Daniel 11 & Matthew 23: The Full Cup

The Connection Between Matthew 23 and Daniel 11

Please remain standing and turn in your Bibles to the book of Matthew. We'll begin our reading in verse 34 and continue to verse 39. Matthew chapter 23 verse 34 here now the inspired Word of God. Therefore behold I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes.

Some of them you will kill and crucify. Some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city. That upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth. From the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barakaya whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

Truly I say to you all these things shall come upon this generation. Oh Jerusalem Jerusalem who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings and You were unwilling.

Behold your house is being left to you desolate. For I say to you from now on you shall not see me until you say Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord? Let's pray father once again as we Look into your word.

Our prayer is simple and That is that you would open our eyes our ears and our hearts that we would see hear understand what you have to say to us and That father that we would apply it to our lives and that we would become more like our Savior Jesus Christ.

It's in his name. We pray Amen, please be seated. Newton's third law of motion Says in essence in essence that for every action There's an equal and opposite reaction. It's often referred to as the law of inertia.

Now it's a principle that we don't often think about. Especially not in scientific terms, but it it definitely comes into play every day of our lives. Why don't we stand in front of a moving car? Inertia the mass of the energy of the an energy of the car is so great that if we don't move We will be sent on a rather unpleasant journey.

That's a very practical example of Newton's third law. And while we may not think of these things in those terms, we don't violate those laws. We don't put doorways on second floor of our homes unless we build a deck or a staircase.

Why is that the law of gravity. It works and it works every time. Let me put it this way actions have consequences and that's true in a spiritual realm and the physical realm, but It's also true in the physic in the spiritual realm.

Don't take a dog's food while he's eating very practical very practical. Principle as many other examples we could give but you get the point. The same is true in society. If you violate the laws of society, there are consequences to pay.

If you speed you're subject to getting a summons from that nice Police officer who pulled you over if you commit a crime you may spend time in jail, although that laws. You get the point there, too. But the laws of society are not as sure as the laws of science.

They depend upon getting caught and then prosecution. Proving its case, but the principle is the same actions have consequences. That's also true in a spiritual realm, but there's a major difference When we talk about the spiritual realm.

Because justice is perfect in the spiritual realm. There's no getting away with anything. You cannot sin with impunity. God has given us the absolute standard for life in his law by which all mankind is measured and Every violation of the God's law will be judged and accounted for.

Violations of God's law can bring serious consequences. Just read Deuteronomy 28. It's a perfect example of this this principle that if you obey God, you'll be blessed. If you don't you'll Bring consequences upon yourself.

God tells his people what to expect. Very clearly he doesn't hide it. What the Bible tells us is that They did not obey and our text for today in Matthew tells us Jesus tells his listeners that because of their disobedience judgment will fall upon that nation and the Context for this and I I'll explain a little bit as we go further.

In.

The Woes Against the Pharisees and the Measure of Their Fathers

Matthew 23 Jesus has finished giving a railing rebuke. Remember all the woes that he pronounces on the Pharisees and This discourse is a severe warning to the people of Israel not to follow the the blind guides the Pharisees Describes he calls them hypocrites.

But remember the last rebuke specifically of all those woes. He says this in verse 29 of Matthew 23. Woe to you scribes and Pharisees hypocrites. For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous and Say if we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.

Consequently you bear witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.

And.

Then Jesus says fill up then the measure of the guilt of your fathers you serpents. You brood of vipers. How shall you escape the sentence of hell? That's a stinging rebuke. Jesus rebukes the leaders of Israel for following in their father's footsteps.

He says their fathers were murderers and hypocrites and he says you're no different. Their father's actions were filling up the cup of God's wrath and Now the hypocrisy of this generation is filling up the cup to its overflowing.

You see God is a long-suffering and patient God. God continually warned the people to walk in obedience to turn from their evil ways. But they did not. He had sent to them prophets Messengers Righteous men and what did they do?

They persecuted and they killed them and Now in these last days of Israel He sent them his only begotten Son. Remember last week we even mentioned the parable of the man who planted the vineyard and They he sent his emissaries and they stoned them and beat them up and then he said well It's early they'll listen if if I send them my son to and they killed his son.

This generation of people was going to reject Jesus and Turn him over to the Romans for execution. They were going to fill the cup of God's wrath that had been accumulating over the centuries. You may be asking yourself right about now.

I thought we were studying Daniel. Why are we in Matthew 23 if we're studying Daniel. Well, the answer to the first question is yes, we are still in our study of Daniel. The answer to the second question is that Jesus is Commenting on the prophecies contained in the book of Daniel.

He's speaking about the same time period Matthew 23 and 24 and into 25 and I believe the best way to understand these Difficult passages in Daniel 10 to 12 is to see what Jesus says about these events.

Because leading up to the Olivet Discourse and then in the sermon itself in Matthew 24. So that's why we're taking a little side trip into the teaching of Jesus to said shed clarity on our teaching from Daniel 11.

More Revelation Brings Greater Judgment

Let's look at the next verse. This is the first verse that we read this morning verse 34 of Matthew 23. Therefore behold I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes Some of them you will kill and crucify some of them.

You will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city. I Find this verse truly amazing. Given the context of what Jesus is saying Jesus has made it clear that these men were incurring a greater judgment.

Because they had greater revelation than their fathers remember in Matthew chapter 12. Verse 41 Jesus Was speaking to the men of Jerusalem and he says the men of Nineveh shall stand up with this generation at the judgment and Shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah and Behold something greater than Jonah is here.

You get what he's saying godless pagan Nineveh Repented and They didn't have half the revelation that these men had. He continues the Queen of the South shall rise up with this generation in at the judgment and shall condemn it Because she came from the ends of the earth to have the wisdom of Solomon and behold something greater than Solomon is here.

And then one more example in Matthew 11 chapter verse 23 and you Capernaum Will not be exalted to heaven. Will you? You shall descend to Hades for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom Which occurred in you it would have remained to this day.

Nevertheless I say to you it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you. I want you to just pause for a minute and think about that we don't know in detail all the debauchery that was taking place in Sodom, but they were wiped out with a nuclear weapon of some sort and Jesus is saying they're better than you the generation of Israel God's people At the time of Christ.

Wow, and then he likens them to the wicked tenant farmers who killed the owner's son in Matthew 21. And what does he say to him? He's going to send even more warnings verse 34 behold I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes with all of that going on.

He's still Sending them more. The fact is Jesus gives them 40 years. 40 more years after he's crucified. Before he brings the judgment, and what do they do with those 40 years that Jesus has given them.

They kill. They crucify. They scourge. They persecute. If you follow the history of the church in the book of Acts as well as other literature. You will find this description that Jesus gives is perfect.

Paul gives us just a little hint in 2nd Corinthians. He says five times. I received from the Jews 39 lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked a night in a day.

I've spent in the deep and Paul was ultimately beheaded. Peter crucified upside down. James the brother of John killed by the sword. God would have been justified to wipe out the whole nation of Israel the very day that Jesus was crucified.

But he didn't. He remained patient and demonstrated his mercy and his grace, but also his justice was sure. Jesus continues in verse 35. That upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood on earth.

From the blood of righteous able to the blood of Zerachiah and Zechariah the son of Barakaya. Whom you murdered between the temple and the altar? Jesus gave all this time. So there could be no question that the nation of Israel was apostate and deserved the wrath that was to come.

The first martyr listed in Scripture is Abel. We recently studied about him in our study of Hebrews. Abel died because he was righteous. Zechariah is The last martyr listed in the Jewish scripture. He's the last one in the way.

The scriptures second Chronicles is the last book of the Old Testament in the Hebrew Chronology. And what Jesus is saying here is that all the guilt that has been building from the very first martyr Abel.

To the very last listed in the canon of scriptures Zechariah. Some people say from A to Z. From the first to the last all that blood. That guilt is Coming down on heads of those who crucified Christ. Notice the Personalization of the crime of murder to this generation.

Look at verse 35 that upon you May fall the guilt.

Whom.

You murdered between the temple and the altar. Remember. Jesus said that they rightly identified with themselves as the murderers of the prophets. So Jesus attributes the very crimes to them. Jesus said that the guilt is upon them as the covenant people of God.

Notice how many times in the text Jesus says you or your 13 times in these few verses. So don't miss the point. Jesus is talking to the the people who are standing in front of him at that very time. He's not talking about the whole race of Israelites.

From the beginning of Abraham to the end of time. That would make the warnings meaningless. It would go against the personal pronouns. These are the covenant heirs of Israel. They hold responsibility for keeping the covenant with God.

Their fathers had failed and now they have gone past the sin of their fathers and Judgment is coming down upon them. Don't miss the importance of Covenant in Scripture. The lack of understanding of the covenants of God has led to all kinds of theological errors.

It's led to all kinds of personal sin. It's led to a misunderstanding of marriage. Remember marriage is the covenant institution. It's based upon the pattern of Christ and his covenant with his church to understand the church.

The function of the church and its role in history. You must understand what a covenant is. To understand worship Observers of the Sabbath day you must understand the principles of covenant. To understand prophecy in eschatology you must understand the principles of covenant.

Jesus said to these men that violations of the covenant of God was bringing judgment upon Them and the next verse shows the certainty of that judgment. Look at verse 36. Truly I say to you. All these things shall come upon this generation.

Truly I say to you. Truly that's the word. Amen. Jesus is saying amen so be it this is true, and it's. It means that this is a trustworthy statement. See Jesus doesn't have to wait for his listeners to say amen at the end of his words.

He says it right up front. Amen now listen up. That's what he's saying. Listen carefully to what I'm saying. And then he tells them again. Judgment will be measured out. Look at verse 36. Truly I say to you all these things all these things shall come upon this generation.

The word used generation there is Ghana and the Proud pronoun this is taught ain't when used together. It's going to come upon the people who are alive at that time. This generations mean you people. I know I'm belaboring this point because there's so many mistranslations of that phrase this generation.

What are these things that Jesus is talking about? The consequences for violating the covenant of God. We've read about them numerous times in the The book of Deuteronomy in chapter 28. I Mentioned a few minutes ago the importance of understanding covenant principles for a proper understanding of marriage.

God entered into covenant with Israel in essence. He married her. He is the husband. She was the bride. He married her he saved her by his grace alone. He didn't choose her because she was great or did anything that would endear him to her.

Fact she was the least of nations he says but he became her God and she was his bride and All that was expected from her was to walk in obedience to his commandments to love him with all their heart soul and mind.

Israel was expected to be faithful to her husband. But she wasn't. She continually went after other gods. She played the harlot and God said that he would only put up with her unfaithfulness for so long.

Jeremiah chapter 3 Starting in verse 8. And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel. I sent her away and Given her a writ of divorce. Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear. But she went and was a harlot also and it came about because of the lightness of her harlotry that she polluted the land and committed adultery with stones and trees and Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart.

But rather in deception declares the Lord for years Israel had been unfaithful filling the cup of God's wrath and Now at the time of Christ the cup is full. The long-suffering and the patient God of Israel will be patient no longer.

His justice is sure and he will pour out his wrath upon faithless Israel and treacherous Judah. But even in the midst of this judgment Look at the heart of the Savior. Look at verse 37. Oh Jerusalem Jerusalem.

Who kills the prophets and stones those who sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together the way the hand gathers her chicks Under her wings and you were unwilling. Jerusalem Jerusalem.

The repetition adds that emphasis again just as he said to Martha Martha Martha or to Peter Simon Simon. You can feel the pathos of the Savior as he weeps for his wayward wife. Oh Jerusalem Jerusalem.

What have you done Jerusalem? After all I have done for you have killed the prophets. They had stoned those whom God has sent to her. The messengers of God were persecuted and killed by their harlotry.

Imagine a man whose wife has left him to walk the streets and he sends chosen men good men good friends to warn her to return from from her sin and she kills them all and Then she kills the very son of her husband.

That's the picture of Israel that our Lord gives us. How often I? Wanted to gather your children together the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings and You were unwilling. The simple the simile the figure of speech is a graphic one picture of barnyard scene the animals grazing peacefully.

Mother hang with mother hen with her baby chicks running around and suddenly a chicken hawk appears in the sky. Baby chicks are oblivious to it. The mother hen runs around the barnyard trying to protect her young from the threat from the sky above but the chicks are having too much fun eating and playing and they will not heed the attempts of the hen to gather them to the safety under her wings and Therefore they're exposed to the danger from above.

That's the picture of Israel. If you read the Old Testament, you can understand this very well. That's one of the reasons it's so important to study the Old Testament. Over and over and over again the people of Israel rebelled.

God sent prophet after prophet to warn them. Occasionally they listened but only for a short time and they spiraled down and down and down. Until they came to the point when God sent his only begotten Son to them.

And as John said he came to his own and his own received him not. Instead of rejoicing that God became flesh and dwelt among them. They rejected him. They despised him. They lied about him. They plotted against him.

They turned him over to the Romans who crucified him. The cup of God's wrath was filled and their judgment was sealed. God will not always strive with a man. There comes a point when enough is enough Proverbs 29 1 a man who hardens his neck after much reproof will suddenly be broken.

Beyond remedy and the judgment of God upon his faithless wife was sealed. The cup of his wrath was full and Jesus ends by telling us the consequences. Verse 18. Behold. Your house is being left to you.

Desolate. What Jesus says is symbolism right out of the old covenant sanctions of Israel. Remember. Blessings for obedience cursings for disobedience. And Leviticus we see what God said would happen in the case of disobedience.

Leviticus chapter 26. Verse 31. I Will lay waste your cities as well and will make your sanctuaries.

Desolate and.

I will not smell your Soothing aromas and I will make the land desolate so that your enemies who settle in it shall be appalled over it.

You however.

I will scatter among the nations and will draw out a sword after you as your land becomes desolate and your cities become waste. Then the land will enjoy this Sabbath's all the days of the desolation.

Well, you are in your enemy's land and the land will rest and enjoy its Sabbath and The days of its desolations. It will observe the rest which it did not observe on your Sabbath's while you were occupying it as For those of you who may be left.

I will also bring weakness into the hearts in the land of their enemies and The sound of a driven leaf will chase them Even when no one is pursuing and they will flee as though from the sword and they will fall.

Does that sound familiar. It's what we've been studying in Daniel. That's why we're taking a little side trip into Matthew 24. The imagery of the Old Covenant about the land of Palestine is extremely important.

Notice the parallels to our studies in Daniel. The land was a direct fulfillment of the promise of God. But not the complete promise. The land represented the heavenly land, which is the reward for all true believers.

The promise of Israel was that they were to enter the promised land and be fruitful and multiply. Abraham seed was to be innumerable like the stars of the heavens and the sand on the seashore. For Jesus to say that the land was to become desolate was unthinkable for the Jews.

It was their promise from God. But that promise was conditional and they violated the Covenant. They trampled underfoot the very Son of God. They turned to under other gods. They played the harlot with them.

And so God took the land of promise away from them and That judgment would ultimately become final in 70 AD when the Roman army under General Titus sacked Jerusalem and laid it.

Desolate.

It's what we read about in the prophecies of Daniel. Remember Daniel 9. Then after the 62 weeks the Messiah shall be cut off from heaven and have nothing and The people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary and its end will come with a flood.

Even to the end there will be war. Desolations are determined and he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week. But in the middle of the week He will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate.

Even until a complete destruction and that is decreed is poured out on the one who makes Desolate. If you want a little homework assignment Here's one for you. Read Leviticus 26 Read Deuteronomy 28 and then read the Jewish wars by Flavius Josephus and What you will find that the prophecies in the Old Testament and the prophecies of Jesus in Matthew 23 24 25 Concerning Jerusalem were fulfilled to the minutest details.

And.

Then Jesus said for I say to you from now on you shall Not see me until you say blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. You know to. That's an interesting text too often too often. Commentators try to make this a time text.

What I mean by that is they try to say that this will occur at a particular time in history. Some place at a judgment day when Christ returns. That's when all men will say blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Others place at 70 AD when God judged Israel. I To either time Jesus is not referring to a time But to a condition of the heart. Remember what Jesus had told Nicodemus unless a man is born again. He cannot see the kingdom of heaven.

The language is very similar. These hypocrites will not see Christ until they can say Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord and mean it. I believe that Jesus is making a direct allusion to the hypocrisy.

He has just seen. Remember that the crowds were shouting at his triumphal entry shouting Hosanna. So Hosanna to the Son of David Oh save now beseech we beseech you. That's what Hosanna means. They were quoting Psalm 118.

Verse 26 of Psalm 118 blesses the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We have blessed you from the from the house of the Lord. These people were acknowledging with their lips That Jesus was the Messiah.

But their hearts were far from him. John Calvin commenting Says. And I am certainly astonished That learned men should have stumbled that so small an obstacle by taking great pains to inquire how Unbelievers can say concerning Christ.

Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord for he does not declare What they will be but what he himself will do. He continues so then the true meaning of the present passage in my opinion is this.

Hitherto I have lived among you in humility and kindness and have discharged the office of a teacher and Now having finished the course of my calling I shall depart. And it will not be possible for you to any longer to enjoy my presence.

But.

But him whom you now despise as a Redeemer and a minister of salvation You will find to be your judge. Just as the laws of physics are sure Every action is there's an equal and opposite reaction. If you step outside a second-story window you will fall.

The laws of God's kingdom are even more sure than the laws of physics. Because the God Has because God has sovereignly at times in history suspended his physical laws. We know that they can be suspended.

He made an axe head float. He made the Sun stand still. He walked on water. And all these things are physically impossible. But God as the Creator suspended his laws to accomplish a purpose but God's spiritual Spiritual laws cannot be repealed nor suspended.

We have criminal laws in our land. I used to say with confidence that I had that I had faith in our criminal justice system. But sometimes it fails. Guilty parties do go free. Innocent are convicted. But not so in God's kingdom.

His justice is Sure and certain. It is a fact the wages of sin is death and That's true for every man woman and child. And since we're all sinners, we must all die. We must die physically but worse than that.

We are all condemned to an eternity of spiritual punishment for our sins. And that sentence cannot be repealed nor suspended. But in God's mercy he provided a way to satisfy his justice. Jesus Christ died in our place.

Our guilt was paid for by him. That's the good news of the gospel. If you receive Jesus Christ as your Savior repent of your sin. Instead of the promise of certain and terrifying judgment, you will spend an eternity in heaven with him.

Jesus bore the full cup of God's wrath in our place. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Let's pray.