Chapter 104

The Distinguishing Grace of God

“And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see [it]. And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after [them], nor follow [them]. For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one [part] under heaven, shineth unto the other [part] under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed [them] all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. I tell you, in that night there shall be two [men] in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two [women] shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two [men] shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body [is], thither will the eagles be gathered together.” (Luke 17:20-37)

The Lord Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to lay down is life for us, to die as our Substitute, “the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God.” This passage in Luke (vv. 20-37) is thought by many to be an abbreviated version of our Lord’s Olivet Discourse given in Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 24 and 25), because there are portions used in it that are exactly the same. But that is a mistake. Though some of the words used by the Master are the same, the occasion is different. In Matthew 24 our Lord Jesus had already come to Jerusalem. Here He is on His way to Jerusalem, passing through the regions of Samaria and Galilee (v. 11). In Matthew 24 and 25 our Lord is answering questions raised by His disciples concerning the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem and the time of His coming. Here, His message begins as a response to the Pharisees who accosted him as to “when the kingdom of God should come” (v. 20).

            Our Savior answered these Pharisees by telling them that their notions concerning the kingdom of God were carnal and altogether wrong. He told them that the kingdom of God does not come with observation. These three things, at least, are meant by His words:

1.    The kingdom of God does not come with pomp and pageantry. — It does not come with an outward show of any kind. In fact, the translation given in the margin of your Bible is, “The kingdom of God cometh not with outward show.”

2.    The kingdom of God does not come in such a way that men can observe it. — God’s kingdom is a kingdom no one can see, except those who are born again. It is a kingdom none can enter, but by the new birth (John 3:3, 5).

3.    Our Lord’s words in verse 20 also mean, perhaps primarily mean that the kingdom of God does not come by the observation of religious laws, ceremonies, traditions, and ordinances. — The kingdom of God does not come by observing holy days and doing holy things: ― Baptism ― Sacraments ― Good Works, etc. The kingdom of God is not a matter of religious dos and taboos (Romans 14:17; Colossians 2:20-23).

            Any time we see something that so greatly impresses our eyes, our natural senses, and/or our feelings that we are by what we see inclined to think, “Surely, the kingdom of God is here,” we are wrong, dead wrong. That is precisely what the Master tells us in verse 21.

A Warning

“Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there!” (v. 21). — That is just an amplification of what our Lord has just declared: “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation.” Many in those days, in the days immediately following our Lord’s earthly ministry, and at various times throughout the past 2000 years have said that this or the other false prophet is the Christ. Many have said the kingdom of God will appear here or there, at this or that time. Our Lord warns us to ignore such claims, no matter who makes them, no matter how convincing their arguments are, and no matter how many people follow them.

Within You

“Behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” — It is a spiritual kingdom not a carnal kingdom, a heavenly kingdom not an earthly kingdom, an inward kingdom not an outward kingdom. It lies not in outward things, but in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost (Romans 14:17). The kingdom of God is established in the hearts of chosen, redeemed sinners when Christ the King of Glory enters into the heart and establishes His dominion in them by His omnipotent grace.

Great Trouble

In verses 22-25 our Lord turns to His disciples. He is now talking specifically to His own and warns us here of a time of great trouble. The time He is talking about is not any specific day, but any day in which the words of these verses are applicable.

“And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them. For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.”

            The warning continues in verse 26. “And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.” Notice that our Savior specifically says, “in the days (not day) of the Son of man.” He is talking about any day when He appears to make Himself known: His first advent, His second advent, or His day of grace when He comes to save chosen sinners.

            While most are convinced that the verses before us are talking about our Lord’s coming in judgment at the last day, I am convinced otherwise. In this passage our Savior is talking to His disciples about God’s great distinguishing grace. Everything in life decidedly illustrates and confirms His doctrine (Matthew 11:25-26).

The State of Man

In verses 26-30 our Lord teaches us a lesson about the state of man in this world, a lesson about fallen humanity that we tend to forget. The lesson is this: — Man never changes. We all tend to think that the present generation is the worst that has ever lived. Do not misunderstand me. I do not in anyway minimize or excuse the horrid ungodliness of this generation. But, in these verses our Lord Jesus tells us plainly that the state of man upon the earth today is exactly as it was in the days of Noah and in the days of Lot. The human race is not getting better, and, really, it is not getting worse. It is just bigger and less capable of hiding the things it would like to hide.

            In the days of Noah, before God finally destroyed the whole race, except for Noah and his family, in the flood of his wrath, the whole human race lived to gratify their own lusts, and nothing more. The same was true in the days of Lot. The same thing is true today. And that is the way things will continue, until Christ comes again to gather His elect unto glory in complete salvation and to destroy the rest of the world in the execution of His just wrath.

            What is the state and condition of this world? What is the state and condition of mankind? Let me make the question more personal. What is your state and condition before God right now? If you are without Christ, turn to the book of Genesis, and see. Read what God says, and tremble. Tremble, because this is the state you are in. You are ripe for and incessantly asking for the wrath of God.

            Our Lord’s comparison between the days preceding His own coming and the days of Noah and Lot throws us back to the book of Genesis, chapters 6, 18, and 19. In those days, as in ours, ungodliness, corruption, lust, vanity, pleasure, engrossment with the business of life in this world so utterly consumed the hearts of men, that there was no room for God, either in man’s thoughts or his world (Genesis 6:2, 5). Men and women lived, but lived as they pleased, gratifying their own lusts in this world. They had no other concern than food and drink, family and home, business and pleasure.

            The same was true in Sodom (Genesis 18:21). When the Lord God looked upon that city, He saw one righteous man there who “vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds” (2 Peter 2:8).

            I cannot help noticing that our Lord makes no mention of the horrid perversity of homosexuality practiced in Sodom in either Matthew or in Luke as He describes the wickedness of Lot’s generation. Why? The omission is certainly not intended to imply that there is nothing in that reprobate behavior, so common and so promoted in our day, to make rational men shudder and cringe with anger. That immoral conduct is ever the result of self-willed idolatry, the ruin of social order and decency, and the result of divine judgment upon men.

            So why didn’t the Savior mention the one horrid sin for which Sodom is known throughout the world? The reason is obvious: — He would have all to understand that all who live unto themselves, for themselves, with no regard for God, His Son, His gospel and eternity, are like those reprobate, filthy Sodomites, “children of wrath,” abiding under the wrath of God, courting eternal damnation.

            The just and righteous sentence of God upon Noah’s generation and upon Sodom was announced, and men were urged to repent by God’s servants; but they continued in their hellish rebellion, living in the lust of their own hearts until Noah entered into the ark and the Lord God rained fire and brimstone upon Sodom (Genesis 6:3, 7, 13; 19:11-14). Yet, even in those evil days, the Lord God had an elect remnant He was determined to save, and He would not destroy the world until Noah was safe in the ark, or Sodom until Lot was safe in Zoar.

            “The longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water” (1 Peter 3:20). So it is now. And so it shall be until the end of time. God’s determination to save His elect makes Him long-suffering toward them, because He is not willing that any should perish, but that every loved, chosen, redeemed sinner be saved. And His long-suffering is the salvation of his people (2 Peter 3:9, 15; Genesis 19:17-22). As in the days of Noah and Lot, God’s sovereign, distinguishing grace was both manifest and effectual, so it is now and so it shall be until time shall be no more. — “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” And Christ, the Angel of the Lord, brought Lot out of Sodom, “the Lord being merciful unto him!”

            Read verse 30 and rejoice! — “Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” Oh, clap your hands and sing praise! “The foundation of God standeth sure. The Lord knoweth them that are His.” He knows how to deliver His own; and He will!

God’s Distinguishing Grace

In verses 30-36 the Lord Jesus displays the distinguishing grace of our God, calling us to continually consecrate ourselves to Him. As in Noah’s day and in Lot’s day, so it is today. None will repent and believe, until the Lord God almighty, by an act of omnipotent grace, brings them into the Ark Christ Jesus, and mercifully forces them to flee for their lives from Sodom, finding refuge in Zoar. But, blessed be His name forever, some shall be shut up in the Ark. Some shall flee to Christ. God will see to it. “Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.”

            The Lord God has mercy on whom He will have mercy. He saved Abel and passed by Cain. He saved Noah and his family and passed by the world. He chose Abraham and passed by all the rest of the inhabitants of Ur. He saved Lot and passed by his wife, his sons-in-law, and his other daughters, along with all the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. He loved Jacob and hated Esau. He takes one as it pleases Him, and passes by another as it pleases Him.

An Undivided Heart

Here is a third lesson plainly taught in our text: — The Lord Jesus Christ demands consecration to Himself. He demands an undivided heart (vv. 31-33).

“In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.”

            What a solemn warning our Lord here gives us about divided allegiance. He says to all who profess to be His disciples, “Remember Lot’s wife.” Remember, she left Sodom with her husband, Lot. Remember, she was married to a righteous man. Remember, she worshipped God with Abraham. Remember, she willfully disobeyed God’s explicit command. She looked back! Why did she look back? She had a divided heart. She left Sodom with Lot, but she left her heart in Sodom. Remember, she perished with the Sodomites, though she was standing in the presence and company of three angels and her righteous husband. God struck her dead in an instant! Remember this, too: — As it was in that day, so it is today, and so it shall be until the end of days. There are many who make a profession of faith because they fear the wrath of God, who live with their hearts in Sodom, many who hope to go to heaven with a divided heart. It shall not happen. “Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.”

Eagles and the Carcass

“And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together” (v. 37). — The disciples failed to understand what the Lord was saying, as they often did and we often do. They wanted to know where this manifestation and division would take place, looking upon our Lord’s words as a prediction of something that was to take place at a specific time and in a specific place.

            What is the meaning of our Lord’s answer? Modern translations have not helped, but only compounded the confusion. Most translate the word “body” as “carcass” and the word “eagles” as “vultures.” In both cases such translations are wrong. Our translation is exactly as it should be. “He said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.” The word “body” means the body of one who has been slain. Notice the definite article. Our Lord said, “Wheresoever the body is (not wheresoever bodies are), thither will the eagles be gathered together.” Also, notice that He speaks of eagles (not buzzards) in the plural.

            Remember the context. Our Lord is talking to us about the distinguishing grace of God. He is talking about faith in Himself. The body of the One slain is our Lord Jesus Christ. “The eagles” are God’s elect who are gathered to Him in faith. Let’s see if the Book of God teaches this.

            God’s elect are spoken of in the Scriptures as eagles (Deuteronomy 32:8-12; Job 9:25-26; Isaiah 41:31; Revelation 12:14). Our Lord’s answer to His disciples’ question, “Where, Lord?” is this: — “Wherever Christ crucified is set forth in the preaching of the Gospel, wherever the crucified Christ is revealed to men by the power and grace of His Spirit through the preaching of the Gospel, there will His elect be gathered unto Him ‘in the day when the Son of man is revealed.’”

            Christ’s eagles “gather” to Him who is their food. He is the One upon whom we live. He is to us life eternal. The body of our slain Savior, Christ crucified, is the meeting-point of His elect. He is the great magnet drawing needy souls like eagles to the carcass. He said, “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”

            God our Creator in the Book of Job says of the eagle, His creature, “she abideth upon the rock from thence she seeketh the prey; her eyes behold afar off… where the slain are, there is she.” God our Savior adds His application: As the eagles gather round the corpse, so the souls of men chosen, redeemed, and called by My grace are gathered unto Me.

            Keen and swift as eagles for the prey, so are God’s elect for Christ crucified. These are the words of our blessed Savior. Let not one of them fall to the ground. — “Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.”

            The eagle is a bird of prey. In all birds of prey there is great, vast quickness of scent to smell their proper food, even from a great distance. Added to its sense of smell, the eagle has a ravenous appetite. Compelled by hunger and its sense of smell, it flies quickly, at every opportunity, to its feast.

            But the eagle is not a vulture. It does not feed on dead things, but living. And the crucified Christ, upon whom our souls feed, though once slain as our Substitute, is alive for evermore!

            If Christ has given us life in Himself, if He has made us alive by His grace, He gives us a continually increasing appetite and hunger for Himself. Does he not? Do you not hunger for Him, for His grace, for His embrace, for His righteousness, for His blood, for His presence? Hungering for Him, His eagles fly to the place where He is, as famished birds hastening to the prey: His house, His Word, His ordinances, His throne of grace. “If,” Robert Hawker observed, “Jesus be indeed the one blessed object of thy desire, will not this be manifested by the earnestness of thy desires?”

            As David longed for the waters of Bethlehem when he was thirsty, O let my soul long for Christ. “As the hart panteth after the water brooks,” so he longed for his God. May the same be true of you and me. Oh for grace to have my soul hungering for Christ crucified day and night! As the eagles gather together unto the prey, so should we be found feasting upon Christ crucified relentlessly. In Him, in His glorious excellencies is everything our souls need. His name is our salvation and our high tower. His blood is our atonement. His righteousness is our dress. His perfections are our delight. His promises are our meditation. His grace is our assurance. His visits are our sweet memories. His presence is our joy. His strength is our comfort. His glory is our ambition. His coming is our hope. His company forever is our heaven!

            Wherever Christ is, there will His people fly, as eagles to the prey and as doves to their windows (Isaiah 40:8).

Don Fortner

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