Matthew 23:23-30

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23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! 25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’ ~ Matthew 23:23-30

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 23 where the Lord Jesus is in the middle of pronouncing seven "woes" on the religious leaders of Israel. While the Beatitudes aid us at making us more sensitive to the Lord, the "woes" describe the hardening of our hearts toward Him. Having considered the first three "woes," today we consider the last four. In these "woes", the Lord Jesus pronounced His final judgment on the religious leaders of Israel who had rejected Him and led the people in an eventual equal rejection.

In v.23-24 of today's passage we read, "23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!"

The religious leaders of Israel proved they were false once they wrapped themselves up in the inconsequential minutia of religion. One of the great marks of a real leader is that he never allows himself to get wrapped up in minutia. The religious leaders of Israel had no capacity to deal with the real issues which always comes back to the condition of the human heart. In this "woe" the Lord Jesus isolated justice, mercy, and faith which is also isolated in Micah 6:8 which reads, "He has shown you, oh, man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." 

The problem was the religious leaders of first century Israel were unmerciful, brutal, unforgiving, unkind, and lacking in generosity. Instead of walking by faith, they walked by sight. They lived by their own efforts. And so, the Lord told them they were real good at measuring kitchen seeds used to flavor food but that they missed the whole point of what is really important, namely the essentials in meaningful community. 

By the way, the word "tithe" is mentioned six times in the New Testament, three times in the gospels. Each time it is mentioned it is used to condemn the abuse of it by the religious leaders of Israel. Three times in the book of Hebrews it simply reaches back and describes its historical reality in the history of Israel. At no time is it ever mentioned in the New Testament as binding to the church. God's goal in our giving is that we give from the heart having been moved by His Spirit.

The word "strain" in v.24 means to filter. According to Leviticus 11:42, the smallest unclean animal was a gnat. According to Leviticus 11:4, the largest was a camel. When these so-called leaders drank wine, they "strained" at gnats because they were attracted to the wine which they would drink. In other words, the religious were good at straining out a gnat while at the same time figuratively swallowing a camel. This made them value the wrong things. This is what we do when we do not know what relating to God means, we make it about stupid stuff that does not matter. False leaders miss the priorities of God and they substitute them with insignificant non-essentials. Therefore, the religious leaders were condemned for not engaging God and their fellow man with their hearts. If they had engaged their hearts, everything would have been different.

In v.25-26 of today's passage we read, "25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also."

The "dish" mentioned here was a plate used to serve delicacies. The religious cleaned the outside but neglected the inside. This meant they were real good at looking good on the outside but their hearts were nasty. They were like us, corrupt within. The difference between them and the poor in spirit is that the poor in spirit admit to the corruption within. These blind so-called leaders of their own so-called righteousness were greedy thieves who plundered the souls of the innocent. This is what happens when we feed the flesh which in essence is the self that the enemy tries to get us to worship. He doesn't try to get us to worship him directly, he just wants us to worship him indirectly by worshipping ourselves.

In v.27-28 of today's passage we read, "27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."

These religious leaders were masters at deception. This makes sense since their father was the master deceiver. It was he who tricked Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden so long ago. These first century spiritual leaders of the Jews appeared clean outwardly but they were dead inside. As a result, they contaminated the people with the disease of self-deception. The term "whitewashed tombs" came from an annual and unusual custom in Israel. It was right after the spring rains which always came to cleanse the land. At that time of the year the Jews whitewashed their limestone tombs where their dead had been buried. They washed the tombs because they feared the people might inadvertently touch a tomb and thus become defiled. The problem was, their attention to potential danger never allowed them to recognize the real danger, the defiled human heart. In tandem with the Word of God, it is only the grace of God that can diagnose and fix the human heart.

In v.29-30 of today's passage we read, "29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'"

Here with the seventh "woe" the Lord Jesus pinpointed the problem of the religious leaders of Israel. He placed the spotlight on their pretentiousness which is what caused them to think they were so much better than everyone else. There is nothing God hates worse than pride. The religious leaders of Israel were really good at honoring the heroes of the past with memorials and monuments. In addition, the Lord Jesus substantiated the fact that they would have killed the prophets as their fathers did. Their behavior proved to be an ugly pretense to their spiritual pride.

After sin entered the world, the truth could not but crush sinful unrepentant man. The woes that God pronounced on the religious leaders of Israel were a natural response to their inner wickedness which manifested itself through their poor treatment of others. The problem the religious leaders of Israel had was they had not been broken thus they could not see their utter wickedness. As much as they were apparently in the Word, they should have been broken, given the design of the Word on the heart of sinful man. 

The answer to deflecting God's woes is His grace. It was His grace that enabled the Lord Jesus to defeat for us sin and death. The grace of God is not a compensation for our good behavior, rather, it is the benevolent response of God toward the undeserving. The grace of God is an undeserved embrace from the Perfect One for those who have repeatedly fallen short of perfection. God's greatest response to the brokenness of man was put on fullest display at the cross of Christ. In the Chinese language the word for righteousness is a combination of two characters, the figure of a lamb and that of a person. In the character, the lamb is seen on top of the submissive person. Whenever God looks down at the believer in Christ He sees the Lamb of God covering him.

Matthew 23:13-22

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13 But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation. 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. 16 Woe to you, blind guides, who say, "Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it." 17 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? 18 And, "Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it." 19 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? 20 Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. 21 He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it. 22 And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it. ~ Matthew 23:13-22

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 23 where the Lord Jesus is in the middle of identifying the religious leaders of Israel for who they were. With several mountains of evidence from the Old Testament and from the 3 1/2 year of the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus the religious leaders of Israel rejected God. Sadly, they were ushered to the door of heaven but they slammed it closed and their eternity was sealed. In this chapter the Lord Jesus pronounces seven "woes" on the religious leaders of Israel. While the Beatitudes describe the process whereby we are made increasingly sensitive to the Lord, the woes in this chapter describe the hardening of our hearts toward Him. The Bible is full of "woes." Throughout the Bible God’s "woes" introduce His anger toward the people who choose idolatry.

The Lord Jesus, God incarnate, spoke harsh words here in today's passage regarding the religious leaders of Israel. Sometimes harsh is called for in order to hopefully snap people out of their spiritual lethargy. Through His harsh words, the Lord Jesus slammed the Jewish religious leaders because they were doomed for eternal hell. He went from addressing those who had yet to repent as hypocrites, to blind guides, and then to fools. There is always a progression either toward the Lord or as in this case away from the Lord. As we give ourselves to the truth, the more we will be guided by and to the truth.

Of the seven "woes" in this chapter, the first in v.13 condemns the work of the religious leaders of Israel. They were supposed to guide the people to worship the God of the Bible. But they actually pointed them in the direction of the evil one. Through the second "woe" the Lord Jesus highlighted the religious leaders false religious pretense that led them to take advantage of the common folk. Through the third "woe" the Lord Jesus highlighted the fact that their influence on the common folk was doubly damning.

This chapter exists because the religious leaders of first-century Israel had moved so far from God’s intention that the Lord Jesus considered them cursed. Many today are turned away from the Lord because what they see out of those who say they know Him. Christianity today is a far cry from what it is really supposed to be about. Even those who have entered into a personal relationship with God through the Lord Jesus can go off the rails by majoring on the minors and minoring on the majors.

The Lord Jesus came to this earth in order to grant to us a personal relationship with God through His sacrifice on the cross. Those who do not get this make it into something God never intended it to be, that is religion. Through every believer in the Lord Jesus the world desperately needs to see this authentic relationship whereby we are honest about who we really are and in that context how the grace of God spurs us on in our pursuit of Him. What we so desperately need is to experience an authentic faith that organically overflows into a life of devotion to God. 

This is precisely what the Lord Jesus came to this earth to bring. He came to give us a new heart and a new spirit that would transform us from the inside out and show the world what Christianity is truly about. The offense of the gospel is that we all need to be remade. The promise and the hope of the gospel is that God will bring to pass this very thing. On the cross, the Lord Jesus was undone, transformed into a broken and mangled reflection of human life, so that we who are broken and mangled could enter into a personal relationship with the God of grace. 

Most people are afraid to be fully given to God's grace. At the very heart of our survival and triumph as believers is that we are totally being defined by God's grace. In our attempt to grow in the faith, our goal must be the Lord Jesus. Our goal must be the sincere search of a desperate heart that recognizes the cross of the Lord Jesus must define him. We must approach God through prayer and His word with the idea that we will be defined by Him. God’s grace extends beyond our salvation, beyond an escape from death, and heaven is not the only thing we have been freely given by our gracious God. When we limit His grace to the free gift of eternal life, we miss what it is all about. We miss a personal relationship wherein we have been totally accepted by God. 

It was Mike Yaconelli who once said, "The critical issue today is dullness. We have lost our astonishment. The Good News is no longer good news, it is okay news. Christianity is no longer life changing, it is life enhancing. Jesus doesn’t change people into wild-eyed radicals anymore, He changes them into “nice people”… What happened to the kind of Christians who were filled with passion and gratitude, and who every day were unable to get over the grace of God."

The freedom that is ours through the cross must define us as having been accepted in the Beloved of God. Religion leads those not drenched in God's grace to unsuccessfully try to bribe God for His blessings. The religious person doesn't understand that only the Lord Jesus could earn for us God's blessing and in Him we have every blessing imaginable. With this understanding we are free to live life from the starting block of His total and unconditional love. When we come to this understanding of Christianity, we will be authentically Christ-like and godly. It is this disposition that enables us to love God and others authentically.

Matthew 23:1-12

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1 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. 4 For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 5 But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. 6 They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, 7 greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’ 8 But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. 9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. 11 But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. ~ Matthew 23:1-12

Today, we transition into Matthew 23. In this, His final message to the multitudes, the Lord Jesus unleashed His fiercest warnings regarding the religious leaders of Israel. He was hardest on them because they distorted the image of the God of the Bible. The problem with religion is it is purely external. In order for the religious to live out their religion, they have to accentuate the externals, including endless rituals, rules, and regulations. Of course, these rituals, rules and regulations many think are a means to earn the favor of God. But, we all know, we can't earn God's favor. Religion is not the answer because it is man reaching to God. The problem with that is we can't reach far enough to merit God's favor.

In v.1-2 of today's passage we read, "1 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying: 'The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.'"

Religious folks do not have a light problem, they have a sight problem. They fail to see that faith in the God of the Bible is a heart thing. Without the involvement of our hearts in a personal relationship with God, we are not known by Him. Religion that places the emphasis on the fallen human measuring up is blinding. Religious folks remain blinded by their sin as they resist the grace of God. This is what makes them think they can measure up to God's standard. They have a very low view of God. Of course, this is exactly why the Lord Jesus came to this earth in the first place, to lay down His life for us. The scribes and the Pharisees defined themselves as the separated ones. Since they saw themselves as such, they were self-righteous, proud, and they abused people for personal gain.

In v.3-4 of today's passage we read, "3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. 4 For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers."

The scribes and the Pharisees taught strictly the Law of Moses to the people but they themselves were not perfect in obeying God. Although the religious leaders believed they were doing enough of the right things to make them right with God, their hearts were far from Him. All of their symbolic rituals did not address their real issue which was the sinful condition of their hearts. They missed the ultimate goal of the Law of Moses which is to reveal to us our utter sinfulness and helplessness and also to point us to the grace of God through our Savior. As a result, the religious leaders of Israel were not concerned about the wickedness of their own hearts. Since they themselves did not interact with God from the heart, these religious leaders lacked a heart for the people. This is why they laid heavy religious loads on the people.

In v.5-7 of today's passage we read, "5 But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. 6 They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, 7 greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, 'Rabbi, Rabbi.'"

Religious people are driven by their performance. They follow their rules and rituals in order to be praised by others. The Lord Jesus understood their rules and rituals inside and out. He knew that the Pharisees were more interested in the money, prestige and power than owning up to their inability to measure up to the truth. This made them hypocrites who robbed the average folks of their money. Like all of us, the Pharisees didn't love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. The difference between them and the true believer is that the true believer is honest about his inability to love perfectly. When we come to the place that we love God from our hearts, we are positioned to love others as ourselves. The religious leaders of Israel were so preoccupied with being admired and revered, they missed the One whom they had studied all their lives when He came. 

In v.8-10 of today's passage we read, "8 But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. 9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ."

The word "leadership" appears nowhere in the New Testament and the word "leader" is only found just under 10 times after Malachi. When the subject of power and leadership appear in the Bible the emphasis is on servanthood. This is why the Lord told His disciples not to be called "Rabbi" or "Teacher." Otherwise they would be following themselves. We do well to follow God as our leader because that which we follow is that which defines us most.

We are all servants, even those who are leaders. We come to know if we are acting as servants when someone treats us as such. As servants, we will always reflect our master. Before we came to know the heart of God for us we viewed servanthood as something that was required and forced. Once we entered into God's family, we began to see servanthood differently. The revelation of the heart of God to us is what drives us further into a heart that serves others.

In v.11-12 of today's passage we read, "11 But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Contrary to what most believe, greatness in the Kingdom of God is found through the embrace of servanthood. God equates leadership with serving others. Humility is essential at making one a servant and the best type of leaders are those who are servants. It is through the disposition of humility that a leader accesses from God real authority. To those who desire to be leaders, God says, "Push yourself down and I’ll lift you up." The secret is discovered in a quote found in the book entitled Radical Grace, written by Richard Rohr who wrote, "Humility and human come from the Latin word, humus which means dirt. A human being is someone taken out of the dirt. A humble person is one who recognizes that and even rejoices in it!"

Matthew 22:41-46

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41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” They said to Him, “The Son of David.” 43 He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying: 44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool?”’ 45 If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?” 46 And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore. ~ Matthew 22:41-46

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 22 where the Lord Jesus and His disciples are in Jerusalem at the Temple court. With it still being Wednesday, the Lord Jesus was repeatedly confronted by the antagonistic religious leaders of Israel. Their questions were attempts to trap Him in His words, but one after another He answered their questions accurately. After their questions had run out, the Lord Jesus took the opportunity to ask them a question of His own. And while He could have used this chance to shame or embarrass them, instead He asked a question that pointed them to the truth. Their questions came from wicked hearts with wicked intentions, but His’ offered them the chance to see God's will more clearly. 

In v.41-42 of today's passage we read, "41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 saying, 'What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?' They said to Him, 'The Son of David.'"

The answer to the question the Lord Jesus posed to the religious leaders is found in several places in the Old Testament. It was not as if God had withheld the answers from these so-called leaders. All of the promises in the Old Testament regarding the Messiah are grounded in the Abrahamic Covenant and expanded in the Davidic Covenant. Since the Jews assumed that the Messiah would use political power to set up a political kingdom here on earth, they rejected the Lord Jesus as the obvious Promised One. Although they should have, they did not see that the Messiah had to first be the Lamb of God who came to procure the forgiveness of sin of both Jews and Gentiles before He could set up His kingdom on this earth. Arrogantly, the religious leaders saw their Messiah as the Savior of the Jews only. 

In v.44-45 of today's passage we read, "44 The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool?' 45 If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?"

Here, the Lord Jesus quotes Psalm 110:1 and then He added a question pointing these devious men back to the truth. This was the final invitation the Lord Jesus gave to the religious leaders of Israel to believe in Him as their Messiah. It was one more moment in which these people could have ceased their open rejection of God's promised Messiah. David, according to Psalm 110:1, called his son his Lord. Graciously, the Lord Jesus revealed to the religious leaders that the Messiah was more than a physical descendant of David, that He is God Himself. In fact, He could not be their Messiah without being God because only the perfection of God can overcome sin and death.

Our understanding of the identity of the Lord Jesus is the most important thing in all of life. A careful study of the Scriptures reveals Him as the sinless Lamb of God who came to pay the penalty which our sin had created. The Bible is very clear that the Lord takes no pleasure in the condemnation of the wicked. This is why the Son agreed before the foundation of this world to be our Messiah. Sadly, the Jewish religious leaders didn't repent of their will in the presence of the incarnate God. They were entertained by His teachings and His miracles but they missed Him and they ended up in hell. How sad are those words. They were so resolute in the darkness of their own sin that they couldn’t see the light when He was shining right in front of them.

According to Matthew 1 and Luke 3, the Lord Jesus came through the genealogical line of King David. Both His parents were from the Davidic line. He, therefore, is the Son of David. If He were not the Son of David, those who desired to discredit Him would have used the genealogical records to discredit Him. To be David’s Son and David’s Lord, the Lord Jesus had to be the eternal God who came as the God-man. This was too much for the Jewish religious leaders to take in. This made them change their interpretation of Psalm 110, saying it refers to Abraham and not the Messiah. As my dad would say, "They were so narrow-minded they could see through a keyhole with both eyes." 

In v.46 of today's passage we read, "And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore."

Essential to any relationship is the back and forth exchange of information. Essential for the deepening of our walk with the Lord are the questions that creep up on us on a day by day basis. Most often we are annoyed by those questions because they come at us through unwanted moments. Yet, those questions serve our relationship with God. We do well to see them as our friends because they are a means toward intimacy with God.

We deny the veracity of the Bible when we will fail to believe in the Lord Jesus as the long-promised Messiah. The Jewish religious leaders rejected the Word of God, thus, they rejected their own Messiah and had Him crucified. They led the nation into ruin because they would not humble themselves enough to confess their sins and to trust in the Lord Jesus as the Son of David. These men were "experts" in the study of God, yet they chose not to be defined by Him. Their religion was a matter of external observance, not internal transformation. They never comprehended the fact that the Lord Jesus came to this earth to give those who believe forgiveness of sin and personal relationship with God.

Matthew 22:34-40

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34 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” 37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” ~ Matthew 22:34-40

Today, we continue our study of Matthew 22 where the Lord Jesus is still responding to another question from the Jewish religious leaders. Although their question was not for discovery of the truth, the Lord Jesus yet again answered it. In doing so, the Lord Jesus gave the religious leaders another opportunity to be defined by the truth. Sadly, these men were deceived to the point of not being able to discover the truth. Much of life is made up of the pursuit of the answers to our questions. And, although often frustrating, our questions are some of our greatest friends because they push us to pursue the Lord of the truth.

In v.34-36 of today's passage we read, "34 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 'Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?'"

In this chapter, the religious leaders of Israel asked of the Lord Jesus three questions. The first, in v.15–22, was a political question: "Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" The second, in v.23–33, was a religious question about the doctrine of the resurrection. The third, in v. 34–40, was a moral question about which commandment of the 613 in the Old Testament was the most important. These three questions were not tools that would aid them in discovering the truth, no, they were tools that they hoped would aid them at destroying the ministry of the One who referred to Himself as "the Way, the Truth and the Life."

In v.37-40 of today's passage we read, "37 Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.'"

In response to their question, the Lord Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6 which begins with a command to love God. Loving God begins in our hearts, that is the giving our hearts to the Lord. Learning to do this consistently is impossible, especially when we lack an understanding of God's culture. Like the religious leaders of Israel, just when we think we understand what God has said in a particular passage, we realize we don't. Giving our hearts to God involves our choice to worship Him. Worship is ascribing to Him worth and there are varying degrees to our worship of God. We love God when we choose to believe His word and we allow Him to define us. We are being defined by the Lord when we obey Him.

No sinful human can merit God's favor through good behavior or performance. The divide between us and God that our sin created is just too great for us to span by our goodness. Since God is perfect, perfection is required of us. No sinful human has ever perfectly measured up to the truth. It is rather arrogant for us to think we can somehow measure up to His perfection. The only One who can do this is God Himself. No human, this side of the Fall, has ever loved God with his whole being. This is why the Lord Jesus came to be the Lamb of God who would take away the penalty of our sin and put us into a personal relationship with God.

We discover truth through observation. We see things, we feel things, we hear things, and we read things about God. We experience God for ourselves. Truth arrives first in our minds. This is why the Lord Jesus said that we are to love the Lord our God with all our minds. Next, the truth impacts our emotions, or our souls, as it is listed here. Truth comes to our minds and then it moves to our emotions, and we begin to feel moved by the truth that our minds understand. Next, comes our will or our heart. 

The word "heart" is used in several ways in the Scriptures. Sometimes it refers to the will, sometimes the emotions, but here it describes our will. We choose with our hearts or our wills. Once our will or heart is moved, then we love God with as much of our strength that we can but it will never be enough to merit His favor. God commands us to love Him with everything we have even though He knows we can't. He has to command us to love Him with everything because that is the way He is. He is holy and He does nothing half way. Could you imagine God commanding us to love Him partly?

In Mark 12:33 we read of an interesting response from the Pharisee who had asked the Lord Jesus the question about the greatest command. He said, "One must love God with all his heart, all his mind, and all his strength. And one must love his neighbor as he loves himself. These commands are more important than all the animals and sacrifices we offer to God."

Despite the fact that he had good theology, the response of the Pharisee revealed he thought more of himself and his ability to love God than he should have. Due to our sinfulness, we lack the ability to be holy good and that is what is required for our acceptance before God. The Pharisee had a low view of God and His Word. When we have a low view of God and His law, we will be given to legalism. When we have a high view of God's law, we will crave God's grace. The two greatest commands require perfection. When we think we can measure up to God's standard, we see no need for God's grace in our lives. 

Our passage for today ends with: "These commands are more important than all the animals and sacrifices we offer to God." The Pharisee didn't realize that standing before him was the very One of whom all of the Old Testament sacrifices pointed. In fact, the Lord Jesus was the Only One who could love God with all of His heart, mind and strength. Even though we have been born again, we fall short of the task of loving God with everything we have. Christ’s sacrifice was perfect, complete and sufficient to measure up to God's standard on our behalf. His perfect sacrifice overcame our sin. The Old Testament sacrifices were insufficient because they had to be repeated over and over again and the blood of the innocent animals only covered sin temporarily. The sacrifice of the Lord Jesus was a one time event which was and is sufficient for all who believe on the Lord Jesus. His sacrifice met all of God's perfect requirements earning forgiveness for all who believe. And, it is only His sacrifice that captures our heart for the Lord and enables us to love people.

Matthew 22:23-33

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23 The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, 24 saying: “Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. 25 Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. 26 Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh. 27 Last of all the woman died also. 28 Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven. 31 But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” 33 And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching. ~ Matthew 22:23-33

Today's passage takes place on the final Wednesday of the earthly life of the Lord Jesus. Then He was crucified on that Friday. This was a busy day for Him as He taught in the temple all day sparing with the Jewish religious community trying to trip Him up with their questions. Toward the end of that Wednesday, a certain element of the Jewish religious leaders, the Sadducees, came to the Lord Jesus with a hypothetical question. They accepted only the first five books of Moses as the word of God. In addition, they did not believe in angels, spirits, or the resurrection of the dead. When the Romans came in and destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70, the Sadducees ceased to exist.

In v.23-28 of today's passage we read, "23 The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, 24 saying: 'Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. 25 Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. 26 Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh. 27 Last of all the woman died also. 28 Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.'"

The Sadducees tried to trip up the Lord Jesus in order to shatter His popularity among the people. Interestingly, the religious leaders of Israel continually tried to do this, all the while they really weren't interested in the truth. Ironically, their questions and the Lord Jesus' answers provide for us today great truths that we want and need to know. These truths pull back the curtain for us to see little bit more of the culture of God. They also give us a glimpse of heaven about which we aren't given a whole lot of information in the Scriptures.

The Sadducees asked this question in order to show how ridiculous they thought was the idea of the resurrection. That was when they presented a scenario to the Lord Jesus based on Deuteronomy 25 which called for a man to marry his brother’s wife in the event of his brother’s death. With this argument, they referred to a law in the book of Moses called the law of levirate marriage which was given by God in order to protect the widow, her land and the name of the family. And so a brother or a kinsman, a relative, could marry that lady, and then the family name would be preserved, and the inheritance would be passed on from generation to generation for that woman. 

Trying to minimize the Lord Jesus, the Sadducees asked who would be the husband of the woman in heaven, especially since she had married so many times. Of course, they weren't on a journey to discover the truth, they were just trying to cause the people to no longer follow the Lord Jesus, especially since they benefitted the most from the sacrificial system at the temple. And, the Lord Jesus was a threat to that commerce based on what He had done in the temple a day earlier.

In v.29-30 of today's passage we read, "29 Jesus answered and said to them, 'You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.'"

In His answer the Lord Jesus made it clear that in heaven there will be no marriage. Notice the Lord Jesus did not say that in heaven we will be angels, but that we will be like the angels. We will be like the angels in that we will not cohabitate and reproduce. In addition, we will not die. So, there will be no need for reproduction in heaven. The Lord Jesus was quick to say marriage is a thing of this temporal world. 

At this point the Lord Jesus directed the Sadducees attention to Exodus 3:6 in order to establish His point. This is important because He knew the Sadducees only accepted the first five books of the Bible as the word of God. It seems Exodus 3:6 doesn’t argue for the resurrection of the dead. But, when we consider that God made an everlasting covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob after they had died, it takes on a different meaning. Since God made an everlasting covenant with them, he will raise them from the dead so that they may see the fulfillment of His promises.

We will not die, and in this sense we are equal to angels. When we believed in the Lord Jesus, we received His life, eternal life. When we received His life we became the sons and daughters of the resurrection. There is a great principle being given here which I have found to be an encouragement down through the years, especially when it seemed that all hope was lost. The principle comes in the form of a quote which is: "God’s most striking victories come out of graves of apparent defeat."

In v.31-32 of today's passage we read, "31 But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 32 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.'"

The Sadducees understood neither the Scriptures, which teach the resurrection of the dead, nor did they know the power of God, who can and will raise the dead to life. This was their problem, they were not accustomed to being defined by the God of the Bible. In 1 Corinthians 15 the Apostle Paul established this very important point: if we do not have the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, we do not have hope. I find it striking that group after group tried to trip the Lord Jesus up, yet He spoke the truth to them and in so doing He held out hope to each group. His has always been self-giving love which is a product of such hope. The Lord Jesus is the same with us. He knows the quickest way to our hearts is through our wounds. And, it is these wounds which create our skepticism or they can assist our ability to seek Him with our hearts. We are to some degree hard-hearted like these religious leaders, at times. And, yet, He keeps offering us hope. And, He rarely blesses us with only us in mind.

Hope must be garnered by us through the thicks and thins of life. We must admit that we, at times, struggle seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. This honest struggle is necessary for us to be develop an authentic walk with the Lord and to be found anchored to His hope. Amid all of the negativity that we will face out in the world today, let's be poised to hold out this hope which is based on the truth of the resurrection from the dead for all those, who like us, are struggling, too. Like him or not, Napoleon brilliantly once said, "Leaders are dealers in hope."

In v.33 of today's passage we read, "And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching."

The people were amazed at the teaching they received from the Lord Jesus. Unlike the religious leaders of Israel, they weren't turned off by His teaching resulting in them leaving Him. Without the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead, we are all without hope. Our eternity with God is not a mere continuation of the life we know right now. In heaven, we will maintain our identities and know each other, but there will be no more sin and death. In heaven there will be no more tears, pain, sickness and lack. Then, we will live in a new earth without the interference of the evil one and his cohorts. We will astonishingly enjoy hearts and minds free from doubt and bodies free from disease. 

Matthew 22:15-22

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15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. 16 And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. 17 Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? 19 Show Me the tax money.” So they brought Him a denarius. 20 And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” 21 They said to Him, “Caesar’s. And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way. ~ Matthew 22:15-22

Today, we continue our study of Matthew 22 where the religious leaders of Israel were running out of ways to stump the Lord Jesus. Sadly, in spite of all the Old Testament revelation identifying the Lord Jesus as the Messiah, the Jews rejected Him. Herein, we have one of the great abiding principles of all time: being defined by good or being defined by evil. And, the hearts of the religious leaders were so hardened to God by evil, they were blind to the truth when He walked among them.

It was still Wednesday of the final week of the Lord Jesus earthly life. By Friday, the Lord Jesus will be crucified. On this Wednesday, He spent the day in the temple surrounded by the masses of people who flowed into Jerusalem because it was Passover. And when He came into the city, they, full of hope, wanted Him to be the long-awaited Messiah. And so they gave Him a triumphal entry and they were still hanging on His every word and deed. They expected the Lord Jesus to set up a political kingdom.

In this passage the politicians, the Pharisees and the Herodians, to try and make the Lord Jesus look bad by getting Him to comment on the politics of the day. The idea that there is separation between church and state is bogus. Our world view must touch everything we do in life, including politics. But, our hope must never be in politics. It is a shame that we compartmentalize our faith but we must not find our hope in politics. Abraham Lincoln once said, “My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.”

In v.15-17 of today's passage we read, "15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. 16 And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, 'Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. 17 Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?'"

Although they did not get along at all, the Pharisees and the Herodians teamed up in their attempt to nullify the Lord Jesus eyes of the people. This was difficult because the Pharisees were against the rule of Rome in Israel, while the Herodians supported the rule of Rome in their land. The Pharisees hated having to pay taxes to Rome, whereas, the Herodians enjoyed the opulence that the Roman taxes brought them. These two opposing groups were unlikely allies who decided to lock arms in an attempt to discredit the Lord Jesus. 

In v.18-21 of today's passage we read, "18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, 'Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? 19 Show Me the tax money.' So they brought Him a denarius. 20 And He said to them, 'Whose image and inscription is this?' 21 They said to Him, 'Caesar’s.' And He said to them, 'Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.'"

In response to the question of the Pharisees and the Herodians, the Lord Jesus asked for a Roman coin which bore the image of Tiberius Caesar. On this coin was an inscription proclaiming Caesar to be the "son of God." It was a small silver coin known as a denarius which was equal to a day's wage for a Roman soldier or for a day laborer. Only the Caesar had the authority to mint gold or silver coins in those days. 

With the coin in hand the Lord Jesus reminded them that they were supposed to be citizens not only of heaven, but also of their country. That meant God held them responsible to pay taxes to Caesar who had the right to collect their money. It also meant that God had the right to collect their worship. These supposed leaders of Israel didn't understand that their cause had to be fueled by their worship. Someone once said, “Worship has been misunderstood as something that arises from a feeling which 'comes upon us,' but it is vital that we understand that it is rooted in a conscious act of the will, to serve and obey the Lord Jesus Christ.”

This story has been easily twisted to support separation of church and state. It is used to tell the church to stay out of politics. Such an argument is fallacious. Our worship of the God of the Bible must never come from our cause. When our worship is spawned by our cause, we will, like the Pharisees and the Herodians, make the non-essentials our essentials. When our worship is spawned by our growing and correct understanding of who God truly is, we will increasingly realize God's value system. This just underscores the idea that we must be defined by the God of the Bible. 

Worshipers of God do not need power, like the Herodians, nor do we need to destroy power, like the Pharisees. Worshipers of God allow themselves to be embraced and defined by Him. The Lord Jesus came to liberate us from the pressure of having to fix ourselves. He came to liberate us from the faulty idea that we must find and free ourselves. He came to rescue us from the slavish need to be right, rewarded, regarded, and respected. He came to relieve us of the burden we inherently feel to trust in ourselves in order "to get life right." He came to secure for us what we could never secure for ourselves. As a result, life ceases to be a tireless effort to establish, justify, and validate ourselves.

In v.22 of today's passage we read, "When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way."

Not only did the religious leaders go away astonished due to their failure to trip up the Lord Jesus in front of the people, they departed from Him having not understood His words. One can only imagine what it was like for these supposed leaders when they realized they opposed the very God they claimed to worship. When we operate according to God's definitions of things, we will not leave the God we are learning to love. In addition, we will grow in our personal relationship with Him and His peace will rule our hearts. Moses refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He insisted on being defined by the God of the Bible who used him to change the whole world as he operated by God's rules. As we learn to worship God by living in concert with His definitions of things, we will increasingly become more and more like Him.

Matthew 22:1-14

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1 Jesus also told them other parables. He said, 2 “The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son. 3 When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they all refused to come! 4 “So he sent other servants to tell them, ‘The feast has been prepared. The bulls and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the banquet!’ 5 But the guests he had invited ignored them and went their own way, one to his farm, another to his business. 6 Others seized his messengers and insulted them and killed them. 7 “The king was furious, and he sent out his army to destroy the murderers and burn their town. 8 And he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren’t worthy of the honor. 9 Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.’ 10 So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests. 11 “But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding. 12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply. 13 Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.” ~ Matthew 22:1-14

Today, we transition into our study of Matthew 22 where the Lord Jesus is still contending with the religious leaders of Israel. Oh, the lengths God has been known to go to in order to awaken us to Him spiritually. For me, God went to great lengths to capture my heart. Having said that I do not want to pretend that my heart does not wander, it does all too often. But, to some degree my heart has been garrisoned by God. He used most profoundly the death of my mom at age five and the death of my dad at age seventeen. Those were two very painful experiences but they have been used of the Lord to navigate me to Him and for that I am most grateful.

In today's passage the Lord Jesus gave yet another parable. In fact, this is now the third parable that the Lord Jesus directed against the religious leaders. In the first parable he accused them of hypocrisy because they did not repent and believe. In the second parable he told them that God will take the kingdom away from them and give it to others. Now in this third parable he warns them that although many are invited into God’s kingdom, few are chosen. 

The hope was that the religious leaders would come to faith in the God of the Bible through their expanded understanding and themselves and God. The Lord Jesus was at a luncheon provided by a very prominent Pharisee who wanted to trap Him into healing a man on the Sabbath who was retaining a lot of fluid in the tissue of his body. This wealthy man invited a huge number of people to this meal. It was a huge event. 

In New Testament days, invited dinner guests were invited a few days before the meal but they were not told the exact hour. A host had to know how many guests were coming so he could butcher the right amount of animals and prepare a sufficient amount of food. When the day came that the feast was to begin, the host sent his servants to each of the guests to tell them the banquet was ready and they should come. Each of the guests in this parable had already agreed to attend the banquet. Instead of coming to the feast, all of the guests gave flimsy excuses for not coming.

The initially invited guests found excuses for not attending the celebration. According to Luke, the Lord Jesus identified one man who had to go look at some property he had purchased. In that day, the purchasing of property was a long and complicated process, and the man would have had many opportunities to examine the land he was buying. And, since most banquets were held in the evening, the man had little daylight left even for a cursory look at the property.

Also, according to Luke's account of this story, another man had also made a purchase, five oxen, and he had to check out the oxen's quality. No one would purchase that many animals without seeing them first and  making sure they were right. Then another man, according to Luke, couldn't come because he had just gotten married. Jewish weddings were never surprises, so this man knew well in advance that he was getting married. That being the case, he should not have agreed to attend the feast in the first place. Since only Jewish men were invited to banquets, the host did not expect the wife to come as well. 

It was at this point that the king in this parable became angry and ordered his servant to go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in whoever would come. Having prepared a great dinner for many guests, the host did not want all that food to go to waste, so he sent his servant out to invite a crowd to His banquet hall. So, the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame, the kind of people that the Lord Jesus came to save, these were the ones invited.  

This parable had a special message for the proud Jewish people who were so sure they would enter the kingdom of God. The good news of the gospel would soon be rejected by the Jews, by and large, and it would be presented to the Samaritans and the Gentiles. This message of this parable applies to all of us today. God still invites whosoever will come because the Lord Jesus has paid the penalty for that which separated us from Him in the first place. In fact, nothing more needs be done for our salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ has finished the work of redemption when He died for us on the cross and arose from the dead. The feast has been spread, the invitation is free, and all are invited to come.

But, the religious leaders of Israel resisted the Lord's message. And, in response, the Lord Jesus shattered their false religious hope. He never has encouraged us to believe that God will accept our religious efforts for our entry into His heaven. No, the Lord Jesus always confronts false religious security at every level. Anybody who lives under some kind of misguided assumption that they're headed for heaven based on their unique goodness needs to know that is not true. The claims of the Lord Jesus are to the contrary to religion. 

People today make the same mistake that the people in this parable made: they delay in responding to the invitation. There is certainly nothing wrong with owning a farm, examining purchases, or spending a week on a honeymoon with your wife. But if these good things keep us from believing in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and enjoying a personal relationship with God, then these things become bad things. If we do not respond positively to the Gospel, we will spend eternity in Hell.

Notice there is a proper clothing for entry into heaven. The only clothing that will get anyone into heaven is the clothing of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Isaiah 61:10 we read, "Let me tell you how happy God has made me! For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and draped about me the robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit or a bride with her jewels." We were admonished in Matthew 6:33 to "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." Then in 2 Corinthians 5:21 we read, "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." It is only the applied righteousness of God that will get anyone into heaven.

 As indicated in the final verse of today's passage, the invitation of the gospel has gone out to all. God had delivered this invitation to believe on His Son, but not everyone who was invited to believe has responded in a positive way with faith in the Son. My friends, don't wait any longer. Trust the Lord Jesus as your Savior today if you have not already done so. Right now, call out to God, ask for His help. Invite Him to come into your life. Believe that the Lord Jesus, God's Son died on the cross so that your sin could be forgiven.

Matthew 21:40-46

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"40 When the owner of the vineyard returns," Jesus asked, "what do you think he will do to those farmers?" 41 The religious leaders replied, "He will put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who will give him his share of the crop after each harvest." 42 Then Jesus asked them, "Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures? 'The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.' 43 I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit. 44 Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on." 45 When the leading priests and Pharisees heard this parable, they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers. 46 They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet. ~ Matthew 21:40-46

Today, we conclude our study of Matthew 21 where the Lord Jesus has entered the final week of His life on this earth before He went to His cross. There is a word that describes the 50 days beginning on Easter Sunday until the Feast of Pentecost, it is "paschal" which is the adjective form of the word for Passover. The Passover to this day refers to the Jewish feast commemorating the deliverance of God’s people from slavery in Egypt, when they sacrificed and ate an unblemished lamb and marked their doorposts with its blood. The Paschal Lamb was a picture of none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, the unblemished Lamb of God. For all willing to believe on Him as the Paschal Lamb who came to take away the consequences of our sin, to them God gives the right to become the sons of God.

In v.40-41 of today's passage we read, "40 When the owner of the vineyard returns," Jesus asked, 'what do you think he will do to those farmers?' 41 The religious leaders replied, 'He will put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who will give him his share of the crop after each harvest.'"

In response to the question the Lord Jesus asked the religious leaders about those who put to death the son of the vineyard owner, the religious leaders gave a biblical response as to what should happen to them. In their response, the religious leaders of Israel revealed they understood the severity and the consequences of sin. But, they had no clue about God's grace that would shortly be demonstrated to them through the death of His Son on the cross. They did not understand that His grace would satisfy His justice at the cross of Calvary.

Brennan Manning once said, "God's grace proclaims all that is good is ours not by right but by the sheer bounty of a gracious God. Life itself, eyes to see and hands to touch, a mind to shape ideas, and a heart to beat with love. We have been given God in our souls and Christ in our flesh. We have the power to believe where others deny, to hope where others despair, to love where others hurt. This and so much more is sheer gift; it is not reward for our faithfulness, our generous disposition, or our heroic life of prayer. Even our fidelity is a gift."

In v.42-44 of today's passage we read, "42 Then Jesus asked them, 'Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures? 'The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.' 43 I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit. 44 Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on."

Here, the Lord Jesus changed metaphors from a vineyard to the cornerstone. In doing so, He quoted Psalm 118 which was a prophecy of the Messiah's death. The Rejected Stone is the rejected Son of God. He is the Cornerstone. The cornerstone is the large stone that forms the foundation of the building which has to be perfect, because all the other stones are aligned according to the cut of the cornerstone. And so, as the builders would be very particular about how a cornerstone looked, they would reject a number of stones till they got the perfect cornerstone, because the symmetry and the stability of any building depends on how good and how well made that cornerstone is. The Lord Jesus was and is the Perfect Cornerstone who was rejected by the religious leaders of Israel.

After the religious leaders rejected the Son of God, the Son of God then rejected them. God said, "I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit." The word translated "nation" here means people. These are the people of which Peter speaks in 1 Peter 2, "A holy nation." This group of people are largely gentiles who have believed on the Perfect Cornerstone. These people are all who have chosen to believe on the Lord Jesus as Savior.

In v.45-46 of today's passage we read, "45 When the leading priests and Pharisees heard this parable, they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers. 46 They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet."

When the religious leaders rejected God's Cornerstone, they rejected the salvation of God and they ended up losing their minds. Only those who realize they were born in the clutches of an enemy who has always wanted to destroy us are positioned to see the Lord Jesus for who He is, the One who is "The Way, The Truth and The Life." He said, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." It is the Lord Jesus Christ who sets us free from the tyrannical clutches of the evil one. The religious leaders who rejected the truth were aware that they were in bondage. They were not aware that this slavery was far worse than that of the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and even the Romans. This is a slavery that is bondage to the self life, the one that loves sin which is contrary to the life the Lord Jesus died to give us.

Discipleship under the Lord Jesus is the only one true path to freedom. It is important to understand that true belief only comes from evidence. We never find real freedom until we examine the evidence that the Lord Jesus is who He claims to be. We must believe Him first, and that means examining the evidence about Him. Hundreds of thousands of people have rejected the Lord Jesus without ever really examining the evidence for who He truly is. If you have never trusted Him as your Savior, be honest with yourself and the truth. Examine His claims and try to prove Him wrong. In your attempt to do so will sharpen your ability to see that He truly is the Savior of the world.

Matthew 21:33-39

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33 Now listen to another story. A certain landowner planted a vineyard, built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country. 34 At the time of the grape harvest, he sent his servants to collect his share of the crop. 35 But the farmers grabbed his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. 36 So the landowner sent a larger group of his servants to collect for him, but the results were the same. 37 Finally, the owner sent his son, thinking, "Surely they will respect my son." 38 But when the tenant farmers saw his son coming, they said to one another, "Here comes the heir to this estate. Come on, let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!" 39 So they grabbed him, dragged him out of the vineyard, and murdered him. ~ Matthew 21:33-39

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 21 where the Lord Jesus is engaged in a conversation with the religious leaders of Israel in Jerusalem. As we come back to the narrative of the Lord Jesus' last week on earth, it is still Wednesday. In just two days, Friday, He will be crucified. It is the Passover week and the reason for which the Lord Jesus came to this earth in the first place. He came to lay down His life for the sins of mankind as the Passover Lamb. Over and over throughout the Old Testament God told us that His Son would come to this earth to remedy our sin problem. Through the teachings of the Passover He foretold us that His Son would come as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

In our text today, the Lord Jesus tells a story of a man who owned a vineyard and entered into a contract with some tenant farmers to run his vineyard. After a while, the man who had moved away sent three different individuals to the tenant farmers to collect his portion of the fruit. In response the tenant farmers treated his servants badly, beating one and killing the others. Then he sent his son who the tenant farmers murdered. Yet again, the Lord Jesus told a story explaining why He came to this earth. We had all been deceived by the evil one and without knowing it, we were controlled by Him. We were born seeing life through his worldview. The Lord Jesus came to pull the blinders off our eyes so that we could see the deceptive tactics of the enemy. Even with those who hated Him, the Lord Jesus used stories to help them to grasp the concepts that He came to reveal. Illustrations, especially real life illustrations, are useful at bridging the gap between the theoretical and the practical. 

The practice in biblical days for imparting knowledge was largely done through oral means. The teacher would speak and his audience would listen. In fact, they listened more than they read. Even though most people read back then, it was an oral culture. Since the people learned most by listening, the rabbis became adept at telling stories. This is mainly why the Lord Jesus employed this dynamic form of teaching called story-telling. The word "parable" means "to cast alongside of." The Lord Jesus cast alongside His teaching a story that illustrated His message. When He did this, the people were aided to understand the message better. In fact, illustrations bridge the gap between the message and the application of that message.

Interestingly, although we are told the Lord Jesus used stories to teach the people, He was answering the question that the religious leaders had just asked previously. Whereas it looked like the Lord Jesus had shut down the truth to the religious leaders, He continued to subtly offer them truth, even though He knew that the religious leaders were constructing a plan to have Him crucified.

The Lord Jesus used this story to illustrate Himself as the owner and the heir of the vineyard. He was the Son sent by the Father. The vineyard illustrated the nation of Israel, and, the landowner represented God. And, the servants were the prophets. Through all of the teaching of the Lord Jesus, He made it abundantly clear that the religious leaders "religion" was a false approach to life. And, their authority was selfish rather than selfless which always presented them with a losing proposition. The Lord Jesus identified the religious leaders as guilty for rejecting the prophets who came from God. And, in the end of the story He was saying that the religious leaders would kill Him.

In the Law of Moses, it was required that the Jews carefully examine the Passover lambs from the tenth day to the fourteenth day to make sure the lambs had no blemishes. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, was watched and tested by His enemies during that final week, and yet, in spite of what they saw and learned, they rejected Him. In response, the Jewish religious leaders responded in a senseless way. Instead of nustling up to God with a heart full of gratitude, the Jews rejected their Savior. 

God displayed great patience with Israel. He sent them one messenger after another, yet they refused to allow their hearts to be vulnerable with Him. Finally, when He sent His Son, they killed Him. In telling this story, the Lord Jesus gave His own death announcement. What an act of grace! The lengths God has gone to rescue us and to earn our trust. The gospel only sounds good to those who are convinced that they need a savior. Those who think they’re good, grace is frustrating. For people who know they’re not, grace is exhilarating. The religious leaders of Israel had full knowledge of who the Son represented, yet, they chose to have Him murdered.

I sometimes run into people who try to establish God is not fair. This normally happens when we get to talking about why people go to Hell. They seem to think God sends people to Hell, not realizing they made that choice for themselves. There are no "good" people. In fact, God is the only one who is good. Because God is good, He will see to it that justice is done on the Day of Judgment. If He gave each of us justice right now, every one of us would end up in Hell. God is the standard of righteousness, and all of us have fallen short of that standard, so there really aren't "good" people that "bad" things happen to.

It is God's nature to love infinitely. Since this is so, He demonstrated His own love for us "while we were still sinners." In spite of our evil, wicked nature, God still loves us. He loved us enough to die on our behalf in order to take the penalty for our sins. Instead of believing God is not good, we do well to stop believing the lies of the devil and trust that God loves us with an infinite love. God's love for us is like the ocean which we can see its beginning but we cannot see its end.

Matthew 21:28-32

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28 But what do you think about this? A man with two sons told the older boy, "Son, go out and work in the vineyard today." 29 The son answered, "No, I won’t go," but later he changed his mind and went anyway. 30 Then the father told the other son, "You go," and he said, "Yes, sir, I will." But he didn’t go. 31 "Which of the two obeyed his father?" They replied, "The first." Then Jesus explained his meaning: "I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do. 32 For John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to believe him and repent of your sins." ~ Matthew 21:28-32

Today, we continue our study of Matthew 21 where the Lord Jesus is in Jerusalem with His disciples. This is His final week on this earth before He would go to the cross to deal a death blow to sin and death. Before paying the penalty that our sin created, the Lord Jesus was trying to reason with the religious leaders of Israel. He had just confronted them with a question regarding John the Baptist. He had asked them about John's baptism of repentance whether it was from God or not. Of course, the religious leaders evading His question and in doing so they resisted yet another opportunity to embrace a personal relationship with the God of the Bible.

In v.28-31 of today's passage we read, "28 But what do you think about this? A man with two sons told the older boy, 'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.' 29 The son answered, 'No, I won’t go,' but later he changed his mind and went anyway. 30 Then the father told the other son, 'You go,' and he said, 'Yes, sir, I will.' But he didn’t go. 31 'Which of the two obeyed his father?' They replied, 'The first.' Then Jesus explained his meaning: 'I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do.'"

Here, the Lord Jesus essentially challenged the religious leaders of Israel to think deeper. He told them a parable of a man who had two sons, one who embraced humility and the other who didn't. These two sons painted a picture of those who enter a personal relationship with God through repentance and those who do not. Essential to coming to the place where we embrace poverty of spirit are humility and honesty, neither of which did the religious leaders welcome into their hearts.

This parable of this father and his two sons paint for us the picture of the very same responsibility we all have in reference to God and that is obedience. The first son was initially disobedient but he then repented while the second son never obeyed his father even though he said he would obey. This parable describes all of sinful man since the Fall of man in the Garden of Eden.

When the religious leaders of Israel who were moral and upright responded to the question from the Lord Jesus, they thought they were getting somewhere with Him. But, without even knowing it, they put themselves in the position to be rightfully rebuked. The religious leaders of Israel lived under the illusion that God was thrilled with them because of their sanctimonious morality. Unbeknown to them, the scum of society, the traitors and the whores who lacked morality were the ones who God was pleased with due to their poverty of spirit.

In effect, the Lord Jesus likened the moral and the religious to the second son who vowed to obey God, but never did. On the other hand, the rebels of society, the tax collectors and the whores who started out as rebels but then repented, they were the ones God was really pleased with. The Jewish religious leaders claimed to be obedient but weren't, while those who initially resisted a personal relationship with the Father entered into His family by believing in His Son. Implied in the response of the Lord Jesus to the religious leaders was the idea that those who they thought would not get into heaven, will. It also implied that those who thought they would get into heaven, would not.  Religion doesn’t get anyone into God's kingdom. And, sin repented of and forgiven will not keep anyone out of His kingdom. Praise the Lord that the very worst of humanity can repent from their arrogance and believe in the Son resulting in being admitted into heaven.

In v.32 of today's passage we read, "For John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to believe him and repent of your sins."

According to Matthew 3, John the Baptist referred to the Jewish religious leaders as "snakes" because they had refused his message of repentance. John had warned them to flee from the wrath of God by repenting of their arrogance. It was their arrogance that prevented the religious leaders from poverty of spirit. Of course, poverty of spirit causes us to cry out to God for His help. The Lord Jesus made it clear that the non-repenters were characterized by the second son in His parable and the first son was characterized by those who repented.

The dishonesty of the moral religious leaders kept them out of heaven. They had been good all of their lives. They had even gone to church all of their lives and they had kept the sacraments but they lacked the repentance of heart that would have positioned them to enter into a personal relationship with God. They didn't understand that no amount of human goodness erases our sin before God. They didn't understand that only the poor in spirit who turn to God for help experience the necessary change of heart that causes one to own his sinfulness and depend upon God for entry into heaven. It was their pride that kept them from the necessary honesty and humility needed for God's forgiveness.

It was repentance that granted dirty tax collectors and nasty prostitutes to believe in the message John the Baptist came to deliver. John's baptism was a sign of repentance which provides a picture of the washing away of our sin. This parable of the two sons is like the parable of the prodigal who lived a wasteful life like the tax-collectors and the prostitutes. In this parable, the Lord Jesus reveals the arrogant, self-righteous moralists for who they were. They were the fig tree that had no fruit. This explains why repentance is so necessary for salvation. 

The truth is we are all condemned sinners. We have all fallen short of God's glory. We all need God's forgiveness. We all are in desperate need of a change of heart. We initially, like the first son in this parable said, "No" to God's offer of forgiveness through the death of His Son on the cross. But later, we had a change of heart that resulted in genuine surrender and repentance. It was then that we experienced God's grace for ourselves and now we have been included in His kingdom. I trust this is your story. If not, let me encourage you to cry out to God right now. He will always respond to those who cry out for His help.

Matthew 21:23-27

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23 When Jesus returned to the Temple and began teaching, the leading priests and elders came up to him. They demanded, "By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?" 24 "I’ll tell you by what authority I do these things if you answer one question," Jesus replied. 25 "Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human?" They talked it over among themselves. "If we say it was from heaven, he will ask us why we didn’t believe John. 26 But if we say it was merely human, we’ll be mobbed because the people believe John was a prophet." 27 So they finally replied, "We don’t know." And Jesus responded, "Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things." ~ Matthew 21:23-27

Today, we continue our study of Matthew 21 where the Lord Jesus and His disciples have entered Jerusalem for the last week of His earthly life. It was now Wednesday of the Passion Week. The Lord Jesus was in Jerusalem fully aware that He would be crucified on the cross of Calvary. Amazingly, the disciples were so far convinced by the idea that He was about to set up a political kingdom on earth that they had yet to comprehend God's eternal plan. They had no idea God had to deal a final blow to sin before He could truly save mankind.

In v.23 of today's passage we read, "When Jesus returned to the Temple and began teaching, the leading priests and elders came up to him. They demanded, 'By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?'"

Here, the Lord Jesus, yet again, encountered the Jewish religious leaders at the Temple in Jerusalem. The religious leaders wanted to know by what authority the Lord Jesus taught as He did. The Greek word that is translated "authority" in this text is used three times. It means "the right to do something." To have all authority, then, is to have all power and all right to do everything and anything one wills to do. The religious leaders appeared to be the consummate learners when they asked their questions. Yet, their questions were motivated by insincere goals. They didn't want the truth, all they desired was to get rid of the Lord Jesus because He disrupted their lives as they knew them. Sadly, they came close to entering heaven, but their rejection of the Lord Jesus sent them directly to hell.

The Jewish religious leaders didn't understand the Lord Jesus was His own authority. He had to be because He was and is God. Since He was and is THE authority, He overcame sin and death. He could not be our Savior without being God. As God He defeated sin and death through His shed blood on the cross. He healed the sick and He raised the dead and He cast demons out of the possessed. And He did these things without ever seeking permission from any human authority. This outraged the Jewish religious leaders.

In v.24-26 of today's passage we read, "24 I’ll tell you by what authority I do these things if you answer one question," Jesus replied. 25 "Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human?" They talked it over among themselves. "If we say it was from heaven, he will ask us why we didn’t believe John. 26 But if we say it was merely human, we’ll be mobbed because the people believe John was a prophet."

To their question the Lord Jesus responded with a question. When He asked the religious leaders by what authority John the Baptist baptized the people, He disarmed them. It is quite significant the Lord Jesus asked about the baptism of John and not his ministry. You see, the baptism of John was something that had never been done before in Israel. John baptized repenters, yet he was not of the religious order. And, that is why the religious leaders did not believe John's message because they were not willing to repent. In fact, they saw no need for repentance.

The religious leaders were deceitful in asking their question of the Lord Jesus. They were dishonest in the way they avoided answering His. In fact, they were so steeped in deception, they could not receive or tell the truth. So, they didn't answer the question asked by the Lord Jesus. They self indicted themselves by being unwilling to answer His question. Through self-deception they were fixed in their unbelief. Allegiance to Christ will always put us in the position to shirk being cowards, and when we do, we will grow in our authority regarding His message and the platform by which we speak.

In v.27 of today's passage we read, "So they finally replied, 'We don’t know.' And Jesus responded, 'Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things.'"

Pushed along by their cowardice disposition and narrow-minded ignorance, the religious leaders answered, "We don’t know." In response to their lack of an answer, the Lord Jesus did not grant them more revelation which could have led them to repentance. This is the way truth is garnered by those who are committed to the eternal qualities of honesty, humility and obedience. The truth is committed by God to the poor in spirit.

The religious leaders had missed the point of God's Word. The Bible is meant to be like a pane of glass, designed for us to look through it and see God. When we come to the Bible, we must come looking for Him. The problem is most want to analyze the Bible to the point that they do not see God through it. This does not facilitate a personal relationship with God. In fact, when God asks of us a question He is doing us a great favor. You see it is in the context of the exchange that personal relationship can take place. 

The religious leaders of Israel ended up analyzing the window and subsequently they became etched and they missed God. The Bible is not first a blueprint for Christian living but a revelation book of the Lord Jesus who is the answer to all our questions and longings.There are times when we treat God as if He exists for us rather than us for Him. The reason we need God to call the shots in our lives is that He knows how to run our lives better than we do. We are wise to seek God and His wisdom regarding our everyday decisions. Therein, we experience personal relationship with the God of all creation.