Matt 8:12 New Concepts: Who Are the Children of the Kingdom? 9/9/2007 ßà
#1. The Faith of the Centurion (Luk 7:3-5, Matt 8:8-9)
#2. The Children of the Kingdom (Matt 8:12, 21:42-43, Isa 5:1-7, Luk 13:28-30, Rom 2:2)
#3. The Gospel Call (Rom 8:30, 15:8-12, Gen 17:4-5)
Please open your Bibles to the Gospel according to Matthew, Matt 8:1 (2X). For the past three weeks we have been going through the Sermon on the Mount, and I have given you the theme of each chapter, like I have been doing that for the previous chapters of Matthew. I have spent one sermon on each chapter. I know that this does not do justice to the Sermon on the Mount, but the purpose of this series is not to cover every detail. The purpose is to show you the new program that God designed immediately when He started to write the NT. God’s purpose for His new program is to bring the Gospel of salvation into all the world, “and then shall the end come”. Therefore I spend one sermon on each chapter of Matthew to show God’s new program in each chapter. And in this Sermon on the Mount the Lord Jesus showed us many new rules which He added to the long list of rules that we already find in the OT. Last week we discussed one of those rules: “Beware of false prophets”, for false prophets try to make you worship other gods. But God gave us the tools to recognize other gods by using Rev 22:18-19. For example do Jews, who do not believe the NT, worship the same God that we do? The answer is NO! Since their Bible is smaller than the Bible that we have, their god is a different god than the God that we serve, according to Rev 22:19. Today in chapter 8 we see another aspect of God’s new program to bring the Gospel into all the world.
And when we read about the many healing miracles that Jesus did, we
should not get the idea that the purpose of all these miracles was to attract
people to Jesus. The purpose of these miracles was twofold: #1, these
miracles established His credibility that He was sent from God, and #2, these
miracles were acted out pictures of salvation. These miracles show us that
salvation is all by grace, and that we become children of God entirely by
grace. Like the blind, and deaf, and lame are healed from their ailment, so we
initially were spiritually blind, and deaf, and lame before Jesus saved us.
This is how we become children of God. Therefore the title of this sermon is, “New Concepts: Who Are the Children of
the Kingdom?” And in this chapter we also find who are NOT children of
God.
Mt 8:1-2 When
he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And, behold, there came a leper and
worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
Mt 8:3 And
Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou
clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus saith unto
him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and
offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
Mt 8:5-7 And
when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion,
beseeching him, And
saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and
heal him.
Mt 8:8 The
centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come
under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
Mt 8:9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he
goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh;
and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
Mt 8:10 When
Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I
say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
Mt 8:11-12 And
I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down
with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast
out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mt 8:13 And
Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so
be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
Mt 8:14-15 And
when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick
of a fever. And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and
ministered unto them.
Mt 8:16 When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.
The focus of this sermon is particularly in verses 11 and 12. Who are these people that are called “children of the kingdom”, and yet they are cast into Hell? Therefore, to understand this peculiar turn of events for these “children of the kingdom” we want to learn what these “New Concepts” are which distinguishes between those that are on the way to heaven, and those that are on the way to Hell. Let us then first look at the centurion, and particularly at the faith of this centurion.
#1. The Faith of the Centurion (Luk 7:3-5, Matt 8:8-9)
Please turn in your Bibles to the Gospel according to Luke, Luk 7:3 (2X). What is a centurion? A centurion is a commander of 100 Roman soldiers, and sometimes more than 100. A centurion is a very high officer in the Roman army. We have here in the Gospel of Luke the same account of the centurion and his servant who was sick of the palsy. The story line differs a little bit. Here it is not the centurion himself who comes to Jesus, but he sent a delegation of elders of the Jews to Jesus. It means that the centurion did what was done in his name and at his request. We read in Luk 7:3,
Lu 7:3 And
when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him
that he would come and heal his servant.
Lu 7:4 And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this: For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue.
The elders of the Jews reported to Jesus that this centurion loved the nation of Israel. What does that mean? It means that this centurion had embraced the worship of one God, Jehovah, the God of Israel. It means that before Christ healed his servant, this centurion had been healed by the Lord. And this was in itself a miracle. This man, who had come from far with a band of Roman soldiers, for the purpose of getting the Jews accustomed to the yoke of the Roman tyranny, this man submits willingly in obedience to the God of Israel. It means that God has given him a regenerated soul. This centurion was “born from above”. And so, when this centurion pleaded for the life of his servant, he was in fact acting out the role of priest, interceding God on behalf of someone else. And herein we discover a marvellous stupidity. When the Jews reported that this man has built them a synagogue, they admitted, by their own acknowledgement, that a Gentile had received the grace of God that they themselves rejected. For if they consider the Lord Jesus to be the minister and dispenser of the gifts of God, why do they not receive the grace offered to them before they bring foreigners to enjoy it? But hypocrites never fail to display some inconsistency in their actions, and they show a carelessness about the power and grace of God. In their pride, hypocrites assume that God is under some obligation to save them, because they have in their own power made a decision to serve Him.
But let us now contrast them with the humility of this centurion. Please turn again to the Gospel according to Matthew, Matt 8:8 (2X). Since the centurion has built a synagogue for the Jews, he was thoroughly aware of the attitude of the Jews toward Gentiles, and that the Jews would not enter into a Gentile’s home. But now Jesus was going to enter into his home to heal his servant. We read in Mt 8:
Mt 8:8 The
centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come
under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
Mt 8:9 For I
am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man,
Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do
this, and he doeth it.
And so, the centurion considers himself unworthy to receive a visit from Jesus. This was an astonishing humility in exalting so highly above himself a man who belonged to a conquered and enslaved nation. He feared that he would dishonor a prophet of God if he would ask him to enter the house of a polluted Gentile. And so he pleaded, “but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed”. Although the centurion does not distinctly understand that Christ is God, yet he is convinced that the power of God rests in Him, and that Christ had received a commission from God to display the presence of God. This was not a vain superstition, like the many today who come out in droves to see a faith-healer. Since God, according to Rev 22:18, has finished bringing Divine revelations to the people of today, God is no more bringing miraculous healings after Revelations was written. All the miracles of healing that occur today are either deceptions by the faith-healer, or if these are true miracles they are miracles done by Satan, who is allowed to break through the barrier between the natural and the supernatural. It is vain superstition of the gullible masses, for they believe that the power of healing rests in the faith-healer. They are glorifying the faith-healer, rather than God. No, the centurion’s faith was not a vain superstition. He ascribed the power of Jesus’ word not to mortal man, but to God, whose minister he fully believed Christ to be. He acknowledged that this was a heavenly power. When he said, “For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me”, he claimed that he understood the authority that the Lord Jesus had received from God. Who caused him to understand all this? God gave him this insight, by grace. It was a free gift to this servant of God. Let us now look:
Mt 8:10-11 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and
said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great
faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall
come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and
Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
When we read that Jesus marvelled, we realize that this refers to
the Lord Jesus in His humanity, and not in His Divinity, for God cannot be
surprised. And when we read that Jesus said, “I have not found so great
faith in all the nation of Israel”, this is not spoken in the absolute sense.
God has given the centurion this faith, and it is the same great faith that God
gives to everyone who becomes saved. We all receive the faith that is as great
as the faith of our father Abraham (Rom 4:16). We can see at least three
reasons why the Lord preferred the faith of a Gentile more than the faith of
all the Jews. First of all, here is an example that a slight and
inconsiderable knowledge of the doctrines of the Bible produced suddenly such
an abundant fruit. This tells us clearly that God the Holy Spirit is our
teacher. Your pastor is not your primary teacher, but it is God Himself who is,
like we read in John 6:45, “And they shall be
all taught of God”. And God can produce an abundance of fruit with much or with
little information from the Bible. God is sovereign and He will do all His
pleasure. Please turn in your Bibles to chapter 12 of this Gospel of
Matthew, Matt 12:39 (2X). Secondly, while the Jews were
excessively eager to obtain outward signs, this Gentile asked for no visible
sign, but he declared that he wanted nothing more than the bare Word. This man
asked for no bodily approach or touch, but believed the Word to possess such power
that his servant will be healed. He ascribed this honor to the Word, not of a
man, but of God, for he is convinced that Christ is not an ordinary man, but a
prophet sent by God. The Lord Jesus emphasized this general principle in
Matt 12:39-40,
Mt 12:39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil
and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be
given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
Mt 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights
in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in
the heart of the earth.
In other words, we must not be trusting signs, and miracles, and
ceremonies, and all that, for all these outward signs have ceased after
Revelation was written. The only sign we must hang on to is the sign of the
prophet Jonah, which is the sign of the cross. And so, it is only the miracle
of salvation done in our soul that is still valid unto the present time. If
today we would be looking for external signs and miracles, we would be an evil
and adulterous generation. Let us now apply this general principle to
our days: Although it was the will of God that our salvation be accomplished by
Christ on the cross, and although He confirms it often with signs of Water
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which are also signs of the cross, yet the
assurance of our salvation does not come from partaking of those outward signs,
but it must be obtained from the Word. Our confidence of the forgiveness of all
our sins must come from acknowledging the authority of the Word of God, and to
believe this for this is what God has said. Whether we think that our’s is a
small faith or a great faith, our faith is a gift from God. There is no other
way we can be confident of our salvation. There is a third reason
why the Lord Jesus preferred the faith of a Gentile more than the faith of all
the Jews at this point in time. Here is the rsn:
When the Lord Jesus said that “many shall come from the east and west”, He referred to all the nations outside the region of Palestine. In other words, all the nations of the world will hear of Jesus and will come to Him. Herein is the third reason why the Lord stressed the faith of this centurion. In the person of this Gentile the Lord gave to the Gentiles a taste and a kind of first-fruits of His grace. This centurion was a picture of the future calling of the Gentiles, and of the spread of faith throughout all the world. And although this was extensively foretold by many passages of the prophets, it was at first thought strange and incredible to the Jews, who imagined that God was confined to the family of Abraham. They were astonished to learn that those who were Gentile strangers would be citizens and heirs of the Kingdom of God. And moreover, they were amazed that the covenant of salvation would be immediately proclaimed that the whole world might be united in one body, the church. The Lord Jesus declared that the Gentiles who shall come to the faith, will be partakers of the same salvation with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And thus we draw the certain conclusion that the same promise, which was given to us in Christ, was also formerly given to the fathers. For we would not have an inheritance in common with them, if the faith by which it is obtained had not been the same. And so you see, that the Lord Jesus proclaimed clearly that it was God’s intent all along to bring the Gospel of salvation into the whole world, and not to the physical descendants of Jacob only.
Who then are “the many” the Lord Jesus spoke about in Matt 8:11? In Matt 2 we have seen that the wise men from the east, who came to worship the baby Jesus, are certainly among the many. In Matt 3 we have seen that there were many from the Gentile regions round about Jordan who came to John the Baptist, confessing their sins. They too joined the ranks of the many. In Matt 4 we have seen that in Galilee of the Gentiles, the people which sat in darkness saw a great Light, and that Light was the Lord Jesus Christ. And great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Syria, and from Decapolis, and from other regions beyond Jordan followed Jesus. In Matt 5, 6 and 7 the Lord Jesus taught His disciples and all the multitudes who followed Him the new rules of mercy and grace in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matt 8:3 the leper who was healed also became one of the many. Then in Matt 8:10 the Lord declared that this Gentile centurion was one of the many. Then in Matt 8:15 we read that Peter’s mother in law became one of the many. Then in Matt 8:16 all those that were sick were healed, which is a picture of spiritual healing that occurred in their soul, and they too joined the ranks of the many. You see, only when we admit that we are spiritually sick can we be saved. Only those who recognize that they are sinners can be saved. Then in Matt 8:19 this scribe faced the rigors of discipleship, but he was not turned away, and he too joined the ranks of the many. Then in Matt 8:22 the Lord Jesus said, “Follow Me”, and this man also became one of the many, because when Jesus said, “Follow Me”, no one turned away from following Him. Then in Matt 8:26 eleven of the fearful twelve disciples joined the ranks of the many. Then in Matt 8:29 the two demon-possessed Gergesenes were saved and they too became a part of the many. And so we see that both Jews and Gentiles join the ranks of the many who shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven. And we wonder then who are the few who shall not enter into the Kingdom of heaven? Let us keep this in mind: “they are not few”, for in the previous chapter, in Matt 7:13-14, the Lord Jesus indicated that those going to heaven are few, and those going to Hell are many. For example, in Matt 8:34 the whole city came out to ask Jesus to leave. What a horrible request. O but there are many more today who are asking Jesus to leave. They accuse the Lord Jesus of perpetrating lies and in making people believe silly superstition. There are many who do this, for they do not fear God, and they have changed the Bible to say what they really want it to say. And so, when we read the Bible we read about the many and the few. Many are those who go to Hell, and few are those who go to heaven. For only a remnant chosen by grace shall be saved. But when we finally come into heaven and we see the remnant chosen by grace from all nations, and kindreds, and peoples, and tongues, we see that they add up to many, for we read in Rev 7:9 of a great multitude which no man could number. All these are the many whom the Lord Jesus honored in Matt 8:11. All these have become the Children of the Kingdom by grace alone. It was given them not by birth, but as a FREE GIFT. And then there are the many who claim to be children of the kingdom, but they shall be cast into Hell. Now this seems strange language for the Lord Jesus. Why does He call them, “Children of the Kingdom”?
#2. The Children of the Kingdom (Matt 8:12, 21:42-43, Isa 5:1-7, Luk 13:28-30, Rom 2:2)
Mt 8:12 But
the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall
be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Clearly the Lord introduced us here to a contrast. In verse 11 the “many who shall come from the east and west” refer to the remnant from the Gentile nations, and they are contrasted in verse 12 with the many of the nation of Israel who shall not believe in Christ as their Messiah, and who shall be cast into Hell. Now this is not an isolated idea here in Matt 8. Please turn in your Bibles to chapter 21 of this Gospel account, Matt 21:42 (2X). There in Matt 21 the Lord Jesus addressed the chief priests and the elders of the Jews with two parables. The second parable was the parable of the wicked husbandmen in a vineyard. Clearly, this was a repeat of the parable of the vineyard we find in Isa 5. The vineyard represents the outward manifestation of the Kingdom of God on this earth. At the time of Jesus it was the apostate nation of Israel. In our time it is the apostate church. Then we read in Mt:
Mt 21:42-43 Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given
to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
What do we see here? “The stone which the builders rejected” represents the Lord Jesus Christ. The vineyard is the Kingdom of God, which will be taken from the nation of Israel and will be given to another nation, which will be the nation of believers in Jesus as the Savior from their sins. Now, this is altogether in agreement with what we have found in Matt 8:12. And clearly, from this statement of Jesus we can confidently say, “There is no future Jewish millennium!” for the Lord Jesus cannot be called a liar. The Lord Jesus is not an “Indian Giver”. He does not give and then takes away what He has given. When the Lord says, “The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof”, the Lord will not in the future take the kingdom away from the nation of believers (mainly Gentiles) and give it back to the nation of Israel, for if we in the millennium would read Matt 21:43, the Lord Jesus would be a liar. Please turn now to the Gospel according to Luke, Luk 13:28 (2X). The Lord Jesus is here answering a question from one of the Jews, but in His answer the Lord is addressing the entire nation of Israel. The question to Jesus was this: “Lord, are there few that will be saved?” The surprising answer that Jesus gave was a warning to the nation of Israel. He s
Lu 13:28 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.
Lu 13:29 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.
Lu 13:30 And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.
Again this agrees with what we have just read in Matt 21, and with what we have just read in Matt 8:12. To the Jews it was astounding that the Gentiles would be admitted, by a free adoption, into the same body with the posterity of Abraham. But it was even harder to believe that the Jews themselves would be driven out, to make way for their being succeeded by the Gentiles. They considered this an altogether monstrous idea. And yet the Lord Jesus declared that both things will come to pass: that God will admit strangers into the bosom of Abraham, and that He will exclude the natural children of Jacob. But why would the Lord call these natural children of Jacob, “Children of the Kingdom”? For those who are aliens from faith in the whole Bible have no right to be called children of God’s flock. The answer is: that although they did not belong to the church of God, yet they occupied a place in the OT church. Remember, “unto them were committed the oracles of God” (Rom 2:2). They had a place in the OT economy of God when the Ceremonial Law was still in effect. But when Christ died the Ceremonial Law was fulfilled and taken away, and with that all those adhering to the Ceremonial Law were also removed from being a member of the church of God. The question that remains is this:
Why would so many of national Israel prefer to obey the Ceremonial Law instead of embracing the salvation that is so free? The answer is: dirty rotten pride is an inherent characteristic of human nature. The natural man is basically very proud, and does not want to admit it. Please turn in your Bibles to the Epistle to the Romans, Rom 9:30 (2X). When I first heard the Gospel, when I was 40 years old, I had a great struggle with admitting that I had been wrong for 40 years, and that I wasted 40 years in worshipping a false religion. Could it really be true that I was wrong all that time? It made me feel very low. It hurt my pride. I could not imagine that I was so stupid for 40 years. It was only after that I had laid down my pride, and humbly came to Jesus with nothing in my hands, that I began to learn the basic truths of the Gospel. “Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling”. Essentially this is what national Israel had to deal with. Could they cross out all the years that they have obeyed the Ceremonial Law and count it as dung, like the apostle Paul did? We read in Rom 9:
Ro 9:30-32 What shall we say then? That the Gentiles,
which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even
the righteousness which is of faith.
But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not
attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not
by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that
stumblingstone;
Ro 9:33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a
stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be
ashamed.
What do we see here? National Israel, which followed after the Law, believing that obedience to that Law will make them righteous before God, has not become righteous before God. No one can become righteous by obeying the Law, for the Law must be perfectly obeyed, and no human being is able to do that. If we fail to do that in just one detail of the Law, we have failed the whole Law. The purpose of the Law was not to make us righteous, but to make us humble before God. And this is what the majority of the Jews did not want to do. They had a plan of salvation which put them in a superior position above all the Gentiles, for with all their good works and ceremonies they contributed mightily to their righteousness before God. It made them feel very holy and very good. They had no need to trade in their plan of salvation for another plan of salvation, whereby they would lose all their special benefits as sons of Abraham, and the Law. And thus they stumbled at that stumblingstone which is salvation by grace alone through Christ crucified. No other credits will do. Please turn again to Matthew chapter 8, the last verse, Matt 8:34 (2X). And this was also the same problem with the Gergesenes. They had their swine, and they were delighted to eat their pork chops. Now this Jew called Jesus came from across the Sea of Galilee to impose His religion on them, beginning with the conversion of the two despicable madmen who lived in the tombs, and beginning to destroy their herd of swine, for swine are an abomination to the Jews. No, they did not want the religion of the Jews. We
Mt 8:34 And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.
They were proud of their heritage as Gergesenes, and they were proud of their industry of selling pork chops. They did not want a change, for they were already doing very well, thank you.
And when we look at the church of today, are we not seeing the same problem? Many in the churches of today have adopted a gospel of salvation by our own free will. This is a salvation program which really strokes our ego. We do not have to struggle with total depravity, for we believe that there is something inherently good in every human being. And we do not have to struggle with election, for God is a Gentleman who will not take away our free will and who will not send people to Hell because they are not of the elect. And so, in making our decision for Jesus we feel that we are the King-maker. Why would we trade in this religion for another, whereby we become worthless totally depraved souls, who must totally depend on the grace of God to save them? No! They would not want to trade in their religion for a religion of grace alone. They rather obey the law which said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved”. Now let us turn the floodlights a little closer. Have we heard
#3. The Gospel Call (Rom 8:30, 15:8-12, Gen 17:4-5)
Please turn in your Bibles to chapter 8 of this Epistle to the Romans, Rom 8:30 (2X). Have we understood “Who Are the Children of the Kingdom?” If we have heard the Gospel Call, then we also have understood that God chose His remnant by grace out of all the nations of the world, for only those who have been chosen by grace will hear the Gospel Call. Can we say that those who adhere to a free-will gospel have also heard the Gospel Call? Absolutely not, for they do not believe the hundreds of passages in the Bible dealing with election and predestination. God says in Rom 8:30,
Ro 8:30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
Only those whom God did predestinate did He call with a special call, an irresistible call of the Gospel. If people choose not to believe this verse, then they have not heard the special call of God. Please turn in this Epistle to the Romans to chapter 15, Rom 15:8 (2X). Has the majority of the nation of Israel heard the special call of God? Absolutely not, for they do not believe the entire NT wherein this special call of God is laid out in detail. Why then was the Lord Jesus sent to minister to the Jews?
Ro 15:8-12 Now
I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of
God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: And that the Gentiles might
glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will
confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name.
And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people.
And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye
people. And again, Esaias saith, There shall
be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles;
in him shall the Gentiles trust.
The Lord Jesus was sent to minister to the Jews because God promised that His Messiah would come out of the loins of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But when God promised that Abraham would be a father of many nations (Gen 17:4-5), God referred to the many nations of Gentiles who would come to Christ. Six times do we read in this passage that the Gentiles will glorify God for His mercy. Only then will we have a good understanding of “Who are the Children of the Kingdom”. The Kingdom has
been taken away from them and was given to a new nation. And that is a new concept for many in the churches of today. AMEN. Let us turn to the Lord in prayer.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------