3312. The Carpenter’s Son and His Relatives

A Sermon Published On Thursday, July 25, 1912.

“Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is his mother not called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” {Mt 13:55,56}

1. When our Saviour was on this earth, there were some people who, having had their eyes divinely opened, could see his true beauty, and who admired his every action, and said, “He has done all things well.” But there were others, whose eyes were blinded by sin, and malice, and prejudice, who could see nothing good in him at all. Because he ate and drank as other men did, they said, “Behold a gluttonous man and a wine-bibber.” They said that his zeal was only pretence or else madness; and when he cast out evil spirits by his almighty power, they said, “He casts out demons through Beelzebub the chief of the demons.” There were some who wondered about his wisdom and his mighty works, and who did not know whether to consider him a prophet of God or a Divine Being, but there were others who could only see the carpenter’s human son, whose mother’s name was Mary, and whose brothers and sisters were all well-known, ordinary people. The language of the text is the language of many who are living today, for while others see in Christ everything to admire, these critics see no beauty in him, and just put him on the same level with others with whom they are acquainted.

2. It seems to me that we have here two views of Christ’s person, the view of prejudice and the view of piety; and two views of Christ’s relatives, in which we also have the view of prejudice and the view of piety.

3. I. First, we will consider THE TWO VIEWS OF CHRIST’S PERSON, the view of prejudice and the view of piety.

4. Prejudice could not dispute the fact of Christ’s wisdom and mighty works, so it sought to disparage him by saying, “After all, he is only a carpenter’s son, just the son of an ordinary artisan. Shall a prophet rise up from among the chips in the carpenter’s shop? Shall we sit at the feet of the man who is simply a toiler at the carpenter’s bench?” Prejudice may seem very wise in its own esteem, but it is really very foolish. To be prejudiced against a truth because of the lowly origin of him who proclaims it is most obvious folly. Is a pearl to be rejected because it was found in a shell that is in itself of no value? Would not a wise man pick up a diamond from a dunghill if he saw one flashing there? Even if the occupation of a carpenter had been a degrading one, which it certainly was not, yet, if his son has something to say that is worth hearing, is he not a fool who will not listen to it because it is uttered by the carpenter’s son? If from the lips of Jesus of Nazareth a stream of divine wisdom was poured out, is it not most egregious folly to refuse to receive it because he was reputed to be the son of Joseph the carpenter? If he speaks as no other man ever spoke, if his doctrine is more sublime than that of any other teacher, if the morality which he inculcates is more pure and more heavenly than that of any other leader of men, what does it matter that he is the carpenter’s son?

   He whom man with scorn refuses,

      Whom the favour’d nation hates,

   He it is Jehovah chooses,

      Him the highest place awaits;

         Kings and princes

   Shall do homage at his gates.

5. But while prejudice is so very foolish, it is also very frequent. There are many people who put an extinguisher on the candle, and then try to light it. For example, in listening to a certain preacher, they make up their mind that he cannot say anything that can be beneficial to them, and then they wonder that they are not edified; it would be a wonder if they were. Those who hear the Word only to criticize it will probably be left to criticize to their life’s end; for, while the Spirit of God explains difficulties to the sincere seeker after truth, those difficulties which men themselves make often lead them to make more and more so that they continually plunge deeper and even deeper into the mire. But what a dreadful thing it is that prejudice makes men even object to the gospel of Christ! They say that it is so simple, so commonplace that it will not do for them. I have heard some, who ought to know better, say, when they have heard the simple gospel preached, “Oh, yes! ‘Believe and live’ is a very proper message for the multitude, but something more profound than that is needed for thinking men,” meaning themselves, as if they were the only thoughtful people in the world. Well, sirs, if you are prejudiced against the gospel because of its simplicity, may God disarm that prejudice, and bring you to see that it is its simplicity which is its glory, and which makes it the means of rescuing sinners from the ruin into which their guilt has sunk them.

6. Prejudice against Christ is also very sinful. If it really is true that he is the Son of God, it is very shameful that he should not have a hearing because he stooped as low as to become “the carpenter’s son.” If the magnificence of his benevolence led him to empty himself, and to be despised and rejected by men, shall the splendour of his love close my ears to the message of salvation that he sends to me? That he who was one with his Father in glory should condescend to lie as a babe in Bethlehem’s manger, and to go around among men as the reputed son of the carpenter of Nazareth, is a reason for reverence, for admiration, for love, for gratitude, yet some for this very reason are prejudiced against him. If the gospel had been suitable only for philosophers and men of learning, what a vast mass of mankind would have been left without any hope of salvation! Shall that almighty grace which has made it a gospel suitable for all classes and conditions of men become a reason why prejudice shall turn its back on it? Surely it is better to be saved by “the carpenter’s son” than to be lost, better to enter heaven through him who was “despised and rejected by men” than to be confined to hell through not believing in him, better to receive a crown of life from the hand of him who was crucified on Calvary than to receive the sentence of condemnation from the mouth of the Judge when he sits on the great white throne in all the glory of his Father and of his holy angels.

7. If any of you, dear friends, have a prejudice against any form of scriptural truth, please shake it off. We are all apt to be prejudiced in one way or another, and it needs great grace to keep us free of the evil; so let us be on our guard against it. Give the gospel a fair consideration, and very especially and impartially weigh in the scales of sound judgment the doctrine of the atoning sacrifice of Christ. Sit down at the foot of the cross, and study the wounds of Jesus, and do not pour contempt and scorn on him until you have found good reason to do so, and that I am sure you never will do. Shake off all prejudice, again I entreat you, for it is a deadly disease, which may prove eternally fatal to you.

8. Now let us turn away from prejudice, and see what piety thinks concerning Christ. As piety asks, “Is this not the carpenter’s son?” she admires his condescension. Piety is not ashamed of Jesus of Nazareth even though she supposes that he worked in the carpenter’s shop. On the contrary, she is full of admiration for the Son of God who stooped so low as to be known as the son of Joseph, and who, in that capacity, was obedient to his earthly parents, and assisted in the manual labour in which the carpenter engaged. Piety does not think any the less of the Saviour because he wore the garb of a working man, but she considers it to be to his honour that he laid aside his honour, and she regards him as having more glory when he laid aside his glory than when he wore it. I long to see my Lord Jesus Christ in heaven, but I think I would almost as gladly have seen him in the carpenter’s shop. I delight in the thought that I shall see him on the throne, but I sometimes wish that I could have seen him on the cross, for it was there that his love reached its climax as he bore our sins in his own body on the tree.

9. Piety is all the more pleased with Christ because, when he condescended to be a man, he joined the working classes. There are and always will be, and very properly so, different social grades among men, but the difference between a carpenter and a gentleman is, to my mind, so slight that I cannot perceive it. We are all very much alike when we are sitting in the house of God, and when we are lying on the bed of sickness, and especially when we are sleeping in the silent tomb; yet, if our Saviour had come to this earth as one of the upper classes of society, I can imagine my lords and ladies saying, “Oh, yes! we have much fellowship with the King of the Jews as we think how he rode through Jerusalem in his gorgeous chariot of state attended by such a brilliant retinue”; but I can imagine how working men might then have said, “He has little or nothing in common with us; he does not know what it is to earn his daily bread by hard manual labour.” But “the carpenter’s son” says, “Oh, yes! I do know that, and I understand your ways, and I am more familiar with poverty than many of you are. Most if not all of you have a home to go to when your day’s work is done, but I had nowhere to lay my head, so you are better off than I was.” Jesus of Nazareth can fully sympathize with the poorest of the poor, yet at the same time he is higher than the highest in the land, for he is King of kings and Lord of lords. Those who have the greatest intellectual power may well sit at his feet, for he is wisdom incarnate; and the feeblest and poorest may draw near to him even as they did when he was on the earth. We who toil mentally and you who toil physically may rejoice that Christ also was a toiler. When I see a notice about sermons to working men, I think to myself, “Well, whoever else is or is not a working man, I know that I am one, and that I work very hard.” It is quite a mistake to suppose that those of us who do not carry burdens on our backs, or follow the plough, or wield an axe do not therefore work. The most wearing kind of work is what has to do with the brain and the mind, so I claim the Saviour as having fellowship with me, and you workers who love his name love him all the better because he also was a worker. He was no lazy slacker, he was not one who slept and dawdled away his time; he toiled at the carpenter’s bench, and afterwards he said of his life’s service, “I must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day”; “My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to finish his work.”

10. Piety is grateful to Christ for being “the carpenter’s son” because she remembers that he is the type of the kingdom which he governs. When the carnal eye looks at Christ, it sees only a carpenter; but the spiritual eye can see “the King in his beauty” in the garb of a working man. He who saws the wood and guides the plane and drives the nails is the great Creator, without whom was not anything made that was made. What was true of Christ is in a measure true of his Church and of his gospel too. The Church of Christ often appears to be merely a company of obscure and insignificant folk, yet that Church is “the bride, the Lamb’s wife”; and that gospel which is often despised because of its simplicity is “the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.” The outward show of the spiritual kingdom is very little even as it was at the time when Christ was known as the son of a carpenter, yet all the while he was the Son of God from heaven. I do not know if I can get this truth into the mind of every Christian here, but I should like to do so. The outward form of the Christian Church and the mere letter of gospel doctrine may appear to be poor and lowly; just so, it is the carpenter’s Church and the carpenter’s gospel; but “the carpenter’s son” was the Son of God, and since he is in his Church we may say of it, “Jehovah-Shammah,” “the Lord is there”; and the preaching of the gospel is no mere repetition of the dull, dead letter, but it is God marching out in majesty proclaiming mercy for every sinner who believes in his Son, Jesus Christ. Be content to remain unknown, Christian, this is the carpenter’s kingdom; the kingdom of the King in his glory is yet to be revealed.

      It doth not yet appear

      How great we must be made;

   But when we see our Saviour here,

      We shall be like our Head.

11. “Is this not the carpenter’s son?” Indeed, it is; but there is a divine splendour concealed beneath that lowly form. Some of the early church fathers and old writers used to delight in expressing strange ideas concerning “the carpenter’s son.” Julian the apostate, {a} as he is called, once asked a certain Christian, “What do you think the carpenter’s son is doing now?” “Making coffins for you and for all his enemies,” was the prompt reply. If that is not literally what he is doing, we may depend on it that it will go badly for those who say of him, “We will not have this Man to reign over us,” for we remember the solemn conclusion of the parable of the pounds, “Those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring here, and kill them before me.” One old writer says, “Christ was a carpenter, and a rare carpenter too, for he made a ladder that reaches all the way from earth to heaven, and up that ladder souls are continually ascending to the palace which he has gone to prepare for them.” That is a quaint way of describing how Christ has bridged the gulf between guilty sinners and their offended God by his atoning sacrifice. Happy are those who not only admire the ladder, but who trust themselves on it, and so are brought safely home to God in glory.

12. II. Now, in the second place, we are to consider THE TWO VIEWS OF CHRIST’S RELATIVES, and again we shall speak of the view of prejudice and the view of piety.

13. These men were not content with asking questions about Christ himself, but they also made enquiries concerning his relatives. They said, “Is not his mother called Mary?” She was a very excellent woman who was highly honoured in being the mother of Jesus, but there seems to be something of disdain or contempt in the question, “Is not his mother called Mary?” Then there were his brothers, — very commonplace kind of folk, the questioner seemed to imply. “Why!” one said, “I know all of them, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas, but who are they?” “Well,” another said, “I know his sisters, and there is nothing remarkable about them, so there probably is nothing special about him. Look at his relatives, what are they but just a carpenter’s wife and family? It is true that they belong to the tribe of Judah, and that they are of the house and lineage of David, but they are not the kind of people to be invited into the upper circles of society, so there is no reason why we should take any notice of the carpenter’s son.”

14. Now, that type of prejudice still exists in the world; we do not hear much said nowadays against Christ’s natural relatives, but it is his spiritual relatives who now come under the ban of prejudice. “Yes,” men say, “this evangelical doctrine certainly has a very exceptional power to attract the multitude. In the hands of Luther it worked a very remarkable Reformation. It is true that the preaching and writings of Calvin carried this gospel into the hearts of vast numbers of hearers and readers; and we see the power it had over great masses of men as it was presented to them by Bunyan, and Wesley, and Whitfield and other popular preachers; yet, after all, what is the type of people that is attracted by such preaching as this?” Prejudice does not stop to answer its own question; it hardly likes to say what it thinks, but what it thinks is something like this.

15. It thinks, in the first place, that they are a set of very poor people, and prejudice considers that to be one of the worst things you can say of them. In the opinion of those who are prejudiced in this way, poverty is regarded as almost worse than crime. A man may be guilty of nearly every form of iniquity, but as long as he is rich, nothing is said against him; yet, if another possesses every virtue, but in addition to that is poor, prejudice has not a word to say in his favour. We need not be greatly concerned about this, for we remember that our blessed Master said concerning his own ministry, “the poor have the gospel preached to them.” If he was glad to have them in his congregation, we also may rejoice if the poor are found among our hearers, and among those who are children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

16. Prejudice further says, “Well, if these relatives of Christ are not all poor, some of them have had very little education.” This is a remark which I often hear or read, but I certainly have failed to discover any wonderfully superior education in many of those gentlemen who seem to take delight in denying many of the verities of the faith. I often think that, if they had been better educated, they would not talk so foolishly as they sometimes do when they sneeringly ask, “What do those uneducated preachers know?” Well, we might seem to be fools in boasting if we replied that, if we did not know more than they do of the vital truths of Christianity, we would go to school again, and begin to learn the A B C of theology. As for the great thinkers of whom they so continually prate, we remember that Paul wrote, “Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; … that no flesh should boast in his presence.”

17. When these prejudiced people have had our answer on this point, they say that these relatives of Christ, meaning by it those who profess to be his followers, are very much like other people who make no profession of religion. One says, “I know a member of a certain church who has a very bad temper.” Someone else adds, “I know another who does not pay his bills.” Well, even if this is true, is it surprising that there are hypocrites in the church when there was a Judas even among the disciples? “But,” says another, “they are all alike, they are all a set of hypocrites.” Yet the most prejudiced slanderer knows that he is telling a lie when he talks like this. If he would only speak the truth, he would be compelled to admit that the gospel we preach has made prostitutes chaste, drunkards sober, and thieves honest, and that it is our great aim to “present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” He knows all this, but it suits his purpose to shut his eyes to it, and only to see, here and there, the imperfection that is incidental to manhood, or the hypocrisy which no foresight can prevent, and which only shows that hypocrites will thrust themselves into any place however holy, except heaven itself, and they would enter even there if they could.

18. This will suffice concerning the view of prejudice concerning Christ’s relatives, so now let us turn to the view of piety concerning them. Piety says, in the first place, “Blessed be the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that he should have a mother, and brothers, and sisters here below.” That ever the Son of God should have condescended to have brothers among the sons of men, and that there now sits on the throne of God one of a human mother born, is a subject for unceasing joy. My soul seems to expand as I think of it. How amazingly our poor humanity is exalted. Angels were never so closely linked with Deity as manhood is now. Christ has no mother among the seraphim, no brother among the cherubim, and no sister in all the shining ranks of holy angels; but, looking around on those whom he has redeemed with his precious blood, he says, “Behold, my mother and my brothers! For whoever shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

19. In the next place, instead of finding fault with Christ because of the imperfections of his relatives, piety sees in their imperfections a further reason for blessing Christ. She says, “What! Oh gracious Saviour, are your relatives sinners? Have they imperfections and do they make mistakes? Then, all hail, blessed Saviour, that you are not only related to humanity, but to sinful humanity; and though you are yourself sinless, yet you call sinners your friends, and you are called the Friend of sinners because you receives them and eat with them!” Yes, in the sense in which Christ himself spoke of them, his mother and brothers and sisters are still with us; and though they are not all that they ought to be, we love him all the more because he condescends to permit such people to be in close relationship to himself.

20. Piety also says that she wishes she was quite sure that her own relationship to Christ was as close as this. “Oh!” says the humble and sincere soul, “if I might only be the lowliest among those whom Christ calls his brothers and sisters, I would sooner have that honour than be the wearer of an earthly coronet or crown or possess the greatest wealth of gold or diamonds.” When piety is assured of her own personal relationship to Christ, instead of being ashamed of him because of his poor brothers and sisters, she counts it a priceless privilege to be numbered among them. Have you ever read the inscriptions that have been found in the catacombs of Rome? If you have done so, you must have noticed that many of them were evidently the productions of people who were quite illiterate. Probably many of them were not able to write at all, so they obtained the services of others, who were a little more educated than they themselves were, to write their epitaphs. Many of these first followers of Christ were certainly very ignorant so far as human learning was concerned, but do you now feel ashamed to belong to the same sect to which they belonged? Oh, no! if you really love the Lord whom they loved, you feel that it is an honour to be a member of that blessed Christian brotherhood, in which many of the members cheerfully laid down their lives rather than give up their relationship with Christ their Saviour.

21. Some people seem never to tire of railing at our particular denomination. “Oh, Baptists,” they say, “who are they?” But shall I be ashamed to be called a Baptist because some who ought to know better try to pour contempt and scorn on the name? Oh, no! but the more they are despised, the more closely I will cling to them. When our Lord Jesus Christ asked John the Baptist to baptize him, he said, “So it becomes us to fulfil all righteousness”; and with such an eminent example before me, I cannot be wrong if I seek very literally to “follow his steps” whatever obloquy that may involve. A man is not worthy to be connected with a Christian denomination if he is not prepared to take upon himself the reproach of the body to which he belongs, so let none of us be ashamed of being Baptists; and let none of us be ashamed of Jesus, and though his brothers and sisters may be poor and ignorant, let us love and esteem them because of their relationship to him.

22. Piety also rejoices that Christ’s brothers and sisters are here on earth, and that they are poor, for she says, “I can minister to Christ by helping them.” Piety feels concerning the brothers and sisters of Christ as David felt when he said, “Is there yet anyone who is left of the house of Saul, so that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” He was kind to Mephibosheth for Jonathan’s sake; let us be kind to Christ’s brothers and sisters for his sake. Let us ask, “Where can we find any of the household of Jesus so that we may show them kindness for his sake!” Christian charity delighted to find the poor believer, and to minister to him for Christ’s sake. If our names are found enrolled among the brothers and sisters of Christ, we shall surely count it an honour and privilege to do all that we can for the rest of the family, especially for those who are in the greatest need.

23. Now I close with just two questions. First, dear friends, what is your view of Christ; is it the view of prejudice or the view of piety? Do you say that, however lightly Christ may be esteemed by the world, he is precious to you? Then I trust that you also are among the brothers and sisters of “the carpenter’s son” whom he will acknowledge when he comes in his glory. Those who follow the despised Christ will not be rejected by the reigning Christ.

24. The other question is, what is your view of Christ’s people, is it the view of prejudice or the view of piety? Are you willing to cast in your lot with them? Will you join the sect that is everywhere spoken against? Are you ready to be hooted and jeered at for Christ’s sake? If you are, I trust that you are among his brothers and sisters who suffer with him here, and who shall reign with him eventually. “Who is on the Lord’s side?” Let that question ring in your ears as you go your way, “Who is on the Lord’s side?” If God is your God, serve him. If Christ is your king, follow him. Unite yourself with his people, and let all men see that you are not ashamed to acknowledge your Lord or those who are his brothers and sisters today. Do not let your view of Christ and his relatives be the view of prejudice, but let it be the view of piety; and may God bless you, for Jesus’ sake! Amen.

{a} Julian the Apostate: Roman Emperor from 361 to 363. Editor.

Exposition By C. H. Spurgeon {Mt 13:24-58}

24. He spoke another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field:

Jesus never sowed any other kind of seed. The truth which he taught is pure and unadulterated. It is good seed, — good and only good, the very best of seed.

25. But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

Wherever Christ is active, the enemy is sure to be active too. If you have a sleeping church, you may have a sleeping devil; but as soon as Christ is ever in the congregation sowing the good seed, the devil wakes up, and by night, when men are off their guard, the bad seed — the mock wheat — here translated “tares” — is sown among the true wheat.

26. But when the blade was sprung up, and produced fruit, then the tares also appeared.

The false wheat came up with the true. Perhaps the seed in the one case may have looked like the other, even as there is “another gospel which is not another” with which some still trouble us. The only true test is, “By their fruits you shall know them”; so, when the seeds had sprung up, there was the blade of true wheat, and “then the tares also appeared.”

27. So the servants of the householder came and said to him, “Sir did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?”

How often we have asked that question! We have seen children trained by the most godly parents, yet they have developed a sad propensity to sin, and we have said, “How then have these tares come?” We have seen a ministry which has been sound and faithful, and yet in the congregation there have sprung up various errors which have done a world of mischief, and we have had to sorrowfully ask, “How then have these tares come?”

28, 29. He said to them, “An enemy has done this.” The servants said to him, “Do you want us to go and gather them up?” But he said, “No; lest while you gather up the tares, you also root up the wheat with them.

We are so fallible, we make so many mistakes, that we cannot be trusted to do this uprooting, for we might pull up wheat as well as tares. If there had been briars or thorns growing in that field, those servants might have pulled them up without damage to the grain, just as a blatant sinner, who breaks the laws of God publicly, may be cut off from the church without damage; but these tares must be left for the present.

30. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather together the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.’”

There will be an end of this mixture in due time; the hypocrite shall not always stand in the congregation of the righteous; the wheat and the tares shall be separated “in the time of harvest.”

31, 32. He spoke another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches.”

The kingdom of heaven is just like that in this world; wherever it comes, it comes to grow. And it is just like that in our hearts. Oh, how small is the first sign of grace in the soul! Perhaps it is only a single thought. The life divine may begin with only a wish, or with one painful conviction of error; but if it is the true and living seed of God, it will grow. And there is no telling how great will be its growth until, in that soul where all was darkness, many graces, like sweet song birds, shall come and sing, and make joy and gladness there. Oh, that you and I might know from experience the meaning of the parable of the mustard seed!

33. He spoke another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal flour, until all of it was leavened.”

And although leaven is usually the symbol of evil, yet here it may be a fair representation of the kingdom of heaven itself, for it operates mysteriously and secretly, yet powerfully, until it permeates all of man’s nature; and the gospel will keep on winning its way until the whole world shall yet be leavened by it.

   More and more it spreads and grows,

      Ever mighty to prevail.

34-36. Jesus spoke all these things to the multitude in parables; and he did not speak to them without a parable: so that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.” Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”

I again remind you that, wherever there is anything that you do not understand, the best way is to consult the Master concerning it. If I read a book in which there is an obscure passage, and I can write to the author, and ask him what he means by it, I shall most probably get to understand it. So, the best Expositor of the Word of God is the Spirit of God; therefore appeal to him whenever you are puzzled with anything that is taught in the Scriptures, and say to him, “Blessed Spirit, will you graciously expound to me this parable, this doctrine, this experience?” and he will do it, and so you shall become wise to salvation.

37-43. He answered and said to them, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are the angels. Just as therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so it shall be in the end of this age. The Son of man shall send out his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and those who do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous shall shine out as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.

May God give us such ears as can hear his voice, and may we take to heart the solemn teachings of our Lord!

44-46. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field; which when a man has found it, he hides, and for joy of it goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

It would be a good bargain for anyone to part with all he has in exchange for the kingdom of heaven, yet that great “treasure” is to be had for nothing by everyone who trusts the Lord Jesus Christ.

47-50. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered some of every kind: which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So it shall be at the end of the age: the angels shall come, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

We are to cast the great seine net {b} of the gospel into the sea of humanity, but we must not expect that all we catch will prove to be good. There is time of separation coming when “the angels shall come, and sever the wicked from among the just.”

51. Jesus says to them, “Have you understood all these things?” {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3305, “A Clear Understanding” 3307}

This is a question which constantly needs to be asked of all hearers and readers of the Word. “Have you understood all these things?” To be hearers only, or readers only, will avail nothing; the Word must be understood, accepted, assimilated, and so it shall make us wise to salvation.

51. They say to him, “Yes, Lord.”

They answered very glibly, yet probably not one of them fully understood the seven parables in this chapter. If anyone did so, he would be like the instructed scribe described in the next verse: —

52. Then he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who is instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like a man who is a householder, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

He who has learned anything concerning the kingdom of heaven should teach it to others, bringing out the truth in pleasing variety, “new and old,” to edify all his hearers.

53, 54. And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed from there. And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom, and these mighty works?

They were highly privileged in having Jesus back in their midst, yet they failed to appreciate his teaching; they were astonished at his wisdom, but were unable to perceive the divine source from which it sprang.

55-58. Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? and his brothers, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? and his sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they were offended in him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honour, except in his own country, and in his own house.” And he did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

This was a notable illustration of John’s words concerning Christ, “He came to his own, but his own did not receive him.” Let us beware of unbelief lest it should tie the hands of Christ as it did there in his own country.

{b} Seine net: A fishing net designed to hang vertically in the water, the ends being drawn together to enclose the fish. OED.

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