The Errand of Mercy

The Errand of Mercy

(No. 3050)

A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, JULY 25, 1907.

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, DURING THE YEAR 1863.

"For the Son of Mann is come to seek and to save that which was lost."
Luke 19:10.

GOD came down from Heaven but once to be united with human flesh. On
what errand did He come and who were the objectives of it? What
messenger was sent on that errand? What method was pursued by Him? With
what success was it attended?Our text gives us the information–"The
Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." Let us
speak briefly upon these four points.

I. First, AS TO THE OBJECTIVE OF CHRIST'S ERRAND–"The Son of Man is
come to seek and to save that which was lost."

That word, "lost," is constantly applied by desponding and despairing
persons to themselves. Such people say, "We are lost–we feel that we
are lost, wholly lost. There is no hope for us." Herein they betray
both their ignorance and their unbelief–their ignorance, for to be
lost is nothing so peculiar that they should claim to be heritors of a
strange doom since the whole human race is lost! And their unbelief
since Christ came especially to seek and to save the lost. Therefore,
their being lost is not a ground for despair, but may be construed into
a ground of hope! Let us think over that word, "lost," and see in what
sense those are lost whom Christ came to save.

Christ came to save those who were lost hereditarily. You often hear
people say, "Man is in a state of probation." No such thing! There is
no man now in a state of probation. Adam was in a state of probation
and man in Adam was in a state of probation in the Garden as long as he
stood in obedience to the test that was given. He was upon his trial,
but the moment that Adam tasted of the forbidden fruit, the probation
was over–he was a lost man! And our probation was over, too, for we
were lost in him. Man, in this world, is either in a state of
condemnation or a state of salvation. "He that believes not" is not in
a state of probation–he is "condemned already, because he has not
believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." We have Divine
authority for this. A man who has believed in Jesus is not in a state
of probation, for "there is therefore now no condemnation to them which
are in Christ Jesus," and, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God." The
fact is that we are all absolutely lost through the sin of Adam and we
need a Revelation to show us that we are absolutely saved in the
righteousness of Christ! It is not a question whether I shall fall or
not–I have fallen in Adam. "By one man's disobedience," says the
Apostle, "many were made sinners." I stood in Adam as long as he stood,
but when Adam fell, he so represented me and all my kith and kin, that
I fell in him–and fell so as to be hopelessly and forever lost–if
Jesus Christ had not stepped in "to seek and to save that which was
lost."

We are lost, again, in another sense. We are lost naturally. It is
supposed by some that man has it now in his power to choose his own
character and so become the arbiter of his own destiny. They say that
his nature is, at first, in such a state of equilibrium that he can
select either the strait and narrow path of rectitude, or pursue the
broad road which leads to destruction. No, my dear Friends, both
Scripture and experience teach us otherwise! We are born with natures
that incline towards that which is evil and never of themselves tend
towards that which is good! "Behold," says David, "I was shapen in
iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me." Well did Job ask, "Who
can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one." How, then, can he
be pure who is born of a woman who is herself sinful? How can we, who
are impure, be the parents of pure children? Such a thing is not
possible! The whole head of human nature is sick and the whole heart
faint. Naturally from our very birth we go astray, speaking lies! There
is written upon human nature, by the finger of our first parent, this
word, "Lost!"–lost to God, therefore lost to the virtuous exercise of
the affections and the true balance of the judgment, lost to rectitude,
the will lost to obedience, the mental vision lost as to a sight of
God, the moral sense lost as to that proper sensibility of conscience
by which it shall stand out against sin. The reigning power in

man is dislodged from its place–manhood's glory, his victory and
integrity lost, lost forever–unless some greater Man shall restore it.
This is how we truthfully describe the whole human race and so, surely,
those whom Christ came to save were hereditarily and naturally lost.

Among these, there are some so totally lost to all feeling that they do
not know they are lost. Even the preaching of the Gospel does not
suffice to bring them to a consciousness of their condition. Their
conscience has become seared and their heart hardened by perversity in
sin. If they once knew what it was to tremble at the wrath to come,
that time is past. Even the wooing of Divine Mercy fall upon them as
oil would fall upon marble and runs off without producing any effect.
They wish they could feel. They envy souls that despair and wish that
they could, themselves, despair. They despair, however, of ever being
able to get into a good enough state of heart to despair! "If anything
is felt," they say, "'tis only pain to find we cannot feel," and not
much of that is felt. Now, even such Jesus Christ came to save–and we
know this because such were some of us! Do not I recollect the time
when I would have given my eyes for a tear and would have been willing
to suffer anything if I could have but bent my knees and uttered one
groan? But my heart would not yield a sigh or my eyes a tear! I turned
to the Book of God but that did not move me. I listened to the preacher
without emotion. It seemed as if even a dying Savior's groans could
never move a heart so base as mine–and yet I bear witness that Christ
came to save such, for I do myself rejoice in His salvation! You who
are lost to all feeling may well catch at this text, "The Son of Man is
come to seek and to save that which was lost."

Then there are others who are lost to all hope. It is in vain that you
pray with them. They rise up from their knees and thank you for your
prayers, but they are assured that God will never hear them. They
sometimes pray–necessity drives them to their knees–but they pray
with the conviction that they are merely talking to a God whose mind is
made up about them and determined to cast them forever from His
Presence. Comforts that are available to others are of no use to them.
You may skillfully seek to adjust your consolation so as to suit their
case, but they ward off your comfort as skillfully as a warrior guards
himself from the enemy's arrow with his shield. They will not hear a
word of comfort, charm you ever so wisely. They have made up their
minds that there cannot be anything in the Book of God for them except
thunder and lightning and "a certain fearful looking for ofjudgment and
fiery indignation." Yes, and if they had their own names put in the
Bible and a promise appended to their names, they would deny their own
names and the promise too! They have come to be in such a state of
subjection to that tyrant, Unbelief, that they say, "Never shall we
have hope. It is impossible that such sinners as we are, should ever be
partakers of eternal life." If you ask them the reason for their
despair, they cannot always tell you. "No," they say, "we would not
tell any man living what we have done and what we feel." In one case it
is some overwhelming sin. In another case it is having resisted at
certain periods the convictions of conscience. Or yet again, it is old
age–their having been living so long a time in impenitence. They have
all different arguments and none of them are the arguments of truth.

They believe Satan's lie that God is not willing to forgive, in
preference to God's own oath–"As I live," says the Lord God, "I have
no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from
his way and live." I do not know how it is that these poor souls manage
to get away from such texts as these–"All manner of sin and blasphemy
shall be forgiven unto men." "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son
cleanses us from all sin." "He is able also to save them to the
uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever lives to make
intercession for them." And such an one as this– "This is a faithful
saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners; of whom I am chief." I say again that I do not
know how they escape from the soothing influence of such words of hope,
but they do manage, by some means, to fly from them! And still they hug
their chains and sit in a sort of willful bondage in the darkness of
their dungeon. Yet Jesus came to save just such sinners as those and
there are some here of elastic step and bright eyes who once were
"bound in affliction and iron!" But you have been brought out of the
Valley of the Shadow of Death and Christ has broken your bonds asunder!
You can now sing praises unto God and your songs shall testify to
others, who were your fellow captives, that Jesus Christ has come "to
seek and to save that which was lost."

Some whom Christ saves are lost socially. Their names are not mentioned
in the family–they would bring such a pang to the mother's heart, such
a flush to the father's cheek. They could not now enter into any
respectable society– they are marked men and marked women. There are
some who are lost even before the law of the land. The hand of justice
has been laid upon them and they are held in bonds under the law. It
may be that they are even marked as felons. Yet the Son of Man has come
to seek and to save those who are socially lost! When the gates of
society are shut, the gates of Mercy are not shut. When man considers
the case to be utterly hopeless and the social outcasts are put into a
sort of leper colony lest the infection should spread, Jesus walks into
the colony and touches the leper and says, "Be you clean." You may shut
them out from yourselves, but not from the Savior! When they have come
to their worst and have run the whole

round of dissipation till they are jaded and sick, still can the Master
step in and whisper into that ear rendered attentive by pain and
sickness–and snatch the fire-brand from the flame–to the Glory of His
own Grace!

Others whom the Savior doubtless came to save, were, at one time, lost
avowedly and determinedly. There have been those who have made a league
with Satan and a covenant with death. They have said, "Turn to God?
Never! We will burn first." They have not only resisted conscience, but
they have, as it were, proclaimed war to the knife against God Himself!
They have called Heaven and earth to witness that they were the slaves
of Satan and had chosen him to be their master–and would serve him to
their dying hour! Yet their covenant with death has been broken and
their league with Hell has been broken! God has, by mighty Grace, made
them quite as decidedly His servants as they were once the servants of
the Evil One! Oh, what has not Grace done, and what can it not still
do? Take the word, "lost," in the very worst possible sense that you
can attach to it and still my text shall apply to it also–"The Son of
Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."

Perhaps of all lost souls, the most miserably lost are those whoperish
under the sound of the Gospel. There are some of you who have been
prayed over, preached at and wept over year after year till you seem to
be hopeless cases. You yourselves feel that there is a hardness which
is begotten in the light of the Gospel which is not begotten anywhere
else. The same sun which melts wax hardens clay and it has hardened you
after an awful fashion till, now, you really dread to hear the Gospel
lest you should drift still further away from God! Well, even such lost
ones Jesus came to save! I am conscious that my language cannot
sufficiently express the extent to which the word, "lost," may be
applied. Some of you think there is very little difference between you
and the damned in Hell–they feel the flame–you are waiting for it.
You feel that they are undergoing the execution while you are in the
condemned cell. They have heard Christ say, "Depart, you cursed." You
feel that you are cursed though He has not yet said to you, "Depart."
You think (though you think wrongly, let me say), that your death
warrant has been signed and sealed–you declare that you might as well
be banished from this world, for you know that if you live ever so
long, you will live and die without hope and without God! Ah, poor
Soul! Jesus Christ has come to seek and to save just such sinners as
you are! And I trust, notwithstanding all you say to the contrary, He
has come to seek and to save you–even you.

Such are the woe-begone objects of this mission of mercy! Now let us
turn to the Messenger of mercy–the Savior of the lost!

II. If the lost are to be saved, someone of extraordinary character
must come to do it. No, IF THEY ARE TO BE SOUGHT AND FOUND, THERE MUST
BE A SPECIAL MESSENGER.

Ordinary men, if they go to seek the lost ones, soon grow weary in the
search. Perhaps they have to seek them where pride does not like to go,
or to follow them when their perseverance fails and their patience
cannot endure. It needs a special One to seek the lost. But when the
sinner is found, who can save the found one? No human arm is long
enough, no human merits strong enough, no human plea prevalent
enough–it is delightful, therefore, to read that "the Son of Man is
come to seek and to save that which was lost."

Who is this Son of Man? "Christ, who is over all, God blessed
forever.." Though peerless in dignity, He assumes a humble title with a
lowly estate when He condescends to undertake this menial service.
Before He came to be the Son of Mary, He was the eternal Son of God! He
sat upon the Throne of His Glory, adored by the spirits which His own
hand had made, but He came down from yonder starry sky to seek and save
the lost! This proves how full of pity, how condescending and how kind
was God's eternal Son. Lost one, here is some comfort for you! If
Jesus, from His Throne of Glory, pitied you in your lost estate and if
it is the same pitying One who is come to seek and to save the lost,
then is He not the One to find and to save you?

But remember who He is, "the Son of Man." He gives Himself that title,
"the Son of Man!" He feels as you feel. He was tempted in all points
like you are tempted. He never had a single sin of His own, but He bore
the sins of many and He knows what the weight of sin is. You think
Christ has forsaken you and Christ once thought His Father had forsaken
Him–"My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" He cried. You are
broken in heart. He knows what that means for He said, "Reproach has
broken My heart." You think that all God's waves and billows have gone
over you. He said they had all gone over Him and in very truth they
had! It is not possible that you should have a grief deeper than that
which the Savior knew. You cannot plunge lower than He went. What if I
say that though sin is come over you so that you cannot look up, there
cannot be so black a cloud of sin between you and God as there was once
between the Substitute and the Father–for ALL the sins of His elect
ones rolled like an ocean's tempest between the God of Justice and the
Surety who was smitten in our place! Think of Christ, you who are lost,
as being just such an One as yourself,

except in the matter of sin–poor, having not where to lay His
head–destitute, afflicted and tormented as much as you can be. He is
the Son of Man! Oh, rest you upon that tender bosom and confide in that
compassionate heart!

If it were merely that He came from Heaven, it would be a proof of love
and a token of sympathy, but that is not enough. It is written, "He is
come to seek and to save." Here is a proof of His activity. He does not
sit still and pity men, does not stand up and propose a plan for them,
but He is come to seek and to save them! The angels celebrated His
Advent when they sang, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth
peace, good will toward men." The Son of Man is come! They watched Him
in His journey through the 30 years of His earthly pilgrimage and they
seemed to sing, "The Son of Man is come to seek and to save." But how
the song must have deepened with a wondrous emphasis when they saw Him
sweating great drops of blood in Gethsemane, when they saw Him bound,
scourged and tormented by the Roman soldiers, when they saw Him bearing
the weight of the Cross, when they marked Him fastened to the accursed
tree, pouring out His soul in streams of blood! How they must have
felt, then, that the Son of Man was come to seek and to save! Earth
heard the note, "The Son of Man is come." Sin heard it and Death heard
it–and when the Savior bowed His head upon the Cross, there went up a
great shout, "The Son of Man is come!" And startled Hell heard it when
Satan saw those whom he had expected to be his prey, delivered by the
strong arm of the dying Sufferer! Heaven heard it as the peal rolled
upward and angels said, "The Son of Man is come to bring up here that
which was lost." So, then, there is activity in the Savior and on this
you may rely!

I shall say but little more concerning the Savior, except these few
thoughts on which you may meditate at your leisure. He who has come to
save the lost, loved sinners from before the foundation of the world,
was appointed of God to be their Savior, comes on a Divine mission
clothed with the Spirit of Power, comes with an atoning Sacrifice in
His hands, comes with a plea in His mouth–the voice of blood, "which
speaks better things than that of Abel"–comes with love beaming from
His eyes and overpowering compassion in His heart! He comes not to
those who come to Him, but to those who cannot come and are afraid to
come! The Son of Man, none other than He who said, "I am meek and lowly
of heart," has come to seek and to save the lost!

III. Now notice THE PLAN OF THIS LOVING COMMISSION.

It does not say, "He is come to save" merely, but, "to seek and to
save." It is an astounding thing and a great proof of human depravity
that men do not, themselves, seek salvation. They even deny the
necessity of it and would sooner run away than be partakers of it! If
you pass by a dispensary in the morning, you will often see the poor
outpatients at the door. And when the time comes for the doctor to see
them, many will be found waiting in his outer room, but you do not
often hear of a doctor who goes out seeking for gratis patients. But my
Savior not only cures, but seeks the patients out–and if He did not,
He would never have patients, for our sickness is of a kind that never
brings men to the Physician, but drives them farther and farther from
Him!

He is come to seek them. He seeks them by the Gospel. Tonight He seeks
some of you. He seeks them by Providence. Sometimes His rough
Providences seek them. At other times the daily mercies of His goodness
beckon them to come. He seeks them by the death of their fellows–a
mother's dying bed, the snatching of a baby to Heaven–all these are
the ways in which Jesus is seeking that which was lost. He seeks them
effectually by His Spirit. His Spirit comes and reveals to them their
darkness, points them to Christ, the true Light, and thus clearly they
are found out, just where they are, and stand discovered to themselves
in their ruin.

But it is added that He not only came to seek, but to save. "Oh!" says
one, "I don't need any seeking. I am found. Convinced of my folly, here
I sit, and acknowledge my sin. I am indeed sought out and found, but I
need saving." Now, Friend, the Son of Man has come to save the lost, as
well as to seek them. And He does it in this way–He saves them from
the guilt of past sin. In one moment, as soon as ever the blood of
Christ is applied to the conscience, every past sin is gone and the man
is, in God's sight, as if He had never sinned. Christ puts away
iniquity in a moment. The next thing He does is that He kills the power
of sin within and makes the man "a new creature." He does not merely
save him from the guilt of the past, but from the power of sin in the
present! If He does not tear up sin by the roots, He at least cuts it
down. And sin does not have dominion over us because we are not under
the Law, but under Grace. The man who has trembled long, trembles no
longer! He who was sinking deeper and deeper in the mire feels that
there is a new song in his mouth and that his goings are established.
And as He saves him from the power of sin in the present, so He saves
him from future falling. He saves, not only for a year, or for ten
years and then lets men fall, but He finally and completely saves that
which was lost! And this one act will enable you, sinner, to realize
all this blessedness–cast your guilty soul on Him who saves you! Do
this with your whole heart and your sin is blotted out–your soul is
saved and you may go in peace!

IV. Lastly, let us rejoice in THE SUCCESS OF THIS BLESSED SCHEME. "The
Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." Does He
succeed in what He came to do? He does, thank God! And in these later
times we live to see how the Master saves that which was lost. The
opening of the theatres for the preaching of the Word has been a very
blessed thing. The raising up of Evangelists who have gone throughout
the land preaching the Word has been a proof that the Son of Man has
not ceased to seek and to save! When I look back to 11 years ago, when
I commenced my pastorate in London, [1851] I recollect that there
seemed to be very little care, then, about the preaching of the Word.
We could not, then, do what we now can–count up some 20 Evangelists
always going through the country, and all of them in their measure
useful men–I mean such men as Richard Weaver, Reginald Radcliffe and
Brownlow North and a great many others, all in their way adapted to the
work. It seemed then as if the Church of Christ had given up seeking
the lost–but God has raised up one and another for the purpose of
preaching the Word, fulfilling this Scripture, that "the Son of Man is
come to seek and to save that which was lost."

Some say, "If the people want to hear the Gospel, let them go to church
or chapel–they can always hear the Gospel when they like." That is not
Christ's way! We are to go and seek them! Open-air preaching is a
blessed institution and though you may sometimes block up a
thoroughfare, it is better to do that than that the thoroughfare to
Hell should be crowded! If you can turn a soul from the road to Hell,
it will not matter though you may turn some passenger in the street out
of his way, so that he may have to muddy his boots! Midnight services,
hunting after the poor sinners in the streets at midnight, the opening
of Ragged Schools and Reformatories–all these things are the
fulfilling of the word, "The Son of Man is come to seek that which was
lost."

We know that He seeks, but does He save them? If I must give an answer
from my own observation, I can point to many members of this
congregation and say, "Save them? Indeed He does! Has He not delivered
them from the bonds of sin? Has He not made them new creatures in
Christ Jesus?" But if you look anywhere, wherever a faithful Gospel is
preached, you will see that salvation-work does go on! I hope it may go
on with us for many and many a year until Christ shall come. Christ is
not disappointed in the souls He came to save. All for whom He stood as
Substitute shall sing His praise in Heaven. He has not redeemed souls
that may afterwards be cast into Hell. He did not suffer for my sins
that I might suffer for them, too! His Atonement is effectual! Every
sinner He died to save He does save. He is not foiled at any point, nor
disappointed in any single aim. The lost He came to seek and save, He
finds and saves! And in eternity we shall find, when turning over the
register of the chosen, that every one of them has been gathered around
the Eternal Throne singing the praise of His Sovereign Grace!

EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: LUKE 19.

Verses 1-5. And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And behold,
there was a man named Zacchaeus, who was the chief among the publicans,
and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who He was; and could not
for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and
climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him: for He was to pass that
way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up, and saw him, and
said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today I must
abide at your house.Remember that the Lord Jesus was on His way to
Jerusalem to suffer and to die. And there He was, the patient,
suffering Lamb of God–but here He speaks in that commanding tone which
well became the Prince of the House of David–"Zacchaeus, make haste,
and come down; for today I must abide at your house."

6. And he made haste, and came down, and received Him joyfully. Solomon
said, "Where the word of a king is, there is power." Omnipotence went
with the word of this King of kings, so Zacchaeus was bound to obey it.

7-11. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That He was gone
to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood and said
unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor;
and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I
restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation
come to this house, for as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of
Man is come to seek and to sa ve that which was lost And as they heard
these things, He added and spoke a parable, because He was near to
Jerusalem, and because they thought that the Kingdom of God should
immediately appear Their minds were full of thoughts concerning
Christ's coming as a King–and they had very mistaken notions
concerning His Kingdom, so He indicates to them that, for the present,
the practical matter to be remembered was that He had come "to seek and
to save that which was lost." If they had not been

so full of their idle dreams of a temporal sovereignty, they would have
perceived that in the calling of Zacchaeus, Christ had manifested His
Kingship in the realm of mercy and had there exercised the Sovereignty
of His Grace. In order that they might be able the better to understand
the meaning of His spiritual Kingdom and not have their eyes so dazzled
by the illusions which had so long deceived the Jews, our Lord pointed
out to them, in the parable of the pounds, the practical way of
preparing for His Second Coming.

12-15. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to
receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten
servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy
till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him,
saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. And it came to pass
that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he
commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given
the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.
It would have been well if our translators, instead of using that ugly
Latin word, "occupy," had kept to the expression, "trade with it," for
here we get the same words again–"that he might know how much every
man had gained by trading."

16. Then came the first, saying, Lord, your pound has gained ten
pounds. The genuine servant, with due humility, puts himself in the
background. It is not he who has "gained ten pounds"–it is his lord's
pound that has done it. He is pleased to bring the ten pounds, yet he
claims no credit for himself, but says, "Lord, yourpound has gained ten
pounds."

17. Andhe said unto him, Well, you good servant: because you have been
faithfulin a verylittle, have you authority over ten cities. There is
no comparison between the servant's work and the reward for its
faithful performance. That ten pounds, if his lord had given it all to
him, would not have bought a house in a village, unless it had been a
very tiny one–"a cottage in a vineyard," or "a lodge in a garden of
cucumbers." Yet his lord gives him "authority over ten cities."

18. 19. And the second came, saying, Lord, your pound has gained five
pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be you also over five cities. How
he must have opened his eyes when he received authority over five
cities!

20. And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is your pound, which
Ihave kept laid up in a napkin. The napkin with which he ought to have
wiped away the sweat from his brow, he had used merely as a wrapper for
the pound that his lord had entrusted to him for the purpose of trading
with it. He had done nothing with the pound–he thought he was all
right because he had not done any harm with his lord's money. He had
not joined the revolting citizens who said, "We will not have this man
to reign over us." He had not spent the pound, nor embezzled his
master's money–in fact, he had been very careful to keep intact the
treasure that had been entrusted to him–and he felt proud of his own
prudence and said, "Lord, behold, here is your pound, which I have kept
laid up in a napkin."

21. For I feared you, because you are an austere man: you take up that
you lay not down, and reap that you did not sow. This was impudence
indeed! But his master took him on his own ground and showed that even
if his statement had been true, he ought to have been the more diligent
in obeying his lord's command.

22. 23. And he said unto him, Out of your own mouth will I judge you,
you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, taking up that
Ilaid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: therefore then gave not
you my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required my
own with usury?"You might have done that, at any rate, even if you were
afraid to trade with it, as I bade you." God often deals with men on
their own ground and condemns them out of their own mouth. They say
that God is very severe in threatening them with "the wrath to come."
Well, if you so believe and so speak, there is the more reason why you
should fear to disobey Him and so to incur His just displeasure! If, in
spite of such terrible threats, you still defy Him, it only brings out
the more clearly the greatness of your guilt!

24, 25. And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound,
and give it to him that has ten pounds. (And they said unto him, Lord,
he has ten pounds). They were quite astonished. "What? Give more to the
man who has so much already?" "Yes," says the master, "that is my
command."

26. For I say unto you, That unto everyone which has shall be given;
and from him that has not, even what he has shall be taken away from
him. Hear again the note of sovereignty. Christ will do as He wills!
And His mode of action shall sometimes be so singular that even His own
attendants will wonder at the strangeness of His procedure and will
begin to ask, "How is this?" But, as Elihu said to Job, "He gives not
account of any of His matters."

27-31. But those my enemies, which wouldnot that Ishouldreign over
them, bring here andslay them before me. " And when He had thus spoken,
He went before, ascending up to Jerusalem. And it came to pass, when He
was come near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the Mount
of Olives, He sent two of His disciples, saying, Go you into the
village over against you; in the which at your entering you shall find
a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him here.
Andif any man asks you, Why do you loose him? Thus shall you say unto
him, Because the Lord has

need ofhim. Here we see Christ's true royalty again flashing out from
beneath the humiliation of His Humanity! He lets us know that although
He is going up to Jerusalem to die, it is not because He is not Lord of
All! But that being Lord of All, He makes Himself of no reputation,
takes upon Himself the form of a Servant, is made in the likeness of
men and being found in fashion as a Man, He humbles Himself and becomes
"obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross."

32-34. And they that were sent went their way, and found even as He had
said unto them. And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof
said unto them, Why loose you the colt? And they said, The Lord has
need ofhim. The word of the King was again with power and the owners of
the colt were willing to let the animal go since the King had "need of
him." They may have been secret disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, but
we have no information upon that point. Our King's warrant runs
anywhere–and even when His personal Presence is not consciously
realized, His royal and Divine word still rules the minds and hearts of
men!

35-38. And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon
the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. And as He went, they spread their
clothes in the way. And when He was come near, even now at the descent
of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to
rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that
they had seen. Saying, Blessed be the King that comes in the name of
the Lord: peace in Heaven, and glory in the highest They were so
jubilant that they seemed to have caught some notes from the song that
the angels sang at the Savior's birth–"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace, good will toward men." There had been war in
Heaven, but these disciples of Christ sang, "Peace in Heaven, and glory
in the highest."

39-41. Andsome of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto Him,
Master, rebuke Your disciples. AndHe answered and said unto them, I
tell you that if these should hold their peace, the stones would
immediately cry out. And when He was come near, He beheld the city and
wept over it. What a contrast! The King's courtiers shouting for joy
and the King, Himself, weeping over the guilty city where the greatest
tragedy in the history of the whole universe was about to take place!
The King saw, in the near and more remote future, what no one else
could see, so, "when He was come near, and beheld the city, He wept
over it."

42-48. Saying, If you had known, even you, at least in this your day,
the things which belong unto your peace! But now they are hid from your
eyes. For the days shall come upon you that your enemies shall cast a
trench about you, and compass you round, and keep you in on every side,
and shall lay you even with the ground, and your children within you;
and they shall not leave in you one stone upon another; because you
knew not the time of your visitation. And He went into the Temple, and
began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; saying
unto them, It is written, My house is the House of Prayer; but you have
made it a den of thieves. And He taught daily in the Temple. But the
chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to
destroy Him, and could not find what they might do: for all the people
were very attentive to hear Him. There was a popular wave of enthusiasm
in His favor but, alas, it soon ebbed away and then the multitudes that
had cried, "Hosanna!" were just as loud in their shouts of, "Crucify
Him! Crucify

Him!"