Chapter 20

The doctrine of rewards

1. Rewards come after regeneration, not before.

2. Rewards are based upon the utilisation of divine operating assets, including the filling of the Holy Spirit.

3. Rewards are bestowed at the judgement seat of Christ — 2 Corinthians 5:10; Romans 14:10; 1 Corinthians 3:11-16.

4. You can lose reward but never salvation — 1 Corinthians 3:14,15; 2 Timothy 2:12,13.

5. The judgement seat of Christ takes place after the Rapture of the Church — Revelation 19:7,8.

6. Rewards are often revealed in terms of crowns: a. the crown of righteousness — 2 Timothy 4:7,8 for faithfulness in the fulfilment of phase two; b. the crown of joy — Philippians 4:1; 1 Thessalonians 2:19, for soul winning; c. crown of glory — 1 Peter 5:4 for pastoral work; d. the crown of life — James 1:12 for endurance of temptation and occupation with the person of Jesus Christ.

Legalism hinders rewards

1. Every believer has exactly the same position in Christ, the same assets and the same responsibilities except for spiritual gifts.

2. Faithfulness or the utilisation of more grace is the basis of reward.

3. This means that legalism which is the enemy of grace will keep many prominent believers from reward in eternity. Legalism is the great hindrance to reward, it can only produce human good.

4. Legalism keeps the believer from depending on the filling of the Spirit, he depends instead upon his area of strength and produces human good.

5. Prominence is not the basis of reward but faithfulness — Matthew 25:21.

Verses 1-2, the householder goes out to hire the first group of labourers.

Verse 1 — “For the kingdom of heaven [the kingdom of born again individuals] is like unto a man that is an householder,” an owner of an estate, “which went out early in the morning.” The custom was to go into the town where people would gather at a certain designated spot and he would hire them one day at a time; “to hire labourers into his vineyard.” The vineyard is the world, labourers are born again believers in the Church Age, specifically born again believers of the first century of the Church Age in the pre-canon period.

Verse 2 — “And when he had agreed with the labourers.” The labourers agreed to a specific contract. They didn’t leave it in the hands of the householder, they wanted a contract for that day and the contract which they wanted was one denarius per head. This is very important in the understanding of these first 16 verses — “for a penny [denarius] a day, he sent them into his vineyard.” They represent in bargaining for a reward a concept of legalism, this is the spiritual aspect. The concept of legalism is this. They pinned down the householder to one denarius instead of saying we will leave it to you, we know that you are fair and just and righteous, we want a specified wage and we will go to work now if you agree to it. That is legalism. And one of the great principles in the parable of the householder is the fact that legalism hinders rewards. The other great principle is the fact that these who went out in the morning represent the early Church and they are first to the vineyard but they are going to be last — first in the vineyard, last in reward — but the last into the vineyard (perhaps in the twentieth century) shall be first in reward. So it isn’t where you come into the picture dispensationally, it is what you do when you get there. Are you filled with the Spirit a maximum amount of the time?

Verse 3 — the householder goes out again to hire. The first group were the bargainers and they represent legalism because they bargained, fought for a wage. They were missing the blessing of grace. “And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace.”

Verse 4 — “And he said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right [just or fair] I will give you.” Notice, no contract. This is grace. The “others” of verse 3 refer to probably 3rd, 4th, and 5th century believers, but the point is, they came later. They make no bargain, they rely on the character of the householder, the owner of the estate, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. It doesn’t depend on who and what they are, it depends on who and what the householder is. That is grace. “And they went their way.”

Verse 5 — “Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.”

Verse 6 — “And about the eleventh hour he went out [about an hour before the day’s work is over], and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?” Some people are going to get a reward for working for thirty minutes which will be the same as those who have been working from six o’clock in the morning. But again, the early ones were the legalists, they fought for a contract. All who came after them operated on grace, the true basis of reward.

Verse 7 — “whatever is right.”

Principles

1. Being a charter member on the day of Pentecost does not give a believer any advantage over others.

2. It is quality, not quantity, which is the basis of reward.

3. Reward is based on the orientation to and appropriation of grace rather than self-effort.

4. The people who came into the vineyard early in the morning did not get more reward than those who came late in the afternoon.

5. This is because of the principle of grace.

6. Paul is an illustration, being the last of the disciples but first in reward — 1 Corinthians 15:8-10 gives us something of this. Paul was on the field for a shorter time than most of the other disciples but the quality of his work gives him great reward. The secret of reward is in the grace of God.

Verses 8-10, the payment of reward.

Verse 8 — “So when even was come.” The “even” was six o’clock in the evening, time to pay off all the workers; “the lord of the vineyard [Jesus Christ] saith to his steward, Call the labourers.” In the analogy it could well be that the steward is the archangel, 1 Thessalonians 4:16, the archangel does the assembling of the Church; “and give them their hire [wages], beginning from the last to the first.” In other words, the people who came at 5 o’clock are to be paid first because the Lord wants them to see the principle of grace. The order of payment is therefore inversed to the hiring and the first labourers are going to see everyone else paid and they’re going to think that they have a legitimate gripe. The purpose of this parable is to indict legalism and to indict those apostles who think they ought to be first and, as a matter of fact, to rebuke all eleven disciples because they have been arguing for two chapters as to which one shall be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Verse 9 — “And when they came that were hired at the eleventh hour, they received every man a denarius.”

Verse 10 — “But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they received every man a penny.” When they came he went back to the contract. He switches from his person to the contract. The people who were hired later did not bargain, they trusted in the person of the householder. In other words, they had faith in the householder and their faith was met with grace.

Verses 11-12, the complaint.

Verse 11 — “And when they [the first who received last] had received it, they murmured against the good man of the house [householder]” — legalists always think they are getting a bad deal.

Verse 12 — “Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have born the burden in the heat of the day.” This sounds like a legitimate thing until you go back to the first and second verses. They made a contract — legalism — and they agreed to work for that and the lord is fair because he gave them what they agreed to. The rest depended upon his fairness and he gave out of his fairness. Principle: Never try to go on any kind of a legalistic thing with the Lord. No reward.

Verses 13-15, the justice of the householder.

Verse 13 — “But he answered one of them, and said, Friend” — the word “friend” isn’t friend at all, it is partner — “I do thee no wrong: didst thou not agree with me for a denarius?”

Verse 14 — “Take that which is thine and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.” Notice: “I [character of God] will give [expression of the grace of God]” — grace. God gives; we do not earn, we do not deserve.

Verse 15 — “Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?” — everything belongs to him. He was fair to both groups but the rest went on a grace basis; “Is thine eye evil because I am good?” The classic answer. The complainer has a grudge and a legalistic eye while the householder has a gracious and a generous eye. They are trying to reduce him to their level and grace would bring them up to his level.

Verse 16 — the principle. “So the last [the last into the field] shall be first [in reward], and the first last. For many shall be called, but few chosen.”

The last first; the last first

1. Rewards depend upon the sovereign grace of God.

2. No one earns them, no one deserves them.

3. The first ones into the field are legalistic and complain about their reward.

4. The first ones are critical of grace — which is the only factor they cannot afford to criticise.

5. The grace of God does not produce an envious attitude.

6. While many are saved by grace, few continue to live by grace, therefore few are rewarded on the principle of grace.

7. James and John want to sit in the place of prominence. They want the highest rewards because they are first into the field.

“for many be called” — there are many people who are saved — “but few chosen” for reward. Why? The great enemy for rewards is the great enemy of production, and that enemy is legalism.

Verses 17-28, the Jericho discourse.

Verses 17-19, a phase one prophecy.

Verse 17 — “And Jesus going up to Jerusalem [going up from Jericho] took the twelve disciples apart in the way [on the way from Jericho to Jerusalem], and said unto them.” They are on their way up now. Two of the other gospels have Him coming out and in this one we have Him going in. “Going up to Jerusalem” here means He is coming out. The other two gospels say He is going into Jericho. But there are two Jerichos, the old city and the new city, and He was going out of the old city and going into the new city when He pulled the disciples aside to give them this discourse.

Verse 18 — “Behold, we go up to Jerusalem” — this is a briefing before they go — “and the Son of man shall be betrayed.” Notice who is betrayed: “the Son of man.” The Son of man is a title for the humanity of Jesus Christ; the title of His deity is Son of God. God cannot die, so it is the humanity of Christ that will die; it is the humanity of Christ that will be resurrected.

“unto the chief priests and unto the scribes [the religious people], and they shall condemn him to death.”

Verse 19 — “And they shall deliver him to the Gentiles [the Romans] to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify: and the third day he shall rise again [His resurrection].” There is one interesting point of syntax here. “He shall rise again” is a future passive voice, we have had aorist tenses in the verse up to now; “he shall be given to the Gentiles to mock.” To mock is an aorist active infinitive, it is a part of the purpose of God; to scourge is aorist active infinitive, part of the purpose of God; to crucify is aorist active infinitive, part of the plan of God. But when we get down to His resurrection we have future passive indicative, and there is a sudden change to indicate there is a difference between His death and His resurrection. The change is to the future because it is, of course, future, but it is more than that, it is a logical future. It is logical that if He dies and God approves He is going to rise again. There is the passive voice which means the subject receives the action of the verb, and Jesus Christ is raised from the dead by the Father and by the Spirit; both had a part in His resurrection. This separates the resurrection as the crowning touch to the whole unique operation.

Verses 20-21, the ambitious mother.

Verse 20 — “Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons [James and John].”

Mother (Salome)

1. She ignored the parable of the householder, she wasn’t listening.

2. She failed to recognise the doctrine that reward is based upon grace, not upon legalism.

3. Since entrance into phase one, salvation, is grace, it follows that everything in phase two will be grace.

4. Salome falls into Peter’s error of by-passing the cross for the crown.

5. Salome wants to by-pass phase one, the cross, and start with the kingdom and she wants her sons to have the first place.

6. Salome has fallen into the common error of ambitious mother. Ambition on the part of parents for the children can often ruin the children.

Verse 21 — “And he said unto her, What wilt thou? [What do you desire?] She saith unto him, Grant [give] that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.” Obviously she wants a tie for first place.

Verse 22 — Now Jesus is very gracious to her. “But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask” — a mild understatement. She is trying to get them first so that they can be last; “the first shall be last.” She is ignorant of doctrine, that’s her problem.

Now Jesus asks a question that would slow down anyone. “Are ye able to drink of the cup?” What goes into this cup? The sins of the entire world. Who is going to drink all of the sins of the world? Christ on the cross. They are going to be poured out upon Him and the Father will then judge the sins of the world. To be number one in the kingdom you have to drink the cup and the cup has all of the sins from Adam to the end of time. Jesus Christ drank that cup; “that I shall drink of?” He is again talking about the cross, and be baptised with the baptism that I am baptised with?” Baptism means identification. The baptism of the cup is where the sins of the world are poured out on the cross during the last three hours. So we have the baptism of the cup or sins identified with Christ, and when they are identified with Christ the Father judges them. That is why Jesus said, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” He was forsaken because “He who knew no sin was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” In other words, He took our place.

“They say unto him, We are able.” There is no question that of the eleven saved disciples John was the smartest, and yet, look at how ignorant he is! Some day he will be fantastic in his knowledge of doctrine but at this point he couldn’t be any dumber! This was a clear indication that they did not understand the nature of the cross, that only Christ is qualified to go to the cross, and the disciples can appropriate this grace but they cannot participate in that grace. Ours is appropriation but never participation. Participation is the cross; we simply appropriate what He did, but we do not participate.

Verse 23 — Jesus emphasises the sovereignty of the Father in the distribution of rewards. “And he said unto them, Ye shall drink indeed my cup.” This means they would die, but not in the sense that they thought. They would die spiritually on the cross when Christ died. They would partake of the cup, not in participation but in appropriation. Drinking of the cup becomes a picture of faith and they would appropriate but not participate.

The words, “and be baptised with the baptism that I am baptised with” are not found in the original here. The passage goes on with, “but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give but it is for whom it is prepared of my Father” — perfect tense, it has been prepared in the past with the result that it stands forever prepared. The principle behind all of this is that rewards are the sovereign decision of God the Father who has all the facts and all the information and He rewards accordingly.

Verse 24 — the reaction of the disciples, “they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.” It was all Mum’s fault but the kids get it!

Verses 25 — the spiritual kingdom is contrasted with the Roman empire. The Roman empire is the principle that these people have in mind when they are trying to decide who is the greatest. But now Jesus says that the spiritual kingdom does not operate the way the Roman empire does, with its senate, procurators, etc. “But Jesus called them, and said.” He calls them all in and this is going to be the wind-up of the argument as to who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven; “Ye know.” They understand how the Roman empire operates; “that the princes of the Gentiles [various officials in the Roman empire] exercise dominion over them [over the people under the Roman empire], and they that are great [the people who for one reason or another have come to the top in the empire] exercise authority upon them.” Apparently this in something which they have in mind, a concept of being great in the sense that a procurator is great, the sense that a legate is great, and so on. So they begin to think in terms of human viewpoint and how they can be great, as the Romans are great, in this kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Verse 26 — He dispels any idea that the situation is going to be the same. “But it shall not be so among you.” In other words, the basis of greatness in the spiritual kingdom is orientation to grace, understanding and utilising the grace of God, orienting to principles of the Word, understanding doctrine. It is based upon the filling of the Spirit, knowledge of doctrine, application of doctrine, orientation to the plan of God. The person who is great in the spiritual kingdom of born again believers can have inner happiness, inner peace and power, and all of those things which make life wonderful. He is no longer in slavery to his circumstances; “but whosoever shall be great among you, let him be your servant.” The concept of service here is orientation to grace. The concept of being a servant is one who does the most for believers through his own understanding of doctrine, through his application of doctrine and through the production of divine good which comes through doctrine. So the greatest will be the one who serves.

Verse 27 — “And whosoever will be chief [literally: wills to be chief] among you, let him be your slave.” Under this concept the one who is greatest in the spiritual kingdom is the one whose influence — Bible doctrine, techniques, production — is of such a nature to be beneficial to other believers. This is quite different from the concept of the Roman empire.

Verse 28 — the illustration. “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto.” In other words, Jesus Christ did not come in His first advent to receive the ministry of others, but instead He came to minister and to give His life a ransom for many. In other words, Jesus Christ became a slave by dying on the cross. He became a minister to the human race by His work of salvation. And the point is that Jesus Christ will be greatest in the spiritual kingdom because He became a slave, He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. He was the one born outside of the slave market of sin, doctrine of redemption, and through His ministry on the cross He became a slave to free the human race from the slavery and bondage of sin. So the illustration is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. His humanity and His service to the human race makes Him first in the spiritual kingdom, but He became first by being the servant and the saviour of all.

Verses 29-34, the two blind men on the Jericho road.

Verse 29 — “And as they departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed him.” Jesus had been giving this discourse in Jericho, the place of the curse. The following of the multitude means that He had a wonderful ministry in the place of cursing.

Verse 30 — “And, behold, two blind men sitting by the wayside, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, son of David” .Luke mentions the incident of the two blind men as if they were drawing near to Jericho (Luke 18:35). In other words, Luke says, as they approached Jericho. Matthew says that as they were leaving Jericho “two blind men were sitting” but, once again, there were two Jerichos, the old city which had never been rebuilt and nearby the new city. Matthew and Mark refer to departing from the new Jericho whereas Luke mentions entering the old Jericho, the shanty town. So there is no conflict here, it is just a matter of knowing which is which. Now we have two helpless people. There is nothing more helpless than a blind person. They are said to be sitting, even though they have the use of their limbs, they cannot go anywhere unless someone leads them around.

“Have mercy” is an aorist active imperative, and it indicates that right now they expect Jesus Christ to help them. The word “mercy” of course is grace in action. One other passage indicates that He had compassion, compassion is what He thinks. Mercy is the action of grace; compassion is the thought of grace. “O Lord [deity of Christ], son of David [humanity of Christ.” They recognise Him as the unique person of the universe. How they learned this information we do not know but one thing is obvious: everyone had heard about Christ because even blind people could understand the principle of the hypostatic union, that He was undiminished deity and true humanity in one person forever.

Verse 31 — now we come to the crowd, and we are going to have to slow down for the crowd for one reason: often masses of people have a bad habit of not minding their own business. This multitude which follows Jesus enthusiastically has no sense — “And the multitude rebuked them that they should hold their peace” …

The mob

Wherever you find a mob you find a large mass of potential dynamite but no thought.

1. Here is the case of non-authorised persons sticking their nose into something which is not their business.

2. Busybodies and nosy people are always a hindrance to the Lord’s service.

3. If it had been left to the crowd the two blind men would have been ignored.

4. These two blind men have done nothing to gain the approbation of the crowd. In other words, these two blind men were not popular with the mob. (It never pays to be popular with the mob, it changes its mind every hour on the hour. The most fickle thing in the world is a mob)

5. Man always wants to deal with man on the basis of legalism. It is the nature of man to do so. Illustration: If someone is nice to you, you are nice to them. In other words, they have to earn your approbation.

6. The two blind men have approached Jesus Christ on the basis of grace — “Have mercy” (we have nothing to recommend us).

The multitude “rebuked,” and the word means to reprimand. It is a very severe term. However, when anyone approaches God on the basis of grace they are going to get a response from God.

Verse 32 — Jesus stopped. “And Jesus stood still, and said, What will ye [what do you desire] that I should do unto you?”

Verse 33 — the petition of the blind men. “They say unto him, Lord [deity],” they want something that only God can do, “that our eyes may be opened.” Mark adds something. One blind man had a name, Bartimaeus, and Bartimaeus apparently followed the Lord and trusted Him as saviour.

Verse 34 — “So Jesus had compassion [the mental attitude of grace], and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.”

Lessons from the blind men

1. This is an illustration of the last being first. The blind men were last on the field but they are first when it comes to reward.

2. The basis of the last being first is grace. The one who is first is last because he is legalistic; the last is first because of grace.

3. There is a dispensational analogy here. The two blind men represent the remnant of believers in the Tribulation, and many of the believers in the Tribulation will be first in reward. They are last in the chronology of God’s plan but first in reward.

4. There is a lesson of faith — Hebrews 11:1, “Faith is the evidence if things not seen.” The two blind men could not see Jesus but they believed in Him. Principle: Faith appropriates grace.

5. The principle of cursing is turned to blessing is also found in this story of the two blind men. The two blind men were from Jericho which is the place of cursing, but in the place of cursing they found blessing.

6. Jesus bucks the crowd in grace. Grace always goes counter to the crowd. Grace has the courage to do so because grace depends upon the person who does it.

7. The principle of acting contrary to the desire of the majority. Your criterion for reality as a believer must always be, What does the Bible say? not, What do people say?

Psalm 118, the introduction to chapter 21

The purpose of the first advent was salvation; the purpose of the second advent is the restoration of Israel, the beginning of the kingdom. The first advent: the cross; the second advent: the crown. The principle: the cross must always come before the crown. There could be no kingdom without the purchase of redemption.

In the scriptures there are seven Levitical feasts — Leviticus chapter 23. Each one of these feasts is a part of the timetable of Israel. The first is the Passover, the cross. Immediately following the Passover you have unleavened bread, fellowship with God in time. In the midst of unleavened bread you have Firstfruits which is the picture of the resurrection of Christ. Fifty days after Firstfruits is Pentecost which is the beginning of the fifth cycle of discipline. Then there is a great gap, four feasts and then a gap which represents the Church Age, after which is the feast of the Trumpets, the regathering of Israel. Then there is the feast of Atonement which is the deliverance of the saved of Israel, followed by the feast of the Tabernacles which is a picture of the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ.

The Psalm 118 was sung twice during the year. It is actually an hymn which was sung by the Jews at the Passover and at the Tabernacles, the first and the last feasts. In other words, the cross was depicted by the Passover; the crown [Millennial reign of Christ] is depicted by the feast of the Tabernacles. They sang Psalm 118 at the first and the last feasts for this reason: so that every Jew would understand that the cross must come before the crown, and that if you want to live with God forever and ever you have to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Verses 14-18, recognition of the fact that Israel has a future.

Verse 14 — “The Lord [Jesus Christ] is my strength [provision for the believer in time] and song [praise of the believer in phase two], and is become my salvation,” you enter the plan of God by way of the cross. Once you enter the plan of God the Lord is your strength, He is the source of your power. He is your power, what He provides is your power. He provides power in doctrine, so doctrine is power. He provides the filling of the Holy Spirit, so the filling of the Spirit is power. He provides the song, the song indicates praise to the Lord. Under grace only the Lord can receive praise.

Verse 15 — a summary of the two advents. “The voice of rejoicing and deliverance,” the second advent, “in the Tabernacles [reference to the Millennium. The born again Jews are delivered into the Millennium] of the righteous [refers to those who have received the righteousness of God through faith in Christ]: the right hand of the Lord [a title of Jesus Christ] doeth valiantly,” a reference to the cross. He did the work on the cross, He took our place, He was our substitute. So we have here the second advent and the first advent.

Verse 16 — “The right hand of the Lord [Jesus Christ] is exalted,” a reference to resurrection, “the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly,” death came before resurrection.

Verse 17 — “I shall not die, but live.” “I” refers to David who is the human author of Psalm 118, and he recognises that only by the grace of God can he stay alive and serve the Lord. “I” also refers to the nation Israel even though the nation Israel is under the fifth cycle of discipline they will survive and live. “I” in the third place refers to the Lord Jesus Christ, He will not die but live in the sense of resurrection, the plan of God goes right on; “and declare the works of the Lord.” We go back to the three people again. First of all David lived to witness for the Lord Jesus Christ; secondly, Israel continues to witness for Christ even though they are under the fifth cycle of discipline. They witness when they become believers and enter into the body of Christ; thirdly, Christ in resurrection declares the plan of the Father as well as fulfilling the plan of the Father in resurrection. The works of the Lord refer to operation grace or what God has done.

Verse 18 — “The Lord hath chastened me.” Again, this has a threefold reference. It refers to David who was disciplined by the Lord when he sinned, it refers to Israel under the fifth cycle of discipline, it refers to Jesus Christ hanging upon the cross for when He hung upon the cross He was disciplined; “he hath not given me over unto death,” David faced death many times in phase two, yet he continued to live by the grace of God; Israel is restored in the Millennium even though they have been under the fifth cycle of discipline; Christ was given over to death but He rose again.

Verses 19-21, an eschatological picture of entering the Millennial temple. After they are restored in the Millennium this is what the born again Jews are going to sing.

Verse 19 — “Open to me the gates of righteousness,” the gate of the temple; “I will go in unto them, I will praise the Lord.” The born again Jews in the Millennium will go into the Millennial temple to praise the Lord.

Verse 20 — “The gate of the Lord, into which the righteous shall enter.” There will be a gate and they will enter to praise Him.

Verse 21 — “I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my deliverance.”

Up to this point we have introduction only. Now we get into the part that is pertinent and which must be understood before we can go on into Matthew chapter 21. Verses 22,23 refer to the first advent of Christ; verses 24-26 refer to the second advent of Christ.

Verses 22-23, the first advent of Christ.

The born again Jews are in the Millennial temple now, they are singing the praises of the Lord. The praises of the Lord fall into two categories: His first advent and His second advent.

Verse 22 — “The stone [literally: the rock; Christ is the rock] which the builders [the Jews during the first advent] rejected is become the headstone of the corner.” The stone was put in to anchor the two walls; Christ is the corner stone. This means He is the head of Israel as David’s greater son, and He is the head of the Church which He purchased with His own blood. So this is saying that even though Israel refused Him He is the corner stone, He is the ruler of Israel as the son of David, He is the head of the Church as the saviour, the One who purchased the Church.

Verse 23 — “This is the Lord’s [Jehovah the Father] doing [He planned the whole thing]; it is marvellous in our eyes,” the Millennial saints, the Jews, respond.

Verses 24-26, the second advent of Christ. They are singing right after the second advent.

Verse 24 — “This is the day which Jehovah hath made.” They recognise that this is the day of the Lord [second advent, Millennium]; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” So they recognise that they personally have been delivered.

Verse 25 — Notice carefully: “Save now” [Hosanna, in the Hebrew]. There should now be a parenthesis opened and then closed at the end of the verse. In that parenthesis this is what we have: “I beseech thee, O Jehovah: O Jehovah, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.” In other words, the Millennium is here, bring in the prosperity. The reason for putting that in parenthesis is because on the first Palm Sunday the Jews sang part of this hymn, and the part they sang was: “Save now,” in verse 25 — “Hosanna.” But then they skipped down to verse 26 and they sang: “Hosanna, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord,” and they left out that part of the hymn which dealt with prosperity. They also left out verses 22 and 23 because this is the part that they would not accept, the part that would happen within a week. The Jews who sang part of the words on that first Palm Sunday, in the way they sang it, were being very clever and foxy but actually they represented the quintessence of human stupidity.

“we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord,” that is the Millennial temple. These people

will sing this.

Mark chapter 11:1-11, Mark’s report on Palm Sunday. Jesus has spent the Sabbath in Bethany with His friends. Now on Sunday, which is the first day of the week, He is returning from Bethany to Jerusalem, which means a walk over the hill. Bethany is apparently at the top of the hill and you can see Jerusalem from Bethany.

Verse 8 — the reaction of two crowds. “And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off trees, and strewed them in the path.”

Verse 9 — the two crowds. “And they that went before [the crowd who came out from Jerusalem to meet Jesus], and they that followed [the crowd that followed Him from Bethany].”

Notice the three things the crowd did on Palm Sunday: firstly, they spread their garments in the path — homage for a king. Many of the people recognised Jesus as the son of David. The word “garments” means their mantles, their coats, which they spread in the way so that He would ride over them rather than on the mud of the road. So some of the crowd recognised Christ as King. Some of the crowd went further and recognised Him as the King of kings because they cut down branches. They cut down branches for one reason, given in Isaiah 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5,6; Zechariah 3:8; 6:12,13, Christ is the Branch. This is one of the Messianic titles. He is called the Root and the Branch, and this is what is meant. Jesus Christ is the Root as God, the tree is Israel, but along the way He is also the Branch. As God He is the Root, as the Branch He is the son of David who will reign forever and fulfil the Davidic covenant. So, secondly, there are those who recognise Him as the son of David and there are others who recognise Him as the fulfilment of the Davidic covenant.

The third thing they did was to sing that part of Psalm 118 which we have already studied; “and they that followed, cried [sang, loudly and cheerfully], saying, Hosanna [Hebrew for “Save now].” When they said, Save now, they were by-passing the cross. It is the cross by which the spiritual kingdom is established. The crown will occur at the second advent. You must have the cross before you can have the crown. This was the issue in the great temptation — Matthew 4, Satan wanted to by-pass the cross and pick up the crown. This is always the Satanic policy. The eternal kingdom, however, is purchased with the blood of Christ. There is no way to enter the kingdom apart from the cross, the cross is the door into the kingdom. And when these people are singing, Save now, they are not singing about salvation now, which He will accomplish within a week, but they are talking about deliverance from the Roman empire. They want the deliverance of the second advent. How do we know? Because they are singing a second advent passage, they have skipped the first advent. The first advent was verses 22 and 23 but they are singing verses 25 and 26, or part of them.

Then they skip the part about prosperity because if they sing that they will have trouble with the Romans. They sing, “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” In other words, they didn’t want the Romans to know what they were thinking so they skipped the part that would tip their hand to the Romans about establishing a kingdom and going to war against the Roman empire. They honestly thought in their minds that Jesus Christ was going to destroy the Roman empire and set up a kingdom on earth at that time rather than provide the basis for the eternal kingdom which was the cross. And right here on the Palm Sunday we have the key to the Jewish rejection of Christ. They wanted the kingdom all right. They were thinking in terms of freedom from the long arm of the Roman empire. Jesus Christ was their hope for freedom from the Roman empire and they wanted Him for that reason, they did not want Him as a saviour, they were satisfied with their religion of Judaism, false as it is. They didn’t want regeneration, they wanted the restoration of the Jewish republic. So that crowd, on the surface doing homage to the King, was underneath it all rejecting what He came to do. They wanted something from Christ; they wanted to bribe Him into delivering them from the Romans. That is the way it is with a crowd: What can you do for me?

Mark 12:1 — “And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man [God the Father] planted a vineyard [Israel], and set a hedge about it [God’s protection of the Jews], and digged a place for a wine vat [He expected the Jews to produce], and built a tower [protection], and let it out to husbandmen [the Jews], and went into a far country.”

Verse 2 — “And at the season he sent to the husbandmen [the Jews] a servant [an Old Testament prophet], that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard.”

Verse 3 — “And they caught him, and they beat him, and sent him away empty.” This is the way the Jews treated the prophets.

Verse 4 — “And again he sent another servant [another Old Testament prophet]; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled.”

Verse 5 — “And again he sent another; and him they killed [Isaiah], and many others; beating some and killing some.”

Verse 6 — “Having yet therefore one son [Jesus Christ], his well beloved [the only begotten], he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son.”

Verse 7 — “But those husbandmen [the Jews of the first advent] said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.”

Verse 8 — “And they took him and killed him [the cross], and cast him out of the vineyard.”

Verse 9 — “What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen [the fifth cycle of discipline in 70 AD], and he will give the vineyard to others [the Church].”

Verse 10 — “And have ye not read the scripture [Psalm 118:22,23]; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner.”

Verse 11 — “This was the Lord’s doing and it is marvellous in our eyes?”

Jesus, in effect, turned around to that crowd and said: “You are out of place, you are legalistic, you want something from me. You want me to perform another miracle and destroy the Roman empire. But that is not my job” .It would have been much easier for Jesus to deliver the Jews from the Romans but what He did was the hardest thing that any person ever did. In His humanity He went to the cross and bore our sins and took our place; He was judged in our stead. That was the plan of the Father.

There is no kingdom apart from the cross, there is nothing apart from the cross. The cross is the beginning of everything. That is where God’s plan begins and that is where the grace of God first comes into our frontal lobes.