No. 1.
WE must regard these chapters as a whole. It is one of our Lord’s prophetic addresses, and enough to show the vast importance of the subject. It consists for the most part of things coming upon the earth. Those who love the Lord Jesus delight to dwell on His “words,” treasure up His “sayings,” and keep His “commandments.”
Since Jesus was exalted to the right hand of God, the Holy Ghost, the other Comforter, has come down, and it is of the highest importance always to bear this in mind; for while He brings the precious things of Christ, in His suffering and death, to our remembrance, He also shows us things to come. To refuse, therefore, to enter into the teaching of the prophetic Scriptures is to turn a deaf ear to what Christ Himself taught, and to declare that the office of the Holy Ghost, to show us “things to come,” is unnecessary.
We must at the outset can attention to the fact, that this prophetic discourse is only fully recorded in Matthew’s gospel. A fragment here and there may be found elsewhere; but the parables of the “talents,” “wise virgins,” and so-called parable of “the sheep” and “the goats,” are not found in any other part of Scripture. Those who are acquainted with the prominent purpose of each evangelist, would expect that things which have reference to Israel or to the kingdom would be found in Matthew. And why? Because Matthew gives us details of divine truth in connection with Christ as Messiah. Here we see that “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.” His genealogy is given as Son of Abraham, and Son of David. The circumstance of Herod and all the people of Jerusalem being troubled at the birth of “the King of the Jews,” the king’s edict to massacre all the children under two years, and the flight of Mary and Joseph with the young child into Egypt, are only given in this gospel. Here also the so-called sermon on the mount, detailing the principles on which the kingdom was to be set up, is fully recorded, as well as the parables of “the kingdom of heaven.” The expression, “end of the world” (age), and also the parable of the marriage supper, in which our Lord speaks of destroying the murderers, and burning up their city, is given only by Matthew. The bribing of the soldiers by the chief priests about the resurrection, and many other particulars, bearing especially upon Jewish things and people, are only recorded by this evangelist. But I must notice that Matthew alone omits the ascension of our Lord; for his business, as I have said, was to show Him especially in relation to the kingdom. We, therefore, find this evangelist concluding, by our Lord’s commissioning the twelve to disciple nations, which we expect to be accomplished on this earth in millennial times. It is no marvel then that in this gospel we find allusions to, and instruction concerning, the Jewish remnant yet to come upon this scene. But while thus calling attention to the special business of this evangelist, I do not say that there is not much for our instruction and profit in it. I am sure there is.
It is worthy of notice too, that in this gospel, so remarkably Jewish in its construction, we do get allusion to the Church not found elsewhere; but not until our Lord had been virtually rejected by Israel. They had gone about to destroy Him, and He had pronounced them to be a wicked and adulterous generation, incurably bad. (Matt. 12:14-45.) After this we find our Lord saving, “Upon this rock I will build my Church;” and also on another occasion after this He said, “Tell it unto the Church.” But I repeat, that these statements do not occur till after the hatred of the Jews had been brought out by their going about to destroy Him.
The end of the twenty-third chapter shows us our Lord formally taking leave of the nation of Israel as the rejected stone. He said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and YE WOULD NOT.” Our Lord here felt Himself to be the rejected one—the stone which the builders disallowed, and that His attitude of grace and mercy had been refused. He therefore adds the solemn words, “Behold your house is left unto you desolate.” A nation given up to desolation and judgment because of rejecting the Messiah; but not given up forever. Hence our Lord says, “Ye shall not see me henceforth till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.” He had called upon the sinful nation to “repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand;” but instead of repenting they said, “This is the heir; come, let us kill Him, and let us seize on his inheritance.” When, therefore, the people do repent, and are brought into that condition of soul to welcome their Messiah, saving, “Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord,” then, and not till then, will they see Him. This is simple enough. But it is important to bear in mind, that here it is the Lord taking His farewell of the Jews, and, on account of their sinful rejection of Him, giving them the hope of His coming to them again when they are brought to repentance. The true interpretation of what follows mainly depends on our clearly seeing this.
The Lord then leaves the temple. The disciples, however, call His attention to that building. But the sentence of One greater than the temple had gone forth, that the holy and beautiful city should be a scene of desolation. The Lord had left it. How could there be anything, therefore, but desolation? Can there be blessing where Christ is cast out? The people had rejected the Messiah, the One through whom all blessing could come, how could anything short of judgment then follow? Therefore, “Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.” The adorable Lord had come in His Father’s name, and they received Him not; and He knew that when another should come in his own name―the great deceiver and Antichrist― him they would receive. John had come with mourning and lamentation, neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and they said he had a devil; and Jesus had come eating and drinking with publicans and sinners, and publishing the glad-tidings of forgiveness of sins, and showing forth His power to bring in the kingdom; and they said, “Behold a gluttonous man and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners.” They so over and over again rejected Christ and His testimony, and hated Him without a cause, that Jesus leaves the temple, and speaks of the judgments that must inevitably follow. Nor will the people of Israel be brought into their blessings in the land of promise until they have passed through the needed chastisement, and received of the Lord’s hand double for all their sins. (Isa. 40:2.). Then will they say, “Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord;” and again, “O Jehovah, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.”