give it to them for Me and you."
After convincing Peter that He did not need to pay the
half-sheckel the Lord, as the New Testament Law-giver,
today's Moses, gave the command to Peter to pay it for
Him. The Lord did this purposely to teach Peter that in
God's New Testament economy, He is the unique One;
neither Moses, Elijah, Peter, nor anyone else has the
position to speak or to give a command.
D. Application through a Miracle Prophesied by
Christ as the Living Prophet Replacing Elijah
After shutting Peter's mouth, the Lord, as the New
Testament prophet, today's Elijah, told him to go fishing to
obtain a shekel in order to pay the tax. This prophecy was
fulfilled. No doubt Peter was troubled about having to go
fishing and perhaps having to wait a long time for a fish to
appear with a shekel in its mouth. While the Lord was
correcting and teaching Peter, He took care of his need.
This is always the Lord's way in dealing with us.
When Peter answered yes, the Lord said no. But when
Peter was convinced that the Lord did not need to pay the
tax, the Lord told him that He would pay it. Perhaps Peter
was about to go after the poll-tax gatherers and tell them
that the Lord did not need to pay the tax. Peter might
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have been considering this when the Lord charged him to
catch a fish with a shekel in its mouth and to use that
shekel to pay the tax. The tax had to be paid in order not
to stumble others. We cannot subdue the Lord Jesus.
Whatever He says is always right, and whatever we
propose to Him is always wrong. Christ is today's Moses;
He makes the laws. When He says yes, the answer is yes;
and when He says no, it is no. What we say means
nothing. It is what He says that counts. The meaning of
the vision on the mountaintop is that we should hear the
Lord Jesus and not anyone else, including ourselves.
Christ, not Moses, is the One to say yes or no. Regarding
the same matter, the Lord may say yes to someone else
and no to you. If he does this, do not argue with Him.
When Peter had to go fishing in order to find a half-
shekel, he learned a lesson. Don't you think that Peter was
troubled by having to go fishing? Certainly he was.
Although the Lord Jesus is kind and merciful, One who
will not break a bruised reed or quench smoking flax, He
sometimes deals with us in a hard way. When the Lord
indicated to Peter that He would pay the temple tax, He
did not reach into His pocket, take out a shekel, and give it
to Peter. If He had done that, He would have been too easy
on Peter. A shekel had been prepared by the Lord, but
Peter had to fish for it. I wonder how Peter felt. Did he feel
like laughing or weeping? I believe that as Peter was
fishing, he was unhappy and very troubled. If I had been
Peter, I might have said to the Lord, "Lord, since You can
provide a shekel out of the mouth of a fish, why don't You
just reach into Your pocket and give me one? Why are You
so troublesome? Now I must go down to the sea and fish.
Maybe a storm will come while I am fishing. Lord, if You
intend to perform a miracle, why not do it now?" Peter,
however, had learned a great deal; and this time, instead
of saying a word, he did what the Lord had told him.
I do not believe that the fish came immediately.
Rather, I believe that the Lord exercised His sovereignty
to keep the fish away for a period of time. Thus, Peter was
waiting without any sign of a fish. As he was waiting, he
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might have rebuked himself and said, "Why did I answer
so quickly? I shouldn't have faced those tax gatherers.
James and John didn't get into trouble. But because I am
so bold and so quick, I got myself into trouble." Eventually,
the fish came with a shekel in its mouth. This was
sufficient to take care of both the Lord and Peter.
The record here is very simple, but the story is rich in
its implications. It implies that Christ is the Prophet, for
He told Peter to go fishing and that the first fish would
have a shekel in its mouth. Was that not a prophecy? The
Lord's prophecy was practical, and it was fulfilled exactly
as He had spoken. Thus, Peter's experience here was a
proof that the Lord is the real Elijah and that we should
hear Him. This story also implies that the Lord is today's
Moses. It is not up to us to say yes or no: it is altogether up
to Him. We simply need to do whatever He says. Moreover
not do what He doesn't tell us to do.
Through this incident. Peter was tested that he might
know how to apply the revelation and the vision
concerning Christ. Through this experience, he came to
learn what it means to "hear Him." He realized that he did
not need to hear Moses or Elijah, but to hear Him. For us
today, Christ is our Moses and Elijah. He is our present,
living Law-giver and our Prophet. Whatever He says, that
is the law, the law of life. Furthermore, what He says is
today's prophecy to meet our present, practical situation.
This is not merely a story; it is a lesson for Peter and for
us as well.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE FIFTY-ONE
RELATIONSHIPS IN THE KINGDOM
(1)
Chapters eighteen, nineteen, and twenty are a distinct
section of the Gospel of Matthew dealing with the
relationships among the kingdom people. In previous
chapters we have seen the King's decree of the constitution
of the kingdom, the King's ministry, and the revelation of
the mystery of the kingdom. We have also seen the
pathway to glory and the practical matters that followed
the Lord's transfiguration. Now we must see the
relationships among the kingdom people, that is, how to be
related to one another in the kingdom. This is a practical
matter. It is not merely doctrinal, as the constitution of the
kingdom. or prophetic, as the mystery of the kingdom. In
particular. chapter eighteen deals with how to be in the
kingdom of the heavens: it is to become as little children
(vv. 2-4); not to stumble others or to set up any stumbling
block (vv. 5-9); not to despise even a little believer (vv. 10-
14); to hear the church and not be condemned by it (vv. 15-
20); and to forgive a brother to the uttermost (vv. 21-35).
All this indicates that to enter into the kingdom of the
heavens we must be humble and not despise any believer,
but love our brother and forgive our brother.
Before we consider 18:1-20, we need to have an overall
view of these three chapters, which cover five matters. The
first is pride. If we would relate to others in a proper way
in the kingdom, our pride needs to be dealt with. We need
humility. Not one of us is a humble person. Every fallen
person is proud. In the past certain brothers and sisters
have told me that their wives or husbands were humble.
Later these brothers and sisters had to admit that their
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wives or husbands were not that humble. Some brothers
who had told me that their wives would never give them a
problem later came to me in tears telling me of the trouble
they were having with their wives. There is no such thing
as a humble person.
Being in the kingdom is a corporate matter, not an
individual matter. However, whenever we come together
as a company, there will be difficulties. This is the reason
certain young people do not want to get married. Although
it will cause them problems, the young people nevertheless
need to get married. Because it is difficult to be together in
company, Matthew includes these chapters covering our
relationships with one another. We have no choice
concerning this. If I had my choice, I would prefer to stay
by myself, devote all my time to prayer and wait alone for
the kingdom to come. But we have been predestinated to
be together. However, in our being together pride is the
first problem.
The second problem is our inability to forgive others.
The matter of forgiveness is covered in the second half of
chapter eighteen. We all must learn to forgive others,
something that none of us enjoys doing. Deep within our
heart, we do not want to forgive others.
According to the Bible, to forgive is to forget. For us, to
forgive a person may mean that we simply do not care
about the particular offense. However, we still remember
it. How difficult it is to forget an offense against us!
Without the Lord's mercy and grace, we would remember
others' offenses even in eternity. But when God forgives,
He forgets. Hebrews 10:17 says, "And their sins and their
lawlessnesses I will by no means remember any more." To
forgive something absolutely is to forget it. Our Father in
heaven considers us as if we have never sinned, for He has
forgiven and forgotten our sins. But when we forgive an
offense, we often remind others of it. For example, a sister
may say, "The elders treated me very poorly; however, I
have forgiven them. But let me tell you a little about what
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happened." Genuine forgiveness means that we forget the
offense.
The root of our unwillingness to forgive others lies in
our dispositional anger. No matter how nice you may be,
you still have dispositional anger. The reason you are
offended is that you have such a disposition. I may strike a
chair again and again, but the chair will not be offended
because it has no disposition. But if I strike you, you will
be offended because of the dispositional anger hidden
within you. We all are subject to dispositional anger.
Sometimes when I have offended a brother, he has said
that he does not care about the offense. Actually, we all
care when we are offended. The outward reaction or
appearance may be different, but the dispositional anger,
the anger hidden in our disposition, is the same. Because
of our dispositional anger, it is difficult to forgive others.
This dispositional anger shows up between husbands
and wives. I advise the young sisters never to offend their
husbands. If they do; it will be hard for their husbands to
forget that offense. Although your husband may say that
he has forgiven you, deep within he has not done so. Every
man has a disposition that makes it easy for him to he
offended, especially by his wife. Women find it easy to
complain to their husbands. The reason there are so many
separations and divorces is that the women complain and
that the men find it difficult to forgive. Sisters, try your
best not to complain to your husband. If he is late, forget
about it. Do not make an issue of it. Brothers, I advise you
to ignore the complaints of your wife. I advise the sisters
not to complain and the brothers not to be offended.
We have seen the matters of pride and of our inability
to forgive others. Now we come to the problem of lust,
which is indicated in chapter nineteen. In the constitution
of the kingdom of the heavens lust was thoroughly dealt
with. It was also touched in chapter thirteen, the chapter
concerning the mystery of the kingdom of the heavens.
Lust is a great problem to the kingdom people. Many
separations and divorces are related to lust. Therefore, in
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chapter nineteen the Lord Jesus touched this matter of
lust. Apart from the Lord's grace, none of us is able to
overcome it.
The fourth problem is the problem of riches. It is very
difficult for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of the
heavens, even more difficult than for a camel to pass
through the eye of a needle. The matter of riches is a great
frustration to the kingdom life, and it is also dealt with in
the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens and in the
parable of the sower in chapter thirteen.
The last problem is ambition, which is covered in
chapter twenty. Zebedee's wife, ambitious that her two
sons would enjoy a high position in the kingdom, said to
the Lord. "Say that these two sons of mine may sit, one on
Your right hand and one on Your left, in Your kingdom".
The Lord told her that she did not know what she was
asking. Matthew records of the story of Zebedee's wife
making requests for her sons, but John does not record it
because his Gospel is not the Gospel dealing with the
kingdom. Matthew records the incident because in the
kingdom there is the problem of ambition for position.
Ambition has been a problem. both in the East and in
the West. Many times when elders were appointed in the
churches, brothers were offended because others were
appointed instead of them. Although, at the most, a church
needed three or four elders, the number of self-appointed
candidates for eldership might have been more than
fifteen. Whether or not those brothers prayed about being
appointed elders, I do not know. But I am rather certain
that they expected to be appointed. When they realized
that they had not been appointed elders, they began to
speak negatively about the church, simply because they
did not receive the position they desired. We have
encountered this problem in the church in Taipei, a church
with more than twenty thousand members. Every time a
new home meeting was opened, there was a need to
appoint two or three leading brothers and leading sisters
to manage the practical affairs of that home meeting.
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Nearly every time the leading ones were appointed, some
sister was offended because she was not among those
appointed. Because they were offended, they stopped
coming to the meetings for a period of time. This exposes
the problem of ambition.
These three chapters actually cover these five things.
They deal thoroughly with pride, dispositional anger, lust,
riches, and ambition. All these problems are within us. If
we would get into the depths of these chapters, we would
certainly be touched. For instance, we would see that we
are people full of pride and that anger is hidden in our
disposition. No matter how patient or forbearing we try to
be, anger is still deeply rooted in our disposition. This is
what makes it difficult for us to forgive others.
Furthermore, we are troubled by lust and riches. both of
which damage the kingdom life. Finally, there is the
problem of ambition. Matthew purposely covers these two
problems in his Gospel to show that we must take care of
them in order to be in the kingdom. Pride dispositional
anger. lust riches and ambition are all "scorpions." We
need a divine pest control to kill these "scorpions." Under
God's inspiration, Matthew selected various cases and put
them together in order to expose these things. How we
need to consider them one by one.
I. HUMILITY REQUIRED
In the kingdom life, humility is required (18:1-4). In
principle, all the kingdom people must be little children.
To be humble is to be like a little child. If we are not
humble, we shall either be offended by others or we shall
offend others, that is, we shall either be stumbled by
others or stumble others. All stumbling takes place
because of pride. If we were not proud, we would not be
stumbled. The fact that we can be stumbled proves that we
are proud. If a little child is offended, the offense will be
forgotten in just a few minutes. But once adults are
offended, they are stumbled because of their pride.
Furthermore, the stumbling we cause to others also issues
from our pride.
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II. STUMBLING ABANDONED
It is a serious matter to stumble someone. Verse 6 says,
"And whoever stumbles one of these little ones who believe
in Me, it is better for him that a great millstone be hanged
around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of
the sea." In these verses the Lord warns us to deal with
this matter. If the hand, the foot, or the eye causes us to
stumble, we must deal with these causes of stumbling in a
serious way. Otherwise, we shall not be one in the proper
kingdom life. In order to be in the proper kingdom life, we
need to be humble. Then we shall not be stumbled or be a
cause of stumbling to others. All stumbling must be
abandoned.
III. THE HEAVENLY FATHER'S CARE FOR THE LITTLE
ONES
o matter how small we are, we are lovely in the eyes of
the Father, and He cares for us. He does not like to see
anyone stumbled. We so easily offend the little ones for the
Father cares, and as little ones ourselves we are easily
stumbled. If we would avoid being stumbled and stumbling
others, we need to be humbled. Humility will rescue us
IV. DEALING WITH AN OFFENDING BROTHER
A. By Direct Rebuking
Verse 15 says, "Now if your brother sins, go, reprove
him between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have
gained your brother." In this section we also see how to
deal with an offending brother. If a brother sins or offends
us, we must first go to him in love and point out his
offense.
B. By the Testimony of Two or Three
Verse 16 says, "But if he does not hear you, take with
you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three
witnesses every word may be established." If the brother
will not listen to you, you should not give up. Rather, you
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should go to him with one or two witnesses, hoping that
the brother will listen to you and be rescued.
C. By the Church
Verse 17 says, "But if he refuses to hear them, tell it to
the church." If a brother sins, we need firstly to deal with
him by ourself in love (v. 15), then with two or three
witnesses (v. 16), and finally through the church with
authority (v. 17).
D. By Cutting Off the Fellowship
The last part of verse 17 says, "And if he refuses to
hear the church also, let him be to you as the Gentile and
the tax collector. If any believer refuses to hear the church,
he will lose the fellowship of the church like the Gentile,
the heathen, and the tax collector, the sinners who are
outside the fellowship of the church. A Gentile or tax
collector is someone who does not have fellowship in the
kingdom life or in the church life. To consider someone a
Gentile or a tax collector does not mean to excommunicate
him. It means that he is considered as one cut off from the
fellowship of the church. Excommunication is mentioned in
1 Corinthians 5. The church must excommunicate
fornicators and idolaters. But the offending brother who
will not listen to two or three or to the church may not
necessarily require excommunication. Although the
situation with him is unpleasant, it is not in the same
category as fornication or idolatry. He is cut off from the
fellowship of the church in order that this loss of
fellowship may encourage him to repent and to recover his
fellowship with the church.
E. By Exercising the Kingdom Authority
In order to deal with such an offending brother, we
must exercise the kingdom authority. Because the church
today is weak, it does not realize its need to exercise this
authority. The brother mentioned in this portion of the
Word is first offending and then rebellious. First he
offends someone. Then because he will not listen to the
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one he has offended, to two or three witnesses, or even to
the church, he becomes rebellious. Because he rebels
against the church, the church must exercise its authority
to bind and to loose. It binds when he is rebellious and
looses when he repents. In verse 18 to bind means to
condemn, and to loose means to forgive. Because such a
rebellious brother will not listen to the church, the church
must exercise the kingdom authority to bind him until he
repents. But when he repents, the church must exercise
the kingdom authority to forgive him and to restore him to
the fellowship of the church.
F. By Prayer in One Accord
The dealing with the offending brother must be carried
out by prayer in one accord. Verse 19 says. "Again I say to
you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything,
whatever they may ask, it shall come to them from My
Father Who is in the heavens." Strictly speaking, in verse
19 "ask" refers to prayer which deals with the brother who
refuses to hear the church. If we pray according to the
Lord's promise, our prayer will be answered. and the
offending brother may be recovered.
G. In the Lord's Presence
All this should be done in the Lord's presence. If you
attempt to exercise the kingdom authority without His
presence, it will not work. Verse 20 points out the need for
the Lord's presence: "For where two or three are gathered
together in My name, there I am in their midst."
V. THE UNVEILING OF THE LOCAL CHURCH
A. The Church in Locality
Verse 17 says, "But if he refuses to hear them, tell it to
the church.' The church revealed in 16:18 is the universal
church, which is the unique Body of Christ, whereas the
church revealed here is the local church, the expression of
the unique Body of Christ in a certain locality. Chapter
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sixteen relates to the universal building of the church,
whereas chapter eighteen relates to the local practice of
the church. Both indicate that the church represents the
kingdom of the heavens, having authority to bind and to
loose.
In order to be in the kingdom of the heavens in a
practical way, we need to be in a local church. According to
the context of verse 17, both the reality and the
practicality of the kingdom are in the local church. In a
chapter dealing with relationships in the kingdom, the
Lord speaks eventually of the church. This proves that the
practicality of the kingdom today is in the local church.
Without the local church, it is impossible to have the
practicality and reality of the kingdom life. Many
Christians today talk about the kingdom life, but without
the practical local church life. this talk is in vain.
In chapter sixteen the Lord revealed the universal
church. But the universal church requires the practicality
of the local church. Without the local church the universal
church cannot be practiced, rather it will become thing
suspended in the air. The local church is the reality both of
the kingdom and of the universal church.
B. Other than the Two or Three Meeting in the
Lord's Name
Many Christians think that as long as two or three
meet in the name of the Lord and have His presence, they
are the church and the reality of the church is there.
However, if you read this portion of the Word carefully,
you will see that the two or three mentioned in verse 20
are not the church. These two or three are the two or three
in verse 16. They may gather together in the Lord's name,
but they are not the church; for if there is some problem,
they need to tell it to the church (v. 17). If those two or
three were the church, there would be no need for them to
take the problem to the church. The fact that they need to
"tell it to the church" proves that they are not the church,
but rather part of the church. They belong to the church
and they are members of the church, but they are not the
church.
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Do not think that two or three meeting in the name of
the Lord with the Lord's presence are the church. If we
believe this, then it is possible for a church of three
hundred members to be divided into one hundred
churches, with every group of two or three thinking that it
is a church. What a mess this would be! Two or three may
meet in the name of the Lord and the Lord may truly be in
their midst, but this does not mean that they are the
church.
C. Being the Kingdom with the Heavenly Authority
The church has the authority, and we must listen to
the church and submit to the church. It we do not submit
to the church, we are through with the kingdom, for the
kingdom life is a life of submission to the church.
D. Having the Lord's Presence as Its Reality
The context of Matthew 18 indicates that the reality of
the church is the Lord's presence. The Lord's presence the
authority of the church. The church must be certain that it
has the presence of the Lord as its reality; otherwise. it
has no genuine authority. The real and practical authority
of the church is the Lord's presence. If anyone does not
listen to the church, he rebels against the Lord's presence.
The church has the ground to exercise authority in the
presence of the Lord over any case of rebellion.
The basic factor that causes trouble in the church is
pride. Pride is what causes a brother to offend the one who
comes to him in love, it is what makes him unwilling to
listen to two or three or even to the church, and it is what
causes him to rebel against the church. We all must kill
the "gopher" of pride. Let us humble ourselves and always
listen to the church and submit to the church. May the
Lord grant us mercy, for this.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE FIFTY-TWO
RELATIONSHIPS IN THE KINGDOM
(2)
It may seem that Matthew 18 is not a deep chapter and
that the parable in verses 23 through 35 is shallow.
Actually, what is revealed in this chapter is very deep.
When most Christians read Matthew, they do not realize
that this book deals not only with the doctrine of the
kingdom, but with the practical kingdom life. If we would
understand any portion of Matthew, we need to keep this
fact in mind When I was young I did not care to read
Matthew because I did not see that this chapter deals with
the kingdom life. Although you have read this chapter
before, you probably have not seen what it really deals
with. Rather, you may have thought that it is merely
concerned with Christian behavior, that it is merely, a
word about forgiving our brothers. Because of our natural
concept, we do not see that this chapter is deeply
concerned with the kingdom life.
The fact that this portion of the Word deals with the
practical kingdom life is proved by verse 1: "In that hour
the disciples came to Jesus, saying, Who then is greatest
in the kingdom of the heavens?" To enter into the kingdom
of the heavens means to enter into the manifestation of
the kingdom of the heavens. Therefore, this chapter, along
with chapters nineteen and twenty, deals with the
kingdom life.
In order to remain in the kingdom life, we must have
humility. If we have humility, we shall neither offend
others nor be offended by others. We shall neither stumble
others nor be stumbled by them. All stumbling, of
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ourselves or of others, comes from pride. We need to hate
pride and treat it as a "gopher" that must he killed.
Otherwise the "gopher" of pride will ruin the kingdom life.
In chapter eighteen we see how to deal with someone
who offends others. If a brother offends us, we should go to
him directly in love. If he does not listen to us, we should
go to him again with one or two witnesses. If he still does
not listen to us, even in the presence of witnesses, we
should tell the matter to the church and let the church
deal with him. If he refuses to hear the church, then the
church should consider him a heathen or a tax collector
and cut off his fellowship with the church. Although this is
a word telling us how to deal with a brother who causes
offenses, it is also a word indicating that it is a serious
matter to offend others. The seriousness of this is shown
by the danger of being cut off from the fellowship of the
church. To be cut off from the fellowship of the church
means to be put out of the kingdom life. This is serious.
In the Lord's word about dealing with an offending
brother, the authority of the kingdom is involved. Verse 18
says, "Truly I say to you, Whatever you bind on the earth
shall be what has been bound in heaven, and whatever you
loose on the earth shall be what has been loosed in
heaven." If someone offends the brothers and rebels
against the church, the heavens will bind him. Notice that
verse 18 says that the church binds what has already been
bound in the heavens. This indicates that the offense and
the rebellion cause the heavens to bind the one responsible
for the offense. If you reject the church and rebel against
the church, the heavens will bind you. Because the
heavens have bound you already, the church executes
what the heavens have already bound. If you consider
verse 18 in its context, you will realize that it is not an
insignificant matter to rebel against the church. The
church simply follows the heavens to bind what the
heavens have already bound. The church's binding is the
execution of the heavens' binding. Before the church says,
"Lord, we bind this rebellious brother," he has already
been bound in the heavens.
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The same is true regarding repentance. To repent to
the church for your rebellion is a matter of great
significance. If you repent to the church, the heavens will
immediately loose you, and then the church will loose what
has been loosed in the heavens. To rebel against the
church is serious and to repent to the church is very
significant. By this we see that Matthew 18 covers the
kingdom life.
What is found here is not simply a matter about
offending someone or listening to the church. It is a matter
of whether or not we shall remain in the kingdom. If we
rebel against the church, the heavens stand behind the
church and support it. Hence, if you rebel against the
church, the heavens will say, "I bind you." Then the church
will rise up to bind what the heavens have bound. But if
you repent, the heavens will say, "You are loosed." Then
the church will carry out what has been loosed in the
heavens. Whether we rebel against the church or repent to
the church, both are serious. Both reveal that our
relationship with the brothers and with the church has a
great deal to do with the kingdom life.
VI. FORGIVING FOR BEING FORGIVEN
A. Forgiving the Offending Brother Even Seventy Times
Seven
After listening to the Lord's word about the kingdom
life, Peter asked Him a question: "Lord, how often shall my
brother sin against me and I forgive him? Until seven
times?" (v. 21). Peter did not ask this on behalf of others;
rather, being quick and bold, he asked it according to what
was in him. Those who are quick often offend others. The
more active, quick, and bold we are, the more we offend
others. But those who are cautious and slow rarely offend
anyone. Why was it not John who asked this question? It
was Peter who was concerned about the Lord's word
regarding the offending brother. Because Peter often
offended others, he was very concerned and asked the Lord
about forgiveness.
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Verse 22 says, "Jesus says to him, I do not say to you
until seven times, but until seventy times seven." Seventy
times seven means that we must forgive others an
unlimited number of times. There is no need to count or
keep a record of the number of times you forgive others.
Over and over and over, you need to forgive them.
B. Forgiving Others as the Lord Has Forgiven Us
1. Our Debt to the Lord Being Impossible to Pay Off
In verses 23 through 35 the Lord gives a parable as an
illustration. Verses 23 and 24 say "Therefore. the kingdom
of the heavens is likened to a man, a king, who desired to
settle accounts with his slaves. And when he began to
settle them, one was brought to him who owed him ten
thousand talents." According to the context of this parable,
the settling of accounts here refers to the Lord's dealing
with us in this age through such things as severe illness or
certain extreme hardships which cause us to realize how
much we owe the Lord and to beg Him to forgive us.
According to verse 21, one slave owed him ten thousand
talents, that is, about twelve million dollars. It was
impossible for the debtor to pay off this debt. This refers to
the heavy debt of our failures accumulated after we were
saved.
2. The Lord's Forgiveness by His Mercy
After the slave begged the king to be patient with him
until he repaid the debt, "the lord of that slave was moved
with compassion and released him and forgave him the
loan" (v. 27). This refers to the forgiveness of our debts in
our defeated Christian life for the restoration of our
fellowship with the Lord.
3. Another's Debt to Us Being Very Small Compared
with Our Debt to the Lord
Verse 28 says, "But that slave went out and found one
of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii, and
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he seized him and took him by the throat, saying, Pay, if
you owe anything." This definitely refers to things that
take place in this age. The hundred denarii spoken of in
this verse is less than a millionth part of ten thousand
talents. This refers to a brother's sin against us after we
have been saved. How small is any brother's debt to us
compared to our debt to the Lord!
4. We Being Unwilling to Forgive
Nevertheless, we may not be willing to forgive. Verses
29 and 30 say, "His fellow slave therefore fell down and
entreated him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will
repay you. And he would not, but went away and threw
him into prison until he should pay what was owed." The
offended brother, the one not willing to forgive others, was
certainly saved. Thus, in this parable the Lord is dealing
not with sinners, but with believers, with saved ones. He
deals with a brother who has been offended yet who is not
willing to forgive.
5. The Brothers Being Grieved by Our Unwillingness
to Forgive
Verse 31 says, "His fellow slaves, having seen what had
taken place, were exceedingly grieved and came and
explained to their lord all that had taken place." If we do
not forgive the brother who sins against us, it will grieve
the other brothers, and they may bring this matter to the
Lord.
6. Punished by the Lord for Our Unwillingness to
Forgive
Verse 34 says, "And his lord was angry and delivered
him to the tormentors until he should pay all that was
owed to him." This refers to the Lord's dealing with His
believers at His coming back. If we do not forgive the
brother who sins against us, we shall be disciplined by the
Lord until we forgive him from the heart, that is, until we
have paid everything we owe. Then the Lord will forgive
us. This is forgiveness in the kingdom. This implies that if
we do not forgive a brother from our heart today, we shall
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not be allowed to enter into the kingdom in the coming
age.
Many Christians do not understand this portion of the
Word. Verses 34 and 35 indicate that the one who does not
forgive his brother from his heart will be under the hand of
the tormentors until he forgives everything. Certainly such
a one is a saved one. Nevertheless he is given over to the
tormentors for a period of time. This does not mean,
however, that he is cast into prison forever. Rather, he will
he tormented until he pays the debt, that is, until he
forgives his brother from his heart.
Today most Christians believe that as long as they are
saved, there will be no problem in the future. But in this
parable the one who refuses to forgive his fellow slaves is
not a false Christian, but a real Christian. You need to
realize that it is possible for a real Christian one day to be
delivered to the tormentors. Perhaps you will say, "The
Lord Jesus will not do this to me. I have never robbed a
bank. I have always been righteous and have not
mistreated others." But the Lord may say, "No, you didn't
rob a bank or damage anyone, but you have not forgiven
your brother from your heart." Do you think that such an
unforgiving brother is actually in the kingdom in a
practical way? According to God's mathematics, to forgive
is to forget. However, you may not be willing to forgive
those who have offended you. This is a serious matter. If
you claim to be in the kingdom life in a practical way, why
then are you not willing to forgive others from the heart?
Your unwillingness to forgive causes you to lose the
kingdom life.
In verses 15 through 20 the emphasis is on the
offending brother needing to repent. But in the parable the
emphasis is on the offended one needing to forgive. Both
our unwillingness to repent and our unwillingness to
forgive will keep us out of the kingdom. If we offend
someone but are not willing to repent and ask for
forgiveness, we shall be kept out of the kingdom. In the
same principle, if we are offended but are unwilling to
forgive, we shall also be kept out of the kingdom. Often we
think that we are in the kingdom when, according to God's
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mathematics, we are not. It depends on whether or not we
are willing, on the one hand, to repent and ask for
forgiveness and, on the other hand, to forgive others from
our heart.
I have observed these two problems in the church life
throughout the years. When certain brothers offended
others, they were not willing to repent and ask for
forgiveness. As a result, they were out of the church life.
By being out of the church life, they were out of the
kingdom. I also saw those who were offended but who were
not willing to forgive the one who had offended them. They
also were kept from the church life. Apparently those who
do not repent and those who do not forgive others are in
the kingdom. Actually. according to God's reckoning, they
are not.
Whenever a church is newly established, the church
experiences a honeymoon. During the honeymoon,
everything is wonderful. The brothers and sisters say,
"How marvelous it is to be in the church! We used to be
scattered and divided in the denominations. But now the
captives have returned home. Praise the Lord for bringing
us back! However, as time goes by, there will be offenses.
In the church life we simply cannot avoid offending one
another, for we are daily in close contact with one another.
We may offend others without having any intention of
doing so. From the day I first came into the ministry until
now, I have not had any intention to offend anyone. I have
even prayed that the Lord would give me wisdom to know
how to go in and out among the Lord's people. But no
matter how much I prayed to the Lord regarding this, I
have unconsciously and unintentionally offended others.
The same is true in married life. I do not believe that there
is one couple who has not had offenses between them.
Offenses are unavoidable.
During the years, I have visited church after church.
Everyone in a new church is happy, and all the faces are
smiling. But when I visited the same church two years
later, I saw many unhappy faces there. Privately I
contacted some of those who seemed the most unhappy
and asked what had happened to them and why they were
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silent in the meetings. They told me of the offenses and
the unhappy feelings toward the elders or toward others.
Whenever I heard this, I prayed desperately for the church
and said, "Lord, the church simply cannot go on like this."
Then I contacted the elders and asked them about the
situation. Sometimes the elders said, "Brother Lee, forget
about that person. Although he was one of the pioneers of
the church life here, he has offended almost everyone."
Upon hearing this, I asked the elders if they would forgive
him. In many cases, they were unwilling to do so. Thus,
one side was unwilling to repent, and the other side was
unwilling to forgive. If such a situation continues, the
church life is over. The saints may still come together and
sing a few hymns, but because of the offenses, the
judgment, and the unwillingness to repent or to forgive,
there is no kingdom life in that place. God who sees
everything knows what is hidden beneath the surface of
the church life. We may meet as a church, but among us
there may not actually be the kingdom life. Because of the
unwillingness to repent and to forgive the kingdom life
vanishes.
C. Forgiveness in the Kingdom
1. Forgiveness in the Present Age
In God's governmental administration, His forgiveness
is dispensational. For His administration, He has planned
different ages. The period from the first coming of Christ
to eternity is divided dispensationally into three ages: this
age, the present one, from Christ's first to His second
coming; the coming age, the millennium, the one thousand
years for restoration and heavenly reigning, from Christ's
second coming to the end of the old heaven and the old
earth; and eternity, the eternal age of the new heaven and
new earth. God's forgiveness in this age is for sinners'
eternal salvation (Acts 2:38; 5:31; 13:39). If a believer,
after being saved, commits any sin, but will not make a
clearance through confession and the cleansing of the
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Lord's blood (1 John 1:7, 9) before he dies or the Lord
comes back, this sin will not be forgiven in this age, but
will remain to be judged at the judgment seat of Christ. He
will not be rewarded with the kingdom to participate in
the glory and joy with Christ in the manifestation of the
kingdom of the heavens, but will be disciplined to make a
clearance of this sin and be forgiven in the coming age.
This kind of forgiveness will maintain his eternal
salvation, but will not qualify him to participate in the
glory and joy of the coming kingdom.
2. Forgiveness in the Kingdom Age
If anyone offends the church and is not willing to
repent or if he is offended and is not willing to forgive the
one who has offended him, he will be out of the kingdom
not only in this age but in the coming age. This means that
he will not share in the manifestation of the kingdom. Do
not listen to the mistaken teachings that Christians
cannot have any problems in the coming age. Some will
have great problems and will be excluded from the glory
and joy which the overcomers will share with the Lord
Jesus during the millennium. Furthermore, they may be
put under the hands of the tormentors. If today you can be
considered by the church as a heathen or a tax collector,
then what will happen to you during the manifestation of
the kingdom? It is a very serious matter to offend the
saints or the church and to rebel against the church. If you
remain in such a state, where will you be at the time of the
manifestation of the kingdom? Also, what about those who
are unwilling to forgive those who have offended them?
Yes, certain ones may have offended you, but you need to
remember how much God the Father has forgiven you.
Why will you not conduct yourself as a beloved son of the
Father and forgive others as He has forgiven you? We all
have a weakness here, for we all are unwilling to forgive
others. If you still remember a brother's offense against
you, it indicates that
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you have not forgiven him from your heart. If this is your
situation when the kingdom comes, you will be delivered to
the tormentors.
Perhaps you have not heard such a serious word before
and were misled concerning this matter. Many Christians
do not know how to interpret this part of the Word because
they have not seen God's dispensational administration.
They do not realize that God has ordained three ages: the
present age, the coming age, and the eternal age.
According to Matthew 12:32, certain sins cannot be
forgiven either in this age or in the coming age. This
indicates that other sins can be forgiven in this age or in
the next age. If you offend the church and rebel against
the church, you commit a sin. But if you repent to the
church, this sin will be forgiven in this age. However, if
you do not repent to the church, this sin will not be
forgiven in this age. Rather, you will need to wait until the
coming kingdom age before this sin is forgiven. During the
kingdom age, you will be under the discipline of God. Then
you will repent and be forgiven. Although you may be
disciplined in the coming age and dealt with by God, you
will not be lost. After you have been dealt with, you will
repent and apply the blood. Then, in that age, you will be
forgiven. We need to be very serious about this matter.
Have you offended anyone? If you have, you need to
repent. Has anyone offended you? If so, by the Lord's grace
you must forgive that offense and forget about it. If we do
this, there will be no friction among us. All offenses will be
removed by our repentance and forgiveness.
If we do not practice the way of repentance and
forgiveness, the longer we stay in the church life, the more
offenses there will be. The offenses will accumulate until
they are as high as a mountain. This will annul the
kingdom life and cause us to forfeit the church life. May
the Lord grant us the grace we need. If I offend you, I need
to go to you and repent. If you offend me, I need to look to
the Lord for the grace to forgive you from my heart. And
once I have forgiven an offense, I should forget it and
never mention it again. If we do this, we shall have the
proper
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kingdom life. Then we shall share in the manifestation of
the kingdom. Otherwise, during the millennium we shall
be under God's discipline so that we will repent of our
offense or forgive the one who offended us.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE FIFTY-THREE
THE KINGDOM REQUIREMENTS
In this message we come to 19:1-22, a portion in which
Matthew places together certain incidents in Christ's life
to show the requirements of the kingdom. In 19:3-12 the
Pharisees tempt the Lord by asking Him about divorce,
and in 19:16-22 a rich man inquires of Him concerning
eternal life. The Gospel of John does not mention either of
these cases. But in Matthew they are not only recorded;
they are put in the same portion of Matthew's Gospel. In
chapter nineteen we see the matter of divorce and the
matter of loving riches. Between these two things we have
the matter of receiving the little children (vv. 13-15).
Apparently, these three things are not related. But when
we get into the depths of the significance of these things
we see that all are related to entering the kingdom of the
heavens. Hence, they are the requirements of the
kingdom.
I. UNVEILED IN THE DISTRICTS OF JUDEA ACROSS THE
JORDAN WITH THE POWER OF HEALING
Matthew 19:1 and 2 say, "And it came to pass when
Jesus had finished these words, He withdrew from Galilee
and came into the districts of Judea across the Jordan.
And great crowds followed Him, and He healed them
there." Due to the rejection of the Jews, the heavenly King
left them and went to Galilee in the north. Now He was
coming back to Jerusalem to accomplish His death and
resurrection, as He had prophesied in 16:21 and 17:22 and
23, for the establishment of the kingdom. He came back
still with the power of healing indicating that, as the King
of the heavenly kingdom, He had authority over the
negative things that damaged God's creation.
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II. FROM THE WRITTEN LAW BACK TO GOD'S
ORDINATION FROM THE BEGINNING
A. Dealing with Lust
If we mean business with the Lord concerning the
kingdom, we must deal with lust, pride, and the love of
wealth. The Gospel of John says nothing about dealing with
lust because John is a book of life. But because Matthew is a
book on the kingdom, it speaks of dealing with lust and
other things as well. The kingdom is a matter of exercise,
and most of this exercise involves various kinds of
dealings. Lust, pride, and the love of wealth keep us from
entering into the kingdom. The love of money is no doubt
related to the self. By nature, we all love money for
ourselves. However, if we would enter into the kingdom of
the heavens, we must deal with this love of money. Again
and again, the Gospel of Matthew deals with lust. In the
constitution of the heavenly kingdom, the King explicitly
mentions dealing with lust. The reference to plucking out
our eyes or cutting off our hands in Matthew 5::29 and 30
shows how strict and serious we must be in this matter.
Otherwise, there is no way to enter the kingdom of the
heavens. The thorough dealing with lust has been
neglected by today's Christians. Very few Christians have
ever heard a sober word from Matthew 5 and 19 regarding
lust. Because of this lack, there is no genuine church life or
kingdom of the heavens among today's Christians. How
the Lord needs a testimony on earth! For His testimony
the Lord must have a recovery. We are not concerned
about having a large number. At the time of Elijah, the
Lord had only seven thousand. If the Lord had seven
thousand in this country, He would have a prevailing
testimony against all adulterous things.
Matthew 19:3 says, "And the Pharisees came to Him,
tempting Him, and saying, Is it lawful for a man to put
away his wife for every cause?" The religionists did not let
the Lord go, but came again and again to tempt Him.
However, their tempting always afforded the Lord an
opportunity to unveil Himself and God's economy. Here
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the opposition of the religionists afforded the Lord the
opportunity to expose the seriousness of divorce. The
source of divorce is lust. If there were no lust, there would
not be any divorce.
The Lord's word in 19:4-6 not only recognizes God's
creation of man, but also confirms God's ordination of
marriage, that is, one man and one woman joined and
yoked together as one flesh, inseparable by man. Marriage
is the union of one man and one woman. This is God's
ordination, and it is very serious for anyone to break it.
God's ordination here involves not only physical things,
but also spiritual things; for the union of one man and one
woman in marriage signifies the oneness of Christ and the
church. As there is one husband for one wife, so there is
one Christ for one church. There should not be more than
one wife for one husband, or more than one husband for
one wife. How serious it would be if there were one Christ
and many churches, or one church and more than one
Christ! God's ordination is to have one Christ and one
church. In figure and in shadow, there must be one wife
for one husband. That this was God's ordination in
creation is clearly recorded in the Word.
In verse 7 the Pharisees asked the Lord, "Why then did
Moses command to give her a writing of divorce and to put
her away?" This commandment was not a part of the basic
law, but a supplement to the law. It was given by Moses,
not according to God's ordination from the beginning, but
temporarily because of the hardness of man's heart.
Instead of arguing with the Pharisees, the Lord said,
"Moses, because of your hardness of heart, allowed you to
put away your wives; but from the beginning it has not
been so." The commandment concerning divorce given by
Moses was a deviation from God's original ordination, but
Christ as the heavenly King recovered it back to the
beginning for the kingdom of the heavens. This indicates
that the kingdom of the heavens, corresponding with God's
ordination from the beginning, does not allow any divorce.
In verse 8 we see the principle of recovery. Recovery
means to go back to the beginning. Things that exist may
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not date back to the beginning. We need to go back to
the beginning. In the beginning, God ordained one
husband and one wife, and there was no divorce. Because
of the hardness of the people's hearts, Moses tolerated
divorce and allowed a man to divorce his wife by giving her
a writing of divorce. The Lord was asking the Pharisees if
they would care for God's ordination or for the hardness of
their heart. Every seeker of God should say, "O Lord, have
mercy upon me that I may care for Your original
ordination. I do not want to care for the hardness of my
heart. I condemn and reject the hardness of my heart and
return to Your original ordination." This is what is meant
by recovery.
Today many Christians are arguing for certain things.
Because of the hardness of the fallen human heart, the
Lord tolerates some of those things. Should we agree with
this toleration and the hardness of the human heart?
Certainly not. Rather, we must receive the Lord's grace to
go back to God's original ordination. We must go back to
the beginning.
Verse 9 says, "But I say to you that whoever puts away
his wife, except for fornication, and marries another,
commits adultery; and he who marries her who has been
put away commits adultery." The Greek word for
fornication means harlotry, whoredom, which is worse
than adultery. The Lord's word here indicates definitely
that nothing but fornication breaks the marriage tie. (Of
course, death automatically breaks it.) Except for
fornication, there is no ground for divorce.
B. By God's Gift
Verse 10 says, "The disciples say to Him, If the case of
the man is thus with the wife, it is better not to marry."
Now the disciples realized that according to God's
ordination, marriage is the strictest bond. Once one is
married, he is fully bound, without any way to be released,
unless the other party commits fornication or dies. It was
such a realization that caused the disciples to think that it
was better not to marry. But it is not up to them.
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In verse 11 the Lord said to His disciples, "Not all men
can accept this word, but those to whom it has been given."
Not all men, but those to whom God has given the gift, are
able to refrain from marriage. Without God's gift, any
attempt to remain unmarried will meet with temptations.
Verse 12 continues, "For there are eunuchs who were
born thus from their mother's womb, and there are
eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are
eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs because of the
kingdom of the heavens." Those who are made eunuchs
because of the kingdom of the heavens are those to whom
God has given the gift not to marry for the sake of the
kingdom of the heavens. Paul was such a one (1 Cor. 7:7-8;
9:5).
In ourselves we are not able to keep God's original
ordination. For this, we need grace; we need God's gift.
Only those who have received the gift of grace can accept
the Lord's word regarding God's original ordination.
A eunuch is one who deals thoroughly with lust. In
order to be such a spiritual eunuch, we need grace. Only
grace can afford us the strength and the supply to have a
thorough dealing with lust. Lust is a great problem in our
life. Because in ourselves we are not able to deal with this
"scorpion," we need to look to the Lord and pray, "Lord,
have mercy on me and grant me the grace I need." By
grace it is possible to deal with the subtle, evil "scorpion"
of lust that damages our life.
Lust damages not only the kingdom life and the church
life, but also human life. It ruins marriages and society. It
damages the spirit, mind, and body. Anyone who is under
the dominion of the "scorpion" of lust will be ruined for the
proper human life, family life, social life, church life, and
kingdom life. Lust damages every kind of life. The
corruption in today's society mainly comes from lust. If
lust is dealt with, most of this corruption will disappear.
We in the church life must deal with lust in a serious way.
For this, we must depend on the Lord's grace.
The religionists' temptation here afforded an
opportunity for the Lord to unfold a further matter
concerning the kingdom of the heavens. Chapter eighteen
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reveals how we must deal with the brothers that we may
enter into the kingdom of the heavens, whereas chapter
nineteen reveals that firstly married life (vv. 3-12) and
then our attitude toward riches (vv. 16-30) are related to
the kingdom of the heavens. Married life involves lust, and
our attitude toward riches involves covetousness. The
kingdom of the heavens rules out every trace of our lust
and covetousness.
III. THE KINGDOM BLESSING COMING THROUGH
HUMILITY
When the disciples rebuked those who were bringing
some little children to the Lord, the Lord Jesus said, "Permit
the little children and do not prevent them from coming to
Me, for of such is the kingdom of the heavens" (19:14). Then
He laid His hands on them. Here the Lord stresses again
that to participate in the kingdom of the heavens, we must
be like little children.
On the surface, 19:13-15 seems to deal with an
insignificant matter. Actually, these verses are concerned
with pride. The Lord seemed to be saying to His disciples,
"You should not reject these little ones. On the contrary, you
must become a little one yourself. Pride is hidden within
you. You must condemn and reject your pride. If you reject
your pride and become as little children, you will be in the
kingdom of the heavens."
Matthew placed the dealing with pride between the
dealing with lust and money. This arrangement is
meaningful. Every fleshly person who is a lover of money is
a proud person. Pride is always found between lust and the
love of money.
IV. HIGHER THAN THE LAW
Verse 16 says, "And behold, one came to Him and said,
Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal
life?" To have eternal life in Matthew differs from having
eternal life in John. Matthew is concerned with the
kingdom, whereas John is concerned with life. To have
eternal life in John is to be saved with God's uncreated life
that man may live by this life today and for eternity,
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whereas to have eternal life in Matthew is to participate in
the reality of the kingdom of the heavens in this age and to
share in its manifestation in the coming age.
In the Gospel of John the eternal life is mainly for
regeneration, for the new birth. By regeneration, we
become the children of God. Furthermore, the Gospel of
John reveals that by the eternal life, the life of God within
us, we may bear fruit. Hence, the eternal life in John is for
reproduction. But in the Gospel of Matthew, eternal life is
not for the new birth, but for the kingdom. Many
Christians confuse the eternal life in John with the eternal
life in Matthew. It is the same eternal life in both John
and Matthew, but with different purposes. To repeat, in
John the eternal life is for the new birth, but in Matthew it
is for the kingdom. No one can have the kingdom life
without God's eternal life.
A. Realizing Only God is Good
In verse 17 the Lord answered the one who had asked
Him what good thing he should do to have eternal life:
"Why are you asking Me concerning that which is good?
One is good." This One is God. Only God is good. This
indicates not only that the young man asking the question
is not good, but also that the Lord Jesus is God, who is
good. If He were not God, He also would not be good.
B. Keeping the Law's Commandment
The Lord also said to this young man, "If you want to
enter into life, keep the commandments." Here the Lord
speaks about entering into life. To enter into life means to
enter into the kingdom of the heavens (v. 23). The
kingdom of the heavens is a realm of God's eternal life.
Hence, when we enter into it, we enter into God's life. This
differs from being saved. To be saved is to have God's life
enter into us, whereas to enter into the kingdom of the
heavens is to enter into God's life. The former is to be
redeemed and regenerated with God's life; the latter is to
live and walk by God's life. One is a matter of birth; the
other is a matter of living.
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According to the Gospel of John, to have eternal life is
to receive eternal life into us. But according to Matthew to
have eternal life is to enter into eternal life. The eternal
life enters into us to give us the new birth to become God's
children. Then we enter into eternal life to have the
kingdom life. Thus, in John eternal life involves salvation,
but in Matthew it is not related to salvation.
"If you want to enter into life," the Lord said to the young
man, "keep the commandments." Keeping the
commandments is not the requirement for salvation; it is
related to entering into the kingdom of the heavens.
According to the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens,
to enter into life requires us to meet not only the standard of
the old law, but also the standard of the complemented new
law (5:17-48). Salvation requires only faith, whereas the
kingdom of the heavens requires a surpassing righteousness
which issues from. the keeping of the old law plus its
complement given by the heavenly King.
The disciples' question in verse 25--"Who then can be
saved?"--indicates that they thought entering into the
kingdom of the heavens was the same as being saved. Many
Christians today have the same concept. They know only
about salvation; they know nothing about the kingdom of
the heavens. When we first preached the kingdom more
than forty years ago, we proclaimed the assurance of
salvation. Although missionaries had been in China for
more than a hundred years, they had not made the
assurance of salvation clear to the Chinese saints. Thus,
wherever we went, we tried to help the believers to be sure
of their salvation. When we preached the assurance of
salvation, many pastors opposed us and condemned us for
being proud. Some said, "We have been pastors for many
years, and not even we dare to say that we are saved. How
can you claim to be saved? You are too proud. We all must
believe in the Lord Jesus, behave ourselves, and wait until
we die and go to the Lord. Then the Lord will tell us
whether or not we are saved." But we fought the battle for
the assurance of salvation, giving the people verse after
verse to prove that we can know that we have been saved
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and that there is no need to wait for us to die and go to the
Lord. After a few years of fighting, we gained the victory.
After winning this battle, we preached the kingdom
reward. We began to say to people, "Yes, there is no doubt
that you have been saved. But to be saved is one thing and
to receive the kingdom reward is another." Although this
word did not offend very many pastors, it offended many
careless Christians. When we preached the assurance of
salvation, all the careless Christians were happy and said,
"Hallelujah, we are saved! The Bible tells us so. As long as
we believe in the Lord Jesus, we are saved." But their
happiness did not last very long, for the same ones who
preached to them the assurance of salvation told them
that they may have a problem, lose the kingdom reward,
and be disciplined. None of the careless, worldly
Christians wanted to hear this. After a message on the
kingdom, a wealthy woman once said to me, "Brother Lee,
is what you are talking about related to my going to
heaven? I don't care about anything else. If I can only be a
doorkeeper at the gate of heaven, I shall be satisfied."
Many Christians have this idea. As long as they are saved
and bound for heaven, they are happy. Those who say this
have been drugged, caring only for salvation and heaven.
But in Matthew 19 the Lord speaks about entering into
the kingdom of the heavens. Although you may be saved,
you may be in danger of not entering into the kingdom of
the heavens. Surely the Lord's word about it being easier
for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich
man to enter into the kingdom of God is not concerned
with salvation. This word is concerned with the kingdom of
the heavens. It is very difficult for one who loves riches to
enter into the kingdom of the heavens.
C. To Be Perfect by Laying Up Treasure in the
Heavens and Following Christ
When the young man told the Lord that he had
observed all the commandments, the Lord said to him, "If
you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to
the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven, and
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come, follow Me" (v. 21). Even if the young man had
observed the commandments of the old law as he had
claimed, he was still not perfect, not up to the standard of
the requirement of the complemented law; for he was not
willing to sell what he had and lay up treasure in heaven,
as the constitution of the kingdom required (6:19-21). To
follow the Lord is to love Him above all things (10:37-38).
This is the supreme requirement for entering into the
kingdom of the heavens.
Verse 22 says. "But the young man. hearing this word,
went away sorrowing, for he had many possessions."
Loving material possessions above the Lord causes one to
sorrow. but those who love Christ above all things are
joyful in losing their possessions (Heb. 10:34).
There are two kinds of rich men: those who are rich
with many material possessions and those who dream
about being rich although they actually are not rich. In the
past, some of us may have dreamed of being a millionaire.
In the sense of dreaming about riches, everyone is a rich
man. The desire of some young women is to marry a rich
man. This is their dream. If you are not the first kind of
rich person, then you probably are the second.
The Lord said that it is more difficult for someone who
loves money to enter into the kingdom than it is for a
camel to go through the eye of a needle. This illustration
reveals the seriousness of the love of money as far as the
kingdom is concerned. The love of money is the greatest
hindrance to entering into the kingdom.
The Lord dealt with the young man in chapter nineteen
in a wise manner. He had come to the Lord to ask Him
what he should do in order to have eternal life, that is, to
live in the kingdom. Knowing the young man's heart, the
Lord told him to keep the commandments. When the Lord
was asked which commandments, He listed six of them:
the commandments regarding murder, adultery, stealing,
bearing false witness, honoring father and mother, and
loving our neighbor as ourself (vv. 18-19). Then the young
man said, "All these things I have observed; what do I lack
yet?" The Lord was ready to answer him and told him
what to do in order to be perfect. In His answer the Lord
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seemed to be saying, "Even if you have kept all the
commandments, you still are not perfect. You may be
perfect according to the law of Moses, but not according to
the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens. To be
perfect according to the constitution of the kingdom, you
must sell your possessions, give them to the poor, and
follow Me." This was a killing word. When the Lord
mentioned six of the commandments, the young man was
very encouraged, for he was one who kept the law. But
when the Lord told him to uproot his love for money and to
follow Him, he went away sorrowful.
When I was young, I was troubled by the Lord's word
in chapter eighteen concerning forgiveness. I regarded it
as a sobering word, and I took it seriously. I asked myself
if I was willing to forgive everyone. When I came to
chapter nineteen, I asked myself whether or not I could
uproot the love of money. Like most students in China at
the time, I was quite poor. But even a poor Chinese
student could dream of becoming rich. At that time I did
not have the boldness to say, "Yes, Lord, I can uproot the
love of money." I realized that probably I could not succeed
in doing this. The love of money exposes how far off the
course many of today's Christians are. To them, the Gospel
of Matthew is a story book. When they read it, it seems
that nothing touches them. But we must be touched by the
Lord's sobering word in chapter nineteen regarding the
requirements of the kingdom. Do you mean business with
the Lord for His kingdom? If so, then what about the love
of money? Is there still room in you for the love of money?
This is a serious matter.
Only by the divine life can we fulfill the requirements
of the kingdom. It is easy to fulfill these requirements
when we have the grace to do so. By our human life it is
impossible, but by the divine life with the divine grace it is
easy. In fact, it is a joy. What a joy to lay up treasure in
the heavens!
We, the people in the kingdom, are altogether different
from the worldly people. We are even different from those
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in Christianity. Our heart has been touched, and we are
serious with the Lord concerning His kingdom. Riches and
material possessions do not mean much to us. By our
natural life it is very difficult to have such an attitude
toward riches. But by the divine life with the divine grace,
we can say that it is a joy for us to lay up treasure in the
heavens.
We have seen three requirements for entering into the
kingdom of the heavens: dealing with lust, dealing with
pride, and dealing with the love of riches. To deal with the
love of riches is to deal with the self. Those who love
money do so for two reasons: for security and for pleasure.
People in this country are worried about their security.
They are anxious to provide for their future and their old
age. Others love money for the pleasure it gives them.
They enjoy counting how much money they have in the
bank. Both security and pleasure are related to the self.
Thus, the love of money is a matter of the self. To deal
with the love of money is to deal with the self, although
the self is dealt with indirectly.
The Lord's sober word regarding the requirements of
the kingdom should not merely be doctrine to us. We need
to take the Lord's word in a serious way and open
ourselves to the Lord concerning lust, pride; and the
hidden love of riches for the sake of the self. May the Lord
have mercy upon us to give us a thorough dealing with
these matters for the kingdom of the heavens
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE FIFTY-FOUR
THE KINGDOM REWARD AND THE PARABLE OF
THE KINGDOM REWARD
In Matthew 19:1-22 we have the requirements of the
kingdom, and in 19:23-30, the reward of the kingdom.
Matthew 20:1-16 is the parable of the kingdom reward. In
this message we shall consider the reward of the kingdom
and the parable of the kingdom reward.
I. IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE RICH MAN TO ENTER INTO THE
KINGDOM
Verses 23 and 24 say, "And Jesus said to His disciples,
Truly I say to you, it is difficult for a rich man to enter into
the kingdom of the heavens. And again I say to you, It is
easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than
for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." The
kingdom of God is used in verse 24 instead of the kingdom
of the heavens mentioned in verse 23. At this point, the
kingdom of the heavens had not come, but the kingdom of
God was present. Hence, the Lord used the term the
kingdom of God.
The Lord's word about it being easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter
into the kingdom of God indicates the impossibility of
entering into the kingdom of God by our natural life.
II. THE IMPOSSIBILITY BECOMING A POSSIBILITY WITH
GOD
Verse 25 says, "And when the disciples heard this, they
were exceedingly astonished and said, Who then can be
saved?" The disciples, like most Christians today, confused
salvation with the kingdom of the heavens. The Lord's
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word to the young man concerned entering into the
kingdom of the heavens. but the disciples considered that
it referred to salvation. They had the natural, common
concept of being saved. They did not grasp the Lord's
revelation concerning entering into the kingdom of the
heavens.
In verse 26 the Lord said to them, "With men this is
impossible, but with God all things are possible." By our
human life it is impossible to enter into the kingdom of the
heavens, but it is possible by the divine life, which is
Christ Himself imparted into us that we may live the
kingdom life. We can fulfill the requirements of the
kingdom by Christ, who empowers us to do all things (Phil.
4:13).
III. THE KINGDOM REWARD
Peter said to the Lord, "Behold, we have left all and
followed You; what then is there for us?" Peter seemed to
be saying, No matter how difficult it is to enter into the
kingdom, we, like the camel, have passed through the eve
of the needle. Since we have left all and followed You,
what is there for us?" Peter's concept was quite
commercial. The Lord answered him, as usual, in a clear,
definite way.
A. To Receive a Hundredfold in This Age
The kingdom reward is of two parts. The first part is in
this age, and the second part is in the coming age. The
first part of the kingdom reward is mainly related to
material things and natural things. If, for the kingdom's
sake, or for the sake of the Lord's name, we leave all these
things, the Lord will reward us a hundredfold. In verse 29
the Lord said, "Everyone who has left houses, or brothers,
or sisters, or father, or mother, or children, or lands for My
name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold and shall inherit
eternal life." To receive a hundredfold, houses, lands, and
relatives, is to be rewarded in this age (Mark 10:30). This
refers to the enjoyment of the brothers and sisters in the
Lord with their possessions today. I can testify that I have
left everything to follow the Lord, including my relatives. I
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hardly have a friend outside the local church. But I have
hundreds of brothers, sisters, and mothers. In the church
life we all have many mothers, brothers, and sisters. In a
sense, those in the church life love me more than my
relatives do. This is a reward. We need to believe the
promise of the Lord that if we leave everything behind us
to follow Him, we shall receive a reward, even in this age.
B. To Inherit Eternal Life in the Coming Age
In verse 29, the Lord also speaks of inheriting eternal
life. To inherit eternal life is to be rewarded in the coming
age (Luke 18:29-30) with the enjoyment of the divine life
in the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens. In the
manifestation of the kingdom, we shall participate in the
enjoyment of eternal life in the millennial kingdom with
the Lord Jesus. This will be greater than the first aspect of
the kingdom reward, which we receive in this age.
C. In the Time of Restoration to Be Co-kings with
Christ
In verse 28 the Lord said, "Truly I say to you that you
who have followed Me, in the regeneration, when the Son
of Man shall sit on the throne of His glory, you also shall
sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."
The regeneration is the restoration of the coming kingdom
age (Acts 3:21) after the Lord's second coming. In the
coming kingdom, the overcomers will sit on thrones to
reign over the earth (Rev. 20:4). The first twelve apostles,
including Peter, will judge the twelve tribes of Israel,
while the others will rule over the nations (Rev. 2:26).
D. Not Being a Legal Matter
After hearing the Lord's answer, Peter had nothing
more to say. His mouth was shut. But the Lord went on to
say, "But many that are first shall be last, and the last
first" (v. 30). Many Christians use this verse, but most use
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it incorrectly. I am concerned that many of us do not
understand this verse properly. Some say that a person
who has just been saved but who has considerable
experience is an example of the last becoming first. This is
a natural interpretation. Others say that the young ones,
who are last, have become the first, and that we. the older
ones, are out of date and have become the last. This also is
a natural understanding. Knowing that we would take His
word in a natural way, the Lord gave the parable in 20:1-
16 to explain the meaning of this verse. The word "For" at
the beginning of 20:1 indicates that this parable is an
explanation of 19:30. Furthermore, in 20:16 the Lord again
says that the last shall be first and the first last. This also
proves that the parable is an interpretation of the Lord's
word.
In order to understand 19:30 and the parable in 20:1-
16. we need to see that Peter had a commercial mentality.
His commercial mentality was exposed in 19:27 when he
asked. "What then is there for us?" In other words, Peter
was saying, "Lord, we have paid the price. Now what will
You give us?" At the supermarket we pay a certain price
and receive in exchange something with a certain value.
We get what we pay for. This was Peter's concept. He said
that they had left everything to follow the Lord, that is,
they had paid the full price. Now he wanted to know what
he would get in exchange for the price he had paid. The
Lord Jesus was fair and answered Peter in a clear way in
19:28 and 29. The Lord seemed to say, "When I sit on the
throne of My glory, you will sit on twelve thrones. Peter,
this is what you have paid the price for. Everyone who has
left houses or relatives for My name's sake will receive a
two-part reward, the first part in this age and the second
part in the coming age. In this age you will receive a
hundredfold to replace the material things you left. In the
coming age you will have the full enjoyment of eternal
life." The Lord's answer was clear and fair, and I believe
Peter was very satisfied with it.
The Lord, however, did not let Peter go, for he needed
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a further lesson. Therefore the Lord said that many (but
not all) who are first shall be last, and the last first. This
indicates that many, like Peter, who were the first would
be the last to receive the reward. The Lord said this in
order to revolutionize Peter's commercial mentality. The
Lord seemed to be saying to Peter, "Those who are the first
will be last, and those who are the last will be first. I say
this to show you that what I give you is not based upon
your commercial sense. Although you must pay in order to
receive the reward of the kingdom, receiving the reward is
not a commercial matter. Actually, the price you have paid
means nothing."
The same, of course, is true of us today. What we have
given up does not mean anything. Even if the President of
the United States were to give up his presidency in order
to have the kingdom reward, that would not mean
anything. However, what the Lord gives means a great
deal. If you pay a dollar for something at the department
store, you receive something worth a dollar; and if you pay
a hundred dollars, you receive something worth a hundred
dollars. But, in the eyes of the Lord, the price we pay for
the reward is just a few cents, but the reward He gives is
worth millions. What could we pay to receive the full
enjoyment of eternal life? The full enjoyment of eternal life
in the manifestation of the kingdom is priceless. The price
we pay cannot compare with the reward we shall receive.
Receiving the reward is not a commercial transaction. It is
not a matter of paying a certain amount and of receiving
something equal to that in value.
Actually, what we pay is dung (Phil. 3:8). Everything
apart from Christ is dung. The Lord seemed to be saying to
Peter, "Peter, in the kingdom you will be sitting on the
throne ruling over the children of Israel. This is the
kingship. Peter, all you have given up to obtain this is
dung. Do you think you can buy the kingship with dung? If
you attempt to pay Me with dung, I would not accept it.
Rather, I would tell you to get rid of those things.
Although the price you pay is dung, I shall reward you
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with the kingship." Peter, who had a commercial
mentality, needed to be reeducated by the Lord Jesus. The
Lord was wise and patient with him and gave a long
parable to explain what He meant when He said that the
first would be last and the last first.
IV. A HOUSEHOLDER HIRING WORKMEN FOR HIS
VINEYARD
A. Early in the Morning
Matthew 20:1 and 2 say. "For the kingdom of the
heavens is like a man, a householder, who went out early
in the morning to hire workmen for his vineyard. And
having agreed with the workmen for a denarius a day, he
sent them into his vineyard." The householder is Christ.
The morning here is 6:00 a.m., denoting the earliest part
of the church age, when Christ came to call His disciples
into the kingdom. The workmen are the disciples, and the
vineyard is the kingdom. The agreement referred to in
verse 2 denotes the agreement He made in 19:27-29. The
denarius is the reward the Lord offered Peter in His
agreement with him in 19:28 and 29.
B. About the Third Hour
Verses 3 and 4 say, "And he went out about the third
hour and saw others standing idle in the market place,
and to those he said, You go also into the vineyard. and
whatever is right I will give you. And they went." The
third hour was 9:00 a.m., denoting the second part of the
church age. The word "idle" indicates that whoever does
not work in the kingdom of the heavens is standing idle in
the world, which is denoted by the market place.
C. About the Sixth Hour and about the Ninth Hour
Verse 5 says, "Again he went out about the sixth and
the ninth hour and did likewise." The sixth hour, 12:00
noon, denotes the middle part of the church age, and the
ninth hour, 3:00 p.m., denotes the fourth part of the
church age.
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D. About the Eleventh Hour
Verses 6 and 7 say, "And about the eleventh hour he
went out and found others standing, and said to them.
Why are you standing here all the day idle? They said to
him, Because no one has hired us. He said to them, You go
also into the vineyard." The eleventh hour was 5:00 p.m.,
denoting the fifth part of the church age. Those hired at
the eleventh hour said they were standing around idle
because no one had hired them. Outside the kingdom of
God, no human beings are employed by God. Although the
hour was late, the Lord still sent them into the vineyard.
Even near the end of the church age, the Lord still calls
people to work in His kingdom.
V. THE HOUSEHOLDER REWARDING THE WORKMEN
A. At Evening
According to verse 8, the householder rewarded the
workmen at evening, that is, at 6:00 p.m. This denotes the
end of the church age.
B. Beginning from the Last to the First
Verse 8 says, "And when evening was come, the lord of
the vineyard said to his steward, Call the workmen and
pay them their wages, beginning from the last to the first."
For the lord to begin from the last to the first was against
the natural and commercial concept. It indicates that what
is paid to the latest workmen is not according to their
work, but according to the gracious wish of the lord of the
vineyard.
C. The Last and the First Receiving the Same
Reward
Verses 9 and 10 say, "And when those hired about the
eleventh hour came, they received each a denarius. And
when the first came, they supposed that they would
receive more; and they themselves also received each a
denarius." Here we see that the last and the first received
the same reward. The first workmen mentioned in verse
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10 included Peter. who made a deal with the Lord in
19:27-29.
D. The First Murmuring according to Legality
Much to the surprise of those hired first, the last were
the first to receive the reward, although they worked just
one hour, not during the heat of the day. Thus, when those
hired first saw that the last received a denarius, they
expected to receive a great deal more. However, they also
received a denarius. Verses 11 and 12 say, "And when they
received it, they murmured against the householder,
saving, These last have worked one hour, and you have
made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the
day and the scorching heat." Those hired first should
remember Romans 9:14-15 and 20. There is no
unrighteousness with the Lord. He will have mercy on
whom He will have mercy. Who are they to reply against
the Lord? But Peter's natural concept, representing that of
all believers, was commercial; he did not know the Lord's
gracious wish. Thus, he murmured against the Lord
according to legality.
E. The Householder's Answer Showing Grace
according to His Desire
Verse 13 says, "But he answered and said to one of
them, Friend, I am not wronging you: did you not agree
with me for a denarius?" By "one of them" the Lord was no
doubt referring to Peter. The agreement mentioned in this
verse was the agreement the Lord made with Peter in
19:27-29. Here the Lord seemed to be saying, "Peter, we
signed an agreement. I don't owe you anything, for I have
given you what I promised. However, I'd like to show you
that My reward is not a commercial matter, but a matter
of grace. Peter, you need to learn the lesson of grace. The
reward is a matter of grace according to My desire. Out of
grace, I desire to give those hired last the same reward
that I promised to give you. What is wrong with this?"
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Verse 14 continues, "Take what is yours and go. I
desire to give to this last one even as to you." This was a
strong answer to Peter from the Lord, indicating that the
Lord had given him what He thought he deserved. But the
Lord has the right to give the same thing to the latest
workmen according to His own wish, in the principle not of
work but of grace. This shattered and corrected Peter's
natural and commercial mind.
Verse 15 says, "Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish
with what is mine? Or is your eye evil because I am good?"
Peter's concept, in dealing with the Lord in 19:27, was
altogether commercial, according to the principle of work,
not of grace. In His answer to Peter, the Lord strongly
indicated that His reward to His followers is not
commercial, but according to His desire and grace. For the
disciples to gain the kingdom of the heavens, they need to
leave all and follow the Lord. But what He will give them
as a reward is more than they deserve. It is not according
to the principle of commerce. but according to the Lord's
good pleasure. This is an incentive to His followers.
F. Not a Legal Matter but a Matter of Grace
In verse 16 the Lord concludes this parable: "Thus shall
the last be first and the first last." The last are the latest
workmen, and the first are the earliest ones. In working,
the earliest ones came first, but in receiving the reward,
the last became the first. It is this way that the Lord
makes the last first and the first last. Therefore, the
reward is not a legal matter, but a matter of grace.
We should not have a commercial mind. Salvation is
based upon grace. The Lord Jesus has done everything for
us, and there is no need for us to work. The kingdom
reward, however, is according to our work, according to the
price we pay. If we pay the price, then the Lord will give
us a reward. It may seem that the reward is purchased by
our work. If we think this, then we are like Peter with a
commercial mentality. We need to be reeducated to see
that even the reward is based upon
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grace. The way to receive the reward is not to pay the
price, but to enjoy grace.
To be saved is to receive grace, and to gain the reward
is to enjoy the grace we have received. When we believed
in the Lord, we received grace and were saved. After
receiving grace we must learn to enjoy grace. To leave all
things behind and follow the Lord is not to pay a price; it is
to enjoy the grace we have received. Do not think that you
have sacrificed anything. What you sacrifice is just dung;
it is vanity of vanities. Everything under the sun is vanity.
Your education, position, and future are all vanity. Dung
cannot be considered a price. To leave all things behind is
to be unloaded and released. You have been under the
heavy load of your position, wealth, and concern for your
future. Thus, you need to be unloaded, and the way to be
unloaded is to enjoy grace. Grace unloads us. To be
unloaded through the enjoyment of grace, however, is not
to pay a price. We are not here paying a price. Rather, we
are enjoying liberation. Hallelujah, I have been liberated I
have been liberated from my relatives, fame, position,
future, and everything; I am completely free. I am not
paying a price--I am enjoying grace.
We all need to give up the commercial mentality. Some
saints have said, "I have left everything for the church. I
have suffered very much, and now I have nothing."
Whenever I have heard this kind of complaint, deep within
me I said, "You cannot receive anything, because your
giving up of all things and your suffering have not been
done in the proper spirit. If you were in the right spirit,
you would be thankful, joyful, and praise the Lord that you
are no longer burdened." If we have given up all things for
the Lord in a proper spirit, we would say, "O Lord, I thank
You that I am not bearing the load of position, ambition, or
concern for the future. All the worldlings are under a
heavy load. But, Lord, I praise You that I have been
unloaded and liberated. I am not paying a price--I am daily
enjoying grace. Lord, whatever You give me is not a
reimbursement, but a further enjoyment of Yourself."
I believe that we are in the last group of workmen,
those hired at five o'clock in the afternoon. But we shall be
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the first to be rewarded, although we shall not work as
long as Peter, James, John, and Paul, who have been
working for nearly twenty centuries. They have labored
the entire day, bearing the scorching heat. But we have
labored for such a short time, at the most a number of
years. Perhaps as we are receiving the reward, Peter will
say to John, "Look, these people are receiving the reward
before us." But that will be the fulfillment of the Lord's
word that the last shall be the first and the first last.
Perhaps John will say to Peter. "Peter, be patient. If these
last ones are receiving such a reward, we shall certainly
receive much more." However, Peter and John may be
surprised to receive the same reward as those hired last.
But the Lord may say to Peter and to all those hired first,
"Didn't I make an agreement with you? Was not My
promise satisfactory? Do not complain, but take your
reward and go to the throne. Do I not have the right to do
things according to My desire? Am I wrong for being
good?" One day, we shall receive the same reward as
Peter, and we shall receive it first. Peter's reward will be a
denarius, and ours will be the same. This denarius denotes
the full enjoyment of the divine life in glory in the
manifestation of the kingdom. This will be our reward.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE FIFTY-FIVE
THE THRONE OF THE KINGDOM AND THE CUP
OF THE CROSS
After the Lord spoke regarding the requirements of the
kingdom and the kingdom reward, He was still concerned
about the spiritual situation of His followers. Therefore.
after giving His disciples a definition of the kingdom
reward, He spoke to them again about His coming
crucifixion and resurrection. The Lord also knows our real
situation today. Although we may not think that we need a
further word or a further revelation, the Lord knows our
need.
I. KNOWING CHRIST'S CRUCIFIXION AND
RESURRECTION
In 20:17-19 the Lord unveiled for the third time His
crucifixion and resurrection. The first was in Caesarea
Philippi, before His transfiguration (16:13, 21). The second
was in Galilee, after His transfiguration (17:22). This time
was on the way to Jerusalem. This revelation was a
prophecy, altogether strange to the natural concept of the
disciples, yet fulfilled literally in every detail.
It seems to me rather unusual that after the definition
of the kingdom reward the Lord would once again unveil
His crucifixion and resurrection. Apparently this has no
significance. However, if you get into the depth of this
book, you will see that this is a very significant
continuation. In order to receive the kingdom reward, we
need to experience the cross and the resurrection.
Although we may know everything regarding the kingdom,
we must still have a proper grasp of the Lord's
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crucifixion and resurrection. Apart from experiencing the
Lord's cross and resurrection, it is impossible to experience
the Lord's life for the reward of the kingdom. In
Philippians 3 Paul said that for Christ's sake he counted
all things but dung. Then he said that he desired to know
Christ and the power of His resurrection that he might be
conformed to Christ's death. Paul had an adequate
understanding of the Lord's death and resurrection. This
understanding is for us to experience Christ as our life for
the kingdom. For the kingdom reward, we need the
experience of the Lord's crucifixion and resurrection. Thus,
20:17-19 is a continuation of the foregoing section.
The third time the Lord revealed His crucifixion and
resurrection He did so to His disciples again. As He was
going to Jerusalem. He took the twelve disciples aside and
told them about His coming crucifixion and resurrection.
The Lord must have had a specific purpose in doing this.
He specifically told the twelve that He needed to go to
Jerusalem to be delivered to the chief priests and scribes,
to be condemned to death, to be delivered to the Gentiles,
to be mocked, scourged, and crucified, and to be
resurrected on the third day. He spoke to His disciples
concerning His death and resurrection in a detailed way.
II. THE THRONE OF THE KINGDOM
What was the disciples' reaction to the Lord's full
unveiling of His crucifixion and resurrection? They did not
say, "Amen, Lord. The first and second times we didn't see
this. Thank You, Lord, for taking us aside this time and
purposely telling us about this. Now we realize that You
must pass through death and resurrection. No doubt this
includes all of us. Eventually, we also shall experience this
wonderful death and resurrection." The disciples definitely
did not react like this. Rather, verses 20 and 21 say, "Then
the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Him with her
sons, worshipping and asking something of Him. And He
said to her, What do you desire? She said to Him, Say that
these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand
and one on Your left. in Your kingdom. The mother of the
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sons of Zebedee was the Lord's aunt, His mother's sister,
and Zebedee's sons, James and John, were His cousins.
Thus, there was a natural relationship between them and
the Lord. Immediately after the Lord had unveiled His
death and resurrection for the third time, the mother of
James and John came to Him asking that her two sons
might sit on His right hand and left hand in the kingdom.
Although the Lord had spoken of the crucifixion and the
resurrection, their mind was set on the throne. Often we
are exactly like James and John. Again and again they
heard about the crucifixion and the resurrection. But in
them and in their mother there was the desire for the
throne. This is the ambition for position. The mother of
James and John might have said to herself, "One day.
when the Lord is enthroned, maybe my two sons will be
sitting one on His right hand and the other on His left
hand. How glorious this would be!" This was their reaction
to the Lord's word about His death and resurrection.
III. THE CUP OF THE CROSS
In verses 22 and 23 the Lord replied, "You do not know
what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup which I
am about to drink? They said to Him, We are able. He said
to them, My cup you shall indeed drink, but to sit on My
right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for
those for whom it has been prepared by My Father. If we
want to sit on the throne in the kingdom, we must be
prepared to drink the cup of suffering. To suffer the cross
is the way to enter into the kingdom (Acts 14:22). The
selfish entreaty of the mother of John and James afforded
an opportunity for the Lord to reveal the way to enter into
the kingdom.
In answering the mother of James and John the Lord
said, "To sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine
to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by
My Father' (v. 23). These words indicate that the Lord
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had a submissive spirit. He did not assume anything, but
gave place to the Father. Standing in the position of man,
the Lord was fully subject to the Father. not assuming the
right to do anything outside the Father. We all need to
learn to give everything to the Lord. We have no place to
say anything regarding position.
IV. THE FLESHLY RIVALRY OF THE DISCIPLES
In verse 24 we see the fleshly rivalry of the disciples:
"And when the ten heard it, they were indignant
concerning the two brothers." The disciples were more
than angry; they were indignant, apparently fearing that
nothing would remain for them. The twelve were filled to
the brim with ambition for position, and nothing regarding
the Lord's death and resurrection penetrated them. What
a pitiful situation! If this had taken place in chapter four,
we might sympathize with them. But this was their
reaction after the decree of the constitution of the
kingdom, after so many revelations concerning Christ,
after the unveiling of the mystery of the kingdom, and
after experiencing the many negative factors on the
pathway to glory. After all this, the twelve were still fully
occupied with the matter of position. Luke 22:24 says that
the disciples were striving among themselves concerning
who would be the greatest. Peter, Andrew, James, John,
and all the others were fighting for greatness.
Matthew mentions the rivalry among the disciples in
order to expose the same ambition for position that is still
hidden within us today, even though we are in the church.
Some are ambitious to be elders or deacons. If they cannot
be an elder or a deacon, they at least aspire to be a group
leader.
V. THE EXERCISE OF THE KINGDOM LIFE
There are times when the Bible apparently contradicts
itself. For example, in Matthew 23 the Lord says that we
should not be called a teacher. But in Ephesians 4 Paul
says that Christ gave some teachers. Furthermore,
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Matthew 23 says that we should not have any leaders. But
in the Epistles we are told that there are leaders in the
church (Heb. 13:17, 24). The Bible, however, is not
contradictory. We need to see that what is in the mind of
the Lord is utterly, different from what is in our natural
mentality. In the mind of the Lord the elders or the
leaders should not control others. In the church life there
should not be any control. But this does not mean that
there is no governing, no ruling. To rule is one thing and to
control is another. All the leaders in the churches must be
clear about this. In the Lord's churches we need ruling, but
not controlling.
At this point we need to read 1 Corinthians 12:28. "And
God hath set some in the church, first apostles.
secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles,
then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of
tongues." The "helps" mentioned in this verse refer to the
service of the deacons. These "helps" are mentioned before
governings, which refer to the function of the elders.
Hence, in the New Testament there is a verse telling us
that the governing of the elders is lower than the help of
the deacons. You may find this fact very surprising.
According to our natural concept, the elders are much
higher than the deacons. But the Apostle Paul, under the
inspiration of God, lists the function of the elders after the
function of the deacons. In this verse, Paul deliberately
reverses the order of the elders and deacons, listing the
office of the elders next to the last item, which is speaking
in tongues. When Paul wrote this book from Ephesus,
Corinth was a hotbed of Pentecostalism. In writing this
book, he purposely diminished the significance of speaking
in tongues, making it the last item, and listed the function
of the elders after the function of the deacons.
Everyone who is put into eldership becomes a slave.
The elders are not kings; they are slaves. As one in the
Lord's ministry, I also am a slave. Others may enjoy their
freedom, but I have no freedom because I have been
purchased to be a slave. Likewise, every elder is a slave. In
the world, to have a position means to have glory. But
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in the church, to have a position means to be in slavery. In
Catholicism there is a hierarchy of priests, bishops, arch-
bishops, cardinals, and the pope, all of whom are above the
laity. This is vainglory. In the church there is no such
vainglory; instead, there is slavery.
It is a shame that some are ambitious for position in
order to have honor and glory. This is a "scorpion" creeping
into the church life. If it were not a matter of function, I
would not sit in the front row. Do not think that it is
glorious to sit in the front. I much prefer to sit in the back.
However, if the elders began to sit in the back, then in
your eyes the rear seats would become the most honorable.
This indicates that it is not a matter of where the elders
sit, whether in the front or in the back, because the honor
of their seats exists only in our mentality. Oh, how our
mind needs to be renewed! For the new man. we need to be
renewed in the spirit of the mind and drop the hellish
concept of position.
During the years I was with Brother Nee, I observed
that no one who desired to be an elder was appointed to be
one. For the kingdom life we must kill the ambition for
position. It is a shame to talk about position, about who is
higher than others. To seek a position in the church life is
not a glory, but a shame.
Regarding the matter of ambition for position, two
things are clear: first, in 1 Corinthians 12:28 Paul lists the
function of the elders after the function of the deacons;
second, to be an elder is to be a slave. The matter of the
leading ones being slaves corresponds to the Lord's word in
20:25 through 27: "Jesus called them to Him and said, You
know that the rulers of the nations lord it over them, and
the great exercise authority over them. It is not so among
you; but whoever wants to become great among you shall
be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you
shall be your slave." How contrary this is to the natural,
self-seeking mind! The eldership is a form of slavery.
Every leader must be a slave. Therefore, there should be
no hierarchy among us. Rather, we all are
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brothers on the same level. The indignation of the ten
disciples afforded the Lord an opportunity to reveal the
way to be in the kingdom, that is, to be willing to serve
others as a servant even as a slave, rather than to rule
over others.
Verse 28 says, "Even as the Son of Man came not to be
served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for
many." In this book, the book of the kingdom, the Lord
always stands in the position of a man. Although the
kingdom of the heavens is constituted with the divine life,
it is carried out in humanity.
It is helpful to see the difference between rule and
control. To control others means to make decisions for
them and to tell them what to do or not to do. It is to put
people under your direction. In the Lord's recovery, we
must hate this kind of control. No one should exercise
control, because we all are under the one Lord and have
the one Spirit living in us and leading us. However, there
is a need for ruling. If in a meeting the saints are told
what to do, that is control. But there must be some ruling
in the meeting. Suppose, for example, someone worships
an idol and claims the freedom to do so. This must be ruled
out. We even need some ruling in deciding the times of the
meetings. If we are democratic and there is no rule, some
may insist on meeting at 4:30 a.m., while others may want
to meet at an equally inconvenient time in the afternoon.
Thus, the elders need to go to the Lord in prayer,
fellowship with the saints, and use their spiritual nose to
discern the feeling of the saints so that they can determine
what time is best for the meetings. Then the elders should
make a decision. This is not control; it is ruling.
It is not easy to be an elder. In order to be an elder, you
need to have a good spiritual nose to sense the situation of
the saints. You also need to have a living, keen spirit with
a sharp intuition to know God's will. Then you will be able
to make the right decisions. Sometimes the elders make
decisions concerning the time of the meetings according to
their convenience. This is a mistake. The time of the
meetings should not be decided according to the elders
convenience, but according to the situation of the saints.
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For this, you must exercise your intuition toward God to
know what He wants.
Decisions such as these are made by the elders because
the government is in their hands. But do not think that
governing is higher than helps. Our concept regarding this
needs to be revolutionized. We need to have a spiritual
understanding and a heavenly concept concerning the
things of the church. What is revealed in the Bible is
absolutely different from our natural understanding. Do
not think that to be an elder is to occupy a high position. I
repeat, to be an elder is to be a slave. When a brother is
made an elder, he should say. "I have been drafted into the
eldership, and I have no choice. I don't want to be an elder.
but there is nothing I can do about it. The Lord has
drafted me and has made me an elder." The sisters whose
husbands are elders should say. "When my husband
became an elder, he became a slave. But I am happy that
the Lord has drafted him in such a heavenly way. When
our concept has been thoroughly revolutionized, the shame
of ambition for position will he slain.
In Matthew 23 the Lord Jesus said that among us
there should be no teachers or leaders, but that we should
all be brothers. But when the Apostle Paul refers to
teachers and leaders, he does not mean kings or a
hierarchy. Thus, both the Lord Jesus and the Apostle Paul
spoke the same thing, and the Bible is not contradictory. I
am thankful for Paul's word in 1 Corinthians 12:28 and for
the Lord's word that those who take the lead should
become slaves. Because ambition for position kills the
kingdom life, we need to slay the concept of position and
hierarchy.
VI. BLINDNESS NEEDING TO BE HEALED
In 20:29-34 we have a record of the healing of the two
blind men. The fact that this incident immediately follows
the record of the mother of James and John indicates that
James and John were blind. They might have thought
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that they were following Christ, but actually they were on
the wayside, for they had not yet seen the way. Instead of
having a proper understanding of the Lord's crucifixion
and resurrection, they were still seeking a position.
Because they were blind, they needed to be healed.
According to the Old Testament, the healing of
blindness is related to the millennium. The principle is the
same in the New Testament. Acts 26:18 says, "To open
their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and from
the authority of Satan to God." This indicates that the
healing of blindness is for the kingdom. No one who is
blind is on the way to the kingdom. Apparently James and
John were on the way; actually, they were blind and on the
wayside. Their eyes had not yet been opened to see the
way of the cross.
In 20:17-34 we see three things: the unveiling of the
cross and the resurrection. the disciples' poor response
because of their ambition for position, and the healing of
the two blind men. Anyone who is ambitious is blind. As
long as we are ambitious, we are on the wayside and need
healing. As soon as the two blind men received their sight,
they followed the Lord on the way. This indicates that
when we see the cross and the resurrection, we are on the
way following the Lord. When the two blind men who had
been healed began to follow the Lord Jesus, they were on
the way, no longer on the wayside. It was from the time
these two men were healed that James and John began to
follow the Lord.
The Lord had asked them if they were able to drink of
the cup which He was about to drink, and they said that
they were able (20:22). The Lord's word here may be
considered prophecy. To drink the cup of the cross means
to become a martyr. James was the first of the twelve
disciples to be martyred, and John was the last.
The cross and the resurrection mean a great deal to us,
but the ambition for position must be crossed out. If we are
ambitious, we are still blind and on the wayside; we are
not on the way following Christ. Because we are blind,
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we need to be healed. We are not in the Lord's recovery to
gain a position; we are here to follow Him to the cross.
Instead of talking about the throne, we prefer to drink the
cup of the cross, and we are ready to be martyred.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE FIFTY-SIX
THE WARM WELCOME OF THE HEAVENLY KING,
THE CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE, AND THE
CURSING OF THE FIG TREE
In this message we come to 21:1-22, where three
matters are covered: the welcoming of the meek King (vv.
1-11); the cleansing of the temple (vv. 12-17); and the
cursing of the fig tree (vv. 7, 18-22).
Chapter sixteen is a crucial turning point in the Gospel
of Matthew. Prior to this chapter, the Lord Jesus went to
Jerusalem number of times. But in chapter sixteen, He
brought His disciples to the north, far away from
Jerusalem, which was in the center of the Holy Land, in
the territory of Benjamin. After chapter sixteen, the Lord
gradually returned from the north to Jerusalem.
In 16:13--23:39 Matthew gives us a record of the
pathway of the Lord's rejection. In this section we see the
Lord's activities in various regions: before going to Judea
(16:13--18:35); from Galilee to Judea (19:1--20:16); on the
way to Jerusalem (20:17--21:11); and in Jerusalem (21:12--
23:39). Thus Matthew 21:1 says, "And when they drew
near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of
Olives." They began the journey from Galilee in 19:1. They
were on the way in 20:17, and passed through Jericho in
20:29. Now in chapter twenty-one they have come to the
Mount of Olives, which was just outside the city of
Jerusalem, in a suburb of that city. This chapter marks
the beginning of the Lord's last week on earth.
The Lord purposely went back to Jerusalem not to
minister, preach, teach, or perform miracles, but to
present Himself as the Lamb of God to be slaughtered, to
be crucified.
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I. A WARM WELCOME TO THE MEEK KING
A. The Coming of the Meek King
According to the four Gospels, the Lord Jesus did not
do things to insure Himself a warm welcome. Instead, He
was always prepared for rejection. But in 21:1-11 He made
some preparations to be warmly welcomed.
1. Under the Lord's Sovereignty
The welcome given to the Lord here was carried out
under His sovereignty. In verses 2 and 3, the Lord told two
of His disciples, "Go into the village opposite you, and
immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with
her; loose them and lead them to Me. And if anyone says
anything to you, you shall say, The Lord has need of them
and immediately he will send them." If I had been there, I
would have said, "Lord, how do You know there will be a
donkey tied there and a colt with her? And how do You
know that the man will allow us to take them?" Here we
see the Lord's omniscience and sovereignty. He wanted
His disciples to know that He was the sovereign King who
owned all things. Thus, the donkey and the colt belonged
to Him. The Lord also indicated to them that He was
omniscient, for He could see things clearly without
physically being in a certain place. In exercising His
authority as King, the Lord is both omniscient and
sovereign.
2. Fulfilling the Prophecy
Verses 4 and 5 say, "Now this took place that what was
spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, Say
to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your King is coming to
you, meek and mounted on a donkey and on a colt, the foal
of a beast of burden." The way the King came into
Jerusalem fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9. The
term "the daughter" of Zion in 21:5 means the people of
Jerusalem (cf. Psa. 137:8; 45:12). This prophecy was being
fulfilled to them.
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3. On a Donkey and on a Colt
Verse 5 says that the King came "mounted on a donkey
and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden." This signifies
the meek and lowly state in which the Lord was willing to
present Himself. The Lord did not tell His disciples to get
a carriage or a wagon, but a donkey and a colt. He did not
even choose to ride on a horse, but on a little donkey. I
have spent considerable time to find out why the Lord was
mounted on a donkey and a colt. Was He riding on the
donkey or on the colt? Why did the Lord Jesus need both
the donkey and a colt, a baby donkey? The colt must have
been a baby donkey because it is called a foal of a beast of
burden, and this beast of burden must have been a
donkey. The donkey was probably the mother, and the colt
was probably her offspring. Both the mother and the
offspring worked together to bear the King, for He was
mounted on both the donkey and the colt. Perhaps the
Lord rode upon the donkey first and shifted to the colt
when He was close to the city. Mark and Luke mention
only the colt, not the donkey (Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:29-
38), whereas John speaks of a young donkey, a donkey's
colt (John 12:14-15). Thus, the emphasis of the four
Gospels seems to be on the colt.
The donkey and the colt together give us an impression
of meekness and humility. If the Lord had been mounted
only upon a donkey, the impression of meekness would not
have been so striking. Suppose a very small sister stands
before us holding a tiny baby in her arms. This would give
us a deep impression of smallness, for the tiny baby would
strengthen the impression of smallness. The significance of
the Lord's riding on a donkey is not smallness, but
meekness. The heavenly King came not with haughty
splendor, but with gentle, humble meekness. This
impression of meekness is strengthened by the colt
accompanying a donkey to bear the meek King. The Lord
Jesus did not ride into Jerusalem proudly on a horse. He
came mounted upon a little donkey, even a small colt. No
earthly king would do this. The Lord Jesus seemed to be
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telling His disciples, "Take the donkey and the little colt. I
shall ride upon the beast of burden, but the colt must go
along too in order to show My meekness. This will help the
people see how meek the heavenly King is."
The Lord Jesus came not to fight or to compete, but to
be a meek King. The presence of the baby donkey testified
that the Lord did not care to fight or compete with anyone.
Rather, He was humble and meek. I believe that this was
the impression the Lord Jesus wanted to convey to the
people. Yes, He was the heavenly King, but He had no
intention to come as a great King fighting or competing
with others. Instead, He came as a meek King who did not
fight against anyone or compete with anyone.
B. The Warm Welcome of the Crowds
1. Spreading Their Garments on the Road
In verse 7 we see that the disciples put their garments
on the donkey and the colt, and verse 8 says, "And most of
the crowd spread their own garments in the road."
Garments signify the human virtues of people's conduct.
The disciples honored the lowly King by putting their
garments on the donkey and colt for Him to ride on, and
the crowd honored Him by spreading their garments in the
road for Him to pass through. The people honored the Lord
with their clothing, that is, with whatever they had. No
matter how poor a man is, he at least has some clothing
with which to cover himself. We need to honor the Lord,
the meek King, with whatever we are. No matter what our
condition may be, we have something with which to honor
Him. I do not believe that the garments put on the donkey
and on the road were splendid or beautiful. Nevertheless,
the people used what they had. Although we are sinful,
pitiful, and even evil, the Lord likes to be honored with
what we are. Even sinners can honor the Lord with what
they are, if they have a heart to honor Him.
2. Spreading Palm Branches in the Road
Verse 8 also says, "Others cut branches from the trees
and spread them in the road." The branches are the
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branches of the palm tree (John 12:13), signifying the
victorious life (Rev. 7:9) and the satisfaction of enjoying
the rich produce of this life as typified by the feast of
tabernacles (Lev. 23:40; Neh. 8:15). The crowd used both
their garments and the palm tree branches to celebrate
the lowly King's coming. A palm tree, signifying the
victorious life, is rooted deeply in hidden springs and
grows prevailingly upward into the air. This signifies the
victorious life. In honoring the meek King with whatever
they were, the people recognized that He was the One with
the victorious life.
3. Crying Hosanna to the Son of David
Verse 9 says, "And the crowds who went before Him
and those who followed cried out, saying, Hosanna to the
Son of David; Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the
Lord; Hosanna in the highest!" The Hebrew word Hosanna
means "save now" (Psa. 118:25). The title "the Son of
David" was the royal title of the lowly King. In the warm
welcome of the heavenly King, the people shouted out a
quotation from Psalm 118: "Blessed is He Who comes in
the name of the Lord" (v. 26). According to Psalm 118, only
the One who came in the name of the Lord was qualified to
be praised in such a way. Thus, the spontaneous praise of
the people sovereignly indicated that this meek King came
not in His own name, but in the name of Jehovah. Those
who welcomed the King indicated through their praise
that He was the One sent by the Lord, thus the One who
came in the name of the Lord.
4. Still Knowing Him as the Prophet from Nazareth
of Galilee
When the heavenly King entered into Jerusalem, the
whole city was stirred up, but the crowd still said, "This is
the prophet Jesus, who is from Nazareth of Galilee" (v.
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11). On the one hand, the crowds praised Him as the Son
of David, the One who comes in the name of the Lord; on
the other hand, some still recognized Him in a natural way
as a prophet from a despised city.
II. CLEANSING THE TEMPLE
Verse 12 says, "And Jesus entered into the temple and
cast out all those who were selling and buying in the
temple, and He overturned the tables of the
moneychangers and the seats of those who were selling the
doves." When the Lord entered the city of Jerusalem, the
first thing He did was cleanse the temple. Any earthly
king, upon entering the capital, would immediately have
ascended to the throne. But the Lord did not do this
because He was not for His own interests, but for God's
interests. His heart was not for His kingdom. but for God's
house.
It is the same in principle with us today. When we
welcome the Lord into us as our King, He does not go
immediately to the throne; rather, He goes to our spirit
and cleanses it. Many of us have experienced this. When
we received the Lord as life, we also received Him as the
King. On the day He came into us to be our life and our
King, He did not enthrone Himself, but cleansed God's
temple, which today is our spirit, the habitation of God
(Eph. 2:22).
A. Cleansing, Healing, and Praising
Our spirit should be a house of prayer, but because of
the fall it has been made a den of robbers. But when Jesus
comes into us He drives all the robbers away and cleanses
the temple of our spirit. After the cleansing, the Lord
healed the blind and the lame in the temple (v. 14). This
indicates that His cleansing of the temple causes people to
have the sight to see and the strength to move. It is the
same with us today. Verse 15 says that the children were
"crying out in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the Son
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of David." At least a few times the Gospel of Matthew
mentions children, for this book stresses that the kingdom
people need to become as children. Only those who have
become children will praise God. This was after the
healing of the blind and the lame. When our blindness and
lameness are healed, we also shall praise the Lord as little
children.
B. The Religious People Being Offended
The stubborn chief priests and scribes were indignant,
even after they saw the wonders the lowly King performed.
Their indignation was due to their pride and jealousy,
which blinded them from seeing any vision concerning the
heavenly King.
C. The Heavenly King Staying Away from Jerusalem
to Lodge in Bethany
Verse 17 says, "And leaving them, He went out of the
city to Bethany and lodged there." In His last visit to
Jerusalem, the Lord remained there only during the day
for His ministry. Every evening He departed to lodge in
Bethany on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives (Mark
11:19; Luke 21:37), where the house of Mary, Martha, and
Lazarus and the house of Simon were (John 11:1; Matt.
26:6). In Jerusalem He was rejected by the leaders of
Judaism but in Bethany He was welcomed by His lovers.
After the Lord Jesus comes into us and cleanses our
spirit, we may sense that He leaves us, just as He left
Jerusalem for Bethany after cleansing the temple. The
Lord may come into you, cleanse your spirit, which is the
temple of God, and leave for another place. Perhaps you
will say, "This is not my experience. My experience is that
after the Lord Jesus has cleansed my spirit, He stays with
me." If this is your experience, then you must be one of the
lovers of Jesus like Mary, Martha, Lazarus, or Simon.
However, after many Christians receive Christ into them
and experience His cleansing of their spirit, they do not
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love Him. Thus, in their experience the Lord leaves them
to lodge in another place, a place called Bethany.
According to the New Testament, Bethany is the place
of the Lord's lovers. In the New Testament we read of two
houses in Bethany: the house of Mary, Martha, and
Lazarus and the house of Simon the leper. All these dear
ones were lovers of the Lord Jesus. During the last week of
His life on earth, He went every day into Jerusalem, but
every night He went out of Jerusalem and lodged in
Bethany. Jerusalem was the place where He was
examined, tested, and slaughtered; but Bethany was His
lodging place.
In a very definite sense, today's religion is a Jerusalem
to the Lord Jesus; it is not His lodging place. The lovers of
Christ are not in Jerusalem, but in Bethany. Are you in
Jerusalem or in Bethany? We should not be the Jerusalem
people, but the Bethany lovers. If you are among the
Jerusalem people, Jesus will come to be tested and
examined by you. But if you are among His lovers in
Bethany, He will come to lodge with you. If the Lord Jesus
comes into you and cleanses your spirit, yet you still do not
love Him, it means that you remain among the Jerusalem
people. You are not one of the Bethany lovers. Although
He cleanses the temple in Jerusalem, He does not lodge
there. Rather, He goes out of the city to lodge in Bethany.
How meaningful this is!
III. CURSING THE FIG TREE
A. Christ Being Hungry
Verse 18 says, "Now in the morning as He returned
into the city, He was hungry." This signified that the Lord
was hungry for fruit from the children of Israel that God
might be satisfied.
B. The Fig Tree--the Nation of Israel-- Having Leaves
but No Fruit
Verse 19 says, "And seeing one fig tree on the way, He
came to it and found nothing on it but leaves only." Just
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as the eagle is a symbol of the United States, so the fig
tree here is a symbol of the nation of Israel (Jer. 24:2, 5, 8).
The fig tree the Lord saw was full of leaves but fruitless,
signifying that at that time the nation of Israel was full of
outward show, but had nothing that could satisfy God.
According to the Bible, leaves are an outward show, but
the fruit is something real and solid to satisfy God and
man. At that time, the Lord Jesus came from God to Israel
hungry for some fruit to satisfy God's hunger. However,
instead of fruit, He found only leaves.
C. The Fig Tree Being Cursed
Verse 19 also says, "And He says to it, Let there no
longer be fruit from you forever. And the fig tree was
instantly dried up." This signifies the curse on the nation
of Israel. From that time, the nation of Israel was truly
dried up. According to history, from the last few days the
Lord Jesus was on earth, there has been a curse upon the
nation of Israel. As we shall see, the fig tree is mentioned
again in chapter twenty-four, where the fig tree signifies
the restoration of Israel, which took place in 1948.
According to our experience, we can testify that first
the meek King comes into us, and we welcome Him.
However, He comes in not to be enthroned, but to cleanse
the temple of God, because He cares for God's house.
Caring also for God's satisfaction, He desires fruit from
God's people. But most of His people cannot afford Him
any fruit. As a result, they are dried up. Many of us have
experienced this. The meek King came into us, we
welcomed Him, and He cleansed the temple of God. But
because we did not bear fruit, we were dried up. Perhaps
you will say, "Isn't the Lord merciful and gracious? Since
He is merciful and gracious, how could He curse us in such
a way?" Nevertheless, when we do not bear fruit, we are
dried up.
Most Christians today have become dried up. Although
they have welcomed the heavenly King and He has
cleansed their temple, they have no fruit for God's
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satisfaction, and thus they are dried up. How many
Christians today are living and bearing fruit? Very few.
Whenever someone is dried up, his spirit does not function.
Hence, there is no temple and no fruit, no proper worship
and no satisfaction to God.
The concern of the meek King is for God's house and
God's satisfaction. He cleanses us that we may offer proper
worship to God, and He deals with us that we may bear
fruit for God's satisfaction. In the practical kingdom life in
the church today, Christ must be welcomed as the King.
Then He must cleanse God's temple, that is, He must
purify our spirit. Then we, as the kingdom people, shall
bear fruit for God's satisfaction. Otherwise, we shall be
cursed until the day of restoration. This was the situation
with the nation of Israel when the Lord was on earth, and
it is the situation among Christians today. Because the
nation of Israel was dried up, the kingdom was taken
away from them and given to another people. If we are not
cleansed in our spirit to offer to God the proper worship
and to bear fruit for His satisfaction, the kingdom will also
be taken away from us and given to others.
D. The Frustrating Mountain Removed by Believing
Prayer
Verses 20 through 22 indicate that the Lord cursed the
fig tree by faith. Faith can move the frustrating mountain
through believing prayer.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE FIFTY-SEVEN
THE HEAVENLY KING BEING TESTED
(1)
I. IN THE LAST WEEK OF HIS LIFE ON EARTH
The events in chapter twenty-one took place during the
last week of the Lord's life on earth (John 12:1). In this
period of time He willingly presented Himself to the
children of Israel for a thorough examination.
II. AS THE PASSOVER LAMB BEING EXAMINED BEFORE
THE PASSOVER
We have seen that the last time the Lord Jesus came to
Jerusalem He came not to work, but to present Himself to
those who were to slaughter Him. In 21:23--22:46 the Lord
was tested and examined. According to Exodus 12, the
passover lamb had to be examined four full days. In the
Jewish calendar, four days could also he considered six
days, for part of a day was counted as one day. Thus,
Matthew says that Christ ascended the Mount of
Transfiguration after six days, but Luke says that He did
so after eight days (Matt. 17:1; Luke 9:28). During the last
week of His life, Christ was examined for six days. Then
He was crucified on the day of the Passover. This indicates
that He was the real Passover Lamb; the lamb in Exodus
12 was a type.
III. BY THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND ELDERS OF THE
PEOPLE
A. Asking Him about the Source of His Authority
First the Lord was examined by the chief priests and
the elders. Matthew 21:23 says, "And as He came into the
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temple, the chief priests and elders of the people came to
Him as He was teaching and said, By what authority are
you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?"
The chief priests represented the religious power, and the
elders represented the civilian power. These two powers
came together to test Christ, who was standing before
them as the Passover Lamb to be examined by the children
of Israel. These Jewish leaders asked the Lord where He
had received His authority and who had given it to Him.
The Lord Jesus did not answer them directly, but with
another question.
B. Christ Asking Them about the Baptism of John
In verse 24 we see the Lord's answer: "I also will ask
you one question, which if you tell Me, I also will tell you
by what authority I do these things: The baptism of John,
whence was it? From heaven or from men?" This was a
difficult question for the chief priests and elders to answer.
It' they had said that John's baptism was from heaven, the
Lord would have asked them why they did not believe him.
But because they were afraid of the crowds, who regarded
John as a prophet, they did not dare to say that it was
from men.
C. The Chief Priests and Elders Lying to Him
The chief priests and elders told the Lord Jesus that
they did not know whether John's baptism was from
heaven or from men (v. 27). Their answer was a lie.
Children often lie by saying that they do not know. This is
the best way for them to escape an accusation. The
children are not taught to lie in this way; they do it
naturally. Thus, the chief priests and the elders were like
children who lie by saying that they do not know.
D. The Lord Answering Them, Exposing Their Lie,
and Avoiding Their Question
Verse 27 says, "He also said to them, Neither do I tell
you by what authority I do these things." This indicated
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that the Lord knew the Jewish leaders would not tell Him
what they knew; hence, neither would He tell them what
they asked. They lied to the Lord in saying that they did
not know. But the Lord spoke the truth wisely to them,
exposing their lie and avoiding their question. In this way,
the Lord Jesus passed the first test, and no defect was
found in Him.
E. The Parable of Two Sons
After the Lord Jesus had dealt with the chief priests
and elders in such a wise manner, He gave them a parable
about a man who had two children (vv. 28-32). The man
told the first child to work in the vineyard. At first the
child refused, but later he regretted it and went. The man
told the second child to do the same. But after saying that
he would go, he eventually did not go. The Lord Jesus then
asked His hearers which of the two did the will of the
father. When they said the first, the Lord said to them.
"Truly I say to you, that the tax collectors and the
prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God before you"
(v. 31).
In Luke 15:1-2, 11-32, the Lord likened the leaders of
Judaism to the firstborn son, and the tax collectors and
sinners to the second son; but here the Lord likened them
in the opposite order. This indicates that the Jews were
the firstborn of God (Exo. 4:22), having the birthright, but
due to their unbelief the birthright was shifted to the
church, which has become God's firstborn (Heb. 12:23).
Thus, the Lord's word here implies a shifting of the
birthright. In God's economy the birthright was taken
from Israel and given to another people, a people composed
of saved sinners and tax collectors. This means that the
birthright of God has been transferred from Israel to the
church.
Verse 32 says, "For John came to you in the way of
righteousness, and you did not believe him; but the tax
collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and you, when
you saw it, did not later regret it so as to believe him." The
Lord seemed to be saying, "You chief priests and elders
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are the second sons. Apparently you obey God, but actually
you disobey Him. In the eyes of God, the sinners, tax
collectors, and prostitutes are much better than you,
because they received the preaching of John the Baptist.
Because they received John's way of righteousness, they
will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but you will be
shut out." This means that the birthright was taken from
Israel and given to the saved, repentant, and forgiven
sinners who constitute the church.
Verse 32 speaks of the way of righteousness. The
Gospel of Matthew, as the book on the kingdom, stresses
the matter of righteousness, for the kingdom life is one of
strict righteousness, after which we must seek (5:20, 6;
6:33). John the Baptist came in the way of such
righteousness and the Lord Jesus was willing to be
baptized by John to fulfill such righteousness (3:15).
F. The Parable of the Vineyard
7. A Householder Planting a Vineyard and Leasing It to
Husbandmen
In verses 33 through 46 the Lord continues with
another parable concerning the transfer of the kingdom of
God. Verse 33 says, "There was a man, a householder, who
planted a vineyard and put a hedge around it, and dug a
winepress in it, and built a tower. and leased it out to
husbandmen, and went into another country." The
householder is God, the vineyard is the city of Jerusalem
(Isa. 5:1). and the husbandmen are the leaders of the
Israelites (21:45).
2. The Householder Sending His Slaves Again and
Again to Receive Fruits, but the Husbandmen
Flogging and Killing Them
When the householder sent his slaves to the
husbandmen to receive his fruits, the husbandmen flogged
them and killed them (vv. 34-36). These slaves were the
prophets sent by God (2 Chron. 24:19; 36:15) The flogging,
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killing, and stoning mentioned in verse 35 were the
persecutions suffered by the Old Testament prophets (Jer.
37:15, Neh. 9:26; 2 Chron. 24:21).
3. The Householder Later Sending His Son but the
Husbandmen Casting Him Out of the Vineyard and
Killing Him
Later, the householder sent his son. The son, of course,
was Christ. When the husbandmen saw the son, they said,
"This is the heir; come, let us kill him and possess his
inheritance" (v. 38). This word indicates that the Jewish
leaders were jealous of Christ's rights and wanted to
maintain their false position. Thus, "they took him and
cast him out of the vineyard and killed him" (v. 39). This
refers to Christ's being killed outside the city of Jerusalem
(Heb. 13:12).
4. he Householder Destroying the Evil Husbandmen
and Leasing the Vineyard to Other Husbandmen
Verses 40 and 41 say, "When therefore the lord of the
vineyard comes, what will he do to those husbandmen?"
They say to Him. He will miserably destroy those evil men,
and will leave the vineyard to other husbandmen, who will
render the fruits to him in their seasons." Verse 41 was
fulfilled when the Roman prince, Titus, and his army
destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70. The other husbandmen
spoken of in this verse were the Apostles.
5. Christ as the Cornerstone Rejected by the Jewish
Builders
In verse 42 the Lord Jesus says, "Have you never read
in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected,
this has become the cornerstone; this was from the Lord,
and it is marvelous in our eyes?" The stone here is Christ
for God's building (Isa. 28:16; Zech. 3:9; 1 Pet. 2:4), and the
builders are the Jewish leaders, who were supposed to
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work on God's building. In this verse the Lord said that
the stone rejected by the builders has become the
cornerstone (Gk., the head of the corner). Christ is not only
the foundation stone (Isa. 28:16) and the topstone (Zech.
4:7), but also the cornerstone.
6. The Kingdom of God Having Been Taken from the
Jews and Given to the Church
Verse 43 says, "Therefore I say to you that the kingdom
of God shall be taken from you and shall be given to a
nation producing the fruits of it." The kingdom of God was
already there with the Israelites, whereas the kingdom of
the heavens had only drawn near (3:2; 4:17). This proves
that the kingdom of the heavens is different from the
kingdom of God. In this verse the Lord says that the
kingdom of God will be given to another nation, which is
the church.
7. The Jews Stumbling at Christ and Being Broken to
Pieces
The first part of verse 44 says, "And he who falls on
this stone shall be broken to pieces." This refers to the
Jews who stumbled at Christ and were broken to pieces
(Isa. 8:15; Rom. 9:32).
8. Christ as God's Building Stone to Fall on the
Gentile Nations
The last part of verse 44 says, "But on whomever it
falls, it shall scatter him as chaff." This refers to the
nations which Christ will smite at His coming back (Dan.
2:34-35). To the believers, Christ is the foundation stone in
whom they trust (Isa. 28:16); to the unbelieving Jews, He
is the stumbling stone (Isa. 8:14; Rom. 9:33); and to the
nations, He will be the smiting stone.
At the end of this parable, the Lord Jesus not only
indicated that the kingdom would be taken from Israel and
given to the church; He also referred to God's building.
Very few Christians today are clear about God's building.
Although you may have been in Christianity for years and
may have heard that Christ was the Son of God, the
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Savior, the Redeemer, and perhaps even your life, you
probably never heard that Christ is also God's building
stone. As we have pointed out, He was the stone rejected
by the builders. The Jewish leaders must have been
shocked to hear that Christ was a stone. In talking with
them concerning the vineyard, indicating thereby that He
was the son of the owner of the vineyard, Christ eventually
referred to Himself as the stone rejected by the builders.
Today, hardly any Christians have the concept that our
Savior is a stone for God's building.
In Acts 4:10 and 11 Peter referred to Jesus Christ of
Nazareth as the stone rejected by the builders. Then in
verse 12 he said, "And there is no salvation in any other;
for neither is there another name under heaven given
among men in which we must be saved." Christians often
use Acts 4:12 in preaching the gospel, but rarely, if ever,
do they tell people that Christ is not only the Savior but
also the stone. That our Savior is a stone reveals the fact
that God's salvation is for God's building. The Savior is
related to salvation, and the stone is related to building.
But today's Christians have not seen this matter
adequately. God's intention on earth is not simply to have
a vineyard--it is to have a building. In the ancient times
the nation of Israel was a vineyard; however, today the
church is not merely a vineyard, but also a building. The
church is a farm that produces materials for God's building
(1 Cor. 3:9). Whatever this farm grows is for the building.
Although this matter has been missed by both Jews and
Christians, the light has come to us in these last days so
that this truth may be recovered. We have come to know
that Christ is not only the Savior, but also the stone.
In the life-study of Revelation, we saw that Christ is
the Lion-Lamb-stone. He is the Lion for victory, the Lamb
for redemption, and the stone for building. In a sense, both
Jews and Christians see the matter of redemption.
However, they have not progressed to see the building.
Christians today simply do not realize that Christ is a
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stone. In verse 42 the Lord said that the stone, not the
Savior, would be rejected by the builders. Eventually. in
resurrection, this rejected stone became the cornerstone.
This is seen clearly in Acts 4, a chapter dealing with the
resurrection of Christ.
The cornerstone is the stone that joins the walls. As the
cornerstone, Christ connects the Jews and the Gentiles.
Through Christ as the cornerstone the Jewish believers
and the Gentile believers are brought together as one
building for God. Thus, Christ is not only the foundation
stone to support the building, but also the cornerstone to
join the two main walls.
Verse 44 we see that Christ is not only the building
stone, but also the stumbling stone. Whoever falls on this
stone will be broken to pieces. In Romans 9:32 Paul says
that the Jews "stumbled at the Stone of stumbling." The
Jews that have rejected the Lord Jesus have fallen upon
this stone and have been broken to pieces.
In verse 44 the Lord also says that this stone will fall
on certain ones and scatter them as chaff. Thus, the Lord
is also a smiting and scattering stone to the Gentiles.
Daniel 2:34 and 35 say, "Thou sawest till that a stone was
cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his
feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the
gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff
of the summer threshingfloors." These verses indicate that
when Christ comes the second time, He will be a stone cut
without hands falling from the heavens upon the great
image. Daniel 2:35 also says, "The stone that smote the
image became a great mountain, and filled the whole
earth." The great image signifies the worldly powers from
Babylon down to the ten kingdoms of the restored Roman
Empire, which will exist at the time of Christ's coming
back. Christ will be the smiting stone that will scatter all
the broken nations as chaff. Then He will become a great
mountain, that is, the kingdom of God on earth.
Therefore, Christ is a stone to three categories of
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people: for the believers, He is the building stone; for the
rejecting Jews, He is the stumbling stone; and for the
Gentiles, He is the smiting stone. If you believe in Him, He
will be to you the building stone. If you are a Jew and
reject Him and are stumbled by Him, you will experience
Him as the stumbling stone and be broken to pieces. If you
are an unbelieving Gentile fighting against God, you will
know Him one day as the smiting stone, for He will smite
you and scatter you like chaff driven by the wind.
As a believer, Christ to you is a building stone. But how
much building have you actually experienced? Although
we are believers and although Christ is the building stone,
we may not have very much building. Some genuine
believers have even stumbled at Christ. On the one hand,
they believe in Christ; but on the other hand, they say that
they cannot take the way of Christ, and they shake their
head at Him. In other words, they were stumbled at Him.
Thus, instead of being built up by Christ, they have been
stumbled by Him. Furthermore, some true believers have
been smitten by Christ and blown away like chaff. It is
rare to find genuine believers who are truly being built
together. Such a building cannot be found in today's
Christianity. If you look for it in Catholicism, you will find
abominations and fornication instead of building. Neither
can the building be found in the denominations. On the
contrary today's Christianity is full of stumbling and
breaking. Yes, many have been brought to the Lord in
Catholicism and in the denominations. But after they were
brought to the Lord, they were spoiled. Instead of being
built, they were stumbled or smitten.
We need to examine ourselves and ask how much of the
building there is among us. Matthew was the only one
among the four writers of the Gospels to give us a clear
record of Christ as the stone. His record is complete. In no
other portion of the Bible can we find Christ presented as
a stone in three aspects: the building stone, the stumbling
stone, and the smiting stone. All three aspects are found in
Matthew for the kingdom.
The church is the life-pulse of the kingdom. This means
that just as the body dies when the pulse stops, so the
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kingdom is wholly dependent upon the church. The
church, in turn, is completely dependent upon the
building. If there is no building, there is no practical
church life. The church life is not simply a matter of
meeting together or of having a little fellowship. In
whatever locality we are, we need to be builded. For this,
we must enjoy and experience our Christ as the stone. He
is not only the foundation stone that bears us up, but also
the cornerstone that joins us together. In Him and through
Him we are built together.
Apart from such a building the church is vain, and
without the church the kingdom has no life. The church is
the kingdom life, and the reality of the church is the
building. How we need to experience Christ as the building
stone! He is the building element, the building life. Christ
is life to us not only for victory, but all the more for
building. The inner life people have spoken a great deal
about Christ as the victorious life. But I never heard any
one of them give a message saying that Christ is the
building life. He is not only the victorious life, but also the
building life. If you simply experience victory through
Christ as life, your experience is not yet adequate. You
must go on to experience the building life of Christ.
Ultimately, Christ as life within us is for God's building.
You may be victorious, but still not be built. We need to be
built. When we are built, we shall have the reality of the
church life, and the church will be the life-pulse of the
kingdom. Then the kingdom will be here in actuality.
To repeat, the actuality of the kingdom is the church,
and the reality of the church is the kingdom. In other
words, the kingdom depends upon the church, and the
church depends upon the building. We need to consider to
what extent we have experienced Christ as the building
stone. I believe that in the days to come the Lord will show
us much more concerning the building. This building is
closely related to the new man. On the one hand, the new
man has been created, but on the other hand, the new man
is being built. In order to have this new man, we need to
experience Christ as the building stone.
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9. The Jewish Leaders Seeking to Seize the Heavenly
King
After such a marvelous revelation, the Jewish leaders
sought to seize the heavenly King that they might kill Him
(vv. 45-46). This indicated that they, as the builders, fully
rejected Christ as God's building stone.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE FIFTY-EIGHT
THE HEAVENLY KING BEING TESTED
(2)
In this message we come to 22:1-14, the parable of the
marriage feast. This parable is the continuation of the
Lord's answer to the chief priests and elders of the people.
In His answer to their question regarding His authority,
He spoke three parables: the parable of the shifting of the
birthright, the parable of the vineyard, and the parable of
the marriage feast. The parable of the shifting of the
birthright reveals that the birthright, which had belonged
to the nation of Israel has been taken away and given to
the church. The parable of the vineyard indicates that the
kingdom of God was about to be taken away from Israel
and given to the church. Thus, these two parables are
parallel to each other. If you do not have the birthright,
you cannot participate in the kingdom. By this we see that
the birthright and the kingdom go together. These first
two parables refer to Israel on the negative side, for both
the birthright and the kingdom were taken away from
Israel.
If the Lord's answer had stopped here, it would have
been incomplete. It would have dealt only with the
negative side and had no positive issue. As we come to the
end of chapter twenty-one, we have the realization that
there must be something more. Therefore, after the first
two parables, the Lord added the parable of the marriage
feast as the completion of His answer. In giving this
parable, He turned from the negative side to the positive
side.
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G. The Parable of the Marriage Feast
1. A King Making a Marriage Feast for His Son
Matthew 22:2 says, "The kingdom of the heavens was
likened to a man, a king, who made a marriage feast for
his son." The parable of the vineyard in chapter twenty-
one refers to the Old Testament, in which there was the
kingdom of God (21:43), whereas the parable of the
marriage feast in this chapter refers to the New
Testament, in which there is the kingdom of the heavens.
The king here is God. and the son is Christ.
In the foregoing parable (21:33-46), the Lord illustrated
how the Jews would be punished and how the kingdom of
God would be taken from them and given to the kingdom
people. Another parable is needed for Him to illustrate
how the kingdom people in the kingdom of the heavens
will he strictly dealt with. Both parables indicate that the
kingdom is a serious matter.
In the foregoing parable, the Old Testament was
likened to a vineyard, with the focus mainly on the matter
of labor under the law; in this parable, the New Testament
is likened to a marriage feast, with the focus mainly on the
matter of enjoyment under grace. The vineyard is not
mainly for enjoyment, but for labor. But in a marriage
feast there is no labor. Instead, there is full enjoyment. No
one attends a marriage feast for the purpose of laboring;
all attend for enjoyment. Thus, the parable of the vineyard
depicts labor under the law, and the parable of the
marriage feast depicts enjoyment under grace. We in the
Lord's recovery are not laboring under law, but are
enjoying under grace. What a contrast between these two
parables! Today, we are not under law, but under grace.
We are not laboring, but enjoying. This is the basic
principle in understanding these parables.
2. The King Sending His Slaves Again and Again to
Call Those Invited to the Marriage Feast
Verse 3 says, "And he sent his slaves to call those who
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were invited to the marriage feast, and they would not
come." The slaves mentioned in this verse are the first
group of the New Testament apostles. Verse 4 continues,
"Again he sent other slaves, saying, Tell those who were
invited, Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and
my fatted beasts are killed, and all things are ready; come
to the marriage feast." The slaves here are the apostles
sent later by the Lord. This verse speaks of oxen and
fatted beasts, both of which refer to Christ as the One
killed that God's chosen people might enjoy Him as a feast.
Christ has many aspects for our enjoyment. As the oxen
and the fatted beasts, He has been killed and prepared for
our enjoyment. Although everything had been prepared
and although the slaves went out again and again, the
people refused to come, even laying hold of the slaves,
treating them shamefully. and killing them (vv. 5-6).
3. The King Sending His Troops to Destroy the
Murderers and Burn Their City
Verse 7 says, "And the king was angry; and he sent his
troops and destroyed the murderers and burned their
city." These were the Roman troops under Titus which
destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70. The fact that the troops
here are described as the king's troops indicates that all
the armies on earth are the Lord's. Thus, the army of the
Roman Empire was actually God's army. Cod sent the
Roman army as His forces to accomplish His purpose to
destroy Jerusalem.
During the transitory period between the Old
Testament and the New Testament, the old and the new
overlapped. In the parable of the vineyard, the owner
destroyed the evil men because they rejected, persecuted,
and killed his servants. They even killed Jesus Christ, the
Son of God. The parable of the marriage feast says that
God will destroy the city because, after killing Christ, they
also killed the apostles sent to invite them to the marriage
feast. God did not destroy them immediately after they
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had killed the Son of God. By killing Him they helped to
prepare the fatted beasts for the feast. But after the
apostles had been rejected and killed, the Lord sent the
Roman army under Titus to destroy the city of Jerusalem.
Titus was cruel and merciless, tearing down the temple
and burning the city. As the Lord Jesus had said, not one
stone of the temple was left upon another. Furthermore,
Titus killed a large number of Jews, the leaders in
particular. This was the complete fulfillment of the Lord's
prophecy in this parable.
4. The King Sending His Slaves to the Thoroughfare
to Call People to the Marriage Feast
After the destruction of Jerusalem, God turned from
the Jews to the Gentile world. Verses 8 and 9 say, "Then
he says to his slaves, The marriage feast is ready but those
who were invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the
thoroughfares, and as many as you find, call to the
marriage feast." Because of the Jews' rejection of the
gospel, they were not worthy of the enjoyment of the New
Testament (Acts 13:46). Therefore, the preaching of the
New Testament was turned to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46;
Rom. 11:11). Here the Gentile world is signified by the
thoroughfares. Throughout the centuries, the preaching of
the gospel in the Gentile world has been successful,
although there has been some opposition and rejection.
5. Many, Both Evil and Good, Coming to the
Marriage Feast
Verse 10 says, "And those slaves went out into the
streets and gathered together all whom they found, both
evil and good; and the marriage feast was filled with those
reclining at the table." Because the proclamation was so
prevailing, the marriage feast was filled with the called
and invited ones.
6. A Man Being Found Not Clothed with the
Marriage Garment
Verse 11 says, "But when the king came in and beheld
those reclining at the table, he saw there a man not
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clothed with a marriage garment." The man without a
marriage garment must surely have been a saved one.
How could anyone answer God's calling, yet not be saved?
As long as we have answered God's calling, we have been
saved. In verse 14 the Lord Jesus speaks of many being
called, and in Ephesians 4:1 Paul points out that we, the
saved ones are the called ones. We have been called to be
saved. Although the man in verse 11 was called and saved,
he nevertheless lacked the marriage garment.
This marriage garment is typified by the raiment of
embroidery in Psalm 45:14 and signified by the fine linen
in Revelation 19:8. This is the surpassing righteousness of
the overcoming believers in Matthew 5:20. The man not
clothed with a marriage garment is saved, because he has
come to the marriage feast. He has received Christ as his
righteousness that he might be justified before God (Phil.
3:9; 1 Cor. 1:30; Rom. 3:26), but he has not lived Christ out
as his subjective righteousness that he might participate
in the enjoyment of the kingdom of the heavens. He has
been called to salvation, but he is not chosen for the
enjoyment of the kingdom of the heavens, which is only for
the overcoming believers.
The wedding garment signifies our qualification to
participate in the marriage feast. The New Testament
mentions this feast at least twice, in Matthew 22 and in
Revelation 19. According to Revelation 19, those invited to
the marriage feast are clothed in white linen. The white
linen in Revelation 19 is the marriage garment in
Matthew 22. This white linen signifies the surpassing
righteousness. Matthew 5:20 says, "For I say to you, that
unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes
and Pharisees, you shall by no means enter into the
kingdom of the heavens." This surpassing righteousness
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which qualifies us to participate in the manifestation of
the kingdom in the coming age is typified in Psalm 45,
where we are told that the queen has two garments. We,
the believers, should also have two garments. We all have
the first garment, the garment that qualifies us to be
saved. This garment is the objective Christ whom we
received as our righteousness before God. In Christ, who is
our righteousness, we have been justified and saved. But
after receiving Christ, we need to live Him out. We need to
live by Christ so that Christ may become our subjective
righteousness. This subjective righteousness, Christ lived
out of us in our daily life, is the white linen, the second
garment, the marriage garment that qualifies us to
participate in the marriage feast.
In the parable of the vineyard, the Lord was strict with
the husbandmen. requiring that their labor reach a certain
standard. We need to drop the idea that because we are
under grace the Lord is not strict with us. Many
misunderstand the Lord and misuse His grace. Most
Christians think that the Lord is not strict with us and
that as long as we have His grace, everything is all right.
However, the Lord is more strict with those who are under
grace. Both the parable of the vineyard and the parable of
the marriage feast reveal the strictness of the Lord in
dealing with His people, whether Jews under the law or
believers under grace. Do not think that because we have
been invited to the marriage feast, we can afford to be
careless. On the contrary, the Lord may come into the
feast and pick you out as one not having the second
garment. Yes, you have received Christ as your
righteousness to be justified before God. But are you living
by Christ? Is He your subjective righteousness?
The requirements of the second garment are strict,
more than a matter of keeping a few commandments or
regulations. Rather, day by day we need to live by Christ
and live out Christ. This is not a matter of doing, but of
living. In the New Testament economy, God does not
mainly deal with our doings, but with our living, by whom
and by what way we live. The small things in our daily
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living expose whether or not we live by Christ. It is easy to
grasp the doctrine that we have been crucified with Christ,
that we live no longer, and that Christ lives in us. But do
we experience this as a reality in our daily life? Whenever
we are careless in our daily living, we are not living by
Christ. If we live in a loose, careless manner, we are not
those with the marriage garment.
There is no problem regarding our salvation, for we
have been called and justified. But what will be your
situation before the judgment seat of Christ? Will you be
qualified to enter the marriage feast? If you believe the
first part of the gospel, then you must also believe the
second part. How we need to look to the Lord for His
mercy! We need to pray, "Lord, have mercy on me. I have
received You, Lord, but I need more grace to live by You.
Lord, because You are my Savior, I know that I am
eternally saved. But I need Your grace that I may live by
You as my life." We need to speak by Christ, and even our
anger must be according to Christ. When we are about to
lose our temper, we should consider whether or not we are
losing our temper by Christ. If we do this, we shall have a
proper Christian living by Christ.
The second garment has been neglected by today's
Christians. Martin Luther helped us to know the first
garment, Christ as righteousness for us to be justified by
God. This truth was recovered more than four hundred
years ago. But in the Lord's recovery today we have come
to the second garment. We need both the objective and
subjective righteousness. This is an important matter in
the Gospel of Matthew, for it is a requirement of the
kingdom.
7. The Man without the Marriage Garment Being
Cast Out into the Outer Darkness
Verses 12 and 13 say, "Friend, how did you come in
here not having a marriage garment? And he was
speechless, Then the king said to the servants, Bind his
feet and hands, and cast him out into the outer darkness;
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there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth." The
servants mentioned in verse 13 must be angels (13:41, 49).
To be cast out into the outer darkness is not to perish; it is
to be dealt with dispensationally for not having lived an
overcoming life by Christ to qualify for participation in the
enjoyment of the kingdom during the millennium. At that
time, the overcoming believers will be with Christ in the
bright glory of the kingdom (Col. 3:4), whereas the
defeated ones will suffer discipline in outer darkness.
Because the man without a marriage garment is cast
into outer darkness, many Christian teachers say that he
is a false believer. But how could a false believer be
admitted to the marriage feast of Christ in the air? The
reason many Christian teachers say that this man is an
unbeliever is that they do not believe that a saved one can
he punished by being cast out into outer darkness.
However, according to the Gospel of Matthew, believers
may be subject to dispensational punishment, a subject
covered more than once in this Gospel. Few Christians
believe that there will be such a punishment for the saved
ones. But for more than forty years we have been teaching
that we need to be overcomers. Those who are not
overcomers will be excluded from the enjoyment of the
kingdom during the millennium and will probably be
punished.
We have seen that the man without a marriage
garment is cast out into outer darkness. Notice that the
Lord Jesus did not just say darkness, but outer darkness.
The Bible says clearly that when the Lord Jesus comes
back, He will come in glory. Thus, there will be a sphere, a
realm, of glory, and all the believers will be raptured to
Him in His glory. In the air the Lord will set up the
judgment seat. After the believers have been judged, the
defeated ones will be put into outer darkness. This refers
to the darkness outside the realm of the Lord's glory. For
this reason the Lord used the word "outer" to describe that
darkness.
To be cast out into outer darkness is not to suffer
eternal perdition. The New Testament reveals that once a
person has been saved, he is saved for eternity and can
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never perish. However, the so-called Armenian theology
teaches that a person can be saved and then lost again.
This, however, is contrary to the Scriptures. Although we
cannot be lost, God may deal with us dispensationally. In
the past some have argued with me about this and said,
"How can a blood-washed and redeemed person still be
punished by God?" I replied, "After you were washed by
the Lord's blood and redeemed, did you not experience
God's chastening for your wrongdoings? Has not God
punished you?" Knowing that God may chastise those who
sin after they have been saved, they lost the case. Others
have argued that God chastises us only in this age while
we are in the flesh; after the Lord comes back and we are
raptured, they think there will be no problem. To this I
have said, "Please do not hold this concept. Do not think
that there can be no problems after resurrection and
rapture. After the sinners have died and are resurrected,
they will be brought to the white throne for judgment. This
proves that resurrection does not solve all problems. Do
not think that death and resurrection will automatically
rescue you from having problems in the future. God may
still deal with you after your resurrection. Do not be
deceived." Most Christians today reject the teaching
concerning the dispensational punishment of believers.
This is why so many are loose and careless in their daily
living. Instead of fearing God's dispensational discipline,
they say, "I am saved, and the blood has washed me. If I
do something wrong, the Lord may correct me a little. But
there will be no problems for me in the future." How
misleading it is to hold a concept so contrary to the pure
word of God! When we come back to the pure Word, we see
that it is a serious matter to come to the marriage feast
without the marriage garment.
We need to read the book of Matthew with a sober
mind and consider its teachings seriously. Although this
book has been buried for centuries, the Lord has opened it
to us. Some may argue that we do not adequately know
the love of God and that we present God as One who is too
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hard and cruel. But if God were loving according to their
concept, how could He send an army to destroy the city of
Jerusalem? In Romans 11 Paul says that God is kind, but
also that He is severe and that we need to be serious with
Him. When God is kind, He is truly kind; and when He is
severe, He is very severe. God has been severe with the
Jews and He will also be severe with us.
Today there are many sugar-coated teachings in
Christianity. Some preachers dare not teach what they see
in the Bible because they are concerned about losing their
audience or offending others. Therefore, they sugar-coat
many of their teachings. But we must strip away the
sugar-coating, come back to the pure Word, and see what
the Lord has to say. We need the sober word found in the
Gospel of Matthew. Remember, one day you will be
examined to see whether or not you have the second
garment to qualify you for the marriage feast. Get ready
for this by preparing the second garment, the white linen,
the surpassing righteousness. May the Lord have mercy
upon us for this!
My burden in this message is not to threaten you; it is
to open the pure Word and give you a healthy dose that
has no sugar-coating. We all are responsible to read the
Lord's word and to give it thoughtful consideration. The
Lord's parable in 22:1-14 is very significant. Anything
given in a parable is important. The Lord would not have
given this parable if what is conveyed in it were not
significant.
8. Many Being Called but Few Being Chosen
In verse 14 the Lord concludes: "For many are called
but few are chosen." To be called is to receive salvation
(Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2; Eph. 4:1), whereas to be chosen is to
receive a reward. All believers have been called, but few
will be chosen as overcomers. The overcomers, the chosen
ones, will be rewarded and qualified to participate in the
marriage feast of the Lamb.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE FIFTY-NINE
THE HEAVENLY KING BEING TESTED
(3)
IV. BY THE DISCIPLES OF THE PHARISEES AND THE
HERODIANS
After the Lord Jesus had been examined by the chief
priests and the elders of the people concerning the source
of His authority, the disciples of the Pharisees with the
Herodians questioned Him about giving tribute to Caesar
(22:15-22). The Herodians were those who took sides with
King Herod's regime and took part with him in injecting
Grecian and Roman manners of life into the Jewish
culture. Normally they sided with the Sadducees, but were
opposed to the Pharisees; here they united with the
Pharisees to ensnare the Lord Jesus.
The Herodians opposed the Pharisees because the
Pharisees were very conservative, whereas the Herodians
were modern, standing with the Sadducees who also were
modernistic in their thinking. However, on this occasion
the Herodians and Pharisees conspired to trap the Lord
Jesus. They expected Him to fall into their snare. In verse
17 they said to the Lord, "Tell us therefore, What do you
think? Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?" This is
really an ensnaring question. All the Jews opposed giving
tribute to Caesar. If the Lord Jesus had said that it was
lawful to do this, He would have offended all the Jews who
followed the Pharisees. But if He said that it was not
lawful, this would have given the Herodians, who stood
with the Roman government, strong ground to accuse Him.
The matter of paying tribute to Caesar was very
unpleasant to the Jews; they hated it. The Pharisees were
especially against it. However, the Herodians agreed with
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paying tax to the Roman government. Thus, one of the two
parties opposed this matter, and the other favored it.
According to their concept no matter how the Lord
answered their question, He would still fall into their
snare.
The Lord Jesus, however, is wise and knows how to
handle every person and every situation. In verse 19 He
said, "Show Me the tribute money." Then they brought to
Him a denarius. The Lord did not show the Roman coin,
but asked them to show one to Him. Since they possessed
one of the Roman coins, they were caught. By having a
Roman coin, they had lost the case already.
Verses 20 and 21 say, "And He says to them, Whose is
this image and inscription? They say, Caesar's. Then He
says to them. Pay then what is Caesar's to Caesar, and
what is God's to God." To pay Caesar what is Caesar's is to
pay tribute to Caesar according to his governmental
regulations. To pay to God what is God's is to pay the half
shekel to God according to Exodus 30:11-16, and to offer
all the tithes to God according to the law of God. The Jews
were under two authorities, the political authority of Rome
and the spiritual authority of God. In Jerusalem there was
not only the Roman government, but also the temple of
God. For this reason, the Jewish people had to pay tax to
both systems, to the Roman government and to God's
temple. Therefore, the Lord told them to pay to Caesar
what is Caesar's and to God what is God's. This answer
shocked the Pharisees and the Herodians, and they were
defeated.
V. BY THE SADDUCEES
In 22:23-33 we see the Lord's test at the hands of the
Sadducees. The Sadducees were ancient modernists who
did not believe in angels or in resurrection (Acts 23:8).
They were exactly like the modernists and higher critics of
today who do not believe in the Scriptures, in angels, or in
miracles. These ancient modernists came to the Lord with
a question regarding the resurrection. It seemed that they
were quite clever. They told the Lord of a woman who had
married seven brothers and asked Him, "In the
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resurrection, therefore, of which of the seven will she be
the wife? For they all had her" (v. 28). From the human
point of view, this was a difficult question. No doubt the
Pharisees, the ancient fundamentalists, would have found
it hard to answer. The Lord Jesus, however, gave the
Sadducees a strong answer.
Verse 29 says, "But Jesus answered and said to them,
You are deceived, not knowing the Scriptures nor the
power of God." Knowing the Scriptures is one thing, and
knowing the power of God is another. We need to know
both. The Scriptures here refer to the verses of the Old
Testament concerning the matter of resurrection, and the
power of God refers to the power of resurrection. In His
answer to the Sadducees, the Lord did four things. firstly,
He condemned them; secondly, He rebuked them; thirdly,
He taught them; and fourthly, He muzzled them. He
condemned them by telling them that they were deceived.
Every modernist has been deceived. For this, they need to
be condemned. Today's modernists must be condemned for
denying the resurrection, angels, and miracles. When I
was young, such teachings were spreading in China. For
example, the modernists said that the water of the Red
Sea was not divided and that the people did not cross over
on dry land. They claimed that the shallow water of the
sea was blown apart by a strong wind and that this
enabled the people to walk on land. What a demonic
teaching! The ancient modernists, like those of today,
thought they were so clever, but actually they were
deceived. Therefore, the Lord rebuked them by saying that
they did not know the Scriptures or the power of God.
After the Lord condemned and rebuked the Sadducees,
He taught them. In verse 30 He said, "For in the
resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage,
but are as angels of God in heaven." This means that in
resurrection there will be no male or female. Hence, there
will be no marriage. This will take place by the power of
God. Those who deny the resurrection do not know the
power of God.
In order to help the Sadducees know the depth of truth
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implied in the words of the Scriptures, the Lord said, "But
concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read
that which was spoken to you by God, saying, I am the
God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living."
Since God is the God of the living and is called the God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, these three who have died will
be resurrected. This is the way the Lord Jesus handled the
Scriptures--not only by the letter, but by the life and power
implied within them.
I appreciate the Lord's interpretation of the Bible. He
said that God was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
If there were no resurrection to come, then God would
have to be the God of the dead. The fact that God is the
God of the living and that He is the God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob proves that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
will be resurrected. If they are not to be resurrected, then
how could God be the God of the living? This is the
genuine, honest, living, trustworthy exposition of the
Bible. By giving the Sadducees such an answer, the Lord
muzzled them.
VI. BY A LAWYER OF THE PHARISEES
When the Pharisees learned that the Lord had silenced
the Sadducees, they held a council about what to do next.
Then one of them, a lawyer, tempted the Lord by asking
Him a question about the great commandment in the law.
A lawyer was one versed in the law of Moses, a
professional interpreter of the law of the Old Testament.
The Lord said that the great and first commandment was
to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind (vv. 37-
38). Then He continued, "And the second is like it: You
shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two
commandments hang all the law and the prophets." These
two commandments are both a matter of love, either loving
God or loving man. Love is the spirit of God's
commandments.
In all these tests the Lord Jesus was questioned
regarding four things: religion, politics, belief, and the law.
Regarding religion, He was questioned concerning the
source of authority in religious activities. Regarding
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politics, He was asked about paying tribute to the Roman
government. Regarding belief, He was questioned about
the belief in the resurrection. Regarding the law, He was
asked which was the great commandment. From all four
directions those who tested the Lord Jesus were muzzled
and had nothing more to say.
VII. MUZZLING ALL THE TESTERS BY THE QUESTION OF
QUESTIONS
After He had been questioned, the Lord had a question
for the Pharisees. Verses 41 and 42 say, "Now while the
Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus questioned them,
saying, What do you think concerning the Christ? Whose
Son is He?" From 21:23 to 22:46, during His last visit to
Jerusalem, the center of Judaism, Christ was surrounded
by the chief priests, elders, Pharisees, Herodians,
Sadducees, and a lawyer, who endeavored to ensnare Him
by asking puzzling and crafty questions. Firstly the chief
priests, representing the authority of the Jewish religion,
and the elders, representing the authority of the Jewish
people, asked Him concerning His authority (21:23). This
was a question according to their religious concept.
Secondly, the fundamental Pharisees and political
Herodians asked Him a question related to politics.
Thirdly, the modernistic Sadducees questioned Him
concerning the fundamental belief. Fourthly, a self-
qualified lawyer asked Him a question concerning the law.
After answering all their questions wisely, He asked them
a question concerning Christ. This is the question of
questions. Their questions were related to religion,
politics, belief, and the law. His question was concerning
Christ, who is the center of all things. They knew religion,
politics, belief, and the law, but they paid no attention to
Christ. Hence, He asked them, "What do you think
concerning the Christ?" This question of questions must be
answered by everyone.
People today have many questions, but all their
questions can be classified into the four categories of
religion, politics, belief, and the law. Just as in ancient
times, people today care for these things, not for Christ.
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They simply have no concept concerning Him. But God's
concern is for Christ, and Christ's concern is for Himself.
Hence He asks "What do you think about Christ? Whose
Son is He?" This question touches Christ's Person, which is
a mystery, the most perplexing matter in the universe.
Christology is the study of the Person of Christ. From
the second century onward, Christian teachers have been
fighting with one another concerning Christology. Today
the battle between us and the opposers is also related to
this matter. For example, one of the leading opposers
teaches that Christ is not in us, but is merely represented
in us by the Holy Spirit. According to him Christ is at the
right hand of God in the third heaven, and the Holy Spirit
represents Him in us. This concept is related to tritheism,
the teaching that the three of the Godhead are separate
individuals. Those who teach that Christ is merely
represented in us by the Holy Spirit actually have three
Gods. Deep within. many fundamental Christians
subconsciously have this concept. Recently, some opposers
have said that Christ's divinity is in the believers, but His
humanity is in heaven. How ridiculous! Now some not only
have three Gods, but two Christs, a material Christ and a
spiritual Christ. Such peculiar concepts are the issue of
our fallen mentality. What a dreadful thing to separate
Christ's humanity from His divinity! This illustrates the
fact that the question regarding Christ is still the question
of questions today.
When the Pharisees were asked this question by the
Lord, they replied that Christ was David's son (v. 42). No
doubt, according to the Scriptures, this answer was
correct. Then the Lord said, "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?"
(vv. 43-45). The question here is how a great-grandfather
could call his great-grandson Lord. This was one question
the Pharisees did not know how to answer. As God, in His
divinity, Christ is the Lord of David; as a man, in His
humanity, He is the Son of David. The Pharisees had only
half the scriptural knowledge concerning Christ's Person,
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that He was the Son of David according to His humanity.
They did not have the other half, concerning Christ's
divinity as the Son of God. The mention of the spirit in
verse 43 indicates that Christ is only known by us in our
spirit through God's revelation (Eph. 3:5, Gk.).
Verse 46 says, "And no one was able to answer Him a
word, nor did anyone from that day dare to question Him
any more." Christ's question of questions concerning His
wonderful Person muzzled the mouths of all His opposers.
The Pharisees had studied the Old Testament, and they
had seen clearly that Christ was to be the Son of David.
But they did not see that Christ was also the Son of God.
Even those who have admitted that Christ is both the
Son of God and the Son of David have argued whether His
two natures were separate o mingled. Instead of arguing
about Christ's Person, we should say, "Hallelujah, we have
a Person who is glorious and mysterious! He is so
wonderful that we cannot adequately understand Him."
Consider Isaiah [Link] "For unto us a child is born, unto us a
son is given...and his name shall be called Wonderful,
Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The
Prince of Peace." It will take eternity for us to understand
this verse. Christ is a child, yet He is the mighty God. He
is the Son, yet He is called the everlasting Father. Do not
think that we can understand Christ adequately today.
No, He is too wonderful and too far beyond our
comprehension. We do not even fully understand
ourselves, much less Christ. Do you know where your
spirit is, or where your soul is? Can you locate your heart?
The more you analyze yourself, the more you will find
yourself in a maze. When I was very young, I thought I
knew myself thoroughly. But the longer I have lived, the
more I realize how little I know. If we cannot understand
ourselves, how can we adequately understand Christ, the
embodiment of the Triune God?
How wonderful Christ is! He is both God and man, both
the Son of God and the Son of David. Furthermore, He is
both in the heavens and in us. He is inside and outside; He
is on the top and on the bottom; He is the greatest and the
smallest. Oh, Christ is everything! We need to know Him
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to such a degree. Then we shall say, "Lord Jesus, I cannot
exhaust the knowledge of You. Lord, You are the only
worthy One. If there is a God, this God must be You. If
there is a genuine human being, this person must be You.
Lord, You are the Savior, the Redeemer, the life, and the
light." We today must come to know how inexhaustible the
Lord Jesus is as the Son of David and the Son of God. Both
the experience of Him and the knowledge of Him are
inexhaustible. Because Christ is the all-inclusive One, the
enjoyment of Him is inexhaustible.
Do not be led into the devilish snare of debate
concerning the Person of Christ. Thinking you know
everything concerning Christ's Person is an indication that
you have been snared already. Although we can know
Christ, we cannot understand Him thoroughly. We know
that Jesus Christ is the Son and that He is also called the
Father, for the Bible tells us so. But we cannot
comprehend this adequately. We also know that Christ is
the Son of God and the Son of man and that He has both
the divine nature and the human nature in one Person.
Thus, He is one Person with two natures and two lives.
However, it is beyond our ability to understand this
thoroughly. We simply believe whatever the Bible says
and praise Him for being so wonderful! We need to
worship Him, take Him in, enjoy Him, and experience Him
as the wonderful One.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE SIXTY
REBUKING THE JEWISH RELIGIONISTS AND
FORSAKING JERUSALEM WITH ITS TEMPLE
After the Lord had been examined and tested by the
religious leaders, in His wisdom He muzzled them.
Eventually, He reached the point where He did not talk to
them any further. Rather, in chapter twenty-three, He
gave them a final word. In this message we shall consider
the Lord's rebuking of the Jewish religionists and His
forsaking of Jerusalem with its temple.
I. REBUKING THE JEWISH RELIGIONISTS
A. Their Hypocrisy
In His rebuke of the Jewish religionists, the Lord first
spoke against their hypocrisy (23:1-12).
1. Seating Themselves in Moses' Seat and Saying But
Not Doing
In verses 2 and 3 the Lord said, "The scribes and the
Pharisees have seated themselves in Moses' seat. All
things therefore, whatever they tell you, do and keep; but
do not do according to their works, for they say and do not
do." The scribes and Pharisees said certain things
concerning the law, but they did not do them. For this
reason, the Lord told His disciples to do whatever the
scribes and Pharisees said, for their speaking was
according to the Bible. However, He told His disciples not
to follow what they did, for their deeds were hypocritical.
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2. Binding Heavy Burdens and Laying Them on the
Shoulders of Others, but Not Moving Them with
Their Finger
Verse 4 says, "And they bind heavy burdens and hard
to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders, but they
themselves will not move them with their finger." The
scribes and Pharisees put the burden of law on others, but
they would not use even their finger to lift it.
3. Doing All Their Works to Be Seen by Men
In verse 5 the Lord said, "And all their works they do to
be seen by men." The scribes and Pharisees did everything
to make an outward show so that others could see them
They did this because of their pride and because they
wanted to receive the praises of men.
4. Broadening Their Phylacteries and Enlarging the
Fringes of Their Garments
Verse 5 also says, "They broaden their phylacteries and
enlarge the fringes of their garments." A phylactery is a
part of the law written on parchment and worn upon the
forehead as a frontlet and upon the left arm, according to
Deuteronomy 6:8 and 11:18. The scribes and the Pharisees
broadened it to make it a charm. They also broadened it
for the purpose of making a display of how they loved the
law, were for the law, and kept the law. This reveals how
much they desired to maintain a good appearance in the
eyes of others.
The law required the Israelites to make fringes on the
borders of their garments with a band of blue, signifying
that their conduct (typified by the garment) was regulated
by the heavenly rule (indicated by the band of blue), and
reminding them to keep God's commandments (Num.
15:38-39). The scribes and Pharisees enlarged the fringes,
pretending that they kept God's commandments and were
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regulated by them to a surpassing degree. They did this in
order to glorify themselves.
5. Loving the Chief Place at Dinners and the Chief
Seats in the Synagogues
Verse 6 says that the scribes and Pharisees "love the
chief place at the dinners and the chief seats in the
synagogues." This indicates that they enjoyed being above
others and that they desired to he great among the people.
6. Loving the Salutations in the Market Places and
Being Called Rabbi by Men
Verse 7 indicates that they loved "the salutations in the
market places and to be called by men, Rabbi" The scribes
and Pharisees liked to be saluted by the people in the
market places. They also enjoyed being called Rabbi, a
title of honor which means teacher, master.
7. In Contrast with the Humility of the Kingdom.
People
The behavior of the scribes and Pharisees is in contrast
to the humility of the kingdom people. The kingdom people
must be the exact opposite of them. For example, in verse
8 the Lord says, "But you, do not be called Rabbi; for One
is your Teacher, and you are all brothers." This indicates
that Christ is our only teacher and master. Verse 9 says,
"And do not call anyone your father on the earth; for One
is your Father, He Who is in the heavens." This verse
reveals that God is our only father. We all have one
heavenly Father, and that is God Himself. In verse 10 we
see that Christ is our only Leader, Guide, Instructor, and
Director. This verse says, "Neither be called leaders,
because One is your Leader, the Christ." The Greek word
rendered "leaders" can also be translated "guides,"
"instructors," "directors." In verses 11 and 12 we see that
the greater among us should be our servants, that
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whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and that whoever
humbles himself will be exalted. Thus, the self-exalted one
will be humbled, and the self-humbled one will be exalted.
B. Their Eightfold Woe
In 23:13-36 the Lord pronounces an eightfold woe upon
the scribes and Pharisees. In chapter five we have a nine-
fold blessing, but here we have an eightfold woe.
1. The First Woe
Verse 13 says, "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites, because you shut the kingdom of the heavens
in the face of men; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor
do you allow those who are entering to enter." The
Pharisees shut up the kingdom of the heavens. They
neither entered in themselves nor allowed those who were
entering in to enter. Among today's Christians, some are
just like this. They do not have the heart to enter into the
kingdom of the heavens, and at the same time they do not
allow those who desire to enter in to do so. Nearly all the
opposition against us comes not from unbelievers, but from
devoted Christians who desire to frustrate those who want
to come this way. In the eyes of the Lord this is a most
subtle thing.
2. The Second Woe
Verse 14 says, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites, because you devour widows' houses, even while
for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore, you shall
receive greater condemnation." While they were
pretending to make long prayers, they devoured widows'
houses.
3. The Third Woe
Verse 15 says, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites, because you compass the sea and the land to
make one proselyte, and when he becomes one, you make
him twofold more the son of Gehenna than yourselves."
This also happens today. In the Far East I observed that
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the Catholics made proselytes of some Buddhists only to
make them twofold more a son of Gehenna than
themselves.
4. The Fourth Woe
Verse 16 says, "Woe to you, blind guides, who say,
Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever
swears by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor." Their
blindness is exposed here. In verse 17 the Lord continues,
"Fools and blind, for which is greater, the gold or the
temple which sanctifies the gold?" To sanctify the gold is to
make the gold holy positionally by changing its position
from a common place to a holy one. The temple is greater
than the gold because it sanctifies the gold. Sanctification
has two aspects, the positional aspect and the dispositional
aspect. Here we see that the gold is sanctified by the
temple. This is positional sanctification, not dispositional
sanctification. Perhaps the gold was once in the market
place. When it was there, it was common, not holy, not
separated to God. But when the gold was taken from the
market place and put into the temple, it was positionally
sanctified by being in the temple. Formerly it was the
common gold in the market place; now it is the sanctified
gold in the temple of God. Although the position of the gold
has been changed, its nature remains the same. This is
positional sanctification.
The principle is the same with respect to the altar and
the gift in verses 18 and 19. The sanctification of the gift
by the altar is also a kind of positional sanctification. The
sanctification of the gift comes about by changing the gift's
location from a common place to a holy one. Because the
altar was greater than the gift, the altar sanctified the
gift. For example, when a lamb was with the flock, it was
common, not separated to God or sanctified. But once it
was offered upon the altar, the altar sanctified the lamb to
God. However, as in the case with the gold, the nature of
the lamb remained the same. Only its outward position
was changed. Formerly it was with the flock; now it is on
the altar for God. This type of sanctification, positional
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sanctification does not affect our nature. The sanctification
spoken of in Romans 6, however, is dispositional
sanctification; it touches our being, our inward nature.
In verses 20 through 22 the Lord says that he who
swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things upon it;
that he who swears by the temple, swears by it and by
Him who dwells in it; and that he who swears by heaven,
swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.
5. The Fifth Woe
Verses 23 and 24 contain the fifth woe. The scribes and
Pharisees tithed mint, anise, and cummin, but left aside
the weightier matters of the law, judgment and mercy and
faith. The Lord said they were blind guides, who strained
out a gnat, but swallowed a camel.
6. The Sixth Woe
Verses 25 and 26 say, "Woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites, because you cleanse the outside of
the cup and the dish, but within they are full of robbery
and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the
inside of the cup and the dish, so that their outside may
become clean also." The scribes and Pharisees cared only
for the outside. The situation was the same in chapter
fifteen. Although they washed their hands, they were
inwardly full of robbery and self-indulgence. Robbery is
related to the love of money, and indulgence is related to
lust. Thus, although the scribes and Pharisees cleansed
themselves outwardly, inwardly they were full of the love
of money and lust.
7. The Seventh Woe
Verses 27 and 28 say, "Woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites, because you resemble white-washed
graves, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are
full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. So also you
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outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full
of hypocrisy and lawlessness." The Pharisees were like
tombs. Have you ever thought that fallen people are like
tombs? Outwardly they may be beautiful and appear
righteous to men, but within they are full of dead men's
bones and uncleanness, full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
8. The Eighth Woe
In verses 29 through 36 we have the eighth woe. Verse
29 says, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites,
because you build the graves of the prophets and adorn the
monuments of the righteous." Monuments here refer to the
tombs of the righteous. Outside of Jerusalem there are a
number of monuments. The Pharisees remodeled the
graves of the prophets and adorned them in order to make
a show. "The Lord said that by doing this they were
proving that they were the sons of those who murdered the
prophets (v. 31). Thus, the Lord called them "serpents" and
the "brood of vipers" (v. 33). As verse 34 indicates, the
scribes and Pharisees later scourged and killed the New
Testament apostles sent out by the Lord.
The Lord's rebuke of the scribes and Pharisees affords
us an accurate picture of today's religion. Everything
found in 23:1-36 resembles the situation today. Remember,
this rebuke is found in the book of the kingdom. Matthew's
intention is certainly to present the negative in order to
reveal the positive. The kingdom life must be the opposite
of what is exposed in 23:1-36. It must be an absolute
contrast to this black and hellish picture. Only by the
mercy and grace of the Lord can we escape the situation
portrayed here. Thus, we all need to pray, "O Lord, save
me! Rescue me! Take me away from this terrible
situation."
II. FORSAKING JERUSALEM WITH ITS TEMPLE
After the Lord had been tested and examined and after
He had rebuked the scribes and Pharisees, He forsook
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Jerusalem with its temple. In 23:37-39 the Lord spoke a
final word to Jerusalem. After this word, the Lord had
nothing more to do with her.
A. Jerusalem Killing the Prophets
Verse 37 says, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the
prophets and stones those who are sent to her!" Jerusalem
and her children were chosen by God to fulfill His purpose.
However, when God sent His prophets to them, they killed
them.
B. The Lord as a Hen Desiring to Gather Her
Children Together under Her Wings
Verse 37, also says, "How often I desired to gather your
children together as a hen gathers her young under her
wings, and you would not" It has always been God Himself
who cared for Jerusalem, like a bird fluttering over her
young (Isa. 31:5; Deut 32:11-12). Hence, when the Lord
Jesus said, "I desired to gather your children together as a
hen gathers her young under her wings," He indicated that
He was God Himself. The Lord is like a loving bird,
fluttering, brooding, over her young. Often He desired to
gather the children of Jerusalem together, but they were
not willing. As the Lord Jesus was declaring this final
word to them, He was still like a loving hen, stretching out
His wings to brood over the little ones. But they were not
willing to be gathered under His wings.
C. The House--the Temple--Left Desolate
In verse 38 the Lord said, "Behold, your house is left to
you desolate." Since "house" here is singular, it must
denote the house of God, which was the temple (21:12-13).
It was the house of God, but now it is called "your house,"
because they had made it a den of robbers (21:13). The
prophecy about the house becoming desolate corresponds
with that in 24:2, which was fulfilled when Titus destroyed
Jerusalem with the Roman army in A.D. 70.
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According to the context of the whole Bible, the house
here refers to the temple, the unique house, the house of
God. But at this point the house of God had become "your
house"; it was no longer the house of God, but the den of
robbers. When the Lord was cleansing the temple, He said,
"My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you are
making it a den of robbers" (21:13).
In ancient times, according to the book of Ezekiel, God
left His temple. The same thing was happening here. In
chapter ten Ezekiel saw in a vision the glory of God
leaving the temple. Thus, the temple was left desolate for
the rebellious Jews, and eventually it was burned and
destroyed. Here in Matthew 23 the Lord was once again
about to leave the house desolate. Not too long afterwards,
the temple was destroyed by the Roman army under Titus.
Thus 23:38 corresponds to 24:2, which indicates that not
one stone was to be left upon another. Both of these verses
refer to the desolation of the temple in Jerusalem. At the
time the temple was destroyed, it was no longer the house
of God; rather, it had become the house of rebels.
D. Not Seeing the Lord until His Coming Back
Verse 39 says, "For I say to you, You shall by no means
see Me henceforth until you say, Blessed is He Who comes
in the name of the Lord." This will be at the Lord's second
coming, when all the remnant of Israel will turn to believe
in Him and be saved (Rom. 11:23, 26). Ezekiel saw the
glory leaving the temple. This glory typified the Lord
Jesus, who is the real glory, the manifestation of God.
Israel will not see Him again until His second coming.
According to Zechariah 12, the remnant of Israel will
repent when the Lord comes again. Then they will say to
Him, "Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord."
The Lord's word here is brief, but it includes a number
of things from the destruction of Jerusalem until the
Lord's second coming. Here the Lord made a clear
declaration that He, the very glory of God, was leaving the
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nation of Israel and that they would not see Him until His
coming again. Nearly two thousand years have passed
since that time, and Israel still has not seen the Lord
Jesus. Some may ask, "Does this mean that the Jews have
no opportunity to believe in the Lord Jesus?" As
individuals, the Jews still have the opportunity to believe,
but as a nation they do not have this opportunity today. As
a nation, Israel is through with the Lord. Thank the Lord
that He is still merciful to the Jews. Even though He has
left the nation of Israel, the back door is still open for
individual Jews to come to Him. Today no Jew has the
position to come to God as a representative of his nation.
But when the Jews are persecuted by their enemies at the
end of this age, they will cry out to their God. Then Christ
will descend and place His feet on the Mount of Olives,
which will be cleft like the waters of the Red Sea. This will
enable the Jews to escape from persecution. At that time
they will repent to the Lord and call upon Him, and the
nation will be saved. This salvation will be not only for
individuals, but for the entire nation. However, before the
Lord's coming back, it is impossible for the nation of Israel
to repent. But, as we have pointed out, individual Jews
can still repent today and come into God's grace.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE SIXTY-ONE
PROPHECY OF THE KINGDOM
(1)
The knowledge most Christians have of Matthew 24
and 25 is vague and indefinite. As we come to these
chapters we need to drop this kind of vague knowledge.
For the basic understanding of these chapters we are
standing upon the shoulders of many great teachers who
have gone before us. These great teachers include Darby,
Newton, Pember, Govett, and Panton. According to church
history, not until about nine hundred fifty years ago were
these chapters opened to the Lord's people. After 1829,
when the Brethren were raised up, these chapters began
to be opened to the seeking saints. If you collect the
various writings regarding Christ's second coming, the
great tribulation, the prophecy concerning the seventy
weeks in Daniel, and the rapture, you will see that during
the past one hundred fifty years the knowledge of
Matthew 24 and 25 has progressed.
When Brother Nee was young, he was helped a great
deal by reading the books of Pember, Govett, and Panton.
Of course, he saw something even further, and before 1930
he conducted a study of the book of Revelation, upon which
our study of Revelation was based. Later, Brother Nee
held a study of Matthew in which he gave several
messages on chapters twenty-four and twenty-five. He also
had studies on the matters of the rapture and the
tribulation. After he conducted these studies, Brother Nee
saw something further. During the last twenty years, I
myself also have gone on a little in understanding these
matters. Therefore, what I shall present to you in these
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messages on chapters twenty-four and twenty-five is not
merely the result of my own study, but the product of
knowledge that has progressed throughout the past one
hundred fifty years. It is not something superficial, but the
cream of the labor of many others. The more I have
ministered on the Lord's coming, the rapture, and the
tribulation, the more convinced I have become that we
have the proper understanding of these things.
Prophecy in the Bible is like a jigsaw puzzle. We need
to find the various pieces that are scattered throughout
the Bible and see how they fit together. I have been doing
this for more than fifty years. What I am presenting in
these messages is the result of all these years of study.
I. CONCERNING ISRAEL
A. From Christ's Ascension to the End of the Age
Matthew 24:1-31 is concerned with Israel. Verses 1-14
cover the time from Christ's ascension to the end of the
age.
1. The Temple About to Be Destroyed
The prophecy of the kingdom given on the Mount of
Olives is a continuation of the Lord's declaration regarding
His forsaking of Israel. This declaration is given at the end
of chapter twenty-three. Chapter twenty-four continues,
"And Jesus came out from the temple and was going away,
and His disciples came to Him to show Him the buildings
of the temple" (v. 1). Notice that chapter twenty-four
begins with the word "And." This indicates that this
chapter is a direct continuation of the last part of chapter
twenty-three. In 23:37-39 the Lord said that He desired to
gather Jerusalem, that the house was left desolate, and
that they would not see Him until they say, "Blessed is He
Who comes in the name of the Lord." Then, immediately
after this, chapter twenty-four continues with the words,
"And Jesus came out from the temple."
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This indicates that as soon as the Lord had declared that
He was forsaking Israel, He came out of the temple and
began to go away. The word "away" is very strong, showing
that the Lord was not merely going, but going away. The
fact that the Lord had come out from the temple indicates
that He had left the temple. This was to fulfill His word in
23:38 concerning leaving the temple to the rejecting Jews
as their house of desolation. This is equivalent to God's
glory leaving the temple in the time of Ezekiel (Ezek.
10:18).
As the Lord Jesus was going away from the temple,
"His disciples came to Him to show Him the buildings of
the temple." The word "temple" here denotes the entire
precincts of the temple. As the Lord was going away, there
might have been a distance between Him and His
disciples, who were probably still lingering by the temple.
Therefore, they came to Him to show Him the buildings of
the temple. This indicates that the disciples did not agree
with the Lord's forsaking of the temple. The Lord had
forsaken the den of robbers, leaving the temple to be a
house of desolation. But the disciples still appreciated the
temple and were trying to bring Him back to it by pointing
out the buildings, perhaps by pointing them out one by
one.
Verse 2 says, "But He answered and said to them, Do
you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, A stone
shall by no means be left upon a stone which shall not be
thrown down." This was fulfilled in A.D. 70 when Titus
with the Roman army destroyed Jerusalem.
Notice that the Lord did not say, "I have seen these
things"; instead, He said, "Do you not see all these things?"
This indicates clearly that the Lord Jesus would not turn
His eyes back to look at the buildings. He seemed to be
saying, "I don't like to look at these things, but you have
seen them. To you, they are complete, beautiful, splendid,
and perfect. But there will not be one stone left upon
another which will not be thrown down. Now you point out
these things to Me building by building. But the day is
coming when all this will be leveled." We need to visualize
the situation here. The disciples kept their eyes upon the
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buildings and pointed them out to the Lord. But the Lord
would not turn to see them. Rather, He told His disciples
that the buildings would be torn down. His answer must
have shocked the disciples. As they all walked from the
temple to the Mount of Olives, neither the Lord nor the
disciples had anything more to say. Because the matter
was too serious, the disciples asked Him nothing further
until they came to the Mount of Olives.
Verse 3 says that after the Lord came to the Mount of
Olives and sat down there, the disciples came to Him
privately to ask Him about these things. Their meeting
with the Lord on the mountain reveals that in order to
receive the vision of the Lord's prophecy concerning this
age, we need to climb to the high mountain to enter into
His presence.
The disciples came to the Lord privately. Having heard
the terrible news that the buildings of the temple would be
leveled, they wanted to keep this matter confidential.
Perhaps as we read these verses today, we do not sense
the seriousness of them. But when the disciples heard this
word from the Lord Jesus, they were shocked and dared
not talk about it openly. Not until the Lord had come to
the Mount of olives and sat down were they bold enough to
ask Him about these things.
In verse 2 the word "things" refers to the buildings of
the temple. But the same term used in verse 3 refers to
matters, which include the things covered from verse 32 of
the foregoing chapter: the Jews' filling up the measure of
their fathers, the coming of the judgment of God upon
them, their persecution of the Lord's sent ones, and the
destruction of the temple. In verse 3 the disciples were
asking the Lord Jesus when these things would transpire.
In verse 3 the disciples said, "Tell us, When shall these
things be, and what is the sign of Your coming and of the
consummation of the age?" The question of the disciples
consists of three points: when these things will be,
including not only the destruction of the temple (v. 2), but
also the things mentioned in 23:32-39; the sign of Christ's
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coming; and the sign of the consummation of the age. The
Lord's word from verse 4 through 25:46 answers the
disciples' question concerning these three points.
The Greek word rendered "coming" in this verse is
parousia, which means presence. Christ's coming will be
His presence with His believers. This parousia will begin
with His coming to the air and end with His coming to the
earth. Within His parousia, there will be the rapture of the
majority of the believers to the air (1 Thes. 4:15-17), the
judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10), and the marriage of
the Lamb (Rev. 19:7-9). The question asked here is
concerning the sign of the Lord's parousia and the sign of
the end of this age. Hence, His answer in chapter twenty-
four deals mainly with the sign of His parousia and with
the sign of the end of this age.
The disciples did not ask, "What is Your coming?" They
asked, "What is the sign of your coming?" Thus, chapters
twenty-four and twenty-five deal with the Lord's answer
regarding when these things would take place, the sign of
His coming, and the sign of the consummation of the age.
The consummation of the age denotes the very end of this
present age. As we read chapters twenty-four and twenty-
five, we need to be clear that the Lord's answer is directed
to the disciples three questions
2. Many Deceivers Coming
Verses 4 and 5 say, "And Jesus answered and said to
them, See that no one leads you astray. For many shall
come in My name, saying, I am the Christ, and they shall
lead many astray." The Lord's answer is of three sections:
the first section (24:4-31) concerns the Jews who are the
elect; the second (24:32--25:30) concerns the church; and
the third (25:31-46) concerns the Gentiles, the nations.
The first section, concerning the Jews, should be literally
interpreted; whereas the second section, concerning the
church, should be spiritually interpreted, because it is
spoken in parables for the reason given in 13:11-13. For
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instance, the winter in 24:20 is a literal winter, but the
summer in 24:32 is a symbol signifying the time of
restoration. But the third section, concerning the Gentiles,
should again be literally interpreted.
Some aspects of the prophecy in verses 4 through 14
have been fulfilled, and some will be in the process of
being fulfilled until the time of the great tribulation, which
will be the consummation, the end, of this age.
In verses 4 and 5 the Lord said that many deceivers
would come in the name of Christ and lead many astray.
History tells us that this has been so. Since the time that
Christ ascended to the heavens, many have come claiming
to be Christ.
3. Wars, Rumors of Wars, Famines, and Earthquakes
Verse 6 says, "And you shall hear of wars and rumors
of wars: see that you are not disturbed; for these things
must take place, but the end is not yet." The wars here
refer to all the wars from the first century to the present.
They are signified by the red horse of the second seal in
Revelation 6:3-4. Many wars have been fought in the
region of the Mediterranean, the place where the good
land is.
The "end" in verse 6 is the consummation of this age (v.
3; Dan. 12:4, 9, 6-7), which will be the three and a half
years of the great tribulation. Remember, in these verses
the Lord is giving the indicators of the end of this age.
Verse 7 says, "For nation shall rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines and
earthquakes in various places." "Nation" refers to the
peoples, the Gentiles, and "kingdom" refers to the empires.
The rising of nation against nation, or people against
people, refers to civil war, whereas the rising of kingdom
against kingdom refers to international war. From the
time of the Lord's ascension there have been both civil war
and international war. Moreover, there have been many
famines, which are mostly the issue of war. According to
history, war has always brought famine,
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signified by the black horse of the third seal in Revelation
6:5-6. For example, Germany was defeated in World War I
because of the shortage of bread. Thus, the sequence is
war, famine, and death.
The Lord also said that there would be earthquakes in
various places. Since Christ's ascension, earthquakes have
been increasing throughout all the centuries and will be
intensified at the end of this age (Rev. 6:12; 8:5a; 11:13,
19; 16:18). It seems that each year there are more
earthquakes than in the previous year.
In verse 8 the Lord said, "But all these things are the
beginning of birth pangs." This verse refers to the nation of
Israel as a woman. The Jews, as God's elect, will suffer
birth pangs like a woman in travail to bring forth a
remnant who will participate in the Messianic kingdom,
the earthly section of the millennium. Then the nation of
Israel will rejoice.
As we have seen, the Lord's answer in chapters twenty-
four and twenty-five is in three sections, the sections
concerning the Jews, the church, and the Gentiles. On
earth today there are these three categories of peoples.
Thus in order to give the disciples a full answer to their
question, the Lord covers these three peoples in a good
sequence, beginning with the Jews and then continuing
with the church and the Gentiles. When the Lord spoke
this prophecy, His audience, composed of the disciples, had
a dual status. On the one hand, they were Jews; on the
other hand, they were the disciples of Christ, the
representatives of the church. Hence, the Lord spoke to
them both about the Jews and about the church. However,
we must be careful not to apply the verses in the section
dealing with the Jews to the Christians in the church.
We have pointed out that the Lord's word in the section
concerning the Jews is a plain word and requires no
interpretation. For example, when the Lord speaks of
winter, He means a literal winter; and when He mentions
the Sabbath, He is talking about an actual Sabbath. But
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the second section, the section concerning the church,
requires a great deal of interpretation because in this
section the Lord speaks in parables. In Matthew 13 we see
that the church is a mystery. Thus, in order to preserve
the mystery of the church, the Lord could not speak in
plain words, but needed to speak in parables, which
require interpretation. For example, the summer spoken of
in this section is not an actual summer; rather, it is a
symbol of the restored kingdom of the Jews. Likewise, the
fig tree is a symbol of the nation of Israel, and the virgins
are symbols of the believers. The third section, the section
concerning the Gentiles, is spoken in plain words and does
not require interpretation.
The section regarding the Jews is full of suffering
because the nation of Israel is compared to a woman giving
birth to a child. The process of delivering the child has
gone on for nearly two thousand years. What a prolonged
delivery! According to the Bible, this long delivery is a
form of punishment to the woman. Thus, the nation of
Israel, the woman delivering the child, is still suffering.
Everything mentioned in verses 4 through 7 is the
beginning of birth pangs, not the actual sufferings. The
time of suffering will be the great tribulation spoken of in
verse 21. Hence, the sufferings in verses 4 through 7 are
not the great tribulation, but the beginning of birth pangs.
Throughout the centuries, the Lord has dealt with the
Jews in a sovereign way. Nevertheless, the Jews have
passed through one suffering after another. Even today,
the nation of Israel is suffering. Many Arab countries are
opposing her.
Although the nation of Israel has been in the process of
delivering a child for such a long time, the child still has
not come forth. This child will be the remnant of Israel
that will be saved and restored. The nation of Israel today
has not come up to God's intention. Some of us visited
Israel this year; the sin, immorality, and superstition we
saw there were disgusting. The Bible prophesied that the
Jews would return to the good land in unbelief.
Nevertheless, the Lord will take care of them.
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4. The Disciples to Be Persecuted and Hated by the
Nations
Verse 9 says, "Then they shall deliver you up to
affliction and shall kill you, and you shall be hated by all
the nations because of My name." The "you" here refers to
the Jewish disciples, who were the prophets and wise men
sent to the Jews (23:34). The first martyrs were all Jews.
They were slain not only by the Jewish nation, but by the
nations wherever they went, they were persecuted.
5. Many Being Stumbled, Delivering Up One Another
and Hating One Another
Verse 10 says, "And then many shall be stumbled and
shall deliver up one another, and they shall hate one
another." This refers to the believing Jews. Among the
believing Jews, many will be stumbled and deliver up one
another. This indicates that the Jewish Christians will
fight against one another and hate one another. This is the
degradation of the Jewish believers.
6. Many False Prophets Arising and Leading Many
Astray
Verse 11 says, "And many false prophets shall arise
and shall lead many astray." This began to happen after
Christ's ascension and will continue until the end of this
age.
7. Lawlessness Being Multiplied and the Love of
Many Growing Cold
Verse 12 says, "And because lawlessness is multiplied,
the love of the many shall grow cold." Do not apply this
verse directly to the members of the church. Although you
may borrow it and use it for the church, the direct
application must be to the Jewish believers who have
become cold in their love.
8. The One Enduring to the End to Be Saved
Although the love of the many shall grow cold, "he who
endures to the end, he shall be saved" (v. 13). Because the
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Jewish believers are to suffer persecution, they are called
upon to endure to the end in order to be saved. They need
to exercise their endurance in the Lord and not give up
their faith. To be saved here implies to be saved into the
manifestation of the kingdom. Suppose, because of
persecution and hatred, some Jewish believers are
defeated. Those who are defeated will not participate in
the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens.
Therefore, in this verse, to be saved is not to receive
eternal salvation; it is to be saved out of persecution and it
is to be saved into the manifestation of the kingdom.
9. The Gospel of the Kingdom Being Preached in the
Whole Inhabited Earth to All the Nations
Verse 14 says, "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be
preached in the whole inhabited earth for a testimony to
all the nations, and then the end shall come." The gospel of
the kingdom, including the gospel of grace (Acts 20:24), not
only brings people into God's salvation, but also into the
kingdom of the heavens (Rev. 1:9). The emphasis of the
gospel of grace is on forgiveness of sin, God's redemption,
and eternal life; whereas the emphasis of the gospel of the
kingdom is on the heavenly ruling of God and the
authority of the Lord. This gospel of the kingdom will be
preached in the whole earth for a testimony to all the
nations before the end of this age comes. The gospel of the
kingdom is a testimony to all the nations, the Gentiles.
This testimony must spread to the whole earth before the
end of this age, the time of the great tribulation.
In verses 4 through 14 we see the actual history
concerning the Jews from Christ's ascension until the end
of this age, the three and a half years of the great
tribulation. Before the great tribulation comes, everything
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in these verses will transpire. The last item will be the
preaching of the gospel of the kingdom. I believe that the
churches in the Lord's recovery will bear the burden to
bring this gospel to all the inhabited earth. The gospel of
grace has been preached in every continent, but not the
gospel of the kingdom. The gospel of grace is the lower
gospel, but the gospel of the kingdom is the higher gospel.
This higher gospel will be brought to every continent
through the churches in the Lord's recovery. This, the
strongest sign of the consummation of the age, will take
place before the great tribulation. Thus, the most
important sign of the consummation of the age is the
preaching of the gospel of the kingdom to all the inhabited
earth.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE SIXTY-TWO
PROPHECY OF THE KINGDOM
(2)
We have seen that the Lord's answer to His disciples'
question is of three sections: the section concerning the
Jews (24:4-31), the section concerning the church {24:32--
25:30), and the section concerning the Gentiles (25:31-46).
The section concerning Israel is divided into two parts:
from Christ's ascension to the end of the age (24:1-14) and
during the end of the age (24:15-31). In order to
understand 24:1-31, we must keep these subsections in
mind. We must also be careful not to misapply the verses,
that is, not to apply them to the wrong time or to the
wrong people.
Many Christian teachers do not understand the
significance of the term "the end of the age." The Greek
phrase here can also be translated "the completion of the
age" or "the consummation of the age." The end of the age
denotes the three and a half years of the great tribulation
that will terminate this age. Therefore, the end of the age
is not the close of the age, but the very last period of the
age. In order to understand the prophecies in the Old and
New Testaments, we must have a clear understanding of
this matter. Many Christian teachers are confused
regarding the prophecies because they are not clear about
the end of this age.
This term "the consummation of the age" is found in
the last verse of Matthew (28:20). Because we hope to be
raptured, we expect the Lord to be with us until the end of
this age, not until the close of the age. At the close of the
age, the Lord will descend to the earth and place His feet
on the Mount of Olives. Before this takes place, there will
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be a period of time which the Bible calls the end of the age,
a period of time which will last three and a half years. In
24:6 the Lord told His disciples that they would hear of
wars and rumors of wars, but that "the end is not yet." He
told them not to be disturbed, for such things were but the
beginning of birth pangs. The end of the age, the great
tribulation, was not yet. In verse 14 He said that the
gospel of the kingdom would be preached in the whole
inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations and then
the end would come. In verse 6 He said that the end was
not yet, but in verse 14 He said that the end would come.
We need to remember that 24:1-14 speaks of the things
between Christ's ascension and the end of the age. All
these verses must be applied to the Jews during this
period of time.
B. At the End of the Age
Now we come to 24:15-31. These verses describe the
things that will happen at the end of the age, during the
last three and a half years The end of the age begins with
verse 15. Remember, this chapter speaks especially about
the sign of the Lord's coming and the sign of the end of the
age. Verse 14 indicates that a strong sign of the end of the
age is the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom to the
whole world. When this has been accomplished, we should
realize that the last three and a half years are about to
begin. Thus, the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom
will be the greatest sign of the end of this age. Prior to this
preaching, many other things will have taken place. But
these things are not the signs of the end of the age, for in
speaking about them the Lord said that the end was not
yet. Therefore, the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom
to all the inhabited earth will be the unique sign of the end
of this age. Immediately after the preaching of the gospel
of the kingdom, the events described in verse 15 will take
place.
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1. The Great Tribulation
a. The Image of the Antichrist Standing in the Temple
Verse 15 says, "When therefore you see the
abomination of desolation, spoken of through Daniel the
prophet, standing in the holy place (let him who reads
understand)." How long the period of time will be for the
events covered in verses 4 through 14, no one knows. But
the prophecy in verses 15 through 31 concerning the
remnant of the Jews will definitely be fulfilled in the last
three and a half years of this age, the time of the great
tribulation, the second half of the last week prophesied in
Daniel 9:27. It will begin with the setting of Antichrist's
image (the idol) in the temple (v. 15) and end with Christ's
open coming (v. 30).
"Abomination" means an idol (Deut. 29:17). Here it
refers to Antichrist's image set up in the temple of God as
an idol (Rev. 13:14-15; 2 Thes. 2:4) at the beginning of the
great tribulation (v. 21). Antichrist with his false prophet
will force people to worship this idol. The setting up of the
idol will mark the beginning of the great tribulation, the
end of the age.
There are many Christians who are not clear about the
phrase "the abomination of desolation." As we have seen,
the abomination here refers to an idol, the image of
Antichrist set up in the holy place. According to Revelation
13, this image will be able to speak. Before that time, no
idol will be able to speak. The Greek word rendered
"desolation" means "causing desolation," "desolating." The
abomination, the idol of Antichrist, will cause desolation.
Antichrist is called the destroyer (Apollyon, Rev. 9:11); he
will do much destroying (Dan. 8:13, 23-25; 9:27). As soon
as Antichrist sets up his image and forces people to
worship it, he will begin to destroy all religious things.
Furthermore, this idol will provoke the Lord's anger, and
He will come in to destroy Antichrist and his army. This is
what is indicated by the phrase "abomination of
desolation."
This idol will stand in the holy place. Here the holy
place refers to the temple (Psa. 68:35; Ezek. 7:24; 21:2).
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This indicates that Antichrist will set up his image in the
temple.
b. The Jews Needing to Flee
When the abomination of desolation is set up in the
holy place, the Jews will need to flee. Verse 16 says, "Then
let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains." One who
is on the housetop should not even come down to take the
things out of his house, for the great tribulation has come.
The situation will be so urgent that the Jews should not
return to their houses for anything. Those who are in the
field should not even turn back to take their garments (v.
18). Verse 19 says, "But woe to those who are with child
and those who nurse babes in those days." Either to be
with child or to nurse babes is inconvenient for escape. It
will be necessary for the Jews to run as quickly as
possible.
Verse 20 continues, "And pray that your flight may not
be in winter, nor on a Sabbath." Winter is a difficult time
for escape, and on the Sabbath travel was limited. On the
Sabbath, one was allowed to walk only a short distance
(Acts 1:12), not adequate for escaping. The mention of
Sabbath here indicates that the Jews will keep it after the
restoration of the nation of Israel. The disciples, the
audience for the Lord's word here, had a twofold status,
one representing the remnant of the Jews and the other
representing the New Testament believers, who constitute
the church. In the section of the Lord's word concerning
the Jews (24:4-31), they represent the remnant of the
Jews; whereas in the section concerning the church (24:32-
-25:30), they represent the New Testament believers. In
the Gospels, in things regarding circumstances, the Lord
treated His disciples as Jews, but in things concerning
spirit and life, He considered them New Testament
believers.
c. There Being Great Tribulation
Verse 21 says, "For then there shall be great
tribulation, such as has not occurred from the beginning of
the world until now, nor ever shall be." The great
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tribulation will occur in the last three and a half years of
this age. The great tribulation will have Jerusalem as its
center and Judea as its circumference, whereas the trial in
Revelation 3:10 will have Rome as its center and the whole
inhabited earth as its circumference. No other tribulation
will be able to compare with this great tribulation which
will take place under the hand of Antichrist.
Jerusalem has already been destroyed more than once
and it will be destroyed again. The first time Jerusalem
was destroyed was under Nebuchadnezzar with the
Babylonian army. Later, in the second century B.C., after
the rebuilding of the temple, the temple was polluted by
Antiochus Epiphanes. Many Bible students realize that he
was a type of Titus, who came to destroy Jerusalem in
A.D. 70. Certain portions of Daniel refer both to Antiochus
and Titus and it is sometimes difficult to discern which
verses refer to Antiochus and which to Titus. Luke 21
indicates that the destruction of Jerusalem under Titus is
connected to the destruction under Antichrist. For this
reason, readers of the New Testament find it difficult to
determine which verses refer to the destruction under
Titus and which refer to the destruction under Antichrist.
Thus, Antiochus Epiphanes was a type of Titus, and Titus
was a type of Antichrist.
We must be careful not to confuse the verses in
Matthew 24 with those in Luke 21, for they do not refer to
exactly the same thing. In Matthew there is no reference
to the destruction under Titus, which was a shadow of the
destruction recorded here. The destruction of Jerusalem
under Titus in A.D. 70 was a shadow of the destruction to
come under Antichrist. Do not apply 24:15-31 to any time
other than the last three and one half years of this age,
when Antichrist will rise up to persecute the Jews.
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Verse 22 says, "And except those days were cut short,
no flesh at all would be saved; but because of the elect,
those days shall be cut short." As we have seen, the great
tribulation will last only three and one half years. The
elect spoken of in this verse are the Jews, God's chosen
people (Rom. 11:28).
How do we know that the great tribulation will last
three and one half years? Daniel 9 speaks of the last week
of the seventy weeks. The last week will be the last seven
years of Israel's history in this age. At the beginning of
these seven years, the Jews will make a covenant with
Antichrist. But at the middle of these seven years,
Antichrist will change his mind and turn his back upon
them. In his agreement with the Jews, Antichrist will
allow them to worship God according to the Jewish
religion. But at the end of the first three and one half
years, Antichrist will begin to persecute every kind of
religion, set up his image in the temple, and force people to
worship him. That will be the beginning of the great
tribulation, the end of this age, the last three and one half
years. In God's sovereignty and mercy, this time has been
cut short. The tribulation under Antichrist will be so
severe that no one will be able to bear it. If God had not
cut it short, no flesh at all would be saved. But for the sake
of the elect, those days will be limited to three and one half
years.
d. False Christs and False Prophets Arising and Showing Great
Signs and Wonders to Lead the Jews Astray
Verse 23 says, "Then if anyone says to you, Behold,
here is the Christ, or, Here; do not believe it." The Jews
rejected Jesus as their Messiah and are expecting a
Messiah to come. They need to be warned that Messiah,
the Christ, will not arise here or there on earth, but will
descend on the cloud from heaven. If some say that Christ
is in Bethany or others claim that He is in Bethel, the
Jews are not to believe them.
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Verse 24 continues, "For false Christs and false
prophets shall arise and shall show great signs and
wonders so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect."
Antichrist will be the last of the false Christs and will
work signs and lying wonders with the power of Satan to
deceive the perishing (2 Thes. 2:3, 9-10). Another beast,
the false prophet, in Revelation 13:11 will be the last of the
false prophets (Rev. 19:20) and will do great signs to
deceive the earth dwellers (Rev. 13:13-14).
Verses 25 and 26 say, "Behold, I have told you
beforehand. If therefore they say to you, Behold, He is in
the wilderness, do not go forth; Behold, He is in the inner
rooms; do not believe it." The wilderness is where a person
separates himself from the world so that he may easily
cause people to wonder whether he is the Messiah, as
happened in the case of John of Baptist (3:1; John 1:19-
20). The private rooms are where a person can make
himself mystical and charm others.
2. Christ's Coming to the Earth
a. Christ's Coming Being like the Lightning from the East to the West
Verse 27, says, "For as the lightning comes forth from
the east and shines to the west, so shall the coming of the
Son of Man be." This indicates that the Christ who will be
coming to earth will not be on earth or in the wilderness or
in the inner room, but in the air. As the lightning flashes
from the east to the west, so will the coming of the Son of
Man be.
The coming (parousia) of Christ has two aspects: one is
the secret aspect toward His watchful believers; the other
is the open aspect toward the unbelieving Jews and
Gentiles. The lightning here signifies the open aspect after
the great tribulation (v. 29), whereas the thief's coming in
verse 43 signifies the secret aspect before the great
tribulation. Lightning is concealed in a cloud, waiting for
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an opportunity to flash forth. Christ will also be clothed
with a cloud (Rev. 10:1) in the air for a time and then will
suddenly appear like a flash to the earth.
The Greek word parousia is a specific word used in the
New Testament to describe the Lord's coming. Parousia
means the Lord's presence. This presence of the Lord
begins with His coming to the air. It is difficult to
determine when He will come from heaven to the air.
Between the two aspects of the Lord's coming, His coming
to the air and His coming to the earth, there is the
parousia, the Lord's presence. This is the reason the Lord's
coming has a secret aspect and an open aspect. His coming
to the air is secret, but His coming to the earth is public.
Twelve hundred sixty days after Antichrist sets up his
image, Christ will come to earth. Thus, His open coming
can be calculated, but His secret calling is not known by
anyone. When He comes to the air, He will be enveloped in
a cloud. But when He comes to the earth, He will be upon
the cloud.
b. The Vultures Being Gathered Where the Corpse Is
Verse 28 says, "Wherever the corpse is, there the
vultures shall be gathered together." We have spent a
great deal of time to learn what the corpse is and what the
vultures are, and I believe that the Lord has given us the
proper understanding. In the context, verses 15 and 21
imply that at the end of this age Antichrist will be the
cause of the great tribulation. It is he who needs to be
judged and destroyed. As all people in Adam are dead (1
Cor. 15:22), so in the eyes of the Lord the evil Antichrist
with his evil army, who will war against the Lord at
Armageddon (Rev. 19:17-21), is the stinking corpse, good
for the vultures' appetite. And as in the Scriptures both
the Lord and those who trust in Him are likened to the
eagle (Exo. 19:4; Deut. 32:11; Isa. 40:31), and the swift
destroying armies are also likened to flying eagles (Deut.
28:49; Hos. 8:1, NASV), so the vultures here, of the same
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raptorial kind as the eagle, must refer to Christ and the
overcomers, who will come as a swift-flying army to war
against Antichrist and his armies and destroy them, thus
executing God's judgment upon them at Armageddon. This
indicates not only that at His appearing to the earth
Christ with His overcoming saints will be where Antichrist
is with his armies, but also that Christ with the
overcomers will appear swiftly from the air like the
vultures. This corresponds with the lightning's flash in the
foregoing verse.
According to the previous verses, we can learn what
day the Lord Jesus will come to earth, but we cannot find
out where. Verse 28 tells us where: the place where the
corpse is, there the vultures will be gathered together.
When Antichrist sets up his image, we may begin to count
twelve hundred sixty days until Christ descends publicly
to the earth. But this does not mean that we can know the
day of His secret coming. Never be so foolish as to try to
find out this day. During the past century, a number of
people have tried to do this. Some even bathed, put on
clean garments, and went to a housetop to wait for His
coming; however nothing happened. To repeat, the Lord's
coming to the air is secret. He will come as a thief to steal
you secretly. No one can give the day or the hour of this
coming. But His coming to the earth will be open and the
day is revealed: twelve hundred sixty days after the idol is
set up. As we have pointed out, verse 28 indicates the
place--the place where the armies of Antichrist are. That is
the place where Christ will come to the earth with His
overcomers.
c. Immediately after the Tribulation the Sun Being Darkened, the
Moon Not Shining, the Stars Falling, and the Powers of the Heavens
Being Shaken
Verse 29 says, "And immediately after the tribulation
of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon
shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from
heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken."
This is a strong proof that the open coming of Christ will
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be after the great tribulation. This supernatural calamity
in heaven will follow the great tribulation at the close of
this age. This differs from the fourth trumpet (Rev. 8:12)
which will occur very close to the great tribulation.
d. The Sign of the Son of Man Appearing in Heaven
Verse 30 says, "And the sign of the Son of Man shall
appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the land shall
wail, and they shall see the Son of Man coming on the
clouds of heaven with power and great glory." What this
sign is we have no way of knowing. However, it must be
supernatural and clearly visible (perhaps like the
lightning in verse 27), appearing in heaven.
The tribes here refer to the tribes in the nation of
Israel, and the land to the holy land. At the Lord's
appearing, all the tribes of Israel will repent and wail
(Zech. 12:10-14; Rev. 1:7).
This verse says that the Son on Man will come on the
clouds of heaven with power and great glory. By this time
the Lord is no longer in the cloud, but on the cloud,
appearing to the people on earth. This is the open aspect of
His second coming. In Christ's first coming, His authority
was manifested in such things as casting out demons and
healing diseases (7:29; 8:8-9; 9:8; 21:23-24) to vindicate
Himself as the heavenly King; whereas in His second
coming, His power will be exercised to execute God's
judgment, to destroy Antichrist and his armies, and to
bind Satan for the establishment of His kingdom on earth.
3. The Gathering of Israel
Verse 31 says, "And He shall send His angels with a
loud trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect
from the four winds, from the extremities of the heavens to
their extremities." After the great tribulation, at His
coming back to earth, the Lord will gather together the
scattered Jews from all parts of the earth to the holy land.
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This will be the fulfillment not only of the Lord's word in
23:37, but also of God's promise in the Old Testament.
Matthew 24:4-31 is a sketch of twenty centuries of
Jewish history. Like those on the Mount of Olives with the
Lord, we have a clear view of this. Therefore, sitting with
the greatest Prophet, we know what the situation is. Not
even the leaders of nations are as clear as we are. We have
seen the events from Christ's ascension to the end of this
age and the events during the end of this age, the period of
the great tribulation. At the end of the great tribulation,
there will be supernatural calamities, and Christ will
appear openly and publicly to the inhabitants of the earth,
especially to the Jews in the holy land. Christ will descend
where Antichrist and his armies are gathered. Like
vultures devouring a corpse, Christ and His overcomers
will defeat Antichrist and his army. Then Christ will
gather all the remaining Jews into the Messianic kingdom.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE SIXTY-THREE
PROPHECY OF THE KINGDOM
(3)
Matthew 24:32--25:30 is concerned with the church. In
this portion of the Word, everything spoken by the Lord is
related to two matters: watchfulness and readiness, and
faithfulness and prudence. In chapter twenty-four
watchfulness and readiness is covered in verses 32
through 44, and faithfulness and prudence in verses 45
through 51. In chapter twenty-five, the parable of the
virgins illustrates watchfulness, and the parable of the
talents illustrates faithfulness. All this is related to us. We
need to watch and be ready for the Lord's coming back so
that we may be raptured earlier. We also need to be
faithful and prudent in serving the Lord so that we may
receive the reward. Thus, watchfulness is for the early
rapture, and faithfulness is for reward. This is a very clear
general sketch of 24:32--25:30.
II. CONCERNING THE CHURCH
A. Watching and Being Ready
The word "But" at the beginning of verse 32 indicates
that from verse 32 through 25:30 is another section, the
section concerning the church. The word "But" indicates
that in His prophecy the Lord turns from the Jews to the
believers.
1. The Restored Nation of Israel a Sign of the End of
This Age and a Sign to the Believers
Verse 32 says, "But learn the parable from the fig tree:
when its branch has already become tender and puts forth
its leaves, you know that the summer is near." The fig
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tree, signifying the nation of Israel, was cursed in 21:19. It
passed through a long winter, from the first century to
A.D. 1948, when the nation of Israel was restored. That
was its branch becoming tender and putting forth its
leaves. This fig tree is a sign of the end of this age and a
sign to the believers. To become tender signifies that life
has come back, and to put forth leaves signifies outward
activity. Winter signifies the time of being dried up, the
time of tribulation (24:7-21). Summer signifies the age of
the restored kingdom (Luke 21:30-31), which will begin at
the Lord's second coming.
Verse 33 says, "So you also, when you see all these
things, know that it is near, at the doors." All these things
refer to the things predicted in verses 7 through 32. "It"
refers to the restored kingdom of Israel (Acts 1:6), signified
by the summer in verse 32.
We have pointed out that the fig tree symbolizes the
nation of Israel. Israel is a sign to us, just as the preaching
of the gospel of the kingdom is a sign to the Jews. When
the Jews see the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom,
they should realize that it is a sign of the coming
tribulation. Likewise, Israel as a fig tree is a sign to us
concerning the Lord's coming. The disciples had asked the
Lord concerning the sign of His coming and the sign of the
consummation of the age. In the foregoing section the Lord
gives the sign of the consummation of the age. This sign is
the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom. Now the Lord
gives another sign, the sign of His coming. This sign is the
fig tree. When its branches become tender and it puts forth
its leaves, we know that summer, the full restoration of
the Messianic kingdom, is near.
Today the restoration of Israel is not yet in fullness. As
far as both population and geography are concerned, there
has not been a full restoration of Israel. The Israelis and
the Arabs are quarreling about the land west of the Jordan
and about the Golan Heights. According to the Bible, the
Golan Heights, close to Mount Hermon, and the land west
of the Jordan belong to the good land and will belong to
Israel. The Lord is sovereign and He knows the situation
between Israel and the Arabs. He realizes that the
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restoration of the nation of Israel is not yet in full. The
restoration of the nation of Israel is becoming more and
more full. At the time of the millennium, it will reach its
fullness.
2. All Things Predicted Concerning Israel Taking
Place
Verse 34 says, "Truly I say to you, This generation
shall by no means pass away until all these things take
place." These things refer to the fig tree becoming tender
and putting forth its leaves. These things will take place
before this generation is over.
It is not the generation according to age or people, as
the generation in 1:17; it is the generation according to the
moral condition of the people. as the generation in 11:16;
12:39, 41, 42, 45; and Proverbs 30:11-14. This means that
from the time the Lord Jesus delivered this prophecy until
the full restoration of Israel, the moral situation of that
generation will not be changed. This generation shall not
pass away until the full restoration of the nation of Israel
takes place. Then the generation will change, and the
moral situation will turn from evil to good.
3. No One Knowing That Day and Hour except the
Father
Verse 36 says, "But concerning that day and hour no
one knows, neither the angels of the heavens, nor the Son,
but the Father only." The Son, standing in the position of
the Son of Man (v. 37), does not know the day and hour of
His coming back.
4. The Coming of Christ Being as the Days of Noah
Verse 37 says, "For as the days of Noah were, so shall
the coming of the Son of Man be." Many Christians have
misunderstood this verse. The Lord's coming (parousia)
will be as the days of Noah. This indicates that the Lord's
parousia will be a period of time. This period will be as the
days of Noah; that is, the situation of the Lord's parousia
will be like that in the days of Noah.
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Verses 38 and 39 say, "For as they were in those days
before the flood, eating and drinking, marrying and being
given in marriage, until the day in which Noah entered
into the ark, and they did not know until the flood came
and took all away; so also shall the coming of the Son of
Man be." "For" indicates that this verse is the explanation
of why and how the Lord's parousia will be as the days of
Noah. It is because in the days of Noah the following
conditions existed: people were befuddled by eating,
drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage; and they
did not know until the flood came and took them away.
During the Lord's parousia, people will be the same;
befuddled by the necessities of this life and not knowing
that God's judgment (signified by the flood) will come upon
them by the Lord's coming. The believers, however, should
be de-drugged and soberly know that Christ is coming to
execute God's judgment upon this corrupted world.
Eating, drinking, and marriage were originally
ordained by God for man's existence. But due to man's
lust, Satan utilizes these necessities of human life to
occupy man and keep him from God's interests. Toward
the end of this age, this situation will be intensified and
will reach its climax during the Lord's parousia.
The most striking features of the days before the flood
were eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in
marriage. This indicates that the people of those days were
drugged by their fleshly, worldly enjoyment. The same
thing is happening in society today. The enemy of God,
Satan, utilizes the necessities of life to poison the people
created by God. The entire human race has been poisoned.
However, this does not mean that there is no need for us to
eat, drink, or get married. All this is necessary for our
existence. But we must not allow these things to drug us
and to dull our senses. In human society today the senses
of every person, high or low, old or young, are numb,
indicating that the people have been poisoned by the way
of this age in eating, drinking, and giving in marriage.
This was the situation in the days of Noah, and it will be
the situation at the time of the Lord's parousia.
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People today are studying and working for the purpose
of enjoying good eating, good drinking, and a good
marriage. They have no thought concerning the things of
God. How prevailing is this lack of sense concerning God
today! It is prevailing especially in the educational sphere
and the commercial sphere. So many in the universities
have been drugged by their pursuit of an education. Their
education is merely for eating, drinking, and marriage.
Those in the commercial field have also been drugged by
the desire to make money, also for the purpose of having
better eating, drinking, and marriage. This has caused
many divorces. When a young man is poor, he may marry
a certain woman. But when he makes more money, he may
divorce his wife and marry another in his desire for a
better wife. This situation will continue until it reaches
the climax during the Lord's parousia. During the days of
Noah, this climax was reached a little before the flood
which came in with the judgment of God. In a sense, the
parousia of Christ will be like the flood coming with God's
judgment. The flood brought judgment upon the drugged
people of Noah's day. The parousia will bring God's
judgment upon this drugged world. Christ will descend to
earth and execute God's righteous judgment upon this
drugged and rebellious world.
5. Before the Coming of Christ, One Being Taken and
the Other Left
Verses 40 and 41 say, "Then shall two men be in the
field; one is taken, and one is left. Two women shall be
grinding at the mill; one is taken, and one is left."
According to the context, "Then" here means "by that
time." It indicates that while the worldly people are
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befuddled by the material things, with no sense of the
coming judgment, some of the sober and watchful believers
will be taken away. To the befuddled people, this should be
a sign of Christ's coming.
The two men in verse 40 must be brothers in Christ,
and the two women in verse 41 must be sisters in the
Lord. This is indicated by verse 42, which tells us to watch
because we do not know on what day our Lord comes. Both
"watch therefore" and "your Lord" prove that the two men
and the two women in verses 40 and 41 are believers. The
Lord would not charge unsaved people to watch, nor is He
the Lord of the unsaved.
To be taken means to be raptured before the great
tribulation. This rapture is a sign of the Lord's coming and
a sign to the Jews. It is very interesting to see that the two
men are working in the field and that the two women are
grinding at the mill. Both working in the field and
grinding are for eating. There is a difference between our
eating and the eating of the worldly people. The worldly
people study and work, and we also study and work. The
worldly people, however, have been drugged. But we have
not been drugged. Rather, we are simply fulfilling our duty
to make a living. We are not for eating, drinking, and
marriage; on the contrary, we maintain our existence in
order to take the way of the cross to fulfill God's purpose.
Our concern is not for our education, employment, or
business.
When some of the young people hear this, they may
say, "How glad we are to hear this word! Let's not care any
more for study or for work. Let us spend all our time
praying and having fellowship with one another." Such an
attitude is wrong. Remember, according to verse 40 the
brothers were farming, and according to verse 41 the
sisters were grinding. Grinding grain is very hard work.
This indicates that we Christians should not take easy
jobs. We need to work hard in order to make a living. The
eating and drinking in verse 38 is worldly, but the farming
and grinding in verses 40 and 41 are holy. If the ones
taken were not doing something holy, they could not have
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been raptured. Do you realize that farming can be holy,
but working as a pastor can be very worldly? A Bible
teacher may be worldly; yet a sister who grinds grain may
be holy. Many of the sisters who work at cooking the meals
are holy sisters. It is not those who talk about holiness
who are necessarily holy. Sometimes the more certain
sisters talk about being holy, the less holy they are. It is
better for such sisters to spend more time cooking to serve
excellent food to their husbands, their children, and those
to whom they give hospitality. The sisters who do this will
be holy. Some sisters know how to have fellowship about
being holy, but they do not know how to do a good job in
their cooking. They always cook plain meals for their
families, excusing themselves by saying that there is no
need for them to waste time in cooking. But after a period
of time, their husbands and children are discontent with
such cooking. The more these sisters talk about being holy,
the less holy their husbands and children become. They
talk about holiness, but they do not take proper care of
their families. We need more holy sisters to grind at the
mill to produce fine flour. We are not drugged, but we do
need to be properly nourished.
The principle is the same with the brothers in their
jobs. A brother should not talk about holiness and neglect
his job. If he does this, he will be fired. Notice, the rapture
does not take place when the two brothers and the two
sisters are praying, but when they are working. When I
was young, I was told how wonderful it would be to be
raptured while we were praying or reading the Bible. But
the Lord Jesus does not speak this way. Instead, He says
that two men were farming and that two women were
grinding. They were not fasting, praying, or reading the
Bible; they were doing their ordinary work.
The Lord Jesus certainly spoke this word with a
definite purpose. He wanted to show us that as we wait for
His coming and expect to be raptured, we must be very
faithful in our daily duties. We need to do the best farming
and the best grinding. We need a properly balanced
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human life, not the life of monks who devote themselves to
spiritual things and expect others to take care of them. It
is the brothers working in the field and the sisters
grinding in the mill who will be raptured.
There used to be a proverb that anyone who becomes a
preacher becomes useless. The reason for this proverb is
that preachers do not need to work to earn a living.
Rather, the burden for their living is placed upon others. It
is a shame for us to be like this. We need to work diligently
and do our duty in a proper way. When we are in the field
or at the mill, we may be raptured. The sisters who are
wives and mothers must do the best grinding and learn
how to prepare the most healthy meals for their families.
Sisters, if your husband and children are not healthy, you
will be held responsible for this before the Lord. If you
take care of this matter before the Lord, you will be truly
holy. Do not spend your time in talking about holiness, but
spend it in cooking healthy, digestible, delicious meals.
You need to prepare good meals to preserve the life of your
husband and to build up the health of your children. This
matter is included in the Lord's reference to grinding at
the mill.
The brothers who are fathers and husbands also need
to work diligently at their jobs to earn the money needed
to take care of their families. Those who work simply to
have a great deal of money in the bank are drugged. But
we need to labor in order to provide the best things for our
children. Otherwise, we are faithful neither to God nor to
our children. As parents, we must do the best to educate
our children. We should not have the attitude that it is
good enough for them to graduate from high school and
work in a menial job. To be in the field means that we care
that our children are fed well and educated in the best
way. We should not be those who love the world and work
to make money for ourselves. But we should be those who
work diligently to earn money for our family. As those with
a fallen human nature, it is easy for us to excuse ourselves
for not spending so much time in the field or at the
grinding. If you do this, you will not be raptured. I repeat,
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you will be raptured while you are working in the field or
grinding out the grain.
Of the two men in the field, one is taken and the other
is left; and of the two women grinding at the mill, one is
taken and the other left. The reason for this is that there
is a difference between them in the matter of life. I believe
that the one taken is mature and that the one left is
immature. The life makes the difference. The rapture of
the overcomers, those who are mature in life, will be a sign
to those who are left. Suppose you are working in the field
with a brother and he is suddenly taken away to the
heavens. That would certainly be a sign to you. Suppose
two sisters are grinding at the mill, and one is taken away
to the Lord. Surely that would be a sign to the sister who
was left!
6. Watching and Being Ready Because Christ Will
Come as a Thief
In verse 42 the Lord tells us to watch, for we do not
know on what day the Lord will come. Then verse 43 says,
"But know this, that if the householder knew in what
watch the thief was coming, he would have watched and
would not have allowed his house to be broken into." The
householder refers to the believer, and the house, to the
believer's conduct and work which he has built up in his
Christian life. A thief comes to steal precious things at an
unknown time. The Lord will come secretly as a thief to
those who love Him and will take them away as His
treasures. Hence, we should watch. "Therefore," as the
Lord says in verse 44, "you also, be ready, for the Son of
Man comes in an hour that you think not." This refers to
the Lord's secret coming to the watchful overcomers.
B. Being Faithful and Prudent
1. The Faithful and Prudent Slave Giving Food to the Lord's
Household at the Appointed Time
Verses 45 through 51 are concerned with faithfulness
and prudence. Verse 45 says, "Who then is the faithful and
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prudent slave, whom the master has set over his
household to give them food at the appointed time?"
Faithfulness is toward the Lord, whereas prudence is
toward the believers. Watchfulness is for rapture into the
Lord's presence, but faithfulness is for reigning in the
kingdom (v. 47).
The household spoken of in verse 45 refers to the
believers (Eph. 2:19), who are the church (1 Tim. 3:15). To
give them food is to minister the Word of God with Christ
as the life supply to the believers in the church. We all
must learn how to minister the life supply to the
household of the Lord at the appointed time.
Verses 46 and 47 say, "Blessed is that slave whom his
master when he comes shall find so doing. Truly I say to
you, that he will set him over all his possessions." To be
blessed here is to be rewarded with ruling authority in the
manifestation of the kingdom. The faithful slave of the
Lord will be set over all His possessions as a reward in the
manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens.
2. The Evil Slave Beating His Fellow Slaves, Eating
and Drinking with the Drunken, and Being Cut Off
from the Lord in His Coming Glory
Verse 48 says, "But if that evil slave says in his heart,
My master is delaying his coming." The evil slave is a
believer, because he is appointed by the Lord (v. 45), he
calls the Lord "my master," and he believes that the Lord
is coming. Verse 49 says that the evil slave beats his fellow
slaves and eats and drinks with the drunken. To beat the
fellow slaves is to mistreat the fellow believers, and to eat
and drink with the drunken is to keep company with
worldly people, who are drunk with worldly things.
Verses 50 and 51 say, "The master of that slave shall
come on a day when he does not expect him, and in an
hour which he does not know, and shall cut him asunder
and appoint his portion with the hypocrites; there shall be
the weeping and the gnashing of teeth." The problem with
the evil slave is not that he does not know that the Lord is
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coming, but that he does not expect Him. He does not like
to live the kind of life that is prepared for the Lord's
coming. Therefore, when the Lord comes back, He will cut
him asunder and appoint his portion with the hypocrites.
To cut him asunder means to cut him off. This signifies a
separation from the Lord in His coming glory. This
corresponds to being cast out into the outer darkness in
the conclusion of the parable of the talents (25:14-30),
which is a completion to this section. The Lord will not cut
the evil slave in pieces; rather, He will cut him off from the
glory in which He Himself will be. This is equal to being
cast out into outer darkness.
Whoever is cast into outer darkness will be cut off from
the Lord, from His presence, from His fellowship, and from
the glorious sphere in which the Lord will be. This is not to
perish eternally, but to be chastened dispensationally.
Who can say that the evil slave is not a genuine believer?
If he were not a brother, how could his work have been
assigned by the Lord? The Lord would not assign duties to
a false believer. Certainly the evil slave is a saved one. In
Matthew, the book of the kingdom, the issue is not
salvation. The issue is the kingdom: whether we shall
receive a reward to enter into the kingdom, or whether we
shall lose the reward, miss the enjoyment of the kingdom,
and suffer punishment and discipline where there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE SIXTY-FOUR
PROPHECY OF THE KINGDOM
(4)
We have seen that the section of the prophecy of the
kingdom concerning the church covers two aspects: the
aspect of being watchful and ready and the aspect of being
faithful and prudent. Watchfulness and readiness are
related to our Christian life. We all need to be watchful
and ready for the Lord's coming. However, a proper
Christian should take care not only of the aspect of life,
but also of the aspect of service. For service, we need
faithfulness and prudence. Thus, we need to be faithful
toward the Lord and prudent toward our fellow believers.
As we have seen, in chapter twenty-four both aspects are
covered. In life we need to be watchful and ready, and in
service we need to be faithful and prudent.
Although both these aspects are covered in chapter
twenty-four, they are not covered fully. Thus, in chapter
twenty-five there is the need of a complementary word for
each aspect covered in chapter twenty-four. Matthew 25:1-
3 completes the section in chapter twenty-four concerning
the believers. The parable of the virgins (25:1-13)
completes the matter of watchfulness and readiness. How
to watch and be ready is revealed in the parable of the
virgins. Matthew 25:13, the last verse of the parable of the
virgins, says, "Watch therefore, for you do not know the
day nor the hour." This word, very similar to 24:42,
indicates that 25:1-13 is a completion to 24:40-44
concerning watchfulness for rapture.
Matthew 24:32-44 is a section on watchfulness and
readiness. Matthew 25:1-13 is also a section on
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watchfulness and readiness, the completion of the
foregoing section. In the same principle, both 24:45-51 and
25:14-30 are sections on faithfulness and prudence.
Matthew 25:30, which speaks of casting the useless slave
into outer darkness, is parallel to 24:51. This indicates
that 25:14-30 is a completion to 24:45-51, which concerns
faithfulness for the Lord's work. Matthew 24:45-51 deals
with the slave's unfaithfulness in fulfilling the Lord's
commission. Matthew 25:14-30 is still needed to deal with
the slave's unfaithfulness in using the Lord's talent.
Although 24:45-51 tells us to be faithful and prudent, it
does not show us how to be faithful and prudent. This is
revealed in the parable of the talents.
The way to be watchful is through the infilling of the
Holy Spirit; it is by having the extra portion of oil. By
ourselves we can be neither watchful nor ready. The only
way to have the extra portion of oil is by the infilling of the
Holy Spirit. This is the way for us to be watchful and
ready. Likewise, the way to be faithful and prudent in the
Lord's service is through the spiritual gifts. Without the
spiritual gifts, we do not have the ability to be faithful or
prudent. Our faithfulness and prudence depend upon the
gifts we have received of the Lord. Therefore, in chapter
twenty-five we have both the infilling of the Spirit and the
gifts of the Spirit. The Spirit affords us the infilling for life
and also the gifts for service. It all depends upon the
Spirit. How can we be watchful? Only by the infilling of
the Holy Spirit. And how can we be faithful? Only by the
gifts of the Holy Spirit.
One indication that the parables in chapter twenty-five
are a completion of 24:32-51 is found in the numbers two
and ten. Matthew 25:1 says, "Then shall the kingdom of
the heavens be likened to ten virgins." Ten is the major
part of twelve (Gen. 42:3-4; 1 Kings 11:30-31; Matt. 20:24).
Hence, these ten virgins represent the majority of the
believers, who will have died before the Lord's coming. The
two men or two women in 24:40-41 represent the
remaining believers, who will be alive until the Lord's
coming.
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The two men in the field or the two women grinding at
the mill represent the living believers. However, when the
Lord's parousia comes, the majority of the believers will
have died. In chapter twenty-four we have the rapture of
the living believers, but this chapter says nothing about
the dead saints. This is covered by the parable of the
virgins in 25:1-13. The fact that the virgins "became
drowsy and slept" (v. 5) indicates that they died. In the
eyes of the Lord, when a saint dies, he goes to sleep.
Therefore, the ten virgins, who all fell asleep, represent
the dead saints.
In the Bible God's people are of the number twelve, for
this number represents the whole body of God's people. In
the Bible one way the number twelve is composed is of ten
plus two. Ten denotes the majority of twelve, and two
signifies the remainder. For example, two of the twelve
apostles asked the Lord to let them sit on His right hand
and on His left hand, whereas the other ten were
indignant. In the Old Testament ten tribes rebelled
against the house of David, whereas only two remained
faithful. The principle is the same here in chapters twenty-
four and twenty-five. In chapter twenty-four we have the
two and in chapter twenty-five we have the ten. When the
ten and the two are put together, we have the whole body
of believers. At the time of the Lord's coming, the majority
of the believers will have died. Only a small number, the
remainder represented by the two men in the field or the
two women grinding, will be alive. Therefore, 25:1-13 is
the completion of 24:40-41.
Another indication that chapter twenty-five is the
completion of chapter twenty-four is found in the fact that
one of the men and one of the women were taken and the
other man and other woman were left. Why was one taken
and the other left? The answer is not found in chapter
twenty-four, but in chapter twenty-five. The reason one
was taken was that he was filled with the Holy Spirit, and
the reason the one was left was that he lacked the extra
portion of oil. Let us now consider the parable of the
virgins, the parable for watchfulness, verse by verse.
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C. Parable for Watchfulness
1. Ten Virgins
Matthew 25:1 says, "Then shall the kingdom of the
heavens be likened to ten virgins, who took their lamps
and went forth to meet the bridegroom." The word "Then"
here means "at that time," that is, at the time of the
parousia. When the parousia described in chapter twenty-
four is taking place, many things will be happening. Then
the kingdom of the heavens will be likened to ten virgins.
Virgins signify believers in the aspect of life (2 Cor.
11:2). Believers, who are the kingdom people, are like
chaste virgins, bearing the Lord's testimony (the lamp) in
the dark age and going out of the world to meet the Lord.
For this they need not only the indwelling, but also the
fullness of the Spirit of God.
We Christians firstly are virgins. Being a virgin is not a
matter of work, service, or activity, but a matter of life.
Moreover, we are not only virgins, but chaste, pure virgins.
Being a virgin is not a matter of what we do or are able to
do; it is absolutely a matter of what we are. Whether we
are male or female, we are virgins. Although I am an old
man, I conduct myself like a virgin. I would never sell my
status as a virgin. Even before the enemy, I am a virgin.
a. Taking Their Lamps
Verse 1 says that the virgins took their lamps and went
forth to meet the bridegroom. Lamps signify the spirit of
the believers (Prov. 20:27), which contains the Spirit of
God as the oil (Rom. 8:16). The believers shine with the
light of the Spirit of God from within their spirit. Thus,
they become the light of the world, like a lamp shining in
the darkness of this age (Matt. 5:14-16; Phil. 2:15-16) to
bear the testimony of the Lord for the glorification of God.
Thus, as virgins we do not take weapons for fighting or
sports equipment for playing, but lamps for testifying,
shining, and enlightening. In our hand is a lamp shining
for the Lord's testimony.
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b. Going Forth
The virgins went forth. This signifies that the believers
are going out of the world to meet the coming Christ. The
virgins do not linger or settle in any place. Instead, they
are going out of the world. In one of his writings, D. M.
Panton said that the world was just a pathway to him and
at the end of this pathway there would be a grave. If the
Lord delays His coming back, the world eventually will
afford me only a resting place, a tomb in which to lie as I
wait for the Lord's coming. We are not settled in this
world. We are going out of the world.
c. To Meet the Bridegroom
The bridegroom signifies Christ as the pleasant and
attractive person (John 3:29; Matt. 9:15). How good it is
that in this parable the Lord likens Himself not to a
victorious general or great commander-in-chief, but to a
bridegroom, a most pleasant person. Thus, we are the
virgins going, and He is the Bridegroom coming.
2. The Five Foolish Ones Not Taking Oil with Them
Verse 2 says, "And five of them were foolish, and five
were prudent." Five is composed of four plus one,
signifying that man (signified by four) with God (signified
by one) added to him bears responsibility. The fact that
five are foolish and five prudent does not indicate that half
the believers are foolish and the other half are prudent. It
indicates that all believers bear responsibility to be filled
with the Spirit of God.
The Old Testament reveals clearly that five is the
number of responsibility. For example, the ten
commandments were divided into two groups of five. Also,
the number five appears frequently with respect to the
tabernacle and its furniture. Five is the basic factor of
many of its dimensions.
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The five fingers on our hand indicate how the number
five is composed in the Bible. It is composed of four plus
one. As we have pointed out, the number four signifies the
creature and the number one the Creator. The creature
plus the Creator gives the ability to bear responsibility. If
we had just four fingers without a thumb, it would be
difficult for us to do anything. This means that by
ourselves, as the number four, we cannot bear
responsibility. But when God is added to us, we are able to
bear responsibility.
Verse 2 says that five of the virgins were foolish and
five were prudent. The Lord Jesus mentions the foolish
first because in the bearing of responsibility the problem is
not with the prudent ones, but with the foolish ones. Being
foolish does not make these five virgins false. In nature
they are the same as the five prudent ones.
Verse 3 tells us the reason they were foolish: "For the
foolish, when they took their lamps, did not take oil with
them." Oil signifies the Spirit of God (Isa. 61:1; Heb. 1:9).
The foolish ones were foolish because they had oil only in
the lamp, but not the extra portion of oil in the vessel. In
addition to the regenerating Spirit, they did not have the
infilling Spirit, the extra portion of the Holy Spirit.
3. The Five Prudent Ones Taking Oil in Their Vessels
Verse 4 says, "But the prudent took oil in their vessels
with their lamps." Man is a vessel made for God (Rom.
9:21, 23-24), and man's personality is in his soul. Hence,
vessels here signify the soul of the believers. The five
prudent virgins not only have oil in their lamps, but also
take oil in their vessels. Having oil in their lamps signifies
that they have the Spirit of God dwelling in their spirit
(Rom. 8:9, 16), and taking oil in their vessels signifies that
they have the fullness of the Spirit of God saturating their
souls.
We need to be very clear about the lamps and the
vessels. According to the Hebrew text, Proverbs 20:27 says
that the spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord. Within the
lamp is the oil, the Holy Spirit. The New Testament
reveals that our spirit is the place the Holy Spirit indwells.
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According to Romans 9, we are vessels made by God. Our
being, our personality, is in our soul. Therefore, the vessel
in this verse signifies our soul. Through regeneration we
have the Spirit of God in our spirit. This causes our lamp
to burn. But the question is whether or not we have the
extra portion of the Holy Spirit filling our soul. Although
we have the oil in our lamp, we need the extra portion of
the oil in our soul. This signifies that the Spirit must
spread from within our spirit to every part of our soul.
Then in our soul we shall have an extra amount of the
Holy Spirit. If we have this extra portion, we are prudent.
If we do not have it, we are foolish. In other words, if we
are indifferent to the infilling of the Holy Spirit, we are
foolish. If we are wise, we shall pray, "Lord, have mercy on
me. I want to have Your Spirit not only in my spirit, but
also in my soul. Lord, I need the infilling of the Spirit. I
need the extra portion of the Holy Spirit to fill my entire
being." Without this extra portion of the Spirit, we cannot
be watchful or ready. In order to be watchful and ready,
we need the infilling of the Holy Spirit, the spreading of
the Spirit Himself from our spirit to every part of our
inward being.
4. The Bridegroom Delaying
Verse 5 says that the Bridegroom delayed His coming.
The Lord Jesus truly has delayed His coming again. In
Revelation He promised to come quickly, but nearly two
thousand years have passed, and still He delays his
coming.
5. All the Virgins Becoming Drowsy and Sleeping
Because the Bridegroom delayed His coming, all the
virgins "became drowsy and slept." Becoming drowsy
signifies becoming sick (Acts 9:37; 1 Cor. 11:30), and going
to sleep signifies dying (1 Thes. 4:13-16; John 11:11-13).
While the Lord delays His coming back, the majority of the
believers firstly become sick and then die.
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6. A Cry at Midnight
Verse 6 says, "But at midnight there is a cry, Behold,
the bridegroom! Go forth to meet him!" Midnight signifies
the darkest time of this dark age (night). That will be the
end of this age, the time of the great tribulation. "Cry"
signifies the voice of the archangel (1 Thes. 4:16).
7. All the Virgins Arising
Verse 7 says, "Then all those virgins arose and
trimmed their lamps." "Arose" signifies resurrection from
the dead (I Thes. 4:14). This is the resurrection predicted
in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and 1 Corinthians 15:52.
8. Trimming Their Lamps
After the virgins arose, they "trimmed their lamps."
This signifies their dealing with their testimony in life.
This indicates that after resurrection our life for the Lord's
testimony will still need to be dealt with if it is not perfect
before we die.
9. The Foolish Wanting to Borrow Oil from the
Prudent
Verse 8 says, "And the foolish said to the prudent, Give
us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out." This word
implies that even after resurrection the foolish believers
will still need the fullness of the Spirit of God. "Going out"
proves that the lamps of the foolish virgins are lighted,
having oil in them, but not having an adequate supply.
The foolish virgins represent the believers who have been
regenerated by the Spirit of God dwelling in them, but who
are not filled with the Spirit of God so that He may
saturate their whole being.
10. The Answer of the Prudent
Verse 9 says, "But the prudent answered, saying, Lest
there be not enough for us and for you, go rather to those
who sell and buy for yourselves." This indicates that no
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one can have the fullness of the Holy Spirit for others. We
may borrow many things, but we cannot borrow the
infilling of the Holy Spirit. This is like eating. No one can
eat for you.
The prudent virgins told the foolish ones to go to those
who sell and buy for themselves. Those who sell oil must
be the two witnesses during the great tribulation, the two
olive trees and the two sons of oil (Rev. 11:3-4; Zech. 4:11-
14). During the great tribulation, the two sons of oil, Moses
and Elijah, will come to help God's people.
To buy indicates the need of paying a price. The
fullness of the Holy Spirit is obtained at a cost, such as
giving up the world, dealing with the self, loving the Lord
above all, and counting all things loss for Christ. If we do
not pay this price today, we must pay it after resurrection.
Those who do not pay the price do not have the extra
portion of the Holy Spirit. Eventually, the foolish virgins
will realize that they need to love the Lord with all their
heart and soul. They will see that they need to give up the
world and deal with the self.
11. The Bridegroom Coming and the Ready Ones
Going In with Him to the Marriage Feast
Verse 10 says, "And as they were going away to buy,
the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in
with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut."
The word "came" refers to the Lord's coming to the air (1
Thes. 4:16), a part of His parousia. Those who are ready
must be those who are invited to the marriage dinner of
the Lamb (Rev. 19:9). We should be ready (24:44) by
always having oil in our vessel, always being filled with
the Spirit of God in our whole being. To watch and be
ready should be our daily exercise for the Lord's parousia.
To go in with Him refers to the rapture of the
resurrected believers to the air (1 Thes. 4:17) during the
Lord's parousia. The marriage feast in verse 10 is the
marriage dinner of the Lamb (Rev. 19:9), which will be
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held in the air (1 Thes. 4:17) during the Lord's coming, His
parousia. It will occur before the manifestation of the
kingdom as a reward of mutual enjoyment with the Lord
to the believers who are ready, who have been equipped
with the fullness of the Holy Spirit before they die.
After those who are ready go in with the Bridegroom to
the marriage feast, the door is shut. This is not the door of
salvation, but the door to enter into the enjoyment of the
Lord's marriage feast.
12. The Foolish Virgins Coming Later, but the
Bridegroom Not Knowing Them
Verses 11 and 12 say, "And later the rest of the virgins
came also, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us! But he answered
and said, Truly I say to you, I do not know you." The later
coming of the foolish virgins refers to the later rapture of
the resurrected believers. They paid the price for the extra
portion of oil, but they obtained it too late. Time means a
great deal here, for when they came, the door was shut.
When they asked the Lord to open to them, He said, "I
do not know you." To not know here indicates not to
recognize, not to approve, as in Luke 13:25; John 1:26, 31;
8:19. The foolish virgins had their lamps lighted, went
forth to meet the Lord, died, and were resurrected and
raptured, but were late in paying the price for the fullness
of the Holy Spirit. Because of this, the Lord would not
recognize or approve of them for participation in His
marriage feast. They missed this reward dispensationally,
but they do not lose their salvation eternally.
In telling them that He did not know them, the Lord
was saying, "I do not appreciate you or recognize you, and
I do not approve of the way you lived on the earth. Also, I
do not approve of your coming so late." Thus, they are
rejected from the enjoyment of the kingdom feast.
13. Watching
Verse 13 concludes, "Watch therefore, for you do not
know the day nor the hour." Chapter 24:40-44 refers to the
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rapture only of the living believers who are ready. Chapter
25:1-13 is needed to cover the rapture of the dead and
resurrected ones. When we read this portion of the Word,
we see how watchful we need to be. To be watchful and
ready is a very serious matter.
No other book warns us as often as the book of
Matthew does. I can testify before the Lord that for more
than forty years I have been warned by this book.
Whenever I have been a little careless, I have remembered
the warnings contained in Matthew. Yes, we all are
virgins, but are we foolish or prudent? We all need to
answer this question for ourselves. Whether we are
prudent or not depends on whether or not we have the
extra portion of the Holy Spirit in our vessel.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE SIXTY-FIVE
PROPHECY OF THE KINGDOM
(5)
Concerning the Christian life, the New Testament
reveals that firstly we need to receive the Spirit of God
into our spirit so that we may be regenerated. Following
this, we need to grow. To grow is to be transformed, and to
be transformed is mainly to be renewed in the spirit of the
mind. Transformation and the renewing of the mind issue
in the infilling of the Holy Spirit in our soul. Our mind is
the leading part of our soul. To be renewed in the spirit of
our mind is to have our mind filled and saturated with the
Spirit. Then the Spirit that has saturated our mind will
renew our whole being. Thus, our being, our soul, will be
saturated with the infilling Spirit. This is the way to have
the extra portion of oil in the vessel.
As we pointed out in the foregoing message, to be
regenerated, to have the new birth, is to have the Spirit in
our spirit, that is, to have the oil in our lamp. To have the
Spirit in our soul means that we grow in life, are
transformed, are renewed in our whole being, and have
our soul saturated with the Holy Spirit of God. This is to
have the oil in the vessel. This is the way to be watchful
and to be ready for the Lord's coming. It is also the way to
be prepared to be raptured into the Lord's presence.
D. Parable for Faithfulness
Having covered the parable for watchfulness (25:1-13),
we proceed in this message to the parable for faithfulness
(25:14-30). The parable of the virgins is for watchfulness,
but the parable of the talents is for faithfulness.
When we were on chapter twenty-four, we pointed out
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that concerning the believers, there are two aspects: the
aspect of watchfulness and readiness and the aspect of
faithfulness and prudence. The believers have these two
aspects because they have a dual status. The first aspect of
this dual status is related to life, and the second aspect is
related to service. No Christian should neglect these two
aspects; rather, we must pay the proper attention to both,
becoming proper in life and in service. Regarding life, we
are virgins; regarding service, we are slaves. This means
that in watchfulness we are virgins. This relates to what
we are. But in faithfulness we are slaves. This relates to
what we do.
Although we may like the term "virgins," we may not
like hearing that we are slaves. Nevertheless, we are not
only virgins, but also slaves. To the virgins, the Lord is the
Bridegroom. but to the slaves, He is the Master. Thus, not
only we have a dual status, but the Lord also has a dual
status. On the one hand, He is our pleasant Bridegroom
and, on the other, our strict Master. Sometimes He is very
pleasant with us, but at other times He deals with us in a
strict way.
The virgins need something inward--the inward filling
of the oil in the vessel. The slaves, however, need
something outward--the spiritual talent. The infilling of
the Holy Spirit is inward, but the talent, the spiritual gift,
is outward. As vessels we need the oil inwardly, and as
slaves we need the talents outwardly.
The oil that fills the vessel reaches the very bottom of
the vessel. It is from within that the renewing of our being
takes place, and it is from within that transformation
transpires. There is a great lack of this inward working
among Christians today. Rather, many Christians are
striving to improve their outward appearance in order to
make a show. Religion is concerned with outward show,
but God's grace in the infilling of the Holy Spirit gets into
us and transforms us from within. The inward oil is very
different from outward makeup. Makeup changes our
complexion immediately. But God's way is that we drink of
the Spirit and let the Spirit saturate our being. Then
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our appearance will change from within. For example, I
eat and drink well, and nourishing food saturates my
being. This gives me a healthy complexion.
The fact that we need to be renewed from within does
not mean that we do not need outward activities. The one
who received five talents traded with them diligently and
gained another five talents. This indicates that we need
both the inward renewing and the outward service, the
inward growth and the outward actions. We need to be
deeply impressed with this principle. Regarding the aspect
of life, we need to be renewed from within, and regarding
the aspect of service, we need to be very active outwardly.
Sometimes we may be so active outwardly that we neglect
the inward renewing. But at other times we may care so
much for the inner life that we do not work adequately. To
be like this is to be an unturned cake (Hosea 7:8). On one
side we are burned to charcoal, and on the other side we
are raw. Neither side is good for eating. We need to be a
turned cake. If we work too much, the Lord will tell us to
rest. But if we rest too much, the Lord will tell us to work.
1. A Man Going into Another Country
Verse 14 says, "For it is as a man who, going into
another country, called his own slaves and delivered to
them his possessions." The word "it" refers to the kingdom
of the heavens, indicating that this parable of the talents,
like the parable of the ten virgins, is also concerning the
kingdom of the heavens. The man here signifies Christ,
who was going into another country, that is, into the
heavens.
2. Delivering His Possessions to His Slaves
Verse 14 says that this man delivered his possessions
to his slaves. The slaves signify believers in the aspect of
service (1 Cor. 7:22-23; 2 Pet. 1:1; James 1:1; Rom. 1:1). As
we have seen, the status of the believers in their
relationship toward Christ is of two aspects: in life they
are the virgins living for Him; in service, in work, they are
His purchased slaves serving Him.
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I believe that the possessions delivered to the slaves
include the gospel, the truth, the believers, and the
church. The believers are God's inheritance, God's
possession (Eph. 1:18). Matthew 24:45 indicates that the
believers are also His household.
3. Giving Five Talents, Two Talents, and One Talent
Verse 15 says, "And to one he gave five talents, to
another two, to another one; to each according to his own
ability." While oil in the parable of the virgins signifies the
Spirit of God, talents in this parable signify spiritual gifts
(Eph. 4:8; Rom. 12:6; 1 Cor. 12:4; 1 Pet. 4:10; 2 Tim. 1:6).
For life we need oil, the Spirit of God, even His fullness,
that we may be enabled to live the virgin life for the Lord's
testimony; for service, for work, we need the talent, the
spiritual gift, that we may be equipped as a good slave for
the accomplishment of the Lord's work. The fullness of the
Spirit in life is for us to use the spiritual gift in service,
and the spiritual gift in service matches the fullness of the
Spirit in life that we may be perfected as members of
Christ.
Verse 14 says that the man gave his slaves his
possessions, but verse 15 says that he gave them talents.
This indicates that the talents in verse 15 are the
possessions in verse 14. In other words, the Lord uses His
possessions as talents for us. For example, the gospel is
the Lord's possession. But when it is given to us, it
becomes our talent. Likewise, the truth is the Lord's
possession. But when the truth is given to us, it becomes a
talent. In the same principle, all the believers are the
Lord's possessions. When the believers are given to us,
they become our talents. Without all the believers, my
talent would not be very big. Furthermore, the church is
the Lord's possession. When the church is given to us, it
becomes our talent. The more of His possessions the Lord
gives to us, the more talents we shall have. In like
manner, the more the Lord burdens us, the more talents
we shall have.
Many Christians know that in this parable the talents
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are gifts. However, they do not know that the source of the
gifts is the Lord's possessions. Today the Lord's
possessions primarily are the gospel, the truth, the
believers, and the church. If you do not care for these
things, you will not have any talents. The gospel needs to
become our possession. The same is true of the truth, the
believers, and the churches. My talents are not natural.
Rather, they are the gospel, the truth, the believers, and
the church. If you took all these things away from me, I
would have nothing left. I have a strong talent because I
have not only the gospel and the truth, but also thousands
of believers and hundreds of churches. This is the reason
this ministry has had impact.
We should not wait in an indifferent way for the Lord
to give us something. No, we must diligently seek the
gospel and the truth. We should be eager to know the fall
of man, redemption, regeneration, salvation, the cleansing
of the blood, and the washing of the Spirit. All these are
aspects of the full gospel. The more you receive of the
gospel, the more talents you will have. We need to pray
that the Lord would help us to know the truth and to
experience it. We need to experience the truth concerning
the church, God's eternal purpose, and God's economy.
Eventually, these truths will become our talent. Then we
shall be able to minister them to others. In this way, the
Lord's possessions become our talent. Furthermore, we
need to pray, "Lord, I want to take care of the saints and
bear their burdens. My heart is for them." If we have a
heart for the saints and are burdened for them, they, the
Lord's possession, will be given to us as a talent. How
thankful I am that so many saints and churches have
become my talent! My ministry is strongly backed up by
all the saints and all the churches in the Far East. If the
Lord sent me to another place, I would also have the
support of the churches in the United States, for the
churches here have become an addition to my talent.
If you want to receive more talents, you must have a
heart to care for the saints. For example, when someone is
unemployed, you need to pray for him and bear his
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burden. This will be a proof that the Lord has given that
one to you as a talent. However, not to bear the saints or
care for them means that you forsake the Lord's
possession. Every dear saint is a precious part of the
Lord's possession. It is not a small matter to be concerned
for the saints, for they are the Lord's possession.
When the Lord's possessions are in His hand, they
remain His possessions. But when they are delivered to us,
they become our talent. Do not drop any burden that the
Lord has given you. No matter how busy I am! I cannot
drop any talent, for to do this is to drop the Lord's
possession. The Lord has a vast work in His recovery. For
this work, He needs thousands of young brothers and
sisters to be raised up to bear the responsibility.
The talent is not something of your natural birth;
rather, it is altogether related to your burden. If you take
up a burden, you will receive a talent. If you take up a
burden for one local church, you will receive one talent But
if you take up the burden for five churches, you will have
five talents. During the past twenty-eight years, more
than two hundred eighty churches have been built up
under this ministry. Recently, when I was accused,
criticized. and condemned, I asked the Lord whether or not
this ministry was wrong. At that time He pointed out to
me that the way to know the tree is by its fruit. He told me
to look how many churches have been established and
built up by this ministry. However, if we are ambitious for
ourselves, this ambition will kill the talents.
4. To Each according to His Ability
Although the talents are not our ability, but the Lord's
possession, they are delivered to us according to our
ability. Our ability is constituted by God's creation and our
learning. The capacity of our ability is based upon the
willingness of our heart. If we do not have any willingness
in our heart, then we shall not have the capacity to receive
the talent. The capacity to receive the talent is measured
by the willingness of our heart.
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5. Those with Five Talents and Two Talents Trading
with Them
Verses 16 and 17 say. "Immediately, he who received
the five talents went and traded with them and gained
another five; similarly, he who received the two gained
another two." To trade with the talents signifies using the
gift the Lord has given us, and to gain other talents
signifies that the gift we received from the Lord has been
used to the fullest extent, without any loss or waste.
According to chapter twenty-four the slave is to supply
food to those in the household. This refers to the
ministering of the nourishing Word with the riches of
Christ as the life supply to those in the Lord's house. Here,
however, it speaks of trading with the talents to cause the
talents to multiply. Therefore, the result of our service has
two aspects. The first aspect is that others are fed and
given rich nourishment. The second aspect is that the
Lord's possessions are multiplied For example, the more
we preach the gospel, the richer the gospel becomes It is
the same with the truths. As we minister the truths to
others, the truths multiply. This is also true of the saints
and the churches. Both the believers and the churches will
multiply. Thus, five talents are multiplied into ten, and
two talents are multiplied into four.
6. The Slave with One Talent Digging in the Earth
and Hiding It
Verse 18 says, But he who received the one went away
and dug in the earth and hid his lord's silver." The main
emphasis in this parable is on the one-talented one, the
one who received the smallest gift. It is very easy for the
least-gifted ones to fail to make the proper use of their gift.
As the earth signifies the world, so to dig in the earth
signifies getting into the world. Any association, any
involvement with the world, even a little worldly talk, will
bury the Lord's gift to us. Hiding the Lord's silver signifies
rendering the Lord's gift useless, letting it lie waste under
the cloak of certain earthly excuses. Any excuse for not
using the Lord's gift is to hide it. This is always the danger
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with the one-talented ones, those who consider their gift as
the smallest.
With the one-talented slave in this parable, there is no
multiplication. For instance, in a certain area there may
be one church. Ten years later, there is still just one
church in that area. Some may think that the one-talented
slave did well in not losing his talent and in returning to
the Lord what was His. The one-talented slave seemed to
say, "Lord, here is what is Yours. You gave me one talent,
and I have been faithful to keep, guard, protect, and
preserve it. By Your mercy and grace, I have kept it." But
the issue of our service must be the multiplication of our
talents. It is not the Lord's will for us simply to maintain
what He has given us. If you are faithful merely to keep
the gospel, the truth, and the church without any
multiplication, the Lord will say that you are slothful.
Furthermore, He will call you an evil slave. In the eyes of
the Lord, it is evil to bury the talent and not to multiply it.
The Lord does not care for our argument or excuses. He
cares only that the one talent is multiplied into two. This
is a serious matter. Our service must issue in the feeding
and satisfaction of others and in the multiplication of the
talent.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE SIXTY-SIX
PROPHECY OF THE KINGDOM
(6)
In this message we shall continue our consideration of
the parable for faithfulness (25:14-30).
7. The Lord of the Slaves Coming to Settle Accounts
with Them
Verse 19 says, "Now after a long time the lord of those
slaves comes and settles accounts with them." A long time
signifies the entire church age, and the coming signifies
the Lord's coming to the air (1 Thes. 4:16) in His parousia.
To settle accounts signifies the Lord's judgment at His
judgment seat (2 Cor. 5:10; Rom. 14:10) in the air (within
His parousia), where the believers' life, conduct, and work
will be judged for reward or punishment (1 Cor. 4:5; Matt.
16:27; Rev. 22:12; 1 Cor. 3:13-15).
8. The Five-talented and the Two-talented Ones Both
Receiving a Reward
Verse 20 says, "And he who received the five talents
came and brought another five talents, saying, Lord, you
delivered to me five talents; behold, I have gained another
five talents." The coming of the five-talented one refers to
the coming to the judgment seat of Christ. Gaining
another five talents is the result of the full use of the gift
of the five talents.
Verse 21 says, "His lord said to him, Well done, good
and faithful slave; you were faithful over a few things, I
will set you over many things; enter into the joy of your
lord." The "few things" signify the Lord's work in this age,
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"over" signifies the ruling authority in the coming
kingdom, and the "many things" signify the
responsibilities in the coming kingdom. The joy of the Lord
signifies the enjoyment of the Lord in the coming kingdom.
This is the inward satisfaction, not the outward position.
To participate in the Lord's joy is the greatest reward,
better than the glory and position in the kingdom. Here we
see two aspects of the reward given to the faithful slave:
authority and enjoyment. The faithful will enter directly
into the Lord's presence in the manifestation of the
kingdom.
The same reward is given to the two-talented one as to
the five-talented one. When the two-talented one came and
said that he had gained another two talents, the Lord said
the same thing to him that He had said to the five-talented
one (vv. 22-23). Although the gift given to the two-talented
one is smaller than that given to the five-talented one, the
Lord's appraisal and reward to both are the same. This
indicates that the Lord's appraisal and reward are not
related to the size and quantity of our work, but to our
faithfulness in using His gift to the fullest extent. The
same appraisal and reward would also have been given to
the one-talented one if he had been as faithful.
9. The One-talented One Receiving a Rebuke and
Being Punished
Verse 24 says, "And he also who received the one talent
came and said, Lord, I knew you, that you are a hard man,
reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you
did not scatter." The one-talented one, who did not gain any
profit for the Lord, also came to the judgment seat of Christ
in the air. This proves that he is not only saved, but also
raptured to the air. No unsaved person could be raptured
and come to the judgment seat of Christ.
The one-talented one said that the Lord was a hard
man, reaping where he did not sow and gathering where
he did not scatter. Apparently the Lord is hard in His
strictness, demanding that we use His gift to the fullest
extent for His absolute work. It seems that the Lord's work
always begins from zero. He seemingly demands us to
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work for Him with nothing. This should not be an excuse
for the one-talented one to neglect the use of his gift.
Rather, this should force him to exercise his faith to use
his gift to the uttermost.
Verse 25 says, "And I was afraid, and went away and
hid your talent in the earth; behold, you have what is
yours." To be afraid is negative. We should rather be
positive and aggressive in using the Lord's gift. If we are
faithful, we shall not be afraid of anything.
The one-talented slave went away and hid the talent in
the earth. In doing this he was too passive. We should be
active for the Lord's work. Because he had buried his
talent, he could only give it back to the Lord. Merely to
keep the Lord's gift and not lose it is not sufficient; we
must gain a profit by using it. The one-talented one
seemed to be saying, "Behold. Lord, here is what is Yours.
I didn't lose anything. I have been faithful to keep what
You gave me."
Verse 26 says, "But his lord answered and said to him,
Evil and slothful slave, you knew that I reap where I did
not sow, and gather where I did not scatter." Here the
Lord admits that He is strict in what He demands of His
slaves for His work. In a sense, the Lord is such a hard
man. He always reaps where He has not sown and gathers
where He has not scattered. Consider the fact that the
Lord's recovery began from scratch, from nothing.
In a sense the slave's word about the Lord's gathering
where He has not scattered and reaping where He has not
sown is true. But in another sense it is not true. We should
not say that the Lord has not scattered, for He has given
each of us at least one talent. His giving the talent to us is
the sowing and the scattering. Now the Lord sends us to
gather where He has not scattered and to reap where He
has not sown. None of us can say that the Lord has given
us nothing. At least we have one talent. This talent is the
seed for sowing and the possessions for scattering.
Therefore, we need to reap where the Lord has not sown
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and gather where He has not scattered. What the Lord has
given you contains the producing element. Wherever you
go with your talent, it will be productive. This
productiveness, however, depends upon your practice, your
exercise of the talent. If you use the talent, it will produce.
But if you hide it, it will not produce anything.
To hide the talent in the earth is to get involved with
something earthly, with something other than the Spirit.
Gossiping is an example of such an involvement. Some
claim to have no time to visit the saints, but they have a
great deal of time to gossip. If you look to the Lord for His
mercy and grace to stop your gossiping, much time will be
saved, and you will be able to use this time to care for the
saints.
In the Lord's recovery we do not have pastors to do the
work of caring for the saints. This type of pastoring comes
from fallen Christianity. In the Lord's recovery every
brother and sister must bear the burden to take care of
others, especially the young ones and the new ones. After
the meeting, many are accustomed to visit only with
certain ones. Instead of doing this, they should take this
opportunity to contact the new ones, the young ones, and
even some backsliding ones for whom they have been
praying. If we all did this, all the young ones and weak
ones would be taken care of. Although you may be very
busy, you can still take care of someone if you have the
heart to do so and are willing to exercise your talent. By
spending even ten minutes with someone, we can render
him a great deal of edification. After someone has been
built up in this way, he will feel warmed and know that he
has been cared for. Then he will desire to receive more
help. If we all practice this, no one will be neglected. There
will be no need for the elders to do everything, for
everyone will be functioning to take care of others.
Many, however, consider that functioning is just a
matter of speaking in the meetings. But the proper
function of the members is to minister the life supply to
others by taking care of them. The main aspect of the
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service is not simply to clean the meeting hall or take care
of the gardening. We are here for God's possessions.
Not everyone has the ability to speak in the meeting. I
would like to say a word of comfort to those who were not
born with the ability to speak well. There is no need for
you to speak in the meetings. In order to make a show that
everyone functions in the meetings, the elders sometimes
try to make people function. The elders may say, "If you do
not function, you are not in the flow. You are not up-to-
date." This kind of word frustrates those who cannot speak
well from coming to the meetings. They will be afraid to
come to the meetings because the elders might force them
to function. An attitude has been created that it is a shame
not to speak in the meetings, but that it is glorious to do
so. Yes, a number of years ago I did say that we can all
prophesy one by one. At that time, I was genuinely
burdened to encourage everyone to speak. But since that
time a misleading attitude has been created regarding
functioning in the meetings. Although I do not wish to stop
anyone from speaking, I want to point out that functioning
in the church life is not merely a matter of speaking.
We all need to learn to use our talent to multiply the
Lord's possessions. The Lord has given each of us part of
His possessions as a talent, and our burden, duty, and
responsibility are to see that this talent is multiplied. Do
not make excuses for yourselves, and do not say that you
have no time to take care of others. No matter how busy
you are, it is still possible to use your function by taking
care of others, even if you are able to come to only one
meeting a week. Do not think that you are so weak.
Perhaps you are weak; however, others are even weaker,
and they need you. Even if you feel that you are the
weakest one, there are some who are almost dead, and
they need your help. The best way to use your talent is to
take care of others, to become interested in others and
concerned for them. This does not mean that you should
become interested in the affairs of others. The Lord has
employed you not for this purpose, but to take care of
others.
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If you have received one talent, you need to use it.
Before you come to a meeting, you need to pray, "Lord, I
believe that I have a talent. I don't want to bury my talent
by getting involved with earthly things. Rather, I would
like to use it to take care of others." Show some love to
those whose heart has grown cold. Go to see them or invite
them to your home. As you spend time with the Lord and
open to Him regarding whom you should take care of, He
will burden you. As you contact others and have fellowship
with them, you will spontaneously use your talent. Do not
say, "Lord, You are a hard man, reaping where You have
not sown and gathering where You have not scattered." On
the contrary, the Lord has sown and scattered a great
deal. But there is much for you to reap and to gather. Oh,
the harvest is vast, but the workers are few! There is no
need for you to sow--simply go to reap. After every meeting
there is time for you to reap and to gather. By doing this,
we shall exercise our talent. In this way, the one talent
will become two, the two talents will become four, and the
five talents will become ten. The talents, God's possessions
which have been committed to us, will be multiplied. If we
are all faithful to practice this, the Lord's recovery will
truly multiply.
Verse 27 says, "You ought therefore to have deposited
my silver with the bankers, and when I came I would have
recovered what is mine with interest." Depositing the
silver with the bankers signifies using the Lord's gift to
lead others to salvation and to minister His riches to them.
Interest signifies the profitable result we gain for the
Lord's work by using His gift.
In a sense, we may say that the bankers are all the
new ones, weak ones, young ones, and backsliding ones.
We need to deposit the Lord's possession with these
bankers. The bankers are not the leading brothers, but the
weaker ones, those who have problems. Suppose a certain
brother is dissenting and speaks negatively about the
church. Those who speak negatively concerning the church
will always have something negative to say about the
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elders. Such a one must speak like this in order to
vindicate himself. If the church is wrong, then he is right;
but if the church is right, then he is wrong. If the elders in
particular are wrong, then he is truly vindicated.
Nevertheless, these dissenting ones are brothers, and they
love the Lord. How good it would be for such a dissenting
brother to be contacted, not by one of the elders, but by
another brother in the church who loves him and cares for
him! If a dissenting brother is contacted by a number of
others, he will eventually come back to the church and
praise the Lord for the church.
If you use your talent in this way to take care of others,
you will not only multiply the talent, but you yourself will
be in the third heaven and will quickly grow and be
transformed. You will be renewed in the spirit of the mind,
and among us there will be a marvelous testimony of the
Body to the whole universe. The universe will see that we
are not a religious gathering, but a living Body. For this.
we all need to use our talent, the Lord's possession. The
result will be multiplication. I can testify that the more we
take care of the saints and the churches, the richer we
become.
Verse 28 says, "Take away therefore the talent from
him, and give it to him who has the ten talents." Taking
away the talent signifies that the Lord's gift will be taken
away from slothful believers in the coming kingdom. The
giving of the talent to the one with ten talents signifies
that the gift of faithful believers will be increased.
Verse 29 continues, "For to everyone who has shall be
given, and he shall have abundance; but from him who has
not, even that which he has shall be taken away from
him." To everyone who gains profit in the church age, more
gift shall be given in the coming kingdom age; but from
him who has not gained profit in the church age, even the
gift he has shall be taken away from him in the coming
kingdom age.
Verse 30 says, "And cast out the useless slave into the
outer darkness; there shall be the weeping and the
gnashing of teeth." This word, the same as in 21:51,
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indicates that 25:14-30 is a completion to 24:45-51
concerning faithfulness for the Lord's work. Matthew
24:45-51 has dealt with the slave's unfaithfulness in
fulfilling the Lord's commission, but 25:14-30 is still
needed to deal with the slave's unfaithfulness in using the
Lord's talent.
In both chapters twenty-four and twenty-five we see
the matters of reward and punishment. According to
24:47, the reward to the faithful and prudent slave is that
the Lord will set him over all His possessions. The evil
slave, who beats his fellow slaves and eats and drinks with
the drunken, will be cut asunder and have his portion with
the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing
of teeth (24:49-51). In chapter twenty-five the five-talented
one and the two-talented one are rewarded by being put
over many things and by entering into the joy of the Lord.
The slothful, one-talented slave, however, is punished by
being cast into outer darkness. To many Christian
teachers, being cast into outer darkness denotes eternal
perdition of a false believer. But the context proves that
this is not an accurate understanding. This is not the
punishment of false believers, but of genuine believers who
are not faithful. It does not refer to eternal perdition, but
to punishment during the coming kingdom age.
The phrase "weeping and gnashing of teeth" is used six
times in the Gospel of Matthew. It is used twice concerning
the perdition of the false believers (13:42) and the evil
heathen (13:50). Matthew 13:42 concerns the tares, the false
believers who will be cast into the furnace of fire. The
furnace of fire is not the outer darkness, but the lake of fire.
Matthew 13:50 concerns the evil Gentiles, the corrupt fish
that are equivalent to the goats in chapter twenty-five. They
also will be cast into the furnace of fire. Thus, those who
perish in eternal fire will weep and gnash their teeth.
Matthew 8:12 says, "But the sons of the kingdom shall
be cast out into the outer darkness; there shall be the
weeping and the gnashing of teeth." Because the sons of
the kingdom certainly are saved ones, they will not be cast
into the furnace of fire. Rather, they will be put into outer
darkness. I do not believe that there is darkness in the
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furnace of fire. Although there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth both for the ones who perish and for the
defeated believers, the defeated believers will not be cast
into the lake of fire, but into the outer darkness outside
the glorious sphere of the Lord's presence.
Matthew 22:13 says, "Then the king said to the
servants, Bind his feet and hands, and cast him out into
the outer darkness; there shall be the weeping and the
gnashing of teeth." This refers to the one who did not have
a wedding garment. This, of course, does not refer to an
unbeliever, but to a saved one. This saved one will not be
cast into the lake of fire, but into outer darkness.
This phrase is used two other times, in 24:51 and in
25:30. According to 24:51, the evil slave will be cut off from
the Lord's presence and have his portion with the
hypocrites where there will be weeping and gnashing of
teeth. The sister verse, 25:30, says that the slothful slave
will be cast out into the outer darkness where there is
weeping and gnashing of teeth. By reading all these
verses; we see that the false believers, the tares, and the
evil Gentiles will be cast into the furnace of fire, the lake of
fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
However, the defeated believers, such as the sons of the
kingdom in chapter eight, those without the wedding
garment in chapter twenty-two, and the unfaithful slave in
chapters twenty-four and twenty-five, will be cast out into
the outer darkness. There, in the outer darkness, they will
suffer weeping and gnashing of teeth. This does not refer
to eternal perdition, but to dispensational punishment. In
addition to salvation, there is still the matter of the
reward and punishment that will be rendered during the
coming kingdom age. If we are faithful to the Lord, we
shall be rewarded during the next age. But if we are not
faithful to Him, we shall receive punishment. This is very
clear in God's holy Word.
In the previous message and in this message we have
seen the matters of life and service. For life we need the
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infilling of the Holy Spirit, and for service we need the
gifts of the Holy Spirit. In our life we need to be watchful,
and in our service we need to be faithful. Our watchfulness
in life is related to the early rapture, and our faithfulness
in service is related to the reward. If we are watchful and
faithful, then we shall be raptured early and we shall be
rewarded when the Lord comes back. To be raptured early
is to participate in the enjoyment of the wedding feast, and
to be rewarded is to participate in the authority in the
coming kingdom age.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE SIXTY-SEVEN
PROPHECY OF THE KINGDOM
(7)
In this message we come to 25:31-46, the Lord's word
concerning the judgment of the nations.
III. CONCERNING THE NATIONS
In the first two sections of the Lord's prophecy of the
kingdom, the Lord covered the Jews and the church. At
the end of this age, the people on earth will be in three
categories: the Jews, the believers, and the Gentiles. The
word "but" at the beginning of verse 31 indicates that what
is spoken from verse 31 to verse 46 is another section, the
section concerning the Gentiles. When the Lord's prophecy
turned from the Jews to the church in 24:32, the word
"but" was used to indicate this change. The same is true in
26:31.
If the Lord's prophecy had covered only the Jews and
the church, it would not be complete, for there would be
nothing about the nations. In order to make His prophecy
all-inclusive, the Lord had to say a word about what would
happen to the nations at the close of this age. Many
Christian teachers have mixed up the Lord's word in the
three sections of the prophecy of the kingdom, with some
applying the verses concerning the Jews to the church.
Both the word to the Jews and the word to the Gentiles
have been applied to the believers. Many have taught that
the judgment of the nations is the final judgment that the
Lord will execute upon us all. In the past I heard certain
Christian teachers warn us not to be goats. We were told
to love the poor and suffering ones so that when the Lord
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Jesus came back we might be regarded as the sheep.
Otherwise, He will consider us the goats. Thank the Lord
that in His prophecy He used the little word "but" in two
crucial places, in 24:32 and in 25:31. This word indicates
that the prophecy turns from the Jews to the believers in
the first case and then from the believers to the Gentiles.
A. Christ on the Throne of Glory
Verse 31 says, "But when the Son of Man comes in His
glory, and all the angels with Him, then He shall sit on
His throne of glory." The Son of Man is the title of Christ
for His kingdom, the Messianic kingdom (13:41). His
judgment here in these verses is a preparation for that
kingdom.
The coming spoken of in this verse is the open aspect of
the Lord's coming. It will be the continuation of His
coming mentioned in 24:30. His glory comprises the glory
of His divinity (John 17:22-24), the glory of His humanity
(Psa. 45:3), the glory of His resurrection (John 7:39; Acts
3:13-15), and the glory of His ascension (Heb. 2:9). The
throne on which He will sit is the throne of David (Luke
1:32-33), which will be in Jerusalem (Matt. 19:28; Jer.
3:17).
B. Judgment on All the Nations
1. All the Nations Being Gathered before Christ's Throne of
Glory
Verse 32 says, "And all the nations shall be gathered
before Him." All the nations are all the Gentiles who will
be left at Christ's coming back to the earth after He
destroys at Armageddon those Gentiles who follow
Antichrist (Rev. 16:14, 16; 19:11-15, 19-21). They will all
be gathered and judged at Christ's throne of glory. This
will be Christ's judgment on the living before the
millennium (Acts 10:42; 2 Tim. 4:1), differing from His
judgment on the dead at the great white throne after the
millennium (Rev. 20:11-15). This judgment on the living
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will occur after His judgment on believers at His judgment
seat in the air (Matt. 25:19-30).
Verse 32 says that the nations, the Gentiles, will be
gathered before Him. When the Lord spoke of the ten
virgins, however, He did not say that they would be
gathered. Rather, He said that they came. As we have
pointed out, coming denotes rapture. In speaking about
the slaves who received the talents, the Lord also said that
they came. But the nations will not come; they will be
gathered. In a parable equivalent to the parable of the
sheep and the goats, the seventh parable in Matthew 13,
the fish are also gathered out of the sea. All the nations
will be gathered to Christ's throne of glory to be judged
there.
2. Christ's Separating Them As a Shepherd
Separates the Sheep from the Goats
Verses 32 and 33 say, "He shall separate them from
one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the
goats; and He shall set the sheep on His right hand and
the goats on the left." This indicates that the Lord is the
Shepherd not only of the believers (John 10:11; Heb. 13:20)
and the Jews (Psa. 80:1; Jer. 31:10), but also of all the
Gentiles (Psa. 100:1-3). The sheep will be gathered to His
right hand, the place of honor (1 Kings 2:19; Psa. 45:9).
3. The Sheep Inheriting the Kingdom Prepared for
Them from the Foundation of the World
Verse 34 says, "Then the King shall say to those on His
right hand, Come, you who are blessed of My Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world." After the judgment at Christ's throne of
glory, the sheep will be transferred into the millennium to
be the people under the kingly ruling of Christ and the
overcoming believers (Rev. 2:26-27; 12:5; 20:4-6) and under
the priestly ministry of the saved Jews (Zech. 8:20-23). In
this way, they will "inherit the [coming] kingdom." In the
millennium there will be three realms: the realm of the
earth, where the blessing of God's creation, as mentioned
in Genesis 1:28-30, will take place; the realm of the nation
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of Israel in Canaan, from the Nile to the Euphrates, in
which the saved Jews will rule over the whole earth (Isa.
60:10-12; Zech. 14:16-18); and the heavenly and spiritual
realm (1 Cor. 15:50-52), where the overcoming believers
will enjoy the kingdom reward (5:20; 7:21). The kingdom
which the sheep will enter will be the first realm. The
blessing of the first realm in the millennium, the blessing
of God's creation, was prepared for the sheep from the
foundation of the world, whereas the blessing in the third
realm, the blessing of the heavenly and spiritual kingdom,
was ordained for the believers before the foundation of the
world (Eph. 1:3-4).
The whole earth is under God's administration, which
is for the carrying out of His economy. God's economy is to
recover the earth and to establish His kingdom in a full
way on the earth. God is more interested in the earth than
in the heavens. According to the Bible, God's intention is
to leave the heavens. He desires to come down from the
heavens and set up His kingdom on the earth.
In the kingdom of God as the sphere of God's
administration, there is the need for three kinds of people:
the priests, the kings, and the people or the citizens. The
prophecy concerning the kingdom given by the Lord on the
Mount of Olives concerns God's economy to bring in His
kingdom. This final word tells us the result of God's
activity on earth to establish His kingdom. The result is
that God will obtain three peoples, the priests, the kings,
and the citizens, with whom He will have a complete
kingdom. The nation of Israel is like a woman in travail to
deliver the remnant of Jews who will be the priests during
the millennium. Zechariah 8 reveals that the Jews will be
the priests during the coming kingdom. They will teach all
the nations to serve God. There will no longer be any
idolatrous worship. The believers, covered in the second
section of this prophecy, will be the kings, and the citizens
will be taken from among the nations. How wise the Lord
is, including all of God's economy in a prediction just two
chapters long!
Very few Christians have seen that God judges people
according to three things. Even the fundamental
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Christians believe that God judges people only according
to two things--the law and the gospel. According to the
law, every descendant of Adam is condemned to perish.
But according to the gospel, every believer in Christ is
saved. Thus, perdition is according to the law, and
salvation is according to the gospel. However, there is yet
a third thing according to which God will judge people.
This is the eternal gospel.
During the persecution under Antichrist, for the care of
the believers who will be left on earth, an eternal gospel
will be preached to the nations (Rev. 14:6-7), as illustrated
by the parable of the net in Matthew 13:47-50. The Lord
will then judge the nations, not according to the law of
Moses nor according to the gospel of Christ, but according
to the eternal gospel. This is a matter of God's
dispensation. Those who listen to that gospel and treat the
suffering believers well will be blessed and reckoned as
righteous (v. 46) to inherit the kingdom (v. 34), but those
who do not will be cursed (v. 41) and perish for eternity.
The gospel of grace (Acts 20:24) brings eternal life into the
believers (John 3:15-16) that they may live by God's life,
whereas the eternal gospel brings the sheep into eternal
life (v. 46) that they may live in the sphere of God's life.
The eternal gospel will tell people to fear God and to
worship Him. It will say nothing about repentance or
believing. The gospel we have heard is absolutely different
from the eternal gospel, for we were told to repent to God
and to believe in the Lord Jesus. The gospel of grace says
nothing about fear or worship; rather, it emphasizes
repentance and believing. Furthermore, the center of the
gospel of grace is Christ.
In addition to the law and the gospel of grace, the
eternal gospel is the third thing according to which God
will judge people. All those who are perishing are judged
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according to the law, the saved ones are judged according
to the gospel of grace, and the nations gathered before
Christ's throne of glory are judged according to the eternal
gospel. Matthew 25:31-46 is concerned neither with the
law nor with the gospel of grace. Christ will not separate
the nations according to the ten commandments or
according to their repentance and belief in Him. Rather,
He will separate them according to the way they have
treated the least of His brothers according to the eternal
gospel (v. 40) Those who treat the least of His brothers in a
good way will be "sheep" (vv. 34-40), but those who do not
treat them well will be "goats" (vv. 41-46).
The treatment of Christ's brothers that will be the
subject of the judgment before the throne of His glory will
take place during the great tribulation when the believers
will suffer the persecution of Antichrist (Rev. 13:6-7; 20:4).
All the sufferings in verses 35 through 39 will betide the
believers who are left for the trial (Rev. 3:10) during the
great tribulation (Matt. 24:21). According to Revelation 14,
during the great tribulation Antichrist will force God's
people to worship him. At that time an angel will preach
the eternal gospel warning the people to fear God and not
to mistreat His people. The Christians that will be
mistreated by Antichrist will be considered by the Lord
His little brothers. The bigger brothers will have been
raptured, and the little ones will be left to pass through
the tribulation. Antichrist will mistreat them, persecute
them, and imprison them. Thus, they will be short of food
and clothing, and many will be ill. But a voice from heaven
will say something like this: "Fear God and worship Him,
and don't do anything to harm God's people. Those who
fear Antichrist instead of God will perish."
God deals with the unbelievers according to the law
and with the believers according to the gospel of Christ
during the age of grace. But at the end of this age, the
three and a half years of the great tribulation, God will
send an angel to preach a specific gospel, the eternal
gospel. This is a dispensational matter. Then, after Christ
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has judged the believers at the judgment seat in the air,
He will come with the overcomers to destroy the armies of
Antichrist, save the remnant of the Jews, and set up His
throne of glory in Jerusalem. Then all the living Gentiles
will be gathered before Him to be judged. By the judgment
seat in the air, He will clear up the situation among the
believers. By descending to the Mount of Olives He will
clear up the situation among the Jews. Finally, at His
throne of glory He will clear up the situation among the
nations. He will judge them not according to the law or
according to the gospel of grace, but according to the
eternal gospel, according to how they have treated His
little brothers during the great tribulation. Acts 10:42 and
2 Timothy 4:1 both say that Christ will be the Judge of the
living and the dead. Christ will judge the dead at the
white throne after the millennium. But He will judge the
living at the throne of His glory before the millennium.
The judgment according to the law for eternal perdition
depends upon how one deals with God, the judgment
according to the gospel for eternal salvation depends upon
how the believer deals with Christ, and the judgment
according to the eternal gospel for the "sheep" to inherit
the millennial kingdom depends upon how they deal with
the Lord's little brothers.
4. The Goats Going into the Eternal Fire Prepared
for the Devil and His Angels
Verse 41 says, "Then He shall say also to those on the
left, Go from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire
prepared for the Devil and his angels." This fire is the fire
in the lake of fire (Rev. 20:14-15). The "goats" will perish
in the lake of fire after Antichrist and the false prophet
(Rev. 19:20) and before the Devil and the resurrected
sinners (Rev. 20:10, 15). This is part of the fulfillment of
Revelation 14:10. The lake of fire was prepared for the
Devil and his angels, not for man. However, if any man
follows the Devil to oppose the Lord, he will share the lake
of fire with the Devil and the fallen angels.
The sheep will receive the kingdom prepared from the
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foundation of the world. But the Christians who will be
kings during the millennium will receive what was
predestinated from before the foundation of the world. The
portion of the sheep will be simply to enjoy what God has
created from the foundation of the world. In the millennial
kingdom there will be a heavenly part and an earthly part.
The heavenly part will be the manifestation of the
kingdom, the kingdom of the Father. The Jews will be in
the center of the earthly part as the priests, and around
the Jews there will be the sheep, the saved nations, as the
people. We, the overcoming believers, will share in the
spiritual enjoyment of Christ and in all the heavenly
blessings. Our enjoyment will be heavenly, spiritual, and
divine. But the enjoyment of the "sheep," the restored
nations, will not be heavenly or spiritual. Rather, it will be
the blessing God gave men when He created the earth, the
blessing lost by Adam's fall. I am glad that we are in the
best category, the category of the kings. The Jews will be
in the earthly part, but we shall be in the heavenly part.
Our portion will be to exercise authority over the nations.
How I thank the Lord for giving us this clear view of the
millennium!
In the prophecy of the kingdom neither the section
concerning the Jews nor the section concerning the
Gentiles is related to life. But the section concerning the
believers, the church, is very much concerned with life. As
we have pointed out, we need to be faithful, watchful, and
ready, and we need to be wise and prudent. All these are
indications that we must be full of life. Life is with us.
Hallelujah, we are the life people!
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE SIXTY-EIGHT
A TEST TO ALL PEOPLE AND THE ESTABLISHING
OF THE TABLE
It is not an easy matter to understand the doctrinal
point Matthew conveys in his Gospel. Many of us were
taught that the Gospel of Matthew was simply a
storybook. However, Matthew is not a storybook, but a
book on the doctrine of the kingdom of the heavens. In
order to touch the depths of this book, we need to apply
this point to every chapter. In chapters twenty-six through
twenty-eight we cannot find the term the kingdom of the
heavens. However, everything contained in these chapters
is related to the kingdom of the heavens. If we spend time
in the Lord's presence to see the significance of these
chapters in relation to the kingdom of the heavens, He will
reveal it to us.
I. LAST UNVEILING OF THE CRUCIFIXION FOR THE
FULFILLMENT OF THE PASSOVER
Matthew 26:1 and 2 say, "And it came to pass when
Jesus had finished all these words, He said to His
disciples, You know that after two days the Passover is
coming, and the Son of Man is being delivered up to be
crucified." The word "And" at the beginning of verse 1 joins
chapter twenty-six with chapters twenty-four and twenty-
five, the prophecy concerning the Jews, the believers, and
the Gentiles. Immediately after giving this prophecy of the
kingdom, the Lord told His disciples that in two days the
Passover was coming and that the Son of Man was being
delivered up to be crucified. The significance of the Lord's
word here is that His crucifixion is the fulfillment of the
Passover. This Passover was to be the last. The Passover
had been observed for more than fifteen centuries. But
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now the Passover was to be terminated and, in a sense,
replaced. By putting together the Passover and the
crucifixion of the Son of Man, the Lord was implying that
His crucifixion was the fulfillment of the Passover and
that He Himself was the Passover Lamb.
The Passover was a type of Christ (1 Cor. 5:7). Christ is
the Lamb of God that God may pass over us, the sinners,
as portrayed in typology by the Passover in Exodus 12.
Hence, Christ as the Passover Lamb had to be killed on
the day of the Passover for its fulfillment.
According to the type, the Passover Lamb had to be
examined for its perfection during the four days preceding
the day of the Passover (Exo. 12:3-6). Before His
crucifixion, Christ came to Jerusalem the last time, six
days before the Passover (John 12:1), and was examined
by the Jewish leaders for a few days (Matt. 21:23--22:46).
There was no blemish found in Him, and He was proved to
be perfect and qualified to be the Passover Lamb for us.
II. A TEST TO ALL THE PEOPLE
As the Passover Lamb, Christ was a test to all the
people. Throughout the centuries, Christ has constantly
been such a test We cannot be neutral regarding Him.
Rather, whatever we are will be tested by Him. We must
do something about Him, and we must react to Him. Our
reaction will reveal our attitude toward this Passover
Lamb.
A. Hated by the Religionists
Verses 3 through 5 indicate that Christ was hated by
the religionists. The chief priests and the elders of the
people took counsel together how they might seize Jesus
by craftiness and kill Him. Can you believe that religion
exercised craftiness in order to kill the Lord Jesus? Verse 5
says, "But they said, Not at the feast, lest there be an
uproar among the people." Eventually, under God's
sovereignty, they did kill the Lord Jesus at the feast
(27:15) for the fulfillment of the type. This indicates that
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Christ's crucifixion was sovereignly under God's hand to
fulfill the Passover. By hating the Lord Jesus, the first
class of people. the religionists, were exposed.
B. Loved by the Disciples
Although the religionists hated the Lord Jesus, His
disciples loved Him (vv. 6-13). Two of those who loved Him
were Simon the leper and Mary, the woman who poured
the oil upon His head. A leper signifies a sinner (8:2).
Simon, as a leper, must have been healed by the Lord.
Being grateful to the Lord and loving Him, he spread a
feast (v. 7) in his house for the Lord and His disciples in
order to enjoy His presence. A saved sinner would always
do this. Simon must have known that the Lord was about
to be killed. He probably realized that this was the last
opportunity for him to express his love to the Lord.
Therefore, he grasped the opportunity for a further
intimate, loving contact with the Lord. He opened his
home, spread a feast, and invited the Lord and all those
who loved Him.
Verses 7 and 8 say, "A woman came to Him, having an
alabaster jar of ointment of great value, and she poured it
on His head as He reclined at table. But when the disciples
saw it, they were indignant, saying, Why this waste?" The
disciples considered Mary's love offering to the Lord a
waste. Throughout the past twenty centuries, thousands of
precious lives, heart treasures, high positions, and golden
futures have been wasted upon the Lord Jesus. To such
lovers He is altogether lovely and worthy of their offering.
What they have poured upon Him is not a waste, but a
fragrant testimony of His sweetness.
In verse 11 the Lord said to the indignant disciples,
"For the poor you have with you always, but you do not
always have Me." This indicates that we must love the
Lord and grasp the opportunity to express our love to Him.
Verse 12 says, "For in pouring out this ointment on My
body, she has done it for My burial." Mary received the
revelation of the Lord's death by the Lord's words in 16:21;
17:22-23; 20:18-19; and 26:2. Hence, she grasped the
opportunity to pour the best she had upon the Lord. To
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love the Lord with our best requires a revelation
concerning Him.
Along with Simon, Mary also probably thought that
this was her last chance to do something over the Lord's
body to anoint Him for burial. In a very real sense, Mary
buried the Lord Jesus before He was crucified. What a
contrast there is between the religionists who hated the
Lord and wanted to kill Him and His lovers who took the
opportunity to express their love for Him! I believe that
the others like Peter, James, and John did not receive the
Lord's prophecy concerning His crucifixion properly.
According to the Lord's testimony, Mary certainly received
His word regarding this, for the Lord testified that in
pouring out the ointment, she had done it for His burial.
This was a sign that Mary understood what the Lord had
prophesied concerning His crucifixion.
Verse 13 says, "Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel
is preached in the whole world, that also which this
woman has done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her."
In the foregoing verse, the Lord spoke of His burial,
implying His death and resurrection for our redemption.
Hence, in this verse He called the gospel "this gospel,"
referring to the gospel of His death, burial, and
resurrection (1 Cor. 15:1-4). The story of the gospel is that
the Lord loved us, and the story of Mary is that she loved
the Lord. We must preach both, the Lord loving us and us
loving the Lord. One is for our salvation, and the other is
for our consecration. The gospel tells us how the Lord
loved us, but the loving story of Mary stirs us up to love
the Lord. Thus, there needs to be a mutual love. This must
accompany the preaching of the gospel.
C. Betrayed by the False Disciple
In verses 14 through 16 we see that the Lord Jesus was
betrayed by the false disciple. The word "Then" at the
beginning of verse 14 indicates that while one of the Lord's
followers expressed her love to the Lord to the
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uttermost, another was about to betray Him. One was
treasuring the Lord, and at the same time another was
delivering Him up. Not even a false believer should have
been this evil. The Lord Jesus had never wronged Judas.
Judas, however, was filled and possessed with Satan, the
Devil. In John 6:70 and 71 the Lord Jesus referred to
Judas as a devil. According to John 13:2, the Devil had put
it into the heart of Judas to betray Him, and John 13:27
says that Satan entered into him. Thus, Judas became the
embodiment of the Devil. The idea of betraying the Lord
Jesus did not originate with him, but with the enemy, the
Devil.
In these verses we see three categories of people: the
religious ones, the loving ones, and the betraying ones. To
which category do you belong? Have you opened your home
and prepared a feast for the Lord Jesus? Have you broken
the alabaster jar and poured ointment upon His body?
Surely, we are the lovers of Jesus. Nevertheless we must
learn to love Him to the uttermost.
III. THE ESTABLISHING OF THE TABLE
A. At the Feast of Passover
In verses 17 through 30 we see the keeping of the
Passover and the establishing of the table. Verse 17 says,
"Now on the first day of the Unleavened Bread the
disciples came to Jesus, saying, Where do You want us to
prepare for You to eat the Passover?" The Unleavened
Bread is a feast of seven days (Lev. 23:5-6). It is also called
the Passover (Luke 22:1; Mark 14:1). Actually, the
Passover was the first day of the feast of Unleavened
Bread (Exo. 12:15-20). The table mentioned in verse 20
refers not to the Lord's table, but to the table of the feast
of Passover.
B. At the Time of His Betrayal
Verses 21 through 25 reveal that the Lord established
the table at the time of His betrayal. Verse 21 says, "And
as they were eating, He said, Truly I say to you, that one
of you shall deliver Me up." When the disciples heard this,
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they were grieved, and each one began to say to Him, "I'm
not the one, am I, Lord?" When Judas asked this question,
the Lord let Judas' own word condemn him (v. 25). After
this, Judas left. He could not bear to stay there any longer.
After Judas had gone, the Lord established the table.
Thus, Judas participated in the Passover feast, but he did
not partake of the Lord's table. After the betrayer, the
false believer, was exposed, the Lord established the table
with the eleven real believers.
C. To Replace the Feast of Passover
Verse 26 says, "And as they were eating, Jesus took the
bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to the disciples,
and said, Take, eat; this is My body." Beginning at verse
26, the Lord's table is established. The Lord and the
disciples firstly ate the Passover (vv. 20-25; Luke 22:14-
18). Then the Lord established His table with the bread
and the cup (vv. 26-28; Luke 22:19-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-26) to
replace the feast of the Passover, because He was going to
fulfill the type and be the real Passover to us (1 Cor. 5:7).
Now we are keeping the real feast of Unleavened Bread (v.
17; 1 Cor. 5:8).
In this chapter there are two tables: the table of the
Passover and the table of the New Testament. The table of
the Passover was the table of the Old Testament economy,
but the Lord's table is the table of the New Testament
economy.
1. With the Bread
In verse 26 the Lord took bread, blessed it, broke it,
and gave it to the disciples, saying, "Take, eat; this is My
body." The bread of the Lord's table is a symbol signifying
the Lord's physical body broken for us on the cross to
release His life that we may participate in it. By
participating in this life we become the mystical Body of
Christ (1 Cor. 12:27), which is also signified by the bread
of the table (1 Cor. 10:17). Hence, by partaking of this
bread, we have the fellowship of the Body of Christ (1 Cor.
10:16).
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At the Passover the people ate the meat of the Passover
lamb. But after the Passover feast, the Lord Jesus did not
take the flesh of the lamb, but He took bread and gave it to
His disciples to eat. As we have pointed out, this bread
signifies the Lord's body to nourish us. However, we all
have some kind of religious background that keeps us from
comprehending this. Due to our religious background, we
have some doctrinal impression regarding the Lord's table.
When Christians attend holy communion today, they do
not have the realization that they are taking the Lord
Jesus into them as their nourishment. Did you have this
realization when you were in religion? I did not. Rather,
we were told to examine ourselves; we were not told that
we were taking the Lord's body as our nourishment. But if
someone came to the Lord's table without any doctrinal
concept, he would spontaneously realize that to eat the
Lord's body is to receive the Lord into us as nourishment.
Many pastors and preachers today charge people to
remember Christ's death as they participate in holy
communion. Many endeavor to review the Lord's suffering
and death on the cross. However, the Lord did not tell us
to remember His death, but to remember Him. for He said,
"Do this unto the remembrance of Me" (Luke 22:19). He
told us to remember Him by eating the bread and drinking
the cup. This is not just a remembrance, but also an
enjoyment of the Lord. To partake of the Lord's table in
this way is to eat and drink of Him.
Luke 22:19 says, "And having taken a loaf, when He
had given thanks, He broke it, and gave it to them, saying,
This is My body which is given for you: do this unto the
remembrance of Me." According to this verse, we are to eat
in remembrance of the Lord. Thus, the genuine
remembrance is not to review the story of the Lord's life,
but to eat Him, to take Him in.
For the symbol of His body, the Lord did not use a
grain of wheat, but a loaf. A loaf signifies that many grains
have passed through a long process to become bread.
Firstly, the seed is sown into the field. Then it grows and
produces many grains. After the wheat is harvested, the
grains are ground into fine flour that is blended into a
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lump and baked in an oven to make a loaf of bread. Only
then do we have a loaf of bread to eat. As a grain of wheat
(John 12:24), the Lord Jesus passed through such a
process until He eventually became the bread on the table
for us to eat. Every time we come to the Lord's table we
should have this realization. We should be able to say,
"Lord, today You are our bread because You have been
processed for us. Now You are the bread on the table for us
to eat."
The bread on the table firstly signifies the Lord's
physical body that was crucified on the cross. But after His
resurrection, this body became mysterious, for it was
enlarged into His mystical Body. According to John
chapter two, the Jews killed His physical body, but it was
resurrected in a mysterious way to become His mystical
Body. The Lord's mystical Body comprises all of us.
Therefore, when we see the bread at the Lord's table, we
need to realize that it is a symbol both of the Lord's
physical body and His mystical Body. For this reason,
when we break the bread and eat it, we have the
fellowship of the Lord's Body (1 Cor. 10:16). All the
members of Christ's mystical Body are represented in the
loaf. Therefore, at His table, we enjoy not only the Lord
Jesus, but also the believers. In other words, we enjoy
Christ and the church. Both Christ and the church are our
enjoyment.
2. With the Cup
Verse 27 says, "And taking the cup and giving thanks,
He gave it to them, saying, Drink of it, all of you." The
bread is mentioned before the cup because God's eternal
purpose is not to have redemption. It is to have the Body of
Christ. Therefore, the bread as the symbol of the Body of
Christ comes first. Nevertheless, we need to be reminded
that as sinners we have the problem of sin and that the
Lord Jesus shed His blood to cleanse us. His blood has
made a complete redemption for us so that all our sins
might be forgiven.
The Lord's blood redeemed us from our fallen condition
back to God and back to God's full blessing. Concerning
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the Lord's table (1 Cor. 10:21), the bread signifies our
participation in life, and the cup, our enjoyment of God's
blessing. Hence, it is called the cup of blessing (1 Cor.
10:16). In this cup are all the blessings of God and even
God Himself as our portion (Psa. 16:5). In Adam our
portion was the cup of God's wrath (Rev. 14:10). Christ has
drunk that cup for us (John 18:11), and His blood has
constituted the cup of salvation for us (Psa. 116:13), the
cup that runs over (Psa. 23:5). By partaking of this cup we
also have the fellowship of the blood of Christ (1 Cor.
10:16).
Verse 28 says, "For this is My blood of the covenant,
which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins." The
fruit of the vine (v. 29) within the cup of the Lord's table is
also a symbol, signifying the Lord's blood shed on the cross
for our sins. His blood was required by God's righteousness
for the forgiveness of our sins (Heb. 9:22).
Some manuscripts insert the word "new' before the
word "covenant" in verse 28. The Lord's blood, having
satisfied God's righteousness, enacted the new covenant.
In this new covenant, God gives us forgiveness, life,
salvation, and all spiritual, heavenly, and divine blessings.
When this new covenant is given to us, it is a cup (Luke
22:20), a portion for us. The Lord shed the blood, God
established the covenant, and we enjoy the cup, in which
God and all that is of Him are our portion. The blood is the
price Christ paid for us, the covenant is the title deed God
made to us, and the cup is the portion we receive from
God.
3. Until the Kingdom Age
Verse 29 says, "And I say to you, I will by no means
drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine until that day
when I drink it new with you in the kingdom of My
Father." By speaking this word, the Lord made it clear
that from the time He established the table He would be
physically away from the disciples and not drink the fruit
of the vine with them until He drinks it new with them in
the Father's kingdom. This is the heavenly part of the
millennium, the manifestation of the kingdom of the
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heavens, in which the Lord will drink with us after His
coming back.
D. Praising the Father with a Hymn
Verse 30 says, "And having sung a hymn, they went
out to the Mount of Olives." This hymn was a praise to the
Father by the Lord with the disciples after the Lord's
table. It is based upon this verse that we sing praises to
the Father at the end of the Lord's table.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE SIXTY-NINE
PRESSED IN GETHSEMANE, ARRESTED BY THE
JEWS, JUDGED BY THE SANHEDRIN, AND
DENIED BY PETER
In this message we come to 26:31-75, a long section in
the Gospel of Matthew that is also related to the kingdom.
The verses in this chapter regarding the Lord's table
indicate that the Lord's death and resurrection have a
great deal to do with the kingdom of the heavens. In these
verses, however, we cannot find the resurrection, although
we do have a clear reference to the Lord's death in the
breaking of the bread, which signifies the breaking of the
Lord's body. The Lord's word about the pouring out of His
blood (v. 28) is also an obvious reference to His death.
Although there is no explicit mention of it, resurrection is
implied by the fact that the bread signifies the Lord as our
bread for our enjoyment. His death accomplished
redemption for us, but He becomes our enjoyment through
redemption in resurrection. When we come to the Lord's
table, we see on the table a symbol of the Lord's death, but
we remember Him, not in death, but in resurrection. In
this remembrance we display His death. Both the Lord's
crucifixion and resurrection are for the kingdom. Apart
from Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, it is impossible
for the kingdom to be established.
By our natural life it is not possible for us to be the
kingdom people. This fact is made abundantly clear in
26:31-75. Here we have a picture of the arrest and
judgment of Christ. This record reveals that no one can
follow Christ on the pathway of the cross by the natural
life. The King can take this pathway, but we in our
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natural life cannot. Therefore, the Lord must die for us
and enter into resurrection for us. Through His death our
negative situation is settled, and by His resurrection He is
able to be taken in by us and even become us.
Years ago, I could not understand why in the record of
the Lord's arrest and judgment Matthew includes a long
story about Peter's denial of the Lord. I used to think that
a few verses would have been sufficient to describe how
Peter denied the Lord three times. But Matthew presents
this in detail. It is important for us to see the significance
of Peter's denial. In chapter twenty-six the Lord Jesus and
Peter stand in absolute contrast to each other. In every
respect Jesus was able to pass through the pathway of the
cross. But in every respect Peter was defeated in taking
this pathway. All the other disciples, of course, were the
same as Peter. If we see this matter clearly, we shall pay
careful attention to Peter's denial as well as to Christ's
victory.
What was Matthew's main intention in 26:31-75--to
unveil the victory of Christ or to expose the defeat of
Peter? I believe that his intention was to present both--
each in vivid contrast to the other. When we look at the
Lord Jesus, we see complete success, but when we look at
Peter, we see total defeat. For the establishment of the
kingdom, Christ's victory is necessary. He had to be
victorious in every respect. At the same time, we must
come to realize that we, as fallen human beings, are not
able to be the kingdom people.
Do not have any trust in yourself. Peter is our
representative. As far as our natural life is concerned, we
are all Peter. For the kingdom of the heavens to be
established, there was the need of a man like Jesus.
Throughout chapter twenty-six, the Lord Jesus stood in
the position of a man, not in the position of the Son of God.
In order for the kingdom of the heavens to be established,
He stood as a man, a successful man, a victorious man, as
a man that could withstand any hardship, defeat,
opposition, and attack.
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As we consider this picture of the Lord Jesus, we
should receive the clear impression that in our human life
it is impossible for us to be the kingdom people. The twelve
disciples had been under the Lord's teaching and training
for three and a half years. During this period of time, they
were with the Lord constantly. Peter, a fisherman, was
called in chapter four, and he began from that time
onward to follow the Lord Jesus. The Lord took special
care to train Peter in a particular way. Peter heard the
decree of the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens,
and he heard all the mysteries concerning the kingdom.
He was trained concerning Christ's being the Son of God,
concerning the building up of the church, and concerning
the pathway of the cross. He was dealt with on the Mount
of Transfiguration and corrected regarding the paying of
the poll tax. Time and time again, Peter was adjusted. It is
difficult to believe that such a qualified and trained person
could take the lead in denying the Lord. If Peter could not
succeed in following the Lord, then who can? If Peter had
denied the Lord in chapter four, I would not have been
surprised. But it is hard for me to believe that in chapter
twenty-six, after being with the Lord for three and a half
years, Peter could deny Him.
Not even Peter himself believed that he would do this.
In verse 33 Peter said boldly to the Lord, "If all shall be
stumbled in You, I will never be stumbled," and in verse
35 he said, "Even if I must die with You, I will by no
means deny You." Peter was confident that he would
follow the Lord to the uttermost. But, as this picture
makes clear, all he could do was to deny the Lord to the
uttermost. This proves that no human being can succeed
in living the kingdom life. Perhaps after reading these
messages, you have been stirred up for the kingdom and
desire to be today's kingdom people. But we must realize
that none of us can make it. Therefore, we need to humble
ourselves, bow down, and say, "Lord, I simply can't make
it. I am a Peter. If Peter could not make it, then who am I
to think that I can make it? Lord, I can't do it."
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I. WARNING THE DISCIPLES
In the light of the contrast between Christ's victory and
Peter's failure, let us now consider verses 31 through 75.
Verse 31 says, "Then Jesus says to them, You will all be
stumbled in Me this night, for it is written, I will smite the
Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered."
The Lord was the Shepherd, and the disciples were the
sheep who were to be scattered. However, all the disciples
said that they would not deny Him. All of them, especially
Peter, had the assurance and the confidence that they
would follow the Lord to the end, no matter what the
pathway might be.
In His warning the Lord promised that He would be
raised up and go to meet with them in resurrection in
Galilee (v. 32). He also predicted that, on the night of His
betrayal, Peter would deny Him three times (v. 34).
II. PRESSED IN GETHSEMANE
After warning the disciples, the Lord went with them
to Gethsemane (v. 36). Gethsemane means the place of the
oil press. The Lord was pressed there to flow out the oil,
the Spirit. After taking Peter, James, and John, the Lord
went to pray alone. When He returned from praying the
first time, He found the disciples sleeping (v. 40). The Lord
Jesus had told them seriously that His soul was "exceeding
sorrowful, even unto death," and He had asked them to
watch with Him (v. 38). But it seemed to them that
nothing was going to happen and that everything was
peaceful. Perhaps the disciples fell asleep because they
had been tired out by the Lord's presence. According to the
other Gospels, Peter and John were the ones sent ahead to
prepare the room for the Passover. Perhaps they were
tired from all the events of the day. Peter might have said
to himself, "I would like to stay away from Jesus for a little
while. Since I cannot get away from Him, let me take a
little sleep. The Lord may need to pray, but I need to
sleep." This was a full exposure of the fact that Peter was
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unable to make it in following the Lord. It is also a portrait
of our situation. We love the Lord, but like Peter we may
get tired out from being in His presence. Although it is
wonderful to have the Lord's presence, sometimes we may
get too weary to care for it.
According to verses 40 and 41, when the Lord came to
the disciples and found them sleeping, He said to Peter,
"So, you were not able to watch with Me one hour? Watch
and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the
spirit indeed is ready, but the flesh is weak." In spiritual
things our spirit is often ready or willing, but our flesh is
weak. Notice that the Lord Jesus spoke this word
specifically to Peter for Peter was the "nose," the one who
was the most prominent.
When the Lord came back after praying the third time,
the disciples were still sleeping. In verses 36 through 46
we see a contrast between the life that is absolutely able
for the kingdom and the life that is completely unable. We
do not have the first life by our natural birth. The life we
have by our natural birth is completely unable to be for the
kingdom.
In the garden of Gethsemane, the Lord was pressed to
be sorrowful and distressed, even unto death. After
praying to the Father three times, He took the Father's
will and was prepared to be crucified for the fulfillment of
the Father's will.
III. ARRESTED BY THE JEWS
Verse 47 says, "And while He was still speaking,
behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a
great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests
and elders of the people." Judas kissed the Lord Jesus
affectionately as a sign that He was the one to be seized. If
it had been a stranger who had led the crowd to the Lord,
it would not have been so painful to Him. But the one who
led the crowd in arresting Him was one who had been so
close to Him for three and a half years. Humanly speaking,
this hurt the Lord Jesus.
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When the Lord was arrested, one of the disciples,
Peter, reacted by drawing his sword, striking the slave of
the high priest, and cutting off his ear (v. 51). Instead of
helping the Lord Jesus, this action merely caused trouble.
In his Gospel, John gives Peter's name (John 18:10), and
Luke mentions the fact that the Lord had to heal the ear
(Luke 22:51). After telling Peter to put his sword into its
place, the Lord said, "Do you think that I cannot beseech
My Father and He will provide Me at once more than
twelve legions of angels? How then shall the Scriptures be
fulfilled that it must be so?" (vv. 53-54). The word "so"
refers to His death on the cross, which was prophesied in
the Scriptures and needed to be fulfilled.
Once again we see here a contrast between two persons
in the light of the kingdom. Peter resisted the Lord's
arrest, but the Lord was willing to accept it for the
fulfillment of the Scriptures. Jesus' life is more than able
to be for the kingdom, but this is impossible for our life.
Our life simply cannot withstand the events and
environment related to the kingdom. We all must come to
realize this. If we did not have this record of Peter's
failure, defeat, and denial, we might think that our
natural life could succeed in being for the kingdom, and we
would want to be bold like Peter. However, our natural life
is not adequate. Here in chapter twenty-six we see a
natural Peter, but in Acts 2, 3, and 4 we see a resurrected
Peter. Following the Lord Jesus on the pathway for the
kingdom can only be done in the life of resurrection.
IV. JUDGED BY THE SANHEDRIN
In verses 57 through 68 the Lord was judged by the
Sanhedrin. He was accused unjustly with false
testimonies, but He did not say a word to vindicate
Himself (vv. 59-63). The Lord, standing before the
Sanhedrin like a sheep before its shearers, would not say a
word to vindicate Himself. By remaining silent, He was
fulfilling Isaiah 53:7.
Then the high priest said to Him, "I adjure you by the
living God that you tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of
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God" (v. 63). This was the same question the Devil used in
tempting the Lord (4:3, 6). Verse 64 says, "Jesus says to
him, You said it! Moreover, I say to you. Henceforth you
shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power
and coming on the clouds of heaven." The high priest
asked the Lord if He was the Son of God, but He answered
with the "Son of Man." He answered the Devil in the same
way in His temptation (4:4). The Lord is the Son of Man,
not only on the earth before His crucifixion, but also in the
heavens on the right hand of God after His resurrection
(Acts 7:56), and even at His coming back on the clouds. To
accomplish God's purpose and to establish the kingdom of
the heavens, the Lord had to be a man. Without man,
God's purpose could not be carried out on earth and the
kingdom of the heavens could not be constituted on earth.
The Lord seemed to be saying to the high priest, "You
asked Me whether or not I am the Son of God. I am the
Son of Man. Even after you have crucified Me and I have
been resurrected from the dead, I will be in the third
heaven as a man. And when I come back on the clouds to
take the earth, I will still be the Son of Man."
When the Devil in the wilderness tested the Lord
regarding His being the Son of God, the Lord answered by
saying, "Man." The Lord seemed to say to the Devil, "I'm
not here as the Son of God to be tempted by you. If I were
the Son of God, I could not be tempted. I am standing here
as a man." The high priest, Caiaphas, was the same as the
Devil, and his question was the same as the Devil's
temptation in the wilderness. The Lord also answered him
in the same way.
When the high priest heard the Lord's answer, he tore
his garments and said, "He has blasphemed! What further
need do we have of witnesses? Behold, now you have heard
the blasphemy" (v. 65). After the others said that the Lord
was liable to death, they spit in His face, beat Him with
their fists, slapped Him, and mocked Him (vv. 67-68).
When the Lord was treated this way, He was victoriously
silent. Thus, He was victorious not only before
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the Sanhedrin, but also before Peter, who had followed
Him afar off to the courthouse of the high priest and had
sat down with the deputies to see the end (v. 58). Again we
see here that only the life of Jesus is good for the kingdom.
Even the life of a man as strong and as bold as Peter is not
fit for the kingdom.
V. DENIED BY PETER
Verses 69 and 70 say, "Now Peter sat outside in the
courtyard; and a maid came to him, saying, You also were
with Jesus the Galilean. But he denied before all, saying, I
do not know what you are saying!" Peter could not
withstand even one fragile little female. Peter's denial of
the Lord was an exposure. It seems to me that this one
test was sufficient to expose Peter. But under God's
sovereignty, the environment would not let Peter go until
he was tested to the uttermost, that he might realize he
was absolutely not trustworthy and should no longer have
any confidence in himself. Thus, verses 71 and 72 say that
another maid came to him and said, "This man was with
Jesus the Nazarene. And again he denied with an oath, I
do not know the man!" Finally, those standing by said,
"Surely you also are one of them, for your speech also
makes you known" (v. 73). Then Peter "began to curse and
to swear, I do not know the man!" (v. 74). In his first
denial, Peter said only the word; in his second denial, he
replied with an oath; and in his third denial, he cursed and
swore. After denying the Lord the third time and hearing
the cock crow, Peter remembered the word of the Lord,
and he went out and wept bitterly (v. 75). As the Lord was
suffering an evil and unjust judgment, Peter denied Him.
By denying Him, Peter was exposed to the uttermost.
We should not read this account merely as a story
about Peter, for it reveals that it is impossible for our
natural life to enter into the kingdom. Because we all are
the same as Peter, we should not try to follow the pathway
into the kingdom by our natural life. No matter what kind
of mind or will we may have, we cannot succeed. The test
will come that will fully expose us. Sooner or later, all of us
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on the pathway to the kingdom will face the same tests.
Praise the Lord that there is still the way of repentance,
weeping, and confessing that brings in the Lord's
forgiveness and His further visitation. For the kingdom,
we must have another life and be another person. Only
after we have passed through all the tests and have
suffered all the defeats and failures will we realize our
need for another life.
Praise the Lord for the strong contrast presented in
this chapter! In Peter we see the black, and in the Lord
Jesus we see the white. All the way from the garden to the
cross, Peter and the other disciples were defeated. Only
one man, Jesus, was victorious. Actually, He was not even
arrested; He handed Himself over to those who came for
Him. Thus, His death was not a matter of compulsion, but
a voluntary fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old
Testament concerning His crucifixion. Truly, only the life
of Jesus is good for the kingdom.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE SEVENTY
JUDGED, CRUCIFIED, AND BURIED
In this message we come to chapter twenty-seven of
Matthew. Apparently, this chapter is not related to the
kingdom of the heavens. Actually, it is very much related
to it. If we do not read this chapter in the light of the
kingdom of the heavens, we shall not be able to
understand it adequately.
The first verse of chapter twenty-seven begins with the
word "Now." This word indicates that one thing has been
completed and that another is about to take place. We may
think that chapter twenty-seven is merely a continuation
of chapter twenty-six. But in spiritual significance, chapter
twenty-seven is much different from chapter twenty-six.
The spiritual significance of chapter twenty-six is that it
reveals the life that can succeed in being for the kingdom
and exposes the life that cannot succeed. The spiritual
significance of chapter twenty-seven is that it is related to
righteousness. In 27:19 Pilate's wife referred to the Lord
Jesus as a righteous man, and in verse 24 Pilate himself
called Him a righteous man. In this chapter the Lord
Jesus was treated in a very unrighteous manner.
I. JUDGED BY PILATE
A. Jesus Delivered by the Jewish Religious Leaders to Pilate,
the Roman Governor
Verses 1 and 2 reveal that it was the Jewish religious
leaders who delivered the Lord Jesus to Pilate. Pilate was
a Roman procurator, an agent of Caesar Tiberius in Judea
(Palestine), A.D. 26-35. Not long after he unjustly
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delivered the Lord Jesus up to be crucified, his
government ended abruptly. He was banished and
committed suicide. In their evil conspiracy, the Jewish
religionists persuaded the heathen politician to collaborate
with them to kill the Lord Jesus.
B. The Destiny of Judas
In verses 3 through 10 we read of the destiny of Judas.
When I was young, I was troubled by the fact that this
record of Pilate's judgment upon Christ speaks of the
destiny of Judas. I could not see the relationship between
these two things. Verses 1 and 2 speak of the delivering up
of the Lord Jesus to Pilate by the religious leaders. Then
verse 3 begins the account of Judas' hanging himself.
Verses 3 and 4 say that Judas "repented and returned the
thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,"
saying that he had "sinned in delivering up innocent
blood." Then Judas threw the pieces of silver into the
temple, departed, and hanged himself. The chief priests
took the pieces of silver and, knowing that it was not
lawful to put them into the temple treasury because they
were the price of blood, used them to buy a field as a burial
place for strangers (vv. 6-7). They would not receive back
the price of blood. Actually, what they did to the Lord
Jesus was more evil than Judas' deed. After giving us an
account of all this, in verse 11 Matthew resumes his record
of the judgment of Christ by Pilate.
It is very meaningful that Matthew inserted the record
of the destiny of Judas into his account of Pilate's
judgment of Christ. The record of Judas testifies of
righteousness. Even the betrayer of the Lord Jesus
eventually realized that He was a righteous man and that
what had been done to Him was altogether unrighteous. In
an attempt to be righteous, he threw away the thirty
pieces of silver, for his conscience did not allow him to
keep them. This is righteousness. When Judas returned
the money, the religious leaders seemed to say, "We cannot
keep this money, the price of blood, for the service
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of God. It is better that we use it to buy a parcel of land for
burying strangers." This shows that even the religious
leaders had a formal righteousness. Thus, the concept here
was that of righteousness.
The kingdom of the heavens is built upon
righteousness. In 5:10 the Lord said, "Blessed are those
who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens," and in 5:20 He
said, "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness
surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall by no
means enter into the kingdom of the heavens." In 6:33 the
Lord said to seek first the kingdom and God's
righteousness. These verses reveal that righteousness is
related to the kingdom and that the kingdom is built upon
righteousness. We need to be clear about this if we are to
get into the depth of chapter twenty-seven.
At the time Christ was crucified, the Jews had no legal
right to judge Him or to sentence Him. Although they
could spy on the Lord Jesus regarding certain things, they
did not have the governmental position to judge anyone.
They were simply a religious group, and government was
not under their control. Therefore, the Jewish Sanhedrin
had no governmental authority, and it could not pronounce
judgment regarding justice or injustice, righteousness or
unrighteousness. It could only express religious opinion.
Hence, the actual judgment of the Lord Jesus did not take
place in chapter twenty-six, but in chapter twenty-seven.
C. Jesus before Pilate
In Jesus' answering Pilate, Jesus admitted that He was
the King of the Jews (v. 11). But to the accusation of the
Jewish leaders He answered nothing.
Pilate, the Roman governor, had the position to judge
Christ. In principle, he should have judged Him according
to righteousness. The kingdom of the heavens is based
upon righteousness, but chapter twenty-seven reveals that
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the kingdom of the world is absolutely unrighteous. This
chapter affords a contrast between righteousness and
unrighteousness. The earthly government, the kingdom of
this world, is unrighteous, but the kingdom of the heavens,
is righteous. The Lord Jesus stood before Pilate as the
uniquely righteous One, yet He was condemned to death
by the unrighteous worldly government. Later we shall see
that actually Christ was judged and killed by the righteous
God. Apparently, He was sentenced to death by the
unrighteous worldly government. This sentence was
unrighteous. Actually, He was condemned to death by
God. This sentence was righteous.
The concept here in chapter twenty-seven is rather
deep. In chapter twenty-six we saw a contrast between the
life that can make it to be for the kingdom and the life that
cannot make it. Now in chapter twenty-seven we have a
contrast between righteousness and unrighteousness. The
significance of chapter twenty-seven is that it shows the
contrast between the kingdom of the world and the
kingdom of the heavens. On the side of the kingdom of the
world, there is unrighteousness, but on the side of the
kingdom of the heavens, there is righteousness. On the one
hand, Jesus was sentenced and condemned to die on the
cross in unrighteousness; on the other hand, He was
sentenced to die in righteousness. Both rightly and
wrongly, Jesus was crucified. He was wrongly sentenced
by the unrighteous worldly government. He was righteous
and innocent, as even His betrayer testified. Pilate also
testified that Christ was a righteous man, even washing
his hands to show that he did not want to get involved in
any unrighteousness. As we shall see, the Lord was
sentenced rightly because He was sentenced to die by the
righteous God. Thus, chapter twenty-seven is a chapter
concerning unrighteousness and righteousness.
This contrast implies that the kingdom of the world
cannot stand. The reason it cannot stand is that it is not
built upon righteousness. However, the kingdom of the
heavens and of God is altogether righteous. God's kingdom
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is built upon righteousness. Because of the
unrighteousness of the government of the kingdom of this
world, Christ was wrongly condemned to die.
Nevertheless, actually He was rightly sentenced to death
by the righteousness of God. Thus, this chapter exposes
the unrighteousness of the worldly government, and it
reveals the righteousness of God's government.
According to Roman law, the Sanhedrin acted illegally
in arresting Christ. If Pilate had been just, he would have
stopped the Sanhedrin from doing this. He would have
said, "You have no right to do this because you are just a
religious party. You cannot arrest people and judge them.
This is illegal." Pilate did not say this because he was
unrighteous and fearful. Afraid of the Jewish religious
leaders, Pilate acted against Roman law, which was very
strong. The Roman Empire was famous for its law. But
although the law was strong, the enforcement of the law
was weak. Pilate was not even as righteous as Judas. If
the betrayer of the Lord Jesus was able to say that he had
sold innocent blood, the governor of the kingdom should
have been even more righteous. Nevertheless, Pilate
"washed his hands before the crowd, saying, I am innocent
of the blood of this righteous man" (v. 24). This was a timid
and irresponsible withdrawal. Verse 26 says, "Then he
released to them Barabbas; but Jesus he scourged and
delivered Him up that He might be crucified." This was an
utmost exposure of dark, unjust politics. This injustice
fulfilled Isaiah 53:5 and 8.
When Jesus was appearing before Pilate, Pilate's wife
"sent to him, saying, Have nothing to do with that
righteous man, for I have suffered much today in a dream
because of him" (v. 19). This dream was sovereign of God.
Pilate's wife did not want him to get involved with this
unrighteous matter. According to his conscience, Pilate
also knew that Jesus was righteous and that the Jews
were unrighteous in arresting Him. He also knew that he
should have released this righteous man, but he was
afraid to do this. Accustomed at the time of the feast to
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release to the crowd one prisoner whom they wanted,
Pilate asked, "Which of the two do you want me to release
to you? And they said, Barabbas" (v. 21). Barabbas was a
most sinful criminal. No doubt, Pilate intended to release
Jesus and to keep Barabbas. But the people wanted him to
release Barabbas and to crucify Jesus. Pilate seemed to be
saying, "You ask me to release the most sinful criminal
and to crucify the innocent one." Verse 23 says, "But he
said, Why, what evil has he done? But they cried out the
more, saying, Let him be crucified!" Pilate was subdued by
the voices of the crowd. In order to appease his conscience,
he "took water and washed his hands before the crowd,
saying, I am innocent of the blood of this righteous man;
you see to it" (v. 24). Then the people answered and said,
"His blood be on us and on our children!" (v. 25). Thus,
Pilate released Barabbas, but scourged Jesus and
delivered Him up that He might be crucified. What a
portrait this is of unrighteousness!
The Jewish death penalty was by stoning (Lev. 20:2,
27; 24:23; Deut. 13:10; 17:5). Crucifixion was a heathen
practice (Ezra 6:11), adopted by the Romans for the
execution of slaves and heinous criminals only. To crucify
the Lord Jesus was not only a fulfillment of the Old
Testament (Deut. 21:23; Gal. 3:13; Num. 21:8-9), but also
of the Lord's own word concerning the mode of His death
(John 3:14; 8:28; 12:32), which could not have been
fulfilled by stoning.
II. CRUCIFIED BY MEN
A. Mocked by the Roman Soldiers
Verses 27 through 32 show how the Lord Jesus was
mocked by the heathen soldiers. They stripped Him and
put on Him a scarlet robe (v. 28). Verse 29 says, "And
having woven a crown of thorns, they placed it on His
head, and a reed in His right hand; and they kneeled
before Him and mocked Him saying, Hail, King of the
Jews! " Thorns are a symbol of the curse (Gen. 3:17-18).
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The Lord Jesus became a curse for us on the cross (Gal.
3:13). After spitting on the Lord, beating Him on His head,
and mocking Him, they took the robe off Him put His
garments on Him, and led Him away to be crucified (vv.
30-31). The Lord here, as the Passover Lamb to be
sacrificed for our sins, was brought like a lamb to the
slaughter, fulfilling Isaiah 53:7-8.
B. Simon the Cyrene Being Compelled to Bear His
Cross
Verse 32 says, "And as they were coming out, they
found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name; this man they
compelled to bear His cross." Cyrene was the Greek
colonial city, the capital of Cyrenaica in North Africa. It
seems that Simon was a Cyrenian Jew.
C. Brought to Golgotha
Verses 33 through 44 reveal how the Lord was mocked
by men and killed. Verse 33 says, "And coming to a place
called Golgotha, which is called Place of a Skull." Golgotha
is a Hebrew name (John 19:17) which means skull (Mark
15:22). Its equivalent in Latin is Calvaria, anglicized into
Calvary (Luke 23:33). It does not mean a place of dead
men's skulls, but simply skull.
D. Given Wine Mingled with Gall
Verse 34 says, "They gave Him wine to drink mingled
with gall; and having tasted it, He would not drink." The
wine mingled with gall (and also with myrrh--Mark 15:23)
was intended as a stupefying draught. But the Lord would
not be stupefied; He would drink the bitter cup to the
dregs.
E. Crucified
Verse 35 says, "And when they had crucified Him, they
divided His garments among them, casting lots." The Lord
suffered the sinners' robbery to the uttermost, fulfilling
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Psalm 22:18. This also exposed the darkness of Roman
politics.
F. Labeled King of the Jews as an Accusation
Although the Jewish leaders rejected the Lord Jesus as
their King, it was sovereign of God that they set up above
His head as a charge "the King of the Jews" (v. 37).
G. Two Robbers at His Side
Verse 38 says, "Then two robbers were crucified with
Him, one on the right hand and one on the left." This was
for the fulfillment of Isaiah 53:9.
H. Blasphemed and Mocked
Verses 39 and 40 say, "And those who were passing by
blasphemed Him, wagging their heads, and saying, You
who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save
yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the
cross!" This was a repetition of the Devil's temptation in
the wilderness. The chief priests, scribes, and elders also
mocked Him by saying, "He saved others; himself he
cannot save! He is king of Israel, let him come down now
from the cross, and we will believe on him" (v. 42). If He
could have saved Himself, He could not have saved us.
I. Reproached by the Robbers Crucified with Him
When the Lord was crucified, even the robbers crucified
with Him reproached Him as the others did. In 27:1-44 we
see what unrighteous man did to the righteous One. He
was mocked, beaten, and crucified. Pilate and all the
mockers and persecutors were unrighteous. Even the
soldiers of the Roman Empire were unrighteous. If any of
them had been righteous, they would not have done
anything to the Lord Jesus. The fact that they did
something to this righteous One proves that they were
unrighteous.
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III. JUDGED BY GOD
A. Forsaken by God
Although man was unrighteous, beginning in verse 45
God came in in a righteous way. This verse says, "Now
from the sixth hour darkness came over all the land until
the ninth hour." The sixth hour is our 12 noon, and the
ninth is our 3 p.m. The Lord was crucified at the third
hour, our 9 a.m. (Mark 15:25). He was suffering on the
cross for six hours. In the first three hours, He was
persecuted by men for doing God's will; in the last three
hours, He was judged by God for the accomplishment of
our redemption. It was during this time that God counted
Him as our suffering substitute for sin (Isa. 53:10). Hence,
darkness came over all the land because our sin and sins
and all negative things were dealt with there, and God
forsook Him {v. 46) because of our sin.
By the time of verse 45, men had exhausted their
deeds. They had done everything they could. At that time,
God came in to judge this crucified Savior and to forsake
Him. Verse 46 says, "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried
out with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?
that is, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? God
forsook Christ on the cross because He took the place of
sinners (1 Pet. 3:18), bearing our sins (1 Pet. 2:24; Isa.
53:6) and being made sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21).
According to the four Gospels, the Lord Jesus was on
the cross exactly six hours. During the first three hours,
men did many unrighteous things to Him. They persecuted
and mocked Him. Thus, in the first three hours the Lord
suffered man's unrighteous treatment. But at the sixth
hour, twelve noon, God came in, and there was darkness
over all the land until the ninth hour, until three o'clock in
the afternoon. This darkness was God's doing. In the midst
of this darkness, the Lord cried out the words quoted in
verse 46. When the Lord was suffering the persecution of
man, God was with Him, and He enjoyed the presence of
God. But at the end of the last three hours,
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God forsook Him, and darkness came. Unable to tolerate
this, the Lord shouted loudly, "My God, My God, why have
You forsaken Me?" As we have pointed out. God forsook
Him because He was our substitute bearing our sins.
Isaiah 53 reveals that this was the time God put our sins
on Him. In the three hours from twelve noon to three
o'clock in the afternoon the righteous God put all our sins
upon this substitute and judged Him righteously for our
sins. God forsook Him because during these hours He was
a sinner there on the cross; He was even made sin. On the
one hand, the Lord bore our sins; on the other hand, He
was made sin for us. Therefore, God judged Him. This was
altogether a matter of righteousness.
B. Mocked by Being Given Vinegar to Quench His
Thirst
Close to the end of His crucifixion, people still mocked
Him by giving Him vinegar to quench His thirst (vv. 48-49;
John 19:28-30; Luke 23:36).
C. Dismissing the Spirit
Verse 50 says, "And Jesus cried out again with a loud
voice and dismissed the spirit." This was to give up His
spirit (John 19:30), indicating that the Lord voluntarily
yielded up His life (Mark 15:37; Luke 23:46). The Lord
Jesus was not killed, but willingly yielded up His life. He
gave His life for us, and He died.
IV. THE EFFECT OF HIS DEATH
A. The Veil of the Temple Torn from Top to Bottom
Verses 51 through 56 reveal the effect of Christ's
crucifixion. Verse 51 says, "And behold, the veil of the
temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom." This
signifies that the separation between God and man was
abolished, because the flesh (signified by the veil) of sin
taken by Christ (Rom. 8:3) had been crucified (Heb. 10:20).
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The words "from the top to the bottom" indicate that the
rending of the veil was God's doing from above. Because
sin had been judged and the flesh of sin had been crucified,
the separation between God and man was taken away.
Now the way to enter into the presence of God is open for
us. What a wonderful effect of the Lord's death! His death
was not martyrdom; it was an act of redemption.
B. The Earth Shakes and the Rocks Split
Verse 51 also says that "the earth was shaken and the
rocks were split." The shaking of the earth signifies that
the base of Satan's rebellion has been shaken, and the
splitting of the rocks signifies that the strongholds of
Satan's earthly kingdom have been broken. Hallelujah, the
Lord's death tore the veil, shook the base of Satan's
rebellion, and broke the strongholds of Satan's kingdom!
What a death! Praise the Lord for His death! Because
God's righteousness was fully satisfied, Christ's death
could be so effective.
C. The Tombs Opened and the Bodies of Many
Saints Raised
Verses 52 and 53 say, "And the tombs were opened;
and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were
raised; and coming out of the tombs after His rising, they
entered into the holy city and appeared to many." The
opening of the tombs signifies that the power of death and
Hades has been conquered and subdued, and the raising of
the bodies of the saints signifies the releasing power of the
death of Christ. Verse 53 says that they came out of the
tombs after His rising, entered into the holy city, and
appeared to many. In typology, the firstfruits of the
harvest were not a single stalk of wheat, but a sheaf of
wheat, typifying not only the resurrected Christ, but also
the saints who were raised from the dead after His
resurrection, as revealed here. Where the saints went after
they appeared to many, we have no way to trace. The
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Roman centurion and guards testified that Jesus was truly
God's Son when they saw what happened at the death of
Christ (v. 54). Many women, including Mary the
Magdalene, Mary, the mother of the Lord Jesus, the
mother of the sons of Zebedee, and others, witnessed these
happening.
V. BURIED BY A RICH MAN
Verses 57 through 66 reveal that the Lord Jesus was
buried by a rich man. The Lord Jesus was wrapped in a
clean linen cloth and laid in a new tomb (vv. 59-60). Mary
the Magdalene and the other Mary sat opposite the grave
to witness the burial. This kind of burial was for the
fulfillment of Isaiah 53:9. This righteous One was surely
worthy of such a burial.
After the Lord Jesus was buried, the chief priests and
the Pharisees came to Pilate and asked him to secure the
grave until the third day (vv. 62-64). Verses 65 and 66 say,
"Pilate said to them, You have a guard; go, make it as
secure as you know how. And they went and secured the
grave with the guard, sealing the stone." This was
intended by the opposing Jewish leaders as a negative
precaution, but it turned out to be a strong positive
testimony of the Lord's resurrection. Without such a
sealing, the resurrection of Christ would not have been as
significant.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE SEVENTY-ONE
MAN'S UNRIGHTEOUSNESS AND GOD'S
RIGHTEOUSNESS
In Matthew 27 we see a contrast between man's
unrighteousness and God's righteousness. In the
crucifixion of Christ, man's unrighteousness turns into
God's righteousness. We need to see this matter very
clearly.
MAN'S UNRIGHTEOUSNESS
As we pointed out in the previous message, the Lord
Jesus was on the cross for six hours. During the first three
hours, He was dealt with by man, and during the second
three hours, He was dealt with by God. Everything man
did to the Lord Jesus in chapter twenty-seven was
unrighteous. Not only was Pilate unrighteous toward the
Lord Jesus, but the Jewish leaders were also unrighteous
toward Him. They arrested Christ in an unrighteous way,
and they also judged and bound Him in an unrighteous
way. Everything the religious leaders did to the Lord was
unrighteous. Judas, of course, was also unrighteous in
betraying the Lord Jesus. The Roman soldiers also treated
Him unrighteously. Their mocking, spitting, and beating
were unrighteous. Furthermore, they unrighteously forced
Simon of Cyrene to bear the Lord's cross. Thus, on man's
side, there was nothing righteous.
MAN'S UNRIGHTEOUSNESS TURNING INTO GOD'S
RIGHTEOUSNESS
Praise God that man's unrighteousness turned into
God's righteousness! Man could only go so far. He could
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mistreat the Lord and put Him on the cross as the
Passover Lamb. Everything man did to the Lord Jesus set
the stage for God's righteousness to come in. On man's
side, everything was black, but on God's side, everything
was white. On man's side, everything was unrighteous, but
on God's side, everything was righteous. Man's
unrighteousness prepared the way for God's righteousness
to be fully manifested. In this way, man's unrighteousness
turned into God's righteousness. In the crucifixion of
Christ, man's unrighteousness was fully exposed; yet it
brought in God's righteousness. Thus, the killing of Christ
was the first way through which man's unrighteousness
brought in God's righteousness.
CHRIST EXPOSING MAN'S UNRIGHTEOUSNESS
However, this was not the basic way. The basic way in
which man's unrighteousness turned into God's
righteousness was through Christ. In turning man's
unrighteousness into God's righteousness, Christ first
exposed man's unrighteousness to the uttermost. In all of
human history there has not been a case in which man's
unrighteousness has been as totally exposed as in the
crucifixion of Christ. As we all know, there is
unrighteousness in the judicial branch of any earthly
government. But no earthly court has seen as much
unrighteousness as was exposed in the case of the trial
and crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus
completely exposed human unrighteousness. We have seen
that the Lord's betrayal at the hands of Judas was
unrighteous. The elders, the high priests, and the
Sanhedrin all were unrighteous. Thus, the case of the
crucifixion of Christ was unique in being filled with
unrighteousness. Nearly everyone involved with His case
was unrighteous. In every way and in every aspect, it was
unrighteous. The very presence of Christ in this
unrighteous situation was a full exposure of man's
unrighteousness.
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CHRIST BEARING MAN'S UNRIGHTEOUSNESS
Secondly, the Christ who exposed man's
unrighteousness to the uttermost also bore all the
unrighteousness He had exposed. He firstly exposed man's
unrighteousness and then He bore it on the cross. This is
like housecleaning. If you do not clean, you may not see
the dust hidden under the furniture. In cleaning a room
the dust is firstly exposed. Then it is swept into the
dustpan. Likewise, on the day of the Passover, the Lord
Jesus firstly exposed all the "dust," all of man's
unrighteousness. Then He cleaned up the "dust" He had
exposed. Oh, the very presence of the Lord Jesus exposed
every particle of hidden "dust" in the whole universe.
Eventually, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself became the
"dustpan," and all the "dust" was collected upon Him.
During the first three hours He was on the cross, the time
of man's dealing with Him, all the sins, all the
unrighteousness, all the universal dust, were put on Him.
As He hung there on the cross, He was the universal
"dustpan" into which all the "dust" in the universe had
been gathered. Thus, after all man's unrighteousness had
been exposed, it was borne by Christ on the cross. This
made everything ready for the righteous God to come in to
judge the unrighteous ones and all their unrighteousness.
Without the black, the white could not be clearly
manifest. Because all the "dust," all man's
unrighteousness, was put on the cross, the stage was
prepared for God's righteousness to be revealed. If there
had not been so much unrighteousness, it would not have
been possible for so much righteousness to be manifested.
The complete unrighteousness of mankind was heaped
upon the Lord on the cross so that God's righteousness
could be manifested. The righteous God came in to exercise
His righteousness by judging all this unrighteousness.
This is the reason that through Christ man's
unrighteousness eventually turned into God's
righteousness. By this we have been saved.
Christ was the turning point. Man's unrighteousness
turned into God's righteousness through Christ. Firstly,
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Christ exposed man's unrighteousness. and then for
judgment by God's righteousness He bore upon Himself all
of man's unrighteousness that He had exposed. Today are
you still in man's unrighteousness, or are you now under
God's righteousness? Hallelujah, we, the saved ones, are
under God's righteousness!
GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS IN THE GOSPEL
This matter of righteousness is a crucial aspect of the
truth of the gospel. This is very basic, for it is our ground
and basis for being saved. Our salvation rests upon the
solid rock of God's righteousness. Romans 1:16 and 17 say,
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel; for it is the power of
God unto salvation to every one who believes, both to Jew
first and to Greek. For the righteousness of God is
revealed in it out of faith to faith." Because of God's
righteousness, the gospel is powerful to save everyone who
believes in the Lord Jesus. The gospel of Christ is so
powerful not because of God's love nor because of God's
grace, but because of God's righteousness.
Legally speaking, both love and grace can fluctuate,
but righteousness, especially God's righteousness, cannot.
Madame Guyon once said that even if God wanted to
change His mind regarding her salvation, He could not do
it because He had already judged her on the cross.
Through Christ our substitute, we have already been
judged according to righteousness on the cross. Therefore,
God must save us. God is a just God. Because He has
already righteously dealt with us judicially, He is now
obligated to save us. We can boldly say to Him, "God, I do
not speak now of Your love or of Your grace, but of Your
righteousness. I appeal to You regarding Your
righteousness. According to Your righteousness, You must
save me. If You do not save me, it means that You are
unrighteous." If we say this to God, He will reply, "I surely
must save you."
Nothing binds God as much as His righteousness.
Psalm 89:14 says, "Righteousness and justice are the
foundation of thy throne" (A.S.V.). If God's righteousness
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could be taken away, His throne would be cast down. We
can say, "Praise the Lord! Even if God wants to change His
mind, He cannot do it because He is a just God!" How
meaningful this is!
RIGHTEOUSNESS, LOVE, AND GRACE
Righteousness, or justice, is a judicial matter. Love, on
the contrary, is a matter of the emotion. If I love you, I
may choose to pay attention to you. But if I do not love
you, I may simply forget about you. Many Christians like
to quote John 3:16, the verse that says that God so loved
the world that He gave His only begotten Son. Yes, God
has so loved the world, but His love is not as firm as His
righteousness. God, of course, will not change in His love.
But suppose His love did change. God has the right to
change in His love, but He does not have the right to
change in His righteousness. Whether God loves us or
gives us up, He is not wrong. He also would not be wrong
in showing grace to us or in not showing grace to us. Grace
is a matter of God's wish. In Matthew 20 the Lord told
Peter that He wanted to give the same reward to the last
as to the first. This is a matter of the Lord's wish, and
there is nothing wrong with it. But righteousness is a
matter neither of emotion nor of wish, it is a judicial
matter. A judicial matter is related to the execution of the
law, to legislation. God's gospel is altogether a judicial
matter, a matter of divine legislation. God has saved us
judicially. Of course, God's salvation is initiated by His
love and accomplished through His grace. Eventually,
however, it issues in His righteousness. Therefore, the
salvation we have received today is not merely a matter of
love or of grace, but also a judicial matter of God's
righteousness. Our salvation has been sealed and
confirmed by God's righteousness. Now not even God
Himself can change our salvation.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD BUILT UPON RIGHTEOUSNESS
It is upon this righteousness that the kingdom of God is
built. Have you seen the contrast between man's
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unrighteousness and God's righteousness, between man's
kingdom and God's kingdom? Man's kingdom is not built
upon righteousness. This fact was fully exposed in the way
Pilate, the Roman governor, dealt with the Lord Jesus. In
chapter twenty-six Matthew fully exposed the weakness of
Peter's natural life, and in chapter twenty-seven he
exposed man's unrighteousness. Man's unrighteousness is
even seen after the burial of Christ. The chief priests and
the Pharisees gathered together to Pilate and said to him,
"Sir, we remembered that that deceiver said, while he was
still living, After three days I will arise. Command
therefore that the grave be secured until the third day lest
the disciples come and steal him away and say to the
people, He was raised from the dead; and the last
deception will be worse than the first" (27:63-64). Pilate
replied, "You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you
know how" (v. 65). Pilate's answer to the chief priests and
Pharisees was unrighteous. Later in 28:11-15, the chief
priests and the elders bribed the soldiers, paying them to
lie about the resurrection of Christ. This shows that the
Roman soldiers also were unrighteous. Thus, regarding
man's government, the record is filled with
unrighteousness. This exposes the fact that man's
government is built upon unrighteousness. But God's
government is built upon righteousness. Righteousness is
the solid foundation of God's kingdom. We are saved under
God's righteousness. Therefore, the foundation of our
salvation is solid.
In chapter twenty-seven we have seen man's
unrighteousness and God's righteousness. Praise the Lord
that eventually man's unrighteousness turned into God's
righteousness! We used to be in man's unrighteousness,
but now we are under God's righteousness and in God's
kingdom. God's kingdom is the kingdom of righteousness,
and we are the righteous people in His kingdom.
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LIFE-STUDY OF MATTHEW
MESSAGE SEVENTY-TWO
THE KING'S VICTORY
In this message we come to the King's victory recorded
in 28:1-20. Compared to chapters twenty-six and twenty-
seven, chapter twenty-eight is short and simple. When we
are in resurrection, everything is simple.
I. RESURRECTED
The resurrection of Christ was a matter of God's
righteousness. Have you ever considered the resurrection
of Christ in this light? God was righteous to come in to
judge Christ as our substitute on the cross. This judgment
of Christ on the cross was just and righteous. By being
judged by God, Christ fulfilled all the requirements of
God's righteousness. He bore our sins on the cross to fully
meet all the righteous requirements of God. Thus, through
Christ's death on the cross, God's righteousness has been
wholly satisfied. In other words, the righteous God was
judicially satisfied with Christ's death on the cross.
Therefore, Christ was buried in a new tomb that belonged
to a rich man. This indicates that immediately after
Christ's judicial death and immediately after the
satisfaction of God's righteous requirements, Christ rested
as the fulfillment of the prophecy of the Scriptures.
After Christ was buried, God was held responsible in
His righteousness to release Christ from among the dead.
Not many Christians realize this. Most think that the
resurrection of Christ was only a matter of the divine
power of God's life. Few realize that the resurrection of
Christ was not only a matter of power, but also a matter of
righteousness. If God had not raised Christ up after His
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death on the cross to satisfy all the requirements of God's
righteousness, God would have not been righteous. It was
righteous for God to release Christ from death. According
to His righteousness, God had to judge Christ on the cross
because Christ was bearing all our unrighteousness. But
after God had judged Christ in full, God's righteousness
held Him responsible to release Christ from death and to
raise Him up from among the dead.
In the Gospel of John there is the concept that Christ
was resurrected by the power of an endless life. But this is
not the concept of Christ's resurrection in the Gospel of
Matthew. The concept in Matthew regarding Christ's
resurrection is that it is related to God's righteousness.
John is a book on life, and life is a matter of power. But
Matthew is a book on the kingdom, and the kingdom is a
matter of righteousness. Therefore, according to Matthew,
for Christ to be raised from the dead meant that God
released Him according to His righteousness. Thus, Christ
was both righteously judged and put to death and
righteously raised up from the dead.
Eventually, Christ became not only the powerful King,
but also the righteous King. If you read the prophecies
concerning Christ's kingship, you will see that His
kingship is not very much related to power, but that it is
closely related to righteousness and justice. Kingship is
not a matter of power; it is a matter of righteousness. The
heavenly Savior-King was righteously judged by God on
the cross, and He was righteously raised up from the dead
by Him to become the righteous King. He is altogether
righteous. He is the righteous King for God's righteous
kingdom.
We need to have this concept as we read Matthew 28.
In this chapter we cannot find a hint that the resurrection
of Christ is related to power. However, if we read carefully,
we can find that it is related to righteousness. Perhaps you
have wondered why in this chapter, a chapter concerned
with Christ's resurrection, Matthew includes the account
of the bribery of the Roman soldiers (vv. 11-
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15). This is mentioned for the purpose of exposing man's
unrighteousness. The opposite of unrighteousness is not
power, but righteousness. Because of His righteousness,
God was held responsible to raise Christ up from the dead.
Therefore, Christ's resurrection was according to God's
righteousness. This was the reason that Matthew inserted
the historical account of the bribery of the soldiers. No
other Gospel mentions this. Matthew includes it to show
that Christ's resurrection was related to God's
righteousness, which is versus man's unrighteousness.
Again I say that it is difficult to find in chapter twenty-
eight any hint that Christ's resurrection was related to
power or to life.
At this point we need to consider Romans 4:25. This
verse says, "Who was delivered because of our offenses and
was raised because of our justification." This verse links
resurrection with righteousness. The Bible makes
resurrection not only a matter of power, but also a matter
of righteousness. Not only was God's righteousness
manifested in raising Christ from the dead, but we were
justified because of Christ's resurrection. Therefore,
Christ's resurrection is a proof both of God's righteousness
and of our justification. Hallelujah, in Christ's resurrection
God is the righteous God, and we are the justified people!
We have seen that resurrection is very closely related
to God's righteousness. The kingdom of the heavens is
built and established upon God's righteousness, which
held God responsible to raise up the righteous Redeemer
and to make us righteous. Hence, Christ's resurrection is a
realm of righteousness. In the sphere of Christ's
resurrection, God is the righteous God, and we are the
justified people of God. Here we have the kingdom.
Many Christians today know only the kingdom of love
or the kingdom of grace. In other words, they are familiar
only with the realm of love and grace. They have no
understanding of the realm of God's righteousness. But
God's righteousness, not His love or grace, is the
foundation of God's kingdom. The kingdom of the heavens
is built not upon God's love or grace, but upon His
righteousness. How precious, necessary, and vital the
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righteousness of God is! It is absolutely necessary for the
kingdom life. If we realize this, the churches in the Lord's
recovery will be greatly strengthened. Hallelujah, our
kingly Savior has been resurrected through the
righteousness of God!
A. On the First Day of the Week
Let us now consider some of the details of Christ's
resurrection as presented in chapter twenty-eight of
Matthew. Verse 1 says, "Now late on the Sabbath, as it
began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary the
Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave."
Christ was resurrected on the first day of the week. This
signifies that His resurrection brought a new start with a
new age for the kingdom of the heavens.
B. Discovered by Mary the Magdalene and the Other
Mary
The resurrection of Christ was firstly discovered by two
sisters, Mary the Magdalene and the other Mary. They
discovered it by loving the Lord to the uttermost. Then
they became the first two witnesses of the Lord's
resurrection.
C. Pointed Out by the Angel
Christ's resurrection was pointed out by an angel (vv.
2-7). Verse 2 says, "And behold, there was a great
earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended out of
heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon
it." The earthquake signifies that the earth, the base of
Satan's rebellion, has been shaken by the Lord's
resurrection. The angel came to confirm the Lord's
resurrection by rolling away the stone that was sealed and
to explain the resurrection to His seekers. The coming of
the angel, which terrified the guards, indicates the power
of the heavens. All this implies the authority mentioned in
verse
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According to verses 5 and 6, the angel said to the
women, "Fear not, for I know that you seek Jesus, Who
has been crucified. He is not here, for He was raised, as He
said." What good news this was! What glad tidings!
Verse 7 says, "And go quickly and tell His disciples that
He was raised from the dead, and behold, He goes before
you into Galilee; there you shall see Him. Behold, I have
told you." As the heavenly King began His ministry from
Galilee of the Gentiles (4:12-17), not from Jerusalem, the
holy city of the Jewish religion, so after His resurrection,
He would still go to Galilee, not to Jerusalem. This
strongly indicated that the resurrected King had fully
abandoned Judaism and initiated a new era for God's
economy of the New Testament.
D. Meeting with Mary the Magdalene and the Other
Mary
According to verses 8 through 10, the resurrected
Christ met with Mary the Magdalene and the other Mary.
Verse 8 says, "And going away quickly from the tomb with
fear and great joy, they ran to bring word to His disciples."
They went away with fear because of the great earthquake
and with great joy because of the Lord's resurrection.
Verse 9 says that the Lord Jesus met them and that they
"came and took hold of His feet and worshipped Him." This
transpired after the Lord's appearing to Mary the
Magdalene (John 20:14-18).
E. Rumors of the Jewish Leaders
Verses 11 through 15 indicate that the Jewish leaders
with the Roman soldiers spread a false rumor about
Christ's resurrection. They gave the soldiers a large sum of
money to say that the Lord's disciples came by night and
stole Him away while the guards slept. This word from the
mouth of the religious leaders was a bare lie, indicating
the lowest standard and falsehood of their religion. In
verse 14 they said to the soldiers, "And if this
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be heard by the governor, we will persuade him and free
you from worry." The evil religionists always persuade the
evil politicians to carry out falsehood. Verse 15 indicates
that this false saying "was spread abroad among the Jews
until this day." As the lie concerning the Lord's
resurrection was spread abroad, so were the rumors
concerning His followers and His church after His
resurrection (Acts 24:5-9; 25:7).
II. REIGNING
A. The Disciples Going to Galilee to Meet with Him on the
Mountain
Verse 16 says, "But the eleven disciples went into
Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus appointed them."
The constitution of the kingdom was decreed on a
mountain, the heavenly King's transfiguration transpired
on a high mountain, and the prophecy concerning this age
was also given on a mountain. Now, for God's economy of
the New Testament, the disciples needed to go to the
mountain again. Only on the high level of a mountain can
we realize the New Testament economy.
B. Appearing to the Disciples and Being Worshipped
by Them
Verse 17 continues, "And when they saw Him, they
worshipped Him, but some doubted." When the disciples
saw the resurrected King, they did nothing but worship
Him; yet some among them still doubted, or hesitated,
wavered, in recognizing Him in His resurrection.
C. Declaring that All Authority Has Been Given to
Him in Heaven and on Earth
Verse 18 says, "And Jesus came and spoke to them,
saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and
on earth." In His divinity as the only begotten Son of God,
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the Lord had authority over all. However, in His humanity
as the Son of Man to be the King of the heavenly kingdom,
all authority in heaven and on earth was given to Him
after His resurrection.
Matthew's account of the resurrection is very different
from John's. According to John's record, after His
resurrection the Lord met with His disciples in a room
where the doors had been shut (John 20:19). The disciples
were frightened, being afraid of the Jews. Because they
needed to be strengthened by life, the Lord came to them
as life, breathed upon them, and told them to receive the
holy breath (John 20:22). How different is Matthew's
account! According to Matthew, the Lord charged the
disciples to go to a mountain in Galilee. Surely He met
with them on that mountain during the day, not during
the night. Furthermore, when He met with them on the
mountain, He did not breathe upon them and tell them to
receive the holy breath. Instead, He said, "All authority
has been given to Me in heaven and on earth." In Matthew
it is not a matter of breath, but a matter of authority.
John's concern was for life, and life requires breath. But
Matthew's concern was for the kingdom, and the kingdom
requires authority. The Gospel of John reveals that we
need life to care for the little lambs and to feed the Lord's
flock. But in Matthew 28 there is no word about feeding
the lambs. In Matthew the Lord commands the disciples to
disciple all the nations (v. 19) to make all the nations part
of the kingdom. This requires authority. Therefore, in
John resurrection is a matter of life, power, breath, and
shepherding. However, in Matthew it is a matter of
righteousness, authority, and discipling the nations.
D. Charging the Disciples to Go and Disciple All the
Nations
Verse 19 says, "Go therefore and disciple all the
nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Because all authority
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had been given to Him, the heavenly King sent His
disciples to go and disciple all the nations. They go with
His authority. To disciple the nations is to cause the
heathen to become the kingdom people for the
establishment of His kingdom, which is the church, even
today on this earth.
Notice that the Lord did not charge the disciples to
preach the gospel, but to disciple the nations. The
difference between preaching the gospel and discipling the
nations is that to preach the gospel is simply to bring
sinners to salvation, but to disciple the nations is to cause
the Gentiles to become the kingdom people. We have been
sent by the Lord not only to bring people to salvation, but
also to disciple the nations. This is a matter of the
kingdom.
In verse 19 the Lord speaks of baptizing the nations
into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit. Baptism is to bring the repentant people out of
their old state into a new one, by terminating their old life
and germinating them with the new life of Christ, that
they may become the kingdom people. John the Baptist's
recommending ministry began with the preliminary
baptism by water only. Now, after the heavenly King
accomplished His ministry on earth, passed through the
process of death and resurrection, and became the life-
giving Spirit, He charged His disciples to baptize the
discipled people into the Triune God. This baptism has two
aspects: the visible aspect by water and the invisible
aspect by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38, 41; 10:44-48). The
visible aspect is the expression, the testimony, of the
invisible aspect; whereas the invisible aspect is the reality
of the visible aspect. Without the invisible aspect by the
Spirit, the visible aspect by water is vain; and without the
visible aspect by water, the invisible aspect by the Spirit is
abstract and impractical. Both are needed. Not long after
the Lord charged the disciples with this baptism, He
baptized them and the entire church in the Holy Spirit (1
Cor. 12:13) on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1:5; 2:4) and in
the house of Cornelius (Acts 11:15-17). Then, based upon
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this, the disciples baptized the new converts (Acts 2:38),
not only visibly into water, but also invisibly into the
death of Christ (Rom. 6:3-4), into Christ Himself (Gal.
3:27), into the Triune God (Matt. 28:19), and into the Body
of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13). The water, signifying the death of
Christ with His burial, may be considered as a tomb to
terminate the old history of the baptized ones. Since the
death of Christ is included in Christ, since Christ is the
very embodiment of the Triune God, and since the Triune
God is one with the Body of Christ, so to baptize new
believers into the death of Christ, into Christ Himself, into
the Triune God, and into the Body of Christ is to do just
one thing: on the negative side to terminate their old life,
and on the positive side to germinate them with a new life,
the eternal life of the Triune God, for the Body of Christ.
Hence, the baptism ordained by the Lord here is to baptize
people out of their life into the Body life for the kingdom of
the heavens.
The word "into" in verse 19 indicates union, as in
Romans 6:3; Galatians 3:27; and 1 Corinthians 12:13. The
same Greek word is used in Acts 8:16; 19:3, 5; and 1
Corinthians 1:13, 15. To baptize people into the name of
the Triune God is to bring them into spiritual and mystical
union with Him.
There is one name for the Trinity. The name is the sum
total of the divine Being, equivalent to His Person. To
baptize anyone into the name of the Trinity is to immerse
him into all the Triune God is.
Matthew and John are the two books in which the
Trinity is more fully revealed, for the participation and
enjoyment of God's chosen people, than in all the other
books of Scripture. John unveils the mystery of the
Godhead in the Father, Son, and Spirit, especially in
chapters fourteen through sixteen, for our experience of
life; whereas Matthew discloses the reality of the Trinity
in the one name for all Three, for the constitution of the
kingdom. In the opening chapter of Matthew, the Holy
Spirit (v. 18), Christ (the Son--v. 18), and God (the Father--
v. 23) are upon the scene for the producing of the man
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Jesus (v. 21), who, as Jehovah the Savior and God with us,
is the very embodiment of the Triune God. In chapter
three Matthew presents a picture of the Son standing in
the water of baptism under the open heaven, the Spirit as
a dove descending upon the Son, and the Father out of the
heavens speaking to the Son (vv. 16-17). In chapter twelve,
the Son, in the person of man, cast out demons by the
Spirit to bring in the kingdom of God the Father (v. 28). In
chapter sixteen, the Son is revealed by the Father to the
disciples for the building of the church, which is the life-
pulse of the kingdom (vv. 16-19). In chapter seventeen, the
Son entered into transfiguration (v. 2) and was confirmed
by the Father's word of delight (v. 5) for a miniature
display of the manifestation of the kingdom (16:28).
Eventually, in the closing chapter, after Christ, as the last
Adam, had passed through the process of crucifixion,
entered into the realm of resurrection, and become the life-
giving Spirit, He came back to His disciples, in the
atmosphere and reality of His resurrection, to charge them
to cause the heathen to become the kingdom people by
baptizing them into the name, the Person, the reality, of
the Trinity. Later, in the Acts and the Epistles, it is
disclosed that to baptize people into the name of the
Father, Son, and Spirit is to baptize them into the name of
Christ (Acts 8:16; 19:5, Gk.), and that to baptize them into
the name of Christ is to baptize them into Christ the
Person (Gal. 3:27; Rom. 6:3), for Christ is the embodiment
of the Triune God, and He, as the life-giving Spirit, is
available any time and any place for people to be baptized
into Him. Such a baptism into the reality of the Father,
Son, and Spirit, according to Matthew, is for the
constitution of the kingdom of the heavens. The heavenly
kingdom cannot be organized with human beings of flesh
and blood (1 Cor. 15:60) as an earthly society; it can only
be constituted with people who are immersed into the
union with the Triune God and who are established and
built up with the Triune God who is wrought into them.
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E. Promising to Be with the Disciples All the Days
until the Consummation of the Age
In verse 20 the Lord told His disciples, "Behold, I am
with you all the days until the consummation of the age."
The heavenly King is Emmanuel, God with us (1:23). Here
He promised to be with us in His resurrection with all
authority all the days until the consummation of the age,
that is, until the end of this age. Hence, wherever we are
gathered into His name, He is in our midst (18:20).
In the four Gospels, the Lord's ascension is recorded
only in Mark (16:19) and Luke (24:51). John testifies that
the Lord, as the Son of God, even God Himself, is life to
His believers. As such, He can never leave them and would
never leave them. Matthew proves that He, as Emmanuel,
is the heavenly King who is with His people continually
until He comes back. Hence, in both John and Matthew,
the Lord's ascension is not mentioned.
As the King in the kingdom with the kingdom people,
the Lord is with us all the days until the consummation of
the age. Today is included in all the days. The Lord is with
us today, and He will be with us tomorrow. Not one day
will be an exception. He will be with us until the
consummation of the age. This refers to the end of this
age, which will be the time of the Lord's parousia, the
Lord's coming. The consummation of the age, the end of
the age, will be the great tribulation. We do not want to be
here during that time. Rather, we prefer to be raptured
into the Lord's parousia, into His presence. This is a
matter of the kingdom.
In the Lord's resurrection with His righteousness the
kingdom is present, and we have the authority,
commission, and position, to disciple the nations. In this
way the kingdom is spreading.