Southern Christian University
Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John
Class Session 07
James A. Turner
Please turn to Matthew chapter ten for our
beginning place. In the first part of
chapter ten, we read about Jesus sending forth his disciples, the twelve
apostles, and giving them instruction.
And this is referred to by many as the limited commission, because they
were not to go in the way of the Gentiles or even into the cities of the
Samaritans. They were to go only to the
lost sheep of the house of Israel. And they were to preach and tell the people the
kingdom of heaven is at hand.
They had miraculous powers to heal the sick and raise the dead and
cleanse the lepers and cast out demons.
And Jesus said, freely, ye
receive, freely give. And under this
limited commission, they were not to carry any money with them. They were not to carry two coats nor two pair
of shoes, for the labor is worthy of his food or labor is worthy of his hire.
In I Timothy 5:17‑18,
where Paul is talking about how that elders should be paid, and he said, especially those that labor in doctrine
and teaching, or preaching and teaching.
And then he says, for the
scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn,
and the labor is worthy of his hire.
He is joining what Jesus told the disciples when he sent them forth
under the limited commission, joining that with that Old Testament
reference, Deuteronomy 25:4
where God gave the commandment to the people of Israel
that they were not to muzzle the ox
as he treadeth out the corn, or as we put it, treadeth out the
grain. The process of threshing at that
time was that they would take the grain crop like barley and wheat and pile up
on the grain floor, and have an oxen to pull the threshing sled around over the
grain until the chaff was separated from the grain, and then when the wind was
blowing right, they would throw the chaff and the grain up into the air, and
the wind would blow the chaff away and the grain would be left on the threshing
floor. In I Corinthians 9:9-10,
Paul quotes Deuteronomy 25:4 and says that God
gave this especially for man's benefit, that he might learn the principle that the
labor is worthy of his hire. Then
in verse fourteen in that reference he says, “Even
so did the Lord ordain that they that proclaim the gospel should live of the
gospel. Jesus tells his apostles the people need to give you what you
need. And, of course, they were doing
such wonderful things in respect to what they would be doing, that surely the
people, if they had the right spirit, they would take care of their needs in a
very good way.
Now, I can remember the day when
some would use this reference to say that if a preacher has enough faith, he
ought to have faith just to go forth to preach the gospel, whether he has any
promise of receiving anything to preach or not.
And some might say if a man has enough faith he should go to a foreign
land to carry the gospel. But people who talk like that, either do not know what
Jesus told the disciples otherwise for that great commission, or forgotten all
about it. When Jesus was telling his
disciples about what would be in the future in regard to the time of the great
commission, he told them to carry things with them. I am reading from Luke chapter twenty‑two
beginning with verse thirty‑five. And he said unto them, When I sent you
forth without purse, and wallet, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing. And he said unto them, But now, he that
hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise a wallet, qnd he that hath none,
let him sell his cloak and buy a sword.
For I say unto you, that this which is written must be fulfilled in me,
(Talking about his death upon the cross).
And he was reckoned with
transgressors:
For that which concerneth me hath fulfillment. And they said, Lord, behold, here are two
swords. And he said unto them, It is
enough. Jesus surely did not mean
by his statement in verse thirty‑six that they were to go out and defend
themselves by the use of the sword, because Peter tried that when Judas
Iscariot came with the multitude from the chief priests and the elders to
arrest Jesus, and he cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest named
Malchus. Jesus restored his ear and told
Peter to put up his sword, and that he
that taketh the sword shall perish with the sword. So it looks like to me that Jesus meant by
that statement that the days are coming when it will be difficult for you, and
make preparation for those difficult situations that you will be faced
with.
Picking up with Matthew 10:11, And into whatsoever city or village he
shall enter search out, and who is worthy; and there abide till ye go forth. Now, this shows that people have some
responsibility in respect to going to hear the gospel. Of course, this is different from what it
would be today, because here they would be doing so many miraculous things that
the word would carry very rapidly. All would want to be healed and some would
be saying. they must be from God to be
able to do all these miraculous things.
But still today, there are usually those who hear about the truth being
preached somewhere, and if so, they have responsibility to go and hear the
preaching of the gospel. And if the house be worthy, let your peace
come upon it:
But if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whosoever shall not receive you, or hear
your words, that as ye go forth out of that house and that city, shake off the
dust of your feet. Verily I say unto
you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that
city. And the meaning would be
that the people that received these apostles, and then later when he sent forth
the seventy, or when Christ went to those cities, they had greater
opportunities to know than did the people of Sodom
and Gomorrah. Remember God destroyed those cities because
they gave themselves over to fornication and went after strange flesh or the
men were homosexuals, as revealed in Genesis chapter nineteen. God destroyed them because their sins were so
great, but remember that ten righteous people would have saved the people of Sodom
and Gomorrah. Do you remember about Abraham praying if there be
fifty righteous, will you destroy the righteous with the wicked? And Jehovah said no. Abraham continued to
reduce the number to ten and the Lord said that if there were ten righteous he
would not destroy Sodom.
And that makes me remember that
you may not know that the Lord was one of those three that appeared in the form
of men to Abraham in the heat of the day, that he had Sarah to prepare a meal
for. Please turn to Genesis chapter
eighteen. I would like for you to notice
that very definitely this is Christ that appeared to Abraham back there. Genesis 18:1,
And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre: As
he sat in the door of his tent in the heat of the day. And you might want to highlight that, the
Lord appeared. And then it tells about
there being three men and how Abraham welcomed them and had a meal prepared for
them. In verse nine, he said, where is Sarah your wife? He
said, she is in the tent. The Lord
said, I will surely return to you in the spring, and Sarah your wife shall
have a son. Verse thirteen, the Lord said to Abraham, why did Sarah laugh? Verse seventeen, And the Lord said,
Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do. About the destruction
of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Verse twenty, And the Lord said. Verse twenty‑two, So the men turned from there and went
toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the
Lord. And then Abraham drew near and
said, wilt thou indeed destroy the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the
city, wilt thou then destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous
who are in it. And he wanted to
know – that is verse twenty‑five, the latter part, Shall not the judge of all the earth do
right? And
the Lord said, again in verse twenty‑six. So Abraham continued to pray until he got
down to ten. And the Lord promised that
if there were ten that he would not destroy the city. That is verse thirty‑two. And then verse thirty‑three, And then the Lord went his way.
When he had finished speaking to Abraham and Abraham returned to his
place.
Matthew 10:16,
I believe that is where we got to in the last class session. Behold,
I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Now, notice that statement. One wolf in with the sheep may kill a number
of sheep, but look at the statement, I
send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. There are going to be many who are going to
take advantage of you. They will be like
devouring wolves, ready to kill you. Be ye therefore wise as serpents,
and harmless as doves. Well, I believe we know that doves has a meaning
for peace even today, and so they were to be peaceful people. They were not to go out with swords to extend
the borders of the kingdom, but they were to be very wise and not bring
unnecessary harm upon them because of a lack of wisdom on their part. And one way that they were to exercise wisdom
on their part when there were those in a city ready to persecute them, they
were to flee to another, as stated in verse twenty‑three. But
beware of men:
For they will deliver you up to counsels, and in synagogues they will
scourge you. And verse seventeen would be talking about what the Jews
would do to them. Evidently, the ruler
or rulers of the synagogue had the authority to give a person a good whipping
or scourging if they thought he needed one.
And, of course, like the apostles were carried before the Sanhedrin, the
highest court of the Jews, and so verse seventeen would have reference
especially of the Jews, being brought before them as though they were wrongdoers
and guilty of crimes.
Matthew 10:18, Yes and before governors and kings shall
ye be brought for my sake, for testimony to them and to the Gentiles. Verse eighteen would have reference to them
being carried to the governors and kings that were over them. Remember they were under Roman authority. They did not have the right to exercise the
death penalty. In a death penalty case,
they were to receive authority from Roman authorities for that. And in regard to the book of Acts, do you
remember that Paul was arraigned before Lysias (Acts 23:26-27)
then governor Felix and governor Festus (Acts 25:9-12)
and then king Agrippa (Acts 26:30-32) and then
carried to Rome (Acts 27:1, 28:16)
to make his defense before the Roman authorities. And so Gentile authority there in verse
eighteen.
But notice what a wonderful
promise the Lord gave the twelve. When they deliver ye up, be not anxious
how or what ye shall speak: For
it shall be given you in that hour what ye shall speak. And I think surely when we read the speech
that Peter gave as recorded in Acts four before the Sanhedrin court, if we be examined this day concerning a good
deed done to an impotent man, be it made known unto you in the name of Jesus
from Nazareth, whom you crucified whom God raised from the dead, even in his
name does this man stand here before you whole. And he went ahead to tell them that in no
other was there salvation, for there is no
other name given under heaven whereby we must be saved. That is Acts chapter four.
When you turn to the seventh
chapter of the book and we have the speech of Stephen, again, an innocent God‑fearing
man that that Sanhedrin put to death. In
that long chapter Stephen gives the history of the people of Israel and how
they had rebelled against God's leaders, and surely the Holy Spirit must have
been guiding him into exactly what he needed to say, how that they had rejected
Joseph, those mean brothers sold him into slavery, but later they bowed down to
him, and they rejected Moses. and they
rejected many of the Old Testament prophets; in fact, they killed many of
them. Stephen concluded by saying to
that court, ye stiff neck and
uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Spirit, as your
fathers did, so do you. The Lord,
on occasions like this, gave those inspired persons what they needed to say, so
that the truth would be made plain and spoken in the very best way
possible. And if you have not read those
references with that in mind, I wish you would turn and read them, and I
believe you will be convinced that they were being given what they needed to
say by the Holy Spirit.
Verse twenty, For it is not ye that speak, but the
Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you.
And brother shall deliver up brother to death, and the father his child: And the children shall rise up against
their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for
my name's sake. And all
would have to be used there in a relative sense. There were many early Jewish disciples (Acts
2:41, 2:47, 4:4,
5:4, 6:1, 6:7),
and they did not hate the apostles, but as far as society as a whole was
concerned, pretty well everybody was against them, and for many years the
unbelieving Jews hated them. And ye shall be hated of all men for my
name's sake but he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. And according to tradition, those apostles
endured to the end, and nearly all of
them, if not all were put to death for their boldness in preaching Christ and
him crucified. But when they persecute you in one city, flee
into the next:
For verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone through the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. So as the Lord mentioned in the statement,
and when they persecute in one city flee to the next, that would be exercising wisdom
to not to bring trouble unnecessarily upon them. And several times you remember Paul did that
in regard to his journeys among the Gentiles, that when persecution arose, he
would leave and go to another city, and his brethren would see to it that, you
might say, he was escorted to another city.
In regard to the latter part of verse twenty‑three, that has been
a matter of dispute down through the centuries now. Ye
shall not have gone through the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. Some few even say that that has reference to
the destruction of Jerusalem, the
Lord coming to destroy Jerusalem in
70 AD.
That is absolutely not the case,
for in Matthew twenty‑four and verse fourteen Jesus said that the gospel
would be preached in all the world before Jerusalem
would be destroyed as shown by verses fifteen to twenty‑two, which is
very definitely about the destruction of Jerusalem. And others would apply it to the Son of man
coming in his kingdom. But it is not
spoken of as a coming, it says till the Son of man be come. Now it may be referring to the full beginning
of His kingdom, which occurred on Pentecost.
I think that would be much safer than the destruction of Jerusalem, but
I am inclined to think of it as meaning that before they had finished their
work under that limited commission, he would be following them. And he may have followed them, teaching where
they had taught and making further preparation.
And we surely know from many of the references in the gospel book that
Jesus did a great job, sometimes it looks like going day and night and going
for several days at the time without having an opportunity to rest. That is at least logical.
Matthew 10:24,
A disciple is not above his teacher,
nor a servant above his Lord. It is
enough for the disciple that he be as his teacher, and the servants as their
master. And if they have called the
master of the house. He is
talking about himself as the master of his house, Beelzebub, or the prince of demon, how
much more of them of his household?
And so that is what the Pharisees accused him of, that he cast out the demons
by the power of Beelzebub. Fear them not therefore:
For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that
shall not be revealed. What I tell you
in darkness, speak ye in the light. And what ye hear in the ear, proclaim upon
the house tops. So the Lord
wanted them to do a good job of carrying
that message that the kingdom
of heaven is at hand. And, of
course, along with that, they did as John did,‑‑ It looks like to
me that this limited commission was a continuation of the baptism of John. You remember how he preached that they were
repent and they were to be baptized. And
those who rejected John's baptism were left in a lost condition. Luke 7:30 says, the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the
counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of John.
I can remember the day when many in
the church did not know that the baptism of John was for remission of sins
(Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3).
In these references the King James Version says for and the American Standard Version says unto
remission of sins. The New International Version says for the remission of
sins. The Greek word used eis, translated for in the King James
Version and unto in the American Standard Version is the same Greek word used
in Acts 2:38 which Young’s Analytical
Concordance gives as meaning “with a view to” and of course the meaning is with
a view to receiving remission of sins. Many preachers are telling people that for
means because of and thus the false
doctrine that they need to be baptized because their sins were forgiven when
they believed and that they need to be baptized to show that they have been
saved. Young’s Analytical Concordance gives forty three Greek words that are
translated for in English. One of these Greek words galal does
mean because of, for the sake of.
This false doctrine has been
handed down from generation to generation. A number of the preachers in this denominational
church know the correct meaning of eis and they need to have the courage to
stand up and tell the truth about the meaning of these passages. Why should
they continue to give people false security with such a false doctrine?
John’s baptism absolutely was for
remission of sins. It was from heaven as
Jesus plainly taught when the chief priests and the elders came to him in the
temple that last time he cleansed the temple, and said by what authority doest thou these things, and who gave thee
this authority. And he said, and I will
ask you a question, and if you answer it, I will tell you, by what authority I
do these things. He said, the baptism of
John, whence was it from heaven or from men. And they reasoned among themselves and
decided they better plead the fifth amendment.
For they said, if we say from
heaven, he will say to us, why did ye not receive it. They were afraid to say that it was not from
heaven because people had great respect for John the Baptist. So the baptism was from heaven, and it was
for remission of sins. Matthew three, John
came preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
saying, repent ye for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Three went out unto him Jerusalem and Judaea and all the region round about and were
baptized of John in the river Jordan confessing their sins. Why would they be confessing their sins if
there was no forgiveness of sins? And
then in Mark 1:4, Mark says that it was for
remission of sins. And Luke 3:3
says that it was for the remission of sins, and the reference then in
Luke 7:30, those that did not receive John's
baptism remained in a lost condition. These
references need to be used today to emphasize how important the baptism of the
great commission is. There are so many
that have been taught all their lives that baptism is a non‑essential. Well, even John's baptism was essential to
salvation. Surely, the baptism that
Christ had his apostles to give on that first Pentecost after his ascension
back to heaven, surely that baptism is essential to salvation.
Verse twenty‑eight, Be not afraid of them that kill the body,
but not able to kill the soul, but rather fear him who is able to destroy both
soul and body in hell. There are
some few that have been ready to reason on the basis on the latter part of
verse twenty‑eight that the soul of man or the spirit of man can be
destroyed in a definite way. There is no
such thing. In II Thessalonians 1:7
beginning, And to you who are
troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with
his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God
and obey not the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ:
who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the
presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. And so it is not a matter of the soul being
annihilated, but it is a matter of eternal punishment in that terrible place
called hell (Revelation 20:11-15).
Matthew 10:29,
Are not two sparrows sold for a
penny? And not one of them shall fall on
the ground without your Father.
So Jesus is saying your Father is looking on. He knows what you are being subjected to and
do not be afraid, the Lord is still with you.
They may kill the body, but they cannot kill the soul. And if you are faithful to death, heaven will
be your eternal home. Are not two sparrows sold for a
penny? And not one of them shall fall on
the ground without your Father.
So God knows the little details in respect to the sparrows. But
the very hairs of your head are numbered. We cannot begin to understand, or comprehend
what God knows. It is just so far beyond
our ability to do so. It is like Paul
said in regard to the love of God, as given, in Romans eight, which surpasses
or goes beyond our knowledge, our ability to really understand that love of God
that is given in Christ. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more
value than many sparrows. Everyone
therefore who confesses me before men, him will I also confess before my
Father who is in heaven. But
whosoever shall deny me before men, him I will also deny before my Father who
is in heaven. Now, verses thirty‑two
and thirty‑three have been used down through the years by many of us as
having reference to the confession that is made at the time of one's
conversion. Well, surely it includes
that (I Timothy 6:12),
but it includes more than that. It also means that spirit of faithfulness
after one becomes a Christian and continuing to confess the Lord and standing
up and doing what is right under all circumstances. So
everyone therefore who shall confess me before men, him will I also confess
before my Father who is in heaven.
Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my
Father who is in heaven. And that
might have even reference to the time when a person's name is written in the lamb's
book of life. That could well be the
case, could it not? The time of one's
conversion when he believes on Christ and confesses to him to be the Christ,
the Son of God, and repents of his sins and is then baptized for the remission
of his sins and then becomes a child of God.
Would not that be the time that his name was written in the lamb's book
of life that is spoken of in the twentieth chapter of the Revelation. Let me read from Revelation twenty beginning
with verse eleven, And I saw a great
white throne, and him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the
heavens fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small,
standing before the throne and books
were opened:
and another book was opened, which is the book of life.
Would not that be the lamb's
book of life? We may not know about all
those books, but do you not think at least it would include the Old Testament
and the New Testament, and the book of life.
And another book was opened,
which is the book of life:
And the dead were judged out of the things which were written out of the
books, according to their works.
And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them:
And they were judged every man according to their works. And death and Hades were cast into the lake
of fire. This is the second death,
even the lake of fire. And if any
was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of
fire. So when a person obeys the
gospel would that not be the time when a person's name would be written in the
lamb's book of life. And, of course, if
every child of God continues to be faithful to the Lord, then his name will be
written in the lamb's book of life when that time of judgment comes.
Back to Matthew ten and verse
thirty‑four, Think not that I
came to send peace on the earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man at variance against
his father and a daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against
her mother in law. And a man's foes
shall be they of his own household. He that
loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me:
And he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of
me. And he that doth not take his cross,
and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
He that findeth his life shall lose it: And he that loseth his life for my name
shall find it. This pretty
well parallels Matthew sixteen, and especially verse twenty‑four where
Jesus said, If any man will come
after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. And I hope you remember how Paul said to the
Galatian brethren in Galatians two and, I think, verse twenty, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I that live, but Christ that
liveth in me. And the life that I now
live, I live in the faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up
for me. And so Jesus is saying
that we must put him first in everything if we want to go to heaven at last, and
that no member of the family, regardless of how close they are to us, are not
to become between us and our allegiance to God and to Christ. If a person puts a member of the family first
and loves them more than he loves the Lord, then he cannot reach heaven at
last.
How do we account for him saying,
I came not to bring peace on the
earth. I came not to send peace, but a
sword. Do you think he is talking about a literal sword? That would be a
very unusual household to use a literal sword on one of the members of the
family, but a sword stands for real conflict.
And so there would be real conflict, because some in the house would
receive the gospel and others would not receive it. But let us recall from Isaiah chapter nine
where Isaiah is speaking concerning the Christ that would come, saying, Unto us a child is given, unto us a Son is
born. His name shall be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. And he goes ahead to say that there would no
end of his reign upon the throne of
David, and upon his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with righteousness
from henceforth even for ever more.
And, of course, Christ has, ever since his ascension back to heaven,
been reigning on the throne of David as the Old Testament prophets prophesied
concerning him. I think we included an
outline for you entitled, Christ Is Now Reigning On The Throne Of David. I hope you will read it and give careful
attention to the facts set forth in that outline.
In the reference there in Isaiah
nine, Christ is spoken of as the Prince of Peace, and further the gospel books
shows that those who follow Christ are to be peace‑loving people. There is a reference also in Isaiah chapter
eight, how that he would be a haven and a rock
of stumbling to both of the houses of Israel.
During most of the time of Isaiah's ministry, the kingdom
of Israel was divided into two kingdoms
(Isaiah 1:1; II Kings 18:9-12).
God had divided the kingdom
of Israel into two kingdoms during
the day of Solomon’s son Rehoboam because of the sins of Solomon in marrying many foreign wives. Those foreign wives had great influence on
Solomon, and he built places of worship for their idol gods (I Kings 11:1-2,
11:9-13, 11:29-32;
12:21-24). And God divided the kingdom into two
kingdoms, trying to save a righteous remnant through which Christ would
come.
Now reading from Isaiah chapter
eight verses thirteen and fourteen, Jehovah
of hosts him shall ye sanctify; let him be your fear, and let him be your
dread. And this reference is
talking about Christ. And he shall be for a sanctuary,
but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense to both the
houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the
inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And many shall stumble thereon and fall and be broken, and be snared,
and be taken. But notice the
first part of verse fourteen says he will be for a sanctuary. When we think of a sanctuary, we think of a place
of peace and harmony. He would be a
sanctuary for those who receive Him, but for those that rejected him, then he
would be the stone of stumbling and the rock of offense. Of course, both houses of Israel
and the descendants of them, most of the Jewish people rejected Christ. And so that was fulfilled, that Christ was
the stone of stumbling or rock of offense to both of the houses of Israel.
You remember Luke chapter two
when the angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds while they were keeping
watch over their flock and told them, be not afraid, for this day is born unto you in the city of David a Savior,
who is Christ the Lord. And then
there appeared with the multitude of the heavenly hosts, saying, peace on earth and good will toward men. And so Christ brings real peace and unity for
those who follow him and walk closely in his steps. But the point is that very frequently there
would be division in many families because some would obey the Lord, and then
there would be those that did not, especially was that the case back during
this time when there would be so many Jewish people that were ready to punish
those who received the gospel.
Let us turn and read from Luke on
that reference. Luke 12:49,
I came to cast fire upon the earth;
and what do I desire, if it is already kindled? And this is a parallel to Matthew. By the fire, he is talking about that warfare
that occurs within families. But I have a baptism to be baptized with;
and how am I straightened till it be accomplished! In verse fifty, he is talking about his death
upon the cross as a baptism. He would be
overwhelmed in suffering, the righteous for the unrighteous. Think ye that I have come to give peace on
the earth? I tell you Nay, but rather
division:
For there shall be from henceforth five in one house divided, three
against two, and two against three. And
they shall be divided, father against Son; and son against father, and mother
against daughter, and daughter against her mother; and mother in law against
her daughter in law, and daughter in law against her mother in law. So
you see that is a parallel reference from Luke.
But Jesus is saying how I am straightened until time for me to die on
the cross, and my way will bring trouble within households because some will
obey me and others in the family will reject me.
Back to Matthew 10:40,
He that receiveth you receiveth me. And that still holds today. We do not have any apostles today with
miraculous powers. That period was the childhood period of the church (I
Corinthians 13:8-13; Ephesians 4:
7-16). But it still holds true that those faithful teachers and preachers of
the gospel, those that receive them, are receiving Christ and they are also receiving
our heavenly father. He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he
that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a
prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a
righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of
these little ones a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, verily I say
unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward. Those verses are emphasizing the fact that
when people are following Christ faithfully, they will be rewarded for what
they do. Many times they will receive
many rewards in this life, and all who obey the gospel and live faithfully,
they will receive heaven at last. We
just have a few seconds. And so we will
count Chapter eleven as the beginning
place for our next part of this class session.
(A brief recess was taken.)
Reading from Matthew chapter
eleven verse one, And it came to
pass, when Jesus had finished commanding his twelve disciples, he departed
thence to teach and preach in their cities. Now, does not that
strongly indicate that that is the meaning of 10:23,
ye shall have not gone through the
cities of Israel until the Son of man be come. It looks like while they are gone, he goes
and preaches in their cities and then continues that preaching in various
cities after they had gone on that limited commission. Next, I would like for you to turn to Luke
chapter ten. After Jesus sent forth the
twelve apostles under the limited commission, he sent forth seventy
others. And if I remember correctly,
Luke is the only writer that records about his sending forth of seventy
others.
Please turn to Luke chapter ten,
beginning with verse one, After
these things the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them two by two
before his face. Notice that
statement, that it further indicates that they are to go and make preparation
for him. They were to make preparation and then he would go to those cities.
And he said unto them, The harvest indeed
is greatly plentious, but the laborers are few:
Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send forth laborers
into his harvest. And we need
today to be praying for the Lord to send forth more laborers into the harvest
field. We need to be busy going and
sending laborers into the harvest field.
Go your ways:
Behold, I send you forth as lambs in the midst of wolves. He is telling them the same thing that he had
told the apostles, that your work will be dangerous. Carry
no purse, no wallet, no shoes: And salute no man on the way. And whatsoever house ye enter, first say,
Peace be to this house. And if the son
of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon him:
But if not, it shall return to you again. And in that same house remain, eating
and drinking such things as they give: For
the laborer is worthy of his hire. That is
the statement quoted in I Timothy 5:17-18. Go not from house to house.
And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things
as are set before you: and
heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. But into whatsoever city ye shall enter, and
they receive you not, go out into
the streets thereof and say, even the dust from your city, that cleaveth to our
feet, we wipe off against you: nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of
God is come nigh. I say unto you, that it
shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.
Luke
10:13, Woe unto thee, Chorzain! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida!
For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they would
have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. And, again, these are cities in Galilee
that Jesus had done so many miracles and spent a lot of time teaching that had
had many opportunities to believe and obey.
The more opportunities that people have and the more abilities they have
and the more training they have, then greater the responsibility that rests
upon them. These cities had received much teaching and they had seen many
miracles and wonderful works that Jesus had done, and as a whole the people
rejected him. They will be in a hopeless condition when they stand before him in
the day of judgment (John 5:22; Acts 17:30-31).
And thou, Capernaum. Remember Jesus lived at Capernaum
for a period of time, plus he visited there many times. And
thou Capernaum, shalt though be exalted unto heaven?
thou shalt be brought down unto Hades.
Luke 10:16, He that heareth you heareth me; and he
that rejecteth you rejecth me; and he that rejecteth me rejecteth him
that sent me. This principle
holds true today and always. When the gospel is preached correctly and people
reject it they may think that they are rejecting the preacher when in reality
they are rejecting the Lord. And the
seventy returned with joy saying, Lord, even the demons are subject unto us in
thy name. And he said, I beheld Satan
fallen as lighting from heaven. Behold,
I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all
the power of the enemy: And nothing shall any wise hurt you. Nevertheless in this rejoice not, that the
spirits are subject unto you; but rejoice, in that your names are written in
heaven. So, again, emphasis
on written in heaven, written in the lamb's book of life!
Back to Matthew 11:2,
Now when John heard in the prison
the works of Christ, he sent by his disciples, and said unto him, Art thou he that cometh, or do
we look for another? Do you
suppose that John the Baptist had an eclipse of faith when he was thrown into
prison. He was thrown into prison
because he told Herod that it was not lawful for him to have Herodias, his
brother Philip's wife. She was
responsible for him being cast into prison, and then she had her daughter to
have John the Baptist's head brought to her on a platter. And
Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and tell John the things which ye see:
The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, and the lepers are
cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good
tidings preached to them. And blessed is
he, whosoever shall find no occasion of stumbling in me. We will turn and read Luke's account in a
little while.
It may be that John the Baptist,
like the apostles, was expecting him to
be an earthly king. When Christ told the
apostles that John indeed baptized
with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence. The apostles said in Acts 1:6,
Wilt thou at this time restore the
kingdom to Israel?
They had been with him three‑and‑a‑half years, and
they were still expecting him to set up an earthly kingdom. So John the Baptist may have had that same
thinking, and Jesus was showing no signs
of being an earthly king, he may have wondered if he was the one to come. But Jesus said, go and tell him what you see. The
blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, and the lepers are cleansed, and
the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good tidings
preached to them. And that
was one of the things that Isaiah said that he would do. And
blessed is he, whosoever shall find no occasion of stumbling in me. So verse six would be an exhortation for them
to give John the Baptist . It is also an exhortation for us today. Blessed
is he, whosoever shall find no occasion of stumbling in me. We read that reference from Isaiah 8:14,
Christ would be a stone of stumbling unto both of the houses of Israel.
Matthew 11:17,
As they went on their way, Jesus
began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the
wilderness to behold? A reed shaken with
the wind? John was a courageous
person. He was not moved by the wind of
public opinion, but he courageously taught what was right to the point that it brought
about his death, when he told the king that it was not lawful for him to have his
brother Philip's wife. I believe that it
is Luke chapter three that we read about some of the good preaching of John the
Baptist. But
what went ye out to see? A man clothed
in soft raiment? Absolutely
not. His clothing was camel's hair and a
leathern girdle. Behold, they that wear soft raiment are in kings' houses.
But wherefore went ye out to see?
A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a
prophet. For this is he, of whom it
is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy
way before thee. And that is
Malachi 3:11, where Malachi prophesied
concerning the work of John the
Baptist. So he was more than a prophet
in that he was a forerunner of Christ to make that straightway, that good way
for Christ. And as stated in Malachi 3:1,
Behold I send my messenger before
thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee. According to the reference given in Isaiah
forty, he would make a highway for the Lord. He would pull down the mountains
and build up the valleys, figurative language of the good way that John the
Baptist would make preparation for the coming of Christ.
Matthew 11:11, Verily I say unto you, Among them that are
born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: yet
he that is but little in the kingdom of God is greater than he. Now, that is a wonderful compliment that
Jesus is making concerning John, that there has not arisen a greater than John
the Baptist. What is the meaning of the
latter part, but he that is little
in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he? John the Baptist lived and died before the kingdom
of Christ was fully
established. Would that not be the
meaning of it? The person who is in the
kingdom has greater blessing than John
the Baptist did, at least during his personal ministry. Of course, if John the Baptist remained
faithful, as I believe he did, he will be among all the redeemed in heaven. Verse twelve, And
from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth
violence. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye are willing to receive it, this
is Elijah, that is to come.
That is important for us to know that John the Baptist was the Elijah to
come, because the Old Testament closed with that passage about the coming of
John the Baptist. Reading from Malachi,
the last chapter, chapter four verses five and six. Behold,
I send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah come:
And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the
heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a
curse. And remember that the
angel Gabriel told Zecharias that that is what his son would do. And, again, in chapter seventeen of Matthew
when he was transfigured before Peter, James, and John, and after the
transfiguration, the disciples said, but
the scribes say that Elijah must come first. He told them that Elijah had come already. And
if ye are willing to receive it, this is Elijah, that is to come.
In the statement , He that hath ears to hear, let him
hear. Jesus is talking about
hearing with that spirit of obedience. In chapters two and three of the
Revelation the seven letters
to the churches are recorded, and in each of the letters Jesus said, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear
what the Spirit saith to the churches, Then a blessing is promised, To him that overcometh which means
overcometh by obedience.
Matthew 11:16, But whereunto shall I liken this
generation? It is liken unto children
sitting in the marketplaces, who called unto their fellows, and saying, We have
piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we wailed and ye did not mourn. So the children in both groups are not
satisfied with the performance of other group.
We piped unto you and you did not dance.
We wailed and you did not mourn. For John came neither eating nor drinking,
and they say, He hath a demon.
Remember his food was locusts and wild honey, and they accused him of
being the wrong kind of person, and said he had a demon, because he lived on
locusts and wild honey. So they were not
pleased with John. And they were not
pleased with Christ, and it looks like Christ did the very opposite and that
should have pleased them. The Son of man came eating and drinking,
and they say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a wine bibber, a friend of publicans
and sinners. Jesus was a friend
of publicans and sinners, but he was not a gluttonous man and he was not a wine
bibber or a drunkard. He ate and drank
in a proper way and they should have been pleased. If they were displeased because John did not,
and so Christ was the very opposite of that, but they still were not
pleased.
Sometimes there are those who do
not make a distinction between inspired instruction, and statements made by the
devil’s servants. They may say, “Everything in the Bible is true!” Yes, it is
true that they accused Jesus of being “gluttonous
man and a wine bibber”, but it is not true that Jesus was such a person!
Please keep in mind that there are a lot of statements recorded from the
devil’s camp. And wisdom is justified by her works. The Jews as a people rejected John the
Baptist, and they were also rejecting Christ and they surely were not going the
way of true wisdom.
Verse 20, Then began he to upbraid the cities, wherein most of his
mighty works were done because they repented not. Woe
unto thee Chorazin! Woe unto Bethsaida!
For if the mighty works, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which were done in you, they would have
repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for
you. And thou, Capernaum, shalt thou be exalted unto heaven. thou
shalt go down unto Hades. For if the mighty works, had been done in Sodom, which were down in thee, it would have
remained until this day. But I say unto
you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee. Just think of all the wonderful opportunities
they had had to hear Christ and all of those miracles and wonders and mighty
works that he had done as proof that he was from God, giving God's message to
them, and yet they did not believe on him, they did not repent.
Matthew 11:25,
At
that season, Jesus answered and said, I thank thee,O Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, that thou hast hide these things from the wise and understanding, and
did reveal them unto babes. That
is somewhat of a parallel to the latter part of the first chapter of I Corinthians. Yea
Father:
For so it was well pleasing in thy sight. All things have been delivered
unto me of my Father:
And no one knoweth the Son, save the Father; neither does any know the
Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal to him. But it is Christ’s will to reveal the Father
to all who will hear and come to him.
Notice the tender invitation given in verses twenty‑eight and
twenty‑nine. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart:
and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Now verse twenty‑eight may
include even those that are heavy burdened in respect to physical labor and
other things, but would not it have primary reference to those that are
burdened with sin? Sin is a heavy
burden. There are those who reason that
the way of Christ is a hard way, and I do not want to restrict myself in all of
those things that a Christian has got to restrict himself in. And what happens? They get themselves in a
lot of trouble by going down the broad way, because God's law of sowing and
reaping is never canceled (Galatians 6:7-10). And when men reject Christ as time goes on,
they get more wicked and more wicked.
And that law of sowing and reaping, if they live a full life here, it
starts catching up with them and they have a lot of suffering and heart aches that
comes as a result of their bad sowing.
So let us remember that the way of Christ is the easiest way. Solomon said, The
way of the transgressor is hard (Proverbs 13:15).
Now, there is a cross to bear (Matthew 16:24),
but there are many blessings that come to a person from doing right, think of
the blessings set forth in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:1‑15. God’s law of sowing and reaping works both
ways. So the way of Christ, when all is said and done, the bottom line is that
it is the easiest way, even so far as this life is concerned. But, my, consider then the blessings that
will come after the spirit leaves the body.
So come unto me all ye that
labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;
for I am meek and lowly in heart: And ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy. Now, there is a yoke of learning and there is
a burden to bear, but in comparison to
the way of going and following Satan, it is the easy way. Please remember that
there is only two ways that a person can travel in respect to a final
destination, and every accountable person is traveling one of these ways
(Matthew 7:13-14).
Which way are you traveling? For
my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Do you remember that the New
Testament almost closes with the Lord extending another tender invitation for
all to come to him. Revelation twenty‑two. Let us pick up with verse sixteen, I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify
unto you these things for the churches.
I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. The Spirit is capitalized, which means the
translators think that that is the third person of the Godhead, the Holy
Spirit, and the bride, is the church.
The church is the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:22-32).. And
the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And
he that heareth, let him say, Come. And
he that is athirst let him come. He that
will, let him take the water of life freely. And so another great invitation in Revelation
22:17,
just almost the close of the book.
Let us turn now and read from
Luke's account, Luke chapter seven. Luke
chapter seven beginning with verse eighteen, And
the disciples of John told him all these things. In Luke's account, that
is after he had raised the widow of Nain's only son from the dead. And
the disciples of John told him all these things. And John calling unto him two of his
disciples sent them to the Lord, saying, Art thou he that cometh? Or look we for another? And when the men were come unto him, they
said, John the Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that
cometh? Or look we for another? In that hour he cured many of diseases. So you see Jesus was in the process of doing
what the prophets had said he would do at the very time that they get
there. In
that hour he cured many of diseases and plagues and evil spirits; and on many
that were blind he bestowed sight. And
he answered and said unto them, Go and tell John the things which ye have
seen and heard; the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers
are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, the poor have good
tidings preached to them. And blessed is
he, whosoever shall find no occasion of stumbling in me. And when the messenger of John was departed,
he began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out in the
wilderness to behold? A reed shaken with
the wind? But what went ye out to
see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they
that are gorgeously appareled, and live delicately, are in kings'
courts. See, it is a little different reading, but meaning the same
thing as Matthew. But what went ye out to see? A prophet?
Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. This is he, of whom it is written, Behold he
shall prepare thy way before thee.
So Luke gives the same quotation of Malachi 3:1.
For I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there is none
greater than John, yet he that is but little in the kingdom of God is greater than he. And all the people when they heard, and the
publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. They justified God in that they recognized
that God had commanded them to be baptized, and they were baptized. But notice
again verse thirty. Please highlight
verse thirty. But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected for themselves the
counsel of God, being not baptized of him.
Let me emphasize that this
reference needs to be used to show that scriptural baptism today is essential
to salvation. The Pharsies and Lawyer remained in a lost condition, because
they rejected John’s baptism. It was from heaven (Matthew 21:23-32)
it was for (King James Version) or unto (American Standard
Version) remission of sins (Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3)
The Greek word in Mark 1:4 and Luke 3:3
is eis the same word used in Acts 2:38 for remission of sins. Luke 7:31, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of
this generation, and to what are they like? They are like unto children
that sit in the marketplace, and call
one to another, and saying, We have piped to you, and ye did not dance; we
wailed, and ye did not weep. For John
the Baptist is come, eating no bread, nor drinking wine; and yea say, He hath a
demon. The son of man is come eating and
drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a wine bibber, a friend of
publicans and sinners! And wisdom is
justified of all her children.
Those who believe on Christ and find no occasion of stumbling in him, but
continue to follow him faithfully, they are going the way of wisdom. Mark it down, they are the only people
who are going the way of true wisdom.
So back to Matthew chapter
twelve, At that season Jesus went on
the sabbath day through the grain fields; and his disciples were hungry, and
began to pluck the ears to eat. Please
remember that this is not talking about Indian maize, but the little heads of
seed on the barley or wheat or whatever grain it was. But
the Pharisees when they saw it, said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which
is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.
And on the basis of that reading, some reason that the disciples had broken the
Sabbath day, because it is recorded.
The Bible records a lot of
statements made by the enemies' camp, and that statement is made by the
Pharisees. They were not followers of
Christ, they are members of Satan's camp.
And they are the ones that are saying the disciples were breaking the Sabbath,
but the disciples had not broken the Sabbath, as Jesus plainly shows a little
later. But
he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was hungry, and
they that were with him. How he entered
into the house of God, and ate the shewbread, which is not lawful for him to
eat, neither for them that were with him, but only for the priests? Or have ye not read in the law, on the Sabbath
day the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are guiltless? But I say unto you, That one greater than the
temple is here. But if ye had known what
this meaneth, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned
the guiltless. Please
underscore or highlight guiltless. The
apostles were guiltless in what they had done.
Now, on the basis of verse five,
some have reasoned because of David's peculiar situation that it was all right
for him to eat the holy bread or the bread that was put on the table of shewbread
that was in the tabernacle. That bread
was to be changed each Sabbath day, and then the bread that was taken off, the
priests were to eat, but it was for no one else. But some today reason that their a peculiar situation made it right for David
and his men to eat it.. But not
according to what Jesus said, he said it was not lawful for him to eat the
showbread, and it was absolutely not
lawful for him to do it. Where do we
read about that occasion? Now, you
notice your reference I Samuel chapter twenty‑one. On this occasion David had learned that Saul
was trying to kill him. Saul had been
trying to kill him for some time. In chapter
nineteen of I Samuel David tells Saul's son Jonathan that your father is trying to kill me. And Jonathan reasoned, his father did not do
anything unless he told him. And David
wanted him to check things out, and let him not to be at the feast on the day
of the new moon, and check his father out.
Jonathan found out, without a doubt, that his father was seeking to kill
David and told him to go and fetch him to me, for
he shall surely die, I Samuel21:31. Jonathan and David were the closest of
friends, and Jonathan answered Saul his father, why
should he be put to death? What has he
done? But Saul cast his spear at
him to smite him. So Jonathan knew that
his father was determined to put David to death. They had agreed in respect to how Jonathan
would let him know either way. And so
David continues that fleeing process in chapter twenty‑one beginning with
verse one.
Then
David came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest:
And Ahimelech came to meet David trembling and said to him, Why are you
alone, and no one with you? And David
said to Ahimelech the priest, The king has charged me with a matter, and
said to me, Let no one know any thing of the matter about which I send you, and
which I have charged you. David
is either lying or he is stating things in such a way that Ahimelech would
know. He may have seen Doeg the Edomite
there. If he had seen Doeg he knew that
he had to be careful. I have made an appointment with the young men
for such and such a place. Now give me
what ye have at hand. Give me five
loaves of bread of whatever is here. And here is Ahimelech's reply. I
have no common bread at hand. But there
is holy bread; if only the young men have kept themselves from women. And
David answered the priest of a truth.
Women have been kept from us as always when I go on an expedition, the
vessels of the young men are holy, even when it is a common journey. How much more today will their vessels be
holy. So the priest gave him the holy
bread:
For there was no bread there but the bread of the presserce, which is
removed from before the Lord, to be replaced by hot bread on the day it is
taken away. And that was on the Sabbath
day. Now
a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the
Lord. His name was Doeg the Edomite, the
chief of Saul's herdmen. And so he sees what Ahimelech does for David,
that he gave him the holy bread, and that he gave him the spear that David had
killed Goliath with. And then in chapter
twenty‑two, Saul is reproving his commanders, his officers, when he
said. Verse seven, Ye Benjaminites; will the son of Jesse
give every one of ye fields and vineyards, will he make you all commanders of
thousands, and commanders of hundreds, that all of you have conspired
against me; and no one discloses to me when my son makes a league with the
son of Jesse. None of you that is sorry
for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me to
lie in wait, as at this day.
Trying to put the blame on David, when Saul had been planning on killing
him for some time. Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was
set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob,
to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. And he
inquired of the Lord for him, and gave him provisions, and gave him the sword
of Goliath. And so the king sent
to summon Ahimelech the priest. And then Saul wanted his bodyguards to put all the
priests to death, but they refused to do so.
And then he told that wicked Doeg of the Edomites to do so, and he
did. Now, notice verse eighteen.
Then
the king said to Doeg, you turn and fall upon the priests. Doeg the Edomite turned, and fell upon the
priests, and he killed on that day eighty‑five persons who wore the
linen ephod. And Nob, the city of
the priests, he put to the sword both men and women, children and sucklings,
oxen, and asses and sheep, he put to the sword.
Only one of the sons of Ahimelech escaped. But one of the sons of Ahimelech, the son of
Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David. And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed
the priests of the Lord, eighty‑five of them. And David said to Abiathar, I know that day
when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul: I
have occasioned the deaths of all the persons of thy father's house. Stay with me, and fear not:
For he that seekest my life seeketh thy life: with
me ye shall be in safe keeping. So
Abiathar stayed with David, and he brought an ephod with him, which
meant that he could inquire of God for David, and get an answer for him, and so
Abiathar was a great help to David.
So the disciples of Jesus were
guiltless, and the Pharisees had tried to condemned them, and that just by their traditions and their own
thinking. According to the Pharesees this was wrong, and the other was wrong
for them to do on the Sabbath day, but if a male child needed to be circumcised
on the eighth day, they would do that, and if a sheep got in the ditch on the Sabbath
day, they would get it out, but it was wrong for these disciples to eat on the
Sabbath day. I guess they would call
that plucking the ears, work of harvesting, that they were working, and the law
said that the Sabbath day was to be a day of rest. Well, it was a day of rest, but there were
exceptions to the rule, as shown by the fact that there was work in the temple
that the priest had to do on the Sabbath day.
They were to trim the lights on the altar of incense, and other things
that they needed to perform on the Sabbath day as stated, profane the Sabbath and are guiltless,
profane it in the sense that they did do some work, but it was work that the
law required for them to do.
Matthew 12:9,
And he departed thence and went into
their synagogue:
And behold, a man having a withered hand. And they ask him saying, Is it lawful to heal
on the Sabbath day? That they might
accuse him. They would get a sheep
out of the hole on the Sabbath day, but it was wrong to heal a man on the Sabbath day.
And he said unto them, what man shall there be among you, that shall
have one sheep, and if this fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay
hold on it, and lift it out? How much
more then is a man of more value than a sheep? It looks like children could see that people
are more important, and that it is more important to heal a man on the Sabbath
day than to get a sheep out of the pit. Wherefore, it is lawful to do good on the
Sabbath day. So you see how that
reasoning that because of emergency circumstances, that David and his men had a
right to eat the show bread, and the Pharisees probably approved of what David had done, but
Jesus said that David did eat that which was not lawful for him
to eat (Matthew 12:4). David violated
the law of God when he ate the holy bread.
But, evidently, those Pharisees would have approved of what David
did. And so Jesus is showing their
inconsistency in several different ways.
Verse twelve again, How much
then is a man of more value than a sheep?
Wherefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day. And
then he saith to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and he was
restored whole, as the other. But the
Pharisees went out, and took counsel against him, how they might
destroy him.
Write down by the end of verse
fourteen, Mark chapter two. And let us
turn to Mark chapter two and read Mark's parallel. Mark two beginning with verse twenty‑three,
And it came to pass, that he was going
on the Sabbath through the grain fields; and his disciples began, as they went,
to pluck the ears. And the Pharisees
said unto him, Behold, why do they on the Sabbath day do that which is not
lawful? And he said unto them, Did you
never read what David did, when he had need, and was hungry, he, and they that were
with him? How he entered into the house
of God when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the shewbread, which is not
lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them that were with him?
And he said unto them, The Sabbath was
made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. You remember when God gave the people of Israel
the Sabbath day to keep, as given in Deuteronomy chapter five. It was because they had been slaves in the land
of Egypt and he gave them a day of
rest in remembrance of their slavery in Egypt. I tell my wife that I have a scriptural right
to keep the Sabbath, because I have been in bondage to her for sixty years.Verse
twenty‑eight, So the Son of
man is Lord even of the Sabbath.
(A brief recess was taken.)
Chapter Three
We were reading from the parallel
of Mark chapter two. We finished chapter
two, and we are ready to read further in chapter three of Mark. And
he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there who had a hand
withered. And they watched him, whether
he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. And I guess they really talked to people,
that it was wrong to do this and wrong to do the other, that the law had not
specified that it was wrong, and they thought that they would show that Jesus
is not God because the violated the law.
And he saith unto the man
that had his hand withered, Stand forth.
And he saith unto them, Is it lawful on the sabbath day to do good or to
do harm? To save a life, or to
kill? But they held their peace. So he asked the man to stand forth. I think that would mean to stand up, wouldn't
it, so that all could see it. The
footnote in my Bible says, arise
unto the midst. So he has the man
to stand up and ask the question, is it lawful for a man on the Sabbath to do
good or to do harm, to save a life or to kill.
They were evidently afraid to answer.
But they held their peace. And
when he looked round about on them with anger. Notice again how the writer's compliment each
other. Matthew did not tell about him
seeing the hardening of their hearts, and it makes him angry. And
when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved at the
hardening of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine
hand. And he stretched it forth:
And his hand was restored. And
the Pharisees went out, and straightway with the Herodians took counsel
against him, how that they might destroy him.
Their attempt to destroy him had
to do with asking about the tax money as to whether they should pay taxes to
Caesar or not. The Herodians, were from
the rulers. They thought that they had another question that he just couldn't
answer, that it would definitely show that he was wrong. At the end of verse six there in Mark, please
write down Luke 6:1. Then we will turn and read Luke's
account.
Reading from Luke 6:1,
And it came to pass on the sabbath,
that he was going through the grain fields; and his disciples plucked the ears,
and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. They would be getting the husk off of the
grain. But
certain of the Pharisees said, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the
Sabbath day? Jesus answering them said,
Have ye not read even this, what David did, when he was hungry, he and the men
that were with him:
How he entered into the house of God. It is talking about the tabernacle that was
set up at Shiloh (Joshua 18:1). And
took and ate of the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him: Which
it is not lawful to eat save for the priests alone? And he saith unto them, The Son of man is Lord
of the Sabbath. And it came to pass
on another Sabbath. That is
something the others did not say.
We would think from reading from
Matthew and Mark that it was the same Sabbath.
But Luke says that it was another Sabbath. And you say, “well, there is a conflict,
there is a contradiction”! No, the
others did not say whether it was the same Sabbath or another Sabbath, but Luke
tells us it was another Sabbath. And it came to pass on another Sabbath,
that he entered into the synagogue and taught:
And there was a man there and his right hand was withered. I believe that is peculiar to Luke. Yeah, remember he is the physician. And he observes closely all those things that
have to do with health, and he sees like another person wouldn't see, so he
sees that it is his right hand. And the scribes and the Pharisees watched
him, whether he would heal on the Sabbath; that they might find how to
accuse him. But he knew their thoughts. Please remember that he knows the thoughts of every individual
today. The statement is made, he needed not that any should testify
of man, for he knew what was in
man. And so he knew their
thoughts, and that is the reason he is angry.
Some think it is even wrong to get angry. But remember how Paul said, be angry and sin not. Let
not the sun go down upon your wrath, (Ephesians 4:26). So the thing
that is wrong is for a man not to control his anger. If you find a man that you cannot make angry or
mad, then chances are that you do not have a real man. You just have a fellow wearing britches, but
a man has to learn how to control his anger.
And one thing that is stated there, do not let the sun go down upon your wrath. I have violated that, especially before I
obeyed the gospel. And I know what that
will lead to. If you go to bed mad, and
just about every time you think about the matter, if not every time, and the more you think about it, the madder you
will get. And
the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the Sabbath;
that they might find how to accuse him.
But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man that had the hand
withered, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. So Luke's account says stand forth in the
midst. And
he arose and stood forth. Then Jesus
said unto them, I ask you; Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do
harm, to save a life, or to destroy? And
he looked about on them all, and he said unto him, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and
his hand was restored. But they were filled
with madness. (Talking about
the Pharisees) And communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.
Now, back to Matthew chapter
twelve. And verse fourteen was the
conclusion there of Matthew. But the Pharisees went out, and took
counsel against him, that they might destroy him. Well, what did Jesus do? He left, He did what he told the disciples to do. When they are ready to persecute you, flee to
another city. And Jesus perceiving it, withdrew from thence:
And many followed him, and he healed them all; and charged them that
they should not make him known: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken
through Isaiah the prophet. And
again, remember how Matthew quotes from the prophets to show that what Jesus is
doing is a fulfillment of what the prophets had said that he would do. And this one is from Isaiah chapter forty‑two
beginning with verse one. Behold my servant, whom I have chosen. (Talking, of course, about Christ) My
beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I
will put my Spirit upon him, and he shall declare judgment to the
Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry
aloud; neither shall any one hear his voice in the streets.
So the Old Testament prophet in
substance is saying that Jesus will not be a rabble‑raiser. He will not put on any public demonstrations.
Think of the various groups today that claim that they are following Christ
when they get out and sit down in the streets or do something on that order and
raise a big outcry and cause division among the people of the community. Well, when men really follow Christ, they
will not be guilty of doing things that way.
He will not strive,
nor cry aloud; neither shall any one hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and
smoking flax shall not he quenched. I
believe one of the other parallels, instead of smoking flax, says a dimly burning
wick he will not quench. Let us turn
back to Isaiah forty‑two. I
believe there it may be about the wick.
Isaiah forty‑two beginning with verse one, Behold my servant, whom I uphold, mine chosen, in whom my
soul delighteth; I have put my Spirit upon him: And he will bring forth justice to the
Gentiles. He will not cry, nor lift
up his voice, nor cause it to be heard in the street. A bruised reed will he
not break, and a dimly burning wick will he not quench: He
will bring forth justice and truth. He
will not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set justice in the earth:
And the isles shall
wait for his law. (Of course, that is the New Testament) Thus
saith Jehovah, he that created the heavens and stretched them forth; he that
spread abroad the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath
unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I
Jehovah have called thee in righteousness and will hold thine hand, and will
keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people. (And that covenant is the New Testament)
For a light of the Gentiles.
The New Testament law is a light for all people. To
open the blind eyes, and to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, and them that
sit in darkness out of the prison house.
They were imprisoned in the prison of darkness of sin and despair, but
Christ would bring them out of the
devil's prison house. I am Jehovah, that is my name:
And my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise unto graven
images. Behold, the former things are
come to pass, and now things do I declare: Before
they spring forth I tell you of them. And that is one of the things about God,
sometimes telling things centuries before they occured, telling of them
beforehand, before they come to pass. Behold the former things are come to pass,
and new things do I declare: Before they spring forth I tell you of them. Why the difference in Matthew’s account and
what is recorded in Isaiah forty‑two? I guess the difference would be Isaiah’s is
in Hebrew and Matthew ‘s account is in Greek. The Septuagint is the Greek translation from the Hebrew, and I guess that would account for some difference
in the reading.
Consider the reading of Isaiah 42:3,
A bruised reed will he not break. And
a dimly burning wick will he not quench.
He will bring forth justice and truth to the Gentiles. What do you think of the meaning of
that verse? A bruised reed, probably
beginning to fall over, but he will not break it off. What would he do? And what would that dimly burning wick
represent? Do you remember the days of the old kerosene lamp when the wick
would be burned up or the kerosene given out and it would be barely
burning? Sometimes you would have to
take the scissors and cut off the burnt part of the wick and then turn the wick
up more. Of course, it was a matter of
running out of oil, and kerosene was called coal oil when I was a boy. It was not until 1941 when we had
electricity on the farm. The meaning of
it must be that any person that has any spiritual life in them, the Lord will
aid in giving them more spiritual light and more life. He would not break that bruised reed, but he
will try to strengthen it ,and that dimly burning wick, he will try to make it burn brighter. And so, again, good figurative language,
describing the work of Christ.
So continuing the reading in
Matthew 12:20, A
bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench,
till he send forth judgment unto victory.
And in his name shall the Gentiles hope. And remember Acts 4:12,
where Peter said to the Sanhedrin there is no other name given under heaven that
is given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12). Verse twenty‑two, Then was brought unto him one possessed
with a demon, and blind, and dumb: And he healed him, insomuch that the dumb man
spake and saw. And all the multitudes
were amazed, and said, Can this be the son of David? They knew that the Christ was to be a son of
David as given through the prophets (Jeremiah 23:5-6;
Isaiah 11:1-5). They had knowledge of those scriptures,
saying, that God would raise up unto
David a righteous branch, and he would reign as king and deal wisely. And this is the name by which he shall be
called, Jehovah our righteousness, Jeremiah 23:5-6. But
when the Pharisees heard it, they saith this man does not cast out demons by
Beelzebub the prince of the demons.
And knowing their thoughts.
We read statements like that a
number of times, he knowing their
thoughts. He said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is
brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not
stand. You know there are still a
lot of people in America that think that statement originated with Abraham
Lincoln, when he debated with Steven Douglas in a Senate race. The debate had to do with an Enabling Act
that was before Congress, when the slavery issue had become a real big issue in
Congress. I believe they had adopted the
policy that they would try to keep the slave states and the free states
balanced, and anytime they would admit a slave state, they would admit a free
state or vice versa. Anyway, it was in that setting that Lincoln
came with what has been called his House‑divided
Speech, in which he said that they would not continue that way, half‑slave
and half‑free, that every kingdom divided against itself could not stand,
and that they would either become all
slave or all free. Lincoln lost the
election, but later was elected president, and saw it carried out then that the country could
not stay divided. I am not saying that
he was the cause of it, but at least he was president when the civil war came.
Let us read 12:26 again, And
if Satan castest out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his
kingdom stand? You see they had
accused him of casting out demons by the power of the devil. And Jesus answered, if I am doing that, then
Satan is divided, how can he stand? If
Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then shall his kingdom stand. The theme of the Revelation is that on going
conflict between right and wrong, truth and falsehood, righteous and
unrighteous, and Christ’s servants and Satan’s servants, and that Christ and
his servants will be victorious, and Satan and his servants will finally be
cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15)
And if I by Beelzebub cast out
demons, by whom do your sons cast them out?
Therefore shall they be your judges. Well, they surely would not say that they
were casting them out the same way that Christ was. But
if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then is the kingdom of God come upon you. Or how can one enter into the house of a
strong man, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? And then he will spoil his goods. By the casting out of demons, Jesus was in
that process of destroying that strong man, and that strong man, of course, is
Satan, and then his death and resurrection marked that victory over death
(Hebrews 2:14; I John 3:8).
Matthew 12:30,
He
that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. Well, the Pharisees surely were not gathering
with him. They were against him. And remember, again, that every accountable
person is gathering with Christ or they are scattering. Many people think that they can just be
neutral, but there are many references which teach to the contrary. Every accountable person stands in one or the
other categories, either gathered with the Lord or scattering seed for the
devil’s increase. Therefore I say unto you, Every sin and
blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men:
But the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.
In particular here, they had
accused him of casting out demons by the power of the demons. So they were blaspheming the third person of
the Godhead, the Holy Spirit. Whosoever shall speak aword against the
Son of man, it shall be forgiven him, but whosoever shall speak against the
Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in that
which is to come. Either make the tree
good, and the fruit good; or make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt:
For the tree is known by his fruit.
Ye offspring of vipers, how can ye, being evilspeak good things for out
of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. Jesus condemned the scribes and Pharisees in
his teaching more that any other group of people, and they were at the head of
the list in their “ holier than thou” disposition. They were continually
looking down on others. Like the
Pharisee in the temple, Lord, look how good I am. I
fast twice in the week and I give tithes of all that I get , and I am not like this publican over here.
Matthew
12:35, The good man out of his good treasure
bringeth forth good things:
And the evil man out of his evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. If you hear a man from day unto day speaking,
his speech will soon tell you what kind of person he is. I
say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an
account thereof in the day of judgment.
For by thy words, thou shalt be justified. They come forth from the heart, from the
thinking of man. And remember Proverbs 4:23,
Keep thy heart with all diligence,
for out of it are the issues of life. So
a man is a product of his thinking. Do you
remember the words of Paul in the twelfth chapter of the book of Romans. Be
not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your
mind, that ye may prove what is the good, perfect and acceptable will of
God. We need to keep our minds
renewed by studying and reflecting upon the meaning of the word of God. For
by thy word shall thou be justified; and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Then certain of the scribes and of the
Pharisees answered, saying, Teacher, we would see a sign from thee. Of all the signs he had given them, and when
he gave one, they were ready to kill
him, but here, they are trying to make it appear as though they have not seen
enough to know that he is the Christ. We would see a sign from thee. And he answered, and said unto them, An evil
and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be
given to it, but the sign of Jonah the
prophet. For as Jonah was three days and
three nights in the belly of a whale; so shall the Son of man be three days and
three nights in the heart of the earth.
I remember a debate between
Brother Leonard Johnson and a preacher who claimed miraculous power. There were
some in the audience who needed body parts restored and brother Johnson kept
saying, “Show your power by healing these people.” Of course he was a fake just
like all other so called miraculous healers, and he started running up and down
the isle shouting this passage, and brother Johnson replied, “Just go ahead and
perform that one. That will suffice!” And so Jesus is saying the sign that I
will give you is that I will be raised up the third day. Just like Jonah was vomited out of that
whale's belly, or that fish that God prepared on the third day, I will come
forth from the grave on the third day.
The
men of Nineveh shall stand up in judgment with this
generation, and shall condemn it.
How? For they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, a greater than Jonah is
here. Now, I would like for you
to think about that statement. Jonah was
that unwilling foreign evangelist. When
God told him to go to Nineveh, he
caught a ship and went in the other direction.
The storm came and Jonah was asleep and the mariners awoke him about the
matter and finally he got around to telling them that God had sent the storm
because of his disobedience and if they would throw him overboard that the
storm would cease. They tried to keep from having to throw him overboard, but
they finally threw him overboard, and then the fish swallowed him. Jonah was the first deep‑sea diver,
don't you think? He prayed unto the
Lord out of the belly of the whale, and
God had the whale to vomit out Jonah
upon the dry land and told him to go and preach to the Ninevites. Jonah went, and preached that short message
that God gave him to preach, Yet
forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown. Do you think he preached that message with a spirit
of kindness? I do not think so! He was preaching that short sermon in that
spirit that I will be glad when he destroys it.
Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown, and how happy
I will be.
The government leaders of Israel
and Jonah were already viewing Nineveh,
the capital of Assyria, as a threat to Israel,
and he did not want the Ninevites to be
saved. The Ninevites heard and repented
and God did not destroy Nineveh
which really disappointed that unwilling foreign evangelist. It looks like some brethren today think that
if a preacher does not present everything in a very positive way, with a lot of
beautiful and encouraging language, that they are under no obligation to hear
it. We surely need to speak the truth
in love and with a good spirit, but at the same time, if a man is preaching the
truth, all of us better hear it, and obey the instruction. Paul speaks of how
some in Rome were preaching the gospel in Philippians 1:15-18.
Some were preaching Christ of envey
and strife and some of good
will , but Paul was still glad Christ
is proclaimed. Why? Both groups were speaking the truth, and the truth
will save those who obey even if given in a wrong spirit by the preacher.
I hope you will find a good place
to write down I Kings 10:1‑10 which is
about the queen of Sheba
going to hear the wisdom of Solomon.
Matthew 12:42,
The queen of the south shall rise up
in judgment with this generation. And
shall condemn it. For she came from the
ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon and, behold, greater than
Solomon is here. Let us turn to I Kings, chapter ten and read about this
queen of the south that the writer is talking about. Do you remember that she concluded that she
did not believe it until she came and saw it with her own eyes? When she saw it with her own eyes, she found
that the wisdom of Solomon was even much greater than she had heard. I Kings chapter ten beginning with verse one,
Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning
the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions. She came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels
bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stones:
And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. She asked him many questions to see if he had
all that wisdom. And Solomon answered all of her questions. There was nothing hid from the king, which he
could not explain to her. And when the
queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the
house that he had built, the food of his table.
Are you aware of the food on his
table each day, as given in I Kings ‑‑ What chapter is it? In chapter four. If you have not read about
that, it would be an interesting reading to turn to I Kings four and begin with
verse seven and read about what kind of table was served every day during
Solomon's kingship. Back to I Kings 10:4,
When the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the
house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his officials,
and the attendance of his servants, and their clothing. Clothing even of the servants. His
cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he offered at the house of the Lord;
there was no spirit in her. And she said
to the king, The report was true, which I heard in mine own land of your
fathers and of your wisdom. But I did
not believe the reports until I came, and mine own eyes had seen it. And, behold, the half was not told me: Your wisdom and prosperity surpassed the
report which I heard. Happy are your
wives, happy are your servants who continually stand before you, and hear your
wisdom. Blessed be the Lord your God who
has delighted in you, and set you on the throne of Israel:
Because the Lord loved Israel for ever, he has made you king, that you
may execute justice and righteousness.
Then she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a very
great quantity of spices and
precious stones:
Never again came such an abundance of spices as these which the queen of
Sheba gave to Solomon.
I think it makes it more
interesting and more meaningful when we turn back and read more Old Testament
passages that New Testament passages are based on. Do you agree? It looks like that is about the only way we
are going to get members of the church to have much knowledge of the Old
Testament scriptures today is to turn back and do a lot of reading, and I try
to do that anywhere I am teaching, whether here or at church. We need to be familiar not only with the New
Testament, but with the Old Testament scriptures. Verse forty‑two again, The queen of the south shall rise up in
judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it:
For she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon;
and behold, a greater than Solomon is here. Jesus is talking about himself as the greater
than Solomon. You remember God had given
Solomon great wisdom. When God asked him
what he wanted. He reasoned that I am
but a child, and I do not know how to rule all of these people and he asked the
Lord to give him wisdom, and God gave him great wisdom.
Matthew 12:43,
But the unclean spirit when he has
gone out of the man, passeth through waterless places, seeking rest, and
findeth it not. Then he saith, I will
return unto my house, from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth
it empty, swept, and garnished. Then
goeth he, and taketh with himself seven of the other spirits more evil than
himself, and they enter in and dwell there:
And the last state of that man becometh worse than the first. Even so
shall it also be unto this evil generation. Well, what is the thrust of
this parable of the unclean spirit? Of course,
Jesus is casting out unclean spirits, but he states the spirit, as stated here,
passeth through waterless places, and does not find any rest, and so he decides
he will go back to the house that he was cast out of, and he finds the house
empty, swept, and garnished. And he
goes and taketh with himself seven other spirits more evil than himself, and
enter in and dwells there, and the state of that man becometh worse than the
first. Even so shall it be also to this
evil generation. This short parable is
surely emphasizing that there is to be positive goodness along with negative
goodness. It is not enough for a child
of God to just stop doing evil. He must
replace evil with good or else the house is left empty. Our time is up.