The Bible's Summer Wedding - Matthew 22:1-14

Today we continue working through Matthew's multi-chapter account of Jesus's verbal assault on the Pharisees just before His death.  Missed our previous studies on this topic?  Here are the links for you:

Part 1, The Triumphal Entry and Fig Tree

Part 2, John's Authority and the Parable of the Two Sons

Part 3, The Parable of the Landowner

The Scripture

 

1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying,

 

2 "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.

 

3 "And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come.

 

4 "Again he sent out other slaves saying, 'Tell those who have been invited, "Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast." '

 

5 "But they paid no attention and went on their way, one to his own farm, another to his business,

 

6 and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them."

 

7 "But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire.

 

8 "Then he said to his slaves, 'The wedding is ready, but those were invited were not worthy.

 

9 'Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.'

 

10 "Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.

 

11 "But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes,

 

12 and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?'  And the man was speechless.

 

13 "Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

 

14 "For many are called, but few are chosen."

 

Thoughts on the Passage

 

We'll approach this chronologically today, rather than topically. :-)

 

The King is God the Father, and the son is God the Son, Jesus Christ.  This wedding feast, as we see in Revelation 19:7-9, is basically ultimate salvation - eternity rejoicing with God.

 

As we saw last time, the slaves Jesus referred to were specifically the Prophets, as far as the original audience (the Pharisees) were concerned, but for modern application, we can view these slaves as evangelists.

 

Those originally invited were the Jews - and the Pharisees exemplified what much of the Jewish nation did, which was rejecting true relationship with God and instead embracing legalistic ritualism.  Notice that both in the parable and especially in real history, God gave them multiple, multiple chances to accept His invitation.  And he even tried to woo them with all the things he would offer at His feast - all the blessings and special protection He offered the Jews.  That shouldn't even be necessary, because God is so incredible that His character alone is far more motivation than any of us should need to draw near to Him!  Yet, the Jews rejected Him, just as so many people do today.

 

I see the Jews' refusal to accept God's invitation as sort of like bragging to all your friends that you got invited to a really exclusive party, then never bothering to actually attend the party, but still continuing to brag about the fact that you were invited.  Absurd, right?  The Jews acted exactly as people do today - they preferred their "real" lives, comfortable, secure, and spending their time how they wanted to spend it.  When a prophet came to tell them the truth about their life, and today when a true Christian tells someone the truth about their life, the reaction is to lash out.  Depending on the culture, it can range from verbal rudeness to grave physical violence.

 

The fiery judgment the first group faced is the same as that which the second group does - eternity apart from God, in hell.  We know that this is a just punishment for even one "tiny" sin, yet God in His grace always gives numerous, numerous chances for repentance - as His repeated invitation in this parable symbolizes.

 

Because the original invitees rejected the offer, God burst open the guest list.  You see, originally, Gentiles could come into relationship with God (for example, Rahab), but the way to do so was to actually become a part of Israel.  But one of the many changes that came with the New Covenant is that all people, everywhere, can have relationship with God right where they are.  Being born into or assimilating into Jewish culture are no longer prerequisites to following God.  Furthermore, Jesus is making extra clear here what has always been His policy - that not just the "religious," but anyone with a heart for Him, no matter how terrible their past, is welcome to come follow Him.

 

And yet, this isn't some Universalist Unitarian type philosophy where everyone or even just the "good people" go to heaven - that is a lie.  Our wedding clothes are "putting on Christ" (Romans 13:14) - truly making an effort to live like Christ in order to try to become more like Him - because that, not getting out of hell, is the entire goal of salvation.  It has nothing to do with what good works we accomplish, but rather if our heart truly wishes to please God.  Today, there are plenty of unsaved people who call themselves Christians, too, just like there were plenty of Jews who were not really following God.  So, this part of Jesus's masterful storytelling serves to both establish a point that applies for all the rest of history, and to underscore the point He was making specifically about the Pharisees.

 

Finally, I'd like to touch on the passage's concluding line, "For many are called, but few are chosen."  If you've read this blog for very long, you know that I don't shy away from sharing my views on controversial theological/doctrinal topics. :-)  But predestination isn't one I like to talk much about, because I'm still in the middle of a years-long process of figuring out what I think about that based on what I see in Scripture.  Honestly, I think it's like the Trinity in that our human minds can never fully understand it this side of heaven.  But what I will say for this passage is that I don't think this verse is arguing for predestination...  Everyone is "called" (God gives all humans the opportunity to come to Him, as that is His ultimate desire), and those that are "chosen" (saved) are those who choose to "put on their wedding clothes" (accept Christ).  That's what I see here. :-)

 

Have you made that choice for yourself?  Click here to learn how to become a follower of Jesus.

 

Any questions or comments you'd like to add to our discussion?  Feel free to leave a comment below. :-)

 

Image Credit: "The Boyars' Wedding" by Konstantin Yegorovich Makovsky.  Wikipedia.  Public Domain in the United States.

Jesus's Parables Against the Pharisees - Matthew 21:33-46

Very Brief Recap

 

Remember, we're going through the part of Matthew's Gospel where Jesus spends a long time confronting the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and other religious elite.

 

Missed our previous posts on this war of words?  Here are Part 1 and Part 2.

 

Today, we'll look at Jesus's 2nd parable against the religious elite, both dissecting its meaning and looking for how to apply it to our own lives instead of just storing up head knowledge. :-)

This is a very link-happy post where I direct you to Scripture verses and passages, so if you're new around here, links appear hot pink if you're reading on the blog itself and blue if you're reading via e-mail subscription.  Be sure to check them out. :-)

 

The Scripture

 

33 "Listen to another parable.  There was a landowner who PLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A WALL AROUND IT AND DUG A WINE PRESS IN IT, AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey.

 

34 "When the harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce.

 

35 "The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third.

 

36 "Again he sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them.

 

37 "But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'

 

38 "But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.'

 

40 "Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?"

 

41 They said to Him, "He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons."

 

42 Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures, 'THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHEIF CORNER STONE; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES'?

 

43 "Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it.

 

44 "And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust."

 

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them.

 

46 When they sought to seize Him, they feared the people, because the considered Him to be a prophet.

 

The Symbols

 



Here's my take on them, anyway... :-)

 

The landowner is God.  God's always the easy one to figure out in parables like this - He's the guy in charge. :-)

 

The vine-growers are, in this case, both all of God's people, and specifically the religious leaders - the people who were given the commission to help God's people grow, but weren't doing their job.  In Matthew 15:14, Jesus called them "blind guides," and in Matthew 23:4, He says that they "tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders."  However, for applying this today (and looking in Isaiah 5, the origin of this parable), we should keep in mind that we all have a commission as "God's farmers," that is, to share His Gospel with the world, so we should view this in that light.  We all must produce fruit, we all have a responsibility.

 

The slaves here are the prophets (all the Old Testament ones, plus John the Baptist).  In our culture, the word "slave" is a very negative thing (as it should be), but in the Bible, it doesn't mean the same thing.  In the New Testament, we are referred to as bond-servants 24 times (a bond-servant was a voluntary slave who chose to serve a master they loved), and by my count, only as slaves 5 times (excepting the parables, which are symbolic so they don't count) - three times in Romans 6:16-19, and once each in 1 Corinthians 9:19 and Ephesians 6:6 ... and in all these cases, it is still presented as a matter of voluntary choice.  What's more, Galatians 4:7 is one of multiple verses that explicitly state that God views us as sons and daughters, not slaves.  So, then, being a "slave" is from our perspective - our willing choice to obey God, no matter what.  In the prophets' specific case, they were willing to say "yes" to God even to the point of dying brutal deaths.

 

The vineyard is a bit trickier to pin down.  It could be seen as the world (what we would call the missions field), or as God's people (for us, the Church).  For the Pharisees against whom this was spoken, their primary responsibility was to God's people (again, that's what is portrayed in Isaiah 5), but in modern times, God's followers' "vineyard" is both the Church and the world.  The landowner gave the vine-growers everything they needed to produce fruit in this vineyard (see verse 34), then went on a journey and left it in their hands - just like God gives us every possible way to come to Him, grow in Him, and follow His calling for our lives, but He ultimately leaves the choice of what to do with those gifts up to us.

 

What is this harvest time?  Elsewhere in the New Testament, it can refer to a final judgment scenario or bringing lost souls to Christ.  I don't think it's either of those here, but definitely related.  It seems to me that this is God calling His people to step out in faith in something, perform a good work He has planned for them, come back to Him after a time of rebellion - any of that.  Simply, God expecting fruit.  It makes sense, then, that the prophets would come to "demand" this when spiritual fruit wasn't being given to God.  Good motivation for us - let's serve God all the time so He doesn't have to send another of His followers to point out to us that we're not serving Him! ;-)

 

And finally, the last symbol is the landowner's son - Jesus.  That one's pretty obvious, but what I find interesting is the vine-growers' motivation: They wanted power they knew they weren't entitled to have.  The religious leaders could have seen that Jesus was Messiah far easier than anyone else since they were so familiar with the Scriptures, but I believe they refused to see that for this very reason - because the Messiah wanted to strip them of their wrongful power.

 

The Response

 

The response of the religious elite is disturbing.  They would have been familiar highly familiar with Isaiah 5, which Jesus was boldly alluding to and even directly quoting, and they knew in their hearts what justice would be for the vine-growers (see verse 41).

 

And yet, they were so blinded to their own wickedness that they couldn't see how it applied to them, so they proclaimed the judgment on themselves!

 

We need to constantly be aware of what's going on in our hearts, and ask God to reveal our sin to us, so we are not likewise this blind.

 

Corner Stone

 

For ancient buildings with stone foundations, the corner stone was the first stone laid in the ground, on which the entire house's measurements and alignments would depend - so it had to be flawless.  Jesus is here Himself the cornerstone (see Acts 4:10-12), but in this case, it also applies to the point He's been hammering into their heads and will continue to hammer: that the religious fakers who weren't really serving God did not truly possess the kingdom of God, because it belongs to we wretched sinners who repent and serve the Lord.  In God's eyes, it doesn't matter how badly we've screwed up, or what horrible people the world thinks we are because of those mistakes - when we ask His forgiveness and make Him our Lord, we become perfect stones in His sight, far more righteous than the religious elite who fast and maintain legalism - all because of Christ.

 

Let's look at verse 44 again:

 

And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.

 

Not as cryptic as it seems. :-)  Let's break it down very simply:

• Everyone will come into contact with the stone (that is, Christ) - but not in the same way.  Some (the saved) will choose to make their contact with Him here on Earth, but others (the unsaved) will refuse a relationship with Him, only to meet Him at the final judgment.
• The people the stone falls on are the unsaved (and in this specific case, the unsaved religious elite).  Christ will crush them in final judgment.
• We who fall on the stone are the ones who choose to bow to the True God.  We will be broken, too, not in judgment, but (1) as we willingly allow God to work in our hearts, removing our sin as we offer Him our "broken spirit" [see Psalm 66:10, Isaiah 48:10, Daniel 12:10, Zechariah 13:9, and Malachi 3:3]; and (2) as we suffer for our God at the hands of unsaved persecutors.

This is a tangent, but relevant:

 

If the devil were wise enough and would stand by in silence and let the gospel be preached, he would suffer less harm.  For when there is no battle for the gospel it rusts and it finds no cause and no occasion to show its vigor and power.  Therefore, nothing better can befall the gospel than that the world should fight it with force and cunning.

- Martin Luther

 

Powerless

 

Finally, at the very end of the chapter, the religious elite realized that they had been duped into condemning themselves, and have been publically ridiculed and denounced.  But Jesus was not done with them yet, and it was not quite the time when He chose to give His life - so we'll go further into this subject next study, as we start Matthew 22.  See you then. :-)

 

Questions for You

 

Is there anything you'd like to add to our discussion?  Maybe you saw something in the parable that I missed, or something really spoke to you that you'd like to expand on.  Or maybe you have a question.  Leave a comment to share. :-)

 

Image Credit

 

Image 1: "A Vineyard" photo taken by Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii.  Wikipedia.  Public domain in the United States.

Jesus Versus the Religious Elite - Matthew 21: 23-32

What's Going on, Again?

Let's review the context of where we are in Matthew.  In our last study, we saw Jesus enter Jerusalem in a spectacle demonstration of His identity as Messiah, literally chase the hypocritical religious establishment out of the Temple, and use a fig tree as a way to teach His followers that the religious elite weren't truly in God's favor.  Obviously, all this behavior really angered the Jewish religious leaders, which ultimately led to their decision to murder Him.  Today, we see the confrontation continue...

You see, as we progress to this point in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus is becoming quite blatant in exposing the religious hypocrites for what they really are.  He will humiliate them, tell three parables defaming them, debate with them publicly, and then denounce and curse them.  We will look at the humiliation and first parable today.

But before we dive in, I'd like to remind you of one very important question: How do we apply these passages to our own lives today?  Clearly it's important, since such a large portion of Matthew's Gospel is devoted to it.  My viewpoint is that:

• These passages give us a clear picture of what hypocrites and wolves look like.  We can keep that picture in mind to prevent ourselves, our loved ones, and our church family from being hurt spiritually be such people.
• For some of us, these passages may bring to mind persecutors of sorts - the religious elite in our lives who may oppress, defame, or try to guilt trip us for not living the legalistic lifestyles they do.  We can find comfort in the fact that we are not alone.
• And, we should pay attention to what the religious elite are doing wrong in these passages, so we can be sure not to adopt such behavior ourselves!  We must be on constant guard against legalism and self-righteousness in our own lives.

The Wrong Question

 

23 When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, "By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?"

 

24 Jesus said to them, "I will go ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.

 

25 "The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?"  And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say to us, 'Then why did you not believe him?'

 

26 "But if we say, 'From men,' we fear the people; for they all regard John as a prophet."

 

27 And answering Jesus, they said, "We do not know."  He also said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

 

The religious elite didn't really want to know where Jesus got His authority from; they just wanted to trap Him, because He would be in the same predicament - either answer would get Him in trouble.  If He said His authority came from men, His followers would stop following Him, since clearly He couldn't be Messiah or even a true prophet.  But if He said His authority came from God, they would have grounds to execute Him for blasphemy (except for the fact that it was true, of course).

 

Jesus was never afraid or unwilling to answer when people asked Him who He was because they genuinely wanted to know (see John 4 for one wonderful example of this).  But in this case, answering will bring no good.  So, He doesn't just evade the question; He challenges them to answer their own question, just applied to John the Baptist.  The mastery of this tactic is amazing - He isn't hiding His identity, and in fact, His move to hold His authority and superiority over them in this confrontation shoves His identity as Messiah in their faces!

 

We can also learn from this passage that although debate can be useful in some situations (like the Christian philosophers, historians, scientists, etc. who publicly debate atheists and other religions' leaders to bring audience members to Christ, or having a private "debate" with a loved one you're trying to bring to Christ) - but only if it can bring about good.  In situations like the one here (for example, if a cult member is trying to "prove" that you're wrong and you're too unfamiliar with their beliefs to have a chance at persuading them), refusing to engage is not the same as denying the Truth or chickening out - it's the wise thing to do!

 

There Are Two Types of People in the World...

 

28 "But what do you think?  A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, 'Son, go work today in the vineyard.'

 

29 "And he answered, 'I will not'; but afterward he regretted it and went.

 

30 "The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, 'I will, sir'; but he did not go.

 

31 "Which of the two did the will of his father?"  They said, "The first."  Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of heaven before you.

 

32 "For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him."

 

Let's break down the symbolic components really quick:

• The man or the father is God the Father.
• The vineyard the world, the "mission field," our callings, the good works prepared before us - however you want to look at it.
• The two sons are two types of people who have interacted with God:
• The first son is a sinner who comes to repentance.
• The second son is a person who seems religious but isn't truly following God.

So, we see that God doesn't care how bad our pasts are - He only cares what we do with the present.  A man who murdered and raped but repents and comes to Christ is a blameless saint in Christ's kingdom, but a legalist who lives cracker-jack-clean and is heavily involved in the local church and charities but never comes to have a personal relationship with God, instead relying on self-righteousness, is not honored by God.

 

The original point for the religious elite themselves was that they were claiming to be something they weren't, so truly had no authority over God's followers.  I love how Jesus tells them this so blatantly in the second person (you), don't you? :-)

 

But for us, I see it as a call to rely on grace, not our own works or self-righteousness, and to keep growing in Him and to finish strong!

 

Is there anything else you saw in these passages that you'd like to add to our discussion?  What about questions - something I didn't make clear or spend enough time on? :-)  Leave a comment below!

 

Learn how to accept Christ's forgiveness here.

Laborers in the Vineyard - Matthew 20:1-16

The Scripture

 

1 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.

 

2 "When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard.

 

3 "And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place;

 

4 and to those he said, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.'  And so they went.

 

5 "Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing.

 

6 "And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day long?'

 

7 "They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.'  He said to them, 'You go into the vineyard too.'

 

8 "When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.'

 

9 "When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius.

 

10 "When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius.

 

11 "When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner,

 

12 saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.'

 

13 "But he answered and said to one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius?

 

14 'Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.

 

15 'Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own?  Or is your eye envious because I am generous?'

 

16 "So the last shall be first, and the first last."

 

Recap/Intro

 

Last time we were in Matthew, the disciples asked Jesus how they would be rewarded for all they were giving up for Him.  He did not rebuke them, as their question was justified at that early stage when the Gospel had not yet fully come to light, and he promised them that because of their faith, they would receive salvation - eternal life.

 

In today's passage, Jesus continues teaching on that theme, this time explaining a dangerous extreme we can arrive at if we fall into the trap of thinking of heaven as a "reward" for works.

 

Symbolism

 

Let's start by identifying the symbols in this parable before dissecting meaning.

 

Who

 

The landowner: Christ

Hired laborers: Christians

Laborers not yet hired: The unsaved

 

Where

 

The market place: The world

The vineyard: More of a concept than a geographical location - the "missions field" - the world from the perspective of a Christian sharing the Gospel and living his/her life for God

 

What

 

The work: Sharing the Gospel, living our lives for God, etc.

The wages: Salvation

 

When

 

The hours: Different times in our life - e.g. when we're a child, young adult, and right before we die

Evening: The final judgment

 

Theology

 

First off, I think it's important to clarify something: The laborers hired at later hours are not Christians who decided to wait to get serious about their faith until later in their lives; those laborers are people who did not get saved until later in their lives.  This is important because, while we can never earn salvation through good works, the fact still remains that genuine faith in Christ will "yield fruit" (meaning there will be positive change as the Holy Spirit living in us makes us more like Christ).  I encourage you to read John 15:1-11 on this topic.

 

Now, that doesn't mean that a person cannot be genuinely saved but only called to "visible" work for the kingdom (like missions or ministry work) at a later point in their lives after they are more mature.  My point is simply that this passage is talking about people getting saved at different stages in their lives! :-)

 

Second, we also need to be aware that the "wages" talked about here is salvation itself.  We have talked last time and before about special designations like heavenly "crowns" that honor martyrs, for example - that's not what's going on here.  Besides, those extra designations are still completely, utterly undeserved in light of how sinful we are, so we'd have no right to complain about who God handed those out to even if that were the case.

 

Rather, the point is that none of us, even the hardest "workers" for God (recognized saints, martyrs, etc.) deserve salvation, so we have absolutely no right to complain when someone receives salvation and does less work for the kingdom - because even our own work is not nearly enough to deserve it!

 

I'm sure you are familiar with Romans 6:23, "The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Eternal death (hell) is true wages - it is earned.  But eternal life (salvation) is not true wages - it cannot be earned.  It is absolutely, positively, only a gift from God that we do nothing to deserve, so we cannot think of others as "less deserving."  A serial killer doesn't deserve heaven, but neither do you and I!

 

If you have not yet received Christ's free gift of salvation from your sins, I offer you to opportunity to do so right now by clicking here.

 

In Our Lives

 

So far, we've stayed more in the realm of theology.  Let's expand this to include how we act in our daily lives.

 

First, we need to be ever conscious of how we treat others.  Any person we look down on for any reason (level of intelligence, appearance, personality, behavior, social class, nationality, whatever), whether Christian or non-Christian, is no more undeserving of Christ's forgiveness than we ourselves are.  Even if we "know" this in our minds, we also need to know it in our hearts - by putting it into action.  Look at Paul's example.

 

Second, also keep in mind that another believer may be called to a different type of "labor" than you, and that does not make them any less of a worker!  You may be called to do something flashy like leading worship at your church or smuggling Bibles into China, but if God is calling another believer to make cupcakes for people in the hospital, that makes them just as much a "laborer of the month" as you - they deserve respect for doing what God has asked them to do, instead of seeking something more in the public eye.  Unequal labor does not mean unequal laborers. 

 

Deathbed Conversions?

 

One final note - this passage brings up the topic of deathbed conversions.  A question people sometimes ask is, "If someone asks Christ's forgiveness right before they die, is it real?"  Well, it can be.

 

In today's passage, verse 6 tells us that someone hired at "the eleventh hour" (5 o'clock p.m. - at the end of the workday) is saved.  And the man on the cross next to Jesus came to faith as he was dying, and was promised salvation.

 

So, if a person isn't just doing a last-ditch effort thing on their deathbed, but genuinely regrets how they've lived and honestly wants Christ's forgiveness, yes, they can be saved.

 

Questions for You

 

What stage of life were you in when you came to Christ? 

 

And how has this impacted your view of others when you find out they believed when they were younger or older than you were?

 

Anything else you'd like to add to our discussion?  Or ask?

 

Image Citation

 

"Laborer in bib overalls digging the fire pit" by David Goehring.  Wikipedia.  Used by permission.



Not the Point of It All, but Still an Important Point: Matthew 19:27-30

The Scripture

27 Then Peter said to Him, "Behold, we have left everything and followed you; what then will there be for us?"

28 And Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

29 "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name's sake, will recieve many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.

30 "But many who are first will be last; and the last, first."

The Question

Last time, we examined the story of the man known as the Rich Young Ruler to study the salvation message.  Today's passage is an off-shoot of that.

The disciples' question is justified.  Jesus had just said that even a man considered to be very holy in his society did not deserve heaven, so they - low-class men not considered by society to be very spiritual - surely felt insecure.  So, they poined out what they had given up for Jesus, and asked what they would be given in return.

Jesus's response, of course, hinges on the fact that salvation cannot ever be earned, but that God's grace goes even further in giving us undeserved rewards for faith.  But still, it makes sense that since God graciously offers salvation to all His followers, he would give a still greater (but still undeserved!) reward to particularly dedicated followers...a special, eternal recognition for their sacrifice.

But let's get back to the issue of the question, not the answer.

Living as Christ did guarantees a hard life - and that's a major understatement!  And while we are going through a hard life, it often helps to remember why we are striving so hard, our end goal - eternity.  And Jesus gave the disciples a wonderful picture of what to look forward to...

The Answer

There are a wide variety of heavenly rewards in the form of "crowns" - check out this post to learn all about that.  But in this specific case, Jesus promised the twelve men who he was speaking to a position of authority in the heavenly kingdom.  This is a great parallel to the original set-up where humans had dominion over the entire world, before Satan was given authority after the Fall.

While the twelve are given that special distinction, the concept of rewards for sacrifice extends to all us believers, as Christ promised in verse 29.  We can trust with absolute certainty that no matter what God asks us to give up for Him - it may be our time, our money, a hobby, a job, an opportunity, a relationship, or even our very lives - He will make it beyond worth our while.  Besides, we don't live for Christ as a way to earn salvation (that is impossible) - we do it as a way to thank Him for dying for us.

Finally, just as we've just discussed that we can't look at it in terms of an investment, we must also not think in terms of seeking eternal recognition to be lifted up above others.  We are to live as servants to others - following Christ's example of humbling ourselves to the greatest extreme.  A bit later in the next chapter, we'll read a particularly strong elaboration on this, but because Jesus repeated the point so much, we know it's an absolutely critical one to remind ourselves of every time we encounter it.

Questions for You

When have you had a particularly hard time in life, and God (or another believer in your life) reminded you of what you were pressing on toward?

What things in your life has God asked you to give up for Him?

Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.  Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude.

- Philippians 3:12-15a

Eternal Life How-to: Matthew 19:16-26

The Scripture

 

16 And someone came to Him and said, "Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?"

 

17 And He said to him, "Why are you asking Me about what is good?  There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into eternal life, keep the commandments."

 

18 Then he said to Him, "Which ones?"  And Jesus said, "YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS;

 

19 HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER, and YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."

 

20 The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?"

 

21 Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."

 

22 But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

 

23 And Jesus said to His disciples, "Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

 

24 "Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

 

25 When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, "Then who can be saved?"

 

26 And looking at them Jesus said to them, "With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

 

Brief Notes on the Approach to This Study

 

I know that for people who have been Christians for a while, they've heard this story over and over.  But stick around - I hope we'll all walk away with some new nuggets from this important story. :-)

 

Also, sometimes I approach a passage topically, with neatly organized notes separated out based on what's related to what.  For this passage, it's framing itself out chronologically in my mind, so that's what you'll find below. :-)

 

What Good Thing Shall I Do...

 

From our perspective where we know that eternal life is the result of accepting Christ's forgiveness, not earning it through good works, this man approaches Jesus with the absolute wrongest question.  But - he is indeed seeking the Truth...and Jesus answers him.  This tells me two things about our God: (1) God wants humans to come to know Him so much - no matter how far away a person is from Him, if that person seeks the Truth even the slightest bit, God will reveal Himself to him/her.  (2) We can apply this after we are saved, as well: We can come to Christ any time with any question about His will or His truth and ask Him to reveal the answer to us, and if we pay attention to the various ways He speaks to us (Bible verses/passages, life circumstances, spiritual insight/"words" from mature beleivers, "speaking" to us in our hearts, etc.), we will find that He is answering.

 

The first part of verse 17 has been taken ways.  We know from the rest of the Bible that Jesus is God, so in saying that only God is good here, He is not denying being God (see this fantastic list of Bible verses declaring Jesus to be God).  So, what's Jesus saying here?  I interpret it as Him saying it sort of tongue-in-cheek.  He is pointing out what the man is either unwilling to admit verbally or perhaps even to himself - that he truly believes that the "Teacher" he questions is God, the Messiah.

 

Now, Jesus's answer, at face value, appears as if He's telling the man that he really can achieve eternal life by living a perfect life - but we know that to be impossible.  Note also that this is not an exhaustive list of all that's required - He's giving examles representative of the Mosaic Law.  But the point of this list is get to the final item, "love your neighbor as yourself," which sticks out like a sore thumb because it's the only one on that list that's not part of the ten commandments, one of the two most important ones (because loving God and loving others have to do with motives, not rules), and, most importantly for our discussion, it was the commandment this man had failed at!

 

I highly doubt that this man really had managed to keep the commandments - I think he was probably pretty self-disillusioned.  But, regardless, Jesus focuses on his biggest problem: He was selfish, treating money like an idol and neglecting the poor.  But there are two points to this story - the first is salvation through grace alone, and the second is not that we need to donate our stuff to charity.  The point is that we all have that one thing that battles with Christ for holding first place in our lives.  For you or me, it may be popularity, reputation, a sense of control over your life, a particular relationship, a pasttime, a lifestyle, whatever.  But if Christ is truly our Lord, we need to be willing to give that up for Him and obey His simple call to "Follow Me!"

 

At the same time, however, I think money is quite a common idol for many people, especially in America, so I don't want to gloss over the seriousness of that facet.  I'd like to challenge us all to take a deeper look at how much we value money in our lives.  What do we spend it on?  Do we spend any on what God asks of us?  How much time do we spend obtaining more money?  How much time do we spend serving and getting to know God?  How much time do we spend longing for more money?  How much time do we spend thinking about God?  What do these answers reveal about how our love of money compares to our love of God?

 

Finally, Jesus's brief analogy about the camel tells us two things.  First, it is a reiterration that it is God's forgiveness, not our good works, that grant us salvation from our sins.  Second, it demonstrates that God can forgive absolutely any sin - no person, no matter what they have done, is beyond God's grace.

 

If you haven't accepted God's forgiveness and would like to, click here to find out how in English or here in your own language.

 

Questions for You

 

What have you asked God to reveal to you?  What did He reveal?

 

What "one thing" that competes with Christ for lordship in your life causes you the most difficulty?  How has God helped you in making progress to conquer it?

 

Image Citations

 

Number One: Chinese depiction of Jesus and the rich man.  Wikipedia, uploaded by Ai.kefu.  {{PD-ART}} Public domain in source country and the United States.

 

Number Two: Bimarin Casket.  Wikipedia, used by permission.



Parables of Salvation, and Others - Matthew 13:44-50

Remembering Where We're At

 

34 All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable.

 

35 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: "I WILL OPEN MY MOUTH IN PARABLES; I WILL UTTER THINGS HIDDEN SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD."

 

We are currently in the middle of a section of Matthew that records a number of Jesus's parables, which are just desciptive analogies, or stories, that He uses to make a broader, spiritual point.

 

Jesus spoke in parables to fulfill prophecy, but we've also seen that He used them to ensure that only those who actually cared enough to put thought into what He taught, and not those who just came for the show of miracles, would gain understanding of His techings.

 

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

 

44 "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."

 

Let's start by identifying the symbols.  The field represents the world, the treausre is the people who actually choose to accept God, and the man is Jesus.

 

The basics of what's going on here is that, just as the man has to sell everything he owns to possess this treasure, Jesus had to give up everything - His very life! - to redeem our souls.  But here's something interesting - He had to pay for the entire field, not just for that one spot in the field that held the treasure.  Just the same, Jesus paid the price for the sin of the entire world - the sin of every single person who lived before us, lives now, and is yet to be born - even though He knew that only a few would accept Him.  You see, He paid the debt for everyone - it's just that the vast majority of people refuse to have His payment credited to their accounts.

 

So, what's the deal with having to hide the treasure before buying it?  Well, the owner of the field would never sell it if he knew there was treasure in the field!  It's much the same with the crucifixion.  You see, if you read through the Gospels, it is very clear that Satan compelled Judas, the Pharisees, etc. to kill Jesus (for example, Luke 22:3-6).  But why on earth would Satan kill Jesus if he knew that it would bring about the salvation of mankind?  He wouldn't - that's exactly the point.  The movie The Passion of the Christ did an excellent job of portraying this; in the film, Satan realizes only just before Jesus breaths his last that he has not won by killing God, but that God has just won the most important battle ever - the battle for the souls of men.  God was "sneaky" - until the treasure was reavealed, the "owner" (the devil) had no idea why the man (Jesus) was willing to pay for the field (with His life).

 

The Parable of the Cosly Pearl

 

45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls,

 

46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it."

 

Once again, the merchant is Jesus, and the pearls are those who accept Him.

 

Notice that Jesus is actively seeking out these pearls.  Christianity is not like so many other religions, where humans have to go to ridiculous lenghts to try and catch their gods' attention and favor.  Our God - the one and only true God - seeks us.  All we have to do is say yes!

 

And did you catch something even more beautiful in this parable?  Jesus is willing to sell everything - to go through all of the torturous anguish of the crucifixion (not just physically, but spiritually, too!) for one single person.  You've probably heard before that if you were the only person who would ever accept Christ, He would still be willing to die just for you.  Have you wondered where it says that in the Bible?  This is where!

 

The Parable of the Dragnet

 

47 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind;

 

48 and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away.

 

49 "So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous,

 

50 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

 

When studying the Bible, I always look up words that I don't know or don't know very well.  Did the word dragnet put a question mark in your head?  It did mine.  It turns out that it's literally just a fishing net that you drag on the bottom of the body of water.  I guess I didn't need a dictionary, after all. :-)

 

Jesus used fishing as an analogy quite a bit, probably because it would have been easy for regular people to understand, and because so many of his disciples were former fishermen themselves.  He referenced fishing so much that even most non-Christians are familiar with the phrase "fishers of men," and I've never met a single American who cannot instantly identify a metal fish on the back of a car as a statement of faith in Christ.

 

We won't spend too much time on this parable, since it is so similar to the kingdom parables we covered last week, talking about the judgment at the End of the Age.  If you missed it or don't remember it, read it here and the meaning of this parable will become very clear.  I would, however, like to add two comments unique to this kingdom parable.

 

First, notice that God is fishing for every kind of fish.  No matter what race, nationality, economic status, social class/caste, gender, age, etc. you are, and no matter what horrible things you've done (or good things you haven't done), God wants you anyway!  God does not play favorites - He loves YOU and wants more than anything for you to accept His forgiveness and have a relationship with Him!

 

Second, I love the timing of this parable.  Jesus warns of the judgment, the ultimate, final separation, after the two beautiful salvation parables.  You see, so many people wrongly think that because God loves everyone, He will let everyone except maybe Hitler and serial killers into heaven.  But that is not the case!  By placing this parable here, Jesus is pointing out that unless we make the decion to trust Him and follow Him, it's not going to work.  We cannot wait until we die to "sort things out with the Big Man Upstairs" -  we have to make the decision NOW.  I implore you, do not wait!

 

Here's the Decision Before You

 

If you've already accepted Christ as your savior, then what you can take from today's passage is how deeply God loves you that He was willing to seek you and give up everything to gain a relationship with you.  You can also take away the seriousness of this, which will hopefully prompt you to share the Gospel with boldness with everyone you meet.

 

But if you have not accepted God's forgiveness, I invite you to do so RIGHT NOW.  Again, do not wait!  You have no way of knowing if you could die today, and besides, I can attest that life is not worth living without God - you can have true life right now by accepting Him.

 

Click here to learn how to accept Jesus's forgiveness in English.

 

Click here to learn how to accept Jesus's forgiveness in another language.

 

Any questions or comments?  Anything you'd like me to clarify?  Anything you have to add? :-)

 

Giving Credit Where It's Due

 

Image Number One: Parable of the Hidden Treasure, thought to be by Rembrandt.  Photograph by Yelkrokoyade.  Wikipedia.  Used by permission.

 

Image Number Two: White pearl necklace.  Wikipedia.  Used by permission.

 

Image Number Three: Teachings of Jesus 4 of 40: Parable of the Dragnet by Jan Luyken, from the Bowyer Bible.  Photograph by Phillip Medhurst.  Wikipedia.  Used by permission.



Jesus's Words on Words - Matthew 12:33-37

33 "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit.

34 "You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good?  For the mouth speaks out that which fills the heart.

35 "The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil.

36 "But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for in the day of judgment.

37 "For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

I realize some of these verses overlap with our previous post; 33-35 make up a "transitional" point that has to do with both the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and the power of words.

We already pretty much covered 33 in our last post, so let's look at 34-35.  Jesus is saying that, while people certainly can fake things and shape their words to trick you, ultimately, a person's words will reveal their true character.  Let us all ask ourselves: What does what I say (and how I say it!) tell other people about me?  Does it reflect the kind of person I want to be?  Does it reflect Christ well?

As for the careless words spoken of in verse 36, I think the ultimate passage on this topic is James 3:1-12.  I encourage you to click the link to read the entire passage (it's pretty short), but here are some highlights from it:

So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things.  See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!  And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. (verses 5-6)

With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing.  My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.  (verses 9-10)

So, what are careless words?  Here are some examples I can think of:
Lies
Gossip
Slander
Insults
Cursing others
Blasphemy
Speaking of things we shouldn't (like making dirty jokes, for example)
Wasting time on pointless conversation in a situation when serious things should be discussed (like witnessing to someone)
Using the Lord's Name in vain (this includes "Oh my God," despite our culture's lack of concern over the phrase)
Speaking in (unjustafiable) anger

Now, what's with that bit about giving an accounting for it in the day of judgment?  Well, we will all stand before God in judgment at the End of the Age.  For those of us who have accepted Christ, Jesus has paid the price for those sins - but that doesn't mean they won't be mentioned.  If that's what it takes to help you think before you speak, then mull on that: Do you want to have to give an account for the thing you are about to say before God in His glory?  Our sins are forgiven, but they are still deadly serious - and it was the realization that they are deadly serious that drew us to Christ in the first place.  And these careless words we speak definitely qualify as deadly serious - men will be condemned for them (verse 37).  For those of you who do not have Christ in your hearts, know that you do not have to face God's judgement without Jesus's perfect record credited to your account - click here or on the "How to Receive Salvation" tab above to learn how to accept Jesus's forgiveness, and feel free to e-mail me or leave a comment with any questions about that.

This brings us to verse 37.  What does it mean that, "By your words you will be justified"?  Let's look at a couple of Scriptures:

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
(Romans 10:9)

Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess Him before My Father who is in heaven.  But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny Him before My Father who is in heaven.
(Matthew 10:32-33)

Now, this is not saying that words are magic - confess means we have to mean it (i.e., confess Jesus as Lord = say and mean that He is Lord of your life, that He is in charge now).  We have to live it.  But that kind of circles back to the main point: Just as our actions ought to match our words, our words reflect what's in our souls.

Questions for You

 

What other examples of careless words can you think of?

 

Has there been a time in your life when you really wish you could take back what you said?

 

Any other questions or comments?

 

Giving Credit Where It's Due

 

Image: "Orange blossom and oranges" by Ellen Levy Finch.  Wikimedia Commons.  Used by permission.