November 1: Matthew 20-21

November 1, Matthew 20-21

Matthew continued…

Matthew 20 Jesus gives a parable about laborers in the vineyard. Jesus gives an analogy about what the kingdom of heaven is like. An owner goes out and hires laborers to work his fields. He starts with some guys he got first thing in the morning. They agreed to work for him for a day rate. They went to work and then the owner went out a few hours later and hired some more. A few hours later he hired more. Nearing the end of the day he hired some more. The owner called his foreman and told them to pay the men their due wages. Starting with the guys he hired an hour or two before the day was up, he gave them a full days wage! Then he pays everybody else. The guys he hired first thing in the morning were thinking for sure that they would receive more than a days wage because they had worked all day long in the heat. Nope, the owner paid the what they agreed to and they were upset and grumbled to the owner. The reply, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?” What is the point of this parable? “So the last will be first, and the first last.” We must die to our entitlement mentality and embrace Jesus’ mentality. “So the last will be first, and the first last.”

Like in Mark 10, Jesus tells his disciples he must die. Then Jesus talks to his disciples while they are walking down the road and prophecies what is going to happen (this is the 3rd time He has told them). “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.” It happened just as Jesus said it would. How hard it must have been to know what was coming to yourself and still have to walk that road…

Also, like in Mark 10, Jesus had A conversation about future things and servants. The difference here is that it shows the mother of the sons of Zebedee requesting it. This is not a conflict of stories, just more detail than Mark. Also, in Mark, the response from Jesus is addressed to multiple people, which would include the mom. The mother of James & John wanted them to be granted from Jesus to sit at His right and left hands in heaven - to be the best there… Jesus explained that it was not up to Him where they sat - but then Jesus gets to the heart of the matter. By the way, the other disciples were not real pleased with their request… Jesus told them that they were going to have a hard life because they believed in Jesus and that the ultimate goal would be “… whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus set the example for us - He was the ultimate servant and that is who we are to emulate. Not to be 1st - but to be His and to serve.

Jesus heals a couple of blind men. We now read about another miraculous healing! Great crowds were following him and there was 2 blind men sitting by the road. They recognized it was Jesus and they called out to Jesus for healing. The crowds were rebuking them and trying to shut them up but they called out louder, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” Jesus asked them what they wanted and they wanted to be healed. “And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.” They were healed and they followed Him!

Matthew 21 This is known as the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. This is also referred to as the start of Passion Week. When Jesus and His disciples were drawing near to Jerusalem, Jesus stopped and sent 2 of His disciples ahead of them. He told them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me.If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” Seems like a strange request, until we realize that Jesus is again fulfilling prophecy. This event was prophesied many years before by Isaiah and Zechariah. And lets be honest, only God could orchestrate things to work out exactly like they happen. Just as Jesus said, it happened. They brought the colt and donkey to Jesus. They threw some jackets on the donkey for Jesus to ride into town. Many people there threw their jackets on the ground for Jesus to walk on and also they laid down branches before Jesus. Back in the day, branches were symbolic for victory. Many Jews thought that Jesus would be making a literal earthly kingdom in power. This is why they were so excited! Finally somebody could stand up to Rome. From Bakers commentary, and well worth the read, “ However, he also shows the crowds what kind of Messiah he is, namely, not the earthly Messiah of Israel’s dreams, the One who wages war against an earthly oppressor, but the One who came to promote and establish “the things that make for peace” (Luke 19:42), lasting peace: reconciliation between God and man, and between a man and his fellow man. Accordingly, Jesus enters Jerusalem mounted on a colt, the foal of an ass, an animal associated not with the rigors of war but with the pursuits of peace, for he is the Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6). But the people in general, their minds filled with earthly ideas concerning the Coming One, did not understand or appreciate this. In hailing him as the Messiah, the people were right; the Pharisees, chief priests, and scribes (Matt. 21:15, 16; Luke 19:39, 40) were wrong. But in expecting this Messiah to reveal himself as a political, earthly Messiah the Hosanna shouters were as wrong as were their leaders. Those who in every way rejected Jesus were committing a crime, but those who outwardly “accepted” and cheered him were also doing him a gross injustice, for they did not accept him for what he really was. Their tragic mistake was committed with dire results for themselves. It is not surprising therefore that Luke pictures a weeping King in the midst of a shouting multitude (19:39–44), nor is it strange that, a little later, when the crowds begin to understand that Jesus is not the kind of Messiah they had expected, they, at the urging of their leaders, were shouting, “Crucify (him)!”

Jesus cleanses the Temple. “And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” Look at what the world had become! It was opposite of what God intended it and Jesus came to make it right. The Pharisees were indignant again with Jesus and wanted to know if Jesus heard what people were saying about Him. Jesus said, “Yes; have you never read, “ ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?” Jesus was fulfilling prophecy before their very eyes. Then He left them…

Jesus cursed the fig tree. Think about what Jesus had just come from and then they were walking and they were hungry. They came to a fig tree and Jesus found that there was no fruit on it, but leaves. “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once.” The disciples were blown away and wondered how it just withered like that instantly. “And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” This is the kind of faith we are to have.

The Authority of Jesus Challenged. The Chief Priests and elders (Jewish leaders) came up to Jesus and asked him by what authority He had to say and do what He was doing. Jesus, oh how I love Him, said to them “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” He was so good at what He did. They couldn't answer because either way that they answered would have been wrong. Because, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” They feared man so much that it completely tainted how they operated. Since they didn't answer Jesus He didn't answer them. 

The Parable of the 2 sons. Remember, Jesus is still talking to the religious leaders… We get to read another parable of Jesus. A man had 2 sons who were asked to go work for their dad. The 1st one said no and then he actually went and did the work. The 2nd son said he would do the work but didn't actually do it. Jesus then explained, “Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.  For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.” It is not about outward appearances but the heart. To truly obey, your heart must be for Christ. Not just your words…

The Parable of the tenants. Another parable, hear it! A man planted a vineyard and built it up. He leased it out to some tenants and when the time came for harvest, he sent some of his servants to go collect the fruit. The tenants beat one of the servants, stoned another and killed another! The owner sent more servants and the same thing happened. So, he finally sent his own son to go collect thinking, “They will respect my son.” The opposite happened - they killed his son too. Jesus asked the leaders, “When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” So, they knew the truth but it was not in their hearts. Jesus then asked them if they had ever read the Scriptures. Jesus was fulfilling the Scriptures again as He was the Son, the foundational stone, being rejected. Then Jesus drove it home to them and said, “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” The Chief priests and the Pharisees knew He was talking about them but couldn't do anything because they were afraid of the people. 

To sum it all up: 

• What do you think when you read, “the last will be first, and the first last?” Where do you put yourself - at the front or the back? It is natural to want to be first, but that is sinful. We are to put others first… Jesus keeps repeating this and we must hear Him.
• Faith - our lives are to be a replica of Jesus. Can your faith accomplish what He accomplished?
• It is not about outward appearances but the heart. To truly obey, your heart must be for Christ. Not just your words…
• Is the Truth in your heart or just your mouth?