Southern Christian University

Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John

Class Session 08

James A. Turner

Hello, students. Please turn to Matthew twelve. I believe we will begin with Matthew twelve and verse forty‑six. While he was yet speaking to the multitude, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, seeking to speak to him. And one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, seeking to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? And who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother. It looks like the one that told Jesus was expecting him to go to them immediately, and he may have, but at least he wanted the disciples to understand that close relationship that he has with those who, do the will as he stated, the will of my Father who is in heaven. So that spiritual relationship is a very close relationship. I knew a man who had a closer relationship with a brother in the church than they did with his fleshly brother. This does not mean that he did not love and appreciate his fleshly brother, but he was not a member of the church, and he had more in common with a member of the church that was about his same age. Jesus wanted his disciples to understand the close relationship that there is to be in the church, the family of God (Ephesians 5:22-23; I Timothy 3:14-15).

In chapter thirteen, Jesus gets into a boat to teach the multitudes, and he starts teaching them in parables, and the disciples asked why he is teaching them in parables, and he tells them. Matthew is the only one that gives the seven parables of the kingdom together. I believe Mark and Luke record about the parable of the sower and why he taught in parables, but neither one of them give all seven of the parables that are given here by Matthew in chapter thirteen. On that day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the seaside. And there gathered unto him great multitudes, so that he entered into a boat, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the beach. Jesus was a master teacher, and some say that from the boat in the water that the sound would have carried real well and people could hear in a good way. And he spake to them many things in parables, saying, Behold, the sower went forth to sow. And, of course, Jesus is the master sower. In regard to a parable, a simple definition of a parable is a true to life story with a spiritual meaning. So like the farmer would put the sack around his neck and go forth throwing the seed, Jesus was sowing the seed of the kingdom of God (Luke 8:11). I believe it was Friday of this last week that I sowed some seed, some rye grass in a very similar fashion to the way the farmer back there would sow the seed. and as he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the birds came and devoured them. And others fell upon the rocky places, where they had not much earth: And straightway they sprang up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And others fell upon the thorns; and the thorns grew up, and choked them: And others fell upon the good ground, and yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Let me emphasize again that is a very important statement that Jesus gave many, many times.

Verse 10, And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? I guess many people would answer to make the teaching easier to understand, but that is not the answer that Jesus gave. And he answered and said unto them, unto you is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have an abundance: But whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath. So Jesus says that he began teaching them in parables to make a separation between those disciples who really wanted to know and those who were not very sincere about learning. And he set forth the principle there in verse twelve that holds true in respect to our using what we have. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have an abundance. But whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he has. In other words, those who had been listening to the teaching of Jesus and were sincere, then when they meditated upon the parables, they would have further understanding, but those who were not sincere, they would not try to figure out the meaning of the parable, and thus there would be a separation between those who really wanted to learn and know the will of Christ and those who did not. Therefore speak I to them in parables: Because seeing they see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And unto them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall in no wise understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall in no wise perceive. Now, why is that the case? Verse fifteen answers. For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed. They had hardened their hearts. They were not really interested in knowing about spiritual things. Their ears were dull of hearing. They really did not want to hear, and so they did not see and they did not hear. And their eyes they have closed; lest haply they should see with their eyes, and hear with the ears, and understand with the heart, and should turn again, and I should heal them. Turn again is referring to repentance, turning from the wrong way to the Lord's way. Brother Coffman says that the three R’s of getting right with God are remember, repent, and reform. If they turned Jesus would have healed their spiritual diseases. And that is from Isaiah 6:9‑10. That was true during the days of the prophet Isaiah, and it was also true during the personal ministry of Christ, and it is still true today, and how sad that there are so many fit in that category. The Jewish people, as a whole, fit in that same category today. Their heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed.

Matthew 13:16, But blessed are your eyes. And those disciples that had really been listening and giving attention and wanted to understand. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: And your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see the things which ye see, and saw them not; and hear the things which ye hear, and heard them not. The apostle Peter talks about how that some of those writers longed to see the fulfillment of things that God spoke through them, but it was told them that it was not for them but for them that should come after them. Let me see if I can find that reference. Reading from I Peter chapter one, let us pick up with verse eight. Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing ye rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. Concerning which salvation the prophets sought and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you. Searching what time or manner of time, the Spirit of Christ which was in them did point unto, when it testified beforehand of the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should follow them. Unto whom it was revealed, not unto them, but unto you did they minister these things, which now have been announced unto you through them that preached the gospel unto you by the Holy Spirit sent forth from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. So Peter tells us that some of those prophets back there, they knew that they were speaking concerning wonderful things to come and that they wanted to know more about it, and this shows that the Holy Spirit was speaking through them, and they understood that they were speaking about some wonderful things to come, but they did not have any full understanding. They wanted to know when they were testifying beforehand of the sufferings of Christ and the glories that should follow them, but it was revealed unto them that it was not for themselves, but for those of the Christian dispensation. So you see what Jesus is referring to here when he said that righteous men desired to see and hear.

Back to Matthew 13:17, For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which ye see, and saw them not; and to hear the things which ye hear, and heard them not. Hear then ye the parable of the sower. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the evil one, and snatcheth away that which hath been sown in his heart. So the way side seed is represented, by those who did not understand and probably representing those whose heart was somewhat hardened, and so the devil came along and snatched away what had been sown in his heart. This is he that was sown by the way side. And he that was sown upon the rocky places, this is he that heareth the word, and straightway with joy receiveth it; yet he hath not root in himself, but endureth for a while. And when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, straightway he stumbleth. So the seed that fell on the stony ground represents those who would hear and with joy receive it, but they did not have that deepness of root or that deepness of character to endure for Christ. We will be studying before long from Matthew 16:24, where Jesus said, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. So when real trials and persecution came, they would fall away because they had not deepness of earth. For a while it looks like that the seed that came up on that soil, that was not deep, that was going to do as well as the good ground, but as soon as the hot sun comes and dries that little bit of soil out, then the plants begin to wither. And he that is sown among the thorns this is he that heareth the world; and the cares of the word, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. Luke puts in there the pleasures of this life. And Luke also speaks of the word in 8:11 as the seed of the kingdom. And we need to keep in mind just as surely as we do a lot of sowing the seed of the kingdom, that the kingdom of God is going to be enlarged. And he that was sown upon the good ground this is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; who verily beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. I have heard some few brethren reason as though if we will just do our job like we ought to, that we could just almost convert the world. Well, the parable of the sower shows that that is not the case. Here the seed fell on four different places and only one of those four brought fruit unto the end of the way. There are many in the church that fall away from Christ because of the thorns, the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches and the pleasures of this life choke out the word so that they become unfruitful.

Matthew 13:23, But he that was sown upon the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; and beareth fruit, and bringeth forth some hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. Well, what would make the difference? All of those fit into the category of being faithful to the Lord, so what would be the difference in the hundredfold and the sixty and the thirty? Surely it would turn on the abilities and the opportunities the people had. There are those that have unusual ability and added to that, they had many opportunities to learn from a lot of good teachers, and the Lord expects them to bring forth more fruit because of their unusual abilities and the wonderful opportunities that they had. There are others that are faithful to the Lord as represented down to the thirty, but they do not have unusual ability and they have not had many opportunities in respect to having many educational opportunities, and so they cannot do as much. But when a child of God uses his natural abilities that God has given him to the fullest, then God is pleased with him. If that is just thirty, the Lord counts him in the same category of those who can bear a hundredfold.

Matthew 13:24, Another parable said he before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man that sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away. When Christians are not vigilant, and on the alert, watching out, tares will be sown. You remember how Peter said, be vigilant for your adversary the devil walketh about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (I Peter 4:8). So the children of God need to be on guard always, and if they are not on guard, the devil is going to take every opportunity that we give him. Verse twenty‑five reads, While men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. And the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? Whence then hath it tares? And he said unto them, An enemy hath done this. And the servants say unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he saith, Nay; lest haply while ye gather up the tares, ye root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: And in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first to the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: But gather the wheat into my barn. The disciples then asked for him to tell him the meaning of the parable.

Beginning with verse thirty‑six he tells them the meaning of the parable. I have heard this passage used to teach that we are not to withdraw fellowship from anybody in the church. The Lord said, let the wheat and the tares grow together., and he would have his angels to make the separation at the end of the world. Well, I can see how a person would come with that interpretation if they just read this passage and have not read other passages, and that is the mistake that so many people make. In fact I would guess that all of us have made it at times. We read a reference and come to a conclusion on the basis of that one reference without checking to see what other references on the same subject have to say. It cannot mean that there is not to be discipline in the church, because Paul taught very plainly that the church at Corinth was to withdraw from the fornicator. I Corinthians 5:3, I verily, being absent in the body when absent but present in spirit, I have already judged him that has so done this deed. And when you come together with my spirit and with the power of the Lord Jesus, that you delivered such a one to

One of the primary purposes of withdrawal of fellowship is to bring a man like the fornicator to his senses, to cause him to repent, and the other basic reason is that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. There is a leavening influence of righteousness and there is a leavening influence of unrighteousness. And Paul told the church at Corinth to purge out the old leaven, referring to that unrighteous influence of that man who had his father's wife. In II Thessalonians, Paul in writing to the church at Thessalonica said, withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly and not after the traditions which you received of us. And in that context, the particular thing that he was talking about was that there were those in the church at Thessalonica that were not working for a living. Seemingly some of them had never gone to work, and Paul had admonished them while he was with them and had given them an example that they should be good workers by his working night and day. In that first epistle, he emphasized again that they should go to work and make their own living. When he wrote the second epistle, some of them were still not working. And he gives them instruction that after the admonition of that epistle, if they did not go to work, that they were not to have any company with them, but they were to still be ready to admonish them as a brother. And in the epistle to the Romans, he told them to mark those that caused divisions and occasions of stumbling contrary to the way of Christ and turn away from them Romans 16:17. So the church is to maintain discipline.

Jesus gave the meaning of the parable. Let us pick up with verse thirty‑six, and then we will talk about that further. Then he left the multitude, and went into the house: And his disciples came unto him, saying, Explain unto us the parable of the tares of the field. And he answered and said, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; and the field is the world. Remember that great commission, go ye into all the world, preach the gospel unto every creator as given in Mark's gospel, Mark 16:15. And as given in this book of Matthew here, all authority is given unto me, in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations Matthew 28:18. Matthew 16:38, And so the field is the world. It is God’s will that the gospel be preached to the whole world in every generation. So the field is the world. And the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom. And the tares are the sons of the evil one, they are the sons of the devil. And the enemy that sowed them is the devil; and the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are angels. As therefore the tares are gathered up and burned with fire; so shall it be in the end of the world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and they that do iniquity; and they shall cast them into the furnace of fire: There shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." And, again, I have spoken a few times already about some of our brethren saying that angels are just messengers and leaving the impression that men can fit in the category of being angels. Now, are men going to make that separation or are these heavenly beings?

STUDENT: I don't think we have the capability.

BROTHER TURNER: Certainly not. And remember II Thessalonians chapter one beginning with verse seven, that when Christ comes he will come with his holy angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the gospel of God. So the angels will make the separation. So the field is the world, and he that sowed the good seed is the Son of man. Of course, Christ is that master sower. All of those who learn the will of Christ and teach it correctly, they are sowing the good seed of the kingdom (Luke 8:11. But the devil is always busy sowing his seed. What is the meaning then of the parable of the tares? The meaning is simply this, that when we have done everything that we are capable of doing in trying to keep discipline in the church, there are still those that we do not have the ability to know whether they are serving God or Satan. They can put on such a front, that they look like the Lord’s sheep instead of the devil’s goats and maybe have not done anything in a public way that there is reason to withdraw from them, but still they are servants of Satan rather than servants of the Lord. It is said that the tares look like the wheat until it starts making the head, and it was not anywhere about as good as the wheat.

We have other parables here that fit somewhat in that same category. Now back to thirty‑one. Another parable said he before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field. I believe they say that the mustard seed used in Palestine is a little different than the mustard seed that we know about. Which indeed is least of all seeds: But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the heaven come and lodge in the branches thereof. So the emphasis is that the kingdom of heaven will have a small beginning, but it will grow into something large. And it looks like to me the parable of the leaven, means about the same thing. Verse thirty‑three, Another parable spake he unto them; the kingdom of heaven is liken unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened. I can remember from my mother baking bread, that you have to have yeast and other proper ingredients to make the bread rise properly to make that good smelling, good eating bread. Of course, she first had to have the proper ingredients to put in that first making, but in that second or third making, she would just save a piece of that old dough and put it in the new dough and it would do the same thing. Please remember that a parable is that true to life story with a spiritual meaning, and so there is the leavening influence of righteousness. One person in the family sometimes becomes a member of the church, and, sometimes it causes division, but at other times, that one member in a family may have a part in converting other members of the family, and in process of time the whole family will be converted. And that is the leavening influence of righteousness. But in I Corinthians five, Paul is speaking of the leavening influence of unrighteousness when he told them to withdraw from the fornicator and purge out the old leaven. So it works both ways. All these things spake Jesus in parables unto the multitudes; and without a parable spake he nothing unto them: That it might be fulfilled which is spoken through the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world. Psalms 88:2.

Picking up now with verse forty‑four, The kingdom of heaven is likened to a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found, and hid, and in the joy he goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. This short parable, of course, is showing that there is nothing more important than the kingdom of heaven. If a man is a faithful citizen of the kingdom of heaven, he cannot have greater treasure than that. I believe that when you look at it from everything, that holds even in this life, but it is surely true in respect to the life to come. In the eighth chapter of the book of Romans, I believe around verse sixteen, the writer says that his spirit beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. And if children, then heirs of God and joint‑heirs with Christ. Can any man be richer than that, heirs of God and join‑heirs with Christ? So the kingdom of heaven is likened unto a treasure hidden in the field. This man may have just accidentally found the treasure, but he immediately recognized the great value of the treasure, and he hid it, And in his joy he goeth and selleth all that he had and buyeth that field. He recognized it was the most important thing that he could have. Again, the kingdom of heaven is liken unto a man that is a merchant, seeking goodly pearls. (So this man is looking) Some today just at first somewhat accidentally learn of the great value of the kingdom of God, but they see the value of it and take those steps to enter into the kingdom of God. (Acts 16:25-34) others may look for the way to enter into the kingdom for a long time

A good book that may help some is the book Eunice Loyd published by the Gospel Advocate Company. You would do well to buy a copy and read it and then pass it around. My wife knew the author of this book and I want her to write a few things about it. And having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it. He recognized the pearl of great price and sold everything and bought it.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is liken unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind. The gospel net brings good and bad into the church. And which, when it was filled, they drew up on the beach, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but the bad they cast away. So shall it be at the end of the world: The angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the righteous. So again, the angels are going to be the ones that sever the wicked from among the righteous. Going back to verse forty‑one, they will gather out of the kingdom all things that cause stumbling in them that do iniquity shall cast them into the furnace of fire, and there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. And, of course, that would be talking about that eternal fire of hell, as set forth in I Thessalonians 1:7‑8.

STUDENT: Brother Turner, men do not die and become angels immediately. A lot of people believe that. There is a great mix up about that. When Christians die their spirits are carried by angels to Paradise of the Haden world, and they will be there until the second advent of Christ. When he comes all will be raised (John 5:28-29; I Thessalonians 5:1-11; II Thessalonians 1:7-10 and judged John 6:39, 6:44, 6:54; Matthew 25:31-46; I Corinthians 15:50-56).BROTHER TURNER: We will not have a new body until Christ comes in the second advent. Yes, that is right. When Christ comes he will bring the spirits of the righteous with him and they will be raised with glorious bodies before the living righteous are caught up to meet the Lord in the air, I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Corinthians 15:50-58; Philippians 3:20-21; I John 3:1-3). STUDENT: But not an angel.

BROTHER TURNER: Christians will not be angles until that day of eternal judgment (Matthew 22:28-33).

Let us read this last reference, Matthew twenty‑two beginning with verse three. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead or the spirits or angels. On that day their came to him Sadducees, they that say that there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying, Teacher, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. And the law said that Deuteronomy 25:5-10; Genesis 38:6-11; Ruth 3:1-4, 3:18-4:12). But I doubt very much that their story is true. Now there was with us seven brethren: And the first, married, and deceased, and having no seed, left his wife unto his brother: And in like manner the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. And after them all the woman died. So she outlived seven brothers, according to that. And in the resurrection therefore whose wife shall she be of the seven? For they all had her. According to their thinking, there would really be war in heaven, seven brothers fighting over the same wife. But Jesus answered and said unto them, ye do err, not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as angels in heaven. But notice that it is in the resurrection and not between now and the resurrection. But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are still living. They are not angels yet, but they are still living. And when the multitudes heard it, they were astonished at his teaching. So you may need to remember that reference there when talking to people that think that when A Christian that they immediately become angels.

We were on the parable of the fish net. So when the gospel is preached, it brings all kind of people into the church. And, again, it is not possible to determine with any exactness. Sometimes we may think that a man is really a faithful child of God, and then he does something to show to the contrary, but there are others that we may never know about, that we think are very faithful children of God. But the Lord and the angels know differently, and so the angels will make the separation. So shall it be in the end of the world, the angels shall come forth and sever the wicked from among the righteous and cast them into a furnace of fire. There shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. Of course, that verse is like verse forty‑two, the terrible torment of that lake of fire that is referred to as the second death in Revelation 20:11-15. Have ye understood all these things? They say unto them, yea. He said unto them, Therefore every scribe who hath been made a disciple to the kingdom of heaven is liken to a man that is a householder who bringeth forth out of his treasures things new and old. The scribe was one that copied the scriptures. They did not have printing presses and all of these marvelous things that we have today, where it is just so easy to put out a lot of printing materials in such a hurry, even in the matter of sending e‑mails, but they had to copy the scriptures by hand. And the scribes spent their time copying the scriptures, and they were reckoned as those who were really supposed to know the scriptures well. So he sets forth then that a scribe who obeyed Christ would be able to be like a householder who can bring out of his treasures things new and old because he was familiar with the Old Testament scripture and could bring from the Old Testament scriptures things that have to do with teaching in the New Testament just like a person who has a good knowledge of the Old Testament can do that very thing today. He can bring out of his treasure of understanding from the Old and from the New and make the proper comparison.

Matthew 13:53, It came to pass when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence. And coming into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue. And I think this must be at least the second time that he goes to Nazareth. In the fourth chapter of the gospel of Luke, I believe would be the first time that he went to Nazareth. As his custom was, he went into the synagogue and stood up to read. There was delivered to him the book of Isaiah, and he read from it a reference that concerned him and said, today in this scripture fulfilled in your ears. Verse fifty‑four beginning, and coming into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, a prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house. And he did not mighty words there because of their unbelief. Some try to make the argument that very intelligent men by their compassion can see that the Christian religion is not what it claims to be, but these did come to that conclusion on the basis of their learning. It looks like it is plain jealousy for one thing. We will pick up with this in our second period.

STUDENT: This is a good time for us to pick this up to talk about unbelief. We sometimes think that unbelief is a little thing. Folks have not changed too much.

BROTHER TURNER: No. Humanity in the main is about like it has always been. But here it looks like that the people of Nazareth reasoned, this fellow, how is he supposed to be so great, he is just a carpenter's son. (A brief recess was taken.)

We are ready to pick up. We are reading from verses fifty‑four and fifty‑five of Matthew thirteen, about the people of Nazareth rejecting Jesus. It looks like simply on the basis they did not want to put forth any trouble to learn about how he had all the wisdom and all great power that he had, and because they were jealous of him. Do you remember the first chapter of John when Jesus called Philip that he went and found Nathaniel and said unto Nathaniel, we have found him of whom Moses in the law and in the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathaniel responded, can any good thing come out of Nazareth? And Philip said, come and see. So, evidently, Nazareth did not have a good reputation. But they evidently were not willing to put forth the effort to try to learn about why he had the wisdom, and was able to do the mighty works that he was doing, and instead with jealousy they said, he is just a carpenter's son. And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house. And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. One of the other accounts in Mark and Luke talks about that he healed a few of the sick and that Jesus marveled at their unbelief. In other words, Jesus was seemingly surprised how they just said no like they did.

Chapter Fourteen

At that season Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus, and said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore do these powers of work in him. I guess his conscience was rubbing him pretty good, don't you guess? He had John killed. For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias', his brother Philip's wife. Now, notice for the sake of Herodias. Herod had taken his half‑brother Philip's wife Herodias for his wife. And she was not only his brother's wife, but she was his niece. So it was a wrong marriage in every respect, and so John was a brave man, and he told Herod that it was not lawful for him to have her. It looks like that made her very mad at John. And because John made his wife so mad, he had John put in prison. For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her. And when Jesus talked about to John, what went you out in the wilderness to see? A reed shaken in the wind? That surely did not describe John the Baptist. He was a courageous man. He was not moved by every wind of public opinion. Even here he told Herod, it was not lawful for you to have your brother Philip's wife. And when he would have put him to death. And so there was a time when he would have put him to death. I wonder whether that thinking came entirely from himself or because of the insistence of his wife Herodias.

Matthew 14:5And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet. But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced in the midst, and pleased Herod. Wherefore he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she shall ask. And she, being put forward by her mother, saith, Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist. Think how wicked that woman was, ready to deprive her daughter of receiving something worthwhile. She wants the head of John the Baptist. And the king was grieved. He was saddened about it, but he did not have enough moral determination to stand up against that micked woman and the foolish oath that he had made. But for the sake of his oath, and of them that sat at meat with him, he commanded it to be given. And he went, and beheaded John in the prison. Now, I do not think that he would have gone himself, but all he had to do was to send the message to an executioner to take a sword and cut off John the Baptist's head. And his head was brought on a platter, and given to the damsel: And she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came, and took up the corpse, and buried him, and they went and told Jesus.

You remember how God told the people of Israel to utterly destroy the seven nations in the land of Canaan, and there are those who raise the question, how could God be a loving and righteous God and command that innocent women and children be destroyed? Well, when you think of that wicked environment, it was not likely that there were many innocent women in that wicked environment, and it would have been, a blessing for those infants. They will be among the redeemed, but if they had grown up in that wicked environment, they would have gone according to the way that they were reared, and most of them would have been in a lost condition. And so not all women by any means are innocent. When you find a bad woman, sometimes they may go beyond what madmen do.

STUDENT: Jezebel did.

BROTHER TURNER: Yes, Jezebel is another example. Now, do you remember about us reading from the four gospel books about the feeding of the five thousand?

STUDENT: Right.

BROTHER TURNER: And remember that Matthew is the only one that said five thousand men besides women and children. And he is the only one then with the feeding of the four thousand, that says four thousand besides women and children. John was the only one that tells that Christ told them to take up the scraps that nothing be lost.

Chapter Fifteen,

Then there come to Jesus from Jerusalem, Pharisees and scribes, saying, why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread. And he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? They had made their traditions a part of religion. They counted it wrong to eat with unwashen hands. Now, there is nothing wrong with a person washing their hands. In fact, that is a good thing to do, but they made the matter of washing the hands as a religious thing and also their washing or submerging of vessels as spoken of in Matthew twenty‑three when Jesus reproves the scribes and the Pharisees. So Jesus answers their question by asking them a question, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God said, Honor thy father and thy mother, (which meant that when their parents were old that their children were under the responsibility of supplying their needs in old age.) And he that speaketh evil of father or mother, let him die the death. (It carried the death penalty). But ye say, whosoever shall say to his father or to his mother, that wherewith thou mightest been profited by me; is given to God, and he shall not honor his father. I have gotten the idea from some reading that the person willed their property to the temple with the understanding that they had the use of all of it until death. The Jews had changed the law of God that when they did that, they were not under any responsibility to take care of father and mother in old age. And ye have made void the word of God because of your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophecy of you, saying, this people honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men. What is wrong with religion in America today? The answer is set forth there in the words of Isaiah. People honor the Lord with their lips, but in vain do they worship me as stated here in Isaiah, teaching for doctrine, the precepts of men. And he called to him the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: Not that which entereth into the mouth defileth a man. And they counted that as eating with defiled hands. In other words, it was a sin if they did not wash their hands before they ate.

Matthew 15:10,He called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: Not that which entereth into the mouth defileth a man. But that which proceedeth out of the mouth, this defileth the man. Why? It comes forth from the mind, which is spoken of as the heart of man. Then came the disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, when they heard this saying? It looks like his disciples are saying you have done the wrong thing, you have offended these great leaders, the Pharisees. You have been too hard on them. But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath planted not, shall be rooted up. So if the Lord does not build the house, if he does not do the planting, it is the wrong kind of building, the wrong kind of planting. The day is coming when every kind of plant or religious creed and house that God has not planted shall be rooted up. Let them alone. (Speaking of the Pharisees.) They are blind guides. And if the apostles had tried to change them, they could not change them and they might have had a bad influence on the apostles. And if the blind guide the blind, both shall fall into the pit. And so all men are free moral agents, and every accountable person has responsibility to take my yoke upon you (Matthew 11:28-30). And they are to search and find out for themselves and not to just follow without trying to read and understand for themselves. There are a lot of people that think if they just follow a man who is thought to be a great spiritual leader, then everything is well. But sometimes that one that is looked up to as being great may be teaching contrary to the will of God. And it still holds that if people follow ‑‑ Like if the people here follow the Pharisees rather than Jesus, then they would fall into the pit with them. The Pharisees were going in the wrong direction. They were rejecting the Lord, and time after time, they were trying to find fault with Jesus and his disciples. You remember that we have already read here from the book of Matthew about how that they accused his disciples of violating the Sabbath, by plucking the heads of the grain and eating them when they had not violated the Sabbath. And they were ready to accuse Jesus that it was wrong for him to heal on the Sabbath day, and that it was wrong for man to take up his bed and walk on the Sabbath day. They have already made a number of attempts to try Jesus but they try again here.

Verse fifteen, And Peter answered and said unto him, Declare unto us the parable. Referring to his saying not that which go into a man defileth a man, but that which proceedeth out of the mouth, Peter is speaking of that as a parable. It does not fit quite in that category. Peter answered and said unto him, Declare unto us the parable. And he said, Are ye also yet without understanding? Perceive ye not, that whatsoever goeth into the mouth passeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But the things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart. And when the Bible speaks of the heart, it is talking about the mind of man. Remember Proverbs 4:23, keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. Man becomes a product of his thinking. If he thinks on things wrong, he will do wrong. If he thinks on those things that are good and right, he will do right (Philippians 4:8-9). For from the heart cometh forth evil thoughts, murderers, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, railing: These are the things which defile the man: But to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man. So if man keeps his thinking right, he will be able to live in accordance with the law of God. Man is not going to just up and commit murder if he is never had hate in his heart. But as the apostle John said, he that hateth his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. So if a man continues to hate and hate and hate, why the time may come when he will end up murdering somebody. And if a man continues to lust after women, he will end up committing adultery or fornication, that would take care of all kinds of wrong sex. All of those things come forth from the heart, and they are what defiles a man.

Matthew 15:21, Next we will read about Tyre and Sidon and a Canaanite woman. Mark and Luke tell about this too. And Jesus went out thence, and withdrew into parts of Tyre and Sidon. Tyre and Sidon were over on the Mediterranean seacoast, the Phoenician territory or Syrian Phoenician territory. And, behold, a Canaanite woman came out from those borders, and cried out saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a demon. So you see that the good news about Jesus and his healing has carried to foreign territory. This Canaanite woman refers to him as the son of David. Christ is set forth in the Old Testament scriptures as that righteous branch that God would raise unto David that would reign on the throne of David. In substance, would not that be saying that he is the Son of God, that he is the Savior and this Canaanite woman knew that he was the son of David, and that he could heal, and she said my, daughter is grievously vexed with a demon. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. She is a nuisance. Get rid of her. We are tired of hearing her cry after us. But he answered and said, I was not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. See, this is still during that period of that limited commission when Jesus sent forth the twelve and then later the seventy. They were not to go in the way of the Gentiles or the Samaritans, but they were to go only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. So that is what Jesus is talking about here that he is just on a limited commission. I am not sent, but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But she came and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. Now, Jesus makes a cutting remark to this woman. Do not you think he is doing it for the disciples benefit to teach them. They said send her away.

Matthew 15:26, Notice the cutting remark that Jesus made to this woman who worshipped him saying, Lord help me. He answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and cast it to the dogs. The children's bread, of course, he would be referring to teaching the people of Israel first. The Pharisees and many of the Jewish people counted the Gentiles as the scum of the earth and dogs. So it is a very harsh statement. But don't you know Jesus knew her heart and knew that she would receive that statement properly. And this would be an opportunity to teach those hard‑hearted disciples a lesson. But you can just imagine the disciples saying, you answered her correctly. There is no need to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs. But she said, yea, Lord. For even the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from the masters' table. We can admire her both for her wit and especially for her humility, she is concerned about her daughter. And she wants Jesus to heal her daughter. And they say that in the Greek, dogs in verse twenty‑six and dogs in verse twenty‑seven is a different word. Notice the new King James version, I believe has the little dogs as puppies under the table. But she said, Yea, Lord: For even little dogs (or puppies) eat of the crumbs which fall from the masters' table. So she is not embarrassed by what the Lord had to say. You just grant the puppies the crumbs from the masters' table.

Verse 28, Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: Be it done unto thee, even as thou wilt. Wouldn't you like to see the expression on the faces of those disciples who had said send her away? And her daughter was healed from that hour. And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee, and he went up into the mountain, and sat there.

Matthew 15:30, And there came unto him great multitudes, having with them the lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and they cast them down at his feet; and he healed them. Have you seen any of those so‑called miracle healers of today demonstrating their power on those kind of people, do they really? People that are really lame or blind or dumb or have limbs that have been cut off by an accident or something? They are fakes. Jesus we know raised three persons from the dead, an if they can miraculously heal as Jesus and the apostles did (Acts 9:32-43, 20:9-12) they can raise the dead. These Jaunes and Jambres (I Timothy 3:6-9; Exodus 7:8-12, 9:8-13) need to be challenged, if you have miraculous power you can raise the dead: so come out to this cemetery and raise one person and I will raise from the dead all of the others in the cemetery!

Let us read again, and there came unto him great multitudes, having with them the lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and they cast them down at his feet; and he healed them. But notice that he healed them. Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb speaking, the maimed whole, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing: and they glorified the God of Israel. And Jesus called unto him, his disciples and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days and have nothing to eat. It looks like that day light was nearly gone and so many people were following him and bringing all the sick and the lame, blind, dumb, maimed and others to be healed. That may have been the reason why he went into Tyre and Sidon to try to get a little rest, they had been following him for three days and it looks like most of the night, and they were still bringing those to heal. And the disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so many loaves in a desert place. That is to fill a great multitude. The disciples were not quick to learn, were they? He had recently fed the five thousand, and they want to know on this occasion were they going to have enough to feed so many people! Whence should we have so many loaves in a desert place, as to fill so great a multitude? And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few small fishes. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and he gave thanks, and brake, and gave to the disciples and the disciples to the multitude. And they ate, and were filled: And they took up that which remained over of the broken pieces, seven baskets full. Remember the other time, they had five barley loaves ‑‑ and was not it two small fish ‑‑ and took up twelve basket full, and here they have seven loaves and a few small fishes, and they take up seven basket full. So it did not turn on the amount they had in the beginning as to the feeding. Here they had more and took up less. And they that did eat were four thousand men, besides. If you want to underscore besides women and children, Matthew is the only one in each case that says besides women and children. And he sent away the multitudes, and entered into a boat, and came into the borders of Magdala.

Now turn to Mark chapter seven and read Mark's account. And they are gathered together unto him the Pharisees and certain of the scribes, who had come from Jerusalem, and had seen that some of his disciples ate their bread with defiled hands that is unwashed hands. You see, they counted that as a sin. For the Pharisees and all the Jews, except they wash their hands diligently, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace, except they bathe themselves, they eat not, and many other things there are, which they have received to hold, washing of cups, and pots and brazen vessels. Jesus refers to this in Matthew twenty‑three when he speaks out against the scribes and the Pharisees.

Mark 7:5, And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with defiled hands? And he said unto them, well did Isaiah prophecy of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men. And all of us need to learn the lesson that we are to do in worship only that which God has instructed us to do. We are not to come with man‑made rules and traditions and count them as a part of worship. God has never called on man to worship without telling man how to worship him. How could mortal and sinful men know how to worship an all wise and eternal God who could created the heavens and the earth and all things there in? When the sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu tried to offer strange fire , fire which he had not commanded God consumed them with fire (Leviticus 10:1-7).This trying to worship God according to human creeds and traditions will not do. Ye leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men. And he said unto them. Now, it is somewhat traditional in most of our churches to have a certain order at church. The average church is about three songs and a prayer, then another song before the Lord’s supper, and then another before preaching, and then an invitation song after preaching. There is nothing wrong with that as long as no one tries to make that binding. It is still carrying out the command to sing as we are instructed to do and to pray and to do the other items of worship which includes giving Acts 2:42; I Corinthians 16:1-2, and partaking of the Lord’s Supper (I Corinthians 11:33; Acts 20:7) and singing without instruments (Ephesians 5:18-20; Colossians 3:16-17). There are two kinds of music, vocal and instrumental and every passage in the New Testament specifies singing (Matthew 26:30; Acts 16:25; I Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 5:18-20; Colossians 3:16-17; Hebrews 2:11-12, 13:15; James 5:13; Revelation 5:8-9,15:2-4). There were no instruments used in Christian worship until about 800 years after Pentecost. This was many years after Pentecost and the great falling away (Acts 20:28-30; II Thessalonians 2:1-8; I Timothy 4:1-4 which resulted in the higharchie of the Catholic Church and the election of a Pope. Leaders in the Methodist, Presberian, and Baptist Churches spoke out against the use of instruments in worship until the nineteenth century. Many arguments have been made since then to try to justify the use of them, but none of them will meet the said test of the scriptures of the New Testament! This was many years And he said unto them, full well do ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your tradition. For Moses said, honor thy father and thy mother; and, he that speaketh evil of father or mother, let him die the death: But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or his mother, that wherewith thy mightest have been profited by me; is Corban, that is to say given to God, ye no longer suffer him to do ought for his father or his mother; making void the word of God by your tradition, which ye have delivered: And many such like

things ye do. So they had a lot of traditions that they had made as binding like they were religious duties. And he called to him the multitude again, and said unto them, hear me all of you, and understand: There is nothing from without the man, that goeth into him, that can defile him. But the things which proceed out of the man, are those that defile the man. And when he was entered into the house from the multitude, his disciples asked of him the parable. And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Perceive ye not, that whatsoever from without goeth into the man, and it cannot defile him; because it goeth not into his heart, but into his belly, and goeth out into the draught, this he said making all meats clean? Now, you would do well to underscore the latter part of verse nineteen. Mark is the only one that makes the statement that Jesus made all meats clean, but he shows that a man is not defiled by eating meats. But remember the Old Testament religion was everything for the people of Israel. It was their spiritual instruction, their civil instruction, and also their health instruction. It looks like to me, the clean and the unclean under the law was primarily for health reasons.

Mark 7:20, And he saith, That which proceedeth out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, evil thoughts proceed, fornications, thefts, murderers, adulteries, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, railing, pride, foolishness. And so Mark records four things that Matthew did about what comes forth from the heart. All these evil things proceed from within, and defile the man. And from thence he arose, and went away into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and he entered into a house, and would have no man know it: And he could not be hid. So Mark gives something there. Evidently, they had not had time to rest. But evidently the crowds are thronging him, so he goes into the borders of Tyre and Sidon and entered him into a house. And he thought, it looks like, that he would escape from the multitude. But it says he could not be hid. But straightway a woman, whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, having heard of him, came and fell down at his feet. Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by race. J.W. McGarvey, in his commentary on this, says that Tyre and Sidon were provinces of Syria at this time. Syria was joining the land of Israel on the northeast. Tyre and Sidon are on the west side of the Mediterranean. Tyre and Sidon are on the Mediterranean sea. Now the woman was Greek, a Syrophenician by race; and she besought him that he would cast forth the demon out of her daughter. And he said unto her, Let the children first be filled: For it is not meat to take the children's bread, and cast it to the dogs. But she answered and said unto him, yea, Lord: Even the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs. So if you will just give me the crumbs, my daughter will be healed! For he said unto her, for this saying, go thy way; the demon is gone out of thy daughter. And notice that she believed that her daughter had been healed. She went away unto her house and found the child laying upon the bed and the demons gone out. And again, he went from the borders of Tyre and came through Sidon, unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the borders of Decapolis. And they bring unto him one that was deaf. And I think we need to stop there in regard to that.

Chapter Eight

Chapter eight of Mark is the feeding of the four thousand again. In those days when there was again a great multitude, and they had nothing to eat, he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: And if I send them away fasting to their homes, they will faint on the way: For some of them have come from far. Evidently, they had gone three days without eating but very little if anything. Note that orderly way that everything is done in the feeding the four thousand men, plus women and children, is essentially the same as the feeding of the five thousand. Remember that some might have been the people rushing if every thing had not been done in an orderly way. If you even think about eating at the church building today and how some are ready to run ahead, can you imagine ten thousand people or eight thousand people and them very hungry and had not had anything for three days? What would have resulted? And his disciples answered him, From whence shall one be able to fill these men with bread here in a desert place? And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven. And he commanded the multitudes to sit down on the ground: And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he brake and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude. Some have tried to reason, that this is all mixed up, and that the feeding of the five thousand and the four thousand are the same miracle. Absolutely not! With the feeding of five thousand there were five barley loves and two fishes, and they took up twelve basket full. In the feeding four thousand they had seven loves and they took up seven. And they had a few small fishes. And having blessed them, he commanded to set these also before them. And they ate, and were filled: And they took up broken pieces that were remained over seven baskets. And they were about four thousand: And he sent them away.

See, Mark just refers to the men, which was the pattern of that day. Anywhere the Christian religion has gone, the state of women has been greatly elevated. Just think of the terrible conditions that the women of Afghanistan are in today! Why? Straightway he entered into the boat with his disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha. And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, and he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek a sign? Verily, I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation. And he left them, and again entering into the boat and departed to the other side. Let us go ahead and read this, and this shows very definitely that he fed the multitudes on two different occasions. Mark 8:14, And they forgot to take bread, and they had not in the boat with them more than one loaf. And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod. Please note that the deciples thought that he was talking about food! I believe Matthew said of the scribes. And they reasoned one with another saying, We have no bread. And Jesus perceiving it, saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? Verse 16, And they reasoned one with another saying, We have no bread. And Jesus perceiving it saith unto them, why reason ye , because you have no bread. Do ye not yet perceive, neither understand? Have ye your heart hardened? Having eyes, see ye not? And having ears, hear ye not? And do ye not remember? When I brake the five loaves among the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces took ye up? And they say unto him, Twelve. And when the seven among the four thousand, how many baskets of broken pieces took ye up? And they say unto him, Seven. And he said unto them, do ye not yet understand? So even the apostles were slow in understanding. Sometimes, we are prone to get discouraged when we teach the same thing over and over and over to brethren today and then find out that they still do not understand. Well, Jesus had to exercise a lot of patience even with his apostles. They were slow of understanding too.

In regard to Luke's gospel, turn to chapter nine. Let us pick up with verse twenty‑seven, But I tell you of a truth, there are some of them that stand here, who shall in no wise taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God. So the kingdom of God was to come within the lifetime of some of the disciples at that time. And Mark's gospel said there are some of you that shall not taste ‑‑ Mark 9:1 reads, There are some of you that stand here who shall not taste of death until you see the kingdom of God come with power. And in Acts 1:8, Jesus told the apostles to stay in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high, until the Holy Spirit came upon them. When the Holy Spirit came on the apostles on Pentecost and then the power came. Turn to Acts 1:8. Acts 1:8 reads, But ye shall receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: Ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And you need to put out beside verse eight there, Mark 9:1, Some of you stand here, which shall not taste of death, till you see the kingdom of God come with power. And so the power was to come when the Holy Spirit came on the apostles. And so it came on that first Pentecost after the ascension of Christ, Acts two.

We were reading from Luke. Luke 9:27, But I tell you of a truth, there are some of them that stand here, who shall in no wise taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God. Now, these references that we have called attention to show that the premillennial doctrine is a false doctrine. According to that doctrine, Christ ushered in the church age, because the Jews, as a people, rejected him, and the kingdom age is yet to come. According to that doctrine the righteous are going to be raptured up and then after seven years of great tribulation upon the earth that Christ will come and those glorified saints to earth, to reign on earth for a thousand years. Please remember that Christ said that his kingdom would come before the death of some of those he was teaching (Mark 9:1; Luke 9:27). The Colossian brethren were in the kingdom (Colossian 1:13), and the apostle John and all of those first century brethren were in the tribulation and kingdom (Revelation 1:9). That doctrine makes Christ a liar! Who do you think is lieing (Romans 3:4)?

Verse twenty‑eight, It came to pass about eight days after these sayings, that he took with him Peter, John and James, and went up into the mountain to pray. In Matthew seventeen, we will be reading about this, but we will go ahead and read about his being transfigured before we read Matthew’s account. And it came to pass after eight days after these sayings, that he took with him Peter, John and James, and went up into the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment became white and dazzling. And, behold, there talked with him two men, who were Moses and Elijah, and who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease. If you will, underscore spake of his decease which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem. I think that Luke may be the only one that records that statement about his coming death upon the cross, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Luke 9:32, Now Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: But when they were fully awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him. And it came to pass, as they were departing from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: And let us make three tabernacles, one for thee and one for Moses, and one for Elijah: Not knowing what he said. You put the three accounts together, and you have got a fuller understanding. Those that received him were receiving the father that sent him. Those who rejected him were rejecting the father that sent him.

I believe we need to turn back to Matthew chapter sixteen and read from Matthew. And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and trying him asked him to show them a sign from heaven. I reckon they counted all of those signs like healing the man that had the withered hand, and the man that was born of four on top of the roof and let him down, and all those healings like the Syrophenician woman’s daughter, and all those dumb and lame and blind and maimed. As being signs from heaven. They wanted a sign from heaven! But he answered and said unto them, When it is evening ye say, It will be fair weather: For the heaven is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: For the heaven is red and lowring. Ye know how to discern the face of the heaven; but ye cannot discern the signs of the times? Jesus, of course, was performing all those miracles, signs and wonders testifying that he was the one that God had sent. Jesus said, that they could predict the weather, but they could not understand the signs of the time. An evil and adulterous generations seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of Jonah. This makes the second time that it is recorded by Matthew, that he told them that he would give them that sign. The other time he told them that as Jonah was in the belly of the whale, three days and three nights, he would be in the earth three days and three nights. And he left them and departed.

An evil and adulterous generation, may have included physical adulteries, but

they were supposed to have been married to God under the Old Testament religion, and they were unfaithful. They had changed the Old Testament law by their traditions, and so they were guilty of spiritual adultery. An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of Jonah. And he left them, and departed. And the disciples came to the other side, and forgot to take bread. And Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, We took no bread. And Jesus perceiving him said, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have no bread? Do ye not yet perceive, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? So very definitely that shows feeding the multitudes on two different occasions. How is it that ye do not perceive that I spake not to you concerning bread, but beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees? Then understood they that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. They were teaching wrong. It was the leavening influence of unrighteousness when he said beware of the leaven of the scribes and the Pharisees.

Matthew 16:13, Now when Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea at Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that the Son of man is? And they said, Some say John the Baptist: Some, Elijah, and others, Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets. It looks like the multitudes in general did not say that he was the Christ. They allreckoned him as a great person. Some were saying John the Baptist, and some Elijah, others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjonah: For flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Now, I guess you know that the Catholics claim that the Lord built the church on Peter, that he is the rock on which the Lord built the church, and that Peter was the first Pope. Do you remember Acts 10:24-25 when Cornelius was going to bow down to him, and he said to him, stand up for I also am a man. Well, by Peter, I have a footnote and it says the Greek is P‑E‑T‑R‑O‑S. And then upon this rock is another Greek word, P‑E‑T‑R‑A. Peter means a stone or part of a rock. It is not upon Peter that the Lord built the church but on the confession that he made, that I am the Christ, the Son of the living God, upon this bedrock of truth, I will build my church. Christ is rock or stone of the ages as we sing in the song entitled, Rock of Ages.

Rock of Ages

Rock of ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee.

Could my tears forever flow, Could my zeal no languor show.

While I draw this fleeting breath, When my eyelids close in death.

Let the water and the blood, From Thy wounded side which flowed.

These for sin could not a-tone, Thou must save, and Thou a-lone.

When I rise to worlds unknown, And behold Gold on the throne.

D.C. Be of sin the double cure, Save from wrath and make me pure.

D.C. In my hand no price I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling.

D.C. Rock of ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee.

There are several Old Testament references about him. One good one is Isaiah 28:16, where the prophet said, behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation for a stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation that he that believeth on him shall not make haste. And, of course, that passage is quoted in the New Testament in I Peter chapter two. Jesus was talking to the Pharisees when he gave the parable about the wicked husbandman, and then he quoted to them Psalms 118:22, which reads the stone which the builders rejected was made the head of the corner, and this is marvelous in our eyes. So Christ is the rejected stone that the builders rejected, but he is still made the head of the corner. Do you remember when Peter and John were both before the Sanhedrin to give an account of the healing of the impotent man at the temple. Peter said, He is the stone that was set at nought of you builders, which has also become the head of the corner, neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven whereby men must be saved, Acts 4:11‑12.

Isaiah 8:13‑14, Christ is spoken of as being a haven in verse thirteen, and a stone of stumbling for both of the houses of Israel. Christ would be a haven to those who receive him, but he would also be a stumbling stone for both the houses of Israel. Isaiah 8:13-14 was written before Assyrian captivity, before the ten tribes were carried into Assyrian captivity and the kingdom was divided into two kingdoms because of the sins of Solomon. So do you have clear understanding of verse eighteen? The church is not built on Peter but on that rock that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And in Ephesians chapter two, Paul is talking about the Gentiles in the church at Ephesus, how that before they learned the gospel, they were strangers from the covenant of promise, and without hope and without God in the world, but Christ had taken down the middle wall of petition, the Old Testament law, and made both Jew and Gentile one body in Christ. And then he makes a statement so that you are no more strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and with household of God, being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. So Christ built the church on this good confession that Peter made, that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Verse nineteen, and I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: And whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: And whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Some reason that whatever any of the apostles bound on earth was bound in heaven. And that is true, but there is still special significance of Peter being given the keys. Peter preached to the Jews, and gave them God's law of pardon on that day of Pentecost when they said men and brethren, what shall we do? Peter said, Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. And so Peter unlocked the kingdom of God to the Jewish people. He gave them the answer, the law of pardon. And then in Acts the eighth chapter, we read about him giving that second law of pardon to the early Christians when he told Simon to repent and pray that if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. And that is also like I John 1:7‑9 where John says if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another. And the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son cleanseth us from all sins. So when Christians follow Christ closely, his blood continues to cleanse. But then he says, but if we say that we have no sins, we deceive ourselves and his truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If Christians become unfaithful they do not need to be baptized again, but they need to repent and ask the Lord to forgive them. And when they do, the Lord forgives. Peter was also the first one to give the law of pardon to the Gentile people at the household of Cornelius as given in Acts chapter ten. So there is special significance of Peter having the keys to the kingdom. You think of keys as to unlock something or to give answer to something. I came along at a time, I guess, in junior high and high school, we had a lot of workbooks. And the teacher had what was called the key. And, of course, it had the answers to those that we could not figure out. She had the answer to all those questions in the workbooks. I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: And whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: And whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. So notice in verses eighteen and nineteen that the word church and kingdom is used interchangeably. Jesus surely has not changed subjects, in verse nineteen, when he told Peter he would give him the keys to the kingdom. So the church and the kingdom are the same. And remember Colossians 1:13, where Paul said that the Colossians had been translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. There are just so many references that show that the premillennial doctrine is false.

Matthew 16:20, Then charged he the disciples that they should tell no man that he was the Christ. From that time began Jesus to show unto his disciples, that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord, this shall never be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: Thou art the stumbling block unto me: For thou mindest not the things of God, but the things of men. He is thinking as men would think that Lord, a great person like you, should not be killed, but Jesus said, For thou mindest the things of God, but the things of men. He was thinking as men think and not as God thinks. Jesus knew that he came to die on the cross of calvary as a sin offering for mankind.

Matthew 16:24, Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. That is a verse I think every child of God ought to memorize, If any man would come after me let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. That is a big responsibility that is laid upon every child of God. Get yourself out of the way and take up his cross and follow me. And that is not referring to just an ordinary burden of old age and ill health, but it is talking about doing those works, for Christ. Do you remember the words of Paul to the Galatian brethren, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I that live, but Christ that liveth in me. So Paul had heeded the Lord's instruction to deny himself, and he was bearing the load for Christ, suffering many things as set forth in II Corinthians chapter eleven for Christ. He had taken up his cross and followed the Lord.

Verse twenty‑five, And whosoever will save his life shall lose it: And whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it. A man who saved his life as given here would be talking about that man that wants to go the easy way and do according to his own thinking, but he will lose his life in a devil's hell at the end of the way. But whosoever loseth his life for my sake, shall find it and he'll have eternal life. And what shall a man be profited if he shall gain the whole world, and forfeit his life, and what shall a man give in exchange for his life? When it comes to beauty of language, the old King James Version is still the best version from the standpoint of beauty of language. What shall it be profited a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul, or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? That just has a better ring, than the other versions? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then shall he render unto every man according to his deeds. Or according to his good works. And there are a number of references that teach that all men are going to be judged by their works or by their deeds. Romans2:6 says, who will render to every man according to his works. II Corinthians 5:10 reads, We shall all be made manifest before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive the things done in the body according to that which he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Also Revelation twenty, men were judged according to their works. Let me check and see. I am reading from Revelation twenty beginning with verse eleven, And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and books were opened: And another book was opened, which is the book of life. The books, I think, would surely include the Old Testament and the New Testament and then the book of life. And the dead were judged out of things which are written in the books, according to their works. So there are many references which teach that men are going to be judged according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death in Hades gave up the dead that were in them: And they were judged every man according to their works. Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, even the lake of fire. And if any was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire. We got down to verse twenty‑seven. Matthew 16:27, For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then shall he render to every man according to his deeds. Verily I say unto you, There are some of them that stand here, who shall in no wise taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. Now, you need to write down Mark 9:1. There are some of them that stand here that shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God come with power. So if the kingdom did not come during the lifetime of those disciples, then how can we depend on anything that Jesus said.

STUDENT: That's true.

Matthew Chapter Seventeen, And after six days Jesus taketh with him, Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart, and he was transfigured before them: And his face did shine as the sun, and his garments became white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elijah talking with him. And Luke is the one that says that they were talking with him about his coming decease, his coming death upon the cross. And remember this is one of the references that shows there will be identity in heaven. We are not told how the disciples recognized them as Moses and Elijah, but they did. Another reference is in Matthew 8:12, that many shall come from the east and the west and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of God. Paul talked about how that the Thessalonians and the Philippians, would be his reward and crown of glory at the second advent of Christ (I Thessalonians 2:19-20; Philippians 2:16). He would know that they were in heaven. And Peter answered and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: If thou wilt, I will make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah. And putting Mark and Luke with it, one said Peter was scared, and the other one said he did not know what he was saying. While he was yet speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: And behold a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. And lifted up their eyes, they saw no one, save Jesus only. And as they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen from the dead.

Matthew 17:10, And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elijah must first come? Were they reasoning that he cannot be the Christ because Elijah has got to come first? And he answered and said, Elijah indeed cometh and shall restore all things. But I say unto you that Elijah has come already, and they knew him not, but did unto him whatsoever they would. Even so shall the Son of man also suffer of them. Then understood the disciples that he spake to them of John the Baptist. So this makes the second time in the gospel of Matthew that Jesus had said that John was the Elijah that was to come. Going back to Matthew 11:14, This is the Elijah that is to come. And in Luke chapter one, the angel Gabriel told Zacharias what his son John would do, that he would come in that spirit and likeness of Elijah. I believe we will take time to look at it. The angel of the Lord appeared to Zacharias while he was offering incense in the temple. Picking up with Luke 1:13, But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: Because thy supplication is heard; and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, he shall drink no wine or strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn unto the Lord their God. And he shall go before his face in the spirit and the power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to walk in the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him. So there are at least three references showing that John the Baptist was the Elijah that was to come as set forth in the last two verses of Malachi, chapter four verses five and six of Malachi.

Matthew 17:14, When they were come to the multitude, there came to him a man, kneeling to him and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is epileptic and suffereth grievously, for ought times he falleth into the fire and ought times into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples and they could not heal him. And Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him hitherto me. And Jesus rebuked him; and the demon went out of him: And the boy was cured from that hour. Then came the disciples from Jesus apart, and said, Why could we not cast it out? And he said unto them, Because of your little faith: For verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Verse twenty‑two, And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be delivered up into the hands of men: And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised up. And they were exceeding sorry.

I believe it is Mark that gives more details about the healing. Did we turn and read from Mark awhile ago the ninth chapter?

STUDENT: I don't think we did.

BROTHER TURNER: Let us turn to Mark 9:1, And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, there are some here of them that stand by, who shall in no wise, taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God come with power. And after six days Jesus taketh with him, Peter, and James, and John, and bring them up in a high mountain. Look at verse six, Mark said Peter did not know what the answer, because they became so afraid. When he said, Rabbi, it is good for us to be here: let us make three tabernacles. So Mark and Luke say that he did not know what he was saying. Let us pick up with verse fourteen about the healing that we read about in Matthew. And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great multitude about them, and scribes questioning with them. And straightway all the multitude, when they saw him, were greatly amazed, and running to him, they saluted him. And he asked them, What question ye with them? What were they questioning the apostles? And one of the multitude answered him, Teacher, I wrought unto thee my son, who hath a dumb spirit; and wheresoever it taketh him, it dasheth him down: And he foameth, and grindeth his teeth. He is having seizures. Matthew said he was an epileptic. And pineth away: And I spake to thy disciples that they should cast it out; and they were not able. And he answered them, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him unto me. And they brought him unto him: And when he saw him, straightway the spirit tear him grievously; and he fell on the ground and wallered foaming. So his son was having a seizure when Jesus cast out the unclean spirit. And he asked his father, How long time is it since this has come unto him? And he said, From a child. And I think such a reference as this shows that evil spirits could take over the body of a person without their will before the coming of Christ. And oft times it cast him both into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: But if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us. And Jesus said unto him, If thou canst.

Meaning if you can believe I can do it, I will do it. All things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. The attitude of this man should be the attitude of all of us today. I believe, but I still need help. Help mine unbelief! And when Jesus saw that a multitude came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I commend thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And having cried out, and tore him much, he came out: And the boy became as one dead. Now, notice that he did not say that he was dead, but became as one dead. Insomuch that the many said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, and raised him up; and he arose. And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, How is it that we could not cast it out? And he said unto them, This kind can come out by nothing saved by prayer. I believe the King James says, and fasting.

STUDENT: Right.

BROTHER TURNER: And they went forth from thence, and passed through Galilee; and he would not that any man should know it. For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered up into the hands of men, and they shall kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he should rise again. But they understood not the saying, and were afraid to ask him.

Let us see if we can find this now from Luke. I believe Luke chapter nine and verse thirty‑seven, I believe, is where we want to be. And it came to pass, on the next day, when they were come down from the mountain, a great multitude met him. And, behold, a man from the multitude cried, saying, Teacher I beseech thee, to look on my son: For he is my only child. So Luke gives a detail that is not given by Matthew and Mark that he is an only child. Well, it was bad that he was epileptic and having those seizures and dumb, but he was his only child. And that makes it even more reason why Jesus would have compassion. And behold, a spirit taketh him and he suddenly crieth out, then it teareth him that he foameth, and it hardly separated from him, bruising him sorely. And I besought thy disciples to cast it out; and they could not. And Jesus answering and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and bear with you? Bring hither thy son. And as he was yet coming, the demons dashed him down, and tear him grievously. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. And they were all astonished at the majesty of God. But while all were marveling at all the things which he did, he said unto his disciples, let these words sink into your ears: For the Son of man shall be delivered up into the hands of men. But they understood not this saying, and it was concealed from them, that they should not receive it: And they were afraid to ask him of that saying. So it looks like that the Lord did not intend that they would know fully until after he was raised from the dead. In regard now to Matthew's account, Jesus is saying that if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say to this mountain and remove hence to yonder place and it shall remove and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Many will use that reference today to say that if man has enough faith he can do anything, but remember this was during the miraculous age. And the apostles would have miraculous power that the Holy Spirit would give them, and they had some miraculous power at this time that the Lord had given them before he sent them on that limited commission. Does this not show that it took faith on their part to do some things that looked like that they were impossible. So they had not been able to heal this young man because of a lack of faith.

That brings us back to Matthew 17:24, and when they were come to Capernaum, they that received the half-shekel came to Peter, and said, Doth not your teacher paid the half shekel. If you will turn and read from Exodus chapter thirty beginning with verse twelve. We will not take time to read it now. But God gave Moses the instruction that when they numbered the men of Israel for war, twenty years old and upward, that each man was to give a half shekel, and that half shekel was to be used for the service of the tent of meeting. And so evidently that is what they are asking about here is that half shekel. And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received the half shekel came to Peter, and said, Doth not your teacher pay the half shekel. He saith, yea. And when he came into the house, Jesus spake first to him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? The kings of the earth from whom do they receive toll or tribute? From their sons or from strangers? And when he said from strangers, Jesus said unto him, Therefore the sons are free. Jesus is the Son of God, so according to that, he would not be supposed to pay the half shekel as according to Peter's answer there, that the sons are free. Matthew 17:27, But, Lest ye cause them to stumble. Go thou to the sea, and cast a hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a shekel: And take, and give unto them for me and for thee. So the Lord did not want to cause anybody to stumble. He thought he would go ahead and let Peter get a shekel out of the fish's mouth. That was an unusual fish! It looks like Peter just had to throw his hook in and immediately he caught a fish with a shekel in its mouth, enough to pay the half shekel for Jesus and Peter.

Chapter Eighteen,

In that hour came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Now, remember that they have the wrong understanding of the kingdom of heaven. They think that Christ is going to set up an earthly kingdom. And he called to him a little child, and set him in the midst of them. You remember Acts 1:5‑6, where Jesus said, John indeed baptized you with water, but ye shall be baptized by the Holy Spirit, not many days hence. And the disciples said to him, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom of Israel. So they are still thinking about him setting up an earthly kingdom. And he called to them. So they want to know who is greatest in the kingdom. And he called to him a little child, and set him up in the midst of them. And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. You have got to be humble as a little child. Whosoever therefore that shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whosoever shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whosoever shall cause one of these little ones that believe on me to stumble, it is profitable for him that a great millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be sunk in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world because of occasions of stumbling! For it must needs be that the occasions come; but woe to that man through whom the occasion cometh! And if thy right hand or thy foot causeth thee to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from thee: It is good for thee to enter into life maimed or halt, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the eternal fire. We have already read several references like the latter verses. Is he is talking about literally cutting off your hand or your foot? Jesus is showing how necessary it is for a child of God to control his physical body. Paul says, Nut I buffet my body and bring it into bondage, lest by any means, after I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected (I Corinthians 9:27). See that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven. And notice that this speaks of the angels being in heaven. What think ye if any man have a hundred sheep and one of them hath gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety‑nine and goeth into the mountains, and seek that which goeth astray? And if so be that he findeth it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth over it more than the ninety‑nine which have not gone astray. Even so it is not the will of your father who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish. And so that brings us down to Matthew 18:15 for the beginning of our next class session.