CHRIST ASSEMBLING WITH HIS OWN (3)
[p. 37] CHRIST ASSEMBLING WITH HIS OWN (3)
Matthew 12:46-50; Matthew 13:36-50
JT Hitherto we have been largely engaged with authority in Christ; the kingdom of the heavens up to chapter 10. Chapter 11:1 says, “And it came to pass when Jesus had finished commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and preach in their cities”. Evidently a complete course was finished, that is, authoritative instruction; then it is said of the Lord, that “he departed thence to teach and preach in their cities”, as if to exemplify in Himself the instruction He had been imparting to them. Chapter 11 brings out this feature in Christ; that He is a model for us, and at the end of this chapter He says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest to your souls”. He is the model for us. He instructs us in authority, but He exemplifies the instruction.
Chapter 11 indicates the break between Him and the Jews. He is rejected; His ministry is rejected; His signs are rejected; so that we are told in verse 20, “Then began he to reproach the cities in which most of his works of power had taken place, because they had not repented”. At such a time He turns to His Father, and says, “I praise thee, Father, Lord of the heaven and of the earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to babes” (verse 25). The things He had been teaching had been revealed to babes, in spite of the rejection by the Jews; so that, we have a complete break, and a new order of things introduced; a new beginning, leading to the assembly and christianity. In chapter 10:5, He had said that they were not to go in the way of the gentiles; “These twelve Jesus sent out when he had charged them, saying, Go not off into the way of the nations, and into a city of Samaritans enter ye not”. Now from chapter 12 onwards the universal gospel is in mind, as we shall see,
[p. 38] and what is to be noticed particularly is the circle of the brethren, introduced in the first passage read, as the basis for what follows.
It is characteristic of what we are saying, the Lord Jesus coming in and going out among the disciples. This passage indicates that He had been saying things in an inner circle; for although He was speaking to the crowds, it is said that “his mother and his brethren stood without, seeking to speak to him”. They were outside and He was inside, nor does He bring them in; He rather remains where He was in the midst of those to be known henceforth as His disciples, and His true brethren. He says, “Whosoever shall do the will of my Father who is in the heavens, he is my brother, and sister, and mother”. Our consideration at this time will be of brethren from Matthew’s point of view, and the teaching of chapter 13 based on it; the truth of the assembly brought out. The brethren are introduced into the secrets of His parabolic ministry, which hides the truth from certain who had been under it; they are not to understand; as to them the ministry is judicial in character. There are those who do understand; they are instructed in the house. “Then, having dismissed the crowds, he went into the house; and his disciples came to him, saying, Expound to us the parable of the darnel of the field”. We get the mystery of the kingdom opened up to us in the house; we are distinctly in an inside position in this section, leading up to the assembly.
In this section of the gospel the assembly is in view, but presented in a parabolic way among the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. Only those who are initiated understand parabolic ministry; others are excluded judicially (verses 10-15).
HH Previously He had been working miracles, but now He is teaching by parables.
JT Yes, we are entering on the parables; there are seven of them in chapter 13, but it is important to [p. 39] get the position of the brethren indicated as the basis of the instruction; they belong to the inner circle. Mark’s account makes it a circle; “And looking around in a circuit at those that were sitting around him, he says, Behold my mother and my brethren” (Mark 3:34).
JTJr The circle would involve the recognition of the Spirit. In chapter 12, the Holy Spirit is referred to as being the divine Person that is here sinned against (verses. 31,32). The recognition of Him would make way for the inner circle.
JT That is right. The Spirit was already operating in Christ. He says, “But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then indeed the kingdom of God is come upon you” (Matthew 12:28). The circle of the brethren makes way for the Spirit, as the Acts will show; they received the Holy Spirit from Christ as ascended. In a way nothing is more important in relation to our subject than the position of the brethren as seen here in Matthew. All the evangelists speak of the brethren; Matthew, Mark and Luke place the subject on a moral basis, that is, “whosoever shall do the will of my Father who is in the heavens, he is my brother, and sister, and mother”. Mark 3: 35 says, “whosoever shall do the will of God”. Luke 11:28 says, “blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it”. John 20:17 shows that the idea of brethren is on the basis of counsel; “go to my brethren and say to them, I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God”.
HH Would the Lord’s appeal in Matthew 11:28 help us to come into this inner circle? “Come to me, all ye who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest to your souls; for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light”.
JT Well, it does clearly; it comes in after the Lord’s word to His Father, saying “All things have been delivered to me by my Father, and no one knows [p. 40] the Son but the Father, nor does anyone know the Father, but the Son, and he to whom the Son may be pleased to reveal him”. For this revelation we need to be free from burden. “Come to me, all ye who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” Present conditions in the world certainly are burdensome; they tax us very much, and are likely to hinder us in entering into this great thought of revelation. The Lord would bring us into rest; it is as we take His yoke upon us and learn from Him. He says, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light”. It is relief from burdens arising from conditions here, so that one should enter into the revelation.
JH-t The opening words of chapter 13 say, “And that same day Jesus went out from the house and sat down by the sea”. He dissociates Himself from Israel?
JT Yes, He leaves one house, and verse 36 shows Him entering another, “Then, having dismissed the crowds, he went into the house”. In this house He opens up the ministry of what He had been giving in the parables. The idea of ‘ house ‘ in Matthew is very instructive; it fits in generally with the subject before us where the Lord Jesus came in and went out.
EP Chapter 12:43,44 says “But when the unclean spirit has gone out of the man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and does not find it. Then he says, I will return to my house whence I came out”. Do you think that stands in contrast to coming to the Lord and finding rest, and being taught as in chapter 13?
JT Yes, they did not find rest. The world does not afford any rest. The unclean spirit goes back to the house whence he came out, “and having come, he finds it unoccupied, swept, and adorned”. That is very much like christendom. The passage alludes to the unregenerate Jewish condition in the last days.
EP The Lord makes everything clear and distinct; in Matthew 5 the mountain position is in contrast to [p. 41] the plain, and here in chapter 12, His brethren are seen in contrast to all else.
JT Matthew draws sharp contrasts. There is a severity in the way in which he presents the truth dealing with persons. In ministering the truth Luke is much more gracious; which is right in its place. The gospel is in mind in Luke, but Matthew has the kingdom and the assembly in mind, and there must be no compromise in that relation. His severity is mainly against the Jewish system.
HH We are to find rest for our souls.
JT It is not yet rest of body. Peter enlarges on this matter of souls. He says, “Receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:9). The subject runs through Peter’s first epistle as over against body salvation, and relief. It is the rest of soul that is needed.
Chapter 11 comes in very instructively as following a finished course of instruction. The Lord finishes one course at the end of chapter 10, bringing out the importance of a righteous man, and a drink of cold water given in the name of a disciple. He finishes that instruction, and then John comes into view as having sent a message to Him, and the Lord says to the crowds in verse 7, “What went ye out into the wilderness to see?” He is challenging us as to what we went out for. Christendom has largely come, either from judaism, or heathendom. Well, why have we come out? Why did our forefathers leave heathendom? He is challenging us as to the position we take up, and He pursues that instruction until the end of verse 19, saying, “wisdom has been justified by her children”. The children of wisdom come into view in chapter 11, and they justify wisdom in what they do. We must keep our eyes on the children of wisdom; we see wisdom exemplified in them. The Lord brings Himself into the position as an example at the end of the chapter. It is all most instructive, especially because it is a critical period. The Jews had [p. 42] rejected Him and He was about to introduce another order of things. All the instruction of chapter 11 is to prepare us for a new order of things, and He is Himself the model of it.
JP Would there be a link with the latter part of Psalm 132? “For Jehovah hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his dwelling.”
JT Well, Zion is coming into view now. It is a question of sovereign selection and Christ addresses the Father as universal Lord, and praises Him because He had selected the babes to reveal these things to them. Then the quality of things, comparative qualities, comes out in chapter 12; we have come to greater things.
RA The queen of the south came to hear the wisdom of Solomon.
JT Yes. She is one whom the Lord mentions in order to condemn the Jews in rejecting Him. The queen of the south and the men of Nineveh in the judgment will stand up against the generation to whom Christ testified, and shall condemn it. So that we may say we are in the presence of the judgment seat of God in these chapters. No doubt each of us in his place will be called upon to witness in the day of judgment. It will be a wonderful time, the judgment day, when those who reject the truth and those who accept it are there; the latter to testify against the former.
WJC The only ones whom the Lord recognised as His brethren are those who do the will of His Father who is in the heavens. They have learned from Him to do that will.
JT That comes out at the end of chapter 12, which is marked by comparison in greatness, “behold, more than Jonas is here ... and behold, more than Solomon is here” (verses 41,42). The most vicious evil is contemplated. In verse 24 the Lord Himself is charged with acting in the power of Beelzebub. So that He brings up this matter of the sin against the Holy [p. 43] Spirit; it is very little understood, but it comes into this chapter opportunely, because it is not only a question of what Christ is doing personally, but the Spirit by which He is carrying on God’s service of grace.
EP Is that why the Lord says, “more than Jonas is here” ... “more than Solomon is here”? He does not say “a greater” than Solomon.
JT Yes. It is not so much that He was greater, but what was greater, involving the Spirit as well, for He was acting in the power of the Spirit. The kingdom is implied. The greatest of all testimonies was operative.
AM Those that are linked with Him as taking His yoke upon them develop in moral qualities, in the sphere of His brethren.
JT It is those who come to Him. He relieves you of your burden, but gives you His yoke, which I would assume to be included in what He was as a Man before His Father; that yoke is easy and that burden is light. It is a delightful burden, a delightful yoke. It is not a yoke of bondage, and hence in the beginning of chapter 12 we have the incident of the Lord going through the cornfields; the Lord sets for us an example of how to be in liberty, for we cannot reach the idea of brethren unless we are in liberty; no hard legal requirements expressed by the Pharisees. “At that time Jesus went on the sabbath through the cornfields; and his disciples were hungry, and began to pluck the ears and to eat. But the Pharisees, seeing it, said to him, Behold, thy disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on sabbath” (Matthew 12:1,2). They did not say anything about His going through the cornfields, but what He did led the disciples to pluck the corn. He did not pluck the corn, but they did. They went beyond what He did. It is to convey the idea of liberty; not that they would go beyond what the Lord would do, but He indicates the way of liberty and they take it. They did not ask Him if they should pluck the corn and eat it.
AEH [p. 44] Would you say that is a suggestion in connection with service in the assembly?
JT In assembly young brethren very often hold back and fail to take part until the older ones have done so; in prayer meetings too. In a certain sense it is right, but if it is carried beyond that sense it is legal and hinders, because the priests are always at liberty. It is a question of sonship, sons are free. “Jesus said to him, Then are the sons free” (Matthew 17:26). Not any particular son but the sons.
AM Things are to be done in the same spirit in which Christ would do them — the spirit of Christ.
EP Referring to the Lord coming in and going out amongst them, would not the disciples get the gain of the new position by the example the Lord gave in going into the cornfields?
JT They would see the Lord indicating the way. “At that time Jesus went on the sabbath through the cornfields”; the passage does not say, He and the disciples. They went further, that is exactly what He had in mind. That is the liberty of christianity. It is the liberty in which Christ has set us free. He “has set us free in freedom” (Galatians 5:1).
JST Does His yoke in chapter 11, and the will of the Father in the end of chapter 12, link on with this liberty?
JT Yes. This paragraph ending at verse 8 is to inculcate spiritual liberty; to familiarise us with it. The Lord indicates the way, but He does not say, You must pluck the corn. That is what He had in mind, and He defends them as having done it. They were doing it on their own initiative, as a result of the lead given by the Lord. He selected the sabbath for it. They did more; they plucked the corn and ate it, and He justified their action.
WL Does the attitude of the Pharisees here obtain today in the religious systems? They do not induce spiritual [p. 45] liberty.
JT They do not. A man-made religious system cannot contain true liberty. This is found in the assembly, where the Spirit of God is. The Lord must have scope, but He has none in a mere religious system. He had scope here and used it: “At that time Jesus went on the sabbath through the cornfields”.
AB “Wisdom has been justified by her children” (Matthew 11:19).
JT That is the point; the disciples here are her children.
AB “But I say unto you, that there is here what is greater than the temple” (chapter 12:6); this would be in relation to the light that had sprung up.
JT Quite so; the Lord is bringing out the greatness of the new position and that the children of wisdom were in it; not only wisdom itself being there in Him, but her children are now present and they justify wisdom. That is, wisdom’s children justified it, because it afforded them something to eat. If the legalist has his way they will die of hunger rather than they should eat on the sabbath. And he will not allow a man to be healed on the sabbath.
JST The Lord says, “Ye would not have condemned the guiltless” (chapter 12:7).
JT Quite so; the disciples were guiltless.
WGT He refers to David who introduced something additional in the service of God.
JT He said to them, “Have ye not read what David did when he was hungry, and they that were with him?” (chapter 12:3). The disciples were hungry; you could die of hunger as far as the legalists are concerned. Legality will not help; they will see to legal principles rather than satisfy the hunger of the children of wisdom. He says, “Have ye not read what David did when he was hungry, and they that were with him?” He is virtually saying, If David were here he would do the same thing; “he entered into the house of God, and ate the shewbread, which it was not lawful for him [p. 46] to eat, nor for those with him, but for the priests only? Or have ye not read in the law that on the sabbaths the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?” (chapter 12:4,5). He is bringing forward Old Testament examples to show that what the disciples were doing was right, and that brings out how the Old Testament is to be used. It is not to be used in a legal way to bind people hands and feet, and make them die of hunger. The spirit of the Old Testament is liberty. David exemplified it.
EP It is like “the letter kills, but the Spirit quickens” (2 Corinthians 3:6). Do you think it is suggested that God was pleased with David entering into His house? The Lord says, “How he entered into the house of God, and ate the shewbread”.
JT The Lord justifies it here. According to Mark He says, “Have ye never read what David did when he had need and hungered, he and those with him, how he entered into the house of God, in the section of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the shew-bread, which it is not lawful unless for the priests to eat, and gave even to those that were with him?” (Mark 2:25,26). The Lord says, “in the section of Abiathar the high priest”, showing that David moved in the full light of the high priest. Legalism is not priestly at all.
JST David was fleeing from Saul when he moved in this liberty.
JT That is exactly the position here: in the presence of murderers He is setting up the great service of the new order of things. So He says, “But I say unto you, that there is here what is greater than the temple” (chapter 12:6); that is, the temple in that literal sense. It is worth while to get clear as to these items, so as to see the significance of the word in the end of Matthew 12. The Lord there says, “Who is my mother, and who are my brethren?” What are the features of the family relation? It is a question of the will of [p. 47] God.
EP Could you bring these relationships through to the present moment? “My brother, and sister, and mother.”
JT Yes; we have them all alluded to in the epistles, have we not? Even to the word mother: “the Jerusalem above is free, which is our mother” (Galatians 4:26). This teaching shows how christianity liberates; the assembly is marked by liberty, she comes down from God out of heaven; that is based on sonship. Here the Lord mentions three relationships, “my brother, and sister, and mother”.
HH The man with the withered hand would be suffering from disability. You do not want that brought forward into the family circle. The Lord would deal with that, would He not?
JT The service requires full manhood in activity. The hands are symbolical of our doings. We need our members in exercise in accord with the liberty of sonship.
WL Are we not hindered, more than anything else, by what is religious, and by our natural relationships?
JT They are usually linked together in local matters. Natural inclination is so often supported by some legal suggestion. The natural relationships are seen as outside in the end of Matthew 12: “his mother and his brethren stood without, seeking to speak to him”. Then one says to Him, “Behold, thy mother and thy brethren are standing without, seeking to speak to thee”. Evidently some person in the crowd would bring forward the importance of the natural relationships. The Lord, of course, knew they were there, but this person would be one in sympathy with them; though in the crowd listening to Christ, he is evidently in sympathy with those outside.
JST Those outside wanted to be heard — “seeking to speak to thee”. They should be listening to [p. 48] Him!
JT Yes. What He is saying should be supreme. Those standing around are interested, and particularly His disciples, who are now replacing Israel. Thus Jesus “answering said to him that spoke to him, Who is my mother, and who are my brethren?” That particular man is singled out, a sort of fifth column man to discredit what is going on. He would divert the Lord from what He was engaged with, and yet he appeared to be a sympathetic person, but his aim is to divert the Lord. It is often found in assembly matters; a diversion from the real things is introduced. This tendency is to be refused.
WGT In John 7 His brethren were suggesting He should go up to Jerusalem to the feast; they did not believe on Him; they were not sympathetic with His ministry.
JT In John 2 the Lord’s mother said to the Lord, “They have no wine”; and He answers saying, “What have I to do with thee, woman? mine hour has not yet come”. She says to the servants, “Whatever he may say to you, do”. She is adjusted; and verse 12 says, “After this he descended to Capernaum, he and his mother and his brethren and his disciples; and there they abode not many days”. The brethren are coming into view again there, the natural relations of Christ, that is, the Jews; and the Lord is taking them on; this is on the ground of adjustment. Any Jew or Jewess can be taken on as adjusted; as submitting to the authority of Christ, but here in Matthew 12 it is not that at all. Why do not they come inside? They are standing outside. They want the Lord to go out there, whereas He is inside, and He must determine everything. The position is distinctly marked in Matthew. This man would have the Lord go out, but He is not going out. This man would break up the whole spiritual position here; the real brethren would not have been mentioned if he had his way. We want to go on with what the Lord is doing; every word He utters is pure [p. 49] gold, but this man did not mind this at all, he said, “Behold, thy mother and thy brethren are standing without, seeking to speak to thee”. He implied that the Lord should stop speaking and listen to them. That man must be adjusted. The Lord “answering said to him that spoke to him, Who is my mother, and who are my brethren?” Could that man tell the Lord? No! he had no idea of brethren; he was on natural lines. There are some that call themselves brethren, who cannot define the idea of the word at all.
EP Do you think it is important that these things should be met when and where they arise? A diversion should be met at the moment it arises? Why should a reading meeting, or any of our meetings, be affected in this way? Do you not think it is important that these things should be met immediately?
JT The Lord spoke direct to this man. “He answering said to him that spoke to him, Who is my mother, and who are my brethren?” This man is in His mind; he would break up the meeting, for he is making as much of those outside as of those inside, and more.
WGT Is the Lord’s “stretching out his hand to his disciples” an act of power?
JT It shows how definitely they were in His mind. The Lord leaves the house, we are told in chapter 13:1. “And that same day Jesus went out from the house and sat down by the sea”. That is, He went out from the house of natural relationships. We have to leave that house in order to come into the house of spiritual relationships, and as leaving we get these parables. We are told in verses 34 and 35, “All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and without a parable he did not speak to them, so that that should be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the world’s foundation”. In verse 36 there is another house. It is another incoming of [p. 50] Christ, involving another outgoing of Christ, and what have we learnt in it? We have the idea of brethren in chapter 12, and now we are to learn something of the assembly before it is formally stated by name.
WGT The inquiry of the disciples within the house is marked by intelligence.
JT Yes, the disciples are progressing. He had dismissed the crowds, and going into the house, the disciples came to Him saying, “Expound to us the parable of the darnel of the field” (verse 36). They are now wanting to know. It is a fine opportunity for the Lord when you want to ask Him questions inside. They did not stand outside as His mother and brethren did; they came to Him and asked Him questions.
WL We should learn to distinguish between the outside and inside.
JT That is what I thought we might see here. In chapter 12 we have the inside and outside, and now we have definitely reached the house and the Lord in it; and the disciples coming in. They have liberty to do that, they came into the house and asked Him questions.
TH I was wondering if the idea of speaking with the Lord was His great objective here, culminating in the highest thought as suggested in the thought of Moses and Elias talking with Him.
JT In chapter 5, they went up on the mountain. They did not ask Him questions, He opened His mouth and began to teach them; and later He went on board ship and they followed Him (chapter 8:23). Chapter 13:36 tells us that they asked questions. It is most important to ask questions. The young people especially should ask the Lord about things: “for the Lord will give thee understanding in all things” (2 Timothy 2:7). In our chapter the mysteries of the kingdom are in mind, and we must ask questions, because we shall not understand otherwise.
HB Why do they particularly ask in relation to the parable of the darnel of the [p. 51] field?
JT Well, they wanted it expounded, they want to understand it. “He that sows the good seed is the Son of man, and the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom, but the darnel are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who has sowed it is the devil; and the harvest is the completion of the age, and the harvestmen are angels” (verses 37-39). The Lord explains it fully. It is the public position that He is explaining to us. He instructs them not to pull up the darnel, because in doing so, they would damage the wheat. We cannot adjust christendom, but we must walk righteously and soberly, as the apostle says, “But youthful lusts flee, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart” (2 Timothy 2:22). We cannot deal with the “tares”, we have to leave them. It is important to see the general condition of christendom; the Lord does not ask His saints to correct that. The devil has sown the tares and it is beyond our power to deal with them, they have to stay there until the end of the age. Then they shall be cast into the furnace of fire (verse 42).
JST Would you link the tares with one being like an angel of light and the work he does an imitation? The sons of the kingdom would be like Christ.
JT Yes. It is not like the seed of the first parable. In the first parable the seed is the word of God, but the seed here that the Lord Jesus sows, is persons. That is, converted persons are set in the kingdom, and the tares are persons too, as the Lord says, “But the darnel are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who has sowed it is the devil” (verses 38,39). So that we have to deal with persons in the public history of christendom, and we cannot overcome this sowing of the devil, the sowing of persons, they are just to be left. It is not an assembly matter; when we come to that side of the truth, fellowship, association, is involved; we deal with persons “inside” who are evil, as in Corinth they put them away or, as in our times, we [p. 52] withdraw from them, but in this parable we have simply the public profession composed of wheat and tares — individuals; fellowship is not contemplated.
WL I was wondering if verse 36 would enable us to be more on positive lines. His disciples came into the house.
JT Yes, that verse may be connected with the assembly, with what is within. This is not an assembly matter. It is not an ecclesiastical matter, this parable speaks of persons sown in a public sense by the Lord on the one hand, and sown by the devil on the other.
WL In spite of such conditions in christendom we would seek to follow the Lord; is that your thought?
JT Quite so, we can work out assembly principles in spite of these tares. John takes them up as the children of God and the children of the devil.
WJC The sons of the kingdom should be able to discern the darnel.
JT Well, they do too, but then you do not destroy the darnel. Rome, in the Middle Ages, tried to destroy them, viewing christians as the darnel. They did their best to destroy heretics as they regarded them, but that was violating the principle the Lord lays down here.
Rem In 2 John 10 we read, “If any one come to you and bring not this doctrine, do not receive him into the house”.
JT That is an ecclesiastical matter. This in Matthew 13 refers to the public history of christendom; persons sown by the devil, and persons sown by the Son of man; the sons of the kingdom and the sons of the evil one. It is what happened soon after the introduction of christianity; the position must remain “unto the harvest”. On the other hand ecclesiastical principles have not failed. 1 Corinthians shows us what to do in regard to persons in the fellowship, we deal with them if they are evil.
RA It says, “While men slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel amongst the wheat, and went away” (verse 25). It is through weakness they are allowed to be sown.
JT Yes, the negligence of those responsible in christianity. It came in very early. The apostle Paul contemplates that there were some at Corinth; he says, “If any one love not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be Anathema Maranatha” (1 Corinthians 16:22). He also says, “Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also transform themselves as ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works” (2 Corinthians 11:14,15). In Galatia, too, conditions had made a way for them to get in, and the apostle says, “If any one announce to you as glad tidings anything besides what ye have received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:9). He does not wait for the Lord’s coming to pronounce the anathema upon him, it is so serious.
JTJr This judgment is final, whereas assembly discipline has recovery in view in the person.
JT A person that is withdrawn from in view of recovery, is not a child of the wicked one; we do not regard him in that way. The man put away at Corinth was not that.
CM He said to them, “A man that is an enemy has done this” (verse 28). In verse 39 when expounding the parable the Lord says “the enemy ... is the devil”.
JT The Lord goes to the bottom of the thing in the exposition. Well, that is the first thing in this new position in the house; the exposition of parables and the opening up of mysteries. In verse 44 we have another view of the kingdom of the heavens, and this is spoken in the house. “The kingdom of the heavens is like a treasure hid in the field, which a man having found has hid, and for the joy of it goes and sells all whatever he has, and buys that field.” That is a positive thing — the treasure found in the field.
Then in verses 45 and 46, “Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls; and having found one pearl of great value, he went and sold all whatever he had and bought it”.
Then verses 47-50, “Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a seine which has been cast into the sea, and which has gathered together of every kind, which, when it has been filled, having drawn up on the shore and sat down, they gathered the good into vessels and cast the worthless out. Thus shall it be in the completion of the age: the angels shall go forth and sever the wicked from the midst of the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth”. The weeping and gnashing of teeth is connected with the exposition in verse 42; and now it is seen in the parable of the fish. This shows that Matthew has in mind the full thought of divine wrath in dealing with christendom.
HH It is remarkable that these references to judgment come from the lips of the Lord Jesus Himself. It is not second-hand.
SJH Why does the matter of having ears to hear come in between these sections?
JT That is a formula in connection with parabolic or such ministry. Judicial ministry, as in the book of the Revelation in the addresses to the assemblies, has the same character as these parables, and you have that expression in each one. “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies”. It means that there are those who have ears, and those who have not. It is a judicial reference. Why should not each have an ear to hear? The absence of it is judicial, God has not given it to all. Isaiah speaks of this and his words are quoted in this chapter, verse 15; “for the heart of this people has grown fat, and they have heard heavily with their ears, and they have closed their eyes as asleep, lest they should see with the eyes, and hear with the [p. 55] ears, and understand with the heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them”.
JRH In this inside position in the house, we are encouraged, as His brethren, to look for more precious truths, as well as the exposition of the public side of things.
JT I think so. These parables cover the ministry during the last one hundred years. It stands in relation to those that have turned away from the other houses, the houses of denominationalism in christendom, and who have entered into this house to ask the Lord questions. They did not rely on catechisms, theological books, or orthodoxy. By the Spirit, they got things directly from Christ, the Head of the assembly, they recognised the house of God. They turned aside from man’s organisation. The movement started in Dublin in a quiet way, and the truth opened up to them and became richer and richer. The inquiry as to prophetic ministry, that marked those days, helped greatly. The whole position of christendom was made clear. The service of gathering the good fish into vessels and casting the worthless out, was definitely entered on. This is seen in the last parable in our chapter. They enquired and the Holy Spirit opened up the truth to them.
WL Where the Lord is the Centre there is no limit to what we may expect in the way of opening up the truth.
JT Yes. The net, or seine, is the gospel net cast into the sea of nations. “Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a seine which has been cast into the sea, and which has gathered together of every kind, which, when it has been filled, having drawn up on the shore and sat down, they gathered the good into vessels and cast the worthless out”. It brings out that there is discrimination. The brethren have learnt that, to refuse what is spurious, and to secure in vessels what is good. Our care meetings are for that purpose, to [p. 56] determine who is right or wrong. There is deliberation, they sat down to it. So that Paul says, “Lay hands quickly on no man, nor partake in others’ sins” (1 Timothy 5:22). Deliberation is most important, discernment entering into it. David says to Abigail, “Blessed be thy discernment” (1 Samuel 25:33).
WGT It follows the parable of the “one pearl”. As we lay hold of the truth of the assembly, discriminatory action follows.
JT First, it is the thing found, the treasure hid in a field, a man having found it; then secondly, a merchant is seeking a definite commodity — “beautiful pearls”; as a merchant, he knows their value. Then the seine cast into the sea.
There is one thing I think we should have before us in closing — verses 51 and 52: “Jesus says to them, Have ye understood all these things? They say to him, Yea, Lord. And he said to them, For this reason every scribe discipled to the kingdom of the heavens is like a man that is a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old”. The teaching of Matthew stands largely in relation to houses and householders. A disciple, a scribe, “discipled to the kingdom of the heavens is like a man that is a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old”. A very interesting man!
AB Does Psalm 78:2-4 bear upon that? It says, “I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter riddles from of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us: we will not hide them from their sons, shewing forth to the generation to come the praises of Jehovah, and his strength, and his marvellous works which he hath done”.
JT That is quoted here in verse 35. I think we should all aspire to be scribes discipled into the kingdom of the heavens. The word ‘ discipled ‘ meaning one taught under the rules of education, and he has a treasury in [p. 57] which he has things new and old. He does not reject or underrate the Old Testament, he understands it. He has the old, but he brings out what is new as well. He has beautiful antiques, but also what is new.
Rem The pearl is not a mechanically made thing.
JT It is a formed thing; a secret matter.