 |  |
A | 6: 1 - 7: 11. Reward.
B | 12. The Law and the Prophets.
C | 13-23. Entry into the Kingdom.
D | 24-29. These sayings of Mine.
E | 24. The Wise.
It seems fairly clear that the "laws" of the Sermon on the Mount relate not to the time
when the kingdom will be set up, but to the period that precedes the kingdom, when
suffering for truth is sustained by hope of future blessedness, and when those that are to
enter the kingdom shall be brought by means of the testings through which they pass to
that condition which is called "perfect" and which figures so prominently in Phil. 3:,
Hebrews and James.
#6. The Sermon on the Mount.
"Entry" into the kingdom, continues a distinctive feature
in the remainder of Matthew's Gospel.
pp. 40 - 43
We have seen that entry into the kingdom is the great feature of the sermon on the
mount, and that the endurance and high standard of spirituality which is inculcated has in
view the entry of that kingdom. Let us take a wider view of the subject, this time looking
at the whole Gospel instead of sequel to the sermon on the mount, namely the prophecy
on the mount, given in 24:, 25: After outlining before us the times that will lead up
to the setting up of the kingdom of heaven, the Lord speaks of the characteristics of those
who shall enter into that kingdom. The two passages are the parable of the ten virgins,
and its fulfillment in the case of the living nations (Matt. 25:).
Truth is truth, whether we who utter it realize its fullness at the time or not, and in
Volume VI, page 183, 184, the fact is stressed that the words which are cognates of the
verb "To enter" are "pivotal" in the structure of the parable of the ten virgins. We will
not repeat the structure here, but call attention to the fact that the great point of the
parable is that of "entering". The five wise virgins "went in" (eiserchomai) to the
marriage, and the door was shut. Here we have the Lord in His last discourses referring
back to His first. The man who heard His sayings, and who did them, is likened to a
WISE man who built upon a rock. The other man is likened to a FOOLISH man. In the
day of testing the wise man's building stands. Reward is promised to the servant who is
not only faithful, but WISE (Matt. 24: 45-47). The Lord does not use the word
"foolish" of any others except those cited in Matt. 7: and 25: Immediately following
the parable of the virgins comes the parable of the talents, where the reward for
faithfulness is expressed in the words, "enter thou into the joy of thy Lord".
We now come to another, but parallel case, where the two classes are not classified as
wise and foolish, but as sheep and goats. The time when this takes place is when the Son