Expository Thoughts on the Gospels

In these verses we have a touching picture of an event in our Lord's history. He heals two blind men sitting by the wayside, near Jericho. The circumstances of the event contain several deeply interesting lessons, which all professing Christians would do well to remember.

For one thing, let us mark what strong faith may sometimes be found where it might least have been expected. Blind as these two men were, they believed that Jesus was able to help them. They never saw any of our Lord's miracles; they knew him only by hearsay, and not face to face. Yet, as soon as they heard that he was passing by, they "?cried out saying,?Have mercy on us O Lord thou Son of David!?'

Such faith may well put us to shame. With all our books of evidence, lives of saints and libraries of divinity, how few know anything of simple, child-like confidence in Christ's mercy and Christ's power. Even among those who are believers, the degree of faith is often strangely disproportionate to the privileges enjoyed. Many an unlearned man who can only read his New Testament with difficulty possesses the spirit of unhesitating trust in Christ's advocacy, while deeply-read divines are harassed by questionings and doubts. They who, humanly speaking, ought to be first, are often last, and the last first.

For another thing let us mark what wisdom there is in using every opportunity for getting good for our souls. These blind men "?sat by the wayside,?" had they not done so, they might never have been healed. Jesus never returned to Jericho, and they might never have met with him again.

Let us see, in this simple fact, the importance of diligence in the use of means of grace. Let us never neglect the house of God, never forsake the assembling of ourselves with God's people, never omit the reading of our Bibles, never let drop the practice of private prayer. These things, no doubt, will not save us without the grace of the Holy Ghost: thousands make use of them, and remain dead in transgressions and sins. But it is just in the use of these things that souls are converted and saved: they are the ways in which Jesus walks. It is they who "?sit by the wayside?" who are likely to be healed. Do we know the diseases of our souls? Do we feel any desire to see the Great Physician? If we do we must not wait in idleness, saying, "?If I am to be saved, I shall be saved.?" We must arise and go to the road where Jesus walks. Who can tell, but he will soon pass by for the last time! Let us sit daily "?by the wayside?."

For another thing let us mark the value of pains and perseverance in seeking Christ. These blind men were "?rebuked?" by the multitude that accompanied our Lord: men told them to "?hold their peace.?" But they were not to be silenced in this way: they felt their need of help, they cared nothing for the check which they received. "?They cried the more saying,?Have mercy on us O Lord thou Son of David.'

We have in this part of their conduct a most important example. We are not to be deterred by opposition or discouraged by difficulties when we begin to seek the salvation of our souls. We must "?pray always and not faint?" (? Luke 18:1); we must remember the parable of the importunate widow, and of the friend who came to borrow bread at midnight. Like them we must press our petitions at the throne of grace, and say, "?I will not let thee go except thou bless me?" (? Genesis 32:26). Friends, relatives and neighbors may say unkind things and reprove our earnestness; we may meet with coldness and want of sympathy where we might have looked for help; but let none of these things move us. If we feel our diseases, and want to find Jesus, the Great Physician—if we know our sins, and desire to have them pardoned—let us press on. "?The violent take the kingdom by force. (? Matthew 11:12).

Finally let us mark gracious the Lord Jesus is to those who seek him. "?He stood still and called?" the blind men; he kindly asked them what it was that they desired; he heard their petition and did what they requested. He "?had compassion on them and touched their eyes, and immediately their eyes received sight.?"

We see here an illustration of that old truth which we can never know too well—the mercifulness of Christ's heart towards the sons of men. The Lord Jesus is not only a mighty Saviour, but merciful, kind and gracious to a degree that our minds cannot conceive. Well might the apostle Paul say "?that the love of Christ passes knowledge?" (? Ephesians 3:19). Like him, let us pray that we may "?know?" more of that love. We need it when we first begin our Christian course, poor trembling penitents, and babes in grace; we need it afterwards, as we travel along the narrow way, often erring, often stumbling and often cast down; we shall need it in the evening of our days, when we "?walk through the valley of the shadow of death.?" Let us then grasp the love of Christ firmly, and keep it daily before our minds. We shall never know, till we wake up in the next world, how much we are indebted to it.

These verses contain a very remarkable passage in our Lord Jesus Christ's life. They describe his public entry into Jerusalem when he came there for the last time, before he was crucified.

There is something peculiarly striking in this incident in our Lord's history. The narrative reads like the account of some royal conqueror's return to his own city: "?A very great multitude?" accompanies him in a kind of triumphal procession. Loud cries and expressions of praise are heard around him: "?All the city was moved.?" The whole transaction is singularly at variance with the past tenor of our Lord's life; it is curiously unlike the ways of him who did not "?cry nor strive?" nor let his voice be heard "?in the streets?"—who withdrew himself from the multitude on other occasions, and sometimes said to those he healed, "?See thou say nothing to any man.?" (? Mark 1:44). And yet the whole transaction admits of explanation. The reasons of this public entry are not hard to find out. Let us see what they were.

The plain truth is that our Lord knew well that the time of his earthly ministry was drawing to a close; he knew that the hour was approaching when he must finish the mighty work he came to do, by dying for our sins upon the cross. He knew that his last journey had been accomplished, and that there remained nothing now in his earthly ministry but to be offered as a sacrifice on Calvary. Knowing all this, he no longer, as in times past, sought secrecy; knowing all this, he thought it good to enter the place where he was to be delivered to death, with peculiar solemnity and publicity. It was not fitting that the Lamb of God should come to be slain on Calvary privately and silently. Before the great sacrifice for the sin of the world was offered up, it was right that every eye should be fixed on the victim. It was suitable that the crowning act of our Lord's life should be done with as much notoriety as possible. Therefore it was that he made this public entry; therefore it was that he attracted to himself the eyes of the wondering multitude; therefore it was that"?all Jerusalem was moved.?" The atoning blood of the Lamb of God was about to be shed; this deed was not to be "?done in a corner?" (? Acts 26:26).

It is good to remember these things. The real meaning of our Lord's conduct at this period of his history is not sufficiently considered by many readers of this passage. It remains for us to consider the practical lessons which these verses appear to point out.

In the first place let us notice in these verses an example of our Lord Jesus Christ's perfect knowledge. He sends his two disciples into a village; he tells them that they will there find the ass on which he was to ride; he provides them with an answer to the inquiry of those to whom the ass belonged; he tells them that on giving that answer the ass will be sent. All happens exactly as he foretells.

There is nothing hid from the Lord's eyes; there are no secrets with him. Alone or in company, by night or by day, in private or in public, he is acquainted with all our ways. He that saw Nathaniel under the fig-tree, is unchanged. Go where we will, and retire from the world as we may, we are never out of sight of Christ.

This is a thought that ought to exercise a restraining and sanctifying effect on our souls. We all know the influence which the presence of the rulers of this world has upon their subjects: nature itself teaches us to put a check on our tongues, demeanor and behavior when we are under the eye of a King. The sense of our Lord's Jesus Christ's perfect knowledge of all our ways ought to have the same effect upon our hearts. Let us do nothing we would not like Christ to see, and say nothing we would not like Christ to hear; let us seek to live and move and have our being under a continual recollection of Christ's presence; let us behave as we would have done had we walked beside him in the company of James and John, by the sea of Galilee. This is the way to be trained for heaven. In heaven, "?we shall ever be with the Lord" (? 1 Thessalonians 4:17).

In the second place, let us notice in these verses an example of the manner in which prophecies concerning our Lord's first coming were fulfilled. We are told that his public entry fulfilled the words of Zechariah: "?Thy king cometh unto thee, meek and sitting upon an ass.?"

It appears that this prediction was literally and exactly fulfilled. The words which the prophet spake by the Holy Ghost received no figurative accomplishment: as he said, so it came to pass; as he foretold, so it was done. Five hundred and fifty years had passed away since the prediction was made—and then, when the appointed time arrived, the long-promised Messiah did literally ride into Zion "?on an ass.?" No doubt the vast majority of the inhabitants of Jerusalem saw nothing in the circumstance; the veil was upon their hearts. But we are not left in doubt as to the fulfillment of the prophecy. We are told plainly, "?All this was done that it might be fulfilled."

From the fulfillment of God's word in time past we are surely intended to gather something as to the manner of its fulfillment in time to come. We have a right to expect that prophecies respecting the second advent of Christ will be as literally fulfilled as those respecting his first advent. He came to this earth literally in person the first time; he will come to this earth literally in person the second time; he came in humiliation once literally to suffer; he will come again in glory literally to reign. Every prediction respecting things accompanying his first advent was literally accomplished: it will be just the same when he returns. All that is foretold about the restoration of the Jews—the judgments on the ungodly, the unbelief of the world, the gathering of the elect—shall be made good to the letter. Let us not forget this. In the study of unfulfilled prophecy, a fixed principle of interpretation is of the first importance.

Finally, let us notice in these verses a striking example of the worthlessness of man's favor. Of all the admiring crowds who thronged round our Lord as he entered Jerusalem, none stood by him when he was delivered into the hands of wicked men. Many cried, "?Hosanna?" who four days after cried, "?Away with him! Crucify him!?"

But this is a faithful picture of human nature: this is a proof of the utter folly of thinking more of the praise of man than the praise of God. Nothing in truth is so fickle and uncertain as popularity: it is here today and gone tomorrow; it is a sandy foundation, and sure to fail those who build upon it. Let us not care for it. Let us seek the favor of him who is "?the same yesterday today and forever?" (? Hebrews 13:8). Christ never changes: those whom he loves, he loves to the end. His favor endures forever.

We have in these verses an account of two remarkable events in our Lord's history. In both, there was something eminently figurative and typical. Each was an emblem of spiritual things. Beneath the surface of each, lie lessons of solemn instruction.

The first event that demands our attention, is our Lord's visit to the temple. He found His Father's house in a state which too truly shadowed forth the general condition of the whole Jewish church—everything out of order, and out of course. He found the courts of that holy building disgracefully profaned by worldly transactions. Trading, and buying, and selling, were actually going on within its walls. There stood dealers ready to supply the Jew who came from distant countries, with any sacrifice he wanted. There sat the money-changer, ready to change his foreign money for the current coin of the land. Bulls, and sheep, and goats, and pigeons, were there exposed for sale, as if the place had been a market. The jingling of money might there be heard, as if these holy courts had been a bank or an exchange.

Such were the scenes that met our Lord's eyes. He saw it all with holy indignation. "He drove out all of those who sold and bought." He "overthrew the money changers' tables." Resistance there was none, for men knew that He was right. Objection there was none, for all felt that he was only reforming a notorious abuse, which had been basely permitted for the sake of gain. Well might He sound in the ears of the astonished traders, as they fled from the temple—"It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a den of robbers!"

Let us see in our Lord's conduct on this occasion, a striking type of what He will do when He comes again the second time. He will purify His visible church as He purified the temple. He will cleanse it from everything that defiles and works iniquity, and cast every worldly professor out of its pale. He will allow no worshiper of money, or lover of gain, to have a place in that glorious temple, which He will finally exhibit before the world. May we all strive to live in the daily expectation of that coming! May we judge ourselves, that we be not condemned and cast out in that searching and sifting day! We should often study those words of Malachi—"Who can endure the day of His coming? and who will stand when He appears? for He is like a refiner's fire, and like launderer's soap." (Mal. 3:2.)

The second event that demands our attention in these verses, is our Lord's curse upon the fruitless fig-tree. We are told, that being hungry He came to a fig-tree in the way, and "found nothing on it but leaves. He said to it, 'Let there be no fruit from you forever!' Immediately the fig tree withered away." This is an incident almost without parallel in all our Lord's ministry. It is almost the only occasion on which we find Him making one of His creatures suffer, in order to teach a spiritual truth. There was a heart-searching lesson in that withered fig-tree. It preaches a sermon we shall all do well to hear.

That fig-tree, full of leaves, but barren of fruit, was a striking emblem of the Jewish church, when our Lord was upon earth. The Jewish church had everything to make an outward show. It had the temple, the priesthood, the daily service, the yearly feasts, the Old Testament Scriptures, the rituals of the Levites, the morning and evening sacrifice. But beneath these goodly leaves, the Jewish church was utterly destitute of fruit. It had no grace, no faith, no love, no humility, no spirituality, no real holiness, no willingness to receive its Messiah. (John 1:11.) And hence, like the fig-tree, the Jewish church was soon to wither away. It was to be stripped of all its outward ornaments, and its members scattered over the face of the earth. Jerusalem was to be destroyed. The temple was to be burned. The daily sacrifice was to be taken away. The tree was to wither away to the very ground. And so it came to pass. Never was there a type so literally fulfilled. In every wandering Jew we see a branch of the fig-tree that was crushed.

But we may not stop here. We may find even more instruction in the event we are now considering. These things were written for our sakes, as well as for the Jews.

Is not every fruitless branch of Christ's visible church in an dreadful danger of becoming a withered fig-tree? Beyond doubt it is. High ecclesiastical profession, without holiness among the people—overweening confidence in councils, bishops, liturgies, and ceremonies, while repentance and faith have been neglected—have ruined many a visible church in time past, and may yet ruin many more. Where are the once famous churches of Ephesus, and Sardis, and Carthage, and Hippo? They are all gone. They had leaves, but no fruit. Our Lord's curse came upon them. They became withered fig-trees. The decree went forth, "Hew them down." (Dan. 4:23.) Let us remember this. Let us beware of Church-pride. Let us not be high-minded, but fear. (Rom. 2:20.)

Finally, is not every fruitless professor of Christianity in dreadful danger of becoming a withered fig-tree? There can be no doubt of it. So long as a man is content with the leaves of religion—with a name to live while he is dead, and a form of godliness without the power—so long his soul is in great peril. So long as he is satisfied with going to church or chapel, and receiving the Lord's supper, and being called a Christian, while his heart is not changed, and his sins not forsaken—so long he is daily provoking God to cut him off without remedy. Fruit, fruit—the fruit of the Spirit, is the only sure proof that we are savingly united to Christ, and in the way to heaven. May this sink down into our hearts, and never be forgotten!