THE KINGDOM OF THE HEAVEN
[p. 285] THE KINGDOM OF THE HEAVEN
Matthew 13: 1 - 3; Matthew 13:18 - 23; Matthew 13:51, 52; Matthew 24: 3; Matthew 28: 2, 3
These scriptures show the circumstances under which the kingdom of heaven was introduced, especially in regard to the posture in which the Lord announces the word of the kingdom; He is sitting. In this connection I would point out how in this gospel the thought of sitting is made prominent. It is suggestive of serenity and deliberation. It is a thought that comes in at the present time in a very peculiar way, for we are confronted, at least the world is, with the unsettling of everything. Thrones and governments which seemed to have been firm, have collapsed, and others are likely to follow, occasioning a very real disturbance in the order of the world, and possibly in the minds of many of God’s people. Now the gospel of Matthew comes in opportunely in the midst of these circumstances, for it deals with the kingdom of the heavens. I need not remind you that these occurrences on earth, affecting the powers that are on the earth, have no influence in heaven, and so in the Old Testament you have from the outset the idea of God sitting in supreme power as between the cherubim for instance, armed with power for the fulfilment of His will. In the Psalms too, God is regarded as sitting in the heavens, in such wise as not only to deal effectively with what passes on earth, but to hold all opposing elements in supreme derision, in solemn irony, as in the second Psalm. Later on in the book of Psalms He is seen in the same way, as in Psalm 29 we read of the voice of the Lord and what it does. Then David says, “The Lord sitteth upon the flood”. God sits above them, and sustains the heart of faith. He sitteth King for ever. It is a wonderful thought for the heart amid the raging billows of human wrath. We must [p. 286] always remember amid human movements, that whatever men may have in their minds, Satan has only one thing in his mind, that is, to set aside what God has purposed in Christ. David goes on to say, “The Lord will give strength unto his people”. It is a beautiful expression for us. “The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace”. There is no setting aside of the divine blessing.
Now in coming to this passage we have this great subject opened up to us, the kingdom of the heavens. It is in that way most opportune at the present time, The book opens abruptly as, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham”. There is no apology given by this evangelist as to why he writes, as is also the case with Mark. Luke and John both explain why they wrote. It is here the abrupt introduction by the Spirit of God of Him who is heir of David, of the seed royal, and also heir of the promises. He is the King. You will find, therefore, this posture of sitting emphasised, because, as I apprehend, it suggests the supremacy of dignity and power. The Lord Jesus sits in His dignity, on the ground of the power of which He was conscious, and so in deliberation announces the word of the kingdom. There is a great expression of this new and blessed thing, the kingdom of the heavens. In the angel’s position at the close of the gospel, you see this in regard to the resurrection. He is here really in regard of Christ, for the regal position belongs to Christ, not to Caesar. The angel there is holding the position, pending the coming of Him who is the true King of kings and Lord of lords, and he holds it well. You may be sure, beloved friends that every position involving government at the present time is held well from this point of view. Things are kept under angelic supervision pending the coming in of Him [p. 287] who is King of kings and Lord of lords, to take up the empire. The Lord had been in the tomb. There is no suggestion that the angel had anything to do with the raising of Christ; that was the Father’s work. There was the moving out of the Father in all His power to take the object of His affections out of that tomb. That was accomplished by the almightiness of God. The angel was not needed for that. Angels had ministered to the Lord in the wilderness, but not now; the Father raised Him. But the Roman seal had been affixed to that stone. The angel had to do with that. It was a political matter. So faith takes account of all political movements in that light. We may rest assured that angelic agency is at work and that nothing happens beyond the will of God. Angels are His mighty ministers, sent out to minister on account of those who shall be heirs of salvation. They deal with all these matters on account of us, that the people of God should be taken charge of. I recognise the will of God, His providences, and I recognise that His ministers are here for our good, not only for the subject in general, but “he is the minister of God to thee for good”.
Now the angel rolled away the stone. That was an act of power, not only an act of physical power; it referred to the seal that was on it, and that seal signified the whole power of Rome. The angel rolled that away without a tremor. It was done in the open. God was showing His power, whatever Caesar might do, so that faith lifts up its head in that way. I apprehend salvation is the lifting up of the head. According to Zechariah 1: 21, Satan would use the powers here so that no one dare lift up his head; but we may lift up our heads, because that angel represents the authority of God in Christ. See what it says about him: “his countenance was like lightning”. That is not the grace side. Jesus is on the Father’s throne, and as there His countenance [p. 288] reflects what God is in grace; it is not as yet like lightning. In Revelation His countenance is like the sun, and He has eyes like a flame of fire. All that refers to His government: now He is on the Father’s throne; it is what God is in grace. There is nothing repellent about Him. But if I have to do with adverse power in this world, I lift up my head alongside that angel whose face is as lightning. It makes one restful. The angel is sitting on the stone that bore the seal of the empire. It is a position of defiance; who can touch him? Who can deal with lightning? It is not within human power to deal with lightning. In Matthew 24: 3, He is sitting over against the temple, and He instructs the disciples as to the temple and as to everything. The Christian is privileged to know the Lord’s mind about everything. All the light is communicated to them. We are not looking to the different governments of the world, but we see what is going on, and our privilege is to get light about all these matters. The disciples asked Him privately, and He opened up things to them. He opened up the whole course of the events till He comes. It is an immense thing to have that light in our souls.
Coming back to chapter 13, I want to show you with what deliberation He opens up the word of the kingdom. It is intensely interesting, as bringing out what Christ was here. I always feel encouraged to turn to Matthew 11 in times of pressure. The Lord had begun His ministry in chapter 5. He went up into a mountain, and sat down. He opened up one subject after another which referred to the government of the kingdom. He was the divine legislator. Then He comes down from the mount and proceeds with that wonderful ministry of grace, all referring to His relations with Israel, and at the end John the baptist is vindicated. Then He upbraids the cities wherein most of His mighty works were done;
[p. 289] they were hardened and unbelieving. Then, at that time, Jesus rejoiced in spirit; it is most encouraging. “At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes”. He was perfectly thankful. There is no thought in His mind of defeat at all. Although all seems against Him, He turns to the Father, and recognises the Father as the sovereign Ruler of the heavens and the earth. He had to do with Him. Now that is the position for faith. The Father’s pleasure was to hide these things from the wise and prudent. Is there anyone here who is wise and prudent in his own estimation? The Father hides these things from you; He reveals them to the babes. We must begin as babes in order to have the mind of God opened up to us, the things of God unfolded to us; we must begin there. Then He says, “All things are delivered unto me of my Father”. The Father is the sovereign ruler of the heavens and the earth, and all things are delivered by Him into the hands of the Son. The Son is the centre of everything, He says, “Come unto me”. That is the position. Then in the end of chapter 12, the babes are His brethren. “And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!” The Lord points to them. They are the ones who interest heaven now, as they interested Christ at that time. Then He explains what He means: “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister and mother”. It is a question of the will of heaven. How could the Lord own any other than the one who did the will of heaven? He was here on account of that will; then how can He morally recognise any other relationship? There is no other. There must be a recognition of the supremacy of heaven, otherwise there is no relationship [p. 290] with Christ. It is in the doing of the will of His Father which is in heaven.
In these circumstances He unfolds to us and disseminates the word of the kingdom. It is a wonderful subject, for it is a question of the expression, the opening up of it for our understanding. I want to go back just to call attention to the Lord’s position. He leaves the house. He had evidently been in the house, and He goes out by the seaside. He is moving with precision and deliberation. The crowds surround Him; that will not do, so He goes into a ship. There was a reason for it. The Lord is not going to open out these great subjects to a crowd without understanding. There are things that cannot be done. He could not do certain things because of the unbelief of the people. The Lord sits down in the ship; He has full control of the situation, and now He opens out the word. I dwell upon that so that we might see how He is supreme. We are so apt to get restless and discouraged. We are passing through extraordinary times in the history of the world. The Lord Jesus had gone through the principle of all this in His own spirit; He felt everything divinely. He was confronted with the whole power of evil, directed by a master hand against Him, and what marked Him was perfect and conscious supremacy in His spirit. He was above things, and being above them He proceeded with His mission without interruption. Now when He comes to this great subject, the word of the kingdom, He must unfold it under advantageous circumstances. These are points of importance at the present time. The Lord would have us to be restful about things, to be perfectly assured that all is well. There are no mishaps in the ways of God; He is working out what He has in His mind. If it be a question of revelation, there is no need to seek God. You need not tell people to seek the sun at mid-day; you can see it. God has come out in Christ as God’s revelation; it is not a question of seeking Him diligently. God is seeking man in the gospel. But there are providential ways in which God hides Himself, and it is there you have to seek God. If you seek Him there you will find Him, and you will be rewarded. So that, when things come upon us which seem to be adverse, and we are tempted to say like Jacob, “all these things are against me”, it is for us to seek out God in them. As Joseph said to his brethren later, “God did send me before you”. (Genesis 45: 7) So in the providential dealings of God, in the discipline that comes upon us, we are to seek God, and as we seek Him we find Him. He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. So the Lord is here in perfect restfulness. He would have us to be perfectly restful; things are not against us. God is in them, just as of old God put His bow in the cloud; you need not fear the cloud. There is no hindering God; He goes on day after day, and as knowing God we are perfectly restful.
Sitting in the boat, away from the multitude, He announces the word of the kingdom. I want to dwell for a moment on the word. In the other gospels, Mark and Luke, the good ground is marked by this, that one hears the word and keeps it. The point in Matthew is understanding it. No minister can give you an understanding; he can open up things, as the Lord helps, but the understanding is from God directly. There were those who had no root in themselves. If there is that which takes root, it is of God. Hence at every point you are thrown back in your exercises on the sovereign action of God. So the Lord said, “Have ye understood all these things?” It may be preaching or teaching, but all is unavailing without understanding, which comes from God. Do we understand? I often think that if God is speaking to us, He is looking into our hearts, searching our hearts, to see what the Holy Spirit is [p. 292] doing, or has done, He knows what is the mind of the Spirit. Take things to the Lord; the Lord will give you guidance. He looks for your part; your part is to understand, and to understand you have to come to Him.
I want to pass on to the scribe in verse 52. The blessed God has put all these things down for us. He has put men through the fire in order to discipline them and prepare them to write down these things; what for? That we may read and understand them. So the Lord says, “Have ye understood all these things?” They say unto Him, “Yea, Lord. Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old”. There is the result. The Lord always works things out to a result. He brings in at the end what the result of all this is in the scribe. These things are written down for us, and the Lord brings forward this man as a model, as an incentive to every reader of this chapter, to show everyone what the scribe is. The idea is, that pending the return of the Lord and the establishing of His kingdom, there are scribes disciplined to the kingdom of heaven. They have the treasures. First, the new things. I am strongly impressed with the necessity of emphasising the New Testament, because it is directly from Christ in heaven to the assembly, in all the freshness and vigour of the Holy Spirit come down from heaven, setting forth what God is in Christ, what man is in Christ and what the assembly is. It is a wonderful book, but at the same time I have a distinct sense that the enemy would weaken in our minds the authority and power of the Old Testament. The Lord Himself said, “The scripture cannot be broken”. (John 10: 35) It stands invested with all the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. When I unfold the new, it is delightful to have a [p. 293] little of the old. In your house you have things modern and antique; not antiquated. A thing that is antiquated is a thing to be discarded. That which is old is ready to pass away. But when you come to an antique its value is enhanced; the older it is, the more valuable it is. So the wonderful touches of the Old Testament from the very outset in regard to the Lord Jesus Christ become more valuable as time goes on. They have stood the test of ages; they stand out brightly as pointing to Christ. The scribe instructed in the kingdom of heaven understands these things, and brings them out. It is not good to keep things back; the more you give the more you get; the resources of God are so vast. He brings out things new and old. That is the result of being disciplined into the kingdom of heaven.
I wanted to show you that what Matthew presents to us is the stability and restfulness that are in Christ, how the word of the kingdom has come into our hearts and set us up in that way, and we have that which we can bring out of our treasure for the benefit of souls.