Ah, but they are all applicable to us today. The OT was given to us as types for our admonition. Even Matthew, which was written to the Jew has become ours.
Matthew is the gospel of the kingdom. Matthew doesn’t waste time introducing the King. The wise men in chapter two show up and ask, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews?” Matthew tells of the kingdom of Israel, as a nation to whom the Kingdom was offered.
John showed up at the Jordan and claimed in no uncertain terms, “Repent for the Kingdom of the Heavens is at hand”. The king was at hand; therefore the Kingdom was at hand. “Repent for the Kingdom of the Heavens is at hand.”
Matthew was written for the Jews. To them was offered the Kingdom of the Heavens. John and then the Lord came along, and after his baptism began to proclaim the Kingdom. He sent out the 12 only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel [not unsaved sheep, lost sheep; they had strayed]. How about the 70? They were sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Into the way of Gentiles and Samaritans, don’t go; those were their instructions.
So, many people say, this doesn’t apply to us. It’s written to the Jews. They say that the Sermon on the Mount constitutes the laws that will prevail in the coming Kingdom, and has nothing to do with us now. They don’t know that this 43rd verse in Matthew 21 is even in the Bible, and much less that it’s in the gospel of Matthew.
[Matthew 21:43: Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. ] The Kingdom of God is equated with the vineyard that is being talked about in this passage. It’s the place where the work is done; where the fruit is borne. That’s where the king is reigning in power and glory. The vineyard. Now, I’m going to take it away from you…
The Kingdom of God is God’s rule over everything. Everything was created, except for God, and he rules over all of it. That’s not what he’s taking away. What he’s taking away is the offer of their part made to them as a nation.
Some equate the kingdom covenanted to David with the Kingdom of God, but the kingdom covenanted to David is an earthly kingdom and will be peopled and governed by earthly people in their bodies of flesh, blood, and bones. Only the church have the resurrected bodies; only they have bodies like the Lord Jesus Christ.
Through faith, you can become a child of God, and through faithful living you can attain an entrance into the Kingdom of the Heavens. A higher position that the earthly kingdom.
The Jew is presented as carnal and worldly and not interested in ruling from the heavens, but in ruling here on earth. They rejected the idea of the Kingdom of the Heavens. They wouldn’t have anything to do with it. It’s kind of like people today when they talk about the pie in the sky; they weren’t interested in something like that; they wanted something concrete; they wanted to rule on the earth where they could plant their feet; they wanted David to come back and rule from his throne there in Jerusalem. They weren’t interested at all in the Kingdom in which the Lord Jesus Christ would be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and in which the Christians who were faithful and bore fruit in their flesh would get to rule and reign with him. They weren’t interested in it; they rejected it.
The Jew still is not interested. Primarily, because for a Jew to enter in, he has to surrender his identity and become a Christian. Sometimes, we talk about a saved Jew, but a saved Jew is like a saved Gentile. There are three groups of people designated in the Bible: The Jew, the Gentile, and the Church. When a Gentile believes on the Lord Jesus, he becomes a Christian. When a Jew believes on the Lord Jesus, he becomes what? A Christian. No longer Jew or Gentile, but Christians. Do you go around calling yourself a saved Gentile?
The Lord says, I’m going to take that away from you Jews. He did take it. He withdrew his offer of the Kingdom of the Heavens from Israel. He set them aside as a nation. “Now, I’m going to give it to the Gentiles or the nations that bring forth the fruit thereof.”
Here’s the interesting thing in connection with this: this coming Kingdom, in which Christians can participate is dependent upon bringing forth fruit. Works. A fruitful Christian.