Matthew 22:23-33 A Doctrinal Question

The Sadducees thought they could win where the Pharisees and Herodians had failed.  They only believed in the authority of the five books of Moses.  They did not believe in resurrection, saying that Moses never mentioned it.

"But Jesus told them that they were ignorant, didn't know the Scriptures, and didn't know the power of God (meaning they really didn't know God) ... Jesus wanted to answer their claim that there was no resurrection, and He did it by referring to Moses! ... He reminded them of Exodus 3:6, where God said to Moses, 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'  He did not say, 'I was the God of Abraham'... By saying 'I am,' the Lord made it clear that these three men of faith were at that time ALIVE.  And by repeating 'the God of', the Lord was saying that He knew them and loved them personally and individually," my commentary said.

Father, thank You that they are alive and that I know that I will one day be just as alive after I leave this earth, fully known and loved by You!

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Matthew 22:15-22 A Political Question

"Several truths were taught by Jesus:  Christians must honor and obey rulers; Christians must honor and obey God; and man bears God's image and owes God his all," my commentary said.

Two Jewish groups were enemies -- the Pharisees and the Herodians.  Pharisees hated Roman occupation of their country.  Herodians supported Herod, the ruler assigned by Rome, and they wanted to do anything necessary to keep him in power.  Jesus was their common foe, and so they chose to work together against Him; they picked the poll tax.  No matter how He answered, He'd anger someone.  Refusing to pay it would anger Rome, and requiring its payment would anger the Jews.

He knew their hearts and their plans.  Looking at a Roman coin, He asked who was portrayed on it.  "Caesar."  He then said they should give what was Caesar's (the money) to him and give what was God's (their very lives) to Him.  

Father, please help our country right now to understand these truths and to take them to heart.  We desperately need You now.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Matthew 22:1-14 Blaspheming The Holy Spirit

I've wondered about this part of chapter 22, and I liked how my commentary explained it.  Here is what it said:

"Again, we meet the Father and the Son, and the Son is alive (in spite of what the husbandmen did) and has a bride!  The suggestion is that the Lord Jesus and His church are depicted ... The Father is still inviting the people of Israel to come, in spite of what they did to His Son ... How did the nation's leaders respond to the ministry of the Holy Spirit through the apostles?  They rejected the Word and persecuted the church... How did the king in the parable respond to the way the people treated his servants?  He became angry and sent his armies to destroy them and their city.  He then turned to other people and invited them to come to the feast.  This is a picture of God dealing with Israel.  They rejected the Father when they refused to obey John the Baptist's preaching.  Israel rejected the Son when they arrested Him and crucified Him ... The Holy Spirit came on the early believers and they witnessed with great power that Jesus was alive and the nation could be saved ... But Israel also rejected the Holy Spirit.  (Stephen said so in Acts 7:51).  With the stoning of Stephen, God's patience with Israel began to end, though He delayed the judgment for almost 40 years ... This final rejection is, to me, the awful blasphemy against the Holy Spirit that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 12:22-32.  This was a national sin, committed by Israel ... the rulers rejected the witness of the Spirit, and this brought final judgment.  They had rejected the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, and there were no more opportunities left.  This 'sin against the Holy Spirit' cannot be committed today in the same way as Israel committed it, because the situation is different."

Father, thank You for not giving up on me when I was away from You.  I don't know what I'd have done and where I'd be if You had said, "Forget him!"

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Matthew 21:33-46 It Applies To Us

Still on the vineyard parable, my commentary referred me to Isaiah 5:1-7.  "Jesus reminded the Jews of God's goodness to them as a nation.  God delivered them from Egypt and planted them in a rich land of milk and honey.  He gave them material and spiritual blessings and asked only that they bear fruit for His glory.  From time to time, God sent His servants (the prophets) to the people to receive the fruit.  But the people mistreated the servants, and even killed some of them.  What should the householder (of the parable) do?  He could have sent his armies to destroy these wicked men.  But instead he sent his own son to them.  The reference, of course, is to Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  He is the heir ... The people listening to the parable were caught up in the drama and did not realize that they passed sentence on themselves."

If we're not careful, we'll get caught up in this, thing how stupid those Jews were for not seeing who Christ was, and we won't realize that the story fits us as well.  We crucify Him with our sin.

Father, never let me forget that You didn't give me what I deserved.  Instead, in Your love, You gave me grace.  And that grace is Jesus.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Disobedience And A Basic Principle Of Christian Living

The religious leaders demanded that Jesus explain what authority He had to cleanse the Temple.  After all, they were the temple leaders, and if it truly needed cleansing, they were the ones to do it.  The real problem was that they were the ones polluting it with foreign currency exchange and overpriced and selectively approved sacrifice sales.  For three years He'd been openly saying His authority came from God, yet they were unwilling to accept that answer.

My commentary said, "It is a basic principle of Christian living that we cannot learn NEW truth if we disobey what God has already told us.  'If any man is willing to do His will, he shall KNOW of the teaching, whether it is of God.' (John 7:17 NASB)."

"The religious rulers had rejected the truth preached by John, and therefore Jesus could not impart new truth.  Both He and John were under the same authority."

Father, I've also experienced "dry" spiritual times when it seemed my willingness and ability to learn more of Your truths were blocked.  Help me to know when disobedience is involved, so that I may reconnect with what You are wanting to show me each and every day.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Matthew 21:12-22 Did Jesus Really Get Angry And Kill A Tree?

Jesus had to reveal the hypocrisy of Israel in this section and chose to do so by 1)  cleansing the temple, and 2) cursing a fig tree.  My commentary helped particularly with that last part.

The very idea that the temple -- the holiest place in Israel -- should need cleansing says it all.  God had ordained and designed the Court of the Gentiles as a place where non-Jews could observe the Jewish rituals and become knowledgeable about Himself.  Annas, the former high priest, and his sons managed to turn it into a service center were they carried out an extremely lucrative foreign currency exchange and place to purchase "approved" sacrifices.  The Gentiles were effectively crowded out, and in fact most had no desire to worship in such an area.

My commentary also said, "When Jesus called the temple "My house", He was affirming that He is God."  He also called it a den of thieves because "the religious leaders were using the temple and the Jewish religion to cover up their sins."

I had been puzzled by the fig tree, though.  Being God, it seems Jesus would have known before approaching it that it bore no fruit.  Also, "the same power that killed the tree could also have given it new life and fruit.  Jesus certainly would not hold a tree morally responsible for being fruitless," my commentary said.  "The fig tree symbolized the nation of Israel ... Just as this tree had leaves but no fruit, so Israel had a show of religion but no practical experience of faith resulting in godly living.  Jesus was not angry with the tree.  Rather, He used this tree to teach several lessons to His disciples."  It fulfilled the purpose for which it had been created!

Primarily, "God wants us to produce fruit in the lives of His people ... the main interpretation has to do with Israel.  The time of judgment had come ... Jesus used this event to teach His disciples a practical lesson about faith and prayer ... The temple was supposed to be a house of prayer, and the nation was to be a believing people.  But both of these essentials were missing.  We too must beware the peril of fruitlessness."

Father, lead me to bear fruit for You as You have planned for eternity past.  Show me what changes You want me to make to do that.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Matthew 21:1-11 His First Planned Public Demonstration

Jesus had never planned and promoted a public demonstration of His message and ministry until this point, my commentary said.  In fact, He'd cautioned people not to tell who He was.  In doing so now, "He was obeying the Word and fulfilling the prophecy recorded in Zechariah 9:9, which could only apply to Jesus Christ, for He is the only One with credentials that prove He is Israel's King."

Zechariah opened with "Rejoice greatly!"  But Jesus wept because He saw judgment coming.  Matthew had omitted, "He is just, and having salvation," my commentary said, because His act of mercy and grace was not an act of judgment.  He did bring salvation, but they refused to accept it.

"The public presentation did something else:  It forced the Jewish leaders to act ... The prophetic Scriptures required that the Lamb of God be crucified on Passover.  This demonstration ... incited the rulers to act ... Even our Lord's miracles didn't convince them of who He is."

Father, You are all-wise and all-knowing, and every action in this chapter exactly fit the plan You designed before the creation of our world.  Help me to take to heart that You are still just as all-wise and all-knowing.  I can trust You with my life.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Matthew 20:17-34 Third Demand of Our King -- Glorify Him Completely

The previous demands of the King were that we love Him supremely and obey Him unreservedly.  This section shows that we must also glorify Him completely, my commentary says.

James and John and their mother approached Jesus requesting that the two disciples get reserved seats on special thrones in Jesus' kingdom.  They at least did believe in prayer and they dared to believe the promise Jesus had given about sitting on thrones.  And it took faith to believe He would establish these thrones, sine He'd just told them He was going to die.

Yet there were also several things wrong with their request:  "They wanted their will, not God's will, and they wanted it their way ... they lacked heavenly direction.  They were thinking like the world ... Their request was fleshly, because they were selfishly asking for glory for themselves, not for the Lord ... The request was of the devil.  It was motivated by pride.  Satan had sought a throne and had been cast down."

"The key to greatness is not found in position or power, but in character.  We get a throne by paying with our lives, not by praying with our lips ... If our prayers do not bring us nearer to the cross, they are out of God's will."

"We cannot acknowledge Jesus as our King unless we love Him supremely, obey Him u, and glorify Him completely.  But if we do these things, we will share in His life and joy, and one day reign with Him!"

Father, show me if I'm lacking in any area, and help me to obey.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Matthew 20:1-16 Careful How We Understand This

It's certainly important to have a good understanding of what was really going on in this parable.  Peter's previous question, "We have forsaken all, and followed You; what then shall we have?", led to the possibility of a wrong motive for service, my commentary said, and Jesus told the next parable as a result.

My commentary began by stating outright that "the parable has nothing to do with salvation ... nobody works for his salvation.  Nor is the parable talking about rewards, for we are not all going to receive the same reward ... The parable is emphasizing a right attitude in service ... there were actually two kinds of laborers in the parable -- those who wanted a contract and agreed to work for a fixed amount, and those who had no contract and agreed to take whatever the owner thought was fair."

Those who had the contract were paid last, and they watched as the generosity of the master played out, only tof ind that they got only what they agreed to  -- because they did not trust the goodness of the owner!  Had they, they would have received far more.  

"The lesson for Christ's disciples ... We should not serve Him because we want to receive an expected reward, and we should not insist on knowing what we will get.  God is infinitely generous and gracious and will always give us better than we deserve ... We must trust Him unreservedly and believe that He will always give what is best."  Finally, it said, "Beware of the danger of watching other workers and measuring yourself by them... We see the worker and the work, but God sees the heart ... We must beware of criticizing God and feeling that we have been left out."

Father, keep my eyes on You and not on others.  I know that I can trust You to give me more than I could ever imagine.  Never let me doubt that!

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Matthew 19:16-30 The Rightful Demands He Makes On Us

My commentary says that here the Lord explains "the rightful demands that He makes on those who want to trust Him and be His disciples."

First, we must love Him supremely.  The rich young ruler was sincere, but he'd been trained that salvation was by works and not by faith -- something the Jewish people believed at that time.  "In spite of his position is society, his morality, and his religion, he felt a definite need for something more."

In His reply, Jesus didn't focus on salvation, but on the definition of the word "good".  In effect, He said, "Do you believe that I am good and therefore that I am God?"  When the young man, "Which commandment?", it seems that he thought some commandments were more important to keep than others.  He failed to understand that breaking one breaks all.  He was also thinking only of external obedience.  He'd forgotten about attitudes of the heart.

"Jesus knew that this man was covetous; he loved material wealth.  By asking Him to sell his goods, Jesus was forcing him to examine his own heart and determine his priorities ... the young man still did not truly love God with all of his heart.  Possessions were his god.  He was unable to obey..."

Father, help me to turn loose of everything that I might try to love more than You.  Help me to understand the promises Jesus made at the start of this -- that You'll reward me a hundred times more for what I sacrifice -- and that it isn't really a sacrifice, but an investment.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Matthew 19:1-15 Divorce

"The religious leaders had already tried to ensnare Jesus with questions about the Sabbath ... and they'd failed.  They tried again, this time with a most controversial issue -- divorce," my commentary began.  "Instead of going back to Deuteronomy, Jesus went back to Genesis."  We can find there God's original design and intention for men and women.  Divorce laws wouldn't be needed if it were followed.

It's amazing to hear this:  "The only thing that was not good about creation was the fact that the man was alone.  The woman was created to meet this need ... Marriage makes possible the continuation of the species ... From the beginning, it was God's command that sex be practiced in the commitment of marriage.  Outside of marriage, sex becomes a destructive force, but within the loving commitment of marriage, sex can be creative and constructive," it continued.

"The Pharisees were not interested in discovering truth.  They were interested only in defending themselves and what they believed.  This was why they asked about the Jewish law of divorce in Deut. 24:1-4.  Moses gave only one commandment:  The divorced wife could not return to her first husband if she was put away by a second husband.  Moses did not command divorce; he permitted it."

"The divorce that Moses permitted in Deut 24 actually severed the original marriage relationship.  God permitted the woman to marry again, and her second marriage was not considered adulterous.  The second man she married was called a husband and not an adulterer ... This means that scriptural divorce does sever the marriage relationship.  Man cannot break the relationship by his laws, but God can break it ... Jesus made it clear that this Mosaic law was a concession on God's part ... Rather than having two people living together in constant conflict, with one or both of them seeking fulfillment elsewhere and thus commit sin, God permitted divorce.  This divorce included the right to remarriage.

Father, I pray for my friends who have gone through this.  Help them to know Your heart and Your love for them, and draw them closer to You!

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford