READINGS IN MATTHEW'S GOSPEL (10)
READINGS IN MATTHEW’S GOSPEL (10)
Matthew 20: 1 - 16; Matthew 21: 1 - 11; Matthew 22: 1 - 14
JTJr The first paragraph of Matthew 20 would allude to the whole period of christianity. It shows how God is taking account of the workmen and that He is not responsible to any in His affairs. He does not have to give an account to any of His matters, as it says: “Is it not lawful for me to do what I will in my own affairs?” verse 15. The parable shows that the Lord takes all of the workmen into account; those who are standing idle are put to work. I suppose He would have us all in the work, even though we come in at the end. It is our lot to come in at the end of the dispensation, and the Lord is putting us into the work.
WFK Does the thought of the kingdom of the heavens being like a householder mean that all those in the house are subject?
JTJr The kingdom of the heavens is reverted to and we are shown what it is like. We have had the subject of the kingdom of the heavens in the previous chapters, especially in chapter 13, and we have seen the different forms in which it is presented. Here it takes the form of a householder putting people to work and making an agreement with them as to pay. It alludes, therefore, to the whole period of christianity and how the householder, the Lord Jesus, is taking account of the workmen. If there are any idle He would put them to work.
RWS Those who are said to be standing idle did not exact any bargain from the householder as to their pay.
ANW Do we have to learn that it is safer to rely on the sovereign will of the Lord than to make a bargain with Him?
JTJr Yes; the Lord is infinitely fair. There is no unreasonableness or unfairness in His action, although [p. 202] it is indicated here that there were those who murmured, implying that He was unfair. The Lord is not unfair in anything He does and He shews that no one has the right to question Him in the handling of His own affairs.
AR One of the greatest difficulties today is the labour situation which appears to be getting out of hand.
JTJr Quite so. The Lord is looking at the idle. He is prepared to put them all to work; so that there need be none idle. Christianity is not an order of things where there is idleness. He would have us work.
RWS Paul says: “... who am not fit to be called apostle ... but I have laboured more abundantly than they all”, 1 Corinthians 15: 9, 10.
JTJr Paul would not make any complaint about his pay. He would be satisfied to labour with all the energy he had. He told the Corinthians that he was ready to spend and be spent, 2 Corinthians 12: 15.
CAM I suppose, in a way, he is a representative man at the close. He was brought in last of the apostles: “And last of all ... to me also”, 1 Corinthians 15: 8.
JTJr Yes. He speaks of himself in that way as having come in as an abortion, as belonging to another period, but he is not in any way complaining as to the labour that was put upon him. It is a question of how much we are ready to do in connection with the service of God. Paul carried the burdens of all the assemblies.
GBL The apostle Paul speaks with respect about those in Christ before him.
JTJr Yes: “... who were also in Christ before me” he says, Romans 16: 7. He looked upon himself in that way as having come into christianity after others.
JAP Apparently the twelve apostles were not jealous over his coming in later.
JTJr The disciples were afraid of him at first, but [p. 203] Barnabas took him to the apostles and related to them how the Lord had appeared to him.
DP Is the vineyard here a more circumscribed area than the field?
JTJr I think it is a type that the Spirit of God would use showing where labour is necessary, so that there is no idea of a clerical system but of workers. There are those who are ready to work.
WAT It says here the Lord found them. Do you not think it is an encouragement to all of us that if we are available for work the Lord will find us?
JTJr I think so. The Lord, coming out at these different hours of the day, would show that He is looking around to see who is there, and what the possibilities are. Perhaps we are overlooking them.
CAM Do you not think that this is an extension of the answer to Peter at the end of chapter 19? He brought up the question of what he is going to get or lose in connection with his devotion to Christ.
JTJr Peter had brought up the matter as to what would happen to those who followed Jesus, and the Lord had shewn him what would happen in the regeneration; that the twelve would sit on twelve thrones. That is a great reward which, I suppose, especially alludes to the apostles.
CAM Yes. It is interesting that the Lord says that to Peter, because Peter seems to have had desires to know what other people were to do, but the Lord is to have charge of everything.
JTJr Peter raised the question as to John in John 21. The Lord finishes the previous chapter with the word that everyone who has left houses or brethren, or other things, shall receive one hundredfold and shall inherit eternal life. They will lose nothing. We lose nothing by leaving everything for Christ.
ANW And would the closing verse of chapter 19 bring in Paul? “But many first shall be last, and last first”. That seems to be the principle that is developed in the chapter before us.
JTJr Yes. So that the Lord, in taking account of these various workers, would show that we need to be on that line ourselves as to those who are able to work, so that we do not overlook any that are able to serve in the preaching or otherwise. The word is, Why stand ye here idle? We need to be on the look-out for those who can carry out these services, and not keep to a certain few. We may be inclined to do this, whereas this parable would show that the Lord would put the idle to work.
AR Do you refer to those who have gift?
JTJr Yes. Invitations to serve may only include a certain few; certain persons, perhaps, who have had a reputation; but this parable would bring out that we need to take account of those who may be standing idle.
ABP Would you distinguish between labouring for compensation, and bondmanship? The Lord speaks of the bondman who toils in the field all day, comes home at evening and serves his master at table before he himself eats and then speaks of himself as an unprofitable bondman. (Luke 17: 7 - 10).
JTJr I think that would bring out the motives that govern those who serve. The Lord said that those who serve for wages run when the wolf comes. It is a question of our attitude in the service. There will be compensation, but that is entirely in the Lord’s hands as is shown here. Those who murmured were the ones who had agreed to a fixed compensation, and their complaint only brought out that there was the principle of dissatisfaction in them. Paul did not serve for wages. He laboured more than they all without any thought of wages, and yet he could speak of the crown that was laid up for him. A true servant is not looking for wages. So that it is a question of the motives of those who are working. On the other hand, the Lord is infinitely [p. 205] righteous and there is the idea of reward, so that Paul speaks of the crown that was laid up for him, as we have said.
TNW In verse 28 the Lord says that the Son of man came not to be ministered unto but to minister. Would that indicate that in the present position here below labour is proper, in contrast to the rest that we shall enter into eternally?
JTJr I think the parable is to bring out that christianity involves labour and toil. There is no idea of the clerical system but of workers. The Lord sees people idle; He is looking around to see who is available; who is standing; and would put them all to work.
RWS He goes out. The householder went out in the early morn, then at the third hour, then at the sixth hour, then again at the eleventh hour. Does he set out the idea himself of energetic service in view of there being something for God?
JTJr I would think so. The Lord is constantly looking out for workers. We might say that we are in the eleventh hour period, and the Lord is looking at us to bring us in and to get us into the work.
TNW Does the word “chosen”, in verse 16, suggest that there is something distinctive about those who are ready to work?
JTJr I would think so. The eleventh hour is just before the end of the day and we are just at the close of things, coming into the end of the dispensation. We need to be workers, not to be thinking of our houses and other affairs. We are to leave them, as the previous chapter shows, and be ready to work in the vineyard, where there is to be a yield for God.
AR Paul says that he laboured with his own hands.
JTJr That shows how he took on responsibility in relation to the natural side of things and worked with his own hands. He said, “the Lord has ordained to those that announce the glad tidings to live of the glad tidings”,
[p. 206] 1 Corinthians 9: 14. Yet he worked with his own hands to minister to his own needs. He says, as to what the Lord ordained, that “I have used none of these things”.
GVD What is the character of the work involved?
JTJr It is the thought that christianity is composed of living persons who are marked by readiness to be in things, and ready to do whatever comes to their hands to do for the assembly.
GVD This being the assembly gospel, would you think that the vineyard suggests that the service of God is in mind?
JTJr Yes, if we apply it that way, the workers are those that actually take up public ministry, so that things are done. Every person is looked on as a potential worker.
WAT So there is no particular stress laid on ability, but on the readiness to work.
JTJr That is the point; the readiness to work.
CN I suppose there are various phases of labour in the vineyard; there is the care and the dressing as well as the planting and the reaping. So it is the general idea of doing what your hand finds to do.
JTJr That is what I think. This section brings that out. The vineyard is the sphere where there is work to be done, and we have plenty to do in our localities; and not only when we are together, but caring for the saints when we are not together; it is a matter of what we can do for them.
ANW Do you not think one of the distinctions of the eleventh hour men is that they were not hired by anybody? They had to confess that: “No man has hired us”. But under the Lord’s hand they can be useful.
JTJr The systems of men would not hire such. We would not be taken on by them.
EAL In verse 8, it says, “Call the workmen and pay them their wages, beginning from the last even to the first”. The Lord does not qualify the workmen as being good or bad, but the last are paid first.
JTJr It brings out what was in the minds of some — they murmured, saying they had worked harder.
CAM The thought of the vineyard may suggest that at the end of the spiritual year there is an ingathering of the vintage. Perhaps we ought to be set for joy at the end of the dispensation.
JTJr That would enter into it; the joy of serving the Lord. How greatly it helps in labour if we really enjoy doing a thing. Our spirits are refreshed through doing it.
JHE The steward, in verse 8, was like-minded with his lord. It is not said that he was told what to pay; he knew what to pay without being told.
JTJr It brings out the character of the system of things that is under the Lord’s hand. And He is not responsible to any in His own affairs. We need to see that; the Lord needs not to make an accounting to anybody for what He is doing.
ANW Is the principle seen in His words, “If I will that he abide until I come, what is that to thee?”
JTJr Quite, so that we would not murmur at the selection the Lord makes in choosing those whom He will use. It is a matter of His own affairs, and He does not give an account to anyone.
AI Would you say that ‘standing’ means a readiness, as it were, for the work?
JTJr I think it would show that we need to be on the look-out for persons that are usable for the Lord’s work, and that we do not get into a rut in extending invitations.
JAP It says of Barnabas that he found Paul and brought him to Antioch.
JTJr That is right. He knew the man who was able to do the work; in a sense they did not accept Paul at the beginning. They were afraid of him, as [p. 208] remarked earlier, but they soon came to recognise the place the Lord had given to Paul.
RWS We need great help in our localities. Should not this section help us as to standing by in our localities, to be available to improve what is already there?
JTJr I think so. There are those who come forward to work. But there is always a tendency with some to let others do it. We should lay it upon ourselves to see what is to be done. Christianity is a living order of things, implying the need for workers.
RHS Does Hebrews 6: 10 help? “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work, and the love which ye have shown to his name, having ministered to the saints, and still ministering”. Does that suggest that God will take account of every bit of work? The point is to be still ministering.
JTJr Just so; even a cup of cold water given in His name is taken into account. It is how it is done, and it has its reward.
GH In Romans 16 there are quite a number of persons who are ready and willing to work: “Salute Prisca and Aquila, my fellow-workmen in Christ Jesus, ... Salute Maria, who laboured much for you ... Salute Persis, the beloved, who has laboured much in the Lord ... Timotheus, my fellow-workman”, etc. These are persons who are willing to do the work.
JTJr That is a good chapter to bring up here. Paul knew the workers and he mentioned them all by name. The epistle to the Romans would produce workers.
WFK They all get the same wages. That would suggest that the motive is not a question of wages. Paul would never raise the question of wages, would he? We should serve because we love the Lord.
JTJr What is in mind here is that the Lord is in charge of His own affairs.
FNW In our localities there may be those whom [p. 209] the Lord would help in preaching the gospel. If the local brethren overlook them, are other localities bound until they are recognised locally?
JTJr I do not think we need to wait in such cases before we invite a brother. It is a question of recognising what spiritual ability a man has. If he has gift it is in relation to the whole assembly. “How shall they preach unless they have been sent?” Romans 10: 15, would show that there should be some evidence in the person that the Lord is using him.
FNW There is a hesitancy at times to invite persons who have not preached in their own localities. I wondered if the Lord would not help in this respect?
JTJr It may be there are some who are idle who can be used, and this chapter would show the need for going out and looking as the lord of the vineyard did. However, if a brother has gift it should be recognised in his own locality and he should serve there, provided, of course, he is not otherwise disqualified.
WFK Philip did not wait. He went down to Samaria.
JTJr Quite so; you do not need to wait in regard to your service, but then one might be shut out through dislike or personal feelings being active. This chapter would show that there were those there who were idle. Why had they not been hired?
RWS “A prophet is not without honour, unless in his country and in his house”, Matthew 13: 57. Sometimes the brethren invite a brother from a considerable distance when they might have found a brother nearer at hand who could serve.
JTJr Quite so; that is the danger of getting into a rut in regard to these things and not seeing what the Lord may be bringing forward; what may be there that can be used.
RHS Does work, as we are speaking of it now, always [p. 210] entail gift?
JTJr I think we can apply it either to gift or to what is necessary to be done in any matter in our local gatherings. There are many things to be done. Entertaining the Lord’s servants means work, and this falls on the sisters, mainly.
RWS Phoebe would represent the sisterhood. She did a good work at Cenchrea, but she did a greater service in taking Paul’s epistle to Rome.
JTJr Quite so; she is called “minister of the assembly which is in Cenchrea”.
ETP Does Timothy represent one whom Paul found standing, and he took him on?
JTJr Paul was on the look-out, so to speak. John Mark had returned from the work. Silvanus and Timothy learned how to do things in company with Paul.
ABP Would Luke be a special example of one who was prepared to labour, seeing that he wrote a whole gospel with a view to bringing one man livingly into the circle of the testimony?
JTJr Quite so.
ANW Do you not think we are tested as Rebecca was by the asking of a little drink? The way we respond to a small request like that indicates whether we will get any more important work to do.
JTJr Yes; you feel that there should be a greater readiness to come forward to do things. There is so much to be done; and we should go forward and do it. Rebecca was ready to do it. She offered to do more.
ANW She ran. Nehemiah said that the people had a heart to work, but that the nobles did not put their neck to the work.
GVD The levitical gospel of Mark is characterised by such words as ‘straightway’ and ‘immediately’, which is quite the opposite to standing idle all the day.
JTJr Mark would show that things are to be done and done right away and well done, as it says, “He does all things well”, Mark [p. 211] 7: 37.
ANW Is that not a very severe word, in the prophet: “Cursed be he that doeth the work of Jehovah negligently ...”, Jeremiah 48: 10?
JTJr Quite so; so that the suggestion is that on the one hand, we might overlook persons and on the other that they may not come forward, which might indicate negligence and indifference.
GH God said to man, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread”, Genesis 3: 19. Man often looks on work as a burden, but is it not that there is a preservative feature about work, and that God has considered for men in that way?
JTJr Quite so; he is much better off, so that labour strikes are demoralising. What we have seen in this city in the last few days would make men wondering about the intelligence of people. But those standing idle here are not on strike. No one had hired them. They were ready to work and the Lord put them to work.
Rem God set man in the garden to till it, before sin came in.
JTJr Quite so; work, in itself, helps us if we bring God into it. “Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do with thy might”, Ecclesiastes 9: 10. You will be helped in labouring. Laziness has no affinity with spirituality. The more spiritual a person is the more he will seek to do his work rightly.
ATD Isaiah said, “Here am I; send me”, Isaiah 6:8.
JTJr That is what we should have in our minds. The divine inquiry is, “Who will go for us?” And Isaiah answers, “Here am I; send me”. Are we ready for that? There is so much that needs to be done, especially in a large city like that in which we are living.
JC In speaking of the heave offering, it says, “Take from among you a heave-offering to Jehovah every one whose heart is willing, let him bring it”,
[p. 212] Exodus 35: 5. Then later, it says, “Every one whose heart moved him, and every one whose spirit prompted him; they brought”, etc., verse 21. And again, in verse 23, “And every man with whom was found” etc. Is that the principle?
JTJr Yes; it is the willing-hearted. Psalm 110 speaks of a willing people. It is the idea of willingness. That comes out in Leviticus 2: 1, “When any one will present an oblation to Jehovah”. It is not command — it is whoever will do it. It is a question of the heart being willing to move in the service of God.
ANW I notice, in verse 11, that certain murmured against the master of the house.
JTJr When we do come into the service we find that we are under orders. We must be under the control of the master of the house.
CN What would you say as to the first being last and the last first.
JTJr It says, in chapter 19: 30, “But many first shall be last, and last first”. It does not say all of them, but many of them. But in chapter 20: 16, it says, “Thus shall the last be first, and the first last”.
CN Does it involve the sovereignty of God as well as a right appraisal of the service?
FSC And is not this section written to set out the principle? “Thus shall the last be first, and the first last”.
JTJr It shows God’s sovereignty, but also that His ways bring out the reality of those who will be first. How truly they will set out and fill out the position. God has arranged for them, so that in the profession today you might say, there are those who have the first place and are recognised, even by the government. In a certain sense religion is recognised, but true believers who seek to be separate from evil association receive little, if any, recognition, generally. And, of course, such would not have a place, but are content to leave [p. 213] that to God. It is a question of His sovereignty. We are near the end. It is the eleventh hour, and we should be in the work.
ABP We may feel there would be great advantage in having been at the beginning of the dispensation. This parable seems to suggest that the greatest opportunity is at the end.
JTJr Quite so. What an opportunity we have today! We have come into a living state of things in the service of God.
WAT The saints living at the present time have the advantage of the church’s history right from the beginning. Those at the beginning did not know, experimentally, what the circumstances would be at the end. We have the advantage of the whole history.
DP There seems to be room in the vineyard for all the workmen. There need not be any rivalry.
JTJr That is true. There is no need for rivalry, but it is liable to show itself. But I suppose that if we have the King in mind; if we are really true servants and bondmen of the King, there will be no rivalry.
AR The Lord says, “Is thine eye evil because I am good?” There is a footnote to the word evil — “envious, jealous”.
JTJr It is a question, therefore, of examining our motives, whether there is any jealousy with us.
RWS We cannot clothe ourselves in a pious sort of way with this eleventh hour thought. We should examine our motives; why are we doing what we are doing? Otherwise we may find that we are like those who later murmured.
JTJr “Is thine eye evil because I am good?” God is good and why should there be an evil outlook with any of us? God is doing things for the good of His inheritance. We see that in the way God places His men in different localities. It is for the good of the saints, and we would not have an evil eye in regard [p. 214] to it.
WFK What would you say about the ass and the colt in chapter 21?
JTJr That comes up next — that the King is coming into Jerusalem, and what a reception He is getting! This had its fulfilment when the Lord went into Jerusalem for the last time. He had such a reception, and it was God’s ordering that it should be so. The hosannas went out to Him, and in a certain sense we can apply it now to the way that the Lord is given His place in the assembly. We know that soon He will come into it publicly, but then, we are giving Him His place in His city now.
ANW We have the word, “The Lord has need of them”, verse 3. That is an interesting reference. He has need of us, in that sense. “And if any one say anything to you, ye shall say, The Lord has need of them”.
JTJr So that the position is clear. The Lord has Jerusalem in His mind and He has to say to it immediately after this parable. But now it is a question of the mode in which He enters the city. So the ass and the colt come before us here, and we need to see what it means-how Christ comes into His place in Jerusalem. The Lord has need of the ass and colt for this service.
JS It is at the mount of Olives, which would have reference to the Spirit.
WFK Would the ass and the colt suggest the old and the young together? How does the carrying apply to us today?
JTJr I think it would be that the older brethren help the younger brethren — and the Lord can use both. They are to go on together. We are not to be without the young. We are to have them with us. That is the way the testimony is carried on. The young are present with the older ones.
WAT The colt is with the ass.
JTJr Meaning that our children should be with us.
CN It says that the Lord sat on both [p. 215] of them.
JTJr If the Lord gets the place of supremacy in our localities, the idea of Jerusalem will come about. We are to follow these directions: “Loose them” and “The Lord has need of them”. The Lord cannot get into the city if there are divided conditions.
JS “Loose them and lead them to me”.
JTJr That would show that what is needed is to get into touch with the Lord.
GBL The colt is dependent upon the ass. Do you not think that younger brethren should rightly recognise the older ones?
JTJr I think we should.
ANW I think the footnote to the word ‘foal’ would help us here. It is a colt “the foal of an ass”, in verse 5, and the footnote says, ‘son of one under yoke’. That is a good word for us these days. There is a healthy state in a locality where the young and old go on together in this way.
JTJr I would say that. You would look for that; the older ones and the younger ones carrying together. We need to make way for the younger ones, and see that we do not offend them. Chapter 18: 6 says that they are not to be offended. Our affections would keep them near. The colt is with the ass. So that if we do not have them with us, there must be something wrong in our affections. We should influence them in the right direction.
RWS This Person is called David’s Son and Zion’s King. Is it not impressive to think who it is that we are connected with in bringing Him into the city?
JTJr It is; what a time it was for Jerusalem! God arranged it so that His beloved Son should have this wonderful tribute in entering the favoured city. He was soon to be slain, but here there were no opposing elements. He went into the city in glory at this point, and they say, Who is this? God is bringing out the greatness of His [p. 216] Son.
JHE Verse 2 is helpful: The ass is tied and the colt with it, and the word is, “Loose them and lead them to me”. That is important — to loose the children.
JTJr You detach them from the natural side of things. The tied position is right, but there is a time when the Lord says, in principle, I want them; bring them to Me. We seek to keep them tied, but now we would loose them and bring them to Him.
FNW Why does it say in this gospel that the ass was tied, and the colt with it?
JTJr I think it shows that the position was under control. I suppose it suggests that the household is under control.
GBL Would you challenge a brother who does not have his children with him? Is he responsible?
JTJr I think most would feel that. But there are those whom the Lord has claimed, and the testimony is continued mainly by households that have operated on this principle.
AR Later we see the children in the temple crying, “Hosanna to the Son of David”. They are not tied now, but in the temple praising.
JTJr It shows how soon they will begin to take on the idea of serving the Lord, if they are under right instruction.
AR The Lord refers to their service as “perfected praise”.
ABP Does the blessing of Judah link the vineyard and the Lord’s entry together? “He bindeth his foal to the vine, and his ass’s colt to the choice vine”, Genesis 49: 11. They were not only tied, but linked on with something very positive.
JTJr If we hold the position in relation to the Lord’s interests, we shall see how things prosper.
CN Everybody in this section is in the occasion. The disciples did as Jesus had ordered them; the crowd strewed their own garments on the way; others [p. 217] kept cutting down branches from the trees and strewing them on the way; and the crowds cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; and the whole city was moved, saying, Who is this? So that the operation is great, and every one is in it.
JTJr It seems to show that God has ordered all this. And you might say that He is ordering it now, in our localities, in some sense; that the Lord has this response where the idea of His city is maintained. The whole city was moved, saying, Who is this? We know who He is!
JAP Do our gospel preachings have in view getting the ass and the colt into this position?
JTJr I think they should. And then there is the unloosing; the ability to detach ourselves from what is natural, and to see what stands in relation to Christ is a great matter. Our family relationships are one thing; they are right and proper, but to see that our children stand in relation to the Lord is a far greater matter, and we want to see that they come into these things.
CAM Our brother alluded to the footnote, ‘son of one under yoke’. The matter of sonship has been so stressed at the close; do you think that there comes a time when we can be set at liberty to serve in the spirit of privilege? I mean, is not the idea of sonship a most wonderful privilege at the close of this dispensation?
JTJr I am sure you are right. That would all enter into the position in relation to Christ; so that when we come into the assembly, we begin to see the great range of things that is in God’s mind. And one of the things that He has in mind is the marriage of His own Son. In chapter 22 it is a question of what is in God’s mind in relation to Christ. He so delights in His Son that He makes this wedding feast for Him.
CAM That is very good. It seems to magnify the way that the Spirit, in ministry, has opened up the great thought [p. 218] of sonship.
JTJr Quite so; the greatness of Christ now is in mind in relation to His affections; and God’s affections are in the matter. Chapter 22 implies that God is thinking of the affections of Christ. He is thinking of what is suitable for His heart, and He has provided for that which will answer to His affections in the assembly.
AR The servants have part in the work, too. It is a question of calling the guests. They are under God’s hand in this matter.
JTJr I think we have seen that. I suppose it applied directly at Pentecost, we might say, when God was making overtures to Israel in regard to Christ. The bondmen were sent out to bring them to the feast, but they would not come in.
ANW In that way we shall see again how the first are last and the last are first. It is remarkable how the Gentiles are brought in to be the first. The Jew was first but is last, and the Gentile last but first.
JTJr What an invitation there was at the beginning! God was doing something directly for His Son; making a wedding feast for Him, and those invited would not come to the wedding feast. This book speaks about the heir; Christ is the heir. They had said, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him”, chapter 21: 38. That is what was in their minds, and they killed Him. But even after that God took account of His earthly people and bid them to the wedding. It was a bidding. In the early part of the Acts there was an invitation to the Jew to come to the wedding, but they would not come. So wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.
WFK They refused the invitation of the King.
RHS Is not this invitation remarkable in view of the previous chapter where they are rejected, in principle, in the cursing of the fig tree? The Lord said, “Let there be never more fruit of thee for ever”, verse 19.
JTJr It is; think of what came out in the Lord’s life here in relation to Israel, in fulfilling the overtures [p. 219] through the prophets to them. But they would not have Christ. They slew Him. The Lord tells of it plainly in the parable: “This is the heir; come, let us kill him and possess his inheritance”. But now, in this chapter, God is making overtures to His people. He would make a wedding feast for His Son and invite them to it. Many came in the early part of the Acts. They came to the wedding, but the rulers, and the people generally, would not come.
CAM In the previous chapter the crowds took off their garments and strewed them in the way. Do you think that if what distinguishes us is sacrificed and put at the service of Christ, we would be ready for the garment of privilege and beauty that belongs to the wedding feast?
JTJr There is need for right attire at the wedding feast. There was an inspection. The king came in to survey the guests.
SW Would that be like the robe that was put on the returning son in Luke 15?
JTJr It would be a similar thought, but here it was the responsibility of the guests to have on the wedding garment. It is a time of inspection. The Lord is looking on us, and so we need to be clothed aright.
JAP The enemy attacked the position in Solomon’s time for Adonijah sought to be king and then he wanted Abishag.
JTJr The hatred came out at the martyrdom of Stephen. In principle they said that they would not have Christ to reign over them. They would not have God’s selection. That comes out in the parable. They slew the bondmen. The same murderous spirit was in the Pharisees in verse 46 of the previous chapter: they sought to lay hold of him. I think that is why the Lord is so strong in His condemnation of the Pharisees. He denounces the pharisaical spirit in [p. 220] this gospel.
RWS This dispensation has been alluded to as nondescript because it says that the bondmen “brought together all as many as they found, both evil and good; and the wedding feast was furnished with guests”. The test seems to be not evil or good, but what kind of garment is worn. Does that not bear on the assembly?
JTJr That is good. It is how we stand, personally, in the things of God. What is our clothing? Our clothing is what we are. Are we on the line of sonship? Are we in the good of sonship? It is a question of the garments.
DMacd How could one get in to this feast without a wedding garment?
JTJr I think it alludes to the position at the present moment, and what may obtain among us; what may not be real. This would bring out the need of searching, as to whether we really have the clothing on and are suited to Christ. “Examine your own selves if ye be in the faith; prove your own selves”, 2 Corinthians 13: 5.
ETP The bride is not brought in here, but is reserved for later.
JTJr This parable is to make much of Christ. It is not at this point to make much of the assembly, but of Christ. He is so great that God would make a wedding feast for Him. That comes out in the Acts. It is the assembly; that is the bride, but this chapter is to make much of the Person of Christ. God is so delighted in Him that He is going to make this wedding feast for Him, and that is what is going on at this moment, that the assembly is for Christ. It is God’s delight in His beloved Son.
ABP It says in regard to the incoming of the Spirit, “... till ye be clothed with power from on high”, Luke 24: 49. In the house of Cornelius the Spirit fell upon the Gentiles. Would there be a suggestion in that of the garment that is suitable?
JTJr I think so. The full thought of the assembly [p. 221] really awaited Paul. How he speaks of labouring with the Corinthians to present them as a chaste virgin to Christ! We see that side of it in what Paul presents, and it stands related to this chapter.
AMcN I suppose we could assume that every garment present was clean, except this objectionable case. Only those who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb have title to enter into an occasion such as is set out here.
JTJr I think the case referred to brings out what is possible in our attitude, because it is really a matter of what we are in our state. How it should search us as to whether we really have the right clothing on in relation to Christ at this wedding. There is no room for anything else.
AR The Lord has been waiting long for the marriage.
JTJr It is a question of the feast. It is a time of feasting, you might say, at the present moment. Think of what the Lord has out of this occasion, and what invitations are going out for it!
SW John says, “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of the heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband”, Revelation 21: 2. The adornment is going on now?
JTJr Quite so; I think we have seen the assembly in chapter 16. It is not mentioned here, but the assembly is in mind as being for Christ, and I think it is to bring out the greatness of the Person who has the assembly, for He is the King’s Son. He has been into Jerusalem, but now it is a question of what is for His heart. Jerusalem would suggest administration, and He is seen coming in there meek and lowly. That is the attitude in which He goes in, and we ought to take on our administrative matters in the same spirit. But this matter is for His heart; it is how God delights to supply something for the heart [p. 222] of Christ.
JHE Those who would be suitably attired would have a right judgment of the spirit of murder in those who slew the Heir.
JTJr They slew the Heir, but now God has taken up His beloved Son and He is giving Him the assembly. He is doing that now, and the point is whether we are in the position with the right garments on.
RWS This would normally help us in the service of praise in the morning meeting. The bride is not mentioned here, nor in chapter 25. It is the King’s Son and the Bridegroom. Does that suggest the bride’s appreciation of Christ — as to how great this Person is?
JTJr I think so. We might say, too, that God has His part in that part of the meeting which is particularly for the heart of Christ. He made the wedding feast for His Son and His delight is in Christ having the assembly.
AI Was Rebecca not suitably attired for Isaac?
JTJr Actually, that came about on the way, I suppose. She received the garments from the servant. The articles of silver and gold and the garments are supplied to Rebecca. She is made suitable for Isaac, the heavenly man; and I suppose this chapter presents Christ in that way. He has gone into death, as the previous chapter would have in mind, but now He is to have what is for His heart, as the assembly represents.
JAP Who do the guests represent?
JTJr It is typical, of course; that is, what is in mind is a wedding feast and what is suitable to it. The bride is not mentioned here, but I think the guests would enter into that.
ABP Would you say that in what has been before us this evening there is the thought of what is being maintained in testimony here? It is not the heavenly side of things exactly, but we have the guests’ position in relation to the wedding; and the vineyard was really Israel’s but was turned over to others. It is the position in testimony here that is in mind?
JTJr That is really what we began with in this series of readings; the assembly in relation to what is down here; therefore it is the vineyard. Jerusalem and the wedding feast. It is all in relation to what is down here in the world, and the invitations are, in that respect, with regard to what is here. God would have us all in it. Christ has a right to everything. He is the heir. He is soon going to take up, in a public way, what belongs to Him.
RHS “Garments of salvation” “and the robe of righteousness” (Isaiah 61: 10) would be much the same as these wedding garments?
JTJr Quite so; I think it is a question of our state — what we are — all that enters into our moral fibre. Romans would supply all that, and it would come out in our conduct and personalities.
ANW Do you think that the one who got through without a wedding garment was outwardly a ‘good’ person, but the ‘evil’ who remained would have the right garment on? They brought in “both evil and good”. The whole matter depends upon the garment.
DPC Would a ‘good’ guest be one like Saul who, according to the law, was blameless?
JTJr Very likely; but Saul became one who truly valued the assembly. And he desired to be found not having his own righteousness which would be on the principle of law, but that he might gain Christ and be found in Him, Philippians 3: 9.