November 4: Matthew 22, Mark 12

November 4, Matthew 22, Mark 12

Matthew & Mark continued…

Matthew 22  The Parable of the Wedding Feast. The parable here represents that without Christ you will not be clothed properly to enter God’s Kingdom. “For many are called, but few are chosen.” Without truly surrendering to Christ - we don’t stand a chance. Going to church and attending events does not cut it. 

Paying Taxes to Caesar. Pharisees… they are trying got entangle Jesus in His own words. Instead of going on their own, they sent some of their ‘disciples’ to go and try to trap Jesus by flattering Him and asking Him His thoughts on paying taxes. Jesus, who knows all - including their hearts - grabbed a coin that had Caesars head and told them, “… render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” They had no response - they marveled and they left. Jesus did not go against their earthly king, Caesar, but made it clear that their is a heavenly King…

Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection. The Sadducees were people that did not believe in the Resurrection. They too were attempting to ensnare Jesus. They quoted Moses, most likely trying to put some weight to their question and showing that they put emphasis on the Law, and inquired about which brother would be married to the wife/widow in heaven. They all had done their brotherly duties by marrying the widow, now what? “But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.” In heaven - no marriages. We will be with our bride, Jesus. Men - don’t feel as though this is wrong, it is a metaphor of sorts. This is in no way sexual or dirty, but holy and pure. Bakers Commentary, “The glorious resurrection body—Jesus says nothing about the resurrection of the wicked—is going to be immortal. Since there will be no death, the race will not have to be reproduced. Marriage, accordingly, will be a matter of the past. In not marrying and not being given in marriage the blessed will therefore resemble the angels, for they too do not marry. The saved will be like the angels in this one respect; yes, like the angels whose very existence the Sadducees also deny (Acts 23:8), and this in spite of the fact that the Pentateuch, accepted by them, teaches their existence (Gen. 19:1, 15; 28:12; 32:1)! Does not verse 30, taken in its entirety, and in connection with what is known of the beliefs of the Sadducees, prove that these men know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?” Jesus went on to explain that God is the God of the living, not the God of the dead. God had sent Jesus to ransom for sins and we as believers will be alive with God for eternity.

The Great Commandment. This is to be embraced as well. The Pharisees brought in one of their own, a lawyer, when they realized that Jesus just silenced the Sadducees. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” 1. Love God with everything in you. 2. Love others. That is the sum. Love. When you do these 2 things, loving God and others, you will have in essence kept all the 10 Commandments. If you loved someone, you wouldn't steal from them or kill them or want to lust after their spouse. If you loved God, you would not love other things more than Him and so on. Make sense?

Whose Son Is the Christ? They are not quite done with the questions just yet… Jesus puts the emphasis on Himself. Now it was Jesus’ turn to ask them a question and He wanted to know what they thought about the Christ. Who’s son is He? They answered Jesus that He was the Son of David. They knew the Scriptures but missed the application.David wrote this Psalm 110, about Jesus,

“The Lord said to my Lord, 

“Sit at my right hand, 

until I put your enemies under your feet” 

“If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” 46 And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.” Jesus told them that He was David’s Lord and He was God Himself. The Pharisees knew this was a Messianic Psalm and Jesus showed them He was He.

Mark 12  The Parable of the tenants. Very similar to the account in Matthew 21. 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, “He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.” The opposite happened - they killed his son too. Jesus pointed out, “What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others..” 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, “And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.” The Chief priests and the Pharisees knew He was talking about them but couldn't do anything because they were afraid of the people.

Paying Taxes to Caesar/The Sadducees asking about the Resurrection/The Great Commandment/Who’s Son is the Christ. Similar to above as well… see above!

Beware of the Scribes. Jesus taught and said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” Jesus warned the people to be on guard about those acting holy but acting like wolves. 

The Widows offering. Very good illustration and story that happened here as well. Jesus gave a lesson on what He observed. He watched people putting money in the offering box. The rich put a bunch of money in and a poor widow put in the equivalent of less than a penny. What was Jesus’ response? “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” Sacrifice. We are to sacrifice for Christ and not just give Him our leftovers. 

To sum it all up: 

• We need Christ on this earth and in Heaven. Do you love Him? Do you live like you need Him? For many are called, but few are chosen… Where is your heart?
• It has always dumbfounded me why people spend their lives trying to disprove Jesus - just like the Pharisees did. If He wasn’t real people wouldn't spend so much time trying to disprove Him.
• 1. Love God with everything in you. 2. Love others. 
• Beware also of those who pretend to love God and their actions do not show it. Its a show for some and a love for Christ that others have. Be discerning. 
• Sacrifice. In serving Christ, you must feel it. If you have $200,000 and you throw a $20 bill in the plate, not much of a sacrifice. It is not about the amount but the heart behind the sacrifice that counts… What is Jesus worth to you? Are you willing to sacrifice for His kingdom or yours?