Near the Kingdom, or in It?
(No. 2989)
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, MAY 24, 1906.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING,
OCTOBER 24, 1875.
"You are not fair from the Kingdom of God." Mark 12:34.
IN certain respects, all men are alike–alike fallen and alike needing
the Savior. Hence we have not 20 gospels, but only one–and we have not
the Gospel graduated to scale to suit different classes of society, or
different conditions of morality. We have the same Christ to set before
sinners of every sort as their only hope–and the same message to
proclaim to everyone of them, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you
shall be saved."
At the same time, we would make a very great mistake if we dealt with
everybody in precisely the same way, for all human beings are not
exactly alike and our Savior, Himself, drew distinctions concerning
those who came to Him while He was upon the earth. He uttered very
strong language to some of the scribes, but He used a very different
tone in addressing the particular scribe to whom He said, "You are not
far from the Kingdom of God."
There is no doubt that there are some sinners who are very far from the
Kingdom of God–by their wicked works, they have gone away even further
than they were by nature. They have added to the original sin which was
theirs by birth, all the corruptions which have come of evil habits
and, with their backs to the Light of God, they have gone further and
further into the darkness of the night of sin. There are others, who
through the restraining Grace of God, have never done this. They are
fallen creatures, it is true, but still, there are many beautiful
points in their character. Indeed, they are so amiable that even Jesus,
when looking upon one such young man, loved him, though He had to say
even to him–"One thing you lack." The lack of that one thing was
fatal! Still, Christ recognized the good that there was in him and I
feel sure that He would have His ministers and all who try to bring
souls to Him, act in the same way. Besides, a point is gained with a
man if you frankly recognize whatever there is about him that is
satisfactory–and he will be the more likely to listen to you when you
point out his defects and show him wherein his character still falls
short of what it ought to be. Fully believing that I have many in this
congregation who are "not far from the Kingdom of God," I shall speak
especially to them, or, rather, I pray that the Holy Spirit will speak
to them through me, for it is HE who speaks with power to the heart and
conscience!
I shall first describe the condition in which this man was. Then,
secondly, point out its dangers. And, thirdly, note its encouragements.
I. First, then, let me DESCRIBE THE CONDITION IN WHICH THIS MAN WAS.
"You are not far from the Kingdom of God."
Christ spoke thus to him and, as He was able to read the man's heart,
he could tell, with absolute accuracy, the condition in which the man
was. And He is able to read all our hearts at this moment. Looking down
from the Throne of Glory, He knows, dear Friend, exactly what your
position is in relation to His Kingdom–how far you have come and how
far short you still fall. Trusting in His unerring knowledge, I pray
Him to send His Spirit, that the Word of God spoken may meet your
particular case, and so come home to you that you may perceive that
God, Himself, is speaking to you and calling you to come into the
Kingdom towards which you have come so near.
Let us first look at this scribe's case and see why it was that he was
so near to the Kingdom. I think the first hopeful sign about him was
that he had evidently been and was a man of candid spirit He was not so
prejudiced as most of the other scribes were. His mind and heart were
open to conviction. When he read the ancient Scriptures, he did not
read them with his eyes shut, or gazing through colored Rabbinical
spectacles as so many of the scribes read them. He went to
them desiring to know the Truth of God that was in them and, when he
saw the Truth, he did not rebel against it, but yielded himself to it.
It is evident that he had been a candid student of the Law of God, for
he had arrived at the conclusion that its greatest commandment was love
to God and to one's neighbor, whereas I have no doubt that many of his
fellow scribes had given the first place to matters that were purely
ceremonial–something to do with circumcision, perhaps, or with the
eating of unleavened bread–matters that were important enough in their
proper sphere, yet not to be regarded as the weightiest things in the
Law. But this man had read with an evident determination to know the
Truth and so far, he had found it out.
He showed his candor, not only by his diligent search for the Truth,
but also by being a candid controversialist. He had heard the questions
which had been put to Christ and he had noted how wisely Christ had
answered them. And he had also noticed that not one of the questioners
had had the courtesy to say that Christ had answered them well. They
were so ashamed of themselves for putting the questions to Him, that
they had evidently retired into the background. But this man, as soon
as he received the answer to his enquiry, seemed to recognize the
wisdom of the great Teacher and he expressed the opinion that Christ
had answered him wisely. I do not know how he could have put it better
than he did when he said, "Well, Master, you have said the truth." You
know that when men are arguing, and their blood is hot, it very often
happens that the one disputant will not admit that the other has spoken
the truth. Though he is quite sure that it is so, he will not
acknowledge it–and it is an evidence of a really candid spirit when,
in the midst of a debate, a man confesses that his opponent has got the
better of him. It shows that he is not merely fighting for the victory,
but is seeking the truth. And there is always something hopeful about a
man of that sort. My dear Friend, I do not know where you are, nor what
your particular opinions may be, but if you are firmly resolved to
follow truth wherever she may lead you, I think I may say to you, as
Christ said to this scribe, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God."
Do not be self-confident, nor rely too much upon your own judgment, but
let your mind lie open to conviction. Above all, let it be open to the
heavenly Light of God! And if you do, I shall have hope concerning you,
notwithstanding a thousand mistakes that you may make. An honest seeker
after the Truth of God will not be long before Truth finds him and he
finds Truth!
Another favorable point in this scribe's character was that he
evidently had some degree of spiritual perception– not much, perhaps,
but still, as things went, a good deal for that time. He had found out,
through reading the Law of God, that God attached more importance to
matters of moral practice than to mere matters of ceremony, and much
more importance to that which concerned the heart than so many outward
actions. "To love the Lord with all one's heart, and soul, and
strength, and to love one's neighbor as one's self," said this scribe,
"is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." He had
advanced further than many a Romanist has, for the Romanist would
hardly say as much as he did. "The outward ceremonies of the church are
so exceedingly important," he would say, "that, I could not put
anything else before them." But this man had been taught to feel that
real heart-work and true love to God were more important than all the
ceremonies of the Law, even though they were ordained by God, Himself
He had advanced further than some of our very doctrinal friends, to
whom orthodoxy seems to be both the first thing and the last thing,
though, as you very well know, what they call orthodoxy is simply their
own doxy! But if people only hold that doxy, that is about all they
care for–all the rest is a very secondary matter to them. This scribe,
however, had advanced further than that and he would, doubtless, have
said that to love God with the whole of one's heart was more important
than believing all the dogmas that were ever formulated by all the
doctors of divinity in the world!
This scribe had also advanced further than the mere moralist, who
teaches that if you do what you think is right, that is all you need
trouble yourselves about. But this scribe expressly spoke of loving the
Lord "with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all
the soul, and with all the strength." He could see that the entire man
must be given up to love God, for, if he were not, all the outward
profession of living according to the letter of the Law would not
suffice. Now, dear Friend, if you have been enabled to break through
your former attachment to mere external ceremonies–if you have fully
comprehended that true religion is not a matter of mere externals–you
are "not far from the Kingdom of God." You are one of those who are
learning that "God is a Spirit and they that worship Him must worship
Him in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeks such to worship Him."
I hope He is seeking you and that, before long, you will not only be
nearthe Kingdom, but actually in it! It is a grand thing when a man is
brought so far as to be able, from deep inward conviction, to say with
Dr. Watts–
"Not all the outward forms of earth,
Nor rites that God has given,
Nor will of man, nor blood, nor birth,
Can raise a soul to Heaven."
If we are to be saved there must be the regenerating work of the Holy
Spirit within the soul to make it spiritual and capable of spiritual
worship! And he who really knows this is "not far from the Kingdom of
God."
Another admirable point in this scribe's character was that he
evidently had a considerable knowledge of the Law. To know the Law of
the Lord is the next thing to knowing the Gospel. It is not everybody
who understands this Truth of God, but it really is so. Old Robby
Flockhart, an evangelist who used to preach in the streets of
Edinburgh, sometimes said to his hearers, "I will preach the Law of God
to you tonight, and nothing but the Law of God, for it is the sharp
needle without which I cannot get the silken thread of the Gospel into
your hearts." And he spoke the truth. Paul wrote to the Galatians, "The
law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ." When the Law
condemns a man, he flies to Christ to seek forgiveness–but until he
has received the sentence of the Law in his own soul, he will never fly
to Jesus Christ and His atoning Sacrifice to be set free from sin. If
the Law is rightly used, it drives the sinner to the Savior–and there
was hope concerning this scribe because he evidently knew the
requirements of the Law of God. He did not sum that up in a mere
outward morality, but he knew that the Law was spiritual and that it
made demands upon man of a spiritual character. It would not have taken
anyone long, I should think, to convince that man that he had fallen
short of those demands. And when he had been thus convinced, he was
well on the way to seeing the preciousness of the Atonement that could
meet the demands of that broken Law of God–so that his knowledge of
the requirements of the Law helped him to be "not far from the Kingdom
of God."
Once again, thisscribe was evidently teachable.He was in such a frame
of mind that he was willing to hear what the great Teacher had to say.
I do not think he came to Christ as a quibbler. He probably came to
test Christ, but not to quibble with Him after he had tested Him and,
having tested Him, he was willing to learn more of Him. It is a hopeful
sign when we are willing to sit on the children's seat, remembering our
Lord's words to His disciples, "Except you be converted and become as
little children, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." Some
people are much too big to go through Heaven's gate. They are so wise,
in their own estimation, that they are not willing to be taught even by
Infinite Wisdom. Their judgment is so accurate, their intelligence is
so clear, that they will not submit to be instructed by Him who is the
very Wisdom of God. They think that they have within themselves the
power to draw an Infallible distinction between right and wrong,
between the Truth of God and error–and they will not allow even the
Almighty to dictate to them, and to be the Arbiter of their lives. Ah,
Brothers and Sisters, this is a sad state for anyone to be in! But it
is a hopeful sign when we are teachable. If you are so, you are "not
far from the Kingdom of God."
Now I will leave this scribe, in order that I may take notice of some
others who are "not far from the Kingdom of God." There are many
persons who, from their youth up, have always had a great horror of
that which is wrong. And they have felt–not to perfection, but to a
considerable extent–a delight in that which is true and good. They do
not feel themselves to be true or good, but they wish they were. Their
first associations in life were with godly people and they have always
loved godly things. They do not find family prayer to be irksome or, if
they do, they realize how wrong they are for being in such a state of
mind. They would be very sorry if the ordinances of religion were
neglected in the place where they live. The Sabbath is a delight to
them and they love to go up to God's House. They hardly know why they
feel thus, for they are afraid they have no part nor lot in the matter,
but still, they like to go there–if there is anything good to be
heard, they wish to have a share in it. If anybody speaks against good
things, or good men, they are very grieved. Horror takes hold of them
if they ever hear God's name blasphemed. They have had, from their very
childhood, a bias in the direction of that which is right–but it is
natural rather than spiritual. They are not, as yet, distinctly out and
out for Christ–they have not believed in Him as their Savior, they
have not yielded themselves up completely to Him. I am persuaded that
we have large numbers of young people who are very accurately described
by that expression, "not far from the Kingdom." Of course, I am
speaking of their best side and I am well aware that there is another
side to their character–but there is still much about them that is
hopeful.
I know some who are even nearer to the Kingdom than those whom I have
been describing, for they are under a very deep sense of their
sinfulness. Not one of them would ever be so foolish and so wicked as
to say, "God, I thank You that I am not as other men are." Often, while
they are sitting here listening to a sermon that is full of comfort,
they feel that
they are not entitled to have it for themselves. Oh, how they wish they
could believe and that they were really saved! One thing they do
realize–that is, they are lost, and ruined, and undone. This fact has
caused them much sorrow of heart, but they are not yet sufficiently
awake to make the desperate effort which decides the matter. Realizing
that they are condemned, they cannot feel at ease and, sometimes,
floods of tears flow down from their eyes because of their
transgressions. Ah, my dear Friend, if that is your condition, you are,
truly, "not far from the Kingdom of God."
There are others who are in this further hopeful condition, that they
are very attentive hearers of the Word. They come to the House of
Prayer on purpose that they may hear the Gospel and, after a fashion,
they pray that the Gospel may be a blessing to them. I like preaching
to people of that sort! One might wish to preach all day and all night
if one could only have throngs of such hearers–everyone of whom would
be praying, "O my God, bless me! O my God, save me!" I remember that
when I was in this condition, I used to pray all through a sermon, "O
Lord, meet with me, meet with me tonight!" And, my dear Friend, you are
"not far from the Kingdom" if that is how you are now praying.
I know some who have advanced still further, for they have kept on
praying wherever they have been, though they themselves hardly know
whether they have been praying rightly. You know, dear Friend, that you
went home last Sabbath and fell on your knees, and cried, "Lord, save
me!" And, during the past week, you have got away alone as often as you
could that you might have a little time of prayer. Even when you have
been at work–you do not know whether others have noticed it or
not–there has been the heaving of a sigh or the upward glancing of the
eyes. Sometimes you have almost wished that you had never been born,
for you have had the dreadful fear that you might never find the
Savior! At other times, you have had a little hope that perhaps you
might and, at any rate, you are a true seeker–and I believe you are
"not far from the Kingdom."
Besides that, I should not wonder if you read the Scriptures very
earnestly to try to find out how you can obtain eternal life. And you
also study good books with the same view–those very books which you
once thought so dull and even horrible! You read them now at every
spare moment that you can get. You would rather read them than the most
fascinating romantic novel that was ever written, for you are earnestly
seeking eternal life. You certainly are "not far from the Kingdom of
God."
II. Now, secondly, I want you to NOTICE THE PECULIAR DANGER OF YOUR
CONDITION if you are "not far from the Kingdom."
The great danger of it is that though you are not far from the Kingdom,
you are not in it. A man was in a sinking ship. He almost leaped into
the lifeboat, but just missed it and was drowned. The manslayer was
fighting for his life and the avenger of blood was close behind him. He
had almost reached the City of Refuge, but he was overtaken by his
adversary just outside the gate–and so was slain. Almost saved is
altogether lost! There are many in Hell who once were almost saved, but
who are now altogether damned. Think of that, you who are not far from
the Kingdom. It is being in the Kingdom that saves the soul, not being
nearthe Kingdom. If you are just upon the border, yet if you have not
actually entered, you are not secure. Those five foolish virgins were
almost in the banqueting hall–there was only the thickness of a door
between them and the wedding feast–but they only heard the awful
sentence, "Too late! Too late! You cannot enter now." Your great danger
is that you will get to be content with being nearthe Kingdom, although
not actually in it. I have known some people remain in that perilous
position for months and years till, at last, it got to be their chronic
condition and they made no effort to take the decisive step. They
appeared to be in a very hopeful state, yet I fear that, by-and-by, we
shall have to give them up as utterly hopeless. Oh, these hopelessly
hopeful people–what can we do with them? They are, for a time,
hopeful, yet never more than hopeful and, at last, we have to admit
that their apparent goodness is only superficial and that all the hopes
they raised within us are delusive. They mock us and we also fear that
they mock God!
We are also very much afraid that you who are "not far from the
Kingdom," may get into your heads the notion that there is something
good in you and that there being something good in you, it will help to
save you. If so, you will be really further away from the Kingdom than
if you were liberally far off! I know of nothing that will more
effectually keep you out of the Kingdom of God than the notion that you
are good enough to stay out–the idea that, surely, God will not
condemn such excellent persons as you are! And, besides, you are so
near that you can slip in any day. If you get that notion into your
head, I am afraid you will never slip in, but that you will perish in
your present lost condition. Oh, may God graciously deliver all of you
from such fatal self-righteousness!
I should like to point out to you one thing and that is this–how very
terrible it would be if you should be lost after having been so near to
the Kingdom of God The manslayer is overtaken by the avenger of blood
and falls a mangled corpse upon the very threshold of the City of
Refuge–does not that seem truly dreadful? One step more and he would
have been safe! But he could not make that step, so he was slain. I
always feel mortified if I got to a railway station just as the train,
which I want to catch, moves from the station. If it had gone ten
minutes earlier, I would not have minded missing it so much–but to be
so near as to see it go seems to aggravate my disappointment and,
certainly, it will be the greatest aggravation of all to you if you are
lost after having been so very near to the Kingdom of God! I can almost
imagine other souls that are lost speaking to you in that tone of
tension which Isaiah applied to the king of Babylon, "Hell from beneath
is moved for you to meet you at my coming…They shall go and say unto
you, Have you also become weak as we? Have you become like us? How are
you fallen!" What horror must have seized the guilty tyrant when he
came into the midst of those whom he had oppressed and crushed! And if
some of you who have been so near to the Kingdom, are lost, I can
imagine the swearer in Hell saying to you, "Ah, you rebuked me for my
oaths, but where are you now?" And another will say, "You used to help
reclaim drunks, but where are you now? You were one of those who used
to sit in the Tabernacle and listen to sermons. I never went there, but
you did–and how much the better are you for going?"
And some of them will say, "Oh, if we had only had your opportunities,
if we had but heard the Gospel as you heard it! If we had been placed
under the holy, hallowed influences which surrounded you, surely we
would not have acted so foolishly as you have done!" I need not draw
any fancy pictures of what may happen, for you know what our Lord Jesus
Christ said to those who heard Him and yet repented not–"I say unto
you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the Day
of Judgment, than for you." If you have heard the Gospel and the
Kingdom of God has come near unto you, and you have come near unto it,
and yet, through lack of the decided act of faith in Jesus Christ, you
perish in your sin, your doom will be more terrible even than that of
Tyre and Sidon, or Sodom and Gomorrah–
"So near to the Kingdom! Yet what do you lack?
So near to the Kingdom! What keeps you back?
Denounce every idol, though dear it may be,
And come to the Savior now pleading with thee!
So near, that you hear the songs that resound
From those who believing, a pardon have found!
So near, yet unwilling to give up your sin
When Jesus is waiting to welcome you in!
To die with no hope! Have you counted the cost?–
To die out of Christ andyour soul to be lost?
So near to the Kingdom! Oh come, we implore!
While Jesus is pleading, come enter the door!" III. I will not say more
upon that sad part of my subject. I feel far more at home in trying to
speak, for only a minute or two, on the last point, namely, THE
ENCOURAGEMENT OF THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE NOT FAR FROM THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
May God, in His Infinite mercy, grant that you may enter the Kingdom
this very night! May He not allow another morning's sun to rise from
the East and look upon you as unconverted men or women!
For, first, think how much God has already done for you. You might have
been born in one of the back slums of London, or you might even have
been born as Hottentots or a cannibal islander! Perhaps upon that
matter of your birth depends the fact that you are sitting in this
House of Prayer and are not in the gin palace, the prison, or in Hell
itself! It may be simply the dispensation of Divine Providence that has
made this difference between you and the very worst of men. Be very
thankful to God for what He has already done for you–for this vantage
ground on which His Providence and the kind instructions of Christian
parents and friends have placed you.
And, next, as He has done so much for you, should not this encourage
you to ask Him for still more If He has, by His Grace, brought you so
near to the Kingdom, would it not be wise for you to say to Him, "My
God, You have done much for me. Will You not now give me that which
will make all this end in my salvation? Will You not give me a new
heart and a right spirit? Will You not give me the new birth which will
enable me to believe in Jesus Christ this very night, so that I may
pass from death unto life?" Do you not think that the message of the
Gospel should very much commend itself to you? You are a candid hearer,
if I understand you rightly, and you have some love to good things.
Now, was there ever a more Divine message than this? God has sent His
Son, Jesus Christ, into this world. He took upon Himself the sin of
guilty man. He suffered in the place of the guilty and He bids us now
proclaim this Gospel of free, Sovereign Grace, that "whoever believes
in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." Christ has endured
the full penalty of sin. Jesus has bowed His back to carry the
intolerable burden of human guilt and He hascarried it and cast it into
the depths of the sea, where it shall never be found, to be again laid
by the charge of any soul that believes in Him. You are not asked to do
anything, you are not even asked to feelanything–you are simply asked
to trust yourself in the hands of the Incarnate God. Was anything ever
simpler, more full of Grace, more full of compassion to your lost and
helpless condition? It is all put into this simple message, "Look unto
Me, and be you saved, all the ends of the earth." This is the message
from Christ in the highest heavens! "Look, look, look," is all He bids
you do–simply look unto Him, Trust in Him, depend upon Him! Surely you
cannot desire anything that is more worthy of God than this Gospel of
His Grace which we proclaim unto you in His name!
Well, my dear Friend, you have come near to the Kingdom, but is it not
very clear to you that you need something more than you can find in
yourself?You have come as far as you can, yet, as far as that is
compared with where others are, how little it really is! I said that
you had begun to pray, but what sort of prayer is yours? I said that
you were an attentive hearer of the Word–so you are–yet how small a
thing will take you off from the pursuit of the blessed realities of
Grace! You know that although you are somewhat softened, your heart is
still hard. There is still much unbelief in your soul, though there is
a gleam of what looks like faith now and then. In fact, to put the
matter very plainly, you are in such a condition that you will be in
Hell unless the mercy of God shall prevent it, for you are certainly
not yet saved! Do you know that it is so? Do you really feel this?
Then, can you not, (may God help you to do it), by one desperate effort
of faith, throw yourself at the feet of Jesus and say to Him, "Never
will I go from You, O You blessed Savior, till You pronounce me clean!
I now put out the tip of my finger, feeble and weak as my faith is, and
I touch You. If You can save a sinner, Jesus, save me! I trust You to
do so!" Friend, you are saved! That simple touch of the finger has
brought virtue out of Christ unto you and He has bid you go in peace!
I remember how it seemed to me, when I was under conviction of sin–as
though Christ stood before me with a sharp sword in each of His hands!
And I felt, "I can but be lost. I will fling myself into His arms
notwithstanding those swords." And so I did, by a desperate plunge. I
felt, "I have done with all attempts at self-salvation! Christ is my
only Savior. I see that He finished my salvation on the accursed tree.
I depend upon Him, I lean on Him with all my weight and all my might.
Guilty and black and vile–and foul as I am by nature–I wash in the
fountain filled with His precious blood and am clean every whit, even
in the sight of the Most High God!" Oh, that you, dear Friend, would do
the same! I believe that you are doing it, that God is helping you to
do it. I feel sure that He is and that you are letting go all your
foolish confidence, all trust in your own prayer, or even in your own
faith, or your own anything! And you are going to trust yourself to the
Lord Jesus Christ, whether you sink or swim!
Faith is very much like learning to swim. I have often thought that I
could easily swim, but I never could induce myself to take the last toe
off the ground–and there is no swimming till one does that. You must
trust yourself wholly to the water. So must you trust yourself to
Jesus. But you are afraid to take that last toe off the ground–you
cannot give up just a little confidence in yourself. Oh, for the
glorious plunge of faith! You fear that you will drown, but you will
not, for you will swim. The everlasting love of Jesus will buoy up the
biggest sinner out of Hell if he will but rest himself upon the
finished work of Jesus Christ, whom God has set forth to be the
Propitiation for the sins of man! Only trust Him and He will save you!
May God give you the Grace to trust Him, and He shall have all the
glory. Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: MARK 12:12-44.
Verse 12. And they sought to lay hold on Him, but feared thepeople: for
they knew that He had spoken the parable against them: and they left
Him, and went their way. Christ's enemies could not injure Him, then,
partly because the people heard Him gladly, and were ready to protect
Him, but still more because the appointed time for His suffering and
death had not fully come.
13, 14. And they sent unto Him certain of the Pharisees and of the
Herodians to catch Him in His words. And when they were come, they said
unto Him, Master, we know that You are true, and care for no man: for
You regard not the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth
They meant "to catch Him in His words," if they could, so they baited
their trap with flattery. Whenever a man begins to flatter you, be on
your guard against him. If he tries to commence a conversation with you
by uttering words of excessive admiration, depend upon it that he
admires something that you have got more than he admires you! And,
therefore, be on the watch against him. Our Savior must, in His heart,
have utterly despised men who were so foolish as to imagine that they
could entrap Him by their flattering words. After that preface, they
asked the questions which they thought would impale Him upon the horns
of a dilemma–
14, 15. Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? Shall we give,
or shall we not give?. They knew very well that if Christ said, "Do not
give tribute to Caesar," the Romans would have taken him up and
imprisoned him for preaching sedition, but, on the other hand, if He
said, "Pay tribute to Caesar," the Jews would have said that He was
their enemy, and not a true patriot, or else He would not have admitted
that the chosen people were bound to pay taxes to their Roman
conquerors.
15-17. But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt you
Me? Bring Me a penny, that I may see it And they brought it And He said
unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto
Him, Caesar's. And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the
things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And
they marvelled at Him. He had answered them with matchless wisdom
without committing Himself in either way!
18-23. Then came unto Him the Sadducees, which say there is no
resurrection, and they asked Him, saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us,
If a man's brother dies and leaves his wife behind him, and leaves no
children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto
his brother Now there were seven brothers and the first took a wife,
and dying, left no seed. And the second took her, and died, neither
left he any seed: and the third likewise. And the seven had her, and
left no seed. Last of all the woman died also. In the resurrection,
therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them, for
the seven had her to wife. No doubt they thought that they had
completely entangled Him that time! How could He answer such a
difficult question as that? But, you see, they had based their enquiry
upon the erroneous supposition that things are to be in another state
as they are here–so Jesus was able at once to answer them as
effectively as He had just answered the Pharisees and Herodians.
24-27. And Jesus, answering said unto them, Do you not therefore, err,
because you know not the Scriptures, neither the power of God? For when
they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in
marriage; but are as the angels which are in Heaven. And as touching
the dead, that they rise: have you not read in the book of Moses, how
in the bush God spoke unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. He is not the God of the dead,
but the God of the living; you therefore do greatly err. His answer
carried the war into the enemies' camp! They professed to believe in
Moses, yet they denied the existence of spirits and the fact of the
resurrection. But Jesus Christ proved to a demonstration that God
cannot be the God of the dead! If, therefore, He is the God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob–Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are still alive! And if He
is your God, and my God, dear Friends, we need not fear extinction–we
will live, and we will live forever!
28-34. And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning
together, and perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him,
Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered Him, The
first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel The Lord our God is
one Lord: and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and
with all your soul and with all your mind, and with all your strength:
this is the first commandment And the second is like, namely this, You
shall love your neighbor as yourself There is none other commandment
greater than these. And the scribe said unto Him, Well, Master, You
have said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but
He; and to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding,
and with all the soul and with all the strength, and to love his
neighbor as himself is more than all whole burnt offerings and
sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, He said
unto him, You are not far from the Kingdom of God. And no man after
that dared asked Him any question.He had so decidedly put all His
questioners to the rout that no other man had the audacity to court
defeat at His hands! The Infallible Wisdom of Christ had put all His
accusers and tempters to flight.
35, 36. And Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the Temple, How
say the scribes that Christ is the son of David? For David himself said
by the Holy Spirit.
In Psalm 110:1–
36, 37. The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, till I make
Your enemies Your footstool David therefore himself calls Him Lord; and
from where is He then his sod? They could not answer that riddle, but
we can. We know that Jesus is both David's son and David's Lord–a man
like ourselves, of the great human race, yet, "very God of very God,"
blessed be His holy name!
37-40. And the common people heard Him gladly. And He said unto them in
His doctrine, Beware of the scribes which love to go in long clothing,
and love salutations in the marketplace, and the chief seats in the
synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts: which devour widows'
houses, and for a presence make long prayers: these shall receive
greater damnation. We often hear foolish people say "You must always
preach in love and not say anything against anybody! Jesus did not
denounce anybody." Oh, dear! Then what about this denunciation of the
scribes? Were Jesus here today, He would not be the soft-shelled
creature that some people want us to be! He had a backbone and a
conscience– and a very heavy right hand–and He brought that hand down
like a sledgehammer upon cant and hypocrisy and error! And if we would
be like Christ, we must be manly, bold and outspoken! They tell us this
in order that we may easily glide through the world and that all men
may speak well of us. But so did their fathers to the false
prophets–and do you suppose that we who preach God's Word are going to
keep back any part of our testimony because it will bring us into ill
repute with the ungodly? God forbid! We live for something higher and
nobler than being fed upon the breath of evil men! If there is error in
high places, if there is vice anywhere, it is the duty of the minister
of Christ, in His Master's name, to attack it with all his might! Here
we find our Lord and Master plainly declaring that the scribes, the
great masters of the Law of God, were a set of pretentious hypocrites
who robbed even the widow and the fatherless and who would, in due
time, "receive greater damnation." Even so must the Truth of God still
be spoken, whoever may be offended by it!
41, 42. And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the
people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in
much. And there came a certain poor widow. Doubly poor, because she was
not only a widow, but in poverty–"a certain poor widow."
42-44. And she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And He called
unto Him His disciples, and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that
this poor widow has cast more in than all they which have cast into the
treasury: for all they did cast in of their abundance. Christ measures
what we really give by what we have left–by the proportion which what
we give bears to what we possess–"For all they did cast in of their
abundance."
44. But she of her need did cast in all that she had, even all her
living. So she gave more than any or all the others did!