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| 1 There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. |
Pilate had mingled – God permits the wrath of men and of Satan, within certain limits, in connection with the world of mankind; but in respect to his elect Church it is different. F646
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| 2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?
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Sinners above all – It is very seldom that God visits punishment upon the world in the present time. R569:5
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| 3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
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Nay – Calamities are not always punishment for sin. R2668:4, 4148:6, 1773:3, 569:4
"Some men's sins are open beforehand and others they follow after." (1 Tim. 5:24) R1618:5
The Lord points forward to the day of judgment, when the guilty shall receive their just deserts, and penitent sinners may return to God. R1618:5
Except ye repent – Unless your knowledge of God, whenever it comes, shall lead you to repentance. HG222:6
The prerequisite, on man's part, to salvation. R1437:2
The death sentence is over all, and only by getting into relationship with the Life-giver can any of us hope to escape it. R4148:6
Likewise – Our Lord Jesus used the calamities of his times as illustrating the just penalty against all who do not flee sin and lay hold upon the Redeemer and Life-giver. HG294:2
Perish – Death, in whatever form it may come, is perishing, ceasing to exist. HG293:4
Finally, all who fail to repent and lay hold upon the gracious Life-giver shall perish; they shall fail to obtain the full restitution provided; they shall never see (perfect) life. HG293:6
But while calamities may come to the saints, they never "happen"; nothing that befalls them is of accident. F646
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| 4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?
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Tower in Siloam fell – Calamities are to be regarded as accidents, attributable to human imperfection and lack of experience, or to disturbances incidental to the preparation of the earth for its more quiet and perfect condition during the Millennium. HG294:3
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| 5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
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Likewise perish – Not all perish in the same manner, but all shall die. R4148:6
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| 6 He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.
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Had a fig tree – The Jewish nation. D604; R5503:2, 2564:4, 384:2, 127:1
Found none – During the Gospel age, as a nation, they have borne no fruit. R127:3*
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| 7 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?
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These three years – The three and a half years of our Lord's ministry to the Jewish nation, and their final rejection by him, are represented in this parable. R2564:4, 127:2*
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| 8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:
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| 9 And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.
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| 10 And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. |
On the sabbath – Since Jesus according to the flesh was a Jew, and therefore bound by all the commandments of the Jewish Law, he could do nothing contrary to that Law. He could not set it aside, nor was it proper that he explain to the Jews the real meaning of the Sabbath. R5405:6
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| 11 And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. |
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| 12 And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.
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Thou art loosed – Jesus released her from her bondage. R5406:1
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| 13 And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. |
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| 14 And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day. |
Not on the sabbath – A special rebuke to Jesus, intimating that he was not so holy and so careful of the Sabbath as he should be, but was a violator of the Law. R5406:1
Jesus did many of his miracles on the Sabbath days, partly to emphasize the fact that the great Sabbath, the seventh thousand-year day of earth's history, will be the time of his kingdom, in which all mankind will be privileged to be healed from sin and sickness. R5405:6
So, during the antitypical Sabbath, the Millennium, it will be declared to all the world that "whosoever will" (Rev. 22:17) may have life and health eternal if he will take the steps of faith and obedience. B40
Making the reasonable Law of God to appear unreasonable to the people. R5406:1
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| 15 The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?
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Thou hypocrite – Exaggerating the letter of the Law while ignoring its spirit. R5405:6
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| 16 And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?
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Whom Satan – The prince of death and darkness. (Compare Heb. 2:14) R2014:5
A malevolent being, opposed to God and to righteousness, with a certain power for evil-- occult powers. SM323:2
Has adopted "mind cures" to draw the attention of the world and keep them blinded. R2014:5
Hath bound – He does possess certain power for evil. SM323:2
Mrs. Eddy's son declared his belief that his mother was under occult influence. SM324:T
From this bond – From her special infirmity, but not from all the bondage of corruption. She was still subject to pain and death. (Rom. 8:21) R816:6
Sabbath day – Typical of the times of restitution. R816:6
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| 17 And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him. |
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| 18 Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it?
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Unto what – The different parables illustrative of the kingdom treat it from different standpoints, just as we might take different photographs of persons or a building at different stages of development or from different angles. R5406:3
The kingdom of God – Few have noticed that nearly all of Jesus' teachings related to the Kingdom of God. This was because the Kingdom of God is the great divine remedy for sin. All that took place prior to the coming of Jesus was merely preparatory. R5406:1
A term synonymous with "the Kingdom of heaven." (See Mark 4:30,31) R397:1
The Church is the Kingdom now, only in the prospective sense--by faith. R397:4
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| 19 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.
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Grain of mustard seed – A small beginning. R5406:5, 45:6
A great tree – A picture of the outward appearance of the church--very prosperous. R5406:5
The fowls of the air – Elsewhere Jesus declared that the birds represented the wicked one and his angels, ever ready to take away the seed of truth and to work adversely as respects the Gospel program. (Matt. 13:4,19; Rev. 18:2) R5406:5
Which have grievously befouled the tree. C187
"Babylon is a cage of every unclean and hateful bird." (Rev. 18:2) C187, C162; R5406:5, 5050:1
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| 20 And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God?
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The kingdom of God – The sacrificial death of Jesus was the foundation to the setting up of God's Kingdom. R5406:2
Illustrating the process by which the Church would get into the wrong condition. R4636:3
The Church as an embryotic Kingdom. R5406:5[R5406]
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| 21 It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
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Like leaven – Leaven, in the Bible, is always used as a symbol of corruption, of sin. R5406:6; F464; T98
"Purge out, therefore, the old leaven [sin, malice, hatred, strife, etc.], that ye may be a new lump." (1 Cor. 5:7) R5050:1, 2635:1
Which a woman – A woman, in symbolic language, represents a church system. (Rev. 2:20) R5406:6
And hid – Corrupting the divine message, the spiritual food which God had prepared for the church. R5406:6
Today the entire mass of theological doctrine is putrid, offensive to all Christian people. R5050:4
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| 22 And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. |
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| 23 Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, |
And he said – Jesus did not give a direct answer to the question for two reasons: (1) the holy Spirit had not yet come; and (2) it was not the due time to explain the particulars of the two salvations. R5407:1
To have answered their question in full would have led to many other questions for whose answers they were not prepared. R1951:3
It is not for us or anyone to answer the query which our Lord refused to answer. The most we are privileged to do is to point out that "a ransom for all" (1 Tim. 2:6) has been given by our Lord. E401
The fact that God had in purpose another call, to another class, in the Millennial age, may cheer and comfort us now, but it should not encourage any one to reject a present call and to hope for another. R1951:3
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| 24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
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Strive – Make great effort. R1951:3
The way of morality, temperance, moderation and wisdom, although a commendable way, is not the way in which the Christian of this Gospel age is invited to walk. R2074:4
How different from that easy-going Christianity which seems but a very little removed from the spirit of the world, and which views the zeal which strives, fights, runs and watches as extreme, peculiar, fanatical and foolish. R2123:2, 1951:3
The rich, the popular, those absorbed in business, are content with the things of this life and scarce likely to leave them for things for which they feel no need. R108:2*
"Give all diligence to make your calling and election sure." (2 Pet. 1:10) R1113:1
To enter in – To the Kingdom. R5407:2
The strait gate – Difficult. R1951:3
For a certain period of time, the door to the high calling stands ajar. R5407:2
Many – Of the "many" who accept the call, "few" will be chosen. R1113:2
The way is made narrow by the circumstances of the present time, by the opposition of the worldly spirit against truth and righteousness. C207
Within are ministering spirits, all conspiring for our ultimate membership in the new creation. F152
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| 25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:
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Of the house – The Church. R224:5
Shut to the door – Not the door of mercy, thank God! but nevertheless a door--the door of opportunity of entering into and becoming members of the Kingdom class, the elect Church. NS319:6
To the "narrow way." R224:5
When all the faithful "wise" virgins shall have been proved so, and have entered into the joys of the Lord. R1112:6; C221
The illustration is that of an eastern wedding, as represented in the parable of the ten virgins (Matt. 25:1-13). When the Master and his ready, accompanying friends have entered, the door is shut. R1951:6
As soon as the last one completing the number shall have qualified for glory and shall have passed through the door, it will be shut. R5407:4, 1951:6; NS319:6
This may also be understood to refer to the closing of the door of Israel's favor eighteen centuries ago. Both views are true to the facts and to Scriptures, though the Gospel age application fits some further details. NS319:4
What may be the outward indication that the door is shut we know not, but we will expect to see some evidence of it. R224:5
Of opportunity; to the narrow way. "They that were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut." (Matt. 25:10) C221; R1952:1, 1112:6, 224:5
"I am he that shutteth and no man openeth." (Rev. 3:7) C195
All opportunity to become of the wise virgin class by engaging in the harvest work will be thereby ended. C210, C213, C221
This does not mean that the foolish virgins will be consigned to eternal torment. F75
When the full predestinated number of the Church has been called, chosen and found faithful. (Rev. 17:14) R1951:6, 5407:4, 1112:6; Q75:1
The door through which the Bride class will enter will close, never to open again, perhaps a year or more after the door to service has closed. Q75:1
Knock at the door – Apparently glad then to give their all for an opportunity to enter, but it will be too late. R225:4
We have done many mighty works; are we not to be of the Bride class? R5407:4
I know you not – As my Bride. R1112:6, 224:5; C221
All outside are treated as strangers and the festivities proceed without them. R1951:6
They will then realize they have failed to make their calling and election sure. R1952:1
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| 26 Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.
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Then shall ye – Then many will begin to see matters differently--to see what privileges and opportunities for sacrifice they once enjoyed and missed. R1112:6; C221
About that time a great awakening of religious thought will come to the world, in the midst of a great time of trouble. R5407:4
We have eaten – There will be a great lamentation, crying, Lord, Lord, are we not to be of the Bride class? R5407:4, 224:5
Some would be found to be very prominent, confident and boastful, whom he would not be willing to acknowledge as his bride. Some will be found busily engaged in building up Babylon, but neglecting the divine Word and their own character building. NS319:5
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| 27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.
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I know you not – Many believing, praying and working Christians will be disappointed; for prophesying, casting our devils, praying Lord, Lord, and doing many wonderful works are all insufficient to obtain the reward of heaven. HG555:6
The Lord will disown them as respects the Bride company. R5407:4
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| 28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.
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There shall be weeping – Right here on the earth, amongst a class who neglected the privileges of the high calling when they knew of it. R5407:4
Not alone will there be disappointment in losing the great prize, but some of the trouble and tribulation will arise because they will find themselves suddenly in the midst of a "great time of trouble." R1952:1
Grief is indeed implied, but not one word about an eternity of grief. HG303:2
Signifying chagrin, disappointment, savage animosity; as in the case of Stephen: "They gnashed on him with their teeth." (Acts 7:54) R4329:1; Q732:2
Ye – Unfaithful Jews. R4071:6
Shall see – The Kingdom itself will be invisible to men, but its earthly representatives will be seen and known to all mankind. HG440:4; NS679:4
The Ancient Worthies will become visible representatives to men of the glorified spiritual Christ, Head and Body. R5762:1, 5407:5, 1872:5, 1851:3, 1693:2; D619; SM226:1
Not merely as they were, but resurrected to human perfection, samples of what mankind may attain. R5299:2
In each one of these Ancient Worthies God will be manifest in the flesh. They will be princes at that time and will rule the earth, under Christ's Kingdom. R5291:3
The world will never see Messiah, except as they see His mind, His disposition, His character, through these earthly representatives. SM733:T
Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob – Jesus said not one word about any one seeing himself or any one of the apostles in Kingdom glory. R5199:5
Indicating identity in the resurrection. R678:4
Who died before the ransom was paid, and were not therefore called to a place in the spiritual Kingdom, the "better thing for us." (Heb. 11:40) D625; F86, F112; R5836:3, 5407:5
The world will have contact with them, and be blessed by their instruction. SM733:T
The glory and perfection of these Ancient Worthies will be an example and incentive to men to strive to attain the same. A290
And all the prophets – From John the Baptizer back to Abel. D625
In the kingdom – Those who will be in the Kingdom of God will not be the subjects of it, but the rulers in it. R860:4
These intermediaries, while not the Kingdom in the proper sense of the word, will be so fully the representatives of it amongst men that they will be recognized as the Kingdom by men. D619
The earthly phase. R4071:6, 1634:6, 1580:1; D619; OV56:4
The earthly phase of the Kingdom was all that had ever been revealed until Jesus came and taught concerning a Kingdom higher, into which humanity (flesh and blood) could not enter. R219:5
Therefore not a contradiction of Matt. 11:11: "He that is least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he (John the Baptist)." R637:3*
There is only one Kingdom per se, and that is the Church; but it will have servants and representatives which to the world will be its Kingdom or direct government. R2052:1
These will be in communication and cooperation with the heavenly phase of the Kingdom. R4071:6
Yourselves thrust out – They will not even have a share in the earthly Kingdom. It will be given to the worthies of the past who lived and died before the high calling was opened up. R5407:5
Not in power or occupying ruling positions, but they will not be deprived of the blessings of that Kingdom which are for "all the families of the earth." (Gen. 12:3) R860:2
All the unworthy of the Jewish age shall be excluded. R1580:1
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| 29 And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.
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They – Some of the Gentiles. R5407:5
From the east – The heirs of the Kingdom will not be entirely Jewish, because the Jews as a nation were not sufficiently holy and because the Lord could accept only the holy. R5407:5
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| 30 And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.
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Last which shall be first – The Gentiles were last in God's favor. R5407:5
The last to die will probably be the first to be awakened. D641; R4499:1, 5531:6
Adam and Eve will probably be the last of the human family to be awakened. D641; R5531:6, 4499:1
First which shall be last – In point of time, God called fleshly Israel first; but in point of favor, and in time of realization, Spiritual Israel comes first. B206
The Jews were first in God's favor and the Gentiles last; yet some of the first with privilege and opportunity would fail. R5407:5
The heavenly rulers, the Church, developed last, will be first in grandeur of position and time of installment. A293; B206; R219:6
The earthy rulers, the Ancient Worthies, developed first, will be installed last, under the Church. A293; B206; R219:6
Some who have not been favored during this Gospel age will be granted the chief favor during the coming Age. F118
When the Kingdom is ushered in, God's special favor will pass again to Natural Israel. F118
The race will come out of the "prison-house" of death in reverse order to that in which they entered. R5531:6, 4499:1; D641; SM441:T
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| 31 The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee. |
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| 32 And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.
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That fox – Herod. R1695:3
I cast out – Jesus, as the Head, represents the whole Christ so thoroughly, that whatever might be said of him could be applied on a still larger and grander scale, to the Body and seed of which he is the Head. R292:2
I do cures – Partly to represent the higher work of the healing of spiritual maladies. On this principle, he and the Church have been doing this work, but in only a limited and imperfect manner. R92:3*
To day and to morrow – The cures and blessings of divine grace have prevailed during the fifth, the day in which our Lord and the apostles lived, and also during the sixth thousand-year day. R2294:5, 1695:5, 292:2, 92:4*
The third day – On the seventh, the grand Millennial Sabbath, Christ and his Church will be perfected and the cures correspondingly increased. R2294:5, 1695:5, 292:2, 92:4*
Be perfected – He is not perfected until all, both the living and dead members, are glorified with him. As Eve was the glory of Adam, and his complement, so of the Church in relation to Christ. R92:3*
In which the Temple is to be "raised up" in Kingdom power and glory. R1695:5, 2294:4, 292:1
Then the great work of restitution will begin. R3080:6
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| 33 Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.
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To day and to morrow – The use of the word day in two senses in the same connection, without an explanation, is similar to his use of the word death in two senses in the statement: "Let the dead bury their dead." (Matt. 8:22) R92:2*
A prophet perish – Showing he was not to be put to death until he had reached Jerusalem. R92:2*
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| 34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!
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Killest the prophets – When Jesus came, those who had been under such special divine instruction were, as a nation, totally unready to receive him as the Messiah, and crucified him. R5768:6
As a hen – Greek, hon tropon, in like manner. R341:1
Ye would not – The people, under the guidance of the scribes and the Pharisees, the theologians of that time, made light of the message and went their way--one to his farm, and another to his merchandise. (Matt. 22:5) R5510:5
The literal seed of Abraham having thus failed to accept the Kingdom, the next step was to form a new nation, "an holy nation, a peculiar people" (1 Pet. 2:9), to be the Kingdom. R2276:2,3
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| 35 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
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Your house – These are the ones who the Apostle says count themselves unworthy of the grace of God, the ones who God blinded and turned aside during the full period of this Gospel age, during the period of the gathering of the elect of this Gospel age. NS370:5
Left unto you – Here assuming kingly office; a date parallel to the spring of AD 1878. R5772:5, 181:6*
The "coming" of the Son of Man referred to in Matt. 10:23. R2645:2
Desolate – A very short time afterwards it began to lose its power; and the Jewish nation lost its identity completely as a nation in the year AD 70, 37 years after. R4788:5
Failure in their trial or judgment meant the loss of their privilege of making them God's Kingdom for the blessing of all the families of the earth, and their remanding again under a death sentence, as unworthy of life under the Law. NS641:5
The typical sacrifices were repudiated by the Father, as the antitype followed immediately upon the cessation of the type of the Atonement Day sacrifices. R5967:1
Ever since, the Jews have been desolate and blighted as a nation, but there is a promise that this blighted fig tree (Mark 11:13,14) shall again become a living tree, a living nation. R5920:6
Just so now it is with professedly Christian nations. Desolation is coming upon them even as it came upon the Jews in the end of their age. CR495:5
The literal seed of Abraham having thus failed to accept the Kingdom, the next step was to find another nation more worthy than the Jews. R2276:3
The first Palm Sunday was the turning point marking the rejection of natural Israel as a nation and the inauguration of Spiritual Israel as the "holy nation." NS630:5
A turning point with the Jewish nation; a short time afterwards it began to lose power and 37 years later lost its identity completely as a nation. R5495:3, 4788:5
The favor which has been exclusively yours is now withdrawn. A72, A223; B70; R1966:4
"Even today do I declare that I will render double unto thee." (Zech. 9:12) B225
These words, pronounced as our Lord's first act on assuming office as King of the Jews, 33 AD, typified the rejection of nominal Spiritual Israel in 1878 AD. B225, B246; C151; R5772:5, 229:1
As natural Israel was tested in the "harvest" of the Jewish age, so spiritual Israel is tested in the "harvest" of the Gospel age. R2645:3
Until the time come – The curse did not seal their eternal doom. This was "blindness" only for a time, Paul says. (Rom. 11:25-27) R127:3*
Nearly nineteen centuries later. R5495:3
The Millennial day. Q107:2
When ye shall say – From the heart. B226
As prophesied by David in Psa. 118:26. D639
Blessed is he – Our Lord's words of this verse emphasize five points: (1) the Jews had the first opportunity to become the elect of God; (2) the time had come to end their national favor; (3) furnishing the opportunity for the installation of the antitypical house of sons (Heb. 3:6); (4) the selection of spiritual Israel during our Lord's absence, when natural Israel would not see him; (5) that their blindness shall be turned away and favor return to them. R3539:2
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