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Week 8 — Day 1
13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John;
14 And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah, who is to come.
16 But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like little children sitting in the marketplaces, who call to the others
17 And say, We have 1played the flute to you, and you did not dance; we have 1sung a dirge, and you did not mourn.
18 For John came neither eating nor drinking; and they say, He has a demon.
19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking; and they say, Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. Yet wisdom is justified by her works.
20 Then He began to reproach the cities…because they did not repent:
21 Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!…
23 And you, Capernaum, who have been exalted to heaven, to 1Hades you will be brought down.…
[The Lord’s appraising His forerunner continues in verses 13 and 14.] Verse 13 says, “For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.” This proves that the Old Testament dispensation was terminated by the coming of John.
Verse 14 says, “And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah, who is to come.” Malachi 4:5 prophesied that Elijah would come. When John the Baptist was conceived, it was said that he would go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17). Hence, in a sense, John may be considered “Elijah, who is to come” (cf. Matt. 17:10-13). However, the prophecy of Malachi 4:5 will actually be fulfilled during the great tribulation, when the real Elijah, one of the two witnesses, will come to strengthen God’s people (Rev. 11:3-12).
After the Lord appraised John, He turned to the rejecting generation and reproached them. His appraisal reminded them that John had been rejected. No matter how great John was, he was nonetheless in prison due to the rejection of that generation.…Verses 18 and 19 [reveal that] John, coming to bring men to repentance (Mark 1:4) and to cause them to grieve for sin, had no taste for eating and drinking (Luke 1:15-17); whereas Christ, coming to bring salvation to sinners and to cause them to rejoice in it, had the joy of eating and drinking with them (Matt. 9:10-11). The kingdom people, who are under no regulation, follow the divine wisdom, concentrating on the indwelling Christ, who is their wisdom (1 Cor. 1:30), not on the outward manner of life.
In verse 19 the Lord said, “Yet wisdom is justified by her works.” Wisdom is Christ (1 Cor. 1:24, 30). Whatever Christ did was done by the wisdom of God, which is Himself. This wisdom was justified, vindicated, by His wise works, His wise deeds. In this verse some authorities read “children” instead of “works.” The kingdom people are the children of wisdom, who justify Christ and His deeds and follow Him as their wisdom. Christ is justified by the kingdom people, who know when to eat and when not to eat and who recognize the playing of the flute and the singing of the dirge, knowing when to rejoice and when to repent. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 383-385)
171 Christ and John the Baptist “played the flute” to preach the gospel of the kingdom, but the Jewish religionists did not “dance” for the joy of salvation; John and Christ “sang a dirge” to preach repentance, but the Jewish religionists did not mourn for the grief of sin. The righteousness of God demanded that they repent, but they would not obey; the grace of God afforded them salvation, but they would not receive it.
231 Hades, equal to Sheol in the Old Testament (Gen. 37:35; Psa. 6:5), is the place where the souls and spirits of the dead are kept (Luke 16:22-23; Acts 2:27).
Suggested daily reading: Life-study of Matthew, pp. 379-385; Hymns: #538
Enlightenment and inspiration:
Week 8 — Day 2
25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I extol You, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.
28 Come to Me all who toil and are burdened, and I will give you rest.
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
In chapter eleven we see how the King deals with… rejection. The main point in this chapter is how we should face rejection.
Verse 25 opens with the words, “At that time.” This refers to the time the Lord was rebuking the cities. Verse 25 says, “At that time Jesus answered and said, I extol You, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth.” When the Lord was rebuking those leading cities, He answered and said, “I extol You, Father.” The word “answered” is very meaningful. Whom did the Lord answer? He answered the Father. While the Lord was rebuking the cities, He fellowshipped with the Father.
As the Lord was rebuking the cities, a third party was present. The Lord was the first party, the cities were the second party, and the Father, who was with Him, was the third party. As the Lord was rebuking Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, the Father might have…said to the Son, “You are rebuking these cities because they have rejected You. Do You feel good about this?” The Lord immediately answered and extolled the Father, the Lord of heaven and of earth.…The Greek word rendered “extol” in verse 25 means to acknowledge with extolment. The Lord acknowledged with extolment the Father’s way in carrying out His economy. Although people, instead of responding to His ministry, slandered Him (vv. 16-19), and the leading cities rejected Him (vv. 20-24), He extolled the Father, acknowledging the Father’s will. He did not seek prosperity in His work but sought the Father’s will; His satisfaction and rest were not in being understood and welcomed by man but in being known by the Father (vv. 26-27). Christ believed that the cities’ rejection of Him was of the Father. What about our situation today? When we are rejected, opposed, criticized, attacked, and condemned, could we extol the Father?
In the Lord’s extolling address, “Father” refers to the Father’s relationship with Him, the Son, whereas “Lord of heaven and of earth” refers to God’s relationship with the universe. When God’s people were defeated by His enemy, God was called “the God of heaven” (Ezra 5:11-12; Dan. 2:18, 37). But when there was a man standing for Him on the earth, God was called “the Possessor of heaven and earth” (Gen. 14:19, 22).
In verse 28 the Lord [called all the toiling and burdened people to Himself to receive rest]. What a gracious word!…In verses 29 and 30 we have the way to rest….To take the Lord’s yoke is to take the will of the Father. It is not to be regulated or controlled by any obligation of the law or religion or to be enslaved by any work, but to be constrained by the will of the Father. The Lord lived such a life, caring for nothing but the will of His Father (John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38). He submitted Himself fully to the Father’s will (26:39, 42).…In verse 29 the Lord tells us to learn from Him. He is meek and lowly in heart. To be meek, or gentle, means not to resist any opposition, and to be lowly means not to esteem oneself highly. Throughout all the opposition the Lord was meek, and throughout all the rejection He was lowly in heart. He submitted Himself fully to the will of His Father, not wanting to do anything for Himself or expecting to gain something for Himself. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 377, 386-388, 390-392)
Suggested daily reading: Life-study of Matthew, pp. 377, 386-392; Hymns: #1050, #725
Enlightenment and inspiration:
Week 8 — Day 3
1 At that time Jesus went on the Sabbath through the grainfields. And His disciples became hungry and began to pick ears of grain and eat.
2 But the Pharisees, seeing this, said to Him, Behold, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.
3 But He said to them, Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, and those who were with him;
4 How he entered into the house of God, and they ate the bread of the Presence, which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, except for the priests only?
5 Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless?
6 But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here.
8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.
The reason for the rejection of the Lord was the breaking of the Sabbath (12:1-14).…The Pharisees condemned what the Lord’s disciples were doing, saying it was not lawful on the Sabbath [v. 2]. The Sabbath was ordained so that the Jews would remember the completion of God’s creation (Gen. 2:2), keep the sign of God’s covenant made with them (Ezek. 20:12), and remember God’s redemption accomplished for them (Deut. 5:15). Hence, to profane the Sabbath was a serious matter in the eyes of the religious Pharisees.…But they did not have adequate knowledge of the Scriptures.
The Lord’s word [Matt. 12:3-4] implies that He is the real David. In the ancient time David and his followers, when rejected, entered into the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, seemingly breaking the Levitical law.…Just as David and his followers were not held guilty, so Christ and His disciples should not have been condemned.
Furthermore, the Lord’s word here also implies the dispensational change from the priesthood to the kingship. In the ancient time the coming of David changed the dispensation from the age of the priests to the age of the kings, in which the kings were above the priests. In the age of the priests the leader of the people had to listen to the priest (Num. 27:21-22). But in the age of the kings the priest had to submit to the king (1 Sam. 2:35-36). Hence, what King David did with his followers was not illegal. Now the coming of Christ changed the dispensation again, this time from the age of the law to the age of grace, in which Christ is above all. Whatever He does is right.
The Lord revealed to the Pharisees that He was greater than the temple. This indicated another turn, a type-fulfilling turn from the temple to a person. In the case of David there was a turn from one age to another. In this case, a case concerning the priests, there was a turn from the temple to a person who is greater than the temple. Since the priests were guiltless in acting on the Sabbath in the temple, how could the Lord’s disciples be guilty in acting on the Sabbath in Him who is greater than the temple? In the first case the king broke the Levitical regulation; in the second case the priests broke the sabbatical regulation. According to the Scriptures neither was guilty. Hence, scripturally, what the Lord did here was right.
In verse 8 the Lord indicated the third turn, a right- asserting change from the Sabbath to the Lord of the Sabbath. As the Lord of the Sabbath, He had the right to change the regulations concerning the Sabbath. Thus, the Lord gave the condemning Pharisees a threefold verdict. He was the real David, the greater temple, and the Lord of the Sabbath. Therefore, He could do whatever He liked on the Sabbath, and whatever He did was justified by Himself. He was above all rituals and regulations. Since He was there, no attention should have been paid to any ritual and regulation. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 393, 395-398, 400)
Suggested daily reading: Life-study of Matthew, pp. 393-400; Hymns: #496
Enlightenment and inspiration:
Week 8 — Day 4
9 And departing from there, He came into their synagogue.
10 And behold, a man who had a withered hand was there. And they asked Him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? so that they might accuse Him.
13 Then He said to the man, Stretch out your hand. And he stretched it out and it was restored, as sound as the other.
14 But the Pharisees, going out, took counsel against Him as to how they might destroy Him.
18 “Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul has found delight. I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will announce justice to the Gentiles.
20 A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench until He brings forth justice unto victory.
21 And in His name will the Gentiles hope.”
After winning the case with the Pharisees, the Lord Jesus came into their synagogue. This took place on another Sabbath day (Luke 6:6).…In the synagogue was a man with a withered hand. When the Pharisees inquired of the Lord whether it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath, He said to them, “What man will there be among you who will have one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep! So then it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath” (vv. 11-12). [Following this], the Lord gave the man the word, “Stretch out your hand.” In the Lord’s word was the enlivening life. By stretching out his hand,…his withered hand was restored by the life in this word.
Leading the disciples into the grainfields [v. 1] indicates that the Lord cares for Himself as the Head of the Body. As the Head, He is everything — the real David, the greater temple, and the Lord of the Sabbath. Restoring the withered hand signifies that He cares for His members. He healed a man’s withered hand, likening this man to a sheep. The hand is a member of the body, and the sheep is a member of the flock. The Lord would do anything for the healing of His members, for the rescue of His fallen sheep.…He does not care for the Sabbath. He cares only for His headship and for the members of His Body.
In the eyes of the religious Pharisees, for the Lord to break the Sabbath was to destroy God’s covenant with the nation of Israel, that is, to destroy the relationship between God and Israel. Hence, they took counsel against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.…They were absolutely blinded, veiled, covered, by their religion.…At this point, 12:14, the rejection of Christ by religion reaches its peak.
[Verse 18] indicates clearly that because of the Jew’s rejection, the heavenly King with His heavenly kingdom would turn to the Gentiles, and the Gentiles would receive Him and trust in Him (v. 21).
While He was being rejected and opposed, He was still full of mercy [v. 20]. The Jews were accustomed to making flutes of reeds. When a reed was bruised, they broke it. Also they made torches out of flax, which can burn oil. When the oil ran out, the flax smoked, and they quenched it. Some of the Lord’s people are like the bruised reed that cannot give a musical sound; others are like the smoking flax that cannot give a shining light. Yet the Lord will not break the bruised ones or quench the smoking ones.
This portion of the Word reveals that, on the one hand, the Lord is bold and that, on the other hand, He is merciful.…Do not think that in chapter twelve the Lord was defeated.…He was not defeated; He was establishing His kingdom.…This is the way the kingdom of the heavens is built. It is built through being attacked, persecuted, and criticized. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 400-406)
Suggested daily reading: Life-study of Matthew, pp. 400-406; Hymns: #156
Enlightenment and inspiration:
Week 8 — Day 5
22 Then there was brought to Him one possessed by a demon, blind and dumb, and He healed him, so that the dumb man spoke and saw.
24 But the Pharisees, hearing this, said, This man does not cast out the demons except by Beelzebul, ruler of the demons.
25 But knowing their thoughts, He said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself becomes desolate, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.
26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
28 But if I, by the Spirit of God, cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
29 Or how can anyone enter into the house of the strong man and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will thoroughly plunder his house.
In his Gospel Matthew does not give us a record of history; he takes the facts of history and puts them together to reveal the doctrine of the kingdom.…Now we must see that in order for the kingdom of the heavens to be established, there is the need of a spiritual battle, of spiritual fighting. This fighting is implied in 12:22-37.
Although the crowds were amazed [at the Lord’s healing of the blind and dumb man], the Pharisees were offended, unable to tolerate the fact that through an extraordinary miracle the Lord Jesus had gained all the crowds. Hence, these Pharisees had to say something to deal with the situation. According to verse 24, they said, “This man does not cast out the demons except by Beelzebul, ruler of the demons.” This was the greatest blasphemy heaped upon the heavenly King by the opposing Pharisees.
The Lord seemed to be saying to the Pharisees [vv. 25-26], “How could I cast out a demon by Satan? If I did this, then Satan would be fighting against Satan, and his kingdom could not stand.” Verse 26 is unique in the whole Bible in that no other verse opens the secret that Satan has his kingdom. Satan is the ruler of this world (John 12:31) and the ruler of the authority of the air (Eph. 2:2). He has his authority (Acts 26:18) and his angels (Matt. 25:41), who are his subordinates as rulers, authorities, and worldrulers of the darkness of this world (Eph. 6:12). Hence, he has his kingdom, the authority of darkness (Col. 1:13).
The Spirit of God is the power of the kingdom of God [v. 28]. Where the Spirit of God is in power, there the kingdom of God is, and there the demons have no ground. By the Lord’s word here we see that the battle fought for the kingdom is not fought by just a man himself, but by a man with the Spirit of God.
Verse 29 reveals that before the Lord cast out the demon, He firstly fought against Satan.…The “house” here signifies the kingdom of Satan, and “the strong man” is Satan, the evil one. The Greek word translated “vessels” also means instruments, apparatus; hence, goods, stuff. The fallen people, who are under Satan are his vessels, his instruments, and are for his use. They are his goods, kept in his house, his kingdom. The word about binding the strong man indicates that when the Lord cast out demons, He first bound Satan.…The way to bind the strong man is to pray.…The Lord’s word [in 17:21] to His disciples indicates that before He cast out a demon, He surely fasted and prayed. In order to bind the strong man, we must fast and pray. The Lord fasted and prayed secretly. The disciples did not see this. We must learn of the Lord to fast in secret and to pray in secret.…We all must be in the same spirit today. Every day our spirit must be a fasting spirit and a praying spirit so that we may daily bind the strong man, who is Satan, the king of the kingdom of darkness. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 407, 409-412)
Suggested daily reading: Life-study of Matthew, pp. 407-412; Hymns: #767
Enlightenment and inspiration:
Week 8 — Day 6
31 Therefore I say to you, Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
32 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in this age nor in the one to come.
36 And I say to you that every idle word which men shall speak, they will render an account concerning it in the day of judgment.
37 For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned.
In verse 31…blaspheming the Spirit differs from insulting the Spirit (Heb. 10:29). To insult the Spirit is to disobey Him willfully. Many believers do this. If they confess this sin, they will be forgiven and cleansed by the Lord’s blood (1 John 1:7, 9). But to blaspheme the Spirit is to slander Him.…[According to verse 32, speaking against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven in this age or in the one to come.]…In the economy of the Triune God, the Father conceived the plan of redemption (Eph. 1:5, 9), the Son accomplished redemption according to the Father’s plan (1 Pet. 2:24; Gal. 1:4), and the Spirit reaches sinners to apply the redemption accomplished by the Son (1 Cor. 6:11; 1 Pet. 1:2). If a sinner blasphemes the Son as Saul of Tarsus did, the Spirit will still have the ground to work on him and cause him to repent and believe in the Son that he may be forgiven (see 1 Tim. 1:13-16). But if a sinner blasphemes the Spirit, the Spirit will have no ground to work on him, and there will be no one left to cause him to repent and believe. Hence, it is impossible for such a person to be forgiven. This is not only logical according to reason but also governmental according to God’s administrative principle, as revealed here by the Lord’s word.
In God’s governmental administration His forgiveness is dispensational. For His administration He has planned different ages. The period from the first coming of Christ to eternity is divided dispensationally into three ages: (1) this age, the present one, from Christ’s first coming to His second coming; (2) the coming age, the millennium, the one thousand years for restoration and heavenly reigning, from Christ’s second coming to the end of the old heaven and old earth; and (3) eternity, the eternal age of the new heaven and new earth. God’s forgiveness in this age is for sinners’ eternal salvation. This forgiveness is given to both sinners and believers. God’s forgiveness in the coming age is related to the believers’ dispensational reward. If after being saved a believer commits a sin but will not make a clearance through confession and the cleansing of the Lord’s blood (1 John 1:7, 9) before he dies or the Lord comes back, the sin will not be forgiven in this age but will remain to be judged at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10). In such a case, the believer will not be rewarded with the kingdom [to] participate with Christ in the glory and joy in the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens, but will be disciplined so that the sin is cleared, and will be forgiven in the coming age (Matt. 18:23-35). This kind of forgiveness will maintain this believer’s eternal salvation but will not qualify him to participate in the glory and joy of the coming kingdom.
An idle word [mentioned by the Lord in verse 36] is a non-working word, an inoperative word, a word that has no positive function and is useless, unprofitable, unfruitful, and barren. In the day of judgment, those who speak such words will render account concerning every one of them.
In verse 37 the Lord concludes, “For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned.” What a warning this is! We must learn to control and restrict our speaking. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 413-416)
Suggested daily reading: Life-study of Matthew, pp. 413-416; Hymns: #244, #609
Enlightenment and inspiration:
Week 8 — Prophecy
III. The King’s ministry (4:12—11:30)
E. The King’s poise and attitude toward every situation (11:2-30)
2. Appraising His forerunner (vv. 7-15)
3. Lamenting and reproaching the stubborn and unrepentant generation (vv. 16-24)
4. Acknowledging the Father’s will with extolment (vv. 25-27)
5. Calling the burdened to rest and the way to rest (vv. 28-30)
III. The King’s being rejected (12:1—27:66)
A. The establishment of rejection (12:1-50)
1. The cause of rejection (vv. 1-14)
2. Rejection causing the King’s turn to the Gentiles (vv. 15-21)
3. The climax of rejection (vv. 22-37)
The Lord continued appraising His forerunner in Matthew 11:13-14. Verse 13 proves that the coming of John the Baptist terminated the Old Testament dispensation.
In chapter eleven we see how the King deals with rejection and how we should face rejection. As the Lord was rebuking the unrepentant cities (vv. 20-24), He fellowshipped with the Father (v. 25). At such a time He could say, “I extol You, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth…” (see vv. 25-27). I recognize Your authority. If this were not of You, none of these cities would reject Me. Even their rejection is of You. Furthermore, the Lord called the burdened to rest and revealed the way to rest in verses 28 through 30. The way is by taking the heavenly King’s yoke and learning from Him. His yoke is the Father’s will. To learn from Him is to be meek and lowly in heart. To be meek means not to resist any opposition, and to be lowly means not to esteem oneself highly.
Matthew chapter twelve reveals the establishment of the King’s rejection. The reason for the rejection of the Lord was the breaking of the Sabbath (vv. 1-14). The Lord Jesus took the lead not to keep the Sabbath regulations by bringing His disciples out of a regulation-keeping situation into the grainfields where they all found something to eat. This environment afforded the Lord Jesus the opportunity to unveil Himself as the real David (vv. 3-4), the greater temple (vv. 5-6), and the Lord of the Sabbath (v. 8).
The establishment of the King’s rejection is continued in verses 9 through 14 with His kingly salvation to turn from the Jews to the Gentiles (12:15-21). While He was being rejected and opposed, He was still full of mercy. The Jews who were opposing Him were like bruised reeds and smoking flax. Likewise, today many of His followers have become bruised reeds that can no longer give a musical song and many no longer burn as a bright light. Christ would not break and throw away the bruised reeds nor quench the smoking flax. Rather, He would wait for you to receive His mercy and grace.
In order for the kingdom of the heavens to be established, there is the need of a spiritual battle. This fighting is implied in 12:22-37 where the Lord healed a demon possessed man. The Pharisees said that He cast out the demons by Beelzebul, ruler of the demons. If the Lord had done this, then Satan would be fighting against Satan, and his kingdom could not stand. Satan’s house is his kingdom, and in his house are many vessels, the many fallen persons. In order to take a fallen person out of Satan’s house, we must bind the strong man by prayer and fasting.
According to verse 36, “Every idle word which men shall speak, they will render an account concerning it in the day of judgment.” The Lord seemed to be telling the opposers, “Be careful with your speaking. There will be a day of judgment, and whatever you say will be judged at that time.” We must learn to control and restrict our speaking!
Composition for prophecy with main point and sub-points:
