CHAP. 24:44-51
The first division of this discourse on the mount of Olives finishes with verse 44, and is followed by what pertains to the Christian profession. We should not mix up the two things. From verse 45 to 25:30 the title of “Son of man” disappears, and instead of His coming to judge the world as Son of man, it is as Master and Bridegroom for blessing. Surely the thought of His coming as Bridegroom and Judge would be a manifest incongruity! You cannot mix up a marriage, and a judgment scene, together. One is a season of joy, the other of terror. Scripture does not present the Lord Jesus coming as a thief to His bride! In the Book of the Revelation (we all know chaps. 2 and 3 give us God's, “Church History” —the history of what was set up from Pentecost as God's responsible witness on earth “the pillar and stay of the truth"), we get in chap. 3 Sardis, and Sardis represents Protestantism; and in ver. 3 we read, “I will come as a thief, and thou shalt not know in what hour I will come upon thee.” That is, the Lord will treat cold, dead Protestantism as He will the world. The Reformation was of God; but Protestantism is what it has become in the hands of man. A thief is unwelcome and unexpected.
One would not like to think, nor does Scripture give ground for such a thought, that He will come as a thief to a true saint of God, one who really loves the Lord. “All them that love His appearing” —this is not a special condition of soul in some Christians only, for everyone who really loves Him, loves His appearing. Then again, “To them that look for Him shall He appear"; the looking for Him may perhaps be wanting in intelligence of His coming, but their hearts are, surely, wanting to see Him “Whom not having seen we love.” The pious Jews in the time of the nation's trouble will indeed cry out of the depths, and say, “Oh, that thou wouldest rend the heavens, and come down.” This expression “the second time,” in Heb. 9:2828So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. (Hebrews 9:28) is not without significance, as being equally applicable to the remnant then, and to the saint now. No doubt the Epistles of Peter and the Gospel of Matthew will be very interesting to the remnant.
Do not let us forget that the Son of man, when He comes, comes to judge. And to one subject to the word this clears it. John 5 shows that as Son of God He quickens souls, and as Son of man He judges (see verses 21 and 27). Just see the difference further on in John's Gospel. Lazarus is dead, and the Lord Jesus says, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God that the Son of God (not the Son of man) may be glorified thereby. He is about to quicken Lazarus, as Son of God; and in Rom. 1 it says, “declared to be Son of God with power by resurrection of [the] dead,” not “from.” So in the resurrection of the Lord Himself, or any dead person raised by Him, He was declared Son of God with power. It is not there “from” —that well-known phrase—but “of” the dead. Now in John 13 after Judas is gone out, the Lord says, “Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God be glorified in Him, God shall also glorify Him in Himself and shall straightway glorify Him.” There He is, up there; given the highest place in glory; all things put under His feet as Son of man.
That is where the connection comes in between Heb. 2 and Psa. 8 So if we look at the Lord Jesus as Son of man, He is either in the suffering part, or in exaltation. “The Father judgeth no man"; but there is a way in which He deals with His children in government, as in 1 Peter 1; but that is very different from judgment as spoken of in John 5. The very name of Father is connected with grace, and when the Father and Son are united it is in the activities of grace. So when the Son of man comes we shall come with Him in our glorified bodies. He is ready to judge the living and the dead. He knows everything perfectly. When He comes as Son of man He will judge the living, and after the thousand years, the dead.
Now if we go back to ver. 30 of our chapter (Matt. 24), and connect it with ver. 31 of chap. 25 we see how they are linked up. Read them together. The “throne of His glory” is to convey to us this thought, He does deal with some in a very summary way like the armies in Rev. 19 who are slain, and who will be raised again at the “great white throne,” to have meted to them their right portion of judgment; not to decide whether they are saved, or lost, for this is decided now, not then (John 3:1818He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:18)). While all will be manifested at the “judgment seat of Christ,” it is not that all are manifested at the same time. When we who have believed are there, we shall be in glorified bodies, like unto the Lord Jesus, and no sin can ever be charged against us as guilt, but our whole moral being will be shown to us, as God sees it. No terror is connected with this our manifestation, but great blessing. There will be perfect acquiescence on our part, as we see the full depths of our moral degradation in the light of God's super-abounding grace. And our praise and worship will be all the greater. It is after that summary judgment of Rev. 20 that these nations of Matt. 25 are dealt with in a sessional way, not suddenly as by lightning, etc. They will be dealt with according as they have treated the witnesses sent out with “the everlasting gospel” —the gospel of the kingdom. Those that fear God and show that fear by the way they treat the messengers will have it said to them, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” People talk of it as the final, general, judgment. There is no such thought as this in the whole word of God. It is the judgment of the living nations, and I do not think there is anything to indicate that these will stand before the great white throne. These nations go either into everlasting punishment or into millennial blessing. There are three classes, “My brethren,” “the sheep,” “the goats,” He that rejecteth you, rejecteth Me; that is the point of it.
Well then, during the Lord's absence you get the household, We have had abundance of scripture to show that when the Lord is rejected as Messiah there is blessing for those who are outside the Jewish circle, This is instruction about what takes place during His absence from this earth. Here it would have to do with the responsibility of those who are His servants in the household, the ministry of His word to the saints, rather than of the gospel to the world. And those that have His approval are called by Him “faithful and wise,” or, prudent, Further on where it is a question of gospel testimony, it is good and faithful—not good and successful. The Lord will make no mistake. As far as we read this, it would be unbecoming of us to say, That is I.
Turn to Luke 17:3-53Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. 4And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. 5And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. (Luke 17:3‑5). They thought evidently it would want a tremendous lot of faith to go on those lines. Then the Lord said (ver. 6), “If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamore tree"; this tremendous difficulty, faith can remove it. Well, suppose it does, and you carry this out, you must not have high thoughts of yourself and think you are a very gracious or excellent brother. “When ye have done all, say, We are unprofitable servants, we have done what is our duty to do.” If you have gone on that course, forgiving seven times a day, if that is your character, say of yourself “Unprofitable,” not “Good and faithful.” It is blessed for Him to say it, but it is only becoming for us to say, “We are unprofitable servants.” It is well to remind ourselves of this.
“Meat in due season” (ver. 45). How blessed to be used of God to minister in any way that which is suitable to His precious saints! Look at the apostle Paul. He could not give the Corinthians what he could give to others; he gave them milk. They were babes, worldly-wise no doubt, and comparing themselves with themselves, and with him too, but they were only babes spiritually, and he told them so. “Perfect” means there “full grown,” that is, not babes. Others had been babes, but were now grown and become perfect, or, matured, Christians. There is a sense in which we are said to be “perfect"; and another in which we have not already attained, or are already perfect (Phil. 3). We shall be when in our resurrection bodies. A “perfect” Christian now is one who has learned of the Lord what true Christianity is, though there remains still room for growth. The scriptures show we have been crucified with Christ, have died with Christ, been raised up together with Christ, and seated in heavenly places in Christ. One who has learned Ephesian and Colossian truth is full grown. As we have already said, there is always room for growth, but that is the thought. A large number mix Christianity and Judaism, and a person who prays “Incline our heart to keep this law,” you cannot conclude to be a full grown Christian.
In 2 Peter 1:1717For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (2 Peter 1:17) we are told that the prophetic word is a lamp shining in an obscure place. The church is not the subject of prophecy. True Christian experience is the “day dawn” “arising in the heart” —Christ but in the dawn, and Himself the “morning star” is the proper hope of the church. When I know Him as such I am far in advance of all prophecy can teach me. It is only “a lamp,” and I have “the morning star.”
Verses 46, 47. The servant used in this way must be kept in communion with God to give the saints food, and in due season. Everything will be rewarded; nothing forgotten. But there is not only “the faithful and prudent servant” who has sought grace to carry out this, but there is the evil servant, and he becomes a tyrant. It does not say he gets drunk, but there are evil associations (vers. 50, 51). Luke 21:3434And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. (Luke 21:34) throws light on the word “drunken,” and so does 2 Peter 3:1717Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. (2 Peter 3:17), after showing the fearful character of the last days; and just at the moment this scripture is exceedingly important. There is the danger of being led away by the error of the wicked, and falling away from our own steadfastness, for the wicked do lead away and damage souls. But “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” That is the remedy, that will save us, and that only will save us from being led away by the error of the wicked. The wicked servants began very early. The early Christians went out from Judaism, from the world, to meet a coming Christ; but the very germ of the evil servant we get in the Apocalyptic address to the church in Ephesus, “Thou hast left thy first love.” It is not of the Holy Spirit when people put a lot of things before the Lord's coming. Paul could say, showing it as the proper hope of the Christian, “We which are alive and remain,” not “they” only, but “we,” a present operative soul-comforting hope that the Lord may come at any moment to take us home. And it is another spirit when things are put in between, and leads to bad results—going on with the world, and doing as the world does—and the Lord shows us His judgment of this in ver. 51. Heb. 11:3737They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Hebrews 11:37) shows that cutting asunder was a punishment not unknown.