CHAPTERS 9 AND 10
CHAPTERS 9 AND 10
Ques What is the reason we get the commission to the disciples here?
FER I think it was in consequence of the blasphemy of the Pharisees. They said He cast out devils by Beelzebub, the prince of the devils. His work was in a sense finished. When things have come to that pass it could no longer be a question of His personal service but of that which is committed to the disciples. Chapters 8, 9 and 10 are a complete section of the gospel. You get the Lord going forth to preach in chapter 11. He always does until the end, but you must take things up in their moral connection.
[p. 63] Rem The testimony that is sent forth here is an interrupted testimony.
Rem It comes out during the time of His absence.
FER I would rather say it is superseded by something else.
Rem The disciples needed some preparation before they were commissioned. The Lord could scarcely have sent them out directly after their call.
FER We get the Servant in chapter 8, and the service in chapter 9. You must take things up as they are presented. The final test of Israel is the disciples. The rejection of this leads on to the judgment. It is all final in chapter 10. Chapter 8 to me is a lovely chapter, because it gives you a picture of Jehovah’s Servant. It is all personal in chapter 8. He puts His hand on the leper, He disposes as to the centurion’s servant, He touches Peter’s wife’s mother, He is in conflict with the winds and waves, and eventually comes in to solve the great question between God and the enemy. As J.N.D. has expressed it, ‘He suffered in His spirit what He took away by His power’. It is all to set off the Servant. It was not simply One coming into the world doing wonderful works of power, but it was the way in which He did them that speaks. He is in touch with suffering humanity in every shape. They have to confess it in the day to come, “Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses”. There is nothing for Israel now in Christ after the flesh. They come from the east and the west, and the children of the kingdom are cast out into outer darkness, so hereafter what is said is, “Who hath believed our report”? (Isaiah 53: 1.) It is Jehovah’s Servant. I could not tell you what a chapter that is to me, it gives such a picture of what the Servant was.
Ques Why do you say chapter 9 is service?
FER You see everything for Israel there. He brings life into the ruler’s house, heals the woman. It is all [p. 64] for Israel.
Ques Is the new wine coming under the new covenant?
FER Yes; chapter 9 takes up Psalm 103. It is the sovereignty of grace in spite of the perverseness of the people.
Ques Take chapter 8: 11, in what way could we connect that with His Person?
FER They did not appreciate Him after the flesh, and therefore the children of the kingdom are cast out; but that does not hinder the sovereignty of grace. It is Jehovah who heals. Chapter 8 is intended to give you a picture of the Servant; but then you have to see the sovereignty of grace. It is He who brings in all the healing and everything for Israel.
Ques You mean that the rejection did not shut up the virtue that was in Him?
FER Only they get nothing in connection with Christ after the flesh. Everything which they will get is in the sovereignty of divine grace. They will have to take up the confession of Isaiah 53.
Ques Do you mean that they got nothing in Christ after the flesh, but in the future they will in connection with Christ in resurrection?
FER They get it with Christ, but Christ in resurrection. That is the beauty of Isaiah 53. All that section of Isaiah is occupied with Jehovah’s servant. There are three sections in the latter part of Isaiah. First, Israel is the servant; then Christ is the Servant; and then the remnant. Chapter 53 comes in the middle section, and it is a confession of the remnant in the future: “We did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed”. It has very often been said that Matthew 8 is Christ according to Isaiah 53, and chapter 9 according to Psalm 103. Israel’s conduct cannot alter the great [p. 65] fact that He had authority on earth to forgive sins, the Son of man on earth had that authority. I think what comes out in chapter 10 is administrative. He sends out the apostles. Twelve is symbolic of administration. In reference to the ruler and his daughter, I think the time will come when Israel will come under the pressure of death; but it is plain enough that Christ will set death aside for them. They will have to go through the valley of the shadow of death first, but when He comes into the house He will set aside death for them.
Rem And that in view of the kingdom.
Ques Do you connect it with the great tribulation?
FER That may be a means to it. They will have to learn what you get in the end of Romans 7. They will have to come under the sentence of death. The moment we come under the sentence of death we see an outlet, for we see that Christ has died and risen.
Rem And they will not see it until they see Christ.
FER He opens the eyes of the blind and causes the dumb to speak, the whole result is there, and the Pharisees say, “He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils”. The perversity of man is perfectly amazing, when they cannot deny the miracles they discredit them. Perfect provision is made for the blessing of Israel in the future, but in the meantime it is all over and Christianity is brought in. That is what is so interesting in the gospel of Matthew. Matthew is not the Jewish gospel in the way that many think. The parables of the kingdom in the latter part are not pictures of the future. I mean such as the marriage supper and the ten virgins. They are pictures of the present time.
Rem But then the Lord is presented to Israel as the Son of David, and rejected in that character.
FER Because His rejection makes room for Christianity. Matthew is the only gospel that brings in the church. Provision was made for the remnant by [p. 66] bringing them into the church. Acts 2, “The Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved”. This chapter 10 has distinct reference to the future, no doubt there was a testing time literally by the twelve, their preaching was a testimony at the moment.
Rem It has the character of a final testimony.
Rem It is a limited service. “Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (verses 5, 6).
FER How careful every gospel is to maintain everything for Israel! Look at this in the beginning of Luke and John. The first two chapters of Luke are wholly taken up with the links in Israel.
Ques Does that mean that the gifts and calling of God are without repentance, He does not change His mind?
FER Yes, in Romans the very point is the ‘no difference’ principle, but when you come to chapters 9, 10 and 11, you get the conciliation of the promises with this principle. Israel has to come in on the ground of mercy, as you get it in Matthew 9. “I will have mercy and not sacrifice”.
Rem They will come in precisely on the same ground as the Gentiles.
FER The only possible ground for blessing for them is resurrection; we often argue as though they could have received Christ after the flesh, but the great difficulty to me is how was death to be set aside. We speak of it hypothetically sometimes, as to what would have happened if they had received Him.
Ques You mean receiving Him as on earth?
FER Yes. They were tested by it, but I do not see the possibility of Israel being blessed except on the ground of death and resurrection. Abel had to come to God through death. I do not see how any could, except through death.
[p. 67] Ques What do you say as to “This do and thou shalt live”?
Rem It was the way of life but it became death, we are expressly told it was the ministration of death.
Ques Yes, but death being there and man generally lying under the sentence of death, how did the law come in and present death in any kind of way?
FER It all came in in the process of testing, in fact if a man could have kept the law it was the way of life. Life was in it.
Rem Life was in it, for it says, “This do and thou shalt live”.
Rem Then the settlement of this great question of death and life was lying by until the Lord came and settled it.
FER And in the meantime the law came, which was a ministration of death.
Rem Not death in the law, but death in the man that was under it.
FER It is one of the most difficult things to impress on a man that death is on him.
Rem And yet you would think it most obvious.
Rem It is difficult for a man to take it home to himself, the sentence is not speedily executed and he hardens himself against it.
Ques. What about Enoch?
FER He was so completely clear of death that he could go to heaven without dying. It was in anticipation. So Noah. Faith with him looked on to the world to come. It got some light, very little, it may be. The Jews had the promises but would not have the light that was here.
Rem Whatever there might have been there was this concurrent thing, death was there.
FER Yes, death was upon man, his life was forfeited, his mind agreed to the law of God that it was good, but death was there and the law came in to bring it home to a man’s spirit. That is what we get at the end of Romans 7.
Ques Was the judgment of death under the law something different from the death that was upon man by reason of the first man’s sin?
FER No. I do not think so. If a man came to God under the law it was always by death, there was no coming apart from that, you could not have a greater evidence than that.
Ques The life proposed does not go anything beyond life on earth?
FER No, but keeping the law would not annul death, and that is exactly what Christ has done. He removes death, and the law is written in their hearts. That is what I understand by the Lord’s coming into the ruler’s house. He comes to where death is and removes it and therefore life came. He went into death to remove it.
Rem And that could only have been done by one who was free from it.
FER And it must be one in whom there was positive merit, a mere perfect man could not do it; as you get in Romans 5, “By the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life” (verse 18). The value of His Person comes in. His work derives all its value from His Person. In chapter 9 you get two things, on the road the woman with the issue of blood gets healed, it is a picture of what the Lord does to the remnant when on the way to raise up Israel, when He comes to the house He removes death.
Rem The blind men cry for mercy just as we find Israel coming in on the ground of mercy in Romans 11.
FER The way in which these circumstances are put together, not in chronological order I take it, but to form a complete picture, is wonderful. What a picture it is! If you take the end of it, it is death removed, the eyes of the blind opened and the dumb [p. 69] made to speak, the devil being cast out. What a change! Then the Pharisees close it all up by saying, “He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils”.
Ques What is implied in, “freely ye have received, freely give”?
FER I do not think anyone could go and preach without having a sense of having received, else it would be legality. I think the heart of a servant must be in the sense of grace; there is an elevation about service, it comes from one who is in the sense of benefit received. After all I have received more than ever I can give.
Rem If service is without a sense of having received, it is very dull and very dead.
Ques Do you take it that after chapter 10: 16 the circumstances refer to the future?
FER There is a sort of transition from the present to the future. There was a testimony specially addressed to Israel in their land, Paul had no part in it, the twelve carried it on. The same testimony goes on at the end when Israel is in the land again, not perhaps with the same light but it is the same testimony, so that I see the future testimony from this testimony.
Ques What about the commission in the end of Matthew?
FER That was dealing with the nations. “The nations” was an expression well understood among the Jews. I think it refers to nations connected with Israel.
Rem In that case it would be those who are referred to in the Psalms in a similar way. The English translation obscures this somewhat.
Ques Do you take it that the closing verses of Matthew do not refer to the present time?
FER Strictly they do not; I think the present service is taken from the end of Luke. In Mark it is [p. 70] more personal, the apostles carried it out as it says, “They went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following”. In Luke it is more general.
Ques What is the everlasting gospel?
FER “Fear God and give glory to him”, etc. It is not preaching Christ at all, but a testimony sent out to all nations to fear God as Creator. There is no very great demand made upon them.
Rem It is the most elementary idea of the gospel you can think of.
Rem It just suits them where they are.
FER Yes; but it is carried out in heavenly power, and they will respond to it. Judgment is imminent. Missionaries could not take it out to the heathen now, because judgment is not imminent in the same way. I suppose there will also be a testimony to the nations after the Lord has come, and the judgment of Matthew 25 takes that up.
Rem The testimony of the twelve in chapter 10, or what corresponds to it at the end, is before He comes.
FER Yes; it is to Israel, and it is cut short by His coming. It is a question whether they will be able to endure to the end, the pressure will be so terrific with a view to pervert them.
Rem To save them means to bring them into the kingdom.
Ques Why is the mission of the seventy not brought in in Matthew?
FER Because it goes on heavenly ground, it is a testimony that is not limited to Israel like this is, it is on the ground of the glory of Christ. It is after the time had come that He should be received up that He sends out the seventy.
Ques Can you tell from Scripture how it is that there arises a class of believers who can carry on [p. 71] this testimony?
FER In the book of Revelation you see certain companies that are illuminated. God begins to work among His ancient people, the Jews, and some are converted and some are martyred. I think the darkness in that day will be upon Christendom; if you notice, everything in the seven trumpets comes on the third part of the earth, which I suppose is Christendom. In Matthew 24 and Matthew 25 it is the whole arena of judgment, everything comes into judgment — Israel, Christendom in the ten virgins, and the nations.
Ques Did not Paul preach the kingdom of God?
FER Yes; and we preach the kingdom of God, and we ought to. It was the glad tidings of the kingdom the apostle preached.
Rem It does not say that Paul preached the ‘glad tidings’ of the kingdom, but that he preached or proclaimed the kingdom; Acts 20: 25; chapter 28: 31.
FER I think there is a passage in which the idea is contained in the word ‘evangelising’, announcing as glad tidings the kingdom of God, that is the meaning of the word; I do not think people are alive to the blessings of the kingdom.
Rem The passage is in Acts 8: 12, evangelising concerning the kingdom.
Rem In Acts 20 and Acts 28 the word is “heralded” or “proclaimed”.
FER The apostle heralded the kingdom because it had not been known before, his voice was the voice of a herald.
Rem I thought there was a distinction between preaching the gospel or glad tidings of the kingdom and preaching or proclaiming the kingdom. Preaching the kingdom is pressing the claims of the kingdom. I shall be glad to be corrected if I have made a mistake.
FER We are not here to dogmatise, but as learners; but I do not think it is so much the claims of the kingdom as the blessings of the kingdom that [p. 72] are in view. Righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit are great blessings. Paul heralded the kingdom of God because it was a new thing to the people he went among, he was the first to go forth with it among the Gentiles.