Chapter XIII · The Upper Room — J. C. Ryle
— Matt. 8:11
“Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”—Matt. 8:11.
THE words of Scripture which head this page were spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ. You may take them either as a prophecy or as a promise. In either point of view they are deeply interesting, and contain much food for thought.
Take the words as a prophecy, and remember that they are sure to be fulfilled The Bible contains many predictions of things most unlikely and improbable, which have yet proved true. Was it not said of Ishmael, the father of the Arabian race, that he was to be a “wild man, his hand against every man, and every man’s hand against him”? (Gen. 16:12). We see the fulfilment of those words at this very day, when we look at the tribes in the Sudan, or observe the ways of the Bedouins.—Was it not said of Egypt that it was finally to become “the basest of kingdoms,” and its inhabitants a people who could neither govern themselves nor be governed? (Ezek. 29:15). We see the fulfilment of those words at this very day along the whole valley of the Nile, and every statesman in Europe knows it to his sorrow. It will be just the same with the prophecy before our eyes. “Many shall sit down in the kingdom of heaven.”
Take the words as a promise. It was spoken for the encouragement of the Apostles, and of all Christian ministers and teachers down to the present day. We are often tempted to think that preaching, and teaching, and visiting, and trying to bring souls to Christ does no good, and that our labour is all thrown away. But here is the promise of One who “cannot lie,” and never failed to keep HIS word. He cheers us with a gracious sentence. He would have us not faint or give way to despair. Whatever we may think, and however little success we may see, there is a Scripture before us which cannot be broken, “Many shall sit down in the kingdom of heaven.”
I. We have first in these words the number of those who shall be saved. Our Lord Jesus Christ declares that they shall be “many.”
How strange that word “many” sounds! Will any be saved who are not born again, washed in Christ’s blood, and sanctified by the Holy Ghost? Will any be saved (except infants) who have not repented of sin, believed on the Lord Jesus for forgiveness, and been made holy in heart? None, none, certainly none. If men and women can be saved without repentance, faith, and holiness, we may as well throw the Bible away, and give up Christianity altogether.
But are there many people of this kind to be seen in the world? Alas! there are very few. The believers whom we see and know are “a little flock.” “Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matt. 7:14). Few are to be seen in towns, and few in country parishes l Few among the rich, and few among the poor! Few among the old, and few among the young! Few among the learned, and few among the unlearned! Few in palaces, and few in cottages! It is an abiding sorrow with all true Christians that they meet so few with whom they can pray, and praise, and read the Bible, and talk of spiritual things. They often feel to stand alone. Many are the people who never go to any place of worship from the first day of January to the last day of December, and seem to live without God in the world. Few are the communicants in any congregation—a mere handful compared to those who never go to the Lord’s table at all. Few are the men and women who do anything for the cause of Christ upon earth, or appear to care whether those around them are lost or saved. Can any one deny these things? Impossible! Yet here is our Lord Jesus Christ saying, “Many shall sit down in the kingdom of heaven.”
Now, why did our Lord say so? He never made a mistake, and all that He says is true. Let me try to throw some light on this question.
(a) There shall be “many” when all are gathered together who have died in the Lord, from Abel, the first saint, down to the last who is found alive when the trumpet sounds, and the resurrection takes place. They shall be a “multitude which no man can number” (Rev. 7:9).
(b) There shall be “many” when all the infants who died before they knew good from evil, or their right hand from their left, are called from their little graves, and assembled. Few, probably, are aware what an enormous proportion of children never live for a year! They shall be “a multitude which no man can number.”
(c) There shall be “many” when all the believers of every name, and nation, and people, and tongue, the Old Testament saints, like Enoch, and Noah, and Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and Moses, and David, and the prophets,—the saints of the New Testament, like the Apostles, the saints among the primitive Christians, and the Reformers,- when all these are brought together, they will be “a multitude which no man can number.”