After the presenting Himself, and the principles of His kingdom in the midst of the people, and then, on rejection, declared that He was a server (not a fruit gatherer) and the character of His kingdom as thus set up on His rejection, what follows chapter 13, and on the actual rejection, and death of John Baptist, is the retirement of Jesus, and a testimony against the nation, but of continuous, sovereign goodness to the poor of the flock, whether then or hereafter, as in the double feeding, and then the Church and the Kingdom in glory.
There is also a looking out to the full millennial blessing, not only in the satisfying the poor with bread, but in the looking out to the Gentiles-yet these owning themselves as inferior to the Jews, dogs compared with the children, yet having to say to God in grace, having all their desire in connection with Him.
This chapter brings out distinctly John's rejection (and the apostate king thus) but the Lord still in fact waits on Israel, though appreciating this act; verse 13. But the real bearing of all this, and result, is figured forth clearly in the close of the chapter. This itself connects the present state of the Jews, as rejecting and set aside, with the close of the dispensation. The interval is Christ on high, and the disciples toiling below, but they do not lose their Remnant character on earth. All is willingness on the other side, as those in the ship own His personal glory. The moral history of all this is given in the following chapter, and the manner of introducing the worst of the Gentiles in grace-the Jews being still owned in their place, but this by faith-chapter 11:22, in outward government. In the close, while still in fact dealing with Israel in Jehovah blessing, it is after rejection.
After the rejection, often remarked, of the Jews on their rejection of Christ in chapter 12, and the sowing and likeness of the Kingdom of heaven in chapter 13, we get the working of the principles of this process of rejection or breach between Messiah and Israel, and then, after the statement or exhibition of the new thing (the Church and Kingdom) the principles of the Church and Kingdom as regards those in it. This makes the middle part of Matthew most clear in order, and interesting. The series begins with verse 54 of chapter 13. He is the carpenter's Son for Israel, rejected in His own country.
Chapter 14 begins the active and violent rejection-John is put to death. Christ takes notice of this, and departs into the 'wilderness. Still, as long as could be, the grace of Christ exercises itself towards Israel, and, in the perfection of His divine and perfect human rights, He satisfies the poor with bread, and " the twelve " is the perfection of human governmental power-as in the twelve tribes of Israel. All this He came to present, knowing He was to be rejected, but sends the multitude away, and takes His priestly character, goes on the storm in which the disciples, the Remnant of Israel, would be, enters the ship, and the wind ceased. Peter's position is apart- the state of the Remnant before Christ gets into the ship, but then He is received where He had been once rejected when He had shown His power over Satan, but Satan his over the unclean. In chapter 15 we get the moral ground of all this breach-God would have real righteousness, the Pharisees, hypocritical outside service, drawing near with lip-service but in vain. All would go into the ditch together-the inside must be clean-but mercy reached on the other hand, in the very nature of God, beyond Israel, to the most reprobate of nations according to flesh, but not on the ground of being Son of David and promises, but of grace. Then Christ, in divine perfectness, not in connection with present Messiah government, feeds the Remnant and poor of the flock, who glorify the God of Israel. In chapter 16, as heretofore remarked, we have the generation rejected, and their spirit warned against, and the Church set up, for faith, on the Christ the Son of the Living God. But here the path was the Cross. He was no longer to be proclaimed Messiah to Israel. But not only the Church built by Christ, but the administration of the Kingdom of heaven confided to Peter. The Son of man was to be not merely as in Daniel, but to suffer, and come in glory. This Kingdom of glory is then shown in the Transfiguration. Elias was come already, had suffered, and so must the Son of man. The reason for His leaving that generation was their unbelief-even His disciples, so that if He were not there they even could not cast out Satan, dispel that evil power which hung on man; with a word He could. There was not in them that nearness to God in which this power was exercised in abstraction from nature, and its force was wanting. However, by faith the mountain could be removed, and so it was afterward. Then the Lord (who revealed the Father) shows that He and the disciples (Peter) had the place of children (Peter specially represented the Kingdom) with Jehovah. But then, not to offend, they were to take the place of servants and pay tribute. The character in which, for faith, Christ is to be heard is not Son of man nor Christ, though He be both, but Son of God.
Thus, from chapter 13: 54, to the end of chapter 15, we have the principles working connected with Christ's then relationship to the Jews, and its being closed; chapter 16 we have the Church, the Kingdom of heaven, and, chapter 17, the Son of man coming in His Kingdom (till then, Son of God to be heard). From chapter 18 we have the principles which belong to the Kingdom of heaven and Church, when they are set up, down to chapter 20: 28.
The order of this chapter is more complete and full than I had remarked. The first parable is not the Kingdom of heaven, though it be “the word of the Kingdom "-it is individual; still the outward effect on the sowing of the word, not the question of grace, or how produced, but the fact and the hindrances, what operates morally, i.e., we have the effect of the word in individuals. Then the Kingdom, the effect of the word in the world, and then God's part in the matter in purpose, or spiritual understanding.
I have not sufficiently noticed, I think, that this chapter comes after the rejection of Israel, on their rejecting Christ and the Kingdom of heaven in chapter 13. Hence we have the apostate King, and, that for which I now notice it, Jehovah, in His beneficence, unchanged according to Psa. 132, satisfying the poor with bread, and perfection of administration in Man- fragments gathered, but the twelve baskets full. Then the intermediate scene. He sends the disciples away, lone as the waves (the Remnant, when He is gone)-He sends the multitude away-goes up on high-is perfect Master of what tosses them-and, with the episode of Peter (which is more Christian place, going out to meet) rejoins the ship, all is calm, and the world that had rejected Him receives Him with joy, and He brings power in blessing.
I pursue the chapters a little. In this chapter, we have the false king, and Jehovah who satisfies the poor with bread according to promise, to be accomplished in the last day (manifested then) when He will gather up the fragments, and make a perfect human order and ministration out of it-twelve—as often noticed. Promises here will be fulfilled, and the Jehovah of old present in power. Then He dismisses the disciples on the sea of this world, while He is on high. Peter comes out of the ship, to walk on the sea where He was. Then they are at land, and the world, which once rejected Him, receives Him gladly. In chapter 15 He goes deeper. It is not promise with a people, but man with God-man's religiousness against God's commandments-hypocrisy contrasted with righteous obedience in what was real. But there was more than commandments-the state of man's heart, and revelation of God's out of reach of all dispensations. Out of the heart of man proceed evil thoughts, etc. Then we have Tire and Sidon-models of hardheartedness, and Canaan, the accursed race; what would the Son of David have to say to these? Then faith, working in wants, makes its way through all these things to goodness in God, above and independent of them. He had something for dogs. Dispensational promise is, in itself, maintained, but God is seen in Himself behind and beyond it all, and cannot deny Himself-is revealed in Christ. Evil was out of man's heart-good, above all, out of God's. Then though they glorified the God of Israel, yet we have not the twelve baskets, connected with accomplishing promise, and measured perfection in man-seven baskets, God in His own displayed perfections, above mere human order, One and indivisible, but displayed as the highest sent. This, though recognizing promise, evidently goes deeper, bringing us to what man is, and to God.
I have been occupied with chapters 14 and 15, for they occupy evidently a special place between the mysteries of the Kingdom, on the judicial rejection of the Jews at the end of chapter 12 (which, note, goes on to the end of the age) and the Church, and Kingdom glory in chapters 16 and 17. The contents are naturally special, for the Kingdom is set forth in chapter 13, after the rejection of Judaism, and the Church, and glory of the Kingdom come after. What is this special place? It is plain that chapter 13 gives the Kingdom of heaven in the peculiar character it assumes when the King is in heaven not manifested, and, as Mark says, it grows and springs up, He, seemingly, knows not how. What then is brought out between this and the revelation of the Church on earth? It is the actual proof of present rejection, and the incapacity of the disciples to avail themselves of His then present power-the moral darkness of the scribes and Pharisees, the intrinsic falseness of their religious principles. But the disciples really got no farther. The Pharisees were not plants of God's planting at all-the disciples, blind in many things as they, were. The Lord is here getting on strong moral ground- what God had planted, and the human heart being the source of evil. Note the force of this-God, not Judaism, nor tradition, was the Source and Guide of good, and man's heart only of evil. But Christ, still in His own place, takes only His service in Israel, but He goes where one of the old accursed race, and of wicked Tire, has access to Him, and owns Him as Son of David. As such He could not help her, but this brings out that which must go beyond those limits-the goodness of God. This, to faith, He could not deny. Thus, while man's heart, even in the Jew, was only evil, God's was, could not but be, good, to faith. But He had not given up Israel, though all this were true, and the hungry multitude of Galilee are again fed, but the disciples are not now called upon to do it-He takes the loaves and does it Himself. The Remnant is not now the number which was the sign of perfect government in man, but of spiritual or divine perfection-seven, not twelve. It is grace above promise, not simply divine power able to fulfill it.
This leads me to say a few words more in detail of chapter 14. The work of rejection begins. John is beheaded, and Jesus retires, but only to find a multitude, and He meets them in grace. He then shows Himself as the Jehovah that was to satisfy the poor with bread, let Him be rejected by the nation as He may. But He expects the disciples to understand and use this power, but they do not-they judge by sight, "Give ye them to eat," "We have five loaves." Then He sends the disciples away while He is on high, and joins them still in the ship, connected, I apprehend, with Judaism which He had left to cross the world by divine power (our part). But Peter cannot-only that he was helped he was sinking-and the Jewish Remnant re-enters the ship, but with Christ. The walking on water was, I apprehend, in principle, Church position-walking simply by faith to meet Jesus, with no known fold, only by faith. When He rejoins the ship they own Him, not as Messiah in a carnal way and expectation, as even the disciples had done, but as Son of God, which was just what the nation would not do, and the disciples practically never did, though God taught individuals so. So the country of Gennesaret, which once rejected Him, now received Him with open arms. It is a divine Person then here, where not only Israel but the disciples could not own, or at any rate profit by His manifestation to Israel. We have then, as noted above, the moral judgment of Israel's state, and of their teachers, but again the disciples are without understanding. Yet in this very chapter, where essential divine principles of sin and grace are brought so clearly out, there is a special recognition of Israel. The Canaanitish woman not only called Him Son of David, but owned Israel as the children and herself as only a dog. The Lord takes this ground, though necessarily owning God to be good to others, and the people glorify the God of Israel.
On the whole, we have Israel rejecting the witness of God, Christ present as Emmanuel, the disciples, unable to profit by it, left and rejoined, moral principles of man's heart, and God's overflowing goodness, Israel rejected but owned. But plants must be of God's planting or rooted up. Still the Lord distinguished the disciples as possessed of personal faith (save of course Judas)-plants of the Lord's planting, and, when He now simply leaves the Pharisees, He appeals to that faith. Ignorant as they were of God's ways, and incapable of availing themselves of what Christ was, yet the inquiry addressed to their personal faith brings out the answer, given of the Father, of that on which, the Church should be built. They clung to Him, to His Person, when the nation rejected Him, and when even they could not profit rightly by His presence in Israel. But then, when Israel was for the time rejected, this Person became the foundation of everything. And the Lord who had put the question to draw out this distinctive faith, however prejudiced and buried in traditions even they were, at once recognizes the direct teaching of His Father. On this, now Israel was gone, the Church would be built. The contrast of verses 1-5, then 6-12, and what then follows is very striking. Read, in verse 18, "And I also say unto thee," in contrast or addition to the Father's revelation, and also to Peter confessing. He had said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God "-Christ says, " Thou art Peter," but this was authority, the really divine (or divinely given) title to give a name. The rest of the verse is a kind of parenthesis. By the revelation of what Christ was by the Father, he partook of the nature of the foundation, as all true believers do, though not distinguished as Peter. But the building of the Church comes out as Christ's new revelation, consequent on the setting aside of all preceding, leading up to the Father's revelation of His Son (to Simon) triumphant by His divine Person and nature over death, whence Satan's power could not prevail against it, though Israel's hopes in flesh were ended by His death, even the disciples'. But the Son of the living God would, on this title, build a Church over which Hades' gates could have no power to prevail. But Christ builds the Church, not Peter, but Peter does administer the Kingdom. Nothing is said to him as to having anything to do with the Church, save a name which shows his confession, put him into connection with it, for, if the Church was built on that truth, and he had confessed it as taught of God, he was (though the Church was not yet revealed or begun) in principle on the footing of it as to his acknowledgment of Christ. Hence they are now charged not to say He is the Christ—the Father has revealed Him in another way. The Kingdom of heaven he was to administer.