THE SABBATH, CHOOSING THE TWELVE AND
THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
Chapter 5 ended with the Lord's observation that men preferred old wine— in old bottles. They said the old is better." Now the Sabbath was the real "old bottle" of the Jewish system. It was the old wine as well. For it celebrated the rest of God in creation as given to us in Gen. 1. This was Israel's great link with God. So the sixth chapter opens with an incident on a Sabbath day.
Christ As the Lord of the Sabbath—6:1-12
On the Sabbath day the Lord's disciples are hungry. Going through the cornfields, they pluck the ears and eat them. This brings upon them the wrath of some— not all— of the Pharisees who ask them for an explanation of their unlawful action. The Lord, who is not recorded as eating the ears of corn, defends His disciples who did. He reminds them how David ate the show-bread which the law only permitted the priests to eat. Why did David do it? Because he was God's anointed and his rights were not recognized in Israel. So he fed his followers with the show-bread since the nation would not feed them. Here was David's son— yes— and David's Lord too. So "the Son of Man"— the rejected Man— is "Lord of the Sabbath also." God gave the Sabbath to Israel. They were to be refreshed by it as sharing God's rest in creation. If some in Israel subverted its use to put man into bondage, the One who gave it and was present as Son of Man would assert His lordship of the Sabbath to bring it back to its original purpose. All the Lord's miracles on Sabbath days have this underlying principle behind them— that Christ as Lord of the Sabbath would work the works of God to bless man on the Sabbath day.
Having established the principle, the Lord now carries it out. On another Sabbath day He heals a man in the synagogue whose right hand was withered— a figure of Israel, incapable of working for God apart from Christ. The scribes and Pharisees respond with evil intent for "they were filled with madness, and they spoke together among themselves what they should do to Jesus." The Lord retires into a mountain to pray. His response to man's evil is good. He is about to choose the twelve apostles, but would first be in communion with God about it. The latter part of verse 12 is easy to read but impossible to fathom— "and He spent the night in prayer to God.”
The Sermon on the Mount—6:20-38
Before preaching the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord chose His twelve apostles. The Lord had preached in the synagogue, the fishing boat, and now the mountain. He had shown the power of goodness in undoing Satan's work on man. But He would do more. The mountain speaks of what is exalted. We find the Lord so preaching as to draw the heart to God. In Matthew, the Sermon on the Mount is presented to unfold the principles of Christ's coming earthly kingdom. Not so here where the teaching is moral, the heart is to be reached so that both good and evil considerations are brought before us.
The Lord lifted up His eyes and said to His disciples, "blessed are ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of God." He did not bless the poor generally in this statement. Rather He said, "blessed are ye poor." They were blessed in a way not true of the other poor, because they had left everything to follow Christ and seek the kingdom of God. This was what made them poor. Peter had left his fishing, Levi his tax-gathering. The loss of income from their secular occupations left them poor. No matter, when the kingdom of God shall be manifested in the coming day, they shall be rich. But, for the present, like David's followers who ate the show-bread, they are identified with a rejected King so that the Kingdom of God becomes moral in character rather than visible. This being the case, those who would bow to the authority of Christ, the rejected King, must acknowledge the sway of His divine principles in their lives while He is presently rejected. What are these principles then?
The great sweeping principle is first of all that men must make a choice— for or against Christ. If you hunger or weep now, it is because you have chosen to obey a rejected Christ. The time will come to be filled or to laugh. Hunger is the need of the body, weeping or laughter the emotions. But it does not stop there. Persecution follows— v. 22— and, has this not been the story of the faithful from the beginning? A reward is promised for such in heaven. This was contrary to Jewish thought, which only looked for earthly blessing. In Luke, the blessings are followed by woes, commencing with the rich. The first woe is on those who have become rich by seeking this world and what it offers, and rejecting Christ. It is deliberate choice, the world being preferred to Christ. (Christ made a choice— He spurned the world in the temptation and did His Father's will instead.) The world has rewarded such. They are full now— with earthly riches. Their barns burst with plenty. They laugh and dance and demand the head of John the Baptist. The time is coming when the roles of the world and God's people will be reversed and the world shall hunger, mourn and weep. A general principle is added that approval of the masses all men speaking well of you— is an indication that a message is not of God. The present writer well remembers the late H. E. Hayhoe preaching and saying, "any sermon which gives any comfort at all to an unsaved man, is not of God.”
Following the blessings and woes, the Lord unfolds the great guiding principle of Christian conduct today— loving our enemies. This is in direct conflict with the great guiding principle of Judaism— to destroy our enemies— "let God arise, let His enemies be scattered." When Christians failed to grasp this distinction in the great religious wars between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism„ they had to learn another lesson: "for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." Matt. 26:5252Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. (Matthew 26:52). In Christianity, we are to love our enemies, bless those who curse us and pray for those who treat us shamefully. One might remark that if we fail to do so, God inflicts a present punishment on our natural bodies. Stored-up hatred leads to the disease of the body, as a physician will testify. The Lord gives many illustrations of this beauteous teaching, culminating in what men have often termed, "the golden rule"— "and as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise." This is not simply beautiful moral teaching to be admired, but principles which are to be worked out practically in Christian life. The angel said that Christ was to be great and the Son of the Highest. If we follow His teaching in our lives, we shall not be great— for He alone is— but our reward shall be great. We shall be the children of the Highest. Such are to show mercy. Mercy is always extended to individuals. Our Father is merciful. We, too, are to be merciful to those who need mercy. In this way we will be shown to be children of the Highest. The ground of the Lord's discourse has shifted here from the general to the particular. So we are not to judge. Again this is expressing judgment on an individual, for the Church is given authority to judge 1 Cor. 5:1212For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? (1 Corinthians 5:12). Instead we are to forgive. More than that— for forgiveness is negative we are to give, and freely too— "for with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”
Parabolic and Figurative Teaching—6:39-49
The Lord now moves away from direct teaching to teaching in the form of a parable. The Lord once said to His disciples— "it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven but to them it is not given." Matt. 13:1111He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. (Matthew 13:11). A parable requires someone to explain it. Many of the Lord's parables were not understood even by His own until after His ascension, when the Holy Spirit was sent down as the Great Teacher. Why did the Lord use such indirect teaching? It was because the people had rejected Him in their hearts and so were not capable of absorbing moral instruction. In our chapter such teaching as could be grasped had already been given. From here on the Lord resorts to parabolic teaching.
Can the blind lead the blind? He asks. Won't they both fall into the ditch? After twenty centuries, we see how imperishable the words of Christ are. Have not the liberal clergy who deny the inspiration of the Scriptures, been the blind leaders, and the masses the blind led? And have they not both fallen into the ditch— away from the straight road that leads to everlasting life? They moralize, write books on the secularization of Christianity, advocate the Church assuming a role in the world, etc. There is no personal reality to such a course. All is rank disobedience. The Church is being called out of the world to heaven, and the world is about to be dealt with by God and purified by judgment. Alas for those such as a late bishop who lost faith in everything at the end and tried to contact his dead son through mediums! Alas for the man who writes or preaches denials of the truth, so imparting his own unbelief to others. "Woe unto them," says Scripture, "for they have gone in the way of Cain." Jude 1:1111Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. (Jude 11). The believer notes their words and actions and leaves them to God, who judges righteously.
Following this, the Lord enunciates a principle that could easily be overlooked— that is as to the depth of its meaning— "the disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone that is perfected shall be as his teacher." This can only be understood in its context. The Lord has chosen His twelve Apostles. They are to be sent forth into the world to represent Him. This cannot be done without instruction, which He is giving them here. He is not talking about salvation, but teaching them the principles of being disciples —students. "Every one that is perfected [not all Christians] shall be as his teacher." It is a question of moral likeness to Christ, in a very real way, in a world where we can expect nothing but opposition to Him and His principles. Indeed, it is for that very reason that Christ here chose the twelve. The great desire of Jehovah was always to gather Israel. The Lord longed to gather Jerusalem as a hen her chickens under her wings, but their will opposed it.
So, in this chapter, the Lord establishes something new. He will gather disciples and Apostles around Himself, instruct them and send them out. The new gathering system would ultimately end in the Church— Matt. 18:2020For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:20)— although there is no suggestion of the Church here. What the chapter does give us is the preparation for transition from Israel gathered by Jehovah of old to the Church to be gathered to Christ Himself.
The disciple who follows the Lord will not go about finding fault with others when there is a more grievous fault with him. Why hasn't he perceived the major obstruction to the light in his own eye? Only when he has done that can he truly say "brother" and help him with the minor obstruction in his eye. It needs a clear seeing eye to do that, with no major obstruction in it. Trees are known by the fruit they produce. The heart is in question and the fruit of the heart comes out of the lips. Still there will be those who claim to be disciples and who cry "Lord, Lord." But, because they do not the things the Lord has just been talking about, their fruit is thorns and brambles, not figs and grapes. The concluding proof of this is what a man seeks in life and what he demonstrates by his life— not mere words of empty profession. The true disciple has to build in this life and in this world, just like the false professed disciple, for we cannot live in a vacuum— we must do something with life. The true disciple digs, goes deep until he strikes rock. Now he has a secure foundation— Christ Himself— for "who is a rock save our God?" 2 Sam. 22:3232For who is God, save the Lord? and who is a rock, save our God? (2 Samuel 22:32). In digging, he rejects the ground on which the professed disciple of Christ built his house. The true disciple threw away with his spade all that was superficial, resting only on Christ. Thus, his house stood the test, while the other man's fell. It is the culmination of the Lord's teaching that God is looking for reality— not merely hearing Christ's words, but doing them. The cost is rejection by men, but "your reward is great" (verse 23); living according to divine principles "your reward shall be great." Otherwise, a man's house will fall and its ruin will be great.