Matthew 24:29-31 – Vindication of Jesus

Verse 29, without the backdrop of the Old Testament, would give the impression that it is talking about a cosmic upheaval. However, in Isaiah 13:10, when the prophet wrote these words, he was referring to God’s judgement of Babylon. Throughout the Old Testament, descriptions of cosmic turmoil were commonly used to highlight divine judgement against a political power. They meant to narrate the fact that God was vindicating those who had been suffering under its tyrannical power. Hence verse 29 is saying that God would vindicate His people and judge their enemies. He would be judging Jerusalem and the temple that represent all that is opposed to God and the true people of Israel. To see this as some dramatic climatic and environmental changes before the coming of the Son of Man would add confusion to what Jesus meant, i.e. plainly concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.

Like verse 29, if we read verses 30-31 without the context of the Old Testament writing, we will misunderstand what Christ intents to tell us. Many had taken this appearance of the Son of Man to mean Christ’s second coming. Most first century readers would have understood this as an allusion to Daniel chapter 7. In that chapter, we see one like the Son of Man (verse 13) stood in contrast to the four beasts who emerge from the sea (3-12). He found acceptance with the Ancient of Days and was vindicated and enthroned, and given power and authority over all the nations. Note that in Daniel, the Son of Man was not about His coming to earth but to the throne of God, where He was vindicated. Hence, what Jesus said here was not about His coming but that God was vindicating Him through the judgement of Jerusalem!

Therefore, what Jesus said in verse 30 is not about signs of His coming but about His enthronement before the presence of God. And that He is given victory over His enemies. The destruction of Jerusalem would be a sign that God had vindicated Him. In saying that the tribes of the earth will mourn, Jesus was saying that there would be national grief at the destruction of the Temple. This would be a powerful sign that God had vindicated His Son.

Verse 31 is not, as many would think, was a gathering to dispense eternal rewards. It is better to understand this verse as saying that the fall of Jerusalem would be a great turning point for the church. Very much like the pattern of many Old Testament prophecy, this verse tells us that the faithful would be restored after the judgement. Here we are told that angels, to be more precise, would be messengers that would go forth to all corners of the earth, to gather the elect from every part of it through the Gospel proclamation. 

We are the beneficiaries Christ’s enthronement. We have been gathered from the nations to honor Him. Jesus had been enthroned and is now ruling through the church. He has empowered us, His messengers to carry His message into all parts of the earth. Let’s begin with our where we live. Let’s be found faithful in declaring the Gospel of the Kingdom.     

Matthew 24:15-28 – Be faithful and hold fast to God

Remember that there are three things the disciples asked. When would the Temple be destroyed? When would Jesus be seen as the Messiah? When would the present age be brought to an end? Jesus pointed back to what the prophet Daniel said in his writing. He also told them to look out for the terrible times that would be coming.

In verse 15, Jesus talked about the “abomination of desolation,” raised in Daniel 9:27. This phrase was an Old Testament idiom that refers to anything that insults the worship of the true God. Jesus in fact told His disciples to look out for the pagan invasion of the Temple that would end up in placing blasphemous object in the Temple. In AD 70, Roman legions surrounded the Temple and eventually placed their blasphemous standard there. That marked the beginning of the end of Jerusalem, and the end of the world order that Jesus, His disciples and their ancestors had known. There was a possibility that some of the loyal Jews might join a resistant group led by a so-called messiah and stayed to fight. Jesus told them to flee to the mountains. They must run away from Jerusalem, for God’s judgement had begun to fall on that city. Wanting His people to be rescued from that harsh situations, He told them not to stay in that city but to flee from it. He told them not to try and gather their properties but to just run away. It would be a very trying and testing time, a time of great suffering and hardship. Even in such a time God’s grace would be shown. He would shorten the time for the sake of those who belong to Him.   

Jesus also warned them against running after every rumour of a messiah. They should not be taken in by all the false claims. For many false messiahs and false prophets would come. Some could even perform great signs and mislead even the chosen people of God.   But His followers must not be misled. For there would be no necessity to run around looking for the messiah. No one need to second guess concerning the vindication of the Messiah. He would not be standing there in person, looking like somebody else. His vindication will be seen in the signs of the time. He said, “Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.” The vulture here refers to the Romans. When the eagles on the Roman standard gathered around Jerusalem, they would be like birds of prey circling in the desert waiting for the final kill. So everyone would know for sure that the events Jesus said would happen would take place.

What the first century Christians went through, had been multiplied many times over. Many believers, especially those living in countries that are anti-Christians, have suffered horrendously and many thousands have died for their conviction. Like them, we must remain true to our allegiance to Christ. And in the face of tough times ahead, let’s remain unwavering in our witness for Christ.     

Matthew 24:4-14 – Stay faithful in the midst of uncertainties

There were three things Jesus’ disciples wanted to know, specifically concerning the destruction of the Temple, His appearance as King and the end of the ages. They heard all that Jesus had said would happen and accepted it. But still they wanted to know when it would all happen and what should they watch out for? When would the Temple be destroyed? When would the present age end? And when would God’s new age be ushered in?

Jesus told them that the present age would certainly come to a violent end. And He began by warning the disciples not to be deceived. There would be people coming, claiming to be the messiah. But they must not be misled. He won’t be that sort of a messiah that would come and lead a revolt. When they hear of rumours of war, they should not be frightened. They should instead stay calm and faithful, and not capitulate from their allegiance to Him.   

There certainly will be wars, revolts and rebellions, famines and earthquakes. But all these, like the spasm and contractions before birth, will merely be the indications. It is not the end of the age yet. However, terrible times await His followers. They will be severely tried. And many will be intensely disliked and even killed. Furthermore, they will be hated by the nations for being His followers. Then there would be betrayals and animosity and hatred between one another. Also, many false prophets would come to the scene and mislead many. Mayhem and chaos will increase to a point, where even the love of some believers will grow cold. And due to the demands of it all, many would give up and fall away. But true and committed believers must endure to the very end and be saved. Meanwhile between the present and the time when all these would happen, the Gospel of God’s Kingdom must be preached not only in Israel but to the ends of the earth. This is the task entrusted to all followers of Jesus.  

All that Jesus had said addressed specifically the period that spanned between His public ministry and the destruction of the Temple in AD 70. We need to know that the meaning of it all still affects us today, especially in Christian discipleship. Like the disciples, we are also called to be faithful, to persevere and not to panic or be anxious in the midst of tough times. Events of the world will get increasingly terrifying, but we are to hold on to Jesus and to keep trusting Him. As God had vindicated Him in the first century at His resurrection, God will soon vindicate Him before the eyes of the whole world at His second coming. We must bear with the birth pangs of the present and hold on to the hope that in the exact timing, the new world of God will be birthed.  

Matthew 24:1-3 – Answers to tough questions concerning Christ’s return

Waiting for the arrival of a baby about to be born into the world is both a joyful as well a painful experience. A pregnant mother, prior to the delivery of her child, will tell you she cherishes great hope of holding a new born baby and anticipates new possibilities. She also knows that there would be potential danger looming and would be anxious. It’s something every pregnant mother must personally experience and live through, even though it may be agonizing, distressing and disconcerting. This experience of pangs and new birth is being used here to illustrate the new world that God was about to bring to birth.

For Jesus, there are two central features concerning God’s future. The first feature would be concerning His calling and own destiny. In the last few chapters He had spoken fairly much about it. He came to Jerusalem fully aware that His mission of beckoning Israel to repentance would bring about hostility and violence against Himself, and He would be put to death. He also knew that God would vindicate Him after He had died by raising Him from death. The next feature would be the ultimate end of the Temple. Through His ministry Jesus had constantly and implicitly shown that He, and not the Temple, would be the real hub of God’s healing and restoration. He had performed and declared things in the temple that had indicated that the Temple was under judgement and He had the power to pronounce it. Hence when the disciples pointed to Him that magnificent Temple, He told them in no uncertain terms that it would soon be totally destroyed. Deducing from what Jesus had said concerning His calling and destiny, and what would happen to the Temple, His disciples realized the two events run concurrently. And if Jesus had been right, then when would all these take place? When exactly would the world see that Jesus is God’s Messiah?  

There were three things the disciples wanted to know, i.e. concerning the destruction of the Temple, His coming as King and the end of the ages. They heard all that Jesus had said would happen and understood somewhat. So they wanted to know when it would happen and what should they watch out for. When would the Temple be destroyed? When would the present age end? And when would God’s new age be ushered in?

We will definitely come to Jesus’ answers to these questions when we look at the verses that follow. For now let’s hold it, though the soon appearing of Jesus is sure. What must we as His followers do in preparation for that great day?  

Matthew 23:34-39 – The yearning of God for us to do His work

As a nation, Israel had been building up her guilt. They had repeatedly refused to heed the warning of danger that God had sent to them through His prophets. They not only rejected the prophets, one after another, they even had them stoned to death. The parable of the wicked tenants (Matthew 21:33-46), and the parable of the wedding banquet (Matthew 22:1-14), had already revealed their stubborn refusal to acknowledge the warning of God. And in Jesus’ strongly worded charges recorded in verses 24-36, He again re-enforced His warnings of their guilt. Then, besides Israel’s guilt, there was also the guilt of the human race. In verse 35, Jesus traced the blood-guilt to the killing of Abel, the first victim of murder, killed by Cain his own brother (Genesis 4).

The nation of Israel was called to be God’s witness to the world, but they had failed in their responsibility. Instead of being a light to the world they adopted the ways of the world. God had repeatedly sent His prophets to warn them, but they not only rejected His warnings but also killed His messengers. Now God had sent His Son, the ultimate messenger, but they were about to do to Him what they did to all the prophets before Him. Verse 36 tells us that all the built up guilt of Israel and of the nations will find its ultimate expression in that generation - the generation that refused the message of Jesus Himself and sent Him to His death.   

The lament in verse 37 was a cry of the heart of God. Using the illustration of a mother hen who would collect all her chicks under her wings in times of danger, God had made many attempts to draw Israel back to Himself. But they had repeatedly refused and rejected His call to return to Him and to their task. Soon their house, the Temple where they would worship God and connect with Him, would be destroyed and left desolate. They would find themselves estranged from God. And if they want to experience a relationship with Him again, it must be through the acceptance of Jesus, their Messiah. It must be in their turning to trust and believe in Jesus. It could only happen when they would once again say to Him, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

The graciousness of God is without measure. Through Christ, He yearns longingly for us. He wants us to come under His protective hedge. Like His desire for Israel, He also wants us to be responsible to the call to make Him known. Israel had failed Him. What about us? We must be God’s true light and salt to our world that is lost to sin. Let’s do it responsibly!  

Matthew 23:23-33 – Being conruous in life

We have all been to cemetery, especially during the time of the year when people would go there to honour their dead relatives. During this time, caretakers who were paid to take care of the tombs would beautify them. It was aimed at impressing the relatives who would soon visit the tombs of their dead folks. Most tombs would be beautified; faded colours of the inscription would be touched up to give a sense of newness. However, the surface of those beautified tombs would be quite different from what’s underneath them. It’s nice to behold on the surface but a woeful sight underneath the surface awaits. The Pharisees, whom Jesus was addressing, were like a beautiful tomb, looked good on the outside but rotten to the core in the inside. They were like beautiful tombs, well maintained on the outside, but deep inside them they were like the remains of the decaying corpses and filth and dirt.

The core of Jesus’ accusation against the scribes and Pharisees was their hypocritical lifestyles. Looking at them from the outside they would appear to be virtuous people who had strictly and scrupulously observed the law. Externally, those who looked at them would had thought that they were those whom God would certainly be pleased. In reality they were extortionists whose moral value were deplorable, and left much to be desired. They demonstrated a weak-will and were self-indulgent. They knew the law and would teach them but they themselves had failed to live them. But we need to bear in mind that there were good Pharisees who would strictly teach the law and seek to live them out. Two classic examples are Paul the Apostle and his teacher Gamaliel.  Generally, most Pharisees were in for the political agenda they had adopted. They like the ideas of the law because it suited their national ambition. But they were found wanting when it came to the crux of the matter – the spiritual and moral value. In those areas they had much to make up for. Like them, we too have to make what’s inside of us congruous with what can be seen on the outside.  

The attack of Jesus on the Pharisees can only be clearly understood when seen in the larger context of what He came to do. He was on His way to the cross to accomplish the real covenant renewal that the Pharisees, with all their focus on the law, could never have accomplished. Here He was about to take upon Himself all the wickedness of the world and also every wickedness He denounced here and other passages of the Bible. He was about to bear every wickedness of man and deal with them once and for all at the cross. Jesus was not just denouncing the evil of the Pharisees but also those we ourselves have committed, He came to deal with them once and for all at the cross.

In verses 29-33, Jesus lumped the scribes, Pharisees and hypocrites together with their prophets-killing ancestors, who murdered the prophets that came with the message of God to warn them. What they were about to do was no different from what their ancestors had done. They were about to deliver the greatest prophet of all times over to death.  

What lessons do we take way from such a “woeful” message? What we are is more important that what we say or demonstrate on the outward. It is important that we be consistent. Let’s not live a life only for show. Let our outward expression of righteousness be a real reflection of the change that had taken place deep within us. Real and genuine inner transformation can be quickly detected by the way we live our life. If the inward change is the main thing Jesus is after; be sure to make the main thing, the main thing in life.     

Matthew 23:16-22 – Let's set our purpose right

Jesus’ strong indictment of the scribes, Pharisees and hypocrites, calling them blind guides because they, during His time, led the people astray. He called them fools and blind men. As we have discovered, they were those that demonstrated hollow piety and misguided the people and set other people on the path of wrong priorities. Unwittingly, what they taught led people to needless details, till they failed to understand the purpose of the law. In all their needless impositions, they had pushed genuine seekers further away from the truth and from God. What Jesus said in this passage brings us to mind Matthew 12:36, warning against the dire consequence of speaking carelessly. They also remind us of what He taught in Matthew 5, concerning making oath and swearing.

Why do people need to swear? Basically it’s because they are aware that people may not fully accept what they have said. To add weight to the statement, they swear by someone or something, to support what they’ve just said was true. Often what begin as words to prop up one’s insecurity, can unwittingly cause the cultivation of a habit of making a speech with needless swearing and oath. When done often enough, it makes a person unaware of the seriousness of speaking needless and careless words. It behooves us to be mindful of what we are saying. As the Lord had said in Matthew 5: 37, “Let your statement be “Yes, yes” or “No, no; anything beyond these is of evil.” Explicitly the Lord had also taught in Matthew 5:34-36, that we “…should not make oath either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the City of the Great King. Nor shall you make an oath by your head for you cannot make one hair white or black”.

When Jesus said in verses 16-22 about swearing by the Temple, He dealt deeper than just the issue of swearing. As the scribes and Pharisees determined which oath would count and which wouldn’t, they had in fact revealed their attitude toward the Temple. They had set wrong priorities in their evaluation and had placed gold above the Temple, and the gift above the altar. In essence, what Jesus said in these verses, is: they had valued the gift brought into God’s presence more than the very presence of God. They had taken the name of God in vain, and now tried to cover it by argument of what oath had more value and importance.

As we come to God, let’s have our purpose rightly worked out. We come to church to worship Him, to encounter Him and to experience His presence. The music and the program are incidentals to enable that purpose. They are the means and not the end. We don’t come to church for the superb music or the inspiring sermon. We are in church to encounter God, to honor and worship Him and to experience His presence!  

Matthew 23:13-15 – Let’s be careful how we walk

In these verses Jesus addressed the scribes, Pharisees and hypocrites who were opposing His teachings and work. While these groups were specifically named, yet we know that His strong words were for people who in His time were leading Israel astray. They were causing the people to be defocused and look away in other direction from Him, their Messiah, who had arrived. In fact. Jesus said, they were putting a stumbling block at the entrance to the Kingdom of God before the people. They themselves had not truly experienced the Kingdom, and what they did and said were preventing people from entering in to experience what God in Christ came to give. Jesus told them that they had made huge effort to try and convert people, and presumably thought they had set them on the path to God. But when their interest was stirred, they would make them worse than when they had not started. They became doubly worse than before their conversion.

 

We often think of the Lord Jesus as a gentle and loving teacher and now to see His strong condemnation of those people seems to be a misnomer. One thing we need to know about our Lord is that while He is gentle and loving, He cares for people too much to allow them to meander down the wrong path. Hence a passage like this ought to cause us to reflect carefully, and understand what the crux of the matter is. His strong words were for those who demonstrate hollow piety and thus misguide the people and set them on the path of wrong priorities.

 

Like it or not we are being observed by people all the time. We can either put a person on the right path by the things we say and the way we behave, or we can set people in the wrong direction. Our conduct and behavior must be congruent with our confession as Christ’s followers. Hence, we must be careful how we walk, not as fools but as wise. We must seek to understand what the will of God is. And every day, we must redeem every opportunity because we are confronted by so many challenges of our time.

Matthew 23:1-12 – Cultivate the spirit of humility

The Gospel of Matthew has five major teaching blocks that form the basic structure of this book. Chapters 5-7, the Sermon on the Mount; chapter 10, the task and assignments of the disciples; chapter 13, the parables of the Kingdom, chapter 18, the call to live together as a community in obedience to Jesus’ teaching; and chapters 23-25, anticipating what’s ahead and warning of impending event.  

In these verses, we find Jesus speaking to the crowd and His disciples, taking aim at the scribes and Pharisees. He pointed out that they were people who purportedly love the Law of Moses and would teach others about it. But they themselves would not practice what they taught. In essence they were saying, “Do what I teach but don’t do what I do.” Furthermore, they would make huge demands that were burdensome to the people but they themselves would not even lift a finger to move them. They would do things to be noticed by others with the intention to show how pious they were. The amulets or little leather cases that carry holy relics and wore over their heads or arms were bigger than others. They deliberately made their prayer tassels longer. They loved places of honor and would jostle for the chief seat in the synagogue. They loved being greeted with respectable terms and be recognized as teachers.

 

With so many things about the scribes and Pharisees who would not practice what they taught, Jesus warned the people to be discerning. He asked them to recognize one true and real teacher, acknowledge one Father, i.e. God Himself, and follow one leader, the Messiah. He then rounded up by calling for humility. Those who choose to exalt themselves will be brought low. Those who show humility will be exalted.

 

We can see that what Jesus described are the false expressions of godliness. It is possible to pretend to be godly. In many ways Christians can fall prey to this temptation. How often we do succumb to it. Who doesn’t love the places of honor or be respectfully saluted in the open? Many would make long and impressive prayers for others to hear, and even draw attention to impress people with their knowledge of the Scripture. How can we safeguard ourselves from this tendency to impress by outward show? We do so by focusing on Christ, and staying closely connected to Him. We must seek to emulate Him. This is the reason that the author of the letter to the Hebrews exhorts us “… to fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Matthew 22:41-46 - Jesus, David’s Son and Master

The chief priests, scribes, Herodians, Pharisees and Sadducees, all had sought to discredit Jesus as the Messiah. They, each in turn, had asked Him many very difficult questions. But they all failed to realize that Jesus has the unquestionable answer that was beyond their asking. In verse 43, Jesus asked the Pharisees who were gathered, a question that stumped them and left them totally amazed. “Is the Messiah David’s Son or David’s Master?” He asked, “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” Without hesitation they answered, “The Son of David.” Quoting Psalm 110:1 Jesus asked them why then did David say, ‘The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”?

What’s the point? Matthew had indeed clearly shown that Jesus was the “Son of David.” But merely addressing Him with that title alone was an incomplete picture. It simply meant that the Jews, at that time, saw Him only as the coming King who would win the military battles over their national enemies. If this was the image they had about the Messiah, how could verses 37-40 be encouraged? How could they be challenged to love God with all their being and their neighbours as themselves? Especially so when God is the God of the whole earth and not just of Israel.

The whole point is this: in Jesus, God had become a human and brought us an entirely different scenario. If David’s Son is also David’s Master, then the war-like Messiah the Jews imagined, would after all, be the one who would bring the saving and healing rule of the creator God to the whole world. He is none other than Jesus.

The “enemies” alluded to in Psalm 110:1 was not talking about the enemies of Israel but the ultimate enemies of the whole human race and the world. It refers to the devil and his cohorts, who brought sin and death into mankind. Jesus knew that these enemies could only be overcome when He the Messiah (like David who went single-handedly in unarmed conflict against Goliath) went all the way to the cross to bring us the triumph over sin, sorrow and death.

With a grateful and thankful heart, let us avail ourselves to Jesus, the Messiah. Let’s give ourselves in His service to continue His mission of redeeming fallen humanity. Let’s join hands with our Messiah to free man, who through fear of death, were subjects to slavery all their lives!

 

Matthew 22:34 – 40 – Making loving God and others a way of life

Bear in mind that these verses were set in the context of Jesus last week in Jerusalem. He had cleansed the temple and drove out the money-changers. He was also confronted by the scribes, chief priests, Pharisees, Herodians, and the Sadducees, all trying to snare Him in His words. When the Pharisees saw that He had debunked the Sadducees concerning the doctrine of the resurrection, they asked Him one question. They asked, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” The answer Jesus gave was so deeply based on the Ten Commandments of Moses, so precise, so deeply searching and so challenging. In answering the question, Jesus gave us the priorities we should have in life.

Life must begin with God. He must be at the top of our priorities. We must love Him first. But we all know that we can only love God because He first loved us. No one can truly love God until he or she first realizes that God has first loved him or her. Therefore our love for Him is a response to His love for us. We are never to forget that His love is the source of all that we have in life. He continually reaches out to us from every conceivable angle. He provides the life we live, the air we breathe, the food we eat, the sunshine and the shelter we enjoy, and etc.  Hence loving Him should be a natural outflow of all that He has showered upon us. All the more so when we consider the suffering and the cross He bore to give us the liberty from the power of our guilt and sin. This ultimate expression of love on Calvary was where Matthew was leading us toward.

How are we to love Him? The only proper response of our heart who had been touched by His redeeming love is to love Him in return. To love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Notice that the order we are to love God begins from the inside out. It must proceed from our heart flowing through the soul to the mind and then to the strength. The heart here is used to refer to the will. When our will has made the decision to love Him, our whole system will respond to that choice made. Loving God is the most important thing in life. When we put loving Him as the top priority, everything else will flow from that love. And when we love anything else first, the whole process will soon run dry. As we love God, loving our neighbors become an easier task. Notice that we must love our fellowmen as we would love ourselves.

In the Calvary that Jesus would soon be going through, we see the summary of the Ten Commandments fully expressed. Christ had loved God with all that He had – heart. Soul, mind and strength. And by dying for us on the cross, He demonstrated that He had loved us (His neighbors) as Himself.  What about us? Have we loved God? Have we loved others as we ought?  

  

 

 

Matthew 22:23-33 - Concerning the resurrection

The Sadducees belonged to another political group of people in Judaism in Jesus’ day. These people did not believe in the resurrection and would often tell stories that would make the teaching of the resurrection look ridiculous. The resurrection is a ground breaking doctrine and the Sadducees, as the people in power, sought to rubbish this teaching. They knew they would encounter difficulties because most people accepted the teaching of the Pharisees concerning the resurrection.

In these verses, we are told that some Sadducees came to Jesus with a question concerning the resurrection. They concocted a silly story about a woman who was eventually the wife of seven brothers. She was first married to the eldest of the seven brothers but he died without a child. In their story every of his brother took turn to marry her, but died without leaving an heir. What they wanted to know was whose wife would she be at the resurrection? This is an impossible presupposition to debunk the teaching of the resurrection. We need to know that according to what’s taught in Deuteronomy 25:5, a brother must take up the responsibility of marrying his brother’s widow. And the children of this marriage will be the heir of the dead brother. This law was a provision of God given to His people long before Christ came. It was to ensure the continuity of the family line and tribal identity among His people.

So Jesus’ answer to them gave them several reasons to support the teaching of the resurrection. First, He revealed that the law given by Moses to propagate tribal identity and family name would no longer apply to the people of God at the coming of Christ. For He has brought a renewal to His people, who would no longer be marked by family line or tribal identity but by the order of the new creation. An order brought through the Gospel. Hence the story had no merit.  

Secondly, we also need to know that at the resurrection, God’s people would be raised to a new order of life where death would no longer be a part of living. Remember, this is about the resurrection not reincarnation. If death would still be a part of the new order, resurrection would simply degenerate into reincarnation. In the new order there will be no necessity to multiply the species, hence there will be no sexual activity. Much like the angels, God’s people will be living in a non-sexual world.  

Thirdly, Jesus implied that the Sadducees did not fully engage with the teaching and meaning of the Bible. It showed that they were not aware how great and powerful the Creator God is. Although the Sadducees claimed to have the teaching of Moses (the first five books of the Bible) as their foundation, they had missed the whole point. The God of Israel was and still is the Creator of the world. In His magnanimity, He allows Himself to be described as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, even though these three had died long ago. And He is still holding them in life and one day, together with all people past, present and future, they will be resurrected to a new order to enjoy the new world God will make.   

 

Jesus’ teaching brought great astonishment to the people who were listening to Him. What about us? We trust that the experience of the resurrection is God’s promise to us. Understanding and anticipating it gives us the impetus and eagerness to serve and work for Him today. Let’s allow the justice, peace and power of His new life in us to take effect in today’s world.

Matthew 22:15-22 – It’s right to respect civil authority but don’t forget to honor God

The Pharisees and the Herodians were political enemies, though they had different viewpoints, yet they came together to trap Jesus. It shows how people, who could have different agenda in life, would come together to confront what they perceived as their common threat. In this case it was concerning the authority of Jesus. They came deceitfully to Jesus with their flattery and pious sounding words to trap Him. Though they hated each other’s guts yet they would unite to go against Jesus, with thorny questions: “Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?”

 

In those days, this topic about paying tax to the Roman Emperor was a major subject. Israel was under the dominion of the Romans who came and overtook their land. Since they were the authority of the day, they demanded that Israelites should pay tax to them. It was the reason for many riots in those days. When Jesus was a boy living in Galilee, there was a revolutionary named Judas, who led a revolt against the Romans precisely for this reason. The Romans exterminated it by executing many of the rebels, leaving them on crosses by the countryside. They served as a warning that paying tax to the authority was not an option.

 

Now Jesus, who came to lead people into God’s Kingdom, was of course expected to oppose this taxation to the Roman authority. It He didn’t, He would be resented by the people and would incur their displeasure. The people had been shouting, cheering and lauding Jesus as the Son of David, the Messiah, God’s anointed King, just a few days earlier. It would be futile, after all the support He had from the people, if He didn’t free them from the Roman dominion and liberating them from having to pay tax.

 

Jesus perceived their ill-intention, so He rebuked them, calling them hypocrites, before asking for a coin used for the poll tax. Jesus had already outsmarted them when He asked for the coin with the insignia of Caesar. It showed that they themselves were handling the coin. One of the other reasons for the Jews’ intense dislike concerning the tax was the insignia on the coin. The Israelites were forbidden to put image of faces of human on their coins. Holding the coin with the insignia of Caesar, Jesus asked them whose inscription was on it. They answered “Caesar.” Here comes the master stroke – He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.”

 

In His answer so ingeniously crafted, Jesus was saying that they ought to pay Caesar what is due to him. But they must also give to God what is due to Him. Have they been true to God? Jesus had turned the table on them. They were the compromisers holding to the coin with Caesar’s insignia but yet speaking for God. Thus Jesus answered the challenge of His opponents. Bear in mind that He had already announced to His disciples that He was going to Jerusalem to suffer and die on the cross. Many of the tax-rebels had died on crosses. But the one Jesus was going to, was not for rebelling against the Romans, but to conquer them through His love flowing from Calvary. Jesus’ answer tells us something we must do today. We should respect the governmental authority set over us, but we must never fail to give to God the honour that is rightly His!

Matthew 22:1-14 – Be saved but also be transformed

Many today are attracted to the Lord’s comfortable words rather than His uncomfortable words that demand holiness and disciplined living. There are those who fail to see that at some point we must all grow up. While entering the Kingdom of God requires childlike trust, no one can forever be living like a careless and carefree child. All of us need to live a life that is progressively leading toward spiritual maturity and adulthood. And being an adult demands responsibility and the realization that every action taken has a consequence. Making right moral choices matters. The choices we make today affects our tomorrow. Besides, it affects not only us but also the people we love and care for deeply. God’s forgiveness doesn’t mean that we can do anything and expect that everything will still be alright.

 

Jesus told the parable of the wedding banquet immediately following the disturbing story 0f the wicked tenant farmers in Matthew 21. The main thrust of the parable is obvious. It is about the coming of God’s Kingdom, especially the arrival of the Messiah. Though it’s a parable to rebuke Israel, it shows us how to remain in the Kingdom and celebrate with the King. In this parable, we see Israel’s leaders and the many who followed them were like guests invited to God’s wedding celebration. It’s a celebration for His Son. They rejected the invitation and refused to come. Earlier in Matthew 11:20-24, Galilee and the surrounding towns had refused to come and were condemned by the Lord. Now Jerusalem was also turning down the invitation. God had been preparing this long awaited celebration. The Messiah had arrived but the leadership of the Jerusalem didn’t want to know. They not only harmed the prophets but also killed them, who came to tell them about it. As a consequence the city would be destroyed.

 

Since they refused to come, God sent His servants to other places and invited everyone and anyone to the celebration, and they all came in hordes. Matthew, in this Gospel, had already shown us that they were the social outcasts, comprising of the tax-collectors, prostitutes, the lame, the blind, the unknowns and even those who felt by-passed. They were astonished that God’s invitation would include them too. While the outcasts were invited to the celebration as they were, they were expected to change. They could not remain as they were; transformation and change must take place. God’s love may be gentle but it is tough. His love reaches us where we are, but it refuses to let us remain there. 

 

Even as we are in God’s banqueting hall, He expects changes in our life. Otherwise we may find ourselves not in the proper Kingdom attire and be cast out. In the Kingdom of God, justice, mercy, love and holiness flow unimpeded. These constitute the clothes we need to put on to remain in the wedding celebration. Refusal to put them on would be an indication that we don’t want to stay in the celebration. What’s sad in this story is that what began as an invitation to a celebration, ended with the warning of eternal punishment. It tells us that the merriment of the celebration is not for the unprepared. While many of us do not have the right to expect the invitation, we are already invited nonetheless. Since we are now in the celebration, we must act responsibly. We must keep the proper suit on. This is referring to the sanctifying process in our spiritual journey. We need to collaborate with the Holy Spirit in cultivating a sanctified living. We must show discipline, justice, love, mercy, holiness and such traits. As the parable suggests, only when we seek to be properly attired that we are showing proper respect and honor to the King, who had so graciously granted us the privilege to the feast

Matthew 21:33-46 – Parable of the Tenant

When Jesus ended His parable of the two sons, He told them another. This second parable has to do with the landowner and his vineyard. He told this story in anticipation of the increasing hostility toward Him. It would be a hostility that would eventually culminate in His rejection and death. But ultimately, He would be vindicated. Jesus was giving them His view of the events that He Himself was to be involved in. He was rejected by the people He came to rule, but would be vindicated by God.  

 

This parable is not only profound and solemn but also full of power. The landowner is God, the vineyard is Israel, and the farmers here are the leaders and officials of the nation of Israel. The slaves in this parable are the Old Testament prophets, ending in John the Baptist. The son of course is referring to Jesus Himself. This story is about Jesus coming to the tenant farmers of Jerusalem. He came with God’s message demanding repentance of them so that they could get back to the mission they were assigned – to be the light of God and His world. In this story the officials, the representatives of the nation, refused the demand and ended up killing Him.

 

In telling the parable, Jesus also quoted from Psalm 118:22-23. He was making allusion to the dream that Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon had. For details do read Daniel 2. The dream was about the kingdoms of the world, represented by a huge statue made up of a head of gold, a chest and arms of silver, and a trunk and thighs of bronze, legs of iron and feet with a mixture of iron and clay feet. Then there came a stone that struck the structure and its feet, and shattered it into pieces. This little stone became a mountain that filled the whole earth, representing the Kingdom of God. The little stone is the Messiah that would come and set up the Kingdom of God. Like the son of the landowner, the stone refers to Jesus, the Messiah. Before the stone became established and be the chief corner stone, it must first be rejected.

 

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard the story, they knew Jesus was referring to them. They sought to seize Him but were afraid of the people who had considered Him to be a prophet. Here’s a call to take the mission of God, entrusted to us, seriously and responsibly discharge it.  Let’s be the true fruit-bearing people, that had been entrusted with the Kingdom of God, that will honor Him and bring glory to His name!

Matthew 21:28-32 – Living congruently

Jesus had just asked the chief priests and scribes (hierarchy of the Temple) concerning the source of the authority of John the Baptist, and put them in a dilemma. If they had said from heaven, they reckoned that He would ask them, “Why didn’t you follow him?” And if they said from men, they feared the displeasure of the people. So they refused to answer that question of Jesus. Sensing that they were back pedalling, Jesus then seized the advantage.

 

He told them that John came with his message of righteousness. Some people whose lives seemed to be in opposition to God, believed him. But then there are those who appeared as if they were God’s chosen ones, yet they refused to do what John had said. These two groups are like the two sons in that parable. One of them said no to the father but later changed his mind and did what the father had asked. The other said yes, but then didn’t do it. 

 

Jesus pointedly said that the first son might have disrespectfully told his father that he refused to work today, but he later went and did the father’s bidding. He represents the tax-collectors and prostitutes. Though their lives seemed to be yelling “No” to the father, but when they heard John’s message, they repented. This was reflected in the change in their minds and lifestyle. The second son respectfully told his father “Yes” he would go and work but then didn’t. He represents the priests, scribes and other leaders. They appeared to be doing God’s will, by putting up a façade. They had refused to accept John’s message. They refused to accept his message of repentance and also refused to acknowledge the Messiah whom he had proclaimed. And now the Messiah Himself was before them and calling them into accounting and they didn’t like it. 

 

Whatever message we might have heard concerning the intention of this parable of the two sons, one thing is clear. If we have lived like the second son, saying "Yes" to God in some areas of our lives and then went and live a life that contradicts our response, we must repent and deal with those areas now. God expects us to live congruently. So let our yes be yes and no be no, anything further will become deceitful.  

Matthew 21:23-27 - Jesus has the authority

For years the authority of the Temple belonged to the high priest. The only person who would have a higher authority would be the Messiah, the God anointed King, when He arrived at the scene. But nobody knew when He would appear. In the meantime, many would-be messiahs had come and gone. And when Jesus came, He walked into the holy place that had been ruled by the Temple hierarchy for the longest time, and did what He did, they were upset. So obviously they would question Him on His right to that action. They asked “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?” Of course, the real question they wanted to ask was, “Do you think you are the Messiah?” For only the Messiah would have the authority and audacity to do what Jesus just did – cleansed the Temple.

 

Jesus responded by raising a question concerning the authority of John the Baptist. In so doing He had them checkmate. Whichever way they would answer would get them into trouble. What conclusion they had concerning John’s authority would give them the clue to Jesus’ answer. Through John’s baptism, God had already indicated that Jesus is the Messiah. God had anointed Him by the Holy Spirit and even proclaimed that Jesus is His beloved Son, the Messiah. If the chief priests and elders had been following John’s ministry, they would know where Jesus’s authority came from.

It is clear that the chief priests and elders knew that they were in a dilemma. They surmised that if they said, "It was from God," the Lord would ask, "Why then didn't you accept him?" And if they said, "It was from men," the people watching the conversation would be very displeased, for bystanders held the Baptist in high regards. So they billed out and said to Jesus, "We do not know." So Jesus told them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” In their answers, they had revealed the reality that they didn’t really care to know the truth. They were there only to serve their own interests.

 

God will make known His truth so that we can collaborate with Him to fulfil His plan and purpose. We need to identify what He is saying to us and then get on with it. Do not walk into the traps of our own making by raising needless questions. Let’s just submit to His authority!    

Matthew 21:18-22 – True faith is fruitful

According to Matthew 21:17, Jesus left Jerusalem and went to Bethany to spend the night after cleansing the temple. Verse 18 tells us that when morning had dawned, Jesus was returning to Jerusalem. While on the way, He saw a fig tree and expected it to provide the fruit to satisfy His hunger. But when He approached it He couldn’t find any fruit except leaves. Jesus then seemed to have acted uncharacteristically. He actually cursed that fig tree saying, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.” Matthew tells us that at once the fig tree withered. Had Jesus lost control of His emotion? Didn’t He say that man shall not live by bread alone? What’s His reason for doing this seeming petulant act? Cursing of the fig tree was not out of character with His nature. In fact it was very Jesus. He would often use nature and the very ordinary things of life to vividly illustrate an important lesson.  

Here the cursing of a fig tree was an object lesson for His disciples. The whole episode was an illustration of the impending judgment that was coming upon the fruitless religion of Israel. Their magnificent Temple, the pompous Temple tradition, the seemingly rich heritage, the peerless priestly order and the law, were like leaves of that cursed fig tree. They promised much but delivered nothing. Much of Israel’s religion were an outward show with no inward reality. It’s like a charade but had no capacity to fulfil the will of God. They promised godliness but weren’t able to move a person closer to that goal.

On seeing what happened to the fig tree after Jesus had cursed it, His disciples wanted to know how the tree could wither all at once. Instead of providing an explanation, the Lord issued a challenge. He said, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen.” What was Jesus saying? There was no specific incidence where Jesus actually moved a mountain to rearrange the terrain of earth. Could “…the casting of the mountain into the sea” be a coded message about the Temple that would soon be annihilated?

Far more than removing a physical mountain, Jesus tells us that we could be telling the mountain of sickness and the problem of our confused mind to be removed. As Jesus issued the challenge to the disciples to have faith in God, this same challenge is also issued to us today. He is not talking about wishful thinking. He is asking us to put our complete confidence in God and His power. He is asking us to be thoroughly expectant and committed to the task of bearing fruit that He wants to bring, in and through our life. Alongside our prayer, we need to trust and believe, and confidently receive what we have asked of Him.

Matthew 21:12-17 – The real purpose of the Temple

In 2 Samuel 5:6-10, we read of the account of how David motivated his men to capture Jerusalem and wrestled it from the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the Land. The latter was so cocksure that David and his men wouldn’t be able to reach them because Jerusalem was on a hill and quite well-fortified. So they taunted David by saying all they needed was to have the blind and lame men do the job of securing the city. David and his men managed to find a water shaft to Jerusalem and through it captured that city. Of course David never forgot the scorn of the Jebusites. So he made a law that the lame and the blind were not welcomed into the house. The house of course was the Temple.

 

Now thousands of years later, we are told that Jesus came to Jerusalem and to the house, the Temple. Here we are told that He cleansed the temple. He overturned the tables of the money changers as well as the tradition of the Temple. The reason is pure and simple. The Temple should be the place when ceaseless worship to God would be offered. It was a place where people come to be connected to God. But the chief priests and the elders had made it a place of exploitation. People would come to offer animals as sacrifices to connect with God. Many of those animals whom they brought to Jerusalem could be killed on the way or injured and hence could not be offered. So they had to acquire animals from the temple which used a Temple coin for transaction. Hence the money changers were there. From a state of facilitating worship, it had become a place of business.

 

The word robbers would better be translated revolutionaries or brigands. These people who believed so strongly in God’s coming Kingdom and justice that they were prepared to take the law into their own hands. The Temple, instead of being a place where people could come and pray, they had made it a hideout for the violence longing of revolutionaries. They were looking to forcefully and aggressively bring about the Kingdom of God through a revolt. We need to know that violence was everything that Jesus was opposed to in all His teaching and ministry. A clear-cut illustration could be seen in the Sermon of the mount. 

 

With the backdrop of how David captured Jerusalem, we can understand verse 14 better. Jesus wanted to ensure that the lame and the blind who were unwelcomed during David’s time were now welcomed. So He healed the lame as well as the blind. But when the Chief priests and the scribes saw that, and also the children cheering and shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were extremely angry. They came to Jesus asking if He had heard what the children was saying. Of course Jesus did, He is the Messiah so why shouldn’t people who recognize that fact acknowledge it. So he responded to them by referring them to the words of Psalms 8:2 to show how it had been fulfilled. 

 

Our call is to worship God and not to worship the system or the structure. We must respect and honor everything that is right and proper. But we must also realize that system should facilitate worship not stifle it. In whatever ministry we are serving, let’s be reminded that we are to facilitate worship and prayer. We should not rigidly enforce rules to a point that prevent people from connecting with God.    

Matthew 21:1-11 – Expect God’s best but seek to discern His moment

It is quite apparent that Jesus knew the Scripture very well. He was aware of what the Old Testament prophets had prophesied concerning Him hundreds of years before His arrival. Aware that He would be coming into the city of Jerusalem riding on a donkey as the prophet Zechariah had proclaimed, so He made prior arrangement for this day. How do we know?

 

Matthew tells us here that He had now come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olive. There He sent two of His disciples to the exact location where a donkey and a colt would be tied. They were told to untie them and have both the donkey and the colt brought to Him. He even taught the disciples how to answer if they were approached by anyone concerning the two animals. Their reply was to be, ‘The Lord has need of them.” Matthew tells us in no uncertain terms that all these happened to fulfil the prophecy written in Zechariah 9:9.

May be some of us are thinking that if Jesus had arranged for all these, how then can we say that this is a prophecy fulfilled? Well the donkey and the colt could be arranged, but there were things he could not have arranged in advance. He could not have arranged how the crowd would respond. He could not arrange the attitude of the ruler. He rode into the city on the back of a young unbroken colt with just the coats of the two disciples laid over its back. The people gathered to welcome Him and many cut palm branches and spread them over the road as He rode into Jerusalem. There were loud shouts of “Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!” They called Him, “The Son of David,” a title used for Israel’s Messiah.

Bear in mind that at this point there was a huge crowd in Jerusalem, coming in preparation for the celebration of the Passover Feast. Verse 10 tells us that all the city was stirred and left wondering, “Who is this?”  The crowds responded saying “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” They expected to have a Messiah like David. They expected Him to be crowned. They came to greet the One, whom they expected to deliver them from the oppression of the Romans in the way they wanted.

But why did Jesus of Nazareth come to Jerusalem? Some saw Him as a prophet. Some saw Him as the Messiah King. But Jesus came because He had to fulfil a part of the deal required for our total deliverance. He came to go to the cross. They expected a warrior-like, triumphant Messiah but they would soon be seeing a very different Messiah, a Suffering One.

Here is one lesson from this account. Our expectation of the way God will deliver us, and the way He wants to do it, may be a mismatch sometimes. There can never be true liberation without the cross. Most of us will come to God and pray in times of our needs. Of course, we must come with expectant heart, but we must also be ready to accept that what we want to see happen, may not be the way He delivers. But we can be assured that His deliverance will be more thorough, more complete and invigorating.

Matthew 20:29–34 – Responding to Jesus’ searching question

For two blind men by the roadside of Jericho to ask for help and assistance would seem like an ordinary thing. It must have been an all-too-custom scene. Everyday scores of people would have passed them by, and many must have taken pity on them and toss a few coins to help them. But that day, by the roadside of Jericho, was different. Jesus, the person whom most people thought was the Messiah was passing by. The two blind men heard the news. It certainly would be a once-in-a-life-time opportunity. So they raised their volume calling out for the attention of Jesus. Notice how they addressed Him, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” When the crowd tried to silent them sternly. They doubled their volume and cried out all the more.

 

How many times people of importance had passed them by without stopping to even take a look. But this Jesus was different. He stopped. He always stops to hear the desperate cries of people in need. What He did next was even more startling, He called them over. They didn’t expect Him to call them. But He did. But what’s more unusual was the question He asked. “What do you want me to do for you?” What sort of question was that? “Master, our sight obviously.”

 

We were not told how long they were blind. Wouldn’t it be obvious for people who couldn’t see to request for sight? So the question seems to be redundant. Is it? No, it isn’t! The two blind men each had a choice to make. They could ask for a few coins that would have satisfied their needs for the moment. Or they could ask for their healing which would forever mean that they could no longer beg for their living. The decision to ask for sight would mean a total change of lifestyle for them. Which is better, to remain living in a world of darkness and beg, or living in a world of light and work?  

 

Thankfully, they said, “Lord, we want our eyes to be opened.” Wise choice! Jesus must have looked at them and knew what it would cost them to make that decision. Both of them dug deep down beneath the shell of their lifetime of begging and ask for the one thing that matters - their sight. Moved with compassion. Jesus touched their eyes and they saw, and rose immediately and followed Him.

 

What happened to these two blind men? They have left behind one set of lifestyle to adopt another. What happened to them can also happen to anyone of us who comes to Jesus asking for something. We will experience His sharp question penetrating the veneer of our life’s casing to find the real and obvious request we have. And when He meets the request, there can only be one obvious response – to follow Him. It may be costly but for the One who meets all the needs of our life, what better response can we give?