This is the 11th disciple, James
the Less. And we don't have the record
of him ever saying anything. All we have is his name, James
the Less. He was the brother of Judas Not
Iscariot. His mother's name was Mary. She
was one of the three Marys who stood with the Lord at the cross.
James, alas, was at hiding at this time while his mother was
there. I don't know if James became a disciple through his
mother's instrumentality or whether his mother became a disciple
through hearing the gospel from him, but this woman, Mary, was
also at the tomb early that Sunday morning during the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Very special woman. She was either
the sister or the sister-in-law of the Lord's mother. And here
she is named as the mother of James Now, that is what God the
Holy Spirit inspires the inspired writer to write concerning this
man. And what a name, James the Less. What's it mean? Well, this could mean James the
Shortest. This same word is used to describe
Zacchaeus. He was little in stature, the
same exact word. It could mean James the youngest. He's not as old as James, the
brother of John. Remember James and John, the
sons of Zebedee? Perhaps he wasn't as old as this
James, who's always listed number two. in the list of the disciples. First Peter, then James and John. James is actually always mentioned
before John. Maybe he had the most influence.
And he could have been older than this one named James the
Less. But this word also could mean
James the Less in rank or influence. James the Least. And Paul uses
this word in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 when he says, let those judge
who are least esteemed in the church. James the least esteemed. What a name. James the less. And I believe that the latter
is the main meaning. the least esteem. There is James,
brother of John, the second apostle always mentioned, a man who had
great influence. There is James, the brother of
the Lord, who was the pastor at Jerusalem. And what a blessing
that would be to be the Lord's blood brother. And he's also
the one who wrote the book of James. That's the second James.
And then we have James the last. James the one of the least influence. And I, you know, in 1 Corinthians
chapter 15, where Paul's talking about the
appearances of the Lord after his resurrection, it said he
appeared to James. And after that to all the disciples. So I think that that marks out
James the Lord's brother because he wasn't one of the 12 apostles.
And it wouldn't surprise me if it's talking about this James.
That just seems to be the way the Lord is. The first shall
be last, and the last shall be first. Would you turn with me
a moment, for a moment, to Matthew chapter 20? Now this parable is introduced and concluded with
these words, the first shall be last, the least, and the least
shall be first. That's the way this parable begins,
and that's the way this parable ends, and we can learn something
about what the Lord meant when he said the last shall be first,
and the first shall be last. But let's start in verse 27 of
chapter 19. Then answered Peter, and said, Behold, we have forsaken
all and followed thee. What shall we have therefore?
What's in this for us? You'd know Peter would ask something
like that, wouldn't you? That's just Peter. What's in this for
us? And Jesus said unto them, Verily
I say unto you, that you which have followed me in the regeneration,
when the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of his glory, you
shall also sit upon 12 thrones. judging the 12 tribes of Israel
and everyone that hath forsaken houses or brethren or sisters
or father or mother or wife or children or land for my namesake
shall receive an hundredfold and shall inherit everlasting
life but many that are first shall be last and the last the
least shall be first. And he gives a parable that is
striking. Every time I read this parable,
I'm more amazed by this parable than I've ever been. It's one
of my favorite parables because it's so striking. If you want
to understand the gospel, listen to this parable. Here's what's
meant by many that are first should be last and the last should
be first. And look in verse 17 or 16, so then, here's his conclusion
to this parable. So then, the last shall be first
and the first last. That's the Lord's conclusion.
Now look at this with me. Verse one of Matthew chapter
20. For the kingdom of heaven is
like unto a man that is in householder, which went out early in the morning
to hire laborers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the
laborers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
Now, that was fair wages. That was a day's work at that
time. That was fair wages. Verse three, he went out about
the third hour. That's 9 a.m. The first were
sent out at 6 a.m. He went out about the third hour
and saw they're standing idle in the marketplace. And he said,
and then go ye also into the vineyard. and whatsoever is right,
I will give you." And they went their way. You
can count on this. Whatsoever is right, he will give all. Again, he went out about the
six hour, noon, and did the same thing. The ninth hour, 3 p.m.,
and he did likewise. Sent him out, telling them whatsoever
is right, I'll give you. And about the eleventh hour,
he went out, five p.m., an hour before quitting time. And about
the eleventh hour, he went out and found others standing idle
and saith unto them, why stand ye all the day idle? And they
said unto him, because no man hath hired us. He saith unto
them, go ye also into the vineyard. And here we have that phrase
again, whatsoever is right, you shall receive. So when even was come, 6 p.m.,
some had worked 12 hours, some had worked 9 hours, some had
worked 6 hours, some had worked 3 hours, some had only worked
1 hour. So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith
unto his steward, Call the laborers, and give them their hire, beginning
from the last unto the first. Call up the fellows that have
only worked an hour first, and we'll call up the fellows that
worked 12 hours last. And I'm sure they're thinking
there's something in this for us. I would have been thinking
that. I would have thought the reason
he's calling us last is he's going to give us the most. We've
worked the hardest. Every one of you all would have been thinking
that, too. Every one of you. And when they came, they were
hired, verse nine, about the 11th hour, 5 p.m., they received
every man a penny, a full day's wage. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have
received more. Now, wouldn't you suppose the
same thing? You work 12 hours. They worked one hour. As far
as fairness in our way of thinking, we ought to get 12 times more.
We did more. We worked harder. We should be
getting more. I'd be thinking that. You'd be
thinking that. Verse 11, and when they had received
Verse 10, but when the first came, they supposed that they
should have received more, and they likewise received every
man a penny. Now how much did the master of
the vineyard say he would give to them a penny? He's giving
them exactly what he said he would. He's giving them what
is right. Verse 11, And when they had received
it, they murmured against the good man of the house. This is
not fair. It's not right. We've worked
harder. We've worked longer. We should
be getting more. Saying, verse 12, these have
wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us. And we got a problem with that.
Thou has made them equal to us, and we've borne the burden and
the heat of the day. This lets us know something about
what they thought their work was. It was a burden. It was
heat. It was toilsome. It was not something
they enjoyed. We've borne the burden and the
heat of the day, and you've made them equal to us. This is not
fair, is what they're saying. Now, how many times do we hear
that objection to the gospel. This is not fair. Now look at the way the owner
of the vineyard answers this. But he answered one of them and
said, friend, I do thee no wrong. There's nothing unfair about
what I'm doing. Didst not thou agree with me for a penny? That's
exactly what they agreed with. He said, take that thine is and
go thy way and I will give unto this last even as unto thee. I love the authority with which
he speaks at this time. This is what I'm doing. Is it
not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Yep. He's absolutely sovereign, and
He's going to do whatever He wants to do. And I love this question. Is
that I evil because I'm good? Because I'm being gracious to
these one-hour workers? and because I'm graciously giving
them a full day's wage because I want to do that, because I'm
a generous, gracious person, are you going to charge me with
not being just? Are you going to charge me with
not being fair? You see, I do what I will with
my own. I give everybody that which is
right. Now, I want you to think of this. In this thing of salvation,
if God saves you, he gives you what is right. You deserve to be saved because
you have the righteousness of Jesus Christ as your personal
righteousness before God, and what He's giving you is right. whatever the case. And really,
everybody gets the same, don't they? There's no one saved, he
worked harder, and he's gonna be up higher in heaven. That's
ridiculous, that's foolishness. No, no. As far as that goes,
if the Lord gave you grace to work for 12 hours, and the other
fellow only worked for one hour, who got the most grace? You did. You were the one who benefited
from it, but they were complaining. And he says, is it not lawful
for me to do what I will with mine own? Is that I evil because
I'm good? You're attributing things to
me from your own wickedness. I'm good, I'm generous, I'm gracious. I'd like to give that one hour
labor the same thing. So then, the last shall be first,
and the first shall be last. That is the way of the kingdom
of heaven. Turn to Matthew chapter 11. James the least, James the less. Matthew chapter 11, verse 11. Verily, these are the words of
the Lord, speaking of John the Baptist, verily, I say unto you,
Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater
than John the Baptist. Now this is the Lord's estimation
of John the Baptist. There's never been a man greater
than him. Notwithstanding, he that is least,
same order, he that is least in the kingdom of heaven, is greater than he. Now I think it's interesting,
I've read so many different writers as to what this means, and every
one of them agree with this. The person in the kingdom of
heaven, the less believer, as long as you're under the New
Testament economy, you're in better shape than John the Baptist.
The least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John the Baptist. A, what it means. Who became least in the kingdom
of heaven? When Christ Jesus was made And
whenever I think of that, I think you're talking about things that
you don't really understand. I realize that. I don't understand
what he felt and what he experienced when he was made sin. But when
the Lord Jesus Christ was made sin, he made this statement with
regard to himself. You remember Psalm 22, how it
begins, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? That's the words
of our Lord, Psalm 22, one of the great Masianic, they're all
great Masianic psalms, None greater than Psalm 22, but he made this
statement concerning himself, I am a worm, not even fit to
be called a man. I think that it would be wrong
for me to try to comment and say what all that means. But
he said it. He became least. He was made sin in such a way
that he said this with regard to himself. I'm not even fit
to be called a man. I'm a worm. Now that one who
said that is infinitely greater than John the Baptist, isn't
he? Oh, you can't even compare the two in any way. He that's least. Christ became
least. He was made of no reputation. He was made vanity. He took upon
Him the form of a servant and made in the likeness of sinful
men. He became least. Without any controversy, He is
the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. It was this same John
the Baptist who said, He must increase and I must decrease. Now there's greatness in the
kingdom of heaven. He must increase and I must decrease. And this is one of the keys to
being the greatest. He wanted Christ to increase
and himself to decrease. Here's the situation. The more
he increases and the more you decrease, you end up being nothing,
don't you? You can't get lower than nothing.
But once you become nothing, you know who he is to you? He's
all. Not before then, but only when
you're nothing. He is all. Look in Matthew chapter 18. At the same time came the disciples
unto Jesus saying, who's the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
And Jesus called a little child unto him and set him in the midst of them
and said, verily I say unto you, except you be converted and become
as infants. You don't even need to worry
about anything, man. You're going to be there. That's what he said.
Except you be converted and become as an infant. What is more dependent
and helpless than an infant? Verse four, whosoever therefore
shall humble himself as this little child, the same as greatest
in the kingdom of heaven, and who says shall receive one such
little child in my name, receive me. He doesn't say it's as if
he receives me, he says he receives me, you receive that little child,
you receive me. I think of what the Lord said
in Matthew chapter 25, inasmuch as you've done it to the least
of these, my brethren. You've done it to me. Inasmuch
as you did it not to the least of these, my brethren, you did
it not unto me. Verse six, but whoso shall offend
one of these little ones, that's the word. Same thing as James
the Less. Whoso shall offend one of these
little ones which believe in me, that's what they do. It were
better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck and
he was drowned in the depth of the sea. Verse 10 of the same
chapter, take heed that you despise not one of these little ones
for I say unto you that in heaven their angels do always behold
the face of my father which is in heaven. Verse 14, even so
is not the will of your father which is in heaven that one of
these little ones should perish. Turn to Luke 14. Verse 7. And he put forth a parable to
those which were bid, and when he marked how they chose out
the chief rooms. Now, at a meal, you would have
levels. And the honorable people would
be at the top level, and there would be a grade down each one. Well, he watched these people
who obviously thought that they were somebody, that they were
important. And they chose out the chief
places and sat down, thinking, surely this is where I belong. That's what they wanted to do. Now, they sat down. And the Lord
said, when thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not
down in the highest room, lest a more honorable man than thou
be bidden of him. And he that bade thee and him
come and say to thee, give this man place. And thou begins with
shame to take the lowest room. Well, that'd be embarrassing,
wouldn't it? You don't belong there. Go down
here. You get up and head in that direction. Verse 10, but when thou art bidden,
go and sit down in the lowest room, the least room. That's where James the Less would
sit down, the lowest room. that when he that bathe thee
cometh, he may say unto thee, friend, go up higher. Then shalt
thou have worship in the presence of them that said of me with
thee, for whosoever exalts himself, now just write this down, whosoever
exalts himself shall be abased. You exalt yourself, you will
be abased. And he that humbleth himself
shall be exalted. I couldn't help but think about
Paul. What was his name before God
changed his name to Paul? Saul. You know what Saul means? Desired. You remember King Saul? He was a Benjamite and the scripture
says he stood head and shoulders above everybody in Israel. This is the one we want to be
king. desired. That was Saul of Tarsus, his
name. He was named. He was a Benjamite. He brings
that out. And he was named Saul of Tarsus. God changed his name. To what? Paul. What does Paul mean? Little. The less. The least. Turn to 1 Samuel 16 for a moment. 1 Samuel 16. And the Lord said unto Samuel,
How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected
him? from reigning over Israel. Fill thine horn with oil, and
I'll go send thee to Jesse the Bethelmite, for I've provided
thee a king among his sons. Saul was a king you all chose. Here's my king. And Samuel said,
well, how can I go? Saul, he'll kill me. And the
Lord said, take an heifer with thee, and say, I'm come to sacrifice
to the Lord. And call Jesse to the sacrifice,
and I'll show thee what thou shalt do. And thou shalt anoint
unto me him whom I name unto thee. And Samuel did that which
the Lord spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled
at his coming, and said, Cometh thou peaceably? And he said,
peaceably. I'm come to sacrifice unto the
Lord. Sanctify yourselves, and come to me to the sacrifice.
And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the
sacrifice. And it came to pass when they were come that he looked
on Eliab, and said, I mean, he looked at this guy, big, good-looking
guy. He said, surely the Lord's anointed
is before him. The Lord said unto Samuel, Look
not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature, because
I have refused him. For the Lord seeth not as man
seeth. For man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord
looketh on the heart. Then Jesse called Abinadab, and
made him pass before Samuel. He said, Neither hath the Lord
chosen this. Then Jesse made Solomon to pass by, and he said,
Behold, the Lord has chosen this. And again, Jesse made seven of
his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The
Lord hath not chosen these. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Here
are all thy children. Now he had one kid that he knew
it wouldn't be. He didn't even have him come. He knew it wouldn't
be David. And he said, There remaineth
yet the youngest, the least. And behold, he keepeth the sheep.
And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him for a fill, not
sit down till he come hither. And he sent and brought him in.
Now he was ruddy and of a beautiful countenance and goodly to look
on. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him, for this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of
oil and anointed him in the midst of his brethren, and the Spirit
of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel went
up and rose and went to Ramah. Now, Paul went from being Saul
to being little, less, the least. Now I think this is so interesting,
the way God has this recorded in Scripture. In one of Paul's
first epistles, He said, I'm the least of the apostles. Peter's ahead of me. James Aless
is ahead of me. I'm the least of the apostles.
I'm the last one. And then when he grew in grace
and wrote to the church at Ephesus, he said, and he didn't say this
with mock humility, he said this believing it, I am less than
the least of all the saints. Paul would have looked at you
and said, you're a better believer than I am. Your faith is greater. You've grown and raised more
than I have. That's the way Paul considered himself. Less than
the least of all the saints. And then shortly before his death,
here was his assessment of himself. I am the chief of sinners. Not I used to be before God saved
me, but right now, present tense, I am the chief of sinners. Paul, the least. Paul, the less. Paul recognized something that
very few ever do. I'm not aware behind the chief
apostles, he said, though I be Anybody know what the next word
is? Nothing. That was Paul's assessment of
himself. Though I be nothing. And what a blessed thing it is
when you're nothing. Because when you're nothing,
and you don't have anything to bring to the table, you really
do believe Jesus Christ is your all. You do not have anything
else, and you don't want anything else. I couldn't help in thinking
about this, and I brought it up several times in the last
few months, but I still couldn't help think about Mephibosheth.
That's the... David is now the most powerful
man in the world. You can read about his conquest
in 2 Samuel chapter 8. And the scripture actually says
the fear of David fell on every nation. He was the most powerful
man in the world. Everybody was afraid of him.
Everybody wanted to pay tribute to him. And he taxed all the surrounding
nations. He was the top dog. And he remembered
a covenant that he made. with his best friend Jonathan,
the son of Saul. Saul was his enemy. Saul wanted
him dead. But Jonathan loved him as he
loved his own soul. And they made a covenant. They
made a covenant. Jonathan said, Lord's going to
put down my dad. I know that. He knew his dad.
He said, he's going to make you the most powerful man in the
world. Now, when you're coming from
that position of power, What I want you to do is remember
my kids, remember me, remember my kids because of this covenant.
I want you to show mercy to them. So after he has reached this
power, he remembers that covenant and he says, is there any of
the house of Saul that I can show kindness to? for Jonathan's
sake. And there was a servant by the
name of Zivu who said, well, yeah, there's one, Mephibosheth, but he's not worth much. He's
lame on both his feet. Interestingly, he became lame
through a fall. His nurse dropped him. You can't
He didn't miss the typology there, lame through a fall, but he's
lame on both of his feet. Now, David, this man can't fight
for you. This man can't work for you.
He can't even be a servant for you. All he can be is carried. He can bring nothing to the table.
He doesn't have anything to offer. And David said, I bet you. And
he took that man who was lame on his feet, for Jonathan's sake,
his father's sake, remembering that covenant, and he set him
with the king's sons. And he ate continually at the
king's table when he had nothing to bring. Now, if you eat at the king's
table, if I eat at the king's table, it's gonna be the same
way, isn't it? I think it's so interesting the way that story
ends up with he was laying, still laying, on both of his feet. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians
chapter 1. Verse 26. For you see your calling, brethren,
that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not
many noble are called, but God hath chosen the foolish things
of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the
weak things of the world, to confound the things which are
mighty and the base things of the world, and the things But God hath chosen
the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God
hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things
which are mighty, and base things of the world, and things which
are despised, if God chosen, yea, and things which are nothing, like James the Less, to bring
to nothing things that are that no flesh should glory in his
presence. But of him are you in Christ
Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption, that according as it's written, he the glorious.
Let him glory in the Lord. Now, Fox's Book of Martyrs says
that James was stoned to death, and it gives the country. I can't
remember what country. He went to two or three different
countries preaching the gospel, and I don't know how they get
their historical information, but that's what is recorded with
regard to him. And all we know about him is
who his mom and dad was. Mary, who was also the son of
Alphaeus, never says a word. And his name is called by God
the Holy Spirit, James the Less. Here's a place where less is
more. Let's pray. Lord, we ask that we might be
privileged by your grace to be one of these little ones, these
leasts that look to thy son as all we have and all we want. We ask that we might be one of
these leasts who are united to thy blessed son one of these
leaves whom it is not your will that any of them perish. Lord, we ask that we might be
enabled by your grace to preach your gospel to this world for the glory of
your name. And we be found in Christ, in
his name we pray.