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In Matt. 9 Christ is revealed as the Physician, the Bridegroom, and even as the unshrunk cloth, the new wine, and the new wineskin. Following this, a further revelation of Christ is needed. This revelation requires a certain environment that will enable Christ to be revealed in another aspect. Having Christ revealed to us is not a matter of doctrine. In order for Christ to be revealed, there is always the need of a particular environment. In chapter nine Christ is revealed in so many sweet, lovely, pleasant aspects. The environment required for the revelation of Christ in chapter nine was produced by His ministry. In order for Christ to be revealed to us, there must be a certain environment, and that environment always comes out of Christ’s ministry. Christ began to minister in chapter four. After calling the first four disciples and attracting great crowds, He went up to the mountain where He issued the decree of the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens. After He descended from the mountain, He continued His ministry. His ministry before giving the constitution on the mountain was good for the constitution, but it was not sufficient for the further revelation of who He is and of what He is. In order for Him to be revealed as the lovely items found in chapter nine, there was the need for the continuation of His ministry. This further ministry created the environment for Him to be revealed not only as the King, but also as the Physician, the Bridegroom, the new cloth, the new wine, and the new wineskin. If you do not see this ministry in such a way, if you cannot see the environment created by this ministry for the revelation of Christ, and if you cannot see all the items of what Christ is, you may read the Gospel of Matthew a hundred times without receiving anything from it. It may seem to you to be either a book of stories or doctrines. But you will never receive any life from this book. If you would see light in the Gospel of Matthew, you must first see the heavenly King. After He was anointed and tested, He began His ministry. His ministry is crucial, for it is absolutely necessary for His revelation. Christ would not just tell us that He is the Physician, the Bridegroom, the new cloth, the new wine, and the new wineskin. That would be like the teaching given in a seminary. How poor it would be simply to gather a group of people together and merely tell them what Christ is. To repeat, in order to receive the revelation of Christ, there is the need of the environment created by His ministry.
In the continuation of His ministry the King did many signs. He healed the leper, He healed the servant boy of a Roman centurion, and He healed the mother-in-law of Peter. Following this, He healed a great many other people. This was His ministry. The continuation of the King’s ministry was different from the beginning of His ministry, for in the beginning there were no dispensational signs. Rather, He contacted people, attracted them, and captured them. Because a great crowd followed Him, He was able to deliver the decree of the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens.
Although Matthew is a book on the kingdom, it is also a revelation of Christ. One day Christ led His disciples to Caesarea Philippi and asked them, “Who do men say that the Son of Man is?” (16:13). After they gave some answers, He asked them, “But you, who do you say that I am?” (v. 15). This indicates that the book of the kingdom reveals who Christ is. What a blessing it is to see the revelations of Christ in this book! The genealogy of Christ in chapter one is a revelation of Christ. It reveals that Christ is the Son of David, the Son of Abraham, and the issue of a marriage that unites the two lines of David’s descendants. According to Matthew chapter one, Jesus is not that simple. He is Jehovah the Savior and Emmanuel, God with us. Christ is the Son of David, the Son of Abraham, the seed of the woman, Jehovah the Savior, and Emmanuel, God with us. In chapter two He is visited as a king. Thus, chapter two reveals that He is the King. In chapter three this King is recommended and anointed, and in chapter four He is tested, qualified, and approved. Then, after His testing, this King came into His ministry. By means of His ministry, He attracted crowds. After giving the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens, He continued His ministry, doing some signs with a dispensational significance. These miracles signify that He came with salvation firstly to the Jews and then turned from the Jews to the Gentiles. These signs also signify that after the fullness of the salvation of the Gentiles, Christ will bring His salvation back to the Jews. Then will take place the restoration of the whole earth during the time of the millennium. At that time all diseases will be healed. Through this continuation of the King’s ministry, an environment — a feast — was prepared. This feast came out of Christ’s ministry. Through His ministry, the Lord gained a sinner, a tax collector named Matthew, who prepared a great feast for the Lord and His disciples. To this feast Matthew also invited a great many of his friends, who also were sinners and tax collectors. There is a proverb which says that we know what kind of person you are by looking at your friends. Matthew, a tax collector, had friends who were tax collectors and sinners. The feast prepared by Matthew was the right environment for the Lord to reveal Himself as the Physician, the Bridegroom, the new cloth to cover us, the new wine to fill us, and the new wineskin to preserve the wine we have received. Christ in all these aspects was revealed through the environment brought forth by His ministry.
The situation is the same today. Without the ministry, nothing of Christ and nothing concerning the church could be revealed. I cannot simply gather some people together and deliver them a lecture. In that kind of environment I simply have nothing to say. But in the proper environment I can tell you about one item of Christ after another. What a Christ we have! We need to thank the Lord for His ministry and for the environment He creates through His ministry. Even the Pharisees of the old religion and the disciples of John of the new religion were used by the Lord. The old religion gave the Lord Jesus the opportunity to reveal Himself as the Physician, and the new religion gave Him the opportunity to reveal Himself as the Bridegroom, the new cloth, the new wine, and the new wineskin. We need to say, “Thank you, Pharisees, and thank you, disciples of John. Without you, we could not have such a vision of Christ. We would never know that our heavenly King is the Physician, the Bridegroom, the new cloth, the new wine, and the new wineskin.”
When I was young, I read through Matthew chapters eight and nine without seeing anything. I read about the new cloth, the new wine, and the new wineskin, but none of these things made any impression on me. Later, in the proper environment, my eyes were opened to see how sweet and pleasant the Lord Jesus is. Oh, He is our Bridegroom! How pleasant! He is the new cloth, our covering, and the new wine to fill us up. And He is also the new wineskin, the container. I also came to see the four kinds of Christians indicated by these items: the modernists, the fundamentalists, the inner life people, and the church people. I am glad to be among the church people. I enjoy being in the new wineskin. I am covered by the new garment, I am drinking the new wine, and I am in the new wineskin enjoying the presence of the Bridegroom. How wonderful this is! This is our Christ! Today, we do know what the church is. We are churching Christ! In the Lord’s recovery Christ is our Bridegroom, our new garment, our new wine, and our new wineskin. Therefore we may coin a new phrase: we are “churching Christ.”
In 9:18-34 we have the repetition of signs with dispensational significance. These verses give a brief picture of this age and the coming age. Hence, this record is also with dispensational significance, as that in 8:1-17. The daughter of the ruler of the synagogue represents the Jews, and the woman with the hemorrhage represents the Gentiles. When the daughter died, the woman was healed. After the woman was healed, the daughter was revived. Following this, two blind men and one dumb man were healed. This is a type, showing that when the Jews are cut off, the Gentiles are saved and that after the fullness of the salvation of the Gentiles, the Jews will be saved (Rom. 11:15, 17, 19, 23-26). Following this, the millennium will begin, and at that time all the blind and the dumb will be healed (Isa. 35:5-6).
Verse 18 says, “As He was speaking these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshipped Him saying, My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live.” The ruler here was a ruler of the synagogue (Mark 5:22; Luke 8:41) named Jairus, which means “he will enlighten,” or “enlightened,” signifying that the Lord will enlighten the Gentiles, and they will be enlightened (Acts 13:46-48). According to the record in Mark and Luke, this ruler’s daughter was twelve years of age. This ruler was interested in the heavenly King, but he did not have as much faith as the centurion. The centurion had told the Lord Jesus that He did not need to come to his home. It was sufficient for Him to speak a word. If this ruler of the synagogue had had this kind of faith, his daughter would have been healed. However, he asked the Lord to come to his home and to lay His hand upon his daughter. His faith could reach this far, no farther. Sympathizing with him, the Lord Jesus arose and followed him.
As the Lord was on the way to the ruler’s house, a woman who had been sick of a hemorrhage for twelve years “approached from behind and touched the fringe of His garment.” This woman suffered from a bloody flux, a flow or issue of blood (Lev. 15:25). The life of the flesh is in the blood (Lev. 17:11). Hence, this disease signifies the life that cannot be retained. The woman was sick for twelve years, the age of the daughter of the ruler (Luke 8:42). This woman approached the Lord from behind and touched the fringe of His garment, saying within herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be healed.” The woman here and the centurion in 8:5-10, both representing the Gentiles, came to contact the Lord in the same way, with faith. She was healed while the Lord was on the way to the ruler’s house. This signifies that the Gentiles are saved while Christ is on the way to the house of Israel.
The Lord’s garment signifies Christ’s righteous deeds, and the fringe signifies the heavenly ruling. According to Numbers 15:38-40, Israelite males had to wear a blue fringe on their garments, a ribbon in the color of blue. This meant that their lives, their walk, were restricted by a heavenly limitation. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He probably dressed in this way. Garments signify virtue in human behavior. In the human virtue of the Lord Jesus there was healing power. Therefore, when the sick woman touched the fringe of His garment, the power of His virtue went to her, and she was healed. Out of Christ’s heavenly-ruled deeds comes the virtue that becomes the healing power (Matt. 14:36).
The healing of the woman with the hemorrhage indicates that the Lord was met and caught by the Gentiles as He was journeying to the Jews. According to history, the Gentiles are sick, and the Jews are growing in order to die. In other words, the Gentiles are sick, and the Jews are dying. The Jewish girl was twelve years of age, and the woman had been sick for twelve years. For twelve years the woman suffered from the issue of blood, and for twelve years the girl was growing in order to die. This signifies that while the Gentiles are sick of sinful things, the Jews are growing in order to die. After the woman was healed, the Lord Jesus arrived at the home of the Jewish ruler, signifying that when the salvation of the Gentiles is in full, Christ will reach the house of Israel.
In verses 23 through 26 we have the healing of the synagogue ruler’s daughter. The daughter here and Peter’s mother-in-law in 8:14-15, both representing the Jews at the end of this age, were healed in a house by the Lord’s coming and direct touch. This indicates that at the end of this age all the remnant of the Jews will be saved in the house of Israel by the Lord’s coming and His direct touch (Rom. 11:25-26; Zech. 12:10).
When Jesus came into the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a tumult, He said, “Depart, for the girl has not died, but sleeps. And they ridiculed Him” (vv. 23-24). In His ministry, the Lord never cared for any crowd. Verse 25 says, “But when the crowd was put out, He entered and took hold of her hand, and the girl was raised up.” By this we see that the Lord Jesus intended to raise the Jews, but that they did not have the faith. This gave an excellent chance to the Gentiles to contact the Lord to receive salvation. After the fullness of the salvation of the Gentiles, the Lord Jesus will reach the house of Israel, and all the dead Jews will be healed.
Immediately after the raising of the ruler’s daughter, two blind men and a dumb man are brought to the Lord (vv. 27-33).
In verses 27 through 31 we have the healing of the two blind men. As the Lord Jesus passed by, “Two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, Have mercy on us, Son of David.” Blindness signifies lack of sight in seeing God and the things related to Him (2 Cor. 4:4; Rev. 3:18). These two blind men called the Lord the Son of David. In the millennial kingdom, which will be the restored tabernacle of David (Acts 15:16), the Messianic kingdom, the Jews will recognize Christ as the Son of David, and their blindness will be healed. This is typified by the two blind men recognizing Christ in this way. The two blind men were healed in the house by the Lord’s direct touch (v. 29), as were both the daughter of the ruler (v. 25) and Peter’s mother-in-law (8:14-15). The opening of the blind men’s eyes signifies the recovery of inward sight to see God and spiritual things (Acts 9:17-18; 26:18; Eph. 1:18; Rev. 3:18).
In verses 32 and 33 we see the healing of the demon-possessed dumb man. Dumbness by demon possession signifies the inability to speak for God (Isa. 56:10) and praise God (Isa. 35:6) due to the worship of dumb idols (1 Cor. 12:2). The speaking of a dumb man signifies the recovery of the speaking and praising ability by being filled with the Lord in the spirit (Eph. 5:18-19).
The healing of the blind and the dumb signifies the restoration to the people on earth during the millennium. Thus, these healings are a shadow of the millennium. In the millennium all the blind will see, and the mouths of the dumb will be opened. Isaiah 35:5 and 6 say, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing.” The blind will see God’s glory, and the dumb will speak of God’s glory. They will praise Him continually. The millennium therefore will be a time of restoration, a time of revival. Whenever there is a revival among Christians today, the blind eyes are opened, and the dumb mouths are opened. Before such a revival, so many Christians are blind, unable to see God or the things of God, and dumb, unable to speak a word for God. If those in the denominations today are asked to give a prayer, many are unable to do so and they will reply, “This is not my job, my profession. Ask the pastor to pray.” This indicates that they are possessed by a dumb demon. First Corinthians 12 reveals that we are not serving dumb idols. Thus, we must be speaking, bubbling. Our eyes are opened to see the things of God, and our mouths are opened to praise Him and to testify of Him. We all must be this kind of person. This healing is a shadow, a miniature, of the coming millennium.
Verse 34 says, “But the Pharisees said, He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.” The ruler of the demons is the Devil, who is called Beelzebub (12:24). This blaspheming word by the Pharisees is a stronger continuation of the rejection of the heavenly King by the leaders of Judaism.
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Now we come to the enlargement of the King’s ministry (9:35—10:15).
The continuation of the King’s ministry in chapter nine brought forth another situation that enabled Him to reveal Himself. After the healing of the woman with the flow of blood, the raising of the young girl, and the healing of the two blind men and the dumb man, the Lord is revealed as the Shepherd and as the Lord of the harvest.
Verse 35 says, “And Jesus went about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every sickness.” Every disease and every sickness in this verse signify spiritual illness.
Verse 36 says, “And seeing the crowds, He was moved with compassion concerning them, because they were harassed and cast away as sheep not having a shepherd.” This indicates that the heavenly King considered the Israelites as sheep and Himself as the Shepherd. When Christ came to the Jews the first time, they were like lepers, paralytics, demonpossessed, and all manner of pitiful persons, because they had no shepherd to care for them. Now in His kingly ministry for the establishing of His heavenly kingdom, He ministered to them not only as a Physician, but also as a Shepherd, as prophesied in Isaiah 53:6 and 40:11.
In the midst of the situation portrayed in verse 36 the Lord revealed Himself as the Shepherd. This is a further revelation. He is not only the Physician and the Bridegroom, but also the Shepherd. Without the further continuation of His ministry, this environment would not have been produced. Therefore, we see once again that in order to have Christ revealed to us, we must have the ministry to bring forth a certain environment. The great feast attended by tax collectors and sinners was an excellent opportunity for the Lord to reveal Himself as the Physician. Furthermore, the environment when so many were rejoicing and feasting together gave the Lord the opportunity to reveal Himself as the Bridegroom, the new cloth, the new wine, and the new wineskin. Then in verse 36 when the Lord was moved with compassion because of having seen the people harassed and cast away as sheep not having a shepherd, He could reveal Himself as the Shepherd.
In verse 37 the Lord said to His disciples, “The harvest indeed is vast, but the workers are few.” The heavenly King considered the people not only as sheep, but also as the harvest. The sheep needed shepherding, and the harvest needed reaping. Although the leaders of the nation of Israel rejected the heavenly King, there was still a good number among the people that needed reaping.
The King of the heavenly kingdom considered Himself not only the Shepherd of the sheep, but also the Lord of the harvest. His kingdom is established with things of life that can grow and multiply. He is the Lord who owns this crop. We are both the flock and the crop. The flock is made up of living animals and the crop of living vegetation. Under the hand of the Lord Jesus, nothing is lifeless. He does not care for lifeless things, but for things that are living. Everything under the care of this heavenly King is living.
We all need to see a vision of the Lord Jesus as the Lord of the harvest. In verse 38 the Lord told us to beseech the Lord of the harvest that He may thrust out workers into His harvest. Firstly, in His economy, God has a plan to accomplish. Then His economy requires His people to beseech, to pray, for it. In answering their prayer, He will accomplish what they have prayed concerning His plan. Many times when we sense the need for workers, we sound out the call for help. But from now on, whenever you sense the need for workers, you must firstly pray to the Lord of the harvest, saying, “Lord, here is Your harvest. You are the Lord of the harvest. We call on You to thrust out some reapers. Lord, send more reapers into Your harvest.” Praying like this will make a difference. To pray like this means that we have seen a vision that our Christ, the kingly One, the Shepherd, is the Lord of the harvest. Whenever you pray that the Lord would send reapers into His harvest, you honor Him very much. How different this is from inviting people to help you in your work! When you do that, you do not honor Christ as the Lord of the harvest. Rather, it is a matter of your work, not of His harvest. You become the master of that work, and He is not considered as the Lord of the harvest. Therefore, we need to call on Him and say, “Lord, You are the Lord of the harvest. The work in this field is Yours, and this harvest is Your crop. We call on You for Your crop. Lord, send Your reapers.”
Recently, a brother told me that the church life in his locality was wonderful and that I should come there for a visit. Although this brother’s talk was nice, it was rather natural. It had no vision whatever. Instead of inviting me, this brother should have prayed, “Lord, the church in my locality is the harvest of the heavenly King. Lord of the harvest, I call on You to send reapers.” Is the church in your locality your harvest or His harvest? Since it is the Lord’s harvest, you have no right to invite others to go there to labor. To do this is to infringe upon the Lord’s honor. In doing this you fail to recognize that you are not the Lord. He is the Lord of the harvest. The only thing you can do is to ask Him to thrust out reapers. We need further revelation regarding this aspect of the Lord.
I believe that the twelve disciples prayed according to the Lord’s word. Although the Bible does not tell us this, I believe that they did pray. It is a principle in the Bible that, whenever you pray to the Lord for something, the Lord will send you to accomplish that for which you have prayed. The twelve disciples prayed for the Lord of the harvest to send out reapers, and the Lord answered their prayer by sending them out. Whoever prays will be the one sent. For example, you may pray to the Lord regarding the shortage of elders. (However, do not pray according to your ambition, lest the Lord not answer your prayer.) You may simply pray, “Lord, there is the need of elders.” After a certain period of time, the Lord may say, “How about you?” This is the principle. The twelve prayed, and eventually the twelve were sent out.
In 10:1-4 we have the appointment of the twelve apostles. Prior to chapter ten the Lord carried out His kingly ministry alone. But beginning in this chapter the twelve apostles were added for the enlarging, the spread, of the ministry.
Verse 1 says, “And calling His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them authority over unclean spirits, so that they should cast them out and heal every disease and every sickness.” The authority here to cast out unclean spirits and heal diseases is a foretaste of the power of the coming age (Heb. 6:5), that is, of the millennium, in which all demons will be cast out and all diseases healed (Isa. 35:5-6).
In verses 2 through 4 the names of the twelve apostles are given. An apostle is a sent one. Now the twelve disciples (v. 1) were to be sent, thus becoming the twelve apostles. In sending out the twelve apostles, the Lord arranged them in pairs: Simon Peter and Andrew, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean and Judas Iscariot. We need to be impressed with this principle. We all must be paired. None of us, especially the young people, should go anywhere by ourselves. We need another one to match us. Look at your eyes, ears, nostrils, lips, shoulders, arms, hands, legs, and feet: your body is arranged in pairs. Whenever you are burdened by the Lord to go to a certain place, do not go by yourself. Rather, go in pairs. If you do not have another one to match you, you will miss the blessing. In order to receive the blessing, you must be paired. This is not my opinion; it is the Lord’s economy. Hence, we all must learn the lesson to be paired, to be matched with others.
Mark and Luke list Matthew before Thomas (Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15), but Matthew, the writer of this book, lists himself after Thomas. This shows his humility. In verse 3 Matthew specifically designates himself as the tax collector, remembering his salvation, perhaps with gratitude. Even a despised and sinful tax collector could become an apostle of the King of the heavenly kingdom. What a salvation!
Simon the Cananaean was paired with Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed the Lord. “Cananaean” comes from the Hebrew kanna, zealous, referring to a Galilean sect known as the Zealots, not to the land of Canaan (see Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13). Iscariot is a Greek word, probably from the Hebrew, which means a man of Kerioth. Kerioth is in Judah (Josh. 15:25). Thus, Judas was the only apostle from Judea; all the rest were Galileans.
In 10:5-15 we have the way to spread the gospel of the kingdom to the house of Israel. In verses 5 and 6 we see that the Lord Jesus charged the twelve apostles not to go into the way of the nations or into a city of the Samaritans, but only to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” The nations were the Gentiles, and the Samaritans were a mixture of Gentiles with Jews (2 Kings 17:24; Ezra 4:10; John 4:9).
The twelve apostles were sent to the house of Israel and were charged not to go to the nations nor to the Samaritans. Those who are sent by the Lord have the authority of the Lord. When the Lord sent out the twelve, He gave them authority. Whenever we are sent, we must believe that the Lord’s authority is with us.
Verse 7 says, “And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.” Even by this time the kingdom of the heavens had not come, but had only drawn near.
As they were sent out to preach the kingdom of the heavens, the apostles were authorized to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons (v. 8). They should exercise such an authority in their commission.
In verses 9 and 10 the Lord said, “Do not acquire gold, nor even silver, nor even copper in your belts, nor a bag for the way, nor even two tunics, nor even sandals, nor even a staff; for the worker is worthy of his food.” The twelve apostles (sent to the house of Israel, not to the Gentiles), as workers worthy of their food, did not need to bring their living necessities with them. (However, the Lord’s workers sent to the Gentiles should take nothing from the Gentiles — 3 John 7.) This principle was changed when the Lord was fully rejected by the house of Israel (Luke 22:35-38).
Verses 12 and 13 say, “And as you enter into the house, greet it; and if the house indeed be worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.” When the Lord sends us, we have the presence, the peace. Wherever we are sent, the authority, the presence of the Lord, and the peace follow us. This is the reason the Lord told the apostles to look for one worthy of their peace. He seemed to be saying, “Look to see who is worthy of your peace. If they don’t receive you, your peace will go with you when you go.” This means a great deal. To receive the Lord’s sent ones, the apostles, means to receive the presence of the Lord and the peace. To reject them means to reject the presence of the Lord and the peace. It is not an insignificant matter to be sent by the Lord, for as sent ones, we become the Lord’s representatives. We have His authority, His presence, and His peace. Wherever we go, we bring these things with us. Whoever receives us will have the Lord’s presence and the Lord’s blessing. It is in this way that the ministry of the King is spread.
In verses 14 and 15 the Lord said, “And whoever does not receive you nor hear your words, as you go out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Truly I say to you, It will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.” This indicates that the punishment of God’s judgment is in varying degrees. To reject the Lord’s apostles and their words will cause more punishment than the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah.
This is the way the ministry of the King is enlarged. It has spread from the traveling of One to the traveling of the twelve. This spread of the ministry will produce another environment for a further revelation of the heavenly King. We shall see this environment and this revelation in chapters ten and twelve. We thank the Lord for His ministry, for the continuation of His ministry, and especially for the spread of His ministry. It is through the ministry that the environment is brought forth for the revelation of the kingly Christ.
