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Scripture Reading: Matt. 21:23-27, 37-39, 42-46; 22:1-4, 15-46
In Matthew 21 and 22 we have the fulfillment of a type in the Old Testament with which many are not familiar. Before the passover, according to God’s commandment, the people of Israel had to prepare a lamb at least four days in advance (Exo. 12:3, 6). During that period of preparation, the lamb was thoroughly examined for any spot or blemish. The lamb had to be absolutely perfect to qualify for the passover. We know that the passover lamb was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Lamb. Before He went to the cross to fulfill the passover, He spent about six days in Jerusalem, and that through which He passed during those days was the fulfillment of the examination performed on the passover lamb. During this time the people put Jesus on probation. Matthew 21 and 22 reveal the examination to which He was subjected. He was examined by leaders and representatives of all the current social, political, and religious parties. Let us see who they were.
First of all, there were the chief priests and the elders of the people (21:23). The chief priests were those who held authority in religion; they were the ones who served God in the temple. The elders were those with authority among the people, the community. Thus, the first ones to examine Jesus were those with authority in religion and authority in the community — the chief priests and the elders. It was they who asked, “By what authority do You do these things? And who gave You this authority?” (v. 23). The second examination was made by the Pharisees, the strongest religious party, together with the Herodians, a political party. Religion combined with politics (strange bedfellows) to put Jesus through the second examination. The third examination was performed by the Sadducees, the ancient modernists. In today’s Christianity there are many who do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross, shedding His blood for our redemption, and who was raised physically and literally from the dead. The modernists are today’s Sadducees, and the Sadducees were the ancient modernists. They did not believe in the Word of God or in the power of God; they did not believe in resurrection or in angels or in spirits (Acts 23:8). Last, in the fourth examination, one of the prominent Pharisees, a lawyer, put Jesus to the test.
Have you seen the picture? The chief priests and the elders among the people, the disciples of the Pharisees and the Herodians, the Sadducees, and then a lawyer, an expert among the Pharisees, all surrounded this little Jesus. All these learned people with the highest attainments, knowledge, position, names, and power combined to examine Christ and find some fault in Him. Jesus had never received a degree. He came from a despised town in a despised area and stood thus in the midst of these leaders. But praise the Lord, though He was small outwardly, He was not small inwardly. He had no pretentious form without, but He had tremendous power within. He had no outward knowledge, but He had infinite inward wisdom. He answered all the questions, and He passed all the tests. He was put on probation and examination by so many leaders, and He passed through triumphantly.
Eventually, He put them to the test, and by one stone He killed all the birds. By one question He shut all their mouths. They put Jesus to the test four times, and the Lord Jesus put them to the test once. By all these questions, four plus one, we may see how very much Christ was versus religion.
The chief priests, the authority of the religion, and the elders, the authority of the community, combined together to raise the first question, a question concerning the source of Jesus’ authority. “By what authority do You do these things? And who gave You this authority?” (Matt. 21:23). In other words, they asked, “What is Your source? Is Your authority authentic? Where did a little man like You get this authority?” We should not consider such questions lightly. In Christianity today people are always asking such questions: “What about his origin? Is that fundamental? Is that sound?” What they really mean, and sometimes they say it in so many words, is this: “From what seminary has he graduated? Where was he ordained, and by whom was he ordained?”
The Lord Jesus, of course, was so wise. He said, “I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, from where did it come, from heaven or from men?” (vv. 24-25). He really put them on the spot. Then those learned ones with the highest attainments reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, From heaven, He will say to us, Why then did you not believe him?” (v. 25). What they meant was that if they endorsed John, they would have to receive Jesus, because John testified of Him and was His forerunner. If they accepted John, they must also accept Jesus. Thus, they said in effect, “We cannot say that. If we do, we will fall into a trap.” Then they said, “If we say, From men, we fear the crowd, for all hold John as a prophet” (v. 26). Eventually, they decided that the best solution would be to tell a lie. So they turned back to Jesus and said, “We do not know” (v. 27). But the Lord Jesus knew that they knew. He said in effect, “You know, but you won’t tell Me. You say you don’t know, but that is a lie. The truth is that you won’t tell Me. Since you won’t tell Me, neither will I tell you. You lie, but I will not lie.” Jesus is really Lord. He is really worthy of our worship. Who could answer a question in this way but Jesus?
Following this answer of the Lord to the chief priests and elders of the people, He proceeded to speak to them in parables. I will just refer briefly to the last two. In the second parable the Lord indicated that He was there for God’s building (vv. 33-46). They had spoken to Him in a foolish and sinful way, but in spite of that, the Lord Jesus proceeded to unveil something of God’s revelation, of God’s eternal purpose. In this parable He indicated first that He is the Son of God. God sent His Son unto them, and this Son is the Heir who will receive all God’s inheritance. What they were doing was rejecting this heavenly and divine Heir, the Son of God. Second, the Lord Jesus told them that in rejecting such a One, they were rejecting the very cornerstone for God’s building. He said in other words, “You do not know what you are talking about. You do not know what you are doing. You do not know whom you are rejecting. I am here as the Son of God, rejected by you; but eventually, what you reject will become the head of the corner.” The head of the corner is for God’s building. Even in the Lord’s answer to such foolish ones, He indicated that He was for God’s building.
Following this, He spoke the parable of the wedding feast (22:1-14). The Son of God is the cornerstone, and the Son of God is also the Bridegroom. Thus, the Lord revealed two marvelous things — the building and the wedding feast. The building requires the feast, and the feast is for the building. The more we feast upon Jesus, the more we will be built into His building. The Lord’s answer in these parables is so full of meaning. By referring to 1 Corinthians 3 and 1 Peter 2, we see that the feasting is for the growth, and the growth is for the building. Therefore, we all must feast at the wedding feast of Jesus so that we may grow, and as we grow, we will become proper material for the building. He is the cornerstone for the building, and we are the many stones. We become the stones by feasting on Him. God’s intention with the Lord Jesus is simply the building and the feast, the enjoyment and the building up.
Then the Pharisees realized that it was not so easy to defeat such a One, so they asked the Herodians to join them. The Pharisees were not only the religious party but also a patriotic party, faithful to the Jewish nation. They were patriotic as well as religious; they loved their country and were eager to protect it. At that time their nation was under the rule of the Roman Empire — to the Pharisees, a detestable situation. The Herodians, on the other hand, were the very representatives of this imperialistic domination. How could two such parties, the Pharisees and the Herodians, ever work together? They could because they had a common enemy. They came together to put Jesus on the spot by entangling Him in His words. They asked, “What do You think? Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” (Matt. 22:17). This tribute differed from that in Matthew 17. This was a tax paid to the Roman government. All the faithful, patriotic Jews in ancient times were against this — they would never pay one penny if they could help it. Thus, they thought they could certainly catch Jesus by putting Him on the horns of a dilemma. Their question was very subtle. If Jesus should answer that it was not lawful to give tribute to Caesar, then the Herodians would immediately pounce upon Him, accusing Him of opposition to the Roman Empire. However, if on the other hand He should say that it was lawful for the Jews to pay the Roman tax, the patriotic party of the Jews would reply, “This man is betraying our country.” Such was the subtlety of the Pharisees.
Do you think there was no way for the Lord Jesus to escape? Do you think that anyone could entangle Him? No, even if ten parties combined together against Him, they still could not succeed. He has a way. Hallelujah, He is Jesus! Notice what He did. The wisest thing was that He did not take the tribute money out of His own pocket. He said to them, “Show Me the coin for the tribute,” and they brought to Him a denarius (v. 19). They brought the tribute money — that means that they had already lost the case. They came to Jesus asking whether or not tribute should be paid to Caesar, but they had Roman money, not Jesus. They lost their case. They had the Roman money, and they kept the Roman money; so they were caught. Jesus is the Lord! Do not try to arrest Jesus; if you do, you will be arrested by Him.
Then He asked them, “Whose is this image and superscription?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” The Lord Jesus answered, “Render then the things that are Caesar’s to Caesar.” But He did not stop there. He left no ground for the enemy. He went on to add, “And the things that are God’s to God” (vv. 20-21). Their mouths were shut. When they heard this, they marveled at His answer.
Following this, the Sadducees, the ancient modernists, took their turn. They thought they were more clever and could ensnare Jesus. They said in effect, “Teacher, there are some who believe in resurrection, but we have a problem. According to the regulation of Moses’ law, if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up seed to his brother. Now there were seven brothers with us, and the first married and died, and having no seed, left his wife to his brother. The second brother did likewise, and the third, until the seventh. And last of all, the woman died. In the resurrection, then, whose wife will she be of the seven?” They really thought they were smart. The Lord Jesus answered, “You err, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God” (v. 29). The Lord Jesus rebuked them in His answer. He said in effect, “You don’t know the Bible. You thought you knew, but really you don’t. You don’t know the Bible; neither do you know the power of God.” He went on then to say, “In the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage...But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read that which was spoken to you by God, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob?’ He is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (vv. 30-32). Jesus was saying to them, “All these people — Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — are dead; if they are not resurrected, then God would be a God of the dead. But God could never be the God of the dead; He is the God of the living. This proves that they will all be living; they will be resurrected. You Sadducees know the letter of this title — the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob — but you do not know the reality in it. The letter of the Word informs you that God is the God of these three persons. But the reality in this title is that there will be a resurrection. This title proves that God will resurrect these three persons; otherwise, He would be the God of the dead instead of the living.”
These modernistic Jews in ancient times attempted to corner Jesus. But Jesus took this opportunity to show how they needed to know the Scriptures in a living way, how they needed to know the power of God, and how they needed to know that God is the living God. Since God is living, His people too should be living. We too must know the Scriptures in a living way, we too must know the power of God, and we too must be the living people to know the living God. They were astonished, and they lost their case.
Then the Pharisees, when they heard that the Sadducees were put to silence, attempted again to examine Jesus. One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, trying Him: “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” (v. 36). He asked in other words, “How do You expound the books of Moses?” This question concerned the exposition and interpretation of the Bible. It was exceedingly easy, of course, for the Lord Jesus to deal with this. He replied, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (vv. 37-39). It is so simple. The Law and the Prophets all hang on these two commandments. The Lord gave them the proper answer. Then they had no word to say. Eventually, all their mouths were shut. But they would not depart; they still continued there to lose the case.
Just consider: besides these four kinds of problems, what other questions could be raised? The first related to religion, the second to politics, the third to the faith, and the fourth to scriptural interpretation. Today in Christianity we still have all these problems, and people pay their full attention to them.
To all these questions, the Lord Jesus undoubtedly had an answer. But now the Lord Himself raised a question. I would call this the question of questions. “Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus questioned them, saying, What do you think concerning the Christ? Whose son is He?” (vv. 41-42). Today, in the entire universe, it is not a matter of religion, politics, the faith, or the interpretation of the Scriptures, but altogether a matter of Christ. What do you think concerning the Christ? Who is He? It is so simple. Christianity today deals with all these matters — religion, politics, faith, and scriptural interpretation — but hardly a one will deal with the living Christ. They tackle every matter but the living Christ Himself. We are in exactly the same situation today as in the ancient times.
The Pharisees answered Jesus rightly. They replied that Christ is the Son of David. But then Jesus asked in effect, “How then could David, the grandfather, call the grandson his Lord?” That shut their mouth. They could answer in the way of knowledge, but they could not discern reality in the Spirit. They had learned that Christ is the Son of David, but they had received no revelation in the spirit that this Christ who is on one hand the Son of David is also the Lord of all. They were one hundred percent in their mind and not one percent in their spirit. They had the Bible, but they missed Christ. How many dear ones have been distracted, frustrated, and kept away from Christ by Bible knowledge! This does not mean that we do not need the Bible. We need it, but we need it in a spiritual way, a living way. We must be careful never to let Bible knowledge blind us to the living Christ. It is not a matter of knowledge or teaching, but absolutely a matter of the living Christ. It is His living presence; it is His living Spirit. The letter kills, the knowledge deadens, and scriptural interpretation confuses, frustrates, and distracts. We need the living Bible, the living Word, the living teaching. If so, we must turn ourselves from our mind to the spirit and learn like David to be in spirit to call Him Lord. “O Lord! O Lord! O Lord! I do not care for my knowledge; I do not care for any teaching; I just care for my living Lord in my spirit. I turn to my spirit and call Him Lord.” By your mental figuration, you can never understand the Bible. If you would see something of this book, you must virtually cut off your head and turn yourself wholly and thoroughly to your spirit and say, O Lord!
Religion, politics, the faith, and scriptural interpretation must all pass away for us. Christ has the answer to each of these questions, but He does not care for them; neither must we care for anything but the living Lord, the living Christ. As long as we have His presence, it is sufficient. We must learn just to turn to our spirit and say, O Lord! This is the way to experience Him.
We must all realize the Lord’s marvelous wisdom in questioning the Pharisees. In His question the Lord referred to the matter of His person. This is a tremendous matter. If we would know the Lord, we must know His person. On the one hand, He is the Son of Man, but on the other hand, He is also the Son of God. As the Son of Man He is a descendant of David, but as the Son of God He is the Lord today. As the Son of Man He is a real man, but as the Son of God He is God Himself. We must all realize the two natures of the Lord’s person. He is divine as well as human; He is a human being as well as a divine person. The question He directed to the Pharisees indicates all the things related to Him.
But the Lord Jesus not only asked a question. He went on to quote Psalm 110:1, where God is recorded as saying to Christ, “Sit at My right hand / Until I make Your enemies / Your footstool.” It is abundantly clear that this refers to the ascension of Christ. Do not care for any religion, do not be concerned that much with politics, do not labor so much over the so-called Christian faith, and do not pay so much attention to scriptural interpretation. We must all concentrate on Christ as the exalted and ascended One. The ascension of the Lord Jesus is the climax of all that He is, of all that He has done, and of all that He will do. Consider the chart belowon the next page. Christ in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God. Then He was incarnated; He passed through human life on this earth; He was put into death, buried, and resurrected. He passed through all these things and ascended to the peak of the universe. After His ascension He came down in another way with another form. He descended not only as the Spirit of life but also as the Spirit of power. As such a One He is building the church and preparing it as His bride for His second coming, at which time He will usher in the millennium, the kingdom. One day He with all He has accomplished and gained will be in eternity as God and the Lamb with the New Jerusalem. The Lord in Matthew 22:41-45 is referring not only to Himself as a person, but as a person in ascension. He is the ascended One. In this passage He is at the climax, the peak. As the ascended One He includes everything from eternity past to His ascension and everything from His ascension to eternity in the future. Hallelujah for such an ascended Christ!
Today’s Christians talk much about being saved. Then they are always complaining about how poor or how weak they are. A few, on the other hand, say that by God’s mercy they are not so weak but indeed rather spiritual. But my burden is that we must be rescued from all these things. Forget about all these religious problems, politics, the so-called faith, and even the interpretation of the Bible. You talk so much regarding how to interpret and understand the Bible, but Jesus would ask, “What do you think concerning the Christ?” There is a proper answer to all problems, but the main problem is, What do you think concerning the Christ? Have you ever turned yourself from the Bible to the living, ascended Christ? Christians today pay so much attention to all other things, but nearly all neglect a continual living relationship with the living person of Christ. It is not principally, for example, a matter of whether you as a sister should wear a short or a long skirt. The vital point is what you think concerning Christ. It is absolutely a matter of Christ. Do not measure your skirt by the length, but by Christ. It must be a skirt of Christ. Whenever you speak about clothing, do not judge it by measurement, color, or style, but by Christ.
The best way to interpret the Bible is by Christ. The best way to care for the faith is by Christ. If you have Christ, surely you will have the proper faith. If you lack the living Christ, regardless of the creed you have, that is not the faith; that is a pity. We must care for nothing but Christ. We must even forget our Bible if we take it as a Bible without Christ. We need to forget our kind of faith — the sound, fundamental, scriptural faith — if it is a faith without a living touch with the living Christ. The Lord’s intention is that we care only for Christ and the church. The Lord Jesus in answering all these ridiculous and foolish questions did not forget the church. We have already seen how He referred to the building of God, that is, the church. In His answer to all these questions, He brings the questioners back to the matter of Himself and His church.
Thank the Lord that in these recent years so many have been rescued and delivered to a certain extent from religion. Yet we still have a certain amount of religion within us. By all these verses we may see that the Lord Jesus has nothing in His mind and heart but Himself and His church. We have been greatly distracted from Christ and the church by so many religious things, political things, and matters concerning the sound faith and how to interpret the Bible. Years ago, the interpretation of the Bible was my favorite occupation and a real temptation. When a person came to me with one verse, I would expound fifty to him. But if you come to me today with a verse, I will reduce your verse to nothing but the living Christ. Forget about the interpretation of the Bible.
Sometimes the dear saints ask when the Lord Jesus will return. All I can answer is simply that He will return. Sometimes they ask what the signs of His coming are. All I can say is that the signs are simply the signs. Would you be willing to forget about all this and care only for the living Christ? Whether He comes today or tomorrow, with this sign or with that sign, it matters little. Just care for Christ; then you will be ready for His coming. Whenever a person asks concerning any matter, I would eventually say, “What do you think concerning the Christ?”
Look at Christ today. He is the exalted One. Hallelujah! He was God in the beginning, who was incarnated and passed through all the human living on this earth. He experienced crucifixion and resurrection and was raised to the peak of the universe in ascension. Now, after His ascension, He is here as the Spirit of life and power, moving on this earth to establish His churches. He is the Son of Man walking in the midst of all the local lampstands. He is here among us. This is the very thing for which we must care. He cares for the growth in number in the local churches, and He cares even more for the growth in life. He would say to us, “Do not be foolish like the chief priests, elders, Pharisees, Herodians, and Sadducees. Forget all the things they cared for, and concentrate on Christ and the church.” If we do not understand some passage of the Bible, we simply do not understand it. We do not care for the mere understanding of the Bible. If we do not know what portion or chapter is the greatest in the Bible, we simply do not know. We do not care merely for knowing that. But we know that Christ is there and Christ is within us and Christ is among us. Oh, we care for the ascended Christ! He is not only the Son of Man but also the Son of God. He is not only the seed of David but also the root of David. Why is it then that in the local churches we are dealing with the Bible all the time, we are pray-reading the Bible continually? Not merely for learning or understanding anything but for eating Christ.
Yet in our meetings there is still some element of religion. Why are we so careful about keeping a certain kind of good order? It is because we are still religious. You may argue that the apostle Paul tells us that all things must be done becomingly and in order. But the very fact that you mention this exposes the religion in you. Try your best to understand. I would like to hear and see you speak freely in your meetings about nothing but Christ and the church. Just come to the meeting in the spirit and feel free to say something about Christ. Feel free to present Christ. Feel free to minister Christ. Just feel free — do not be so careful. Some of you have been careful for years. I am afraid that at least a few of your hairs have turned gray by being careful in the meeting. Would you be willing to forget about being careful and just be free with Christ? Come into the meeting and be free with Christ, not in a sloppy way but livingly in the spirit.
If you read through the entire book of Matthew, you will see that the Lord Jesus, while He was on earth, was not once careful concerning the Jewish religion. From the time He came to be baptized by John the Baptist, He cared nothing for it, nor was He ever careful concerning religious sensibilities. On the contrary, He always acted in human eyes so roughly and wrongly. He did it purposely to impress His disciples never to care for anything religious, but only for Christ and His church. I would advise you to read and to pray-read chapters 21 and 22 of Matthew five times. You will see how the Lord Jesus was absolutely outside of religion. He cared only for Himself and His building, the church.
