This chapter continues to verse 45; from verse 46, the Lord enters afresh into Judaea as Jehovah and King, Son of David.
The Lord now put Himself, as it were, close to Judea, but in contrast with it, outside it, in connection with it but now not within-a picture of His real place in dispensation as we have seen. But though now in principle without the camp, other glory and other revelations having come in, yet still His own mercy and patience unexhausted, the multitude come to Him there, for now they were to go out to Him, and, "as his custom was, he taught them." But this soon brought into question His relationship with the law of Moses. The Pharisees came to Him with this much-discussed question: Was it lawful to put away a wife for every cause? He refers them to their own authority: What says Moses? He permitted a divorce. To the lawgiver first-their own authority-but not their discussions, the question must be taken. But the Lord hereby assumes entirely a new position-a Judge of the Law itself, not condemning it, but accounting for its character in such provisions, and assigning it a temporary place. There could not be a more important principle in His controversy with them, nor one more consistent with, and flowing indeed from the place, which we have seen Him so distinctly assume, of the great moral principles of relationship with God. "Moses, for the hardness of your hearts, gave you this commandment, but from the beginning it was not so." What an account of their dispensation! Its stability and consequence! It hung on principles different from what God had instituted in blessing at the beginning, because of the hardness of their hearts now fully manifested. "Moses gave You this commandment,... but God made them male and female from the beginning of the creation." He was settling things now according to God's institution of them, not acquiescing in temporary arrangements of dispensation. Taking up God's institution at Creation into His own Person as Second Adam, the law entered; in this light God now returns in this place of Christ to His own thoughts; the hardness of man's heart had exhausted itself in evil, there was no more use in provision, patient provision for it, for the greatest provision, even Christ, had been rejected. God returns to pursue His own thoughts, dispensation being useless. I cannot but think Christ here treats the Jewish Remnant as His father and mother, and the Church as His wife. Thus, turning to this original creation purpose, one founded on deeper and more eternal things than anything in the law, for the dispensation of the Church is the manifestation by the Holy Ghost of that which the Church in the mind of God shall be when united to Christ, when its blessedness is complete. Hence the heavenly Jerusalem is looked at beyond the millennium; Rev. 21. The Church are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones, which is never true of the Jewish people, though, in a general sense, married to Jehovah. It is not a real union, as the union of the Church with the risen Jesus. This is God's act and work, the plan of His new Creation as of His old. But so far from sanctioning Moses' law whoever does it commits adultery, and if a woman (which Moses' law never sanctioned) did it she committed adultery. It was from the nature of the bond of God. And we may add, never had He rejected and given up the Jewish people. They had rejected Him and committed adultery, but He had been ever and unfailingly faithful to them. If He gave them up, it was that they rejected and refused them-this as to their responsibility; He will show His faithfulness in grace much more. As Second Adam the Church was His spouse; as Jehovah they had rejected Him; and, Head of the new Creation, the Church was His Bride. This was now brought out by their rejection of Him. As Second Adam He was never Bridegroom of the Jewish company-as Jehovah He was. They were unfaithful to Him then, not He to them. As second Adam, now just brought out, He takes His own real place. They had now on their lips: "We have no king but Caesar." They were an adulterous generation. All Jewish pride, wisdom, and learning was set aside too. A child, and its simplicity, was what was wanting for, and to enter into the Kingdom of God; "of such is the Kingdom of God." If a man did not come to receive, if he did not come with the simplicity which found the truth there, he could not enter. Man was a mere sinner; good must be found elsewhere. All the learning, and wisdom, and information of Moses and discussions of his principles and meaning, was all just hindrance, unless it brought to the discovery of the utter ignorance, evil, and ruin in all this, "because of sin. Then would a man the rather come as a child. Christ had to confound and confute, or reprove and set aside the doctors. He had only to receive the child; what did the child find there? What did he not, in the riches of God's own blessing in the Mediator, in whom all fullness dwelt, in grace and supply to need? This was clearly the way to come. All He had to do here was to warn them of the truth-a truth present circumstances brought into such relief-and then to call, take them in His arms, lay His hands upon, and bless recipients as received. But we have then the question raised on more detailed ground, and the principles on which the conscience rests. Here we have had mind, and knowledge, and pride, contrasted, as hindrances, with the sweet and blessed grace which receives these little ones, that they may receive blessing; now the question of conscience, righteousness and goodness-what was to be found of it in man-or where goodness was to be found, and what temporal advantages and race availed to these-the things to the now position of the Kingdom of God, i.e., its real truth; for to a Jew they were promised blessings. This also was a hindrance. All natural (apparent) advantages were a hindrance. So Christ judged, and teaches, for God's thoughts are not as our thoughts.
-17. And as Jesus went forth into the way, one attracted by the gracious goodness manifested in Jesus, His ways, and His teaching, and His Person, came and running to Him with alacrity-the hasty feeling of the flesh, no sense of His own nothingness, but what was most amiable as a creature, thought he had nothing to do but just to get the instruction required from One so evidently marked by grace, and to sail with full sails in race and willingness, as he was, into the enjoyment of eternal life. He had mistaken the whole matter; his nature was all wrong; the hardness of that did not come into his calculation. Conscience was un-awakened-the only real instructor of the state of all things, because, when taught of God, it knows it in itself. "Good Master," saith he, " what shall I do to inherit eternal life? " What a willing mind! would we have said. How encouraging, and amiable! How to be drawn on in such a course! There was ignorance of the first principles of truth now brought to light. He knew nothing and speaking only under the delusion of the enemy, though in the amiableness of the flesh, he knew not himself. The Lord stops him quite short. He came to Him as a Teacher, setting Him up Jewishly as such, in this ardent flow of youth. " Why callest thou me good," says Jesus; thus casting all this hope down in the young man's estimate of himself, and goodness- he must reject it all. It would have been contrary to God. "There is none good but God." Had He answered to the young man's mind and question, Jesus would to him have denied the first principle of truth, the very point the young man needed-we ALL need. The law had said, "This do, and thou shalt live," but it included all. The young man, taking this principle on the assumption of his own goodness (which, if it had existed, could not have wanted the law) not the conviction of sin by it, asks what the good thing is that he should do, seeing Christ's holy wisdom and walk. The Lord, having stated the principle that none was good but God, takes the second table, so-called, and proposes these commandments to him. The young man, anxious to evince his desire to do right, and his avidity for eternal life as proposed as a portion of God for the soul, arrests the Lord with the answer: "All these have I kept from my youth." There was something exceedingly amiable in all this-it may be without knowledge of himself, but this alacrity of heart-the flowers of a weed are often fair, and if they bear no fruit it, as to nature however fallen, God, who has so clothed the grass, He who made it and could look with that separated eye of goodness which could rise over the sin, and separate the creature in His own holiness, could recognize this. His heart was not unaffected by it; looking upon him, He loved him. It was very attractive. It is not to be above sin always to be occupied with the evil; he who lives in his mind in good, will congenially recognize the good handiwork of God, marred and ruined as it may be and is. It was the same thing, the same intimacy with what good was which made the Lord say: " There is none good but God," and love the young man. Nor did the ignorance of his judgment arrest, but rather draw out the compassionate love of the Savior.
Still He did not fail to apply the probe: "One thing thou lackest." He must know his own heart. Of this he knew nothing, and nothing really of God in the claim he had on it. Outward evil to his neighbor he had not committed, and there was no doubt of his natural sincerity. It was the fairest possible specimen of the natural man in the flesh under the law. It had no common term, amiable as it was, with the kingdom of God. That, in discovering the heart, and going deeper than nature's judgment, bringing in God, good indeed, but alone good, found and demonstrated all sinners. There may then be the fairest natural exercises of heart, fulfilling in responsibility that in which we stand related to man, but when it comes to a question of the soul with God, and a heart resting on Him, according to His estimate of things all may be wanting. For this point the Cross is the test. In self-relinquishment, "Go, sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor." The principle of selfishness must be got rid of, and be replaced by love, "And you shall have treasure in heaven." Here the real character of the desires was tried. " And come, follow me "; here, the giving up the glory, honor, judgment of the world entirely closing with this plain truth, taking up thy cross-that is where I am leading hearts here, at least it is all I can put before them. If they prefer Me, it is in following Me they will find this. Thus love, heavenly-mindedness, attachment to Christ, and by and in that giving up and despising the world and its judgment, taking up the cross-these were the things proposed. And the young man, who outwardly was righteous enough-that was not the thing wanting-went away; he was grieved at that, and " went away sorrowful," for he had great possessions. That one thing contained in his heart the opposite of all Christ proposed-love, heaven, Christ despised, and the cross.
-18. This verse seems strange to some minds, but we are apt to take words from Scripture out of connection. The fact is they strike precisely at the moral root of the whole evil in the young man's mind as regards his internal moral judgment, or rather blindness. And see Griesbach's text of Matt. 19:17: " Why askest thou me about the good? One is good." See note on Psa. 16
There was doubtless gracious acceptance dispensationally. As far as he went, the man was seeking goodly pearls, but he was not prepared to sell all things for a pearl of greater price; it is knowledge of its value when brought before us leads to this-men rest upon the language; see Matt. 19, in this case, " If thou wouldest enter into life, keep the commandments."
-21. Lo, the fruit of the Lord's love! Does it preeminently show (except the coveting, which was a question of the power of grace) the man had kept, in act, all the commandments, and lacked one thing, which one lacking kept him out of the Kingdom of heaven? I see not what they gain by such a testimony as this. It is hardly necessary to observe that it is not "What must I do to be saved? " The force of the passage is as simple and plain as possible. Two things are wanted- apprehension of the Object, and faith in the power of the offerer; they will be found practically identical.
-27. I cannot doubt the Lord's answer refers to those words among themselves, which drew our Lord's look upon them: "Who then can be saved? " " All things "-what ground does this set it upon? And then recollect, "All things are possible to him that believeth."
The principles of the Kingdom were now coming more clearly out, and its heavenly character; none therefore good but God; heavenly-mindedness, suffering with Christ, and taking up the cross, love to the despised poor, characterizing it here. And the disciples were now to be accustomed to this; their Master was now really Jewishly rejected. They must be familiarized with, and instructed in the new principles of the Kingdom. Looking about upon His disciples, He said: " How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the Kingdom of God! " It is not in the shape of eternal life or salvation it is put here, though both may be involved, because in that light it is pure gift; but here, because of its nature and character, for the actual hindrances acting upon men's minds on its proposal, are noted of God-a warning and deep instruction to His saints. He cannot, and we may say that in every sense, compromise His principles for man's passions; He could not in them be called their God. To a Jew He was their God in riches in their basket and in their store, but their sin-the sin of all men in truth-brought out in His hand deeper truth. The detection of sin by the law then was the last thing the flesh thought of in it. The disciples were themselves astounded with the idea that one with the best advantages, and favored most, fairest to the eye of the flesh, could hardly enter into the Kingdom they had before them. It baffled their thought, and the Lord answered them to bring down to their apprehension as children, their childish thoughts. Yet in His gracious affection, yet with much deeper rebuke to them-for grace ever rebukes most deeply, for it is not in anger, but puts the pure evil in its true light-" How hardly shall they that trust in riches enter into the Kingdom of God." Now it was evident, though perhaps in ignorance, the flesh still having such influence over their minds, that they did by their astonishment. It gave the cause of the difficulty without modifying the statement, and therefore the Lord adds at once, stronger almost than before: "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." It is a strong, and solemn statement, and alters the character of the Kingdom wonderfully to men's minds, and stamps it most significantly as contrary to all their thoughts. We have a constant tendency to get practically off this ground. They felt the force of this, that it struck at all human calculations, and said: "Then who can be saved? "The Lord's answer settles the whole question between, the flesh, law and grace: "With men it is impossible." There is the whole matter. The most favorable circumstances do not alter this, except in some sense for the worse, because the flesh cherishes them for itself. But then it is not so with God-blessed be His Name-because He can act in creating, changing power, and therefore let us be ever so bad and hopeless, here is our resource, and our hope: " With God all things are possible." There it all rests. It is wholly impossible with man. When God acts, He can do what He pleases. He is wise, holy and powerful to produce His own effects. Here the whole thing rests. It is a change of the very nature of the question-man quite set aside, what he is, what he can do. And then a new thing, God in His own power in grace acting there, what could He not do? How deeply, though as yet little developed, are the principles of the Kingdom brought out in all this passage! There cannot be a more important one as to the nature of the Kingdom-" Who can be saved? " For there it is taught, let a man be ever so lovable, and in all apparent willingness, it comes to nothing when the test is put. Look at that young man, and the solution that it comes to, and all is settled-all to condemn us as ungrateful, and utterly worthless, and to exalt God as alone good, and the only Source of good and blessing to us in our souls. Then, let it be the worst, and He can make them what His own life-giving and communicative goodness produces. So, often we see the last first in this, and first last. The consequences of this principle of grace in the Kingdom then follow here—its introduction into the blessed power of God's grace towards us, and so to the chief of sinners.
[Enough of Mark remains to nearly fill the next part, in which, the Lord willing, it will be continued.]