The True Lineage
(No. 3018)
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13 1906.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, IN THE YEAR 1864.
"And it came to pass, as He spoke these things, a certain woman of the
company lifted up her voice, and said unto Him, Blessed is the womb
that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You. But He said, More than
that, blessed are they that hear the Word of God, and keep it." Luke
11:27,28.
Was this a loving-hearted woman who had been moved by the dear Savior's
discourse? Many, doubtless, had listened to the same gracious
words–some of them with wrath and others with stern complacency–but
it may be that her soul began to swell with holy wonder at the
marvelous things which proceeded out of His mouth and her soul felt
such an affection for the Man from whom so much of Grace proceeded that
she cried, "Blessed is the womb that bore You!" Was it so? Perhaps it
was an ignorant but passionate love breaking through all restraint.
Sometimes, among our Primitive Methodist friends, we hear the same kind
of thing–they get so carried away by the power of the Truth of God
which has just been stated that they cannot refrain from crying out,
"Glory!" or, "Hallelujah!" Throughout all Wales, this custom, which I
am far from condemning, prevails through the whole sermon, often very
much to the comfort of the speaker, enlivening him and cheering him
on–and making him rise to greater flights than otherwise he might have
taken. Perhaps we may look at this interruption of the affectionate
woman in that light.
Possibly, however, there was bold, blank ignorance rather than intense
affection. Hers may have been a sort of vacant wonder at what she had
heard and, involuntarily, she betrayed it with her tongue. So have I
noticed, sometimes, when I have been preaching the Word among our
Primitive Methodist friends that they have not always put the "Glory!"
in at the right place, or the observation with which they have favored
us has been as inappropriate as it well could be! Though I have been
glad, at times, to hear some emotional response when it seemed to come
from true sensibility and was compatible with common sense, I have not
been quite so gratified when ignorance has been the prompter. Perhaps
it was so with this woman. Such, at least, is the opinion of many sound
expositors–and Jesus does not appear to commend her at all. She was a
poor ignorant soul who, perhaps, had never listened to any preaching
before–and certainly had never listened to such preaching as that of
Jesus Christ–and so she cried out, in a sort of stupid wonder,
"Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You."
Anyhow, whichever it might be, this woman was but a specimen of very
many in her own age and a representative of many millions in successive
ages. She turned her admiration, you perceive, from the Person of
Christ to the person of His mother. There was some sort of tendency of
this kind on other occasions in Christ's life–and he rebuked it as He
did here–for, you will observe, though He says nothing disrespectful
of His mother, yet He at once puts the extinguisher upon everything
like blessing her as though she were so highly favored above all other
Believers in Himself. On the occasion of the marriage in Cana of
Galilee, Jesus answered His mother–I will not say roughly–that was
not possible for Him–but somewhat sternly when He said, "Woman, what
have I to do with you? My hour is not yet come." He purposely
discouraged what He must have perceived was the natural tendency of
people's minds to reverence His mother unduly. And it does seem
marvelous to any thinking man that after such words as these of my
text, Mariolatry should have prevailed in the Church of Rome to so
frightful an extent as it has done and as it still does! Why, for every
prayer offered to Jesus Christ, I believe there are fifty, at the
present moment, offered to the Virgin Mary. At all events, in the
Romanist's rosary, there are nine beads for the "Hail Mary" to every
one for, "Our Father."
Observe that she is to be held in profound respect, she is "blessed
among women." There should never come from the lips of any Christian a
single word of disrespect to her–she was highly favored, she was a
sort of second Eve, as Eve brought forth sin, this woman, this second
Eve, brought forth the Lord who is our Salvation. She does stand in a
very high position, but still, in no respect is she to be an object of
worship! By no means is she to be lifted up and extolled as though she
were immaculately conceived and afterwards lived without sin and was
taken up, as the Papists declare, by a marvelous assumption into
Heaven–an assumption, indeed, on their part, and nothing better than
an assumption, without any foundation whatever in fact! No, Brothers
and Sisters, the Virgin Mary was a sinner, saved by Grace, as you and I
are! That Savior whom she brought forth, was a Savior to her as much as
to us. She had to be washed from sin, both original and contracted, in
the precious blood of her own Child, "the Son of the Highest." Neither
could she have entered Heaven unless He had pronounced her absolution
and she had been, as we are, "accepted in the Beloved." Yet I do not
wonder that there was a tendency to exalt her unduly–however, I do
marvel much that, after Christ has spoken so plainly and so expressly,
men should have had the impudence, and the devil should have had the
audacity to delude millions of professing Christians into a worship of
her, who is to be reverenced, but never to be adored.
If you look at the text, you will see that there is something very
beautiful about it. This woman pronounced a benediction upon the Virgin
Mary–Christ lifts that off and puts it on all His people. She said,
"Blessed is the woman who brought You forth." "Yes," said Jesus, "she
is blessed, but (in the very same sense) they are blessed who hear the
Word of God, and keep it." Thus, my Brothers and Sisters, whatever
blessings pertain to Mary, pertain to you and pertain to me if we hear
the Word of God and keep it! Whatever we may suppose to have been the
mercies comprehended in Mary being so highly favored a person, those
very same mercies are yours and mine if, hearing the Word of God, we
truly keep it.
I. It is supposed by many and very naturally, that it would have been a
delightful thing to have been the mother of
our Lord, BECAUSE THEN WE WOULD HAVE HAD THE HONOR OF THE CLOSEST
ASSOCIATION WITH HIM.
To have seen that Infant in His cradle and nursed Him upon one's knees.
To have marked the ripening years of the Holy Child, to have observed
His gracious words, His holy piety, His complete obedience to His
parents. To have remained with Him the 30 years which, doubtless,
Joseph and Mary spent with their honored, glorious Son, must have been
no small blessing! The same spirit, you know, comes out in Mrs. Luke's
pretty hymn, such a favorite with our dear children, which we all of us
love to sing–
"I think, when I read that sweet story of old,
When Jesus was here among men–
How He called little children as lambs to His fold,
I should like to have been with them then.
I wish that His hands had been placed on my head,
That His arms had been thrown around me–
And that I might have seen His kind look when He said,
'Let the little ones come unto Me.'" Yes, many a mother might feel that
to be kissed with those little lips, to have had her neck surrounded by
those blessed arms, to have had her eyes looked into with the
love-flashing eyes of such a Child as that would have been a gift to be
craved for every day! Well, so it looks, Beloved, and yet, if we come
to think rightly of it, the illusion is quickly dispelled. It was a
high privilege to be associated with Christ, but, unless spiritually
sanctified, it was a solemn responsibility sinking the soul deeper in
guilt, rather than raising it higher in sanctification! Let me venture
to remind you of one who had the very closest intimacy with Christ in
the days of His public ministry. He was so trusted by the Savior that
he kept the little treasury in which Christ put, when there were any,
the excessive gifts of charity. He was the treasurer of the little
company–you know him–Judas. He had been with Jesus almost everywhere.
He had been His familiar friend and acquaintance and when He dipped the
bread with Him in the bowl, it was but an indication of the close
association which had been preserved between the Divine Master and a
vile creature who was utterly unworthy of such a privilege! There was
never such another "son of perdition" as Judas, the friend and
acquaintance of Jesus Christ. Never has any other man sunk so low in
the depths of Divine Wrath, with so huge a millstone about his neck, as
this man
with whom Christ took such sweet counsel and went to the House of God
in company! The same sun ripens the corn and the poppies. This man was
ripened in guilt by the same external process that ripened others in
holiness.
It is not, then, after all, so great a gift, looked at as a natural
blessing. But, whatever the blessing may be, it is open to every
Christian spiritually. Beloved you may have an acquaintance with Christ
if you are His people! Quite as near and far more enduring than any
acquaintance which His mother could have gained by merely dandling Him
on her knees, or supplying His needs from her breasts! Today you may
talk with Jesus, you heirs of Heaven! Your Divine Elder Brother's
company is free to you–you have but to go to Him and He will bring you
into His banqueting house and His banner over you shall be love. Still
is His left hand under the head of His saints, and His right hand does
embrace them. There are dearer things than ever the Infant Christ could
give to His mother! There are kisses of His lips more sweet, more
spiritual than any which Mary received. You have but to long for them
and to pine after them and, when you get them, you have but to prize
them and you shall have them every day! I trust, Beloved, some of us
need not cry with the spouse in the Song, "O that you were as my
brother that sucked the breasts of my mother! When I should find you
without, I would kiss you," for we can say, "My Beloved is mine, and I
am His…Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples; for I am sick of
love." I say, then, that all the honor of associating with Christ may
be had, at the present moment, by His people! The sweetest of
fellowship can be enjoyed by us in the highest and purest sense, so
that the blessing which Mary had is ours and we may say, with Christ,
"Yes, rather blessed are they that hear the Word of God, and keep it."
II. Again, it is naturally supposed, by some, that it must have been a
sweet thing to be the mother of our Lord BECAUSE THEN WE WOULD HAVE
BEEN BETTER ACQUAINTED WITH HIM AND HAVE KNOWN MORE OF HIS HEART.
If He had any secrets, surely He would confide them to His mother!
There must have oozed out, in His private life, some things which men
did not see in public. Perhaps there may have been something which He
could not very well unveil to the gaze of the millions which would be
perceived by Joseph and by His admiring mother. She was behind the
scenes. She had the benefit of looking into His very heart in a way in
which we cannot do. Well, there may be something in that, but I do not
think there is much. I do not know that Mary knew more than
others–what she did know, she did well to lay up in her heart–but she
does not appear, from anything you read in the Gospels, to have been a
better instructed Believer than any other of Christ's disciples. And we
have no indication of her having made any extraordinary advances in the
spiritual instruction which her Son had given.
But certain is it that, whatever Mary may have found out, you and I may
find out now–not naturally, but spiritually. Do you wonder that I
should say so? Here is a text to prove it–"The secret of the Lord is
with them that fear Him; and He will show them His covenant." I
remember also the Master's words where He said, "Henceforth I call you
not servants, for the servant knows not what his lord does; but I have
called you friends, for all things that I have heard of My Father, I
have made known unto you." No, so blessedly does this Divine Revealer
of secrets tell us what is in His heart that He keeps back nothing
which is profitable to us–and can say to us as He said to His
disciples–"If it were not so, I would have told you." Christ keeps
nothing back from His chosen. Between the heart of a true saint and
Christ there are no secrets! We pour our hearts into His heart and He
pours back His heart into ours. Does He not, this day, manifest Himself
unto us as He does not unto the world? You know that He does! And
therefore you will not ignorantly cry out, as this woman did, "Blessed
is the womb that bore You," but you will intelligently bless God that,
having heard the Word, and kept it, you have, first of all, as true a
communion with the Savior as the Virgin had, and you have, in the
second place, as true an acquaintance with the secrets of His heart as
she can be supposed to have obtained!
III. Further, perhaps a more common remark is this, "I wish that I had
been Christ's mother, so that I MIGHT
HAVE NURSED HIM AND SUPPORTED HIS NEEDS, watched Him in His weakness,
put Him to His rest and heard
the first lisps when He began to speak. Oh, it would have been
something to have said, when I was in Heaven, that I had nursed the One
who is now exalted far above all principalities and powers, that I
listened to the cry of His Infancy and relieved His needs."
Well, that would be something, but let me say to you that you may have
it, Beloved–every child of God may have it! Christ is still on
earth–not as to His bodily Person, but as to His mystical Person–and
you may still nurse that mystical Person. We, ministers of God, are we
not nursing fathers unto the Church of God? And you, each of you, in
your sphere, as you teach the ignorant, guide the wandering and comfort
those that are bowed down, are hearing the
plaintive cry of a suffering Savior! And you are, with the breast of
your consolation, supplying the needs of His yet infant Church. Perhaps
it is better, and far nobler, to have the honor of nursing Christ's
mystical body than it was to care for His corporeal frame because there
is a much wider range here. It was but a little cup He needed. If was
but a morsel and a drop the Savior sometimes needed. But now His great
body, stretched as it is from Japan to America–His great body, found
as it is in every part of this world–His great body, found in yonder
sick one, in yonder poverty-stricken ones, requires vastly more and,
therefore, of your substance you may give more, yes, your whole
strength you may offer up, that you may feed Him and supply His
spiritual needs! Whatever honor, then, the Virgin had in this respect,
Christ's pure virgins may still have if they will wait upon His Church
and minister to it of their heart's substance–
"Jesus, poorest of the poor
Man ofSorrows! Child of grief
Happy they whose bounteous store
Ministered to Your relief
Jesus, though Your head is crowned,
Crowned with loftiest majesty,
In Your members You are found,
Plunged in deepest poverty.
They who feed Your sick and faint
For YOURSELF a banquet find!
They who clothe the naked saint
Round YOUR loins the raiment bind." IV. It may be very possible that
some others have looked at it in another way. They have said, "Blessed
is the womb that bore Him, and the paps that gave Him suck, for had it
been our lot to be His mother, then we believe HE WOULD HAVE BEEN READY
TO HEAR OUR CRY, for a son cannot surely resist the prayer of His own
mother. And when a mother says, 'My Son, help me, I am sinful. I
believe in You, help me. When she cries out to Him whom she had
conceived, 'Help me, blot out my sins,' why surely Jesus would heed,
with ready ear, and say, ' Mother, your sins are forgiven you.'"
But, Beloved, this is only our fancy, for Christ is just as ready to
save anysinner in this place as He was to save His mother, for it is
His greatest delight to see a sinner, with tears in his eyes, crying,
"God be merciful to me, a sinner." If I had power to pardon you, I
think you know how cheerfully I would do it. Oh, could I break your
hearts and bind them up again, God knows that I would not let this
night pass without doing it! And do you think that my Lord and Master
is less loving than I am? You feel, if He were here tonight, and you
were His mother, that He would be sure to hear your cry and answer you.
But Jesus Christ said, on one occasion, as He looked upon the crowd
gathered together, when someone said to Him, "Your mother and Your
brethren stand outside, desiring to speak with You"–what did He say?
"Who is My mother? And who are My brethren?" And then He stretched
forth His hand toward His disciples and said, "Behold My mother and My
brethren! For whoever shall do the will of My Father who is in Heaven,
the same is My brother, and sister, and mother." And you, if you put
your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, shall not stand second to His
mother! No, shall I not say it? You shall even have the preference!
Christ was preaching and they said, "Here is your mother." Did He stop
to attend to His mother? No, but first He would feed His disciples!
First He would teach them! And so, Sinner, you shall not be second to
the mother of the Savior! Do but cry to Him now! Oh, that the Holy
Spirit might show you your lost state, reveal to you your need, and put
a penitent cry into your mouth for, when you can cry, "Jesus, pity me
and save me," you may cry to Him with the greatest confidence, for–
"He is able, He is willing, Doubt no more!"
You need not seek to move His heart with many cries, for His heart is
moved already! He loves the sons of men. His delights are with them.
You cannot do Him a greater service than by letting Him save you.
Submit yourself, with all your emptiness, to the fullness of His
unspeakable compassion! Is there not a thought here that might woo
some–I am holding it now like a loadstone–is there no metal here that
will be attracted by it? The love of Christ to His people, to poor
sinners who seek Him, is as great as any love He ever had to His
mother–and even greater! You may come with boldness to Him, though you
never sought His face before!
V. Again, I think some have thought that if they had been His mother,
THEY COULD HAVE COME TO HIM
WITH GREATER EASE.
"It is so easy to speak to one whom we know. We are not at all afraid
to tell our needs to one who has been so near to us as Christ was to
His mother." Yet I would have you remember that Christ, as the Son of
God, was not the Son of Mary. Christ, the Divine Savior, was no nearer
to Mary than He is to us. Christ was merely the Man Christ that was
conceived in her womb, or that sucked at her breasts and, therefore, in
His Divine Person, He towers as much above her as He does above us! And
then, though He was born of the substance of His mother, yet was He of
our substance, too, for He is bone of our bone and flesh of our
flesh–a Man, such as we are. If He were an angel, being of a different
kind, we might be afraid to come to Him, but He is a Man, He has a
man's emotions, a man's heart, a man's compassion, a man's love and we
need not be afraid to come to Him! What though He was not born of us,
yet is He of us. Though we are not His mother, yet, we are His brothers
and sisters. So let us come boldly to Him. Sinner, you have as much
right to come as Mary had. She had none except what Divine Grace gave
her–you have the same. Did Christ ever cast away one sinner who came
to Him? No. Did He ever reject one that was ever brought to Him? There
was a woman taken in adultery and she did not come willingly, but they
brought her to Him, thinking, "Surely, Christ will condemn her." What
was the result? After driving all her adversaries away, He said to her,
"Go, and sin no more," And so will He say to you if your doubts and
trembling and fears should bring you to Him. When He casts one soul
away, then let other souls be afraid to come to Him, but while my
blessed Master stands with open arms and takes the foulest, and vilest,
and poorest to minister unto His love, I pray you stand not back
through shame or fear! As much as if you were His mother and He your
Child, come to Him, for He invites you to come, saying, "Come unto Me,
all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." With
tearful eyes He entreats you to come to Him– and if you will not, He
does but relieve His heart by crying, "How often would I have gathered
your children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her
wings, but you would not!"
VI. Perhaps, if you will think this over, you will see much more that
is beautiful. I am sure there is no topic more
consolatory than that which my text contains. THE VERY BLESSING WHICH
BELONGED TO THE VIRGIN
MOTHER OF JESUS BELONGS TO EVERY SOUL THAT HEARS GOD'S WORD AND KEEPS
IT.
Now you hear it. Do you hear it with your inside ears–with the ears of
your heart? And when you hear it, do you keep it in your memory? Do you
keep it in your faith? Do you try to keep it in your obedience? And are
you daily testifying to its truth? If so, all these blessings are yours
and let me say to any trembling, awakened, convicted sinner– all these
blessings may be yours if you hear the Word of God and keep it tonight!
Here are one or two words of God that I want you to keep–"Come now,
and let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like
crimson, they shall be as wool." Will you not come and reason with God
and talk this matter over? You have heard the Word, I pray you to keep
it, that is, to obeyit. Here is another message from the Word of
God–"This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." You have heard
that–keep it! Believe that although you are a sinner, He came to save
you. Rest in it, trust in it. Here is one more, and I pray you, as you
hear it, keep it–"He that believes and is baptized shall be saved."
You have heard it–now keep it. To believe is to trust. Trust Christ
now! I pray God to constrain you to do it before you pass those doors.
Fall flat on your face upon Christ's promise! As for your own
righteousness, away with it to the dogs! No prayer, no tears, no vows,
no sighs of yours can do anything in the matter! Trust Jesus Christ
wholly, now! And then if you have heard that Word and shall thus keep
it, go your way, and let Satan say what he will and let the flesh make
what noise it pleases–Christ has blessed you and you are blessed! He
has said to you, sinners as you are, "Blessed are they that hear the
Word of God and keep it." When you and I get to Heaven, may we find it
to be so! May we glory there and sing as loud a song as even Mary did
when she said, "My soul does magnify the Lord, and my spirit has
rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the low estate of His
handmaiden"–for all generations may call that one blessed who has
sought and found the Savior! O Beloved, even in Heaven, that song of
Mary shall make a sweet song for us all! May we begin to sing it here
and Christ shall have the praise! Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: Luke 11:14-54.
www.spurgeongems.org
Verses 14, 15. And He was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it
came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spoke and the
people wondered. But some of them said, He casts out devils through
Beelzebub the chief of the devils. One would hardly have thought that
they could have gone to such a length as that–but when men hate
Christ, there is nothing they will not say against Him. It is no
subject of surprise when great heresies arise, for they are the natural
outcome of human enmity against Christ and His Truth. People in such a
state of heart will say anything. They will give utterance to thoughts
that you could not have imagined would have entered any human brain–it
is the enmity of the heart to Christ that produces this blasphemy of
the tongue!
16. And others, tempting Him, sought of Him a sign from Heaven. "You
are working this work from beneath," they said, "now do something that
is really from above." They must have known that the casting out of the
devil was from Heaven, for Satan would never cast out Satan!
17, 18. But He, knowing their thought, said unto them, Every Kingdom
divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided
against a house falls. If Satan also is divided against himself, how
shall his kingdom stand? Because you say that I cast out devils through
Beelzebub. That was a very good and sufficient answer to these
cavilers. It is a comfort to us to know that any error is very
vulnerable–there is always a weak point about it. In this case, Christ
permitted it to turn its sting upon itself.
19. AndifI, by Beelzebub, cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast
them out? Therefore shall they be your judges. For some of these men
had sons who either did really cast out devils, being disciples of
Christ, or else professed to do so, being exorcists, pretending to a
power they did not possess. In either case, the argument was good as
against the objectors.
20-22. But if I, with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the
Kingdom of God is come upon you. When a strong man armed keeps his
palace, his goods are in peace: but when a stronger than he shall come
upon him and overcome him, he takes from him all his armor wherein he
trusted, and divides his spoils. This is how Christ drives out the
devil by sheer force of arms–He overcomes him and drives him out. He
does not cajole him, invite him, or persuade him to go, but He fights
with him, puts forth His Omnipotent Power against him, overthrows him,
takes away his armor and divides the spoil. Were you ever conscious of
such a fight as that? If not, be afraid of your so-called reformation,
for there is no true reformation and no true conversion in which there
is no conflict between Christ and Satan!
23. 24. He that is not with Me is against Me: and he that gathers not
with Me scatters. When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man. This is
the kind of "conversion" which is not genuine–"when the unclean spirit
is gone out of a man"–"gone out" on his own accord–and he may do
that. He may leave a man, for a while, with the evil purpose of getting
him more completely into his power afterwards. "When the unclean spirit
is gone out of a man."
24. He walks through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he
says, I will return unto my house from where I came out. It was his
house all the while! He left it voluntarily–he was not driven out by
force–he simply left it for a time in order that he might return to it
and retain it the more completely. Now he goes back to it.
25. And when he comes, he finds it swept and garnished. There has been
a reformation of a sort–the man has given up drunkenness, left off
swearing and become, in certain respects, a better man. The house is
swept and garnished, but there is no new tenant of Mansoul–there is no
Christ come to take possession of Heart Castle.
26. Then he goes, and takes to him seven other spirits more wicked than
himself, and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that
man is worse than the first. It often happens that when men make a
profession of reformation and then relapse into their former state,
they become far worse than they were before. The so-called
"reformation" is all of their own doing–or rather, the greater part of
it is the devil's doing. The demon within the man voluntarily went away
and now that he is back, he brings with him "seven other spirits more
wicked than himself." And so the man is more than eight times worse
than he was before the demon left him for a while!
27. 28. And it came to pass, as He spoke these things, a certain woman
of the company lifted up her voice and said unto Him, Blessed is the
womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You. But He said, more
than that, blessed are they that hear the Word of God, and keep it The
enthusiastic woman was so carried away with admiration for Christ that
she thought His mother was a highly-favored woman and she called her,
"blessed." "Yes," said Christ, "she is
blessed, but still more blessed are they who have the Word of God in
their hearts, who regard it as their own, and keep it as a great
prize."
29. And when the people were gathered thick together, He began to say,
This is an evil generation: they seek a sign. Look back to the 16th
verse–"Others, tempting Him, sought of Him a sign from Heaven." Christ
had answered those who imputed His miraculous works to Satanic
agency–now He answers these others.
29, 30. And there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonah the
Prophet For as Jonah was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the
Son of Man be to this generation. Jonah rose, as it were, from the
dead, for he was buried in the deep, in the belly of the whale! And
Christ was buried in Joseph's tomb, yet He came back from the grave on
the third day.
31, 32. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the
men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost
part of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater
than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment
with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the
preaching of Jonah and, behold, a greater than Jonah is here. The
Resurrection would make Christ the most conspicuous sign of God's
Presence among the people! It would be the testimony of God to His Son
that He was, indeed, the Messiah.
33-35. No man, when he has lighted a candle, puts it in a secret place,
neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they that come in
may see the light The light of the body is the eye: therefore when your
eye is good, your whole body also is full oflight, but when your eye is
bad, your body is full ofdarkness. Take heed therefore that the light
which is in you is not darkness. If your religion is irreligion, if
your hope is a false one, if your highest aspirations are untrue, what
is your position in the sight of God? Where are you?
36, 37. May your whole body therefore be full oflight, having no part
dark, the whole shall be full oflight, as when the bright shining of a
candle does give you light And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee besought
Him to dine with him: and He went in, and sat down to meat. It was
often a matter of marvel to the onlookers that Christ went among
publicans and sinners–but is it not a greater wonder that He went
among Pharisees? If they asked Him to their houses, it was usually
because they hoped to entangle Him in His talk, yet the condescension
of our Master is so great that again and again, "He went in, and sat
down to meat."
38. And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that He had not just
washed before dinner. Not because Christ's hands needed washing, but
because it was the custom of the Pharisees to wash before eating, and
our Lord broke through the customs as He was known to do, for He cared
nothing for their inventions!
39, 40. And the Lord said unto Him, Now do you Pharisees make clean the
outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of
ravening and wickedness. You fool, did not He who made the outside make
the inside, also? "One needs washing as much as the other. You are so
careful of your hands–will you not be more careful of your hearts?"
41. But rather give alms of such things as you have; and, behold, all
things are clean unto you. "When you are full of love to your fellow
men, and make a practice of helping them, you have cleansed your heart
from selfishness and have really washed yourself."
42. But woe unto you, Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all
manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God; these
ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone. How many, in
these days, are very particular about very little things, but very
careless about great things? They would not violate the law of their
sect or party for the world, but the Law of God is of small account to
them.
43. Woe unto you, Pharisees! For you love the uppermost seats in the
synagogues, and greetings in the markets. They loved to be called
Rabbi, Learned Doctors of the Law. Any title that made them appear
great was very sweet to them.
44. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are as
graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware
of them. Nobody but Christ knew how base they were. They were fair to
look upon, but He knew that they were villainously hypocritical and He,
therefore, denounced them. Ah, dear Friends, the great matter is to
have Grace in the heart–to have the Divine Light within in the
soul–but if we have not this, vain is a fair profession, vain is
everything that comes from man! If we are to be saved, we must have the
Grace that comes from God alone.
45. Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto Him, Master, thus
saying you reproach us also. There was no great difference between the
scribes and Pharisees and the lawyers, as this man evidently perceived,
and as our Lord also soon confirmed by pronouncing upon them the same
kind of, "Woe," that He had pronounced upon the other false teachers!
46. And He said, Woe unto you also, you lawyers! For you load men with
burdens grievous to be borne, and you yourselves touch not the burdens
with one of your fingers. Their regulations as to moral and ceremonial
observances were like huge bundles of firewood or crushing burdens
bound together and made into a weight intolerable for any man to carry!
Many of these rules, by themselves, were grievous enough–but all
together they formed a yoke that neither the people nor their fathers
could bear. The scribes, Pharisees and lawyers piled the great load
upon them–but none helped them to sustain it, nor offered to relieve
them of any portion of it. "You load men with burdens grievous to be
borne, and you yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your
fingers."
47. 48. Woe unto you! For you build the sepulchers of the Prophets and
your fathers killed them. Truly you bear witness that you approve the
deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and you build their
sepulchers. They pretended to have such regard for the holy men of the
past that, being unable to honor them in person, they would set up
monuments to their memory and adorn their resting places with tokens of
respect.
Out of their own mouths our Lord condemned these hypocrites–"Truly you
bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers." In effect,
Jesus said to them, "You confess that you are the sons of the murderers
of the Prophets. That admission carries with it far more than you
imagine. You are their sons, not only by birth, but also by
resemblance–you are veritable children of those who killed the
Prophets. If you had lived in their day, you would have committed the
crimes you pretend to condemn."
49-51. Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them Prophets
and Apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute, that the
blood of all the Prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the
world, may be required of this generation. From the blood of Abel unto
the blood of Zachariah, which perished between the altar and the
Temple: verily I say unto you, it shall be required of this generation.
The destruction of Jerusalem was more terrible than anything that the
world has ever witnessed, either before or since. Even Titus seemed to
see in his cruel work the hand of an avenging God. Truly, the blood of
the martyrs was amply avenged when the whole city became a veritable
Aceldama, or field of blood. It was before that generation had passed
away that Jerusalem was besieged and destroyed. There was a sufficient
interval for the full proclamation of the Gospel by the Apostles and
evangelists of the early Christian Church– and for the gathering out
of those who recognized the Crucified Christ as their true Messiah.
Then came the awful ending which the Savior foresaw and foretold.
51. Woe unto you, lawyers! For you have taken away the key of
knowledge: you did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering
in, you hindered. This "Woe" is similar to that pronounced upon the
hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, and it was a terrible charge to be
brought against them by Him who could read their hearts and who could
truthfully say to them, "You have taken away the key of knowledge: you
did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in, you
hindered." They ought to have helped men into the Kingdom. Instead of
doing so, they hindered those who were entering. Are there not false
teachers, nowadays, who put stumbling stones instead of steppingstones
in the way of those who are entering the Kingdom of Heaven?
53, 54. And as He said these things unto them, the scribes and
Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to provoke Him to speak
of many things: laying wait for Him and seeking to catch something out
of His mouth that they might accuse Him. Thus they proved the truth of
the accusations that He had brought against them! But all their plots
and traps were in vain until the hour appointed for His great Sacrifice
to be offered on Calvary.