Matthew 20

Matthew 20:1-16

Chapter 54 The Last First and the First LastFor the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?

They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.

But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. (Matthew 20:1-16) This parable was given by our Lord in response to the disciples’ question in the latter part of chapter 19, Matthew 20:27-30. In fact, it appears to be a continuation of our Lord’s conversation with them. In chapter 19, Matthew 20:30, he says, “Many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.” There is no need for us to guess what that means. This parable is the Savior’s explanation and illustration of that statement. Our Lord’s parables are earthly stories, or illustrations, by which he demonstrated his doctrine. Always look at the parables as you would the use of an illustration in a sermon. The illustration is not the sermon. It is an illustration of the sermon, or of some point in the sermon. Even so, our Lord’s parables are not the basis of our doctrine. We do not build our doctrine upon parables. We build our doctrine upon the plain statements of Holy Scripture. The parables are earthly illustrations of spiritual, heavenly truths. We do not need to search for hidden meanings in the parables. Instead of doing that, we must look for the obvious. When we have discovered the obvious message of a parable, we have discovered all that it is intended to reveal. We should not look for more. The obvious message of this parable has to do with following Christ, serving him, and the reward of doing so. That is what our Lord is dealing with in the context. The message of the parable is this – “The last shall be first, and the first shall be last.” That simply and obviously means that all true believers are the servants of Christ, all are equal in the eyes of God, and all shall have an equal, infinite fulness of reward in heaven. The Laborers First, the parable describes all who follow Christ as “laborers.” — “For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard” (Matthew 20:1). The parable is about the kingdom of heaven, or the church of God, the household of faith. The laborers hired to work in the Master’s vineyard are all true believers. This is not a parable about pastors, missionaries, and evangelists. It is a parable about believers. In the church of Christ there is no such thing as clergy and laity. All true believers are the servants of God. Some serve in one capacity and some in another; but all true believers are God’s servants. We are all in the ministry. Faith in Christ, in its essence, involves surrender to Christ as our Lord, our Master, and our King. It is the giving up of our lives to the rule and service of Christ (Matthew 10:37-39; Luke 14:25-33). The place of labor is “his vineyard,” the church of God. Without question, God sovereignly uses all things according to his purpose to accomplish his will. He sometimes uses people who do not behave in normal order. But God’s order is not to be despised by us. There is no excuse for neglecting God’s order of things. He will hold us accountable (1 Chronicles 15:13). If we would serve God and serve our generation by the will of God, we must find our place in his vineyard, in his church, and serve him there. The whole affair of serving Christ, as it is set forth in this parable, is a manifestation of God’s free and sovereign grace. Wholehearted devotion in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ is a very reasonable thing (Romans 12:1-2). Religious exercise without heart, doctrine without devotion, and religious conversation without real commitment are inexcusable evils. The very best service that we can give our Master is in itself altogether unworthy of him and unacceptable to him. (Isaiah 64:6). Even our prayers and sacrifices are acceptable to God only when they are washed in the blood of Christ and robed in his righteousness. (1 Peter 2:5). Having said that, we must never forget that any gifts, talents, and abilities we have, with which to serve God, are the gifts of his free grace (Ephesians 4:7). If one person has greater mental abilities than another, he has them by the gift of God. If any man is gifted for the work of the ministry, the gift is God’s. If one has greater means to support the work of the gospel than another, it is God who gave him the means. There is no room for boasting or for envy in the kingdom of Christ (1 Corinthians 4:7). So, too, every opportunity to serve God by serving men is the gift of his grace, arranged by special providence. Even the length of our labor and service in the kingdom of God is altogether determined by God’s sovereign grace. Some are called in the dew of their youth. Others are called in the middle of the day, as grown men and women. And some are called in old age, at the eleventh hour of the day. But all who are called to life and faith in Christ are called at the appointed “time of love.” “What a beautiful similitude is here, of the kingdom of grace! Such is the Church of Jesus, as a vineyard gathered out of the world’s wide wilderness; chosen (as scripture expresseth it) by God the Father; purchased by God the Son; and set apart in the regenerating and purifying grace of God the Holy Ghost. At what age are you standing? Hath the Lord called you at the early morning of life, the mid-day, the afternoon, or evening? Are you in the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts? or are you still idle in the market-place? Oh! the unspeakable blessedness of knowing, under divine teaching, that we are ‘saved and called with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace given us in Christ Jesus before the world began’ (2 Timothy 1:9).” — Robert Hawker The Reward Second, this parable is intended to teach us about the reward of God’s saints, the reward of those who labor in the Master’s vineyard (Matthew 20:8-12). This was a real problem with our Lord’s disciples. They judged, by carnal reason, that since they had sacrificed more than others and had done more than others (at least in their opinion), they deserved a greater reward (Matthew 18:1; Matthew 19:27; Matthew 28:20-20). How very sad it is to see faithful men seeking great things for themselves, and sadder still to see them seeking positions of superiority over their brethren! The God of Glory does not measure things the way we do. He will reward every laborer in his vineyard, but not as men judge that he should. He will reward his people in a way that will exalt his grace, exalt his Son, and give no room for the flesh to boast. He has no regard to the time of our service, or the amount of ground covered. God does not measure out reward according to the abilities of his servants. Heaven’s reward will not be given according to the judgment and estimation of men.

God will not be impressed with the impressions we make upon men. He will not deal out his reward according to the measure of our apparent success. God will not reward us according to the measure of our gifts, neither our gifts of grace and usefulness, nor our monetary gifts for the cause of Christ.[4] God will not even reward us according to the measure of our faithfulness. [4] Men applaud and honor very wealthy people who make large gifts out of their abundance to churches and charitable causes, while poorer people who give far greater gifts (though utterly insignificant in the eyes of men) out of their meager supply are ignored. The Lord Jesus measured the gifts of those who “cast money into the treasury” not by the amount they gave, but by the amount they kept for themselves (Mark 12:41-44).The reward that God gives to his servants at the end of the day, in heaven’s glory, will be a matter of pure grace, and will be one that makes all his people equal. Those servants who had labored the whole day “murmured against the goodman of the house, saying, saying, these last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.” And the Lord Jesus replied “the last shall be first, and the first last” (Matthew 20:11-12; Matthew 20:16). And so it shall be (Romans 8:17; John 17:5; John 17:22). God will reward us according to the merit of Christ, which has been imputed to us (Revelation 20:12; Revelation 21:2; Revelation 22:11-12). Hawker’s comments on this verse give us the teaching of Holy Scripture regarding the rewards of God’s saints in heaven. “The equality of wages, is a beautiful illustration of the free and sovereign grace of God; because, strictly and properly speaking, it is all free: no merit, no pretensions of merit, in one more than another, making the smallest claim to favor. The Vineyard, the Church, and the laborers in the Church, all the gift of God the Father, the purchase of God the Son, and the whole cultivation from the work of God the Holy Ghost. And however different the measures of grace, and strength, and ability given; yet the whole is the Lord’s not theirs; and every thing speaks aloud that the whole efficiency is of him. ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, said the Lord of hosts’ (Zechariah 4:6).” Degrees of Reward Will there be degrees of reward in heaven? If we read this parable in its context (Matthew 19:27 to Matthew 20:21), it is obvious that the parable was given to put an end to all questions about degrees of reward among God’s saints. Yet, multitudes continue to teach the absurd doctrine. Many men, whose doctrine has been thoroughly biblical in other areas, have been in grave error concerning rewards. The issue by which this question must be settled is very clear. – Is God’s salvation, in its’ entirety, the work of his free grace in Christ, or is it not? If, as the Scriptures everywhere assert, our salvation is altogether the work of God’s free grace, if our works have nothing to do with it, and heavenly glory is but the consummation of that salvation, then there can be no degrees of reward in heaven[5]. [5] Salvation involves all that is required to bring a sinner from the ruins of the fall into the glory of heaven. Without question, salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. No part of salvation can be, in any measure, attributed to the will, worth, or works of man (2 Timothy 1:9; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 11:6). If it is possible to separate heavenly rewards from salvation, then one might imagine that there shall be degrees of reward in heaven; but if heaven and the glorious inheritance of the saints in heaven is only the consummation of salvation, then the doctrine that there shall be degrees of reward in heaven is but another subtle way of teaching salvation by works! It is impossible to separate heavenly glory from salvation. The Doctrine What is the doctrine of those who teach degrees of reward in heaven? I realize that some who teach that there are degrees of reward in heaven may have slightly different opinions than others; but basically their doctrine is the same. I do not wish to put words into the mouths of others. So, I will give you the doctrine in the words of one of its leading proponents, Merrill F. Unger. “Rewards are offered by God to a believer on the basis of faithful service rendered after salvation. It is clear from Scripture that God offers to the lost salvation and for the faithful service of the saved, rewards. Often in theological thinking salvation and rewards are confused. However, these two terms must be carefully distinguished. Salvation is a free gift (John 4:10; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9), while rewards are earned by works (Matthew 10:42; Luke 19:17; 1 Corinthians 9:24-25; 2 Timothy 4:7-8). Rewards will be dispensed at the Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10; Romans 14:10).

The doctrine of rewards is inseparably connected with God’s grace. A soul being saved on the basis of divine grace, there is no room for the building up of merit on the part of the believer. Yet, God recognizes an obligation on his part to reward his saved ones for their service to Him. Nothing can be done to merit salvation, but what the believer has achieved for God’s glory God recognizes in His great faithfulness with rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ.” Here are five things involved in the teaching that there will be degrees of reward in heaven, as stated by Mr. Unger. Salvation is limited to the initial experience of conversion. — In the Word of God salvation is presented as the work of God’s free grace in bringing sinners into heavenly glory, and includes election, redemption, justification, sanctification, preservation, and glorification in and with Christ (Matthew 10:22; Romans 8:28-30; Romans 13:11; 2 Corinthians 2:10; 2 Timothy 1:9; 1 Peter 2:4). It is possible for a person to be saved and not be a faithful servant of Christ. — Nothing can be more contrary to the words of our Lord (See Luke 14:25-33). There is no such thing as a believer who does not live in submission to Christ as his Lord. Believers do not always act faithfully; but they are all faithful. To be a believer is to be one who is to be a saint (sanctified) and to be numbered among “the faithful in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 1:1). Men and women, by their service to God, put God under obligation to reward them. — What an atrocious statement! Is it possible for a sinful man or woman to do anything to merit God’s favor, to earn God’s blessing? Can a mere man oblige the Almighty? We are debtors to God. He is not, and cannot be made to be, a debtor to us![6] [6] Let the reader ask himself: “What have I ever done, or even thought, that is worthy even of God’s acceptance?” – If, as every child of God humbly acknowledges, sin is mixed with all we are and do (1 John 1:8-10), and our very righteousnesses are filthy rags in the sight of the infinitely holy Lord God (Isaiah 64:6), we certainly cannot “oblige” the Almighty by our deeds!There will be two judgment days, one for believers and another for unbelievers. — The Word of God never hints at the idea that Christ will come again twice, once in secret and then in open, or that there will be two distinct resurrection days, or that there will be two separate days of judgment. Such fabrications are but the inventions of men, in an attempt to make the Word of God fit into their theological systems. Believers will yet have to suffer for their sins! — The doctrine of degrees of reward in heaven unashamedly declares that those for whom Christ has suffered all the wrath of God, whose sins he put away, will yet suffer in heaven for their sins after God saved them, that they will suffer the everlasting shame of heaven’s loss in the presence of those who earned a greater measure of glory, those who by their great goodness obliged God to give them a greater inheritance! The Lord God says otherwise. He declares that he will never charge his people with sin (Romans 4:8; Romans 8:32-34). The doctrine of degrees of reward in heaven is nothing less than a Protestant version of purgatory. Heavenly glory is not everlasting sorrow, but everlasting bliss. Implications Such doctrine is not without unavoidable implications. If the doctrine of degrees of reward in heaven is accepted, then it must be acknowledged that heaven’s glory is not the reward of grace, but the payment of a debt. It must also be acknowledged that heaven is not a place of unmingled joy, as the Scriptures assert (Revelation 7:15-17; Revelation 21:1-5; Revelation 22:2-5), but a place of mingled joy and grief. If the doctrine of degrees of reward is accepted, it must also be accepted, contrary to the plainest statements of divine Revelation, that God does withhold some good things from them that walk uprightly, and some evil shall fall upon the just (Psalms 84:11; Proverbs 12:21). Again, if the doctrine of degrees of reward in heaven were accepted, then we would be forced to conclude, in direct opposition to the universal teaching of Holy Scripture, that the blood and righteousness of Christ will not alone be sufficient for our acceptance with God, — that some part of God’s favor, some of the blessings of God, must be earned by us, — that salvation is partly a matter of works and not altogether the gift of God’s free grace in Christ. These implications are inescapable, as well as utterly blasphemous. Yet, they must be accepted, if we accept the doctrine of degrees of reward in heaven. Why has this issue been stated so dogmatically? Why have I dealt with this so pointedly? It could have been passed over with little or no notice. Few, if any, would have realized its omission. Here are five reasons for my decision to write as I have on this matter. The doctrine of degrees of reward in heaven is totally without foundation in the Word of God. Not one passage referred to in support of this doctrine even hints that some saints will have more and some have less in heaven. Not one of the crowns mentioned in the Bible are said to be given only to certain believers. All the saints before the throne have the same golden crowns, crowns which they gladly cast before the feet of the Lamb (Revelation 4:10). It is totally contrary to the plain statements of Holy Scripture (Romans 8:17; Romans 8:29; Ephesians 1:3; Ephesians 5:25-27; 1 John 3:1-2; Jude 1:24-25). Can there be degrees of holiness, degrees of perfection, degrees of faultlessness, degrees of glorification? Nonsense! The doctrine of degrees of reward, of heavenly rewards earned by personal obedience, makes service to Christ a legal, mercenary thing. Such doctrine promotes pride. If one person could obtain a bigger crown, a higher rank, or a greater nearness to God by his works than another, he would have every reason to pop his suspenders, strut around heaven, and have those poor, crownless people, living in the back street slums of the New Jerusalem, bow and scrape before him. Not only does the doctrine promote pride, it threatens punishment. It attempts to put God’s people upon a legal footing before him, threatening the loss of reward and everlasting shame, if we do not do what is expected of us. This horrendous doctrine would make all God’s saints mercenaries, inspiring obedience and faithfulness by either the threat of punishment or by the promise of reward. I challenge anyone to find a single example of such base, carnal threats against redeemed sinners in the New Testament. Such doctrine is as offensive as it is unscriptural, because it both dishonors our God and assumes that God’s people do not really love Christ, that they are not motivated, inspired, and governed by that love, and by their hearts’ concern for the will and glory of God. This base, carnal doctrine of earned reward in heaven robs Christ of the glory of his grace and makes room for human flesh to boast before God. If you and I do something that puts God almighty in obligation to reward us, then we have a right to boast in his presence. If we do something by which we merit a higher standing than others in glory, why shouldn’t we boast about it? The doctrine of degrees in glory has the obnoxious odor of works about it; and there is no room for works in the kingdom of grace. — The God of Glory will not be worshipped upon an altar of hewn stone (Exodus 20:25). He will not be worshipped upon an altar built by our hands. There is no room for the baggage of works in the strait and narrow way. No Tears There is one text of Scripture which both destroys the doctrine of degrees of reward and assures every believer of an everlasting fulness of joy in glory. The text to which I refer is Revelation 21:4. — “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” There will be no tears in heaven! Without question, there is much weeping in the way to heaven. Faith in Christ brings deliverance from all curse and condemnation, but not from pain and sorrow. There are many things that believers suffer in this world along with other men. Because the world is a world of sin, it is a world of sorrow. God’s saints suffer physical pain and sickness, domestic troubles, financial losses, and bereavement, just like all other people in this world. Added to these earthly sorrows, there are many things that bring tears to our eyes, about which the world knows nothing. We struggle incessantly with inward sin and unbelief. There is a warfare in our souls, a warfare between the flesh and the spirit, a warfare from which there will never be a moment’s truce, until we have left this world. There are even some precious tears that we shed here that will be dried on the other side of Jordan. Here we shed bittersweet tears of repentance, but not in glory! Here we often weep in sympathy because those we love are in pain or trouble, but not in eternity! Here we weep with brokenhearted concern for others, but not in heaven. Here our hearts often break and our eyes swell with tears because we long for Christ’s manifest presence, but not in the land of our inheritance! Even now, our heavenly Father does much to dry our tears. The believer’s life is not a morbid, sorrow-filled existence. Not at all! But we do have our sorrows. Yet, even in the midst of sorrow, our Lord gives us great comfort (Isaiah 43:1-6). As our days require, he gives us grace sufficient to meet our every need. He gives us a measure of resignation to his will. He teaches us to trust his providence. He reminds us of his gracious purpose. He causes us to remember his promises. He blesses us with the sense of his presence. He floods our hearts with the knowledge of his love (Ephesians 3:19). He reminds us that the cause of our pain is his fatherly love for his erring children (Hebrews 12:5-12). And he causes our hearts to be fixed upon better things (Colossians 3:1-3; 2 Corinthians 4:15-18). Yet, in heaven’s glory our God will wipe all tears from our eyes. Impossible as it is for us to imagine, there is a time coming when we shall weep no more, when we shall have no cause to weep. Heaven is a place of sure, eternal, ever-increasing bliss; and the cause of that bliss is our God. Heaven is a place of joy without sorrow, laughter without weeping, pleasantness without pain. In heaven there are no regrets, no remorseful tears, no second thoughts, no lost causes, no sorrows of any kind! Without question, if our God did not wipe away all tears from our eyes, there would be much weeping in heaven. We would forever weep over our past sins, over unconverted souls forever lost in hell, over all our wasted opportunities, over our unkindness and lack of love to our brethren here, and over the terrible price of our redemption. These things and many others would cause us to weep forever. But God will wipe away all tears from our eyes. It is written, “There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying; neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away!” Our great God shall in heaven’s glory remove us from all sin, remove all sin from us, and remove us from all the evil consequences of sin. He will remove us from every cause of grief. He will bring us at last into the perfection of complete salvation, and every desire of our hearts will be completely gratified. — We will be like Christ! – We will be with Christ! — We will see Christ! — We will love Christ perfectly! — We will serve Christ unceasingly! — We will worship Christ without sin! — We will rest in Christ completely! — We will enjoy Christ fully! — We will have Christ entirely! Will you be among the blessed company of the redeemed? Will you be with Christ in glory? You will only enter into glory if you are worthy of heaven. You can only be made worthy by the merits of Christ. If you are worthy of everlasting glory, you shall have all the glory of heaven itself, without degrees, perfectly. The very glory that God the Father gave to the God-man Mediator, that great Mediator has given to his people (John 17:5; John 17:22). Trust Christ and all the glory of Christ in heaven is yours. All who believe on the Son of God are heirs of God, and more. – We are joint heirs with Christ! In Christ we are one. Christ is our Reward. — “In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty” (Isaiah 28:5). The Master Third, this parable reveals much about the character of our God and Savior represented by “the householder.” He is just in everything he does (Matthew 20:7; Matthew 20:13). He is faithful (Matthew 20:13). And he is sovereign in all things, doing with his own what he will, especially in the exercise of his grace (Matthew 20:15). Every blessing and privilege of grace is God’s free gift. He bestows his gifts upon whom he will. And it is right for him to do so.Free Election Fourth, in Matthew 20:16 our Savior once more declares one of his choice themes, the free and sovereign grace of God in election. — “So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.” He first asserts emphatically that he has, indeed, made all his servants equal. When we stand before him in glory, “the last shall be first, and the first last.” There shall be no distinction of honor, place, or reward among the glorified. The reason for this is clearly stated. — “For many be called, but few chosen.” Salvation is, in its entirety, the result of God’s eternal, electing love. “Many are called” by the preaching of the gospel. But being called by the preaching of the gospel, and being chosen by God’s eternal purpose of grace are very distinct things. When the gospel is preached to sinners, every one within the sound of the preacher’s voice and all who hear are called by the gracious sound. All are, by the authority of God’s Word, commanded of the sovereign God to hear and obey. But this outward call that is issued to all in the preaching of the gospel differs greatly from the inward work of grace, wrought by God the Holy Spirit in the hearts of the chosen. That effectual call of the Spirit, wrought in the redeemed, comes “not in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance” (1 Thessalonians 1:5).

That call is the result of God’s election. As the Apostle Paul puts it, “We are bound to give thanks alway to God, for you brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath, from the beginning, chosen you to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth, where unto he called you, by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; Ephesians 1:3-4; 2 Timothy 1:9). The whole work of grace, from regeneration to glorification, is the result of God’s everlasting love for his elect in Christ (Jeremiah 31:3; Romans 8:28-30).

Matthew 20:15

Chapter 55 Divine Sovereignty “Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?” (Matthew 20:15) With those words, the Son of God plainly declares the glorious fact of God’s absolute sovereignty over all things. No attribute of our great God is more comforting and delightful to his children than that of divine sovereignty. No doctrine in the Bible is more important, or more blessed. Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe troubles, when carrying our heaviest burdens, we believe and are sure that God has sovereignly ordained our trials, that he sovereignly controls them, and that he will sovereignly sanctify them to our souls. There is no doctrine in the Bible more basic to our faith, more fundamental, or more absolutely asserted than the doctrine of divine sovereignty. It is essential to the very character of God. To declare that God is sovereign is simply to declare that he is God. It is no less criminal or blasphemous to deny God’s holiness, justice, omnipotence, or truth, or even his very Being, than it is to deny his sovereignty. Those who deny that God is sovereign declare that God is, in reality, irrelevant! Biblical Doctrine Divine sovereignty is not merely a point of logic, or an old, out of date religious system dug out of the books of old reformers, puritans, and theologians. We believe what we do because we believe God. Our doctrine is based upon and arises from the plain statements of Holy Scripture. If you have a Bible and can read, you will have no difficulty at all in seeing that Holy Scripture universally declares God’s sovereignty (Psalms 115:3; Psalms 135:6; Isaiah 14:24-27; Isaiah 40:13-25; Isaiah 45:7; Isaiah 46:10; Daniel 4:35-37; Romans 9:11-23; Romans 11:33-36). God is sovereign in creation, in providence, and in grace. He is sovereign over men and angels, good and bad. He is sovereign in heaven, earth, and hell. I do not particularly care for the name, but all who believe the Scriptures believe what men have nicknamed “Calvinism,” because those five grand, old gospel truths commonly called “Calvinism” are written out plainly in the word of God. — Total Depravity (Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-4) — Unconditional Election (John 15:16; Romans 9:11-13) — Limited Atonement (Isaiah 53:8) — Irresistible Grace (Psalms 110:3) — Perseverance of the Saints (John 10:28). Those delightful, soul cheering gospel truths cannot be gainsaid. Let religious rebels hoot and holler all they may. These things are written out in simple English in the Word of God for all to read. Let men read any translation of the Bible they may. No translation can be found that does not plainly assert these things.

They are so thoroughly interwoven into the whole of Divine Revelation that even the most determined efforts of unbelieving religionists cannot extricate them from the Book of God. We insist upon them with dogmatic tenacity, because they are written plainly in the Scriptures, because our God has pinned his glory to them, and because they are vital to the gospel. “Salvation is of the Lord” (Jonah 2:9). That is the language of the Bible. He planned it. He purchased it. He performs it.

He preserves it. He perfects it. And he shall have the praise of it. As I just stated, he has pinned his glory to it (Ephesians 1:3-14). All Things His “Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?” All things belong to God our Savior. It is his sovereign right to do what he will with them. It is his right, as he will, to give them all to all, to give them all to some, to give some things to some and other things to others, or give them to none. Consider God’s gifts to men in five categories. As you do, you will see, both from Scripture and experience, that God gives his gifts to men as he will. All temporal blessings are the gifts of God sovereignly bestowed upon men as he sees fit. All personal traits and abilities, mental powers, and earthly conditions are distributed among the sons and daughters of Adam according to God’s will alone (1 Corinthians 4:7; 1 Samuel 2:6-9).All the gifts of God’s saving grace are bestowed upon sinners in this world according to his sovereign, eternal purpose (Matthew 11:20-25; Romans 8:28-30; Hebrews 2:16). The illustrations of God’s sovereignty in the gifts of his grace are bountifully strewn across the pages of Holy Scripture. He chose some angels, and passed by others. He chose Israel alone, in the Old Testament, to be the people to whom he would give his Word and ordinances. The gospel is sent to some, and withheld from others (Acts 16:6-7). He chose some to salvation, and not others, according to his own sovereign will (Romans 9:11-23). The sovereign will of God alone Creates us heirs of grace, Born in the image of His Son, A new-created race! In his own family, the church, God sovereignly bestows his gifts upon his children as he will (1 Corinthians 12:24; Ephesians 4:7). Some believers have greater knowledge and deeper experience than others. Some are gifted to serve as deacons, while others are not. Some have gifts of ministry in one area, and others in another. Some have many gifts. Some have few. Some are gifted to preach the gospel; others are not. Even among preachers, the gifts vary. Some are eloquent. Some are analytical. Some are passionate. Some are quite cool. Some are brilliant. Some are not so brilliant. But all are gifted for the work to which God has ordained them, according to his infinite wisdom, goodness, and purpose. That means that there is no place in the church and kingdom of God for pride or envy. I cannot fail to also assert that all gifts of usefulness in this world are sovereignly dispensed to us as individuals and as local churches by God. Yes, God honors those who honor him. Yes, he blesses faithfulness. But our usefulness in his hands is not determined by us. It is his sovereign gift. And gifts of spiritual comfort are distributed among God’s saints according to his sovereign will. Some enjoy great assurance, and some do not. Some, who struggle with assurance all their life long, have its blessedness in the end. And some who have had assurance all their lives have none in the end. “Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places” (Psalms 135:6). With those words the Psalmist David both declares God’s absolute, universal sovereignty and calls upon us to trust, worship, and praise him because he is the sovereign God of the universe. The very foundation of our confidence and faith in our God is his sovereignty. Were he not sovereign, absolutely, universally sovereign, we could not trust him implicitly, believe his promises, or depend upon him to fulfill his Word. Only an absolute sovereign can be trusted absolutely. We can and should trust our God implicitly because he is sovereign.

Nothing is more delightful to the hearts of God’s children than the fact of his great and glorious sovereignty. Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe troubles, and when enduring the most heavy trials, we rejoice to know that our God has sovereignly ordained our afflictions, that he sovereignly overrules them, and that he sovereignly sanctifies them to our good and his own glory. A Matter of Great Joy We rejoice to hear our Savior say, “Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?” We rejoice to know that “our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased” (Psalms 115:3). Yet, in this day of religious darkness and confusion there is no truth of Holy Scripture for which we must more earnestly contend than God’s dominion over all creation, his sovereignty over all the works of his hands, the supremacy of his throne and his right to sit upon it. We rejoice in God’s sovereignty. Yet, there is nothing revealed in the Bible that is more despised by worldlings and self-righteous religionists. Natural, unregenerate, unbelieving men and women are happy enough to have God everywhere, except upon the throne of total, universal sovereignty. They are happy to have God in his workshop, creating the world and naming the stars. They are glad to have God in the hospital to heal the sick. They are pleased to have God in trouble to calm the raging seas of life. And they are delighted to have God in the funeral parlor to ease them of pain and sorrow. But God upon his throne is, to the unregenerate man, the most contemptible thing in the world.

And any man who dares to preach that it is God’s right to do what he will with his own, to dispose of his creatures as he sees fit, and save whom he will, will be hissed at, despised, and cursed by this religious generation. Still, it is God upon the throne that we love, trust, and worship. And it is God upon the throne that we preach. Sovereignty or Idolatry God’s sovereignty is so basic and fundamental that it is impossible to understand any doctrine taught in the Bible until we recognize, and have some understanding of the fact that God is sovereign. A God who is not sovereign is as much a contradiction as a God who is not holy, eternal, and immutable. A God who is not sovereign is no God at all. If the god you worship is not totally sovereign, you are a pagan, and your religion is idolatry. You would be just as well off worshipping a statue of Mary, a totem pole, a spider, or the devil himself as to worship a god who lacks total sovereignty over all things. In one of his letters to the learned and scholarly Erasmus, Martin Luther said, “Your thoughts of God are too human.” No doubt Erasmus resented the remark. But it exposed the heart of his heretical theology. And it exposes the heart of all false religion. I lay this charge against the preachers and theologians of our day, and against the people who hear them, follow them, and support them. ¾ Their thoughts of God are too human. I know the seriousness of what I have written. But it must be stated with emphatic clarity. The God of the Bible is utterly unknown in this religious generation. God’s charge against apostate Israel was, “Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself” (Psalms 50:21), and that is his indictment against the religious world of our day. Men today imagine that God is moved by sentiment, rather than by the determination of his sovereign will. They talk about omnipotence, but imagine that it is such an idle fiction that Satan can thwart the power of God. They think that if God has a plan, it must, like the plans of men, be subject to constant change. They tell us that whatever power God does possess must be limited, lest he violate man’s free-will and make him a machine. The grace of God is thought by most people to be nothing but a helpless, frustrated desire of God to save men.

The precious sin-atoning blood of Christ is thought by most to be a waste, shed in vain for many. And the invincible, saving power of the Holy Spirit is reduced by most to a gentle offer of grace, which men may easily resist. All such thoughts about God are the blasphemies of idolaters. The god of this generation no more resembles the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth than a flickering candle resembles the noon-day sun. The god of modern religion is nothing but an idol, the invention of men, a figment of man’s imagination. Pagans in the dark ages used to carve their gods out of wood and stone and overlay them with silver and gold. Today, in these much darker days, pagans inside the church carve their god out of their own depraved imaginations. In reality, the religionists of our day are atheists, for there is no possible alternative between a God who is absolutely sovereign and no God at all. A god whose will can be resisted, whose purpose can be frustrated, whose power can be thwarted, whose grace can be nullified, whose work can be overturned has no title to Deity.

Such a god is not a fit object of worship. Such a puny, pigmy god merits nothing but contempt. When I say that God is sovereign, I am simply declaring that God is God. (I repeat myself deliberately.) He is the most High, the Lord of heaven and earth, overall, blessed forever. He is subject to none. And he is influenced by none. God is absolutely independent of and sovereign over all his creatures. He does as he pleases, only as he pleases, and always as he pleases. None can thwart him.

None can resist him. None can change him. None can stop him. None can hinder him. He declares, “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure” (Isaiah 46:10). “He doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?” (Daniel 4:35). Divine sovereignty means that God sits upon the throne of universal dominion, directing all things, ruling all things, and working all things “after the counsel of his own will” (Ephesians 1:11). This is a subject about which hundreds of books have been written, and yet “the half hath not been told.” Divine sovereignty is not some isolated doctrine, taught in a few verses of Scripture. It is revealed, literally, upon every page of Inspiration. Predestination God’s sovereignty is irrefutably revealed in the eternal predestination of all things. Does the Bible teach predestination? Of course it does! Anyone who attempts to deny that it does is either totally ignorant of the Word of God, or a liar. God chose some men and women in eternity to be the objects of his saving grace and predestinated those elect ones to be conformed to the image of his dear Son (Romans 8:28-29). Before the world began God sovereignly determined that he would save some, who they would be, and when he would save them. Having determined these things, our great God infallibly secured his eternal purpose of grace by sovereign predestination. Yes, God predestinated from eternity everything that comes to pass in time to secure the salvation of his elect. That is the plainly stated doctrine of Holy Scripture (Ephesians 1:3-6; Ephesians 1:11; Romans 11:36). It is written, “All things are of God” (2 Corinthians 5:18). “The Lord hath made all things for himself” (Proverbs 16:4). Eternal election marked the house into which God’s saving grace must come. Eternal predestination marked the path upon which grace must come. And sovereign providence led grace down the path to the house at the appointed time of love. Creation No one can reasonably deny the revelation of God’s sovereignty in his marvelous work of creation (Genesis 1:1; Revelation 4:11). Nothing moved God to create, except his own sovereign will. What could move him when there was nothing but God himself? Truly, “the heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalms 19:1-4). God created the heavens and the earth as a stage upon which he would work out his purpose of grace (Psalms 8:1-9). He created the angelic host to be ministering spirits to those who shall be the heirs of salvation (Hebrews 1:14).

God created the sun, the moon, and the stars for the benefit of his elect. He created all plants and animals to provide food, comfort, and pleasure for man. At last, God created man in his own image and after his own likeness, that he might show forth the glory of his grace in man. Adam was created in the image of Christ, our eternal Surety and Substitute (Romans 5:12-21). He was created in conditional holiness. In God’s wise, holy, and good purpose of grace, Adam was permitted to fall, and we all fell in him that we might be raised to life again in Christ the last Adam. Providence We see God’s sovereignty in all the works of his daily providence (Romans 8:28; Romans 11:36). In divine providence God almighty sovereignly accomplishes his eternal purpose of grace in predestination. The Holy Spirit showed John a beautiful picture of this. It is recorded in the Book of Revelation. He saw the Lord Jesus Christ as our Mediator, the Lamb of God, taking the book of God’s purpose, opening the book, and fulfilling all that was written in it in all the world (Revelation 5:1-10; Revelation 10:1-11). He who is God our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, rules all things in providence by the book of God’s predestination. God’s sovereign rule of providence extends to all his creatures. Inanimate matter, irrational creatures, and all things in this world perform their Maker’s bidding. It was by the will of our God that the waters of the Red Sea divided (Exodus 14). By his word the earth opened up her mouth to swallow his enemies (Numbers 14). When he willed it, the sun stood still (Joshua 10) and went backward ten degrees on the sundial of Ahaz. Once, he even made an ax head float. Ravens carried food to his prophet (1 Kings 17). Lions were tamed by God’s decree for his servant Daniel. He made the fire refuse to burn his faithful servants when they were cast into the fiery furnace. All things come to pass, or not, at his pleasure. God’s rule of providence extends even to the thoughts, and wills, and actions, and words, even of wicked men. He kept Abimelech from adultery with Sarah. He kept the Canaanites from desiring the possessions of Israel when they went to worship him (Exodus 34:23-24). The hearts of all men, their thoughts, intents, and passions are in the hands of our God (Proverbs 21:1). Shemei was sent of God to curse David. Even the wrath of man shall praise him, and the remainder of wrath, that which he chooses not to use for his praise, he restrains (Psalms 76:10). The object of God’s providence, the object of God in all that he does, or allows to be done, is threefold. It is for the salvation of his elect, the eternal, spiritual good of all his people, and the glory of his great name. Here is a resting place for every believer’s troubled heart. Neither Satan, the demons of hell, nor men, nor sickness, nor war, nor pestilence, nor the whirlwind is beyond the reach of God’s sovereign throne (Matthew 10:30). Blessed be God, our times are in his hand (Psalms 31:15). Salvation God’s indisputable sovereignty is conspicuously revealed in the salvation of sinners by his almighty grace (Romans 9:8-24). God chose to save some, but not all. He gave Christ to die for some, but not all. He gives his Spirit to some, but not all. He causes some to hear his voice, but not all. He saves some who seek him, but not all. He saved the woman with the issue of blood, but not the rich young ruler; the one leper, but not the nine; the publican, but not the Pharisee. “Salvation is of the Lord!”Spiritual Gifts God’s sovereignty is, as we have already seen, conspicuously revealed in the various spiritual gifts he bestows upon his people (1 Corinthians 12:14; 1 Corinthians 12:18; 1 Corinthians 12:28-29). That is specifically what Matthew 20:15 asserts. He sees to it that his church has everything she needs to carry out the work he has for her to do. We need missionaries, and pastors, too. We need preachers, and deacons, as well. We need faithful witnesses; and we need the prayers of God’s saints.

We need workers; and we need givers. We need some to do great things, and some to do small things. In a word, we need Marthas and Marys, Johns and Jameses, Peters and Pauls, Lydias and Lucases. God gives each when they are needed and where they are needed for the accomplishment of his will. Let each child of God covet earnestly the best gift, the gift of love one for another. If we have that, we will serve God and his people well in our place, using all other gifts accordingly. “Our God is in the heavens. He hath done (and is doing) whatsoever he hath pleased.” Let us, therefore, believe him confidently, walk with him in peace, submit to him cheerfully, serve him faithfully, and honor him supremely. Gladly, we bow before God our Savior, and worship him with joy, who asks, “Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?”

Matthew 20:17-23

Chapter 56 “Ye Know not what Ye Ask”“And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again. Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom. But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?

They say unto him, We are able. And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.” (Matthew 20:17-23) Evangelist Rolfe Barnard used to say, “You ought to be careful what you pray for. God just might answer your prayer.” So often we pray and ask God to do things for us, or give things to us, without considering what weighty things might be involved in God’s compliance with our requests. Such was the case with the mother of Zebedee’s children. Our Savior said to her, “Ye know not what ye ask.” There are five very important lessons to be learned from these verses. Our Savior’s Death The first thing we see in this passage is the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ suffered and died at Calvary by his own choice and determination, by his own voluntary will. “And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.” (Matthew 20:17-20) We should never fail to realize our Savior’s delight in speaking of his approaching death. This is the third time our Lord told his disciples how that he must suffer and die at Jerusalem (Matthew 16:21; Matthew 17:22-23). Though he told them frequently and plainly how he must be betrayed, delivered by the Jews into the hands of the Romans, and condemned to die as a common criminal, yet Luke tells us, “They understood none of these things” (Luke 18:34). He told them plainly that he must go to Jerusalem; there to be betrayed, condemned, and crucified, and that he must rise from the dead on the third day. These were not bare possibilities, but absolute certainties. The death of our blessed Savior at Calvary was a matter of divine predestination. Indeed, Christ’s death at the cross was the focal point of God’s purposes from eternity and is the focal point of all God’s works in time (John 12:31-32; Acts 2:23; 1 Peter 1:18-20). “Every act of Jesus testified his promptness to the work, as though he longed for it. Lo? I come (said Jesus,) to do thy will: O God. I delight to do it: yea, thy law is in the midst of my bowels; And when Peter, out of love (though a mistaken love) for his Master, wished it to be otherwise; Jesus rebuked him, yea, called him Satan, for what he said. Never did the meek and loving Savior ever drop such an expression before: so very intent was he on finishing the work his Father gave him to do, and so much displeased was he with any one who wished it to be otherwise. Precious Lord Jesus! Was this thine ardent love to thy spouse the Church, as one longing to bring her out of the prison-house of sin and Satan, though all the cataracts of divine wrath for sin were broken up, to be poured on thy sacred head?” (Robert Hawker) Our Lord Jesus Christ died as a voluntary victim of horrible, ignominious cruelty and of divine wrath, as our Substitute. He knew from the beginning all that he must suffer: Judas’ betrayal, Peter’s denials, the beatings and humiliation, being made sin, the wrath of God, and his cursed death upon the tree. What a great aggravation to his soul the foreknowledge of his suffering must have been! Yet, none of these things moved him from his gracious purpose (Isaiah 50:5-6). J. C. Ryle wrote, “He saw Calvary in the distance all his life through, and yet walked calmly up to it, without turning to the right hand or to the left.” As no sorrow can be compared with the sorrow he anticipated and finally endured as our Substitute (Lamentations 1:12), no love can be compared with his love for us (John 13:34; John 15:13) Why did the Son of God voluntarily lay down his life for us at Calvary? He knew that it was his Father’s will (John 10:16-18; Hebrews 10:5-10). He knew that divine justice must be satisfied, that without the shedding of blood is no remission of sins (Hebrews 9:22). He knew that he was the Lamb of God who must be sacrificed for the sins of his people (Revelation 13:8). He knew that without his death, his life, though perfect, holy, and gracious, would be useless to his people. He knew that the whole of God’s law, the whole book of the writings of God’s prophets, and the whole revelation of God’s glory could be fulfilled and revealed only by his death as the Sinner’s Substitute.

Blessed is everyone to whom God the Holy Spirit has revealed these things. Blessed are those eyes that see and hearts that understand the meaning and necessity of Christ’s sufferings and death. Our Sinfulness Second, we have before us another of the many examples in Holy Scripture of the fact that true believers often behave in a very foolish, sinful manner. One clear evidence of the divine inspiration is that the Word of God never attempts to hide the sins, weaknesses, and foolishness of it’s most prominent characters. “Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom. But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.” (Matthew 20:20-22) James and John, the sons of Zebedee, apparently persuaded their mother to ask the Lord Jesus to give them the places of highest honor and glory in his kingdom. Historians tell us that this woman was sister to Joseph, Mary’s husband. She and her sons were true disciples, genuine believers, followers of Christ. But they behaved very foolishly. James and John, as well as their mother, were truly spiritual people; but they behaved in a very carnal manner. They were more concerned about their crowns than about Christ’s cross (Galatians 6:14). They were unbelievably presumptuous, confidently asserting that they were able drink of the cup and be baptized with the sufferings the Lord Jesus was about to endure, when they should have been overwhelmed with wonder and humbled (Matthew 20:22). They were more concerned about themselves than about Christ and their brethren. Yet, these son’s of Zebedee, James and John, were in time to become pillars of the church and kingdom of our Lord. There are many true believers like this woman and her sons. Indeed, in some areas at different times, we all are very much like them. It is written, “The flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh.” True faith is often found beneath a pile of trash. We are all weak and sinful. We are all terribly proud, and horribly self-serving. And we are very ignorant of the very things we think we clearly understand. Our Lord’s Reproof Third, our Lord Jesus teaches us that we are all, indeed, terribly ignorant by the gentle reproof he gave to James, John, and their mother. He said, “Ye know not what ye ask.” They had asked to share Christ’s glory, never stopping to consider that they must first share his sorrow (1 Peter 4:13). How much like this woman and her sons we are! We ask for God to save our sons and daughters. But are we willing for the Lord to teach us patience, trusting him even with those most precious to us? Are we willing to endure trials? We ask for God to set our hearts on things above. But are we willing to be weaned from this world by affliction? We ask the Lord to teach us to trust him. But are we willing to be cast upon him? We ask our God to make Christ precious to us. But are we willing to have every rival to Christ taken from us? We ask for God to use us. But are we willing to be used as he sees fit? These words apply to us all far more than we realize. – “Ye know not what ye ask.” God the Holy Spirit teaches us to weigh our words before the throne of God. — “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God” (Ecclesiastes 5:2). Let us ever come to the throne of grace with open hearts, seeking mercy and grace in every time of need (Hebrews 4:16); but we must always remember that we do not know what we should pray for as we ought. We need God’s grace continually, that we may pray in the Spirit and with understanding (Romans 8:26-27). Substitution Fourth, we are assured, in Matthew 20:23, that all the Lord Jesus Christ did and suffered, all that he endured, and all that he accomplished was as the Representative of his people. He lived, died, and rose again as our Substitute. “And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.” Both James and John suffered greatly for Christ’s sake. James was the first of the Apostles who bore testimony to Christ by his blood (Acts 12:2). And John was exiled to the Isle of Patmos “for the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 1:9). But there is only one way that it can be truthfully said that these disciples drank the cup of wrath the Lord Jesus drank and were baptized in the sea of woe into which he was baptized. They did so, just as all God’s elect did, representatively. In Christ all God’s elect are completely and perfectly saved by his representative work as our Substitute. With regard to the request that they might sit one on his left and the other on his right hand in glory, the Savior said, “It is not mine to give, but for whom it is prepared of my Father.” The words added by our translators, “it shall be given to them,” should never have been added. They were added to make the text read more smoothly, but the indication that some will have superiority over others in heavenly glory is totally contrary to everything revealed in Holy Scripture about that blessed inheritance of grace. All who were given to Christ in the eternal covenant of grace shall come to him in time. And those who come to him by faith in time, he “shall in no wise cast out” (John 6:37). This is a matter of absolute certainty, because God the Father has given him, our covenant Surety, “power over all flesh: that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him” (John 17:2). And all who come to him by faith shall sit with him in his throne (Revelation 3:21). This is the provision our God has prepared for and given to his elect from eternity, as “heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17). It is the gift of pure, free, sovereign grace, in no measure determined by or dependent upon us. He who gave us his own dear Son gave us all things in his Son, withholding nothing (1 Corinthians 3:22-23; Ephesians 1:3-7; Psalms 84:11). — “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift!” Jehovah’s Servant Fifth, we see here that the Lord Jesus Christ became a voluntary servant to God the Father in order to accomplish our redemption, subjecting himself in all things to the Father’s will. He is God the eternal Son, in all things equal with the Father (1 John 5:7). Yet, he willingly became our Surety and Mediator, Jehovah’s Servant, to save us by his obedience to the Father. The law describes a man who would voluntarily make himself a bond servant to his master for life; and that Man is the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior (Exodus 21:1-6; Isaiah 42:1; John 10:16-18; Philippians 2:1-11; Hebrews 10:1-14). We understand and rejoice to know that this Servant is himself God, one with the Father in being, glory, and greatness, in all things equal with the Father. In his eternal Deity as God the Son, our Savior is altogether equal with the Father. But he became a man, became our Surety, became our Mediator, that he might subject himself to and obey his Father’s will as a man. The Son of God cannot possibly be inferior to the Father in his divine nature. If Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh, as the Scriptures declare, there cannot be, in anyway, an inequality between the Father and the Son. Augustus Toplady, wrote, “The uncreated and eternally begotten Son of the Father Almighty is and must be as truly a divine being as the Father who begat him.” When we read in the Scriptures of Christ’s being the Servant of God, subjecting himself to the will of God, and obeying the commandment of God, we are assured that his servitude is and must be by his own free and voluntary consent. He is indeed Jehovah’s Servant; but his service was not a forced subjection. “He gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14). “Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it” (Ephesians 5:25). Our Lord himself declares, “As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:15). From the moment of his birth, until his final breath in this world, the Lord Jesus served. He was ever Jehovah’s righteous and faithful Servant. He said, to his disciples, “I am among you as he that serveth” (Luke 22:27). There was a perfect understanding between the Father and the Son from eternity. Let there be no misunderstanding in our own minds. Christ became the Servant of Jehovah by his own will. “The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed." (Isaiah 50:5-7) As he served the will of God for us, let us now serve the will of God for him.

Matthew 20:24-28

Chapter 57 “Whosoever will be Great Among You”“And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:24-28)True greatness is exactly the opposite of what the world calls greatness. The world assesses greatness by the number of people under a man’s control, how many are at his beck and call, how much money he has in the bank, how much property is listed under his name, how many titles and degrees he has appended to his name, how many committees and boards he is a member of, or how much name recognition he has. But in the assessment of the Lord Jesus Christ all those things are totally irrelevant. In Matthew 20:24-28, he shows us what true greatness is. This instructive passage of Holy Scripture is crystal clear. It needs less explanation, and more emulation by all who “follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.” The message of these verses is as plain as the nose on your face. — The path to greatness in the kingdom of God is humble service to the people of God. A Great Problem The Lord’s disciples, like us, constantly struggled with a very great problem; and that problem was pride. — “And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren” (Matthew 20:24). When the rest of the disciples heard what James and John requested for themselves, they were indignant. But their indignation was far from righteous. They were not moved with indignation because they thought such a desire was out of place. They were indignant because each of them thought himself deserving of the high honor James and John openly sought. The disciples’ indignation toward James and John vividly display the depravity of our fallen nature. No man on earth has ever really known, and none on earth can know, the vastness of the injury the human race sustained by Satan’s seduction of Adam and Eve in the garden. Every time we think of the depths of our natural depravity, we should be inspired with greater appreciation for the immense, infinite mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ in restoring that which he took not away. The indignation of these disciples toward their brethren demonstrate clearly that God’s saints, as long as we are in this world, dwell in the body of sin and death, though saved by his free grace in Christ. The disciples were men of like passions with ourselves. The greatest problem we have is pride. Pride is the root of all sin, the cause of all strife, and the most destructive of all passions. Even among true believers, pride, jealousy, and the love of pre-eminence is a horrible passion that must constantly be held in check. This horrible evil was found even among the apostles of our Lord. Those disciples were not upset with James and John because they sought pre-eminence, but because they sought pre-eminence above them. Like these disciples, we are all very proud and love pre-eminence. We love power, pre-eminence, prestige, property, and position. We love these things, seek them, and crave them because we are all very proud. Pride is the oldest of all sins and the most destructive. Pride inspired Lucifer’s revolt (Isaiah 14:12-14). Pride brought down one third of the angels (Jude 1:6). Pride seduced Eve. Pride destroyed Adam. Pride divides Men. (Psalms 10:2). What separates and distinguishes men from one another according to race, rank, riches, and recognition? Pride! What separates families? Pride! What is the cause of war? Pride! Seldom ever do men go to war for principle. We go to war over property and concoct principles to justify our stupid pride. Even among God’s saints in this world, our greatest difficulties, our greatest injures, and our greatest troubles arise from pride. J. C. Ryle quoted Thomas Hooker as saying, “Pride is a vice that cleaveth so fast unto the hearts of men, that if we were to strip ourselves of all faults one by one, we should undoubtedly find it the very last and hardest to put off.” It is pride that keeps sinners from seeking the Lord (Psalms 10:4). Of all things named in the Bible that God hates, pride is number one (Proverbs 6:17). A Great Precept “But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant” (Matthew 20:25-27). A life of self-denying kindness and service to others is the measure of true greatness. The standard of the world and the standard of our Lord are exact opposites. In the kingdom of God a person is considered great who devotes himself to and promotes the temporal and the spiritual welfare of others. Greatness is not receiving, but giving. Greatness is not seen in what we gather to ourselves, but in what we disperse to others. Greatness is not being served, but serving. If we desire to be truly great in the kingdom of God, we must find the place where we are needed and be a minister, a servant to others. The word is translated “minister” is the word that is elsewhere translated “deacon.” It refers to a person who does menial labor, house cleaning, serving tables, gardening, etc. It is the least recognized, but the most needed and certainly the most basic service. If we really want to be great, if we want to be chief, we must make ourselves servants, slaves to the church and kingdom of God. The word “servant” in Matthew 20:27 means “slave.” A servant does not have much; but a slave has nothing. And this slavery is altogether voluntary. The cost of true greatness is humble, self-denying, sacrificial service. It is service rendered to others for Christ’s sake by men and women who have learned that “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). May God, enable us to shun the greatness of this world and seek this true greatness. The angels of God see far more greatness in the work of a missionary in New Guinea, a pastor in some remote, insignificant place, or in a poor widow giving her two mites for the cause of Christ than in all the works of bankers, lawyers, doctors, and presidents combined; and we should, too. When greatness see the weaknesses and infirmities of others, it is moved with compassion. Greatness covers the frailties and loves the strengths it sees in another. Greatness weeps with those who weep, and rejoices with those who rejoice. Greatness overlooks neglect, forgives offenses, and returns kindness for injury. A Great Pattern If you want an example to follow look no lower than to the Lord Jesus Christ himself. — “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). Our blessed Redeemer shows us what true greatness is by his own example. — “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked” (1 John 2:6). He who was Jehovah’s righteous Servant was the servant of men (John 13:3-5; John 13:12-17; Luke 22:27). In the circle of his own disciples, our Lord always assumed a position of servitude. Where he was most Master, he was most Servant. He was like a shepherd, the servant to the sheep.

He was like a nurse, servant to the child. In the whole course of his life on earth our great God and Savior took the place of a servant, or slave. If we are the servants of God, we are the servants of men. Lord, help me to live from day to day In such a self-forgetful way That even when I kneel to pray My prayer shall be for others. Help me in all the work I do To ever be sincere and true, And know that all I’d do for You Must needs be done for others. Savior, help me in all I do To magnify and copy You. That I may ever live like You, Help me to live for others. A Great Ransom Not only has the Son of God given us a noble example of self-denying love and service by his obedience to God for us, he has, by the sacrifice of himself ransomed us. He gave “his life a ransom for many.” The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God gave life to ransom, redeem, and deliver God’s elect, the many he came to save, from the guilt of sin and the curse and condemnation of God’s law and justice, and to bring us into “the glorious liberty of the sons of God.” The ransom price he paid was his own precious blood (Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18-20; Revelation 5:9). The ransom price was paid for “many,” and paid for them in particular, as the objects of his special love. The many for whom the Lord Jesus gave his life a ransom are the many ordained to eternal life (Acts 13:48), the many given to him in the covenant of grace (John 6:37-40), the many for whom Christ makes intercession (John 17:9; John 17:20), the many who are called by God the Holy Spirit (Revelation 19:9), and the many who are saved by God’s free and sovereign grace (John 1:12-13). If you would live for Christ, live for others; if you would serve Christ, serve one another. Make Christ the example by which your life is governed. Make Christ himself your rule of life. Here is your motive — You are not your own, You are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). “How many heart aches would it have saved me in days past, had I learnt of Jesus the humbling lesson he here taught them, in what the growth of grace consists: namely, in being more and more lowly in heart, from a conviction of unworthiness, and more and more to see my need of Jesus.” (Robert Hawker)

Matthew 20:29-34

Chapter 58 The Day The Sun Stood Still“And as they departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed him. And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you? They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened. So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.” (Matthew 20:29-34)We read in the tenth chapter of Joshua how that he, by whom the walls of Jericho fell, commanded the sun to stand still in the midst of heaven. At the command of a man “the sun stood still!” We are told, “There was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man” (Joshua 10:14). But here the Spirit of God inspired Matthew to describe something even more remarkable than that. Matthew tells us about a day when the Sun, not the created star in heaven that Joshua caused to stand still, but Christ the Sun of Righteousness, the Son of God, stood still. As he was coming up out of Jericho on his way to Jerusalem to redeem his people, the Son of God heard two blind beggars crying for mercy. At the sound of their cry, we are told, “Jesus stood still!” What a wonderful, amazing picture we have before us in these verses!

Here is the omnipotent God stopped in his tracks, held fast by two needy souls crying out for mercy. He was on his way to Jerusalem to accomplish the redemption of his people, to fulfill the will of his Father. Nothing could stop him. Nothing could cause him to pause. Nothing could detour him from his work. Herod could not stop him.

Satan could not hinder him. The Scribes and Pharisees failed in all their efforts to impede him in his determined course. Not even his disciples or his own mother could stop him as he made his way to the appointed place. But two blind beggars crying for mercy, two helpless souls, looking to him for help, believing him, crying to him, stopped the Son of God in his tracks. — “Jesus stood still!” What an encouragement this passage of Holy Scripture ought to be to any sinner who needs his mercy to pour out his need to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Son of God will never ignore the cry or refuse the faith of a sinner seeking mercy. Three Miracles Luke tell us about our Savior healing one blind man as he approached Jericho (Luke 18:35-43). Here, Matthew tells us that he healed two more blind men, “as they departed from Jericho.” Mark was inspired to describe the same event Matthew speaks of; but Mark only mentions the healing of one of these men, a man by the name of “Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus” (Mark 10:46-52). Obviously, there is no contradiction in inspired accounts of that momentous day. Three blind men were publicly healed by the Son of God as he passed through Jericho on his way to Jerusalem to accomplish our redemption. It is that fact that Matthew, Mark, and Luke were inspired to record for our learning. Here are three great miracles performed by the Lord Jesus Christ, “the Light of the world,” as he was going to Calvary to die in the room and stead of poor, blind, helpless sinners, that we might obtain mercy in him and from him. Gospel Lessons These things are not intended merely to inform us that the Lord Jesus Christ had and has the power to perform miracles. And they are not intended merely to teach us that we are to look to him as the great Physician for the healing of our bodily infirmities; though both of those things are true. These three great miracles are object lessons, proclaiming the gospel of God’s free, omnipotent grace in Christ. May God the Holy Spirit bring the lessons home to our hearts. Robert Hawker suggested the following four points of instruction: The mighty miracles were themselves a proof of our Savior being the Messiah (Isaiah 35:5). The fact that our Lord performed these miracles near Jericho, the cursed city (Joshua 6:26; 1 Kings 16:34), may have reference to that which he would accomplish as our Substitute upon the cursed tree. All the blessings of grace come to chosen sinners because the Lord Jesus Christ was made a curse for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (Galatians 3:13; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Hawker further suggested, “The sovereign act of Jesus, in the freeness and fulness of his mercy, was a testimony of his Godhead; for on the supposition of an eyeless socket, it is not simply giving sight to the blind but a new creation. And who but God himself can do this?” “The conduct of those blind, also hold forth many sweet instructions. They were in the highway begging. It is good to be found in the highway of ordinances, where Jesus passeth by. The cry of those men under a sense of their misery, and Jesus’ power afford great lessons to teach men how to pray, and not to faint. But who taught them that Jesus was the Son of David; that is the Messiah which should come? Who indeed, but he to whom they came could lead them to himself?” Faith in Christ These blind men are, also, great examples of faith in Christ. Faith is frequently found where it is least expected. There were great multitudes who followed the Lord Jesus as he walked along and taught the people. — Some for loaves and some for love. — Some out of curiosity and some out of conviction. — Some for greed and some for grace. But there were few, very few, who believed on Christ. Many, many saw his miracles, yet, believed him not (Matthew 11:20-24; John 2:23-24). But here are three blind men who had never seen any of our Lord’s miracles. They knew him only by hear-say, by the testimony of others. Yet, they believed him. They simply heard other men and women talking about the Savior. They heard people in the streets talking about the Son of God and the great wonders of mercy he had performed. — “When they heard that Jesus passed by” (Matthew 20:29). Spurgeon called that, “blessed gossip.” Would to God we had more of it! We know that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). It was “when they heard that Jesus passed by” that “they cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David” (Matthew 20:29). Perhaps they had heard how the Master had healed a blind man on his way into Jericho (Luke 18:35-43). Without question, they had heard who he is. They called him, “Jesus,” Savior, and openly acknowledged him to be both their God and the Messiah. John Gill tells us that the things stated by these men declare their faith in Christ, “calling him ‘Lord,’ expressing their sense of his deity, dominion, and power; and ‘Son of David,’ thereby owning and professing him to be the Messiah.” (See Isaiah 35:5; Isaiah 42:7; Isaiah 61:1). They looked to him as their God and Savior, the only One from whom they hoped to obtain mercy, mercy that only God could perform. They looked to him, hoping that he would cause their blind eyes to see. No doubt, they heard about his mighty miracles of mercy. And they heard that “Jesus passed by.” Knowing that he might never pass their way again, they seized the opportunity before them and sought his mercy. Yes, the cry of these blind men was the cry of faith. They believed on the Son of God. Their faith puts me to shame. I have books of evidence, a library full of good commentaries and books of theology, volumes of biographies. Yet, how little there is of this childlike confidence and faith in Christ! Even among true believers, simple, confident, unhesitating faith is found where we least expect it. The humble soul believes God and walks in peace; while learned, well-read theologians are often harassed with doubts and questions. Use of Means The blind men healed by our Savior along the Jericho road clearly teach us that sinners in need of mercy ought to avail themselves of every means of good to their souls. I know that God is sovereign. I know that salvation is of the Lord. I know that every chosen, redeemed sinner shall be saved. I am fully aware of these facts. Yet, the Scriptures clearly teach us that every man is responsible for his own soul. We are responsible to use the means of grace God gives us. When these two blind men heard that “Jesus passed by,” they were found “sitting by the way.” What wisdom they displayed! They took up a hopeful position “by the way.” There they would be likely to hear any good news that might be spread among the people. There they were most likely to meet with and be seen by the compassionate. Though they were blind, they were not deaf; and they used what they had for good. Do not forsake the assembly of God’s saints and the preaching of the gospel (Hebrews 10:25). Do not forsake the reading of Holy Scripture (2 Timothy 3:15). Do not forsake private prayer (Luke 18:1). These are God’s ordained means of grace. To despise them is to despise his grace. To neglect them is to neglect his grace. To use them is to be in the path of mercy (Matthew 18:20). Blessed Violence These blind men seem to be vivid examples of our Savior’s doctrine in Matthew 11. As “the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence,” so “the violent take it by force” (Matthew 11:12). “And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David” (Matthew 20:30-31). These men were earnest. They needed mercy. They wanted to see. Therefore, though they were rebuked by the crowd, who urged them to be quiet, they held on, like Jacob of old (Genesis 32:26). We ought to be just that earnest before the throne of grace. Such importunity is the fruit of our great need before our God, knowing that he can supply the mercy needed (Hebrews 4:16). And it is the forerunner of the mercy itself (Luke 11:8-11). “And do thou blessed Master and Lord, give the grace to thy children, both to be sensible of our spiritual blindness; and to be as earnest in the cry of the soul for deliverance from it: and may that grace of thine in our hearts be more powerful to lead to thee, than all the world, or sin, or unbelief, to keep from thee. But may all thy redeemed, though blinded by sin, be so taught by grace, that they may besiege thy throne night and day, until the Lord hath heard and answered prayer; and then follow thee in the regeneration, ‘beholding with open face, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, and be changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the spirit of the Lord’ (2 Corinthians 3:18).” (Robert Hawker) These men needed mercy. They knew that Christ could give them the mercy they needed. They knew that they might never get this opportunity again. Consequently, the opposition they met with was hardly noticed by them. Rather, “they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us O Lord, thou Son of David!”Christ’s Compassion We read, first, that “Jesus passed by.” What a marvelous picture this is of God’s prevenient grace! These men were born blind, that they might be found “sitting by the wayside” on that day when “Jesus passed by.” Then, “Jesus stood still.” He “made a full stop, when he was near, or right against where these blind men sat. Which shows the strength of faith, the force of prayer, and the great regard Christ has to both.” (Gill) Then, he “called them.” He called them personally, them and only them, and said, “What will ye that I shall do unto you?” They answered, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” “So Jesus had compassion on them.” He who stood still, when he heard their plaintive cry, was moved to his heart with pity for them. Their need drew forth his tenderness; and he “touched their eyes.” — “And immediately their eyes received sight.” With all the ease of omnipotent divinity, the Son of God caused these poor, blind men to see. How merciful our Savior is to our souls! Truly, “the love of Christ passeth knowledge” (Ephesians 3:19). Faith always gets what it seeks from him — mercy! Having obtained mercy, “they followed him.” He who gave sight to their eyes gave life to their souls, and they followed him. May God ever give us eyes to see and hearts to desire our Savior, that we may follow him by faith here, until, with open vision, we shall see him as he is and dwell with him forever.