James Turner's Comments #11 The Gospels

Southern Christian University

Matthew, Mark, Luke & John

Class Session 11

James A. Turner

We begin tonight with the parable of the talents as recorded in Matthew chapter twenty‑five. I believe we said we would begin with verse fourteen. According to this parable, there was a man that was going into another country, and he called his servants, and delivered unto them his goods according to their ability to use. To one he gave five talents; to another two talents, and to another one talent; according to their ability to use them. And the five‑talent man took his talents and used them and so did the two‑talent man, but the one‑talent man took his talent and digged in the earth and hid his Lord's money. Verse nineteen, "After a long time the Lord of those servants cometh, and maketh a reckoning with them. And he that received the five talents came and brought the other five talents, saying, Lord, thou delivereth unto me five talents: Lo, I have gained the other five talents. His Lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant: Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things: Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. And he also that received the two talents came and said, Lord, thou delivereth unto me two talents: Lo, I have gained other two talents. And his Lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things: Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. And he also that had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou didst not sow, and gathering where thou hast not shadowed: I was afraid, and went away and hid thy talent in the earth: And lo, thou hast thine own. But his Lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that thou reap where I sowed not, and gather where I did not scatter: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the bankers, and then at my coming I should have received back mine own with interest. Take ye away therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him that hath the ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have an abundance: But from him that hath not even that which he hath shall be taken away. And cast ye out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness: There shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth."

Note that the one‑talent man is not condemned because he had only one talent. The Lord had given to him, according to his ability to use, going back to verse fifteen, he is not called a wicked servant because he had only one talent. If he had used that one talent like the five‑talent man used his and like the two used his the Lord would have been well pleased. He just expected him to be able to gain only one talent with the one talent, and he would have been just as pleasing to his master as the others were. First this fellow did not have a good attitude. He reasoned that the Lord is a hard master. There are people today that do not have the right attitude toward God, and if a man does not have a good attitude toward God, he is surely not going to serve him well. Remember how in Hebrews 11:6, the writer says, For without faith it is impossible to please God, for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. A person has got to have a good attitude toward God, that God is a kind and benevolent God and that everything that he has instructed us to do is for our benefit. And whether we understand it or not, we should recognize that God knows, and we ought to go ahead and do as we have been instructed. Do you remember that that was what Paul was talking to the Philippian brethren about when he told them to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” as given in Philippians two, and I think that is around verse twelve. "And to do all things without murmuring and complaining: That ye may be as harmless children of God, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world." And so Christians are in the world, in a wicked world. Every generation looks like it has been a wicked generation, but Christians can give light in those crooked generations for those who are ready to turn from the way of darkness and get in the way of right and light and follow the Lord. But this man has got a bad attitude. He said, I knew that thou art a hard man. And that is the way that many look on God today, that he is a hard God. But remember Jesus said in that great invitation, Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, for I am meek and lowly in heart. And ye shall rest unto your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Those people who think that God is a hard master, the longer they live with that stubborn and rebellious attitude toward him, the more that they will become a slave of all of those wrong things that they are doing. The way with them is stated in one passage, the way of the transgressor is hard. So those who go down the broad way, thinking they are going the easy way, well, it does not take much effort to go that way. But it is surely not going to be the easy way in the long‑term of things, but that way is going to be the hard way. "Secondly this man was afraid." And sometimes you find members of the church that are afraid. They are afraid to say that they will give so much to this cause or the other cause. They are afraid they cannot come through. Well, they could at least state a condition, if I am blessed as well as I am being blessed now, I will give so much. Sometimes there are those who just say we are a small church and we are poor people, and we cannot do this and we cannot do the other, and that is not a very good attitude. "I was afraid, and went away and hid thy talent in the earth: Lo, thou hast thine own. But the Lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant."

So any person who does not use the talents that the Lord has given him in a good and right way, that servant is a wicked servant. And whether that pertains to the five‑talent man or the two‑talent man or a one‑talent man, if he does not use the ability that the Lord has given him and serve the Lord well with that ability, and just digs and hides his talent, then that man is going to become a slothful and wicked servant before the Lord. "But his Lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not and gathered where I did not scatter: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the bankers and then at my coming I should have received back mine own with interest. Take ye away therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him that hath the ten talents." Now, note the principle. "For every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have an abundance. But from him that hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken away." According to verse twenty‑nine, if a person uses properly the abilities the Lord has given him, his abilities will be increased. Those who do not use those natural abilities in the process of time will gradually lose them. I think some of us have witnessed that, and it is not always those high IQ persons that succeed in doing a lot of good things. Sometimes it is just those ordinary fellows who put fort a lot of effort to use their abilities that come through in a better way than some of those who we thought were geniuses. What made the difference? One put forth real consistent effort and the other did not. Christian people are to put forth good effort to use their talents in respect to the affairs of this life in making a living and surely in respect to serving the Lord at the same time. But that principle as stated there in verse twenty‑nine holds. It is God given, and it is not going to be changed, and all of us will do well to keep it in mind. The more that we put forth effort to learn to do, then the more we can do, and we need to be busy putting forth that effort from day unto day. As stated in regard to students, sometimes it is that ordinary fellow that stays in there and does his work consistently, and that accounts for the success of a lot of the preachers that we know. They are men who consistently study and put forth real effort to be able to present the word of God with a straight course. Those men end up doing a fine job in their teaching and preaching. And notice verse thirty that that one‑talent man who buried his talent is not only called a lazy and wicked servant, but look at verse thirty. "And cast ye out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness: And there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth." We have read that statement a number of times already in studying the gospel accounts which means that eternal place of outer darkness and that eternal hell as described in the scriptures. Why do you suppose the Lord let it turn on the one‑talent man? It may be because those with little ability may have the tendency to say I cannot do like others, so I will sit down and not try to do and if they sit down and do not try to do, then their abilities become less all the time. But that one‑talent man that gets out and uses that one talent, his talents will be multiplied. The parable teaches that a man's abilities can be increased. The computer for all of us is a little bigger than we sometimes think.

Beginning with verse thirty‑one, we have a reference where Jesus tells what is going to happen when he comes in the second advent. And we will be reading in the next chapter about when Jesus was before the Sanhedrin he told them that they would see him “sitting on the right hand of God and coming in the clouds of heaven.” And so we can join that with this reference here, “But when the Son of man shall come in his glory.” Well, remember he did not come in his glory when he came the first time, when he was born in Bethlehem. They had gone there to enroll for taxation, and Mary gave birth to Jesus, and evidently they were not even in a room because it says, “they wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger,” a feeding trough for animals. But when he comes in his second advent, he is coming in his glory and all of his angels are coming with him. Are mortal men going to be among those angels who are going to come with the Lord when he comes in his second advent? I believe that question answers itself. "But when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all the nations: And he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth sheep from the goats: And he will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left."

So there will be a great separation when the Lord comes. How long do you think it will take for him to make that separation? Well, remember judgment day is spoken of as a day. And do you remember our reading from the sixth chapter of John a few weeks ago and how in that sixth chapter Jesus talked about raising up the righteous in the last day. So all are going to be judged in a short period of time when they stand before the Lord in judgment. Verse thirty‑one surely agrees with the reference in II Thessalonians 1:6 where Paul affirms, “ that it is a righteous thing with God to recompense affliction to them that afflict you.” Then he says, “and to you that are afflicted rest with us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power when he comes to be marveled at in his saints.” The Bible absolutely does not teach that there will be two different bodily resurrections. All are going to be raised at the same time, as we have already talked about from John 5:28‑29. The hour cometh when all that are in the grave shall hear his voice and shall come forth. They that have done good to the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil to the resurrection of damnation. All are going to be judged at the same time, the righteous and the unrighteous. There is a great day coming as we sing in one song. And, again, call attention to Acts 17:30‑31 where Paul is speaking to those idolatrous people at Athens, he said, Those days of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commanded all men everywhere to repent in that he hath appointed a day. Not a month, or a week, but a day. He hath appointed a day in which he shall judge the world by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he has given assurance unto all men in that he has raised him from the dead. So the resurrection of Christ from the dead is the crowning miracle of all miracles. By that resurrection we have the assurance that all are going to be raised. And going back to the days of the prophet Daniel, the Holy Spirit said through him, “they that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” (Daniel 12:2) Daniel 12:2 teaches essentially the same thing as Jesus taught there in John 5:28‑29.

I am somewhat amazed about verse thirty‑two, that the Lord is going to separate them one from another. “as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats.” Have you considered how much alike sheep and goats are? Does it not look like that they would interbreed? But you see how it still holds that sheep are sheep and goats are goats. And sheep are represented here as the righteous and the devil's servants as the goats. "And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me to drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me. I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? Or thirst, and gave thee drink? And when saw we a stranger, and took thee in, or naked, and clothed thee? And when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these brethren, ye did it unto me." So, again, Christian people are to be a compassionate people. They are to be ready to assist and help those who are in need, and when they do they are doing it unto the Lord. The righteous wanted to know when the Lord was in those situations and they did those things to him. But notice the response that Jesus gave. "Inasmuch as ye did it unto the least of these my brethren, ye did it unto me."

Verse forty-one. " Then he shall say unto them on the left hand." To the devil goats. "Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels." So the Lord has already prepared for the righteous and the unrighteous, he has prepared a place for the devil and his angels. And do you remember that both Jude and Peter in II Peter chapter two, that both of them speak about the angels that sinned? I am going to try to find from II Peter first. II Peter 2:4, "For if God spared not the angels when they sinned, but cast them down to hell, and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment." So there were angels that sinned and were cast down, and committed to pits of darkness to be reserved unto that judgment day that we are reading about in Matthew twenty‑five.

Let us turn next to Jude. Jude makes a similar statement, if I remember correctly. Maybe I am not remembering correctly. It is here. Verse six, "And the angels that kept not their own principality, but left their proper habitation, he hath kept in everlasting bonds under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." Do you remember from the sixth chapter of I Corinthians what Paul told the Corinthian brethren? Some of them were having lawsuits against each other, and that before unbelievers, and he shamed them for it. And he said, know ye not that you should judge the world and judge the angels. Are you not able to judge the smallest matters in the church? That puts judging angels along with judging the world. Well, why? The angels are free moral agents. God made them free moral agents, as taught by these verses very plainly. Here they did not keep their proper habitation. Evidently, Satan tried to exalt himself against God as set forth in the Revelation and was cast down. And the angels that “kept not their own principality” ‑‑ and I think this ties into the qualification of elders, as given in I Timothy 3:6, “not a novice, lest being puffed up he fall into the condemnation of the devil” And so it looks like Satan was filled with pride and tried to exalt himself against God, and he was cast down and those like angels with him were cast down and reserved unto judgment of the great day.

Back to 25:41, "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was hungry, and ye did not give me to eat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger; and ye took me not in: Naked, and ye clothed me not: Sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they answer, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of these least, ye did it not unto me. And these shall go away into eternal punishment: But the righteous into eternal life." There are some in our society today that want to say no to there being such a thing as eternal punishment. They would reason that God is so good and so kind and so loving that there is just no way that he could condemn men to a devil's hell. Well, if that be the case, then eternal life is not eternal for the righteous, for the same verse that says that for the wicked, it will be eternal punishment, says for the righteous eternal life. I do not have mind enough to really contemplate eternity, but all of us can understand well enough that we ought not want to go to that terrible place of eternal punishment. And all of us should want and strive to go to that place of eternal life, that dwelling place not made with hands that the patriarchs wanted to go to. As stated in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, “God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a city.” If hell was just a matter of punishment for a short period of time, then that would not be so bad, but it is spoken of as “eternal destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power” (II Thessalonians 1:7-9). And here it is spoken of as eternal punishment.

Chapter Twenty-six

We are ready now to study about Jesus keeping the Passover with the apostles, and instituting the Lord's Supper. I hope you were able to receive the outlines that my wife sent you by e-mail. I am not sure whether she ever sent the last one or not, but the first one I know she sent it, The Sayings Of Jesus From The Cross. And the other one was The Six Trials Of Jesus. I think maybe she sent it, but I am not sure on that one. If she has not, maybe I will get around to thinking to remind her to send it to you. I would like to know whether or not you received the outlines. For sometime our computer was not receiving Email. We did receive Emails today. And my wife does not know why she was not able to receive Emails a day or two ago. Some were returned.

I guess the first thing we ought to do is to call attention, to the fact that Jesus kept that last Passover supper with his apostles before the actual time to keep that supper. I think from just reading from Matthew, Mark, and Luke we would think that he kept the supper at the regular time that they were to keep the Passover. It is the gospel of John that shows that they kept it before the regular time. John wrote a long time after the other three writers, and it looks like one of the things especially that he did was to make clear some things that are not made so clear, or are not recorded by the other three writers. John 18:28 reads, "Then led Jesus therefore from Caiaphas into the Praetorium of judgment: And it was early; and they themselves entered not into the Praetorium, that they might not be defiled; but might eat the Passover." Jesus had already kept the supper with his apostles, and it had taken a little time for the Sanhedrin Court to go through a form of making out like they had tried him and found him guilty of blasphemy by his saying that he was the Son of God. Then they carried him early in the morning to Pilate, but they did not go into the Praetorian. I reckon they counted it would be sinful if they even entered into that place where there would be a Gentile governor and Gentiles in it. They themselves entered not into the Praetorian that they might not be defiled, but might eat the Passover.

Remember also that they had taken counsel together, the chief priests and the elders had been planning to kill him for a long time, but they had decided that they would not do it during the Passover, lest it cause an uprising of the people. But when the hour came for Jesus to die, he died. And that time was the time when they were ready to start killing the Passover lambs, according to the instruction given in Exodus chapter twelve, when God instituted that first Passover supper. According to Exodus 12:6 they were to kill the lambs at even and the footnote in my American Standard Version says that the word even in the Hebrew means “between the two evenings”! Jesus died at 3 p.m. which was probably the beginning of the time that the congregation was to start killing the lambs for the Passover Supper.

Matthew 26:1, "And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these words, he said unto his disciples. Ye know that after two days the Passover cometh, and the Son of man is delivered up to be crucified." Jesus had already told them on the way to Jerusalem, he took them aside and told them that in Jerusalem he would be tried of the chief priests and the elders and they would condemn and they would deliver him to the Gentiles and they would scourge him and crucify him. So Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen and told the disciples on several occasions about the things that would happen to him. So verse two again, "Ye know that after two days the Passover cometh, and the Son of man is delivered up to be crucified. Then were gathered together the chief priests, and the elders of the people, unto the court of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas." The Sanhedrin, the highest court of the Jews, comes together to take counsel as to what they are going to do with him. They are under Roman authority, and Annas, the high priest that we will be reading about in John, had put to death a person that the Roman government thought should not have been put to death, and they took the power of the death penalty away from the Jewish people. They did not have the right of the death penalty according to the Roman law. " And they took counsel together that they might take Jesus by subtlety, and kill him." Now, notice verse five. "But they said, Not during the feast, lest a tumult arise among the people." You remember how Jesus continued to talk about his time had not come, speaking of the time for him to die. But when that time came, he died, and God had planned that so that the time would be at the time they would be killing the Passover lambs to keep the Passover supper. And that Passover lamb, as you have seen from the outline, prefigured Christ, the Lamb of God dying upon the cross, and so he died at the very time the congregation would begin the killing of the lambs. "But they said not during the feast, lest a tumult arise among the people. Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, there came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of exceeding precious ointment, and she poured it upon his head, as he sat at meat. And when the disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose was this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. But Jesus perceiving it, said unto them. Why trouble ye the woman? For she hath wrought a good work upon me. For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. For in that she poured this ointment upon my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever the gospel shall be preached in the whole world, that also which this woman hath done, shall be spoken of a memorial for her." Now, we have the parallels about this. And John's parallel reads a little differently from the other gospel writers. Please turn to John the twelfth chapter, and we will read John's account. It will help us to have a better understanding of these others. "Jesus therefore six days before the Passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus raised from the dead." And that is recorded in chapter eleven of John. And John is the only one that records about the raising of Lazarus from the dead. "So they made him a supper there; and Martha served: But Lazarus was one of them that sat at meat with him. Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of pure nard, very precious, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair: And the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples that should betray him, saith, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred shillings, and given to the poor. This he said, not because he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and having the bag, took away what was put therein. Jesus therefore said, Suffer her to keep it against the day of my burying. For the poor ye have always with you; but me ye have not always.." We will turn back and read from Matthew when our next period begins. (A brief was recess taken.)

Reading from Matthew twenty‑six beginning with verse six, "Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, there came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of exceeding precious ointment, and she poured it on his head, as he sat at meat. When the disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?" Now from John's account, we learned that Judas Iscariot was the first one that brought that complaint. He was not concerned about the poor, but he was a thief and he carried the bag and he took whatever was put in the bag. Do you think we can learn a lesson from this? I believe that we should. Quite frequently today, there will be somebody suggesting or doing a good work and some fellow who is really not excited about doing what they need to be doing will bring some criticism. And do you know that in nearly every case there will be others that will join in the criticism! Do you remember how that Barnabas and the others were carried away with the dissimulation of Peter when he would no longer keep company with the Gentiles, as given in the second chapter of the book of Galatians? We need to be on guard against wrong peer pressure. There are some brethren who bring criticism because they do not want the good work to take place. There are some in the church who do not want to see good works performed, and especially if they think that they are going to be called on to have a part in it or if they will be looked on in an unfavorable way if they do not have a part in it. A good lesson that we need to learn from this, Jesus came to her defense, and if we see that a person is bringing an unfounded criticism against a person who is doing that which is right and good, we need to defend that person. "Jesus said, Why trouble ye the woman? For she hath wrought a good work upon me. For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always."

Do you remember the great society of President Johnson's Administration, how that according to some of the statements made by that administration they were going to see to it and wipe it out and that there would be no poor family in the land. Well, they forgot about the statement made here by Jesus, for you “have the poor always with you, but me you have not always.” Does not that still hold true? If you should take everything in the world and divide it up equally per person, I bet before the day was over some person would be poor. Others would have increased their wealth in a great measure, but others would have squandered it before the day was over. "She poured the ointment upon my body. She did it to prepare it for my burial. Verily I say unto you, Where soever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, that also, which this woman hath done, shall be spoken of for a memorial of her." Now, this anointing of Jesus is by Mary the sister of Martha and brother of Lazarus, and please do not confuse it with the woman that anointed Jesus at a Pharisee’s house as given in Luke 7:36-50. It is an entirely different occasion, so do not try to confuse this Mary with her.

Matthew 26:14, "Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, and said, What are ye willing to give me, and I will deliver him unto you?" See, Jesus defended what Mary had done. And then Judas goes to the chief priests and asks them what they will give him if he will deliver him to them. "And they weighed unto him thirty pieces of silver.." He evidently wanted cash. "They weighed it unto him thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he sought opportunity to deliver him unto them. Now on the first day of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus, saying, Where wilt thou that we make ready for thee to eat the Passover? And he said, Go into a city to such a man, and say unto him." I believe Mark and Luke both may say that you will see a man bearing a pitcher of water, but we will turn and read after awhile. "And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The teacher saith, My time is at hand; I shall keep the passover at thy house with my disciples. And the disciples did as Jesus appointed them; and they made ready for the passover. Now when even was come, he was sitting at meat."

Now, do you remember from Exodus chapter twelve that the Passover feast that God instituted was instituted before the event that it was to commemorate? They were to kill the lamb and apply the blood of the lamb to the lentils and the doorposts of their houses, Exodus 12:7, and then verse thirteen God says, When I see the blood, speaking of the blood of the lamb, applied to the lentils and to the doorposts of their houses, I will pass over you. Do you remember that God smote the firstborn of man and beast and all the houses of the Egyptians at midnight. And there came the cry for them to immediately leave the land of Egypt, and they left in haste (Exodus 12:29-34).

Matthew 26:22, "And as they were eating, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began to say, unto him, everyone, is it I, Lord? And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish." So Jesus identifies the one. "The same shall betray me. The Son of man goeth even as it is written of him: But woe unto that man through whom the Son of man is betrayed! Good were it for that man if he had not been born. And Judas, who betrayed him, answered and said, is it I, Rabbi? He said unto him, Thou hast said. And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and he gave to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave to them, saying, drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the covenant." Do you remember from Hebrews 9:16-26 how that the writer talks about the first covenant was dedicated with animal blood, and it was necessary for the New Testament covenant to be dedicated with better things. It was dedicated by the blood of Christ. "For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many unto remission of sins." The King James says for remission of sins. I think I have already emphasized this already, but be sure that you have good understanding of Matthew twenty‑six and twenty‑eight.

If for remission of sins means because of as some preachers tell their audiences then Jesus died, because their sins had already been forgiven. Young’s Analytic Concordance gives Eis as the Greek word for for in Acts 2:38, Matthew 26:28 and Mark 1:4 and Luke 3:1 and that the meaning is “with a view to”, and of course the meaning in each reference is with a view to receiving remission of sins. It was necessary for Jesus to die on the cross for his law to go into effect, and remember that reference in Hebrews 9:16-26. Matthew 26:29, "But I say unto you, I shall not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." So the Lord's Supper was to be in the Lord's kingdom. And the kingdom was fully established on that first Pentecost, after the ascension of Christ, which always came on the first day of the week (Leviticus 23:15-22; Deuteronomy 16:12). Christ arose from the dead on the first day of the week (Mark 16:9), and he met with the apostles on the evening of that first day (John 20:19-23). The Holy Spirit was outpoured on the apostles on Pentecost which was the first day of the week (Acts 2:1-17) and Peter preached the first gospel sermon on that first day of the week (Acts 2:22-42), and about three thousand souls were added on that day (Acts 2:22-41). Jesus met with his apostles on the evening of that first day of the week when he was raised from the dead, and again when Thomas was not present on the evening of that second first day of the week. It is the day that Christ has made for us by his death and resurrection (Psalm 118:22-23) It is the Lord’s Day (Revelation 1:10) the day that he has commanded Christians to assemble to worship (I Corinthians 16: 1-2; 11:33; Acts20 :7; Hebrews 10:23-31). Let us be very faithful in doing so, and do according to the words of Psalms 118:23, “Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

But coming back to Matthew 26:28, “This is the blood of the Covenant which is poured out for many for remission of sins.” The Greek word is E‑I‑S, the same as used in Acts 2:38. and the other reference, but please keep in mind that there are thousands of people that from childhood on up, they have been taught that the Greek word for means because of, and they think that they absolutely are right in saying that people are to be baptized because they have already been saved. Well, it is the same Greek word as used here. If that be the case, then Christ died in vain. The Greek language is a very complicated language. Young's Analytical Concordance, gives more than forty Greek words that we use the English word for for. I do not have enough intelligence to become an authority on the Greek language even if my salvation depended on it. Some who have had only a few courses in Greek over a period of just a few years are ready to make decisions contrary to the better versions of the Bible. Such is dangerous! I immediately get skeptical, and I believe that you ought to too.

Matthew 26:30, "And when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives." Please let me state to you plainly, but kindly that every reference in the New Testament that speaks about the kind of music that we are to have in, Christian worship it is singing Matthew 26:30; Acts 16:25; I Corinthians 14:15; Ephesians 5:18; Colossians 3:16; Hebrews 2:12; James 5:13; Revelation 5:8-9, 15:2-3). How can finite and mortal man know how to worship, an all wise and eternal God, who created the heavens and the earth and all things in, except by his instruction? God has never left man to grope in darkness about how he is to worship (Genesis 4:3-8; I John 3:12; Hebrews 11:4; Romans 10:17). God’s wrath is kindled when his people do something in worship that he has not commanded them to do (Leviticus 10:1-7; II Chronicles 26:14-21; II John 8-9).

Please check in a good encyclopedia and find out when instruments of music were first used in “so called” Christian worship. It was centuries after they were used during the days of that Pope in about the eighth century before they were used in the denominational churches of today, and a number of their outstanding leaders spoke out against the use of them in worship. As late as eighteen hundreds, Adam Clark, a great scholar and leader in the Methodist Church, spoke out against them in his comments on Amos 6:5. Actually he thought that the use of them was wrong. But the use of the instrument finally became very popular, and think of all the instruments that are used today. My uncle Chelcie Fikes, who was a Baptist preacher, would have spoken out against the guitars, drums, and all of those instruments that are being used today, but one departure from the Lord’s instructions nearly always, if not always leads to more. Brethren, we have some very dangerous things taking place in some of the churches of Christ.. There is no authority whatever with using a mechanical instrument of music today in worship. God has not authorized a mechanical instrument to be used in New Testament worship. Now, they did use mechanical instruments of music in the Old Testament religion, but they also had animal sacrifices under the Old Testament religion. Would it be right to kill a bull and pour out its blood around an altar and then burn it as a sacrifice on that altar instead of the Lord’s Supper on the Lord's Day? To ask the question is but to answer it! Verse thirty‑one, "Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye. (the apostles) shall be offended in me this night: For it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the shall be scattered." And that reference is from Zechariah 13:7. So there are just so many things that had been prophesied about Christ that had been prophesied by the Old Testament prophets. And do you see how Paul in his preaching in the synagogues of the Jews could take the Old Testament scriptures and show that Christ is the fulfillment of those scriptures, reason with them from the scriptures. So Zechariah, the Holy Spirit through him, said that Christ the chief shepherd would be smitten and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. But notice, "After I am raised up I will go before you into Galilee."

And it must be that meeting that Paul speaks of in I Corinthians 15:5 is when Christ met with five hundred brethren at once during that forty day period, and Paul said that the most of them were still living when he wrote I Corinthians. Matthew 26:33, "But Peter answered and said unto him, If all shall be offended in thee, I will never be offended." And when we get to Mark's account, Mark's account shows that when Jesus told Peter that Peter got mad, that he was moved with indignation, I believe it says. So Peter was as sincere as he could be on that occasion. He did not intend to deny the Lord. But I think we all know what happened, and he denied the Lord three times. "Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter saith unto him, Even if I must die with thee, yet I will not deny thee." Now, we remember about Peter, but notice that the other apostles said the same thin, "Likewise said all of the disciples." And they all, when they came to take Jesus, turned and fled. "Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto his disciples, Sit ye here, while I go yonder and pray. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee." Of course, they were James and John.

Remember why these disciples are frequently spoken of as the inner circle disciples, they were with him when Jesus raised Jairus' daughter from the dead. They were with him when he was transfigured, and they are with him here in the garden when he goes further into the garden to pray. He prays three times that if it was the Father's will that the cup might pass, that he might not have to suffer that terrible death upon the cross of Calvary. "Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: Abide ye here, and watch with me." And we have a good song based on that. It is a good song to sing at the time of the Lord's Supper, but I do not remember the title of it. "And he went forward a little, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass away from me: Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, What, could not ye watch with me one hour?" Now, why Peter? Peter had gotten mad when he told him that he would deny him. "What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." And that is a statement that all of us need to remember. We need to keep before us that we are in a body of clay and we all are weak. Would it not be right to say that we are somewhat prone to sin, but let us remember that the Lord has made a way of escape for us (I Corinthians 10:13). But even with that, the flesh is still very weak. Remember how in the sixth chapter of Galatians, Paul told that, “if any man be overtaken in a fault, ye who are spiritual restore such a one, and the spirit of gentleness, considering thyself lest thou also be tempted. Bearing ye one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

Matthew 26:42, "Again a second time he went away, and prayed, saying, My Father, if this cannot pass away, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came again and found them sleeping: For their eyes were heavy. And he left them again, and went away, and prayed a third time, saying again the same words. Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hand of sinners. Arise and let us be going: Behold, he is at hand that betrayeth me. While he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the elders of the people." Now, remember they coveted together, and Judas is going to point Jesus out to them. They have a great multitude coming after them, and they are from the chief priests and the elders. "And with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now he that betrayed him gave them a kiss, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is he, take him." Do you remember that reference when you read from one of the epistles of Paul where he said, “salute one another with a whole kiss?” Remember that a kiss can be everything but holy. We have the Old Testament case about Joab, the captain of David’s army how he was pretending to be Amasa’s friend and was in the process of kissing him when he thrust his sword through in cold blood murder( II Samuel 20:8-10; I King 2:5-7). "And straightway he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, Rabbi; and kissed him. Friend, do that which thou art come? Then they came, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him. And, behold, one of them that were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword." And that one was Peter. He had said that he was ready to die with him, but the Lord told him to put up his sword, that he that taketh the sword shall perish with the sword. "And behold, one of them that were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and smote the servant of the high priest, and struck off his ear." His name was Malchus, according to John's account. "Then saith Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: For all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Are thinkest thou that I cannot beseech my Father, and he shall even now send me more than twelve legions of angels? How then should the scripture be fulfilled, that thus it must be?" I believe I have read that a legion is three thousand, right? And twelve times three thousand is thirty‑six thousand angels. That would surely be enough angels. Note the question that Jesus asked, “How then should the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?" A number of Old Testament references that said that Christ was going to die as a sin offering. And the primary one that I usually think of is Isaiah fifty‑three, because it details so many things about the death of Christ. A number of the Psalms talk about Christ and his death. And so Jesus recognized that the scriptures must be fulfilled. He had to die on the cross to fulfill all those Old Testament scriptures. Remember how he had said in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew five, I believe verses seventeen and eighteen, think not that I come to destroy the law of the prophets, I am come not to destroy but to fulfill. Jesus kept every provision of the Old Testament law perfectly, and when he died on the cross, he took it out of the way, as stated in Colossians 2:14, nailing it to his cross.

Matthew 26:55, "In that hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a robber with swords and staves who seize me? I sat daily in the temple teaching, and ye took me not. But all this has come to pass, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples left him, and fled. And they that had taken Jesus led him away to the house of Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together." Notice that Matthew does not say anything about him being carried to Annas first, but John gives us that instruction. "But Peter followed him afar off unto the court of the high priest." And John tells about how that he was known to the high priest and went on in, but Peter stayed outside in the court and warmed himself at the enemies fire. "And entered in and sat with the officers. But Peter followed him afar off unto the court of the high priest, and entered in, and sat with the officers, to see the end. Now the chief priests, and the whole counsel, sought witnesses against Jesus, that they might put him to death; and they found it not: Though many false witnesses came." One of the writers says that they sought false witnesses, which, of course, is contrary to the rules of the court. "But afterward came two, and said, This man said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days." Jesus did not make any such statement. When they were seeking for a sign, he said destroy this temple, talking about the temple of his body, and he would raise it in three days. But he never said anything about destroying that great temple in Jerusalem of destroying it and rebuilding it in three days. "And the high priest stood and said unto him, answerest thou nothing. What is it which these witness against thee, but Jesus held his peace. And the high priest said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou art the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus said unto him, Thou hast said." You said that I am the Son of God. And it looks like to me that he makes that statement several times, and he means by that statement, yes, I am. And the following part of the verse shows that to be the case. "Nevertheless I say unto you, Henceforth ye shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven." You remember when Christ ascended, as given in Acts 1:10‑11, that he ascended in the clouds and angels were standing by in white apparel, and said to the apostles, why look ye up into the heavens, this same Jesus that has ascended shall so return in like manner. So Jesus ascendeth in a cloud, and he is going to return in a cloud. "Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his garment, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy." They counted it blasphemy, because he said I am the Son of God. "What further need have we of witnesses? Behold, now ye have heard the blasphemy. What think ye? They answered and said, He is worthy of death." Now, notice what this court did. Boy, that is some court, is it not? "Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and some smote him with the palms of their hand, saying, prophecy unto us, thou Christ, Who is it that struck thee? Now Peter was sitting without in the court: And a maid came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus the Galilean. But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This man also was with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied with an oath, I know not the man. And after a little while they that stood by, came and said to Peter, of a truth thou art one of them: For thy speech maketh thee known. Then began he to curse and to swear, I know not the man. And straightway the cock crowed. And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out and wept bitterly." Well, do all of you know enough about chickens to know that the roosters crow before daylight? A little time before daylight the roosters start crowing. And Jesus had told him that before the cock crow, you will deny me thrice.

Let us turn now and read from Mark's account beginning with chapter fourteen. "Thereafter two days was the feast of the Passover, and of the unleavened bread: And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him with subtlety and kill him. But they said, Not during the feast, lest there shall be a tumult of the people." So as recorded by Matthew, and Mark, they didn't plan to kill him during the feast. "And while he was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper." And surely this is talking about the same thing that we read about from the twelfth chapter of John. "And while he was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of pure nard, very costly; and she brake the box, and poured it over his head. There were some that had indignation." See, there is a little difference between Mark and Matthew. From Matthew it looked like all of them joined in, but Mark says that some had indignation. But it does not say anything about anybody defending Mary except Jesus himself. "But there were some that had indignation among themselves, saying, To what purpose hath this waste of the ointment been made?" And some people can really talk about wasting the Lord's money. Usually they are of those kind that are ready to keep the Lord's money in their own pockets and waste it! "For this ointment might have been sold for above three hundred shillings, and given to the poor. And they murmured against her. But Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? She hath wrought a good work on me.”

Mark 14:7, “For ye have the poor always with you." I believe this may be mentioned by all of them. Ye have the poor always with you. Mark it down the poor will be with us! "And whensoever ye will, ye can do them good: But me ye have not always. She hath done what she could: She hath anointed my body beforehand for the burial. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever the gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also was this woman hath done shall be spoken for a memorial for her. And Judas Iscariot, he that was one of the twelve, went away unto the chief priests, that he might deliver him unto them. And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money." And you remember he wanted money. He wanted the money for that ointment, and he was going to take the money that the ointment would sell for. "He sought how he might conveniently deliver him unto them. And on the first day of unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the Passover, his disciples, said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and make ready that thou mayest eat the Passover? And he sendeth two of his disciples, and saith unto them, Go unto the city." And here is one of them where it says you will see a man bearing a pitcher of water. "There shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: Follow him. And wheresoever he shall enter, say to the Master of the house." Those directions would not be hard to follow. When you go into the city, and you see a man bearing a pitcher of water, just follow him. And when you get to the house where he is going, say to the Master of the house, the Teacher saith, Where is my guestchamber, where I shall eat the Passover with my disciples? And he will himself show you a large upper room furnished and ready: And there make ready for us." And so a room had been prepared evidently by this person for Jesus to keep that Passover with his disciples. "And the disciples went forth and came into the city, and found, as had been said unto them, and they made ready the Passover. And when it was evening, he cometh with the twelve. And as they sat and were eating, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you shall betray me. Even he that eateth with me. And they began to be sorrowful, and say unto him, one by one, Is it I? And he said unto them, It is one of the twelve, he that dippeth with me in the dish." So Mark also specifies that Jesus identified Judas Iscariot as the one that betrayed him.

Mark 14:21, "For the Son of man goeth, even as it is written of him: But woe unto that man through whom the Son of man is betrayed! Good were it for that man if he had not been born. And as they were eating, he took bread, and when he blessed, he brake it, and gave it to them, and said, Take ye, this my body. And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave to them: And they all drank of it. And he said unto them, This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Verily I say unto you, I shall no more drink of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God." So not long again until the kingdom of God would be established. "And when they had sung a hymn, they went out unto the mount of Olives. And Jesus said unto them, All ye shall be offended for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered abroad. Howbeit after I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee."