AND FAITH’S SUPPLY, AND THE MOUNT THAT WAS NIGH TO THE SEA. (Matt. 15:)
This chapter presents two subjects in remarkable contrast:religious hardness of hypocrisy, in the first part, teaching that a man was free from obligation to help his parents on declaration that what he might have given them was devoted as a gift, and at the same time scrupulous about eating with unwashed hands. Love and righteousness were nothing before the claims of religious formalities.
It is here the Lord says, " Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, ' This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoreth Me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.' And He called the multitude, and said, Hear and understand, not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man, but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.' "
And does this plain and solemn rebuke open their blinded eyes? No; they are only offended by it. Self-complacency made them satisfied with a well of iniquity, covered with smooth words, but the Lord uncovers it. "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies." A sevenfold result of wickedness. "These are the things that defile a man, but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man." But so hardened were they and blind, that the Lord had to say, " Let them alone ; they be blind leaders of the blind; and if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." The Lord's words only offended them.
And here is the turning point in the chapter. " Then Jesus went thence and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And in contrast with the secure hardness of " the scribes and Pharisees which were of Jerusalem," He meets at once a world of openly confessed need, and at once supplies all that need. The daughter of the woman of Canaan is " made whole that very hour." "And great multitudes came unto Him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus feet, and He healed them, and . . . they glorified the God of Israel." And also He had compassion on the multitude and fed them, and they were all filled.
The contrast is impressive and instructive. Hardness of heart, ignorant of its need, He turns from; but felt misery and need He tenderly compassionates and at once relieves. It is a dark shadow and a bright light. Human wickedness and human misery brought suddenly to view, to arouse, if possible, the desperately hardened, and through it all the glory of the Lord shines. The meek and lowly one exposes and denounces the heartless hypocrite; and the all powerful One tenderly cares for the distressed. This is the One who has saved us. Let us not fear to be at rest in His love, and to examine ourselves too in the light of His holiness; and let us study His character, that is, behold His glory. If the shining of the light exposes and condemns, let us welcome the exposure, for He heals also, and His grace is sufficient to enable us to follow Him.
Note that they had made the commandments of God of no effect by their traditions; and their hearts were hardened against the tenderest feelings, and that by religious decrees. Let us heed the lesson:for to-day decrees of human invention, having a fair name to give them currency, displace the Word of God, to make room for the will of man.
How pure and good is the holy Word of God, by contrast,-"Thy word is very pure, therefore Thy servant loveth it." (Ps. 119:140.) "Honor thy father and mother," the Lord quotes to them, and at once their wickedness is exposed. How good the sound of this voice to upright parents and children! It was truly the turning of the hearts of the parents to the children, and the hearts of the children to the parents, according to the last words of the Old Testament.
The religious Pharisees were undermining the foundations of society, and the shining of the light exposes them at it.
But let us beware! How easy to slight common obligations of love and kindness while carefully religious ! May our eyes be enlightened !
But let us turn again to the latter part of the chapter. "And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee, and went up into a mountain, and sat down there. 'And great multitudes came unto Him, having with them those that were lame,'blind, dumb, maimed and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet, and He healed them."
The poor multitudes are better occupied than the Pharisees. They brought the needy ones to Jesus. This was good works, and the Lord was ready for them. But the locality is instructive. It is the third time He is on the mount in Matthew, in His service, and there is nothing but unhindered blessing. He is the triumphant, all-powerful One. In the chapter previous He is also on a mountain. "But," says the next verse, "the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves, for the wind was contrary." At once we are reminded of the book of Exodus, the opposition of the enemy, a contrary wind, while deliverance follows, but this occasion (the third) we are, as in Leviticus, in the glorious presence of God.
The number has evidently its usual meaning. On resurrection ground divine power dispenses world-wide blessing to fourfold distress:the dumb speak, the maimed become whole, the lame walk, and the blind see. And those who saw it "glorified the God of Israel."
It is a millennial scene, and a very glorious one and a complete one. For first, the power of Christ heals them, and enables them to stand before Him. And then in the miracle of the loaves and fishes, He feeds them, and by the twelve, as Solomon had twelve to minister provision for his house,-in his kingdom that was a type of the millennium.
There are, too, seven loaves and seven baskets full of overabundance. All tells completeness and super abounding grace.
"And they did all eat, and were filled."
But where is the Pharisee? Satisfied with husks, that even the poor prodigal turns away from because he has felt his need ! Satisfied without Christ! Perishing, and ignorant of it, in the far country ! He knows nothing of this scene of glory. How dark and sad his condition, far off from and forever ignorant of this scene of joy. And yet what can be done ? No one can give supply to him who knows no need. God commands men every where to repent, and there is joy in heaven over one sinner that repents, and on earth weeping-the Lord's own tears- over those who would not repent. They "would not," and their house was left unto them desolate. The burning thirst will come, but too late. The fixed gulf will be there, no more pleadings of mercy.
But no needy one is turned away. " Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." (Matt, 11:) And "him that cometh unto Me, I will in no wise cast out." There was no exception. Of all that multitude of men and women and children "they did all eat and were filled." Let no one fear to come boldly to Him, saint or sinner. If convicted of sin He gives peace; if already His, and in distress, in Him there is perfect grace and love to lift above every fear, and fill with peace and joy.
No Christian is ever without a Friend, or without full supply for every kind of need. Read in the fourth chapter of i Kings the type of all this, when " Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided victuals for the king and his household." And consider that " a greater than Solomon is here." And Solomon had wide dominion, and " he had peace on all sides round about him, and Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig-tree ;" as it will be in the time when "they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks." (Micah 4:4.) " Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom." (2 Chron. 9:7.) They were happy, not merely that their want was supplied, but because they stood continually in the king's presence, and heard his word, as did Mary. The Lord is both our "shield and our exceeding great reward." (Gen. 15:) Let us seek Him, and we shall know both His power and His bounty. We are always in need, and in Him and at His table is always perfect supply, and fullness of joy.
The Lord never brought any one into His presence to leave them unfed or uncared for. It is a place of joy. "None might enter the king's gate clothed with sackcloth." (Esth. 4:2.) And Mephibosheth (2 Sam. 9:) sat at the king's table, while all the fruits of the land of Saul's house were his; that is, all that is of this world that is for our good, is ours. He hath given us all things richly to enjoy.
There is another thing to notice as to the locality of this scene. The mountain was " nigh unto the sea of Galilee." "And Jesus departed thence," it reads, "and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee, and went up into a mountain, and sat down there." That is, the scene of all this abounding blessing in the Royal Presence was nigh unto the well-known sea of storms that witnessed the distress of His disciples and their cries of unbelief,-the sea that lay between them and the peaceful presence of the Lord on the shore beyond.
The time of sorrow we are in is not far from the millennial day. The night is far spent, and the day is at "Yet a little while [a very little while] and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry." And as the groaning increases, the day is hastening. It is about to dawn. The mount is nigh to the sea. Let this be our motto to cheer the soul. There is a glory in this creation that leads the heart to God; but in a moment we shall be in the presence of a glory such as no eye has seen, and this world will be a forgotten past. We are saved " in hope" (Rom. 8:)-in an atmosphere of hope. To rest here in this world is corruption; to breathe the atmosphere of hope is revival and strength and joy. " We rejoice in hope of the glory of God." (Rom. 5:2.)
So also in the alternation of trials and consolations here the mountain is nigh to the sea, when we least think so. And by a new valley of tribulation we are led by the hand to a new hill-top of hope to get a nearer, clearer view than ever before of the heavenly city.
Who would wish to have it otherwise than He appoints? Let us leave all with Him. Only let us not seek the hilltop of pride, but the valley of humility, where Jesus walked, and the hill-top of hope ; and the lower the valley of tribulation with humility (i Pet. 5:5, 6, and Rom. 5:2-5), the higher the hill-top of hope. His grace alone can keep us.
"And He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground." We must be at rest, and subject, in order to be fed. "And He gave to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitude." We must receive first from the Lord, and then communicate to others. This the disciples did. They were sanctified, and meet for the Master's use. This we must be or He will not use us. He will not forsake us, but He will not use us unless ready to be used. And then the disciples did not keep what they received, or waste it. They gave just what they had received to the multitude-"their portion of meat in due season." (Luke 12:42.)
What is kept and not used is like the manna kept. It became corrupt. Truth not held in holy hands, and communicated-circulated-is like a stagnant pool compared with running water. How foul the one ! how clear and light the other! Life-giving and refreshing, a type or figure of the Spirit's power in the Christian. (Jno. 7:38)
May our lives be holy lives, and our service abundant for the Lord, and to His people, and to all men.
Let us remember, then, there is a time to sit down and be fed, and a time for activity in service; and if one is lacking, both are lacking. May we hasten to purify ourselves from any sin that would hinder our being fed, and ' from any sluggishness that would hinder both feeding and serving.
May we welcome both the north wind and the south wind, if only the spices of His garden flow out. E.S.L.