Matthew 11
From prison, John the Baptist sent two of his disciples to the Lord to ask if He was the one to come or should he look for another? The Lord showed the two disciples of John His miracles and said, "Show John again those things which ye do hear and see.... And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me." The miracles and preaching proved who Jesus was, without John, yet the Lord valued John in his mission as the forerunner.
Jesus spoke to the company about John. "What went ye out into the wilderness to see?... a prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.... Among them that are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding, he that Is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." John was not in the kingdom of heaven; it had yet not begun when he was put to death.
To be in the kingdom of heaven on the earth now is the greatest privilege and blessedness ever given to man. To be with Christ in His kingdom is greater than to know Him in His rejection on earth, as John did, for Christ is now glorified. John belonged to an order of things on the earth of which he was the end-the end of the Old Testament. "For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John."
In Matthew, one in the kingdom of heaven is one who, having repented, is born of the Spirit. After the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, the believers at Pentecost (when the Church was formed) were baptized by the Spirit into a heavenly family who call God, "Abba, Father."
The new order of the kingdom following Pentecost was among the Jews only until Stephen's death. In stoning Stephen, Israel formally rejected the Son of man's message presented by Stephen in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Jews as a nation were set aside and the Gentiles were brought in with the believing Jews, as is seen in Matt. 13. Later, the city of Jerusalem and its Jewish economy were destroyed by Titus, the Roman general, in the year 70 A.D.
"And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." Those who follow Christ, the sons of the kingdom of heaven, enter in by spiritual energy given by the Father. They take the kingdom morally by force: that is, obstacles are overcome in order to enter the kingdom and, in the world to come, to have eternal life. The basis for entrance is the finished work of Christ, but to enter there must be a response from the heart.
John was the "Elias, which was for to come." To understand this, we must understand that part of the scriptures were written as parables, riddles and dark sayings. The Lord did not mean that John was physically Elias, but that he carried on the ministry of Elias to bring Israel back to God from idolatry. In Mal. 4:5,6,5Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: 6And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. (Malachi 4:5‑6) Elijah is spoken of as the prophet coming before the day of the Lord. The character of his mission is to "turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers." This will be left for Jesus to do (Acts 3:2626Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities. (Acts 3:26)).
While Israel as a nation has rejected their Messiah, a little remnant has received Him, and so wisdom is justified of her children.
Jesus Reveals the Father
Jesus was rejected and opposed in His ministry by the leaders of Israel. Nevertheless, He thanked the Father who was Lord of heaven and earth, because He had hid these things regarding the kingdom of heaven from the wise and prudent, but had revealed them unto babes, sons of the kingdom of heaven, because it seemed good in His sight.
His rejection opened the door to the Gentiles. In Luke 2:3232A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. (Luke 2:32) we read that Jesus was a light to the Gentiles. In this verse the Gentiles are mentioned before Israel, showing the order, "Many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first." Jesus reveals the Father to whomsoever He will, Gentiles or any others.
Sovereign grace alone imparts life and blessing to whomsoever the Lord Jesus wills. God the Father's character of love shines forth on poor, miserable objects of the heart of Jesus in both soul and circumstances. The Lord Jesus' own secret as a man, which He would have us to learn, is total submission to the Father.
Jesus is the sole revelation of the Father. The Father has delivered all things into the hands of Jesus. "No man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him." 'The Father and the Son are bringing in the fruits of all that will take place through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. (See also John 11:5252And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. (John 11:52).)
The Lord asks the little ones, the sons of the kingdom, to take His yoke upon them and learn of Him. He is "meek and lowly in heart" and in Him they find rest for their souls. "For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." Are you and I sons of the kingdom?